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Mystery of the Black Obelisks: Part 1 - The Shattered Obelisk
Throughout Toril are the remains of ancient, powerful magic beings: black obelisks. Their origin and purpose are a mystery. Who built them and why?
$20.00
/ Session
Details
7 players following this game
Weekly / Monday - 7:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5–3.5 hours
2 / 6 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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Meet your party members
2/6
About the adventure
This campaign is based around a mystery, what are the black obelisks that have shown up in so many DND 5e modules, who built them, and why. What is their purpose, and how are they linked. The adventure will start off with Princes of the Apacolypse. This will act as both an introduction for the party and to the obelisks' power. My hopes is to fully realize the endgame Jeremy Crawford and Christopher Perkins had for 5e prior to their release of creative influence and eventually departure. A simple start in Phandalin will lead the party through the far reaches of Faerun: Icewind Dale, Chult, and the Underdark. Dungeons like Undermountain and The Tomb of the Nine Gods may be explored to a degree as per the party's ambitions and links to the plot. Eventually, the party will be summoned to Sigil in the Outer Realms. This journey will be long and fraught with untold dangers. How will it end? Certainly not with a bunch of bland errand missions that revisit 5e's greatest hits. I'm looking at you, Vecna: Eve of Ruin!!! 👀 This campaign is based around a mystery, what are the black obelisks that have shown up in so many DND 5e modules, who built them, and why. What is their purpose, and how are they linked. The adventure will start off with Princes of the Apacolypse. This will act as both an introduction for the party and to the obelisks' power. My hopes is to fully realize the endgame Jeremy Crawford and Christopher Perkins had for 5e prior to their release of creative influence and eventually departure. A simple start in Red Larch will lead the party through the far reaches of Faerun: Icewind Dale, Chult, and the Underdark. Dungeons like Undermountain and The Tomb of the Nine Gods may be explored to a degree as per the party's ambitions and links to the plot. Eventually, the party will be summoned to Sigil in the Outer Realms. This journey will be long and fraught with untold dangers. How will it end? Certainly not with a bunch of bland errand missions that revisit 5e's greatest hits. I'm looking at you, Vecna: Eve of Ruin!!! 👀 🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ Friendly | 🦺 Safe Space | 🎲 Beginner Friendly.
Game style
Rules as Written (RaW)
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Roleplay Heavy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(36)
3 years on StartPlaying
930 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Beginner Friendly
About me
First and foremost, I am a writer, reader, and storyteller by trade and at heart. I am a seasoned GM who has been playing since middle school in 1998 with D&D 3e. I have been DMing since 2000 and have been DMing D&D 5e specifically since 2018. I have a penchant for new players as I am a fair and reasonable DM. I'm patient and willing to teach and allow others to learn to play in all aspects, whether it's the dynamics of combat or growth with roleplaying. Come meet some of my current and past players on my Discord Server. Message me for the link. I have been building my homebrew world of Grakloros since 2010. I have run many campaigns in this world. I have maps created in Campaign Cartographer 3+ and a YouTube channel dedicated to the lore of my world. I have two campaign settings featuring my world: The God's Reach setting where my One-Shot games takes place, and the Bones and Barbarians setting that I GM for my crew on Twitch on Thursdays from 7-9pm EST. We have concluded season 2! Announcements for Season 3 will be coming around August 2024. I am excited to introduce B&B as I have been developing it for many years. My Discord Server is open to any and all past and present players. I host players from all across the US, Europe, and Australia. Come and join what I like to call "my extended D&D family." LGBTQ+ Friendly Neurodivergent Friendly New Player Friendly Discount Programs!!!!! - A very underused option. I offer a few: A) The Refer a Friend Program - easy stuff, you get a friend of yours to join a game and when they play their 4th paid session, you get 4 weeks free! That's 4 full weeks of unlimited games, meaning that within those 4 weeks you can try out any game I'm running (open seats permitting) for FREE! B) The Family Discount - want your spouse, significant other, mom, dad, sibling, or cousin to play with you? Great! What better way to get grandmama to learn DND than to split the cost between you. It functions like a "buy one-get one free" or "two at half-price" deal. C) NEW!!! The Try a Second Game Half Off Deal - a lot of Pro GM's offer this and I'm adding it to my list. Some stipulations, As long as you've played 4 paid games and you join a second game, that game will be half of its original price. This is a 2 month trial period deal. After those 2 months, the price goes back to it's original starting price. If you enjoy the game, I would hope you would find it worthy to continue. However, if you didn't like it, at least it didn't break the bank
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will be created during a free session zero using Roll20's Character Builder using DND 2024 rules supplemented by older 2014 content. Characters will start at level 3 using point buy for stats and standard starting equipment or gold.
A simple start in Phandalin will lead the party through the far reaches of Faerun: Icewind Dale, Chult, and the Underdark. Dungeons like Undermountain and The Tomb of the Nine Gods may be explored to a degree as per the party's ambitions and links to the plot. Eventually, the party will be summoned to Sigil in the Outer Realms. This journey will be long and fraught with untold dangers. How will it end? Certainly not with a bunch of bland errand missions that revisit 5e's greatest hits. I'm looking at you, Vecna: Eve of Ruin!!! 👀 New players will start at level 1 using point buy for stats, normal starting equipment or gold and 1 common magic item.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need a discord account for voice chat, preferably a headset and mic, a free Roll20 account. A notebook and pen are highly encouraged for notes but optional.
What Michael Pucci brings to the table
I will provide all told available to me through my Roll20 Pro GM account. You can expect badly improvised NPC voices and a rich world brought to life that your characters will feel a part of. I love the lore of the Forgotten Realms. From characters like Drizzt to Elminster. From the forgotten continent of Maztica to the famous Faerun. From the big cities like Waterdeep to the small towns like Fireshear. It's a big world with plenty of place for you in it.
Homebrew rules
I-I use advanced flanking rules (flanking, cornered, and surrounded), -I allow a second shot with a crossbow (provided you have the extra attack feature) without Crossbow Expert if you forgo your movement to reload (taking a knee). -I prefer the 2014 Spiritual Weapon over the '24 version. -I allow both versions of Inflict Wounds since I've is a save and the other is an attack. They just have to be prepared separately. -The Superhero Landing and The Tuck 'N Roll: you can use your reaction when jumping from high ground to not take falling damage. The DC equals the height from which you are jumping, ie: DC 10 for 10 feet, DC 25 for a 25 foot jump. You can use either the Superhero Landing (Athletics) or the Tuck 'N Roll maneuver (Acrobatics).
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Michael Pucci creates a safe table
We can go over lines and veils properly and virtual safety cards are available per request.
Content warnings
Safety tools used