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13:53, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Party Status/Need, Intro, Character Creation, and Rules.

Posted by FounderFor group 0
Founder
GM, 5 posts
Dungeon Master
The Hand of Fate
Fri 24 Dec 2021
at 17:42
  • msg #4

Party Status/Need, Intro, Character Creation, and Rules


Party Status

*12-19-2021: This game is currently under development and not actively recruiting players; if you happen to find it and wish to, feel free to RTJ but know that I do not anticipate starting soon, at least not until the new year. In addition, while the RTJ window may be short so applying early may help, I will be hand-selecting players based on application and it will NOT be first-come-first-serve.


PARTY ROSTER
CHARACTER NAME:RACE:CLASS:LEVEL:PORTRAITDESCRIPTIONSHEET
NoneNoneNone1NoNoNone
NoneNoneNone1NoNoNone
NoneNoneNone1NoNoNone
NoneNoneNone1NoNoNone
NoneNoneNone1NoNoNone

This message was last updated by the GM at 05:56, Sat 25 Dec 2021.
Founder
GM, 6 posts
Dungeon Master
The Hand of Fate
Sat 25 Dec 2021
at 05:54
  • msg #5

Party Status/Need, Intro, Character Creation, and Rules


Game Introduction


Strixhaven: A curriculum of Chaos:
     The greatest minds in the multiverse meet at Strixhaven University. Professors convey fantastic secrets to eager students, and life on campus is frenetic. But danger lurks even here. Campus hijinks mix with mishaps and sinister plots, and it’s up to you to save the day. Each adventure describes an academic year filled with scholarly pursuits, campus shenanigans, exciting friendships, hidden dangers, and perhaps even romance. Through the book’s multiyear campaign, players begin as first-year students who study, socialize, and adventure their way to graduation.


Hello all, I have been DMing for 5e for somewhere around 6 years now; I started with several play-by-post games around on the internet, but for the past several years I have been exclusively running a live weekly game. I enjoy playing the game live with my local group of friends, but Strixhaven caught my eye as soon as the setting/adventure book was announced; I have a particular love of the magic school and general school life genre, and I wanted to run it immediately even though I have no prior knowledge of the setting as I am not a Magic: The Gathering player. However, that being said, the things that really draw me to the genre and setting, things like roleplay-heavy slice-of-life and romantic storytelling are... far from the usual fare of my typical D&D groups who play more standard action adventure type campaigns. That didn't dissuade my desire to run a Strixhaven game though, which led me back to the format that started my D&D career; play-by-post... and thus, here we are.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You do not need to know anything about the setting of Strixhaven or Magic: The Gathering in general to join this campaign, in fact I would largely prefer players that don't though I won't actually consider that a factor or requirement. I don't play MtG nor do I have any interest in it as I don't personally enjoy competitive/collectable card games. This is first and foremost a D&D 5e game, I am using the book and setting because I have a deep love for magic schools and upon reading this book and adventure, this one seems fine and enjoyable enough. Some knowledge of D&D 5e is preferred, new players are welcome but I do prefer that you are at least somewhat self-motivated and willing to learn the system.

My plan for this game is to incorporate a lot of genres and playstyles; as mentioned before it will involve some aspects of
>Slice-of-Life
>Romance
>Drama
>Time management
>Many other roleplay-heavy concepts involving the student and school genre

You will be starting as first-year students to the magical multiverse-reaching school of Strixhaven; a premier university for the study of magic. The whole course of the adventure takes place over several years as you study, and as such will feature regular timeskips. I will be attempting to spend extra time with each individual player to pursue their daily life between specific adventures and events, with ample time and interest in roleplaying and living in the life of your character, both on their own an alongside your fellow players and class.

That being said, at the end of the day (or each thread, in this case) we are still playing D&D. There will be adventures to be had, initiative will be rolled. A lot of time will still be spent exploring dungeons, fighting monsters, and saving the day; all of which I think lend to the genre of magic school life, not detract from it. Your character's skills will be tested both out in the field of adventure and formally in the classroom; failure is possible and even assured, and should be fun in its own way.

All-in-all I think that this is the perfect campaign to run in a play-by-post roleplay game. I'm really looking forward to this and I hope you are too.

Let's play with some magic!
This message was last updated by the GM at 05:56, Sat 25 Dec 2021.
Founder
GM, 7 posts
Dungeon Master
The Hand of Fate
Sat 25 Dec 2021
at 05:55
  • msg #6

Party Status/Need, Intro, Character Creation, and Rules


Character Creation


We are going to be creating characters in D&DBeyond, which will require you to have an account there; if you are not familiar, it is located at dndbeyond.com though you will have to follow the link below to put your character into the correct campaign so that I will be able to access it. Accounts can be made directly on DDB, or you can use a Google, Apple, or Twitch login; I will be enabling content sharing and own all materials on DDB so you do not need to purchase anything. If you do have some strong personal objection to using DDB please let me know, but I really do find them the easiest way to track these sorts of things.

Below are two links, the first is to a picture I put on imgur to provide an easy example on the details page of character creation (first page) to show how to most easily conform to campaign rules and hopefully make sure nothing ends up on your sheet that shouldn't be there. The second is the actual link to join/create a character in the campagin.

https://i.imgur.com/be6vYCN.png

https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/25561211610113965


Race

You can choose almost any race from any of the official WotC releases, including tortles; however neither Grung nor Locathah are considered official or usable. Most varients, including Human Varient and custom ancestry from Tasha's is fine.

Fair warning; I have what I call a 'soft ban' on any races that have an innate 'always on' flying speed, and/or catch-all magic resistance. Aarakocra are the classic example for the first portion, though Strixhaven specifically introduces and features Owlin as well, which makes this rule awkward and hard to enforce. For the second portion, by catch-all magic resistance I mean races like the Satyr who simple have advantage on saving throws against 'any spells or magical effects'. In both of these cases I just find that the abilities, while not being necessarily entirely OP, are just a little unbalancing and require extra work to accommodate and plan for, and I have enough on my plate as it is. That being said, there is a reason it is considered a 'soft' ban; there are a lot of reasons why any player picks any race, be it because they have a particular vision for their character, because they truly love a race and the lore of their culture, or... because it made sense mechanically. For the record, NONE of those are bad reasons, I have nothing against *playing the game* and that means engaging in the rule set, so picking a race because of its powerful abilities isn't a bad thing. I just simply acknowledge that in these particular cases, its more trouble than it is worth and if you are picking primarily based on abilities, then you have plenty of other options that will be perfectly viable as well. With that being said, if there is a particular reason you want to play one of these races, then feel free to pitch it to me and ask for an exception; that's why it is a SOFT ban. At worse, if you really love the race and want to play them, I would be happy to let you and we may just need to tweak or come to an agreement on how the specifics of those mechanics work is all. Anything is possible if it is really what you want.

Something to keep in mind about race and anatomy; I expect and encourage romances in this game, and while this is all fantasy and mixing people of different ancestries is great, it can get a little... awkward, if someone just doesn't think the anatomy would make them a suitable match. Nothing worse than flirting with someone only for them to shut you down because they want to smooch someone with lips, not a beak.


Background

Ok, so Strixhaven has its own set of backgrounds but honestly I don't like the way they are implemented; they revolve around the five colleges of Strixhaven and assume you have one picked out, but I neither expect you to know all about them or have one picked. So instead, please simply pick a different background, then you can use either the personality traits, bonds, ideals, and flaws from that background or the Strixhaven ones I will post below. For backgrounds that are allowed, just try to stick to any that are not setting-specific. If there's a proper noun in the name of the background then probably stay away from it. Do keep in mind that because of the school setting and the way I will be running things accordingly, the vast majority of background features will not be functional or helpful in any way; currently I think none will be as a general rule to make things fair. If you are new to the game, do not worry as these features are typically ribbon abilities already meant to have little impact on the game, but it also does not mean your background is not important; it still effects your skills, language and tool proficiencies, starting equipment, and in general your back story and where your character came from.

Additional Personality Traits;
  • I thrive on esoteric lore. The more obscure the historical references I can include in everyday conversation, the better.
  • By searching for these lost artifacts, I hope to find who I really am along the way.
  • I can barely go a minute without talking about my research. I have so much knowledge in my head, and it needs to be let out somewhere!
  • The spirits of the dead are so much more interesting to talk with than living classmates.
  • I can speak eloquently about the historical ramifications of an ancient war. But ask me to add two-digit numbers together, and I’m a mess.
  • In the end, it’s all just entropy. Everything falls apart someday.
  • I’m the life of the party, and I expect everyone’s attention when I walk into a room.
  • Two weeks ago, I was enthralled with my latest project. Now, I think it’s garbage and deserves to be destroyed.
  • I believe everyone has the ability to express their truest selves through art, and I’m happy to quietly push them in the right direction.
  • Everyone is a critic, and I work to win them all over.
  • I’m beset with such an overwhelming sense of ennui regarding my art. Nothing quite captures my attention anymore.
  • Instead of confronting my negative emotions, I channel them into explosive artistic displays.
  • When I find a subject I’m interested in, I won’t stop studying until I know everything about it. It keeps me up at night.
  • I hope this all makes sense to me one day. Until then, I’m going to keep faking it.
  • Equations and patterns come naturally to my mind. I wish friendship came just as easily.
  • I believe I’m always the smartest person in the room. And I’ll prove it, even if no one asks me to.
  • If these classes have taught me anything, it’s that reality is a lie, and nothing matters. So why bother?
  • Before I graduate, I want to achieve something mathematically impossible. I must leave a legacy!
  • I’ll say whatever I need to in order to maintain my high social status.
  • I prefer saying the blunt truth over a pretty lie, and I don’t particularly care whose feelings I hurt.
  • I believe that uplifting my peers is the best way to succeed.
  • I’ve mastered the art of using humor as a defense, and I always have a charming joke ready.
  • I always wait before speaking, analyzing the situation for whichever angle is most advantageous to my goals.
  • No one knows about the all-nighters I’ve pulled to keep my magic looking effortless, and I’m going to keep it that way.
  • I love brewing up a new recipe, even if some might be repulsed by my choice of ingredients. Or the final product. Or both.
  • My fashion sense is like my garden: withered, black, and weird.
  • I’m going to befriend every single monster in this swamp if it’s the last thing I do.
  • Everything in this world dies eventually. The question is, what will you do with the time you have left?
  • I know we just met, but when you die, may I have your bones? For research.
  • Don’t interrupt me; I’m brooding.



Alignment

As typical, any non-evil should work fine. Evil if you have a very good backstory entailing why you're fighting as a hero. But probably mostly good-aligned.


Class

There are absolutely no restrictions here within the confines of the officially published WotC books, however keep in mind the setting and genre. This is a magic school, and while it includes all sorts of magical origin, you could also be someone studying magic even if you yourself do not practice it... that being said, it would make your character and odd man out sort of situation, so keep that in mind. Most characters should be primarily magic-users. While the majority of Strixhaven students would likely be wizards and sorcerers, all magic is studied here and as such there are also plenty of bards, clerics, druids, warlocks, and artificers as well.

Multiclassing is allowed with all prerequisites met.


Gods

Strixhaven is welcoming of all faiths (so long as they are not an active danger to those on campus), and while clerics and other god-centrix spellcasters are welcomed to join and study magic there is no curriculum that revolves around and particular pantheon. You might find classes on philosophies of divine magic such as the domain of light, but nothing studying say, Lathander specifically. As such I don't have any pantheon picked out for this campaign; I recommend considering and looking into the idea of philosophical clerics or simply worshipping the abstract ideals embodied in the divine domains, but if you actually want a specific god that is fine as well; we can discuss which pantheons would be the most appropriate and enjoyable.


Equipment

Standard gear from your background, and starting gold based on class instead of equpment. You can spend the gold on anything in the PHB, or save some of it to purchase supplies on campus; keep in mind that you are going to and living in a school, you are not setting out to be a homeless killer. Mind you, as a general rule I do not expect your characters to be carrying all their adventuring gear all the time... this is a school, and while maybe you have 50 feet of hempen rope just in case, I don't think you're carrying it to all your classes and to every party.


Ability Scores

We will be using point-buy and/or the standard array for ability scores.


Age

Strixhaven is a university, not k-12. For all intents and purposes, all characters unless expressly stated otherwise are assumed to be in a nebulous 'young adult' category, as that's literally the genre we are emulating here.


Hit Points

Each time we level up, you have the choice of rolling instead of taking the fixed value. Either way, we will be tracking and keeping document of HP increases each level.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:18, Sat 25 Dec 2021.
Founder
GM, 8 posts
Dungeon Master
The Hand of Fate
Sat 25 Dec 2021
at 21:38
  • msg #7

Party Status/Need, Intro, Character Creation, and Rules


House Rules

Me as a DM: First off, I don't tolerate any flat out rude people or any sort of bigotry so that's a guaranteed kick. It's one thing for your character to be a little standoffish or a bit rude at times (though even that from a PC can wear on me if done overmuch) but I expect everyone to be courteous adults OoC (out-of-character).

Secondly, fair warning I do run a pretty by-the-RAW game; I personally find that sticking to *most* of the confines of the rules makes for a more immersive, easy-to-invest in game. I know the rules rather well, so if you have any questions about how something might work let me know.

There are a lot of rules that are not necessarily RAW but will apply to this specific game. I reserve the right to change, remove, or add these as I find necessary, though I will discuss it with the players if that happens.

Optional Rules; Flanking, from chapter 8 of the DMg is allowed, as well as the use of feats and multiclassing from the PHB. In addition there are rules for climbing on larger creatures in chapter 9 of the DMG and I will allow those. There are also a lot of optional rules in chapter 2 of Xanathar's Guide to Everything that I largely find top notch and will include, such as the mechanic on sleeping in armor.

Quick Quaff; Drinking a potion yourself only takes a bonus action. Applying a potion to someone else still takes an action.

Dying is exhausting; When a creature drops to zero hit points, they gain a level of exhaustion.

Falling is messy; There are many reasons why the 5e rules on falling are the way they are, and I am not outright changing them. However, that being said I want to make it clear that falls of considerable distance or with extenuating circumstances such as terrain or other things may not always conform to the basic rules. I will always do my best to make it clear in my descriptions when such a situation arises.

Search for traps; as a general rule, I usually have searching for traps fall under investigation.
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