Wherever you are in Golarion (unless it happens to be Corvosa, in which case they walk up to you), during the lunch hour one day a person in court dress teleports into your vicinity, bows and hands you are rolled parchment.
"Greetings, I am a courier sent by Headmaster Toff Ornelos of the Academy of magic in Corvosa. You have been invited to participate in this year's Breaching Festival. Your great renown has no doubt led to this invite.
I am equipped to take us back to Corvosa using some magics if you are willing."
"Intriguing, this sounds like the perfect opportunity to see another corner of this fascinating world." Tamm answers.
"I can teleport you there now if you wish. " and he will pull out a scroll.
Lucian lets the rasp of the curved whetstone over his blade fill the room for a moment. "Academy of Magic? I'm not exactly the type they contact unless they need somebody dead." He examines the edge and with a satisfied grunt wraps the blade around his waist. "I don't have any contracts, so let's go find out what this Breaching Festival is about."
"Yes. I have just concluded my latest research and I think I will participate in this this year. Let me grab a few things then we can go."
Laurel then spends a few minutes gathering up his gear and nods to the gentleman.
"Breaching Festival? I am unfamiliar with it. As I am also unsure of why I am being invited? I don't suppose you can enlighten me?"
Darryl studies the parchment.
Raphael asks the courier to enter his tent, and offers him water and food.
"Corvosa, the academae. There is wickedness in a place where the summoning of evil creatures is accepted, and worst yet teach. If by my participation I can help showing the errors of their ways, I am sure it is the will of the Dawnflower, gentle and warm, that I participate. I thank you, and I humbly accept your invitation and assistance to get there."
"Breaching Festival? I am unfamiliar with it. As I am also unsure of why I am being invited? I don't suppose you can enlighten me?"
Darryl studies the parchment.
[dice=Know (Nobility)]1d20+13
"Well it is if some note in Korvosa, though it is possible it is not as well known outside of the area. It is a challenge to overcome magical defenses to win at prize at the Academy of Magic in Korvosa. "
Knowlege Local if you want to see what you might know about it.
Tamm tries to recollect anything he's heard about this custom.
"I will speak with your headmaster and decide then if I wish to participate, let us be off." he answers the courier.
Breaching Festival
This is a yearly event at the Academy of Magic in Corvosa. It consists of participants of some renown in the area being invited to try and break into the vaults of the Academy testing their skills and abilities against the best wards and traps the Academies mages can devise. It is known to be extremely difficult and deadly, with only one successful participant in its history spanning over a century. Usually participants are not invited from beyond the city or at best Varisia, though sometimes it does occur. The rewards is known to be quite substantial, well over a hundred thousand GP.
"I will speak with your headmaster and decide then if I wish to participate, let us be off." he answers the courier.
"As you prefer. " and he reads from the scroll. You feel the familiar sensation of teleportation and find yourself in the courtyard of what appears to be a school or some such.
"Much obliged for the transportation. Lead on to your headmaster, good sir."
"This sounds like an interesting challenge, but I wonder why they're casting their net for participants so wide this year ..." he thinks to himself.
"Ah! A challenge and a prize. How could I refuse. Lead on then." Darryl says with a large smile.
Darryl also appears in the courtyard.
You take the couriers up on their offers and are teleported.
Once everyone is present in the courtyard they are escorted immediately to the headmaster’s offices in Ornelos Hall once they present their personalized invitations to the campus guards. Toff’s office is an austere, well-organized chamber with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a large oaken desk. The wizened headmaster stands to welcome his guests, his long beard wagging slightly as he moves to shake their hands. Once the PCs’ escorts have left the room and the characters are seated comfortably, Toff speaks.
“Welcome, and thank you for answering my invitation. As I’m sure you well know, the Breaching Festival is a longstanding Acadamae tradition, with prizes both material and magical. You might also know that entry in the contest is traditionally reserved for only the best and bravest of our students and a select few representatives of other Korvosan institutions. This year, though, we’re changing tradition and expanding the invitations further than ever—we want the most powerful, qualified individuals to compete, in other words. It has been a century and a half since the last—the only—winner of the Breaching Festival won the prize! One of you surely must bring glory to yourself and the Acadamae by enduring the traps and tricks in the Hall of Wards. I’m even willing to bend the rules to allow a team of allied competitors like yourselves to cooperate as a single unit—whatever it takes to get a winner tomorrow.”
"Do you have any questions?"
"Esteemed Headmaster, what are the prizes this year? Especially the magical ones., Laurel asks. He then says, "Where are my manners. I am Laurel Treekeeper and believe a group of us of similar experience but different skills should be able to breach this. What do you think?"
"There is a very substantial prize in coin, 153000 GP, and after a few hundred years of people making an effort to break in, their equipment of a magical nature has been collected to add to the prize, which is a goodly trove. "
Tamm takes the stub of a cigar from between his teeth and makes a polite half bow to the headmaster.
"Thank you for the generous welcome headmaster."
Lucian sits casually in one of the offered chairs, legs sticking over the side. He is an athletic looking half-elf, lithe and strong, and has an assortment of scars. His lanky brown hair falls down to his shoulders and his green eyes slide over those present. "Normally your students participate? Sounds like it's something magic heavy."
Raphael nods at Toff Ornelos, and greets all of the others with his "odd" voice (as he is deaf).
"Master Tamm, great to see you! Mr. Vilani, hope you are ok. Friend Threl and Friend Treekeeper..." - he greets the elf in his native tongue, and in the elvish way - " I am glad to find you all here."
He sits in one of the chairs.
"I thank you for the invitation. You flatter me at consider my meager talents worthy of the competition, and I have to say that any glory belongs to Sarenrae, and not to this humble servant. If I might inquire... Why you want to bend the rules this time around? Why lets us work as a team? Why is a winner necessary?"
To Lucian:"It is the graduating students of course, and one might imagine the challenges are likely magical in nature since we are a Magic Academy. I won't give you details of course since that might grant you an unfair advantage. "
To Raphael:
"The rules don't actually state either that contestants be local, or that they work solo. They only state that contestants cannot hinder each other. Considering it has been a century and a half since there has been a winner, I feel it is overdue that someone finally wins the challenge if for not other reason than to preserve the reputation of the contest. A completely hopeless contest isn't like to attract anyone to compete if there is no chance, no matter the prize. Also, it tends to tarnish the reputation of the Academy itself since we come out looking murderous. "
You don't really know that much about Toff other than that he is a wizard of great experience as well as a member of the local nobility.
"So have people died in the contest? Your students? And I may ask, as I do know have the knowledge, who was the last person to win? When we will be informed of the full rules we should adhere to?"
"This is not a baking contest. Yes, people have died. The last winner was Dyson Fordyce back in 4551. He walked up to the entrance, stepped in, and then stepped right back out. Technically that was a win, so we changed the rules that you had to enter at one end, and leave at the other. The rules are fairly simple. Enter at one end, leave at the other, and don't interfere with your competitors. You do need to find a key of sorts to enter but that will be explained in the morning. "
"I must say that the loss of life on a contest seems a waste, a reckless act unworthy of a learning institution... But I will participate, if only to prevent, as much as I am able, the loss of life this year. Is there some kind of magic forbidden? In particular conjugation magic? Can we interfere with other contestants to heal or help them?"
"There are no other restrictions other than those I just mentioned. You are more than welcome to aid your competition, though most would not be inclined to do so. "
"I know those present as honorable and trustworthy, and I am sure they won't fail to help someone in dire need. Are there other contestants beside us?"
"There are four others from Korvosa who have stepped forward to take the challenge. One is a former student, another is from the local thieves guild. The other two are a warrior and another is a thief who thinks herself of sufficient skill. You can seek them out before hand if you wish to meet them. They are all making solo efforts. "
"Yes, I will want to meet them, offer my assistance, and wish them luck."
"After this meeting I can have an assistant show you around. They might be on the campus, but I cannot guarantee that. They might be anywhere in Korvosa for all I know. They are only required to be here come tomorrow morning. "
Raphael bows at Toff Ornelos.
"May the warm of Sarenrae accompanies you."
"I must say that the loss of life on a contest seems a waste, a reckless act unworthy of a learning institution... "
"If there is no danger, then it is not a challenge. How could it not be more worthy then?" Darryl responds, somewhat incredulous over Raphael's statement.
Raphael smiles at Darryl.
"It is more worthy when you put your life on the line to help others. Recklessness is not something to be celebrated. We must strive to have a purpose in our efforts."
"I'm certain you'll have a fascinating debate on comparative morality between your two points of view, but unless you have further questions for me, I do have duties to perform. I will remand you to my assistant. He's waiting in the hall. "
Raphael stands, bows, and wait for the others to say his goodbyes.
When they are done he goes out to greet the director's assistant.
As they walk out of the room Laurel says to Raphael, "You forget how big of a motivator greed is. I think other than you that is why we are all here, in one way or another."
Raphael turns to read Laurel lips, and smiles, putting his hand on the elf shoulder, answering him in elven.
"I don't forget it. I only choose not to see it. And, in some way, I value life above all things, and I greed for it as others would greed for gold."
"All I see is a big payday at the end. It's just another job." Lucian stands up, stretching his back, then heads for the door.
As you exit the office, there is a man waiting there.
He is a lanky human in robes. You'd probably guess he's a wizard.
"Well met honored competitors. I am to show you around the grounds and to your accommodations here if you wish to stay on the grounds. Otherwise you can book what accommodations suit you in the city proper. "
He begins walking you down the hall towards the stairs. "Please come this way. "
As you begin to move, you heard a loud scream and a thunderous crash from downstairs.
He would actually feel it through the floor. It is that loud.
Lucian grins. "Wouldn't most staying in a posh little room for the night, might even try to-" He crouches and narrows his eyes at the scream and crash. Without even glancing at the others, the runs downstairs.
"That doesn't sound good. Perhaps we should...", seeing Lucian take off he follows him at a more respectable pace. "As I was saying we should probably check that out, unless that is a normal sound around here."
Raphael tries to identify what is happening, and goes out flying after Lucian, disappearing after a second.
Tamm raises his eyebrows and follows along behind his fellows.
The group charges downstairs towards the source of the noise with Lucian in the lead.
You come into a lecture hall, and see a huge spiderish looking beast with multiple glowing eyes standing over the body of a young woman. She looks to be dressed in what the students you have seen on campus to be wearing.
Need initiative rolls.
Map is up.
Lucian puts on his ring of invisibility and moves closer.
I don't roll initiative for players as I consider it a form of roll call.
There is one other guy coming, but he won't be ready till tomorrow. Likely you won't be at the real contest till then anyway.