The Witchlight Returns to Humblewood | A Furry Faewild Fantasy

Creating your character

Players will create their level 1 character on Foundry during our free session 0. But if you would like to get a head start, you will have access to a character builder on DnDBeyond. There are premade characters for players to choose from. If you want one of these, the options outlined below are already chosen for your character and included in your backstory. We are playing Dungeons and Dragons '24. Please choose officially released Classes outlined in the Player's Handbook and Eberron Forge of the Artificer. For your origin, you may choose any background from the Player's Handbook or Humblewood. For your species, it is preferred that you select a Birdfolk or Humblefolk species outlined in the Humblewood setting. If you are desperate to choose a different species, you can discuss with me which animal will represent you instead. For example, a half-orc becomes a badger, a halfling is a field mouse, and a dwarf is a mole. These are only illustrations of possibilities, and negotiable. But only animal characters are permitted. For your ability scores, take the standard array. (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) Take standard equipment. You can use any of your GP from that to purchase additional adventuring gear. At the start of the game you will be completely broke, so this GP is a use it or lose it situation. Your character visited the carnival without purchasing a ticket and had something stolen. This item can be any small trinket, piece of equipment, or otherwise important object. Upon recovering said item, it will have been transformed into an uncommon magical item. You should have this in mind as you make your choice. The other thing taken from your character is a curse that affects you. You can have it be as minor as 2" of height, or as major as your sense of smell. There will be a mechanical detriment to accompany this that you will also overcome in the story. We will discuss your ideas for all of this before and during session 0. About halfway into the story, you will acquire a free uncommon magic item from an NPC. If you have something in mind, you can tell me what you wish any time before it happens; otherwise, I will assign you a random one, or one I believe complements your build.

Preparing for the session

Players will need a desktop or laptop, a microphone, and headphones to play the game. Create an account for both Discord and The Forge if you do not already have them. DnDBeyond (Optional) - Until session 0, I will grant you access to a temporary campaign on DnDBeyond to use the 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 like to roleplay face to face on Discord, but it is not required.

What Mangy brings to the table

This game approaches The Wild Beyond the Witchlight with a heavy narrative focus. Your stolen items, the curse inflicted on your character, will drive them to explore the mysteries of the Carnival. The base module has been expanded with DMs Guild content, doubling the number of Faewild locations. Humblewood, as the base setting, gives it a fun, furry twist. A heavy roleplay setting, my character voices bring to life the various denizens of the Carnival and Faewild beyond. Gameplay is on FoundryVTT, where character sheets, handouts, journals, and quest logs are 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. Premade characters for this adventure are perfect for new players. Short, one page backstories make them easy to understand. Simple builds make it quick to learn and play Dungeons and Dragons. Pick up and play! Unique curses flavor the character and give them motivation to grow and overcome their flaws. My tables are heavily "rules as written". I will happily teach a player how to play and interact with the world. 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. My games are usually in conflict with a timed event, forcing players to use their long rests carefully. This helps maintain the momentum of the classic "adventuring day".

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. These are typically done when a player surprises me so much that I have to figure out how the world even responds. Character Building Inspiration - At the beginning of each session, I ask the group an open ended question about the characters. If you participate and answer the question, you will start the session with inspiration. So make sure you use it! Faewild Trinkets - Another currency I will offer in this game as a reward are magical faewild trinkets. These can be expended as a one time use of inspiration or as a bargaining token for Faewild exchanges. Death Saves - If your character goes down in combat, I will privately request your death saves. You can react to inform your party if things look dire, but the mystery of everyone else not knowing makes each situation more dire. We can even optionally spice things up to keep the result secret from you! Death - While this campaign is light-hearted and can be completed non-violently, making bad decisions results in consequences. If your character goes down in combat and fails their death saves, they can perish. I privately offer narrative alternatives to my players at a cost, but the thrill of the game is that your character can die. We will discuss how to move forward in the moment, but there are always avenues to circumvent death. This campaign is unlikely to result in character death, but this clause is put here to "leave it on the table".

How Mangy creates a safe table

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.