D&D 5E Sunless Citadel (GMT-7, Saturdays)

Hello! I’ve been playing and DMing Dungeons & Dragons for many years. I have also helped beta test the current 5th edition (back when it was still being called D&D Next). I’m confident with my DMing abilities around a physical table. However, my experience with Fantasy Grounds is at an apprentice level (a little over two years) as I continuously strive to master all that this program has to offer.

That’s where you come in.

For the month of July, I am offering a reduced rate for all adventures started within the month. This will give me the chance to continue teaching Dungeons & Dragons to new or returning players while allowing me to further increase my comprehension of Fantasy Grounds.

DM: Ray the Cartographer

FG License: Fantasy Grounds Unity Ultimate

FG Content Provided: All required D&D 5E books provided

Game System: D&D 5E

Adventure: The Sunless Citadel (Levels 1-3)

Cost: $5 CAD/person/session, payable via PayPal no later than 24 hours prior to the start of the session

Time Zone: GMT -7

Date and Time: Every Saturday, Start 4:30pm, End 7:30pm

First Session (Session 0): Saturday, July 4th, 2020

Adventure Length: Short (2-4 weeks are estimated)

Text or Voice: Both - Text through FG chat, Voice through Discord

Will this be recorded and/or live streamed?: No, I do not give consent for this game to be recorded

Roleplay & Combat Mix: 50/50 or as determined by players’ preferences

Number of Players: I am looking for 4-6 players

Please apply via the Calendar listing or message me directly if you are interested. I can grant you authorization to the Discord server and/or arrange a time for us to talk should you have any questions.

Fantasy Grounds Calendar Link

Character Rules:

• Please use standard point-buy for Ability Scores
• Please do not create an Evil aligned character
• Please be respectful, inclusive, and accepting of each person at our table.
• Please create a character with motivations to cooperate with your fellow party members

Allowed Sources:
When making a character, you may include material from any of the following books:

• Player’s Handbook
• Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
• Xanathar’s Guide to Everything

“Travel well, and may your compass always point North”
- Ray the Cartographer

Spoilers ahead if you have yet to play the adventure.

Session 1:

The village of Oakhurst found six stalwart adventurers answering the call of Kerowyn Hucrele owner of the local general store. Her children, adventurers in their own right, have been missing for almost a month after leaving to explore some nearby ruins. Said to be home to a tribe of goblins in possession of a tree offering magical apples every summer and winter solstice, rumours ran rampant as to what might be expected. Kerowyn was steadfast. Destroy the goblins and/or discover the mystery of the apples - just bring home the children or the signet rings they wore.

First to accept was a cloaked halfling, Roseile Silentshadow, whose eyes appeared to occasionally glow. Then an aged, dwarven cleric, Dah'ren Stonebreaker answered the matriarch's plea. Next, two fighters: Drusus clad in the shiniest chain mail and largest sword his previous post as part of a nearby city's watch could gift him and Saba Tel who opted for quieter leathers and a longbow. A half elf bard, Carric Woodford, did not want to miss out on the chance for more stories to share and quickly joined the group. Finally, a small gnome by the name of Alozira who seemed to know of no one but the cleric, decided to aid Kerowyn.

After a night of individual past times, the group headed to bed eager to start in the morning. With horses provided by Kerowyn thanks to the concern showed to her by Dah'ren, the group was able to make solid time to the ravine closest to the ruins arriving in less than three hours. Finding a rope newly tied off against a leaning pillar, the troupe made their way down into the ravine following the trail of the Hucrele children they hoped still lived. A switchback staircase hewn out of the rock descended into the gloom below and as the party continued downward, the noise they made alerted a colony of giant rats! The six individuals surprisingly fought as a unified group and quickly dispatched the half dozen vermin before finishing their descent.

Finding themselves atop the parapet of a wall, the group realized the ruins belong to a citadel that had long since sunken into the ground. With only a door leading into a nearby tower, the group proceeded onward while neatly avoiding a pit trap to waylay the unwary. Inside the tower, the gruesome sight of four dead goblins greeted them. There had been combat here, but no evidence was found to indicate the identity of the assailants. Writing on one wall merely offered the name "Ashardalon". Alozira discovered a secret door and with the help of Roseile deduced the manner in which it would open. Inside, long dead skeletons. Or were they? As Roseile started to examine the remains, a dull red glow appeared in each eye socket. The skeletons arose and attacked! Whether it was because of fatigue from travel and their previous fight or the constraints of the small room in which the skeletons resided, the party found more difficulty dispatching these foes. Indeed, Roseile found herself nearly being hit on more than one occasion from friendly fire as her comrades attempted to aid her by shooting into the room with arrow and spell.

With the skeletons eventually defeated, the party was able to continue. Drusus and Roseile led the way out of the northwestern door walking down a long hallway. Three doors offered more opportunities ahead. Seeing the southern door with an interesting relief of a dragon fish, Roseile was able to get past the locked door into the room beyond. A metal keg and all manner of piping seemed to exist. Kicking the keg resulted in the sounds of liquid sloshing about and a faint giggling. With Drusus' assistance, Roseile managed to eventually open the keg. In an eruption of water, a geyser sprayed the room as two mephits arose out of the keg, one apparently of steam, the other ice.

The steam mephit screamed, sending a scalding spray across many of the party both within the room and the hallway beyond. Quickly dispatched, its death throes were an eruption of steam injuring nearby party members. While the ice mephit lasted a little longer, a well placed firebolt of brilliant purple cast by Alozira shattered the creature. Unfortunately, Dah'ren was pierced by a shard of ice and in his already wounded state succumbed to the injury. The party worked quickly to try and stabilize the fallen cleric. Dragging his unconscious body back to the tower room, the party decided to make camp. A nervous watch eyed the three doors hoping that their rest would not be interrupted.

I was a player on Cartographer's short introductory campaign. I have a decades of D&D experience but a limited amount using Fantasy Grounds. Cart is experienced as a gamer and DM, he has genuine concern for the players in his game and strives to provide an enjoyable experience for everyone. He is fair and approachable with concerns or to get an explanation of why something occurred the way it did during play, I always felt heard and appreciated. Cart's abilities with Fantasy Grounds Unity were imressive and made the immersion much greater despite the distance between us all. I enjoyed the game just as I had while playing around the table with my group of friends back in the day. I would recommend Cartographer as a DM to anyone, but especially to people who are beginning their playing experience, as he is welcoming and very kind.

I played in this campaign. It was a very enjoyable way of spending my Saturdays, meeting up with everyone, as we executed the plans we made over the course of the week in the discord chat. Cartographer welcomes Roleplaying, and is very knowledgeable with Fantasy Grounds mechanics. He was able to assist us whenever we had questions. I was a new player to fantasy grounds and found this very helpful. The campaign was a lot of fun, and it was neat being able to play my character.

Hi, wrote you a private message, have a look. Cheers Xelab

Thanks for reaching out Xelab. I'm intrigued with the idea of running a campaign for you. I'll message you directly my reply.

Cart.

Had a lot of fun playing this adventure! great experience for me.
That is where I would usually stop, maybe I should still but it was sincerely a great time. We had a few tough jambs to get through and we had one PC die. Overall a really great time and very accommodating DM.