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Welcome to DnD 3.5 Forgotten Realms - The Shadow of Ubtao

18:21, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

DnD 3.5 Forgotten Realms - The Shadow of Ubtao

"Ham, Jens - full to starboard, now!" Professor Hingleswip’s command was barely audible over the roar of the wind and the labouring drone of the Scilandar’s engines - yet the Gnome’s feeble voice must have been heard, as with a groan the crippled airship lurched to the right. The deck tilted alarmingly, revealing  the vast expanse of blue ocean some two hundred feet below. White-crested waves heaved in the swell, reaching up at the Scilandar like huge claws hungry to bring the airship crashing down.

Filling the sky with a terrible screech, the first of the attacking Pterodactyls swept past on the port side, its huge wings buffeting the air. One of its talons lashed out, raking along the ship’s flank. Wood splinters exploded and entire sections of the ship’s complex apparatus plummeted down into the Shining Sea.

Hingleswip gasped as he spotted its mate coming in from the opposite direction, talons poised to sink into the ship’s air balloon. Rushing to the starboard gunwale, he raised his diminutive arms and quickly spoke an incantation. A gargantuan black dragon blinked into existence into the Pterodactyl’s path, dwarfing the flying dinosaur and even the Scilandar herself. The attacking creature shrieked in alarm and twisted out of the way, its wings beating madly as it struggled to escape. The dragon hung in the air for a few moments more, wings beating lazily against the wind - then disappeared, Hingleswip’s illusion having served its purpose.

The Professor grimaced and looked out over the ship’s prow. Calimport was now just a few leagues away, the city’s endless wards and sabbans sprawled out across the coastline like barnacles to a whale. Beyond lay the Calim desert, visible through the dust and heat haze as a yellow stain on the landscape. If they could just hold out for a few more minutes!

The heavy thunk of the Scilandar’s stern-mounted ballistae stole his attention. The Professor looked round in time to see the first Pterodactyl curl up around a harpoon-like quarrel lodged in its midriff. The creature’s death cries lingered through the sky as it spiralled gently towards the swell. A glance to stern revealed a grinning Ham stood behind the mounted ballistae, his thick dust goggles giving him an insect-like appearance. Hingleswip breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the other monster turn and flee, heading south, back towards the Chultan Peninsula.

Wiping the perspiration from his spectacles, the Professor stepped up to the prow, his diminutive form barely reaching the railing. Sighing gently, he looked out over the vast desert city and ran a hand through his greying hair. "The second expedition to the jungles of Chult...unsuccessful." The words were spoken to nobody in particular, yet Ham and Jens both came to stand beside him anyway. "I think we’ll need some more crew..."




Greetings one and all! I hope you are all well! The Shadow of Ubtao is a Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Forgotten Realms game I created over 2 years ago. Set initially in Calimport, it followed a group of adventurers as they joined the crew of the comical, loveable and slightly mad Professor Kraust Hingleswip - Gnome illusionist, scholar and all round explorer. In the wealthy Sabbans of the Emerald ward in central Calimport, the Professor had been working on his latest invention; a huge flying airship by the name of the Scilandar.  His destination: the monster-ridden jungles of the Chultan Peninsula - again, after two failed attempts and two other groups of adventurers lost to the sweltering, perilous and  disease-infected lands. His purpose in Chult is likely known only to him, yet he has promised enough riches to see you lead a life of luxury for the rest of your days as long as you protect him and his ship from whatever foul denizens you encounter. Who could resist such an offer?

Unfortunately due to RL concerns I abandoned the game as it was coming to the end of the first chapter and the real adventure was about to begin! The group were tasked by the Professor with bringing some important items from across Calimport before the expedition could set off and so journeyed to the wealthy and somewhat perverted estates of the Harem queen Jala Ghusoon. They retrieved a rather attractive looking chest and brought it back across the city - but were inevitably engaged by a man calling himself Ubdall Kareed, who revealed his employer was very interested in the activities of the Professor. After a desperate battle which seemed to be getting ugly before some unlikely allies - an Orc and an Elf - appeared to aid, the party returned to the laboratory, ready to set off into the unknown…

~

Being set for the most part in the jungles of Chult, this will obviously be a combat heavy game with potential nasties in every bush. However that’s not to say I don’t want to see excellent roleplay, because roleplay comes first and foremost in my games. I will be awarding bonus exp for good rp, well written character backgrounds/descriptions/personalities as well as generally well thought out character interactions/description/genius so putting in that bit of effort might help you survive!

This links to my next point - what I’m looking for, above all, is excellent roleplayers with excellent writing skills who will put the time in to make creative posts, that help move the story along and above all keep me entertained! I write for my degree and, hopefully, one day professionally. Nothing puts me off more than bad writing, just as nothing inspires me more than well-written prose! I am sorry if I seem somewhat ‘elitist’ here but I will be judging applicants first and foremost on their level of writing and, in turn, ability to PBMB role-play.

So, basically, when you request to join if you could give me a writing sample in response to the following scene:


Hacking and slashing at the damp, prickling undergrowth and scratching at the countless legs of spiders, ants and worse that you feel crawling over your skin, you finally burst out into a small clearing. Mostly free from any invading plants and with plenty of room to make camp and rest, you should feel grateful for this opportunity, yet instantly you know something isn’t right.

A sound from above grabs your attention. Looking up, you can make out the outlines of a huge web over twenty feet up, connecting like a silver shoal across the branches of towering cedar and heligan trees. In the fading light, you can just about make out several small bundles dotted across the silk canopy, one or two of them still twitching.

Your eyes dart anxiously around, searching for any eight-legged shapes in the web, yet thankfully its inhabitant is nowhere in sight.

And then you realise why - it was no longer in the web...

Like some sort of nightmare, the spider stood out like a hole in the air, descending on a rope-like thread of silk that four of its eight legs worked furiously to create. All black except for a perfect red crescent on its back, the colossal arachnid was a true monster, its multi-faceted head alone almost as big as you. Its mandibles clicked and scratched in anticipation of the coming meal and the front four of its legs stretched out like spears of black chitin. In seconds the creature would be upon you, ready to offer you a place on the sprawling web above.

What will you do now?



Your point of view can be the character you want to take over, an entirely different character or whoever you want. It’s not relevant - it’s just a hypothetical scene. Don’t worry about ‘power-playing’ i.e. writing before the dice. Just write as if writing a scene from a story, preferably 3rd person as that’s what we’ll be writing in game.

I know this an unusual request but I just want to make sure I’ve got good writers on board. It really puts me off as a DM when my players are lazy and make short posts with bad writing after I spend loads of time writing my own. I know English isn’t everyone’s first language but that cannot be helped unfortunately.

I'm also looking for players who are active and dedicated to the games they play in - now that I am back and settled I expect this game to be going for the long haul and need players who are ready to do the same.

A few more things – I have rated this game as ‘mature’ as I will not be holding back on my descriptions of what our heroes come across and some mature themes may well occur, so don’t apply if you aren’t err... mature!

Ok, I think that’s pretty much it! Actually I’ve probably forgotten everything that’s vital, so feel free to ask if you have a query! I think this game has a lot of potential and we're restarting just as the game is about to get really juicy! I’ve got a lot planned and some jungle horrors waiting that’ll make ol’ spidey above run back into his hole!

Look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers.