[OOC] D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

[Norschtalen]

I’ll admit, I actually joined a RL group that finished Hotdq a few weeks ago, so I feel like I can’t consciously continue to play Kyra without already knowing what to expect ahead of us. I know that there are some divergent paths that I might not experience with Kyra, but I still know a general gist of the plot, so it’ll be best if we just switch to a new campaign. I’ve been itching to play a more shooty character anyways.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

What other plans available are these, @Hekazu? At the very least, not to say I am disinterested in the voiced primary alternative, rather I am deeply curious. While I would like to pursue the theme of Ashkar Brannor's character - a green knight with a heavy, supernatural, animal leaning - I could be possibly persuaded otherwise. I have no issue with other official modules or even continuing with this one, despite knowing the gist of the narrative and some of its major encounters, simply because from party to party they will vary wildly, but also because I am just as I mentioned earlier, curious.

At the moment I am running the Eberron module on a Discord channel off the site and as much as it pains me to not be a player over Dungeon Master, if it is in the interest of @Hekazu and the rest here, be them @Ryonara, @Norschtalen, and @Lucius Cypher, I could take up the reins. It occurred to me we could pass them around from time to time if that somehow would further alleviate issues, assuming the other alternatives do not work as desired or that simply one is tired of having to run the game themselves. Truly all I ask in the end is the effective experience level of the characters are not lost - I am so dreadfully tired of not just restarting characters but so too starting them over from low levels of play. Not to be confused with low magic and grim or gritty style of fantasy, of course.

[Ryonara]

I don't mind starting a new campaign, but like Harbinger says, I'd really rather not start at level 1 again. It's a rather painful and boring experience. Though I do still want to keep using Parum, though I'll probably change her from a Lore Bard to a College of Eloquence Bard. Their abilities sound excellent for someone like Parum.

[Hekazu]

I'll try to provide more information about the alternatives soon. These last few days were rather busy with other obligations, but I should be able to provide reasonable write-ups for what I have.

Something important to note in any and all cases is that I personally do not have D&D 5e games easily available to shift into. This means either a shift in system or DM, as much as it may be a chore. I realise it is a lot to ask, but that's how the dice have fallen.

[Hekazu]

So, when it comes to the other options than resuming this game with me remaining in the DM/GM seat, I believe we are not looking at the edition where HotDQ is converted into the Lamentations of the Flame Princess system (henceforth LotFP) but the one that would be run in the original universe of mine. The system does come with major differences to 5e, but what I imagine we might be most concerned with at the present time would be the restrictions in character creation. In the system, all but three of the classes are human only, and the other three are races as classes. This is reminiscent of the very old school D&D that the system is based on. The fantasy races available are Dwarf, Elf and Halfling. Human classes are Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User and Specialist, the latter of which being the catch all for any class that would have a particular set of non-spellcasting skills.

Of the universe, said world is quite monster ridden. The rampages of demon lords are a recurring event, mankind often powerless to stop them on their own until either devils or celestials are able to join the fight. Thankfully for them, the lands are also filled with other battle ready civilisations of what would commonly be accounted as monster races. A recent war led by an unified front of these monster races has driven their stake into the land as well, but their kingdom is unlikely to be anywhere close to the starting locale. Rumours of it have definitely come along however. Yet there still remain fey, supernatural beasties and general brigands of all kinds to scour the land, and that's where adventurers come in.

The trade is not glorious, and few will pay you for invading ancient temples. The coin for crushing brigands isn't the best either. But as is the ancient tradition, all loot acquired is the finder's to keep were its previous owner to have perished. And for outlaws there is no such thing as legal protection against murder that might get in the way of that. Is there a grand quest somewhere out there? Most likely. The city of Trident is a noble ground from whence the three Sword Sisters try and rule over the land to the best of their ability. The Theocracy to the South spreads the word of their "True Gods". Rumour has it there are empires out there that bolster their own power by trading openly in souls, though who can say if a travelling minstrel is just trying to get another few coins for the next mug of cheap wine?

If that sounds like anything, we may resume talks about me remaining the man behind the screen. If not, it might be better for me to bow out and you to seek other options.

@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Norschtalen@The Harbinger of Ferocity

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

These all sound viable to me, be it Lamentations of the Flame Princess or an entirely original narrative. Again, my primary interest is maintaining a character and failing that, not starting over from nothing again at low levels. I believe the others should voice their opinions with this in mind but in general I have no issue with anything presented so far among the options.

[Norschtalen]

Honestly I can't really say I'm very interested in trying a new system, especially one that limited when it comes to character creation. If it was just moving to a new setting that'd be one thing, but learning a new game system, even an old school one, seems like a lot of effort. I'll have to pass if that's the only option available for us right now.