APRIL CALENDAR.

[futurologists]

CALENDAR APRIL 1ST ★ Activity check for March begins. MARCH ACTIVITY CHECK ENDS ON APRIL 5, 11:59 PM GMT. Sorry, this isn't an April Fools' Joke! APRIL 2ND ★ A WHOLE NEW WORLD. The denizens of Komo have been hard at work figuring out a way to traverse the waters without their Gifts. While their solution is far from perfect, it gets the job done. Time to see the rest of Nalawi -- and uncover some important history, while you're at it. It isn't all fun and games, though. Recruits with magical aptitude will notice that their powers, too, are beginning to weaken. Think of it as an incentive to figure this out, and fast. APRIL 16TH ★ BOOM! PROBLEM SOLVED? Thanks to a tip-off from your ever-helpful feline advisors, a few recruits go to solve the power loss problem once and for all. Of course, this is ALASTAIR, and nothing ever goes quite to plan. We will be offering two plot slots in this month's AC rewards to kickstart this plot, but there will be opportunities for everyone to be involved.

Comments

QUESTIONS.

[futurologists]

[humerous]

If your character is quite literally made of magic, will the weakening of magical powers still only affect their powers or would it have any additional effects, like weakening them overall?

[ackingcraycray]

maybe they just wink out of existence and die instead

[ex_mettacrusher33]

WOW

[ackingcraycray]

shh shh, at least mtt will leave a pretty corpse behind

[ex_mettacrusher33]

always looking on the bright side.

[humerous]

[ackingcraycray]

[respired]

omg???

[futurologists]

We'll be leaving this up to player discretion! If you would like to play it as being weakened entirely, that's fine, but people are being affected differently at different rates -- you can always say that part of them hasn't been affected yet.

[humerous]

thank you!

[respired]

SUPPOSE your character is held together by magic-stuff, but is also capable of consuming it from various inanimate/animate sources ... is there any magic native to this world in particular? I assume it'll be suffering the Weakening as well, but it's something Koltira would try, so I thought I'd ask about feasibility in any case c:

[futurologists]

Yes, there is! Koltira will find trace elements of residual magic in the ocean water. It won't be enough to grant him any power out of it, of course, but it should just enough to keep him going. He can also siphon powers from locals with remaining Gifts or, of course, teammates.

[defenceless]

Kind of adding on to this, but if your character produces mana/magical energy naturally, what would be the effects? Rin doesn't necessarily need it to survive, but it's a natural part of being a magus from her world. In complicated Fate lingo, she has things called magic circuits that make magical energy, and she then uses that to cast spells, to keep Archer alive, etc.!

While I'm at it, would the links between Masters and Servants weaken or be less effective?

[futurologists]

In the case of a magical circuit, its output will decrease as the days go on. Characters that need magic to survive can still take it from the ocean and their fellow recruits, so if her weaker circuit won't supply enough for her spells, Archer, etc, they'll have to supplement from outside sources.

Keep in mind that though the power loss is gradual, even the residual magic in the ocean won't be enough to provide anything more than the bare minimum to survive. To be clear, every character with abilities should consider this a nerf. We leave the exact measure of power loss during that two week period up to each player, so long as the limits set here are respected. It's better to err on the side of weakness than strength!

As for the Master/Servant bond, as it is supernatural in nature, it would also diminish with time.

[defenceless]

Thank you for all the information! That's totally understandable. I'd been wondering about how the magical circuits/magical energy would work with damping in place since the castle plot in Chantes, so this answers a lot for me all at once.

You say here that they can take energy from their fellow recruits, so I've got one more question! In Fate, characters can also transfer mana or give each other a mana jolt through various means... Could we still assume that benefit is in place for those characters, just that any boost received from it is appropriately weakened as well? (The transfer is honestly really simple, it can just be stuff like handholding or whatever.)

[futurologists]

Yes, that would be fine! The ability can still remain, but it will be in a weakened state.

[defenceless]

Thank you so much for answering all my questions! c:

[riastraid]

Hello mods...! I have a couple questions, my b if I've misunderstood anything:

1. How do abilities that are superhuman but not 'magical' in nature work? E.g. superhuman strength, supernatural anything, etc. I'm guessing these'll start to wane too?
2. Can we assume magical items can be affected as well?
3. Does this apply to ALASTAIR-granted equipment and abilities?

[futurologists]

1. Yes! Basically anything that wouldn't be considered "normal" baseline ability can be affected, regardless of whether it's inherently magical or not.
2. Magical trinkets, weapons, etc may also begin to lose their shine, yes. That said, some equipment, like the shark necklace reward in the current log, as well as the teleportation rings (which are based on ALASTAIR portal technology, not magic) will continue to work.
3. Yes, this means some AC rewards will also begin to deteriorate.

[adoube]

Re: 1. — would abilities resulting from interbreeding genetic enhancements be affected? They're not 'magical' powers, but your answer to 1. makes me think that might be a yes...






I'm sorry, I never get to use this icon otherwise.

[futurologists]

That might indeed be a yes! Basically, if it provides any sort of advantage beyond what a baseline human would have, it will begin to weaken, regardless of whether it is caused by magic, genetic mutations or enhancements, supernatural causes, and so forth.

[adoube]

A-ha! Thanks for the clarification!

[weirdologist]

this event is a paranormal nerd's goldmine holy shit

could Ford run some experiments and tests to see if he could figure out what's going on?

[futurologists]

Could you please be more specific? We'd be happy to work with you on this, but you'll have to submit some ideas to us first before we can tell you if you'll have usable results!

[dishearten]

SO GRAHAM ISN'T MAGICAL, BUT... he is heartless and I have been handwavey saying that he survives thanks to magic around that allows heartless people to live without one, and that's why he's not dead dead atm.

would this mean he could be affected/weakened by whatever is slowing chars down? I ask ONLY because I have been struggling to find a motivation for him to ask ALISTAIR for a heart, and this could do it!

[futurologists]

We'll leave it up to you! Do as you wish, or whatever option will be the most fun for you to play out.

[queenofsalt]

Is there a thread that's set the stage for using ALISTAIR's portal system to travel between islands? I'd love to read it if there is one!

Being a newbie to the game, is there any sort of hierarchy to the teammates here that Lessa would be briefed on before joining? (I'm just double-checking before putting a network post up about 'what gives, who's in charge?' etc etc like all new characters tend to do in situations like this!)

[futurologists]

ALASTAIR's technique of delivering recruits to new worlds requires too much power to be used for in-world travel. Exploration of the other islands will be unlocked soon, however! Just hang tight.

New recruits are debriefed on the inner workings of ALASTAIR, so she would know there technically is no one "in charge" per se. All recruits are at the same "level"; the only thing that is really in charge is the mechanical room in Oska.

[trenchdoting]

This is more of a general question for Komo (and apologies if I wind up asking this at every future location), but would Gumshoe making a trek around Komo with his metal detector turn up anything unusual?

[futurologists]

He won't find much of monetary value, but with some searching, his metal detector will go off over by the coastline! If he digs deep enough into the sand, he can find a rather large hunk of junk metal. It's been weathered and forgotten, but it's the remains of what was once a finely made chassis for some kind of vehicle. The metalwork is impressive, and shares little in common with the brick and mortar lifestyle that the Nalawi have.

[trenchdoting]

Ooh that's interesting stuff. The coastline is certainly one area he would check, so I'll be sure to play with this! Thanks!

[nichocolatine]

this is probably a long shot, but badou's thinking of going around and speaking to the natives to try and get a better understanding of this whole nalanni situation. if he were to go around poking his nose and mingling with the natives (particularly around the council, the dead walk — he'd actually try to speak to the "ghosts", regardless if he actually sees one or not, the marketplace, and the komoans who run the ferries), will he be able to glean anything about her? specifically, he's looking to hear about her legends! as well as native speculation for the unfortunate happenings, past "we're being punished"

[futurologists]

Most legends and folklore about Nalanni can be seen on the Temple walls, though the priests and scribes will politely decline to go into more detail as they have other, more pressing fires to put out. In general, the stories are mostly of her granting Gifts and her role as a savior in the war against the Dakal. Though there's other legends, they are mostly fantastic and mythological, tellings of her raising lava to create straits of land so the Nalawi could better travel, or the day she blackened the sky with ash in grief. What little can be gleaned from interpreting various murals mostly attest to her direct power and presence, both of which are missing lately.

Asking the natives for much of anything else right now will result in rudeness. At best, they'll passive-aggressively tell Badou that maybe he should come up with his own ideas as to why everything is going so poorly, or spin increasingly ridiculous theories in hopes he'll go away.

[defenceless]

If recruits set up "mana traps", or deliberate concentrations of lots of mana/magical energy in certain locations as "bait", would anything result from it? Rin would know they'd be drained and she's more interested in attracting whatever is feeding on the magical energy, if anything.

If this would be considered a plotty thing I'm glad to treat it that way! I just realized it might be something Rin would do, after talking to some people on her post.

[futurologists]

Please see our answer here for more in regards to draining! In short, magic will dissipate at ordinary speed or slower, depending on the proximity to bodies of ocean water.

As for setting out "bait," there is nothing eating the mana.

[defenceless]

Thank you!

i got a new icon just for you guys

[defenceless]

Hi again, mods! Another question for you, and I apologize if it's been asked elsewhere and I'm just rehashing things!

Is there any way to reach or attempt to make contact with Nalanni at this time? In particular, could recruits travel into the Nalalona volcano, given proper precautions to protect them from the life-threatening heat such as magical barriers from those still able to produce them or natural resistance to heat, to search for her? I noticed in the write-up for the last event log it said she's "rumored to live within the volcano". Also, based on Cherenkov's comment in that recent network post, it might be suspected among some of the recruits that one of their only alternatives to the bomb catapult idea could be somehow finding that goddess or a sign of her.

Other ideas that occur to me are exploring the volcano for signs of general weirdness—because of the Nalanni-Nalalona connection, Rin might think she "wears" the volcano when she's active or manifests through the volcano—though I also note as you mention here there might not be much to see, traveling down into other volcanoes in search of Nalanni, investigating Nalalona beneath sea level, or deploying fire-protected familiars into Nalalona to explore.

If it matters, Rin has an elemental connection to fire and earth, so maybe she could pull on that while in/on the volcano? Or again with the mana trap idea, trying to concentrate mana as a way of "talking" to Nalanni?

Thanks, as always, for reading this! c: EDIT: And if it was too late to suggest ideas or anything, please feel free to disregard this! I definitely don't want to step on any toes, this was all done with the intent to bring up some fun plotty ideas and I wasn't too sure if we could actually suggest things or not.

[futurologists]

Hi! We have previously told players who have come to us that Nalanni is currently unresponsive, so she cannot be reached by magical/telepathic means.

As for physically reaching her, we have told Seiko here that the vent of Nalalona is currently blocked by a volcanic plug and is therefore not passable, especially not with recruits' powers dimmed as they are. The same is true for other volcanoes.

Recruits are welcome to take their own readings to verify what the NPCs have found (unusually high energy readings coming from the volcano, tectonic activity) but due to this event being linked to AC bonus-bought plot slots, we will be continuing as planned. However, we have ideas to implement your suggestion in the next leg of the mission, so keep an eye out for next month's calendar!

Thank you, as always, for your thoughtful suggestions! Let us know if you need anything clarified or have any further questions.

[defenceless]

That makes perfect sense and is completely understandable! Thank you for reading this and considering it. c:

As an addition, because I was just googling it and we had a whole chat on plurk!:

Re: familiars in particular (and if I'm googling things right!), a familiar constructed from a gem able to withstand very high heat could potentially survive in the volcano, if the volcanic plug was removed or somehow made passable. If Nalawi's volcanoes run about as hot as Earth's, for example, a diamond familiar would last without melting, especially if it was treated to block air so it wouldn't burn. Rin has gems on hand to use for this.

[futurologists]

That could be interesting! We'll be sure to keep that in mind as well. c:

[defenceless]

Love the new deer icon. :) Awesome, thank you!

[defenceless]

Hello! c: More questions!

- Is there a CR meme going up soon/are CR memes monthly? I was assuming there was going to be a CR meme on the 17th because our last one was on March 17th, when I looked back and realized Futuro has never really had a set schedule! I think having a CR meme this month would be a good idea, if it fits in with everything!

- If Rin talks to the Nalawi natives nearest the Nalalona volcano and tries to relocate them to avoid possible dangerous consequences from the eruption, what sort of response would she encounter? She wouldn't lie about the nature of ALASTAIR's plan or what they're doing in explaining the reason for evacuation. If this is better asked on the upcoming log, I understand! c:

Thanks, mods!

[futurologists]

We don't currently have a set schedule and initially weren't planning on posting one this month, but we're discussing whether a regular monthly (or otherwise) CR meme is appropriate for our small game. Thanks for the suggestion! It helps hearing outside opinions on the matter.

As for Nalawi reaction, this is part of the upcoming log and will be addressed there. c: If you have any further questions after the log goes live, feel free to ask us there.