Session 0 Summary

Expectations

• My goal is to try to create an open and accepting space where everyone in the party feels safe enough to enjoy the campaign thoroughly by diving into their character, so respect for each other is paramount

• I run games as collaborative storytelling. There is a balance between roleplay, combat, and puzzles. Puzzles are the least prevalent of the three.

• Fun & safety is first.

• No highly charged topics (graphic sexual content, abuse, etc.).

• Actions will have consequences (murderhobos will be treated like serial killers), creativity is encouraged and rewarded.

• Don’t expect hyper-vigilant rules-lawyering. If it makes for a good narrative that the group enjoys, then the DM can and will bend the rules

• Homebrew requires DM pre-approval for use.

• There are homebrew rules. Please review them to see if they fit your playstyle.

• Death has consequences. Revival is more than a spell if you miss your revivify window.

Homebrew Rules

• When a player crits, they double the score of their dice roll.

• When a player crits, they reroll 1s.

• Any book material can be used as long as I approve it. I want you to play the character you want to play, but I may add balance mechanics if the outside material causes issues in a way that takes away from the other player’s enjoyment.

• When you level up, you roll your hit dice, reroll 1s.

• Carry weights matter. Please track it. Coins do not have weight.

• PCs can’t play evil characters.

• For every point in intelligence, you gain an expertise, skill, tool, or language. A +3 gives you 3 points to use. A -1 also takes away one of those items.

• “It is looking rough” indicates near half hit points, at half hit points or just below. “Real rough”= serious damage and running out of life, “he’s barely standing, barely alive, looking SUPER ROUGH” = less than 10 HP.

• Sprint: Move x4 your movement speed in a turn. It must be in a straight line. You give up all of your options for your turn to only sprint. Anyone you pass takes opportunity attacks at advantage.

• Spells and items can be homebrewed. They need to be approved by me. If you tie it into the plot, it is extremely likely to be approved. If it is super power anime level magic or weapons, it is not likely to get approved for use.

• If you abuse a mechanic, I will use the narrative to add consequences. An example is summoning a bunch of Fai then turning them into T-Rexs to fight for you will end up with the Fai Queen being summoned at a random point to punish you for using her subjects for your own selfish means and treating them poorly. I do not punish players for being clever, I do punish breaking the game to the point it isn’t fun.

• You can roll to deceive other players while roleplaying.

• In order to help someone to give advantage you must be proficient in it.

Session 0 in Detail

Introduction

Welcome to my session 0 detailed guide into what you can expect and agree to when you play in one of my sessions. This document aims to set clear expectations, understand what type of game is being run, and provide players with the best experience possible. I encourage you to read over all of it or, at the very least, the information that is most important to your playstyle.

Thank you for giving my D&D games a chance! Hopefully, we can tell great stories together.

DM Style - As a DM, my style focuses on rules as written as the default answer for most questions unless I have stated otherwise. That means the rule of cool plays a role if it makes sense. I am generous in the rewards and bonuses I give out while we play. If you engage, you will get inspiration and magic items. I am looking to have fun and create a compelling story.

I do not canonically break the game’s immersion, but I often like joking with players about what is going on in the game. I am a very interactive DM, but I am happy to let players take the spotlight and roleplay for extended periods of time. If you can’t stand DMs that talk too much, I am not the DM for you.

I am still working on finding that sweet spot of helping guide players along when they need it and letting them do things by themselves. I prepare for all my sessions, so I ask you to do the same. Know your one character well. Be familiar with your spells and play with the idea of your character often to develop them into something you enjoy playing.

I typically make rulings on the spot while any players who have the time can look up the rule to bring it to my attention during gameplay. Sometimes I will stop everything to look up a rule if it is a make-or-break moment. But I have the final say.

I have a ton of homebrew content. If you don’t like homebrew, then you might not like me as a DM. Anything I homebrew, I try to keep within the bounds of 5e rules and D&D beyond, but there will be monsters or magic items where I add or take away traits to make better encounters or rewards for my players.

I enjoy making homebrew items, but I leave it to the players to take notes about it and make it themselves on D&D beyond if they use that function.

I really emphasize the story, but I do not ignore the mechanics of the game. I try my best to keep both true to the 5e experience. I prefer a majority of roleplaying and very little ROLL-playing. That is when a PC rolls to accomplish a task, and it just happens. I want you to interact and describe how.

Player, Behavior, Game Behavior & DM Expectations

Alcohol

• Players can drink at the table but must remain respectful to everyone. No one should get drunk playing D&D during my games. Since I don’t drink, I will never DM drunk. There is no problem having a few drinks to unwind and have fun during the session. If someone gets drunk, they are expected to leave the table to sober up or not return for the remainder of the session. They will not be allowed to continue playing drunk because a drunk player will take away from the others’ experiences. It is not fair to everyone else who puts in the time to enjoy the game.

Drugs

• I will not DM a session if drugs are involved. I put a lot of work into my sessions and want my players to be engaged. We can’t accomplish that or enjoy the game if people are using recreational drugs.

Cellphones & Digital Devices

• You are welcome to use your cell phone and digital devices at the table. You can keep them on your person. If you need to take a call, that is no problem! Kindly step away from the table to take the call in another room. The game will run your character on NPC mode until you return.

If you use your device during the game, please stay engaged with the game. During slow moments in the game, it is okay to check your devices. It is your responsibility to know what is going on without having everything re-explained during your use of your device. When it is your turn to have the spotlight on you during the session, you need to be ready. It benefits you and all the players if everyone stays engaged with the game. If you can check your devices and keep up with the game, you can check as needed.

An example where usage of devices is okay is during Shopping episodes. You may not care how many items your friend is haggling for, or you may be on the other side of town for 20 or 30 minutes waiting for your turn. Using your device is fine. Just keep an ear out in case something essential or unexpected happens. I often drop foreshadowing or plot hooks during slower parts of the game. If the town blows up in the middle of a shopping episode, you shouldn’t need to have that re-explained when you jump back in.

 Instances where device use wouldn’t be appropriate would be during a player character lore drop, player character backstory reveals, roleplaying/discussing the current in-game problems, in the middle of combat, or moments pivotal to the progression of the game.

Cellphones and digital devices shouldn’t be the center of your attention when we play D&D. If you would rather be on your device, there is no problem. You can use your devices, but please don’t participate in the sessions. I can’t create a fun game if the game isn’t the top priory when everyone sits down to play. It isn’t the only focus, but it is the top focus. Everyone works hard to put 3-4 hours aside each week to show up and be engaged in a world of make-believe. It isn’t fair to all the players and me if we have to repeat ourselves about the current situation, explain the nuances of the world over and over, or wait extended amounts of time for you to make a decision in combat because you were distracted by your device. I do not take offense or hold any grudges against players who don’t find my sessions more engaging than their devices. All I ask is you don’t join my games if you don’t want to sit through them without your device.

Player Attention

• If a player is constantly distracted, I will message or talk to a player privately to discuss and resolve the issue. A constantly distracted player takes away from everyone’s experience. If it continues, the player will not be able to continue playing. It isn’t fair to everyone who puts in extra time, money, and effort outside of the game to enrich their experience. If a player is constantly distracted, I will kindly ask them not to play in my sessions after a fair number of warnings.

Disruptive topics

• We can talk about any topic before the session and briefly in the game if something relevant or funny comes up. I will steer conversations back on track after a few minutes. We will not go on 5 minutes or more tangents about topics outside the game. Save those discussions for our breaks or outside game time.

During the session, it is okay to explore difficult ideas and topics through roleplaying, but we are here to escape from reality. I ask that everyone be respectful of each other’s sensitivities. I ask we steer clear of real-life controversial topics like religion, controversial debates, politics, drug use, or sexually explicit content at the table. Many of these topics can lead to heated discussions that can be disruptive to a game session & upsetting to other players. If you want to socialize, show up early before our scheduled time to talk with other players or stay after. You can direct message them ahead of time to schedule a time to talk.

X-card. I use a system that if at any point you feel uncomfortable with a topic, you can DM me on discord with a simple “x-topic.” I will pivot away from the topic. It is never my intention to trigger any of the players. Sometimes even players don’t know what could be triggering until they are in the moment.

Unannounced dice rolls

• Very rarely or next to never should the player make unannounced dice rolls. It is okay to roll your dice early if you are trying to make combat or the game go a bit faster when it is dragging, but this should not occur all the time. Please ask me, “can I make a perception check?” before rolling. I love it when the players engage with the setting so ask away if you want to make a roll. Having pre-rolled dice waiting takes the momentum out of the game’s stakes, hurts the game’s spotinanity at times, and can throw the fairness of the roll into doubt.

Dice rolls against one another

• Dice rolls can be used to solve in-game arguments between characters. Your characters can influence the other up to a certain point. A great example is that you can’t burst into a King’s throne room, demand he makes you King, roll a Nat 20, and expect him to give you the crown. At best, the King will laugh and admire your bravery. The same goes for player against player rolls. You can’t force another player to change who they are or think outside of charm spells. I have the final say if this interaction goes too far. These can be wonderful ways to engage in banter or bonding between characters. If they fall into the bullying zone instead of comradery, I will step in to cut it off.

Player Vs. Player

• I do not like tension between players that would result in characters hurting one another. It is okay to have characters disagree completely, as two characters did in a campaign I ran, Rahlia and Ullazall. At the beginning of their relationship, in the first campaign, I ran one was a necromancer the other was a cleric sworn against undeath. They found common ground to take on the world without issue. Those two characters are a great benchmark in what is acceptable and how something positive can develop from having tension between character ideas and beliefs.

Characters can argue with each other, but if the discussion gets too heated, I will step in to stop it. We are welcome to dig into the roleplaying if we all know it is a game and respect each other.

In extremely rare occasions, combat can occur between PCs outside of villains charming the PCs. Again, it all comes down to the boundaries and respect we have agreed upon. If everyone involved can be respectful about a duel or encounter, we can have PC vs. PC moments RARELY. Otherwise, we will not have them at all. I don’t like PvP unless it is in good fun for competitions or laughter. There is no room or acceptance in my games for killing another PC in cold blood. The only type of PVP allowed would be two players claiming they could outdo the other in a friendly competition.

PC Secrets

• Players are allowed to keep in-game secrets from other players. Players are allowed to keep in-game secrets from other NPCs. Players can choose to hold onto information if they don’t want to share it with the party. There are always consequences to your actions, good and bad, for doing this. You cannot keep secrets from the DM. I am not sure why you would, but it will cause the game to fall off the rails if major secrets don’t match the world’s logic.

Player Expectations, Types, Goals & Diversity

• Does

every player at your table need to be there for the same reasons as every other player? No! Everyone comes to the table looking for something different. I try to balance my games to allow for the presence of each player to take center stage at some point during a session. There should be an expectation that if you are not the center of attention at that moment that it will come to you soon. When it does, everyone should give you the same attention you gave them.  

You should keep in mind why you are here & what you hope to get out of the game & how I, as a DM, can meet those hopes & exceptions.  Feel free to send me these answers at any time outside of the game so I can craft a better game for you. If you don’t talk to me or engage, I can’t make the game more fun for you. No matter how many dungeons I make, I can never make anything engaging for you if you don’t know or care what you get out of the game. We are here to have fun. That is the top priority. Everyone’s definition of fun is different, so we need to be open-minded to letting everyone have their version of fun at the table if their fun isn’t harmful or toxic.

Fun is not mutually exclusive between players. I encourage you to reach out to your fellow players. See what they like, collaborate, and come to me for quests or ideas you want to try. Some examples may look like siblings or long-lost orphans or exiled King’s guard looking to accomplish a shared goal.

Player Discomfort – Experiences, descriptions, or combat may make you uncomfortable in-game. I like to create minor discomfort from time to time to build suspense or horror for a stronger payoff. With that expectation known, I will not dive into gross detail or cover horrible topics such as rape in the game. There may be times when everyone agreed about a particular topic that was okay in session-0, but when it surfaces in-game, the players may find out that they are NOT comfortable with it. PLEASE tell me and we will dial it back or take a short break so I can fix the problem or change the entire encounter.

Players are allowed to step out and run-on NPC mode if they feel like this is something they don’t want to deal with but think it is fine for other players. A player is allowed to step out on the scene & come back after it has passed. That is an option, but one I do not prefer to do. If someone has an issue, I will feel more comfortable as the DM stopping play, adjusting the game to make everyone comfortable again, taking a break, then resuming play. I can and will Retcon parts of the story to make the game fun and comfortable for everyone.

Player Agency

• Player Agency is critical to me as a DM. You have control of this world. All your actions have consequences. Whatever you do will come back to you, sometimes ten-fold, good or bad.  There are instances where characters may briefly lose agency, but those would be rare and most likely narrative circumstances. I will never take over your character to make them do something because I want the session to go a particular way.  You can give your agency up for a character if you don’t want to play the character anymore at any time. Then I will turn them into an NPC or send them into the afterlife.

 Game Balance & Fairness

• Encounters a balance based on the strength of play. If a group max mins every encounter, they can expect smarter bad guys homebrewed with different tactics to keep the encounters engaging and fair. Encounters will not be a constant barrage of deadly experiences.

Some encounters are built to reflect the randomness of life. If you run into goblins at level 2 vs. level 20, the combat will have a very different tone, structure, and balance given the credible conflict. At level 2, it is likely to be a life-threatening encounter. At level 20, it is likely to be comedic relief.

The reverse is true. If you run across a nine-foot-tall demon that causes the moon to explode with the snap of their fingers, your expectations should be driven by what level of play your PCs are at. If you are level 2, this is most likely the introduction of a credible threat, and you need to escape. If you are level 20, this is probably the epic climatic boss fight to save the world.

Rules Debates

• The DM has the final say on all rulings, but corrections on basic rules or fundamentals are appreciated. I don’t know every rule in and out, so feel free to respectfully inform me of the information if I mess up or don’t know a rule. In some circumstances, I will overrule a standard 5e rule if I believe the rule doesn’t fit the game we are playing or a specific circumstance.

You may have a teleport spell, but if the boss locked you in a pocket dimension for a fight, you are not leaving.

The game can pause to look up a rule briefly, but if it takes too long, I will make a ruling, and we will move on. Typically, one person will look up a rule while things move forward unless the entire encounter is about to be saved or destroyed by the result. Then we will look up the rule and take our time to get it right. Keeping the flow of the game moving forward is extremely important to my sessions.

Spotlight Sharing

• Payers are allowed to have spotlights on their characters every session.

This means players may get attention for a duration of time when it comes to concluding a major story arc or plot point. No player will dominate the spotlight in my games all the time. The goal is to focus on the group as a whole and highlight each character for moments in each session.

Everyone should get a chance to shine at the table. My expectation is players will be respectful of these key moments. Please refrain from undercutting a moment with a joke or comment during these spotlights.

Use your judgment. If it is a super serious moment for a character, it probably is not best for a joke. In contrast, a player getting a fancy title might be a perfect opportunity for the group to lighten the mood with a joke. Context matters, and I leave it to the players to be respectful of these critical moments.

Some examples: A player has found out their parents were killed by the villain of the story. During this moment, players should let the PC process and roleplay without snarky jokes toward that player.

A player is given the title “lord of the high roads” for saving the lord’s favorite horse. Players are welcome to joke around about the title because it is contextually a light-hearted moment without the weight of any drama.

Meta-knowledge

• I do allow meta-gaming in some capacity.

It is okay for players to know that swinging their weapon at a ghost will not harm it. Another example of positive meta-gaming is a character is allowed to know that trolls don’t regenerate health when hurt with acid or fire, but I will make your character make a nature or history check to recall the information.

“What about meta-gaming when it comes to multiple rolls? Just because the Wizard player knows the Rogue rolled low for his check for traps, would it make sense for the Wizard character to insist that he check as well?”

I do not allow this kind of outside meta-game knowledge because it takes away from the immersion and enjoyment of the game. Your characters are meant to fail in this world, so winning feels earned and real. Having another player instantly bail out a bad roll isn’t the game I want to run. If you need to get through a door to continue the campaign, I will not gate progress behind a roll. Please allow your characters to fail. It makes for a better experience.

One of the core ideas with meta-knowledge is “would your character know this information, or is this common knowledge in this fantasy world?”

If two players are city ten miles away from their home base and learn something important, the two players in the city need to tell their teammates back home the information in person or through a spell before the players back home can act on the new information.

I encourage players to help each other out but let PCs play the game, fail, and succeed. Meta-gaming gets talked about like it’s some sort of sin, some meta-game knowledge is okay to have at our table if everyone is having fun.

MinMaxing

• This is a tough issue for me as a DM. I want you to play the character you want to play. If that means min/maxing, I encourage it. The only problem that comes into play is my encounters will scale to match your min-maxing. What that means is other players that aren’t min-maxing may find the game too hard because I must increase the difficulty to keep pace with the groups power level.

MinMaxing leads to a few options for me as a DM.

• I ask you not to min/max to the point where encounters become one-sided and trivial without a huge power shift in the monsters.

• I shift away from combat encounters in the campaign. Unfortunately, this action undermines the player’s desires to min/max. It is an option I don’t want to take.

• I let the world strengthen up with you. Creatures and your teammates get bumps to their play allowing everyone to stay in a relatively “balanced” gameplay in a game that isn’t made to be perfectly balanced.

My preferred option is to have a PC not min-max to the point of breaking the game.

“Breaking the Game” is a phrase I often use when describing the balancing of my games. I want the game to be fun, and being fun means being overpowered at times, but until you are level 16-20, fights shouldn’t always be trivial, and at that level, you should be going against the strongest creatures in the land.

There is another issue to bring up when talking about MinMaxing, letting other PCs play unoptimized characters.

Outside of combat, in direct messages or group chats, you can make suggestions to improve your teammates combat if you feel the need. BUT if a player wants to play their character in an unoptimized way, they should and are allowed to. I do not want a MinMaxer player yelling at another player to make a move because it is the “best” move to win. The non-MinMaxing player has complete control over how they want to play the game. No other player is allowed to tell you how to play. Tips and suggestions are okay, orders and demands are not.

A paladin that never uses smite is unoptimized, but if that’s how a player wants to play their character, then so be it! Roleplaying is a huge factor into how combat functions in my games. If the Paladin is afraid to smite, then they don’t have to use it even though it is the “best” option for their next attack.

I do not run war games or skirmish encounters in my games. I play by 5e rules and mechanics. I have tried large-scale combat in the past, but it doesn’t work for my style of play. When we are in large-scale combat, I will switch to narrative combat and theater of the mind.

Character Party fit

• D&D is a social-based game. I want to encourage players to create PCs that play well with others. All the PCs need to eventually fit into a cohesive party with one another. Players are

expected to participate in both roleplay and combat.

A key issue I have found with “party fit” is when a party members have evil alignments. I do not allow for any characters to be aligned with evil to avoid this problem. If you want to run an all-evil campaign, we can discuss it as players and dm.

To be clear, I do not want players potentially bullying other players into playing races & classes they do not want to play. Party fit should not limit the class & race choice of anyone. Play the character you want to play! What matters is when you design a character it isn’t a character that doesn’t want to adventure or talk to others. You must create a character that has a motivation to participate in the game.

 Murder Hobos

• If you want to play as murder hobos, your characters won’t last long in Zenya. The world is an active one responding to every decision you make. If you kill everyone you see, bounties will be put on your head until you get the attention of the highest and most powerful NPCs in the land who will be able to crush your characters at early levels. If you want to murder hobo late into a campaign, then you find yourself in the problem of angering the gods and any friendly NPCs you have made. It is your choice to do it, but it has serious game-ending consequences.

Depending on what era you are playing in. Champions of the gods are living and active in the world. There are heralds that roam the land to prevent mass murders and world-ending events. These heralds are fundamentally broken in 5e combat without the proper magic items and abilities you can earn in-game. If you murder a town of innocent people, you are sure to have the heralds tracking you down and destroying you with ease.

Experience

 Earning EXP

• There is no EXP to be earned in my campaigns.

Milestones and Level-ups

• I use the milestone level-up system. That means the DM decides when everyone levels up. Typically, everyone levels up at the same time at the end of an adventure. Leveling up is quick until level 8, then it slows down during levels 8-14. During levels 15-20, leveling up occurs at the end of every major story arc.

Characters can level up alone when a personal story arc is completed or during a one-on-one session with me.

Other behavior rules

• Please be always respectful to other players and one another. Please communicate any issues you have privately with players as not to embarrass anyone during a game.

The golden rule applies to my games.

There is a line that you shouldn’t cross when playing as your characters.  If your actions make other players or me uncomfortable or unsafe, that is crossing the line.

What I mean by uncomfortable or unsafe is trying to sexually assault another character in game, trying to have PvP, being excessively graphic in your descriptions, trying to torture NPCs, or anything that would put our game into the R/Adult rated category.

I am okay with serious topics, but there is a line we do not cross inside this game to ensure everyone is having a good time. This is not therapy or a place for you to workshop your dark thoughts.

Scheduling 

Player Absences

• It is okay to miss games. Life is busy, and it is tough to make every week. If you find it frequently difficult to make the game, then your character can go on hiatus for a time if we are in a long-term campaign.

For one-shots and shorter campaigns (4-8 sessions) if you can’t commit to a time then you should not play in my games. It is too difficult to miss more than one session in the shortened experiences. You will not have fun if you miss two or more sessions because a lot happens.

If a player is absent, then we will run that player as an NPC. Other players are responsible for running the absent player’s character during combat.

If more than half the players can’t make the session, the session is canceled. I only allow two players to be run on NPC mode if we have a party of 6 or more. Once there are only three players at the table, I cancel my sessions because it becomes too much for players to juggle and too much for missing players to catch up on.

Normally I look for schedules a week in advance to see if we can get a game in. If players drop out last minute, I may have a one-shot prepared or a battle royal.

I will cancel if I don’t have anything prepared. When we have three or fewer players, I will try to have a prepared one-shot to allow a DnD session to still take place. I have found these tiny one-shots to be extremely effective at trying out new mechanics and fleshing out the world.

For Stories of the Multiverse, if you cancel last minute, you will not receive a refund for the session. It is unfair to the other players and me to put in the time and money for a session and then have it fall into scheduling limb for months on end because a player can’t make the session. Your character will be run on NPC or removed from the game.

Player Agency

Player Narrative Authority

• I do allow players to have some narrative authority in my game.

For example, A player playing the Cleric can create the deity their PC follows. I will decide what her deity’s personality, attitudes, domain, & etc. are in accordance with the established canon of my world.

Homebrewing gods can be a problem when there are too many deities to follow. I have my pantheon set and I’m willing to mold what you want into the gods available in my world or I may make exceptions to have new gods born or emerge for your character.

If a player wants to homebrew their god, they will end up in the lesser god tier of my pantheon hierarchy.

For your backstories you can name and create just about anything you want. I will just revise it to fit with the world. Often, I make tiny revisions to make sure the names of places match with your story.

I encourage players not to create backstories that have already experienced level 1-20 quests because I found players have a much better gaming experience when they playthrough that journey in game instead of in their backstory. If you have all kinds of experiences, you want your character to accomplish, tell me instead of writing it into your backstory. Those goals will be woven into the conflicts of the game we play.

I even encourage players to make up parts of their backstory on the fly, just shoot me a DM in game to check something or just ask me while we are playing! It is encouraged to say, “Ah yes, this is Robert, he runs the town I grew up in, right?”

Almost always I will say yes, unless you already ran into the person who runs your childhood town. The only thing I don’t allow is players overwriting other players stories or anything I have established in the world. I am flexible with my world, but I don’t want players bringing back an extinct race out of nowhere.

Pet Peeves

 Pet Peeves – The following are my personal pet peeves as a DM. It is best you are aware of them if you want to play in my games. 

Things about the game that really bother me as a DM is when a player walks away from the session for a duration of time and then needs to be caught up on everything because they are disengaged from the games.

I am not upset if there is an important call you must take. Take the call and rejoin the game when you can

What bothers me is if a player is on their phone, playing another game, or doing anything to cause them to not pay attention to anything going on inside the D&D session.

If the players or I have to constantly retell a player what just happened because they are unsure of what to do next, I can’t continue DMing that player.

My games don’t work if you don’t pay attention to the little things I throw in. So please be respectful to me and stay as engaged as possible. I am extremely open to almost everything at my table, but if you don’t want to be there, please don’t come. Be engaged, have fun, interact with the story. That’s all I ask. Just remember that when I discuss my pet peeves, it's coming from a place of kindness. I hope by communicating my pet peeves it avoids issues later.

Ethics Concerns & Topics

Preface

• This part will cover mature topics which may or may not trigger people, it is not my intention to do so. This is in fact here to avoid just suddenly triggering players, by bringing these out in the session-0 discussion. They can be discussed and should be discussed in a mature respectful manner. It’s important to include a preface to this topic set. Be as respectful & as frank as possible but ask for forgiveness in case you happen to fall short, these are not easy topics to discuss but should be brought up at the table during Session-0 regardless. For these topics, it is important to address every player at the table for their individual input & then individual consent.

This is something we all discuss at session 0—What is off-limits. We all agree to this during our session 0. I ask everyone be respectful and honor others wishes. If this is an issue this may be a deal-breaker for playing in my games. I shade toward ignoring truly awful topics in my games to keep the game enjoyable and safe. I am okay with hinting or touching on dark topics such as slavery, oppression, racism, sexism, but these are normally to deal with the conflict and adversity we experience in real life, but we have the tools to change them in our game. There is a large portion of topics I will not touch because I do not think it has a place in my game. This is a session 0 discussion we will have to make sure everyone is on the same page.

 Gender

• Gender roles do exist in my setting and there are possibilities of encountering patriarchal and matriarchal cultures. These are not extremely prevalent but are subtle to many of the culture structures in the setting. The game reflects many societal conflicts from history. These are meant to be different cases to interact with as players. You can experiment by seeing how each of these cultures work in the fantasy world and how cultures without gender role’s function. It is not my intention to be overt in any stereotyping or shove my ideologies down my player’s throats. I view these as game pieces that allow you to explore conflicts and challenges inside the setting. There are races inside D&D that allow creatures to change gender at any time, so those cultures are going to be night and day different from cultures more familiar to reality.

Attraction & Sexual Orientation

• I am not a DM that is very comfortable roleplaying anything past flirting with NPCs to players. If you want to have a relationship with an NPC it is possible, but it will become more narrative storytelling and I do not allow any roleplaying or descriptions of sex. I find it uncomfortable for everyone at the table. We can fade to black, as Critical Role or other shows do. It isn’t my style of game, so you won’t get it from my sessions. As for sexual orientation you will see a wide range from NPCs. As a reflection of reality, you will see NPCs all across the LGTB spectrum in addition to heterosexuality. If this makes you uncomfortable my sessions might not be for you. With that said I am a straight white male, so I will not be flaunting the sexuality of any of the NPCs during our sessions. My approach is you may have an NPC talk about the husband or wife in a roleplaying encounter or you may see two rulers of the same sexual orientation well known for their unity in ruling the lands. Inside my history, the lands of Penk were ruled by two happily married dwarfs for nearly 400 years. That is the expectation you get at my table. Everyone is treated as a person. Cultures and races in game may have different views that disagree with other cultures, but I am unlikely to make that a focal point unless players want to explore that in a respectful manner.  Many cultures are given and impacted by religion. If you are uncomfortable with functional worship to deities, then my games may not be for you. I care a lot about their culture to their gods because it drives all their actions. I do not vilify or virtue signal religion in my games. I play with the good and bad it brings. Some cultures will be more approachable than others just like in real life.  Let me know if you will be unconformable as a player with seeing interactions in character that may not align to their personal views. One of the places I found this to occur was Mina, the slave state. Both my players and I are completely against slavery, but this is something that has existed in history since humans could walk. I believe Mina is a great place to explore liberation, taking down an oppressive system, and dealing with those who seek to oppress. If this is an issue, let me know. I can change it. Mina is one of the locations I have multiple versions for depending on the group. Nothing is set in stone in my world. I intentionally cater it toward my players and their play style.

 Rape, Sexual Assault – I have zero tolerance for it. I don’t want it in my game, and I don’t want it at the table. If a player tries to rape or sexually assault another player, character, or NPC first, that action will not be allowed in the game. Second, they are kicked from the game. Third, they will never be allowed to play a game with me again. There are no second chances with this rule. If you break it, you are done forever. While tackling difficult topics like oppression in our game can be rewarding sexual assault and rape are not. I find both have no place in our game or in the real world.

Racism, Prejudice

• There is racism and prejudice present inside the fantasy world. People don’t trust orc tribes or goblins because of their history of pillaging. Drow are typically looked at as evil if they came from underground, while the Drow in the north are looked at as good people who shed their evil. Racism and prejudice have a place at my table in exploring the cultures in the world and how they interact with one another. I am not interested in being racist toward players or PC, that has no place at the table. But if a PC wants to explore the idea of “not all orcs are bad”, that is a path that has a place at my table. There are cultures like the elves of Schober who are entitled elitists who believe elf to be better than everyone else. They are wrong and don’t represent all the elves in the world. The dynamic you can expect is if one race or faction has a point of view there is an opposing viewpoint somewhere in the world telling them that they are wrong.

 Slavery

• As discussed before slavery is present inside the world with the intention of getting rid of it. Many of the kingdoms of Zenya haven’t had the means to completely free the world of slavery but wish to dismantle slave trade. This

can be utterly omitted if the group doesn’t want any slavery in their game. Slavery is not largely present in this world. It is reserved for the worst villains of the game.

Conclusion

• These topics are being discussed now to avoid player discomfort later so that everyone can have a fun game. I will remind you that at any time, even if it goes against what you agreed upon or what was discussed during a Session-0 that they feel uncomfortable, to please say something. I want you to have fun at my table above all else. It’s a game where we tell a story together.

Character Creation

Creation Questions – Here are some core questions to help you make your character.

• What do you want to play?

•  What do you need from me to help make your backstory?

• Why is your character an adventurer or now adventuring?

•  What is their occupation?

• Who are your characters parents, siblings, and mentors?

• Do you have a rival?

•  How is your character connected to at least one other character in the group?

• Is there anything you need special to make your character come to life?

One last note, please try not to be an orphan loaner. It is okay to have living parents and family in game. It can lead to compelling narrative when you’re not all on your own.

Creation Stats

• I prefer rolling for stats. The rule is roll 4d6 dice pick the highest 3 dice for your ability score. Your total ability score should add up to more than 70 but less than 82. That allows for players to have a character that doesn’t have all god-awful stats all campaign and avoids the character that got all 6s for every role starting off way to strong. I encourage a negative stat as it can lead to exciting roleplaying and encounter situations.

Alignment

• Alignment is not featured heavily in my game. Alignment is mainly perceptive and descriptive through actions.  Doing evil things cause a character to change alignment which can be a quest in game to get back in good terms with your divinity or can lead to the corruption or exit of a character. I typically don’t allow alignment changes to evil. I often see alignment as a guideline at best. I don’t like it because it restricts players. People experience and act in all different alignments throughout a day. I encourage you to play your character and not worry about alignment.

Stat rulings

• We can have additional discussions about optional Age-trade rule where the elderly gets a +2Wis but suffers a -1Dex & -1Con. We can a house rule where characters with 7 or less Int, cannot read or write. Let’s discuss these house-rules which influence attribute score decisions.

Other Creation Rules

• I am open to discussion on all ideas you may have for your character. Just let me know and we can talk over discord or send direct messages.

Races & Classes

 Races Allowed/Disallowed

• All 5e races are allowed but talk to me about what you want to play. I will allow some custom or hombres races if they don’t break the game. That includes immersion or unbalanced traits/powers. One trait I like to shy away from is races with functional wings because it changes a lot of the encounters dramatically early on. This is not a big an issue in higher level games but can take away a lot of the fun of the PCs at the start, which I want to avoid. AI typically do not allow Unearthed Arcana Races because many are unbalanced and have no downsides. I like homebrews like my madness race that have pros and cons like everything in life. Any race with only upside that is homebrewed will not be allowed. With that said give me your tweaks or changes and anything can be worked out if it maintains balance in the game.

Tweaking/Re-flavor Races

• PCs can make minor tweaks to a race. Just talk to me about it before hand to make me aware and so I can approve it. PCs can re-flavor a race to be a different race. Again, I do not allow PCs to play races they home brewed themselves without a lengthy discussion and proper balancing. There are tons of awesome races in all the official material, I encourage you to start there.

Classes Allowed

• All classes are allowed.  As with all my homebrew rules, talk to me first. If we can work out a homebrew class, we can do it. Most likely I will allow teaks to already existing classes to re-flavor them to fit our needs. I want to avoid game breaking tweaks or changes. If the classes are in official material or have been play tested well in other settings like Critical Role or another hit show, we can discuss them further. If there is D&D beyond integration it is almost always a yes.

Tweaking/Reflavor Classes

• PCs can make minor tweaks to a class or subclass if it fits a certain theme that I as the DM can agree with.

Game-style, Character Lifestyle

Type of Game

• This is a more intimate sandbox with general narrative rails connecting the story. Character’s backstories and goals will be woven into the conflicts of the world. These will present themselves organically as possible as characters chase plot hooks. If you as PCs never know what you want to do, I will be happy to jump in to push you in a direction to get things moving so you can have fun. I am not here to read you a novel I made, instead I want to collaborate in storytelling with everyone at the table. It is a give and take process. The more you put in the more you will get out. Occasionally I will take official material and weave it into the world. So, if you know or have played through other material you may see some things carried into this world, but I always make changes.  The setting revolves around the players and the major narrative tent poles I set up before the campaign and as I go. The story is always developing. I like to push the game to try to be the most compelling for the players enjoyment. I won’t always get it right, but I will not do things that don’t have logic backing it up or use shock value for the sake of shock.  The tone of the campaign is driven by the players. Typically, I weave serious themes into my games, but highly encourage PCs to be goofy or have fun at any time. I would ask that during serious heart felt moments the PCs be respectful to everyone involved. Often special moments come out of a serious moment or arc. Buy in large my games are a mix of Avatar the Last Airbender meets the Lord of the Rings.

Campaign Length

• This depends on the PCs, but I typically run my campaign with the intention of level 1-20. If players want to start and end at a different level, I am open to talk. The length will go as long as the story demands it and if everyone is still having fun. For a level 1-20 campaign for sessions once a week for 4 hours or less, it will take 2-3 years to run at a reasonable speed. Based on my first campaign a level 1-20 run would be around 130-150 sessions.

In-game Adventurers

• What can PCs expect from being an adventurer? Are adventurers all heroes? or are they perhaps members of an adventuring guild? or are they all pirates on a pirate ship? perhaps they are all members of a faction? Do Adventurers have ‘normal lives’ during downtime? How do NPCs generally view adventurers? Is it favorable? or are they looked down upon because they cause more trouble than good? Or perhaps because only the desperate take up the adventuring life?

In-game politics & factions

• There are many factions and in game politics occurring in the world. You will experience them as you play. The fun of this world is exploring these politics and factions to see where you align and who you want to help or hurt.

 Start/Standing

• You are starting at 1st level if we are playing a full campaign. One shots can start at any level. For long term games build up your story to become the legends you are destined to become for better or worse. For one shots it is your time to shine like lightning in a bottle.

Character Context

• There are kinds of things that character may know vs what you the player may know & there are distinctions between. The character has potentially lived 15+ years in this setting & may know things that you would not. Making history checks will allow you to tap into the characters information unless it is something I believe your character should just know. Ask me what you want to know, and I will let you know if you have to roll for it.

If your clan worships a god, you don’t have to make a check to recall that information or if a rival clan worships an opposing one. If you the player know what to do but your character doesn’t, I would ask you roleplay to the best of your ability. Often, I have had players say, “I know what to do but Charnuk has no clue what’s going on”. I think this is great because it gives everyone a chance to shine during gameplay and you can still feel great that you figured out the puzzle. I am all about the journey and less about the shock. You are clever you will figure out a lot of the big set ups as we go if I am doing my job correctly. But when and where it will happen? That is up to you to guess at.  Any knowledge you are unsure of just ask me. I will let you know if you know it or if you must roll for it. Somethings you won’t know, which is okay!

Backgrounds, Feats & Mounts

Backgrounds

• I do limited backgrounds for characters in regard to what you have accomplished. Please let me know what you want to do with your character, and we can explore that journey in game. It isn’t enjoyable for anyone if you are a legend who has defeated the gods but are at level 1 with nothing to achieve. I do want final approval of each background and backstory before we start. This is to prevent anything not making sense in the world and between characters. Again, I allow home brewing, just talk to me. We can work something out to fit the character you want to play.

Feats

• All feats are fair to use in game from 5e. I do not use unearth arcana feats. We can hombres or tweak feats to fit the flavors for characters. If a feat or a combo in game becomes broken, I will step in to change it. The classic summon pixies to turn them into t-rex’s trick would result in a pixie queen eventually being summoned to punish the characters for misusing her people.

Mounts

• I do allow mounts but I need players to work with me on mounts. I have little experience running them. My only concern is balance, if they can be used reasonably game, I have no reservation. Even flying mounts with limited use could be fine in my games at higher levels.

General Mechanic Rules

Ready an Action

• When you ready an action you can hold it until your next turn. You cannot ready movement for a ready action. If you are holding a spell but it comes back to your turn it fades and you lose a spell slot. Ready actions are meant for you to wait for a trigger to occur then you take your action otherwise you lose it.

Bonus Actions

• Bonus actions are during combat and can be used by anything that says, “this is a bonus action”. In my games I allow bonus action uses of healing potions to make the game go quicker and to allow for stonier encounters.

Repeated Party Rolls

• If I ask you or the party to roll, I am looking to see what you see or do for a roll. That means if there is a secret door and I ask the party to roll an no one sees it then no one sees it. I do not allow the endless rolling until the group gets the right roll. The DC climbs for each failure and new attempt at a challenge.

Downtime/Crafting

• There is down-time for your PCs between major arcs. My games are organized in arcs surrounding each PC character. Downtime allows you to try new things, craft, enjoy role playing, go to festivals, or explore smaller missions. It is a break from the action to learn more about the world, refine your characters, and restock.

Additional mechanic rules

• Generally speaking, here are some of my rules. Darkvision doesn’t let you see in the dark, you see shades of gray as it is described. Things can still be obscured from dark vision if they lack color changes in the pitch black. Lava is devastating and deals 50d12 if you touch it. Steer clear of lava. Dim light imposes disadvantage on any ranged attacks into the dark. Taming creatures is a continual process that reapplies on 5-10 animal handling check over a duration of time. I allow players to describe their killing blows and to help shape the world we are playing. I will typically expand on any ideas you give me in game in combat or role playing. I have a homebrewed hero action feature that you may get at higher levels. It allows you to roll on a table that ranges from getting insight into the conflict (25%) to getting divine intervention (1%) because you are the heroes of the story. It works as a feature that can be activated at the end of a turn. Often players will use all their actions then in desperation use their hero feat.

Inspiration

Snacks

• Please bring snacks and food! Just mute yourself when eating online so you aren’t eating into your mic. Make sure you are paying attention even though you are eating. We take a break halfway through the session to go to the bathroom and get food too. If we are in person, please be curious to other players. Don’t make a mess or eat loudly. Avoid sticky foods in person.

Gaining Inspiration

• I often hand out inspiration for great roleplaying or for being clever with the world. I will happily reward you the more you buy into the game and the world. I will normally give you a d10 you can use whenever you want. It is up to you to track it. If you hold onto all your inspiration but can’t remember how much you have you lose all I can’t remember. I would encourage you not to hoard you inspiration. I haven’t had this become a problem, but there is always a first time for everything.

Spending Inspiration

• Just add your inspiration onto any roll before you make it like a normal inspiration. Once it is spent it is gone.

Advantage, Disadvantage & Ability Checks

Stacking

• disadvantage/advantage works rules as written. They cancel out for two or one dice roll.

Giving Aid

• Helps lower DCs or gives advantage on rolls. It depends on the situation.

Multiple Attempts

• Every-time a player fails a check like unlocking a safe the DC goes up. This prevents dogpiling to force a success in a situation. Players can have multiple tries to do something, but it gets harder to achieve each time they fail up to the point where it is impossible.

Crits

Critical Hits

• Rules as written unless stated otherwise. If a natural 20 doesn’t hit that should be the biggest red flag of telegraphed red flags for players. That means the creature has immunity to damage or other spectacular abilities.

Critical Fumbles

• This is hardly ever used if at all. If there is a positive modifier you can’t critically fumble but you can royally screw something up. All are improvised and not meant to screw the player. This is normally used for a laugh or to build the tension in critical moments when players come up short.

Critical Success

• Nat-20 on an ability check/save means an automatic hit on almost any creature or object but does not mean an automatic success to any challenge or problem the player is attempting. Critical successes are meant to be rewarding but not game breaking. You will be rewarded for natural 20s but some DCs go above a straight 20 at higher levels of gameplay. It is again meant to be a way to enhance the game for the PCs through their creatively or to reward a bit of good luck.

Critical Fail

• Nat-1 on an ability check/save means possible fails. If you have am modifier to a roll then that makes of for the critical fail. Critical fails are used for flavor inside my game to make it more enjoyable. However occasionally I will work it into the narrative and combat. A critical failure on an attack role could go toward an unintended target or accidentally benefit you. I had a player throw aa sword that critically failed only to have one of the enemies be pushed onto it by the next player in the order. I leave critical fails as room to be creative not to punish players for bad luck.

Sneak

Stealth

• Stealth movement is allowed in my game. Stealth checks for any major movement or actions are required to maintain stealth.  Stealth is a strong tool to use inside or outside of combat. A good rule of thumb is anything you do an enemy can do and vice versa. The big key to stealth is if the area is open or if there is nowhere to hide a high stealth check does not make you invisible. If you are in an empty dungeon with only the BBEG, you do not disappear with a Nat 20. The BBEG might sneeze and lose you for a second, but realistically you can’t disappear off a stealth check in an open and well-lit empty room.

Unseen Attacker

• Unseen attackers fall into many of the rules of hidden/hide action. Attacks can come from a direction, and it is up to players or enemies to figure out the source. Cover plays a role in the AC of a given unseen attacker. Proper checks or spells can reveal an unseen attacker.  Unseen attackers can attempt ‘target’ an unseen attacker. They have disadvantage and the AC increases on the attacker depending on the described attack. Spells that do not auto locate take an all or nothing shot in the dark.

Hidden/Hide Action

• Being hidden means that the person, creature or PC doesn’t know where you are exactly. That can range from no idea to almost exactly your location. These impact if you are granted advantage on your attack. A hidden creature be a ‘valid target’, but the attack has disadvantage, and the DC/AC can go up on the attack. Yelling, critically failing a check, leaving their hidden position, failing a stealth check can all cause a hidden creature to become un-hidden. A creature can go back to being Hidden by causing a distraction, running out of sight, or through class features or traits. Hiding behind a barrel isn’t likely to be hidden as compared to a table because a player can be moving anywhere behind the obstructed view as opposed to a barrel.  A hidden creature cannot clearly attack an un-hidden creature unless there is no obstruction to the hidden creature.

Invisibility

• What does it mean to be invisible? An invisible creature be a ‘valid target’ if a creature has true sight or can smell the invisible creature or player. These features depend on the class, creature, or player. Otherwise, invisibility works rules as written. Any attacks actions cause an invisible creature to become revealed. Any feats or traits that allow creatures to be invisible in shadow apply unless the enemies have blind sight, true sight, or an invisible seeing magic item. High stealth checks do not grant invisibility. A Stealth roll of 40 in the middle of an open field with nothing to hide behind means the character is still seen by all. Just because you roll well in stealth doesn’t mean it is an Automatic success.

Traps

• Traps are present inside the game. Trap’s damage is directly proportional to their function. If it is a trap guarding an ancient artifact of a powerful wizard it is looking to kill. If it is a trap laid by goblins hoping to scare people away, they do minimal damage. Traps are not made to make you paranoid about every action you take in the game. Instead, they are a looming threat to any problems or puzzles you may face.

NPCs/Creatures

Group Initiative

• Very rarely will I use group initiative. These are normally during a sequence where a character is taking the lead for a group challenge or activity. I will ask one player to roll for the group for their initiative. These are normally non-combat situations.

NPCs are important. Fostering friendships or rivals will affect the game. Players can have NPCs go on quests, aide characters, or work against them in a variety of ways. Use them to make the experience more engaging and meaningful. They are not just there for dialog trees. They are actively doing other things while you are going on your quests. The world doesn’t stop while you play.

Vendors

• Most NPCs vendors will sell items for a variety of costs depending on where they are. Some are willing to haggle many are not. If the vendor is in the middle of a desert, you are not going to be able to haggle unless you have precious resource available. Magic items are extremely expensive in the games I run. Interact and role play with venders to get a sense of their style. Not all venders have to be role played either. Going into town to get basic requirements can be done with a brief few words in game when it is necessary to slow things down. Not all vendors will have large stocks or the items you are looking for. Stocks rotate in and out and are rolled for randomly before you enter the town. This prevents the immersion breaking instances of a vendor having 50 health potions and 30 enchanted swords while being a grain farmer.

Other Creature rules

• Madness creatures are stronger, more vicious, and dealer versions of their non-madness counterparts. They are a hombres creature that play into the lore of the land. Lycanthropes are stronger when the moon is out. Vampires are vulnerable to sun but not instantly destroyed by it. Drow are good and evil There is a separation that occurred when the NPC Brine Chulussa freed a group of Drow from the spider queen. Basilisk and gorgons can turn their stone stares on and off at will.

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Magic Items

Attunement/Identify

• Attunement reveal most things about an item. Any curses or secrets need identify to get the full list of everything an item can do unless it is a mythical item.  Those are surrounded in secrecy by divine intervention directly connected to the gods in the world.

 Magic Resize

• Most wearable items auto-magically resize to fit their wearer of the time is magical. If not, there a way to resize such items through shops using your coin or favors.

Spells & Spell Effects

Additional/Customized spells

• I typically do not allow most Unearthed Arcana. Please discuss with me any custom spells you want to use. We can work it out as an in-game challenge or quest to get as long as it doesn’t break the game. I do allow for homebrewed spells if it enhances the game.  I do allow any class to make tweaks to spells, but I do limit the extent of the tweaks.  Anything can be tweaked but it is up to me to make the final call. If we play and find the custom spell isn’t adding to the game, I will work with you to remake he spell to rebalance it, or I will take it out. My goal with these games is to let everyone have a fun time, not to be a rules lawyer or to have a game where anything goes so nothing matters. I want you to care about the game and your characters because I do.

Spells Vs Environments

• Spells work differently in different environments. For example, fire spells barely work underwater unless cast at the highest levels. In addition, spells like lightning can be combined with water for more damage. I reward creative interaction with the environment to solve problems in game. These are typical guidelines or common-sense calls. If you are on the plane of ice, most fire spells don’t work. Although fire-spells would be essential, higher-level magic is required to combat magical conditions. 

 Spell Abuse

• If a caster starts using spells abusively, penalties will begin to be applied or cool downs. A common issue is a spell caster using bless on everything all the time, slowing the game down and everyone’s enjoyment. If you don’t declare the spell before an action is taken, then the spell does not happen. Players can’t go back and say, “I meant to cast this”. Be prepared, but do not abuse or spam spells. This is only an issue if it is taking away the enjoyment of all the players and the balance of the game.

Spell Casting & Juggling

• Players need to keep track of which hand carries their components, which hand they use for somatic gestures, which hand they use for foci, which hands holds their spell-book, & which hand they use for weapons if they are trying to do something outside the bounds of reasonable. These details only come into play in situations like on the side of a cliff. If you need two free hands to cast a spell, it can’t be cast while climbing the cliff. But that doesn’t mean you can’t cast the spell in midair after jumping off the cliff. Be creative, but not unreasonable. Rules as written follow much of all spell casting with exceptions determined by the situation or prior discussions between the group.

 Material Components

• Spell casters need to keep track of what components they have in order to use spells. If you do not have the components, you cannot cast the spell. I encourage players to get the supplies during downtime. It enriches the roleplaying opportunities and contributes to a better game.

Spell Tweaks

• Everything is up for discussion inside my games. As long as these tweaks don’t break the game, I am open to them. If you want to make a custom spell or tweak a current one talk to me and we will work out how we want to do it in game.

Death, Resurrection, Resting

 Death

• When a PC dies players have a moment to revive their teammate with a low DC though the revivify spell. After that the process becomes harder. See Resurrection and Death for more detail. If there is a TPK there are multiple possibilities going forward. This could be the opportunity for new characters, a new campaign, or for NPCs to come up big for the PCs. Every action has consequences in my games. Building relationships with power NPCs can result in them going to the ends of the world to bring a team back, but the world will look much different from last they knew. Players MUST have 1 back up player ready to go so they are not left out in an unexpected death. You may have to wait through many sessions to bring your previous character back to life. In my first campaign I ran, a PC waited 62 sessions before having the chance to revive his character.

Resurrection

• Resurrection is rare due to its cost, difficulty, and power requirement. To resurrect a player needs the spell, spell components, and needs to perform a ritual in which they roll against a Death DC to bring the character back from the afterlife.  Once a character is out of revivify time the process to revive gets harder. The DC required to come back to life increases by 5. As stated in the resurrection section a ritual must preformed where teammates offer up rolls in attempts to bring a character back. A max of two players may try to bring the player back to life. With successful roles they can lower the DC required by 5.

When dying your character is sent to the world between  where envoys of the Raven Queen take you to your afterlife  destination. With every death the DC for coming back increases by 1. Once characters are past level 10 it increases            by 2. If a character fails, their ritual or the DC is too high the character has a few options. Their team can try again hoping to lower the DC or the player character can try to make a  deal with a divinity to return for a limited time. Calling out             in the world between is a dangerous risk, anyone could be listening.

When resurrected a character role on the Resurrection effect table. They receive a permanent condition or effect from dying. Players can expect to go on quests to resurrect a person inside this world. Trying to rip a soul from the afterlife automatically fails without the proper requirements. The Goddess of Death does not let mortals take souls with ease or forever.

Death Rules

• Death is a serious consequence in Zenya. Once a character is out of the revivify time to revive, the process to revive gets harder. The DC required to come back to life increases by 5. As stated in the resurrection section a ritual must preformed where teammates offer up rolls in attempts to bring a character back. A max of two players may try to bring the player back to life. With successful roles they can lower the DC required by 5.

When dying your character is sent to the world between        where envoys of the Goddess of Death take you to your afterlife       destination. With every death the DC for coming back                     increases by 1. Once characters are past level 10 it increases            by 2.

If a dead character fails, their ritual or the DC is too high the dead character has a few options. Their team can try the ritual again hoping to lower the DC enough for a success or the players character can try to make a deal with a divinity to return for a limited time. Calling out to the pantheon in Zenya is a dangerous risk, anyone could be listening. A god may show mercy or be looking to advance their own goals.

Death Exhaustion: When a character regains 1hp from after being dropped to 0 hp and failing their death saving throws, that character gains one level of exhaustion. Only one level of exhaustion can be applied per comeback.

Resting Rules

• Only 2 short rest before a long rest. A Long Rest always starts with a short rest. Everything else is normal. If you are interrupted during your long rest, you get your short rest unless stated otherwise at the time.

Tone and Theme

The tone is intended for Epic and Mythic Fantasy. Actions have consequences. All the NPCs have their own lives, goals, and motivations. The world progresses without the character if they don’t do anything. The world is about adventure, progress, and legend.  

Conclusion

This document is a social contract between the players and the DM. If anyone breaks it, then I reserve the right to cancel the game. Due to the length of the document, there will be mistakes. Please send me any errors you found so I can correct them. This is a living document, so check back from time to time.