The Hunger Games - Homebrew Campaign

Creating your character

Once your booking is confirmed I will reach out to schedule a private mini-session-zero to meet each other, go over the setting, and talk privately about your character. I will also send you a Discord server invite and a D&D Beyond Campaign invite. Before your first session, create your character's backstory: - Where in District Twelve did they grow up? - Who is your family, and what is your relationship like? - What talents do they have that might help them win sponsors or survive the arena? - What is their view on the Capitol and the possibilty of a rebellion? Decide what D&D Class best fits your character design. I recommend choosing a martial class (rogue, fighter, barbarian, etc.) as most magic wouldn't make sense within the setting. However if you want to play a bard or ranger we can discuss "flavoring" the casting to fit the setting. We will be using the 2024 D&D 5e (5.5e) on D&D Beyond, starting at level 1, and rolling for stats during our session zero.

Preparing for the session

1) Confirm your booking through Startplaying 2) Receive your welcome message with links 3) Join the D&D Beyond Campaign and Discord Server 4) Schedule a time to meet me and do character creation 5) Show up for the next session

What Patrick Conaway brings to the table

As one of my players, you get access to all my purchases on D&D Beyond and my Discord server with D&D resources and discussion channels. As a DM, I utilize in-depth maps, ambient soundscapes, narrated description and storytelling, and acting and improv techniques. During each session, we will join a Discord call for voice/video chat and soundscapes and use D&D Beyond Maps VTT for combat, exploration, and visual cues.

Homebrew rules

I tend to use the Rule of Cool as necessary, but the homebrew rules that I always come back to are: - Death Saving Throws are rolled privately to the DM, so no other player knows the success/failure count - Nat-20s and Nat-1s act as critical successes and failures in all aspects of play, not just combat - Players get to make the most out of their action economy during each round of initiative. If it makes sense to me logistically, I will often allow players to use their bonus action/free object interaction to interact with the environment in ways that aren't always listed in RAW

How Patrick Conaway creates a safe table

Our main safety discussion will take place during the private session zeros/character creation meetings. There, we will discuss the themes and possible triggers that could come up in the game and set up lines and veils. These boundaries will then be summarized for the entire group to make sure we're all on the same page. During a session, players can signal an "X" in any format to call for a pause or skip ahead if something is making them uncomfortable. This can be via message, spoken out loud, holding up an X on video, etc. At the start of each session, we will have a recap, which is also a good time for anyone to voice a change in boundaries or anything else. At the end of each session, I also do a check-in.