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monsterdata2023-07-21 03:40 pm
ryslighelpers) wrote in monsterdata2023-07-21 03:40 pm
PLOT SUGGESTIONS
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If you have a plot, or even just an idea for a plot to suggest to the mods, please feel free to drop it here. You don't have to plan on hosting that plot yourself; if it's something you'd be interested in seeing in Ryslig, it could give us a good idea for a mod-run event in the future. We welcome all your creative thoughts, to help us continue to give the game playful angles!
If you'd like to run a player plot of your own, please don't worry too much about any lore leading up to it. You can just detail the effects of the event to us. From there on, we can work backwards to ensure there's a suitable inciting incident.
You may use a sock account if you wish to remain anonymous. The reason that we ask you to provide a sock is so we can contact you about your plot in private if necessary. This is to maintain a sense of suspense while keeping things unscreened.
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If you have a plot, or even just an idea for a plot to suggest to the mods, please feel free to drop it here. You don't have to plan on hosting that plot yourself; if it's something you'd be interested in seeing in Ryslig, it could give us a good idea for a mod-run event in the future. We welcome all your creative thoughts, to help us continue to give the game playful angles!
If you'd like to run a player plot of your own, please don't worry too much about any lore leading up to it. You can just detail the effects of the event to us. From there on, we can work backwards to ensure there's a suitable inciting incident.
You may use a sock account if you wish to remain anonymous. The reason that we ask you to provide a sock is so we can contact you about your plot in private if necessary. This is to maintain a sense of suspense while keeping things unscreened.
pats new page, shiny!
Which leads him to believe there is something else that binds them.
What he's looking for is any information on what that may be, and then how to sever the connection. He does not mean harm to the Fog, he is not looking to go after her in anyway, simple to cut the proverbial string that binds a person to Ryslig. This will obviously take months of research, and he will be seeking to use his Soul Jam as a catalyst, as it's purely made of - quite literally - the thing that gives Cookies life (though it is current obviously inert).
My questions are obviously what will he learn, if anything? If he learns anything, including spells to attempt it, there will be at least one volunteer (Katurian) who will attempt to let him cut the bind. Obviously it wont work, and the potential backlash can definitely be made into a plot idea, but I'd love to roll the idea around a little with you guys!
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In the distant past, monsters were created by the Fog taking Day/Night children and twisting them, since she cannot create people of her own. That's what the ancient monsters in the Wastes are; twisted followers of Day and Night. This knowledge can be found ICly through Oskar Fernstrom's research. It wasn't until roughly 9 years ago (the start of the game) that the Fog started taking souls from the Sea of Stars to twist into monsters instead, therefore there's no real research or information regarding this process beyond what the Fog's told characters.
To clarify, characters are not 'tied' to the peninsula. If anything, it's the opposite; they're tied to the Sea of Stars, which is why they keep getting pulled back into it after a certain amount of time. When the Fog makes a blind grab into the Sea to collect new children and drop them in the world, it costs power/energy to keep them there. She's too weak to make that stay permanent. This is something that could be inferred by asking characters who've previously spoken to the Fog about this, or just by asking the Fog herself. She can confirm this.
If PV would instead like to research what ties souls to the Sea of Stars, that's possible, and requires more of a deep dive. Please let us know if that's something you want, and perhaps submit it as a player plot if you'd like to go all out with it."
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He will desire to know what exactly the Sea is, and how it pertains to their own worlds (which might come up with nothing, I'm sure), how the Fog can dip into it, whether it's noted anywhere that the Day or Night could as well, how to recall people to it if that's what they desire (some find the thought of unawareness much better than consciously being aware of what they're doing), and if it's more of a living entity, in the end, how to sever the connection to IT so people can go back home. He'd also look into people who might have stared at the Stars for too long, what they feel because he can't see them, debate on whether the Stars might be eyes, look into info for that, etc.
And yes! I have plans to make it into a player plot, once I have enough information, and have come up with potential backlash and etc. But I don't want to commit anything down yet, obviously!
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Sorry for the delay! We are still very much interested in this plot, and would love to work with you on this. If you'd like, you can submit a more fleshed out version for 2024 player plot considerations once the submissions open near the end of this year. We're very flexible when it comes to the lore involved there, so whatever you think will make for a fun event, we can roll with it. Just keep in mind, unique event effects ensure your plot's more likely to be chosen, so feel free to get creative when it comes to the backlash to PV's experiment.
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Of course it's all very much a WIP cause I definitely would love a more... well, you know me. I love gruesome and horror! I will continue to think! Plus I am unsure if I'm married to that idea!
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However, it would work best as a sequel in spirit to the dollhouse plot of a couple of years ago, with a tie to the young NPC from it, as the central NPC I'd be creating to "run" it is a toymaker. There'd be more spirit/soul issues and thriller flavor than body horror, and a lot of chances for characters to either backstab one another or form alliances, and it would be confined to one location like the first instance of the parasites in the mountain lodge. I'd love to know if this is something you would and could want to work with!
NPC could also be a former Tage if that would interest you, too. XD
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Thank you for your interest! You are welcome to propose this plot as one of Ryslig's 2024 player plots. We do not have any current plans for a lore drop, but you may propose the use of new or pre-existing NPCs, and we will work with you to figure out what works well with the setting and our existing plans.
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To be clear, because we realize we forgot to mention this, submissions for 2024 plots are currently closed. We expect them to open up again around the end of the year, and will signal it in a mod announcement when this happens. We're looking forward to the details!
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What do you think about a reimagining of this event? Different setting, same theme, terrible trauma, etc. It's something I'd be happy to run!
(I'm not sure if all the plots are filled up for this year. They probably are?? If so, disregard!)
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All of our player plot slots for 2023 have filled up, but you are welcome to propose the plot for a 2024 slot! Please note that we have had a couple of recent events regressing the player characters to children, so we would love to see a new twist on the formula if you do propose it.
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I'm here to talk about Monster Swap 2024. I'm not sure if you're holding to the previous traditions of alternating fourth wall/monster swap years, but if you're interested, I'd love to help kick off the monster swap event for next year.
My idea is:
a) Javert is assembling a Fog Force that's like a totally gayer version of the Space Force, and also out to kick Elias in the shins
b) This Fog Force is inevitably going to start planning out a way to strike back and knock Elias down a peg
c) find some volunteer fourth followers/priests/whatever, bring them to Dyster, and siphon their powers one by one, shifting the 'battery' source from one follower to the next as Elias catches on and cuts off his boons
d) Fog gets beefy and slurps up some of that good elias juice and monster swaps happen
What's the catch, and what makes this monster swap different from previous iterations?
If we're running with the idea that the Fog is temporarily made Dominant and Elias is repressed, it would significantly dampen any fourth-related aesthetics and the peninsula will suffer a long blackout. Radios and electronics will not work. The Network continues to exist but does not run on electricity; instead, monsters may now temporarily communicate telepathically, like how all Fourth Priests communicate with their mind.
This also means we can include a thoughtshare event along with the monster swap.
I'd also favor increasing the need to feed to once per day during the fog while the monster swap is in effect. Beefier fog, more powers to impart hunger, more vengeance and anger. I'm trying bat around more ideas in my head about how to make this one a little bit different, but obviously, i'm in the SUPER EARLY stages of figuring this out, and I haven't quit pinpointed what else I can add just yet.
I'm open to more ideas and I'm seriously just plot noodling at the moment, but this feels like an appropriate way to kick off a Monster Swap that takes the burden out of the mods' hands.
Let me know your thoughts and feelings. Happy to switch around the mechanism as needed.
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So what we've already established with Merain in game is that it's still fairly small, not enough to truly compete with Vandare's fishing fleet just yet, and full of women from abusive/exploitative situations and their families. They wear Maya's magatama as a sign of their reverence for her and other monsters, and seek to care for the monsters and reject social ties to human society in favor of their safety. They have begun to incorporate bright, warm, saturated colors into their clothing and their houses as both a way to mimic Maya and a way to be very visible in the fog.
Soon, Komaeda will be working to restore the Fog Church. The Merainite villagers, who are fond of the mers, understand that as a cue to follow in their fog-worshipping monster faves footsteps. After the Fog returns to the peninsula, I'd like to see the Merainite fishers ambush a smaller Vandare vessel under the cover of the returning fog independent of Maya's guidance, and sacrifice some of the crew members as thanks to the fog for their victory. After seeing the villagers choose this independently, Maya is moved to understand that Merain can become a haven for Monsters if they play their cards right. With the human leaders of Merain, Maya moves to create an invitation to all monsters to live freely in Merain, as well as to use that freedom to futher the fog. IN direct retaliation to Aunamee's more monster-violent moves, Maya organizes a repast; the Soul Feast.
The Soul Feast is arranged as a festival in Merain during which the Merainite Acolytes and other Fog-aligned monsters seek to feed newer, less experienced monsters through ritual sacrifice. They capture more Vandarans (and also accept Merainite and Bavanite volunteers) and subdue them for public execution in the name of the fog. A decent number are killed on the spot, though a few are left living to feed monsters that need to drink moisture or consume a soul. The sacrifices are decked out in bright colors and flowering masks.
After the ritual killing of the meat-making sacrifices, Maya and the two human mayors lead the devotees and monsters in prayer, "The Fog sends to us this bounty; From your life comes mine, from your body my blood runs, through your death I may proceed." (or something cooler but along those lines). The bodies are distributed to any monster present with the repeated sentiments; they are allowed to feed and continue living because of the Fog, and all human lives are equal. They seek to push an ideology that feeding on humans is a part of hte circle of life here, and that through that sacrifice the Fog is sustained herself, and is able to sustain them as monsters.
They seek to make eating easier on the newer monsters; cutting slits on a human's body for a mer to drink, slaughtering and preparing the meat for monsters who can consume prepared meat without having to look at a body. The festival is full of music and dancing and fearlessness.
This act helps to establish Maya as one of the more motherly hands of the fog; capable of demonstrating the care and affection that monsters feel comes across cold sometimes from Foggy herself, but in true Orca fashion, willing to hunt to feed "her children".
In the days following the festival, the Merainites operate with even brighter colors, and new monsters welcomed to the fold of fog-enabling by the Merainite monsters are encouraged to deck themselves out as well. They attempt to steal the color aesthetic normally associated with Elias and use it in their own way; to be visible even in the fog, to reject subterfuge, and to go against those who would try to contend with them in full visibility. The Merainite fisherwomen become almost pirate-like, their colorful fishing boats becoming a warning for other boats to stay out of their territory or to become sacrifices to the monsters they serve.
So to summarize:
Pre-act, Merain's population has become and continues to become more fog-leaning and in support of monsters.
The act itself is a ritual sacrifice disguised as a feast, both in the name of the Fog and "spiritually provided by" the Fog's power. Monsters are encouraged to accept the Fog as their way to a more affirming life where they can live fully as themselves, or the selves they were meant to be, and allyships to the Fog may be facilitated.
This allows for the act to be public enough to cause a reaction from the other monsters and potentially alienate some while also keeping it something I can handle, as I don't see myself capable of running a full event. It gives an opportunity for other, lower-tier fogs to participate in the hunting and redistribution, potentially gaining a tier-1 act or otherwise having a minor act to add to a cumulative sum later on. It also inspires a full change in those that participate, as they will be expected to show Fearlessness in monsterhood and no longer hunt in a hidden way. Maya is established as a motherly hand of the fog, both in willingness to care for the monsters and willingness to hunt on behalf of them and the Fog herself. The themes for the community become regarding humans all as equal parts of the food chain to reduce the guilt of deciding which humans deserve to be eaten, accepting monsterhood as a path to self-adoration, and venerating the Fog as the giver of balance and an opportunity for self-love.
Following the act, Merain's human population would remain devoted to the monsters and claim to other humans that they are protected by the fog (whether or not it is actually true) in attempt to strike fear into their competitors. They act ruthlessly against comparatively-sized boats that come close to their areas and may capture other humans for the sake of feeding younger monsters. Monsters are encouraged to be fed by the human population or to hunt themselves while retaining the idea that through the Fog, from Death comes Life.
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We appreciate your enthusiasm, and are excited to see how Maya and Merain develop further. However, as currently described, this plot would not qualify Maya for promotion to tier 3.
The Fog primarily wants Her children to live freely at the expense of human lives, and especially wants Her followers to strike back against Elias. She will recognize neither the creation of a safe haven for monsters, nor the start of yet another fog-aligned human cult, as furthering Her cause.
On a tone level, this tier-up does not reflect the sort of horror and violence that we would expect to see from an offering at this level. Vandare is an easy target due to their overwhelmingly anti-monster sentiment, and this mini-event is too similar to the currently-established Ryslig norms to turn heads among the wider monster community.
Finally, Maya's role in this plot is not active enough; we would like to see your character taking initiative. As currently written, the humans of Merain are much more active participants. To qualify for tier 3, the Fog would like to see Her followers get their hands dirty.
If you would like to submit a revised version of this plot in the future, you are welcome to do so.
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The intent of the human cultists is not really to serve the fog itself as much as it is to serve monsters who are aligned with the fog. They bring in human sacrifices to keep the monsters fed, the monsters feed and rejoice in the fog. It is the monster side of the equation that aims to win more monsters to the side of the Fog, not through creating a safe space for the monsters in generally but for Fog Followers. The intent of Maya's act for the fog is to draw more monsters to her side by teaching monsters to accept the violence as a necessary step, not to minimize damage done to humans themselves. Simultaneously Maya would try and facilitate conversion of newbies to allyship with the fog, with one or more fog conversions planned to happen at the time of the feast, in imitation of her having already converted Adrian and assisted in Komaeda's conversion. That's where the service to the fog comes in, though I understand if The Fog still wouldn't recognize the conversions as being radical enough.
Before getting into the next bit, I'd like to link Madoka Kaname's previous tier ups, as they are what I have mostly been referencing since Madoka and Maya are similar in personality. In Madoka's tier 3, she specifically becomes a zealot by offering Fiddleford (I believe at the time he was a fourthie) as a sacrifice. My assumption in referencing it was that multiple human sacrifices would be as useful as a single monster sacrifice.
Maya was intended be working as the direct facilitator of those sacrifices especially in instances by which other monsters would need to feed off a living body, either through causing the injury they need to feed on or by using her voice to prevent them from escaping their monster attacker; I apologize that it was apparently unclear that this was the intent. The only thing she wouldn't have been an active participant in was the initial attack against the Vandaran fishermen. The idea of sacrificing the captured men in the Fog's name and the actual act of committing the sacrifice was meant to come from her. I assumed that active human sacrifice and use of the Merain cultists as an avenue to facilitate human sacrifice and other service to monsters would count as living at the expense of humans.
I'm not sure I understand the idea that it is too close established norms regardless of whether it counts as a tier up or not. As far as I previously understood, there was not a plot or service by which monsters would be capturing live sacrifices for others or for the Fog despite the existence of the soup kitchen, and from speaking with others I was under the impression many characters would indeed see the sacrificial feast as a radical move and judge Maya according to their own senses of justice. Similarly, Vandare was not chosen because of their hatred of monsters but because they are the only known population of fishermen, and thus the only humans causing direct rivalry to something that Maya herself benefits from. I would gladly choose other fishermen if that's another option, but again, I'm not sure that current IC sentiment reflects the idea that it is an easy target, as the newer crowd is much more sympathetic to humans due to a lack of recent acts of violence from humans against monsters. Even as far back as Atem's broadcast, the human targets were even scammers, and it still caused a ripple in the opinions of monsters. I chose the avenue of using the fishermen as an opportunity because it makes narrative sense rather than forcing a human sacrifice out of nowhere.
I hesitate to submit a revision even with the clarifications given because I am not certain that I understand the clarifications. And while I do have an idea for a priest tier up (a self-sacrificing move committed with the help of another Foggie in attempts to restore power to the fog or perhaps even to disable something of Elias's), this and previous answers suggest to me that it would not be a suitable replacement act for tier 3;
This answer, along with the Fog's IC answers to Maya when asking what she can do for the Fog, make me completely uncertain as to whether or not you are saying that direct involvement against Elias and his followers is required for tier 3, as even the answer you have given me here suggests that there is the alternative of human sacrifice available. The tier description itself states Tier three rewards are for truly devout followers, and it takes a great act to appease the gods enough to get here. Such acts might include a mass sacrifice of people...
While I am eager to accept that the standards may have changed since that excerpt was written, the only problem I have with Maya confronting Elias is that Maya is no where near as skilled or as powerful as anyone she could contend with on the side of the fourth, even with the boons given her by the Fog— and as demonstrated by this and previous tier up requests, if Maya collaborates with others she may be seen as not contributing enough. For instance, despite Maya dealing with significant, months-long fallout from the broadcast she recorded on Atem's behalf, it was deemed that her involvement was not considered strong enough initiative. With these considerations, I'm left uncertain of how to draft a tier up revision that works, as I was under the impression that my plans already met the stated standards.
To be clear, I am in no way rejecting the idea of revising this same plot to again clarify Maya's active participation, what I am trying to say is that your answer combined with the tier descriptions leaves me uncertain as to whether or not that would do anything to change the ruling, or if Elias absolutely must be a target in a tier 3 move-up, no exceptions. If that is the case as a result of the newest developments in Ryslig, I totally accept that, but I've been constructing these ideas as though that is not the case. Without such a clarification I have to be honest that this just kind of discourages me from trying at a third-ish-fourth-ish attempt at a tier 3 upgrade.
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To clarify: tier three requires either direct involvement against Elias and his followers, or direct involvement towards the Fog's aims.
Sacrifice alone, regardless of numbers, is not sufficient to meet this criteria. As you mentioned, Madoka tiered up with a sacrifice - but it was a sacrifice of a Fourth follower, which tied it directly into the war. Also, this was a long time ago, and took place under a different mod team: there is no defined rubric for god tier-ups, which are decided on a case-by-case basis, and the understanding of what is required has shifted along with the mod teams. We would caution players against leaning too heavily on older examples for this reason, and advise referencing more recent plots where possible.
The action does not have to be against Elias, but it does have to be in service of the Fog's aims. Despite what she may say to her followers, the Fog's priorities have always been less with the comfort and wellbeing of monsters, and more with their use as a weapon against the humans of Ryslig.
This kind of action in the Fog's favour might mean providing her with power, or increasing the overall fear of monsters among the human population. (Since in your plot, the main danger is the human cultists, this does not apply - it would rather increase the fear of other humans!) At Tier 3, we will not accept conversion from neutrality alone as an argument for the Fog's benefit.
We would also like to remind you of how the Tagevalgten plot ended. The Fog has made her position clear on human cults - she doesn't much care for them. She will not accept friendship with humans, no matter how murderous, as an act in service of the Fog. Humans are the enemy, perhaps even more than Elias, in her eyes.
TL;DR - no, not all Tier 3 plots have to be direct confrontations with Elias and his followers, but they do have to be in direct service of the Fog's greater aims, which include the terrorising of humans, garnering of power for the Fog, and defeating Elias.
We hope this helps!
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Would it be okay to move forward with this miniplot as not being a tier up attempt, and just like, a thing she does independently? Or is it that this move would actively UPSET the fog god re: reminding her of the Tage?
I think that Maya could be more easily convinced to make bigger moves for the fog with the presence of more fog followers on her personal side, and am VERY okay with this tier up not working if she can still Do the Monster-Community Thing
and if it IS okay to just do it not as a tier-up, am I misinterpreting by thinking I should make the I fishermen maybe not be from Vandare, or is that part alright too?
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This would not actively upset the Fog, and we would be happy for it to go ahead as a plot on its own, with or without the involvement of the Vandare fishermen! It just wouldn't please her enough for a tier-up.
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If you'd like to use it for flavor in a coming log i'm game to wait but if not, am I cool to go ahead and do this in the coming month in a smaller log, then?
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So, concept:
- A character (innocent whistling) somehow happens upon some form of...baby Entity. Similar to the Backrooms Beast in vibe, if not specific powers.
- The character takes it upon themselves to try to raise the Entity to be friendly.
- lmao
- The specifics of...what the Entity is and how it works are ????, but ideally it wouldn't be, like, a pet NPC or anything, that would be a hassle. Maybe it's dormant in some kind of cocoon and the "raising" of it is like...visiting it and feeding it...whatever abstract thing it eats. It just exudes incredible baby vibes. idk
- SOME TIME LATER, it hatches/ecloses/evolves/whatever and causes a Situation. This would be the plot proper. What's currently floating around in my head is something in the vein of dreamsharing/walking, with some Nightmare on Elm Street kind of horror possibilities mixed in. I'm keeping this sketchy because the nature of the Entity is also sketchy and that's where I'd want mod input to make sure the setting is being respected and etc.
- Crucially, I'm only interested in facilitating a plot like this if the takeaway is not "and then it turned out malicious and you never should have done this stop trying to do anything". I'd be aiming for something more like the parasites, where raising it friendly kiiiiindasorta worked but it doesn't...know what it's doing to people, exactly, on account of being an Entity. It does some fun stuff. It does some really fucked up stuff. It's just a little guy and it's his birthday. C'maaaaaaan
- And after that point it wanders off Somewhere Out There, a free-ranging plot device. Also in the vein of the parasites and Backrooms Beast.
CW: Terrorism for the God War
So I'm currently working through this thread with Bruno, and Javert is going to commission an explosive device to send into the Arcade, preferably one that would be both flashy and capable of electromagnetic pulses to disrupt the electronics within. How I would approach this is first fielding out engineer player characters (like Robotnik, Handsome Jack, anyone else who he can negotiate into working with him), and then, as a last resort, capturing a Haftesal engineer and 'convincing' them to build a destructive thing with his coin.
Once that's all set, he could accomplish the actual destruction by sending a fourthie in with it under his hypnosis. This would require an OOC post (filled with content warnings and a full explanation of what's going down) and a call for a volunteer to sacrifice their Fourthie to this cause. I will let the player decide if their character is caught and killed in the blast. I'd love to create enough destruction to take out at least 1 room of importance, like Holmes's weapons stores or somesuch, but I'm open to whatever the team decides to rule. I figure players can individually decide if they are caught and injured/killed in the attack.
I wanted to give the team a heads up about this so I can check in with timelines and if/when I could accomplish this. I understand this can result in a pretty major event with a lot of far-reaching pushback, and I would not attempt to do this without everything charted in advance and your green flag to go ahead.
I fully accept all IC ire and consequences, and I'm here to continue painting targets on Javert's back. :) Thanks everyone!
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At the moment, we're filled up on events for 2023, so we don't quite have the time to escalate this further into a proper plot until sometime in 2024. However, we're also more than willing to work with you on something small-scale with limited consequences to still play out this year. What is it that you would prefer? Are you hoping to turn this into a mid-month plot with wider consequences, or something that will happen as soon as possible?
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I'm pretty flexible on whether this would be a part of a mini-plot or a full scale event, but if it's worked into the lead-up to Monster Swap, for example, I'm definitely prepared to accept whatever harsh consequences come my way -- be it from Elias, humans, other monsters, or the natural forces of Ryslig's world.
Also, I'm extremely aware that this is all very vague and nebulous at the moment. These kinds of ideas have a way of working out into a neatly-fitted tapestry as I play with them, so the mods will be consulted when I sense these plans are coming to a head. For now, I'm going to keep in mind a spring timeline.
Does this sound reasonable?
cw: terrorism potential too
Since this would be dealing with potentially high up NPCs, maybe not the Mayor of Bavan himself but certainly someone who the Mayor would trust in his stead, I felt it best to slide the idea your way, and see what could possibly be done with it!
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Pure Vanilla is also welcome to try this again later, after the dust has settled. Because the dust will settle eventually, right...?
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i'm planning for makima to get into monster hunting under the current viel of allowing humans some air to breathe, especially in these trying times of hunger and offering a better food source (come on, they come back to life! with only a memory or two gone, what's the worst that could happen)! i remember that i had asked if makima could work with them and the police, to which y'all said it was possible, and i'd like to take that up a notch now!
i'd just like to ask if i need some sort of like.... ok to plot for this, or if i could put up an ooc post on my own asking if anyone would be interested in demon fisticuffs/deaths/close calls, since this would mostly just be happening in the background and wouldn't stand as a monthly plot by itself (yet). would it be alright if i went about it this way, or am i required something else?
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when the dead return!
Basically I want our monster's victims to start a new organized faction of monster hunters. This would involve the cooperation from all interested players, who can contribute and customize their past victims/future hunters as desired and offer suggestions of their own.
Lots of room for drama here, even among the humans. I’m sure there’s some who’d just like to try to move on from their whole experience. Maybe this starts as a support group that kind of takes a turn for the worse. Infighting, radicalization and so on. Things escalate and many humans among them desire justice and revenge.
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Would a mod-orchestrated version of what you're suggesting already be enough, or would you like to add more on top of that? If it's the latter, how would you envision this working from a gameplay perspective? While we encourage players to make up Ryslig NPCs freely, we'd like their focus to remain on the characters that went through the application process. We don't feel it's appropriate to center the camera on a non-apped character or for Ryslig players to play Ryslig OCs on too active a level, but if you've got suggestions for how to make your idea happen without the players actively playing the NPC portions of it, we're all ears!
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What these guys could be used for is definitely limited to flavor text but it feels like the kind of thing some players might enjoy even if the practical involvement is very limited
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Crash, Sonic, and new recruit vocalist Yuzu plan on taking their act to the next level! After experimenting with mind-altering sound waves, writing songs, and putting their heads together, they'll come up with a powerful new EP (extended play album). Their goal? To help bring “good” anti-Fog vibes to the peninsula.
In short, their songs will create feelings of positive pro-monster yet aggressive anti-fog sentiment. The pro-monster part is mostly for the humans who hear their music, to help ease tensions between the two populations per the notes about the overarching plot in 2024! But the anti-fog half of their message is directed towards monsterkind. There's also an attempt within their musical spellcasting to wash out the Dyster brainwashing from those affected- because there’s some foggies the band considers friends.
As per usual however, the music, combined with Elias' backing (maybe he provides the instruments/amps/recording equipment etc?) or just those mid-month Murphy’s Law energies… it has a stronger effect than anticipated. Some monsters after hearing the music (either from attending the performance or a live broadcast on the TV or radio) will be so affected by the anti-Fog vibes that they will be physically separated from the Fog magic in their bodies! The effect doesn’t necessarily happen right away- a delayed reaction could occur from characters mulling over the lyrics for too long.
This can result in a spectrum of effects; ranging from their Fog boons (or all their monster magic and related Mana-purchased spells) forced out and manifesting as a ball of mist they have to suck back up, to being split entirely from their form as the cloud of fog energy condenses into how the character mentally visualizes their monster half (normal or fog form).
Mod choice on whether the non-monstered characters are reverted to their human form or their canon form as in Felfri (with or without canon abilities), but basically the monster and the character will be separated. Of course, there's the option of opting out by being mildly inconvenienced at worst or simply being unaffected by the wild magical music.
In order to return to normal, it’s not that characters can’t reunite with their monster half, but if they will or won’t accept it back into themselves… But after no more than three days of separation, characters will grow steadily weaker (fatigue, shortness of breath) as their monster half grows angrier from a desire to be whole again.
Fourth-aligned characters would have an easier time making their expelled fog/monsters follow precise and explicit commands than Neutrals, while Fog-aligned characters compared to Neutrals would have a harder time controlling a more berserk, infuriated monster side.
But this would be up to player discretion. If a Fourth-aligned character has a berserk monster to deal with or a Fog-aligned character knows themselves enough for exactly how to placate their other self, that's fine too!
Near the very end of the event, as the magic starts to fade, characters stubbornly still rejecting their monster side hard enough creates a super persistent predator trying to eat them… Basically, the revival mechanic fixes things if all else fails. Those who opted into their removed fog as just a puff of mist could just have “fun” finding the right cloud before their life energy runs out!
Horror elements include but aren’t limited to: weakness/illness, dread from an inevitable/avoidable death, and potential themes of self-hatred and/or body dysmorphia.
tldr; Half doppelganger event, half His Dark Materials style Daemon event – Magic music works 2 good and causes monsters to be split from most of the fog they’re made of, either in the form of a cloud or by completely separating them out of their monster form. The split would temporarily last a week minimum until the magic wears off, after which point characters must either rejoin with their other selves, or die… and revive back into the status quo. The event can be played for straight horror or horror comedy! There’s a lot of flexibility.
Also, anyone in the middle of a temporary monster change gets a free one-week extension onto their time only if they opt’ed all the way into a full split from their monster form.