Prologue: The Road to Hornpipe

[acodispo]

Willie addresses the newcomers.

"You all possess the password. But in order to join Adventure Club you must pass a test of your fortitude & strength of Will!

"Will you eat the next stack of pancakes (a full stack, not a short stack, mind you) -- without butter, syrup, or sauce?

"If so, you will have proved yourself worthy.

"If not, you had best go home, and live a comfortable life in safety."

[kipper]

"That happens to be the way I prefer it." Dame Simonetta responds.

[waysoftheearth]

Pale before, Tet's face goes chalk-white. What Hobbet could prefer undressed pancakes? Could this newcomer be some kind of... Dietitian?? It's too horrible to contemplate.

[mgtremaine]

Kiplyn looks a bit startled by this. "So let me get this straight, I eat this stack without the basics, I am in this here club?" His eyes scan nervously around the room, who are these savages and does this mean he won't have to work in the fields this season.... Glumly he starts in on the stack of bare pancakes.....

[acodispo]

Willie's jaw drops when he hears what Dame Simonetta says.

He whispers to Tet: "She was made for this life!"

He tries to recover what he thinks of as an Adventure-Like Manner in order to respond to Kiplyn:

"Yes! We are testing you on your ability to Adventure. You must be ready to withstand great hardships such as this."

He points to the plate of delicious but undeniably butter-deprived pancakes.

"Now is the time to prove yourselves!"

Willie will wait till all the dry pancakes are finished, keeping a careful eye to make sure each bite is consumed.

[kipper]

Dame Simonetta meticulously finishes her stack, at all times maintaining proper decorum and dignity. Not once does she choke or spew crumbs!

[mushgnome]

Eating dry pancakes is a true test of a Hobbet's ability to withstand adversity.

Potty decides to partake in the challenge in solidarity with the newcomers (even though he's already proven his worth in the dungeon). The keen-wah pancakes are coarse in texture with a nutty flavor. Potty looks a little green and complains, "Oh dear, oh dear!" but manages to choke down his share.

Kiplyn struggles with his dry stack, but in the end, finishes with room to spare. What's for dessert?

Dame Simonetta approaches the task meticulously, with decorum and dignity. She cuts the pancakes properly (with a knife, not with the edge of her fork) into tidy bite sized pieces. Potty and Kip have already put down their forks in victory, but Simonetta is only half done. No matter; she plugs away methodically, pacing herself on track to an easy finish. With confidence, she works her way down to the last pancake. Everything is going exactly according to plan until suddenly, what is this? Simonetta reaches her limit, and couldn't possibly eat another bite. There, in the middle of her plate, is a neatly trimmed square of pancake, the size of a postage stamp. She looks down at the last bite and just can't. Her head is swimming and her pulse is racing. This challenge was supposed to be in her "wheelhouse." What happened?

Everyone can see Simonetta's last piece of pancake sitting on the plate. What next, Hobbitses?

Don't try this at home, kids! Pancake eating contests are dangerous.

Withstand Adversity checks (Con based):
Potty Con 13 = auto success
Kip needs to roll 40+ and passes with a roll of 46
Simonetta needs to roll 60+ and fails with a roll of 57

[kipper]

"I am afraid I cannot finish this stack," Dame Simonetta says. "The reason being that I always save the last morsel in memory of my dear departed Snooky, bless his loyal little heart, he always loved that last morsel." A small tear comes to her eye.

[mushgnome]

I forgot to mention that Kiplyn has 4 hit points and Dame Simonetta lucks out with 8 hit points! I'll update my google sheet accordingly.

[waysoftheearth]

Tet watches enviously as the newcomers partake of their parched pancakes. There's no denying that watching a Hobbet eat will give another hunger pangs; with or without butter!

By the time they are done Tet is positively famished. But wait, they are only almost done. Dame's mention of "Dear Departed Snooky" hangs over the group ominously. While the group contemplates what this dire augury might mean, Tet's two fingers begin to walk his chubby hand surreptitiously across the table. Tet pretends not to notice the dalliance of his own appendage as his fingers sidle all the way out to the last morsel on Dame's plate. Whereupon they deftly snatch it back to his gob and he swallows it whole in the blink of an eye.

Fer Snooky, he mumbles when he notices everyone looking at him...