Originally Posted by
Thokk_Smash
Jerry Rhinebeck
Good ole boy Jerry Rhinebeck loved DnD as a kid. And, not to toot his own horn, but he was pretty good at it. That is to say, character creation, roleplaying, the whole shebang--it was all aces for him. Growing up, he would submit characters and ideas to the game devs, a dozen or two in total. Near when he began college, he got word from a dev who wanted him to write for a splatbook they were making. Nothing too big, but still a childhood dream come true.
So it went as the years flew by. While in college, Jerry split his time between school and writing for non-core DnD sourcebooks. He even got to write a minor bad guy in a major setting rulebook! He never took the plunge into the world of game creation officially, but he made plenty of connections. And when the DnD VRMMORPG was made, one of those connections reached out to him to be a beta-tester. Jerry took them out on the town in thanks.
So Jerry made Lance Gilborne, halfling bard. He eschewed min-maxing in favor of simply exploring the setting, totally geeking out over being able to live in a DnD world. He took as many quests as he could, and ended up gathering a nontrivial following of NPCs, enough that other PCs began to take notice. Jerry--Lance--was more than willing to help however he could, and he and a few other PCs ended up creating one of the first guilds in the world, the Jovial Jesters (he was a bard, after all). The guild didn't necessarily draw in hardcore specialists; there were plenty of guilds for combat, or magic, or what-have-you. But if you needed a guide, or a helping hand on a quest, the Jovial Jesters were there to help.
Eventually, Jerry was closing in on completion of the game, or at least as much content as had been released. He was figuring on setting the game aside for a bit, focusing on his new job. But...there was one quest, designated beyond the highest-difficulty rating. It was complex, and could only be undertaken by one PC at a time. Jerry figured, what better way to end his experience with the game than by completing the hardest quest. The quest didn't specify NPCs could not be taken with, only that certain leveled NPCs would dare join the PC on such a journey.
With a small, strong band of digital friends he had made, Lance Gilborne took the quest. It brought them across the known lands and even further, solving traps and puzzles and bringing them closer to death than ever. It took all of Lance's charisma, skill, and sheer willpower to keep his friends alive through the quest...but they made it to the end. Jerry hadn't realized he was taking it so seriously, as if he would die for real if Lance died, but then again, he had always sorta put himself into his character maybe too well.
Standing before the pedestal with the designated loot, Lance beckons for his NPC allies to grab it at the same time. They had earned it as well. And so on "three", they reach out, and a blinding light destroys Lance's vision...
Portal to D&D IC - Thokk_Smash
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