Seasonal Challenge Thread [Fall of 518]

by **Gillar** on September 2nd, 2018, 1:00 am

Seasonal Challenge Thread for Fall 518

For the Season of Fall 518, there are four writing challenges that can be attempted.

* Write 24,000 words worth of threads over the course of the entire Season

OR

* Write 12,000 words worth of threads over the course of the entire Season

* Learn a New Skill and gain 50 skill points in said skill by the end of the Season

OR

* Learn a New Skill and gain 25 skill points in said skill by the end of the Season

As you can see, there are two Word Count challenges and two Skill challenges. You may attempt any or all of them over the course of the Season. I ask that you keep track of your word count in each of your threads and put a post in this thread with links and thread word counts as well as links to any threads where you learn your new skill and build it up.

At the end of the Season, I will post potential Challenge rewards as well as bonuses for surpassing either or both of the greater challenges (25,000 words and New Skill w/50 points). The rewards will be Ravok/Rhysol/Black Sun/Ebonstryfe themed.

by **Elias Caldera** on October 21st, 2018, 5:20 pm

That Sinking Feeling
[3330]

Know Your Place
[2951]

Winner Takes All
[4238]

Make Ready
[5900]

Culture Clash
-Post #2 [1056]

Easy Money
-Post #3 [1408]
-Post #5 [1310]

Grim Tidings
-Post #7 [1086]
-Post #9 [2107]

Call of the Wild
-Post #9 [1925]

Total: 25331

I finished the 50k Nano challenge as well. My word count tracker is below.

Secret :

I have a suggestion for a reward i'd like if possible. One that fits the Ebonstryfe/Sun motiff.

[/center]

by **Zuhre** on November 15th, 2018, 3:35 am

.

I would like to also take part in this challenge! :embarrassed:

A Destination to Discover
WC: 1406 + 929 + 603 + 1023 + 1206 + 925

Ink of My Heart
WC: 695 + 1012 + 1287 + 1016

The Literal Meaning of the Universe
WC: 833 + 1312 + 1624 + 929 + 1497

Present Knowledge of the Past
WC: 1234 + 938 + 1281 + 917 + 1042

Exploring New Areas
WC: 1142 + 1020 + 706

Total: 24577

(I will update this post as I progress throughout the rest of the season)

.

by **Caspian** on November 25th, 2018, 3:40 am

Towards the 12,000 word count challenge:

The Comedown
WC: 5,988

Slither and Sweep
WC: 3,662

Sugar and Steam
WC: 3,580

Resolutions in G
WC: 2,475

Total: 15,705

by **Belugnir** on November 28th, 2018, 12:11 pm

I trust NaNo counts toward this challenge's word count, so Here's the Tracker for That - WC: 26319

And here's the rest of my Fall's shenanigans, excluding NaNo submissions:

A Thief in the Night: 10th Post - WC: 634

Adventurous Spirit: 10th Post - WC: 647

When Four Orphans Met: 1st and 2nd Post - WC: 947

Spark of Life: 1st through 9th Post - WC: 4015

Fall Total: 32562

by **Gillar** on December 3rd, 2018, 6:48 am

Howdy all,

I am currently getting my crap together after a long and brutal busy season at work. While this time of year is always busy for me, this particular year was unpredictably harsh; the workload was insane for lack of a better word. 4.5 months of a heavy workload condensed into 2 months is devastating to one's life; 12 hour days, 5 to 6 days a week for 2 months is just not right, but I digress. I am currently putting together a calendar for this Winter season as well as creating the Seasonal Challenge Awards; hopefully all will be announced by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Great job to those who were able to complete Nano and/or make great progress in the Seasonal Challenges. I have two of the bigger awards completed and will be pushing to get the rest done asap.

All of the items awarded will be customized, to some extent, to your specific characters to hopefully help round them out, provide some story material as well as show you just how much I appreciate you all as active, creative, interested (and interesting) characters as well as you the players, here in Ravok.

Ravok was the first city I created when Mizahar was in its infancy. While it has gone through many Storytellers and many changes, it still remains one of my favorite creations and I am quite happy that you have chosen to tell your stories here. Thank you.

by **Gillar** on December 6th, 2018, 5:33 am

Here are the awards for the Fall 518 Seasonal Challenge. I know they are a bit late but I wanted to be sure I put enough effort into them to hopefully make them worth all the work you put into both Nano and the Seasonal Challenge. Elias receives one item for his Seasonal Challenge Award and one for completing Nano. Zuhre, Caspian and Belugnir, you each receive an item for your Seasonal Challenge Awards.

A special note about these items. Each of them can only be used by the character who receives them. For anyone else, they become completely and permanently powerless.

Item acquisition threads are also needed.

Any questions, clarification, etc., feel free to ask and I will help. Enjoy!

Elias

Vincent’s Quiver (Seasonal Challenge)

This crimson and black colored leather quiver once belonged to a hunter who lived during Ravok’s youth. The design and materials match what were used in such crafting during those early years. The hunter’s true identity has been lost over the centuries but the name, “Vincent” is stitched into the quiver’s upper, interior lip. The quiver’s craftsmanship is exquisite; the leather feeling impossibly smooth with each individual stitch looking no less than perfect.

Abilities

By itself, the quiver is unremarkable beyond the obvious skill used to craft it. When holding arrows however, the quiver’s true power becomes known.
Any arrow placed in the quiver benefits from a random enchantment placed upon the arrowhead. The enchantment is discovered upon pulling the arrow from the quiver. A 1d6, rolled in Discord, will determine which effect is placed upon the arrow. The effect lasts until the arrow hits its target. However, if kept outside of the quiver for longer than it takes to reasonably fire it, the arrow will lose its enchantment. Once the arrow is enchanted, it cannot be put back in the quiver to gain a different enchantment until the existing one fades or arrow is used (explosive and fragmented not included).

(1) Burning – Additional minor wound from a small flame that surrounds the arrowhead.

(2) Corrosive – Additional minor wound from a moderate strength acid that covers the arrowhead.

(3) Poison – Additional minor wound from a mild poison that covers the arrowhead.

(4) No Enchantment

(5) Explosive – Additional minor wound from a small explosion created upon the arrows impact.

(6) Fragmented – Additional minor wound as the arrowhead shatters upon impact, spreading shrapnel.

Eye of Angalient (Nano)

This small, black crystal sphere is the size of a human eyeball. It is perfectly spherical and is pleasantly warm to the touch.

Story

The story of the Eye becomes known to the one it chooses to attune with. In the years following the Valterrian, a time of extreme hardship and horror, survivors of the terrible event, fleeing the dangers that haunted the new landscape, fled to the newly formed inland sea that would eventually become known as, Lake Ravok. There, living on hastily crafted boats and floating debris, they sought to establish a safe haven from which to rebuild. Boats and debris eventually became platforms of reconstruction. As the years went by, more people arrived and the beginnings of a new civilization was established.
A century passed following the Valterrian and a small yet growing city had been built on the waters of the lake. A woman, as beautiful and strong as she was intelligent, had brought the people together with the promise of prosperity. Her promise was that if the people opened themselves to the grace of the god, Rhysol, they would find safety and security in this new city; the outside world would no longer threaten them or their families. The people, still recovering from the horrors of the Valterrian, yearned for a safer, better life. Thus, they flocked to the woman’s promise and Ravok grew quickly into a much larger city.

200 years after the Valterrian, Ravok, though still small for a city, was prospering. In the center of the city, a small temple was constructed in honor of Rhysol, the God who the people felt had saved them from the horrors of the outside world. The woman, still as young as she was the day she arrived, had become The Voice of Rhysol and carried His word to the people. One such person, believing wholly in the god, was a man named, Angalient. Angalient was born in Ravok and grew up learning of the love Rhysol had for the people. Influenced by this love, he worked hard to be noticed by the Ebonstryfe, at that time a newly formed security force that defended the people from threats both internal and external. Led by a mountain of a man, Gru’tral, the Ebonstryfe was seen as the first and last line of defense against the terrible things that threatened to destroy everything that the Ravokians had built.

Angalient rose threw the ranks of the Ebonstryfe to the rank of Commander. It was during an encounter on the mainland, while providing security for a logging camp, that Angalient had an encounter that would change his life.
Before the Valterrian, there existed a small town near what had become the western shore of Lake Ravok. The town was destroyed by Ivak’s rage yet its citizens did not die. Infused with remnants of twisted magic released during the divine destruction, the town’s inhabitants became mockeries of life. Feeding on any living thing they stumbled across, these unliving creatures were a plague on the living. They wandered the land, devouring everything they came in contact with.

So it was that this hoard of undead came across the logging camp. Angalient and the men and women under his command, fought against the undead in defense of those living and working in the camp. Outnumbered, Angalient’s unit was still a force to be reckoned with. They slaughtered the undead by the dozens, losing but a few of their own. When it was over, the undead were no more. The victory came at a cost to Angalient however. He lost nearly half his unit in the fight as well as losing his eye; his face ripped apart in the battle.

When he returned to Ravok, Angalient was praised by The Voice for his leadership and bravery in battle. As a reward, she gifted him a small black, crystal sphere to serve as a replacement for his lost eye. When he placed the crystal in his brutalized, empty eye socket, he was forever changed. The eye granted him the ability to alter his own personal reality. Over time, his face was reshaped and restored and the way he experienced life was altered at will. He was promoted to the rank of Paladin and lived the rest of his life in service to Rhysol until he died in battle against one of the horrors that rose from the depths of Lake Ravok.

Abilities

When placed in an empty eye socket, the Eye of Angalient grants the ability to alter one’s personal reality in minor ways. Once per day, the Eye allows for the altering of a single cosmetic feature. The power is activated with a wink of the Eye. Body, face or head hair can be grown or removed instantly. The color of the remaining natural eye can be changed. A full face can be made to look more angular, the nose can be made slightly longer or shorter, skin color can be changed, a single minor wound can be replaced by smooth, unblemished flesh. The Eye can also alter the owner’s scent so that they may smell like a rose if they wished. It can also change the owner’s sense of taste. If the owner likes the taste of bananas, they can make it so that everything they eat tastes like bananas. The changes are permanent unless altered again by the Eye and the changes can be built upon over time.

The Eye cannot alter bone or muscular structure. It cannot create wings, claws or fangs. It can’t grant racial powers or abilities nor can it change its own appearance (it will always look like a solid black crystal eye). It cannot alter aspects of another person as it only works on the owner. It cannot increase height or weight and cannot make the owner look like a drastically different race.

The Eye functions as if it had a Disguise skill of 15 for each individual alteration.

Important note: The more the Eye is used, the less able the owner is to remember what their original physical reality was like. They begin to see and accept the changes as their new reality in place of the old, becoming unable to restore their previous features.

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Zuhre

The Artist’s Needle

To the trained eye, this tool is meant for use in tattooing flesh with pigment. The needle is made from skillfully forged metal; the nature of the metal being unknown to any save for an expert or master metalsmith. It is a metal rarely found in craters that form from the impact of stones falling from the sky. The handle is made of blue-stained steel, bronze and a spiral-carved bone. The origin of the Artist’s Needle is not known however its craftsmanship speaks to a time before the Valterrian. Throughout the history of Ravok, items of similar design have been known to exist and it is said that such items were carried by those who escaped the mainland and sought refuge among like-minded individuals. These individuals were the founders of what would become the City of Ravok.

Powers

When the needle is pressed against an existing tattoo, it is able to draw the ink from the skin in a way that completely removes the tattoo. The tattoo’s design is then stored in the needle where it can then be redrawn upon another person and/or in another location on the body. The tattoo can be redrawn exactly like it was originally created, regardless of the tattoo artist’s skill. The Artist’s Needle can store up to 6 tattoos in this manner. Once a stored tattoo is redrawn, it is removed from the needle thus opening a storage slot for another. Tiny images of the stored tattoos appear at the top of the handle where it meets the needle. Simply touching the image will choose which tattoo can be redrawn. Tattoo Artists who use the Artist's Needle may find additional bonuses to income due to the abilities the Needle grants.

The artist then only need to touch the needle to the flesh and the needle will guide their hand in the tattoos creation.

The Artist’s Needle also grants a +10 to the Tattooing skill.

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Caspian

Obfuscate

This odd-looking dagger is crafted from cold iron and the overall craftsmanship is profoundly great. It is made with a 5-inch blade that comes to a spiraling point. The handle is ridged and allows for a sturdy, solid grip. The dagger is one of a number of items crafted by a weaponsmith by the name of Hovus. Weapons made by Hovus have been used by many a prominent individual in Ravok for over a century. While Hovus himself died long ago, his work continues to show up from time to time in the hands of all manner of unique persons. Each weapon bares its name etched somewhere on it. This particular dagger is named, “Obfuscate”.

Powers

Obfuscate offers a unique ability that matches its name. When wielded and the wielder is standing still, they find that they actually blend more into their surroundings. While their body doesn’t actually change in appearance, they are less noticeable to potential onlookers. Obfuscate offers a bonus of +10 to stealth rolls while standing still.

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Belugnir

Flames of the Black Sun

Appearing as an oversized silver ring set with a black stone, this ring is heavily themed toward fire. The ring itself is designed to look like flames licking their way around the black stone. The ring is too large to be worn on one’s finger but looks to be the perfect size to slide over the haft of a large weapon such as an axe or polearm. In fact, if such an attempt is made to slide the ring over one of these weapons, it will do so easily until affixing itself near the weapon’s head, thus becoming a permanent part of the weapon. Gripping the weapon with the ring affixed to it will impart upon the owner’s mind the ring’s name, Flames of the Black Sun. Whoever created the Flames of the Black Sun remains a mystery however the symbolism of its name and its design is anything but subtle.

Powers

The Flames of the Black Sun, when affixed to a weapon such as an axe or polearm, will grant the weapon a couple of unique abilities. These abilities are activated at will and causes the head of the weapon to be engulfed in inky black flames. The flames allow the weapon to do an additional minor wound every time it makes a successful strike against a foe. When the black flames are lit, the wielder also appears more intimidating in their appearance as black flames also seem to lick their way randomly over the wielder’s body. These flames are harmless but they tend to look somewhat menacing. These flames add a bonus of +5 to intimidation as most of the attention from onlookers is usually focused on the fiery weapon.