Beneath the Eyes - An Expedition into Darkness
Beneath a great city on the coast, forgotten halls are stirring. Plunge into the darkness below and return with gold and glory, if you return at all.
$15.00
/ Session
Details
1 player following this game
Once / Tuesday - 12:30 AM UTC
Aug 18
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Port Iariel is a Free City where an inland sea meets a fertile, subtropical coast — cranes and masts against the skyline, guildhalls and embassies rising up the hills behind them, two colossal lighthouse-towers standing watch over the harbor like sentinels. It's wealthy, cosmopolitan, and until recently, considered safe. Then something came up out of the dark beneath the streets — old mineshafts, forgotten sewers, tunnels nobody had mapped in a generation — and the city has never looked at its own foundations the same way since. Now there's coin on the table for anyone willing to go back down and find out what else is waiting. That's where you come in. Each session is a standalone expedition into the Undercroft — the sprawling, half-buried maze beneath Port Iariel — built to play start-to-finish in a single sitting. No homework, no continuing storyline to catch up on, no assumed knowledge of the setting. You'll get everything you need at the table: a patron with a reason to send you down there, a goal, and a dungeon that doesn't care how prepared you are. Tonally, expect dark fantasy with teeth — haunting, grand, and morally grey, drawing on that same sense of towering, tragic myth found in the genre's most iconic epics. Danger is real and treasure is earned; the tone leans mature rather than grimdark for its own sake. It's genuinely welcoming to any experience level — whether you've been playing for years or you've never rolled a d20, you'll leave having actually done something.
Game style
Tactical / Crunchy
West Marches
Dungeon Crawl
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Voices, World Builder, Storytelling
About me
I'm a husband and father of two who's been playing D&D and other tabletop games since I was twelve years old, and running them for almost as long. I enjoy and have experience with D&D, Pathfinder, and Genesys, and am always expanding my repertoire. I'm also a classically trained actor and voice actor, and I incorporate my training into play where possible to try to bring as much life to my games as possible. I love storytelling and collaboration in many forms and also enjoy a variety of books, movies, and video games that influence my taste and style.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
- Players should build characters before the start of the session, with DM assistance available on Discord leading up to the session. - D&D Beyond is required, and content will be shared via a campaign link. - Characters should be level 3 and use either standard array or point buy for stats, as there is no good way to monitor rolls to ensure fairness. - Characters also should be more than just stat blocks, with personality traits and especially core motivation being the most important. - Players may use starting equipment or gold (new players are recommended to use starting equipment), and those who use gold should purchase equipment before the start of the first session. - Use only 2024-compatible content. If there is content, either homebrew or pre-2024, that you would like to use, message me on Discord (server links will be available in "Preparation") and we can discuss it.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You'll need: - A Discord account - A D&D Beyond account - A working computer and mic (webcams are optional but welcome) - A browser able to run D&D Beyond Maps (most generic PC or Mac browsers are capable.) - To join this Discord server https://discord.gg/wYxtqYt4eX - Join the D&D Beyond campaign linked in the discord - Say hi, don't be a stranger, I'd love to hear from you before the session. - Put a character together using the guidelines provided earlier. Feel free to ask questions about character creation in the Discord, I try to answer all messages within 24 hours (usually faster unless I'm asleep)
What Samuel McKnight brings to the table
I'll provide: - D&D Beyond content and Maps - Ambient music will be made available (though you're welcome to listen to your own if you'd prefer) - Colorful and rich descriptions and voice acting - Gritty tactical combat - Adaptive, fresh, and challenging dungeon exploration - Setting lore available before, during, and after sessions - Willingness to collaborate, teach, and adapt to players' needs
Homebrew rules
- Player critical hits have been only slightly adjusted to make them more consistently impactful.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Samuel McKnight creates a safe table
I'll provide a Deck of Player Safety link in the Discord before the session, and I encourage all players to fill it out. I'll also be using the X, N, and O system during sessions via Discord direct messages. Players are also welcome to stand up and walk away from a session for a break if they need a moment to decompress.
Content warnings
Safety tools used