Against Chaos in the Borderlands!

Image by Dean Spencer

Against Chaos in the Borderlands!

The Keep on the Borderlands is a shield against an encroaching darkness, but without heroes such as you it will surely fall!

TYPE

Campaign

LEVELS

1

LANGUAGE

English

EXPERIENCE

Open to all

AGE

18+
3 NEEDED TO START
$39.00

/ Session

Details

3 players following this game

Weekly / Wednesday - 10:30 PM UTC

Session Duration / 3–4 hours

Campaign Length / 20+ Sessions

1 / 6 Seats Filled

Report Adventure

Money Back Guarantee

StartPlaying Money Back Guarantee

If your game doesn't happen, we guarantee a refund. Just reach out to StartPlaying Support. Refund Policy

This game will begin once 4 players have joined

Meet your party members

1/6

About the adventure

Many years ago, the armies of Chaos swept across the land, leaving only blood and ruin in their wake. In time they were pushed back and defeated in a costly war, and a great keep was built to safeguard the kingdoms. Some of the greatest heroes of that time built their own stronghold amidst those wilds, a redoubt from which they could plot further ventures into the chaotic wilds. But that was some time ago- the heroes are missing, and the lands around the keep grow ever more perilous! For glory, good, or gold, you have answered the call for heroes to quell the growing darkness. The Keep on the Borderlands is a foundational DnD adventure which sets you in a region of dangerous wildlands, with the titular keep as a place of respite, but also a source of possible adventure and intrigue. The keep is filled with all manner of folk, some with motives less honorable than others. Outside of the keep lay the dangerous wilds and the encroaching forces of Chaos! I'm using both the newer Heroes of the Borderlands adventure, as well as the original Keep on the Borderlands module- these are "sandbox" adventures, letting you take the lead as you like- but the world continues to move as the game progresses, the clock never stops- other factions, forces, and plots are on the move in the background; some events will unfold as consequence of choices you've made! I don't know where the game will go- one of the fun parts of DMing for me is to find out what'll happen, and how things play out! In general, character death is possible in my games- I don't run intentionally deadly games, but sometimes things go wrong, or the dice go against a character one time too many. Clips from some of my sessions can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skSi4oFDScs I already have a few tables of players that have gamed with me for years now, we're looking to find some new folk to join the crew!

Game style

Hexcrawl / Exploration

Dungeon Crawl

Sandbox / Open World

Combat Heavy

Meet the Game Master
Podcaster
Neurodivergent
Voice Actor
Game Designer

4 years on StartPlaying

480 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Voices

About me

Hey there! Quick rundown of my DMing style for you: 🧙‍♂️ Veteran DMing and improvisational skills to roll with your choices 🎭 Notable NPCs with immersive interactions 🗺 Quality battlemaps 🎆 Spell effects ⚔️ Engaging tactical combat 🙌 Newbie-friendly attitude with patience to walk you through an RPG There's an amazing feedback loop that happens when both the DM and the players are invested in the game. Whether it be characters, the story, the setting and lore- the more interest you show in the game that we're all enjoying together, the better it becomes! You can see gameplay clips and other content of mine at https://youtu.be/skSi4oFDScs https://youtube.com/@distracteddm https://www.tiktok.com/@distracteddm I'm an enthusiastic, experienced DM that's been playing & running TTRPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons for over 25 years- ever since I walked into a game store as an 11-year-old because it had a chess piece on the sign and I thought "I'd like to be good at chess." There was no chess to be had, but there were plenty of people playing wargames and D&D. The rest is history. I have experience in voice acting, teaching, and general nerddom- though my professional fields have been in Intellectual Property (Gaming, Streaming, Technology) and voiceovers. I love running games because of the choices that players make, the dramatic conflicts that are presented during play, and the way that players develop their characters and personalities throughout campaigns. I am delighted when the party does things that I don't expect- for this reason, I am also an excellent improviser. The world is a living place, though the primary actors are the players every NPC has their own reason for being that motivates them and informs their attitudes. The guard you're talking to in town doesn't know he's an NPC, he's a gruff man that respects the law and wants to safely get home to his family. I enjoy writing, especially scenes and short stories that are inspired by the world and actions that we put into motion at the gaming table. I may present these 'cutscenes' to players every few sessions, as it gives them insight into the world and other goings-on that are adjacent to their actions in the world. I like teaching new players, as well as running games for people that are old hands with the hobby! Welcome to the table, and I'll see you in the dungeon!

View Profile →
Character creation

Creating your character

We'll all talk character creation in the Discord server and do a Session 0 in which we talk as a group about what kind of would be appropriate and who wants to play what, and then start playing! Players can use either 5e, 5.5e, or Level Up A5E characters (I'll share those with you if you want to take a look, or they're freely available on the a5e.tools site).

What to expect

Preparing for the session

You'll need a microphone, a stable internet connection, and optionally a webcam. The virtual tabletop is via FoundryVTT (please see Foundry's Client Requirements https://foundryvtt.com/article/requirements/ ) Voice and between-session chat will be over Discord. Please have accounts created for: https://forge-vtt.com/ (this is a server service for FoundryVTT) Discord, installed Please ensure that Hardware Acceleration is turned on in your Chrome browser https://www.howtogeek.com/412738/how-to-turn-hardware-acceleration-on-and-off-in-chrome/

What Distracted DM brings to the table

An enthusiastic attitude, coupled with decades of experience A skillfully crafted, engaging setting with secrets to discover Animated and professionally done battlemaps Quality tokens and art A Discord server to talk about the game between sessions, including personal in-game downtime activities when relevant PDFs and DnDBeyond content as needed

Homebrew rules

I've been running 5e for almost 10 years now, and have designed and discarded a number of house rules over the years. We'll discuss any house rules used, but don't expect anything drastic, at least not without a group discussion first!

Equipment needed to play

Internet

Computer

Microphone

Safety

How Distracted DM creates a safe table

This is a fantasy world that includes combat, death, dangers, and magic. Please voice any issues (ex. arachnophobia) before or, if necessary, during play- this is an entertaining and engaging experience, mild discomfort may occur depending on the vividness of your imagination, but you should never be made more uncomfortable than you're comfortable with, if that makes sense :) "Romantic" encounters are fade to black ("the bard and the barman are into one-another, that night they meet, fade to black on that"). Descriptions of blood, death, violence, etc. are present but are not the focus- the intent is to draw you into the world.

Content warnings

Death
Violence

Safety tools used

Frequently asked questions