Barrowmaze (Roll20 & Discord)

As I mentioned in my last blog article, I've recently run a couple of groups (made up of you guys here on Patreon) through the 'goblins' adventure that I've written (to test out the adventure itself ...and also to try and push myself to be a bit more sociable online - as I'm not a naturally outgoing person ...far from it).

And, as a result of that (yes, it's your fault ...all eight of you that took part in the playtests :P ), I've got it into my head that it might be a good idea to run something regular-ish for any of you guys that might be interested (assuming you are willing to put up with my nonsense).

So, if you've not been keeping up on Discord, the idea is to run Greg Gillespie's Barrowmaze (the 5E version that is - but with some restrictions and minor house-rules to make it fit the setting a bit better).

If you're not familiar with BarrowMaze - it's essentially a mega-dungeon with (not surprisingly, given the name) an undead theme. So, out in the moors are the ancient burial mounds ...and beneath them (should you be able to discover one of the entrances) is the  Barrowmaze itself ...or so legend has it.

Now, I will try to spice things up from time to time (so it's not all dungeon crawling ...I mean, I have run one session of this already for some of you guys ...and that group never left town). But you will be signing up for an old fashioned dungeon delve ...so dungeon crawling is to be expected ...and dungeon crawling there will be ;)

HOW WILL IT WORK?

So, the main reason I thought I would try running a published mega-dungeon (which is new territory for me), is because I think it's the best kind of game to facilitate a drop-in/drop-out style of play.

For example, if players 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 can make it one week, their characters can form a party and head out into the BarrowMoor on that particular day (though be aware that, no-one spends the night out on the moors and lives to tell the tale ...so you really need to head back to town before it gets dark ...essentially each game will likely end with the PC's heading home).

Then, if players A, B, and C can make it to the next session, they do the same.

If, for the third session, players 1, 3, B & C can make it - their characters strike a deal, share stories, compare maps, and head on out again.

Essentially, the group might consist of a rotating cast of players ...though I'll only run for 3 to 5 players at any given time.

Now, I don't know how long it will be for that kind of play to become dull (or if it will work very well), but I think it's worth giving it a shot (if not, we can pretend it didn't happen and never talk about it again ;) ).

HOW TO SIGN UP?

Since we'll be using the Discord server for voice chat (as the Roll20 voice chat has been a bit unreliable in the past), I'll be doing all the organisation over in the patrons only part of the Discord server.

As such, I have a 'bot' set up - so that I can post an electronic sign-up sheet for upcoming games over there (it can convert the time to your own time zone to avoid any confusion), and all you'll need to do is hit the +1 button to sign up.

Though, as you can see, session 2 is already full.

So, each game will have 5 slots (+DM ...and the minimum I'll run for is 3 +DM), and the current plan is to post the sign-up sheet after I've run the last session (and this 'sheet' will always be pinned in the patrons private server).

I suppose it will be a little 'west-marches' in the sense that it will be up to the players to form an adventuring group for the next session.

Anyway, I'm not sure that I've explained that very well, so if you have any questions please do feel free to post them below (or just head on over to the Discord server*)

*if it doesn't assign you the roll of 'patreon supporter' automatically, let me know, and I'll do it manually ...you'll then be able to access the patron only areas ;)


EDIT: Note that this is a private game, it's not being streamed or recorded or anything like that (and nor is it to be) - it's just somewhere to hang out and roll some dice with a few like minded people :)