HALLOWED HOLLOW | Gothic Undead Horror | Inclusive and AI Free

Creating your character

Once the game has enough players to start, we'll get started with character creation, which will happen during our Session 0! Monster of the Week does this collaboratively, with everyone creating histories between one another and introducing their characters to each other around the table. Feel free to brainstorm before that point, but character sheets won't technically be 'finished' until the end of that process. I'll be providing all of the resources I have access into, including the core rules, the playbooks (classes), cheat sheets, and also some extra homebrew stuff that might interest people. If you have access to any other resources or would like to use something homebrewed, just let me know so I can check it out and give it the OK! Also, feel free to make your character as knowledgeable/skilled as you'd like, from absolute novice to well read occultist with an expertise in spectral studies. Once sheets are all done, just send it over to me either via DM on Discord or in the game's Discord server (which will have a channel for characters, notes, and all other player pertinent info). Again, it's basically just to give it a once over and also give me some insight on what sort of things to plan to best give your character cool stuff to do.

Preparing for the session

Make sure you have a Discord account and some way to access Google Drive. The campaign will be hosted on a Discord server, which I'll give an invite for once you're in. The google drive access is for accessing the resources needed for the game, like the rulebooks, character sheets, cheat sheets for moves/rules, all that jazz.

What Phoenix brings to the table

I'm a big fan of ambient music and, so long as the bot I use keeps running, I'll be playing music and ambience through the discord call during sessions. I also enjoy giving characters unique voices, motivations, and personalities for the sake of richer interactions between your hunters and the world, so feel free to talk to both your allies and enemies alike! In combat, I'm not big on battlemaps and hardcore tactics, but I absolutely reward smart thinking and interesting ideas. That goes for Rule of Cool style bending of interpretations and custom rolls, but also for additional bonuses for well thought out plans, good descriptions of positioning, or using the environment in fun ways. It's a collaborative game, so I want to provide you with the freedom to ask about what's possible and act on it. Throw a grenade and dive behind a tree? Maybe there wasn't one there in my mind initially, but it makes enough sense and creates a fun moment! That kind of stuff is my jam, and so I really encourage asking questions and pursuing what you think would be cool. One of the main rules I tend to be "strict" about is a Monster of the Week principle called, "You have to make the move." Since the GM is the one who calls for rolls in this system, it's helpful to have a specific description of what your character is doing or what their goal is so I can call for the appropriate move, which means describing it first and then rolling. In DND and similar systems, it's sometimes cool to simply say 'I roll perception', but in MOTW you have to first describe your character looking through camera footage or tracking footprints before the GM asks you to Investigate a Mystery. I won't hound you about it, but it's helpful for avoiding questions on what specifically you plan on doing and keeps the game moving smoothly from one scene to the next. Also, it's fun to describe what your character's up to at any given moment so your buddies can react and so I can best reward your quick thinking! Pretty much everything I've talked about here ties into my focus on roleplay and telling a fun story together at the table, and a lot of sessions because of this will involve talking to NPCs, describing your investigations, interacting with one another, and describing your attacks once the hunt begins in earnest. All of that together gives everyone more material to bounce off of and more chances to let their character shine. If that sounds up your alley, you're in the right place for it.

Homebrew rules

If you wish you can replace the basic Weird Move, Use Magic, with an alternate Weird move from the provided sheet in the google drive I'll send in the server. This isn't technically 'homebrew' but I think it's important to mention. I'll occasionally call for a luck dice roll when outcomes aren't certain but none of the other moves quite work for deciding it. It's just a single d6, which you can roll at home or with the dice bot in the server. Depending on how quickly you all level up, you may end up reaching a point where all you can do is retire your character or change playbooks, and you might not want to do either of those. At that point, I'll begin providing custom level up rewards after every 2-3 level ups (since at that point you're already an exceptionally capable hunter), ranging from custom items, character specific moves, or other goodies. It doesn't always happen, but good to mention just in case.

How Phoenix creates a safe table

We'll have a Session 0 before we get into any of the actual mysteries or sessions. It'll ideally be split into two halves, with one focused on determining Lines, Veils, and expectations at the table, and the other focused on character creation. Before session 0, I'll also provide a PDF to the RPG gaming checklist for anything you'd prefer to keep anonymous from the other players but are comfortable sharing directly to me, and access to the Deck of Player Safety for anything you'd like to veto anonymously. During the Session 0, we'll have a time for public conversation about what we're all comfortable with above table, and then I'll provide any other lines or veils from the checklist or DOPS entirely anonymously so everyone knows the topics to avoid or be cautious about. To be clear, no anonymously sent information will be tied back to you, but your preference will be made public so everyone can respect that boundary even if they don't know who's boundary it is. If you'd prefer to not do that either, please let me know and I'll make sure not to do so. During the actual sessions, we'll also make use of X, N, or O cards just in case a veil is accidentally crossed or a boundary someone was previously unaware of rears it's head. If you feel uncomfortable, would like to rewind or skip, or even just feel as if we're heading into uncomfortable territory you can give as much or as little info as you'd like. Feel free to mention it above table or simply DM me so I can shift gears and make sure everyone is feeling safe and having a good time. After sessions, I LOVE debriefing about stuff. It's a good chance to commend the party's actions, unpack emotions from a session, or discuss the next steps for the party. I'll almost always stick around after a session to do so, so don't feel rushed to hop out of call once a session's over. One last important thing: if you need a break, please take one. You can let me know in the call, send a BRB, or send me a DM, but after that do what you gotta do. I wanna discuss during Session 0 whether or not we want a designated break during each session, but I also want to make it clear that you can step away from the table when and if you need. If you'd like us to stop while you're gone or keep going, just let me know, though there may be some instances where a scene is important enough that we end up pausing for a bit or switching lanes until you get back.