Alright. By Scrounge's request, we'll be playing as a female necromancer, Vilessa.
Vilessa heard the final words of inquisitor Zorthos echoing down the shaft as the soldiers pushed the boulder into place. "If you would worship death, then go live among the dead, and take your vile heathen scriptures with you."
She would not plead for her life. She knew it was pointless, and would only give him the satisfaction of knowing he had the power to hurt her. Instead, she tacitly cast a cold, accusing glare up into the waning crescent of daylight, hoping it would reach his soul if not his eyes.
Then the light was gone, and she saw nothing but the darkness of the catacombs enveloping her on all sides. She could taste in the air the accursed breath of a horrible, blasphemous thing, only now after millennia of imprisonment reaching the mouth of the dungeon where she now huddled, cold and alone.
She rummages through her pack, pulling out the volume containing the words of her beloved lord Tlosh, knowing she had nowhere to run now but her god's sickening necrotic embrace.
Those of you familiar with roguelikes will find it no surprise that the first thing we need to do is check our inventory. Vilessa here is wearing a plain robe, wielding a knife, and has an evil (cursed) tome of death, a manual of armor and a holy +1 silver spear in her inventory. The spear will be useful against any hardy undead we run into, since they're susceptible to silver, of which this silver spear is composed. :P The tome of death will give us our basic ranged spell, the iconic Magic Missile, which will take care of anything our spear cannot.
Let's just be sure to remove the silver spear if we're ever about to attain the power of a lich, lest we fall prey to its considerable undead-smiting power ourselves!
Tlosh had rewarded her well for her piety, bestowing upon her not only knowledge, but the courage to bring herself to her feet and search about the room , taking stock of her current situation. Her bare feet complained with every step she took upon the rough stone floor, even more so when she nearly cut them open on the heads of a handful of arrows. It was no surprise that she didn't bother to think twice when she saw the sandals lying before her, nor did she regret when their ice cold straps of hide locked tight around her ankles like a predator's may enclosing its victim's throat.
Vilessa has just put on an evil item! Also known as cursed in other games, these sandals don't likely carry any negative effects, but we cannot remove them in the event that we find better footwear. In this case, it will likely be less than a minute before we acquire superior footwear. On the bright side, sandals don't make much noise, so we'll be able to sneak around with relative ease and even gain some favor points with Quizar of the rogues.
Briefly consulting her manual of armor to understand the nature of the accursed sandals, she decided it was nothing to concern herself with for the time being and ventured down the lonely corridors, seeking some escape from a world she could darken no further. It would not be long before she found her exit, but it would lead her nowhere she was prepared to go.
Pushing open a door, Vilessa's breath fled her as she beheld for the first time creatures tainted by the primordial hatred of this prison's primary occupant. A pair of red eyes locked upon her from the center of the room, illuminating the black-furred face of a twisted and bloated rodent. She could have perished from its gaze alone, had a skeletal hand upon the door frame not broken her focus.
Snapping to attention, she shook the fear out of her soft, untrained muscles and managed to draw her spear as her off hand made the gestures to loose a projectile of mana, bouncing it off the wall to get a clear shot at the giant rat. The missile made a solid hit, but the beast shook off the attack and shifted toward her and taking itself into a better position to dodge the next shot.
Not daring to succumb to her fear of death while the eyes of her dark god gazed upon her, Vilessa stepped forward, putting herself in range for a point blank shot. She let loose another burst of mana in the monster's direction, similarly ineffective but far more draining this time around. As she pondered how she would handle the opponent without her magic to call upon, she was painfully interrupted by her other assailant digging its bony claws into her shoulder.
She whipped around, unable to understand how an agent of Tlosh could turn on her but defending herself out of instinct nonetheless. lodging the tip of the spear into the skeleton's ribs, she could hear the sizzling sound of dark magic being undone as the undead horror recoiled and raked at her arms. She had little time to celebrate, as the rat was now upon her, lodging its sharp, filthy teeth into her unwounded shoulder.
Realizing the hopelessness of her situation, Vilessa gave into cowardice and pulled away, dashing down the corridor with the rat hot on her heels. She recalled a chamber up ahead that would give her space to evade the rat's attacks while her mind recovered for another magical volley. As she rounded the corner, however, she could see an unearthly blue glow coming from the room that had been her one chance of salvation. Having run out of corridor, she had no choice but to run into the room and face whatever unnatural thing now occupied it.
Flying into the chamber just moments before the rabid ball of hair and teeth behind her, she ran directly into a being she had only seen in bestiaries from before the last war. A short, slender being composed of pure, radiant energy, a Lux.
She raised her hands to her eyes just a moment too late to block the burst of blinding light that poured forth from the creature's chest. It wouldn't have mattered, as the intense light seared her flesh and sent an ocean of sharp pain washing over her body.
Giving in to the pain, she placed herself at the mercy of her dark master, and allowed herself to slip into darkness forevermore.
Well, that one was my fault. Unskilled with the spear and unable to line up a decent ricochet with Magic Missile, I should have known better than to send poor Vilessa to her untimely death. This is also an important time to emphasize that there can be an unpleasant surprise around any corner.
By the way, that "blinding flash" is the Lux's special ability. This is a minor hindrance on its own, since the Lux isn't going to try to move while in melee combat, so you can usually flail blindly in its general direction and manage to win. Remember that a Lux's flash attack, much like the Flash spell available to players, also deals damage, which is what brought down our poor adventurer here.
Alright, what do we do next? Do we try another necromancer in the hope of giving Vilessa a happier ending, or try another class?
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