This campaign uses a modified version of Dungeons & Dragons 3.5e.
Core mechanics remain familiar, but several adjustments have been made to streamline play and broaden player freedom. Details are provided in the sections below.
Characters gain maximum hit points each time they level. Multiclassing penalties and favored class restrictions do not apply. Once you've unlocked a class skill, it remains unlocked. Level gain follows standard experience point progression.
XP is awarded at the DM’s discretion for meaningful contributions, including:
- Exceptional roleplaying or character development.
- Ingenuity in solving problems or achieving goals.
- Significant accomplishments or story milestones.
- Combat victories or tactical excellence.
Awards are given for participation and impact, not for repetitive or
exploitative actions.
Level adjustments for many races are removed in favor of adaptive, in-world balancing.
Under-powered characters may receive nonspecific narrative support--items, aid, or situational advantages to help keep pace with higher-tier allies.
This is not intended as a reward for poor play or sandbagging, but as a tool to keep every character relevant within the game, and to allow people to explore underused character concepts.
The DM reserves the right to adjust, reinforce, or limit mechanics as needed to keep the game challenging, coherent, and fair for everyone involved.
Death is not the end. Your
eternal soul is far too important and valuable to be ignored. If you do not wish for your death to mark a
new beginning you must be resurrected by an ally.
The cosmos exacts no tax of experience, though the spirit bears the scars of death. Players have their own choices to make regarding their experience points, and in the wider planes, the
experience of mortals is a currency coveted by greater powers.
Instead, each death inflicts a stacking debuff which gives
–1 to all skill checks, saving throws, ability checks, and attack rolls, and your effective
Hit Dice are reduced by 1. I also reserve the right to apply additional penalties to those who die repeatedly.
The
death penalty endures for a full week of in-game time. Should death occur again before this period elapses, the countdown resets and a new stack is applied.
Using the weakest form of resurrection,
raise dead also imposes two points of
Constitution drain for each use.
Ten minutes after your body expires, your soul manifests on the
ethereal plane. From there, you will feel a natural pull toward the
Veil of Souls, which you must actively resist if you wish to remain. Be warned: though the pull normally leads toward your
True Afterlife, it is possible to be drawn instead into a
False Afterlife--a realm that may be either better or far worse than the one meant for you.
This campaign features locations under different rulesets, which can change the game experience. Planar-mechanical interactions and different eras of history affect the rules in various ways. You have been warned!
The game moves through alternating
High Incidence and
Low Incidence phases.
Low Incidence means in character downtime between sessions that you may use for pursuing your character's goals. Many players like to craft things during this time, and some have already devised methods of increasing opportunities to work.
High Incidence means that game world events are happening too quickly for the party to have a reasonable amount of downtime. I like my players to have time to work on themselves if they wish, but things like arriving in a new area, or getting involved in plots that are time-sensitive, can cause this condition until things settle down.
This is dictated by the party's actions in the world, and the consequences of these actions, more or less. In practice, this means that sometimes game time will pause between sessions, while at other times a full in-game week will be available to make items, or anything else your character would like to do with this time.
The party is currently in a location which favors arcane casters who prepare their spells, but facing an enemy that is annoyingly magic resistant.
Characters are allowed to enchant items per standard rules, with a few improvements to the base system.
Crafting feats are always necessary.
Craft Wondrous Item reigns as the most widely used item enchantment feat, but being able modify your shiny new sword or armor with selected enchantments remains a powerful, but expensive, option.
Forge Ring can also be used to craft earrings, providing two additional magic item slots. The earring slots have affinity for hearing and communication effects.
Item enchantment components include various crystals, essences, and a special substance that can be used in place of the XP normally required to craft.
-Economic Considerations-
Beyond the magic and feat requirements, time and money are the primary limiters on magic item production. Due to the nature of open-ended TTRPGs, it's possible to accumulate extra wealth through a variety of emergent gameplay opportunities. This is working as intended. Keep in mind that decking out a character in a cohesive set of magic equipment is an expensive and uncertain endeavor, especially if you are picky about your looks!
One popular, but costly option is to enlist the help of NPCs or hirelings. You may be able to hire or otherwise convince someone to create an item for you. Availability of additional help is subject to scarcity, modified by location, party fame, and the like. Security concerns and physical limitations of crafting are taken into account. The DM will determine the number of workers that can realistically be hired at any given time.
We are here to have a good time, first and foremost. I will only invite players to join who I feel will enjoy the experience and fit well with the party. I will be looking to the existing group for final approval of new members.
This game is intended for mature (18+) players.
Smoking, drinking, captivity, manipulation, and death exist in this world, as they do in myth and life. Such elements are not indulgences but reflections of consequence and peril. Horror may appear, yet its aim is to inspire unease and wonder, not shock or distress. The game seeks to unsettle the imagination, not the player.
The purpose of horror is not to graphically depict acts of violence or degradation, it is to instill a sense of dread and terror through imagery, themes, and suspense.
Naturally, I reserve the right to moderate when necessary, though the goal is to build a group where that’s rarely required.
Live moderation and off-topic conversations can break immersion. Once the game is in session and people are actively roleplaying, please keep non-game related conversations to a minimum.
Adult content beyond skull-smashing is fade-to-black.
SA is never depicted or allowed. If specific things are off-limits for you, please let me know. The campaign covers a broad spectrum, and virtually anything can happen.
