To honour the traditions around horses that are starting to form among the Ki-rin, Kotsume and some other Ki-rin (many unnamed!) are organising a horse "race".
The "race" will start at the edge of the Castle Town, and will consist in reaching 15 different areas in the surroundings collecting numbered flags, then returning to the starting point after collecting all of them. The participants will receive a map showing the location of each flag before the start, and deciding on the best and quickest way to reach all of them is part of the challenge.
Considering the number of horses that are in the castle, including those from other Ki-rin around, the few horses that Imperials have (probably as gifts from the Ki-rin), and Kotsume's own horse, there should be at most some 7 horses available for each 'heat' of the race. So I'm tentatively doing a "sign-up" of sorts here to assess interest - I'm assuming Kotsume and others would be advertising this event from D4.
If the number of people interested in participating is more than the number of horses, I'm considering making "two heats" for the contestants, then a final heat with the 2 or 3 winners of each of the two 'heats' for a 'final round' of sorts. So while signing up beforehand is not absolutely necessary, I'd like to at least have an idea of how many folks would actually be interested to see if this organisation in "2 heats" would be necessary.
The rules for the event (already approved \o/
) are as follows:EDIT: At Birb's suggestion, if more than 7 people are interested we could just keep it to one roll of everything with 3 best scorers winning, and just assume there were more heats. We'll see if we DO get more than 7 people
There may be a small influence reward for the winner, although that will depend a little on some things. But worth mentioningHorse Flag-catching race
Day and time: D7 LM
Place: Castle town (and surrounding area)
Slots (per heat): 7 (number of horses available, including Kotsume's own horse - EDIT: If more than 7 show up, the rules are the same but we'll assume more heats happened
Spectators : As many as want to come to watch and talk about stuff while waiting for the riders to return!
Since Shinjo asked Chaihime to tame and improve the wild horses in the nortwestern regions of the Empire, horse breeding and riding has become a blossoming tradition among the Ki-rin - one that is arguably growing into the hallmark of the Clan and may remain so in the centuries to come, some say. To honour this tradition, after some time surveying the areas around the palace and discussing the necessary organization with members of the Imperial Court over the last few days, Chao Kotsume invites all guests at the Imperial Palace to a Horse Race.
For this race, Kotsume and some of the others who helped with the organization have distributed various flags in fifteen points around the Castle Town and the surrounding wilderness. Handing each participant a map marking where each of the sets of numbered flags has been placed, she tells the participants that the race will consist on, starting from the border of the town, riding to each of the fifteen locations, getting one flag at each one, then return to the starting point with a full set of flags numbered from one to fifteen.
Event Rules
The race will consist of four Parts, as the competitors establish a connection with their horses and encourage them to run, spur them forward while keeping a firm grip and dealing with obstacles to avoid falling, find the best path to gather all fifteen flags, and finally rush back to the starting point. The rules for each of the four parts are explained below.
Part 1 - Earn trust or eat dust
Before the race even starts, the competitors must establish a good connection with their animals, encouraging them to build up speed and keep steady. Roll Animal Handling (Horses)/ Awareness at TN 10, and add half the result of your roll as SPEED POINTS. If you fail, you reduce 5 SPEED POINTS from your total as the apprehension between you and your horse hamper your efforts. Each Raise called to this roll adds 2 SPEED POINTS to your total if you succeed, but REDUCES 2 SPEED POINTS from your total if you fail.
Note that you can choose to keep lower dice in this roll. When rolling for Part 2, please note down in the description which dice you kept during Part 1, as this will affect the results!
Part 2 - Hold on tight or bid goodnight
As you proceed through the course through the wilderness for the flags, riding through the snow and mud on the riverside, you'll try to keep your horse galloping as fast as possible while also maneuvering it to avoid or jump over obstacles and keeping a firm grip to avoid falling or getting bucked off. Roll Horsemanship/ Agility at TN 15, and add the total of your roll as SPEED POINTS. If you fail, you reduce 5 SPEED POINTS from your total. Each Raise called to this roll adds 3 SPEED POINTS to your total if you succeed, but REDUCES 3 SPEED POINTS from your total if you fail.
If your total result on this roll (ignoring raises) is 5 or more lower than your roll in Part 1 (ignoring raises, and considering the dice you chose to keep), you fall from your horse during your progress through the course as you cannot control your horse well enough after encouraging it to dart forward! If this happens, you may roll an Athletics/ Reflexes or Athletics/ Stamina check at TN 20 to avoid the brunt of the fall. If you succeed, you fall on your feet or recover quickly, and as a result you avoid hurting yourself, but lose 10 SPEED POINTS. If you fail, you hurt yourself during the fall, losing 20 SPEED POINTS instead, and suffering a -3 penalty to all further rolls during the race.
Part 3 - Blaze a trail to lose your tail
While all participants received a map of the area around the castle showing where each of the groups of numbered flags is located, deciding on the best order to catch them and finding the best route to get to each of them is not a straightforward process. Roll one of Hunting (Trailblazing)/ Perception, Lore: Cartography/ Intelligence or a Void Ring roll at TN 15 to either find the best paths through the forest and snow, plan ahead for the best possible routes to take, or simply seek a connection with your surroundings instead of actively looking for or thinking about the best way to follow. Success adds half the result of your roll as SPEED POINTS, while failure adds no SPEED POINTS at all as you lose time finding the right trails and thinking about the path you should follow during the race. Each raise called to this roll adds 5 SPEED POINTS to your total if successful, but reduces 3 SPEED POINTS from the total if the roll fails.
Precise Memory applies to this roll if you use Lore: Cartography, but not otherwise.
Way of the Land for the Imperial City adds 0k1 to this roll.
Part 4 - Home straight - or sit and wait
After collecting all fifteen flags, it's time to make a final sprint back to the finishing line! Roll Horsemanship/ Willpower at TN 20. If you succeed, add the total of your roll as SPEED POINTS; if you fail, add half the result of your roll as SPEED POINTS instead. Each raise called to this roll adds 3 SPEED POINTS to your total if successful, but reduces 2 SPEED POINTS from your total instead if the roll fails.
NOTE: Using academic knowledge
You can choose to use Lore: Nature instead of the listed skill for any of the rolls in this Event, EXCEPT for the Athletics roll if you fall off your horse. However, the TN of rolls using Lore: Nature is higher and progressively increased, as relying on academic knowledge to perform practical activities is sub-optimal and almost certain to lead to problems at some point...
The TN of rolls using Lore: Nature is increased by 5 the first time the skill is used during the event, and by an additional 5 each time it is used after the first.
In other words:
First use of Lore: Nature: +5 to the roll's TN
Second use of Lore: Nature: +10 to the roll's TN
Third use of Lore: Nature: +15 to the roll's TN
Fourth use of Lore: Nature: +20 to the roll's TN
Rewards
Chai Kotsume will grant a reward to the first three fastest riders (i.e. those with more SPEED POINTS).
1st place: Invitation to visit Chai lands near the Great Western River to see some of the family's stables and talk to the family's horse breeders.
2nd place: A bamboo bangle in the style of the Daikawa tribe featuring a horse running and stylised symbols representing the blowing wind and the flowing water of a river.
3rd place: Invitation to a riverside ride to the Waterfall with Kotsume on Ryuusui (later on D7 or on later days).
