# The Younglovian Campaign # (We'll come up with a better name later) \page # General Information & Expectations This campaign follows the Rules as Written (RAW) for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with some notable exceptions as outlined in this document. This is a 'living document' and, as such, is subject to change as new scenarios and circumstances present themselves through normal gameplay. ### The Final Word During gameplay, situations will arise which require RAW (or these campaign rules) to be interpreted in creative or unique ways. As stated in the rules, the Dungeon Master (DM) will ultimately decide the application of the rules and the outcome of any situation. ### Rules Lawyering Proper session pacing is a balancing act, and things generally need to keep moving along. If there's a disagreement in how a rule is interpreted, there can be a brief discussion, but a decision will be made quickly for the sake of engaging gameplay. After the session, the rule can be researched to ensure it is properly applied in future sessions. ## Expectations ### Preparedness Players are expected to come prepared for each session and should bring the following: - Player's Handbook (PHB) - Any sources which the player uses for their character - Dice - Pens or pencils, paper, etc. - A positive attitude ### Recommended Sources While not required, players are encouraged to obtain the following sources: - Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGtE) - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (TCoE) ### Prohibited Sources Players are not allowed to have any of the following sources at the table, either physically or digitally: - Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) - Monster Manual (MM) - Volo's Guide to Monsters (VGtM) - Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (MToF) - Any source materials for the current campaign ### Cell Phones Please keep cell phone usage at the table to a minimum and do not use it to look up game-related information such as monster stats, etc. ## Scheduling, Hosting and Refreshments ### Schedule TBD ### Hosting The group will meet at Greg's house. ### Drinking & Drugs Please pace yourself with drinking and avoid drug use. Nobody likes playing with someone who is drunk or high. ### Playing Evil Characters Players in this campaign can create characters with any non-evil alignment. Generally speaking, the only person who enjoys having an evil character in the game is the person playing it.

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PART 1 | GENERAL INFO

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## CAMPAIGN SETTING The campaign setting will be a typical High Fantasy setting using the Dungeons & Dragons 5e rules. In this world, people treat each other relatively formally, unless they have an established relationship. Communities are pretty tight-knit, and most people have never travelled more than a day’s walk from their birthplace. So, everyone is curious about what is happening in the rest of the world and will be eager to talk to travelers. ### Government The kingdom where the campaign begins is similar to a European medieval fuedal society, however merchants, crafstmen, artisans and other skilled trades wield a significant amount of influence. The kingdom is divided into various sized territories owned by the noble class. This class is hierarchichal with each rank swearing fealty to the rank above, with the exception of the Mayor, which may be appointed by the Baron or elected by the Township. ### Religion The kingdom where the campaign begins has a monotheistic religion loosely based on the Catholic church. However, there will be no attempt at bringing any kind of theology into gameplay. This church has an ecclesiastical hierarchy which is similar to the government hierarchy, though their functions are different. The vast majority of citizens of the kingdom profess their belief in God and follow the tenents of the Church, though with varying degrees of sincerity. Because of the influence of the Church, the kingdom's moral culture is what we today would call 'traditional Judeo-Christian' values. Traits such as courage, sacrifice, charity, family, marital fidelity, respect of authority, honesty, fairness, chastity and the like are considered virtues.

##### Secular vs Ecclesiastical Ranks

|Secular | Ecclesiastic | |:---------------------|:-------------------------| |King (Kingdom) | Pope (Church) | |Duke (Duchy) | Cardinal | |Count (County) | Archbishop (Archdiocese) | |Baron (Barony) | Bishop (Diocese) | |Mayor (City/Township) | Priest (Parish) |

Additionally, there exists a judicial system where a magistrate will apply the King's law to civil and criminal matters within their region. In small towns, the Mayor tends to act as the magistrate, whereas large cities may have multiple magistrates appointed by the Mayor, each presiding over a different district. Each county has a judge appointed by the Count, and each Duchy has a three judge panel with two judges appointed by the Duke and one appointed by the King. #### Relationship Between Church and State The relationship between the Church and Government is complicated. The King comes into his authority through coronation and annointing by the Pope and ultimately is under his spiritual authority. However, the Church has no direct say in how the government functions and can only influence policy through religious and political pressure. For all pratical purposes, the King is the Law. But, given the widespread reach of the Church throughout the citizenry, he must also have its general support. ### Magic Users The fact magic exists is widely known, but rarely encountered by the vast majority of the population. As such, magic is viewed by most people with equal parts wonder and suspicion, as are the people who use it. Most Wizards, if they really exist, learn their art though apprenticeship. It is rumored, however, there are great schools of magic, but nobody really takes that very seriously. Most villages or towns, though, have at least one person nearby who practices some sort of herbal medicine, blesses crops or engages in similar activity. This may be a Cleric of the church, or might be a Druid who worships nature, therefore is typically at odds with the local Church.

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PART 2| SETTING

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### Martial Professions Each level of government employs some sort of military/police force which is organized into a typical command structure:

In addition to organized forces, there are those independently pursue martial professions. These Fighters typically act as mercenaries or bodyguards, though many travel throughout the lands seeking professional competitions at festivals, fairs or the like. The Church may choose to anoint a layperson to fight evil on its behalf. As bringers of light into darkness, these Paladins live a nomadic life, seeking to bring goodness, justice and mercy whever they go. Still others act as scouts, hunters and explorers. Most of these Rangers were previously members of specialized military units, while others learned their trade by living off the land. ### Miscreants and Vagabonds Two additional professions are commonly encountered throughout the kingdom, though most don't consider them professions at all. Bards are performers, historians, storytellers, gossipers and musicians. They are generally welcomed most places because of the entertainment they provide, but distrusted because of their easy charm and sometimes shoddy reputations. Many people, either due to circumstance or desire, make their living in the shadows. Some may be brokers of information while others may be brokers of more unsavory things. Regardless of their motivations, Rogues are always under suspicion. Fortunately for them, most Rogues are never recognized for what they are.

> ##### Playable Classes > Not all classes listed in the Players Handbook (PHB) or other sources are available to player characters. Only the following classes will be available for players to use: > >

> >| | | | >|:-------|:-------|:------| >|Bard |Cleric |Druid | >|Fighter |Paladin |Ranger | >|Rogue |Wizard | | > >##### Sub-classes >Each class may have one or more sub-classes or specializations. Not all of these are available to player characters. The following sub-classes will be available for players to use: > >Bard - College of Valor, College of Lore > >Cleric - Life Domain, Light Domain > >Druid - Circle of the Land, Circle of the Moon > >Fighter - All Martial Archetypes > >Paladin - Oath of Devotion, Oath of Vengeance > >Ranger - All Ranger Archetypes > >Rogue - All Roguish Archetypes > >Wizard - All Arcane Traditions except School of Necromancy > >

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### Races The overwhelming majority of people in the kingdom are Human. In many rural areas, the Human citizens have never seen any other races. In large cities, though, racial diversity is more frequently encountered.

##### Known Races | | | | |:--- |:--- |:--- | |Dwarf |Elf |Halfling | |Human |Gnome |Half-Elf | |Half-Orc | | ||

> ##### Playable Sub-Races > Not all sub-races listed in the Players Handbook (PHB) or other sources will be playable . Only the following sub-races will be available for players to use: > >

> >| | | | >|:--- |:--- |:--- | >|Hill Dwarf |Mountain Dwarf |High Elf | >|Wood Elf |Lightfoot Halfling |Stout Halfling | >|Variant Human |Forest Gnome |Rock Gnome | >|Half-Orc (no Mark of Finding)| | | > >

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### Racial Tension As mentioned previously, non-human races are generally not encountered by most of the population nor do most races interact much with one another. Regardless, there may be racial tension or biases depending on each race's historical interactions with one another, general reputation or simple assumptions. The following table describes how each race is generally viewed by others. Keep in mind, these are generalities and exceptions probably exist. | |:--- |Dwarf - Generally respected for their toughness and crafstmanship. They do not trust or like Elves. |Elf - Generally admired for their grace and beauty. They do not trust or like Dwarves. |Halfling - Well-liked by almost everyone, though they might be treated like children. |Human - Reception by other races can vary widely, but is mostly positive. They are slightly mistrustful of non-humans |Gnome - Most enjoy their playfulness and charm, but can lose patience if taken too far |Half-Elf - Gets along with everyone and everyone gets along with them |Half-Orc - Mostly greeted with fear and suspicion, especially by Humans

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PART 2 | SETTING

\page # Character Motivation, Backstory, and Development ### Character Motivation Almost nobody chooses a life of adventure. So, why did your character do so? Come up with a 2 or 3 word phrase that describes your character's motivation (e.g., 'get rich', 'become famous', 'impress a girl', etc.) ### Character Backstory Keep it simple. Your character was not a slave to Drow Elves her entire life, finally escaping to the surface by killing her guards and sneaking through the Underdark evading capture the entire way. (An actual backstory I had a player want to use.) You're level one. You haven't accomplished anything yet other than to know how to not poke yourself with your sword or burn your hands off casting a spell. Also, try to avoid cliches. Not every person in the world had their parent/child/spouse/sibling/dog killed in front of them and are now seeking vengeance. ### Downtime At the end of each session, the DM will let the players know what, if any, downtime their characters will receive between sessions. Please give some thought as to how your character will use downtime during the campaign. For ideas, please see PHB, XGtE and TCoE.

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PART 3 | CHARACTERS

\page # Gameplay - Magic ### Identifying Magic Items While RAW allows for identifying magic items by handling them during a short rest, in this campaign magic items can only be identified by casting the [identify](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/spells#Identify) spell, or through trial and error. ### Spell Shaping Spellcasters are allowed to 'customize' their spells to match their alignment, personality, or mood. For example, the RAW for [magic missile](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/spells#MagicMissile) states "You create three glowing darts of magical force". In this campaign, the spellcaster could choose to have the darts take the shape of arrows, eagles, musical notes, or anything else. Spell shaping is a purely cosmetic effect and cannot change any other aspect of the spell, such as range, area of effect, damage, etc.

### Magical Auras When casting [detect magic](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/spells#Detect-Magic), or otherwise detecting magic, the aura displayed is the color of the appropriate school of magic. ##### Aura Color by School | School | Color | |:------------|:------| |Abjuration |Blue | |Conjuration |Gold | |Divination |Silver | |Enchantment |Pink | |Evocation |Red | |Illusion |Violet | |Necromancy |Green | |Transmutation|Orange | # Gameplay - Combat ### Critical Hits When a player, NPC or monster scores a critical hit, the base damage will be the maximum amount of damage for the attack without applying modifiers. Damage will be rolled for normally and the result will be added to the base damage. Once this value has been determined, attack modifiers will be applied. ### Critical Misses When a player, NPC or monster scores a critical miss, the following table will be used to determine the consequence: | Roll (d6) | Result | |:---------:|:-------------------| | 1-3 | Opportunity Attack | | 4 | Drop Weapon | | 5 | Trip and fall | | 6 | No Consequence | ### Healing Potions Using a healing potion during combat is an action. If the player uses their action to use a healing potion, they will receive the maximum amount of healing the potion provides. Healing effects provided by other sources, such as spells, magic items, etc. are not affected by this. ### Stealth If a player decides to use stealth, the stealth check will be made at the moment when the character could reasonably be discovered rather than at the time of declaration. Stealth checks must be made each turn where the character could reasonably be discovered. ### Flanking When a creature and at least one of its allies are adjacent to an enemy and on opposite sides or corners of the enemy’s space, they flank that enemy, and each of them has a +2 bonus on melee attack rolls against that enemy. ### Bloodied Condition A character is bloodied when the character's hit points are equal to or less than one-half the character's maximum hit points, rounded down. One-half the character's maximum hit points, rounded down, is referred to as the character's bloodied value. Currently, this is a cosmetic effect, however it will have gameplay implications in the future.

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PART 4 | GAMEPLAY

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