[ D&D Next] Online Fridays 8:00pm US CDT (GMT – 5:00): The Order of the Rose

[Sword of Spirit]

[ D&D Next] Online Fridays 8:00pm US CDT (GMT – 5:00): The Order of the Rose

You play adventurers from the Order of the Rose, a generally honorable adventurer's guild in an unspecified classic D&D land, similar to the World of Greyhawk. No experience required; new players welcomed.

Adventures are episodic in nature, and you may play characters you yourself create or choose from several pre-made characters. Rather than playing the same character each time, you are encouraged to switch which character you are playing—the Order of the Rose is there to facilitate this.

Each character has a record at levels 1, 4, 7, and 11, allowing us to experience a variety of adventures, with the primary goal being to have fun with the D&D Next game.

We'll be playing via iTabletop. If you are unfamiliar with the software, I'll guide you through it, but the first thing to do is make sure your system is up to date with Silverlight, and Flash (Active-X—install it from Internet Explorer).

The first session will involve logistics, familiarizing you with the technology, discussing the nature and expectations of the campaign, and introducing ourselves. After that, those who feel that this game is for them can get down to the details of familiarizing themselves with the Next system (if they aren't already), getting a bit more comfortable with iTabletop (ditto), and perhaps picking some characters they want to play, or even starting work on creating their own. The following session will be full-steam ahead as we'll jump right into the game.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

UPDATE: Our first session is scheduled for Friday, March 21st.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

And here's a more exciting ad for the game:

Adventurers Wanted!
​

On the lookout for adventure? Trying to make a place for yourself in the hero business? Willing to stand for honor, valor, and generally doing the right thing? Then you’ve found the right place!

The Order of the Rose
​

With our distinguished history and reputation for honor and integrity, the Order of the Rose can provide adventurers with the opportunities they need to make their place in the world. We offer a variety of services including food and lodging, quest procurement, equipment and services availability, and optional health and life insurance policies.

When the elite of the land need adventurers, they call on the Order of the Rose. And they generally pay well. Inquire at your local branch.


You play adventures from the Order of the Rose--a generally honorable adventurer’s guild that (d)evolved from a knightly order. You have the opportunity to play a variety of characters at a variety of levels, in an episodic (not serial) adventure-based environment. Play the same character for multiple sessions, or play a new one each session!

D&D Next has months left in it, and now’s your chance to enjoy the simple pleasure of playing with the rules and using the options they’ve given us to try out.

System: D&D Next
Platform: iTabletop
Game Time: Fridays, 8:00pm+ CDT (GMT -5:00)

Character Creation
You can bring your own character(s), use one of my premade characters, or switch back and forth whenever you want. The most important thing to bring is yourself.

If you do create a character, here are the guidelines. Except as specified, everything in the latest D&D Next playtest material is allowed.

1. Concepts: This is an undefined classic D&D setting. Think World of Greyhawk in flavor. If your character would fit in a Greyhawk campaign, it will fit here. You are encouraged to make a concept that is fun to role-play, not just a bundle of stats.
2. Disallowed Races: Dragonborn, Kender, Tiefling, Warforged.
3. Disallowed Class Features: Two-Weapon Fighting Style
4. Ability Scores: You may use the default array or the point buy. Hit points beyond level 1 use the average value listed for the class.
5. Backgrounds: Feel free to make your own using the guidelines in the rules. If you want to create your own trait, run it past me first.
6. Equipment: As per the rules. Either the background + class packages, or 175gp to spend a la carte. Make sure you record the weight of all of your items for encumbrance purposes. Also, you will need to keep track of rations and ammunition, so don’t forget the details!
7. Levels! Make your character at 1st level, and then make a version of him at 4th, 7th, and 11th levels. I’ll have to work with you to determine extra equipment for the higher level characters.
8. Alignment: No evil adventurers, and make sure your character could manage to hold membership in the Order of the Rose.
9. Character Sheet: I can send you a version of the Next character sheet with technical bugs fixed. I’ll need a copy of your finished character sheets.
10. Preparedness: When you come to a game, make sure everything is ready on your character sheet, or you may be asked to enjoy a pre-made character for that session and bring your character in next session. Everything includes equipment (see above) spells prepared (or multiple preparation schemes to choose from), clothing worn, etc.

And finally, you can decide whether or not to make your character(s) a shared asset. If you want to do that, then others can choose to play your character(s) when you are playing something else. If you prefer to keep your character to yourself, you’ll be the only one playing them (although I may need to play them if you are absent).

Houserules
I only have a few houserules for players, listed in the attachment. In addition, I will be using the standard proficiency bonus for monsters, giving them each one to two saving throw proficiencies, and giving intelligent monsters three skill proficiencies. This means most monsters will be a bit tougher. We may decide to use additional house rules during the game, either in an ongoing manner or as a session by session thing to see how they feel.

iTabletop
iTabletop is a VTT designed to emulate the around the table, face to face style experience. We’ll be using audio chat, and video is available if you wish.
I have a Master of the Universe Forever license, which means my players will always be using the latest software for free. You only need to go sign up for a free account and install the software. There are instructions available, but the gist of it is to make sure you have an updated version of Silverlight and that you have the latest Flash Active-X (the version that gets installed in Internet Explorer). We won’t be using Internet Exploder (er, I mean Explorer) for anything, you just need to install/update your Flash through/for IE in order for Silverlight to make proper use of it. If you want any help, or to test your technical setup ahead of time, please let me know and I’ll make a time to meet with you and make sure everything is up and running.

Suggestions

• Play in character: I encourage characters that make sense as members of the Order of the Rose, and I encourage players to role-play them. This may be more of an exercise playing with the D&D Next rules than a deep immersion storytelling experience, but that doesn’t mean role-playing doesn’t matter.
• Bring your A-game: I prefer my players to focus on the game rather than focusing on distractions. So logout of that MMO, turn off that TV, tune out that off-genre music, put down the unrelated RPG books, and get your game on!
• Keep it Comfortable: I like to keep the content and tone to a PG-13 level so everyone can feel comfortable. So try to watch yourself if you’re tempted to push the limits, and let me know if my descriptions of the horrors of the fantasy world get too intense.
• Try something new: I want to encourage you to try as many characters as you’d like. That’s part of what this campaign is all about.