Adventure overview

Hail and Well Met!

Hush child…do you feel it? The wrath of Hell seethes beyond the view of most mortals, but, when the tides of history and fate intermingle and wicked men and women conspire with dark forces, the wards that protect the Prime Material realm can be cast aside, and True Evil allowed to work its will upon the people of Faerūn.

Join the adventure! Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus is one of the most popular modules that Wizards of the Coast has published for 5th edition D&D, and it’s easy to see why. The current group of adventurers has already thwarted a diabolical plan to destroy the city of Baldur’s Gate, and their path has lead them to Hell itself, where the enemies they face include some of the most fearsome and iconic villains in D&D history, with lore going back to the game’s inception. 

Preparation

All you need to play is a computer, access to Wi-Fi, and a microphone. Roll20 is the virtual table-top program being used for this game – D&D Beyond for building/keeping track of characters, and Zoom/Discord for communication. There’s no fee required for any of these tools, and there is plenty of help available to aid with any questions or problems you might have.  Having access to your own copy of the Player’s Handbook is recommended, but once you join this game you will be able to utilize a large number of digital resources, including the PHB. In addition to the published materials, you can expect custom-made battlemaps, dungeons, and NPCs for you to interact with; this will be a unique campaign. 

Who will like this game

Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus is generally considered to be one of the more challenging modules published for 5th edition D&D. With Hell as a potential physical destination for the adventurers, there is great potential for mortal (as well as spiritual) tragedy, and truly horrendous consequences should you fail in your quest. But the rewards for success are great, including the chance to bring about massive changes to the world of Faerūn, and being able to say that you have faced and overcome the literal embodiment of evil. 

All that is to say: if this is your first foray into Dungeon’s and Dragons, you may wish to consider starting out with a different campaign. Also, this is an on-going campaign, and the current adventurers have already progressed to level 7. This means you won’t have the luxury of learning your character from the ground up. However, the players at this table are all inviting and patient, and are happy to help with any questions or difficulties a novice might experience. This is a welcoming group for your first game, so if you think jumping in at the deep end sounds like a fun challenge, then by all means subscribe. 

The mood of Descent into Avernus is dark, tragic, and often disturbing. It takes inspiration from  George Miller’s film “Mad Max: Fury Road”, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser book series, as well as Neil Gaimen’s graphic novel The Sandman, particularly the issues involving Lucifer. 

There are strong themes of corruption at play in this adventure, but also redemption. Those that can look evil in the face and make a bargain may find success, but not without losing parts of themselves that may haunt them forever; however, with trusted companions by your side, you just may find your way back into the light–perseverance in the face of overwhelming obstacles while retaining goodness in your soul is also a theme.  

Character Creation

There are no restrictions for character classes or races, although keeping to the themes of the module in mind is preferred: this might not be the right game to try out your fairy eloquence bard. Please use the point-buy system for generating stats; multiclassing is permitted, but speak to the Dungeon Master before committing to a complicated build.

It’s important for your character to have a good reason for being in the area of Baldur’s Gate, a city defined by the stark differences between rich and poor. Also, it’s important to remember that D&D is a group game, so please no “Lonewolf-Batman-Dirty-Harry” characters, unless they are able to work with others. Finally, despite the grim setting, this is not a campaign for players wishing to play overtly evil/selfish characters; “edgy” is fine; murderous is not.

Gameplay

I do not back away from including the darker elements of reality in my games. This includes things such as racism, sexism, slavery, etc. To be clear: I do not include these things because I think they are “cool”. Rather, I look at them as potential obstacles to be overcome. The one real-world element that I keep out of my fantasy games is any form of sexual assault. Your characters will never encounter it (not even in Hell), and I ask that you keep it out of your backstory. I have no problem with roleplaying consensual relationships in my games, but a tasteful “fade-to-black” will keep things at a PG-13 level. Before you join the game, we will have a private chat to make sure we’re on the same page with game expectations; clear communication between us up front will help guarantee a satisfying game experience for both of us. 

Conclusion

I love this adventure. I have run it to completion several times, and I’ve created tons of homebrewed content to enhance and expand it. Not only do I find it incredibly exciting, I’ve witnessed table after table break into tears of grief and joy as its story unfolds. Join us! Complete the table! I promise you an experience you will never forget.

Your table awaits…