IDE EVENT: Jibber Jabber (D2, Late Afternoon)

[Yuzuki]

It works like this.
See? This word means that!
We're so helpful, aren't we?

Somehow, with a little help, Yuzuki managed to figure this made-up language out with just a token amount of effort.

And she somehow managed to impress with the main meat of the event too. Wow, who would've known the Mantis of all people could figure out how to converse in a made up language with just a bit of preparation? She was definitely going places wasn't she?

Hey, let's blow this thing out of the water!
Here's what you should say...
Oh yeah, that'll totally impress these judges!

And then she ruined it all by trying to go the extra mile. And another extra mile. And a third final mile.


Calligraphy/Intelligence (unskilled), TN15. YOLO: 2d10k2 17 (pass)
Commerce / Intelligence, VOID, 1 raise, TN20: 4d10o10k3 24 (+2 points)
Etiquette / Intelligence, VOID, 1 raise, TN20: 4d10o10k3 22 (+2 points)
Extra Credit Commerce/Intelligence, TN15 YOLOx3 (reroll because dumb): 3d10o10k2 5 -1point
Extra Credit Commerce/Intelligence, TN15 YOLOx3 (reroll because dumb): 2#3d10o10k2 11 11 -2 points

1 Point Final

[Matsu Nintoku]

The test was as much in Nintoku's comfort zone as an egg looked like a dog. Unlike many of his Lion comrades, the Matsu had not devoted much time on calligraphy or signals instead focusing more on the favorite Matsu art; killing.

His heart beated hard on his chest as the Ide explained the exam and he felt just like he had felt on the minutes prior to his first battle. He nodded in agreement after the explanation was over and set forward to make the most of it.

Surprisingly once he saw his test he recalled a certain book regarding battle signals and coded messages and surprisingly the memories he still had of it allowed him to decode the mock language. Knowing this he managed to both understand the language but as well recreate them, surpassing the arguably harder parts of the exam.

Feeling motivated by his unexpected success, he engaged the Ide Master in a conversation trying as best as possible to explain how his book worming habits had managed to give him an edge. His nervousness was still present and he did struggle with certain sentences until he composed himself and finished, thanking the Ide Master for the interesting and novel exam.

---

Squiggly Lines and Weird Shapes - 19 SUCCESS
Story Problems - 18 SUCCESS
Bilingual Conversation (w/ 1 raise) - 57 SUCCESS
Bilingual Conversation - 13 FAILURE
Bilingual Conversation (w/ 1 raise) - 30 SUCCESS
Bilingual Conversation - 15 SUCCESS

Total: 6 Points

[Matsu Yurio]

A language test. Unexpected but Yurio mentally prepared himself for the task at hand. He would be ready!



At first he approached it as we would with a coded message from High Command, trying to find a cypher or key to allow him to translate all of it easily. He thought he had it almost immediately.

Yes, that one means 'Swan', that is 'flight' and this is . . . . . . 'termite'. Wait that can't be right??!?! 'The Swan takes flight to termite'??????

He restarted and soon got in to a complete mess.

'The daifuku smokes . . . something . . . in the paper house?' What in all the realms is this rubbish going on about????

Taking a deep breath with closed eyes for a moment he looked once again for connections.

Oh! Oh! OH!!!! That there and that here . . . 'The merchant has six barrels of fish' YUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

He then set about translating the questions and attempting answers. It soon became apparent that he wasn't very good at the questions even once they were in plain Rokugani. He stared and stared and stared before coming to a conclusion just as the Ide called time on him.

Maths sucks.



/ooc

Time Segment One: Wiggly Lines and Weird Shapes, Calli/Int, TN 15 = 14, so close.
Time Segment Two: Wiggly Lines and Weird Shapes, Calli/Int, TN 15 = 6, DOH!
Time Segment Three: Wiggly Lines and Weird Shapes, Calli/Int, TN 15 = 16, VICTORY!
Time Segment Four: Story Problems, Comm/Int, TN 15 = 14, ARGGHHHHHH!
Time Segment Five: Story Problems, Comm/Int, TN 15 = 10, sigh.
Time Segment Six: Story Problems, Comm/Int, TN 15 = 7, as expected.

Total = 0 Linguistics Points.

[Ryuuta Tsume]

Nervous, Ryuuta Tsume fidgets with her hat as she tried to make any sense at all of the seemingly random slashes. Displeased, she turns the scroll over in her hands, but it makes no further sense upside down. She looks around the room at her competitors and her uncertainty grows. They all seem much more adept with brush and ink than she.

Steeling herself she closes her eyes and remembers the columns used to tally expenses in her mother's house ledger. Frequent expenses must be given extra space. In the same manner, recurring symbols would mean common words. Opening her eyes again she concentrates on breaking apart the lines. Working from here she starts to unravel the language. Finally, the cipher begins to make some sense.

Now, the problems come forth. Immediately the commercial nature of the questions causes a familiar quaver to rise in Tsume's heart, and she flubbs several symbols and comes up with a completely nonsensical answer. She steels herself, knowing that Yasuki-dono would want her to prevail even after the tragic end (VP spent). She resolves this set with relative ease.

Blinking back the tear that has risen unbidden in her eye she begins a bright conversation with one of the returned but wholly unfamiliar samurai hosts. While the words are unfamiliar she finds it actually quite easy to converse with the nice and generous administrator. Happily she returns to the word problems and daintily puts a garnishing success on her accomplishment..

"There. That was actually enjoyable."

(OOC 3 points)
Sqiggle!? Fail 8
Oh, sqiggle is writing. Success 15
Word problems . Fail 12
But you love word problems Succeed 19
Talking part Succeed 19
Back to the word problems Succeed 12

[Soshi Taira]

Taira made short work of squiggles, patterns and math.

It was restful and made him feel pretty good about himself.

Then he had to talk to someone. And keep talking to them.

And then things got... bad.

Because Taira was good at talking, until he wasn't. He had a bad habit of talking a little too much, a little too long, and finding himself in a circumstance in which not only did he not have the language mostly correct, but he also had the etiquette mostly wrong.

By the end of the day he had chattered his way to a resounding result of 'meh' and the proctor went for a lie down to dispel the headache he'd inflicted.


-----------

Squiggly wiggly: 1 raise passed http://orokos.com/roll/504556
+1k0 on rolls going forward.
Story Problems!: passed http://orokos.com/roll/504558 (1 point)
Chit chat in a made up tongue: http://orokos.com/roll/504565 (3 points)
More chit chat: gruesome failure http://orokos.com/roll/504566 (-3 points)
Again chatting: http://orokos.com/roll/504567 (3 points)
And again failing: http://orokos.com/roll/504568 (-3 points)

Final tally: 1 point because Orokos baby.

[Kaiu Hiroji]

After struggling with the framework of the language, his usually immaculate face pouring with sweat over the heat and concentration, Hiroji mastered the written part of the language quite well, excelling in the written portion of the challenge. He encountered some trouble over the actual conversation however, as framing the words into a coherent and somewhat cordial conversation proved his downfall.

[OOC: Squiggly lines and weird Shapes: 1st Time Slot: Fail (http://orokos.com/roll/504571), 2nd Time Slot: Fail (http://orokos.com/roll/504575), 3rd Time Slot: Success (http://orokos.com/roll/504576).
Story Problems: 4th Time Slot: Success, 1 Raise. 2 Points. (http://orokos.com/roll/504577)
Bilingual Conversation: 5th Time Slot: Fail (orokos.com/roll/504578) 6th Time Slot: Fail (http://orokos.com/roll/504579)
Total: 2 Linguistic Points]

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"What was that?" Tomonaga said, his head whipping around. The Ide he was speaking with gave him a confused look. Tomonaga reddened. "Oh, uh, I mean-" He repeated the phrase in the invented language.

He'd begun so well. As time went on, though, he felt the familiar nervousness in the pit of his stomach. He'd rarely been allowed to study alone. He was good at math, damnit, but when you had four older, more experienced siblings, looking over your shoulder, poking you, laughing at your mistakes, dribbling ink down the back of your neck, the act of actually learning math was not a comfortable one. Tomonaga was surprised to feel it all come flooding back.

Again, his hand slapped the back of his neck. Ink? No, just his hair tickling him. Still, unsettled and flustered, Tomonaga makes a poor showing; he closed his eyes as the Ide tallied his score. Tomonaga walked away, shaking his head.

--------

After he left, one of the Ide peered curiously at the math Tomonaga had written out. "Hey. There's some really good stuff here!" He said excitedly to his companion.

--------

Squiggly lines, time 1/6, calligraphy/int 1 raise, vp spent, TN20: 5d10o10k4 46 - +1k0 to remaining rolls
GM REROLL - Story problems time 2/6, commerce/Int, 1FR for effect, +1k0 from first roll, TN15: 6d10o10k3 38 - 2 points
Bilingual Conversation, time 3/6, Etiquette/Int, 1 raise, +1k0 from first roll, TN 20: 5d10o10k3 25 - 2 points
GM REROLL - Story problems time 4/6, commerce/Int, 1FR for effect, +1k0 from first roll, TN15: 6d10o10k3 27 - 2 points
GM REROLL - Story Problems, time 5/6, Commerce/Int, 1 raise, 1FR, +1k0 from first roll, VP spent, TN20: 7d10o10k4 36
GM REROLL - Story problems time 6/6, commerce/Int, 1FR for no reason, +1k0 from first roll, TN15: 6d10o10k3 23 - 1 point


Final - 10 points

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

Throughout the two hours Liu Fei gave it her best, but only a portion of an afternoon to learn a whole new made up language was ridiculous. At least to her sensibilities. Anyway, she gave it a shot and performed about as well as she had expected. When it was in front of her it took her some time but eventually worked out the problems well enough that she could start giving correct answers but when the event moved onto holding a conversation she was utterly lost.

Seeing the others that managed more than she had was actually quite impressive. Not that she'd admit it for some. Regardless she was able to leave the event without too much frustration, she performed about as well as she had expected to.


Rolls:

Segment 1: Calligraphy, 16 vs 15, Passed.
Segment 2: Commerce, 12 vs 15, Failed.
Segment 3: Commerce, 15 vs 15, Passed.
Segment 4: Etiquette, 13 vs 15, Failed.
Segment 5: Etiquette, 9 vs 15, Failed.
Segment 6: Etiquette, 10 vs 15, Failed.

Note: Segment 5 and 6 were mislabeled Segment 4, but still contain the proper roll, and failed, so nothing lost.

Total: 1 Linguistic Point

[Kitsune Kumahime]

Written exams about ciphers and logistics.

Well. These are not the merits this Fox was sent on, but she'll certainly try. She puzzles at the writings for a while, but eventually figures it out. A language meant to be deciphered in a couple hours is not, after all, terribly complicated.

She earns no favor for eloquence, but she can pass in this language, and in reasonable time, but it's the story problems she feels more comfortable with. Simple logistics; given how much a Proud Bear warrior eats, managing stock for the dojo is quite the task, and she was among the students tasked to keep inventory in order. But, seeing samurai so clearly more learned than she breezing through the test, she decides she has to be more ambitious. For her final question, she wracks her brain to the fullest, extrapolating to words she hasn't seen before, and in the end, gives an answer completely incomprehensible.

((Calligraphy untrained, TN15, VP: 3d10 13, fail.
Calligraphy untrained, TN15, VP: 3d10 18, pass.
Commerce/Intelligence, TN15: 3d10o10k2 21, pass. +1 point.
Etiquette/Intelligence, TN15: 3d10o10k2 15, pass. +1 point.
Commerce/Intelligence, TN15: 3d10o10k2 24, pass. +1 point.
Commerce/Intelligence, VP, 2R, TN25: 4d10o10k3 18, fail. -3 points.
Score: 0 points, for going for the hail Mary.))

[Kakita Nanami]

[[Placeholder for Fluff]]

OOC - Rolls:
Squiggly Lines: Commerce (Cipher) / Intelligence (2 Raises) vs. TN25 - 30 (Success, +2k0 to other rolls)
Story Problems: Commerce (Mathematics) / Intelligence vs. TN15 - 15 (Success, 1 LP)
Bilingual Conversation: Etiquette (Conversation) / Intelligence (2 Raises) vs. TN25 - 37 (Success, 3 LP)
Extra Credit - Bilingual Conversation: Etiquette (Conversation) / Intelligence (1 Raise) vs TN20 - 34 (Success, 2 LP)
Extra Credit - Bilingual Conversation: Etiquette (Conversation) / Intelligence (1 Raise) vs TN20 - 30 (Success, 2 LP)
Extra Credit - Bilingual Conversation: Etiquette (Conversation) / Intelligence (1 Raise) vs TN20 -20 (Success, 2 LP)
Total: 10 LP

[Matsu Kogo]

Kogo was nervous walking in. She'd never studied another language before and it was not a common practice against the Matsu. But she was determined to do the best she could.

At first, the lines made little sense. But with some deep breathing and some calm thoughts, she gradually puzzled them out.

Then, moving on to the story problems. Story problems had always been the bane of Kogo's existence. She thought perhaps she had it right the first time, but had just missed it. Tackling them again with renewed zeal, she eeked out a victory and took another deep breath.

Finally, she moved to the conversation with the Ide master. After so many conversations with new Unicorn acquaintances, she found that she had become used to translating certain words or concepts in her head without thinking of it. The conversation flowed, moving from topic to topic in a fluid way, from the differing ways of courts, to the horses of the Unicorn clan, to her own Noburu. Kogo was pleasantly surprised to find at the end that she had deeply enjoyed herself and resolved that she would look into learning another language sometime in the future. She bowed to the Ide master and left to find something a little less cerebral to do with her afternoon.





/ooc

Segment 1: Squiggly lines and wierd shapes, no raises: 3d10 13 fail

Segement 2: Squiggly lines and wierd shapes, no raises, 2nd attempt: 3d10 21 pass

Segment: 3Story problems, no raises: 3d10 14 fail

Segment 4: Story problems, no raises, 2nd attempt: 3d10 15 pass, 1 pt

Segment 5: Bilingual Conversation, one raise: 5d10o10k3 25 pass, 2 pts

Segment 6: Bilingual conversation, no raises: 5d10o10k3 23 pass, 1 pt

Total= 4 pts

whew

[Usagi Tomoe]

Tomoe looked at the squiggly lines and weird shapes on the paper. She wasn't familiar with any foreign languages, but her mind was as sharp as a katana and she quickly deciphered its meanings with a great understanding.

Piecing together the puzzle of the story the language was telling was a bit more challenging and she cautiously made a few guesses that helped her reach the end.

As the Ide came around to see how she had mastered the new language, the Hare impressed greatly with her articulate words and intellect and carried on the conversation at great length as she showed herself more than capable of conversing in a strange language she just picked up. Clearly a good sign for a bride for a Unicorn!


--------

Rolls 3-6 were re-done with permission from Mindshred due to me missing the +2k0 from Squiggly Lines.

D2 LA EVENT. 1/6. Calligraphy/Int. Daringly calling 2 raises! TN 25: 6d10o10k4 31

D2 LA EVENT. 2/6. Commerce/Int. Untrained. +2k0 from Squiggly Lines. TN 15: 6d10k4 18 +1 Point

D2 LA EVENT. 3/6. Etiquette/Int. Void for +3k1. +2k0 from Squiggly. Daringly calling another 2 raises! TN 25. Re-roll with permission: 10d10o10k5 39 +3 Points

D2 LA EVENT. 4/6. Extra Credit: Etiquette/Int. Void for +3k1 (last). +2k0 from Squiggly. Daringly again calling 2 raises! TN 25. Re-roll with permission: 10d10o10k5 40 +3 Points

D2 LA EVENT. 5/6. Extra Credit: Etiquette/Int. +2k0 from Squiggly. 2 raises because we are daring! TN 25: 7d10o10k4 25 +3 Points

D2 LA EVENT. 6/6. Extra Credit: Etiquette/Int. +2k0 from Squiggly. 2 raises because we are daring! TN 25. Re-rolled with permission: 7d10o10k4 36 +3 Points

TOTAL POINTS: 13

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue sat herself down and looked at the language in front of her. Well, if I know three languages, this one can't be so hard. Her confidence proved to be not unfounded, at least in its general usage. She looked at the story and her mind raged to find the answer. By the time she figured it out, the event was over. "I wish I got to talk to someone with it," she remarked to herself before bowing to the event coordinators.

---

Slot 1: Calligraphy/Intelligence TN 15, +2k0 from Languages: 15 Success!
Slot 2: Commerce/Intelligence TN 15: 13 Failure!
Slot 3: Commerce/Intelligence TN 15: 5 Failure!
Slot 4: Commerce/Intelligence TN 15: 11 Failure!
Slot 5: Commerce/Intelligence TN 15: 8 Failure!
Slot 6: Commerce/Intelligence TN 15: 18 Success!

Total: 1 Linguistics Point

[Fairuz Kaiya]

Pfft, languages? No problem! Oh.. they didn't even bother to change the grammar from..

Kaiya easily deciphered the script and figured out the basics of the language, but when it came time to answer short problems.. the numbers just kind of sank into the Fairuz's head and stayed there, leaving him staring off into space for a good thirty minutes, rolling through the possibilities over, and over... By the time he was given a 'friendly' nudge to turn in his work, he had been shake completely off his train of thought, and realized he didn't actually know how to express the particular concept that made up his answer!

After doing exactly the same thing a second time, it was only on the third try that he rather sheepishly presented an answer that was barely considered adequate.. though even large parts of that were marked out and rewritten before being turned in.

By the time he finally reached the conversation section, all pressure to possibly be competitive was swept away in the wind, and a casual conversation came with surprising ease despite his heart not really being in the task.

Egh.. why couldn't the rest of it have been something more natural like this?

D2LA Event, Squigglies, Calligraphy (Cipher)/Intelligence, 2CR, TN 25. VP+1k1, Language +1k0: 6d10o10k4 42, +2 bonus!
D2LA Event, Story Problems, Commerce/Intelligence, 2CR, TN25, +2k0 event bonus: 6d10o10k3 24, Fail
D2LA Event, Story Problems Take 2, Commerce/Intelligence, 2CR, TN25, +2k0 event bonus: 6d10o10k3 Fail (Typoed an extra kept die on orokos, not that even that would have helped)
D2LA Event, Story Problems Take 3, TN 15, +2k0 event bonus: 6d10o10k3 13, Fail
D2LA Event, Story Problems Take 4, TN 15, +2k0 event bonus: 6d10o10k3 15, 1 point
D2LA Event, Bilingual Conversation, TN 15, +2k0 event bonus: 6d10o10k3 41, 1 point

Total: 2 Conversation points.

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

It took Monkbaatar quite a bit of time to come to understand the made up language, but he eventually did. Though in the end, even though he understood it it he couldn't make enough sense of the next challenge in order to make any progress. When time was up he simply smirked and stood up. "I guess that's why I never learned any other languages, eh?"

D2 LA, Squiggly Lines, VP +1k1, TN 15: 3d10 14 fail
D2 LA, Squiggly Lines, VP +1k1, TN 15, Luck Reroll: 3d10 14 fail
D2 LA, Squiggly Lines 2, TN 15: 2d10 14 fail
D2 LA, Squiggly Lines 3, TN 15: 2d10 11 fail
D2 LA, Squiggly Lines 4, TN 15: 2d10 16 pass
D2 LA, Story Problems, TN 15: 2d10 10 0 points
D2 LA, Story Problems 2, TN 15: 2d10 7 0 points

Total: 0 points