Strixhaven | Best in Class | D&D 5.5e

Creating your character

Character Creation: have an idea for your character prior to your first session, if you are joining a campaign in process you will begin at the same level as the other players. Version: the game will be played using the 5.5e (2024) ruleset, so please use only the most recent printing of any character options you choose, please do not use third party content without checking with me first. Species: you can choose any species so long as you are using the most recently printed version, for dragonborn specifically, you can either use the 2024 players handbook dragonborn, or the variants present in Fizbans Treasury of Dragons. Background: You must choose one of the backgrounds from Strixhaven, those being: - Lorehold Student - Prismari Student - Quandrix Student - Silverquill Student - Witherbloom Student Classes: All official classes are available except for artificers, keep in mind that you are at a school, so access to weapons and armor will be extremely limited, I highly recommend choosing a class that utilizes magic in some capacity. Stat Spread: Please use point buy or standard array for your stats HP: HP will be fixed HP Starting Equipment: You will only get the starting equipment from your background plus a magical focus based on your class: - Bard: Musical Instrument - Cleric & Paladin: Holy Symbol - Druid & Ranger: Druidic Focus - Sorcerer, Wizard & Warlock: Arcane Focus - Barbarian, Fighter, Monk & Rogue: 1 Trinket of your choice Backstory: Think about who your character is, and what their spellcasting looks like and why they wish to become a member of Strixhavens elite Dragonsguard.

Preparing for the session

Please make sure you have accounts for the following websites. D&D Beyond (for dice rolling and your character sheets) Discord (for voice chat) Roll 20 (For maps & Tokens) For hardware, please ensure you have a working microphone a camera is desired but not necessary.

What Michael brings to the table

I will be providing custom maps, mechanics, music, art and encounters, my own take on the strixhaven story, and the feeling of a living breathing magical campus.

Homebrew rules

You can find my homebrew rules following this link: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/UGDILIvMSwld To summarize, Natural 20's ignore all effects of saving throws, Magic Items can try and attune to you, Long rests are story rewards not 8 hours of sleep, and I use a custom system to reward roleplay called Roleplay Points, that can be spent to influence dice rolls.

How Michael creates a safe table

Before the your first game, I will have a personal 1 on 1 session 0 with you, outlining safety tools, table expectations, the websites and software used, and help you get started on your character and see if this is the right game for you. Safety Tools: During the game, if something comes up that makes you feel uncomfortable for whatever reason let it be known and we will stop play and discuss as a group how to proceed before moving forward. We also try and stop for a 5-10min break halfway through the session to give people a chance to stretch their legs, get a drink or snack, etc. Finally at the end of the session we go through stars and wishes as a group, highlighting things you enjoyed about the session in stars, constructive criticism, or character/story desires with wishes, and we award RP points (as per the homebrew rules)