2021 Spring Equinox Plot: Dieselpunk Adventure

[tramitem]

CW: Some descriptions of spiders and snakes

✦ Spring Equinox Plot: Unending Adventure ✦

... And when my good dream came to an end, I woke up more than ready to bend ... Full Game Navigation

Adventure Awaits You! ✦ Worlds Collide Once More ... ✦ With the lengthening days, the bright light of the sun streaks through New York City streets: literally. On Saturday, March 20th at 5:37 AM, exactly, a bright flash of light ricochets through the city, and in some places the light touches, it brings the gleam of gold or the spark of electricity over burnished bronze. Parts of our universe will merge with another. The world which begins bleeding into ours is not too far removed: there is more of a Dieselpunk feel to things, a decidedly bygone-era sensibility. What pervades it all is the concept and spirit of Adventure. Concrete jungles give way to real ones then back to concrete again, skyscrapers become mountainous peaks nestled between other skyscrapers, and some buildings have begun to tip and dissolve under unsteady dunes of sand. There are plenty of things to explore here, and even those who prefer more peaceful pursuits will find things that bear fruit. But beware: even those who try to stay at home and avoid the strange turn of events may find themselves struck by one of three (optional) curses… and only one of those has a loophole which will allow the cursed person to stay at home and sulk. ~*~ If you truly feel like tapping into your Inner Adventurer, there are three places in particular to consider: maybe you want to explore a jungle temple (of which there are two, with different themes) or maybe the desert is more your clime and that's the temple you want to explore. Each temple holds its own surprises - good and bad! Players can sign up to have a piece of an item appear in their possession, from the temple of their choice. They must then find the characters with the other pieces of the item, assemble it, and venture out to return the completed item to its temple. The temples are of varying levels of difficulty, split between those who prefer action, those who prefer puzzles, and a mix of both. (This means that receiving a piece of an item is a commitment to a group activity, so those who sign up should take this into consideration.) As with any good ancient ruin, there is the possibility that traps could be sprung and need to be evaded. And be careful: you may not be the only ones braving the ruins for possible information and glory... was that someone unfamiliar moving past the corner of your eye? Players can instead choose to signed their Characters up to receive Meta Plot clues from one of three temple-roving strangers, but they must enter the temples to encounter them. ~*~ Item Sign-Up Deadline: Monday, March 15th at midnight. The form is in a comment below the post! This will give us time to prepare the items for each team. Plot Start Date: Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 5:37 a.m. Plot End Date: Sunday, April 4th, 2021 at midnight Plot Catch All Post: The Mods will post a Pre-Dated Catch All Plot Post for plot related things on the 17th of March so that you can all get a head start on playing with this plot. Technically, the ruins don't bleed through until the 20th, but you guys can start playing on the Catch-All when we post it up. Please reserve network reactions for the actual start date and keep all pre-dated interactions involving the plot on the Catch-All Post. How The Convergence Ends: At noon on Sunday, April 4th, earthquakes will shake the foundations of the three temples, and they will begin to collapse. Any characters who are still inside must make a daring escape … and once they set foot outside the temple doors, they will be back in New York City proper again. As night falls, the temples will sink into the ground, and by morning the city will be back to normal. Any uncured curses will need to be treated by the Bureau … hopefully they have left the afflicted with something to consider. The Convergence How this convergence works... When our universe and this Dieselpunk Adventure universe collide on the spring equinox, it will create a third plane of existence. This existence is comprised of the modern day city of New York City - all its buildings, landmarks, infrastructure - mixed throughout with swaths of various dieselpunk adventure terrain: actual jungles and deserts. Well, just fuck, right? It's as if the two universes smashed into each other and some parts of each got all mushed together. Your character will be walking down a block of NYC, turn a corner and then be confronted with a patch of sweltering jungle or the unbearable heat of a desert sun. These patches might be just one city block, or stretch for great swaths of multiple city blocks. But at all times, characters will be able to see NYC skyline in the distance. It should be noted that there are only patches of this Dieselpunk Adventure universe, they don't lead deeper into the this second universe than can be seen. Of particular note is the lack of Earth NPCs. Only the characters and the Bureau personnel will remain from our universe. Conversely, the only sentients that will exist from the Dieselpunk Adventure universe will be the temple guardians outlined below. The Jaguar Temple ✦ The Action-Based Option ✦ If your character knows their history, this temple feels similar to the style of Mayan ruins. The team returning their artifact to this location will find their endurance tested by timing-based traps and pitfalls in line with the 90s game show Legends of the Hidden Temple. The Temple's Guardians: This temple is guarded by semi-sentient spiders. They are black with bright orange spots on the backs of their abdomens. They range in size from a few inches to up to the size of your hand. They stick mostly around the temple, moving in packs. But sentinels can be found in the jungles surrounding the temple, so keep out a sharp eye. Generally, if you aren't harming the temple or them, they will leave you alone, but it's best to give them a wide berth. The Werejaguar's Curse The optional Werejaguar Curse affects the weak of will or those lacking confidence, and is meant to help inspire bravery and remind characters of their inner strength. However, they will also be less restrained in their inhibitions. To break this curse, the character must make a successful foray into the temple and leave some of their blood on the Jaguar Stone at the temple’s center (think of the blood sacrifice in Pirates of the Caribbean). The Temple of the Monkey God ✦ The Puzzle-Based Option ✦ If your character knows their history, this temple feels similar to the styles of Kambuja ruins. (Like Indiana Jones & The Forbidden Temple or the Shambala ruins in Uncharted 2.) Those returning items to this temple are faced with a series of puzzles only - no strenuous physical activity is required. The Temple's Guardians: This temple is guarded by semi-sentient serpents. They are bright lime green and reach about six to eight feet in length. They stick mostly around the temple, moving in packs (if you can say that about snakes). But sentinels can be found in the jungles surrounding the temple, so keep out a sharp eye. Generally, if you aren't harming the temple or them, they will leave you alone, but it's best to give them a wide berth. Hanuman's Curse The optional Curse of Hanuman the Monkey God affects the selfish and/or self-centered and robs them of speech. To break the curse, characters must solve one specific puzzle to gain a piece of holy resin, then find the secret passage leading to the Shambhala Tree, where they must burn the resin in a stone censer and meditate in its light. After meditation, the curse breaks, and characters receive a blank journal like this to symbolize that they know little of the universe(s). The Scarab Temple ✦ The "Both Is Good" Option ✦ If your chracter knows their history, this temple feels similar to the styles of Egyptian temples. The item found from this temple will require a combination of puzzle-solving and physical challenges to return it successfully. The Temple's Guardians: This temple is guarded by semi-sentient scarabs. Their beetle wings are black, iridescent, and beautiful to look at. They fit in the palm of your hand, but touching them is ill-advised! They stick mostly around the temple, moving in swarms. But sentinels can be found in the jungles surrounding the temple, so keep out a sharp eye. Generally, if you aren't harming the temple or them, they will leave you alone, but it's best to give them a wide berth. The Scarab's Curse The optional Scarab’s Curse affects those swayed by appearances: anyone affected begins to rot or decay. The curse can be cured by reciting the correct passage found in the temple. (Loophole: yes, you can have someone bring the passage back to you. Conveniently, archaeologists who have come before you have made translations to be found in the ruins.) Questions Can I keep my team’s Temple Item instead of returning it? No, items must be returned, you greedy Gus. Any item which goes unreturned will crumble to dust at the end of the plot. (The only exceptions are journals received by victims of Hanuman's Curse.) Again, please be reminded that players who sign up for the Temple Item plots are signing up for group adventures. If your character doesn't participate, it will change or slow the adventure for the rest of the group. Can my character die from any of the curses? No. In the event that your character does not enter their appropriate temple to solve the curse, they will be hospitalized by the Bureau in its sequestered facility and treated for a week to resolve the symptoms. What about the traps? Are those deadly too? Yes, particularly any bites from the Guardians. There are water traps in two different temples where characters could drown, one with the possibility of blunt force trauma to the head, and several other things that could prove fatal to your characters. Characters are allowed to die in this plot, however, coming back at the end will require the player (via their character) pay a price (lose an item in game, lose some powers or memories, etc). So, please Contact the Mods if you are considering killing your character and we can work out the price of your character returning at the end of the plot. OR, if you just want to kill off your character all together, and not bring them back, that's allowed in this plot, too! Just come talk to the mods so we know what's up. What about the Temple Guardians? Will they kill my character? Respect the temples and the intent of their respective spirits, and you may not ever need to find out... The Guardians will kill only if a character is being disrespectful to the Temple. And if you want your character to suffer that wrath - have fun! (Just remember to come talk to us mods.) HOWEVER, if your character is respectful towards the Temple and the Guardians - especially if your character is Cursed and in need of assistance in the Temple - the Guardians are likely to give characters small hints to help them out. How many Meta Plot items are there to be found? Two at each temple, for a total of six. Some of these items will require further investigation past the end of the plot! Players can apply to receive a Meta Plot item, and they will be given out at random via Random Number Generator, designated as Item A and Item B. Mods will privately message item recipients after the RNG has been run, then give out these items ICly at the appropriate point in the temple exploration. Can I collect a Temple Item and a Meta Item? No, for the sake of fairness you must choose one or the other. If you choose a a Temple Item, your character must ICly volunteer to work with others through their own motivation. If you choose a Meta Item, your character must ICly volunteer to explore the temples through their own motivation. Is my character allowed to explore jungles or deserts, without getting involved with the Temples? Absolutely! This plot is meant to capture the spirit of Epic Treasure-Hunting & Adventure canons in general, so have fun! There are jungle and desert patches scattered all over the city. The jungles will either contain flora and fauna similar to South America OR Southeast Asia. The desert contains flora and fauna (and geological formations) similar to the eastern Sahara Desert. So go forth and know these places better! Can my character explore the Temples without getting involved in the plots? Oh sure! What are the Opt Out Options? The same as the last convergence plot: A: Your character can simply be out of NYC during the whole time of the plot. They will not be able to reenter NYC during the scope of the plot - all their efforts will be thwarted by natural and understandable reasons if they do try to come home during the plot. B: Voluntarily hide out in the Bureau building. The Bureau will make an announcement encouraging the Different to come stay in the safety of the Bureau Building. All Different will be given accommodations in the Bureau building dorms - which are rooms with private bathrooms, but a shared cafeteria. They will not be allowed to explore other parts of the Bureau building. C: Be rendered unconscious by the convergence - in which case the Bureau will retrieve your character for the duration of the plot, and they will wake up in the Bureau’s medical facility. What will happen to my character's home?! None of the characters' homes will be turned into jungle or desert... however, they might just walk out their front door into a patch of jungle or desert. Fun or maybe unfun for your character - up to them to decide! I have more questions! Ask them below! TRAMITEM GAME LINKS Premise | Welcome | FAQ/Rules | Taken | Wanted | Reserves | Apps Player List | Mod Contact | New Canonmates | AU Workshop Hiatuses | Drops | Points Page | Credits | RP Resources | Game Plots | Calendar New York City | Expanded Universe | The Bureau | Character Places COMMUNITY LINKS Network | Comm | Logs | OOC | Memes | Mod Journal

... What dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause ...

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CW: Some descriptions of spiders and snakes