Campaign Description
2022-2023 is known as the “Year of the Manticore,” wherein members of the Dungeons & Toast guild must band together to recover the Orb of Davras — a legendary artifact said to grant fantastical oratory powers to anyone who possesses it — from the hoard of the elusive Manticore of Sword Mountains. Along the way, there will be opportunities to improve your skills, perform heroic feats, and develop friendships with those numbered among your companions.
Earning Experience Points (XP)
There are many ways to earn experience; you’re probably already doing many of them! Sign up for meeting roles, deliver speeches, and attend guild-designated “raids” and you’ll be well on your way to improving your skills. Here is the full list of efforts that will grant XP during the Year of the Manticore:
Meeting Roles and Bonus XP
| Subcategory | Description | Grants |
|---|---|---|
| Roles, Tier I | Serve as Table Topics Master, Game Master (new meeting role), or deliver a prepared speech | 15 XP |
| Roles, Tier II | Serve as Grand Inquisitor, a Speech Evaluator, or Toastmaster-of-the-Day | 10 XP |
| Roles, Tier III | Serve as Cleric of Rhetoric, Sorcerer of Time, or Wizard of Ahs | 5 XP |
| Bonus XP | Deliver a prepared speech contributing to the campaign narrative (up to once per month per person) | 10 XP |
| Bonus XP | Deliver your first prepared speech at D&T | 10 XP |
| Bonus XP | Attend a meeting without filling a role | 1 XP |
Education Quests
Note: in an effort to be fair to other Toastmasters clubs, Pathways awards for a given level are only available until D&T has the number required for the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) of the current year.
| Description | Grants |
|---|---|
| Attend Officer Training | 25 XP |
| Beyond the Board (Spoken) | 15 XP |
| Complete a level 1 Pathways award | 25 XP |
| Complete a level 2 Pathways award | 25 XP |
| Complete a level 3 Pathways award | 30 XP |
| Complete a level 4 Pathways award | 50 XP |
| Complete a level 5 Pathways award | 50 XP |
| Deliver 1st Speech | 10 XP |
| Earn a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award | 100 XP |
| Earn a Triple Crown award | 25 XP |
| Meeting Role: Attendee | 1 XP |
| Meeting Role: Captain of the Watch | 10 XP |
| Meeting Role: Cleric of Rhetoric | 5 XP |
| Meeting Role: Scribe | 5 XP |
| Meeting Role: Sorcerer of Time | 5 XP |
| Meeting Role: Speaker | 15 XP |
| Meeting Role: Table Topic Speaker | 2 XP |
| Meeting Role: Toastmaster | 10 XP |
| Meeting Role: Topics Master | 15 XP |
| Meeting Role: Watchman | 10 XP |
| Meeting Role: Wizard of Ahs | 5 XP |
Service Quests
Note: XP for 6 months’ service as an officer are awarded at the beginning of December and the beginning of June.
| Description | Grants |
|---|---|
| 6 Months in Leadership | 50 XP |
| Bring a Guest to a Meeting | 5 XP |
| Bring a Guest to an Open House | 10 XP |
| Early Dues Renewal | 20 XP |
| Look to the East | 10 XP |
| Mentor a Member for 3 Months | 25 XP |
| Plan or Host a Special Event | 50 XP |
| Social Share: Facebook | 5 KT |
| Social Share: LinkedIn | 5 KT |
| Social Share: Twitter | 5 KT |
| Sponsor a New Member | 20 XP |
| Update Officer List | 5 XP |
Spirit Quests
| Description | Grants |
|---|---|
| Beyond the Board (Written) | 5 KT |
| Compete in the Verbal Joust | 15 KT |
| Create a Harengon Character | 25 KT |
| Create a Manticore Character | 25 KT |
| Create Profile | 25 KT |
| Game Master | 25 KT |
| Host the Verbal Joust | 50 KT |
| Join Us | 50 KT |
| Lead a Raid | 30 KT |
| Played in an RPG | 5 KT |
| Post to Blog | 20 KT |
| Raid! | 20 KT |
| Support the Verbal Joust | 5 KT |
| Use On-Theme Background | 1 KT |
| Use Special Event Background | 5 KT |
| Visit Weekly | 5 KT |
| Wear D&T Gear (or Costume) | 1 KT |
Game Night
Due to the amount of preparation required and to incentivize more members to try their hand at game mastery, Game Night GMs are awarded 25 XP.
| Description | Award |
|---|---|
| Serve as a GM (RPG) | 25 XP |
| Play in a guild-sponsored RPG | 5 XP |
Leveling Up
Earn XP to gain levels over the course of the year. Here are the point totals required for each level:
- 0 XP
- 30 XP
- 90 XP
- 160 XP
- 230 XP
- 300 XP
- 370 XP
- 440 XP
- 510 XP
- 580 XP
To help mitigate the difficulty of running RPG games with parties in which members are of significantly different level, a statistic called Guild Level is calculated using an average of all active members’ total XP and is mapped against the level progression for an individual member. For the purposes of participating in Game Night, members whose in-guild character is of a lower level than the calculated Guild Level can instead choose to play their character at the higher Guild Level. In a roleplay sense, higher level party members provide an Aura of Advancement to their compatriots, through the supportive nature of membership in Dungeons & Toast.
Gearing Up
Even the most stalwart of adventurer benefits from magical equipment and, during the Year of the Manticore, you’ll have the opportunity to redeem your XP for one or more magical items, each named after one of the many individuals who have generously served in leadership past or present.
To ensure members have the opportunity to acquire magic items uniformly and without having to participate in specific Game Night sessions, 5E magic items (separate from those listed in the Magic Item Shop and not requiring the expenditure of XP to purchase) are available for selection at levels 3, 5, 7, and 9. Item quality is limited to common and uncommon rarities and are available to select as follows:
| Level | Magic Item Available to Purchase |
| 3 | 1 common magic item |
| 5 | 1 uncommon magic item |
| 7 | 1 common magic item |
| 9 | 1 uncommon magic item |
Game Master Moments
The Year of the Manticore introduces a new role for guild meetings called the Game Master, responsible for presenting a 5-7 minute overview of a roleplaying game mechanic. Demonstrate how to role character stats; how to consider the circumstances of combat when selecting a spell; or how an opposed skill check works in your game system of choice! Due to the preparation expected, this role is worth the same amount of experience as delivering a prepared speech but does not require an evaluator.
Sign up to deliver a Game Master Moment
Get into the Spirit!
Show your enthusiasm for this year’s campaign with this specially created Zoom background or by picking up a limited edition t-shirt featuring the “Lost Lair of the Manticore” logo! Manticore tees count toward the bonus XP granted for attending meetings in costume or in D&T gear!
