Log - June 2025
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Previous event: Test Drive Meme - May 2025. Next event: Test Drive Meme - July 2025.
The Main Event event on 2025 June 4 posted here. This was the event for June 2025.
FAQ Pages
[edit source]Full questions here
Event headings
[edit source]I. RESONANCE OF SOLAR WISDOM
[edit | edit source]A. A CALL TO HUNTERS:
[edit | edit source]B. A RESPITE
[edit | edit source]C. AFTERBURN
[edit | edit source]II. THE BRIDGE TO EPARSIS: APARALLAXIA
[edit | edit source]A. THE KARTERIAN EXPANSE
[edit | edit source]B. A BRIDGE BRAIDED IN TENTACLES
[edit | edit source]C. THE KELESIAN EXPANSE
[edit | edit source]III. THE ROAD TO KELESIS
[edit | edit source]IV. THE VELVET CLAW (JUNE EDITION)
[edit | edit source]1. NOSTALGIA OF APARALLAXIA
[edit | edit source]2. A DIP IN THE BLOOD LAKE
[edit | edit source]3. THE SMOOTH GRIND
[edit | edit source]V. NETWORK
[edit | edit source]
FAQ Questions
[edit source]| Information | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| #1
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-08-16 |
Walks in here several months late with Starbucks OK so we wanted to actually thread out the decision of whether they'd tell Patho-Gen about Phantasia, and this is what they decided on. Ultimately, Childe will tell Patho-Gen that Phantasia still exists but they need their barrier strengthened and maybe some supplies if they can be spared. He's not going to offer many details outside of that, but he will offer to go himself to create a teleportation point for this to be able to happen if Patho-Gen would like to offer aid. He's hoping that if the people can slowly detox from the Katalyth poisoning, maybe some of them will want to come to Karteria where they'll be safer than where they are right now. |
1. Patho-Gen will aid in the efforts to build teleporter waypoints to help Augmented Ones make it to Phantasia. This will be helpful if they want to offer any aid to these faraway citizens, who chose to remain there despite the warnings that they needed to seek the shelter Karteria offered. 2. Their barrier could use a tune-up. This, Patho-Gen would agree with. They take pity on their suspicion of them, and decide it might be best to leave these efforts in the hands of the Augmented. In this case, Patho-Gen will offer whatever they can... Tools, special diagrams that might help with the constructs that create their barrier—something to help improve it compared to the roughshod one they have. However, Patho-Gen scientists do not think it possible to undo the effects arcane radiation is having on these people. It hasn't been demonstrated to be possible as of yet... Not to say that they don't think it's valuable to offer them greater protection nonetheless. Even if their mentalities can't be helped, their bodies can be, and their physical health is something worth saving even if they remain paranoid. The greatest obstacle Childe and Eli will face in attempting to work on the barrier may be the Phantasians themselves. They are extremely protective over their barrier; one wrong move, and ???? barrier fails?? Sure, the end times are coming, but nobody is allowed to take what life they have left and if that barrier goes down, it's over, right?! It'll require having some grace and patience, as they'll be reluctant to even talk about this save for a solid "no, we don't need your help." ... At least there's a way to convince them. If they're just waiting for their barrier to break, why not let someone attempt to fix it to avoid that fate? Similarly, Patho-Gen scientists will offer the advice to Eli/Childe that should something go awry with a single beacon that creates the structure of the barrier, it will only weaken the barrier rather than break it. Reasoning with locals that a single mistake won't completely destroy their barrier may help them reluctantly agree to the tune-up. 3. The people of Phantasia will remain completely reluctant to travel to Karteria, even after the overtures of assistance. The more this idea is pitched, the more they dig in their heels. It is not a friendly subject to them. Over time, however, some may reveal something of the reason... And in future, more of this information may come to the forefront: some of their ancestors came from Lupê, very long ago. They are far removed from these ancestors, but citizens of Phantasia have been taught that Lupê rejected technology, and favored taking only what they needed. Moreover, Lupêans did not control nor tame their environment via Controlling magic or industrialization: they grew with it and existed among it. They were a peaceful, rational people who lived within their means, and the city just isn't their vibe! They live here out here to connect with the culture Lupêans had; their ancestors always warned them of the city. A complaint they have of Karterians, and everyone else, is that nobody is willing to "face the music." To them, this means... well, accepting doom. (Interestingly, if one returns to Karteria to attempt to trace the lineage of any of these people (obviously using the names of parents or grandparents mentioned, as most individuals in Phantasia have been there since birth at this rate), they are not related to any Lupêans. Most of them, at least: there are a scant few who are. Similarly, their ideas about Lupêan culture is contrary to what Karteria has to say about the militaristic, vicious, unreasonable Lupê.) |
| #2
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-07-03 |
May I ask- does it seem as though the citizens here have gone slightly insane from the intensity of the Katalyth, perhaps even the barrier not being enough to totally shield them? Or does their paranoia seem to be more of the typical isolated-small-town variety? | It's something of a mix of both. Were Katalyth not in existence, the Phantasians would still be skeptical and wary of outsiders. They don't want to live in the big city for a reason (even if that reason is 'we've always been here'), and anyone who turns up from elsewhere... why? It'd be hard for them to imagine a purpose that's to their benefit. But Katalyth exposure, and its known influence over emotion... it's not doing anything good to the local mindset. Their smaller barrier isn't quite as effective as Karteria's, and the amount of Katalyth in the region is immense. It's amazing that they're surviving at all, but also inevitable that the emotional leakage from the arcane mineral is leaving its mark on their minds. It deepens pre-existing paranoia, provides more angles for it, more reasons to be afraid. That said, it would still take a good amount of provocation for them to be hostile to outsiders. Katalyth is depressing; it provides more reason to believe in the inevitability of the end-times, and the apathy to do no more than continue toiling at their daily lives. So basically: always paranoid, Katalyth making it easier to find more justifications to be paranoid and pessimistic and a bit odd. |
| #3
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-07-01 |
Bit late in the month to be asking (so I get if you don't get around to it!) with the souls that aves types see in attempting to reach kelesis, can they be communicated with in any way? Do they have a desire to pass on or any other emotion/will that could be picked up on? And does it seem like they could be the people of kelesis (now deceased)? |
It's hard to tell the condition of the owners of those souls. They don't give off the impression of something dead, at least; for all that they're flitting around, in and out of visibility, a bewildering dance taking place in the distance, they don't feel disconnected, lingering in discontent or loss. If there's emotions to be picked up on, it's... mixed. There's some that are content, playful and light; there's others spiteful and furious. They don't respond to any attempt to communicate with them, but you are at quite a distance to them. It's possible that they just don't hear it- or that they're not capable of hearing anything. |
| #4
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-26 |
Another Spectral powers question, sorry if this has already been answered somewhere! How long do the manifestations last, if there is an expiration date? Jamil accidentally jumped at his own shadow and summoned a monster based on a Bad Childhood Experience that was dealt with in a bloodily spectacular fashion, and now they gotta figure out how to deal with this water bottle (corpse). Follow up, if the corpse DOES stick around permanently, is that something that ought to be reported somewhere. It's pretty nasty |
The manifestations aren't permanent, so no worries about some awkward corpse-disposal outside Kelesis.... As for how long they do last, that can be somewhat variable. They'll always disappear as soon as the Spectral-type exits the area around Kelesis; they can't accidentally leave some living or non-living illusion residue!
While they're there and paying attention to it, the illusions can last from anywhere between minutes and hours. They're more likely to distort and eventually dissipate the more they're questioned, but will otherwise linger as long as is (in)convenient. |
| #5
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-18 |
hi mods!! quick question about spectrals' illusions turning real: can it affect other people (with their permission, of course), specifically their body temperature? this is super specific LOL but if elysia thinks that someone's body might be super cold/hot, would that come true? | Yes, that could totally be possible! It should probably not be so hot/cold as to seriously hurt them (or hurt them at all, as her 'expectation' of what it should be like would take precedence, so if she thinks this is their normal, it would effectively be their normal), but she could absolutely change someone's temperature for a bit. |
| #6
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-17 |
I'm reading that the water of the pink lakes is caustic but generally safe- if characters swim in it, is it fine or do they get some sort of skin irritation? | The pink lakes themselves are safe! It's just the (red) Blood Lake that's too caustic to be comfortable to dip into for long. The pink ones are just pretty salty, so unless a character is sensitive to that, they should be fine. |
| #7
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-17 |
Ooooooh.... Liem would definitely come down on more on the side of letting Patho-Gen arrange for people they'd like him to heal, both because he wants to foster goodwill with them, and because he's not a shill who wants to cater only to the highest bidder, but he would also reserve the right to heal people of his own choosing sometimes, if he wanted to. It could definitely be fun to have Liem encounter trouble with news getting out and him getting kidnapped as a result of this. 🧐 Is there anything I should keep in mind if I decide to explore a mini-plot like that? |
Sorry for the delay on this! We've been mulling over some Tough Questions and hit a lil block on this one. If Liem got kidnapped... It would usually be orchestrated by a shady individual, oftentimes the sort described in the MISSING PERSONS (prompt IV) quest on the second TDM. These people seem to have very few defining features about them, and dress so normally that they fade into a crowd. Again, these people do not work for the government, nor for Patho-Gen; they will not visit harm upon him, and will oftentimes perform the kidnapping only if Liem seems vulnerable in the moment. They may try drugging him, or using chloroform. Where he'd often find himself is in a small room. It can be either a laundry room with a lock, or a bathroom, similarly locked. The bathroom has no medications in it; the laundry room has few notable features to indicate anybody's name. As if these rooms see little use... Which might check out, because they look like they belong to some very wealthy individuals. Probably have like, seventeen bathrooms and get servants to do their laundry. Sheesh. To add insult to injury, Liem would often be bound and blindfolded. (If he demands either of these restraints be removed so that he could perform his magic... Well. Not much to be done about that, right? These nondescript businessmen/women would do as asked; they would try to turn off the light to keep the anonymity of their client, but it's clear that the room itself is quite ritzy. God, these rich people are trying to do all of this inside of their own homes!!! Ridiculous.) The anonymity of the family would be maintained. There might be some sort of squabbling too far away to hear; a good assumption would be that the family members are arguing over who gets to be cured. The compensation Liem receives will be paltry in comparison to what he'd receive if they were attempting to do this above the table: about 700 numis, or about $70 a person. They've learned that Patho-Gen is paying only a bit more (probably about 5000 numis per person, or $500 a person! (Like $1000 a day if he can do two people! Wowza!) Of course, there is a sliding scale on their end of things; impoverished sorts get their care reduced.) and are being stingy. |
| #8
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-17 |
Harry’s going to be vibing in the ruins, at the graveyard, trying to pick up some of the stories of the people who lived and left Aparallaxia with his psychic nonesense. And tell them to passerby whether they want to hear him or not. Might be an odd question but, do the mods have any stories in particular they’d like to be told here? Also, I’ve been wondering in general about genius loci, does this world have such a thing? And if so would it be willing to talk to an outsider? (I’m not even sure Harry himself would be ready to make that kind of connection yet but he is trying to become more intimate with this world and it's cultures.) |
Ahh apologies for the delay on this, the stories bit is taking a hot multiple seconds, but wanted to get this part out at least... For the genius loci, there isn't something quite like that. Not exactly... or not yet. Katalyth is very good at growing, at appearing. In addition to being miserable to be around, if looked closely at (really closely at, like under a microscope), it possesses a structure like nothing in nature. To be around it causes mutations, and Katalyth itself mutates... adapting to something without thought behind it, grasping at everything it can and changing it. It's endless, ceaseless, tireless, without focus or meaning- but within all of that, could it not ultimately hit upon something that can think back? So if there is a genius loci, it's a newborn. It is fragile as a thread, it is constantly being drowned out, suffocated and remade. But it may be piecing together something consciousness-shaped. It would be a difficult thing to talk to, as anything Harry might hit upon might not be 'alive' days later- or he could end up listening in to another part of its body, another facet that's also learning and dying, fumbling for meaning within the morass of terror and grief and growth that it's made out of. |
| #9
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-13 |
Hey, mods! So, with Daemon being a weird Spectral type who is tied to the cycles of the sun instead of the moon, I was wondering if he might sense anything unusual leading up to or following the weirdness on the 21st? Adjacent to that, would it have any other effect (on abilities, mental state, etc.) beyond the usual day/night cycle stuff and the eye growths afterward? |
Daemon might end up feeling a bit itchier in the days preceding the solstice. Frustrated or restless, a vague sense of dread that's impossible to ease. It's constant, but worse during the (very long) day, yet has no definable cause or reason. Everything is terrible. Everyone is terrible. There's no escaping it. It all comes to a head on the solstice itself, when all that pent-up agitation bursts. The feelings stop. It's probably something of a relief at that point, that it's all over, even if so much else is now wrong. At least it's a concrete wrong, like everyone growing eyes, and so many Karterians blinded. If you want to go the eye-horror route, Daemon's might express more explosively- fiercely reactive to whatever is going on out there. In any case, his abilities as a Spectral will be exceptionally stronger at the solstice and around it- easy enough that he might be using them without meaning to. (This could also include his mental/emotional state- as anything invoked from being a Spectral might be in similar full-force.) It should settle back to normal within a week or so... though he may continue enjoying the long days of Summer as only a day-aspected Spectral can. |
| #10
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-13 |
so on a totally different topic (food shortage instead of my other kelesis questions) hi it's me again <img src="https://media.tenor.com/tNKbpShxXYcAAAAC/its-me-hi-im-the-problem-its-me-taylor-swift.gif" class="imageshrink-actualsize"> i expect you've noticed gojo's farming and other charities project i've paused a couple of times to think to myself 'should i ask if this is permissible/plausible/feasible?' but no, gojo satoru asks no permission and honestly a single abandoned farmhouse and one old fruit tree would be enough to convince him that his plan is great. what he WILL ask for, though, is for somebody else to foot the bill. (do the folks at the augmented affairs office just feel a sense of dread whenever they see him coming?) since the City Council and other governmental officials are the ones who asked the Augmented for help with the food shortage, gojo will take his proposal to them. (especially anyone who knows that he's been doing good work hunting for Karteria, though if they've been delivered An Entire Dead Boar or two maybe that only increases their sense of dread.) anyway he's got volunteers for an augmented-run farm or two to help with the food shortage!! would the government like to help fund this effort? he even has Experienced Farmers ready to take the helm (he has *one* experienced farmer). they're going to need ... farming equipment. gojo has no idea what 'farming equipment' entails. but he will have his experienced farmers and the volunteer laborers follow up with specific requisition requests. |
There were once more farms around Karteria, more than the few clinging to survival at the edges of the barrier. Some of that land still belongs to the remaining farms, but has simply gone unused- being just too far out for them to do anything with. The ownership of the rest is muddled, with the prior farms having gone bust completely. The land is useless to Karterians, so there's no one interested in contesting the Augmented using it for now. The condition of the fields is... mixed. The pieces closest to the forest have already begun being reclaimed by it. The rest is grassy and damp (though not marshland), but there's nothing about it that seems unfertile, merely unmanaged. Nature is doing just fine without human involvement. Arcane radiation is the only thing preventing humanity from coming in and changing that. A good thing that the Augmented are resistant to it! There is the occasional charming (decaying) old farmhouse and those fruit trees that tell Gojo that this is a good idea. (Largely apple, pear, or plum- colder-weather fruits, or foreign equivalents. They're doing pretty well, actually, with a bit of friendly mutating.) The blackberry thickets are thriving a bit too hard. And it's... not an impossible idea, really. The Government will humor it; it keeps the Augmented occupied in ways that don't involve the destruction of public property. As for the request for 'farming equipment'... it would not be categorically denied, but there would be an insistence that Gojo's farming crew should reclaim what's already out there first. What is out there, lurking in those old decaying (charming) farmhouses? Bits and pieces. A lot of it is rusted, but it was built to endure so it might still be functional underneath. Most of the seed that was left behind has already been eaten by enterprising rodents, but there might be a smidge remaining. What isn't available could likely be borrowed by the few remaining farms. As there's already been some positive contact between them and the Augmented, they would probably be willing to loan out some extra tools. (As most of the remaining farms had to retract themselves, quite a few have more than they can use, amounts made for more fields, more orchards.) And as they're already familiar with supply chains within the city... working in greater concert with would-be Augmented farmers would increase their profit (which is what matters in the middle of an irradiated, mid-apocalyptic landscape; capitalism must endure). (That, and most people do not want to see Karteria starve. There's some few who are earnest and honest enough to recognize that getting help is more important than a few numis.) Should the Augmented productively produce a productive produce yield, however, it has been decreed that Patho-Gen MUST analyze it for safety reasons. The growing conditions beyond Karteria's little safe zones isn't clear to them, and they want to make sure no fruit or vegetables are carrying little bits of Katalyth for human consumption. Kind of like checking to ensure there isn't any pesticides riding with the veg, you know. So yes, Gojo may become a farmer. Farm cats are a staple, after all.... |
| #11
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-13 |
Being an curious old soul, Norimune would likely have tea with the Aparallaxia client and join her for tea and snacks afterwards. Yay! If he asks, what kind of stories would she's willing to tell about herself, the sentimental item(s) and her life/hometown? He doesn't mind whichever topic she tells, he'll listen to them. ... Also I'm morbidly curious and wanted to ask (even if Norimune won't do it). Is the squid edible? Assuming someone slice off a limb and get the idea. |
Enjoy that tea and those bonus snack cakes! While she would demur over discussing herself directly, she would be happy to talk about what life had been like in Aparallaxia. Living on a bridge had its quirks... she didn't know of anyone who drowned of falling accidentally into the sea (there are guardrails, of course, to protect against the clumsy or drunk). But there were a number of Childhood Tragedies, of a game being cut short because the ball was sent over the edge, into the ocean... or of some favored possession deliberately thrown into the waves by a rival. The sound of the water was constant, and soothing; she's one of the few who go to Water's Edge for the sake of the water, and who doesn't view the ocean with distrust or distaste. It's the only place in Karteria that reminds her anything of home. It's still not the same as being surrounded by it, but even when there were storms in Aparallaxia, when she watched the waves lash against its edges, against the pillars supporting the structure, she never felt unsafe. In Karteria, nothing feels safe. As for the squid... it is edible, after a fashion. Despite the Katalyth growing on parts of its body (don't eat those), the majority of its meat remains safe for consumption. It wouldn't taste exactly like what you'd expect... closer to a hybrid between squid and mammal, meatier in a disconcerting way. But there's nothing dangerous about it. |
| #12
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-12 |
Hello my darling mods! Thank you for that info--yeah he's definitely only going to try that once and bail on the plan pretty quick. Won't take him long to make a new plan though~ The new plan: So he's taken up carrying a bow for the hunting prompt, and has made the effort to find (or make, if he has to) some sort of foam-tipped arrows, whatever will shoot safely and effectively into the city with a letter tied to it. (What kind of range does a foam arrow have? Glad you asked. An archer of Gojo's strength with a modern bow should have a maximum range of 350 yards--since we can only assume that a foam arrow with a letter tied to it is less aerodynamic, let's say 100 yards.) He intends to make like ... six copies of this letter and shoot it in the direction of Kelesis at slightly different angles in hopes of at least one copy reaching an interested party. Here's his letter: To the people and leaders of Kelesis, My name is Gojo Satoru. I am one of many kidnap victims recently brought to this world by the organization called Patho-Gen in Karteria. They have subjected us to experimentation and torture in the interests of developing a resistance to the substance they call Katalyth. With this resistance, they expect us to carry out work for them outside of their city. For this reason, they have sent us in hopes of re-establishing trade between Karteria and Kelesis. I can imagine, given the unethical treatment that we have received from Karteria, that perhaps you do not wish to re-establish communication with such people, and I imagine also that the reason your city is so inaccessible to us explorers is that you have defenses in place to keep strangers away. It is my hope that you might consider establishing a dialogue with us, those called 'Augmented' due to the experimental procedure that Patho-Gen forced upon us, as people unwillingly affiliated with Karteria. I do not speak for all the Augmented and I am no leader of them, though I have taken up a role to facilitate communications between the Augmented for other projects. I would gladly serve to facilitate communications in this, if any among you are willing to speak to us. If the inaccessibility of your city is something that has befallen you and not something that you've done intentionally, then we will do our best to provide assistance if possible. We are here outside your city, for now, and we have many abilities. If you need assistance, then send out some communication to us and we will try. Your hopeful ally, Gojo Satoru He draws a little sketch near the signature of himself with cat ears and a blindfold, giving a V-sign, captioning it: 'I look like this!' (Bonus content of him workshopping it with Mel.) Since this will be happening pretty late in the month anyway (getting to Eparsis, poking around Kelesis, formulating this plan, workshopping the plan), and Gojo expects that best case scenario (if there are people alive and coherent in Kelesis, if they want to communicate) the people / leaders of Kelesis will want to take a few days to consider before making any effort of communication, I don't expect to get any kind of prompt response from this (if there is any response at all), so feel free to put me off until next month. |
Gojo and Mel may author their letter, and Gojo may do his best to shoot it in the vague direction of Kelesis. ...Let's hope it doesn't hit anyone on the way in, yes? Even if it's foam, what a shocking way to get in touch! It'll take a day or two, as long as he's willing to stick around. But that response will eventually come—and though Gojo was the one who signed it, Mel is welcome to be treated to this message as well! Seems whoever the authorities are, they are aware of what's going on around their perimeter... There is no formal "letter" in return. However, there will be a response. It'll take one of the following forms:
Sorry. It has been long. Since we exchanged words with anyone. We will deliberate showing our city to you. Treat our citizens kindly." |
| #13
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-09 |
So this is separate from the event, sorry mods...but Eli and Childe were thinking about going to explore the northern part of Orexis, and their destination is Phantasia: <img src="https://images.plurk.com/1x8WR6bpCZsZ36vTaM1r6U.png"> Is it possible to reach there, and if so, what would characters expect to find (wildlife, monsters, notable buildings or things in the area?) |
Phantasia is a small settlement of... people, surprisingly. If characters explicitly ask Patho-Gen about Phantasia, they will sigh; the particular way they treat those who live in Phantasia is with the same sort of pity that they treat those who live in the outer city, in that many who live there are... defectors, of a sort. They hope they're doing alright, particularly since they've given them quite a bit of technology to live there as safely as they can. Karteria's government will treat them with the same sort of pity. As you know, the world at large has become unsafe for regular people to live in without the use of a barrier; on the island of Orexis, the only place safe for people to live in is Karteria. Phantasia... is somewhat the only second option that they know of. (How Doxa is- long ago this was a small settlement, but they haven't had any contact from anyone there since the barrier was erected.) Phantasia's resources were a monetary drain on Karteria, so the government hopes they're grateful for this overture of good will. So... why does Karteria insist on offering them any monetary support? Well, these people were of Karteria once... They don't offer much further explanation. Eli and Childe would find first the evidence of overgrown farmlands on their way to Phantasia. They can't be tilled, used, or relied upon anymore; they've been let to the wilderness for many years. There's signs of humans having existed there, that much is undeniable. But at first, it'll be incredibly hard to find anybody. As the further northwest they go, the more they'll find intense concentrations of Katalyth. We're talking entire manmade structures, sheds and old trucks, absolutely encased in Katalyth. It's enough to inspire unease and madness in even the Augmented Ones, with how much there is. (Some book reading back in Karteria might clarify why this is: Katalyth's first recorded incidence on Orexian soil is in the year 829, where it's documented on the northwestern shore. It'll require access to some of the archival files in the library, which can be very tedious; this might be the job for someone who is fastidious about reading and learning. ...There is very little else said about this, other than the marvel at this, as well as the unease it sparks in researchers- as well as documented notes about how they "must keep calm.") It's inhospitable. How could anyone live out here? At the base of Alexane's Range, tall spires as steep as the Southern Spires but far more massive- despite the fact that these peaks are similarly encrusted with sickly, multicolored iterations of Katalyth (ranging from the usual turquoite, to yellow, to violet)- is a small settlement. Its barrier is less transparent than Karteria's, a dome-like, shimmering veil over a city about 2 sq mi at most. Stout structures in poor condition, akin to shacks, stand against the test of time. Small farms are dispersed between buildings... and the amount of residents? It's a small population of about 500 people, which is miraculous! They are incredibly withdrawn, and are reluctant to acknowledge the Augmented Ones as anything other than a sign of the endtimes. They aren't hostile; they are stubborn people who are hardened by the direness of their circumstance, people who wake early and tend to what livestock and crops they have. Survival is their priority, while Karteria's people live in some semblance of comfort. But they're making it. If characters ask these settlers about Karteria, they will face them grimly. Do not trust the big city. They don't have any actual personal anecdotes to share, and most of them have never even been to Karteria! But their people have developed something of a doomsday-like mentality of the world, and feel convinced that anything Karteria does to combat it is only going to hasten the world's demise. Summoning these otherworldly Augmented Ones... Phantasians pity the Augmented, who have been yanked from across time and space against their will. This is a broken, unsalvageable world. This, their ancestors have told them. All of this nonsense about Controlling magic, about interdimensional reaching, about harnessing the world's resources for reckless development... This is mankind's own undoing! All they can do as this tiny settlement is live their small lives until the world ends, or until their barrier breaks. But yes, aside from some very grim peoples who live an extremely simple lifestyle, the landscape is ravaged by Katalyth. The local flora and fauna continue to grow, doing quite well! But in these highly concentrated areas of Katalyth, especially closer to the shoreline, animals and critters seem to have... evolved some special traits. Rabbits have sharp, predatory teeth, or may have even developed eyes on the front of their head rather than the sides (uncanny, strange, weird); cougars are faster, more inclined to forage for vegetation, alert and cautious to the approach of Augmented. Creatures are evolving and changing in strange and nonsensical ways, but they're thriving. Do Eli or Childe wish to report back to Patho-Gen about Phantasia's existence? While they are aware of them, they have had absolutely no contact with them and basically had to believe that their tech has been somehow holding up over all this time. They will be curious to know how they fare. |
| #14
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-08 |
Would it be possible for a spectral type to make use of their ability to accidentally conjure things to get information? Like Ciel trying to conjure a person that could answer his questions, or a book/census/newspaper from the city? | Ciel could certainly conjure up someone who seems like they know what they're talking about, and who would happily answer any questions he had. Unfortunately, those answers aren't necessarily correct. They are probably not even remotely correct. As the information is entirely based on what Ciel expects, or wants to hear. Even if he's not conscious of having certain biases or assumptions... the illusory figure would come up with something Ciel would find 'plausible'. The more it's questioned or disagreed with, the more irrational or meaningless its answers might become. Conjuring up objects would have a similar result, with books and newspapers detailing whatever he wanted to read, with the text becoming more and more nonsensical the harder he scrutinized it. |
| #15
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-07 |
Hello again! So I'm absolutely loving this event and have another question re: the Spectral illusion/reality thing. I was workshopping Aemond's thought process re: getting from accidentally willing things into existence (e.g. his very disappointed mother) vs intentionally willing things into existence (e.g. his very cool dragon Vhagar), and feel a natural next step to that is "okay well if I can will things into tangible existence, can I will Kelesis into existence too?" I fully expect the answer to that to be "lol no," but I was wondering if even just having those thoughts might have some kind of impact on the surroundings? A glitch in the Matrix type thing? Also, what would happen if he got on the network and told everyone to Simply Imagine Kelesis is there? Thank you! Edited (more precise wording!) 2025-06-07 04:11 am (local)
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A clever trick... and should Aemond (or any other Spectral-type) attempt to will Kelesis into existence, then he will find a Kelesis manifested neatly right where he expects it to be. It's not the real thing of course, but instead whatever Aemond might imagine the concept of 'Kelesis' would look like. Even if he's not conscious of having a preconception of what the city is like, it would put together something that would fit, or make sense to him. If other Spectrals were told to do the same thing, they would also imagine up their own version of Kelesis. (If multiple Spectrals were together in one place and believed real hard about it... it would develop into a bizarre conglomerate of concepts.) Advancing to 'the city' would still not get him or anyone any closer to its actual borders... but he would be free to explore his version for as long as he didn't question the details too hard. It would fall apart under too much scrutiny, more so than creating an individual entity. |
| #16
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-07 |
So, it's obviously a huge problem for the local government that a quarter of the city is now permanently blind (probably including some people in government as well, even). As a cleric, Liem can cast remove blindness/deafness, though only at most twice a day. While he obviously can't make a dent in this problem by himself, he does need employment, and after the solstice, he'd like to see if the government will subsidize him curing what people he can, so he doesn't have to charge people who just had their lives potentially ruined. Would the government be on-board with this? Is there a healthcare system that he could utilize for this purpose? |
It is very definitely a huge problem, and not one they were at all prepared to face. There are gaps in places they consider crucial, gaps in bureaucracy, as all corners of the city struggle to adapt to this new crisis. Patho-Gen would be absolutely willing to put him to work. He would also be exceedingly well-compensated for this. However. They would be very, very troubled about this ability and his identity becoming well known. The richest parts of the city were struck as indiscriminately as the poorest- and they would do absolutely everything they could to monopolize Liem for themselves. Of course, you'd be welcome to go this route, have some sort of kidnapping plot.... Or even willingly acquiesce to healing the upper class, and the upper class only. (Does Liem want a penthouse in Basileios? Because this will get him one. His neighbors still won't talk to him or want to look at him, but by god they will tolerate it for as long as he's curing the people who matter.) If he does follow Patho-Gen's recommended advice, and keep this all on the very down-low... he will still be well-compensated, but less extravagantly so. He could have a residence of reasonable standard anywhere outside of Basileios. Questionable practices and ethics of the company aside, there's still plenty of people within Patho-Gen who would not want him or this ability abused- and would try to arrange patients for him in some manner of impartiality. (With some bias towards those in Patho-Gen... but they would also not completely freeze out the lower classes.) With only two (at most) people a day cured, it would... not be any time soon that he'd get to everyone. (With a population of around 700,000, that means roughly 175,000 have been blinded... which means a mere 87500 days will see them all cured, if he somehow keeps that two-a-day schedule.). |
| #17
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-07 |
OH NO SQUID FRIEND :(((( well!! with all of that in mind, Eleanor will personally do her best to try and answer its questions in a non-verbal way, since she can just transmit imagery back in a similar way that she and Set will get a glimpse of Karteria. She'll share an image of herself and Set to help identify them, followed by one of Eleanor gently placing a hand on a (notably calm) tentacle, or even holding one of the hands of the suckers. She, uh, has a pretty deep empathy for being isolated and touch-starved, actually, and that comes through too. I will say that's probably about all she can manage before the side-effects of its excitement get to her! She's going to be nursing those symptoms for a bit, but you know what, it's fine,,, they're just a little guy who wants friends :(( So! On that note! Assuming squid friend doesn't get killed and after Eleanor has had some time to recover, she'll definitely try again! Hopefully most of the other characters will have moved on, but she'll especially be doing her best to try and express calm to it—That is, the idea that she can stay and "talk" with it, but please be careful to not blow out her mind again, friend 😭 (but she'll also understand if that's easier said than done). She's not necessarily looking for information this time, but just trying to be a comfort! Maybe asking if there's a way they can help, but she's, uh, kind of guessing not. And for the lakes, thank you for the clarification! |
Looking out for the poor squid.... It's unintentionally loud, and poor at controlling its own emotions when provided a foothold (or mind-hold, or tentacle-hold), but it is still intelligent. It will notice the difference in relative 'volume' of thought, and that Eleanor came away from the experience in pain. In future conversations (especially if there's more than one), it will attempt to modulate its thoughts somewhat... hold back some of that desperation for company. It wants friends more than it wants food, so it's trying not to hurt her. :c But it will take some practice. Depending on how other people interact with it (whether they're neutral elements just trying to get by, whether they're also trying to communicate in some way- or whether they're trying to cut off those tentacles), this could lead to some sort of solution to how the squid is managed. With her persistence in conversing with it, it could learn what the Augmented look and 'feel' like, and will let them pass unimpeded. It might, like, put some tentacles up on the bridge, see if anyone wants to hang out... but it'll stop knocking people around or psychically attacking them. Any other characters trying their best to talk to it also helps! It's forgotten how to socialize.... If enough other characters are aggressive towards it but don't kill it, it will probably remain selective with who it tolerates, and hostile and skittish towards any unknowns, leaving the middle of the bridge still difficult to cross. Once teleportation is arranged on the Kelesian side, it's less of a practical issue for those just trying to get across... but exploring the bridge will remain a hazard. (Of course, if enough people decide it's too dangerous to live, that's the other outcome...) |
| #18
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-06 |
alright mods... rubs my hands together... eleanor is going to try to psychically communicate with Da Squid Eleanor is able to peek into the minds of animals in canon, and the way it essentially works is inhabiting their point of view and their minds for the moment. So, even if it's not verbal communication, she should be able to understand it and get a general vibe of what's upsetting the poor thing. She won't connect for long (because it does tend to be a bit traumatic for the creature--though a squid might do better since it's more intelligent), but she's trying to see what has it so agitated and see if there's a way she can help. EDIT THE SECOND: Set (  redsoil) will also be helping her out here actually! Since he can speak with animals, they’ll just do a fun n’ flirty little mind meld to assist with that. Surely nothing bad could happen! (we both welcome bad things happening)And in case it's helpful, here's the snippet of her explanation about this process to give you an idea of how it works! below the cut! Salem ; I tried to touch minds with one of Lettie’s rats, once, just to see what would happen. Drifter ; Okay, I have to ask how that went. Salem ; It was a dreadful three seconds for him. Salem ; Poor little thing. I’d failed to allow for what touching MY mind would seem like to HIM, you see. Imagine a child lost in an infinite department store, screaming for its mother at the top of its lungs over and over. Everything was enormous and incomprehensible and had NOISES and SHAPES instead of SMELLS. Salem ; I broke the link as fast as I could. He was a little dizzy for an hour or so, then he was fine. I doubt he even remembers what happened to him. Drifter ; And your side of it? What was it like being a rat? Salem ; I don’t know if you’ve ever had the kind of slump where all you want to do is lie in bed and breathe in and out and just exist without doing anything else, but it was a lot like that. Salem ; Very basic. Simple needs met in simple ways. Salem ; Childhood innocence has nothing on rat-consciousness. Drifter ; Sounds kind of pleasant, the way you talk about it. Salem ; Oh, it was. I’m sure being a rat has its bad side, like having to eat your dead brother so the predators won’t sniff him out, but that fleeting moment of simplicity was like a religious breakthrough, almost. Salem ; I guess being a rat is a lot like being a monk. Live off scraps, make your humble way in the world, never own a car or a house. EDIT: and a secondary side question for a different prompt! I notice that the log says that the blood lake's waters are caustic, whereas this FAQ mentions that they're safe. Is the former more a rumor (or just find for Augmented because they're more resilient)? Or is it not actually safe for swimming? Edited 2025-06-05 12:11 pm (local)
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One of the strangest things about the squid-mind is that it's not only intelligent, its thoughts are structured in a way that is eerily similar to that of a human. It's not identical, but it's close. Something cephalopodic has been fitted with it, merged to a degree that it would be hard to even consider them as separate entities... with the result a consciousness that is a hybrid of the two. So any trauma that comes about from being on wildly different levels of consciousness would be minimized- but it'll probably be overwhelming all the same. The squid might attempt to use human language, on connection with Elanor's mind- but it's likely to broken speech, reflective of questions, and relying on impressions of its emotional state to get its meaning across. It can't properly ask who she and Set are, or what they are, or express the pain it's in (even though it's survived Katalyth growing on it, it's not a comfortable experience). Frustration will flavor its attempts, a despair over its own clumsiness, but it will genuinely try to hold a conversation of sorts with Elanor and Set. It will deliver impressions of 'WHO' and 'WHY'. There's a lot of imagery in its head, flashes of the Augmented who've been around this portion of the bridge, paired with more repetitions of the same feeling of curiosity. As for bad things happening: this might be very uncomfortable for all parties involved! The squid doesn't know how to think softly, to emote gently. In its desperation for company and this hint of someone talking back in a way that it understands, it might scream that much louder. All of this is likely to induce more migraines, even temporary blindness, deafness. It's not trying to hurt them... it's just excited, and trying to understand. Between its questions are visions of deep water, of emptiness. You all are the first non-fish it's seen in years. (There are some other impressions it provides of non-Augmented humans, not on the bridge, but on streets and in cars. In homes, in offices, in labs underneath bright lights and sharp knives. ...And beyond that, a city, bustling with life. It looks a lot like Karteria.) And that's a good catch about the Blood Lake, as some information has diverged accidentally over time... the locations page will be updated to clarify this, but: Blood Lake itself (red) is uncomfortable to swim in. It's somewhat caustic, but not outright dangerous. It's just... very salt. Around it are pink lakes, which are safe, if not necessarily as medicinal as rumor would have it. They can be swam in freely. They are very nice to swim in! |
| #19
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-06 |
hello mods! thank you so much for this exciting event, and i have some questions :' since the big squid is presumably going to sustain some damage during various people fighting it, could I assume that there will be katalyth-contaminated??? bits and pieces in the area of battle? secondly, i know it says direct contact will bring unpleasant results (not that even indirect but close proximity to it is any better), but harrow does have in her arsenal the ability to create perpetual/regenerating bone - this is obviously going to take all her energy to maintain and she is definitely going to be doing some edgy bleeding out of her pores etc with the exertion, but could she potentially contain a sample of katalyth and take it to a different location to study it? option two to the second: if the first attempt fails then she will try to just encase it in many many layers of bones and roll it along like a snowball. will that work?? thank you so much again! |
That is very likely, that if bits of the squid are severed, or parts of its Katalyth-growths otherwise knocked off, that those parts would fall onto the bridge. What a hazard... good thing Harrow is there on cleanup duty. To gather it up in bones, it would be sort of like containing it in a thick glass jar... in that it would still give off radiation, and it would still provoke feelings of distress and unhappiness to be around it, but it would be 'portable'. It would also look much cooler to be surrounded by bone. And given a long enough time in contact with it (days to weeks, so it doesn't sound like it's necessarily possible, if she has to bleed out to maintain it the whole time, but for reference's sake:) the Katalyth might attempt to... attach to it. So both of her options would work, in that they would let her move Katalyth pieces elsewhere without directly touching it herself. It will be unpleasant but possible! As for the bones found from Asphodel Fields, she should certainly be able to glean some details. For that one in particular, the remains were of someone in their 40s-50s, probably female, and with signs of long-term illness, something that pre-dated whatever caused it to mutate. While it was never cured of it, it was made to persist for far longer than it should have; the bones have a history of someone miserable and anxious, that was terrified of living and dying in equal measure. addendum: because i missed the may TDM shenanigans ... the bodies found in the asphodel fields are said to have no evidence of souls. is there anything that harrow would be able to find out from them were she try to "read" the bone remains that momo has retrieved? for example, rough age, sex, any other physiological identifiable details ... thank you so much and sorry about how many times ive mentioned bones in these questions! |
| #20
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-06 |
My first question was gonna be on the next teleportation panels but I see you already mentioned that! Gojo will communicate to his teams to get the next teleportation panel established on the far side of the bridge by the end of the month. Second question is about his Six Eyes with Kelesis, so since he has special perception abilities, I wanted to ask what can he see as he nears that Kelesis border? As a recap, his Six Eyes ability can see "everything". With the nerfs he's got in Karteria, that's everything within 30 feet, plus normal human vision beyond that (if he takes his blindfold off). I had to put some thought into how the heck that would or wouldn't apply with magical / psychic illusion stuff. He's totally susceptible to all magical / psychic illusion stuff, he has no resistance to it beyond his own human willpower. For this, let's describe his Six Eyes 'vision' as like sonar. Even if he can't see Kelesis, he gets highly detailed sonar-like data of the area thirty feet in that direction, including inside of any houses / hollow objects. But since he's still otherwise susceptible to the illusion, I'm imagining this data will function at a disconnect for him, just like the syntrofos insisting there's something there, his Six Eyes will tell him that stuff is there but his mind will be constantly rejecting that and insisting there is nothing there. If that makes sense for ability & limitation, then can he see anything interesting along the edges? He won't be particularly methodical about it, but he'll certainly run along the edge for a good few miles. Thank you for everything, mods. ♥️ |
Gojo and his special eyes.... His ability would function somewhat like the Syntrofos, in that they would agree that there is absolutely something there, but it's refusing to be seen in any other way. The sonar is hitting something, but all else is refusing to acknowledge it. Even attempts to ignore the faulty(?) senses and just move forward fails to work, as if the concept of 'moving forward' is being rewritten in real time. To skirt around the edges, Gojo could feel that there are buildings, of a sort. Or... structures, parts of them, rough around the edges. The shapes don't really make sense for buildings. There's also a surprising amount of these structures that extend underground. Moving figures, indistinct in their shape, also seem present in this sprawling city. Essentially, Gojo's Six Flags see a theme park of a bustling city, or at least hints of it—something's really there! But to the naked eye, there's absolutely nothing. Here's the catch. To walk within 30 feet of Kelesis as it stands... That is awfully close! Even for a Carnivora-type like himself, resistant to the effects of whatever's going on with Kelesis, it's too close for the city's liking (not that it's sentient), and retaliation is in order. He will feel immensely disoriented, a sort of vertigo that leaves him dizzy and nauseous and unable to focus after he gets any of these glimpses, and direction simply won't make sense to him for a bit. Is it worth it? |
| #21
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-06 |
What affect would Orpheus' song have on the squid? Could it's affect be amplified by multiple Aves using it or by characters with pre-existing similar abilities? | Orpheus' Song could have an effect on the squid! The squid itself is very loud in its thoughts, and very... intense about its feelings. A lone Aves (especially if they were more on the timid or uncertain side), would have a difficult time piercing through its mental 'shell', its fully-formed and overwrought defenses. But multiple Aves (and characters with similar abilities) working together could potentially work to calm it, or impose some other feeling upon it. The influence would still be temporary, so as soon as they stopped their song, the squid is likely to retreat, taken by surprise. Its emotions weren't a deafened jumble for a little while, and it's not sure what to make of that. It will react with more curiosity towards Aves in the future, as likely to prod at them, as to pull them into the water (the prodding may still hurt). (If the squid is attacked during/after the song, it will also retreat afterward, and become more wary and aggressive towards anyone remotely bird-like.) |
| #22
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-05 |
Say someone was a non-flashy sort of carnivora who wanted to try to do the smooth grind, but they have flashy ✨magic✨, would that be allowed? People seemed very keen to see him do his tricks in the park, and he does have some feathers... | As someone who also plays a character who has a non-flashy soul, who loves to be flashy... We want to encourage everyone to be able to engage with this prompt, even if their character isn't flashy. The exclusive nature of the prompt can be used as an angle to engage with it: they may dig in their heels and say no, they do not agree to pay someone who isn't a pretty peacock strutting around, if you're not photo-ready then they simply don't consent to hiring and that's that!! ... They are still people, and they can be convinced. However, they may try to stiff payment anyway, claiming they never agreed. In the end, we'll leave it up to players if they want their character to net the full reward or not; The Smooth Grind can just give 'em a tip or something for being kind of neat, they guess. |
| #23
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-05 |
for the friendly wildlife, if hector were to come across a deer or a fox or something that has been killed and do his weird necromancy to revive it, how would the other animals respond to that? both the act of doing it and the newly undead friend. | It'll depend a bit on how awful this necromanced critter looks, at least to a degree. Having exposed muscle or bone may cause some deep concern from critters, more than without; they may have to process their feelings in very animal ways, which may result in overtures of aggression, affection, playfulness, arousal, fear... But ultimately, the animals will calm down once they've gotten over the whiplash of going from grieving to realizing that the one they've lost is... back?? Smells a little funny, but there they are, alive again. Ultimately it'll go from "AHHHHH YOU ARE ALIVE??? (BIG FEELING)" to "well I'm glad you're back bud, you were looking real bad there." They will (usually) receive their friends back. As for how they respond to Hector, it will be with bewilderment (big feelings); it will settle down into further curiosity, following him around like he has treats or something. (Does one get positive reputation for healing the dead animals...? If only.) Edited (left my funny discord formatting thingies) 2025-06-05 07:46 pm (local)
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| #24
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-05 |
Aemond is a Spectral type, and I'm just wondering what might happen if he thinks something along the lines of "golly I wish Vhagar were here"? Might he get a glimpse of his grumpy old lady, and if so, how long would she last / would she be able to interact with their surroundings? | god, yes. Spectral-types may pine for a loved one and they shall appear, controlled entirely by the work of their subconscious. This also means they may do spontaneous things, or they may do/say things that Spectral-type subconsciously compels them to. She would last until Aemond is interrupted or distracted, and she would disappear if Aemond heads for the bridge. She is the work of Aemond's imagination, and therefore under the control of his subconscious, but she'll be entirely tangible near Kelesis. So long as she's in Aemond's sight she can remain and do whatever... Aemond's subconscious version of Vhagar imagines her doing. Edited (editing this for clarity!) 2025-06-05 07:08 am (local)
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| #25
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-05 |
Piggybacking off of this for the limits of the spectral "thoughts come to life"- how much can these manifestations interact with other characters, and can they harm other characters aside from the spectral one? i.e. Eli tends to have violent intrusive thoughts, so is a passing "wow I want to stab that person" likely to manifest as him... Actually doing that? Does he watch a clone of himself do that? Or is it not "real" enough to hurt anyone? | They can harm the Spectral-type, and they can harm all other Augmented Ones. If we use the illustration of Eli having a subconscious thought of "wow I want to stab that guy right in front of me," this inclination wouldn't even require making a duplicate of Eli. Instead, the person he's imagining stabbed is just... stabbed, knife and all, but with nobody there at the handle of it. It's pretty wicked. (... Something, however, keeps this stabbing from being anything super lethal. So if he imagines plunging a knife through the chest, the blade is modified into something very shallow and short. Interesting!) It's a dangerous game. For Spectral-types like Eli, he'll need to be cautious. (We also want to ensure that this remains in your comfort zone as well: if writing out an intrusive thought of Eli's actually happening is bothersome, it can be skipped!) |
| #26
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-05 |
Question, are the hunters being offered any resources as far as weapons go, or will they be expected to BYO? | Alas, neither the city council nor Patho-Gen has any weapons to offer... at least, that they're willing to offer. If you want knives or baseball bats, best to buy your own. Friendly reminder from Patho-Gen: it is your claws/teeth/magic and that Shifted form that are your weapons. Go forth and hunt! |
| #27
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-05 |
Teleporters! For those Also, event timeline - sorry if I missed this somewhere, is there a specific time during the month the Kelesis exploration begins, is it all month/loose-y goose-y? Thank you! |
Teleporters!! I myself do not know much about theoretical teleporter tech, and I'm willing to bet they're fairly simple. They work for one individual at a time; they're spacious enough to hold multiple smaller people, but this is not advised. (Patho-Gen won't elaborate, but there are chances that teleporting with a friend could cause the teleporters to fail. There's something-something about relying on a soul for teleporters to work, and just imagine the stress the machines undergo if they're moving a total of like, four separate souls (two for each character). It's not pretty.) The ones being erected at waypoints have a rating of being able to cover up 20 miles, but the range can be extended with the placement of another teleporter. Think of it as if it's all strung together with an invisible wire... Which means that theoretically, if someone were in the midst of teleporting and one of the teleporters failed, welp. That could be bad. It takes about 30 seconds to travel 20 miles in these teleporters, so they're also not instantaneous. To the individual using the teleporter, they even experience that entire duration of time in a strange sort of quiet, with lots of rattling from beyond their claustrophobic teleporter cubicle. It can feel a little cramped and unsettling to use at first, but Patho-Gen suggests that all good things come at a price. Some staff members also allude to this not even being their "best rendition" of a teleporter, but if pressed, they double back and say that to make something even more sophisticated is... a huge drain on resources, as far as they know. (That being said, they are also welcome to having some help refining these basic teleporters if anyone wants to help improve their design.) Event timeline: we didn't end up specifying in the body, you are correct! This is to help make it loosey goosey as players prefer, but we imagine the Kelesis part of the exploration taking place during the latter half of the month. Of course, characters can zip right back to Karteria with ease using these teleporters, so nobody has to miss the summer solstice either! |
| #28
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-04 |
What's the ballpark for how long the bridge is? And how long is the squid's area? are there clear boundaries to the squid's area? what's the construction of the bridge? Are there pillars down to the floor of the channel? "don't worry about it" magi-science? |
The bridge is approximately 60 miles long. Manmade structures exist on this bridge, dilapidated as they are... but the middle portion of the bridge is the Squid Zone, which is best indicated by the damage done to buildings and even the bridge itself. Partially why it's been impassable, as even some areas of the bridge have been destroyed or need repairs. A good jump from a Glire-type could clear some good gaps, but most characters need to get to work on patching up these impassable parts. ... While contesting with Squid-chan. Regarding boundaries, the increasing structural damage that resembles a good beating will be a clear indicator. Indeed, this bridge is a collaboration of two cities, and combines three different styles of build. On the Karterian side, there is a long stretching portion of steel/concrete, supported both by dense, reinforced pillars and a bit of "don't worry about it" magic-science; on the Kelesian side, the bridge begins to dip lower toward the ocean, where some structures can do a bit of floating. It's made primarily of reinforced concrete on this side, but not as much Magi-Science BS. |
| #29
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-03 |
for the bridge, will aves types still be able to fly over with the Squid there? would a suitably tiny aves go unnoticed? and if they can, are there teleportation devices that could fit in a carry-on suitcase? (if the answer to both of these is yes, this is the month northly is forced to deal with how useful a skillset flying + inventory is) |
The squid has some very long tentacles, but an Aves flying high and discreetly enough could probably slip past. Very sneaky.... Unfortunately, some of the parts of the teleportation device are larger than that, so wouldn't be able to fit in a suitcase. She wouldn't be able to carry over a whole panel on her own. However, there are multiple pieces to their construction, and some of those components would be able to fit in her inventory. So even if she couldn't put together a whole thing, she could take care of some of the parts. |
| #30
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-02 |
Wild golems - would it be possible to find some weird little walking rocks while foraging? 👀 TY | They are pretty uncommon... but it might be possible to spot the occasional little ambling rock formation out there. Maybe they're drawn in by the Augmented Golems in the vicinity...? A sign that it's safe to come out of hibernation? But yes they may be spot. |
| #31
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-02 |
I close my eyes... mods, I'm so sorry for these dumb questions. 1) For Aves/people with more sixth sense or empathy-related powers, what would they be able to garner from the squid? Or from Kelesis in general? (If this will be answered on the log, feel free to skip this question and tell me to be patient!) 2) When you say "attractive and scantily dressed" for the Smooth Grind... What might that look like, and would the Augmented flagging people down ALSO be wearing that kind of uniform? Or nah? From Adds on to here w/ permission: for characters who can also directly speak with animals, what else might be uncovered from that angle? let's not SQUID about the INK-SSUE! |
1. The log will have some more information on Squid Interaction, and on the approach to Kelesis. More questions would absolutely be welcomed on the log post! But empath-types, Aves (and also other cephalopods), or people otherwise good at reading animals, would be able to pick up on the squid being intelligent, curious, and immensely lonely. For Kelesis, each of the 'sensitive' types will have a different experience, different things they'll be attuned to. 2. It's not too scantily dressed, but there's some amount of leg showing. Far more close-fitting compared to everyday wear, items that show off a neckline, that accentuate a waist. A tease similar to formal-wear, but it's also clearly not formal, so it comes across as a bit daring to Karterian standards. As long as Augmented fit the 'vibe', they won't be constrained to a particular outfit- especially as the point is to show off those fine (but only a little scary, and most of all not dull) Shifted/corrupted features! They don't want those wings hiding under long sleeves, or lovely whipping tails to be disguised under coats! They want those features accentuated! Response to More information will turn up with the log, but characters who can talk to animals will definitely be able to communicate to some degree with the squid. It'll be somewhat different from the experience of talking to either an animal or a person- like some bizarre halfway point, something that had forgotten how to talk to anything. Its thoughts are LOUD. |
| #32
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-02 |
coming back with the questions as i am wont to do... i really like the summer solstice prompt with all the eyes and stuff, and since elysia's shifted form does come with a bunch of extra eyes, i wanted to know if the eyes that appear on their bodies are like, random eyes/space's eyes?? or if it'd be ok if i took an itty bitty detour here and had elysia shift instead, so the eyes growing on her body are just the eyes that come in her shifted form... if that makes sense? |
The eyes can take all sorts of forms, they can match what a character has, they can be wildly alien, they can be different animals, or things that are only vaguely eye-shaped at all... it's a world of eyes out there. So Elysia could have her shifted-eyes wherever and however you like! |
| #33
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-02 |
hello mods! i've kind of been operating under the assumption that spectral-types are aware ( either formally or through Vibes ) of their impending deaths as corruption continues, and please correct me if i'm wrong! if that's true: were a spectral-type character happens to start feeling ANTSY about their Impending Death and approaches Patho-Gen about medical/scientific interventions ( outside of the posted efforts ) to stave off the Corruption — essentially volunteering for MORE — what kind of response might they get? patho-gen already put this guy back together ONCE, since he arrived Dead... sorry ny'all |
It's not widely known, but The Vibes Are There... really, Patho-Gen could have done with providing a manual about what to expect with some of these types (then again, it's possible that they don't know the details themselves). Hopefully as Spectral-types start dying off, they can spread that exciting potential to other Spectral-types. But regardless, how much a character can 'sense' of their impending death as a Spectral-type is up to the player, so it's certainly possible to feel it coming. Given that this impending-demise-antsyness is due to the Natural Soul and not an actual failing of the body (though they would certainly want to try to clear that as a possibility), they wouldn't treat the task of stopping the process that seriously. Your Spectral-side knows what they're about. However, Patho-Gen would be interested in observing the process, and would welcome someone regularly coming in to get a load of tests done, really get a feel for how things are deteriorating, if it's something that can be measured. They might present this scientific curiosity as 'help staving off Corruption'... but in truth, they are more interested in seeing it play out. |
| #34
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-06-02 |
hi sooo if someone were to go bug-hunting in the swamp, would they find just regular ol' swamp-bugs like we have in the real world, or are the bugs Different?? I've been going with the assumption all the bugs are basically the same but figured i should ask since Helaena...loves bugs....and catching them.... | It would probably be a mix! Familiar bug, unusual bug... not even necessarily unnaturally mutated bug, but just the result of evolution taking some of the bugs in different directions. Of course, there are the occasional ones that seem to have been mutated by arcane radiation, given that their developments are more... haphazard. Dragonflies with extra sets of wings, mosquitos with far too many mouthparts, water striders grown too heavy to stride. Most of the nonfunctional ones are just eaten by something else in the wetlands, but some of the developments might be advantageous, or at least not too much of a hindrance. A toxicity that makes them repulsive to the ambient amphibians and birds, or appendages that mimic the local snakes... nature is beautiful. So really, she can find a combination of familiar, similar-but-localized, bizarrely-mutated, and mixes of all of those.... |
