Game Notes #22: November 24, 2019

[keeperoftales]

GAME NOTES #22: November 24, 2019—

Hope you guys have been having great fall so far, and that those tricks and treats at the Halloween Faire haven't caused too much trouble for your characters! Here's a fresh batch of notes, unveiling details about our December event!

§ schedule

Here is our current schedule:

MAIN SCHEDULE

10/07-1/??: Break

12/01: Once Upon a Dream Event

12/15: Story Eater Fight

1/??: Campaign #4 Start

MOD NOTES SCHEDULE

1/??: Campaign #4 Notes/Sign-Up

STORY CHECK SCHEDULE

12/01: Monthly Check-In

1/01: Monthly Check-In

The first part is a freeform mind-walking event- memory viewing, best or worst case scenarios, dreams and nightmares, whatever you'd like- with players creating mindscapes for their characters and for others to explore. The second will be a big boss fight, with more details pending… but first the characters will need to escape.

§ new(ish) helper mod

We'd like to OFFICIALLY welcome Taisa as a full-fledged helper mod! She signed up to help us a few months ago, but it wasn't until this month that she could fully help us with prompt writing and event and story ideas, and she's been doing a great job too! Congrats and welcome, Taisa!

§ once upon a dream: general info

• Setting: The event will begin inside the characters' minds, as Aspects travel into them in order to free each other from the curse. Once everyone wakes up, there will be a boss fight in the Index, with details on that coming later!
  
  
• Schedule: Given the nature of the dreamwalking portion of the event, IC time will be more than a bit nebulous; OOCly, the event will last two weeks before the boss fight log is posted. The boss fight will last one day IC, and the log will last for a week. Still, everyone can thread for as long as you want on either part of the event.
  
  
• Designated Log: There will be two designated logs for this event: one for the dream walking portion of the event, and one for the boss fight. We request all related threads be made in those two logs.

§ once upon a dream: break the curse

Remember the black briars chasing the slay ride and the thorns among the mistletoe during the fair? Well, it turns out those were heralds for the Story Eater's next move! Erasers and influenced citizens have spent all month planting roses at key locations around the Index, and at the start of the month, the whole city will be flooded with gnarled thorns and inky black roses, running through the streets and climbing into houses, blocking off access to the repaired stories or the homeworlds… and placing everyone in the Index into a deep, magical sleep. Erasers will even be sent into the dreaming Aspects' minds to make sure that the Storyteller's last hopes never wake up. But there might be a way out yet...

• Mindscapes: However the characters' mindscapes look and what elements they contain are entirely up to you. The setting could be familiar locations from their pasts, wherever they consider home, constructs from home if their characters' canon has those (ex. Kingdom Hearts' Dive to the Heart, the Lions' astral planes in Voltron: Legendary Defender, Persona's Tartarus or TV World, etc.), whatever you think fits your character best. Whatever "traps" or other elements are also up to the player, as well as the presence of Erasers and what forms they take. One character could be in an idyllic version of home, with an Eraser posing as a loved one convincing them to stay forever. Another could be tormented by or fighting an Eraser disguised as an enemy or a skeleton in the character's closet, doing everything in their power to make the Aspect abandon their quest. Another might have memories from home or the game locked away in objects, and instead of confrontation, the key is "releasing" all the memories. Or all three in different areas of the same mind! Maybe some pieces from the Essence's memories or thoughts can be thrown in too! Basically, it's completely up to the player what the layout of the dreamscape is, as well as what- if any- "victory conditions" there are, the only limit is your imagination.
  
  
• Dream Walkers: Meanwhile, Aspects will be able to travel in between others' mindscapes, and maybe figure out the keys to freeing them from their slumber. Given the nature of the curse and the connections, Aspects can visit mindscapes either in an order or simultaneously, and even if Aspects are currently trapped in their own minds, fragments of them might be able to escape and help others. OOCly, this means you can play out either or both sides of the event if you choose. In addition, characters visiting another's mind might be granted abilities based on the dreamer's canon, if they so choose. For example, Rokurou could gain a Keyblade while visiting Roxas's dream, a Persona in Dojima's, and… a good appetite in Kotori's. (Welcome to slice of life land.) Each "loan" is up to collaboration between the players, and only lasts while in that particular character's dreams.
  
  
• Insomniac's Jungle: However, perhaps some of the Aspects were able to escape the curse somehow. They could have been visiting another story or their home worlds and returned just before the briars closed them off, or maybe the spell just wasn't very effective. In any case, those who manage to hold onto consciousness will find themselves in a nightmare landscape: thorny vines as thick as tree trunks spilling out of buildings and choking streets, slowly draining them of color; citizens and fellow Aspects slumped over and unresponsive; and feral plant-like Erasers swarming and pillaging the streets… and ready to mow down anyone still awake. Those still awake can try to clear away the briars with their powers or just old-fashioned hacking, but it will definitely take some time, and it might not be a bad idea to guard the sleeping Aspects' bodies to make sure no physical harm comes to them as well. In addition, they might be fortunate enough to stumble across a few items strewn across the wreckage. At first glance they might look ordinary, even like seedlings among the vines in some cases, but they're brighter in color and faintly sparkling, imbued with the Storyteller's power. Looks like they might have provided a few tools before they succumbed to the spell:
  
  
  • A green cloak, which can make the wearer invisible for a brief time
    
  • A red rose, which can transform into a fiery, thorny whip
    
  • A purple pansy with the ability to grow into a large shield, but only for a few hits
    
  • A satin pillow that will explode into a cloud of feathers when thrown
    
  • A glass bottle labeled "Love Potion", that can be thrown to douse targets in liquid and fumes to confuse (and possibly bewitch) them... caution with bystanders
    
  • A spindle that can produce an endless amount of extremely durable thread
    
  • A double-headed white rose which can create mirror images of the user; careful as they only last for one hit
    
  • A robin plushie that, when thrown at a target, will transform its head into a donkey's; may induce laughter in onlooking Erasers
    
  • A hot coal grenade that will ignite into flame hot enough to scorch even the most fire-resistant briars
  
  These items aren't able to do much now due to the curse, but perhaps once enough of its influence is cleared away, these might come in handy against the brunt of the Story Eater's army.
  
  Those who are awake can fall asleep to help the dream walkers, however there are some limitations and risks:
  
  
  1. There is a "time limit" on how long they can stay in a dreamscape before they are unable to stay there and is forced awake. That time can be anything to up to an hour.
     
  2. The longer they sleep/dreamwalk, the greater the risk of succumbing to curse themselves.
     
  3. Injuries sustained in the dreams will carry over upon waking in a milder state. So for example, if an arm is injured while dreamwalking, that same arm will have injuries upon waking. Anything that is conceived as "fatal" will instantly wake the dreamer, but they won't have a mortal wound and instead have a serious injury.
     
  4. There will be greater difficulties performing abilities within the dreamscapes.
     
  5. They will feel sluggish upon waking, leaving them vulnerable to potential attacks.

§ once upon a dream: plotting

Feel free to use this post for plotting out the first part of the event. You can fill out and comment with the following forms if you'd like ideas and feedback for for building your mindscapes, planning out rescues and temporary powers, or teaming up to beat Erasers and gather items in the waking world. Awake characters can also designate which items they'll be finding; any items unclaimed by the time of the event's start will be available for sleeping characters to find in their dreamscapes.


Dream Walkers
<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Essence:</b> Essence | Story <b>Plans:</b> Will your character by trapped and need freeing? Wandering between minds to free others? Both? <b>Mindscape:</b> What does your character's mindscape look like? Will they be trapped in memories? Nightmares? Dreams a perfect world? All of the above? Will there be Erasers to fight? What forms will they take? <b>Canon Powers:</b> What abilities might characters visiting yours' mindscape find themselves wielding? Keyblades or staffs? Personas? Artes? …. Being a Disney animal person? <b>Questions:</b>

Away(ke) Team
<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Essence:</b> Essence | Story <b>Plans:</b> Will your character by trapped and need freeing? Wandering between minds to free others? Both? <b>Items:</b> Which items do you intend for your character to find? <b>Questions:</b>

§ end notes

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

Comments

No one saw that fail

[dj_jiraiya]

Player: Amanda
Character: Yosuke Hanamura
Essence: The Frog Prince | The Frog Prince
Plans: Trapped, but he can wander into other's dreams once he's freed
Mindscape: Yosuke's dream world will be in the form of the TV World aka The Midnight Channel.

However, only one dungeon will be accessible upon leaving the "stage" area and that's the huge department store known as Junes. It will play a twisted version of the Junes Jingle. It will generally look like your typical department store, but there will also be eight separate floors. Each floor will have one of the Investigation Team members that you will be tasked to provide an item to them. Once provided you will be allowed up to the next floor.

The first floor and the stage area will have Teddie who will resemble his normal self, sometimes change to his human self, or look like his Shadow. The second floor will have Naoto Shirogane, third Rise Kujikawa, fourth Kanji Tastumi, Fifth Yukiko Amagi, Sixth Chie Satonaka, and seventh Souji Seta/Yu Narukami. The eighth and final floor will feature Saki Konishi who will try to stop you from giving the last item to Yosuke, who has been trapped and without his memories the entire time on this floor.

His glasses are the last item, putting them on will allow him to see the truth, to see through Saki's disguise and see that it was his own Shadow the whole time. He will need to accept his Shadow once more, thereby allowing him to awaken and freely walk into others' dreams after this.

Erasers will be here in the form of Shadows as well, not the same kind of Shadows as the ones that turn into Personas but lesser shadows. We don't really need to go into detail as it isn't really important, but here's a list if you want!

Canon Powers: You will be given your own pair of sunglasses by Teddie as it will be foggy even inside the store. There will be various weapons littered about the first floor as well: a gun, a sword, a pair of knives, a folding fan, a folded chair and a pair of claws.

If you want to gain a Persona while inside, then you will need to find your Shadow and accept it. It is the most negative of emotions, fears and hatred that you feel for either yourself, those around, etc. They are things that you bury so deep that you don't even know it's there. For example, Yosuke's bright and sunny smile is actually front to hide how terrified of being alone he is, his friends from Tokyo had abandoned him, and he was also incredibly bored. He initially entered the TV World because it was something exciting and fun, he could maybe be a hero if he tried to solve the murder. Of course, Yosuke really did want to solve the murder because he cared about Saki. But that's the point of your Shadow. It can exaggerate things, but they are things that are already there that you feel. Here's Yosuke's Shadow, it also shows the consequences of not accepting your Shadow. This time around, you won't pass out like Yosuke does (that's usually the MO, you don't accept your shadow, the Shadow becomes a twisted version of your Persona, and it will use most of your energy to do it so you pass out) but you will need to defeat it and bring it back down to level and while its weak it's up to you to accept it. There's also the option of neither accepting or denying it, but this will cause it to fade away completely and you will NOT gain a Persona. Personas are only gained upon accepting your Shadow.

Persona 4 specifically used a lot of Japanese myth and folklore characters (i.e. everyone's final Persona forms are Japanese gods such as Izanagi, Susano-O, Amaterasu, etc). However, you are NOT limited to this. Gods and Goddess of all kinds can be used including folkloric characters and even famous fictional characters such as Arsene Lupin and Captain Kidd as of Persona 5. The design and theme really should just fit the character in some capacity.

Questions: Gotta be as TL;DR as Atlus, okay?

[shslliar]

Hm... Maybe Kokichi will go bother the TV people!

And probably run into his own Shadow, who knows.

[dj_jiraiya]

There are no TV people aside from the shadows LOL But have fun anyway? It plays out kind of like a Questline hence the need to get a specific item and give it to the NPC in question while fighting monsters all along the way. Yosuke's a nerd lol

[shslliar]

Yeah, I was referring to the NPCs. Since this is supposed to be a Midnight Channel version of Junes?

[dj_jiraiya]

Well, I wasn't really planning on having any NPC shoppers in the store. Just the Investigation Team. Sorry :(

[shslliar]

It's cool.

[ricebird]

Hmmm Kotori will be going through something really similar in her dreamscape. (Although her "Shadow" plays by slightly different rules.) Want to help her out with that? (It comes with free dream food~)

[dj_jiraiya]

Obtaining a persona/having a shadow is honestly different for every game so Kotori having her own play out different in her dreamscape is fine! P3 had them simply accepting death and shooting themselves in the head with their Evokers (a fake gun), P4 accepting their Shadows, and P5 had them "breaking the chains of rebellion" and their Shadow sort comes out from that, creating a mask and once its ripped off their faces (just as gross as it sounds) they get their Phantom Thief outfit and Persona.

So how will Kotori's play out?

[ricebird]

Basically, fighting back against her Shadow caging her and verbally abusing her, aka: everything you're NOT supposed to do in P4.

[dj_jiraiya]

lmao fair. But if this is in Kotori's dreamscape, it's up to you on how you want her to eventually handle it? Like, is this Shadow actually her true self or not that she tries to hide? Stuff like that.

Otherwise if it's just the usual bad dream faire where she blames herself for things, Kotori can defeat her without an consequences. After all, this isn't any of the Persona dreamscapes but hers so it goes by her own rules.

[ricebird]

Ah... I keep saying Shadow, but in her case it'll be more an Eraser warden wearing her face and trying to keep her locked up with all her insecurities. (Points up to her plotting comment.) So yeah, got all that figured out, just trying to consolidate that type of confrontation to one place in her case, you know?

[dj_jiraiya]

Ah, fair! Well, either way, it depends on how you want that confrontation to end and what the reward is? Like, do you want her to just face this Eraser head on and manage to like, stand up for herself or do you want her to acknowledge whatever it is they are saying as true or something?

[ricebird]

Ah, sorry for the wait getting back to this! And more the former, basically building some self esteem and assurance that others value her too.

[rhododendronhoney]

So Cori's actually had a confrontation with a shadow-self back home and accepted it already. So I was kind of thinking that if her Shadow shows up here it'd have some memory of that, so she wouldn't have to fight it as hard? On the other hand that does kind of feel like a cop-out. I do already have a Persona designed for her, though. It's going to be Jael, from the Bible.

[dj_jiraiya]

You only have to fight the Shadow if you plan on having Coriander decide not to accept it and deny it outright. If she's already had the experience and the Shadow isn't bringing up anything new, that she can likely more easily accept it and gain a Persona. It may feel like a cop-out but it's honestly fine! There's no sense forcing the drama and all that c:

If nothing else, if anyone is with her then she can be a good example on what to do when confronting a Shadow, really.

[rhododendronhoney]

Aw, nice. I'm definitely thinking of there being kind of a "oh this again?" gag. And yeah, maybe she can help stop other people from going too far into denial before they add to the monsters roaming around. Though admittedly at first she won't know "shadow turns into monster to be fought" is the failure state they're looking at.

Re: No one saw that fail

[cookingmechanic]

Hi, hello! I'd really like to have Fuuka interact with Yosuke in his dreamscape...the premise is super cool. Since she already had/has a persona, would she just have that in his dream? Or would she still need to face her shadow to get it back?

[dj_jiraiya]

She can still have it! This is mostly for the non-Persona users. Of course, if you want her to face her own Shadow, that's fine too. c:

[cookingmechanic]

Very cool~! Thanks. I'll figure out about her shadow. :)