PLOTTING (RETIRED)

[rubimods]

⚰︎ ⍢ ⌲ ⍚ PLOTTING:

THIS PAGE HAS BEEN RETIRED. Please submit plotting requests to the NEW PLOTTING PAGE.

This plotting post facilitates player-mod communication about IC plot ideas of various types, from questions about the setting and character actions influencing it, to plot suggestions and player-run plots. Before coming to this page with an idea, players should ensure they have discussed it with the other directly impacted or participating players.

The best approach to these requests is for players to explain the intended outcome of the idea is so that the mods can collaborate with players on a way to make it happen within the context of the setting.

Fill out the form below in order to submit a request, and label the subject line with one of the request types explained further down the page:

<B>Character(s) Involved:</b> <B>Summary of Plot/Goal and Intended Outcome:</b> <B>Questions for the Mods:</b> <B>Suggested Consequences:</b> [for the character(s) involved] <B>Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise:</b>

QUESTIONS & BRAINSTORMING

This type of submission is for players who need either mod guidance on brainstorming or additional information about the setting (or who have minor suggestions for setting additions, like buildings or plants/animals). Players can share a goal or point of interest and ask how to make it happen, or simply ask how their character might achieve something.

Think of this submission type as information gathering. As a result, these requests are freeform and informal, sparking a collaborative discussion with the mods. Note: submitting a brainstorming request does not mean committing to the IC actions being discussed, so this is a good way to explore possibilities.

Players submitting this type of request are welcome to forego the form at the top of this page if they prefer.

• If I want Daenerys to gain political power, is that possible here? How would it work?


• How big are the farms beyond the walls? What type of farming do they do?


• Can I invent a weed in the farms beyond the wall that has aphrodisiac pollen?


• I want Juno to open a bowling alley. She has CR with Nagai Kei, who works as a carpenter, and he can help her with making wooden pins and balls. How might she secure a location and what else might she need?

CHARACTER INFLUENCE & IMPACTS

This submission type is for reporting character actions that might have IC ramifications within the setting — such as when a player's own character dies, when they destroy or steal NPC property or kill more than three people, or when they take actions that might alter their influence over the setting/plot.

Please understand that these may involve positive or negative consequences, or just neutral impacts! Players should always be clear and transparent about their preferences for the consequences their characters face because we're here to facilitate your good time. In addition, bear in mind that negative consequences are generally temporary, and characters can always come back here with a new plot to try and adjust their reputation with a plot designed to positively impact the town's perception of them.

Except in cases of their own character's death (which need only be reported with a single line and can skip the form), players should wait for mod reply before making wide reference to these events and their details, as requests may lead to clarification or be altered to accommodate some aspect of the setting. Please reach out as soon as possible to keep the mods informed.

• Mario stole from the banker.


• Urianger is looking for a way to get a job with the Duchess.


• Sokka's curse/monster form is changing.

PLOT SUGGESTIONS & APPROVALS

These submissions are required for plots that involve a group of five or more player characters and/or any mod NPCs, or those which would impact the setting of the game.

These plots cannot be implemented until approved. If a player wants their plot to be a surprise to the rest of the game, feel free to bring it over to the MOD CONTACT post.

• Juno is opening a bowling alley.


• Bonnie is going to try to break the monster curses with magic.


• Loki will use his reality-altering powers to make it impossible to enter or exit the castle.

PLOT COINS

If you don't already have a plotting thread going and you would like to spend a plot coin, please use the form below:

<b>Character spending the coin:</b> Name (@username) <b>Link to Minstrel Submission:</b> <a href="">Link</a> Pick one of the following and delete the rest: • <b>An extra vote on a plot event.</b> • <b>A custom NPC thread, plot role, or plot hint/secret</b> • <b>IC business</b> • <b>Independent Housing</b> • <b>Bonus Invite</b> • <b>Monster curse change</b> • <b>An item from the Minstrel's inventory</b> • <b>Third character</b> <b>Further details:</b>

Comments

brainstorming

[unorthodoc]

Sorry I haven't asked about this before, mods! I just saw your response to Bobby and realised I should bring it here too.

Character(s) Involved: House (unorthodoc)
Summary of Plot/Question: Since arriving, House has been trading his medical expertise for painkillers at the hospital, setting up as a rudimentary clinic. I think this means he may have been regularly interacting with Magda? I've also been assuming he's been given a small dose of laudanum or other morphine-based painkillers (once he showed his leg and described the injury/pain) -- is this a reasonable assumption?
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: House needs drugs to manage his chronic pain and also needs something to do to manage his chronic inability to be a normal reasonable person.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: I don't really have any outcome in mind at the moment, I'm happy if Magda decides this isn't possible long term or if she's happy to let him continue.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Possibly improved(?) services at the hospital. House might also insist on trying to reproduce modern medicinal practices like hand washing, surgical techniques, etc. He wouldn't actively want to teach anyone else but he wouldn't stop the nurses and townfolk from watching if they wanted to.

Re: brainstorming

[rubimods]

No worries! Thanks for bringing this to us.

House is welcome to help Magda out, but she runs her ship in her own way. She won't give him the kind of long tether that he is used to receiving for his genius expertise. To Magda, none of that is worth anything without cooperation, and she's perfectly willing to hold his obvious addiction to pain relievers over his head as contingent upon going along with her way of doing things. That is to say, the benefits of working in the clinic are contingent upon him being a team player. As long as that occurs, he's welcome to the opium that they use for pain treatment, so hopefully he's ready to embrace his inner Sherlock.

However, she's also willing to listen to good advice, so she will adopt some of the more obviously beneficial medicinal practices, particularly with an emphasis on heat-cleaning their tools and using clean water for handwashing. They do seem to have a basic grasp of illness as communicable via particulates and dirt, although it's not full germ theory, so those logical leaps are the ones she'll be willing to adjust on.

Let us know if you have any other questions about this ongoing arrangement!

Xue Yang being bad

[xue_yang]

Character(s) Involved: Xue Yang
Summary of Plot/Question: Xue Yang wants to steal some of the corpses (or at least get 1) to turn into corpse powder. This would mean getting away with a corpse to a secluded area and dismantling it and destroying it (turning it into a dust).
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: How successful would he be in stealing a corpse and would he get away undetected or would he be faced with any consequences?
Intended Outcome/Consequences: [for the character(s) involved] If successful he will be creating a poison that is fairly deadly to...well anyone who breaths it in. It will in effect kill them or turn them into fierce corpses depending on their physical makeup. If unsuccessful then I am up to whatever consequences you feel he deserves for his attempt to steal.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: A new type of weapon being introduced to the world, a possible string of corpses disappearing if Xue Yang knows he can get away with it without detection.

Re: Xue Yang being bad

[rubimods]

Hi Tohma,

We are happy to allow you to have Xue Yang successfully get his hands on a corpse and produce the poison as described. However, we want to be transparent about the consequences this course of action would lead to.

Xue Yang would be unlikely to be successful in remaining undetected for one chief reason: corpses in Rubilykskoye do not remain corpses. When it became apparent that one of the dead had not been returned to life following the community's death rites, the uproar would be immense. While the death and destruction of the event was tragic for the harm it did, it was temporary harm; Xue Yang's crime would be akin to murder itself because the theft of the corpse prevents that individual's resurrection at the Duchess' hands.

Another reason he'd have a hard time doing this undetected is that, because of the nature of these death rites, corpses are highly supervised by Magda, Mateus, and the community at large from the moment someone is killed to the moment they enter the Duchess' castle. He would have a difficult time coming by an unattended corpse, and his window to steal it would be very small.

This would be considered a crime of the mind per the city's justice system, and Xue Yang would experience severe, long-lasting social consequences that lowers his trustworthiness and acceptance in the community until he actively does something to improve it.

Given this information, please let us know if you still intend to pursue this plot.

Brainstorming

[unconscionable]

Character(s) Involved: John Gaius
Summary of Plot/Question: John is looking to gain political power.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question: I actually do not want John to get the kind of power he would like, lmao, but I am interested in both giving you a heads up so that we can collab going forward, and potentially receiving minor details I can use in my tags.

Details:
Currently John's long term goal is to replace the Duchess as the worshipped leader with the big mansion. However at this point he is only focused on gaining initial traction in involving himself in the community, with the hope to potentially translate that into political power down the track, wanting to stand in contrast to the Duchess' closed gates.

So far this has included: actively spending his spare time in the community and participating in their customs; joining in group activities and quietly listening (eg I wrote about a group of older NPCs doing good prep for the grocery's winter storage, such as pickling and jams, that John goes to peel fruit for); taking on odd jobs to get to know various sorts of people rather than committing to one specific trade; being visibly capable of miraculous medical assistance in this month's event and potentially house visits in future; taking the general vibe of other Outsiders/PCs; daily meetings with Ianthe to share what they know. If there's anything else I could do or things I should be focusing on actually playing out I am open to suggestions!

I have also been nerfing him pretty significantly because solve-everything necromancy is boring to play, so I just want to repeat again that while I like having goals for my character that get him out there and threading, I don't actually necessarily want him to reach them.


None of this is time sensitive, just wanted to get the chat happening!

[rubimods]

Hey Prox,

Thanks for letting us know! For your general consideration, we have some reminders and suggestions below.

• First, we just want to be clear that any nerfs to John's powers except those discussed in his application are not imposed by the setting. While we appreciate you exercising discretion with the extent of his power usage, we want to make sure characters don't get any misapprehensions about the setting limiting the extent of non-dimension-related abilities. This is plot important, so it's something we can't really offer much flexibility on.
  
  We figure (as I'm sure you've already considered) that since John is immortal, he's cozy with biding his time and adopting a slow approach to this, winning hearts and minds rather than a big stick approach, but if this is an issue, we can try to brainstorm a solution with you.


• One way that John can make sure that people around the town consider him an involved and influential figure is to make consistent appearances at the Moot Hall discussions. These democratic forums are facilitated by Mateus and address everything from crop concerns and disaster relief to resolving civil or criminal disputes. If John makes his voice heard here consistently, and he demonstrates behavior that seems both reasonable and insightful by their culture's norms, he will continue to gain an increasingly positive reputation amongst the population at large.


• Opportunities will be cropping up in the next few months to interact with the Duchess, so keep an eye out for these! The way John interacts with the Duchess when given the opportunity will have a big influence on his potential for success in something like this (that is, both his ability to see a path to what he wants and his ability to subsequently fuck that path up).


• We can also work with you, now or in the future, on ways to sabotage his efforts to ensure that he does not actually get meaningful power. However, power akin to the Duchess and power amongst the townspeople are very different things, so don't worry too much about his town-level reputation getting him too close to Duchess-level!

If John takes a specific action that you think would create a shift in his general social status or afford him some kind of greater power or social influence in the town, be sure to update us in this thread. And, as always, let us know if you have further questions or need information from us to facilitate the slow progression of this!

brainstorming

[dynatox]

Character(s) Involved: Terry Silver

Summary of Plot/Question: Terry wants to offer combat training lessons plus sparring practice to get some of those violent urges out. Ideally he'd have an indoor location for this, but he can train outside, too. It's all hand-to-hand so he doesn't really need any equipment, though some mats and light/loose clothing would be nice.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Mostly just getting him a long-term job; not sure if there are any military or warrior types among the NPCs that he could potentially collaborate with, or if this particular endeavor would be welcomed by the townsfolk at all.

Intended Outcome/Consequences: No specific outcome in mind right now. However, Terry does play the long game and if he can use this to get a good reputation among the townsfolk he'll keep that in his pocket for later.

Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Nothing significant right now that I can think of aside from the fact that said training will be available from now on (if there wasn't anything like it already). If it evolves into something bigger that'd be an additional plot request.

[rubimods]

Hi Cass!

While we're totally happy to allow Terry to offer combat training, an indoor location or "official" space for it would fall under a business and therefore need a plot coin to be purchased in a Minstrel month! There are more details on this at our ACTIVITY page.

However, Terry can informally start a gathering in the basement of the tavern with day-by-day availability depending on town events, routines, etc. or go out beyond the wall to start things off!

The townspeople do not have an organized fighting group of this type, as they have no standing army and only an untrained militia for guards. However, as word spreads, members of the perimeter guard will definitely join in to help channel their more violent urges and frustrations without actually hurting anyone as well. Their cultural norms will incline them towards viewing this more as a fight club than a training regimen, however.

Let us know if he goes with setting something of this sort up, and if you have further questions about what it would entail.

character influence & consequences

[songscape]

Character(s) Involved: uta songscape
Summary of Plot/Question: uta is looking to sing and bring some folks together, NPC or PC, through her music. gathering somewhere safe for a break from everything just for a little while, uta would probably sing two or three of her songs (this one and this one and this one? acapella) and encourage others to join in. real campfire song hours
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: i suppose i'm after establishing uta a little more reputation-wise in the town and further increasing the PC reputation.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: better standing in the community? for her and other PCs because she'd tell the NPCs that a lot of them want to help ... perhaps naively of her. maybe she'd get approached about some sort of job performing and/or helping to calm folks down or whatever mods suggest?
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: i don't think it'd impact too much other than the aforementioned rep and potential connections with NPCs.

[songscape]

AHH I'M sorry to jump in i forgot this entirely but there's intense flashing lights/strobing in the song called I'm invincible. please take care

brainstorming;

[somatosensory]

Character(s) Involved: Aristaeus (somatosensory)
Summary of Plot/Question: Since arriving, Aristaeus has been taking odd jobs around town – manual labor, mostly – to get a feel for the people and how things are done. After the event though, I think he'll approach Lev and “politely” if somewhat forcefully insist that he take him on as an apprentice/assistant what have you.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Mostly that he needs a job, he feels that he can exploit Lev's guilt enough to get him to give him one, then he's going for it.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: He has employment, a means to afford a place of his own. If he can embed himself a little more in the town and its culture, even better.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Nothing for the moment beyond Lev having a babysitter. Further thoughts/developments will be submitted as a new thing, but like I've said the goal here is mostly just him getting employed.

[rubimods]

Hey Mal,

Lev's guilt is absolutely exploitable! He will gladly allow Aristaeus to apprentice to him, though Aristaeus will not be alone. Lev currently has a thirteen-year-old girl apprenticing under him as well, and the introduction of a newer apprentice who has less authority in the carpentry business than she does will incline her towards treating him like a water boy to boss around. Despite this, he will be able to learn some valuable carpentry skills via working with them.

In theory, continuing this work over time will lead to him being able to get help finding and/or building his own place, but we do want to note that the construction or habitation of such a residence would require the spending a plot coin on the AC page. For the time being, he will still reside at the boarding house.

Let us know if you have further questions!

brainstorming!

[explosion]

Character(s) Involved: Wanda Maximoff.
Summary of Plot/Question: Wanda wants to create a runner network and also act as a supplier of goods to the General Store considering she can conjure things out of thin air. I wanted to discuss what limitations there are and possible opportunities and consequences considering Wanda's pretty much capable of anything.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question: After chatting with Ivica, Wanda wants to try and create a runner network with the PCs (and NPCs) to help deliver much-needed items to people in town in the event of another monster smash. This stems from the fact that she grew up in the middle of a war and played this role as a young woman before and after HYDRA's experiments and her gaining powers. (I don't expect there to always be a monster attack, but I wanted to quickly explain the origin of this idea and the opportunities for other PCs to get involved.)

Considering Wanda can conjure things out of thin air, I wanted to see how far I could take this without breaking anything game-wise. (I've been playing it pretty conservatively and only having her create small items like candles and clothing in the spirit of what's found in town.) Ultimately, Wanda knows that she's useful in this area since she can create supplies from nothing, and she wants to help.

I wanted to flag that it's not my intention for her to conjure anything that's from outside of this time period. Wanda's aware of "Incursions" from her canon and knows that there's a very big chance of destroying the world if she does that. (Even if it's not true for Ruby, it's how she's ICly contextualising the uses of her powers.) If she can conjure modern items, then I'm happy to provide a list for the mods to approve.

My questions are:
1. Would this display of power be off-putting to the NPCs? Is this something that has the potential of creating a negative reputation with them?
2. Where do NPCs get their supplies from? Does this have the potential of upsetting an already established relationship with a supplier?
3. Is there an opportunity for Wanda to pull some items from somewhere else in this world that causes an issue later down the line?

Intended Outcome/Consequences: It'd be great if she could get employment and some (hopefully positive!) reputation from this. I'm hoping that this would grant PCs an opportunity to help the NPCs out and acclimate themselves a little more into town, while also being able to learn more about the town by giving them more opportunities to interact with the townspeople. If there are positive and/or negative consequences to this, then I want to be able to open it up to other players who might want to get involved, hence the runner network.

I am also up for this causing a slight ripple effect if it can! If there's a chance those up in the castle hear about this, then that's cool. (Totally cool if not!)

Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Helping out Ivica and Nikita when shit goes crazy in town. Wanda wouldn't mind being able to help at the General Store and share BFF necklaces with Ivica later.

[rubimods]

Hey Jade,

Thanks for bringing this to us! We appreciate your conscientiousness about the exercising of Wanda's conjuration powers in terms of not disrupting the setting too much. We're going to answer this slightly out of order, so bear with us.

(3) Is there an opportunity for Wanda to pull some items from somewhere else in this world that causes an issue later down the line?
We want to make a quick clarification regarding conjuration and gamebreaking: Wanda's powers were not limited in her application because our understanding was that her conjuration creates objects rather than summoning them from elsewhere. If she is calling objects from elsewhere, that would fall under a dimensional component that would be impossible. (If this is the case, we apologize for not catching it sooner.)

If she is indeed creating objects, there are no hard setting limitations on it. However, we ask you to continue to exercise your judgment in terms of the extent to which Wanda uses this power. For example, in canon, Wanda does not make an appearance in Falcon and the Winter Soldier to address worldwide food and medicine shortages with her conjuration because she has her own personal plots independent of the suffering of others to pursue and apply her power to. We'd want to see similar personal limitations on the use of conjuration to keep it from spiraling into something that completely disrupts the setting for other players. (We trust you to do this, obviously, but since you asked about it, we're just reiterating it here.)

Our strong recommendation is to approach applications of Wanda's conjuration not from the perspective of "how far it can be taken without breaking anything" but instead from the perspective of "is this the area in which Wanda is going to be investing substantial energy." Providing relief like this would be time consuming and, for example, would occupy her enough that it would be her substantial contribution to a voting outcome.

With all of that said...

(2) Where do NPCs get their supplies from?
Per our SETTING page, anything that isn't locally made or produced by the community is provided as a boon by the Duchess — metal ore, chocolate, etc.

(1) Would this display of power be off-putting to the NPCs? Is this something that has the potential of creating a negative reputation with them?
(2) Does this have the potential of upsetting an already established relationship with a supplier?
While flexing this power would continue to feed the townspeople's sense that the void-touched PCs are divinities or on the same level of the Duchess, the Duchess herself may not take so kindly to competition. That is, you would be reinforcing the nascent reverent relationship from some of the townspeople while setting Wanda up for a combative relationship with the Duchess when she establishes herself.

We also want to flag that revealing that she has the capacity to provide these things does open the door to breeding resentment from those who notice if and when she doesn't choose to provide those things.

To advance with this plot, we'll need you to:
- Clarify how Wanda's conjuration works;
- Confirm your understanding that during major relief efforts, providing such relief would constitute Wanda's impact on an event's outcome due to the substantial time/energy investment;
- Let us know if, considering the blend of positive and negative outcomes with NPC involvement and the long-term reputation implications, you're still interested in Wanda pursuing this.

Information Gathering

[princess_of_ida]

Character(s) Involved: Ianthe Tridentarius

Summary of Plot/Question: Ianthe theorizes that the Duchess is drawing the necessary energy needed for Resurrection magic from the Void. Through a routine of measuring how many steps from the town gate to Void where its effects start to press on her, using the same path, she keeps track of the distance to see if the Void gets closer after each Resurrection the Duchess performs.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Resurrection theory is Ianthe's field of study and learning to perform the feat herself is her ultimate goal, but until she can see the ritual with her own eyes, she's forced to do indirect research. I'd like her to see if there is a pattern of the Void growing closer to the town, even if by a single step, that coincides with the Duchess bringing people back to life, especially if there are a large amount of people being resurrected at once.

Intended Outcome/Consequences: Methodical observation and recording of her findings over extended time will hopefully show whether there is a correlation between the Void and the Resurrections. I don't expect it to answer the question as to whether it is the source of the Duchess' power as I'm sure there are many reasons why they could be connected, if they are, but an ambitious lyctor needs to start somewhere.

As for consequences, I expect that exposure to the Void, even as little as Ianthe does when measuring the distances, will become a problem for her over time. Perhaps it speeds her into partial transformation or something else more appropriate. If there is nothing observable in this specific hypothesis, Ianthe wastes her time Void-irradiating herself and makes herself someone else's problem.

Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: If there is a correlation between the two, the knowledge that the more people are brought back to life, the closer the Void gets might cause panic, transformations, or outright denial. It's not information Ianthe would drop on everyone at a town meeting, but it would likely get out as rumors from overheard conversations.

[rubimods]

Hey NS,

Before we dig into the consequences of Ianthe's experiments and findings, we'd like to get more of an idea of the duration of her experiment.

Resurrections will not be constantly taking place, so we're understanding this as a long term project. Because of the rapport Ianthe established with Mateus by helping with the bodies, she'll know when more are being prepared and be able to go take her measurements. In weeks where people die on different days, there is still one vigil held outside the castle gates and all the dead are returned to life on the same day as well—two days after the vigil.

As she begins to chart the data, she will find no correlation between void proximity and these resurrection periods. Because she is therefore trying to prove a null hypothesis (i.e., affirm that a correlation doesn't exist), we would like to ask you: approximately how long you see her continuing her tracking before you feel she'd make her determination that her hypothesis is false?

This may impact the results of her proximity to the void and our recommendations for the pacing of how you unfold this plot. Once we have that information, we'll check back in with a little more detail on how this experiment impacts her.

chock full of hoot and just a little bit of nanny

[unconscionable]

Character(s) Involved: Necro-dad + others (actually Robin/House's idea, Vandal is down to also involve Uta to forward her plotting in the comment above me, would be posted as an open log accompanied by a mental invitation to all.)

Summary of Plot/Question: John would like to use a little of the good-will for the so-called Void-Touched to gather the resources (alcohol, stools) to throw a little pub gathering where musicians can play and people can drink and work through some urges, talk through the after-effects of the plot events, and generally foster community and entertainment.

Thinking I would set the event around the 22nd, both to give everyone time to keep doing event threads, and potentially allow people to play with the first few symptoms of their transformations and head them off with drunken impulses.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question:
• Give characters a setting to get together and chat informally about the monster attack and fire, and relax after high tension events, fostering new CR and dissemination of info.
• Give Uta and House (and anyone else with performance skills) a chance to play for a crowd.
• Maintain goodwill/community between the new arrivals and the NPCs, try and encourage a "we're all in this together" vibe.

Intended Outcome/Consequences: Truly open to discussion of anything beyond the obvious consequence of More Threads For All - I'll also note that if this isn't in line with the tone you're aiming for, or overlaps too significantly with something else you have planned, I'm down to skip or postpone!

Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Less beer in the world.

[rubimods]

Hey Prox!

We already reached out to Vandal about some of this HERE, so we definitely want to make sure none of that gets missed.

That said, Uta and House can get in touch with a performance troupe who puts on small Shakespeare-in-the-park style plays. (You are free to develop these players into NPCs as you see fit, or we can give you some brief bios. There would not be more than a dozen of them.) Most of the players are actors, musicians, and puppeteers, and they'll be surprised to find that Uta is not so well-rounded a performer.

They will support the group's efforts by bringing out their own musical instruments and contributing a quick set-up stage for performing in the town square just outside the tavern, as well as songs of their own and musical accompaniment for all. They will also allow Uta and House to play their instruments based on their alleged musical skills.

In addition, Nikita will happily supply a number of kegs of beer to distribute at the concert performance and bring them out into the town square to help people take the edge off. We also want to note that the 22nd is the ideal day for the performance, as Thursdays are rest days in Rubilykskoye, so everyone should be taking a break from working and just having a good time!

If you have any further questions, let us know!

brainstorming

[pigeonblood]

Character Involved: Genya Safin
Summary of Plot/Question: Genya is looking for an in with the castle.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Building a reputation as someone with a keen eye for fashion and finery. If the Duchess outsources any of her tailoring, dressmaking, upholstery etc to a business in town, she'd like to trade on her good name in order to apprentice with that shop. It'll take some time for her to build up/dust off the practical skills to go with her foundation of color and shape theory, but she'd work extremely hard (and cheat if necessary) to usurp whoever the Duchess's current favorite designer is.

Alternatively, if the Duchess doesn't outsource that work, Genya will endeavour to get her skill noticed on its own merits -- which would begin similarly, apprenticing with whoever seems like they have the most to teach her.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: A position that lets her come and go from the castle without suspicion. Her own boutique and atelier, eventually, but that's plot coin stuff for the Minstrel's second visit or later.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Camaraderie with the royalty, giving her an opportunity for spyin'. The spying itself would be a whole different brainstorm down the line.

[rubimods]

Hey Pink,

In looking for the cloth artisans that work for the Duchess, Genya will learn that the Duchess is more inclined to bring skilled tailors and dressmakers into the castle to work rather than having items moved to and from town. It is a great honor, according to the businesses she asks at, to be selected to work inside the castle. Folks who are selected can go months or years without being seen outside of its walls again.

That said, Genya will have no trouble getting brought on as an apprentice to show off her own merits and taste. She will have to adapt her skills to the styles and cultural preferences of the town, but that won't take long for someone who's willing to learn. She'll also discover that she's far from alone in entering this line of work with hopes of being noticed and brought into the castle.

We'd like to involve this character choice in a lead-in for our August event, and we'll plan to reach out closer to that time. If you don't hear from us by 7/15, give us a nudge here and remind us that we promised we'd have something for you.

And, of course, let us know if you have any questions between now and then!

brainstorming

[exaltruistic]

Character(s) Involved: ko tenjin ( + potential volunteer NPCs/PCs )
Summary of Plot/Question: i know starting a business won't be a thing ko can really do officially for a while yet, but he feels like he wants to put feelers out for a sort of therapy practice as he's a psychologist where he comes from. combining talk therapy with physical outlets for keeping zadza at bay. this would prrrrrobably involve him asking for volunteers for people who are willing and able to fight and/or take care of others' sexual urges as well.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: would this be something he can run out of a temporary location or should i wait orrrr i'm open to mod input for this ofc! i'm completely open to this not having the desired effect for whatever reason.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: open to suggestions but i'm thinking just a sort of 'listing' of himself + characters willing to help others with zadza urges.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: it'd maybe further improve PC reputation in the town? but i'm not sure what else

Re: brainstorming

[rubimods]

Hey Vandal,

We love the idea of bringing therapy to PC and NPC volunteers! In order to minimize overlap with other prospective PC roles and offerings, we will recommend that Ko's business stay strictly talk therapy and outsource alternative treatments for his patients where it feels appropriate — i.e., "prescribing" time spent at a brothel or in Terry's fight club.

Because formally starting a business requires a plot coin, we won't be able to approve a full formalization of this yet. Much like Terry, Ko will be in a position where he doesn't yet have the local support to get a space or supplies to make his dream fully actualized.

As privacy and confidentiality are important to the function of talk therapy, this may make it hard for him to start accruing NPC patients. We suggest that he make an accord with his roommates about using the space for "office hours" and/or consider holding sessions out in the woods on nature walks for the time being. Another option is to have him cultivate a relationship with a specific NPC who may have a space for this and basically sub-letting from them for the time being, as Terry is doing with the tavern.

The real influence of talk therapy on the inner beast is marginal. No transformations will be delayed by simply vocalizing the urges; they must be acted upon to be fully vented. However, patients sent to the brothel and the fight club will see positive results, and Ko's talk therapy can help patients process the need for these interventions.

Lastly, we'd like to emphasize that any sexual relationship Ko may have with a patient should come with appropriate content warnings regarding the inappropriate power dynamics at play.

If you have further questions, please let us know! We want to give you all the information you need to help get this up and running. For now, we suggest using a network and/or OOC post to spread word about Ko's offerings to fellow players, and when the minstrel arrives, you're welcome to spend a plot coin on formalizing the business.

[umarell]

Character(s) Involved: Nicky (umarell)
Summary of Plot/Question: Nicky will be regularly volunteering at the hospital when needed, putting him in fairly regular contact with Magda. He hasn’t asked for anything in return for this volunteering, and he doesn’t intend to in future.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Just to make sure it’s clear that Nicky will have semi-regular contact with Magda, especially after he helped the wounded after the monster attack from the first event. I’m also wondering to what extent Magda would be paying attention to him, because there’s every chance he’d get a minor nick or something in the course of helping out, and she could theoretically see it heal instantly, so I’m curious how/if she would respond to that.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: Nothing major, just an update on his volunteering situation!
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Like Robin mentioned in the similar comment further up, Nicky would try to help instigate modern medicinal practices as much as possible, within the means currently available to him.

[rubimods]

Hey Bobby,

Nicky is welcome to help Magda out. Regarding modern medicine: Magda runs her ship her own way, but she's more than willing to listen to good advice, so she will adopt some of the more obviously beneficial medicinal practices, particularly with an emphasis on heat-cleaning their tools and using clean water for handwashing. This community already seems to have a basic grasp of illness as communicable via particulates and dirt, although it's not full germ theory, so those logical leaps are the ones she'll be willing to adjust on.

As far as his own healing goes, because of the timeline that we understand his healing to occur under, Magda will likely write it off as being a product of the other void-touched's healing practices rather than make any presumptions about his own immortality. In general, once he shows his aptitude, he'll have some considerable independence and not a ton of direct oversight, as the nature of the curse means they always have plenty of patients. If you think there'd likely be a more obvious example, let us know in this thread, and that might change.

character influence & consequences

[unorthodoc]

Character(s) Involved: House (unorthodoc)
Summary of Plot/Question: As per the July event, House will transform into his monster form for the first time while trapped in the boarding house (though he won't be trapped for very long), probably around the 12th-ish. Before he escapes, he will merrily slaughter anyone he finds (with OOC permission). Then he will flee into the forest and de-transform.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: MURDER
Intended Outcome/Consequences: I'd like for House to kill some people, either player characters or townsfolk, probably no more than 3 or 4. He might also fight a yeti because that would be very funny.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Probably the biggest thing would be the deaths and some property destruction in the boarding house (though no worse than some smashed/torn up furniture). If approved, I'll post in the OOC comm to see if anyone wants to get merked and to notify everyone that it's going down.

Re: character influence & consequences

[rubimods]

Hey Robin,

We love murder! Everything you've proposed here sounds good to us.

Please get an OOC post up and direct any volunteers whose characters are dying to this thread to let us know (preferably by Friday). You'll still be able to add new victims after Friday, but the number of deaths may impact aspects of the event and we'd like to be able to follow-up with you on that this weekend.

brainstorming / character influence & consequences

[dadyl]

Character(s) Involved: Daryl (dadyl) and anyone who leaves with him
Summary of Plot/Question: Since arriving, Daryl has mentioned his intention to try and escape through the void to a few characters, who in turn have expressed interest in coming with him. In trying to contact them before he leaves, Daryl is going to accidentally post to the network at large, leaving the plot open for any player character who wishes to meet them at the gates to join the group setting out on the 20th.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: For things to go terribly wrong and confirm once and for all that there is no possible escape through the void.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: Daryl will be refusing to give up his goal even after experiencing hallucinations, etc., and will be transforming and wreaking havoc as a result. Attacks and murders are possible, either player character or npc, and I'm up for playing out his death as well.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: A potential mass transformation in the woods/potentially more dead characters in need of resurrection.

Re: brainstorming / character influence & consequences

[rubimods]

Hey Kait!

The journey to the void will take the better part of a day's hike. While the Void itself is made obvious by its smothering darkness, there is a larger area of Pajak Wood that is Void-influenced, where monsters thrive and the shadows lengthen, that is less obvious; entering this space will be a less obvious transition to the hikers. Notably, the closer they get to the Void, the more likely the hikers are to find themselves walking in circles, their usual methods of pathfinding and marking made useless by a thickening fog of shadow and twisting of trees. They will find themselves going in circles. Characters may find themselves irritable and ready to brawl over simple disputes about their heading.

And, of course, there are the monsters to contend with. In addition to the will-o-wisps of the July event leading them to certain doom, and the spiders from the first TDM trying to devour them, those who venture towards the Void may come across haunts that coalesce from the longer stretches of shadow here, evoking surges of ash and embers as they swirl into life in the shapes of various monsters. These creatures may try to smother the hikers by filling their noses and mouths, or they may try to constrict or simply attack with shadows hardened into the shapes of natural weapons like claws and fangs. The prevalence of haunts is a good sign that the hikers have made it past the spiders' lair and into the Void itself.

At the edge of the Void, the hikers may begin to hear familiar voices—the voices of canonmates who aren't in Rubilykskoye, calling out to them, urging them to come home or to come find them or to save them from the monstrous creatures in the Void. Here, they may also begin hallucinating. The void-touched may see their fellow adventurers as canonmates instead of as themselves, and in their heightened emotional state, react to foes and lovers accordingly.

At this stage, any characters who accompany Daryl and do not want to deal with the consequences of entering the Void are free to get turned around and spat out at the edge of Pajak Wood, separated from the group, or willingly turn back out of fear of what lies beyond.

However, those who chase the sounds of their loved ones or simply soldier on will reach the Void proper. First, they will experience an utter darkness, impenetrable. They will lose sight of their own hands in front of their face, stumbling over tree roots and each other. However, in time, the darkness seems to let up ... and what they see may make them want the darkness back.

Players have some options for what their characters witness in the Void. Note that for ease of threading, any immediate companions to the character will also be able to share this hallucination and interact in the setting with them.

(1) A character may find the gruesomely murdered bodies of canonmates who are not in game in an area that resembles Pajak Wood. Heightened bloodlust will make it so that they know on a powerful, primal level that their void-touched companion(s) are responsible for these murders—either because (a) that companion transformed into their monstrous self and did it, or (b) that companion appears to that character to be some villain who would have committed the act. Regardless, the hallucinating individual will want revenge, and will likely transform into their monstrous self to get it.

(2) A character may find an area of their own home world that is familiar to them but Wrong. You might consider pulling influence from post-apocalyptic fiction or from the Upside-Down of Stranger Things for the uncanny aesthetic of this setting. Whatever it is, they find their way 'home,' but find that their home has been destroyed in some way. The all-consuming grief of this loss will likely transform the individual into their monstrous state.

(3) The luckiest characters may find themselves in a nice, warm corner of their home world. They may greet the canonmates they have been missing, who may be outright hallucinations or hallucinations that are projected onto their void-touched companions. However, without a clear cause, they begin to transform into their monstrous state and an accelerated, immediate pace. Fully cognizant of what they are doing, these characters will personally brutalize their own loved ones and destroy their own home.

Regardless of what route you choose, those who fully enter the Void will either die by the hands of the monsters or their fellow void-touched, or will survive the ordeal by instead brutalizing others. Those who die will be resurrected by the Duchess on August 1st, and their experience will mirror Terry Silver's as described here. Those who live will stagger naked and back to their normal selves into the ordinary edges of the forest, days after they entered, with only their grief and shame for company.

At your earliest convenience, please give us a list of folx who will be joining Daryl on his expedition, whether or not they will be fully entering the Void, and if they will be dying!

[oomfies]

Character(s) Involved: lottie person (photocopy)
Summary of Plot/Question: lottie will be making a career change shifting from working for the local tailor to working at the local tavern as their barmaid (endearing mascot possibly??! mainly barmaid).
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: no specific goals in mind, just making it known that lottie is switching gears from one type of labor to another and that she's contributing to the town this way from now on, really!! that she'll be more among the public than she was before, interacting with the locals and in nikita's orbit as a result of workplace relationships.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: for her to just have a new place of employment, mainly, and to seem like a good model citizen™ while out working / around town.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: nothing super concrete other than lottie being the green haired girly at the local tavern.

[rubimods]

Hey Lili!

Thanks for the heads up! We'll bear in mind that Lottie is coordinating more closely with Nikita going forward. You may want to chat with Jade, Wanda Maximoff's player, about supply distribution and the like if that sounds in line with what you imagine for Lottie's responsibilities at the tavern.

Please note that there will be a small period of transition where, in early August, the tailor will still request Lottie's assistance on increased demand for clothing. More information on this will be made clear in the upcoming event log, but if you have questions, just let us know.

As for her new job, Lottie will find that Nikita is an irreverent woman who is quite lax as long as everything is going well, but has a hot temper when (what she views as) her low standards get disappointed.

[hiyakai]

Character(s) Involved: kai parker hiyakai
Summary of Plot/Question: kai is interested in eventually siphoning someone in their cursed monster form for science and, more importantly, for fun. i'd like to know how successful (or potentially disastrous) it'll be for him?
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: he wants to confirm whether he can siphon the "magic" from cursed monsters and be able to stop/kill them via it. if he succeeds, it could double as confirmation that the curse is supernatural and/or magical in nature.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: he's just here to fuck around and find out lmf
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: maybe he could learn something new about the curse; maybe not.

[rubimods]

Hey Laws,

To give you a better answer, we need to understand more about how siphoning works in TVD. Would Kai get different types/amounts of magical energy from siphoning a vampire as opposed to a witch or a werewolf?

[meds4sale]

Character(s) Involved: The Medicine Seller | meds4sale
Summary of Plot/Question: After generally just getting his bearings and maybe a pair of pants, the Medicine Seller would be looking for ways to return to business as usual. Since he doesn't even have the clothes on his back, that means he's going to have to bite the bullet and actually work for a living so he's going to show up on the clinic's doorstep and offer Magda his services as a herbalist/apothecary.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Forcing the Medicine Seller into a situation where he 1. has to interact with other people on a regular basis and not be a weird hermit cryptid fox man who lives in the woods eating tree bark and 2. put the Medicine Seller in a position where he actually has to answer to *gasp* authority.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: He'd have gainful employment for the first time in his life.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: idk, nothing major? He'd go out and collect herbs and then turn them into medicines for the clinic to use?

[rubimods]

Hey Green Rivers,

If it's more interesting to you, there is an herbalist in town that works loosely with Magda and others whom the Medicine Seller could apprentice under.

However, if he is averse to traditional employment, operating on a loose basis with Magda would absolutely be acceptable to her, and wouldn't offend the herbalist in town! In this case, Magda would treat him less like an employee and more like a separate supplier who she can make requests and trades with, primarily because she won't need to supervise his work.

Over time (and with the earning and expenditure of a plot coin), the Medicine Seller could turn his individual effotrs into his own formalized business that also cooperates with care providers.

You can indicate which you decide on at the SETTING page, either using the MISC header to indicate we should add the herbalist as a heading or using the CLINIC header to indicate that the Medicine Seller will be supplying Magda on his own.

Brainstorming/Employment

[xiaoxiuya]

Character(s) Involved: Shen Qingqiu
Summary of Plot/Question: Scope/Type of Employment
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Gainful employment & Being a Productive Member of Society (because SQQ is totally the type of nerd who cares about that kind of thing)
Intended Outcome/Consequences: Uncertain, that's why I'm here <3 In true rper fashion I have a ton of ideas and can't decide how or which ones to implement!
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Possibly starting a new fad? We'll get to that in a minute.

So, for Shen Qingqiu's employment there are two factors I'm considering: 1) I think it'd be cool if he got a job that makes use of at least one of his scholarly skills (painting, calligraphy, weiqi, and guqin). I noticed that 'painter' was on the list of possible jobs, though I wasn't sure if that only applied to house painters or if artists counted too. Shen Qingqiu is canonically a very good painter in the traditional Chinese scholarly style so if there's any chance the locals would be interested in that I'd love to brainstorm a way to get his foot in the door, so to speak.

However, I ALSO think it'd be neat if he got a job working in the gardens or greenhouses that supply the Florist, and possibly also Magda's apothecary? I assume she has her own way of doing things, but Shen Qingqiu could use his spiritual energy to help the plants grow more quickly and strongly, which would cut down on trips into the woods for herbs and such. Establishing a connection with plantlife like this could let me foreshadow his eventual transformation into a plant-adjacent monster himself, and more importantly it would allow for more opportunities to do threads with both my good buddy Rivers (who plays the Medicine Seller) and other people with connections to Magda. However I am a little concerned about how these connections might be damaged by his monster transformation, which I estimate will take place in October. Would he still be allowed to keep doing magic on the plants, after an event like that? What would the potential fallout be?

Barring those potential consequences however I don't see any reason why he can't have two jobs, he's canonically a little allergic to inactivity after his first death and transmigration. The man likes feeling useful, and if it gives him an excuse not to think about the doom hanging over his head so much the better.

Moving on to other matters, I think it would be fun if, purely for his own amusement, Shen Qingqiu started making his own weiqi (Go) set. He's going to deliberately be as low-tech about it as possible; I estimate the most "expensive" item he'll need is an 18x17 piece of paper and some tools for drawing a grid on it. After that he'll start keeping an eye out for smooth rocks and bits of wood he could polish and turn into the pieces, and if asked about it he'd cheerfully explain what he's doing, what it's for, and offer to teach people how to play when the set's complete. So my question there is, would the townspeople be interested in learning a new board game? Wikipedia says that go didn't start to catch on in Europe until very late in the 1800s/the early 1900s, so it might be completely new to them. Is it possible he might start a small fad? I don't have any concrete ideas for consequences to such a thing, but I thought it had some potential as a cute little side plot that his character could bring to the setting while he's still getting established.

Of course, being well-known as the "board game guy" could potentially come back to bite him when he conspicuously fails to satisfy his curse and eats a bunch of people, as well...

[rubimods]

Hey Drake,

1. Artist is definitely a viable profession! It's a little harder to get started as a painter, since such a character would be in the obvious bind of needing good materials to produce good work to start building a reputation. As a result, we would strongly recommend having some other profession to accompany this one while he gains traction.

That said, we noticed that you listed playing guqin as one of his skills, and the performance troupe indeed has use of musically talented folks! So he would easily be welcomed to contribute to their performances if he demonstrated that skill and were open to learning to play on their instruments as well to round out their ensemble.

2. Florist and chemist are also viable paths! Either that you described would be totally workable—if he works with the apothecary, or in supplying Magda with herbs and the like, he may also get the chance to collaborate with the Medicine Seller. However, we would encourage you to think about florist or chemist only as an alternative (and not a complement) to his artistic path, as we discussed here the ways in which stretching one's professional contributions thin can have negative social consequences or minimize a character's potential impact with those contributions.

A monster transformation would not necessarily stop him from being able to use his magic on the plants, but that would have to be something we address at the time it takes place, and it will depend upon factors like death toll and the amount of destruction, and the nature of that violence. You can see an example of how the town handled a character's monster transformation and their ability to continue contributing in their profession here.

3. As for Go/Weiqi, he would want to coordinate with the carpenter to get a set made, but if you're interested in it being new to them, then we're happy to oblige and say they haven't come across it before! We'd suggest he start by teaching people at the tavern how to play, as that's a well-used common space where people gather for entertainment.

brainstorming;

[somatosensory]

Character(s) Involved: Aristaeus, but will try to open it to others interested
Summary of Plot/Question: Following the recent castle trip, Aristaeus would like to try to acquire venom from the spiders living in Pajak Woods. He will likely make the venom available to interested parties (my initial thought was hunters or medical personnel).
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: He would like to (1) acquire samples of the venom, and (2) get a closer look at the spiders to ascertain whether or not their proximity to the Void has had any strange effect on them.
Intended Outcome/Consequences: Considering that he's unlikely to opt for the careful, patient approach to milking the spiders and just outright gutting them, I imagine it will have long-term negative consequences for him depending on how the spiders are regarded. In addition, he might potentially eat the remains because “pragmatism” and curiosity, so that could potentially have a more immediate long-term negative effect on him?
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Possibly he learns something about how the Void impacts creatures living in close proximity to it, possibly he learns whether or not spider meat is particularly tasty?

[rubimods]

Hey Mal!

We're excited for Ari to look into the spiders and get a sense for their venom and the potential effects of the Void.

For starters, we encourage you to coordinate with Chels, Laws, and Grimm as well as Prox and Robin, as all of them have gotten their hands on some venom via the recent event. Of course, their venom supply will be limited to what they were able to nab, so it would behoove them to find a more consistent source in Ari.

As for Ari's experience while hunting spiders, he'll be able to acquire some venom from dead spiders, but they don't have huge venom sacks, so it'll be slow going. If he can find someone to teach him how to milk venom from animals, he'll be able to farm more of it.

If he eats the meat of the spiders, he'll find that all of it is tainted by their venom—but he won't discover this right away. Instead, he'll suffer from gastroparesis while his digestive system works slowly to metabolize and fully digest the meat—probably starting a day or two after he first consumes it and lasting until about a week or two after he has last consumed the spider meat. In addition, he'll grow increasingly violent and erratic with the more spider meat that he consumes, as if there's something beyond the venom that has tainted their flesh.

Asking around the hunting lodge would give him the idea that this secondary symptom is common to people who eat the meat of animals who get too close to the Void — many of them are misshapen in small ways, and 'tainted' or 'turned.' The hunters avoid going that far out. In this sense, the spiders are not unique.

Lastly, his time spent adjacent to the Void to hunt the spiders will begin to affect him in ways we outlined for NS here.

character influence & consequences. (cw: cannibalism, vore, eating disorders, addiction)

[hasitsthorns]

Character(s) Involved: Hanako 'Rosalina' Nurumi
Summary of Plot/Question: After eating human flesh at the Duchess' dinner party, Rose will find that regular food isn't sitting well. Or at all, really. Being a yokai that is meant to eat human flesh but never having done so until now, she won't realize what's happening is a natural thing for her. In about a month or so of not being able to eat without vomiting, nausea, etc., she will likely have a breakdown and murder someone in town to consume them.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Rose is very good about the sexual aspect of sating her zadza but not the emotional one. I think consequences from something like this will push her to be a little more vulnerable and need some help from other PCs rather than trying to take everything on her own!
Intended Outcome/Consequences: Although she will likely try to hide it, Rose will undoubtedly get caught eventually. I treat her desire for flesh similar to addiction in the sense that she will need to sate her cravings more frequently since her hunger will grow with each person eaten and the need to feed will grow less farther apart as time goes on.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: While she will likely eventually receive punishment for this and be deeply ashamed, I'm hoping that it's a lesson-learned type of deal that 1) she can't just keep doing whatever she wants and it'll be fine and 2) she needs the help of others around her to try and keep things in check rather than holding them at arm's length.

Also, I eventually have plans for her to open up her own brothel. Her reputation might not appeal to some but I figure it might be a fun sort of way to get hers established as where harder/darker desires can be fulfilled for people who might struggle with not having that release. So, really, in the end she'll be helping the community! Some people might just have to get non-consensually vored first, oops.

[rubimods]

Hey Chai!

We're eager to see this plotline play out!

We suggest waiting to get a sense of the September event before committing to a timeline, as it will perhaps give you a good segue to work up to something along these lines following the dinner ...

At that time, we'd like to see a timeline on how Rosie's attacks develop. Will there be any people she tries to take a bite out of who survive? Will she eat the whole bodies of all of her victims, and will they all have been alive when she started eating them, or will she grab bodies while Mateus is prepping them?

Her punishment will largely depend on the stage at which she is caught and the extent of the harm she manages to do. Bodies that are devoured whole are harder to resurrect, and the townspeople may fear that they could even be impossible to resurrect, which would put her punishment more in line with Xue Yang's plot. Alternatively, if there are some corpses left around that were clearly half eaten, she might expect more like House's experience.

What you can definitely expect is that her reputation will suffer for a time, which means that any interest in her prospective or newly founded business would be highly limited.

Take a look, It's in a book, A reading rainbow!

[noonlight]

Character(s) Involved: Illumination
Summary of Plot/Question: Lu is going to start with using magic to try and understand the local language with the goal of actually learning how to read and write it.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Illumination is a DnD wizard! Their whole bag is reading, reading, and more reading. I asked about how this might go down on the FAQ and ICly, Lu spoke with the Duchess about library access. I don't know that I have specific OOC goals, just that doing this sort of stupid is very much in character - UGH, character flaws, amirite?
Intended Outcome/Consequences: Lu is aware of eldritch and bad-news books and information, but doesn't have any previous first-hand experience of a brain-altering language. I suppose I would like to have them learn that this isn't the way to go about learning the local language, but in the long-run, they're going to keep poking at the idea - why can the people here read it safely? Can they? If they've been altered in some way, can they do the same to themselves? etc.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Assuming that no one manages to snap them out of it, they're going to transform and that could get weird, gross, and psychically messy for those around them.

[rubimods]

Hey Takhys!

Per our conversation here, Lu will experience increasing hallucinations, paranoia, and emotional instability as a result of her investigation.

For guidance on what the progression for this kind of insanity may look like, we'd like to direct you to Ianthe's void plot. Obviously, going through this would be the first step of any investigation into the Rubean language.

However, if there are specific ways you'd like her to continue to dig into the why for the symptoms she experiences after she goes through this experience, we'd love to work with you on a longer term investigation into the nature of the language! We'd want to get an idea of what kind of investigation Lu is conducting (What is she looking at and how? What experiments is she trying?) and who is helping her with it.

Let us know if you have further questions!

character influence / quest

[boneblood]

Character(s) Involved: Wesley Price & Dragana
Summary of Plot/Question: After giving a gift to the Duchess through Dragana, they asked Wesley if he would take on a commission. He is willing to do just that, and I would love to have him fulfill this request.
OOC Goals of Plot/Question: I'd love to have Wesley do this favor for Dragana, and see what the engagement brings. He would do it in a fairly timely manner, returning it to them within a week unless further plot delays it!
Intended Outcome/Consequences & Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Interested to learn once he's completed his quest!

[rubimods]

Hey Syd!

We're thrilled to hear Wesley will be prompt in following up on this. He may need to recruit some help to get a good vantage point, since the tree Dragana referenced is no longer there. However, he can do that however you'd prefer.

As for his reward/compensation, it's up to you if you'd rather he request something specific as payment, or if you'd like to use this plotline as an IC justification for the expenditure of a plot coin on something like a business or similar that would be beyond the Minstrel's inventory.

character influence/consequences?

[sunmon]

Character(s) Involved: Alina Starkov, Aleksander Morozova, maybe others (Ianthe???)
Summary of Plot/Question: I was going to originally plan to spend a plot coin on an amplifier for Alina's powers, like the kind she acquires in canon. However, in the course of CR development, Alina is more likely now to murder Aleksander, who is a living amplifier, and make her own amplifier of his bones. She'd probably ask for help from Ianthe regarding fusing this amplifier to her body so that it could be of use to her.

Using Aleksander's bones for the amplifier will also probably create a permanent psychic link between them, akin to the one that Aleksander forms between them when he kills the stag and forces that amplifier onto her, which allows him to control her power. In the books, the stag amplifier creates a two-way tether that allows Alina to control the Darkling's power as well. In the show, it's a one-way tether that is broken when the shard of the stag's antlers is removed from Aleksander's body (obviously not possible when she's using his own bones).

There's no timeline for this yet as I'm mostly feeling out plausibility and waiting for an event to have the kind of effects that might have Alina monstering out or otherwise not only resorting to but succeeding at murder.

OOC Goals of Plot/Question: Goal is to level up the strength of Alina's light as she permanently disfigures herself in the pursuit of more power. I'd also like them to come away with the book-style connection to each other's power, as it makes them more equals.

Questions:

• Is this okay to do?


• Should I still spend a plot coin on the amplifier OOCly, even if she isn't ICly getting it from the Minstrel?


• If Alina kills Aleksander while she is under the influence of monstrous transformation or the Void since they're (presumably) heading there soon, what kind of social and legal ramifications will that have for her?


• When the Duchess resurrects Aleksander, will Alina be severed from her amplifier / will those bones go back to him? In Grishaverse lore, if an amplifier is removed, it kills the Grisha who's wearing it due to something something power explosion, to my understanding, so I'd prefer to avoid this.

Intended Outcome/Consequences: Why is this a separate section? I made a bad form. Alina will have (1) increased power, (2) a permanent tether to Aleksander's mind and his power. She will suffer all the reasonable consequences for doing a murder in an altered state once I get a good enough excuse to put her into one.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: Alina will eventually be wanting to try to use her amplified power on the Void, but I don't necessarily expect this to, like, do anything special. Unless that'd be fun! But she will transparently defend her choice under these auspices, which may lead to some interesting ethical questions about what the void-touched can get away with in the name of trying to help the Duchess out and/or look into how they got here.

[rubimods]

Hey Tifa,

This is definitely ok to do!

As Alina's amplifier will be created with powers (Locked Tomb necromancy) and materials (Darkling bones) already available in game, we will not require an expenditure of a plot coin in order to create the amplifier. However, if you would like this increase in Alina's power to result in her having an impact on the void you are welcome to spend a plot coin in order to brainstorm that aspect with us (this would be "a custom NPC thread, plot role, or plot hint/secret").

When the Duchess resurrects a person, she takes whatever remains of the body and sets to work healing the fatal damage—closing up and regrowing whatever was lost in the process of the death. In instances where parts of the body are missing, such as when a body part is consumed, she does not summon spare parts from the ether or from monsters' bellies or elsewhere in Rubilykskoye. As a result, when Aleksander is resurrected, he will have his own set of ribs, and Alina will keep her amplifier and her connection to Aleksander.

We want you to be aware that the NPC townspeople may have a strong reaction to a premeditated murder in the pursuit of some resource, and that they'll likely hold a hearing akin to the one they held for House and Xue Yang in order to get a sense for Alina's character and the nature of the crimes (including whether or not there was additional death or destruction). For the specifics of this, we'd rather wait to see how the events actually unfold, so we'll ask that you come back to us after the murder has been committed and share additional details about the circumstances at that time, at which point we'll be more thorough in the results.

Let us know if you have further questions. We look forward to hearing more once the deed is done.

character influence/consequence (maybe also brainstorming?)

[erosive]

Character(s) Involved: Zoya Nazyalensky.
Summary of Plot/Goal and Intended Outcome: Zoya pretty much wants to build a line of defence aka military in Rubi, and even (if possible) become a personal guard for the Duchess (long-term goal). The first step would be to build a reputation as a military officer who Knows Her Shit. I fully suspect this to be a long-term thing.

I've started to try and plant the seeds this way:

Zoya's taken up a job at the blacksmith to 1) learn how to control her fire powers and her Durast powers and 2) build some weapons for the townspeople and void-touched to use, using her military expertise from canon to forge weapons and the like and to test them. (This is all new for her since Zoya has always been a soldier, fighter, and strategist, never a weapons builder.)

Zoya's also a part of the City Watch.

She's interested in teaching void-touched and the townspeople how to fight with weapons and their powers, much like how she does in canon. (I'm aware Terry hosts a sparring session with the void-touched [and I assume NPCs], which I'm interested in touching base with Terry's player regarding. Zoya's already ICly reached out to Terry to inquire about sparring and fighting with weapons with him to get out her aggression and need to punch someone all the damn time.)

Zoya's also mentioned to the Duchess that she's Commander Nazyalensky in her canon world, and offered to accompany her messenger pre-dinner. She also noticed how Nikolai's pitch piqued the Duchess' interest in the military (and obviously didn't follow up because /waves hands Wanda, but ICly I write this off as Zoya not wishing to be so abrupt at dinner and wanting to understand who she's dealing with first).

Questions for the Mods:

1. From my understanding (and sometimes Mariah Carey levels of reading comprehension), there doesn't seem to be a military presence in Rubi or in the castle. Am I correct in assuming that there is no military presence in Rubi?

2. Are there any NPC nobles who are of the military persuasion in town that Zoya could interact with?

3. In line with Q2, are there any NPC nobles in the Duchess' house who are of military rank (even if it's just in title) that the townspeople could tell Zoya about?

4. Since the Duchess' party, Zoya wants to learn more about the military past in Rubi and offer her knowledge and expertise to the Duchess. Can NPCs tell her anything about Rubi's history with war and the military? (I can throw questions at you if you need!)

Suggested Consequences:

a) Right now, I imagine the Duchess's interest would be piqued (if her reaction at the party is anything to go by). Zoya was as transparent as a window with her interest in the military, going as far as always looking at the military artwork in the gallery and trying to find books in the library while at the castle.

b) There's a good chance that if it becomes known Zoya is Queen in her canon that she could be seen as trying to usurp the Duchess quietly. (This isn't her intention since Zoya's comfortable in her Commander role, one that she's eager to be acknowledged as again, but I suspect it's a possibility considering titles and the like and political paranoia. Zoya was also part of the Grisha Triumvirate [which has two of its bookverse members currently in game with Zoya and Genya, and its entire membership in game from showverse with Zoya, Genya and Alina], and has a reputation of being very loyal to King Nikolai, so I suspect that could also come into play wrt questioning her loyalties.)

c) If there is anyone of the military persuasion in the NPC nobility ranks, Zoya risks being seen as coming for their title. (And, tbh, she would if they were useless. I would love it if she did.) Zoya is a huge threat military-wise given her skill level and experiences (despite her young age) and the fact she possesses the memories of a very ancient warrior Saint.

d) Extreme mode: Zoya starts a war LMAO.

Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise:

Hopefully more weapons are being distributed around town, with townspeople and void-touched learning new skills to defend themselves from monsters and other forces that perhaps aren't people-turned-into-monsters.

Zoya gaining rank and reputation as a military specialist, even possibly being reinstated (in a way) as Commander in Rubi. (This is a long-term goal.)

Zoya can share her extensive military knowledge and experience with the Duchess, and even share what she knows of Juris' experience as an old as balls ancient warrior.

People know how to Punch Like Zoya!

If there are NPCs who hold a military rank, Zoya can piss them off and/or gain their respect.

I fully intend to make this something others can get their fingers in! So, other PCs are able to share their military knowledge, their experiences with war even if it's not necessarily militaristic in nature, learn how to defend themselves, and learn how to think strategically.

Thanks!

[rubimods]

Hey Jade,

As you've identified, the formation of a military presence in Rubilykskoye would indeed be a long-term plot, in large part because Rubilykskoye's lack of military is a product of the fact that there is no apparent and pressing need for anything militaristic in the setting.

The city watch, in its present form, is a communally/democratically run organization that exists primarily to watch and warn — that is, sound the alarm and close gates, not necessarily to fight. Per your fourth question, these are people whose only threat is the monsters beyond the walls and within themselves, and they know to weather their own monstrosity and to avoid testing the limits of the monstrosity that waits beyond the woods.

As she questions, she will learn that there are no nobles living in town with a military background (mostly because no military has existed), and no one in town knows of any additional nobles living in the castle that have military roles either (bear in mind, however, that the townspeople have limited access to the castle and limited knowledge of what goes on inside it).

To that end, Zoya's first big hurdle will be establishing with the locals that there is a need for a formalized military that is well-trained in combat specifically.

We strongly suggest getting in touch with Cass about Terry Silver's efforts to teach combat, as to our understanding Terry will be moving into a formalized business with the expenditure of a plot coin soon. It would be great if Zoya's work with the blacksmith could lead her to supplying weapons to help get this business going and to upgrade the types of training available there, perhaps in addition to teaching classes of her own as Terry's employee.

It will likely take several months and collaboration with Terry in order for Zoya to get the kind of operation going that has a momentum the Duchess would respond to, and it would depend heavily on Zoya's ability to successfully recruit NPC townspeople and not just void-touched. The townspeople will be particularly skeptical of militarization, primarily because the Duchess has not called for it. So we'd like to hear from you how she intends to sell them on this!

Eventually, if she persists down this road, Zoya's actions will indeed draw the attention of the Duchess and of her loyal followers, for better or worse. To the Duchess, training void-touched and NPC townspeople will indeed have the look of a coup about it if Zoya doesn't figure out a solid way to demonstrate to the Duchess in her early stages of establishing this that she is doing it with deference to the Duchess' authority instead of with plans to displace or usurp her.

While this could be successfully spun into an eventual job application to becomes the Duchess' personal guard, and we aren't opposed to that outcome, we do want to note that such a position would be ICly limiting for you since she'd have to stay in the castle with the Duchess (unless it was accompanied by a cultural shift about the castle/town divide).

Let us know what you think and if you have any further questions.

brainstorming

[guylining]

Character(s) Involved: Nathaniel Hawthorne, and potentially anyone else who wants to come on the allsight search mission.
Summary of Plot/Goal and Intended Outcome: Nate wants to try and use magic to give characters some protection when they venture into the Void. He has heard from Felipe that he and his group suffered hallucinations while inside. He therefore wants to use magic to try and give characters some protection against the psychic elements of the Void, with the aim of helping them to keep focus and aid with searching for the allsight. He thinks that doing so would meet the Duchess' approval, since she seemed to hint to him that she would like him to use his magic in the search. His idea would be to create charmed objects for characters to take with them into the Void - most likely in the form of jewellery, or an item of clothing.
Questions for the Mods: Would such magic be effective, even temporarily? Would the Void react against the presence of such magic, i.e. would it make things worse rather than better?
Suggested Consequences: I guess this would depend on the answers to the questions above! I don't have a particular consequence in mind, at this point I'm honestly just curious as to what the results of the attempt would be.
Potential Impact(s) on Setting/Premise: The charmed objects would only affect the characters carrying/wearing them. Even if Nate's magic operates exactly as he intends, there wouldn't be a longterm impact on any part of the setting - they would only help characters to stay in control of their own minds for longer while they search.

[rubimods]

Hey Kerry,

Nate is welcome to spend a few weeks putting together spells and requesting charms to attach them to that can help protect folx against the effects of the Void. Please let us know how many he makes and who he makes them available to.

If you would like these charms to have an impact on the Void and/or the characters' experiences inside of it, you are welcome to spend a plot coin on "a custom NPC thread, plot role, or plot hint/secret" related to this upcoming plotline, and we'll make the degree of effectiveness clear in our coming event logs. The expenditure of a plot coin on this would ensure that these charms had some impact on the experience of the characters going into the Void, but whether that's protective or causes some kind of magical backfire would be for the mods to determine.