Beginner's Luck (Character Development Book 1)

by Aaron Jay

  I decided to push my luck. There were no Kobolds around--disarming the trap seemed possible. I needed anything that might help me work through the dungeon and this bottle full of nasty seemed like it could come in handy.

  Carefully I started to clear the gravel from the bottle. When I had taken off about half of the small stones, the weight on top of the bottle started to shift and the bottle moved. I rolled away, throwing my arm over my mouth and shutting my eyes. After scrambling back a good dozen feet I stopped. I sniffed the air. Nothing. Slowly, I crept back to the trap. The bottle had shifted but hadn’t fallen or broken. I couldn’t get my hand under it to stop it from falling farther and possibly shattering. I realized I had to remove the gravel evenly without disturbing the bottle. A game of pick-up-sticks, or rather gravel, where a slip up would unleash something painful.

  One pebble after another. Careful and steady. One more piece of gravel and some delicate web of support was broken and pebbles started sliding down into the hole, revealing the neck of the bottle. Before it could fully unbalance and fall I grabbed it by the neck and held it steady.

  Congratulations!

  You have learned the skill

  Disarm Trap!

  Do you cut the red wire or the blue wire? It takes a steady hand and nerves of steel.

  Novice Trap Disarm:

  0/250 to Beginner Level

  There were only 50 odd points left to hit the next skill level for my Detect Traps skill. I had unlocked Disarm Traps. If I could learn to set traps, the skill should solidify into a single skill that covered all three sub-skills. I was pretty sure that this would still work the same for me in my hardcore mode.

  I examined the bottle but couldn’t tell exactly what the stuff in there did. Novice Alchemy with zero points towards leveling it just wasn’t cutting it. The range of possibilities was extremely varied. It would be a shame to waste it on a solo mob if this was something powerful. Conversely, depending on it when confronting a large group would be foolish. I slipped it into my inventory and moved along.

  Someone had built a room at this end of the tunnel. It had even had a door once upon a time. The only evidence of the door were the twisted remains of a strap hinge. I was glad it was gone. Invisibility doesn’t help you if you have to push open a rusty old door. Doing so would surely have awoken the four kobolds bedded down in a crude nest of furs. They slept like dogs in a large pile.

  Pulling back, I sat and began recharging my mana. As I did I thought over my spell possibilities. This really was a gimme of a setup. I had surprise and all of the kobolds were nicely piled together. It was the easiest setup for a group of kobolds I was going to get unless the dungeon had a room filled with half dead kobolds trapped in a cage waiting for me. No, this was as easy as it was going to get. If I couldn’t do this then Maya would surely win and I’d get to sit in a tunnel for ten months.

  I prepared two spells. Given that I had the drop on the kobolds I felt able to make different choices than I’d risk otherwise. The first mudra had my thumbs interlocked, vaguely looking like mandibles. This left my eight fingers to shape legs. My palms were the body. My hands looked like a spider. In time with my breath I chanted “Web” over and over. As I chanted, strands of magical silk floated down from above the kobolds. More and more fell, crossing each other and binding into a seamless, unified whole wherever two strands connected. The kobolds didn’t even wake as the strands flowed and wrapped across them in a skein, binding them to each other and immobilizing them.

  Wyrmmdigger’s Bane and I went to work. It was a slaughter. My first blow just about killed one and his dying scream was the first thing that let the others know that danger was near. They began struggling. The level difference was certainly impacting my spell’s effectiveness. They shouldn’t have been able to move more than a foot or so a minute. Since I was only level three they actually managed to get to their feet. But the next kobold died by the time the last two had managed to clamber upright. They still couldn’t retaliate, just try desperately to lurch free. I hacked as fast as I could and another dropped.

  I stepped back. I touched my thumb to my ring finger and kept the rest of my fingers straight, creating the hand pose named Agnimudra. I began chanting, keeping my breath calm and rhythmic even as the slavering monster who could kill me with two blows twisted and yanked himself out of the web. One of the kobolds’ arms was now free. Its claws were mere inches from me as it got a leg free while trying to swipe my face. Staying still, controlling my breathing and hand gestures while it bayed and clawed for my throat, was incredibly difficult. Fear makes you breathe differently. If I did, the spell would fail. I focused and ignored the claws.

  Just before it freed its last leg from the webbing, I finished my chant. Agni is the Hindu god of fire. Thank god Hinduism has so many gods. There is a deity for everything. Or, should that be thank gods? Thank Agni.

  “Burning Hands,” I shouted as I grabbed the kobold’s arm in my flame-coated hand. It howled as its arm burned. My grip actually seared down through the muscle. Despite any natural resistance it was still a kobold, not a dragon. As I knew from Aabid’s experience, fire could hurt these things. The secondary effect I had been counting on initiated. The remains of the web covering the kobold from its head to its feet went up in a flash. I may not have been creating the character build I had planned on but even I knew enough about casting to know that spells like web and grease had solid combo effects from fire.

  This gave me the time to begin stabbing with Wrymmdigger’s Bane again. The blade hissed and spat as it sliced through the fire covering the kobold. With a gurgle, it dropped first to its knees and then to the floor.

  A level three player had just killed four kobolds almost three times his level. I looked at Wyrmmdigger’s Bane. Gear really does make the man.

  I sat and meditated, recharging my mana. By the time I was done the webs had disappeared. Looting the bodies, I received some silvers and random trash loot. Given the level difference, the rusty equipment’s stats weren’t terrible for me. I’d have been glad to have any of these shoddy weapons back when I was fighting rabbits with rocks. Best of all, I was no longer dead broke. If I ever got out of here I’d need some cash.

  My plan had survived proof of concept. Of course, this test was extremely favorable. I had the initiative. The kobolds were grouped conveniently. Let’s see how things would go when the setup was less favorable.

  I made my way back to the stope. The cavern opened and dropped away from the tunnel just as I remembered. The same group of three were right at the entrance. Try as I might I couldn’t think of a way to pull just one of the wandering kobolds without also triggering the group at the entrance into combat. I had to clear the group blocking the entrance to the cavern. That being the case, I had to pull them into combat when none of the wandering kobolds were near or I’d have four on my hands. The next complication was that my aggro range was simply massive at such a low comparative level. Normally a crowd control spell like web could be initiated and as long as you were close in level to your target, the monsters wouldn’t come after you until the spell wore off. My aggro range was bigger than my crowd control casting range. If I moved close enough to cast Web they would rush me and interrupt my spell.

  I studied the pattern and timed out the wandering kobolds. They passed the group blocking the entrance every two minutes. If I was to try and take on the group in the doorway I’d have to clear them and get away in about a minute and a half or have the next free kobold on me. It was impossible.

  My father had always urged me to munchkin game rules but never obscenely. He believed rules were there not only to tell you what you shouldn’t do but also to help facilitate what you should. People always argue about what kind of game lawyering was ok, and no one was ever able to define what pushed rule exploits over into something obscene. The deciding factor as he saw it, was whether some rule exploit helped the game along or broke it. He liked to quote some old DM on when munchkin behavior crossed the l
ine. I believe the guy’s name was Harry Potter Stewart and he said of such gaming obscenity, “I know it when I see it.”

  Time to sidestep my aggro range/crowd control spell range problem. First, find one small rock. There is a low-level spell called Wizard’s Words. It is useful for leaving messages for a specific person or to be heard only under certain circumstances. It is a way to let only guild members or friends find out that they really want to take the left hand tunnel not the right. The triggering circumstances can be moderately complex, which was good for me.

  Some rhythmic breathing, some chanting, and my stone was ready. I turned invisible. Creeping down the tunnel I placed the stone twenty feet directly in front of the group blocking the entrance to the cavern. I kept my fingers on the stone keeping it inside my invisibility effect. I looked up to see if the faint click of it hitting the ground would trigger a response. They made no reaction. I wanted to sigh in relief but had to keep holding my breath. After a count of ten I pulled my fingers from the small rock. The pebble shimmered into view. The kobold group stirred just a little but settled back down. A new kobold came past the group. The clock had started.

  Backing off till the enchanted stone was just inside my casting range I sat and recharged my mana. As I breathed and meditated I counted each new wandering kobold who passed. I had programmed my stone to wait till a dozen kobolds came and went. One by one the patrollers passed. Five little kobolds… six little kobolds… this little kobold went to market… this little kobold stayed home… There was a moment of panic as I wondered if I had miscounted or misprogrammed but just before the twelfth kobold came by the group at the entrance I began casting Web again. My hands made the spider shape and I chanted the spell’s name over and over again. If my timing was right I’d finish the spell moments after my stone would initiate.

  The fourth kobold seemed to linger with the group at the entrance. Was he going to stay longer than I had planned for? Did I miscount? I was now counting down the thirty seconds till my Wizard’s Words spell began. Go! Go, you stupid kobold. Finally he started off again. It was even harder to keep my chant when the kobold finally left the group by the entrance. Relief makes you want to sigh something fierce. Now! Now you stupid rock. Talk!

  “Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly;

  “’Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.

  The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,

  And I have many pretty things to show when you are there.”

  “O no, no,” said the little fly, “to ask me is in vain,

  For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”

  The stone played the message I had recorded. The kobolds clearly weren’t poetry fans, or maybe they thought I didn’t do it justice. They rushed over to the stone grunting and sniffing. The lead kobold’s snout perked up and he turned down the tunnel seeing me. They were inside my aggro range. He grunted to his fellows and they launched themselves down the tunnel. My timing was good enough. Once again magical threads of silk appeared. This time they filled the tunnel from side to side and from ceiling to floor. The kobolds slowed but never fully stopped as they became entangled. Once again, the level difference partially nerfed my crowd control.

  The kobold swung his hooked short sword at my face. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Slowed by the web and his aim pulled off by a strand connected to his forearm, it was simple to slip the blow and thrust Wyrmmdigger’s Bane into his stomach. A quick side-to-side motion and I pulled my sword out followed by some of his guts. A notice that I had induced a bleed effect brought a smile to my face.

  Bane seemed to leap into short sharp jabs and stabs at critical areas. A neck. A groin. The inside of a thigh. Eyes. The kobolds’ defenses were hampered and my opportunity to attack areas that allowed for higher crit chances or status effects was enhanced. Bane also seemed to know these Wyrmmdiggers’ vital spots. A stab at a kobold’s thigh might shift an inch to find the femoral artery. The angle of a thrust into a kobold’s eye might rotate just the right amount to clear their bony occipital ridges. The angle of a parry might be adjusted to the range of motion of my foes. This must be close to what it was like to have full combat mechanics enabled.

  The first kobold died from his gut wound just as I finished off the second, whom I had blinded. I should have moved on to the last while the second kobold was blinded. He would have been a much easier foe. Instead I finished him off and only had time to slice the last kobold’s leg. I took off back towards the entrance to the mine. With the level difference, I expected the kobold to catch up with me shortly but I seemed to be outpacing the beast.

  Turning around I saw that my leg thrust had lamed the kobold, which had cleared the web and was limping towards me. How I wished I could cast or had a bow. Or any sort of ranged weapon. Well, I had thrown stones before and there were plenty around me. I would grab a rock throw it and run for a bit. I managed to grab and throw three rocks before I couldn’t retreat anymore. I connected with two of them. Two points of damage are two points of damage.

  The Kobold swung at me and I staggered back as I parried. A twitch of Wyrmmdigger’s Bane clued me in to the tail strike that was coming from behind the beast. The kobold seemed shocked when my block scored a long scrape on its tail.

  The last Kobold and I were evenly matched at this point. We had roughly the same hit points and either of us could kill the other with two decent blows. Fair fights are for suckers but a sucker I was. We exchanged blocks and parries and dodges for a few passes. As we fought, neither of us scoring a hit or able to commit to a blow, I noticed that the kobold was scared of Wyrmmdigger’s Bane. Smart kobold. I decided to try to use that to my advantage. I kept jabbing and feinting with the blade. The kobold was unable to ignore the threat it posed. A flick of my sword and it would invariably hiss and retreat. When I pulled the sword back for a blow, that was when the kobold felt free to move in. I pulled the sword back once again and as predicted in came the kobold. My response was an awkward stroke. A slash done with such awkwardness was something an opponent would typically ignore or take advantage of somehow. I couldn’t bring any power or speed behind such a stroke. But still the kobold shifted to avoid any contact with the blade, letting me position the monster and time the pacing of the fight. Its legs crossed awkwardly as it retreated to the right and I was now perfectly set up to bash it in the head with the edge of my buckler. Falling and out of position it stumbled. That was all the opening I needed. A step to my left and two quick thrusts and the kobold breathed its last.

  Grinding concept fully proven.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  For the third time, I made my way back to the stope. Sneaking between the wandering kobolds, I looted the bodies of my foes. Perhaps something that dropped was going to change things: some money, some trash, and a potion! Crud. The potion was blue and glowed subtly. Mana regeneration potion. A truly useful item for a player who can cast in combat. Or, from behind a tank. I couldn’t think how I could use it but into my inventory it went.

  Over the course of the next hours I took out the single wandering kobolds as they passed the entrance. Timing my chanted cast of web, I’d have one trapped kobold. Then I’d apply some quick chops from Bane and move on to the next.

  Ding!

  On the third patroller I hit level four. I had an ability point to assign.

  The rules of The Game cause some universal dilemmas. One of those is known as Threshold Pain. Not pain threshold but threshold pain. This semi-witty turn of phrase is based around the fact that the benefits from increasing an ability score are not a smooth linear progression.

  Stat points are set up with threshold values. You need two points to pass the threshold to get the next clear benefit, an added +1 to your ability modifier. Adding a point to any of my abilities that were currently at 12 and thereby moving the score up to 13 would have murky immediate effects. Only when I moved from 13 to 14 would I get the satisfaction o
f an additional +1 ability modifier to those tasks that an ability impacted. So, we get Threshold Pain. The pain you feel when deciding to add a point to an ability so that four levels later you can benefit. You clear four difficult levels and your reward is moving half way to your goal. Wait another four levels and you can finally have your bonus.

  This can be brutal. Waiting eight levels to really get stronger, or wiser, or more agile or charismatic is hard for people. We, as a species, struggle with delayed gratification. Most people have immediate needs. For instance, they are trapped in an instance soloing mobs twice their levels. It is really hard to take a bonus stat point and bank it under those circumstances.

  In the rush to assign my stats I had left Strength and Constitution on the edge of an additional bonus. Moving my strength up to 14 would double my strength bonus. An additional point to Constitution would double the amount of hit points I’d get for each level. My other abilities would need me to level four more times before I’d get such clear benefits.

  Gaining levels happens a lot faster at lower levels. The first dozen or so can be passed in a few months of serious playing. But then gaining levels gets slower and slower. You have to figure out not just the final build you are aiming for as you play The Game but also the optimal path as you add ability points. Normally, I’d be using any points to set up an ability for later improvement. The game was supposed to be plainly easier at low levels. I shouldn’t be risking deaths in each and every encounter at level four. These were the levels you use to set yourself up down the line.

  Further complicating things was my hardcore mode. I had no way to know how this would interact with my ability points. Would it give me some different bonuses before the thresholds were passed?

  I could hit or take a hit better if I went for Strength or Constitution. But I also needed to increase the rest. Intelligence allowed me access to more spells. I also needed it to dismantle traps I found. I needed Dexterity to help disarm the traps. Disabling and disarming were two different skills. Given my low HP any hit was a possible death blow so increasing my agility and thereby my ability to dodge attacks or escape any traps I missed was also important. Wisdom helped with things I needed now too. Wisdom was supposed to keep you in tune with your surroundings. Spotting and perceiving things like the traps I was surrounded by, for instance. I couldn’t believe how many stats were applicable to dealing with the traps down here. Charisma, on the other hand, was almost completely useless stuck down here. I laughed grimly since I could skip worrying about whether adding a point to luck was the way to go. My curse simplified things a tiny bit.