ATTENTION BRAVE SOULS OF NEW DARIA
JOIN THE ELITE RANKS OF THE ADVENTURERS GUILD
Are you tired of sitting on the sidelines while the forces of darkness encroach upon our lands? Do you hunger for glory, treasure, and the thrill of battle? Look no further! The Adventurers Guild wants YOU to be a part of the vanguard defending our realm from the perils that lurk beyond...
2024-03-28 03:00:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Laurel’s Café was apparently far too upscale an establishment to exist in any proximity to an unsophisticated location like Artisan’s Row. It took a while for them to walk across the several districts to reach the fancier, more upmarket end of town.
Ali didn’t mind though, enjoying the beautiful late morning sunshine that cast the entire town in a much more pleasant light. With something as simple as a change of clothing, Ali was amazed ...
2024-03-28 02:58:30 +0000 UTC View PostMyrin’s Keep was surprisingly extensive. Given the way her friends had described it, Ali had initially formed the impression that it would be a little hamlet, littered with trash and overrun with bad people like a plague of rats. She and Mato had left in a rush in the quiet before dawn, almost a week ago, but now the streets bustled with activity and noise. It was not nearly as large as Dal’mohra had been, obviously, but it was still large enough that she h...
2024-03-28 02:57:33 +0000 UTC View PostWhile the value of teleportation magic in combat, travel, or escape is undeniable, it truly shines when one considers commerce and the economy of nations. Long-range teleportation skills are both rare and expensive but with the addition of a simple locus and a mana storage device – or a battery of acolytes supplying mana – a town or city can dramatically shrink the distance between itself and the economic centers of the kingdom. Travel then becomes far easier for those with means, and...
2024-03-28 02:55:37 +0000 UTC View Post
Mato’s body twisted and warped as he shifted from his Bear Form, leaving him lying on his back in the middle of the clearing, panting and drenched in sweat and worse. The cool touch of the early morning breeze felt invigorating as it gently cleared the stench of burnt flesh and wood, and the sharp pungent ozone of lightning magic.
As he lay staring up at the clear blue sky, he smiled. It had been an intense fight, and he had even come very close ...
2024-03-28 02:53:35 +0000 UTC View PostElite Goblins are rare. Perhaps one in a thousand or fewer are born with a mana affinity or unlock an uncommon class. But they breed so fast…
- The Unexplored Lands, by Lyeneru Silverleaf, Elven Pathfinders Guild.
It had been one of Ali’s wolves that had brought news of Calen and Malika’s crisis and of the scent of Goblins. He had been sure he was close enough to get to Ali, and still make it back...
2024-03-28 02:19:32 +0000 UTC View PostThe problem with Goblins is that there’s never just one of the blighters.
- Bragni Doomhammer [The Hammer of Justice], Dwarven King of Dal’mohra.
Malika trudged along the game trail, forcing her tired eyes to keep scanning the forest around her. It was a little after dawn, and the forest felt hushed as if it held its breath, waiting for something to happen. She was exhausted. Neither she nor Calen...
2024-03-28 02:15:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Mato crouched in a dirty alleyway in the dim predawn light, extending a morsel of food on the palm of his hand to the timid stray dog. He held the pillow under one arm and tried not to get it dirty. Under normal circumstances, he would have avoided even entering such a dangerous part of town, but he needed information.
At least I’m level eleven now. It wasn’t a particularly high level, but, pitted against the typical denizens that lurk...
2024-03-28 02:14:01 +0000 UTC View PostWe’re not out yet. Keep alert.
Mato held his emotions in check as he followed Ali out of the shattered stone doors of the ruined underground city, heading towards what she assured him was the forest cavern above. She was clearly emotional as they left the dark Kobold-infested ruins behind, but he remained vigilant, keeping an eye on the shadows just in case.
He limped a little as he walked, pain throbbing through the...
2024-03-28 02:10:04 +0000 UTC View PostMato sat in silence, keeping watch. Ali had barricaded the doorway as usual, but he had been struggling to sleep the last couple of days, and keeping watch felt like he was doing something useful.
I’m so sick of this place.
They had been trapped down here in these endlessly bleak, dark stone ruins for more than a week, now. He missed the trees and the sunshine. Down here, the only things that grew were the u...
2024-03-28 02:01:22 +0000 UTC View PostEveryone knows about the existence of dungeons. Adventurers risk their lives for fame and fortune to defeat the denizens that inhabit these strange places. Once you graduate from the rank of Novice, you, too, will be asked to delve into dungeons to protect our lands and people.
But what are dungeons, really? Some say dungeons are manifestations of mana or acts of the gods. Some are convinced they are a class, a type of creature, an artifact, or a crystal. Others believe the...
2024-03-28 01:56:59 +0000 UTC View PostYou have been afflicted with Domain Withdrawal.
Separation from your domain weakens you.
-10% to maximum health.
Affliction – Duration: Indefinite. Count: 4
Ali moaned quietly and sat up, realizing there was no way she was going to get any more sleep. Not that she had slept particularly well anyway.
She stared at the golden text of the notificat...
2024-03-28 01:51:51 +0000 UTC View PostMalika’s awareness surfaced through a leaden sea of lethargy like a drowning swimmer trying to catch a breath. Her mind was hazy with an undercurrent of panic, barely registering the hard wooden floorboards bouncing and bucking beneath her battered body, and the strange crashing noises in the background. She struggled weakly but nothing seemed to work. A few moments later, the crushing exhaustion bore down on her, dragging her consciousness under once more.
... 2024-03-28 01:47:30 +0000 UTC View PostStealth skills are uncommon, in truth, but we Pathfinders cannot afford to ignore them. Far too many have found themselves dead before they even knew what hit them, victims of Ambush attacks from the concealment of a good stealth skill.
For those of you who wish to take the Tank role, you can mitigate the effects of stealth and Ambush by the simple expedient of having enough health and armor to survive, and further investing enough into endurance to bl...
2024-03-28 01:40:30 +0000 UTC View PostYou have been afflicted with Domain Withdrawal.
Separation from your domain weakens you.
-10% to maximum health.
Affliction – Duration: Indefinite. Count: 1
Ali woke screaming as an agony like nothing she had ever known tore through her body and mind, rendering her incapable of anything other than curling up into a ball. She hung on, desp...
2024-03-28 01:34:33 +0000 UTC View PostKobolds are a reptilian humanoid monster-race distantly related to dragons. Typically standing a little taller than three feet, they are physically weak, making up for this deficiency with their numbers, cunning, and proficiency with traps. They walk upright on digitigrade taloned feet, using their tails to support their movement. While their hands are also taloned, and they possess typically reptilian fanged jaws, they tend to prefer weapons such as swords, daggers, or even rocks for fig...
2024-03-28 01:11:18 +0000 UTC View PostNature magic is such a broad category that it would take many volumes and the efforts of armies of scholars to fully classify. The simplest way to explain nature magic is to note that it is an affinity with life. The life of plants, animals, and the world itself. Within its domain are magics concerned with summoning or communing with plants and creatures, shapeshifting, and healing or growth. Always with nature, there is balance. Where there is life there is death, and where there is grow...
2024-03-28 01:06:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Ali followed along, bringing her summoned monsters prowling beside her as they picked their way through the dark, bone-littered area of the cavern. Calen had surprisingly sharp eyes, easily calling out the skeletons hidden in the darkness well before any of the others could spot them, saving them time and again from deadly surprises.
With each skeleton that crawled, clacking and creaking out of cracks in the walls or from behind decaying trees,...
2024-03-28 01:02:46 +0000 UTC View PostTala darted across the slate-tiled rooftop and leapt the alleyway, landing quietly upon the roof of the bakery on the opposite side. Nobody ever looked up – even without her potent stealth skills, she would remain invisible. A chill wind blew out of the dark brooding clouds that had gathered in the short span of time she had spent reporting to Kieran Mori, biting through her leather armor with an insistence that promised a storm.
Despite her co...
2024-03-28 01:00:22 +0000 UTC View PostMato paced back and forth, his excitement growing by the moment, while Calen and Malika hashed out the details of their plan. He was going to test his skills in a real battle.
I can’t wait!
“So, Malika is our tank and healer, me and Mato are damage dealers, and Ali is our support mage?” Calen asked, confirming their final arrangement.
“Sounds right,” Malika answered. “I’ll go get us som...
2024-03-28 00:57:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Mato awoke to the fluting song of a robin greeting the pre-dawn light through the open windows in his bedroom. This had been his room for as long as he could remember, even before his older brothers had moved out.
Perhaps it’s time for me to find my own place, he thought. Something out in the forest like his brothers would suit him fine, somewhere away from the ugliness of town life and a little more connected with nature. To be surround...
2024-03-28 00:49:33 +0000 UTC View Post
After breakfast, Ali followed Malika out into the darkness as they searched for monsters to test themselves against. The transition as she stepped out of her mossy domain around the shrine and into the larger cavern was jarring, going from invigorating and vibrant to death and decay in the space of just a couple of steps. Ali shivered involuntarily and summoned a small barrier for light, trying not to breathe quite so deeply through her nose.
A...
2024-03-28 00:42:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Calen sprinted down the moonlit street, cloaking his form with his new Eclipse skill. The street was deserted, all the normal merchants, crafters, and townsfolk having retreated to the relative safety of their locked doors and barred windows. All that remained was the litter and trash strewn about from the day’s busy activities. Under normal circumstances, he would not have attempted to cut across town in the dead of night, but with the stealth provided by his cla...
2024-03-28 00:36:29 +0000 UTC View PostIntelligence is the premier attribute of the mage. Known variously as intellect, mind, or spell power, Intelligence provides all that, and more! The most sought-after effect is that Intelligence scales most magical damage or spell potency. However, it also provides benefits in learning languages, improved memory, and the ability to focus on more things simultaneously.
- Excerpt from The Adventurer’s Guide, Third Edition
Ali sat chatting with Malika for quite a long while, initially just happy with her new ability to communicate. Sage of Learning still took a point of mana here or there to fill in some missed meaning while she was listening, but it proved significantly harder to speak. Stumbling frequently with her language proficiency, she began to tell Malika a little about her life and how she had grown up in the great city of Dal’mohra, but before long she found herself cir...
2024-03-28 00:27:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Calen ranged out with his skills active, Mato loping almost silently beside him in the form of a disconcertingly large wolf. He was as tall at the shoulder as that Starving Alpha wolf, but there was far more bulk to his frame and his reddish-brown fur wasn’t matted and dirty like the monsters’. It was rather bizarre to see his friend in this form, but it served only to emphasize the undercurrent of excitement he felt. He had finally earned his Class, and it was ...
2024-03-27 19:24:20 +0000 UTC View PostOn the topic of combat versus non-combat classes, opinions are sharply divided. While most scholars believe that the system makes a clear delineation between the two, there is a vocal minority that argues the boundaries are much more fungible. On one side, the system itself categorizes class offerings separately, one of which is a category called ‘combat’. On the other side, scholars point at the many (often unethical) experiments showing that a farmer or blacksmith hitting monsters f...
2024-03-27 19:12:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Tala darted down the street, hugging the walls to dodge the broad patches of moonlight. Her soft leather boots barely made a sound as her feet fell lightly on the rough stone pavement.
She may have grown up in the slums of Myrin’s Keep, but that didn’t mean she could be careless. On the contrary, it merely made her far more cautious of the denizens that prowled the streets after dark.
But while her eyes and ears were constant...
2024-03-27 16:46:07 +0000 UTC View Post
It was probably morning above ground, but such things did not have much meaning down here in this dark and dead underground forest. Calen rose to his feet from where he’d been keeping watch and began making the rounds to wake his companions. They had camped for a little over two hours – more than long enough to regenerate stamina and mana – but some things took more than regeneration and potions to recover. His gaze lingered on the pile of rocks Mato had heape...
2024-03-27 16:34:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Malika wrinkled her aching nose in vain against the overpowering stench of the sewer, but the soft soothing pulse of the healing potion’s magic was rapidly erasing her scrapes and bruises. She followed the group, hanging back and letting the more adventurous – and better-equipped – members take the lead. The flicker of their torches brought a dim, dancing warmth and light to the crumbling damp brick walls. The dank tunnel reeked of decay and filth and the sli...
2024-03-27 16:28:35 +0000 UTC View Post