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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.
2) Please label all three of your actions. Even if you think what you are doing is obvious.
3) If I am unavailable for longer than 24 hours, I will let you know in the Discussion Tab. Out of respect for your fellow players and myself, I ask that you do the same. Real life happens, and real life will always take priority over the game, but out of fairness for your fellow players, please let us know if you will be unavailable for an extended period of time.
4) Please note that on the following days, my posting can get unpredictable:
Tuesday/Thursdays - all day, as they are the 2 busiest days of my work week
4) Please complete the Macros and the Slides linked at the top of the page.
5) Questions, concerns? Feel free to share them in the Discussion tab.
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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A dwarf with a mug of ale and a shield made from the barrel cover sips.
"Greetings! My name is Kargoth and I'm a cleric of the brew! Fell into a barrel when I was a wee babe and drank everything in it, or some divine being aided me did it. Now I roam the realms to ensure that mead is good and frothy. Drinking is expensive though, so I could use some gold. Dunno much about fishing but everything is worth trying!"
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A dashing catfolk dressed in the garb of a Shackles pirate sits with his feet up on one of the tables. His skin is dark but seems to reflect small flecks of light. His hands bear metal studs that appear to be imbedded into his knuckles. The only weapon he carries is a pistol that hangs from a loop on his belt. He wears a beard that looks like part of a lion's mane.
"People who know me call me Knuckles. So you can call me Knuckles as well. Just passing some time while I wait to catch up with my new captain."
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A thin-armed gnome wearing a top hat and a matching brown justaucorps with knee-high leather boots stands up from his chair. He carries a hand crossbow, and a dagger. He carries a haversack at his back.
"Hi Kargoth and Knucles! I'm Orsis. I'm also waiting for my meeting with my Venture-Captain. Meanwhile, it would be fun to participate in a tournament."
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A female human in a long white dress arrives at the scene. Covered around her neck is a shimmering golden pipefox familiar she is silently communing with. Following her as she walks is a four-footed cauldron that simmers with sickly green liquid at the moment.
"Sif is my name. I would like to join the tournament here. Where do I sign up? Are you joining too? The tournament looks like it requires teams to compete with one another."
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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.
Noting your interest in the sign, the two siblings turn to you, broad grins on their face.
"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!"
"Let's hope we can do that. You just need to make something to catch as many fish as you can." Swiper replies a matter-of-factly. "Or swim and catch them yourself." she adds.
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Deka smiles at Knuckles. "You follow me, you can take the spot next to mine."
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.
""
Lem runs and attempts to push his way past the crowd.
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"Just need to create a makeshift nets and traps." Sif tells Swiper and works on making one out of the materials available around her.
Hero Point!
Shen then tries a new approach, hiding behind rocks submerge underwater and catch the fish unaware.
She then murmurs occult incantations to mesmerize the fish to go into her basket.
Lastly, she entertains the crowd by cooking for them the fish she caught and giving it the the hungry crowd. "Are these also counted even if cooked?" she asks the judges.
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Knuckles begins innocently enough by creating a quick snare for one of the fish.
Having little luck with that he start to just grab fist by hand.
Having a better time with that, he then turns to distract a nearby competitor.
While the others nearby are distracted when he "accidentally" knocked over some of the tackle, he actually swipes some of their fish!
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Orsis loads his fishing hook with dry rations. After casting, he then throws some dry rations at the surface as a lure for fish. He is hoping the fish can't tell the difference between the hooked ration, and the floating free rations.
Orsis starts dancing a gnome folk dance he had seen when he was a kid in an attempt to impress the neighbors.
Orsis fires a cantrip of Needle Darts that are close to the surface.
"Ha! Take that you fishy bestards!"
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Lem gets some last minute tips from Deka on how to approach fishing efficiently.
Lem eyes the water below, to identify movement in the water below for more active livelier groups of fish to be easier to catch. .
He moves slowly in the water, to skewer to catch by hand.
Coming up with his spoils, he plays to the crowd (and the Judges) on his spoils theatrically.
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Lem gets some last minute tips from Deka which pay off as a large fish ends up at the end of his line. Maxamus describes the best kind of bait and conditions, which work as he gets a fish. Kargoth grabs a barrel and tries to scoop a fish but the fish gets away. Orsis distracts the crowd, yelling and pointing at a "giant fish." When the crowd looks for the fish, he slips away and steals a fish from a competitor's bucket. Knuckles tries to craft a trap but the fish gets away while he tries to remove the fish from the trap. Finally Sif, with the help of her familiar, manage to snare a 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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Knuckles sees Linesnapper and dives in after it. The water churns and roils as a battle royale ensues. Finally the water calms and stills and suddenly a large shark is pitched onto the dock as Knuckles climbs out.
The crowd roars its approval as the judges award Knuckles with the biggest catch!
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
Since you befriended Demed, he offers you use of his lines first. You get a +2 bonus should you decide to make the skill check above
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"I can help you fix that." Sif offers Demed her help to fix the fishing lines Demed has.
"How about that? It looks like these haven't even snapped." she tells Demed proudly as she shows her repairwomanship with the lines she just fixed. Swiper wags her tail on Sif's face to suffuse the pride washing over her.
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Lem convinces other anglers to lend a hand while Sif, Knuckles and Kargoth all pitch in and help Deka. It doesn't take long before Deka is back in the competition. The judges are impressed with you that you're willing to help the competition.
Knuckles goes into stealth mode and manages to snag a pair of large fish with his hands. Sif sees Knuckles and decides to duplicate the feat. She hides underwater but manages to only snare one. Kargoth determines the best place for fish to go and drops his bait there. Immediately, a fish pounces on the lure and he reels it in. Maxamus tries his hand at crafting traps and succeeds in netting a big one. Lem looks carefully into the water and spots a large concentration of fish. He points them out to his companions and the team profits from the info. Orsis places some rations on his hook. After casting it into the water he spreads more rations around his hook. It doesn't take long for a fish to be attracted by the chum and hits his line. He reels it in.