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1) I am based in Southeast Asia (UTC +8) so my posting hours may be unusual (especially for those in North America). I usually update at least one or twice per day. Just to keep the game moving, please post at least once every day and at least once during the weekend. If you disappear for more than 24 hours, especially during combat, I will simply place your character on infinite delay just to keep things moving.
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4) Please complete the Macros and the Slides linked at the top of the page.
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6) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.
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Your adventure begins in Anthusis, capital of Vidrian in the Mwangi Expanse. You are currently in the Broad Captain Inn, a favorite gathering place for aspiring adventurers, mercenaries, and sailors due to its low prices, decent fare, and a meticulously maintained bulletin board displaying job opportunities and upcoming events. You are seated at a table, finishing a decent meal with a complimentary mug ale when you see two people walk up to the board to read a prominently displayed scroll.
The Silverscales Tournament seeks the brave and the daring!
Join us at the Lower Harbor to pit your skill, wit, and magic against other participants in an exciting competition to catch silver trout and win incredible prizes!
But victory doesn’t simply go to the angler who reels in the most or the biggest fish! Our judges award prizes to crews who embody the Vidric values that brought our liberation: bravery, dedication, cunning, and solidarity. Due to immense popularity, spots for teams are limited! Each crew is required to secure their own fishing spot for the tournament, so come early!
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Jig turns to find the massive head of a hungry tengu staring inches from him as the goblin seats himself next to Jaariko.
An overly large and strange looking tengu waits inside the Inn at the bar. Normally the overly large tengu wouldn't be an oddity but this one looks to be very young for its size. Another such oddity is this hatchling seems to be wearing its thick, protective eggshell it was born from as broken pieces of armor all laced together with strands of rope. The plate clatters around the table as he pecks down at his meal, viciously shredding the meat from the bone in small quick jabs.
Hearing others joining him he ruffles his feathers. "SQWAUK! My flock calls me Jaariko but most people in town call me Baby Huey." He opens his beak in a strange smile. Large portions of his meal fling in all directions off of his plate.
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An elderly grey-haired 1/2 orc in heavy skins and furs stands up, her body creaking slightly. She gets a short walking stick underneath her to steady her before she speaks. Her voice sounds surprisingly kind for such a bulky half-orc
"Excuse me dearies . . . yes you who read the sign, you have ears don't you? About that there . . . em . . . competition." she seems to stumble on the word, as if she doesn't think much of it. "What are done with the fish afterwords? Is it catch and release? Are the fish used to feed the underprivileged of the city? Please tell me they are not thrown away. I will not abide by wasting nature's bounty!"
Dispite her kind tone of voice she seems very stern on this point.
Zarisha is an athletically build Keleshite woman of average height. Her wavy, black hair is pulled back from her face and hangs down to the shoulders of her breast plate. Under her breastplate she wears a simple, sleeveless gambeson and light linen clothing under that. A curved sword hangs from her belt on her left, and a holly branch wand and several pouches hangs on her right. A brace of triangular blades are strapped into place across a pair of bandoliers and around her belt.
"If the officials do not have the fate of the fish spelled out by the start of the competition, I would expect you may do with the fish as you please," she comments in response to the elderly half-orc assertion. "It looks like more of a puzzle than simply a fishing competition. I am Zarisha al-Sakawi. I would like to find a team to tackle this test."
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From a different table there's suddenly a breeze that weaves through the air as a statuesque elf with cloud white, cloud-like hair stands up from her table with an interested look on her face. She positively floats over to where everyone is gathered, her deep blue robes trimmed in gold billow with her movements.
She looks down at the flyer and everyone gathered before commenting with an accented Taldane that resembles the accents most ancient elven have, but even moreso. "I'd heard about this supposedly famous fishing event and was thinking about participating myself. I'd certainly be interested in teaming up, Zarisha and, um, Jaariko if you are interested as well."
She lightly extends a hand to Zarisha in greeting, and gives a small bow, the light catching a rather ornate golden neck piece she has on. "The name is Tibal Šega, and it's a pleasure."
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As you discuss the advertisement, you notice a pair of siblings, twins from the look of them, discussing the same. They seem to be trying to one-up each other.
A tall Mwangi woman with dark hair and a red headband lets out a booming laugh, "Think you can do better this time, Demed?"
"Better than you and your crew? Certainly!" retorts a slender Mwangi man, who pulls out a notebook as he walks to his seat.
The woman snorts derisively before joining him at a table. "If you can avoid falling into the water, that would already
be an improvement."
"I think you forget that my crew is the only one that managed two victories in a row, sis," the man boasts. "This year we’ll do even better, and you’ll eat your words before the day is over."
The siblings smile widely at each other, a fierce love for competition burning brightly in their eyes.
You confirm what the twins say and also know that the waters around Anthusis teem with all kinds of sea life, giving competitors ample opportunities to show off to the crowd.
They notice your interest and introduce themselves as Demed and Deka.
"Demed and I participated in the last four tournaments are we are currently tied at 2 victories apiece. Last year, Demed took the early lead with one of his elaborate contraptions. But then it malfunctioned and he and his entire crew went flying into the sea!"
"We love the Silverscales Tournament because you not only can win by catching the most fish, but you can impress the judges as well!"
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A young man in heavy armor strolls in with a mug and a large hammer on his shoulder. "Oh, a little fishing competition! Wonderful. It'll be a welcome distraction from the blasted heat. Lots to be caught in the Anthusis, I hear."
He introduces himself to the siblings. "I'm Marcus. So what kind of contraptions should we expect this time, Demed? What do you build?" He nods to the others nearby.
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"I do hear the waters here teem with multitudes of different species and some of the biggest and best specimens of rare species tend to come from here!"
She gives Marcus a bow, "It's a pleasure Marcus. You can be on the team I'm putting together if you'd like. Be good to have your strength on our side!"
She then gives the two arguing people a look, smiling some at their bickering, "Sorry to hear you two are at a tie with wins, as surely our team will be taking home the prize this year... but I would love to hear more about your inventions Demed! You should hear about the time I stopped a ritual from collapsing with string, a single power word spell and a rock...."
"... and thus the balrog, Bastion Archon and psychopomp usher all went back to their respective planes. I'd show you but it seems someone CHANGED how magic works since pre-earthfall and I can't cast those spells anymore! I mean what the heck is a 10th level spell? Back in my day we only had 9 AND had to use memories to cast most of them!"
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She gives Marcus a bow, "It's a pleasure Marcus. You can be on the team I'm putting together if you'd like. Be good to have your strength on our side!"
Marcus bows his head. "Always nice to be part of a winning team! If I can help hauling in the lines or wrestling our major catch, I'll hold my own!" He smiles at the siblings, though it's hard to hide that he might have never done anything like this before.
"It's true that you can't always rely on tools or craftsmanship to get you through a problem," Zarisha says to Deka. "You need to be able to fall back on your own strength, wits, and what you can find in a pinch to overcome. While I was studying on Jalmeray, the masters would tie a student's arm and leg together or tie two students' arms together to see how they adapted in a fight. One time, I..."
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Grammy unsteadaly wobbles up to Deka.
"Maybe you could help me youngin. I asked those rude gentlemen who posted the advertisment, but they ignored me! I have no idea what's done with the fish afterwords. I won't abide wasting good food y'know! Not good for mother nature. Now, if you youngin's be needin' help, and if y'treat the fish right, then don't you worry, I can handle m'self. Used to pull dearies hurt in Lastwall up to my hut and heal them, sometimes they would be clad in full plate or have swords as tall as m'self if you can believe it deary. One time I even hauled up a pony on my back if you can believe it."
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Tibal watches the paltry attempts at displays of strength and dexterity that her assembled 'team' of compatriots tries to accomplish. While he might stink, at least the bird had some ability to craft.
She steps in front of the rest of her crew between them and Deka with a strained smile. "I'm sure that some of my friends are just joking here. I assure you they're more capable than that." ... I hope.
She does try to show off her own skills in that department.
Zarisha tries make a positive impression on the Mwangi brother, Deka, as she talks about her time on Jalmeray.
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As Tibal stammers and freezes up, Demed smiles cordially, though it's clear that he's not impressed. Jig likewise attempts to impress Demed but somehow his goblin mannerisms put him off.
Zarisha manages to impress Deka by talking about her experiences.
After a short while, Deka and Demed move to join a crowd of people heading toward the Lower Harbor for the tournament. The innkeeper ushers you out as well, just as impatient to join the throng.
"Come on, friends!" Demed calls.
The journey from the inn to the Lower Harbor takes two hours due to the crowds converging along the rocky cliffside path leading down to the harbor. Once they arrive at the docks, you can make their way past the gathered crowds to join the other participants and locate a fishing spot. As stated in the announcement, there’s limited space in the event. By the time you arrive, the contest only has room for one more team, so you must participate in the event together.
The docks creak under the weight of the crowd. Mwangi and Chelaxian citizens stand shoulder to shoulder in the midday sun, waiting for the excitement to begin.
The contestants stand in line with their teammates, waiting for the signal to claim their fishing spots. Some aspiring anglers seem to have already chosen their spot, while others are carefully scanning the waters for a glimpse of the glimmering scales that give the tournament its name. Tall and imposing, Deka stands out from the crowd as she inspects her reinforced grappling hook. To her right, Demed hurriedly jots down notes before telling his crew to be ready to cast.
A silver-haired Zenj woman wearing a judge’s colorful sash raises her hands to silence the crowd. With a warm smile, she utters a single sentence that unleashes a flurry of activity.
"FIND YOUR STATION!!"
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Tibal, a very small, very isolated wind storm raging around her, seethes at her inability to communicate well and instead turns her attentions to the compitetion and getting a good spot to fish from.
She badgers, berates, rages and screams, but most of her words are battered out of her mouth and flung up into the air by the winds whipped up by her, making them mostly useless. Her attempts to squeeze through the crowd are also likewise stymied by her winds of fury.
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Grammy slowly sits down, it's obvious her bones are aching, at a small little out-of-the way nook.
"Oh dear me, seems like no one understands how to fish here, this is clearly the best spot. The fish will all naturally cross this part of the water when . . . oh, nevermind, the young'ns will learn soon enough."
"Station? Oh. Where should I go?" she askes Deka.
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Zarisha and Jig both pester Deka for the best spots. Deka is clearly annoyed by their questions and pointedly ignores them. Tibal attempts to squeeze past the crowd but is unsuccessful as the crowd pushes back. Baby Huey waddles through the crowd attempting to find a good spot but is also unsuccessful. Marcus enthusiastically pushes his way through the crowd and finds a good spot. Grammy is in tune with nature and finds the best spot for fishing.
On the whole, you find an average spot. It's not the best, but clearly not the worst spot either.
So, we have officially entered the (shock, gasp in amazement, no one saw this coming) skill check portion of the bounty. The tournament plays out over the course of four rounds, each representing about 15 minutes of activity. During every round, each one of you can attempt a single skill check to contribute to the team’s success. You can use a skill you used in a previous round but you do so at a -2 penalty as the crowd and judges are looking for entertainment as well as display of skill.
Examples:
Deception to distract other competitors
Performance to impress the crowd
Crafting to build elaborate traps
Survival/Fishing Lore for using bait/lures
Stealth to grab fish w/o disturbing water
Other skills possible as long as you can explain what you're doing
Be Creative
Please give me four rounds of skill checks.
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Marcus waves to Baby Huey to catch his attention. "You're good at making things, right? Can you make a trap or a net and then I can drive the fish towards you?"
Marcus then tries to impress the crowd as he leaps from rock to rock, trying to spot for his team. Eventually, you realize he's just having fun jumping from place to place.
Eventually, he finds a section protected by a rock outcropping. Marcus lays down over the outcropping and, like an untrained simpleton, draws his shortsword and tries to quickly stab down at the fish.
When he is able to catch a fish on the point of his shortsword, Marcus leaps to his feet and displays his catch. "How's that for some first timers, eh? Just beginners luck or are we the real deal? What do you think?"
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Jig does his best fisherman impression.
First, he uses patented goblin fish tickling techniques to catch the creatures by surprise.
Next, he rigs a complicated system of ropes and pulleys to lower himself just above the water for easy catches.
Swimming nimbly through the waters, he chases the fish.
Finally, he loads Kevin the Gun with forks, hoping to skewer the last of his dinner.
for and 1 splash
Zarisha talks a big talk about the skills of her teammates using sweeping gestures and an irritating cadance in an effort to distract the other competitors.
She then regales the crowd with a series of folk tales about the goblins and fish and tengu and fish.
Finally, as seeds have been sown and moods have been influenced as best they can, she considers the plants growing along the shore of their fishing spot and on top of the water, trying to remember which provide shade or hiding spots for which fish and which attract food for which fish.
While all the fishing traps are exploding and splashing around the waterfront, she tries to snag fish out from among the shore plants.
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Tibal first starts with trying to craft a proper trap to trap the fish. "Right, simple net ought get us some good fish."
"... on second thought this is a high level competition that should be much more grandiose, complex, and impressive!"
Smiling a her mighty haul, she takes her masterpiece of a fishing net and tries to stealthily place it where the most fish are.
She fails to account for the refraction of light on water and misses, accidenatlly hitting a fish and failing to get much luck with that at all.
She scowls and instead, decides to lean into her two fortes, magic and especially time magic. She first tries to use arcana and modified light spell to create a lure for the fishes.
She then takes the lure and her amazing whizzile-woo-daddled net and takes a moment to watch how the fish move before rewinding time for a few seconds and placing the net right in their path.
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Marcus attempts to scare the fish into going in the direction he wants them to go. Unfortunately, yelling at them doesn't seem to have any effect. Jig attempts to sneak up to a fish and catch it, but the fish swims away. Zarisha attempts to distract the other competitors and manages to get them to gawk at her while Jig steals a fish. Baby Huey creates an elaborate trap using nets he finds nearby and some pulleys to rig them. He throws it into the water and nets a fish. Grammy settles down for some traditional fishing but doesn't quite get the lure right and doesn't catch anything. Tibal fashions a fish trap with some netting she finds nearby. Dropping the trap into the water, she is able to catch two fish.
Suddenly, Demed shouts, "Deka, your lines!"
Four lines snap in quick succession, causing those nearby to yell in surprise and frustration. While the crew hurries to pull the remaining line, Deka points at a dark shadow in the water.
"Not him again! He almost ruined my chances last year!"
The shadow belongs to Linesnapper, a young tiger shark attracted by the large number of fish in the area.
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The tired old half orc unsteadily gets to her feet and wobbles down to the shore, where she, with surprising speed, she thrusts her hand into the water and grabs the shark by one hand, lifts it out of the water, then begins talking to it."
"Deary, if you would be so kind, we are trying to have a tournament here. Go now to deeper waters, we'll be gone by the end of the day. If you don't, well, one of these here other people might see fit to catch you for real."
<>Natural Empathy?
She then with one hand hefts the shark and throws it far out into the water.
"I don't think he should be bothering us again."
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Grammy reaches into the water, grabs Linesnapper by the tail and hauls it out of the water. She then reprimands it for disrupting the tournament. The crowd roars with laughter, though some look hungrily at the shark. Before anyone could further react, Grammy hurls the shark far out into the sea.
Deka curses her luck, inspecting the damage. "Almost all of our lines snapped, and we're out of spares," she growls. With an angry sigh, she grabs her grappling hook and nods to the robust Chelaxian man holding the team's only remaining line.
"Never give up, right?" asks the man with a grin.
"Never give up," agrees Deka, hoisting her grappling hook
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The party pulls together. Baby Huey repairs the broken lines while Grammy, Jig and Marcus rally the crowd to pitch in and help out. Soon, the tournament can resume and Deka is back in the running.
Marcus distracts the crowd by hopping from rock to rock. The crowd watches, entranced. His exhibition distracts some other fishermen allowing Tibal to steal a fish. Zarisha helps Marcus by regaling the crowd with stories of goblins and fish. The crowd listens, entranced by her story. They don't see Baby Huey reach out and grab a fish from someone else's keep net. Baby Huey comes up with another trap concept. He creates a more elaborate trap with more nets and pulleys and catches two fish. Jig uses his knowledge of ropes to create a sling for him to hover over the water and catch fish. The contraption works and he nets a fish. Grammy asks the local wildlife for help. Unfortunately, her request is so far-fetched the birds splash the water and chase the fish away. Tibal tries to quietly slip her fish trap into the water. But she slips and drops it instead, scaring some fish away. ()
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Marcus waits patiently and stabs his shortsword into the water. It connects with two fish. Jig jumps into the water and tries to swim after some fish. Unfortunately the fish prove to be faster than he is and leave him gasping for breath. Zarisha tries to use her knowledge of plants to try to drug the fish but uses the wrong herbs and makes them more lively and doesn't catch anything. Baby Huey tries to repeat his success with the same trap but the fish seem to have learned from their earlier mistake and avoid his trap completely. Grammy sticks her knife into the water and manages to stab a fish through its side. Tibal attempts to use light to lure the fish but they aren't fooled and she doesn't catch anything. ()
"Ten more!" shouts Demed.
"It’s not over until the fish are counted", grumbles Deka as she hoists another catch into her half-full basket.
"Might as well be! You have no hope to catch up", replies Demed as fish start jumping from the water directly into his overflowing basket.
You realize that Demed's bait is somehow charming the fish but their behavior is becoming erratic, indicating that the magic is either very powerful or unstable.
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Jig's pronouncement comes at an opportune moment as suddenly a disturbance can be seen in the water and three rather large crabs suddenly attack.
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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
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Those with ** may go
**Grammy Thistledown - AC 16 (18 w/shield), 17/17
**Tibal Sega - AC 17, 13/13
**Zarisha al-Sakawi - AC 18 (19 w/buckler), 17/17
Blue
Jaariko 'Baby Huey' Niqo - AC 18, 15/15
Jig Gnasher - AC 18, 15/15
Green
Marcus Howe - AC 19, 21/21
Black