Turn 0: Warm WelcomeThe trip to Sundrop is an interesting one. You're not much bothered by the hordes of screaming nightmare beasts, though you hear that's a common complaint. The heat is more of a bother, being located in the western scrublands as it is. A forest springs up as you approach, but the trees are black and twisted, bereft of leaves and seeping a sickly sweet-smelling goo. Vaguely unsettling mesas rise within the forest- or perhaps, the forest rises around the mesas- and echoing cries of a nature you cannot place ring through the otherwise silent landscape.
Sundrop itself sits atop one of these mesas, surrounded by cleared-out farmland and accessed by a spiraling earthen ramp. The village is made of dull sandstone, as you might expect from a settlement this far west, and dominated by a cluster of larger buildings in the center, most likely shops.
You wander over to a gaggle of eccentric and unstable looking individuals, presumably others who have been drawn here by the promise of a reward. It's in front of the largest building in town, which to no one's surprise is a tavern. A man in a lavish lime green suit stands proudly in front of the door, waiting for everyone to assemble.
"Shouldn't we wait inside?" someone grouses, shielding their eyes from the heat.
"Oh my heavens no," the man responds in a joyful, decadent drawl.
"That might damage the establishment once the additional guests arrive.""What additional-" someone else begins before being interrupted by a sound like the shrieking of a thousand damned souls.
"I wish you luck mighty heroes!" the man shouts, tipping his hat and slipping into the inn. A heavy bolting sound follows.
You sigh and turn around.
The source of the shrieking appears to be a giant...
thing with a dozen spectral skulls for heads, dragging its maybe two-horses-sized torso along on flipper-ish blue arms. Its lower half looks like an absolute mess of vapors, organs, flesh, and just unidentifiable
stuff. This thing's about as natural as your obedience to common sense and the rule of law.
Lumbering up the ramp- as opposed to climbing sheer up the side- are a pair of brass golems of some kind. They look like malformed birds of some kind, but are pitted and scarred with age and corruption. Black fluid seeps from their joints, and an unholy madness beckons from their hollow eye sockets.
A gaggle of shrieking, ragged wraiths clamber their way over the edge a short distance away. While dangerous and hungry, they're a little mundane compared to the other two challenges.
Finally, a swarm of nightmare-things bubbles over the edge on the other side. These ones seem to be pure nightmare-stuff: They attack in large numbers, but are weak and tend to vanish completely on being slain. Swarms of them are dangerous to both body and mind, but they're a common sight these days.
Welcome to Sundrop!
Ventaro Aureus (Beirus)
Healthy
-
+5 Alchemy (0/5)
+3 Herbalism (0/3)
+3 Brawling (0/3)
-
Normal Clothes: Green tunic, brown trousers, black leather boots. Downright mundane!
Everfull Flask: Put liquid in, slowly replenishes that liquid! Empty fully to replace with new liquid.
Glowing Mote: This spherical object glows with a brilliant yellow light. You feel like there's more to it, but aren't sure how you'd check.
Devorae the Devoted (Caellath)
Healthy
-
+5 Necromancy (0/5)
+3 Leadership (0/3)
+3 Enchantment (0/3)
-
Noble Crimson and Gold Military Attire: Includes fancy hat so you know who to take orders from.
Fancy Scepter
Mad Dosh: This fancy-looking chest is filled to the brim with gold coins bearing Devorae's benevolent face.
Prismatic Gem: This smooth crystal shifts through all the colors of the rainbow in beautiful cascades. You could swear the pattern's reacted to you a few times, but you're unable to repeat the event.
Bianca "BB" Beamingstar (Cinder)
Healthy
-
+5 Animation (0/5)
+3 Earth Magic (0/3)
+3 Martial Arts (0/3)
-
Leather Armor Dress
Chronicle of BB's Arcane Escapades: Illustrated adventure of House Beamingstar's exploits, including punching things, punching things, and punching things.
Metal Jelly: This blob of metallic silver is squishy to the touch, and occasionally jiggles unprovoked. Other than occasionally sticking to your fingers, you're unsure what it is or does.
Jeffery Kentwood (Coolrune)
Healthy
-
+5 Summoning (0/5)
+3 Metal Magic (0/3)
+3 Spears (0/3)
-
Douchebag Jacket: He's presumably wearing pants or something too, but GODS what an asshole.
Amulet of Farsight: Like a telescope but WIZARDS!
Icy Shard: This bright blue crystal shard is ice cold to the touch. You get strange feelings of enthusiasm when holding it for too long.
Mordre Deepstone (Derm)
Healthy)
-
+5 Stone Magic (0/5)
+3 Masonry (0/3)
+3 Necromancy (0/3)
-
Sturdy Dwarf Attire: Boots and shoes, two trousers, and a deep blue tunic.
Heirloom Chisel: The chisel is made of trifle pewter. The handle is made of ilmenite. On the item is an image of Mordre's heirloom chisel in trifle pewter. On the image of Mordre's heirloom chisel is an image of Mordre's heirloom chisel in ilmenite.
Mossy Mushroom: You can smell the magic on this mossy, deep blue mushroom, but other than the moss constantly growing you're unsure what it does.
Erntrinsticia "From" Frombollywhotsit, Lady-witch of magnificence! (Egan)
Healthy
-
+5 Corvid Magic (0/5)
+3 Death Magic (0/3)
+3 Fashion (0/3)
-
Fashionable Witch Outfit: All black, all hat.
Lady Irstivfell the Raven: Very wise! Hence the obsession with shiny objects and tasty food.
Sparkling Bottle: This tiny glass flask contains a glittering emerald liquid. It's strangely mesmerizing to watch, but you get the strange feeling it's watching back.
Archimedes (FallacyofUrist)
Healthy
-
+5 Returnamancy (0/5)
+3 Alchemy (0/3)
+3 Medicine (0/3)
-
Green-Painted Robes: Probably not an intentional dye job.
Mourning Ring: Black stone with a purple gem. Commemorates a lost loved one.
Dark Ice: This fist-sized chunk of crystal is a deep blue, fading to black in the center. It feels ice cold to the touch and you get a sense of vertigo staring into its depths.
Erin Quill (Glass)
Healthy
-
+5 Artifice (0/5)
+3 Metal Magic (0/3)
+3 Air Magic (0/3)
-
Labcoat: Also pants.
Cloudstopper: This overly crystal-y gun-thing shoots shards of crystalline magic at targets.
Leaf Stone: This brown stone has what looks like an imprinted fern on one side. You're quite certain it's magical somehow, but it seems almost suspiciously unreactive to anything you've been able to expose it to.
Elen Farley (Hotfire)
Healthy
-
+5 Vitamancy (0/5)
+3 Flesh Magic (0/3)
+3 Fire Magic (0/3)
-
Dark Green Robe
Supersaver Potion Pack: This dubious looking sack is filled with dubious looking potions.
Ruby Vial: This faceted red crystal vial is filled with vibrantly glowing red liquid. You're unsure what it does, but smelling it made you ravenously hungry and alarmingly dizzy.
Evelyn "Auntie Adams" Adams (The Lupanian)
Healthy
-
+5 Life Magic (0/5)
+3 Flesh Magic (0/3)
+3 Bone Magic (0/3)
-
Normal Person Traveling Clothes
Super Savings Anaesthetic: This hefty jug of industrial-strength knockout drug raises some unsettling questions.
Everbloom: This ball of bronze roots or vines keeps sprouding delectable looking berries inside. You haven't tried one yet, but they smell fragrant and feel juicy.
Erik the Ninja (Maximum Spin)
Healthy
-
+5 Ninjaturgy (0/5)
+3 Lightning Magic (0/3)
+3 Shurikens (0/3)
-
Ninja Outfit: Kind of drab, so probably the mook kind.
Ninja Artifact: A ninja sword fused to its scabbard. The nonfunctionality makes it extra spiritual!
Sandstone Charm: This palm-sized beige stone slate is dense with indecipherable heiroglyphics. You're certain it's an item of power, but your efforts to unleash it have so far proven futile.
Maren (MCreeper)
Healthy
-
+5 Enchantment (0/5)
+3 Divination (0/3)
+3 Swords (0/3)
-
Black Robe
Bronze Ring: Enchanted to warn its wearer of danger. A bit... constant when surrounded by your fellows, unfortuntely.
Silver Skull: This grape-sized statue looks like a human skull forged from silver. You get a sense of vertigo looking at it too long, but otherwise can't figure out its properties.
Li Kao (Pancaek)
Healthy
-
+5 Chi magic (0/5)
+3 Wuxia (0/3)
+3 Life Magic (0/3)
-
Grey Martial Arts Outfit
Tea Set: A pot and two cups. No one's sure if the pot is enchanted or the old man is incredibly wily, but it's always full of delicious hot tea when needed.
Stress Ball: This leathery yellow ball is adorned with strange looking runes. You can squeeze it when angry.
Hrodpreht (RNG)
Healthy
-
+5 Dagon Worship (0/5)
+3 Teaching (0/3)
+3 Summoning (0/3)
-
White Robes: Good guys wear white, so you can trust him!
Idol of Father Dagon: For some reason none of the other mages are thrilled about this.
Seething Heart: This red stone blazes with an intense inner light. Staring into it consumes you with a terrible urge to feast on your fellows. You have thus far refrained from doing so.
Anna Greenbell (Sheyra)
Healthy
-
+5 Vitamancy (0/5)
+3 Destruction (0/3)
+3 Protection (0/3)
-
Kimono-Thing: Somewhere between a shrine priestess and a vagrant you'll find this alluring number for all your vagrant shrine priestess needs.
Gravity Hammer: A giant rocket-propelled hammer. Shockingly, it's wielded by a mage.
Weight of the First Sin: This red crystal smolders with inner heat. Holding it makes you feel tired, hot, and nervous.
Akari Elleison (Tiruin)
Healthy
-
+5 Protection (0/5)
+3 Life Magic (0/3)
+3 Glow Magic (0/3)
-
Traveling Scholar's Outfit
Heirloom Amulet: Translucent orb on a chain, handy for refracting and focusing light.
Eye of Shadow: This shadowy black sphere has indistinct edges, and feels soft to the touch. A green light sometimes appears, shifts across the surface, and then disappears, but you can't tell what it is or does.
Smith (Yottawhat)
Healthy
-
+5 Metal Magic (0/5)
+3 Animation (0/3)
+3 Blacksmithing (0/3)
-
Rusted Fancy Metal Armor: Nothing suspicious about this!
Formallic Hammer: An enchanted hammer that can pound ore into refined metal.
Whispering Heart: This deep purple gemstone makes your skin crawl when touched. You can hear a faint whispering sound when you hold your ear close, but can't make out what, if anything, it sounds like.
Everyone is in. If you're not listed for some reason, let me know!
You might notice everyone has received a MYSTERY BOX. This is an intriguing, randomly generated item you stumbled across and looted, but have not fully figured out the nature of.