Dark & Gritty Fantasy | Evolving Artifacts | Character Driven

Creating your character

Character creation for Abaella is designed to give players maximum freedom while still fitting within the world and story. Characters are created using D&D Beyond, and players are welcome to build any official playable character option published by Wizards of the Coast or affiliated partner content available on the platform. This includes species, classes, subclasses, and features from both 2014 and 2024 rulesets. The goal is simple: create the character you actually want to play. There are no artificial restrictions on class combinations, species choices, or character concepts. If you have an idea you are excited about, bring it to the table and we will review it together before the campaign begins to ensure it fits the tone and narrative of the world. This campaign encourages creative character concepts, unusual builds, and strong personal backstories. Starting Benefits Characters in Abaella begin their journey with several unique advantages that reflect the heroic nature of the campaign. Free Feat at Level 1 Every character begins with a feat at level one, allowing you to further customize your build and establish your character’s strengths early. Enhanced Ability Score Options Ability score generation uses a modified system designed to create slightly stronger and more heroic characters than standard arrays or point buy. Personal Artifact (Level 1) Every character begins play with a unique Artifact tied directly to their story and identity. Artifacts in Abaella are not ordinary magic items. They are living, evolving powers that grow alongside their bearer. As your character develops, their artifact may unlock new abilities, reveal hidden properties, and sometimes develop its own influence or personality. Artifacts provide powerful benefits, but they may also introduce temptation, consequences, or unexpected complications as they evolve. Character-Driven Story Your character’s personality, flaws, goals, and decisions matter deeply in this campaign. Characters who embrace their flaws, motivations, and internal conflicts often experience the most meaningful story development. The world of Abaella reacts to the choices characters make, and those choices can shape future events in unexpected ways. Party Balance Players are free to create whatever character they want. The party does not need to follow a traditional composition of tank, healer, and damage roles. The world of Abaella rewards teamwork, creativity, and problem solving, and many encounters can be approached in multiple ways beyond combat. Collaboration Before the campaign begins, we will briefly review your character together to ensure it fits the tone of the setting and integrates smoothly into the story. Beyond that, the philosophy is simple: Bring the character concept you’re excited about, and let’s build a story around it.

Preparing for the session

Discord and Beyond. It is run on Beyond Maps. I have a fair number of unique character building options and play style guidelines, so you would need to first read all about my game on my Discord channel (I will provide all the relevant information). If you like what you read, then you can proceed to creating your character. If you have your own account to create your character, then do so. If you don't, I can provide you a link to my Beyond campaign.

What Ministry brings to the table

This is FULL OUT Rule of Cool. Not fully RAW, but mostly. Rules are guides, not limits. I'm not great at RP of voices and such, but since I created every NPC, they will be very unique. Create anything. Any playable WOTC and Affilate character, class, species etc. We will review ahead of time, but I am not limiting players to what they play. It's supposed to be your fantasy. No rules limiting players creativity. There will be bonuses like a Free Feat at level 1 - Unique ASI scores - Artifact at level 1 that is customized to the character and evolves with them, and so much more.

Homebrew rules

The World of Abaella – Gameplay Style & House Rules Abaella is a dark supernatural fantasy campaign that blends D&D 2014 and 2024 rules, species, classes, and subclasses. The game runs close to RAW, but several modifications exist to speed up play and keep every player actively engaged. The goal is simple: less waiting, more playing. Players rarely wait more than a few minutes between turns, and everyone receives equal opportunity for spotlight moments regardless of class, playstyle, or personality. Core Gameplay Philosophy: Abaella prioritizes character development, roleplay, and meaningful decisions over slow mechanical play. Dice matter, but this is a Role Play game, not a Roll Play game. Skills, checks, and actions must have a narrative reason. Players are encouraged to lean into character flaws, motivations, and personality. Imperfect characters create the best stories. The GM tracks alignment shifts, personality changes, and character development as the world reacts to your choices. Combat Flow: {Combat is designed to stay fast and cinematic.} • 3-Minute Turns: Each player has about 2–3 minutes for their turn. Planning ahead keeps combat flowing. • Critical Hits: Deal maximum damage automatically (no damage roll). • Flanking: Attacking directly behind a target engaged with an ally grants Advantage. Enemies can use this too. • Sneak Attack: Standard rules apply beginning at level 1. Surprise System (Hybrid) Abaella uses two surprise systems depending on the situation. • Standard Surprise (2024 rules) • Surprised creatures roll Initiative with Disadvantage. True Ambush (pre-2024 style) In situations where enemies have overwhelming positional advantage (lairs, urban ambushes, prepared traps), attackers gain a full Surprise Round before Initiative. Which system applies depends on terrain awareness, preparation, and circumstances. World & Exploration: Abaella is a living world that exists independently of the party. • Travel uses Point-Crawl exploration and Rune Portals rather than slow hex-crawling. • Encounters may be combat, social, investigative, or player-driven. • Encounters are not scaled to party level. Some threats may be far stronger or weaker than the party. Players must decide when to fight, negotiate, investigate, deceive, or retreat. NPC Philosophy: Not all NPCs are equal. • Functional NPCs provide services or information. • Story NPCs may influence the larger narrative. If roleplay stalls, the world will react through events, NPC actions, or random encounters. Creative Play: Players may attempt almost anything, but success depends on context. When attempting creative actions, explain: • What you want to do • Why you’re doing it • Your intended outcome • How you plan to accomplish it Preparation and creativity improve your chances, but the dice always have the final say. Safety Tools: Private messages and X-Card safety tools are always active. If something becomes uncomfortable, simply message the GM.

How Ministry creates a safe table

Yes. Everyone will have to approve a player conduct document and will have access to DM me all the time. Anytime a player is uncomfortable with anything, they should immediately DM me. I will have a LONG conversation with any perspective players ahead of time to discuss what they are comfortable with and not. This table will be friendly to every person from every background etc. This table will be safe beyond words. I currently run a campaign with those that identify as male, female and trans and will ensure all are comfortable and safe.