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Beyond The Frost: A Daggerheart Campaign
Cities are built, abandoned, and moved as a fickle and hostile climate wrecks havoc. Adventure and fame away those that navigate the wilds and risks.
$20.00
/ Session
Details
1 player following this game
Weekly / Sunday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2.75–3.25 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
The world is harsh and hungry; and the safety of a city only lasts until the next ice melt. In the land of Ebex, the only towns and cities are built around massive, impermanent, pillars of ice. The land between shifts between sun baked savannas, oppressive wetlands, and shallow seas; all fed or abandoned by the unrelenting runoff from the glacial spire that marks the heart of each city. No matter the might or renown, a city inevitably dwindles into a town; until just another skeletal ruin remains as the ice dwindles and shatters over decades. But the inhabitants of this world are a far cry from hopeless. With no clearly identifiable rhyme or reason, new spires appear periodically. Previously inhospitable lands are made safe to inhabit away from unforgiving nature and hungry beasts; and with each discovery those with means are the first to strike out to claim a foothold in the soon-to-be new civilization. Despite the inherent impermanence of settlements in Ebex, people live and flourish as they have always done. Commerce happens between the high society in the inner frost and the blazing world beyond. Join the ranks of your fellow adventurers and protect the waterways and tunnels from the bandits and beasts that pose an ever-present threat or delve into the hastily abandoned cities of the past to claim the treasures left behind. -- Tropes and Themes: Cretaceous Chaos and Jurassic Jungles – Wealth displayed as how cold you can afford to be in a burning world – River rafts and subterranean paths – A city survives even if it has to be rebuilt elsewhere (Cities of Theseus) – Wilderness Exploration
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(26)
5 years on StartPlaying
173 games hosted
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Creativity, Storytelling
Average response time: 7 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Globetrotting fire-breather turned therapeutic GM. Cool, now that I've got your attention. I'm Xan, if the Therapeutic GMing is what got your eye the check out my psychology today listing at the bottom! What I like to do and what I've done are neat, so I'll list them a bit further down. Here's who I am though. I'm a life-long storyteller and performer. A bit of honeysuckle helps the southern gothic horror go down easy, and yes, I do in fact want to see a picture of your pet/s. I'll give you a run for your money with a pun contest *any* day of the week, and I live by the motto "Manic enthusiasm is still enthusiasm". Games have brought me joy, relief, and catharsis over the years and I can say without hesitation that they, and the friends I've made through them, have been a huge positive impact on my life. So I'm here to pay that joy back and be the background tapestry for your happy memories and kickass stories. "Rule of Cool" always par for the course and expect me to be just as invested in your characters as you are. I love to flesh a game out through how your character sees the world, "you walk into the market and an unexpected scent brings you back home for a split second. What is it?". I prioritize safety and making sure that I'm making my game suited to the players, not the other way around. Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to talk about booking a private game or consultation about your own game. I'd love to help you make your own time as a GM the most rewarding it can be. I'm also available if you are looking for guests or experts in the topics at the intersection of mental health and TTRPGs. I'm also a founding member and the Director of International Relations for "Gaming The System(s)!" A 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocating for the applied use of games in Therapy and Classrooms And, the numbers! 30+ Featured Speaking events (including: PAX, Origins Game Fair, Save Against Fear, and The Therapeutic and Applied Gaming Growth Summit) 11 Years professional GM 1 published adventure in Rock and Roll 5e (zine) 50+ homebrew materials for DnD 3.5/5e, Pathfinder, VtM, Daggerheart and more 4 Hacks written 1 original game developed 1 Full length game in development 34 years of being a total badass Therapeutic Skill building‽‽ With games (or just with a cool coach)‽‽ Yup! Full disclosure though, listings on Startplaying *are not* therapeutic sessions. Those require a different approach, intent, and structure. Reach out on my Psychology Today page if you're interested and I'm happy to have that conversation with you on a HIPAA compliant server! 🤘 https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1380727
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We'll talk plans and concepts on discord and get a vague idea of how and who everyone is looking to play. There'll be a session zero to work on the actual details on the character sheet and help create starting bonds and relationships between the characters to start the game out with a sense of connection and an idea of what the characters think of each other.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Roll20 will be for the actual characters and dicerolls in during the game itself, the demiplane integration lets you access the books and core materials. The only other thing you need is a desire to tell a good story with other good folks. There is a no generative AI policy for this game, so if you're looking for character art I recommend Heroforge (where NPC art will be from) or one of the many, many piccrew options.
What Xan!!! brings to the table
The discord is already set up, and the roll20 is waiting for us to start. I've got a PDF of the core rulebook and the information accessible on roll20/demiplane so all the mechanics will be easy to find. I'll be providing ambient music to the scenes when appropriate if players want, and will provide a recap between the sessions so we all have a good idea where the story left off last time. There may be a map or image shown every so often, but I don't use tactical/grid maps. If you're close, you're close enough. If you're far, you're too far. Luckily this is the style of combat that Daggerheart was built to support. If you don't have time to make a quick ref of your character art just give me a short description and I'll throw something together for you, no worries.
Homebrew rules
None to start, but I've been homebrewing for 15 years now so if there's something that you want to try lets see if we can make it work. Rule of cool and reflavoring existing abilities is almost always no problem whatsoever.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Microphone
Computer or Mobile Device
Platforms used
Safety
How Xan!!! creates a safe table
I'll toss out some topics that are the most likely to come up for folks to weigh in on and there you can also advocate for what topics/scenarios need to be avoided (lines) or have happen off screen (veils). The games themself are open table, so you can always get up and take time to yourself if you need to, and we take a 10min bio about halfway through. The X card is always respected and in play. A safe game's story can't be sacred, so if we need to do some light retconning or fail in a way that feels more honest to your character or the story then that's all there is to it. That said, there's no going back from a result once the dice are rolled, this is a game where its easy to bite off more than your character can chew. At the end of the session we'll have a recap and debrief, and you're always welcome to message the channel or me directly if there's anything we need to follow up on.
Content warnings
Safety tools used