The Trickster and the Nil - D&D Home-Brew

Creating your character

Each character will start at level 5. Please prepare your character before session 0 so we can add them to the D&D Beyond campaign when we first meet. If you’re new to D&D and need some help creating a character, please reach out! I would love to help you navigate the website/app and help you build your first character! The story works best if characters begin as humans on earth from any place or era. (Ex: a 1800s swashbuckling pirate, a 1400s renaissance inventor, a 4000 bc Egyptian slave, a 22nd century soldier, etc.) *If you want to play a more classic D&D race, (elf, dwarf, tiefling, etc.) please DM me and we can discuss how that may work.* Human characters will start on earth and be transported to Penance at the end of session 0 in an isekai style adventure. Please put some thought into your characters backstory. I want to personalize points of interest for your character by involving parts of their backstory. If you’re having trouble coming up with details, consider there questions: Who is your character's best friend? Who is their worst enemy? What is an item that your character holds precious? What is something your character would say to someone if it was the last time they would every see that person? What is your character's 3 biggest flaws? What is your character's 3 biggest talents?

Preparing for the session

Please create a DND Beyond account: https://www.dndbeyond.com Please create a Discord account: https://discord.com Again, please give some thought to your character! Prepare at least a few connections and personality traits (good and bad) that are unique to your character to help me understand who they are.

What Cole (Bear) brings to the table

CHARACTERS: Storytelling through role-play is one of my favorite parts of DND. I like doing voices and making characters memorable. I accept any level of role-play you're comfortable with! VISUAL/AUDIO-AIDS I will provide pictures and other battle map visual-aids that I will share through Discord or Google Meets. I will also provide music throughout the session and some sound effects where prevalent. COMBAT What's a story without any risk? I will attempt to include at least one combat per session, they will almost always be relevant to the story and not random encounters. PLAYER DEATHS I believe, unless otherwise specified, I will not intentionally try to kill your character. I want this to be a fun experience for everyone, so I will not kill your character "out of the blue." If, however, your are bored of your character and want to try something new, or you feel your character's arc should end with their death, let me know! I want your character to leave the impact YOU want on the story.

Homebrew rules

Mostly, we will be following the 2024 DND rulebook. (the rules set in DND Beyond.) I employ 2 homebrew rules during combat: - The Dance with Death, Once per session, each character can claim: "I want to dance with death." before attempting to attack a creature. On a successful hit, that player deals critical damage to the creature. On a failed hit, the player deals critical damage to any allied character within the 5 feet of the intended target. If there is no other creature within 5 feet of the intended target, the critical damage is delt directly to the attacker. - Hesitation, During combat, if a player takes longer that 20 seconds to describe what actions they wish to take during their turn, their character "hesitates" and is required to take the dodge action for their turn. (This rule is open to change depending on the situation.)

How Cole (Bear) creates a safe table

I will provide a session 0 to set ground rules, campaign expectations, schedules, and player/character introductions. I will also try to take a couple breaks through out the session, for everyone to "take a breather" and get a snack! Lastly, should we be discussing a topic that is triggering to you, directly message me an "O", meaning, "we're getting close to a trigger," I will then proceed with caution and attempt to lower the tone of the situation. If it continues, send an "X" saying "we need to move on." I will immediately change the scene, "fade to black" and move on. No question asked, no judgment.