EVENT #20: ADVENT - OOC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #20 - OOC Plotting

IC Event Log ⦁ The Gods

Two years ago, the strife between the territories gave rise to the Heralds of War: Koth of Festering Lands, Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues, and Sannleikr of Many Faces. Their arrival brought a dark affliction over the land and the Summoned themselves.

Now, as the territories march towards war, the same three Heralds have returned...along with the fourth and final of them.

While fighting will be occurring in the Badlands throughout this event, the focus of it will be on the impact it has on civilians and innocents, represented by the four Heralds. Characters may also take diplomatic action with a sufficient Influence rank.

If your character wants to join in on the fighting actively, you may ask us individually and we will determine how your character may fit into the scenario, as well as any limitations we might ask you to keep in mind regarding powers and so forth. However, we want to stress that a large-scale battle is not the emphasis.

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The Heralds ⦁ The Summoned ⦁ Horizon ⦁ Notes ⦁ Questions & Answers

The Heralds

Although multiple Gods carry the title of Herald, only four are the Heralds of War. Those in Solvunn may have noticed that these four Gods are seldom worshipped or sought after with offerings. Rather, their shrines are visited only in times of strife to appease them. Most will tell you that the Heralds of War cannot be invoked and there are no recent records of a pact being made with them. Any pacts described are from so long ago that they may as well be myth.

The initial three Heralds of War (Koth, Adlewyrd, and Sannleikr) will be assigned to a territory. Unlike the previous event, the Heralds will primarily be afflicting the native population rather than the Summoned. Characters' goals will be to assist the natives and the land as bloodshed begins. However, there will be some opportunity for characters themselves to experience an effect, as well.

In all cases, the Heralds can only influence behavior in people who are already prone to or are considering said behavior. Though the Heralds prey on the darker impulses within, they cannot create desires that don't already exist. This applies to both the native population and the Summoned.

Territory Assignments

Territory assignments will be as follows. Each territory will undergo a specific effect as a result. The fourth Herald will be a unique occurrence and will affect the entirety of Abraxas as a whole. You can also read more about three Heralds here and here.

◎ Koth will arrive in Thorne. Her presence will interfere with crops and food stores, causing grave concerns for the autumn harvest. She will also cause great fear in some natives, especially guards and soldiers, who begin to dream of their deaths or claim they see their deceased loved ones visit them. Magic begins to "rot," causing spells to falter or backfire.

◎ Adlewyrd will arrive in the Free Cities. Their presence will corrupt both spoken and written word. People might misinterpret or misread instructions, or forget to relay crucial details, causing fatal errors across multiple tasks such as operating machinery or dosages for medication. They will also instigate venomous thoughts within the individual or towards others, resulting in cruel words and callous actions. Disruptive rumors circulate, sowing mistrust towards the government and fueling conspiracies.

◎ Sannleikr will arrive in Solvunn. His presence will turn benign creatures into dangerous versions of themselves: sheep sprout sharp teeth, birds grow wicked talons, and bees swarm. He will also twist the territory's sense of community as neighbors begin to see only strangers around them and even label friends as enemies. Mistrust will begin to run rampant and many despair in their isolation while domestic animals and pets may cease to recognize or trust their owners.

The Fourth Herald

Like the other three, the fourth Herald is seen as a portent rather than looked to for blessings or protection. Elders in Solvunn will claim he has not been seen since the early 19,000s, following the rebellion that birthed the Free Cities and resulted in the execution of the Almachs, who ruled Thorne before the Galdwins.

The fourth and final Herald will be introduced in full on the IC Event Log. A brief overview of what to expect has been outlined below.

Effects on the Land

Animals and beasts across Abraxas will grow anxious or aggressive. Some may gain a taste for flesh.

◎ For domestic animals (pets and livestock), the more loved and happy an animal is, the less susceptible they will be. They might only become slightly unruly or prone to growling. Stray or neglected animals, on the other hand, can become more dangerous, easily provoked into biting or attacking.

◎ Predators and naturally aggressive wildlife will grow more so. They may go into a feeding frenzy or others that normally avoid humans will now actively hunt them.

◎ Herbivores and passive animals will start to seek meat in their diet. Horses and deer may be spotted feasting on carcasses or other carnivorous sources. This does not appear to make them ill, but it is disturbing to witness.

Effects on the People

Natives across Abraxas will become similarly influenced, but the effect will be more dependent on a person's natural disposition and current state of mind.

◎ Soldiers may lose themselves in the heat of battle, resulting in greater incidents of friendly fire or civilian casualties. Meanwhile, among civilians and soldiers alike, tensions are heightened as personalities grow more combative. Teams fall apart and projects stall or fall apart as disagreements brew. Arguments or brawls frequently break out on the streets or in households.

◎ Several will say they've had haunting dreams or visions drenched in red that show them harmful acts soon to be committed either by their own hands or by another - usually someone close to them but sometimes a sworn enemy. When found or caught after a violent act, they may claim that a "voice whispered to them."

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The Summoned

The Summoned's experiences will differ from the native population. Some characters might recall being afflicted by the Heralds in the past. In particular, those characters might remember being able to turn an affliction ability onto others, having gained a subtle power from the Herald that they chose.

This time, older Summoned residents - especially those who underwent the emergent reality - will find themselves highly resistant or entirely immune to the three assigned Heralds. Newer arrivals might still be susceptible to the specific Herald that visits their territory, but the effect would be intermittent and may not be as intense or last very long.

Characters will instead be focused on the circumstances around them. They'll also have the opportunity to take actions related to the war itself, such as diplomacy or running supplies.

Choosing Your Actions

Characters will have to make a personal choice in how they respond to the Heralds. This choice will impact how the next event affects them individually, but will not have an overarching consequence on the world or towards other characters. You won't need to formally submit your decision. Just keep it in mind for the next event!

Understanding the Heralds

Characters will have the opportunity to learn about the Heralds' motivations through the fourth Herald of War himself. This conversation is optional and will not be NPC'd individually. It will occur in a dream. He will give roughly the same details to everyone.

To help players plan how their characters will respond, we'll outline what will be said below. The IC Event Log will contain additional details for flavor. Please hold your questions regarding this part until the IC Event Log is up unless the answer is vital to your OOC plotting.

Some might assume the Heralds themselves are the agents of war. However, the Heralds only arrive after fighting has already begun. There are no records of them being the original source of conflict.

The Heralds see themselves as a balancing force, performing their duty to ensure that any war that begins will also end. According to them, heavy losses and spent resources are the main reason a conflict eventually resolves. One might even argue that the mediation which followed the conflict two years ago came about in part because of the damage to the crops, land, and waters. With each side desperate to rebuild their losses, they had agreed to meet. The Heralds don't pick sides nor do they have any interest in swaying outcomes. They affect all territories equally.

Deciding Your Role

Whether characters realize it or not through their conversation with the fourth Herald of War, they have the power to help or hinder. Each character must decide whether they will counter the effects of the Heralds, enhance the effects, or decline to intervene either way. The Herald will not attempt to sway the Summoned towards a particular action. He will only explain his side. How characters respond is their decision.

This decision will have an impact on each character individually in the next event. However, it will not impact the world or others around them.

You can decide which category your character falls under any way you like. If your character countered the Heralds only once but it was a significant moment for them, you can say that this was their ultimate "choice" even if they spent the majority of the event doing the opposite action. Alternatively, you can base the criteria on how often your character did one action versus others. We will not moderate this aspect, so just pick what feels right to you.

You do not need to determine the choice until the upcoming event in October, so there will be lots of time for you to progress your threads and decide what fits.

◎ Countering Force

Characters can counter the afflictions caused by the Heralds by replacing it with their own influence. This influence can be based either on your character's AU assignment in Event #18 and/or a core aspect of their personality. This influence should be subtle and can only affect one person or "item" at a time. It will also open the character up to becoming more vulnerable to the Heralds' influences in return.

Characters do not need to act deliberately, to begin with. They may simply attempt to help and, in doing so, realize that they are exerting a certain influence of their own. It is also possible that they will not always be successful. The more they attempt to counter the Heralds, the harder it will be to maintain their strength.

While we'll leave the details up to you, some examples would be: a soothing melody that drives away visions of death, a healing power that "heals" a rotting tree, or restoring someone's memory of a loved one. Abilities must be relatively minor in effect and visuals. It can be enough to overcome an affliction, but it should not overtake any NPCs or other characters.

◎ Enhancing Force

Characters can enhance the afflictions caused by the Heralds by encouraging the effects. They can do this through existing abilities or magic they already possess (either learned through Abraxas or from canon), or they can take actions that are not magical at all, such as perpetuating rumors, agreeing with a person's despair, or giving someone a weapon to use.

Their enhancement may not always be successful. Additionally, each time they encourage a Herald's affliction, they will become more likely to inadvertently emanate the same afflictions towards others nearby, either through touch or words - including any vulnerable Summoned.

◎ Neutral Force

Characters can simply allow events to unfold in front of them without interfering.

Diplomacy & Other Options

Characters can participate in the usual manner by delivering supplies, protecting the vulnerable, and cleaning up the streets. The IC Event Log will have some prompts for each territory.

Any character with sufficient influence or actions taken can speak to NPCs, petition government bodies with letters, or similar. We will not be writing specific prompts for these scenarios since what your character can do and how will depend on their actions in-game up to this point. For logistical reasons, it will not be possible to stop the conflict in the Badlands during the event, but characters may still make an impact moving forward.

Players are encouraged to reach out to us during the event to request a particular action. We will have a form in place to guide you in doing so and will do our best to respond to all players promptly. If you have something in mind before the IC Event Log, you may ask us under Questions or reach out to us in Plot Engagement if it requires more planning.

The NPCs page has been reorganized and updated to reflect new NPCs and changes in power. Please take a look if you like!

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Horizon Effects

As before, the Horizon won't be spared from the strange influences spreading across the land. This time, however, the influence comes from the Summoned themselves.

While inside the Horizon, characters' domains will undergo instability. The instability can be any of the following varieties:

◎ Reversion: The domain will revert to a previous form. This reversion can be complete or take place only in a portion of the area. For example, if a character once had a mountain before replacing it with a forest, parts or all of the mountain might reappear.

◎ Emersion: If characters participated in Event #18: Emergence, the same effect as above can happen but instead of it being a reversion, the domain will take on aspects that were created only in the emergent reality.

◎ Transference: Any aspect of a character's domain (whether affected by a reversion or emersion, or unaffected) can begin to appear or "grow" over another character's domain. The two domains can be any distance from each other. You may decide with each other what parts of your domain will overtake another's.

When a portion of a domain is "transplanted," it will vanish from its original source. For instance, if Character A's bookshelf is transferred to Character B's domain, the bookshelves will be missing from Character A's domain. Players can use this to expose private secrets that they normally keep hidden in their domain or just to cause some chaos. For example, parts of a spaceship could grow in someone's garden or a character might enter their room to find it full of someone else's farm animals.

Please be sure to communicate before impacting another player's character!

Instabilities can worsen based on how open or vulnerable a character has made themselves. Other characters can help restore or reshape someone else's domain, but they must be familiar enough with the domain to do so with some accuracy or they may accidentally make things more unstable.

Restoring a domain to its normal state will help knit the character's vulnerabilities. The degree of its effectiveness is up to the affected player to decide. Ask first before intervening!

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Notes

Ability or Transformation Gain

Characters will receive a gain of either one physical alteration or one new magical spell/ability. While this gain can be anything, we encourage people to consider a gain that suits their experiences throughout the 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.

Event Schedule

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

The IN-GAME EVENT will ICly begin AUGUST 16. The conflict itself will have started earlier in August.
The EVENT POST will go up AUGUST 15 for players to participate in.
The WRAP-UP POST will go up AUGUST 30 for players to view.

Plotting Form

You can use the plotting form below to make plans.

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>Territory:</b> <b>Rank:</b> <b>Afflictions:</b> (Which Herald is in your character's territory? What aspects of this are you planning to play with? Are you interested in your character exploring how to save others or will your character be affected themselves?) <b>Horizon:</b> (What changes will occur to your character's Horizon domain? Are you interested in other characters' domains interacting with yours? Do you want to offer aspects of your character's domain to interfere with others?) <b>General plans:</b> (Anything else!)

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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!

So characters can only discover their countering ability when explicitly countering the affliction effects?

Yes. Characters cannot use this ability outside of this event nor can they use it on someone who isn't afflicted. They must be attempting to counter an effect to activate it.

What does "using" the ability entail or look like?

This is up to you! The aesthetics are your choice, but as stipulated, they must be reasonably minor and subtle. Please do not change forms or sprout wings. Characters may have a glow or sparkle, feel a power inside them, or anything along those lines to ICly realize they are the ones doing something. Reaching for the ability can be done on instinct, similar to characters using magic accidentally for the first time or discovering a new power.

My character arrived after Event #18. Can they still have a countering ability?

Yes! In this case, just base it on something that's a core part of your character's themes. These themes do not have to be based on a character's canon magic or abilities. For example, a character who has strong values regarding family could help family members recognize each other, which would counter Sannleikr.

My character arrived during Event #18, but I'm having trouble coming up with a counter ability based on it. Can I base it on something else?

Yes, you may base it on your character's themes as noted above! As long as it's drawn on something significant to your character's personality or behavior, you may use it.

If my character has become vulnerable, will they only be affected by the Herald assigned to their territory?

Yes, only the fourth Herald and the Herald assigned to a character's territory can affect the residents there, including the Summoned. A vulnerable Summoned in Thorne can be susceptible to only Koth's effects, but not the other two. The fourth Herald of War can affect all territories.

What scenarios will characters face during the event?

We will provide specific prompts for characters to respond to or incorporate into threads, but we encourage players to come up with their own scenes based on the broad descriptions provided as well!

Is there a minimum influence before my character can speak to an NPC or participate in a diplomatic action?

Yes and no! We'll judge on a case-by-case basis and do our best to determine what path forward would be most reasonable for your character narratively, as well as what we can accomplish logistically OOC. Generally, if your character wants an immediate audience with a high-ranking individual, they should have an influence of 5 or above. However, a lower influence character who holds something of value may also be granted an audience. so the circumstances involved will play a part.

Why have the territories kept the Summoned from the fighting?

The conflict in the Badlands is important, but it can and has been fought by regular soldiers many times before. The Summoned are too valuable a resource to be sent as fodder on the battlefield.

Can characters meet in the Badlands if they're from opposing territories or sides?

Not for this event! Battle lines will be drawn and crossing over to the enemy side would not be possible. Cross-territory interactions will need to take place in the Horizon. However, for diplomatic purposes, Nocwich may be open as neutral territory for discussions or meetings. Something like this would need to be arranged and plotted with the mods.

Will we learn about the impact of Solvunn's decision from the last event here?

Yes! We'll describe it in the IC Event Log. What it means for the Summoned in Solvunn moving forward will be addressed in the Wrap-Up.

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Comments

Questions

[abraxasmods]

[thoughts]

this is so cool mods, thank you!! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

for the horizon funkiness, if someone's domain is starting to take on characteristics from event 18, what would happen if they actively wanted more to emerge? river is hyper vulnerable in general so i'm sure there's many ways to play with it happening regardless, but i'm curious about someone with active intent to recreate more of their domain from event 18. thank you!!

[restingstitchface]

Hello and thanks for this!

Firstly, if a former gain is themeatically appropriate for this event, can people ask for a power swap and use the old ability as the gain for this event?

Secondly, for characters designated as "Heralds" in the AU, are there extra details or ideas to play with? Anything like flavour text? Any differences in how they are affected or effect others, etc?

Re: Questions

[tedandroses]

This is so interesting and such a hard decision to work through (which is, plotwise, great)! Thank you mods!

Quick question: Teddy's event gain from #18 would be helpful; they have the ability to inspire a communal feeling and/or inspire people to prioritize teamwork toward a goal. This is still probably only two or three people at a time since it's only been mentioned explicitly in a couple threads.

My question here:
- Would this ability be able to be used in addition to their countering ability or would Sannleikr just be way too powerful for it to work? (Or, can they use it but not pick a second ability, etc...)
&
- If it can be used (whether or not they can use a second countering ability), would the AoE remain the same (ie, affecting a few people) or would it be reduced to one like the countering abilities?

[nomnoms]

SINCE FRIENDS MIGHT LOOK LIKE ENEMIES...

OOCly how many NPCs can Nanaue get away with eating before it will become a problem for him post-event with the commune?

[aquaveiled]

I know that Koth is in Thorne, but Himeka has been trying to get a decent feel for Koth for over a year now! Koth has answered her summons in the past and was actually the god she got her original affliction from. My questions are...

1.) Would Himeka be able to reach out to Koth in her usual methods (offerings/typical god ritual) once Koth is active in Thorne?

2.) If so, Himeka would like to know if their actions now happen to be related to "the mission" she first mentioned a couple of years ago when they first met.

She would try to follow up with any details on said mission if possible, but I totally understand if that would probably be spoilery or too much for one event. Thank you!

[monomachy]

hello! since the horizon is being affected, how will the singularity react during the event?

[durge]

extremely excited about this, mods! i have a few questions for you if you'd be so kind!

- would the new gods have anything to say about the matter if someone reached out? haelva would want to get a feel on what they think about the matter, if anything
- for haelva specifically, and this might be plot dependent -- would she be pointed in the direction of the domestic animals that might have been killed in this event?
- if she is wanting to work with the Herald, is there a limit to how much necromancy she can perform and scare people off with? she'd probably default to animals, but wouldn't refuse an npc corpse or two if she came across them

thank you!!

[godshattering]

Hi mods! Rynn, Terra, and I had a question about possibly linking some AU god things into being part of this event.

Since Claude, Hilda, and Sylvain became a threefold god and were linked together and often invoked in times of strife or war during those centuries, we were wondering if there would be any sort of correlation or connection to the heralds in a similar way? That would include any sort of resonance we could play with or use to contribute to the plot, if the heralds might recognize them in any way, or if any of the above would help them be countering forces or enhancing forces depending on what they choose.

If this needs to go through plot engagement instead we can do that but just wanted to check here first. Thank you in advance!

Dee's Trio

[magicalarchaeologist]

oh boy oh boy

Istredd | Thorne

[magicalarchaeologist]

Character Name: Istredd
Territory: Thorne
Rank: 6 

Afflictions: Koth will be in Thorne! He'll just be glad it's not Sannleikr. Until he's not glad. With magic rotting I'll probably do some stuff with that where his spells or other people's spells are backfiring and him dealing with that. Since his influence from the god time was positive in his opinion (he liked that future), and it's mostly thoughtful/curious, he will lean into the influencing to try and clear minds. That will make him weak to Koth so I think that's why his magic will start going off. Your own fault, Istredd.
 
Horizon: THE MONOLITH IS BACK BABY. (Sorry Ciri don't kill him it's not his choice it's mine.) So his lighthouse will be replaced with a giant black rock. I am more than happy to have parts of his library domain show up elsewhere, although probably not all of it. If anyone wants a surprise animal of his showing up over there, let me know! He has two leosylphs, five ravens, and a robot dog. I may say they're missing regardless of where they're showing up so he can be anxious about it.

General plans:  He's definitely going to be interested in the Herald's dream and whatever is communicated there. I think he agrees with them in theory but in execution he's like SCREAMS INTERNALLY.

Jonathan Crane | Free Cities

[restingstitchface]

Character Name: Jonathan Crane
Territory: Free Cities
Rank: 4

Afflictions: Adlewyrd is in the Free Cities! Crane is fascinated by her effect upon his peers, intrigued by heralds in other regions, and curious about his own immunity. He is willing to use his psychological expertise to help others or drive special cases in the other direction. He will seem calm and cautious but detatched from the situation. His aim is to bolster his reputation by dispelling conspiracies and mistrust towards the government. His influence affords control or madness. Details are here.

Horizon: His domain will adopt aspects of how it was during the emergent reality. Others might find an office or brownstone has appeared inside their realms, or see their domains are now encompassed by an endless ocean or bathed in darkness and moonlight. Parts of their domain could be found floating like icebergs in the ocean. Bookshelves may reveal what he enjoys reading. Journals detailing his thoughts can be returned, while the curious can thumb through and read personal diaries or notes taken during his sessions.

General plans: I would love to dig into his family and friends from childhood or college. People can find his journals or framed certificates from inside his office and prompt a conversation? Namely, those details and moments that make him human. However, I am open to anything and everything!

ammay's two

[archiholic]

kaveh | free cities

[archiholic]

Character Name: Kaveh
Territory: The Free Cities
Rank: 0

Afflictions: Adlewyrd! Kaveh is going to attempt to hinder the Heralds, but not through any knowing action until later in the event. He'll be attempting to correct calculations and diagrams for engineering projects/any current construction projects and helping people after the aftermath of brawls and fights. I'm interested in him perhaps falling sway to saying mean things to people because he doesn't... really do that to people who he feels haven't personally slighted him.

Horizon: No planned changes to Kaveh's Horizon, but I'm completely open to influence from others! Currently, it's just a house, so feel free to throw anything at it and watch poor Kaveh wonder what he did to deserve this.

General plans: He is brand spanking new, so I'm mostly looking to get CR in the worst way possible for all involved! He won't know what to make of this, mostly because he was out in the desert for the big Event in his canon and missed it and also because things like this just don't really happen where he's from.

teddy roberts | solvunn

[tedandroses]

Character Name: Teddy Roberts
Territory: Solvunn
Rank: 1

Afflictions: Sannleikr is going to be in Solvunn, which is an interesting one for Teddy. Both because their Emergence AU God!sona was themed around harmony and fostering community (and that's a big thing for them in general) -- which are things Sannleikr specifically disrupts through mistrust, enmity and isolation -- and also because one of the early symptoms of seizures for them is jamais vu (the inability to recognize familiar people or things), and another is misunderstanding or not understanding words, which are both also things that Sannleikr can cause through affliction.

Teddy's going to be shaken by the idea that standing in the way of these effects might prolong war, but (especially given the specific effects) they're going to feel at heart that that's not the (only) truth, and that keeping people from hurting each other, working to keep communities united and whole, etc is more important and will prevent more than it prolongs.

Which is to say, they are totally going to make themselves vulnerable via protecting people...which I am absolutely down to play. This has a lot of very cool opportunities to play with Teddy's experiences and values. So yeah, if you've got someone in Solvunn who's doing the Enhancing thing, let's talk!

Horizon: I am TOTALLY down for weird Horizon swaps. I definitely think there'll be some bleed from their funky built-around-a-tree-into-a-cave, turns-into-tangible-versions-of-visual-distortion-partway-through Emergence Horizon, since I'm playing with adjacent themes and also I never really played in it during Event 18, but I'm more interested in people having to work together to fix each other's stuff or return it.

So definitely, if you want to plop something down on Teddy's place or have something appear from either their normal domain or the AU version, lmk.

Other plans: Teddy totally doesn't have enough influence to do this on their own, but they'll be thinking about the idea of balance and what the benefits of keeping a community strong and united are.

If not during this event, then afterward, they're going to want to work with others to try to support existing (or start) efforts to call for peace/a ceasefire/etc and trying to find out more than just "are we in danger". (Does trade with The Free Cities and Thorne from Solvunn affect politics? Is Solvunn independent enough to leverage that? Does Solvunn have a stake in the fighting?) They're that person going "okay, but what can we do to change things".

And even if people are only interested in local affairs, Solvunn's obviously getting god-level backlash from the war despite supposedly staying out of it, so it's to their benefit for it to stop.

(Obviously, there's more coming for Solvunn that might disrupt those kind of efforts, but THEY don't know that.)

Eddie Munson | Solvunn

[satanicpanics]

Character Name: Eddie Munson
Territory: Solvunn
Rank: 3

Afflictions: Sannleikr! Eddie is good with people, so this is kin of perfect for him and he’ll definitely make an effort to help ease things despite his own anxiety. I don’t know quite which direction he’ll lean in terms of choice, but as of now, I’m thinking he’ll be on the side of “well, people are gonna disagree and then get over it regardless of god intervention, so maybe these guys should step off”.

Horizon: The thing about Eddie’s domain is that it…basically stayed the same during the emergent reality LMAO. BUT he has repeatedly hid this nasty little spot on the ceiling of his trailer, so that will re-emerge, likely larger and nastier than before. A little piece of the Upside Down away from home...

Eddie doesn’t hide much, so there are very few vulnerabilities to be had in his domain. However! You’re free to pick and choose from here. Especially hit me up if you’d like his exceptionally sleepy dragon to make an appearance in your domain. Or, even worse, his records or his guitar. He’ll truly freak out about those two.

Also open to anything from other peoples’ domains as well!

General plans: I mostly just have Moments I’d like to play out, tbh. He’s going to get scared and finally learn he can turn into a bat now. Might have a couple goats sink their teeth into him, idk. He’s already been killed by bats, may as well aim for another member of the animal kingdom. I’m pretty open otherwise!

[beautifullies]

Now that Claire has healing magic, if you wanted to do something with the two of them where maybe she takes out a goat and heals him up, I'd totally be down for that.

Or even a more casual type thread where these records appear in her domain and she immediately knows they're his so she delivers them and it's a whole music fest. Continuity from our last thread in Nocwich and their music convo!

Basically, I love Eddie, so I'm totally down for anything, really, if you're into it!

freya's two idiots

[aquaveiled]

[ The icon has nothing to do with plotting, I just wanted an excuse to use it. ]

himeka sui | solvunn

[aquaveiled]

Character Name: Himeka Sui
Territory: Solvunn
Rank: 6

Afflictions: Sannleikr! And I'm happy to have her play with all aspects of the Herald. She's totally up for taking down animals that have gone feral/beastly as well as trying to mitigate disagreements between locals. She will definitely want to help and/or save people regardless of the cost to herself. So she'd love to team up with other people who want to step in. Small disagreements to things that turn violent are all on the table. She's also here to heal wounds as need be due to the happenings.

Horizon: Yes, Himeka is an explorer to a fault and would absolutely wind up in other people's domains. But but I think the transference aspect would be very funny to...mostly because she has moogles and baby dragons all over the place. These could be yours! Alternatively, a good portion of the time her domain exists under the water, so if you'd like to see yours suddenly flooded...let's plot.

General plans: Mostly she'll just feel a big drive to Get Involved, in no small part because the Heralds are out again and that left a pretty big impression on her the first time. She'll try to reach out to Koth bc she has something of a rapport with her, but we'll see if that leads anywhere.

I also want her to use her dragon form for...something. Because that's fun.

Regardless, my plan is to have her tag into other people's stuff but I'm happy to do custom starters as well!

Kara's boys

[inferiority_complex]

Chris Halliwell | Solvunn

[inferiority_complex]

Character Name: Kara
Territory:Solvunn
Rank: 0

Afflictions: Sannleikr! Chris is going to be in Whitelighter mode, trying to protect people, mediate issues and maybe fight some flesh eating cows. Mainly he'll be keeping an eye on the charges he's acquired to make sure they're safe and not completely freaking out. (Let me know if your character needs an Emergency Support Angel).

Chris is already pretty paranoid with plenty of trust issues. It's really not going to be hard for him to tip over the edge. But he's also pretty good at compartmentalizing.

Horizon: Chris's Horizon at the moment is pretty much empty and just looks like this. He's reconstructing the Halliwell Book of Shadows one page at at time. Feel free to have pages of spells and demons, etc end up in your domain!

General plans: I'd love for Chris to realize during this event that he can't take passengers when he orbs. WOOPs. Did he just leave you? Sorry.
Chris is brand new so I'm open to anything!

Alucard | Free Cities

[cryptsleeper]

Character Name: Alucard
Territory: Free Cities
Rank: 7

Afflictions: Adlewyrd; Alucard was very much subject to Adlewyrd the first time that the Heralds revealed themselves, so this will be an interesting point to return to.

Given that Al's blessing/affliction in event 18 was tied to reconstruction/deconstruction, especially in regards to community, I'd like to have him accidentally stumble into countering the communication breakdowns that are impacting the Free Cities. His current work in trying to uphold the arts sector means passing on a lot of messages, but there are other pathways open as well. Given that Alucard feels he expresses himself better in action than through words, I feel that there's a good bit to explore.

Horizon: I'd be down for domains getting entangled, especially since Al's has changed very little since arriving, save the manner of fence.

General plans: I think that a lot of this is going to be fleshed out when the event post is up, but if there's anything you want to do in particular, let's get something down. Even if it's just "let's tag when we have more info."

[ancunin]

SO, Astarion is very FUCK ANY AND ALL GODS (except me if I'm a god) and will want to counter, but I am hoping to wiggle in some way for him to enhance by accident... idk if this is something we can work into a thread with them, but otherwise do want a thread - are you keeping Alucard in Libertas?

kath's bois

[ordinar]

wilhelm

[ordinar]

Character Name: Wilhelm
Territory: Thorne
Rank: 4

Afflictions: Koth, baby! With spells going awry, I'm interested in exploring Wille's ongoing ~magic journey~. Since he worked hard to gain control over and confidence with his magic, now he might panic to realizes it's slipping. This could lead to Incidents, involving his fire and shadow magic.

Overall, he'll probably lean toward COUNTERING the Herald's influence. In Event 18, his domain was evolution, and he focused on encouraging personal growth to achieve one's true self, so I'm thinking about themes like confronting fears and processing grief, as these are both big parts of Wille's arc in game. How this will manifest exactly, I'm still working out. I also want to play around with things backfiring, maybe accidentally stoking people's fears instead of calming them.

Also...he maybe lowkey wishes his brother's ghost would visit him? So maybe he'll be trying to get afflicted at some point? As a special treat? Except he can't, because he was present for the initial Herald event.

Horizon: His Ferrari is going to roam from domain to domain by itself, and he'll have to find it. Also, he and River are jointly responsible for a whole hoard of frogs, which could end up anywhere. Ribbit. Please be nice to them.

General plans: I think that covers it.

terra's ( 2 ) dummies

[theidlemaiden]

( hit me up on discord @ cardialloyed / on the dummy below for more plotting! )

hilda goneril | free cities

[theidlemaiden]

Character Name: Hilda Goneril
Territory: Free Cities
Rank: 5

Afflictions: Adlewyrd! Hilda came in just after the event when the herald's showed up so she probably won't be affected too much, if at all. I am totally open to some cattiness coming out though for some (light) spice since it's already built into her DNA if rubbed the wrong way. Otherwise, she will be helping people!

Her previous abilities as a god included being able to give people verbal butt pats (think bardic inspiration)/suggest an outcome. Those skills will probably come through as watered down versions during the event to help draw people out of heated situations.

Horizon: I'm totally open to folks adopting a Ghibli-esque alpine meadow appear in the middle of their domain (complete with your own mountain range)! This also comes with an irate, cranky moogle named Mogwry and a handful of wyverns.

What used to be a very small portion of her domain, the Duchy of Goneril (think a picturesque Swiss town) is way bigger now. During the god event she had masks (example one, two, three) hovering in her domain outside in the field. At the time they were homages to those in her life and therefore mostly harmless. This time they'll appear cracked, rotting and definitely worse for wear in the streets of the duchy. Do some of the look like people's faces? Maybe. She won't want to look too closely.

Alternatively, I'm open to other domains coming in and completely bulldozing Hilda's!

General plans: Might get involved in some god/fighting things but we'll see closer to. Hit me up for anything specific! She hasn't found out she has retractable wyvern claws yet so that could be fun 🤷🏻‍♀️

Kaz Brekker

[bealufull]

Character Name: Kaz Brekker
Territory: Free Cities
Rank: 0

Afflictions: Adleward will be in FC and this is something that Kaz has dealt with before. Except Kaz was a different person then. Then he was still very much Dirtyhands and hanging tightly with tooth and nail to the man and monster he had been. That was before two years of his heart growing three sizes and opening up to love and finding his new future plans. There's a chance Kaz will lean into understanding as his own emergent abilities lean into Adleward's and having his echo a heralds is a bit of confirmation that the emergent memories are a real possibility for his future.

Horizon: For the sake of Jesper and not having a repeat of the last time, as well as his own plans and newly entirely not addictive life, Kaz will spend quite a bit of time in the Horizon during this. One aspect I would love to play into is his personal office in the Crow Club relocating and being found. It is kind of the one place where Dirtyhands still exists. All of his plans, his notes, the details about so much of his life. Plus things about Wylan and Inej, about Matthias and Nina. Even Pekka. Basically it's where his life before is stored and often left there behind lock and key. I'm all for ruining that.

General plans: Unlike the last time where the affliction hit Kaz hard and tossed his life around, this time it's going to lend him strength in his convictions and his emergent abilities.

[nomnoms]

Character Name: Nanaue
Territory: Solvunn
Rank: 4 I think

Afflictions: Sanny! Since the affliction can turn FRIENDS into ENEMIES, Nanaue will be attacking and consuming at least 1 villager (possibly 2) in full view of everyone. I am looking for at least 1 person to stop him from rampaging further. Established CR is preferred for this thread. I haven't decided which settlement he'll be doing this at yet and whether or not he is afflicted or if it's the villagers attacking him - happy to tailor things to whoever is interested!

Otherwise, he'll be enjoying a buffet of raging beasts on the farmlands and/or forests. Eating pirates is also on the menu!

If anyone wants to look after Baby the baby bipedal seal while this is going on, lmk!

Horizon: Nanaue has a beach domain, feel free to use it as a setting for your threads! Or just dump stuff there.

General plans: Nada!

diana prince | dceu | free cities

[monomachy]

Character Name: Diana Prince
Territory: The Free Cities
Rank: 4

Afflictions: Adlewyrd will be in the Free Cities, which has the potential for all kinds of wacky misunderstanding hijinks (and probably some more serious ones!). During the AU event, Diana was the Guardian of New Horizons, focused on promoting guidance and understanding, so I think she's a really great foil to Adlewyrd. She'll be focused mostly on trying to ensure relief efforts continue getting to those affected by Heartwood, especially those located at outposts. This means she'll be making more trips through the deserts to deliver the medicine in-person, which will be more perilous because of the effects on the wildlife. She will also be around the outposts, Cadens, Aquila, and Libertas to help break up any brawls that erupt because of any provoked misunderstandings.

Horizon: Since Diana's Domain has changed little since she arrived (over 2 years ago!), I am more interested in the transference aspect of the event. Diana will be doing her best to try setting things right in the Horizon, and I am down for her teaming up with others to accomplish this.

General plans: I'm totally open for this event! My summer vacations are all wrapped up, so I'm 100% back!

[furibund]

Character Name: Nebula
Territory: Solvunn
Rank: 2

Afflictions: (Which Herald is in your character's territory? What aspects of this are you planning to play with? Are you interested in your character exploring how to save others or will your character be affected themselves?)

As someone in Solvunn, Nebula will have to deal with Sannleikr. She will listen to the fourth Heralds explanation and ultimately decide they are wrong. Her morals as a Guardian telling her that causing more destruction isn't the answer. Also... Looks at her dad, looks away. She simply wouldn't agree.

So the things I would like to play with:

1. Nebula does have restore and pain reduction that are essentially healing abilities I haven't done anything with yet. I would - for her counter? - like restore to kind of take on a mental aspect of it. So in this case restoring some form of memory/sanity* (I'd make it her event gain... sorry Nebula, no combat powers for you). So ultimately I would really like the chance to play out threads where she takes an active role in trying to figure out/use these skills because she's been kind of shy of them.

2. I DO WANT COMBAT THREADS. Of some kind. She'll actively avoid severely injuring/killing things, but also... I want people to see she is very capable of that if she wanted to! Like... Snaps neck without hesitation level. Maybe she has to do something to keep someone safe?

She'll even avoid hurting the animals... even the goats (screw the goats).

3. So one thing I haven't super played with is that because Nebula's mind is partly a computer and electronics don't function in Abraxas!!! I play with she has some memory issues - not an extreme amount since it wouldn't be fun w/e but she's been actively avoiding mentioning she has trouble recalling stuff to begin with (which is the route I go with it - she can remember something, but the recall process takes a while for anything not made in Abraxas don't look at me cyborgs are difficult in ye olde times).

And because of that I wouldd towards the end of time have her struggling a bit more. She already has memory issues: Forgetting someone is a friend wouldn't be without reason to start with. And I'd like to take it as a time to fight her natural disposition (far softer) with the nurtured one (anger, paranoia) since that'll be heightened more with time.

IDK if this makes sense but considering dreams of harmful acts and visions of red are her Older Forte making her feel isolated like she was with under Thanos and combative in a way towards the end and having to be talked down/reminded she can change or what not...

Could be fun. I have no idea if I make sense please tell me if I don't.

Horizon:
Harder for me to kind of think of because Nebula currently kind of avoids the Horizon and only creates on accident. So I'm going with it's the Emergent reality that's a little more home-y and has memoirs of the Guardians people she cares for there. And since Nebula actively seeks out not to so her soft underbelly....

I think that in itself, just the openness will effect some things! And I'm happy to spill weird things over to other people's.


General plans:

I think I kind of laid out my hopes above but ultimately: What I really want to use this is a chance to put Nebula really out there. I also want to play with the idea that she still sees herself as an unforgiveable monster and this event could pull that out/play with it? And I think it's a good time for it simply BECAUSE Nebula is fully coming into her own but the one thing holding her back is this self-loathing of all the things she did.

Since as Gunn says, "Nebula is not forgiving herself for anything she's done," and I don't think she needs forgiveness. But I do think she also needs to be told that what she did to survive doesn't make her an evil person forever cause I... think she still struggles with that. And just having feelings.

So playing around with that!! If anyone wants to, since the Heralds will Definitely pull out a lot of those fiercer, crazier elements out of her.

wanda maximoff • solvunn

[carmesi]

Character Name: wanda maximoff
Territory: solvunn
Rank: 7

Afflictions: sannleikr. i'd like wanda to be immune to this herald for the most part, given that she's in "a good place" as opposed to event #10, and her strength in what is mind control and bending what is and isn't real will allow her to keep her wits about her. open to having her saving others and/or offering them reprieve through her magic from sannleikr's influence to whatever extent would be considered fun to be played out.

Horizon: open to working with reversion and having facets of this taking place again. while wanda in the waking world is doing okay, her inner workings... not so much. it's august but i'm doing for spooky shit, too. her currently shared horizon with matt of hell's kitchen/manhattan is likely to have a more abstract or watercolor quality to it as she divests her energy elsewhere. additionally, also open to transference—either having things from her domain land elsewhere or someone else's things landing in her place. if any of the spooky-witch aspects are something you want to play with, feel free to implement them in your character's own space!

General plans:
heralds 2 spooky...i'll be tossing wanda around when the event drops, so just holler at me if you want her anywhere

Cid | Free Cities

[judgmentbolts]

Character Name: Cid
Territory: Free Cities
Rank: 2

Afflictions: Adlewyrd! Despite his aversion to influencing other people in this particular way, Cid will be trying to counteract the Heralds' influence by mediating disputes between civilians and breaking up fights in Libertas. He won't be doing any arrests and will probably encourage others to avoid them as well. As he falls under Adlewyrd's influence, he will more openly speak to other Summoned about his personal distrust of the government and the Singularity.

Horizon: I'm down to have any other domains bleed into Cid's but I'm going to keep the stuff with the locked parts of his domain limited to current CR for the moment!

General plans: Once he catches wind of the situation with the morbol, Cid will begin designing a trap for it since it's from his world! He'll be working with Viktor for the actual building/designing process but so sorry Rio Enterprises gang they'll be silent or bickering the whole time.

The trap will be completed and deployed near the end of the event so as to not disrupt anything people already have planned, but I'm open to anyone who wants to participate in either acquiring parts for the trap, transporting it, or luring the morbol into it. I'm keeping this pretty handwavy so if you need an excuse for your character to be sniffing around Libertas' former black market for some kind of urgent rush order or getting into a combat situation when they might not otherwise, or even if you just want something specific to do, that's mostly what this is for -- just lmk that they're helping!

In other words:

[itookashot]

Hello Jesper needs a distraction in this fucked up situation so please use him. He will get all kinds of black market things for you and help lure the morbol, his supernatural powers are very useful!

Let him do a useful thing. This could also provide them with an opportunity to bond :) and Cid can see he's a very useful Grisha engineer himself.