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CASTLE OF MEMORIES
A Single-Player TTRPG by Adrian Lumm

Layout and Design by Adrian Lumm

Cover Photography by bravo1954

Character Sheet by Xander Hinners

Playtested by Rathayibacter and The Original Cockatrice

This original work was inspired by the following media:

Video Games
– The Castlevania series
– Dark Souls
– Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

Tabletop Games
– Errant RPG by Ava
– Mörk Borg by Pelle Nilsson
– Ironsworn by Shawn Tomkin

General Content Warning: This game contains elements of

amnesia/memory loss, trauma, violence, and some elements of
horror. Please make sure you are safe while playing this game
and take breaks when necessary.

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 INTRODUCTION

This is a single-player table-top RPG, wherein you will take the

role of a person with amnesia who wakes up in a dark castle. It
is intended to be played as you read through this book. It is
recommended that you keep a journal handy to record your
character's thoughts as well as the general happenings of
events that occur within this game.

You will explore aspects of your character as you play the

game: You start with hardly any recollection of who you are or
what you're doing in the castle.

Materials Needed:
– A Deck of Tarot Cards
– A Journal
– A Character Sheet
– Grid Paper (Optional)
– Gaming Dice (d4s, d6s, d8s, d10s, d12s, and d20s)

Before you begin play, shuffle your Tarot deck and keep it close
by. Keeping all cards upright (no “reversed” cards) is
recommended and assumed.

Your Character Sheet contains all vital information about your

character.

The journal should be used to take notes and write down

anything that comes to your mind that's important, such as
your character's train of thought, notable events, and any
spells you learn. Try to think of it as a real journal your
character would keep as they travel through the castle.

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 CHAPTER I: AWAKENING
Wherein you begin your journey and learn the rules
of the game

You wake up in a dark, cold room. The walls and floors are
made of stone. You're in... A castle? You don't know how you
got here.

Better yet, you're not sure who you are, either. This room
seems to be empty, aside from some furniture that is covered
in white bedsheets. One thing, however, sticks out from the
rest in this dimly lit room, and that's a large, silver mirror that
hangs on the wall. It intrigues you. You decide to look into the
mirror, and, seeing yourself, you remember a few things:

On your Character Sheet... Write down your name, pronouns,

and age. Get a general feel for what you look like, how you're
dressed.

Not too far away from the mirror, you discover a weapon lying
around. You aren't sure if it's yours or if it's someone else's,
but given that you're in a dark castle with no memory of who
you are, it's best to stay protected.

Roll a d12, and refer to the following chart to determine

your starting weapon...

Weapons - d12
1. Sword 5. Morningstar 9. Staff
2. Spear 6. Axe 10. 2-handed sword
3. Mace 7. Whip 11. Dagger
4. Crossbow 8. Bow 12. Pistol

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Fighting unarmed deals 1 damage. Weapons deal 2 damage.

This weapon... It'll have to do. If you have a ranged weapon,

you have all the ammunition you need. Is there armor nearby,
as well? Anything protective?

Roll a d4:
1. No armor of any kind. You're on your own.
2. You find a wooden shield. It adds +1 to your Agility, but
you can sacrifice it to stop all damage from a single attack
and break it.
3. You find some pieces of armor you can fashion into a
makeshift suit for some protection. It reduces damage
taken by 1.
4. Nothing protective, but you find another weapon. Roll a
d12.

You try to remember more about yourself. Try to get a feel for
your personal abilities and what you can do...

Roll 4d4 four times, marking down in order your results

for...
– Strength : Your character's physical might
– Agility : Your ability to move quickly
– Presence : Your grace, concentration, and composure.
– Mind : Your mental faculties and affinity for magic.

Once you've rolled values for these 4 attributes, you may

swap any two values. Record your attributes on your
Character Sheet.

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Note: Strength is typically used to fight, but if you have a
ranged weapon, a whip, or a dagger, Presence is used instead.
Keep your starting weapon in mind when swapping attributes.

Something is here. Something unnatural. A creature of the

shadow: A demon. It hungers for you. Describe what it is and
how it moves towards you. You must fight it to survive.

Combat: At the beginning of an instance of combat, you will

always go first. The basic combat flow has you rolling checks
(rolling a d20 and trying to roll under a given attribute value) in
an attempt to defeat your enemy as well as dodge their blows.

Roll 2d8, to a minimum value of 5. This is your total HP.

Mark it on your Character Sheet.

This creature, this monster, it's clearly malicious, but you get
the opportunity to strike first.

When attacking an enemy, refer to your options below:

– If attacking with a ranged weapon, or a dagger or whip,

roll a d20. If you get your Presence or lower, you hit (this
is referred to as a Presence check).
– If attacking with a melee weapon, make a Strength check.

If you roll a 20, your weapon breaks and you must fight
barehanded. Otherwise, weapons deal 2 damage.
If you roll a 1, you deal double damage. The monster has 6HP.

When a monster attacks you, make an Agility check. On a

hit, you dodge the monster's attack. On a miss, you suffer 2
damage.

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If you roll a 20, any armor you're wearing breaks.
If you roll a 1, you get a free counterattack.

If you fall to 0 HP during your battle with the creature...

You wake up in the same room, with the same weapon, with
your HP restored to full. The creature will attempt to attack you
again. Be ready.

If you vanquish your enemy, it begins to emit a bright, white

light. Its body fades away as it dies, leaving a shimmering mote
of light behind. This light hovers towards you, and enters your
body. You... You remember something! It all comes flooding
back to you...

You've recovered a memory. Draw from the Tarot Deck.

In this game, memories are represented by the Tarot. The type

of card determines the nature of the memory:
– Major Arcana (0-21) represent major life events that are
important to you and change the way you go about life.
– Court Cards (kings, queens, knights, pages) represent
important people in your life with whom you share a bond.
– Minor Arcana (Aces-10s) represent mundane, everyday
memories.

You generally have 2 ways of interpreting the cards: If you

are knowledgeable of the Tarot, you can interpret the card's
typical meaning. If not, you can simply look at the pictures
within the card and come up with your own scene. Each time
you recover a memory and draw from the deck, roleplay or
write down a scene surrounding events your character has
lived through in the past. Then, place the card face up in front
of you. This is your Memory Spread.

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You've recovered a memory. How does it make you feel? Is
this a fond memory, or a regretful one? Ponder and record this
answer. You'll need it later.

Why did a monster like that have your memory inside it? It
seems the only way to get the answers you seek is to explore
the castle...

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 MEMORY REFERENCE GUIDE

Major Arcana – Important life events that hold

special significance in your heart

Court Cards – Important people in your life. Kings

and Queens represent older adults, while Knights
and Pages represent younger adults and children

Minor Arcana – Every day memories that hold

little significance, but are no less precious

Suits
– Swords: Ideas, conflict, logic
– Wands: Passion, purpose, energy
– Pentacles: Money, work, material possessions
– Cups: Intuition, emotion, creativity

The Four Emotions

Does this memory make you feel...
– Joy?
– Sorrow?
– Fear?
– Anger?

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The memory you recovered stirs within you. In this castle,
memories have powers that you can harness. Your memories
and the emotions you associate with them allow you to cast
magic spells to aid you on your journey.

When you receive a new memory, craft a spell. To do this,

choose one of four emotions you associate with the new
memory, and apply one of its keywords to the text of the spell:
– Joy : Create, Transform, Protect
– Sorrow : Hinder, Reflect, Summon
– Fear : Enhance, Command, Banish
– Anger : Destroy, Seal, Harm

Then, look at the suit of the card. If your memory is a Major

Arcana, skip this step. Choose one of three keywords
associated with the card's suit.
– Swords : Air, Weapon, Law
– Wands : Fire, Magic, Chaos
– Pentacles : Earth, Other, Death
– Cups : Water, Self, Life

With your verb and noun joined together, invent a spell that
embodies these two concepts. It can be as vague or as specific
as you like.

Sample Spells:
– “I conjure a small mote of fire in my hand.” (Create Fire)
– “I can move weapons with my mind.” (Command Weapon)
– “Water cannot touch me, I can walk on its surface.” (Reflect
Water)
– “I can inflict grave injuries on my enemies.” (Harm Other)

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Major Arcana spells are specially tied to the memories they
represent. Instead of looking at the suit, instead refer directly
to the memory and how you might craft a spell from the scene
it represents. You still must choose a verb based on your
feelings for the memory, but the object of the spell can be
whatever fits the memory itself.

Once you've written down your first spell, be careful of

when you use it. When you cast a spell, turn its associated
Tarot card sideways in your Memory Spread to signify it's been
used. Your cards refresh when you reach a safe area of the
castle. If you cast a spell after it's already been used, you
do it successfully, but the memory is lost and returned to
the deck.

Combat Magic – When you use magic to affect your combat

abilities, take the following effects into consideration. If not in
battle, all magic effects last up to one hour. Effects can be
stacked as long as the magic comes from different memories. In
general, magic can cause...
– 1d6 damage
– Heal 1d6 HP
– Increase a stat by +1 for the remainder of a battle
– Block all damage for 1 round or block 1 damage for the
remainder of a battle
– Recover the use of one used spell
– Deal +1 damage with weapons for the remainder of a battle
– Cause an enemy to deal -1 damage for the remainder of a
battle

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Using magic requires a Mind check. The spell is always
successful, but failing your Mind check means an unintended
side-effect happens as a result of your unstable magic. When
this occurs, one of three things will happen, depending on what
is most appropriate:
• You hurt yourself. Take 1d4 damage, ignoring armor
• You lose control, and the spell causes problems
• You are knocked off your feet. If in combat, lose a turn.

The 5-Card Spread

When you have more than 5 memories, you must choose which
ones to keep “prepared” at the forefront of your mind. You can
only have 5 cards, no more, no less, in your Memory Spread.
The rest must be kept in a different space called the Reserve
Pile. These cards are marked “safe” and cannot be sacrificed in
the event that you die (more on death in Chapter II), but you
cannot cast their associated spells. You can change which
cards you have prepared and swap between your Memory
Spread and Reserve Pile any time you visit a Safe Harbor room.

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 CHAPTER II: PRESSING ON
Wherein you learn how to explore the castle and
complete your first zone.
You have to press on, weapon at the ready. It would
probably be best to start mapping out the castle, if only to
make things easier. It doesn't have to be precise, just to help
you remember where certain rooms are, in case you need to
backtrack. Alternatively, if you want to break out grid paper
and do a full draw-up of your castle, that can be fun, too!

When you traverse the castle, roll a d6, and refer to the
following chart. Be sure to take your time and describe
each room you visit, painting a picture of its finer details
in your mind...

Traversal - d6
1. Safe Harbor
2. Friendly NPC
3. Long Hallway
4. Treasure
5. Challenge Room
6. Enemy ambush!

(If you get the same result twice in a row, roll until you get
something different)

1. Safe Harbor
You find a place that is safe. It is adequately stocked with
potions, food, or medical supplies, and you can restore your HP
to full. All used memories are restored to you, and you can
swap out cards in your Memory Spread and Reserve Pile. You
can rest here, but not forever...

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2. Friendly NPC
A non-player character (NPC) is taking refuge in this room.
They are friendly to you. To find out who this person is, draw
from the deck until you draw a Court Card, and use it to
describe who that person is. Make note of it, and shuffle all
cards you drew back into the deck, Court Card included. The
suit of the card determines their profession:
– Swords: Hunter. They will give you 1 Treasure in exchange
for killing a beast or monster. Earn 1 XP when you do this.
– Wands: Magician. For 1 Treasure, they will grant you a
scroll, which lets you cast a spell once as if you had a
memory for it. Draw from the deck, use the suit to
reference the effect, and roll a d4 to randomly determine
the spell's emotion. If you get a Major Arcana, shuffle, and
redraw.
– Pentacles: Merchant. For 1 Treasure, they will sell you
any item you desire, be it a weapon, armor, shield, or
some other object to help you.
– Cups: Priest. They will give you 1 Treasure in exchange for
killing an undead or demon. Earn 1 XP when you do this.
When asked, this person knows very little about the castle, but
knows for certainty that they cannot leave this room.

3. Long Hallway
Nothing remarkable here, but there are several doors. If you
run out of space, run into a challenging enemy, or hit a dead
end, it might be useful to come back to one of these in order to
find a new area to explore.

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4. Treasure
You find 1 Treasure in this room. Typically, treasure takes the
form of valuables such as gemstones, jewelry, gold coins, or
something else. You can also choose to find a weapon or a
shield instead (roll d12 on the weapons table on page 4).
Valuables can be traded to merchants and magicians for
equipment and scrolls, respectively.
Note: You can carry a number of items equal to your Strength.

5: Challenge Room
This room offers some kind of challenge, a test of your
character's abilities. Pass, and you gain 1 Treasure. Fail, and
the treasure is lost or otherwise inaccessible. Each challenge is
met with 1 check using an attribute of your choice, whichever
is appropriate:
– For tests of physical might or endurance, use Strength
– For tests of speed or acrobatics, use Agility
– For tests of balance or concentration, use Presence
– For tests of will and logic, use Mind

Magic can also help you here! If used appropriately, it can solve
your challenge for you altogether or give you a +2 to your stat
when making a check. Be sure to mark your memory as used
when you cast its spell.

If you have an item in your inventory that you might have

found in a treasure room or bought off a merchant, you can
roleplay your character using it to gain +1 to your associated
stat before making the check.

Alternatively, you may choose to fight an enemy or enemies. If

you decide that your challenge is a combat encounter, refer to
the next entry for rules on how to set one up. You get no
treasure from this combat encounter.

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6: Enemy Ambush!
In this room, you are attacked by enemies. Roll a d6 to find out
what level and how many monsters you find, and then roll a d4
to determine the nature of these creatures.

Enemies - d6
1. 1 Weak Enemy Type - d4
2. 2 Weak 1. Beast
3. 1 Average 2. Monster
4. 1 Average 3. Undead
5. 2 Average 4. Demon
6. 1 Strong

Enemy Types:
Type HP Damage Dealt /turn XP
Weak 4 1 1
Average 6 2 2
Strong 10 3 3
Powerful 15 5 5

Running Away: If a battle proves too tough for you, you can
always run away. Doing so requires that you turn a card in
your Memory Spread sideways. If all cards are used, then you
can just run away. Any enemies you vanquished stay dead, but
the ones that are still living heal to full health. You will need to
face them again before you can continue exploring down that
path. A Long Hallway might lead you to another route, and you
can always run back to a Safe Harbor room if you need healing.

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When the enemy has been defeated, this room is now just
an empty room. Earn XP equal to the amount indicated on
the above chart based on which enemies you've slain.

Resting: You may rest for 1 hour to recover half your max HP.
You must win a battle before you can do this again.

XP can be traded for improvements. You can redeem XP at

any time, and it instantly applies whatever improvements you
purchase. Keep track of how many improvements you have
purchased, they will come into play later.
• Tougher: For 2 XP, increase your HP by 2. You also heal
this amount.
• Skilled: For 2 XP, increase one attribute by 1, to a
maximum of 16.
• New Memory: For 3 XP, draw a new memory from the
deck, roleplay its scene, record your spell, and add the
card to your Memory Spread.

Death and Restarting

If you fall to 0 HP or less, your character dies. This is not the
end, however, as your memories tie you to this castle. Choose
one of the cards in your Memory Spread to sacrifice and keep
going (cards in your Reserve Pile are safe). That card is
returned to the deck, the memory lost. You return at either the
start of the castle or at the last Safe Harbor room you were in.
If you have no memories left and die, your character loses
all memory and fades to oblivion. You must roll up a new
character and begin your journey anew.

Backtracking: For each cleared room you track back through

(excluding NPCs and Safe Harbor rooms), roll a d6 in a pool. If
any dice come up as 6, you are ambushed by enemies and
must roll up a combat encounter!

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Continue play this way until you have explored 5 rooms
within the castle. This makes up your first zone!

Zones are “chunks” of the castle that share a common theme.

The zone you just cleared is the Entrance Hall. Once you find
your way through the zone, you find not only the exit to the
castle, but also a pathway to another zone. There are many
zones in this castle and each is ripe for exploration.

Each zone will have different requirements before you can

complete it. Some will require you explore a certain number of
rooms. Others will require you to speak to a certain NPC or
overcome some kind of challenge. The chapter will tell you
what your goal is.

When you begin your next zone, you will decide the theme at
the beginning, and you can let your imagination go wild!

The castle is a creature of chaos, unbound by natural law.

Don't worry about the architecture or the room layouts being
perfectly logical or “correct”; it's a magical castle.

Sample Zone Names:

• The Greenhouses
• The Catacombs
• The Dungeons
• The Clock Tower
• The Art Gallery
• The Grand Library
• The Great Hall
• The Chapel
• The Servant's Quarters
• The Magical Laboratory

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Escaping the Castle
Generally, after the first zone is completed, you can find your
way out of the castle and escape. The entrance is not hidden to
you, though you may want to recover as much of your memory
as you can. Escaping the castle ends the game, and leads into
Chapter III of this book: the ending.

Castle Secrets
When you've completed a zone's requirements, you will be able
to unlock a secret of the castle. Draw a new memory from the
deck, record your spell, and roleplay your memory scene.
Include the castle in this memory, whether someone spoke of
it, it appeared in a dream, you remember seeing it somewhere,
or something else. You remember this castle from your
previous life before finding yourself in here. Add this card to
your Memory Spread and press onward to the next zone!

When you take your 7th Improvement by spending EXP...

Enemies get tougher. Your attributes, HP, and Memory Spread
should be significantly increased, meaning the creatures of the
castle grow more belligerent. From now on, when rolling the
enemy encounters, refer to this chart...

Tougher Enemies - d6 Type HP Damage XP

1. 1 Average Weak 4 1 1
2. 2 Average Average 6 2 2
3. 3 Average Strong 10 3 3
4. 1 Strong Powerful 15 5 5
5. 2 Strong
6. 1 Powerful

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Zone Requirements (for each zone past the first, write
down one of these goals. You can use any of these goals as
often as you like):
– Clear 7 rooms
– Fight and defeat a Strong enemy
– Clear 12 rooms
– Fight and defeat a Powerful enemy
– Clear 10 rooms
– Speak with 2 NPCs
– Acquire 3 Treasures

Alternatively, you can come up with your own goals! There are
as many zones as you wish to explore in this game.

Each time you clear a zone, you get a new memory for free.
Draw from the deck, create your spell, roleplay the scene,
and add the card to your Memory Spread or Reserve Pile.
The memory you make should include a secret of the
castle.

Baiting a Desired Enemy

If, whether for a quest from a hunter or priest, or to fulfill your
zone requirements, you go searching for a specific enemy,
make a Presence check when you enter a Challenge Room or
an Ambush room. On a success, you find exactly what kind of
enemy you're looking for. You can also just choose to find it.

Ending the Game

Once you've gathered enough memories in your Memory
Spread, you may choose to end the game at any time by
escaping the castle. Gather up all of your cards and move on to
Chapter III. Generally speaking, you'll want at least 10 cards in
your possession to get a good ending.

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 CHAPTER III: ESCAPING THE CASTLE
Wherein you will leave the castle, never look back,
and try to piece your life back together.

When you leave the castle, you can never return. Make sure
you're ready and have the memories you want to keep and
reclaim.

When you leave the castle, your powers diminish. Your

memories are no longer weapons that allow you to cast magic.
They are simply your memories.

When you leave the castle, count how many cards you
possess in your Memory Spread and Reserve Pile. They will be
returned to you, and cannot be taken away again. Think about
the memories you've recovered, and where you can go from
here.

Possible Endings
Generally, there are 4 endings to the game depending on how
many memories you've recovered before fleeing the castle.
Follow the corresponding ending to your Memory Spread:
• 5 or less: Bad Ending
• 6-9: Neutral Ending
• 10-14: Good Ending
• 15+: Great Ending

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5 or less : The Bad Ending
You escape with hardly any memories at all to latch onto. How
do you try to piece together what no longer exists? Try to string
a narrative together about how your character came to this
castle. It will be incomplete, and it will only be your best guess.
You wander the land, seeking answers, knowing deep down
that you will never truly have unraveled the mystery of the
castle of memories...

6-9 : The Neutral Ending

You made it out. You have some memories, but you feel like
you could have accomplished more while you were in there.
But what you have is better than dying alone. Try to piece
together a story using your memories that tells what you
should do now that you've escaped. It might not be a complete
tale, but it should at least give you some idea of where to go
next. You feel incomplete, but can live your life modestly
knowing you got what you could.

10-14 : The Good Ending

You've escaped! With your memories intact, you know exactly
where to go next. You've uncovered the castle's secrets and
you've escaped not only with your life, but your personhood as
well, or at least as much of it as you could. There are some
holes left, but overall, you can piece together a story. Using
your memories, describe what your character does next with
their life and how they plan to live their lives in the future.

15+ : The Great Ending

You've escaped with a great deal of your memories, to the point
where you're almost exactly how you were before you came in!
Come up with your own unique story of how the castle came to
be and how your character ended up in it. You then have full
narrative control over how your character lives their life after.

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Your story is finished. Think about everything you learned
about your character. Do they have any regrets? Would they go
in the castle a second time if they could? Now is the time to
reflect on how your character's journey went, and how you
imagine they feel about their adventure.

With the curtains closing, and the game coming to an end,

write down your final thoughts, and end the story. If you drew
a map, you can save it as a memento of the adventure you
went on! Saving your character sheet or your journal is also an
option.

And hey, maybe play the game again, to see what new
characters you can create, what new incarnations the castle of
memories takes?

Changing the Rules

Ultimately, this game is about having fun. If the rules are
getting in the way of that fun, please, by all means, change
them up! If you haven't had a Safe Harbor room in forever and
desperately need one, I certainly won't cry foul if you fudge
your dice or just choose to find a potions room. These rules are
methods by which you can have fun, not the sole source of that
fun.

And with that, enjoy the game!

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Name
Pronouns / Age
Rolling a check:
Choose an attribute and roll a d20.

Attributes Rolling attribute or lower: success

Rolling higher: failure or surprise Inventory Strength = # of  slots
available (1 per item)

________________
Strength Physical might,
________________
________________
melee weapons
________________
Agility Quick movement,
________________
________________
dodging attacks
________________
PresenceGrace and focus,
________________
________________
ranged weapons
________________
Mind Mental faculties,
________________
________________
casting spells
________________
________________
HP XP ________________
________________
Current Total
Weapons

Max Spent
____________ & ____________
I have: ❑ Armor ❑ Shield
Reduce damage +1 Agility; break to block
taken by 1 all damage from 1 attack
 TABLES AND REFERENCES

Weapons - d12
1. Sword 5. Morningstar 9. Staff
2. Spear 6. Axe 10. 2-handed sword
3. Mace 7. Whip 11. Dagger
4. Crossbow 8. Bow 12. Pistol

Traversal - d6
1. Safe Harbor XP Purchases NPC Types - Tarot
2. Friendly NPC +2 Max HP – 2 XP Swords : Hunter
3. Long Hallway +1 Attribute – 2 XP Wands : Magician
4. Treasure New Memory – 3 XP Pentacles: Merchant
5. Challenge Room Cups: Priest
6. Enemy ambush!

Enemies - d6
1. 1 Weak Enemy Type - d4
2. 2 Weak 1. Beast
3. 1 Average 2. Monster
4. 1 Average 3. Undead
5. 2 Average 4. Demon
6. 1 Strong

Tougher Enemies (7 Improvements) - Enemy HP Damage XP

d6 Type Per Attack
1. 1 Average Weak 4 1 1
2. 2 Average Average 6 2 2
3. 3 Average Strong 10 3 3
4. 1 Strong Powerful 15 5 5
5. 2 Strong
6. 1 Powerful

Backtracking: For each room tracking back through (excluding NPCs and Safe
Harbor rooms), roll a d6. If any of the dice come up as 6, you are ambushed and
must roll a combat encounter.
 MEMORY REFERENCE GUIDE

Major Arcana – Important life events that hold

special significance in your heart

Court Cards – Important people in your life. Kings

and Queens represent older adults, while Knights
and Pages represent younger adults and children

Minor Arcana – Every day memories that hold

little significance, but are no less precious

Suits
– Swords: Ideas, conflict, logic
– Wands: Passion, purpose, energy
– Pentacles: Money, work, material possessions
– Cups: Intuition, emotion, creativity

The Four Emotions

Does this memory make you feel...
– Joy?
– Sorrow?
– Fear?
– Anger?
 MAGIC
When you receive a new memory, craft a spell. To do this, choose one of
four emotions you associate with the new memory, and apply one of its three
keywords to the text of the spell:
– Joy : Create, Transform, Protect
– Sorrow : Hinder, Reflect, Summon
– Fear : Enhance, Command, Banish
– Anger : Destroy, Seal, Harm

Then, look at the suit of the card. If your memory is a Major Arcana, skip this
step. Choose one of three keywords associated with the card's suit.
– Swords : Air, Weapon, Law
– Wands : Fire, Magic, Chaos
– Pentacles : Earth, Other, Death
– Cups : Water, Self, Life

With your verb and noun joined together, invent a spell that embodies these
two concepts. It can be as vague or as specific as you like.

Using magic requires a Mind check. The spell is always successful, but
failing your Mind check means an unintended side-effect happens as a result
of your unstable magic. When this occurs, one of three things will happen,
depending on what is most appropriate:
• You hurt yourself. Take 1d4 damage, ignoring armor
• You lose control, and the spell causes problems
• You are knocked off your feet. If in combat, lose a turn.

Combat Magic – When you use magic to affect your combat abilities, take the
following effects into consideration. If not in battle, all magic effects last up to
one hour. Effects can be stacked as long as the magic comes from different
memories. In general, magic can cause...
– 1d6 damage
– Heal 1d6 HP
– Increase a stat by +1 for the remainder of a battle
– Block all damage for 1 round or block 1 damage for the remainder of a
battle
– Recover the use of one used spell
– Deal +1 damage with weapons for the remainder of a battle
– Cause an enemy to deal -1 damage for the remainder of a battle
 COMBAT
You always strike first in combat. Take turns between you and your foes.

Attacking:
– If attacking with a ranged weapon, or a dagger or whip, make a Presence
check.
– If attacking with a melee weapon or fists, make a Strength check.

Success: Deal 1 damage if fighting barehanded, 2 damage if armed with a weapon.

Failure: Your attack misses.

If you roll a 20, your weapon breaks.

If you roll a 1, you deal double damage.

Defending:
Make an Agility check.

Success: You dodge or block successfully.

Failure: You suffer damage depending on the enemy's power.

If you roll a 20, any armor you're wearing breaks.

If you roll a 1, you get a free counterattack.

Magic:
You may cast a spell instead of attacking. Choose a spell to cast from your Memory
Spread, turn it sideways to mark it as used, and make a Mind check. The spell is
always successful, but failing your Mind check means an unintended side-effect
happens as a result of your unstable magic. When this occurs, one of three things
will happen, depending on what is most appropriate:
• You hurt yourself. Take 1d4 damage, ignoring armor
• You lose control, and the spell causes problems
• You are knocked off your feet, and lose your next turn.

Running Away:
To run away, turn a card in your Memory Spread sideways to escape. If you have
none left, simply run away. Any vanquished foes stay dead, but others heal back to
full.

Death:
If you fall to 0 HP, choose one of your cards in your Memory Spread to sacrifice.
Return that card to the deck and shuffle it. You awaken at full health in the
Entrance Hall, or at the last Safe Harbor room you visited. If you have no memories
left and die, you must roll up a new character.
Sample Challenge Rooms (With Recommended Check) - d20
1. A stone chessboard with two empty chairs. A white piece has been
moved to signify the first move. If you play using the black pieces, you
will face off against an invisible opponent. Captured pieces crumble to
dust. Win, and the board will reveal a secret compartment holding
treasure. (Mind)
2. A chest sits at the bottom of a deep pool of water, filled to the brink
by water fountains that spout unusually clean water. (Strength)
3. The treasure sits atop a large pillar, with various platforms, nooks,
and crannies built into its surface. Jumping and navigating this tower
within a certain timeframe is key to getting the treasure. (Agility)
4. A large tome sits upon a pedestal. It is intricately bound and
decorated with silver and jewels. This is the treasure. Opening the book
reveals a handwritten message from a ghost. Using a quill and ink that
materialize in front of you, convince the ghost to let you have the book.
(Presence)
5. There is a treasure behind a damaged wall. Break through the wall
without causing it to collapse on and damage the treasure. (Strength)
6. The treasure sits inside of a magical container that will only open
when a certain chemical compound is poured into a receptacle. There
are flasks of different chemicals sitting on an alchemy lab. Use the
recipe books and create the correct compound, or risk wasting the
materials. (Mind)
7. Two magically animated suits of armor guard a chest with big
spears. Convince them to let you have the treasure. (Presence, or fight
2 Average enemies)
8. A chest sits in an empty room, but each tile is a pressure plate that
spouts flames. Quickly grab the chest and leave without getting singed,
or the chest will vanish. (Agility)
9. The walls of this room have chunks of stone sticking out, as if to be
climbed. There is a chest sitting upside down on the ceiling. Can you
make it to the top and open the chest? (Strength)
10. A chest sits atop a pillar that stands alone in a seemingly
bottomless pit. The only thing between you and the treasure is a simple
balance beam. Can you make it across without faltering? (Presence)
Sample Challenge Rooms (With Recommended Check) - d20
11. A wall covered in strange runes and symbols can be found here.
The panels can be moved and turned. Solve the puzzle here, and the
wall will move to reveal treasure. (Mind)
12. All sorts of booby traps and other contraptions here block access to
the treasure. Quickly get in and out without touching any of the traps.
(Agility)
13. A ewer of water sits among pots of soil. Water them, and plants will
rapidly grow. The treasure is above you. It seems you need to find a
way up by using the plants. (Mind)
14. A statue of an unknown deity or person stands before you in an
intricate pose. There is a smaller pedestal nearby. If you stand on it
and hold the statue's pose for some time, the treasure will appear
(Presence).
15. The treasure sits upon a stone block surrounded by smaller stone
blocks. Push them around and see if you can create a staircase.
(Strength)
16. There is a button to push. When you push it, the treasure reveals
itself, but the door quickly begins to close. Reach the treasure before
the door shuts forever. (Agility)
17. A ghost asks for the answer to a specific factoid of information. You
only have one chance to answer. Next to the ghost is a collection of
bookshelves stocked with books that might be useful. (Mind)
18. Various platforms of differing heights and distances lead the way to
the chest. Make it up within a certain time frame to claim the treasure.
(Agility)
19. The treasure is being guarded by a handful of animated skeletons
that, while not hostile, don't recognize you as a being of the castle and
thus won't share with you. Convince them otherwise. (Presence)
20. The treasure is in a tight, claustrophobic crawl space. You'll have
to maneuver yourself around carefully if you want it. (Strength)