the Old Delve

A chittering rat swarm holds the room (attack 8, 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 bed of rusted spikes stands out of the floor, most of them still upright. A sarcophagus stands against the wall with its lid slightly wrong.

They might have chosen to speak with whatever wears the armour, or name the armour by its heraldry — Johannes Trithemius made the case: "I'll scout it — from inside." The party chose to put the armour down.

⚔️ Empty armour does dent like full armour, and hits back like it too. 4 damage, a great deal of noise, and the party comes out of it spread across the passage.

🛡️ The order settles with Cornelius Agrippa at the head of it: whatever comes, comes to them.

✚ Cornelius Agrippa takes a wound that will not close down here. Healing can bring them back to 12, no further, until town. The Reckless do not stop to bind anything, and more of it stays with them.

A gelatinous horror holds the room (attack 10, health 37). The party must decide how to get past it. Plate and chitin cover it: the party's blows do 2 less damage each round. It flinches from the cold: weak to frost (frost damage ×1.5). Somebody stacked supplies here and never came back for them. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.

They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Cornelius Agrippa made the case: "Stand back — this is the part I'm for." 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 a gelatinous horror in 1 round, taking 0 damage. 📐 The party meets it standing as the last room left them. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 🗡️ The daggers land before the argument starts: nothing comes back in the first round. 🎒 5 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.

A trap blocks the corridor. The party must disarm it, avoid it, or take the hit. A tripwire runs up the wall to a bell: an alarm trap. Little damage, but the next monster will be warned (+2 attack).

They might have chosen to disarm the trap, or search for a way around — Pico della Mirandola made the case: "The safety margin is where the good magic lives." The party chose to push through and take the hit.

💥 The party pushes through the trap, taking 2 damage. 🔔 The alarm rings through the dungeon: the next monster will attack with +2.

A cold-eyed wraith holds the room (attack 16, health 24). The party must decide how to get past it. 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 pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible. A crack runs the width of the room, wide enough to matter and too wide to jump twice.

They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Pico della Mirandola made the case: "I did not memorize this spell to whisper it." The party chose to open with a combat spell.

🔥 The caster opens with Radiant Lance, chosen precisely for the monster's holy weakness: spell damage ×1.5. ⚔️ A cold-eyed wraith is dead before the party closes: it never gets a round. 🔔 The alarm tripped earlier warned it: the monster attacks with +2 this fight. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 🗡️ The daggers land before the argument starts: nothing comes back in the first round. 🎒 4 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.

🕯️ The lantern is burning low: oil for 2 more marches.

A shrine. Resting here heals the party; the gold leaf on the altar could be stripped instead. A silvered mirror leans against the wall, and it shows the room more honestly than the room does. A brazier burns in its bracket — nobody has been here to feed it, and it burns anyway.

They might have chosen to bring the fever down, or diagnose and treat the fever — Johannes Trithemius made the case: "Quietly is for people with time." The party chose to push through and take the hit.

🤒 Johannes Trithemius is carried rather than treated, and the fever takes its price in full: 6 damage, and the party files through the next passage strung out around the litter.

🕯️ The wick is well down the oil. 1 more march of light, then none.

✚ Johannes Trithemius takes a wound that will not close down here. Healing can bring them back to 9, no further, until town. The Reckless do not stop to bind anything, and more of it stays with them.

A library. The party can study here to learn spells. A brazier burns in its bracket — nobody has been here to feed it, and it burns anyway. A font holds water that has been still a long time and is somehow clean.

They might have chosen to study the shelves, or move on — Pico della Mirandola made the case: "Range is a suggestion. Watch." The party chose to read the sealed texts.

🔏 The wizard reads the sealed texts: 2 spells learned, including a forbidden working. +50 score.

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

A cold-eyed wraith holds the room (attack 16, health 24). The party must decide how to get past it. 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. Somebody stacked supplies here and never came back for them.

They might have chosen to accept the duel, or negotiate the terms — Johannes Trithemius made the case: "Traps are just puzzles with stakes." The party chose to sneak past.

🗡️ The rogue leads the party past a cold-eyed wraith 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.

💡 Dancing Light kindles in the empty air and the party walks on seeing. The dark takes nothing.

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 disarm the trap, or push through and take the hit — Michael Maier made the case: "Every explosion is a lesson. Class is in session." The party chose to sift the rubble.

🪨 The party sifts a fall of rubble: 13 gold.

The boss chamber. The Ogre King Under the Stair waits at its center (attack 28, health 77); killing it clears the dungeon. Plate and chitin cover it: the party's blows do 2 less damage each round. A pit takes up a third of the floor. The bottom is not visible. A portcullis hangs raised above the passage, on a chain that still turns.

They might have chosen to fall back, or open with a combat spell — the Reckless settled it by going first. The party chose to stand and fight.

🪄 Cornelius Agrippa uses the Haunted Armor — The Ghost Objects: a summon adding 1 attack each round. ☠️ The Ogre King Under the Stair is too strong: the party is beaten down over 5 rounds. 🩸 Most of that lands on Pico della Mirandola — 13 of the 56 taken. 📐 The party meets it standing as the last room left them. 🔪 Six knives arrive before the party does: 4 damage before the first round. 🗡️ The daggers land before the argument starts: nothing comes back in the first round. 🎒 4 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.

☠️ Johannes Trithemius falls. The party's rogue is dead; the 3 still standing march on.

☠️ Cornelius Agrippa falls. The party's fighter is dead; the 2 still standing march on.

☠️ Pico della Mirandola falls. The party's wizard is dead; one of them is still standing.

☠️ Michael Maier falls. The party's alchemist is dead, and there is nobody left to carry them out.