At this point, recruitment is officially closed. As is, I've bumped the party up a tad larger than I prefer, to seven slots. Thank you so much for all of the interest!

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Okay, folks. I'm trying to be well and truly "back", but to do so, I feel like I need to be running a D&D game.

I have this adventure that I have twice tried to run, and have failed both times. My commitment is strong now, so I'm going to give it one more try.

This will probably be a single adventure only, though I'm not opposed to the idea of a campaign.

The game will be set in Audalis (which means that magic is fairly uncommon), and will be my typical modified 2E rules. In other words, this is old school stuff. You don't have to be familiar with 2E rules, and I'll be happy to help you create a character. I handle arcane magic a bit differently than the rules as written, so be advised of that.

If you are comfortable rolling up your own stats, please use the "roll 4d6, drop low roll from each set, arrange to taste" method of character creation. I expect higher than average scores, but if you come to me with three 18s, I reserve the right to nerf your character as I see fit.

I need at least four - preferably six - adventurers of third level. Pretty much any class or race is okay, but note that this game takes place in Northeast Ertain - one of the five human kingdoms - so understand that really exotic races would probably be out of place, treated poorly by the populace, etc. I would strongly recommend that each of the four primary roles (warrior, arcane spellcaster, divine spellcaster, rogue) be represented in the party, but that will be up to you guys. I will consider any alignment, but this adventure is best suited for a party of overall good alignment (I prefer stories about heroes, not villains). I will consider kits, within reason, but reserve the right to change or veto anything that I don't like.

I expect at least one post per week, and would like to make it two. If posting is really fast and furious, I'll post more often as I'm able. Posts should be at least 2-3 short paragraphs. I want to read about emotions, thoughts, etc. "I charge the orcs!" is not an acceptable post.

Please note that this game is *not* first come, first served. To be considered, I need a PM from you with a basic character concept, maybe a personality, brief history, etc. I will pick the ideas that I like best, that I feel will form the best team. To clarify, I need more than a character sheet for you to be considered for this game. In fact, the character sheet is the *least* important piece of it. I need to know who your character is. Why do they adventure? What is their personality? You don't have to give me a full biography, but a bit of history would be good.

On that note, assume that your characters have been an adventuring party for at least a few months. I don't want to waste six weeks posting about meeting in a tavern, and I'm too old and crabby to deal with the moody loner who always works alone and has to be persuaded to help out. I want all questions about party leadership and such hashed out in the Q&A before we start the adventure. Basically, I want to cut out the annoying fluff and get right to the meat of the adventure.

Regarding the adventure itself:

WARNING! This adventure will contain disturbing, adult/horror themes. If you are easily offended, squeamish, or bothered by the macabre, please do not apply. While this game will *not* contain anything truly explicit, the themes prompt me to limit this game to those age 18 and up.

I do not take credit for this adventure; I actually have had this one on my hard drive for years, as it is posted freely online. However, I have adapted it to Audalis, and I have taken the general plot and carried it to some darker, more detailed places. There is a character in this story that literally bothers me, and sadly, this character sprung directly from my twisted imagination.

One final warning: I have a reputation as a killer DM, and to be honest, the reputation is at least somewhat fair. I truly don't go out of my way to kill players, but if you do stupid things ("I charge into the bandit camp alone, using surprise to my advantage!"), well... you made that bed, you get to lie in it. That being said, I *have* killed off players simply because the dice were not kind. Adventuring is dangerous business, and death is a real part of it. If you sign up to play, and you die, please don't take it personally.


Okay. Now that I've done my best to scare you off, please let me know if you are interested.


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Edit: currently accepted characters follow.

sylvari male ranger [Eol Fefalas]
half sylvari female paladin of Falloes [Reralae]
human male cleric of Solanis [Hammer]
khordaldrum male cleric of Kharox [CAPTIN-CAPSLOCK]
human female thief [Yanamari]
sylvari female mage [AmaraD]
human male bard [Schnozzle]

Cuz you know you wanna play! C'mon! Isn't it the dream around here; to have a character get killed off by Olan SuddenDeath?

I'd sign up but I don't wanna get things off to a bad start with my moody loner who always works alone and has to be persuaded to help out.

Moody loner. lol

Eol, if you bring in a moody loner, you just know I'd have to bring in someone with a silken touch to pull the shadows off of them and sneak them into the middle of the frenzy before they're fully aware that it's happening.

I just... just.

I dunno.

I plan to approach this game like I'm approaching Trek - I'm going to push to move things along. I've been terrible in the past for waiting for people, letting the game get derailed, then I get bored... not this time!

Yes, multiclassing is allowed. I go pretty much by the book, save I don't impose level limits on demihumans.

Paladins are allowed to any race, and need not be Lawful Good. Paladins in my games are servants of their particular deity, so the character's alignment will be tied to the deity. I will carefully explain how the character is expected to act. Basically, you pick an Audalis deity to be a servant of, then you follow their code. Yes, that means that evil deities have paladins, as well... but this game is not suited for those.

I've had great fun, for instance, with a paladin of Shinara (goddess of luck); the character was chaotic neutral, always had to trust in fortune to guide him. Chaos, away!

Ah yes, been too damned long. Good alignments? I have one of those in my ocker here. Tonight, I'll write up a bit of something. And will finish up the mega map. Rogue, never played one, and could be interesting!

Wow long time indeed. Welcome back.

Someone fetch my smelling salts!

I'd be willing to provide whatever might be needed to even out the party's composition, but as to what role I am feeling up to at the moment...

I did rather like how we ended up designing Rae, my shield-maiden, so I might reprise that role again.

I have found myself spending a lot of idle time on the Inn of late. Perhaps I could add another game to my agenda. Before I commit to sketching out a character idea, I have a couple questions.

1) You said the game is horror themed. Are we talking classic horror tropes, more Lovecraftian, or something else entirely?

2) To what degree should the setting inform character creation?

3) How long in real-life time do you expect this game will take to play out?

As I already told you in PM, Reralae, I'd love to have you back. Rae was an excellent character, she's a great fit for this adventure. Of course, she has lived the first part of it before. Glitch in the matrix?

Schnozzle:

1) I hate to give away too much. I'd say classic horror meets D&D. I'm sure that those who read between the lines will assume "undead", and that will be a part of it... but there is some pretty disturbing mental imagery that will come into play. Seriously, this disgusts me.

2) That depends on the player. If you're looking to play something that pretty setting-agnostic - i.e. a mercenary warrior, a blaster mage, etc - then the setting won't really impact you overmuch. If you are wanting to play a demihuman character, understand that the "flavor" of the setting will enter in a bit - I'll be happy to help you hash out these points. If you are interested in a divine caster or paladin, you ought to PM me (or at least to a little homework on the Audalis pantheon), as "generic priest template" may not play exactly like you expect.

3) This is ultra hard to predict. It's not an overly long module; if we were at a tabletop, we could finish the adventure in one moderate to long session. However, play by post games can take a looong time.

In an effort to speed the game, I usually handle 2-3 rounds of combat per round of posting (you post your character's basic intentions, give me contingencies, etc), but even shorter fights can still take two or three rounds of posting to resolve. How many posts will the party as a whole spend on various interactions with NPCs along the way? It's tough to say.

I've never seen a play by post game wrap quicker than several months.

I have updated the first post with a list of accepted characters. Keep and eye on it!

...we might be lacking some arcane artillery!

Who wants to die a mage?... I mean play... Who wants to play a mage?

Low level mages are so delightfully squishy...