[Placeholder for now until details are finished]
Dotting...should've done this while ago
Master of Swords Marcos Farabellus strides up to the large crowd and claps his hands together for attention. “Welcome Pathfinders, one and all! And welcome to our traveling venture captains stationed abroad as well our honored guests! I am Marcos Farabellus, and on behalf of the Decemvirate, I welcome you to the Pathfinder Society’s annual Grand Convocation! I shall address all of the attendees later this afternoon to announce some of the Society’s greatest accomplishments over the past year and our plans for the future. In the meantime, I invite you
to stroll about the campus, meet with your peers, and enjoy all the sites of the Grand Lodge. We have set up numerous challenges and contests so that you can show off your skills or sharpen them if need be. I’ll send around ushers when it’s time to assemble for the speeches on the north lawn. Enjoy!"[/b]
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Dagki leaves after the speech with his comrade Bjarke. The tall muscular man with black hair in a braid is wringing his hands nervously as he walks along. His large round shield and several axes at his belt paint him as a seasoned fighter. As he walks along he is casually talking with his friend.
"Hva ya tenke på dette svake mye? Slaver ville ta bedre jagerfly!"
"What ya think of this weak lot? Slaves would make better fighters!"
After walking past several of the challenges he speaks again to his mate.
"Du tror de har hammer kaste rundt her? Det ville være en passende utfordring."
"You think they have hammer throwing around here? That would be a proper challenge."
Ciro, leaves after the speech walking over to a small clearing, he whistles. swooping down a man sized eagle with radiant scarlet and emerald green feathers. the Eagle looks curiously around, letting out a loud caw .
Yes, Yes i know The young blonde haired lets the winds around him die and pulls out a flank of meat from his pack, feeding it the the large Bird. He pulls out a finely crafted black bow and begins lightly firing dulled arrows into the air. the large bird takes flight snatching the arrows as if playing fetch.
That should impress them,eh girl? the large bird lands pushing the shy young man toward the others. Ciro and his large friend lay back against one another, Ciro pulls out a ukulele beginning to play a smile crosses his face.
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The broad-shouldered Bjarke shrugs as he replies to his friend Dagki. "De fleste ser svak, men det er noen sterke blandet. Sånn Marcos fyr som ga talen. Jeg har ikke noe imot å ha ham på min side. De fleste av de andre kan bare dra."
A sigh escapes Bjarke's mouth as he replies in an annoyed tone of voice. "Det tviler jeg på! Disse menneskene her ikke vet hva god underholdning er. Hørte du det merkelig gjeng vi nettopp passert, med sine silke klær? De snakket om noen opera tull! Sveklinger ..."
Bjarke turns around and points at a group of Pathfinders in fancy silk clothes. Their clothes are a stark contrast to the fur clothes he and Dagki are wearing.
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Kennald watches the speech, and then turns to watch the crowds around him, the swirling mass of humanity, mixed with the occasional more unique creature, looking vainly for any of the several dozen Pathfinders he'd met in the past. After a few moments of not seeing anyone he eases through the crowds, seeking a slightly higher vantage point, and begins to survey the crowds again, with a practiced eye to appraise the gait and gear of those surrounding him.
Two things quickly catch his eye, the fairly careless and carefree winged archer showing off with the enormous bird of prey, and a pair of equally carefree fur clad warriors, whom by their pointing were entertaining each other at the expense of some of the more refined, silk clad, Pathfinders.
Kennald shakes his head quietly, seeing past the gold filigree on a few of the silk clad groups weapons to the cold iron, silver, and even a hint of adamantine peeking out of their sheathes. That group may appear to have pretensions, but their gear was in order, and more than a cut above what Kennald had been able to slowly piece together. Someone would have to keep those three in line, or there might be trouble. Looking around again, not seeing anyone else watching the duo and assuming someone else would speak to the winged archer loosing arrows, he hops down from his perch and shoulders his spear, and meanders over, hoping to be in time to curtail any impending trouble, possibly by suggesting that the duo try out a couple of the games.
"Greetings, and welcome back to Absalom, have you two been away long? Kennald Mercer."
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Dagki giggles as the new man join him and his friend.
"Du tror han vil montere en gris på at pinne? slåss med det, nei nei nei..."
He says to his friend whilst wringing his hands. He points at one of the many axes hanging on his belt and looks Kennald in the eyes.
"This is a weapon."
He points at the spear on the mans back and then taps his head as if to say that Kennald is nuts. Dagki turns to his friends and loudly whispers to him.
"Rustningen hans har ikke sett en eneste kamp! Fin passform selv med kjolen under!"
He starts laughing loudly after. The laughter fades in giggles and Dagki asks a question to Kennald.
"Hihi... Do all men... Hihi... Wear womens clothing here?"
Dagki starts a laughing fit again and half starts crying from it.
"You think he will mount a hog on that stick? fighting with that, no no no..."
...
"His armor hasn't seen a single battle! Nice fit though with the dress underneath!"
"What is it girl? Ciro looks at his winged companion stopping his music. The bird of prey nudges him to get up, pushing him toward the two fur clad warriors and the spear wielding man.
" I don't want to, talking to people was Burnevere's job After a bit of pushing and nudging Ciro finally gives in. Ciro pulls off his blue silken cloak. A large blue tattoo like streak running across his arms and face. He walks over to the group that seems to be forming, his brilliantly colored bird of prey following behind.
Nervously he mutters, Hello, Ciro Aldritch... and this is ScarletHe holds his hand out.
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Kennald doesn't blink at the hysterics of the slightly larger man before him and begins to reply in a slightly rambling fashion, with the occasional random topic shift included.
"You boys are from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, right? Isn't that where the Witch Queen's Daughter's rule, and all the Nobles are women? Is it true that if you say Her Name, that she Listens? ... In my travels, one thing I've learned is that what is considered true Fashion wise, is no longer true just a short way down the road. I'm sure there's a place where furs are reserved for women, but I can't quite put my finger on it, it's on the tip of my tongue... In Fact, I'm just back from Osirion, where furs are a death sentence! ... Nice Axe, but I wouldn't trust it to say, keep a wild boar at bay. Spears have their place. I'm actually kind of surprised the Master of the Sword let you graduate without a basic appreciation of things other than the Axe. ... A few of the folks I worked with down in Wati, that's a city in Osirion, earned Field Commissions, Did you two do that? Or did you go through the years of training like I, and most of these other people did?"
As the extremely uncommon Sylph comes up and tentatively introduces himself, Kennald takes it in stride.
”Kennald Mercer, pleasure to meet you, and that very fine, very large bird of prey you have there!”
Thank you, I raised her from egg, she's not that big though. domesticated Roc's only grow about as large as a horse. Ciro spouts off random trivia nervously, As for myself i'm from a small island nation to the north, did i hear you say your from around Osirion? I've always wanted to visit, Dad never let me though... Responsibilities and all.
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"Bwahahahaha!" Bjarke starts laughing after the mention of the Mammoth Lords, and his laughing becomes uncontrollable at the mention of all nobles being women. During Kennald's entire ramble, Bjarke continues to laugh.
"Bwahaha! Denne mannen er morsomt! Han ikke bare kle seg som en kvinne, men han også snakker som en! Bwahahahahaha!"
When Bjarke's finally got his laughing under control, he turns to Ciro and his roc. Bjarke looks the roc up and down, and actually seems impressed.
"You," Bjarke says while pointing at Ciro, and continues with a heavy Skald accent. "You have nice companion. I like. Mighty bird, more so when grown big. Though you skinny. Maybe you eat more."
Bjarke turns to Kennald. "I say to friend Dagki you dress and talk like woman. These things, they make me laugh. But your arms look strong, with big muscles. I don't get why you use long stick, it is silly."
"I Bjarke," the unsophisticated brute says while pointing a thumb at himself. He then places a hand on Dagki's shoulder. "This friend Dagki."
"We warriors. Graduate no problem, we just show we warriors. Never been on raid in Osirion. Much loot there? We need gold for new ship. Dagki not building this time. Went wrong, we sink. That why we now work for Society. They tell us Society give us gold and honor in battle."
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Dagki joins Bjarke in his laughter, eventually his laughter dies into giggles.
"Ship was not poorly built. The sea wanted us but we conquered it!"
He says in fairly high pitched voice. Looking him in the eyes you see a mad spark in them.
"Dagki" He says as he makes a faked elaborate bow. He walks up to Kennald and starts examining him in a very odd fashion. He looks at his hands and then his arms. Almost jumping he raises his face to kennalds and stares right into his eyes, examining them from every corner. He grabs one of his ears and also peers at it for a moment.
Dagki turns to his friend. "Jeg ser døden i denne. han vil tjene oss godt . Jeg tror han vil bringe oss mye tyvegods !" He giggles after finishing his inspection and after sharing his finding with Bjarke.
"You!" He points at Ciro. "Look like rabbit compared to the bird. You a warrior? The lord in Iron welcomes not rabbits..." Out of the blue Dagki starts giggling again. He sits on the ground grabs dagger and a piece of wood from his pack and starts carving. Whilst carving he is softly muttering to himself.
"I see death in this one. he will serve us well. i think he will bring us much loot!"
me? Yes i have seen a bit of combat, mostly naval though. I'm no good in physical combat, i imagine the three of you are but I am a pretty good archer, archery muscles develop differently. Also i am sylph, we tend to be rather rabbit like. But yes, to answer your question i am a warrior. Ciro rambles nervously. The lord in iron... may not welcome rabbits but the Winds and the Waves do
Ciro begins tending to Scarlet, pulling out a brush from his pack and grooming the great bird with a smile on his face.
Walking up to the small group that has formed, a half-elf with long brown hair and a broad smile framed by a thin beard. The smile was filled with excitement as he spoke out, "Good morning, fellas!" he says as he claps Kennald on the shoulder. His fine blue coat looks as if it has barely been worn and he wears a polished (new?) wayfinder that seems to mark him as someone special.
His coat is marked very clearly with Andoran and Liberty's Edge iconography, and his bow hung easily across his back, a near empty quiver at his hip. "I'm guessing this is most of you lot's first Grand Convocation, so let me be the first Venture Captain to welcome you!" He is very quick to grab arms in greeting. "I am newly appointed Venture Captain Darren Varkon of the Eagle Knights...I figured you gents could use a bit of a heads up about what is going on today!"
Looking to the two barbarians, not having a clue one is a bloodrager, he smiles, "You two might have interest in the Weight Lifting competitions...I can lead you over there," then his eyes go over to Ciro, "There is also an Animal Taming competition, if you have any interest?" Looking to the others, unsure by their appearances exactly what their strengths are, he lists off a few more, "If I understand it correctly, there is an Obstacle Course, a Sleuthing challenge, a Lore Symposium, a Boasting and Storytelling competition, and a Trap Finding contest. If you have any interest in any of those, please, let me know and I'd be glad to lead you to it. Always good to lead folks around the old homestead!"
He takes the venture captains arm in greeting, Hello, names Ciro Aldritch and this is ScarletHe gestures to the mighty bird of prey behind him.
Actually, to tell you the truth i'm no good at animal taming He scratches his head nervously, Even with Scarlet here, she barely listens to me. However the obstacle course sound interesting, i'm pretty good at those
Looking at Dagki, the Venture Captain gives him a nod, "And I'd rather it was an archery competition, but we deal with the hand we are dealt. If'n you don't mind...we tend to choose to speak common around here, if we can, that is...so we can better Explore, Report, and Cooperate."
I suppose lifting wouldn't be so bad, i have a few tricks of my own that could help. I mean i don't expect to outlift our friends here either, but i'm most certainly not the weakest here
He smiles petting Scarlet, the mighty bird nuzzles back.
Hmm, and still fly i'd say around 58 lbs. she's still young. if you just want her to lift something overhead around 175 lbs, without magical assisstance
Darren gives a nod and waves for them to follow him
"Well, let's start with the obstacle course, then we can go over to the weight lifting!"
He leads the group to an area with a great many obstacles set up. A chalkboard sets near the finish line with all the fastest times listed.
"Alrightly, whoever wants to give it a shot..."
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Dagki looks at the course and shrugs.
"Not good at obstacles. I'll try."
He immediately moves to the start and starts moving about the course. He falls a great many times and manages to trip even on some rocks which aren't part of the course. Halfway done he quits.
"Done! Stupid things too high."
He kicks a rock on the way out in anger.
Ciro follows toward the course
Accepting the challenge Ciro begins running, slightly faster than the others. He goes for the first hurdle, his foot catching on it smacking into the ground.
Damn it,
Ciro gets up brushes himself off and goes back to everyone else
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Kennald watches the first two give the course a go, with hilarious results. Nodding to himself, he steps up to the start, and gives the course a go.
Surprisingly for one in armor, he makes a passable effort, but FAR from graceful completion, tripping over the rock that hadn't been there when he started, having been kicked by Dagki several moments ago.
He finishes the course in a time that ... does not earn his name up on the board.
"Well, that wasn't as bad as I expected. Can you crush the course Bjarke?"
Kennald steps back to watch the next few people who try the challenge.
You can help someone achieve success on a skill check by making the same kind of skill check in a cooperative effort. If you roll a 10 or higher on your check, the character you're helping gets a +2 bonus on his or her check. (You can't take 10 on a skill check to aid another.) In many cases, a character's help won't be beneficial, or only a limited number of characters can help at once.
In cases where the skill restricts who can achieve certain results, such as trying to open a lock using Disable Device, you can't aid another to grant a bonus to a task that your character couldn't achieve alone. The GM might impose further restrictions to aiding another on a case-by-case basis as well.
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Having watched the spectacle for some time now, a lean half-elf walks up to the obstacle course to try his hand, concealing a laugh behind his hand at Bjarke's antics as he introduces himself to Kennald while waiting for his turn. I'm Sago, pleasure to meet you.
When it's his turn, he puts up a passable performance but certainly nothing impressive and shakes his head, Ouch, that's a rough one. Ah well, maybe next time.
Darren chuckles and nods, "Well then, that was fun to watch, but I don't believe any of you will make the charts. Perhaps weightlifting..."
He guides them to an area where Pathfinders compete by seeing who can lift the heaviest weights. Gnomes, halflings, and other Small participants may opt for a handicap, and experienced agents are
expected to be mightier than the newer recruits.
Ciro steps up to the lifting area, scratching the back of his head nervously.
I'm not the strongest person in the world but here goes nothing
Lifting a decent sized weight, he turns around No big deal, it was all luck
Clapping for Ciro, Darren nods, "I don't think that was luck. Good pull."
The PC gains a +2 competence bonus on one Strength-based
skill check, attack roll, or combat maneuver check attempted
during the adventure.
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Dagki wrings his hands as moves up to the weights, he squats and grabs hold of the heavy weight. He lifts the weight about an inch off of the ground and his sweaty hands slip, causing him to let the weight drop and himself to fall backwards. Several loud curses in his native tongue, Skald, exit his mouth as he leaves the area.
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"Honor to meet you, Kennald Mercer. Those two are Dagki and Bjarke. The one with the Roc is Ciro. Been a Pathfinder long? I've gone on one mission, and I think those three are brand new."
Kennald walks through the weight options, and selects the heavy weight that Dagki dropped, wipes it off, and then hefts it over his head, bending at the knees, and then casually sits it on his shoulder for almost 30 seconds before easing it back down to the ground.
"Patience is a virtue, not just in business, but also in Pathfinding. A rush generally just gets you an early grave!"
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Bjarke doesn't want to be outdone in a contest of strength and walks up to a weight that's a couple of pounds heavier than Kennald's. "I lift this no problem!"
Without a single hint of effort Bjarke picks up the weight and raises it above his head. He then smashes it back on the ground, letting out a roar. "BWAAAAA!! That's how to lift weight!"
oh really? this Is mine and Scarlet's first time. We're not from around here you see, were are you from?
The sylph pets his large Roc with a smile on his face.
The two of use grew up on an nearby island, Scarlet was a gift from my father she's a Roc. We left to see the world. My name is Ciro Aldritch, Yours?
He holds out his hands to the new arrival.
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"Bwahaha! You did good too!" Bjarke forcefully pats Kennald's back, having gained some respect for him.
Bjarke then proceeds to do the same with Sago. "And you! You strong man, like Kennald!"
"Ciro not do bad for skinny guy. Dagki have bad luck will sweat hand."
Bjarke nods. "If we have time for more games, let do game. I not know what sleuthing is, but I try."
sleuthing is finding clues and stuff to track down criminals buddy Ciro says cheerfully
We could give sleuthing a shot