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The Mad Maze and Asylum of Gnomish Macromancer Bottlenose Nicknard
System: D&D
Style: Heavy Puzzle, Adventure, Dungeon Crawl, Escape
Genre: Steampunk Fantasy
Starting Level: Probably 7

Your character awakens in a small room, all dressed in simple linens and armed with simple weapons; a knife here, a staff there, a hand-full of alchemical mixtures all around. A light flickers dimly above you, crackling slightly before illuminating the entirety of the room. There sit the other individuals you heard mumbling and groaning earlier at different corners of the room; where you might be safest. As time passes, you've gotten to know them, or at least who they believe they are.

The floor of the room is as padded as the walls, and try as you might, you cannot feel anything solid past the plushed resistances the walls give. A single, wide-framed metal door stands on the wall of the other room. The door has no window; no noticable knob or locking mechanism; no sign of what may be on the other side. Every once in a while, part of the door phase-shifts to allow four bowls of a meager serving of porridge to plop lightly upon the padded interior of the room.

You have been here for days. And as you wait, nothing happens.

As you wait, tensions rise.

As you wait, your patience lowers. You begin to bang upon the walls, calling for whatever Gods you believe in to let you out. You call to the one who put you in here, promising vengeance. You yell whatever you would yell in a time of frustration, of helplessness, before you collapse back onto the plushed floor and eat the portion you have been delivered day in, day out.

…

Until one day.

One day, a small letter appears as the lights flicker, crackle, and illuminate the room. The letter flickers as if enchanted by a glamour spell. Just as one of you takes the note, the paper explodes into many smaller fragments before reconstituting the parts into four identical letters, all similar to the first.

You open the letters. It doesn’t matter what language you speak. You simply ~feel~ that you can read the words; a magical effect of the letter in the palm of your hands.

It reads as follows:

Dear Incarcerated Villains, Heroes, Ne’er-do-anythings, etc:

Welcome! Welcome, welcome, welcome to my humble experiment, asylum, maze; what have you. It is my extreme pleasure to invite you, or… let’s be honest, you have no choice in the matter. Whatever the case, I am pleased to have you participate in my 6,427th rendition of the Glamour and Glory experiment.

Simply put, my little test subject, you will be released from this room, and you will go through a sort of… dungeon crawl. Yes, let’s call it that; keep the spirit of your “noble” souls all fired up. We’ll let you out, you’ll take part in some tests, trials, and various other things along the way and, if you pass, you’ll be granted your freedom.

I’m going to be honest with you; no one has passed yet, so I have little hope for you, either, you little special snowflakes, you. But data is data, and the more data I have that current mortal (or immortal, you know who you are) beings cannot pass my numerous tests, the more positively I’ll feel when I prepare my Multi-Spacial Planes-Disrupter to… well, you’ll find out.

The farther you get into the puzzle, the more you’ll learn of how you got her, why I pulled you here specifically, and what my plans are. Why?

Because it’s ~fun~. And if gives you a reason to go on. Maybe you’ll actually come ~face to face~ with me. Wouldn’t that just be peachy?

Now, why don’t you just be a good set of dolls and make yourselves presentable for my committee. And by that, I mean the countless beings I’ve infested my asylum with.

Oh, and remember! This is important! Half of the creatures are glamours, and half of the glamours actually are capable of killing you. Only YOU can decide what’s worth your trouble. I trust (no I don’t) that you’re intelligent enough to figure out which is which.

Have Fun~~~
~Bottlenose Nicknard, Experimental Macromancer Extraordinaire

The lights flicker once more before the notes close. And you hear, suddenly, a strange, nasally voice in your head.

“Oh, and please, make sure to note the one reminder on the back of your introduction letters. It’s ~really~ important. -giggle-“

For those of you who read the note:

Spoiler:

The door soon opens, and you are let out into the Mad Maze of Macromancer Bottlenose Nicknard. Enjoy your short stay.