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Red Sands: A Shadowdark Hexcrawl | Swashbuckling Desert Fantasy!
Treasure-laden caravans, bloodthirsty bandits, demon-masked assassins, sand-scoured secrets--all this and more in the vast lands of the Djurum!
$15.00
/ Session
Details
1 player following this game
Play by Post (Asynchronous)
Billed Weekly / Monday - 4:30 AM UTC
Jul 27 / Session 0
Session Duration / 1–2 hours
3 / 5 Seats Filled
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Schedule
Meet your party members
3/5
About the adventure
Red Sands is a desert setting published in Cursed Scroll #2, the official Shadowdark zine series. Expect pulpy, sand-strewn adventure in the vein of The Mummy, Uncharted 3, and The Scorpion King. This campaign is an open-ended hexcrawl. You choose which rumors to pursue and locales to explore. You can rob a single tomb or stick around long enough to sift every grain of sand for hidden treasures. But this campaign isn't only for the greedy; don't be surprised when a gripping story emerges from the choices you make! The format is play-by-post, which is well-suited to players with busy schedules, a literary bent, or both. No prior experience with Shadowdark, hexcrawls, or play-by-post necessary.
Game style
Play By Post
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Sandbox / Open World
Dungeon Crawl
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(4)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: World Builder, Inclusive, Storytelling
About me
I’m a husband and dad with a full life still squeezing in a few rolls of the dice. There’s no magic quite like the “sub-created world,” as Tolkien puts it, and one of my great pleasures is spinning immersive RPG experiences from the threads of player agency, imagination, and raw probability. A friend introduced my roommates and me to D&D 5e during my freshman year of college, and I’ve been hooked ever since. After running a couple 5E campaigns, I eventually fell in love with the old-school scene. These days my system of choice is Shadowdark, which I appreciate for its accessibility, grit, and excellent fit for play-by-post gaming. Play-by-post is now my exclusive format because it offers flexibility for busy adults while also playing to my strengths as a writer with a slow-cooker imagination.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We'll have a "Session 0" channel to create characters and set expectations for the campaign. Players can generate characters at https://shadowdarklings.net or use one of the pre-generated characters I provide. Character options from the following sources are available for this campaign: - Shadowdark Core Rules - Cursed Scroll #2: Red Sands - B&R&K (Bard, Ranger, & Kobold classes) - Roustabout Class Stats will be rolled 3d6 down the line (the first roll is assigned to the first stat on your character sheet, etc.). Characters start at Level 1.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Please make sure you have accounts for Owlbear Rodeo and Discord. The server invite for the campaign and room link for Owlbear are in the prep materials for the adventure. Additionally, there will be a #resources channel in the Discord with free quickstart rules and any other resources you'll need. You don't need to memorize the rules, but familiarity with the basics will help us hit the ground running!
What Sawyer McKay brings to the table
My primary goal as your GM is creating a sense of immersion and wonder--nailing the vibe, if you will. I aim for vivid, evocative prose that still gives you the gameable information you need to make informed choices. You'll get dynamic, narrative-driven combat where tactics and coordination matter; roleplay with NPCs whose actions are grounded in their own motivations; and exploration that rewards a curious eye. My guiding doctrine is Fiction First. The rules are tools that establish tone and facilitate genre, but they are not the game. The game is the world that exists between us. Try anything you can dream up! Creativity and ingenuity will be rewarded.
Homebrew rules
Rules are basically as written, with a few tweaks to adapt the game to play-by-post. - Torches expire in 10 crawling rounds instead of 1 hour of real time. - Luck tokens are given out once per adventuring day instead of once per session. - Initiative determines whether you act before or after the monster(s) instead of going clockwise around the table.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer or Mobile Device
Platforms used
Safety
How Sawyer McKay creates a safe table
We'll have a "Session 0" channel to establish content guidelines and take care of any other concerns before the game starts. I also have an open-inbox policy, and will do my best to address any concerns as they come up.
Content warnings
Safety tools used