Game Notes #20: October 7, 2019

[keeperoftales]

GAME NOTES #20: October 07, 2019—

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!! We have completed our third story campaign, and boy oh boy was this a roller coaster that went completely off the rails and into space. But it was a fun ride and we can't wait to share the finished product with you. Not only we're nearing our first year anniversary!! It's on the 21st, can you believe it. Crazy.

We have some other things, so be sure to read through the Game Notes. Otherwise, greet all our new players and characters and ENJOY THE BREAK.

§ schedule

Here is our current schedule:

MAIN SCHEDULE

10/07: BREAK

10/27: Halloween Event

MOD NOTES SCHEDULE

10/15: Game Notes #20.5 (Survey Results)

10/24: Game Notes #21 (Event Details)

STORY CHECK SCHEDULE

10/07: Act #3 Story Check

11/01: Monthly Check-in

If you haven't already, we have a CR Meme for everyone to use, as well as the Player Intro Log to greet all our new members!

Since we have an Event, we will be holding off Side Stories for now. If our Break lasts for more than a month, then we will look into bringing them back unless we schedule something else in their place. Of course, if players would like a Side Story to do, you're free to request one!

§ new helper mod

We'd like to welcome Satyr in joining the team as a helper mod! She'll be assisting us in writing up prompts as well as brainstorming story and campaign ideas. More importantly, she's helping reduce the load on us as we continue to grow, so WHOO.

Since we're all set, we are no longer accepting helper mod applications.

§ 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 story check, all players must submit proofs with the following requirements by Sunday, October 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 September 9 and October 6 (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 or recently accepted during the Act are of course exempt!
   
   And that's it! Just give us 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. Submit your proofs 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!

§ availability + next campaign poll

Our Breaks can last from one month to two months, and we already have our next campaign in the works. However, because the holiday season is upon us, we'd like to check to see how available our players are and if they have a preference on when the next campaign should be. So please fill out this quick survey, and if you have any additional feedback that you'd like to bring up just comment to this post.

Deadline for the survey is Sunday, October 13, but we can release the results sooner if everyone submits before then.

§ act iii summary

Hoo boy, a lot of decisions were made in this Act, including a discussion poll for players to give their input. Along with the narrative here is our final act recap.

Enjoying their time together at least, the Mermaid (Pidge) and the Prince (Godzilla) enjoy a little swim through the waters. The Prince is a bit awkward and misunderstand the Mermaid at first, carrying her through the water. He seems curious about the ships on the surface, but it's not what she has in mind. Freeing herself, the Mermaid swims in front of the Prince who manages to not run into her. After gesturing where she wants to go, the Mermaid darts away as if to race, and the Prince soon follows after.

Now a mermaid, the Priestess (Rosella) finds the Prince (Bridge) to try and persuade him to return to the surface. Knowing his decision will hurt the Priestess, he apologizes but stands by his decision to stay with the Mermaid. Although she cannot find herself to be mad at the Prince and comes to an understanding, the Priestess is still furious at the mermaid. She parts from him seeking her out.

The Priestess (Eustace) tries to get the drop on the Mermaid (Elma), but the mermaid is quick to counterattack. The ladies engage in a fierce, unrelenting fight with tails and steel and words over the prince's fate and his right to choose. In the end their fight is disrupted when a stray cannonball plunges into the water, allowing the Mermaid to escape to find the Prince.

Meanwhile, the Prince (Keith) met with the Sea Witch (Eizen) to request the ability to travel between the sea and the land. However, the Sea Witch asked for the Prince to give up his crown, something he balked at due to it negating his desire to go back to land, and leaving his country with a potential succession crisis. The Prince decides that the needs of his people are more important than his own happiness and turns down the deal, but the Sea Witch, impressed by his selflessness, concedes and allows him a potion to travel both worlds at will, no price required.

The Sea King (Eizen) and the Land King (Rokurou) meet to try and make heads or tails of the situation… aaaand devolve into arguing about beetles, their families, and insulting each other's competence in bed. The war escalated at that point.

The Prince (Rosella) and Mermaid (Disciple) run the gauntlet of a frantic battlefield in order to reach their parents, barely dodging a shark-riding mersoldier, and the Prince using quick thinking to increase their speed by generating a jet stream and pulling the Mermaid along in his wake.

Despite everything, the Sea King (Della) is more concerned about his daughter, the Mermaid, than waging a war against his ex-lover. So when the Prince (Dojima) appears to speak with him, he wants to know if the Prince has her best interests at heart and his true feelings towards her. The Prince retells how the Mermaid princess saved him that stormy night, but rather than feelings of repayment, he has truly fallen in love with her. Assured by his words, the Sea King accepts the Prince.

Meanwhile, the little Mermaid (Naomi) made quite the entrance by swimming up to the Land King (Hunk) and demanding to talk. The King, cowed by her bold, blunt words, immediately agrees, and they begin a civil discussion. They both were of like mind that the war needed to end, and brought up the idea of the mermaid being able to travel to the surface as well. This would require another deal with the Sea Witch, though, or at the very least a loophole in her deal with the princess.

As for the conclusion, after taking in everyone's input this is the general summary of what happens.

Both the Prince and the Mermaid are able to traverse between land and sea. The Prince will be able to take the potion offered to him, while the Mermaid must sacrifice the rest of her immortality to live the rest of her days with the average lifespan of a human. With this, the two kingdoms will finally be able to see peace. It will be tough at first, and there will be many difficulties the young couple will still face, but it is a positive step forward. Meanwhile, the Priestess will remain confined to the ocean and banished to the dark depths far, far away from the two kingdoms. What will become of her fate, only the future knows...

This knowledge is something that the characters will be at least superficially aware of. They should at least know and have something similar to the brief summary blurbs that we've provided through the Game Notes.

§ rewards

All right everyone, here are the rewards for everyone who participated in this campaign. Some rewards are limited to those who participated in the campaign while others are available to everyone, including our newbies. We've marked which ones are limited, so pay attention!

For EVERYONE:

• Journal Upgrade: Over the week, everyone will discover their journals gaining a little bit of a personality. From subtle movements, to adding unnecessary notes or scribbles to messages, to flapping its front cover obnoxiously to gain their attention. For the most part, the journals will reflect their Essence, so some may have it easier than others. At least none of them can talk. Yet. The journals now have a proper Contact List in the form of a directory like page in the beginning of the "Send Notes" section. It only keeps the names of those currently within the realm, so if a name isn't on the list, the person is back in their world.
  
  
• Monetary Rewards: Everyone will receive a hefty sum of silver and gold coins that should tide them over for the next several months. As a bonus, most local businesses will be offering discounts to those who helped with the recent restoration.
  
  
• Fish Bowl: There will find a special little fish bowl waiting for everyone at their current residence. Already filled with water, they will find a marimo ball, an oyster, and a toy treasure chest. The marimo ball is just cute, but it can emit a soft glow when it is dark. The oyster will provide a large pearl once every two weeks. The toy treasure chest keeps the oyster and marimo ball happy. Everything is easy to maintain, but they will perish if neglected. Or eaten. But why would you do that—
  
  
• House Upgrade: Players can choose one part of a character's home to give a bit of a facelift. Whether it's a sudden change in furniture, a new room, upgraded appliances, a better more functioning bathroom (maybe even having a bathroom), characters can receive a bit of a QoL update to their place of residence. Just keep in mind that the technology needs to stay within the setting. Magical ice boxes can exist, but not modern refrigerators.

LIMITED to those who participated in any part of the campaign:

• Ability Unlocks and Upgrades: Up to two new defined abilities are unlocked and all current abilities will be upgraded to a more advanced form. That could mean increased strength, accuracy, endurance, etc. As to how the Aspects learn these abilities, they will just have this sudden gain in knowledge about what to try. These new abilities will of course need practice as they are just learned, not mastered, but at least it's something more. So if players have been waffling as to what all their characters can do right now, this is the perfect opportunity to make concrete decisions.
  
  
• One "Regain": In extra thanks for helping restoring the story, the Storyteller will be happy to try and recreate one personal item from the Aspect's home world that was unable to be brought along. It won't be the real thing, but it will be an exact copy. Unfortunately any item that may have special powers to them will not have those powers as that's still more than the Storyteller can do, but perhaps another time. They also can only be big enough that could be carried by the character. No giant cars or mechs, alas. Regains can occur at any time, and you can "bank" up to two. So if you haven't used your regain from last time, you can use that one and this one. But if you don't use it before the next campaign, it'll be gone. For regains, comment here.

Phew, that's a lot of rewards! Most of it just background stuff for folks to play with if they so choose.

§ a spooky atmosphere

As hinted in various posts, the Index will be once again taking on a Halloween theme. Instead of the early summer heat the Aspects had gotten used to before jumping into The Little Mermaid, the air is crisp and cool, smelling of woodsmoke and foods roasting and baking by the fire. The trees are turning bright reds and golds and browns (and some might have gnarled faces growing in their bark), jack-o-lanterns begin to pop up everywhere—literally, the things can spread like tribbles—and of course, extra sales on candy! (Just be careful buying from any Wicked witches…)

Most of the citizens will be very welcoming towards the Aspects and will offer a lot of discounts for a while in thanks to their restoring The Little Mermaid's story. However, there will be a few who are rude and may actually refuse service without offering any reason.

We do have a small Halloween event planned near the end of the month! It'll be like a festival, so perfect time for everyone to have fun. We have some special plans for the characters that will involve their Essences, so we'll post the details early so everyone can be up to speed.

§ 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!

REGAINS

[keeperoftales]

Comment here for your character's regain! Include what it is, why you're choosing this particular item, and if there's anything we need to know about it, like any changes (ex; loss of powers). Remember, they can only regain the character's own personal belonging and this is limited to characters who participated in our most recent campaign.

[noimpulsecontrol]

I'd like for Della to regain her scarf! It's the one she's holding in this icon. /lazy

It was a Christmas gift from her twin brother and has a ton of sentimental value.

Additionally, I'd like for Hunk to regain his bayard! Yes, even though it won't be able to do anything. I think it'll be a nice reminder for him of his courage and how far he's come.

[deadmentellnotails]

I just want one of Eizen's bracelets. They're his weapons in canon but it's not like they actually do much considering he punches things

[chippedsoul]

His prosecutor uniform. Not much else to it other than it's what he wore for his profession.

[tempredmental]

I'd like to Keith to get his Blade of Marmora.

[twilightskey]

Roxas would like to regain the photo of himself, Hayner, Pence, and Olette standing in front of the Old Mansion in Twilight Town. It's got a ton of sentimental value for him.

[takeittothebridge]

I'd like Bridge to regain his acoustic guitar. It was from his father and it really means a lot to him.

[flamekthunder]

Because I can't think of anything right off the bat for the other two, go ahead and commenting for Eustace.

He'll want his rifle, Flamek Thunder. Of course it won't have the super cool ability to basically summon lightning out from the sky and obliterate everyone, but it can at least still shoot. He can just work with his abilities to try and replicate the effect.

EDIT:
OKAY GOT SOMETHING FOR Rokurou! He'll be regaining a bottle of Sleeping Princess, a kind of wine.

And for Shizuo, go with his original pair of sunglasses.

[detectiveforhierophant]

I'd like Dojima to get a copy of a photo of himself, his wife and his daughter that he had back in Inaba. Obviously it has a lot of sentimental value for him...

and you know may help him open up about his actual life back home

Re: REGAINS

[bladebabysitter]

Would it be possible for Elma to regain twin blades? In classic RPG form, they're considered a single equipped item.

[keeperoftales]

Yes, that should be fine! Any other special abilities won't be available, since the blades will be duplicates, but otherwise Elma can regain them no problem.

STORY CHECK

[keeperoftales]

All story check submissions go here! You can include notes of your availability here as well.

[ricebird]

Player: LWP
Character: Kotori Iida | ricebird
Proof: 09/15
Blurb: Dropped onto Team Navy (and into a VERY embarrassing Sailor Senshi uniform), Kotori does her best to row around and feed and heal people, regardless of sides. She even manages to grow some coral with a little help from Roxas~

[noimpulsecontrol]

Player: Satyr

Character: Della Duck | noimpulsecontrol
Proof: 09/20
Blurb: Sea King Della gives the prince her blessings after hearing out their feelings.

Character: Hunk | holdthemtogether
Proof: 09/17
Blurb: Hunk falls in and out of character as he works on a solution to stop the war with the mermaid.

Character: Varian | sonrises

My availability coming up is YES.

[deadmentellnotails]

Player: Fae
Character: Eizen | deadmentellnotails
Proof: Sept. 15
Sept. 15
Blurb: He was a king and he was also a witch.

Lea was just accepted!

[chatwithdeath]

Player: VG
Character: Naomi Kimishima | chatwithdeath
Proof: 9/16
Blurb: The 'Little Mermaid' came to seek/demand audience with the Land King. Look, he put her people in danger; she would be a little mad about that cannon ball shot.

Player: VG
Character: Oswald | ashadowofhope
Proof: N/A
Blurb: Ehhh, just accepted in the public registration.

I should be relatively available. Never really know what might pop up this month.

[chippedsoul]

Player: Taisa
Character: Kazuma Asougi | chippedsoul
Proof: 9/15
Blurb: Escaping crazy merfolk and sharks to get up the surface where the fighting between the kingdoms is going on.

Character: Godzilla | titanus_gojira
Proof: 9/16
Blurb: Godzilla goes this thing called a date with a hooman. How strange.

[pidgeypidge]

Player: Lizzie
Character: Katie "Pidge" Holt | pidgeypidge
Proof: 9/16
Blurb: Pidge has The Best Date Ever™ with her "Prince" (Godzilla).

Also, my availability is probably just yes, but there's no telling what kind of craziness can pop up, so I'll keep you all posted?

[tempredmental]

Player: Sailor G
Character: Keith | tempredmental
Proof: 9/15
Blurb: Keith was the Prince once again this time around and ended up passing the test from the Sea Witch (Eizen) to get the potion. He was then on Team Land as a navy sailor

[moneymatters]

Player: Zumi
Character: Scrooge McDuck | moneymatters
Proof: 9/24
Blurb: Dropped in as Team Mermaid, Scrooge does his level best to fight and also lend support where he could.

[twilightskey]

Player: CS
Character: Roxas | twilightskey
Proof: 09/18
Blurb: Roxas met up with Kotori and grew some of that flower coral with her

[takeittothebridge]

Player: Usami
Character: Bridge Nocturne | takeittothebridge
Proof: 09/16
Blurb: The prince apologizes to the priestess, and then other things happened

[lifesa_witch]

Player: Melissa
Character: Magica De Spell | lifesawitch
Proof: 10/07
Blurb: Just accepted this month!

[skyofreality]

Player: Xae
Character: Sora | skyofreality
Proof: 09/27
Blurb: He was part of Team Navy but decided he wanted to be a pirate instead. Was also on healing duty for his side.

Character: Velvet Crowe | oligomania
Proof: 09/27
Blurb: She was Team Mermaid but mostly spent it harassing people - then roped Rokurou into going to fight an Eraser.

[rokubro]

Player: Laena
Character: Rokurou Rangetsu | rokubro
Proof: 9/15
Blurb: Rokurou and Eizen have a blast yelling at each other pretending to be royal ex's. He also sought some dating advice through the journals and received interesting tips.

Character: Shizuo Heiwajima | hatesviolence
Proof: 9/26
Blurb: Checked on Disciple after he recovered, and then in Act III helped with Kotori on Team Navy. Exciting things may or may not have will happened.

Character: Eustace | flamekthunder
Proof: 9/17
Blurb: Played as the priestess against Elma as the mermaid and they had a mock fight that ended with an interruption. Later helps out on Team Navy, checks on Dojima, and helps Percy.

[bladebabysitter]

Player: Dragon
Character: Elma | bladebabysitter
Proof: 9/16
Blurb: Elma plays her roll as the Mermaid, engaging in battle with the Priestess and resolutely trying to get Eustace to make an actual good story out of it. She sort of succeeded? At the very least he didn't just throw it...

[detectiveforhierophant]

Player: Jojo/Lucine
Character: Ryotaro Dojima | detectiveforhierophant
Proof: September 28
Blurb: After Dojima was thoroughly scolded by like, nearly everyone for his Hyde-escapades, Dojima ended up in one last scene with Della, playing the Prince, trying to convince the Sea King that his feelings for the Little Mermaid were sincere and that he'd do what he could for her.

And after embarrassing himself, he succeeded, yay...? Yeah definitely Yay.

Character: Junpei Iori | junpei_iori
Proof: N/A
Blurb: He's just showed up! Or... will, when I post him on the into log... Soon tm.