abraxasooc | EVENT #18: PRE-EVENT SIGN-UPS & INFO

Pre-Event - Sign-Ups & Info

This month's event will give characters a glimpse into one of the many future realities that are possible. This emergent reality takes place 800 years later. In it, many of the Summoned have gained significant abilities or transformations, whether through the Singularity, by learning and absorbing the magic in Abraxas, or both.

Indeed, they have gained so much power that one might even perceive them to be the next generation of Gods.

To help guide players, we will give personalized assignments to each character. We'll also give you an outline of the state of Abraxas in this timeline so you can begin thinking about your character's transformations, new powers, and other details.

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Assignments ⦁ Setting ⦁ Notes ⦁ Questions & Answers

Assignments

Each character will be assigned a set of parameters which you can use to develop your thoughts and ideas further. You must sign up with each character to receive an assignment to participate. Characters cannot take part in the event without having an assignment.

Assignments are meant to guide and inspire, not to be restrictive. Our goal is to give players room for flexibility and interpretation. We've also provided some Guiding Questions to help you formulate your concepts.

If you've given your assignment a fair amount of thought and still have genuine difficulty, you can CONTACT US privately for assistance.

How It Works

Characters will believe they belong to this future. For the first "half" of the event, they will not realize that they've arrived from the past and will not have any inkling that something is wrong. Any awakening or realization they experience will only come in the second "half."

◎ Using Your Assignment

Each assignment consists of a Blessing trait and an Affliction trait. You can make up a set of powers based on these traits which your character can then use in two ways: 1) on or against others themselves; 2) to bestow a lesser version of a power on mortals who beseech them. Traits are not meant to be a good/evil alignment. Characters are still complex individuals as Gods and may react differently in each situation. You get to decide how much of their personality is affected by their new abilities. Each assignment will have suggestions from us but don't feel like you have to incorporate them. You can also optionally choose a God name for your character as a pseudonym of sorts.

◎ Physical Traits & Abilities

Characters can have as many or as few physical changes as you like from wings to multiple limbs. They may have alternate forms or animal companions as part of their motif. Similarly, you can give your character whatever powers and abilities you want. The only guideline is that physical traits and abilities should play into a cohesive theme based on your character's assignment and any gains they've received in-game. Additionally, the Old Gods and Cardinal Gods will still exist, as well as the Singularity and your fellow Summoned. Along with the consequences of overusing powers and abilities, these will serve as checks and balances for anyone who might attempt to break the world or destroy an aspect of the event beyond function. Ignoring or suppressing abilities will bring consequences, too, so striking a balance is vital.

◎ Memories

While the degree of memory loss is your choice, characters must suffer some form of faded memories. This can be canon memories, game memories, or a combination. These memories may linger in the subconscious, subtly influencing decisions, or they might be gone altogether. The purpose is to allow you flexibility in shaping your character. It will also give you a choice in how detailed you want your "AU history" to be. If you don't want to fill in the last 800 years, then they might only remember the past year while the rest is a blur. If you want to make up an extensive history that spans several centuries, you can do that, too. Again, you can decide how much this impacts your character's personality and what that looks like.

We recommend you start giving some thought to your character's AU history in terms of how much you want to fill in and what developments you're after (a crime committed? a terrible deed that haunts them? a broken romance with their closest relationship?). Although filling in the details is optional, it offers a good opportunity to jumpstart or advance CR with others, both old and new, which can then have important ramifications once characters wake up.

Signing Up

Signing up only requires you to put down your character's name! There are no restrictions for this event in terms of character slots, influence rank, or number of characters per player. Everyone who signs up will get an assignment.

There is no pre-event deadline for signing up. You'll have up to the end of the event to do so. However, we recommend signing up as soon as possible to maximize the amount of time you have to think about your character.

Sign up HERE to receive your assignment.

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The Setting

Abraxas will undergo some changes by the year 20,879. Additional details will come on the OOC Plotting Post and IC Event Log, but we've provided a map and a brief overview so you can have an idea of the environment your character will be in.

Landscape

Click here for a full-sized map.

New Territories & Cities
Velan Republic, Lunae Settlement, Mechapolis, Godlands

Points of Interest
The Barren, The Maw, Witchwood, Isle of the Lost

Fallen Powers
Thorne, Luna

Rising Powers
The Nether, The Free Cities, Solvunn, Ikorr

Changing Borders

◎ THORNE has retreated to Hayle. A jagged and warded wall of ice shields the small kingdom.

◎ The VELAN REPUBLIC was established when Nott struck a deal with Cadens. A vassal state under the Free Cities, it governs itself autonomously...for the most part.

◎ IKORR drove back Luna after steadily strengthening its relationship with the Summoned following the events of Epulum in 20,079.

◎ SOLVUNN expanded northward after Thorne's collapse. Many of the Lunae returned to their roots and resettled where Borrel once stood.

Notable Locations

◎ The GODLANDS is where the Singularity stands and where the Gods gather. Considered sacred land, none dare trespass.

◎ THE MAW lives in a deep ravine that erupted centuries ago, dividing the Badlands in half.

◎ THE BARREN is a place of exiles and non-believers. Their fate is left to The Maw or the Gods.

◎ In the WITCHWOOD, strange demigod beasts lurk.

◎ MECHAPOLIS is uninhabitable by organic beings...but that doesn't mean it's empty.

Environment

◎ Overview

While the land has given rise to new threats and developments, the world hasn't definitively become better or worse. Some aspects are thriving, others have crumbled, and most significantly, characters themselves will have to decide how they see the situation. Some might find the interference of the Summoned and the Gods unsettling while others would see it as an opportunity to help where rulers and governments won't.

◎ Culture

Due to the active presence of the Summoned, the existence of the Gods is no longer in doubt. Any contention with the Gods is now about whether they are deserving of worship. The majority of Abraxas revere the Summoned and will turn to them for solutions to their problems or protection from other Gods (both old and new), but small pockets of resistance can be found.

◎ Magic & Technology

High Magic no longer exists as a specific school of magic since offerings, pacts, and requests to the Gods are a part of everyday life across Abraxas. The Free Cities continues to make advancements in New Magic, but now seek to preserve the Singularity along with the rest of the world to make sure they don't destroy the Summoned and the technological gifts they've bestowed.

Lifted Restrictions

The following restrictions will be lifted during the event:

◎ Travel: Characters can teleport to any location they want at any point. This includes areas that are normally closed such as the Nether and the Feywilds. How residents of each place react varies, but they are unable to stop the Summoned from entering. Of course, if your character feels attached to a place and wishes to stay close to guard it, they're free to do so. However, characters cannot leave Abraxas.

◎ The Singularity: Characters can approach and interact with the Singularity without being involuntarily drawn into the Horizon. They will also have the ability to communicate with the Singularity (with or without physically touching it) and, through it, can hear the calls of people trying to "reach" the Gods. They'll be allowed to do this at any time, and may come and go to the Godlands freely.

◎ The Horizon: Domains will no longer be restricted in size. They can be as complex and as vast as your character wants. Characters will feel a powerful connection to the Horizon itself. The stronger and more godlike a character's state, the more attached to the Horizon they will be. They will consider it their "true home" as opposed to the physical world. You may want to consider how your character's domain will change in this future scenario. Entering the Horizon will no longer leave behind their corporeal body. If they're in the Horizon, their physical form will not be outside it.

◎ Death: While death is not technically permanent for a God, returning from death will take much longer than the event runs for. Once a character "dies," they will no longer be able to continue participating in the event. More details will be available on the OOC Plotting Post, but generally speaking, much like in the real world, killing another shouldn't be treated lightly.

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Notes

Event Timeline

While inside the emergent reality, characters will experience a period of 3 months. In the standard reality, this period will only be 3 weeks. OOC, it will also be 3 weeks in real-time. This is to give characters a lived-in experience that leaves a lasting significance without causing characters to miss a chunk of time.

To facilitate, we will offer a handwaved section where you can post your character and others can respond with things that can be handwaved throughout the 3-month duration. Skipping time as needed is encouraged, but since this is a dream-like future, don't worry too much about keeping a strict sequence of events.

Guiding Questions

If you're not sure where to start or if the concept feels overwhelmingly abstract, you can consider the following questions below.

◎ What elements or thematic abilities/magic do you associate with your character? Healing, fire? Are they more likely to rely on weapons than spells? If they could conjure any weapon, what would it look like? Does it have a specific design or feature?

◎ What are some important lessons they learned in their canon? What about in Abraxas? How have they changed in Abraxas compared to their first arrival? Have they faced any difficult choices? Regrets or incidents that haunt them?

◎ How much does your character's Arcana Sign define them? If you had to choose a visual representation of one of their Arcanum traits, what would that look like? Is it an animal? A special symbol from their canon?

◎ If you made a spell or ability based on your character's Blessing trait, what would it be? How about one based on their Affliction trait? Would they view their powerful influence as a right or a burden? Both?

◎ What aspect of your character's Horizon domain speaks to who they are the most? If that part of themselves were to fade or become corrupted, how would that alter their domain or their physical appearance? What about the quality, visual effects, or type of abilities they use?

◎ Although your character is now very powerful, what might their key weakness be? It can be an elemental weakness, ignorance, or something personal.

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Questions & 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!

How should I use my assignment? I'm worried about misunderstanding the themes or doing it wrong.: There's no such thing as doing it wrong! You can use your assignment however you want. Interpretations can be literal, abstract, or a combination. While we've offered suggestions for inspiration, you don't have to use our examples or base your ideas on them at all. You know your character best, so the most important thing is that your interpretation makes sense to you and you're happy with it.
How much will my character's personality change? Do they have to go "dark" or lose their way?: This is entirely up to you. Broadly speaking, characters who have or who are likely to make and maintain important relationships will have a higher chance of staying true to themselves. Possessing a strong sense of self will also help. Characters prone to self-isolation, inner conflict and doubt, or similar may more easily lose themselves. However, other factors can come into play such as the specific memories they're missing, losing significant CR, or key AU experiences, so the choice is yours.
What kind of abilities can I add?: You can add completely new powers, greatly enhance abilities they've already gained in-game, boost canon powers, take inspiration from AUs that exist in your canon, or consider using the list of D&D spells for ideas. You don't need to decide everything beforehand. If, during a thread, you come up with something new, go ahead and add it! Just make sure you communicate with your RP partner and keep in mind the checks and balances that exist during the event. You're also welcome to add personalized weaknesses and consequences on top of those.
Are there any weaknesses involved when using new powers?: Characters who abuse their powers will discover the consequences. However, characters who ignore or reject their abilities will also discover the same. More information will follow on the OOC Plotting Post, but generally speaking, characters will learn what happens if they lean towards either extreme and will learn a lesson in balance.
What will happen in this future "emergent reality"? What will characters be doing?: This post is largely about shaping your character, so don't worry too much about what your character will do or how they'll engage with the setting. We'll describe the mechanics and prompts on the OOC Plotting Post and IC Event Log. That said, anything you imagine doing, you can probably do it, whether that's having a PvP fight with extra powers, leading a cult among the locals, or making it rain frogs.
What happens if characters try to leave Abraxas anyway?: Attempts to leave will weaken a character's connection to Abraxas, which characters will be able to sense. It will feel like dying. If they brute force it, the connection will break and the character will disappear for good.
Are there any other limits on what we can do?: Narratively, no, although the older Gods, Summoned, and the Singularity can all "stop" your character from doing anything that would break the event. OOC, we just ask you to be reasonable with your character's actions! If they'd immediately summon an asteroid to destroy the planet, then we would advise you to find a way so that they don't do that.
What about items or technology that might affect the setting?: While we won't place firm restrictions on what characters would create for themselves as part of their final form, try to keep the general setting intact so that all players have a consistent environment. Please do not bestow spaceships or laser guns upon an entire city. That said, Mechapolis will offer an opportunity for modestly advanced technology to exist, based on the idea that the more modern Summoned would have a strong influence on parts of the world.
How big can a character's form grow?: Again, just keep it reasonable. For a sense of scale, here are some examples of what we would consider reasonable.
What if I want to make my character very small?: You can do that, too! Mouse-sized Gods have their place in this world.
Does my character have to keep a human shape? What if I don't want them to change too much?: We encourage you to get creative and bizarre. If you want your character to become a formless cloud with many mouths, that's completely possible. However, if you want to keep the physical changes minimal, that's also acceptable.
What if my character would reject any new powers and physical transformations?: Characters will all be changed in some way just by existing in Abraxas and engaging with the world, even if the changes are more modest. The only way they would not experience any alterations at all to their powers and/or physical form is if they completely disconnected from the Singularity - in which case, they would disappear from Abraxas altogether.
Will every character end up in this emergent reality?: The IC situation that leads them into the emergent reality cannot be opted out of. If you are unable to participate, then your character may black out during this period. They will wake up 3 weeks later with no memory of what happened.

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EVENT #18: PRE-EVENT SIGN-UPS & INFO

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