Definition: Pick up group (abbrev. PUG).
An opportunistic raiding group formed from relative strangers who have no experience fighting together. Over time, this term has become a derogatory label for any moderately inexperienced group that has not fully mastered their teamwork or even for more experienced teams when encounters do not go as well as expected.
- Excerpt from The Adventurer’s Guide, Third Edition
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2024-09-15 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post“Thanks for the warning, Aliandra,” Vivian said.
“Yes, I thought it was better to be safe,” Ali said, taking her leave from Vivian’s office and returning to the guild hall. At least she took me seriously. She had no idea what she would do if her minions accidentally killed one of the novices. I hope they take it seriously too. She would hate to have to unsummon her first boss because she had been over-enthusiastic ...
2024-09-12 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostDue to the enormous potential for economic disruption, every Silver Cog Trading Co. Appraiser must be familiar with the major classifications for dungeons. Whenever a new dungeon emerges in a region, ascertaining its value before the competition is of paramount importance to reevaluating and pivoting our business interests in the area, and must be accurately completed before the economic fallout materializes.
The categorizations then, in order of incre...
2024-09-10 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThere is more treasure, power, and knowledge to be found hiding in the darkness where lesser minds fear to look.
- Nevyn Eld [Guardian of the Realm], Professor of Domain Magic, University of Dal’mohra.
Ali sat at the desk, heart pounding in her chest, staring at it in trepidation. She had spent the last couple of days reading and studying everything Ryn had found on dungeons, and still, she had made absolutely no pro...
2024-09-08 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Ok, everybody ready?” Teagan asked, getting nods and monosyllabic grunts of affirmation as she surveyed her team. Vivian always stressed the importance of explicitly confirming engagement before entering the sewers, and she was determined to follow the proper procedure.
Especially considering she had two recruits today. Willow, Braden, and even Basil were all experienced enough that she didn’t necessarily have to remind them, but Nichola...
2024-09-05 14:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
I released the regular Myrin's Keep map to Royal Road already (And it's also available on @rustymaps )
However, I also commissioned this alternate version which is going to be a little Patreon bonus. Hope you like it :)
The regularly scheduled chapter will drop in a few minutes.
The map I commissioned for Myrin's Keep is done and I'm delighted with how it turned out! Zoom in to see the details and the legend for many of the locations used in the story is at the bottom left.
The artist has been amazing to work with. If you have a few moments, I'd love it if you could visit their official Instagram post here: @rustymaps and give it a like or a supportive ...
Finding himself with a little time on his hands while Lyeneru and Nathaniel Sunstrider conferred privately on guild business, Calen surveyed the guild hall. There was a quiet bustle within the halls of the Pathfinder Guild headquarters, with a constant stream of people coming and going. The guild’s jobs and training boards had a cluster of people chatting softly while examining the offerings and the reception desk had a line.
At the far end of...
2024-09-03 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post“So, what do you think?” Ali asked. She floated along beside Mato through the sewer tunnel pointing out her new Poison Cloud traps and explaining – probably in far more detail than he cared to hear – how her new runic magic worked.
“It’s a great idea, Ali,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “You need something that isn’t poison to deal with the undead, though.”
“Yup,” she agreed. As if on cue, ...
2024-09-01 14:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Happy Friday - A quick bonus chapter today. Next chapter will be on Sunday as usual.
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It was day three of our delve and we still had no idea how devious the poison dungeon really was. We had fought our way through several densely populated caverns filled with scorpions, spiders, and venomous snakes and already Faelor, our tank, was complaining about how much he hated the dungeon. Near the evening, we found a tunnel leading to what looked like a decent ...
2024-08-30 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAli glanced up from her book as Mato stirred and finally got up. “Good morning,” she said.
“Bleh,” he managed, rubbing his eyes.
“The bear emerges from his hibernation,” she chirped.
“Too early, Ali. Way too early.”
She left him to stomp around and returned to her story. Ryn, she reflected, was a genius at finding the best books, and the tiny collection in their library ...
2024-08-29 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIn the lore of the Elves, custodianship of the three Great Wells was granted to the three Elven kingdoms by divine providence: the hand of Lunaré herself.
To the Night Elves, she bequeathed the Well of Eternity, representing the eternal dream and the final repose of death. To the Sun Elves, she gifted the Well of Divinity and the domains of light and holy, a bridge to the gods. She charged the Wood Elves with custodianship of the Well of Souls, representing mortality, sentience, ...
Apologies for the spam.
If you don't use discord, you can ignore this.
I was working on discord integration and didn't realize everyone would be automatically invited to the channel as soon as it was complete.
So yes: the discord invite from Patreon is legit and your account didn't get hacked.
Details:
The server is called LitrpgForge. It's a good reader and author community with several different book channels.
Your patreon subscription now includes permis...
The Dungeon Survival Guide.
This is by no means a complete checklist, but it is the bare minimum to be considered if you wish to survive. This checklist represents the distilled wisdom of the most experienced dungeon delvers in the Pathfinders Guild. The order is not intended to convey any relative priority – every single point is critical and will save your life and the lives of your companions – and even following this checklist will not guarantee surviv...
A/N: Bonus chapter today, I hope you enjoy it!
Royal Road got a couple of bonus chapters this week - they just received the arc where Ali learns about the nature of her class. That means Patreon has fallen back to exactly 20 chapters ahead - which is what I promised. However, I like over-delivering on promises, so I'll look to add a bonus chapter or two for you all over the next couple of weeks to get us a nice buffer.
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At the height of its powe...
2024-08-24 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAli flew down the ventilation shaft, growing ivy and creepers along the way before heading out through the ruined city toward the library. It wasn’t necessary to reconnect her domain through the shaft given that it flowed up through the library and out through the cavern she had given to Lira, but after having had the bulk of her domain destroyed by disconnection once already, she felt safer having the redundant link. After all, she had wiped out half the Rui...
2024-08-22 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostIt was late afternoon by the time she and Mato reached the Adventurers Guild. Ali paused and stared at the heavy oak doors with their distinctive heavy brass handles gleaming from the reflected rays of the mid-morning sun. It had been quite some time since she had entered the guild – so much had transpired. A complex knot of emotions twisted around inside her. The last time she had entered through these doors had been before the business with Alexander Gray, ...
2024-08-20 14:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostDo not mistake its true nature – stealth is an attack against the perception attribute, skills, and focus of the defender. This is why it is so much harder to regain it once lost.
- Excerpt from The Adventurer’s Guide, Third Edition
“Which way?” Lyeneru asked.
Calen fed a trickle of mana into the Wanderer’s gift – his powerful tracking advancement – and felt a distinct ...
2024-08-18 14:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: Bonus chapter today. Royal Road is about to get the big dungeon reveal and I plan on releasing a few bonus chapters for them, so I want to preemptively advance Patreon so we stay properly ahead. This chapter is a good opportunity for that because of the cliff in the last chapter.
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“I said, use everything! Stop trying to ignore your Soul Sight. Do you think you can defeat me without it?” Unconsciously or not, the girl w...
2024-08-16 14:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Where do we go?” Ali asked, turning to look at Ryn as they stood waiting in line at the Novaspark Academy of Magic. She was a little out of breath, having had to rush across town to get Ryn, and then to the bank to get money. But they had still arrived ahead of Mato and Malika.
Where are they? Ali wasn’t sure what was keeping them, but given how much pain Malika was in, it couldn’t be good.
“We should go...
2024-08-15 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostA/N (Apple Users): Patreon informed me that starting in November, they will be adding a 30% surcharge to any purchases made through the iOS store. If you use Patreon's Apple app, I highly recommend handling payments through a web client to save this cost.
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Calen’s heart raced as he sprinted after Lyeneru, weaving between the trees dotted around the dark cavern above the library. He was fast compared to his friends, but the Ni...
2024-08-13 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostTo master the path of the sword, the staff, or the fist, one must first master oneself.
- Kamari Ren, Ahn Khen Elder, legendary master and inheritor of the Ninefold Way: Fists of Coherent Integrity.
Mato caught himself staring at the now-empty spiral staircase ascending out of the library and the darkness into which his friend had just disappeared. With a start, he collected himself and returned his attention to his cook...
2024-08-11 14:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post“Bye, tree lady!”
“Thank you for playing with us.”
“Bye, Miss Dryad.”
Lira waved goodbye to the kids and retreated into the twisted and warped trunk of the unfamiliar playground eucalyptus tree, melding her body and mind with its heartwood. She offered it her gratitude for its sacrifice of branch and root and applied her mana to unwind and retract the roots and restore the branches to their nat...
2024-08-08 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostLooking up, Ali met the necromancer’s gaze, and felt a chill run the length of her spine. He’s smiling?
“You whelp! Did you think it would be that easy?” he shouted.
He raised a fist and a dark, seething magic appeared within it. All around him, the chains connecting him to the immobile slaves pulsed. Each wore a collar that glowed with the same black mana, and each of them had eyes filled with terror.
<... 2024-08-06 14:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I always love a good showdown - super fun to imagine.
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Ali rotated her mages through the softly glowing Inspiration runic circle she had inscribed directly onto the stone of the battlement behind one of the merlons to regenerate their mana – a spell that her fellow defenders had come to appreciate greatly.
She snapped a barrier into place above the wall, blocking an embrasure, causing a well-aimed Ice Lance...
2024-08-04 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: I'm celebrating reaching 100 subscribers a couple of days ago. It's a milestone I never imagined reaching, so here's a bonus chapter! The regular Sunday chapter will still release at the usual time.
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Calen hovered high over the northern battlements, watching the Torian army finish encamping in the early twilight. The details stood out, clearly visible with his enhanced vision.
That looks like the commande...
2024-08-02 14:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostAli closed her book and let her Sage skill drop. She closed her eyes and reviewed the story in her mind, perfectly memorized by her skill. It was a delightful story about a clumsy adventurer who wandered the lands solving problems by accident, often not even realizing the impact of his actions. She looked up and saw Ryn sitting on the stone floor of the library, her back up against an empty bookshelf and her untouched dinner still resting in her lap.
&nbs...
2024-08-01 14:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostA/N: New chapter wherein our little Fae learns to farm! Only, her technique is anything but conventional :)
Hope you enjoy it.
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Ali watched Mato shuffling past like a sleepwalker in a dream with not a single ounce of his usual energetic enthusiasm on display.
What happened to him? He looks… calm? Serene?
His behavior was so out of character that Ali’s concern for hi...
2024-07-30 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostVivian sat back in her seat, surveying the chaotic hubbub of the milling crowd. Aliandra appeared to be in something of a daze, sitting quietly in an eye of calm at the center, nobody yet having the courage to brave her Forest Guardians and approach – but there was a large crowd of people paying their respects to Lirasia, congratulating Malika and Calen, or talking with the mayor.
Vivian studied the regal-looking Dryad, answering questio...
2024-07-28 14:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostEconomics – to oversimplify drastically – is nothing more than the balance of supply and demand made liquid by the application of currency.
Dungeons, by their very nature, break this.
I am well aware of how the Silver Cog Trading Company has wrought its substantial successes due to the timely and skillful locking-down of important dungeon trading contracts, but objectively, dungeons are a disaster for a stable economy. At the core of the problem is the dungeon respawn....