EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - OOC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - OOC Plotting

go to the IC event post

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After blood spilled between Thorne and the Free Cities, alongside a great sacrifice in Solvunn by a group of Summoned that stirred one of the gods, Abraxas will undergo some strange disruptions beginning OCTOBER 18. The effects upon the Summoned will linger from days to the very end of the event on the 26th. How long a character is afflicted is completely up to each player.

Three of the Old Gods have awoken: heralds of war that bring with them afflictions that spreads throughout the land - and who forge a unique connection with the Summoned who are, as always, tied to the Singularity.

Further, the Horizon is unstable once again, teleporting characters into the domains of unsuspecting Summoned and other places unknown. Even if characters avoid the afflictions, they might face a different set of problems in the Horizon.

NOTE: This event will deal with themes of death (people and animal) and horror imagery.

The Heralds

Each Herald appears drawn to certain Summoned over others, depending on the character's past, disposition, and traits. Or, perhaps it's the Summoned who inadvertently choose a Herald as their acolyte, unable to turn away from their own distorted reflection. Whatever the reason, characters will find themselves affected by one of three Old Gods, or Heralds.

◎ Koth of Festering Lands
◎ Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues
◎ Sannleikr of Many Faces

Players can decide for themselves which Herald their character will be affected by based on the descriptions. The mechanics of the event will work as follows:

◎ Certain traits will make a character more susceptible or drawn to a specific Herald. These traits are guidelines meant to help you pick an option, so don't worry too much about what truly "fits". Think of them similar to the Arcana signs - just choose the one that most calls to you and that you feel will be most fun.

◎ Players can decide which of the listed afflictions will affect their characters, and to what degree. Incorporating all afflictions is not required, although that's an option for anyone who wants.

◎ Characters who find themselves affected by an affliction ability will gain a small boon each time they turn that affliction upon the land and those around them (accidentally or deliberately). It may also ease the negative effects that haunt them, such as hearing voices or tasting rotten food. More about this will be detailed in the IC Event Post.

◎ Affliction abilities do not affect the characters themselves - it's only applied to the people they come in contact with. You'll need to find another character aligned to the same Herald if you want to be afflicted by the same ability you have.

◎ The Heralds will not exert control over personality or behavior. Characters might experience feelings and emotions that tempt them towards one path or another, but they're still themselves.

Additionally, the Heralds will bring a unique omen to the world itself. This will allow a common element for all characters to react to, whether they are personally affected by a Herald or not.

Each Herald is outlined below.

Koth of Festering Lands

Depicted as a blossoming plant-like figure out of which decay seeps, Koth brings with her death and rot. This affects vegetation, wildlife, livestock, the already dead...and the soul itself. She does not bring literal death to living people - she only brings it to the things around them and within them.

Affliction

Characters who are afflicted will experience at least one of the following effects:

◎ Their senses will be haunted by constant death and rot. Food may taste spoiled even when it's actually fresh, they might see dead animals that aren't there, or the image of friends and loved ones might take on aspects of death and decay such as exposed bones, rotting flesh, or similar.

◎ Their soul begins to wither, where negative emotions are amplified such as bitterness, despair, guilt, or anger. These feelings will already exist in the character - her influence only makes them stronger.

◎ They will gain an affliction ability where their touch or presence causes someone nearby to experience an illusion or vision of their death. The illusion will feel real to the person, as if they're actually dying - they may imagine themselves coughing up blood that isn't there or suffering a wound that doesn't exist. Food, plants, and small animals like birds might rot and die around them at the same time.

Each time a character inflicts decay or despair on others, they will feel themselves imbued with a small amount of strength and vitality, as though they have absorbed that life into themselves.

Susceptible Traits

Characters who have an affinity to any of the following traits will be most susceptible or drawn to Koth's influence:

◎ Those who are surrounded by death, especially if they are the cause of it - whether directly or indirectly.

◎ Those who have a strong connection to life and creation who may find their natural state more easily corrupted.

◎ Those who are prone to wrath, envy, bitterness, or other similar emotions which are known to cause an emotional rot from within.

Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues

Depicted as a mouthless figure with many followers clothed in red, Adlewyrd brings with them words that poison the heart and mind. This affects thoughts and emotions, a slow and subtle influence that spreads.

Affliction

Characters who are afflicted will experience at least one of the following effects:

◎ They will hear whispers taunting them, preying on their darkest emotions and desires. This can be about insecurities and aspects of guilt, but it can also be about giving in to temptations and the forbidden.

◎ They find themselves unable to keep their cruelest thoughts from being spoken out loud, even if these thoughts are fleeting or something they don't mean. This can be everything from an insult to revealing a secret to intentionally cause pain.

◎ They will gain an affliction ability where their touch or presence causes someone nearby to succumb to secrets and temptations. This might manifest in someone spilling their most shameful secret or the character might easily sway someone to give in to acts they believe are wrong or go against their morals.

Each time a character inflicts negative influences on another, they will feel themselves imbued with a small amount of confidence and righteousness, as though infecting others sustains their hearts.

Susceptible Traits

Characters who have an affinity to any of the following traits will be most susceptible or drawn to Adlewyrd's influence:

◎ Those with a gift for words and influencing emotions with words, such as politicians, stage actors, poets, and writers...or simply plain good liars.

◎ Those who harbor any shameful secrets or thoughts which cause them a great deal of guilt for having. This can be anything from taboo desires they wish they could give into without judgment or acts in their past that they regret.

◎ Those who are not prone to speaking, especially ones who have a hard time saying what's on their mind or who are afraid of being judged for their words.

Sannleikr of Many Faces

Depicted as a shadowy figure often holding a white or sometimes red mask, Sannleikr brings with him deception of the soul. This affects faces and minds, causing appearances to become distorted, untrustworthy or altogether unrecognizable.

Affliction

Characters who are afflicted will experience at least one of the following effects:

◎ They will be haunted by the face(s) of their enemies or someone they fear, mistakenly seeing those faces on the people around them - including their loved ones.

◎ When looking at their own reflection, their features are distorted, twisted, or faded. Their reflection may take on aspects of what truly hides inside them or something that they fear they will become, such as monstrous horns, a face that's many decades older, or similar.

◎ They will gain an affliction ability where their touch or presence causes someone nearby to become unable to recognize familiar souls... except for the character who caused the affliction. Friends and neighbors vanish into a faceless crowd. Names once known suddenly sound like a stranger's. Those impacted may begin to feel as though they're alone, unable to find their loved ones - and that their only friend is the one before them.

Each time a character inflicts solitude and isolation on another, they will feel themselves imbued with a small amount of radiance and charm, as though the stolen faces reinforce their masked façade.

Susceptible Traits

Characters who have an affinity to any of the following traits will be most susceptible or drawn to Sannleikr's influence:

◎ Those who take on different roles and adapt quickly to achieve their goals. This can be more literal, such as a master of disguise, or it can apply to opportunists and anyone who wears many hats to get by in life like a jack-of-all-trades.

◎ Those who are prone to masking their true selves. They might be harboring a secret identity, used false names or pseudonyms in the past, or they're simply someone who covers up their emotions

◎ Those who have an exceptional memory or ability to retain knowledge, especially in relation to the people they meet.

Omens

As the influence of the Heralds latches onto the Summoned, it also brings omens that persist through the land for the next few weeks. These omens affect everyone, including the natives of Abraxas and those who were not personally afflicted by any of the Heralds. Nothing can be done to stop these omens. They will gradually vanish on their own over time.

Risen Dead

Koth will cause the dead to rise. This includes animals and people who crawl forth from their graves in varying states of decay. They are not quite zombies but rather are animated corpses that wander like mindless, perhaps confused, spirits. They might attack if they were aggressive in life, they might walk aimlessly, and others still appear to enact their last living moments.

In the Free Cities, much of the dead will be concentrated in Libertas and by the graveyard in Cadens. Slain beasts and monsters will also rise in the desert - and depending on what they are, they can be dangerous. In Solvunn, the dead will rise from around shrines and sites of worship, while in Thorne the dead will emerge from tombs and crypts, and from deep beyond the dungeons.

Poisoned Waters

Adlewyrd will cause foul waters. While a few people may fall mildly ill as a result, it affects the wildlife most significantly. Dead fish float in the seas, crops fail, and livestock produce poisoned products such as spoiled milk from sheep and rotten eggs from chickens.

With food already scarce due to the conflict, meals and ingredients in Thorne and the Free Cities will be harder to come by. The Castle's expansive buffet is reduced while prices of staple items will rise in the Free Cities. Solvunn relies heavily on its agriculture and many farmers are also struggling.

Stolen Eyes

Sannleikr will cause a frenzy in crows, vultures, rats, and other scavengers resulting in them feasting upon the eyes of the dead and leaving all other parts behind. Many corpses and carcasses begin to surface throughout the land with empty eye sockets from livestock to deer to people themselves.

This aspect is particularly prominent in Solvunn and the Free Cities, where scavengers and wildlife are common. It is less so in Thorne, but those in the castle city may still encounter the gruesome sight in birds, rodents, and other animals that wander the city's streets.

The Horizon

Not to be left out, the Horizon will also undergo some unusual disturbances. Most notably, entering the Horizon may not put characters where they mean to go. Upon stepping inside or when crossing the border into a certain domain (theirs or someone they're visiting), characters will find one of two possibilities facing them:

1. They've been suddenly transported to another Summoned's domain regardless of if they've visited it before or not


2. They're briefly trapped in a foreign place altogether filled with bizarre sights not unlike the flashes of visions during the Mære event.

For option 2, the difference is that rather than experiencing a vision alone, other Summoned might be trapped with them. Characters will have to work together to handle any challenges that might arise while trapped.

While this will impact everyone to some degree, characters who have forged a strong connection to the Horizon over the past few months are more likely to fall into this strange place, as well as be stuck a longer time in it. A strong connection is based not only on visiting the Horizon regularly, but interacting with it in a meaningful way. This includes:

◎ Regular changes to their domain or others' domains, such as adding decorations, recreating it, or otherwise making alterations to it

◎ Creating and keeping some sort of sustained life with a (somewhat) mind of its own, such as pets, animals, or (non-Summoned) people

◎ Having a domain that's often inhabited by other Summoned or that receives multiple regular visitors, including domains that are shared

There will be four scenes available to explore, and you'll be able to interact with as many of them as you want with a variety of people. We'll reveal the images themselves on the IC event post, as well as more details about what each scene entails. To help you plan, however, here's a preview of the options you can have your characters face:

◎ A freezing mountain where a mysterious light compels travelers towards a deadly blizzard
◎ A strange oozing mass that consumes everything in its path
◎ A series of screens that display what you might least want to see
◎ A twisting inescapable labyrinth of traps and horrors

Characters' Horizon abilities will also not function as normal. Creations will go a bit wrong, fail, or backfire, so they'll need to get creative while ensnared.

Notes & Details

Event Schedule

To allow for a bit of room for players to get things started, the event post will be going up a little before the actual in-game date the event occurs.

The IN-GAME EVENT will ICly take place October 17 - 26
The EVENT POST will go up October 15 for players to participate in.
The WRAP-UP POST will go up October 25 for players to view.

Ability or Transformation Gain

Characters will receive a gain of either one physical alteration, or one new magical spell/ability as a result of experiencing this unusual burst of activity from the Singularity. While this gain can be anything, we encourage people to consider a gain that suits the Herald that has afflicted them throughout this event. Gains should be minor and not overly powerful. See Reward Gains to learn more.

To request your gain, submit it as usual on the upcoming Activity Check form.

Plotting Form

Due to the nature of this event, we recommend everyone use the plotting form below. All parts of the event are opt-in, so feel free to disregard or delete sections of the form that aren't relevant to your plotting.

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>Arcana:</b> <b>Faction:</b> <b>Chosen Herald:</b> (If applicable, what Herald will your character be affiliated with?) <b>Afflictions:</b> (What afflictions will your character undergo and how will they react? Remember you don't need to subject your character to every affliction! Afflictions can progress in intensity, remain mild the entire time, aggressively hit your character all at once, or however you choose to play it.) <b>What other Herald's influence are you interested in?:</b> (Characters who possess one of the affliction abilities can influence other people in a particular way. Say here whether you're interested in any of that, for example if you want someone to influence your character to reveal any dark secrets or experience a vision of their demise.) <b>Horizon plans:</b> (Do you want visitors to show up in your character's domain or have your character accidentally visit others? Both? Are you interested in being trapped in any of the scenes and/or searching for people to be trapped with?) <b>What will visitors find in your domain?</b> (If applicable, describe what visitors might stumble onto when they land in your domain. You can link your Horizon writeup and make note of things that are normally closed or secret, but which will be open to any unexpected teleports.) <b>General plans:</b> (Anything else!)

Questions and Answers

If after reading these you're still unsure about anything, or your question wasn't covered, please feel free to hit up our Questions thread below!

Re: Afflictions & Heralds

Can the character's affliction ability affect NPCs?

Yes, although it will affect natives of Abraxas to a lesser degree. Its effect is most impactful on the other Summoned. Naturally, any noteworthy or named NPCs are off-limits. You're free to play around with the local baker, though. If you're unsure, please check in with the mods!

How many people can an affliction ability affect at one time?

One or two in the vicinity at most. The person being affected will need to be within a few feet or in some cases touch may even be required. Players can decide this based on the thread being planned out.

How long will the affliction ability last when it affects someone?

The effects are meant to be temporary, but can last anywhere from minutes to a full day or so. For Koth, this means the death illusions can persist as a "slow death" if you choose, like a spreading infection or a wound that grows worse over a period of hours.

Do the death visions need to be a real or realistic death?

Not at all! It's just a vision/illusion so play with it however you want.

Can characters use their affliction ability deliberately?

Yes. While the ability will manifest against their will and its effects cannot be prevented, they also have the choice of redirecting the power towards someone on purpose if they choose.

Will the factions do anything about these occurrences?

Faction officials are currently preoccupied with the conflict and will be unable to offer any specific help. Rest assured, they are taking note, and the natives are also beginning to grow wary. There will be some fallout within the factions in the wrap up, but at the time of the event, nothing is happening yet.

Will the Heralds reveal themselves or their names?

Yes, characters will know the Herald's appearance and name. As for how, that will be revealed during the IC event post.

Can characters fight the Heralds or drive them away?

No. Their influence is intangible, and the Old Gods can't be fought or killed. However, characters can use their willpower, related abilities, and other similar tactics to try and resist the afflictions or the temptations of their abilities as best they can. It's up to players how affected a character will be, if at all.

Are the Heralds possessing or controlling the characters?

No. Characters might feel as though they are being corrupted, but no force is taking over the characters to control them or make them to behave a certain way. The influence of the Heralds is strictly psychological: whispering in their ears, showing them visions, and letting them have a taste of what's possible.

Re: The Horizon

How long does it take to strengthen a character's connection to the Horizon? How will I know if my character's connection is strong enough?

We won't be strictly modding this aspect, so don't worry too much about it! Generally, if your character has some in-game threads demonstrating that they regularly create and interact with the Horizon's creation capabilities throughout their time in Abraxas, you can consider your character's connection decently strong. Even those with a weaker connection will still experience the strange areas - they just might not occupy it for as long.

Plots surrounding the Horizon will be ongoing, so there's plenty of time to progress your character along these lines...and keep in mind having a strong connection isn't necessarily desirable.

How long might a character be trapped in one of the strange Horizon areas?

It can be anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours - the choice is yours. You won't be trapped longer than that, though.

When trapped, will they have any way to escape? Can they "leave" the Horizon altogether?

No. Once drawn in, they'll be stuck there until the Horizon chooses to release them. They'll be spat out in a random place in the regular Horizon after a set amount of time. Characters can be trapped for as brief as a minute or two, though, so if you want them to escape quickly, you can keep their time inside it short.

Can characters be trapped multiple times in different scenarios?

Yes, if you want to experience all four scenarios or one scenario multiple times, you're free to do so. If you want to avoid teleporting your character an absurd amount, they can also remain trapped within one for a while and find other characters inside it at different points in time.

When characters are transported to another's domain, will they be inside it or will they arrive just outside of it?

This is up to players to decide! It's entirely possible for a character to be transported into a part of the domain that's normally forbidden or locked as long as all players involved are in agreement.

Will characters be stuck in other characters' domains the same way?

Not unless the domain that they've been transported to has that feature! Players can work this out among themselves and decide how they want their domains to behave or what will happen to those who get accidentally teleported in. All characters technically have the ability to shape the regular Horizon plane however they want and to leave it whenever they choose, but many things can interfere with this such as their state of mind, subconscious desires, and so forth.

Will the afflictions follow characters into the Horizon or any of the trapped scenes?

Either option is possible! Characters might find the Horizon makes the afflictions worse or it'll make things better. They might find when trapped, the afflictions disappear or it follows them there, too, forcing them to manage it while stuck with another. Or maybe being in certain domains will exacerbate things while being in others helps greatly. Because the Heralds affect each character on a personal level and individual mindset plays a role, you can choose what works best.

Comments

[shadowthief]

Character Name: Inej Ghafa
Arcana: The Hierophant
Faction: Free Cities

Chosen Herald: Sannleikr

Afflictions: haunted by the face(s) of someone they fear aka she's getting haunted by Tante Heleen, the owner of The Menagerie back in Ketterdam. Likely to limit this to just 1 or 2 so as not to get too dragged down by it.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Definitely Temptations!
Seeing her CR unhinged if they're having big, negative emotions at this time~
People being cruel in her direction if we could work it into a good directional push of their CR somehow (pos or neg, really)

Horizon plans: Vistors are more than welcome to show up in her domain and I'm also down for her ending up in yours accidentally! If you've wanted Inej CR and couldn't find an in, now's our time to shine, darlings! Also interested in the trapped scenario! Leaning toward the frozen mountains/mysterious light option on the scene options.

What will visitors find in your domain? Here! She doesn't have any hidden areas in her domain, so feel free to wander anywhere in the circus tent or the mini camp.

General plans: YOLO! Hit me up if you wanna plan something.

[techmaturgy]

Character Name: Viktor
Arcana: Death
Faction: Free Cities

Chosen Herald: Koth

Afflictions:
He is already kind of Haunted By Death, so what’s a little more? I'm mostly interested in playing around with negative emotions--Viktor kind of has a lot going on in that department, with the most prominent feelings being bitterness, despair, and anger. He generally keeps his condition under wraps so he might, you know, actually start lashing out about it, or maybe just resign himself to his terrible fate.

In this state he might actually be unfazed by seeing people in various states of decay. This is Just What Things Are Like Now, probably.

Would also be willing to give him the ability, if you are interested in a terrible vision of your own death! Something of interest to me might be Viktor noticing he gets a little boost from that and, uh, indulging it a little. A lot. Who knows.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?:
ANY OF THEM. Lay it on me. If you want your character to go wild with their affliction ability, I am here for you. Viktor doesn’t have too many secrets but he could always, like, confess to actively dying and the weird experimentation he’s doing on himself right now. Would also be game for the memloss stuff for maximum hurt if anyone wants that.

Horizon plans:
Viktor shares a domain and also made a weird dog who hangs out in it, so he’s theoretically more succeptible to shenanigans. Given this and the general state that he’ll be in for the duration of the event, I’m very interested in playing around with Horizon breakdowns/inability to control what’s going on/the opening of the trauma basement, etc. etc.

If you’re looking for a buddy to get Trapped with, I can also offer that! Most interested in the third scenario (horrible screens) but I think all of them could be fun!

What will visitors find in your domain?
Viktor’s domain is here. He normally keeps the cave lab locked, as it reminds him of Unpleasant Childhood Traumas, so if anyone is interested in learning about the weird shit that went on down there (additionally, the fate of his weird dog spoiler alert she lives in a tube now), I’m game!

He also has a room at the very bottom that’s reflective of one of his experiments possibly messing with his brain—he’s not aware that it even exists, so now might be a great time to address it.

General plans:
Beyond all of this, Viktor does not necessarily believe in god(s) so this will be kind of a wake-up call. He might start the event attempting to find solutions to the strange happenings in Cadens as a result of this, but the longer it goes on the deeper he might spiral into apathy/despair, so. Let’s play with that. You can also hit me up on plurk at whitticus for further discussion!

[lightkeeping]

Character Name: Aloy
Arcana: The Hermit
Faction: Solvunn

Chosen Herald: Sannleikr

Afflictions:
Aloy has, uh, a lot of enemies slash people who betrayed her/tried to kill her/killed her loved ones, etc., so starting to see them will be not very fun for her. Interested in exploring her falling into paranoia about this, withdrawing even more or outright becoming hostile.

Also game to play with the affliction ability if anyone is interested in subjecting their character to that. Aloy will be suitably horrified if she realizes what’s going on!

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?:
Any and all! Always happy to subject my characters to Suffering.

Horizon plans:
Always open to visitors, and for Aloy especially, super interested in navigating the scenarios with a buddy or two. Aloy is a survivalist and will do the best she can in any given situation, so she’s a good partner for doing things like escaping a frozen mountain, or, you know, an inescapable labyrinth of horrors. Interested in using this mechanism as a way for her to get to know some people? Have some people get to know her in return? She’s not very good at making friends. She kind of needs to be compelled to do so.

What will visitors find in your domain?
Aloy’s Horizon is a post-apocalyptic American Midwest, complete with remnants of ancient robot battles, with the corpses of military tanks and machinery half-buried in the ground. Given the general instability of the Horizon throughout the event, the inert machines might begin to awaken beyond Aloy’s control, or the animal-like robots that patrol the space could more easily become hostile.

General plans:
Going with the flow on this one! On the ground in Solvunn Aloy will do her best to protect civilians and might be interested in teaming up with those of similar minds. She is also not entirely sold on the existence of god(s), so if exploring that angle is of interest to anyone, I would be game! She is also very willing to kill zombies.

For everything else, I’m on pluck at whitticus.

[ordinar]

Character Name: Wilhelm
Arcana: The Tower
Faction: Thorne

Chosen Herald: Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues, babyyy

Afflictions: He'll be talking a lot of shit he probably doesn't mean. I'm here for the ~drama. The mysterious whispers he hears will focus on rumors about him, as generally existing in the public eye and having every aspect of his life dissected by strangers is definitely one of his major insecurities. This may result in public flip outs, oops. Also here to make people give into temptations and divulge secrets.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Interested in mutual secret blurting with other Adlewyrd-ers. It would also be cool to play with weird forced codependency with somebody Sannleikr.

Horizon plans: Interested in randomly booping into other's domains for some meet-not-so-cutes. Also interested in getting stuck, especially in the labyrinth of doom. Chanting: dungeon crawl, dungeon crawl...

What will visitors find in your domain? Usually there's a cute little house and a cute little beach, but these days the vegetation is all charred and sometimes things spontaneously burst into flames. What's that all about...

General plans: Interested in catching new CR and revisiting CR I haven't threaded with in a while/have only had a few threads with before. I'm open!

aerith gainsborough | solvunn | the moon

[bloomly]

Character Name: aerith gainsborough
Arcana: the moon
Faction: solvunn

Chosen Herald: koth of festering lands

Afflictions: i think the affliction ability of having her touch cause a death illusion would be the most fun to play with - since she's a very touch-oriented and friendly person, it will definitely hit her hard and be very difficult for her to comprehend, as well as war with the guilt of causing such a thing. she'll likely start to close herself off more or be less like herself because of it. i'd also like to explore her being haunted by death and rot, first with her senses (taste, smell, etc) and then slowly building up to seeing dead animals and possibly death-related hallucinations on those that she has cr with (if okay).

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: i'm definitely down with experiencing the other two, but may lean more in the secret-sharing and/or succumbing to temptations.

Horizon plans: i'm happy to have aerith drop into others' domains at random, and also happy to have her trapped in any of the scenes. the mountain and the labyrinth sound the most interesting and would be the ones i'm most interested in, so absolutely looking for anyone that would like to be trapped with her in either of those! also happy to have random visitors to aerith's domain, as well.

What will visitors find in your domain? aerith's domain is sort of a warped version of her house in the slums, except it is not quite as expansive or large. here's some pics to at least get a general vibe: 1, 2. for the domain, her house is more of a small little cottage that has been painted over by her (and others) on the outside, random images and mural-like paintings, random color splotches, etc. there is a ton of flowers and a small pond, but no giant lake or waterfall or anything like in the game. inside the rickety cottage, it's sort of sparse, with wooden furniture and sort of outdated furnishings, but a very warm, homey feel. i'm happy to elaborate a bit more for anyone wanting to drop in! there's nothing really secret to it, but there is a ton of weird tea and just a lot of sort of...empty places that feel unfinished, like she lost her train of thought. it probably feels a little lonely.

General plans: aerith will probably be trying to do her best to save what she can of the crops and plants in solvunn, but she'll definitely be distracted and likely disheartened. i'm happy to make any kind of cr work, so if you'd like to thread, let's absolutely work something out!

Hennessy | Thorne

[impressionism]

Character Name: Jordan Hennessy
Arcana: Moon
Faction: Thorne

Chosen Herald: Adlewyrd

Afflictions: All of them to one degree or another; it can be hard to tell if Hennessy is giving into her temptations or saying mean things more often than usual, so those two are just going to be dialed up a little harder for the most part until it's clear something is up with her more than her usual

The big one is she's going to afflict others with the impulse to give into temptation or say true things they shouldn't, so if you want a piece of that please tag her!

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Literally any of them, let's make a mess!

Horizon plans: Anyone want to come check out Hennessy's weird Escher-esque house in the middle of a hostile-looking improbable garden full of plants that don't exist in most worlds? It's weird, you'll love it. Come check out her art; she hides the good stuff in the house.

Also open to ending up in other people's domains/getting trapped with others!

What will visitors find in your domain? See above description; I'll provide actual pic references when the post goes up!

General plans: Just gonna jump in and see where it takes me tbh.

Rey | Star Wars | The Star | Thorne

[provenforce]

Character Name: Rey
Arcana: The Star
Faction: Thorne

Chosen Herald: Adlewyrd

Afflictions: Rey is someone who doesn't necessarily always say what she's thinking and tends to hold back a lot of her anger bc it's not the Jedi way etc, as well as holding onto like, the Light side, etc, so she'll be more comfortable with going dark and giving in to those impulses and other things.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: I'm up for anything! Amplify her guilt and her anger, make her unable to recognize people let's gooo

Horizon plans: I'm happy to do one of the trapped things or have Rey pop into random places, or vice versa!

What will visitors find in your domain? Here is a link to Rey's horizon!

General plans: I am wide open I'm just gonna throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks

[blackeyedprince]

Character Name: Kell Maresh
Arcana: Magician
Faction: Thorne

Chosen Herald: Koth of Festering Lands

Afflictions: Kell will be more moody, angry and brooding than he already is. Plants will wither in his presence if he stays close for too long. He is going to gain the affliction ability to give people visions of their own death, so open to anyone interested in seeing / experiencing it.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Adlewyrd. I want to subject him to temptation to do something irresponsible and illegal. Since he's been well-behaved up until this point, and it's one of his flaws that breaking the rules is fun for him. He knows it's wrong, and does it anyway. I still have to decide what kind of trouble I want him to get into.

Horizon plans: I am fully in favour of people randomly showing up in his domain.

What will visitors find in your domain? Kell shares his domain with Rhy, but there are a few of his own creations. Any visitor is likely to encounter either of two places of his:

A tavern with a secret room at the very top floor filled with books, boxes, maps and strange contraptions. It usually feels safe and cosy, now the general atmosphere of the tavern will be one of unseen danger, Kell's room will feel claustrophobic and it will have a sense of hiding many, terrifying and potentially deadly secrets.

A street of a semi-medieval / renaissance looking market, slightly shady, with a beautiful view of a castle over a red glowing river. The change is that there is no light now, and the castle is just a black silhouette in the darkness.
(I will one day kick myself into doing a proper description of his domain....)

General plans: Kell already starts this extremely angry at current world events and his own situation there. He is going to be massively freaking out by his affliction, because it reminds him of something from his past that he'd rather not think about.

Altaïr Ibn'La-Ahad | The Magician | Free Cities

[aquilus]

Character Name: Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Arcana: The Magician
Faction: Free Cities

Chosen Herald: Koth of Festering Lands

Afflictions: Negative emotional amplification/illusion of death. Maybe mild visions of death and rot but not to an extreme degree, there's plenty of actually fucky dead shit to see.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Totally down to hallucinate death or spill secrets. I'm also up for repeats of the former, since then I can include his canonical death in with some of his fakeouts and he won't know it. Just my own private joke on him.

Horizon plans: Sure for both! Altaïr's domain is a fuckoff big castle so even with the weirdness I'm not sure it'll be that interesting to people, but if it is, go for it! I'm also happy to pop into your character's domain.

What will visitors find in your domain? Still mostly just the castle at the moment but he's filled it in some with a lot of dusty tomes in the library (probably a very mixed bag on what they actually say) & scattered weaponry.

General plans: I just finished catching back up after back-to-back work travel & out of town guests so I will probably tag out a little more than I hope for people to tag into me. Let me come service your cool ideas for your own Horizon fuckery!

castiel | death | free cities

[dirtytrenchcoat]

Character Name: Castiel
Arcana: Death
Faction: Free Cities

Chosen Herald: Koth of Festering Lands

Afflictions:

Castiel's afflictions will start mild, and infrequent, first with visions of death and rot that will be projected onto his perception of himself first and then others. The pallor of his own skin will look gray and blue first and then ultimately evolve into necrotic tissue and festering decay.

Then, those closest to him will gradually pick up the characteristics of the long-dead. Blood, bones, rot, and the pungent smell of decomposition. As this progresses so too will the act of the very much alive things around him falling victim to his blight. Plants will wilt, and insects and animals will be left vulnerable in his wake.

Guilt will plague him, starting first with the secrets he's been keeping close. The truth of his feelings for Dean Winchester, his own sacrifice, and his loneliness in contrast to all of that. His own perception of himself as an angel and as an asset to others will play into this making him all the more victim to despair and guilt. The vision of his death (cw: spoilers for end of franchise) will be cyclical and non-stop especially in moments of quiet. He'll be reliving it at every opportunity, far off and glassy eyed / out of focus.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: any/all come at me. very interested in his nasty truth being exposed and so much more. especially given the fact that he's been ~*~*~ keeping secrets ~*~*~ for as long as he has (several weeks) and losing touch with the familiarity of those close to him will make things all the more difficult.

Horizon plans: yes and yes. I'd like as much exposure to other horizons and characters from other factions as possible.

as of now his domain is being shared with Jo Harvelle & Dean Winchester as the the bunker a veritable cornucopia of rooms and access points.

What will visitors find in your domain? linked above! not much in the ways of personal touches but there is plenty to offer. a kitchen, library, dungeon, arsenal, etc.

Jaskier | The Sun | The Free Cities

[cointosser]

Character Name: Jaskier
Arcana: The Sun
Faction: Free Cities

Chosen Herald: Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues

Afflictions: Jaskier himself does not really have dark desires nor is he afraid of speaking cruelly, so I am interested in him having the affinity ability to push others to succumb to secrets and temptations. Jaskier is very deeply a hedonist, and so I want his affliction ability to be more about pushing people into giving into their temptations -- whether it's sensual, or to push them to be more emotional, or drinking or drug use, or even to be a dick to that neighbor that's been parking in someone's reserved spot for far too long. Essentially Jaskier will be thriving in tempting people to do whatever makes them feel good. Although he will feel hesitant at first, he will be too deeply affected by the feelings of confidence and righteousness to stop. There's nothing bad about encouraging people to feel good!!

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Pretty much any of them! Jaskier is deeply emotional and will be highly affected by any other influence. I am most into Koth and other Adelwyrd influences upon him -- he has nearly died several times at this point, and I would LOVE to play a feedback loop of another Adelwyrd-afflicted character pushing him into his own temptations.

Horizon plans: I am very happy to have people pop into Jaskier's domain! What they can find will be below, as his domain will be quite affected by the event. Otherwise, at some point Jaskier will most likely get lost in the foreign places (I like both the mountain and the Ooze), and will be trying to search for Julie with Geralt once he realizes she can't be found.

What will visitors find in your domain? Jaskier's domain write-up can be found here. Essentially it is a gigantic hollowed oak tree filled with countless rooms and various creatures. Jaskier is deeply in tune with his domain and the creatures that live there, and because he will subconsciously recognize Something Is Wrong, his domain will turn against him and the creatures (especially the vampire horses and Moglad) will be very defensive against invaders. Please feel free to be bitten by a white peacock, the goldfinch or the vampire horses! All of the creatures will look very run-down, with their colors dulled and wildness in their eyes. Bleobheris itself will begin to look as if it is dying, with the leaves turning red then brown and littering the ground around it. The Jewelwisps will no longer be seen.

Moglad is the only creature who can speak and, while dressed in full Dark Knight regalia, he will demand anyone in the domain leave unless they are seeking solace.

General plans: He will be tempering his affliction ability with Nadine, and this Power Couple will loop into each other's temptations with Adelwyrd's afflictions! Very exciting. It's time for Jaskier's incubus slut era!! (PLEASE NOTE his temptations do not need to be sexual if you want him to affect another character!)

Nero | The Chariot | Solvunn

[ofthesword]

Character Name: Nero
Arcana: The Chariot
Faction: Solvunn

Chosen Herald: None! Nero's arm getting eaten by a shrine in Solvunn was directly responsible for at least one of these Old Gods waking up, so it's gonna be way more fun if he's simply wracked with guilt!!1 lmao He will be very tempted by Koth but will eventually not choose any god.

Afflictions: Nero will thus not have any afflictions directly from the gods; however, I would love for him to be afflicted by other characters. He will generally not have a defense against them but please note he can be violent against the wrong sort of person and he is very powerful as a whole. He would be very fun to fight, though, and if another character wants to almost kill him I am down!

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: Any of them! Koth's visions of death would be interesting as not only has he lost several people in his life, his dad has killed [checks notes] thousands of people in a bid for Demon Godhood before he came to Abraxas and he also has tendencies towards... wanting to be powerful... it runs in the family, OK? If a character with Sannleikr's affliction ability want to manipulate him into being a Great Bodyguard, then I'm VERY into that. He is fiercely loyal to his friends/loved ones and if he doesn't remember they exist... well. He'll need a new friend to protect.

Horizon plans: I am really interested in him getting trapped in the Weird Places with other people, or only appearing briefly near other people (if you want someone to tag in a few times then zip out!) who are also trapped. He is also prime for falling into other people's domains!

What will visitors find in your domain? Nero is not very connected to the Horizon as a whole and is too chaotic to be good at controlling his subconscious OR magic, so while you can visit his domain (which is a lonely van and a single phone booth that seemingly doesn't work (but it will steal your coins)), there is a single denizen who will attack people on sight. Shadow is basically an amorphous blob that can reshape herself into a variety of spikes, claws and blades.

However, you'll have cool fight music blasting from the van while she tries to kill you.

General plans: While not being afflicted with anything that's fucking with him too badly, he will be participating in all of Solvunn's attempts to assist the community/cleaning up around the shrines. He is not gonna be the least bit bothered by the corpses and will eliminate the zombies With Great Prejudice.

[harmonian]

Character Name: Sasarai
Arcana: Judgement
Faction: Thorne

Chosen Herald: Sannleikr

Afflictions: Sasarai will see his own reflection distorted and be haunted by the faces of someone he fears, which is someone who also has his face. I am interested in playing with themes of identity and doubt. While he may eventually shake off the influence I would like to play with him falling under Sannleikr's sway due to his current state of existential angst that he's been trying to hide from everyone in Abraxas.

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: As a politician who has led armies into war on behalf of a fascist regime and someone used to bending ears it would be interesting to see how Adlewyrd's afflictions hit him.

Horizon plans: People are welcome to bamf into the Pharos (Sasarai's Horizon). I think it would also fun to have him bamf into the Horizons of others, since he has a history of wandering the Horizon looking into other people's domains (all with player permission, naturally).

What will visitors find in your domain? The Pharos

General plans: Geomancer bishop with existential trauma loses his mind. If he can regain his senses he will help fight zombies.

Garrus Vakarian | Mass Effect | Justice | Free Cities

[thearchangel]

Character Name: Garrus Vakarian
Arcana: Justice
Faction: Free Cities

Chosen Herald: I am leaning toward Koth, given how Garrus' canonpoint has a higher body count per planet than uh. the other two games combined.

Afflictions: I'm looking most into the affected taste and sense one. Garrus is leery of the food and drink here by default - he's a kind of alien with a potential allergy to most food in the galaxy, unless it's a certain specific sci-fi DNA thing. So it would play to his fear of the magic letting him survive here wearing off.

Also the emotions part. He does carry a lot of guilt - even though most of it has been worked through post ME2, it probably wouldn't take a lot for the guilt to come back to the surface again.

And hey! If you want a vision of your death, I'm game for that too!

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?:
I'm fine with spilling the secrets! I'm terrible and don't mind at all if the big guy goes and runs his mouth about things he's done, or gone through. He probably will, but that's the fun part.

Horizon plans:
In canon, Garrus has a whole THING about how much he hates the cold. Any weather below warm, he gets grouchy over. So clearly, he needs to get lost in a blizzard with someone in the Horizon. I'm game for whoever wants to deal with a cranky alien slogging through the snow - but hey, he's so tall, you could probably ride on his shoulders if the snow gets too deep. Let's reenact the mountain pass in Fellowship Of The Ring. It'll be fun!!

What will visitors find in your domain?
... It's very small. It's the main battery of the Normandy SR2. It looks like this, and there's a cot set up off to one side. Yes, those are gigantic guns. Occasionally, you can hear radio calls from people who aren't actually present - just remembered radio chatter to fill the silence.

General plans:
I'M VERY LATE But very open to just about anything!! This is an interesting plot and I am happy to tag around if anyone wants this guy!

Kylo Ren | Thorne | Sannleikr

[photophobic]

Character Name: Kylo Ren
Arcana: The Tower
Faction: Thorne

Chosen Herald: Sannleikr of Many Faces

Afflictions:

i. reflection

Kylo will be seeing the version of himself he's tried so hard to eradicate reflected back at him: Leia and Han's son, Ben Solo. He'll be getting increasingly infuriated and paranoid about this, concerned that others might be able to see Ben too.

ii. haunted

Would you like Kylo to attack you? Afflicted by Sannleikr's influence, Kylo will be mistaking friends, family,lovers and strangers alike for his enemies. This could be a straight up sword/magic fight or something more acerbic if you would prefer a verbal sparring session your character hasn't been given the script for. Some of Kylo's enemies have more nuanced relationships with him than others, and we could even have him mistake your character for his pre-Kylo Ren proto-Jedi Ben Solo self..!
If you know Kylo's canon feel free to suggest who you would like your character to temporarily resemble, otherwise if you give me an idea of the kind of interaction you're looking for I can pick for you. Any way we do it, this could be a good way to learn stuff about Kylo and his background that he wouldn't ordinarily reveal, exposing his fears and weaknesses (which your character can make use of later if they wish and you'd like some negative/mixed CR— you're also welcome to use it as an inroad for more positive CR if the thread goes in a more sympathetic direction).

iii. only you

And then there's afflicting others. Kylo will discover this ability while working with his taskforce of abraxan mages, who will be accidentally struck with Kylo's Sannleikr-given ability and find themselves unable to recognise anyone other than their commander. Kylo will therefore be a little more charming than he should be by all rights, which will be an adventure for a man who walks around with a face like a slapped arse. He'll then be working with his taskforce (and any other Summoned who would be curious about it) to try and understand what this affliction is and whether it can be controlled/neutralised/weaponised... but he'll be sharing anything he learns with Jolene because he's a true blue Thornean. Isn't he?
If you'd like Kylo to test his abilities on your character, let me know! He won't be deliberately using this power maliciously, unless...

What other Herald's influence are you interested in?: ...do you want your Adlewyrd-affliated character to influence Kylo to Sannleikr them? Kylo's felt isolated and rejected for much of his life and it wouldn't take much for him to lash out and deliberately use his newfound ability to isolate someone else from their supports. Koth-affliated characters could also push Kylo in this direction, though it could be more fun to freak him out with a hallucination of his death. I'm down for just about anything you think could be interesting to explore.

Horizon plans: I don't have specific Horizon plans but I'm open to exploring the option if you have ideas! As this is a late entry to the event I'll probably just be seeing if anyone is looking for a thread-partner in their toplevels.

What will visitors find in your domain? Kylo shares his domain with Ronan, and it's a freaky volcano-forest-palace-fortress. And Ronan is having a Time which is going to make it all the creepier.

General plans: Come at me over here for Kylo's toplevel! I'm willing to write starters wherever will be most useful for you and/or tag in to yours if that works best.
Hit me up on plurk starktech or on Discord: cryloren#2195