Test Drive!

[ardanians]

Scenario 1: It's a normal day in the city, with no giant rats in the immediate vicinity. Wander the royal gardens, check out the bards in the gazebo, maybe take a trip to the gambling hall...

Scenario 2: SUDDENLY THERE IS A TROLL. No, literally, the damn things appear out of actual nowhere. Usually near the marketplace though because apparently ten foot high, regenerating green things have a lot of use for gold?

Scenario 3: Welcome to the wilds of Valmorgen! For some reason, there are swamps adjacent to desert; it's probably the fault of some ancient wizards. Treasure chests, monsters, and ruins are scattered liberally across the landscape.

Comments

well SHE STILL THINKS IT'S GAUCHE

[ardanians]

"No?" Perrilon raised an eyebrow with a faint grin. "I suppose you wouldn't be interested in any history that's to be found, but there are some potent and potentially valuable magical artifacts... not easily recognized by the typical lair-bashing hero."

She proceeded towards a low clump of masonry sticking up out of the hardpan. Thankfully, desert ruins meant very little in the way of damp and slime. Behind the stones was a stairway into the darkness, quite narrow and steep. "There are bats, but they're not a threat if you don't disturb them," she said. Other monsters had difficulty getting in and out of the place.

Re: well SHE STILL THINKS IT'S GAUCHE

[facepunching]

Soren began descending the stairs, watching his step in case some of these stairs weren't quite as solid as he might have liked. Why did she have to mention bats? That more or less guaranteed that they'd have to deal with them during their time underground.

"You're sure this structure is stable?"

[ardanians]

"I've been here twice and it hasn't collapsed on me," Perrilon said, giving a dismissive wave. Now thrice might be a different matter, but what was treasure-hunting without a little risk involved?

The interior was cool and dark, with a few gaps in the ceiling that let light (and heat and sand) into the narrow stone chambers. Perrilon led the way into the closest, where a crumbling altar stood at the far end--this place had likely been a shrine of some sort, though to whom she hadn't discovered yet.

Behind them, an insubstantial figure detached itself from the shadows and hissed ominously. Apparently, having two people invade the ruins was too much for it to handle.