phantasmemes | Entries tagged with !signups

LET THE SIGN-UPS BEGIN.

BELLMARE MOUNTAINS

Buried deep in the mountains to the north of Keystone, the Bellmare Mountains are a chilly region at the height of summer, the high altitude sapping warmth out of the air. Those with keen eyes will probably have noticed that the mountains are, in fact, perpetually snowcapped in the distance, unlike the lower mountains that are home to the Telovia Mines further south. The alpine heights are mostly evergreen forests, with wide tracts visible from the air that have been cleared in the snow, and the occasional wires of a chairlift visible above the height of the trees. Once upon, this region was home to a profitable tourist resort - hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter.

The area of Bellmare narrowed down by the androids based upon the descriptions given by those who encountered the Entity (tm) is in the depths of a Fissure (because of course it is) - a Fissure that is, in fact, one of the largest, spanning over a huge amount of that end of the mountains and suspected to be responsible for the perpetual ice and snow. Though the androids will outfit everyone with stabilizers as usual, they note that there's no expectation to get the entire region stabilized - indeed, there's not nearly enough stabilizers to do so. Just get done what you can and find your main objective out there, guys.

The areas for part 1 of the Bellmare Mountains are primarily the forest and the open-air slopes. The former is prone to deep snowbanks with pits around the bases of trees, and is littered with old cabins (perfect for spending a night in!) and magically warmed footpaths that trail up and down the mountains. The slopes, meanwhile, are covered in fresh, even snow, untouched except for the tracks of the local wild animals (who don't seem much inclined to venture out from the safety of the trees if they can help it). Old resort equipment, in reasonably good repair, stands guard over many of these wide open areas, chair-lifts dangling and clanking in the faint breeze.

DUNGEON-WIDE EFFECTS

The major effect of this dungeon is one that characters won't feel while they're inside it - time within the Fissure is slowed down significantly. While characters will only be in the dungeon for ten days from their perspective, a little under five times that will pass outside. While they enter in mid-November, they'll be exiting to the beginning of January - sorry about those Christmas plans!

This effect is visible at the borders of the Fissure, where the snow inside falls so much more slowly than the snow outside - and, depending on the time of day, you might even see a stark difference with night on one side and day on the other! The days within the Bellmare Fissure are still 24 perceived hours, regardless of the time outside. The only clue you'll have to the actual date once you move beyond the borders of this very large Fissure is the network devices from the Station - as they're constantly trying to sync to the time back at Keystone, the clocks on them are going to glitch terribly.

Also, while not a magical effect, it's worth noting that Bellmare is, indeed, a high mountain range in the depths of winter - it's snowy. It's cold. The air is thin, and chances of avalanches exist. Best bring plenty of things to keep you warm.

LOOT

Characters obtain one piece of loot for signing up for the dungeon and an additional roll per 15 comments on the dungeon log. Additionally, characters can receive a bonus loot roll for tagging someone new on the Test Drive! Please also note that comment based loot is capped at eight rolls, making for a total of up to ten pieces of loot that each character can gain.

Newcomers who participate in the dungeon can also receive loot for comments made to the dungeon log after they've been accepted, in addition to their entry loot attached to their acceptance notices. This loot can be found under the sign-ups header at the conclusion of the dungeon, in a comment with their journal name as the subject line.

Please note: Because Bellmare is an extra-long dungeon OOCly, we'll be rolling loot at the very conclusion of the dungeon in January! Please enjoy this opportunity to stuff the heck out of your pockets, especially with a temporarily increased loot cap!

IC LENGTH

The IC length of the dungeon will be ten days, starting on November 15th ICly. However, for the duration of the dungeon, characters will note that their Station-based phones and network devices seem to be having some kind of time glitch (as described above) and therefore aren't wholly accurate as a way of recording the passage of time. Characters will exit the dungeon into the afternoon of January 6th, catching the game up with the OOC calendar.

MID-DUNGEON EVENT

Get ready for a doozy of a mid-dungeon event... Because there's an entire second part of the dungeon coming to you at a later date! After some time exploring and making their way up the mountain, characters will enter into a high alpine valley that was once the seat of the Bellmare Mountain Resort. Exactly what will they find there...?

Please look forward to it.

SIGN-UP FORM

EVERYTHING ELSE:

Life Will Change: The long-awaited World Changes system is now live! Due to the slightly different rules from normal points grants, these High Budget requests have their own page. This also makes it easier for those looking through to see what's been added to the setting, either recently or on a permanent basis, without having to wade through pages of regular points requests.

And now, the weather;

Due to the weirdness of time accompanying this dungeon, dungeon weather is reflected based upon days of the expedition, rather than based upon the calendar. If you'd like to know the weather back as Keystone during this period, please contact a mod.

11/6-8: Rainy, steady drizzle.
11/9-10: Overcast, with both occasional sunbreaks and spotty rain.
11/11-11/13: Clear, temperatures dropping.
11/14: Clear morning; afternoon brings with it tiny hailstones (roughly the size of peas) for an hour or two before turning to rain.
11/15/Expedition day 1: Keystone has cloudy skies. Up in the mountains, the rain that fell on Keystone the day before has become gently falling snow that continues into the night.
Day 2-3: Clear with occasional clouds.
Day 4-5: Steady snow, starting slow in the morning of Day 4 and increasing until night on Day 5. Night on Day 5 is suspiciously clear.
Day 6: Blizzard. In addition to the heavy snowfall, there are periodic bursts of icy rain and gusty winds, blowing both the snow still in the air and the new-fallen powder up and making it nearly impossible to see on the slopes or in other regions where there's little in the way of tree cover to serve as a wind block.
Day 7: The winds decrease, but snowfall remains heavy enough to make vision difficult.
Day 8: Light snowfall.
Day 9: Patchy clouds and sunlight; occasional scatterings of snowfall and frozen rain.
Day 10: Clear skies. As good a chance to return to Keystone as you're likely to get for some time, before the worst of winter locks you in the mountains for who knows how long.

phantasmods

LET THE SIGN-UPS BEGIN.

SILVEREAGLE MANOR

Tucked fairly deep into the mountain foothills, where no roads even reach anymore if any ever did, Silvereagle Manor was once the home of the Ahnrenti family, a house of nobles that rose to their position via clever use of magic and, if historical accounts that border on the mythological are to be believed, a unique position communicating with the spirit of the planet. It's in search of more information about the latter - which may or may not be the same as the entity involved with the magic of the Fissures - that the expedition team has come to the manor.

Surrounded by high stone walls that have mostly withstood the test of time, the castlelike building was well preserved - at least until it, like everything else in the Fissure-ridden world, was abandoned around a century ago. The property still shows many signs - literally - of having been a historically preserved site - the lower floor and outbuildings having many of the trappings of a museum, while a luxury hotel takes up a portion of the upper floors. In addition to the main house - a four story building with a high tower at one end offering views of the whole area around it - the complex boasts a variety of gardens (now overgrown), a gardener's house, and a stable. And that's just what's visible on the surface...

There are very many areas of the manor to explore - two gardens, five floors, the tower, and a special mention to the library! Darkness-related magics seem to prevail here, as well as any number of ghostly and other spooky things. There are also two Subfissures in this dungeon!

The Entrance Gardens were once a well-maintained carriage track leading up to the manor itself, but they're now incredibly overgrown with strangling (not literally) ivy. This area is home to the first Subfissure effect, which compels characters to honestly.
The Rear Gardens, on the other hand, are overgrown with something both more beautiful and more dangerous - thorny brambles of rose, dotted with a multitude of late-season blooms. This area is also home to the stables and gardener's house.
The Ground Floor is home to the massive entrance hall, the kitchens, and numerous sitting rooms that all hold the museum-like trappings of the years the building was maintained for its historic value. In addition, music flows throughout this floor from the grand two-story ballroom immediately off the matching entrance hall - and within are the echoes of dancers, looping through an eternal waltz.
The Second Floor (the parts of it that aren't the upper halves of the entrance hall and ballroom) was once guest quarters, and afterwards a luxury hotel. There are also converted servants' rooms on this floor, for those who were too cheap for a full guest suite.
The Third Floor is where the family's more private quarters begin - although there are a handful of guest rooms here, for the highest ranked of visitors and the family's chief servants, the majority of the floor is patrolled by dusty suits of armor that will nonetheless remove any visitors who are in places they shouldn't be.
Of special note on the third floor is the two-story Library, home to the historical collection of magical books. Was someone else researching here, or is the mess just a side effect of the books flying around as their automatic sorting enchantments go haywire? At least there's no guards.
The Fourth Floor is home to the second Subfissure effect. If you're familiar with old movies, this one should look familiar... Also patrolled by guards, this is home to the family's personal quarters, including their own magical labs, and the staircase up to the tower.
The Tower, standing roughly three floors of stairs up above the fourth floor, is home to a telescope observatory! It'll take a good amount of work to get it operational again, but it looks like the massive telescope will still be functional with some polish, thanks to the fact that the roof and windows have all been closed all this time. If you peek out, even without the telescope, it's one hell of a view.
And then finally, there is the Basement. While a portion of the floor is devoted to cellars of both the wine and vegetable variety - long since empty, sorry to say - a corded-off and locked door leads to a sort of temple, in which someone's left a surprising number of tools and instruments...

DUNGEON-WIDE EFFECTS

The main effect of the dungeon is one you've all been waiting for - that's right, it's our much awaited species swap dungeon! Characters entering the Fissure will find themselves turned into members of some other type of sentient race - aliens, robots, fantasy critters, if it thinks it's probably fair game for this effect. This magic is also more potent than most of the ones characters have dealt with so far - not only does it bring powers to the table for those who are of a species that has powers, but it also does not end in stable areas. Whatever you are, you're stuck as that for the duration of the dungeon, buddy!

Additionally, there are two sub-Fissures in this dungeon. The first, in the entrance gardens, forces characters to speak honestly and prevents them from lying - even going so far as compelling them, if they're trying to hide something intentionally. The second, on the fourth floor, is a suggestion from our very own Eric - it renders the area as something similar to a black-and-white, silent movie, with subtitles when characters blink or close their eyes.

Not sure what counts? There's a comment header below specifically for you to ask the mods if something you have in mind is appropriate!

LOOT

Characters obtain one piece of loot for signing up for the dungeon and an additional roll per 15 comments on the dungeon log. Additionally, characters can receive a bonus loot roll for tagging someone new on the Test Drive! Please also note that comment based loot is capped at five rolls, making for a total of up to seven pieces of loot that each character can gain.

Newcomers who participate in the dungeon can also receive loot for comments made to the last two days of the dungeon log, in addition to their entry loot attached to their acceptance notices. This loot can be found under the sign-ups header at the conclusion of the dungeon, in a comment with their journal name as the subject line.

IC LENGTH

The dungeon will last for six IC days, including travel time. Characters will leave via Incendia on the morning of October 1st and arrive at the manor in the early evening to early night, depending on the exact time they left. They will remain until the morning of October 6th, at which point there is another day's journey back to Incendia and the stations. (That's five nights and four days of actual exploration time!)

MID-DUNGEON EVENT

There is no particular mid-dungeon event this time around! However, there will be two exploration opportunities running the length of the dungeon - one in the library and one in the basement! Rather than having specific headers, mods will keep an eye out for top-levels that include these areas and let you know in-thread if you find anything of interest! For the sake of fairness, we'll be focusing mostly on characters who haven't participated in any explorations or major plot stuff recently.

SIGN-UP FORM

EVERYTHING ELSE:

...Be with you: Fourth character slots are now open for existing players! As with third character slots, there is a maximum of two applications per application cycle. This will probably be the cap going forward until near endgame. Applications open in a week (as usual).

And now, the weather;

9/24-28: Largely clear with stray clouds; breezy, cool.
9/29-30: Overcast, with both occasional sunbreaks and some drizzling.
10/1: Overcast in the morning at the Station; the clouds follow characters into the mountains to Silvereagle Manor, and begin to open up in a steady drizzle there.
10/2-3: Frequent rain; usually drizzle but occasionally pounding. No sunbreaks even during breaks in the rain; remains overcast.
10/4: Rare sunbreaks, overcast.
10/5: Steady rain until late afternoon, heavier than a drizzle but not quite pounding. Overcast after.
10/6: Overcast leading into sunbreaks, with a mostly sunny (though still chilly) afternoon.
10/7-9: Sunny but cool; nights are not yet approaching freezing, but cold enough that most people will want some kind of jacket, especially with the sea breeze.

phantasmods

LET THE SIGN-UPS BEGIN.

TELOVIA MINES

Originally owned by the Telovia Mining Company based out of Incendia (you might have seen their corporate headquarters, if you'd thought to go looking at skyscrapers), these mines have been abandoned and left to go wild for over a century. Unlike Incendia, there's no time loop of magic preserving things here - every year's passage shows both in the mines themselves and the remains of the town outside that once provided home and hearth to the miners and others who worked on the site.

The primary objective of the mission is the location and retrieval of the android Neutrino, who just up and ran off from Lodestone Station for reasons unknown, and has been missing ever since - a time period now over two months. It's impossible to say exactly where they are or what they're doing in the mines, but the exploratory drone tucked into a sheltered part of the mountainside is as good an indication that you're at the right place as anything.

Aside from that, there's the usual objective of stabilizing as much of the area's Fissure as you can. The mines are split into three main areas, plus two smaller ones and a Subfissure, for a total of six locations;

MINER'S TOWN: The above-ground area that was once where the mine-workers lived. It's primarily housing, at least as far as you can tell from what parts of the buildings haven't been totally reclaimed by nature.
SORTING AND SURVEYING ZONE: The area around the mine entrance that was once used to organize the crystals and minerals pulled out of it. While the sections outside are as grown-over as the town, the section inside the mine might still be usable, with a little polish.
MAIN TUNNELS: The majority of the area is, of course, the mines themselves, which are full of twisting tunnels and the very occasional larger cavern. While the majority of the mine is on one level, there are the remains of elevators that you can use to go further down... If you're willing to risk it. A Subfissure has taken over the eastern section.
BRILLIANT CAVERN: A strange, more-open section of cave where the conditions are just right to allow the plants and seeds that have come in through the Fissure to not only grow, but absolutely thrive, fed by the magical crystals here.
DEEP SHAFT: The lowest and deepest shaft of the mine, which is accessible by elevator shaft - only by the shaft, unless you know of some way to get the elevator Neutrino used back to the top. More information to come as a part of the mid-dungeon event!

DUNGEON-WIDE EFFECTS

There's one bothersome effect across the entire Fissure area, which is detailed below. In addition, there's a Subfissure in the eastern section of the mines.

Dungeon-Wide Effect: Those entering this Fissure will find that they've lost some degree of mundane ability. It might be a sense - either one of the Big Five or a more esoteric sense such as balance or temperature. It might be the ability to speak, or recognize people's faces and voices. The important thing is that it's an ability that is not magical or supernatural in any way and is instead something that is so mundane that the person losing it doesn't even think about it until it's gone. (As always, dungeon effects are opt-in.)

Not sure what counts? There's a comment header below specifically for you to ask the mods if something you have in mind is appropriate!

LOOT

Characters obtain one piece of loot for signing up for the dungeon and an additional roll per 15 comments on the dungeon log. Additionally, characters can receive a bonus loot roll for tagging someone new on the Test Drive! Please also note that comment based loot is capped at five rolls, making for a total of up to seven pieces of loot that each character can gain.

Newcomers who participate in the dungeon can also receive loot for comments made to the last two days of the dungeon log, in addition to their entry loot attached to their acceptance notices. This loot can be found under the sign-ups header at the conclusion of the dungeon, in a comment with their journal name as the subject line.

IC LENGTH

ICly, the dungeon will run for four days, from August 16th to 20th. The mid-dungeon event will ICly take place on the last day. OOCly, the dungeon will run from September 7-16.

MID-DUNGEON EVENT

Due to a combination of it having worked better last dungeon to have the end of dungeon event on Wednesday, and the fact that Nai will be gone for a significant part of the weekend, end dungeon event is now mid-dungeon event! It will be going up on Wednesday again, same as last time.

The mid-dungeon event will be a descent to the very lowest part of the mine in search of missing android Neutrino. While anyone is welcome to tag in to the event header, actually locating Neutrino will only be available to characters who did not participate in the rescue at Lodestone Station, in order to keep from concentrating too much plot activity in one place.

SIGN-UP FORM

EVERYTHING ELSE:

AC changes reminder!: Don't forget! Activity check has changed to a monthly cycle, on the 7th of each month! (Which means, this time, that you get your points exactly on dungeon day! How's that for handy?) In addition, with this activity check, the mods will be introducing two cool new ways to spend your points - Setting Additions and Temporary Effects! Please look forward to it!

And now, the weather;

8/9: Stormy morning, fading into overcast throughout the day and eventually sun in the late afternoon. Heat wave ends, leaving the area much cooler.
8/10-13: Sunny and relatively cool.
8/14-16: Sunny, hot, and humid. Prepare to get sticky.
8/17: Hard rain at the Station in the morning moves up to the mountains by afternoon, and continues through the night. Occasional thunder, but no lightning hazard.
8/18: Overcast all day, with the occasional drizzle.
8/19: Overcast morning, with slowly increasing sunbreaks until an eventual clear afternoon.
8/20-22: Sunny and bright; warm but not baking.
8/23-25: Hot, but with low humidity and a constant breeze.

phantasmods

LET THE SIGN-UPS BEGIN.

INCENDIA

Abandoned for a century, this city, once called Resona Aere ("resonating air" or "echoing air" in the native language), is now exclusively called "Incendia" for its location within a Fissure that turns the city into a blazing inferno at nightfall. Its location on a large lake near the ocean once made it a robust shipping center, a location from which goods spread to the other magic-using towns throughout this part of the continent. Skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings, largely modern with a touch of the magical in their design, attest to the number of people that once lived in this metropolis, once over a million including the surrounding suburbs.

Now, it lies still and empty, home mostly to pigeons and feral dogs adapted to the fire magic that rampages through the city by night. For the most part, however, the city has not decayed - all of the objects within it are restored to their previous state at the passing of the night, and by the time the sun has any height in the sky, it is once more a gleaming, modern city, running via the magic thumming in the streets to support a populace of none.

Your objective in this Fissure isn't merely to stabilize it - indeed, as the largest Fissure the group has yet tackled, it would be very difficult to stabilize the whole thing. Rather, the primary objective is the securing of the secondary research station, Lodestone Station, to the north of the downtown, and the rescue of the two androids, Muon and Tau, who are currently trapped there. For this purpose, three of the androids from Keystone Station - Strange, Charm, and Up - are also accompanying the expedition group, and may tag into your top-levels.

The major regions of Incendia included in the range of the expedition are as follows;

Lakefront Shipping and Industrial Zone: A largely flat plain of concrete or some similar substance, right up against the lake and forming a great deal of the shore. Closest to the lake, randomly moving shipping containers, moving according to automated magic, create a dizzying, ever-shifting maze. Further inland, textile and food product factories run without oversight, creating an excess of product that burns at nightfall all the same.
Hector Wilde Memorial Ritual Park: A green space of nearly a mile on each side, once home to an impressive array of cultural events and magical rituals (as implied by the name). Carefully manicured, the centerpiece of the park is a large magical fountain, a half-sphere of water that hangs, fifteen feet across, some twenty five feet in the air, with water both spilling out of it and bursting up to it from the ground. The park is - or was - currently filled with the tents, food stands, and stages of a music festival in full swing, now gone silent.
Retail Downtown: Surrounding the bases of the skyscrapers are any number of shops, restaurants, and even department stores. It's still a wonderful place to spend an afternoon... And, probably to fill your pockets with anything you might find useful.
The Underground: Once a magical subway system that spanned the whole of the city and then some, the underground is now most notable for being exempt from the Fissure's effects - and thus, a safe place to spend the night without burning to death. However, since the dawn reset of the Fissure also doesn't apply, you'll find that the century of neglect from lack of human residency very much does.
Lodestone Station: Situated in a converted park to the north of the downtown, this station has been wrapped within a secondary Fissure effect... Just what kind of wild magic awaits there?

DUNGEON-WIDE EFFECTS

There are no effects on characters in the main Fissure of the city. As for the Sub-Fissure north of downtown, cocooning Lodestone Station... You'll have to wait and see.

LOOT

Characters obtain one piece of loot for signing up for the dungeon and an additional roll per 30 comments on the dungeon log. Please note that this is double the normal requirement - this is due to all the non-rolled loot that is available in this dungeon! Additionally, characters can receive a bonus loot roll for tagging someone new on the Test Drive! Please also note that comment based loot is capped at five rolls, making for a total of up to seven pieces of loot that each character can gain.

Newcomers who participate in the dungeon can also receive loot for comments made to the last two days of the dungeon log, in addition to their entry loot attached to their acceptance notices. This loot can be found under the sign-ups header at the conclusion of the dungeon, in a comment with their journal name as the subject line.

IC LENGTH

The dungeon will last for six days ICly, from July 2nd to 7th. Note that the end-dungeon event will ICly take place on the fourth day (July 5th), with the remaining two days after for establishing camp and to allow characters to continue to collect resources from the city. OOCly, the dungeon will run from July 20th to 29th, with IC intro on the 30th.

END-DUNGEON EVENT

The end-dungeon event is the reclaiming of Lodestone Station and the rescue of the two androids, Muon and Tau, within! It will go up on Wednesday July 25th, rather than that Friday, reflective of the timing within the full length of the expedition.

SIGN-UP FORMS

DUNGEON

EVERYTHING ELSE:

Third time's the charm: Starting this application cycle, you can now play a maximum of three characters at Phantasmal Rift! Congratulations, everyone! Please note that while there is a max of three characters total, you can only apply for a maximum of two any given application cycle (so first+second characters or second+third, but not all three).

And we all glide on all right: In addition to their hard work on the stabilizers, the androids have assembled more gliders for use getting to and from the city. There are now eighteen normal-weight gliders (appropriate for an individual) and six double-weight gliders (appropriate for one pilot and one passenger).

And now, the weather;

6/20-22; Somewhat cloudier but still more sun than not.
6/23-27; Heat wave, somewhat humid but mostly hot, breaking low 90s all days and getting as high as 97F. Some clouds and thunder in the evenings, but no rain.
6/28-29; On the 28th, the heatwave finally breaks, into a nasty rainstorm that lasts until midday on the 29th, with occasional thunder. The 29th is sunny and fairly cool afterwards.
6/30-7/3; Sunny but cooler than the last week or two has been on average.
7/4; Overcast, feels like rain is threatening but rain never comes.
7/5; Misty in the morning; humid but sunny afternoon. Temperatures are back to the summer 'normal.'
7/6; Sunny but a strong wind sets in in the afternoon, bringing with it stormclouds and a brief afternoon rain.
7/7-9; Sunny and warm, with a light breeze.

phantasmods

LET THE SIGN-UPS BEGIN.

KEYSTONE REEF

A rocky reef with some outcroppings of coral and warm currents, to the northeast of the station and shoreline. It's the reason behind the now-broken lighthouse - a warning for ships about the shallows and rocks that lie within the span of its light. At the far end of the reef, if one squints through the wavery distortion of the Fissure, a second lighthouse, this one with tower intact, can be seen. Those familiar with such things will note that it is positions on the edge of a warm current, making the sea much warmer and more tropical than the average would be for the climate of the station itself.

In total, there are six regions to be explored in this Fissure, the last of which will only be opened at the end of the event. They are mostly divided into two groups - those that can be accessed only by characters who are under the Fissure's effects, and those that can only be accessed by those who still have feet to walk around with. (The latter group will have access to small boats - two medium-sized rowboats, a dinghy, a canoe, and three inflatable rafts with motors attached to the back.)

THE SHALLOWS - The area of the reef closest to the Station, accessible to both land- and sea-bound characters. Full of rocky outcrops similar to the Fingers nearer to land, this area also features shallow waters (rarely more than twenty feet or so deep) and plentiful coral and fish.
OUTER SANDBARS - [Terrestrial] - A series of sandbars of various sizes along the outer edge of the reef. Here it becomes fairly apparent that the climate of the Fissure itself has been altered to a more tropical state, as the three largest sandbars are home to vegetation better suited to much hotter regions.
SHIPWRECK: THE TRIVESTA - [Terrestrial] - A huge metal hull sticking up over the rocks. At one time, clearly a shipping vessel, but quite obviously no longer seaworthy. In addition to the normal access points on the tilted deck, there's also a massive gash along the side of the hull allowing access. Spooky.
CORAL GRAVEYARD - [Aquatic] - And the Trivesta isn't the only shipwreck to be found along the edge of the reef; it's just that most of the others are well below the waves. As the water deepens, the wreckage of numerous hulls can be found for poking around in, though most are coated in coral and none as intact as the Trivesta above.
THE GAP - [Aquatic] - An undersea canyon right along the edge of the reef, thin but deep. Very little light reaches its depths as a result, and so the sea life here is prone to glowing against the darkness. Mind the pressure before you try to go too deep.
??? - The far lighthouse, occupying a small rocky isle, will be home to a boss battle at the conclusion of the dungeon!

Full details and a map will, as usual, come with the posting of the dungeon itself.

DUNGEON-WIDE EFFECT

This dungeon is the first dungeon with a transformation-type effect - specifically, it's mermaids! Those who become fully submerged in the water (whether in an attempt to swim or just by falling in) will find themselves transformed into something... A little more at home in the water.

The exact extent of the transformation is left to player discretion, and ranges anywhere from "just suddenly has gills" to "disney-style mermaid" to "full on completely altered mer, potentially only barely recognizable." This effect is also optional - there will be a handful of boats that unaffected characters can use to get around the terrestrial areas of the dungeon!

Please note that the sign-up form has a note for if your character is affected or not - this is just so that the mods aren't giving aquatic characters loot that isn't waterproof! If you change your mind, you can edit up until the dungeon goes up.

TEAM STAY-AT-HOME

As noted previously, characters that do not go on the dungeon expedition will have an opportunity to participate on a plot event! There will be two portions to this - one open to everyone who signs up, and one NPC interaction for 2-3 characters (picked based upon a combination of RNG and general activity levels).

Both sections of the Stay-At-Home event will take place on locked posts on the NPC journal (

personalityquarks ). Characters who participate in Stay-At-Home will not be eligible for loot (as they're not going on the expedition).

Because of the need to assign plot roles, Team Stay-At-Home signups will close on Tuesday (earlier than the dungeon sign ups)! Please note that if you neglect to sign up, your character will not be automatically included in Team Stay-At-Home - it will instead be assumed that they're just doing their usual thing around the station. Plot role characters will be revealed before the dungeon goes live.

LOOT

As before, characters obtain one piece of loot for signing up for the dungeon and an additional roll per 15 comments on the dungeon log. Additionally, characters can receive a bonus loot roll for tagging someone new on the Test Drive! Please also note that comment based loot is capped at five rolls, making for a total of up to seven pieces of loot that each character can gain.

Newcomers who participate in the dungeon can also receive loot for comments made to the last two days of the dungeon log, in addition to their entry loot attached to their acceptance notices. This loot can be found under the sign-ups header at the conclusion of the dungeon, in a comment with their journal name as the subject line.

IC LENGTH

This expedition will last for three days ICly, from May 20-22. Team Stay-At-Home's plot event will take place ICly either late on the 21st or early on the 22nd, depending on exactly how character schedules sort out for participants.

END-DUNGEON EVENT

This dungeon's end-of-dungeon event will be a boss battle, with separate parts for both land and sea characters!

SIGN-UP FORMS

DUNGEON

TEAM STAY-AT-HOME

EVERYTHING ELSE

Where's that android?: Those who go around the labs looking for the androids in their usual spaces will find that Charm and Top, in particular, tend to be missing off at an unknown location for long periods of time. Once in a while, they can be seen coming and going from the Annex, but whatever they're doing in the lower levels there is mostly a mystery... Unless you're a certain someone who has offered his expertise to help with their project, anyway.

A matter of time and space: Given the recent influx of new arrivals, the androids are understandably concerned about there being enough space for any more people, if the group coming back from this next expedition is anything like the previous. For the week or so before the expedition, characters will be able to find Up outside the buildings, out past Kurama's orchard, scribbling something on a clipboard. The last few days also see the frame of another building go up - but just a frame, for the time being.

A POLL: If we were to do an IC movie stream, what times and days of the week would be good for you? (Please also include timezone.) This also applies to planning events like IC CAH and so forth.

And a bonus - !: A few more things were added to the food list by some sort of moderator ninja. Note that all of this month's addition are currently bolded, not just this handful of things.

And now, the weather;

5/13-14 Lighty and misty summer rain, with occasional sun patches. A rainbow can be seen late in the afternoon of the 14th.
5/15-18; Sunny days with cool and somewhat cloudy nights; early summer has indisputably set in.
5/19-21; Sunny with somewhat increased temperatures from the 15th-18th; no clouds at night.
5/22; Starts sunny as the week previous; goes increasingly cloudy as the day wears on. By nightfall, it's clear that a storm will soon break - best not get caught outside after the expedition.
5/23-25; Wind storm, with harsh rains and the occasional burst of thunder. Smaller characters and pets (eg Morgana, Sunshine the chocochick) advised to stay inside or be carried by someone with a bit more weight to them to avoid getting blown away.