Getting Started

     Hi everyone! I just wanted to post up a couple thoughts about our Roll20 campaign that we are going to start in a few weeks:

• 5th Edition is a lot more dangerous than 4th Edition. Neither players nor monsters are health sponges like they were in the previous edition. At first this seems as if this would suck, but it really allows for out of the box thinking that makes the game a lot more enjoyable. So going in remember that fighting is not the only option, and in some cases is a horrible idea.
• At the beginning we are going to play really close to the rules as written. There won't be a lot of homebrew rules from the start. Hopefully this will give us all time to learn the system and then build upon it together as we become more familiar with it. Ask me if you have any specific questions about changing stuff for flavor purposes so we can work it out.
• Magic is different in this edition so make sure you have read up and understand how it works. If you have any questions just ask beforehand that way when we jump into playing we all have a basic grasp of what your characters can do and how to do it.
• We will be playing in the Forgotten Realms. I will try to post little weekly lore things about the FR that may pertain to things that will happen within the campaign. Hopefully this will bring the world more alive for you. I will also post updates about what happened in the previous session, and, if I have time, try to do small write ups on NPCs you meet in your adventures. That way all of the information will be in a central location for you to look at if you so wish.
• If you guys have the time please write up a somewhat of a back story for your characters so I will have some information on ways to make the campaign more personal for your characters. In this edition flaws, bonds, and ideals play a big part in it. I believe the character sheet has space for three each so just let me know what they are, or include them in your back story. If you have trouble putting together a personality the players handbook has tables with traits and things of that nature. You don't necessarily have to roll for them but they are a good way to get ideas for your character. Remember you aren't playing yourself, you are playing your character. Build someone that you think will be fun to play.
• We will be playing on Fridays. It will not be a strict weekly schedule. I will just try to figure out which Fridays people can play and then go off of that.
• We are going to start out playing "theater of the mind" style. Basically that means playing without a grid. This allows combat to be more free flowing and not as bogged down with distances and positioning. I will use Roll20 for visual aids, maps, and notes. If it ends up being too confusing we can swap to loosely using a grid for combat.
• There are a lot of online character sheets that users have made that you can fill in with your stats. I will try to pull together a collection of ones I think are good so you guys can use them.
• I am super excited about playing.
• And yes, Fate Dark may make an appearance in this campaign.
• If I left anything out that you have questions on just hit me up on Skype or Text.

                                                                                   - Ryan Stillwagon, Dungeon Master