At 6:00, Beranhond, Darvin, Johan, Nym, and Talathel arrived at the City Hall, where they found Violet waiting for them.
"Dinner and the City Council are waiting inside," Violet told the group, "They have been growing nervous with all of the bad news that has been coming in recently about the other cities along the coast. I would recommend calming their fears as much as you can."
As Violet led them into a modest sized building, past several artistic renderings of the city and the surrounding countryside, she continued, "The last they heard from any of you, you had just encountered Methasse at Waterdeep and were traveling to the Shaar to try to raise troops to help you fight him. They are hopeful that you've been successful, because they received word this last week that Methasse is considering attacking here next."
The group came to a medium dining room with a door on each side. In the center of the room was a round table and fifteen chairs spaced equally around it. Each chair had a table setting with a generous salad, several bottles of assorted dressings, and a few small bowls of toppings for the salad. As they approached, a servant who had been standing the door opposite the one they entered from quickly ducked into the door she'd been standing next to. Several moments later, the servant reappeared and took up her place beside the door as the 7 members of the City Council came through the door one by one.
As the council came out, the members of the group that had been in Baldur's Gate at the beginning of their adventures recognized both Arngrim and Hring among the seven. Apparently, they had both become more of a political fixture in the city since the last time Kilink had visited.
One of the women that nobody in Kilink recognized raised her arms in greeting, "Welcome, Kilink. I see your group has changed a bit since last we met. I am Georgia Stourm, the leader of this council. Please, sit and join us for a dinner, and we will bring each other up to date and strategize how to stem the tide of the darkness that sweeps over the land." Georgia motioned everyone to sit, and the council spread out to put themselves next to and between the members of Kilink.
The final seating arrangement was in this order: Georgia, Beranhond, Councilwoman 1, Talathel, Councilman 1, Darvin, Hring, Nym, Arngrim, Johan, Councilwoman 2, Councilwoman 3.
Are you thinking you'd like to roleplay this dinner, or would you prefer to just do more of a rundown of important information and such? Please vote.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
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I vote for Obama.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for being helpful. I vote to kick Nick off the island.
ReplyDeleteHeeeey, those aren't on the ballot. No write ins allowed!
ReplyDeleteI vote for just the rundown of important info!
ReplyDeleteI vote for Georgia Stourm (which is not the name of an arena football team, though it SHOULD be) to be fast-tracked into the Dan's Most Memorable NPC Character Names HOF. Eelskin Jack will be his presenter.
ReplyDeleteAlso, just the pertinent info. And Obama. And Hillary in 2016. Lots of voting.
I'd agree with the pertinent info. I also agree with Alan's recommendation for "Georgia Stourm."
ReplyDeleteI don't vote because I'm a lazy American, but I claim the reason I didn't vote was because 'both options are equally as evil'.
ReplyDeleteObama won't let me hunt the homeless for sport. That's why I'm voting Tea Party. #IStandWithRand
ReplyDeleteOkay, here's the deal. I will put all the pertinent information together for you and post it, and in return, you will all work to come up with interesting names and backstories for the 4 unnamed council people and the servant who is waiting at the door.
ReplyDeleteNick: You get the servant.
Whittaker: You get Councilwoman 1 (Between you and Talathel)
Erin: You get Councilman 1 (Between Talathel and Darvin)
Alan: You get Councilwoman 2 (Between Johan and Councilwoman 2)
Austin: You get Councilwoman 3 (Beside Councilwoman 2)
There will be a rewards for best name and best backstory. What's a suitable reward for this minigame? Any ideas?
You have until Thursday morning to post the names and stories you have developed. I will be judging at 11 AM PST - lunchtime. :)
ReplyDeleteDid you want us to post the backstory/name here, or email them to you directly in case they have secret secrets of a secretive nature?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great question. Post it here, and if there is anything resembling secret secrets of a secretive nature, email it to me separately.
ReplyDeleteEvelia Hutchcraft
ReplyDeleteEvelia is a stocky, somewhat snooty-looking woman. She is in her late 20s, and has a somewhat flat face and unmemorable facial features. Her blue eyes sweep around the room, and you suspect she has a hound or two at home to keep her company as several strands of hair on her clothing do not match the dull red of her short-cropped hair.
She seems somewhat annoyed, and those who know her well know this is from her dislike of the warmer weather as well as her impatience to finish and visit a nearby bar. She enjoys watching the occasional tavern brawl, and tends to attempt to woo whichever bruiser comes out on top of said incidents. However, she never actually dirties her hands with violence, and leaves if the fighting gets too close to her seat for comfort.
She does enjoy new things, so meeting a group such as those before her is very engaging to her, and she is listening intently to what they have to say. You can also see the somewhat thin moneypouch near her person, despite the wealth in her clothing, and again those familiar with Evelia know this is due to her love of philanthropy, as she regularly visits the poorhouses and orphanages in Baldur's Gate to give what she can. This also happens to net her quite a network of informants and helpers should she need to call upon them.
Finally, you can see a necklace around her neck with a small, twisted melted ring on it. This was from her ex-husband, who left with an elven girl a few years ago. Evelia holds grudges tightly, and melted down the ring while selling the diamond for "personal purposes." Her husband was last heard of being beaten and mugged by a group of mercenaries near the border of Thay, and word spread to warn others to avoid crossing her again.
As for the threat to Baldur's Gate, Evelia's sources have given her decent information on the extent of what they can determine about the threats, and she is very much for halting this as soon as possible, in whatever way possible. This is in part due to her faith in Sune and the preachings of the local cleric of Sune about the danger the threats pose to Baldur's Gate. However, Evelia wants to advance in the Council, and so she keeps the full extent of her passion about the threat and needed response to the wave of evil veiled so as to seem more mature to the other council members.
Tarryn Kallis has been on the city council for as long as people can remember, and this is the biggest crisis she's faced. People from all over, even lands she herself had not heard of, have been descending on Baldur's Gate. She does not know why they have come, but she is weary that the city's food supplies will run out. She has asked ship captains at the docks about the possibilities of bringing in more food, but she only hears reports of how hard trading has become in other ports. She is fearful of what will happen should this last even a few more months.
ReplyDeleteHer hair is long and gray, though long-time observers of the council are noticing a few streaks of white being included. Her skin is wrinkled. She appears frail. Her green eyes dart about the room as she silently makes her observations. Her mind is sharp, and she is always trying to figure out what is best for the city. Still, she is older and will likely step down soon, perhaps after this crisis is over.
She wears fairly plain clothes. Though she could afford to dress more extravagantly, she prefers to keep a lower profile. She wears a simple white blouse and long blue skirt. Simple gold earrings with emeralds (to match her eyes) hang from her ears. The only ring she wears is her wedding band. A walking stick rests against the table, and she hopes this meal takes awhile so she won't have to use it for some time.
Delilah Dynamo, a member in good standing of the Merchant Guild, joined the council after the departure of The Lady Narath.
ReplyDeleteThe Dynamo family has been a part of the Sword Coast patrician class for time memorial. However, Delilah had obtained her position largely with the support of the refugees, the urban poor, and the foreign merchants. Her election to the council came after a rousing series of speeches throughout the city and a march by her supporters on the council hall. Upon her acceptance of the position she declared:
"A specter is haunting this land! A specter of darkness. All the old powers of this land have joined forces to eradicate this power, but they are powerless against it. Even now Baldur's Gate lies weaker under the rule of its supposed protectors! The solution is not in the old ways. Instead, let us find a path toward prosperity and security that does not rest upon the blood, tears, and labor of the masses. Together we can overcome the evil, the terror, and the prejudice that have for too long dominated the minds and hearts of the citizens of this fair city. I speak most to you, the mass of the poor, the hungry, the starving, for you are this city, and it is through you that this city will become great again!"
Her first act on the council was to chastise the others for putting their trust in a group of seedy adventurers. In both private council and in the public she mocked and ridiculed the adventurers sharing her opinion that they were more than likely to run off with the ship and neglect their duties and commitment to the city. As word of the disaster down in the south reached the city, it gave more credence to her words and the masses of people in the city became more and more suspicious of the other members of the council.
Although her support comes from the proletariat, she still dresses in the fashion of the patricians. She wears laurels about her head, and dresses in elegant togas made of the finest silk.
As Beranhond and Talathel sat down she gave Talathel a look that suggested she had in fact received word that the monk had spent most of the last year drinking. She looked up and down Beranhond's seemingly simple robes and grinned.
"Still playing as a simple prophet? Tut, tut. From what I have heard you have been playing warlord in the east. You probably should have stayed there."
I am really enjoying this exercise. Well done so far!
ReplyDeleteThe more I hear about these characters, the more I'm interested in at least a little bit more rp.
ReplyDeleteJeeves Ratatatat
ReplyDeleteJeeves is a middle aged human. He is 5'10" and weighs 190 lbs. His hair is graying and he is starting to bald. His family has a long and illustrious history in the service industry. His parents, Alta and Vista, were both servants along the Sword Coast.
Jeeves takes great pride in being a dutiful and loyal servant to the city of Baldur's Gate. However, the job can be quite tedious. In his free time, Jeeves enjoys studying trivia. This means that you can Ask Jeeves almost anything and he will know the answer. You can Ask Jeeves why the sky is blue and he will tell you. You can Ask Jeeves what there is to do in Topka, Kansas and he will you. You can Ask Jeeves how to pronounce Thjodolf, however, he cannot tell you that because no one knows how to pronounce Thjodolf.
Jeeves is mildly curious about the adventurers but only because he thinks they may be the answer to a Pub's trivia night question sometime down the road.
To put it simply, Councilman Abarrion Bort Garther Regginold Dartherson III is an idiot, although he would object to both the word 'idiot' and 'simply' in that statement. He is the youngest son of Lord Horthing Dartherson of Baldur's Gate, one of the wealthiest men on the Sword Coast, and also one of the most disappointed to have such an imbecile for a son. Lord Dartherson had paid for only the most expensive tutors, and then magicians, and then snake oil salesmen to try to improve the worth of his bumbling son, but to no avail. With great disgust and disappointment, Lord Horthing bought his way into the city council to rid himself of his worthless son, and now here Abarrion sat.
ReplyDeleteAbarrion thought himself better than the other council members because of his father's wealth, even though we was likely the only member who could scarcely spell 'council'... or remember his full name, on a bad day. To be fair, 'Abarrion Bort Garther Regginold Dartherson III' is an unnecessarily long and pompous name.
As Abarrion looked dumbly at the adventurers, he thought vaguely that he might just remember them... or was he remembering that great circus with the amazing wizard who made his purse of gold magically disappear? No bother, he didn't care for these dirty village folk anyways. Were they village folk? Abarrion slowly looked Talathel and Darvin up and down. If either man looked back, they could almost have seen the poorly made, unused clockwork in Abarrion's mind grinding slowly along. He breathed heavily through his mouth, feeling confused about why he was sitting between two elves. Shifty creatures with their knowing things and... more things about.... other... things, he thought. Abarrion glared stupidly around the table at the adventurers hoping this meeting would end quickly so he could take a nap.
So I have been rereading all of these tonight, and even with the assistance of the rest of my household (Ang and the kitties all weighed in), I am unable to pick a winner. I am forced to declare you all winners, and I will award you each an additional hero point, or whatever it's called in 4E.
ReplyDelete