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Now, when I was young


Adrian

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As you make your way to your room for some more paper and ink you pass by a group of older students in the common room. They are talking rather loudly and you can't help but hearing bits of their conversation.

 

”A house!” one scuffed, looking positively offended ”You were lucky to have a house! We used to live in one room, 26 of us, no furniture and half the floor was missing!”

 

”At least you had a room.” another said, breaking his triad while sipping from a glass of orange juice. ”We used to live in a corridor!”

 

”We used to DREAM of living in a corridor” exclaimed a third.

 

You stop listening, these stories are lies positively lies!

 

Exit 1 You recall that your friends were waiting for the paper and ink. No sense sanding around listening to rubbish!

 

Success:

You quickly find the materials you were looking for and you head back. On your way past the group again you were unexpectedly hit by a small wave of orange juice. Apparenly these stories demand a bit of flair as well as large arm movements, thus the glass was tipped and thus you now have to go chance your robe. Hmph!

 

+1 Stress

 

Exit 2 Storytelling

A Corridor indeed! You can think of something better than that!

 

Success:

“We used to live in an old watertank with-” the fourth began.

 

“WE – my 132 siblings and I – used to live in a matchbox! Come dinnertime dad would give us a sound thrashing and we would once again pick the ugliest of us and eat him for dinner – just to get by!” you let a single tear fall as you make it look like you think back.

 

“In the end only me and little Timmy was left – such a sweet child. We decided to try another way of living. We crawled and clawed our way to the nearest city and worked our fingers and backs to such a degree that even our bones were falling apart!”

 

You check that they are still hanging to your every word, and indeed they are.

 

“Of cause Timmy's health failed him just as we enrolled into the Academagia. I often hear him in the quiet of night, coughing, crying. Ahh Timmy. He tasted well, and I shall always remember him.”

 

+ 2 Storytelling

+ Creativity

+ Theater.

 

Failure:

 

“We used to live in an old watertank with-” the fourth began.

 

“No!” you exclaim, confident that your abilities for making a story is better than his. “WE lived in a watertank!”

 

Everyone in the group looks at you like you were dropped on your head as a child.

 

“and you too had to lick the watertank clean each night before you went to bed`” the fourth man continued, baiting you on.

 

“Thats... right” You feel that you may have overestimated your abilities, the smugness of their faces were simply too much pressure.

 

“And you were used to die each night as your dad cut you in two with a butter spoon?” the first laughed, nudging the others to go along.

 

“I got better.” Without another word you hurry to your room and pick up the supplies and run out.

 

The group are still laughing wildly as you pass them on your way out. How humiliating!

 

- storytelling

+ 3 stress

 

 

Exit 3 Ethics (or possibly Oratory) Take a minute out of your day to explain that lying isn't the way forward!

 

“We used to live in an old watertank with-” the fourth began.

 

“Lying is as good as hurting a friend!” you exclaim, with conviction.

 

They all look at you, stunned.

 

You proceed to give them a lecture that you once heard from the local priest back when you were six.

 

Some good fifteen minutes later you finally return to your room, pick up the supplies and head back to your group. Slightly guilty that you took so long but otherwise with a good feeling.

 

+ Ethics,

+ Oratory

 

 

Failure:

 

“We used to live in an old watertank with-” the fourth began.

 

“No you didn't! You are lying!” you exclaim, point your finger.

 

“I knew it! The youth of today won't believe you, nope.” the fourth continued, happily not including you into the conversation.

 

“You said it! Phaw! phaw I say! Why, if I had a Quint for every pim I earned whenever I heard that, I could eat at Feng's place for a week!” The first stated.

 

“Ha!” the second joined in, not phased in the slightest by the odd turn of the conversation. “I could eat there for a month, and then have money to spare!”

 

“That is nothing, why I could buy a house for that money!”

 

It is helpless, they didn't listen and you are fairly sure that whatever people around you are whispering about it is most likely you. Damn! And now you even have to make up a story of why it took so long to get that ink...

 

- Ethics

+ 2 Stress

 

 

Investigate: Playfulness These guys seem to be joking around,...

 

Sucess

 

You are sure, without a doubt that they are just making up the most outlandish stories, you had guessed as much, surely, if not for the rush to get to your room.

 

Now that you know they are only fooling around you can perhaps play along a bit.

 

Open exit 4

Temp bonus to storytelling and practical jokes. A temp negative "bonus" to Ethics.

 

Failure:

 

There is that playful grin in their eyes and darn it if the stories aren't outlandish as anything, and, I mean, just look at them! Surely none of them had a single day of hardship in all of their life!

 

Despite all this you feel yourself being in doubt. What if it is true? How could you ever look your friends in the eyes if you were mistaken?

 

Open exit 5

A temp negative "bonus" to Ethics and storytelling.

 

 

 

Exit 4 practical joke Did he say what you think he said?

 

Sucess:

 

You find yourself dragging your feet while heading towards the room, just to listen to this insane kind of boasting.

 

"We were lucky if we got to suck the water from a wet newspaper!" one exclaims as the story had taken an odd turn at one point.

 

The part about newspaper strikes you though - you are late! You should be getting ink and paper to your group. Resolutely you enter your room and find the stuff you need.

You find more than that - you find an old newspaper. You try to keep down the devilish grin on your face but it doesn't quite work. You got a plan.

 

As you pass the group again you stop op, wearing the most gullible mask that you can.

 

"I couldn't help overhear, but is it true what you said earlier? That you used to drink water by sucking on a wet newspaper?"

 

The group stops chatting, all eyes centering on the boy who had claimed the boast.

 

"Why yes! We all had to, all 75 of us!"

 

You nod. "I am sorry if it is a bad memory..." "Nonsense! That stuff built character, no, those were the good days, not feasting every day as we are here at school"

 

With a certain show of dexterity you unphased dip the tip of the newspaper you were carrying into his glass of juice.

 

"I am glad you said that, cause I am dying to see it" you grin and hand him the wet newspaper.

 

All in the group (save the poor fellow with the newspaper) falls down laughing. A certain snicking sound seems to fill the air from the rest of the common room, and thus you take your exit. You'd have loved to see if he actually did it, but you really need to return the ink.

 

+ Practial jokes

+ conceal

- 2 stress

 

Failure:

You find yourself dragging your feet while heading towards the room, just to listen to this insane kind of boasting.

 

"We were lucky if we got to suck the water from a wet newspaper!" one exclaims as the story had taken an odd turn at one point.

 

The part about newspaper strikes you though - you are late! You should be getting ink and paper to your group. Resolutely you enter your room and find the stuff you need.

You find more than that - you find your roommates ewer that [he/she - same gender, if possible - otherwise then 'you'] use to water plants - and it is full!

 

Picking up your things as well as the ewer you head into the commonroom once again.

 

You place the ewer on the table. "In case you get thirsty" you say, with a sparkle in your eye.

 

"Thank you!" one exclaims, taking the ewer in both hands.

 

You almost feel your jaw hit the floor as he poured a good messure into his glass and drained it.

 

"I'll just... leave, now" you finish, continuing on your way. He must have used a spell while you weren't looking, but how? HOW?!

 

+ 2 stress

+ Practical Jokes

 

 

Exit 5 study habits You might not grasp the subtleties of jokes when you hear it, but you have your books!

 

Sucess:

The incident at the commonroom left you weary and before you returned to your studygroup you check your room...

 

Sure enough, you find the notebook that you had thought lost. Guess it wasn't stolen after all! Flipping through it you get many good ideas how to improve the assignment that you and the group are currently working on. Wonderful! So what if they joke around or whatever, in the end you will have the upper hand!

 

- stress

+ study habits

 

Failure:

The incident at the commonroom left you weary and before you returned to your studygroup you check your room...

 

Sure enough, you find the notebook that you had thought lost. Guess it wasn't stolen after all! Flipping through it you discover the utter lack of relevant infomation. Sure the doodles in the margins are pretty but that only carries so much weight with a teacher.

 

You recall now that you had thrown it out to start a frest - and with good reason. Ugh! You throw the book into the bin and head back to your group, slightly annoyed that you wasted so much time.

 

+ stress

 

 

 

Edited a bit after suggestions.

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ethics? shouldn't it be rather character or something from dialectic, which may even gain you some useful information lured out of them as response?

also, consider an option for flawless timing / playfulness to do more than just play along, and actually turn the tables on them so they are left shocked and you benefit in stress loss and improvement of ft/p

 

 

just some suggestions you may want to consider, the investigation would also be a good idea to use for getting randomly character info aon a second year student (if we would actually have any facts about them at this time), otherwise I find your idea interesting, although the NPC lies I do think are too obviously blatant to be effective

 

I like Monty so a few not totally obvious hints at those stories are interesting, just keep away from the "hungarian phrasebook" theme or I will have to turn you into a rabbit, not a white one doh ;)

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Hmm Character vs. Ethics, I seem to recall reading a thread about that a while ago. ;)

I'll stick with Ethics though, as character, as I see it, is more a classy grace than actual moral values.

 

I did get an idea for an additional exit though! :)

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