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Roleplaying

[Storm, trees down across lines kill power. House is on a generator, but doesn't save the internet connection. No gaming, streaming, or watching tv.]

Lua: Well, what should we do with the rest of the day, then?

Rikko: *gestures for them to wait a moment, then pulls a small, rattling box off the shelf*

Lua: *takes the box and quirks a brow* You want to play...this?

Kita: *twitches ear curiously* What is it?

Lua: "Oddular Adventures" It's a pen-and-paper roleplaying game. Not exactly our usual fare, though what I've read sounds amusing.

Rikko: *takes the box back and sets it on the table* *opens the lid and begins pulling out several small instruction booklets, a handful of small tokens and notepads, and an assortment of dice*

Lua: *takes a seat next to him* Are you sure about this, dear? There's going to be a fair bit of reading, and none of it is in brail...

Rikko: *nods, but reaches out to take Kita's hand, pressing a question into it*

Kita: *sits down at the table beside Lua* I don't mind, if one of you is willing to help me.

Lua: *begins flipping through the GM's guide, then gives a smile and a shrug* Fine. I guess I'm GMing, then.

Rikko: *looks a little insulted*

Lua: Don't give me that look. You don't speak, and she can't read. I'm the only one fit for the job. Although... *thinks for a minute, then grins* You know what we really need? Another player. How do you feel about company, Kita?

Kita: *ears twitch nervously* Uh...

Lua: *is already dialing a number, taking the call into the next room and talking in soft, conspiratorial fashion* *returns a moment later* Okay! I've got another couple coming to round out our party. Kita, I'll help you pull a character together while we wait.

~*The next half hour or so is spent rolling dice, reading and explaining options to Kita, before the doorbell rings. Lua hops up quickly to open it. On the other side are waiting a pair of dalmations.*~

Lua: Dane! Thanks for coming out in this weather. Hi, Johanna. *motions them in*

Johanna: *waves absently, eyes never breaking contact with her cell phone as she follows Dane through the door*

Dane: Hey, thanks for inviting us! And don't worry about it. We didn't have anything better to do anyway.

Johanna: Don't believe him. He skipped out on practice as soon as you mentioned Kita.

Dane: *winces* Yeah, well...big fan, ya know?

Johanna: That's an understatement.

Kita: *inclines her head in gratitude for his self-restraint, well aware of the effect she has on fans* Well I hope I make the day worth it. What were you practicing in this weather?

Dane: Eh, nothing you probably follow, so I won't bore you.

Johanna: *still staring unblinking at her phone* E-sports aren't affected by weather, as long as the connection's good.

Lua: Oh, so that's what you do when you're not in Battle-Hunters? *to Kita and Rikko* He's in one of my MMO guilds. So what e-sport do you play?

Dane: *hesitantly* Wrath of Gods.

Johanna: *adds* For team Hot-Wings.

Lua: *eyes go wide* WHAT?! You...you won the pantheon championship last season!

Dane: *cringes* Yeah, the guys are top-notch, but I hate the team name. Aaand, my call-sign is 'Bruiser'.

Lua: YOU...oooooh... *suddenly remembers how she was gushing like a little fan-girl TO Dane ABOUT Bruiser right after the championship*

Dane: Yep. We're cool, you know. I just didn't want to make things awkward back then...or a scene in front of a real celebrity.

Kita: *laughs outright* Don't sell yourself short. You've got the start of a fandom right here..and you'll have to get used to fans like this.

[Lua looks slightly insulted, and Dane looks betrayed as his sister thoughtlessly takes the chair beside Kita, clearly having hoped to claim it for himself. Then again, maybe that wasn't such a thoughtless move after all.]

Johanna: *finally puts her phone down on the table, face-down, and picks up a handful of dice* So I thought we came here to play a game, not oogle the stars. *starts rolling stats*

Lua: Oh, right. *takes her spot at the head of the table as GM and resume reading the source material while Johanna walks Dane through character making, since she seems to have a strong grasp of the process already* Okay, so there's a lot of stage setting and world-building stuff that I don't know anyone cares about, and one pre-made dungeon. For the sake of beginners, is everyone okay with just going to the dungeon and running from there, with the goal of exploring every room?

Kita: Sounds fun, but I'd like to know about who I'm working with. My character is named "Blackford"...*runs her fingers over the pad she's been pressing brail into*...he's a body-guard to Johanna's character, though I'm not sure his stats are good for that. Apparently he is an incorrigible hedonist, has an undead butler following him around, and his body is slightly magnetic.

Dane: *blink* Wow, the randomness of this game is on a whole other level...

Johanna: Tell me about it. I'm playing "Sarah", who is a seductive authoritarian and Rikko's character's master. She has glowing teeth and a saint's eyeball that reveals "spectral presences" when she licks it...in exchange for a seizure immediately afterward.

Rikko: *hands his character sheet to Lua, pointing to some notes scribbled near the bottom*

Lua: Okay, Rikko is playing "Jiorji"...really, hon?...who's alignment is "generous apathetic" and is Blackford's brother. He has...oh! Rikko sacrificed two of his rolls to join a faction called "God-Throat Paladins"... *begins flipping through book for details on the faction*

Dane: He can do that?

Johanna: *picks her phone back up and begins flicking through screens* It's an option at character creation to mitigate the sheer randomness of the default system, for those who want a little more control over what they get. And if she's allowing it, then I want this. *turns her phone around to show her chosen faction* Dungeon Hackers. Sarah gains the ability to speak with the dead and bottle ghosts from battlefields and dungeons. You could say she swallowed the saint's eye to gain her powers.

Lua: Ooo, creative! I like it. *finds the page on paladin factions* *busts out laughing* Oh, that is too perfect! Get this: Jiorji gets Voice of the Authority, which lets him give commands to sentient creatures. In exchange, this character cannot speak, except when using this power!

Kita: Wow! It's like it was made for you, Rikko!

Rikko: *looks suitably proud of himself as everyone chortles*

Johanna: *taps her chin thoughtfully* Mmm...my bond doesn't work anymore, though. Dane's character will be my servant instead.

Dane: What? Why?

Johanna: Paladins are outside the social order in this setting. Nobody can be their master. Least of all a "seductive authoritarian", I'd say. Though why she'd take someone with your character's stats is beyond me. *seems to get an idea* Unless he actually hired her, and then she turned the tables with sex-appeal and now rules from the subordinate position. Let's make that the story.

Dane: *quirks a brow at his sister as the other ladies burst into giggles* I think my character feels insulted, but since he apparently wants into Sarah's panties, he'll allow it this time. *smirks as giggles turn to actual laughter* Okay, so his name's "Thom", and it says he rambles a lot. Opposite of Jiorji, in other words, though apparently they're childhood friends. He's part fae, whatever that means, and has a jar of kraken's ink. *rolls eyes* And the lowest stats in the group, yes, I'm aware.

Kita: *giggles* It's okay. Blackford will protect him, too. Just not as hard as his secret master.

Lua: Okay, okay, let's get this thing rolling for real now. *lets everyone settle down and refocus* Alright, "The entrance to the barrow stands wide open, like a toothless mouth waiting to swallow you. What pale light manages to filter through the clouds overhead seems reluctant to waste itself beyond that stone arch."

Dane: So...can we see inside at all?

Lua: I'm going to say yes, but just as far as the first room, and not all the way to the back. The first room contains three skeletons arranged on a row of low, stone slabs on the floor. A fourth skeleton is sprawled on its side just inside the threshold.

Johanna: Can we tell what Kinship the skeletons are?

Lua: The three on the slabs are definitely Snakes, the one just inside might be a Dog or a Cat. It's hard to tell because the skull is a pile of shards beside the shoulders.

Kita: Shards? Like it was smashed? Do you think he was attacked?

Johanna: Well, let's ask him. Sarah will activate her faction ability to "summon the least-unfriendly ghost in the dungeon" and speak with it using Speak with Dead. If she does a favor for it then she can bottle it for use with her powers.

Lua: Ooo, great idea! Alright, so a ghost manifests from the skeleton by the threshold. It is a Dog, and he explains that he came here years ago hoping, just like you, to find lost treasure or lore from the ancient Serepsis empire. Sadly, he was killed by a trap as soon as he set foot through the door, and warns you to be wary of the tile beneath his skeleton's feet.

Dane: Woo...that's convenient.

Johanna: So what kind of favor does he want? A proper burial?

Lua: *rolls a die, consults the chart, makes a disapproving face* Uh...yeah, let's go with that. The die actually says he wants you to take something back to his family, but then I have to figure out what, and who and where they are, if they're still alive, etc., and I don't want to bother with all that for a quick adventure.

Johanna: *shrugs and adds a mark to her character sheet* Works for me. She tells her boss to be a dear and start digging a grave *exchanges a gear point for a shovel* with this shovel while she collects the bones. Carefully.

Kita: Oo! Let the butler handle that. Fetching things is already his job, and since he's undead he'll be better off if there's an accident...? *extends hand to GM for ruling on that assumption*

Lua: Makes sense to me. *rolls dice to see if trap gets triggered in the collecting* Uh-oh. Looks like he was a little clumsy with one of the bones and set off the trap. The tile got pressed, triggering a hatch in the ceiling to flip open and a fist-sized rock to come sliding out at a good clip. It whacks him in the side of the head, knocking it off his shoulders...but he's undead so his face just scowls in annoyance as his body carries on gathering.

Kita: Whew! *acts relieved* Good man!

Johanna: Okay, Sarah lays the bones in a shallow grave, says some nice words for a Dog she never met, and sucks his ghost into a bottle.

Dane: *blinkblink* That's cold.

Johanna: *shrugs* It doesn't say they become besties, just that she gets to bottle the ghost.

Rikko: *snaps his fingers to get everyone's attention, points to each of them and makes 'Stay' gesture, then points to himself and makes walking motion with his fingers*

Dane: If you're saying you'll go in first, be my guest.

Kita: Blackford will follow him. It's a bodyguard's duty to risk danger before their ward, after all. Aaand he'll need someone to signal when the coast is clear.

Lua: Alright. Since you know about the pressure plate it's easy to avoid. The room is dark, especially toward the back. The skeletons appear to have been laid out in a funerary ritual. They used to be holding spears laid against their chests, but the wood is all rotted away and the heads rusted. They remain comfortably dead as the pair approach. The frame of what might be a door can just barely be made out at the back of the room.

Kita: *giggles* I just realized I should have followed Rikko's lead and made my character blind. Then dark either wouldn't be a problem or would always be a problem. He'd be used to it either way.

Johanna: Well it'll be a real problem in this setting: fears manifest in the dark and become living, breathing threats. It's how they justify the "Patrolling Monster" mechanic. So *exchanges gear point for a bundle of torches* torches.

Lua: Right. So in the blaze of a newly lit torch, the party can see that the door is just an open frame leading directly into the next room. Looking through it, you can see the walls of the next room are decorated with eroding murals that continue down onto the floor, pointing toward a large central tile embossed with the icon of Serepsis. There's another exit across the room, this one filled with a rotting wooden door with the icon of Serepsis burned into it.

Dane: Do the murals show anything important?

Lua: *reads a little more of the page* Alright, Dane and Johanna give me Wits checks. *dice roll* Okay, with that...Johanna, are you willing to sacrifice a torch?

Johanna: *shrugs* Sure, seems like a cheap price.

Lua: Well, I'm trying not to be mean straight out of the gate. Some of us are new to this. *nods in Kita's direction* So, to better light the whole room so they can see, Sarah tosses her torch onto the icon in the center of the room. The cracked, worn tile promptly collapses into a void below with a loud crash, plunging the room back into darkness. Rikko, since you took the lead, I'm designating you "Leader". Roll a d4 for Light since the torch went down the hole and a d6 for Alarm due to the noise. *more dice rolls* After the crash finishes echoing up the shaft, everything seems quiet and unchanged. Also, Johanna, you earn experience for accepting the consequence for success.

Johanna: *marks an 'X' beside Wits and rolls a die to light a new torch* Well, that was enlightening.

Kita: Heh...not gonna lie; I was holding my breath from when she said it collapsed.

Dane: At least we didn't find it by stepping on it. So what now? Can we tell anything else about the murals?

Lua: They're war scenes, generally arranged so that opposing forces are being driven toward where the icon of Serepsis was on the floor, reflecting that all who opposed Serepsis were brought into Serepsis' coils. The murals continue down the walls of the pit, and you can see a hing on one side of the broken tile, suggesting it was designed to be lifted open and then lowered shut.

Dane: So...what? A garbage disposal? Sacrificial pit?

Johanna: That's probably all we can tell after those rolls. She revealed the trap instead of the history of the mural or purpose of the pit. What can we tell about the door?

Lua: Well, it's rotted to the point that any lock would be meaningless. You could probably peek through the cracks if there was a light on the other side, but there's not.

Rikko: *snaps fingers, taps shoulder, pretends to lean in against a wall*

Dane: Right, after you. *for Kita's sake* Jiorji is going in. Mr. Blackford, please follow, and I'll be right behind you.

Kita: Naturally. *nods*

Dane: *inclines head to Johanna* Not to be rude, but ladies last this time.

Johanna: As if. Lady behind the bodyguard and you can risk a back-stab from anything sneaking up behind us.

Dane: *rolls eyes* Fine.

Lua: *suppressing a giggle, along with Kita* Alright, everyone ready?

Rikko: *thumbs up* *pantomimes opening a door*

Lua: The torchlight reveals a set of six urns lined up along the walls of this room, three to each side. Across the way, a pile of bones lies next to a large, bronze door.

Dane: Are there any mosaics or noteworthy tiles in this room?

Lua: No. The floor is tiled, but the pattern is uniform across the whole way, and the walls are common masonry. Well made, though, to still be holding after all this time.

Kita: Is there anything unusual about the bones? Crushed skull again?

Lua: They're sitting in a pile beside the door, as if the Snake coiled up there and never moved again. The skull is sitting on top, staring at your characters with empty sockets.

Dane: *makes a distasteful face* Way to set the mood.

Rikko: *makes walking gesture with his fingers*

Lua: You're entering the room? *waits for him to nod confirmation* Alright, as you cross the threshold a cold, black mist begins to seep into the room, gathering in the skeletons coils. It rises up as a roiling mix of bones and fog with a dull red flame in its eye sockets, and demands in a hollow voice to know who enters here. Everyone make a Wits check to resist the icy fingers of fear poking at your souls.

[Johanna places three dice into Kita's hands, then everyone sends their dice skittering all across the table.]

Lua: Hmmm...I'm not sure what a "Risky Success" should entail here.

Kita: Well, what's the consequence of simply failing? That's always an option, isn't it?

Lua: Yes. You'll take 2 points of Stress. It reduces your Memory like fatigue reduces your Inventory, and after 3 points you have to start making checks to resist going mad.

Kita: Yikes! Well, I guess seeing bones suddenly stand up and start talking would have that effect. I'm willing to accept that, if it makes things easier for you.

Rikko: *nods agreement*

Lua: Okay. Since it's just 2 points there's no real risk yet. Just mark it down for later. So...who answers him, and how?

Rikko: *exchanges a gear point for a sword* *makes mock slashing gestures in the air with a stern glare*

Johanna: Uh, Sarah's going to grab the paladin's shoulder and pull him back before he gets himself hurt. There's no reward in this game for fighting, unless there's something on your sheet I don't know about, so we should take the chance to talk if we have it.

Dane: *pats a disappointed Rikko's shoulder sympathetically* Easy there, tiger. You'll get your chance, I'm sure. Since you stepped up, you should be the one to talk then, miss "seductive authoritarian".

Johanna: *shrug* Sure. Sarah will try to seduce the skeleton. *picks up the dice*

Dane: Whoa, whoa! In character. I gotta hear this.

Johanna: *quirks a brow* You want to hear me flirt with a skeleton?

Dane: Oh yes. *nods emphatically with a big grin*

Lua: *rolls eyes* Don't do anything you're uncomfortable with, Johanna.

Johanna: *shrugs again* It's okay. Just don't expect it to be good. *thinks for a second then clears her throat and bats her eyelashes with her best sultry voice, directly at Dane* Hey there, big guy. I know this is sudden, but I've kind of got a thing for lean men. If you'll just let us by, I'm sure you've got one other bone I can resurrect, right?

[There is a moment of stunned silence around the table before Rikko hesitantly starts a slow clap. Dane cracks and cannot restrain the laughter. Likewise for Lua.]

Kita: That...actually was pretty good! You might have a career in acting.

Johanna: *drops the routine like it never happened, picking up the dice* Nah, I'd rather have a stomach virus than do that on the regular. But we're here to have fun, so laughs are all good. I don't mind.

Lua: *between giggles* No...that was seriously good! Or bad! Good-bad! You get a boon, either way! And another for acting along your alignment.

Johanna: *nods and grabs the extra dice, then reconsiders* There's an option to exchange two boons to promote the dice for a roll. Mind if I use that?

Lua: *between giggles* Go right ahead!

Johanna: *exchanges 3d6 for 3d8 and rolls* Well, that was certainly worthwhile.

Lua: Okay..okay...give me a sec... *forcibly regains her composure* Alright. So...it seems perplexed by your advances, and ultimately decides you're trying to make some kind of official offering, like on a religious or diplomatic level. So it tells you to make your offering to the king directly, and hopes it will be well received. Then it pulls a small key on a chain out of the mist in its ribcage and unlocks the bronze door. After that, the bones coil back up where they were before and the mist dissipates.

Dane: Wait, what?! That worked??

Kita: Bravo! That was amazing!

Rikko: *gives thumbs up...though still looks a little disappointed at the lack of combat*

Johanna: Alright, let's move on. I'm not entirely comfortable still being in the same room as the door guard for the tomb that we're here to rob.

Rikko: *second thumbs up, makes walking gesture*

Lua: Okay, so you all shuffle quickly into the next room. Do you close the door behind you?

Dane: Oh-no! Definitely keep the escape route open.

Lua: *sees nods of agreement all around* Okay. The center of this room is dominated by a large sarcophagus. The skeleton of a Snake is laid out on top, hands crossed over a ceremonial sword. The walls are decorated in more mosaics, all showing peasants giving honor to Serepsis royalty. An array of jars and small chests line the walls, leaving just enough space between the offerings and the sarcophagus for the party to walk single-file. Overall the room feels uncommonly bright, but claustrophobic.

Dane: No other exits? Just the door we came in through?

Lua: That's right. This is the final room of the barrow, where the royal is buried.

Kita: *tilts head* I'm new to this, so...is this where we get the treasure?

Johanna: Hmm...it feels short, even for an intro dungeon. And there was only one real opportunity for a fight. I'm bothered by the skeleton, too. Don't bodies usually go inside a sarcophagus?

Dane: Whoa, you're right! If this guy's out here, who's under the lid? Okay, I got this! *exchanges a gear point for a crowbar* Jiorji, give me a hand. *picks up the dice, looks to Rikko to nod agreement before rolling...*

Rikko: *glances at Dane's character sheet, shakes his head with a frown, holds out his hand*

Dane: *blinkblink* Ah. Right. I'll give you a hand. *puts the dice in Rikko's palm*

Rikko: *rolls the dice* *shakes his fist at the gods of odds*

Lua: Okay. So I'm going to assume you were trying to open the lid quietly, without disturbing the body on top too much, right?

Dane: Yes, that's about right.

Lua: So how do you feel about the lid and body falling into the sarcophagus? Loudly? That, or you just can't move the lid.

Rikko: *looks around, shrugs*

Dane: Seems reasonable to me. Objections?

Johanna: Remember the guard at the door? We don't know what he'll do if he hears us desecrating the tomb.

Kita: Couldn't the ghost be in the room watching right now, though?

Johanna: *shrug* I'm not opposed. I'm just saying we should be wary of the door if we let it fall.

Dane: Fair enough. *declares in loud, officious manner* In the interest of adventure, let it fall!

Lua: Okay! So the lid starts to slide aside, but your prying starts to turn it kind of caddy-corner, and before you know it the lid tips, dumping the body inside, before following suit into the void.

Dane and Kita in unison: "The void"?!

Lua: Yep! Just like the tile over the pit before, there's a deep, dark hole inside the sarcophagus, full of a lot of banging and crashing as the lid and skeleton fall into the pit. Rikko gets experience as a consolation prize.

Dane: *looks stunned* I...was not expecting that. A second body, a trap, maybe an even bigger treasure...but not that.

Kita: How much treasure did we lose, anyway? We didn't really look around in here.

Lua: Let's see...I mentioned the sword...there was also a shirt of chain-mail and a pair of iron and silver bracelets that you could see go down with the skeleton. You haven't looked through the jars yet.

Dane: Crap. No wonder the lid was so heavy...

Lua: And I need an encounter roll, like before. It's been about a turn since you lit a new torch, so Light is a d10, Scout is a d6...sorry, I forgot that last time...and Alarm is up to 2d6.

Rikko: *gathers the dice and rolls with fingers crossed*

Dane: Whew...no ones yet.

Kita: Only ones are bad?

Johanna: They're significant. That's why the Light die gets smaller each round: a one means we encounter something. A one on the Scout die means we see it coming and have a chance to do something about it. If any of the Alarm dice come up one, the encounter gets worse...so the more of those we gather, the more likely we are to meet something extra bad. Light is our friend, noise is not.

Dane: Okay, so let's check the jars for anything of worth before we try to follow the body. Assuming we can follow the body...?

Lua: Oh yes. Apparently this is supposed to be a false tomb, just concealing the entrance to the real one below. There are the remains of a ladder set into the wall of the pit below the sarcophagus, though a lot of the rungs have gone missing over the centuries...and I imagine a few more were taken out by the lid when it fell. The jars contain a stack of 12 amber bars in total and a bag of cracked, blackened silver coins.

Dane: *makes a suspicious face* Cursed? Can we tell?

Johanna: Magic's supposed to be easy to detect in this system. It has a taste. The difference between a curse and a spell might be pretty subtle, though.

Lua: *giggle* Well, amusing as it is to picture your character sitting there licking each coin, I'm going to ask you to trust me when I tell you there's nothing magical about them. They're just really old.

Dane: Got it. And for tracking inventory: the bars are light?

Lua: Nope. Significant items, each, apparently.

Dane: *low whistle* That's heavy, then. Can we even carry them all?

Johanna: *quick glance around at the character sheets on the table* Barely. Add the armor, the sword, and the bracers at the bottom of the pit , and we're at capacity. Anything else will start adding Encumbrance points.

Kita: If this is a "false tomb", won't something inside be even more valuable?

Johanna: Probably.

Dane: Okay. Let's take the coins and bet on better loot deeper in. *adds them to his inventory* If our packs are light on the way out, we can always top off with these.

Rikko: *snaps fingers, pantomimes climbing a ladder*

Lua: *smirks* Well, someone is impatient. You want that armor, don't you, Mr. Paladin?

Rikko: *nods with a slighly embarrassed smile*

Lua: Okay, but the ladder is old and missing a lot of rungs, so everyone who climbs down has to make a Movement check. You get a boon for rungs that do exist, at least. No prize for guessing what the risk is for everyone above the first character.

Dane: Ladies second?

Kita: Of course! And body-guards last this time, so you're next.

Dane: Right. I keep forgetting you're playing a male.

Kita: *nod* To be honest, I just rolled the name at random from a list, and based the rest off that. It didn't seem like something that mattered either way.

Johanna: *deadpan, idly shaking dice in her hand* Not until Sarah flirts with him.

Dane: *thunks head on table, suddenly unable to ignore the way she's shaking those dice, and wondering if that was intentional*

[Dice are tossed all around the table. A long moment is spent staring at the results.]

Lua: So I can read this as three of you fall and only Johanna keeps her grip. It is really hard to get a clean success in this game.

Johanna: That seems to be by design, with the intent to promote both risk and player agency. Of all possible results, the lower third are failure, the top third are success, and the third in the middle let the players decide whether to accept the penalties of failure or what they will sacrifice to succeed. Intentions aside, though...that effectively makes two-thirds of the results failure if the player and GM don't have any ideas. It does seem harsh.

Lua: *rubs her forehead* Sorry, I'm going to ask you to pretend you sat down to a game instead of a math class, then say that again.

[Johanna rolls her eyes and confiscates the rulebook from Lua, scratching out "14+" as the target number for success and replacing it with "11+". She also drops "8+" down to "7+" for Risky Success.]

Johanna: *hands the book back* There. Now there's an even 50% chance to fail or succeed. And if we fail, half the time we'll have the option to save ourselves at a cost.

Lua: *nods* Better. That still leaves half of you falling down a hole, though.

Dane: *shrug* Sometimes them's the breaks. How deep is this thing?

Lua: Ten feet, for 1d6 damage when you hit the bottom.

Rikko: *snaps fingers, exaggerates grabbing his own wrists, signs a question*

Lua: Grab them as they fall passed? Um...I think it'll need both a Movement and Vitality check to react in time AND maintain a hold.

Johanna: Worth a shot. Especially for friend and family. *dice roll* They will be missed.

Dane: *blinkblink* Cold.

[Dane and Kita roll damage.]

Johanna: So Dane's mostly okay, but Kita...you rolled a 5.

Kita: *tilts head and runs fingers over her notepad* But Blackford only has 4 hitpoints. Does that mean he's dead?

Johanna: Not quite, but--

Lua: *interrupts, after re-reading the fall rules for a minute* NOPE! They're fine. Fall damage is 1d6 per ten feet fallen after the first ten feet. This one is only ten feet deep in the first place, so they suffer nothing worse than sore bottoms. Whew! *seems more relieved than Kita, apparently suffering some GM guilt for nearly killing a character so ignominiously*

Dane: *eying Johanna's character sheet* Hey, "Sarah", I can't help but notice you've got a pretty long stretch of rope in that pack. Think maybe we could use it next time?

Johanna: *blinks at her sheet* Oh yeah...

Kita: *giggles* Well, that was a learning experience. So what do we have at the bottom of the pit now?

Lua: Hmm...a low hall, leading left and right from the ladder. Also the rubble from the lid and skeleton that got dropped earlier. *makes a quick, flat roll* And before you ask: Yes, Rikko, the armor is functional and retrievable. 2 AR.

Dane: What about the bracers and sword?

Lua: Sure, I'm just going to take that roll for all the treasure. So...now what?

Dane: I'll pack the bracers, if no one objects. The sword was functional, right?

Lua: Right.

Kita: Would it be okay for Blackford to have that? It seems a little weird for the bodyguard to be armed with only a spyglass and a walking stick. I was going to exchange a Gear Point at the last second if we got into an actual fight.

Dane: *imitates a squire offering a knight his sword* *realizes she can't see it* Absolutely! A shield and some proper armor should be on the list for you, too.

Johanna: Hmm...Rikko, what is Jiorji going to do with that gambeson now that he has chainmail?

Rikko: *glances at Kita's sheet, just realizing she has no armor or weapons* *shakes head and strikes out the chainmail, pointing to Kita*

Lua: *giggle* It's nice to see you be a gentleman even to another male character, but your character is practically made of glass at 1 HP. Blackford has 4. You need that protection more.

Kita: *catches on to what is being offered* You're a dear, but I'll be happy with the gambeson. Thank you.

Johanna: *looking at something on her phone again* Now, based on the map of the first floor, I'm guessing this hall runs back to the tile-covered pit we saw earlier in one direction, and deeper into the dungeon in the other.

Lua: You're making a map?

Johanna: Of course. *turns her phone around to show the little diagram tracking their progress* I get experience with my faction for each 5 rooms we map and annotate, so might as well actually make one.

Kita: Neat!

Lua: That really is. So, which way do you want to go?

Dane: Was there anything in the pit that would be worthwhile?

Rikko: *shrugs*

Johanna: Yeah, the only thing we know is down there are the remains of the cover. In the interest of time, let's press on into the unknown.

Rikko: *points to himself, makes walking gesture, then points to Kita, Johanna, and Dane*

Dane: Okay, Jiorji will lead the way, followed by Blackford, Sarah, and Thom, in that order.

Lua: Got it. Okay, the ceiling rises and the hall widens ahead of you, to a comfortable 10 feet wide and 15 feet tall. There are rows of statues of Serpent soldiers on either side of this hall. It continues into darkness beyond the edge of your torchlight.

Dane: Does anything seem strange about the statues? Like, does it looks like their arms could move, or peepholes in the eyes?

Lua: One of the statues is a little out of alignment, based on the position of the other statues, and has hollow eyes where the rest have full eyes etched into the stone.

Dane: *looks at Johanna* Trap?

Johanna: Like I'd know? *to Lua* Can we see anything that looks like it might be a trigger?

Lua: Nothing stands out. This system doesn't really do "perception checks", either. The idea is to poke and prod at things, or ask about relevant objects. That's why I told you about the discrepancies as soon as you asked about the statues in general.

Rikko: *makes a circular gesture over his arm, then puts his hand over Dane's eyes, then makes walking gesture*

Lua: *tilts head* Uh...?

Rikko: *spends a few more minutes making various gestures* *gives up with a sigh and points to Johanna's phone, gesturing for her to hand it to him*

Johanna: *shrug* Sure. *hands it over*

Rikko: *quickly types up a note at the bottom of her notepad, then hands it back*

Johanna: *takes it back* Oh, the paladin wants to hold his shield in front of the statue's eyes as he walks passed it, to see if it triggers. That makes sense now. But do you have a shield?

Rikko: *blinks at character sheet, rolls his eyes, and changes a Gear Point to Shield*

Lua: Alright, Jiorji holds his shield up in front of the hollow eyes and walks by the statue. Nothing happens.

Dane: Okay, can we push it back into alignment?

Johanna: Do we want to? That might prime it?

Kita: Um, is it bad that I kind of want to know what it does, even if it's a trap? I'd be for resetting it.

Rikko: *shrugs and gives thumbs up*

Johanna: Alright, I'm game. Can we move it back into position?

Lua: Yep! It takes a little effort, but sliding the statue a little to the side reveals an opening behind it just wide enough for someone to slide through sideways. Your torchlight shows a small room with the remains of armor stands and weapon racks inside.

Dane: Hidden guard room?

Lua: That's how it looks to you, but there's no guard here, and doesn't look like there has been for a loooong time.

Dane: Anything worthwhile still in there?

Lua: A cursory look tells you that most of the equipment is rusted to worthlessness, but beneath the crust of dust you spot a silver emblem embedded into one of the chestplates. Two of the polearms also still look serviceable.

Kita: None of the armor, though?

Lua: *grimaces, then shrugs, and tosses the dice* Mm, no, they're all useless from ages of rust, I'm afraid.

Dane: *looks over his sheet real quick* Hmm...looks like I can carry about one more thing. I'll slip in and pry that emblem off, then pick what to sacrifice when and if we find something more valuable.

Lua: Alright. The old armor doesn't put up much resistance, so you can get the emblem without even making a lot of noise.

Johanna: Okay, move on down the hall as soon as he's done with that? *receives nods all around* Right, then, what comes into view as we move on down the hall?

Lua: A large, octagonal chamber. Each face houses a door, and each corner houses a Serpent statue. Some of them are holding weapons, some farm tools, and some implements of torture. All of them are glaring. It looks like there used to be a pit at the center of the room, but years upon years of water dripping in through a crack in the ceiling has turned it into a pool beneath a small stalactite. The water is murky with blackened muck, and smells faintly like licorice even from a distance. *giggles at the grimaces all around the table*

Johanna: I wouldn't think this needs saying, but nobody drink the water.

Dane: Yeeeaah...no chance that's some kind of potion, is it?

Lua: You'd need to taste a sample to tell. *shakes her head emphatically as she says it, agreeing with Johanna that would be a bad idea*

Dane: Got it. But if it started as a pit instead of a pool, was it supposed to be a trap or something else?

Johanna: I'd like to check the doors before we dedicate attention to the pool. As in, is anything likely to come through them?

Lua: They all look like they open outward from this room. You'll have to try one to find out if it's locked.

Kita: Start on our left and try them clockwise?

Johanna: *considers for a moment* Lua, this is technically meta-gaming, but which way are the rooms numbered in the manual? Since our characters are picking a direction "at random" anyway, we can just say they settled on that direction and move through them in order to make it easier for you.

Lua: *giggles* Thank you. I'm definitely not against that kind of meta-gaming, but Kita's already on the right track for that.

Johanna: Okay, then let's just roll with that. Any objections?

Lua: *notes the shaking heads all around* Alright. The doors are all made of thick stone. They're stubborn from years without use, but slowly give way to steady pressure. Behind this one is a short passage ending in a small room, all barely within reach of your torchlight. From the door you can clearly see that the room contains at least three coffins.

Dane: *chuckles, nudging Rikko* More coffins. Which is your bet: more armor, or more ladders?

Rikko: *grins, and thumps his chest* *looks to Lua and makes his walking gesture, holding his "shield" up in front of him*

Lua: *tries very hard to suppress a grin...but fails* Alright. I need everyone to make a Movement check, since nobody asked about the passage before moving in.

Rikko: *smacks a hand over his face*

Johanna: *shrugs* It's okay. You take point for a reason. *dice clatter*

Lua: Hmm...not bad. Rikko, how attached are you to that shield?

Rikko: *blinks* *shrugs*

Lua: Would you be willing to sacrifice it to forgo damage for you and Kita?

Rikko: *makes "bursting" gesture over his left arm, erases the shield from his sheet*

Lua: Good! Okay ... *rolls a die, herself* ... Thom steps on a tile in the floor that sinks a little under his foot. That is followed by a bright flash, loud cracking sound, and the smell of ozone as Jiorji's shield is struck by a bolt of lightning, blowing it apart. The bolt was fired from a plate on the wall facing down the hall. A large rune glows on the silver plate for a second after discharging the lightning, then fades into a simple etched figure on the face.

Kita: Such a gentleman. Thank you, dear.

[To be continued...]