From the introduction: This is a world of magic, a world of monsters, and most importantly a world of heroes. The heroes of this world ride boldly into battle, they single-handedly take down armies, they fight giants and dragons in hand-to-hand combat, they rescue princesses, and they win kingdoms. They are grand, mighty, and destined from birth. Their deeds are song and legend even as they are done. You are not one of these heroes. You are an ordinary person, driven by desperation, foolishness, or dumb luck out to the deep forests, the high mountains, the dry desert, or the dark underground, driven face to face with monsters that will kill you as soon as look at you. If you do what you have to do, if you’re smart and lucky and quick-witted, then maybe, just maybe, you’ll survive.