Solynn Stalwarts-A High Seas Campaign of Ambition and Adventure

Creating your character

Character creation will be done collaboratively as a group before or as part of the first session, and characters can be created and tracked however the player wishes. Stats will be determined using point-buy with the +2/+1 allocated bonus as described in XGtE. Certain ancestries will be unavailable as a part of the campaign's worldbuilding and history; of the core book ancestries these include dwarf, dragonborn, and tiefling.

Preparing for the session

Players will need to join the Discord server we'll be using for voice and text chat to facilitate play. We'll also be using Owlbear Rodeo, a free browser-based VTT that is accessible by a link that will be provided. Owlbear Rodeo has a built-in dice roller but players can use whichever dice roller they prefer, or even real ones if they like. A link to a Syrinscape channel will also be provided for sound and music ambiance.

What F H brings to the table

I have a quarter-century of running tabletop games and have been homebrewing and constructions my own campaigns from the very start, always looking to design content that adapts the rules in a fair, flexible, and fun way. The rules are guardrails, not straightjackets, and finding inventive solutions to problems is not only preferred but encouraged! Worldbuilding, lore, and history always matter, but I make sure to drip-feed revelations and facts as players' characters uncover them. Instead of massive lore dumps and railroading players from one plot set piece to the next, players explore and learn about the setting and plot in ways that are relevant to THEIR interests and choices. That said, the party is not the only actor in the game world, and those actors will rationally attempt achieving their own goals as time passes, so getting distracted from important plot threads may come back to bite the party if they procrastinate or fail to address their rivals. This is a long-form nautical campaign taking characters from level 1 to level 11, with approximately 30 sessions of adventure. There is no predetermined plot progression path. Your decisions will shape your reputation, your relationships, your fleet, and the future of the region. Expect focus on domain-style, larger-scale planning and logistics as the party rises in level and the scope of the campaign grows. The characters can't be everywhere or do everything all at once, so it will be necessary to establish trade networks, maintain positive relationships with political and economic allies, and deal with threats and hindrances to their expanding influence. An extensive onboarding document with my general GM style and expectations can be found here: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/qwk2_zyUMfTz

Homebrew rules

Universal house rules in my campaigns are listed in the onboarding document linked above. For this campaign specifically, additional domain management and ship/fleet statistics and combat rules are adapted from BECMI D&D.

How F H creates a safe table

I run a generally PG-13 campaign with the occasional dip into R. Not G or PG, and certainly not NC-17. If you're fine watching an action-based movie that isn't gratuitous in its content, you should be fine at my table. I expect everyone at the table to be respectful of others. If there is any specific content that a player objects to, they are welcome to tell me privately or bring it up at the first session so I can know to avoid including it. Further safety tools and conduct expectations are found in the onboarding document linked above.