Trouble at Treebark Village (Intro to D&D)
Bandits have delayed Treebark Village’s harvest ritual. Escort the villagers to the woodland altar or risk a season of hunger. Beginner-friendly D&D!
$5.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Wednesday - 4:00 PM UTC
Jul 29
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 4 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Treebark Village’s harvest ritual has already been delayed by repeated bandit attacks, and time is running out. The ritual must be completed at an ancient altar deep within the surrounding woods, but the villagers can no longer make the journey safely without protection. That is where you come in. Escort the villagers to the altar, protect the ritual, and deal with whatever dangers stand in your way. Failure or even further delay could leave the village without enough food to survive the coming season. This beginner-friendly one-shot is designed for players who are completely new to Dungeons & Dragons 5e. The aim is to provide a full adventure in a compact, approachable package while teaching the game naturally through play. During the session, you will personalise a premade character, take part in combat, level up, make meaningful choices, and experience the roleplay and collaborative storytelling that make tabletop RPGs unique. No previous experience is required. All you need is a willingness to learn, explore, and help save Treebark Village.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
About me
Hi! My name is Semih (though I usually go by Sammie online). I’m a 24-year-old trans fem college student who has been running D&D 5e games both online and in person for the past nine years. During that time I’ve run a variety of campaigns, focusing mainly on homebrew settings while occasionally running official material such as Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. I’ve loved DMing since I was a teenager, when I first started running games for my friends after school, and I haven’t lost that passion since. I love storytelling, especially in a TTRPG setting, because it allows many different voices to come together and create one (mostly) cohesive story. For me, the most enjoyable parts of DMing have always been meeting new people, running games for fun and interesting characters, and sharing plenty of laughs with my players along the way. So if you’re looking for a story-rich game, feel free to join my adventure!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Premade characters representing every core class will be provided at the start of the session. Players will be able to choose whichever class appeals to them, with each character designed to be easy for a new player to understand and use. Before the adventure begins, you will have time to personalise your character by choosing details such as their name, appearance, personality and a short backstory. This allows us to begin playing quickly while still making the character feel like your own. All characters will begin at 1st level and will level up during the adventure. No books or previous character-building knowledge are required.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
All you need is a free Discord account, a free Roll20 account, a working microphone and a stable internet connection. You will receive links to the Discord server and Roll20 game before the session. No previous D&D experience, rulebooks or character preparation are required we will go through everything else together during the session.
What Semih Saydam brings to the table
The game will be run through Roll20, with maps and tokens provided for combat encounters. Exploration, social scenes and most other parts of the adventure will use theatre of the mind, with locations, creatures and events described in detail. I am an experienced DM with a relaxed and flexible style. I encourage creative solutions and give players plenty of freedom to approach problems in their own way rather than looking for one “correct” answer. As this adventure is designed for new players, the difficulty will be forgiving while still giving your choices meaningful consequences. I will explain rules as they come up and help players understand their options without slowing the game down. Ready to play character sheets will be provided, along with everything needed to take part in the adventure.
Homebrew rules
We will generally use the standard D&D 5e rules, with a few light adjustments to support a fun and beginner-friendly game. Natural 20s and natural 1s on ability checks may lead to especially fortunate or unfortunate narrative outcomes, creating memorable roleplay moments. However, they will not make an impossible action automatically succeed or cause a reasonable action to fail without explanation. I favour creative problem-solving and the Rule of Cool when a player has an entertaining idea that fits the scene. When the rules are unclear, I will make a quick and fair ruling so the game can continue, then check the official rule afterwards if necessary. Any rulings will be applied consistently to both players and enemies. Players are always welcome to ask questions or suggest alternative approaches, particularly as this adventure is designed for those learning the game.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Semih Saydam creates a safe table
Before play begins, we will establish Lines and Veils. Players may pause the game, message me privately or step away at any time without needing to explain themselves. If uncomfortable material comes into play, we will remove or redirect it and continue without judgement. Violence is presented at a light fantasy-adventure level without graphic gore. Harm to animals may be referenced but will not be described graphically.
Content warnings
Safety tools used