Marius does reasonably well on the first section, but his mind starts to wander to the stage during the second portion, and he only realizes when time is up. (Ah, the joys of tech week.)
The gith is able to purge the thought of 'potato slaad' from his mind and powers through the test, feeling very confident. He remembers that slaadi were extraplanar creatures - one of the kinds that he had been hoping to learn how to combat. Walking out of the test with a smile on his face, he feels he's made Auntie Petals and the rest of the village proud.
Canon feels like the first half goes well enough, recalling simple facts, but in the second half feels like he struggles with two difficulties. The first being that his upbringing didn't exactly instil in him an instinct for nonviolent solutions, so ideas for keeping slaadi calm don't come easily. As for the second, as the group meets up outside the lecture hall at the end of the tests, he asks them shyly, "Um, so I have a question. What's an 'essay'?"
Robin is super tired as she turns over her exam. She thinks it was a bad idea to have stayed up all night studying, but she simply couldn't turn her brain off. She starts to write her answers for the first part of the test, but realizes she has gotten several key points absolutely wrong. She tries to correct it, but is not sure how well she did at it. (Rolled a nat 1 plus 8 first, so used a reroll to get a 4 plus 8, so a total of 12 on Arcana.)
Maybe it was her lack of sleep though that helped with the second half of the exam. Understanding the intentions of things was not normally her strong suit, but Robin's foggy brain may have helped out there. She wrote down strong answers for all of that part of the exam. (Rolled a nat 17, plus 0, for the Insight check. Total of 17 there.)
It's been a hell-of-a few weeks for all of you at Strixhaven. Between adjusting to new spaces and dealing with dangerous situations, it can be hard to focus on something as simple as a test. You all do the best you can, and before you know it, the allotted time has passed.
"Pens down, everyone. Please turn in your tests. Grades will be posted this afternoon outside the classroom. Have a great weekend, everyone," Veralda Lang says. You all turn in your tests and head out.
A few hours later...
The four of you have joined the rest of your class in waiting to see the grades as soon as they are posted. Soon, Professor Lang appears and pins the test results to the board outside the classroom, and walks away.
Marius spots his name in the middle of the chart. He has just barely passed the test, a huge relief for any student embroiled in the chaos of tech week.
Canon spots his name next in the upper half of the chart. He has passed the test as well! Not a bad score considering he has no idea what an essay is.
At the very top of the chart, Jedavii and Robin spot their names. Despite her serious brain fog, Robin managed to score the second-highest score in the class. She ranked just behind Jedavii, who has earned the highest score in the class! Both Robin and Jedavii have aced the test.
OOC: Congrats, you all succeeded on your first exam phase! Marius and Canon, since you passed the test you gain a single d4 that you can use to add to the result of either an arcana or insight check. Once you use it, you cannot use it again till you take a long rest. Robin and Jedavii, since you aced the test, you gain two d4s that you can use in the same way. Once you use one, it cannot be used again until you take a long rest.
Jedavii yawns as he walks away, a tired bounce in his step.
“The essays? They’re the part where you have to write out the answer at length, rather than just choosing one option.”
He gives the others high-fives as they see the test results. "Oh, man. I'd make us something to celebrate, but yeesh. Test takes a lot out of you. Maybe something else in the meantime, and then we can find something nice for dinner?
"I should get some practice in. In our rehearsal last week I was a sixty-fourth of a beat early with my note," Canon shakes his head sadly. "If it had been a performance, it would have been ruined."
"Catching up for dinner later sounds great though!", he calls back as heads off toward the practise rooms.
A few weeks pass. You all focus in on your schoolwork, keeping up your grades while trying to balance academics with your work, extracurriculars, and social lives.
It's another Friday period of Magical Physiologies class with Professor Lang. The dryad paces slowly at the front of the Biblioplex lecture hall as she wraps up her latest lesson, indicating a fractal creature in the shape of a bear with an owl's face standing next to her.
"... I can say from firsthand experience that an owlbear’s screech sounds vaguely similar to the cry of an enormous owl with terrible indigestion. Owls don’t suffer from indigestion, though, making this a sure sign that an owlbear is nearby. It is advised not to panic should you come across one - turning and running will only make it chase you. Although they aren’t naturally drawn to cupcakes and muffins, these foods are known to quell an owlbear’s foul temper. Arcano-biologists believe they quell the creatures’ rumbling acid reflux. So, when in doubt, always take cupcakes before you head into owlbear territory.
"Alright... next week we'll begin review of our owlbear unit to prepare for the exam on Friday. You all did well on your first tests - but it only gets more difficult from here. Don't forget to study! I'll be busy this weekend conducting experiments on the vital functions of fractals with the graduate Quandrix students, so please save any questions you have for next week. Thank you, everyone, and have a great weekend."
After class, you all find some time to hang out again, shooting the breeze in Archway Commons and discussing the upcoming test, among other things. As students mill around the central campus, whoops of excitement fill the air. It’s 6:00 p.m., and Bow’s End Tavern is open! On the tavern’s patio, three student mages with brightly colored hair begin to sing a jaunty tune and pluck at dulcimers as a crowd heads in that direction. Jedavii spots his fellow weight-lifter Greta approaching the group.
"Hey, guys! Did you all hear? Some second-years are putting up wizard-gizzard machines in the Bow's End. If you all aren't busy, you should come by and play! Everyone's over there, it's bound to be a good time."
The gith has been busy in his classes, learning the fundamentals of magic and the application of equations to it. In one particular Quandrix class, he figures out that adding vectors together produces one with more magnitude, and uses this knowledge to channel magical power into a force vector, combining it with something swinging in order to make it swing with more force! (He also pays, out of pocket, for the cost of the desk that broke in two as a result of this discovery).
[OOC: Level up acquired, including divine smite ^]
As class lets out, Jedavii can't help but giggle, and blurts out: "Don't need owlbear territory to bring cupcakes, I've practically always got one. Got one with me now, actually, for cupcake emergencies." From a tiny box in his bag, he produces a small cupcake (chocolate with vanilla frosting and coconut sprinkles), and hands it to the nearest fellow student who wants it.
Looking up, he waves to Greta. "Yo! Good to see ya, Greta. What's wizard-gizzard?"
"I'd be interested in learning what that is." Robin says with a smile as she steps over to join the discussion. "We can always just have a drink if it ends up being something we are not interested in after all." She is ready to relax a bit, she doesn't want to get so worked up over this next test, as she did last time. Too much studying did more bad than good in her estimation.
[I assume we've some ~6 weeks of Job income since the Frog Incident?]
Canon is a little slow getting out of class; he's been taking extra notes after his disappointing performance in the last test. He jogs up to the group after a few minutes with his usual loping stride, though any of them that look closely would notice that it leaves him just the tiniest bit out of breath—something none of them have ever seen before, even a little.
"Hey everyone, look," he says, proudly showing his axe, "I think I've finally figured out the tuning mechanism." His friends have seen him make various small modifications to the instrument over the last several weeks, the most noticeable now being that the wires are different thicknesses and attached to small screw arrangements. Canon strums his thumb across the wires, producing a sound just a discordant as when he first demonstrated it back during orientation; and yet, it somehow seems a little less pure cacophony, like there's some kind of underlying order to the dissonance. And if there's still a painful screech on the highest notes, it also oddly feels like it fits, as if that's exactly the kind of sound an instrument like this should make.
[Canon picks up a level of Bard to become an actual spellcaster at this magic school, and be able to use his instrument, as terrible as it still sounds]
As Greta speaks, Canon's face takes on a now-familiar frown. "I've seen buzzard gizzards, and even some lizard gizzards, and in the mountains there was a group of withered old weather-mages that were considered blizzard wizards. And of course I've seen the Lizard Wizards play," he muses, "but I've never seen a wizard gizzard."
"Wow, sick music, Canon!" Greta says, giving the goliath a thumbs up."Wizard gizzard is... well... It would be easier to show you than explain, but basically it's a game! Come on, I'll show you!"
You all make your way to the tavern, a squat but comfortable-looking building, its gleaming wooden exterior carved in overlapping Strixhaven star motifs. The dim and cozy (if loud) interior, featuring rich mahogany floors and well-worn furniture of oak and black leather, is full of students. Along one side of the tavern’s main dining room, the tables and chairs have been shifted to create a large, rectangular open space. On the south side of this space, a single table stands flush against the wall. On it are a few strange-looking boxes with funnels protruding from them at an angle. Twenty feet opposite the table, a small bucket rests on the floor. Some second years, including Mina Lee, Urzmaktok Grojsh, Nora Ann Wu, Drazhomir Yarnask, and Javenesh Stoutclaw.
"Oh hey, the Trunk Slayers are here!"Mina Lee calls out with a wave. "Come check out these wizard gizzard machines! Nora, would you do the honors?"
"Absolutely!" Nora Ann replies with a thumbs up. She takes up position by one of the boxes with funnels and gives it a hearty smack. The box rumbles and shoots out a sphere of glittering magical energy from its funnel with a cluck, and it lands in the bucket twenty feet away. The assembled crowd of students cheers for Nora Ann.
"Aren't they fun?" The Prismari second year says to you all, leaning against her wizard gizzard. "They're usually used for practicing ranged spells like rays and projectiles, but we all think this is a much more fun application."
Jedavii gives an amused whistle. “Neat! Can you knock the sphere if you hit it in the air with a hammer or something charged with a bit of magic? I don’t have range spells but I can try giving ‘em a good whack, see how far I can send one flying!” He chuckles. “After this, of course. And outside. Yo, Java, watch this!”
The gith steps up to the box with the funnel, attempting to copy what Nora Ann did to get the sphere in the bucket.
With great fanfare, Jedavii fires off the wizard gizzard. The magical sphere is spit out of the machine with a cluck and, despite being a bit off-course, manages to land in the bucket! There's a cheer throughout the whole tavern.
"Hey, not bad for your first try, Jeda!"Javenesh says, clapping the gith a little too hard on the back without noticing. He then turns to the assembled crowd with a stern, commanding tone. "So, listen up, everyone! I was thinking that we could turn this into a little competition. Get a few folks on the wizard gizzard machines, and whoever scores the most buckets wins. There is a prize, of course!"
Javenesh digs into the pocket of his jackets and pulls out a small pouch made of gray cloth and tied up with a drawstring. "Check it out!"He yells, but most people look at him confused.
"Uh, what is it?" Greta asks, her head cocked to the side.
"You've gotta win to find out! So, who's up to play some wizard gizzard? I'll bet Jeda here is! Who's gonna take him on?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Canon smiles to see his large friend Drazhomir in the crowd; he always feels a bit more comfortable when he's not towering over everyone in the room.
Seeing Jedavii's success with the game, Canon raises his hand a little shyly, and says, "I'll have a try." He steps up to one of the devices, draws back his arm, and just punches it with all his strength.
[Can I make a case for Str modifier? He's not exactly aiming… if so 20; otherwise 18]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Insight Reroll: 14
Marius does reasonably well on the first section, but his mind starts to wander to the stage during the second portion, and he only realizes when time is up. (Ah, the joys of tech week.)
Jedavii's Exam Rolls!
Arcana: 20
Insight: 17
The gith is able to purge the thought of 'potato slaad' from his mind and powers through the test, feeling very confident. He remembers that slaadi were extraplanar creatures - one of the kinds that he had been hoping to learn how to combat. Walking out of the test with a smile on his face, he feels he's made Auntie Petals and the rest of the village proud.
[Arcana: 18]
[Insight: 9]
[Insight reroll: 19]
[ouch]
Canon feels like the first half goes well enough, recalling simple facts, but in the second half feels like he struggles with two difficulties. The first being that his upbringing didn't exactly instil in him an instinct for nonviolent solutions, so ideas for keeping slaadi calm don't come easily. As for the second, as the group meets up outside the lecture hall at the end of the tests, he asks them shyly, "Um, so I have a question. What's an 'essay'?"
Robin is super tired as she turns over her exam. She thinks it was a bad idea to have stayed up all night studying, but she simply couldn't turn her brain off. She starts to write her answers for the first part of the test, but realizes she has gotten several key points absolutely wrong. She tries to correct it, but is not sure how well she did at it.
(Rolled a nat 1 plus 8 first, so used a reroll to get a 4 plus 8, so a total of 12 on Arcana.)
Maybe it was her lack of sleep though that helped with the second half of the exam. Understanding the intentions of things was not normally her strong suit, but Robin's foggy brain may have helped out there. She wrote down strong answers for all of that part of the exam.
(Rolled a nat 17, plus 0, for the Insight check. Total of 17 there.)
It's been a hell-of-a few weeks for all of you at Strixhaven. Between adjusting to new spaces and dealing with dangerous situations, it can be hard to focus on something as simple as a test. You all do the best you can, and before you know it, the allotted time has passed.
"Pens down, everyone. Please turn in your tests. Grades will be posted this afternoon outside the classroom. Have a great weekend, everyone," Veralda Lang says. You all turn in your tests and head out.
A few hours later...
The four of you have joined the rest of your class in waiting to see the grades as soon as they are posted. Soon, Professor Lang appears and pins the test results to the board outside the classroom, and walks away.
Marius spots his name in the middle of the chart. He has just barely passed the test, a huge relief for any student embroiled in the chaos of tech week.
Canon spots his name next in the upper half of the chart. He has passed the test as well! Not a bad score considering he has no idea what an essay is.
At the very top of the chart, Jedavii and Robin spot their names. Despite her serious brain fog, Robin managed to score the second-highest score in the class. She ranked just behind Jedavii, who has earned the highest score in the class! Both Robin and Jedavii have aced the test.
OOC: Congrats, you all succeeded on your first exam phase! Marius and Canon, since you passed the test you gain a single d4 that you can use to add to the result of either an arcana or insight check. Once you use it, you cannot use it again till you take a long rest. Robin and Jedavii, since you aced the test, you gain two d4s that you can use in the same way. Once you use one, it cannot be used again until you take a long rest.
Jedavii yawns as he walks away, a tired bounce in his step.
“The essays? They’re the part where you have to write out the answer at length, rather than just choosing one option.”
He gives the others high-fives as they see the test results. "Oh, man. I'd make us something to celebrate, but yeesh. Test takes a lot out of you. Maybe something else in the meantime, and then we can find something nice for dinner?
"I am going back to my dorm room and taking a nap." Robin says with a tired smile. "I'd love to meet up with you all later though."
"I should get some practice in. In our rehearsal last week I was a sixty-fourth of a beat early with my note," Canon shakes his head sadly. "If it had been a performance, it would have been ruined."
"Catching up for dinner later sounds great though!", he calls back as heads off toward the practise rooms.
(OOC: You may all level up to LEVEL 2!)
A few weeks pass. You all focus in on your schoolwork, keeping up your grades while trying to balance academics with your work, extracurriculars, and social lives.
It's another Friday period of Magical Physiologies class with Professor Lang. The dryad paces slowly at the front of the Biblioplex lecture hall as she wraps up her latest lesson, indicating a fractal creature in the shape of a bear with an owl's face standing next to her.
"... I can say from firsthand experience that an owlbear’s screech sounds vaguely similar to the cry of an enormous owl with terrible indigestion. Owls don’t suffer from indigestion, though, making this a sure sign that an owlbear is nearby. It is advised not to panic should you come across one - turning and running will only make it chase you. Although they aren’t naturally drawn to cupcakes and muffins, these foods are known to quell an owlbear’s foul temper. Arcano-biologists believe they quell the creatures’ rumbling acid reflux. So, when in doubt, always take cupcakes before you head into owlbear territory.
"Alright... next week we'll begin review of our owlbear unit to prepare for the exam on Friday. You all did well on your first tests - but it only gets more difficult from here. Don't forget to study! I'll be busy this weekend conducting experiments on the vital functions of fractals with the graduate Quandrix students, so please save any questions you have for next week. Thank you, everyone, and have a great weekend."
After class, you all find some time to hang out again, shooting the breeze in Archway Commons and discussing the upcoming test, among other things. As students mill around the central campus, whoops of excitement fill the air. It’s 6:00 p.m., and Bow’s End Tavern is open! On the tavern’s patio, three student mages with brightly colored hair begin to sing a jaunty tune and pluck at dulcimers as a crowd heads in that direction. Jedavii spots his fellow weight-lifter Greta approaching the group.
"Hey, guys! Did you all hear? Some second-years are putting up wizard-gizzard machines in the Bow's End. If you all aren't busy, you should come by and play! Everyone's over there, it's bound to be a good time."
The gith has been busy in his classes, learning the fundamentals of magic and the application of equations to it. In one particular Quandrix class, he figures out that adding vectors together produces one with more magnitude, and uses this knowledge to channel magical power into a force vector, combining it with something swinging in order to make it swing with more force! (He also pays, out of pocket, for the cost of the desk that broke in two as a result of this discovery).
[OOC: Level up acquired, including divine smite ^]
As class lets out, Jedavii can't help but giggle, and blurts out: "Don't need owlbear territory to bring cupcakes, I've practically always got one. Got one with me now, actually, for cupcake emergencies." From a tiny box in his bag, he produces a small cupcake (chocolate with vanilla frosting and coconut sprinkles), and hands it to the nearest fellow student who wants it.
Looking up, he waves to Greta. "Yo! Good to see ya, Greta. What's wizard-gizzard?"
"I'd be interested in learning what that is." Robin says with a smile as she steps over to join the discussion. "We can always just have a drink if it ends up being something we are not interested in after all." She is ready to relax a bit, she doesn't want to get so worked up over this next test, as she did last time. Too much studying did more bad than good in her estimation.
[I assume we've some ~6 weeks of Job income since the Frog Incident?]
Canon is a little slow getting out of class; he's been taking extra notes after his disappointing performance in the last test. He jogs up to the group after a few minutes with his usual loping stride, though any of them that look closely would notice that it leaves him just the tiniest bit out of breath—something none of them have ever seen before, even a little.
"Hey everyone, look," he says, proudly showing his axe, "I think I've finally figured out the tuning mechanism." His friends have seen him make various small modifications to the instrument over the last several weeks, the most noticeable now being that the wires are different thicknesses and attached to small screw arrangements. Canon strums his thumb across the wires, producing a sound just a discordant as when he first demonstrated it back during orientation; and yet, it somehow seems a little less pure cacophony, like there's some kind of underlying order to the dissonance. And if there's still a painful screech on the highest notes, it also oddly feels like it fits, as if that's exactly the kind of sound an instrument like this should make.
[Canon picks up a level of Bard to become an actual spellcaster at this magic school, and be able to use his instrument, as terrible as it still sounds]
As Greta speaks, Canon's face takes on a now-familiar frown. "I've seen buzzard gizzards, and even some lizard gizzards, and in the mountains there was a group of withered old weather-mages that were considered blizzard wizards. And of course I've seen the Lizard Wizards play," he muses, "but I've never seen a wizard gizzard."
"Wow, sick music, Canon!" Greta says, giving the goliath a thumbs up. "Wizard gizzard is... well... It would be easier to show you than explain, but basically it's a game! Come on, I'll show you!"
You all make your way to the tavern, a squat but comfortable-looking building, its gleaming wooden exterior carved in overlapping Strixhaven star motifs. The dim and cozy (if loud) interior, featuring rich mahogany floors and well-worn furniture of oak and black leather, is full of students. Along one side of the tavern’s main dining room, the tables and chairs have been shifted to create a large, rectangular open space. On the south side of this space, a single table stands flush against the wall. On it are a few strange-looking boxes with funnels protruding from them at an angle. Twenty feet opposite the table, a small bucket rests on the floor. Some second years, including Mina Lee, Urzmaktok Grojsh, Nora Ann Wu, Drazhomir Yarnask, and Javenesh Stoutclaw.
"Oh hey, the Trunk Slayers are here!" Mina Lee calls out with a wave. "Come check out these wizard gizzard machines! Nora, would you do the honors?"
"Absolutely!" Nora Ann replies with a thumbs up. She takes up position by one of the boxes with funnels and gives it a hearty smack. The box rumbles and shoots out a sphere of glittering magical energy from its funnel with a cluck, and it lands in the bucket twenty feet away. The assembled crowd of students cheers for Nora Ann.
"Aren't they fun?" The Prismari second year says to you all, leaning against her wizard gizzard. "They're usually used for practicing ranged spells like rays and projectiles, but we all think this is a much more fun application."
Jedavii gives an amused whistle. “Neat! Can you knock the sphere if you hit it in the air with a hammer or something charged with a bit of magic? I don’t have range spells but I can try giving ‘em a good whack, see how far I can send one flying!” He chuckles. “After this, of course. And outside. Yo, Java, watch this!”
The gith steps up to the box with the funnel, attempting to copy what Nora Ann did to get the sphere in the bucket.
(Any checks needed?)
"I'm watching, I'm watching!" Javenesh says.
(Roll an Arcana check, but use your dexterity modifier!)
DEX (Arcana) Check: 16
Robin cheers on Jedavii as he tries out the strange device.
With great fanfare, Jedavii fires off the wizard gizzard. The magical sphere is spit out of the machine with a cluck and, despite being a bit off-course, manages to land in the bucket! There's a cheer throughout the whole tavern.
"Hey, not bad for your first try, Jeda!" Javenesh says, clapping the gith a little too hard on the back without noticing. He then turns to the assembled crowd with a stern, commanding tone. "So, listen up, everyone! I was thinking that we could turn this into a little competition. Get a few folks on the wizard gizzard machines, and whoever scores the most buckets wins. There is a prize, of course!"
Javenesh digs into the pocket of his jackets and pulls out a small pouch made of gray cloth and tied up with a drawstring. "Check it out!" He yells, but most people look at him confused.
"Uh, what is it?" Greta asks, her head cocked to the side.
"You've gotta win to find out! So, who's up to play some wizard gizzard? I'll bet Jeda here is! Who's gonna take him on?"
Canon smiles to see his large friend Drazhomir in the crowd; he always feels a bit more comfortable when he's not towering over everyone in the room.
Seeing Jedavii's success with the game, Canon raises his hand a little shyly, and says, "I'll have a try." He steps up to one of the devices, draws back his arm, and just punches it with all his strength.
[Can I make a case for Str modifier? He's not exactly aiming… if so 20; otherwise 18]