Ashes of Elysium

About the adventure

I will be running a variant of one of my Extra Life modules set in the Mass Effect galaxy from the Mass Effect series of video games. This uses a homebrew module using the basic rules of D&D 5e, with added mechanics to reflect the unique aspects of the gameplay in the video games. This will be a short campaign, ideally somewhere between 3-6 sessions. The game will be set on a human colony world during a conflict known in-canon as The Skyllian Blitz, with this world having come under siege by invading pirates, slavers and hired guns: all on the bankroll of the Batarian Hegemony, a rogue state in the political landscape of the Mass Effect lore. The players will be 3-5 survivors on this world after several weeks of brutal fighting, having come together more out of desperation and survival than any sense of loyalty or comradery. Our story will focus on slow reveals of each character's true nature and how that will change the group dynamic, and weather or not the party can manage to set whatever differences they have aside in order to survive the battle raging around them. As a DM, I focus on details and narrative most of all as I believe that providing an immersive world for my players to game in is second only to providing them a fun and welcoming experience . Consistency of narrative and environment, well-thought out scenarios with fleshed out NPCs, and accuracy of actions vs character motivation(I try not to pull punches when it comes to how NPC's will react to player choices, and portray each NPC in a way I think that specific character would respond). However, I try not to let this get in the way of fun, and I'll never bring the game to sudden and abrupt end instead of trying to find creative ways to work through any confusing or difficult encounters.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Read up on the Mass Effect FANDOM wiki, look over the ME5E PHB, which can be found at n7.world. DM me so we can begin talking about your character and how to best create something fun and intriguing. I do also have a Discord, but I'd like to keep that private until we have a full group. I also don't think it's a bad idea to possibly do some online gaming or have a one-on-one chat beforehand to get a sense of chemistry.

What I provide

Since this will all be virtual, people will need their own dice, and can find images they want to use of their characters but the latter isn't necessary. I will be bringing battle maps made with the Arkenforge Master's Toolkit to stream and screen share with the group in Discord, as well as a google drive folder where I will upload copies of messages the party has uncovered or found.

Gameplay details

This is a D&D 5E homebrew module called ME5E. It plays with the same d20 mechanics, but has added aspects to include features of the video games(kinetic barriers, vehicle and starship combat, etc.) There are other differences in the layout, but mechanically pretty much everything works identically to D&D 5E and what is different can't be sufficiently explained in a single text box.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

I will work with each of you to craft a character that fits the Mass Effect setting starting at level 6. This way, I can really incorporate your character's backstory & motivations into the prep and story telling.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.