EVENT #12: INVOCATION - WRAP-UP

[abraxasmods]

Event #12 - Invocation (Wrap-Up)

Part 1 - IC event post | OOC info post
Part 2 - IC event post | OOC info post

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By April, characters will have returned to their nations. Officials ensure the Summoned are taken care of. Anyone who holds a regular job or position is given a grace period until they're ready to go back to work. The rescued natives are thankful to everyone who helped them.

On April 14, characters will receive a letter inviting them to an important gathering in each faction. Attending is optional. The letter stresses that the Summoned should put their well-being first, but requests they send someone in their stead if they're not attending.

During this meeting, officials will announce the following:

• A Summoned Conclave. Each faction will have its own Conclave consisting of the Summoned who reside in their borders (Thorne, the Free Cities, and Solvunn). Each Conclave lets the Summoned formally congregate and pass motions that can then be presented to their respective government for consideration every two months.


• Thanks to the efforts from multiple Summoned who broke down the warding in her home, officials have managed to locate Josselyn Creed. They're ready to apprehend her with the assistance of any Summoned who volunteer.

Please note the upcoming Mini-Event in April will involve a type of mingle for characters in each faction. We hope this will give everyone some breathing room to conclude event threads before greeting new arrivals, and allow characters who want to attend time to recover in-game.

Characters will have the opportunity to contribute to it if they wish - particularly those who typically take charge of hosting the mingles.

The Summoned Conclave

All Summoned are part of the Summoned Conclave by default. In-game, officials have made this offer as an apology and to acknowledge that not only have the Summoned contributed to their home nations, they've also endured much since their summoning. The gesture promises that the Summoned's needs will be heard and that officials will try to meet those needs as best they can.

OOC, the Conclave is intended to let all characters, regardless of rank, have some influence on what reaches the tables of officials, even if they may not meet those officials directly. Ideally, it'll also offer an avenue for players to organize or discuss faction-specific plots with each other.

The purpose of the Conclave is not to elevate one player to a position of control above others. Please be mindful of other players with plots and ideas that can affect everyone in the game's setting.

Power plays and conflicts in-game are of course welcome as long as those involved are in agreement.

How It Works (OOC)

Players can organize proposals entirely OOC but are free to thread things out if they wish. We will not be modding how players and characters interact or organize. The only thing we will be moderating is the final proposal submitted to us for approval.

Although the Conclave will have "representatives" in-game whose role is to present faction officials with motions passed by the Conclave, any player can write up the proposal for us to look at once players are in agreement. The responsibility does not need to fall on any one individual.

◎ Representatives

A Conclave can have a maximum of 3 representatives per faction. If you want your character to be a representative, you can submit them for consideration by describing why they're a good fit and link to a couple of things they've done recently (over the past 2-3 months) that demonstrates why they'd be a good fit.

Players (as their characters) can +1 to support a candidate. A player can support up to 3 candidates per faction. The top 3 supported candidates will receive the role.

New representatives will be chosen every 4 months. If you want your character to serve again, simply resubmit them for consideration.

We won't dictate how long characters can "serve" consecutively. However, we do ask players to show some consideration for others. If there isn't much interest for your faction, you can sit as long as you want. If there are often multiple candidates each meeting period, anyone who's had the seat for several months should step down to make room. You can always return to the role later!

Although mods will step in if necessary, we trust that players will participate in a manner that's fair and fun for everyone.

◎ Holding Meetings

OOC, meetings will be "held" on the State of the Game posts that occur every 2 months. We'll provide the structure in the comments of that post. Players will be able to have their characters put forth "motions" that can be +1 by anyone else in that faction.

All submissions should be agreed upon and submitted by the first week of the following month. For example, proposals during April's meeting should be decided on and submitted in the first week of May. This will give us time to answer so that players can have a response before the next State of the Game (meeting).

◎ Motions

Each motion requires a total of a minimum of 3 in support. Someone will then submit the suggestion formally to the appropriate mod comment where we'll take a look and see how we can implement it into the game.

Before implementing a motion, we might need to workshop terms or details. For instance, characters can submit a proposal that says, "The Conclave in Thorne requests each Summoned receives a cake on their birthday." We would then reply with terms such as, "The cake may only be a maximum of 2 tiers."

Only 1 motion per faction can be presented to the mods per meeting. If multiple ones are in play, the motion with the most "+1" should be submitted first while the others can be tabled for the next time. Not everyone needs to vote. Further, not every meeting requires a new proposal. If there's one tabled from the previous meeting, characters can simply proceed with that.

In-Game Functions

While mechanics are in place OOC to help keep things running smoothly, in-game characters will largely be left to their own devices. Officials are disinterested in adjudicating meetings between the Summoned. They only want to know what the Summoned are requesting if anything, and which Summoned are going to be the liaisons.

If there is too much confusion from the Conclave when communicating with officials, officials will not look at any proposals and they will tell the Summoned to come back next meeting period. Characters should take care that any dissent is kept behind closed doors.

◎ Representatives

Characters must put themselves forward for the role ICly to be considered in-game. If your character is not normally the type, you can have a friend or others encourage them.

The role of a representative is to communicate with their faction's officials. Representatives will formally present proposals to officials, receive communications in return, and facilitate group meetings to consider terms offered. They can also (unofficially) mediate conflicts among the Summoned during meetings.

Officials won't give any rules on how the Summoned want to organize. Their only request is that they know who's been appointed. Therefore, players can decide why their character might've left the position should that arise. For example, if you want to play out an internal Summoned coup that results in an exchange of roles, that's completely possible even if OOC, a player simply stepped down to let someone else have a turn.

◎ Holding Meetings

Characters can hold meetings when and where they like. In-game, they do not need to meet only every 2 months. The Summoned can meet weekly or monthly.

Factions will provide a meeting space upon the announcement, but if characters agree on a different location, officials will not step in. This means characters can even meet in the Horizon if they wish or change locations each time. While characters typically would only attend the meeting for their faction, characters can hold inter-faction meetings for larger decisions if they decide to.

Occasionally, there may be game plots where the Summoned can collectively vote 2 out of 3 (factions). We'll give more detail during events where this will apply.

◎ Motions

Similar to representatives, officials will not police in-game how characters hold their meetings or come to a conclusion. For consistency, we recommend something resembling the OOC system for characters in-game, as well, but there's plenty of room for you to play out debates, arguments, and other conflicts that would not be reflected in the OOC system.

IC threads taking place during these meetings should be posted to abraxaslogs. Players are welcome to post regular meeting logs for all Summoned in their respective factions to attend, but this is not required. Cross-faction joint meetings can be held in the Horizon. We'll leave this up to you to organize!

Officials will make it known that they will only have time to consider 1 motion every 2 months.

Event Aftermath

In addition to announcing the Conclave details above, officials will also provide some information about Josselyn Creed, the Acolytes, and what is to be done regarding those responsible.

Making Choices

Characters will have choices to make about Josselyn, the Acolytes, and the rescued Mysterious Acolyte and her brother, now known as Hydnellia (Lorelai) and Esmond.

◎ Josselyn Creed

With Josselyn Creed located, officials will allow any of the Summoned who want to be there for her capture to join them. The Summoned who can actively assist may do so, while those who simply want to be there can accompany officials and stay back while it happens. The factions will make the capture in 2 days after this announcement.

Players can sign up their characters to participate here.

You can describe what they might do to assist, as well. You do not need to thread this out, though you may if you like in your personal logs. Handwaving this portion is completely acceptable.

Once Josselyn has been apprehended, she will be held in Nocwich with the other Acolytes. Characters will have an upcoming opportunity to interact with her. We'll provide a thread during the Mini-Event similar to the interrogations where characters can seek answers from her directly.

Speaking to Josselyn Creed will only be available for characters who were a part of the event.

◎ Dissenting/Negotiated Acolytes

Acolytes who struck a deal with the Summoned have nothing but their word as proof. Officials will side with the Summoned, meaning characters hold the ability to vouch for or deny the Acolytes who helped them.

If characters vouch (confirm) that a deal was made and the terms were honored, the Acolytes will be exempt from execution, as well as receive anything else that was agreed on. If they're denied, they will suffer the same fate as the remaining Faithful Acolytes.

Players can submit their character's opinions here.

Characters who weren't present when the deal was made can offer an opinion, but it will carry less weight.

◎ Hydnellia (Lorelai) & Esmond

The siblings Hydnellia and Esmond have requested to return to Solvunn's Tertiary Settlement if they'll be allowed. Characters involved in the abduction, either as the Lost or the Spared, can vouch for the siblings or they can deny them.

Although anyone can weigh in, opinions from Solvunn will carry the most significance for officials as that's where the siblings would like to return, followed by the Lost who may have interacted with Hydnellia and Esmond throughout those weeks.

Players can submit their character's opinions here.

If the siblings are not allowed to return, they will remain held in Nocwich for the foreseeable future. If they are allowed to return, they will settle in their old abandoned home. They will stay in the Tertiary Settlement from then on and will be added to Solvunn's NPC list on the Settings page.

◎ Faithful Acolytes

The remaining Faithful Acolytes require judgment. They can be executed or imprisoned for life in Nocwich. Officials will request that this decision be the first decision made by the Summoned Conclave.

The Conclaves of Thorne, the Free Cities, and Solvunn can each decide amongst themselves the fate of the Faithful Acolytes: execution or life imprisonment. They will then submit their decision on behalf of the Conclave. The outcome that receives the support of at least 2 out of 3 faction Conclaves will be the action officials take.

OOC, the option that receives the majority vote from characters in each faction is the one we'll count as representative of the faction's decision.

Players can make their decision at the "meeting" in the State of the Game.

The Factions

Once back in their factions, the Summoned and other Abraxan natives who need additional care will receive it. Characters who are well enough to continue to help can do so.

We've summarized details on the recent Test Drive Meme that might be relevant to current players as we move into April.

The market in Nocwich's Oleuni Square is CLOSED for April. However, characters can enter Nocwich over the weekend to help take down tents, clean up, and pack away supplies.

◎ Thorne

Castle staff are putting together care packages consisting of flowers, hot meals, and draughts to manage pain. Characters can gather flowers from one of Thorne's many beautiful gardens. Gardeners will direct them if asked, though they're welcome to gather anything that catches their eye. There's no magic in the flowers beyond their ability to brighten up someone's day.

They can also plant new saplings in square crates filled with soil and pack them onto wagons. These trees will be taken out into the woods later by mages to replace the withered plant life in the forests.

◎ Free Cities

Soldiers at the barracks are packing rations, medicine, and other supplies into crates to be delivered to the hospital in Cadens. Characters can help with the packing and meet some of the new arrivals at the same time, or they can ride the wagons to ensure the deliveries arrive safely at the hospital.

To soothe and cheer up those who underwent a traumatic experience, characters can also bring the domestic catlike Leosylph to their fellow Summoned and other patients. Researchers have claimed the effects of holding one can be quite positive.

◎ Solvunn

To aid recovery, commune Elders have asked for help to ward the doors of homes occupied by the Summoned. Characters can hang bone wreathes on the doors to request blessings of protection and healing from the Old Gods. They can also bring hot meals and herbal medicine to the Summoned.

Additionally, Solvunn's traditional chaotic goat race has been postponed. As a result, the goats are filled with pent-up energy. They'll headbutt anything that moves, chew fence posts and clothes, and make a nuisance of themselves - even escaping their pens. Characters can help retrieve escaped goats, repair broken fences, and do their best to contain the animals.

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!

Where will officials let the the Summoned Conclave meet?

Thorne will provide one of the many meeting rooms in the Castle, Solvunn will offer a space connected to the Council's meeting house, and the Free Cities will provide a room at Portam Hall. Characters can continue to use this space or relocate as they desire.

Will we also get to decide what happens to Josselyn Creed?

Not quite. Since Josselyn has gravely offended the gods, the Solvunn Council will determine what happens to her based on guidance and their traditions. This will be revealed in the Mini-Event upcoming. Characters will be allowed to question her and submit evidence to the Council.

Is there an influence requirement to participate?

No. All Summoned characters can participate in the Conclave if they want. They can also choose not to participate, but by default the Summoned are considered "represented" by the Conclave of their faction.

Is there an influence requirement to be a representative?

Not at all. A character might have a strong reputation with the other Summoned, but 0 influence with the Abraxan natives or NPCs. As long as they have the support of their fellow Summoned, that will suffice.

Can I submit more than one character as a representative?

Yes, if they are in different factions. Players who have two characters in the same faction may only submit one for the role.

What are the benefits of volunteering as a representative?

In-game, characters get to communicate and meet with faction officials face-to-face when they present their Conclave's proposal. Officials could begin to learn their name and who they are, leading to Plot Engagement opportunities in the future. Interactions with officials can additionally be used to gain some influence.

How do voting limits work if I have multiple characters in the same faction's Conclave?

Players may spread their voting limits across multiple characters in the same faction, but their total as a player should remain in the ascribed limit. For example, if a player is only allowed to support a total of 3 candidates, they can ICly cast 2 votes as 2 different characters, but they cannot submit a total of 6 votes. Players with characters in separate factions do not need to worry about this.

Is there a voting limit per player for the judgment on the Faithful Acolytes?

No. All characters who took part in the event will be allowed to cast one vote no matter what.

What about a voting limit per player for regular motions?

For regular motions, players can support each individual motion using only one character per faction. Multiple motions can be supported once each, but you can't use two characters in one faction to support a single motion twice.

What happens if a player of a representative drops or there are no representatives who volunteer?

The seat will remain unfilled until the next vote. If all three seats are unfilled, characters can continue to put forth motions without anyone formally taking the lead. The factions will receive communications through an unnamed courier or messenger.

I want to submit my character for a role and their motions. Where can I do this?

You'll be able to do so once the next State of the Game goes up! We'll post the structure in the comments of that post. If you're still not sure where to comment then, you can ask us on the Questions thread here.

What if my character isn't the type to participate, but I'd like to as a player?

Characters can be convinced by their friends or other reasons! For instance, someone could go door to door and ask a few friends to come support them as a representative.

Comments

Re: CAPTURING JOSSELYN CREED

[northerndragon]

Player Name: Elizabeth
Character Name: Jon Snow
Lost or Spared?: Spared
Faction & Rank: Thorne, 1

Action: Jon will continue searching in the mountains tirelessly until Josselyn is caught. (Well, he's probably tired, but he won't take much of a break from it.) During the capture itself, he is more than capable of fighting aggressively, defending other fighters, using magic capabilities, using swords, and stealth attacks -- he's done this exact kind of thing in canon (s4, when clearing the mutineers out of Craster's Keep; he was a weaker fighter at the time than he would be now). Has zero compunctions about killing enemy combatants in the fight. Can also use his wolf form to do any scouting that needs doing, try to pick up a scent, etc.