State of the City - September

[rubycitymods]

STATE OF THE CITY
September 2015

CR MEME AND TEST DRIVE INFO:

The year is wearing on at a frightening pace, isn't it?

The general CR meme and test drive for September are now available in the OOC comm and we look forward to seeing all of your amazing plotting and fabulous welcomes of our prospective new players/repeat applicants.

Please remember that it is possible to plot with the NPCs! Though they are not posted to the CR meme, a quick message to their personal inbox is usually the best way to get in touch with the person who plays them.

METAPLOT INFO:
So what's going on with the city as a whole?

The Rumor War events have far-reaching consequences that aren't only restricted to the few days or weeks following their conclusions. Each event, and those NPCs whose influence over Ikaros and the city itself as a result, cause permanent alterations to the way that the city functions and its general appearance.

An early win in the first Rumor War event by the Virtue of Charity gave the city rations a boost. Everything from food and gardening supplies, to clothes and weapons were made more plentiful. Charity doesn't discriminate, after all. Additionally, a victory by Pride restored part of the wall around the city.

Most recently, a landslide win by Kindness has temporarily taken the edge off the ferocity of some of the more violent wildlife, as well as boosting the medical supplies in the clinic. For a time, there will also be an increase of stock at the hardware store to help with the rebuilding of the still partly-damaged northern quarter.

While several of the NPCs are still mistrustful of the people residing in the city, some are open to conversation and even questioning, up to a point. Some of those who are are being cooperative are making attempts to persuade others to do the same, with varied results. The benefits of success would, of course, be that the Virtues and Vices holding stronger and more reliable abilities will be more willing to be helpful. NPCs can be contacted using the NPC contact pages, but please be patient! Some of them take longer than others to answer their watches.

GAME FEEDBACK:

A small tweak has been made to the death mechanic to make it a little easier to follow. This isn't a drastic change, but we would appreciate feedback and any other/alternative suggestions if you have them.

We are also very happy to consider any suggestions for additions to our bestiary and locations pages, as well as any player plots that you would like to suggest! These can be both plots that you would be happy to run yourself, and ones that you would like to see us set up.

EVENT LIST FOR THE MONTH:
A playbook for your PCs

SEPTEMBER 7 - SEPTEMBER 11: SO WHAT DO THEY EXPECT US TO DO WITH ALL THIS?

September means harvest time, and a lack of farmland doesn't mean that the city is going to take any less advantage of the fact. A bumper increase in fresh produce in the general stores comes along with the construction of several small stalls in the centre of the city which multiply to a few dozen - filtering into the connecting streets - as the days go by. Whoever is building these wooden stalls only seems to do so when no one is watching, and any damage or vandalism to them will result in crude graffiti being sprayed on the doorway of the home belonging to the resident in question. Protective spells and wards won't stop these critters - they know where you live!

On each small stall is a poster, encouraging people to claim one for themselves and put forth wares and even food from their place of origin. They each have a number - 1 to 36 - and each can only be claimed once, either by a single person or a group. Please place your claims in the post below!

SEPTEMBER 12 - SEPTEMBER 15: HARVEST FESTIVAL

From the 12th to the 15th each stall will be appropriately decorated, open to those who have claimed them for use. Those which go unclaimed will be manned nonetheless from dawn to dusk by semi-transparent, polite individuals offering all manner of items for trade. Nothing comes for free - a trade will always be required, be it a small piece of confectionery, a smile, or a strand of your hair...

Not creepy at all.

Those people who choose to take up a stall for themselves may set their own prices, or none at all, but for the duration of the festival itself there will be a sense of goodwill about the city that may feel noticeably strange to those who would not normally experience such a thing.

At the end of the day on the fifteenth, the stalls and their denizens will vanish overnight. Anything that was purchased from them will remain. More details of what is available on the unmanned stalls will be given on the open, mod-posted log which will be put up on the 11th of September.

SEPTEMBER 27: THE BLOOD MOON

The night of September 27th will herald a blood moon, which will shine in the sky for far longer than any normal blood moon should. It has the visible effect of disturbing the local wildlife, shining far more brightly than any science would be able to explain and lasting for much longer than any normal blood moon should last. The river, usually only showing its true colours at a certain point during the sunset, will run an eerie red for the full duration of the phenomenon - approximately fifteen minutes.

STATE OF THE CITY:

Weekly Weather Report | Threat Report

WEATHER:

Partly cloudy but very warm, the beginning of September doesn't seem to have realised that it isn't quite summertime anymore. It is, at least, fairly dry and the humidity of the past months has let up to leave things much more comfortable, particularly indoors if one can manage to get some good air circulation through their place of residence.

Later in the month, however, some strange anomalies will be seen in the weather. Most notably, thunder rumbling across perfectly clear skies and individual flurries of snow that vanish as quickly as they chill you to the bone. Strange patches of fog appear in isolated parts of the city despite high temperatures and low humidity and temperatures may swing wildly between warm days and cold nights. Keep an eye on the weekly weather report for more details!

ANIMALS AND BESTIARY INFO:

Now that the wendigo population surge has been pushed back and the fallout from the escape of the leviathan has fully settled, everything seems - on the surface at least - to be back to normal with the resident wildlife across the island on which Ruby City is built. Through the month, however, as the weather begins to show strange fluctuations and the blood moon approaches, certain creatures will begin to actively avoid the city limits and some more sentient beings will have visibly fled the city itself before the onset of October. Even domesticated pets and companions of the residents will show this desire to leave, though their affection for their owners will keep most of them in their homes. They will, however, show a nervousness and anxiety, as if sensing something untoward.

The creatures that will show this change in behaviour most clearly will be the fire lizards. Possessing a genetic memory and able to recall events that they were not necessarily present for, they will begin to show their companions images and emotions relating to things which have previously occurred at this time of year. October has never been a settled month for Ruby City, and some years have been worse than others...

Finally, throughout the month of September, glimpses of a particular cat will begin to occur. This is a wily creature and never seen in full daylight, moonlight, or full light at all. No single person will ever see all of it - a tail, a clawed paw, a set of glowing eyes or a slowly fading grin... but never enough to fully identify what is being seen. As October draws closer, sightings of this beast will grow clearer and more common, though it never approaches anyone and cannot be caught.

MOD CONTACT:

Fiona hardtostarboard || AIM@LittleBritTeacup
Kitten GrimmKitty || AIM@SilverCrusnik

Moderator Plurk: rubycitymods

PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Suggestions Post

Permanent Links
Phoenix Wright’s Records
Patrol Information Post
Spiral Training School Information

Anything to tell us? Let us know under QUESTIONS & COMMENTS below!

CLOSING STATEMENT:

We are aware that this is a relatively quiet month, event-wise! This is to make it as easy as possible for those of you returning to your various educational establishments to keep up with what is happening through the month of September.

October will come with a horror themed Rumour War event which we hope you will enjoy.

Please remember that this month's Activity Check will be going up on Saturday the fifth of September! Anyone who has apped in over the past activity period won't need to worry about this, and nor will people who have been on hiatus for two weeks during the activity period.

Finally, there will be a small change to the way that we handle failed activity/double activity here at Ruby City. Up until now, a month in which a player did not manage to make activity has been followed immediately by a month in which they were required to make double. This, we realise, can cause undue stress and may cause players to hiatus or drop when they would have otherwise chosen not to.

Therefore, we will be implementing a strike system.

Under this system, rather than requiring an immediate production of double activity after a month in which activity requirements were unable to be met, a strike will instead be issued against the character in question. This strike does not have to be immediately addressed, but will remain against said character until double activity has been supplied in order to remove it. A second failure to meet activity requirements will result in a second strike, and subsequent removal from the game.

This change in policy will apply retroactively! All other activity requirements will remain the same.