Event OOC: Across the Seven Seas

[hadrielmods]

THE RUNDOWN

Hadriel is a much nicer place to live than it was the last time we went on these expeditions. We have electricity, running water, and enough food to survive off of. Awesome! Unfortunately, that's still not enough- everyone wants to find more pieces of the Door, and with Name's helpful coordinates from earlier in the month, it might be possible to give the Door a different sort of functionality! As eager as everyone most people are to get home, this certainly seems like something worth pursuing, and so away we go!

Traveling has never been easy, particularly on the open sea, and this won't be any different. Luckily, the gods will be able to supply you equipment to ease your journey, based on how many of you sided with them on the In Need Of A Boat event.

• Confusion: With the least amount of helpers, Confusion's boats are... rickety at best. There are seven sailboats, all comprised mainly of wood, though some of the more vital equipment- such as the rudders and anchor winch- has been upgraded to more durable material, such as fiberglass and steel. These boats will stay afloat in the open sea, but they may cause a little worry in doing so, as they're prone to minor leaks and will need repairs along the way. They're also relatively small, small enough that more than three people in the same boat will get rather crowded, and it isn't really advised to set sail with any more than five. There is a small cabin in the hull of the ship that will sleep two comfortably, three if two are willing to get a little cozy, and five if you pack yourselves in like sardines. In addition, there is a storage area that comes with other equipment which has been granted by the gods.

• Hope: With some of the most amount of helpers, Hope will ensure that you eat like kings. In the storage area, there are a variety of delicious meats, cheeses, breads and cakes that will keep for the long journey, as well as water, juice, tea, and even a small amount of beer. There is an excess of food and drink as well, enough that you could be gone for a much longer trip without worrying about acquiring your own food- though if you did have to, he's also supplied every boat with its own fishing pole!

• Sorrow: With the greatest amount of support, Sorrow's maps and instructions are... incredibly detailed. Getting lost is virtually impossible, as his guidance doesn't just help you navigate, but it seems as though the boats themselves desire to be steered in the right direction. Every night is clear so you can use the stars to navigate, and the waters themselves are far less aggressive than they should be at sea.

• Fear: Tying with Rage for second-to-last place with his number of supporters, Fear's diving equipment can be explained as "probably unlikely to cause anyone's death". Overall, each boat is stocked with four sets of scuba gear, including breathing tanks, flippers, and full face diving mask- though no wetsuits of any kind, so you might want to bring something to swim in, as the water itself will be quite chilly. The oxygen tanks will for up to two hours, though some of them may randomly deplete slightly faster. The goggles are a bit leaky and the flippers might be a bit too big for your feet, but overall it's functional enough. The face masks have small microphones and headsets in them which allow you to communicate to your other divers, though sometimes the sound will be staticky, fuzzy, or simply not go through at all.

• Love: With an average amount of supporters, Love's compass making skills will be up to par, luckily adequate enough to allow them to partner with Sorrow for those self-navigating boats. The navigation is more of a suggestion than it is the boats actually driving themselves, so it will still need plenty of attention to arrive at its destination, but it will definitely be a big help for those who are unexperienced at sea navigation. The compasses provided are functional, without doing too much extra.

• Rage: Another victim of 'maybe if you stopped being a jerk, more people would support you' is Rage, the provider of magical sails- though, the sails aren't exactly magical at this point. They are functional and liable to not tear or rip off the boats for any reason, but everyone will be expected to wrangle them on their own, opening and closing the sails as dictated by the wind. Unfortunately the sails will also not be constantly filled with that magical wind to keep you moving either, so expect a few periods of windlessness, where you've got absolutely no forward motion at all. She didn't even see fit to give you any oars either, so- good luck!

• Tranquility: Tranquility received an average amount of support, and as such, his containers are simple and standard black hinged boxes, one box on each ship, which means that each ship can only pick up one fragment each. These containers are fairly beneficial, as handling the Door fragments for too long, or being in their proximity for an extended amount of time, may result in characters having chaotic, disorganized thoughts, hearing voices, or finding themselves succumbing to the call of the void. Luckily, closing the fragment inside of these boxes nullifies any adverse effects that it may have on the mentality of those around it.

With all of your gifts in tow, it's time to set sail! And maybe consider the possibility of supporting different gods in the future, but that's alright- everything is at least functional, even if it's not entirely safe. Best of luck to you, and happy sailing!

THE DETAILS

There are seven boats and seven fragments scattered across the sea. In order to ensure everyone who wants to participate in the retrieval of the fragments can set sail with the rest of them, we will not be having boat signups, nor will we keep track of specific boats. If you would like your character and their friends to have taken a boat to find a fragment, then go ahead! On that note, however, please avoid having characters go out on solo missions: while this is likely possible for several of the characters here, the intent for these expedition events is to generate CR in various adventures, so be sure to grab a few friends to help keep watch!

As some of the fragments are scattered a great distance apart, all of the expeditions will have a variable time in which your character will be gone- at the very least, each trip will take a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of six weeks. How long you want your character to be gone is up to you, but remember that they will be sharing their limited space with other characters on the boat for that entire duration, which leaves plenty of room for threading out various interactions amongst the crew.

In addition, the travelers will still have access to the network, offering them communication with other travelers, as well as people back on the home islands- that is, except for the duration of our Deserted event, which will happen at the end of August.

THE WORLD

On the surface, the ocean is just that- an ocean. Expect weather conditions and water behaviors similar to earth. The water is not drinkable and further out it can get particularly choppy, though Sorrow and Love should be able to prevent any lethal storms from taking out your little boats. Be prepared to fight the waves as they pummel against the rickety hull of your boats, and enjoy wrestling with your sails as you furl and unfurl them multiple times per day to try to catch good winds and work against bad winds.

There will be other islands on your journey that you're welcome to make camp at if you've gotten a bit too seasick, though no large bodies of land where a city might reasonably fit. The islands vary in size, ranging from just slightly smaller than Hadriel's largest island, to a glorified rock that's barely big enough to dock at. The islands themselves are sparse and rocky with virtually no greenery to be seen on any of them.

As far as wildlife goes, you're welcome to fish for food with the fishing poles that Hope supplied, though you definitely don't have to. Alien fish do exist and none of them are poisonous, so feel free to get creative with various fished-up species if you wish. In terms of threats and predators, very little will bother you above the water, though you may see larger creatures surfacing in the distance every now and again.

Below the water is another story altogether. While this planet is not exactly bursting with life, there are definitely a few colorful creatures to be found, ranging from aggressive fish to docile rainbow-colored plants, to threatening beasts that may attempt to drag you further into the deep to feast on your flesh.

Dark blue stone formations become abundant the closer you get to the ocean floor, each of them littered with a variety of corals and sharp, underwater porcupine-like creatures that seem to feed off of them. The further down you go, the sparser the sea life gets, until you find yourself almost completely isolated in total darkness near the ocean floor, which is reachable within about 45 minutes of swimming directly downward.

With some searching, most voyagers will be able to use their compasses from Love to track down a nearby fragment, though some may be covered in sand and might require doing a little more digging and searching to locate. Multiple trips may be needed to locate some of the fragments, as you only have a half hour on the ocean floor before you'll need to head back up to the surface, or risk running out of air to breathe.

As far as the fragments themselves... they are dark brown in color and ranging from six inches to two feet in diameter. The two complete fragments seem to be more like whole puzzle pieces than anything that's been broken or shattered, while the five pieces of the third fragment are obviously broken off in places. The material is unlike anything you've ever seen, and after bringing them up to the surface and looking at them in the daylight, the material itself seems to glow very faintly, with the surface of it coated in a shine not unlike an abalone shell.

These pieces are intricate, with strange patterns and symbols carved into them, and some areas have been completely hollowed out in this sort of fashion (though of course, not with this pattern). The larger pieces have a very slight curvature to them that is unnoticable in the smaller pieces.

The five pieces of the fragments have seam lines where they can fit together, and attempting to piece them together will result in a wave of mental energy slamming through everyone nearby- it sounds like laughter, layered over screams, layered over laughter, with so many layers that it's impossible to tell anything apart. The sensation is not physical and lasts only a few seconds, but the pieces will be joined permanently afterward. The two complete fragments cannot attach to anything.

Each of the fragments will inspire some kind of chaotic emotion when it's touched or near someone for too long. Tranquility's boxes will negate this, so it probably behooves you to shut it away as soon as possible.

Upon return, it may be kind to offer up the fragments to the gods, though nobody is forcing you to. A further explanation of how the fragments may react under testing and scrutiny can be provided when the time comes.

There will be two logs posted, one on August 13th and one at the beginning of September. Each will have different prompts, though you can feel free to plot using anything within this post, too. In addition, we'll have a number of slots for special individual (or group) events - 3 in August's log and 6 in September. If you are interested in getting one of these events for your character or a group they're part of, please comment here and let us know which month you'd like it for. We'll RNG to see who gets them, with a slight preference for people who haven't been heavily involved in game plots in the past.

THE OVERVIEW

► August 13th: First log goes up
► August 21st: Deserted event impacts all network communication
► Beginning of September: The second log is posted
► September 30th: All expeditions have returned and we decide what to do with the pieces!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[hadrielmods]

[hot_mes]

Law's been (obviously) working on getting his own ship built by Curufin and Floki for the past month; just wondering/verifying that his ship and crew are separate from the seven rickety boats?

[pocketspa]

So if people who go out in the August group make improvements to one or more of the boats, should that be noted somewhere officially if we don't make an IC post about it?

EDIT: also since i see the question below, is it kosher to use magic instead of the dive suits?? Taako has freedived before in Hadriel with his Water Breathing spell (with Nathan Drake many moons ago) but I imagine they're gonna take one look at that thing and laugh before magic comes into play.

[hardwearing]

I still need to figure out exactly when and with who Wash is heading out, BUT! Since he's going at some point, is it possible for him to just use his armor as a dive suit? It seals airtight and can be used underwater or as an EVA suit in outerspace, and his HUD has trackers and sensors and such. It'd provide an advantage over what Fear supplied, though, so I figured I should ask.

RNG for group events

[hadrielmods]

Please specify the month you're asking for!

[smoketendrils]

September for Percy please!

[hot_mes]

Law's crew as a whole would like one for September!

[hasitsthorns]

September for Rosie-dear here!

Re: RNG for group events

[soldier_blade]

September for Sonya

[northerndragon]

August for Jon and Daenerys, please!

(I triple-checked, btw, and the opt-out for both of them for the August Deserted event is correct.)

[claritatis]

I'll take one in August for Ignis and Noct, please~!

Re: RNG for group events

[hardwearing]

Slipping in under the wire (sorry!!!) for Wash's group in September. (Carolina and Kyna, as of right now.)

Deserted Event opt-outs

[hadrielmods]

If you will be gone for the entirety of the Deserted event (August 21st-30th) please let us know here so we don't put you in groups!

[restinglichface]

Lup, Taako, Barry, and Kravitz are all on the opt-out list!

[hot_mes]

Law will be away, as will most of his crew (still confirming those so they'll comment independently)

[smoketendrils]

Percy will be off, being a sky pirate!

[abyssalarcana]

Caedra will be out on a boat for as long as she possibly can be!

[nonscriptum]

Nathan Drake and Lance Sweets will be gone fishin' boating for the entirety of the Deserted event.

[circumitus]

Rey will be AFK during the event for as long as possible, so she's out!

[boats_n_hoes]

Floki boats_n_hoes and Eleven theflea will both be gone for the entirety of the Deserted event please!!

[nodogsonthemoon]

Magnus is gonna be a boat boy for the event!

[survivethis]

Jill will be traveling with Curufin's group at sea.

Heart Pirates Mark 2

[hot_mes]

Throwing up a plotting post for Law's crew! They have their own ship which can take more than 5 people, and he would want to nip or trade for from the god provisions a Tranquility box, a Sorrow map, and a Love compass. Rage sails are optional since they're not functionally magic, I'll leave that to Curufin and Floki who were in charge of the ship-building.

At last IC count the crew consisted of:
Law: captain and doctor
Sanji: cook and fighter
Caedra: diver and fighter
Glacius: diver
Curufin: shipwright, fighter
Floki: shipwright, raider
Kaiba: technology and data collection
Ianchus: sailor
Alucard Emery +1: sailors and magical weather manipulation

Though I did see somewhere that Ianchus is staying behind now so there may be one position open. I don't want to go over 10 people because that's all a brig sloop needs, so long as everyone pulls their weight.

I will put in for an RNG event, sounds like there's more in Sept so do we want to ask for that? Also, going out in Sept means either we go out twice or we go out for one of the longer journey legs regardless - if people can handle 4 weeks with this hilarious mixed CR we'll do it.

But going out for 4 weeks also means everyone in this crew won't be around for the Deserted event so make sure to opt out for that, or speak now and find a reason to stay in the city for the event.

Meanwhile, things I want to do while we're out: land on other islands to hunt, fish from the boat, have some mishaps, get a fragment (I won't bogart 2 of them unless other "crews" aren't going to be successful), and have a pirate party. Any other ideas, let's plot some! Also be aware that if anyone starts shit on the ship - Caedra included! - Law's gonna finish it. He's not above taking hearts, Amputating people so they can't put themselves together, and locking them in the fragment box until they calm down. So we can have some tiffs and minor rumbles on board (please do it'll be hilarious and fun) but if anyone ICly escalates it to trying to kill each other, Law will step in.

Let's plot some adventures!!!

[hot_mes]

oh also OOCly speaking, I will be away from Aug 28-Sept 4 or so for DragonCon, and Rose is already on hiatus because of it, so a lot of Kaiba will be handwaved and I won't be around to tag during that period. But that still leaves plenty of August and early Sept plus you can all have fun between yourselves.

ALSO ALSO we need a flag and a name. :3

ALSO ALSO ALSO fuck me I forgot Rey. Rey is the navigator. So we do have ten.

It is also possible for a second smaller boat to tag along with them for safety in numbers, cross-ship shenanigans, etc.

Last moment plotting!!

[theflea]

Don't suppose anyone going out on the boats for the whole month, fancy Eleven tagging along?

She can help out massively what with her powers/abilities and all!

I was also thinking, what about if she was a stowaway on someone's ship? Would anyone be up for something like that?

[glacius]

I can't speak for the rest of the crew but I would totally be down for Glacius finding her as a stowaway at some point. It delights me to get to play him as a gentle giant and interacting with her could probably help take his mind off of some of the worry-borne moodiness that he'll be coming into the voyage with. ;w;

FOREVER LATE

[dragonsgrasp]

This is probably a longshot and I get if it's too late! But I'm all for shoving a dragoon aboard someone's boat if there's still room anywhere. He's not super great with sea-things, but he does know his way around an airship, which has... similar enough structure-ish that he'd be at least somewhat useful. Also he can fight if they encounter anything out there! If anything is open, let me know- I'm just not sure who to ask or where to put him.

[so_dark_a_road]

He can come with Curufin and Floki, if he wants! We're going to share crew, and we're not full up yet. So, Kain would be welcome!