The World of Greyhawk: The Keep (D&D 5e 2024 rules)
A tragedy has befallen you and all signs point to an isolated stronghold located in the untamed wilds of the Borderlands, simply known as the Keep.
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Sunday - 12:30 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2–3 hours
Campaign Length / 5+ Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Jump into one of D&D's original settings, the World of Greyhawk! There is little reason for the commonfolk to venture outside the walls of the Free City of Greyhawk. The lands of the Flanaess are hard traveled with the threat of banditry on the roads and deadly beasts in the wilds. It seems every few months the criers on the city's streets call out to inform the passing masses of distant conflict. The Free City isn't exactly safe either, but there is an order here. A rule of law. You were once one of those commonfolk that lived in the relative safety of Greyhawk's walls. Then tragedy struck, and now you risk life and limb to venture off into the lands of the Flanaess. You've followed leads that all converge to a single location. An isolated stronghold known only as the Keep, located deep within the untamed wilds and dangerous frontier of a region called the Borderlands. Your motivation is clear, and you've found others in this pursuit that also have plans to get to the Keep. However, the Keep is not open to outsiders, and you lack a writ of entry. Your makeshift band has found themselves in the Last Stand Tavern in the small town called Kryst that's located just outside the Borderlands. You’ve found a merchant in the tavern that is willing to hire your makeshift band and in exchange he'll give you that very writ. Now there is only this one last task before you can finally venture further into the untamed lands and make it to the Keep, continuing your pursuit. • This is a mini campaign that covers heavily homebrewed material of the new Heroes of the Borderlands beginner box for D&D 2024 and will take characters from 1st to 5th level. • The game will feature Role-Playing Opportunities and Moderate to Heavy combat encounters with an emphasis on challenge. • The encounters are built around having a party between 4 to 5 players. • While the beginner box is designed with new players in mind, this mini campaign is catered to players with experience playing D&D and Role-Playing games in general.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Combat Heavy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(7)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Storytelling
About me
I've been running TTRPGs since 2012 and have experience running many different systems. I've run professional games in local stores as well as hosted countless games online. As a hobby game designer I have a strong understanding of TTRPG design and have developed many different homebrew settings. As an artist and hobby writer it means that my players get to experience custom artwork (on occasion) when running more homebrew centric campaigns. my players get in-depth story experiences along with extensive worlds for players to sink their teeth into. I have a minor background in theatre and do my best to provide various voices to NPCs that the players encounter and paint the scene with my words.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
• 2024 Core Rules + Houserules (restricted to those created by the DM) • DM will share content with the group through DnD Beyond • Milestone Leveling • Random Ability Roll: Roll 5d6 and drop the 2 lowest (Players are free to assign the rolled totals in the Ability Scores of their choice). Rolling will be done in Session Zero and cannot be done in private • Gold doesn’t affect encumbrance • Fixed Hit Points on Level or Roll Hit Points on Level (Choose at creation cannot switch later) The DM recommends Fixed. • Special Character Motivations (Plot hook table provided by the DM) • A small background of your character, no more than 1,000 words in length that establishes their connection to the setting. Send the background as a Direct Message on Discord. Include your character’s name, your name (or handle), and the campaign you are playing in. The file can be a Google Doc, Word Doc, or Plain text typed in Discord.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
• Players will need to join the Discord and be sure to join the shared Campaign link on DnD Beyond. The game will be in Discord voice, use DnD Beyond Character sheets, and DnD Beyond Maps will be the VTT. • Once a player has made their character they will need to write a backstory of them (no more than 1,000 words long) and share that with me as direct message on Discord.
What Darkly Marie brings to the table
• I will provide a setting Primer for the Modified world of Greyhawk for them to read before Session Zero that will be shared in Discord. • I will do my best to have different voices for important NPCs and key art for those NPCs as well. • Other story related handouts will be provided when relevant in the Discord.
Homebrew rules
• O HP Rule. Dropping to 0 Hit Points causes potential Exhaustion (DC8 + Any Remaining Damage Con Save) • Criticals. Nat 1 and Nat 20 only apply to combat (1 is always a miss, 20 deals max damage). Rolls of 1 or 20 outside of combat are treated as normal rolls • Combat Attrition. If a fight lasts more than 6 rounds, then afterward Con Saves (DC8+Combat Rounds) are called and failures cause Exhaustion) • Ration Requirement. If not at an Inn or in town, characters must have Rations in order to get the benefit of a Long Rest • Flanking. If an enemy has a melee attacker at their front and at least one other melee attacker at their side or rear, then the attackers gain Advantage. • High Ground. If a ranged attacker targets an enemy that is at least 10ft higher than their target, the attacker gains Advantage. If the attacker is lower than their target by 10ft or more, they gain Disadvantage.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Darkly Marie creates a safe table
A Session 0 will be provided to go over direct things people want excluded. An X,N, & O type safety tool will be in place. (R) Stop (B) Fade to Black. Players can either say those words or type those letters.
Content warnings
Safety tools used