OOC:
Sorry, missed Ramank's question earlier. You can certainly spread stories of your accomplishments, though it will just have RP benefits, no mechanical ones. Horace, you make a check for the 7th day as well. I rolled it for you: a natural 20, so that's 6 points total!
Soon enough, the day of the fete arrives. The party is scheduled to begin an hour before sunset. The Kintargo Opera House is fully lit, its marquee and poster boxes adorned with "SPECIAL EVENT—INVITATION ONLY" signs. Acolytes of Shelyn stand out front, checking invitations, and they welcome you once you arrive.
OOC:
The fete is split into four stages, each treated as a different 1-hour-long event detailed below. During each hour, the PCs can attempt two half-hour activities, chosen from the basic Fete Activities or from one of the specific Fete Activities listed for each hour. Many of these specific Fete Activities help the PCs earn Victory Points (called Fete Points) that will ultimately determine how open Zachrin Vhast is to their request and will help decide how memorable of an impression they make to the other attendees.
[ +- ] Basic Fete Activities
A PC can always opt to take one of the following basic Fete Activities as one of their two choices during the hour.
Assist: A PC can help another PC out with their action; this Fete Activity functions the same as the Aid reaction but takes as much time as the action being assisted.
Impress: During the half hour, a PC can grandstand, show off, schmooze, and otherwise try to make a favorable impression with one of the other noteworthy guests. The PC attempts a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check against the chosen guest’s Will DC to earn Fete Points. Once anyone successfully impresses a noteworthy guest, no further attempts to impress that NPC can be attempted during the fete.
Mingle and Relax: A PC can simply spend the time mingling, chatting, and people-watching. Doing so allows them to attempt a DC 25 Perception check; on a success, they notice something about the others at the party that they can take advantage of—their next skill check attempted during the party gains a +2 circumstance bonus as a result.
Spend Time with Zachrin Vhast: The high priest mingles with the partygoers throughout the event, and as such, a PC can spend one of their two Fete Activities during an hour to observe and chat a bit with him. Doing so allows that PC to attempt a Discover check against the priest, which can give the group a head start on the influence encounter with him later in the evening.
After you are checked into the theater foyer by neatly dressed acolytes of Shelyn, you're led into the main theater where the art show takes place. Guests mill about on the stage, look over the art and compare notes, or mingle in the seating area or balcony above. As you enter the main theater room, you're each announced by a herald, herself dressed in incredible finery—as are all the staff. The finest drinks and delicate appetizers are served throughout the event, but never to an extent that appetites for the feast are in danger of being ruined.
Shortly after you arrive, Zachrin Vhast steps up onto the stage and calls for attention. Zchrin is an androgynously handsome human man clad in fine blue-and-turquoise robes.
"Hello everybody, and thank you for coming. I would like to pay particular homage to our biggest sponsors tonight, Elleste Gudgeon, and to Kintargo's most influential art critics, Louise and Chopperly Smynne, who will be helping to judge each of the works on display tonight. Those who pursue the arts are blessed by the Eternal Rose, and I know that Shelyn herself smiles down upon us tonight. I hope you all appreciate the artists' work, and that you might see fit to purchase the art here later in the evening when the pieces will be auctioned off. Now then, enjoy the festivities!"
The crowd applauds as the party gets into full swing.
OOC:
All of the previously listed NPCs are present except for Delmonia Crape, who has yet to arrive. In addition to basic Fete Activities, the PCs can pursue either of the following Fete Activities during the first hour. Remember you may choose to take two activities each hour.
[ +- ] BRAG ABOUT ARTWORK
AUDITORY CONCENTRATE EXPLORATION LINGUISTIC
The PC spends a half hour bragging about a piece of art they or another PC entered in the show. The PC can attempt a DC 25 Art Lore or a DC 30 Society check to earn Fete Points. If the PC is bragging about their own artwork, they gain a +2 circumstance bonus to this check.
[ +- ] EXAMINE ARTWORK
CONCENTRATE EXPLORATION SECRET
The PC spends a half hour looking over the artwork on display but also keeps an eye on how others regard the pieces. If the PC intends to purchase any of the artwork during the auction, they can focus their attention on one chosen piece of artwork during that half hour and then attempt a secret DC 28 Art Lore or a DC 32 Perception check. Regardless of the result, describe to the PC what all five pieces of art look like.
Critical Success: The PC correctly appraises the artwork they’re focusing on, plus one other piece of artwork of their choice.
Success: The PC correctly appraises the artwork they’re focusing on.
Failure: The PC fails to come to a conclusion about the artwork’s value.
Critical Failure: The PC conducts a misappraisal of the artwork’s value.
[ +- ] Artwork on Display
Delmonia Crape’s sculpture, Dance of the Monarchs, is made of burnt wood, glass, and porcelain that depicts a pair of peacocks in combat to the death atop a regal throne.
Almidia Decarruf’s oil painting, Obligation, depicts a sobbing woman in a shadowy landscape surrounded by mocking and jeering aristocrats; a closer inspection reveals that one of the aristocrats who looks identical to the sobbing woman has turned her back on the scene. This painting grows more haunting and disturbing the longer one looks at it.
Mulberry Hymp’s sculpture, Abrogail II in Her Pomp, is made of partially melted wax, carved driftwood, and moldy cloth and depicts Queen Abrogail II as a doddering old woman with a silver chain around her ankle.
Motman Primm’s oil painting, To the Victor, is a fanciful depiction of a legion of mice who have built a sprawling castle out of a discarded aristocrat’s boot in a flower garden. It looks pretty, but its commentary on commonfolk building homes out of castoffs from higher society feels cliched.
Abigail Tottlescloff’s sculpture, Passion in Purple, is carved from a block of porphyry the size of a cat and depicts two succubi entwined in passion. The work shows skill, but those in the know note that it merely apes the more elegant and subtle work of Magnimarian sculptor Ayavah.
