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Crawler's Academy for Dungeoneers and Overseers (CYOA/SG)

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
Once upon a time, you were a simple boy. You played your GameGuy, loafed on the sofa, and scraped by doing last-minute homework and cram studying. You and your mother lived happily and quietly, always in the background of those more fateful. Those such as your father, a general in dangerous times.

Unfortunately, those times were dangerously short.

The world waged war, all against all, and it was your father who signed the death sentence. Some say your old world was annihilated within a minute, atom bombs and quantum weaponry making a mockery of everything. Thankfully, you'll never know for sure.

Your father might have doomed the world, but he did not doom you, nor your mother. You don't know what his machine was, and truthfully, neither did anyone else. All you know, is that it brought you, your mother, and your best friend, Teresa, here.

Here, in this new world.

----

It has been half a year since your Coming to the new world. You, your mother, and your best friend had found lodging in an inn with a kindly dwarf innkeeper. You three were not the only ones who Came to this new world. Tales abound of outlanders appearing in a flash of heralding thunder and lightning.

Here, in the free city of Stillstar, hundreds of human survivors have found refuge. The three of you count yourselves fortunate to be a few of those hundreds. That same fortune, it seems, did not extend to those poor souls caught unawares in the wilds.

Now that six months have passed, the commotion has died down. The humans have begun adapting to their new neighbors of elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes. Your mother has even remarried!

She's found love and happiness with:
A. An orc barbarian. He's as strong as a stallion and with all the stamina, and his more-than-rough bonding time with you have toughened you up considerably.

B. An elf wizard. His esoteric words of wisdom might fall on uneducated ears, but your mother hears the love and understanding all the same. Some of his smartness must have rubbed off on you, when you discovered you could do magic like making coins vanish and do card tricks. Oh, and cast fireballs too.

C. A halfling rogue. Size isn't all that matters! Gifts of gold and jewelry can help - and your new father is very, very good at getting those. He's taught you a few tricks too. Size isn't all that matters, except when it comes to their purses.

You may have grown used to Stillstar's incessant bustle, and learned a few words from your new father, but you'll have a lot more to get used to, and a lot more to learn in a few days.

Because in three days time, you and your best friend, Teresa, are going to Crawler's Academy for Dungeoneers and Overseers.

You registered for the:
A. Dungeoneer course. You will learn all there is to party-dynamics, adventure-theory, monster-biology, and loot assessment. You will learn to swing a big sword, or cast cold gales of ice, and even perform miracles! It will be up to you, future dungeoneer, to venture into dungeons and return with loot!

B. Overseer course. Here, you will learn dungeon architecture, monster rearing, loot craftsmanship, and dungeon economics. Who do you think makes all these dungeons, with all these monsters, and the loot that naturally amasses there? You do! You will also be eligible for both Dungeon Master and Boss roles. It is up to you, future overseer, to build, populate, and maintain the dungeons that are so vital to this new world!

And mysteriously, you'd discovered a gift and a note from an nameless patron, stashed in your trunk. It was a:

A. Magic ring. You don't know what it does, per se, but you do know that it is magic. It was large enough to fit your wrist, but shrank to snugly fit your ring finger.

B. Bag of holding. The note warns that it doesn't hold as much as it should, but it is definitely more spacious than even your largest backpack.

C. Pet familiar. You have a hard time making it out in its cage. Suggestion: anything the size of a small dog. (If there's no consensus, I'll randomly make the pet up.)

With everything packed, kisses made to your parents, and hair combed, you and Teresa start off for downtown Stillstar for last moment errands.

----

(So, this CYOA is gonna have some more Suggestion Game elements than usual, I hope you guys are cool with that.)
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
ABC
An orc-trained power-businessman type, who runs his dungeons like successful franchises. Has a German Shepherd puppy for a familiar.
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
BBC

A wizard overlord with a pet tentacle monster.

Commense the :mhd:

Edit: Beholder counts.
 
Last edited:

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
BAC.

BAA
That elf must have an impressive magic staff to captivate a human female like that. :M
For the familiar, I would say we got a small lizard/raptor thing who breathes fire.
EDIT: Screw that. Let's equip the ring.

Jokes aside, I thought you said you wanted to take a break, Cheesecake. Not that I mind, your last CYOA was quite a good read.
 
Last edited:

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
I wanted to take a break from that CYOA specifically :P I've wanted to expand this idea for a while, so I put the 40k one on hold.
 

asxetos

Augur
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
820
Location
Greece
BBC.

Dungeon Keeper with a mini beholder pet. If its outside the setting, then a monkey pet.

sorry for voting wizard... cant help it
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
A: Baltika9, ERYKFRAD, Grimgravy, 3
B: Nevill, lightbane, asxetos, hello friend, 4
C: a bear, 1

B. An elf wizard. His esoteric words of wisdom might fall on uneducated ears, but your mother hears the love and understanding all the same. Some of his smartness must have rubbed off on you, when you discovered you could do magic like making coins vanish and do card tricks. Oh, and cast fireballs too.

A: ERYKFRAD, lightbane, Grimgravy, 3
B: Baltika9, Nevill, a bear, asxetos, hello friend, 5

B. Overseer course. Here, you will learn dungeon architecture, monster rearing, loot craftsmanship, and dungeon economics. Who do you think makes all these dungeons, with all these monsters, and the loot that naturally amasses there? You do! You will also be eligible for both Dungeon Master and Boss roles. It is up to you, future overseer, to build, populate, and maintain the dungeons that are so vital to this new world!

A: lightbane, 1
B:
C: Baltika9, Nevill, ERYKFRAD, a bear, asxetos, hello friend, Grimgravy, 7

C. Pet familiar. You have a hard time making it out in its cage. Suggestion: anything the size of a small dog. (If there's no consensus, I'll randomly make the pet up.): mini beholder pet

"I still think you shoulda taken the dungeoneer course with me," Tess says absentmindedly. The cool breeze tousles her hair as the pair of you descend from Hammerhead's Anvil to downtown Stillstar.

You shrug, hopping down a missing step. "I always loved Dungeon Keeper. And now I get to be one." You take a break to breathe, enjoying the vista of the ocean from the hillside. Tess continues downwards, looking back up as she realizes you've lagged behind.

"C'mon! The general store opens in, like, an hour! We gotta get there before the other kids do!"

Your familiar, a miniature beholder, shivers in revulsion. Bee doesn't seem to like dwarves or elves. Or halflings. And gnomes. Humans neither. He's quite racist, but thankfully quite docile. You tug on one of his eyestalks.

"I'm coming, jeez." You give a stern look to Bee. "Listen, I want you to be on your best behavior, you got me? You nearly got mom in a lot of trouble when you mind-controlled her to make a racial slur. That old halfling still won't talk to her."

The mini-beholder grumbles. You look down and realize Tess is already halfway down the hill. You chase after her, Bee's eyestalk still in your grip, and he flails helplessly like a balloon as you run.

----

You'd heard from mom that the general store was like a treasure trove of wonder, but she's always been one to exaggerate. Not this time, though. You agree a hundred percent. The shelves are lined with potions, reagents, spell-books, grimoires and tomes. Staves and wands are racked alongside longswords and shortswords, thin swords and broadswords. You see the archetypal wizard's hat on display, next to a brutal helm of orcish make.

Dwarven, elven, and all kinds of kids scramble to buy last minute supplies. All are utterly inured to what you and Tess consider wondrous and fantastical. Almost nothing affordable is left for the pair of you to buy.

Tess pouts and punches you on the shoulder. "If you'd get out more instead of reading all those books your dad has, maybe you'd run faster."

"Ha ha." You fish around your pocket for coins. "How much do you have on you?"

She takes out a handful of silver pieces. "Um. Ten? Plus this many copper is... um."

"If you'd stay inside and read some more instead of playing fight club on the streets, maybe you'd count faster."

She punches you on the shoulder and smiles. You help her count. "Alright, together we got about a hundred silver pieces, so ten gold coins." You jingle the coins in your hand as you survey the increasingly scant choices. "What do you wanna buy?"

----

You have you have 5 gp to spend. Tess takes the other 5 gp to buy her stuff.

*Arcane focus; wand (5 gp)
*Backpack (2 gp)
*Dagger (2 gp)
*Druidic focus; totem (1 gp)
*Empty spellbook, 10 pages. (5 gp)
*Holy symbol (5 gp)
*Padded armor; (5 gp)
*Robes (1 gp)

(This is what you see right now; you can always ask the storekeeper if he has anything else.)

----

(I'm using 5e D&D rules, by the way, and rolling with dice and stuff. Our protagonist even has a character sheet! He won't get a proper class until he gets to Crawler's Academy, but he's well on his way to becoming a spellcaster like a wizard or cleric.)

Myth-weavers Character Sheet

(If you want, you can suggest his name, appearance and personality.)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
784
what are our colour options when it comes to robes, and do they come with hoods? if not, what is available in the ominous, face-hiding cowl department?
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
What does the number of pages in a spellbook affect?

And is there even an option to be a wizard without one? Not familiar with D&D5, sorry.
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,158
DnD 5 ed? :decline: I guess. I preferred Pathfinder and I didn't hear many good things of this fifth edition, but doesn't matter much here. In any case:

What difference would it make for us the arcane focus and the druidic one? I suppose these would determine our classes (wizard or druid). Is there some sort of crystal ball enchanted with a "remote vision" spell? It is a must for Overlords and Dungeon Keepers. Lastly, what race is our friend Tessie? Human? Half-orc? Half-elf?

Speaking of which, our character has quite nice stats, considering he's a 12 years old lvl 0 loser commoner. I blame the anime effect.
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
what are our colour options when it comes to robes, and do they come with hoods? if not, what is available in the ominous, face-hiding cowl department?

The shopkeeper rustles through a cabinet. The robes within are dusty, patched, and most importantly affordable. They come in red, green, blue, white, and black. For an extra silver piece, he'll throw in enchanted patterns that swirl slowly. And they do come with hoods; ominous, if pulled over enough, at the cost of only being able to see your feet.

What does the number of pages in a spellbook affect?

And is there even an option to be a wizard without one? Not familiar with D&D5, sorry.

The number of pages is how many spells you can copy into it, I think. It's only 10 pages because the 100 page one you buy usually is 50 gp. You use your spellbook to prepare your spells after a long rest. 5E SRD! It's where I get my info, apart from the handbooks.

And I do think a spellbook is necessary for wizards.

What difference would it make for us the arcane focus and the druidic one? I suppose these would determine our classes (wizard or druid). Is there some sort of crystal ball enchanted with a "remote vision" spell? It is a must for Overlords and Dungeon Keepers. Lastly, what race is our friend Tessie? Human? Half-orc? Half-elf?

Speaking of which, our character has quite nice stats, considering he's a 12 years old lvl 0 loser commoner. I blame the anime effect.

It doesn't choose your class, per se, but it'll be certainly more useful if it's used by your class. A spellcasting focus basically eliminates the need for spell components as long as the component is listed as free.

Example: This spell needs a handful of sand. If you have an orb, you can instead use that since a handful of sand doesn't have a price. Your orb is also permanent and isn't used up.

Yes, you have felt stronger since your Coming into the new world, but you can't explain why.
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
And I do think a spellbook is necessary for wizards.
Well, do they have a 8-page one?

Also, what class is Tess shaping up to be? Can there be shared spellbooks? :M

I guess they could tear out a page or two. Why an 8-page spellbook?

Tess, most probably, is gonna be a fighting class like a barbarian, monk, or fighter. Spellbooks can be shared, I think, though fluff-wise, most wizards would prefer their own personalized ones.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Why an 8-page spellbook?
Because it would cost 4 gp and we could buy some badass robes to go with it.

By the time we learn enough spells to fill the pages, I think we would have something more to work with, finances-wise.
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
Ah, okay. You could try to convince the shopkeeper to let you do that with a Persuasion check.
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
Bee isn't actually a beholder, you think. Your stepdad thinks it must be some sort of construct. Plus it's racist and xenophobic, so your persuasion is much better.
 

asxetos

Augur
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
820
Location
Greece
persuasion roll to see if we can get the spellbook and robe at 5g. if it fails lets just go with the spellbook i guess.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I imagine it does not speak if it has to MC people to throw racial slurs around.

By the way, what does it think of us?

Anyway, my vote is:

Haggle
- Persuade the shopkeeper to offer a discount on the spellbook, decrease the number of pages if necessary. (4gp)
- Buy kickass robes. (1gp)
- Put on the robes and a wizard hat and pose before Tess to show how much cooler we are than a mere fighter. (priceless)


5 gp in total.
 

hello friend

Arcane
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
7,847
Location
I'm on an actual spaceship. No joke.
I vote spellbook. I'm assuming we'll have access to more funds later on, and unless the store burns down or smth we can buy more stuff then. Being, for all intents and purposes, some scrub, we won't look badasssss no matter what. We'll be more like those goths. Fuck that. We need to develop our skills (arcane) and expand our repertoire (spells). Let's buy every damn page we can and git gud.
 

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