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[Weirdsound]

A Dedication -

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is a game a little over 7 years in the making. In the summer of 2015, I dreamed up the following adventure. Back then I was highly inspired by and jealous of the person I still consider the GOAT of the b12 lower boards: freeformschooler. The Level Up Club was supposed to be my answer to The Warrens of Oric the Awesome. I spent several hours a day for the better part of a month improving my digital art/image editing skills and building up a library of assets, ambitiously intent upon launching my own ISG epic that would span thousands of pages.

Eventually, however, I called the project off. My art abilities did not progress to the point where I could work fast enough to update such a project with any consistent speed. I was also rather insure and afraid that the project would be shunned as a cheap ripoff of FFS's work.

The better part of a decade has passed since then. The concept of The Level Up club never left my head, but I never dreamed I'd get the opportunity to do a properly epic ISG justice at my skill level. It is now, however, the year 2022. With the launch of DALL-E, AI might have knocked artistic skill out of the ISG equation, and I am more mature. I now don't dream or even intend to match the greatness that was mid 2010's freeformschooler, but I dedicate what follows to him nonetheless; This is merely a story that begs to be told, and a test to see if our AI overlords can effectively draw an (ISG) from an (SG) guy.

Introduction -

School always sucked for you. You were never a popular kid, and outside of perhaps a subject or two, academics were never your area either. Up until this point, you at least had a small group of friends to ease your misery. But your parents just moved you across country, to the quiet and boring suburb of Freedom's Peak, with little warning and mere days before the start of high school!

Today was your first day at said new school, and it somehow managed to underperorm your very modest expectations. You have been picked on, shunned, made to look inadequate in class, and to top it all off the food in the lunchroom was terrible. Instead of finishing your food, you decided to instead check out the club posting on the cafeteria board. All the usual stuff was there: Chess, Cheer, Glee, Sports, ect. Some of it you may have even found appealing. But one entry caught your eye.

Level Up Club: For those who feel their wisdom, power, and maturity should be born of deed instead of the passage of time. Meets any and every day in room 13b. Materials for club activities are provided.

You are quite unsure what any of that means, but you are struck by curiosity and can't help but fantasize that the Level Up Club might get you out of this High School hellhole quicker, so you resolve to check it out.

Character Creation -



From the outside, Room 13b appears to be little more than a broom cupboard between rooms 13 and 14. You are mildly surprised to find that the door is even unlocked. Once inside, you can tell the room is at least a bit more than its exterior suggests. The walls and ceiling are decorated with items seeming ripped right off of fantasy and scify film sets.

The sole piece of noteworthy furniture here is a desk. On top is a lockbox, a glass container of green liquid, several pieces of equipment that look to have been snagged from the school science lab, and, most unusually, a glowing and floating document. The document is labeled "Club Sign Up", and almost without thinking you produce a pen from your backpack and begin to fill it out.

Name -
Gender -

Favorite Subject in School -
Special Talent -
Favorite Genre of Fictional Media -

All Images by DALL-E

[King Zultan]

Haven't seen a ISG in a long time here, kind of hyped about this.


Name - Mark Johnson
Gender - Male

Favorite Subject in School - Shop class
Special Talent - The ability to dance to anything
Favorite Genre of Fictional Media - Science Fiction

[Maximum Spin]

For personal reasons I cannot possibly accept that name.

How about...
Randy Jameson, male
Favorite subject: Shop
Favorite fiction: Epic poetry
Special talent: Salesmanship

[Knightwing64]

Favorite Subject: Politics

Special Talent: Lack of Soul

[Devastator]

Name: Vance Orrison
Favorite subject: Art
Favorite fiction: Fantastic coming-of-age.
Special talent: Speed.  Vance does everything fast.

[King Zultan]

For personal reasons I cannot possibly accept that name.

How about...
Randy Jameson, male
Favorite subject: Shop
Favorite fiction: Epic poetry
Special talent: Salesmanship

+1 Salesmanship sounds way more useful than the ability to dance.

[Weirdsound]

For personal reasons I cannot possibly accept that name.

How about...
Randy Jameson, male
Favorite subject: Shop
Favorite fiction: Epic poetry
Special talent: Salesmanship

+1 Salesmanship sounds way more useful than the ability to dance.

You ninja'd me. I just wrangled the AI into coming up with pictures for all three complete or near complete suggestions, so that people could vote on them. Since I put in the work, I think I'm gonna ignore this post and do a runoff election anyway. Sorry.

Anyway... CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!

Option 1: Mark Johnson, the Dancing Artificer!



Option 2: Randy Jameson, the Classically Inspired Wheeling Dealing Bard!



Option 3: Vance Orrison, the High Speed Vandal Artist!



All Images by DALL-E, Final Character Art Subject to Change.

[King Zultan]

I'll take option number two!

[Counterfactual]

I'll vote for Option One. Dancing has its uses!

[Maximum Spin]

2

[BlackPaladin99]

3

[ZBridges]

2

[Weirdsound]

You fill out the strange floating document.

Randy Jameson, male
Favorite subject: Shop
Favorite fiction: Epic poetry
Special talent: Salesmanship

You finish, and begin fumbling with your pockets to put your pen away, when suddenly the lockbox sitting on the desk swings open! The room is filled with a high pitched drone as the open box begins to 'inhale' with great force. You find yourself leaving your feet, flying towards the box, and... shrinking? There is a bright flash, and suddenly everything goes dark!

You come to on a cold stone floor. Looking around you appear to be in some kind of dimly lit dungeon. There are several small holes in the wall, and one proper entrance to your south.

To your Northwest is an open treasure chest that appears to contain gold. To your south is a large and obnoxiously saccharine pink plastic dollhouse. To your Southwest is a large banquet table, filled with much good smelling food. To your Southeast is a pile of odds and ends, prominently featuring a bladed weapon of some sort, as well as some sort of Imp with rusted over skin that expells thick black smoke as it snores.



As you get your bearings, you hear a rattle and whine, and the same crackling old PA system you have been hearing all day at school springs to life. The voice on the other end is icy smooth.

"Ah... We got one! Hello Randy. My name is Mr. Levy, and I'm the advisor of the school Level Up Club! I'm guessing you have at least a handful of questions, but many of those will be answered by viewing your character sheet and completing this tutorial dungeon. We can do a proper Q&A afterwards, mmmmmkay? Mmmmmmkay."

Tutorial dungeon.... Wait, why the hell can I see that character sheet in my head?

"I said questions later, mmmmmmkay? But I suppose you deserve an explanation of this room to get started. The point here is to teach you how to navigate the dungeon outside of combat. In many rooms, you will encounter sleeping enemies. The color of halo around them indicate how many actions you have until they wake up. I'll let you learn what colors generally correspond to what amount of sleepy time for the baddies through practice, but I will say in this room you have three actions before that Smoke Imp wakes up, and that you should save one of them for fleeing the room as I don't think you are ready to fight it yet.

Wait, actions? What counts as an action? Movement?

"That is a decent question, but again, one better answered through practice. I will however advise you that your movement speed only applies once combat begins. Anyway, have fun!

The crackle of the PA system fades, leaving you alone with your thoughts and the imp.

What do you do?

Most assets by Dall-E. Additional assets under creative commons license.

[Maximum Spin]

Grab as many coins out of the obvious mimic as you can in one action.

[King Zultan]

Sense we're in a dungeon now we should probably use our fist action to go grab that sword.