Shadows at Strixhaven | A Cozy Arcane Academic Mystery 18+

Creating your character

We will build your level 1 characters during the free session 0. But if you would like to get the jump on the process, you can follow the link to the DnD Beyond Campaign to use their character builder. Please use the following guidelines when creating your character. We are playing Dungeons and Dragons '24. If you have options outside those listed below, ask me for approval; I am more likely than not to allow third party or legacy content. Please choose any spellcaster class available in the Player's Handbook or Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard) You may multiclass into a non-spellcaster class after level 3. The stretch to third level for these other classes to gain spellcasting from a subclass is too long to make sense at Strixhaven. Please choose any Background available in the Player's Handbook, Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerun, or Eberron Forge of the Artificer. Legacy backgrounds are acceptable with approval. You may choose any species available on DND Beyond. Ask if you are not sure. Ability scores are always tricky. 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 to roll alone, you will be surprised how liberal I will allow you to reroll while I am observing. Please only build characters of good or neutral alignment. For your background lore, please feel free to be creative. Your character is being accepted to an arcane magical college. So give them a good reason to attend, are they a noble and their tutor recommended them? Have they created their own unique spell? You can also choose a setting for your character's origin off Archavios. I have extensive lore knowledge of the worlds of Magic: The Gathering and can help you pick the perfect starting location for your student's journey. You are only as interesting as you are interested. My big passion is integrating your character's story into the world so you feel that your character is just as alive.

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 - Character sheets and the character builder for this campaign will be on DnD Beyond. Webcam (Optional) - I like to roleplay face to face on Discord, but it is not required.

What Mangy brings to the table

This game closely follows the adventure laid out in the Strixhaven Curriculum of Chaos book. While that is the "base" of the game, things the players want to do and accomplish during their downtime between studies and classes is the real story. The shenanigans, inventions, pranks, and romances that the players pursue are the focus of the game. The wilder you and your classmates get, the more fun we all will have at the table. Sessions are broken up into different parts. First, the party attends the class they all share. Learning information about the school and the upcoming unifying event that will gather the party together in the final part. Next, each player will observe a brief scene of their character attending a course, a chance to earn a Student Die. Another scene, depicting more classes, an extracurricular, or a job, is then observed for each character. Showing us a glimpse of that part of your academic life. Last, an event draws the party together, usually a combat encounter. Players are encouraged to share goals and objectives they want to work on during downtime scenes. The best moments from this campaign are the player motivated stories they want to pursue. This campaign is extremely roleplay heavy, with most sessions spending over three quarters each session on scenes between characters. I really enjoy my cast of professors, who I have taken inspiration from throughout popular media. The cast of students will mostly be those from the module. I bring a coterie of character voices to roleplay so the world feels alive. Gameplay is 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. Safety tools, such as the XNO cards system, are integrated.

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. Academic Mechanics - Life at Strixhaven is all about balance. Can you attend all your classes, jobs, and extracurriculars? To effectuate this, there are multiple mechanics revolving around these aspects of student life. While most sessions cover exactly one week of academic study, the timeframe of each session can span multiple weeks or even a single day and will be forecasted at the start of the session. Student Relationships - The cast of fellow student NPCS at Strixhaven is to be explored and interacted with. Form friendships, romance, and rivalries. Following the guidelines in Strixhaven Curriculum of Chaos you too can deepen your relationships with the coeds on campus. Student Die (d4) - Earned by the player by demonstration of extraordinary ability during the class portion of each session. This die is assigned to one skill and can be added to any roll of that skill for the rest of the session. Exam Die (d8) - Earned at the end of each semester for passing your exams. These exam dice correspond to skills, and you can have up to two of them at a time. Once per session, you may use your exam die to bolster a roll of that skill. For example, you aced your arcane botany exam, earning you an Exam Die for Nature. You can then use that die once a session on any Nature check until it changes at your next exam. 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 - Character death is always a possibility. Making bad decisions results in consequences. When that occurs, I like to handle it delicately, privately taking aside the player to determine our next steps. There are always ways to circumvent death narratively, and it is ultimately up to the player. But I feel the possibility must always be present.

How Mangy creates a safe table

During my free 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 Foundry feature 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.