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[Errol]

((For new joiners: Character sheet guidelines have changed. Refer to http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=105791.msg4595408#msg4595408 for the new rules.))

Original post continues now.

--

For a long time, the Kingdom of Illyria had been living in relative prosperity. The old king, Terence II. Kiske, may he rest in peace, was beloved by the people like no other as a father to his people and a paragon of virtue, so much that they even overlooked his love wedding to a maiden of questionable reputation and heritage, surrounded by rumours of witchcraft and black compacts. But the populace came to love her too due to her friendly, innocent nature and, which was probably not the smallest factor, great physical attractivity. Few children would match up to these kinds of parents, but their only daughter was a great source of trouble, an unending well of energy and of trendemous magical potential, but also selfish and hot-tempered. She turned to studies of black magic, in which she quickly excelled, and one day escaped from the court to start a journey of adventure, becoming one of the most notorious and infamous individuals of the continent in the span of a few years.
Then the old king died, and his daughter returned amidst the state burial, honouring her father's legacy by claiming, despite heavy reservations, her duty as new Queen of the Kingdom as Lucia I. "Inverse" Kiske. And while she turned out to be surprisingly competent in that role, she still is held back by her vices, temper, and horrible reputation and sometimes just doesn't seem to care. Because of that she struggles to keep the kingdom together.

Thus, the sudden discovery of a vast, mysterious underground labyrinth full of monsters beneath the small city of Kingsford was of great interest to the Queen, who would have preferred to explore it personally, but really has more important things to do. Therefore, she has issued great rewards to anyone exploring the dungeon.

You are one of those fortune seekers arriving in Kingsford. But because you aren't inexperienced fortune seekers, you have decided to form a party to maximize your survival chances. The labyrinth awaits. Go for it!


--

Yeah, we're going for a party-based labyrinth exploration style game now, likely to be pretty freeform. When I say Roll to Dodge, I'm going for a not particularily fancy variant of the system, more of an ad-hoc-based thing. You'll not see something like the Space Wizard RtD here.

The setting is fairly basic medieval to renaissance fantasy, although with some anachronisms and liberties taken - just the usual potpourri slash fantasy kitchen sink. If it's been in any fantasy novel chances are it can fit in. Although, I have some pretty clear thoughts on the magic system to be used:

Magic is just calling on a power greater than yourself, most of the time. The known branches are:
White Magic, which draws its power from the celestial entities and is a healing, protection, but also order-oriented magic (Life and some Sorcery, in MoM terms),
Black Magic, which draws its power from the abyssal entities and goes for chaos, destruction and other things like that (Chaos and Death, although the mix varies),
Shamanist Magic, which draws its power from the spirits and elementals of the "normal" plane and encompasses both Elementalism with the traditional four elements and Spiritism, astral energy, that jazz (overall, Nature with some Chaos/Life for good measure), and
Alchemic Magic, which works mostly with the innate magical power of objects, which includes your own innate power. Fairly basic arcane magic, or Sorcery/Arcane in MoM terms.

White and Black Magic, as well as Shamanist and Alchemic Magic are opposites of each other, therefore you can only gain real proficiency in one member of the pair. Also worth noting that Magic, at first, is neutral, merely a tool. Black Magic is not evil per se, and White Magic is not good. And celestial and abyssal beings are not really that different from each other. This is one of the first lessons of each magic user, but non-magic users still have their prejudices.

Being proficient in a whole branch of magic is also for experts. The normal magic user specializes in their given branch and knows a few other assorted utility spells - as the saying goes, any idiot can learn one trick. The real mastery lies in learning a vast array of tricks and using it correctly.

Character guidelines: Generally, adventurers. You are no experts in your given fields, but have achieved a certain degree of competency. Non-combat characters can also work out fine. You'll want to be prepared in this dungeon, and I plan on making death not really that much of a slap on the wrist. It should be possible.
As a general guideline, define clear strengthes and weaknesses of your characters and give them about three or four major skills, such as, say, Fencing, Chaotic Magic, Reflexes. The implied disadvantage here would probably be low toughness, but it could be something totally different. If you have a good reason to break the rules, do so.
As for kit, again, characters being prepared is fine, you can bring quite a few mundane items, but maximally one enchanted item. Magic items are luxury goods, family heirlooms or loot.
But generally... roll with what you want. I'll try to make it fit, and I'm kind of hands-off here. Do your best, I trust in your balancing skills.
Also, give me a nice backstory and personality. Please?

Sheet would look something like this:

Name:
Appearance:
Personality:
Bio:
Skills:
Items:
That one bullet point I forgot anyway:

Anyway, let's get this party started! Sign ups are open!

[lawastooshort]

Spoiler: Helskaya, Journeying Shaman (click to show/hide)

Name: Helskaya Arkut
Appearance: The most notable thing about Helskaya's appearance is the bearskin he wraps himself in whenever there's a slight chill. It comes from the northern white bear he set out to kill as part of his Passage and he's kept it ever since. Other than that, he's fairly short, gives the impression of somehow being close to the ground, not always entirely in the present or the here. His hair has turned white already and his hairs are following, from one side of the face to the other, so he tries to keep fairly well shaven. You'd understand if you saw. It's hard to tell his age: is he an old man with a boy's face? Or a boy trapped in the body of an elder?
Personality: Morose, introverted, elsewhere - difficult for others to say much more than that because no one's ever really allowed any further in. Always there for advice for his tribe though, and repository of an endless amount of tales of his grandfather and his grandfather's grandfather, which only ever seem to illuminate a problem from the side on.
Bio: Since the invaders from the east struck, the herds that fed Helskaya's tribe have grown thin on the ground. He's travelled south to find external aid, and takes up whatever path he stumbles into. Still young for a shaman in his tribe, he is travelling in the hope of gathering the experience needed to return and become the totem of his people.
Skills: Herbal Medicine; Shamanic Magic; Knowledge (Legends of the North).
Items: Pair of knives (one large, one small); wet stone; firestone; pot; spoon; three leather pouches varying in size; pestle and mortar; dried meat rations for several days; filled waterskin; northern white bear jawbone on necklace.

[Caellath]

Reserving for when I have enough time to make a sheet.

Spoiler: Character (click to show/hide)

Name: Elenor Warsen
Appearance: Slightly taller than average, gray eyes, long and tied black hair, young face.
Personality: Courageous,  focused and the owner of an iron will, Elenor is almost a master in dodging and rolling attacks, making use of his good reflexes. Unfortunately, since his training it became fairly obvious he did not want anything to deal with magic, and because of that he is useless when any kind of magic whatsoever is needed.
Bio: Only the first born inherited the father's possessions, and Elenor was not lucky in that aspect. Born as the fourth son of a rich noble, he was presented with two options during his childhood: either he turned into a knight to find his own fame and glory or he was sent to study with priests and become a man of the Church. The kid chose the chivalry and was trained and outfitted for such purpose during the rest of his childhood and teenage years. Now he is a young man searching for an adventure and maybe a cause to serve to grant him a piece of land to serve as his resting place when he gets too old to swing a broadsword.
Skills: Fencing, dodging, marksmanship, medical care.
Items: Masterwork armor (mostly chainmail, but includes plate helmet, greaves and vambraces), longsword, crossbow, Dragon Crest Shield (heirloom of the family, a kite shield which is not only sturdy, but also provides enhanced protection against magical attacks), medical kit, small supplies bag.

[Spinal_Taper]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Apollo Anderson
Appearance: He wears a cloth lab coat with leather padding to protect him from himself and others. Thin and tall but without the grace that goes with it. Dark brown hair with almond toned skin. His nails are mismatched and not cut. No glasses, surprisingly.

Personality: Clumsy, socially awkward, unusually bright, usually nervous but can sometimes shine through. He tries to be social and make friends, but it's difficult when nearly all he can talk about is enchantments and science.

Bio: As a child, Apollos father was a shy scientist, while his mother was an outgoing adventurer. Somehow, he got his mothers thirst for adventure, but his fathers personality and interests. Despite his shyness, Apollo trained as a combat alchemist and graduated with honors at Illryia university. When he saw that there was a dungeon in his home city, he signed up to join a party, he didn't expect to be chosen, so he was surprised when he saw that he made it into a rather good one.

Skills:Gunpowder manufacturing, Potion brewing, rudimentary enchantments, and basic metalworking.

Items: Reinforced lab coat, enchanted dagger, rudimentary rifle of own design.

Flaws: Awkward and clumsy.

[Tiruin]

In

Spoiler: Sheet (click to show/hide)

Name: Taren Creyn
Appearance: Taren is a tall man at about 5'7" in his thirties with short black hair mixed with white strands, giving an impression of age. He is slightly muscular in build with a long scar across his right forearm. He is brown in complexion with eyes of the same color. He dons a Grey tunic which stretches from his shoulders and ends below the knees, angled in a V while covering most of the upper body. It is covered by a white cloak.
Personality: Often known as passionately driven, Taren has little sense of humor, known to be a down-to-earth sort of person. He is generally kind in his actions, but stern and uncompromising when faced with trouble. He carries an ambivalent nature towards rash decisions, but if found ideal, he fully sides with those who do so.

He cares much about the world and it's people, and believes everyone has a reason for their actions.

Bio:Taren lived his life as a soldier in the army, able to work with both hands in being both a medical aide and a frontline fighter. This all ended when he treated a man that was deemed insane and suffered the consequences of having his own scalpel used to tear his right arm. This is what left him out from the line of duty to the Queen.

His name was stricken from the ranks, as his fellowmen believed it was by his own cause that left the patient in his state, even though the damage was obvious. He took on the guise of a wanderer, using the tools left to him by his superior officer as his guide and help in giving his current life meaning. Despite all that, he continued with full-hearted determination to his cause: taking on the name of a traveling sage, being one to look upon the welfare of others as a higher priority than his own.

He arrived at the dungeon on a whim, noting the fact that people who went in here would probably be desperate and needy of help. Whatever their goals were, he wanted to make sure that it would not be for evil intentions, being a pious man.

Skills: White Magic, Anatomy, Swordsmanship, Marksmanship
Items: Broadsword {Enchanted} and a Crossbow with longbolt ammunition. White Cloak with a Grey Tunic. Whet stone, cloth and rations.

[borno]

In!

Finished!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name:Rathertio Houston
Appearance: A small, short man garbed in purple robes. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and the cloth drags on the ground when he walks. He has short, blond hair which sticks up all the time.He also has  purple bags under his eyes, giving him an air of tiredness and frustration.
Age:16
Personality: Ratherio doesn't speak much, and when he does, it's ofen so quiet it's barely audible. Instead he communicates by using hand gestures and pointing.
Bio:Ratherio has had a hard life. Being mocked by his family because of his size and name. Then one day he snapped. He was only 9 when he accidentally made a boy's face so deformed, no-one would look at his face again. After the incident he was arrested for 'assault' and put in jail for 5 years. When he got back, even his own family wouldn't let him stay. Since then he has trained up his dark magic, vowing to make amends to what he did.
Skills: Death magic, chaos magic, Speed.
Flaws: Low Social skills, low strength, low vitality.
Items: Wand of death!^TMStaff of death!^TMDagger of death!^TM Ring of death.

[Remalle]

I'm in if there's a spot still open.

Spoiler: The Sheet is Me (click to show/hide)

Name: Remy Maelle
Appearance: A rather young man average in height and build, clean-shaven, with curly shoulder-length reddish hair.  His brown eyes seem innocent by their large size, but reveal a keen intelligence.  His travelling clothing is slightly worn and comfortable, by his own description, though perhaps threadbare and holey according to others, and occasional glimpses of leather can be glimpsed through the holes in his shirt.  Though somewhat good looking, he's average enough to probably vanish into a crowd.
Personality: Ruled by his emotions, leading some to underestimate his intelligence.  One moment he might seem surly and disinterested, the next he could be friendly and curious, but he's always well aware of what's going on around him and gathering information.  Has a swollen ego and a volatile temper, though his anger tends to burn cold.  On the other hand, he holds no grudges and is very loyal even to those he barely knows.
Bio: Remy's had a strange career encompassing every profession from bard to mercenary to wizard.  The only constant has been his excitement for adventure and learning, and his strong connection to the various spirits inhabiting his world.  Though young, he's had some experience adventuring, using his skills in shamanistic magic and natural agility to get himself out of many a tight spot.
Skills: Shamanistic Magic, Agility, Quick Reflexes, Hand-to-Hand Combat.
Items: A spirit talisman, knife, leather armour, traveling clothes, a backpack.  Inside the backpack is a bedroll, rope, tinderbox, and enough food to last a few days.
Flaws: Lack of endurance, not very tough.

[Errol]

Six should be plenty. Intro turn scheduled for tomorrow, I've got a lot of work to do this evening.

lawas, I'll be interpreting the Shamanic Magic of yours as
Tiruin, I'm interpreting this White Magic as focused on the healing aspect of things. This means, you could do shields or inhibition, but mainly the healing spells.
borno, I'm interpreting the spheres of magic you chose to be focused more on corruption and cursing, less on actual direct damage. (And of course, Necromancy, if you so desire. Not the easiest form of magic to use.)

A bit more about magic: Words are power. Spells have names. You don't have to worry about that, I'll insert an appropriate spell in when you say "Heal X". It's probably just called Healing too, but some spells have been around a fair time and thus suffered name corruption. Nobody quite remembers what "Dam Bras!" used to be, but it blows stuff up.
Furthermore, once you get to the more powerful spells, you've got to use extra incantations specific to the spell to control and shape the magic. Spell power is relative to you - a novice has to chant for half a minute for a simple heal spell. Your adventurers should be at the point where they can just go "Healing!" and the wound is healed, but not "Great Balls of Fire!" and great balls of fire suddenly appear.
That's not going to be that relevant initially but will be as soon as you find spell scrolls, which should be nearly the only way of learning new or high level magic.

[borno]

Disregard post.

[Errol]

OK, let's get on with this.

The city of Kingsford is a shining, or, rather, dull example of a completely average village, barely fit to call itself a city, in the most unremarkable surroundings ever - or, at least, it used to be that. Now, it is on the best way to becoming a bustling hub of fortune seekers and adventurers from all of the kingdom and beyond, thanks to the news of the labyrinth's discovery. Shops of varying seediness have opened all over and the pub owners are making a fortune.

After meeting in a pub as custom dictates, without getting drunk too much, the newly-formed party sets off to the Royal Labyrinth Exploration Bureau, sited in the courthouse and oozing an ad-hoc atmosphere. After getting done with the needed paperwork, you are let into the backroom, where the newly-appointed Chief Minister of Labyrinth Exploration and Magical Artifacts, Elizabeth Voile, resides. The politically informed Remy remembers her as one of the Queen's most trusted advisors, which means that this labyrinth seems to be of great importance.

--
Character sheet: Elizabeth Voile
She is a surprisingly young-looking girl, looks around 13 years of age, but something about that youth is a bit off. There are white strains in her violet hair, the unusual color being a somewhat common side effect of magic overuse. She dresses practically and shows little emotion.
Is an acquaintance of the current queen back from her adventuring days and her knowledge of the world's collected magical and historical lore is matched by few, if any. It is said that she brings a small library worth of ancient books along whenever she moves. For all of her knowledge about the theory, she tends to neglect the practical aspects of magic, but still commands far more skill than the average sorcerer.
--

After a short examination, Elizabeth says: "A lot of those who want to explore the labyrinth are, frankly, not fit for it, but they still insist on walking into their death. You people have potential, though. We only have knowledge of the first layer, because everyone venturing deeper in has never returned, but you could probably handle whatever lies there. We theoretize that this labyrinth gets more dangerous the further you go in, and we have a pretty good estimate on the power level of the first floor's hostiles, which in comparison with yours should be low enough."

"Still, you might look a lot stronger than you actually are. So we've got a little task for you. There's an area which has not yet been explored on the first floor. Your task is to map that one out and bring any findings back to me. I'll make sure to reward you for a task done well. Here's the map which you have to complete. A bit of money, too, in case you still need some supplies."

Acquired quest item: Map!
Acquired money: 120 cp! (split evenly.)

"Alright then, please come out in one piece, promising adventurers such as you are hard to come by. So far, the results we have are rather intolerable compared to the body count. I'm counting on you to improve the ratio. Oh, I nearly forgot, the Dungeon Key. It's mostly symbolic, but it does look pretty neat."

Acquired quest item: Dungeon Key!

She motions you out.

--
You now have the opportunity to make some last minute preparations before entering the dungeon. It is evening, and the newly rechristened Dungeon Street's vendors are about to close. There is the "Potions & Herbs Store", "Johnny's Grab-Bag", "Of Magicka And Arcana Obscura" and "Second-hand equipment, HIGH QUALITY LOW PRICE", as well as a drinking establishment. Of course, there's also the Dungeon Hall, which has been built over the Dungeon proper to prevent random people from accessing it. You'd be gathering there.

[Caellath]

Elenor sighed. Oh woe, how he wanted to bring his halberd, but foreseeing trouble with handling a large weapon inside the cave and the prospect of having to fight without a shield made him pick the responsible choice...Well, at least he should look for some last-minute supplies just in case.


Look for potions and medicinal herbs to complement my medical kit. Afterwards, meet with the rest of the group at the Dungeon Hall.

[borno]

Rathertio looks around at his new companions, and snorted. What match would they be to a necromancer like him, much less some monsters in the dungeon! He hoped that they would be able to soak up all the blows coming to him, so that he could get the loot and glory from the dungeon to himself, and still make it out alive...

Browse the "Of Magicka And Arcana Obscura"

[Remalle]

Remy snorted.  "A scouting mission?  I signed up for something exciting.  Oh well, what the hell."
Search "Johnny's Grab Bag" for anything interesting before meeting everyone else at the Dungeon Hall.

[lawastooshort]

Taking a good look at his apparent companions' faces, if only so he could recognise them when they met up later, Helskaya said nothing, but took the share of coins handed to him and wandered off to find the herbs and potions store.

Look for healing and mind-altering substances. Also some dried meat and flour. Then fill waterskin.

(In reverse order of importance...)

[Spinal_Taper]

First,  get rations for the dungeons. Go to the herb store to complement my current store of chemical and herbs. Finally, go to the weapon store to get a short sword, then back to the dungeon.In order of importance.