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tushanshu_ooc2014-10-16 08:37 pm
ironwood) wrote in tushanshu_ooc2014-10-16 08:37 pm
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Admin Post: STATE OF THE SHELL | OCTOBER 2014
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Hello Chelonauts! As you know there are a lot of big changes happening with the game, a lot of big reveals that are coming to light and lots of exciting things still to come. This SOTS is meant to address the game between now and the end of the Malicant arc, where the plot will shift over to the new phase of the game. There will be another SOTS post made in January to bring people up to speed with all the changes, so we're not covering any of those facets with this one. (They are still, however, tentatively outlined HERE.)
Please bear with us, as this post contains a lot of info! We hope we've covered everything but if not, please drop us a note on this post and we'll try to answer any remaining questions.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
What is the current atmosphere of the game?
How are the baby turtles doing?
What’s happening with the Palace?
Where’s the current seat of power? What about the Police force?
How will new characters arrive in Keeliai if Eva’s in a coma? What about canon-updates or in-game resurrections?
What about the Foreigner-run organizations, like the Welcome Center and the hospital?
When is Malicant’s doom going to play out? Are we still on the same timeline?
What’s happening with the missions?
Get your AC rewards right here!
Please bear with us, as this post contains a lot of info! We hope we've covered everything but if not, please drop us a note on this post and we'll try to answer any remaining questions.
MOD CHANGES
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Unfortunately, it’s that time again. Al, due to time and motivational constraints, has chosen to step down as a mod. She’ll be available to facilitate any turnover in plot, and we appreciate the work she’s put into the game to make it reach this far.
On that note, Pur and Amaraq have volunteered to join the mod team. We’ll be breaking them in during this last month of Malicant’s plot so we can start with a fresh team when the new plot comes!
On that note, Pur and Amaraq have volunteered to join the mod team. We’ll be breaking them in during this last month of Malicant’s plot so we can start with a fresh team when the new plot comes!
IN CHARACTER CHANGES
What is the current atmosphere of the game?
MALICANT: There is a definite sense of an impending storm breaking. With the murder of the Alderwood Emperor and five turtle hatchlings, Malicant stepped up his game and taunted the residents of Keeliai directly. That, combined with clues found by characters over the past several months, led to a very shocking revelation!
As of Raine’s network post regarding Malicant’s location (with further OOC information from Nilin-mun here pertaining to Nilin’s IC post over here), the Foreigners will know that Malicant has been successful in possessing Asti himself. By his own admission, it's been since before the previous crop of Foreigners were in Keeliai! This makes defeating and/or killing him a little more of a Herculean feat, and there aren't any immediately obvious ways of doing so. Foreigners are going to have to band together against the overwhelming odds if they want a chance of victory.
CULTISTS: The cultists are in a euphoria, believing that they’ve all but won. Many are in the street, openly proclaiming their loyalty to Malicant. They're now all carrying tainted weapons (the outline of symptoms having been outlined in this post) and will attack anyone, Foreigner OR kedan, with maniacal fervor. There are drugs -- Dust, Crystal, and even rumors of other new substances -- on the street, though it’s difficult to tell exactly who has begun to distribute them; while not exactly popular, yet, if given the time their influence spread.
THE KEDAN: Contrary to after the Palace was taken, when the kedan were banding together, now they’re withdrawing from the Foreigners. They're acting very differently than they have in Foreigner memory: becoming aggressive and combative, as if those with the worst temperaments among them have suddenly spread. Somehow, they just seem more aware of themselves and their surroundings than ever before. They don’t understand how the Foreigners could have let this happen, and though none of them held much love for the Emperor, his death proves that anyone can be reached. With the revelation of Malicant's possession of Asti, the kedan are, frankly, scared, and they don’t have much faith left that the Foreigners can save them.
In some ways, that means all bets are off; the most polite of the kedan will avoid interacting with the Foreigners while the least polite will make trouble… but there are far fewer of the former and seemingly less every day. Many of the average kedan are banding together. The observant will notice this seems to be happening in family-groups and bloodlines. Sharing living-space, safehouses, making themselves scarce--the kedan are preparing for war and preparing to defend themselves. Against Malicant, or the Foreigners? It’s hard to tell.
Any jobs that are held under kedanese employers are immediately terminated, not that too many people have had time for their regular work hours lately.
There does, however, remain a small faction of kedan who support the Foreigners. These kedan range from secretly helping by providing supplies to speaking up in public about needing Foreigner support. Most have become as much a target of hate as the Foreigners themselves.
As of Raine’s network post regarding Malicant’s location (with further OOC information from Nilin-mun here pertaining to Nilin’s IC post over here), the Foreigners will know that Malicant has been successful in possessing Asti himself. By his own admission, it's been since before the previous crop of Foreigners were in Keeliai! This makes defeating and/or killing him a little more of a Herculean feat, and there aren't any immediately obvious ways of doing so. Foreigners are going to have to band together against the overwhelming odds if they want a chance of victory.
CULTISTS: The cultists are in a euphoria, believing that they’ve all but won. Many are in the street, openly proclaiming their loyalty to Malicant. They're now all carrying tainted weapons (the outline of symptoms having been outlined in this post) and will attack anyone, Foreigner OR kedan, with maniacal fervor. There are drugs -- Dust, Crystal, and even rumors of other new substances -- on the street, though it’s difficult to tell exactly who has begun to distribute them; while not exactly popular, yet, if given the time their influence spread.
THE KEDAN: Contrary to after the Palace was taken, when the kedan were banding together, now they’re withdrawing from the Foreigners. They're acting very differently than they have in Foreigner memory: becoming aggressive and combative, as if those with the worst temperaments among them have suddenly spread. Somehow, they just seem more aware of themselves and their surroundings than ever before. They don’t understand how the Foreigners could have let this happen, and though none of them held much love for the Emperor, his death proves that anyone can be reached. With the revelation of Malicant's possession of Asti, the kedan are, frankly, scared, and they don’t have much faith left that the Foreigners can save them.
In some ways, that means all bets are off; the most polite of the kedan will avoid interacting with the Foreigners while the least polite will make trouble… but there are far fewer of the former and seemingly less every day. Many of the average kedan are banding together. The observant will notice this seems to be happening in family-groups and bloodlines. Sharing living-space, safehouses, making themselves scarce--the kedan are preparing for war and preparing to defend themselves. Against Malicant, or the Foreigners? It’s hard to tell.
Any jobs that are held under kedanese employers are immediately terminated, not that too many people have had time for their regular work hours lately.
There does, however, remain a small faction of kedan who support the Foreigners. These kedan range from secretly helping by providing supplies to speaking up in public about needing Foreigner support. Most have become as much a target of hate as the Foreigners themselves.
How are the baby turtles doing?
The baby turtles are no longer quite so ‘baby’. About the size of a good-sized van, they’re currently roughly prepubescent and therefore more interested in ‘adult things’ than ever. Likewise, this means that their telepathic range has grown so they can easily contact each other (and by extension any particular ‘uncle/aunt’ they might want to speak to). Similarly, they're able to relay telepathic speech to anyone on Tu Vishan, whether they are a turtle parent or not.
Here is an approximate size comparison.
The deaths of their siblings was also a wake-up call; though previously the turtles never dismissed Malicant’s threat, now they’re aware of it. While they will be wary of bothering their parents with ‘trivial’ questions, so as not to distract them from saving the universe, parents should expect their questions to lean toward topics such as the nature of death or war, or fighting and the effect it has. They will, generally, be distressed by the idea of further suffering, but also want to help in removing the threat Malicant poses. The reveal of who Asti is has definitely shaken them, but the influences of the Foreigner parents will have been more than enough to negate any hold Malicant might try to exert on them.
Here is an approximate size comparison.
The deaths of their siblings was also a wake-up call; though previously the turtles never dismissed Malicant’s threat, now they’re aware of it. While they will be wary of bothering their parents with ‘trivial’ questions, so as not to distract them from saving the universe, parents should expect their questions to lean toward topics such as the nature of death or war, or fighting and the effect it has. They will, generally, be distressed by the idea of further suffering, but also want to help in removing the threat Malicant poses. The reveal of who Asti is has definitely shaken them, but the influences of the Foreigner parents will have been more than enough to negate any hold Malicant might try to exert on them.
What’s happening with the Palace?
The palace has been abandoned by Malicant and is open to exploration by the Foreigners. Please do so if your character would! The palace log reveals important information about Malicant’s movements and plans. Do keep in mind the content warnings, however. Right now, most characters seem to be focusing on what was found in the ritual chamber and the ghosts and writing in the prison. This is an ongoing element of the metaplot, and will likely continue to have a place in events even after the Malicant arc has ended, so spread the knowledge around; it’s the best way to figure out Malicant’s plans and the grand scope of his reach!
Where’s the current seat of power? What about the Police force?
Ostensibly power still rests with the police-station. However, the Basswood Commander Celaunn is nowhere to be found, and as per Annabeth’s post the Foreigners will know that Evastelei is in a coma. The Foreigners are the only ones drawing the lines around any rules in Keeliai currently, and judging by the way the kedan are withdrawing into tightly-knit groups, they’ve no faith in those lines.
As for the police, though the disappearance of the Basswood Commander was an unwelcome shock, there were already chains of command in place to deal with such events. The kedan quickly appointed an acting Commander and continue to work within their own division. Given their training and discipline, as well as the respect that some of the Foreigners have garnered in their time helping, the majority of the kedan police continue to work with the Foreigner Division. Some even defer to the division’s current leader, Billy Costigan, in addition to their own acting Commander. Not all officers are thrilled, however, and some in the force now refuse to work with or help the foreigners. The acting Commander seems indifferent for the moment, neither helping nor prohibiting help.
As for the police, though the disappearance of the Basswood Commander was an unwelcome shock, there were already chains of command in place to deal with such events. The kedan quickly appointed an acting Commander and continue to work within their own division. Given their training and discipline, as well as the respect that some of the Foreigners have garnered in their time helping, the majority of the kedan police continue to work with the Foreigner Division. Some even defer to the division’s current leader, Billy Costigan, in addition to their own acting Commander. Not all officers are thrilled, however, and some in the force now refuse to work with or help the foreigners. The acting Commander seems indifferent for the moment, neither helping nor prohibiting help.
How will new characters arrive in Keeliai if Eva’s in a coma? What about canon-updates or in-game resurrections?
Initially, new characters could not arrive in Keeliai while Eva’s in a coma. However, she has left an interdimensional pulley-system on autopilot--something that has not helped her current status--which can help new characters into the city. This system will not last forever, though; it’s in the players’ best interests to help her. The biggest change is that instead of the police station, characters will now be arriving directly into the Welcome Center; it seems Eva warded it the same way as the station and, as a fail safe, directed the magic there prior to her coma.
Canon updates will be on hold until the plot changeover; characters will have the opportunity to canon-update or drop just after the Malicant plot has finished and just before the next plot begins.
The lanterns are still protected, but keep an eye on them--given the big deal made about them earlier in the year, some of the kedan have caught on that they’re important. And since some of those kedan are tired of seeing the Foreigners take up space, it would be wise to lock all the doors and windows.
Likewise, Eva has put precautions in place to help Foreigners resurrect if they die--but her magic is understandably stretched thin. Foreigners who aren’t careful with their lives will resurrect ill: lethargic, trouble motivating, needing twelve hours of sleep, slightly feverish. If they were killed by injury, the injury will heal just barely enough for them to live--but will still be present afterward.
Milyn is the primary point of contact for newly resurrected Foreigners. She has been working for the last few months in conjunction with Eva's summoning magic and seems to have found the right balance of medical science for it. Her clinic in the Water Sector remains open, though the Cherrywood Healer is far from her usual chipper self these days.
Canon updates will be on hold until the plot changeover; characters will have the opportunity to canon-update or drop just after the Malicant plot has finished and just before the next plot begins.
The lanterns are still protected, but keep an eye on them--given the big deal made about them earlier in the year, some of the kedan have caught on that they’re important. And since some of those kedan are tired of seeing the Foreigners take up space, it would be wise to lock all the doors and windows.
Likewise, Eva has put precautions in place to help Foreigners resurrect if they die--but her magic is understandably stretched thin. Foreigners who aren’t careful with their lives will resurrect ill: lethargic, trouble motivating, needing twelve hours of sleep, slightly feverish. If they were killed by injury, the injury will heal just barely enough for them to live--but will still be present afterward.
Milyn is the primary point of contact for newly resurrected Foreigners. She has been working for the last few months in conjunction with Eva's summoning magic and seems to have found the right balance of medical science for it. Her clinic in the Water Sector remains open, though the Cherrywood Healer is far from her usual chipper self these days.
What about the Foreigner-run organizations, like the Welcome Center and the hospital?
WELCOME CENTER: The Welcome Center is still running on a Foreigner volunteer skeleton staff. At the moment it hasn't been attacked by the kedan directly, though they've not gone out of their way to do anything which might benefit it either. The cultists have only made a few attempts at breaching it, but have been turned back by its staff’s variety of abilities. However once it becomes known that new arrivals to Keeliai -- those who have the best chance of being resistant to Malicant's influence due to lack of exposure -- are now arriving there directly, the Center will surely become a much more high profile target.
HOSPITAL: The hospital has been left primarily in the hands of the kedan. Though there are still some Foreigners working there, it’s out of necessity; the kedan are not happy by their continued presence, just like everywhere else. While there’s an element of cohesiveness in order to keep the hospital functioning, first-aid coming before all personal biases, even the hospital-workers are becoming more insular around the Foreigners there. Foreigners expecting medical aid may be better served going directly to a Foreign healer or medical professional themselves--though the kedan will tend to Foreigners, there will be delays, demands for paperwork and wait-times while the kedan give their own people precedence.
HOSPITAL: The hospital has been left primarily in the hands of the kedan. Though there are still some Foreigners working there, it’s out of necessity; the kedan are not happy by their continued presence, just like everywhere else. While there’s an element of cohesiveness in order to keep the hospital functioning, first-aid coming before all personal biases, even the hospital-workers are becoming more insular around the Foreigners there. Foreigners expecting medical aid may be better served going directly to a Foreign healer or medical professional themselves--though the kedan will tend to Foreigners, there will be delays, demands for paperwork and wait-times while the kedan give their own people precedence.
When is Malicant’s doom going to play out? Are we still on the same timeline?
Originally, the Malicant plot was to end on October 31st. However, since the plot is so reliant upon player-guided actions, we have decided to alter this a little to give characters time to collect themselves and formulate a plan for the Boss Battle.
We are putting in a soft endgame date of Nov 14th, which gives players a full month to tackle Malicant. If the ball rolls a little faster and it wraps up before then, that's totally fine! We want this to be as organic and flexible as possible and to work with the current pace of the game. However we are also adding a "hard cap" end date of Nov 30th. What this means is that, should no IC outcome be reached by this date, a meta action will be made to tie off the plot and start the new game phase.
After that, we will be posting a bridging event post in the comms for characters to tag into between the Malicant plot end and the new plot’s beginning. This event post will take place in the Dreaming and only the Dreaming and last for one week. On the OOC side of things, this is also going to give us mods a full week to overhaul the core posts so they accurately reflect all the new aspects of the game.
Once the week is over, we will be posting an OOC post detailing the changes that have occurred in Keeliai in the wake of Malicant's defeat, and characters will be free to access the whole of the turtle’s back again … though they may find it a less accommodating place.
Players who wish to conclude a character's run in TuShanshu will have the option of having it happen ICly during the Dreaming Week, where they can bid farewell to their friends and return to their worlds.
We are putting in a soft endgame date of Nov 14th, which gives players a full month to tackle Malicant. If the ball rolls a little faster and it wraps up before then, that's totally fine! We want this to be as organic and flexible as possible and to work with the current pace of the game. However we are also adding a "hard cap" end date of Nov 30th. What this means is that, should no IC outcome be reached by this date, a meta action will be made to tie off the plot and start the new game phase.
After that, we will be posting a bridging event post in the comms for characters to tag into between the Malicant plot end and the new plot’s beginning. This event post will take place in the Dreaming and only the Dreaming and last for one week. On the OOC side of things, this is also going to give us mods a full week to overhaul the core posts so they accurately reflect all the new aspects of the game.
Once the week is over, we will be posting an OOC post detailing the changes that have occurred in Keeliai in the wake of Malicant's defeat, and characters will be free to access the whole of the turtle’s back again … though they may find it a less accommodating place.
Players who wish to conclude a character's run in TuShanshu will have the option of having it happen ICly during the Dreaming Week, where they can bid farewell to their friends and return to their worlds.
ORGANIZATION
What’s happening with the missions?
Now that we’re gearing up for endgame, the Emperor is dead and Celaunn is missing, there’s no one around to give missions. The end is coming and everyone can tell: it’s make or break time for the Foreigners. After the Malicant plot is done, there will be a period of IC aimlessness in which no one will be quite sure what’s happening; the picking up after the storm, as it were.
For that reason the missions have been put on hold indefinitely. We will be revisiting their status in January, when we will also be writing another State of the Shell to address happenings with the new plot.
And speaking of new things ...
For that reason the missions have been put on hold indefinitely. We will be revisiting their status in January, when we will also be writing another State of the Shell to address happenings with the new plot.
And speaking of new things ...
Get your AC rewards right here!
Given that we’re moving out of a major plot into a whole new world, we’ve decided to revamp the AC system to hopefully make the game a little more fun for everyone! In the first place, we’ll be reducing the minimum AC requirement to 15 comments spread across a maximum of 3 threads. As before, if only one character is used for your character’s AC, then that character may not be the sole AC proof given in the following month.
But on to the fun stuff! The new plot will have a marked focus on exploration and reconstruction. These won't have the same structure as the missions, and will be a lot more freeform. For that reason, those who give extra activity will have the opportunity to broaden their characters’ knowledge of the setting, as well as have opportunities to spice up their lifestyle. The rewards will run on the basis of granting points for extra merit; cached points can then be used to claim rewards with a certain ‘price’.
For every additional 15 tags (spread across maximum three threads) you can earn one point, with a cap of 60 tags and 4 points a month (including base activity). Rewards will include: special landfall items, opening landfall locations, securing a valuable resource in Keeliai (such as non-physical items, memories or temporary powers), similar to how the Dreaming Portal rewards were done. Other options will likely be added in the future, but this is a basic listing.
There will be a more concrete "price guide" drawn up as we get closer to the implementation of the new AC system so people have a better idea of how many points each type of thing will be allotted. Additionally, all characters remaining in the game will be given a "starter pool" of AC points as a reward for surviving Malicant! This will be ~3-5 per character, but we'll get everyone a firm number once we have the reward chart functioning. Currently existing mission points will be rolled into this AC point pool to be used towards rewards.
This new AC system will go into effect for activity from DECEMBER 1st to 31st, which means that it will first be tallied under the new system on the AC that goes up January 1, 2015.
In addition! There will be no AC requirements for November 1-30, only a player check in for their characters so we know how many are moving onward to the new game phase.
But on to the fun stuff! The new plot will have a marked focus on exploration and reconstruction. These won't have the same structure as the missions, and will be a lot more freeform. For that reason, those who give extra activity will have the opportunity to broaden their characters’ knowledge of the setting, as well as have opportunities to spice up their lifestyle. The rewards will run on the basis of granting points for extra merit; cached points can then be used to claim rewards with a certain ‘price’.
For every additional 15 tags (spread across maximum three threads) you can earn one point, with a cap of 60 tags and 4 points a month (including base activity). Rewards will include: special landfall items, opening landfall locations, securing a valuable resource in Keeliai (such as non-physical items, memories or temporary powers), similar to how the Dreaming Portal rewards were done. Other options will likely be added in the future, but this is a basic listing.
There will be a more concrete "price guide" drawn up as we get closer to the implementation of the new AC system so people have a better idea of how many points each type of thing will be allotted. Additionally, all characters remaining in the game will be given a "starter pool" of AC points as a reward for surviving Malicant! This will be ~3-5 per character, but we'll get everyone a firm number once we have the reward chart functioning. Currently existing mission points will be rolled into this AC point pool to be used towards rewards.
This new AC system will go into effect for activity from DECEMBER 1st to 31st, which means that it will first be tallied under the new system on the AC that goes up January 1, 2015.
In addition! There will be no AC requirements for November 1-30, only a player check in for their characters so we know how many are moving onward to the new game phase.
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Also - and this goes to everyone!! - Akito has been trying to figure out more information on the Vilii and, by extension, the stone + ritual they used to create him. He's been trying to organize regular meetings for characters to plan things and share information, so characters are welcome to join in on that in his latest open log. He's trying to be as open as he can about the information he has in the hopes that someone might be able to expand on it!
On that same vein there are two things he wants to do (but may not actually go through with):
1. Contacting Malicant via the network to ask him some questions, because hey - he might actually answer, you never know! (still debating if he would or not - depends on his CR!)
2. Gathering a group to go back to the Palace and see if there are any clues that have been overlooked - particularly ones that pertain to Vilii & relating rituals.
Would anyone want in on a second palace exploration? I have a tentative group arranged already but thought it would be good to see if anyone else wants in, too!
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Completely dumb/newbie question
Sokka speaks and writes in Chinese. So my assumption is that, for the most part, most my character wouldn't be able to read said messages? Is that correct? Or is there such a thing as a language-neutral text network message, and only if [English] is specified is it incomprehensible?
As a follow-up, is Malicant speaking English? Language-neutral? Or whatever it would be that Sokka could understand?
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Malicant is... typing in whatever language will be understood by its addressee. I didn't really think of that beforehand but we'll go with language-neutral, yes :P
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i.e.: three threads that have 30 tags in total = AC and bonus AC?
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So for your example, yes you could get the base AC + 1 bonus AC point for a thread with 30, but if the same thread went to 45, you wouldn't be able to get base + 2 AC points on THAT thread.
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