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phantasmemes2018-01-19 12:29 pm
phantasmods) wrote in phantasmemes2018-01-19 12:29 pm
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE 001
Hello, and welcome to the first test drive for Phantasmal Rift!
Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.
(In the future, characters who are in-game can also earn themselves an extra item of loot for tagging in to top levels on the test drive, to be distributed with the rest of their loot upon dungeon completion.)
This first test drive is based in the Fissure nearest to the Station, and comes with three potential options, all with a distinctly watery bent -
OPTION 1: MAROONED
Hey, uh... What's that maroon film distorting your vision? And how did you get on this beach, anyway?
So long as the sun is shining, there doesn't seem to be a problem out here on the beach, aside from the strange maroon tint to everything. But when clouds pass over, the tint grows darker, and darker, and the water grows redder, and redder...
That... can't be blood, can it?
Characters who remain beneath the patchy cloud cover will find themselves filled with increasing anxiety that the ocean is made of blood, until either the cloud passes or they check the water for themselves. The bad news is, that while it isn't actually an ocean of blood, contact with the red water will drain characters of energy very rapidly, causing sudden fits of exhaustion as though they were suffering from anemia. By itself, this isn't particularly dangerous...
...Except that the return of the sun doesn't mean the return of that lost energy, and if you've waded out too far, the shifting sand and pull of the waves underfoot can easily pull you down and under.
OPTION 2: LANDSHARK
You really hope that isn't a shark fin moving through the sand. That's just not possible, right?
(Yes, yes it is.)
Landsharks are amphibious, predatory creatures just as at home in the sand as below the waves, and always hungry. They track their prey via disturbances in the sand or water, but fortunately, you can track them the same way - they're large enough to be easily visible in the relatively clear waters near the beach, and their bulk causes a patch of shifting sand above them as they roam for more terrestrial prey.
As a result, they're most dangerous near the waterline, where the shifting sand is hard to see due to the motion of the waves (though they can, of course, pop up further up the beach). Fortunately, they're not large enough to swallow a person whole. Unfortunately, they're still between nine and twelve feet long depending on the individual and easily large enough to take a good chunk out of you.
Like any other shark, they're vulnerable to being sliced open with something sharp, kicked in the gills, or punched in the snout to establish dominance. On the magical end, they have a particular weakness to electricity.
On the bright side, if you're hungry enough, the landsharks are very edible once cooked (or, you know, if you like sushi). For some reason, the meat tastes faintly of chocolate...?
Drops: Meat, shark teeth, candygrams.
OPTION 3: JUST IN TIDE
A bit further down from the beach, the water comes up to the base of the rocky cliffs, leaving numerous nooks and crannies to climb over and explore. In fact, they're practically begging for it.
What might you find? Well, there's the usual beach refuse, for a start - sand, seaweed, shells and fragments of shells, and big barnacles and mussels tucked into the cracks. However, other debris finds its way into the cracks, ocean-going refuse from a thousand worlds... There's also a number of pointy blue-green crystals that tingle to the touch and remain wet no matter how characters attempt to dry them.
And finally, there's a bunch of bottle crabs - overlarge hermit crabs that look more at home in half-broken beer bottles or soda cans at their size than they do in shells (though they'll live in anything that seems protective enough - the largest seem prone to making their homes in rusty helmets). The crabs are not aggressive unless you harass them first, but they can give a nasty pinch if provoked.
...Did you lose track of time out there among the rocks, or did time lose track of you?
Either way, you're now stuck out as the tide comes in. If you can swim, good for you! You probably won't have too much of a problem, at least once you're far enough from the rocks that you aren't at risk of getting thrown against them and having some important swimming limb broken...
On second thought, maybe it's better to stay here and wait it out, whether you can swim or not. Hope you're ready for a couple hours stuck on a rock with some weird-looking, too-big hermit crabs and...
Who is this other person, anyway?
Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.
(In the future, characters who are in-game can also earn themselves an extra item of loot for tagging in to top levels on the test drive, to be distributed with the rest of their loot upon dungeon completion.)
This first test drive is based in the Fissure nearest to the Station, and comes with three potential options, all with a distinctly watery bent -
OPTION 1: MAROONED
Hey, uh... What's that maroon film distorting your vision? And how did you get on this beach, anyway?
So long as the sun is shining, there doesn't seem to be a problem out here on the beach, aside from the strange maroon tint to everything. But when clouds pass over, the tint grows darker, and darker, and the water grows redder, and redder...
That... can't be blood, can it?
Characters who remain beneath the patchy cloud cover will find themselves filled with increasing anxiety that the ocean is made of blood, until either the cloud passes or they check the water for themselves. The bad news is, that while it isn't actually an ocean of blood, contact with the red water will drain characters of energy very rapidly, causing sudden fits of exhaustion as though they were suffering from anemia. By itself, this isn't particularly dangerous...
...Except that the return of the sun doesn't mean the return of that lost energy, and if you've waded out too far, the shifting sand and pull of the waves underfoot can easily pull you down and under.
OPTION 2: LANDSHARK
You really hope that isn't a shark fin moving through the sand. That's just not possible, right?
(Yes, yes it is.)
Landsharks are amphibious, predatory creatures just as at home in the sand as below the waves, and always hungry. They track their prey via disturbances in the sand or water, but fortunately, you can track them the same way - they're large enough to be easily visible in the relatively clear waters near the beach, and their bulk causes a patch of shifting sand above them as they roam for more terrestrial prey.
As a result, they're most dangerous near the waterline, where the shifting sand is hard to see due to the motion of the waves (though they can, of course, pop up further up the beach). Fortunately, they're not large enough to swallow a person whole. Unfortunately, they're still between nine and twelve feet long depending on the individual and easily large enough to take a good chunk out of you.
Like any other shark, they're vulnerable to being sliced open with something sharp, kicked in the gills, or punched in the snout to establish dominance. On the magical end, they have a particular weakness to electricity.
On the bright side, if you're hungry enough, the landsharks are very edible once cooked (or, you know, if you like sushi). For some reason, the meat tastes faintly of chocolate...?
Drops: Meat, shark teeth, candygrams.
OPTION 3: JUST IN TIDE
A bit further down from the beach, the water comes up to the base of the rocky cliffs, leaving numerous nooks and crannies to climb over and explore. In fact, they're practically begging for it.
What might you find? Well, there's the usual beach refuse, for a start - sand, seaweed, shells and fragments of shells, and big barnacles and mussels tucked into the cracks. However, other debris finds its way into the cracks, ocean-going refuse from a thousand worlds... There's also a number of pointy blue-green crystals that tingle to the touch and remain wet no matter how characters attempt to dry them.
And finally, there's a bunch of bottle crabs - overlarge hermit crabs that look more at home in half-broken beer bottles or soda cans at their size than they do in shells (though they'll live in anything that seems protective enough - the largest seem prone to making their homes in rusty helmets). The crabs are not aggressive unless you harass them first, but they can give a nasty pinch if provoked.
...Did you lose track of time out there among the rocks, or did time lose track of you?
Either way, you're now stuck out as the tide comes in. If you can swim, good for you! You probably won't have too much of a problem, at least once you're far enough from the rocks that you aren't at risk of getting thrown against them and having some important swimming limb broken...
On second thought, maybe it's better to stay here and wait it out, whether you can swim or not. Hope you're ready for a couple hours stuck on a rock with some weird-looking, too-big hermit crabs and...
Who is this other person, anyway?
i gotta sleep after this BUT i will b back tomorrow
[Dismissive handwave. It's actually refreshing to encounter someone else who tends to organize; it helps him get his head back on straight. This... was his role, once, too, it just takes a moment's thought to shift back into it after so long.]
I should have thought of that myself, but it's been a rather disorienting day, as I'm sure you can imagine.
[Well, that part's a politician's lie. A teenager wouldn't possibly be able to imagine how extremely disorienting this day has been so far.]
I imagine there are probably still people stranded among the rocks by the tide, however. I think it's starting to drop again, but it's still fairly high.
no subject
Not that he's certain where this man falls along that scale, yet. Age is hardly an indicator for experience, after all.
Looking out to the rocks in the water, he notices that there are indeed people stuck out there and frowns thoughtfully, not liking this development.]
That's...certainly a concern. It would be good to find out if there are any strong swimmers among the people on the beach, who might be able or willing to help if it comes to it. Leaving them out there on their own is no good, but taking even more risks could result in even more chance of injury or worse.
[He doesn't like the idea of not going out to help right away, but with so little to work with right now... The only thing he's managed to find so far were those shark teeth. And, well, the sharks.]
...it's really too bad you don't have a ship.
[He means it as a joke, to lighten the mood a little, but is said a bit too wistfully...]
no subject
He's spoken to more people he isn't related to today than in that entire two thousand years.]
Fortunately, I'm not reliant on swimming to get out to the rocks safely, and neither is at least one of the others. If it comes to rescues, we won't have to risk the surf - which is a good thing, as that current looks rather nasty. I wouldn't want to swim in it by myself, nevermind helping another person.
[A politician can tell when something's intended to lighten the mood even if it fails, and so that comment doesn't entirely flop, because a somewhat more experienced actor can carry it.]
I admit, a high seas adventure would be a new experience even for me.
[At least his brain didn't default to 'airship.']
no subject
...sounds like a useful ability to have around here! If you don't mind, I'd like to ask more about how that works, though perhaps that's a conversation best left for another time.
And that's entirely fair, this is a difficult situation to begin with. Making sure to look after yourself and your well-being should be everyone's numnber one priority, I think. I just...well, personally I hope that the second would be looking out for each other, though. Until and unless more information emerges about our circumstances here, we'll likely find it easier if we can all rely on each other to see us through.
no subject
[And with that he'll summon a pen in a flicker of blue light, twirling it between his fingers just long enough for Makoto to see it clearly - someone else around here apparently has hammerspace.
Then he throws it past the boy's shoulder and warps after it, the teleportation leaving a trail of blue light and an afterimage. When he reappears, not even a full second later, it's behind Makoto, holding the pen.]
I don't think banding together should be a problem for most of the people I've seen here, though I suppose there are always outliers and those who would rather not associate with others.
no subject
That's certainly impressive, I'll give you that. [A little showboat-y, perhaps, but that's not something to really fault a person for.]
It's those people that I'm most worried about, to be honest. If they're more inclined to survive on their own, that's one thing; we can't force people to cooperate, of course. But in my experience, for all the people willing to put aside their personal differences and do what's best for the benefit of all over the benefit of one, there are always those few who delight in causing chaos, who only want to do what helps them, without regard for who or what might suffer along the way.
no subject
(That's not quite true, but when you've acted the part for so long, it's easy to fall back on.)]
It's not even my best trick, but it's certainly one of my handiest. Knives work even better than pens.
[But you know people tend to get upset when you throw knives past their heads without much warning.]
In my experience, most of those who claim to be loners and capable of taking care of themselves get a sharp lesson in exactly how foolish that is as soon as they're forced to put that into practice. If they aren't capable of learning that, then you're often better rid of them anyway.
[HE'S NOT EXACTLY AN IDEALIST.]
no subject
[Maybe he can show him the knife trick when he knows him better...and won't freak out to see someone throwing knives seemingly in his direction.
As for that... Makoto laughs a little, though it's somewhat awkward. He remembers a time when he used to think like that, like he could get things done on his own without asking for assistance. It wasn't so much a pride thing though, as it was proving to everyone else that he was actually worth leaning on.]
I can't argue that...though I'm sure some of them, they may just not know how to ask for help yet, or realize that it's not weakness to admit they need it, sometimes.
[He shrugs.]
But like you said, that lesson tends to to taught sooner or later. I don't think it's a good use of energy or resources to worry about forcing them until and unless they're ready.