The Journey Begins:
Before we proceed to section one, we need to assign Darian's skill points to his 5 skills. That's really all the preparatory work we need to do. While the book tells us to keep track of new items we pick up, we are not told to write down any kind of starting equipment, implying that whatever Darian may have on his person in the beginning won't be checked and can't be lost. It's also assumed that he fights with a sword (hence Swordsmanship being one of his 5 skills).The Glade of Dreams is well known in Raithan folklore. It lies somewhere in the Wailing Forest, far from civilization. It is built on, and draws its power from, the sleeping body of the great dragon, Bel-Gath. within the glade, it is said, a dreamer may sleep and awake to the fulfillment of his dreams. Anything - treasure, truth, knowledge, fame, power - can be attained by he who can survive the world of his dreams. Many have tried; few have returned. And of those whose dreams came true none will speak of what they experienced in the glade.
You are Darian - brave, quick and clever - an apprentice mage of the sorcerer, Gorechin. Your master has labored for decades to discover the secret of transmuting lead into gold. Faced with the prospect of spending the rest of your life working on this one problem you delve deeply into the magical tomes for a quick answer. There you read of the Glade of dDreams and its powers and determine to find it. Realizing that your quest will not be without peril, you prepare yourself in secrecy and leave the wizard to his meandering thoughts and half-brained theories of alchemy.
Your journey across the country is not without danger. Al that hear of your quest shuns you, some even try to kill you. The power and dread of the glade strikes fear far and wide and many speak of the nameless horrors that stalk deep in the Wailing Forest. Is what they tell fact of fiction? Soon you will discover the truth.
As you draw closer to your goal you meet fewer and fewer people: they take the threat of the glade very seriously. Few live near the forest, and none will venture into it. Soon, completely alone, you stand atop a hill, overlooking the vast sprawling mass of trees that extends for miles in every direction: the Wailing Forest. Spurring yourself onwards, as the heavens open with a lashing rain, you descend towards your destiny.
So, just a quick run through: Darian starts with 50 skill points to assign. All skills are between 2-12 (so we need to assign at least 2 points to every stat, and at least 4 points to Swordsmanship). The 5 skills that he can assign the points to are:
Strength: Equivalent to "hit points". If it goes down to 0, Darian is dead. We must also spend Strength if he wants to cast spells.
Agility: Required for climbing, dodging and other athletic feats, and probably will be tested by 2D6 dice rolls when we attempt such feats.
Luck: Probably similar to Luck tests in FF, except we don't need to deduct Luck points when we test it in this book.
Magic: Determines what kind of spells are available to us.
Swordsmanship: We will be rolling against this skill to hit enemies in combat. Note that Darian must spend 2 skill points for every 1 point he wants to raise for this skill.
Spells were described in the main thread, but I'll repost that here for convenience:
And that's it for the introduction! Once angel (and anyone else who wishes to join the game and play as Darian) has finished assigning skill points, we will proceed to section 1.1. Sense Danger
Reveals hidden danger to the player. Can be from an object or from another person. This is the spell with the lowest requirement, needing a minimum Magic stat of 4 and costing 1 Strength point each time it's cast.
2. Fire Hand
Requires Magic skill of at least 6, and burns 4 Strength off enemies when used. Costs 2 Strength to cast.
3. Death Blow
Requires Magic skill of at least 8, and deals an auto-kill to one enemy. Costs 3 Strength.
4. Mind Over Matter
Allows caster to move objects without touching. Can lift objects for up to 30 seconds. Requires Magic to be at least 10. Costs 4 Strength.