Campaign expectations and house rules

Ensemble Episodic

Rimeport: Icerise is an episodic ensemble game. The intention - whether it'll work or not remains to be seen, but we'll give it a go - is to make each session a full episode, so you can choose whether you can make it or not. We're all adults with lives and jobs, and experience has shown that trying to get a set group together regularly is doomed. So we'll make it run as a drop-in game - we'll schedule the game sessions, and those who can make it turn up. It's similar in concept to a West Marches campaign, but with a few differences that will become apparent.
I'm still looking into which advancement system to use; I'm inclined to use milestone advancement, so all active characters level up at the same time and to minimise the fiddliness of usual D&D XP tracking. (I may revisit this later, if it proves unsatisfying for characters who might find themselves levelling up a lot without seeing any action. But we'll see.)

Style and Expectations

Style

Voralar is a world similar in society, technology and infrastructure to our own in 1930. The aesthetic is a blend of pseudo-victorian steampunk and inter-war dieselpunk. It does not reflect real-world politics of the time, though some themes such as colonialism may turn up later. The style of gameplay could be described as fantasy noir; depending on your characters' choices, the entire campaign could easily take place entirely in cities. The world is low-magic; there are magic users, and player characters have no restrictions on magic-using classes, but among the population at large spellcasters are rare.
The campaign begins in Rimeport, capital city of the great island nation of Linnadeigh. Where it goes from there is up to you.

• There is a lot of scope for variety. In the city, expect a noir style with sodium-light shadows from venetian blinds and lilting saxophone licks drifting from the rooftops; in the boondocks, you could find yourself in anything from the Shire to Summerisle to Sandford. You might choose a life on the high seas, a quest to southern climes, or retirement in the dwarven mines. The world is there; you tell me where you go.
• Your characters are acquaintances, not necessarily friends. Your story begins around the Long Rest Inn in Linnadeigh. Why and how you got there... that's up to you.
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Campaign expectations:

• Combat will occur, but it won't be a combat-heavy campaign.
• Murder hobos need not apply.
• Creativity is good. Do something clever, and you may well be rewarded. If you want to use rules or powers in ways that aren't intended but make sense, give it a go. You never know, it might work.
• Take notes. If you forget something and don't have notes, your character's forgotten it.
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House Rules

• If your character dies, roll up a new one one level lower than your previous character. Resurrections can occur in the right circumstances, but it'll be an adventure in itself and you might as well have someone to play in the meantime.
• Point-blank can give either advantage or disadvantage to ranged attacks, depending on situation.
• Anyone can learn any language with a good enough explanation.
• Money doesn't count towards encumbrance. In fact, most things don't, because who goes on holiday and looks forward to calculating their baggage allowance? Some particularly heavy or cumbersome things may end up as special cases - you won't be stashing a horse and cart in your back pocket.
• When levelling up, roll your hit die. I'll roll another one behind the screen, hidden from you. You choose which one to use.
• Taking a non-combat action in combat can, if done in the open, allow enemies an attack of opportunity.
• Magical thrown weapons have a 50% chance to magically return to the user after an attack.
• There is no initial cap on inspiration.
• You can hold your turn, not just an action. This represents your character's higher initiative granting them a tactical advantage, giving them the opportunity to act when it suits them.
• Dragonborn characters can use their breath weapons as a bonus action. A similar rule might apply to other characters with similar simple inherent abilities.
• Natural ones aren't necessarily a fumble or a disaster - it just means something has happened. Let me know and we'll see.
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