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Tomb of the Serpent Kings - Intro to Dungeon Crawling
A recent storm has uncovered a long forgotten crypt, and now an archmage from the city is offering a handsome reward for those who dare to delve it
$23.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Thursday - 5:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2–3 hours
Campaign Length / 5–10 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
This is adventure was written by Skerples as an introduction to dungeon crawling - a cornerstone of older D&D that has been somewhat forgotten in recent years. A dungeon is much like a living being, full of unique ecologies and patterns; and dungeon crawling is like learning the language of this organism and using it to your advantage - hopefully resulting in wealth beyond imagination. In my games, I like to encourage careful exploration, role-play, and critical thinking. Not every encounter has to be solved with violence, and sometimes the best answer is just to run away. I also enjoy using character death as a real, telegraphed consequence of player choices - which isn't to say your identical twin won't happen to show up after the combat, of course ;) This adventure is a great starting place for anyone new to dungeon crawling or RPGs in general, and will still be very rewarding for intermediate/advanced players. All are welcome! Setting: Standard fantasy. There's all the demi-human races you're familiar with (elves, dwarves, halflings, etc), and a big wizard city called Melethria. Technology is mostly medieval, but there's been some magic-tech coming out of Melethria in recent years.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Dungeon Crawl
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Voices, Inclusive, Beginner Friendly
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
I am a long time RPG player and particularly enjoy exploring different rule systems to gain a deeper understanding of what the best parts of role-playing games are for different audiences. From DnD 4e in elementary school, to Pathfinder 1e in middle and high school, to DnD 5e and a wide array of rules-light games and hacks in college (Mausritter, Dungeon Walk, DCC, Merciless HellBorg and more!). I've tasted a bit of everything, and aim to bring the best of what I've found into my games.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
If you are new to the game, I can assist with character creation during the first session and in the week leading up to session 2. I would encourage you to come to the game with a character concept, but I am very comfortable making fresh characters on the spot as well. If you already have a good grasp on character creation, feel free to show up to the first session with your sheet - ideally in a format that I can look over. I primarily use the D&D 2024 rules, but if there's a subclass or feature from 2014 that you would like to use, that's also okay. Feel free to DM me any time with questions. Backstory isn't necessary, but always encouraged. This will likely not be a very character-lore driven story, as dungeons tend to create all the structure needed for play. However, if having detailed backstory is your kind of play style, don't hesitate tell me all those juicy details!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
We will be playing on Roll20, which does require you to make a free account. Additionally, you'll need to join my RPG discord server for voice and text chat.
What Jacob Walker brings to the table
I'll be using dungeon ambiance and combat music for background tracks. I've got a few different playlists, with my favorite stuff being from Scuzzlebutt, Rotch Gwylt, The Witcher OST, and Darkest Dungeon OST. I love character voices and sound effects, so expect a lot of these. As far as rulings go, I try to keep it to the book if there's an obvious answer written in there, but I'm a huge fan of grey areas. If you've got a crazy idea for your turn, I'd love to run with it.
Homebrew rules
You can bring an unconscious but stable party member to 1 HP with a successful medicine check.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Jacob Walker creates a safe table
Session 0 will include a Lines and Veils discussion - ie. what kind of topics you are comfortable having at the table. Please check the content warnings to see if this adventure is right for you. If there is a boundary crossed in game that needs to be immediately addressed, the player(s) in question should let me know as soon as possible. This can take the form a private message, taking a pause in the game to tell me directly, holding up an X card on their screen, or typing an X in the chat. We will put the game on hold and discuss the issue, then rewind the plot to before the boundary crossing happened and continue from there. If it doesn't seem like the right time to pause the game, anyone is welcome to message me about their concerns after the game or between sessions.
Content warnings
Safety tools used