Finding Familiars

About the adventure

You are casters on the pinnacle of graduating from the famed Varothian College of the Arcane, but for a caster to fully be considered such and graduate (what you've worked four long years to do), they must find their familiar (regardless of their class). To do this and graduate with a degree as a formal caster, you’ll need to go on an adventure through a forest behind the school that’s been so experimented on by students over the years that it now demonstrates strange and magical properties and is home to many magically-altered creatures. The list of ingredients you need to perform your summoning is strange and vague, but your instructors assure you you'll find everything you need to collect the components out in the forest... If you survive. This campaign is heavily roleplay based, and has a homebrew addition to the concept of familiars - When a caster first creates their familiar, they must undergo a trial in a magical space and, through collecting ingredients and demonstrating their mettle, helps separate a part of their soul and settle it into a shape that encapsulates part of who they are. Each animal has benefits that you will slowly gain as your familiar manifests. Roleplay moments that examine who the character is will be rewarded with buffs given by their familiar. The party will start at level 3-5, depending on player preference. The overall campaign will have arcs based on player backstory, but the general idea is that as new mages you'll bond as a graduating class and the school will send you out on a few initial quests to kickstart things. Note: You do not need to be a caster to play in this game. We can find a way to integrate anyone regardless of what class they're interested in.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Please make sure you have a working microphone and camera. I find that leaving your camera off makes it more difficult for other players to get a read on how someone is reacting and makes role play more difficult. Please have an idea of what your character's personality might be and what sort of familiar they might want. I'm happy to answer any questions before or during session 0. Ideally we'd talk beforehand and have a vague idea of backstory by the time we meet to go over things.

What I provide

I'm an illustrator as my day job and will do character art for everyone's PC for the game. I have homemade maps, puzzles, lore, and a RP-heavy GM style with flexible storylines that cater to player initiative and actions. Audio and video via discord. I bring a hefty dose of "yes and" improv, enthusiasm for player creativity, and vivid descriptions. I have a roll20 page set up with a ton of visuals, and a campaign link on dndbeyond that has a decent amount of resources. Audio and video via discord.

Gameplay details

I'll be sending a google forms for all players with lines and veils, as well as a lore doc of the world (it's homebrew) with info on house rules and other FAQs. We'll go over character ideas and anything else during session 0 As a general rule, I don't allow evil characters. It just results in too much PvP conflict.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Lines and Veils
Session 0
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

We will be using mostly standard array, but instead of a 15 for their highest stat players will get a 17 so everyone can start the game being super good at at least one thing. Most races are allowed, though I'm not familiar with the really new ones and would want to look them over first if someone is considering playing one.

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.