This project is "Haulin', Crossroads of Triel" — a D&D 5e (2024) campaign built on the SRD 5.2.1, set in the trade town of Triel at the crossroads of the Trade Way and the Dusk Road, 1493 DR (Year of the Purple Dragon). The campaign thesis is freight before glory: hauling cargo, camping fields, a hard winter, the factions that work the roads, and the barrow-road rumors that keep the wagons honest.
As a builder, everything you edit runs through the Game Master persona we call The Drover — the voice that reads the world to players and signs the bills of lading.
Lineage & debt
This project began life as a stock 2024 SRD template. It has since been refactored deep into the substrate rather than layered on top:
- ~196 fields trimmed to ~137 per character file — the schema is narrower, so character files stay readable and you spend your budget on fields that matter.
- Spell slots are tappable rows (have vs. spent) rather than manually-added counters.
- Subclass and lineage spells auto-granted at levels 1/3/5 and always-prepared.
- Size-aware carrying (Powerful Build weights by size) and honest attack proficiency — derived, not hand-entered.
That substrate is now the skeleton the Haulin' campaign hangs on. When you add content, you write into that skeleton; the chapters ahead show you where pieces land.
Stock vs. homebrew
Keep this split clear in your head — it decides where a file goes and what convention it follows.
Stock (keep SRD-faithful). The 13 character classes, the SRD's subclass/species set, the core rules under /Rules/Core Rules/ (D20 Tests, Combat, Actions, Languages, Social Interaction, Exploration), and the SRD spell/equipment/monster baseline. These follow the 2024 SRD as written; don't "improve" mechanics that aren't broken.
Homebrew (campaign-specific, ours to design). The full roster of campaign content:
- Subclasses — Samurai, Cavalier, Strider, March Warden, Circle of Stone, Circle of Tides, Crossroads Patron, Leviathan Patron, Oath of the Lantern, Oath of the Shield, College of Heralds, College of the Open Road, Harvest Domain, Vigil Domain, Tempest Sorcery, Verdant Sorcery, Path of the Bulwark, Path of the Warcaller, Warrior of the Long Road, and more.
- Backgrounds (57 total) — campaign homebrew like Teamster, Goods Smuggler, Zhentarim Mercenary, Courtier (Disgraced Amnian Representative), Far Traveler (Damaran Exile), Stockade Warden, Chaotic Paddock Master, Traveling Merchant, and Guild Merchant. See
/Rules/Background Roster.rule.md for the authoritative list.
- Establishments, terrains, and languages — including the five-stage language proficiency (Words Only / Basic / Conversational / Fluent / Nuanced), where Chondathan, Amnian, and Damaran are dialects of Common rather than separate languages (see
/Rules/Core Rules/Languages.rule-1.md).
- A lore library — roads, caravan slang, journey briefs, crew roles, factions, Triel's gates and camping fields, Monsters Within 100 Miles of Triel, and the flavor of the two-day run.
Folder map
The folders you will work in, and what lives there:
| Folder | Contents |
|---|
/Characters/ | Character files (.character.json) |
/Classes/ and /Classes/Subclasses/ | Classes and their subclasses |
/Backgrounds/ | Backgrounds, each with abilities, skills, tool, Origin feat, equipment |
/Species/ | The 11 species (plus /Species/Celestial & Fiendish/) |
/Items/ | Armor, weapons, shields, magic items, gear, consumables, containers, tools, vehicles — typed subfolders |
/Spells/ | Spells, including per-class/subclass spell folders (March Warden Spells, Harvest Domain Spells, Crossroads Patron Spells, etc.) |
/Monsters/ | Monsters (plus /Rules/Monsters/ for stat-block rules) |
/Locations/ and /Locations/Establishments/ | Places and the taverns/warehouses/gates that fill them |
/Lore/ | The campaign library — roads, slang, journey briefs, factions, Triel itself |
/Rules/ | Reference and toolbox rules: /Rules/Core Rules/, /Rules/Equipment/, /Rules/Gameplay Toolbox/, /Rules/Player Tools/, /Rules/Glossary/ |
/Languages/ | Language definitions and the five-stage proficiency track |
/Factions/, /Encounters/, /Terrains/ | Factions, encounter packs, terrain definitions |
/Feats/, /Conditions/ | Origin feats and conditions |
/Game Starts/ | Campaign openers |
| GM instructions | /Game Master Instructions/ and /GM Instructions/ (the Drover's standing and event-driven behavior) |
Reading order
To get the whole picture, read on in this order:
- This chapter — what the project is and where things live.
- How the Character Sheet Thinks — the computed fields and what they read.
- Adding Content — adding classes, spells, monsters, backgrounds, and the rest that the sheet consumes.
- Wiring the Game Master — the Drover's standing instructions and event triggers.
- Making It Yours — reshaping the campaign without breaking the substrate.
One rule of thumb carries through every chapter: content is an input, not a description. A class, subclass, background, spell, or item exists so the sheet's derivations can read it. Change the text players see and the field it feeds, or the game says one thing and does another.
