The Moonblade Resurgence: Two Campaigns in One!

About the adventure

You and your fellow players are adventurers in current-era Faerun (~1496 DR). At the conclusion of your first dungeon delve, you wield newly-forged Moonblades which house the souls of adventurers who completed a divine quest roughly 1,600 years ago. We'll start at level 3, and I've got material to take us up to 20 if we're having fun! Your individual Moonblades grow with power as you do and provide boosts to your primary stats, so you only choose feats at level up. Here's the twist: You're going to make two characters, your primary character who wields the Moonblade, and the adventurer who died long ago and now inhabits the Moonblade! There will be flashbacks to the lives of the original adventurers who inhabit your Moonblade. You'll make both characters, and some of the challenges you encounter as your primary characters (the wielders of the Moonblades) will be influenced by the outcomes of the brief flashbacks you play as your secondary characters (the ones inhabiting the Moonblades)! Look forward to dungeon delves, some political intrigue, the establishment of a stronghold, mass combat, and puzzle solving!

Additional Details

How to prepare

We'll be using Discord to communicate and Owlbear Rodeo as our virtual tabletop. Both are pretty straightforward and free to use. You'll need a working mic/headset. A camera is a nice touch, but not necessary. Players should at least have the core concept for their characters, and preferably a full character sheet at level 3 (I can help if needed). Backstories are encouraged! The more you give me to work with, the more I can tie in to your character. You won't need this on our first session, but you should also consider what kind of character you would want within their Moonblade, as you will occasionally play this character too in flashbacks during later sessions. It's not at all required, but I encourage you to familiarize yourself with any aspect of the campaign with which you are not familiar, including: Moonblades (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Moonblade) Ioun (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Congenio_Ioun) Vecna (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Vecna) The Raven Queen (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Raven_Queen)

What I provide

I will provide a short Google Doc (2-3 pages) with background info specific to this campaign-- things your character would likely know as a denizen of Faerun, and things that you (the player) should know that your character might not. I can provide a downloadable character builder to help with character creation if you need one. I can provide most any content from published sources that you may need. I will provide the link for the Discord server for the campaign, and all the maps and tokens we'll use in Owlbear Rodeo. I will provide digital copies of any other campaign-specific items (such as any faded treasure maps you find, or discarded journals, etc.) via Google Drive.

Gameplay details

This campaign will be far reaching, it's hard to predict everywhere it will go. There will be betrayal, heartbreak, and I'd like to put your characters in moral gray areas from time to time, to see what sort of morals they might compromise if push comes to shove. In general I try to keep the game PG-13, though sometimes descriptions of combat will move to R. I use Veils and Lines to create a safe space for everyone. Certain things, like any kind of consensual seduction, can happen in the game but it happens off-screen and we do not dwell on it. Then there are things that DO NOT HAPPEN in games I run. Nobody is racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic. There is no sexual violence of any kind. We'll take a few minutes at the start of each session to make sure any specific concerns you might have will be addressed, and any subjects with which you are uncomfortable will be off limits. I welcome any concerns or criticisms.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

First of all, plan on taking feats. Your Moonblade will give you the ability buffs you want. This is the time to try out that character with Mobile, Sentinel, Dual Wielder, Tough, and Mage Slayer! Players should build their characters up to level 3 to begin, using the standard array for ability scores and average hit points per level. Any official 5e material is allowed, including almost any Unearthed Arcana material. However, as this campaign takes place within the Forgotten Realms setting, any material specific to other settings (such as Ravnica, Eberron, etc.) is discouraged without some kind of adequate backstory to explain its inclusion. For example, I am totally on board with Warforged characters, but maybe we need to describe some sort of ritual-gone-wrong to account for you traveling across planes, or perhaps instead you're the result of gnomish tinkering and an Animate Armor spell? I can provide a link to a free character building program, or you can use your own, or you can go old school with paper and pencil, but I do ask for a copy of your character sheet, preferably in PDF form. Since this campaign involves building not just one, but two characters *and* designing a custom Moonblade, I would prefer working with players who are familiar enough with the rules to build their own characters beforehand, but I am available to help with any aspect if this is not the case.

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.