“TAKING” DORCH — THE PLOT

[usurpers]

hello you guys!! i heard you wanted to go full rebel



a quick summary that prompted this: there have been discussions about the possibility of freeing the city without necessarily starting a war— sometime afterwards, through torturing a poor soul in a bathroom, we've learned that monsters are being bred under the guise of human orphanages (more info here under answer four!).

this has great potential and can be an awesome city-wide chance for characters to get involved in a movement that can give the resistance a huge start to an upper hand over our lovely morgana, so this serves as a plotting post to free the monsters being bred for sale, destroy dorch’s slavery supply and stock and help the resistance take dorch for good*!

*they might not actually be able to take dorch, but we've definitely been given the ok to make a positive difference!

there are plenty of parallel investigations going on such as wall enchantments (that i could think off the top of my head, i know there are more!), and even those can play a part in our final attack, so to speak! what i have so far:

— eren will disclose the locations to the resistance first, then the mirrorbound shortly after in a network message (it'll show up in the log itself as an intro, so no replies or convos to it will happen icly anyway— characters will get further information from the resistance itself).

— people can choose a group that best suits their character that we could have to act together with the resistance (but not limited to, so please feel free to add, these are just a base):

💥 team war horse: these will be responsible for either literally starting fires or just general mayhem/distractions in dorch's most vulnerable points or in and around the orphanages themselves, to get the attention of the black city's army/workers away from their real objective. decoys, if you will!

💥 team dark horse: responsible for getting into the orphanages and ushering the hidden monsters out safely, leading them to resistance tunnels, etc etc. the human children will need some help too!!

💥 team gift horse: our dignitaries might be of use here to show that you do care. civilians and humans alike need calming, guiding and saving as well from the possible chaos that could be caused— baby sitting the orphan kids, perhaps? whatever your imagination can fix up! protect them and keep their minds sound, all while keeping aefenglom’s name clean and monsters in a better view!

💥 team trojan horse: our (mostly) fighters infiltrated in all groups to help with their task and offer protection against counter attacks and douse threats. they could also be tasked with restraining the army from acting against them.

icly, i was thinking that this could be planned to happen close to before the mirrorbound leave, at night (with some magitech sabotage to get rid of any extra light— you won’t need that with fires around). monsters saved that would like to return to aefenglom with them via transport machine can disappear in a blink, maybe? :') the rest are welcomed to stay to join the resistance ranks and take what’s left to lighten the black city. in real time, i can put up a post as soon as this week, when we have something comfortable to ride with!

this is just a gist of things, and i’d love to see different groups showing up to take advantage of the event and crack down on more breeches that we’ve seen investigated!! different takes on the groups mentioned, ideas, raid somewhere else, go crazy. the only thing that most people, and i also assume the resistance, would like to keep in mind is a careful hand on the violence— minimal number of civilian casualties possible, as the objective here is to act before there’s an actual chance of war, and not so much a real reason for one. it’s not like aefenglom is the cause of this!!! right???

but no one said you couldn’t, and the resistance is very willing to do everything they can 👀👀👀👀

make top levels for your plans, if you have new ideas you can put them in the headers for easy reading & finding, and feel free to ask questions about our limits under the correct comment (that i believe mods will be keeping an eye on!). most of all, have fun!!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[moustre]

Re: QUESTIONS

[wiggleon]

I assume this would happen towards the end of the visit? So the characters in the dignitary team in the first group who came back wouldn't be able to participate?

[towards_okeanos]

Just to be sure. So there will be a network post from Eren detailing his/their plan? Iskandar is not involved in anything Resistance related so I was wondering if he would even know what’s going on.

possible team opportunist aka get the door

[futhark]

Hey, a question that I figured I would put in here. Ever since Caster had thrown what he learned on the Enchantment on the network, there's been a theory that people's memories and minds might be fed to fuel the Enchantment.

Naturally, that means a merry group of misfits (potential codename: colicing horse) decided to devise a plan how to get behind that door, see what happens and return with a tale to tell (hopefully not get stabbed/not stab anyone).

So given that the city suddenly on fire, it could be used as a distraction to get behind those doors.

Their plan is as follows:
- Get a volunteer or three. (and hopefully, someone to bail them out)
- Two runesmiths and an abjuration nerd design warding tattoo that would protect against mind control and memory jumbling/stealing (preferably in a way, that when the protection enchantment is active, the surface memories can seemingly be tampered with/suppressed, the real memories are not affected and can be unlocked with a spell paired with it later
- tattoo the volunteers
- get them infected(no)/fake Cwyld infection
- free check-ups at Coven hopefully leading to see What Is Behind The Door
- ?????
- profit? find way to turn off the enchantment on the walls maybe??

Obviously the question is what would happen if these volunteers tried to put the plan in motion. Would they be even taken behind the door? Would their ward work at all? Or would they be found out or stabbed?

[usurpers]

what can we expect from dorch’s army in retaliation to this?

[niespodzianka]

i just realized i put a question under the wrong heading (i even put back in the question heading, confused at the time, like the smarty smartpants i am), so uh, yes.

IDEAS + NEW GROUPS

[moustre]

EXAMPLE: TOMATOES

[usurpers]

we should have enchanted tomatoes and a group to throw them all over the coven to distract their witches. bonus points if you can graffiti their walls with morgana is a [REDACTED]

TEAM THIS IS NOT A HORSE

[freeing]

I think group 2 dignitaries could be more useful as decoys themselves. The main goal is to not cast suspicion on Aefenglom during this whole ordeal — it's undeniable that their appearance would still hold some kind of hm over the timing of the resistance being strong enough to act.

So! In order to cast doubt and provide some alibi, I'm envisioning some kind of "last hurrah" event planned by the Coven to thank the dignitaries for their compliance and a farewell. Think like a formal gathering that may line up with the strike to buy some of the time for people actively smuggling out monsters and disbanding the breeding areas while also keeping the Coven busy. During this event, the Resistance could maybe find a way to not damage the building, but contain it so Coven can not act and oppose them.

Having the Coven and dignitaries still in the Coven building "trapped" would lead to some interesting exploration opportunities. Maybe the mods could allow us to explore more plot-focused areas for a 'way out'?

I have no idea what this would hold in the long run but I feel like having the dignitaries do something to help would be a great lead-in to thinking of the aftermath.

BLAZE IT

[rollfordiplomacy]

Everett spent the entire month planting lovely, beautiful, inspiring plant life all around the city.

So, naturally, that'll make good kindling for distraction fires.

Everett will very much act distressed about this, but that's to keep up appearances. He'll have provided the Resistance with a map with a very detailed catalog of every plant type and location he grew across the city. He only asks they burn only the ones necessary and not cause the whole of Dorchacht to go up in flames. (He will remove some in advance to be sure the ones they plan to burn are in a controlled zone and don't spread to his other plants!)

question

[niespodzianka]

i see team dark horse is going very sneaky pacifist (which is fine and good and i have no desire to make geralt traumatize steven more), but i'm curious about the level of security and guard/enforcer/etc retaliation on something so hush-hush and inherently horrifying as forced reproduction camps, and if there needs to be a team... darker horse. because slavers don't get rights!!

honestly i'm waffling on this notion because even in my head it sounds a little 3edgy5me

RADIO SHENANIGANS

[tinyfood]

So, Entrapta's building a big ol magitech radio control centre with Yako's help – intended as a significant upgrade to the Resistance's existing equipment for hijacking the radio, allowing a much more total and sustained override of the Dorchacht radio waves.

It'd probably draw too much attention to make a really big deal out of using it rather than just intermittent use BUT this whole operation could warrant it! So the plan would be to use the radio to i) help distract from the stuff people are getting up to and ii) potentially use an enchantment in the message/music that could be beefed up by the tech it's being broadcast through, to either further the distraction or for other purposes – Kytha suggested an enchantment intended to weaken whatever magic is fogging Dorchacht citizens' memories.

Elliot would be helping things get set up for whoever takes on the MC role for the broadcast, including the same auditory illusion he's been using for Abend Time to disguise their voice the same way he's been doing, but since he's going to be involved in the action on the ground, someone else would need to take charge of actually hosting.

ADDITIONALLY: further to the investigation thread where the subject of ley lines and magic blackouts was raised in relation to potential heavy use of a radio control centre... this might well be big enough for that! Entrapta would be very interested in causing something like that on purpose – partially out of the idea that it could help somehow even if just in a specific area, but mainly just to see what it was like, because she's awful! – so she may be deliberately pushing for the device to use a lot of magic, just to try to push it over the edge.

TEAM DARK HORSE PLANNING!

[starseedling]

I hope this is in the right place.

Steven is 100% going team Dark Horse, because as a Fae he is naturally gifted with illusions, and he is also a pretty good choice for calming children and helping them move along. His primary focus will be concealing Dark Horse's actions from view. He has experience with essentially making people invisible, and can impose illusions of empty rooms/tunnels over full ones to anyone that isn't a specialist Witch. He can also disguise Dark Horse members as people or things they are not. Potentially he could make some of them look like orphaned children?

He's very familiar with the Resistance Tunnels at this point and has been hoping to smuggle out monsters even before it turned out they were breeding them in scary orphanages. This whole thing is terrifying and he is extremely motivated to get through it with as few casualties as possible, on both sides. He will be actively resistant to people using lethal means.

Steven is with the Resistance at the end of the month, and has been trying to hype people up with music and fellowship all month long. This is the perfect opportunity for the direct action he's been hoping for.

+1

[hippocarnival]

Yuya aligns with most of this but his illusions are way weaker so he'll be focused more on comforting the monsters and children they rescue and getting them to the resistance's base as quickly as possible. Like the tour guide but for freedom.

He won't assist or approve of any murder but he also can't stop anyone else, so. He's not above kicking shins though.

[digiorno]

giorno has been working on smuggling refugee monsters out of dorchact and as such has been working with the resistance closely. while he doesn't have any kind of illusion magic, his charisma is a natural 20 and he will be excellent both at soothing frightened kids and talking the dark horse team out of any potential jams (or at least serve to buy time). also, he can scout as a baby bat.

hi again steven sorry for being rude before wanna save some babies

+1

[fiddlestick]

Elliot is interested in protecting the orphans/monsters/civilians along with his castmates (but I'll let them comment), so he'd be around to help make that possible. He's still working on visual illusions, but he's got audio illusions down if they need a distracting sound. He is also willing to help fight any guards that might be around. He's pretty experienced to this whole infiltrating and overtaking facilities thing, so he got this.

His real specialty is healing though, so anyone who gets injured while helping the monsters escape can definitely call on him for heals! And if nothing else he can use music to help calm the kids - but I'll probably leave that to other players if they want.

[sing_for_me]

Alex will want to help with this so she’s shipping herself back there.

She can help with comforting the kids and if they need to distract any guards or people by either luring them away or as a last resort attacking them (not to kill though). If they get caught she wouldn’t mind staying behind to hold the Dorchs back.

If this is gonna be put up as a network post Alex could also bring back supplies that might be needed (anyone want anything from the goblin/black market?)

+1

[overworker]

Towa has experience with organizing and helping evacuate citizens so that’s what she’ll be prioritizing. But she’ll also be putting herself in a position to shield and protect them in case things get dangerous— she doesn’t want any casualties here, either for their team or the people they’re trying to rescue.

She’s also been focusing on illusions, so if any assistance is needed there, she’ll gladly support.

[eightleaves]

coming at you like a dark horse...!

Adding onto what Elliot posted, Rean has been basically sneaking around when he's not silently observing dignitary stuff so this team is perfect. He has black feathers as a harpy (and black clothes) so he's been taking advantage of this and freeing monsters/inciting civil unrest all month. This plot gives him a chance to kick it into high gear finally...

Rean is still a powerhouse even with lighter bones. He'll be the weeb swordsman at the front of things, beating back the authorities and generally fighting like a wild thing. You can count on him to cover for your characters/take hits if they're in trouble, too; he has surprisingly sharp eyesight now and can be there in a flash.

The last time he evacuated civilians it ended really badly, and a lot of people died. This time he's throwing everything into it to change the outcome. ;;

TEAM GIFT HORSE

[thisisamazing]

Anyone else wanting to take to the streets to usher civilians to safety and promote Monster/Witch partnerships at the same time? With... everything on fire... Hiccup will decide it's time to signal Toothless to join him in the city, which is bound to cause a stir. (This overgrown lizard is a lot less scary than ol' Fafnir!) He'll be trying to organize an effort to help regular folks to safer areas of the city, transporting children, etc. with his dragon buddy and anybody else willing to help. Yes, he's definitely going for the "symbol that is the polar opposite of Morgana with Fafnir" thing here with the good witch + happy black dragon deal he's got going on.

And of course, if some enslaved Monsters are freed from compulsion and get separated in the confusion (and quietly pointed toward Resistance people willing to whisk them out of the city)... that wouldn't be too bad either. And totally not the dignitaries' fault, right? Gosh. It was a mess out there!

+1 Faun

[faithlikeaseed]

Myr is more than happy to help on this one! Let's get people to safety (& make sure things aren't too traumatizing for all those human kiddos who just got saved, too).

And if he totally, blindly stumbles into a few other Monsters in the confusion and just accidentally happens to have a compulsion-breaking rune in-hand at the time, so much the better.

Did someone say fire and mayhem?

[fieryimpulse]

Okay, so Chandra is...canonically very good at causing fires, mayhem, and general property damage and chaos. Meaning, she's getting right back on that boat and returning once the message gets out.

She's primarily been working on evocation and summoning magic since she arrived. Meaning, if people setting fires want a little help, she can conjure up little imps and other fire-element creatures to pass off control of to other members of team War Horse. Earlier in the month, she was also studying guard patrols and casing the area around the auction block, finding potential hiding places to attack from, if they wanted to try and hit that particular area.

So if anyone would like to thread out arson, tearing down infrastructure, or just general chaos, let's do it!

[wylderrant]

Iramaat is skilled with the sword and fighting in general, in addition to being a monster, plus she likes being flashy, so she is all about getting into team Trojan Horse or War Horse; either one will let her show off and kick in doors, so she'll be happy, regardless.

Unofficially Gift and Trojan Horses

[whomthebelltolls]

But mostly team "I am my own horse race" and also "put a bit and bridle on me and try to ride me like a horse and I will eviscerate you"

ANYWAY

General plan is thus: Maria's job so far has been to partially cover the Aefenglom people and make sure nothing happens to drag this place into a war they never had the right to start, but mostly to learn new things. The first part will lend well to the Gift Horse team, because she'll be wanting to try to keep a more squeaky-clean image of Aef whenever possible. No no, the timing isn't convenient, but it sounds like you guys have some troubles here, let's get you to safety. More safety. Trust her, she won't let any harm come to the innocents here. Even if that harm is being brought by the Mirrorbound.

Which brings us to the connection to Trojan Horse:

Once she's done trying to keep the diplomacy and make it seem like Aefenglom are here for the people during this troubled time while fires are raging in strange places that have absolutely nothing to do with this dignitary team, she also wants to cover the retreat. This means yes, working in conjunction with Dark and Gift horses to make sure that any heat is shaken effectively, but, at the end there, shedding the pretense a little bit and making sure the boat is defended so the dignitaries have their own way out.

Even if that means activating Incredible Violence against anyone who tries to sabotage the docks or the boat.

Those mottled, rust-colored stains on the dock were there when they landed, guys, she promises. Now get on board.

Team Warhorse...Dragon

[curruid_coinchenn]

Sooo, Berserker is very eager and willing to cause chaos. It's in his nature to do so, so much that he's returning to Dorchacht to do so. He's also going to be a very large distraction in the form of a fully transformed dragon. Not only will his size be a benefit to breaking shit and generally causing a ruckus, his poison breath is capable of causing pain, hallucinations, and panic. For close CR, he is willing to be a transport in and out of danger areas -- cause chaos and leave via dragon. He will, of course, be exhausted after all of this, but it's worth it.

tl;dr: big-ass poison dragon working to create distractions and help allies where needed, also convenient out.

Get the Door Team

[futhark]

Now with a proper post. Some more door plotting with everyone in one place

Hello, I'm shuu and I play caster Cu. Thank you for the interest in the GET THE DOOR plotting. Since various things were being discussed in various places where not everyone has access to, I figured I'll just make a top-level seperate to the one in QUESTIONS

So to recap

AGENDA
it's been found out that source of the Enchantments on the wall is behind the double door in the Coven. That means gotta get behind these doors. network post related to that

OOC question/plotting related to that

dramatis personae aka roles and what is who doing (hope I get it right the first time)

Caster (Witch) - accidental instigator, runesmith, tattoo artist, part of the Second team. "It's personal because they took my friend"
Zelda (witch) - the anon, abjuration specialist, voice of reason. Her participation is a total secret so in case everyone else gets captured she is free to act
Sokie (Witch) - enabler, abjuration specialist, burglar, make up specialist, part of First Investigation team
Everett (Faun) - charmer, face of the team, investigator, part of First Investigation team, "It's personal because they took my friend"
Nel (Witch) - rogue, runesmith, rune tattoo designer combining enchantment and abjuration, conspiracy, KNIFE EMOJI
Archer (Dragon) - has no chill, is in this because it's a right thing to do, and because he won't let his Bonded run Wild, part of the Second Team, willing to get infected for justice
Ursula (Witch) - Team Zero, actually was behind the door first, brought the deets, is in it because it's the right thing to do
Fang (Turnskin) - Team Zero, actually was behind the door first, willing to get infected for justice
Geralt - "I offered to help so here I am", tired dad mood, Bail Out Specialist [it feels like they will need it]

Rough timeline — aka what seems that has happened

1. Caster and Zelda figured out the source of Enchantment, decided against getting infected and seeing what's there (that was their first thought tho), stake-out to observe the door, https://aefenglom.dreamwidth.org/20583.html (post on the network with information)
2. suggestions, offers for help and info happens
3. the decision is made to A) create enchantment runic tattoos to protect against what is possibly there [ mind control and memory jumbling/stealing ]. this probably takes several days. https://dagung.dreamwidth.org/14076.html?thread=5601276#cmt5601276 (mod reply how well that works here)
4. Everett and Sokie go in first, and here is https://dagung.dreamwidth.org/14076.html?thread=5636348#cmt5636348 (what they find) it's not pretty
..
possible step 5 Everett, Sokie, Caster, Archer and Ursula agree that it's best to contact Nessie first (question would Nel, Fang, and Geralt agree with this consensus or go do something on their own?) also input needed what Sokie would steal

But my thought was to send mods in that thread, that next decision of the team would be to contact Nessie with what First Team found and ask for input. (Caster would go there for mayhem, subdue/kill the Witches, but he ain't stupid and will listen to voice of reasons). I just want to know everyone's input and if that's an okay thing to do!

Get the Door Team

[rollfordiplomacy]

For Step 5, Everett will definitely insist on contacting Nessie first, to discuss their discoveries. He'd express the following to those involved in follow up investigations;

1) Collection of any need for additional proof that Nessie might want/request should be top priority!
-This may not be requested if what Sokie steals + their collected information so far is damning enough to draw Aef's support.
2) An urge to exercise caution with the "crypt". They know it's location and that people are inside, under magical spell. He thinks much further look into this might risk it being moved/locked down and harder to intervene with. It's best left as it is, unless they are informed of a means to safely rescue those inside.
3) Volunteer himself to distract within the Coven, if necessary, should they need to do a rescue mission.

Go Team Door!!