In the Night Moderators (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
inthenightmods) wrote2018-05-09 11:11 pm
inthenightmods) wrote2018-05-09 11:11 pm
exploration
EXPLORATION
Explorations are currently OPEN. They will close again when we run out of active exploration slots.
Building a structure may be done at any time and does not affect the active exploration slots.
•••
The forest engulfing Beacon is dense and uncharted, but that just means there's never a shortage of cool stuff to discover lurking off the beaten path. There's always new locations, plot clues, or extra resources to be found, so although venturing into the woods is always dangerous, the rewards may just outweigh the risks.
Once you come up with a plan, please fill out and submit the form below. We'll respond in one of two ways, depending on the nature of your exploration:
- In most cases, we'll respond with a single write-up detailing the outcome of your exploration. For example, characters venturing out into a particular part of the woods may discover a new location! In that case, you'll receive a full description of that new location, along with any other details worth noting, such as forest spirit encounters or difficulties along the way. If your group would then like to react to any of this or explore that location after its discovery, you can then respond with your own write-up of everything your group would investigate, and we'll let you know what happens as a result. And that's it! Then the exploration is wrapped, the location becomes available to the game at large, and you're welcome to thread out any details of the exploration if you like.
- In limited cases, an exploration request will open a dialogue between the players and mods to determine the outcome of your exploration. For example, characters attempting to interact with forest spirits may get the chance to play out that encounter, whether it be a pleasant conversation or, uh, the forest spirit trying to kill you, since that happens sometimes. Explorations of this nature will not always result in a response like this, as it'll depend on our availability as mods. If you're interested in doing an exploration like this and don't want to leave it up to chance, PM us! We'll work with you to schedule an encounter.
Regardless of which type of exploration you end up with, what you do during an exploration is entirely up to you, so feel free to get creative! We always try to reward creativity in some way, even if it's not a success in the way that you hoped for.
Before you embark on your quest, here's everything you need to know about explorations:
- Exploring uncharted territory is intended to be dangerous, and there is always a risk of failure, injury, and other setbacks. If you're not on board with these risks, exploration may not be in the cards for you.
- That said, the exploration form includes an opt-in for serious injury and death. If you aren't interested in having your character(s) at risk for that stuff at this time, you can let us know upfront. Please keep in mind that opting out of serious injury/death does not mean you're opting out of the above risks of failure, injury, and other setbacks. Those risks are always in play during explorations. In addition, while opting out of serious risks doesn't mean you'll get a watered down exploration, some discoveries lurking out in the forest are reserved for risk-taking characters. For example, opting out of serious risks eliminates the chance of running into the hostile green-eyed spirits, so characters interested in pursuing green-eyed spirit plot threads will have to put themselves on the line to do so.
- If you choose to opt into the risks of serious injury and death, your character's safety is forfeit and you give the mods the right to maim accordingly (though, of course, we'll check permissions posts in doing so). This does not mean that groups opting into these risks will always be tormented and killed! It's just helpful for us to know your preferences and expectations upfront. Please keep in mind that opting into the risk of serious injury or death applies to the whole group, not just individual characters.
- Explorations into the area of Beacon currently occupied by the Parade will always be extra dangerous. Characters will run the risk of encountering the Parade itself, but besides that, the Parade's presence gets all the forest spirits in the area extra revved up, increasing their hostility. We'll give you the "danger zone warning" at the top of the exploration if you're about to head into Parade-infested territory, as characters may be seriously injured or killed at any point during an exploration within the parade route. You can check the Parade's schedule on the calendar page.
- Chance of success will be left up to a mix of mod discretion and RNG. We'll typically use a RNG to determine what you find, if anything, but we'll also take player/character ingenuity into account. In short: If you have a solid, creative plan, you're more likely to be rewarded for that. Aimlessly wandering won't always get you nothing, but it's less likely to earn you something neat for your trouble. (However, please do be encouraged to follow the dumb idea that's in your character's heart. We will reward for IC idiocy, too.)
- Having torches from the bonfire with you will also increase your chance of success, though be careful: If you lose the torches while exploring, someone will have to recover them or they're lost forever. Additionally, you must request torches through the item request page in order to take them on explorations. Torches not logged through the item requests page are not considered game canon.
- Once you receive a mod response to your exploration, you will have one week to tag us back. If that week timer runs out, we'll consider that exploration closed, and mod responses will stop. You're welcome to handwave your own IC conclusion to the exploration at that point. To be extra clear: the time it takes for us mods to respond to your exploration is not included in that time limit. The timer starts fresh each time we tag you back.
- Explorations over two weeks old will be wrapped in the next mod response. This is to prevent explorations from dragging on for too long, which will slow up our system, but more importantly, it'll make for awkward timing issues in the game! We don't want to leave players waiting on exploration outcomes to be able to engage with the rest of the game.
- Characters may only embark on one exploration at a time, no matter how small. Pretty self explanatory! One at a time, please. If you play more than one character, you may send them on concurrent explorations, but keep in mind that we might deny exploration requests like this to give other players a chance to hop in.
- We will only accept a maximum of 8 active explorations at a time. If those 8 slots fill up, we'll close the queue to new submissions until we're able to wrap some of the active adventures. This number is based on mod availability.
- Explorations will always be closed during events except under rare special circumstances. Similarly, explorations can't be forward- or back-dated to happen during an event. Go do event things instead!
- You can also submit an "exploration" to build a new structure on this page! Just use the appropriate form below.
To BUILD A STRUCTURE or ALTER THE SETTING, please fill out the form below:
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no subject
character(s): Kol Mikaelson.
type of exploration: Minor exploration.
area of exploration: Library—here to finally deliver a letter (unopened) from the Postmaster General.
notes: Kol has only his lantern and a very special letter for someone at the Library. Since this is his first time in here, he's going to be looking around, hearing the rustling of fabric, scurrying of feet, uncomfortable noises of gnashing teeth and paper ripping (thanks, super hearing :|) and try to follow those sounds to see if someone can help him find out who this letter could possibly be for. (He'll also get a little distracted looking at the titles of the books. He may be a psychopathic murderer for his day job, but he does appreciate good literature!)
If you need a date, setting this after the big exploration Kol's a part of. 14 Sep? or w/c 15-Sep.
no subject
But finally, they appear. Dressed all in white veils, their appearance is startling, to say the least: one moment the shelf he's perusing is empty, and then it very suddenly isn't, the Librarian floating next to him, breathing heavily.
Hi. What's up, little vampire?
no subject
Obviously later, because the shit's been scared out of Kol. Despite his super hearing, he does jump, not expecting to see something so white and ethereal. He's seen ghosts before, but spirits like the Librarian? It's something a nerd like him always imagined being real but never being fortunate enough to come into contact with.
Wasting no time in showing the Librarian the envelope ("address" side up with the cute little pictures), Kol says, "I have something for someone at the Library." Look, he doesn't know who — maybe a cinnamon roll lover? Appearing a little awkward, he looks at what he hopes is the Librarian's face. "It's from the Postmaster General. I thought I'd personally deliver it."
no subject
But ah, the envelope . . .! They tear it open clumsily, stubby fingers tearing paper, only to find . . . a letter! Gosh! A very secret personal letter that they bring very close up to their face. Like, too close. How can anyone possibly read at that level of closeness is a mystery, but the Librarian seems to get something out of it.
They read . . . and read . . . and as they read, Kol will pick up something with those sensitive ears of his. A whine, so high-pitched ordinary humans might not be able to hear it, wobbling only occasionally. It's unending, one long single note, slowly growing louder the longer he listens.
Sooner or later, he'll realize it's coming from the Librarian. The noise keeps growing and growing, and hm, it's actually kind of painful now, it's actually really painful now, and maybe he'd best cover his ears because it's loud loud loud, it's unending, and even his sight seems to be blurring, or maybe that's just the Librarian shaking, vibrating at a frequency so fast it's hard to follow, it's--
Interrupted as the Librarian shoves the entire thing in their mouth. It's hard to see them doing it, but then again the paper is crumpled and disappearing in one, two, three bites.
Yum.
They sigh, then reach out to pat Kol's chest. Pat, pat. Well done, Kol!
no subject
The whole display is alarming and intriguing all at once, and thankfully Kol… just lets them read and process the letter they've received. (A part of him wishes he'd opened it. But would it have been in any language he'd know? Probably not.)
Wincing, and even putting his hands to his ears (sorry for the offence it may cause), he's really grateful for when that high pitched crying(?) ends. It's worse than one of the many witchy brain aneurisms he's experienced over the years and he hopes he never experiences it again (unless... it's a good thing — and even then, the jury's out on wanting it again).
He does try to listen to a heartbeat to sense the general sentiment the letter has elicited, despite knowing there's a good chance there is nothing to hear.
Glancing down at the hand on his chest, he asks, "Are you okay? Was that delicious?"
It's better than nothing. And, look — he's not judging. Some people like to eat letters. He likes to drain people. Po-tay-toe, poh-tah-toe.
no subject
There's a lot of high-pitched chatter, meaningless noises as they go to their desk and write out an explanation:
posterman miss, right next to a little drawing of what might just be a book.
no subject
Looking at their little explanation (good penmanship there, Librarian!), he furrows his brows. It doesn't quite clear things up, but he hopes he can put two and two together. Narrowing his eyes, he lifts his finger and points very close to the little drawing. "Did he miss picking up a book?"
no subject
No, they miss them. The librarian themselves! They pat some bit of their floating, flow-y ethereal mass, just to emphasize. The Postmaster General misses them, because they're a silly spirit sometimes.
no subject
The Librarian breaks Kol's hardened exterior, causing him to smile at the mere joy emitting from the spirit.
"If you're too busy, I could always deliver the Postmaster General something from you. A letter? A message?" High pitched screeching? He'll have to practice that one… But Kol isn't exactly busy with ruining lives in Mystic Falls, hunting for the cure to vampirism, or doing as his mother bids. He has time to play Mr Postman.
no subject
But ah . . . they shuffle behind their desk and vanish. There's rattling and rustling from something unknown, items in drawers rattling without being touched, and then silence.
In the dead center of the desk, a rock appears. It's fairly ordinary, except someone's painted a smiling face. Presumably, this is what the Librarian intends to be delivered, because they just straight up do not reappear.
no subject
Rather than behave like he would with any rock, he puts it in his pocket with every intention of ensuring it gets to the Postmaster General. Kol's feeling rather chuffed in being trusted with such a thing. (Thanks, Librarian!)
no subject