Howdy! I'm Drew, and I'm the administrator and Game Master of a Socialist West-Marches DnD 3.5e Discord Server, the Axe and Sickle! The server is four months old, has 20+ active members (and triple that number of lurkers), and has hosted dozens of games.
Devastated by an unknown catastrophe centuries ago, the Ohm Basin is home to naught but monsters and outlaws. A retired adventurer from a foreign land has founded a town in the middle of it, and adventurers - such as yourselves - file into its tavern, the Axe and Sickle, to secure their own fortune! Plunge ancient depths to uncover lost secrets, thwart necromancers who build their strength away from civilization, and compete with fellow grave-robbers to loot forgotten tombs!
If you don't know what a West Marches Game is, it is a style of DnD game where, rather than a static party that meets regularly and follows the DM's campaign, the players themselves choose who to adventure with (and when to meet) for a single expedition before returning to town and disbanding. This is good for players with inconsistent schedules and interest, as it is an extremely low-commitment game. You don't need to set aside any time in your schedule for this game on a permanent basis; just pick a time and day that works for you, one session at a time. And if you have the energy for anywhere between two games a week to one game a month or even one game ever, you can be accommodated.
The only things required are a Discord account, a mic, and a Fantasy Grounds Unity Demo License or better (don't worry, it's free). Prior DnD experience is not; everyone is welcome. For now, all games are run in English.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. We're currently on the search for co-DMs to expand our "bandwidth" so to speak, so if this is something that interests you, let me know. To gain access to the full server, you'll have to make a character and get approval, which usually takes at least half an hour.
https://discord.gg/R5dPsZU
Wow typical western "socialists" plundering the resources of a native people and calling their rituals and culture "necromantic" and "violating the natural order" read Fanon sometime smh /s
Sounds fun, I'll take a look, are there restrictions on sourcebooks for characters? Haven't looked at 3.5 stuff in ages.
I try to stay conscious of the biases inherent in the West Marches format, but the game definitely tends more towards satire than subversion. Players delight in being Imperialist bastards.
Generally preferred that players stick to books published before 2006, but anything - aside from Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, and Magic of Incarnum - is allowed at DM discretion. Optimization threshhold is low, though, to be clear. Tome of Battle isn't banned because I hate Martials; it's banned so new players don't feel like they need any book other than the PHB to play a Martial (as ToB Martials are basically just better versions of PHB Martials).
Hey this is awesome! Im a newbie gm that was actually looking to create my own hexcrawl and it seems really daunting. Ive got this whole idea for a swords and sorcery weird science fantasy campaign inspired by Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft. If you don’t mind being barraged with questions about hexcrawl design and sandbox campaign structure id love to pick your brain.