This is an interest check for a collaborative roleplay set in Ashen Marches, a dark fantasy world that has already reached its conclusion.
The land is damaged, but still alive. Roads don’t always match their locations on maps. Settlements exist in a constant state of change. Something old and powerful moves beneath the ash and stone, and everyone who survives long enough eventually senses it, even if they never see it for themselves.
You will be part of the March. It is not an army, a fellowship, or a chosen few. Just people moving together because going alone is worse. Some remain for months. Others disappear overnight. The March doesn’t remember either very well, and it rarely tries.
This roleplay is not about saving the world or uncovering a single hidden truth. It’s about continuing. About deciding when to move forward, when to stop and breathe, and what you are willing to give up for one more day of progress. Danger doesn’t always arrive with teeth or blades. Sometimes it is hunger. Sometimes it’s the weather. Sometimes it’s the quiet realization that the person walking beside you has started planning a future that doesn’t include you anymore.
The tone focuses on slow dread and survival. The world will act whether the characters are ready or not. Landmarks change. Old shelters may no longer be safe. What worked yesterday might fail today. Characters grow tired, make mistakes, and carry the weight of what they’ve done. Death is possible, but it isn’t the point. Consequences are.
You will play a single character. Someone grounded. Someone shaped by loss, stubbornness, belief, fear, or the simple refusal to lie down and stop. There are no chosen ones here, no prophecies bending the story around them. Backstories should feel unfinished, like there are thoughts your character avoids lingering on. Secrets are welcome. Certainty is rare, almost uncomfortable.
This is a collaborative space rather than a tightly controlled game. There will be structure and guidance about the world, but the story will develop together through character choices and reactions. Combat can happen, but it won’t be constant or glorified. Talking, running, bargaining, and sometimes making the wrong decision will matter just as much.
The platform and pacing are flexible and will depend on who’s interested. If you enjoy atmospheric writing, longer posts, and letting the world press in on your character instead of the other way around, this might be a good fit.
If you’d like to take part, feel free to respond with the kind of character you want to play, the types of stories you enjoy, or simply say “interested.”
ADDITION:
PLAYER OUTLINE & MECHANICS NOTES
Any D&D Fifth Edition race is allowed. This is for familiarity and ease of entry, not balance optimization. Classes, subclasses, and backgrounds can be used as reference points for skills and experience, but they do not grant narrative immunity. A fighter is still tired. A cleric still doubts. A wizard can still be wrong.
Magic exists, but it is costly. Casting spells is not a neutral action. The land reacts. Repeated use may cause exhaustion, attract attention, warp surroundings, or leave lingering effects on the caster or nearby areas. Stronger magic increases risk. Consequences may be delayed, unclear, or misattributed at first. You might not know what you broke until much later.
Magic is not banned, but it is noticed. Some settlements fear it. Others exploit it. Most survivors don’t trust it.
In addition to standard 5e races, the following Ashen Marches–specific races are allowed:
Voidborn
Touched by absence rather than corruption. Voidborn often feel incomplete in subtle ways. Missing memories, dulled senses, emotions that arrive late or not at all. Some leave footprints that fade too quickly. People may forget conversations with them, or remember them wrong. The world does not always hold onto Voidborn the way it should.
Eclipseborn
Born from conflicting forces that overlapped instead of cancelling out. Eclipseborn often experience internal contradiction made physical. Their magic or instincts may clash with themselves. Control is learned slowly, sometimes painfully. Power comes easier than stability. Others may treat Eclipseborn with suspicion, reverence, or fear depending on past encounters.
Forsaken Dead
Those who died and continued regardless. Not animated corpses, but people who crossed a line and were not fully taken. Forsaken Dead may struggle with sleep, hunger, or pain in inconsistent ways. The world sometimes reacts to them like a memory instead of a person. Some places will not allow them inside, even if no one can explain why.
General Expectations
You play one character. They are not chosen. They are not protected by destiny. Survival is not guaranteed. Failure matters. Retreat matters. Silence matters. Death is possible, but rarely sudden or heroic. Most consequences arrive slowly.
This is a collaborative space. Players are encouraged to add small, grounded details: a ruined shelter, a half-true rumor, a superstition your character believes. Not everything introduced must be correct. In fact, many things shouldn’t be.
If you enjoy atmospheric writing, slow pressure, and letting decisions sit instead of being resolved cleanly, you’ll probably fit. If you’re here to win, optimize, or dominate the narrative, this will feel uncomfortable pretty fast.
The land is damaged, but still alive. Roads don’t always match their locations on maps. Settlements exist in a constant state of change. Something old and powerful moves beneath the ash and stone, and everyone who survives long enough eventually senses it, even if they never see it for themselves.
You will be part of the March. It is not an army, a fellowship, or a chosen few. Just people moving together because going alone is worse. Some remain for months. Others disappear overnight. The March doesn’t remember either very well, and it rarely tries.
This roleplay is not about saving the world or uncovering a single hidden truth. It’s about continuing. About deciding when to move forward, when to stop and breathe, and what you are willing to give up for one more day of progress. Danger doesn’t always arrive with teeth or blades. Sometimes it is hunger. Sometimes it’s the weather. Sometimes it’s the quiet realization that the person walking beside you has started planning a future that doesn’t include you anymore.
The tone focuses on slow dread and survival. The world will act whether the characters are ready or not. Landmarks change. Old shelters may no longer be safe. What worked yesterday might fail today. Characters grow tired, make mistakes, and carry the weight of what they’ve done. Death is possible, but it isn’t the point. Consequences are.
You will play a single character. Someone grounded. Someone shaped by loss, stubbornness, belief, fear, or the simple refusal to lie down and stop. There are no chosen ones here, no prophecies bending the story around them. Backstories should feel unfinished, like there are thoughts your character avoids lingering on. Secrets are welcome. Certainty is rare, almost uncomfortable.
This is a collaborative space rather than a tightly controlled game. There will be structure and guidance about the world, but the story will develop together through character choices and reactions. Combat can happen, but it won’t be constant or glorified. Talking, running, bargaining, and sometimes making the wrong decision will matter just as much.
The platform and pacing are flexible and will depend on who’s interested. If you enjoy atmospheric writing, longer posts, and letting the world press in on your character instead of the other way around, this might be a good fit.
If you’d like to take part, feel free to respond with the kind of character you want to play, the types of stories you enjoy, or simply say “interested.”
ADDITION:
PLAYER OUTLINE & MECHANICS NOTES
Any D&D Fifth Edition race is allowed. This is for familiarity and ease of entry, not balance optimization. Classes, subclasses, and backgrounds can be used as reference points for skills and experience, but they do not grant narrative immunity. A fighter is still tired. A cleric still doubts. A wizard can still be wrong.
Magic exists, but it is costly. Casting spells is not a neutral action. The land reacts. Repeated use may cause exhaustion, attract attention, warp surroundings, or leave lingering effects on the caster or nearby areas. Stronger magic increases risk. Consequences may be delayed, unclear, or misattributed at first. You might not know what you broke until much later.
Magic is not banned, but it is noticed. Some settlements fear it. Others exploit it. Most survivors don’t trust it.
In addition to standard 5e races, the following Ashen Marches–specific races are allowed:
Voidborn
Touched by absence rather than corruption. Voidborn often feel incomplete in subtle ways. Missing memories, dulled senses, emotions that arrive late or not at all. Some leave footprints that fade too quickly. People may forget conversations with them, or remember them wrong. The world does not always hold onto Voidborn the way it should.
Eclipseborn
Born from conflicting forces that overlapped instead of cancelling out. Eclipseborn often experience internal contradiction made physical. Their magic or instincts may clash with themselves. Control is learned slowly, sometimes painfully. Power comes easier than stability. Others may treat Eclipseborn with suspicion, reverence, or fear depending on past encounters.
Forsaken Dead
Those who died and continued regardless. Not animated corpses, but people who crossed a line and were not fully taken. Forsaken Dead may struggle with sleep, hunger, or pain in inconsistent ways. The world sometimes reacts to them like a memory instead of a person. Some places will not allow them inside, even if no one can explain why.
General Expectations
You play one character. They are not chosen. They are not protected by destiny. Survival is not guaranteed. Failure matters. Retreat matters. Silence matters. Death is possible, but rarely sudden or heroic. Most consequences arrive slowly.
This is a collaborative space. Players are encouraged to add small, grounded details: a ruined shelter, a half-true rumor, a superstition your character believes. Not everything introduced must be correct. In fact, many things shouldn’t be.
If you enjoy atmospheric writing, slow pressure, and letting decisions sit instead of being resolved cleanly, you’ll probably fit. If you’re here to win, optimize, or dominate the narrative, this will feel uncomfortable pretty fast.
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