The Festival Meta-Challenge
Posted 6th January 2009 at 06:57 PM by Radiating Gnome
(planning a skill-challenge-heavy adventure for my home game, part 1)
The Meta-Challenge is the overarching challenge mechanic that provides structure for the events that take place in and around the Festival of the Goddess in Ikarport. Successes and Failures in the challenge are not earned with individual skill checks -- instead, they are earned through succeeding or failing in other skill challenges and encounters over the course of the adventure.
To explain the meta-challenge, I'm going to have to detail some backstory.
Ikarport is the capital city of the Duchy of Ikaria, an island in the Moonshae Isles (don't look for it, I stuck it in there myself with bubble gum and duct tape).
The Moonshae Isles, up to the time of the spellplague, were ruled by a High King, but the High Kings disappeared in that cataclysm, and since then the individual settlements have been pretty much on their own. Ikaria has remained largely loyal to the High Kings, the Dukes traditionally not following the fashion of many of the other vassals in the isles and taking the title King, etc. But it has been 80 years -- generations -- since the High King was present.
Recently, a pretender has arrived in the Isles -- rumors came to Ikaria from other settlements of a man claiming to be the heir to the High King -- a grandson of one of the High King's children that was smuggled away and hidden overseas for the past 80 years. This man, calling himself Prince Fillin Kendrick, has been traveling the isles under the protection of a military order called the Cloak Knights, who claim to be the reconstituted Knights of the Cloak from the old kingdom (see the regalia below).
Fillin and the Cloak Knights arrived recently in Ikaria, just in time to be able to offer their help as goblinoid raids have been stepping up in frequency and ferocity. The price for Fillin's support, and the military aid of the Cloak Knights, is the official recognition of him as the rightful High King -- and the promise of the Duke's help in regaining the lost Kendrick lands.
The Duke, raised by his father and grandfather to be a good vassal to the absent High King, would bend his knee in a moment, and would be happy to provide what support he could for the effort to regain the Kendrick lands, but he has very grave doubts about this Fillin.
Fillin and the Cloak Knights, however, have been doing everything in their power to make sure that the people of Ikaria see the cloak knights and Fillin as their salvation in these troubled times. On several occasions the Cloak Knights have come to the aid of Ikarian merchants, nobles, and soldiers, and there is a strong sentiment among the people that without the help of Fillin and the Cloak Knights, the kingdom will be overrun by goblins before winter.
The Regalia of the High King
I mentioned the Cloak of the High King earlier -- the Cloak is part of the Regalia of the High King, a set of three artifacts that were the symbols of the high kings united power over the Moonshea Isles.
The Cloak of the High Kings, a gift of from the Northman lords that swore fealty to the Kendrick High King, had protective magic and was the symbol of most of the military forces of the high king, at the head of which was an order of knights called the Knights of the Cloak (and informally the Cloak Knights).
The Crown of the High King, a gift from the Ffolk lords that swore fealty to the Kendrick High King, had magic that was more tied to commerce, agriculture, and sailing. An order of knights called the Knights of the Crown served as the guardians of commerce and tax collectors for the High King.
The Chronicle of the High King, a gift from the Fey lords that swore fealty to the Kendrick High King, had special magic that allowed it to record the true life story of anyone whose name was written into the book (up to that point in time -- it was not a book of prophecy, only truth). An order of knights called the Knights of the Chronicle (informally the Knights Scrivener) server the Chronicle, recorded history, and acted as Justices in the lands of the high king.
All three of the relics were lost when the high king disappeared, and any remnants of the orders of knights that served the three relics also disappeared shortly after the Cataclysm.
The Cloak Knights
The current body of soldiers calling themselves the cloak knights may or may not have some connection back to the original Cloak Knights of the High King's time. They claim it, but that doesn't mean it's true. They have a main training facility and do a lot of recruiting in Snowdown, an Amnian colony in the Isles, and most of the knights are more mercenary than knight, although they all train in special combat techniques -- cloak-based, highly-mobile, spinning styles that make them very challenging opponents.
Back to the Meta-Challenge
The PCs have just returned to Ikarport, having had a couple of successful adventures facing goblins. They've battled goblins on the sea, on an outpost island, and even in a remote part of the Ikarian mainland. And they've returned with a hobgoblin prisoner.
Their return is the first glimmer of hope for the Duke's effort to retain some autonomy in a long time. Other groups have either been lost or rescued by teams of Cloak Knights who happened to be in the area.
The PCs, in their most recent set of encounters, ran into a team of Cloak Knights that were in the area of a goblin camp the Pcs had been sent to investigate. It is probable that they were sent there to be ready to step in and save the party as the CKs have so many other groups in the past weeks.
But the PCs foiled that by discovering the cloak knights, joining their camp, then tricking them into drinking too much, then dragging their passed out bodies into a patch of poison ivy. While the Cloak Knights were cursing and scratching their way back to Ikarport, the PCs managed to deal with the goblins in the camp and take their prisoner.
(Gotta love my PCs for coming up with that one.)
While the PCs might not rate invitations to the more high-brow events in the festival, their celebrity status as heroes in a time when the tiny nation really needs heroes will get them access to a lot of events they would otherwise not attend. Especially since the Duke sees them as an important part of his effort to stay in control of Ikaria.
The Duke visits with the PCs and lays out the challenge for them. They need to do everything they can in the festival to discredit the cloak knights and promote Ikarian independence, without creating problems that will make it impossible for the Duke to get the help of the Cloak Knights against the goblins should that prove necessary -- and to do so in a way that will be subtle enough that the Prince, should he become High King, will have no reason to remove the Duke from his throne. It is a very delicate tightrope the Duke is trying to walk -- to try to protect his small nation without committing himself to a possible fraudulent heir.
The Metachallenge
This meta-challenge involves a bunch of other scenes, encounters, and challenges, each of which can earn the PCs successes and failures in the meta challenge.
The Pcs need to earn 10 successes before they earn 3 failures. There will also be ways for the PCs to try to remove failures, if necessary.
The Festival takes place over the course of 7 days. More on the festival in a future post.
The Meta-Challenge is the overarching challenge mechanic that provides structure for the events that take place in and around the Festival of the Goddess in Ikarport. Successes and Failures in the challenge are not earned with individual skill checks -- instead, they are earned through succeeding or failing in other skill challenges and encounters over the course of the adventure.
To explain the meta-challenge, I'm going to have to detail some backstory.
Ikarport is the capital city of the Duchy of Ikaria, an island in the Moonshae Isles (don't look for it, I stuck it in there myself with bubble gum and duct tape).
The Moonshae Isles, up to the time of the spellplague, were ruled by a High King, but the High Kings disappeared in that cataclysm, and since then the individual settlements have been pretty much on their own. Ikaria has remained largely loyal to the High Kings, the Dukes traditionally not following the fashion of many of the other vassals in the isles and taking the title King, etc. But it has been 80 years -- generations -- since the High King was present.
Recently, a pretender has arrived in the Isles -- rumors came to Ikaria from other settlements of a man claiming to be the heir to the High King -- a grandson of one of the High King's children that was smuggled away and hidden overseas for the past 80 years. This man, calling himself Prince Fillin Kendrick, has been traveling the isles under the protection of a military order called the Cloak Knights, who claim to be the reconstituted Knights of the Cloak from the old kingdom (see the regalia below).
Fillin and the Cloak Knights arrived recently in Ikaria, just in time to be able to offer their help as goblinoid raids have been stepping up in frequency and ferocity. The price for Fillin's support, and the military aid of the Cloak Knights, is the official recognition of him as the rightful High King -- and the promise of the Duke's help in regaining the lost Kendrick lands.
The Duke, raised by his father and grandfather to be a good vassal to the absent High King, would bend his knee in a moment, and would be happy to provide what support he could for the effort to regain the Kendrick lands, but he has very grave doubts about this Fillin.
Fillin and the Cloak Knights, however, have been doing everything in their power to make sure that the people of Ikaria see the cloak knights and Fillin as their salvation in these troubled times. On several occasions the Cloak Knights have come to the aid of Ikarian merchants, nobles, and soldiers, and there is a strong sentiment among the people that without the help of Fillin and the Cloak Knights, the kingdom will be overrun by goblins before winter.
The Regalia of the High King
I mentioned the Cloak of the High King earlier -- the Cloak is part of the Regalia of the High King, a set of three artifacts that were the symbols of the high kings united power over the Moonshea Isles.
The Cloak of the High Kings, a gift of from the Northman lords that swore fealty to the Kendrick High King, had protective magic and was the symbol of most of the military forces of the high king, at the head of which was an order of knights called the Knights of the Cloak (and informally the Cloak Knights).
The Crown of the High King, a gift from the Ffolk lords that swore fealty to the Kendrick High King, had magic that was more tied to commerce, agriculture, and sailing. An order of knights called the Knights of the Crown served as the guardians of commerce and tax collectors for the High King.
The Chronicle of the High King, a gift from the Fey lords that swore fealty to the Kendrick High King, had special magic that allowed it to record the true life story of anyone whose name was written into the book (up to that point in time -- it was not a book of prophecy, only truth). An order of knights called the Knights of the Chronicle (informally the Knights Scrivener) server the Chronicle, recorded history, and acted as Justices in the lands of the high king.
All three of the relics were lost when the high king disappeared, and any remnants of the orders of knights that served the three relics also disappeared shortly after the Cataclysm.
The Cloak Knights
The current body of soldiers calling themselves the cloak knights may or may not have some connection back to the original Cloak Knights of the High King's time. They claim it, but that doesn't mean it's true. They have a main training facility and do a lot of recruiting in Snowdown, an Amnian colony in the Isles, and most of the knights are more mercenary than knight, although they all train in special combat techniques -- cloak-based, highly-mobile, spinning styles that make them very challenging opponents.
Back to the Meta-Challenge
The PCs have just returned to Ikarport, having had a couple of successful adventures facing goblins. They've battled goblins on the sea, on an outpost island, and even in a remote part of the Ikarian mainland. And they've returned with a hobgoblin prisoner.
Their return is the first glimmer of hope for the Duke's effort to retain some autonomy in a long time. Other groups have either been lost or rescued by teams of Cloak Knights who happened to be in the area.
The PCs, in their most recent set of encounters, ran into a team of Cloak Knights that were in the area of a goblin camp the Pcs had been sent to investigate. It is probable that they were sent there to be ready to step in and save the party as the CKs have so many other groups in the past weeks.
But the PCs foiled that by discovering the cloak knights, joining their camp, then tricking them into drinking too much, then dragging their passed out bodies into a patch of poison ivy. While the Cloak Knights were cursing and scratching their way back to Ikarport, the PCs managed to deal with the goblins in the camp and take their prisoner.
(Gotta love my PCs for coming up with that one.)
While the PCs might not rate invitations to the more high-brow events in the festival, their celebrity status as heroes in a time when the tiny nation really needs heroes will get them access to a lot of events they would otherwise not attend. Especially since the Duke sees them as an important part of his effort to stay in control of Ikaria.
The Duke visits with the PCs and lays out the challenge for them. They need to do everything they can in the festival to discredit the cloak knights and promote Ikarian independence, without creating problems that will make it impossible for the Duke to get the help of the Cloak Knights against the goblins should that prove necessary -- and to do so in a way that will be subtle enough that the Prince, should he become High King, will have no reason to remove the Duke from his throne. It is a very delicate tightrope the Duke is trying to walk -- to try to protect his small nation without committing himself to a possible fraudulent heir.
The Metachallenge
This meta-challenge involves a bunch of other scenes, encounters, and challenges, each of which can earn the PCs successes and failures in the meta challenge.
The Pcs need to earn 10 successes before they earn 3 failures. There will also be ways for the PCs to try to remove failures, if necessary.
The Festival takes place over the course of 7 days. More on the festival in a future post.
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