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November 2016 Plotting Post

November 2016
Welcome to your November plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. First up, a couple of updates to the game following last month's HMD post. There is now a dedicated post for submitting new characters to the Elites list! You can also use this post to submit any updates to the existing profiles. Secondly, it is now possible to apply for up to two characters from the same canon. Thanks to everyone who gave their feedback!

And finally, we just have one OOC event coming up this month: the next faction reward. 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
As the nights darken and the days shorten, the Islington Nest continues to increase its power, having taken over the territory of Southwark. A seismic change has overtaken the Nest, as its leader Raymond was finally deposed by Jean-Claude on the night of Halloween. The whole city may breathe a collective sigh of relief following Raymond's demise, but it remains to be seen what kind of leader Jean-Claude will prove to be.

Meanwhile, a new leader of the East End Pack will emerge this month, determined to make their mark. This month's full moon will see the first Howling or gathering of wolves for many years, the werewolves emboldened by the lack of vampire representation on the Night Council which would have previously discouraged such gatherings.

Finally, November is a month of restless spirits. As the winter chill increases, so does the power of the Unseelie Court. There are also more ghost sightings than usual this month, prompting the Night Council to carry out its annual ghost purge.

Territories
The Islington Nest have taken Southwark from Circle Daybreak, increasing their influence to six territories. Circle Daybreak is the most powerful faction in the city, with seven 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:

Kari Morrow | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ Still a relatively young vampire, by the standards of the nest. Heavily into the goth scene in the eighties, imagine her astonishment when she found out that the vampire she had been roleplaying with wasn't actually roleplaying at all.

These minions will decide to leave town this month:

Jeremy Berger | Werewolf, East End Pack | Level 2
‣ Pessimistic. Strives to live in accordance with Night Council law and observe instead of act.

Bonnie Crawford | Werewolf, East End Pack | Level 2
‣ A born werewolf who is proud of her heritage and passionate about improving werewolves' standing in the city.

Nikolai Kostin | Witch, Redbright Institute | Level 2
‣ A transfer student who hails from Russia. Due to being mute and being a talented musician, the serious young man uses his beloved violin to cast his spells.

And these less fortunate minions will sadly die this month:

Sara McKinnon | Fae, Unseelie Court | Level 2
‣ A young and temperamental kelpie. She'll fight anyone at any time in any place.

Corrin Patil | Meta Human, Unseelie Court | Level 1
‣ A Classics student who fell into the Other Realm via her intense studies. She serves as a Lady's knight in exchange for knowledge.

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:

Connor Walsh | East End Pack | iustitiae | Stays in town

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

Events

4th-25th November – GHOST BUSTING. The aftermath of Samhain always leads to increased ghostly and other spirit activity. The Night Council therefore carry out a clean-up operation in November, which is informally known as ghost busting although many of the apparent spirits they drive out are actually fae. Hunters, witches, mediums and exorcists of all kinds are encouraged to respond to reports of local hauntings and other strange activity. There is mercy in helping ghosts to pass on this month: witches know that the Night of the Crossroads is coming, and no one wants to be hunted by the forces that emerge that night.

5th November – BONFIRE NIGHT.* A long-standing tradition in the UK, Bonfire Night commemorates that time back in 1605 when some guy tried to blow something up. Watch out for the many spectacular firework displays and bonfires around the city. It's always a night to remember.

14th November – FULL MOON / THE HOWLING. Werewolves, it's that time of the month! Tonight all werewolves of the East End Pack will be invited to join the Howling, a gathering of werewolves in wolf form which takes place in Epping Forest. Wolves are encouraged to embrace their wild natures, to run and to hunt, and to strengthen their bonds. Residents in nearby towns may hear howls during the night...

30th November – NIGHT OF THE CROSSROADS. On this night the Men with Sticks and Rope emerge from the dark to take all those who have evaded their grasp. Ghosts beware: this is a time of death and a time of change. For witches, the night's magic makes it easier to call upon or banish spirits and to walk among the dead.

*This event will be incorporated into this month's test drive meme.

Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:

1) There is a bounty on a rogue shapeshifter who made an assassination attempt on their own clan leader. Reward: £1000
2) Someone is digging up the graves of werewolves in order to steal their teeth and extract the venom.
3) A ghost from the Cross Bones Graveyard has awoken to possess an unsuspecting visitor.
4) You kill someone and they come back as a ghost to haunt you. Oops.

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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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:

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.

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:

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

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:

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

Comment here to ask for and offer CR!

OKAY SO I started this conversation on plurk but so that I can organize my thoughts a bit better and be able to gather everyone together in one place as well! Jean-Claude is planning his final move on Raymond at the Duke's Halloween Rave. On one hand, it's a rave -- party time!! -- and Raymond will be there! On the other hand, it's not going to end so well for him.

What we really need to do is narrow down the roles of all involved and hash out how everyone might be involved. For Jean-Claude's role himself, it's important in the eyes of the rest of the vampires of the nest that he be the one to usurp/off Raymond directly. It's a sign of power, and if he has his underlings do it for him then it won't be a sign of HIS OWN power so much as a sign of his networking skills. So for those who want to be a part of this, I need to know the following: What characters are interested in being a part of Raymond's death? What skills those characters will bring to the table here? Do you know what sort of a role you want your character to play? Let's talk!!!

Thomas would be interested in helping out. His skills involve being pretty, fitting in at a party, and he's great at being distracting. He's less likely to want to directly fight someone that's as much older than him as Harris is, but he'd be up for smuggling in supplies or being a distraction.

Thomas also owns a gun and a witch's amulet, though I'm not sure if either of these would come in to play.

Edited 2016-10-29 00:57 (UTC)

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT so Evie was super down for murder, bUT recognizes that JC should be the one to do it, it makes sense.

Anyway, she brings a lot of things to the table. Weapons (all), stealth, Assassin training, blithering sarcasm.

But she really wants to be involved.

Plot lead(s): Cesare Borgia
Faction: Islington Nest
Territory claimed: Newham
When this will happen: After the death of Raymond Harris. c8

With Harris dead, Cesare fears that Islington Nest might look a bit vulnerable to attack. Cesare would like to make it very clear that isn't the case. Therefore, territory claim!

Natasha is a spy and assassin, though the first one might be more useful in this case!

She's also part of Redbright which might be useful. She'd be willing to risk getting in trouble for this, because stablizing the local vampire nest and keeping the peace on that front is an incredibly high priority for her.

I don't know what role would be best for her, but she's more than willing to do what she can.

THERE MAY BE SOME CONTENTION because Eames really wants to kill Raymond himself. He'd probably concede it's better for JC to do it, but on the other hand he wants that vampire dead and he wants it to be unfast and he wants to look him in the eye when it happens.

I did joke also about Eames having himself ~brought to Harris~ by someone in The Loop on plurk, so if that'd be in any way useful. Eyyyy

Signed in a Liadan but this is obviously about Caroline!

So, if there is something Caroline could do, she is willing to do it. The only thing I can really think of for her would be keeping an eye on things, though if there is something else, I am open to it.

Evie will be supporting.

Daryl is in for killing vampires when the showdown happens. He'll need help getting inside and into position, but when JC goes to confront harris and start the fight/kill fest, he'll be ready with a rain arrows for those on harris' side. as long as JC sweet-talks him into it :P

Edited 2016-10-29 03:22 (UTC)

So, now that Sirius is mostly free to go and do what he wants, despite public opinion (not that that's ever really bothered him before), He's probably going to be looking into finding the supposed informant who had information for him, which was the initial reason he broke out of prison. Said informant unfortunately buggered off before he got there, leading to where we are now. Any other clues will also be welcome.

I'm hoping to have an open post up this weekend to kick that off, along with a few extra prompts.

As always, I'm open to any other shenanigans that may also occur or someone feels that he should be involved in. He'll be quietly cheering the bringing down of Raymond Harris from the sidelines.

OPPOSING.

damn dem vamps.

Kyle wants to oppose the Newham claim (and any other Islington extension) and will encourage Hillingdon to join him. Because the attempt to take the faction sounds like it'll be more spontaneous than planned, there won't be super efforts going into it, but he'll try to recruit his existing CR and other members of Hillingdon.

I have an idea for a territory claim, but I'm not sure how feasible it is with the current claiming system and wanted to discuss it before I do anything formal with it.

Daryl is eyeing one of Daybreak territories, but he doesn't want to take over 'forcefully' or kick anyone out of their homes. But he doesn't believe Daybreak can protect those living within the territory (or in the case of non-witches, may not be willing to take as much effort to do so) based on the amount of people attacked/kidnapped by vampires over the summer across london and in that territory in particular.

Basically, instead of doing anything with formal violence, he'd like to do a 'quiet' takeover where Hillingdon just kind of takes control of patrolling and being the people others look to for protection and maintaining rules/order in the territory and Daybreak wakes up one morning to realize they aren't seen as in charge anymore (which would be the formal 'date' of the takeover, I would guess) and Hillingdon is.

I'm thinking counter-claims could come in the form of people from Daybreak/Daybreak allies finding it odd that Hillingdon is around and picking up their own patrols/watching the territory. And the faction with the most overall support 'wins' in the end the same as claim rules currently allow.

Would this be feasible?

With a bit of thought and planning, I think this would be feasible. It might require some kind of catalyst where there's an attack on the community and Hillingdon swoop in as heroes to help out and then never leave.

Note that Daybreak territories ban fae and have a spell barrier that prevents movement to and from the Other Realm. Hillingdon would need to make a decision about whether or not to keep this, and that could provoke some resistance from the local covens. It could be at that point that it becomes clear who is really in charge.

Hillingdon has fae members so they'd definitely want to drop those. I like the idea of that being the point when it shows who has the power and who doesn't. I will put more thought into this. Thanks for the suggestions!

Follow up!

Could this idea be used to make a territory Neutral via a plot, rather than a Territory Claim?

Not as written above. There would have to be a follow-up plot where Hillingdon released the territory after winning it. That would of course leave it open for others to claim.

JOSS IS BACK and he's ready to...give snarky commentary in the background. And also kill people.

Joss already told JC he'd support him, but not openly. He'll be around to stake any underlings of Raymond's who look like they're going to get in JC's way and also provide material and emotional support. He's also going to try to position himself as being one of JC's right hand guys under the new regime, since brownie points go a long way towards his goal of finally getting his damn daylight jewelry back again.

Cooper is all for helping! I'm thinking perhaps the minions of the nest can be used somehow idk? Cooper has basically taken on the task of watching over the younger vamps and humans being used as bloodbags, so they could help with Harris' underlings.

OPPOSING because fuck vampires

DEFENDING D:

Gwen opposes in support of East End.

Despite mustering their defences, the East End Pack are unable to prevail against the overwhelming power of the Islington Nest, and so Islington continues to expand its influence over London.

I skipped this initially because I wasn't really sure how I could get Kyle involved, but I'm wondering if it's possible to have him stumble onto the building, where he could theoretically recognize Daryl, Natasha, Caroline, Cooper, or someone? I'd like to be involved but don't know the best way to go about it.

HEY HEY!!! of course, it's definitely not too late!! natasha and daryl were both positioned outside the building actually bc there was no way that jc could have gotten them onto raymond's guest list, so that seems the best position for him as well? basically they'd be fighting/picking off anyone that tries to escape! maybe either daryl or natasha could get him involved, or hell, it'd be hard to miss if he's just passing by and wants to join in the fun. jc wouldn't mind that at all, unless you wanted him to approach and offer his help?

how does that sound to you? or did you have a different role for him in mind?

Caroline also ended up by the same door as Daryl, FYI.

Hey! Thanks for replying so quickly. Life ended up kicking my ass for awhile, so I'm going to skip on that, but I really appreciate your efforts to include me. <3

Life ended up kicking my ass for a bit so I'm going to abandon being part of that plot, but I appreciate your efforts to include me! <3

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

November 2016 Plotting Post

QUESTIONS

CLAIM A TERRITORY

CLAIM A PLOT

RUN A PLOT/EVENT

CR PLANNING

THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

Re: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

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Re: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

SUPPORTING

Re: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

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Re: CLAIM A TERRITORY

Newham claim

Re: QUESTIONS

Re: QUESTIONS

Re: QUESTIONS

Re: QUESTIONS

Re: QUESTIONS

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Re: CLAIM A TERRITORY

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RESULT: ISLINGTON NEST WINS NEWHAM

Re: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

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Re: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN

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Re: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN