Dubious Bookstand

[89157Z]

The Dubious Bookstand

 

Finding yourself low on school supplies, you head into town to replenish your stock from one of the local stores. The purchase goes uneventfully, but on your way out of the store, you overhear someone pointing out that one of the display stands looks like it's at risk of falling over. You look over fearing the worst, but it doesn't appear that there's any present risk... though that looks like a very shoddy stand for such obviously valuable books as it holds.

 

 

Exit 1:- Take your purchases and go.

Success:- This is really none of your business. It doesn't look like there's any imminent disaster and you've already got everything you came for.

(Suggested effects are in parenthesis. I suggest no effect for this.)

 

Failure:- No failure.

 

 

Exit 2:- Carpentry. Suggest bracing for the stand.

Success:- You bring this to the attention of the storekeeper and offer a few suggestions for how to shore up the display stand. It doesn't look too complicated to fix this. The storekeeper gruffly thanks you for the advice as he fetches his tools. He sounds annoyed to take advice from a kid, but he puts the bracing in just as you suggested. A few minutes later the stand is as good as new. Which is to say it still looks shoddy, but at least it isn't about to fall over.

 

The shopkeeper hands you a thin book on Incantations from the stand as a reward for the assistance. It looks valuable! As you set out to return to school, you flip through it... it's trash! You can tell the advice is all wrong and you're a bit confused as to how you thought it looked valuable in the first place. What a rip off. At least you didn't pay for it, and you're a bit more confident about your skill in carpentry.

(Skill step in Carpentry)

 

Failure:- You bring this to the attention of the storekeeper and offer a few suggestions for how to shore up the display stand. It doesn't look too complicated to fix this. The storekeeper gruffly thanks you for the advice as he fetches his tools. He sounds annoyed to take advice from a kid, but he puts the bracing in just as you suggested. Only you start to wish he hadn't. You can already see flaws with the design...

 

Unfortunately he won't listen. When you try to telll him you've thought better of the modification to the stand he just waves you off and bulls through with the 'repairs'. After a moment you start edging away from him. Wen you hear a sudden crash and clatter of the shoddy stand breaking under the strain of its repairs, you turn and make a break for the door. The sound of a hundred things you never even knew could be insults roll off your back as you flee the swearing shopkeeper.

(add Stress, skill step in Insults)

 

Investigation 1:- Observation. Take a long look at the stand.

Success:- Nobody is paying attention to you yet, so you spend a few moments just looking over the stand. You don't get any ideas for how to repair it. You notice something much more interesting instead. It looks like Falsify phemes have been worked into the designs on the display stand. There are several other things that look like questionable Phemes as well, though you don't recognize them. You suspect the display stand is altering the percieved value of the items for sale on it. Well, that's not very ethical.

(Opens Blackmail and Civil Law exits)

 

Failure:- The only thing you notice is that you start to feel self-conscious standing here staring at the display stand. They look like very interesting books, but nothing you were really wanting to buy.

 

 

Exit 3:- Blackmail. The shopkeeper wouldn't want you telling anyone about his 'valuable' books, would he?

Success:- He's a gruff man, and for a moment it looks like the only thing you're going to get out of him is a black eye. But you keep your cool. Whether he takes your threat seriously or just doesn't want to hit a kid in front of the customers, after that moment he backs down. "Yeah, okay. You've got a good eye. You're a student at the Academagia, right? I'm an alumnus. Sit here a moment, I'll be right back."

 

True to his word he comes back soon. He's carrying an impressive book. Across the front of it in beautiful calligraphy is written, 'Orthography & Enchantment'. "Take it," he says. "I've had it for years and practically memorized it." You must've misread this guy. He didn't seem like a wizard to you, much less a calligrapher.

 

You glance into the book on the way home. It looks dull, difficult, and dry as dust. You're not sure you're going to be able to read this. Worst case scenario, you can probably get some pims selling it. Pretty good for a trip to fetch school supplies!

(Gives Orthography & Enchantment book, which grants a skill step in Orthography and a skill step in Theory of Enchantment when used. Some limited number of charges.)

 

Failure:- He's a gruff man, and for a moment it looks like the only thing you're going to get out of him is a black eye. But you keep your cool. Whether he takes your threat seriously or just doesn't want to hit a kid in front of the customers, after that moment he backs down. "Yeah okay," he says. "Why don't you just come into the back with me for a moment?"

 

You get a bad feeling about that request. A very bad feeling. You hesitate for a moment and then hurriedly excuse yourself from the store. The shopkeeper laughs at your retreating back.

(Stress, lose a skill step in composure, gain a skill step in danger sense.)

 

Exit 4:-Civil Law. Bring suit against the store owner for deceptive business practices.

Success:- The clerks at the Lesser Court aren't especially impressed by you, but there are no rules against children filing complaints or pursuing them, and they're sufficiently impressed by your knowledge of Civil Law to let you act as your own advocate. Self-representation isn't usually a wise thing for a lawyer to do, but you met the man they would've assigned you as Advocate otherwise, and you're pretty sure it was the right thing to do in this case.

 

Your instincts are right. The shopkeeper comes in furious, but you stand firm against his tirades and manage to keep the focus on the evidence. The process is stressful and exhausting. In the end you're battered but victorious. The court orders the enchanted bookstand siezed and awards you a tidy sum of pims for your trouble. Score one for honest business practices!

(Inform Lesser Court of Civil Law, add stress, add skill step in civil law, add pims.)

 

Failure:- The clerks at the Lesser Court aren't especially impressed by you, but there are no rules against children filing complaints or pursuing them. They even have an advocate to assign you. He's a stammering, balding man who you suspect couldn't prosecute his way out of a wet paper bag. You really don't have a good feeling about this, but you're not sure what you could do...

 

Your instincts are right. Your advocate wilts under the tirades of the aggrieved shopkeeper. Your entire case runs aground humiliatingly.

 

The Lesser Court even orders you to pay a processing fee for their time!

(Inform Lesser Court of Civil Law, add bitterness emotion, subtract 25 pims)

[Legate of Mineta]

Well done! And very good use of Civil Law.

[wardrake]

hey 89157Z, may I request something...

 

I want you to create an event where the options are of the rarest of skills like subskills of natural philosophy and an interrogation option that will unlock it(because so far, the interrogation option in the current game events only unlocks another option, not the post-event unlocking of the said skill).

 

THANKS!!

[89157Z]

That would take some creativity. I'll think about it.

 

Is it possible for one Investigation exit to open up two further actions like that?

[Legate of Mineta]

89157Z;

 

Yes, it's possible for an Investigation to unlock two (or more) Exits.

[Adrian]

The event is very neat, and blackmail is certainly a skill I haven't seen alot of events using

The Civil Law attempt should almost give a point in Ethics regardless of a success or fail... I'd certainly feel I did the right thing by not blackmailing the shopkeeper *grin*

[89157Z]

That's why I only gave (suggestions), Adrian! The final details are up to the editors.

 

And I wasn't sure how to set up the rolls best, so I didn't even make suggestions there. I suppose I should at least suggest the associated stats. I suggest Intelligence+Carpentry, Insight+Observation, Charm+Blackmail, Charm+Civil Law.

 

According to the wiki, the dominant attribute of Observation is Charm. Is that right?

[Legate of Mineta]

89157Z;

 

Heh. It is. It should really be Intelligence.

 

We'll close that in DLC 3, if not in DLC 2.

 

Thanks!

[wardrake]

posted by me:

 

"I want you to create an event where the options are of the rarest of skills like subskills of natural philosophy and an interrogation option that will unlock it"

 

there is a misunderstanding WAHH, I mean, an interrogation option that will unlock interrogation itself.. sorry, hehe, wrong syntax... hehe

[Adrian]

And here I thought you were going to put a teacher on the chair and pry every ounce of natural philosophy from him... ah well,..