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 Queen's Port, a small beach town "Welcome to Queen's Port, a slice of paradise" says a sign outside of the newly built train station. A lot of people were excited when the rail line was opened. Queen's Port is a tourist town and the train meant more tourists, but for some, the train represented freedom. They now had a way to break out from being the 3rd, 4th or 5th successor to a family store. They can finally see the world.  Carver's General Store, way better than the 5Mart attached to the train station  Mariella Carver, Guild Manager, Store Owner, makes a mean croquette Others saw the opportunity to explore and get paid by opening up the first Adventurer's Guild in Queen's Port, the only guild this side of this capital. They talked with Mariella Carver and convinced her to let them be headquartered at her general store after agreeing to pay all of the guild fees. Of course, they'd have to fill out a proper roster form. Mariella has a pen. Recruitment Thread Discord link Hello and welcome to 13th Age. I'm your friendly Game Manager, BClip, here to explain things. First, This is a safe space and I will not tolerate discrimination of any kind okay. What is 13th Age? 13th Age is a D20 RPG sort of like D&D but with some mechanic changes. It's fine, it's not too radically different. I'll help you out. This SRD with help you out too https://www.13thagesrd.com/ Character Requirements: Everyone starts at level 1 28 point buy Any official Class/Any Race is fine (No 3rd Party) House rule note: I mostly skip over the Icon mechanics when I GM. I hate the Icon roll but Icons still exist and they can be your friend. I'll help you modify moves if they call on the Icon Die. Story Notes: The stories I write are pretty goofy but occasionally they take themselves seriously and this will be more of the same. The mood I'm chasing here is upbeat modern fantasy. All of your characters should actively want to be here. I'm not writing around a stick in the mud. I'll probably ask questions but I want to get the a sense of who your character when you apply. Tech wise, I'm staring at the weird mishmash that Pokémon has. This game world is really nebulous right now. You're on the west coast in the largest small town in a string of small towns that was just connected to the capital by train. The capital is a 10 hour train ride east. Beyond that, feel free to just declare where things are in and out of town. We'll probably lean harder on talking through our problems than using knives on them. When is this game? Deciding to run this as a pbp Ask me here or on discord if you have any questions. Apps are due Friday June 19th, 11:59 PM BallisticClipboard fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Jun 4, 2020 |
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Jun 4, 2020 01:53
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 Gavvy Tockett Gavvy, born as Gavverald Yan Tockett, lived in Queen's Port long ago. His father was a fisherman. His mother was a handywoman and crafter. She made goods from leather, cloth, and wood. People would come to her when things broke or needed repair, or when they needed some simple garments or leather goods. Gavvy learned much from his mother, and idolized his father as a strong and capable man. Occasionally he would ride along on his father's boat, learn a bit of the trade as his father tried to garner his interest, but it was never his calling. As a youth Gavvy and his friends would head to the nearby forests to camp and prove how brave they were. This was all good times until the time when their camp was attacked by wild animals. Things did not go well for the group but Gavvy managed to drive off the wild animals. Unfortunately in the process he was lost. Search parties from Queen's Port were sent out, but after a month people had begun to give up hope only for Gavvy to finally make his way out of the forest and back to Queen's Port. The experience seemed to change Gavvy. He was less prone to the childish games of his friends. He began to really focus on learning how to use various weapons. How to fight. How to make use of his strength. He would go with his father on more trips, carefully watching his father and the other sailors deal with the biggest catches. He began to help his mother with more of her work, better learning how to make things. He seemed to become more serious, as well as more protective of his friends and family. He would also head out to the wild wilderness and the forest, sometimes for weeks at a time, to hunt and fight. To train. Being a conscientious hunter he tried to make use of everything he hunted. He began to experiment with making use of his mother's skills on the remains of the animals he hunted. Creating leather armor, weapons, and even various tools and nick-knacks out of the parts. As time went on he spent more and more time out of Queen's Port hunting and spending time in the forest. Once he was fully old enough to live on his own he moved out to the forest, creating his own home out the various resources there. He visited Queen's Port often to see his family, and to sell meat and various items he had crafted from his hunted targets. By now his parents were growing rather old. His mother had largely retired, and kept trying to get his father to do the same. But the sea was in his blood and Gavvy's father could not give it up. And so on one fateful day Gavvy's father joined a crew for a major catch. And never returned. When Gavvy came to visit he found his mother grieving. He asked her what happened. He joined a bunch of fishermen and sailors shortly after in search after search for the missing crew. For a year Gavvy searched for his father. But he never found him. Eventually a single sailor was found far away from Queen's Port and with no memory of what happened. It was time for Gavvy to give up. He did what he could for his mother but she did not last much longer. There wasn't really much to hold Gavvy to Queen's Port anymore. He began to roam further and further away, fighting stronger and stronger animals, and even monsters. He continued to improve himself, and find new ways to make use of the remains of the animals and now monsters he hunted. Periodically he would return to Queen's Port to exchange meat and various items he had crafted for other things, for news of Queen's Port and the world far away. Every time he was startled at the changes he would see in Queen's Port. His most recent trip was the most startling of all. He learned of the railway which had made it to Queen's Port, and heard rumors of someone trying to start and Adventurer's Guild. At first he didn't know what either was, but he asked around and learned. The Adventurer's Guild seemed like it was much of what he had already been doing, but to help other people. It sounded fun. It sounded like an excuse to hunt new monsters. And this railway? It could travel further and faster than he ever could. It could take him to places he would never reach on his own. To new adventures, to new monsters and animals to hunts. So he went about signing up for this new Guild. Ryuujin fucked around with this message at 14:54 on Jun 8, 2020 |
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Jun 5, 2020 08:08
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Steve Grylls - Human Ranger https://drive.google.com/file/d/1759HqoBsgexWykBABNZ7raiiGQTOAxv3/view?usp=sharing Steve loves being outdoors. So much so that one day while out enjoying a hiking trail Mother Nature decided that she needed a physical hand with a few things in the forest and tapped Steve to take care of a few things. While picking up some litter and extinguishing some abandoned campfires was something he did anyway, he wasn't exactly being activated to do janitorial services for the natural world. No, Nature had bigger things in mind. It took a few false starts before Steve got the hang of the new insights that he was getting, and a few more before he truly clued in to what kind of calling he now felt. Some of those took him to some local religious organizations seeking answers, or possibly acceptance into a clergy of some kind. No dice there, at best he found himself misapplying the doctrines and at worst outright disruptive to the church operations. So, Nature sent him a guide. A Sun Parakeet specifically, a bright orange rear end in a top hat with a very loud voice that he used to shout suggestions (orders) into Steve's ear. Now things started to click. Steve quit his job at the zoo, and started picking up odd jobs that moved him further and further away from the centers of civilization. When the railroad opened up to Queen's Port, Bear (so named because it is his favorite thing to shout in order to startle Steve) gently suggested (screeched at top volume) that Steve should pack up his stuff and get a ticket. So arrived Steve and Bear in Queen's Port, at Carver's General Store. El Spamo fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Jun 7, 2020 |
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Jun 5, 2020 19:33
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 Lina Silkensteel (Dark Elf Druid) Pronouns (she/her) "Well howdy there! I'm jus' a sweet, innocent young adult Dark Elf lady lookin' for a fresh start, pun'kin. I reckon I'm from tha far off City a Ashes, Darvahn, built up n' away from pryin' upworldy eyes. ...Why ya starin'? Izzit the spiders, I bet it's the spiders. Look, these here are my 'motional support spiders, they all got leashes and I train 'em myself to behave mostly, don't ya worry!" "Truth be told, I've been looking to expand my trade, and this here l'il touristy town looks to be jus' what I'm lookin' fer! That and I'm also tryna hide from my ex-pardner who done try to kill me a coupla times. See, I'm in the bus'ness a silk and my pardner believed them worms done made the bes' silk out there, well boy howdy she done blew her stack when I came 'round with these l'il beauties with twice as many bolts in half tha time! She didna like me keepin' tha secret to ma self so here we are! How much is rent by tha way?" 
clockwork chaos fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Jun 7, 2020 |
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Jun 6, 2020 01:40
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 Elaine Cliffjumper-Jones, Half-Elf Bard When Elaine was young--back when the only tourists were lost travelers looking for directions to Santa Cora, too many years ago to ask politely for the number--Queen's Port was a sailor's town and a fisherman's town. The port brought in goods from around the world, and sent out fish and trinkets to the markets of the Capital and points beyond. Of course, the boats all needed crew, and even if you weren't working on the sea, your sister or your father or your sweetheart certainly was. Elaine started as a hauler on the Owlbear, a cargo ship running whatever goods they could find a buyer for, and she soon discovered a talent for the work songs and shanties that keep a boat like that running, the magic in her voice and fiddle pulling the crew together and making the workload light. Years passed, and though the work was hard she found joy in it--until forty years ago, when the Owlbear disappeared with all hands and cargo in the middle of a trading run. No one had an explanation, although there were rumors of strange crates loaded in the dead of night, or unnatural storms blowing up out of nowhere to chase the ship down. Even when Elaine was found unconscious a month later in an alley fifty miles from the nearest ocean, with no memory of how she got there, no explanations were ever found. She simply moved on with her life, mourning her friends and raising her family, teaching young sailors the chants and songs to motivate their crews. Now, with her children grown and a new guild in town, she's decided to brush the dust off her fiddle and find some answers.
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Jun 6, 2020 02:11
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[interest post]
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Jun 6, 2020 04:47
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 Mya Engill Human Rogue (Character Sheet) “Hiya! I’m Mya Engill! I’m the youngest of three girls! (Don’t you feel bad for my parents??). I was born and raised here in Queen’s Port… And why I’m here? I’d like to join the Adventurer’s Guild! See, I’ve always been sorta in the shadow of my older sisters. Bri is a star athlete who got a volleyball scholarship to Rathis University nearby, and Delia was the valedictorian last year and managed to get a full ride to Velan University in the capital. I guess they were kinda like… model children. You know, if you had kids, they’re exactly what you’d want ‘em to be. My mom and dad doted on them all the time. “I um… I guess i’m not quite as model as they are. I kiiiiinda had a habit of making trouble at school. I mean, it’s not like I couldn’t do the work, it was just so boring! It’s hard to take that kinda busy work seriously, you know? And well, my parents? This just pissed ‘em off, I guess. “So… since school was so boring, I guess I sorta made it my mission to uh… spice the day up for myself and my classmates. I mean, even if they didn’t all like it, a lot of ‘em appreciated it! I mean, I didn’t do anything dangerous though! Just some gentle pranks! Like the time I got into the word processors and changed their autocomplete settings to cuss the person typing out. Or pitching the opening worksheets for the class out the window so none of my classmates had to do that dumb stuff. Though sometimes I’d get a bit more… daring I guess? See, one time I snuck in the computer lab and stole all the mice and strung them up like chandeliers in the library! Or when I picked open the storage closet in the gym and uh… distributed the kickballs for a dodgeball game in the hallway between classes! Just fun stuff like that! “Well, anyway, what actually brings me here? So I just graduated last week and like… I got accepted to a few schools, but honestly? I just can’t stand the thought of actually going and sitting through more classes. I mean… who wants to just sit and listen to some old man in a loafers talk for an hour about gravity or birds or whatever? I’d rather go out, see the world, do cool things! “And as far as my relevant skills? Well first of all, I spent a lot of this past year sneaking around the school tagging stuff during physics class because honestly, who cares about how to calculate how shock-y electricity is? Didn’t get caught too often either! And when I did I was able to talk my way out of it! Also, I guess I said earlier that I know my way around locks too. Useful knowledge when your parents ground you and take your phone and you wanna go out and meet your friends at night after curfew... “So uh… that’s my pitch! I hope my time making trouble in school turns out to be useful so I can prove my parents wrong and do something actually fun with my life!” Look Around You fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Jun 7, 2020 |
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Jun 6, 2020 07:33
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 (image source) Sandalwood Astridsbur, Forgeborn Monk Sandalwood (or "Sandy"/"Woody"/sometimes "Sprout" but only to their parents) is the latest in an ancient line of forgeborn martial artists. Originally created by remote dwarven communities as watch-beings and defenders, these forgeborn served reliably and bravely, but the development of their home villages rendered them obsolete. When their services were no longer required, the forgeborn would leave to become nomadic adventurers; over time, this established a life cycle where young forgeborn would wander the world, doing good deeds and learning all they could, before finding a stable home and a calling for themselves. In time, each forgeborn would build a child, who would go out to explore anew. On one hand, Sandalwood is a true inheritor of their ancestors' skill and devotion; the fighting arts come to them as easily as breathing, along with a strong sense of duty to the innocent. On the other hand, they're a pretty normal Queen's Port kid, fresh out of high school and with a boredom-fueled hunger to see the world. Their parents (former adventurer and part-time martial-arts instructor Bronzeshield, and her dwarven wife Astrid Sigurdsdottir) run a plant nursery and gardening shop in town, and while Sandalwood doesn't mind helping their moms out around the shop, they're getting itchy to go out there and find their destiny. They're not sure what that is, though... sports? (Sandalwood loves sports, watching and playing, but they've never focused on one long enough to develop pro-level skills.) College? (They're a diligent student, but not brilliant.) Split the difference and be a gym teacher or something? (Maybe.) There's a lot Sandalwood hasn't made up their mind about, but they've got plenty of talent, and it's a big world out there. It's time to go out and adventure! (A note on pronouns: forgeborn aren't built with sex characteristics. Some of them develop gender identities, like Sandalwood's mother, but some of them don't. Sandalwood isn't sure about gender yet; their default pronoun is "they," but they don't mind either "he" or "she.")
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Jun 6, 2020 11:05
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Updated post with character sheet.
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Jun 7, 2020 00:59
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 Source: wherever this person got it from Megwynn Rianil, High Elf Wizard Born and raised in an upper class family in the capital city, Megwynn used to come to Queen's Port every year to pass a few weeks at her parents' summer house. She lost touch with the sleepy seaside town when she enrolled at the Faeberry Institute of Wizardry, where she developed a taste for the "eternal student" lifestyle, fueled by elves' long lifespans and the certainty that, regardless of her studies, a job at her papa's company was all but assured. Megwynn studied for 15 years, obtaining Baccalaureate and Magister degrees with honours in studies which interested her but do not particularly lend themselves to career opportunities: Basics of Ethical Enchanting, Modern Relativistic Hermeticism, Philosophy of High Abjuration, Inter-planar Taxonomy, Theoretical Dungeoneering Studies, Comparative Fae Chronomancy and Experimental Illusionism. Building a highly successful Instagrimoir page during her studies, Megwynn intended to coast on papa's money and her popularity as a fashion and travel influencer for a few years. Before long, her student loans came knocking all at once, and papa shocked Megwynn by telling her she had to start earning money "on her own to build some character". The door to papa's company seemingly closed for now, Megwynn scrambled to find a low effort high reward job to combine with her Instagrimoire aspirations. Perhaps the Queen's Port adventurer guild could be her ticket out of this financial conundrum, and an opportunity for expanding her Instagrimoire page to boot? Deltasquid fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Jun 7, 2020 |
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Jun 7, 2020 15:30
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Carver's General Store, sunset You filled out your registration form and Mariella told you she would be in contact. A few days later you receive a call from her asking to meet at the general store near closing time. You and the other people that signed up are waiting on the front porch/ cafe seating area, enjoying snacks left out by Mariella, when a young-looking Dragonborn steps outside. She smiles and excitedly says, "Hello everyone, thanks for coming out tonight. I'm Aria, the co-Guild Manager." She pauses a bit to look over the small crowd, "I wasn't expecting so many of you but I'm glad you're all here. I've looked your forms but I have few questions for you all."  Aria Carver, Co-guild manager, your soon-to-be boss, married to Mariella Carver She calls people in one-by-one for interviews. Eventually it's your turn. Gavvy Tockett "Well, Mr. Tockett. First off, you sure look like an adventurer and I think your skills are definitely useful. However, I'm surprised that you of all people signed up. This job will keep you in Queen's Port quite a bit. I'm already lining up several day jobs. I figured you were happy living out in the woods. I'm not saying you won't have any free time but I'll need you in the city. So, tell me, why the change of pace? Why are you joining the adventurer's guild?" Steve Grylls "Aw what a cute bird. Do they travel with you everywhere?" She coos at Bear for a few seconds. "Sorry, lets get started. Your story is an interesting one. I'll admit, I'm not super spiritual but taking care of the forest is a noble goal. You really traveled all the way out here because your bird told you to? Fate does work in weird ways. Anyway, let me ask, what are you hoping to accomplish here? The city puts up job requests to clean the beach or hiking paths ever so often but none of these job requests strikes me as a mission from the gods." Lina Silkensteel You've met Aria before tonight. You met her a few days ago, right after spilling your life story to Mariella. Mariella told you that she would love to have you but she's out of applications but before she could tell you come back later, Aria interrupted her and handed you a freshly copied form. "Ms. Silkensteel, nice to see you again. How are you adapting to life in Queen's Port? How are the spiders dealing with the humidity?" She pauses for a minute and looks over her clipboard before sighing and placing it down. "To be honest, I have a lot of questions. I'm mostly worried about job fit. Wouldn't it be easier to open a store in the city selling spider silk knickknacks? Wouldn't putting yourself on a publicly available registry make it super easy for your uh, ex-partner to find you? I'm more interested in your safety." Elaine Cliffjumper-Jones "Ms. Cliffjumper, it's been forever. Sorry about giving up the piano when I was younger." She laughs nervously. Even if you don't remember her, she remembered you. "I mean, it's great to see you again. I guess, why do you want to join the guild? I mean, aren't you retired? And you're already in paradise. Why sign up for backbreaking work? We're a new guild and I'm not exactly seeing any glamorous missions." Mya Engill Aria puts her head in the palm of her hand after you make your pitch, "Mya, please tell you aren't trying to get a job by admitting to petty crime? Employers need to be able to trust you." She sighs, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear most of that because I consider you and your family as friends. This job can be fun but it's still a job and I need you on your best behavior. I want know that I can count on you. This job is dangerous and screwing around puts you and your teammates at risk." She sighs, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to lecture. Your skills could come in handy. I'm going to give you another chance to explain why I should trust you with this responsibility." BallisticClipboard fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Jun 9, 2020 |
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Jun 9, 2020 01:08
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BallisticClipboard posted:Carver's General Store, sunset "I have been out in the woods for a long long time. I have been out of touch with others. I cannot say whether my life in the woods was happy or not. It was simply where I felt at home. Many would consider my life an adventure. But traveling with others, working with others, fighting alongside others. The things you Adventurer's Guild would do. Those are adventure for me. Simply put I have spent too much time alone. I need to be around others before I lose myself completely."
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Jun 9, 2020 01:35
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BallisticClipboard posted:
A grin, and a bit of relieved laughter comes from Lina. "Naw see, if she was gonna come look fer me, tha firs' thang she'd scope out'd be a store with my name slapped on it, she'd never think to look at the a'venturin' guild. Wors' thang tha' happens is when she finds me, atleas' I'll have backup for once." She fidgets nervously, counting her spiders, eager to make a good first impression. "Truth be told, yer the first interviewer who even mentioned my little frien's here, an' I respec' that, I really do. The humidity here ain't really somethin' I'm used t', but it don' bother'em none, really." Swallowing, she leans in, "C-can I show ya somethin', in yer office all private-like? I'd feel a lot better if ya was judgin' me on my, uh whatchacall'em, true merits, but I kinda don' wanna cause a scene here. If ya still wan' me on yer l'il roster aftaward, I'd be happi'r'na bullete'n a ore vein, I shure would!" Lina takes a deep breath and attempts to lead Aria to an unoccupied room, closing the door behind them and heading to a corner. After last time, she makes sure to put the other person closer to the door, careful not to repeat /that/ mistake. "Okay, so I been tryna put effort towards teamwork, and been brushin' up on healin' sose I can be useful, but I'm more'n jus' a purdy face. I'm one o' them there whatchamacallits, a shifter, yeah. Lemme give ya a demonstration. Please uh, try not to scream too loud..." She shifts into her spidertaur form, her lower half becoming an entire arachnid carapace, multiple legs spread out as her elfy legs become the 'spiders' pedipalps. the nonspider half's skin hardens and becomes chitinous, several auxiliary eyes open on her face and her mouth becomes a razor maw. She wipes away some acidic drool and in a voice like rough silk whispers, "pretty cool, huh?" clockwork chaos fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Jun 9, 2020 |
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Jun 9, 2020 03:14
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BallisticClipboard posted:Elaine Cliffjumper-Jones "Kiddo, you're talking about hard work like it's going to scare me off. I've never seen a bit of glory for any of the work I've done my whole life, and I'm not looking for any of that nonsense now. What I am looking for is, well." She shrugs lightly, almost sheepish. "You can only teach the same songs to the same kids for so long before haulin' up the cargo lines starts looking like the better option, and all these drat tourists come down from all over creation got me itchin' to go see the world again before I can't anymore. New guild's just the thing to get my feet wet again, especially with all the kids out there who don't know their swords from their cellphones. No reason why we'd be likely to stumble into anything we can't handle, and if we do, better they have someone who's had to play her way out of a scrape or two before." She gets up to leave, having said her piece, and then stops, chuckling. "And you don't have to be sorry about quitting the piano. Took me about five minutes to realize you were more interested in chasing Miss Mariella around the swingset after school than practicing scales. Worked out for the both of us, looks like!"
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Jun 9, 2020 04:15
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Interview Questions Pt. 2 Still Carver's General Store, evening  Aria, still interviewing you This is a terrible bit Sandalwood Astridsbur "Hey Sandalwood, good to see you. Let's see," she looks over your application, "It's tough to think of questions because I know you. You're a good egg. I guess I'll ask what I've been asking everyone, what are you looking to do here? I know adventuring is in your blood but the whole world is in front of you, especially now that the trains made it out here. It'd be nice to have you around but are you sure you're not going to get bored? Boredom is the number one cause of injury in this occupation." Megwynn Rianil "Ms. Rianil, pleasure to meet you. Your credentials are impressive and don't take this the wrong way but wouldn't you fit in better with some sort of office job? This is a really active and dangerous job. For example, I need members that can handle themselves in a fight. And nothing that you put on your form really says that. How about this, what skills would you bring on a mission? What can the team lean on you to do?"
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Jun 9, 2020 06:03
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BallisticClipboard posted:Interview Questions Pt. 2 The corners of Megwynn's mouth smile, but her eyes don't follow suit. "Oh, no offense taken, but an office job... Is just not my ambition right now, you know?" she says, doing her best to hide the sting in her voice after drafting the same resume in three languages, uploading it thrice to every company's website, filling in dozens of forms which ask for the same information already included on her resume, and receiving a total of one answer so far, which turned out to be the HR team calling the wrong number back. "Perhaps I will circle back to an office career at some point in the future, but right now, I'm looking for a sabbatical of sorts in between studying and a job. I want to discover the world a bit, meet people from all walks of life, and also discover a bit about who I am. I think the on-commission payment model of your adventurer's guild really lends itself to what I am looking for right now. As for the danger... Would you mind following me outside? I can give you a practical demonstration!" Outside, Megwynn retrieves a few clay pigeons from her backpack which she had brought for the occasion. Clay pigeons in one hand and smartphone in the other, Megwynn then walks towards Sandalwood. "Hey, uh, could I ask you to take a boomerang when I hit the clay pigeon? Just press this button right here," she says as she points out the big BOOMERANG button on her Instagrimoire app, "right as I hit the clay pigeons? Thanks!" Megwynn takes a few steps into the street in front of the general store, closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. Then, she throws the clay pigeon like a frisbee and aims her right index finger at the soaring target, left hand cupped under her right, as if she were wielding a handgun. A magic missile propels forth from her index finger, the power of the recoil sending sand and dust flying behind Megwynn, the wind pulling at her frilled white blouse like it's a beach flag during a gale, and the projectile cuts through the air until it hits the pigeon flying above, absolutely vaporizing it, sending shards and shrapnel and... feathers...? Down below. The clay pigeon lands harmlessly in the grass behind Carver's general store. Actual pigeon bones and feathers land on its roof and rain down on the other applicants. A feather drifts down and nestles itself in Megwynn's hair. "So, uhm." She grabs her phone from Sandalwood's hands, deleting the boomerang as fast as possible. "A-as you can see, I can distract a target by throwing plates at it, and hit it while its attention is directed at the plate. I can also fire acid arrows, and I have a whole tome of spells at home, but I, uh, think this will suffice for the demonstration right now." Mulling on her last words a bit, Megwynn decides to finish with "I can also cast invisibility spells, levitation spells, uhhhh, I have a theoretical degree in dungeonering. I mean, degree in theoretical dungeoneering. So, I can, like, hold doors barred with magic and stuff." Deltasquid fucked around with this message at 10:14 on Jun 9, 2020 |
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Jun 9, 2020 09:40
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Steve GryllsBallisticClipboard posted:
Bear squawks out "Of course I do, and of course I told him to, that's my job! And don't get any ideas about jumping the line, it's bird orders first!" "Hush Bear, you're still number one, ok?" Bear ruffles his feathers before settling in to the mop of hair on top of Steve's head to groom, keeping one beady eye firmly fixed on Aria. "The bird's coarse, but puts it *ow!* plainly. Don't pinch. Bear is a companion and conduit for Nature, though direct and explicit orders and missions are not really how it works. More of a companion with a unique perspective that helps us guide our path through the world. A path that has, yes, ended us up here. Those jobs from the city I saw, and I bet those would help me pay the birdseed bill from day to day, but what I want to accomplish is probably waiting for me out past the trailhead marker. Maybe there's an agent out there that's upsetting the local ecosystem, or maybe a conflict with some wildlife that needs some understanding to help coexistence. Nature's 'missions' are as unpredictable as the weather." Steve reaches up to give Bear a little scritch on the back of his head. "Size isn't everything, even little things have a big impact."
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Jun 9, 2020 15:23
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BallisticClipboard posted:
"I uh... I mean at least I was honest about it, right?!" Mya says as her face flushes red. "And I never really stole anything to keep! Just for pranks, I swear! I mean I never took anything off of students or teachers either, I just uh... redistributed school items around the building! "I can also get serious too when I need to... my college entrance scores and my overall grades were good too at least! I can get you my transcript... "Besides, I wanna use my uh... skills... for good now! I wanna show my parents that all that sneaking around and trouble making wasn't for nothing, and this is the perfect opportunity for that. I won't mess this up for anyone, promise!"
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Jun 9, 2020 21:20
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Rhonda Brightblade Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EV54JGLhsMGrhN5eVwRTQYZS8HYB0GFu/view?usp=sharing The main religious institution in Queen's Port is the Monastery of St. Goethe-On-The-Reefs, a thick-walled little village within the village. The monks live simple lives, dedicating themselves to prayer and the study of the healing arts, not to mention the brewing of alcoholic beverages of impressive potency, which they sell to the local shops to support their little institution.  The monastery supports several good works, including afterschools and donation drives for the most vulnerable in the community; but the abbot's favorite pious work is the orphanage. There, those children that misfortune, negligence or cruelty has left without loving parents can find a home and the support they so sorely need. The true parentage of the little rugrats that scurry arund the monastery's courtyard is a subject of debate among elder triflers in the community, but abbot Mortimer does not pay them heed. All children are welcome under St. Goethe's roof. Rhonda was found by the elderly gatekeeper one brisk autumn morning, and brought inside as speedily as his old legs could take him. She was raised amongst the monks and the other orphans, a silent, sullen child who would go into righteous tantrums any time her sense of justice was offended by bullying or abuse. Her origins were the subject of much speculation from many elder triflers; Queen's Port has very few orcs amongst its population. The gossipping only grew when Rhonda started developping paladin powers. By church degree, the abbot had to inform the bishop of this; and the bishop, troubled by the mysterious origin of the child (by and large, paladins come from certain bloodlines largely believed to be blessed by the gods), agreed to recognize the new paladin on the condition that she was judged worthy by the Talking Tome of Ughrin Stonearm the Unflinching. A dwarven paladin of great renown, Ughrin had taken the habit of writing down the injustices and wicked actions that he witnessed during his carreer as an errant paladin. Such was his outrage and thirst for righteous retribution that some of his anger leaked onto the book itself, which developped a sort of sentience as the years went by. Ughrin has now been dead for a century and a half, but his Talking Tome is still around, and remembers every sin that has been written on his pages. The book idolizes Ughrin, and when it was plucked from the bishop's archives and informed that he would soon be tasked with judging a young paladin's worth, it was fully prepared to be disappointed. The reality of the situation was a bit more complex. Even the Tome had to admit that Rhonda's work as a counselor, helping the vulnerable make their way in an often unfriendly world, was worthy of merit. But it wasn't entirely satisfied either. Queen's Port is a small place, and there is much work to be done for a paladin beyond its borders. That is why, once rumors of a newfounded Adventuring Guild started to circulate, the Talking Tome insisted quite strenuously that Rhonda should join them. As for Rhonda herself, the Tome's words have started to take root. While she takes great satisfaction in her work, she sometimes wonders whether she could do more with the gifys she's been given. For now, she considers the Adventuring Guild an opportunity to do good elsewhere, and perhaps start being paid enough to eat out once in a while. (Rhonda does not know this, but the Talking Tome suspects that several of Ughrin's old foes have survived him, in particular his undead and demonic adversaries. He hopes to lead Rhonda to destroying them once and for all.)
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Jun 10, 2020 01:13
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BallisticClipboard posted:Sandalwood Astridsbur Sandalwood listens intently to the questions; they've actually dressed up for the interview, in a button-down shirt and dress pants, which by their standards is fairly seriously dressed up. "I guess what I'm looking to do is just learn! I know I could just get on the train, but if I do that now, I end up in a new place with no idea what I want to do. It's better to walk before you run, right? I dunno if I want to be in Queen's Port forever, but I think it's a good place to start figuring stuff out!" They pause. "And as for getting bored... well, I get what you mean. I know all the work isn't gonna be fun, but... there's something my mom always says. 'Flowers don't bloom all the time.' She's talking about how plants only flower some of the time, and a lot of people don't want plants that aren't flowering, but the plant's still there and just as alive as it ever was. Things don't stop being important just because they're not fun, you know? And I feel like... if I'm going to do this, I have a responsibility to do it right no matter whether I'm having a good time or not. So, I mean, I might get bored? But that doesn't mean I'm not going to work hard. Besides, boredom teaches you stuff, too." Sandalwood falls silent in thought as they follow their interviewer and the other applicant outside, but before they can add to their answer, the other applicant's shoving a phone into their hands and asking them to take a Boomerang for Instragrimoire. Kind of a weird time for it, but... fair enough? They stand stock-still, in a steady stance, and press the button right before the magic missile emerges from the wizard's gun-hand, and continue obediently filming even as a bird above them explodes. When Megwynn grabs the phone back, Sandalwood relinquishes it. For a moment, they look like they're about to say something -- maybe to sympathize? -- but they stay silent, in the end. Really, all Sandalwood can think is that it explains why shooting competitions ban magic ammo, even above and beyond performance enhancement, but this doesn't seem like the time to bring it up -- or that Megwynn might want to buy a tripod.
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Jun 10, 2020 06:52
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Carver's General Store, the morning after interviews Rhonda Brightblade You went to Carver's General Store to sign up for the Adventurer's Guild. Mariella smiles when you enter, "Paladin Brightblade, a pleasure." She knows you hate it when she's so formal. After some small talk, you ask about signing up. She laughs, apparently, interviews were yesterday. "I think Aria has some free time, let me text her. You can fill your form in the mean time." A few minutes later Aria calls you to her office. The office is tidy and everything seems to be in it's place. Aria happily invites you to sit, "Rhonda, how are you doing? It's nice to see you. I was just thinking that it's strange that we hadn't had an applicant from the church. Hm, let me give you a minute to finish up the form and I'll look it over." She lets you alone as she does something on her computer. You pass the finished form to her. After reading it, she says, "All right, this all looks proper. You look a like a good candidate but," there's always a 'but', "I don't know if our sensibilities line up. Adventurer's guilds aren't about 'truth and justice', that's what the town watch does. We're sell swords. We get a job, we do the job, we go home and get paid." She pauses before adding somberly, "I would know." The former adventurer forces on a smile, "We're not here to right wrongs. This isn't a movie, you're not going to stumble onto some evil conspiracy. In fact, it looks like we'll be ping ponging from cleaning up around town to gather supplies to ship east." A sigh. "I- look, yeah, I'd love to have you but I don't want to waste your time. I guess, after everything I just said, what are your thoughts? Why would you still sign up to work here?" BallisticClipboard fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Jun 10, 2020 |
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Jun 10, 2020 21:26
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 image source Tabitha "Tabby" Prismgrip Tabitha's mother, the Curator of Prisms, was a powerful extradimensional being. The ruthless queen of the Kaleidoscope Wastes, an ever-changing realm of flowing color and molten steel. Tabitha's other mother, Jessica Sykes, was an advertising executive. Their pact had been professional at first--a foothold in the mortal world for one, a shrewd career move for the other--but it blossomed into genuine affection, and romance. And, eventually, a child: Tabitha. The formative experience of young Tabitha's life was a disastrous trip into the Wastes. Her parents wanted her to spend some time there as a child, to connect with her heritage. But while they were away, Tabitha wandered into the Scourglow. The light shattered her right horn, and scarred her terribly. When the Curator found her, she was delighted--she considered the fact that Tabitha had survived at all proof of her fitness to rule, one day. Sykes was furious, and insisted on no extraplanar travel for Tabitha, period, until she was 18. (The marriage was strained for some time after. But couples counseling proved surprisingly effective.) Consequently, when Tabitha's sorcerous powers manifested, she decided to use them to keep others from suffering an experience such as the one she had. She now works as a lifeguard on the beach, and part-time fitness and self-defense coach at the adjoining Queens Port Recreation Center. Despite her formidable appearance, she is friendly, outgoing and a source of stability to many beachgoers. In particular, teens unexpectedly manifesting sorcerous powers, or tieflings facing rejection, always have a listening ear in Tabby. However, the rec center's funding has been threatened recently. If they can't raise enough money, the rec center will be torn down in favour of building luxury condos, and only its residents will be allowed to use the beach. Her parents see this as a prime investment opportunity, but Tabby disagrees! And so, Tabby joins the Adventurer's Guild to use her formidable skills to make enough money to save the beach! In this noble quest, she is joined by her familiar, a cat named Pumpernickel. She met him as a kitten while volunteering at the local cat shelter. While she loved each and every cat she met there, she felt something special with Pumpernickel, and adopted him straightaway. This turned out to be prescient: as they lived together, that bond developed into one of sorcerer and familiar. Pumpernickel proved uniquely receptive to the strange energies coursing through Tabby's body. The cat's form now shifts unpredictably, granting him a variety of abilities. The one constant is that he is as fiercely protective of Tabby as she is of everyone else. (And yes: Tabby's cat is, indeed, a tabby cat.)
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Jun 16, 2020 02:41
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Alright, I'm calling submissions early. Thank you everyone for applying. The founding members of the Queen's Port Adventurer's Guild are: Sandalwood Astridsbur (Antivehicular) Mya Engill (Look Around You) Tabitha Prismgrip (Otherkinsey Scale) Megwynn Rianil (Deltasquid) Lina Silkensteel (Clockwork Chaos)
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Jun 17, 2020 21:22
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Game officially starts here Queen's Port, evening source: Ocean city night by Hocsu This is it. The day you've been waiting for. The day Aria said she was going to release who made it to the final roster (new guilds have a max roster size for the first few months of their existence. It's supposed to stop people from exploiting the Adventurer's Guild resources, or so they say). It's been about a week and you're sure your interview went well, or you've convinced yourself it went well anyway. It's fairly into the evening when you get a call from Aria to come to the store. When you arrive, Aria, Mari and some of the other people you recognize from the interview session are hanging out on the patio eating snacks, listening to whatever is on the radio. "Hey~" Aria cheerfully calls out when she sees you approach, "looks like everyone is here." She stands up on the porch and gets everyone's attention, "I have good news for all of you. You're all officially members of the Queen's Port branch of the National Adventurer's Guild. Congratulations!" She pulls out a large party popper and fires it above all of you with a bang. "And guess what? We already have a job! Okay, that's not as fun as finding out you got hired but whatever. Mari, do you have the job listing?" "Yeah, I wrote them down," Mariella groans as she joins Aria on the porch, "You'll be playing the role of courier tomorrow. You'll be picking up band equipment from the train station and bringing it to the boarding school in Melody Hill." She pauses for a second as she looks over her paper, "Music equipment to Melody Hills? Really? Nice musically themed mission, A." Aria whines, "I didn't do it on purpose." "Anyway, Melody Hill is about 100 miles north. The school lent us one of their cars to ship it over. Be careful, it's all unpaved roads from here to there and any damage to the shipment or the car is coming out of our pay. It's an easy job, just go slow and keep an eye out for creatures looking to jump in front of the car. The delivery should be at the station around 9 in the morning. They expect it to be delivered by 5 PM; it really shouldn't take that long though. After, you can catch the bus back to town. Enjoy tonight and if you have any questions, come find me or Aria." The party eventually winds down and you all head home agreeing to meet at the station at 8 AM. To everyone: How did you to pass the time during the week? What's off-duty life like? How do you feel about your new co-workers? What are you doing to prepare yourself for tomorrow? Among yourselves, decide who will be driving the car? Also, Aria admits that the current name of the Guild is a mouthful but it can be restyled with some paper work. Any suggestions?
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Jun 19, 2020 04:34
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The Pages of Lina Silkensteel posted:Octobruary 23st, high moon Lina looks up from her notebook and, through the candle light, glances at the scorch marks left on the ceiling from when Megwynn first met Rachael. She had to calm the poor curious tarantula down for an hour afterward, but Megwynn finally agreed not to set fire to her specifically. Lina has not shown Megs her other side yet, and judging from her first impressions with Rache, she figures a cramped attic room would probably be disasterous. She fingerwalks her hand across the old writing desk to where her friend has been resting, watching her pen, and gently paps the large arachnid on the back. She holds up two fingers, which the spider mimicks with her legs and touches the tips together. Lina grins, amused, and continues to write. The Pages of Lina Silkensteel posted:Megwynn ain't a bad egg, not by a long shot, she's handy with them fancy magicks. Plus, past couple days, she's been teaching me how this side of the ground does things. Don't really know much about Sandalwood, Mya, or Tabitha yet but we got that courier mission tomorrow, so we'll all get to know each other real nice then. Hope one of em has a license because the best I've ever drivens the shroom combine back home, and my license is outta state. Welp, bout time to git now, don't wanna wake up Megs and ruin her beauty sleep. She kisses her hand and rests it on Rachael for a second before blowing out the candle, and creeping downstairs as quietly as she can. Tiptoing to the side window, left unlocked after a very delicate conversation with Aria, she pulls it open, crawls through, and closes it most of the way. Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she looks around quickly for anyone still out and about at this late hour. Satisfied, she lets go and shifts into her monstrous form. New sensations flow into her; smells, sounds, tastes. She didn't have much time, Megwynn was eager to explain her social platform, and was too eager/anxious about tomorrow to fall asleep. Lina needed to eat, and when she explained it to Aria and Mariella (at knife-point) that she had a specialized diet, they settled on an uneasy truce. - Night Only, once a week - No Traces - - Do. Not. Be. Seen. Lina grins and stretches her arachnid legs before taking off at a skitter into the wild, eager to hunt.
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Jun 19, 2020 19:37
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Tabitha Prismgrip Tabby's shifts as a lifeguard weren't as busy this time of year. The swimmers were fewer in number, largely consisting of folks who tolerated or even enjoyed colder waters, taking advantage of the off-season to enjoy having the beach to themselves. Her fitness/self-defense classes were a bit livelier. The Silicassons' youngest had just manifested sorcery, unusual for a dwarf, and she was helping the kid get a handle on it.The rec center was a place for the whole community, after all--especially the ones that didn't quite fit. And that's why it pissed her off so much that it might soon become "exclusive luxury housing with private beachside property." Behind closed doors, she and her coworkers were discussing the future anxiously. But she tried not to let it show at work--that's what derby practice was for. Tara Skew, the most unstoppable member of the Doomguard Derbygirls, was loving Tabby's newfound aggression. Her other teammates were more concerned--especially since two of them were her roommates. Tabby, for her part, would rather have put that energy to use solving her problems. Which brings us to today. Tabby had arrived early for the announcement, perhaps to balance out her tardiness for the interview itself. As she sat waiting for everyone to show up, Aria and Mariella's hospitality and friendly demeanor worked wonders for her mood. By the time the others showed up, Tabby was leaning back in a chair, one boot up on the deck railing, Pumpernickel curled up in her lap. "Sandalwood! Hey! What's up?" Tabby said to the forgeborn when they showed up. "Didn't know you were applying here too, that's great. Here's hoping we'll get to go on some great adventures together, yeah?" She said with a confident grin. When Aria makes her announcement, Tabby pumps her fist. She wasn't in doubt--she knows her qualifications, and the Carvers are plugged in to the community enough that they know her good reputation. But it was still good to have it confirmed. "Alright!" she said. Then she looked at the rest of the group. "I'll get the car all packed tomorrow, but someone else'll have to drive. I never learned." --- quote:Tabby, age 7: "Mommy, when I get older are you gonna teach me how to drive?" --- "Just like walking too much, I guess. Never miss a chance for cardio!"
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Jun 20, 2020 05:25
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Sandalwood Astridsbur It was weird, sometimes, how much your life didn't change. Interviewing for the Guild had felt really important, the first step in Sandalwood's great journey, but the week afterwards had been... extremely normal. Sandalwood was still living at home -- they and their folks agreed that it was best to wait on getting their own place until they were making money, especially since they weren't sure how long they'd still be in town -- and most of the week, they'd been busy with helping out at the garden store, rotating seasonal stock and getting ready for fall. It was a slower season, but Queen's Port was warm enough that business wasn't dead in fall and winter, and they had less of a downturn than most places; it was locals buying gardening stuff, after all, not tourists. In their spare time, Sandalwood had been doing their best to get some training in. Training wasn't always a big part of their life -- most of their martial talent was based on reflex, so katas and sparring were more for fun and exercise than practice -- but maybe that was going to have to change, if they really were going professional. Mom always said it was more about mental fortitude than physical, and in the awkward moments that Sandalwood engaged in self-reflection, they had to admit that mental fortitude wasn't always their strong point. It was something you could learn, at least... but it was always weird to go down to one of Mom's classes at the community center and see so many people trying so hard, trying a lot harder than them, at what was supposed to be their destiny. It gave Sandalwood weird thoughts, and the waiting for news on the Guild made those thoughts harder to ignore. The day of the call, though, Sandalwood's all smiles. They arrive early-ish and lock up their bike in front of the store, only to find that Tabby from the community center's beaten them there. "Oh, hey, Tabby! Yeah, we musta missed each other at the interview... cool to see you, though! This is gonna be great." And it is, hopefully, although there's that guilty little thought that Sandalwood's going to have to bring their A game if Tabby's around. The other new faces are familiar-ish. Sandalwood recognizes Mya from school, vaguely; they can't remember if they had any classes together -- something weirdly hard to place about Mya's face -- but they know they've seen them around. The elves, they're less sure about; truth be told, both of them look a little out of place, but there's no shame in being new in town, right? Sandalwood grins, thinking about going over to ask the one they recognize from the pigeon shoot if she's gotten a camera tripod yet, when Aria starts explaining their mission. "That doesn't sound bad," Sandalwood says. "Sounds pretty nice, actually! But, uh..." They glance back at their bicycle. "Yeah, I can't drive, either. I've got my permit, but..." But it just hadn't seemed important when they were in school and in Queen's Port, where a bike could get them everywhere. Another thing to train on, Sandalwood supposes. "... so, I mean, I know a little? But I don't have a license, so I really shouldn't."
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Jun 20, 2020 11:57
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Mya Engell Mya initially did not tell her parents about applying for the Guild; she wanted to keep it a secret if she got rejected, and didn't want to get guilted and shamed for a week if she got in. When she finally got word that she was accepted, she was estatic! She rushed to prepare an overnight kit consisting of a spare set of clothes; a toothbrush and toothpaste; and a hairbrush (perhaps naively underpreparing...) and mustered up all the courage in the world to tell her parents, pack on her back, before she walked out the door. "Mom, dad!! I have something important to tell you! I got accepted into the Queen's Port Adventuring Guild! I'm gonna use everything I learned from messing around in school that you said I would never be able to!" Her parents frowned in unison, her mom replying, "So this means you're not accepting any of your offers for college?" "Er... um... not right now... maybe after I adventure for a bit, I'll be ready to uh... settle down and go though?" Her dad's frown turns into a smile, "Okay... well, we'll support you in this, just stay safe and don't get in trouble!" Her mom replies as well, "Yes... and if you do, make sure to call us and we'll do everything we can to help! We just want you to be happy. And don't forget that you can always come home if you need to. And always go to school..." she trails off under her breath, wistfully. Mya lunges towards her parents, enveloping them in a great hug, "Thanks! I was hoping you'd be okay with it! I'll stay safe... I gotta go now though... Bye! Love you!" she says as she runs out the door and through the small town towards the store and bursts through the door. "Hi Aria! I'm ready!!"
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Jun 20, 2020 17:18
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Megwynn Megwynn thought the interview had gone well, all things considered. The adventurer's guild wasn't exactly the kind of life she had in mind, but she was convinced that she could finally start earning some cash and padding her CV with necessary experience. The day after, she had looked all around Queen's Port for a photogenic café where she could enjoy a double caramel cheesecake, only to discover that Queen's Port... didn't have any such venues. After a morning of wandering around, she had finally settled on a small café at the beach to eat some ice cream. Not at all a picture worth uploading. "I'm going to have to adjust my expectations to my new life, aren't I?" she sighed, and she ate her vanilla ice cream thinking back at the avant-garde, Instagrimoirable, world-renowned pop culture restaurants and bars that she had left behind at the capital. The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Megwynn hiked now and then, taking in the sights and testing the waters on some nature photos and #wanderlust themed selfies around the hills and shoreline of the seaside town. She had discovered the town's amenities, checked out the stores and local scene, and had been sorely disappointed when she learned that the local branch of the Magicians' Guild only stocked items which she could order online and have delivered within 1-3 business days, rather than quaint or rare local specialties. After two days, Megwynn had seen everything Queen's Port had to offer. And so she waited the rest of the week, mostly keeping to herself, and feeling a bit like a fish out on dry land. Most of the other applicants were locals, and Megwynn had felt a bit out of place in her (admittedly limited) interactions with them. The other elf from out of town, and her roommate by convenience, was... A bit of an oddball. Lina, like, kept spiders as pets and stuff, and gave them names. Who does that? The first time Megwynn had "met" Rachael, Megwynn had instinctively lobbed a tiny flare at the rat-sized spider, before Lina interrupted her second, aimed attempt. And every now and then, Megwynn woke up to the sounds of her new roommate sneaking out and heading into town, although Megwynn couldn't for the life of her figure out what anybody could be doing in Queen's Port at 1 AM. "I wonder what kind of underground scene she has discovered here," Megwynn mumbled to nobody in particular when she heard Lina sneak out on the night before their first assignment. "Haven't seen any clubs or parties." Megwynn couldn't sleep, in part due to her nerves, in part due to poor sleep hygiene and a brightly-lit smartphone, and for a second, she wondered if maybe the other founding members of the Queen's Port adventurer's guild had invited Lina to an event and nobody had told Megwynn. "Wouldn't you fit in better with some sort of office job," she bitterly mimicked the Adventurer guild's owner who had interviewed her last week, feeling homesick and out of place. "I'll show them I'm not just some pampered girl. I can get my hands dirty too, you know!" she boasted, mostly trying to convince herself. And finally, she fell into an uneasy sleep.
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Jun 21, 2020 12:27
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Hunting check! D20+6  22, success!Lina skulks through the woods, listening to the midnight sounds of animal nightlife. Owls questioned her overhead and she paid them no heed, more feathers than meat. No, she needed something more substantial, something bigger... Awooooo She grins, something like that. The wild dog or coyote or whatever howled again, and she listened. Hunger and frustration came through the canine call, and Lina nodded in agreement. It was close by too, perfect, she can be finished with dinner and be back in town just before dawn. She begins building her trap, her large arachnid legs scything through the earth, digging a quick easy hole, six feet deep. The howling had stopped after a time, something had gotten the beast's attention, as planned. Gently tugging on a few strands of silk from her spinneret, she laid down feeler wires in front of the hole and climbed in. Less than a minute later, she could hear it's panting breath as it drew closer, curious of the noise. Hunger had made the coyote reckless in its search and soon the sniffing nose grazed one of her threads. In an instant, she lunges out and grasps the coyote, pulling it into the hole and into an eight limbed bear hug. It was all over for the dog in a second, not even time for a surprised yelp. (the following paragraph of graphic descriptions of the consumption of the creature has been omitted) Satisfied with her meal, Lina crawls out of her spiderhole and begins burying the corpse, kicking the dirt into the hole lazily. Once the hole is filled, she says a few words to put the coyote to rest, and thanking it for it's sacrifice. "Got a long walk back ta town, I reckon I'll be there just as mornin' breaks. I doubt the others will be awake yet so I guess I'll shower, then make coffee an' hang out in the dinin' area." With a plan in mind, she reverts back to regular elf form and makes her way back to town.
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Jun 21, 2020 18:17
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 Queen's Port Stations, 8 AM Megwynn, you've been entrusted with the keys to the academy's car. Despite all of the roads out of the city devolving to dirt roads almost immediately, the car, a dark viridian van, seems to be in good condition. It proudly bears the name of it's owner, the prestigious St. Marylin's Academy of the Arts, on a side window. "Be careful," Aria says to you before you and Lina drive down to the station, "the forest seems agitated today." Sandalwood, Tabitha and Mya, the only signs of life beside each other are the scant remnants of the people who missed the 7:45 train headed east trying to figure out what to do now. Most of them settling on using the free wi-fi from the nearby convenience store, 5Mart. The three of you watch as Megwynn and Lina pull up in a van. You're left with time to talk until the 8:30 Outbound train pulls into the station with your shipment of instruments. Loading up, you have a 2-3 hour drive coming up depending on how fast you can take the roads. As you pull away from the station, it starts to rain and with the rain comes a wave of anxiety as each of you can't help but picture something going wrong on this drive. Everyone come up with a problem that comes up during your trip. They can be as big or as small as you want. Also, what do you guys know about St. Marylin's? BallisticClipboard fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Jun 23, 2020 |
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Jun 22, 2020 06:56
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Lina finishes dressing after her shower and heads to the kitchen with some silk and sewing supplies in hand, eager to make a good first impression to the team. She begins brewing a pot of coffee, Rachael wideeyed clinging to her shoulder, before sitting down and spreading out the silk bolt on the table. Taking a sip, she busies herself fashioning five similar bandanas, each emblazoned with a different team members' initial and the word Adventure! (exclamation point included) Satisfied, she grins at Rachael, with her tiny R bandana tied gently behind her cephalothorax, and begins portioning the coffee into thermoses for the team. She leaves Megwynn's thermos on the table with a note saying "For Megwynn" and signed with a heart with eight legs, before gathering the bundle of thermos and small bag of sugar and heading outside to inspect the car. Outside in the harsh sunlight, Lina pulls up her hood, Rachael welcoming the darkness, as she greets Aria and Mariella heartily by the van. "Mornin'! Ev'rythin' went peachy-keen las' night, I reckon, there's coffee on the pot inside if ya want some and I made some bandies for the team! Rachael, come on out and be my model, there ya go. Easy girl, there you are, ain't she a beaut? Alright, come back in, love you." She shifts the bundle and pops open the cab, setting her gifts down in the backseat, and turns back to the bossladies. They make idle small talk until Megwynn appears and is given the keys. Aria warns them of the forest and Lina winces slightly but nods. "Alright, 'fore we head out, lemme put li'l Rache to bed upstairs n' put up my supplies. Always gotta tidy up after yaself, s'rude not to." Heading inside, she gathers her sewing kit and heads upstairs to stow it and her spider friend in the attic. "Now be good, stay away from Meggy's stuff and I'll bring ya somethin' when I get back, okay?" Back outside, she waves at Meg, already behind the wheel, and climbs into the van. "I made ya some coffee and a team bandana if ya want 'em," she says, pointing to her own wrapped around her arm. As they pull out and head towards the rest of the group, Lina mutters, "Sure hope them instruments arrive on time."
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Jun 22, 2020 14:25
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Tabitha Prismgrip As she was going on her early morning run, Tabby was surprised to see Lina up and about--headed back to the newly-christened guild hall. She thought about yelling hi, but they were just far enough away that would be awkward. So she settled for giving her a friendly wave she wasn't sure Lina caught. Here I thought I was the earliest riser around here. I guess she must really want to watch the sun rise? Since it's new to her and all. I'll have to ask if she wants to jog with me, haven't had a running partner in a while... --- A couple of hours later, Tabby was waiting at the station with Mya and Sandalwood. Pumpernickel was weaving in graceful figure-eights around her ankles, giving her boots a thin coating of multicolored fur. "So--Mya, right? Hey, weren't you the one that upstaged our big senior prank?" She shook her head and chuckled. "Yours was a lot better, though." "Anyway, either of you guys ever been to Melody Hills? My old band went there once for a show," Tabby says, making a slightly embarrassed smile. Fond memories, even if it was of her exaggerated teenage rebellion stage. (She didn't like bubblegum pop that much, but it drove her moms crazy.) "So, on the way there, the one thing we'll definitely run into is the tolls. Crossroads demons run them, which is why the roads suck so much. Bit players, nothing to be too scared of. They're not going to try to take our souls...exactly. See, they like objects that have sentimental value. Nearest thing to souls they can get their hands on, these days." "For instance, our bassist paid the toll for our band by giving up the pick our guitarist gave him. Finding out it meant that much to him is what finally got those to hook up, though, so it wasn't all bad." She grins. She doesn't mention the other thing that happened that night. The band was playing their hearts out, and Tabby was rippling with magical energy in the excitement. Right as her signature drum solo was reaching its apex, right as her drumstick struck her cymbal--every light at St. Marylin's lit up in bright, neon hues and then burst. The crowd went nuts--the academy was at the top of the titular hills, so it made an amazing backdrop. To everyone else, it was a coincidence. But Tabby knows what she felt. Light, energy, bowing and scraping to her. She doesn't think it's likely to happen again, but it's still going to be hanging over her the whole time. Even if no one at St Marylin's knows it was her. (And she's not sure about that "if", either.)
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Jun 23, 2020 06:26
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Megwynn Rianil Megwynn got out of bed somewhere between the third and fourth alarm on her phone, when she noticed it was 7:48 already, and was grateful to her past self for preparing an outfit for today, with spare sponsored content in her backpack. Minutes later, she dashed through the kitchen, only stopping briefly to grab the thermos Lina prepared beforehand ("heh, cute," she said in reaction to the heart-turned-spider doodle) and to curse herself for having prepared pumps rather than walking shoes. No biggie, she'd just have to drive today, not walk, but it made this morning's mad dash all the more complicated. Megwynn thanked Aria for the keys and Lina for the thermos. "Didn't expect you to be up so early, I gotta admit," Megwynn said to Lina. "Did you have a good time last night?" she asked, expecting to hear about a beach party or night club of sorts. With regards to Aria's warning for the forest, Megwynn nodded and said, "Okay, I'll drive carefully! Leave it to me!" Megwynn started the engine, jolting the van back and forth and causing the engine to turn off immediately. After a few seconds, she sheepishly said: "It's... Been a while since I drove stick. Forgot to put the gear in neutral, haha. I know how to drive. Of course." A few false starts later, Megwynn got the hang of starting the van, and she gingerly cruised towards the meeting spot. When she noticed everyone was waiting, and they were well on time, she parked near the others (the parking lot being essentially void of any life besides the five members of the Queen's Port adventurers' guild) and muttered to nobody in particular. "Nothing we can do but wait for the instruments, I suppose. Anyone want some coffee?" Then, to pass the time, she took out her phone and idly commented on the weather: "Hmm, that's weird. Yesterday, my app said it was going to be sunny today, but now I'm getting an area alert further at sea for "Mana Storms" this afternoon. I recall these can flare up unexpectedly. Let's hope we're back in Queen's Port in time and can sit this one out..." Afraid she'd put a damper on the mood, Megwynn quickly added: "But never mind that! Let's make it a good day, today! We need to take a celebratory selfie for our first mission together!" As she positioned the camera angle for a selfie including the whole team, Megwynn mulled ideas for a new name for the adventurer's guild. She knew branding was important, and they'd need a snappy handle on Instagrimoire before she uploaded the first picture. Deltasquid fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Jun 23, 2020 |
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Jun 23, 2020 23:33
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Deltasquid posted:
Lina, leaning into the backseat to grab the monogrammed Adventure! bandanas, freezes when she hears Megwynn's question. Think think think, can we trust her? We've been roomates for a week and she hasn't tried to stab us even once. Maybe we can explain it, maybe they won't freak out like everyone else. Adventurers see stuff like this all the time, right? Lina leans back into her seat with the bandanas, her face wracked with indecision. "Hey Megwynn, can I tell ya little bit 'bout myself, elf t'elf? Yer a magick person, that's plain t'see - but me? I's simple underfarmer's daughter, 'cept I was born with this here birthmark on my chest," she cranes her neck and tugs gently on her robe to show a jagged and scarred black mark below her clavicle. The nearby veins have a dark, sickly tinge and show through her blue skin. "This here's the Mark of the Lost. Dunno it's real name but it's caused me nothin' but trouble since I been born. See, an underfarmer's job is t'tend to the fungus crops and the 'rachnid nurseries, an' most of 'em have bloodlines with skills that help, like broodcallin' or weather weavin'. Silkensteel's usual thang is spiderform shiftin', way easier t'organize the nurseries and t'harvest the silk, y'see. But this here mark won't let me change, not completely, anyway. It in'erferes with m'powers so I can't melt int'a pile a' spiders or shoot webs outta my hands like my elders, nah best I can do is change int'a half-beast monstr'sity. Still keep all my mental faculties, mind, but it comes wit' a price. It... hungers, y'see and if'n I don't... feed... then the mark gets mad an' spreads. I let tha' happen once an' I vowed t'never let tha' happen again. Tha's what I was doin' las' night, an' tha's why the forest is all jumpy today. I'll unnerstan' if'n ya want me t'sit in the back, I haven't slept yet so I could nap back there until we pick up th'instruments. We still gotta job t'do, after all." She sits quietly in tense silence, while Megwynn soaks in her story, until they round the corner and stop to pick the others up. Lina takes a deep breath, gently slaps her cheeks, and puts on a smile as she calls out, "Hey team! We gots coffee! Come'n geddit! And bandies!" She holds up her arm with her L bandana wrapped around it and waves vigorously as she stifles a yawn.
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Jun 24, 2020 00:56
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Mya Engell Mya blushes as Tabitha talks about her prank. "I uh... I mean... I didn't expect stealing the seats off the cafeteria tables and hiding them to be that big of a deal!!" she says bashfully. She politely declines the coffee, having never liked the stuff. After some thought, she says, "Something feels wrong right now. I can just tell. This just seems like it'll be too easy... Has anyone heard about the Red Masks? They're a buncha people acting like they're bandits or something. So dumb... that kinda stuff went out of style years ago, but they're acting like it's A Thing again!"
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Jun 24, 2020 05:37
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 01:29 |
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[We're going to try doing this in Discord for now. Go post there.]
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Jun 24, 2020 08:13
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