lostcompass | Entries tagged with cr meme

Hello, hello, happy nearly-Halloween! The next stage of Ephes (The Channeling) takes place over 1-17 November, and you can find a summary of the main opportunities below. A mod-led log goes up on Wednesday and will include more atmospheric details.

This part of the plot is open-ended — so go wild! For new folks: you can always hit up NPCs at their shiny inbox for clues, and generally be as outlandish in your plotting as possible.

But first, if you missed anything:

RECAP OF PLOT REVEALS

You can assume the witch Karsa shares this information, if needed. The below includes all large plot points, to help newcomers — oldbies, scroll a bit c:

Earlier: the Senate has yet to vote on the proposal of undead lady Messalina, who asks to borrow Ephes’ supernaturally endowed, cult-like army, the Hand. She wants to liberate her undead brethren from the undead Brotherhood and will reimburse Ephes with conquered territories. Senate leader Caius Justus secludes at the temple of the Father of Chaos, the Chained God, to deliberate. Frustrated, Messalina might soon take matters into her own hands. Her agent, the shape-shifting demon Alir poses as popular Senator Maximus Faustus — assassins culled several Senators during his recent banquet. It surfaces that fresh assassination lists targeting Senators were written on Senate paper.

Recently: earthquakes rocked the agricultural clusters of Ephes, revealing... dark water typically associated with the undead. The Hand seem to be delivering dark water-infested grains by sea to a ‘merchant’ Matthias — perhaps the same man assumed to have spawned the undead. Created by Caius Justus, the Hand numbers feral members who were taught how to act human-like by mimes and who copy the exceptional combat skills of gladiators. Evidence in deserted barracks suggests that Hand soldiers were exposed to dark water.

Priests say their patron Chained God will soon destroy then rebirth the world anew — but some advocates are bribed and news shouters are coerced to spread the faith. Caius Justus previously invoked the Chained God to galvanize Ephes towards violence and military action.

Upcoming: an announcement from Senate leader Caius Justus goes up at the start of November — exiting seclusion, he will convey the Chained God wishes for Ephes to embrace true chaos and conquer. He advises the Senate to refuse Messalina’s proposal, but will defer to a vote. For civilian safety, Caius Justus imposes citadel-wide curfews, while the Hand army is seemingly always present to quiet or pre-empt unrest.

Check in below for plotting opportunities and try to sign up for the plotlines that interest you. You can definitely still play without signing up — it just helps to glean which missions are popular and should get more detail and individual content.

Mod advice: focus on just one of the scenarios and play support for the rest, to avoid overload. All scenarios have high plot impact, and anyone can participate in any scenario.

( upcoming missions )

A final Ephes plot update follows in late November, built off what you folks do in this upcoming event.

TRICK OR CR TREAT

Old, new or blue, fill out the form below to plot & Pokeget some new CR, then comment around mightily.

groundrules

THE SUNKEN | PART II

Image source.

Happy June! Below you can find a summary of our next event, due up on 8 June. The actual log may have a few more atmospheric details, but you should have everything you need for your plotting and planning needs below!

THE MORNING AFTER

Waking from Yancai’s undead attack, you find the village has gone three years back in time.

■ Yancai remains flooded, but there are fewer waterways and some dry grounds. You can safely transit by raft, alongside row boat.

■ Houses are stronger, their paints and furniture less eroded. There are fewer piers and minimal mould. The dual moons appear less… bloodthirstily ominous.

■ Most locals seem to recall nothing about the future Yancai or the undead attack. The elder council, including leader Quanze Tsaymien and Kuthuba, remember the future, but remain compelled to re-enact their past actions.

■ Telepath characters can hear echoes of screams during the two days that follow the time travel, seemingly from the undead attack.

■ You find the House of Commerce less sunken, although the beacon is still not operational. The House’s music boobytrap is not armed — the Master of Commerce, you hear, yet lives.

■ Some characters struggle with partial or full amnesia, or might think they are their assumed identities. These effects wane within 24 hours — but vertigo and nausea may persist.

LIVING FIRE (NEWCOMERS, OPT-IN)

Spooked by the memory meddling, party witch Karsa rallies newcomers, who have least experienced Yancai’s magic, to assemble ingredients for an elixir that will help settle clouded minds.

■ You must locate red-eye root on the edge of the forests that border Yancai. The plant lives in ancient, immense trees that have been burning from the inside for decades.

■ The red-eye root grows at the heart of these endless fires.

■ Briefly stop, divert or enter the fire wall within the tree long enough to collect the root — or wait until the fire gnome that makes their house in the burning tree returns. These gnomes can be persuaded to surrender a handful of roots — if you amuse them by fulfilling requests ranging from playful (songs, dances) to humiliating (pretending to be animals, sharing uncomfortable secrets) to cruel (asks for blood, punching a comrade… )

■ Dilute the red-eye root into an elixir, then distribute it.

■ You can enlist anyone’s help with the quest — we have witches, firemen…

HOME AT SEA

Though in finer form, Yancai is still progressively sinking — a newer reality for villagers who must raise piers, wade through waterways to reach their families, or rescue their cats from submerged rooftops. Lend a hand?

You overhear veteran fisherman Temiu mutter that mould dregs have knotted his nets — while newly arrived Captain Alia of the New Brigade wonders how Yancai is so flooded, when sea storms have not struck in weeks.

FARE THEE WELL

Once more, the village observes a funerary rite — this time, setting dead bodies at sea. A committee of silent embalmers contracted by the elder council prepares corpses so families may bid their final farewells, before the dead are laid to rest in one-man casket-vessels. The ships are chained closed and set on water, destined to return empty after the dead are claimed.

Distantly, a boat carrying the Man in Black of hauntings awaits to receive Yancai’s offering.

■ Some villagers murmur that many casket-ships have gone missing completely, meaning those dead are not rested. It might be better, they say, to bury their loved ones closer to home.

■ Stay among the grieving to collect information on the dead. You can also inspect the bodies by pretending to be embalmers.

■ …alternatively, additional casket-ships appear were constructed for any couples that perished together and remain unused. Grab a partner, descend into a casket and fake… perfect… stiffness, if you’re up to being locked in and set to sea, to experience firsthand how bodies… disappear. Holler if you want an intimate, sinister journey into the sea’s unknown.

THE MOON, HOWLING

A sight to be seen are the twin moons that steward Yancai, one true and one diffuse. In the future, they gleamed cold and waiting — here, those with a lunar or astral connection are increasingly struck, as if by an unyielding itch or sense of foreboding, that these moons are… not real. The true moon is captive.

These characters are drawn to the heavily-flooded south-western part of Yancai, which has been isolated with a high dam. Among deserted residences there is the seat of the elders’ council, the drowned palace-mansion of the Storm’s Stage — to which you are drawn in your moon-hunt.

■ You may wish to tell other party members your suspicions and enlist help.

■ Scale the great wooden dam, mindful of guards.

■ You find the south-western district overwhelmingly submerged, with waters thick, unnaturally cool and darkened (but not black). Refugees have removed row boats, and remaining rafts are threadbare, forcing you to swim, leap or scale rooftops and balconies to advance.

■ The Storm’s Stage is a flat, one-level building, where waters run 1.5-2m high. Its large, wide and labyrinthine corridors have made it a favourite hunting ground for Weepers: carnivorous 1m-long sea creatures with cruel teeth and human intelligence, who make a sobbing, hiccupping sound — that is in truth their cackling of enthusiasm, as they prepare to attack.

■ These obscene creatures spear the decaying bodies of their former human or animal prey in their teeth, propping them up and mimicking voices to lure you closer.

■ Make it far enough into the twisting building, and you may encounter a magically locked room, behind which, the sensitive are certain, lies the moon. Elders’ leader Quanze Tsaymien might have the key you require — or find a way to open the door yourself. (Room content revealed once people thread out the scenario!)

THE LADIES & THEIR LAKE

You hear that beautiful, virtuous maid Miang-Si has come of age, and her rich merchant family is accepting marriage petitions. Jubilant, social, modestly attired, kind and in good health — this Miang-Si is a far cry from the spiteful, sly creature you met in the future.

Some of Miang-Si’s jealous friends can’t help hinting that her reputation won’t stay clean too long, if she keeps sneaking out at night. Others, more concerned, mention that Miang-Si appears… distracted of late, her appetite lessened.

Approaching Miang-Si now could help you glean more on her future accomplices, the allegedly malicious witches, the ladies of the lake.

FOR RICHER OR FOR POORER

Miang-Si’s parents have exacting marital standards: you must be rich, righteous and publicly virtuous, all genders welcome. An exotic or previously unseen gift might also go far to gain you a private audience with Miang-Si.

■ Group up and present a potential suitor. Dress them in the village finest, polish their manners, hire an entourage and commandeer a suitable gift to impress Miang-Si’s discriminating parents.

■ Raise the suitor’s odds along with their public profile by showing or singing their feats and virtues in the marketplace so might villagers also spread the good word.

■ Woo your would-be parents-in-law by capturing golden scales from a rare Mura-sirri lake fish. It lives in Yancai’s lakes, spitting slime upon pursuers, who instantly back away and run, irrationally startled.

■ Miang-Si’s parents appears peculiarly ignorant of their house’s oddities, although the servants seem jittery and knowing. The silhouettes of unknown women appear in reflective surfaces, or can be seen running down corridors. Joining Miang-Si’s parents for tea, you feel strangely covetous of your ‘intended,’ while a beautiful woman no one else can see clings to you from behind and whispers you need only verbally or physically eviscerate everyone at this table to claim your bride. Hopefully, your wingwo/man can hold you back from an outburst.

■ Sign up here for one of three RNG-drawn audiences to speak to Miang-Si or investigate her quarters.

AT NIGHT, WE DALLY

You can also trail after Miang-Si on one of the nights when she slips out of her dead silent house. Follow her at a distance to the periphery of Yancai, just on the cusp of reaching the forests. She stops by the Silver Lakes, dropping in a silver coin and wishing for safe passage, before taking a boat.

■ If she discovers you following her, Miang-Si locks your gazes and firmly tells you to go home. Your body heeds her command, no matter how hard you fight her thrall.

■ If you also drop a silver coin in the Silver Lakes and wish for safe passage, your ship turns invisible for two hours.

■ Miang-Si stops her boat in the middle of the Silver Lake and touches the waters with her hand, summoning several skeletons to surface. They gain flesh, then skin and the likeness of beautiful women, as they bask in moonlight either climb into Miang-Si’s boat or float beside it. The parts of the women that stay underwater remain skeletal.

■ The one who first touched Miang-Si greets her with a kiss on the mouth, calling her a queen of the night.

■ Beware being heard by the skeletal women, who may move to capsize your boat, then embrace and kiss you, dragging you into water. The kiss of one such lady allows you to breathe underwater, while your lips are locked — while steadily stealing your stamina. Your captor progressively decays back to bones, losing sentience, as you reach the bottom of the lake — in a sign that the skeletons may have been magically possessed all along.

■ At the bottom of the lake, you find dozens of skeletons and mismatched bones, webbed in wisps of familiar black water, along with rags of clothing — including shreds of a white shroud (clues available on thread completion).

■ The water is crystal clear, with no bones in sight, after Miang-Si leaves the lakes.

A-HUNTING WE WILL GO

Village elder Kuthuba calls upon the crafty and the brave to join a forest incursion after several lumberjacks are a week late returning. The village’s numerous piers, pillars and boats depend on timber, and Kuthuba seeks to retrieve both wood and any prospective bodies.

■ Two dozen people leave at dawns, receiving daggers, bows, arrows. The forests are inhabited by woodland creatures, but eerily silent. Predator animals are scarce, thin and terrorised.

■ An impenetrable mist drenches the forest, thicker as you go in, until you struggle to see more than 3 metres ahead, or to spot the waning sun in a grey sky. Network devices do not work, and torches are essential. You feel increasingly paranoid and hunted, distrustful of your companions.

■ If lost in the witches’ woods, villagers say to set your dagger on hard ground and spin it, begging the blade’s wisdom. If it lands on you or your companion, wet the blade with your/their blood, until it no longer does so. If it points in a proper direction, head there.

■ The forests brim with the sound of diffuse whispers, women’s laughter, shrill growling and heavy steps — until amorphous many-bladed beasts descend from trees or burrow in soft ground. Aim between their carapace plates, run or notice quickly the creatures beware running water.

■ Deep in the forest, you find the resplendent vegetation gives way to a small, entirely barren clearing, where nothing grows. Here, even the earth has cracked, showing signs of black mould spores, while animals and birds avoid the region. You discover the belonging of the lumberjacks, but no bodies, along with a few scattered archive pages (page contents revealed once threads played out).

■ Take the belongings back to the lumberjacks’ families. The hunting party returns with sundown — only to realise three days have passed in Yancai.

NOTES

■ Part II’s ripe for exploration, so feel free to pitch if you’d rather have your character investigate other regions of Yancai!

■ NPCs barring Miang-Si are freely available to talk.

■ QUESTIONS.

PLOTTING & CR MEME

Keen to plot, plan, scheme and forge new CR, likely with the undead? Say no more. Fill out the below and maybe list in the header if you play an old timer or a newcomer — and comment around fiercely!

groundrules

ALEM

Sound the drums, head on to war — seized citadel Alem has already been there for the lion's share of a year.

Under the Scavengers' guidance, the four sand worms the party captured gently graze underground corridors allowing the group to reach halfway up Mount Attevar. From there, they quickly infiltrate Alem through a bustling trade route.

Young King Deimar strikes a simple bargain: serve Alem in its bitter last days until inevitable downfall, and the citadel will grant access to its Beacon before the final evacuation is completed.

Sounds simple enough. Now, survive it.

Characters arrive today, with our first proper taste of event chaos due on 27-28 January. Get your character settled in, check out the setting and their assignment, and strike some CR:

■ Arc setting & locations

■ Character assignments

■ New NPC inbox — more this round, ~~because most won't make it~~ so every level has a patron. As usual, reach out to NPCs at will and please share findings with the class!

■ Questions

CR & PLOTTING MEME

groundrules

Hello, hello! Welcome to all our fresh meat, may we never go hungry again — if you’re looking to kindle fresh friendships, rivalries and/or romance:

OCTOBER CR MEME

o1. Make your own shiny ad or use the form below to find your character someone who won’t backstab them in the night. Maybe.

o2. Spam like your life depends on it.

o3. Profit, baby, profit.

But wait. You want to give an even more in-depth idea of your character, or just really like rating things? Score your character 1 (■□□□□ — Strongly Disagree) to 5 (■■■■■ — Strongly Agree) on the below statements. You can add notes, if you want!

My go-to Happy Meal combo is McGuilt with Large Self-Sacrifice, drinking my Regrets. ■■■□□
I’m the bad twin of a sensible adult who can take responsible decisions. ■■■□□
Protecc innocents/children/small animals/the crippled/humanity at all costs! ■■■□□
No one understaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaands. ■■■□□
I’m gruff, and I’m tough, but I’m probably everyone’s preferred hugging pillow. ■■■□□
Surprise! I kicked off another apocalypse. ■■■□□
They say I have a personality beyond my father/mother/mentor complex, but it’s untested. ■■■□□
If I weren’t this hot/charming, I’d be the villain. I still might be. ■■■□□
Hold this horse, my inflexible Ethics and I need to climb high on it. ■■■□□
I’m a living god of the tech bro religion, my know-it-all powers are infinite. ■■■□□
Sorry, couldn’t hear you over my over-the-top Chosen One theme. ■■■□□
Try not to step in the perpetual puddle of my bleeding heart. ■■■□□
I’m the nightmare you should be afraid of. ■■■□□
I’m why we can’t have good things. Or mediocre things. Or anything. ■■■□□
Actual baby kittens have better self-care instincts than me. ■■■□□
I have more mortal enemies than friends, reunions are awkward. ■■■□□
I just woke up like this and could roll into the Met Gala. ■■■□□
I’m a prime destination for when fun’s looking to die. ■■■□□

groundrules

Hey guys! Can it be, a scheduled CR meme, on time two months in a row? A summer miracle.

Just a small heads up that some of our newbies will not be physically with the cast at sea, and will instead be working hard to secure entry for the incomers into the main Arc IV location, Serthica. But they'll be available on the network throughout!

JULY/AUGUST CR MEME

o1. Make your own shiny ad or use the form below to help finally find your character someone who'll swipe right. Or at least won't leave them screaming in a ditch. Again.

o2. Spam like your life depends on it.

o3. Profit at 0.00% interest rates, in honour of the ECB!

groundrules

Hi, everyone! Two parts to today’s party:

JUNE JAZZ

Check out our latest plot roll & NPC thread options for June, for which you’ll receive full details on Wednesday, 22 June. You can sign up your characters for the quest of your choice until 18:00 GMT on 21 June.

■ We’ll need at least two characters signed up for a roll to carry it out. Quests that receive more than five sign-ups may need us to RNG a character who gets final call on any decision-making within the quest.

■ Try to be available to play things out with your quest-mates between 22 June – 5 July.

■ If you’re looking short on time in that period, it might be easier to offer support to characters who are leading a plot roll, without signing up.

■ Please share the information you get with the group at large through network posts.

As a heads-up for folks who’ve never done one of these — you may get offered follow-up quests, items or plot development because you helped out with a plot roll. You can always opt out of that.

JUNE CR MEME

o1. Reply with your shiny character pitch or fill out the form below to help find your character an arch-nemesis/long-lost friend/tinder date.

o2. ~~Comment around~~ spam, baby, spam.

o3. There is no profit.

groundrules

Salutations! Just a few notes before the main event:

■ we're a tighter crew than originally anticipated for April, following some hiatuses, so we'll be adjusting this month's calendar timeline. We'll have a check-in below if anyone wants follow-up, cues or clues, or has questions about what they discovered in the latest & greatest. We'll have a think about a second check-in in late April.

■ Don't forget your NPC threads, if you signed up for one! Generally, please share any interesting discoveries that have emerged from them or from plot rolls with the entire group — a creepy network post a day keeps the... doctor away and gets everyone killed.

■ Check out the latest character housing arrangements!

■ In case you've missed it: PM if you'd like a(nother) invite to the game discord server. Invites typically go out when you join, but dreamwidth notifications aren't always friends.

And now:

APRIL CR MEME

groundrules

CR MEME

groundrules

CR MEME

Tell a friend, tell an enemy, tell a dashingly handsome goat — the CR meme is here to rumble.

PLAYER: 
OPEN TO PLURK/DISCORD FRIENDING FOR RP?
WHERE DO ZOMBIES FIND YOU DURING THE APOCALYPSE?

CHARACTER(S) & CANON(S):
WHO THEY ARE, THE ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH:
THEIR TARAVAST #TEAM:
WHAT ARE THEY GETTING UP TO THIS FINE OCTOBER?

THROW A GIF IN, YOU DESERVE IT: 
<center><img src=YOURGIFLINKHERE width=400></center>

ICE BREAKER ROUNDS:

i. An unfortunate crime has taken been committed. By your character. How do they get away with murder?

ii. What reasonable accessible thing or service can your character be bribed with?

iii. In a world where justice actually exists, how often would your character get slapped by noon?

THREE TYPES OF CR YOUR WANT FOR YOUR CHARACTER (BE SPECIFIC), GO:
WHAT CAN YOUR CHARACTER UNIQUELY AND PG-13-INGLY OFFER?

groundrules

CR MEME

The one, the only, the... definitely-not-late edition! If you're looking to grow out your character's network, filling out the below might help*...! *Results not guaranteed. Do not take while bleeding rocks. Please speak to a doctor if symptoms persist past 48h.

PLAYER: 
OPEN TO PLURK/DISCORD FRIENDING FOR RP?
IS A HOTDOG A SANDWICH?

CHARACTER(S) & CANON(S):
WHO THEY ARE, THE ONE-LINE ELEVATOR PITCH:
THEIR TEAM FOR TARAVAST PURPOSES:
GOT A LINK TO ANY TARAVAST PLOTS & PLANS?

HANDWAVERY: WHAT CAN OTHER CHARACTERS SPOT YOURS DOING ON THE DAILY? 
DOES ANYTHING STAND OUT GROTESQUELY/HILARIOUSLY/WTFISHLY ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

ICE BREAKER ROUNDS:

i. Your character is our last hope in the kitchens. Are we saved, are we doomed, is there excess spice, are you Xie Lian?

ii. Which awkward reddit forum is your character likeliest to end up on? Choosing Beggars/I-don't-work-here-lady/Bridezillas/MaliciousCompliance/ProRevenge/something else?

THREE TYPES OF CR YOUR WANT FOR YOUR CHARACTER (BE SPECIFIC), GO:
WHAT WILL YOUR CHARACTER NEED AN EXTRA HAND WITH IN TARAVAST?

groundrules

Hey folks, happy summer! Congratulations on surviving the first half of Zombie Apocalypse, Year II! You're all A+ at reaching out, poking and/or prodding anyway, buuuuuut if you need further CR material, check out the below! If you want to hit up our fresh June arrivals, I'll keep an index of their comments here.

CR MEME | J U N E

Profile

...where's east, though?

February 2024

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29

Syndicate

Page Summary

Style Credit

Style: Early Edition for Five AM by winterfish

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated May. 24th, 2025 10:58 am

north, south, west, ea...

Entries tagged with cr meme

the channeling + cr meme!

the sunken, part ii | plotting & cr meme

arc v: alem | cr & plotting meme

cr meme | happy halloween

cr meme | july/august

CR MEME | JUNE PLOT ROLLS

APRIL CR MEME

cr meme | this isn't late, what are you talking about

cr meme | spooktober edition

cr meme | ...yep, it's already august

cr meme | jolly ole june

Profile

February 2024

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags