Drag Her! Into Avernus | A High Camp / Post Apopalopic Fantasy

Creating your character

We will construct your character sheets on Foundry during our session 0. But if you would like to get a jump on the process, you will be playing with a level five character who has already gone on a handful of adventures. A reminder here about your character design, while not explicitly drag performers, your characters should embody the persona of a drag character. Big personalities, sharp wit, cold stoicism, there are many ways to bring a larger than life character without having to fall into cliché. The spirit of the idea is important and can be approached in your vision. We will be playing with the D&D '24 rules, so please only consider character options that are available in that ruleset. Ask if you have questions, I am generally more open to building ideas than rejecting them. The following books are great for building your characters: Player's Handbook ('24), Dungeon Master's Guide ('24) (for starting magic items outlined below), and Forgotten Realms Heroes of Faerûn. I can almost always work in any licensed Dungeons and Dragons content into the game, though, so if you have a specific thing in mind, let me know! If you can build it on DnD Beyond, you can probably play it! Feel free to write your own backstory, but a reminder, a level 5 hero is someone who has solved a major conflict for a small village. Your character comes from the city of Elturel, a location in *my* version of the Forgotten Realms. Please feel free to be creative. I am always eager to integrate a fun backstory rather than fussing over the logistical details. If you want to play a cleric or a paladin, or otherwise religious character, Torm is the major worshipped deity of the city and is very important to the narrative. (You need not be an expert; this is just helpful information for you to do your own research.) Ability scores are always a tricky subject, while I am a big proponent of manual roll, I add the following caveats. You are free to reroll your stats until you are happy, but please do not abuse the system. My heuristics for an acceptable spread of starting scores are at least one 16 or higher and one score under 10. You should never be forced to play an underpowered character, but you also should have a weakness. Don't make me question your ethics over this. If you feel you cannot be trusted, you will be surprised how liberal I will allow you to reroll while I am observing. In addition to any items given to your starting build, you may purchase any Adventuring Gear items within a budget of 500 gold. (You can only start this game with 250 Gold in your pockets, so half of that 500 GP budget is a use it or lose it starting boon. I have a form for you to fill out to make "shopping" easy and show your work.) Lastly, your character has acquired one common and one uncommon magic item.

Preparing for the session

Players will need a desktop pc or laptop and a microphone in order to access the game. Headphones are required to prevent feedback. The Forge - Create an account if you do not already have one. Discord - Create an account if you do not already have one. DnDBeyond (Optional) - Until session 0, I will grant you access to a temporary campaign on DnDBeyond to use their character builder. If you want to use this ahead of time, which I recommend, create an account if you do not already have one. Webcam (Optional) - I find it easier to roleplay face to face through Discord, but not required.

What Mangy brings to the table

This game approaches Avernus as an open ended sandbox. Rewarding players for exploring and visiting as much of the setting as possible, while also managing their resources and infernal war machines. Players should expect serious and dangerous combat mixed with roleplay with zany, fiendish characters of Avernus. While some of the characters will have yassified changes to their design, part of the fun is the cast interacting with your heroes. Gameplay will occur on FoundryVTT, where character sheets, handouts, journals, and quest logs are all available. Discord is the voice call and forum service of choice at this time, subject to change. Maps and tokens will be from the official module or paid artists; I also make my own maps on Dungeon Alchemist as needed. I include some immersive sounds and music, but I am still learning these tools. Many combat encounters will take place in Infernal War Machines, the mechanics of which I will teach you in-game. While it might be the majority of encounters, there are plenty of interior maps for combats as well. My combats are highly tuned, designed to challenge players and their tactics. Combats with Devils can almost always end in peaceful negotiation, whereas encounters with demons are more unpredictable and likely to be death matches. Various humanoids also bring unpredictability to encounter objectives in the story. There are not many traditional dungeon crawl moments in this module, but there are a few. While I have been known to be heavily Rules as Written, I am trying to embrace more of a rule of cool. Don't be afraid to ask for something in game if you have an interesting idea. I always believe there is a clever way to get the game mechanics to do what we want already, at that point, we can flavor the fluff any way we want. For this setting, I really like to challenge your party's ability to be prepared for survival. My games are usually working against a clock, forcing players to use their long rests carefully and plan before it is too late and the city is lost forever.

Homebrew rules

High Variance Rolls - Rarely, when the narrative calls for a dramatic result, I will call for a special roll. Instead of Advantage or Disadvantage, you will roll two dice, and your result will be the furthest from 10. (Example, roll a 12 and a 3, the result is a 3. Roll an 8 and a 14, the result is a 14 etc. Ties, like 9 and 11, always benefit the player.) Luck Rolls - When I see an unexpected situation going one way or another, I will call for a luck check, a roll done in front of the board or by a player whose results will be outlined by me before the rolling. These are typically done when a player surprises me so much I have to figure out how the world even responds. The Vibe - During combat encounters, players may affect a mechanic known as "The Vibe". Opposed groups of combatants share their group's vibe score, which goes up and down through gameplay. Once per round, one combatant can use their group's current vibe score to supplement one roll, such as an attack to hit, save, or skill check. You can perform a performance as a bonus action or greater to improve your group's vibe score or to harshen an opponent's vibe score. If you are unable to pass the check, you reduce the check for the next person to try. Characters can unlock ways to modify which ability score affects their performance skill inside the game, so not all characters need max Charisma. Death Saves - If your character goes down in combat, I will privately request your death saves to be sent to me. You can react to inform your party if things look dire, but the mystery of everyone else not knowing makes each situation more dire. Character Death - There are powerful forces watching your characters in Avernus. Should your character be on their final death save, facing the end of their life, they may be approached by a devil who will offer a contract to bring them back up with a natural 20, but at a cost, usually in a physical disfigurement and a specific request. This is always still your decision to make, but the story is all about riding that line of good versus evil. Otherwise, should a character meet their untimely end in gameplay, you will be allowed to create a new character to continue the campaign.

How Mangy creates a safe table

While this setting and story may at times be violent, gory, and graphic. The themes will avoid sensitive topics of a sexual nature, racism, and homophobia. Check the listed content warnings. Most of these stem from the horror of the base setting of the module. The idea of the tone being camp should soften the edges of this otherwise tragic and disturbing place, but that does not mean we will not encounter strife. During my session 0, we will go over my expectations of you as my players, and I will also ask about your expectations of me. I will cover the content warnings, reminding you all of the setting and ways we can adjust topics as needed. We will cover what behavior is unacceptable at my table, my attendance policy, and safety tools, briefly outlined below. There is a feature on Foundry to privately send me your XNO cards. This way, I can skip a scene or adjust as needed if you can sense I am approaching a sensitive topic. I will regularly check in with the party as I approach, during, and after covering sensitive topics. X signals to me that I need to stop the scene and move on to something else, no explanations needed. N lets me know to be careful while I am approaching a sensitive topic. I will usually adjust my descriptions and ease up on the impact of the topic. O lets me know everything is okay and to continue ahead. Each hour, I pause the game for at least one five-minute break for bathroom, snacks, or drinks. I will make myself available for at least fifteen minutes each game to debrief, taking part in aftercare techniques to identify and address bleed. Sometimes this can last up to thirty minutes, but this is a great time to talk about the session and relax after a potentially stressful game. I provide a link to a Google Form to anonymously submit Stars & Wishes between sessions. This system allows you to provide feedback to me between games so I know what I did well, and how I can adjust if you had any issues with the session. These can be suggestions to alleviate any content issues.