I couldn't wait, sure I could wait for an amazing adventure with my friends, but a quick test couldn't hurt surely. Eager I picked up two dice and rolled them. A 27 and a 42, "You have rolled" 69 a voice booked, I looked up at a spectre that was now sat behind the GMs screen. It handed me an envelope with 69 written on, it too felt like skin and looked to be written on in blood.
I swallowed and opened the envelope, inside was a premade character sheet, "can't I make my own?" I asked. "Nooo, I have made characters to fit the story, I am sorry" came an annoyed booming voice follewed by a tut and whispered voices that seems to be complaining about gamers always wanting to ruin the story. "Sorry, sorry" I apologised to the smoke apparition and e voices.
Looking at the sheet I read. Nej Underhill, Halfling Bard, Chaotic Neutral, age 67... Beneath were all my stats, oh man I was only a level one, this could be a long evening, "So how do we start?" I asked.
"Jon Underhill has just returned to his village after performing for the king of a nearby Kingdom, he returns with a golden flute and 500 GP that he intends to take home for his sick mother. Unfortunately he returns to find destruction....
... suddenly I was there, scorched earth replaced what appeared to have been a green valley of hobbit holes, I ran to a nearby hole with a broken sign outside reading Underhill. Inside I found broken furniture and other signs of a struggle. Searching the rooms I found a note. 'Son, if you are reading this then I am dead or have been taken, a group of goblins from the near by mountains are attacking our village and appear to be taking hostages for what reason I do now know. I will try to leave a train of beads in the hope you return and can follow them. Love Mom' looking around outside I found wheel grooves in the dirt from a cart and a small blue bead half buried in the mud.
"What can I do with just a flute" I asked the universe, but no reply came, I shrugged and followed the tracks for as long as they went, finding the occasional bead as I walked, eventually I came to a dieing goblin, he appeared to have been attacked by a large creature, maybe a boar.
"Hello there, are you with the group that took my family?" I asked, he screamed at me "How are you not with the others, you should be working in the mine" he said obviously in pain. "where is your camp and how did you come to be here alone?" I asked. "I left the group to hunt that accursed boar, it has got me good, can you spare a health potion to heal me, I will take you to your brethren if you do" he asked.
Well it can't hurt I thought, "sure I'll help you I said" I enjoyed being good in these games "Thank you. The camp isn't far just at the foothills of the mountains by a small stream and a rock shaped like a six fingered hand." He replied happy to be saved. But as I tried to pass him one of the few potions in my bag I felt something odd and thought back to my character sheet. I'd only glanced it before the game started, but I wasn't nice, I'd been a thief and a liar killing and stealing as I pleased with no worry about good and evil as long as I got what I wanted. Why would I help this goblin I thought, Nej Underhill would act nice and then kill the monster for the experience and loot. I realised that I was thinking more in character, it made sense, what's the point of role playing if you are just going to be yourself I realised strangling the life out of the goblin.
After the goblin was dead I felt the experience increase, not long till level 2 now I realised looking the chain mail and knives from the corpse. He also had a nice curved shorts word, "this should serve me well" I chuckled. I also found a broken boar tusk and 15 GP on the fallen goblin. I looked at what I owned, two sharp knives, a curved short sword, 515 GP, a golden floor, rusty chain mail vest, Halfling Bard Clothes, a wooden flute, a walking stick and three healing potions and 5 lots of rations. It would have to do, I had one last look around and continued on my quest.
