Dungeon Champions

Jordan Updated Character Sheet

Name: Jordan Cash

Age: Unknown (Apparently Mid-30s)

Level: 11

Class: Battle Scholar (Legendary)

Experience to Level 12: 160

Species: Human Changeling

Hit Points (Endurance X Level): 220

Mana (Magic + Level): 24

Attributes

Strength: 21 (Add 5 to 10 to your weapon damage; this is multiplied on a critical attack)

Endurance: 20 (+1) (You are supernaturally durable and can resist magical attacks normal humans cannot; you only need 4 hours of sleep a night)

Agility: 20 (+3) (You are incredibly agile and can jump three times the standard distance, with twice the peak movement speed for one of your size; you also have a passive 20% chance to dodge most attacks)

Cunning: 17(+1) (You naturally resist many low-level illusions and mind-influencing effects)

Discipline: 14

Magic: 13

Core Skills

Adventure Historian: 13 (+2). This skill grants you extensive familiarity with all things related to adventuring. Your Tablet has granted you elevated access to a global network of insights that will be revealed in context as needed. You may also consult the Tablet manually.

Dungeoneering: 12 (+1). This skill grants you specific insights into dungeons, including the knowledge required to create or disable traps.

Potion Brewing: 11. This skill grants you exhaustive insight into how to create and brew non-magical and low-level magical potions. Touch for more details about the potions you know to brew.

New Class Ability

Level 11: You may share beneficial effects (such as spells) used on you with up to [1] other party member within 120’. The spell must not have material components and has a maximum duration of 1 hour.

Merielle Character Sheet

Basic Information

Name: Merielle Nightbreeze

Age: 24

Level: 1

Class: Ballistic Knight (Epic)

Current Experience: 0

Experience to Level 2: 100

Species: Elf

Hit Points (Level X Endurance): 23

Mana (Level X Magic): 5

Attributes

Strength: 14

Endurance: 13

Agility: 18

Cunning: 8

Discipline: 9

Magic: 5

Core Skills

Combat Tactics: 1. You are familiar with combat concepts, including common tactics and strategy.

Field Medicine: 1. You know how to apply basic first aid and healing materials. You can make simple poultices and tend wounds.

Acrobatics: 1. You can flip, tumble, and fall skillfully.

Level 1: You gain 10 hit points.

Pre-Existing Skills

Due to existing training, you begin with basic familiarity with most martial equipment. You are [exceptionally] proficient with using your fists, with or without gauntlets and are ambidextrous

Nym Character Sheet

Basic Information

Name: Nym

Age: 19

Level: 1

Class: Scouring Tyrant (Epic)

Special: [Cat Familiar] Sandie

Current Experience: 0

Experience to Level 2: 10

Species: Catgirl

Hit Points (Level X Endurance): 10

Mana (Level X Magic): 54

Attributes

Strength: 8

Endurance: 10

Agility: 14

Cunning: 11

Discipline: 6

Magic: 18

Core Skills

Arcane Familiarity: 1. You can recognize and decode magic of many types and styles.

Spell Memorization: 1. You can rapidly memorize new spells. You may learn a number of spells equal to your class level + this skill + 3 [Currently 5]. Due to possessing an epic Tablet, you have been bestowed 5 appropriate spells immediately. You will need to acquire and memorize new ones normally.

Animal Friendship: 1. You know how to befriend or communicate with a variety of animals

Class Powers

Granted Powers: You are treated as 2 levels higher when determining what spells you can learn and your total mana. In addition, you can learn spells from any list, provided it relates to cleaning or transformation.

Level 1: The duration of your non-offensive spells is increased by a small amount. This increases in proportion to your level.

Pre-Existing Skills

Due to existing training, you begin with a [basic] proficiency in simple weapons, armor, and combat tactics.

Granted Spells

Scouring Blast

Mana Cost: 5 Mana

Range: Short

Duration: 6 Seconds

Area of Effect: 30’ Cone, emanating from the caster.

Damage: 3-6

Details/Effect: This spell sends a blast of superheated sand into the cone’s radius. The damage is a combination of heat and sand.

Quick Combust

Mana Cost: 3

Range: 15’

Duration: Instantaneous

Area of Effect: 15’ radius around the caster

Damage: Everything in the area takes 2 points of damage

Details/Effect: This spell is excellent for rapidly cleaning an area. Note: This spell uses fire, so it may set combustible materials ablaze.

Minor Repair

Mana Cost: 2

Range: Touch

Duration: Instantaneous

Area of Effect: A surface that has suffered up to 2 hit points worth of damage

Details/Effect: This spell mends or repairs up to 2 hit points of damage to a non-magical object. This process cannot create new material.

Purification Transformation

Mana Cost: 5

Range: 5’

Duration: Instantaneous

Area of Effect: A 5’ cube

Details/Effect: This transformation spell purifies anything impure within the affected area. Magical impurities may resist this spell.

Summon Broom

Mana Cost: 4

Range: 30’

Duration: 10 minutes

Area of Effect: 1 broom per your Cunning attribute

Damage: 1 if used as a weapon

Details/Effect: This spell summons up to the indicated number of brooms. They act on your commands, and can deal up to 1 point of damage if used as a weapon. They cannot make critical strikes or deal critical damage. You may not summon more than the maximum number of brooms at a time [currently 11].

Britnayel Character Sheet

Basic Information

Name: Britnayel “Britney” Dawnglow

Age: 32

Level: 1

Class: Thorned Angel

Current Experience: 0

Experience to Level 2: 100

Species: Celestial

Hit Points (Level X Endurance): 13

Mana (Level X Magic): 14

Attributes

Strength: 9

Endurance: 13

Agility: 11

Cunning: 18

Discipline: 7

Magic: 14

Core Skills

Combat Tactics: 1. You are familiar with combat concepts, including common tactics and strategy.

Field Medicine: 1. You know how to apply basic first aid and healing materials. You can make simple poultices and tend wounds.

Planar Theory: 1. You are familiar with how reality works. This skill allows you to recognize dimensional effects, including those of the gods and Fates. It will also grant you insight into Celestial or Divine-typed Dungeon Cores.

Class Powers

Granted Powers: Target yourself or an ally within 30’. Whenever that ally takes damage, reduce it by 3 points. The enemy takes 3 points of retributive [holy] typed damage whenever they attack the ally. You may only have one active protected ally at a time. Using this ability costs [3] mana to activate, and an additional [3] per [6] seconds it remains active.

Level 1: When your retributive effect ends, the ally is healed by 4 hit points.

Pre-Existing Skills

Due to existing training, you begin with a [basic] proficiency in simple weapons, armor, and combat tactics.

Granted Spells

Minor Healing

Mana Cost: 5 Mana

Range: Touch

Duration: N/A

Area of Effect: Target

Damage: None

Details/Effect: This spell heals the target of their minor wounds, typically 2-6 hit points.

Zuri Character Sheet

Basic Information

Name: Zuri Stonecoil

Age: 108

Level: 1

Class: Surprise, I’m a Chef!

Current Experience: 0

Experience to Level 2: 10

Species: Medusa – Path of Humanity

Hit Points (Leve X Endurance): 14

Mana (Level X Magic): 13

Attributes

Strength: 14

Endurance: 14

Agility: 15

Cunning: 16

Discipline: 14

Magic: 13

Core Skills

Combat Tactics: 1. You are familiar with combat concepts, including common tactics and strategy.

Field Medicine: 1. You know how to apply basic first aid and healing materials. You can make simple poultices and tend wounds.

Monstrous Chef: 1. You know about all sorts of potentially magical ingredients. This knowledge includes how to locate and harvest them.

Species Ability: Stone Gaze (Novice) – Your gorgon hair will actively work to strike at any creature it perceives at a threat. This includes all men. Each time your hair successfully affects an opponent, it drains mana proportional to the enemy’s effective level. As you have selected the path of humanity over your monster heritage, it only takes [low] magic resistance to ignore this effect.

Class Powers

Granted Powers: You can manifest a portable cooking table, complete with a small selection of Epic-grade tools at will. If you acquire additional tools of at least [Epic] quality, you may add them to this cooking table. You learn [5] special recipes and may acquire more through experimentation or adventuring.

Level 1: You become immune to any negative effects from sampling your own concoctions. You also gain significant resistance to diseases or other side-effects from ingredients you harvest.

Pre-Existing Skills

Due to existing training, you begin with a [basic] proficiency in simple weapons, armor, and combat tactics.

Granted Recipes

Healing Concoction

Mana Investment: 5 Mana

Special Ingredient (s) Required: [Common] magical herbs or biological components from monsters or magical creature.

Duration: Instantaneous

Details/Effect: This concoction heals between 1-4 hit points for the consumer. Flavor depends on the ingredients.

Harmful Concoction

Mana Investment: 5 Mana

Special Ingredient (s) Required: [Common] magical herbs or biological components from monsters or magical creature.

Duration: Instantaneous

Details/Effect: This concoction deals between 4-8 hit points for the consumer. Flavor depends on the ingredients. Your [Monstrous Chef] skill will allow you to both hide the toxic nature of this brew and delay the onset of negative effects.

Questionable Attractant

Mana Investment: 10 Mana

Special Ingredient (s) Required: Biological components from a member of the target monster type.

Duration: 10 minutes.

Details/Effect: This concoction will lure monsters (or other magical beings) to the location. The type of monster is based on the ingredients used. This is an aerosol effect, with an area of effect proportional to the amount of fire and ingredients. Your [Monstrous Chef] skill will allow you to manipulate the attitude of the attracted monsters. Note: This concoction has an element of Chaos in it. Monsters so summoned may randomly mutate to [Elite] variations. Magical monsters have a chance to resist. Furthermore, experience points awarded for monster kills may be greatly depreciated if this concoction is used in an abusive manner.

Black Wash

Mana Investment: 3 Mana

Special Ingredient (s) Required: N/A

Duration: Instantaneous

Details/Effect: This creation, when consumed, instantly purges the consumer of impurities. As a side-effect, it also acts as a full night’s sleep, completely energizing the consumer. Be aware, this potion tastes awful, and can result in extreme vomiting. If poured over a creature, it removes all external impurities, perfectly cleaning living beings. Note: It also deals 2 points of damage to any non-living object it touches, so it will melt away most clothing. Your [Monstrous Chef] skill will allow you to manipulate the variables associated with this potion, including its flavor and the damage it deals.

Alter Form (Minor)

Mana Investment: 12 Mana

Special Ingredient (s) Required: 2 hit points of the recipient’s blood.

Duration: 4 hours.

Details/Effect: This spell acts as a minor shapeshifting effect for the consumer. It cannot be used to grant new special abilities or attacks.

Part Two: Exploration

Chapter 17: Can I Have a Slide?

With the big decisions out of the way, we cleaned up the camp. Or more accurately, I cleaned up the camp. My party seemed distracted by their Tablets, and I let them be. What I was doing was basically busy work.

I didn’t know how to suddenly become a party leader. Did I just…start telling them all what I needed them to do?

All this knowledge - I could train any one of them to wield a sword with decent skill in a matter of weeks. But when it comes to social dynamics… There was nothing. Not the man I’d been on Earth, nor the gifts I’d been provided here.

A hand on my arm drew me out of my thoughts. Nym stifled a yawn behind her other hand. “Can we get some sleep now?” She reached over her head, closing her eyes as she stretched. The cloth of her tattered robe pulled tightly against her breasts, and she gently worked her hips from side to side as she stretched her back.

“I second that,” Britney said, yawning as well.

“Is it safe to sleep here?” Merielle asked, looking around the area. “It’s gorgeous. The access to the falls is nice, but we need proper shelter, don’t we?”

“I may have a solution.” I checked my pack, searching through it until I pulled out a collection of five scrolls. Each scroll was identical, edged in gold leaf and bound with a red ribbon. Their wax seals read, “Fae Lodging: One Night’s Access.”

The side of the scroll had a swirl of script describing the scroll’s function, albeit in flowery, fantastical terms. Activating my Adventure Historian skill, I translated it into words I could understand.

Fae Lodging (Scroll): This scroll creates a temporary [16 hour] [B-Grade Luxury] residence at your location. This residence is [Sanctified]. This means it cannot be attacked by most monsters. In addition, It will protect against most spell attacks. The interior of the residence connects to [Masie’s Emporium of Ultimate Relaxation and Trade], where you will be able to trade and sell goods. This scroll has a few limitations. They are:

It must be established in an area with sufficient space. As a [B-Grade Luxury] establishment, at least [500 Square Feet] are required.

You may not exit Masie’s Emporium except through your summoned residence. This isn’t a teleportation or gateway scroll.

It takes 30 minutes to establish the [Sanctified] barrier. Any deliberate attacks on the barrier reset this timer. If it resets [5] or more times, the spell ends and the scroll will be destroyed without any effect.

The B-Grade tier will create [1] bedroom per guest, not including familiars or summons.

I explained the scrolls to the women and the type of shelter they would create. “What do you all think? I’m happy to go ahead and use this here if you are.”

All of them immediately expressed their enthusiastic agreement.

All of them except for Zuri, that is.

Concern filled her gaze as she looked at the scrolls in my hand. “Those scrolls probably cost five hundred gold pieces each,” Zuri said. “I’m pretty sure they are intended to protect adventurers in the field, so they can recover between battles. This could be a waste of resources.”

“Noted,” I said. I pointed back at the chest I had dragged into the area. “Fortunately, we should have enough loot in there to make up for it. Besides, if there’s a trader on the other side, maybe we can help transform that basilisk skin I got for you into usable leather?”

“This...is true,” she said begrudgingly. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile. “I’m sorry, it’s just a lot of money, so it gives me pause. But I don’t see why we can’t celebrate the formation of our society. Especially if we go after the Sisterhood.”

I nodded once but held up a finger. “Levels first.” Then a second finger. “Sisterhood second. I can’t, in clear conscience, take the lot of you into such a dangerous situation until you’re at least level four or five.” Brightening, I held the scroll up. “Hey, what are the chances we can find some quests at Masie’s? That could be worth something.”

“I hope the beds are soft,” Britney said, rubbing her bottom. “Sitting on statues isn’t for me.”

With it decided, I peeled one of the scrolls and snapped the seal.

My Tablet appeared, floating nearby, as a green box filled my vision. Momentarily confused, I discovered I could focus and position the box along the terrain however I wanted. “This is so neat. It’s showing me the spell area!”

Selecting a spot right next to the water’s edge, I thought about using the effect in that location. The Tablet glowed gently, and the box settled into place. A moment later, a pulsing, bright green dome filled the space.

I’d originally been worried that it would require a cleared location, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

It began as a square, just over twenty feet on a side, that wrapped around the rocks and trees, then expanded outward until it was nearly three times that size. Shimmering wooden planks began to solidify inside the interior.

A line of gold and white script appeared around the construction, and a dome of semi-transparent light began glowing upward.

The protective spells settling into place, I realized.

After a few minutes of watching the impressive magical construction, I said, “Well, we’ve got a few minutes to kill. If you all don’t mind, I’m going to read up on the new party interface.”

“I’d like to read—Oof!”

I turned to see Britney sprawled out on the forest floor, a lumpy root having tripped her up. She looked up at me with wide eyes that slowly filled with tears.

“Are you all right?” I rushed forward, looking to see if she broke or twisted something.

“Don’t look at me!” she shrieked, rolling away from me. She curled up on herself. “Don’t… Don’t touch me. I’m fine.”

I looked at the others, and the rest of the party seemed completely unconcerned. Nym’s face was lit up by the gentle purple glow of her Tablet, and Zuri and Merielle were dousing the fire.

Sadie sat on the edge of the forest clearing, watching the magical building. I remembered the bit about the spell being interruptible with damage and warned her to not mess with it. She meowed at me and flicked her tail in my direction.

Left to my thoughts, I touched the Party Management tab on my tablet. A wall of text, along with several new buttons, appeared.

***

You have created a party using Tablets your class has created. You have Command Authority over these Tablets. As the party lead, this allows you to:

Send party messages through their Tablets. This has no range limit.

Your class gives you a strategic telepathy ability. This is in addition to the message system.

The Party Management tab will allow your group to share observations, notes, and map details.

You may learn and cast Tablet tracking spells.

You may create and assign quests for any combination of the individuals in your party. The magic in your Tablet will determine whether such quests are worthy of rewards.

You are in control of the leveling process. Once someone you have given a tablet to has gained [10] levels, you may give them their tablet permanently. This will remove your Command Authority, although they can still join your party. It will take [120 days] to regenerate a new tablet through your class ability.

Be aware that group experience in a party is split evenly, provided each team member participated fairly and qualifies for the reward. Experience points awards are scaled in proportion to the obstacles overcome and the individual’s level. As the party leader, most of your experience points will come from advancing the members of your team and helping them realize success. Disbanding your team takes [30 days] and will remove this limitation. It will also dispel the party’s Tablets. This will remove all associated benefits, unless they own their Tablets. Provided you resummon the Tablets for the same people, they will have their classes and attributes restored upon resummoning.

***

A popup interrupted my reading.

***

Notice: Skullie has cast Necromantic Propulsion.

***

The message appeared across the top of my Tablet a few seconds before the lich came floating over. I examined him closely. He was still just a skull and spine—there wasn’t any new healing, which made sense because his phylactery only recovered one hit point per day.

But he’d still cast a spell, and that was chilling.

My familiar didn’t seem to notice my concern. Instead, he looked over my screen, the gold glow illuminating his ghastly appearance. “Not getting as much experience isn’t fun.”

“It’s a good motivator for Battle Scholars to work with their teams,” I replied, studying him. “I think it makes sense. Besides, it’ll be a while before we need to worry about my leveling slowing the party down.”

“Perhaps. I guess you could always disband the party and go adventuring if it came to catching up.”

“Mhm.” I chuckled. “I think it’s good to think of this as the ‘It’s not all about me’ clause.”

Skullie rolled his head in a motion I read as sarcasm. “Excuse me for saying, but from my perspective, almost none of this has been about you. At least, not directly.”

I laughed and raised an eyebrow at my familiar. “What do you mean?”

His spine twitched, like he was trying to move an arm. “I don’t have fingers to raise. Just imagine I’m doing so.”

“Sure.”

Twisting, he looked over at Merielle, who was chatting with Zuri in low tones by the now smoldering fire. “She needed saving. You saved her. After that, you helped her find a class that might end up being perfect for who she really is.”

“Okay.”

He then looked at the celestial, who was staring intently at the dungeon loot boots I’d offered her. “Britney’s stepmother is working with the Sisterhood to help naughty monsters power-boost Dungeon Cores. You agreed to help with the Sisterhood and her stepmother.”

That one sounded a lot like it was hinging on me doing things, but I nodded along with him.

His skull swiveled so he was looking at the catgirl and her familiar. “Nym is a lost puppy, or I guess kitten. Whatever, you get the idea. You saved her and gave her purpose, more than just being a cleaning service.”

“Sure,” I said, mostly agreeing with the lich’s assessment, if not the precise tone of the delivery. “And what about Zuri?”

“She’s a tough one. For now, you gave her an excuse not to lean into her monstrous heritage when things got bad. But with the most life experience of everyone, and having the most hardships as well… I don’t know what her goals are. Survival seems to have been enough so far, but does she have ambitions past that?”

Skullie motioned as if shrugging. “There are mysteries in there, and maybe even depths that would shock a creature such as myself.”

“Maybe.” I thought over what he’d said, weighing the observations. “You’re mighty perceptive for a random monster in a dungeon.”

“Random monster?” Skullie’s jaws creaked open in a silent laugh. “Before I joined the order of undead and pledged myself to the Dungeon Core, I was an accomplished mage. To your perceptions, I was a random monster. To mine, you were a random adventurer who came to interfere with my work.”

I grunted. “I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way. Not that I feel guilty about it. I’m pretty sure you and your friends would have tried to kill us even if we’d been friendly.”

“Oh, absolutely and without question. They were quite evil. Murder was just part of the daily routine.” I really didn’t like the way he said it in a casual tone.

“And what…you were good?”

“Hardly,” Skullie said with another of those bone-rattling silent laughs. “But that doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t?”

The lich bobbed from side to side, its spine trailing behind like some sort of inverted clock. “I’m your familiar now. My fate is tied to your survival and success. If you’re a hero, I’ll be your sidekick. It doesn’t need to be about me.”

I chuckled softly. “Nice way to bring the conversation around.”

“Thank you. Um. If I may, I have one small request?”

“Sure?”

“The next time we make a humanoid corpse, would you attach me to it? My healing rate is good, but it’ll take a week to regenerate my body. I’d prefer hands sooner if at all possible.”

I nodded. “Now that I can trust you, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Over the next few minutes, the summoned building continued to solidify. As it came closer to filling in, the entire party made their way over to watch. It was a fascinating process.

First, the outline of wooden walls appeared. Then the shapes adjusted to accommodate the terrain. Steps flowed out of an entrance to the side, and another facing the waterway. When the stairs at the front touched the edge of the water, they immediately reformed into a small dock-side porch.

“I wonder if we can get a slide,” I said to myself, musing as I watched the transformation.

At my words, a sloping outline pushed out of the solidifying mass. By the time the construction was done, we had a porch overlooking the water and a smooth, steeply sloping slide that led into it.

Nym clapped with excitement. “Oh, I love it!”

Finally, the spell finished. A glimmering dome enclosed a large wooden cabin that could have been borrowed straight from Earth. As one, the women rushed up to the land-facing entrance.

Collecting the treasure chest, I joined them.