Hammond's Once in a Blue Moon Tavern and High Spirits

Since I'm a scrub and can't consistently play anything more complicated than 'do thing. win', here's a little game for you to play when you're bored and passing through. I'll update every once in a while- when new posts roll in, I'll give it some time for other people to come in before posting myself.

What can I do?
Just about anything! Your main goal is to show up everyone else currently present-- whether by fighting or just doing something so amazing the High Spirits themselves come down to send their praise-- but if you explore enough, maybe you'll discover some ~fancy new goals~ that'll net you some cool prizes along the way.

How do I play?
It's automatically assumed that you're in the tavern when you start playing-- so write a reply below with your name (or your character's name) and wait for other players to come in! Once enough people are here, you can start posting Actions, posts stating what you'd like to do. When you submit an Action-- only one at a time, -- the outcome of it isn't quite in your hands... Once all actions have been submitted, or enough time has passed, I'll process whether actions succeeded with a roll of a 20-sided "dice" (more like a random number generated between 1 and 20) and describe the outcome. Success varies with the worst possible outcome at 1 and the best at 20. Typically, success lies around 10, but scoring higher will net you more perks related to the action you took-- just as scoring lower will come with more disadvantages.

For example, if your action is "I'll punch Kevin," and the dice lands on a 1, not only will you miss, but you'll also careen over the table, spill a large, very strong looking man's drink and take five damage tripping over a fork as you try to get up... But if you get that coveted 20, you might punch Kevin so hard that not only does it immediately incapacitate him, you also realize you have super strength and can take on much greater opponents...

Sometimes, especially difficult actions might take higher numbers to succeed. Whether that's tackling someone clearly much stronger than you, or procuring a special item, taking big leaps come with a lot of risk... but a lot of potential rewards, if you think you can make it!



You start the game with 2 Tokens of Success, and will have opportunities to obtain more later on. Using a Token of Success guarantees your action will succeed-- rather, if I made an initial roll for you and it did not succeed, that Token you used will make the roll default to the minimum value for success. If your roll already succeeded, the Token will automatically add 5 to your roll to grant additional perks.

You may challenge anyone in the bar-- NPCs or other players-- or just chat with other characters in casual roleplay. Dialogue and roleplay won't be counted as an action that I need to process, unless explicitly stated. Just have fun, and help other people have fun along the way, too!

The Ladder of Merits
They say, there's an invisible force that watches over the tavern... Updating what many have come to refer to as the Ladder of Merits, a sort of 'leaderboard' displaying names of patrons in order of Merit, a measure of your presence and general Grandness. Does it do anything for you? Not normally... but there are a few special patrons who might take interest in you if you build up enough points... Some say they're all bad news, but the special power they exude is truly something else...

Your mission here, if you choose to accept it, is to climb to the top of the Ladder of Merits! Build Merit by challenging other players or succeeding at cool acts-- but remember, to surpass the top 10, you must challenge them directly.

You don't only have the other players to compete with, however-- in fact, starting out, your first targets will be some of the tavern's toughest and most interesting patrons. Get to know them, or go right at them as soon as you enter-- ultimately, you decide how to play!

If I don't like how my character turned out, can I start over?
Of course! You can start with a fresh character any time-- but keep in mind, if you decide to have your current character leave the tavern, they will be removed from the Ladder of Merits and you will not be able to carry anything over. Starting over will be refreshing, though-- and you can be sure that your second playthrough won't ever be the same as the first.

New meals come out every eight turns!

All meals restore players to full health. You don't have to order one if you don't want to- you'll still get any drinks you need for prose or flavor, worry not

• On the House Stew - [0 M.] - At Hammond's, we won't ever let anybody leave hungry. This meal won't do anything except fill your stomach, but don't think we cut back on making it special.
  
  
• Hammond's Midnight Special - [15 M.] - Pan-fried mahi mahi, served with hush puppies and your choice of soup or fries. Comes with a drink of your choice. Grants 50 temporary WP points.
  
• Bounty of Cyclos - [30 M.] - Cyclos is the deity from which Dios del Mar takes its name: a High Spirit of the sea who embodies all cycles in the world. The Bounty of Cyclos includes small helpings of shrimp, scallops, oysters and fried grouper-- with hush puppies, fries, and tartar sauce. Mmm... If your WP hits 0, you will hang on with 10 WP.
  
• Miserable Rich's One and Only Delight - [50 M.] - Sounds expensive? That's Rich for ya. Guy's gotta get by somehow. But it takes quite a bit to get chocolate this good from across the sea to this hellhole. A decadent chocolate cake with a layer of fudge in the middle and cool frosting on top, served with a generous scoop of house-made french vanilla ice cream. Slightly reduces difficulty of risky rolls until the next meal arrives.
  
• Solalune's Lucky Day Plate - [50 M.] - Solalune was an ancient sky deity that embodied the sun, moon, and stars; the beloved of Cyclos who gave her life to protect the world from a great evil. They say there's nothing else here that'll make you smile as much as this one. Fluffy fried rice with eggs, chicken, peas and carrots, with sweet honey barbecue and a drizzle of special sauce over everything. Comes with peaches in a cup, optional. Has a chance of adding 5 to any roll once before the next round of meals arrives.
  

Sometimes, players or NPCs can challenge others for Merit! For players, however, unless you are at or above the Merit level of your opponent, you cannot claim their place on the Ladder by defeating them. Defeating stronger patrons will net you more Merit, however- and additional bonuses, like friendship or items... depending on how you both proceed.