Nonagon Olympics
This is intended as a demo game to let new players get familiar with Scarterra's dice system and get a cursory overview of Scarterra's nine deities and religious factions at the same time.
The nation of Talama has an annual tradition of having their religious factions compete in a series of contests for prizes. Five of the Nonagon factions are guarding a flag of their deity and four Nonagon factions are competing to collect flags. The winning team gets a hefty donation from the King of Talama and the runner up gets a smaller donation, but this competitions is more about one-upmanship than it is about money.
Killing an enemy team member results in disqualification, but technically anything short of death is permitted.
This year, the four teams represent Scarterra's goddesses: Mera, Nami, Khemra, and Greymoria. The five flag defenders are representing Scarterra's gods: Maylar, Korus, Zarthus, Hallisan, and Phidas.
Mera is the goddess of water, community, family, hearth fires, and medicine, among other things.
Mera's followers are often nicknamed "the Tenders of the Sacred Hearth" or simply "The Tenders".
Nami is the goddess of weather, freedom, alcohol, parties, and travelers, among other things.
Her followers are nicknamed the "Rovers on the Wind" or simply, the Rovers.
Greymoria is the the goddess of magic, poison, revenge, monsters, and darkness, among other things.
Greymoria's followers often refer to themselves as "the Children of the Dark Mother", colloquially shortened to "the Children."
Khemra is the goddess of tradition, literacy, hierarchy, and the sun, among other things.
Khemra's primary followers are nicknamed "Keepers of the Compact" or simply "the Keepers."
At the Game Master's discretion, if any of the teams were especially annoying or hostile, the enemy teams might seek revenge against them for personal reasons rather than for tactical reasons,
Initial Set-up
Pick your Team
The players can pick any of the four teams, or the Game Master can assign the Players team, or you can draw the player's team out of a hat. For the purpose of this adventure for those who don't want to read all my amazing lore on the Nine, You can use these Pokemon Go allegories for a very quick and dirty summation of what the four teams represent. Team Mystic: Khemra. Team Valor: Mera Team Instinct: Nami Team Rocket: Greymoria Mera and Greymoria are traditional rivals. Khemra and Nami are traditional rivals. The four Teams are playing to win, but they might forgo logical tactics in favor of settling old grudges if they are provoked enough. Whichever teams the players don't pick become NPC teams. So the Game Master doesn't have to improvise everything, the NPC teams will follow a standard set of actions and outcomes. The Game Master only needs to adjust the behavior of the NPC teams when the PCs are changing the script, unless the Game Master really likes improvisation, in which case, go nuts. The player characters do not have to follow their team's playbook if they don't want to. If the players play the Greymoria team and want to play them as polite sportsmen, they can. If they are the Mera team and want them to be ruthless opportunists they can do that too.Team Mera
Sonya the holy warrior
(female half-elf)
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"To be merciful, one must first be strong."
Sonya was left as a basket baby at a Tender sponsored temple. She doesn't know her parents and doesn't even know if she is half-elf or half-satyr. Though with her natural athleticism, many believe she is half-satyr. Being raised by Tenders, it was natural that she would become a Tender herself. Growing up, Sonya had two interests beyond serving Mera: rough and tumble play and listening to stories of legendary heroes.
Sonya strives to become a great heroine herself, and trained hard to become a great warrior. She has a little bit of experience as an adventurer helping people in remote areas, but has mostly experienced fairly boring adventures such as guarding caravans that are never actually attacked. She is hoping to have a chance to prove her mettle in the Nonagon Games. If she does well, maybe ecclesiastical superiors will give her more leeway to go on quests in the future.
Sonya Stats
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Willpower 6
Dexterity 4, Strength 4, Stamina 4, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, Empathy 2, Etiquette 1, Intimidation 3, Investigation 1, Stealth 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 1, History 1, Medicine 1 (+1 first aid), Melee 3 (+1 maces), Performance 1, Survival 3, Theology 1
Merits: Shield Proficiency
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Scarterran half-elves get -1 difficulty on Alertness rolls
Gear Loadout: Medium Armor, Hand-and-a-half mace, shield, arming sword, two daggers,, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, holy symbol
Anatol the Alchemist
(male human)
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"Of course it'll work...you should do it though."
Anatol was a clever child. His parents and neighbors all kept saying so. Despite being born to a lowly peasant family, his parents and extended family had high expectations for Anatol and this put a lot of pressure on him. His parents pushed him to be train as a healer, and they pulled some strings to get Anatol inducted as an acolyte Tender since the Tenders represent the greatest collection of knowledgeable healers in Scarterra. Anatol did quite well when he was learning medicinal techniques from books, but he turned out to be very squeamish around blood, barely avoiding passing out. He was not very useful at stitching up wounds or delivering babies.
Anatol was intelligent and good at absorbing and recalling information, so the Tenders transferred him from a healer's hut to an alchemist's lab. So he still works on cures and medicine, he just doesn't do much field work. As part of his alchemist's training he can make more than medicines. Due to a loophole in this year's Nonagon Games, competitors can bring in weaponized alchemical mixtures to the games as long as they are made by one of the competitors, and the Tenders really want to win this year. So the Tenders voluntold to join this years games.
Anatol Stats
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Willpower 5
Dexterity 3, Strength 3, Stamina 3, Appearance 3, Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 4, Perception 3, Wits 2
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 1, Etiquette 2, Expression 2, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 1, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 3, History 1, Medicine 2, Melee 2, Politics 1, Survival 2, Theology 1
Rare Abilities: Alchemy 2
Merits: Shield Proficiency
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Light Armor, Hand-and-a-half swprd, shield, short sword, daggers,,2 smoke bombs (smash on ground), flint and steel and tinder, 2 orbs alchemist's fire (requires spark), 1 flash bang (with fuse) water and rations, holy symbol
Breyoffa the Jester
(female satyr)
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"We'll have fun either way, but it's more fun to win."
Breyoffa is from the Faun Herd which some humans call "the satyrs you can trust and what other satyrs sometimes disparagingly call "domesticated goats". Breyoffa did not play against her herd stereotype, Breyoff is a multi-talented jester, juggler, and dancer known for her acrobatic skills and generally family-friendly humor and antics rather than the bawdy entertainment other satyrs are commonly known for. Breyoffa doesn't mind, it's fun, and she is paid fairly well.
Breyoffa grew up worshiping Mera primarily above the rest of the Nine, and she has has counted many Tenders among her friends but until recently, she was not directly affiliated with the Tenders. When the Tenders learned that the other three teams all had a very athletic satyr on their teams, the Tenders wanted one too, and Breyoffa seemed like the obvious choice, so they fast-tracked making her into an honorary priestess, so she could play.
Breyoffa Stats
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Willpower 5
Dexterity 4, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 3, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Wits 4
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 1 (+1 kicks), Dodge 3, Empathy 2, Etiquette 1, Expression 2, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 3, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1 (+1 fast talking)
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 1, Melee 2, Performance 3, Survival 2, Theology 1
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Light Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, short sword, two daggers,50 feet of rope, water and rations, lute, holy symbol
Scarterran satyrs get -1 difficulty on Alertness rolls and Athletics rolls. They have a faster base movement rate. They suffer +1 difficulty penalty on Willpower rolls
Gahim the Healer
(male gnome)
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"If you don't show a little bit more caution, I won't heal you next time! I mean it."
(He doesn't mean it)
Gahim grew up in a Mera-loving family of gnome farmers, but Gahim was even more enthuasistic about Mera's values than most of his family. At his parents' encouragement, he applied to join the Tenders of the Sacred Hearth. His village sent many acolyte candidates to become priests and priestesses and Gahim was one of the chosen few.
Gahim eagerly studied medicine, first aid, and herbal remedies. The Tenders commonly make their acolytes study medicine in the hope that this will result in the development of healing based theurgy. Sometimes this works, and it worked indeed for Gahim. Gahim mostly wants to help people and is not a super competitive person by nature, but the Tenders thought it would be handy to having a healer theurgist on their Nonagon Game teams so he was voluntold to jon the Mera Team.
Gahim Stats
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Willpower 5, 33 mana points
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Intelligence 3, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal Ken 1 (+1 calming), Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 2, Etiquette 2, Expression 1, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 1, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 3, History 1, Medicine 3, Melee 1 (+1 parries), Politics 1, Survival 1, Theology 2
Divine Spheres: Healing 3 (six dice, difficulty 5), Purification 3 (six dice, difficulty 5)
Merits: Divine Caster
Flaws: No Still Casting, No Silent Casting
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: light Armor, arming sword, dagger, flint and steel and tinder, healer's kit, water and rations, holy symbol
Scarterran gnomes receive a -1 difficulty break on most non-magical Charisma and Manipulation rolls. They get a movement penalty relative to most other humanoids due to their stubby legs. They get +1 penalty on Strength rolls and Feat of Strength checks.
Mera, named by Zeta Gardner
Team Nami
Vostrud the Lightning dwarf
(male dwarf)
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"Nami brings the rain, I bring the thunder!"
Vostrud was a son of miners in the Chainbraids Clan, a respectable but not especially influential dwarf clan in Stahlheim. He didn't find a miner's life to his liking. He also found Stahlheim society in general stultifying and one foolproof way to run away from your family responsibilities without being completely disowned is to join the Priesthood of Nami. He still visits home every six or seven years and writes home regularly.
Vostrud mostly lives on the road, befitting a religious faction nicknamed the Rovers. Rovers that can fight well are nicknamed "Lightning men" (or women). He finds the fresh air and variety of a life on the road preferable to sweating in a mine. Being of a dwarf of sturdy stock he is somewhat strong and imposing and often got typecast into the role of muscle for Rover caravans, but he is okay with that. He might not like dwarf social norms but he's not lazy.
Vostrud Stats
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Scarterran dwarves get an extra health level (already factored in), Dwarves get -1 difficulty on rolls when working with metal and stone (not likely to come up this adventure), +1 difficulty to enemies trying to trip or grapple dwarves. +1 bonus die when resisting mental magic (in this adventure, this applies to any enemy with Hexing)
Willpower 6
Dexterity 4, Strength 4, Stamina 4, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Intelligence 2, Perception 2, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, Etiquette 1, Intimidation 3, Legerdemain 2, Stealth 3, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 1, History 1, Medicine 1, Melee 3, Performance 1, Survival 2, Theology 1
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Medium Armor, Hand-and-a-half axe, shield, arming sword, two daggers, 50 feet of rope, water and rations , holy symbol
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Merits: Shield Proficiency
Yuri the Storyteller
(male human)
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"Taking the easy path never leads to a good story."
Yuri's parents were Rovers, so he was born into the life. He might be less pious towards Nami than you'd expect for someone born into the faith, but Nami doesn't place many restrictions on her followers, so this isn't really an issue. Yuri was born with a great intellectual curiosity and loves to collect stories and eventually became good at telling stories.
Not all stories are oral, so Yuri is quite literate and he picked up a lot of bits of assorted knowledge and trivia in his hunt for stories. Since he travels a lot and sticks his nose into dangerous places he is no soft armchair scholar and is fairly fit. This means he was a good fit for the Nonagon Games, but for the Rovers, who they send to the Nonagon Games is often dependent on which Rovers happen to be available. But Yuri is happy to be doing that might lead to an interesting where he is a principle player in the tale.
Yuri Stats
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Willpower 5
Dexterity 3, Strength 3, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 4, Perception 2, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 2, Etiquette 2, Expression 3, Intimidation 1, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 2, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 3, History 2, Medicine 1, Melee 2 (+1 parries), Performance 3, Politics 1, Survival 2, Theology 1
Merits: Shield Proficiency
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Saber, shield,, 2 daggers, lute 2 glass vials of what is functionally a stink bomb, flint and steel and tinder, delicious steak for distracting dogs, lock picks, herb mixture that makes fire colorful, water and rations, holy symbol,
Naborea the Clop Dancer
(female satyr)
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"Watch THIS!"
Naborea was born to a nomadic satyr herd that made their living primarily as traveling entertainers. Her herd mates was generally pro-Nami, but they were not ordained as priests. Besides being the best clop dancer in her herd, she also had an impressive wit which impressed a traveling Nami Circuit Priestess who offered to take her on as a protégé.
Since Naborea grew up among nomadic satyrs, joining the Rovers was not a giant cultural shock. Naborea became a very showy and flamboyant circuit priestess, which most Rovers view as an asset more than a liability. She was voluntold to participate in then Nonagon Games because they believed her athleticism would be a strong asset.
Naborea Stats
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Willpower 5
Dexterity 4, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Wits 4
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Dodge 3, Empathy 1, Etiquette 1, Expression 2, Intimidation 1, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 2, Stealth 2, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 2, Melee 2, Performance 3, Survival 3, Theology 1
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: light armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, short sword, two daggers, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, pan flute, holy symbol
Satyrs get -1 difficulty on Alertness rolls and Athletics rolls. They have a faster base movement rate. They suffer +1 difficulty penalty on Willpower rolls
Jurek the Neophyte Weather Witch
(male human)
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"I don't know what that is...let's go closer."
As a boy, Jurek made things difficult for his parents. He wandered off a lot and got into all sorts of trouble. Scarterran farmers try to teach their children to avoid magical creatures, but Jurek had unhealthy fascination with Fair Folk, ghosts, spirits and other fantastic things and he ran off on wild goose chases as he took after various random shiny things. At age eight, this led to him being lost in the woods for quite a while. Jurek is fuzzy on the details, he mostly remembers being cold and hungry but when he came back he had the power to conjure fog.
Jurek's experience being lost in the woods actually mellowed out his mischievousness a bit, but his parents were not thrilled that their most difficult child now had magical powers. It didn't take much effort to discover that little Jurek was manifesting Nami's power and the Rovers were eager to take him into their ranks, and Jurek's parents didn't resist this much as they had other children to look after and it was sort of relief to have one less child to feed and look after. And Jurek's new family has no problem with him seeking out unusual and dangerous things, that's pretty routine for Rovers.
Jurek Stats
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Willpower 5, 30 mana points
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Animal Ken 2 (+1 monsters), Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Empathy 1, Etiquette 1, Expression 1, Investigation 1, Leadership, Legerdemain 1, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 1, Melee 2 (+1 swords), Performance 1, Survival 3, Theology 3
Divine Spheres: Augmentation 1 (six dice, difficulty 6), Divination 1 (six dice, difficulty 5), Hexing 1 (six dice, difficulty 5), Weather 2 (six dice, difficulty 5)
Merits: Divine Spellcaster
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Arming sword, 2 daggers, light armor, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, flint and steel and tinder, holy symbol
Nami, named by Zeta Gardner
Team Greymoria
Yaroslav the Blacksmith
(male human)
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"I strike for the Dark Mother."
Yaroslav was a son and grandson of a village blacksmith. He probably would have just been one more unremarkable blacksmith, but he had a distinctive and unattractive birthmark on his face. He got picked on a child a lot. He was big and strong and capable of physically harming people who bullied him, but he really had no friends and he couldn't take on a whole group, and he got fiercely punished by adults when he physically struck his bullies.
In between learning his trade, he thought of vengeance and prayed to Greymoria for aid, and eventually he became "Self anointed" meaning Greymoria bequeathed on him holy power despite him not have any ecclesiastical training. The Children of the Dark Mother are not normally interested in peasant blacksmiths, but they would never ever turn away a self-anointed theurgist because the anointed clearly have Greymoria's seal of approval. He still feels a little bit of an outsider being a big ugly mostly illiterate peasant in a faction of mostly well-read magic users. Also, Yaroslav is a theurgist, but he is not a particular powerful theurgist and he is a bit insecure about this. He is hoping that making an impressive show in the Nonagon Games will give him more respect from his peers and maybe persuade Greymoria to gift him with more theurgy.
Yaroslav Stats
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Willpower 5, 21 mana points
Dexterity 4, Strength 4, Stamina 4, Appearance 1, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 2, Perception 2, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, Intimidation 3, Stealth 2, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Crafts 3, Hearth Wisdom 1, History 1, Medicine 1, Melee 3, Performance 1, Survival 1, Theology 2
Divine Spheres: Crafts 1 (six dice, difficulty 5), Hexing 1 (5 dice, difficulty 5)
Merits: Divine Caster
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Medium Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, arming sword, two daggers, one handed war hammer, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, holy symbol
Katya the Herbalist
(female human)
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"I will stay and observe a bit more."
On the surface, Katya is more soft spoken and more bubbly than one would expect for a any of the Children of the Dark Mother, let alone a poisoner. Katya is an expert in both medicines and poisons, motivated not by a desire to help people or to hurt people, but out of morbid fascination with the subject up to and including microdosing poisons on herself to test the effects and potential remedies. Her desire to learn more about life saving and life taking plants and toxins is what drove her to seek to join Greymoria's priesthood.
The Children found Katya's lack of vengeful instincts and raw ambition somewhat problematic, but they were impressed by her intellect and breadth of knowledge. They kept her on provisionally as an acolyte, unsure of her long-term potential, but apparently Greymoria weighed in and gifted her with theurgy which is enough of a stamp of approval for the rest of the Children. Katya is not especially interested in playing the Nonagon Game but she was promised increased access to medicines and poisons if the team wins.
Katya Stats
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Willpower 6, 27 mana points
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 3, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 4, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 3, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 1 (+1 darts), Dodge 2, Empathy 1, Etiquette 1, Expression 1, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 1, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 4 (+1 poisons), History 2, Medicine 3, Melee 1, Politics 1, Survival 2, Theology 2
Divine Spheres: Purification 3 (7 dice, difficulty 6)
Merits: Divine-Spellcaster
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Spear, short sword, dagger, 8 darts, 4 doses of Dizzy Poison, 1 dose antiedote Dizzy Poison, smelling salts, glass vial that is functionally a stink bomb,
Serandi the thief
(female satyr)
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"I believe Greymoria wants me to have this."
Serandi grew up as an urban goat, and fell in with "the wrong crowd" at a young age. Becoming a pick pocket, and occasional a con artist and a burglar. Given their risky dangerous lifestyles, many criminals turn to superstition, and Serandi found herself praying to Greymoria more and more for good luck. Eventually, she did mental gymnastics to rationalize that Serandi's enemies and targets were displeasing to Greymoria. This spiteful brand of piety eventually resulted in Serandi manifesting her first bit of theurgy giving her the ability to create minor Hexes.
Once Serandi was a theurgist, she clearly had Greymoria's seal of approval, so the Children were happy to take her in. The Children were quick to recognize that a nimble streetwise thief would be useful for their shadier operations. Serandi was delighted to have won the favor of Greymoria, and to enjoy the higher standard of life that the Children could offer her, so she's happy to help out the Children in return by helping them win the Nonagon Games.
Serandi Stats
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Willpower 5, 18 mana points
Dexterity 4, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Wits 4
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 2 (+1 kicks), Dodge 3, Etiquette 1, Expression 1, Intimidation 1, Investigation 1,Legerdemain 3 (+1 pick pocket), Stealth 2, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 1, Melee 2, Performance 2, Survival 1, Theology 3
Divine Spheres: Hexing 1 (6 dice, difficulty 5)
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Light Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, short sword, two daggers,50 feet of rope, water and rations, pan pipes, holy symbol
Satyrs get -1 difficulty on Alertness rolls and Athletics rolls. They have a faster base movement rate. They suffer +1 difficulty penalty on Willpower rolls
Efim the Theurgist
(male human)
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"The Dark Mother has chosen me to be the instrument of Her will!"
Efim was born to be a theurgist...at least that's what he told himself. His parents were both Children, a theurgist and a wizard, so he grew up worshiping Greymoria and coveting mystical power. Efim would never admit it, but he struggled with arcane magical theory so he focused on studying theological lore in the hopes of awakening theurgy and eventually it worked.
Efim is a fairly accomplished theurgist for being at a young age though has cost him in other ways. He is a little bit of a cloistered cliché, and he has a fairly well-inflated ego. Since he spent almost his whole life in Greymoria temples he doesn't have much seasoning with the so called "real world." His social and practical are practically non-existent, but among the Children, magical prowess trumps all other concerns, at least on paper. This doesn't neccesarily his team mates will accept Efim as their leader.
Efim Stats
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Willpower 6, 33 mana points
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 3, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Expression 1 (+1 taunts), Intimidation 2, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 2, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 3, History 1 (+1 monster lore), Medicine 1, Melee 2, Performance, Politics 1, Survival 1, Theology 3
Spheres: Divination 1 (six dice, difficulty 6), Hexing 3 (6 dice, difficulty 5), Purification 1 (six dice, difficulty 6)
Merits: Divine Caster
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Light Armor,arming sword, two daggers,50 feet of rope, water and rations, lute, holy symbol
Greymoria, Named by Zeta Gardner
Team Khemra
Aheneus Leonid of the Dusk
(male human)
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"May the Lady of Light guide my sword."
Lord Leonid was the third son of a Baron. Since his father already had “an heir and a spare”, he opted to send his “extra son” to Nonagon for a monastic education, so his son could still have a high status vocation and honor the family name. Leonid joined the Keepers as much due to his parents' wishes as it was for his own.
His parents wanted Leonid to be a canny scholar and bureaucrat, so they send him to Khemra’s Keepers, famous for producing great scholars and bureaucrats. Leonid didn’t want to be scholar and dreamed of being a great knight. The Keepers are famous for their scholars, but they also recognize that strong warriors are sometimes needed. Recognizing Leonid’s inclinations, they trained him as a holy warrior for Khemra.
Leonid Stats
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Willpower 5
Dexterity 4, Strength 4, Stamina 4, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Intelligence 3, Perception 2, Wits 2
Simple Abilities: Alertness 1, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 3, Etiquette 2, Expression, Intimidation 3, Investigation 2, Leadership 1, Legerdemain, Stealth 1, Subterfuge
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 2, History 1, Medicine 1, Melee 3 (+1 swords), Performance 1, Politics 1 (+1 Nonagon Politics), Survival 1, Theology 2
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Merits: Shield Proficiency
Gear Loadout: Medium Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, shield, one handed mace, two daggers,, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, holy symbol
Ahenius Arina of the Day
(female human)
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"Knowledge and wisdom needs practical application to truly serve the Lady of Light."
Arina was a daughter of simple farmers but was blessed with great intellect and drive. Khemra is the goddess of literacy and knowledge. Khemra’s Keepers sponsor many schools to make sure peasants at least can read and write simple things and do basic math. The schoolmaster quickly realized that Arina was a cut above the other peasant children from her village and opted to recruit her. Her parents agreed to let the Keepers train her because this meant one less mouth to feed.
Her lowly birth gave her some early challenges among the Keepers, but the Keepers value merit. Arina’s keen mind and discipline quickly earned her the respect as a young scholar. She was no stranger to farm chores and was physically hardier and tougher than a lot of her highborn scholarly peers, so she was a natural shoe-in for the Nonagon games. And with the new rules, alchemists can bring in some tricks they made themselves.
Arina Stats
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Willpower 6
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 5, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Animal Ken 2, Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 1, Etiquette 2, Expression 1, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 1, Stealth 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 3, History 1, Medicine 1, Melee 2 (+1 mace), Performance 1, Politics 1, Survival 2, Theology 2
Rare Abilities: Alchemy 2
Merits: Shield proficiency
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: light armor, shield, one handed mace, one dagger, short sword, 2 smoke bombs (smash on ground), flint and steel and tinder, 2 orbs alchemist's fire (requires spark), 1 flash bang (with fuse) water and rations, holy symbol
Aheneus Lukyan of the Dusk
(male satyr)
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"The Lady of Light works in mysterious ways...sometimes."
Lukyan was born to very poor and often inattentive parents in an unforgiving city. The School of Hard Knocks was brutal and Lukyan often had to resort to begging and petty theft to survive. One day he impulsively defended a passerby from a pair of muggers and that passerby happened to be a priest of Khemra.
In gratitude for saving him, the priest brought him into the priesthood of Khemra as an acolyte and attempted to straighten him up the wayward lad and direct him towards the Lady of Light. And given a chance, Lukyan has opted to turn over a more respectable leaf, but he hasn’t forgotten his old street survival skills, and it was deemed that his skillset would be valuable in the Nonagon Games.
Lukyan Stats
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Willpower 5
Dexterity 4, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 2, Perception 3, Wits 4
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Animal Ken 1, Athletics 3, Brawl 2, Dodge 3, Empathy 1, Etiquette 1, Expression 2, Intimidation 2, Investigation 1, Legerdemain 2, Stealth 2, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 2, Melee 2, Performance 1, Survival 3, Theology 2
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Light Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, short sword, two daggers, pan pipes, 50 feet of rope, water and rations, holy symbol
Scarterran satyrs get -1 difficulty on Alertness rolls and Athletics rolls. They have a faster base movement rate. They suffer +1 difficulty penalty on Willpower rolls
Aheneus Vera of the Day
(female human)
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"With Khemra's blessings, we will prevail."
Vera is technically a highborn lady, but her parents are part of a landless branch of a relatively minor noble family. Her parents were respectable but relatively unimportant bureaucrats. They were avid Khemra worshipers and pushed their daughter to take the entrance exam for an ecclesiastical education at a Khemra temple.
Vera passed the entrance exam, and she didn’t see her parents often after that though they were supportive and proud. Vera took to Khemra worship easily and manifested the combination of piety and will that lets someone become a theurgist. Eager to prove herself to Khemra and the elder Keepers, she volunteered to join the Nonagon games.
Vera Stats
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Willpower 6, 33 mana points
Dexterity 3, Strength 2, Stamina 3, Appearance 2, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Intelligence 3, Perception 3, Wits 3
Simple Abilities: Alertness 2, Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Empathy 1, Etiquette 2, Expression 1, Intimidation 1, Investigation 2, Leadership 1, Subterfuge 1
Trained Abilities: Hearth Wisdom 3, History 1, Medicine 1, Melee 2 (+1 swords), Politics 1 (+1 Nonagon), Theology 3
Divine Spheres: Divination 1 (six dice, difficulty 5), Hexing 1 (six dice, difficulty 6), Purification 3 (six dice, difficulty 5)
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
Gear Loadout: Light Armor, Hand-and-a-half sword, dagger, flint and steel and tinder, water and rations, holy symbols
Khemra, named by Zeta Gardner
Introduction
Representatives from the five Nonagon factions not competing will describe their challenges. Then the teams can plot their strategy. The Game Master should probably give the players ten minutes to make a plan at most. Then the event organizers ring the bell and the contest begins in earnest.Challenge Overviews
The Maylar Flag Overview
Maylar's primary followers are called Testers of Strength or just "Testers". Most Testers aren't fans of kings or queens. Nor are they fans of civilization or civility. Ergo, only one Tester showed up to the Nonagon games. A male human named Vasha. "I tied the Maylar Flag around the collar of a great beast and set the beast loose. You can get the flag by any means you see fit." Among all the clergy present, Vasha is the only mage, an Enchanter and an Illusionist. He will use his Enchantment magic to hold the beast in place until the contest starts and then let it go after the starting bell is rung. Then he is going to use his illusion magic to vanish. He is going to use flying and invisibility spells to get a front row seat of the most interesting action and (at the Game Master's discretion) may or may not shout rude commentary at the contestants.The Korus Flag Overview
There are two middle aged male humans with armor and flails. Plus two adolescent girls, one human and one satyr among the Korus delegation. One of the elders speaks. "We put the Korus Flag at the end of a plant-based obstacle course. If you try to go around the course rather than through it, you will regret that decision."The Zarthus Flag Overview
Zarthus' priests and priestesses are nicknamed Lanterns. The Lanterns make up the largest group by far. There are nine in total. A roughly even mix of men and women, mostly humans with a couple satyrs. The fanciest dressed human Feodor speaks. "The first team defeat two of our members in a honorable challenge gets the Zarthus flag"The Hallisan Flag Overview
The Hallisan dedication is two human males and a female gnome all wearing heavy armor and carrying battle axes and shields. They are standing next to three large lumps under tarps, The gnome speaks. "The first team to pass our test of valor gets the Hallisan Flag."The Phidas Flag Overview
Phidas' priests and priestesses are nicknamed the Masks because they usually wear ceremonial masks when on duty. There are five Masks in the delegation, all human. Tikhon the head priest. Two holy warriors (one man and one woman) two acolytes (one boy and one girl). Tikhon speaks. "The Phidas flag is locked in a strong box. If you solve our puzzle, you will receive a key to open it."Starting the Challenges
If two Teams or two characters are going after the same challenge, you roll competing Dexterity + Athletics to see who gets there first. Any team that delays their initial sprint to assess what the other teams are doing suffers a two-dice penalty on this race roll. If any team is going after a Flag uncontested, they do not need to roll Dexterity + Athletics to get there. If two NPC teams are fighting and the PCs are not nearby, you don't need to roll anything out. The Game Master can flip a coin or make an arbitrary decision on who wins. If the PCs have a natural rival, it might raise the stakes to let their natural rival automatically win whenever the PCs aren't involved. If Game Masters don't want to completely ad-lib what the three NPC teams are doing, you can use the defaults below. Obviously, PC Teams do not have to follow the defaults.Initial Default Actions
The Greymoria Team will go after the Phidas Flag, but will also send a member to sabotage whatever the Mera team is doing. If the PCs make a play for the Phidas Flag, the Greymoria Team will not sabotage the Mera Team and instead try to hex or hinder the PCs while still going after the Phidas Flag. The Mera team will go after the Hallisan Flag. If the PCs make an obvious play after the Hallisan Flag, the Mera Team will try to beat them fair and square. The Khemra team will go after the Zarthus Flag. If the PCs make an obvious play after the Zarthus Flag, they will go after the Maylar Flag instead. The Nami team will wait just long enough to see where the other teams are going and pick an uncontested Flag, preferably not the Maylar Flag. By default this means they will probably go after the Korus Flag.Phase Two default
The Greymoria team is taking on a challenge a man short and the Mera team is taking on a challenge with active interference, eventually they will get the Flags, but they are going to be slower than the other teams. The Khemra Team will get the Zarthus Flag and the Nami team will get the Korus Flag at roughly the same time. They will then both go after the last uncontested Flag (probably the Maylar Flag) and fight the challenge while also trying to undermine each other. If the last Flag is the Maylar Flag, the Nami Team will get it barring PC interference. If the last Flag is any other Flag, the Khemra team will get it barring PC interference. The Greymoria Team will show up later. Regardless of whoever defeats the challenge, the Greymoria will try to snatch the Maylar Flag when the victors are distracted and tired. The Mera team will show up later. They are angry that the Greymoria team was interfering with their Flag acquisition and will make a play to steal the Greymoria' s team's Flag. If for whatever reason, the Greymoria didn't try to sabotage the Mera Team, the Mera Team will get their first Flag relatively quickly and then make a Phase Two play for any open Flags, preferably by fair means.Phase Three default
After the fifth flag is taken (or the event organizers sense a stale mate and want to break it), the teams have a five-minute warning bell in which case they can try to grab an enemies' Flag. If one team somehow gets three Flags, all the other teams will target them. If one team has two Flags and the other teams all have one, the teams might gang up on the winning team or they might fall back on their traditional rivals. If two teams have two flags and one team has one Flag, the two two underdog teams will after separate two-Flag holding teams. The Nami Team and Greymoria team will default to sneaky tactics to try to steal enemy Flags. The Khemra and Mera teams will default to brute force tactics to steal enemy Flags. by Zeta Gardner
The Flag Challenges
A little Flag represents the McGuffin that the Teams are competing for. Each of the stations (except the Maylar station which is a mobile creature) has a large flag on a pole. Once the prize Flag is claimed, the priest attendants will lower the decorative Flag. That way no one will be baited into undergoing a challenge without a Flag at the end though if two Teams are trying to complete the challenge simultaneously, it's first come first serve. In the event of a tie, the priestly organizers can improvise a tie-breaker competition.The Maylar Flag
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Manticores are not normally shy about eating humans, but this beast is well-fed, so it will not attack any of the people nearby unless provoked.
If the players think "What does my character know about manticores?" they can roll Intelligence + History or Intelligence + Animal Ken (whatever is higher) to see if they remember hearing something about manticores.
Botch: The characters have false information that he or she is absolutely convinced is true. Possible fake facts. Manticores have bad peripheral vision, Manticores can't walk backwards, Manticores love music.
One: Manticores are large predators loosely evolved from lions.
Two: Manticores have poisonous stingers on their tail.
Three: Manticore tails cause paralysis, not death. They are clever for animals but not people smart.
Four+: Sneaking up on a lesser manticore is almost impossible, but tricking or hexing it is certainly feasible.
There are some orthodox plans the players (or NPCs) might try to attempt outlined below. If the players come up with a clever unorthodox way to de-collar the beast, the Game Master should try to accommodate their plan.
Any plan will automatically become harder if two Teams are near the Manticore at one time and the Teams are sabotaging the others efforts.
Manticore Base Stats
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Willpower 4
Dexterity 4, Strength 6, Stamina 5, Perception 4, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 4, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Dodge 2, Intimidation 2, Stealth 1, Survival 3
Base Attack: 7 dice (it will usually split it’s dice pool for a five-dice and four-dice attack)
Claw/Bite: 8 dice lethal damage
Tail: 5 dice lethal damage, unless the soak beats (not ties) the damage, Roll Stamina to avoid partial paralysis. Roll Stamina difficulty 7 or suffer one dice penalty (cumulative with multiple hits)
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -2, -3, -5, Incapacitated
The Manticore will normally only spend Willpower power points after being wounded.
Kill the Beast
You would run like this a normal combat encounter, rolling initiative and whatnot. A dead beast is not going to be able to stop a character from de-collaring it, though another team could try to steal the collar from another team's kill.Placate the Beast
The beast doesn't want to have a collar on it, but it's instincts make it defensive towards its neck. If the PCs come up with a plan to calm or placate the beast, they can remove the collar without a fight. One character can roll Charisma + Animal Ken to try to remove the collar. Other characters that provide tangentially helpful actions that make their dice rolls with their successes turning into bonus dice for the character removing the collar. Default difficulty roll for the Charisma + Animal Ken roll is difficulty 7. If the players come up with a very brilliant or well-roleplayed plan, it can be difficulty 6. If the players come up with a somewhat questionable scheme, it can be difficulty 8. Add +1 to the difficulty if the beast is wounded. Add +2 the difficulty if the beast is wounded and PCs did the wounding (or looked liked they did the wounding). Botch: You fail the remove the collar and the beast will be hostile to your team for the rest of the contest. The would-be collar remover gets attacked with no dodge or parry possible for the initial attack. Failure: The beast attacks the would-be collar remover and no doge or parry is possible. The beast then wanders off. The PCs can try to placate the beast again with no penalty. One success: The character fails to remove the collar and gets attacked. But the character can dodge or parry with no penalty. The beast will probably run away rather than continue the attack in subsequent rounds. Two success: The character removes the collar and then gets attacked. The character can dodge or parry with a two-dice penalty. The beast will probably run away rather than continue the attack in subsequent rounds. Three successes: The character removes the collar and then gets attacked, fully parry or save may be rolled. The beast will probably run away rather than continue the attack in subsequent rounds. Four successes: The character removes the collar and the beast does not become hostile or defensive. It wanders off harmlessly after the collar is removed. Five successes+: The characters remove the collar and the beast is positively disposed towards the character for the rest of the game. This doesn't exactly mean you have a loyal minion but the PCs might be able to coax it to do some things that indirectly benefit their team.One team member distracts the beast, the other goes for the collar
The beast doesn't want to keep its collar, but it will instinctively view strangers going for it's neck as an attack unless calmed or placated first. If one or more team members get the beast's attention, another teammate can physically remove the collar. Removing the collar requires an A-action and B-action both succeeding in one round. The character needs three or successes on Wits + Athletics roll (difficulty 6) and three or more successes on a Dexterity + Legerdemain roll (difficulty 6) That's assuming a teammate is able to distract the beast. Otherwise, the collar remover will have to make both rolls while being attacked. If the character wants to defend himself, that means he has to split one of his dice pools so he can dodge or parry while trying to remove the collar. To be a distraction, a character can roll Manipulation + Animal Ken (difficulty 6) to goad the beast into making him the target and then make a dodge or parry roll against the provoked attack.Strike the Collar
You can engage the beast in combat without killing it by removing the collar violently. Any combatant with a bladed weapon can make a strike against the collar itself though the beast is still going to defend its neck. Attacks against the collar are at difficulty 8. If the attacker gets three net successes they can break the collar which will then fall it. If they get one or two successes, the collar is damaged. This means it will fall off on a second hit.Influencing Vasha?
Vasha literally disappeared at the start of the contest, so it's not really possible to flatter, bribe, trick, or intimidate him into helping with the challenge. He will only intervene to magically control his pet monster if it looks like it's going to flee the Nonagon testing grounds entirely, which it's not likely to do because he cast a spell to keep it in the general area. Vasha respect strength and chutzpah and may choose a favorite team to cheer on, but that is unlikely to result in a real advantage. If the PCs does multiple daring and inventive plays, Vasha might be impressed enough to mock their rivals. (See the blurb on psychological tricks). Vasha is not going to shed any tears if the manticore is slain, but if the Maylar Flag without killing the Manticore, he will resume magical control of the beast after the concept and safely release it into the wild. He will thank the Team for not killing it.The Korus Flag
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The Korus testing area is larger than the other testing area taking up roughly twice the space of the others. Two walls of thorny brambles form a makeshift tunnel and from an arial view ressemble a coiled rope or snake. It's not a maze, there is a clear obvious path, it's just winding.
The Stewards
The primary followers of the god Korus are nicknamed the Stewards. There are four of them, two middle aged human men, and their apprentices, two adolescent girls, one satyr one human. Most of the characters would know the leaders by reputation, Green Reverend Alexei and Green Reverend Grigory. A middle-aged married couple. The title Green Reverend is an honorific for a master of Plant theurgy, the pair grew and shaped the obstacle course themselves. Alexei is at the entrance and warns any Team "Use the proper path and navigate the obstacles. If you try to go around and force your way through, the obstacles will be the last of your problems." Grigory is standing inside the brambles at the end and is holding the Flag at the end of the course. He will hand the Flag over if he confirms all four members of a Team have completed the course. Characters do not make a roll to traverse the non-obstacle portions of the course UNLESS there are two Teams in the course at the same time. Then you need roll Dexterity + Athletics to see who is in front. After the second obstacle, switch to rolling Stamina + Athletics as everyone gets tired from running.The First Obstacle
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As the Team approaches the first bend in the briar path, the Team will hear soft bongo drum beats which get louder as they get closer. The two adolescent acolytes each have a bongo drum and taking turns holding a beat. Just beyond them are a bunch of small trees that are magically animated and swinging their branches around violently, but the branches are swinging to the drum beats.
If a character wants to use the rhythm of the drum beats to carefully time the branch swings and essentially dance through, the character needs to roll Wits + Performance or Wits + Athletics, difficulty 6.
If a character wants to rely on his/her agility, they can roll Dexterity + Dodge, difficulty 6 to run through.
If a character wants to muscle through it, They can power through and deflect any branches. Difficulty 6 if using an axe or mace with a shield. Difficulty 7 if using a sword and shield or just an axe or mace. Difficulty 8 if using just a sword.
If a character comes up with another way through, Game Masters should The Golden Rule of Dramatic Dice Systems.
For +1 difficulty, a character can shield or guide another character through who doesn't have to roll to traverse the obstacle at all (and the guide character takes all the hits.
Successes Rolled
Botch: You take four hits
Failure: You take three hits
One: You take two hits
Two: You take one hit
Three+: You take zero hits
Each hit inflicts nine dice of bashing damage (full soak).
If two Teams reach this obstacle at the same time, and the Teams opt to fight. Characters have to split their dice pools to attack and parry against their enemies while also splitting their dice pools to dodge the trees, which is crazy dangerous.
If the characters decide to attack, intimidate or otherwise assault the two girls with the bongo drums, the girls will flee and leave their drums behind. They have magical amulets which let them pass through the bramble walls unharmed as the brambles will part before them and close behind them.
If the drum beat stops for more than a few seconds, the trees will start swinging their branches faster and less predictably, raising the difficulty of traversing the branches by +1.
The characters can roll Wits + Performance or Dexterity + Expression, difficulty 7, to mimic the original drum beat. Two successes will let the drummer return the trees to their previous state. Four+ successes will let the drummer (and only the drummer) gain enough control over the branches to walk through unscathed while drumming.
The Second Obstacle
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The bramble walls become more colorful and flowery, and the flowers are releasing a cloud of spores. Spotting them requires a Wits + Alertness roll. Difficulty 7 if the characters are racing at full speed, Difficulty 5 if they are moving slowly and cautiously.
Once spotted, anyone with Hearth Wisdom can identify these spores with an Intelligence + Hearth Wisdom Roll.
Botch: "The spores are harmless!"
Failure: "I dunno"
One Success: "We probably don't want to breathe these spores."
Two Successes: "We definitely don't want to breathe these spores."
Three Successes: These spores are nonlethal but they slow you down like alcohol but less fun.
Four Successes+: Purification ●● will fix the problem pretty fast if someone does inhale it.
A character can hold his or her breath and spring through. Three successes on a Stamina + Athletics roll, difficulty 6 and the character can get through unscathed. Difficulty 5 for satyrs, difficulty 7 for short-legged characters like gnomes.
Successes Rolled
Botch: Trip and Fall, Take three levels of bashing damage (soakable normally. Suffer a two dice-penalty for the next twenty minutes
Failure (or if the character takes zero precautions): Suffer a two-dice penalty for the next twenty minutes
One: Suffer a one-die penalty for twenty minutes
Two: Suffer a one-die penalty for ten minutes
Three+: Emerge unscathed
If two Teams encounter this obstacle at the same time, it doesn't make a difference as long as both sides are just trying to hold their breath and run through. If two Teams opt to pull swords on each other and fight inside the spore cloud, this is dangerous. People tend to breathe harder while fighting. The combatants have to make Fatigue checks every minute (two combat rounds if fighting while exposed to these spores.
The Third Obstacle
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The Path is blocked with an extra thick wall of brambles but a small "window" in the brambles reveals Grigory. There is a table with six jars of berries.
Grigory says, "To cross the door, you must consume the entire contents of one of the jars."
It just so happens that four of the six jars are full of poison berries. So if the characters take a blind guess, they have a one-in-three chance of being right. A character can roll Intelligence + Hearth Wisdom
Successes Rolled
Botch: You are confidently wrong and are eager to eat poison berries
Failure: You have no idea which jar to select.
One: You can eliminate one of the jars as definitely poisonous.
Two: You can eliminate three of the jars as definitely poisonous.
Three+: You can identify all six jars.
Many of the Nonagon Games Teams have a Purificationist on their team. It's a viable strategy to just wolf down a jar of possibly poisonous berries and then heal the damage. If you are okay with the vomiting and/or muscle cramps.
If you do eat poisoned berries and the Team members split up the berries evenly, everyone gets a two-dice die penalty until Purification ●●● is applied on them. If two people eat the berries, it's a three-dice penalty until Purification ●●● is applied on them. If one person eats an entire jar of poisoned berries, they will probably pass out.
If the characters schmooze Grigory, he might cast Purification on them if they ate poisoned berries and managed to proceed with dignity.
If there is a dispute, Girgory will give the Flag to the first team to eat the contents of one of the jars, he will not give the Flag to the first Team to successfully identify the berries. If one of the Teams tries to steal the Korus Flag from the winning time right in front of them, Grigory will back up rightful holders of the Flag.
Neither Grigory or Alexei will lift a finger if two Teams fight inside the testing area before the Flag is awarded.
"If you try to go around and force your way through, the obstacles will be the last of your problems"
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In order to hack a safe hole through the bramble wall, a Team needs to get eight successes on an cooperative extended roll. Max two Team members can roll at a time. Strength + Melee to hack through with a sword or axe difficulty 7. Difficulty 8 if they are using a knife or dagger. Or they can burn a path through with a Wits + Survival roll difficulty 7, difficulty 5 if they have alchemist's fire.
That's easy enough, but the two Green Reverends will not take kindly to someone cheating their obstacle course. If they suspect a Team is trying to cheat, both Alexei and Grigory are capable of animating and weaponizing a large portion of the bramble wall.
First round they will cast Augmentation 1 on themselves then they will animate sections of the bramble wall.
When animated, the brambles have a base attack pool of eight dice and a base damage of pool of six dice (before extra successes are factored for accurate hits). They might start out inflicting bashing damage the first round as a warning if the Team is only flirting with the idea of cheating, but they can switch to lethal damage quickly if provoked.
The two Green Reverend have a near limitless supply of brambles to use, so the only way to stop the attacks is to defeat the Stewards. Since the course is large, the characters will only have to fight Grigory or Alexei, not both (unless the combat really drags on in which case the other will arrive).
The two Stewards carry military flails and know how to use them fighting with six dice combat pools, seven dice if they get their Augmentation up first, and you have to inflict ten health levels against the brambles just to get to melee range with them. The Stewards won't fight to death and will yield if either takes five or more levels of lethal damage. They are wearing magical light armor with a four dice soak pool.
The Zarthus Flag
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Counting, Feodor, their leader, there are nine Lanterns standing at the ready to accept challenges. If a challenge is given, one of the Lanterns (who is reasonably skilled at the thing being challenged) will step up and take the challenge.
Several priests and priestesses of Zarthus will accept challenges. The first team to win two challenges wins the Flag. There are many challenges set up as options, but the Lanterns value improvisation.
If a PC comes up with an improvised challenge, on the spot, they can persuade the Lanterns to accept said challenge with a simple Charisma + Expression roll, difficulty 6. Only one success is needed though if you roll very well issuing a challenge, you might be able to set more terms for the challenge though the Lanterns have the final say for the challenge. In most cases, default to six dice for the dice pool of the Lantern a character is going against.
Characters can cast spells or take other actions to help their teammates in challenge. The Lanterns will not tell the players this, but they will not stop most forms of interference unless they are really blatant and/or violent.
There are lots of Lanterns here. If two teams arrive at the same time and choose not to interfere with the other teams, both teams can independently challenge Lanterns peacefully.
If it's not obvious to see who completed their second challenge first, put the winners of the second challenge from both teams against each other in an opposed roll.
Dance-Off
Roll Dexterity + Performance, Appearance + Performance, Dexterity + Athletics, or Appearance + Athletics. (player's choice). Lantern has six dice. You need to win two out of three rounds. A tie adds a new round.
Improvisational Poetry or Music
Wits + Performance or Wits + Expression (players choice) against six dice. You need to win two out of three rounds. A tie adds a new round.
Tug of War
All the PCs roll their Strength attribute and add their successes together. A botch counts as (-1 successes). There are an equal number of Lanterns on the other side and they average Strength 3.
A duel of honor
One-on-combat against a Lantern with a six die combat pool and 6 Initiative pool. Combat ends at first hit.
Foot Race
Character rolls Dexterity + Athletics against a Lantern with a six dice pool. If the character is still winded from running to the Zarthus station, he or she may suffer a +1 penalty.
Barrel throw
Character throws two barrels, Strength + Athletics difficulty 7. Taking the better of two rolls. Lantern does the same thing with six dice pool.
Let's Mug 'Em!
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Feodor the Lantern is running this challenge and is carrying the Zarthus Flag openly. In theory, one of the Teams can beat him up and take the flag or just yank the Flag out of his hands and run.
Feodor is a formidable person, but he can't defend himself against three to five adventurers in one go, but there are eight other Lanterns nearby. All of them are wearing light armor and carrying swords. Besides Feodor, one of them is an expert sword fighter with a six dice combat pool. The rest have four-dice or five-dice combat pools. If a Team tries to simply rob Fedor, all the Lanterns will rise to Feodor's defense.
Because the Maylar Flag is tied around the neck of a dangerous monster, the Lanterns built a wooden stockade with wooden spikes and bells as a precaution in case the monster wanders towards them. They left a small gap so Teams can enter their testing area to challenge for the Zarthus Flag, but the same anti-monster fence will also make it hard to rob Feodor. If one of the Teams just tries grabbing the flag and running, the Lanterns can bodily block the exit.
And if the Lanterns attack one of the Teams, the other Teams are free to take advantage of this and help the Lanterns beat up the would-be cheaters.
Buttering up the Judges
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The Lanterns believe challenges are sacred and will yield to anyone who beats them in a fair challenge. That said, Lanterns are human and biases shown.
The Lanterns will be insulted by an attempt at bribery but they are rather susceptible to flattery or flirtation. They also appreciate music, poetry and chutzpah.
If someone challenges a Lanterns and the contestants tie, the Lanterns can choose whether to count it as a win or not. They may say "I respect your valiant effort, but you haven't beaten me" or they might say "You are worthy opponent, I yield".
This is where biased referees might come into play. Characters are free to use flirtation, flattery, bravado or any other social technique to try to win over the Lanterns, the Game Master can pick the attribute + ability based on what the players are describing. The base difficulty to try to sway the Lanterns is difficulty 6 for the Mera and Nami Teams, difficulty 7 for the Greymoria and Khemra Teams.
If players are get one or two successes in an attempt to butter up the Lanterns, their team will win ties.
If the players get three or four successes in an attempt to butter up the Lanterns, they can run their next challenge with a bonus die. If they get five or more successes, they can get two bonus dice.
The Hallisan Flag
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Hallisan's primary followers are nicknamed the Guardians of Valor, or simply the Guardians
The Hallisan has three large lumps under a tarp. Each tarp has an earth elemental under it. If the PCs (or any NPC Team) wants to get the Hallisan, they only have to beat one of them.
If two teams make a play for the Hallisan Flag at the same time, they each get a separate elemental to battle and the Guardians will give the Flag over to the first to best their elemental. Hypothetically, the Guardians could let three teams fight an earth elemental simultaneously, but in reality the third elemental is there just in case the manticore that the Maylar team brought goes rogue.
by me with Midjourney
How to Run an Elemental Fight
The earth elementals will not move unless commanded to and if it looks like an earth elemental is about to kill someone, the controller will restrain or redirect it at the last minute. Earth elementals are very strong and tough, but slow. They are not very hard to hit, especially for a group since it's defense successes can be worn down by multiple attacks. An elementals soak pool is so high that it will probably take many hits to bring it down. The elementals can only attack one character at a time. If everyone just bum rushes the elemental, they will probably win, but might take a hit or two in the process, which might not be much of a problem if the group has a healer. Otherwise there are two ways a team could use coordinated tactics. if the competitors operate in pairs, the pairs in question can pool their parry successes together to make the party collectively harder to hit. Alternatively, a character with Dexterity and Wits of 3 or better can be the Roving Defense for his/her entire party and use his/her A-action to augment the dodge or parry of whoever is being attacked round-by-round (the B-action is used moving around). If the Roving Defense character never attacks the elemental, the elemental will never attack the roving defense character. Earth Elemental Dice Stats
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Base Attack Dice Pool: 5
Base Defense Pool: 4
Base Damage Pool: 7
Soak Pool: 8
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, OK, -1, -1. Destroyed
(If there are three PCs instead of four, reduce the damage and soak pool by one die each).
Buttering up the Judges
Even properly flattered, the Guardians will not lift a finger to help any of the Teams fight their elemental. The only situation in which buttering up the Guardians might be useful is if two teams defeat their elemental and the same time and it's not clear who won or one of the teams is displaying unsportsmanlike behavior and the PCs want to talk the Guardians into helping them stop the cheaters. They respect valor, hard work, and forthright dealings, and will be hard to sway. Attempts to flirt, flatter, or bribe the Guardians is base difficulty 8. The Guardians are pretty stoic, but they are not robots and are still human at the end of the day.Let's Mug 'Em!
Sister Ragani, the priestess heading the Hallisan delegation is carrying the Flag openly, and she is a gnome, a buff gnome wearing heavy armor, but she's still only three feet tall. In theory, a Team could just snatch it out of her hands and run. The gnome is controlling all three earth elementals and if she's jumped she will command the elementals to defend her. The other two Guardians are buff humans who are well-armed with shields and battle axes. All three of them have six dice base combat pools and Strength 3. Even with the strength penalty that Scarterran gnomes receive, she is not a pushover. Fighting one earth elemental is substantially easier than fighting several elementals and three holy warriors though the Guardians are absolutely not expecting anyone to just grab the Flag, so any Team trying to do this will probably at least get the element of surprise, and the characters have a good shot at outrunning the Guardians though outfighting them in a very difficult task.The Phidas Flag
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There are five Masks, Tikhon the priest is their leader. He has two honor guard (one man, one woman) and two teenaged acolytes (one boy, one girl). The honor guard are wearing closed faced helmets with mask designs, the other three have small masks over their eyes but leaving most of their faces exposed.
Tikhon ordered his entourage not to talk to the players unless absolutely necessary. Tikhon will relay instructions and possibly hints.
Puzzle Set Up
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There are 81 stones laid out in a 9 x 9 grid. The X-axis and Y-axis are clearly labeled one to nine. Of the 81 stones, one has the real key underneath it, eight random stones have a fake key.
There is a table with assorted knickknacks and tiny statues. You can add your own, but here’s a representative set.
A dancing satyr
A small dragon
A unicorn
A leaping trout
A maiden/mother/crone trio
A see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, monkey trio
A fake crown
A wizard’s hat
A lump of fool's gold
A carnival mask
A wooden sword
An hour glass
A Scarterran Zodiac wheel
Each item has a number on the bottom.
As Game Master, you can randomize the location of the key or you can default to (4, 7)
While giving the first riddle, Tikhon will hold his arm out in front of him. While giving the second riddle he will hold his arm over his head.
This indicates the X-axis and y-axis, but he will not explain this.
Tikhon will just keep repeating the riddles, he will not deliberately give any hints or say anything else, but characters can try roll Perception + Empathy (difficulty 7) to read his face for hints. A lower difficulty if they butter him up.
The Game Master can use any riddles he or she wants, but default to the classics.
What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? Man, or you know also Woman (X-number is under the maiden/mother/crone statue).
Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking; Clad in mail, never clinking (Y-number is under the trout)
If the Game Master wants to use his own riddle, just make sure the answer to your riddle has a corresponding knickknack on the table.
Buttering up the Judges
The players might be able to trick one of the teenaged acolytes into blurting something out that they shouldn't, but functionally buttering up the judges means buttering up Tikhon. Tikhon is shrewd and paranoid, so this is no easy feat, but it not impossible to use flattery, trickery, bribery, or some other verbal trick to get him to dispense a hint. Tikhon pretends to be unbiased but he wants Team Khemra or Team Greymoria to win. He won't verbalize a hint, but his face might use facial expressions to let the players know if they are on the right or the wrong track. Whatever social trick the players try to use, it's difficulty 7 for the Greymoria or Khemra Team to manipulate him, or difficulty 8 for the Nami or Mera team to do likewise. You need three successes for him to give a hint.Let's Mug 'Em!
The flag is in a small wooden strongbox, the sort that merchants store their valuables on long wagon rides. The normal process is to solve the puzzle to get the key to unlock the chest. It is not possible to mug the Masks and steal the key from them because the Masks are not actia;;u carrying the key. They hid the key and the puzzle reveals the hiding place. The chest is in clear sight, so the players skip the puzzle and break open the chest. The box is heavier than it looks, at least one person in each team saw the set up and this obvious from watching the Masks move the box in a hand cart rather than carrying it. It's not a magic trick, the box is full of rocks and the Flag is on top of the rocks. A character with Strength 4 can push or shove the box slowly. A character with Strength 5 can pick up the box and carry the chest short distances. Carrying the chest off is not very feasible unless the players defeat all the Masks in combat first. Any character with Divination ● can examine the box and notice that it has Transmutation magic on it. It's making the wood stronger. Smashing the box open barehanded or with a sword or rock is a level 8 Feat of Strength check. Using an axe or mace to smash it open is a level 6 Feat of Strength. If a character with Purification ●●● gets three successes on a Purification roll, they can remove the Transmutation spell. At this point this lowers the Feat of Strength levels to 7 and 5 respectively. The Transmutation spell has no effect on the lock. It seven successes on an extended Dexterity + Legerdemain roll (difficulty 7) to pick the lock. Each attempt takes 30 seconds and requires the full concentration of the would-be lock picker. There are two armed guards wearing medium armor and carrying battle axes and shields. They have five-dice combat pools. They are not going to stand by twiddling their thumbs while a Team is trying to pick the lock or smash open the chest. That means they have defeated or distracted. Perhaps one player goes for the chest and the others run interference. There is the option to wait for another Team to solve the Phidas puzzle and then snatch the key or the Flag from them. If one Team solves the Phidas Puzzle and has not gotten the Flag out of the Phidas Area yet and another Team is directly interfering with the Team that solved the Puzzle, the armed guards will back the Puzzle solving Team up as long as the Teams are in the Phidas area of the game grounds. Tikhon is carrying an arming sword, but he's not a brave man. He won't fight the players unless forced, but he is clever and paranoid. If he suspects one of the Teams is going to try something fishy, he will use his theurgy to buff the honor guard. If there is trouble, the two unarmed acolytes will run and/or hide. The Teams all know that the key is hidden somewhere in the Phidas Area. If any of the Teams starts tearing up the area at random looking for the key without trying to solve the clues first, the guards will response hostilely just like they would for a direct attack on the chest.Pacing
Ideally this adventure will take about four hours, the normal time frame for a convention or game store TTRPG demo. There are five Godly Challenges., but the PCs do not have to undertake all five challenges. With the way the game is setup, It is functionally impossible for one team to go after all five challenges. While the PCs are going after one challenge, the NPC teams will be working on other challenges and at least one or two of them will get a flag before the PCs can stop them. The PCs will probably be able to hit two Godly Challenges. If they are very efficient and/or lucky they might be able to hit three Godly Challenges. After this, there is a brief free-for-all as the Teams enter a free-for-all and try to steal the other team's Flags. After all five flags are picked up by one or another, the event organizers will throw up a fifteen minute warning bell. The winning team is whoever has the most flags after the fifteen minutes. signalled by a closing bell. If things don't go super smoothly and the GM and players are nearing the four hour time window before all five flags are collected, the Game Master can declare that the Nonagon event organizers will hit the warning bell early. At which point, the PCs can enter the free-for-all or try to make a mad dash to catch the last free flag.
Reccommended Schedule Guidelines
Introductions: Hand out characters explain premise 30 minutes Challenge Phase, The characters go for the challenges, GM covers what the other teams are doing in broad strokes 110 minutes End of Tournament Free-For-All, 90 minutes Midgame recess/pee break, 10 minutesAltering the Adventure to make it longer or shorter
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If you want to squeeze this adventure into a smaller time slot, you can have three teams compete for four Flags or have two teams compete for three Flags.
If you want to make this a two or three session adventure instead of a one-shot, you can have two Maylar Flags, two Korus Flags, two Hallisan Flags, and two Phidas Flags. A team would not be allowed two copies of the same Flag
In this variant, there would be two loose monsters with a Maylar Flag and for the other Flags, the first and second Teams to complete the challenge would get a Flag.
This will let the PCs take on more challenges and it will delay the final free-for-all. Also it will make inter team dynamics more complicated,
If you want to make it really complicated, you have two different groups of players compete in the same tournament. You'd probably need two Game Masters so the two PCs can go after separate challenges and separate NPC teams for portions of the adventure.
Psychological Tricks
by Monty Python Movie Still
Mera, named by Zeta Gardner
Nami, named by Zeta Gardner
Greymoria, Named by Zeta Gardner
Khemra, named by Zeta Gardner
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