Introduction

Hi, there! Welcome to the Continent of Argentii

Don't worry if you're not super familiar with my world. Just read through this soloist adventure, and have fun immersing yourself in a haunted world of everyday magic.

In this adventure, you take on the role of Amia Notari, a young person from Smouge. You've just completed your final year of schooling at the Academy of Arts and Sciences on Smouge and graduated at the top of your class. As such, the Dean of Promotion (the person who has the ultimate authority to promote and graduate students) has recommended you for a prestigious apprenticeship studying with the head of the United Guild of Scribes, Calligraphers, Illuminators, and Engravers, Shiv Moonsong, and living at The Library Inn.

You've heard stories and legends about both Shiv and the Library, but your grandfather's old journal is the most reliable source you've encountered. Filled with dark stories from his years sailing all the islands of Argentii, more than one centers on Crossroads Island and its infamously long-lived leader. More importantly, you believe it contains the key to finding the secret source of their nefarious power: a hidden Technoalchemy conversion lab buried deep within the island.

Of course, getting to this point in your studies hasn't left you without rivals and even enemies at the academy. Shortly before graduation, you were caught up in some trouble involving accusations of theft and arson when a fire was set near the academy's library in order to cover the theft of a sequestered manuscript. Your biggest rival for the top place in your class accused you, but lacked any hard evidence to contradict your alabi. Still, the accusation was damaging and graduation could not come soon enough.

It didn't help that his betrayal did more than damage your reputation at the academy, it broke your heart.

It was a costly lesson, but one that could have been much, much worse. And now, you have your chance to decypher the final clue in your great-grandfather's journal, with the help of access to the world's greatest library.

If you're ready to play...Dive right in! Prologue

Need some more guidance? Keep reading!

Plot points/Scenes

This adventure is divided into scenes that will present you, the player, with different scenarios: choices, reactions, obstacles, and consequences. Each of these has the possibility of offering a new die for your dice pool (d%) if you choose well. Likewise, poor choices have the possibility of costing you dice, removing them from your pool! But you will ALWAYS have your 2d10, no matter what. In addition, certain scenarios might cause you to lose HP. So be careful out there, it's a dangerous world!

Choices

Choices are binary, either this or that. For example, if you are walking along a hallway and you encounter a closed door, you might be given the option to Open the door or Continue along the hallway. Each of these will link to a new prose article that will allow you to continue along the adventure.

Reactions

During the adventure, things will happen, and you will have the option to react. This might involve another either/or choice, or it might require you to roll your dice pool (d%) and choose your path based on the result.

Obstacles

As the story develops, you will face obstacles, such as completing a task in a certain amount of time or doing something that you, as a character, are just not equipped to do. This will always involve a dice roll; roll your dice pool (d%, your 2d10 plus any other dice you have collected during the adventure), and add the result. That result will determine your path forward.

Consequences

This is how your previous actions come back to haunt you or help you! A consequence will involve whether or not you have a certain die in your dice pool (d%), or whether you have a certain amount of HP remaining.

How To Play

All of my soloist adventures use a dice-based choice system of my own design that combines elements of a choose-your-own adventure novel and a role-playing game. The things you need to play you probably already have nearby, or else you can use internet equivalents.

Set the mood...

• Dim the lights, or even turn them off. Candles or colored lights can really help set the scene!
• Speaking of candles...if you have scented candles that remind you of the beach, or perhaps some that have a leather-and-wood fragrance, this may be a perfect time to light them.
• A snack and a drink might make you comfy. Apple cider (hard or soft), cheese and crackers, and fruit-and-nut trail mix would all be right along with the theme!
• Looking for music? Why not play your favorite playlist of sea shanties, some light classical music, or try this Medieval Lofi playlist from Spotify (...It's what I listened to as I wrote this adventure)!
  

Gather your things...

• A standard set of polyhedral dice: 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 2d10 (percentile/d100), 1d12, and 1d20; or a quick web search will turn up about 9.1 million online dice rollers.
• Optional: pencil and paper

And jump right in!

In this adventure, you will be presented with information, and given choices. Some choices will depend entirely on your play style, while others will be decided based on your previous actions in the game, and others still will be determined by dice rolls. As you go through the adventure, certain paths will allow you to collect other dice, furthering your chance of success on any roll.

Seting up:

1. Set aside your d20 with the 20 facing up. This represents your hit-points (HP), or the amount of damage you can take. If you lose HP during your adventure, subtract them from your current HP score. (You can also track this with pencil and paper if you prefer, but the d20 is not used for any other purpose.)
2. You start the game with your percentile dice (2d10) as your dice pool (d%). Set the others (d4, d6, d8, and d12) aside for now, you'll have the opportunity to collect them -- and lose them! -- during the game. These 2d10, along with all of the other dice you collect during the game, are your action dice. They are the dice you'll use to help you achieve success during the adventure. Whenever you are asked to roll d%, roll your 2d10 plus ALL of the other action dice you have collected to that point in the game!
3. At certain points in the adventure, you will be given an obstacle and asked to roll dice. The total of your roll will determine your success level (SL). Bigger is always better, so the higher you roll the better the result. Also, meet means beat, so if you tie the SL of your challenge, you win.

Ready to play --> Prologue

by Bitmoji

Author's Note:

This is an early tease of the first adventure in a planned series, all set on the Continent of Argentii. I'll continue releasing it in chunks as they are completed (this is my primary writing project at the moment, as it's helping me iron out some spots in my novel-in-revision, The Haunting of Library Inn). I sincerely hope you enjoy the stirrings of this adventure, and follow along through it's five possible conclusions!

Table 1: Success Levels

• 10: An extremely easy task with little chance of failure.
• 25: An easy task that most people could accomplish, but might still fail.
• 33: A moderately difficult task that requires some skill to accomplish.
• 50: A fighting chance of success, but a great deal of skill is required to guarantee success.
• 67: A very difficult task that requires expertise and carries a high chance of failure.
• 85: An extremely difficult or dangerous task that very few could accomplish.

Plot type

Dice-based Soloist Adventure

Related Locations

• Smouge