The Crimson Night (D&D 5E Gothic Fantasy) [CLOSED]

[Totoro]

The Crimson Night

The Crimson Night is a 5E D&D game that will use an original setting (Albeit one heavily inspired by the game 'Bloodborne'. The game is heavily themed around gothic and lovecraftian horror. It will be high on tension, mystery, exploration, and puzzles but it will also include social interaction and combat. The game will be extremely low on smut by nature. The plot will mostly be focused on survival. I will be happy to answer any questions about this setting if they occur. Provided there is interest I will get to work on a worldbuilding thread to try to bring the setting to life.

If you are interested in participating in this game please fill out the questionnaire and PM it to me.

This game is not first come first served. I will be waiting to see the interest, writers, and characters put forward before making selections. I will be looking for around 4-5 party members.

Expected Content: This game will include gore, violence, death, and generally grim situations frequently. It will also include existential threats and similar concepts. It will not include non-con or smut-related horror content. At times there will be visceral descriptions of violence and gore in appropriate situations however they will not be permanent or ludicrously gratuitous. Some NPC's may be open to smut but I cannot guarantee this at all. Player-player smut will be an option if two decide they want it. Smut will be kept to a side thread.

Concept

Ebris is a vast, vast city at the center of an expansive kingdom. In terms of scale, it takes around a week to cross the city on foot. It is a place of both faith and science. People travel from far and wide to the city. Outside there are many small villages and farming communities that provide the many things Ebris needs to continue. The city is very urban with towering buildings, gothic architecture, and bustling streets. By D&D standards it is a relatively modern place. (Though far from actually modern.)

One morning a bloated, rotting corpse plummets from the sky to crash into the city. The people argue and debate what this means before that night a red moon rises and blood rains from the sky. The people are assailed by terrible, monstrous beasts that slaughter anyone left on the streets. The population of the vast city is drastically cut down on that first night.

Our group of adventurers barricaded themselves in a nearby home, dragging the owner inside with them after seeing him unconscious on the floor. They waited out the night and survived. In the morning the man who owns this home reveals that he works at the observatory and that he is certain there are answers, and a solution, there if only they can reach it safely. Unfortunately, there are many, many miles of the city between the adventurers and their new goal. It promises to be a long, slow and arduous journey but they cannot walk away from a chance to save the city.

The Mechanics

This game will begin at level 1.

Dice rolling will be done via E's dice bot.

Stats will be a standard array of 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8. All official material for D&D 5E is acceptable. No homebrew. Unearthed Arcana will be done on a case-by-case basis.

Post order will be GM > All Players (Loose order) > GM.

Combat posts should be kept relatively short and simple.

I will likely adjust enemy stats, homebrew some enemies, and some unique items. (Primarily to aide the lovecraftian/bloodborne inspired themes, not to make the game harder.)

I will be looking for players who can post at least every few days, ideally more. If you need to be skipped do not fall silent. Inform me and it will not be an issue.

Things I am looking for:
-> Try to think of protagonists who fit the tone of a gothic world with lovecraftian threats. Also make sure they have a reason to be in the city. Ideally most will be locals.
-> I would like most of the races to be human or close-to. Humans, elves, half-orcs, half-elves and dwarves all have the best chance of being accepted. I may take 1-2 more exotic races so do feel free to submit one.
-> Backgrounds should be low-key. These are survivors more so than heroes.
-> Don't use anime-style artwork.
-> Don't make overly-sexualized characters.
-> Don't make characters who would flee, abandon the party or fight the party.
-> I don't mind light-ish characters but this game has a dark tone and they should be able to get serious when needed.
-> Do not expect smut-horror. This game is not about that. The beasts don't want to fuck your character.

Questionnaire:

Questionnaire

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[u][b]Character Questions:[/b][/u]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Race & Class:[/b] (Published official material only. UA is case-by-case.)

[b]Brief Background:[/b] (1 Paragraph)
[b]Brief Personality:[/b] (1 Paragraph)

[u][b]Writer Questions:[/b][/u]
[b]How often are you generally able to post on Elliquiy?[/b]
[b]How familiar with D&D 5E are you?[/b]
[b]Are you comfortable with graphic content? Is there any content that, if featured, would make you unable to participate?[/b] (E.g. a phobia of needles or spiders.)
[b]Do you have any questions for me?[/b]

[Revelation]

Is it kosher to ask questions without doing the full questionnaire? I was thinking of submitting a Warlock, but I was curious to see if any patrons might not be as kosher or appropriate for the setting. Hexblade (No multiclassing) is kind of tempting me at the moment since I want to give it a proper go, but, I can also imagine the great old one patron as being are more thematically appropriate if going with a BB style influence.

[Totoro]

Is it kosher to ask questions without doing the full questionnaire? I was thinking of submitting a Warlock, but I was curious to see if any patrons might not be as kosher or appropriate for the setting. Hexblade (No multiclassing) is kind of tempting me at the moment since I want to give it a proper go, but, I can also imagine the great old one patron as being are more thematically appropriate if going with a BB style influence.

100% - questions are very welcome and I definitely get wanting to check in on things to see if they are workable.

I think a hexblade would make a great fit here. Realistically I will try to make sure any published class can work and be interesting. Warlocks almost always interest me from a DM perspective the patrons always add something. A great old one does seem very thematically appropriate in that those kinds of beings will feature fairly heavily but a hexblade's weapon could always be tied to something like that. In a large city full of artisans, scientists, scholars and clerics there's a sea of chances for a unique weapon.

[Zaer Darkwail]

I presume we are making 1st level characthers?

[Totoro]

I presume we are making 1st level characthers?

Have edited the first post to include this but yes, will be beginning at level 1. Levelling up will be done via milestones rather than XP. I usually try to get people to at least level 3 relatively early on.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Ok, as an advance question (before working the char) you're okay with the Aberrant Mind sorcerer? Idea being manifestation of the crimson moon along with an encounter with monsters granted the powers.

[Totoro]

Ok, as an advance question (before working the char) you're okay with the Aberrant Mind sorcerer? Idea being manifestation of the crimson moon along with an encounter with monsters granted the powers.

I am open to that class choice, yeah. Shouldn't be an issue. Seems to be reasonably balanced from what I can tell.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Character Questions:
Name: Anthony Caernal
Race & Class: Variant Human Sorcerer (Aberrant Mind origin)

Brief Background: Anthony Caernal was born to Caernal noble family, he is the eldest heir to house Caernal who has gathered influence in the kingdom in establishing and owning businesses. Their core source of wealth comes from immensely wealthy mining operations at the borders of the kingdom. Anthony had been shopping for a ring for his fiance, intending to propose to her in near future, when the red moon rising and monsters showed up. The incident, along with a close encounter with one of the monsters, exposed him to its alien energies trying to warp and tear his mind which he resisted but it also infected him and caused a wild burst of magical energy to leave from him which gave room for him to escape the encounter, stumbling with other (adventurers) and taking over the house he has been plagued by whispers ever since.

Brief Personality: Anthony Caernal was a diligent, hardworking and man of code and ethics with a cool arrogant demeanor and noble's pride and intolerance for lack of luxury. What Anthony Caernal is now though, not even he knows for sure. As he feels whispers, odd visions, and odd thoughts invading his mind. His mind was torn in half, he feels he never truly recovered his second half unscathed and now it contains...something else in there. This dreadful fear he keeps on himself, as still his pride as a rational man he refuses to admit he may be going insane, he suspects possible partial possession or some lingering madness from an encounter with monsters. However same time, he had been powerless his entire life (besides family wealth and envying those with actual talent) and the voices promise him power and he can feel the power as well...inviting just reach of his fingertips. Just need to be brave to just surrender himself a bit to those noises...

Writer Questions:
How often are you generally able to post on Elliquiy?
Daily, usually.

How familiar with D&D 5E are you?
Very familiar. Also familiar with other DnD editions and pathfinder.

Are you comfortable with graphic content? Is there any content that, if featured, would make you unable to participate? (E.g. a phobia of needles or spiders.)
I am comfortable with graphic content.

Do you have any questions for me?
Just confirm are you're okay with noble background (and would you work with player to create the family and his fiance if needed for the story), besides that plan to take as a bonus feat (as variant human) either metamagic adept or eldrict adept.

[ElayneTrakand]

Character Questions:
Name: Ahyoka Kanoska
Race & Class: Human (custom lineage) wizard

Brief Background:

Ahyoka was marked as a child by a strange dark force and destruction has followed her wherever she goes and whenever she lingers one place to long people start getting hurt. She has spent her life running from one town to another trying to study the unrelenting forces that seem to be perusing her and trying to figure out why she was marked and what they want with her. The astronomer seems to think that he has explanation for the the "meteor" which is honestly not the weirdest thing to have followed her, so she will definitely want to follow any leads may unfold.

I will happily workshop this with you or leave it up to dm plot hooks later, up to you.

Brief Personality:

Ahyoka is nice enough and generally tries to do right by people, however as those she spends time around tend to end up dead or maimed, doing right tends to mean not forming close connections (the party will prove themselves capable and she will eventually stop feeling like she has to protect them from herself, probably after first fight or two). She is hyper aware of her surroundings as she is always on guard watching for shadows following her or things that will harm those around her. She is curious and makes a point of being prepared for whatever comes her way.

[Laughing Hyena]

Gotta ask if firearms are permitted and if a magic item can be in the form of a trick weapon (ala Bloodbornes iconic weapons)

[Totoro]

Gotta ask if firearms are permitted and if a magic item can be in the form of a trick weapon (ala Bloodbornes iconic weapons)

I've been debating firearms but I'm leaning away from them just because I'd rather stick to official published material for this one. I'm not trying to 1-1 replicate bloodborne here, just take aesthetic inspiration.

I'd be open to including a trick weapon as a magic item later on but not at the start, I think.



I have taken the decision to close this interest check. I was hoping for a good deal of interest to try to form the most suitable party but it hasn't quite panned out. I may try an alternative D&D idea soon. Thank you to all those who stated interest/took the time to answer the questionaire.