EVENT WRITE-UP: A FEW TASKS

[futurologists]

welcome to oska Congrats on surviving the return to HQ, timehoppers! As revealed on the network, Oska hasn’t actually been destroyed. The whole debacle was an elaborate simulation set up by veteran overseers, testing the team’s survival smarts and combat readiness for the next mission. On the evening of day 7 of the event, all weather events and damage to Oska and the village vanished, leaving everything completely restored. But there’s still some time to go, so enjoy Oska properly—no tricks this time. Please see here for the updated castle locations. Oska will be open for exploration in general and recruits can take it easy if they so choose, but the ALASTAIR officials will also be issuing a notice for various tasks around the grounds. Consider it a chance to get to know each other! MANUAL LABOR (EVENT SIGN-UPS) ICly, characters may either volunteer or be randomly shuffled into a group by accident; once assigned, they’ll be expected to show up and harangued by the castle’s animated suits of armor until they cooperate. All successful attempts will be rewarded. Tasks are divided by location: training center (limit: 2 teams of 10 each) Ever played Capture The Flag? This is a lot like that, but with more murder. Don’t worry, it’s only simulated murder. Characters will be split into two teams of ten — the red team and the blue team, and taken to the Training Center, where a special training simulation is waiting for them. The simulation is set in the spacious swamps of Asharion, where several priceless magical artifacts have been scattered. The objective is to capture each artifact and bring it back to your team’s base camp at each end of the swamp; the winning team will be the one with the most artifacts at their base by the time the timer runs out OR the team with the last standing member(s). Each person will have a certain amount of hit points, and when they run out, they’ll be shoved out of the simulation and back into real life. No ALASTAIR recruits will be actually hurt, and an excellent reward is promised, so go forth and murder your friends! library (limit: 15) The library is enormous, filled with books covering a wide range of subjects. It is also very temperamental, and doesn’t like to have its items misshelved. The stacks are in need of reorganizing, but unfortunately there’s no real guide as to the proper order; you’d better figure it out quickly, though—every time a book is misshelved, another one pops out. This is made all the worse by certain effects accompanying opened pages... greenhouse (limit: 15) Oska is home to flora and agriculture from across the multiverse, and the greenhouse is in need of a little pruning. But none of those plants should go to waste: recruits will be expected to help restock the potions cabinet with a little crash course on alchemy. Risks include man-eating plants, exploding cauldrons, friends who can’t follow simple directions, and toxins galore. Try not to poison each other too badly. stables (limit: 15) The other side of the courtyard will be free of pesky plants, but it’s got its own set of problems. Namely the kind with fangs, hooves, and bone-shattering wings: the pets and mounts housed in the stables have gotten loose! Most of the creatures are tame enough to get back into place with a little coaxing, charm, and bribery, but a few might need a little more encouragement. Take care not to hurt anything, though—these creatures are valuable ALASTAIR members too. Sign up in the comments below! Please denote your first and second choice option, and we will let you know which group you're in at a later date. If more than the max number of people sign up for a particular activity, spots will be determined by RNG. Sign-ups for the training center will close MARCH 3RD, while all other groups will remain open until slots are filled. For those that would rather not participate, general castle exploration and some other, small tasks will be up on the log as well. A note on activity: for fairness’ sake, players that don't show up to their logs cannot sign up for whatever the next event with capped numbers may be. We won’t be gauging or judging activity as a whole, just be sure to pop in eventually. If you need to withdraw, you're welcome to do so before the event starts! IN OTHER NEWS From here on out, the ALASTAIR NPCs will be available via inbox. However, please note that these characters should be contacted for plot-relevant purposes only. ICly they will be busy with their own missions and tasks, and at times will be completely unavailable. Consider them as plot devices and fixtures rather than characters. Their IC contact post is located here.

Comments

QUESTIONS?

[futurologists]

[adlantisag]

Two questions!

1 - Can characters find info about their own worlds in the Library, or is that off-limits due to potential fourthwalling/are they limited to the mirrors?

2 - Do characters' mounts live in the stables while they're in Oska, or can they stay in the recruits' rooms (or elsewhere........like the lake......)? Will/can PC mounts be part of the 'stables' activity?

This all looks incredible, thank you so much!

[futurologists]

1) They might find books from their world in the library, but there won't be anything written about it as from an outside perspective. In terms of fourth walling, however, they will conveniently not find any works of fiction involving characters currently in game.

2) Character mounts can live where ever characters would rather keep them! Stables, recruit rooms, and the lake is all fair game, no one is enforcing it. They can be part of the activity if you'd like to volunteer them for it!

[perma_banned]

Is the kitchen stocked or just 100% empty?

Basically, can anybody walk in and start cooking?

Also, what about liquor? Asking to be sure.

[futurologists]

The kitchen is fully stocked, including liquor, and anyone is welcome to start cooking. However, as meals are already cooked and ready to go in the kitchen, they might find it difficult to find space for it. A truly determined cook who doesn't mind setting aside constantly reappearing dishes courses could probably find a way.

[dishearten]

Chantes is restored but what about characters that were injured during hellweek? Are they restored as well?

AKA wolfbro had a hard time :(

[futurologists]

Effects from the simulation will continue after it's over. If your character is, for example, injured or muddy, they can come out of the virtual reality like that. If they would sustain a fatal injury, they'd be kicked out of the simulation automatically via built-in safety protocols.

If you'd rather they exit the simulation without injuries, he can just have localized aches, pains, and bruises. We'll leave that up to you!

[trenchdoting]

If we have two characters, are we allowed to sign up both of them? (I intend to volunteer them each for different tasks if so!)

[futurologists]

As long as they aren't doing the same tasks, that's fine!

Re: QUESTIONS?

[hellshaped]

Hi mods! Everything looks so great, I can't wait to explore Oska. C: Quick question: did we ever find out who won the uniform contest? What do characters' uniforms look like?

[futurologists]

Our bad -- we'll be officially announcing the new uniforms with the upcoming log! Until then, you can assume the character armoires are locked.

Re: QUESTIONS?

[chaoscontrol]

Are the characters doing the training exercise allowed to use their communicators during their mission?

[futurologists]

They will be able to use them, but they'll find that they can only contact members of their team at this time. When the simulation is over, the jewelry will go back to normal.

[hsalf]

So reposting from plurk: If we signed up late, with the post already up, should we wait for our character name to be reflected in the group listing to confirm we made the cap?

[futurologists]

To avoid over-crowding in any group, we'd like to ask that you wait! After you sign up, we'll reply to you and let you know which group you're in, then you'll be good to go!

[riastraid]

Thank you guys, this looks great! Quick question on the training center crew: are they allowed to have spectators?

[futurologists]

Characters not involved in the game can watch the others over their jewelry. They will not, however, be able to interact with any of the players.

[respired]

So what happens if you open a romance novel?

[futurologists]

Rose petals will float romantically down from nowhere, and characters may find themselves fighting the urge to pull their shirts halfway open and stand dramatically, buffeted by the wind.

[roque]

Quick question about the nature of the training ground simulation! I know they aren't getting hurt in reality, but will attacks and injuries still hurt and bleed until their HP/the timer runs out, or is it a more G-rated game?

[futurologists]

It's possible for them to feel a mitigated amount of pain, if you'd like. For the most part, though, they won't feel much pain and will be able to continue on like normal.

[ackingcraycray]

REGARDING THE SPIKED HORKLES:

Would a sick rap beat work?

REGARDING THE SIXERS:

If someone were to try wrapping something around their hooves, would it be possible to smother the potential sparks out? Or would it just burst into flame anyway and set the horse's legs on fire?

[futurologists]

HORKLES: Yes! (They will bop their heads to the beat.)

SIXERS: This method will start a fire! Oh no! However, they are fireproof, so they won't be very bothered.

[adoube]

The most worthless of all Qs, but bear with me: are the uniforms optional or mandatory?

If mandatory: would it be all right for Dio's to be white? There's this weird colour-designation caste system in the society he's from, so the colour change would be... problematic on his end.

Thank you!

[futurologists]

There is a white option, so he is free to use that. The uniforms may be modified (within reason!) so if he requires white trousers and boots, that is allowed. As long as it follows the color scheme (white, black, purple) and maintains the ALASTAIR logo, you're fine!

As for the uniforms being mandatory, they are not strictly required, but they are the only clothing articles that will replenish themselves in characters' closets. No other clothing will be provided free of charge; characters will have to hope that different worlds have clothing they can purchase, which may not always be the case. In addition, the uniforms are fairly durable (fire-, water-, and weather-proof; stain-resistant; etc) so they are recommended.