Devil Dog Martial Arts Presents
The DDMA D&D Game is a quarterly 6 hour 5e game. We make our D&D game open to all, not just school members. If you are interested in joining our next game, please contact Greg Koval at 216-799-8076 for more details.
Our 2026 Game Days: Jan. 17th, April 11th, Aug 8th, Nov 7th
The
Known World
The World
The country of Nexus Neruda is a growing terror. For twenty years there have been long winters and droughts in the summers and a the food grows scarcer, and the country poorer and more desperate, the Nexan leadership has grown powerful by preying off that desperation. The Nexans, guided religious leaders, started to see this as a sign they have displeased their god with tolerance to evil, and sentient non humans have become their target of disdain. They have recently become highly xenophobic, and have begun severely restricting the rights of all sentient nonhumans, and many have outright been imprisoned or put into work camps.
Nexus Neruda and the Republic of Trimark (RoT) have had a fragile alliance for the last hundred and twenty years since they last had a conflict, mostly arising from differing religious majority in each country and a history of border disputes. In recent years, Nexus Neruda has begun pouring resources into military might. Most privately owned farms have been seized for national order. The Nexans also started by raiding ROT villages over the border as well, using Nexan soldiers disguised as well armed bandits.
Religion: Nexus Neruda are worshippers of Lethander, while the majority of the Republic of Trimark are worshippers of Oghma.
Political Leadership: Nexus Neruda, ruled by by a paper king, Ansel the II, is governed in fact by the Awakened (religious servants of Lethander). The ROT is governed by the council of seven, each member representing a core aspect of society: merchant, soldier, politician, scholar, religion, artist, and wizard.
Prior to the invasion, the Nexans sent lightbringers into the city to begin paving the way and winning people over to their cause, both through the overt methods of winning of hearts and minds to bring like minded humans to their cause, and through the indoctrination of extremists. These extremists set off an explosion in the wall to let troops in.
The invading force used a combination of human troops and monsters to invade and eliminate large portions of the city population, intent on genocide.
During the invasion, a rider in silver riding a black dragon showed up to attack the city. Dragons are all but destroyed in this world and only a few remain in the whole world. Most people think they are just myths. However, during the battle, another dragon, this one riderless, also emerged and fought the black dragon, but ultimately lost, and after being severely but not critically injured, it was forced to flee.
During the escape, the party was assisted by a goat named Gary multiple times. Realizing the goat was following them and assisting them, one of the party members tried to telekinetically speak to Gary and Gary shut him down.
The final act of the Nexans was to set off a thaumaturgy spell that set off Lighting storms that destroyed half the city, including many of the Chamberlain the evacuees. When all was done, the Nexans managed to kill off over two thirds of the population of Chamberlain, killing over 70,000 people, while the rest managed to evacuate into the mountains under the leadership of Colonel Ros Rosa e'Buddle who took command after General Enno was killed in the battle.
Things to Note
Magic is rare in this game. Less than 1% of the population has magical ability, and less at a significant level. It's like being a collegiate or professional athlete. Most people maybe know 1 or 2 people with magical abilities. Over 10th level is like being a major league professional athlete. Over 15 is like being Lebron James. Your name rings out around the world. It's unlikely most people ever met someone that level. Most (but certainly not all) magic users have either political, religious, or military appointments. A magic user who does not work in an official capacity is usually considered an untrustworthy person by most people.
Magic items and potions are even rarer. A true healing potion most people only think are things of myth..
Monsters are almost as common as normal animals. It is a common military practice to have a monster assigned to a unit, and entire units of a particular monster designed to achieve a specific function, such as throwing a hundred gelatinous cubes over a city wall as was done in the Battle of Chamberlain.
New players start at 1-2 levels below the average party level. It is advised you also bring a backup character to every session, because the DM ain't playin. As of Jan 2026, new players should start at level 6. Please have a character background and if you have anything out of the ordinary you want your character to be able to do, it must be submitted in advance, not shown to the DM 5 minutes before game while he's trying to set up, eat a quick bite after having taught 4 hours of martial arts, and in ADHD overload. Any requests and approvals at this time will be forcibly rejected. If you want to get anything out of the ordinary approved, please don't just send a character sheet. Send a brief description of what you are trying to do, with any mechanics the DM needs to be aware of. If you try to sneak something in, the DM is going to sneak a meteor on your player's head. Mostly though, character creations are very lenient.
Every game works a little different, and every DM is a bit different. Some DMs are super rule set, and really like to dig into the weeds. Some DMs are really into worldbuilding. This game is focused on storytelling. The more descriptive your attacks, the more bonuses your character will receive. For example, instead of saying, I'm going to shoot him with an arrow, try describing the feeling as you pull back on the bow, and wait until the minion moves just slightly to give you and opening. Your hands quiver with anticipation and resistance but your experience has taught you patience, and your release gives you a sense of relief and pleasure, as the arrow finds it's way to your opponent. Another example is if you have a monk, describe it like it's a kung fu movie, and tell me about fantastic feats of movement and adept ferocity of your strike as your iron hardened fist blasts forward. Have fun with it. Preplanning a few descriptions is a good idea, and can basically become free spells/feats with massive character bonuses. The same can be said for normal interactions. While bland play is not punished, throwing yourself into the character is always rewarded.
We are all nerds, so it's about as judgement free as you can find, and easy to throw yourself into characters and voices.