The Desecrated Cathedral: A Gothic Horror 5e One-Shot
A cleric returns from a journey...changed. Soon after, his cathedral is beset by demons--intent on capturing the souls of his flock.
$10.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Friday - 1:00 AM UTC
Jan 2
Session Duration / 3–5 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
With little time to spare, the adventuring party is faced with a cathedral swarmed by demons, with nothing more than rumors from townsfolk and the horrified account of a wounded cleric to guide them in their quest! Can you purge the evil before it spreads? The Monkey's Paw meets The Exorcist meets Faerun! This one-shot is ideal for players of all experiences levels; I'm happy to help new players with systems, and also excited to see experienced players experiment with unusual builds. The conflict will play out over a single 3-4 hour session, and is balanced to include aspects of combat, exploration, and social roleplaying. If players have a character from a different one-shot or intro campaign, they are encouraged to use it again here.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Rules as Written (RaW)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
2 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Sets the Mood, Storytelling
About me
Hail and well met! My name is Chris! I've been a lover of fantasy and gaming since I was a kid. I'm currently a high school teacher of English, history, and psychology. I love watching a story come together and watching a party be creative and build synergy and power throughout a narrative. Beyond games and stories, I love travel, music (playing and listening), the outdoors (biking, kayaking, skiing), and reading (history, culture, religion, and philosophy).
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Once you join, I'll send you a link to a DnD Beyond campaign. You can make your character there, either from scratch or using a pre-gen character. If you have questions about character creation or character type suitability for this one shot, just send me a message!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need a Discord account for group chat and AV interaction during the game. You'll also need a DnD Beyond account. We will use DnD Beyond maps as our virtual tabletop.
What Chris brings to the table
Here are guiding principles that inform my DM style: -Player fun comes first; rules and consistency enhance fun. -Encounters should be fair but challenging. -Give players room for agency. -A variety of builds and approaches (combat, stealth, magic, diplomacy, trickery) should be able to advance the story and overcome obstacles. -The DM is not competing against the players; the DM sets up the stage for the party to run the play.
Homebrew rules
I stick to RAW whenever it is clear and unambiguous, which--with 5e, at least--is NOT always the case. The vast majority of obscure rules/niche situations won't come up in this one shot, but if there are specific situations or rules you have a question about, please message me and we can make sure everyone is on board ahead of time.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Chris creates a safe table
Typical rules of civilization apply in this game. Be reasonable, be polite, be sensitive to others, and everything should be fine. If a player has a question about something that might be borderline: ask me. If a player is uncomfortable with something another player is doing/saying: tell me.
Content warnings
Safety tools used