The March of Pearls

You! have been chosen, as a holy crusader of the City of Arch, the shining beacon of Wysteria. For your good deeds, skill with a weapon, magnificent mind or prestige and influence to help prepare for the infinite crusade upon the demons of the Forsaken Mire. In one months time, arrive at the City of Arch. Accommodations will be provided for those who arrive with interest in participating in such a holy crusade. Wealth! Glory! Honor! Is all yours, keep what you steal from those wretched devils and spread the light and justice of Argon! We'll be waiting to see your smiling faces and shining swords!

Concept:

• PCs start at level 3 as their village champions or highly regarded people.

• By the end they should be about level 4 or 5 maybe.

• Gritty, High Fantasy setting

• Fetch quest, Find and obtain the pieces of the Holy Halbur, worshipper of Argon, Hero of Justice.

• Local Kingdom is recruiting cheap but effective fighters from around Wysteria to go on a special operations mission to find the body of this person.

• The City of Arch is reviving holy warriors to march on the Forsaken Mire.

• Random NPCs Statblocks / Backgrounds

Niche Campaign Mechanics:

General Skill Progression

• If PCs want to use a certain skill that is based on their profession in some way, they can roll with advantage, and the lowest roll out of the two adds to their skill progression to that skill.

• Also when a PC makes a skill check, they will earn progression points equal to the check rounded down to the closest whole number.

• Every 20 accumulated points levels up the skill by 1 for a max of level 5.

Level Progression:

• Level 1: +1 to the skill

• Level 2: +2 to the skill, Aid Increased to +3

• Level 3: +3 to the skill, Aid Increased to +3

• Level 4: +4 to the skill, Aid Increased to +4, Lowered Aid DC to 10 instead of 15.

• Level 5: +5 to the skill, Aid Increased to +4, Lowered Aid DC to 10 instead of 15,

  • Truly Inspired: Roll 3 times and take the best result. Can Use [HALF AMOUNT OF SKILL POINTS INTO THE SKILL A DAY]

Profession Progression

• During a Research Period, after finishing the 3 Research Slots, PCs roll one final profession check to see what they took away from their research, every 10 in the check is one point.

• Checks ending in 8 are rounded to the nearest whole number. (ex. 18 -> 20, 2 points.)

• Every 20 points is a skill increase and adds +1 to their Prof. Skill

Research Progression:

• PCs have 3 Research Slots a day, where they can roll their profession checks to gain research points.

• Every 10 on the skill adds 1 point to the research.

• The amount of points needed depends on the complexity of the craft, as explained by the PC.

• If PCs work together, they both roll and take the best result.

General Story:

• The Recruiting Process

  • Every PC is from a small village in the continent of Wysteria, through a letter, they have been summoned due to their good deeds or abilities to the Holy City of Arch, Land of Argon. There, there will be a small tournament arc to decide who will be the leader of the expedition.

  • Fights will start as Team Battles with objectives. Point totals at the end allow for certain teams to move into a final bracket, of 2v2s then 1v1s. The winner is leader of the expedition, gets an item of their choosing up to 5k gold and special authority and charisma based bonuses while in the City of Arch. This could be an NPC or a PC.

  • After the fights and winner is chosen, and then the losers or the rest of them are assigned into squads. The PC squad will be to find and assemble Halbur, one of Argon’s champions who was felled by Apoyous, worshipper of Apocrypha. After being assembled, the City of Arch will march onto the demon lands of The Forsaken Mire in the name of Argon. The city itself is commissioning a bunch of adventurers to find and revive a bunch of champions from all over the world.

    • PCs will arrive and have three days to prepare for the tournament. After arriving, they will leave in 1 week.

    • Day 1: Arrival

    • Day 2: Orientation in the Pearl Colosseum

    • Day 3: Tournament begins with random teams of 4 to 5.

      • Game 1: Capture the Duvvin. (A Holy Bird who is flightless, like a dove sized emu). Teams will each have a Duvvin they will have to protect, while also trying to capture the enemy’s Duvvin and put it in the cage in the center. Fibil’s Chosen (Holy Healers) are on command and can heal and revive any if they’re slain after a round or 2.

      • Game 2: Pillar of Power, PCs will have to control a chariot and stack ontop one another to reach three silver rings at the starting/finish line. (Think that jojo part 2 race but also nascar.

      • Game 3: Slayer, simple, a team fight to submission or until you disable your opponent.

    • Day 4: Rest

    • Day 5: The teams that win the Games are randomly put in a bracket where they will have 2v2s or 1v1s towards the end. There’s also a loser’s bracket to keep things spicy. The duels are one round and are in a small arena with some cover and hazards.

    • Day 6: After the winner is decided, there’s a grand feast and celebration.

    • Day 7: The PCs, now “randomly” assigned into a group, are sent off on their journey. They can begin by investigating Halbur for any leads, if lucky they’ll find this legend:

      • Oh! Halbur, the Holy Halbur, knight of Argon, with one foot on mountains high. With a grasp of the mighty Lake Serenity itself, no one stands above his might and prestige. With armor as strong as the Walls of Arch, pulled from the Mines of White, and a mind, cunning and sharp, to purge all devils and undead, not even the creatures of the crypts can out-maneuver such a Hero. With a gaze set on the very worst, as if it was the Mire itself, he is the true beacon of Arch, the gateway to justice!

• The Legs

  • The legs are the first piece of Halbur. It is located north of the City of Arch and can be found on top of a shrine. PCs can ask around nearby towns or villages about Halbur and they can help. There’s a famous legend of Halbur around this part of the world that will hint at where to find the pieces of Halbur.

  • PCs can spot out the shrine atop one of the nearby mountains. Perhaps from the Arch Observatory or with a good perception check.

  • Scaling the mountain will be tough, and involve some random encounters. They will have to camp a night or two on their journey, where they’ll run into some bandits and or goblinoids. At the top will be a shrine to Halbur, where they will fight a small group of smugglers who have led a trail of corpses of visitors near the outside of the shrine. During the fight, one of the bandits, a follower of Varthal, will summon a skeleton wheel beast that will try and kill the party. They can kill and loot the cultists where they will gain some cool loot TBD.

  • Inside the shrine, coated in stone, are the legs of Halbur.

    • LEVEL UP TO 4?

• The Arms

  • The entrance of the temple can be seen as an overrun small stone church near the lake. Symbols of Serenity can be seen painted on the walls with black crows painted along the ceiling. Inside the church with a decent perception check there’s a small pocket watch with a broken hand with insignias of wings that can be found. Towards the basement of the church is a tunnel passage that goes under the lake. After some smaller monsters get in their way, they make their way down a large staircase, a good perception can notice the water dripping hinting they’re underwater.

  • Underwater temple of Serenity, PCs fight clones of themselves under a time trial. If they win within the allowed time (maybe 10 min?) they get double loot/can loot the bodies of themselves, otherwise they just get the arms. If 5 min or under, they can enchant one piece of gear, as a gift from shadows of The Overlooker of Magic.

    • Maybe they hear a voice in their heads saying “Clocks ticking… give me a good show~” to which clones or golems of themselves form out of the statues surrounding the altar and begin to fight them. Perhaps the PCs who attack themselves are nulled? They can only attack the other clones that aren’t themselves? (That would interfere with the time trial…)

  • There inside a small sarcophagus are the arms of Halbur.

• The Body

  • Within the source of the source of the Walls of Arch, an old and flooded quarry.

  • This information can be obtained through asking around about the walls of the city. With access from the higher ups, or sneaking, they can find and explore the moss ridden and overgrown quarry.

  • The quarry is strung together by narrow rope bridges and sheer cliffs. The party will have to navigate this area with care, but hidden goods can be found through exploration and risk taking. The main rope bridge, the one connecting the very entrance can be cut and climbed down for a nice hidden cache of loot, if the party does this they’ll have to find a new way out. The other exit will be a dangerous route at the bottom of the quarry itself, where some ravenous plants await.

    • They will also fight a Tranquility Girl, a monster that takes the form of a small cute girl that wisps away adventures into blissful slumber before absorbing their nutrients.

      • The monster when seen by the party will ask for their help. Her legs are rooted in the ground, she has green hair and a leaf-like dress. When seen all PCs will roll a DC 12 will save (+5 DC to those who are good aligned), if failed they will be compelled to care for and help the Tranquility Girl. After some time the TG will offer up her fruit, which are supple purple and black nightshades that are attached to vines that appear from underneath her dress and stretch out above her. The fruit expires quickly but tastes extremely good when fresh. The fruit is an incredibly potent psychedelic that is used to put the consumer into a dream-like state of bliss so the TG can costume them peacefully.

    • They fight a “Spore Giant”, made up giant, all woody and fungi. Can release spores to hurt PCs and enchant them. The Spore giant is using the decrepit torso of Halbur as a pillow, and waking him makes him angry. During the fight he’ll occasionally release spores that either sleep or confuse the PCs. Basically a weird hill giant of sorts, uses a rotten tree stump as a club. At low HP he can also shoot out some spores that can grow into little buddies that can act as Adds during the fight.

    • Killing him, the party can carry the torso out of the quarry, thus obtaining the Torso of Halbur.

• The Head

  • Down south, along the Currier’s Highway, the party can obtain some leads to the Head of Halbur. Using the riddle, they can find someone to tell them about a famous local collector. The collector is known as Flute, a famously known Serene who worships the study of magic above all else. He lives in a local lighthouse near the East Coast of Wysteria.

  • The party can choose how to approach this, they can try and sneak it, but the amount of magic traps make it dangerous, they can also try and speak with Flute and trade or buy the Head. Maybe solutions: Trade the Serenity watch found by the lake, answer some riddles and do some fetch stuff for him. Beat his ass and steal it in the name of Argon lol.

    • Riddles:

      • “Not the Moon, Not the Sun, my ears sting, my nose is wet, the sky sings with light. What do I see?”

        • An Aurora

      • “I repeated myself more than once, but I’m embarrassed even when I’m alone, what did I do?”

        • Stutter/Flubbed

      • “One word I can add to any sentence to make it sound more righteous, even though it doesn’t change the original meaning.”

        • The “Courage” to…

    • Trade watch, have to bring up and show proof of the Serenity encounter.

    • Or fetch quest, local monsters of the coast have been running amuck, go kill them and collect their teeth.

• The Eyes

  • Large dungeon crypt. Towards the Forsaken Mire, there’s a famous labyrinth that the party can discover. Towards the entrance, symbols of 9 different Gods in the shape of a circle with Argon in the center. This place can be obtained by asking experienced people or knowledge brokers while they’re down south.

  • The labyrinth will be a maze, with traps, random encounters, and sexy loot. Use owlbearrodeo for that.

  • With a keen perception or any scholarly check, the party could notice the maze is in a large circle, perhaps part of an old spire or tower., with the center housing the Eyes of Halbur.

  • Every so often, safe rooms can be found that act as resting spots, but in turn have a chance to revive the enemies that were slain. The safe rooms will have a chance of having a miniboss or mob enemy, when cleared the room can be safe for rest, some of the rooms will have different blessings of the Gods, where 1 PC can obtain a buff.

    • Room 1 (Starting at the top and going clockwise)

      • Donar

    • Room 2

      • Serenity

    • Room 3

      • Fibil

    • Room 4

      • Laufer

    • Room 5

      • Woten

    • Room 6

      • Sirin

    • Room 7

      • Apocrypha

    • Room 8

      • Garthag

    • Room 9 (Center)

      • Argon

    • Fight observers or cyclops at the end? Using the eyes as a weapon.

• Reassembly and Resolution

  • All the parties return with their parts, party and some shenanigans.

  • LEVEL UP TO 5?

• The March of Pearls

  • A ploy from Apocrypha has the newly constructed Halbur corrupted by his rival Apoyous. They must fight the newly constructed Halbur and purify it for the grand finale!

  • After that they’re each granted a wish from the Holy Halbur, and they live on to do whatever, until next time.

Campaign Lore

General / Characters

The story begins with the Summon, where the Holy City of Arch brings together all the strongest and most able people from around Wysteria to the city to compete and begin preparations for the Seventh Crusade. The Queen of Arch, Sele, has spoken word of troubles stirring to her allies and confidants. The demons are reckless, word has spread around the continents and Arch spies and scouts have noticed a larger amount of demons around the continent. This led Sele to begin to gather the late Heroes of Argon and resummon them to make another push against demonkind.

However, demonkind and its allies are making moves as well. Apoyous, one of the High Cultists of Apocrypha, has begun to weave his way into the command of Arch. Apoyous is known for his manipulation and ability to possess creatures and monsters alike, his most noticeable trait is his beaming yellow eyes and malicious smirk.

Sheel

Sheel, Sele’s brother and Chief General of Arch, has found himself possessed by Apoyous. High Command has noticed Sheel acting different, while powerful, Sheel has always been a modest man, with cool grey eyes and long white hair he was the embodiment of loyalty and purity any soldier should strive for. However now, Sheel is seen wearing glasses, people say he’s just getting old and it's natural, however the truth is different. Apoyous is clever, with the help of some High Ranking Serene, a believer in Serenity, he was able to commission and obtain a pair of glasses that dim and disguise his yellow eyes to those of Sheel’s. This Serene lives in a lighthouse near the coast of Wysteria, somewhere adventure could easily lead. This Serene is named Flute, and is known around as a collector of magics and artifacts.

Now that Apoyous is disguised and possessed by Sheel, he can make merry and move on with his plans to appeal to the demonkind down south, perhaps Apoyous will be able to gain a shining throne when the demons take over the New World.

Apoyous

Apoyous can only possess one being at time, so when he wishes to make scouting missions he is free to take over any smaller animals to get a better view. One of his favorite scouts is Sheel’s Dog and a familiar, Obus, who Sele found one day spying on her. Obus is a fine dog, but is known to get loose and bug the High Command of Arch with barking and other dog things. However Sele knew her “brother” was up to something. She knew Sheel was able to control his dog with incredible ease, so she manufactured and required Obus to wear a seal of anti-familariation. This seal was disguised as a seal of mutification as to not cause discourse and concern among the high command, but in reality is able to disconnect a user from interacting with their familiar.

With this, Apoyous must be careful and slowly tie his plan into fruition. His plan is simple: support the summons and Sele into recreating the Heroes of Argon, and then during the reconstruction process, slip in and possess the strongest hero the summons were able to obtain. In this case it will be Halbur, one of the Heros who Apoyous himself almost died defeating. As for now he will lay low and slowly tie things together in the background, he will aid the party when needed, but also make sure they don’t get too powerful as things go on.

PC Story Progression

As it stands the PCs have completed the trials and have begun the expedition. To begin, the PCs should do research on Halbur and learn a few things. Notably, they will find this information:

Oh! Halbur, the Holy Halbur, knight of Argon, with one foot on mountains high. With a grasp of the mighty Lake Serenity itself, no one stands above his might and prestige. With armor as strong as the Walls of Arch, pulled from the Mines of White, and a mind, cunning and sharp, to purge all devils and undead, not even the creatures of the crypts can out-maneuver such a Hero. With a gaze set on the very worst, as if it was the Mire itself, he is the true beacon of Arch, the gateway to justice!

This is a common legend/poem of Halbur. More information digging can dictate who Halbur was and his exploits, the poem itself is a retelling of his heroism and journey.

Halbur was a mighty Hero, among some of the strongest and brightest Heroes of Argon. He slayed many demons, monsters, and was one of the generals during the Sixth Crusade, however during his battles he was always running into an apostle of Apocrypha known as Apoyous. One day they battled, and Apoyous, known as the Yellow-Eyed Demon finally defeated Halbur, and to add insult to injury he desiccated his corpse and hid his body aparts around places where Halbur fought and succeeded as a Hero.

Not much is known about Apoyous, especially within the City of Arch, but it is taboo to speak of him by name. If anyone would want to research him, they would have to go outside of Arch to speak to a high ranking scholar. But common knowledge states that Halbur was defeated by a Yellow-Eyed Demon, who also was a follower of Apocrypha.

Clues of Apoyous’ wearabouts about abilities will be sprinkled throughout the campaign, with the motif of yellow eyes always looming. During research even the name Apoyous will take a while to dig up, but this sigil or scrap of paper can be found as seen below:

Legs

The first location is the location of the Legs of Halbur. They are located at the local Halbur Shrine atop one of the nearby mountains, when asking around people will mention the shrine. If the PCs go anywhere high up they should be able to easily see the shrine. The path up the shrine will be long and windy. Along the way, the party can be attacked by bandits who have been locally preying on the summons and getting a pretty profit. There will also be news of summons being kidnapped by bandits, perhaps they can nab a side quest from a local family or merchant whose daughter was kidnapped, along with other summons who may have been killed. They will find out that Team Flu also went North, and among them is Zeil, the halfling who the party had a run- in with. Along the way they will see evidence of struggle, other camps, and even some corpses of summons, notably they will see the corpse of Ziel and his party. After camping, and rolling random encounters they will be able to make it to the shrine where they’ll see a group of smugglers holding some summons and other kidnapped people hostage.

The bandits are lowly thugs who heard the news of the summons and wanted to make a quick buck off all the newbies coming to the city. If in a pinch, the party will receive aid from strange creatures with beaming-yellow eyes, they are able to talk, however they may choose not to. This will allow some more insight onto Obus and the Yellow-Eyed demon. However, the compass the party obtained will strangely point at those possessed, so if any creatures are in the area, the compass will begin to shake and point in that direction. This is a special artifact that can be IDed by a high level scholar and was made to lead Heros towards demons.

PC Stories / Developments

• Harrison / Rundil - Dwarf - Warpriest

• PoO: Mirndorall

• Profesion: Blacksmith

• Backstory:

  • Rundil lived a pleasant life, especially considering his dwarvish heritage and nature, as well as his general location. To the North of The city of Arch, is the Dwarvish kingdom Mirndorall. It’s resources were vast, built upon great veins of iron and gold, and many deep tunnels connected it to the vast underground chasms of the Darklands. It’s a place of war. The Dwarves have long been at war with the duergar who dwell below, as well as their insidious drow allies. Giants and wyrms of all sorts have long inhabited the mountain range. Rundil, despite being surrounded by war and battle, loved life. He was a skilled blacksmith, learning from his father and mother as they had learned the craft from their fathers and mothers, and took to it like a fish to water. He was a strange mix of opinions and beliefs, as he found he enjoyed the surface with all its elements more than his mountain home. He eventually learned of the faith of Donar, from some of his parent’s patrons, and found it resonated strongly with him, much more so than other dwarven deities. As he received military training, he found his axe arm guided by his faith in Donar, and became a talented warrior. Eventually, his desire to see more of the world grew, and when a call to arms went out from Arch, Rundil, eager to see his skills grow and motivated by his parents' blessing, Made for Arch.

Game Start!

Part 1: The Recruiting Process

• The PCs begin the story spread around the City of Arch based on their backgrounds.

• The general city description:

  • The City of Arch, The City of Pearls, City of Argon, the God of Protagonists in their own battle for life. The city is the self proclaimed beacon of Wysteria, one of the main and more influential continents of the New World. The city stands just below a large mountain range that cuts the continent in two. The City stands proud, glistening clean and white. Massive walls surround the rising city as it coils up towards the sky. Columns of quartz and limestone support massive archways, each ingrained and decorated with the tales of Argons exploits. Some lesser arches even showcase Argon’s heroes and generals of the past crusades against the demonkind. But the main attraction of Arch is its colossi, through the main gate, massive stone statues of heroes can be seen across the city, each of famous heroes and legends alike.

• Inside the common levels:

  • The streets of Arch are well kept, with small white housing with tiled roofs sloped down and drooping over quiet alleyways. The smell of fresh bread and succulent meats float through the air as you approach the main city squares. Guards are posted around almost every corner, keeping a sharp eye on the pedestrians. Some clearly are more glamorous than others, sparing feathered helms and white capes that are embroidered with the symbol of Argon, a sword placed through a king’s crown.

• The Colosseum:

  • The Pearl Colosseum, or Argon’s Arena is truly a sight to behold. It stands tall, with statues of heroes and legends holding open the windows and entrance ports for pedestrians to enter and watch the games. The white stone shimmers against the Sun as the events go on late into the day, and sometimes the shadows of the statues can line up and gesture passersby to enter and watch the games. Some games can be heard from outside the arena, the roaring of the crowd mixed with the warm sweaty air is said to bring anyone in for a peak.

• Inns:

  • The Fortune of Welcome

    • This inn is towards the main entrance of the city, it's luxurious and on the cheaper side for travelers and adventurers alike. Inside, tables are lifted high, with stools pushed in neatly around each of them. A taller, skinnier man stands behind the bar. From a glance he looks like the skittish type, but from the clean state of his inn, you know he’s a hard worker at heart.

  • Funluck’s

    • The inn is right next to the colosseum and is one of the rest and recovery inns for those who participate in the games. Outside, the hustling and bustling of adventures can be heard. Fighting, arguing, commemorations, laughing, the works. A large cloth hangs over what used to be the windows to the inn, but after entering, it's clear to see it's just to cover up the copious amounts of holes in the glass and wall. Many circular tables are laid out, some with daggers stuck in them, crinkled playing cards, and stains of various ales and other fluids are speckled along the floor, even as you walk in, you can feel the slight grain and stickiness of the floor cling to your boots. There’s two people standing behind the bar, from a glance you can tell they’re actually twins, you can only wonder which one is Funluck, or if that’s even their names at all.

After a day or so of banter, The 2nd Day Is the Orientation.

Orientation:

• On the day of Orientation, music is blaring throughout the whole city, trumpeters and various brass horns stand tall on the walls and lookout towers and play an invigorating tune. Flyers are being thrown about the whole city, people hollering “Those summoned, report to the Pearl Colosseum! Those summoned, great and fair, report to the Pearl Colosseum! Entrance Phi! Entrance Phi!”

• Towards the entrance of the colosseum, waves of all kinds of people, shapes, races, tools, gear, the type of sight that would drive scholars up the wall. The entrance of the colosseum sweeps over your head, statues prying the cold stone open, allowing for easy access of even larger creatures. As you walk into the arena, the roaring of the crowd gets louder and louder, confetti rains above like swirling rainbow snow. Straight ahead of the entrance is a large sword, plunged into a stone crown. Standing above that is a woman, dressed in a long and elegant white gown, her clothes pinned with silver and studded with shimmering silver gems. Beside her are two ferocious looking knights, adorned in platinum.

• A moment goes by, the woman steps up attop the crown stage and raises her hand. The crowd slowly quiets down, then swiftly and loudly she shouts the solute of Argon. “For Argon, for Justice!” She grips her left biceps, flicks her hand up into a fist and places her right hand over her heart. The crowd in unison follows the salute, the sounds of body on body rumble the rib cages of those standing within the pearl walls.

  • “Fellow Argonauts, fellow warriors, artisans, and craftsmen, wisemen, magic users, and future heroes. The time has come for the next step. Too long it has been, since the demons who purged the south of our beloved lands have made their burrows, dug their decrypt pits and rotted our lush gardens. The Seventh Crusade, the seventh war, shall begin. That is where you come in, to those who headed the call, to those who came in search of honor, wealth, power, a story to tell your grandchildren, hear this. Your mission is clear and of the utmost honor and importance. However, even though you will all be chosen for your outstanding abilities. Only few are truly worthy of such an operation. So for the main point of this summoning… to prove your merit and to prove your skill… we, the Holy City of Arch, True Argonauts under the light of Argon… will be having all of you chosen participate and battle through our Tournament Arc!” At those words the crowd goes ballistic, hooting, cheating, you notice people getting covered in ale and champagne as some members of the crowd throw their cups into the people gathered in the center.

  • The woman continues, yelling over the overwhelming crowd, and pointing at the summons.

  • “The Games begin tomorrow, information will be provided to you as long as you stay within one of the local inns and commendations we have prepared for you! You will begin in randomly assigned teams of four to five, where you compete in three events! Depending on your performance your team will be awarded points, you need a certain amount of points to qualify for the expedition, and as a bonus and to truly so your might, those qualified will be entered into the final round of the Tournament. In such battles you will battle in teams of 2 or on your own. The winner of the entire Tournament Arc will be deemed Champion, and leader of this brave and perilous expedition. They will also obtain any item of value up to 5,000 gold and free accommodations and service at any bar in Argon for as long as the expedition goes on! Now go, those summoned, prepare, make merry, and let the Tournament Arc begin!”

  • As the crowd goes wild, confetti flies, you look around you and see various looks of eagerness, excitement, and terror.

• The PCs are now left to their own devices, perhaps they can scout around for info on the games, make merry, make some allies or enemies, etc.

  • If PCs are curious about the lady, they can make a DC 10 knowledge local or nobility check to determine who she is.

  • She is Sélé (Say-lay), Queen of Arch, Legend of Light, a true paladin of Argon. Tales have spread of the Ancient Heroes of Argon, and rumor has it she is a modern Hero in the flesh, one of the New World.

  • The "New World '' is a term coined by The Argonauts of the previous civilization. In a time long forgotten there were the Six Crusades, where the Heroes of Argon and their armies of volunteers, soldiers, and more pushed back the demon outbreak that poured into their plane. After five Failed attempts, the Heroes of Argon were able to finally seal the demons into their Mire, on a small island off of the Wyesterian coast. With this small victory, the continent was a desolate hellscape. So with their last ditch efforts, the remaining survivors created the City of Arch, and with the completion of the city declared this time as the New World. Some heroes fell however, and were desecrated across the lands, but they are not forgotten and often worshipped along with Argon as his blades.

Break--

~game rules:

Preliminary:

• Out of the 30 participants, there will be 6 teams.

• The PC team is a team of 4 so Big Dick Bazuso will be with them as a 5th.

• Each of the six teams will “Randomly” pull from a box, they can do this anytime before the games start on the 3rd day, or right before.

  • Team 1: Iota (PC Team)

  • Team 2: Tau

  • Team 3: Upsilon

  • Team 4: Psi

  • Team 5: Gamma

  • Team 6: Zeta

Game 1: Capture the Duvvin.

• Description:

  • Capture the Duvvin. (A Holy Bird who is flightless, like a pigeon sized emu).

  • Teams will each have a Duvvin they will have to protect, while also trying to capture the enemy’s Duvvin and put it in the cage in the center. Fibil’s Chosen (Holy Healers) are on command and can heal and revive any if they’re slain after a round or 2. (Above neg con 2 rounds out, Below -dead- 3 rounds out). The body must be brought to the Healing Zones towards the back of the arena for them to be revived. Living PCs can also go to the healing zones to be healed and act upon as if they got a full night’s rest.

• The Arena is round with a small bridge at the center, there’s a patch of water at the top and bottom of the map that’s about 3ft deep and acts as difficult terrain.

• Duvvin Mechanics:

  • DC 15 Handle Animal Check to make it accept commands

  • CMD 7, 10 if agitated, 5 if snuck up on

  • +3 to Perception

• First to 3 points, 1 capture = 1 point, then you reset for the next play.

• Sometimes, if a contestant is playing well or is entertaining, spectators can throw potions into the water for them to use as desired.

Game 2: Pillar of Power

• Description:

  • Pillar of Power

  • PCs will have to control a chariot and stack ontop one another to reach three silver rings at the starting/finish line. (Think that jojo part 2 race but also nascar.)

  • There are 4 to 5 positions:

    • Foundation, Reacher, Conductor, Supporter, Stinger.

      • Foundation: Stands in the center and holds the reacher on their shoulders, needs to make strength checks and acrobatics checks to stay in place.

      • Reacher: Stands on the Foundations shoulders and tries to reach for the three rings. DC 15 Acro to grab, DC 10 Reflex to not drop or fall off the Foundation with Aid from them to help.

      • Conductor: Drives the Chariot, has movement speed of 40ft a round, but can spend an action to boost with a DC 10 handle animal check to push to 50ft a round, if failed, the horse gets scared and has a d4 chance to change directions, 1: Left, 2: Right, 3: Backwards, 4: Continues forward at normal speed. Can also spend actions changing direction or stopping.

      • Supporter: Sits shotgun next to the conductor, makes Aid checks to help any position, is also the only person allowed to dismount the chariot and potentially board the enemy chariot.

      • Stinger: Only combatants allowed to use a weapon, can only fire backwards, sits behind the foundation, can fight any boarding supporters or shoot at targets.

Game 3: Bloodpool

• PCs can request a walk-in/battle song.

  • Default is Blooming Villain, with Intermissions being Tip of the Spear

• Follow the bracket:

  • If allowed, 2v2s, but if contestants in the next slot, then 1v1s.

    • Round 1 and 2: 2v2s unless can’t. Round 3-5 1v1s.

    • Favors for NPC.

      • 0 Level Gap: 50/50

      • 1 Level Gap: 60/40

      • 2 Level Gap: 70/30

      • 3 Level Gap: 80/20

• Combative Initiatives:

  • PCs in 2v2s have them and their teammate roll initiative, and the higher result is taken for the team. They go as a team and their order can be switched on the fly as their team acts. Each member has the default action economy.

The winner of the entire Tournament Arc will be deemed Champion, and leader of this brave and perilous expedition. They will also obtain any item of value up to 5,000 gold and free accommodations and service at any bar in Arch for as long as the expedition goes on!

In Game (EXAMPLE)

Primary Skill Progression:

• H

  • Skill: Diplomacy

    • 1/20 +1

  • Skill: Perception

    • /20 +1

  • Skill: Knowledge Religion

    • /20 +1

• Ceara

  • Skill: Knowledge Arcana

    • /20 +1

  • Skill: Survival

    • /20 +1

  • Skill: Intimidate

    • 3/20 +1

• Josh

  • Skill: Perception

    • /20 +1

  • Skill: Sleight of Hand

    • /20 +1

  • Skill: Sense Motive

    • /20 +1

• Liam

  • Skill:

    • /20 +1

  • Skill:

    • /20 +1

  • Skill:

    • /20 +1

Profession Progression:

• H

  • 6/20 +1

• Ceara

  • 6/20 +1

• Josh

  • 6/20 +1

• Liam

  • 6/20 +1

Research Progression:

• Josh:

  • 3/10 Gun Mechanics

  • 5/5 Climbing Claws

  • 8/8 Mobile Stove

  • 6/6 Retractable Baton

  • 1/2 Puzzle Cube

• Harrison:

  • 3/10 Gun Mechanics

  • 5/5 Masterwork Longsword

  • 10/10 Two MW Daggers

• Liam:

  • 5/5 Novice Wind Manipulation

• Caera:

  • 5/5 Bull’s Strength