Clouds beneath the Mountain (One Shot from the Radiant Citadel)

Clouds beneath the Mountain (One Shot from the Radiant Citadel)

When you live in a place as ancient and storied as Yong Jing, sometimes you wonder, what do the stones beneath your feet remember?

TYPE

One-Shot

LANGUAGE

English

EXPERIENCE

Intermediate

AGE

18+
1 NEEDED TO START
$30.00

/ Session

Details

Once / Saturday - 12:00 AM UTC

Dec 13

Session Duration / 4–6 hours

1 / 5 Seats Filled

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Meet your party members

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About the adventure

When you live in a place as ancient and storied as Yong Jing, sometimes you wonder, what do the stones beneath your feet remember? If those palace walls had ears, what have they heard when the previous empires rose and fell? Unless of course you're an elf, then you'd remember exactly what happened -- the new buried the old, and what happened in the "before times" is not something we speak of, ever. Or perhaps you're of the ruling class, which you've eared, through hard work and well deserved merits, in which case you have the privilege to access those potions of longevity. Longevity, you see, is synonymous to virtue around these parts. This is a level 13 one shot adventure for intermediate players who enjoy role play and investigative mysteries. Players are encouraged to create characters who are residents or have personal connections to the setting. BACKGROUND INFO of YONGJING: 1. Yongjing, the capital of the Great Xing, is a bustling city of prestige, culture, arts, and trade. Its citizens consist primarily of humans and dwarfs at about 3:1 radio. The traveller's guide would tell you that the residents of the city give high regards to public courtesy. 2. Longevity is the single most valued quality for citizens of Great Xing. As such, Emperors of the nation have been almost exclusively dwarves, and they would go to great lengths to extend their lives, through potions of longevity, which is not a secret. HOOK OPTIONS for players before session starts: 1. If you're a resident of Yongjing, you can speak Xingyu. Yongjing is the capital of Great Xing, where the reach of government surveillance on individuals is deep... You or one of your loved ones is inflicted with an illness and is in need of life extending magic and have received an invitation from Secretary Wei Fengying for a meeting at the Kunlun Tea House, offering a potion of longevity if you complete a mission for her. *Please also consider: is there an object you hold onto, or an item of jewelry/clothing/accessory you wear that symbolizes longevity? 2. If you / loved ones don't have an affliction or need for longevity, you are then invited by Secretary Wei because of your specific skills for a meeting about an investigation in the ruins of the Old City beneath Yongjing for research purposes. After all, those who do not learn from the past shall fall.

Meet the Game Master
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3 years on StartPlaying

102 games hosted

Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Inclusive

Average response time: 1 hour

Response rate: 100%

About me

Come hither, seekers of realms uncharted, how fortunate indeed that we should meet. Allow me to spin you a tale from the loom of imagination. Within this virtual tapestry, I bid you welcome to a world where the boundaries of reality yield to the boundless horizon of collaborative storytelling. Gather 'round, intrepid souls, as we embark upon journeys where your dreams shall intertwine with the strands of fate. The stories are yours, and I am but your humble guide, as well as occasional enforcers of rules, forged by this sacred covenant of respect between us all, where each voice is a note in the symphony of our shared narrative. Fear not, for here, the dice are but tools, and the true magic lies in the synergy of your creativity and that one phrase that rules them all, "yes and". ************* Hello, I am hornoured to run a game for you. I've been a player of various TTRPG for almost a decade now. As a professional Playwright and theatre director, collaborative storytelling is in my blood and soul. I love that in a TTRPG, the characters drive how the story unfold, and it becomes a constantly evolving organism shaped by both fate and choices each player would make. I have played various published modules and loved many of them, but something I've always felt deeply is the mostly eurocentric nature of the fantasy lores. As a storyteller, more than anything, I feel inspired by mythological and folkloric tales from various cultures around the world. And as someone who grew up drenched in the fantastical Eastern myths and lores, I want to fill that gap in fantasy themed games. As a GM (game moderator), I value safety above all. Nobody's fun should cause harm to anyone else at the table. I cultivate a table that encourage creativity and open communication. Overall this is a game space, so there's no need to take anything too seriously. The vibe is possibly going to be a little "wholesome morbid", because that's generally my personal vibe. I'm not interested in stories where murderhobo-ing your way through it all can get what you want. My principle is that TTRPG isn't a game about winning or losing, and that every choice has a consequence. Anyway, hope to see you soon.

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Character creation

Creating your character

Buried Dynasty (From the Radiant Citadel anthology) CHARACTER CREATION GUIDE (I encourage you to create someone who has a connection to the setting, which is Fantasy Ancient NotChina circa Song Dynasty): LEVEL 13 characters for this one shot. Custom lineage is not allowed. • You may have standard starting equipment or 100GP • You may have 2 magic items. Only 1 of them can be rare. No stat setting items like Amulet of Health, belt of ___ strength etc. You may forgo on item in exchange for a spell material component up to 100 GP • Roll two sets of stats and choose one set, or point buy for stats. We will be using 2014 rules for emanation spells as well as AOE things like moon beam / conjure animals for my sanity. Detailed backstories are not necessary but I’d love to work with you to discover your character’s relationship to the setting. BACKGROUND INFO of YONGJING: 1. Yongjing, the capital of the Great Xing, is a bustling city of prestige, culture, arts, and trade. Its citizens consist primarily of humans and dwarfs at about 3:1 radio. The traveller's guide would tell you that the residents of the city give high regards to public courtesy. 2. Longevity is the single most valued quality for citizens of Great Xing. As such, Emperors of the nation have been almost exclusively dwarves, and they would go to great lengths to extend their lives, through potions of longevity, which is not a secret. HOOK OPTIONS for players before session starts: 1. If you're a resident of Yongjing, you can speak Xingyu. Yongjing is the capital of Great Xing, where the reach of government surveillance on individuals is deep... You or one of your loved ones is inflicted with an illness and is in need of life extending magic and have received an invitation from Secretary Wei Fengying for a meeting at the Kunlun Tea House, offering a potion of longevity if you complete a mission for her. *Please also consider: is there an object you hold onto, or an item of jewelry/clothing/accessory you wear that symbolizes longevity? 2. If you're NOT a resident of Great Xing. You received an invitation from Secretary Wei because of your specific skills for a meeting about an investigation in the ruins of the Old City beneath Yongjing for research purposes. After all, those who do not learn from the past shall fall. D&D BEYOND: https://www.dndbeyond.com/campaigns/join/331290931530240 Roll20link: https://app.roll20.net/join/15495746/U__AzA Checklist for before the session: • Share your character art, along with your character name (exact name as it appears on D&DB • Share art for any summons, companions, or wild shapes that need tokens • Join Roll20 at your earliest convenience so I can set up your tokens. I don't use firearms at my table. Conquest Paladins are banned.

What to expect

Preparing for the session

Webcam is optional but a mic is required for our online play on discord. Please download the beyond20 extension if you plan on using dndbeyond for character sheet. https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/beyond-20/gnblbpbepfbfmoobegdogkglpbhcjofh Please submit your character art in it's full image form (I'll create uniformed tokens) ahead of times. This is an open channel of communication, please ask if you have any questions.

What Lantern Keeper (Ran) brings to the table

VTT, custom maps / tokens This is my personal take on the Buried Dynasty one shot from the Radiant Citadel Anthology from the perspective of someone who's well versed in Chinese culture and folklores. I have added a lot of personal touches to the story and have made it very different from the source material. As a GM I believe I have a unique skill of activating player engagement and cultivate an environment of collaborative storytelling. I also bring my years of experience as a theatre director who runs a room that is welcoming, empowering, and comforting (even though your PCs might get into some traumatic situations).

Equipment needed to play

Computer

Internet

Safety

How Lantern Keeper (Ran) creates a safe table

We will be going over safety tools including lines and veils leading up to the session as well as at the beginning of the session.

Content warnings

Safety tools used

Frequently asked questions