Player Invitation: Wildland

A carriage driver, red-skinned with thick prominent forehead horns that turn backward to hide in his wavy dark hair, fumbles in the fleece lining of his leather longcoat before pulling a tarnished military-issue tin matchbox from his coat pocket. He strikes a match on the black lacquered sidewall of the carriage, slowly bringing to light the nail of rolled tobacco pressed between his crimson lips. Through his smokey exhale, he scans the quiet grounds of the lavish mansion estate and touches his fingertips to the butt of his shotgun discretely stowed beneath the seat in the dickey box. The audible din of parlor music emanating from the nearby mansion abruptly ceases as a panicked shriek pierces the previously festive atmosphere. Taking a final drag, the driver heaves his hand-cannon to rest over a shoulder and sets off down the gyrosphere-lit pathway to the mansion, extinguishing the nail butt under his hard-soled boot. "Time to go to work...", he mutters as he double-pumps the shotgun...

Opening the wooden covers of the cottage window, the furred face of a y’all young firbolg woman peers out through the paneless opening to breathe in the fecund morning scent of the garden outside. A small round redbird with a black face stripe flits through the open window, chirping excitedly at the tall woman. "Good morning to you too, Chip", she says in daily ritual, and turns on the faucet of the nearby sink and begins to wash her hands to the elbows with thick soap. After drying them carefully on a fresh linen towel, she approaches the occupied bedtable in the center of the cottage room, bending to retrieve a small lidded box from the cupboard below her prone sleeping patient. She sets the box down on the assistant table with a soft clank of glass bottles, and from it pours two ounces of ground worgroot and half an ounce of purified welmsap into the mortar. With practiced repetition, she grinds the ingredients into a cool white paste and spreads it onto a cut square of fresh linen. Replacing the soiled poultice currently on her patient, she sees that his bite wound has gotten worse overnight. She whispers a quiet prayer for the burly man, retrieves her sterile surgery knives from below the bed table, and begins to pare away the necrotized flesh...

Looming high over the arcanery in the middle of the city, the glowing faces of the clock tower contrast against the cloudy evening sky. The clock struck midnight and began to toll its nightly ritual, ringing chimes echoing into the night. The first bell tolled, releasing a rushing wave of faint light down the sides of the tower and spreading through the streets of the city below. As the wave passed by buildings and intersections, street refuse, dirt and leaves rolled on an invisible wind off the sidewalks and cobblestone neatly into the gutters leaving clean polished walkpaths. The sixth bell tolled, and a similar wave poured forth into the streets, this time igniting street lamps as the wave rushed toward the city’s outer wall. The twelfth bell tolled, and a third wave burst from the tower soaring outward in an arc over the city rooftops. The final wave of magic glided calmly overhead as it always did, but tonight, it halted over one of the houses in the forge district, bathing the home in sinister red light. Evil had found its way into the city, and had claimed its first victims...

Game Details:

Setting:

Wildland (custom)

Setting Description:

Wildland is an untamed fantasy world of terrible danger and inspiring power.

• For humans, society somewhat resembles ~1850s Europe and America during the Western Frontier, with horse drawn carriages, the advent of indoor plumbing, and near-modern clothing styles. There are many non-human races in Wildland with their own abilities and heritage.
• Firearms exist but are dangerous to use. Few have the grit or tenacity to train with them. Steel weapons and crossbows are prominent.
• Magic is plentiful in Wildland - a child may be born with powers or prepare to go to a wizard’s college when they grow up.
• Magic wielders have influenced society irrevocably from culture and industry to defense and warfare. Arcaneries and mage-forges sell magical goods and services around Wildland.
• Technology blends science and magic in Wildland. The most significant invention of the modern age is the gyrosphere, which combines precisely interlocking rotating rings with engraved rune magic. These intricate handheld devices can produce a wide variety of magic effects, and are the subject of much modern research in Wildland.
• Gods in Wildland are powerful and bestow powerful magic upon their followers. The religious orders and churches of Wildland are powers in their own right.

Game:

Rules: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Player Handbook + Custom Rules. If you don't have a PHB, you can find most of the official character options on dndbeyond.com. After you make an account, Alex can enable your account to have access to all the source books.
Host & Dungeon Master: Alex

Newbie Friendly! You do not need to know how to play before we begin -- you can learn at the table. We'll be using a communication aid called O/N/Y?/X cards that are helpful for asking questions during play and navigating potentially sensitive story narratives. Alex will explain their use before we begin.

Story Type:

Dramatic Heroism: Your characters start from humble origins and will become powerful heroes in the world, with their own motivations grounded in the happenings of the world. They will contend with villainous adversaries who are equally motivated but to nefarious ends.

The enemies you face can make any decision you do. Some enemies may not wish to fight and may attempt to frighten you away, some enemies may be motivated to kill you (and/or eat you), and others may be strategically satisfied with simply defeating you or knocking you unconscious. It is a dangerous game world - even if a player makes the best decisions possible, the innate complexity of the game can result in a character unexpectedly dying.

Meet-up Details:

Intended Play Schedule:

Every 2-3 weekends, approx. 3 hour session with scheduled breaks.

Where:

Alex and Justine’s house

What do you need to play:

It is recommended to have your own Player Handbook to help you learn the rules, but it is not mandatory. Alex is happy to teach rules at the table as we go. It is also advised to bring food and drink to play sessions to keep up energy levels and focus.

Alex will also help you make a character in the world of Wildland before we play. If you want, take a look at the Character Creation in Wildland article to get a feel for characters in the world.

If interested, talk to Alex about getting started. Feel free to get familiarized with Character Creation in Wildland -- it covers the process we'll use to make characters together.