Beneath the Loam - Session zero free
Shrines dot the land. They sustain the world, keep things balanced. The shrine in your village is failing; crops die, people grow ill, life changes.
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 1:00 AM UTC
Aug 6 / Session 2
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 80–120 Sessions
3 / 5 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
3/5
About the adventure
Themes: Inherited guilt, pragmatic faith, quiet horror. Life persists, as do the shrines. Across the world, shrines dot the lands. They lay in fields, upon crossroads, foundational stones in buildings, and forgotten places. Wood, stone, and metal comprise these structures. They are old. Older than the memories of elves or dragons. Despite being shrines, they are not places of worship. Instead, they serve as a focal point of order. Through rites, offerings, and rote observance, communities sustain themselves. Crops grow. Seasons hold. People survive. No one knows where they came from. Why they’re here. But ignoring them means disaster. We begin in a rural village with an intact shrine. You grew up here. You know the Hands, the people in charge. Hand Alra probably delivered you. Same as she likely told you about the passing of a loved one. You’ve learned all the rites that keep the shrine appeased. Without them, the land suffers. Everyone here knows the signs of the shrine. People are born with red-tinged hair, purple tints flowers and crops, and the scent of lilac fills the air. These mean the shrine is intact. After visiting the shrine, as all do around 8 years old, you noticed the oddness. Something felt wrong. No one can put their finger on it but there’s a subtle differentness to the place. Covered in runes, off-kilter, and old. Someone should know but no one speaks of it. And you wish they would, because now the shrine falters. Crops aren’t growing and the telltale red-tinged hair stops appearing in newborns. The campaign will follow the adventurers discovering the truth of the shrines, facing moral choices about them, and ultimately deciding the fate of this world.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(11)
4 years on StartPlaying
236 games hosted
Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, Knows the Rules, Creativity
Average response time: 18 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Come play with the GM one player says is worth $100/session. But for a more manageable price! Discord: https://discord.gg/PvYYZhJYaW - Come learn about the game world my campaigns take place in. I've been running games for 27 years (As of June 2026 in case I forget to update this). I cut my teeth on 2nd edition Dungeons and also the Dragons. Now I mostly run 5th edition games but Pathfinder has a special place in my heart (Fingers crossed; one of my friends said she'd go back to Pathfinder one day). I have an undue fondness for creative outlets. In my spare time I play with game mechanics of board games, create world maps, and dabble in drawing. My non-game life is in finance. Providing advice and teaching clients is as much a part of my traditional career as it is my gaming life. One day I'll have a hybrid career involving both avenues. Check out the youtube channel for examples of my DMing style. There are long-form sessions and shorts. The exhibited game is between friends. Referrals: If you refer a new player and they stay for two paid sessions, your next session is free! Multi-game enrollment: Enrolling in a second game gives you a ten percent discount on both games. Enrolling in a third game gives a fifteen percent discount on all three. There are no additional benefits for additional games. That is, a fourth game would be at full price while the first three remain at fifteen percent off.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Session 0, which will be a non-paid session, will include character creation and backstory. Session zero begins when you sign up for the game; we will initiate a dialogue over discord. There will be a live session where we talk about our characters, expectations of each other, and ensure there glaring personality differences. Your character was born and lives in a rural village. Any equipment beyond everyday items (clothes, a bow, knife, perhaps a bag) was given to you. These came from parents, friends, and mentors. If you learned a trade that teacher might have given you your first set of tools. Attributes are determined by point buy 30 or 4d6 drop lowest (with a provision to reroll for poor results). Spells: All characters have the cantrip Spare the Dying and Cure Wounds. Cure Wounds is usable once per long rest and uses Wisdom as the spellcasting ability. As characters gain levels, they continue to gain additional spells. Skills: All characters have proficiency religion Traits: All characters have Resist Necrotic 5. This is not the standard resistance which halves damage. Instead all necrotic damage is reduced by 5, which may mean 0 damage. Special: If you draft a one page backstory with interesting and/or unusual features (ie, not replete with the common tropes), you will get an uncommon magic item tied to said backstory
Session 0 is coming and we are currently looking at a wizard, paladin, warlock, and fighter
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Discord: https://discord.gg/gV4T5TRvyC Foundry: https://forge-vtt.com/invite/emunor-beneath-the-loam/4b372bd3-159b-43fc-9e1a-db0946fecefa
What Jacob (Alazon) brings to the table
Character voices Ambient music Tactical combat Rich lore Meaningful storylines with thematic questions I include six factors in my games as follows: * Combat level 2 indicates monsters and NPCs will fight intelligently but not necessarily brutally. They might target weak party members, fight with some tactics, or attack downed allies. Generally players will be expected to make reasonable choices based on their characters. Optimization is not expected. * Roleplay level 2 indicates characters should have motivations and defined personalities. Players aren't expected to be professional actors. Playing a character that is essentially you is okay, because you have motivations and a personality. However, consistent motivation and characterization is expected. Generally assumed that you are making choices in character unless stated otherwise or if it doesn't make sense contextually (example "Hey, the pizza arrived I'll be back in a sec") * Exploration level 3 indicates a High degree threat level of both 'overland' and 'dungeon' level threats. Food and shelter are tracke, traps generally have damage consistent with character levels, and travel times are tracked. If characters are aware of a location but not the route, they might become lost during travel. Obstacles in the form of bandits, monsters, and inclement weather are present. * Danger level 3 indicates a High threat of character death in any given situation. Characters might die due to poor choices, bad tactics, or a quirk of the dice. Some NPCs and monsters "Go for the throat" to ensure combatants aren't revived. If a character dies there may not be resurrection magic available or it is difficult to achieve. * Puzzle level 2 indicates easily understood riddles and puzzles when present. These will make sense within the game and/or be puzzles adjusted from real world examples. Intelligence checks are allowed and veiled hints will be provided. * Experience level 2 indicates moderate exposure to roleplaying games. Generally, players will receive reminders when characters are about to attempt something they might not due to information the character should have. Otherwise players will receive advice when asked.
Homebrew rules
Variant: More Difficult Identification Variant: Skills with different abilities Optional Rule: Flanking The people live by rote observance of ritual. Clerics and paladins feel a deeper connection. Deities grants their blessings, but sometimes there is interference. All deific magic contains a small chance of failure (Yes, this means cleric and paladin spells plus any related archetypes and non-standard classes). This is balanced in two ways. First, a failed spell is not lost, you retain the spell slot. Any spell which fails is carried into the next round and may be reattempted as a bonus action (ie. healing spell doesn't work, try again for a bonus action next turn, expending the spell slot at that time) Second defrayment: All characters have a suite of cleric-esque spells. One use per long rest of cure wounds at first level. Other spells will be gained as power grows.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Jacob (Alazon) creates a safe table
If there are any issues during the session please let me know. I can't know of any hardships or traumatic experiences until you tell me. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable during what should be entertainment, therefore I have an open door policy.
Content warnings
Safety tools used