Theatre of Blood: Vampire Politics Horror|Beginners Welcome

Creating your character

I use Foundry to build your character and run the game. If you are not familiar with Foundry, I will help walk you through the process. Please have a character concept ready. You will start at Level 3 character using the DnD 5e 2024 Rules. My Character Building Document will also help you become familiar with the world setting and locations. The document is linked here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b_xRLFHLVtdcYupC969QpTugIEuri5yv0peMljt5RA4/edit?usp=sharing We will workshop together to create your character with their own personality and backstory! I'll help embed your character into the locations and lore of the campaign. I also encourage you to connect your character's backstory with at least one NPC. It can be one of my established NPCs or your own custom NPC (with reasonable boundaries, such as fitting into the lore of the game). Restrictions! *Because I use my own homebrew mechanics, please do not use any other homebrews. *I will honor some 2014 (legacy) and 3rd Party content. Please check in with me to see if it's okay to use. *This is a high fantasy world setting, Guns, Artificers, and Warforged are strictly not allowed. Warlocks are limited, but I am open to discussing it with you if you think you have a Warlock idea that may connect with the in-game lore. *No child characters are allowed. Your character must be of an adult age for their respective race/lineage/species. *Your character cannot start as a vampire, although they may have the opportunity to become one later in the campaign. Here are some questions from my Backstory Guidance Questionnaire that might help brainstorm your Character concept: 1. Why is your Character joining the Main Quest (i.e. hired by a Senator to investigate a missing person case)? 2. Beside the main question, what is your Character’s overarching goal/mission? What is something they really care about? 3. How does joining the main quest help them achieve their goal/mission? 4. What Faction(s) is/was your Character a part of? (a faction can be an employee of a company/shop, a student of the Magic University of Sunspire, apprentice/journeyman of a Guild/Association, a branch of the Military, a underling of a gang/crime organization, etc.) Why is/was your Character a part of this Faction? 5. Who is one mentor or underling of this Faction who is important to your Character (someone they really care about)? How so?

Preparing for the session

- Software: You will need a Discord account and Forge-vtt player account. We will use Discord for vc and Forge-vtt to connect you to my Foundry. - Hardware: Computer with web browser to access my Foundry. Microphones are required for speaking through vc. - Please give the "Theatre of Blood: Character Building Document" a quick read before you start brainstorming your Character concept. - Although creative character ideas are encouraged, please refrain from creating Orphan/Amnesiac archetypes. I would appreciate your Character to start with at least one established relationship with an NPC in this game. Again, I run my games in Foundry VTT. I have the 2024 DnD PHB and my homebrewed compendiums ready to build your character. Come ready with a character concept.

What Mr. Tan the Magishen brings to the table

DM Style: I run this game as Role-Play Heavy and choice-focused, pseudo-sandbox campaign. I hope that you will have lots of fun interacting with the NPCs and Factions I've created. The campaign's plot points will naturally reveal itself as you and your Party explore more and more about the people, locations, and events of this world. Combat Encounters are not predetermined and will only occur as a natural, logical consequence of your Role-Playing choices and actions. Learn-To-Play: As a beginner friendly campaign, I've split the game into three Acts. Each Act will guide you from the basics of DnD into intermediate and potentially advanced role playing. Veteran players are more than welcome to play in this campaign, but please be cognizant of the pacing. I will try my best to provide the following for this campaign: -Missing person cases to investigate. -Fleshed out NPCs and Factions to engage with. -Interweaving Political Conflicts to resolve or instigate. -Dangerous locations to hexplore, such as the Myre Swamp, the Sea of Lan, and/or the Northern Icy Mountains -Difficult Boss encounters that require collaboration and tactics -Scenes for RP and Battlemaps for Combat Encounters -Downtime Mechanics during Long Rests -Ambient Background Music -Physical and Psychological Horror befitting the vampire horror theme -Opportunities for your Character to help people in need, do some good in this world, and create a meaningful story together

Homebrew rules

Character Sheet *Max HP on Level Up. *Blaze of Glory Death Saves. (inspired by Daggerheart) *Heroic Martial Feats are unlocked after level 8+. These are DnD 4e Martial Feats ported over to give Martial Classes more interesting ways to fight (see Character Building Document). Combat *Multi-Initiative Boss fights *Party Role Feats, such as Tank, Healer, DPS, Debuffer, etc. Exploration *Short Rests Only during hexploration. Long Rests are restricted to resting in a city or through narrative time skips. *Homebrewed mechanic for spell slot recovery during short rest when traveling through certain locations. There is a small handful of small homebrew mechanics that I will discuss with you before certain narrative scenes, such as Interrogation, Faction side quests, Hexploration, etc.

How Mr. Tan the Magishen creates a safe table

RPG Consent Form: Please fill out the RPG Consent List before we start playing. Link here: https://mcpl.info/sites/default/files/images/consent-in-gaming-form-fillable-checklist-2019-09-13.pdf Behavior Expectation: As a teacher who has worked with children for many years, know that I value a safe environment to be essential for DnD. I will implement the same Behavior Expectation that I have done for my students in my classroom. Everyone will maintain a Safe and Positive environment for all. Adult Themes: This campaign involves numerous adult themes, including political violence, abuse, human trafficking, blood, and horror. If you have concerns, sensitivity triggers, or a need for accommodations, don't hesitate to send me a private message. I will also regularly take temperature/vibe checks with everyone to make sure we are all doing okay and having fun. No Tolerance Policy: And last but not least, I have a no tolerance policy for SA or any allusion to it. Doing so will result in a direct removal from my game.