forgottentales_ooc | Test Drive: October 2018

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.

§ 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.

§ 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Honestly, when the book came to Kotori late at night, she thought it was a weird stress dream from staying up too late studying. She’s still not entirely convinced this ISN’T a dream, or at least her brain’s trying to tell her that to keep from breaking at the sudden realization that magic and superpowers are real and she got kidnapped to a totally different world. Still, the book had told her she has the power to make limitless food with this pot, so hopefully she doesn’t wake up before she gets to eat.]

Humpty Dumpty A

[Well, the wall in front of them is more like a large scattering of bricks than anything, but at least most of them are intact. This could be promising, if it weren’t for the bricks somehow falling down every time they’re set more than two high, no matter how well balanced.]

Um... the wall only needs to last until we make Humpty Dumpty fall off it, right? [She holds out the clay pot she’s been carrying.] This pot’s supposed to make porridge. If it’s thick enough... maybe we could use that to help the bricks stick together?

Little Miss Muffet A

[Oh geez, this girl’s really upset isn’t she? Not that Kotori can blame her about the spider bit, she’d be a bit cranky too if she had to be scared away from her food like that all the time. Come on now, what would Shinobu-chan do with her siblings, or Inuzuka-sensei with his daughter?

She crouches down next to the tuffet, her voice unsure but warm.]

Um, Muffet-chan? I’m sorry you’re feeling frustrated about your story. I know it’s no fun being scared, especially when you’re eating, and we have to fix this story so your home can get better. But maybe... maybe we can try to make it so it’s a nicer story? One you’ll like with tasty food and a spider that isn’t so scary. Will you let us help you, please?

The Three Little Pigs B

[When Kotori saw the Draft, she thought it was completely empty. But then as she’s trying to find some wood for the stick house (and maybe some wild berries for a snack), she hears a growl behind her, and when she turns around, she freezes. One, two, three Blot wolves, hunched back gob of ink shifting on two legs with dragging claws, and hungry eyes. And there’s a tree to Kotori’s back.]

K— ... KYAAAAAAAAA!!!

[She shrieks as the wolves lunge forward trying to back up, kick them away, almost swinging to strike one with her pot before moving to keep it out of their grasp. She needs to keep it safe, but no no no no NO she doesn’t want to be cut up and eaten either!]

Wildcard

[Got an idea not listed above? Feel free to plot with me on Plurk or PM Kotori’s journal! Also first time playing and icons under construction, so excuse those in the mean time please.]

[DID SOMEONE CRY WOLF?? Okay, not exactly. But he was patrolling nearby after sensing the presence of something out here when he hears the scream. Immediately his daemon eye flashes red, picking out the trail and he runs to the source.

Seeing the wolves, a sudden flare of hatred swells within him—a feeling he's grown to recognize and accept as from the essence he inherited—and he immediately draws his swords. He throws both of his short swords, each one targeting a separate wolf to impale them in the back. This was mostly to distract them and catch their attention. The real fight is when he reaches back and draws his greatsword, using Hurricane Thrust to suddenly cover the remaining distance to strike. The large blade swings out, slashing at all three in a wide arc. Not enough to destroy them, but the force behind the swing releases such a tremendous force that it knocks them to the ground.]

Get back, I got this!

[The blades flying through the air make Kotori flinch even harder than the wolves had, shuddering and squeezing her eyes shut, but then... a man shouts for her to get back, and after trying and failing to press herself more against the tree before she ducks behind it instead, ducking down and clutching the clay pot tight. Anything to get away from those knives and wolves.]

[Don't think of the swords as knives, just—okay, yeah they're basically giant knives. At least he's now using just the greatsword, so that might be a little better...? Maybe...?

Anyway.

She'll mostly just hear rather than see as Rokurou gets to work on the wolves, the long blade cutting deep into them as he swings the blade, feet never keeping still as he moves from one to the next and not minding the splatter of black ink-like substance.

Fortunately these wolves seem to be more willing to run than stay and fight, so although he takes down two, the third manages to limp away. For a moment he moves to go after it, that hatred pounding in his ears, but he still has enough reason to remember that there's someone else still here. So although his daemon eye pulses bright red, he closes it, takes a breath, and it dims back to normal.

Swinging out the blade to clear of it the blot, he sheathes the sword behind his back before reaching down to pick up the other two. He's sustained a few injuries, but nothing he really cares too much about.]

Hey, it's safe to come out now.

[It’s only when Rokurou gives the okay that she moves, barely opening her eyes as she rounds the tree... and then flinching again at the sight of the shortswords, eyes shut tight and lowered to the ground, a slight tremor running through her whole body.]

Th-th-thank you...

[He happens to catch the flinch and doesn't need to really see to sense her nervousness. But he has yet to make the real connection why. Mostly because, well. There might not be any blood, but this is still a pretty gruesome scene and he's covered in black blot substance.

Unfortunately there's not much he can do about it. But after he sheathes his swords, he tries to give her a reassuring look and keep a friendly countenance.]

No problem. But you're not hurt are you?

[Yeah, gore is still gore, and gore from cuts is the WORST. She peaks one eye open... then relaxes ever so slightly at seeing the shortswords are gone. It’s still not a pretty sight, and she hasn’t noticed his eye covered by bangs yet, but at least the blades literally designed to cut people are gone.]

Ah... J-just a few scratches, I think.

[Nothing really hurts yet, but she’s afraid to look... Sure enough there are some cuts on her legs, shallow and thin but still bleeding nicely. But at the moment she bends at the waist in a deep bow, the pot still clutched tightly to her stomach with both hands.]

Thank you for saving my life! I’m sorry for troubling you!

[Would that work, was that polite enough? Aside from the knife incident when she was little, she’s never been in danger like that, and even then her parents had helped and... well, she tries not to think about it too much.]

[Man, he should try and see if he can magically clean himself or something with his new essence powers. But is there anything related to the Huntsman for that...? Maaan does he have to go the library and have to read to find clues—

Anyway. First aid healing magic would probably be another thing to try and learn, but at least he can do some basic medical aid the traditional way. Or those magic potion thingies.]

Like I said, it's no problem—and definitely no trouble. [Just a dismissive wave of his hand as he steps towards her.] Let's get you fixed up before we head back.

Test Drive: October 2018

Kotori Iida | Sweetness & Lightning | Sweet Porridge Girl

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