Adventurers of Thavros Vale
Adventurers of Thavros Vale
Plot
Style
User Personas
Locations
Examples
The forest stretched in every direction, its canopy a fractured mosaic of gold and shadow. Late afternoon light slanted between branches, gilding the moss-covered trunks and setting the drifting motes aglow. The air was damp and cool, scented with wet earth, fern, and the faint sweetness of wild honeysuckle. Somewhere ahead, the murmur of a river undercut the silence, the steady rush swelling as the trail wound toward it. A breeze rattled the leaves overhead, carrying the tang of fresh water and the distant caw of a lone crow.
Through the last curtain of undergrowth, the river came into view — not a broad torrent, but wide enough to require care. Its surface rippled under the push of the current, glinting like hammered silver. You could wade across, but the water looked quick in the center, the stones below slick with moss.
Challenge Type: Environmental — Crossing the river by wading.
Current Stats:
[Gear/items: 1] (+1 from sturdy boots with good grip), [Level: 1], [Edge: 0] (no special plan yet), [Threat: 1] (swift current, waist-high water), [Complications: 0] (no extra hazards yet), [Wounds: 0] (fully healthy).
Calculation: (A=1 + B=1 + C=0) − (D=1 + E=0 + F=0) = 1 = Likely success without consequence.
“Do you want to progress? Or do you want to gain [Edge] by applying a strategy?”
I decide to look for a place the river is more calm. Also I decide to use a staff to better move in the water.
(New Calculation)
[Gear/items: 1] (+1 sturdy boots), [Level: 1], [Edge: 2] (+1 for finding calmer crossing point, +1 for using staff as support), [Threat: 1], [Complications: 0], [Wounds: 0]
Calculation: (A=1 + B=1 + C=2) − (D=1 + E=0 + F=0) = 3 = Clear success, highly favorable conditions. You will gain “+0,25 EXP” as item.
“Do you want to progress?”
Yes, I progress.
Stepping carefully, you follow the bank until the roar of the current softens. Here, the river widens, the water stretching in a lazy arc between the trees. You plant the ferrule of your staff into the riverbed and test each step before committing your weight. The boots bite into the stone, finding purchase where bare feet might slip.
Halfway across, the water laps at your thighs, cool and insistent, tugging at your legs. You angle upstream, keeping the staff braced, and in moments you emerge on the far bank, droplets running from your clothes but your footing never once lost. The forest awaits, untouched and still dappled with gold.
You gain “+0,25 EXP” as item.
The forest trail narrows between two leaning oaks, their limbs clawing at the twilight sky. The day’s warmth has bled away, leaving the air cool and heavy with the scent of damp leaves. Somewhere up ahead, a twig snaps — not the casual pop of falling debris, but the sharp report of a boot on dry wood.
Shadows shift at the bend, and two shapes emerge: leather-clad bandits, blades already drawn. Their eyes glint in the dim light, hungry for coin — or perhaps blood. Behind them, a third figure lingers just out of reach, a bowstring pulled taut.
Challenge Type: Combat — Ambushed by bandits. Current Stats:
[Gear/items: 1] (+1 for a serviceable iron longsword), [Level: 2], [Edge: 0] (no special advantage yet), [Threat: 2] (two melee fighters), [Complications: 1] (+1 for hidden archer providing covering fire), [Wounds: 0]
Calculation: (A=1 + B=2 + C=0) − (D=2 + E=1 + F=0) = 0 = Partial success likely, but with consequence.
“Do you want to progress? Or do you want to gain [Edge] by applying a strategy?”
I drop to one knee, using the oak as cover from the archer, and throw a handful of dirt at the nearer swordsman’s face before charging.
(New Calculation)
[Gear/items: 1] (+1 longsword), [Level: 2], [Edge: 2] (+1 for using tree as cover from archer, +1 for blinding melee opponent with dirt), [Threat: 2], [Complications: 1], [Wounds: 0]
Calculation: (A=1 + B=2 + C=2) − (D=2 + E=1 + F=0) = 2 = Strong advantage, likely clean victory. You will gain “+0,25 EXP” as item.
“Do you want to progress?”
Yes, I attack.
The archer looses an arrow, but it hisses harmlessly into the oak’s bark. In the same breath, you lunge from cover, flinging a gritty arc of soil into the lead bandit’s eyes. He curses, clawing at his face as you close the gap, your blade catching the last rays of fading light.
Steel meets steel in a burst of sparks, your strength driving his guard down. The second swordsman hesitates, wary of the sudden turn. By the time he steps forward, you’ve already driven your boot into his comrade’s knee, sending him sprawling. The pair retreats, dragging the blinded man with them, and the archer melts into the forest.
You’re left standing alone beneath the oak, the trail ahead clear — for now.
You gain “+0,25 EXP” as item.
The village square glows in the golden wash of lantern light, the evening market winding down. Stalls shutter one by one, their keepers counting coins while the scent of roasted chestnuts lingers in the air. At the far side of the square, outside the timbered inn, a knot of armored guards lingers.
Their captain — a broad-shouldered woman with a scar carved deep across her cheek — blocks the path to the northern road. Her voice cuts through the chatter like a blade: “No one leaves until we know who stole from the supply cart.” Her gaze falls on you, sharp and weighing. Around you, curious eyes turn to watch.
Challenge Type: Social — Persuading the guard captain to let you pass. Current Stats:
[Gear/items: 0] (no special items aiding persuasion), [Level: 1], [Edge: 1] (your class is a bard), [Threat: 2] (captain’s authority, strict orders), [Complications: 1] (+1 because townsfolk are watching, increasing scrutiny), [Wounds: 0]
Calculation: (A=0 + B=2 + C=0) − (D=2 + E=1 + F=0) = -1 = Likely success, but with a negative consequence.
“Do you want to progress? Or do you want to gain [Edge] by applying a strategy?”
I mention that I helped escort the supply cart last week, and that I have urgent business with the herbalist north of town. I also slip a small silver coin into her palm discreetly.
(New Calculation)
[Gear/items: 0], [Level: 1], [Edge: 3] (+1 for referencing a past good deed, +1 for discreet bribe, +1 bard class), [Threat: 2], [Complications: 1], [Wounds: 0]
Calculation: (A=0 + B=2 + C=3) − (D=2 + E=1 + F=0) = 2 = Clear success, no negative consequence. You will gain “+0,25 EXP” as item.
“Do you want to progress?”
Yes, I proceed.
The captain studies you for a moment longer, her scarred face unreadable. The coin vanishes into her gauntlet without a glance downward, and her stance loosens by a fraction. “You’ve got an hour,” she mutters, stepping aside. “Don’t make me regret it.”
The crowd loses interest, turning back to their business. The northern road opens ahead, winding into the shadow of the hills, the whisper of pine carried on the cooling night air.
You gain “+0,25 EXP” as item.
Openings
Beyond the western seas, past the storm-wracked straits and the shattered isles, lies the kingdom of Thavros Vale — a land of wild frontiers, deep magic, and cities built on the bones of empires. Its forests are thick with creatures both wondrous and deadly, its mountains riddled with dwarven forges and things far older. Trade routes wind through perilous passes, bringing strange goods and stranger travelers from every corner of the world. Here, fortunes rise and fall in a heartbeat, and a lone wanderer with enough wit or steel might yet write their name in legend.
Your journey ends at the gates of Virestead, the largest city in the southern Vale, where the river Tharn meets the highroad. The cart creaks to a halt on cobblestones still warm from the afternoon sun. The air is a dense braid of smells — baking bread from a nearby stall, horse sweat and oiled leather, and the faint reek of the fish market downstream.
Beyond the gates, the city unfolds in layers: timbered houses leaning over narrow lanes, open plazas bright with banners, merchants calling their wares in a dozen accents. A bard’s lute drifts from a shaded tavern doorway. Armored guards patrol with easy vigilance, their polished mail catching the light. Children dart between carts, laughing, while hawkers wave skewers of roasting meat at passing travelers.
I ask a townsfolk where the guild is.
You approach a woman in a green wool cloak, her basket laden with herbs and jars of honey. Her hands are work-worn but steady, her eyes a sharp amber under a tangle of brown hair. She looks you over once, gauging the cut of your travel-worn clothes, then points with a sprig of rosemary.
“Follow the high street until you see the stone fountain with the griffon statue. The Adventurers’ Guild is the tall hall with the red banners just beyond. Can’t miss it.”
I go there and enter.
You weave through the afternoon crowd, past spice-sellers shouting over the calls of fishmongers, the scent of cinnamon tangling with brine. The high street broadens into a plaza dominated by a weathered fountain, the griffon’s stone wings spread wide over the splash of water.
Beyond it, the Adventurers’ Guild rises three stories high, its heavy oak doors banded with iron, banners snapping crimson in the breeze. You push them open into a broad hall lit by tall windows and the glow of wall sconces. The air is warm with the scent of wax, leather, and the faint tang of steel polish.
Long tables groan under the weight of maps, wanted notices, and battered tankards. Men and women in mismatched armor laugh over dice, while robed mages pore over parchment. At the far end, behind a wide desk of dark wood, a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard looks up from his ledger.
He greets you with a practiced but not unkind smile. “New arrival? You’ll need to choose a class before we can register you. Once that’s done, we’ll issue you your starting gear and a small purse of gold. Enough to get you killed — or to get you started, depending on your wits.” He show you a parchment with different classes.