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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?
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[He's not at all disturbed by it.]
There's been some small handful of people who were found worthy of the ring's power and were not of the bloodline, but for the most part the ring, rather than the crown, was the actual proof of one's status as king.
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A sentient artifact sounds quite interesting, though. I've encountered a self-aware robot recently, but not an object with the level of awareness you're implying.
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[Is the giant prince-eating geode alive or not? Who knows, his canon's a mess.]
...And what's the point if you can't make the judgement of the unworthy dramatic?
[Do you have no sense of style, Akechi-kun?]
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[His wings flap again.]
But, there are a number of ways to make judgment dramatic without causing unnecessary suffering. I'm not particularly fond of agonizing methods of death, except in cases where the judged is especially vile.
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[He shrugs.]
Him, we just took an arm. The replacement he got was rather attractive, actually, matched his eyes.
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[Will he un-live to be that old? It's not like Erasing someone is going to be the only way to become a Composer for...a long time.]
And here I was just concerned about what I would do when I reached the point where I couldn't hide my lack of aging anymore.
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[It almost sounds like he's joking, except for the somber tone of 'longer than anyone should persist.']
Fortunately, lack of aging wasn't a concern of mine. You might consider looking into illusion magic, if your world has such a thing?
no subject
[He runs a hand through his hair in thought.]
Illusion magic doesn't exist in my own world as far as I know, but I do have access to magic from other worlds. It's something worth looking into, once I can get in touch with my friends...
[He reaches into his pocket for a cell phone, frowning at the out of service marker. So much for interdimensional reception...]
no subject
A careful eye will still notice that Izunia fidgets a little with one of the crystals he's picked up, though.]
I suppose having a relative peer to socialize with would make it much easier to retain a grasp on sanity.
no subject
The word 'demon' in my language refers to just about any form of inherently supernatural, inhuman creature. It doesn't strictly mean an evil spirit.
no subject
On Eos, a daemon is a creature transformed by a supernatural plague into a violent monster of the darkness. 'Spirit' doesn't actually enter into it; they're quite physical and make our nights extremely dangerous beyond the reach of civilization.
no subject
[His wings rustle behind him]
My world has two definitions of 'demon' depending on the culture you're looking at. The Western world classifies them as creatures of pure evil that prey on humans in an effort to tempt them toward wickedness.
My own culture uses the word for a large variety of beings that does include some malicious creatures, but also has a number of benevolent ones. My own favorites tend to be the benign tricksters.
no subject
[No, Ardyn is hardly benevolent in any form, anymore. A trickster, certainly, and Izunia feels a fool for not noticing that until it was too late, that that little element of Ardyn hadn't been completely stomped out.]
Luckily, they fall to mundane weapons as well as to magic, and loathe light of all varieties, so it's possible for normal people to fight them with skill alone. Dangerous, but possible.
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[Aaaaand yeah his voice is serious, there.]
The Scourge spreads as a disease - there's nothing worse than seeing your loved ones dying of plague, only to know that they'll likely be raised as monsters ones their flesh gives out.
no subject
[Yeah, it was...bad enough seeing Sae's Shadow, even knowing that it was just a portion of her and she wasn't too far gone to save.]
That does sound...horrifying, to be frank. I can imagine the pain of having to kill a loved one who's become nothing but a danger.
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It isn't something I would wish on any other world. It's caused me more grief than you could ever know.
no subject
I'm sorry. If...nothing else, I've met people from a lot of different worlds, and this is the first I've heard of anything like that.
no subject
Glad to hear it.
no subject
Now, shall we see what's at the top of these cliffs?
no subject
Oh, let's. Though you rather have me at the advantage in that regard.
[He can climb pretty well but flying is cheating.]
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['climb' more like 'throw daggers into rocks and teleport to them'.]
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[He scratches the back of his head sheepishly.]
That's actually part of how I got caught out here when the tide came in. I was having too much fun scaling the cliffs.
no subject
[He can always warp back down if he gets stuck, but really he'd rather not, just, in general.]
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