Event Post: Flu Season

[hadrielmods]

THE RUNDOWN

Because nothing can ever be nice for that long in Hadriel, Fear has come up with an exciting and new idea to gain a little power. And hey, can you blame him? If the Null attack again, he's the only one who can help the city escape. He needs the power! So don't be too hard on him when you notice you're getting the sniffles - at least, not until it starts getting worse.

Starting on March 20th, an intense and unpleasant flu will begin circling the city. It starts off just like you'd expect: sniffles, coughs, sore throats. All easily dealt with, if annoying - after all, it's been awhile since anyone's had a cold in Hadriel. But as the sickness gets worse, the effects escalate into something a lot more upsetting. Unlike the normal flu, as your temperature rises so does an intense and all-consuming paranoia. Everyone is out to get you - your friends, your roommates, those nice people at the clinic.

The flu-like symptoms fade as the paranoia runs its course, and after a few days even that is gone. Let's just hope you didn't do anything terrible in the grips of your illness. By March 30th, the last of the symptoms will have run their course, and the flu disappears from the city.

THE DETAILS

This flu is caused by magic, and won't spare anyone. Even if your character is normally incapable of getting sick, they're just as likely to be affected as a normal human, and just as severely. In addition, the sickness is extremely contagious - any kind of close proximity or sharing of fluids can pass it on, so if you want to tend to someone without getting sick, it might be time to figure out some quarantine procedures.

It progresses in a seemingly normal way at first: starting with mild symptoms, like a cough or a sore throat, and progressing to bad headaches, muscle aches, and plenty of sneezing. After a couple days of that, you'll start feeling feverish. That's when the paranoia begins to kick in, and just like the original symptoms, it'll start out small and hardly noticeable, with suspicions and wariness, and build into a full-on psychosis where you're sure everyone is out to get you - or maybe just one person specifically. Are they hiding something from you? Or do they just want to get rid of you forever?

A day or two after the paranoia begins, just as it's starting to reach its peak, the physical symptoms will have faded away. So don't worry, you'll be in great physical condition while you're busy trying to figure out who's plotting against you and why! At least for a day or so, until the paranoia begins to subside too, and you're left with the effects of your actions. Oh - and the high likelihood that you've infected anyone close to you, and they'll start acting weird in a day or two.

Of course, you might get lucky and escape the sickness. Or you might decide to get the hell out of town until Fear is finished with his games - go find a Hope temple to collect energy from, or just camp out away from the city. That'll get you out of harm's way... at least, as long as you're not already affected. Was that sneeze caused by the dust, or something else?

THE OVERVIEW

► March 20th: People start getting sick
► March 30th: The last of the symptoms fade