[MARCH] State of the City

[rubycitymods]

STATE OF THE CITY
March 2016

GENERAL OOC INFO:

Hello and happy March to you all.

Please take a moment to read the closing statement at the bottom of this post!

Though the fourth wall event will offer similar services, the March test drive is available for your use as well as the general CR meme. we look forward to seeing potential new characters and what you might be plotting for the upcoming month.

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

THIS SECTION HAS BEEN BACKBENCHED FOR OVERHAUL.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST YOUR SETS.

EVENT LIST FOR THE MONTH:

MARCH 10 - MARCH 14 Come one, come all...
Fourth Wall Event

If you have been keeping an eye on the calendar, you will have noticed that we are going to host a fourth wall event! Most of you will be well aware of what a fourth wall event entails, but for those who aren't or aren't one hundred percent sure of how this one will work, we hope that the below information will answer any questions that you have!

1. What is a fourth wall event?
Simply put, a fourth wall event is an event in which you can play and experiment with as many characters as you like within the setting of the actual game (rather than being restricted to the test drive). There will be no applications, but characters being used for the event only will not be accepted into the communities. This saves a lot of messy cleanup for the mods afterwards.

While this does mean that fourth wall event characters will not be able to make new posts, they will still be able to tag into posts already present. A network and log post will be set up for this purpose by the mods, but don't feel that you need to be restricted to them!

2. I want to play a character that has close canon bonds/is related to a character I already play, can I do that?
Yes! Rules on playercest are very much relaxed during fourth wall events. If you want to play a member of your character's family, a close friend or enemy, or canon-mate that you wouldn't otherwise be able to app then you can. However, there are restrictions on applying for these characters when the event ends, so please continue reading.

3. Someone is playing a character I want to play! Can I still play them?
You can, but if you want to have both characters meet then please ensure that the other player is okay with it.

4. How many characters can I bring?
As many as you want! There is no limit, but we do suggest that you don't overburden yourself with too many.

5. How will they arrive?
In the usual way.. more or less. While new characters usually arrive alone or in pairs on the train into the city, leaving the rest of it quite empty, this time the carriages will be bustling. The train will pull into the station, allow every character to disembark, then it will leave.

6. Can I app my character/s at the end of the fourth wall event?
Absolutely! We fully encourage this and would love for you to keep your characters if you enjoy them. If you want to do this but filling in the regular application looks too daunting, don't worry! Characters taking part in the fourth wall event will be offered a simpler, more minimalistic application which will be made available on the final day of the event.

All normal rules will still apply, however. Applications which break the playercest rule will unfortunately not be accepted.

7. What happens if I don't app my character?
In that case, as when characters are dropped, they will vanish from the city at the end of the event's final day. There may be a warning from one of the NPCs if one of them happens to be feeling particularly benevolent.. or just wants to watch you squirm.

8. Will characters already in the game be able to feel a 'difference' in the fourth wall characters if they are sensitive to magic?
Sensitive characters may feel something 'off' about the fourth wallers, but nothing they will be able to entirely pin down. At best, it can be explained as a feeling that said characters are not really supposed to be there.

9. Can people from outside the game bring in characters too?
Definitely. The more the merrier. Tell your friends.

10. The event isn't long enough!

Should the event be a popular one, we will consider extending it by a few days! This will be measured by simple observation on the part of the moderating team.

If you have any other questions, please ask them in the comments below and we will add them to this list for everyone to see.

MARCH 22 - MARCH 24 Holi

Holi (pronunciation: /ˈhoʊliː/; Sanskrit: होली Holī) is a spring festival, also known as the festival of colours or the festival of sharing love. It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of other communities outside Asia.

This event is one in which characters may truly let go of all their inhibitions and indulge themselves in.. well, themselves! This is not a mind-altering event, as such, but rather one which (gently) encourages everyone to do the kinds of things that they have always wanted to do but have simply been too shy or too restrained to go ahead with. Nothing more than the individual's natural urges will be tapped into.

How that is interpreted.. is entirely up to you.

In the dim early hours of March 22nd a large bonfire will be found burning in the centre of the city. Where is the obelisk? Well, that fire does seem to have an abnormally crimson hue. Despite the sparks flying from the tips of the roaring flames, the houses and shops surrounding the area are completely safe.. for now.

Tucked against each wall of of the circle of shops around the city centre, carefully covered to shield against the weather, are over a dozen boxes of brightly coloured powder. As well as a few food items which produce a definite feeling of intoxication when eaten.

Of course, by now it's a natural instinct for many to avoid strange things that appear in the streets, but maybe your curiosity gets the better of you. Maybe that tempting little voice is just that much stronger than it usually is. Maybe it seems like a good idea, after all..!

On inspection the powder seems to be completely harmless. On touching, it seems to be completely harmless. Should it, however, hit someone with any amount of impact (ie, if thrown), it causes a gradual but definite colouration of the target's entire body. Don't worry, it will wash off with water - but it's up to you to figure that one out.

The real problem with this stuff isn't that it makes you look like a rainbow. The real problem is that even when you've managed to wash it off, it could already be having an effect on you. What it does is subtle - rather than conflict with your desires, it magnifies them and minimises the evaluation of potential consequences. That thing you always wanted to say? Suddenly it really feels like you should say it. Something you always wanted to do? Why not? There is no limit here, even to an individual's darker wants.

We are aware that this may result in character death. Please refer to our new death rules if this is a thing you feel you would like to do!

As the clocktower chimes midnight on the night of the 24th, the obelisk will return and the powder will dissipate... along with its effects. Maybe some of you will be just lucky enough to gain your restraint back before you do something really terrible.. or just plain embarrassing.

STATE OF THE CITY:

Weekly Weather Report

WEATHER:

Overall wet, cold and not very happy weather for this month, but who knows - it might brighten up! Keep an eagle eye on the weather report for your daily updates, but if you feel like using something a little different in a post - within reason - please feel free to do so! Our weather report is more of a guideline than an actual rule.

This month we can expect rain, snow and ice with the occasional clear day but remaining just a bit on the chilly side, particularly at night. Still, spring is clearly on the way and flowers are already attempting to brave the nightly frosts.

ANIMALS AND BESTIARY INFO:

Warmer days may sporadically bring out those various creatures who have been in hibernation since the onset of winter. The dryads and other sentient beings seem more cheerful and may even toss snow at passers by that venture too close to the border of the woods.

However, in the river some may notice the presence of a kelpie, which passing water nymphs will be quick to warn them away from, should anyone choose to listen.

All in all, however, a large number of the more intelligent beings and more canine monsters seem to be unsettled by something. Though it doesn't keep them from their day to day activities, it has certainly made them far more skittish and reluctant to come too close to the city. Maybe some of the ones that can talk hold an answer?

We also have a new addition to the bestiary, supplied by our Toph player.

STORES AND SUPPLIES:

The stores contain the usual basic supplies, with seasonal fruits and vegetables which will undoubtedly require additional contributions from resident supplies. Meat, however, is almost entirely non-existent in the makeshift general store freezers and fish cannot be found at all. There are, however, some supplies of fishing rods and heavy composite bows along with the relevant supplies.

Perhaps a none-too-gentle encouragement for people to start working on their own stores.

MOD CONTACT:

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

Moderator Plurk: rubycitymods

PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Suggestions Post

Permanent Links
Phoenix Wright’s Records
Spiral Training School Information
Clinic Volunteers (TBA)

Anything to tell us? Let us know below!

CLOSING STATEMENT:

Hello, everyone!

At the start of the year it was promised that by this time we would have a lot of things straightened out in regards to the game. Well, that hasn't exactly happened as quickly as we hoped, but we can promise right now that we are very close and in the next week or so should have a post out to you regarding some certain and some potential changes which will require your involvement to at least a small degree.

2016 has been a bit of a tough year for us so far. RL issues have taken a number of active/prominent players (though we hope for the return of some!), but please don't lose heart! The mod team love this game very dearly and we hope that you do too - and we can only encourage you to branch out, tag new people, make new friends and keep making this a fun place for everyone as much as we in the mod team try to! <3 We are hopeful that the changes we plan to propose will give the game a more cohesive feel and allow players to truly impact the development of the environment, events and even weather and wildlife behaviour.

What we can tell you for sure at the moment is that some extraneous plot devices and mechanisms - which are clogging the game up more than contributing to it - are going to be removed. It may seem like a jarring change at first but we are confident that it will allow more people to feel they can have a deeper involvement in the game and we intend to involve our players as much as we can in the development process as we move forwards.

Plotting our events (even to the bare bones) several months in advance is proving to be very useful, but we still very much want to see your ideas and suggestions coming in! We will happily create events based on your ideas if you would prefer not to run it yourself, and have no objections at all to theme events based on your character's canon (or just one you would like to see them experience). We are a smaller game than we used to be, but that doesn't mean we don't know how to have a good time!

This post is a few days late, so the Activity Check will be going up tomorrow (the 5th).