The Realm of Wehundgrimm
The Dark Wood... terrifying and expansive holds many hidden horrors. Monsters with insatiable hungers wait just beyond the firelight...
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Friday - 8:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 6 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
A Homebrew Gothic Horror Ravenloft Dread Domain. Wehundgrimm: The Dark Wood... terrifying and expansive holds many hidden horrors. Monsters beyond comprehension with insatiable hungers waiting just beyond the firelight... there is a deep darkness growing here... The two cities to the east and west of edges of the Dark Wood stand as pillars of light against this darkness... but even they are not safe. Stillich, the wealthy western city between Silence Bay and Dawn Bay, sits in a simmering status as the Lord of Stillich has not claimed his successor amongst his children. Uvrilburg, standing to the east of the Lake of Woes, sits the city shrouded in the shadow of the Cathedral of the Pontifex. The Pontifex has directed the resources of the great city to the South in a Holy War against the Wytchqveen of New Eld-Wytch. Standing to the south, the Wytchqveen rules the Dead Wood with her army of conjured undead and dark fey creatures. Building her empire on the ruins of the ancient citadel of Eld-Wytch. In the center of the wood sits the township called The Fen. Unable to stand up against the dark with the strength of either city... it sits weak to the threats of the darkness. Just to the north of the Fen are the mines of the Wytchwood Mountains, even smaller than the Fen, but all the more-braver in their delvings into the dark. The Folk of these woods live hard lives among the terrifying dark... Where survivors must suffice in place of the heroes this realm desperately needs. Wehundgrimm is not a land of Heroes, but of Survivors. Those who barely have the wherewithal to successfully run to live to tell the tale of the horrors of the wood, much less fight them. Only the lucky few live long enough to build a legacy beyond survival. This game begins with players using the Survivors classes from Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft -- effectively playing through levels -2 - 0 before hitting Level 1 abilities. This game will be open to content from Grim Hollow, The Book of Ebon Tides, Kobold Press's Tome of Heroes, Kibbles Tasty Homebrew and more. A compiled list of recommended classes, species and backgrounds will be made available to players in advance of Session 0, however, are more than open to additions or substitutions (including other homebrew sources, provided they are DM-approved). As Wehundgrimm is a Dread Domain, we will also be implementing Madness, Fear and Stress rules.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Tactical / Crunchy
Sandbox / Open World
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(8)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
3 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Sets the Mood
Average response time: 6 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Looking for immersive games, well-woven stories, and a guide through the manifold worlds of story hidden within your very own mind? Look no further wanderer… Hello All! I’m Josh! I’m a Midwest based DM, MC, GM, and general enjoyer of running TTRPG’s. I run the gamut from cozy combat-lite/combat-free games to lethal horror games. I love running for all levels of player curating games to challenge advanced players and curating experiences for those dipping their toes into a game system for the first time. I have been a gamemaster for about 7 years! Much of that time has been spent bouncing between running long-term campaigns for primarily experienced players and running one-shots and limited-term campaigns for beginners. I believe that storytelling has the power to build community and forge a sense of togetherness. Storytelling is an act of collaboration, collectivism, and community-building, which is enriched by uniting through empathy, and curating a space where all stories are welcomed and given voice. Outside GM-ing, I spend much of my time as a playwright and theatre-maker. I use the skills from that aspect of my life to enrich gameplay including, graphics, projections, soundscapes, effects, character materials, and occasional costuming or physical props. Anything that serves to build a better story together! We all have stories to tell, and I cannot wait to hear yours. See you at the table!!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Build and Concept for character creation will be one-on-one (either video call or chat exchange: player preference) to develop 'character relationship to world'. Session 0 will be building 'character relationship to character' and establishing group dynamics. We will be starting with the four Survivor classes which come with fairly pre-generated stats, BUT while preparing characters we will map out their anticipated trajectory through to at least Level 3 to get a sense of direction with advancement. Once we breach Level 1 after doing full Survivor class advancement, we will switch from the pre-generated stats to standard array. Additionally, if you would like to keep any of your abilities from the Survivor Class you had, we will treat them as a first level feat (otherwise you may take a first level feat). I'll send a recommended list of classes, species and backgrounds that are genre / setting specific, however, feel free to explore outside those as well! [Character Creation and Session 0 Free!]
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Gameplay and Character Creation will happen over Discord! Once you join the server, you will be added to the channels for this game. After being added to the channel, reach out to me about the character you're developing so I can help supplement it with information from the world.
What Josh brings to the table
I'll be bringing in some visual aids (scene cards, digital maps, etc.) and some sound effects or soundscapes to help create a sense of immersion in the story. Also, as far as rules go, I am always a 'rules flexible' DM. Rules should serve the story we're telling. Rules as written provide solid guardrails for story, however are not universally useful. If we find something needs adjustment either in character creation or in between sessions, we can adjust it!
Homebrew rules
Starting Feat at Level 1 (see above in character creation) Critical Skill checks are in play! A Nat20 is a Nat20! Flanking gives advantage. Rule Flexible: (Rule of Cool Lite) Parameters are that the action is feasible, albeit outside of the implicit boundaries of the rule, AND, most importantly, are focused on advancing the story. So, can we adjust the margins of spellcraft to reflavor it to a creative use when relevant to a character's story arc, but we will not be doing a NPC rail gun or any other maneuver that is outside the bounds of genre, story, and setting. As this is a horror game and rules exist to support genre and story, Death Saving Throws will be privately shared to the DM. This is a game of survival, so Encumbrance and Rations are in play (I know that's lame, I usually don't, however, it's gritty dark fantasy horror and I gotta honor genre) with the exception of ignoring coin weight. There's no penalty to acting outside of your alignment, however, feel empowered to adjust your alignment as you feel it reflects the story you're telling! This is a campaign setting where ideas of Evil and Good can sometimes have tangible effects. Fear: Each Wehundgrimm character has a Seed of Fear. When faced or avoided creatively, players gain inspiration. The presence of a seed of fear or any larger terrifying source of fear may trigger a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for a round. Stress: Those in Wehundgrimm can accrue Stress Scores after tense moments or physical struggle. Each moment of Stress increases the Stress Score by 1. Until the Stress Score is reduced, it is a penalty to all attacks, ability checks, and saving throws. Stress is reduced by 1 with each long rest. Calm Emotions suppresses the effects of Stress, Lesser Restoration reduces the score by 1, and Greater Restoration resets the Score to 0. Madness: Many spells, diseases, poisons and psychic effects have the ability to inflict madness. Madness can be supressed with Calm Emotions. Lesser Restoration can cure short-term or long-term madness. Greater Restoration or greater magics can remove Indefinite Magic Short-Term - 1d10 Minutes Long-Term - 1d10 x 10 Hours Indefinite - Until cured
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Microphone
Computer or Mobile Device
Webcam
Platforms used
Safety
How Josh creates a safe table
I'll be using the RPG Safety Checklist. I'll be transferring that into 'Lines and Veils' a set of language that explains where 'hard lines' of content that we will not touch on, and 'veiled' content which we will not narratively detail and will only ever keep on the periphery of gameplay if at all. From there in any instance where a scene may appear to head towards a 'veil' we will either avoid the content entirely or 'fade to black' on that narrative beat and move to the scene that follows. Content Warnings reflect hallmarks of horror in the setting, they are not a set list and can be flexible dependent on the results of the Safety Checklist. This is a horror game, so there will be some violent and generally uncomfortable content -- uncomfortable is distinct from unsafe. We use safety tools to set parameters that keep us safe while playing in the horror genre with the uncomfortability of fear.
Content warnings
Safety tools used