In the Shadows of Decadence: A D&D City Campaign
The city is a big, weird place. If only it were as safe as the dungeon...
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Bi-weekly / Thursday - 2:30 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2–3 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
The city seems to go on endlessly. There are talks of the outside, and the trade caravans loaded with exotic goods must come from somewhere, but you've never seen the walls. Of course, seeing daylight is rare enough, where you're from. Above, the city gleams, gilded spires rising above the muck-encrusted streets. Below, it seethes, the struggling masses fighting with each other for what few scraps make their way down. Mighty nobles pursue hedonistic dreams; the best the common folk can hope for is another meal, a warm bed, and to be safe from their fellows. You may have been born into this life, but you won't stay here. You'll make it out... or die trying. The city being a cosmopolitan place, feel free to bring any weird OSR class you find. The new classes from the Carcass Crawlers? Ok! Horse people from the Into the Wild Omnibus? Sure! The sentient sword from the Old-School Armory? Would that be wielded or independent? This is the chance to play whatever bizarre thing you found somewhere but got shot down for failing to fit the tone of the campaign. Let me know what you've got, and let's play! A city-running sandbox game utilizing Into The Cess & Citadel, On Downtime and Demesnes, The Tome of Adventure Design, the Sandbox Generator, the Ready Ref Rules sheets, and anything else I can get my grubby little mitts on that I think will add to the experience.
Game style
Sandbox / Open World
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Meet the Game Master
4.9
(25)
2 years on StartPlaying
200 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Voices
Average response time: 24+ hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Howdy! My games tend towards the sandbox, do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law and all that. I'm a big believer in the power of narrative. The best stories are always about ideas more than plots. That's not to say that it's all arthouse allegory, but the plot should be about more than a list of bad guys to thwart and loot to steal. (Except, of course, when that's the story being told. Context is king.) If you show up for my games expect a certain amount of history, satire, and the odd pop culture reference in the mix. I tend towards horror and comedy, as I find they complement each other well, but again, depends on the game. I also offer personalized one-shots for players that miss a game- you aren't on auto-follow, you're off doing things. Need to miss a game? Don't worry, I got you. (DISCLAIMER: In D&D based games, this may involve trips to Ravenloft, play at your own risk. Scheduling difficulties may interfere with this offer, but my schedule is pretty flexible.) Bigtime into Butlerian theology- "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind." No AI-generated anything 'round these parts. Years of Blood Bowl have turned me against elfs. Play at your own risk. You can call me "Jeremy" if you really need to.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will be handled before the game or between sessions, and is extremely minimal... to the point of using the random equipment tables from Carcass Crawler. Everything from the Advanced Fantasy books is on the table for PC options, as the City is a pretty cosmopolitan place, although if you want to bring in something from another B/X-adjacent source (such as a kobold out of Orcs of Thar), I'm game.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Get a free account on the Forge, which is the host I use for Foundry, and I'll send you the discord link.
What Diamond J brings to the table
Play will happen via Discord, with minimal usage of the Foundry VTT for calendar dates and communal documents. I'm in general not big on sitting there fiddling with the cursed thing to get it to work, so combats are going to be handled via Theater of the Mind. A webcam is preferred, as expression is a big part of communication, but not required.
Homebrew rules
The primary additional player-facing mechanics are found in In the Cess & Citadel; other materials will be used, drawn from a wide variety of sources, but anything specific to player/NPC interactions will be discussed in advance. One thing in particular: 0 HP doesn't necessarily mean death, not when there's so much worse that can happen...
Equipment needed to play
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Diamond J creates a safe table
Communication is key, and while horror is a part of this, it's not my intent to cause anyone actual discomfort. Players are encouraged to communicate with me in any way they feel comfortable about the content of the game.
Content warnings
Safety tools used