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lostcompass2021-08-07 08:03 pm
groundrules) wrote in lostcompass2021-08-07 08:03 pm
arc ii: taravast | arrival
Welcome to Taravast! Spend some quality time with the the brief of the citadel locations & team assignments. The below events should keep characters busy until around 31 August. Feel free to make your own posts and logs, though some mod-led log posts will be put on for certain events. Don't forget to share your character plans here!
The Story So Far page has been updated with a summary of the Stairs of Sighs interlude happenings, and a new NPC inbox featuring Taravast's who's who is now up. You can find a link to the old inbox and all your threads there.
Lastly: questions.
Mazyar leads the caravan into Taravast in the footsteps of a grandiose convoy of large animals, carts of gold, artefacts and spices — the retinue of the foreign princess Odile, come to persuade young Macaluso to pick her among the dozens vying to become his consort.
- ■ Yes, characters are effectively Odile’s back-up dancers when Macaluso receives her in the main piazza of Taravast. Characters will receive local garments, their upgraded communicators and masks, as per Taravast custom. Anurr and his undead go mysteriously missing.
■ Earn an ally by supporting Odile's marital cause. Macaluso enjoys gifts and exotic act performances, and he might think better of Odile for an exceptional offering. Alternatively, there’s good old-fashioned wingmanery. Let Odile be your muse.
OBJECTIVE: Figure out three gifts or hustles to raise Odile in Macaluso's graces. Or she can go back to swiping right. Masks will keep Macaluso from recognising you later...!
Pride once tattered, the party falls in the sticky hands of eccentric and influential Lady Rigarda, a friend of the Merchant who reveals the game:
- ■ Macaluso and his cousin Vannozza will soon begin their electoral campaign to win the Conclave's support to succeed their grandfather Bonaccorso as Doxe.
■ Bonaccorso cautiously refuses to restart the ancient beacon of Taravast, but gratitude could compel his heir. To cover all bases, characters have been divided to support both contenders, but those assigned to Macaluso have been told to discreetly sabotage him so Vannozza triumphs.
■ Rigarda allocates characters their Taravast identities, introducing them to key noblemen and their benefactors. For good or ill, many in Taravast have already heard of their reputations. Characters will be put in Macaluso or Vannozza’s wing of the Palace of the Doxe. Rigarda will warn them against public contact that betrays their collaboration. The communicator channel is private to the party.
■ Bonaccorso’s kin will prove scarce: Macaluso busily receives his suitors, flaunting his marriage as a recourse to strengthen Taravast's foreign ties. Vannozza hunts or visits the healing and necromantic districts. Gossips say she is often indisposed.
■ Attaryl witches will be apprehensive distant from fire magic practitioners, while Bessis adepts will lure them into their fold, or begrudge them the liberal use of 'their' arts.
■ Over three-four days, characters can roam Taravast, explore court, start befriending the districts or poke and prod at various magical and art institutions. 'Borrow' local garments and guard uniforms to infiltrate the academies, the inner areas of the healers' district, or the reception rooms of Macaluso and Vannozza. Careful of curious glances: you may find yourselves followed by invisible eyes, amid a fleeting sinking feeling.
■ On day three, demonstrators will invade the gardens of the Palace of the Doxe, objecting to Macaluso for 'selling out' Taravast with his marriage plans. Macaluso sends guards out, escalating the largely peaceful demonstration to violent clashes. Help the poorly armed protestors escape — discreetly, if you work for Macaluso — seize them, or watch on. The floor is yours.
■ Some protestors (...or even characters) will end up imprisoned with shackles and magical wards in the jailhouse of the Rooms of Justice. You could break these folks out.
OBJECTIVE: figure out your stance on the protesters, set up base and explore. You'll need it.
Macaluso will welcome his visiting royal suitors at a masquerade ball, with beloved cousin Vannozza and her allies also in attendance.
- ■ The pair's electoral champions — that's you! — will receive top seats at two separate tables, with Macaluso even bringing a delicate celebratory confection to his guests.
■ Enjoy that sweet tooth while you have it. Those who consume the confection will find their senses and their strength gradually sapped, threatening to kill them within three days. The poisoning, which will not affect characters assigned to Vannoza, will be blamed on a protestor found dead in the kitchens.
■ Macaluso will bring in healers to address the sickness. Stumped, one of them will suggest a superstitious all-cure: the feathers of a magical owl, whose kind was last seen in the Spina hunting grounds. Alas, only the lady Vannozza enters the site freely, keeping the ground keys in her quarters. Another healer will recommend the necromantic district and its underground 'potions' brewers.
OBJECTIVE: ...stay alive?
NOTE: Sign up your character to get poisoned here, with caution: unless characters work to find an antidote, one might not be discovered.
Any member of either team can look for the cure, though Vannozza’s people should be discreet in their pursuit or package their attempts to save the enemy as somehow benefitting the lady.
Some pre-discussed quests or custom plot opportunities emerging from previous involvement:
Wrath
He is on Team Macaluso with the BEST role: "A philanthropist magician reputed for miracles of charity. Some say he was once a gentle, magical elderly cat and that he still assumes this form to roam at night. Easy influence with sorcerers, academicians."
Here are some plans that may lead to potential CR or threads:
-Necromancy Wrath will be exploring this district, attempting to learn what he can about the magic there, and finding magic curiosities that he can get in exchange for money + showing some of his own magic/spells/rituals that he knows.
-Academic/Sorcery: Given his role, he will most likely attempt to openly go to the academies, speak to the sorcerers, use his influence as he can to learn what he is able about the magic here. He would be very into taking on this role and doing 'miracles' if it meant he was able to garner more information. If that fails, he is not against sneaking in/teleporting in places if he thought the information was worth it.
-Beacon: He would be incredibly interested in the beacon. He would go check it out for himself in person as much as he can to try to see what he could sense about it, and ask around about it.
-Poisoned Wrath has a sweet tooth unexpectedly. He doesn't need to eat at least back home (he will find himself slowly learning the sensation of hunger here), but Emilia made him cannolis and he found he actually loved them. He is a Prince of Hell so he's used to being basically immortal/difficult to harm. This will just be proof that things have changed for him. He will one hundred percent be unfamiliar with feeling weak or tired (wtf is this) and just throw himself head first into attempting to get the cure as well.
Also up for some chill time of seeing theater, looking at the wares, etc. There's information there too, and also, he just likes fancy things.
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Wrath and Zuko are both going to be poisoned teammates and I'd love to work out something sneaky and collaborative with sorting that out, he's also going to be sneaking around a fair bit so - room to creep around!
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-Wrath would make a point of heading to the beacon relatively quickly to see what he can find out about it. He can sense magic so he would be trying to see if there's anything he can sense about it specifically in terms of magic, but it will appear to be dead/deactivated but warded all around.
-Absolutely!! Wrath is pretty good at sneaking around, and he can teleport too which helps. Maybe they could meet up while Zuko is sneaking around before poisonings happen even. Zuko sneaks as Wrath teleports/appears somewhere more forbidden. I think Wrath may try to go down the Necromancer angle to find a cure since he's been gathering an in there.
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- i hear Wrath and Allison are playing some mathmaking games. any chance at helping Alina get close to Macaluso as a way to get more intel on him, too? and make Alina miserable.... but Alina is already trying to get into his good graces by helping capture a protestor
- secondly, Wrath here has the face of Alina's canonmate and villain Darkling~ would you be interested in potential mistaken faces? or prefer he not be mistaken at all or anything in between???
thanks!
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-Yes, I play the Darkling too :D Bin Bons just has an amazing face >>" that somehow fits both for the Darkling and for Wrath/Satan so well despite him being a precious bean himself. I WAS thinking something in between would be fun. Like perhaps he looks familiar/reminds her of Aleksander? Wrath kind of radiates an angelic/demonic thing in general so he'd seem different either way