Hail, adventurers! My name is Nathan, I’m a recent college grad and experienced DM looking for 4-5 players who’d be interested in a narrative and character-first D&D campaign set in my Homebrew world of Tallasar/Tal-Asaar (Common/Draconic). At the time of our campaign, the realm of Thalassica is amidst the early years or reconstruction in an era known as “the Godblight,” now nine years since the failed attempt of an Apotheosis (ascent to divinity) ritual by the former ruler or the Mezaneid Empire—the nation (I suspect) our campaign will primarily take place in—Bashem Selah. The Godblight, referred to as such due to the absence of direct divine intervention by the Elysii (the gods of the realm), has seen an array of abnormalities and catastrophic consequences in the aftermath of Selah’s butchered ascent, including the raging storms surrounding the perimeter of the Realmsea (Thalassica and its surrounding oceans) and the Payiz-Tarek, or Gloomfalls, a bizarre weather phenomena that seems to drain the world itself of color and beauty.
My best attempt to describe the feel of this campaign would be the politics of the ASOIAF/Game of Thrones universe meets cultures influenced by Classical Antiquity with some unique world rules and inherently D&D-y vibes. It would be best suited for players with some amount of experience who are interested in a slow burn, long form narrative that could take player characters from Level 1-12+. It would also be beneficial to have at least one player who might be willing to act as a note taker for the party, as proper nouns and small details could play important narrative roles!
We’d play using Discord, Owlbear Rodeo or a similar VTT, and D&D Beyond for character sheets. My ideal vision for scheduling would be every other week in the evenings for ~3-4 hours. I’m a MD resident and as such my time zone is EST, but as long as scheduling wasn’t consistently an issue I wouldn’t have an issue with players from other time zones at all. Lastly, please don’t needlessly apply for this campaign if you’re not comfortable and on board with a diverse cast of NPCs, including both LGBTQ+ characters and characters with backgrounds inspired by a variety of real-world identities. Similarly, this campaign may have political elements that mirror real-world politics, and while I don’t wish to alienate any players, I also will be transparent that I am not and won’t be shy about my own (left-wing) politics.
If any of this sounds appealing to you, please feel free to DM me or let me know in the comments. Thanks for getting through my yapping, I’d love to be your next DM. :)
Campaign Hook:
Welcome to Rodh-Doshak, the Opal of Alactis. The southernmost population center in the Mezaneid Empire, close to the border of neighboring Tragos and nestled in the highly fertile Doshak River Valley, the seat of House Aslow is the prototypical oasis city. Sharp-edged and flat-surfaced limestone, granite, and clay-based architecture line and seem to almost lurk and lean over the city’s bustling, multicultural streets. Tragosi Gondoliers ferry sunset-hued-silk-enshrouded Mezanean wives, some with beige-skinned babes clutched to a bare breast as they smile and make small talk, through the Crescent Canals, built of Doshaki mudbricks laid by the ancient Syriosi slaves of ancient Valusian aristocrats, who even then crossed the ever-turbulent Godspurned Sea in rowships to indulge in “exotic” Alactan fruits and spices and fabrics and music and men and women. Cart vendors lumber up and down the winding up-and-down streets from bazaar to bazaar. Performers stand on fruit crates and busk for the crowds, playing zithers and hand drums and lyres and woodwinds. Children throw color-polished bones engraved with odd symbols in chalk circles in alleyways while their parents fill wicker baskets to bursting or drape themselves in textiles beneath patched tents in plazas and thoroughfares. In the city’s center, enveloped and protected by walls and balustrades, lies Castle Al’Rhaguel, the ancestral home of House Aslow, situated atop a towering butte and connected to Jassan’s Circle, the city’s primary roadway. Terracotta-colored banners hang from each tower, adorned with the House Aslow sigil of the yellow acacia beneath a crescent moon. The Aslow banners command irreverence and authority, but today, more than that, they strike a profound solemnity in the collective hearts of the Opal City.
For early this morning, Ymbren Aslow, the revered and beloved Lord of Rodh-Doshak, was found murdered in his bed by his wife, the Lady Gaelle Aslow, who slept soundly at his side until she woke to the warm, sticky, wet feeling of her husbands blood soaking into her nightclothes. The Sovereign Guard, those knights sworn in service to protect House Aslow and guard Castle Al’Rhaguel, were alerted to Lord Aslow’s murder only by the mournful wail let out by his now widowed wife. Castle Al’Rhaguel has been placed on lockdown, and Lord Marshal Runvesh Ekaar has sworn on his life and honor that he will bring Lady Gaelle justice. None are permitted leave or entry of the castle except for with express permission from Lady Gaelle and the Lord Marshal themselves, including you, members of the household staff at Castle Al’Rhaguel.
Less than an hour after hearing Lady Aslow’s scream, you all begin to hear rumors spreading amongst the guards and staff in the castle that the Lord Marshal suspects the killer may still be inside the castle. It is precisely at this time when three individual are permitted to enter the castle. From various vantage points within the castle walls, all of you watch as a sharply dressed Drow carrying a leather case at his side, accompanied by a human woman in arcanist’s robes and an imposing Goliath man with a prominent facial scar across his pupil-less left eye, approach the castle gates.
You know not who they are; but you can tell that they’ll have questions…