1. Ask the man why the tavern owner bars his door at night.
"Hush now, sir. We don't none of us talk about that out of doors. If you got questions 'bout that, best be asking the priest in the temple. He points to the temple of Lathander on the north side of the square."
Responses:
1. Ask the man if he has seen your mentor.
2. Leave the men.
OOC: Two notes for this part. First, there's a gender check (for the character speaking to Noober) in this dialogue. As Permidion Stark, with a male-presenting name and portrait, started both the conversation and this particular run as a wizard, I'm going with a male character here.
Second, one of the responses was missing in the original version of the dialogue, for no good reason. I've put it back in.
You see a temple of Lathander on the north side of the square, a woman selling fruit to the east, and two young men talking under a tall oak in the center of the square. To the south, a road leads out of town and you think you see what appears to be a ruined tower in the distance.
Responses:
1. Enter the temple.
2. Talk to the woman selling fruit.
3. Talk to the two men.
4. Follow the road to the south.
Eventually, you find yourself staring at crumbling ...
Wait, there was supposed to be an encounter here. (Noober flips back a few pages)
The south road appears little used, and the grass grows high on either side. You are lost in thought, pondering the fate of your mentor, when a figure leaps from hiding. The man is scarred heavily and points his sword at you. "Your money or your life, fool!"
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the man.
2. Cast Sleep on the man.
3. Cast Charm Person on the man.
4. Try to flee.
OOC: Another error patched here. The trigger conditions were flipped, so you could only get the bandit encounter if you'd already had it. As I did before, I've interpreted that as a DM mistake and applied a correction.
For the first time, I have a choice of two responses. All right, roll one of those dice I just bought... 11 on a d20. Odd, so I take the first of the two options.
Cast Charm Person and flutter eyelashes at the fellow.
You utter the last line of the incantation, and the man suddenly looks at his sword and chuckles. "Heh. What do I need this for, friend? Now, how may I be of service? Oh I know. I'll warn you of the danger in these parts." "The villagers have somehow awakened an undead fiend, but there is a way to weaken it and drive it away. Simply acquire a talisman of Lathander, and it will not try to attack you. I am on my way to try to procure one this very day. Now, I must be off. Good luck!" The bandit defeated, you stand on the lonely road. To the south lies the ancient ruin, and to the north lies the small town square.
Responses:
1. Return to the town square.
2. Proceed south toward the ruin.
(Sleep would have been equally effective, by the way.)
(Sleep would have been equally effective, by the way.)
I thought charm might provide extra information - would the man have mumbled in his dreams about the effectiveness of the talisman already obtained, or would he have offered that information if he were tied up while sleeping?
Eventually, you find yourself staring at crumbling stone walls and a decrepit tower, all that remain of a once-mighty fortress. As soon as you enter the ruined courtyard, a shriek erupts and a skeletal figure charges you!
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the skeleton.
2. Cast Sleep at the skeleton.
3. Cast Charm person at the skeleton.
The magical projectiles streak unerringly toward their target and stop the charging skeleton in its tracks. Chunks of bone sail high into the air as it is obliterated. The courtyard has a ruined shed to the north which seems to have been visited recently. There is a ruined building to the south which appears undisturbed. There is also a dark doorway to the east which appears to have seen recent activity. Beside the door, you notice a shred of fabric the same color as your mentor's cloak.
Responses:
1. Enter the ruined shed to the north.
2. Enter the undisturbed building to the south.
3. Enter the dark doorway to the east.
Another minor patch here in the responses; one of them had blank text due to a missing digit in the string's index.
You step through the dark threshold, and the air chills around you. A piercing shriek echoes in your head as torches on the walls of the ancient crypt flare with an unearthly blue fire. You fall to one knee as you look up and see a pale figure with large fangs. A vampire.
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the vampire.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the vampire.
3. Cast Sleep at the vampire.
4. Cast Charm Person at the vampire.
5. Brandish the symbol of Lathander.
6. Smash your clove of garlic and throw it at the vampire.
As you hold up the talisman of Lathander, the crypt flares in a bright holy light. The vampire begins to smoke and stumbles back against the far wall quivering and covering its eyes.
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the vampire.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the vampire.
3. Smash your clove of garlic and throw it at the vampire.
The gouts of flame strike the weakened vampire and soon set it ablaze. It shrivels and thrashes, then falls to the floor and slowly dissipates into a cloud of gaseous mist which flees the room. You rush across the crypt to the next door and find your mentor slumped on the floor. Fearing the worst, you check his neck, and he stirs weakly. You realize he is still alive. Beside him is a wooden coffin, and you notice a tendril of gaseous mist escaping into it.
Responses:
1. Take your master and flee the crypt.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the casket.
No wooden stakes anywhere in this adventure, sadly. One of the buildings you didn't go into had a dead priest and some holy water, while the other had a mummy and no relevant loot.
The wood of the coffin bursts into flame and a shrieking sound reverberates through the crypt as it disintegrates. The shrieking sound subsides, and the crypt is left quiet and lifeless. You shoulder the burden of your mentor and begin the long journey back to town. You arrive in town late at night and find all the doors in town barred. You shout and pound on the doors of the temple of Lathander until a small window above is opened. The priest instantly recognizes you and lets you in. "By the gods! How have you survived out of doors so late? And your friend! He is in need of aid. I shall take him to the infirmary as you tell me your tale." Over the next few days, your mentor regains his health, and the townspeople no longer see the terror stalking at night. They give you what gifts their modest incomes allow and herald you as a hero. When your mentor recovers, you continue your journey together to Waterdeep to pursue your arcane studies there. Wow! That was pretty good. You did it. I guess there isn't any challenge that you cannot overcome. That's a fun game. So what did you think? Was it a fun game?
Responses:
1. Yes, I enjoyed it very much.
2. Well, it was a game.
3. It wasn't very good, no.
There's no spell memorization tracking in the wizard path - even though putting a limit would allow for some nasty surprises. I prefer to think that it's because Noober doesn't actually understand how wizards work. In my estimation, this is the easiest path; no die rolls, and a basic understanding of undead strengths and weaknesses will generally get you through safely.
Excellent! Which class would you like: a fighter, a wizard, or a thief?
Responses:
1. I shall take on the role of a fighter.
2. A wizard sounds like it would be fun.
3. I've always enjoyed sneaking around. Let me try being a thief.
4. Eh, I would rather quit after all.
Comments
"Hush now, sir. We don't none of us talk about that out of doors. If you got questions 'bout that, best be asking the priest in the temple. He points to the temple of Lathander on the north side of the square."
Responses:
1. Ask the man if he has seen your mentor.
2. Leave the men.
OOC: Two notes for this part. First, there's a gender check (for the character speaking to Noober) in this dialogue. As Permidion Stark, with a male-presenting name and portrait, started both the conversation and this particular run as a wizard, I'm going with a male character here.
Second, one of the responses was missing in the original version of the dialogue, for no good reason. I've put it back in.
You see a temple of Lathander on the north side of the square, a woman selling fruit to the east, and two young men talking under a tall oak in the center of the square. To the south, a road leads out of town and you think you see what appears to be a ruined tower in the distance.
Responses:
1. Enter the temple.
2. Talk to the woman selling fruit.
3. Talk to the two men.
4. Follow the road to the south.
Eventually, you find yourself staring at crumbling ...
Wait, there was supposed to be an encounter here. (Noober flips back a few pages)
The south road appears little used, and the grass grows high on either side. You are lost in thought, pondering the fate of your mentor, when a figure leaps from hiding. The man is scarred heavily and points his sword at you. "Your money or your life, fool!"
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the man.
2. Cast Sleep on the man.
3. Cast Charm Person on the man.
4. Try to flee.
OOC: Another error patched here. The trigger conditions were flipped, so you could only get the bandit encounter if you'd already had it. As I did before, I've interpreted that as a DM mistake and applied a correction.
You utter the last line of the incantation, and the man suddenly looks at his sword and chuckles. "Heh. What do I need this for, friend? Now, how may I be of service? Oh I know. I'll warn you of the danger in these parts."
"The villagers have somehow awakened an undead fiend, but there is a way to weaken it and drive it away. Simply acquire a talisman of Lathander, and it will not try to attack you. I am on my way to try to procure one this very day. Now, I must be off. Good luck!"
The bandit defeated, you stand on the lonely road. To the south lies the ancient ruin, and to the north lies the small town square.
Responses:
1. Return to the town square.
2. Proceed south toward the ruin.
(Sleep would have been equally effective, by the way.)
I thought charm might provide extra information - would the man have mumbled in his dreams about the effectiveness of the talisman already obtained, or would he have offered that information if he were tied up while sleeping?
2. Proceed south toward the ruin.
Eventually, you find yourself staring at crumbling stone walls and a decrepit tower, all that remain of a once-mighty fortress. As soon as you enter the ruined courtyard, a shriek erupts and a skeletal figure charges you!
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the skeleton.
2. Cast Sleep at the skeleton.
3. Cast Charm person at the skeleton.
The magical projectiles streak unerringly toward their target and stop the charging skeleton in its tracks. Chunks of bone sail high into the air as it is obliterated.
The courtyard has a ruined shed to the north which seems to have been visited recently. There is a ruined building to the south which appears undisturbed. There is also a dark doorway to the east which appears to have seen recent activity. Beside the door, you notice a shred of fabric the same color as your mentor's cloak.
Responses:
1. Enter the ruined shed to the north.
2. Enter the undisturbed building to the south.
3. Enter the dark doorway to the east.
Another minor patch here in the responses; one of them had blank text due to a missing digit in the string's index.
You step through the dark threshold, and the air chills around you. A piercing shriek echoes in your head as torches on the walls of the ancient crypt flare with an unearthly blue fire. You fall to one knee as you look up and see a pale figure with large fangs. A vampire.
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the vampire.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the vampire.
3. Cast Sleep at the vampire.
4. Cast Charm Person at the vampire.
5. Brandish the symbol of Lathander.
6. Smash your clove of garlic and throw it at the vampire.
As you hold up the talisman of Lathander, the crypt flares in a bright holy light. The vampire begins to smoke and stumbles back against the far wall quivering and covering its eyes.
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the vampire.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the vampire.
3. Smash your clove of garlic and throw it at the vampire.
The garlic strikes the weakened vampire—but does not affect it. "Fool!" it hisses. "You've been taken in by that old wives' tale?"
Responses:
1. Cast Magic Missile at the vampire.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the vampire.
3. Brandish the symbol of Lathander.
The gouts of flame strike the weakened vampire and soon set it ablaze. It shrivels and thrashes, then falls to the floor and slowly dissipates into a cloud of gaseous mist which flees the room.
You rush across the crypt to the next door and find your mentor slumped on the floor. Fearing the worst, you check his neck, and he stirs weakly. You realize he is still alive. Beside him is a wooden coffin, and you notice a tendril of gaseous mist escaping into it.
Responses:
1. Take your master and flee the crypt.
2. Cast Burning Hands at the casket.
The wood of the coffin bursts into flame and a shrieking sound reverberates through the crypt as it disintegrates. The shrieking sound subsides, and the crypt is left quiet and lifeless. You shoulder the burden of your mentor and begin the long journey back to town.
You arrive in town late at night and find all the doors in town barred. You shout and pound on the doors of the temple of Lathander until a small window above is opened. The priest instantly recognizes you and lets you in.
"By the gods! How have you survived out of doors so late? And your friend! He is in need of aid. I shall take him to the infirmary as you tell me your tale."
Over the next few days, your mentor regains his health, and the townspeople no longer see the terror stalking at night. They give you what gifts their modest incomes allow and herald you as a hero. When your mentor recovers, you continue your journey together to Waterdeep to pursue your arcane studies there.
Wow! That was pretty good. You did it. I guess there isn't any challenge that you cannot overcome. That's a fun game.
So what did you think? Was it a fun game?
Responses:
1. Yes, I enjoyed it very much.
2. Well, it was a game.
3. It wasn't very good, no.
I'm glad to hear it. Would you, by chance, like to play again or perhaps choose another class?
Responses:
1. Okay, perhaps I will try another class.
2. No, I would rather quit.
Excellent! Which class would you like: a fighter, a wizard, or a thief?
Responses:
1. I shall take on the role of a fighter.
2. A wizard sounds like it would be fun.
3. I've always enjoyed sneaking around. Let me try being a thief.
4. Eh, I would rather quit after all.