Ocular Viewing #6 A micro viewing or so I thought

[For those not familiar with these chronicles, via the oculus and its machination within my iFruit, I am following the adventures of a dungeoneer named Murkstav through what professionals would call an extraction mission, though many times the man just seems to be CRAWLING through a subterranean world, a DUNGEON for the senses]

REASSURE, REWARD

The hero, the man with the sword, a dungeoneer, needed to be reassured of his reward, needed to make a break and cut bate, make a profit. He noticed the alchemist’s room about him, with an iron furnace and pipes and loads of ingredients around. There was a pumper, a giant iron engine that coughed, Murkstav looked around, bitter with the oil dropping like butter from the ceiling.

Disgusting as the ooze flowed, the subterranean warrior sick with sweat and oil, like heated butter about him, turned and observed his surrounding for anything of value. Everything in his core could not let him return to his TENSION ALLIES with an empty hand. Strange how his guild needed proof for these strange adventures, these dives into the deepest of realms.

Murkstav got his bearings, checked the dressing on his wound, which seemed (7) no better or worse than before. He looked about and wondered if anything, anything at all in that place would somehow salvage this situation.

DungeonWords PORTAL, LOOT, SPIRITS

The man looked up to an archway, wide with a stone trim, complete darkness beyond. He looked at a few carrion tables filled with strange liquors, when smelled scented of simple spirits and liqueurs. He never met an alchemist that was not a drunk, as if the human body itself was a catalyst for simple metals turning valuable. He looked under the tables, seemingly scientific and found a wealth of loot. (MONOLITH) Bars of silver, gold and platinum, perhaps too large to carry but sometimes in extractions, you don’t have to know or make your way back. He clasped two platinum and a gold and snuck them into his backpack. He noticed upon the treasured monolith strange symbols, strange images of a FANATICAL cult, the bars were so inlayed the dungeoneer wondered if there would be more money in trading them to the dwarves. Placing the bars in balanced pockets, he hoisted his backpack over his shoulder, and did not mind the extra weight.

Extra weight for extra pay, not a problem.

Looking to the portal Murkstav looked up into the shaft, knowing full well that he really had no where else to go. The fire above did not look like it had any intention of letting him pass any time at all in the near future. With that he strode into the portal...

NECROMANCY, ACOLYTES, NET

(The thing that troubles me about this method of ocular observation, using a mechanical device rather than a scroll, is the fact that one uses more than one lens. In the referral of dungeonwords I notice I use all three words, but it is the way it is happening, and who am I to question the ocular oracle?

In the room just beyond Murkstav (odd that the oculus has shifted to other people) the men waited, dressed in robes of purple and silver trim, nets in their hands to capture this intruder. There were four of them, bald with hawk noses and expressions of intense hate. They watched Murkstav stealing the bars inlaid with sacred imagery, cursing his form and planning his demise.

Murkstav took one look back, but his instincts suddenly did not push his foot forward. Something was amiss, something indeed and one would ask the oracle if the dungeoneer’s skills would tell him of an impending doom.

(yes and)

Rogue of Changes V: Solo App Tryout

For the next installment of Rogue of Changes, I decided to both play and review a curious google doc add- on called Solo Roleplay Tools by James Regan which turns the Mythic Solo Engine into a sidebar with various choices representing everything from probability questions to scene setup and the best one (since I use Fudge stats for opposed rolls) Opposed Question which allows you to plug in the appropriate scale for combat. 

I tried it out with good ol' Murk and it was pretty seamless. The only real thing I miss is the Yes, and or No, but that rpgsolo.com rolls up. Also in the Random Generators tab I would fill it up with everything from dungeon layout to random wandering monster or something of the sort. 

Other than that, it really pushes solo-ing toward writing, which is one of my goals in this blog. I plan on using this when I write, when I want to produce a story. So James Regan, great job. 

Now on to part V of our dungeon crawl:

Rogue of Changes V:
Murkstav is at the entrance to the tomb, a great maw of a cave stands to the north. He is poisoned, he cannot go back, he must go forward.

Into the Dungeon : (7) Scene Unaltered*

Nothing has changed for our hero, he is well rested but is still rather poisoned. He must find a cure.

He moves into the entrance, it looks like the entrance to a cave, giant thirty feet by twenty at the apex. The entrance is dark and Murkstav’s hand begins to tremble causing him to switch his sword to the other hand.

“Does he encounter anything as he moves in?” (Unlikely vs 5: 35%) Roll 16: Yes

What does he encounter? Efficiently Glorious .

Murkstav walks into the cave, something shines in the dim dim light. There is a pedestal just ahead of heam, gleaming a dull green. The dungeoneer perceives that it is jade, but found it odd that it was intact. He looks groggily at the floor, looking for skeletons or things that would tell him this whole set-up is a trap.

“Is there anything on the floor? ?” (Somewhat Likely vs 5: 65%) Roll 81: No

Looking to the floor our hero finds nothing of note, this only makes him more suspicious. He looks back to where he came from, the morning star lights looking very inviting right now.

No doubt about it, there is something on this pedestal something that is too glorious, too timely to be believed. It looks to be a potion of healing, a salve in a red bag tied by a brown string. The mercenary has seen it a dozen times in the stores about Rivermoon, but here it is something entirely different, something to be feared.

“Is the potion viable?” (Unlikely vs 5: 35%) Roll 19: Yes

“And is it booby trapped?” (Very Likely vs 5: 85%) Roll 83: Yes

“How likely is it for Murk to perceive the trap?” (Likely vs 5: 75%) Roll 62: Yes

Nothing in the dungeon, in the underground can be too good, there was something, a gleam that Murkstav noticed in that cavern. His skills, his instincts called for hesitation there.

What does the trap consist of? Peacefully Festive

Pardon? Gratify Dreams

Looking like a healing potion, the elixir would induce dreaming, slumber, a sleep potion. As if something wanted to make intruders sleep.

This will make the chaos factor go up in turn

What lurks herein that placed the bait? Cooly Pale

It was then that Murkstav realized that the chamber had become colder. Pulling his cloak closer to his shoulders he ignored the potion on the pedestal and kept moving into the hallway.

Let us see how this works in creating a dungeon, what is the next section? Dangerously Historical

Here I had to go to rpgsolo.com to get the layout of the dungeon, other than that I stayed with the google add-on.

RoC V: From the Mythic trial, using this to make a dungeon...according to the other thing this is dangerously historical, means nothing to me at this time:

Door on right side corridor continues.

5 = 5[d6]

(No encounter)  

At the end of what seemed like a hallway that ran 80 feet ahead are two large historically ornate doors. The one on the right is open and it is likely that there is something on the other side. Yeah its a sure thing that there is something behind that door, grabbing the door.

“Is there something behind that left door?” (Sure Thing vs 5: 90%) Roll 1: Exceptional Yes

There is something cold behind that door, a giant ice golem that feeds on unsuspecting visitors, was that the reason why the other bandits had been hesitating? The door is grabbed by the immense hand and it swings open with a lurch.

This is where the app is the strongest, where the player can input the ranking of each combatant or opposing object: 

“Murk versus ice golem. ?” (My school  vs Ice Golem : 10%) Roll 73: No

“Golem Round 2?” (High vs Superhuman: 10%) Roll 13: No

“3?” (High vs Superhuman: 10%) Roll 42: No

“Last chance?” (High vs Superhuman: 10%) Roll 12: No

“one more for the road?” (High vs Superhuman: 10%) Roll 36: No

There is no way that he is going to go blow to blow with this guy, there has to be another way that he gets out of this situation, He is the hero and there has to bed something. There is an odd luck, no doubt a chaos factor, no doubt somthing else that will change the situation.

So let us up the chaos factor to 9

Considering there is nothing he can do we move onto another question.

“Is there an X Factor that Murk takes advantage of which allows him to defeat/ overcome this enemy?” (Very Likely vs 5: 85%) Roll 33: Yes

Random Event Occurs: NPC action: Disrupt The intellectual

“Away yonder heathen!” the voice boomed from behind the monster, Murk trying desperately to gain a footing, thinking he could best the giant in combat. “Take that for your smite!” it again screamed in a loud deep voice, crashing the monster’s shouders with what seemed like a fireball.

Murkstav for Solo Play

 

The term Dungeoneer has always held a certain magic for me. In my stories there have always been professional dungeon crawlers. Professional extractors usually employed by some mage or sorcery, almost always another one of my characters- Orleon Templeton, to go into the under realms, the vast subterranean world underneath the continent, and extract the most unusual of things. Always with this precept- keep what you find.

Originally I wanted to take a band of adventurers into the dungeon. With the help of +John Yorio, I had thought to make the party as character, illustrated in his blog, Then a strong craving for rogue-likes, games like Nethack, DCSS and Tales of Maj'Eyal hit me hard. I realized that I did not need, a band of characters, I just needed one. Perhaps one that mistakenly goes into the dungeon alone- and may regret it later!

Just like in a rogue-like.

So here is the "Character Sheet" for my professional dungeoneer.

MURKSTAV

+2 Great Dungeon fighter-
raised in catacombs, knows the dangers. Swords
odd jobs to get things about Rivermoon. particularly closed quarter fighting

+1 Good Thief: Locks and moving in shadows.
orphan/street rat trope.
+1 Good Archer
For his type death from afar is always better.

0 Fair … Leave this to the adventure.
Perhaps Alchemy, craftmanship, Lore

If he tries things outside of this parameter it goes down to Poor which I tend to think is more than just simply 'slightly unlikely' perhaps unlucky?

Brief Bio: Murkstav raised himself in the murky underbelly catacombs and labyrinths that lie underneath the city of Rivermoon. His odd jobs, assignments and tasks took him from stealing to outright assassination. Feeling more at home underneath the ground than above it, Murk is just now beginning to strike out on his own as a 'professional extractor' in the under realms of the Prytanian continent.