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Eden Star Academy [The Gambit combat system] [Judgment-Free]
Have you ever wished you could play in the same D&D campaign more than once a week? Now you can in a totally new way!
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
2 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
2/5
About the adventure
Eden Star Academy is an inclusive & judgment-free place where I designed this campaign around a single idea: A safe place to play D&D. It's a fully homebrew D&D campaign built around roleplay, creativity, player choice, and consequences. However, you aren't following someone else's adventure. You're creating your own personalized story with me at your beck and call. After all, why else pay a GM if not to create the story you want to create? ⚔️ The Gambit System: Now, instead of just rolling a die to hit, I decided to bring in my party favourite combat system, as I found that combat can be Lacklustre at times. My combat uses the Gambit System: Choose a skill → Describe the action you want to take → Roll the skill→ Your enemy counters with a skill of their choice → Resolve the Gambit. "Think fast. Describe your action. Make your Gambit." Now if you like that, I hope you will be equally excited about music. 🎵 Music During this campaign, the right song can turn a scene into a memory you'll carry long after the session ends. Every character gets 3 personal songs that I will add to the game: Character Theme — Your identity and journey. Sad Song — Your pain, past, loss, or emotional side. Battle Song — Comeback or defining moment. You can request your songs whenever the moment feels right to you, as I want this campaign to feel like you're the main character. 🏫 Now About the Adventure: The idea is that you're a first-year student at Eden Star Academy, a school dedicated to preparing young adventurers for the world's dangers. Learn new skills. Make friends. Find rivals. Meet guilds. Discover magic. Most importantly, discover who you might become. Then the earth moves. An earthquake tears through the academy. Sinkholes swallow entire sections of campus. Buildings collapse. Students and teachers vanish underground. Then something rises. Ancient ruins. Massive structures emerge from beneath the academy, built from materials no researcher can identify. And standing above them is a man surrounded by shifting shadows. 🎭 Professor Merriweather Quill: He applauds slowly, then bows. "Students! Professors! What a wonderfully unexpected first day!" He looks over the destruction. "...And apparently today's disaster coordinator. Bit of a promotion, really." He shrugs, then turns toward the students. "Now then... You must be wondering why I am here!" He laughs. "Welcome to Eden Star Academy!" His grin widens. "Your first semester just became a race against time." 🌟 What You Can Expect: 1. A fully homebrew fantasy world 2. Unique Gambit combat system 3. Heavy, character-driven roleplay 4. Your own personal music 5. Tactical combat, exploration, maps, and mystery 6. A living world that reacts to your choices 7. Multiple adventures each week 8. Three to four-hour voice sessions "Your character has a story to tell. Let's see what happens when the world starts listening."
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Hexcrawl / Exploration
Tactical / Crunchy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Rules as Written (RaW)
Organized Play
Meet the Game Master
4.8
(11)
1 year on StartPlaying
46 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, World Builder, Inclusive
Average response time: 3 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
With over 12 years of experience and running more groups then I can count; I know how to craft an adventure that will bring you and your friends to tears. I do this by placing YOU at the center of it all. Every decision counts. Every roll of the dice changes the story. Every character gets their turn in the spotlight. For this is YOUR story. Not mine, not your friends, YOUR STORY, And You know what? I still can't get enough of how unbelievably creative my players can be and if we add in what YOU bring to the table it will be even better. I love these games and I love the stories and memories that WE ALL create TOGETHER. My games are thoughtful, Inclusive, and full of Details from all of my players. But most of all they are unbiased and NON JUDGEMENTAL. I work hard to make sure everyone has an opportunity to shine and feel Safe at my table. I am the game master that will take ANY story you give me and see it through to the end. But most of all, i will work with you out of character in discord and talk for hours on end if you want about an idea you have. Give it to me and I will run it. For my name is Shadow, and I will run the stories you want to tell. “Your story, starts now” **A review from a very valued player in one of my Campaigns by Jared Gallop** *"Shadow is an INCREDIBLE storyteller, allows for a LOT of really cool story to happen and is really good about rule of cool, maintaining balance throughout some really insane encounters. I've played with him for almost 2 years now and he NEVER disappoints. Shadow also is really good about incorporating your backstory into the campaign, and will ALWAYS take into account what you want with your character. He is very knowledgeable and friendly, always wants to make sure people feel comfortable and safe in his games. Most of all, he is both a fantastic dungeon master and a great friend."*
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Instead of building your character alone, just pick a day to chat with me in Discord voice chat and we’ll make your character together. It’s casual, collaborative, and a great way to jump in—whether you know exactly who you want to play or need some inspiration!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
to get the most out of our adventures, please do the following before we start: 1. Make an account on D&D Beyond (https://www.dndbeyond.com/en). This is where your character lives and levels up, making things simple and organized. 2. Download Discord on your PC and phone or tablet (https://discord.com/download). It’s our main hub for chatting, organizing games, and staying connected on the go. 3. Have a headset with a built-in mic, or a USB microphone, so your voice comes through clearly to the group during sessions. Good audio makes a big difference for everyone!
What Dm: Shadow brings to the table
I will provide all you need. All I ask is that you bring yourself and the will to make the impossible possible.
Homebrew rules
Homebrew Rules: The Gambit System The Gambit System replaces traditional attack rolls. It is used whenever you attack or must react to danger in a split second. Gambits: Sudden Gambit: The most common Gambit. Choose an appropriate skill, describe your action, and roll. Attack: Win the Gambit = hit and deal normal damage. Defense: Win the Gambit = avoid the effect and take no damage. Critical Gambit: A Natural 17+ on a d20 attack roll creates a Critical Gambit. If you win, you deal maximum possible damage. Creative roleplay, clever ideas, skill choices, or using the environment may also convince the GM to award a Critical Gambit. "Think fast. Describe your action. Make your Gambit." How Gambits Work: When a Gambit occurs, imagine time stopping for those involved. Choose any skill that makes sense, explain what you're doing, and roll: 1d20 + Skill Modifier Your opponent chooses an appropriate skill and rolls to counter you. Attacker wins: Hit and deal damage. Defender wins: Miss; no damage. Examples: Perception: Watch for an opening. Investigation: Identify and exploit a weakness. Athletics: Ram or overpower the enemy. Stealth: Attack from an unexpected angle. Adapt to Your Enemy: Each skill can normally only be used once against the same enemy. Using it again gives Disadvantage, because your opponent has adapted. Change your approach or become the hunted! If an attacker rolls 3 or lower, something unexpected has gone wrong: bad positioning, equipment failure, distraction, or simple bad luck. The defender may use their Reaction to immediately counterattack. These moments are also more likely to lead to a Critical Gambit! Study Your Enemy: A successful Perception or Investigation check can reveal weaknesses or patterns. The GM may grant advantage on your skills against that enemy until each skill has been used once against them. Remember: Knowledge can be just as powerful as firepower. Combat Order: Combat has three stages: 1. Positioning → 2. Team Initiative → 3. individual Combat Initiative Team Initiative: Each team chooses one character to roll 1d20. The winning team chooses to move first or second. The first team positions all members, followed by the other team. Going first allows you to establish positions, surround enemies, take cover, or close distance. Going second lets you react to the enemy's positioning. Individual Combat Initiative: There are no individual Initiative rolls. Characters use their existing Initiative values, with the highest acting first against their opponents. Abilities that normally allow Initiative rerolls instead grant: Advantage on your first Gambit against each new enemy. The Gambit combat system: 1. Positioning → 2. Team Initiative → 3. Individual Combat Initiative 2. Choose a skill → Describe your action → Roll → Enemy counters → Resolve the Gambit. Initiative determines when you act. Your Gambit determines whether you succeed. "Think fast. Describe your action. Make your Gambit."
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Headphones
Platforms used
Safety
How Dm: Shadow creates a safe table
Found VTT has a module called "Table safety " that I installed. This will give you a sense of help as well as peace of mind. Finally, at the end of sessions, I like to touch base with players and see how they are doing.
Content warnings
Safety tools used