Big Damn Heroes - Dark Matter Frontier
DnD in Spaaaaaace! Rags to Riches, Ruin to Revenge. Get some credits, a crew and a ship and it'll all be smooth sailing... right?
$25.00
/ Session
Details
7 players following this game
Weekly / Saturday - 8:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5 hours
Campaign Length / 15+ Sessions
1 / 6 Seats Filled
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One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Meet your party members
1/6
About the adventure
Life on the galactic rim is hard —enough so that you find yourself lying low while things cool off, working for a soulless shipping conglomerate, just to make ends meet. So when a shady criminal syndicate offers you the chance to screw over E.V.L Corp and walk away with a shiny new spaceship of your own… how can you refuse? This campaign is derived from the Starfinder 1e adventure path Fly Free or Die, adapted by myself to the D&D 5e 2024 and the Dark Matter expansion pack. That will form the skeleton of the campaign, along with shorter episode of the week type adventures to explore the setting. Heavily inspired by Firefly and Cyberpunk this story is less about the party saving the galaxy as "heroes" and more about finding their place in a universe that doesn't care whether they live or die. Whatever happens, you can’t take the sky from me.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(51)
3 years on StartPlaying
866 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Knows the Rules
About me
Hi there, my name is David, and I wear many hats: nerd, nurse, father and more, but on this website the crown I wear is that of a Dungeon Master! I specialize in running 1:1 duets play-by-post games, as well as high level tier 3-4+ play. I’m based in the UK and am broadly available to talk 8 pm- 12 pm UK time, which is 3 pm - 7pm EST. This is the time window that I write most my daily posts. My pricing varies by the amount of skill and time that go into a game, where simpler games such as starter adventures cost $40 a week, and more complex games like my level 20+ games cost $60 a week.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will be in foundry using the Dark Matter 5e 2024 player options. A PDF set to view only will be available to players for convenience of reading and getting familiar with the setting. Official classes and races will be available but I highly recommend utilizing the Dark Matter options for imersion with the setting. If you do use the Dark Matter options these are not available in DnD beyond and so character creation will be via a module for Foundry. Players will start at level 2, and reach level 3 soon after the campaign begins, likely 1-2 sessions in. For stats, point buy is the default, but if players with the can roll as a group for stats. The players will gain access to a ship as part of the initial set-up mission, and can chose to customize this using the Dark Matter ship rules on completion of the set-up. In session 0 we will go through some housekeeping, such as Lines and Veils, logistics of the game, and then roll on a custom made Heroic Chronicle to enrich player backstories. This will give players an Ally, a Rival and some mechanical benefit from a "fateful event," such as free feats, proficiencies, pets etc. Players will have the chance to swap between themselves or reroll on this table before confirming. The intention is to enrich your backstories, not give you stuff you don't want.
We are still very early into the campaign. Party is level 3 with a Gadgeteer, Artificer, Cleric, Warlock and a Vagabond. This week (26/9) we are starting up the first half of a spaceship heist from EVL corp, as the party will infiltrate the local HQ, work their way up the tower, gain access to an orbital lift, and steal a space yacht loaded with experimental null storage tech from the orbital station about corporate HQ.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Preparation Guide: Essentials: Join us on Discord with a free account. Create an account for Forge, the server host I use for my games in foundry. Further instructions will be in discord to access the virtual tabletop.
What David brings to the table
- Years of experience running DnD adventures. - Access to my extensive compendiums on DnD Beyond, featuring a vast collection of official books. For this adventure specifically I can share the relevant PDF for Dark Matter 2024 (view only). - A collection of accents and voices; don’t expect professional voice acting, but I strive to make each NPC feel unique. - Generally a Rules as Written approach as the default but Rule of Cool may be used if the situation is appropriate.
Homebrew rules
Dark Matter 2024 largely follows the same logic as normal dnd 5.5e, but with a range of alterations for a sci fi setting, and add on rules, such as the ones around building up and flying around a spaceship.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How David creates a safe table
I will be using the RPG Consent Checklist as a safety tool, which players should fill out beforehand and send to me on Discord. I also will talk to you in session 0 before we start about expectations, logistics and any safety concerns not covered by the checklist.
Content warnings
Safety tools used