Heralds of the Second Prophecy - Act 1 | From Zeroes to Heroes!

Creating your character

Character creation can go one of three ways: 1. You can create your character before Session 0, and we will go over your character together to check if you remembered to add everything and to explain any parts that might still confuse you. 2. You can create your character during session 0, I will be available to help you and other players after we go over all the topics and questions that need to be covered before the campaign starts. 3. You can choose a pre-made character from a small selection, and then ask about all the things you need help with understanding. We can also tweak and change any details that you might want to change. This option is most commonly used by players who are overwhelmed by all the choices that are available for character creation. Stats, or rather Ability Scores, will be determined without rolling, as described on pages 12 and 13 of the Player's Handbook. By that I mean "standard array" (using 15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8) or "point-buy" (there are websites that can help with this, such as https://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html ). We can also do this together if you choose to make a character during Session 0. Starting level is Level 1. Multiclassing (choosing more that one class for your character as you level up) is allowed, but it is not recommended for first-time players. The characters can be created either on paper or on Roll20. I recommend printing the character sheet and actually writing everything down, but I will do my best to help you use the Roll20 character sheet if you decide to do so. You can also choose to use D&D Beyond and import a character from there to Roll20, but I am not familiar with how D&D Beyond works and can not help you with that, thus it will be on you to make sure everything works. You can use all official D&D 5e books for character creation, but only those for the 2014 version of the game. We are playing in the Forgotten Realms setting, so books about other settings won't be taken into consideration (such as Ravnica, Eberron, Wildemount, Theros, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Planescape, Dragonlance etc.). All the books were published from 2014 to 2024 and include: 1. Player's Handbook 2. Dungeon Master's Guide 3. Xanathar's Guide to Everything 4. Tasha's Cauldron of Everything 5. Volo's Guide to Monsters 6. Mordekainen's Tome of Foes 7. Fizban's Treasury of Dragons 8. Mordekainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse 9. Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants 10. Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide 11. The Book of Many Things 12. Elemental Evil Player's Companion 13. The Tortle Package 14. One Grung Above 15. Locathan Rising If this all seems a lot, I strongly recommend using helpful websites for character creation, such as https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/ . Whatever you choose to do, create the character on your own, with me or choose a pre-made one, I'll always be happy to help in any way I can!

Preparing for the session

You should prepare an account for Roll20. It will be the place we look at the most during game time. During session 0, we can all discuss if the players want to have a Discord server or not. It can be useful for sharing artwork, playing music, player notes and as a place for everyone to chat between games, but Discord made some questionable decisions recently and it will be understandable if the players would rather avoid it. Beginner players should also prepare by getting familiar with the game in some capacity. The best way to do this is by reading parts of the Player's Handbook, but that can be an overwhelming task for beginners. I recommend you watch some videos online of people guiding newcomers into D&D (for instance, the first 3 clips of this playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoW2CDgztKY&list=PLJmFJXf3BXjwXkNFo_-iwtHb24AuJcXqx , this fast paced compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D5Mpd4lMS4 or a guide from Critical Role themselves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD-LWHhiseE&list=PL1tiwbzkOjQyr6-gqJ8r29j_rJkR49uDN ) It would be appreciated if you prepared the place where you'll be taking notes and writing about your character, such as printing out a character sheet and having a notebook ready, or downloading a fillable sheet and having a document prepared for notes. If you decide to create a character before session zero, you can also bring some artwork which we will use to create a token for them on Roll20. Players who choose to use pre-made characters will receive appropriate artwork for them. You also don't need to purchase dice since we'll be using digital ones. The best thing you can do is prepare a list of questions you'd like to ask during Session 0! You can also decide if you want to prepare a camera or not. You don't need to use it, but D&D can be much more enjoyable while we see each other's faces while playing.

What Mickey - Fabulam Ludens brings to the table

I tried my best to already go over my GM style, both in this post and on my profile. I do like using character voices from time to time and ambient music is a must. The combat intensity depends on the style of play the players prefer and I lean more towards Rules as Written, even though exceptions are often made! All players will receive a campaign handout before Session 0 to help set clear expectations and potentially answer some questions in advance that weren't answered by this post or my profile!

Homebrew rules

Homebrew rules are few and far between, but I'm always free to listen to suggestions. Currently, the most common homebrew rules that I implement are: drinking potions as a bonus action, having up to 4 inspirations possible instead of 1, being able to cast scrolls of spells not in your class spell list, bigger list of known spells for Warlocks, extended list of Wild Magic Surges, custom magical ammunition. Which brings me to a more important point. Homebrew is more likely to be implemented along with your ideas, suggestions and questions. If there's something you feel really strongly about, share it with me, and we will see what's the best way to implement it into the game!

How Mickey - Fabulam Ludens creates a safe table

All Lines and Veils will be discussed during Session 0 and in private before the game starts. There are topics that will be actively avoided at the table, and topics that will be acknowledged but not described. We will all need to agree with the list of sensitive topics and how they are handled before we can proceed with playing together. The X, N & O card can be messaged, said aloud or held up on video, depending on whether you want to remain anonymous or not. After sessions, I will always check in to see if there's anything I can improve about handling specific sensitive topics that might have happened during that session. If everyone wants to, we can also use the Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist!