nightmare · 9 rooms · came back · seed log-nightmare-71
4 damage, a great deal of noise, and the party comes out of it spread across the passage.
The line this delve would be retold by.
10 of 12 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. | Simon Forman carries it (4 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 |
| missed | If every room is a beat, no room is. | flat: peak 3 against a median of 2 — no room stands out |
| met | A choice reads as a choice only when the alternatives are named. | 9 of 9 deliberations name a road not taken |
| n/a | A death is only worth reading if the dead had a line first. | nobody fell |
| met | Name the thing and state the number. | 8 of 9 resolutions state a number |
| met | The party should not argue in one voice. | 4 distinct voices across 9 deliberations |
| met | No sentence should appear twice in one delve, verbatim. | every effect line is said once |
| 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 |
| met | The back half should cost more than the front half. | front half 2, back half 7 |
| met | The ending should answer the delve it ended. | the epitaph names somebody who went down |
An ice crawler with too many pick-shaped legs holds the room (attack 12, health 26). 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 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 accept the duel, or negotiate the terms — Simon Forman made the case: "The god helps those who check for tripwires." The party chose to recognize his school.
📖 The guard is Bolognese, the counter to it is on a page somebody in the party has read, and the bout lasts four seconds. He takes it well, and mentions what is waiting further down. +26 score, and the next snare is known. 🎓 Near enough to the discipline to try, not near enough to be paid for it: 10 renown short.
🛡️ The order settles with Simon Forman at the head of it: whatever comes, comes to them.
An ice crawler with too many pick-shaped legs holds the room (attack 12, health 26). 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). Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.
They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Margaret Cavendish made the case: "There's a cheaper way to do this. There always is." The party chose to open with a combat spell.
🔥 Cause Fear opens the fight; against a swarm the spell hits ×1.5. ⚔️ An ice crawler with too many pick-shaped legs is dead before the party closes: it never gets a round. 🧱 The party fights from behind a row of squat pillars: 1 less damage per round. 💥 The Reckless finish the fight with style: +5 score. 🎒 3 more preparations hold besides — the ledger keeps them.
A library. The party can study here to learn spells. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind. A brazier burns in its bracket — nobody has been here to feed it, and it burns anyway.
They might have chosen to read the sealed texts, or study the shelves — John Dee made the case: "The god forgives. That's the whole strategy." The party chose to move on.
The party moves on to the next room.
🚶 The party looks into the flooded wing (a floor that slopes down into standing water) and keeps to the main route.
An ice crawler with too many pick-shaped legs holds the room (attack 12, health 26). 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). Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind. Shelves sag under books nobody has audited in a century.
They might have chosen to speak with whatever wears the armour, or name the armour by its heraldry — Kenelm Digby 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.
✚ That one leaves a mark on Simon Forman. Their ceiling drops to 12 for the rest of the delve. The Reckless do not stop to bind anything, and more of it stays with them.
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 — Simon Forman made the case: "Faith walks in front. So do I." The party chose to sift the rubble.
🪨 The party sifts a fall of rubble: 40 gold.
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. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.
They might have chosen to sing the third harmony, or attune the resonances — Margaret Cavendish made the case: "I know a spell for this. It's called leaving." The party chose to endure the discord.
🔊 The discord tears at the ears and nerves, and the party comes out of it well apart, each of them having walked away from the sound in a different direction. 3 damage, and no line to speak of.
✚ 2 wounds on Simon Forman, and the ceiling with them: 10, and no more.
A trap blocks the corridor. The party must disarm it, avoid it, or take the hit. Scorch marks fan out from a seam in the floor: a fire trap. A frost spell can blunt it. 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 — Kenelm Digby made the case: "I disarm faster when it's already ticking." 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.
A connecting corridor. Nothing blocks the way; the party moves through.
They might have chosen to negotiate with it, or answer it in its own tongue — Kenelm Digby made the case: "Quietly is for people with time." The party chose to fight it.
⚔️ It is not a difficult fight, because it was not expecting one. That is most of what is wrong with it: 6 damage, and the passage is clear.
🕯️ The lantern is burning low: oil for 2 more marches.
✚ 3 wounds on Simon Forman, and the ceiling with them: 8, and no more.
The boss chamber. The Glacier's Heart, half-melted and wholly furious waits at its center (attack 24, health 77); killing it clears the dungeon. Plate and chitin cover it: the party's blows do 2 less damage each round. 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. Pillars break the room into aisles — something to fight behind.
They might have chosen to stand and fight, or fall back — Simon Forman made the case: "Heal fast, ask later." The party chose to pry the sarcophagus open.
⚰️ The party pries the lid off a stone sarcophagus: 55 gold.
🕯️ Someone checks the reservoir and does not like the answer: oil for 1 more march.
the Ice Caverns of the Mad Pyromancer is cleared: the boss is dead and the party walks out. Survivors: Simon Forman, Margaret Cavendish, John Dee, Kenelm Digby. Rooms cleared: 9. Trophies carried out: 1 (latest: 🕷️ pick-leg greaves).
Regenerate this exact delve:
npm run simulate -- --seed log-nightmare-71