medium · 11 rooms · came back · seed log-medium-13
🪶 Feather Step takes the party's weight off the floor: 3 less damage from anything underfoot.
The line this delve would be retold by.
10 of 13 values met. A reading, not a grade — the score exists to sort logs, not to judge them.
| Value | What the log shows | |
|---|---|---|
| met | A delve should be about somebody. | Michael Sendivogius carries it (5 mentions against 3); 4/4 named |
| missed | Rooms should be in the order they are for a reason. | nothing any room did reaches any later room |
| met | Something must go wrong, and it should be legible when it does. | 5 rooms cost the party something |
| met | If every room is a beat, no room is. | the loudest room runs 2.5× the median (peak 5, median 2) |
| met | A choice reads as a choice only when the alternatives are named. | 11 of 11 deliberations name a road not taken |
| met | A death is only worth reading if the dead had a line first. | 1 death, each of somebody the reader had met |
| met | Name the thing and state the number. | 10 of 11 resolutions state a number |
| met | The party should not argue in one voice. | 4 distinct voices across 11 deliberations |
| missed | No sentence should appear twice in one delve, verbatim. | 1 effect line printed verbatim more than once (worst ×2) |
| met | The boss should get to be a boss. | the throne room ran an unstated number of rounds |
| met | A resolution should be readable in one breath. | every resolution inside its budget |
| missed | The back half should cost more than the front half. | front half 7, back half 4 |
| met | The ending should answer the delve it ended. | the epitaph names somebody who went down |
A connecting corridor. Nothing blocks the way; the party moves through.
They might have chosen to correct the orrery, or divine the unstable motion — Michael Sendivogius made the case: "Last one in buys the ale!" The party chose to repair the gears.
🔧 The gears are coaxed still and the walls stop. A stripped bronze pinion goes into the satchel: +8 gold, +20 score. 🎓 It is answered from three directions at once and stays answered: +25 renown.
A treasure chest sits in the room. It may hold gold; it may be a mimic. A silvered mirror leans against the wall, and it shows the room more honestly than the room does. Somebody stacked supplies here and never came back for them.
They might have chosen to appraise the three chests, or read the maker's mark — Simon Forman made the case: "I have a strong feeling we should be elsewhere. Call it prophecy." The party chose to loot the treasure.
🦷 The chest is a mimic. It bites for 5 damage before the party kills it, recovering 11 gold.
✚ Michael Sendivogius is opened up badly enough that the delve will keep it: 11 is as whole as they get until town. The Reckless do not stop to bind anything, and more of it stays with them.
A shrine. Resting here heals the party; the gold leaf on the altar could be stripped instead. A font holds water that has been still a long time and is somehow clean. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.
They might have chosen to rest and heal, or move on — Tycho Brahe made the case: "Everything down here is carrying something. I collect." The party chose to strip the gold leaf.
⛏️ The party strips 30 gold of leaf from the altar. The next disaster will hit harder for it.
A trap blocks the corridor. The party must disarm it, avoid it, or take the hit.
They might have chosen to search for a way around, or bypass it with a utility spell — Cornelius Agrippa made the case: "Danger pay. Emphasis on pay." The party chose to push through and take the hit.
💥 The party pushes through the trap, taking 3 damage. The Craven spotted the tripwire first: 1 less damage. 🪶 Feather Step takes the party's weight off the floor: 3 less damage from anything underfoot.
🛡️ Michael Sendivogius takes the front of the march, and the rest fall in behind.
✚ Michael Sendivogius is wounded again — 2 scars now, and nothing can heal them past 9 before town.
The candles go out: the castle itself attacks the party in the dark. The party must brace together or scatter.
They might have chosen to brace together — Michael Sendivogius made the case: "The sword's just how I open lockboxes." The party chose to scatter and regroup.
🌋 The party scatters; nearly everyone finds cover. Minimal damage.
✚ Tycho Brahe is opened up badly enough that the delve will keep it: 11 is as whole as they get until town. The Reckless do not stop to bind anything, and more of it stays with them.
A trap blocks the corridor. The party must disarm it, avoid it, or take the hit. Half the ceiling is on the floor, in pieces worth stepping around. A pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible.
They might have chosen to solve the progression, or ask which square is safe — Simon Forman made the case: "The god forgives. That's the whole strategy." The party chose to read the dust.
👁️ Dust lies thick on the squares that never move. The party walks the dusty ones. +22 score. 🎓 Everything this asks for, the party happens to have brought: +25 renown.
A library. The party can study here to learn spells. Shelves sag under books nobody has audited in a century. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.
They might have chosen to move on — Tycho Brahe made the case: "Last one in buys the ale!" The party chose to study the shelves.
📚 The party studies the shelves and learns 1 spell.
A treasure chest sits in the room. It may hold gold; it may be a mimic. A sarcophagus stands against the wall with its lid slightly wrong.
They might have chosen to inspect it first, or leave it alone — Cornelius Agrippa made the case: "I'll guard the rear. Someone has to. Far back." The party chose to loot the treasure.
💰 The party loots the chest: 56 gold.
The candles go out: the castle itself attacks the party in the dark. The party must brace together or scatter.
They might have chosen to sing the third harmony, or attune the resonances — Michael Sendivogius made the case: "Plan? I'm the plan." The party chose to link the three frequencies.
🔗 The three principles understand each other. Tension dissolves; the frequencies fade into silence, and the walls steady. +16 score. 🎓 It is answered from three directions at once and stays answered: +25 renown.
🕯️ The lantern is burning low: oil for 2 more marches.
The boss chamber. The Vampire Lord, apologizing for the hour waits at its center (attack 11, health 29); killing it clears the dungeon. It is ethereal: weapons do only 60% damage unless a cleric blesses the blades. It will not face the cleric: undead take holy damage ×1.5. A brazier burns in its bracket — nobody has been here to feed it, and it burns anyway. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.
They might have chosen to stand and fight, or turn the undead — Simon Forman made the case: "I have a strong feeling we should be elsewhere. Call it prophecy." The party chose to fall back.
💨 The party retreats, taking 2 damage on the way out. The room stays hostile; they will have to try it again.
🕯️ Someone checks the reservoir and does not like the answer: oil for 1 more march.
They are back. The room has not improved. It is ethereal: weapons do only 60% damage unless a cleric blesses the blades. It will not face the cleric: undead take holy damage ×1.5.
They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Tycho Brahe made the case: "Everything down here is carrying something. I collect." The party chose to shove it into the brazier.
🔥 The party drives the monster into a brazier still burning: 10 fire damage. ⚔️ The party kills the Vampire Lord, apologizing for the hour in 2 rounds, taking 9 damage. 🩸 Most of that lands on Michael Sendivogius — 8 of the 9 taken. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 💥 The Reckless finish the fight with style: +5 score. 🎒 8 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.
🕯️ The lantern dies with the party still under the hill. No more light to carry.
☠️ Michael Sendivogius falls. The party's fighter is dead; the 3 still standing march on.
the Castle of the Vampire Lord is cleared: the boss is dead and the party walks out. Survivors: Simon Forman, Tycho Brahe, Cornelius Agrippa. Rooms cleared: 11. Trophies carried out: 1 (latest: 💍 the Lord's signet).
Regenerate this exact delve:
npm run simulate -- --seed log-medium-13