Scheduling

Frequency

Weekly as standard, with occasional week breaks

Day and Time

Saturdays, 6:30pm ET

Typical Session Length

4 hours minimum, some sessions going up to 6 as long as all participants consent

Tardiness and Absence

When in doubt, letting me know ahead of time is the best case, but life happens. Let me know ASAP whenever you think you will be late or absent and we may have time to reschedule!

Lateness

If a player doesn't arrive on time, I will start the Starting Agenda and Recap 20 minutes after the session's start time. After 30 minutes we will begin gameplay. Any content missed will be succinctly summarized. I will also provide summaries for each session.

Regrets Only

If you can't make a session, let me know through a discord message with as much advance notice as possible, at least one day preferred. Otherwise, I will assume you are available and attending.

Cancellation

A session may be cancelled under the following circumstances:

Two or fewer players are available
Two or fewer players show at game time, plus the Game Master (GM)
One player gives advance notice of absence and GM polls the players whether to cancel

Player Absence

In general, an absent player’s character will be narratively present but will not contribute much to the game. The GM runs the character out of combat. With player consent, another player may run the absent player’s character in combat, otherwise, the DM will do so. When absent, I solemnly swear that your character will not die and they will be controlled as hands-off as possible.

Table Rules

Player Expectations

Collaborative and selfless gameplay. I do my best to include all players in the game, give everyone their own moments to shine, but it is also the responsibility of the players to provide a “yes and…” when roleplaying, holding out a branch for other players to have their characters engage within the session.
Know your character. You should spend the time to understand how your abilities, features, and spells work. Spellcasters, specifically, are expected to understand their spells. You can always ask for help or advice but spending minutes reading spell descriptions in fast-paced combat is frustrating for everyone involved. A player who takes too long to decide may be forced to take the Dodge action or make a cantrip attack.
No ‘lone wolves’. The assumption of playing a party-based game is that it is your responsibility to create and play a character who can find a reason to work well with others. Deliberately refusing to engage with the game grinds progression to a halt and wastes everyone’s time.
PC vs PC (whether combat or social) conflict is allowed, but must be agreed upon OOC by players involved

Conflict Resolution

I will privately contact you if you bend one of the above rules too far. Likewise, if you, the player, have a problem with something I or another player do, let me know directly and we will work it out and correct the behavior. Even if it’s just a concern, like not knowing whether someone’s in-character words were motivated by out-of-character ill intent, it’s important that everyone feels comfortable and engaged.

Logistics

Communication: Discord server for voice chat. No required video chat. Private DM-player channels for whispers

Platform: FoundryVTT, self-hosted

Campaign Framework

Setting: Itora, homebrew world

Genres: High Fantasy, Cusp of Industrial, High Magic, Natural Magic, Politics

Tone: Lighthearted, Heroic, High Player Agency

Content Focus: Player Character Story, Roleplay, GM Story, Exploration, Combat

Levelling: Milestone leveling. All characters level at the same time.

Key Elements in Overarching Plot: Control, Strength, Extraplanar Influence

House Rules

I have many house rules and homebrew systems I’ve taken, adapted, and enacted. Customizing the rules and adding new ones to complement the play style of my table is one of the most satisfying parts of the process for me.

All rules are accessible in Table Rules.

Lines and Veils (Content Consent)

Lines must be drawn to make sure that no player is made uncomfortable. If one player deems a topic as a line, it is a line for everyone. If it is accepted, it is accepted for everyone. This goes for both player roleplay and GM roleplay. When joining my table, I'll ask you to complete a consent survey to let me know what your lines and veils are, and this list will be adjusted accordingly.

Lines

Hard limit, something we do not want to cross. Lines represent places we don't want to go in roleplaying and actions/themes I will not be allowing.

Sexual assault
Self-Harm, Torture
Cancer, or other thematically similar afflictions
Systemic Racism, Sexism, Slavery
Abuse (against children or animals, between PCs, police brutality)
Transphobia, Homophobia

Veils

A "pan away" or "fade to black" moment. When we veil something, we're making it a part of the story, but keeping it out of the spotlight. These acts will be “veiled” as a statement of their existence, without actual descriptions of the acts (ex. “You can tell they were physically abused” or “the angry farmer hurls a racist comment at you”). There’s nothing gained by going into detail.

Sexual or intimate acts (consensual)
Romance between PCs (consensual)
Graphic gore, murder
Drugs/Alcohol
Spiders (no graphic descriptions or visual representations)

Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Discrimination, and Abuse exist in my setting, but if it ever manifests in the game, it will be in a situation where the players have the agency to exact their chosen degree of punishment. In most instances the offending party will be an individual or small group, not a large organization or government. A bigot can get punched and a fascist or a slaver can be killed without major consequence. The real world has too many terrible people who are too powerful and unreachable for true retribution. Sometimes catharsis is needed, and in my world, you hold the power to make things right.

Acceptable

Common potential veils/fears that are okay to explore normally.

Fears: Heights, snakes, bugs
Flirting and Romance between PCs and NPCs (I will say if/when lines are crossed)
Flirting between PCs (consensual)