Missions

This campaign will use a mission-based format similar to Adventurer's League or the West Marches. Each game session will be scheduled with a specific objective in mind, such as exploring an area, infiltrating a dungeon, or hunting a monster. This allows the DM to make preparations specific to that session, detailing the target area with characters, creatures, and encounters. Sessions will be run in person only.
Depending on the nature and location of a mission, a different party level and size will be appropriate. Generally a party should consist of 4 to 5 characters.

Scheduling a Mission

To create a mission, choose the following:

• Objective: The general idea or purpose of the mission
• Location: The location of the mission in the game world
• Target Level: Depending on the location and nature of the adventure, the recommended character level.
• Players: Players invited to join for that mission
• Meetup timestamp: The (real world) meetup date & time for the game
• Meetup location: The (real world) meetup location for the game

Objective

The mission objective is its main goal and title. It should provide enough information that prospective players know exactly what to expect, and that the DM knows how to prepare and pace the adventure.
There are a few common types of objectives that most missions will fall under:

• Quest: An adventure requested by an NPC for an offered reward. The adventure layout itself may overlap with other mission types, but the main goal is to perform the given task.
• Delve: A foray into a dungeon. A "dungeon" might be a cavern, ancient ruins, a castle, an abandoned lair, etc.
• Hunt: A mission to find/capture/slay a specific creature or villain that is known to exist in an area.
• Exploration: An adventure into the wilderness to discover new places beyond the known world. Players are likely to face a variety of encounters and find new hooks for future missions.
• Travel: A journey to unlock new Mission Starting Locations within the known world.
• Rescue: An adventure to save or liberate lost, captured, or dead player characters.

It is not required for a mission to be classifed as a specific objective type, but these types are a good guideline for defining the objective.

Location

Each adventure takes place somewhere in the world of Archestria. A mission should designate its focus location, whether it's as specific as an ancient temple or as broad as a forest.
All adventures begin in or near the home village. It is possible for players to unlock new starting areas by finding opportunities to easily travel to other civilized locations; this can be accomplished via travel missions (see "Objectives"). See Mission Starting Locations for the list.
The characters must return home at the end of a mission; in most cases this happens automatically. If they are unable to safely return home, they will instead be considered MIA and require rescue by other characters (see "Objectives").

Target Level

Generally, the target level should be set to the level of the mission planner's character, and should suit the Archestria Levels map. These levels are a guideline, not a strict rule, and don't generally apply to towns and cities. Adventures are often adjusted to suit the target level, within reason.
All participating characters should be within 1 of the target level. Characters that are not within this range cannot level up from the adventure.

Players

When creating a mission, the player creating it may choose which players to invite to that mission. Most missions consist of 4-5 players, and each player may play one of their characters in a given mission.
Each player may have any number of characters in the overall campaign, so if a player finds themselves playing different storylines with different groups of players, it is encouraged that they use a different character with each group. Using the same character in multiple groups would cause that character to advance faster than either group, meaning they will become too high of a level to play with either group!

Meetup timestamp

Schedule the meeting during an available mission slot on the group calendar. If these times don't work for you, feel free to communicate with the DM about other possible times. Missions must be scheduled at least 14 days in advance in order to provide the DM adequate time to prepare the game.
By default, a game session is 4 hours long. When scheduling a mission that is shorter or longer, communicate with the DM regarding the mission's expected length.

Meetup location

Game sessions will be run in person only, so a meetup location must be decided as well. The calendar should specify when I am available to host, and will be updated as frequently as possible. Sessions may be hosted at player's homes and google offices as well, within reason- I am not able to travel more than 30 minutes away to run a session at this time.

Player count

A typical mission should have 4-5 player characters. The absolute limit is 1-6, as larger games can become loud, distracting, and slow-paced with too many.
This also means players can go on very small or even solo missions if desired. This is not recommended for regular missions, but can work as a mini mission or character-specific personal adventure. Solo missions can be scheduled directly with the DM, no calendar event required, and do not usually net the same rewards as a full mission. For example, a player who wants to multiclass their character as a warlock might want to roleplay through the process of meeting and forming a pact with a patron in a short solo session.

Rate Limit

To give everyone a chance to play, each player may participate in up to two missions each month. Players must participate in missions they create. This rate limit may change later depending on overall participation.

Rewards

Characters earn rewards from playing in missions:

• Levels: We will not use experience points in this campaign. A the end of a mission, participating characters gain either 0, half, or 1 full level at the end of a mission, depending on the mission's difficulty, length, and outcome.
  • A successful 4-hour campaign of appropriate difficulty will result in 1 level gained. Mini missions, 2-hour missions, or missions with a bad result, will often result in half a level gained.
  • Characters outside the level range of a mission do not gain any level rewards.
  • A player may choose not to gain level rewards at the end of a mission. These cannot be stockpiled for later; the character simply doesn't advance.
• Treasure: Art objects are assumed to be sold for their gold value at the end of the adventure, unless players wish to keep them. Once the total gold is counted for the mission, the players may choose how it is divided up amongst themselves. If an agreement is not reached, it is distributed evenly among participating player characters.
• Items: Characters can keep trinkets, weapons, and other miscellany found during an adventure, or sell them to add to the gold pool. Non-magical combat items taken from fallen foes are too worn out, and are not worth money if sold. This means that hoarding weapons and armor from fallen foes won't produce extra gold.
• Magic items: The players must decide who gets to keep enchanted trinkets at the end of a session. Decisions can be made in any agreed-upon method, but if no agreement is reached, the players with the fewest magic items have priority in claiming them.
• Gifts/blessings/curses/diseases, etc: Characters must keep any other effects placed on them during the adventure.
• Downtime days: Characters earn 10 downtime days per 2 hours of gameplay. DDs can be used for a variety of meta tasks described in Downtime Between Adventures.

Note that characters that are too far from the level range (typically +/-1 from the target level) cannot gain level rewards.