The Deep Silence
At the edge of an ancient forest, the settlements go quiet one by one. Something dark awakens in the forest, and it's noticed you.
$18.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Saturday - 10:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 6 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Deep in the Empire's most ancient forest, where the canopy closes out the sun and the trails vanish behind careful footsteps, the small hollow settlements at the edge of the innermost forest are going quiet. People return from the woods changed. Something in the deep dark has recently become aware of a small group of newcomers who are asking exactly the wrong questions. The Deep Silence is a long-form D&D 5e campaign of folk horror, NPC-driven mystery, and slow-building dread, set in an original world with deep lore and a lived-in history. The game runs from level 1 into tier three play, with milestones tied to story beats rather than experience count. Sessions are roleplay-forward, players can expect rich NPC relationships, layered mysteries, and a world that rewards players who pay attention to small details. This game is built for players who love the feeling of a community slowly revealing its secrets, who enjoy complicated antagonists with comprehensible motivations, and who want their characters to matter to the people around them before they matter to the world. The tone draws on Appalachian folk horror (think creeping atmosphere, shadowy things glimpsed at the treeline, the specific dread of something that has been dormant for centuries waking up) filtered through a fantasy world with its own mythology and history. If you have played before, great. If you are newer to D&D, you are welcome! This table prioritizes story and character over mechanical mastery, and you will find your footing here. What matters most is genuine engagement with the people and places around your character, and a tolerance for not always knowing exactly what is happening - because the not-knowing is part of the experience.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Rules as Written (RaW)
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(1)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Inclusive, World Builder
About me
Hey, I'm Jacob! I've been playing D&D for ten or so years now, and writing stories and campaigns for a few years. I'm a GM who loves crafting stories where player choices matter and feel genuinely consequential. My campaigns blend political intrigue, character-driven storytelling, and tactical, dynamic combat. I love building detailed worlds, complex NPCs, and layered plots, all as preparation for player-driven stories. My campaigns tend to run for anywhere between 3 and 6 months.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will occur at the (free!) session 0. Come with some loose level 1 character ideas and be ready to collaborate! We will use point buy for stats. In general, characters should be created using the 2024 Player's Handbook, but exceptions can be discussed.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
We will use Discord for communication (text and voice) and Foundry VTT for gameplay, with Above VTT as a backup if Foundry fails for whatever reason. We will use dndbeyond for character creation and management. All of these resources are free to the player. Discord is a free communication service and users can sign up at https://discord.com/ FoundryVTT is a virtual tabletop paid for by me - players do not need to purchase anything and will join via browser link. Players should install the browser extension AboveVTT, which works on any chromium-based browser, to have as a backup in case FoundryVTT does not work. AboveVTT can be installed at https://chromewebstore.google.com Players should make a free account at https://www.dndbeyond.com/ - there will be a campaign link in the discord that will be shared after session 0/character creation.
What Jacob brings to the table
I create immersive, story-driven sessions. I love doing NPC voices and accents to bring the world to life. Every major NPC has a distinct personality and motivations, and I'll portray them as real people and not just "that questgiver over there". I use ambient music and sound effects to set the mood. I'll also provide visual aids like maps for exploration and combat, and virtual handouts for ancient texts and letters, along with some images to help visualize key locations and NPCs. The entirety of my world is hosted on WorldAnvil, in wiki-style articles. As you progress through the world, I will release new articles which will help give you in-world knowledge to ground your character.
Homebrew rules
House rules can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/12iFd6muxS9OZiveSo2sb60Pe0o2jTPn9VQkbvY3XpQA/edit?usp=sharing
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Jacob creates a safe table
Links to the Lines and Veils Google Form will be shared at or before Session 0. We'll talk about X, N, and O cards - what they are and how to use them - at session 0.
Content warnings
Safety tools used