The Setting

The world of Aethen has been lost to The Weave since its inception. The gods themselves seemed to have abandoned it, leaving it to die. Because of this, the only source of magic in the land has been that which is found in magical artifacts.

However, 10 years ago, a strange fog called "The Mist" began to manifest in the lands of Aethen. From this fog, all manner of beast and monster have come forth and made themselves known to the land. Many villages have been destroyed; those who attempted to stay would either vanish or be slaughtered.

The beings that would flee their villages would make their way to the larger cities. Soon, cities began to fill with that of the known races: Humans, Halflings, Gnomes, and Dwarves. It was at this time that "Mist Crystals" were discovered. These crystals served as a way to focus ones own energy and produce a magical effect that varied by crystal.

Most commoners were not blessed with the ability to cast spells through the usage of crystals; luckily, ingenuity allowed for the usage of these crystals in everyday life as well as battle. It was discovered that these crystals could be used to imbue weapons and equipment with their abilities. With this in mind, the Mortise corporation became the leader of innovation in the largest city on the world, converting the societies of all the major cities into a culmination of Steampunk & Magipunk. Nearly all cities began to rely on the works of the Mortise corporation.

Humans, Halflings, Gnomes, and Dwarves made up the largest cities. Gnomes and Dwarves were regarded as the foremost inventors of the land. Steam and gears served to power all their machinations, until more recently, when the "Mist Crystals" were discovered. Elves were known to exist, though they were rarely ever seen, and they were never in any city.

After having returned from their expedition to the Realm of Dread, basically the worst place that ever has existed (the players loved it though), our heroes agreed to focus their efforts on individual improvement and growth. Each hero set a path before them to develop themselves in distinct ways by seeking fortune, fame, friends, and developing new abilities.

What did you find?

We rejoin our heroes as they each are called back for a new major assignment from the Elite Agency, a subdivision of the massive corporation conglomerate Mortise Manufacturing, for which our heroes serve or have allied with.

Welcome to Aethen

Hello, and welcome to my campaign post :)

The Adventures in Aethen campaign has been ongoing for over 5 years now, with the players having started at level 1. Now their characters are level 15 with higher levels on the horizon.

The campaign has been primarily sandbox oriented with a wide array of adventuring options, but it is now transitioning into being more inclusive of a very clear overarching campaign goal.

We are looking for up to 3 new regular players!

Guest players may also be welcome to make an appearance at a later date! Please let me know if that also interests you when submitting our form!

In short: I create the world, you live in it, and we shape it together.

The main theme of my campaign will involve steampunk & magipunk development in what was a very low-magic world that is transforming into a high-magic world. The Weave is non-existent in this world.

The starting city of Aurora is chock-full of steampunk and magipunk designs.

Some inspiration points I will note are: Final Fantasy, Eberron, many other ( Old ) D&D settings, and Monster Hunter.

For better formatting, read my google document: Aethen Introduction Document

Those of you familiar with D&D & video game lore may be able to make some quick & accurate assumptions with the setting of my world; in realization that it may be somewhat less of a homebrew setting & more of an... alternate start, I will ask that you do not spoil it for the others :)

Requirements

We will use FoundryVTT for combat and rolls.Note: You do not need to make an account for Foundry. I am the only person who has to pay for it.

We will be using Discord and Theatre of the Mind for almost everything else.

You must be 19 years old or older

Showing up on-time to our 6:20pm PST/PDT sessions on Friday nights that last anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. The expectation is to be able to play 4 hours.

Content Advisory

• Semi-Realism & Semi-Gritty medieval fantasy:
  • Bad puns, varied goofball humor, diseases, harsh and varied politics (which are often glossed over), and emotion-provoking content
  • Most attributes to the setting can be glossed over or investigated in detail.
  • More knowledge of the richness of culture and history may also lead to a feeling of a much deeper, more grim setting, though that is not always the case.
• Horror themes & potential for graphic content
• Draconic & mortal slavery and rebellions
• Racism & Bigotry

My DM Style

• I like to host games that incorporate 50/50 combat and RP. One does not exclude the other.
• I set up the world, you live in it, and we shape it together. I may hint at the consequences of your actions if you are planning on doing something dumb/silly, but there's no guarantee.
• I will often use Rules As Written (RAW), but if you do something interesting that makes sense I can definitely Rule of Cool things. For example, magic lightning hitting water can deal decreased damage through a section of the water.
• Natural 20’s and Natural 1’s apply to hits and death saves, but a natural 20 for a skill check does not guarantee the outcome to be exactly what you want. You may get something to a similar effect instead.
• I do a lot of homebrew, and a lot of my time is spent balancing. You can expect high level / high difficulty enemies, such as boss-fights, to include many more abilities or special mechanics than their typical stat blocks.

The rest of the party

• Currently, there are 4 players who are actively participating in the campaign, and 1 who recently went AWOL
• Cz is a friendly he/him player who plays a powerful paladin with specialty in guarding and rescuing his allies from worst-case scenarios
• Ir is a fun-loving he/she/they player who is currently playing a pacifist wizard after sidelining a well loved necromancer gnome
• K is a (stinky) she/her player who enjoys playing an edgy I-hate-everyone archer
• Cr is a curious he/him player who plays a shepherd druid heal-spammer who makes his problems everyone's problems... sometimes unintentionally
• J recently went AWOL. J is a he/him player who plays a fairy and sometimes a different fairy.
• In general, the party will create a basic plan, think about options they can explore, and then choose to barge through the front door for an immediate boss-battle mid-thought. There have been many close calls, a couple deaths, and a lot of learning because of this.

What's different than normal 5e?

• In short, a lot!
• You’ll need to read our introduction document to know if it’s right for you:
  • [Aethen Introduction Document]

This system allows for a lot more variety and complex combinations for usage in equipment by Martial classes, while also having some significant limitations.

With this system in mind, playing Wizard at early levels is like playing "Hardcore" in a video game, and certain classes, like Cleric, have different reasoning for the source of their power. In the actual campaign, there are a lot of perks for wizards later on.

Character Creation

- Homebrew Rules

Bonus Feat: Bonus feat at level 1. Enemies & NPCs will have specialties as well.

Better Crits: On a crit, deal max damage + roll damage + modifier

Better Healing Potions: Take an action to drink, but they restore the maximum roll of hit points on use

Bonus Action Healing Potions: Healing potions can be drank as a bonus action instead, but you must roll for HP instead of receiving the maximum.

Healing Surges: Healing Surges

Anything you can do…: the NPCs can do as well ( Monsters, less so than humanoids ). You are being buffed, so encounters will be made to match the intensity.

Resurrection: We use a version of “The Fading Spirit” as well as an additional method of resurrection using “Aurum”

Don’t Get Downed: Players who are put into a dying state will be given 1 level of exhaustion for each time they are brought back from the dying state. At the DM’s discretion, exhaustion typically does not take effect until 10 minutes to 1 hour after the incident. If the DM is generous, the player may get a freebie for the first downed state.

- Certain Classes & Races are locked

Those that are unlocked and available can be found here, in the Introduction document:

[ Aethen Introduction ]

- Permitted Resources / Books

These are the sources we will be using for character creation:

• Player’s Handbook
• Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
• Eberron ( Artificer Only )

Other sources, such as Unearthed Arcana (UA) & Tasha’s, will require speaking to me ahead of time for approval on a case-by-case basis.

I am not against homebrewing a class, subclass, feature, or item that fits the desired outcome.

Call To Action - Your starting point

Using point buy, you will be able to create a level 15 character and join our heroic group of adventurers on their journey through Aethen. You can choose to be a multi-class of any of the available classes or available races.

We will work together to decide on your character’s backstory and point of inclusion into the campaign.

The original group started without any memory. I have handcrafted the backstories of each players’ character. You can choose to begin with or without any memory of the past. If you choose to have some memory of the past, you and I can work together to discuss what your character’s backstory will include. After our discussion, I will handcraft the remaining backstory for your character and reveal it to you, in game, as events unfold in the campaign.

The original group had no clue what their first sessions would be like, and they had no idea that they would be working for an agency from the very beginning. With this in mind, you can decide whether or not you start from similar beginnings, or you come from something entirely different. This will have a significant impact on the backstory for your character, as well as story and mechanical differences that will not be fully expressed.

Create a character following the steps from the introduction document.

After creating your initial character, deciding their class and subclass, and deciding on the feats and ASI’s, you’ll need to refine that decision.

You will use a tool I provide you with to decide on:

• Items and money
• learning an additional feat, part of a feat, learning class-features early, or creating your own custom moves
• Invent new items, or improve current ones
• Improve your relations with others by making friends with merchants, commonfolk, and the guards of your starting city of Aurora. Gain many benefits that are both nuanced for RP and mechanical.
• Gain popularity and notoriety, which has many noticeable and nuanced benefits, especially when used in tandem with improving relations with those you know.

Thank you for reading!

If you would like to join, you can Apply to join, here!