Dragons of Despair

Dragons of Despair

Krynn, a world of lost gods and sunken cities, where dragons once ruled the skies. Enter, Hero. Stop the dragonarmies before they consume the land.

TYPE

Campaign

LEVELS

1–20

LANGUAGE

English

EXPERIENCE

Open to all

AGE

All Ages
3 NEEDED TO START
$30.00

/ Session

Details

5 players following this game

Weekly / Wednesday - 10:30 PM UTC

Session Duration / 2–2.5 hours

Campaign Length / 100–200 Sessions

2 / 6 Seats Filled

Top Game Master

One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.

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This game will begin once 5 players have joined

Meet your party members

2/6

About the adventure

Three hundred years ago the gods abandoned the world. The land was left ruined, changed after a great cataclysm. Twisted cults have risen up in their place, and their power threatens the peace and safety of average folk. The strong take advantage of the weak. A group of adventurers travel the lands, settling disputes, helping those in need, and witness dark things upon the face of Krynn. Armies put villages to sword and flame, tribes of goblins and hobgoblins grow and attack travelers and small villages. Rumors of scaled humanoids seeking objects of power reach their ears, and rumors of dragons. The trials bond the adventurers, and soon they split apart to search the land for sign of the old gods. After five years they come together again in the town of Solace, at the Inn of the Last Home, to share what they have found. But their old sanctuary has changed... Experience the story that changed Dungeons & Dragons forever! Published in 1984 by two of the greatest names in TTRPGs, and converted by myself into 5th edition! Discover a world of light and darkness, a setting with volumes of lore and some unique features: -healing magic is lost, gone with the gods. If you are a healer you will be the first seen in 300 years! -a magic system based on the waxing and waning of 3 moons! -unique races, such as kender, minotaurs! -A pantheon of unique gods who take an active hand hand in the events of the world! -an epic story of heroism, despair, loyalty, sacrifice, friendship, and divine intervention! Evade the conquering army of dragonriders, seek a sign of the lost gods, and do your best to keep your friends alive as your quest takes you to the ends of the earth, through untold dangers. Delve into lost temples full of monsters and magic, save villages and refugees from the minions of the theocrats, survive the wilds, and eventually move to face the masters of the army. Thwart the plans of an evil goddess!! The campaign will involve moderate RP, deadly combats, survival and resource management, saving innocent NPCs and motivate them to fight oppression as it rolls across the lands of Krynn. It is a world of darkness and light, where heroism and loyalty stand out against oppression and suffering.

Game style

Tactical / Crunchy

Dungeon Crawl

Combat Heavy

Meet the Game Master

5.0

(56)

TOP GM
Streamer
Neurodivergent
Artist
Cosplayer
Voice Actor
Game Designer
No Gen AI

5 years on StartPlaying

1191 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Beginner Friendly

About me

Imagine The air is cold, stale, and dry. You entered to half-buried hill of old stones following clues scrounged from the lair of cultists, paired with research the wizard spent weeks on...weeks of boredom in the sleepy town. Now, you finally get to stretch your limbs and do what you do best! Ahead of your group the darkness billows like a gauzy curtain. Rock dust grits beneath your boots as the party creeps into a broken chamber. The small sounds you make echo back to you seconds later, distorted, and the ceiling is lost above you in shadow. You can feel the crushing weight of stone above. The fighter carries a torch which gutters in a sudden wind. Sounds creep from the surrounding dark; the dry rasp of scales on stone. The sorcerer's eyes go white as it watches from above through the eyes if it's familiar. The sound of the rogue's footsteps fade as they slip away from the torch's light, knowing that an attack is imminent. Inhuman throats hiss all around the party, whispering coughs punctuating the roiling darkness. At the edges of the torch light the gloom takes shape. Scaled creatures in filthy robes hiss as they charge into the circle of the party's light...What do *you* do?! Decades of Passion and Experience are your Game Engine Play campaigns that are a combination of player-generated and GM-inspired. Be immersed in rich description, action, problem-solving, and meaningful choice! Enjoy tense combat in a combination of grid tactics and narrative description. I do NOT use AI to make maps or create content for my games. Dive into sandbox-style play, build your character’s name, resources, and power while unraveling mysteries and secrets. Then use those secrets to alter the direction of the world story, impacting hundreds or thousands with your decisions. Interact with new game mechanics, magic items, and creatures. Personalize your character and tie their abilities to the history of the world. Enjoy tailored gameplay based on character background, abilities, and player playstyle. Delve into grounded and human settings, with events happening beyond your character's actions, and NPCs who have agendas of their own. Experience detailed, evocative worlds, and explore them with a fun table of players and flexible GM who has something to offer every playstyle! Different Playstyles I run several tables and each table has a different game style. New players are absolutely welcome! I enjoy bringing new players in. It may actually be one of my favorite things. New players always bring a fresh perspective, a curiosity about the game, a willingness to flow with others, fresh creativity, and bravery when it comes to trying new things. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are my best tables for new players. Some of my tables are more challenging than others, some campaigns or groups leaning more toward grittyness, hardcore gameplay, and deep detail. Regardless, the groups that form around my game tables are all gracious and patient...because this is what we feel it takes to make a great game! Old-School, Narrative, and Homebrew I combine elements from many editions of the game, alter rules for each table and world to match the theme, and in many ways tailor the game to my table. If you are looking for a strict interpretation of 5e rules, looking to play the mechanics, min/max, run game-breaking builds, etc, and are put off by homebrew and rule changes I may not be the DM for you. However, if you are into the spirit of co-creation, like characters that are unique to the table, and want both narrative and granular play then feel free to join us and observe a session!

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Character creation

Creating your character

Character will be made during session 0, but feel free to make sketches or outlines to the table, just be ready to dial the character in for the setting! We will be starting at level 1, but will move to level 3 over a few sessions. Standard array is my preferred way to allot ability scores, but we can talk about this in session 0 Races will be limited to humans, elves, half-elves, kender, gnomes, minotaur, dwarves, and very human-looking dragonborn. There are no drow, aasimar, tieflings, goliaths, changelings, shifters, harengon, tabaxi, or loxodon in Krynn, nor are there playable centaurs or fairies. If you really want to play a goblin or hobgoblin we will have to cook up a really good story! There are also special feats and backgrounds available for the setting. Many sourcebooks will not be applicable, and as far as spells we will stick to the players handbook and DMG...at first :)

What to expect

Preparing for the session

Players will need a mic, headphones, a discord account, and roll20 account. A familiarity with the rules is very helpful, but no need to be a rules compendium! Find some character art!

What DMFaenor brings to the table

Roll20 compendium, discord server character voices tactical combat detailed exploration engaging NPC interactions realistic challenges vivid descriptions Rulings will be mostly RAW, with some room for Rule of Cool!

Homebrew rules

-Healing potions will use a bonus action -players and DM will gain Session Inspiration at the beginning of each session...but each time a player uses theirs the DM gains one (the DM can only have their starting Inspiration and one player inspiration at a time! Inspiration can be used to roll with advantage, reroll any roll (including damage rolls), or to make an enemy reroll a saving throw. -A fumble chart for critical misses -Standing up from prone costs 15 feet of movement, as opposed to half of the character total. -Lingering wound chart for critical hits -Some spell functions taken from older, more hardcore editions of D&D!

Equipment needed to play

Internet

Microphone

Computer

Safety

How DMFaenor creates a safe table

Violence, combat, and death are topics that come up during the game. -Character creation/session 0 will give players an opportunity to mention specific triggers and needed boundaries, and each player will be expected to respect the boundaries set. Violators will be spoken to, and then kicked if lines continue to be crossed.

Content warnings

Blood
Character Death
Concentration Camps
Death
Deep or Large Bodies of Water
Drowning
Execution
Extreme Violence
Genocide
Hangings
Hostages
Illness
Insects
Kidnapping
Mass Death
Mind Control
Trauma
Violence
Spiders
Suffocation
Snakes
Small Spaces (Claustrophobia)
Slavery
Scars
Paralyzation
Mutilation
Murder

Safety tools used

Frequently asked questions