Hush of the Hollowoods: A Domain of Dread Campaign
In a realm where civilization is on its last legs, fought not by zombies or golems or a lich but Nature herself, what will you do to survive?
$30.00
/ Session
Details
4 players following this game
Bi-weekly / Friday - 11:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2.5–3 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
This campaign is a love letter to Ravenloft campaigns, dark fantasy, and survival campaigns- but without the tedious counting of rations or travel time. The point of these games is to tell interesting stories, not work on spreadsheets and abaci. The campaign will take place from levels 5-20, and some new mechanics will be included (as well as optional subclasses for those willing to playtest material). This campaign revolves around the themes of the primordial and eldritch essence of Nature, fanaticsm, folk horror, psychological horror, and what makes a monster. I do enfoce the rules overall, but I'm very much in favor of rule of cool- if it's unclear or fitting for your character, I'm more than inclined to listen and see what we can do.
Game style
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(10)
4 years on StartPlaying
28 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Inclusive, Creativity
About me
Hey. Before I tell you who I am, take a deep breath. Just relax. It feels like everything you love has become homework, right? Half the people you know keep telling you to turn your hobbies, your passions, the things that keep you sane, into side hustles- whether or not you’re really ready to start your own business. The other half seem to obsess over their interests, arguing about minor plot points or design decisions for no reason (I’m unfortunately guilty of that sometimes) or gatekeeping their hobby as if more people won’t help their beloved IP spread and survive. What I’m providing here? Not like that. You want to be min-maxy and build the ultimate 5e 2Pally/Hexblade1/Whisper6? Sure! Want just a beer and pretzels game to have a good time and meet friends at? Awesome! Want to get engrossed in a conspiracy and roleplay every bit of political intrigue? I got you. The catch? We ALL agree on the nature of the game- not one of us, not three of us, not even just me, but EVERYONE. That’s how we have a great time together. I’ve spent a lot of GMing time teaching beginners how to play systems like D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, and even Ten Candles; but I’ve also spent time with experts (both as player and GM) who cut their teeth playing ttrpgs practically before I was born. So don’t sweat the heavy stuff. Take off your coat, leave your troubles at the door, and let’s have some fun. There’s got to be some place for us filthy casuals to play, right?
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation will take place during or after the first session, in which we'll be doing our session zero. If not completed before the first session of play starts, time will be allowed to help with that (unless there is no progress on character creation, which case I will kindly ask the player to join us next session and insure they aren't charged).
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Players will need: 1 Discord account, 1 mic (this can be on a cheap pair of headphones or an XLR mic- the key is that audio is easy to hear and doesn't have feedback), 1 Firefox/Chromium browser, and a way to make a character on their own (DnDBeyond, Demiplane, etc.).
What Ryan brings to the table
I will be providing ambient music, access to a VTT (Foundry), a Discord server for communication for the game (as well as hanging out and talk to others if interested), a wide range of NPCs with funny voices, and a sizable knowledge of both 5e and 5.5 rules.
Homebrew rules
Bloody and Mortal knowledge (Half HP=Bloody, Mortal= HP≤10). You will need to do a check for non-humanoid creatures. Death Saves- you get your turn if you get a Nat 20 and 1HP on a death save. Heroic Inspiration- You can have 3 stacks at once, and you can donate your HI's to other players. Additionally, you can also spend all of your current stacks to automatically crit a Death Save and come back up with 1 HP. Divine Smite- 5e version with a 1x per turn limit Flanking- No advantage, but a +2 to melee attack rolls (including spells) Potions- Bonus action to roll, Action for max potential HP (2d4+2 on BA, 10 on Action). You can throw them BG3 style, but that requires an Athletics check. Darkvision- Does not work in this demiplane (except for Devil's sight or magical darkvision) Attunement is an action, but takes an hour to un-attune. Grappling- 5e version. *Testing* Pathfinder 2e crit damage- On a crit, do 2x all dice and modifier (e.g. 2d6+5(STR)+2(Dueling) becomes 2*[2d6+7])
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Ryan creates a safe table
I will be sending a Monte Cook Lines and Veils document, as well as going over any specific setting potential cws during session zero. I will be using a modified X, N, O system via Foundry, and after session we'll see how everyone is doing.
Content warnings
Safety tools used