Threshhold: Chapter 4

It's a modern-day D&D campaign largely using 5e/Homebrew game mechanics. Tarot cards suddenly appeared on Earth and give their holders Avatar forms and class abilities. A Drow civilization from a magical inner world has discovered Earth, and we're currently trying to stop an invasion. The party just crossed into the Underdark on the way to Agartha. It's got serious story and character development, but we also screw around a lot between the heavy stuff. You can join without knowing the previous story because we'll work your character into it naturally. At first, the story was relatively small. A handful of people discovered cards, learned what they could do, trained together, dealt with other Cardholders, and tried to understand why these things had suddenly appeared. Then everything went to hell. Giant spiders invaded Amherst. The attacks eventually became large enough that the military was fighting openly in the streets, civilians were being evacuated, and the existence of impossible creatures could no longer be completely hidden from the public. The party discovered that the spiders were connected to the Drow, and that Earth isn't the only world humanity needs to worry about. Beneath our world exists Agartha, an enormous magical inner world filled with the races, monsters, civilizations, and magic you'd normally associate with a fantasy setting. Separating Earth from that world is a single passage called the Threshold. And someone on the other side found it. One of the Five Great Drow Houses of Menzoberranzan discovered Earth, creating the possibility of an invasion against a planet that has virtually no natural defenses against magic. That's why the Guardian Force cards appeared. A powerful being called Alexander discovered what was happening and cast the GF Deck through the Threshold, essentially throwing magical weapons into humanity's hands and hoping the people chosen by them could become strong enough to defend Earth. Things escalated again when a cult on Earth summoned a powerful Drow Priestess from another Great House. She killed the holder of the Odin GF card, took Odin for herself, and attacked Amherst alongside a massive spider horde. She was powerful enough to shrug off .50-caliber gunfire, turning the fight into our first real raid encounter. The party, other Cardholders, Alexander, and the military eventually brought her down. But defeating her exposed a much bigger problem. Alexander recognized her markings. She wasn't from the House already preparing to invade Earth. That means knowledge of Earth may be spreading among the Drow Houses, and if all five learn that an essentially nonmagical world exists beyond the Threshold, Earth could become the prize in a race between them. That's where the campaign is now. The party has crossed the Threshold and entered the Underdark with Alexander. Their goal is to survive a roughly five-day journey around Menzoberranzan, reach the surface of Agartha, and help Alexander find six legendary heroes powerful enough to stand against what may be coming. Meanwhile, other Cardholders remain on Earth, protecting people, recovering GF cards, finding new Cardholders, and preparing humanity for another attack. So new characters have several natural ways to enter the story. You could be an existing Cardholder we've never met, someone who recently discovered a GF card, someone the Earth team recruits, or potentially someone we encounter in Agartha itself.