Setting & Roleplay

Auldwyn is a community roleplay setting with its own history, gods, cultures, conflicts and themes. This page covers what to know about the world and how to play a character in it.

The world

What is the tone of Auldwyn?

Auldwyn is a world of beauty, memory, mystery, consequence, and hard-won hope.

It is not a dead world. Villages still keep fires burning, inns still welcome travellers, rivers still carry songs, and ordinary people still live meaningful lives. The horror matters because the world is worth protecting.

At the same time, something is wrong. The goddess of memory, Amara, has fallen silent, and her absence has weakened the bonds between life, death, history, and remembrance. A deeper primordial evil is pressing against the world through that silence, creating pockets of corruption, pestilence, haunting, and decay.

Expect a setting where mercy can matter as much as steel, where not every spirit is an enemy, where not every monster was born monstrous, and where player choices may affect what survives.

A portrait of Amara, the goddess of memory, whose silence shapes the current campaign on Auldwyn

Amara, goddess of memory →

Where in the story are we now?

This is a new campaign setting. While some players may be familiar with some communities or characters, Auldwyn is its own original setting with its own history, gods, cultures, conflicts, and themes.

The current story begins in a time of unease and change. Across Auldwyn, the natural order has begun to falter in subtle but troubling ways. Strange weather, restless dead, corrupted places, old wounds, and forgotten horrors are beginning to surface. The world is not ruined, but something is wrong, and the first signs of that change are beginning to reach even the quiet places.

Players will begin in and around Aucklorn Vale, a beautiful but troubled valley tucked between the draws of a great mountain range. From there, the story will grow through exploration, roleplay, discovery, consequence, and the actions of the community.

Is Auldwyn connected to other settings?

Auldwyn is a new original setting. It is not a continuation of another campaign, module, or timeline. Characters, factions, politics, wars, religions, and major events from other settings should not be assumed to exist here.

New characters in Auldwyn should approach the world as a fresh start. This helps keep the setting clear, accessible, and fair for new players who are arriving without years of outside history.

Play styles

Do I have to roleplay?

We don't enforce roleplay and we've always made it clear that all play styles are welcome, but roleplay is encouraged. More than anything, Auldwyn is a welcoming and safe place for many different types of gamers.

Characters

What should I keep in mind when making a character?

Your character does not need to know everything about the world, and they do not need to be heroic. They may be frightened, selfish, brave, faithful, bitter, curious, desperate, kind, or lost. What matters is that they have a reason to exist in this setting and room to grow through interaction with others.

Characters may have ties to places, memory, beliefs, needs, duty, fear, hope, or ambition. They care about something, even if they pretend not to.

This is a world where small choices can matter, old names can carry power, mercy can change an ending, and the dead may still be waiting to be remembered.

Can I bring a character from another setting?

If you have an old character concept you would like to adapt, you are welcome to do so. You may take inspiration from a character you have played elsewhere, but direct imports from other IP settings may not be supported (i.e., a traveller from the Forgotten Realms, Sword Coast, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, et cetera).

Auldwyn has its own lore regarding peoples, cultures, magic, gods, geography, and history. Characters from other published settings, games, shows, books, or films may not be appropriate for Auldwyn.

A little humour and inspiration are fine. What we want to avoid is breaking immersion by forcing outside lore into a world where it does not belong. Players are encouraged to create characters who have roots in Auldwyn, who care about its places and people, and whose stories can grow naturally within the setting.

If you are unsure whether a concept fits, please reach out to staff to discuss it further!

Can I play a vampire, dragon or similar creature?

Vampires, werewolves, demons, devils, angels, liches, dragons and similar creatures are not available as starting character concepts.

These kinds of characters are reserved for rare, story-driven circumstances and are not generally supported as player options. They may exist in the world as myths, monsters, divine beings, curses, villains, or rare plot elements, but they are not available as ordinary character backgrounds.

In exceptional cases, a character may move toward something unusual through long-term roleplay, consequence, and staff approval. This is not something that begins on day one, and it will not provide mechanical advantages, special powers, or special treatment unless explicitly approved by the DM team.

Druids and other characters may have access to certain forms, spells, or abilities through normal mechanics, but that does not mean they are literally those creatures in roleplay. For example, a druid using a powerful wildshape should still be treated as a druid using magic, not as an actual dragon by birth.

Character options in the Server Guide →

Conduct

Can I play an evil character?

Evil-aligned or morally dark characters are welcome on Auldwyn, but like all things they must be played responsibly and in a way that supports the shared world.

Auldwyn is a community roleplay setting. Characters who lie, scheme, exploit, or pursue selfish goals can add depth to the world, but they must not be used to grief other players, derail stories, or force unwanted experiences on others.

Overtly destructive concepts, such as characters whose main purpose is murder, torture, random cruelty, or sabotaging the player community, are unlikely to be supported and may be perceived as "griefing" behaviour.

If your concept depends on high-impact themes, you may wish to speak with staff first. The darker the concept, the more important it is that it be handled with care.

Conflict

What happens in PvP and when I die?

Player characters cannot be permanently killed by other players without their player's consent, though the DM team may apply serious consequences in rare and significant circumstances.

Losing a PvP encounter should be treated as an in-character defeat, and PvP must never be used to grief, harass or repeatedly target another player.