All Eyes in the Dark Belong to Her (Revamped CoS) 🏳️‍🌈

Creating your character

We will create characters together as a group during session 0, since the player characters will already know each other a little by the time the campaign begins! While it's great if everyone has a few concepts in mind before then, I want us to leave plenty of space for connecting the characters to one another, and potentially to the land of Barovia itself. I want us to aim for a good mechanical team composition, fun and rewarding social dynamics within the party, and hidden strings that tug and tangle your characters into the proverbial web that covers the gloomy valley. The campaign starts at level 1, and will run to level 10. We're pretty likely to go beyond that, but we're 100% guaranteed to get to at least level 10. In terms of mechanical stuff: 🖤 We use point buy calculation for stats, with the option to dump stats down to 6. Maximum value before applying race/species bonuses at level 1 is 15. 🖤 All characters get a free feat upon character creation, and an additional feat every time they get an ASI (ability score improvement). So, yes, if you play a human you start out with two feats at level 1! 🖤 All characters get a common magic item upon character creation. Bonus points if this item is an heirloom or has great personal significance to your character. 🖤 We always take maximum HP when levelling up. 🖤 There's potential for player characters to gain custom homebrew features as a result of how they move through the story. Players should stick to official WotC content for character creation. Due to the tone and the setting, common races/species are preferred, but I'm open to discussing this! The artificer class could also feel a little narratively jarring for this campaign, however, we could always reflavour things to make them feel more immersive. I don't allow gimmick or joke characters at my tables, so I'm not the right GM for your three-kobolds-in-a-trench-coat-character. I believe the three kobolds will find their perfect table out there, though. Godspeed, three kobolds. Godspeed.

Preparing for the session

We'll be using Discord for chatting, audio and video (though being on camera is 100% optional and will likely only happen if the group is unanimous on wanting it), so you'll be invited to one of my Discord servers. As for the VTT, I use Foundry for all my games, which runs on a Forge server. You'll need accounts for these apps/sites. We'll go over anything that needs to be prepared beyond that during session 0!

What Millie Odegard brings to the table

You can see more about my GM-ing style on my profile, but the short version of what you can expect from me is: 🖤 I will care about your character and want to get to know them. 🖤 I will value player choices, and create consequences that reflect and respect those choices. 🖤 I will be willing to say yes to truly crazy ideas, but I will also stick to the rules enough to make those big yes-moments feel impactful and special. 🖤 I will aim to challenge your characters in all aspects of play: social, exploration and combat. 🖤 I will populate my games with NPCs who feel complex and alive. 🖤 I always make my own combat maps, and visual handouts. 🖤 I will make soundscapes and select appropriate music to immerse us all in whatever adventure we're having.

Homebrew rules

🖤 More Inspiration: I like to give out lots of inspiration at my tables, which you'll be getting in three different ways. -All players start every session with a point of inspiration, I call this session inspiration. They don't stack, so this encourages spending them every session! -After each session, the entire table votes for which of their favourite player moments really stood out this time (this is all part of our use of Stars and Wishes). The majority voted players get extra inspiration, I call this character inspiration. These don't stack either, but since you aren't guaranteed one after every session, they can carry over. -In moments of delight and surprise, I as the GM will also give out inspiration for a plethora of things. This is the kind that works most like standard inspiration. 🖤 Alternative Inspiration Uses: -Increase your initiative by +10 for one combat. -Regain one use of an ability that resets on a short rest. -Remove one failed death save. -Turn one already failed attack roll or skill check into a partial success, which will carry complications determined by the GM. -Have the GM roll twice when rolling on a random effect table, and have the party choose between the two options. Players can also donate points at a 2:1 ratio to give one of the above uses (or the regular advantage) to another player. Any of these specific alternative uses of inspiration can only be used once per character per session. So you cannot, for example, increase your initiative twice in the same session. 🖤 Healing Potions: Quickly downing a healing potion takes a bonus action, but a full action can be spent to carefully drink to gain the maximum possible healing. Feeding a health potion to someone else takes a full action action, and you always have to roll for healing. 🖤 Tool + Skill Proficiency Interaction: If a character is proficient in both the skill and tool used for a check, they roll with advantage. Example: Character A is proficient in sleight of hand and thieves tools, so they roll with advantage to pick a lock. 🖤 Improving Intelligence: Any positive modifier in intelligence grants an extra language or tool proficiency. Negative modifiers can remove languages/proficiencies if the player is okay with it, and if it makes sense for the character. No character can lose their native language regardless of intelligence score. Exotic languages need to be cleared with the GM. 🖤 There are some other things, too, like skill proficiency interacting with the help action, and the optional rule of cleaving through creatures for martials, but this section is super long already.

How Millie Odegard creates a safe table

Safety Before the Campaign Starts: 🖤 Vibe Check All players will have a quick (maximum 30 minutes) one-on-one voice call with me once they've signed up for a game. This is so we can mutually vet one another and get a feel for how we'll interact. It also has the added benefit of making the coming session 0 less daunting if we've already met. 🖤 Consent All players fill out a consent checklist before we meet for session 0, with the option to do so anonymously. This lays the groundwork for well maintained boundaries and safety practices, gives me a heads up on where everyone's at, and lets me know if I need to cover any specific triggers in session 0. 🖤 Session 0 Here we'll cover essential topics like the social contract, player and GM expectations, character creation, getting everyone up to speed with technical things like the VTT (virtual tabletop), what players need to prep before session 1, and just having some fun getting to know one another a little better. Safety During Play: 🖤 Breaks We'll always take at least one break during the sessions, usually at around the halfway point. Breaks are a great way to refresh our batteries and ensure we stay engaged and immersed. The breaks tend to be about 10 minutes long, where everyone is encouraged to stretch their legs, refill their drink, get some snacks, or whatever they feel they need in the moment. 🖤 Open Door All my games are open door, meaning if anyone needs to step away from playing for whatever reason, they are free to do so without any judgement. Safety After Play: 🖤 Stars and Wishes We will discuss our Stars and Wishes after each session. Here, every person at the table (the GM included) will let everyone know what they think really worked for them, and potentially what didn't. I firmly believe open and honest feedback is invaluable, and one of the best ways to ensure we play well with each other! 🖤 Aftercare Checking in on how everyone feels is always good practice, but especially so in campaigns with heavier themes. 🖤 Open Messages While it may not officially count as a safety tool, I always want to make sure that my players know they can message me whenever they like. I am always open to talking one-on-one about how the game is going, and how to improve it moving forward!