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ANNOUNCEMENT: A MOVE BRINGING CHANGES
Dec. 19th, 2015 06:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
queendazeThat's right—you're not going to be in Port Perplex much longer. There are Big Plans for you labyrinth explorers outside of this dinky maritime town, all courtesy of the Scout Leader's latest discovery. In addition, there will be changes to the worldbuilding that is hopefully fun and neat!
To help explain this impending move and what follows, I've gone ahead and just laid the information out like a FAQ.
◆ Why is this move taking place?
IC REASON: The Scout Leader's noticed something... fishy about the most recent releases from the labyrinths. The forest that was returned is much thicker than it's ever been after that "sad door died in a forest" labyrinth. The beach is now oddly tropical when it certainly wasn't of that nature after that "awful no-good experience on the sinking ship" labyrinth. Even though this is all incredibly trivial, and even though she doesn't actually know of what went on in those labyrinths, none of that's the same as she remembers it!
The Scout Leader has a hunch, one that's reaching but not completely unfounded: these labyrinths aren't just releasing things, they're recreating them with their own influences. However, with Port Perplex, it was already a developed area that didn't need much "recreating" before you guys arrived. The labyrinths didn't steal very much from this maritime town, so things just needed "fixed,", such as the lake needing refilled, the forest needing regrown, and the ocean needing restored. Things of that nature.
The way to see if her theory is truly true? Go to an area that has almost nothing to it anymore, explore the abundance of labyrinths beneath it, and see if THESE labyrinths can change the land above it as drastically as she expects—perhaps even hopes. And though the Scout Leader doesn't realize it yet, the explorers will wind up affecting the outcomes in unexpected ways as well—they might discover that some of the growth caused by the labyrinths are reminiscent of their home world!
OOC REASON: It's a chance to introduce some new worldbuilding elements: eradicated labyrinths actually becoming part of the kingdom in the end, AND characters leaving unique touches on the outcome in a way that reflects their own home world and/or themself. In addition, along the way we're looking to introduce some fantasy elements, play up the magic of this world, and get creative with the way things turn up, too! So, to sum it up, your character's actions? Perhaps just their straight-up existence in the labyrinths? Will affect the literal growth and development of the kingdom. And to tack it on, since it's relevant, we'll also allow for events and player-directed action/plots to affect the kingdom, too!
The intention is to allow for your character to have an everlasting effect on this kingdom—the opportunity for them to give this kingdom their own special touch for everyone to witness in the time to come. Furthermore, the true sense that this wouldn't have turned out the way it had without them.
◆ When will this move OOCly take place?
The posts officiating the move into the new area will go up on January 3rd, Sunday! I wanted to hold off on pushing for this in December since a) terrible labyrinth just happened and hurt a lot of characters so it's a bit impractical to have it suddenly happen and b) DECEMBER IS HOLIDAYS AND FAMILY AND BUSY MONTH FOR MANY OF US! Also, it's best not to rush this kind of thing in the first place!
◆ What will this new area be like?
It doesn't have a name, at least, for the time being—hmm, perhaps the explorers can come together and give it one?
Upon your arrival, this area is truly one that's been laid bare; all that remains are worn ruins, dust and ash, some rocks, a very big rock... things of this nature, set up in a way that might give you the impression that this was once a giant city. And even though it does vaguely reflect what it used to be, the ruins here won't exactly be an "outline" for things to come since it is, after all, the labyrinths and the explorers who will shape the outcome of this area.
For a short while, everone will be staying in a base camp (with Special tents ranging between modest and luxurious) that'll provide them with enough necessities until things start kicking off... which shouldn't be long. Interestingly enough, it's worth noting that the rewards you earn from exploring the labyrinths over here will be a bit more plentiful, and maybe even sometimes useful, too. Wow!!
At first, the area will seem small. Some parts of the area will be inaccessible, or troublesome to access to say the least. Over time, it's possible for this area to grow and change drastically in part to 1) the labyrinths you eradicate releasing parts of itself and/or things of its own influence into the kingdom (much like before, only directly associated with the labyrinth that was run this time), and 2) your own characters inadvertently leaving marks on the land through elements of their home and the like.
◆ How will the ways that characters can affect the development be handled?
By the end December we'll have an info-gathering post where everyone will be STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to reply to it at some point! Otherwise, if you never reply to this post, stuff from your world won't come up because I probably don't know your character's world and won't have any idea of what you'd hope/expect to see turn up. Such elements can range from landmarks, biomes, building aesthetic, near carbon-copies of specific locations from your home world, flora/fauna, symbolism/motifs/aesthetics/icons showing up, among any other elements unique or strongly associated with your character's home world that you can think of. It's all the more fun when characters can recognize this stuff! Oh, and being able to take creative liberty with these factors when applicable, without causing it to become unidentifiable, is a thing I also look forward to!
These developments will take place after labyrinths, exactly how releases/unlocks have been handled so far. The outcomes will always be rather large, so there's allowance for numerous things to happen at once (it'll usually be tied together in some way.) After a labyrinth's eradication you'll see both the influence of the labyrinth AND the characters at the same time. Let me make up an example on the fly: a jungle labyrinth causes a chunk of the jungle to erupt from the ground, and within its dark core is a part of the city that looks like a street from X's world and has Y's favorite animals wandering around, and Z's—... etc and so forth. Sometimes it'll all be focused in one area; other times it might be wider-spread. Additionally, we'll be taking into consideration who has, and who hasn't, left their mark most recently to keep things fair as developments take place, though there might be exceptions when the outcome of a labyrinth would loan itself really well to something from X's world even though they recently had an effect on a previous outcome as well. WE'LL TRY TO PLAY IT PRETTY FAIR WHILE KEEPING THINGS IN CHECK HERE!
◆ Wait, does this mean that I can run a labyrinth and determine how it can shape the kingdom??
YES! Players have always been allowed to take the rein and run labyrinths, and now they can decide how their labyrinth can affect the game in the large run! On the tangent of "things players can do to affect the game beyond running labyrinths and playing their characters," I'm also considering the idea of player-run spirit NPCs who want to make a Change one way or another, is strongly associated with an emotion, is perhaps confined to the locational outcome of a labyrinth, could take further action to introduce additional changes to the area by making characters do things, can help characters out in numerous ways in exchange for favors/etc, probably have powers/abilities that they can loan to a character or two if they meet a certain standard, and requires certain things to be done by characters in order for them to be "released" from this state of being—which they may or may not desire in the first place—but I don't know if there's interest for anything like this. SO, IF YOU HAVE INTEREST AT ALL IN SEEING THIS HAPPEN, GIVE ME A HEY!
◆ Are the characters going to be the only ones in this new area?
Not necessarily—the Scouts, who have been responsible for uncovering the labyrinths off-screen, will be joining them, and in play they'll be much like the townsfolk. There aren't many Scouts—just around a dozen of them—but you might see them out and about, doing their own thing. Still, it might come to feel like the characters are the only ones here at times. As things progress, you'll come to see townsfolk taking up residence here, too.
Furthermore, the Scout Leader will actually be here, so if you've ever wanted to address her, or use her to get in direct contact with the Queen, it's something that can easily be arranged now (since before they had been nearly inaccessible!)
Oh, and there's some mysterious person who seems to currently reside here as well...? I should mention that, yes.
◆ So, uh, how long is the new area going to be just "ruins and dirt and rocks?"
NOT TERRIBLY LONG! I mean, it's not going to all change overnight, but I plan to run a labyrinth the weekend following the move in order to get things underway. I promise this labyrinth will not be traumatic. Or dark. Or mean. It will probably be kind of nice!
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SHOOT AWAY! When the move takes place, I'll have more information ready for you guys by then (though it'll mostly be additional details stacked upon what I've already said here). However, if you'd like for me to address anything else beforehand, or anything specific, or you're just really curious about something, please feel free to ask! Whether it's by commenting to this post, sending a private plurk the game plurk, sending a private plurk to my PERSONAL plurk, pinging me somewhere I can see, emailing kingdoms.dazed.mods at gmail, OR WHATEVER! Never hesitate to ask questions!
As always, thank you guys for being super awesome! ♥
To help explain this impending move and what follows, I've gone ahead and just laid the information out like a FAQ.
◆ Why is this move taking place?
IC REASON: The Scout Leader's noticed something... fishy about the most recent releases from the labyrinths. The forest that was returned is much thicker than it's ever been after that "sad door died in a forest" labyrinth. The beach is now oddly tropical when it certainly wasn't of that nature after that "awful no-good experience on the sinking ship" labyrinth. Even though this is all incredibly trivial, and even though she doesn't actually know of what went on in those labyrinths, none of that's the same as she remembers it!
The Scout Leader has a hunch, one that's reaching but not completely unfounded: these labyrinths aren't just releasing things, they're recreating them with their own influences. However, with Port Perplex, it was already a developed area that didn't need much "recreating" before you guys arrived. The labyrinths didn't steal very much from this maritime town, so things just needed "fixed,", such as the lake needing refilled, the forest needing regrown, and the ocean needing restored. Things of that nature.
The way to see if her theory is truly true? Go to an area that has almost nothing to it anymore, explore the abundance of labyrinths beneath it, and see if THESE labyrinths can change the land above it as drastically as she expects—perhaps even hopes. And though the Scout Leader doesn't realize it yet, the explorers will wind up affecting the outcomes in unexpected ways as well—they might discover that some of the growth caused by the labyrinths are reminiscent of their home world!
OOC REASON: It's a chance to introduce some new worldbuilding elements: eradicated labyrinths actually becoming part of the kingdom in the end, AND characters leaving unique touches on the outcome in a way that reflects their own home world and/or themself. In addition, along the way we're looking to introduce some fantasy elements, play up the magic of this world, and get creative with the way things turn up, too! So, to sum it up, your character's actions? Perhaps just their straight-up existence in the labyrinths? Will affect the literal growth and development of the kingdom. And to tack it on, since it's relevant, we'll also allow for events and player-directed action/plots to affect the kingdom, too!
The intention is to allow for your character to have an everlasting effect on this kingdom—the opportunity for them to give this kingdom their own special touch for everyone to witness in the time to come. Furthermore, the true sense that this wouldn't have turned out the way it had without them.
◆ When will this move OOCly take place?
The posts officiating the move into the new area will go up on January 3rd, Sunday! I wanted to hold off on pushing for this in December since a) terrible labyrinth just happened and hurt a lot of characters so it's a bit impractical to have it suddenly happen and b) DECEMBER IS HOLIDAYS AND FAMILY AND BUSY MONTH FOR MANY OF US! Also, it's best not to rush this kind of thing in the first place!
◆ What will this new area be like?
It doesn't have a name, at least, for the time being—hmm, perhaps the explorers can come together and give it one?
Upon your arrival, this area is truly one that's been laid bare; all that remains are worn ruins, dust and ash, some rocks, a very big rock... things of this nature, set up in a way that might give you the impression that this was once a giant city. And even though it does vaguely reflect what it used to be, the ruins here won't exactly be an "outline" for things to come since it is, after all, the labyrinths and the explorers who will shape the outcome of this area.
For a short while, everone will be staying in a base camp (with Special tents ranging between modest and luxurious) that'll provide them with enough necessities until things start kicking off... which shouldn't be long. Interestingly enough, it's worth noting that the rewards you earn from exploring the labyrinths over here will be a bit more plentiful, and maybe even sometimes useful, too. Wow!!
At first, the area will seem small. Some parts of the area will be inaccessible, or troublesome to access to say the least. Over time, it's possible for this area to grow and change drastically in part to 1) the labyrinths you eradicate releasing parts of itself and/or things of its own influence into the kingdom (much like before, only directly associated with the labyrinth that was run this time), and 2) your own characters inadvertently leaving marks on the land through elements of their home and the like.
◆ How will the ways that characters can affect the development be handled?
By the end December we'll have an info-gathering post where everyone will be STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to reply to it at some point! Otherwise, if you never reply to this post, stuff from your world won't come up because I probably don't know your character's world and won't have any idea of what you'd hope/expect to see turn up. Such elements can range from landmarks, biomes, building aesthetic, near carbon-copies of specific locations from your home world, flora/fauna, symbolism/motifs/aesthetics/icons showing up, among any other elements unique or strongly associated with your character's home world that you can think of. It's all the more fun when characters can recognize this stuff! Oh, and being able to take creative liberty with these factors when applicable, without causing it to become unidentifiable, is a thing I also look forward to!
These developments will take place after labyrinths, exactly how releases/unlocks have been handled so far. The outcomes will always be rather large, so there's allowance for numerous things to happen at once (it'll usually be tied together in some way.) After a labyrinth's eradication you'll see both the influence of the labyrinth AND the characters at the same time. Let me make up an example on the fly: a jungle labyrinth causes a chunk of the jungle to erupt from the ground, and within its dark core is a part of the city that looks like a street from X's world and has Y's favorite animals wandering around, and Z's—... etc and so forth. Sometimes it'll all be focused in one area; other times it might be wider-spread. Additionally, we'll be taking into consideration who has, and who hasn't, left their mark most recently to keep things fair as developments take place, though there might be exceptions when the outcome of a labyrinth would loan itself really well to something from X's world even though they recently had an effect on a previous outcome as well. WE'LL TRY TO PLAY IT PRETTY FAIR WHILE KEEPING THINGS IN CHECK HERE!
◆ Wait, does this mean that I can run a labyrinth and determine how it can shape the kingdom??
YES! Players have always been allowed to take the rein and run labyrinths, and now they can decide how their labyrinth can affect the game in the large run! On the tangent of "things players can do to affect the game beyond running labyrinths and playing their characters," I'm also considering the idea of player-run spirit NPCs who want to make a Change one way or another, is strongly associated with an emotion, is perhaps confined to the locational outcome of a labyrinth, could take further action to introduce additional changes to the area by making characters do things, can help characters out in numerous ways in exchange for favors/etc, probably have powers/abilities that they can loan to a character or two if they meet a certain standard, and requires certain things to be done by characters in order for them to be "released" from this state of being—which they may or may not desire in the first place—but I don't know if there's interest for anything like this. SO, IF YOU HAVE INTEREST AT ALL IN SEEING THIS HAPPEN, GIVE ME A HEY!
◆ Are the characters going to be the only ones in this new area?
Not necessarily—the Scouts, who have been responsible for uncovering the labyrinths off-screen, will be joining them, and in play they'll be much like the townsfolk. There aren't many Scouts—just around a dozen of them—but you might see them out and about, doing their own thing. Still, it might come to feel like the characters are the only ones here at times. As things progress, you'll come to see townsfolk taking up residence here, too.
Furthermore, the Scout Leader will actually be here, so if you've ever wanted to address her, or use her to get in direct contact with the Queen, it's something that can easily be arranged now (since before they had been nearly inaccessible!)
Oh, and there's some mysterious person who seems to currently reside here as well...? I should mention that, yes.
◆ So, uh, how long is the new area going to be just "ruins and dirt and rocks?"
NOT TERRIBLY LONG! I mean, it's not going to all change overnight, but I plan to run a labyrinth the weekend following the move in order to get things underway. I promise this labyrinth will not be traumatic. Or dark. Or mean. It will probably be kind of nice!
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SHOOT AWAY! When the move takes place, I'll have more information ready for you guys by then (though it'll mostly be additional details stacked upon what I've already said here). However, if you'd like for me to address anything else beforehand, or anything specific, or you're just really curious about something, please feel free to ask! Whether it's by commenting to this post, sending a private plurk the game plurk, sending a private plurk to my PERSONAL plurk, pinging me somewhere I can see, emailing kingdoms.dazed.mods at gmail, OR WHATEVER! Never hesitate to ask questions!
As always, thank you guys for being super awesome! ♥
