| 74 people marked this as a favorite. |
Swallowtail Festival Games
Alright as it stands there isn't much detail on the things going on during the festival. At this point it covers the opening speech, lunch, and evening dedication ceremony and bonfire. That's really not much of a festival. Where are all the games and other things happening? What are the pc's to do during the day to occupy the time? I've come up with some games and such to keep them occupied. It also provides for a way to give some more background info.
The Devil Hunt
Do you have what it takes to bring down the infamous Sandpoint Devil and keep him from menacing the surrounding area? Take a shot and see. This is an archery range setup on the beach down by the Lighthouse. Two large targets, with silhouettes of a scary looking winged horse on them, are set up 50 yards away from a firing line. The bull’s-eye is about where a horse's heart would be. There are bigger concentric circles around the bull’s-eye.
One copper piece per play. Using the longbows provided, fire two arrows at the target, scoring the best one. Hitting a bull’s-eye wins a small pie. Hitting anything else wins progressively cheaper trinkets for each band outside the bull’s-eye, with nothing for a miss. Hitting AC 20 gets a bull’s-eye, each band out side that is AC 18, AC 16, AC 14, and AC 12.
This game is being run by Jodar Provolost (CG male human Expert 1/Ranger 3), an older balding Varisian with black hair, a big thick black mustache, and a noticeable big belly. He is a mediocre carpenter, but is considered one of the best hunters in Sandpoint. He is friendly, but has lots of bad jokes, and particularly likes telling his (untrue) stories of his encounters with the Sandpoint Devil. The pies have been provided by Alma Avertin from Sandpoint Savories. They aren't her best work, but they are good enough for what they are.
Sheriff Hemlock has asked Jodar to quietly make note of anyone who scores a bull’s-eye, or gets both shots in either of the center two circles, so that he can later approach them about joining the militia. Jodar asks anyone who wins his or her name and then announces quite loudly "Attention! Insert name has done Sandpoint a great service. He or she has slain the Sandpoint Devil! Here's your pie!"
The Goblin Toss
Three Goblins have found their way into your house and are tearing the place up! Grab them and toss them into the fireplace before they can destroy everything. This game is a simple bean bag toss setup in the middle of the Sandpoint Market square. A board is setup with lines of three holes. The board is 10 feet from a throw line. The closest hole is the largest and the farthest hole is the smallest. There are buckets of beanbags sewn to look like Goblins by each of the three stations. Each bean bag has a Goblin name printed on it.
One copper piece per play. Take three Goblins and try to toss them into a fireplace. Kids have to try and hit the biggest and closest hole, which is AC 10. Women use the medium sized hole, which is AC 12, and adult men use the smallest and furthest hole, which is AC 15. The bean bags have a range increment of 10' and there is no non-proficient penalty. Get all three in and win a small bag of venison jerky. Anything less gives a cheap trinket. Something Swallowtail related most likely. Nothing for not getting any in the fireplace.
This game is being run by Daverin Hosk of Goblin Squash Stables. He's getting perverse pleasure out of the idea of tossing Goblins in the fire. It's for this reason that he has written a Goblin name on each beanbag, just so he can desecrate some Goblin's memory even more. It's well known his hatred of Goblin's and nobody is surprised to see this game. Chod Bevuk of the Sandpoint Meat Market has provided the venison jerky for the prize. It is quite tasty and next to Ameiko's salmon, it is the talk of the event. Unfortunately there's been lots of young children asking their parents if the jerky is really made of Goblin meat from the Goblins they threw in the fireplace, like Daverin says it is. Some adults have heard the rumor and actually believe that it is Goblin meat!
The Lighthouse Smash
Who needs a Lighthouse without a light? The old Lighthouse has become an eyesore; let's knock it down so we can use the stone to build something new. This game is set up at the end of Junker's Way next to the Lighthouse. It has a table with nine square stones stacked on it in a pyramid shape. Three on the bottom, two in the middle, and one on top. There is a firing line 20' from the tables. Using the mini-catapult, try to knock down the stack of stones within three shots.
Two copper pieces to play. You get three shots. It takes a total of three hits to knock down all the stones. Hitting higher ACs counts as more hits, so that it is possible to knock them down with one hit. Hitting AC 12 counts as one hit, Hitting AC 16 counts as two hits, and hitting AC 20 counts as three hits. The catapults have a range of 50', so there is no range penalty, but there is the normal non-proficient penalty of -4 if someone does not have proficiency with siege weapons. Knocking down all the stones wins a small toy catapult; it amounts to being a slingshot. Anything less provides some other cheap trinkets. No prize if nothing is knocked down.
This game is being run by Aesrick Battlehorn. He's been working on the mini catapult and toy catapults during his spare time all year, in preparation for the festival. The mini catapult is quite a work of art. He's carved it to look like a stone giant with its arm throwing the stone. He suspects that he'll be able to sell it in Magnimar for quite a bit after the festival. It's about 2 foot tall, but functions just as a real catapult, albeit with less range and much less damage. He's worked very hard at keeping it a secret all year, so that he can surprise everyone with it.
He's got a soft spot for the kids and helps the kids aim it so that they can win the toy catapults, negates the non-proficient penalty; much to the consternation of mothers. According to many mother's complaints, "They are just the right size for young boys to shoot an eye out with!" This complaining doesn't stop those same mothers from handing over the two coppers for their sons to play. There is no shortage of boys crying because they've been hit in the head by a flying stone.
Dragon Races
There's been talk of starting Dragon farming in Sandpoint, so we've gotta find out which ones are the fastest so that we have the best dragons! Pick yourself a dragon and pit it in a Dragon Race against your friends.
The final game is located in the Sandpoint Market Square on the south side by the docks just at the beginning of Market Street. It has two double lane tracks set up next to each other with a three-foot wide gap between the two tracks. The tracks are 30' feet long. Near the starting line there is a large cage with 12 lizards in it. Each one has a set of twig and cloth wings attached to their backs. Each one is painted a different color so that they look like little dragons. Without touching the lizards, goad your lizard down the track. Get him to cross the finish line before your opponents and win a prize!
One copper piece to play. Once they have four people with a dragon picked, place them in the starting lanes. At the sound of the whistle, the gates are lifted and you goad your dragon down the track without touching them. To do this, each person racing makes an initiative check and players attempt to goad their lizard in initiative order. The lizards are notoriously difficult to deal with, so you must make a DC 14 Handle Animal check to get them to move. The lizards move 5' on a succesful check. On a failure they do not move. On a failure by 10 or more, the lizard actually moves backwards. The first lizard to cross the finish line wins. The winner gets a big cheap medal that says "1st Place Swallowtail Dragon Races" and 2 Copper Pieces. All other places get nothing and the others get nothing.
This game is run by Gressel Tenniwar. He's running it on the orders of Jubrayl Vhiski, but nobody knows this. Jubrayl is using it to run a gambling scheme betting on the races. Nobody knows it but 9 of the 12 lizards were secretly well fed the night before and they are tired and are even more difficult to move. These 9 are DC 16 to move. The other three are quite hungry and haven't eaten in about a week. These are at normal DC 14. In fact if some raw meat or other small rodent like thing is held in front of them they will be DC 12 to move.
Jubrayl and his men know which three are the hungry ones and use this to fix the betting. Jubrayl has also ordered that one of his men should always try to be in the race each time, so that they can pick one of the hungry lizards in order to hedge the bets even more, but not make a big deal if any group of four really want to race each other. The GM should pick the nine that are well fed. Anyone that watches more than 5 races with one of the hungry lizards can make a DC 20 Sense Motive check to notice that some of the lizards seem more motivated than others. Jubrayl and his men will disappear if it looks like anyone has caught onto their scheme. Gressel will claim ignorance and one of his barmaids will back him up when he claims they are all well fed.
That's what I've come up with at this point, have you done anything similar? What do you think of these?
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
I remember some Dungeon adventure or other that had a few games during a wedding celebration. I think it involved a harpy.
Anyway, the adventure had a lot of great opportunities for PCs to interact with townsfolk. Here are some of the possibilities.
Catch the greased pig A pig is let loose in a large pen, smeared liberally with grease. It's kind of a free for all, with participants trying to grapple the piglet. It has a +10 bonus on grapple checks due to the grease. After the first failed grapple check with a contender, it has a +8. After the second, +6, etc. The chase continues until the pig is caught. If the bonus ever reaches +0, the pig is smeared with a new coat.
Magic show Vernutt Parooh has drawn a small crowd with some minor illusions. A PC illusionist or bard might be able to outdo him.
Can't quite remember the other options, but another issue of Dungeon had rules for footraces and caber tossing.
Those are some great ideas. I wish I had come up with something like that when I started the AP. Well done.
These truly are great.
Thank you.
Swallowtail Festival Games...
Messages like this one represent the reason why I open Paizo Messageboard every day... thanks a lot Delthos and every one who is making this game so wonderful...
(JJ and all Paizo team above everyone else of course...)
Thanks for the compliments everyone! It is very much appreciated.
I did just notice an error in my Lighthouse Smash game. It's six square stones stacked in a pyramid shape not nine! Nine was from my first draft of the game and it managed to hang out in the file.
These events are really, really cool!!!
Too bad I didn't see this thread until today... as I just re-ran Burnt Offerings in the past 2 weeks. :(
Ohhh Moonbeam did you really played it again? Your campaign journal is like a bible for my AP preparation... I have translated to italian the first two parts and integrated with some wonderful ideas found around on the messageboard like this one about festival games...
But you can't imagine how many times I though what you could have done if you went playing it again... and so please please write somewhere (at the end of your story hour as you did for your first campaign for example) what you added to this new game sessions...
This will be like a wonderful christmas gift for me and probably for all the community...
Ah, Sneaky, you're always so kind to me. ;) Thank you. ;)
I don't want to highjack this thread, so I will reply in more detail in my campaign journal.
We used these in my ROTR campaign and the players loved them. Especially Sandpoint Devil and Goblin Toss. Now they are looking forward to more festivals and events in other towns.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You should totally think about submitting these for "Wayfinder" #2. They'd make a great addition.
I hadn't even thought of that. I guess I could give it a shot. It'd need a little touching up though.
I really like this thread, and I have been getting ready to run this with new players, and wanted to remark that I found GM Mastery's Holiday Essentials by Johnn Four useful in this aspect. Initially I only bought this as part of a bundle and ignored it. Then a friend passed me his printed copy of Burnt Offerings and asked if I wanted to run it. I read about the festival and decided to read Holiday Essentials. Great stuff. That's it... my notes for festivals are on note pads, but maybe I'll type them in later.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm glad you like them. I designed them so that your average 1st level commoner would have a hard time winning the games with one try, but your average first level pc types would have a better chance.
I've worked the background info into additional minor sidequests and later encounters. My characters discovered the fixed dragon races (all the betting going on got them suspicious) and the ruccus they caused pretty much ended the dragon races for the day. They are now on Jubrayl's bad side and his minions are trying to make their lives more challenging. They've also aggreed to accompany Aesrick to Magnimar when he goes to sell the catapult, once he takes care of some business in Sandpoint, which will conveniently happen right about the same time they go there in the Skinsaw Murders. I really tried to have the games forshadow some things to come, but not be obvious about it. Fortunately for them the devil hunt didn't inspire them to hunt down the Sandpoint Devil, at least it hasn't yet done so.
Let us know how they work out for you.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Blood Pig
From Escape from Old Korvosa, CotCT. Such a fun game!
Started my game saturday, and thank you for the games. It really helps give the festival a more organic feel.
One char played the sandpoint devil game, 3/4 bullseyes. And the other played the beanbag toss, missing horribly.
Thanks again for the great addition!
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
As a visual for the players, I mocked up an image of the Devil Hunt target.
LeadPal, I am truely impressed that someone has taken my work and expanded on it like this. That is very cool. Not exactly what I had pictured, but it fits my description and is awesome none the less.
|
My players had a great time with the festival games. I have 8 players and everyone played at least one game. The rouge decided not to play the Devil hunt game after having two others score a bullseye, and having their name called out. One character was sure there was something fishy going on with the races, but failed his rolls so didn't quite know what was going on. He played it up and had everyone laughing. They loved the goblin toss and the cleric added fuel to the proverbial fire by exclaiming how tasty goblin was around some children.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I only saw this thread about two weeks ago and decided to include the games in my 4e ROTRL campaign I started on monday.
My players had an absolute ball with all the games. They were so much fun that one of my players girlfriend who was watching at the time joined into the dragon races as the ringer and the chase the pig game.
During the dragon races, one player noticed the side betting and also took a piece of that action to no avail. Another player decided he wasn't good enough at it so spent his time playing musical instruments to distract other characters (thus giving -2 on skill checks) and finally one character got so frustrated with his dragon that he sneakily slipped a dagger between its ribs and tried to pretend it was sleeping. Of course he got caught out, was banned and had to pay 5gp for a replacement. So in summary I managed to get an act of greed, envy and wrath from 1 simple game, love it.
Then the chase the pig game turned into a brawl as I allowed grabbing the pig to be a minor action so everyone started charging, bull rushing, tripping etc each other in their efforts to get the pig. I also decided that the grease would keep allowing the pig to slip out of the catchers hands and shift 2 squares till enough had been wiped off to keep hold of it (essentially after 4 successfull attempts). I also said the pen was extremely muddy with obstacles and anything faster than a move required a skill check. The aforementioned girlfriend had great fun knocking over her boyfriend in the mud repeatedly.
These light hearted moments contrasted perfectly with the flashback scenes I also played, with the party going back to the night chopper was chased down and unmasked. I had one characters background be the intended 25th victim till Casp Avertin saved him with his life. The rest of the players then took on the roles of a young Belor Hemlock, Das Korvut, Nisk Tander and Ezakien Tobyn to chase chopper back to the isle, overcoming his guard dogs before finding the results. I'd also started the flashback with the character and his younger brother admiring the comatose form of Nualia before Ezakien chased him off only to have chopper set upon them in his alley with the obvious results. (All these ideas also came from these fantastic forums, I just had to stitch it together, oh and the 4e conversion, thats also courtesy of these forums via Scott Betts excellent work)
So after all that long winded explanation Delthos I can't thank you enough for giving me so much stuff to work with and contribute to the most memorable introduction to a campaign my group has had in my 28 years of D&D.
| 9 people marked this as a favorite. |
I know this is an old thread, but I thought I might throw a game I came up with that I'm planning on using on my next time running RotRL onto this list for anyone who is still looking.
Ogre Stomp
“Step on up, boys! No girl likes a noodle-armed weakling. Let’s see your strength!”
The staple game of every good carnival: a strength tester, and it costs a whopping 5 SP per play. A weight is placed on one end of a board set over a pivot and in a groove on a split log that runs some 10 feet up to a bell with three differen’t colors brightly painted along the groove noting degrees of success. Characters are given a wooden mallet to strike the board and try to ring the bell. A Strength check is made (at a -2 penalty if the PC isn’t proficient with martial weapons) with results as followed:
0 or under - the bell doesn’t move an inch! Everyone has a good laugh, or a good giggle in the case of the girls. A PC scoring this low takes a -5 circumstance penalty on all intimidate checks made against Sandpoint citizens for the duration of the Swallowtail Festival. “Why don’t you leave this game to the real men, boy?”
1 to 7 - the bell moves partway up the red stripe. Most seem rather disappointed and the PC is awarded a cheap trinket. Any PC scoring in this section takes a -2 penalty to all intimidate checks made against Sandpoint citizens for the duration of the Swallowtail festival. “My grandmother scored higher than that and she’s been 6 feet deep for 8 years!”
8 to 15 - the bell rises midway up the blue stripe; an average result. There is some half hearted clapping and the PC is awarded a ribbon. A PC can present this ribbon to any Sandpoint citizen to finds them attractive to gain a +2 circumstance bonus on diplomacy checks to influence them. “You’re strong enough to lift a mug and that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?”
16 to 21 - the bell climbs up the green section and dings the bell. The PC earns some well deserved respect from Sandpoints citizens, granting him or her a +2 circumstance bonus on intimidate checks. They are also awarded with a cute stuffed toy crafted by Rynshin Povalli (NG female half-elf expert 5) of “Vernah’s Fine Clothing”. Passing this to an eligable mate will grant a +5 circumstance bonus on diplomacy checks made to influence them. “That’s the spirit, friend, show the boys and lasses how it’s done!”
22 or higher - the bell breaks off! A PC earns the same prize as below with healthy round of applause from the audience and a string of curses from the man running the game who then must spend an hour repairing it. Any PC scoring this high should earn a +5 circumstance bonus on intimidate checks made against citizens of Sandpoint. “The goal is to ring the bell, not break the bell!"
In addition, Das Korvut (LN male human expert /fighter 1) the mutton-chop-sporting drunken smith of the “Red Dog Smithy”, will accept a bribe of at least another 5 SP to put on a heavier or lighter weight for specific contestants, granting either a -2 or +2 circumstance modifer, respectively. Despite the morning hour he is already knee deep in mugs and will hurl insults and hearty pats on the back for each paying player based on their degree of success.
Ogre Stomp seems like a nice addition to the other ones in the thread, but may I ask why the high price tag?
It was a cost added by the crafting and moving of the large and heavy contraption as well as likely needing to repair it several times throughout the day. I also tend to run heavier wealth games, starting at lower levels, so the cost would pretty much be negliable anyway.
|
|
Makes sense I suppose. Only reason I was asking was when I started my game, I did use the ones mentioned in the first post all of which are a cp or 2 to play. I had a couple players who had spent every cp they had, so they were making Perception checks to find lost change on the ground to find money to play or buy something to eat.
|
|
Started my RotRL game this weekend and I included these games during the festival. It was a great way to get the characters to interact with each other, or even to just to get a feel of how the others we role play their characters.
It was a big smash, one particular think I loved was that I had a player who is a Rogue who worked with Jubrayl Vhiski on the Dragon Races.
Overall it helped get 8 players integrated together before the big stuff hit the fan.
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Some very nice ideas for the festival there. :)
I have a few ideas myself actually. One being:
The Cornugon Smash
Step right up folks and give this game a whirl! The object of the game is simple. In front of you is a pivot with one weighty rock laying on the lower side of it. The rock rests up against a narrow metal board with a bell fixed to the top of it. Now, the idea is to hit the raised side of the pivot (closest to you) to see how high you can make the rock fly!
On the metal backboard are markings to measure how far up the player has managed to launch the rock. Prizes will be awarded for hitting an AC of 10, 15 and 20 respectively. Reaching the very top requires an AC of 20, but if the player surpasses this score, he or she will be asked their name and will be rewarded with a Masterwork Earth Breaker for their "Smashing" performance. Note: There is only one of these weapons available to win.
The game costs 5 copper a go, but prizes include:
AC 10: 1 Bottle of Ale (courtesy of Two Knight's Brewery).
1 Thunderstone
1 Copper miniature Hammer designed to look like a tiny Earth Breaker.
AC 15: 1 Bottle of Rum (courtesy of Two Knight's Brewery).
1 Map of the event (which also serves as a map of Sandpoint).
1 Silver miniature hammer designed to look like a tiny Earth Breaker.
AC 20: 1 Bottle of Fine Red Wine (courtesy of Two Knight's Brewery).
1 Weekend all inclusive stay at The White Deer for two (courtesy of Garridan Viskalai's family).
1 Gold miniature hammer designed to look like a tiny Earth Breaker.
AC 21: 1 Masterwork Earth Breaker
Let's see how I fare:
Note: You may choose two prizes from the zone you scored your points in. Each AC represents a different zone.
I've also got a few ideas for adult games based in The Pixie's Kitten during the festivities. One of these include:
Don't be so sour!
One of Kaye Tesarani's workers start by pouring strong alcoholic spirit into the belly button of one of her topless colleagues and then places a slice of lemon halfway into her mouth.
The objective of the game is to suck the alcohol from her belly, pick up the slice of lemon (only using your teeth - NO HANDS ALLOWED!) and drop it into a bowl.
The more lemons you drop into the bowl, the more points you get. 1 lemon = 1 point.
You must make a Fortitude save (starting at DC 5, and then increasing by 2 every 2 points, up to DC 20 where it stays) after every drink (due to the potency of this alcohol) and if you fail this save just once, you take 1 Non Lethal Con damage from every drink there after. You get no more saves, and as soon as your Con drops to 10, you pass out. However, if someone throws water over you 4 hours later, you wake up with the fatigued condition until you drink enough water to sober yourself up.
If you end up in a fight whilst under the influence of this particularly potent spirit: You suffer -4 on attack rolls, but gain +2 on damage rolls, and even though you know which direction you want to walk in, you must roll 1D10 to see which direction you move in. How to determine the roll is as follows:
1 You remain standing still
2 You stumble forwards at half speed
3 You move diagonally right at half speed
4 You move diagonally left at half speed
5 You move right at half speed
6 You move left at half speed
7 You move diagonally back to the right at half speed
8 You move diagonally back to the left at half speed
9 You stumble backwards at half speed
10 You fall over
While drunk, you will always move at half speed due to stumbling, taking a -4 to Dex and Wis while the effects of this condition last.
Test:
Well, I'm just unlucky!
I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who posted a game in here. I used them in my campaign this past Thursday. Unfortunately, my players weren't very interested in them. I thought they were all very well written, though.
I've not been active on the forums in quite some time, but I got a bug to check things out recently. I'm truely surprised to see that people are continuing to use my work and add to it! I never realized the chorde this would strike with so many people! I'm happy that people like it and keep digging it up from the old stuff. Thanks everyone.
Hmm, combining both yours and my mini-games Delthos, when I ran this as a tester, the players actually enjoyed the Festival games thoroughly.
I do think I may have been a bit harsh with the rules I made up for the drinking game though, so as I'm going to be running this again (but properly this time) on Tuesday, I'll be refining my rules and simplifying things.
Our entire three hour session focused on this last time, ending with the goblin raid starting.
I think I want to move things on a little more this time.
Oooooo....nice! Thank you gang!
@ CaptainCortez: You mention earning points for the Don't Be So Sour game, but what do they get for it?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hey CaroRose, I actually didn't elaborate on that purposely so whoever chooses to use the game can add in their own prizes.
I'm thinking a few things could work:
1. Could be given a couple of potions of Cure Light Wounds
2. Free Ale
3. A week of women for free at the Broffel
4. A small amount of money, gathered from people who helped fund the event
5. A title of "Drunk Heavyweight" for roleplaying purposes, where people in town would comment on the character who achieved this and sometimes challenge him to a drinking game.
I'm starting my game tomorrow, so they're just things from the top of my head that might be nice to choose from, but if I think of something else by tomorrow, I'll let you know. :)
P.s - I am Cortez, just on my other Alias. :)
A Week free? Shoot, I wouldn't see my player for the first half of chapter 1! ;-)
Haha, well if they want to miss out on the Festival and choose to ignore the screams of civilians being murdered, then sure, I guess that would happen. :p
Seriously though, it just gives them a place to stay while they're in town. If venturing out, they'd have to sleep in the wild, or in cave etc. I mean if it's inconvenient to get back to town, they still need their survival skills. ;)
I submitted my games to Wayfinder and they are published in issue #7 along with a lot of other good articles. Check it out. Nothing surprising in my article for anyone who's already read this thread, but lots of other stuff.
@ CaptainCortez aka Bandavaar the Brave:
Don't know if you still read here, but some questions to your games:
Why has Cornugon Smash an Attack/AC roll and not a simple STR-check?
Would make much more sence, wouldn't it?
(I assume I understood the game correct and it's the all-time favorite carny High-Striker)
Second:
I think the "Don't be so Sour" game might need some clarification or better rules-integration, such as clear definitions of the actual condition (sickened/staggered/whatever) and... stuff.
I might take a closer look into both and post my change-proposals soon.
If you don't mind.
Just realized that "Ogre Stomp" and "Cornugon Smash" are basically the same games.
So there would be no need for both I guess.
But I'll see if I can mesh them both to something even better...
How's about a good, ole' fashioned pie-eating contest? Can't have a festival without pie!
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Here is my altered "Don't be so sour!" contest.
I juiced it up a little:
A Pixie’s Kiss! (1 sp to play)
One of Kaye Tesarani's workers starts by pouring a “very special” fruit brandy labeled “Pixie Punch” into the belly button of one of her half-naked and artfully painted colleagues and then places a slice of lemon halfway into her mouth.
“But beware! A pixie’s kiss can bring the strongest man to his knees!”
The objective of the game is to suck the alcohol from her belly, pick up the slice of lemon (using only your teeth and resulting in a slight but no less erotic kiss!) and drop it into a bowl. The more lemons you drop into the bowl, the more points (and kisses!) you get. 1 lemon = 1 point. Each kiss is usually accompanied by the pixie girls’ and the crowds counting shouts: “One! ... Two! ... Three! ...”
The difficulty however is that Kaye spiked the fruit brandy with a special substance called “Pixie Dust” (a courtesy of Nisk Tander) which is normally used to spike the drinks of unwanted customers (those who become aggressive or too demanding). Only the strong alcohol and the small dosage prevent the contestants from being knocked out cold from the very first sip.
If used to its full intent, the victim must make a Fort save after every sip of the spiked drink. If he fails his save, he is knocked out cold and – once conscious again – must succeed on a second save to prevent the secondary effect (or rightaway if he succeeded on the first save). A dump in the river (or any large amount of cold water) usually ends the unconsciousness immediately.
Since the “Dust” is heavily watered-down, the contestant receives a +4 bonus to his saves and a failed save does not cause immediate unconsciousness. Instead, a failed save results in a cumulative –2 penalty to all further saves and is accompanied by a strong feel of “drunkenness”. The contestant falls unconscious if any one Fort save fails by 10 or more (a modified 5 or less), but only for half the duration.
When knocked out cold, the contestant is usually laughed at by all bystanders and gets a bucket of water over his head, bringing him back from the dreamlands and getting some humorous but cheerful comments. Finally, he must make one last Fort save (using the last final modifier) to prevent the poison’s secondary effect.
PIXIE DUST
Type poison, ingested; Save Fortitude DC 15
Onset 1d4 rounds
Initial Effect unconsciousness for d6 x 20 minutes
Secondary Effect sickened for d6 x 10 minutes
Usually, the kisses are the prices of this game, but if any contestant actually manages to get 20 or more points, he most probably will be given some sort of price and receive the admiration of the crowd.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
These are great and I intend to use these in my upcoming Runelords campaign. I've written up the encounters with a couple of adjustments/flavor. First of all, most of the games include the primary award and the "trinkets" usually consist of wooden butterflies, stuff goblin dolls, and wooden swords. Brief descriptions below in spoiler tags since it eludes to the character personalities as they come up.
Ven Vinder is running The Devil Hunt (I seen someone else on the forum was using him as the operator) and wrote up a roleplay encounter that includes his daughter Shayliss assisting. While the players are interacting, Ven sends his daughter to fetch more pies from her mother...it's obvious by the way she was acting at the game that she wants to be elsewhere and when sent on the errand has no plans to return. Ven is oblivious to this. Set it up this way to foreshadow how the characters play out later.
In addition to Aesrick running this game, I included the family from the Monster in the Closet encounter (their name eludes me atm). The son is playing as Aesrick helps him aim, he ends up winning a trinket and picks the sword...to which the mother complains a little and the father states to leave him be, that men don't play with dolls. Again, trying to establish personalities of people that come up again later.
The campaign doesn't start for about a month, but I'll report back on how they went over when it does. If anyone is interested in seeing the full write ups, let me know and I'll post them later.
These...
Stolen... Good ideas thank you I love these small add ons... I'll use that for my campaign
We had a great time with these. Especially fun- one of my players took the trait where his family has history with Davrin Hosk; didn't find him at the stables on entering town (closed for the festival), but ran into him by accident running the game.
Thanks, all, for the work done here.
Hey thank you guys very much for these, ran my first session of RotRLAE and these were a big hit with the players.
Thanks for these. I will definitely be using some of these, along with some other off-the-cuff competitions and gambling.
I know I have asked this somewhere else (but can't find where), but when this first came out someone had written the speeches performed at the Festival. Does anyone know who that was and where to locate them?
I was going to run it a long time ago, but didn't get around to it, but I remember the speeches (and goblin songs ;)).
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks for this thread!
Inspired by these, my Swallowtail Festival had several games set up. There was a drinking game, an ogre battle (stabbing an "ogre" scarecrow while the operator shakes it), Devil's Walk (a series of platforms that you can jump between over the mud), and Goblin Slaying (throwing axes at melons labeled with goblin names).
The ogre battle didn't come up and the drinking game was just a source of soused bystanders. The players engaged in a few rounds of Goblin Slaying (before the real thing), though.
Nobody played Devil's Walk, but it accidentally ended up being relevant terrain in one of the fights. In retrospect, I would have positioned it to be in the thick of things, probably next to the stage where the second (warchanter) batch of goblins are attacking a speaker (and closer to the PCs than the stairs up to the stage).
Goblin Slaying:
Each player pays a copper piece to Daviren Hosk and gets three throwing axes. There are three "goblin heads" (melons labeled with goblin names). The front one is AC 10 and the other two are DC 12.
Anyone who damages a melon gets to keep the melon. Anyone who breaks (3+ damage) two melons gets a tin "Goblin Slayer" badge shaped like a goblin's head.
The players enjoyed it and it nicely foreshadowed Daviren giving the other players badges from his stock once they proved to be real goblin slayers.
Cheers!
Landon
|
| 9 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'm going to be starting a run for the AE AP next week, and I've been gathering and tinkering with some of the excellent fan material on these boards. One thing I noticed is that between Delthos' initial work and DracoDruid's Pixie's Kiss, that's five really good events. Interestingly, the five can be tied to the sins with remarkably little effort (The Devil Hunt for Pride, Goblin Toss for Wrath, Lighthouse Smash for Envy, Dragon Races for Greed, Pixie's Kiss for Lust)! Once I saw that, I knew I had to help round this out. I don't intend to make any of this count as sin points, but it ties the festival events to the overarching theme of the AP.
Pie Relay! (Gluttony)
“What's better than dessert? Having it before lunch! See if you can be the first to finish!”
This event is sponsored by Sandpoint Savories, with all the apple pies baked by the Avertin family. Unlike many competitive eating contests, it's not just about speed or endurance, but a mixture of the two. The entrance to the bakery serves as both the starting line and the finish. When the signal is given, all participants dash west along Sand Street to the first station, where they must eat their first pie. Once Aneka gives the all-clear, the contestant runs north up Glass Street to the second station, eating their second pie. Arika gives the all-clear here, and it is a squeeze through Rat Alley to the third and final station. Once their mother Alma gives the all-clear on the third pie, they must race back to the start down Main Street. The first one to cross is the winner!
None of the distances are extremely long, and none of the pies are huge, but many contestants are cramping and sick from eating and running by the time they head down Main Street (many have dubbed it “Puke Parkway,” for obvious reasons.) A hopeful must be able to quickly scarf down three apple pies, crust and all, and run back to the start without throwing up. Not an easy feat!
Races involve four contestants. If there are not enough PCs to fill out a relay, assume there are enough 1st level commoners to do so (Fort save +1). Running to the first station does not require any rolling, but Aneka is very strict, not allowing anyone to proceed unless they've completely finished their pie. (She made most of them, after all.) Chowing down on this first pie is a Fortitude save DC 10. Failure means that they cannot finish it in one round, and must try again. Failure by more than 5 means they actually get too sick to continue.
Running to the second station is where things get a bit more difficult. Another Fortitude save at DC 12 will be required. Many people make it past this part, but there are a few people with weak stomachs every year. Arika is presiding over the second station, and eating this pie is a DC 14 Fortitude save, with the same implications as the last stage. Arika has little interest in the bakery, much less this event, so she is not nearly as concerned about finishing as her sister is. A Sense Motive DC 15 will bring this fact to a contestant's attention. A Bluff check DC 15 will be able to convince her that you've eaten enough to move on, and a Sleight of Hand with the same DC will allow you to ditch enough of the pie to move on. Both of these options will allow the contestant to move on without having to make a Fortitude save.
Running down Rat Alley is difficult, as the buildings are close together. Two Fort saves at DC 14 will be needed to make it through, but an Acrobatics check DC 15 will let a contestant dodge through the narrow passageway in one round. More people choke here, leaving the place a stinking mess of partially digested apple pie. Emerging from Rat Alley, the contestants now face their final pie, and this is another Fortitude save, this time at DC 16. Alma is inattentive here – unlike Arika, she wants to be involved in the joy of the festival, but she just can't feel good when she knows she has outlived her son. Again, a Sense Motive check will bring this to their attention. A Stealth or Sleight of Hand DC 15 will allow the contestant to move on without having to make a Fortitude save.
The final leg of the race is a painful run back to the start, with a DC 16 Fortitude save, with the usual penalties for failure. If multiple people succeed at this point, then the person with the highest save has won! Winners receive a blue ribbon – the pie is reward enough for most.
What about Sloth? Well, actually choosing not to take part in the events counts as Sloth. Again, none of these should be considered sin worthy, but I plan on seeing what each character gravitates towards, and subtly influencing them from there based on this initial choice.