Revenant
08-10-12, 12:04 PM
During the highlight of his career Kenneth Stern had been an adventurer’s adventurer. In fact, had anyone remembered him at all they might have called him THE adventurer of Althanas. He had slipped past the ancient traps and death wards which guarded the lost and forgotten tombs beneath Scara Brae and Fallien. He had ridden the ancient mother of the Berevar Bears, Bregurllur, for forty days and nights until she had been forced to accept that he was the one creature under the sky she could not throw off. He had even guided his way through the mystical Maze of Melthellnon, so confounding and elusive that even the memory of it had gotten lost inside and was therefore doomed to wander for eternity within its ever shifting walls.
But all that was past him now, and that suited Kenneth Stern just fine. He’d seen it all and done it all, and had decided that what he wanted was nothing more than a well earned vacation. Well, he thought to himself, that wasn’t exactly true. He also wanted to see others follow in his footsteps so that they could see the same wondrous sights and do the same amazing things that he had done. He had always been a generous sort like that.
Knowing exactly what to do, and what he needed to do it, Kenneth disappeared for several minutes, reappearing in the exact same spot with a flowery poof and several of the magical items which made up only a tiny fraction of his mindblastingly huge horde. Satisfied that he was ready, Kenneth took a sip from the elixir which he had made with his citrine philosopher’s stone (which bestowed the exact same immortality benefits as his azure philosopher’s stone, three ruby philosopher’s stones, diamond philosopher’s stone, and one very strange stuffed gopher, only without the downside of tasting like duck urine) and pulled out a long quill made from the feather of a velociraptor. Combined with the piece of parchment that he pulled out (surprisingly, just normal parchment), the quill’s message would be carried to every posting board in every bar, tavern, hostel, mercenary recruitment center, and yoga class in Althanas.
It read:
Let it be known,
I hereby declare open enrollment for the Althanas Adventurer’s Crown tournament. The rules for this contest will be as follows:
1. Enrollment in the Adventurer’s Crown will be open until we have at least 12 participants. After 12 participants have signed up, registration will be open for roughly another week.
2. Once there are enough participants, everyone will be randomly assigned into even groups (or groups as even as we can make them given how many participants there are).
3. Participants will then be whisked to an island of my making and deposited there in their groups where they will be presented with a task and a series of challenges.
4. Groups will then have two weeks to write a thread somehow accomplishing this task and incorporating all of the challenges.
5. At the end of two weeks, I will judge all of the threads and resurrect any fallen participants.
6. Everyone participating in Round 1 will receive a magic item (see below).
7. Top groups (number may vary based on how many participants there are) will advance to Round 2.
8. Participants will once again be randomly assigned into groups of two. (All efforts will be made to pair people up who weren’t in the same group Round 1.)
9. New groups will once again be relocated, given a task, and a series of challenges.
10. As before, groups will have two weeks to write a thread somehow accomplishing this task and incorporating all of the challenges.
11. At the end of two weeks, I will judge all of the threads and resurrect any fallen participants.
12. Everyone participating in Round 2 will receive a magic item (see below).
13. Top four participants will advance to Round 3.
14. Each participant will be relocated, given a task, and a series of challenges.
15. Each participant will have two weeks to write a thread somehow accomplishing the task and incorporating all of the challenges.
16. At the end of the two weeks I will judge the threads and resurrect and fallen participants.
17. Each participant will then receive a unique item based on their ranking first-fourth.
18. All participants in the event will then be sent home, richer and no worse for the wear.
Earned Items
Round 1: Treasure Map – This rare map shows the location of a hidden cache of cash that Kenneth has hidden for you. Once, at the end of any thread, you can use this map to gain 100% bonus GP from the thread. Alternately, if you actually write a thread about hunting for the map’s treasure, you will receive 500% GP for the thread.
Round 2: Stone of Experience – These gems contain snippets of some of Kenneth’s greatest adventurers and impart that experience onto the bearer slowly over time. For the next five threads that the user completes, they gain a 50% bonus to XP.
Fourth Place: Teleportation Stone – Once per thread (or day if the thread lasts longer) the owner of this stone can teleport themselves and anyone they are touching to any location on Althanas that they are familiar with. The owner can choose whether or not anyone touching them is teleported.
Third Place: Portable Hole – The dark, shadowy weave of this ten foot circular piece of fabric seems to catch the light around it and draw in into nothingness. When placed against a solid surface, this fabric makes a hole up to ten feet deep in whatever surface that it is placed upon. This hole is an extra-planar pocket and cannot harm the surface it’s placed upon in any way. Persons using the hole can pass through to the other side of the hole assuming the surface that it is placed upon is less than ten feet thick, and can pull the hole through the opposite side if so desired. Objects within the hole created by the fabric are dumped, unharmed, onto the ground just outside the hole if they are still inside when the fabric is removed.
Second Place: Morphic Steel Orb – This melon sized ball of hardened steel is solid and firm when touched by anyone but the owner. When the owner wishes it, the orb can reshape itself into anything that the owner can think of up to the size of a small horse. All items retain the hardness of steel and cannot be enchanted, though any damage done to the object repairs itself as soon as the owner wills it.
Adventurer’s Crown: Destiny’s Book – The faded leather binding of this tome look worn and well-used, yet somehow still timeless. Within the pages of this massive tome is knowledge of everything that ever way, and everything that even may be. Because of the fluid nature of time, the words on the pages, and even the pages themselves, are as shifting as events themselves. But even though nothing is set in stone, this book senses the reader’s desires and shows them what they want to know with the greatest possible accuracy. Still, even with the book’s help this tome’s massive size and fluid nature make it a necessity to study if the user wants to find what they are looking for. The owner of this tome can, if they so desire, know just about anything, although Destiny’s Book cannot be used at all in combat situations thanks to the difficulty one has reading it.
*Note, Treasure Maps and Stones of Experience are bound to their characters and cannot be sold, traded, or otherwise given away. The top four items can be sold, traded, or given away as normal.
Kenneth sat back and watched the last of the ink dry on the parchment with a smile, thinking, Let the adventure begin.
But all that was past him now, and that suited Kenneth Stern just fine. He’d seen it all and done it all, and had decided that what he wanted was nothing more than a well earned vacation. Well, he thought to himself, that wasn’t exactly true. He also wanted to see others follow in his footsteps so that they could see the same wondrous sights and do the same amazing things that he had done. He had always been a generous sort like that.
Knowing exactly what to do, and what he needed to do it, Kenneth disappeared for several minutes, reappearing in the exact same spot with a flowery poof and several of the magical items which made up only a tiny fraction of his mindblastingly huge horde. Satisfied that he was ready, Kenneth took a sip from the elixir which he had made with his citrine philosopher’s stone (which bestowed the exact same immortality benefits as his azure philosopher’s stone, three ruby philosopher’s stones, diamond philosopher’s stone, and one very strange stuffed gopher, only without the downside of tasting like duck urine) and pulled out a long quill made from the feather of a velociraptor. Combined with the piece of parchment that he pulled out (surprisingly, just normal parchment), the quill’s message would be carried to every posting board in every bar, tavern, hostel, mercenary recruitment center, and yoga class in Althanas.
It read:
Let it be known,
I hereby declare open enrollment for the Althanas Adventurer’s Crown tournament. The rules for this contest will be as follows:
1. Enrollment in the Adventurer’s Crown will be open until we have at least 12 participants. After 12 participants have signed up, registration will be open for roughly another week.
2. Once there are enough participants, everyone will be randomly assigned into even groups (or groups as even as we can make them given how many participants there are).
3. Participants will then be whisked to an island of my making and deposited there in their groups where they will be presented with a task and a series of challenges.
4. Groups will then have two weeks to write a thread somehow accomplishing this task and incorporating all of the challenges.
5. At the end of two weeks, I will judge all of the threads and resurrect any fallen participants.
6. Everyone participating in Round 1 will receive a magic item (see below).
7. Top groups (number may vary based on how many participants there are) will advance to Round 2.
8. Participants will once again be randomly assigned into groups of two. (All efforts will be made to pair people up who weren’t in the same group Round 1.)
9. New groups will once again be relocated, given a task, and a series of challenges.
10. As before, groups will have two weeks to write a thread somehow accomplishing this task and incorporating all of the challenges.
11. At the end of two weeks, I will judge all of the threads and resurrect any fallen participants.
12. Everyone participating in Round 2 will receive a magic item (see below).
13. Top four participants will advance to Round 3.
14. Each participant will be relocated, given a task, and a series of challenges.
15. Each participant will have two weeks to write a thread somehow accomplishing the task and incorporating all of the challenges.
16. At the end of the two weeks I will judge the threads and resurrect and fallen participants.
17. Each participant will then receive a unique item based on their ranking first-fourth.
18. All participants in the event will then be sent home, richer and no worse for the wear.
Earned Items
Round 1: Treasure Map – This rare map shows the location of a hidden cache of cash that Kenneth has hidden for you. Once, at the end of any thread, you can use this map to gain 100% bonus GP from the thread. Alternately, if you actually write a thread about hunting for the map’s treasure, you will receive 500% GP for the thread.
Round 2: Stone of Experience – These gems contain snippets of some of Kenneth’s greatest adventurers and impart that experience onto the bearer slowly over time. For the next five threads that the user completes, they gain a 50% bonus to XP.
Fourth Place: Teleportation Stone – Once per thread (or day if the thread lasts longer) the owner of this stone can teleport themselves and anyone they are touching to any location on Althanas that they are familiar with. The owner can choose whether or not anyone touching them is teleported.
Third Place: Portable Hole – The dark, shadowy weave of this ten foot circular piece of fabric seems to catch the light around it and draw in into nothingness. When placed against a solid surface, this fabric makes a hole up to ten feet deep in whatever surface that it is placed upon. This hole is an extra-planar pocket and cannot harm the surface it’s placed upon in any way. Persons using the hole can pass through to the other side of the hole assuming the surface that it is placed upon is less than ten feet thick, and can pull the hole through the opposite side if so desired. Objects within the hole created by the fabric are dumped, unharmed, onto the ground just outside the hole if they are still inside when the fabric is removed.
Second Place: Morphic Steel Orb – This melon sized ball of hardened steel is solid and firm when touched by anyone but the owner. When the owner wishes it, the orb can reshape itself into anything that the owner can think of up to the size of a small horse. All items retain the hardness of steel and cannot be enchanted, though any damage done to the object repairs itself as soon as the owner wills it.
Adventurer’s Crown: Destiny’s Book – The faded leather binding of this tome look worn and well-used, yet somehow still timeless. Within the pages of this massive tome is knowledge of everything that ever way, and everything that even may be. Because of the fluid nature of time, the words on the pages, and even the pages themselves, are as shifting as events themselves. But even though nothing is set in stone, this book senses the reader’s desires and shows them what they want to know with the greatest possible accuracy. Still, even with the book’s help this tome’s massive size and fluid nature make it a necessity to study if the user wants to find what they are looking for. The owner of this tome can, if they so desire, know just about anything, although Destiny’s Book cannot be used at all in combat situations thanks to the difficulty one has reading it.
*Note, Treasure Maps and Stones of Experience are bound to their characters and cannot be sold, traded, or otherwise given away. The top four items can be sold, traded, or given away as normal.
Kenneth sat back and watched the last of the ink dry on the parchment with a smile, thinking, Let the adventure begin.