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The Styes | A Mystery Mini-Adventure for One or Two Players
Even after the so-called Lantern Ghost killer was caught and executed, rumor in the Styes is that the true culprit is still out there...
$40.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Tuesday - 9:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 2–4 Sessions
0 / 2 Seats Filled
Top Game Master
One of StartPlaying's top-rated GMs, a player favorite and highly recommended.
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About the adventure
This high level adventure from the Ghosts of Saltmarsh anthology book contains so many of the things that excite me the most: intrigue, a rich cast of characters, conspiracy, cult horror, and some awesome fights! Whether your characters are passing through town or are locals of the dockside slum known as the Styes, they are roped into investigating the recent murders in town, in particular, the murder that occured last night, after the supposed killer was already shown the hangman's noose. Over the course of this adventure, characters will familiarize themselves with the four neighborhoods of the Styes and get acquainted with the major players in town, put a stop the murders, and find themselves wrapped up in an other-wordly threat far greater than they could have anticipated. Expect this adventure to be brief, punchy, action packed, and positively dreadful!
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(15)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
60 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Sets the Mood, Voices
About me
Hi friends! I've been a professional theatre and TV actor for 20 years, and a role playing fan for nearly as long! However, when video game rpgs could no longer scratch the itch, I dove into ttrpgs in 2017 and haven't looked back. I've run many multi-year campaigns for friends, both in person and online, and I'm excited to make take the leap into professional GMing! Take a look at the Dream Roll Gaming channel on YouTube, a short-lived but very rewarding project I had with a few actor friends of mine. In those videos you can get a sense of my style as a GM. I prefer games with an open-ended world which sets problems for the player characters, and lets the plot unfold as a consequence of their behavior. If you are looking for a space to bring a character to life and to have a hand in crafting a world, I'm your guy.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Using my DnDBeyond link, you'll create 11th level characters using 5.5e classes. Characters will be allowed 1 uncommon and 2 common magic items. All player options are allowed, except for 5e Core Rules and Legacy/Noncore material. I will do my best over these few sessions to embed your characters in this world, so feel free to shoot me ideas about your character's story and what they're doing here, and I will incorporate these ideas into our game :)
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need accounts on DndBeyond as well as AlchemyRPG, and you will want to download the AlchemyRPG application for a shared tabletop. You will also be invited to my Discord server, and we'll be using mics and webcams through Discord so please have suitable tech for both!
What Dream Roll DM brings to the table
In all of my games, my first goal is to set a tone and a mood. My only job as a DM is to elicit a feeling in my players. To this end, I utilize ambient sound effects and dynamic music, careful attention to pacing, and full commitment in narration and NPC performance. I am a character-first, story-second, powergamer-third kind of DM. Although I have a deep understanding of the mechanics of the game, I am prepared to bend and break these rules, but only as is necessary to facilitate the tone and narrative. You can always trust that the game will function as you expect, but I'm not afraid to negotiate rulings and allow for edge cases and story-driven exceptions, as long as there is consensus amongst all at the table. First and foremost, I want you to be storytellers! And I'll shape the world around you to help you do just that.
Homebrew rules
Alternate Criticals: Instead of rolling your damage die twice, we will instead treat one of the rolls as max. So, if you crit on 1d8+4, it instead becomes 1d8+8+4. Exhaustion: Every time you drop to zero hit points, you gain one level of exhaustion, which can be removed using the normal methods.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Webcam
Platforms used
Safety
How Dream Roll DM creates a safe table
In AlchemyRPG you are provided with anonymous ways to list any topics/pain points you wish to avoid, as well as an anonymous X-Card to use if in the moment you need the game to move away from the current topic. Use these freely please!
Content warnings
Safety tools used