TEST DRIVE MEME #1

[abraxasmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to the very first test drive meme for Abraxas! This meme is run a little bit differently than most in that you'll be asked to choose one of the two different arrival scenarios below for your character to take. If you have any questions about this mechanic or anything else related to the TDM, please take a look at the questions below or ask one of your own here. For general game questions please still use the FAQ.

Arrival

You awaken suspended in the abyss, silent darkness stretching out in all directions. If you try to yell, you'll find that the sound doesn't carry. If you try to move, you'll find it's impossible to tell whether or not you're actually getting anywhere. If you reach for an item you were carrying last time you remember being awake, your hand will only touch bare skin.

You're naked and floating helplessly through the void, and what little air you have in your lungs is running out.

There's a pinprick of light that almost looks like a faraway star but as it grows it becomes clear that it's actually quite close. Through the opening you can see a bright room, but it's hard to make out any individual objects, as if you're looking from beneath rippling water.

A hand plunges through and you realize water is just what it is. Whether you take hold of the hand or not it will grab you and yank you up through the surface, lifting you out until you're sprawled on solid ground. Once you catch your breath, you can get a better look at the surroundings: tall trees and even taller stone pillars surround the platform you're laying on. Behind you is an ornate fountain, the base of which is so deep and so dark you might be compelled to scramble away from it lest it suck you back in to that endless abyss. Ahead of you are the walls of a large castle with several tall towers reaching up towards the sky.

If you had any powers, they feel unusually weak. Attempts to use magic or enhanced strength or powers of any sort fizzle out without any effect, but they don't feel completely gone, either.

Set into an indent on a marble slab behind the fountain is a card baring the image of one of the arcana.

An apprentice mage - the one whose hand lifted you out of the fountain - brushes the water off on their robes and runs back to join a group of three others, who all stare intently at a mage with highly decorated robes and a large, heavy book. He peers up at you for a moment and starts flipping through the book.

"I beg your pardon," he says, so absorbed in the pages of the book that he doesn't bother to look up, "I am Ambrose Rhett, the High Mage of the Kingdom of Thorne. One of my apprentices will explain everything in a moment, but please refrain from yelling and thrashing about until then. You're quite alright, and screaming gives me a hell of a headache."

Regardless of your response, he keeps flipping through the heavy tome, until he stops on one specific page, stares at it for a moment, and then exclaims:

"Aha!"

Scenario One: Welcome to Thorne

Ambrose's expression brightens, eyes twinkling with delight. He waves one of the apprentices over with a fine silk tunic, pants, and some basic sandals and with a wave of his hand they reshape to fit you perfectly.

"Success! It's a success!" he exclaims, slamming the book shut and scurrying towards you.

Now that he's not hunching over the book, he doesn't seem quite so stuffy and inapproachable. The apprentices all seem quite relieved at his jovial outburst, and the one that handed you the tunic stops to take the tarot card down from the marble slab. If you show any curiosity about the card, they'll let you take a longer look, but won't let you touch it.

"Please, come with me, you're an honored guest here," he says, motioning for you to follow him towards the castle, "As promised, my pupils will explain your current situation. And, ah - if you had any magic of your own, or other special abilities you can't access right now, fear not, they'll return within the week. The summoning takes a lot out of you."

One of the apprentices steps forward and rattles on and on about the castle, Thorne itself, the names of a bunch of royals and nobles, and of course, your reason for being here. The Kingdom and the world itself is in great peril, and tales of your exploits have reached far and wide across universes. If asked about these exploits, the apprentice will simply smile and shrug. The High Mage was happy to see you and that's good enough.

Once inside the castle you're taken to the North Wing, which has been set up as living quarters for you and your fellow newcomers. There are four people to a room, but each generously-sized bed has opaque curtains that can be drawn around it. You can meet your roommates here and discuss your shared situation (everyone appears to have arrived within the last few days), or you can wander around and meet the others.

There's also a dining hall stocked with all sorts of fancy food to meet every possible dietary need, and a library filled with epic tales and legends and the history of Thorne. Given that this is the Thorne library, it may be a biased account that makes the Kingdom look a fair bit better than the rest of the world sees them. Last but not least, there's a study hall where a few junior mages (younger and less experienced than the apprentices from earlier) might be willing to teach you some simple elemental magic. Think holding a small flame in the palm of your hand, or blowing a door shut with a gust of wind.

You may also notice that your sign is embroidered on your tunic: the same image you saw on the card from before with the name of the sign itself beneath it. If you ask the castle residents, they'll tell you a little bit about your sign (and will mostly stick to the positives, although some might point out the negatives).

Last (and, if you ask anyone else in the castle, least) there is a worn stone staircase leading underground to the dungeon. You can go there, if you wish, but all powers are restricted in the dungeons and spending too much time with the prisoners will lead to some suspicion being cast upon you. If you ask anyone why the prisoners are being held there, you'll be told that they pose a great threat to the Kingdom (and, by extension, the entire world).

Scenario Two: Imprisoned

The High Mage scowls, grinding his teeth as he slams the book shut. "Another failure!" he barks at the apprentices, "You lot wouldn't know your ass from a hole in the ground, would you?"

All four of them lower their heads, and two of them mumble an apology that Ambrose either doesn't hear or refuses to acknowledge. "Well, don't just stand there," he says, waving a hand in the air, "We've put all this effort into getting this wretched creature, we may as well put it to good use."

One of the apprentices drops a baggy, rough-feeling tunic, a pair of pants, and some worn sandals in your lap and glares down at you until you put them on (if you refuse, they'll tell you they can kick you back down that well if you don't want to cooperate). They're glaring at the High Mage as much as they're glaring at you (when they're sure he isn't looking, anyway). You might catch one of them long enough to ask them why they're so upset with you, but all they'll say is that the High Mage knows something they don't, and he's awfully upset about it.

Once you're fully clothed, another apprentice clamps some heavy iron shackles around your wrists and leads you on. The High Mage is far ahead of you already, muttering some long string of Thornean curses before he stands up straight and pauses, spinning to face you.

"One more thing," he says, holding one hand in the air and chanting something under his breath, "Can't have you getting too troublesome."

If you had powers, the slight connection you still had to them slips away completely and you're left with nothing as the four apprentices drag you towards the castle. They may answer a few of your questions (with some insults and curses peppered in), but they won't tell you anything important.

Once you arrive at the castle you're brought to the dungeons and thrown into a locked cell. There are four people to a cell, and two sets of bunk beds with a thin and lumpy straw mattress. If you're over six feet tall, these beds are going to be awfully uncomfortable. You might as well meet your roommates. Once per day you're dragged out to an enclosed courtyard for one hour of recreation (with some crude weights, benches, and balls lying around but not much else), where you can meet the rest of the prisoners, but you can also talk to your immediate neighbors in the cells on either side and across the hallway. Just don't yell too much or the guards will snap at you to be quiet.

Everyone in the dungeon is fed one meal a day, and for a prison meal it's decent: a bit of meat, a bun, and a salad. It would seem that the Thornean chefs take too much pride in their craft to send bad food to the dungeons. The meals are all served in equal portions, though, so the smaller prisoners may be overfed and the larger ones may be getting hungry. Feel free to fight for food or share with your cellmates.

Crudely embroidered on the back of every prison tunic is the same image that was on your card and the name of the sign beneath it. A guard may explain a bit about the sign, and tell you some negative stereotypes they hold about yours.

You may be blessed with a visit from one of the more welcomed newcomers, and they may sneak you some extra food or a small book to read or they may share some of the information they've gathered. However, rumors travel fast and some people believe the honored guests in the castle above are somehow responsible for the lot of the prisoners below. And although you may hope for kindness, there's nothing stopping them from being cruel to you if they wish. The guards will certainly turn a blind eye if one of them wishes to take out their frustrations on you.

---

Questions

How do I choose a scenario for my character?
Pick whichever situation appeals to you most. Whether your character is honored or imprisoned has nothing to do with their personal morality, or how highly they regard themselves and their own accomplishments. Anyone can be put into either situation.

Can I try out both scenarios?
You can! But please keep in mind that only the one you eventually choose can be game canon, if you decide to keep any of your TDM threads.

What happens if my character refuses to comply with Ambrose?
Prisoners will be dragged against their will. Honored guests will be forgiven for their moment of panic or anger if they have one, and Ambrose and the apprentice mages will try to calm them and persuade them further. If they put up too much of a fight and/or start actively attacking anyone, Ambrose will warn them once that he's willing to put them back in the well where they came from (see below), and if they continue to fight he will make good on that promise.

My character intends on causing a lot of trouble (destroying parts of the castle, murdering the castle staff, etc.), what would happen to them?
Characters who make too much trouble for the mages and other staff would be thrown back in the well (which will mean drowning in the void, not returning home). Brawling with other PCs and causing minor damage is fine and will be greeted with a cranky attitude (if they are an honored guest) or a punishment like denial of food or temporary solitary confinement (if they are a prisoner), and there will be plenty of opportunity for destruction and murder later, but for now the Thorneans have no desire to keep huge liabilities around.

Ambrose will take it especially personally, as this experiment was his idea and too much trouble would risk the summoning spell being scrapped and potentially result in him being demoted. Rest assured it does not take much for him to throw someone back in the well at this point in time.

Is the power loss for the prisoners permanent?
No, although honored guests will regain their powers first due to the lack of interference from Ambrose, the prisoners will be able to regain theirs soon enough as well.

Can the prisoners talk about anything private, or will they be overheard at all times?
There are guards patrolling the dungeon, but they aren't always within earshot. Most of the attention is being focused on the new guests, so the prisoners will have some opportunities for privacy.

Can my character leave the castle?
For now they will be prevented from leaving the castle, even if they are an honored guest. A bit of a gilded cage, isn't it? They'll also find that any powers they regain cease to work outside of the castle walls (this is also a temporary effect) so flying outside is not an option.

Can my character eventually side against Thorne if I choose to make them an honored guest/can they side with Thorne if I choose to imprison them?
Yes, characters in Scenario 1 will be able to betray Thorne, and characters in Scenario 2 can work themselves into Thorne's good graces.

How much will my choice of scenario affect my character's plot later on?
This choice will have a major impact on gameplay throughout the first few months of the game, and potentially a bit beyond that depending on where our players guide the plot. This decision - and every other major decision you make in game! - will also be used to flavor some mod surprises that will be coming down the line.

Don't get too anxious about this choice, though; this is just one choice you'll get to make in a game that has a lot of them, and every character in both scenarios can work their way towards many, many individual goals and outcomes. You're not locking yourself out of anything in the future via the choice you made on the TDM. It will primarily impact the immediate future with the far-reaching effects being up to each player.

Are TDM threads mandatory for my application?
No, you may use other samples, but we encourage you to post to the TDM and get a feel for this game and its mechanics before you join. If you do not have a TDM thread you will still need to choose one of the two scenarios on your application.

What if I haven't settled on a sign yet?
You can ignore sign-related prompts if you're undecided (or try out different signs in different threads).

Can a put a character on the TDM if their canon is less than 30 days old?
Yes. For this app round, anything that's at least 30 days old when the game opens on June 12th can be applied from.

Do the apprentice mages have names?
Their names are Jeffrey, Grigory, Noelle, and Jolene.

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Comments

Jean Tannen - The Gentleman Bastard Series - Strength

[therichremember]

1. Welcomed
a. Dining Hall
The variety of food available here is clearly a surprise (and something of a delight) to Jean. The man knows gourmet cooking, and immediately begins taking small samples of several dishes available, to see if he can identify the ingredients and spice profiles--that might help him understand where in the world he is.

"I wonder if they'd let us in the kitchen, to see how these dishes are prepared." This comment is to the person who's sitting next to him, striking up some small talk while he examines...some sort of fish? Citrus sauce? Not quite familiar...

2. Imprisoned
a. The Cell
Jean is no stranger to being in dire straits, and he's definitely not prone to panic. While being here without Locke is definitely frightening to him, the broad-shouldered man exhibits a thoughtful demeanor, watching the guard patrol patterns and checking all corners of the cell for any lockpicks or shims or other tools which might be used in an escape.

His attention does flicker from time to time to his cellmates, though. There's a wry humor in his tone of voice when he finally speaks up to address them. "First time in a prison?"

b. The Recreation Yard
When allowed out, there's more of the same scrutiny of the situation, checking for weaknesses, but Jean's also checking the social pecking order--his attention is particularly drawn to anyone who seems to be a bully or a victim thereof. It's a simple way to establish oneself in a new situation--find the biggest, meanest bastard around, and then show him you're bigger and meaner.

At least, he intends to try. Jean may look something like a soft clerical sort in wire-framed glasses, with a bit of a potbelly, but underneath it is muscle and years of experience as the bruiser for the Gentleman Bastards. While he doesn't have his beloved hatchets with him, he's fine with his fists.

But just as important as sticking up to those who're trying to push others around is making kind overtures to those who get picked on. Younger prisoners and those who're meek enough to become targets might be surprised to find Jean approaching them with a mild smile.

X. Wildcard
OOC: I can be found to plot with on Plurk (darkersolstice) or Discord (darkersolstice#9463)

b

[feralinnatomb]

He was meek enough that getting pushed around and having his food stolen doesn't stir even a finger twitch most days. Whenever they are let out for exercise, he takes to a corner, head tilted down and his hands running lightly over the dirt, sometimes picking up a stone to turn it over between the extremely long fingers of his right hand, or looking up at the sky squinting at the light. The Hanged Man was stitched into the rough material of his tunic, and someone had once tried to scare him with tales about it, but all he did was stare blankly until he was left alone.

At Jean's friendly approach, he looked up, eyes focusing for a moment before he sighs softly.

[therichremember]

"Mm, you hide off to the side like this, people might think you're a convenient target." It's a casual comment, and Jean stops a polite distance away, deliberately not penning him into that corner.

[feralinnatomb]

Shrugging, he looked down and picked a small stone up, pinching it between his fingers before letting it drop and wiping them against his pants, lips curling back in slight disgust.

"Or too dangerous," he replied, his voice rusty from disuse.

[therichremember]

"That's not exactly the energy you've been giving off." But Jean does take a moment to look him up and down uncertainly, checking if his original assessment was off the mark. After all, he deliberately cultivates perceptions of himself, others can easily do the same.

[feralinnatomb]

"I know."

It had been a shock going from the jade glow of the Bronze Gate, of feeling the ancient inside to this place. Human minds weren't suppose to comprehend what was inside despite his family bred for survival beyond them, and he had expected something more not sudden drowning and this. The gravel and grass was too normal, and his mind - befuddled by the change - was still expecting this to dissolve into the jade light again.

"Those games... tiring."

[therichremember]

"Mm, so you're opting out of them in this way? Is that it? Good luck with that." But under the gentle scorn in his voice, Jean's even more curious now. Almost every society has those games, forcing people to play them. Who is this guy?

2a

[mildlyinfamous]

"As a matter of fact, no."

Cabal has been similarly searching for weaknesses. Being summoned and promptly imprisoned by some tarot wielding mage is downright offensive, but he needs to keep a cool head if he wants to escape (and, ideally, rob the mage's laboratory while he's at it).

Dryly, he adds: "though last time I at least knew why."

Usually it was the necromancy that got people angry, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. And it certainly doesn't explain all the other prisoners.

[therichremember]

"What, you think 'you are a failure' isn't a good enough reason in itself?" All glib humor that he doesn't really feel. "Alright, why was the last time you were imprisoned, then?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra had closed his eyes for a moment; he can't feel the Force, but he can still try to find calm inside of himself. Maybe from the outside it looked like giving up.

"Nope." He'd studied what the older man was do for longer enough to make a guess -

"Not yours, either, huh?" he asks, smiling a little. Becuase it had sure looked like his cellmate was already casing the joint, to him.

[therichremember]

"Not quite. I've lived an interesting life and found myself in all kinds of complicated situations." He waves a hand dismissively. "Being summoned by mages, that's a new one though. I was not endeared to them before, and this isn't helping."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Not...endeared to mages in general?" he checks.

Mage is a new word for him, actually, but not the word magic, so figuring it out what it means was easy enough.

[therichremember]

"The last encounter I had with one involved her sweeping in on myself and a dear friend who'd been poisoned, offering to cure him if we'd serve her purposes. That was less than a week ago. And now this, a group of mages from a whole other world plucking me from Karthain to...probably, to serve their purposes. They don't view the rest of us as people. We're pawns to them at best, dumb animals otherwise."

He's simmering with a strong temper, face wrinkling as he spits out the words.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Oh," Ezra replies eyes going wide, because yeah, he'd be mad if he and his friends were bullied around like that, too. "That's really not cool, holding helping someone over them, like that."

"This...is kinda awkward because I'm not sure I'm not a mage, by however they label people here. Or..am usually a mage anyway. Although that not what we call ourselves. And I can't really do anything right now."

[therichremember]

"Are you going to try to coerce me into doing something for you? If not, I'll forgive you the possibility you might be a mage--but still won't give you my actual name."

He seems wary, but friendly about it at least. Ezra's being honest with him, and will get the same honesty in return.

2B (Wheel of Fortune for Coraline!)

[not_caroline]

Jean will probably find very quickly that he's being measured up in turn. Not by the plethora of adult men surrounding him; instead the intense gaze, almost literally burning into the back of his head, comes from a small girl pressed against the stone wall. In her teens, though whether she's a mature fourteen or fresh-faced seventeen is up in the air. She stares at him with the intensity of someone who's entirely uncowed by his size, who would readily take him on and, at least in her own mind, hold her own, if not win. It's quite disarming, really.

She doesn't make any immediate move to approach him, but when his strolling takes him towards her she comments, loud enough for him to hear. "If you keep acting all small like that, people aren't gonna think you're more than just a big baby." Her accent is mild enough to be universal, but he might just recognise it as Australian.

[therichremember]

Australian might mean something if he came from a world with an Australia. And his own accent approaches something not entirely unlike Italian, but that's not quite right.

"Are we not all just babies who've grown big, when you think about it?"

[not_caroline]

"Only if you're a bitch about it." She mimics his accent there, easily and derogatorily, before slipping back into her own. "If you want people to take you seriously you can't walk around with your tail between your legs. That's gonna get you killed."

She's certainly not letting her height make her small; she's got her spine straight and shoulders back, meeting his eyes with a lofty tilt of her chin. "You could own this place if you tried, you're big enough."

[therichremember]

"Being the person who owns a place can make you a target. Anyone else looking to prove their family jewels are most valuable goes for whoever's at the top of the tower, right?" He smiles slightly. "However, if someone decides to target me because they think I'm a kicked puppy, you can hold my glasses while I prove them wrong."

[not_caroline]

She's not a member of the Summer Court yet but she knows how they work; and she supposes this guy isn't wrong. That's certainly the praxis she's taken in trying to fight Slipshod to begin with. Get the king to respect you and everyone else falls in line.

The look she gives him then is less judging, and more ponderous, like she's weighing her options. "...alright. Only if you promise to save a piece of them for me."

2.a. Hello there, you

[sharpshooting_sawbones]

"Would you believe it, not at all. Just not on this side."

The woman sharing his cell was only of average height, but had been holding herself like she was 6ft and the queen of England (or equivalent) since she'd been hauled in, sitting herself in a corner and watching him scurry around. At least she hadn't been hauled in with someone who didn't know what they were doing, she wasn't in a particularly consoling mood.

"Any luck yet? If you manage to find something like a lockpick, I could give cracking the lock the old college try."

[therichremember]

"Why, madam. I am scandalized at the implication that a gentleman such as myself would know what a lockpick looks like." He's holding onto his sense of humor with a death grip, given the situation. "I am an honorable and upstanding citizen, certainly not one of the Right People for a job such as that."

He ceases his searching (fruitless, damn it all) to let his gaze settle on Patty. The dignity is noticed and appreciated, but it does make a proper assessment a little harder.

[sharpshooting_sawbones]

"Oh come off it-" it coaxed a laugh out of her at least, and she brought a demure hand to her mouth as she laughed. The dignity was really just covering for how naked she felt without a sharp suit and a face of make-up, but she was willing to let it waver a little for a fine wit.

"You're being entirely too competent for me to believe that. If you were a real upright citizen you'd probably be sobbing something like 'why me', or trying to reason with the guards."

She returned her hands to her lap, folding them and smiling once again. Pointedly, this time, as if in response to his gaze.

"Alex Hawthorne, at your service, good sir."

[therichremember]

There is the most fleeting moment of hesitation as he decides which of his aliases he's going to don here. There's enough of them to consider, before he sweeps her a polite formal bow. "Jovanno de Barra, at yours. It would do me great pleasure to be of aid to a lady such as yourself."

If he were Locke, he might preen under the subtle praise, but Jean instead accepts it and spends his energy on idle curiosity. "Where did you learn to tickle a lock?"

[sharpshooting_sawbones]

She'd figured that they weren't using real names here, and pretended not to notice the pause, out of politeness. Anyone who was this calm after being thrown into a strange jail was probably smart enough not to give their name out to a stranger.

She returned the polite bow with a deep nod of her head, then shrugged with one shoulder at his idle curiousity, offering "a lady has her interests, and it was useful in my line of work. You can learn nearly anything if motivated by interest and necessity."