Now Accepting Player Applications for Band of Blades

post by Joe Rogero · 2024-01-15T17:58:38.830Z · LW · GW · 0 comments

Contents

  The Campaign
  The Details
  You Might Enjoy This Game If 
  Pricing and Commitment
  How to Apply
  About Me
None
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I'm running my very first paid RPG campaign! I'm reaching out to the LW / ACX community first to see if we can fill the player roster, because y'all are pretty cool. I'm posting this here so I can link to it from elsewhere without a massive text dump. 

The Campaign

You are the Legion, the oldest standing military force in the world. The Cinder King and his armies of undead have been growing in power for years, and you were recruited to fight alongside the combined armies of the Eastern and Western Kingdoms against the grotesque and fearsome hordes. 

You lost. 

Now, the surviving Legionnaires and command staff are the only cohesive military force standing between the armies of the undead and the unprotected spine of your homeland. If you can survive the long retreat to Skydagger Keep and hold for the winter, perhaps the Kingdoms stand a chance; if not, the Cinder King's victory is all but assured.

The Details

System: Band of Blades by Evil Hat Productions
Number of Players: 3-5
Session 0 Date: Monday 05 Feb
Time: 7:00pm EST
Length: Approximately 20-30 sessions of 3-4 hours each. 
Platform: Roll20
Communication: Discord
Technical Requirements: A Roll20 and Discord account. No prior gaming experience is required. All necessary resources will be made available on Roll20 and/or the game's Discord server. The full rulebook is available on evilhat.com. It's  not required, but it's always good to support the game developers! 
Difficulty: Moderate to High. This game doesn't pull punches; characters can suffer grievous injuries and die. The Legion's resources are finite and must be managed carefully. Creative and competent play is rewarded. It is possible to outright lose the game.

You Might Enjoy This Game If 

• You like simple game mechanics that allow a focus on narrative. 
• You want to kill zombies in creative ways. 
• You're okay with some elements of horror. 
• You like being the underdog, fighting with your allies against overwhelming odds. 
• You like playing different characters over the course of an adventure. 
• You've played any Forged In the Dark games and like the system.

Pricing and Commitment

Price will be $20 per player per session. You only pay for the sessions you actually attend, but there is a $5 fee for holding your seat. There's no charge for your first session. I use Venmo by default. If for some reason you strenuously object to Venmo, let me know and we can discuss alternatives.

I will aim for weekly sessions, though a few might be cancelled during holidays or emergencies. You can leave at any time, but out of respect for your fellow players I encourage you to sign up only if you think you'd probably want to play the whole campaign. 

How to Apply

Fill out this form before 22 Jan. 

About Me

I discovered my mother's 1st edition D&D set in middle school. I immediately built and ran my own custom dungeon. It flopped after the first session ("my mom says I can't play because it's demonic") but I've been hooked ever since.

I started a homebrew Pathfinder campaign more than 10 years ago, in which the rulers are magic-hoarders called Spellmisers. It's still going strong. I've completed several D&D 5e and Pathfinder campaigns, played and occasionally co-ran a homebrew Ars Magica world, and chased a Band of Blades group all the way to Skydagger Keep. I even tried to run a Wheel of Time campaign once (I don't recommend it, alas).

As a GM, I try to live at the intersection of Fun Street, Optimization Avenue, and Good Storytelling Way. I set fiercely challenging obstacles and I place the tools to overcome them within your grasp. I want to see you use them; I want to see you triumph. But live or die, sink or swim, I make sure we enjoy a good story along the way.

I believe that purely mechanical optimizing should not impede the creation of a fun and unique character. I like to experiment with house rules that more closely align the goals of making a character interesting and making a character powerful. I also try to weave a character's backstory and theme, developed by you, into the plot and the mechanics of play. If you have a character concept but "the numbers just aren't there," let me know; there might be a way to make it work.

My players keep telling me I'm the best GM they've ever had. This is your chance to find out why! A couple recently posted reviews on startplaying.games. (I've been GMing for free for over a decade so I don't have much history on the paid site.) 

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