Hello Players and DMs

I am John, The CorporateDM. I have 36 years experience as a DM and scenario writer and would love to have you join a new story and lore heavy campaign across the FORGOTTEN REALMS®.

Genres:
Mystery, Crime, Political Intrigue, Spy Thriller, Detective Procedural, Empire Building

Overview:
Set in 1486 Dalereckoning this campaign is a collection of side quests assisting the main cast of heroes from the shadows through the 5th Edition era D&D stories. Help the Thayan Guild of Foreign Trade meddle in the affairs of the antagonists while the heroes receive all their negative attention. This campaign is set in an alternate timeline where the nature of the Realms did not change after 1358 Dalereckoning. No Vecna, no Spellplague, no Second Sundering. These changes to the timeline mean we will use 2nd Edition AD&D for core mechanics with a selection of 3rd Edition add-ons.

We plan to conduct original prequels, parallel stories, and sequels to the following scenarios in chronological world order:

• Tyranny of Dragons, (1486 Dalereckoning)
• Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, (1489 Dalereckoning)
• Storm King’s Thunder, (1490 Dalereckoning)
• Princes of the Apocalypse, (1491 Dalereckoning)
• Tomb of Annihilation, (1491 Dalereckoning)
• Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, (1492 Dalereckoning)
• Candlekeep Mysteries (1492 Dalereckoning)
• Descent Into Avernus (1494 Dalereckoning)

Opening Story:
Tyranny of Dragons Prequel. You work for the Thayan Embassy in Baldur’s Gate and are assigned to the Special Investigations Division of the Red Wizard Detective Agency. Banditry is on the rise as the Paladins of neighboring Elturgard continue to enact their lawful good tyranny on both the commoners and criminals for any perceived immoral behavior forcing those with the means out of their territory. Unarmed refugees on the roads are easy targets for bandits. More bandits mean more raids on trade caravans. Your bosses along with The Harpers believe there are patterns developing that suggests there is a large organized crime syndicate taking advantage of the refugee crisis to cover their tracks. Your mission is to investigate these events and provide your findings to your bosses so the Order of the Gauntlet and the Zhentarim can conduct a mop up operation.

About the Game Style :
Our writing for these scenarios is influenced by fantasy/sci-fi mystery such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, The X-Files, Scooby Doo, with some elements of Law & Order and Star Trek added. Higher level scenarios are inspired by business ownership and navigating the royal court from novels such as Banished from the Heroes Party and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. We make extensive use of Power of Faerűn and the Stronghold Builder’s Guidebook. There will be lots of travel, dialogue with NPCS, note taking, and piecing clues together. Star Trek is sometimes considered an office drama in space. Our scenarios are an office drama set in a fantasy guild.

About the Mechanics:
2nd Edition AD&D has two major components that are not officially part of 5th Edition that we will focus on. XP for Gold encourages outcomes over methods. This allows your character to level up and obtain wealth/prestige without slaying everything you meet. You will also receive XP & Gold for services performed for NPCs (healing, identifying magic items, bodyguard services, freight services, etc). Followers, henchmen, and strongholds are a major part of reaching higher levels. You will have the option to build stronghold(s) with your gold (fortress, temple, wizard tower, tavern, etc) which will attract NPCs who will serve you. Bring them on adventures with you or dispatch them to tasks where you would normally split the party. Our style assumes that you will eventually become a boss within your chain of command with many subordinates who will deal with the challenges you delegate to them. You also receive a portion of XP from your subordinate’s accomplishments for being a good commander.

Technical Details:
• Your choice:
• Fantasy Grounds Ultimate VTT (you drive or you watch DM drive via screen share)
• Theater of the Mind (DM drives VTT for you. Bring your best acting voice and character)
• Sound effects by Syrinscape
• Microsoft Teams for handouts, voice/text chat, inventory management
• Private Wiki with over 200 campaign entries and growing

Benefits:
We are operating on a Patreon-like subscription model. For your subscription fee you will receive access to:
• Quad-weekly live play session
• PBP between live sessions (limitations apply)
• Adventure recap written in short story format from session recordings
• System agnostic module used for live session for you to run for your family and friends

Monthly subscription fee:
• $50 USD billed via Stripe subscription
• $45 USD cryptocurrency via NowPayments invoicing.

When:
Live session start Tuesday 10/3/2023 1900-2200 ET/GMT-4. PBP may begin anytime.

FAQ:
Can my character participate in only the PBP or live session?
Your character may participate in either or both.

What general limitations apply to PBP?
Generally PBP is for the group’s main cast, a subset of the main cast, or if we have multiple groups cooperating or competing such as a PBP only group that skips the live sessions. PBP is not meant for solo character arcs. If you are interested in a solo character arc please inquire for a custom rate quote.

I am only interested in some of the items in the package. Do you have different tiers?
At present we are catering to clients who like to play D&D, DMs who want additional modules to run for their home/friends/family tables with a play through/tutorial, and those who love fantasy fiction set in the Forgotten Realms or want to reminisce over their adventures with an episodic short story. In the future we may consider a story only tier or other options.

May I receive a copy of the Actual Play (AP) recording directly or will you upload it to YouTube?
We are not currently setup to distribute the recordings. We may consider producing a podcast/audiobook narrated version of the session at a later date.

How long are the session recaps?
10-20 pages are typical depending on dialogue between PCs and NPCs. The more you are in character speaking to NPCs the more content you get.

Additional Questions?
Please private message.