Belle's BallroomDifficulty: Hard
Recommend Group Size: 3 to 4
Backstory: You have, as part of a group of adventurers, received an invitation to a ball to act as a chaperone for a minor nobleman's daughter. However, when you stop at a nearby inn to rendezvous with the rest of the members, a haggard-looking man overhears your conversation and interrupts you. He's the nobleman in question, and he has no daughter. Indeed, he was recently chased away from his estate as it was taken over by a group of midara, led by a beautiful ringleader who calls herself Belle, and who is enamoured with the concept of balls and masques. It seems she's luring adventurers to her parties for some purpose, perhaps to act as dates? Still, he offers you a hefty sum of coins if your group can chase the midara out.
Mechanics: The mechanics are simple. Battles operate according to the Simple RP rules. For a refresher see the first post of this thread:
https://uponherlips.forumotion.com/t1715-zodiac-sisters-of-the-west-marathon-bossesreworked-player-charactersIn addition, you can run from battles in this quest. Both parties make a roll: if the party has a higher roll than the midara, they succesfully escape (though you cannot escape from boss encounters).
The adventure progresses step by step, each one having influence on the next.
(1)Outside the MansionAs the party approaches the mansion of the nobleman, they will notice that a lot of furniture and papers have been thrown out by the midara in order to make room for their own decorations for the ball. Each present member can make a d6 roll to search the pile for useful items, which get added to the common pool of items of the party. The search can yield the following items:
1:Nothing
2:Elixer
3:Holy Water
4:Scroll of Defense (reduces all Stamina and Willpower damage done to the party by 1/2 for two rounds)
5:Scroll of Purity (dispels and makes the party immune to all Debuffs for two rounds)
6:Scroll of True Aim (the party gains advantage on all attacks for the next two rounds. Adventurers get to roll two dice on an attack and if one is a success, they succeed, even if the other roll fails)
After taking inventory the party enters through the doors...
(2)The HallThe party now enters the hall, which is lit by a chandelier on the ceiling which covers the area in a warm glow. A double staircase leads to a second floor balcony that runs around the hall, looking down on the area. A melodic voice announces: "Welcome, I take it you all received my invitation? My name is Belle, and you're here not to chaperone me, but to take the lovely ladies of my court on a date to my ball. I have rooms and outfits prepared for you, you'll get to court a beautiful woman, have dinner, take a dancing class, and finally you'll get to enjoy each other's company at my lovely ball. Who knows, maybe you'll even get your fairytale happy ending." She pauses for a moment. "Oh, and don't think of ruining the ball by not playing along. If I have to, I'll turn you into a mindless puppet," she threatens. And then, in a more pleasant tone: "But if you're extra brave and go out of your way to make this night exciting, you might even win a dance with me! Now go up the stairs, you'll find your room easily enough. And don't peek in the ballroom yet, we haven't finished preparing it!"
Over the course of the adventure, adventurers can do things that will make them more likely to have a date with Belle. Adventurers can score points for:
+1 Sneaking into the ballroom early on.
+1 Encountering the Dreamgirl.
+1 Going out of their way to get a Rose for their date's corsage.
+1 Subduing their date with Willpower attacks.
+1 Making it through all the courses at the dinner.
+1 Volunteering for the opening dance with the Bright Ballerina.
+1 Having drinks with Belle at the ball.
+1 Entering the Hedge Maze at the end of the night.
If adventurers are tied for points, Belle will make the fight each other and go on a date with the winner.
(3)The Ballroom (Before Ball)Any number of adventurers may opt to sneak into the Ballroom early. What they'll encounter is a lavishly furnished marble room with banners hanging on the walls, firefly lights floating around the space and a painted ceiling of cherubs frolicking about in a blue sky. There are also midara maids giving the place a final scrub before the festivities begin. They will spot the adventurers and proceed to shoo them away with their charms. In combat, there will be the same amount of maids as adventurers that entered the room early on.
=Midara Maid=
Stamina: 2 Willpower: 2
Description:A maid that cleans up nicely, so to speak. Often serves under other, more powerful midara, doing everyday housework and keep weaker visitors at bay.
Abilities:Caution! Wet Floor (passive)-The Maid has advantage on all rolls avoiding attacks as the adventurers bumble on the slippery floor. They have two roll two dice to make an attack and take the worst result.
Take That To The Cleaners (passive)-Whenever the Maid makes a succesful Willpower attack, she automatically removes all Buffs from the target, cleaning him of any traces of magic with her passion.
Wet Look (action)-Costs 1 Willpower. The Maid conjures a bucket of water to give herself or an ally a Wet Look. The Wet Look Buff lasts for 2 rounds and makes any character who attacks the midara make a roll and on a failure suffer 0.5 Willpower damage as the suddenly visible underclothes arouse him.
As a reward, each character can snag an Elixer from the drinks table set to the side of the room, before they proceed to their rooms.
(4)Personal Rooms/Study/Prayer Room/Arms ChamberEach character has a room on the upper floor with a bed, refreshments and an outfit tailor-made for the ball. Each character makes a roll: on a success, they effortlessly put on their new clothes and have some free time. On a failure, they struggle with their clothes, finishing just in time for when they're called to collect flowers for corsages from the garden. An adventurer who did not check out the ballroom automatically succeeds this roll.
If they have free time, they can:
-go to the Study and find a sketch of where all the decorations are placed in the Ballroom and what they do, giving him advantage on all rolls involving traps during the ball itself (make two rolls, take the better result).
-go to the Prayer Room and ask for protection from on high (grants a Faith Buff during the next battle, reducing Willpower damage by 0.5 for 4 turns).
-go to the Arms Chamber and sharpen their weapon (grants a 0.5 bonus to the first three succesful Stamina attacks during the next battle).
-take a short nap in their bed. Fully recovers Stamina and Willpower, but also puts them at the risk of encountering the Dreamgirl. Make a roll, and on a failure the adventurer proceeds into battle. He can also choose to voluntarily let him into his dreams to fight her.
=Dreamgirl=
Stamina: 3 Willpower: 3
Description:Dreamgirls are midara spirits who feed on the dreams of their victims, slowly making them succumb to lust in their sleep. They manifest in place where other midara reside.
Abilities:Shape Of Dreams To Come (passive)-The Dreamgirl slowly penetrates into the dreams of her victim, taking the shape the victim likes. During the first two rounds, the Dreamgirl is still vague and does 0.5 Willpower damage. During the third and fourth round, her shape is firmer, and she does normal Willpower damage. From the fifth round onward, she has a shape that her victim fancies, and she does 1.5 Willpower damage from that round onward.
Immaterial (passive)-The Dreamgirl does not have enough strength to execute Stamina attacks. However, she also can't be harmed by any physical Debuffs (apply GM discretion on what counts as physical).
Just A Dream (passive)-The adventurer cannot use items during this battle. After all, he doesn't take them with him in his dream.
Lullaby (action)-Costs 1 Willpower. The Dreamgirl sings a lullaby, giving her victim the Drowsy Debuff for two turns. All Actions cost 0.5 extra Stamina or Willpower to execute for those affected.
After defeating the midara, the adventurer wakes up and finds two doses of Sleeping Powder underneath his cushion (item, gives the target the Drowsy Debuff for two turns. All Actions cost 0.5 extra Stamina or Willpower to execute for those affected). No matter what was done, a maid will then come to fetch them and haul them to the flower garden.
(5)The Flower GardenAll the adventurers, now dressed impeccably, are brought to the flower garden. There, a maid will tell them that they need to collect flowers to make a corsage for their date. Different flowers have different meanings, and the lovelier ones are harder to get, because an Alraune jealously guards the area. The adventurers must make rolls in order to sneak past her. They pick a flower beforehand and must succeed the corresponding number of rolls to succesfully evade the creature's vines.
Orchid (1 roll)-Vine Wrapper (action)-Once per battle, the user may opt to Bind their target in a vine. On a success, the target suffers the Bound Debuff (A Bound character must make a roll to escape at the start of each turn, and if it fails, he stays Bound until the next round (cannot take action, but can dodge attacks)).
Hyacinth (1 roll)-Summon Passion Pollen (passive)-Once per battle, the user may summon a Passion Pollen at the start of their turn. It has 1 Stamina and can only do basic Willpower attacks. It can attack instantly. Debuffs/Buffs have no effect on the creature and it cannot suffer Willpower damage.
Tulip (2 rolls)-Blooming Strength (passive)-From the fifth turns onwards, user's Willpower attacks gain a 0.5 bonus.
Lily (2 rolls)-Second Wind (passive)-If the user of this ability gets reduced to 0 Stamina or Willpower, he or she will recover at the start of next round with 1 Stamina/Willpower. Only works once per battle.
Rose (3 rolls)-Instill Passion (passive)-Whenever the user does a succesful Willpower attack, the target gains the Lustful Debuff for one turn and can only execute Willpower attacks.
If they fail at any time, they get snatched up and must battle the creature. New adventurers drop in as their rolls fail, corresponding to the number they succeed up till then (for example, if two adventurers go for the Rose and one for the Orchid, and the latter fails on the first roll and the former two on the last roll, the latter begins the fight instantly, but the other two only drop in at the start of the third round).
=Alraune=
Stamina: 5 Willpower: 5
Description:Alraunes are exotic midara usually found in forests. They sometimes pluck a stray adventurer off the road to satisfy their lust, but they're mostly content with tending to their flower gardens.
Abilities:Vine Entrance (passive)-Any adventurer enters the battle Bound (A Bound character must make a roll to escape at the start of each turn, and if it fails, he stays Bound until the next round (cannot take action, but can dodge attacks)).
Passion Sprout (passive)-For every adventurer that enters the battle after the first, the Alraune automatically conjures a Passion Pollen. It has 1 Stamina and can only do basic Willpower attacks. It can attack instantly. Debuffs/Buffs have no effect on the creature and it cannot suffer Willpower damage.
Nourishing Nectar (passive)-If the Alraune Defends by closing her flower, she automatically recovers 1 Stamina and 1 Willpower (cannot exceed maximum).
Alraune's Antics (passive)-If the Alraune executes a succesful basic Willpower attack, she can choose to conjure another Passion Pollen, Bind the victim in Vines, or Poison him for two turns (doing 1 Stamina damage at the start of the turn if the sufferer fails the roll).
Vine Slammer (action)-Costs 1 Stamina. All Bound character suffer 1 automatic Stamina damage. Can only be used if two or more characters are Bound.
Pollen Bath (action)-Costs 1 Willpower. Only works if two or more Passion Pollen are on the battlefield. The midara sprays lust-inducing pollen all over the battlefield. All adventurers who fail their dodge roll suffer 1 Willpower damage.
If the party defeats the Alraune, she retreats into her flower and most of the flowers in the garden shrivel up, safe for the ones the adventurers originally intended to fetch. The maid is very displeased at this turn of events, however, which will have consequences during the ball itself. Regardless, she helps them snip the flower into a proper corsage, and they proceed to meet their dates.