Beginner Friendly D&D | The Sunless Citadel | Start Here
Every midsummer, goblins bring the village an apple that cures any illness. Nobody knows where it grows. The last people who asked never came back.
$20.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Monday - 11:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2–3 hours
Campaign Length / 5–6 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Never played Dungeons & Dragons before? You can start here. This table is built for people who have never played D&D, or who haven't played since the 80s and want back in. You don't need to know the rules, own a single book, or have watched an actual-play video in your life. I'll teach you everything as we go. You are members of the Far Watch, an order of traveling adventurers who investigate monsters, disappearances, cursed places, and other threats beyond the ability of ordinary folk to confront. Your first assignment takes you to the village of Oakhurst. Every midsummer, goblins arrive carrying a single perfect apple capable of healing almost any illness. No one knows where the fruit comes from. Now livestock and travelers are being found dead along the old road, a group of local adventurers has disappeared, and frightened villagers are whispering a name from an old story: Gulthias. Generations ago, the vampire Gulthias preyed upon Oakhurst and the surrounding farms before he was hunted to his refuge beneath a ruined fortress and destroyed. The locals fear he has returned. Your job is not to believe the story. Your job is to find out what's true. The trail leads to the Sunless Citadel, a fortress swallowed by the earth long ago. Its crumbling halls contain dangerous creatures, rival factions, forgotten histories, and something unnatural growing far beneath the surface. This classic adventure combines exploration, roleplay, investigation, puzzles, and dangerous combat. You'll decide whom to trust, when to negotiate, and when to draw steel. Clever plans and careful exploration matter every bit as much as what's on your character sheet. The campaign begins at level 1 and this first adventure runs approximately 5–6 weekly sessions, taking your characters to level 3. The Sunless Citadel is a complete adventure with its own ending, while surviving characters will have the opportunity to continue together into future Far Watch assignments. Our first session includes character creation together, and I'll walk you through every step. Pregenerated characters are available if you'd rather jump straight in.
Game style
Dungeon Crawl
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Beginner Friendly, Inclusive, Rule of Cool
About me
I started playing D&D in 1984 with the red Basic set and have played or run every edition since. I've published adventures for Dungeon Crawl Classics and Swords & Wizardry, and my podcast Flagons & Dragons earned an ENnie nomination. What that means for you: I've seen every way a campaign can fall apart, and I know how to keep yours from going that way. When I'm not behind the screen I'm a dad with a career and a mortgage. I understand that your Wednesday night is scarce and expensive. I'll be ready for it.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
You don't need to make a character before we play. Our first session is character creation, together, as a group. I'll walk you through every step, and you'll finish with a character you understand and actually want to play. Pregenerated characters are also available to choose from if you'd rather just jump straight in. If you'd rather arrive with something ready: 1st level, 2014 D&D 5e rules, standard array or point buy, built in Roll20.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Nothing to buy. Nothing to read. Nothing to download onto your computer. Before our first session you'll need: A free Roll20 account: That's where the maps and dice live. A free Discord account: That's where we talk. A microphone and a reasonably quiet room. Camera is optional and never required. That's the whole list. If any of that sounds unfamiliar, tell me and I'll walk you through it before we start. Getting you set up is part of what you're paying for.
What Carl brings to the table
Everything: maps, tokens, dice, music, and all the rules knowledge. You bring yourself. I run rules-light at the table and rules-right afterward. If there's confusion mid-session, I favor the players and keep moving, then look it up between games. I'd rather the scene stay alive than be perfectly correct. I'll tell you when I got it wrong. I do voices, but not for everyone. Recurring and important characters get one. The guard at the gate probably doesn't. Expect a mix of a good fight, a good conversation, and a good mystery. Your backstory isn't flavor text. Give me something to work with and it will show up, usually at the worst possible moment for your character and the best possible moment for the table. Played the Sunless Citadel before? Tell me. I'll change enough that you won't see it coming.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Carl creates a safe table
Before we play, we talk. Our first session includes a conversation about what everyone wants out of this game and, just as importantly, what nobody wants in it. You'll get a short list of topics (the kind of thing that can turn up in a fantasy adventure) and you tell me which ones are off the table entirely and which ones you'd rather handle off-screen. I generally run a PG-13 game. You can add to that list at any point. Message me privately, mid-campaign, weeks in. You don't owe me a reason and I won't ask for one. During play, you can stop anything. Say "let's move on" and we move on. No discussion, no negotiation, no one at the table gets an explanation. It's not a problem if you need to step away from your screen for five minutes. You can leave the campaign whenever you want. If this isn't the right table for you, that's useful information and I'd rather know than have you sit through five more Thursdays being polite. No hard feelings and no awkward exit conversation. For new players specifically: there are no stupid questions here. Ask them mid-scene. Ask the same one three weeks running. Nobody at this table is expected to know the rules, and I'd rather stop and explain something than have you spend an hour quietly lost. That includes asking what a word means, what your character can actually do, or what just happened. And a note on how I handle conflict: if something goes wrong between players, I deal with it directly and quickly. I'll talk to whoever was affected first. That's my job, not yours.
Content warnings
Safety tools used