BSF
Explorer
Specifically, this is the Autumn Festival that is held annually at Greerson. This is a large festival! The harvest is mostly complete and this is the last chance to really socialize before Winter. Obviously, the residents of the city will be here. Many of the citizens of the nation will also be here. Finally, there will be plenty of merchants and wandering types that will make it to the Festival. The Festival lasts a full two weeks (12 days) and at its peak there will be several thousand people attending.
Lord Tannerson is, essentially, requiring that all of you attend some of the Festival. This is a good opportunity for you to present yourselves to the citizens of the nation and show that you are good people at heart. You are encouraged to participate in any of the contests that will be happening, socialize with the people at the Festival and generally have a good time. In the month before the Festival, after you return from Mr. Conroe’s manor and before Li, Tormal, Keldorn and Ceru departed to pick up the crystal, Lord Tannerson has sent down on of his seneschals, a gentleman named Kreig, to provide a rundown on the events that will be happening during the Festival as well as explain some of the finer social customs to help avoid any gross faux pas’. Based on what Kreig tells you, it soon becomes apparent that Lord Tannerson is one of the major sponsors of the Autumn Festival. You get the distinct impression that Kreig thinks some of you will certainly get involved in drunken brawls. While there is nothing illegal about that, you are left with the impression that some people will think less of you for it, people like Kreig.
Lord Tannerson will also have you visit him before the Festival and you will be sized by some of his tailors. I will get to that later. But to start, let’s take a look at the schedule of events.
Day 1
* Opening events – There will be a number of speeches from important people. This will take most of the morning.
* General Celebration – After the Opening events, many people want to socialize, listen to music, eat food and drink.
Day 2
* Craft shows and competitions begin – There will be a large variety of crafts being plied at the Festival, from Cooking to Smithing to Tanning and everything in between. The most notable include the Arms & Armor crafting competition. This is a 10 day event in which crafters begin a new set of arms or armor and have to complete it within 10 days. The arms and armor will then be judged and awarded. Functionality is important, as are clever innovations and artistic improvements. There are also a variety of art competitions. Anyone wishing to compete in any of the competitions should sign up (Post). As well, if you are looking to buy/sell art or equipment, this is a great time & place to do it.
* Preliminaries begin for the Duel of Illusions – This event is limited to 64 entrants. Each is paired off against another and each contest happens on the top of the hour from mid-morning to early evening (About 8 hours). Each contestant has to create the better illusion to advance to the next round.
* Archery competition begins. This event is limited to 512 contestants. The top four contestants win prizes. There will be 8 ranges setup on the field, each with a judge. This is a single elimination tournament and each competitor will be paired off with another. A quarter of an hour is allocated to eliminate your opponent. Each competitor shoots 3 arrows at the target. The highest score wins. If there is a tie, the target is moved back 100’ and the competitors take 3 more shots. This repeats until there is a winner for the round.
Day 3
* Day two of the preliminaries for the Duel of Illusions.
* Day two of the Archery competition begins. Round two is eliminated in the morning (256 contestants). Round three is eliminated in the afternoon (128 contestants). By round three, the time is extended to 20 minutes per contest, to account for the time it takes to move targets further downfield.
Day 4
* Day three of the preliminaries for the Duel of Illusions.
* Day three of the Archery competition begins. Round 4 begins 1 hour after dawn and runs for two hours. (64 contestants.) Each competition is now allotted 30 minutes. Round 5 begins in the mid-morning and finishes before lunch (32 contestants). After lunch, the field is reduced to 4 judged ranges. Round 6 begins after lunch and each competition has an hour to complete (16 contestants, 4 fields, 2 hours maximum).
* Wrestling contest. No weapons allowed. There are two divisions. One for shapechangers and one for non-shapechangers. This is a double-elimination tournament that begins in the morning and often runs late into the night.
Day 5
* Final Day for the preliminaries for the Duel of Illusions.
* Day four of the Archery competition begins with Round 7. 8 competitors, 4 fields, must be completed by lunch. Round 8 begins after lunch with 4 competitors and 2 fields. This competition runs until there are only two finalists remaining. The final round begins 1 hour afterward and finishes when there is a winner and the prizes are awarded.
Day 6
* Round two of the Duel of Illusions begins. (32 competitors)
* Wine tasting
* Mid-Festival Dance
Day 7
* Round two of the Duel of Illusions ends.
* Diplomats Debate – This is a contest in words as a variety of topics are hotly debated. Contestants are eliminated by a panel of 5 judges, headed by Ursula Gruzalk and guided by the audience.
Day 8
* Round three of the Duel of Illusions is held. (16 competitors)
* Combat Steeplechase is begun at dawn. This is a twenty-mile competition that tests a competitor’s stamina and combat prowess. It involves running, swimming, climbing, and archery/crossbow accuracy.
Day 9
* Round four of the Duel of Illusions is held. (8 competitors and the matches are 2 hours apart.)
* Open combat duels. Striking for subdual only. Show off your weaponsplay.
* Bread baking contest begins at dawn and is judged in the evening.
Day 10
* Round five of the Duel of Illusions is held. (4 competitors, two rounds, morning and afternoon.)
The Boulder Toss – See how far you can heave a 56 pound boulder.
* Announcements and Proclamations – the news around Greerson. Lord Tannerson will require you to be present as this is a very good opportunity to know what is going on.
Day 11
* At noon, the finalists compete to see who will win the Duel of Illusions.
* At sunset, the Arms & Armor crafting competition ends.
* The Lists, AKA The Grand Melee. All weapons must be padded/non-lethal. The last person standing is the winner. (As a point of ettiquette, most highly skilled opponents seek out their peers on the field.)
Day 12
* The Tree – Closed to semi-finalists of the Archery Competition. The participants in the Tree try to shoot down prizes that have been hung in the branches of large trees.
* Closing Moot – Including awards for all remaining Craft competitions.
* Ending Dance – This usually ends around dawn, the next day.
Lord Tannerson is, essentially, requiring that all of you attend some of the Festival. This is a good opportunity for you to present yourselves to the citizens of the nation and show that you are good people at heart. You are encouraged to participate in any of the contests that will be happening, socialize with the people at the Festival and generally have a good time. In the month before the Festival, after you return from Mr. Conroe’s manor and before Li, Tormal, Keldorn and Ceru departed to pick up the crystal, Lord Tannerson has sent down on of his seneschals, a gentleman named Kreig, to provide a rundown on the events that will be happening during the Festival as well as explain some of the finer social customs to help avoid any gross faux pas’. Based on what Kreig tells you, it soon becomes apparent that Lord Tannerson is one of the major sponsors of the Autumn Festival. You get the distinct impression that Kreig thinks some of you will certainly get involved in drunken brawls. While there is nothing illegal about that, you are left with the impression that some people will think less of you for it, people like Kreig.
Lord Tannerson will also have you visit him before the Festival and you will be sized by some of his tailors. I will get to that later. But to start, let’s take a look at the schedule of events.
Day 1
* Opening events – There will be a number of speeches from important people. This will take most of the morning.
* General Celebration – After the Opening events, many people want to socialize, listen to music, eat food and drink.
Day 2
* Craft shows and competitions begin – There will be a large variety of crafts being plied at the Festival, from Cooking to Smithing to Tanning and everything in between. The most notable include the Arms & Armor crafting competition. This is a 10 day event in which crafters begin a new set of arms or armor and have to complete it within 10 days. The arms and armor will then be judged and awarded. Functionality is important, as are clever innovations and artistic improvements. There are also a variety of art competitions. Anyone wishing to compete in any of the competitions should sign up (Post). As well, if you are looking to buy/sell art or equipment, this is a great time & place to do it.
* Preliminaries begin for the Duel of Illusions – This event is limited to 64 entrants. Each is paired off against another and each contest happens on the top of the hour from mid-morning to early evening (About 8 hours). Each contestant has to create the better illusion to advance to the next round.
* Archery competition begins. This event is limited to 512 contestants. The top four contestants win prizes. There will be 8 ranges setup on the field, each with a judge. This is a single elimination tournament and each competitor will be paired off with another. A quarter of an hour is allocated to eliminate your opponent. Each competitor shoots 3 arrows at the target. The highest score wins. If there is a tie, the target is moved back 100’ and the competitors take 3 more shots. This repeats until there is a winner for the round.
Day 3
* Day two of the preliminaries for the Duel of Illusions.
* Day two of the Archery competition begins. Round two is eliminated in the morning (256 contestants). Round three is eliminated in the afternoon (128 contestants). By round three, the time is extended to 20 minutes per contest, to account for the time it takes to move targets further downfield.
Day 4
* Day three of the preliminaries for the Duel of Illusions.
* Day three of the Archery competition begins. Round 4 begins 1 hour after dawn and runs for two hours. (64 contestants.) Each competition is now allotted 30 minutes. Round 5 begins in the mid-morning and finishes before lunch (32 contestants). After lunch, the field is reduced to 4 judged ranges. Round 6 begins after lunch and each competition has an hour to complete (16 contestants, 4 fields, 2 hours maximum).
* Wrestling contest. No weapons allowed. There are two divisions. One for shapechangers and one for non-shapechangers. This is a double-elimination tournament that begins in the morning and often runs late into the night.
Day 5
* Final Day for the preliminaries for the Duel of Illusions.
* Day four of the Archery competition begins with Round 7. 8 competitors, 4 fields, must be completed by lunch. Round 8 begins after lunch with 4 competitors and 2 fields. This competition runs until there are only two finalists remaining. The final round begins 1 hour afterward and finishes when there is a winner and the prizes are awarded.
Day 6
* Round two of the Duel of Illusions begins. (32 competitors)
* Wine tasting
* Mid-Festival Dance
Day 7
* Round two of the Duel of Illusions ends.
* Diplomats Debate – This is a contest in words as a variety of topics are hotly debated. Contestants are eliminated by a panel of 5 judges, headed by Ursula Gruzalk and guided by the audience.
Day 8
* Round three of the Duel of Illusions is held. (16 competitors)
* Combat Steeplechase is begun at dawn. This is a twenty-mile competition that tests a competitor’s stamina and combat prowess. It involves running, swimming, climbing, and archery/crossbow accuracy.
Day 9
* Round four of the Duel of Illusions is held. (8 competitors and the matches are 2 hours apart.)
* Open combat duels. Striking for subdual only. Show off your weaponsplay.
* Bread baking contest begins at dawn and is judged in the evening.
Day 10
* Round five of the Duel of Illusions is held. (4 competitors, two rounds, morning and afternoon.)
The Boulder Toss – See how far you can heave a 56 pound boulder.
* Announcements and Proclamations – the news around Greerson. Lord Tannerson will require you to be present as this is a very good opportunity to know what is going on.
Day 11
* At noon, the finalists compete to see who will win the Duel of Illusions.
* At sunset, the Arms & Armor crafting competition ends.
* The Lists, AKA The Grand Melee. All weapons must be padded/non-lethal. The last person standing is the winner. (As a point of ettiquette, most highly skilled opponents seek out their peers on the field.)
Day 12
* The Tree – Closed to semi-finalists of the Archery Competition. The participants in the Tree try to shoot down prizes that have been hung in the branches of large trees.
* Closing Moot – Including awards for all remaining Craft competitions.
* Ending Dance – This usually ends around dawn, the next day.
