Whispers of Mavenhost Campaign Premise

Strange tidings have begun to spread across the township of Mavenhost. A miller’s son went missing a fortnight ago, vanishing in the night. A local butcher, who died only three days ago when she fell and hit her head, dug herself from her grave last night and wandered into the town, leaving the mangled corpse of a citizen in the square for all to see. Horrifying monstrosities have been seen stalking the nearby woods with increasing regularity. Reports shared in hushed tones mention feral beasts, ghouls, and even werewolves sighted just beyond the township perimeter. The common folk have grown fearful.

Villagers share rumors in hushed tones at the local watering hole, speculating about the goings-on of Mavenhost Manor, the mansion from which their lord rules. He hasn’t made an appearance in ages, and many wonder if he’s even alive. Elves live long lives, that much they know, but by their oral traditions and written records, their lord must be well over a millennia old. Where is he in their time of need, and why would he allow his lands to fall into such affliction?

Occasionally, the locals will find a bit of fortune, drawing the attention of wayward wannabe heroes who trudge off in search of clues. As of yet, none have been successful, and few even return from their efforts. What is happening beneath the absent watch of Mavenhost Manor? Will the villagers find their saviors, or will they succumb to the monsters lurking in the darkness?

But you...what is your story? What would compel you to take up the sword or the staff, and risk your life as a hero? What brings you to Mavenhost, or were you born in these cursed lands? More importantly, will you rise to the challenge? Will you light a path through the dark mists and slay those that would harm the weak?

Introduction

Hello! My name is MisguidedGh0st, and I am the Dungeon Master for a Dungeons and Dragons (5E 2014) group, currently consisting of three players. We just wrapped up a campaign stretching almost nine years, playing weekly. We had two of our five players move on from the group, so we're looking to fill a couple of seats before we begin a new campaign. After much success in our last LFG recruitment attempt, we're back for more!

We play on Thursday at 6:30 PM EST, or 3:30 PM PST. Each session lasts between 3 and 4 hours on average. All character material, rolls, and visuals, as well as thematic audio, take place in Roll20. We use Discord for voice and video, as well as out-of-session discussions and off-topic banter.

Setting

Ithira is a “mid-fantasy” setting, home to two primary continents: Istrios and Summerwilde. While the world is more fantastical than one such as Middle-Earth, magic remains mostly mysterious to the masses, and restrictions exist in many places as to if or how it can be used. Magical items are a DM-favorite, very often homebrewed, and, while rare in the world, should be frequent enough for player characters.

This campaign begins in a place known as Mavenhost, an afflicted land in the northwestern expanse of the Golden Marches, the heartlands of Summerwilde. Expect elements of dark fantasy, grimdark and gothic horror while you explore this place, but know that the rest of the world can vary greatly in tone, should you go beyond. Touchstones for Mavenhost include Innistrad from Magic the Gathering, border-town regions between the Empire of Man and Sylvania in Warhammer Fantasy, and the Witcher series.

What to Expect

Players are expected to attend the vast majority of sessions. This campaign will cover an in-depth story, but could also continue into a greater sandbox experience. If you are unable to commit to a campaign beyond one year in length, this campaign will not be a good fit for you.

We are all adults, and sessions can contain adult themes and language. Players should be 18+. In addition, we do not tolerate harassment, discrimination, bullying, or disrespect of any kind, whether aimed at sexual orientation, race, gender identity, or really anything else. While this campaign will involve dark themes present in grim dark or gothic horror settings, sexual violence is unacceptable in any capacity. If a desired disturbing or adult event occurs that involves a player character, such events take place “off screen” in a "fade-to-black" manner.

This campaign features a mix of the “three pillars of play:" Roleplay, Exploration, and Combat. Often, a series of sessions will focus mostly on one pillar of play, allowing players to adjust and fully invest into that type of play for several sessions. A session of Exploration might lead into three sessions of Combat, followed up by two heavy sessions of Roleplay. Consequently, some players find this unfavorable, so consider how this will affect you.

Ithira is a living world, molded by the decisions made by the characters within it, including yours. The actions the party takes can and will alter the setting in varying ways, potentially altering the experiences of future campaigns! Characters can be faced with grim and difficult circumstances that require thoughtful responses. Because of this, it is important that players carefully consider the choices with which they are faced. In addition, we put focus on keeping behaviors “within character.” It is incredibly important that your character wants to be an adventurer. Lone wolf personalities or characters adverse to any and all danger are not a good fit.

While evil forces exist within Ithira, this campaign does not encourage playing such characters. We do not put a substantial focus on alignment, but good and neutral characters often fit in the best. Players are expected to develop a moral compass and a belief system that they can role-play, especially those focused on slaying monsters and protecting the weak. Heroes are welcome here, but no need for one-dimensional characters or those lacking flaws or faults!

You will begin at level 1, with the campaign having a hard-cap ceiling of level 12, regardless of campaign duration. Character creation is typically a collaborative experience between the player and the DM. You are expected to create a character that fits within the world, using the DM as a resource to tie the character’s backstory into the events, characters, and locations that exist in Ithira. Because of this, players are dissuaded from using pre-written characters, but having some ideas of what you're interested in is by no means an issue! The campaign has a defined list of class and race/species options, including some DM-written homebrew. Some might consider it rather restrictive. As a blanket statement, no content from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and forward will be permitted. I emphasize here that this is a D&D 5e 2014 campaign.

Applications

Our group is accepting applications using a Google Forms document. We are looking to begin the campaign in May. Please follow the link below and complete the application. At the top, you will find contact information, should you need it. Please feel free to contact me with questions or concerns about the setting, our expectations, or anything else! The group will review the applications as they come and over the course of possibly a couple of weeks, so don’t expect an immediate result. I will try to answer any questions as they come. If we decide we are interested in your application, I will contact you through Discord to set up a short text or voice interview. After we select players, you will be expected to have a back-and-forth with the DM, where you will present the concept of the character you want to play, which will then be tied into the world and story in whatever ways we can devise. You'll be set up with a character sheet within the game on Roll20 for you to build. From there, we'll have a "Session 0" to acclimate with the group before officially beginning the campaign!

Whispers of Mavenhost Google Form