activity + state of the game

[groundrules]

Hi everyone! Welcome, officially, to………… autumn. Monthly wrap of admin trinkets below!

SEPTEMBER ACTIVITY CHECK

Hi guys! The activity check (AC) is handled in-house, and you do not need to do anything unless your character is listed below. Please remember to use character tags for posts and logs you tag into — there’s been a bit of a decline in that, and it makes it difficult to hunt down your activity. If you’re uncomfortable tagging all the time, just doing so for posts/threads where you’ve met activity requirements is a-okay!

Regular activity requirements are one of the following during the AC month:

■ a network post
■ OR 10 text/network-style comments across at most two threads
■ OR five log comments across at most two threads

Activity can be carried out on either the game communities or character inboxes.

In August, I couldn’t find sufficient activity for...

Lee Chang | jeoha | RECLAIMED
Winnifred Prismall | soulsrob | RECLAIMED
Catra | plentystrong
Vanya Hargreeves | remugient | RECLAIMED
Jiang Cheng | consignation | RECLAIMED

Comment here or PM @ groundrules until 5 September if you’d like to reclaim your character, or if they have August activity that was missed!

■ Our resident Sith Lord Archeval ( darkeststars ) will be out of Taravast in September on a plot-linked assignment that will span a mod-agreed hiatus. But! He remains reachable for light threading at his inbox.


OTHER ADMIN

■ The Story So Far page has been updated with a summary of the Taravast plot covered so far, if you need to catch up!

■ As characters are still working in the background to chase a poisoning cure, the next event write-up will go up on 4 September. The calendar page will be updated at that time. You can do last-minute prop/plotting for the very real poison antidote hunt here.

■ An informal discord server has been set up for Eastbound — you should have been PMed a link by now, but please drop a line if that hasn’t been the case, and you’re interested in participating.

■ For a refresher on who's on #TeamVannozza or #TeamMacaluso, the list lies here.


STATE OF THE GAME

■ GAME VIBES | eastbound has been alive and somehow still kicking since late March, and now’s a good time to check in on how people are still feeling about the game momentum. If we’re all at the end of our rope, we can plan for a wind-down after Arc II. This is not an endgame announcement — just asking how everyone is enjoying the game! If you don’t mind just dropping some thoughts here, that would be helpful!

■ BLOOOOOOD | The game was set up as invite-only while I befriended the modding ropes, and I’m humbled it’s more than tripled in size since. There are player-felt advantages to a larger playerbase (variety in characters/speed/ideas), but speaking from the mod point of view — a larger number of players makes it substantially easier to drive the plot forward, mod-side.

With that in mind, I wanted to ask how everyone would feel about making the game public / removing the invite-only status, provided we kept eastbound capped, with app sessions absorbing new players in small increments. If you can all leave some feedback here, that would be great! This is likely to be a more sensitive topic for some players than others, so please only respond to the main comment.

A COUPLE OF PLOT ROLLS...

Minor organic follow-ups or wrenches thrown in, based on recent plot developments or character actions. If you want a character roll, comment here. But please act on designer plot rolls! No handwaving.

■ Over the course of September, the grumpy ghost residents of the haunted house "inherited" by Lily and Wei Wuxian will mention that several necromancers and other magic users keep barging in and ruining their peace and quiet. They never stay long.

■ Wrath obtains two more disciples, also paying their learning fees. In mid-September, they will mention that donna Vannozza has sent out word in the necromantic districts asking for practitioners to carry out a special summon/exorcism rites. They will ask if their master is participating.

■ Diego Hargreeves' suit with Macaluso continues, now with Vannozza's approval and with less competition*. He will receive multiple invitations to various higher-level functions. He and his wolves are accommodated in a separate part of Macaluso's wing of the Spina palace.

■ *following Alina's anonymous reveal to the Piazza, negative sentiment bolsters against Lady Odile, who ultimately abandons her suit and Taravast. Knowing she was likely betrayed by one of the very people she sought to warn, she repays their 'kindness' by inciting all her local acquaintances against them. Throughout September, Fox, Mingyu, Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu, Xie Lian and Alina will be subjected to repeat instances of court bullying (rumours, fewer event invitations, their rooms raided), also finding they enjoy a frostier reception from sorcery schools.

Comments

PLOT ROLLS

[groundrules]

You can request your very own plot roll for September here. To keep things fair, if you request & receive one, it has to come in play and can't simply be handwaved.

[weifinder]

With the Plot Rolls that those of us have already, in following up on them, do you want that in a specific format? Do you want to be old grumpy ghosts that Wei Wuxian tries chatting up. (I laugh, but yeah.)

[groundrules]

Yellow! You guys got plot rolls that were inflicted on you, so no same requirement to follow up. Even with the other folks — it's just to ensure the rolls and special accommodation are used, and to discourage asking only to handwave later.

[weifinder]

Got it!

Thus coming back here later with a grandpa followup: Wei Wuxian would want to directly ask the house grandpas what the lurking necormancers are doing or want when they're breaking in. He'll also offer to ward the house, if the grandpa ghosts would like!

[lancifolium]

Slams into this finally hi hello. We should brainstorm ghost relations and also shoring up against necromancers barging in - or maybe even trying to catch and question them about said barging. There are some wards that might work, and there are charms that might serve as a security system.

Also!! Wen Qing has also expressed an interest in chatting up the spirits, and I'm tossing a link to her. Let's flip this house my Property Brother.

[weifinder]

Hi hello! Happy to do the brainstorming, do we want to tag and track these necromancers perhaps?

Also sounds good, Wei Wuxian can do what he can, and you could see if a Lan wants to come around and inquiry, but the grandpas might. Hate that.

... Let Wei Wuxian suffer this instead

[lancifolium]

Oh yes, the ol' paper man peeping thing? I think that's definitely a great hands-off way to get some insight into what these people are looking for in the house.

As for the grandpa house, I'd really love to let them poke around, Papa Wangji would always be welcome, I think Thea mentioned Wen Qing speaking with them too.

[silverneedles]

Wen Qing has some specific questions for the ghosts, I'll have to think of them, but she definitely wants to talk to them.

[weifinder]

Let me know when you have those ideas!

[weifinder]

I'll start with Wei Wuxian asking the grandpa ghosts point blank what the lurking necromancers are after, if they'd said anything/could be guessed!

[groundrules]

As it so happens, these necromancers are looking through the effects of the previous owner to search for any tomes that speak of mastering the raised undead.

They're very rude about it.

Never wash the mud off their boots before coming in.

[weifinder]

Links you to what we've been told re: what those necromancers are up to: https://lostcompass.dreamwidth.org/12455.html?thread=1163943#cmt1163943

[wooden_one]

I would like a plot roll for Chu Wanning!

[groundrules]

Pick one: funny, WTFish, mystery or action?

[wooden_one]

...WTFish because I have no idea what that might be and I'm curious.

[groundrules]

A series of bizarre but strangely repetitive coincidences keep convincing the staff of the Doxe's Palazzo that Chu Wanning ranks among the fresh intake of servants — assigned to attend don Bonaccorso's wing.

For the rest of the month, whenever they see him in corridors, various servants will give him keys to cleanse rooms, letters and packages to deliver, and clothes to mend or launder. Chu Wanning might not encounter Bonaccorso himself unless he actively initiates, but he can roam freely in that wing.

[wooden_one]

...omg. If he his idea of doing laundry is just swirling things in water and then drying it will he get in trouble?

[inferus]

Going to follow up here with pursuing Wrath's plot roll. He would one hundred percent be interested in meeting with Vanozza to discuss the potential of his participation in this special exorcism/summoning. Summoning, at least, is something he has quite a deal of experience with (especially as a powerful demon who was summoned himself haha........) I think he first might try to figure out who has already met with Vanozza to see if he could get any hints from them or find anything further beforehand, but then he would pursue meeting up with her.

He would attempt to do so in person. I'll drop him in the NPC inbox here very soon. Just curious if he would have learned anything by asking around.

[groundrules]

Heya! Wei Wuxian has already met with Vannozza, and Diego Hargreeves and Xiao Xingchen both have had exchanges. Wen Qing, as her physician, sees her daily. I'd say — network post asking who has dealt with this woman might be Wrath's safest bet!

And sure, happy to have him in the npc inbox. This could all connect nicely in to the event that drops on the 17th, so let's see where you get, I might piggyback off Wrath's developments when setting that up.

[inferus]

Awesome. Thank you :)

[inferus]

Coming back to this to ask really quickly, what would Wrath discover about the undead in Vannozza's family's forest on his guided tour that she was so nice to offer to him, ahem? He can sense magic, death related stuff like souls and the dead, and also demons. Anything special/notable especially in relation to her affliction but even just in general?

[groundrules]

Heya - when is he going to be taking this tour?

[inferus]

He probably would have tried to take it after his meeting with her like the very next day before everything goes to hell (pun intended). But I'm also good with him having waited until after everything/the next day being when everything went to hell if that makes the most sense. :)

[lancifolium]

Speaking of keeping the grandpas happy, apart from muddy boots is there anything special they're going to have to do to keep these old fellas happy enough to use the house at least to some degree? Is there anything they'd be against doing to the house to booby trap it from necromancers (making windowsills slimy let's say)?

Can Lily sweeten up the grandpas in any way so that they let her use a room as a potion making space where she and Wen Qing can work on brewing stuff/reverse engineering that cream Wen Qing's trying to crack? Everything would be hidden/transfigured into random things when not in use because of home invaders.

[groundrules]

For now, the grandpas are about as happy as they can be — mostly, they prefer their house undisturbed, but they'll suffer the occasional visit, provided the incomers are well-mannered.

The grandpas are unlikely to intervene with Lily and Wen Qing's brewing at this time, but many of them are former necromancers, potions brewers, exorcists or district residents themselves, so they'll act as a... riotous peanut gallery. Now and then, they might annoyingly try to correct Wen Qing and Lily, or ruin their experiments, when the ladies disagree with their suggestions.