You all meet inside the Pontyrs unicorn, a big tavern located within a city called Elturel, after you spent all your coin on ale you find yourself without any money. So you look on the bounty board for your next big score, after going through a couple of quests you find "Necromancer sighted in the east on the  fields of the dead 250gp reward for eliminating this threat" 

For ability score use standard array or pointbuy

For HP use average

This is an adventure for level 5 characters

All official 2024 content is allowed

No homebrew

Once every eight years the fantastic Witchlight Carnival touches down on your world, bringing joy to one settlement after the next. It’s owners, Mister Witch and Mister Light, know how to put on a good show. But there’s more to this magical extravaganza than meets the eye!

Each of you is a renowned hero. Your accolades speak for themselves. But then, suddenly, a shimmer appears. It turns into a hole in the fabric of space. You are sucked in, transported out of your world and into the unknown.

You find yourself in a dark and gloomy world. You're together with other heroes, possibly from other worlds. A small boy stands before you and pleads for your help. "Save me, please!". He points towards a tall mountain, its peak hidden behind the oppressive clouds. "Behind this mountain, defeat my worst fear!". Three routes are offered: over, through or around. Each of them lead to doom, but being stuck in this realm, you have no choice but to choose.

Expectations

This will be my first session ever as the DM, but this session is going to be an ambitious homebrew nightmare. 

• Combat against legendary monsters, with some exploration.
• Dread mechanic with Fear tokens (bit comparable to hope/fear from Daggerheart).
• No death saves, instead you respawn and gain Dread, a lingering injury and another random consequence. Except for the final boss.
• Session will be held in English.

Character Creation

• No multi-class. Things are complex enough as it is.
• Hero is a loose term, don't let it limit you to being a good guy.
• Even the best of us have something they're (secretly) afraid off, right? Consider a phobia your character might have (e.g. fear of spiders). And/or a mental weakness that might shatter their normal abundant confidence (e.g. fear of abandonment).
• You'll be trapped on a unique plane, so don't expect plane shift, banishment and similar spells to work.
• D&D 2024 or 2014. All official content is allowed.
• Equipment: 1 very rare, 1 rare and 1 uncommon items.