Test Drive: October 2018

[keeperoftales]

Test Drive: October 2018—

§ instructions.
Greetings and welcome to the first Test Drive for Forgotten Tales! This is to help interested players "test drive" their characters in the game's setting and see if the essence they have chosen will actually work in game play. There are a number of prompts that vary from casual to more task focused work. So here are a few things to keep in mind while on the test drive:

• Feel free to use the current workshop for help if you need it!
  
  
• Include Character Name and Canon in the subject line, and note somewhere within the toplevel your character's essence. It can be in the subject line if you already know what it is. Side note: You are free to try more than one essence if you're on the fence. Just make sure to note which one you're using for that particular prompt.
  
  
• Players are free to assume their characters have been informed of the very basics so you can skip all that if you'd like.
  
  
• Don't forget to refer to the Game Info for how the mechanics work.
  
  
• Feel free to join the Discord server.
  
  
• Registration opens October 19th. Game starts October 21st.

Most of all, have fun! Feel free to invite those you may think would be interested to participate in the test drive.

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§ notes regarding the prompts.

Setting Notes: For this Test Drive, everyone is being sent to a Draft with three nursery rhymes contained within. Each rhyme has its own section, but some elements may leak into others. In game we would have everyone sorted out in a more organized manner, but for the purpose of the Test Drive anything goes. Players can choose to do whatever they want and mix things up as they think would be fun.

Side Note: Although there is no specific "journal" prompt, players are free to incorporate the use of the journal either as something to fiddle with or to practice the "network" style of the game and communicate with others. The same is true for the Erasers. They are always ever present within the Draft, so while there is no specific prompt, players are free to incorporate them in their threads at any time.

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§ prompts.

¶ I. Humpty Dumpty. For some reason, Humpty's area of the Draft looks more like something out of a Picasso painting. Many pieces are freely floating around; instead of melted clocks there are melted egg yolks hanging from twisted, barren trees; and ground itself feels unsafe. As if made of eggshells, it might even crumble away as the Aspects make their way through, so take care.

• A. Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall. The first thing the Aspects must find is an old, questionable and very tall brick wall, and there are a few scattered about this strange space. Some are even floating in the air. Just be careful since most if not all of them are already crumbling away and will most definitely break apart if too much weight is put on it. Restoring at least one of the walls will be required before proceeding with the scene.
  
  
• B. Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall. Here comes the fun part. Someone or something has to be Humpty and break. Now the question is who?
  
  
  • i. Be One with the Egg. Someone can act as Humpty Dumpty and perch themselves on top of that wall. How will they get up there? Flying, ladder, climbing--whatever works! Once up there, they must fall off, but don't worry. At worst they may break a limb or two, but they can be healed. But something must break for this task to be considered fulfilled. It should be noted that black, broken egg pieces will appear where they landed.
    
    
  • ii. Blotten Egg. What luck, there already is an egg! ...A very creepy, black, rotting, looking egg. Honestly it already looks half broken. This egg is actually a blot taking the form of old Humpty, and it refuses to fall on its own. If anything it seems to be clinging to it and oh watch out! It's throwing down rotten eggs! That may or may not be acidic, but probably don't want to find out firsthand. Aspects will need to get up there and fight the Blotten Egg to either knock it over or break it to pieces up there. Once broken, the pieces will remain to be used in the final scene.
  
  
• C. All the King's Horses and All the King's Men. The easy way to fulfill this scene would be to have a few people pretend to be horses and soldiers. But while that certainly is an option, that's no fun. Instead, how about running into a "ghost" army made from the Blots? They are ghastly creatures and more than ready to attack anyone they meet. The king himself might even appear. Fortunately, despite the number the Aspects are strong enough to deal with the mob so long as they have a partner. These armies will most certainly appear once the first scene is complete, but they can be found roaming around throughout the area.
  
  
• D. Couldn't Put Humpty Together Again. Finally, an attempt to fix Humpty must be made for the story to complete. The funny thing is, although there were two ways to recreate the fall scene, there is only one method that will actually close the story. And it's not healing whoever pretended to be Humpty. The Aspects must gather the broken, black egg pieces and put them together. Just sticking the shells near each other will work. But once they assemble the egg, it will suddenly grow to three times its size and will turn into a huge, hideous monster. Oozing with black ink-like fluid, this "Boss" version of Humpty Dumpty must be fought and defeated. Its shell is like steel armor, so weapons won't be effective. Heat and ice, however, will help weaken it, the heat boiling the creature from the inside and the ice making the shell more brittle to pierce. Everything will be considered done once the monster is defeated.

¶ II. Little Miss Muffet. It would seem that this part of the draft isn't as badly damaged, perhaps not completely destroyed by the Story Eater yet, and looks almost restored...or so it seems. Almost immediately after someone steps in to give the story the starting nudge, a blot version of Miss Muffet leaps to her feet and throws her bowl of curds and whey on the ground! She can't take this anymore, she won't take his anymore! At least this one doesn't appear to be hostile and there appears to be other interesting blots roaming around, so let's see what can be done.

• A. I Don't Like Spam Curds and Whey! Okay, to be fair, anyone would get sick of it if they had to eat bland, poorly made cottage cheese every day. And Little Miss Muffet is throwing the tantrum of the century today. Why does she have to sit on a lumpy stool and eat lumpy food every morning just to get scared off by a mean ol' spider two bites in?! It's not fair! Mary gets to play with her little lamb and Jack gets to jump over candlesticks! Maybe giving her a break from the monotony for a few minutes will help, just make sure she goes back to the story soon.
  
  
• B. Pie in the Sky. Once Muffet's calmed down enough, she'll say that she'd like to have a pie for once. And conveniently enough, there's a brick oven sitting nearby. Hopefully someone knows how to bake and can make the filling of that pie look enough like curds and whey to keep the story on track.
  
  
  • i. Bigger or Better. Even if the cooking space is miraculously easy to find, ingredients are harder to come by. The farmer needs a new scythe, the smith needs a new apron before he’ll give you a scythe, the tanner needs some wine before he’ll make a new apron, and so on and so on! How far does this chain go, and how much are you grousing about it with your partner? And why does the thatcher need a diamond to rub on their elbow anyway?! Or maybe one of you has an object already on their person to end the favor chain before it gets too long!
    
    
  • ii. Little Red Hen. There is a farmer nearby who will lend some flour, but she insists on you helping her grow it from seed, even if she has some pre-ground flour right behind her. Something about lazy neighbors trying to mooch off her. Don’t worry, though, it's magical wheat, so it should only take a week for it to grow! Unfortunately you don’t have that kind of time, so someone either needs to help speed things along or convince the hen to just let them have some pre-ground flour.
  
  
• C. Along Came a Spider. Unfortunately, while everyone was busy soothing Miss Muffet and baking pies, some random old lady ate the spider trying to cure her fly-related indigestion! What do you do now? Try to get the old lady to cough it up? Search the grove for a new leading arachnid? Hastily don a spider costume? There are also Spider Blots that might work if captured, and like everything else here they're not overly hostile. The worst is a toy-looking spider with googly eyes that spits silly string—and it likes to tickle. Whatever you do, just hurry before that pie gets cold and Muffet starts crying again!

¶ III. Three Little Pigs. Ready to ham it up? There are no pigs to be found anywhere in this area of the Draft, not even any blot versions. So a few Aspects will need to take on the role as pigs. They can make their own little fake ears or even just tear out a piece of paper from the journal, write the word "LITTLE PIG," and pin it on their shirt for it to count. The standards aren't that high here. Anyone not a Pig or future Wolf can offer support at least, so now it's time to get to work—and there is a lot. Set in a giant, barren field, at least they don't have to travel much.

• A. Construction Zone. Anyone know how to build houses? One of the first things that will need to be made are three different little homes for those acting as the pigs. In the original story, they were made of straw, sticks, and bricks, and there's plenty of material for it. Giant piles and quarries full, in fact. However, the actual material is not required. If you want to be fancy and try glass or candy or something else, that's fine, too! The houses also don't need to be the best in the world, just enough. Heck it could even be a cardboard box. Just keep in mind that at least one of these needs to be strong enough to survive the inevitable "Wolf Breath."
  
  
• B. Big Bad Wolf. There are two options for the wolf. Anyone is free to be the Wolf and can freely mess with the pigs as they see fit. However, those playing as the pigs should keep their guard up. There are also Blot versions of the Wolf lurking around ready to pounce on them unawares. Beat it back if it attacks.
  
  
• C. Blow You Away. For the final piece, the Wolf must "huff and puff" to try and destroy the houses. If someone actually has strong enough breath to do that, then hope they had a breath mint first. But if not, other methods can be used. Wind magic, conjure up storms...or take a large object and wreck them. The interpretation of how the Wolf goes about bringing down the houses can vary wildly, so have at it! There must be one "Pig" inside the house being attacked, but the Pig is free to flee to the next house once it is destroyed. Don't forget to say the famous lines:
  
  "Little pig, little pig, let me come in."
  "No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin."
  "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
  
  There will be one house left standing that the Wolf cannot break, and if there isn't... Well, just going to have to keep building one until you do. Or the Wolf cheats and doesn't put much effort into it. Choice is yours!
  
  
• D. Take the Pig Out. Because the "brick" house (or whatever the last house is made of) cannot be destroyed, the Wolf must find another way to get to the pigs! Use wiles, ask them out on a date, or just do a good ol' fashioned break in. This is where the ending is more open. Will the wolf succeed in luring the pig out? Will there be a forbidden romance?? Or will the pigs bake the Wolf in their oven instead? Oh the possibilities...

¶ IV. Mix it up. This is the "wildcard" prompt. Take any elements of these three stories and mash them together! Want to play as the Big Bad Wolf and blow Humpty Dumpty off that wall? Or maybe it's a Little Pig bothering Miss Muffet. Maybe instead of "curds and whey" you have a little tea party instead. Or maybe you just want to explore around and beat up hostile blots and Erasers. Anything goes, so just have fun with it!

Comments

Ib | Ib (Alice in Wonderland or Little Red Riding Hood)

[her_rose_is_red]

Humpty Dumpty- (Alice essence)


A-

The wall's.... broken.

[This is less a statement of the obvious and more a quiet lament. It might be tough to reenact Humpty Dumpty without a wall. But she does notice that a few of the blocks are floating in midair. So maybe...
She tugs on the sleeve of the nearest fellow aspect and once they look, points up at a floating block.]

Do we have to fix it first? Or can we just use one of those?


D-

[Ib is gathering up the shards of the fallen 'egg' while trying very hard not to think about the poor person who made that sacrifice. They can put them back together, right? They just need all the pieces. She comes running back to the main pile, a few more in her hands.]

I found some more over there. Is this all of them?


Three Little Pigs- (Little Red Riding Hood essence)


A-

[Ib is searching for suitable materials to construct houses. But she's bypassing things like wood or straw, even though they seem more plentiful and probably easier to work with. No, she is looking for bricks. She knows this story. She brings back another small stack to the people working on construction.]

Is this enough? Should I get more?


C-

[Ib is waiting nervously in the final house. Ever since she took on the essence of Red Riding Hood, wolves and even dogs have made her.... nervous. They have sharp teeth, big eyes, and made awful growly noises. So knowing they were just sitting there and waiting for one, even just to finish the story, is hard. She keeps fidgeting, glancing around nervously. Every so often, she turns to the other occupant of the little house.]

Um... this is the brick house so.... the wolf can't knock it over. Right?

[At least, that's how she remembers the story.]

C

[ahmagawd]

[ Hello little girl, have a big scary lady. But Ib knows all about monsters, doesn't she?

At least this monster isn't actively trying to hurt her. And if anything, Ahmanet is going to make sure that nothing is going to hurt her-- or, well, this house. Because she helped build it. And if there is anything Ahmanet wants, it is to win. Utterly and completely. ]

No. [ She says, the single word spoken like a hammer to a nail, confident and absolute. ] Not... that it would matter... even if this house were built with clay.

[ She slinks towards towards the window, pulling back one of the curtains. ] For we will knock the wolf over first, child.

[her_rose_is_red]

[She certainly does. But this scary lady is on her side. At least, she hopes so. They both worked on building this house. They both have to wait in it for a scary wolf. That may not make them friends but at least it makes them... something?

Well, she can't think a of a good word. But the older woman's confidence is comforting, even if Ib isn't sure where it's coming from. Is she really that strong?]

How will we do that?

[Her voice is quiet, barely above a whisper as she follows the woman to the little window and peeks out.]

[ahmagawd]

We will... [ She doesn't even glance at the girl when she responds, keeping all four of her eyes looking outside instead. ] ...tear our his throat before he can take his first breath.

[ That is. Definitely not how the story goes. ]

[her_rose_is_red]

[Her eyes widen, and one hand flies up to her mouth to stifle the small gasp that escapes her.]

O-oh...

[She certainly doesn't want to get eaten by any wolf today, but.... that's awfully harsh. And maybe a little too far off from the original.]

Is it okay to do that? Change the ending?

[ahmagawd]

[ She turns her eyes towards the girl, her stare as cold as before. Is she... questioning her?

A frown appears on Ahmanet's lips. ]

The ending... is it not... to keep this building standing? [ Now, her tone may be harsh, but there's some bit of doubt in her voice. She doesn't exactly know these nursery rhymes or stories. They were after her time, so to speak. And honestly she doesn't know if they have to followed exactly. ]

[her_rose_is_red]

[Now when her eyes widen it's simple surprise. It had never occurred to her that there might be people who didn't know the story.]

Well... the wolf can't blow down the third house. 'Cause it's made of bricks. But they don't kill the wolf.

[The version she knows maaay be from a certain famous cartoon since there are actually plenty of versions where they do kill the wolf.]

He tries to climb down the chimney and gets burned by the fire. Then he... runs away.

[And the pigs sing a little song. But probably that part isn't necessary.]

[ahmagawd]

[ For all intents and purposes, she does to seem to be sincerely listening to Ib's recanting of the tale. But at the end of it, Ahmanet's lips only twist into an bored smirk. ] There is nothing... to stop the wolf from returning once more.

[ She lets the blinds close, casting her in shadow as she backs away from the window. And then with a definitive tone, she says: ] No, child, we will kill it. [ DECISION HAS BEEN MADE, NO TAKE BACKS. ]

[her_rose_is_red]

[She winces a little .Fighting the wolf sounds scary. And killing sounds.... sort of mean. But on the heels of that thought comes another realization.]

Um, but once the wolf leaves, the story is over. So...

[She frowns, trying to puzzle out exactly how this fixing stories thing works.]

Can he come back? Won't we be out of this story by then?

[ahmagawd]

[ She brings her hands up to either side of her hips, staring down at the girl. ]

If he comes back after we kill him [ Stressing that "after we kill" part, her voice as raspy as sand. ] ....then we will not be concerned.

[ She smiles, but shows no teeth. ] But interested.

[ red - c ]

[rokubro]

[No need to fear, Little Red, for the Huntsman is here.]

That's how it's supposed to go. But don't worry—if the wolf managed to do that, I'd cut him up before he could even get one foot in.

[...Yes that is exactly the reassuring words he should give to a small, young girl... And he has such a cheerful smile about it.]

Re: [ red - c ]

[her_rose_is_red]

[It may be a certain connection between essences from the same story. Or maybe it's the reassuring smile and shaggy haircut that hides one eye. Whatever it is, something about his presence is comforting and she offers a tiny smile of her own.]

You're really brave.

[Ib is too, but lately wolves have seemed.... scarier than they used to be. Even ones from storybooks.

Actually? Especially ones from storybooks. Although she's certainly glad to someone there who can handle the wolf, she does feel like she should point out one thing.]

But I don't think the wolf dies in this story...

[At least, not in the version she knows.]

[rokubro]

[Just as Ib seems to have a greater fear for wolves, Rokurou has an increased distaste and willingness to hunt them down. Then again, he's always more than happy to have an excuse to fight something, no matter what they are. Such is the true nature of the war daemon.]

Oh, I know. Doesn't mean I can't carve out an ear or a tail to teach them a lesson. [And another, if a little, dangerous grin before he chuckles.] Buut in this case, you really don't have too much to worry about it. I'm pretty sure it's another one of us playing the part.

[her_rose_is_red]

[Carving out an ear or tail seems a little mean, even for a wolf. But maybe he's joking?

Sooomething in his grin tells her he's not, and she almost feels bad for the wolf. Almost.

But it hadn't occurred to her that the 'wolf' was just going to be someone they knew though. That bring a smile and a small sigh of relief.]

Oh! You're right. It probably won't be a real wolf.

[Which makes the whole thing much less scary.]

[rokubro]

[Half-joking, half-serious. Honestly he shouldn't be saying such things, but he's having a little fun.]

Exactly. Besides, this is the house that's supposed to remain standing, but if something goes wrong—that's why I'm here. [To help protect the little piggy! Who just happens to be the Red Riding Hood of his story thing.]

So instead of thinking about the wolf and since we're waiting here, anyway—how about we do something to pass the time. Like talk or play a game or something.