[D&D Next] Misfits of the Sharn Watch OOC

I'm looking to start up a play-by-post here on the Enworld forum using the D&D Next playtest rules. The setting will be Eberron (more on that choice later), but we'll limit ourselves to only using material directly from the playtest documents (else why use the playtest?). I'm looking for 3 to 5 total players, all of whom should be signed up for the D&D Next playtest with Wizards of the Coast (as per the terms of the playtest).

The short of it
System: Dungeons & Dragons: Next (current playtest packet, updated as they are released)
Setting: Eberron
Format: Play-by-Post (potentially a little roll20 for combat; we'll talk about it)
Starting Level: 1
Party Size: 3 to 5 players [All full for now, thanks for the interest!]
Playstyle: I like roleplaying and exploration, but plan on a hefty dose of combat.

IC Thread
Campaign Page

The long of it
One big objective here is obviously to give the new rules a test. I've gone over them extensively, both in play with a few one-shot adventures, and in theory with my fellow gamers here at Enworld. I'm interested now in putting the playtest through a more thorough vetting by running a short campaign, and I need some players to join in on the experiment.

Why run it in Eberron, you ask? Basically because that is my favorite setting. I know it pretty well, and pulp action and exploration with a heavy dose of noir roleplaying makes for a wonderful game. If you love Eberron, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance! If you know nothing about the setting, don't worry. Awesomeness is a universal language.

Because the playtest is in its infancy, a lot of quintessentially Eberron elements (warforged, psionics, artificers, and dragonmarks, just to name a few) are unavailable as player options. I think we can play a good Eberron game in spite of that, and at the very least the experience will let us explore the limitations of the options that we are given. And we can always phase in new material as it becomes available in future playtests.

Of course the primary purpose of any RPG is to have fun, and this one will be no different. I want to test the rules, but I want to test them in “real world” conditions. I'd like to run DDN as I think games of D&D are best played, and that means fun first, examination of rules minutia . . . not first. There is always time after the game for a rule and system post-mortem. (We can head over to the New Horizons forum and have the conversation there.)

I almost always check and reply to PbP daily, and will at least give warning if I am going to be unavailable for a few days. In general, I'd like my players to post at least twice a week, just to keep up with the game and let us know you are around. More than that is, of course, accepted and appreciated.

If you think you are interested and have questions, ask away!

EDIT 10/8 - New playtest out! I'll roll for magic items as the packet suggests, and we'll see what Lady Luck has planned for your characters!

I'm interested, though I've never played Eberron.

I'm a member of another 5ENext PbP group, but it's slow: for the second release (as of August, 2012), we have made some characters, and we have all met a drunk in an inn, and he told us his story . . . and that's it, so far, since August 13. (We're not burning up the racecourse, here. . . .) It's difficult to give WotC much useful feedback based on that amount of experience, so I'd like to try an additional group.

I have designed some extra 5ENext PCs. I only used one PC for the other group (we needed a Rogue), so I still have spare PCs left, but some of them involved online dice rolls on InvisibleCastle, which I'm not sure about for EN World. Are we using the standard array? 839-point-buy?

tuxgeo said:

Are we using the standard array? 839-point-buy?

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I'm open to different ability score generation methods. I personally don't have a strong preference, especially for a shortish (five levels max, right?) playtest campaign. If everyone is fine with rolling up scores using the 4d6 drop low method, we could do that. If anyone has an objection to that (passions run high when it comes to ability scores), we'll probably default to one of the old point buy methods. 30 point buy (using 3.x prices) was my old stand-by.

Now a little bit about the game itself, more specific than "it takes place in Eberron".

I'm thinking of setting the game in Sharn, basically the Gotham/Coruscant/Roaring twenties Manhattan of Eberron. The party will consist of members of the Sharn Watch (the cops), plus maybe a few thugs that were hired for extra muscle.

Don't worry though, the game won't be bogged down in setting-intensive intrigue and investigation (we can slowly introduce some of that if players express an interest). We're starting off in what is essentially an urban dungeon crawl.

You see, somebody killed the beautiful and beloved daughter of a powerful crime boss, and now an all-out gang war between the city's most powerful families is only a matter of time. The thing is, everyone knows who killed her. But the murderer has taken refuge in No-Man's-Land, one of the most dangerous and notorious hives of scum and villainy in the city, where no gang rules and even the authorities fear to tread.

Until you. The gang war can only be stopped if the murderer is brought to justice, so it falls to you, the most junior and therefore the most expendable members of the Watch, to go in and get him. And hey, maybe you've made a few enemies in the watch or embarrassed a few superiors to get put in this position, but look on the bright side. This is your big chance to make a name for yourself!

Sounds interesting, but I'm in another playtest game on the is board, so I will step down id there is more than enough interest in this.

I'll DL the playtest rules and look through them, haven't had time since they came out. Put me down as a possible member. As to what I would play...maybe a fighter of sorts.

Walking Dad said:

Sounds interesting, but I'm in another playtest game on the is board, so I will step down id there is more than enough interest in this.

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As long as you think you can keep up, I have no problem with you playing in other PbP games. This one will be mostly for the lulz anyway, I don't anticipate it being very demanding.

Oh, and Spider clan? Heresy! Pray that you never come across the inquisitors of the honorable Phoenix clan.

slobster said:

I'm open to different ability score generation methods. I personally don't have a strong preference, especially for a shortish (five levels max, right?) playtest campaign. If everyone is fine with rolling up scores using the 4d6 drop low method, we could do that. If anyone has an objection to that (passions run high when it comes to ability scores), we'll probably default to one of the old point buy methods. 30 point buy (using 3.x prices) was my old stand-by.

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OK, I have added six EN World dice rolls of 4d6-drop-lowest to my first post in this thread, above. It gave me scores of 15, 13, 15, 17, 12, 12.

When I know whether we need a fighter or a wizard or whatever (a glockenspiel? maybe not!), I'll put together a character using those scores, unless we decide to use point-buy instead. (Agreed, passions do run high when somebody rolls up a natural 17 or 18 before bonuses.)

My passion runs high, as I usually will have 12 as my highest roll and most around 5 to 8

If scores are really important to you and you roll up terribad ones, I'm fine with letting you go again. This is about fun. If something would prevent you from enjoying the game, and it's something within our power to easily fix (without changing the rules given to us in the playtest doc), we'll fix it.

I also trust you guys to roll up your own scores. We're adults here (or close enough to it). If someone really feels that they need to cheat on their rolls, I don't care enough to challenge them. We'll move on to the monster-stabbing and never look back.

Also keep in mind that, as a short playtest campaign, I won't be saving anyone from death due to poor decisions or even just bad dice rolls. If the system says you die, you be dead, son. So if you roll up a bad set of scores, you could always play . . . adventurously, so that when this character's number is up you have a chance to roll up a brand new one.

All that having been said, if anyone has a strong objection to 4d6 drop low, just sound off and we can use point buy with no hard feelings. Ability score generation is just bookkeeping that we have to do to get to the actual game, after all. Let's just get it done!

If you are interested in the game, go ahead and start suggesting characters you want to play. The sooner you say it the less likely everyone will pressure you to fill in the party's spare role (though I have no problem with a party that decides to break with the standard fighter/rogue/cleric/mage combo - you guys decide)!