Quick facts
Type: Yearly month-long festival · Location: Saline Coast · Status: Closed (ended C2 Session 27)
The Saline Splendor Festival is the Saline Coast’s yearly celebration, a month-long fair that draws visitors from far away. Campaign 2 opened during the festival, and The FAM met when three wolves escaped from its zoo.
Overview
By the time the party arrived, the festival had been running for about a week. Its attractions included:
- A grand parade of floats, marching bands and costumed performers that wound through the city and ended at the main square.
- Artisan’s Alley, where local artisans sold pottery, paintings, jewelry and textiles.
- A sprawling food market, from local seafood to dishes from distant lands.
- Fireworks over the beach every weekend.
- Carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, plus classic game booths such as ring toss, dunk tanks and balloon darts.
- A sand sculpting contest on the beach, with winners announced at the end of the festival.
- Live music, street performers, dance shows, open-air theater and evening fire dancing.
- A city-wide treasure hunt, cooking and craft workshops, sporting events and a children’s area.
- Historical exhibits on the city, marine life exhibits with touch tanks, and charity auctions.
The zoo
The festival zoo let visitors interact with exotic creatures and farm animals. Its staff were the zoo director Amara Thornfield, assistant director Liam Greengrove, animal care specialist Talia Rivers, and exhibit coordinator Felix Moonshadow.
History
The wolves (Session 1)
On the party’s first day, three wolves escaped from a zoo enclosure and sent the crowds running. Kip grabbed one of Wilbur’s toy lightswords and, to everyone’s surprise, sliced a wolf’s jugular with it. A distraught zookeeper told the group the wolves had been drugged and that Felix, who was supposed to be on watch, had disappeared. The group decided the escape was probably a planned distraction.
The masquerade ball (Sessions 6–9)
The party learned of a formal ball for vendors and government officials and suspected it would be cover for secret meetings. At the Midday Midway Masquerade Ball, the party drank mystery potions (Wilbur gained the ability to fly, while Nelda floated and couldn’t walk), heard rumors that Mayor Eliza Windrider had been kidnapped or was dead, and had their fortunes read. A loud bang turned out to be the start of a fireworks show, and Wilbur received a note from Eldon Reed inviting him to poker at the Rusty Anchor.
Closing ceremonies (Session 27)
Most of the musicians dropped out of the closing ceremonies, so Nelda was recruited to play her bagpipes. Mayor Windrider gave a speech pardoning the party, calling for the release of Nelda’s parents and Elby Thistletop, ordering the arrest of Tobias Blackwood, Orin Coppercoin and Lyla Brightspark, and withdrawing from the mayoral race in favor of a special election.
The festival ended with its famous “daytime fireworks,” which use magic to make “negative color explosions.” They created a false eclipse in the sky, and Ellery transformed into a giant, raging ape (an Ozaroo). Escher cut off her tail, and she changed back and collapsed.
Afterward
Under VTC rule, the stage in Splendor Festival Square was replaced with gallows for the execution of Catman in Session 81.
Appears in
Session 1, Session 6, Session 8, Session 9, Session 27, Session 81