RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Well, I've only just begun reading Burnt Offerings, but already I've found something I want to flesh out: the Swallowtail Festival Welcoming Speeches. I read that bit about the mayor's speech and I instantly KNEW what she had said to upset Larz. Now I'd like to flesh out all four of the speeches.
THE MAYOR'S JOKE @ LARZ ROVANKY'S EXPENSE: I see that Larz Rovanky has even managed to attend. Although what he does when he's not getting his hide tanned, I won't begin to speculate.
I read that bit about the mayor's speech and I instantly KNEW what she had said to upset Larz. Now I'd like to flesh out all four of the speeches.
I assumed her comment about him being in attendance when everyone knows he's such a perfectionist and work-a-holic, was what everyone found humorous about the mayor's joke. Larz could just as easily have missed the entire Swallowtail Festival because he'd run off his employees again and had to finish up their inferior work. So, I think it was just a subtle dig at the man's obsession really...which got outlined in the Sandpoint write-up.
But, overall, I think your idea about fleshing out all four of the speeches sounds really cool. Post what you come up with and I might borrow some of it for my game. Otherwise, I'll just adlib it.
--Neil
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Well I spent the better half of my morning fleshing these speeches out a bit so I might as well share it.
A stage has been set up in front of the cathedral and a woman with short auburn hair stands in the center. Behind her sit four wooden chairs, three of them occupied. As the crowd notices her, a hush descends and all eyes turn to the stage. She smiles and begins to speak:
"Welcome! As many of your know, my name is Kendra Deverin and I am proud to serve as mayor of this fine town. It's wonderful to see so many of you here to join us on this proud day. I'd like to extend my welcome to the many new faces I see in the crowd. I hope you all are enjoying your stay here in Sandpoint and especially if it is your first visit here I sincerely hope that you're having a wonderful time. And to all of the old faces I see today, thank you for coming and thank you for everything that each of you has done to keep this town strong in recent years. I see that even Larz Rovanky has torn himself away from work to join us today! It is truly a miracle from Desna herself! [There is quite a bit of laughter and many eyes are turned to a serious looking man dressed in all leather and wearing a sour expression on his face. Kendra waves to him and continues.] Without further ado, let me introduce your Sheriff, Belor Hemlock!"
A dour looking man wearing a worn breastplate and a longsword belted at his waist stands and walks to the center of the stage. His head is shaved and he his eyes are constantly moving about the crowd. He shakes the Mayor's hand and begins to speak.
"Thank you Mayor. Even in the heat of celebration, let us not forget the sad events that brought us to this day. And also let us not forget the souls that were lost five years ago. I would like you to all join me in a moment of silence to remember the lives that were lost in the fire that claimed our previous chapel on that fateful night. [The Sheriff lowers his head and the crowd joins him, many of them quite awkwardly as the silence persists. After the moment is over, the Sheriff raises his head and begins to speak again.] In remembering let us also not allow these events to repeat themselves. I am of the understanding that a bonfire is planned for tonight. I urge you all to observe caution during this event. [he clears his throat and smiles awkwardly] And ummm... Enjoy yourselves. Let me introduce the next speaker; give your attention to Cyrdak Drokkus, proprieter of the local theatre."
He nods to the crowd and walks back to his chair, passing the next speaker who is already on his way up to the center-stage. This man is quite a contrast to the Sheriff; he is brightly dressed, sports a well-groomed goatee, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying the day. As he reaches the center stage he loosens his collar a bit, winks into the crowd and starts to talk:
"Well, thank you Sheriff for that uplifting oratory. Now I know this town has been through some hard times, but look at what we've accomplished [He motions towards the church.] And I'm telling you, they spared no expense with this place. Father Zantus' chamber pot? Solid gold. I kid you not, our generous nobles put a pretty copper into the construction of this joint. I think the Churches even chipped in a silver or two! I even heard a rumor that all of the Gods got together and scrounged up four gold pieces to help get this thing built! But don't take it from me, the Padre over here is the one with the direct line, he's the one you want to hear from! But before I let him get things going I'd like to take this opportunity to extend my personal invitation to each and every one of you to the new production of "The Harpy's Curse" starring the world-famous Magnimarian diva Allishanda as Avisera the harpy queen! It's all premiering tomorrow evening at the Sandpoint Theatre and it is going to be fab-u-lous! And now join me in a bit of applause for his holiness himself, Father Zantus!"
The crowd cheers as Cyrdak motions Zantus to the center stage. The young priest looks noticedly abashed at the reception set up for him. He wears the traditional ceremonial robes of a priest of Desna and a shiny silver holy symbol about his neck. He smiles and tries to calm the crowd down, eventually speaking when the applause has subsided:
"Ahem, thank you. Thank you Cyrdak. And thank all of you for coming to join us on this most Holy day. Today is a day of new beginnings so without boring you with long speeches, I declare the Swallowtail Festival officially underway!"
Nicely done! <yoink>
Nicely done! <yoink>
Ditto <ditto yoink, with a bump>
I used these at the opening session. Worked very well. Thank you for posting!
I used these at the opening session. Worked very well. Thank you for posting!
Awesome, glad to see it worked out! I finally managed to get a group put together so I'll be trying it out myself sometimes next week ;)
Awesome. I can't wait to read this off to my group. Many thanks, indeed.
I used your speeches today - worked fantastic! Lots of laughs, from different people at different moments. Truly something for everyone. Thanks so much for writing them up!
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this is what I did for the Mayor's speech <liberally cribbed from several of you, from the module, plus a good bit of my own>
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People have been up for hours, several merchants have set up tents to vend their wares of food, clothes, local crafts, souvenirs, and beverages. Others folk have arrived early to gain positions near the podiums and the tables beyond. Tables loaded with a picnic buffet ready for the congregation after the ceremonies. The Swallowtail Festival begins promptly as scheduled, and the turnout for the opening speeches is quite respectable. The square before the church is crowded now, the women loading the tables and the merchants hawking their goods join other locals and travelers as Mayor Deverin kicks off events with her opening speech.
“Good morning everyone.” The attractive and personable woman welcomes the crowd with her usual friendly attitude. Her excitement is obvious and proves contagious as she welcomes visitors and locals alike. “I see everyone’s arrived. Even Larz Rovanky has left off tanning hides to be here. I’m sure his workers are glad it’s not their hides getting tanned, at least not today.” When the chuckles died down and Larz stopped glowering past a reluctant smile, Mayor Deverin continued. ”It's wonderful to see so many of you here to join us on this proud day, and I'd like to extend my welcome to the many new faces I see in the crowd. As Mayor, I’d like to extend welcome to you on behalf of the town. I hope you all are enjoying your stay here in Sandpoint and I sincerely hope that you're having a wonderful time. Our town has much to offer and I hope we can consider you as new friends. Spend some time in Sandpoint and you’ll grow to love it like we do. And even if you don’t stay long, spend your money while you’re here!”
Several of the merchants gave that vigorous applause, and the Mayor let the crowd settle before continued over the remaining chuckles. “And to all of the old faces I see, thank you for coming and thank you for everything that each of you has done to keep this town strong. Thank you especially for all the time, sweat, and love you’ve put into building this fine cathedral. Sandpoint didn’t seem complete without a church. We’ve always had heart. The true heart of Sandpoint is you, her people. But now we have an expression of that heart, and we built it ourselves!”
The crowd responded with a roar, and it was a while before the Mayor could continue over the applause. “Thank you, thank you all. And without further ado, let me introduce the next speaker our own Sheriff, Belor Hemlock!” She indicated a dark-skinned, bulky man, clearly of Shoanti descent, wearing his armor and armed with a sword that was as much symbol of office as a weapon.
Well I spent the better half of my morning fleshing these speeches out a bit so I might as well share it.
Great work! I'll be using this next week as my campaign kicks off.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Since I started this thread it's probably about time I started to contribute to it. Here is the first of the four speeches that I need to that I've completed. It just sort of clicked while I worked on it at work last night and was tweaked when I got ready to type it into the thread. I will eventuallly post all four speeches as a single post or two.
SHERIFF'S SPEECH: "Thank you, Ms. Mayor." A no non-sense looking man nodded to the first speaker as he stepped forward into center stage. A muscular looking dark-skinned man in a neat tabbard over well-kept studded leather armor, his eyes scanned the crowd before he cleared his throat and began speaking.
"I would like everyone to be aware that additional guardsmen have been added to each patrol detail over the next four nights. Members of the Sandpoint Militia have also agreed to add their support during the festival. As sheriff, I am confident that between the guards and the militia volunteers, we will be able to handle any disturbances that may occur during the festival.
"Over the next three days all instances of wrong-doing will be dealt with swiftly and to the fullest extent of the law. No exceptions. As the sheriff of Sandpoint, I, Belor Hemlock, would also like to welcome everyone to enjoy themselves during our Swallowtail Festival." His eyes gauged the crowd's reaction to his words.
"Remember: Keep the peace. Thank you." With that the sheriff stepped back beckoning, with his hand, for the mayor to step forward again.
Comments?
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Since I started this thread it's probably about time I started to contribute to it. Here is the first of the four speeches that I need to that I've completed. It just sort of clicked while I worked on it at work last night and was tweaked when I got ready to type it into the thread. I will eventuallly post all four speeches as a single post or two.
SHERIFF'S SPEECH: (snip)
Comments?
Why are you skipping over his call for silence to remember the deaths during the fire?
Other than that, I like it - it's got great "downer" potential.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Why are you skipping over his call for silence to remember the deaths during the fire?
Because... I didn't re-read the chapters detailing the speeches in the last 2 weeks? So I'll have to do some tweaking to that speech. oh well. I'll just add it right before he mentions the additional guards on duty.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Okay... so I messed up the first time around on this speech. I reposted it cause I had to make some slight changes to the speech because of what got added and because of what was already there. So tell me what you think.
SHERIFF'S SPEECH: "Thank you, Ms. Mayor." A no non-sense looking man nodded to the first speaker as he stepped forward into center of the recently erected stage. A muscular looking dark-skinned man in a neat tabbard over well-kept studded leather armor. His eyes scanned the crowd. After a moment he dropped to one knee and pulled a holy symbol from beneath his tunic. Then he addressed the gathering, "A moment of silence."
He bowed his head and began speaking, "Let us remember." He took a calming breath and continued, "Let us remember the memories of those friends and family members who lost their lives in the tragic blaze that made our new cathedral necessary. Cherish those memories and their memories and may the blessings of the Gods see them happy and well in the Afterlife."
After standing back up, he cleared his throat, "Now, I would like everyone to be aware that additional guardsmen have been added to each patrol detail over the next four nights. Members of the Sandpoint Militia have also agreed to add their support during the festival. As sheriff, I am confident that between the guards and the militia volunteers, we will be able to handle any disturbances that may occur during the festival.
"Over the next three days all instances of wrong-doing will be dealt with swiftly and to the fullest extent of the law. No exceptions. As the sheriff of Sandpoint, I, Belor Hemlock, would also like to welcome everyone to enjoy themselves during our Swallowtail Festival." His eyes gauged the crowd's reaction to his words.
"Remember: Keep the peace. Thank you." With that the sheriff stepped back beckoning, with his hand, for the mayor to step forward again.
I liked the revised Sheriff speach enough that I am using it in a few hours when I launch the campaign! Wish me luck!
Excellent addition everyone, thanks, every little detail like this makes the world that much more vivid :)
I would love to see a portion of the Paizo site set aside for fan-created supplemental material like this, so that it doesn't vanish into the depths of the discussion boards.
These are great ideas -- thank you all very much!
Well I spent the better half of my morning fleshing these speeches out a bit so I might as well share it.
4 Speeches Removed
These are great speeches I will surly be using these
I just want to say thanks to smashthedean for his version of the speeches. Used them in my campaign this past Thursday. They were perfect.
I just want to say thanks to smashthedean for his version of the speeches.
Me too.
I am going to use them when we start the AP.The only difficult thing for me would be to convey Cyrdak's jokes in my language but it shouldn't be that hard.
Again thank you.