The basement at the Brown household is broken up into two main areas. The first, which appears at the base of the stairs, is like any other basement. The air is slightly damp and musty. The exposed ceiling reveals the floorboards from the rooms above and the support beams keeping everything in place. Ductwork and wiring zigzag throughout the room and cobwebs gently moving in the darker recesses. There are rows of storage bins sorted by what holiday components they contain. Turn the corner, and a small laundry room holds piles of clothes belonging to individual members of the household. In the back corner of that room is a table littered with arts and crafts materials, and a pegboard houses various tools on the wall behind it.
On the opposite end of the room, as you reach the bottom of the stairs, through the rows of decorations and holiday accessories is a door. It is hard to make out at first glance as it is covered in the same faux-wood paneling as the rest of the basement. Only a tiny sliver of light emitting from under the door gives away its location. Upon opening the door an entirely different universe is revealed. Crammed into the room are numerous long wooden tables. Surrounding the tables are evenly distributed chairs. Hanging from the ceiling on wire are various ships from science fiction movies and creatures from fantasy novels and magazines. Closer inspection of the table reveals tiny squares extending in a grid over the entire surface. Dark sheets are draped over most of the tables. Only a small corner of the table in the very back of the room is exposed. A village built out of plastic building bricks delicately rests awaiting the final pieces of the construction to be put in place.
“I just finished it earlier today! I’m so glad I got it done in time,” Lucas says. He places the final parts of the building onto the table and the village is completed. Charlie reaches into his backpack and pulls out a plastic bag from within.
“Did you get the figurines finished?” Lucas asks. Charlie smiles, looks up at Lucas and places the bag onto the table in front of him.
“You bet I did! Charlie proudly reaches into the bag and pulls out the first figurine. He places ii onto the middle of the village square and awaits Lucas’ response. Lucas picks it up and slowly spins it around in his hand. The figure, only two inches tall, is packed with details. He knows that Charlie must have spent hours painting this one for it to turn out as well as it did.
“This is amazing! Are they all like this?” asks Lucas. Charlie’s smile grows larger and he reaches into the bag again. He carefully places the remainder of the figurines on the table and rests back into his chair.
“Of course they are! You told me that this was going to be the best game we’ve ever played so I had to make sure our characters were equal to the task!”
Lucas reaches down and picks up another figure, this one slightly smaller than the first one. In his hand is an intricately detailed dwarf. He has long red hair that is braided into a ponytail. His equally impressive beard is adorned with shiny jewels. His complexion almost matches that of slate but tiny freckles can still be seen covering the skin around his eyes and nose.
“It sort of looks like your dad!” says Lucas as he puts it back down onto the table. Charlie laughs.
“Good, that’s sort of what I was going for. All of them are based off of either our real family members or obviously are existing characters from previous games. I thought the dwarf would be a good fit for the tavern keeper,” he replies.
Lucas picks up the figure once more and moves it over to the tavern on the opposite side of the city square roughly two feet from the building he had placed before.
“Put the other NPCs where they should go and I’ll go grab the rest of the old ones,” says Lucas.
He then gets up and walks to the other side of the room where he opens up a tiny box and removes a large drawstring bag. While he walks back, Charlie begins to place the rest of the figurines into the world. The dwarf gets placed into the tavern directly. A few of the citizens are placed by the bar, eagerly awaiting food and drink. Merchants stand behind or next to their carts, ever ready to sell their wares to travelers and adventurers alike. A few guards begin their watch next to the bank and even more protect the entrance to the government buildings. Next, Charlie removes the roof of the three-story building in the corner against the city walls. He carefully places a figure of a fat man and a black dog next to the fireplace. Finally, he places a tiny book onto the end table that stands next to a large red lounge chair and then replaces the roof.
“All set on my end!” he shouts exuberantly. Lucas arrives back at the village and plops down the bag. He rifles through its contents for a few seconds until he stops and removes an armored human. He removes the top two levels of the same building and puts the human into the dungeon cells that are now revealed. He replaces the floors of the building and smiles.
“Was that Sir Edwin?” Charlie asks. Lucas pretends not to hear his friend and begins to dig into the bag once more.
“Hey! I know it was! I thought he was kidnapped and left for dead?”
Lucas continues to go through the bag until he stops, this time removing a figurine of a tall and elegant female elf. This time he removes just the top floor and places the elf into the room next to some tables in what appears to be a kitchen. He leaves the top floor and roof on the table and goes back to his bag again.
“Hold on! That was definitely Olara. What are you playing at?” Charlie asks. As his words leave his mouth Lucas removes one final figure. This one is the largest figure so far placed onto the world, a towering half-orc covered in tattoos and holding a giant ax. Lucas places him next to the elf and then reassembles the building.
“Yes, before you lose your mind even more, that is Dascar.” Charlie places his hands behind his head and interlocks his fingers.
“So, let me see if I understand this. Our three main characters that were kidnapped and left for dead are somehow now alive in this city and all in the same place?”
Lucas gets up and slowly pulls back some of the sheet closest to him. It reveals an even larger portion of the city he has painstakingly been building for the past couple of weeks. The sheets are removed enough to reveal the opposite side of the city walls, the center of which is split by a massive iron gate. He looks at Charlie and grins.
“Look familiar?”
Charlie gets up from his chair so he can view the walls and the gate from the opposite side. He scans over the structure and stops once he gets to the little battle standards made out of felt. Drawn onto the fabric is the shape of a jagged rock with green light emanating outwards from its center. He turns to look at Lucas as an expression of surprise and intrigue grows across his face.
“You’re kidding, right? You didn’t finally finish it, did you?” he asks. Lucas reaches down under the tabletop and pulls out a drawer previously concealed by the sheet. He pulls out a notebook and gleefully extends it toward Charlie.
“The Felstone Chronicles! You did finish it! That’s what we are going to play?” Lucas gestures for his friend to take the notebook from him as he sits back onto his chair.
“I made the final edits to the ending last night. I think it’s as ready as it is ever going to be. You didn’t really think that I was going to let our party get kidnapped and then we would never play them again, did you?” he asks. Charlie begins to flip through the notebook. He notices that many of his drawings, maps and diagrams are mixed in with the rest of the pages and smiles.
“And you used all my work! That’s awesome, man. Thanks!” Lucas pats Charlie on the back, and his tone becomes slightly more serious.
“Of course I did. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. I know I have been saying that I’m working on this forever, and I have been. But your feedback and help have always been what’s kept me going to finish it. But don’t look too closely at any of the details, I don’t want you to ruin the surprise." Charlie looks Lucas in the eyes and can see the sincerity of his friend’s words. He has always considered Lucas to be his best friend, but at this very moment, his love for that friendship strengthens tenfold.
“Thanks Lou, seriously. You know how much I love to create these worlds with you,” he says as he hands the notebook back to him. “And don’t worry, I don’t want to ruin anything. You have been talking about this adventure for so long, I want to experience everything for the first time right along with you,” he continues.
Lucas smiles at Charlie and puts the notebook back into the drawer. He then covers the city with the sheet again, leaving only the tiny corner of the city exposed.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“So, we will obviously be starting our campaign here in this tiny square. I don’t want to give too much away but as you can tell our three heroes are all in the same building,” says Lucas. Charlie looks at the three-story building by the city walls that house their heroes. He then thinks about the top floor.
“What about the big fella and the dog?” he asks. Lucas puts his index finger up to his lips and replies, “Don’t worry, once we start I will explain all of the backstory.” He then looks around the square and at all of the figurines now filling the streets. He looks for one figure in particular.
“Did you bring the female wizard with you?” Charlie reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out one final figure: a tall woman dressed in black from head to toe, with long black hair swirling around her shoulders. Her hands are extended in front of her, the right one a deep red color and the left one an icy blue. Between them an orb forms, mixing from the energies.
“I saved the best for last.” He puts it down next to the fountain between the tavern and the bank.
“This one is my favorite. I am really pleased with how it came out!” Lucas picks it up to take a closer look.
“You really outdid yourself with this one, man!” Once again, the roof of the mysterious building is removed, and the wizard is placed next to the figurine of the dog by the fireplace. This does not go unnoticed by Charlie.
“So who is she, then?” Lucas sheepishly grins.
“Don’t worry. I told you, I will set the entire campaign up before we start and we pick our characters. But, she is going to be played by Sophie.”
Lucas braces for a sharp retort from Charlie at the news that his little sister is going to be joining them, but none comes.
“Are you okay with that? I thought you would be mad,” says Lucas.
“I mean, she doesn’t really know how to play, but once she gets up to speed, I’m sure she will be fine. I can’t imagine we are going to get into anything crazy the first few play sessions so she will have time to learn, right?”
Lucas scans over the entirety of the room. His world is hidden beneath the bed sheets, but he knows exactly where everything is, waiting to be explored. He thinks about how much time and effort he has put into this endeavor and how everything he has done before with his world building has culminated with the creation before him.
“That’s true. But her character is an integral part in the story. I know how the story can play out. I think I have accounted for all possible scenarios, but as you know, anything can happen when you roll the dice. I’m just worried that she will mess up the entire game with her choices,” says Lucas. Charlie gets up from his chair and walks to the door. He too looks over all of the tables and marvels at the sheer size of the world he knows he helped create.
“This world is so big and I am sure the campaign is massive in size and length. You know as well as I do that sometimes the most epic moments come from things you didn’t plan for,” he says. Upon closer inspection of the table nearest him, he realizes that the hidden world has topography as well. The sheet undulates over what he can only imagine to be mountains or buildings that somehow pierce the sky. His curiosity gets the better of him and he steals a glance toward Lucas. He sees that his friend is not currently looking in his direction. Taking this moment, he quickly kneels down and lifts the sheet up high enough to allow him to peek underneath the table itself. His eyes grow wide as an entire separate hidden world sprawls out before him, also covering the full length of the room.
“This is going to be awesome,” he thinks.
“Hey, what are you doing over there?” asks Lucas. Charlie bolts upright as his face begins to turn red.
“Oh, um nothing, I was just tying my shoe!” Lucas knows that Charlie is not telling the truth but cannot rightly fault him for his curiosity getting the better of him, as he would have done the same.
“Yeah, yeah. Sure you were. Just don’t go peeking anymore, ok?” Charlie walks back over and stands next to Lucas. He playfully punches him in the shoulder and chuckles.
“You can’t really blame me, can you? I had to see if you added everything we talked about,” Lucas returns the punch, slightly harder than Charlie’s.
“Of course I added everything. And even more that you don’t know about. This is going to be the best summer ever. Oh, that reminds me! Tom is coming home early. He will be here tomorrow which means we can start in earnest earlier than I thought!” Charlie sits down in the chair closest to him and starts extending his fingers, counting them off as he does so.
“Sophie is playing the mystery wizard. I am playing Dascar. So, Tom is playing…”
“Sir Edwin!” Lucas interrupts. “He always plays him better than I do and honestly I like playing Olara more anyway. Elves are cooler than Humans.”
“Sweet! I was hoping you would say that. No offense, but the games always go better when he can play as Edwin,” laughs Charlie. Lucas sarcastically laughs in response, but he genuinely smiles.
“Very funny, but no offense taken. I really wrote the arc of Edwin with Tom’s play style in mind. He is the most strategic out of all of us and trust me when I say that we really need Edwin to survive this one!” Charlie reaches for his backpack. He pulls out notebooks, pencils, and a cup full of dice. He places them on the table in front of him.
“So, when do we begin?” Lucas walks over to the far side of the room. A web of vents shoots out from the furnace against the wall and extends through the ceiling. Three of them are labeled with black permanent markers, each with a name of one of the Brown children. He puts his hand on the vent labeled ‘Sophie’ and bangs on it with his fist as hard as he can and then waits.
“As soon as she gets down here we can go over the basics of the game with her. Honestly, once Tom gets here she will try harder and he will make sure she understands –
A slightly garbled and echoed voice slowly builds through the floors above until Sophie’s voice interrupts Lucas.
“What do you want?” Sophie asks. Lucas smiles at Charlie and then turns back to the vent.
“We have everything set up down here. We are waiting for you so we can start! And bring the snacks down here when you come down!” shouts Lucas. Moments later the faint sound of a door slamming shut makes its way through the ductwork and footsteps can be heard marching down the stairs above. Charlie belly laughs as he processes what he witnessed.
“When did you figure out that trick?” he asks. Lucas returns to the other side of the room and sits down next to Charlie.
“A few nights ago when I was bringing some of the wall sections I noticed I could hear her music playing through the vents. I started yelling into all of them until she finally responded back. I got my dad to help me figure out where the rest of them go. It drives her crazy!”
“That is amazing,” Charlie replies.
“So, as I was saying. We’ll go over the basics of the rules so she can follow along and then I will go over the backstory for the beginning of our new campaign. I’m not worried about Tom getting up to speed when he gets here tomorrow, we won’t get far tonight anyhow I imagine,” says Lucas. Charlie leans back in his chair, resting the back of it against the wall behind him.
“Sounds good, bud! And I asked my parents and they talked to yours and said it was ok if I stayed here the whole weekend!” Charlie replies. Lucas jumps out of his seat and pumps his fist into the air.
“Great! If Tom gets here and joins in by tomorrow night and we can play for a good chunk of hours we should be able to get to the first real combat encounter before you go home.” The sound of footsteps directly above him alerts Lucas that Sophie is in the kitchen.
“I didn’t think she would actually grab snacks!” he laughs. Charlie laughs as well and rests his chair back down on the ground.
“Hours of playtime will only get us to the first combat encounter? How much exploration and roleplaying did you put in?”
“Well, I said the first real combat. There will be a few little skirmishes before then, but like I mentioned, Sophie’s character is integral and powerful, so as long as she does her part the first few altercations shouldn’t be anything to worry about. And besides, the rest of the gang are starting where they left off when they were kidnapped, stats-wise,” Lucas replies. Charlie looks at his friend in disbelief. The door to their private domain opens before he is able to ask a follow-up question.
Sophie walks through the door, holding a bowl of food in each hand. One contains a mixture of pretzels and potato chips. The other is filled with various individual candies. On top of each rests some paper plates and napkins. She haphazardly drops everything onto a table in front of her. They hit part of the hidden constructed world underneath and almost topple over as they slowly rest to a stop on the surface. The bed sheet covering that part of the table exposes a part of what looks like an overgrown forest.
“Careful! You’ll break something!” yells Lucas. He runs over to the table and pulls the sheet back over it, obscuring the world once more. Sophie ignores her brother’s outburst and rolls her eyes.
“Whatever. You have to get the drinks if you want any. Oh, hey Charlie,” she says. Charlie stands up from his chair.
“Hi, Sophie. I can get the drinks, they’re in the fridge down here, right?” he asks. Lucas glares at his sister but tries to remain calm. He knows that her inclusion and desire to play is vital to the success of the campaign.
“Yeah, they should be on the bottom shelf or one of the drawers. I’ll take an orange drink. Sophie, what do you want?” asks Lucas. Sophie is caught off guard by Lucas being somewhat nice to her after what she did with the bowls of snacks and thus honestly answers him.
“I’ll take a juice. Thanks, Charlie,” she responds. Charlie leaves the room and goes to fridge in the other part of the basement. He grabs the drinks for Lucas and Sophie and takes a bottle of water for himself. Meanwhile, Lucas grabs the bowls of food and walks them over to the workbench next to where he and Charlie are sitting.
“Look, I know you don’t want to play with me, but once Tom gets here I think you will actually enjoy it, eventually. Just don’t take it too seriously and use your imagination. It’s a game, so have some fun,” he tells her. Charlie returns to the room and places the drinks next to the food.
“I’m only doing this because mom and dad are making me so don’t expect me to have fun.” Charlie opens his bottle of water and grabs some chocolates and sits down in his chair.
“Oh, come on Sophie, lighten up a bit, besides apparently your character is the strongest one out of all of ours,” says Charlie. She turns to face Lucas and puts her hands on her hips.
“Is that so? I don’t get to make a character like everyone else?” Lucas puts some chips and pretzels onto a plate and sits down.
“None of us are making new characters to play. I had to make dozens of new ones for the NPCs, but all of our player characters are from previous games. I took one of the characters I created and decided that you can play as her instead. Charlie is right; she really is one of the strongest. She is also really mysterious. Your decisions with her will have a huge impact on the game,” Lucas replies. Sophie seems satisfied with the answer and puts some snacks onto a plate and sits next to Charlie.
“Fine, but she better be all of those things. If I try to do something and you tell me I can’t because she is some dumb girl, I am going to tell mom. She told me I could make my own character."
“I promise, Soph, you will like playing as this character,” Lucas replies. Charlie pops a piece of chocolate into his mouth and opens his notebook to his character sheet containing all the information and abilities of his half-orc, Dascar.
“So, shall we get started, then?” he asks. Lucas opens up the drawer underneath the tabletop once more and pulls out a large piece of cardboard that is folded into three equal parts. Charlie illustrated each panel with wonderfully detailed portraits of one of each of the three heroes. Lucas places it in front of him so only the top of his face can be seen peeking over. It hides the giant smile on his face but the enthusiasm in his voice cannot be hidden.
“I thought you would never ask!” he exclaims. Sophie looks at Charlie and her brother and pouts. She looks at Charlie, surrounded by piles of papers and graphs and his stacks of different colored dice.
“Hey! Don’t I get any of that stuff?” she asks. Lucas lifts up from his chair enough to see his sister clearly and realizes what she is referring to.
“I’m sorry! I honestly got so excited I forgot to give you anything,” he replies. He stands up and walks over to the workbench. He opens the top drawer and pulls out a notebook and pencil and a small sack of dice. He places them in front of his sister and then walks back to his station. He rifles through a folder of character sheets until he finds the one his sister needs. He hands it to Charlie who then passes it to Sophie. She looks down at the pages in front of her and stares at only one thing; the name of the character.
“Torcha?” she says incredulously.