let's set d o w n some (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
groundrules) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lostcompass2022-05-12 07:35 pm
groundrules) wrote in lostcompass2022-05-12 07:35 pm
Entry tags:
THE TITHE | ARC III FINALE
Hello, good people! It’s all about to go down with a Boom on 18 May during the log finale of Arc III.
- ■ After wrapping up Arc III, the party will enjoy a plot-light(er) ‘journey’ segment totalling four-six weeks, then head into Arc IV.
■ An out-of-character vote will go up over the next few days, so you can choose between two destination options for Arc IV.
■ Our next test drive meme takes place in early June.
For now, a brief idea of what to expect in the Arc III finale log below, so you can plot & plan your moves ahead.
Catch-up: desperate villagers are revisiting human sacrifices in hopes of swaying the Ke-Sanwon volcano’s eruption. The rites were stalled for a few years, during which a traveller’s cure for droughts was purchased with tributes collected by the undead Beastmaster. The witches of the Fetters gained their power and animal hybrids began to roam around this time. Wrath and Emilia discovered the volcano contains magical energy and tormented spirits that have been capped by a fracturing dark mirror. The group stole keys to enter the House of Ravens sacrificial temple — which now opens for the eruption.
In family drama, it emerges the Beastmaster was once married to the Huntress (formerly Anui), who offered their son to Ke-Sanwon without his father’s say. The child disappeared. Both parents hope to find him in the House. Wrathion, Daenerys and Viktor have all will be sharing juicy details by 18 May, once NPC threads wrap up.
Upcoming:
THIS HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE
The party must infiltrate the House of Ravens overnight and wait until dawns, when the temple dais slowly opens to reveal the mouth of the volcano.
- ■ Those who enter the House are fully or partially depowered and have their ancestral curse immediately lifted.
■ In the midnight to dawns period, characters are supernaturally tempted to act on their greatest individual sin.
■ They are chased by the temple’s… unusually large defenders, if they succumb to these instincts. Good luck til dawns, folks.
LET THERE BE BLOOD
The cultists of Ke-Waicai greet dawns by exposing their first chosen sacrifice to Ke-Sanwon, showcasing exactly what happens to their ‘Chosen.’ Roughly two hundred villagers attend the rites, along with eight powerful priests who use elemental magic.
In good (?) news: seeking his missing son, the Beastmaster bring his xenomorphic creatures to attack the House of Ravens.
Characters should:
- ■ Dress up, join the crowd and free the remaining tributes during the beastly skirmish.
■ Take control of the House’s dais by defeating or killing the priests.
! Characters can remain partially or fully depowered throughout, if you prefer.
FIRE AND BRIMSTONE?
The dais remains under the party’s control as long as a character (literally) shoulders the head priest’s ancient white raven and holds its leash.
- ■ Whoever carries the raven becomes the target of the village mob and of the Beastmaster’s creatures.
■ The raven should be passed around. Defend the bird’s current holder and throw off their pursuers.
■ If the bird dies, the dais closes, and the volcano erupts. No pressure.
For those looking to stop the eruption, options include but are not limited to:
- ■ Throwing more dark water into the volcano to fix the mirror crack.
■ Using ice / cold magic and scientific processes to cool down the volcano’s warmth and help the mirror regenerate itself.
■ Exorcising some of the spirits within the volcano.
■ Absorbing some of the magical power contained by the volcano. IMPORTANTLY, this can lead to substantial or permanent effects for your character, detailed here.
■ Persuading and guiding sane villagers to bring sea water. Helpful tips: remember those cool phoenix rides and the very fast Ke-Waiar werewolves.
■ PLOT HOW TO TACKLE THE VOLCANO. You can come up with your own solution. Calming Ke-Sanwon is a huge enterprise, so the more help, the better.
THE BEASTMASTER
Group up and pitch a plan, if you want to slay the Beastmaster.
He will drive his animal to raid the House of Ravens and devolve into a fury when he does not locate his son. Grief renders him vulnerable and unpredictably violent. He is also significantly less powerful in the House of Ravens.
WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE CIVILIANS?
Beyond the House of Ravens, villagers need help safeguarding their possessions or preparing to evacuate aboard incoming ships. The gradual spread of Ke-Sanwon’s seeping magic will infect some villagers, leading to animal hybridization in the farmers’ ranks — stay safe.
Whoever stays in the villages can also coordinate water and supply deliveries with those at the House of Ravens.
The Arc III beacon will briefly open, allowing characters to head home before sadly faltering. All characters dropped or AC swept in May will be said to have safely gone home through the beacon.
COMMENT HERE if you want a canon update for your character. They will briefly go to their home world, then return when the beacon fails. Characters do not retain memories, items or powers gained in game while they are in their home worlds, but they recover them on return.
It’s an Arc finale: go BIG, and you might go home. Respond with your very own shiny plotting comment, featuring:
no subject
As noted:
— unfortunately, we'd have to keep a NPC thread down to two PCs + the NPC at most. It'd be very logistically challenging, otherwise.
— however, if more than two people really want to talk to the Beastmaster and get any last information or make any kind of appeal, we could do separate NPC threads. Purely as a matter of resourcing, I'd like to keep it down to no more than three NPC threads, please. I'm happy if you want to double up on a thread or do 1-1s. The aim would be to start the threads today or tomorrow and to have them finished by 23:59GMT, 30 May.
— as mentioned in one of the previous threads: the Beastmaster isn't going to agree to be converted in any way or renounce the Brotherhood. The remaining options are to release him or kill him. Under this binary, vote seems to have leaned towards killing — I understand Diego is up for landing the final blow.
— we'll assume the Beastmaster is held in the temple during his captivity.
So, actionable items:
— please let me know if you want NPC threads
— someone might want to make a network post by 31 May, informing everyone the Beastmaster has been executed. Given how much agony he put everyone through in Taravast, at least a few folks should be relieved. Is anyone willing to volunteer?
Thanks again!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
I'm happy to have Xie Lian announce his death if no one else absolutely wants to, although on a separate note, I would like Moran to actually visit Hyang-Tai to tell her in person, even though he suspects she already knows, he just feels it's more courteous this way. I don't need an actual NPC thread if that will overload, hand-waved is fine with me since I suspect Daenerys might want to inform her they didn't find the boy and that sounds more important.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
So I was going to have Diego announce it but I just came down with Covid, would you be up for pinch hitting and have Xie Lian announce it?
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Jon’s “renounce the Brotherhood” thing is largely this fight’s version of “give up, Anakin! I have the higher ground!” It really doesn’t need to be a long thing if it’s happening in active battle.
But if El Beasto is being held and this is more of a “visitors before we kill him” thing, then yes, he would visit and make a “please give them a reason to spare you” appeal in conversation. I can be around to tag that kind of thing, but I will say that my motivation as a player is just what it would be IC for Jon to do, nothing more exciting than that.
I think Diego is a great choice to make the network post either way!
no subject
no subject
no subject