The Ashes of Artemis

Creating your character

Players may either choose from a provided list of pre-generated characters or work with me to create their own, following the Vaesen Core Rulebook character creation process.

Preparing for the session

Welcome to Vaesen! To keep onboarding smooth and get us up to speed quickly, please complete the following steps before the session. None of this is difficult, but doing it ahead of time helps avoid technical delays once we start. What we are using • Roll20: The virtual tabletop where we play, roll dice, and move characters. • Discord: https://discord.gg/pw262FFCFy Preparation Steps 1. Create a free Roll20 account: https://roll20.net/ 2. I will send you a direct invitation link to the Roll20 game. Once you join, your character will be assigned and ready to play. Roll20 may be new to some players, but the learning curve is gentle. If you want to get comfortable ahead of time, this quick guide walks through the basics: https://app.roll20.net/editor/?embedded=0&spectator=0

What Dan brings to the table

WELCOME TO THE MYTHIC NORTH This is a land forged by old covenants and their collapse. For centuries, the Society stood between humanity and the vaesen, maintaining a fragile peace through knowledge, ritual, and the Sight. By the late eighteenth century, that balance had failed. Creatures grew hostile or disappeared outright. Mediation gave way to banishment. After the fire in Oulu, the Society itself fell apart. Its leaders vanished. Its halls were abandoned. What remained were scattered records, ruined headquarters, and those few cursed or burdened enough to still see. A THURSDAY'S CHILD Something terrible has happened to you. Through loss, violence, illness, or revelation, you have gained the Sight. You now perceive what others cannot, and that knowledge has separated you from ordinary life. It has also drawn you toward others like yourself. Through Linnea Elfeklint, a former member now confined to Upsala Asylum, you have learned of the Society’s fall and been given the keys to Castle Gyllencreutz in Upsala. From these remnants, you must begin again. You will investigate misdeeds, intervene in conflicts between humans and vaesen, and decide, case by case, where responsibility truly lies. Sometimes the threat will be ancient and inhuman. Sometimes it will be the hell of other people, and the distinction will not always be clear. This campaign combines published Vaesen mysteries with original investigations into a continuous, character-driven story about loss, duty, and uneasy restoration. Over time, you will rebuild the Society’s headquarters, recover forgotten knowledge, acquire new tools and techniques through experience, and form relationships that may help or hinder your work. I run Vaesen with a strong emphasis on atmosphere, using careful description, limited character voices, custom art and maps, and extensive ambient music and sound design. I adhere closely to the rules to preserve danger and consequence, bending them only when the fiction clearly demands it. Combat is dangerous and often brief. Investigation and judgment carry more weight than violence. The table itself is supportive and respectful, with clear safety tools in place. The world you inhabit is not. You are not here to fix the North. You are here to live with it, and to decide what must be endured and what must be stopped.

How Dan creates a safe table

Player comfort comes first, but clarity matters just as much. Vaesen is a gothic folk-horror game, and this campaign does not dilute that tone once it begins. I approach GMing on the assumption that players are adults choosing to engage with difficult material. This is closer to committing to a dark folk-horror novel or series than sitting down for a single episode. The mood is sustained. The themes are heavy. Familiarity does not make the world safer. Before play begins, I meet with each player individually for a one-on-one Session 0. This is where we build characters together, talk through boundaries, and make sure expectations are aligned. It is also where we ground each character in the setting, their trauma, and their reasons for having the Sight. Session 1 is intentionally slow. It leaves room for atmosphere, uncertainty, and quiet moments. The aim is not to rush into danger, but to establish the weight of the world before it starts closing in. The campaign focuses on dread, folklore, isolation, and moral uncertainty rather than shock or gore. It deals with supernatural horror, psychological strain, historical cruelty, social injustice, and the slow breakdown of safety and trust. Violence exists, but it is rarely clean or satisfying, and it is often a consequence rather than a solution. If these are not themes you want to engage with, this may not be the right table for you, and that is completely fine. Throughout the campaign, there are clear ways to pause or redirect play if something becomes uncomfortable. You can speak up at the table, DM me the letter X via Discord, use Roll20’s whisper-to-GM feature, or place a digital Safety Card in Roll20. Any of these can be used at any time, without explanation. When a safety tool is used, the scene will shift or be skipped, and play will continue. After sessions, I make space to step out of character and decompress. The horror belongs in the fiction, not at the table. The game is meant to be intense, but the environment is controlled, respectful, and collaborative. My role is to maintain a steady tone, protect the table, and let the story unfold without rushing or softening its consequences.