GM Poetics presents: Downpour (ODAM, Open Recruitment)

[GM Poetics]

For better or worse, Ferris Falls is a place where something is always happening. Now, it's happening to you.

Greetings and salivations, everybody. Welcome to the recruitment thread for Downpour, an Of Dreams And Magic PbP campaign! Never heard of the system? I'm not surprised, as I have yet to meet anyone who's played it before (and I haven't either), so that's why I'm starting this up in addition to my current Pathfinder PbP campaigns, which you're more than welcome to follow along with now that the forums are functional again.

On The System:

ODAM is a fairly open-ended system involving magic in the real world, dreams of the utmost significance, and struggling with the all-pervasive Doubt that threatens to smother your aspirations (at best) or outright destroy you (at worst). There's a ton of flexibility in both setting and gameplay, since a good chunk of the story takes place in dreams. Translation: we can basically tell any sort of story you want to tell, play how you want to play, and still maintain an overarching plot! Even on its own, that's enough reason for me to risk untested waters and see how it plays out.

The Highlights:

Build your own awesome dream persona so you can save the world

2d10+modifiers rolling to determine success or failure, with one die being positive and one being negative

Heavy emphasis on using Dreamwalking and Dreamscapes to carry the story forward and play with interesting stories or mechanics

Based on our world, but with magic and monsters and all that jazz

On The Story:

Downpour is a bit of a departure for me as both a GM and a writer. It won't be one of the high-fantasy adventure epics I'm so fond of, and will stay mostly grounded in individual struggles, personal vices, and raising awareness of mental conditions and disabilities.

The year is 2018, and the PCs all live in the city of Ferris Falls, a once-great haven of touristy goodness that's gone by the wayside ever since the internet became a thing. Whether you're a long-time resident or a new addition to its quirky and fiercely-dedicated citizens, there's an allure to the city that you can't quite explain, and it just feels right for you to be there. Beyond that, your character's backstory is entirely up to you! Keep in mind that this story won't be taking place in the established ODAM setting, so things like the DCMA and MOX don't exist.

Stuff You Can Do:

Explore a very-probably-haunted city

Get your butt kicked in a barfight

Jump into dreams to fight the Doubt and help people overcome their personal struggles

Rap battle with a gang of goblins

Write the Next Great American Novel from the comfort of a coffee shop

...and so, so much more!

Prominent Themes:

Dealing with anxiety, depression, and other conditions of the mind

Discovering one's role in a group of people struggling with similar issues

Encouraging people to pursue their dreams in ways they might not have considered

Surviving external threats that use your internal struggles against you

The Doubt is a pretty nasty adversary, so that means things might get heavy and messed-up; also, I know that delving too deeply into subject matter like this might be difficult for some players, but the whole point of the campaign is to show you that you're not alone. I deal with this stuff every moment of every day, and I want to share what I have to say with people who will appreciate it.

On The Rules:

The beauty of ODAM is that all the hard caps for character creation are baked into the system, so I don't have to limit you on point-buy or other elements of character creation. All the arrangements of Categories, Traits, and the like are fair game. If you have specific questions about character creation, you can either PM me or post here so others can see the answer.

Expectations (these should be familiar):

At least 1 post every 24 hours, with wiggle room on the weekends

Respect your fellow players, the GM, and yourself

Use the documents and Discord server I've provided to keep the lines of communication open

If RL gets in the way of the game, PM me or post in Discussion so we don't think you disappeared

There will be some funky stylistic choices and breaking of molds that I'm personally trying out to better myself as a writer. If we get into the game and you realize they don't vibe with you, let me know so we can work out a compromise (and you should let me know of any issue we ever have anyway; I can be reasonable from time to time).

Finally, I haven't decided if the campaign will be taking place here or elsewhere. With the recent outages, I'm inclined to swerve on that risk and settle for another solution, but I'll give the people whatever they want in that regard.

Since I've been wanting the chance to play for several years and just haven't yet, I'm skipping the interest check and going straight to recruitment. Show your love (or hate... if you're into that) down below. I'm hyped, and I hope you are too!

[GM Poetics]

Bumpin’ like lo-fi.