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Heroes of the Borderlands | D&D 5e | Learn to Play
Adventure lies in the Borderlands beyond the Keep.
$18.50
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Friday - 12:30 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5–3 hours
Campaign Length / 6–10 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
In Dungeons and Dragons, you take on the role of an adventurer in a fantasy setting in an ever-evolving story you and the other players help write through through the decisions you make as your hero-adventurer engages in exploration, social interactions, and combat. This Learn-to-Play mini-campaign will introduce you to the basics of D&D as we play through the open-ended events and locations in the D&D Starter Set: Heroes of the Borderlands followed by a few custom adventures written based on the events in our game. We will end with an optional character creation workshop in which we'll cover the full range of character creation available in the Player's Handbook. By the time we're done, you'll be ready to join another D&D campaign, drop in on a D&D one-shot, or even pick up the Starter Set or Dungeon Master's Guide and be a GM.
Game style
Sandbox / Open World
Roleplay Lite
Combat Lite
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(11)
2 years on StartPlaying
37 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Teacher, Creativity
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
Welcome! I'm Gunnhrafn (he/him), and I'm a long-time GM (26 years of experience) who loves to run a wide variety of games for a wide variety of people, including introducing new players to role-playing games and introducing players to new games. I first started GMing in 1986 and I first began playing TTRPG back in 1982. As a GM, I enjoy shared story-telling and collaborative world building. I run one-shots (which can run 1 to 3 sessions), campaigns, and can be hired to run a game for a group, a one-to-one single-player game, teach a game system, or help with character creation. If I'm not currently offering a game you're interested in or at a time that works for you, drop me a line and we'll see what we work out. For custom bookings please contact me with an inquiry. I'm available to run one-shots, short-run games, and campaigns for groups and individuals (for one-to-one gaming). I'm also available to teach game systems. Rates will vary depending upon the request. I use Discord for communication, and a mix of theater of the mind, Foundry VTT, Roll20, Quest Portal, and Google Sheets depending upon the game.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
While we'll discuss character creation during Session Zero, we'll be using a simplified version of character creation introduced in the Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set. Premade characters are available on request. At the end of our campaign, I'll offer an optional Character Creation Workshop.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
|Equipment| ⚔️ A reliable internet connection. ⚔️ A device capable of accessing Discord and Roll20 servers, and a Google Drive. ⚔️ A clear, working microphone for voice chat via Discord. ⚔️ Headphones are optional but encouraged to help limit ambient noise. ⚔️ Web cameras are optional. ⚔️ A free Discord and Roll20 account. |Software| ⚔️ A free account with Discord and Roll20 is required. We'll use Discord for voice during sessions and text chat in and out of sessions. We'll use Roll20 to manage character sheets and dice rolling. |Game Understanding and Virtual Table Top Use| ⚔️ I don't expect familiarity with the rules, but it's always helpful. I'll provide resources to help learn the game, and we'll learn as we go. The same goes for Roll20. ⚔️ I do expect you to know how to log into Discord and join a Voice channel; however, please let me know if you need help with that and we'll get you sorted out. |Mindset| ⚔️ While every game of Dungeons & Dragons is different in terms of themes, genre, and tone, we will lean into the heroic, high fantasy genre and of new adventurers seeking to make names and fortunes for themselves. |To Prepare| ⚔️ Please join our Discord and Roll20 servers. ⚔️ Please fill out our modified Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist so we may establish our game's expectations for lines, veils, ask first topics, and issues and themes of interest.
What Gunnhrafn brings to the table
⚔️ A set of dedicated Discord channels for our use, both before, during, and after play, for voice and text chat to be used before, during, and after our game sessions. ⚔️ 24/7 access to our Roll20 game server, including the Compendium which includes access to game mechanics and character creation options. ⚔️ Instruction on D&D 5e mechanics as needed. ⚔️ A quick-reference sheets of the game's mechanics. ⚔️ My 26-years experience as a GM, and my love of introducing players to role-playing games and game systems.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Gunnhrafn creates a safe table
Maintaining a comfortable and inclusive experience for everyone in our game is a top priority, and we have a number of tools to help us achieve that goal. I strongly encourage player feedback, both in what you like about current play, what you would like to see happen in future play, and what hasn't been working for you in previous play. My job is trying to create the best experience I'm able to for each player, and that requires good feedback from you. We'll discuss the following table tools during Session Zero and as needed, and we are always able to renegotiate our use of these tools. |Inclusive Table| This is a welcoming, open table and there is no space for racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, or transphobia. |Open Table and Breaks| Players may come and go as suit their needs in the moment, whether that's to walk away from an intense or difficult moment or to let the dog out or answer the door to get dinner. During each session, we will have at least one 10 minute break, roughly halfway through our game. |Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist (lines and veils), X-card, and Script Changes| Before our Session Zero or as soon as possible, players should fill out our version of the Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist to indicate content we should remove (lines), content that should be off-stage (veil), and content they would like to see included. During play we have both the X-card (a request to end a scene or shift the content immediately — An in-game call for a Line), as well as the following Script Change tools (Rewind, Pause, Fast-forward). | Roses and Thorns, Stars and Wishes, and Debriefing| In our Discord, we'll have channels to discuss past sessions using to give each other feedback about game play. - Roses and Thorns: Identify what you particularly liked about a session (Roses) and what you wish was handled differently by your or the group (Thorns). - Stars and Wishes: Identifying particularly strong player contributions (Stars) and indicating what you'd like to see happen in the future (Wishes). - Debriefs: A place to discuss issues that are hindering your fun.
Content warnings
Safety tools used