The Rippling Æther
Continent has been changed in the past 200 years. With the three gods unfit for duty, the land has changed in fantastical ways. Still, life goes on.
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Friday - 4:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 6 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
This campaign is a sandbox campaign that starts at 3rd level. You begin in the hamlet of Ickerfell for one reason or another, which introduces you to Continent, the continent where the campaign takes place. Continent is full of fantastical biomes and regions interspersed between calm, more grounded regions like ones you'd see in real life. One example is the Flickerwoods, a sequoia forest with canopies of red-blue leaves and chalk-full of masses of flickery energy that consume and convert matter into more of itself. Another example is the Pollen-Choked Forest, a forest that is constantly choked in a mist of pollen that's caused the flora to grow to fantastical sizes and the wildlife to evolve into chitinous beasts that patrol the region. The people of Continent mostly live in the calmer regions, such as where the campaign begins, the Western Grasslands. The campaign will be a roughly-even mix of combat and roleplay between characters. Expect meet a lot of NPCs with depth and explore the characters you want while furthering your own player character's development. Fight fantastical beasts and monsters while also dealing with the occasional unsavory group of people who have competing interests to yours. (PvP is allowed only to the extent of the participants' want to engage in it. I can and will shut down unwanted PvP at any time). This campaign emphasizes NPC interactions and character-driven story, but there is a small overarching plot to be found and handled to your character's liking. You will have the opportunity to befriend/recruit NPCs or animal companions as well. Another larger focus of the campaign is exploration of the settings and biomes to both use their natural resources and to understand what is going on within Continent. An example is Ash's Grave, a region that overtook the south of Continent's desert after Ash, the Soil Goddess, died 200 years ago. Since then, Ahskrin, the Sky God, has gone mad, and Paridea, the Sea Goddess, has become a recluse. The Rippling Æther itself is the force that most attribute the unnatural happenings to. It is a lawful yet chaotic forces, paradoxical and unfathomably in power enough to rival the gods' strength. There is much to be uncovered about it's nature, its rules, and how it operates. There are many other threads and stories to explore on Continent, including but not limited to: - What is the plan of the dragons on Mt. Dragonskull? Lived-in by power-hungry, greedy beasts, they must have some ideas for how they take over the rest of Continent. - There is an infection spreading throughout the caves underneath the Western Grasslands, yet the animals it parasitizing help keep a strange ecosystem in check. - An outlaw has stolen highly-prized magical diamonds that have let her become one of the most powerful people on Continent. - Pirates have been assailing the coastal cities for years. Will the party help or hinder them once they meet the scallywags?
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Combat Heavy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: World Builder, Knows the Rules, Storytelling
About me
I am a GM who's been hosting DnD 5e specifically for ~4 years and have been writing both in my homebrew world's universe and as a hobby for nearly a dozen years. I write, read, and play in my free time. My experience with ttrpg systems is mostly-contained to DnD 5e, but I've played in a few other systems (Kids on Bikes and Monster of the Week, most notably). I've spent about equal time as DM and player over this time, playing in a couple dozen oneshots and 4 campaigns while having hosted a similar number of oneshots and 5 campaigns of my own. I'm usually making homebrew, prepping for my sessions, playing some game, or writing any one of multiple of my stories to pass the time in my free time, which is usually anytime I'm not asleep or working. I started DnD 5e play while I was still in school and latched onto it. I'd known about ttrpgs for a while, and wanted to participate. I was a player first, but I always knew I'd want to make and run a campaign of my own. The challenge of making a world from scratch is a process I'm familiar with, and it satisfies an itch I have to create what I find interesting. I draw a lot of inspiration from the media I consume and from conversations I have with others. I have a soft spot for sci-fi fantasy and body horror specifically. I try to keep content I make/create tactically sound and 'balanced', as the tactical aspect of ttrpg systems greatly satisfies the numbers side of my brain. I like to balance, test, and rebalance a lot.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will start at 3rd level. There are no class restrictions or subclass restrictions, though some subclass features have been adjusted. More detail can be found by contacting me. - I am more familiar with 2014 content, but I am open to running for characters that use the 2024 classes/subclasses. However, most gameplay will use 2014 rules. Ability scores are determined by a modified point buy system. Your starting ability score total, without modifiers, should be no more than 80. Stats should not go below 8, but exceptions might be given depending on reasoning. Only one stat may be above 15. Generally, race choices are limited to the following: Human Dwarf Goblin Kenku Half Orc Orc Centaur Skeletal (Homebrew) Sulphur Axolotl (Homebrew) If you are looking to play a more exotic race (such as something like a dragon or fairy), we might be able to work something out once we are talking to each other. Starting equipment and backgrounds done as normal. Use 2014 content for background and gear when possible. Spells should be kept to 2014 spells, with minor exceptions (True Strike 2024 is alright) I have 35 homebrew subclasses and many more subclasses from various books on D&DBeyond, if you want to postpone your character creation until seeing all of what is available. Generally, third-party content and homebrew content (that is not mine) is allowed on a case-by-case basis. Contact me with what you want, and I'll look over the content. Be aware that if abilities, features, items, spells, etc are consistently overperforming or underperforming, I may be inclined to adjust them to be more appropriate in strength. This will only happen in-between sessions, and players will be updated of any changes to their features. Finally, when you create a character, you get a free feat. If your character is a martial, they get access to maneuvers (similar to Battle Master Fighter). Contact me for more information about maneuvers.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
If you have interest, you can reach out to my Discord user, sleepywinner578. There I can facilitate things such as character creation, giving you the invite link to the server, discussing content warnings/safety tools, and more. Discord, Roll20, and D&DBeyond are all used for gameplay in the campaign. If you'd like, you can look at Beyond20 for a way to integrate D&DBeyond and Roll20's systems.
What Sleepy brings to the table
You can reach me at my Discord user, sleepywinner578, for clarification on what's written here and to allow me to give you links for joining the campaign! My homebrew and purchased content won't be available for you to use before you join the server and campaign I link. I try to at least give each NPC their own voice (even though I'm not the best with some). I utilize music often and have lots of out-of-session ways to provide players with content out of session. One such thing is nicknames I give to the players after the session that emphasizes a specific thing that happened with their character. A lot of focus is on the players' characters and the NPCs around them, how they live and work and travel through the world. I try to provide opportunities for players to explore bother their own character's personality and arcs and the depths the other NPC characters have. I provide a lot of homebrew items and content that rewards foraging and scavenging as well as being creative in how to use those raw materials. Examples include turning beast parts into weapons that are usually more powerful than standard counterparts or turning exotic mushrooms into unique potions using Alchemist's Tools. I run combat close to RAW (with my alterations to some parts), which often leads to more tactical combat. The rule of cool is not absent, but it is not often used. I am always willing to listen to feedback from players about the strength/weakness of their abilities, items, spells, or anything else. I am willing to adjust content to be stronger or weaker such that it can be more 'balanced' in the greater scope of the campaign. In-character roleplay is also a large focus, as that's how player characters and NPC characters often bring their motivations, show their development, and make themselves memorable. Most sessions will have at least one 5-15 minute break/intermission to let people get food, use the bathroom, or for any other reason. Small pauses in play may also happen as players have to quickly do something outside the game. Players are encouraged to message me for issues/questions/ideas/whatever they may need, even in session (though it may take me a slight amount of time to see things sent, of course).
Homebrew rules
Character Creation / Level Up: - Martial and half-caster classes and Warlock (Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, Monk, Blood Hunter, Ranger, Paladin, and Artificer) gain a special feat that allows them to use maneuvers, similar to the Battle Master Fighter subclass. - Artificers, Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues get proficiency with firearms. - One free feat at character creation. - Characters live from 80-100 years. Combat: - If a creature heals hit points from 0 hit points for the second time or more since its last long rest, it can't attack or cast spells until the end of its next turn, except when rolling a natural 20 on a death saving throw. - You may use Intelligence as the ability you roll initiative with instead of Dexterity. - Flanking rules, with caveat that the creature flanking uses their reaction to do so. Items: - Firearms are weapons that have fixed damage instead of rolled damage to differentiate them from arrow/bolt weapons. - +1, +2, and +3 equipment is not magical in this setting. A lot of equipment and items are not magical. - System for creating mechanical items/tinkering. - System for scribing spell scrolls. - System for brewing potions using foraged materials. - Large amount of items revolving around raw materials being refined into gear. Spells: - Various spell adjustments.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Sleepy creates a safe table
A large variety of content has the potential to come up during sessions. The content warnings cover all I believe could come up, but I'm not perfect. Once you show interest, I'll talk with you about any triggers you may have, and have conversation about how anything you may have questions about might come up in the campaign (or say that it will be adjusted/removed if said content is a line for you). At any time during session, if a player is uncomfortable, they are welcome to step away or call for me to change/rework/fade-to-black/exclude the scene altogether. After session, if anything lingers, communication is always open with me to discuss thoughts about the campaign and topics within it.
Content warnings
Safety tools used