Chapter Text
Dungeon Master: Welt Yang
Players: Stelle, March 7th, Dan Heng, Himeko
Ships: Stelle x March 7th
A group of adventurers arrive at a tavern, late at night. It is bustling with life, leaving few open seats. A waiter leads them to a lone table. With how busy it is, they’ll have to share the table. The weary travelers take their seats, gazing around at the strangers beside themselves-
“Mr. Yang?”
“Yes, March?”
“Stelle’s eating her dice.”
“Stelle!”
“Sorry! They looked tasty.”
The table burst with laughter as the unfortunate DM, Welt Yang, sighed behind his screen.
“Moving on,” He continued. “They gaze at the strangers sitting beside them. Maybe now would be a good time to introduce themselves.”
“If we don’t introduce ourselves, could we go the whole campaign not knowing each others’ names?” Stelle asked, gazing at the pastel dice set March let her borrow.
“Please do not do that,” Welt answered.
“I’ll go first!” March chimed in, raising a hand. Clearing her throat, she began, “I am the esteemed Lady Mariné, Cleric of Fuli! If you need any healing, just ask!” Out of character, she continued, “I’m Peace Domain, by the way.”
“Thank you, March. Dan Heng, do you want to go next?”
The stoic man blinked, reviewing his character sheet and beginning, “Dakath.”
“Is that all? What class are you? Race?”
“Elf Rogue.”
“I guess that’s all we need to know. Himeko?”
The graceful lady sipped her coffee, saying, “You can call me Hismaia. Tiefling Artificer.”
“Thank you. Stelle?”
“Alright!” The rambunctious, trash-smelling girl began, slamming her hand against the table. “Remember my name. Last name Can. First name Trash.”
“Your name is Trash Can?”
“Yep! I’m a Warforged Barbarian. As a Barbarian, I will now Rage.”
Welt sighed, furrowing his brow, and pleading, “Please don’t do that.”
“What do I roll to Rage?”
“What? You don’t roll to Rage, you can just do it!” March said, watching Stelle’s face light up.
“RAGE!”
“I haven’t even finished the introduction yet,” Welt mumbled. “With the introductions complete, a waiter approaches the table.”
She seems wary, looking around before telling the group, “You shouldn’t be here.”
“That’s mean. I Rage and hit her.”
“She’s trying to warn you about danger-”
“I rolled a nat 20 to hit.”
“I didn’t ask you to roll-”
“It’s a nat 20, though!” March interjected. “Please, Mr. Yang, it’s a really good roll!”
Sighing, the DM answered, deadpan, “You take out your club and hit the waitress. It’s a clean hit, knocking her out immediately. Her body falls to the floor as the tavern’s patrons stare at you. Several of them get to their feet, drawing their weapons.”
“Yeah!” Stelle yelled. “Bring them on!”
“How many are there?” Himeko asked, checking her Spell List with worry. After another sip of her coffee, she continued, “We may need to de-escalate the situation.”
“There are 6 of them. What seems to be their leader approaches you.”
“Let’s try and talk this one out. Everyone in agreement?” Himeko scanned the table, seeing nods of agreement from everyone except a pouting Stelle.
Hismaia clears her throat, beginning, “I am so sorry for what my compatriot here did. I can assure you it won’t happen again.”
“Roll me a Charisma Persuasion check.”
Rolling her dice, Himeko grimaced, saying, “11.”
“That fails.”
“Can I cast Guidance to help her, Mr. Yang?” March asked.
“I don’t see why not. Himeko, add a d4 to your roll.”
“My roll becomes a 14,” Himeko said. “Does that pass?”
“It does.” Welt cleared his throat.
“Alright, but it better not happen again,” the man says in a gruff voice. “I won’t let it slide a second time.”
“Crisis averted!” March cheered. “Can you do that voice more? It sounded cool.”
“I can try.”
He turns around to go back to his seat.
“While his back is turned,” Stelle began, prompting a collective groan. “Can I strike him?”
“Can I knock Trash out?” Dan Heng interjected.
“Roll me a Strength Athletics check.”
“16.”
“Dakath hits his Warforged companion with the hilt of his dagger. She falls unconscious.”
“Booooo!” Stelle exclaimed. Welt sighed. Even Dark Seele wasn’t this much of a murder-hobo.
“The waitress wakes up, holding her head,” Welt explained.
“What was that for?” She asked.
“I apologize for her behavior,” Dakath begins. “You were trying to warn us earlier. What was that about?”
“It-” she stammers. “It’s not safe for anyone here. There’s something in the basement. A dangerous artifact.”
“What kind?” Lady Mariné asks with a nervous expression on her face. “How did it get there?”
“The manager here isn’t what she seems. She’s been working with-”
Welt paused, checking through a premade list of NPC names and rolling a d20 twice.
“Astara!” A tough voice says, echoing through the tavern. A woman approaches her, presumably the manager of the tavern. She’s shorter than anyone would have expected, but she still carries a terrifying aura with her. “You’re not trying to scare our patrons, are you?”
“N-no, Miss Herti! I would never!”
“These names sound familiar,” March chimed in.
“No they don’t,” Welt replied. “These are all fictional characters.” No one believed that. “ Miss Herti takes the waitress away, dragging her into a back room.”
“What the what?” Lady Mariné exclaims. “She could be in danger!”
“There’s more to this place than meets the eye,” Hismaia says.
“Can I cast Detect Magic?” Himeko asked, sipping her coffee.
“Hismaia takes out her tools and casts a spell,” Welt began expositing. “She detects a powerful magical aura below the floor.”
“That waitress was right,” she says, lowering her voice. “We have to save her.”
Dakath sighs, waking Trash Can up.
“Who can I hit?” Stelle asked, raising her dice.
“There’s an evil manager,” Dan Heng explained. “You can hit her.”
“Sweet.”
“The four of them leave their seats,” Welt began. “They approach the back door, but there are lots of eyes in the tavern. Can everyone roll me a Dexterity Stealth check?”
Dice clanged against the table, although March’s fell off, clattering to the floor.
“Oh no!” She said, leaning down to pick her d20 up. A fuzzy paw met it first as Pom Pom handed the dropped dice to her. “Thank you, Pom Pom!”
“You rolled a 20!” The conductor gleefully said. She didn’t.
“So a nat 20, 14, 8, and 16,” Welt said. “Alright, more than half of you succeeded.”
“Dakath, a master of stealth, coordinates with his teammates. He guides them to the perfect moment to enter, unseen by all. You find yourselves in a storage room, a cold air all around you.”
“March,” Welt started, “You have the highest Wisdom, correct?”
“I do,” she replied.
“Can I have your Passive Perception?”
“16, sir.”
Lady Mariné is quick to notice the source of the cold. A small opening peaks out underneath a barrel. Moving it aside reveals a trapdoor.
“That must be where that vicious manager took that poor waitress!” She says. “Come on, guys!”
Finding the door locked, Dakath removes his lockpicks. Trash Can on the other hand takes out her club.
“I SMASH IT OPEN!” Stelle screamed, rolling a dice. “22 TO HIT!”
Trash swings her club down, destroying the trapdoor with ease. The four of them climb down into a vault of sorts. Various magical items line the walls, each stronger than the last. They see Miss Herti dragging the waitress to the back, where a very powerful-looking device waits for her.
“Stop!” Lady Mariné yells. “We won’t let you hurt her!”
“Oh?” Herti says, turning to the party. “What do we have here?”
Hismaia begins, “The adventurers who-” she paused as Himeko took a sip of her coffee. “The adventurers who will stop your schemes!”
“Do you really think you’re in any position to stop me?” Herti tosses the waitress aside, perusing her collection of magical items before picking up a massive hammer. “You will fall like the rest of them!”
“That won’t happen,” Dakath interjects, drawing his dagger.
“Yeah!” Trash blurts out. “You’ll wish you never provoked me!”
“Hahahaha!” Herti cackles, grabbing several more magical items from the collection. “You can try! And you’ll die trying!”
“Everyone, roll initiative,” Welt said. Everyone rolled their dice in succession. “Okay, Dan Heng goes first, then Himeko, Herti, Stelle, and March.”
“Alright!” March exclaimed. “Mess her up, Dan Heng!”
“I can’t. Sneak attack isn’t active,” he explained.
“Oh. You can still hit her, right?”
“I can.”
Dakath charges forth, stabbing at the manager with his dagger. Her massive hammer hits the tiny blade aside, effortlessly redirecting the strike.
“What did you roll?” March asked.
“Nat 1,” Dan Heng replied, trying not to show his frustration.
Hismaia takes out her tools. They shift in her hands as they transform into a blaster of sorts. She launches a Firebolt from them, hitting Herti in the shoulder.
“Ha! Pathetic!” Herti cries. She leaps into the air-”
“Opportunity Attack,” Dan Heng said.
“Of course,” Welt replied.
As Herti leaps into the air, Dakath gets a quick swing at her with his blade, cutting her leg. She seems unfazed as she slams down by Hismaia, her hammer causing the whole room to shake.
“With a description like that,” Himeko started saying, “I must have taken quite a lot of damage.”
“I doubt a 7 hits,” Welt said.”
“Oh. No, it doesn’t.”
Hismaia moves out of the hammer’s way, leaving an opening for Trash to strike.
“I’M ANGY!” The Warforged yells, rage coursing through her artificial body. She charges forth, striking Herti in the stomach with her club.
“Sacred Flame!” Lady Mariné exclaims, firing a blast of holy radiance at the manager. Herti repositions herself and raises one of her magic items, a miniature vortex inside it. The power of your spell is absorbed into the curious device.
Dakath slinks behind a distracted Herti, striking her back with a vicious strike from his dagger. She reels, grabbing the wound as Hismaia fires another blast of flame. She quickly takes out a magical box, opening it wide and catching the flame within.
“Stop hiding behind those artifacts!” Hismaia yells.
“You don’t understand, do you?” Herti replies, taking out an eldritch parchment. An eye opens on the page, surrounding Herti in a dark aura. “My Curios are the source of ALL POWER!”
“Curios?” March asked. “Are you sure this isn’t-”
“This is an original character,” Welt replied, wiping his brow.
“Behold! True power!” Herti raises her hammer, swinging it down on Dakath. He tries to dodge, but misjudges the strike’s trajectory, taking a heavy blow.
“What the hell would someone need with that much power?” Trash yelled. “I have all the power I need right here!”
“NAT 20, BABY!” Stelle screamed, shaking the entire table.
“What?” Welt yelled, checking his notes.
“So? What happens?” Welt glared at the stat block he had for the boss. He hid behind his screen, scratching out the 2 in 25 HP and replacing it with a 4.
You hit her hard, disorienting her. Her scroll relents, however. A dark bolt flies out, striking Trash in the head.
“How could you!” Lady Mariné yells, rushing to Trash’s side.
“Lady Mariné,” Trash mumbles. “I don’t think I’m gonna make it!”
“No! I won’t let it end like this!”
“Stelle, you took 2 damage,” Dan Heng explained. “How are you-”
“Shhh,” Himeko said. “They’re in character.”
“Trash! I won’t let it end like this!” Lady Mariné yelled, tears dripping down her face. “Cure Wounds!”
Dan Heng stared at March then back at his sheet. His grand total of 4 remaining HP was an ant compared to Stelle’s current 11.
“Lady Mariné, you saved me!” Trash cheered, gazing into Lady Mariné’s eyes.
“I won’t let that happen again! Shield of Faith!” A mystical armor surrounds Trash’s mechanical body. She stands tall, feeling stronger than before.
Dakath repositions himself, stabbing Herti in the shoulder. She yells in pain and another bolt fires out of her scroll. Dakath, unaware of the attack, is struck, falling back and grabbing his wounds.
“Not on my watch!” Hismaia yelled, her blaster reconfiguring into a syringe. She injects Dakath with a healing mixture, healing his injuries.
“Yuck!” Herti began, reaching for another magic item. “I’m going, but you should stick around!” She takes out a container of magical glue, tossing it at Dakath and Hismaia’s feet. Dakath leaps out of the way, but Hismaia is caught in a sticky substance. Herti takes this chance to spin around with her hammer, slamming Hismaia hard.
“Ahk-” Hismaia cries. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold on!”
Raising her club, Trash began, “Don’t worry! I’ll end this right now!”
“Can I reroll?” Stelle asked.
“What did you roll?” Welt replied, looking at her dice. “Ah. Nat 1.”
“So can I?”
“No.”
Trash’s swing misses, her club impacting the glue-covered ground and sticking in place. She tugs at her weapon, failing to pull it out of the adhesive.
“In the name of Remembrance, stop this at once!” Lady Mariné started, raising her staff and slamming it into the ground. An icy shield surrounds Hismaia, a sanctuary from Herti’s onslaught. She spins her staff around, firing another Sacred Flame from the sky. A direct hit pushes Herti off balance. While her scroll manages to fire a bolt at her attacker, the damage is done. She drops whatever magic items she still has on her, surrounding herself in a minefield of volatile items.
Wordless, Dakath slashes at Herti before backing away. When Herti tries to strike the fleeing Rogue, she is unsuccessful, striking the air and missing. Hismaia breaks free from the glue, backing up as her tools transform back into a blaster. She takes aim, not at Herti, but at the items at her feet.
“You won’t get away!” She screams, firing a bolt of flame at the medley of artifacts, causing a detonation that sends Herti’s hammer flying away.
“No!” She yells, running after the hammer. Instead, however, she is met with Trash’s club, knocking her out.
After confirming their victory, Lady Mariné runs to Astara, extending a hand and asking, “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” she replies, still a bit nervous. “You actually stopped her.”
“Of course we did! What kind of adventurers would we be if we didn’t?”
“W-well-”
The table yelped in surprise as an alarm sounded.
“We have a visitor!” Pom-Pom exclaimed, bouncing to a door. “Just keep going.”
“Thank you, conductor,” Welt began. “Where were we?”
“You take Astara to safety, walking past the others as they subdue the defeated Herti-”
“The defeated who?”
The table turned to their visitor. Shock grew over all of their faces.
“M-Madame Herta!” Welt yelped. “I can explain!”