>>44174378
We used to writefag a long time ago before it was banned. I made roll-threads that had those 10x10 grids, roll a number and you write a story about the character you got.

I remember we were held back by character limits and had to four-post our stories, some went longer.

Alas, 2008 it died. I went to /k/ and /co/ and never looked back. Mods wanted /tg/ to be a quest place, and I supported it at first. But then I left.

That's a story for you.

>>44174484
So why are you here? You're more than looking back, no?

>>44174521
Because I've been through all the interesting threads and I don't feel like playing video games before work. MTG card threads and to to see if any of the old artfags are still around. They don't get on their stream channels until evening.

>>44174378
Once open a time inside a little house lived an old man. The old man was never grumpy, never sad and never afraid. He just was there, smoking an oaken pipe and regale stories of heroes and horrors to visiting children and travelers.

One day the children of the town come for a story unheard. The old man stuffs his pipe full and starts a tale unheard by anybody.

"There was a cave. In the cave lived a man that had everything in the world. He had money, he had love, he had power and most importantly he had a purpose. He just sat in the cave, guarding his money, his love, his power and his purpose. Life was good and nothing challenged his existence.

Soon four brothers of oath came to the cave each with a demand.

The first, the strongest, demanded money.

The second, the fastest, demanded love.

The third, the smartest, demanded power.

And the fourth, the greatest, demanded purpose.

The man in the cave arose and said: Prove yourselves and i will give you what you seek.

The brothers voiced back: We do not want it given, we want to steal them.

The man in the cave pondered for a moment and amused the brothers.

continuing because i am bored.

>>44174739
The strongest brother who wanted money wrenched himself past the man in the cave, gathered all the money there and carried it out.

The second brother ran past the man in the cave before his eyes could the brother and swept the love from the cave and ran away.

The third brother fooled the man in the cave and learned all the power in the cave and convinced the man in the cave to let him out.

The fourth brother simply demanded the man in the cave to give over his purpose or suffer the consequences.

The man in the cave said simply "No". The fourth brother was infuriated and challenged the man in the cave to a duel. In a week he would come back and fight the man in the cave for his purpose and wrench it from his cold, dead hands. The man in the cave was amused and let it happen.

A week passed and the fourth brother came back with a sword that could cut stone. The man in the cave stood sturdy with his bare fists against the fourth brother, but in the end he lost.

The fourth brother then demanded purpose from the man in the cave, but the answer was no. The brother said again that in a week he would come back. The man in the cave laughed.

Another week passed and the fourth brother came back with a sword that could cut metal. The man in the cave fought again with his fists, lost and refused to give away purpose. Again the brother would come back in a week and this time he threatened to kill the man in the cave. The man in the cave laughed heartily.

Continuing because i am still bored.

>>44174921
A week passed and the fourth brother came back with a sword that could cut diamonds. Once again the man in the cave fought with his fists and lost. The brother pierced the man's chest and demanded to have the man's purpose.

The man in the cave simply said no once again.
"Why, why do you not give away your purpose even in your last moment" asked the fourth brother.

"Because" the man in the cave said "because everything would be nothing without a purpose. If i had no purpose i would be nothing. Here i had a purpose and thus a reason to live and to die for it".

"What purpose" asked the fourth brother. "What purpose do you have? My brothers took your money, your love and your power. What purpose do you have in this cave" asked the fourth brother.

"To stay here in my home is my purpose. Money had no purpose, it was merely metal. Love had no purpose, there are others for me. Power had no purpose, it only achieved pain. This cave as my home is my purpose and i could nor would give that to anybody" said the man in the cave.

The fourth brother in frustration yelled "Then what is my purpose if i can't have yours? Where will i get a purpose if not from you?"

"You choose it. I chose my purpose and you can choose your purpose. Your brothers had no purpose for they only seek to get something they could take from others. Purpose is something nobody can take from you"

As these words rolled from the man in the cave's mouth he died. The fourth brother left there empty handed, without the purpose he wanted to take. He had nothing left, so he traveled.

There he more people with purpose and tried to steal those purposes. Every time he however found only places where he had no purpose and continued his travels, for he did not understand that for him the travels were his purpose."

The children were bemused. What was the point of the story they asked.

"The purpose of the story was to be a story unheard and you got one, because it chose that purpose"

final cont.

>>44175200
The children thought the story was bad and said to the old man they would never come back.

But one child stayed and asked "Was driving us away your purpose? Was it your purpose to tell us stories? What is my purpose"

The old man said: No, it told you the purpose of the story. No, my purpose is not to tell stories. You choose that yourself.

The child asked again "What is your purpose then"

The old man finished his pipe and said "My purpose are the travels i had seeking purpose and to tell people to find their own, not take them from others"

The end.

It's shit, i know, but you never said you wanted a good one.

>>44175260

Nah, I liked it, could use some sprucing up but it's a solid tavern tale

>>44175260
Nah, the ending saved it honestly, pretty good. You've earned an npc spot at my table at least. I personally feel that repetition is the low hanging fruit of imitating ye olde story, and it by itself doesn't do enough. Give a reason for why he keeps coming back with specific swords and it'll be much better.

>>44175843
Well in all honesty this was more or less a retelling of how one of the people i was DMing got obsessed with a random NPC monk in a cave that had rewards for the other members of the party while he himself asked for information he didn't have (i told him this, but he was headstrong about the monk knowing stuff, even though we had agreed this to be more or less an open ended campaign which ends when they want it to) and each session he would go there to try and find out plot important information, something the NPC didn't have. When he finally asked me directly what was the purpose of the NPC i just said "to be in the cave and give rewards, nothing else". Why do you think the brother came each week and the man in the cave used only his fists and then the "brother" left to find his purpose (the goal of the campaign) from people who didn't have his purpose there.

First i did it because i found it amusing because i am an asshole and later i realized the symbolism of it all.