Pawns of Prophecy is a Dungeon & Dragons, Fifth Edition game set in a fictional world Poetics has adapted from a series of novels he read in his youth, where our heroes find themselves caught up in the immortal battle between Light and Darkness and hope to ultimately tip the balance in their favor.
Though the source material and setting has been repurposed for use in this campaign, the books’ plots have not, other than as backdrop and world-building tools. The planned adventures are wholly new, taking characters far beyond the comforts of their respective homes with events and story elements crafted specifically for this campaign and these characters.
Starting at level 3, it is expected for the campaign to end around level 15 or so, depending on player interest and general plot advancement. We will be using the Milestone level formula, meaning characters will grow and develop not based on raw XP total but as they progress and explore the story.
Poetics sees the most success in games with a regular schedule, and so hopes this campaign will hold to either a weekly or bi-weekly game time—as much as is possible; exceptions and life of course happens to us all— with every player present for every three-hour session.
No prior knowledge of D&D is required to play in this game; the players invited to participate were chosen for their enthusiasm, improvisational storytelling, and out-of-character chemistry. While characters may disagree and even have competing interests, our collective goal as players is to tell and contribute to a great tale together.
The dungeon master hopes the game can follow a motto best expressed by famed DM Brennan Lee Mulligan: “hell yeah”. While Poetics has tried to prepare as much as possible for the campaign as a whole and each session in particular, he is absolutely willing to adapt his plans according to the desires of the players and the roll of the dice. If there’s something you want your character to do, either in the moment or as a long-term goal, suggest it and we’ll collaboratively find a way to see if it happens.
The World—it has no other name—is a relatively low-magic fantasy setting with kingdoms, cultures, and practices influenced by different periods of real-world history, with enough flexibility and adaptation to create something entirely new, while not wholly reinventing the human experience.
This does however mean that some difficult societal topics such as slavery, violence, and religious persecution may be explored over the course of the campaign. Please talk to Poetics about any concerns or triggers regarding these or any other sensitive topics, either before game or as they come up; player comfort is at the forefront of his care and concern.
By and large, the world has remained at a level of technology equivalent to late Middle Ages Europe for thousands of years, advancement perhaps stifled by the efforts of both Light and Dark to control all of civilization.
While there is a full page dedicated to Character Creation, here is a brief overview of changes from “standard” D&D settings:
- Humans only; your home country grants “racial” bonuses
- Each character starts with a feat
- Standard array of ability scores, with an additional +2 and +1 bonus
- Magic is a rare gift in this world
- Characters begin at level 3
- Story trumps mechanics; aggressive min/maxing is neither neccessary nor encouraged
While there are a great many sourcebooks out for 5E, in order to keep things straightforward, easy to manage, and balanced, only the “core” rulebooks will be used, except for one-off or homebrew content unique to this campaign. In this context, the core rulebooks include:
- Player’s Handbook (click for quick-start rules)
- Monster Manual
- Dungeon Master’s Guide
- Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (select items only)
- Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (select items only)
Proposed Game Time-Line
- August 2024 – Poetics draws up the campaign and writes setting docs
- September 2024 – Initial soft character creation, session 0 for world-building and player/character introductions
- October 2024 – Character sheet finalizations, begin play