https://www.ethos-studios.net/blog daily 0.75 2023-03-11 https://www.ethos-studios.net/blog/what-is-bonsai monthly 0.5 2023-03-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/db38c273-2d33-4465-b8bf-0af9506c2567/young_adventurer.jpeg Blogthos - What is Bonsai and why are we making it? We call it the Bonsai system because characters change a little bit at a time, as improvements are made incrementally, instead of one big level up all at once. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/6425feab-ee92-4604-80ce-e72687012f70/magical_book.jpg Blogthos - What is Bonsai and why are we making it? - When things didn’t go the way we expected, we ended up telling new, unexpected stories. https://www.ethos-studios.net/what-to-expect daily 0.75 2023-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/fb8892c3-bf23-48be-84ca-055ca624c6f6/orc_warrior.jpeg About - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.ethos-studios.net/pricing daily 0.75 2023-03-06 https://www.ethos-studios.net/contact daily 0.75 2022-01-15 https://www.ethos-studios.net/bonsai-system daily 0.75 2023-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/ecbae42c-c2bb-48cd-8add-a53587383d62/admiring_the_castle.jpeg Bonsai - Bonsai in Practice Characters progress based on their experiences. For example: Before a bard can purchase additional ranks in perform (sing), he must have done some singing in game. Before a druid can purchase a style point for her quarterstaff, she must have spent time fighting, sparring, or working with a teacher. Before any character can buy additional hit die, they must have taken damage. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/36b6e0a7-2cb2-4e4f-94fb-247c3a85820e/into_the_dungeon.jpeg Bonsai https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/b6094fe3-da46-4fcd-89a9-240a47dc504c/book_and_quill.jpeg Bonsai - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.ethos-studios.net/home daily 1.0 2023-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/e3b24e70-64e5-474b-b441-da8478884b5e/setting_sun.jpeg Home - Experience a unique piece of an original story Band together with friends, family, or coworkers in a live, virtual D&D adventure that you shape with every decision and encounter. Our resident dungeonmaster, Ben Molini, has 20 years of experience building worlds and leading experienced and novice players in long-running and one-shot campaigns. Prior gaming experience and knowledge of D&D is helpful, but not required. Ben manages the game mechanics so you and your party can focus on the story. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/a9ff977d-76ad-46f4-8740-e29719da04e9/lost_temple.jpeg Home - Play like your choices matter You and your group play adventurers caught up in a surprising and dangerous situation, where your choices and actions matter. In an Ethos Studios one-shot or campaign, you drive the action. Do you fight or negotiate? Crash through or run away? How will your group work together? Can you tap into the unique skills and abilities of your party to meet the moment and best the forces that oppose you? Survival is not guaranteed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/b7bb1ab2-f6fc-432c-92d0-2ca64ca3ec31/three_heroes.jpg Home - Out custom D&D adventures are ideal for Distributed teams – 100% online / virtual coordination and delivery of a customized team-building activity Fans of high-fantasy movies and literature – Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, The Once and Future King, Ursula Le Guin, and the like Groups with mixed levels of D&D experience – Novices get the assistance they need and hard-core gamers get the challenges they expect Gaming groups without a DM – Ben has 20+ years of experience and original content at the ready Creative spirits ready to try something new https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/8daaf8d2-1cb4-48a4-88d6-4fa82b660856/tree_village.jpg Home - Get in Character You and your fellow players influence the outcome of every scenario. So get in the mind of your character, and make decisions like they would. Bring your personality to the table! Talk with an accent Wear a costume Adopt some idiosyncrasy that brings your character to life Be practical and just try to survive, or be bold and courageous. If your character dies, die gloriously and with principle. Or be a cautionary tale about what happens to someone with an unredeemable flaw. This is your adventure. Your character. Your story to tell. https://www.ethos-studios.net/meet-the-dm daily 0.75 2023-03-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/10d9bbbc-3f8c-461d-8264-847ced472dfe/ben_poetry.jpg Meet the DM Ben loves telling stories and he knows that taking part in a role-playing game is more than just listening to one person’s narrative. His job is to create a setting that not only allows, but compels players to make the decisions. An award-winning performance poet, he co-founded and serves as occasional host of a long-running arts event. He also writes fantasy fiction, drawing on storylines and expanding on characters created for his ongoing campaigns. Ben’s favorite moments in game are when players make piercing comments, great asides, or unexpected decisions that are true to character and move the story in a compelling direction. He excels at improvisation and at bringing to life delightful and challenging NPCs who push players to take an active role in telling the story. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/da7a6a28-3189-485b-affe-9d5ae77a247b/ben_portrait.jpg Meet the DM - Benjamin Molini Ben is a seasoned DM with more than 600 hours of playing time in Roll20 alone. He’s led multiple campaigns that lasted years and dozens of one-shot adventures. He’s hosted games for close friends and strangers, young and old, experienced gamers and complete novices. Ben also has 11 years of experience working in a corporate setting, and he understands the context around team-building events. His professional experience includes 7 years in instructional design, creating learning content for both in-person and remote training. He’s delivered training for large, diverse teams of professionals in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Ben has sat on both sides of corporate training events—as an organizer and as a participant. As an employee, he’s experienced the good, the bad, and the interminably impersonal. As an organizer, he’s learned which team-building activities inspire and connect...and which just don’t. https://www.ethos-studios.net/about daily 0.75 2023-12-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/c7481ff2-d905-49ab-9d04-e1aa0b16ae61/Moonlight.jpg About Ethos Studios - Creators of the Bonsai System of D&D Unlike other systems, the Bonsai System of D&D allows players to organically build and customize their characters, and thereby to more fully embody their stories. Everyone is shaped by the experiences they have, and none of us follow a linear path. The Bonsai system lets each player build a character that reflects and embodies the experiences they have in game. Those characters go on to shape—and be shaped by—the world that the dungeonmaster and players co-create. Our system codifies that in a meaningful, balanced, and fun way, letting each character’s choices drive the evolution of their skills and abilities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6175db58ebc21542f42ccdeb/447ec204-98fd-4953-8993-ad063d993b87/chair_in_study.jpeg About Ethos Studios - One-Shots and RPG Content Ethos Studios is the platform through which we share our creative efforts: Hosting live one-shot adventures for working teams and gaming groups, with Ben himself as the dungeonmaster Publishing RPG content (coming soon!) from our own active games using the Bonsai system Refining, playtesting, and codifying the Bonsai system for future release in the DNDBeyond marketplace. Our driving purpose is to create, share, and facilitate powerful, character-driven stories. https://www.ethos-studios.net/store daily 0.75 2023-01-25