The Illorian Expedition | A Custom Sandbox Style Campaign
A massive superstorm vanishes, a lost island suddenly reappears to a world on the brink of war, with our adventurers just in time to decide its fate!
$20.00
/ Session
Details
2 players following this game
Weekly / Sunday - 10:30 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Welcome to the magical world of Ambarum! In this world, the island nation of Illoria was once on a meteoric rise, and was a strategic, resource rich land thriving with new settlements, until the Everstorm struck. This gargantuan magical weather anomaly swallowed the island whole, cutting its people off from civilization and plunging them into the unknown. For nearly a century, Illoria was written off as lost to the world. Until now. A lone trade ship recently limped into your port with urgent news: The Everstorm has completely vanished! The way is clear, and the isolated societies of Illoria are suddenly exposed to a vast and hungry world whose various nations and empires currently balance their fragile peace on a knife’s edge. This island could be the tipping point. That is where you come in. Sent ahead on a swift and unassuming scout ship, your party of adventurers will be the first outsiders to set foot on Illoria in three generations. Your mission is a perilous race against time: to map out an altered landscape facing endless possibility, navigate new regions and factions, forge vital alliances, and survive local perils before the weight of the world arrives. So brave adventurer, are you ready for exploration, fortune and glory? Are you ready to alter the course of history? Are you ready to help decide the fate of this long lost island and its people? JOIN THE ILLORIAN EXPEDITION TODAY!
Game style
Combat Heavy
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Roleplay Heavy
Sandbox / Open World
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
2 years on StartPlaying
About me
Hey there, fellow adventurer! Where does a story like this start? Where it all began, of course. Picture a thirteen year old kid completely lost in the gritty, sprawling lore of Warhammer. That was me. That early obsession with fantasy eventually grew and took me across the world, working in theatre, film and television as an actor, writer, and director. But when the world changed in 2020, I walked away from that life and brought every bit of that professional storytelling, character voices, and improv straight to the DM screen. For me, table top gaming (whether online or in person) is at its absolute best when it feels like a cozy, inclusive second home. This is why I choose to only run a few ongoing games at a time, keeping my tables at a maximum of five players. Because of this, you get the time and spotlight you deserve, and I get to pour my absolute focus and creativity into a curated experience just for you and your fellow adventurers. Whether you've been rolling dice for decades or are newer and a little nervous about roleplaying, you'll have a safe, welcoming and inclusive space here. We play across the full spectrum of human emotion. One session we could be laughing until it hurts over ridiculous tavern banter, and the next we're holding our breath during an intense, emotional and high stakes moment where your choices genuinely reshape the world. Standard modules are great, but my real passion is running deeply detailed, living homebrew universes. These are custom worlds I have spent years lovingly building, and they are designed to react dynamically to whatever chaos or brilliant ideas you throw at them. At the end of the day, I’m just a massive geek who wears that badge proudly and loves crafting unforgettable memories with groups of great people. The maps are unrolled, the world awaits, and I would love nothing more than for you to pull up a chair. The question now is simple. Who are you hoping to play as we sail together into the mystic?
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Characters start at level 2 and should be created on dndbeyond prior to session zero. I will review your character sheet with you personally before the start of the game, and I'm always happy to help with character creation if needed! All official D&D 5E content is permitted, point buy for stats. Please send me any pictures or art of your character ahead of time so that tokens can be created. A half page character backstory with character motivations and goals would be ideal, but is not mandatory.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
✔ Players will need a working mic, stable internet connection and access to a computer (camera optional, playing by phone or tablet is not recommended). ✔ The sessions will be held over discord and Forge VTT, so you will need a free account on both. Players will need to make their character sheet ahead of time on dndbeyond. ✔ Because this is a homebrew campaign, any pre-gen characters will need to be approved prior to your first session. ✔ Please also think about why your character is going on this expedition. There must be a good personal story reason as to why they are there, as the entire campaign takes place on the island they are heading to. ✔ Any other resources you will need to play will be provided by me.
What The Gist brings to the table
THE GAME EXPERIENCE: Explore a living, deeply responsive player driven sandbox where the world dynamically reacts to your choices (or inaction) and even small details can ripple through to captivating, emotional and expansive story arcs. I utilize Rules As Written (RAW) to ensure a stable, fair, and reliable tactical baseline, leaving some wiggle room for the rare Rule of Cool when the narrative demands epic, cinematic moments that keep the story moving forward seamlessly. THE GAME ENVIRONMENT: Become immersed in deep social roleplay featuring a myriad of distinct character voices, custom playlists of both ambient and combat music, and tactical battle maps paired with a campaign map. Expect loyal allies and appropriately smart, thematic and powerful adversaries while navigating the challenging and creative combats, environmental puzzles, and complex social encounters.
Homebrew rules
Homebrew rules are minimal but will be located in the discord server. We will also go over them during session 0 to reduce any confusion and address any questions.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How The Gist creates a safe table
This game uses multiple safety tools. There will be no sexual assault, sexism, homophobia or transphobia in my games.
Content warnings
Safety tools used