HYPERBOREA » A Calencian Bealtainn

Monkeydono · 6/15/2017 3:12 am

As usual, my crew is leaving the planned area (where I laid the groundwork for the festival) for Calencia. I'll be handing over the DM reigns after the fest, so let's not discuss The Ghost Ship of the Desert Dunes (including curses and fanes, etc.), only focusing on Bealtainn with Calencia as the backdrop.

Note to Players & part-time DMs: reading further may SPOIL some fun surprises in and around Calencia...

Here's what I have so far (I'll keep updating this with a final product once the crew finishes it):

Sunday; Day of Gathering:
At daybreak, on the richly carved Nine Drums of Khalk-Xu, 9 monks rhythmically beat and move eventually to betwixt The 18 Guardians (~20' totem poles).
This will chase off most, if not all, mundane threats w/i two miles yet some not-so-mundane threats may instead become attracted...

Burning of Black Seaweed at the bases of the bases of the totems

By midday the great gathering of fuel and building of the towering pyres upon the mudflats

some painting of bodies, some lotus, wine (color, type, flavor...?)

Lighting of the fires

Earthday; Day of Judgement:
Beating of drums continue yet only one at a time today

Garlands of mistletoe, holly and wildflowers are lain at the bases of The Guardians

Judgement (but how and who? monks, witches, council, consensus?)

some more nakedness and some more lotus but not near town...peeps be judging after all...

Keep the fires going...

Seaday; Day of Atonement:
Anointing of man, beast, fish, and fowl and especially the totems w/ fermented fish oils

Sink or Swim OR Drink then Drink!!! (mild to severe corporal punishment)

Swim the Gap (time to earn that "barbarian" mettle!)

At least one monk will continue the incessant drum beat all day...

Although salacious acts close to the village are likely not getting out of hand, yet...the urge-driven tumult is building and becoming increasingly bizarre and feral in the gulches and gorges roughly half to one full mile from the fjord round

Oh, don't forget the fires...

Moonday of the Twin Totalities!!! Day of Cleansing and Purification:
Happy hour cockfighting (2nd half features many archæopteryx!) big business for the geezer set

Increase in drums...

Wine, lotus, bodies, paint, mud, etc.

Bring out the Dead, aka capital punishment by Fire or Water (don't forget the Dimensional Dweller...). This will always be outsiders unless a Calencian is found to have committed a heinous act to the community.

Most frenzied of drumming

Lighting of the greatest pyres

Immolate the condemned; drift the free...

Starday; Day of Dreams:
Vows and Weddings

Skyday; Day of Fertility:
hoop-n-stick maybe and er,...ball-n-cup....right?

Saturnday; Day of Rebirth:
havent got this far; figured I've killed them all by now...

Festival food, drink and fun!
prices are for foreigners; anything 1ep>=free for locals or at least cheaper than listed
Beer (3sp)
Khalk-Xu mug - free beer all week! (27gp ~12oz/300-333ml or 51gp ~20oz/567-600ml)
Wine (9sp)
Khalk-Xu chalice - free wine all week!! (123gp)
Whiskey (9sp)
Khalk-Xu drammer - free whiskey all week!!! (priceless; only one - must out drink current champ...and the new champ can't just leave {with the Drammer, anyways} w/o problems getting real, weird fast!)
Lotus honey pot - makes ten cups of tea (cheap pot 10gp, travel jar 20gp, adventurers can 30gp)
Squeezers - intestine filled w/ cereal, shrimp paste, fish scraps, grasshopper, &/or other meats (2sp)
Bees-eyne - pickled giant bees eyes on a stinger (10gp)
Candied leech - rock-candy covered leech strips (1ep a hand) *child shoves handful in mouth; a muffled* - "Look, I'm Kthulhu!"
Bealtainn torches - large decorative torch, burns 6 hours (1gp)

Other considerations:
2d3-1 adventuring parties (if anyone has some groups of 2-10 with a bit of backstory on file and wants to share, I'd be grateful to be able to plugin something if needed!)

1d3-1 weird parties (again, I'm thinking counter-festival/god/bio/just-plain-odd that might work its way into the area...any help would be awesome!)

{work in progress}

Last edited by Monkeydono (6/21/2017 11:00 pm)

Ghul · 6/15/2017 11:57 am

Haha! You had me at hoop-n-stick! Good stuff, Monkeydono!

Monkeydono · 6/16/2017 3:42 am

Thanks Jeff!
Just finished a great night of gaming...
Enter the Trial of the Nine Furies of Khalk-Xu!
post to follow...

Monkeydono · 6/16/2017 4:35 am

round a tavern table or fireside, talk might turn - "so, ever hear the one about the Esquimaux Kthulhu monk that disembarked at a port of a Tlingit Kraken monastery?"

Note to Players & part-time DMs: reading further may SPOIL some fun surprises in and around Calencia...

The Invitation:
woe to those that interfere!
A monk entering Calencia will be soon confronted by the resident monks of the Kraken. Roughly every hour, or when exiting buildings, ONLY the errant monk will receive a singular attack coupled w/a specific question, 9 times total over the course of the day.

(change questions to fit vibe of home campaign; these are what I came up with on-the-fly):
Low level questions: Who are you? Where are you from? What do you want?
Mid level questions: What is your purpose? What do you fear? What has changed you?
High level questions: Why do you doubt? How is it life? When happens death?

If Kraken monk:*
--Surprises target AND hits: target knocked into water...
--Rolls a natural 19 or 20 (instead of stunning): target sails into water...
--Hits AND target fails a Dex test: target tumbles into water...

The Trial of the Nine Furies of Khalk-Xu:
at every threshold there is a choice on who you become
About the islet of the monastery dot dwarf osiers and pools fermenting offal. Stairs hewn in the limestone wind up to large double doors (each 9'x18'), the right door is set with a smaller door (2'x5') on which hangs a 6" Kraken patina knocker; on the left door, midway hangs a much larger 3' Khalk-Xu patina knocker.

The petitioning monk must survive one attack a round for as many level as the monk has levels. Survive all 9 rounds to become Grand Master!
a linked tangle of arms, knees, elbows, legs; writhing, dashing, swirling, lashing
Drawing lots or cards to determine effect is more efficient than rolling dice in this case since each monk attacks but once and each maneuver used but once during the Trial.

The Nine:
1,2,3 - Low (1st or 2nd) level monks
4,5,6 - Mid (3rd to 5th) level monks
7,8,9 - High (6th to 8th) level monks

Fury of Khalk-Xu:*
1 - normal
2 - +1 to hit (H)
3 - +1 H & +1 damage (D)
4 - if hit, then prone (P)
5 - +1 H & P
6 - +1 H & +1 D & P
7 - x2 D
8 - +1 H & x2 D
9 - x3 D

Surviving monks receive:
--50XP/R of Trial
--The answer to 3 questions a day on 3 different days, 9 total questions may be asked. Any and all queries uttered count (this should cut down on waxing philosophic).
always consider the consequences: your actions, your words, even your thoughts
--Sharing of techniques "...as witness to our form...Now, demonstrate your ways...": monk gains a +1 to hit OR damage OR AC and ONLY after training a number of weeks equaling her/his level. Bonus lasts until next level attained, or Selene is again full, etc.
--3 hours leave a day.

Journeymen monks must:
--Answer all asked questions, one a day, for which s/he did not answer by defending (i.e. not kicked into water) during the Invitation.
--Answer an additional number of questions to make the stay-long total be 9 (these questions might also be answered through martial defense...).
--NEVER ask more than 9 questions during their residency NOR more than 3 questions in one day.
--Sharing of techniques (see above)
--Fully participate and observe the Festivals and Worship days as do the Kraken monks.

*ONLY the monks of Khalk-Xu may do this and ONLY about the catwalks, ropes, rigging, and boats (and, obviously, their monastery) of Calencia and ONLY after a year or more of training; do NOT use additional critical damage tables.

Last edited by Monkeydono (6/21/2017 7:12 pm)

Monkeydono · 6/16/2017 4:24 pm

The Trial is complete enough to show what I was thinking...now on the the witches...
(I'll repurpose this post for the use but probably won't add much of anything here until we play through it...)

Ghul · 6/23/2017 12:57 pm

Looking forward to reading your approach to the witches!

Monkeydono · 2/18/2020 5:00 am

<<some things go bump in the night>>

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6/15/2017 3:12 am #1

A Calencian Bealtainn

6/15/2017 11:57 am #2

Re: A Calencian Bealtainn

6/16/2017 3:42 am #3

Re: A Calencian Bealtainn

6/16/2017 4:35 am #4

Re: A Calencian Bealtainn

6/16/2017 4:24 pm #5

Re: A Calencian Bealtainn

6/23/2017 12:57 pm #6

Re: A Calencian Bealtainn

2/18/2020 5:00 am #7

Re: A Calencian Bealtainn

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