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abovegrounds2016-11-28 10:41 pm
undergroundmods) wrote in abovegrounds2016-11-28 10:41 pm
Entry tags:
December 2016 Plotting Post
December 2016
Here is your December plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. Since December is a holiday month things will be fairly low key as we approach Christmas, but there will be a new test drive meme so that current and potential characters can celebrate the holidays together. Happy playing!
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
Winter is here and the Unseelie Court are at the height of their power. Yet after several months of the Islington Nest wreaking havoc in the city, Londoners may finally look forward to brighter times ahead. The Nest's new leader Jean-Claude already appears to be far more sensible than his predecessor. In the past month he has announced a number of changes to the Nest's operations:
• He has reinstated the rule that no child under the age of 16 may be turned into a vampire.
• Islington vampires may only eat those willing to donate. Islington's human allies have arranged a network of donors specifically for this purpose.
• Outside of a faction dispute or self-defence, no vampire may kill another being, human or supernatural.
• Any vampire caught breaking the rules is considered fair game for punishment from any other member of the nest or vampire hunter.
These are positive signs, but forgiveness does not come so easily. The Night Council have yet to reach out to Islington to bring them back into the fold, and it doesn't appear that they're going to. Vampires are still fair game for any hunter.
This is perhaps the only piece of good news for the East End Pack's new leader Katherine Moore. Having suffered another loss of territory to the Islington Nest, she faces a serious challenge in maintaining pack morale. Her main focus right now is supporting her wolves, but she will be looking for opportunities to improve the pack's standing within the supernatural community.
And finally, big news for Circle Daybreak: Sylvia Redbright will be turning 60 this month, bringing an end to her reign as Mother of Witches. Over the past 30 years she has been the single most influential witch of modern times, with her most significant – and controversial – achievement being the suppression of dark magic across the witch community. While she looks for a suitable candidate to take up her mantle, Sylvia will be celebrating her birthday with a retirement party to mark her greatest achievements.
Territories
The Islington Nest won Newham from the East End Pack, which means they are now challenging Circle Daybreak's position as the most powerful faction in the city. Circle Daybreak and Islington Nest are the joint top factions, with seven territories each. 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:
Drops
The following characters will be leaving this month:
Events
Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:
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.
Here is your December plotting post! You can make use of the information here to plot what your character will be doing in the next month. Since December is a holiday month things will be fairly low key as we approach Christmas, but there will be a new test drive meme so that current and potential characters can celebrate the holidays together. Happy playing!
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
Winter is here and the Unseelie Court are at the height of their power. Yet after several months of the Islington Nest wreaking havoc in the city, Londoners may finally look forward to brighter times ahead. The Nest's new leader Jean-Claude already appears to be far more sensible than his predecessor. In the past month he has announced a number of changes to the Nest's operations:
• He has reinstated the rule that no child under the age of 16 may be turned into a vampire.
• Islington vampires may only eat those willing to donate. Islington's human allies have arranged a network of donors specifically for this purpose.
• Outside of a faction dispute or self-defence, no vampire may kill another being, human or supernatural.
• Any vampire caught breaking the rules is considered fair game for punishment from any other member of the nest or vampire hunter.
These are positive signs, but forgiveness does not come so easily. The Night Council have yet to reach out to Islington to bring them back into the fold, and it doesn't appear that they're going to. Vampires are still fair game for any hunter.
This is perhaps the only piece of good news for the East End Pack's new leader Katherine Moore. Having suffered another loss of territory to the Islington Nest, she faces a serious challenge in maintaining pack morale. Her main focus right now is supporting her wolves, but she will be looking for opportunities to improve the pack's standing within the supernatural community.
And finally, big news for Circle Daybreak: Sylvia Redbright will be turning 60 this month, bringing an end to her reign as Mother of Witches. Over the past 30 years she has been the single most influential witch of modern times, with her most significant – and controversial – achievement being the suppression of dark magic across the witch community. While she looks for a suitable candidate to take up her mantle, Sylvia will be celebrating her birthday with a retirement party to mark her greatest achievements.
Territories
The Islington Nest won Newham from the East End Pack, which means they are now challenging Circle Daybreak's position as the most powerful faction in the city. Circle Daybreak and Islington Nest are the joint top factions, with seven territories each. 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:
Caratacus Snewing | Shapeshifter, Islington Nest | Level 1These minions will decide to leave town this month:
‣ A horse shapeshifter, he hangs around the vampires under the illusion that they are much cooler than they appear to be.
Matt Murdock | Meta Human, Redbright Institute | Level 1
‣ A blind lawyer with greatly enhanced senses. Works for the Institute as a member of the Outreach team.
Kayla Gardener | Werewolf, East End Pack | Level 1And these less fortunate minions will sadly die this month:
‣ Keeps to herself, often disappearing for days at a time. No one in the pack knows her very well.
Destiny | Vampire, Islington Nest | Level 1
‣ A vampire who works at Guilty Pleasures as both waitress and stripper on Ladies' Night.
Peter Lewis | Fae, Hillingdon Clan | Level 2Factions 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.
‣ 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.
Meghan Duncan | Meta Human, Hillingdon Clan | Level 2
‣ A young pacifistic empath, one might question what she's doing with a group like Hillingdon. Then again, as a veritable group of outcasts, they have given her a place to call home. And she in turn provides them with in-house counselling services. Or would if anyone ever accepted her offer.
Drops
The following characters will be leaving this month:
Annie Cresta | Hillingdon Clan |Their faction may decide the exact details of how characters leave and incorporate their exit into their plots if they wish.
Events
4th December – SYLVIA REDBRIGHT'S RETIREMENT.* On 4th December, Sylvia Redbright will turn 60 and her time as Mother of Witches will officially reach its end. There is a grace period of a year to find a suitable candidate to become the new Mother, but in practice this doesn't usually take more than a couple of months. To celebrate her 30 years as Mother of Witches, Sylvia will be hosting a party at the Redbright Institute. Come along for a showcase of her greatest achievements.
14th December – 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.
21st December – YULE (WINTER SOLSTICE). The shortest day of the year, at the winter solstice the Unseelie officially reach the height of their power. Naturally they celebrate this occasion with a great feast. It is traditional to decorate the home with holly, in deference to the Unseelie king, and in hope that the fae will work their mischief elsewhere. Yule is also a time when witches renew many of their spells, as the Unseelie will take it upon themselves to free their trapped brethren and generally mess things up for witches. Any fae or other creature seeking to break free of their masters will have good luck tonight.
22nd December – SCHOOL HOLIDAY BEGINS. Now you have time to buy those Christmas presents for your loved ones. You haven't got anything yet, have you? Thought so.
25th December – CHRISTMAS DAY.** It's Christmas, you know the deal. Open your presents, eat Christmas dinner, drink and be merry. Traditionally a time of peace, even warring supernatural factions will take a break today.
26th December – BOXING DAY.** The day after Christmas Day, Boxing Day is a bank holiday in the UK.
31st December – NEW YEAR'S EVE FIREWORKS.** The New Year's Eve fireworks display is always spectacular. Count down to midnight with Big Ben, then watch the spectacle along with the crowds. Or you could stay at home and watch it on TV.
*There will be a mod-posted log for this event.
**This event will be incorporated into this month's TDM.
Plots
The following prompts are up for grabs this month:
1) There is a bounty on a pair of rogue vampires. They are kidnapping humans to use as their own personal blood banks. Reward: £800 – Claimed by Shade
2) A faith healer is performing miracles in the heart of the city. It seems that the blind can really see... But they're using fae magic to help them.
3) Snowmen are coming to life at night. Unfortunately, they're not as friendly as one might expect.
4) Who's the biggest Scrooge of all? You are! Expect a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future. (But are they really ghosts?)
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.
QUESTIONS
CLAIM A TERRITORY
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.
CLAIM A PLOT
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.
RUN A PLOT/EVENT
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.
CR PLANNING
Re: QUESTIONS
Basically can Cesare still hate her?
Re: QUESTIONS
Islington Christmas Party!
The party will double as a "yay, we have a sane leader now" celebration. All Nest members are invited. Any non-vampire will have to be coming as a vampire's plus one.
Looking at the calendar, the 17th looks like a promising date for the event. I'm hoping Cesare might offer up The Angelo as the locale? Assuming Caroline asks when she isn't wearing cursed perfume.
Other general party ideas:
- it will be black tie and Caroline will kick people out for being underdressed
- I was thinking there could be some sort of blood punch or something, assuming enough blood could be attained in advance
Re: Islington Christmas Party!
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Nancy will likely be Cooper's +1, but she's not allowed to be at the Anglo, unfortunately. Blame Cesare.
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He can usually be found in Hillingdon House, but I can also have him in other places, especially places he really shouldn't be. I'm looking for more of a chill month, as IRL November got kind of crazy for me, but I'm open for anything.
I can be found on
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Nancy wants to come to the party with her boyfriend again.
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perhaps your good friend the duke might have some sway in the matter, nancy u3u
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lol good friend.
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Re: Islington Christmas Party!
ISLINGTON REWARD
There were a few suggestions bandied around as to the solution of this. One of which would be a law passed guaranteeing every faction one seat on the council, as Islington does have something of an alliance with the fae and I know there has been some discussion of the desire for a fae seat as well.
I'm opening this up to discussion as well bc haven't yet been able to put into words exactly what the law would be and we'd probably need to work it out with mod approval anyway. Equal representation would be nice OOCly, and ICly would make some sense as JC just got the help from a few of the under-represented factions to gain his position. At the same time it isn't strictly necessary -- the heart of the matter is that the vampires had a seat, a crazy vampire wound up there bc he murdered his predecessor, he was understandably voted out of the council, but now there is the issue that the Council might not reappoint a vampire representative, and they (those that are political within their faction at least) would feel that they deserved more stability than that.
DISCUSS!
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There are seven supernatural species. Only three of them (witches, meta humans, shapeshifters) are currently represented on the Council.
The simplest thing you could do is just to add the Vampire Representative seat back and to guarantee vampires permanent representation on the Night Council. If you wanted to go for equal representation, I would suggest doing so by species rather than faction because the Night Council is not meant to represent factions (...you know, in theory), it is meant to represent the supernatural community. There have to be 5, 7 or 12 seats on the Council. Realistically, you'll have to go for either 5 or 7, 12 is too big a leap.
The plausible options as I see them are:
1) Guarantee representation for vampires. One of the Islington vampires becomes Vampire Representative, Dee stays as Treasurer but loses her seat. The Council sticks with 5 seats.
2) Guarantee representation for vampires and fae. One of the Islington vampires becomes Vampire Representative, Eames becomes Fae Representative, Dee retains her place. The Council increases to 7 seats.
3) Guarantee representation for vampires and split the meta human/shapeshifter seat. One of the Islington vampires becomes Vampire Representative, Faolan becomes Meta Human Representative, Yasmine switches to Shapeshifter Representative, Dee retains her place. The Council increases to 7 seats.
4) Guarantee representation for vampires and fae and split the meta human/shapeshifter seat. One of the Islington vampires becomes Vampire Representative, Faolan becomes Meta Human Representative, Yasmine switches to Shapeshifter Representative, Eames becomes Fae Representative, Dee stays as Treasurer but loses her seat. The Council increases to 7 seats.
As far as Islington are concerned, it's really only their business to ensure that they get representation. If it would also be in their interest to help others gain representation as well, then I'm happy to discuss! My only requirement is that anyone else who wants representation needs to work for it. By which I mean some IC scheming, plotting and negotiating and at least a couple of OOC bribes to smooth things along. Sylvia's retirement party is tomorrow and that will be a good opportunity to talk to members of the Night Council and get things rolling.
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Like I said, obviously in the end Islington is making this move for themselves, and no one has approached them about the idea yet otherwise. But since the moment is here, while we're addressing it, I thought it was worth discussing the rest, if there are other factions interested in stepping up and taking advantage of the opportunity!
I have a question for Islington specifically though. For the Islington seat, you say "one of the Islington vampires" -- are there any limitations on who this is? Can it be Jean-Claude, as Millicent and Raymond both had had the position before him? Or were you suggesting that it should be someone else instead? EDIT: Obviously if this is handled by an election as the other appointments were, it could be anyone, I more meant the question as in "is he ruled out bc he's the leader" -- just asking for clarification!
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ICly, it depends on JC deciding whether he wants to do what Millicent and Raymond did before him and not allow any vampire but him to take the seat, or whether he wants to be a little more democratic. If he follows tradition, no one else will get a look in.
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Re: CLAIM A PLOT
Plot lead(s): Shade
When this will happen: Around the week of Dec. 18th
Plot #1 AKA Taking Care of Unruly Children
If anyone would like to join in, either helping him round up the miscreants, or just pointing him in the right direction, I'd love it!
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What should the process be as far as that's concerned? I haven't heard of anyone wanting the seat other than JC but also it hasn't been available. How do you propose the appointment/selection be handled, both ICly and OOCly?
ISLINGTON NEST: CHOOSING THE VAMPIRE REPRESENTATIVE
The contenders will be Jean-Claude, Cooper and Cesare. To keep things fair and simple, I will select the winner via RNG. I have two requirements: one, that you have 3 activity points to spend on joining the Night Council, and two, that you run an IC campaign for your character. If I don't see any IC activity, the character will be ruled out.
I suggest the following timeline:
By 15th Dec: Night Council agree to have a Vampire Representative seat again*
By end Dec: Nominations are declared
1st-15th Jan: Election campaign
Voting in mid-January, results announced soon after. Like the previous election, I'll announce the results on the day they ICly happen, so you won't know until then.
*You guys need to get on this if you want to make it happen ICly! Or if you want to post something, I'm happy to tag you, just let me know.
How exactly you want to run your individual character campaigns is entirely up to you. Bribery and underhand tactics are of course on the table. Only members of the Islington Nest will be able to vote, but characters from other factions can get involved by supporting or opposing them so this plot would be open to everyone.
Thoughts, questions, comments? Let me know!
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OBVIOUSLY I am not an Islington player, but my personal preference is #4-- partially because this is roughly the scenario I've talked about OOC. I'm happy to work out plot WRT this if y'all wanna go for 2 or 4, I've intentionally not spent points for the sake of bribes.
My only reservation is that Eames adamantly Does Not Want to be the council representative, and I'm not sure how to force his hand ICly. If we could put an NPC in that spot, perhaps?
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Re: fae representation, if we just think about that for the moment, it's an open question as to how the Seelie/Unseelie Court would select its Representative since it hasn't happened before. They could hold a democratic election like we're proposing for the Islington Nest, but democracy isn't really the Seelie/Unseelie way. If you would like to force Eames' hand ICly, then it could be that the Unseelie King or Queen command Eames to take the position. After all, if he's worked so hard to make it happen, he ought to take on the responsibility. Is that something you would want to explore with Eames?
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And as far as the start of it all is concerned, I will be sending JC Sylvia's way to start that conversation now then! They should speak again, now that he's newly crowned as the Duke after all ;)
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I agree that the rep would most likely be appointed rather than voted for though, and it definitely wouldn't be suspicious at all of some obnoxiously beautiful fae to come along with the Lord of Autumn's support and backing.
Adri also posited the idea of someone from each court, the position essentially changing hands with the change of power, which I think is really interesting but I'm not sure how that would fly with the Night Council.
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This would of course still require some IC action from characters in the Seelie/Unseelie Court. As mentioned above, I'd like to see some IC activity and at least two OOC bribes to smooth things along. If we go with the proposed timeline below to fit with the Islington Nest, then talks need to get underway this month. Is that realistic for you?
It doesn't have to be all Eames, of course. Anyone from the Seelie/Unseelie Court could make their case!
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Re: Plot #1 AKA Taking Care of Unruly Children
Re: Plot #1 AKA Taking Care of Unruly Children
Good good! Maybe that's how Cooper finds out about what's going on? Thomas comes to him because one of the donors went missing?
Re: Plot #1 AKA Taking Care of Unruly Children
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