The Erovast Codex

Crown Gauntlet#

Summary#

The Crown Gauntlet is an obstacle-course tournament format at the Proving Grounds: a roughly 40-foot wooden tower rising out of a mud pit, which all four members of a team must climb and reach together to ring a bell at the top. Cassian’s Crushing Crusaders are the first team to complete it in over seven years. Source: 2026.06.23, 2026.07.14.

Course Layout#

  1. Three negatively-sloped mud “steps,” requiring a running start (Athletics/Acrobatics or slide back down).
  2. Three free-spinning balance logs on spindles, ~10 ft off the ground.
  3. A sheer plank wall, climbable via thin cracks between the planks (base DC 18).
  4. A central tower with gear-driven rotating platforms, each turning 180° per 6-second round in alternating directions.
  5. A final guarded platform and the bell at the summit.

Four obstacle guards are stationed along the course (two at the base, one at the wall platform, one at the top with a jousting baton); rules of engagement forbid lethal force against them—bludgeoning/incapacitation only.

Scoring#

Performance is tracked by two meters: Cheer Marks (crowd-pleasing successes, tracked via d4 rolls) and Mud Marks (embarrassing failures). Filling Cheer Marks to 10/10 grants a team-wide boon; 10 Mud Marks triggers a team-wide bane. A countdown timer represents the time limit—running it out means being thrown in the mud pit and pelted with rotten produce by the crowd.

The Party’s Run#

Started 2026.06.23, paused mid-challenge at countdown 8 (Cheer Marks 7/10, Mud Marks 1/10) with three of four guards neutralized via Odine Dunmere’s Hideous Laughter, Cassian’s Phantasmal Force, and Odine’s illusory owlbear (Silent Image). Concluded 2026.07.14: the party maxed Cheer Marks to 10/10 via Cassian’s Thaumaturgy performance, cleared the wall (DC dropped to 15 by Azrith’s natural-20 Investigation coaching), freed a jammed gear mechanism, and rang the bell together with six seconds left on the clock. Duke Tristan Blackwood watched from the sponsor’s box with only a reserved slow clap. See Compete in the King's Tourney for the full wager and reward details.

Relationships#

Linked mentions 13