GAME NOTES #36: January 27th, 2021

[keeperoftales]

GAME NOTES #36: January 27th, 2021—

WELL. That campaign sure was. Something, wasn't it? The ending to the story is not what anyone will expect, and it seems as if it's still going. Although there will be a small reprieve after returning, the Index is far from safe. In fact it's facing its biggest crisis yet!

§ schedule

Here is our current schedule. Note that several dates may and likely change as our Head mod is currently unavailable:

MAIN SCHEDULE

02/03: “Part 2” Event Starts (Tentative)*

02/17: “Part 2” Event Ends

03/03: New TDM/Workshop; Claims Open

03/10: Public Registration Open

MOD NOTES SCHEDULE

03/03: Game Notes 37

STORY CHECK SCHEDULE

01/27: Full Story Check

02/21: Story Check-in

03/24: Story Check-in

*Event date is currently tentative due to our Head mod handling a family situation. Should there be a date change, we'll let you guys know at least before or day of the event.
The Commission Board will be postponed until March.

§ 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. If this is your first Check, you get a freebie pass. For this half point story check, all players must submit proofs with the following requirements by January 31st 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 January 3rd and January 31st (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 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. If you have any questions, ask them in the designated Story Check subthread.

§ act summary

Good thing that’s over, right?

And now, the ending of the story....

Londeva is gripped by fear. Victor Frankenstein is dead, murdered by one Edward Hyde. Stixen has been blamed for all manner of evils. And poor Doctor Jekyll is having a time.

After his father never returned, Stixen(Makoto) sets out to find Victor. He runs into a disgruntled Clerval (Adachi), who for his protection has dressed up as a bishop and who only decides to help the creation reach Jeykll's house only after much begging and pleading. There, the two find Victor's body, and Stixen is overcome with grief. Clerval, in a moment of bitterness, makes a comment and Stixen very nearly attacks the man for daring to disrespect the dead. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for Clerval), the body quickly turns into the escaped Audrey II. Stixen grabs Clerval and runs, not in the mood to deal with a murderous house plant.

Some time later, Utterson (Luca) and Jekyll (Naomi) return to Jekyll's labs. In a fit of grief and perhaps madness, the doctor very nearly destroys his lab, a weak penance for all he has wrought. Utterson stops this, assuring him that it would do more harm than good, and Jekyll decides that, as Hyde's creator, he should be able to make something to kill him more easily. The two head further into the lab to do just that. They are later joined by Stixen (Steelbeak), who begs the doctor to revive Victor.

Jekyll (Master Crane) is torn by this, as while he feels guilty that Stixen's father was murdered by Hyde, the thought of reviving the dead leaves him uneasy. Rather than turn the creature down outright, however, he instead chooses to purposefully do it incorrectly. Stixen is none the wiser, and is thankful for the attempt all the same.

The next day, Clerval (Ren) and Utterson (Rosalia) set out to find Hyde in hopes of putting an end to all of this. Unfortunately, it seems the city itself has lost its grip on reality, as the buildings start to crumble and dead ends are around every corner. The two men agree it's a lost cause and quickly make plans to leave the city themselves.

Meanwhile, Hyde (Mabel) finally tracks Jekyll (Junpei) down with the intent to kill. However, the odd goings on in the city seem to be affecting more than just the buildings, as no matter what Hyde does he cannot land a killing blow on Jekyll. He eventually flees, leaving Jekyll to whatever fate awaits him.

Londeva continues to deteriorate as a blizzard rolls in. There, outside the city, Hyde (Kazuma) awaits the arrival of Stixen (Shizuo), who has tracked him down after receiving the oddest message. The two have it out, a fight between titans that leaves Stixen on the ground as Hyde limps away. A bolt of lighting strikes the ground, and Stixen begins to move.

"...we never did learn how, exactly, it all went so horribly wrong so quickly. All we know is that Mister Hyde went on a murderous rampage and that Londeva was never quite the same. I've heard no more of either Hyde or the Creation, though rumors do reach me now and again of odd sprees of murder here and there. The latest I believe was in France.

This letter is now several pages long. I can picture the look you must have made upon receiving it; if you are expecting an apology, you will be sorely disappointed. You know how I get when I feel compelled to write, rather like how you get when you feel compelled to fret and fuss. But I shall end my letter here, hopeful it found you well and that the baby is healthy.

Forever your brother,

Captain Robert Walton

§ rewards

Here are the basic rewards given for another successful campaign! More specific, campaign related awards can be found on the Catalogue. It's been updated, so be sure to comment to the designated thread to buy any items. No new costumes have been added for this campaign.

The following will be rewarded to EVERYONE, including those who just joined.

• 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.
  
  
• Basic 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.

The following will be rewarded to those who participated in the last campaign only:

• Points. In the new section of the journal, 5 points will appear in the character's point balance. These points can be used to purchase campaign related rewards at a discounted price.
  
  
• General 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.

§ event: story eater

We mentioned a big crisis and after all this Jekyll and Hyde and Frankenstein chaos, the Storyteller is tired and in need of a rest. So of course the Story Eater has decided that this is the perfect time to launch another attack on the index. The event log will be posted on February 3rd, but here's some idea of what to expect:

The concoction from the campaign has found its way into the Index's water. But don't worry, Aspects won't have to deal with Hyded out NPCs or deal with their more unpleasant aspects this time around. Due to some ill-advised attempts to use magic on the contaminated water, the water itself has turned against the Index. Expect everything from leaky faucets and busted pipes to possible tidal waves and maybe even some sort of water monster!


• If that's not enough to deal with, the Index is rather stressed at this point, things are cracking and falling apart, similar to Act III of the campaign. And since it's hard keeping things together at the moment, Aspects may find their Essence abilities gone and their canon abilities temporarily returned or in extreme cases might find themselves swapped into someone else's body entirely.



• And since the Story Eater's really going all out here, everyone will also have to contend with shadowy versions of departed characters, seemingly with Essences of their own. These'll be for you all to NPC, and in addition to the unclaimed essence list, we'll be providing a list of dropped characters, so you know who's available!



• Ultimately the Story Eater and its minions will be trying to break into the library, so expect to have to defend it too. It's been fortified since the last time, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy. Someone seems to be helping the Story Eater as well, being used as an anchor for it to have influence over the Aspects. And with the Storyteller out of commission, it might be up to everyone to drive the Story Eater back, but more on that when the event log goes up!

At present, the log is scheduled to go up on February 3rd, so expect even more details then! For now, Aspect can notice the occasional earthquakes and constant gloomy overcast within the Index. Some things may not be functioning properly, like the journal may "short" out for a moment.

§ end notes

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