The Foundry

I appear atop a grassy cliffside surrounded by mountains and dormant trees. The wind howls, and its chill cuts through my robes, sending a shiver through me. Below I can see the entrance to the Dragon Temple, my destination, and a perfect place to shelter from this frigid gale.

But before I have the chance to move, the roar of several dragons cuts through the wind. I look up to see three apparitions circling high above the temple. Though shadowy and ethereal, I can still make out their draconic visage. Spirits that remain tethered to this world to guard such a historic site? Or perhaps dark forces are at work here…

My contemplations are cut short as the apparitions take notice of me. With cries of fury, they rapidly descend to deal with my unwelcome intrusion.

🎲 First combat, let’s go! Ok, so combat works a little differently than in other RPGs. In a Quest Calendar, you have a number of rounds to defeat the enemy equal to the number of enemies in the encounter. You roll an attack and damage roll for each creature, and use any abilities your character has as they would apply. If you can’t defeat all creatures by the last round, the encounter ends anyway and you just kind of move on to the next day’s page.

ROUND 1

For this encounter, we’re up against 3 dragon apparitions, so I have 3 rounds to deal with them before the encounter ends. I’ll start things off by spending a Spell Point to cast Arcane Armor, which will up my armor from 12 to 16 for this combat. Now, I’ll make an attack against each. Thanks to the staff I got earlier, I have a +7 to hit. Ok, I got a 16, a 27, and, yikes, a 10 for my attacks. The apparitions have an armor of 15, 17, and 13 respectively, so that means only my first and second attacks hit. Time for damage! My damage die is a d20 so let’s see what I get…

That’s 5 damage to the first apparition and 10 to the second. The first apparition has 10 hp so it’s taken down to 5, and the other apparition only had 7 hp so it’s destroyed. Ok, now anything I didn’t kill gets to try and hit me back. In this game, you take damage no matter what your armor is, it’s just a matter of how much you take. Since my armor is 16 right now, the first apparition hits me for only 4 damage, but the third one hits harder for 6 damage. That takes me down from 25 hp to 15. Man, these apparitions don’t screw around. I could spend a Spell Point to cast Shield and just not take that second hit, but I want to save my spells for whatever else I run into, and I feel like I can probably take the other two apparitions next round, dice gods willing…

I quickly trace a sigil over my chest, causing a shimmer of arcane energy to ripple through the surrounding air, manifesting spectral plate armor for added protection. Raising my staff towards the incoming apparitions, power gathers at its head before being released in a flurry of arcane bolts. One bolt grazes the wing of a spectral dragon, while a second slams into the chest of another, causing it to dissipate with a fading roar. The third apparition deftly dodges my force bolts before flying past me, claws out and raking across my side, my armor doing little against its attack. Taking advantage of the opening made by its compatriot’s strike, the first apparition lands behind me and sinks its teeth into my shoulder, thankfully catching more armor than flesh.

🎲 ROUND 2

Alright, next round and we got 2 apparitions left. Making my attacks, I got, ugh, another 10 against the first one and a mesely 13 against the second one. First one is another whiff, but that second attack just hits. Now for damage.

I rolled an 11 for damage, and the dice gods are laughing at me because that apparition has 12 hp. I gonna Fireball that one out of spite because that’s just ridiculous. That’s an additional 20 damage to that hit, so it’s vaporized.

Now let’s see what that last apparition hits me for. My armor is 16, so I take another 4 from it, taking me down to 11 hp out of 25. Yeesh, this is getting dicey.

I whirl around, breaking free of the dragon spirit’s grip, and prepare to send another bolt of arcane force towards it. But before I get the chance, it slams its long tail into me and sends me careening into a nearby rock face, and perilously close to the cliff edge. With a grimace and a growl of pain, I stand up, lift my staff, and aim for the other apparition while its back is to me. I send a thin beam of fiery energy streaking through the mountain air, and as soon as it hits, there is a thunderous roar as the fireball detonates, vaporizing the ghostly dragon.

🎲 ROUND 3

Final round! Hopefully I can take out this last apparition, but let’s see what happens. For my attack I got an unnatural 20 which definitely hits, so that’s a great start. Time for damage!

And my damage roll is….a 4. Seriously?! Stupid thing only has 1 hp left, I can’t believe it happened again. Whatever. I’ve used 2 of my 5 Spell Points, and who knows how much more adventure is left, so as much as I want to nuke this thing with Fireball, I’m going to let it slide.

My armor is 16, so I take 4 damage, taking me down to 7 hp of 25. Wow, that was a rough first combat. Hope the next one goes better, if there even is a next one…

Turning my attention back to the remaining apparition, it snarls at me and charges, its ethereal hide slick with ectoplasm. I grip my staff with both hands and, shouting an incantation, jam it into the stone beneath me. The earth erupts below the dragon spirit as a pillar of stone slams into it with enough force to send it hurtling into the air and over the cliff behind me.

After a moment, and confident there are no longer any immediate threats, I slump to the ground. Battered and bloodied, I take a moment to dress my wounds, catch my breath, and ponder.

These were no mere shades or phantoms, far stronger than any spirit I’ve ever come across. Their forms radiated malice and were saturated with dark magic, clear signs of necromancy. Whoever summoned them to this realm must be incredibly powerful. And if they were only guardians to this site, what malevolent forces await me inside?

💡 Ok, so that fight was super rough, and I’m in bad shape. This will likely be an unpopular decision, but the game gave me no means to heal myself and I refuse to believe that Godwin, the Great, wise beyond years and court wizard to many rulers wouldn’t carry at least a healing potion for emergencies. So, I’m going to make the executive decision and say he took one with him when making preparations. The game has a healing potion that heals 1d4 hp and a greater healing potion that heals 1d10. Godwin is a 6th level character, which is the max for this game I believe, so the greater potion feels appropriate. I could still roll poorly, but at least I’d get something out of it.

But the dice gods have taken pity on me because I rolled a 10! That brings me to a total of 17 hp out of 25, which is enough to give me a fighting chance.

I pull myself to my feet with the aid of my staff and begin making my way down a well-worn path down the mountainside. A short walk later, I arrive at the entrance to the Dragon Temple. Elegant stone archways and carved statues depicting powerful ancient dragons decorate the entryway, showing signs of damage not simply from the passage of time, but deliberate acts of spite. A growl escapes my lips at the disrespect shown to such a sacred place.

I once knew the Dragon Temple well, but it has been a long time since I was last here. I remember that the temple is protected by wards and other traps, though their placement eludes me. Were the circumstances different, I could more casually explore this place, but time is of the essence and I must be cautious, for I know not what new dangers might be lurking in the shadows.

What was once a grand ceremonial hall is now filled with piles of rubble, as chunks of stone engraved with draconic iconography and ceremonial items lay in heaps on the ground. A brief investigation of the ruins confirm my suspicions. The area was destroyed recently, and the mysterious person I seek is the likely culprit. I’ll have to climb through the rubble to make my way further inside. Best not to slip…

🎲 Ok, I’ll need to make a Dexterity check to clamber over the rubble and not hurt myself in the process. Dex is Godwin’s worst stat at a -3 so I’m sure this will go great…

Wow, that’s a natural 20 for a total of 17! Pretty spry for an old guy, eh?

Maneuvering through the ruined chamber with ease, I can see the shimmer of torchlight reflecting off piles of gold coins laid bare in the next room. At the back of the room, there is an altar decorated with offerings made to the dragons that once called this area home. While the offerings stopped years ago, the hoard of treasure remains intact and unfiltered. It seems whoever sent the letter saw through the trap laid here for any unsuspecting thieves.

Further into the temple, I enter a chamber that thrums with magical energy. This place was once used for performing elaborate rituals, but the circles have been corrupted, causing the energies to be thrown out of balance. I have to get them under control again and fix the circles.

🎲 Alright, need to make an Arcane roll to deal with these corrupted energies, and with my Master the Arcane feature, this should be pretty easy.

And that’s a 15 on the die for a total of 26! More than enough to wrangle some magic.

The wild energies lash out at me, which I deflect with a wave of my hand as a magical barrier intercepts the whip of wayward arcane power. Dodging and deflecting blasts of energy, I move to the ritual circles and quickly assess the damage. Entire sections of sigils have been defaced or outright removed, so I’ll need to carve them again. I pull a chisel marked with runes from my satchel and begin repairing the sigils one by one, speaking incantations to imbue them with power once again. After a time, the violent energies in the room subside, and return to a stable, barely audible hum.

Taking a moment to catch my breath, a familiar voice rings out through the chamber, raspy and dripping with malice.

“You always were an excelent runesmith, Master Godwin…”