So, I love Bob's Burgers. It's always on my tv in the background and its wholesomeness really helped me get through the pandemic isolation. And I always can't stand those kinds of people that obsessively post about how xyz "just isn't the same anymore!" But, it's felt like Season 11 has really been the start of a pretty noticeable decline in a show that's just always been so sharp. It just feels like they've done nearly everything they can with the characters and they're starting to become predictable and less likable. This isn't me berating the show, I more or less needed an outlet to journal my thoughts. Like...there's no character I hate in this show. I find them all very charming and the family dynamic is very wholesome. But, let's take Tina for example. Her stories have become "Tina gets overly excited about something menial and the power goes to her head." I mean, off the top, the time capsule episode and the big fish/little fish (I know that was S10, but that episode wasn't great either) comes to mind. I really enjoy how they developed Tina in early seasons from someone who wasn't confident and was often a doormat to someone who was fully confident in their incredibly weird self....but now they seem not to know where to go from there? Same with Louise to an extent. I enjoy her growth from fringe lunatic in early seasons to someone who's clearly become much more considerate of others as the show has gone on. But now, her stories are a lot more sterile? In early seasons, the ambergris episode, the underground casino, and the Louise/Rudy Valentine's episode (S7) were all major standouts. But now, her episodes are a bit more formulaic? I remember the aquarium overnight episode was a really fun highlight, but that was mostly a Louise/Bob episode than just a Louise one. Now her episodes (like the Wharfy one, for example) feel kind of flat? They've milked the "haha she says she hates the boyband, but she's actually obsessed with it" trope a lot more than I thought they would have. It's almost become kind of a major character trait in recent seasons. The first episode when she goes to the concert was really cute, but now it's just overdone. And they feel like poorer rehashes in comparison. Without going on too much longer, the other characters feel less defined. I think Bob and Linda are similar enough. Bob is a bit less unhinged, as is Linda. They feel more like a team these days than in early seasons where I often asked what Bob sees in this psycho (the cruise ship hostage episode). But Gene freaks me out. The Gene-Linda dynamic specifically. I get that Gene is the momma's boy and even in one of the earlier episodes he notes how he's still 11 and still loves his mom. But now, man it's weird. And he hasn't really grown - he's really become more petulant. That recent episode where Linda goes to the business meetings was just really weird. And the other episode where he's sick and they all tell him stories, and he wants to be married to Linda in the story...again, it was more weird than funny. Even Teddy is a bit weirder. They really play the "he secretly/not so secretly" pines after Linda thing a bit too hard to the point it's creepy. He's made small remarks throughout the history of the show, but in 10-11 it feels more like a prevalent character trait. The things he says while Bob is there just make me think, "Why does Bob sit here and listen to this guy fantasize about his wife?" The Teddy meltdowns are a bit more outrageous too (ie when he's working for Pesto). And the new recurring characters (Douglas, Nat, etc) don't seem as on par with ones introduced earlier (Mickey, Bosco, etc). They aren't bad, but they aren't as memorable. I'll stop there. Again, just needed to express my thoughts a bit. Something feels off now. I never get sick of the older episodes, it's just been a recurring thought, where I think the newer seasons aren't awful, but just...off?
Warning: massive amount of text ahead. I created a mostly functional race route around the world (all loactions like buildings, businesses, landmarks, etc. are REAL locations and could theoretically actually work in the race). I tried to have a good variety in locations and types of challenges, but it's really hard! I find it a lot harder to complain about challenge design after making this. Even though this could technically happen there are probably some safety concerns in going to South Africa and Lesotho and it's probably not possible for the American Amazing Race to film in Cuba, but I decided to do it anyway. If you have any questions or feedback please let me know! RACE #2 Leg 1 (USA - Japan) Leg 2 (Japan - South Korea) Leg 3 (South Korea - India) Leg 4 (India - Oman) Leg 5 (Oman) Leg 6 (Oman - South Africa) Leg 7 (South Africa - Lesotho) Leg 8 (Lesotho - Greece) Leg 9 (Greece) Leg 10 (Greece - North Macedonia) Leg 11 (North Macedonia - Cuba) Leg 12 (Cuba - USA) LEG 1 USA - Japan Start at Cloud Gate, Chicago, Illinois Run to clue at Millenium Monument Clue #1 Make your way to the Gunma region of Japan, and travel to Sarugakyu Onsen. However, to get your tickets to Japan, you must make your way on foot through the busy streets of Chicago to Navy Pier, where flights will be given out according to the order of your arrival. Flights go to Tokyo, and you must make your own travel arrangements from there. Flight 1 (5 teams): Chicago - Los Angeles - Tokyo, arrives 8:00 AM Flight 2 (4 teams): Chicago - Tokyo, arrives 9:30 AM Flight 3 (2 teams): Chicago - San Francisco - Tokyo, arrives 9:45 AM Clue #2 Both team members must go into the hot springs and search it for the partly submerged cluebox to get your next clue. Clue #3 Travel to Sarugakyo Bungy for your next clue. Clue #4 Roadblock: Who’s ready to take a jump? Bungy jump at the largest bungy jump in all of Japan at 62 meters, or over 200 feet! Once you’ve taken your leap of faith, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #5 Travel to Uenokunirokunomiya Haruna Shrine, Takasaki, for your next clue. Clue #6 Create one string of paper cranes in Senbazuru. Senbazuru is the crafting of 1000 paper cranes for good luck. Following the demonstration, learn how to craft paper cranes. Once you have created forty of them and strung them together, deliver them to a Shinto priest at Akiba Shrine. He will give you your next clue. Clue #7 Travel by train to Akihabara, Tokyo, and go to the top of the Tokyo Skytree to receive your next clue. Clue #8 Roadblock: Who can ‘go’ kart? The teammate who did the first roadblock cannot do this one. Travel to Akihabari Street Kart 1 and dress up in one of the many ridiculous costumes the company has to offer. Then, join a fifteen minute go-karting tour around the streets of this bustling region and look for three enormous signs in race colors with three different Japanese characters on them. If you can spot and write all three characters down correctly during the rush of Tokyo, you’ll receive your next clue. If you can’t get it right, you’ll have to join the next available tour. Clue #9 Travel to Horin Park on foot to find the first pit stop! The last team to check in here may be eliminated. Pit Stop, Leg 1 trip to Canada last: eliminated LEG 2 Japan - South Korea Clue #1 Fly to Busan, South Korea! Upon arrival, make your way to Beomeo-sa for your next clue. Fast Forward, Leg 2 Go to Songdo Beach and swim out into the ocean, locating the five whale statues in the water. At each statue, pick up marked letter tiles. Once you have all seven (two statues have two tiles), you can go back to the beach and unscramble the letters that spell out the name of a traditional South Korean delicacy that the other contestants eat at their first challenge. If you get the right word, you’ll be given a clue that takes you straight to the end of the leg. Clue #2 Master the art of Korean meditation. If you can master all of the moves correctly, then your instructor will give over your next clue. Clue #3 Head to Taejongdae for your next clue. Clue #4 Roadblock: Who’s desperate to eat? Take the marked path over one mile uphill to the marked food stand, and finish one serving of Soondae, a traditional South Korean delicacy that is made of pig intestines and pork blood. Once you have finished the food, you can run down to your partner and get your next clue. Clue #5 Take the Songdo Marine Cable Car from Songnim Park to Amnam Park to receive your next clue. Clue #6 Detour: Fish Identity or Fish Delivery Fish Identity: Go to Jagalchi Fish Market and search for the marked stall. Once there, sort an enormous box of fish and organize them. Once the stall owner approves, put them up for stock in the stall to receive your next clue. Fish Delivery: Go to Jacky’s Seafood and take three orders and three addresses that need to be delivered. Once you have delivered all the fish to all the correct addresses throughout the Gamcheon Culture Village, you will receive your next clue. Clue #7 Make your way to the pit-stop at Haedong Yonggungsa. The last team to arrive may be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 2 -first: trip to Belize -last: non-elimination LEG 3 South Korea - India Clue #1 Fly to Hyderabad, India, and go to the Charminar for your first clue. Clue #2 Travel to Ramoji Film City Main Entrance to receive your next clue. Speed Bump, Leg 3 Make your way to Saha’s Adventure Park and zorb down a steep hill. Once you’ve made it, you can continue racing. Clue #3 Detour: Birdy Woods or Bollywood Birdy Woods: Dressing up in clumsy bird costumes, search through Asia’s largest aviary for a cutout of the bird your partner is dressing up as. Once you’ve found the two cutouts, head to the Bonsai Garden. If you match the right bird, you’ll receive your next clue. Bollywood: Head to Ramoji Movie Magic. Dressing up in traditional Indian outfits, memorize a short dance to the tune of some Bollywood music and perform it to the live audience and judges. If you meet their standards, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #4 Head to Nehru Zoological Park where your next clue will be waiting. Clue #5 Take an amazing elephant ride! With both teammates on the elephant’s back guide it through a short course. If you can reach the end in under two minutes, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #6 Make your way to Bidar Fort by public transport for your next clue. Clue #7 Roadblock: Who’s itching to get etching? One team member must help in the process of the creation of bidriware. First, you must chisel one section in the piece of bidriware very precisely. Any error and you must restart. If given the clear, then you must then make their way inside Bidar Fort and collect a total of three baskets of soil for the artisans to use later in the process. Finally, you must use some of the soil you collected and coat a piece of bidriware in it. If every part of the challenge was done to the satisfaction of the artisans, you will receive your next clue. Clue #8 Make your way to the Bahmani Tombs and the pit-stop! The last team to arrive will be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 3 -first: trip to Japan -last: eliminated LEG 4 India - Oman Clue #1 Fly to Muscat, Oman! Once you have arrived, make your way to Al Alam Palace, where you will find marked cars waiting outside. Your clue will be waiting on the car. Clue #2 Drive all the way to the Nizwa Souq in Nizwa, Oman, where you will find nine different tags, each releasing teams at different times the next morning, when you will be given your next clue. Tag 1: departure at 7:00 AM Tag 2: departure at 7:05 AM Tag 3: departure at 7:10 AM Tag 4: departure at 7:15 AM Tag 5: departure at 7:20 AM Tag 6: departure at 7:25 AM Tags 7-9: departure at 7:30 AM Clue #3 Detour: Selling Goats or Weighing Dates Selling Goats: Navigate through the souq to the weekly goat market. You must select a seller and help them sell their goats. First, thoroughly clean five goats so they are ready for selling. Then, parade five goats around the “walking circle,” where potential buyers will inspect which goats to buy. You must finally buy a goat yourself, haggling for a price under 100 riyals, or 260 US dollars. Once you can purchase a goat, you will receive your next clue. Keep the goat for the next challenge. Weighing Dates: Find the marked stall in the souq that is selling dates. Your goal is to weigh out 200 grams of Ajwa Dates, 175 grams of Barhi Dates, and 125 grams of Hayani Dates. To do this, you must travel across the market to a scale at a different date stall. If you can get the perfect amount of dates, you will receive your next clue. Keep the dates for the next challenge. Clue #4 Travel on foot to the Contemporary Mosque with either your goat or dates and trade them with the man waiting out front for your next clue. Clue #5 Make your way back to the souq, and head to Omani Craftsman's House where you will find your next clue. Clue #6 Roadblock: Who can work and weave? The teammate participating in this roadblock must help create a small basketwork bowl. After watching the example, you must use the provided materials to finish off the bowl. If it meets the requirement of the shop owner, you will receive your next clue. Clue #7 Make your way to the pit-stop for this leg of the race, Nizwa Fort! The last team to arrive may be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 4 -first: continue racing -last: continue racing LEG 5 Oman Clue #1 Drive yourself to Bimmah Sinkhole in Muscat, Oman! You will receive your next clue after having a cup of delicious locally-made coffee. Caution! Double U-Turn ahead! Clue #2 Detour: Script Write or Shipwright Script Write: Drive to Bait al Zubair and go into the Manuscript Room. Using a provided paper and translation guide, figure out what the marked manuscript says in English. If anything is wrong when submitting it, though, you must start completely over. Shipwright: Drive to Oman Maritime Boatyard and find the marked boat. Oman Maritime has been reviving the craft of making the traditional wooden boats of Oman’s past, and you must help with the process. First, you must hand-sand a small section of the marked vessel. Then, you and your partner must work together to stitch coconut palm fiber through twenty holes, or eighty total stitches. Once you’re done, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #3 Make your way to Mutrah Souk for your next clue and the U-Turn board! Clue #4 Search through the enormous market for one of three marked stalls. One you’ve found a stall, search through their wares for a trinket with a red/yellow flag on the bottom. Give the correct trinket to the shop owner, and they will hand you your next clue. Clue #5 Drive yourself to Qurum Beach, where you will receive your next clue. Clue #6 Roadblock: Who will pass the shells? For this challenge, one team member must watch the demonstration of two fishermen playing a traditional Omani game, Al Hawalees. You must first create a “board” in the sand and collect the required amount of shells to play. You must then challenge a local fisherman. If you can win while following all of the rules correctly, you will receive your next clue. Clue #7 Make your way to the pit-stop at Wadi Bani Khalid. The last team to check in will be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 5 -first: trip to Tanzania -last: eliminated LEG 6 Oman - South Africa Clue #1 Fly out of Oman to Durban, South Africa, on one of two flights. Flight 1 (2 teams): Muscat - Durban, arrives 7:30 AM Flight 2 (6 teams): Muscat - Dar es Salaam - Durban, arrives 8:00 AM Upon touching down, make your way to Moses Mabhida Stadium, where you will find your next clue. Clue #2 Roadblock: Who will swing for the skies? One team member must strap in and complete the Big Rush Big Swing, the largest swing in the world! Dive 263 feet down. Once you have finished the swing, you will receive a section and seat number. You will search the stands for your next clue. Clue #3 Make your way to Umhlanga Lighthouse for your next clue. Clue #4 Shake it up! In this challenge, you must create Lighthouse Bar’s famous “Umhlanga Schling.” Use the provided recipe to create fifteen drinks to perfection, and you will receive your next clue. Clue #5 Head to Addington Beach and dig underneath one of the large sandcastles for your next clue. Clue #6 Detour: Tree or Sea Tree: For this detour, go to Durban Botanical Gardens. Use a provided golf cart to make your way to the famous Wood’s Cycad, a tree dating back to the age of dinosaurs. It has been cared for here since 1848. Once there, use one of the provided pieces to put together a large 3d puzzle of the tree. Once it has been approved, you will be handed your clue, and you can drive back to the front of the gardens and continue racing. Sea: Go to uShaka Marine World and help out with some chores! First, help the kitchen staff and prepare 5 pounds of specially made vegetables for some of the aquarium’s fish. Second, travel around the park and take water samples from each of the specified exhibits. Finally, record blood test results taken during routine health check-ups. If you’ve completed all of the steps correctly, you will receive your next clue. Clue #7 Head to the pit-stop at Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World! The last team to check in may be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 6 -first: 5k each -last: eliminated LEG 7 South Africa - Lesotho Clue #1 Drive yourself through Qacha’s Nek and into Lesotho! Once in Lesotho, drive yourself to Maletsunyane Falls where you’ll find your next clue. Fast Forward, Leg 7 By completing this fast forward, you will skip an overnight rest point and will be able to head directly to the pit-stop. Head to Sehlabathebe National Park. Once there, using the provided map and compass, ride by horseback to the nomadic tribal people’s current village. At the village, help cook pap-pap, a type of porridge common in Lesotho. The first team to complete the challenge will be able to head directly to the pit-stop. Clue #2 Drive yourself to Seshoeshoe Decor and Fashion Designers in Maseru for your next clue. Clue #3 Who can cut up a pattern? One teammate will choose one of the complicated tribal Lesotho designs, and must find five pieces of fabric that match it perfectly. But be careful, the designs have miniscule differences between them. Once you’ve found all of your fabric, cut them at the directed places to receive your next clue. Clue #4 Make your way to the Subeng River Dinosaur Footprints, where you will find seven tags, each releasing you at a time in the morning when you will receive your next clue. Tags 1-2: departure at 7:00 AM Tag 3: departure at 7:20 AM Tag 4: departure at 7:40 AM Tags 5-7: departure at 8:00 AM Clue #5 Detour: Cave or Maze Cave: For this challenge, go to Liphofung Cave. You must memorize all of the rock paintings in a specified section (15 paintings), and then run approximately a quarter-mile away and select the correct paper cutouts and put them in the right order as they were shown in the cave. When you have everything selected and ordered correctly, you’ll receive your next clue. Maze: Make your way to the second largest dam in Africa, Katse Dam. Enter the first marked gallery and record the air temperature and the humidity. Use those observations to crack a complicated code, and enter the parallel gallery it directs you into. Be careful, it might be hard to find! If you enter the correct gallery, you will find a boat key, which you must give to the boatmaster. He will then give you a small ride around the reservoir and you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #6 Drive yourself to Sani Stone Lodge for your next clue. Clue #7 Help a local Basotho Shephard and their dogs move their sheep to a new grazing location. Don’t let the sheep get away! Once they’ve all been successfully moved, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #8 Make your way on foot to the pit-stop at Sani Top Chalet! The last team to check in may be eliminated! Pit-Stop, Leg 7 -first: trip to Egypt -last: non-elimination LEG 8 Lesotho - Greece Clue #1 Via Maseru International Airport, make your way to Athens, Greece, known to be the home of the first democracy! From there, make your way to the Theatre of Dionysus on The Acropolis, where you will take part in a U-Turn vote. The two teams with the most votes will be sentenced to an automatic U-Turn when they arrive at the detour. After the vote, teams will be given their next clue. Clue #2 Fly to Chania, Greece on the island of Crete! Upon touching down, use the provided cars to make your way to the Agora and search for the marked stall. Speed Bump, Leg 8 Together, team members must eat through a total of twelve Greek figs. Once all of the fruits have been stomached, that team can continue racing. Clue #3 Detour: Traverse or Immerse Traverse: Make your way to the Maritime Museum of Crete, and find the small yacht model outside the museum. Your goal is to remember as much as you can without writing it down, then make a half mile walk through the streets of Crete to the yacht harbor, where you must find a marked yacht and rearrange the items until it is just like it was in the model. Once the actual yacht matches the model, you’ll receive your next clue. Immerse: Travel to Minoan’s World 3D Museum, and get treated to a five minute long “9D movie” on Cretan History which engages all of your senses. If you can answer all five questions correctly, you’ll receive your next clue. However, only two teams can participate in the show at once. Clue #4 Drive to the Palace of Knossos for your next clue. Clue #5 Use the provided map to navigate through the ruins, collecting puzzle pieces at each of the marked rooms. Once you have all ten bundles of pieces, head outside and recreate the large painting using the pieces you collected. Once it has been finished, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #6 Drive to Cretan Olive Oil Farm for your next clue. Clue #7 Roadblock: Who is feeling oily? In this challenge, one teammate will help in the process of creating olive oil. First, set up special tree-shaking equipment and a net, used to efficiently get olives out of the tree without bruising them. You will then sort the olives between bruised and fair. Finally, crush both bruised and fair olives with a traditional granite olive press. Once they have been successfully grinded into a paste, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #8 Find the pit-stop along the coast of the small village of Loutro back on the west side of Crete. You will soon discover, however, that the village is completely blocked off from the mainland by mountains, so you will have to find alternate transportation. Hurry, because the last team to arrive will be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 8 -first: trip to Austria -last: eliminated LEG 9 Greece Clue #1 Fly back to the mainland in Thessaloniki! When you’ve arrived, search Aristotelous Square for your next clue. Clue #2 Detour: Serve or Observe Serve: For this detour head on foot to Bougatsa Giannis, a renowned restaurant in the Ladadika area. You must take the orders of twelve total people and retrieve the correct dishes for them from the kitchen. Each person also has a dessert, which must be retrieved from nearby pastry shop Trigona Elinidi. You may take notes, but if you mess up someone’s order, you must start it over again. Observe: Go by taxi to the Thessaloniki Science Centre Technology Museum and make your way to the main planetarium. The night sky will be projected above, and will be moving around you at one hour of regular movement per second. Using the provided key, identify five Greek constellations first identified by Claudius Ptolemy- Orion, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Centaurus, and Perseus. Be careful, it might be dizzying! Once you’ve found all of the constellations, you’ll be rewarded with your next clue. Clue #3 Find the Arch of Galerius for your next clue. Clue #4 Use one of the marked cars to drive yourself for the rest of the leg. Go to the Thessaloniki Concert Hall for your next clue. Clue #5 Roadblock: Who can blow a note and hold a tune? Macedonian brass bands are extremely popular in the Macedonia region of Greece, so for this roadblock, learn how to play the trumpet, a popular instrument played in these bands. If you can play a few notes of the folk song with the band, you’ll get your next clue. Clue #6 Drive to Dalamara Winery. Once there, follow the guide to the directed area, where you must load two empty kegs onto a horse drawn cart. Direct the horse approximately half a mile through the vineyard and return back to the kegs. You will continue to load and deliver a total of eight kegs to receive your next clue. Clue #7 Drive to Ski Center Voras and take the lift to the top where Kajmakcalan, a chapel right on the border between Greece and North Macedonia is situated. The last team to arrive at this pit-stop may be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 9 -first: trip to Colombia -last: eliminated LEG 10 Greece - North Macedonia Clue #1 Drive yourself across the border into North Macedonia to Popova Kula Winery! Once there, pull a tag that departs you at a certain time the next morning. Tag 1: departure at 8:00 AM Tag 2: departure at 8:10 AM Tag 3: departure at 8:20 AM Tags 4-5: departure at 8:30 AM Clue #2 Roadblock: Who is a master chef? The teammate doing this roadblock will use the provided recipe to cook the national dish of North Macedonia, Tavche Gravche, a special type of baked beans. If it is cooked to perfection, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #3 Drive yourself to the Millenium Cross in Skopje for your next clue. Clue #4 Detour: Art Block or Charity Walk Art Block: Drive to the Art Bridge, which is home to 29 statues of important Macedonian artists and musicians. Wandering on and around the bridge are 29 people dressed up as those artists and musicians. You must match nine total people to their statues. A maximum of three teams can complete this challenge. Charity Walk: Drive to the Mother Teresa Memorial House and load a trolley cart with a marked group of items that will almost completely fill the trolley. On foot, travel to the SOS Children’s Village National Office where you are to deliver the items. If you do not choose this option, your items will still be donated after the leg. Clue #5 Drive to the city of Struga, where the North Macedonian national anthem was created. Make your way to the Saint Archangel Michael Cave Church for your next clue. Clue #6 Teammates must work together to memorize four total stanzas of the Macedonian national anthem- in Macedonian. If you can perform it with the orchestra without forgetting the lyrics, you’ll receive your clue to the next pit-stop. Clue #7 Drive to the Monastery of St. Naum and the pit-stop! The last team to check in may be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 10 -first: trip to Indonesia -last: eliminated LEG 11 North Macedonia - Cuba Clue #1 Make your way back to Skopje, then fly to Havana, Cuba, on two predetermined flights. Once there, go by taxi to Taller Calle 8, a car repair shop, where you will receive your next clue. Flight 1 (2 teams): Skopje - Paris - Havana, arrives 6:30 AM Flight 2 (2 teams): Skopje - London - Miami - Havana, arrives 7:10 AM Clue #2 Roadblock: Who can fix it up? The teammate doing this roadblock must follow the example to repair one of the classic Cuban cars. If it makes it past inspection, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #3 For the remainder of the leg, you’ll have to drive the car you just fixed. Head to Fusterlandia, where you’ll find your next clue. Clue #4 Find where the attached image is in person throughout the folk neighborhood of Fusterlandia. If you can find where the image actually is and show the judge, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #5 Sell the Box or Find the Band Sell the Box: Drive to Santa Maria del Mar Beach and sell the provided boxes of boxed rum, the “juice box for bug kids.” While never selling any box for under 25 Cuban Pesos, make 375 Cuban Pesos (around fifteen US dollars). Once you’ve made your sales, you’ll receive your next clue. Find the Band: For this detour, drive to the Cuban Art Factory and observe the large, marked piece of sheet music in the first room. Going from room to room in the factory, try to find the band who is playing the music that was in the first room. You must make your guesses ten minutes apart, so be confident in your answers! Once you have chosen the right band, you’ll be rewarded with your next clue. Clue #6 Drive to Vinales Valley Tobacco Field and search the marked area for your next clue. Clue #7 Perfectly roll ten Cuban cigars, five per contestant. Watch the example closely, as any small mistake in rolling the tobacco leaf will cause the cigar to fail. Once all of the cigars have been perfectly rolled, you’ll receive your next clue. Clue #8 Take a long drive to the eastern side of Cuba and the pit-stop at Ignacio Agramonte Park in Camaguey! The last team to check into the pit-stop will be eliminated. Pit-Stop, Leg 11 -first: trip to Botswana -last: eliminated LEG 12 Cuba - USA Clue #1 For the first part of this leg, you’ll be staying in Cuba! Drive yourself using the car you used in the last leg down Neptuno street in Havana, where you will find a guarapo stall with a flag. Clue #2 Using the hand-press to crush sugarcane, make forty glasses of guarapo. Once all of the glasses have been successfully made, you’ll be handed your next clue. Clue #3 Drive to the Tropicana Night Club for your next clue. Clue #4 Roadblock: Who can make it and shake it? For this challenge, one team member must follow the instructions of the costume designer to create a costume for one of the showgirls. If the costume is made correctly and given a pass, teams will be given their next clue. Clue #5 Teams must drive to Aeropuerto de La Habana Ciudad Libertad, where you will embark on a charter flight to Key West, Florida, back in the United States. Once in Key West, teams must go to the southernmost point in the continental United States for their next clue. Clue #6 Make your way to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, where you’ll find your next clue. Clue #7 Roadblock: Who is a reader, a writer, and a decipherer? Ernest Hemingway, known for books like The Old Man and the Sea, had a notoriously bad handwriting, with little regards to punctuation or accuracy. One team member must copy one of Hemingway’s notes perfectly, letter for letter, on the provided typewriter. If it was typed perfectly, you will be handed a decoder key which you can use to find the hidden message, which will reveal the location of your final challenge. Answer: Smathers Beach Clue #8 Now that you’ve made it to Smathers Beach, you’ll partake in a final challenge. Out in between the marked buoys are bundles of letter tiles. You must dive down to retrieve them and bring them back up to shore. Figure out what you’re supposed to spell out with them, and once you think you have the answer, hang the tiles in order on your clothesline. If you have the correct answer, you’ll be given the final clue. Answer: United States, Japan, South Korea, India, Oman, South Africa, Lesotho, Greece, North Macedonia, Cuba, United States (teams must figure out that they have to spell out all of the countries they visited in order on the race) Clue #9 Congratulations! Make your way to the final pit-stop at Fort Zachary Cruise Pier! Go, go, go, the first team to reach the pit-stop will win 1 MILLION dollars! Pit-Stop, Leg 12 10 countries 4 continents over 27,000 miles first: 1 million dollars
My friends and I had some ideas for new locations, POI's and vehicles that we'd like to see in the upcoming seasons and game in general:
LOCATIONS
A full town with grocery store, gas station, mall, school, etc.
A giant theme/amusement park in the center of the island (with rideable rollercoasters, Ferris wheels and bumper cars, along with carnival games where you can win better loot), Also during summer months, a water park
A giant Casino (that has the weapon vending machines all over the places, along with a bunch of ways to get metal)
A bank
A theater
POIs
A beach area (Like Sweaty Sands, but with less buildings and more just beach homes)
2 sections on opposite sides of the map: one that has giant buildings and the opposite having tiny buildings. (Think one section of the map is like Ant-Manor and the other is like all of the tiny island recreations in creative)
A mountainside laboratory (this could have different things from Chapter 1[Hop Rocks, bits and pieces of the rocket and the meteor and bits and pieces of the Chapter 2 island)
An Aquarium (Don't tap the glass! Holds all types of fish, including sharks[though their not rideable and are just for show])
A news station (Cameras and a green screen that can actually be used)
A travelling circus (You can get balloons and fiery items here)
A Train Station that takes you from one side of the island to another (all of the four cardinal directions + NE, NW, SE, SW)
NEW VEHICLES
New Cars:
Police Car: Same speed as Taxi Cab, but can turn on siren to increase speed, however that could draw attention towards you (risk = reward type thing) (No siren-Taxi speed, w/Siren-Whiplash speed) (1000 HP)
Mail Van: Can store weapons, bullets, consumables, etc in the back, as well as players. Only two people can be in the front seat at a time (A bit faster than a Semi-truck, but still slow, also the back lift door can be broken with launches out all things inside, including players.) (1200 HP)
Minivan: Can carry up to 8 people (really good for larger team modes.) Unique feature is that, since the middle seat doors are slide doors, players can stand so that their entire body is outside the car (GTA style) (About the same speed as the Sedan, but is good with gas) (1000 HP)
School Bus: Can carry a maximum of 25 players! The School Bus is the slowest vehicle, slower than even the semi-truck. Though what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in durability, coming in at a total 2000 HP, the School Bus has the same size wheels as the Pickup Truck, though their more durable.
Agent's Car: The Agent's Car is unique, as it will be the first car to have attached weaponry. Akin to the Biplane's Gatling guns, the Agent's Car will have one of three different weapons. Two Assault Rifles on either side, One Gatling gun or One Rocket Launcher. All 3 have boosts and are the same speed as the Whiplash.
Revised Vehicles
Shopping Cart: When playing alone, can hold consumables (Medkits, Grenades, etc)
ATK: Can now hold one extra weapon
Quadcrasher: Boost refills a bit slower
Brand-New Vehicles
Motorcycle: Exactly as the name suggests, it's a motorbike, plain and simple. there will be four types of motorbikes: Sportbike, the Whiplash of the motorbikes. Offroad Bike, Fast on the road, easier to get over mountains and through forests compared to the rest of the vehicles. The Retro Bike, a classic bike, second-slowest out of the four, though it still has some zip. The final bike is the Scooter. The slowest of the bikes, but it can hold two players The Motorcycles can only hold one player (with the exception of the scooter), though players have the option to shoot while on the bikes. Each Bike has a total of 800 HP, though they are hard to hit. If a wheel is popped, it will completely wreck the bike. Same as the previous vehicles before it, The Motorcycle will spawn in multiple places around the map, most times in a cluster of 4... HOWEVER, in each game, regular motorcycle spawns will be replaced by...
The Pedal Bike!: This vehicle is the weakest in the game. There are three types of Pedal Bikes in the game: The BMX bike is the fastest and goes quickly while off-road. The Practice Bike is the slowest, as it still has training wheels, though it can hold consumables in it's bar basket. The final type of Pedal Bike is the Big Wheel, it's a tricycle. it's slow, it's weak, it can be stopped by anything, even though there's no real brakes. Pedal Bikes will always spawn in town areas (Salty Springs, Pleasant Park, Holly Hedges, etc)
The Attack Helicopter: This is, in essence, as fusion of the X-4 and Choppa. Holds up to 5 players, with one pilot, each of the other players mans a weapon of some sort. Gatling guns, Snipers, Rocket Launcher, etc. When a player decides to exit the Attack Choppa, they will have glider redeploy. There is also a hook on the bottom of the Attack Choppa that is raised/lowered with whatever the equivalent of left and right bumpers are on your specific platform (RB+LB, R1+L1, L+R, etc), this hook can be used to pick up other things on the map such as vehicles, walls, roofs, etc. The Attack Helicoptor has a total of 1800 HP
THE TANK: This is the big one. This is what's inside the Bunker. The Tank is a two person operated vehicle, just like the B.R.U.T.E. One player drives while the other shoots the guns (A stronger grenade launcher, a basic rocket launcher and a homing rocket launcheguided missile return). The Tank does not have destructable wheels, though they are a higher damage spot (like the choppa's rotors). The Tank has a total of 5000 HP. This may seem a touch overpowered, but as I said, it's very like the B.R.U.T.E. in the way that: Once the tank is taken and starts to move, it will appear on the map. The Tank has two weak points: The caterpillar wheels and the gun itself, if you can land a direct shot with and RPG or an explosive in general, then The Tank will take major damage! Once The Tank is down to 0 HP, it will start a 3-second-countdown before it blows for good and deals 250 damage to anyone, and anything in the surrounding area.
The Tractor: It's just a tractor, it spawns at farm areas. It's slow and doesn't have much health (I think we just need more silly things in the game like the balloons or the snowmen.)
NEW GAMEMODES:
Bicycle Race: A race from Point A - Point B using the Pedal Bike
Defeat the Horde: 5 players start as Husks, Zombies, whatever you want to call them, and the rest of the 50 person lobby needs to either outlast for 15 mins, or destroy the horde. Other players become horde members once attacked, there are three types of zombies (the ones that throw, the ones that slash and the walls)
Isle Defense: 8 players in Tanks must defeat Two Giants trying to destroy the island in any way they can (stomping, smashing, etc)
Tank Royale: Same basic idea as Air Royale, just with the Tank
Jewel Heist: A game mode where two opposing teams must steal 4 of the gem llamas from a building using C4, Grapplers, Smoke Grenades, etc and win by getting away without being caught by the opposing team, or by stealing the four gem llamas and eliminating everyone else.
Capture the Flag: 50 V 50, but each team has a Gem Llama and needs to get it to their side of the map before the other team. Best of 3, giant, indestructable wall divides the island and blocks the other team from seeing where they hid their llama. All vehicles (bar the Tank and B.R.U.T.E) are usable. The Gem Llama has the same properties as the Gas Can, minus the explosions.
Prop Hunt: It's just Prop Hunt
Escape Room: Get through 5, gradually more difficult challenge rooms before the other team.
The Toybox: A rapidly changing mode, kind of like Battle Lab, but you can use Creative exclusive items on the main island as well as true vaulted items (Zap-o-tron, Guided Missile) as well as choosing between the current Island, whatever changes to the Island after December 1st, as well as the Old, Chapter 1 Island. You will also be able to change the season of which island you're on (Ch1 Se4, Ch2 Se 3, Ch1 Se 8), it just won't have any sponsered/branded areas (no Gotham, Stark Industries, Pandora: However you can use the cel-shaded style.) You can also decide what you want on the Island before spawning in: You want 3 different volcanoes around the map? Go for it! You want every location to be replaced by Misty Meadows? Cool! You can do whatever you want and change the Island however you want. You can also choose to spawn in any Mythic items, they would just be name changed (Stark Rifle to Energy Rifle). You can choose if you want any AI bosses/henchmen around the map, and you can choose where to spawn them.
Bright Yellow: Solid Gold, but just with Mythic items
Truly Unvaulted: Unvaulted but there's also items like the Dart Trap, vaulted vehicles, the previously used Mythics, The Guided Missile, The Infinity Blade, the Zap-O-Tron.
Paint Ball: Just like Splatoon, two teams of [X] people will be armed with Paint Cannons that launch the Paint Grenades* in a contained area (Named Location/Larger POI)
Deathrace: 20 Players. 10 Teams. Traps, Ramps, Husks and Explosives everywhere. All in the Agent's Car. First one to finish wins......... Or the last team standing.
NEW WEAPONS
The Cannon (Epic): I know that cannons were in the game before, but if they brought back like a shoulder cannon that shoots 4 cannonballs.
*Paint Grenade (Common): A grenade that does minor damage (at most 50), but covers a medium-sized area in a bright color of paint (blue, pink, red, green, yellow, orange, etc, it's random), this includes players, builds and vehicles. The paint remains on any objects it hits until they coming in contact with water. Spawns in 4.
Water Balloon (Uncommon): Just a water balloon. It can be thrown and will explode on contact. Does minor, flinching damage (25 headshot at most), but can be used for game modes, and cleaning off paint.
Elemental Sword (Mythic): Spawns on top of a mountain. Can be thrown, swung and used to deflect bullets. Using Deflect + Left Bumper or Right Bumper can switch between the four elements. Water has the effect of launching an H2O blast that homes in on opponents, goes a maximum of 150 meters before dissipating, has the same effect as running into someone in a Whiplash: Major Damage + Large Knockback. (Cooldown is 35 seconds) Fire can be swung, dealing not only a large amount of damage, but also giving whoever it hits a burn affect (like being in a 1X1 cube shot by a flare gun). It can be shot, just like water, but causes the same effect as a stronger flare gun, goes 75 meters. and can be thrown having the same effect. (Cooldown for all effects is 35 seconds) Earth can only be swung, though it deals the most damage. When jumping you can do the Earthly Strike: a downwards strike that increases in strength, the farther you fall. When it reaches the ground it causes and Island wide earthquake the stuns all other players, this takes the most time to cooldown (120 seconds). The final element is Air: This element allows you to launch a chargeable tornado towards opponents, the longer you hold the charge, the stronger and further the tornado will launch. This form of the sword will also allow for something I call: "Tornado Travel" where you start rapidly spinning and it will raise and carry you into and through the air, this will last for 15 seconds before slowly descending. "Tornado Charge & Travel" have a simultaneous cooldown of 40 seconds. Element changes are instantaneous.
The Homing Droid (Legendary): A small droid that, when placed will roll around for 30 seconds before either exploding or teleport back to you. There are two modes to The Homing Droid: One where you control the droid in a remote location and another where the droid rolls about on it's own. If the droid senses that there is someone nearby, it will immediately disconnect from the remote and bolt towards the sensed opponent before either exploding or coming back to you(NOTE: By disconnect, I mean that you won't be able to control it anymore, rather it will go on it's own, but the camera will remain on.) The droid will lose focus however if you get far enough away from it. It will track down any opponents for roughly 300M, though if you get into a vehicle, or just get away fast enough, you won't be hunted. It will have a separate health bar, at a total of 65 HP.
The Burner (MYTHIC): It's a flamethrower, plain and simple. It doesn't take regular bullets, rather it takes gas. If you have a gas can in your inventory when you have The Burner, it will gradually deplete from the gas can. It will also take ammunition from a *Propane/Propain Tank. The Burner takes up two inventory slots
*Propane/Propain Tanks(Around The Island): It's basically just the "KA-BOOM" tanks that could be found at The Rig and are currently found around Weeping Woods. They are bigger, stronger and can be put into your inventory. You can stack up to 5 ProPain Tanks in your inventory at one time. However, when you have both ProPain Tanks and The Burner in your inventory, a ProPain Tank will leave your inventory and attach to The Burner. After emptying a ProPain Tank, it will drop and fade out of the game.
I really hope you like my ideas and feel free to share your ideas in the comments! (just don't be mean if someone has a different opinion on the old island) EDIT 1: I've added some more weapons and stuff.
I held up my boarding pass and walked through the gate. My wife, Harper, was right ahead of me, and we both were so loaded with bags and suitcases that we could barely fit between the doorways. Our 10th anniversary was in a couple of days. We both had come into agreement that there was no better way to celebrate than to go on an all-expense-paid cruise to Hawaii. As we made it up to the deck, we marveled at all the entertainment. There was a band playing to greet us. Pools, water slides, mini-golf, a drive-in sized screen that was displaying boarding information, bars, and restaurants, and that was just what we could see while walking in! This was definitely the right choice for our anniversary vacation. I couldn’t wait to get these bags unloaded and start to enjoy ourselves. We went into the doors that led to the cabins. There was another beautiful bar down below us. There was a sports bar to the left showing the games on different screens and a small library to our right. Before we made it to the cabins, there was a coffee bar that served specialty coffees and desserts. If religion has it right, I hope that heaven is something like this. You couldn’t walk through a door anywhere without finding something exciting. Once we made it to our cabin, we dropped all our bags and looked at each other with stars in our eyes. I pulled my wife close for a kiss and then kept my arms around her. I asked eagerly about how we should begin. “Well, what should we do first? The casino? The arcade?” She smirked before replying. “Such a man, don’t forget about the fine dining at 6, followed by the show at the Theatre.” I drew back and acted faux offended. “Are you insinuating that I have no culture? I made our reservations before we even boarded, don’t worry. Dinner isn’t for a long time though, how about we go get some of those tacos and a coffee to get ourselves going.” “Now you’re speaking my language.” She replied with a grin. “Let’s unpack later. I am starving, and I think that coffee bar right there makes caramel macchiatos.” Her eyes lit up yet again as I grabbed her hand, and we rushed towards the door. The coffee bar did have macchiatos, which I got with an extra shot of espresso. She ordered a frozen drink that was more sweetness than coffee, and we made our way back onto the deck where the tacos awaited. The weather was beautiful. It was Fall time, and the sun was just warm enough to be inviting, accompanied by the blissful breeze that blew along the top of the deck. As we drew near to Tito’s Taco Shop, we heard the captain coming through the loudspeakers announcing takeoff. He reminded us about the mandatory safety meeting in a couple of hours and then wished us to have a great time aboard the ship. It was still strange to be in large groups of people without wearing a mask. The pandemic was finally eradicated once the vaccines were distributed. The cruise and tourism industries were hit hard, as were many others. It seemed that people were at last willing to come back out again, and there was no shortage of cruise-goers ready for a trip to the islands. I had my phone out and was looking up things to do in Honolulu for the days that we were in port. Scuba diving was a must. I had heard that sometimes you could see sharks or even hold an octopus on your hand if you got lucky enough. I wanted to do some hiking near the volcanoes if we had time. All the spam was going to be strange, but as much as they cook with it, I bet they were able to make it taste like a delicacy. They were in the process of building a new aquarium. It looked like it was going to be a huge one. Sadly, it did not look like it would be done in time for us to check it out. The black sands beach looked incredible, though. Instead of sand, it said that the whole beach was covered in smooth black lava rocks. We would definitely have to make a stop there. “Ethan! Do you want salsa on your tacos? Chicken or steak?” I put my phone away and looked at the meats before responding and did so to the guy who was making them as he finished up my wife’s two glorious looking tacos. “I’ll take one of both with some of that green salsa. Thank you!” All the free tacos that you could eat, why couldn’t life always be like that? “Let’s sit over there by the side, so we can watch the takeoff,” Harper said, before taking a big sip of her frozen coffee. We took a seat and took in the last sight of land that we would see for about 4 days. Once we arrived, we would tour the different islands, stopping at each port and having a day to explore. There were some people on land waving towards the ship. We joined many others who were near the side waving back. I couldn’t help but feel bad for all of those poor people stuck on the land. “Bon Voyage to us, I guess.” I held up my coffee for a cheers, and Harper returned the gesture. Her face was glowing. I couldn’t remember seeing her so happy since the day of our wedding. “This is really going to be a nice break from reality.” She said as she picked up her taco to take her first bite. “Yeah, it will. Nothing like this in the world.” We took our time, enjoying each bite as our view of the coastline became a thing of the past. When we were finished, we looked into each other’s eyes. I reached across the table to hold her hand. She sounded a bit anxious as she spoke. “It is a lot to take in, isn’t it? There is so much to do that I’m afraid of missing out on something. Where should we go first?” I squeezed her hand and spoke in a reassuring tone. “We have plenty of time to take it all in. Let’s just make sure to relax and do whatever makes us happy. It will all work itself out.” Once we had our fill of gazing into the ocean, we decided that we would head back to the room and get unpacked, while we waited for the safety orientation. The time flew by, and before we knew it, they were calling our section over the loudspeaker. We arrived with all the other passengers and waited for a moment until the crew member made it so we could begin. They gave us the spiel about the life jackets. They explained how the evacuation process works in case of a problem and let us hear a sample of the siren that would be played if there was an emergency. I was zoning out and staring out of the window. We were near the bottom of the ship, and you could see the water moving beside us. It put me in a bit of a trance, and I kind of lost myself in it for a moment. I was snapped out of it when I saw something I couldn’t quite comprehend. It happened pretty fast, and most of the people were looking at the crew member as he spoke. I could have been mistaking, but It looked like a giant tentacle had moved by the window and curled out of sight. I looked around to see if anyone else had seen what I thought I just saw. There was a teenaged boy who looked excited and shocked. He was tugging at his father’s sleeve and explaining something to him. He seemed to brush him off and looked frustrated at the interruption. Everyone else was paying attention to the speech and had apparently not seen a thing. Harper noticed how shaken I was and asked me quietly if everything was alright. I shook it off and said I would tell her about it later. We sat through the rest of the orientation. Nothing else went by the window, other than the waves being made by the ship. As we arrived back on the deck, we were grabbing a drink from the tiki-themed bar. Harper chose one of those blue drinks with the little umbrella on top. After what I had seen, I opted for a straight glass of their best scotch. I had explained my story to her, and she was busy trying to figure out what it could have been that I saw. “So, you’re sure it was all the way up by the window? Even at that lower level, that must be pretty high up from the water. Maybe it was something that crawled up the side, and it just seemed like it was larger because of forced-perspective?” I took a big sip of my scotch and shook my head in confusion. “Yeah, I mean, maybe. I really don’t know.” She looked as if a light bulb went off in her head, and she shot back a smart remark. “You’ve been reading a bunch of that H. P. Lovecraft stuff again, haven’t you? I’m sure it wasn’t Cthulhu if that’s what you are thinking.” I laughed and felt my tension release. “No, it’s not that. I just thought it was weird, that’s all. Enough about that, let’s figure out what we’re going to do until the formal dinner and play tonight.” She responded with a grin. “I seem to remember someone mentioning the arcade and the casino.” I must have looked like a kid on Christmas morning because she burst out laughing. We finished our drinks and made our way past the large screen that was now cycling through reminders of all the different events that you could attend. Night club, comedy club, it seemed like there was no end to the number of things you could do on this ship. We walked through the casino that was already bustling with cruise-goers. It looked like a good time. They even had versions of those toy cranes that were set up to pick up huge wads of cash. That might be the next stop, but I had my eyes set on the zombie shooter game with two green guns. The arcade was right past the casino and was full of all kinds of games to keep us entertained. Not as many people were eager to jump straight for the arcade apparently. Harper and I had the whole place to ourselves. I went to the coin machine to get out some tokens. There was a door that read “Staff Only” right by the machine. I heard a loud slamming noise that caught my attention, even over the music that was playing in the arcade. I leaned in a little and heard a heated conversation on the other side. “This is so fucked up. I can’t believe that they got loose. They need to tell all of the people!” “Can you imagine the chaos that would cause? I get where you are coming from, trust me. It’s better this way, though.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right… People would be going crazy.” The door opened, and I jumped as I was still leaning in to eavesdrop. This must have been apparent to the two kids who walked out because they looked a bit frightened and then hurried right past me. I grabbed the tokens out of the machine and walked over to the machine where my wife was waiting. “You look like you just saw a ghost or something. Don’t tell me some fish people are walking around on board now.” I couldn’t even fake a laugh or smile. I explained what I had just heard as I put the coins into the machine and started up the game. She did not seem concerned about the new development. “They could have been talking about a mechanical issue or something. Try not to worry too much. We deserve to have the time of our lives on this trip. I don’t want you to start to obsess on this and lose sight of why we are here.” I shrugged at this and answered in a resigned tone. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Worrying isn’t going to fix anything anyway. Could you please start taking out some of these zombies, though? I’m carrying the whole game over here. You have a power-up to use, hit the red button.” She smacked me with the gun for talking trash, but the mood felt much lighter after that. Before long, we grew tired of the arcade and decided to play a few games at the casino. I have never been the best card player, and she was no better than me. This being the case, we opted for the giant money claw machine. I swear that both of us grabbed a stack a handful of times each. The claw would never hold its grip, though. Feeling more than a little bit scammed, we decided to blow a bit of time at the slots until we had to go get ready for dinner. As soon as we sat down, the person who went on the money claw right behind us exclaimed loudly as the machine lit up and started to make a loud ringing noise. I looked over to Harper and gestured towards him. “That seems about right, huh? We pump fifty dollars into that thing, and he walks away with a jackpot after one.” “Such is life.” She responded as she pumped some tokens into the slot machine. I couldn’t help but hear two guys on some machines behind us, as they were beginning to get a bit rowdy with each other. “You tryin’ to say I don’t know what I saw man?” His friend responded quickly. “No, no, no, man. I’m not trying to say you’re seeing things or whatever else. I’m just saying that it’s crazy. There is no way it can be right!” After this, the first man shot up out of his seat, knocking over his stool as he did. This caused quite the scene, and many people were starting to gaze in the direction now. “Yeah, that’s alright. You think whatever the hell you want. I’m gonna go find someone to talk to about it right now!” He stormed off, leaving his friend looking a bit shell-shocked and embarrassed. Harper looked toward me, and as if reading her mind, I pushed my seat back away from the machine. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. We need to get ready for dinner.” She raised her eyebrows in surprise at what we had just witnessed and responded. “Sounds good to me. I haven’t won anything anyway. Let’s go.” I looked back towards the guy’s friend, who he left standing there. After considering it for a moment, I leaned in towards my wife. “You go ahead, I’ll catch up with you in just a second.” She looked a bit frustrated but did not fight it. “Hurry up, I want to make sure we get a good seat. It’s going to take us a while to get ready.” She kissed me on the cheek and took off towards the deck, which led over towards the cabins. I walked up towards the man who was about to walk off before I caught his attention. “Excuse me, sir? I overheard you and your friend. What was it that he thinks he saw?” He looked at me warily. It was clear that he really didn’t want to discuss the matter. “Look, he’s usually not like that, you know? I don’t know what’s gotten into him, honestly.” I shook my head. He obviously didn’t understand why I was asking. “No, I saw something strange as well. I’m not trying to say your friend is going crazy at all. I was just wondering what it is that he was saying he saw.” This seemed to unnerve him more than help calm his nerves. He looked around to make sure nobody was listening in. “Man, he was saying that he saw a giant fucking octopus, bro. Like, 30 feet long or so is how he was describing it. It’s ridiculous, there is no way they would allow something like that on one of these ships.” My heart dropped all the way to my feet. I covered my mouth, and I think he could tell by my reaction that what he said had rocked me to the core. I stammered and managed a weak reply as horror rushed through my body. “I..I… On the boat??” He nodded and looked at me with the same type of concern he had been showing to his friend. My face must have been as white as a sheet at this point. “Thanks.” I took off out of the door, in a huge rush to catch up with Harper. I was looking around in a panic, my heart racing and ready to beat right out of my chest. I was about to just take off to the room when I heard Harper’s voice. “Ethan! Over here, I grabbed some hot tea.” I saw her over by the edge of the deck, waving me over. I ran up to her and could hardly focus. “I thought you needed something to help you relax, and it looks like I was right. What are you freaking out about right now?” I tried to collect my thoughts and was going to respond when she pointed behind me and cut me off. “Hey, isn’t that the guy that was just going nuts in the casino?” I turned around, and the man was being dragged towards a door that was marked “Employees Only”. Two larger deckhands were pulling him that way, each with a tight grip on one of his arms. He was fighting hard to try and break their hold and calling out for help. As they made it through the door with the man, I grabbed Harper by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “We have to go. Let’s get to the room, I don’t want to explain out here.” She nodded, and we made our way towards the cabins. Once we were in our own cabin, she put down the hot teas on our dresser and walked right up to me with an exasperated look on her face. “Babe, what in the heck is going on right now? This isn’t about the freaking tentacle that you saw out the window, is it?” I looked shiftily around the room and towards our view of the ocean. “Yes… I mean, no… Well, not really, anyway.” “You have got to calm down. Just take a deep breath and explain.” I did as she suggested and took a long deep breath to collect my thoughts. I told her about what the guy’s friend had said back at the casino. She made the connection between this and the man being dragged off the deck against his will. I also explained what I heard from the crew members when we were at the arcade. I could tell she was beginning to take what I was saying seriously. I looked off into a corner as I made a connection. It seemed like a bit of a stretch to me, but it was the only thing I could think of. I know that she wouldn’t judge me at this point if it sounded a bit outlandish. After thinking it over for a moment, I decided to tell her what I was thinking. “When I was looking for things to do in Honolulu earlier, there was an advertisement for a new aquarium that was coming soon. One of the main attractions was that they were going to have a bunch of Giant Pacific Octopi. I didn’t think about it until now, but what if that is what is on this ship? Let me google it really quick, I had never heard of that type of octopus, so I didn’t think much of it.” I got the search pulled up and nodded in a cold understanding before continuing. “This is exactly what that guy was describing. I don’t know why they would use a cruise ship to deliver something like that. It’s the only thing that makes any sense right now, though.” Harper was looking at the google search thoughtfully and responded. “I mean, I guess that these were two of the hardest-hit economies during the pandemic, tourism, and cruise ships. It makes some kind of twisted sense that they would come together to try and help each other out. Octopi are known to be very mischievous, even when they aren’t the size of a freaking semi-trailer.” She made a good point. Nothing had really made sense for a few years now with how crazy the world had been. This made as much sense as anything else when it was put into perspective. I just shook my head in amazement and looked towards her. “Well, what do we do from here?” “I know this is crazy, but I’m sure they will have a handle on those things. They would not have arranged to have them on board and not prepared for the possibility that they could escape. I say we get ready and go to dinner as we had planned. We don’t want to spend our whole 10th-anniversary cruise holed-up in the cabin. Even if all this crazy guesswork is correct, and that is what the guy from the casino saw, I’m sure that they have everything under control.” I pressed my fingers against my eyes and tried to wrap my mind around everything. I may have been scared out of my mind, but she was right. Our best bet was to hope that it was all under control and at least try to enjoy our time on the ship. This was not going to happen again anytime soon, if ever. “Yeah. Let’s do that, I agree. Let’s just get dressed and try to have a good time. I’m sure if it was too bad, everyone would be on lockdown or something.” She brightened up a bit with my saying this. We both went into our luggage and began to start the process of getting changed into our formal dining attire. Before long, I was tying the knot in my tie, and she was putting the final touches on her hair. I walked up behind her in the mirror and held her by the shoulders. “You look incredible. Let’s go and have the time of our lives.” She gave me a big smile, and I pulled her in for a kiss. I backed up and held out my arm towards her. As she grabbed onto it, we made our way for the door. The formal dining room was the most luxurious area on the ship by far. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. There were large wine racks along many of the walls, and the entire dining room was walled in by the most beautiful windows that I had ever seen. There was an ornate window on the ceiling as well. It was just beginning to get dark, and I was sure that soon we would be able to see the stars all across the sky. The waiter walked up and asked what we would like to drink. He was dressed in a black vest with a bow tie and a white shirt. I told him that we would take a bottle of wine that he recommended. I also asked him to give me a recommendation for my meal. Once Harper heard his suggestion of parmesan encrusted lamb with asparagus, she decided that she would follow suit. He brought out some bread with olive oil as a complimentary appetizer to go with our wine. As he poured our first glasses and set the bottle down, I grabbed my glass of wine and held it up toward my beautiful wife. She looked every bit as lovely as the day of our wedding, and I was flooded with a flurry of emotions as I said my toast. “Here is to 10 amazing years. Every one of them has been an adventure, and I look forward to every year that I’ll be lucky enough to spend with you as we continue that adventure.” She smiled and blushed ever so slightly as she reached her glass to clink off of mine. We both took a sip, and she responded in a relieved manner. “That’s the spirit, it is starting to actually feel like a relaxing vacation.” “Hey, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? It’s so nice to have a break from work, housework, and all the monotony of the day-to-day. We make a pretty good team through all of that drudgery, though. Don’t you think?” Suddenly, I saw the smile get wiped from her face. The look that crept onto her face was one of sheer terror. Her glass of wine had been in her hand. When her face went from delight to horror, she tossed it on the ground with a crash. A scream came from deep within her, which was blood-curdling and intimated that absolute ruin was imminent. I turned toward the spot that she was staring at. I understood all at once the doom that awaited all of us in the dining room. A giant octopus came crashing through the windows near the entrance where we all had arrived, knocking over the many racks of wine as it came and turning the floor as red as blood. Seemingly at the same time, another came from the side closest to the ocean and blocked the only other way out of the dining room into the kitchen. I grabbed Harper’s arm, and we ran toward the corner as far from the beasts as we could manage. It was pandemonium as the whole dining room erupted into turmoil. I flipped a circle table up against the corner so that Harper and I could try to hide behind it for protection. I saw one man who ran as fast as he could towards a small opening next to the octopus, who was blocking the main entrance. The creature reached a giant tentacle out for him and pulled him into his beak. There were shrieking howls of pain, unlike anything I have ever heard as blood sprayed out from underneath. A couple of people were able to dart around as the octopus was distracted. Another unfortunate lady was grabbed by one of the spare tentacles, though. He squeezed her around the throat, and we had to watch as her face turned purple. Eventually, the life was squeezed right from her body. I held Harper tight as she was sobbing like mad and unable to stop her body from shaking. We saw an opening. The one by the front entrance went toward a group of people on the opposite side of the room. As soon as it did, we bolted for the door. As we drew near, another octopus came crashing through the window on the ceiling, crushing a few unfortunate souls as it joined in the massacre. We kept running until we were well onto the deck. The chaos did not stop in the dining room. People were running like mad all over the deck. I didn’t know where we would be safe, but I thought that maybe we could lock ourselves in our cabin until we could be rescued from this madness. It was a nice thought, but as we went for the doors, another one of those damn things came down to block our way. We ran for the area in front of the drive-in style screen where Re-Animator was playing. A man was gibbering to himself in a wild manner and hiding behind a chair. As we drew near, I noticed a tear in the screen as another one came through and snatched the man up as he yelled out for help. Our options for safety were becoming extremely limited. We ran for the bar where we jumped over the top and hid with a large group of people, peaking over to watch it all unfold. That was when we saw what I knew would be the end of us all. There was an army of them descending upon us. I held Harper tight as we waited on the inevitable. I watched as a family of three were huddling together in the middle of the deck. They were almost surrounded, but the father pushed the mother and child toward an opening so that they could make it to safety with the rest of us. He let out a guttural cry as they ripped him to shreds. His little girl cried in a high-pitched squeal reaching for him until the mother grabbed her and ran towards us. The mother was getting close when one of the monstrous creatures came hurtling behind her. As she noticed, she reached out with her daughter. I leaned out over the bar and grabbed onto her as the octopus reached the mother and held her tightly. I was pulling my hardest as the mother was holding on tight, and I hoped that they both might be saved. I was punching and pulling at the tentacles and doing my best to cause him to let the mother go. She released her daughter, and the others brought her down behind the bar. I wouldn’t let go of her mother’s arms as she cried out in distress. That was when I heard it. It was the deepest and most powerful sound that I have ever heard. It shook the ship violently. The bottles of liquor and glasses were falling all around us. It was hard to describe the immense strength and power that the sound exhibited all around us. When the sound came, though, something strange began to happen. The octopus that held the child’s mother released her, and we pulled her behind the bar with us quickly. She fell to her daughter and clutched her tightly as they wept in each other’s arms. All of the creatures began to release the people that they were attacking. They were moving in unison towards the edges of the ship. They crawled over the side, and one by one, they made their way into the ocean. Once all the monsters had left the ship, the people made their way slowly to the side to see what was happening. For some reason, they were all leaving. As quickly as they had descended upon us, they left us. It appeared to be almost in a synchronized manner. They all were swimming in the same direction, and we watched in disbelief. Nobody aboard this ship would ever be the same if they made it out alive, but many of us were saved by what could only be described as a call. A call that came from something massive, much larger than the creatures that had plagued us. It was a call that came from deep within the ocean and was more monstrous than anything that we could have ever imagined.
Zdravko Swims Home from the Grand Dame - SKT - Session 24
Previous Session: https://www.reddit.com/dndstories/comments/kkzknk/recon_in_yartar_and_attack_of_the_mudfish_skt/ In the streets of Yartar our heroes got ambushed by some weird fish-people and a "mudfish" that claimed to be a god. After significant amounts of snooping and intel-gathering, the party felt they had all they needed to know to enter The Grand Dame riverboat casino and to reach Drylund - the prime suspect in Hekaton's disappearance. . Cast: Level 9
Zep: Kenku Casino-Worker.
Zdravko: Human Exotic-Foreigner.
Lyra: Wing-ed Monkey; pet of Exotic Foreigner.
Jormo: Tortle Oarsman.
Beau: Tabaxi Noble.
. Jormo submits himself to Nevil Storn - Captain of the Grand Dame - for a position rowing the ship's oars. Captain Storn initially questions Jormo's Iron Gauntlests (of Ogre Strength) which the Tortle claims protect his hands from blistering while rowing. The captain seems skeptical but ultimately lets him aboard. Next Zep applies to be a dealegame-runner in the ship's casino. After an impressive card trick where the Kenku makes an entire deck disappear only to begin pulling cards from his beak, Captain Storn is so impressed and adds "I'd rather have you running games in our casino rather than playing them that's for sure. Not sure Akane would even be able to catch you cheating." Once aboard Jormo sits at his rowing station, and Zep reports to the casino where he sets up a game at one of the dozen tables, near a statue of a golden goose on a wooden pedestal. Zep notices crew and staff preparing for guests to arrive. An woman in a beautiful purple dress sets up a game board similar to Dragon Chess at the table next to Zep's. The Kenku also notices a stern-looking older woman in a yellow robe adorned with embroidered green snakes, prowling the casino floor; she is checking to make sure nothing is out of order with the game dealers. Below deck Jormo sees a tiny octopus riding on the shoulder of a man (the Tortle rightly suspects this may be Khaspere Drylund) who briefly checks in with the man who leads the Rowers. . An hour later Beau - disguising himself as a different Tabaxi named 'Razzlestacks' - seeks to board with his exotic muscular foreign guest, Zdravko (who fakes a limp and leans heavily on his quarterstaff-"walking stick"). Lyra has wildshaped into a flying monkey perched atop the staff as the "Exotic man's exotic pet." Many of the nobles and aristocrats gathering here are dressed eccentrically enough that as odd as the group of covert heroes may look, they don't expect to arouse too much suspicion. Captain Nevil Storn is a bit wary of Zdravko's pet, saying that animals usually aren't allowed, but Zdravko assures him that she is well trained and Lyra plays the part well. After a brief conversation with Beau the captain welcomes them aboard his ship. As they climb the gangplank they see a stern-looking older woman wearing a yellow silk formal robe; she's helping passengers exchange Gold for wooden "Golden Goose" gambling tokens which she procures from a messenger-style bag at her hip. Beau senses magic and hones her vision to see an aura of Conjuration from the bag, and an aura of Transmutation from the Robe of Snakes. . By sunset everyone has boarded and the boat glides out into the wide Dessarin river for the evening. Paper lanterns illuminate the sides of the boat and balcony around the upper deck. Zdravko and Beau schmooze with nobles, while Lyra keeps watch. Zep faithfully runs his gaming table while keeping a look-out. Jormo takes semi-frequent breaks from rowing to check on the situation in the casino through one of the port holes. Zep and Lyra both notice that the woman in the snake-adorned yellow robe has been scrutinizing them much more carefully than the other guests. Between Zep and Beau carefully timing and concealing use of the Message cantrip they're able to somewhat keep each other in the loop. After awhile the lady in yellow ascends the spiral stairs to the upper deck and isn't seen again for several minutes. In the meantime Zdravko and Beau chat with a jovial noble who seems quite taken with Zdravko, he mentions that Khaspere Drylund prefers to socialize with the gamblers who wager the most. They then enter a high-stakes game of wit and luck against one of the highest-stakes gamblers in the room and Beau beats him, earning himself 300-some gold worth of Golden Goose tokens! . Khaspere Drylund enters the casino from the spiral stairs, followed by the woman in yellow. He socializes with the high-stakes gambler before approaching Beau. The woman in the snake robe continues patrolling the room. Beau senses magic as Drylund approaches and focuses her eyes to see a Transmutation aura around the pet octopus resting on his shoulder. Zdravko takes flying-monkey Lyra out to the balcony to "stretch her wings." The Druid flies out of sight momentarily, then reverts back to her winged Tiefling form, and casts Invisibility on herself as she seeks out Captain Drylund's quarters in the upper deck. Jormo gets sick of waiting and rowing and enters the casino, pretending to be a noble and snacking at the table. Zdravko gives him a nod before realizing that might have been too much of a tell. Drylund inquires of Beau what brought him aboard the Grand Dame this evening. Beau explains that he has a background as a sailor and is always interested in unique sailing vessels. After the discussion moves on to local politics Drylund essentially tries to recruit Beau into buying a summer home in Yartar so that he can "participate in the political process." Beau is invited to accompany Drylund to his quarters and he uses his Subtle metamagic to Message Lyra that they're coming. Zdravko pretends to just meet Jormo for the first time and invites him "to the balcony for fresh air" so they can follow Beau and Drylund. As soon as they're up the stairs Zep notices from his gaming table that the woman in yellow spins on her heal to follow them at a brisk pace. Zep attempts to mask the somatic component of a Message he sends to Zdravko, "You've got a tail; the woman in the yellow snake robe." On the balcony Zdravko warns Jormo that she's incoming. When she arrives she asks to speak with Zdravko privately but the monk insists his friend be present. She says, "Very well. I know you all have come here with ill-intent and I won't stand for it." To Zdravko she adds, "I suggest you swim home to where ever it is you came from" as she attempts to hijack his mind and will. Jormo attempts to Counterspell her Suggestion, but she in turn Counterspells his effort. Zdravko nods, "Yes, that sounds good" as he leaps from the balcony straight down into the water below. The Tortle and the woman stare each other down for a moment as it becomes obvious that a 1 vs 1 Wizard battle is upon them. Then Jormo casts Banishment, and without her ability to counterspell having returned yet she vanishes with a *pop* seemingly into thin air! . Jormo runs back down the stairs - knowing he only has a minute before she returns from the demi-plane he sent her to and frantically motions for Zep to follow him. The Kenku pretends to sneeze, sending all the cards at his table flying, before he leaps up to follow his Tortle friend (but not before grabbing a few fistfulls of crackers and cheese from the buffet. As they run through the Dance Hall on the upper deck, towards the hall that Beau and Drylund disappeared down Jormo catches him up on the situation, "Zdravko went for a swim and I made the yellow wizard disappear, but she'll be back soon." . Meanwhile Lyra had been searching Drylund's quarters but only had found some business expense records before receiving Beau's Message. Still invisible Lyra easily hides as Beau and Drylund enter and begin to talk about real-estate holdings. Less than a minute later Jormo and Zep barge in. Trying to act surprised Beau cries, "What's the meaning of this?" Drylund says, "Akane was right, you all are up to something. What do you want?" Jormo says pointedly, "We wanted your help in case we need to assassinate any Storm Giant royalty." With that Drylund immediate becomes hostile and says, "C'mon Sid, let's do this!" as his tiny pet octopus more than triples in size to become a Giant Octopus! . Drylund attempts to enshroud himself in a spell, but Jormo Counterspells his effort. Zep casts a Darkness spell on his ring, essentially blinding everyone in the small room. For most of fight nobody sees much of what's going on. Drylund seems to be lashing out with psychic tentacle attacks, along with spells that effect their minds as Dissonant Whispers force Jormo to momentarily flee the dark room. Since Lyra can't see, she destroys the water in the octopus's aquarium which enrages the beast as it spends the rest of the fight blindly sloshing its tentacles around after her. Zep is the only one who can see thanks to the abilities his patron bestowed on him, but he has to take a moment to conjure his blade to his hand before he can take advantage of it. Meanwhile Drylund lands a couple lucky Rapier thrusts against the Kenku in the Darkness. Lyra similarly lands a lucky hit with a Guiding Bolt, but the extra light that normally sheds off the hit creature can't permeate the magical darkness. Zdravko continues to swim home. Beau lines up where she knows Drylund is and hopes an ally isn't directly behind him and unleashes a Lightning Bolt - unseen in the darkness but just as deadly. Drylund attempts his own Lightning attack, but still essentially blind, misses. After a couple missed Firebolts Jormo yells for Zep to cancel the Darkness. Zep keeps the spell active, but covers the ring, thus obscuring the darkening effect. Jormo slings a cold orb at the injured Lord Drylund's head with the intent to subdue him rather than kill him and it works! The force of the orb's impact combined with the brain-freeze like effect drops Khaspere Drylund to his knee as he calls out, "Please, I surrender, I surrender. I don't want to die." He tells Sid the octopus that it's over and to go out and get some water. The octopus shrinks back to its tiny size as it slowly crawls up the wall towards the port hole window which Beau opens for it. . They tie up the captain and Jormo reminds them that the wizard in the yellow robe will only Banished for a few more seconds. Beau demands Khasphere Drylund tell them, "Where is the Storm Giant, King Hekaton?" Drylund, out of breath responds, "Very well, I.. I guess I can tell you. You've earned it, apparently." "The Big One you seek – the Storm Giant Hekaton – is subdued by enchanted shackles and sails aboard a strange-looking vessel called "The Morkoth." It's veiled from all divination, and light bends around it until one is within a certain distance. It sails around the northern isles of the Trackless Sea day and night. If you... " He stops talking. His voice catches in his throat as the veins in his neck bulge. Drylund's eyes grow wide with terror and become bloodshot as he rigidly grabs his head in agony. He opens his mouth as if to scream in pain, but nothing more than a strained, prolonged gasp escapes. He goes limp and slumps to the floor – blood begins to trickle out his ears. He is dead. Jormo finds a key on his body and begins checking drawers for any addition evidence they can give Yartar's Waterbarron. He finds a journal in a drawer beneath the now-empty aquarium. Beau checks the hallway just in time to see the woman in the yellow robe coming. He shuts the door and warns the group they may have to fight again. Zep uncovers his Darkness ring to conceal them, and Beau hidden in the darkness casts Disguise Self to look like Drylund. Zdravko continues to swim home. . Akane Manaasi flings open the door and seeing only darkness calls out, "What's going on in here?" Beau, flawlessly imitating Drylund's voice tries to buy them time to think of a plan, "The intruders hid a darkness object somewhere in here. I'm looking for it. Akane, "Would you like help, sir?" Beau as Drylund, "Yes?" (internally screaming). Akane, "What does the object look like? I can attempt to locate it with magic." Beau as Drylund, "I didn't see it." Akane, "I don't know how much help I can be, but I will try." She enters into the room. "The intruders... who are they sir? Where are they now?" Beau as Drylund, "They came looking for Hekaton." Akane, "I'm sorry sir, what?" Beau as Drylund, "They're trying to find the Storm Giant." Akane, "I'm sorry sir, but I don't know what you're talking about." With that, Zep leaps at her through the darkness and grapples her in choke-hold, covering the Darkness ring in the process. Akane sees Drylund laying in a pool of blood and also Drylund standing above Drylund's body. Jormo cries out, "Oh no! you've killed our friend who was disguised as Drylund!" Akane Manaasi demands to know what's going on. Beau explains that her boss is caught up in some bad happenings and after he confessed, it seems like someone performed a psychic assassination on him from elsewhere. The woman in the yellow-green snake robe doesn't seem at all surprised to hear of Drylund's extracurricular business dealings, but after further questioning Beau is pretty certain that Akane Manaasi herself is innocent of any of it and just acts as the security officer of the Grand Dame. Akane proposes that if they let her go, she can assume the role of running the casino in Drylund's stead, make it her own business, and in the process completely cover for them and attribute Drylund's death to "unseen assassins who never made themselves known." Beau says that sounds good, ONLY if Akane releases their friend from her Suggestion and Akane agrees. Zdravko stops swimming home and shouts, "SON OF A B----!!!" before turning around, flying into a rage and swimming back towards the boat at top speed! . When the monk returns, Beau has to convince Zdravko not to attack the security officer, but that doesn't stop him from aggressively drying himself off on her robe - which unflappably she appears to ignore. They spend the rest of the night gambling and schmoozing and eating from the buffet as if nothing had happened, and none of the guests see Khaspere Drylund for the rest of the evening (or ever again). . To be continued...
Zdravko Swims Home from the Grand Dame - Ch.11 - Session 24
Previous Session: https://www.reddit.com/stormkingsthundecomments/kkzm93/recon_in_yartar_and_attack_of_the_mudfish_ch11/ In the streets of Yartar our heroes got ambushed by some weird fish-people and a "mudfish" that claimed to be a god. After significant amounts of snooping and intel-gathering, the party felt they had all they needed to know to enter The Grand Dame riverboat casino and to reach Drylund - the prime suspect in Hekaton's disappearance. . Cast: Level 9
Zep: Kenku Casino-Worker.
Zdravko: Human Exotic-Foreigner.
Lyra: Wing-ed Monkey; pet of Exotic Foreigner.
Jormo: Tortle Oarsman.
Beau: Tabaxi Noble.
. Jormo submits himself to Nevil Storn - Captain of the Grand Dame - for a position rowing the ship's oars. Captain Storn initially questions Jormo's Iron Gauntlests (of Ogre Strength) which the Tortle claims protect his hands from blistering while rowing. The captain seems skeptical but ultimately lets him aboard. Next Zep applies to be a dealegame-runner in the ship's casino. After an impressive card trick where the Kenku makes an entire deck disappear only to begin pulling cards from his beak, Captain Storn is so impressed and adds "I'd rather have you running games in our casino rather than playing them that's for sure. Not sure Akane would even be able to catch you cheating." Once aboard Jormo sits at his rowing station, and Zep reports to the casino where he sets up a game at one of the dozen tables, near a statue of a golden goose on a wooden pedestal. Zep notices crew and staff preparing for guests to arrive. An woman in a beautiful purple dress sets up a game board similar to Dragon Chess at the table next to Zep's. The Kenku also notices a stern-looking older woman in a yellow robe adorned with embroidered green snakes, prowling the casino floor; she is checking to make sure nothing is out of order with the game dealers. Below deck Jormo sees a tiny octopus riding on the shoulder of a man (the Tortle rightly suspects this may be Khaspere Drylund) who briefly checks in with the man who leads the Rowers. . An hour later Beau - disguising himself as a different Tabaxi named 'Razzlestacks' - seeks to board with his exotic muscular foreign guest, Zdravko (who fakes a limp and leans heavily on his quarterstaff-"walking stick"). Lyra has wildshaped into a flying monkey perched atop the staff as the "Exotic man's exotic pet." Many of the nobles and aristocrats gathering here are dressed eccentrically enough that as odd as the group of covert heroes may look, they don't expect to arouse too much suspicion. Captain Nevil Storn is a bit wary of Zdravko's pet, saying that animals usually aren't allowed, but Zdravko assures him that she is well trained and Lyra plays the part well. After a brief conversation with Beau the captain welcomes them aboard his ship. As they climb the gangplank they see a stern-looking older woman wearing a yellow silk formal robe; she's helping passengers exchange Gold for wooden "Golden Goose" gambling tokens which she procures from a messenger-style bag at her hip. Beau senses magic and hones her vision to see an aura of Conjuration from the bag, and an aura of Transmutation from the Robe of Snakes. . By sunset everyone has boarded and the boat glides out into the wide Dessarin river for the evening. Paper lanterns illuminate the sides of the boat and balcony around the upper deck. Zdravko and Beau schmooze with nobles, while Lyra keeps watch. Zep faithfully runs his gaming table while keeping a look-out. Jormo takes semi-frequent breaks from rowing to check on the situation in the casino through one of the port holes. Zep and Lyra both notice that the woman in the snake-adorned yellow robe has been scrutinizing them much more carefully than the other guests. Between Zep and Beau carefully timing and concealing use of the Message cantrip they're able to somewhat keep each other in the loop. After awhile the lady in yellow ascends the spiral stairs to the upper deck and isn't seen again for several minutes. In the meantime Zdravko and Beau chat with a jovial noble who seems quite taken with Zdravko, he mentions that Khaspere Drylund prefers to socialize with the gamblers who wager the most. They then enter a high-stakes game of wit and luck against one of the highest-stakes gamblers in the room and Beau beats him, earning himself 300-some gold worth of Golden Goose tokens! . Khaspere Drylund enters the casino from the spiral stairs, followed by the woman in yellow. He socializes with the high-stakes gambler before approaching Beau. The woman in the snake robe continues patrolling the room. Beau senses magic as Drylund approaches and focuses her eyes to see a Transmutation aura around the pet octopus resting on his shoulder. Zdravko takes flying-monkey Lyra out to the balcony to "stretch her wings." The Druid flies out of sight momentarily, then reverts back to her winged Tiefling form, and casts Invisibility on herself as she seeks out Captain Drylund's quarters in the upper deck. Jormo gets sick of waiting and rowing and enters the casino, pretending to be a noble and snacking at the table. Zdravko gives him a nod before realizing that might have been too much of a tell. Drylund inquires of Beau what brought him aboard the Grand Dame this evening. Beau explains that he has a background as a sailor and is always interested in unique sailing vessels. After the discussion moves on to local politics Drylund essentially tries to recruit Beau into buying a summer home in Yartar so that he can "participate in the political process." Beau is invited to accompany Drylund to his quarters and he uses his Subtle metamagic to Message Lyra that they're coming. Zdravko pretends to just meet Jormo for the first time and invites him "to the balcony for fresh air" so they can follow Beau and Drylund. As soon as they're up the stairs Zep notices from his gaming table that the woman in yellow spins on her heal to follow them at a brisk pace. Zep attempts to mask the somatic component of a Message he sends to Zdravko, "You've got a tail; the woman in the yellow snake robe." On the balcony Zdravko warns Jormo that she's incoming. When she arrives she asks to speak with Zdravko privately but the monk insists his friend be present. She says, "Very well. I know you all have come here with ill-intent and I won't stand for it." To Zdravko she adds, "I suggest you swim home to where ever it is you came from" as she attempts to hijack his mind and will. Jormo attempts to Counterspell her Suggestion, but she in turn Counterspells his effort. Zdravko nods, "Yes, that sounds good" as he leaps from the balcony straight down into the water below. The Tortle and the woman stare each other down for a moment as it becomes obvious that a 1 vs 1 Wizard battle is upon them. Then Jormo casts Banishment, and without her ability to counterspell having returned yet she vanishes with a *pop* seemingly into thin air! . Jormo runs back down the stairs - knowing he only has a minute before she returns from the demi-plane he sent her to and frantically motions for Zep to follow him. The Kenku pretends to sneeze, sending all the cards at his table flying, before he leaps up to follow his Tortle friend (but not before grabbing a few fistfulls of crackers and cheese from the buffet. As they run through the Dance Hall on the upper deck, towards the hall that Beau and Drylund disappeared down Jormo catches him up on the situation, "Zdravko went for a swim and I made the yellow wizard disappear, but she'll be back soon." . Meanwhile Lyra had been searching Drylund's quarters but only had found some business expense records before receiving Beau's Message. Still invisible Lyra easily hides as Beau and Drylund enter and begin to talk about real-estate holdings. Less than a minute later Jormo and Zep barge in. Trying to act surprised Beau cries, "What's the meaning of this?" Drylund says, "Akane was right, you all are up to something. What do you want?" Jormo says pointedly, "We wanted your help in case we need to assassinate any Storm Giant royalty." With that Drylund immediate becomes hostile and says, "C'mon Sid, let's do this!" as his tiny pet octopus more than triples in size to become a Giant Octopus! . Drylund attempts to enshroud himself in a spell, but Jormo Counterspells his effort. Zep casts a Darkness spell on his ring, essentially blinding everyone in the small room. For most of fight nobody sees much of what's going on. Drylund seems to be lashing out with psychic tentacle attacks, along with spells that effect their minds as Dissonant Whispers force Jormo to momentarily flee the dark room. Since Lyra can't see, she destroys the water in the octopus's aquarium which enrages the beast as it spends the rest of the fight blindly sloshing its tentacles around after her. Zep is the only one who can see thanks to the abilities his patron bestowed on him, but he has to take a moment to conjure his blade to his hand before he can take advantage of it. Meanwhile Drylund lands a couple lucky Rapier thrusts against the Kenku in the Darkness. Lyra similarly lands a lucky hit with a Guiding Bolt, but the extra light that normally sheds off the hit creature can't permeate the magical darkness. Zdravko continues to swim home. Beau lines up where she knows Drylund is and hopes an ally isn't directly behind him and unleashes a Lightning Bolt - unseen in the darkness but just as deadly. Drylund attempts his own Lightning attack, but still essentially blind, misses. After a couple missed Firebolts Jormo yells for Zep to cancel the Darkness. Zep keeps the spell active, but covers the ring, thus obscuring the darkening effect. Jormo slings a cold orb at the injured Lord Drylund's head with the intent to subdue him rather than kill him and it works! The force of the orb's impact combined with the brain-freeze like effect drops Khaspere Drylund to his knee as he calls out, "Please, I surrender, I surrender. I don't want to die." He tells Sid the octopus that it's over and to go out and get some water. The octopus shrinks back to its tiny size as it slowly crawls up the wall towards the port hole window which Beau opens for it. . They tie up the captain and Jormo reminds them that the wizard in the yellow robe will only Banished for a few more seconds. Beau demands Khasphere Drylund tell them, "Where is the Storm Giant, King Hekaton?" Drylund, out of breath responds, "Very well, I.. I guess I can tell you. You've earned it, apparently." "The Big One you seek – the Storm Giant Hekaton – is subdued by enchanted shackles and sails aboard a strange-looking vessel called "The Morkoth." It's veiled from all divination, and light bends around it until one is within a certain distance. It sails around the northern isles of the Trackless Sea day and night. If you... " He stops talking. His voice catches in his throat as the veins in his neck bulge. Drylund's eyes grow wide with terror and become bloodshot as he rigidly grabs his head in agony. He opens his mouth as if to scream in pain, but nothing more than a strained, prolonged gasp escapes. He goes limp and slumps to the floor – blood begins to trickle out his ears. He is dead. Jormo finds a key on his body and begins checking drawers for any addition evidence they can give Yartar's Waterbarron. He finds a journal in a drawer beneath the now-empty aquarium. Beau checks the hallway just in time to see the woman in the yellow robe coming. He shuts the door and warns the group they may have to fight again. Zep uncovers his Darkness ring to conceal them, and Beau hidden in the darkness casts Disguise Self to look like Drylund. Zdravko continues to swim home. . Akane Manaasi flings open the door and seeing only darkness calls out, "What's going on in here?" Beau, flawlessly imitating Drylund's voice tries to buy them time to think of a plan, "The intruders hid a darkness object somewhere in here. I'm looking for it. Akane, "Would you like help, sir?" Beau as Drylund, "Yes?" (internally screaming). Akane, "What does the object look like? I can attempt to locate it with magic." Beau as Drylund, "I didn't see it." Akane, "I don't know how much help I can be, but I will try." She enters into the room. "The intruders... who are they sir? Where are they now?" Beau as Drylund, "They came looking for Hekaton." Akane, "I'm sorry sir, what?" Beau as Drylund, "They're trying to find the Storm Giant." Akane, "I'm sorry sir, but I don't know what you're talking about." With that, Zep leaps at her through the darkness and grapples her in choke-hold, covering the Darkness ring in the process. Akane sees Drylund laying in a pool of blood and also Drylund standing above Drylund's body. Jormo cries out, "Oh no! you've killed our friend who was disguised as Drylund!" Akane Manaasi demands to know what's going on. Beau explains that her boss is caught up in some bad happenings and after he confessed, it seems like someone performed a psychic assassination on him from elsewhere. The woman in the yellow-green snake robe doesn't seem at all surprised to hear of Drylund's extracurricular business dealings, but after further questioning Beau is pretty certain that Akane Manaasi herself is innocent of any of it and just acts as the security officer of the Grand Dame. Akane proposes that if they let her go, she can assume the role of running the casino in Drylund's stead, make it her own business, and in the process completely cover for them and attribute Drylund's death to "unseen assassins who never made themselves known." Beau says that sounds good, ONLY if Akane releases their friend from her Suggestion and Akane agrees. Zdravko stops swimming home and shouts, "SON OF A B----!!!" before turning around, flying into a rage and swimming back towards the boat at top speed! . When the monk returns, Beau has to convince Zdravko not to attack the security officer, but that doesn't stop him from aggressively drying himself off on her robe - which unflappably she appears to ignore. They spend the rest of the night gambling and schmoozing and eating from the buffet as if nothing had happened, and none of the guests see Khaspere Drylund for the rest of the evening (or ever again). . To be continued...
It was getting really tedious to edit a post with over 100 casinos in it. So I'm breaking it up to Nevada casinos and non-Nevada casinos. If you are reporting about a casino, could you please try to include the following:
Name of the casino
Where it's located
What time of day and is it a weekday or weekend?
Max odds
Field pays
Side bets available (Repeater, ATS, Firebet)
Are there dividers or how many are shooting per side
The more information we have, the better off we will be. We all know that tables can change rapidly. I saw a table go from 25 to 15 to 100 at the Flamingo in the course of a few hours. I'll try to keep the mins what is reported the most and add other information in the comments like "found this table at $5 on graveyard shift" so people konw that isn't the norm These tables can be a pain to maintain, so please provide as much information as possible. An informed roller is a beter roller.
Vegas Strip Casnio
WeekDay Min
WeekNight Min
WeekendMin
WeeknightMin
MaxOdds
Field Pay
Sidebet
Dividers/Per Side
Last Update
Comments
Aria
25
25
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
10/27
Ballys
10
15
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
9/3
Bellagio
15
25
25
50
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
9/3
Caesars
25
25-50
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/25
Cosmo
25-50
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
8/22
Cromwell
10
10
15
15
100X
Unknown
ATS
Unknown
11/24
Encore
10
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes, on some tables
8/12
Excalibur
10
10
10
15
3x4x5x
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/24
crapless is usually $10. Bubble craps $5
Flamingo
10-15
15-25
Unknown
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
9/29
$100 table at times.
Harrah's
15
25
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/22
Linq
15
15
Unknown
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/22
Luxor
10
10
15
15
3x4x5x
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 9/13
Mandalay Bay
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
MGM Grand
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
Unkown
Mirage
15
25
Unknown
Unknown Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
9/29
NY/NY
15
15-25
15
15-25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
10/27
Osheas
Unknown
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Paris
15
15
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/9
Park MGM
10
15
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/6
Sahara
5
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
8/15
Strat
10
10
10
25
10X
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/24
Treasure Island
15
15
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
9/4
Tropicana
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/24
Venetian
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/22
Wynn
10
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes, on some tables
10/1
Downtown
WeekDay Min
WeekNight Min
WeekendMin
WeeknightMin
MaxOdds
Field Pay
Sidebet
Dividers/Per Side
Last Update
Comments
Binions
5
10
5
10
5X
Unknown
None
Unknown
11/14
Binions had $5 table several times (opens at 10)
California
10
10
10
10
2X
Unknown
None
Unknown
10/27
Tables open at 11AM
Circa
15
25
15
25
3/4/5X
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/2
$10 tables in the mornings have been reported.
The D
15
15
15
15-25
10X
Unknown
ATS
No glass
Updated 9/4
Downtown Grand
10
10
10
Unknown
10X
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/14
Table opens at noon.
El Cortez
10
10
10
10
10X
Unknown
None
Yes, some tables
9/4
Jerrys Nugget
3
3
3
3
Unknown
Unknown
ATS
3/None
10/27
Four Queens
5
10
5
10
5X
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/14
$5 tables can be found on some days
Fremont
10
10
10
Unknown
2X
None
Unknown
No
8/10
Golden Gate
10-15
15
15
Unknown
10X
Unknown
ATS
No
8/28
(GG has been 15 some mornings dropping to 10 later in the day)
Golden Nugget
10-15
10
Unknown
3/4/5X
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/18
$15 with one table open on 8/18
Plaza
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
10X
Unknown
None
No
9/4
OffStrip Casnio
WeekDay Min
WeekNight Min
WeekendMin
WeeknightMin
MaxOdds
Field Pay
Sidebet
Dividers/Per Side
Last Update
Comments
Aliante
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Boulder Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Cannery
5
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Firebet
4 per side
8/31
Ellis Island
5
5
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
8/17
Craps table opens up at 10am and its 5 dollars 90% of the time
Wanted to get an opinion on a story I'm working on
So, I'm working on my own killing game and I'm calling it Danganronpa: Ending of Forever or DREF for short. It takes place in the Danganronpa IF Timeline, everyone survives, the Revenants of Despair have successfully been rehabilitated, and the V3 game was a simulation as well, so there hasn't been a killing game in quite a while and there hasn't been any sign of Junko either, so things seem pretty great! The THH and SDR2 cast are around their mid to late thirties making the IF events ten years old at this point, and everyone has families of their own, but a few of those said family members were put into simulations of their own to prevent becoming Ultimate Despair themselves (V3 were a few of those family members, the DREF gang don't know many of the THH or SDR2 characters but are familiar with them) and this is where Junko comes in, she is basically to her breaking point and can't handle having a lack of despair so she hijacks the simulation the DREF gang are in and decides to have one final killing game, and this time she's making sure it pulls through until the very end. She's tired of sitting around and just watching so she joins in with Monokuma and hosts everything to shake things up a bit. The main story takes place in a train on a trip to Tokyo and is told in the perspective of Tarou Goto, the Ultimate Astronomer. For every chapter the train gets bigger and adds a few carts for more locations, such as a Casino, a Green House, an aquarium, and even an observatory, while the outside scenery changes for every chapter, snowy mountains, wild west, underwater, ect... whenever someone dies there's the usual Investigation period, but the class trials all take place in different train stations that have an elevator inside leading to the trial room, for each new location the elevator goes farther down and to a new floor until eventually everyone (and I mean everyone) is kicked out of the simulation and have to fight Junko in the real world. So that's basically what I have for the storyline, I wanted to get a few opinions on this to see if I should change anything, do something new, and take a bit of advice from the community! ^ So what do you guys think?
The Lightning Thief=TLT Sea of Monsters=SOM The Titan’s Curse=TTC Battle of the Labyrinth=BOTL The Last Olympian=TLO The Singer of Apollo=TSOA The Sword of Hades=TSOH The Stolen Chariot=TSC The staff of Hermes=TSH The demigod diaries=TDD The Diary of Luke Castellan=DOLC The Lost Hero=TLH The Son of Neptune=SON The Mark of Athena=MOA The House of Hades=HOH The Blood of Olympus=BOO Demigods of Olympus: An Interactive Adventure=DOA The Son of Sobek=SOS The Staff of Serapis=TSOS The Crown of Ptolemy=COP The Hidden Oracle=THO The Tyrant’s Tomb=TTT Percy Jackson Greek Gods=GG Percy Jackson Greek Heroes=GH
Anaklusmos/riptide is a 3 ft long sword with a leaf shaped blade. Made of celestial bronze that harms the divine and monstrous beings of the world along with mortals if the mortal is important enough such as Setne and Carter Kane, and it can even cut down ghouls and ghosts. It’s disguised as a pen that always returns to him and durable enough to survive full submersion in lava
The mist is the uppermost layer of the Duat which is the realm of magic. It’s the reason mortals don’t see anything out of the ordinary when dealing with the magical. Someone who can control it can alter memories, appearances, summon weapons, make creatures to fight for you, hide objects even if they’re directly in-front of you, create illusions, and teleport. Though he’s not very good at it Percy has shown the ability to make small illusions and hide in plain sight
Important to note that- while using his powers does drain him over time, the amount he's drained is pretty overstated. His storm powers are the only ones that drain him, in the way that he'll feel physically tired from it, but being to able to use his water powers at a high level is never affected especially considering his best feat occured after prolonged use of his storm powers.
In The Lost Hero two Pegasus’ carrying a chariot and five people flew form the Grand Canyon to Long Island at super speeds TLH ch.3 https://textuploader.com/1g2o0
To manage capacity limits and provide for physical distancing Shark Reef Aquarium has timed ticket entry. During peak times, the Aquarium may sell out of tickets, please reserve in advance for a preferred date and time. Entry time is good for the 30-minute window selected. Shark Reef Aquarium & Undersea Explorer VR Experience. Adult: $29.00 Seniors (65+): $27.00 Children (ages 5 - 12): $24.00 But a recent cyber-attack on a casino used an aquarium controller as a portal to funnel data out of a private network, the damage it caused has not been reported but it can’t be good. We rely on controllers to send us data about our fish tanks when we’re away, but apparently they can also be used as a gateway to access much more from networks. Aquarius Casino Resort is the largest 24-hour gaming resort in Laughlin, providing 1,906 rooms and suites and a 57,000-square-foot casino with more than 1,200 state-of-the-art slot machines, the widest variety of favorite table games in town, and a non-smoking race and sports book. The Aquarius Casino Resort offers a variety of restaurants from fine dining to casual options, including: River The Aquarium is located in the Front Desk. Walking Directions From the Mirage Self-Parking. Walk into the Casino and walk towards the Front Desk. The aquarium will be on your left. From the Main Vallet (Strip Entrance) Enter the resort from Las Vegas Boulevard. Walk through two bronze mermaid statues and turn right. Continue walking toward the M life Rewards gets you access to the best MGM Resorts has to offer. Join today and receive: • Up to 15% off room rates • Pre-sale ticket offers to world-class entertainment • Discounts at participating retail shops • Access to unique M life Moments. To view and book offers for Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, click here. The aquarium has a lot of fish, items of interest (like a treasure chest), and mermaids. The children seemed fascinated with the mermaids! The aquarium is free; parking is free. Easy to get to. The indoor Aquarium is located between gambling machines and the Bass Pro Shop with a huge waterfall. There are bences around the aquarium. Fun fact: Has a unique "horn" on its head with no known function. Emperor Angelfish. Length: Up to 15 inches. Home: Indo-Pacific waters. Fun fact: Fish change colors and patterns when they reach three to five inches long. Let your cares melt away as you watch 4,000-plus exotic fish swimming in the colorful Silverton Aquarium. It's easy to lose The casino is described as a $50 million destination resort that could include a golf course, an aquarium, theme parks and more. The casino itself could be open all day every day. The idea, as the Our aquarium is a favorite of all ages, and it’s just part of what makes Silverton Casino the best of the family hotels in Las Vegas. Guests won’t want to miss the freshwater aquariums in Las Vegas located on-site at the Bass Pro Shops. Best slots app and just like the casino. The bonuses on the buffalo, aquarium fish game, and vegas wheel of fortune pay great on odd # days. That's straight from customer service rep. Really awesome people. The downside is you get on loosing streaks right after big wins. Especially the aquarium game. Bonus came one time and hit huge. But never again. After you hit big your setting
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