The Marvelous Matreous and the Mysterious Manor

Creating your character

CHARACTER CREATION This is where it all begins! Whether you have done this countless times before, or this is your very first character, we will start by holding a session 0, to make sure everyone is on the same page. Character creation will be taking place in Foundry, which is the program I am using to run this adventure. In the first session, we will go over: -What kind of adventure this is, what the feel of it is like and who this game might appeal to. (I don't usually allow evil characters as they can derail an adventure even amongst a group of players who know each other really well. Also evil characters goals usually run counter to the plot of most adventures I run. :) ) -What sort of expectations there will be of players. (Think of this as a pg fantasy romp in the vein of 'The Princess Bride') - And what sort of expectations you have of myself as the Dungeon Master. I will answer questions you might have about anything at this point. After we go through all of this and more, we will do Character Creation last. This is to allow for more experienced players to create their characters at their own speed and leave whenever they wish while I help those learning the ropes for the first time. What will character creation look like? -Everyone will be creating their Characters on Foundry during session 0. -Level 1 characters from the 2024 Players Handbook for this adventure. -Stats will be rolled in Foundry. The system I will be using is the 4D6 rolled, keeping the best 3. You will do this 6 times, and then choosing which to assign to your stats. If this is your first time, don't worry, I will explain this all in session 0.

Preparing for the session

In order to be able to play, there are a few things you will need. -A PC or MAC. (Not a tablet or phone) The requirements are here: https://foundryvtt.com/article/requirements/ -A headset with a microphone, (Or a headset and an external microphone) and a mouse are a must. Without a headset, everyone will experience a feedback loop, and it would be very frustrating for you to try and run Foundry without a mouse :). -A discord account. This is free! But you do need to sign up. This is where we will be using voice. In longer adventures and campaigns, this is often where I will post handouts and images. It's also where you can raise questions during downtime between sessions, or just generally chat and get to know your fellow adventuring companions. As a side note: When you connect to Foundry, Chrome and a few other browsers are going to kick up a warning / security alert that you will have to click past (go to advanced and proceed) in order to connect to foundry. This is due to the server being hosted on my PC, and having a self signed SSL. It will work fine, it will just complain when you try to connect.

What Gerald brings to the table

So, you might be wondering what style of game I run. I tend to run games that are friendly and inclusive. I am not a rules monger, but I do try my best to be prepared for whatever might come up. I encourage creativity and questions. Your sheet is just an amalgamation of statistics. Express what it is that you want to do, and we will what you should roll to achieve it. DND is a system that can't possibly address all the issues that will arise, so to some degree I may rule out the unintended consequences of something the system couldn't account for. Something that should be impossible, is probably going to still be impossible even if you roll a natural 20. (No splitting that mountain in 2 with your sword.) And no matter how many people you have lined up in a row using their free action to pass a baton down the line, you are not going to break the sound barrier in that 6 second window as the baton gets passed through thousands of hands. Things will break, mistakes will be made, hopefully we will all laugh about it. I have purchased the 2024 Players Handbook on Foundry, which means you will have access to the book and the character creation tools inside it whenever you connect to the server. If you want to look at the Standard Rules Document for 2024 ahead of time, Wizards of the Coast has kindly made it available for players here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd?srsltid=AfmBOorfFaSo9-yFdU8vkU5Bfqq_-lBvZSAl1DEXWUlajfuOs5okFPgI This document will go over all the basics of playing Dungeons and Dragons, but it doesn't have all the options you will get in the Players Handbook. You can read the Players Handbook when you connect to the Foundry server, (And I will try to keep the server up and running and available if people wish to read it in between sessions. Even though it isn't laid out the same way as in the printed version of the book, it does contain all the same information. For those wondering about the ambiance during the game, there will be background music, sourced from free fantasy music sources and sound effects for various scenes. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out, or raise your question during session 0. I expect the game will cover anywhere from 1-3 sessions.

How Gerald creates a safe table

I have gone over in other sections here some of the things you can expect as far as safety is concerned, but I will try to recap everything here. Everyone should feel welcome at the game table. During session zero we will go over subjects, content and behaviours that are off limits for this table (Lines and Veils). Once we have discussed this at session zero, (And people who wish to notify me of any additional concerns, phobia's or content that would make them uncomfortable privately afterward, have a chance to do so.) I will post a document on the discord forum and go over any other items added at the beginning of the first game. This adventure is fairly tame as far as Dungeons and Dragons modules go, that said, if anything comes up, you can Use X,N, and O's in the following way. X's - You can message me inside Foundry with an X if whatever is happening in game is disturbing you in any way and we will quickly skip over this content and move on. N - If it feels like the group is heading into territory that would cross some of the lines you don't want to cross, I might prompt the group that it could be heading that way. Players can message me with an N if they feel that things are heading in an uncomfortable direction. O - I think this usually happens organically, if it feels like the group might need to step away or take a break, I will ask, but if it's something players pick up on before me, you can message an O and we will raise the question.