I'm a performer. I'll let Den pick the line up again.
Show roles:
Charlie: TRICK
Chark: Go
Dendillion: Carnival Barker
Haldan: TRICK
Tiny: Security?
Chark will act as the Carnival Barker.
Show roles:
Charlie: TRICK
Chark: Carnival Barker
Dendillion: Animal Handler
Haldan: TRICK
Tiny: Security
With everyone in position, it's time for the show!
Random Events:
Beer = Hecklers Nothing ever pleases them! During each stage, one performer suffers a -1 to their check. Negated by Tiny!
= Equipment Malfunction Oh no! There's a leak in Mordaine's tank. There's no way she can perform tonight![/ooc]
Current totals:
Completed Stage(s): Opener
Anticipation: 17*
Excitement: 4
Trick 1:
Trick 2:
Trick 3:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 4:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 5:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 6:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 7:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
It's been a LONG time, and I'm not 100% certain ANT is correct. Will check when I can.
Dust and Fog fill the bottom chamber of the ring. From the edges Goliath leaps, bounding closer and closer to the crowd. The people scream just as Charlie emerges from within. His whip cracks near Goliath, slowly backing the bear away as he winks back at the children. With his shield held high he blocks a nasty swipe from the bear that leaves claw marks across the wood.
Using one of his newest snares, it wraps tightly around Goliath's leg as the rope drops a cage from the ceiling around the pair. More fog fills the cage as Goliath and Charlie do battle, until Goliath mocks falls in defeat.
Current totals:
Completed Stage(s): Opener
Anticipation: 17*
Excitement: 5
Trick 1:
Trick 2:
Trick 3:
Action 1: Success! The crowd goes whild!
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 4:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 5:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 6:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
Trick 7:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
It's been a LONG time, and I'm not 100% certain ANT is correct. Will check when I can.
You can Perform a Trick multiple times per act, and can choose a different possible trick check for each attempt. If you Perform a Trick twice during the same act, you take a –5 penalty to your second trick check. If you Perform a Trick three times, the penalty for the third check is –10. (This is similar to how the multiple attack penalty works; see page 446 of the Core Rulebook.) The penalties are reduced to –4 and –8, respectively, if your trick has the agile trait.
Mumbling Charlie can't quite match his opening display!
The Featherfall Five take the center ring aaaaand.... success!
Fail
Fail
Eliza/Mr. Tickles
FAIL
FAIL
CRIT FAIL
Dwarven Throwers
CRIT!
FAIL
Current totals:
Completed Stage(s): Opener
Anticipation: 18*
Excitement: 8
Trick 1:
Trick 2:
Trick 3:
Trick 4:
Trick 5:
Trick 6:
Trick 7:
Action 1: TBD
Action 2: TBD
Action 3: TBD
It's been a LONG time, and I'm not 100% certain ANT is correct. Will check when I can.
Hero Point
The Rabbit Prince ladies and gentlemen.
Hero point for the first roll.
Anticipation:
Start: 0
Ads: +2
Three successful promotions: +9
Beer: +3
Crit from the Dwarven Throwers: +1
Total: 15
Excitement:
Winning the Duel: +3
Flamboni: +1
Dwarven Throwers: +1
Mumbling Charlie: +1
Featherfall Five: +1
Haldan (2 crits, 1 success): +5
Total: 12
Result: Failure Excitement < Anticipation.
Lessons Learned:
1. Assign NPCs to PCs to handle tricks.
2. It can be easy to overhype a show and make it a let down.
3. Pay attention to Starting Anticipation before deciding on upgrades. You couldn't know it then, but beer was the deciding factor. (You sprung for beer, but no food :-)
Payout: (Prestige + Final Excitement) × 1/4 = Payout (in gp)
Prestige: 3 (This is is tracked HERE)
Final Excitement: 12
(3+12) x 0.25 = 3.75 Gp
Desna chuckles a bit at the party. The show isn't quite the success the first one was. Bad luck and divided attention got in the way. Still, it's profitable. After all the bases are covered, the show is 3 gold, 7 silver and 5 copper.
The celebration is subdued, but still goes will into the night. One the morning of 16 Calistril 4720 the party awakes with a blank schedule.
Chark makes a mental note to check in on the mayor before the party heads to the Hermitage.
The next morning, Chark reads the mental note and leads the party to check in on the mayor once everyone is up and fed.
Charlie stretches as he agrees with Chark. "Let's go check in our progress with the Mayor." He tries to shake the show off. Maybe they need to move the show as the folks of this town have seen it twice now.
Tiny shakes his head "Not our best... wonder if we're wearing out our welcome here, you're right about the mayor though, lets go have a chat."
Haldan is quite pleased with the progress of his performance. He did so well, Hermann didn't insult him once after the show, which he'll take as a win.
He continues to practice the next morning though with card tossing into his hat from across the room and a series of sleight of hand techniques he's learned over the years. After practicing with the cards, he memorizes his travelling spells while twiddling a coin through his fingers and smoking his pipe.
Hermann sees that Haldan will not even listen to any of his jabs today, so he decides go have some breakfast ahead of his companion.
"It's mornings like this that I'm reminded that Thunder really really made a difference. But hey, it was still a good show. I learned some things. We'll be better."
Dendillion takes up his lute and makes to get ready. "Yes, let's see the mayor. The sooner we can get to the bottom of... this, the better. We should aim to have our next show somewhere else, I think."
The party heads back in to check on the mayor and progress within Abberton itself. After looking for him in his office, you're told that he went "To the the church of Abadar to 'wrap up a final loose end.' and that he'd be back after lunch hopefully."
the church is a short walk, maybe 10 minutes, so you opt to return and check up on both the mayor and also Nellyn.
When you arrive you find them both outside, on the outside of the fence. They both look distraught.
"Abadar be praised! You're here!" Nellyn cries.
The mayor's a bit more down to earth, "Glad to see you. I was hoping to tell you that all is well now in town, but that doesn't seem to be true. Look."
He points to a pair of men in the graveyard. They've clearly seen better days. They look like they haven't slept or eaten in days are actively trying to knock over grave stones. Each push, even when not successful, causes Nellyn to wince.
”I am not sure who these gentlemen are but they’ll be leaving quickly. I am sorry that you are forced to deal with this but it is a good thing the Circus of Wayward Wonders are here.”
Haldan leads the way outside to confront these haggard humans.
Saying on his way out the door... ”Now just hang on a minute here...”
Hermann turns to the rest of the group before following him.
”Since when does he have such big britches?”
Chark is right in stride beside Haldan. What is the meaning of this vandalism, gentlemen?
"Shove your vandalism accusation up your b%$#%**#," says one.
"Sideways." says the other.
They cease what they're doing and turn their attention to you! While they looked awkward at first, they move with shocking alacrity.
(Scout)
(Search)
(Avoid Notice)
(Detect Magic)
(Search)
Both man move on Tiny. Both men distend their jaws to try and take a bite out of the dwarf and even Goliath!
Round 1
for
for
for
Round 1:
Enemy: ATK
Tiny: Go
Charlie: Go
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Tiny collapses in a heap at the sudden onslaught of teeth and fangs.
"t..t..TINY!" Charlie cries out as Goliath charges the men. Charlie snaps his whip to try and keep them back and away from the dwarf.
HP 30/30
AC 19 (21 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield [AC Bonus +2] [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 24/24)
AC 16
Tiny goes down in a flurry of teeth. Chark holds her breath for a split second to help him. Meanwhile Charlie cracks his whip, which seems to slash at the man, but doesn't seem to do any damage...
Round 1:
Enemy: ATK
Tiny: Dying 1
Charlie: Miss
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Tiny goes down in a flurry of teeth. Chark holds her breath for a split second to help him. Meanwhile Charlie cracks his whip, which seems to slash at the man, but doesn't seem to do any damage...
Round 1:
Enemy: ATK
Tiny: Dying 1
Charlie: Go
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Chark: Go
Accustomed to having his instrument at the ready, Dendillion starts by playing a few notes on the A minor pentatonic scale. Each sound coalesces into a soothing magic that the bard directs at Tiny.
"This whole thing is not normal!" he says, knowing that they've got a real fight on their hands, he shifts to a more inspiring tune, adding a flourish that rings out.
Chark takes a second to get and figure out what's going on with these two ruffians.
Tiny struggles to open his eyes for a moment as he bounds to his feel, almost reflexively.
He takes a pair of attacks on the red creature before backing off.
Haldan opens with a full salvo of missiles. all three slam into the man, but he keeps coming. Something is making him much tougher than normal.
Dendillion quickly moves to soothe and bolster. Seeing Tiny return does something extremely odd to the men... Both real in some kind of mental anguish seeing it! It gets Tiny back in. His first attack misses, but he follows it up with a connecting blow! the blow stuns him for a moment!
The odd moves, the reaction to seeing someone come back from dying.... VERMLEKS! Worm demons. They inhabit the bodies of humans and take control. The human is forever dead, and nothing more than a vehicle. Chark knows that they're weak to good weapons and to weapons forged without the kiss of fire.
Round 1:
Enemy: ATK
Charlie: Miss
Haldan: Magic Missile
Dendillion: Bard
Tiny: Kung Fu
Chark: 2 Actions
Red: 27
Black: 6
Chark will share what she knows (good-aligned and cold iron weapons). She bestows the gift of divine guidance onto Goliath, then quickly summons a magical shield of force.
Chark preps for the worst as the creatures renew their assault. They opt for the closest targets, attacking Goliath and Charlie:
MISS
for
for
MISS
MISS
MISS
Round 2:
Enemy: ATK
Charlie: Go
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Tiny: Go
Chark: Go
Red: 27
Black: 6
Swatting away the stars from his head Tiny takes a moment to focus and dtop into his tiger stance from there he pounces into position here he claws at the black demonic undead thingy.
The two fists slam into Goliath and the bear fight back. Goliath roars and leaps onto the demon-worm-man.
Charlie backs his bear up as he raises his shield for another blow from the other demon. "W...w..where did these come from?"
HP 30/30
AC 19 (21 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield [AC Bonus +2] [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 9/24)
AC 16
Tiny and Mumbling Charlie both struggle to connect. Both mean seem to have a strange pulsating bulge in their throats. It becomes more and more prominent with each passing moment.
Round 2:
Enemy: ATK
Charlie: Miss
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Tiny: Miss
Chark: Go
Red: 27
Black: 6
Still deeply concerned about Tiny's wounds, Dendillion replays the same pentatonic riff, further soothing his wounds.
Continuing his performance, he transitions back to the inspirational notes the group has become accustomed to. He bolsters the music with a flourish, letting the sound ring out.
[ooc]+1 status bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saves against fear effects.[/dice]
Vermleks! Worm demons! Chark shouts. Nasty things, kin to the quasit and abrikandilus we faced before! I fear an infestation of these fiends!
Chark summons a ball of white-yellow flame in her hand, which she throws at Red, hopeful that they burn.
Her aim is off from her alarm, and she doesn't yet know if, in fact, they burn.
She then casts guidance on Charlie, hoping he'll have better luck.
Tiny's ripped muscles relax a bit as he gets into the rhythm of combat and his allies' magic.
Though he strikes a sour note, Dendillion continues to keep Tiny in the fight. Chark passes on info, but her aim is off.
Round 2:
Enemy: ATK
Charlie: Miss
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Bard
Tiny: Miss
Chark: Miss
Red: 27
Black: 6
Haldan waves his hand and those with a keen eye will now see a joy buzzer covering his palm. He reaches forward with his hand and you see a version of his hand pat red on the shoulder.
Haldan reaches out magically and shocks the really injured man in farmer's clothes.
He responds by rushing around the stones to get to Haldan with teeth gnashing. This close he can see something bulbous in the man's body, writhing and twisting.
for
MISS
The other continues to pummel on Charlie
for
for
MISS
Round 3:
Enemy: ATK
Charlie: Go
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Go
Tiny: Go
Chark: Go
Red: 34
Black: 6
Charlie raises his shield, but it is too late. The teeth bite into his hand and he screams as it breaks his shield.
Charlie takes a beating as everything goes fuzzy for a moment. Goliath comes to Charlie's aid as the pair fight with everything they have left in them.
HP 7/30
AC 19 (21 w/ shield)
Wooden Shield 5/12; [AC Bonus +2] [Hardness 3] [HP/BT 12(6)]
Hero Points 0/3
Goliath
HP 9/24)
AC 16
Chark, alarmed at the savagery of the two worm demons, focuses for the moment on Charlie and Goliath.
Tiny beats on the black worm demon as best he can.
Tiny follow up with another pair of claws.
Dendillion continues his inspirational tune, yet again adding a flourish to have the sound ring out.
He switches to playing in A Dorian, the magical music picking up a nearby stone and flinging at a foe!
Charlie and Goliath team up to do a number on the man. He takes a beating that should kill any simple commoner, but stays up!
Dendillion's rhythym is off, and he can't connect with spell or chord.
Tiny's attacks hit again and again. The man can't seem to withstand the flurry. Before he goes down, a massive, disgusting worm erupts from his mouth. It breaks the erstwhile man's jaw. Worm and man both drop down dead at Tiny's feet.
Chark keeps the party together as a final foe stands.
Round 3:
Enemy: ATK
Charlie: Hits
Haldan: Go
Dendillion: Miss
Tiny: Kill
Chark: Heal
Red: 34