Game Notes #19: September 9, 2019

[keeperoftales]

GAME NOTES #19: September 09, 2019—

FINAL ACT AND IT'S A DOOZY. LET'S ROLL.

§ schedule

Here is our current schedule:

MAIN SCHEDULE

9/09: TDM/Workshop

9/15: Act III Start

9/24: Claims Open

10/01: Public Registration Opens

10/06: Act III ends

October: BREAK

Next Campaign ???

MOD NOTES SCHEDULE

9/09 - #19: Act III sign-ups

STORY CHECK SCHEDULE

end of each Act

During the break between Acts, characters will remain in the palace and the surrounding grounds, and any new characters will arrive there as well.

Reminder that our Registrations will be open for public again in October! We also have a new Workshop and Test Drive available, so if you know anyone who has been thinking about us, point them to those instead of the old ones.

§ story check

The story checks are not only to help gauge player activity, but it's also to help the mods gather information and progress for the current campaign. For this half point story check, all players must submit proofs with the following requirements by Friday, September 13 11:59PM CST:

1. IF YOU ARE PART OF A MAIN SCENE: a link to your thread(s) with a short blurb about what's happening will be enough for the check. You don't have to provide anything additional. If you signed up for multiple, please link all scenes you were cast a major role in. Comment length doesn't matter, but continue plugging away.
   
   
2. ONE PROOF OR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: a link to one thread or entry dated between August 18 and September 8 (comment length does not matter), and a small blurb describing your character's progress. If you don't have a link, then a quick "I'm still here" will do. However, you can only do this once per campaign! So if you already used it in the previous check, you can't use it again and will be swept.
   
   Those who were on Hiatus during the Act are of course exempt!
   
   And that's it! Just comment here with a thread of activity, a short blurb of what your character has been doing, and you're good to go. Feel free to throw in anything you think is noteworthy to the campaign. If you have any questions, ask them here.
   
   <b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> Character | <user name="journal"> <b>Proof:</b> <a href="threadorentryurl">DATE</a> <b>Blurb:</b> Reminder that it doesn't have to be long and can even be a sentence!

§ act ii summary

Congratulations everyone, we've reached the end of Act II and the results of it have left things very interesting for us. As always, you can continue your threads no problem. So don't worry about rushing to finish them (unless you really want to). And now, the story thus far...

Though the priestess (Rokurou) "saved" his life, the prince (Dojima) found himself put off by her pushy demeanor. (Not to mention her laughter…) Throughout their dance and their walk through the castle gardens, his thoughts drifted back to the mermaid who brought him to shore.

While getting fresh air, the prince (Keith) heard a voice calling out to him: the very same mermaid who saved him (Rosella). The two of them made their way through the ice along the shore and found each other through singing with relative ease, despite the prince's shyness. The mermaid had the prince carry her further inland so that they could talk without him risking a chill, and the mermaid made it clear that despite her desire for the prince to join her, his desires and choice were most important, even if it meant not choosing her or the priestess.

The priestess (Elma) caught wind of the mermaid (Roxas) speaking with the prince, and went down to the beach to confront the sea dweller. She argued that the mermaid didn't belong on land or with the prince, and that bringing the worlds together would be a mistake that would make the mermaid and the prince miserable in the end. The mermaid responded that it was her choice and the prince's whether they wanted to pursue their love, mistakes and all, and that priestess had no right to control them. Neither lady would back down from her stance.

The mermaid's (Dojima, Roxas) frequent visits ashore did not go unnoticed by her family, but her two elder sisters were curious (Della) and supportive (Sora) of her romance with the prince.

The prince (Hunk) returned to the beach to speak with the mermaid (Bridge), still hesitant about the choice ahead of him and worried about how it would affect both his kingdom and the mermaid. The mermaid spoke honestly about how he could possibly go back and forth between the worlds with the sea witch's help, but not without a price. She again stressed that what he wanted was important, regardless of what he chose or why. In the end, the prince chose to go with the mermaid and took the potion.

Unbeknownst to them, however, the priestess (Elma) tried to take matters into her own hands. She rowed out onto the ocean to summon the sea witch (Naomi) and ask for a deal to keep the mermaid away from the land forever. The sea witch supplied her with a potion, which the priestess drank without questions of the bottle's contents or about the price of the deal. Both questions were answered shortly, however: the priestess had imbibed in the life essence the mermaid had sacrificed before, and by taking it had traded her humanity in exchange for having to guard the mermaid from land herself, cursed with the form of the creatures she despised.

When you see what happens in Act III, you only have yourselves to blame. (But it's a good thing, really.)

§ act iii details

It's as if we're Christopher Columbus who set sail for one place but found a whole new world instead. Does anyone even remember how the original ending of this story went? Because we're pretty sure ours is a lot more fun. So here's what we're looking at:

Setting. We're back in the ocean and those who are assigned as merpeople will have their merforms (to be explained in the sub quest section). The ocean itself is looking a lot cleaner, with more color and life now starting to thrive once more. The skies above are also less stormy and the waves are calmer. The same threats still lurk around, but a little less so.

Main Scenes. We have eight main scenes with two of them sorted together. Because we have so many, there are no bonus scenes.

• Scene 1: Prince and Mermaid. Now that the Prince has taken the potion, it's time for the Little Mermaid to show him a whole new world--oh, right, wrong Disney movie. Anyway, the Prince will have a new tail to learn how to use, and the Mermaid has so many wonders of the sea to share with her new boyfriend. The two of them get a chance to explore the ocean and their new love together, without having to worry about their families or kingdoms or jealous suitors for a while. Hopefully they'll enjoy the peace while it lasts...
  
  
• Scene 2: A) Priestess and the Prince; B) Priestess and the Mermaid. Of course the Priestess was not going to let the romance between the Mermaid and her Prince slide. After meeting with the Sea Witch, the Priestess made a deal and is now a mermaid herself. She searches first for the Prince to try and make him see reason and how foolish his actions are. Then she hunts for the Mermaid to confront her one last time, going so far as to try to kill her. Despite how long they fight, it will be interrupted by the sound of cannon fire… as a war begins to rage.
  
  
• Scene 3: Prince and the Sea Witch. While the Priestess is duking it out with the Mermaid, regardless of what he may think of the Priestess's words, the Princess seeks out the Sea Witch to learn what kind of price he would have to pay should he wish to be able to traverse through both realms. A deal won't be made as the Mermaid will eventually interrupt to tell him of the war above.
  
  
• Scene 4: The Sea King and the Royal Land Monarch. After learning that their son had followed after a lowly mermaid, the Prince's parents rally their royal navy and set out into the ocean. Having once had a love affair of their own, they remember how to summon him. There, out in their once "special place" must the two royals of land and sea meet and "discuss" what has transpired with their heirs. Well, we say discuss but it's more of a shouting match with the Prince's parents placing all the blame on the Mermaid, believing she bewitched their son. The Sea King will of course not stand for such lies, so this will lead to the war. NOTE: Whoever signs up for the "Royal Land Monarch" can choose whether it will be the King or the Queen. How well the relationship they had with the Sea King back in their own youthful past as well as how the "break-up" went can be left up to the characters (ie, could have been mutual, one-sided, bitter, decent, etc.).
  
  
• Scene 5: Mermaid and the Prince. After the Mermaid finds the Prince in the Sea Witch's cave, she informs him of the war occurring between the two families. They must now get to the surface to try and meet with their parents, but it is a long and tough journey. Many merfolk will see the prince—and some even the mermaid princess—as a threat and will attack. Other dangers, such as traps and attacks from the surface above will be in their path. But if they can get a certain place to summon an old ally—the whale—they may be able to make it.
  
  
• Scene 6: A) Prince and the Sea King; B) Mermaid and the Royal Land Monarch: The Prince and Mermaid finally make it to where their parents are meeting, begging them to call of the fighting both for their loves’ sake and for that of their people. The rulers agree… but only if the lovers can prove themselves, the Prince to the Sea King, and the Mermaid to the Land Monarch. Will they succeed and be able to stop the war? Or will their words and deeds fall on deaf ears, dooming the sea to be stained red with blood? Note: The ending will be dependent on how each of them do.

Sub quests. The sub quests this time around are a bit different as we're having the war as an overall theme.

• Royal Navy vs. Merfolk. Everyone will be randomly assigned (by us) whether they are part of the Royal Navy or one of the Merfolk soldiers. We'll post the list in this post the day before the campaign starts, so this Saturday. As always, even those with scene roles will be able to participate at some point. With these assignments, characters can do any of the following:
  
  
  • Fight each other. Go have fun, but try not to kill each other (Looking at you, Hyde—).
    
  • Hold anti-war protests. There are even fun signs that can be used.
    
  • Have their own star-crossed lovers romance in an effort to end the war. Could be fake, could be real give us some juice.
  
  We will actually try to include some of what happens as additional background content for the final story, so have fun with it. Or as much fun as your characters will allow.
  
  
• Aiding the War. Whichever side of the war you end up on, there will still be plenty to do outside the conflict. The Sea King's palace and the Royal Navy's flagship will need fortifying from attacks to keep other Aspects and Blots safe, supplies will need to be delivered across both territories (and perhaps through no man's land...), and non-combatants will need to be evacuated to safe areas. Maybe a few generous souls will offer medical aid to the wounded (perhaps even regardless of species, for the truly daring and selfless)?

And final reminder that time is ambiguous so we don't need something to finish before we move onto the next. That's part of the pre-planning!

§ cast sign-up

We have a decent amount of roles, but we'd like folks to sign up for one first and then double up if slots are still open by the end of the sign-up. We also ask for back-up volunteers in case something happens and someone needs to be replaced. Please only sign up if you will be able to tag consistently and often enough to progress the threads in a reasonable and substantive manner. Sign-ups will last until Saturday, September 14 and we'll give final calls on Friday if necessary.

Now, here are the roles:
Mermaid: Scenes #1, #2B, #5, #6B
Prince: Scenes #1, #2A, #3, #5, #6A
Priestess: Scenes #2A, #2B (prefer different, but can be the same priestess)
Sea Witch: Scene #3
Sea King: Scenes #4, #6A
Land Monarch: Scenes #4, #6B

The sign-up threads will make this a little clearer. To keep things simple, sign-ups are a first come first serve, but we do ask everyone to include a second preference just in case people need to be switched around.

We have a lot of roles this time, but we'd still like veterans to give newer characters a chance to sign-up. We also would prefer if players pick a different role than what they had before if signing up again. Of course if no one else picks the role by the end of the sign-up then by all means go for it, but just want to encourage variety.

§ how the story will end

As you can see, there's a lot happening with a lot of open endings. Not only do we have to see how the final scenes are played out, but we also need to decide if the Prince would have taken the deal with the Sea Witch. We purposefully have it so that no decision is made at this time due to the war, but a week before the end of the campaign we will poll all who had the Prince role to cast their vote on what they think should happen.

After that, we will write up a conclusion based on how threads are progressing. If necessary we may consult with players of the Scene #6 to determine how things will end.

§ end notes

And that's all for now! If you have any questions, feel free to comment to the post.

Comments

QUESTIONS/SUGGESTIONS/ETC

[keeperoftales]

Have any questions or suggestions you'd like to make regarding the campaign? Hit us up!

[takeittothebridge]

So the thread with Bridge and Rosella hasn't really progressed too much due to a conflict in schedules, and I don't think we'll be able to finish soon. But we have talked about it.

Rosella, who is rather uncomfortable playing the priestess, isn't going to really try to hard to change the prince's mind. And as the prince, Bridge isn't going to change his mind anyway, but will offer an apology for hurting the priestess and would prefer not to fight. Eventually, they do reach a kind of agreement (even though the priestess attacks the mermaid in the next scene).

STORY CHECK

[keeperoftales]

All story check submissions go here!

[ricebird]

Player: LWP
Character: Kotori Iida | ricebird
Proof: 08/18
Blurb: Kotori has a brief scare between acts when Roxas went home, but once he returns she feels a LOT better, and has a lot of fun cooking and serving a feast for everybody at the ball. ...... Uuuuuntil Shizuo gets in his fight with Hyde, which a. makes her mother hen aggressively, and b. flusters her profusely as he takes a bath.

[noimpulsecontrol]

Player: Satyr
Character: Hunk | holdthemtogether
Proof: 08/19
Blurb: Hunk arrived in The Index and was quickly thrown into the role of the Prince opposite Bridge as the Mermaid, which ended with him taking the potion.

Character: Della Duck | noimpulsecontrol
Proof: 08/19
Blurb: Della was a mermaid sister in a scene against Dojima as the Mermaid, fought some erasers and some pirates in subquests, and met a Scrooge who isn't her uncle. It's weird.

[bladebabysitter]

Player: Dragon
Character: Elma | bladebabysitter
Proof: 8/21
Blurb: As the Priestess, Elma had an epic song duel with the mermaid that somehow failed to dissuade either of them. She then went to parley with the Sea Witch, which led to her drinking half the mermaid's life essence and becoming one herself. She doesn't have the highest impression of how a priestess foolishly in love would act...

[rokubro]

Player: Laena
Character: Rokurou | rokubro
Proof: 8/21
Blurb: Rokurou makes for a wonder priestess princess I have no idea what anyone is talking about oh ho ho ho— But in all seriousness, Rokurou, uh. "Played" his role as he and Dojima danced the night away~ They also beat up things because that was a night they do NOT want to remember. Also Rokurou managed to pick up a date from Velvet. We don't know how this happened, either.

Character: Shizuo | hatesviolence
Proof: 8/19
Blurb: He just wanted to help Disciple with the garden. Why did Hyde have to come out and screw everything up?? He later got healed by Sora and Naomi.

Character: Eustace | flamekthunder
Proof: 8/19
Blurb: Kicked Eraser butt with Della! Otherwise he just kind of chilled and hung back, patrolling around the castle to deal with any threats.

[chippedsoul]

Player: Taisa
Character: Kazuma Asougi | chippedsoul
Proof: 08/18
Blurb: He did a test, test somewhat worked keeping Hyde at bay and then Dojima went rambo cop on him.

Character: Godzilla | titanus_gojira
Proof: 08/20
Blurb: Big G is still lurking around and making his own quiet observation about this world he's in. He does not like being a turtle.

[chatwithdeath]

Player: VG
Character: Naomi Kimishima | chatwithdeath
Proof: 08/21
Blurb: The Priestess comes to make a deal with the Sea Witch.

[iv_rosella]

Player:Ash
Character: Princess Rosella | iv_rosella
Proof: 08/19
Blurb: Rosella is dumped unceremoniously into the thick of the plot, and the ocean. She and Keith sing their way through ice walls, and then get through their needed script in record time, where, as the mermaid, she tells Keith-as-prince, that there no pressure to pick anyone, if he doesn't want. Then they hang out on shore getting to know each other.

[takeittothebridge]

Player: Usami
Character: Bridge Nocturne| takeittothebridge
Proof: 08/19
Blurb: Bridge may have gotten a bit to into the role of the mermaid.

[detectiveforhierophant]

Player: Jojo
Character: Ryotaro Dojima | detectiveforhierophant
Proof: 8/21
Blurb: Dojima and Rokurou shared a 'dance' while playing out their scene between the Priestess and the Prince, though both agreed that 1. they sided with the Mermaid and 2. they hated everything about this scene, let's go beat up some monsters for fun. Friendship in the making???
After playing the mermaid with Della and talking to Kotori and a handwaved dance with Naomi, he ended up chasing after Hyde and though he technically won the ensuing fight, got some nice cracked ribs/wounds out of it. Y-yay?

Sailor G - Keith

[tempredmental]

Player: Sailor G
Character: Keith | tempredmental
Proof: 8/18
Blurb: Keith ended up with a major role in the plot this time! He and Rosella met on the beach where they chatted about the prince's options after they sang to melt the ice walls that blocked them. They also got to know each other a bit as well.

[skyofreality]

Player: Xae
Character: Sora | skyofreality
Proof: 8/19
Blurb: Sora played the mermaid's princess and told her to follow her heart. He helped make food with Kotori and Roxas, helped with the maze, almost fell asleep and got attacked by pirates but was saved by Disciple and made a new lizard mom/dad/friend. Also healed up Shizuo.

Character: Velvet Crowe | oligomania
Proof: 8/19
Blurb: She fought some blots, laughed at Rokurou, has a date challenge with him and fought pirates with Della.

[twilightskey]

Player: CS
Character: Roxas | twilightskey
Proof: 08/18
Blurb: Roxas got to play his part as the mermaid! He sang with Elma, chatted with Sora, got a canon update (and accidentally spooked Kotori), and did a bunch of other side stuffs

Re: STORY CHECK

[deadmentellnotails]

Player: Fae
Character: Eizen| deadmentellnotails
Proof: I'M HERE I didn't have any major threads just Eizen being a twit to Rokurou
Blurb: Being a twit to Rokurou

(frozen comment) CASTING SIGN-UP: THE MERMAID

[keeperoftales]

There are FOUR main slots for the Mermaid. Indicate which scene you prefer along with any secondary preferences. Although we're aiming for separate volunteers, if you think you can double up in case we need it, feel free to mention it.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Scene:</b> Scene #1, #2B, #5, #6B <b>Questions:</b>

(frozen comment) ROSTER

[keeperoftales]

Scene #01: Pidge
Scene #2B: Elma
Scene #05: Kazuma Asougi
Scene #6B: Naomi Kimishima

(frozen comment) CASTING SIGN-UP: THE PRINCE

[keeperoftales]

There are FIVE slots for the Prince. Indicate which scene you prefer along with any secondary preferences. Although we're aiming for separate volunteers, if you think you can double up in case we need it, feel free to mention it.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Scene:</b> Scene #1, #2A, #3, #5, #6A <b>Questions:</b>

(frozen comment) ROSTER

[keeperoftales]

Scene #01: Godzilla
Scene #2A: Bridge Nocturne
Scene #03: Keith
Scene #05: Princess Rosella
Scene #6A: Ryotaro Dojima

(frozen comment) CASTING SIGN-UP: THE PRIESTESS

[keeperoftales]

There are TWO main slots for the Priestess. Indicate which scene you prefer along with any secondary preferences. Although we're aiming for separate volunteers, if you think you can double up in case we need it, feel free to mention it.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Scene:</b> Scene #2A, #2B <b>Questions:</b>

(frozen comment)

[flamekthunder]

Player: Laena
Character: Eustace
Scene: #2B
Questions: n/a

(frozen comment) CASTING SIGN-UP: SEA WITCH

[keeperoftales]

There is ONE slot for the Sea Witch.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Questions:</b>

(frozen comment)

[deadmentellnotails]

Player: Fae
Character: Eizen
Questions: Apparently the King is also the Witch this time

(frozen comment) CASTING SIGN-UP: THE SEA KING

[keeperoftales]

There are TWO slots for the Sea King. Although we're aiming for separate volunteers, if you think you can double up in case we need it, feel free to mention it.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Scene:</b> Scenes #4, #6A <b>Questions:</b>

(frozen comment)

[deadmentellnotails]

Player: Fae
Character: Eizen
Scene: Scenes #4
Questions: I'm totally cool with 6a as well, I just really want him to be in Scene 4

(frozen comment) CASTING SIGN-UP: THE LAND MONARCH

[keeperoftales]

There are TWO slots for the Land Monarch. Although we're aiming for separate volunteers, if you think you can double up in case we need it, feel free to mention it. IMPORTANT: players can choose whether the Land Monarch for their scene is the KING or QUEEN. They do not have to be the same for each scene nor do they have to be the same gender as the character.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Scene:</b> Scenes #4, #6B <b>King or Queen?</b> <b>Questions:</b>

(frozen comment)

[rokubro]

Player: Laena
Character: Rokurou
Scene: Scenes #4
King or Queen? KING. I'm being nice this time. ...Kind of.
Questions: Also cool with 6a if necessary.

CASTING SIGN-UP: BACK-UPS

[keeperoftales]

]If you'd like to sign-up as a back-up or fill-in for particular roles in case they don't fill before the deadline, fill out the form and comment under here.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> List all character preferences <b>Questions/Notes:</b>

[ricebird]

Player: LWP
Character: Would prefer to be a Prince or Mermaid (if no one else claims her), but I'll fill in wherever.
Questions/Notes: War: what is it good for?

NAVY VS. MERPEOPLE

[keeperoftales]

All right guys, here's the randomized list for who goes where! It will be possible for people to switch once things get started, but it'll take a little effort.

TEAM NAVY Rokurou Rangetsu Eustace Elma Keith Naomi Kimishima Kotori Iida Shizuo Heiwajima Sora Eizen Katie "Pidge" Holt Percy Jackson

TEAM MERMAID Ryotaro Dojima Bridge Nocturne Princess Rosella Hunk Kazuma Asougi Della Duck Velvet Crowe Scrooge McDuck Godzilla Roxas Isa Lea

STORY ENDING POLL DISCUSSION

[keeperoftales]

Yeah we're so off the rails, it's time to gather everyone up and determine what kind of end both the players and the characters would like to see. As it stands:

- The Mermaid wants to be with the Prince but wants him to have his choice etc etc;
- The Prince has the option to use a potion to be able to traverse between land and sea without any real sacrifice on his end;
- The Priestess is still alive and still angry at the Mermaid for many reasons, including having to be a mermaid to prevent her from going to land;
- The Kings are bitter about their past relationship, but ultimately care about their respective children's wishes;
- The Sea King is on the Prince's side after his confession of love;
- The Land King is trying to work things out with the Mermaid to be able to travel on land, perhaps by making another deal with the Sea Witch.

Yeah it's a hoot. SO while we can more or less come up with our own conclusion, there are still a couple of open ended questions. Chief among them:

- What will happen to the Priestess?
- Will the Mermaid find a way to traverse between land and sea?
- Will the Prince take the potion?
- WILL THIS RESULT IN SOME HAPPY UNION BETWEEN THE TWO KINGDOMS AT LONG LAST!?

At the very least the war will be called off. Unless something terrible happens /cough.

So, we'd like input from everyone, particularly those who played the Priestess, the Prince, and the Mermaid to give us their personal thoughts as well as what their characters were thinking at the time. The Sea Witch characters are also invited in the case of something to be done for the Mermaid. Character motivation will also be considered (the Storyteller knows all). You have until October 6th to give us your input, and feel free to discuss with one another!

[holdthemtogether]

I have no idea what I'm doing, but!

When Hunk was the prince, a major concern of his was that the mermaid had given something up, presumably, to have just a chance to be with the prince. It wasn't all feeling bad, though! Besides some slipping out of his role, there was the as-the-prince appreciation of the mermaid being so straightforward and wanting him to have a chance.

As for my thoughts, I don't know...? Based on what's been going on, I can see a rather uneasy peace between the kingdoms, but peace all the same. Maybe not a full-on "happy union" though. I think the prince taking the potion would make sense, and I have no idea on the other two point, tbh.