Curse of Strahd (Vanilla) |2 Free Sessions|

Creating your character

We will be building our character in Roll20 during session 0 using primarily 2024/5.5e rules and material . Please come with some ideas but they shouldn't be fully fleshed out. Part of session 0 will be figuring out how your characters know each other and why they are traveling together.

Preparing for the session

Most sub-classes and races that Don't Fit the themes and style won't be allowed. Please make your preparations accordingly. You should have a Roll20 account, a Discord account, and a working computer with microphone and webcam. Webcam use is expected, if you are unwilling to be on camara this game might not be the right fit. In my experience having people be able to see each other adds to the tables dynamics and keeps players more focused. Even if you are knitting on camara I know you are at the table listening instead of making dinner or doing chores. Not a joke, I've had people that were just afk for long periods of time doing chores and when asked to do something it can take them over a minute to get back to their PC to roll a dice because they need to wash the raw chicken from their hands. If the players are paying to play this game together I want everyone to put their time and focus into it, and for me video is an important way of doing that. This isn't disallowing stemming at the table or anything like that, this is just setting the standard of having the players focus be on the game instead of it being a background activity. If you need to eat you can turn of you camara, or if you need to be AFK for a few minutes that is understandable, but the norm should be players at the table together as close to an in person game as possible.

What Brian - AreWeBadYet brings to the table

Things you should expect - 1. Bad accents done with unearned confidence. I am not a trained actor but enjoy giving it my all even when the result is more comical than serious. Most characters in this setting will be more "serious" but some will have that comedic edge to help drive back the darkness. 2. A fairly extensive understanding of the rules, mechanics, lore, and story of the module. I expect to be surprised by my players but I don't think I will be caught flat footed. There are many moving pieces and sometimes I might need a moment to figure out exactly how the world and NPCs respond but I expect the world to feel consistent despite player shenanigans. 3. A DM that wants you to succeed. My hope is that you are able to complete the campaign, feel like it was challenging, and have told a story that felt unique to this group. Often I will tell you the risks of actions before you take them, if it makes sense to have the information. I won't warn you of a trap, but it you know a trap is there and accidentally move into that square I will remind you instead of just setting off the trap. You are the main characters and should feel like that throughout. Things I don't provide - 1. A complete library of all content from D&D 5E. I only started GMing in the last few years and I own the content for D&D 5.5E but not the back catalog of the past decade. I will have basic material (PHB and a few minor others) but some sub-classes and features won't be native on the client. I am willing to work with players to import stuff that feels appropriate but some features still won't be allowed. 2. I don't provide a space for you to fulfill your dreams at the expense of the party. If a character is "evil" it won't be a secret and they won't be pickpocketing the party members every chance they get. Characters can have interesting and conflicting motivations but we aren't free to ruin the game for everyone. If you try to build a character that wouldn't ever be part of the party I will ask you to try again or find a different group. 3. A true simulation. I will do my best to make the world feel real and lived in but there will be gaps. If I don't have a extensive list of every book on a shelf, when I made it clear either they don't matter or are mostly ruined, and you keep prodding that is called being a bad player. Please don't be a bad player. Additionally sometimes the world doesn't play by what we would think of as normal rules, which is by design. If it doesn't feel correct in the moment make a note of it and ask for more info later (possibly in a DM) so that I can either help you understand or if I made a mistake we can work on fixing it.

Homebrew rules

Most Homebrew won't be used in this setting since we are playing as close to RAW as possible. If all the players agree on some we might make some changes but starting off there won't be any Homebrew.

How Brian - AreWeBadYet creates a safe table

Primary safety tools will be "lines and veils" which we will establish at session 0 and re-check throughout the campaign. If things begin to happen at the table that a player isn't OK with then we can employ the X Card to change what just happened (not changing rolls but changing the story so that it doesn't cause harm to the player). Additionally we will set expectations for player interactions such that even if your characters are having a difficult time working together the players are all on the same page and still enjoying the gameplay. If character bleed starts to take place we will back off and rehumanize the players and try to distance them from the characters. If a problem continues, changing how a character acts might be necessary for the health of the group (hopefully with a satisfying story reason as well). The most important safety tool is good communication from everyone involved. If some content is rough but manageable for a player I don't want to make that a central part of the story, but it may be alluded instead. We will be respectful of each other, try to extent grace when someone makes a mistake, and do our best to learn how to be a good table to play at together. Not every group is meant to play together long term and forcing a table to stick it out isn't healthy. Instead we want to create a positive, enjoyable, affirming, and learning experience for everyone. If the campaign lasts a month or a year these goals should be the same (though the scope might change).