OOC: Moon Base

[balancemod]

Dungeons and Dragons and Diners and Dives NAVIGATION 1. ARRIVAL Upon arrival to the Bureau of Balance, you will empty out into the Quad all at once- 50 of you. There will be an opportunity to describe what your character was doing right before the Director reaches out to them, if that's something you want to expand upon. The Quad is a luscious area of grass, green hues and gives off the aura of peacefulness. Trees dot the area in several directions, and some small buildings dot the surrounding perimeter. In the middle, a statue of the Director stands. She didn't have it commissioned, but once it was erected and put up there, she also didn't intentionally have it taken down. This is the first point of contact for many of you to share a first meeting. Although not much is currently going on here, after it seems everyone has settled in, Davenport will announce that it's time to take a visit to the Voidfish. No one will understand what he's saying 100%, as it seems a lot of what he announces is covered behind a static noise that you, and everyone else around you, can hear. The reason for the static is shown to you quite soon. Within one of the domes lies an elevator down into a deep crater of the Moon Base. Inside, a giant jellyfish floats in a behemoth tank. At first glance, the water is murky and pitch black- and after the Balance's chief composer and famed bard, Johann, feeds the Voidfish, he'll offer each of you a glass to drink from the tank. You have an option here, of course, to drink it and become inoculated to the knowledge of the Voidfish, or abstain, and allow the static to appear every time someone mentions anything remotely close to words like "Bureau of Balance," "voidfish," or "Grand Relic." The ichor you drink tastes absolutely vile, but once you do, your mind will be opened and you'll be privy to the secrets of the Bureau. Drink up! Might want to bring a chaser, though. 2. TEST OF INITIATION A. OOC DETAILS Shortly thereafter, the Test of Initiation will begin. It's a unique experience for everyone, and people must sign up in groups of 2. The CR meme is a great place to start up a "LFG (looking for group)" thread and see if anyone wants to put their hat in the ring with you. Of course, there's an option to request an RNG roll as to who you'd like to be paired up with. Note, that there may be uneven numbers within the RNG group depending on how many sign up with a pre-determined group. If in the case this happens, we'll have to pair a team of 3 up to compensate. We understand that this may be difficult to work with, considering multiple thread partners on one thread might be a lot to handle, so if you are put in a group of 3 and would prefer to solo-mission it out, that's acceptable. The in-game consequences for it will basically be phrased as a "HARD MODE" encounter. Put your signups in the thread under the comment section. If one is not provided by November 13th, 5PM EST, we will RNG you a teammate to undergo the test with. AC this month is check-in only, but there will be a special prize for you to pick out if you provide your test thread! B. DESIGN After signing up, work with your partner to design what the landscape of the test will look like. All tests will eventually lead toward a room with a relic locked within it. The conditions for passing are basically to get to the relic but not to use it. These specifics will not be known to your characters, so those characters with quick impulses might need someone to reel them in! As for the design of the landscape, the Arena is a form-fitting space. It will warp to anyone who enters it, and currently, it's set to "Initiation Mode," which your character will see when they go to sign up for the test with their partner or go through for an RNG assignment. Initiation Mode replicates an amalgam of thoughts, metaphors, and ideas between the two people who signed up in order to make an obstacle course suited to appropriately test their ability to stay focused. This is a good opportunity to introduce new CR to some of the thoughts and feelings that your character has going on through their mind, their preferences, or give away a piece of information about themselves that might not be on the surface level. For example, let's say that your character was born on a ship, and spent their entire childhood growing up at sea. Your partner's life involves a lifetime of academic research (who are we kidding here, we know how many smart archetypes submitted applications, but humor the idea for a second!). An amalgamation suited for the Test of Initiation may involve navigating a ship through choppy seas with flying book monsters that breathe fire. Be as creative as you want! The design is 100% left up to you. Generally speaking, however, no one should actually fail the test outright. Think of it as a little bit of plot armor; you shouldn't be at the Bureau of Balance if you can't get through one relatively easy (or insanely hard?) trial. 3. POST-TEST There will be some slice-of-life style prompts provided to help everyone meet each other and build CR at the game open. These will provide some motivations to get a look at the Moon Base in general. Take a look at the setting page for more details about what's available to you within the Moon Base to explore. You're welcome to use any of the prompts we provide but feel free if the inspiration hits to wildcard a scenario in any one of the locations. This is your new home, after all. You'll have a few weeks to get used to it before the first field mission kicks off. Additionally, now that you've all been assigned roommates and housing, we'll also be throwing up a special prompt to get to know your new housemate a little better. Take some time to get to know them. If it makes sense for it to happen that way, feel free to sign up with them at the Test of Initiation. The choice is absolutely, and always, up to you. Lastly, once your character has their Bureau Bracer, they can start utilizing the network and begin sending texts to each other. Once an alias is registered (choice is up to you), there's the option of searching on the directory for other members who have logged into the system. Everyone has a profile page, open and accessible to all and complete with a headshot of what they look like. The Bureau is predicated on openness between members, so the Director doesn't see a reason not to allow free and open lines of communication between everyone on the network.

Comments

QUESTIONS?

[balancemod]

[grakraka]

two questions which have the same level of importance:

1) are they healed before they're dumped out onto the lawn? assuming they were dying of injuries or something. or does that happen later?

2) are they wearing the clothes they were wearing last i just. need to know this.

[balancemod]

1. Due to [REDACTED THING], they will have their injuries healed coming through the portal. You do have the option, and it's completely up to you as a player, if you want your character to still feel like they're going through that experience. Like phantom pains. For a phantom thief.

2. Unfortunately (for Akechi), yes.

[pieous]

Of course I'm asking. What happens if the relic is found, but used?

[balancemod]

You'll be sent back to the beginning of the test to try again. Note, however, that every iteration gets a little bit more difficult than the last one.

[dialetheism]

Were our folks given a rundown on their new abilities/told they have them? Or is it sink-or-swim?

edit: Also since it just clicked too - were they given any equipment to use, or is it "whatever you had, homie"?

[balancemod]

Abilities/Paths: this will be mentioned briefly in the introduction log, but basically your character doesn't officially know they have any special abilities until they get to their room. Sitting on their bed for them will be a pamphlet, titled "So, you're a _____" (cleric, dancer, merchant, etc) that's written by Garfield the Deals Warlock. It has a description that's equivalent to what's available on the paths page, relevant only to your chosen path. Characters are also encouraged to attend the Academy on base to learn more about their unique skills. The pamphlet also has a full page ad for Fantasy Costco: Where all your dreams come true.

For the equipment, you only come in with what you had, but this will also be addressed in the introduction log.

[gundamned]

I know it's not super interested in us but if we try really really really hard is the possibility of befriending the Voidfish possible?

[balancemod]

At this current moment in time, the Voidfish is rather ambivalent to almost all forms of life on the Moon Base. It does, however, seem to enjoy Johann's company quite a bit. Maybe they've already formed a friendly relationship. Gundam will have to figure out the key to this mystery. You're in the long haul on that one, though.

[getinthedanny]

Will the relic look the same for every test, or can we design what the relic looks like to fit the test?

[balancemod]

We'd like to leave the relic and its properties entirely up to you and your partner to decide and create on your own. It should have the same allure to it as a sort of Siren's call.

If you are stuck and can't decide on something, the standard option the Bureau would offer would be the "Heir Pin." When worn in your hair, the pin forces everyone around you to treat you like absolute royalty while secretly plotting to steal your Heir Pin hairpin.

Your commands become their reality, and even minor suggestions are divine decree. Of course, there are those out there who are naturally inclined to commit regicide- and those feelings of political unrest will make them immune to the pin's power, amplifying their hatred of you tenfold.

Of course, no one should really touch or use a relic or its power.

[notthatbutler]

Just a question on patron gods re: clerics - after picking up their guide from their rooms, how do clerics know what gods have chosen them for heals distribution? Do they need to go research it, or will they just know?

OOCly, is there anything that players have to note somewhere about their patron god, and do they need to be cleared by the mods before we say "oh my god is so and so"?

[balancemod]

You'll feel a connection to your god and instinctively know who it is by name without research- especially in the case of activating any magic related to the cleric path. For example, using channel divinity will give you the sense that your god is endowing you with the ability to cure people. You'll know their name, but the lore behind it might not make sense or be revealed to you immediately. Some reading up on them may be required. Have to love those wisdom based classes!

OOCly, you're free to do with it as you want. Unless you're asking your god to come down and rain holy fire upon a city and destroy it, we probably don't need to provide any feedback.

Also, please don't rain any holy fire down upon cities- that's just poor form!

Re: QUESTIONS?

[lullabytes]

squints

does the lunar base come with like. electrical outlets. idk how fantasy or modern this fantasy is but i have to ask because > charging gameboys and shit

[balancemod]

This is a great question! We had a player ask this on the FAQ post, so if you don't mind giving that a read-over, it should solve your question. Basically, the answer is- magic crystals are highly effective duracel batteries!

[dialetheism]

Hiii me with the dumbass questions again-

Maybe my reading comprehension is borking up, but how long has it been IC between Arrival/Inoculation and the Director's Announcement/The Test? And did either of those involve people being patched up by clerics?

[balancemod]

Your reading comprehension is probably fine as it didn't seem incredibly/abundantly clear. There is a one day difference between Arrival/Inoculation and the Test.

If you came in injured, you'd have been patched prior to drinking the jellyfish juice.

[grakraka]

ADDITIONAL QUESTION is the money they were given enough to buy any clothes.

[balancemod]

Hey there!

We're amending the prompt to say that the bag of coins provided is enough to buy one simple outfit. Go forth and live your most fashionable life.

[balancemod]

Hello!

We will offer some supplemental material at a later date, laying out the courses available for undertaking, apologies on our side for not having this 100% fleshed out at time of open, but yes. The advanced classes will absolutely have monsters for exemplification, along with some of the more... interesting classes on charming and hexing with spells used on students, by students, during the learning process.

[bluechampion]

A couple of things that just came to mind:

1. Would Link's paraglider be considered too game-breaking to be brought in with him on his arrival?

2. Many of the pieces of armor in game provide bonuses to Link. For example, each piece of the Zora armor allows Link to swim a little faster. I was thinking of one piece of armor as the Check-In bonus. If this isn't suitable, I was then thinking of maybe a low-powered elixer. This bonus is a bit difficult since the majority of things from Hyrule could be interpreted as being magical in nature. I am open to any suggestions from the mods if these don't work out.

[balancemod]

1. We'll allow the paraglider to be brought in through the Test of Initiation, but, just as it works within BoTW, it will consume substantial amounts of Link's stamina to utilize (we'll nerf it at about twice the consumption rate as normal - flight, and any forms of it are pretty powerful for this setting).

2. In the world of D&D mechanics, any armor that has some intrinsic bonus to it would be classified as most likely a +1 piece- magical in nature. We're going to say no on any added bonuses provided by it, but you're definitely allowed to bring it in for cosmetic purposes.

Re: QUESTIONS?

[despairing_hope]

Is there something I should do if I missed sign ups? I saw Komaeda was under ring, but hes not listed in any groups on the log.

[eccentrise]

Very important question: HOW LARGE... can the personal item/special prize achieved from turning in the test thread be? Like, perhaps............ coffin-space large?