text: [Themes: fantasy, fantasy]
  
  Ready for some back story? Well I hope so! (also noticing no spell check in this program so don't judge.) Alright this campaign takes place in the USA! So for all of you players who don't ever get involved with maps and countries and cities and stuff, here is your chance since you should all be familiar with your own country. You should have a map that I texted Alex. I will have a better version for the future sessions where it matters.
  
  You are all in Detroit (you will all have a reason why shortly) and some news has been spreading around the city like wildfire! Last week it was said that one of the Duke's patrols came back into town with a rare magical item! Like holy cow this thing is cool and valuable and probably shiny. Should be on your map, but Detroit is a Gnomeish city and the Duke of Detroit is Boddyknock. Of course Boddyknock took immediate possession of this item and has been "attuning" to it for the last several days.
  
  [Author's Note: For an in person D and D game. I needed a tool that would help me DM while not being there.]
  
  > Attuning??
  Yes, in new D and D they are controlling how magic items interact with players by allowing players to attune (sync) with magic items up to a maximum of 3. So three rings? Sure. 3 necklaces at once? Yup. 3 suits of armor? no, don't be silly.
  
  So we all got this yes? Ok good.
  
  > Intro 2
  So Boddynock has been hidden away and everyone else in town has been going about their business as normal. Detroit is of course famous for their cart and carriage manufacturing. The gnomes have even begun incorporating steam to power some of them without the use of animals (weird i know, silly gnomes). There is a great library in Detroit that has large sections focusing on all sorts of topics, but especially tinkering, manufacturing and all sorts of other crafts, artifacts and the like *cough* ALEX *cough*.
  
  Gnomes are of course fun loving tricky people and give great appreciation to anyone with wit, games or a good story or song. *cough* Justin *cough*. You have been trying for weeks to break your way into the Duke's keep during lunch or dinner. Your reputation in Detroit is growing and you are starting to rival the incumbent dinner performer Kid Rock (a brash human armed with a banjo and gritty vocals about pretty bar maids).
  
  The whole Lake Michigan area while very industrious lacks the actual natural resources to make many of the trinkets and machines they are known for. For this reason they receive shipments of ore, gems and other materials from the Dwarves in the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. *cough* Sammy *cough*. This last trip has been especially trying on you, its winter and the long over land journey hauling ore has been especially brutal and boring, especially considering that half your walk was through Kansas.. yes Kansas, a few halflings here and there but otherwise just snow banks you cant see over because you are short... duh. But yes weeks of travel later and finally thawed out you are looking for any excuse not to make that journey back, because if one more rookie dwarf asks if you wanna "share body heat" you are gonna rip his beard out.
  
  And of course with that amount of precious materials running around a city there is gonna be a seedy element that develops. *cough* Sam *cough*. You are a low level role player right now, but you have proven yourself to be surprisingly intimidating in the primarily gnome inhabited Midwest. Down in the South East you are just another scaly monster but up here you are THE scaly monster. You have a pretty good network of informants and people you can count on to get you any thing you might want, be that goods, weapons, potions, or even information. If you don't know where to find something you think you know someone who will.
  
  Now two of you had an especially close connection to this item that came into town a few days ago, you were actually part of the expedition as guides/guards and maybe eye candy. But you don't care, the expedition of primarily gnomes was more than respectful to their broad shouldered skull crusher *cough* Mara *cough* and her silent arrow welding friend *cough* Kels *cough*. Though you never actually got to enter the location or see the item, you do know where it was found and can tell how big of deal it was. The last couple of days you have been the attention of many curious questions and the recipient of many free drinks as strangers and friends alike try to pry as much information from you as they can.
  
  > Sam Berezowitz
  Sam you receive word through the thieves guild contacts you have that the town guard is looking for you. The source is pretty good, but aside from the normal "acquisition" and "distribution" of goods you can't think of any reason to get such attention. I mean its not like you killed anyone (recently at least). What do you want to do?
  
  > talk to your contact in the town guard
  Your contact, a dwarf guard named Bimil, who you keep supplied with quite the supply of California tobacco lets you know that the keep has requested to see you. You are not to be taken by force and the captain responsible for contacting you even has a written pardon for any known and unknown crimes you have committed.
  
  > Sure lets go get a pardon!
  You are met by a small gnome guard who is obviously of some sort of rank. He hands you a piece of parchment clearly pardoning you from all crimes you have committed and the guard explains that your skills have been requested by the duke. You are invited to meet with him this Friday night around 9pm in his study.
  
  > see you there!
  Sammy, as your trade caravan leader is off selling the iron and gems you brought from the Rockies you and the rest of the crew are given half a day to rest and recharge in the city before the long journey back through the Midwest. As you are out and about finding food and drink you hear a crier for the Duke making a proclamation in the nearby square. You can't quite catch every word but you get the general idea. "Do you thirst for adventure? For glory? For something bigger than what you are now? Head now to the royal training grounds and prove yourself!" You see a few burley humans and half orcs head down one of the main roads to what you can only assume is the training grounds.
  
  What do you do?
  
  Quit the game.
  
  or
  
  > go to The Training Grounds
  As you walk into the bustling training grounds you see exactly what you expect. Any butchers apprentice, farmer's son, or meat head who fancy's himself a fighter is lined up getting spoken to by a guard or officer. As your approach you start to notice the expected snickers and whispers of men as the short female fighter walks up to the group, noticing that many are twice her height. You state your intentions of trying your hand in the trials and are met with a combination of silence, whispered remarks and muffled laughter. You are about to speak again when a small female gnome guard walks up to you and says that you should come right this way and directs you past the group of idiots into the grounds. The two of you start chatting as she sifts through a pile of beat up armor and weapons, and occasionally holding a piece up to you and placing it aside. After a couple minutes she starts aiding you in donning the armor which is so cheap and flimsy you wonder how it will ever protect you from anything. She takes you over to a weapon rack where you see a variety of weapons displayed, they are all obviously dulled and blunted and it makes sense that this the training equipment. You grab your weapon of choice and head into a line with all of the other recruits. You get to watch as they are paired off and asked to dual in different parts of the training yard. Some have a basic idea of how to wield a sword or axe while other are flailing their weapons around like drunk toddlers. It is your turn and you are paired with an elf fighter who is wielding a short sword.
  
  > Combat
  Alex will do this part!
  
  > Final Test
  Now that there are only a few of you left the final test is explained to you. The officer running the trials explains that each challenger will go up against three guards. You only line of instruction is to "Do what you think is best."
  
  The first few challengers run head long into the group of guards and each time are quickly dispatched. Another fighter tries to use his mobility to dance around the guards and fight one at a time, but he to is subdued without much trouble. The officer points at you and gives you the thumbs up to approach the entrance to the training yard.
  
  What is your first move?
  
  > rUN! (retreat/admit its not a fight worth fighting)
  The officer looks at you and says "You aren't flashy but you also aren't dead. There isn't much more to say about it. Go clean yourself up, you are meeting the Duke tonight. Be at the keep at 7 for dinner."
  
  > Dinner
  Sammy, Justin, Alex, Mara, Kelsey you are all given formal invitations and place cards by those who invited you to the dinner.
  
  You all (not Sam B.) arrive for dinner and are sat around a table in the middle of the room, a decent distance from the head table with the Duke sits. You enjoy a wonderful 5 course meal that fills and warms every inch of your stomach. The wine is flowing and before the night is over everyone is entertained by the bard Justin. His witty lyrics and catchy melodies please everyone and send the night off well as the hall starts clearing of guests and servants alike. You are all approached by a handsome Gnome assistant who directs you into the study behind the head table where you find the Duke humming a tune from his little chair in the corner. A music box is in his hands and as it plays tiny transparent music notes float around the room and give the whole meeting an interestingly whimsical feeling. Entering from the other door in the room is Sam the dragonborn. Once Boddynock realizes you are all there he invites you all to sit and puts his music box away in a drawer next to his chair.
  
  "Oh how I have waited to get all of you in this room! Well maybe not you specific people but no matter, you are all here to play a role and serve a purpose. A very important one at that, and of course you will be compensated for your time and effort and expertise and all of that. I do not mean to make you sound like pawns, in a big came of chess I really don't, I mean to make you seem like checkers leading the journey to across the board. Sure it's a risky proposition, being the first piece across the map but there is also the advantage of getting to the goal before anyone else. Now onto business!"
  
  "As you no doubt have heard of the great treasure found by one of my roaming near the forgotten town of Cheboygan far north of here. It took many years of research and fruitless searching to find the dungeon where it was held and with new information I am bringing you together to quest north and see if you can find any missing pieces to the puzzle. For your time I will pay each of you 5gp per day. I expect there to be 10 day's journey there and two days to investigate the ruins. 22 days total so we will call it an even 125 for the trip. Any materials you need can be provided for you at the North Gate as you leave the city, including wagons and oxen. (no nothing magical, no nothing outrageous like a warship or warhorses).
  
  This journey should be of high priority but if you do encounter any small towns in need of any aid along the way please stop and help, it's always nice for members of the Duke's service to stop and do things for his people to better their lives. You are looking for any information that can help us know what this treasure is and why it was created, we hoped the discovering party would have more information but being a bit hasty in their excitement they made due haste back to Detroit on their discovery.
  
  Of course any information you bring back will be met with great excitement and likely a future job. And always remember, the more helpful you are to me the more you are worth.