Good morning, Aefenglom! Historically (short as this history has been, anyways) we've implemented changes, feedback, and suggestions as opposed to directly responding to them on the feedback posts that have gone up. However, this month we wanted to make sure that all concerns were addressed directly before we did any launching of changes. While we've said it with each response, and each announcement: thank you, everyone, for telling us your thoughts while offering your understanding. We're looking forward to taking your feedback forward with us.
That's not all that we wanted to address, though!
The August event was one of particular weight, wasn't it? We know that many of you are wondering what the full extent of the situation is, and we're more than happy to give a preemptive look at it before the plotting or log posts go up. This way, if there are any questions or suggestions that you'd like to offer, we're able to consider them prior to finalizing anything - especially for something so heavy.
We also have a few other game plot points to talk about. Without further ado, let's get started!
Bonds, or: A Lack Thereof
We've had multiple people come forward to us about the consequences of not having a Bond, which has good timing - four months in, and characters are definitely going to be feeling the effects. Witches that are practicing magic routinely enough, but not participating in a Bond, will find themselves starting to truly feel the effects of it. Monsters without a Bond find each progressive full moon difficult, especially as more and more changes settle in for them.
We're reaching the period where those having arrived in May - even with the most exercised control - will find that they're struggling if they don't have a Bond. Those from later arrivals fighting the changes, not practicing, or with a lack of confidence or control in themselves... well, also run just as much of a risk without someone to balance the load with. While we'll never mandate the formation of Bonds, nor will the Coven, it's highly encouraged. Characters still lacking in one might get some rather pushy presents and hints dropped towards it - more on the aggressive side of passive-aggressive. The Parliament, while it'd like to do something about this problem which threatens their dear city, is (unfortunately for them) forbidden from getting involved in Coven affairs.
It's only fair - the Coven isn't allowed to muck around in the Parliament's affairs either. (They are seething quietly at this deal they came to agreement with in the past.)
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Considering we're slowly but surely marching forward - and so is time - we wanted to make sure that we addressed the fact that May-time Monsters will have started to settle into their changes as of the end of last month. Some might have been finalized - after all, the minimum amount of time it takes to accumulate all of the changes your Monster might face is a time period of three months - but others might be facing the real, terrifying reality of them starting to reveal themselves now.
They're not the only ones, though. Witches that practice routinely might find themselves facing some after effects of their magic, the traits associated with the ones they practice the most manifesting as after-effects and giving them a sort of "presence." ie; with enough use, certain kinds of magic can be sensed on a person (elemental, healing magics giving a person a calm and warm feeling even if they aren't the calmest person, necromancy creating an ominous atmosphere around someone, etc); with enough use, you may see someone that practices a lot of teleportation magic becoming spacey, even possibly popping in and out of existence; fire and ice magic have an effect on a Witch's temperature, and can cause their touch to be scalding or ice to form on their skin.
If anyone has any questions about what this might mean for their characters, please - let us know!
Get on the Welcome Wagon
Some of your fellow players have asked what you, as a playerbase, can do to help lighten the load for the modteam. Others have suggested not having a mingle log for the start of the month, even with a batch of new arrivals on the app months. While we do agree that some adjustments need to be made, with regards to mingle logs, we think it might be unfair to new characters and players alike to completely take away an introduction to the game at large where they can get a feel for the situation, and even ask questions that might not have been addressed by anyone before them.
So, a two-for-one deal: we're reaching out, OOCly first, to ask if there are players who have characters (or a personal interest) that might possibly be interested in forming what we've been calling a Welcome Wagon during our discussions. ICly, if there's an interest for the idea, Nessie and Mhairi will address it later on - as we get closer to our next app round - as they think that new arrivals could benefit from having their welcome to a new world largely aided by those that have been in their position already.
This would eliminate the need for mods to post the intro log, allowing the Welcome Wagon to cycle through the group the task of making sure it gets up. Putting this in the players' hands also gives the chance not only for unique prompts due to unique input, but means that they'll have a different outlook for new arrivals.
Mods would still post top levels for NPC and OOC questions that might be more world-based, so the Welcome Wagon wouldn't be left to face the onslaught of IC confusion alone.
The Consequence of Dreaming
Last but not least...
It's been brought to the attention of Nerissa Bell and Mhairi Ainsley that their mirrorbound charges encountered the city of Dorchacht. At first, their response is surprised and concerned, because no one should have to interact with the people of the Black City, but not one that indicates foreboding. But the more they learn, the more there's a sort of horror that dawns on them. Things are much, much worse than they had ever known - and certainly more than they had inferred from their interactions with the people of the Dorchacht Coven.
Here's where the consequences start.
Morgana Drummond, head of the Dorchacht Coven, has also reached out to Aefenglom. The message, while cordial, could be perceived as something of an icy threat: a demand for reparations, or else. (Between us, on an OOC level, the mere thought of going to war with Dorchacht has Aefenglom's Parliament squirming.) Trespassing and causing such a ruckus, such trouble, certainly can't go unaddressed.
NPCs that were killed in the dreamscape, for those of you that took drastic measures, appear to be in a comatose state in the waking world. It seems perhaps the laws of dreams that the mirrorbound of Aefenglom are subject to don't quite apply to everyone. For those that interacted heavily with any one NPC - whether citizen, Coven member, Monster, or revolutionary - will note that there's a sort of deja vu familiarity on the NPC's side. They don't remember a lot, but whatever the tone of your interactions with them, good or bad, the impression is still there.
But not all consequences are so foreboding: any Monsters of the city smuggled away, freed, or otherwise saved from their captors are no longer on their radar. "What does that mean?" It means that they've been temporarily forgotten by those that would do them harm.
Morgana, on the other hand, remembers everyone and everything that was brought to her in the dream. While proficient and known for her talents in enchantments and evocation, she has an unusually high aptitude for dream divination, allowing her to walk through her dreams with very little risk of being caught in them. Many a Witch in Dorchacht has tried to study the same techniques, with varying levels of success - but only the head of the Coven over there has a mastery of it. With the Dorchacht Coven being the sole ruling body of the city, that means Morgana has complete control of the situation - a thought which has Aefeglom's Parliament nervous, to understate it.
After much back and forth with the Parliament, as well as Morgana, a decision has been made: they'll be traveling to Dorchacht on a dignitary trip. With the Cwyld threatening the safety of everyone in Geardagas, neither city can afford going to war, and no one knows this more than Aefenglom. Better to prevent it however they can, and there might be an ulterior motive for the meeting on both sides.
What does this mean for you? While Morgana can predict many of Aefenglom's moves, she doesn't have a good trace on the mirrorbound characters. Luckily, a few options have arisen through player discussion, and we offer them now:
- A team for espionage, intended to infiltrate the city in secret and collect information. This is a task not directly approved by Nessie or Mhairi, but they may or may not have a certain something handy for use when they decide it isn't the best means of transporting everyone, rather than putting it back where it was stored. (They cannot know any details whatsoever about this plan before its execution, lest the knowledge be caught by Morgana.)
- A dignitary team, individuals who are looking to peaceably speak with the people of Dorchacht as opposed to immediately resulting to fighting. (At least right off the bat.) This is the group officially approved by both Parliament and the Coven.
- A strike team, individuals willing to use guerrilla warfare or more violent protests to attack the city from the core. This isn't approved of by Nessie or Mhairi, either, but unlike the stealthier team no means of enabling will be left for anyone deciding this is the best approach. But they may find some allies in the form of the resistance already built into Dorchacht. These characters can be members of either the espionage or the dignitary teams.
- Those staying behind certainly won't have a lack of things to do, either. The journey is long and hard, and some may not be willing to go that far out into the world just yet, might have other plans in store (after all, both the Coven and Parliament are distracted right now), or have other reasons for staying in Aefenglom. Don't worry, though - Dorchacht isn't completely lost to these characters, as we'll have a means of easier travel between the two before too long.
Speaking of. How do Parliament and the Coven intend to get people there?
Certainly not by land - the Wilde sits between the two cities, and the northern edge of the continent is all mountainous, making the trek too long and too dangerous by foot regardless of which direction is taken.
"What about magic?" we've seen many people ask in the Discord server. Aefenglom and Dorchacht are not on good terms, which will be addressed ICly, and while even the most practiced person can teleport long distances... well, they certainly can't teleport across an entire country. Especially not with the numbers needed to address this situation. The only means of such long distance teleportation is to have a node, foci, or other marker at Point A, and a corresponding one at Point B - like a Harry Potter Portkey, if you will. And Dorchacht isn't at all the type to allow anyone to set that sort of thing up within their city.
So, what does that leave us?
- By ship, as Aefenglom does see some come-and-go from small airships - but none that could dare brave the skies over the Wilde, as it's a sea-faring city. The Leoithne Farraige is a large vessel, and anyone who steps foot on it will feel the pulse of magic that's been built into its hull - runes are carved along the mast, the helm, the bow, the stern. It's prepared for a journey.
- Pros: Easier to carry greater numbers of people and supplies. Can be backed by both the Parliament and the Coven, giving some measure of backup and protective coverage. Time spent on the ship can be used for bonding (and Bonding, if you're interested in that) and fishing, as well as practice and preparation. Interested in learning how to keep a ship in shipshape? Also an available option!
- Cons: While the vessel is one enchanted for speed (among other things), it'll still take some time to arrive (4 days). Creatures - while many aren't infected by the Cwyld - exist in Geardagas' coastal waters. Weather and rough waters are always a risk. Subsequently must travel by river in smaller boats after arriving at the sea port.
- By teleport - "wait, didn't you say we couldn't do that across the country?" This is that certain something we mentioned above with the espionage team. The Coven has a very... archaic, experimental magitech device, one that they have to shake the dust off of, give a good smack to even get it to activate, that allows for teleportation across long distances. It's dangerous, it might not work correctly, and it has no way back.
We will note, OOCly, that this option will work when utilized. However, it will break immediately after use and is only good for a small group.
- Pros: Allows for instant travel to cover long distances, versus days of travel. Guaranteed to arrive before the ship does, which can also be a con. The element of surprise (ideally).
- Cons: Only allows for a small group. No means of bringing extra supplies besides what you can carry. No means of return via teleportation. Risk of overshooting or undershooting the end destination, instead of arriving exactly where you need to be. No backup.
Below, you'll find the top levels devoted to questions, as well as signing up for the various options. You can also use this post to talk amongst yourselves about what you might want to do, but please note! As always, we'll have the OOC post for plotting and updates. Further plotting can be done there, with this being a sounding board.
Please expect to see a network post on the 1st, with the actual log(s) going up the 5th. Our TDM will be midmonth as always. Stay tuned! |
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DIGNITARY TEAM
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Player: Michi
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: Yes, she'll participate
Plans: While Towa would be more than happy to encourage peaceful talks, she also has her concerns which means she's going in with a healthy amount of skepticism. She comes from a military school background so she'll be more than happy to take part in implementing team strategy for maximum strike impact and helping people train or practice during their four day trip.
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Player: Al
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: N - Not his style
Plans: Aziraphale is very easy to trust, he puts people at ease so he's going to offer his services as a dignitary to try his best to help. He's a new arrival so he feels a little bad so far he's just had to repeatedly ask for everyone's help since he got here and he'd like to actually start helping and get in in the action. So he'll probably be as nice and polite as he can be during the mission and absolutely do his best to avoid a war because he's seen those, many many times and no one really wins.
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Player: Reslari
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: Not initially, no, but if hell breaks loose her Captain Planet power is "Murderous Violence", so she's there in a pinch.
Plans: Maria is, and kind of will always be on her own side. Given she has very little by means of empathy toward most Monsters, and a great curiosity for Learning new things, she is pretty much going to try to worm her way into the Coven's good graces as much as possible, and see what all she can learn from them. Even the darkest of things.
What happens next remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, she prefers living in Aef over the dark and smoggy city, so she may not seem like it, and she might not go into all the details of what she's learned if she doesn't think a character needs to know about it, but she's going to work to benefit Aefenglom in all this. She might also be the most likely to keep a level head in trying situations.
Plus, being super visible will be great for making the do-gooders squirm, and be confused, and that's always a plus.
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Player: Jem
Monster/Witch: Monster — Dragon
Striker: No.
Plans: Daenerys is a little fireball when it comes to diplomatic manners like this. She will preach her own view: that monsters should be taught they have a choice to live in bonding or live freely. While she hopes this instills peace, she may threaten and invoke the promise of an uprising against the city on behalf of Aefenglom — since that clearly is the only option if they choose to keep their slavery.
Daenerys will push to enforce peacekeepers / representatives for Monsters and very quickly speak against selling Monsters.
She'll most likely need someone with a cooler head to help her from speaking too harshly. I am interested in having some form of retribution if things look south — particularly with Morgana being held responsible. I'm sorry for Dany.
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Player: Crystal
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: Not unless there is aggression from Dorchact.
Plans: As much as Ozymandias is typically all about that glory of war and conquest, he recognizes that Aefenglom is not really in a position to go to war with Dorchact right now. Any continued liberation of the city is going to either require a more subtle hand (of which he is not) or come from within the city itself. Therefore, his sole goal is only to ensure the continued safety of Aefenglom, prioritizing that over the well-being of the monsters in Dorchact (for now). He's fairly well-versed in peace talks as much as war though, so he will want to definitely lend his skills towards negotiating peace.
That being said, Dorchact threatens the safety of Aefenglom too much or engages in aggressive action against the city, and it's time to throw down
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Player: Quix
Monster/Witch: Monster
Striker: Only if given no other choice. Or if he has friends that are striking that need support/are in danger.
Plans: Steven is honestly apprehensive about the idea of trying to do diplomacy with these people as a monster, but if only witches go it could give the wrong impression of where Aef stands on the subject. He'll do his best to try to convince them of monster's 'humanity' by addressing them on the level though there are good odds he will become upset and impassioned if they don't seem willing to change.
It's his priority to see change more than it is to prevent war. If Dorchact is ready to declare war over keeping monsters as slaves then he isn't going to back down in response. It's definitely not his ideal scenario, but, going home without accomplishing anything isn't really an option for him.
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Player: Pearl
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: If diplomacy breaks down and there is no other option - yes.
Plans: Lux is going to be flexing her muscles and actually polishing off her lineage and title from back home. They don't hold much weight here in this world, but she will help to use this to leverage some credibility. She's bright and personable—but won't shy away from pushing their agenda. She will be aiming for a compromise at first—pushing for representation for monsters within the city, and working in a plan to change the narrative currently in place. She's not so naive to believe that witches and monsters will be able to accept each other and work together as things are (or any time soon, let's be honest), but she's going to be pushing for both groups to have equal standings.
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Player: Tea
Monster/Witch: Monster (Faun)
Striker: Yes - definitely
Plans: He's not too much of a talker, but since this is the only way to essentially start a conversation with Dorchact he'll try. He's mostly going to go to keep an eye on things and make a little silent, stubborn stand. Chris will totally be about helping the resistance if they encounter them and he's right at home in a fight if it breaks out. As a talker, he'll mainly just argue, but he might be good for backing up more eloquent people and keeping them safe while they do the talking.
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Player: Avi
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: Most definitely yes.
Plans: For Asura, the matter of Dorchact selling and forcing Monsters into bonds is personal; his idea of ‘compromising’ is seeing Morgana (forcibly) removed from power and replaced with a counsel of humans, Witches, and Monsters with equal representation. At the very least, all Monsters in bonds should be freed and given the choice whether or not to remain in Dorchact or defect to Aefenglom. If that doesn’t happen, he can’t promise his own support in future scenarios where Dorchact is beset by the Cwyld, and will likely threaten revoking Aefenglom’s support of Dorchact in the war against the Cwyld as well. Common enemies don’t necessarily make allies and all that jazz.
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Player: Ruby
Monster/Witch: Monster
Striker: No.
Plans: Everett has spent his life back home traveling and finding common ground between various cultures! His well mannered, aristocratic dignity will be out in full force. His focus will be on trying to convince the Witches in charge that there is value in Monsters having their autonomy, and there's more for them to gain through alliance rather than mere control. He'll also be trying to play up the value of truer Bonds and how much more powerful they are than the locals have.
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Player: owlie
Monster/Witch: monster (harpy)
Striker: y because who doesn’t want to take your personal frustrations out on innocent bystanders
Plans: four is going to be more likely feeling around for what the black city is and encourage both cities to disband their “alliance”. as in, if they can’t be nice with each other as allies then you might as well just take care of yourselves and your own business. correct? correct. she doesn’t care about slavery and would even support the city’s . . . methods!! yes. she’s also still pretending she’s a witch!
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Player: gsai
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: Y (she will take it as a last resort, for the most part, but she has no illusions that it's not a very real possibility)
Plans: While what happened to her bonded is still fresh in her mind, Ursula has never been one to simply give in to urges of retribution and understands that cooler, more compassionate heads need to prevail here to prevent war. She's used to the magical politics of her own world and has plenty to offer in terms of perspective and insight, at least on a theoretical level.
But, if push comes to shove, she will be among the strike team to be sure. She's telling herself it's not because she's angry about what happened to her bonded but...
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Player: Celes
Monster/Witch: Monster - Vampire
Striker: Not unless he absolutely has to, and even then, maybe not.
Plans: He's going to attempt to smooth talk against the capturing and auctioning of monsters, primarily for his own selfish reasons. He's an excellent planner and communicator, though, so he'd definitely be an asset to the dignitary team.
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Player: Sam
Monster/Witch: witch
Striker: Depends how things go...but quite possibly.
Plans: Lloyd isn't a diplomat (just a cop who accidentally got the starring role in a political thriller) so he's likely to be one of the quieter voices in the delegation, save for where the discussion touches on his area of expertise - law enforcement. He's aiming to get a good understanding of all of the mechanisms of enforcement in Dorchacht and how whatever arrangements are proposed are going to help or hinder that. Think of him as your friendly special consultant on police stuff...
...and also as plainclothes security. He's going to be keeping both eyes on how Dorchacht receives their team and what arrangements they have in place - and what might be going on behind them. One of the big plot points in his canon was a terrorist attack on a big political summit where his team was part of the security detail. He's watching for anything shady.
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Player: Gray
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: If talks break down and it becomes necessary, yes.
Plans: Percy's a fairly smooth talker when he wants to be and has some experience with diplomacy (and also Diplomacy), and mostly he is really going to try to do his best to avert an all-out war because that seems like a terrible idea for everyone. That said, he is also taking a fairly hard line on the fact that slavery is bad and Dorchact should really rethink that little policy, and he has a very large gun to back up his opinions.
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Player: Gadgets
Monster/Witch: Monster - Chimera
Striker: Yes absolutely.
Plans: BEING ON A BOAT, sniffing around with Dogmeat + chimera senses, Being Ominous behind other members of the diplomacy team in case anyone from Dorchalkshdg tries anything.
As for the strike team, this bitch has a magitech-upgraded sniper rifle. RIFP.
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Player: Nekky
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: No
Plans: Hiccup's aim would be peaceful talks and trying to change!! their!! minds!! about monsters the same way he's tried to change the world's views on dragons back home. He isn't the type to bring violence unless absolutely necessary but he WILL get into some heated arguments. Whoops. If Toothless goes along, he will probably stay on the ship and not enter the city (unless I get word that NPCs would encourage bringing him) - Hiccup Worries about his bud and if Dorchact treats people like that, how would they treat an animal?
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Player: Athuria
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: No, probably? He figures his dream behavior puts him in thin ice + they should be more cautious in the real world, but he's v sympathetic to the local rebels so if they heavily implore Aef to help more directly he could be swayed.
Plans: Yuya wants to see first hand the state of Dorcha and if possible talk more with locals (with a heavier emphasis on monsters, trying to draw out their feelings). He's less inclined to run around causing trouble vs a dream that ended up less of a dream, but depending how bad things really are over there he'll have strong feelings about tolerating the coven's behavior. He knows changing minds isn't easy but he's going to want to take a less volatile position and try more towards changing minds or making deals that allow getting the oppressed to a safer area.
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Player: Moon
Monster/Witch: Monster (dragon)
Striker: Yes, absolutely.
Plans: He figures he isn’t going to be of much use diplomatically, based on the fact that he got a little violent during the dream and also because he’s a Monster, but mainly... he just has a lot of Really Bad Feelings about this entire affair due to bad memories from his lifetime. Normally, he would prefer proper peace talks, but he’s not at all expecting anything good to come of this. His reasons for going with the dignitary team are mostly because his Bonded is going as a part of this team and he wants to be there when things go south. Basically, the diplomat approach is largely just a facade.
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Player: Joysweeper
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: Y
Plans: Toby's partly here to watch diplomacy happen, it's something she'll have to be good at in the future but has little experience with now. Partly she's here to be backup for Steven. She's more interested in the Monsters than the Witches and may give information to the spies??
By arrival Toby will also have worked out how to transmute herself into a more convincing human for a few hours at a time. If it's feasible, for as long as possible she doesn't want the Dochatti knowing she isn't human. It would be great if she could take her own form and pretend to be a Dragon with an entirely different identity but I'm not sure if it'd work.
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Player: Lena
Monster/Witch: Monster (dog Turnskin)
Striker: Yes
Plans: super loose thoughts more than plans but Waver will be going along with his Bonded and trying to keep things from going in a less peaceful direction as much as possible. if (when, probably...) they go south, he's not great at actual fighting but he'll be looking to help native Monsters where he can, supporting his friends and Bonded, and trying not to die! also he'll probably be seasick and miserable the entire ship ride there, sorry
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Player: Sara
Monster/Witch: Witch
Striker: If diplomacy fails and for whatever reason, the Dorchacht Witches begin fighting them, he'll fight back. Otherwise no.
Plans: Very loose plans at the moment, mostly having Theseus building some character relations during the boat trip. For the actual mission, he's very good at keeping his calm, especially if it's officially sanctioned by the Aefenglom government. He'll treat it more as his duty and keep personal disgust/emotions down, so he'll be good at listening to the people of Dorchacht while trying to persuade them that subjugation of Monsters isn't right. If things start spiraling out of control, however, he won't hesitate to step in, but otherwise, he'll try and keep talks going.
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Player: Saffy
Monster/Witch: Monster - Harpy
Striker: Y
Plans: Rean will be breaking away from the group to go underground as soon as possible. He made quite a ruckus during the dream when he broke out and, while he didn't kill anyone, he injured several (several) people in his half feral state that eventually led to an Actual Feral State. He'll be just fresh off that when this adventure begins.
Having aided a few monsters in the dream and freed them, he'll have a basic idea of the resistance and be offering his services promptly. And if not needed there, he'll be making sure his CR is safe and ensuring any plans the strike team carries out are a success.
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Player: FC
Monster/Witch: Monster
Striker: Y
Plans: Symon's here to learn about the enemy. He hated feeling so powerless, and does not want anything like that spreading to Aef. He's good at being charming, biting his tongue and listening. He's also excellent at slitting throats. And if there's a way to weaken them, that isn't instantly traceable to them? Well, even better.
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Re: DIGNITARY TEAM
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