One of the biggest and most impactful tools that a tabletop gamer can use is the story. Whether they are acting as a player or serving as a Dungeon Master, the story provides ample opportunities to roleplay. By putting ourselves in the proverbial shoes of our characters, what do we see? What do we do? Why?

Recently a group of Adventurers League players (and their characters, of course) have decided to take matters into their own hands are seeking to guide some storyline development by entering into a prolonged roleplaying session amongst themselves and with the city of Mulmaster as the backdrop. They are putting themselves into the roles of heroes and adventurers and are seeking to put a cap on the power that the Thayans are building in this beleaguered place. Their interactions have been many, with multiple Discord servers and Facebook groups being spun up and attentions are high – all because one group of Emerald Enclave members decided to make an announcement of war upon the Thayans of Mulmaster.

For a time, the hawksofmulmaster.net website merely showed a quietly menacing countdown timer. The Hawks had made clear that this declaration of war would be disastrous for the city and for all that still lived here. Embedded in this countdown page were some subtle warnings about what might happen should the issue be pressed. (hint: view source on the countdown page in your browser)

And indeed, it was pressed. The Enclave doubled down and gathered more strong arms and allies to their side. The visiting Zulkir was not amused and through his agents a rebuttal was issued (this link does not work appropriately for mobile devices). The rest of the factions have been in turmoil since these events began, and we are beginning to see Harpers siding with Zhentarim, Lords’ Alliance and Order of the Gauntlet officers standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their allies in the Enclave, and some characters even leaving their factions entirely.

The excitement is palpable for these players, as it is for their characters. They are breathing in the world and the effects of their actions, and…

… it’s awesome!

This is what we love see: community involvement, especially when these events grow organically from a player-led decision!

What will happen as a result of these actions and discussions and missives is not yet clear. The D&D Adventurers League administrators have been speaking about these matters and we have a lot of opinions and thoughts, but we want to share with everyone that we will not be making any formal decisions on these matters until after Winter Fantasy concludes. The convention runs February 7th – 11th in scenic Fort Wayne, Indiana (and by “scenic” I mean “freezing cold, so forget about being outside and come join us for games”).

We’re excited.

You’re excited.

And the Thayans… wait. They bide their time. To say that they are weighing the possibilities is not quite correct, but to say that they are taking no action is entirely false. Only time will tell what shall come forth from this.

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