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Monthly Plotting Post | September
Sep. 1st, 2024 09:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pumpkinhollowMonthly Plotting Post | September
Happy Labor Day weekend and/or regular Sunday, friends! It's time to get plotting for the month of September! We've got a great spread of events coming up for the month.
We'd also like to note that after a discussion in the Discord server, we're reworking a few things about our schedule. Going forward we will have quarterly TDMs instead of bimonthly, all of which are focused on introducing characters to the setting. We don't really need to keep recruiting new members at our current size, so instead of really trying to sell Pumpkin Hollow to new people, the TDMs are going to be simplified and more interested in making ourselves available to people. We'll still be doing reprints, but we no longer want TDMs to be something existing players feel like they need to get in on. They will focus more on existing monsters and concepts rather than introducing new ones.
Additionally, when it comes to events with dice rolls or tasks that must be completed to advance them, we'll make sure we space for time better. And lastly, going forward our mini events will be more optional in nature. We hope this takes the pressure for speed off folks!
All that said, let's get into this month's events!
Mild manipulation of free will via forced honesty, invasions of privacy.
There is a new structure down the slope leading to the beach, near the threshold where sand and soil begin to blend. No one saw it being constructed, but there it sits, plain as day. There are a pair of identical wooden signs outside each door, one situated on the side toward town, the other facing the beach. Both read "VISITOR'S CENTER."
The Visitor's Center is a spacious building full of tasteful meeting spaces, a recreation area, a cafe, and a second floor containing a small but comfortable hostel-like accommodation space. The receptionists (who may look familiar to attendees of Merrymeet) will happily explain its purpose--- for a few weeks, people from your past will be visiting the island! Living, dead, a past version of yourself, anyone is free game! There's just one catch: they can't speak directly to you. At least not at first. Who do you trust to send in on your behalf? And what will they say when you aren't around?
HOW IT WORKS
The Visitor's Center is a working of Eligos, the Demon King, who presides over the Domain of Betrayal. As such, the situation is designed to sow distrust, albeit subtly. The visitors, also called "ghosts" despite being broadly corporeal, are meant to be individuals from your past who "haunt" you in some way. This can be defined however you like, and they don't necessarily need to be people who have a negative opinion. They can be friends, ex-lovers, current lovers, family members, enemies, past selves, future selves---- anyone who is not currently a player-character here is eligible. They can talk to one or more member of your existing or developing CR. They are aware of generally where they are, that the visit is temporary, and that they are here to speak to someone about or on behalf of you. During their conversations with your people, they will feel subtly compelled to be more honest or forthcoming about their experiences with you, potentially to your detriment. However, they do not have to give any details that they aren't directly asked about and are not being forced to answer--- it's just that if they do answer, they must be truthful to the best of their abilities. After the fact, your friend must decide how they wish to convey to you what they learned, what details to include or omit, etc. They may now know information that violates your privacy or is more than you cared to share with them!
Once a "ghost" has had at least one conversation with someone that isn't you, they may speak to you as well if desired, but they are under no such compulsion to be truthful or forthcoming to the person who they came for. Additionally, ghosts generally cannot leave the visitor's center except to go into the immediate outdoor area. (Though you may be able to obtain special permission for a short excursion from "management" if you ask, they will not be able to stay out overnight.)
OOCly, a couple rules and notes:
You can have one or two ghosts, but no more. By default, they are meant to be played by you, hence the rules regarding talking to someone other than your character. You can play them from your character's existing journal (if you don't have space for an icon for them, please provide an image hyperlinked in a tag) or you can create a custom journal for that character. You may also ask a buddy to play the character, including non-members of the game with mod approval, if you have a partner available. Regardless of these factors, the rules remain the same.
Each ghost can talk to as many of their person's friends as desired. However, please manage thread loads responsibly!
Any character chosen as a ghost must adhere to the same rules as a regular player characters unless otherwise stated. Conversations between your own character and their ghost do not count for AC unless the ghost is being played by a friend (meaning any thread where both characters are your own cannot be used for AC). If your buddy is a non-game member, please reach out for mod approval.
Any non-member joining us for this event must consent to follow the rules of our game while they are here, and failure to do so may result in disciplinary action for the player who invited them, depending on the situation.
Characters used as ghosts are still eligible for long-term play! If the situation is right, they can feasibly be apped in.
Ghosts do not have sending stones, but can be contacted via the phones in the visitor's center.
Ghosts cannot be forced to meet with anyone they don't want to meet. It is not advisable to bring a ghost of a character that would not want to meet with anyone.
That's all! Hope you have fun with this one! It's worth mentioning that this event is extremely optional and not plot relevant, so don't feel bad about it getting backburnered or skipped.
Psychological manipulation, unreality, memory loss or distortion, controlled emotions.
Everyone loves a good birthday party, but very few birthday parties are so well loved and so broadly attended as the annual birthday gala of Dahlia Anastasia Leeds, the wealthiest woman on Marrow Isle. Each year for her special day, the daughter of the founder opens up her lavish home to the public and provides an incredible feast, live music, dancing, drinks, and more. Island residents of all backgrounds are invited to participate in a formal ball without the formal rules, allowing everyone to come as they are and feel fancy for a day--- something Dahlia maintains is her one and only birthday wish.
However, nearly every year this event finds a way to go wrong. Last year it was shapeshifting mosquito vampires from another world and, even worse, interpersonal drama. This year, it will be her uncle's disastrous party planning that does in the event.
Not even an hour into the party, Mendel, the demonic Prince of Fools, will make an appearance and turn the party into a disorienting, dizzying, dangerous dance of destructive proportions--- just after announcing to the entire island that Dahlia has been lying to them this entire time.
HOW IT WORKS
With a snap of his fingers, the Prince of Fools turns Dahlia's birthday gala into a topsy turvy masquerade ball, placing a mask on each face that cannot be removed and turning Leeds Estate from an austere blue aristocratic residence to a sickly yellow labyrinth of sprawling ballrooms and hidden corridors. He and his court members are hiding within, adding to the torment of those within. The masks have a psychological effect on the wearer. Players can pick from the following options:
If you can't decide, roll a D6! But otherwise you're welcome to pick. Anyone who has received an infernal ward from Neil West (which at this point will be all officially-declared Ocularum members) will find the impact of these things effects significantly reduced.
The event will heavily feature Alice Dyer (closureisformovies ) and Agent Jean ( restingslasherface ) who are tasked with ending the event by killing Prince Mendel. They can include whoever they like in this process! Additionally, I will be looking to stage encounters with Blanche and Seemingly, and would be open to this leading to the death of one of them.
Once Mendel dies, the ball will end and the estate will be returned to normal, masks becoming inert and removeable. However, Dahlia will be quick to chase everyone out. She will be available for questions later!
The primary item on September's docket for the meta plot is going to be the reveal of Dahlia's infernal origins and the defeat of Mendel. Additionally, Father Mulcahy has enlisted the help of Dr. West in talking to Gil Calloway about the Crystallizer of Dreams. Out of a desire to slow down the pacing of the meta plot, I'm not planning to have any other developments occur unless they're pretty minor! But please feel free to plot with me about what sort of sigils you'd like to lick in October.
We'd also like to note that after a discussion in the Discord server, we're reworking a few things about our schedule. Going forward we will have quarterly TDMs instead of bimonthly, all of which are focused on introducing characters to the setting. We don't really need to keep recruiting new members at our current size, so instead of really trying to sell Pumpkin Hollow to new people, the TDMs are going to be simplified and more interested in making ourselves available to people. We'll still be doing reprints, but we no longer want TDMs to be something existing players feel like they need to get in on. They will focus more on existing monsters and concepts rather than introducing new ones.
Additionally, when it comes to events with dice rolls or tasks that must be completed to advance them, we'll make sure we space for time better. And lastly, going forward our mini events will be more optional in nature. We hope this takes the pressure for speed off folks!
All that said, let's get into this month's events!
GHOSTS OF THE PAST
Mini Event - September 6th
Content Warnings:Mild manipulation of free will via forced honesty, invasions of privacy.
There is a new structure down the slope leading to the beach, near the threshold where sand and soil begin to blend. No one saw it being constructed, but there it sits, plain as day. There are a pair of identical wooden signs outside each door, one situated on the side toward town, the other facing the beach. Both read "VISITOR'S CENTER."
The Visitor's Center is a spacious building full of tasteful meeting spaces, a recreation area, a cafe, and a second floor containing a small but comfortable hostel-like accommodation space. The receptionists (who may look familiar to attendees of Merrymeet) will happily explain its purpose--- for a few weeks, people from your past will be visiting the island! Living, dead, a past version of yourself, anyone is free game! There's just one catch: they can't speak directly to you. At least not at first. Who do you trust to send in on your behalf? And what will they say when you aren't around?
HOW IT WORKS
The Visitor's Center is a working of Eligos, the Demon King, who presides over the Domain of Betrayal. As such, the situation is designed to sow distrust, albeit subtly. The visitors, also called "ghosts" despite being broadly corporeal, are meant to be individuals from your past who "haunt" you in some way. This can be defined however you like, and they don't necessarily need to be people who have a negative opinion. They can be friends, ex-lovers, current lovers, family members, enemies, past selves, future selves---- anyone who is not currently a player-character here is eligible. They can talk to one or more member of your existing or developing CR. They are aware of generally where they are, that the visit is temporary, and that they are here to speak to someone about or on behalf of you. During their conversations with your people, they will feel subtly compelled to be more honest or forthcoming about their experiences with you, potentially to your detriment. However, they do not have to give any details that they aren't directly asked about and are not being forced to answer--- it's just that if they do answer, they must be truthful to the best of their abilities. After the fact, your friend must decide how they wish to convey to you what they learned, what details to include or omit, etc. They may now know information that violates your privacy or is more than you cared to share with them!
Once a "ghost" has had at least one conversation with someone that isn't you, they may speak to you as well if desired, but they are under no such compulsion to be truthful or forthcoming to the person who they came for. Additionally, ghosts generally cannot leave the visitor's center except to go into the immediate outdoor area. (Though you may be able to obtain special permission for a short excursion from "management" if you ask, they will not be able to stay out overnight.)
OOCly, a couple rules and notes:
You can have one or two ghosts, but no more. By default, they are meant to be played by you, hence the rules regarding talking to someone other than your character. You can play them from your character's existing journal (if you don't have space for an icon for them, please provide an image hyperlinked in a tag) or you can create a custom journal for that character. You may also ask a buddy to play the character, including non-members of the game with mod approval, if you have a partner available. Regardless of these factors, the rules remain the same.
Each ghost can talk to as many of their person's friends as desired. However, please manage thread loads responsibly!
Any character chosen as a ghost must adhere to the same rules as a regular player characters unless otherwise stated. Conversations between your own character and their ghost do not count for AC unless the ghost is being played by a friend (meaning any thread where both characters are your own cannot be used for AC). If your buddy is a non-game member, please reach out for mod approval.
Any non-member joining us for this event must consent to follow the rules of our game while they are here, and failure to do so may result in disciplinary action for the player who invited them, depending on the situation.
Characters used as ghosts are still eligible for long-term play! If the situation is right, they can feasibly be apped in.
Ghosts do not have sending stones, but can be contacted via the phones in the visitor's center.
Ghosts cannot be forced to meet with anyone they don't want to meet. It is not advisable to bring a ghost of a character that would not want to meet with anyone.
That's all! Hope you have fun with this one! It's worth mentioning that this event is extremely optional and not plot relevant, so don't feel bad about it getting backburnered or skipped.
WALTZ OF THE HARLEQUIN
Main Event - September 20th
Content Warnings:Psychological manipulation, unreality, memory loss or distortion, controlled emotions.
Everyone loves a good birthday party, but very few birthday parties are so well loved and so broadly attended as the annual birthday gala of Dahlia Anastasia Leeds, the wealthiest woman on Marrow Isle. Each year for her special day, the daughter of the founder opens up her lavish home to the public and provides an incredible feast, live music, dancing, drinks, and more. Island residents of all backgrounds are invited to participate in a formal ball without the formal rules, allowing everyone to come as they are and feel fancy for a day--- something Dahlia maintains is her one and only birthday wish.
However, nearly every year this event finds a way to go wrong. Last year it was shapeshifting mosquito vampires from another world and, even worse, interpersonal drama. This year, it will be her uncle's disastrous party planning that does in the event.
Not even an hour into the party, Mendel, the demonic Prince of Fools, will make an appearance and turn the party into a disorienting, dizzying, dangerous dance of destructive proportions--- just after announcing to the entire island that Dahlia has been lying to them this entire time.
HOW IT WORKS
With a snap of his fingers, the Prince of Fools turns Dahlia's birthday gala into a topsy turvy masquerade ball, placing a mask on each face that cannot be removed and turning Leeds Estate from an austere blue aristocratic residence to a sickly yellow labyrinth of sprawling ballrooms and hidden corridors. He and his court members are hiding within, adding to the torment of those within. The masks have a psychological effect on the wearer. Players can pick from the following options:
- Leaky Bucket: deprives the party goer of their short-term memory. They know who they are, and why they're here insofar as understanding it's Dahlia's birthday gala, but all new information tends to leave their mind after a few minutes. (Think Dory from Finding Nemo.)
- Amnesiac's Lament: deprives the individual of long-term memory. All new information is retained, but they have no idea who they are or why they're here. How distressing this is can be at the player's discretion. Perhaps they despair at the memory loss and are trying to find a way to escape the ball, perhaps they don't see anything wrong with their lack of context and are just trying to enjoy this weird party.
- False Friend: the opposite of Zone of Truth, those with this affliction will be unable to tell the truth and can ONLY tell lies. Any fact from the most mundane to the most complex can only be lied about. Whether or not the person is cognizant of their new habit is the player's choice.
- The World Revolving: those afflicted suffer frequent bouts of vertigo which makes the space feel as though it is spinning, sometimes very slowly, sometimes very quickly.
- Dirge of Delusion: this particular curse will cause the mask-wearer to struggle to perceive reality correctly. Objects will appear as other objects, people as different people, rooms as some other place, or even the entire ball as somewhere entirely different. These disorienting visions will come and go at times.
Feeling Funny: the wearers of these masks will find that their emotions are completely out of control, sometimes bursting into fits of laughter, tears, or abrupt paranoia, before going completely numb for a while.
If you can't decide, roll a D6! But otherwise you're welcome to pick. Anyone who has received an infernal ward from Neil West (which at this point will be all officially-declared Ocularum members) will find the impact of these things effects significantly reduced.
The event will heavily feature Alice Dyer (
closureisformovies ) and Agent Jean ( restingslasherface ) who are tasked with ending the event by killing Prince Mendel. They can include whoever they like in this process! Additionally, I will be looking to stage encounters with Blanche and Seemingly, and would be open to this leading to the death of one of them.Once Mendel dies, the ball will end and the estate will be returned to normal, masks becoming inert and removeable. However, Dahlia will be quick to chase everyone out. She will be available for questions later!
CURRENT METAPLOT
As of last month, some developments were made in the Leeds Estate break-in by Valdis, CT, and Tarantulas which has been slightly forward-dated to have happened more recently, Jon Sims and John Rambo discovered a strange recording which implies there is a crack in reality on the island, and Alice Dyer made a deal with Prince Aster to provide Jean with weapons that would help them kill Mendel in exchange for demonic immunity. The primary item on September's docket for the meta plot is going to be the reveal of Dahlia's infernal origins and the defeat of Mendel. Additionally, Father Mulcahy has enlisted the help of Dr. West in talking to Gil Calloway about the Crystallizer of Dreams. Out of a desire to slow down the pacing of the meta plot, I'm not planning to have any other developments occur unless they're pretty minor! But please feel free to plot with me about what sort of sigils you'd like to lick in October.