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Dark Heart of the Wood | Draw Steel Mini-Campaign 🌈
Venture into a magical wood to discover the dark power starving a village. Fight vicious plants and a thorn dragon to save the day!
TYPE
SYSTEM
LEVELS
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Wednesday - 10:00 PM UTC
Jan 28 / Session 0
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 2–3 Sessions
5 / 5 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
5/5
About the adventure
Trouble is afoot in the neighboring village. Mysterious drought and famine are slowly starving the citizens, and now travelers are going missing—they go into the valley, then never come out again. In this 2-3 session mini-campaign, you'll play as one of a party of heroes investigating these strange events. 🌳 Explore a mystical forest! ⚔️ Fight strange plant monsters! ✨ Discover what's in the dark heart of the wood! This is a beginner-friendly Draw Steel adventure. No rules knowledge required! Just show up ready to kick butt and have fun. Pre-gen characters will be available, and I'll walk you through character creation if desired. Expect a friendly, supportive table with plenty of space to ask questions, make mistakes, and try new things. New to Draw Steel? Never heard of it? No worries! Draw Steel is the new game all about tactical cinematic heroic fantasy. In Draw Steel, you're a hero, and heroes keep going; your cool abilities always work, and you'll get more and more powerful as you keep pushing into danger to save the day. The dark heart of the wood awaits!
Game style
Combat Heavy
Tactical / Crunchy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(38)
1 year on StartPlaying
98 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Inclusive, Teacher
Average response time: 2 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hi, I'm Emi! I'm a queer, trans GM who loves running games full of fun and whimsy, and creating spaces for players to have safe and exciting emotional experiences. I love GMing for players who want to be heroes; I love to present problems that can be solved with the power of friendship and doing your best; and I'm not interested in making anyone count their arrows or repair their boots. I also enjoy adapting tropes and archetypes, and seeing how players interact with them in unexpected ways. I'd describe most of my games as having "fairy tale energy." I'm happy to do custom bookings for groups or for duet games, for any of the systems I've listed here on my profile—if you think you might like my style and you have something specific in mind, shoot me a message and I'll give you a quote!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will start at level 2, created through Forge Steel (a web app designed specifically for Draw Steel). Pre-generated character sheets will be available! Your character should be a hero and should be motivated to work with other heroes. We'll talk more about character creation during session zero; you'll need to create a character in Forge Steel or choose a pre-gen before session 1.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Before session zero, you'll need: - a free Discord account (which you'll use to join my server) - a filled-out consent checklist (linked in the prep materials) - a working microphone - headphones, or other way to prevent audio feedback Before session 1, you'll need: - a level 1 character created through Forge Steel, or one of the pre-gen characters Strongly suggested: - a working webcam - a device with a large screen, e.g. laptop or desktop computer—tablets and mobile phones often struggle with the VTT
What GM Emi brings to the table
I provide: - Visual aids on Owlbear Rodeo, including NPC art and maps for combat - A Discord server for in-game and out-of-game chatting and questions - Immersive ambient music and soundscapes - Interesting NPCs - A welcoming, inclusive environment - Plenty of opportunities for heroics, roleplay, and fun
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How GM Emi creates a safe table
I'll send out a Google Form before Session 0 to inquire about players' limits and preferences. We'll review these limits (anonymized) together, and limits will always be available for quick reference. In our Session 0, we'll discuss the desired tone and stakes of the game as a group. We'll also establish connections between player characters and tie backstories together; we may build characters together. During sessions, we'll use a traffic light system to indicate if anyone needs to stop or check in. Traffic light cards will be available on the VTT, and everyone is also welcome to use this system verbally—or just say "hey, wait, I'd like to check in about that"! Debriefing (via Stars and Wishes) will take place at the end of every session, and I'll be available for further debriefing between sessions if necessary. Feedback and player safety is very important to me! Players are also encouraged to use the Discord server to chat and debrief with each other between sessions.
Content warnings
Safety tools used