August 2016 Plotting Post

[undergroundmods]

August 2016
Welcome to your August plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. There's lots of OOC stuff going on with the next faction reward and How's My Driving posts around mid-month. Plus, look out for the next test drive meme! That's coming your way towards the end of the month.

Check out the calendar for a quick summary of when things are happening. You can also check the game timeline to see what has happened in the game so far.

Factions
Raymond Harris's reign of terror proves to have serious consequences for the Islington Nest, as by the end of July the Night Council officially remove him from his seat and declare all Islington vampires outcast from the Council. This means that vampires belonging to the Islington Nest are no longer off-limits to hunters. Having lost their formal protection, they are free game to any vampire hunter. Rumours of a schism within the Nest begin to take hold, as many vampires are unhappy with losing their rights on the Council and with Raymond's anarchic style of leadership.

Having purged the Night Council of all Islington vampires, Sylvia Redbright orders her Guardians and relevant staff at the Redbright Institute to actively go out and hunt down rogue vampires, even linking up with the Hillingdon Clan where necessary.

Without a Vampire Representative, the Night Council is one short of their five required seats and this month they will be looking to appoint that missing role. The likelihood is that this seat will be filled by a Daybreak witch unless a convincing alternative argument can be made. The seat will be filled by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Raymond isn't the type to simply accept the Night Council's decision. Having been rejected by the Council, he then claims that the Islington Nest operates outside of the Council's jurisdiction. But that's not all. Starting from the beginning of August, Raymond will declare himself the Other Mayor of London and seek out potential allies from Circle Midnight and the Seelie/Unseelie Court to create a new rival Night Council. According to him, the legitimacy of the current Night Council no longer stands. A new regime must take its place.

The question is, will any other factions join him?

Territories
The Seelie/Unseelie Court launched an attack on Lewisham at the end of July but it was a hit and run affair, and the Islington Nest maintained control of their territory. Circle Daybreak is the most powerful faction in the city, with eight territories. See the Territories page for more information.

If your faction would like to claim a new territory, please comment to the appropriate thread. Players will then have three days from the date and time of the initial claim to sign up for the conflict. Anyone can sign up, but please only volunteer your character if they are a member of a faction involved in the conflict or they have IC reasons to actively help out. Please do not volunteer if you won't be able to participate in the plot.

If the outcome of the conflict is not already guaranteed, I will then look at the sign-ups list to calculate which faction will emerge victorious. It is up to players to plan and play out the actual conflict itself. If you comment to claim a territory, then you should also take the lead in planning and organizing it.

Minions
The following lucky minions will be promoted this month:

James Park | Werewolf, East End Pack | Level 1
‣ A rich frat boy who dropped out of university after being turned last year.

Edith Blatherwick | Werewolf, East End Pack | Level 1
‣ A nice old lady who really likes cats.

Peter Lewis | Fae, Hillingdon Clan | Level 1
‣ A fae who had been summoned and enslaved by a witch for some years. After getting free of her (and let's say she didn't let him off lightly) he found his old position in the court tiring and thus he defected to Hillingdon, where at least people mostly leave him alone.

Jessica White | Human, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ A human ally who hangs around for the purposes of providing a willing meal. She thinks vampires are super cool and super hot and most of them keep her around for the groupie factor more than anything else.

Thom Evans | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ An American, Thom came to London to settle a business debt and fell into a rough way with a local vampire. Unable to face his family after that, Thom settled in for the long haul as the token London vampire cowboy.

Iona | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ One of the oldest vampires in the city, she might have once been a formidable foe but now she cares little for your petty dramas. As far as she is concerned, her cats are the only thing left for her in this world, and while you may laugh, god save you if you do so to her face.

Terrance Richards | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ A smart-thinking vampire who makes a living working night shifts on various security details. The fact that they call it the graveyard shift gives him no end of amusement.

Matthew Jones | Meta Human, Redbright Institute | Level 1
‣ An energetic student with the power of persuasion. Despite possessing this very dangerous ability, he strives to be a good person.

These minions will decide to leave town this month:

Rita Lee | Witch, Circle Midnight | Level 2
‣ Spunky, gifted, and outspoken, Rita is a recent convert from Circle Daybreak.

Nicholas Salman | Human, East End Pack | Level 1
‣ Quiet, shy, and doing everything in his power to avoid activating the werewolf curse he got last year.

Karen Rogers | Fae, Hillingdon Clan | Level 1
‣ A fae with an impressive art for disguising herself. Karen (if that's even her real name) is often used as a spy or undercover agent for Hillingdon. She's glad to take on the challenge, as she thinks it's fun to trick humans – not even Hillingdon is safe from her pranks.

William Hughes | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ A vampire who enjoyed his life in the 1850s and is seemingly stuck in that decade. He writes a lot of awful poetry that he will try to inflict on any poor soul who happens by, which one must pay keen attention to or else he gets VERY upset.

Bianca Aster | Witch, Redbright Institute | Level 2
‣ A young woman whose favourite subjects are agriculture and herbology. Peppy and cheerful, she's part of many organisations in the school and is popular due to her looks and her attitude.

And these less fortunate minions will sadly die this month:

Adriana Miller | Werewolf, East End Pack | Level 1
‣ Turned as the result of an accidental attack. Bitter and angry, she is always looking for a fight.

Factions may decide how and when their minions die, leave town or receive a promotion. Feel free to work these developments into any of this month's plots.

Drops
The following characters will be leaving this month:

Alexandra Udinov | East End Pack | facethewolves | Left town 15/7/16

Their faction may decide the exact details of how characters leave and incorporate their exit into their plots if they wish.

Events

1st August – LAMMAS. A day of celebration for witches, with rites and offerings to the summer harvest. All members of the supernatural community are encouraged to donate a gift to their local coven. In the spirit of generosity, witches may grant favours in return for an offering.

5th August – GUARDIAN NOMINATIONS. Every six months the supernatural communities of London are invited to nominate potential Guardian candidates to join the Night Council. The Council members decide which Guardians to accept.

6th August – OTHER MAYOR OF LONDON.* Raymond Harris has officially declared himself the Other Mayor of London and what better way to celebrate than to throw an all-night party? As well as vampires, guests from Circle Midnight and the Seelie/Unseelie Courts are also invited. The event will be held at the Angelo hotel in Islington, courtesy of Cesare Borgia.

18th August – FULL MOON. Werewolves, it's that time of the month! Will you chain yourself up or spend the night in a cage? Roam wild in the London parks? Or perhaps find a witch to make you a wolfsbane potion. Whatever you choose, better be prepared.

12th August – GUARDIAN INITIATION.* The chosen Guardians will attend an initiation ceremony at Westminster, where they will be officially brought into the fold.

28th-29th August – NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL. London's biggest party, the Caribbean-themed Notting Hill Carnival takes place over the August bank holiday weekend.

*There will be a mod-posted log for these events.

Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:

1) There is a bounty on a group of rogue vampires. They have taken to performing a live show where human victims are sacrificed in front of an unsuspecting audience, who think the victims are actors. Reward: £1500
2) You encounter a fae who asks you to bring him a child for his wife. He will curse you if you fail.
3) You hear voices in your head telling you to kill someone you love. Someone has cast a rather malicious spell on you.
4) You sign up for a supernatural blind date. Turns out your date is a succubus...

About plots and events
• You may claim one plot prompt per month.
• You can also run your own plots based on the events listed above, or create your own.
• If you claim a plot, then you also volunteer to take the lead OOCly i.e. planning and organizing with other players, deciding on the outcome, setting a timeline etc.
• Once you have claimed a plot, you should introduce it ICly within the next month.
• Plots may not be entirely handwaved. You may handwave some of the plot, but you should play out at least part of it.
• Some plots will require NPCs as well as player characters to fill different roles. Please feel free to make up and play the NPCs yourselves.
• Plots are generally open-ended enough that you can make them big or small. It is up to the player who claims the plot to decide how they would like to handle it. You may want to do open sign-ups for your plot and specify whether there is a limit on how many characters can participate.
• Plots can also be self-contained or form part of an ongoing storyline. Again, it is your choice on how you would like to handle it.
• Please feel free to integrate plots and events or join plots up where appropriate. For example, if you claim a plot that involves a murder, why not choose an event during which the murder could happen? As long as the mod and other players are aware of your plans, I'm happy to accommodate.
• Do not ask the mod to explain what the plot is and what your character should do or discover. That is up to you. These plot ideas are just that, ideas, and it is up to you to run with them and decide how and why these events are happening, what your characters are going to do about it, and what the consequences will be.
• You may ask the mod questions pertaining to game mythology, to check that what you are planning to do makes sense within the game world.
• This list is not meant to be limiting in any way! Player plots are also very welcome.
• If you have an idea for a player plot, please feel free to comment here and see if there is any interest. Run it by the mod first if you're unsure of anything.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[undergroundmods]

CLAIM A TERRITORY

[undergroundmods]

Comment here to claim a territory! Please complete the following:

Plot lead(s): Who is going to run this plot? This should be you, but you can also list any other players who will be co-running the plot with you.
Faction: The faction that is claiming the territory.
Territory claimed: The territory that you are making a move on. It must be adjacent to a territory that your faction already owns.
When this will happen: Give the timeline for your plot. This should be in the next month. If you haven't decided on an exact date yet, a rough approximation is fine.

And here is the same information in a handy form for you to fill out:

<b>Plot lead(s):</b> <b>Faction:</b> <b>Territory claimed:</b> <b>When this will happen:</b>

Once a claim has been posted, players should then reply to the comment and state the faction they are supporting to sign up. Please only sign up if you intend to participate in the plot.

Do not use this thread to start plotting. This thread is for claims and sign-ups only. Please start a separate thread or post to plot.

Re: CLAIM A TERRITORY

[emotioneater]

Plot lead(s): Shade
Faction: Islington Nest
Territory claimed: Greenwich
When this will happen: Aug. 10th

CLAIM A PLOT

[undergroundmods]

Comment here to claim a plot from the prompt list. Please complete the following:

Plot claimed: Which plot are you claiming?
Plot lead(s): Who is going to run this plot? This should be you, but you can also list any other players who will be co-running the plot with you.
When this will happen: Give the timeline for your plot. This should be in the next month. If you haven't decided on an exact date yet, a rough approximation is fine.

And here is the same information in a handy form for you to fill out:

<b>Plot claimed:</b> <b>Plot lead(s):</b> <b>When this will happen:</b>

Do not use this thread to start plotting. This thread is for claims only. Please start a separate thread or post to plot.

RUN A PLOT/EVENT

[undergroundmods]

Comment here if you are running your own player plot or event. This could be one of the events listed in the calendar. Please complete the following:

Plot/Event: What is your plot?
Plot lead(s): Who is going to run this plot? This should be you, but you can also list any other players who will be co-running the plot with you.
When this will happen: Give the timeline for your plot. This should be in the next month. If you haven't decided on an exact date yet, a rough approximation is fine.

And here is the same information in a handy form for you to fill out:

<b>Plot/Event:</b> <b>Plot lead(s):</b> <b>When this will happen:</b>

Do not use this thread to start plotting. This thread is for claims only. Please start a separate thread or post to plot.

[knightscode]

Plot/Event: Kidnapped by Vampires?!
Plot lead(s): Jack/Lance
When this will happen: 13~14th of Aug

Re: RUN A PLOT/EVENT

[dirtyredneck]

Plot/Event: Terrorizing the Night
Plot lead(s): Daryl Dixon
When this will happen:August 6th and into September

CR PLANNING

[undergroundmods]

Comment here to ask for and offer CR!

[constantprisoner]

As always I offer Sirius for CR. Whether it's Hillingdon shenanigans or causing some kind of trouble. I do hope to eventually start working with his overarching plot of finding out who framed him, but that will probably come later in August and likely moving into the fall.

Otherwise, yeah, I'm open for pretty much anything.

[roddy_reinigen]

I don't have too much planned this month. I'll probably do some more with the current suspicion of murder Roddy's under, and possibly wrap that up. Also, his birthday is on the 31st, so if anyone would like to celebrate it with him, I'd be up for it.

Thomas, in the mean time, doesn't have much in particular planned, though he's very unhappy with the state of things. He's completely disgusted with Raymond and anyone who follows him at the moment, but I don't have anything more specific than that.

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl's been in a poor mood in general since some shit happened to him mid-last month that had nothing to do with the Wild Hunt, but he's not lashing out at his own people. He's actually very focused on doing some real hunting - vampire hunting - something he's never been known for prior to this as he usually just focused on search and rescue or proper tracking for other people.

I'm open to any CR as I'm trying to get my head back into the game. Last month I think I burned myself out early on and just never quite recovered. So I'd like to say I'm sorry about that, too.

Become a Guardian! August 2016

[undergroundmods]

Comment here to nominate your characters to become Guardians!

Guardian nominations are officially submitted on 5th August. The Council members then decide which nominations to accept and the initiation ceremony for new Guardians will take place on 12th August. Your character can be nominated as a Guardian if they meet the following criteria:

- Your character is an adult.
- Your character is level 2 or above, or they're at level 1 and you can move them up to level 2 at the next activity check.
- You have or will have three points to spend on joining a new faction at the next activity check.
- If your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, Circle Daybreak, Hillingdon Clan, or a werewolf in the East End Pack, they can sign up to be a Guardian and remain part of their home faction.
- If your character is a member of Circle Midnight, Islington Nest, the Seelie/Unseelie Court or a non-werewolf in the East End Pack, they must renounce their faction when they join the Night Council.

Interested? Fill in the form below:

<b>Name:</b> Firstname Lastname (<user name="journalname">) <b>Age:</b> <b>Species:</b> <b>Faction(s):</b> The factions your character currently belongs to. <b>Skills:</b> What skills would your character bring to their role as a Guardian? <b>Moral compass:</b> Does your character have one? Will they see this role as a champion of justice or will they relish in punishing anyone they don't like? How upset will they be if required to do morally questionable things?

You have until 6th August 20:00 GMT+1 to submit your character. ICly, these nominations will be submitted to the Night Council on 5th August. This will be hand-waved, and I will approve the nominations OOCly. If you'd like more information on what becoming a Guardian involves, the last Guardian nominations post has more details! Or you can ask me questions in this post.

GREENWICH TERRITORY CLAIM

[emotioneater]

So, the reasoning Cooper will have behind this is that he's going to be a little shaken up from Islington losing their seat on the Night Council. Vampires are vulnerable to hunters now, so he's going to want the Nest to make a stand and show that they can't be pushed around. Rather than going after Night Council territory and pissing them off even further, something that he knows would have lasting repercussions, he figures East End Pack territory will show to everyone that the Nest still has teeth.

His attack plan is simple and straightforward, much like the vampire himself. Hit them hard and fast with all the firepower that the Nest can muster before the wolves can get a coordinated defense strategy going on.

Other Mayor of London and other plots

[brightwitch]

Some information about the upcoming event tomorrow! Feel free to plot here.

Other Mayor of London
This event is open to everyone! Yes, even Islington's enemies. Your treatment will vary depending on who you are and which faction you belong to:

- Members of the Islington Nest are expected to support Raymond. This party is a show of unity as much as anything else and Raymond's henchmen will be listening for any whispers of treachery. More importantly, Islington players, it's your job to schmooze. Raymond expects you to actively recruit people as described in the points below. You will be speaking on his behalf. (He'll be there too but he can't talk to everyone.)
- Any vampires who are not members of the nest will be sweet-talked in an attempt to get them to join.
- Circle Midnight witches are invited as potential allies. Raymond thinks they should team up. For this reason Abigail Widdowson will be attending. Circle Midnight players, I will leave it up to you to decide whether you want to take Raymond up on this offer, which in effect means whether Abigail will play ball.
- The Seelie/Unseelie Court are also invited as potential allies. Even after they just attacked Lewisham, Raymond is willing to extend the hand of friendship which I'm sure you will agree is extremely generous of him. He knows the fae aren't fans of the current Night Council and he hopes to tempt them into joining his alternative Council if and when he sets it up. Seelie/Unseelie players, it is again up to you whether you take him up on this offer.
- Redbright and Circle Daybreak are not invited, but will be allowed in small numbers with the aim of either 1) persuading them to abandon their faction and ally with Islington or 2) terrifying them with a show of just how confident Raymond is. 2 is probably more likely.
- No more than five werewolves and shapeshifters will be admitted in total, and the sole purpose here is to intimidate them. Raymond wants them to return home with their tails between their legs, awed by the splendour and dominance of the vampires.

Several characters are plotting Raymond's downfall at the moment and I encourage you to do so! My only caveat is that he can't die yet. Rather than have a revolving door of NPC vampires, I think it makes more sense to wait until we have a player character vampire ready to take Raymond's place.

The vacant Night Council seat
Unless anyone wants to pitch an alternative idea, my default plan at the moment is that Dee (a Circle Daybreak witch) will return to the Night Council by the end of the month. She was previously the Vice President and would work as a temporary stop gap while we see how this plot develops.

Thoughts/comments/questions welcome! Where we go with this depends entirely on how you guys want to take it forward.

[falsify]

Eames, THE NEW LORD OF AUTUMN will be there, looking about 10 years older than usual but lbr it's gonna take about a week before he starts looking bad. He's pretty much there to tell the vampires to fuck off and let them know that shit is real now they don't have the Council to hide behind anymore.

He's gonna be a dick but not especially hostile. He will, however, fight any and all vampires if he has to.

LONG TERM he will be petitioning the Council for that seat to become a Fae seat, but that's not gonna be for a while so if someone else wants to slip in there and get his sideeye I am all about it.

[outstandingbalance]

It seems reasonable to me to assume that Natasha, being a vampire but aligned with Redbright, might be there to keep an eye on the situation and fending off attempts to flip her?

Mostly I think she'd keep her ears open and be increeedibly noncommittal.

Re: Other Mayor of London and other plots

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl's gonna set up shop outside the venue and snipe known Islington vamps leaving the party starting about two am. He'll be fully loaded with the proper crossbow bolts to hit them from about 100yards out. He'll take down as many as he can before cutting out and picking a couple targets to stalk until morning and try to force at least one of them to stay out through sunrise and die a horrible death.

He is not happy about being put in those hunter games last month.

[emotioneater]

Cooper will be attending with Nancy as his date, and while he's outwardly going to be doing as Raymond asks, those who know him well will notice a certain simmering anger and resentment present in some of his comments. There won't be anything outright questioning Harris' leadership, but Cooper is reaching his limits of what he can take fast.

That being said, he'll be quite polite to Circle Midnight and unaffiliated vampires. Fae, on the other hand, will be getting frosty glares.

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

Thomas will be attending, and trying to behave despite his growing disgust with Raymond and his lackies. That said, he'll still be friendly with the groups they're trying to woo, less because he wants them on Raymond's side, more because he wants to show any other factions that not all vampires have gone crazy.

[stauncherhearted]

Circle Midnight Abigail will be interested in using Islington as attack dogs to get around the non-aggression agreement with Sylvia, and will be discussing this with Raymond.



Nancy, meanwhile, will be at the event on the arm of Cooper and not working for once! She's excited, and won't be doing much politicking aside from speaking with Abby here and there. Mostly she'll just be her charming self and an adoring girlfriend.

[freelife]

Evie will be attending, because it's not a fancy get-together if an Assassin isn't there, okay okay. She'll be, outwardly, neutral on Raymond, allowing other vampires to bend her ear. Inwardly, this guy has got to go, but now isn't the time or the place for it. She'll be keeping an ear to the ground, too, for all sorts of rumors.

[reticence]

Jean-Claude will be attending OSTENSIBLY to support his leader as he should but also he is there to represent himself as a sane alternative and gain more to his side where he can >>

[longterm]

Cesare is here to party and play host. He is hella team Raymond for now. Schmoozing and gloating is a go.

PLOT: VAMPIRE KIDNAPPING

[knightscode]

KIDNAPPED BY VAMPIRES?! CHAPTER 1 PLS R&R

I'm kidding (or am I?) BUT: Lancelot has, unfortunately, been a little bit of a problem for Islington. He took territory from them, then stopped them getting it back! Not only that, he's a lackey for that stubborn Night Council President.

Which means, after his lavish party and turn out as The Other Mayor of London, Raymond is going to send around the heavies to gently remove Lancelot and Deal With Him. (13th~14th of Aug is pencilled for this)

This is decidedly unpleasant!

Faolan will notice quickly because he was meant to actually be hanging out with Lance but accidentally stood him out by getting engrossed in paperwork, which means Lancelot won't answer when he guiltily tries to get hold of him to apologise.

However, if anyone else wants to notice, to help investigate his vanishing, or if any vamps want to be distantly aware of this nasty plot do let me know!

Lancelot's dog will be on hand to play the role of Lassie.

[reticence]

YES so faolan will have accidentally blown lancelot off because he was too engrossed in trying to figure out a way to deal with these vampires, and then emerge to find that lancelot has GONE MISSING. since lancelot always talks to him, even when faolan is being an idiot, faolan will definitely be able to tell that Something Is Wrong.

i'm a little fuzzy on the details of how he connects the dots between "LANCE IS MISSING" and "THE VAMPIRES DID IT KILL THEM" -- this is definitely where i could use the help from anyone else who wants to volunteer! maybe a vampire tipoff? someone who has heard what raymond planned and doesn't agree with it?

faolan will literally being THROWING A FIT about this, possibly contacting anyone he can think of that lancelot knows to see if they've seen/heard from him, so if you need an in that could certainly be it? or maybe if you're a member of hillingdon, you just see faolan FLIPPING HIS LID and decide that it's best to help lest he literally go off his gourd or something haha?

once they find out who took him and where he's being held, faolan is going to go in RAMBO STYLE with his trusty doggy friend to help him in the rescue.

as a note, ostensibly, on the VAMPIRE side of things and for JC especially, this fiasco and the fallout from it could possibly act as The Last Straw to get him to take that step to really oppose raymond. JUST A HEADS UP!!

EDIT: also you can better believe that once this is all over HILLINGDON WILL BE STEPPING UP THEIR GAME. FAOLAN WANTS THOSE VAMPIRES DEAD.

Terrorizing the Night

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl will be out several times each week picking a vampire at random to hunt and harass between the hours of 4AM and Dawn, with the intention of forcing them to stay outside past dawn and be killed by the rising sun rather than kill them directly.

If you'd like to get involved in this - either as someone who's figured out what he's doing through the rumor mill and wants to help, or as a potential victim of his hunts - go for it. There is no requirement that he's successful in killing any of his victims. He'll be happy if he does, but it's more about making them suffer as much as he and the other shapeshifters/werewolves did during the July forced cage matches.

Re: Terrorizing the Night

[loveconquersdinosaurs]

After his own night of this, Thomas will probably want to find Daryl and put a stop to this.