Sea Shanty Challenge!

Edited: Due date changed to midnight, December 8th. Even the old date was a miscalculation on my part. Sorry!

While Hyboria burns, Earl Gaermund takes you and your entire clan into the Bera to set sail for parts unknown. You and fifty other beings are crammed into the dragonship for two months before you sight land. For these months, you help support your clan by rowing, fishing, and scouting in the three longboats. These basic activities will earn you 400 experience points, which will get anyone in the party up to 4th level. But what else happens?

Tell me a story about your character and any other members of your clan that takes place during the voyage. Write it about your character in whatever perspective or format you would like. I will reward you with up to 800 additional experience points based on what you provide. A great story, receiving maximum XP, fits the following criteria:

• Centers around your character
• Involves the other characters or members of your clan in some way
• Does not malign the other characters (clan NPCs are fair game!)
• Can be easily posted on the blog
• Describes the sort of action that D&D characters do
• Is set in the fantasy world we've defined, with fantastic creatures, magic, etc.
• Lets the party and the clan arrive in the New World essentially intact
• Is sent to me before midnight on Monday, December 8th.

Most of the set pieces will be boats: the dragonship, the longboats, and other ships. You can also write in islands if you like: this world has similar geography to ours, but not exactly alike. Just make sure you portray the voyage as more of an epic Atlantic crossing than a Pacific island-hop.

You may end of describing things that blatantly contradict the other stories in the party. Feel free to collude if you wish: you can start a conversation via e-mail or on the blog. But coordination and continuity shouldn't be a huge deal. Figuring out how the contradictions work together will be my challenge.

Finally, make sure this exercise is fun. If it's becoming a chore, send me a quick one-line description like, "My guy helps in slaying a sea-serpent," and you'll get a bit more than the minimum XP.

Again, to receive any more than the base 400 experience points for the journey, I must receive your entry by midnight on Monday, December 8th.