Madcap Antics, Squelchey Horrors, & Fine, Fine Pipeleafs

Creating your character

The first session will be a Session 0, in which we'll collaboratively create characters with in-world connections, go over the basic rules, and review the various classes' and kindreds' place in the world. Each player will roll 3d6 for each stat, then we'll walk through character creation, filling in an easy-to-read encumbrance-tracking character spreadsheets of my design. Races/Kindreds: Breggle - Goat-headed humanoids whose social standing corresponds to horn length Elf - Otherworldly, immortal beings of legend; hailing from Fairy - an infinite, timeless, and magical realm - the ways of mortals fascinate them Grimalkin - Diminutive cat people from fairy; shape-shifters, rat eaters, lovers of leisure and whimsy Humans - Their Duke is ostensible ruler of Dolmenwood and the neighboring lands Mossling - Long-lived folks of the deep woods, short of stature, which plant-like bodies riddled with symbiotic fungi; a simple, rustic people who mostly keep to themselves Woodgrue - Short, nomadic, bat-faced goblins, descended from fairies; given to revelry, music-making, and, often, fire-starting Classes: Bard - Wandering lore-masters and performers whose music can enchant listeners Cleric - Evangelistic mortal warriors who serve the Pluritine Church and wield the magical blessings of the saints Enchanter - Faeries who wander the Undying Lands, developing powers and securing secret sigils from fairy nobles Fighter - Soldiers, mercenaries, brawlers Friar - Wandering, tonsure-headed mortal do-gooders and spiritual guides blessed by the saints and affiliated with the Pluritine Church Hunter - Expert in wayfinding, tracking, stalking, and animal companionship Knight - Chivalrous human or breggle champions of Dolmenwood's eight noble houses Magician - Voracious students of the arcane Thief - Sneak thieves Whenever characters chance to die, players can generate new players using the system's official online character generator (necroticgnome.com). Whenever players join after the first session workshop, they can dive right in using one of three pre-generated characters and learning the rules and setting through play. New players can also contact me to set up a 1:1 session outside the normal campaign time to get them up to speed and develop a character. In this case, I will charge $20 for the onboarding session but refund $10 when the player attends the first group/campaign session. ------ For an (optional) overview of the setting, I recommend the Welcome to Dolmenwood document: https://necroticgnome.com/products/welcome-to-dolmenwood Anyone wanting more details or seeking to learn rules ahead of time (not necessary as I'll teach through play) can refer to the Dolmenwood Players Book, the rules of which are available online at https://rules.dolmenwood.necroticgnome.com/.

Preparing for the session

Each player will receive a link to a private discord channel. Please have a microphone a headphones to prevent feedback and echoes. Players with a Google account will be able view a Google Drive folder containing PDFs of the Dolmenwood Players Book.

What Happy Chthonian 🤪👾 brings to the table

🕹️ The Rules & Campaign Style I provide a deeply detailed and responsive setting in which player actions change the world. My worlds are solid, well-prepped, un-fudged, and consistent so that choices are consequential. 🎼 I'll provide a link to a Youtube Music playlist of ambient music that players can open in a browser tab and manage per their preferences. 🖼️ I'll share images from the Dolmenwood books, including maps of settlements and the campaign setting and portraits of NPCs. We'll also use Owlbear Rodeo to allow players to create maps based of referee description. ⚙️ Resource Survival: I've made custom Google Sheets character sheets that calculate inventory weight and encumbrance 🤓. Per the rules-as-written, we'll track rations, light sources, and travel points for an immersive gameplay loop that makes your choices matter as you discover this strange and beautiful (and strange) world. 💀 Character death is a real risk. Combat in this system is always a risky endeavor. At 0 hit points, there is a 1-in-3 chance of dying each round, unless you get healing from special herbs, spells, or potions. So, it's usually best to scheme, hire NPCs to bolster your ranks, or fight dirty if you want to increase your odds of surviving a fight. If/when your character dies, don't worry: you can choose a new weirdo and join right back in :)

Homebrew rules

🪙 In Dolmenwood, you mainly earn experience points (XP) by bringing gold pieces (gp) and treasure out of dangerous places: 1 XP per 1gp value. This shifts the focus from simply killing monsters to getting treasure hoards by any means, whether stealth, combat, persuasion, or a piece of string with gum on the end! The approaches are limited only by your imaaagination 🌈. 🗓️ We'll use an optional rule that requires characters to train in order to level up. This provides downtime for long-term activities like inventing new spells! It also prevents unrealistic growth from peasantry to a demi-godhood in less than a month :P Plus, you get to experience Dolmenwood's distinct seasons and holidays - time to burn your unicorns, it's The Feast of St Clewyd! 🔥🦄🔥

How Happy Chthonian 🤪👾 creates a safe table

Lines and Veils: I'll ask players their content preferences and avoid sensitive content Open Door Policy: All players are welcome to step away and take a break from the table without judgment. Breaks: We'll take a 10 minute break after every 90 minutes of play. Stars and Wishes: At session end, I'll solicit feedback about the session. Per Startplaying's rules, I don't tolerate players being nasty to one another. In response to minor transgressions, I'll point out the problem and give a warning. In response to repeat or unacceptable behavior, I will eject players from the server/campaign and then process the event with all involved. Finally, no character-on-character conflict (attacking or stealing from one another). The only exception is when such in-party conflict is enthusiastically endorsed by the whole table.