The Foundry

Hello everyone, and welcome to something a little bit different. For a long time, I’ve wanted to delve into solo RPGs, and while this isn’t exactly that in the traditional sense, it’s perhaps a decent starting point for someone new to such forms of TTRPGs.

This is the Quest Calendar by Sundial Games, specifically the 2021 version, “The Dragon Staff of Maladoria”. This was a quirky little project I backed on Kickstarter back in 2020, and they’ve been making them ever since, creating a new adventure for each year. I never got around to playing through mine, and I’m terrible at “one a day” style, uh, anything, so it’s been sat on a shelf gathering dust for several years.

So I thought it might be fun to play though it in sessions, doing however many days feels appropriate at once, and writing up what happens as if it were an actual play of any other solo game. If you would like to play though this adventure on your own, or any of the other adventures Sundial Games have made, you can find them on their website HERE. Sadly, they are no longer making physical versions of the 2021 or 2022 adventures, but you can get print n’ play PDFs for 5 bucks, which is more than reasonable for the literal year’s worth of content, assuming you play though it as it was meant to be played.

Just one more thing before I start, I’m going to be doing a LOT of extra writing for this series. The pages themselves are very bare bones, so I’m going to take creative liberties, adding details based on the images and what makes sense for the fiction, and expanding/adding dialogue when it would make sense. I’m trying to use this series as practice for further solo adventures, so I’m going to mostly be using the pages of the adventure more like prompts and guidelines for my own style of storytelling. And hopefully that effort pays off!

But that’s enough preamble. Let the adventure begin!

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We begin our adventure, as most great adventures do, in a tavern. The interior is alive with the sounds of music and jovial patrons, and the air is heavy with the pleasant smells of ale and cooking meats. Sat at a far table with a drink in my hands, I take in the atmosphere and relax after a long journey. I’ve been wandering for weeks from town to town, unsure of my ultimate destination, but something about this place makes me think I might be here for longer than I might otherwise be.

A human with long brown hair, a short beard, and troubadours clothes sits down across from me and pulls a mandolin from his back. He offers a smile as he plucks away at the instrument, magic dancing across his fingers to the strings.

He says, “You look like the adventurous sort. Care for a story to spark the imagination and bolster the spirit?”

I nod, sliding over a silver coin to the bard. His smile brightens as he takes the coin. “My thanks to you, friend, I’ll make sure it’s a good one. Now, this may have only been a rumor, but I’ll pass it along as I heard it…”

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We step into the shoes of Godwin, the Great, a powerful wizard who has dedicated his life to the study of magic in all of its forms. Though his body has grown frail in his old age, his mind is as sharp as ever, and his skill in magic is not to be trifled with. While his history is unknown and steeped in rumor, in recent decades he has served as the court wizard for several lords of the realm, to which his insights and wisdom have proved invaluable.

Godwin is dressed in classic wizardly attire. Blue robes trimmed in gold drape across his slender frame, and a pointed hat sits atop his head. His hair and beard are long and white, and there is cold intelligence behind his eyes.

I am sat at a writing desk up against the far wall of my study, sequestered high above at the top of an ivory tower. Pouring over several tomes and making notes in my journal, the scratching of quill against parchment is interrupted as there is a knock at the door. I let out a sigh and set down my quill. “Enter.” I say with a biting tone.

A young man enters the study, dark hair tied up in a bun and brown travelers robes damp with rain from earlier in the day. In his hand is a simple scroll. He says, “Godw… ugh, sorry. Master Godwin, I’ve retrieved your mail as you instructed. You received this letter via carrier pigeon, though I know not where it came from. The letter could not be traced, and I was told, upon arrival, the bird simply…died.”

I stand up from my desk to face the young man. He is my apprentice, Victor Fellmont, an impetuous upstart that shows much promise, if he can be taught proper discipline. Victor continues, “I checked it for any tampering and I tested it for possible curses…”

I hold up a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence with a reprimand. “Despite my explicit instruction to not practice magic without my supervision?”

Victor scowls, biting back, “Please, it was a basic detection spell, done it a thousand times. Didn’t find anything, so, you’re welcome.”

“Hmph, we’ll see about that…” I snatch the scroll from my apprentice’s hand and mutter an incantation, inspecting it myself with my own arcane abilities for any signs of danger or possible origin.

🎲 First roll of the game! I’m going to make an ARCANE check, rolling a d20 and adding my Intellect, which is a +5. I also have a feature called Master the Arcane, which gives me an additional +5 to ARCANE rolls.

Aaaaand I rolled a 2… Thankfully, that +10 gets me to 12, which isn’t great but isn’t awful either.

My magic courses though me and probes the parchment. It sends traces of information back to me, but not as much as I would expect. The parchment was never cursed, but there was a powerful obscurement spell placed on it. I am unsure of the origin, but it did not arrive via carrier pigeon as Victor was told. Perhaps not a bird at all, something unliving, maybe? I’m not shaken easily, but something about this situation feels wrong, and I intend to find out why.

“Hmmm… You are correct in that there are no curses to be found here.” Victor perks up at the validation, but shrinks back as I continue, “But what you failed to notice is the obscurement spell placed upon the letter, though I suppose that is to be expected from someone of such meager arcane skill such as yourself. You have much to learn yet.”

I open the letter and read its contents. Despite his soured mood, Victor’s prying eyes make continual glances over my shoulder. The letter reads:

Godwin the Great? HA!
I have discovered your secret. I know your past and what you are hiding from this world. If you wish to keep it hidden, bring me what you know I am after. I’ll be waiting at the Dragon Temple. Be quick about it!

It’s as I feared. Who could have sent this letter, and how could they know what they claim to know? I have no choice but to go and confront this mysterious person, and it’s best I be prepared.

I snap my fingers, producing a small flame from their tips and holding it to the letter, igniting it in a flash of fire. Moving swiftly towards an armoire in the corner of the room, I say to my apprentice, “I’m headed to the Dragon Temple to find the source of the letter. I should not be gone long, but in the meantime, tidy this place up and work on your rune inscriptions.”

Victor follows me, “I should go with you! I can help!”

I whirl around to face my apprentice, “No! You will do as you are told and remain here, where it is safe.” I take a breath and put a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “I chose to take you on as my apprentice because I saw promise in you, but you are not ready for what awaits me there. That letter was sent by someone who knows my history, and that makes them dangerous. I will not risk the life of my apprentice or allow them to come to harm, not again.”

Victor clenches his fists, then relaxes, “Yes, sir. I understand…” I nod in acknowledgement, then return to the armoire.

The armoire keeps many of my most powerful pieces of magical equipment, so I keep it locked. But what did I do with the key? “Curse this confounded clutter…” I mutter to myself.

🎲 Missing keys, a tale as old as time. I’m going to make an Investigate check, rolling a d20 and adding my Intellect of +5. I also have a feature called Keen Investigator that gives me +4 to Investigate rolls.

That’s a 12 on the die, and the +9 brings me to 21. Much more fitting for Godwin.

Rummaging through piles of scrolls, books, bottles, and other arcane odds and ends, I find the key resting upon a tome on a nearby bookshelf. The tome is titled “How to Duplicate Keys with Magic”. How fitting.

The lock clicks as I turn the key, and the doors to the armoire swing open. I’ll want to travel light, so I have to choose what I take with me. Best choose wisely.

🎲 Ok, so I have a choice between a magic staff, a cloak of protection, and a tome of spells. The staff gives me an +2 to attacks, the cloak gives me a +2 to my armor, and the tome gives me an additional spell point I can use for spells. Several of my spells increase my armor or outright negate damage, so I’ll pass on the cloak. I have 5 spell points to work with normally and I don’t think just 1 more will be all that handy, so I’ll pass on the tome too. I feel like the staff is my best bet since I only have a +5 to hit, and I want to be able to hit my targets more consistently, so I’ll take the staff.

I reach for the simple staff of sturdy oak, a trusted item I have had since I was a young pupil. As my power has grown over the years, the staff has become infused with it, giving it power of its own. I haven’t had to use the staff for quite some time, but it feels right to have it in my hands again.

Knowing where I need to go, I grab a small stone of smooth shale from a box on a nearby shelf. I run a thumb over engraved runes in the stone’s surface and speak an incantation. The runes glow with a bright purple light before the stone crumbles to a luminescent dust. I scatter the glowing dust in an arc, which coalesces into an oval portal, through which the entrance to the Dragon Temple can be seen.

A teleportation spell such as this is a powerful one, and could backfire in spectacular fashion if any mistakes are made while performed in haste. Even someone of my skill must remain focused if the spell is to be cast correctly.

🎲 Have to make what is basically a concentration check to cast the spell correctly, so I’m going to roll a d20 and add my Constitution modifier to the roll, which is a +1. Since this is an ARCANE roll, I can also add my bonus from Master the Arcane for another +5.

18 on the die for a total of 24! Oh yeah, Godwin’s got this, no problem.

The portal wavers for but a second before quickly stabilizing as I channel the proper amount of arcane energy into the spell. I look back to my apprentice and wave a hand, causing a broom leaning against the far wall to hover towards Victor. I say to him, “Remember my words and heed them. I shall return soon.” Stepping through the portal, a snap of arcane energy sounds as it closes behind me.