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Thanks for the tip, my son and I took a look and like it a lot!
A sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, slices through the excited crowd as the sun's setting rays paint the western sky. The stray dog that had crawled under a nearby wagon and fallen asleep starts awake, and the buzz of two dozen conversations quickly hushes as all heads turn toward the central podium, where a beaming Father Zantus has taken the stage. He clears his throat, takes a breath to speak, and suddenly a woman's scream slices through the air. A few moments later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human . The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gives a pained yelp and then collapses with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pools around its head, the raucous sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices. Goblins chew and goblins bite.
Goblins race and goblins jump
Chase the baby, catch the pup.
Sneaky Paul and Maven both see that the shape that raced by and killed the dog now hides at the wagon's edge-a single goblin, licking the blood from its dogslicer as it looks excitedly at the crowd, seeking out a new target. Maven recognizes the song as a popular but nameless goblin rhyme, and that it is being performed by several goblin warchanters and intended to give the goblins a boost of bardic music to spur them on. Paul and Maven see two more goblins join this one under the cart. They are wide eyed, grinning and their tongues excitedly lick their lips.
"Take your money dear" an older woman holds out the coins Maven used to pay for her curry. "The food is all free today..." her face creases in worry as she looks from Maven to Slarthacore. "Are you dears alright?" She shoos the dog away, seeing how it obviously upsets Maven. "Jack is a good dog, he won't hurt you, just trying to make friends is all" "You two are obviously new, Come this way, I'm Sharon, would you like to try some food? What you're eating there is hand soap, and I'd like it back over here. Come back to my booth and try some food. There's so much to try!" Sharon encourages you to follow her back to the booth with the curry.
ye can't be pulling the wool over wee Sally's eyes, ya Sneaky rat!
Led by Moth the Brave, you all arrive at the giant open square before the new cathedral. Sandpoint's previous church had burned down under mysterious circumstances a few years back. The new cathedral is impressive but simple. Beautiful and very fitting for this humble town in the western edge of Varisia. Here we see the booths from Sandpoint's three taverns. Lunch is provided free, at the expense of Sandpoint's taverns. Each brings its best dishes-this event is as much a marketing push by the taverns to win new customers as it is to feed a hungry crowd. It soon becomes apparent that the darling of the lunch is, once again, Ameiko Kaijitsu, whose remarkable curry- spiced salmon and early winterdrop mead easily overshadow the other offerings, such as the Hagfish's lobster chowder or the White Deer's peppercorn venison.
Children run from booth to booth, grabbing bits of meat and pastries, and occasionally managing to swipe some alcohol. Locals and travelers meander the square talking and laughing. You see under a cart, a dog is happily chewing on a bone. Suspended between 2 buildings is a tightrope. There is an open invitation for someone to cross it. The fastest successful time wins 2 gold pieces! A man standing at the foot of a ladder mocks all for being too fearful to attempt the daring crossing.
There is also a memory game available for people to play. A four foot square board with 64 cubby holes has items randomly placed in it. The positions of each item are different every time the board is revealed. The woman running this game covers and uncovers the board with a magical silken scarf, demonstrating the randomness of the items and enticing players to compete for the most items memorized. She'll reveal the board to you, give you 60 seconds memorize what you can, then turn the board around for the crowd to see but not you, then she'll ask you to tell her where as many things as you can recall are. You'll get 5 seconds to respond to each question. The person with the best recollection wins 1 gold piece.
There is also a very competitive game of hide and seek going on. An older man, apparently the grandfather of many of the children running around today, is offering 5 gold pieces to anyone who can successfully hide from 5 of his grandchildren. They'll count to 100, you'll hide in the square, within 100 feet of the cathedral, and you must be able to see the cathedral from your hiding spot. They'll have 5 minutes to find you. No one has succeeded yet!
Something to eat? Play some games? Bit o' both?
The sailor in the front shrieks as a rat flies in his face, drops his grip on the rope and frantically drops to his knees trying to grab at the rat.
He's able to grab the rat, but its thoroughly entangled in his beard. He's screaming and the crowd his roaring in laughter. Just as he drops to the ground, a bird swoops down and rakes the heads of the next 2 sailors in line.
Both sailors drop the line, leaving 2 to hold the rope.
Avignon, Maven and Moth all pull just as the bird completes its dive and manage to pull the sailors on top of each other and our toothy sailor from the Sheeps Knees falls over the line. Paul and his... companions... have done it! the officiator of the contest declares to the crowds approval. The sailors have begun fighting amongst themselves. A gold medallion, probably painted not real gold, is hung around each of our heroes necks and they are declared the tug-of-war champions for the day. The officiant seems in a hurry to close the event down while a Sandpoint local has the title. The sailors realize what's happening and begin to sputter their protest as the crowd cuts them off from view and surrounds the new bearers of Sandpoint's honor, such as it is. Head north through the town if you'd like to play more games, towards the new cathedral if you'd like to sample some of the fine food we offer here the officiant suggests, nervously eyeing the direction of the sailors, hoping to prevent a brawl, and get your party safely away.
Paul's sudden jerk on the rope surprises the sailors. They are pulled to within a hair of the line. Their eyes widen in fear and surprise. They are off balance and several fall to the ground. The crowd suddenly bursts into cheers at Paul's surprising coup. Shouts of support pop out from various parts of the crowd and a steady clap begins. CLAP... CLAP... CLAP.. GET EM PAUL, YA FILTHY SNEAK!! Laughter and cheers bubble out over the rhythmic clapping. The sailor at the front of the line then looks up at Paul, and with a wicked smile, showing various gold and silver teeth, he tightens his grip on the rope. The other sailors stand up and reach for the rope as well. let's try that once more, whaddya say boy-o?! PUUUULLLL
The odd party enters the quaint seaside town of Sandpoint during a busy late morning. Everyone from the surrounding country side has come into town for the festival today. A sign marks the street as Market street and there are farmers and sea captains alike selling various goods along the sides of the crowded street. Ahead of our strange collection of travelers is a game of tug-of-war, and as the group comes closer, one team wins to the cheers of the crowd. The winning team is a group of sailors, in from nearby Magnimar, and they are taunting and mocking the locals that they can't beat the crew of the mighty "Sheeps Knees". That unfortunate name for a merchant vessel isn't unknown and there appears to be a friendly rivalry between them and the Sandpoint locals. "What about this lot!?" A half drunk local yells, gesturing at our brave companions. "I'd say you can't beat our own Paul and his ... His... And them!" The crowd, not always fond of local outcast Sneaky Paul, roars its approval for him and his companions. What do you say? Will you take up the honor of Sandpoint and bring these sailors to their own knees?
definitely! come by when Clark is around and he'll get you set up!
Learn how to format your text by clicking the "SHOW" button below that is next to the text "How to format your text"... here's some examples: It's important that when your character says something out loud, like, I look good today, don't I, my unfortunately ugly friends? that the text be bolded using the [ b ] format. The way I made that text bold is I started with a [ b ] now I am talking out loud [ / b ] and now I'm not. I added spaces to those "b" tags to demonstrate what you actually type. Put those formatting codes before and after the text you want to make specially formatted. Click the preview button to see if your formatting is working. If you want to talk in your head, and say something like, I hope they agree, or I'll just cry myself to sleep tonight! it should be in italics using the [ i ] format. Also, notice the liberal use of line breaks above. It makes the narrative and dialogue easier to read and see. Add line breaks when you want to make things crystal clear for us. Use the [ ooc ] format to tell the GM or other players something out-of-character (ooc), like ... but even better than that, have your character say it! Being is breathing heavily and glances at the "helper" cleric and gasps troll.. killing Bengo... must... needs... heals... When you need to roll dice, use the [ dice ] format and the forum will actually roll your dice for you. success, I can know! Don't forget to read these 2 guides on how best to do Play-by-Post (PbP)! The first post on each thread is the most important. DHs Guide to Play By Post gaming
Jasper's first post was a good example of the push and the hook described in Painlord's guide. Jenna did a great hook as well. Great job both of you!
20 Rova, 4707 Absalom Reckoning, Day Before the Equinox As one approaches the town of Sandpoint, the footprint of civilization upon the Lost Coast grows more clear. Farmlands in the outlying moors and river valleys grow more numerous and more fishing vessels are seen in the waters of the Varisian Gulf to the West. The road widens just as it chokes with a motley assortment of Varisians, Shoanti, and Chelaxians headed to the Festival of Desna. Passages over river crossings become accomplished by wooden bridge rather than ford, that can only mean The Lost Coast Road is nearing Sandpoint! Sight of the town is kept hidden by lightly forested hilltops and rocky outcroppings that rise to the east, but as the final bend is rounded, smoking chimneys and bustling streets greet travelers with open arms. The queue of folks lined up to enter town stretches back well away from the gate. A low stone wall gives the town a bit of protection, as the road passes through the stone gatehouse, there are two bored looking guards at post, neither of which looks like they'd be much help in a real fight. The guards lean against their blunt spears, yawning, barely noticing, as the procession of festival-goers enters the town in slow single file. As you approach the gate-house you see, hanging from a bent nail, a sign and a mirror --painted on the sign is this message: "Welcome to Sandpoint! Please stop to see yourself as we see you!"
The Swallowtail Festival begins promptly, as scheduled, on the Autumnal Equinox. The square before the church quickly becomes crowded as locals and travelers arrive, and several merchant tents featuring food, clothes, local crafts , and souvenirs are there to meet them. WELCOMING SPEECHES: The turnout for the opening speeches is quite respectable, and the four keynote speakers each deliver short but well-received welcomes to the festival. Mayor Deverin's friendly attitude and excitement prove contagious as she welcomes visitors to town and jokes about how even Larz Rovanky, the local tanner (and notorious workaholic) managed to tear himself away from the tannery to attend, much to everyone's amusement (except Larz's). Sheriff Belor Hemlock brings the crowd down a bit with his dour mood, his reminder to be safe around the evening's bonfire, and his request for a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives in the fire that claimed the town's previous church several years ago. The next speaker is scheduled to be local nobleman Lonjiku Kaijitsu, but a sudden illness has prevented him from attending the ceremony (this isn't something that surprises the locals, given Lonjiku's well-known dislike of frivolity and festivals). Sandpoint's own showman Cyrdak Drokkus is more than up to the challenge of bringing the crowd's mood back up with his rousing anecdotes. He delivers a not-completely-irreverent recap of the long process the town went through to finance and construct the new cathedral. He throws in a bit of self promotion at the end, as is his wont, inviting everyone to stop by the Sandpoint Theater the following evening to check out his new production of "The Harpy's Curse," revealing that the lead role of Avisera the harpy queen will be played by none other than the famous Magnimarian diva Allishanda! Finally, Father Zantus steps up to give a short speech thanking everyone for coming before declaring the Swallowtail Festival underway. FESTIVAL FUN AND GAMES: Numerous games and contests take place during the day, including sack races , games of hide-and- seek, weight-lifting challenges, balance beam contests, tug-of-war events, and the like. Winners of these games generally win nothing more than bragging rights for the rest of the day, but for many of Sandpoint's residents, this is a fine prize indeed! SWALLOWTAIL RELEASE: At noon, Father Zantus and his acolytes wheel a large covered wagon into the square, and after recounting the short parable of how Desna first fell to earth and was nursed back to health by a blind child whom she transformed into an immortal butterfly as a reward for her aid, they pull aside the wagon's cover, releasing the thousand children of Desna-a furious storm of swallowtail butterflies that swarm into the air in a spiraling riot of color to a great cheer from the crowd. Throughout the rest of the day, children futilely chase butterflies, never quite quick enough to catch them. LUNCH: Lunch is provided free, at the expense of Sandpoint's taverns. Each brings its best dishes-this event is as much a marketing push by the taverns to win new customers as it is to feed a hungry crowd. It soon becomes apparent that the darling of the lunch is, once again, Ameiko Kaijitsu, whose remarkable curry- spiced salmon and early winterdrop mead easily overshadow the other offerings, such as the Hagfish's lobster chowder or the White Deer's peppercorn venison.
Use this thread to have out of character (ooc) conversations about game mechanics and other questions.
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This is a closed game for me to introduce my family to PbP, wish me luck in getting the next generation hooked! |
