LFP [Dark Dungeons X] Shadow of the Kinslayer [STATUS: OPEN (space up to 2 more players)]

[archolewa]

Overview

I'm looking for 3-5 players to play in a sandbox game using Dark Dungeons X,
a BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia clone with a few of its own mechanics, including a very nice d20
universal resolution mechanic. The setting is my own.

The Kinslayer conquered almost the entire world, but has been slain
in a last ditch decapitation strike. Now, it is time to venture out and reclaim
your peoples' ancestral lands. But the Kinslayer's dark power still corrupts the
earth, his hideous monsters rule over the fragmented remnants of his empire, and
there yet remain dark cultists seeking his resurrection...

Players may choose to explore the hostile wilderness, (eventually) found
baronies and begin the slow rebuilding of civilization, investigate and uproot
evil cultists, delve into the Kinslayer's Maw megadungeon, explore the numerous
ruins left behind by the Kinslayer War, or all of the above (I'll be making it up as we
go along)!

Frequency of Posting

I can commit to posting at least twice a week, and I expect players to be able to
do the same. Most weeks, I will be able to post much more often than that, and the
more frequently players post, the better! But twice a week is all I expect.

Dice Rolling

I will handle the dice rolling, mostly just to expedite things. I will likely not use
the Unseen Servant's dice roller, but will include the results in my posts.

Style

Don't expect this to be a meat grinder. Dark Dungeons X generally encourages
the DM to be a bit lenient with the players, so that the game can actually
advance to higher levels. In particular, resurrection will be available at the
temple from level 1. If you can't afford it, the clerics will happily resurrect
you in exchange for an oath to fulfill a quest of their choosing. Doesn't mean
I won't throw a dragon at your level 1 schmucks though.

If you choose not to (or can't) get resurrected, your new character will be one
level below your old one, minimum level 1. You guys aren't special enough to be
the only leveled characters, indeed most of the nobility are at least level 9!

Dark Dungeons X has a LOT of levels, and pbp is slow. Expect this
game to verge on Monty Haul, if not cross over completely, so that we have a
snowball's chance in a bonfire of seeing double digit levels.

House Rules

Banned

No clockworks, no guns. Not feeling the guns, and while I have no problem with
the vibe for clockworks, I feel like they eat the Fighter's lunch.

Thief Skills

The following thief skills have the following starting values for Thief, Lupine
and Mountebank (assuming a given class has that skill):

Open Locks: +5
Find Traps: +4
Remove Traps: +4
Move Silently: +3
Hide in Shadows: +3
Pick Pockets: +6

The rate of increase is unchanged (so a level 2 Thief would have Open Locks +6).

Initiative

Monsters always declare their actions first, players get no penalty to
initiative for declaring after monsters. This is mostly just to expedite
things.

Loot placement

The weapon probabilities table will be modified based on chosen player
proficiencies. If there's a particular weapon type you want to use, let me know
and I'll make sure it's one of the most likely ones. No need to focus on swords
just because they're the most likely weapon!

Applying Weapon Feats

Your chance of gaining a weapon proficiency is always successful so long as you
work with a trainer with at least the sought after proficiency.

Lore

Most lore will be the same as in the Dark Dungeons X rulebook, with the following
two differences:

The touch of iron and its alloys is extremely uncomfortable to Elves, and even
begins to burn if held too long. This is why they have such limited equipment choices.

The Lupine were an attempt by the Kinslayer to corrupt the bond between
Humanity and their dogs by using his dark power to fuse captured humans and
dogs into a monstrous, caricature of a creature. Instead, he created a race
that combined the tremendous loyalty, courage and ferocity of a dog with the
intelligence, empathy and craftiness of a human. Lupines have proven to be
amongst the fiercest fighters against the Kinslayer's army, and they share an
unbreakable bond with Humanity.

Record of Princess Flora's Speech Declaring the Death of the Kinslayer as detailed by Nathaniel James, Royal Historian, April 15 Age of Reclamation 1

The midmorning sun shone bright and clear on the city of Thorncity, a
fortress city hunkering just behind the Thornwall.

Soldiers of all sizes and races filled the central square in front of a wooden
stage, arranged in neat and orderly lines. Those few civilians brave enough to
live in on the frontlines leaned out windows, or clustered on rooftops.

Princess Flora Bastion climbed upon the stage. She was a human woman in her
forties, but tall and powerful. Her braided brown hair hung over one shoulder,
and her breastplate gleamed in the sun. A hush fell over the city,
so complete the rustle of the Princess' skirts could be heard. Her blue eyes swept
over the assembled soldiers and clustered civilians, bright and fierce in a face criss-crossed
with a spiderweb of fine white scars.

She spoke in a clear, powerful voice. "A year ago today the Last Immortal, the
Seer, the guardian of Humanity, gathered to His side the ten greatest warriors
of the age. He led them deep into the heart of the Kinslayer's Maw."

Princess Flora pointed behind her, to the clump of distant black towers looming
over the city. A great shudder ran through the crowd, as before an icy breeze.
"For four days, and four nights we waited, barely able to breath. On the
very day when the Kinslayer's army ripped itself to shreds, the Seer returned.
Comatose, His body riven with grievous wounds. Of the Ten who
accompanied Him, there was no sign--"

Princess Flora's voice broke, and for a moment she stood silent. It was well
known that her husband was the greatest Magic-User of the age. When she spoke
again, her voice was once more clear and strong. "For a year, the Seer's
Council, our greatest clerics, communed with His mind. We sent our best
and bravest scouts deep into the Maw. Finally, we could only come to one
conclusion, though we dared not hope it to be true."

Silence. A silence so deep, no one dared to breath for free of breaking it.

Princess Flora lifted her arms to the sun. "The Kinslayer is dead!"

A moment of gathered breath. A great cheer erupted from the city. Grimfaced
soldiers hugged each other, sobbing like children. Elves kissed dwarves.
Lupines let up a great howl.

Princess Flora dropped her arms and watched the celebration for a moment. She
held up her hand, and the celebration ceased. "The War is won. Begun hundreds
of years ago, when the Kinslayer slew his sister Cornucopia, the Immortal
Mother of Halflings. Fought all across the world, from the Amber Sea to
the Great Green. Always we gave ground, until here, on this small penninsula,
we made our final hopeless stand. Yet against all hope, thanks to the courage of
the Seer and The Ten, the War is won."

Princess Flora drew her sword and held it above her head. Silver flames raced
across the gleaming edge. The ring of bared steel filled the courtyard. Hearts
skipped a beat, and soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons. All their
lives that sound had meant one thing: fight! The enemies are at the gates! Fight
for your lives! Fight for your children! "The War is won, the Kinslayer's army
fallen upon its own steel and claws. It is time now to reclaim our homes! To take back
the Great Green for the elves, the Rust Mountains for the Dwarves, the Amber Sea for
the Humans, the rolling hills between for the Halflings! Join me now! The Kinslayer War
has ended. The Age of Reclamation has Just! Begun!"

[Edeldhur]

I have been wanting to give a try at Dark Dungeons X for some time, and your post seems well thought out, so please consider me interested!

Some tidbits about me as a player:
Since I do not have a lot of system mastery, I would probably like to start with something simple like a Fighter, to get the hang of the system and the flow of the game.
Are classes and races well balanced out, or there are some which are decidedly 'better' than others? I find it important everyone gets the same 'chances to shine' so to speak, so I am not very keen on OP character combos
I am not big into long backgrounds, so if you are expecting players to be immediately immersed in the lore and deeply involved from the get-go, I might not be your man. I prefer to start simple with a character concept which allows me to be proactive and interact with the environment, and then go through character development through play, if he/she survives hehe

Also, any chance we can roll our own dice during combats? I think I would prefer that. Other rolls I am perfectly cool with, but I like some dice rolling in my combats!

[archolewa]

I have been wanting to give a try at Dark Dungeons X for some time, and your post seems well thought out, so please consider me interested!

Some tidbits about me as a player:
Since I do not have a lot of system mastery, I would probably like to start with something simple like a Fighter, to get the hang of the system and the flow of the game.
Are classes and races well balanced out, or there are some which are decidedly 'better' than others? I find it important everyone gets the same 'chances to shine' so to speak, so I am not very keen on OP character combos

By and large, I'd say yes. Only class that is potentially problematic is the Clockwork. I feel like they run a high risk of making the Fighter redundant, but that's why I banned them. Mountebank is potentially underpowered, but I think they could be useful on a team with less than four players.

If you're going to run a Fighter, I'd strongly recommend getting proficiency with at least one two-handed weapon. That's the big advantage they have over Dwarves. If you're primarily interested in sword+board, Dwarf might be a better choice.

Here's a quick rundown of what I think each class brings to the table:

Cleric: Lots of healing and support spells. Good defense, but limited offense. Turn Undead is invaluable against the undead.

Druid: Has all the same spells as a cleric, plus some additional (mostly offensive and wilderness survival) ones, but has significantly worse defense. Very useful against wild animals, and can even turn them into minions after a few levels. Perhaps a bit more niche than Cleric, but the most easily accessible part of the wilderness is the westernmost edge of a single giant forest, so their niche is readily available.

Dwarf: Pretty standard dwarf. Warriors with good saving throws and some useful utility abilities when exploring underground. *However* Dwarves can't use the good two-handed weapons, and once you start spending Weapon Feats, two-handed weapons are *very* powerful. They do a lot more damage than one-handed weapons, and have almost as good defenses as sword+board.

Elf: Your dedicated blaster+utility caster. 'Nuff said. Also have valuable utility abilities that you'd expect from elves, like finding secret doors and immunity to ghoul paralysis. Frail, and limited equipment selection though.

Fighter: Your fightin' man. Their strengths aren't immediately obvious, but they're there. They are the only class that have the following: access to every type of weapon (including the powerful two-handers) and armor *and* a warrior's to-hit and weapon feat progression. In fact, I think they're the only class (since I banned Clockworks) that have access to both two-handed weapons and a warrior's progression. Also the only class to get a subclass at level 9 allowing them to be better generals, or pick up spells without sacrificing combat progression.

Halfling: Bogstandard halfling. Warriors who give up a lot of offensive power and some HP in exchange for good saving throws, being the best scouts there are in wilderness areas, highly accurate archers and some other solid defensive abilities. Like the Druid, they're perhaps a bit niche, but that niche is readily available.

Lupine: These are basically monks, but reflavored. Start out a bit weak, but have most thief skills, have access to every weapon, plus a claw attack that gets better without having to spend Weapon Feats. Get a whole mess of powerful special abilities as they level. A good choice if you want some thievery while still being a skilled warrior.

Magic-User: Your gish. Can use every weapon and armor like fighters, and learn magic-user spells like Elves. However, they level at half the rate as Fighters, meaning they'll always be a level behind Fighters and usually a level behind Elves. They also don't gain to-hit or Weapon Feats as fast as Fighters do, so while they *can* fight on the frontlines, they aren't as good as Fighters at it. Meanwhile, elves will unlock those precious next spell levels and additional spell slots more quickly than Magic-Users.

Mountebank: A jack of all trades class. Can fight reasonably well (though not as good as the warriors), learn a subset of thief skills, and slowly learn magic-user spells. These guys can be useful on a team with four or fewer players, because they can fulfill multiple niches. Their big claim to fame is that they can use any magical item (except for weapons and armor) regardless of class restrictions, including cleric and druid spell scrolls. Wouldn't recommend one on a team of more than 4 though, unless you're ok being a backup everything.

Thief: Your standard thief. Has access to every thief skill, including the ability to read any language and (eventually) use Magic-User Scrolls. Can backstab, *including* with range weapons at short range, and can use every missile weapon. Fastest leveling, leveling up twice as fast as the Elf, and more than three times as fast as the Magic-User. Mostly valuable for keeping everyone alive during dungeon exploration, though being able to sneak attack at range goes a long way to helping them contribute in combat. HP and defenses are a little bit low. If you want a frontliner who can do thief stuff, you'd be better off with a Lupine.

I am not big into long backgrounds, so if you are expecting players to be immediately immersed in the lore and deeply involved from the get-go, I might not be your man. I prefer to start simple with a character concept which allows me to be proactive and interact with the environment, and then go through character development through play, if he/she survives hehe

I place no expectations on my players one way or another in that respect. You want your background to be "I was a soldier. Got honorably discharged. Let's go adventuring!" that's perfectly fine, even preferred. If someone wants something a bit more elaborate that integrates heavily into the backstory, I'll happily work with them.

As for lore, well a lot got lost during the Kinslayer War, and a lot forgotten, so I don't expect PC's to actually know much history. My plan was to dribble out bits and pieces of lore over the course of the game while you guys are adventuring. A ruined mural there. The ruins of an abandoned city here.

Princess Flora's speech is the maximum abmount of the lore I'd like my players to know. And even then, I'm happy with you knowing "Kinslayer tried to take over the world. Kinslayer dead. Yay!"

Also, any chance we can roll our own dice during combats? I think I would prefer that. Other rolls I am perfectly cool with, but I like some dice rolling in my combats!

So long as you roll the dice during your action declaration, and hide them in a spoiler so that other players who haven't declared yet don't accidentally see the results, I'm ok with it. I DON'T want to have to stop mid combat round to ask for dice rolls from people. I really want to just resolve each round in a single big post.

[ybn1197]

Count me in for this game. The background sounds real interesting.

[archolewa]

Count me in for this game. The background sounds real interesting.

Score! Do you need any help with character creation, or is the rulebook clear enough? (You'll want Chapters 4-6). Weapon proficiencies can be a bit overwhelming, but there's like 15 levels worth of progression laid out for each weapon, so it looks like a lot more complicated than it will actually be in play.

Feel free to create a character in Unseen Servant.

[Edeldhur]

Magic-User: Your gish. Can use every weapon and armor like fighters, and learn magic-user spells like Elves. However, they level at half the rate as Fighters, meaning they'll always be a level behind Fighters and usually a level behind Elves. They also don't gain to-hit or Weapon Feats as fast as Fighters do, so while they *can* fight on the frontlines, they aren't as good as Fighters at it. Meanwhile, elves will unlock those precious next spell levels and additional spell slots more quickly than Magic-Users.

Thanks a lot for the detailed post, and I will digest it further!
But... You just said the magic word: Gish
Can Magic Users wear armor and cast? (or is that only Elves? Or not even?)
Which leads to - why play a Magic User instead of an Elf?

[archolewa]

Can Magic Users wear armor and cast? (or is that only Elves? Or not even?)
Which leads to - why play a Magic User instead of an Elf?

Yes. There is no restriction on wearing armor and casting. Elves can't wear armor because it's a restriction on their class, not because of any inherent rules of spellcasting. You *do* need a hand free, and to be able to speak to cast, so a Magic-User would probably want to go two-handed if they want to be able to alternate between casting and attacking (they can hold the two-handed weapon in one hand while casting with the other).

Magic-Users have a much better AC, which means enemies have a harder time hitting them. If you take damage before your spell goes off, your spell is disrupted, so that's valuable. Of course, they're also more likely to be targeted if they're on the front line. Magic-Users are especially valuable on smaller teams when you need someone to fulfill two roles. Even on larger teams with an Elf, a Magic-User could potentially focus on utility spells, and rely on their weapons in combat, freeing up the Elf to focus on combat spells.

[Edeldhur]

Can Magic Users wear armor and cast? (or is that only Elves? Or not even?)
Which leads to - why play a Magic User instead of an Elf?

Yes. There is no restriction on wearing armor and casting. Elves can't wear armor because it's a restriction on their class, not because of any inherent rules of spellcasting. You *do* need a hand free, and to be able to speak to cast, so a Magic-User would probably want to go two-handed if they want to be able to alternate between casting and attacking (they can hold the two-handed weapon in one hand while casting with the other).

Magic-Users have a much better AC, which means enemies have a harder time hitting them. If you take damage before your spell goes off, your spell is disrupted, so that's valuable. Of course, they're also more likely to be targeted if they're on the front line. Magic-Users are especially valuable on smaller teams when you need someone to fulfill two roles. Even on larger teams with an Elf, a Magic-User could potentially focus on utility spells, and rely on their weapons in combat, freeing up the Elf to focus on combat spells.

I think I have found my class - VERY curious about this take on the Magic User
I will be traveling during the weekend so I think I will take the rulebook with me to take a further look.
No point in getting into character creation mode yet, right?
Anything in particular which might be important to know about Magic Users in your world?

[archolewa]

I think I have found my class - VERY curious about this take on the Magic User

Awesome!

I will be traveling during the weekend so I think I will take the rulebook with me to take a further look.
No point in getting into character creation mode yet, right?

Yeah, probably not. I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.

Anything in particular which might be important to know about Magic Users in your world?

While magic isn't exactly *common* away from the front lines, in Thorncity at least it's an everyday occurrence. This is after all the last bastion of the armies of the Free Peoples against the Kinslayer.

Magic is well known to be very difficult for humans to master. So, a Magic-User is sort of this world's equivalent of the special forces in the American military: highly trained, and well respected for enduring some of the most grueling training in the world. All *official* Magic-User training is handled by the military, and all Magic-Users are expected to serve some time in the armed forces. Whether you're still a soldier, or have been honorably discharged is up to you.

There are other types of magic, rituals that can take weeks, months or even years of meticulous work to perform. Magic-Users can perform this sort of magic of course, but others can as well since it's not so hard on the body. Scholars who specialize in this kind of ritual magic are called wizards. Most of them are situated away from the frontlines, serving as advisors and servants of nobility, and the Ruling Council of Free Peoples.

Even if you're honorably discharged, the military does still put some expectations on Magic-Users. Magic-Users who aren't in the military have a handler, typically a military bureaucrat whose expected to stay in contact with the Magic-User. Nothing invasive, mostly the handler just checks in from time to time to make sure they still *can* contact the Magic-User. They are also on hand as a resource for the Magic-User should the Magic-User need something. Generally, your character will want to check in with their handler whenever they return from an adventure, though it can be hand-waved unless you explicitly want to talk to them about something. Basically, your character would come with a ready-made quest giver.

In times of great need, discharged Magic-Users may be called back into service (this is why the military needs to stay in contact with you). This is probably not going to happen, unless it's part of some big, earth shattering event that your characters are going to be involved in anyway, if you need to step away from the game for a while, or just want to shelve the character for a bit.

Magic-Users are strictly forbidden from using their magic within city limits except with the express permission of their superior (if still in the military) or handler (if discharged), or to protect themselves or the lives of others. So trying to charm a shopkeeper to get better prices may have consequences. Putting a bunch of muggers to sleep will probably get a few questions from your handler (which may be done off-camera), but likely nothing else.

Of course, unofficial magic-users do exist, people who have been trained and perform their magic without the oversight of the military. Such is VERY illegal, and the military has a division dedicated to hunting down these hedge magic-users. When found, they are either forced to enlist or put in prison. There is some slowly building political pressure to break the stranglehold the military has on arcane magic now that the Kinslayer is dead, but it hasn't made much headway yet.

[shaidar]

The setting sounds very interesting, and I think playing a Lupine would be fun.

[archolewa]

The setting sounds very interesting, and I think playing a Lupine would be fun.

Excellent! That gives us our minimum of three. I'll start the process of getting a game setup with the admin. If you have any questions about the rules for character creation or anything, let me know.

[archolewa]

Campaign is set up: https://www.unseenservant.us/forum/viewforum.php?f=1552. Feel free to take a look. Not a whole lot added there, except a couple of (very sparse) world maps, one that shows the entire continent and one that zooms in on the small part of the continent where the game will start (and probably mostly stay).

Edit: I added an additional House Rule when creating the House Rules topic in the campaign, to give Bastard Swords a little buff (I feel like they have no real compelling reason to choose over dedicated one handed or two handed weapons).