Author's Note: Hey there guys! I am sure you're wondering what I'm doing in D&D again? Well to be honest I'm taking a break from my Game of Thrones and My Hero Academia stories as I recently discovered a couple of Homebrew Feats and Races, even created a few myself, that I really like and I wanted to use in a story! So thanks D&D Beyond!
Now before I start this story, there are a few shout outs to a few online friends and my irl family and friends that inspired me to set up this series! BLACKDOMUS500! LONGCLAW 1-6! GAMERA68! PRISCILLA THE ANCIENT ONE! WOLFFLIGHT OF SHADOWCLAN! SAILORSUNPHOENIX! EVOWIZARD25! D3LPH0XL0V3R! MOSES MALUTIN THE 3RD (MY STEPDAD)! DEANN MALUTIN (MY MOM)! TRISTAN KEHR (MY DECEASED HALF-BROTHER [Sleep Peacefully Forever, Hermano Mayor])! SEBASTIAN CARLSON (MY BROTHER BY ASSOCIATION)! MOISE MALUTIN (My STEPBROTHER! NAKITA HRDLICKA (MY LITTLE SISTER)! CHRISTOPHER DESCLOUX (MY BROTHER BY CHOICE)! HANNAH AND EMMA CLARY! TRAVIS WESTBY! DECLAN CRYE! WYNFORD MCKECKNEY! ROME MOE! Thank you guys so much for being the best friends and family a guy could ask for! And whenever it comes to me doing stories that don't involve anime, TV shows, and the like, they will be the inspiration behind my characters!
So before we begin the actual campaign, I would like to inform all of you that all of the characters in this story are made in homage to characters that best represent the First Six of my friends, those who I made online and would later find on Deviantart, Youtube, Skype, and here on Fanfiction. These Friends in particular are BlackDomus500, Gamera68, Longclaw 1-6, Priscilla The Ancient One, Wolfflight of ShadowClan, SailorSunPhoenix, Evowizard25, and D3lph0xL0v3r. These people are my closest friends, even though we've never met in person, and they have inspired me to be the best person I can be and to improve as both a writer and a person, and so I am honored to include them into my story as they are the most important people in this world besides my own family. So thank you guys for everything that you have done for me over the years and I am honored to have you join me in this high-seas adventure that I have prepared for you all!
Aaaaanyway… This Homebrew will take place in the World I had developed on my own, Simulacrum, and this will be a High Seas Adventure, inspired by TFS at the table, but aside from that, this will be all my own. Aside from that, this I need to make it clear that the Dragons in this world are morally free, they can choose to be Lawful, Chaotic, Good, Evil, or Neutral, but the major way to tell apart a Good Dragon from an Evil Dragon is not in their color, but in the shine of their scales. Good Chromatic Dragons tend to retain the beautiful glossy shine of their youth, while Evil Metallic Dragon scales dull retain the dull color of their youth, never gaining the metallic luster. Anyway, aside from this, and the existence of the Trueborn Vampires, almost every conceivable Player Race is in this world, though each race will have it's own unique lore as to how they came to exist on and a bit of the Anoran version of their culture. I'll also be going deeper into Simulacrum's Lore as time goes on! I hope you guys come to enjoy this story in the Role the Dice Series! Also for those who know of my "Role the Dice: Goblin Slayer", I'm sorry to say that thanks to that one scene that I have been dreading doing, I'm going to have to end the story in the GS Universe where it is. HOWEVER! That isn't the end for RtD Goblin Slayer! I actually have plans for the little group that had started the whole Role the Dice Series, so while i will be ending the story in the Main Universe, I fully intend to, at a later date, set them up in my Homebrew World of Simulacrum and give them a proper adventure worthy of my own imagination!
Now before I begin, the Gods of this story will be in a similar set up to what I had in "Role the Dice: Goblin Slayer" The Main Pantheon of each region will be split into Players and the Cooperative Dungeon Masters. The Gods acting as the "Players" would create characters, whilst the gods acting as the "Dungeon Masters" would build the world of the "campaign" for the players, and will take be the ones in control of everything.
Oh and before I forget, to those who like my stories "Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero: Spiderman" and "The Four Dragonriders of the Apocalypse", don't worry, I haven't abandoned them, I'm just getting Session 0 and Session 1 of this story posted so it stops pestering me! I'll post a new chapter for each of those stories soon, so look forward to that, cuz it's the First Chapter of the Training Camp Arc and the Tourney of the Hand Chapter respectively in their next episodes!
Well I've gotten everything that I need out of the way, so I think I'll end the Author's Note here. Before I do, though, I would like to thank BlackDomus500, Longclaw 1-6, Gamera68, Priscilla The Ancient One, Wolfflight of ShadowClan, SailorSunPhoenix, for inspiring the main adventuring party, as well as Evowizard25, and D3lpho0xL0v3r for inspiring the two important side characters who will be making cameos every once in a while! Please be sure to Follow, Favorite, Review, check out and vote on the pole on my Profile Page, and if any of you like my Dungeons and Dragons Content, be sure to share it with your friends! Catch ya on the Flipside! NAT 20!
Session 0: Introductions
A Massive Table floats within a realm covered in mist as two people sit at a part of the table designated for the Dungeon Masters, the two of them shrouded in mist as they set up their screen, place their notes on the table, as well as their dice, snacks, and drinks. They look out to see 9 others who have come to join them as well. "Welcome to Role the Dice everyone, in this sacred space, you are no longer bound to the alignments on which you were born. In this sacred space you are able to act out roles and alignments you truly desire." The Author says, "I hope you come to enjoy the games which we will play here, and the break from your usual selves that you show to your followers in the Mortal Realm. So please, take the time to formulate the characters you wish to play as, and enjoy yourselves as we play this game and watch as the dice screw each of us over!" The groups of gods chuckle at the analogy but then two of the gods raise their hands. "Yes?"
"We will not be able to join very often due to our own followers being very new in the Mortal Realm, so until we can stabilize our followers, we apologize for the inconvenience…!" One of the Players, the God of Magic, apologizes.
"Yes, we apologize for what we need to do… We just hope you can allow us to join when necessary." The Raven Queen says, bowing her head in apology.
"That is alright…!" The Keeper, the Author's twin sister, explains, "We will develop a reason within the game for your absences, and when you come back, if we can find a good enough reason, your characters can earn levels or magic items through the "retellings" of their little adventures during Long Rests."
"Thank you!" The two gods say, bowing their heads in thanks.
"Now let us set to creating our characters!" The Author passes to each of the gods a tablet made out of obsidian and silver, which the surface begins to glow with light and then reveals the Character Sheets they need to fill out. With a wave of the Master's hand, each of them receives a collection of books for each of them to pick from the options provided. The Process takes almost a half an hour in the time of the gods, but they all manage to send their characters for approval to the Master, who reads through each of them and their backstories.
Tajador
Tajador was blessed to be born to a pair of loving parents, though who these parents were was completely unexpected. Born on the island of Dragonheart, Tajador, and his twin brother, Damosarion, were born to the unlikely union of a Red Dragon and a Solar. This unlikely union had caused many to believe something amazing was to occur, but for the most part, nothing too interesting happened. The people of the city of Dragonheart actually accepted them for who and what they were, but while Damosarion was a social butterfly and well loved by the people, and loved the hustle and bustle of the city, Tajador preferred the quiet and natural beauty of nature. At the age of 9, he had discovered that there was a Circle of Druids on the island, and when the young half-dragon approached them, he was welcomed into their community.
For years, whenever he could, he took the chance to train under the Druids and learn the ways of elemental magic and even developed a powerful bond with the coast and the sea itself. The Elemental Magic, the Meditation, and the power derived from nature all suffused itself into him as he learned to enjoy the sound of crashing waves, the feel of the wind, and the smell of sea salt. Eventually, he trained to develop his draconic body into a conduit for the power of the sea itself, and, instead of taking on the path of the Wild Shape, he gained the ability to summon a Wild Companion instead, mostly due to his pride, added to the fact that he didn't know the circle also contained Circle of the Moon Druids.
Tajador also learned how to fight unarmed, as these druids believed in using their bodies as weapons, and while they didn't have dedicated training like Monks did, their developed a style that was strong, ferocious, and brutal, something that called to his inner Red Dragon. His little pet, an Osprey he named Ankh, is often known for being a bit standoffish, greedy, and gluttonous, the fey that took the form of such a hawk is known for paying back any debts or favors given to him, and, through a series of odd events, obtained the ability to actually speak in his form as a Familiar. In Tajador's honest opinion, he is like the younger brother he wished he had, though he swears to the gods that Ankh has to be much older than he lets on.
God Player: The Lord of Light
Damosarion
Damosarion, or just Damos for short, was the eldest of twin sons of the Great Red Dragon Satanael and the Solar Dumah, the Angel of the Earth and Watcher of the Tarasque. As he and his brother grew up, Damos became enamored by the people of their hometown, even joining the Clergy to train as a paladin at an early age. During his youth, the early days of his training, he had taken part in a battle against a group of Orc Pirates that wanted to raid the city for treasure and food, and during the ensuing battle, Damos had used his Firebreath for the first time, unintentionally setting off a bomb that the orcs were transporting to get into the city vaults. The resulting explosion had saved the city, causing the orc raiders to flee in panic, but the devastation and the civilians who had been injured in the explosion had left it's mark on Damos, in which he vowed never to use his draconic abilities again.
As his training continued, Damos learned that his brother was becoming a Druid of the Coast, and, deciding to try and emulate him and find peace through the sea, began training as a Paladin of the Open Sea, both in an attempt to find inner peace, but also to be given an excuse to travel with a sailing vessel and help people beyond the island's borders. In combat, Damos often fights up close and personal with his single edged battle axe into battle. However he is more than willing to sling spells at his opponent if it is required. Still, he hopes that he will never have to use his draconic powers again, but if need be, and if it will save more lives than harm, he will wake the dragon once more.
God Player: The Lord of Darkness
"Oh! Very interesting, you two! To think the two of you would collaborate and create a pair of twins for this campaign!" The Author says, pleasantly surprised.
"We decided to set our differences aside for this game, since we will be working as part of a team, so we thought it would be interesting!" The Dark Lord, in which the Light Lord nods in agreement. The Author then continues on his reading.
Shantae Karnov
When one thinks of a Genasi, many assume the ever so "loving" relationship between a Genie and a mortal, but would they certainly be wrong. More often than not, if your genie parent was not of the Djinni of the Elemental Plane of Air, then you were not likely conceived willingly. My parentage was not one of these cases, thank Rahab… I am Shantae Karnov, born of a female Marid named Jasmine, and a powerful Paladin of the Open Sea named Karnov. When I was 7 years old, my mother was forced back to her home Elemental Plane, and thus we had not seen her since. My father, though a bit strict, was nonetheless a loving and devoted father, was even willing to let me follow my dreams in becoming a bard extraordinaire.
Paying for my College tuition, i studied long and hard at the College of Valor in Sequine, one of the regions on the mainland, the best of the bards colleges in the area. I even wrote several songs and stories about my father's adventures in his youth, including a romance novel based on what he and my mother had. I earned quite a bit of gold, and had earned enough cash from my books and stories before graduation that I had wanted to pay for my father to have a nice long vacation from his duties, wanting to repay him back for everything he had done for me. Unfortunately, when I arrived at Dragonheart City, where he was stationed at for his latest mission, I had learned that he had passed on due to an Orc Raid that had happened just a week prior to my arrival. The pain of loss I felt was great, and I wanted to quit being a bard, but that was when I heard singing, a dragon's singing in the sky above, singing a beautiful dirge in Primordial, my mother's dialect of Aquan. The song of mourning helped me move past my grief, and I attended my father's funeral and sang a dirge for him in Aquan as well, singing of my gratitude and love for my father, and promising that I would bring mother to visit him. It was the only thing I could reasonably do, if I ever made it to the Plane of Water alive…
Player: The Solar Sailor
Alucard "Risky Boots" Dracula
Born on the mainland of the Empire of Anora, the young Dhampir originally known as Alucard Dracula was born to a loving father, Count Vladislaus Dracula, and the eldest and strongest of the three wives he would take throughout her life. Despite being born into a life of luxury, Alucard always dreamed of being able to sail the seas to explore the world beyond her shores, and thankfully, her mother was actually a ship captain, who taught her everything she knew about being a sailor. However, tragedy soon struck as her mother would die not long after she had finished training her, in which she was diagnosed with a sickness known as Autophagy, it was a sickness that afflicted Trueborn Vampires who starved themselves of blood, slowly causing them to weaken and waste away.
In her mother's diary, she had discovered that she was allergic to blood, as, even after having completely fed, she would go into a psychotic rage from an allergic reaction to it, and as such, she had been trying to develop a way for her to drink blood without going into one of her rages, as such, she took up the practice of Alchemy. Reading the notes, and studying chemistry, Alucard discovered there was a way to create a substance that had the same effects of blood on the body without inducing allergic reactions in the vampires who held this allergy. However, the ingredients were highly dangerous to Trueborn Vampires if improperly mixed, and as such, her most loyal servants put themselves through hell to develop the cure, and through several months of trial and error, Alucard and the servants discovered the perfect combination. She actually discovered a pair of combinations, one a special potion that she turned into a candy called "Bloodpops" allowing her to create portable, non-perishable sources of blood that were infused with enough nutrients and minerals to be the equivalent of a full meal. The other was a special lye soap that could infuse the nutrients found in blood into the user through skin contact whilst, at the same time, cleansing their skin.
Both of these products not only earned her family much more money, but it had the unintended side-effects of gaining her a lot of attention from the Alchemist Guild, who had been commissioned by her father to find a solution to this problem. This attention had given her the chance to properly study as an Artificer, specializing in Alchemy, and when she graduated, many of her colleagues wanted to sail the seas with her as both inventors and doctors. Hence, from that day forward, Alucard took on the pseudonym that she had used during her time in the academy, and became the Captain of an all Dhampir crew known as the Tinkerbats: Risky Boots.
Player: The Wolfflight
Gaemon Targaryen:
Gaemon was always a person who enjoyed the water, especially the sound of rain, thunderbolts, and lightning. Despite being born a Red Dragonborn, he had inherited his mother's Blue Dragon Ancestry, causing him to develop the ability to breathe crimson colored lightning. Born to House Targaryen of Sanctuary City, a vassal house of House Dracula, he had been born into a life of luxury, but despite this, like his best friend, Alucard, he had been attracted to the sea, and the storms that were brought with it. As such, when he was still a child, he had decided to become a member of his friend's future crew, whether it be Naval or Pirate. He took this moment of inspiration and went to the Temple of the Storms, and, with some great effort, began his training as a Cleric of Rahab, the Dragon God of the Storm, the Sea, and the Oceanic Abyss, gaining training in Rahab's signature weapon, the Trident.
Through the years, he trained long and hard to become one of the best acolytes the Temple of the Storm had seen in years, and he proved it, even becoming such a master with the trident, he developed a unique one handed stance and fighting style that was more akin to that of a dance than actual fighting. He had developed the technique after studying the tides, the waves, and the few instances of whirlpools generated by oars and boats, but he gives his greatest inspiration to Rahab himself, as he has often said he had dreams of the Great God, where he was fighting evil krakens who had betrayed the gods and would often cause vortices in the water to temporarily stun them so he could go for the finishing blow with either his teeth, claws, or his own lightning blasts. He would dream of these divine bursts of black lightning that Rahab would release in these dreams were something that even Krakens couldn't defend against, for reasons he couldn't explain. However the Clerics would reveal that the black lightning that Rahab released in his dreams was not ordinary lightning, but it had special properties that ignored immunities to lightning damage, but further on it, they would not say.
Still, he proved himself to be the best, and when it came time for him to be blessed with sea water, he swore himself to Rahab without hesitation, and his trident was given to him, blessed with sea water and lightning. Just after the ceremony was completed, a Dhampir entered the temple whilst everyone was gathered, in which he would only smile to see his old friend walk into the temple and stand proudly. Walking to the half-breed, he simply smiled and kneeled before his captain, placing his trident on the ground, asking only one thing, "What are your orders, Captain?"
God Player: The Longclaw
Annamina Van Helsing:
When your ancestors are known for being vampire hunters, you ted to figure out what your lot in life is going to be pretty quickly as a child. During her youth, Annamina Van Helsing was often told about her ancestors all being the mightiest of vampire hunters that the world had ever seen, joining the Order of the Ghostslayers when they came of age. Despite this, being a member of the Van Helsing Family, Annamina was someone who didn't care for such things, and was more fond of mystery stories and finding out secrets and treasures through the use of her skills. Over the years, however, she would learn of an attempt to marry her off, and this would motivate her enough to join the Blood Hunters, as no proper noble would dare to marry into a Blood Hunter's family, especially if the betrothed is due to become a Blood Hunter themselves, a stain on their pride they say for having a woman who hunts monsters for a living.
Despite being initially against becoming a Blood Hunter, once she began the training, she actually came to enjoy it, especially since the dark powers that she gained proved to be terrifying enough to scare away all those who came to try and claim her. However, eventually her training came to an end, but when she did, she was given her choice of weapon, and she decided to use one of the newest weapons available, a Hunting Rifle she would name Lucifer, one specially crafted to be able to withstand the power of her Rite of the Sun. Taking a few extra weeks to train further, she became a Sniper of great repute. Ready yourselves, monster, Van Helsing is aiming for you.
God Player: The Ancient One
Salem Saberhagen:
To be born Tabaxi means to live your life on the move with it's vast caravans or fleets as traders, but this was not the life that Salem wanted. He had wanted something different to do with his life, something exciting that he could tell stories to his children and grandchildren, and they would tell to their children throughout the generations. Yet never once did he ever expect to be thrown into the life of a Pirate, let alone a Warlock. It was only a few years ago that, during one of the more mundane routes he would take with his little trader ship to a port city that he would discover something amazing.
Merely plying his trade, he found a woman who was extremely poor, but beautiful despite the rags, muck and grime. He took her to a nearby bathhouse, and paid for bath and a fresh set of clothes for her, all in what appeared to be her favorite color, yellow. However, when he examined the rags she was wearing, he discovered they were the remains of a noble's dress, tattered and aged from living on the street, but the first thing he discovered on it was what appeared to be a noble family's crest. However, whe the woman returned from her bath, her true beauty was made clear, and she revealed her name was Hastur, the Queen in Yellow. Salem, shocked to learn the truth, took out his book of fables and realize he had just rescued a Great Old One off the streets, an Eldritch Goddess of the Harvest. The Patrons of the bath house, looking upon her, were immediately enthralled when she raised the symbol, and they carried both her and Salem back to his ship, in which, in the privacy of his quarters, Hastur would reveal that the Great Old Ones were indeed gods, but a kind of god that existed before the Gods even existed, and fed off emotions rather than faith.
She would explain that while the Majority of the Great Old Ones were indifferent to the mortal races, and that some were outright malevolent, there were a handful that were good, in which she, her sister Nyarlathotep, and her brother, Cthulhu, numbered amongst those that were good. The night passed by in waves of passion as Hastur rewarded Salem for rescuing her when she needed help the most, and she not only took his seed, but his soul as well, granting him the powers of a Warlock, and protection to anyone who joined him and took her Yellow Sign on their ship or caravan. The next morning, she was gone, and Salems normal green eyes were replaced by yellow with his pupils reshaped into Hastur's Yellow Sign, but he felt not fear, but excitement as he would go off in search of adventure after this last trade off. As he sailed into the sunset towards Dragonheart City, he would declare to the world "PRAISE HASTUR, THE YELLOW QUEEN! ALL HAIL THE SIGN!"
God Player: The Guardian Deity
Looking at all of the character sheets, the Author smiles as he sends them back, nodding in approval, and then teaches all of his players how to use the tablets for their gameplay and how to roll the dice with said tablets, but also gives each god the option to roll the dice themselves. Each god smiles and then gives them special pads to project the images of their characters onto tablets. It is to this that the center of the table opens to reveal a large board opens and game pieces shaped like the images of their characters form, and everyone is set up in places they wish to be in. "Alright… Now one last thing before we begin, everyone!" He looks to the Gods and waves his hand, in which a large obsidian tome appears, "Your adventures will be written down in this book for those who will discover the paper bound books in the mortal realm after this campaign is over, so the legends of your characters will live on forever! So now… I think that is all we have to explain to everyone… So…" The gods smile as they look at each other, "Let us meet up back here tomorrow and begin our First Session of… Role the Dice!" The gods cheer happily as our view of the divine plane fades to black, and a song begins to play in our minds.
*Cue "What shall we die for"*
YO HO! ALL TOGETHER! HOIST THE COLORS HIGH!
HEAVE HO, THIEVES AND BEGGARS, NEVER SAY WE DIE!