I have recently completed "The Corruption Hidden Beneath the Surface", a D&D/Horror game that took me four tries - and ten plus years - to complete. Thanks to some of the absolute best playing I have ever had the pleasure to witness, not only did we complete the adventure, but we took it from the original twisted, horrible idea that I had and elevated that to something spetacularly more horrible, awful, and amazing.
The idea always was for that adventure - which focused around a plot by the cultists of D'hurgen, the god of death, to impregnate a mortal woman with his "anchor" - a crossbreed of both life and death - whose birth would allow him to fully manifest physically into the world... thus ending creation as we know it - to complete in a given way.
In every draft of the adventure, I expected that the party would either stop the cult and save the world, or that they would die trying. Instead, something else happened.
One of the PCs was captured by the cult, brainwashed, and willingly elected to become the Vessel to bear that Anchor. At the end of the game, she escaped with the high priestess of the cult, with the party trapped in the collapsing undergorund temple.
And here we are.
By popular demand, I am going to launch a new adventure after the New Year, whcih will focus on the quest to locate this former party member, to try to stop the birth of this evil god into the world. Literally all of reality is at stake.
I need roughly a half dozen players; my five party members have all indicated a desire to keep playing. So this recruitment thread is largely a formality, though I would truly prefer to land one - perhaps two - dynamite players.
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.
Characters will be 4th level for sure, I may decide to handwave and make them 5th level. We'll see. The partyis pretty balanced as is; I see a need for a rogue, but another caster would be welcomed. A warrior type could work with the right story. 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 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 an absolute minimum 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, a personality, a 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.
Understand, this last game spoiled me a lot. I enjoyed some absolutely SUPERB play, and I'm just not interested in someone joining that has no interest in creative writing.
You do NOT have to know old school D&D rules. I will help/handle those for you. What you do need is the ability to develop a character idea and to truly PLAY that character. You need to want to work with other people; I don't have the time or inclination for the loner without a cause who is just here to accumulate treaure and XP. Thanks, but no thanks.
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.
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. While most of the more sexually oriented material was probably covered in the original game, such things may come up again. Again, we will include nothing explicit, but if any reference to adult relationships or sexuality bothers you, then please apply to another game. If torture, psychological abuse, or cultlike mentalities are a problem for you, then you will not enjoy this game - and that's okay!
WARNING! In the first game, two player characters died horribly, a third was brainwashed into joining the death cult and carrying an undead baby, and a fourth was mentally scarred to the point that she considered suicide and ended the game emotionally shattered (and essentially catatonic). Odds are overwhelming that one or more of the party will suffer a gruesome fate in this installment - and it is ENTIRELY possible that everyone will die. This game is far riskier than my traditional adventures - and as I have mentioned, I am absolutely the sort of DM that will allow characters to die. If that doesn't work for you... again, you may wish to skip this game.
Wait... you're still reading? Okay, then. I'd love to read your application!
Approved character concepts:
Moreno "Gib" Enderedre: Male human cleric of Therassor (Bromern Sal)
Ch'dau: Male kazari fighter (Eol Fefalas)
Aranwen Galandel: Female sylvari bladesinger (Reralae)
Cedric (???): Male human cleric of solanis (Raven)
Siobhan "Shiv" Dellagan: Female human mage (breebles)
Einar Holgersson: male human rogue (CameToPlay)
Shadows of the Empire Q&A
Shadows of the Empire
Shadows of the Empire - R
Reralae's A'niorna
