the Ice Caverns of the Mad Pyromancer

A fire vent meets the cavern ice: a scalding steam blast fills the room. The party must brace together or scatter.

They might have chosen to brace together, or scatter and regroup — Pico della Mirandola made the case: "The safety margin is where the good magic lives." The party chose to sift the rubble.

🪨 The party sifts a fall of rubble: 40 gold.

🛡️ The order settles with Pico della Mirandola at the head of it: whatever comes, comes to them.

One of the thawed dead, steaming gently holds the room (attack 11, health 21). The party must decide how to get past it. It is venomous: even a won fight leaves poison working, unless a cleric cures it. It will not face the cleric: undead take holy damage ×1.5. A font holds water that has been still a long time and is somehow clean. A sarcophagus stands against the wall with its lid slightly wrong.

They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Isabella Cortese made the case: "Shake it and see." The party chose to bless the font and drink.

⛲ The cleric says the words over a stone font of still water and the party drinks: 12 health healed.

An ice crawler with too many pick-shaped legs holds the room (attack 9, health 20). The party must decide how to get past it. It is a swarm: spell openings hit it ×1.5. It keeps clear of the torches: weak to fire (fire damage ×1.5). A crack runs the width of the room, wide enough to matter and too wide to jump twice.

They might have chosen to fall back, or sneak past — Robert Fludd made the case: "Every door is a suggestion." The party chose to stand and fight.

🪄 Pico della Mirandola uses the Wand of Embers — Meteor Fall: 8 damage before round one. ⚔️ The party kills an ice crawler with too many pick-shaped legs in 1 round, taking 0 damage. 🗡️ The greatsword takes a whole rank of them at a stroke: 3 more damage a round. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 🎒 4 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.

A library. The party can study here to learn spells. Shelves sag under books nobody has audited in a century. A font holds water that has been still a long time and is somehow clean.

They might have chosen to reconstruct the mosaic from memory, or recognize the mosaic — Marsilio Ficino made the case: "The god counts. So do I." The party chose to imagine what the image should be.

✨ Your creative instinct pieces together something that was never there but might have been. A hidden cache reveals itself. +10 gold, +16 score. 🎓 It is answered from three directions at once and stays answered: +25 renown.

A cinder imp wearing a snowball like armor holds the room (attack 9, health 17). The party must decide how to get past it. It flinches from the cold: weak to frost (frost damage ×1.5). A pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible.

They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Pico della Mirandola made the case: "Transmutation started as a hobby. It's a livelihood now." The party chose to shove it into the pit.

🕳️ The party shoves the monster into an open pit: 16 damage, and it has to climb back out. ⚔️ A cinder imp wearing a snowball like armor is finished before it can strike back. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 💥 The Reckless finish the fight with style: +5 score. 🎒 2 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.

A shrine. Resting here heals the party; the gold leaf on the altar could be stripped instead. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind. A sarcophagus stands against the wall with its lid slightly wrong.

They might have chosen to rest and heal, or strip the gold leaf — Isabella Cortese made the case: "Add nothing until you know what it does. Then add plenty." The party chose to pry the sarcophagus open.

⚰️ The party pries the lid off a stone sarcophagus: 55 gold.

A frost wisp singed around the edges holds the room (attack 8, health 14). The party must decide how to get past it. It is ethereal: weapons do only 60% damage unless a cleric blesses the blades. It keeps clear of the torches: weak to fire (fire damage ×1.5). A bed of rusted spikes stands out of the floor, most of them still upright. A pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible.

They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Robert Fludd made the case: "I disarm faster when it's already ticking." The party chose to sneak past.

🗡️ The rogue leads the party past a frost wisp singed around the edges unseen. No damage taken; +15 score. 👢 The Boots of the Quiet Step add +1.5 to the sneak roll. 💡 Dancing Light revealed the watcher's position: +1 to the sneak roll.

🕯️ Someone checks the reservoir and does not like the answer: oil for 2 more marches.

A trap blocks the corridor. The party must disarm it, avoid it, or take the hit. A pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible. Half the ceiling is on the floor, in pieces worth stepping around.

They might have chosen to solve the progression, or read the dust — Robert Fludd made the case: "Doors, guards, promises — all pickable." The party chose to disarm the trap.

🗝️ The rogue disarms the trap. No damage taken; +20 score. 🗝️ The Masterwork Lockpicks add +1.5 to the disarm roll.

🕯️ Someone checks the reservoir and does not like the answer: oil for 1 more march. 🧭 The Covetous wanted the weapon rack: the party turns off into the barracks wing. Its rooms join the route.

A connecting corridor. Nothing blocks the way; the party moves through. A gargoyle spout drips something that is not water into a stained channel.

They might have chosen to move on — Pico della Mirandola made the case: "Overchannel? I call it generous casting." The party chose to harvest the spout.

🗿 The alchemist bottles what drips from a gargoyle spout, dripping: 20 gold.

🕯️ The last of the oil goes. From here the party walks in the dark.

A treasure chest sits in the room. It may hold gold; it may be a mimic. Somebody stacked supplies here and never came back for them.

They might have chosen to inspect it first, or leave it alone — Isabella Cortese made the case: "Everything in this room fits in my satchel if I believe." The party chose to loot the treasure.

💰 The party loots the chest: 36 gold.

💡 No oil left, so Dancing Light does the work — light enough to walk by, and 3 damage nobody pays.

The boss chamber. The Mad Pyromancer, delighted someone flammable came waits at its center (attack 21, health 49); killing it clears the dungeon. It flinches from the cold: weak to frost (frost damage ×1.5). A pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible. A silvered mirror leans against the wall, and it shows the room more honestly than the room does.

They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Robert Fludd made the case: "I already know which part of it sells." The party chose to shove it into the pit.

🕳️ The party shoves the monster into an open pit: 18 damage, and it has to climb back out. ⚔️ The party kills the Mad Pyromancer, delighted someone flammable came in 2 rounds, taking 10 damage. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 🛡️ Aegis of Ash goes up before the first blow: 2 less damage every round. 🎒 8 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.

✚ That one leaves a mark on Pico della Mirandola. Their ceiling drops to 11 for the rest of the delve. The Reckless do not stop to bind anything, and more of it stays with them.