The Eldritch Curse of Strahd

Creating your character

We will be using D&D Beyond for characters, since that's where my materials are, but players may use the Roll20 character sheets if they prefer. I have pregenerated characters up on D&D Beyond and Roll20 which may be modified to taste for new players or folks who wish to get started quickly. All characters will start at 1st level. We will use the Standard Array or Point Buy methods from the 5.5 Players Handbook. Other sources allowed include Forgotten Realms Heroes of Faerun, the player materials from Ravenloft: the Horrors Within, and player options which have not been updated yet from Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Xanthar's Guide to Everything, Astral Adventurer's Guide from Spelljammer, the artificer class from Eberron: forge of the Artificer, and the player materials from Sigil and the Outlands in the Planescape setting. The only third-party material that I allow are the player options from Chaosium's Cthulhu by Torchlight. No evil-aligned characters are allowed. Good alignments are preferred since this is a heroic campaign, but neutrals are allowed as long as they stay with and work with the rest of the party. No attention hogs, lone wolves, intra-party betrayal, backstabbing, or theft is permitted. No one is starting with any magic items.

Preparing for the session

Players will need a desktop or laptop machine with either Chrome, Firefox, or another up-to-date web browser, the Discord software installed and an active Discord account, as well as the free Beyond20 extension for your browser. Pre-existing Roll20 and D&D Beyond accounts are also a requirement.

What Gary brings to the table

All allowed player sources are enabled in D&D Beyond. I may use music where I deem appropriate. Available safety tools like the Safety deck will be set up in Roll20. I can do character voices as appropriate. Combats are tactical and rules as written with dashes of rule of cool as I deem fit.

Homebrew rules

I do use a house rule that allows multiple instances of Heroic Inspiration per character, but only one Heroic Inspiration may be used per turn per character, except on Death saving throws or if I deem appropriate.

How Gary creates a safe table

We will have a free Session Zero where players can discuss expectations for the campaign, and boundaries and triggers to be avoided. Additionally, I will speak to each player individually over Discord if desired. All needed safety tools will be available and used as needed. I will be available over Discord to discuss expectations and issues immediately after the game or at agreed upon times.