God-Kings of Crowns & Castle: Epic Level Domain Campaign (PbP)

Creating your character

Character and realm creation happens before our first session so we can hit the ground running with realm play and epic‑level adventures right away. You’ll create two linked pieces: a 5E character sheet and a Crowns & Castles realm. Your realms help us collaboratively build a world together, and I fully support reskins and homebrews (within limits). Make the world your own before stepping into it to play! I understand most people have never used the Third Party game Crowns & Castles and will walk folks through realm creation (and character creation if you'd like). Level & power - PCs start at 19th level for the prologue and plus ongoing epic boons as the campaign progresses). - We’ll discuss any homebrew options together case‑by‑case. Where to build your character - It's best to use D&D Beyond or DiceCloud so that we can use Avrae for rolls and combat. Ability scores & options - Ability scores: Rolling (reroll under 72), point buy, or standard array (your choice). - Official 5E sources are allowed as are any sources on D&D Beyond; I'll approve any third‑party or UA content you’re excited about once we discuss it together. Realms (Crowns & Castles) - Each character is the ruler of a realm created using Crowns & Castles rules. - We’ll build our realms together as people join the game: choose your race, government, attributes, and starting provinces, and we’ll tie your realm’s history directly into the main threat. - You don’t need to know Crowns & Castles in advance; I’ll provide a quick primer and a filled‑in sample realm sheets. Session 0 & approval - Session 0 is for finalizing concepts, making sure your rulers fit the setting and tone, and tying your backstories together so the epic personal adventures feel natural. - Bring a strong character concept (who they are as a ruler and as a legend); If you'd like, I'll help translate that into both a 5E sheet and a realm that feels mechanically satisfying to play. - If you’d like, I can also provide pregenerated level 20 rulers and realms so you can jump in quickly or use them as examples.

Preparing for the session

This is a play‑by‑post campaign run on Discord, with Avrae for rolls and QuestLine for maps and realm tracking. To get the most out of the game, please complete the following steps before we start: Create accounts (all free): - Make a Discord account if you don’t already have one. - Create a free DNDBeyond or Dice Cloud account (linked to your Discord and Avrae). - Create a free QuestLine account for viewing and interacting with maps. - Make a Google account to be able to access the Lines & Veils shared document as well as realm trackers and maps. Join the campaign Discord: - When you join the game here, you’ll receive an invite link to the campaign Discord server. - Join the server, say hi in the welcome channel and I will get your permissions set to view the campaign threads ASAP. Set up your tools: - Add your character to Avrae (we’ll have it in the server). - Make sure you can access QuestLine in a browser and are comfortable opening the shared map. Add a character on QuestLine (no need to link it with DNDBeyond since we will be using Avrae and Discord for HP tracking). - Optionally create a Tupper (TupperBox is also available on the server) for your character. Don't worry if this sounds complicated. I have how-tos with pictures on my Discord server and am happy to walk you through anything that doesn't make sense!

What apheline brings to the table

You can expect a structured, collaborative, and very player‑driven experience focused on big choices, rich writing, and a living world that reacts to what you do. I will provide: ⭐ A clear, organized Discord hub Dedicated channels for in‑character posts, realm orders, diplomacy, battles, and out‑of‑character chat. I’ll also maintain summaries and recaps so you can easily keep track of what’s happening. ⭐ QuestLine maps and realm boards Shared maps for borders, armies, and points of interest, plus realm sheets and visual trackers for resources, Stability, and ongoing projects. I’ll keep these up to date and use them to highlight the consequences of your decisions. ⭐ Rules guidance and cheat sheets Quick references for Crowns & Castles realm play, Epic‑Level character options, and how our dual‑scale structure works (realm turns vs. adventures). I’ll handle the heavy rules lifting so you can make informed choices without needing to memorize everything. ⭐ Story‑driven GMing with strong stakes I lean hard into narrative and character: long‑term plots, recurring NPCs, and consequences that matter on both the personal and national scale. I’ll offer hooks tailored to your ruler, their realm, and their goals, and I’m happy to build arcs around the stories you want to tell. ⭐ Tactical but streamlined combat Realm‑scale battles will be resolved using Crowns & Castles mechanics with a focus on decisive choices rather than endless dice‑rolling. When we zoom into personal combat, expect meaningful, tactical fights, but I’ll trim filler encounters in favor of battles that push the story forward. ⭐ Rule of Cool with clear boundaries I respect the rules and the math for fairness and clarity, but I do embrace the Rule of Cool, especially at epic level. If a wild idea fits your character, the tone, and the fiction, I’ll usually look for a way to say “yes, and here’s the cost or risk” instead of a flat “no.” Learn the Crowns & Castle system I’ll help you learn a new system for collaborative worldbuilding and domain-play, assisting with any mechanical questions so you can focus on scheming, roleplaying, and making big, dramatic moves. ⭐ Conclusion Overall, you can expect a game where your choices—political, moral, and strategic—drive the story, and my job is to be your world’s engine: fair, responsive, and excited to escalate when you do something awesome.

Homebrew rules

I am happy to work with homebrewed or non-standard D&D materials as long as they aren't game breaking or make the game less fun for others.

How apheline creates a safe table

We use a session 0 to go over a Lines and Veils document.