Humblewood Tales: Heart of Dako - Beginner & LGBT+ Friendly

Creating your character

You can create your level 5 character before this session preferably using species from the Humblewood campaign setting. Use a Fixed Ability Score Array for character creation stats: 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 8. Players are welcome to use 2024 or 2014 rules. I have the pre-generated characters from this and other Humblewood modules made up to choose from as well. These were made using 2014 5e rules and can be assigned when joining the game. If you know how to link a D&D Beyond character to roll20, great! Roll20 also has the new function of crafting a character sheet outside of games, which can be imported via the Characters tool.

Preparing for the session

Players will need a microphone for voice calls, a discord account, and a roll20 account. Familiarity with the 5e D&D rules is welcome but not necessary. I am sharing a Google Drive document primer on the Humblewood setting and character creation options here if you choose to create your character using Humblewood setting options: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XcThkUq1Q8IpHda4l6SG1cjFWGWhB4N8/view?usp=drive_link

What Crystal brings to the table

Play will be on roll20, providing views of maps, tokens, and handouts for puzzles. Voice calls will be over Discord, and I might send images or text to share information in the call. I don't require cameras or video. I do enjoy music to help build atmosphere and mood. I love to improv and use silly voices. Collaborating with players and creating a space to showcase creativity, roleplay, and crafting a good story are some of my favorite things for games. I tend to lean more toward Rules as Intended than Rules as Written, especially if it allows players to do cool things! I tend to run more roleplay heavy games, and there's always room for a fun combat or three!

Homebrew rules

I use the following homebrew rules at my table: Fixed Ability Score Array for character creation: 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 8 The Luck System - Every time a player character misses an attack or a saving throw, they gain one luck point. You can only hold up to five luck points. If you gain a sixth luck point, they roll 1d4 and that's how many luck points you have now. You can spend one luck point to get +1 to a D20 roll after they roll. You can spend three luck points to re-roll a d20 check. The Flee Action - Fleeing is a party action. On any player’s turn, any player can propose that all the characters flee the fight. If all players agree, they successfully retreat, carrying any fallen heroes away with them. The party suffers a campaign loss on the level of story rather than on the level of mechanics. Exhaustion per 2024 rules - Exhaustion is a cumulative condition with 6 levels. All d20 rolls (ability checks, saving throws, and attacks) are reduced by 2 times your exhaustion level, while movement is reduced by 5 times your exhaustion level. At 6 levels of exhaustion, your character will die. Surprise Rules per 2024 - Surprised players or creatures will have a disadvantage on their initiative roll at the start of combat. When using a potion for healing, you can either use your action to get full health available back, or use a bonus action to roll the healing potion dice to regain health.

How Crystal creates a safe table

I have my rules of conduct that will be reviewed over discord before play including topics and themes for the current game and what should be avoided for player safety. My roll20 games have the option for a safety deck, which includes stop, slow down, and keep going. Players are also welcome to say, "Pause for a minute" or use X in the chat to get the table's attention that something is becoming too much. Players can also leave the game at any time per the Open Door assurance. After the finale of the game I like to go around the table to highlight player's favorite moments from the session to ease back into the real world.