THE RING
The Ringshakes have settled over the last decade. After two centuries “shedding its skin,” cities and towns have begun to re-establish themselves.
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Tuesday - 1:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 80–150 Sessions
0 / 6 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
The Wyrm-Devourer had consumed all in its path—adventurers, heroes, demigods, gods, and even the planets. The First God was all that stood between it and the sun. But even the First God could not resist the hunger of the Wyrm-Devourer, and It too was consumed. But not before grasping the Wyrm-Devourer by the tail. Holding that tail as It was consumed, the First God sacrificed itself to feed the Wyrm-Devourer to itself. And the Ring was formed. Every so many millenia, the ring corrects itself, the lands begins anew. The Ringshakes have settled over the last decade. After two centuries of the Ring “shedding its skin,” cities and towns have begun to re-establish themselves in the new world of this Turn. The campaign takes place on a Ringworld, a single band of land that stretches all the way around the sun instead of a single planet orbiting. Every twelve millennia—just long enough for people to stop believing—the entire ring undergoes Ringshakes, world-changing earthquakes that swallow oceans as quickly as it births them, that turn cities into forests, that turn prairies into mountains. The last of these changes has just occurred, and the Ring has entered what is called the newest Turning. Fledgling towns and villages, small cities, and endless ruins now dot the landscape, waiting to be discovered. KNOWN TRUTHS: • The White Road (Fool’s Road, Hero’s Road) crosses the Ring, running along the rim for a ways before cutting back across the Ring to the other rim, then running along for a ways, etc. • To Spinward (East), wild forests now cover what used to be plains settled by trade cities in the last Turning. To Backward (West), where last Turning was a giant ocean, there are now broken lands of plateaus, salt flats, and broken hills littered with fetid salty bogs. Upwards (to the North), new towns have sprung up to either side of the WHITE ROAD, though the dense forests seem intent on keeping humanoids out. Down (to the South), a swamp lies between the city and the forests that edge the Southrim Mountains. • The Rims of the Ring are giant mountains that stick out into the black—these are the lands of giants and dragons, and most smart sentient races avoid these edges. Giant NIGHTPLATES circle above, cutting days into 16 hours of light and a quick change to 8 hours of darkness. The NIGHTPLATES are the rumored homes of dragon, titans, and gods.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Roleplay Lite
Rules as Written (RaW)
Sandbox / Open World
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Knows the Rules, World Builder
About me
Been in RPGs since AD&D (1e)....40+ years..."Experience counts." I've played everything from Aftermath to Villains & Vigilantes (1e), and most games in-between. I spent most of my time with D&D (1e thru 3.5e and jumped over to 5 & 5.5e), Shadowrun (thru 4e), and Hero System (mostly Champions). Had a lot of fun with TOON as well back in the day. I still love a good game of Munchkin or Magic:The Gathering as far as table-top goes these days-- it seems to be all real-life has time for for many of my friends. I spent some time in the early 90s and 00s working with the RPGA, writing modules for LG-- bailed when 4e came out and stuck with 3.5. I've been interested in 5e and, as an old Spelljammer addict, right before it came out for 5e, I jumped in.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
CHARACTER CREATION GUIDE: What books are allowed FIRST, this is the primary rule: if there is a NEW version of something that came out in the OLD version, we will use the NEW version exclusively. It’s not an option if there is a revised version. With that in mind, the following books are all legitimate for character creation: • Player’s Handbook (2014 and 2024) • Tasha’s • Xanathar’s • Eberron (2014 and 2024) • Ravnica • Forgotten Realms Other sources can be used with DM approval (most published work is acceptable; most homebrew or unpublished work will be more questionable and likely not approved). UNEARTHED ARCANA is a unique case and can be discussed on a class-by-player basis. What types of character builds will enjoy the game Explorer builds, adventurer builds, any build that is eager to go out and see what The Ring looks like after the last shakes is a good choice and will have fun in this game. City-based builds and political builds will not find it quite as entertaining. What BOND ties the characters together The characters work together to help maintain knowledge and civilization against the tides of monsters, madness, and myths that walk the post-Ringshake world, recovering fragments of the past and potentially burying others.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Make sure you have three accounts that we'll use to play. Once you JOIN THE GAME, you'll get links for joining our specific game channels. We use DISCORD for voice-chat during games and text-chat between games. We use ROLL20 as our VTT (Virtual Table Top). We use D&D BEYOND as our character sheet repository. You may also want to load the BROWSER APP called BEYOND 20. This app will allow you to synchronize the D&D BEYOND character sheet with the ROLL20 character token.
What Havster brings to the table
The world is yours to explore! I've created the basics of the Ringworld, its functioning principles, and some lore. But the world itself? The Ringshakes changed everything and there's a new world out there to explore-- I'm waiting to find out what adventurers find out there! I've got one group exploring the Ring at present: they're bordering on tier 3 and have only scratched the hundred miles or so around their starting location. The ring is vast-- the adventurers within it infinite. I tend to run games fairly RaW (Rules As Written), but have been known to allow for variations and special uses to allow for Rule of Cool when it seems appropriate. I create challenging combats that push group cohesion and encourage creative group play. I'd like to add more roleplay interactions and am eager to have players who are seeking that.
Homebrew rules
HOUSE RULES The following rules apply to most of my campaigns: 1. Variant Encumbrance (PHB 176): We use ENCUMBERED (STR×5), HEAVILY ENCUMBERED (STR×10), and MAX CARRY (STR×15). Coins weigh 50/lb. Pack animals are strongly recommended. Carrying excessive gear (e.g., multiple armor sets) is not practical. 2. “Next Dawn” Rule (DMG 220): Any effect that refreshes “at dawn” instead refreshes at the start of the next 5-day week. This limits excessive daily spell recovery and balances casters vs. martials. 3. Perkins Crit Rule: Critical hits deal maximum base damage + rolled dice. Example: 1d6 → 6+1d6. Applies to PCs and monsters. 4. Ready Bonuses: • Ready to Roll: Be present in Roll20 and voice chat at start time → gain Heroic Inspiration. • Ready to Go: Declare your turn within 10 seconds → gain +1 to one roll (attack, damage, DC, check, etc.). 5. Healing Potions: Bonus Action: roll healing (2d4+2); Action: maximum healing (10 hp). 6. Dropping to 0 HP: Each time a character drops to 0 HP and returns during combat, make a DC 10 CON save or gain 1 Exhaustion AFTER the combat ends. This discourages repeated “yo-yo” healing at 0 HP. 7. Wiley Coyote Falling Rule: Falls of 10+ ft can be delayed until end of the creature’s turn. During that time, allies may intervene (spells, reactions, etc.). Encourages cinematic rescues and teamwork. 8. NPC Death Saves: NPCs do not roll death saves. They bleed out over one round (their next turn). If healed before then, they stabilize. Taking damage during this time kills them immediately.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Havster creates a safe table
If you consider the game a movie, I run a PG-13/ low-R for violence game. All of the rules the MPAA puts on movies are what I expect from my game. We will conduct a session 0 for to review and create characters and consider compatibility for the campaign. We'll go over the expectations of social civility at the game table. All of the games will be recorded using CRAIGBOT and transcripts of the entire game will be available upon request (and summaries provided through DISCORD). I also have a 'STARS, CLOUDS, and WISHES' google survey for after each game for players to provide feedback and help improve the game.
Content warnings
Safety tools used