🌹 The Dark Torrents: Fate of Western Rose

Creating your character

We'll create characters together before the campaign begins, either during a short Session 0 or through a guided character-creation process before our first full session. If you're new to DnD or TTRPGs, don't worry, I'll walk you through the system and help you build a character that fits both your playstyle and the world of Western Rose. Characters will begin at Level 3. We'll be using the current DnD rules and character creation options available through DnD Beyond. You are welcome to bring your own character concept, or we can build something together from scratch. I strongly encourage you to think about: • Who is your character? • What connections to they have to the city? • What do they want? • What are they afraid of losing? • Why do they care what happens to the city? You don't need a ten-page backstory. But don't let me stop you from doing so! I'll also work with the group to establish connections between your characters, so you're not a party of complete strangers who mysteriously decide to risk their lives together. Your characters will have reasons to care about one another and reasons to care about Western Rose.

Preparing for the session

There's very little you need to do before playing! Before the campaign begins, you'll need: 1. A DnD character created through DnD Beyond or with pen and paper. 2. A free Roll20 account, as we'll be using Roll20 for our virtual tabletop. 3. A Discord account, where we'll handle voice chat and campaign communication. 4. A decent microphone and headphones if possible. 5. A willingness to collaborate, improvise, and make some wonderfully questionable decisions. I'll provide the Roll20 game, maps, tokens, handouts and other materials needed for the campaign. You don't need to own any physical books. You don't need to memorise the rules. And you definitely don't need to spend hours preparing before every session. Before we start, I'll send you everything you need to know, including links to the relevant campaign spaces and any character-creation guidance. If you're completely new to DnD or virtual tabletops, that's absolutely fine. I'll help you get set up. The most important preparation is simply this: Come with a character you are excited to play, and come ready to discover what happens to Western Rose.

What Defhan brings to the table

My games are narrative-first, character-driven and built around player choice. I come from a theatre-making and storytelling background, so I put a lot of emphasis on atmosphere, characterisation and creating moments that feel like they belong to YOUR story. I won't be expecting you to simply follow a predetermined plot, the campaign will react to what you do. Expect: 🎭 Character-driven storytelling Your characters' relationships, fears, ambitions and decisions matter. I'll give you situations to react to, but what happens next is ultimately shaped by the choices you make. 🌹 A living world Western Rose isn't a backdrop waiting for heroes to arrive. It has factions, people, problems and competing interests. What you choose to do can change the city. Sometimes in ways you didn't anticipate. ⚔️ Exciting combat Combat will be meaningful rather than something we do just because the rules say we should. Expect dangerous encounters, unusual adversaries and situations where thinking creatively can be just as valuable as hitting something really hard. ✨ The Rule of Cool If you have a fantastic idea that isn't explicitly covered by the rules, let's talk about it. I'm much more interested in finding a fun way to make an awesome idea work than shutting it down because there isn't a paragraph about it in the book. 🎵 Atmosphere I'll use music, maps, visual references, handouts and environmental details to help bring the world to life. I'm not afraid of dramatic narration, or occasionally getting a little theatrical.

How Defhan creates a safe table

I use X cards and Lines & Veils.