wethelostooc | Mod Announcement: Endgame

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Mod Announcement: Endgame

First and foremost, we'd like to thank everyone for their participation in the latest event, Penumbra. Characters were able to make their first successful rescue of a god from being Lost! The seed of the idea for this event has been in the works for roughly a year and half and marks the beginning of the final chapter for We the Lost.

We are entering endgame from this point forward and intend to wrap up the game and leave it as a sandbox for folks to play in at their leisure by August. This will be WtL's 7th anniversary, and we think that's a pretty good high point to end on. Endgame events will begin in mid-June and ICly involve:

Characters traveling to and through the Lost dimension.
Rescuing Lost gods (and potentially people) that have disappeared from across the multiverse.
Permanently opening the Meadous as a hub world for travel between different worlds/dimensions.
Zephyr growing from an adolescent to a mature god (don't worry, they'll still be small, cute, and fluffy; this is more a power change than a physical one.

Check HERE for more on all of the pieces that have come together for this. We hope it will help introduce concepts to newer players and jog memories for older players.

OOCly, the following changes will be made for endgame starting from this point forward:

Activity Check will now be a simple check-in.
Characters may make wishes (within reason) without needing to contribute points or receive mod approval. If you want to do something big like changing the setting or getting a fantastical magic item, please just shoot the mods a PM!
All previous residents of the Meadous are welcome to rejoin the comms and play out endgame with us, but we will be closing WtL to brand new applicants.

All of that said, we’d also like to extend a special thanks to our co-mods and helper mods through the years: Ink, Amanda, Michi, Flurry, QV, and Hydok. None of this would have been possible without them or all of you.

All Our Appreciation,
Sora, Terri, and Kathryn

Endgame
Part 1: Shattering Perspectives
Part 2: Collecting Fragments
Part 3: Mosaic

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

In preparation for endgame and what it will entail, we've been slowly providing tools to characters ICly throughout the past year and incorporating some older game elements. To make certain everyone is on the same page OOCly about this, we have a summary of major points below. ICly, characters might still need to work some of this out, but they'll have all the pieces to make the connections they need.

Now You're Playing With Portals (April 2017) - Introduction of the Bronze Compass for those characters who participated in the portals event. This is a device that allows characters to think about something they've lost and have the compass point to it unerringly. These have become far more powerful with the growth of Zephyr's powers and may be used as a guide to point characters toward Lost gods while in the Lost plane.
Seven Years Bad Luck (September 2017) - Introduction of the Mirror Dimension, a realm that can be used to access other dimensions.
I Fell In Love with the Majesty of Colors (November 2017) - Introduction of the ability for characters to travel across dimensions and Color as a concept. This was later expanded on in Hearts in Atlantis (September 2019) with the introduction of Color to the Meadous. And developed further in Metronome (November 2019) with Color providing guidance to characters when traveling to different places. Color can be used like the Bronze Compasses for characters who do not have them. It will guide characters to Lost gods.
Tierra de Olvidos (May 2018) - Introduction of the concept of restoring memories as a way to stabilize someone who is fading from existence. This was further touched upon in The Leopard's Spots (June 2019), where a god was beginning to fade from power and memory as their world moved on without them. A greater focus on returning to one's instinctive nature was highlighted as a way to prevent this for Okota. A further expansion of this idea came with Penumbra (April 2020), in which the use of Okota's Wheel to stimulate powerful instincts was able to drag a Lost god back and help to heal them. Okota's Wheel will be used to heal Lost gods and restore them during endgame.
Beta Testing (December 2018) - Introduction of a network that could work across dimensions. This 4th Wall event connected characters and showed that Zephyr and their friends possessed magic and tech sophisticated enough to be able to create something like this. The concept was later developed in The Social Network (January 2020) when the AI Madame from Libra's Chariot (March 2019) worked with Zephyr to provide characters with a device and network that will work across worlds. This will be used to communicate while running around different dimensions for endgame and will be magically upgraded by Zephyr to be mini-portal devices that will allow characters to pass objects to each other (like Okota's Wheel) so there's no issue of some group not having access to it.
It Rained (May 2019) - Zephyr's realization as the God of the Lost. They received a power boost and bump in maturity from this and discovered they could hear the Lost gods. This will be the primary method by which they direct characters during end game in the general direction of Lost gods. The Bronze Compasses and Color will lead characters more directly to the end goal.
Ley of the Lands (March 2020) - Introduction of the aetherometers developed by Ienzo and Aeleus. While Okota's Wheel was used to heal the Lost gods, the aetherometers and their particular magic and tech combination is what was used to fully return and stabilize a Lost god's realm. Both Okota's Wheel and the aetherometers will be important for characters trying to restore a Lost god.

Please direct questions for Part I of endgame here!

How are the various non-Lost sapient creatures of the Meadous handling all this? Waspfire is at the very least going to reach out to the Wasps, and probably the Beetles too if no one else is going to talk to them; she's less confident of her diplomatic abilities with the yetis or anything newer.

They are handling it to varying degrees of 'okay.'

The Wasps are insular creatures by nature and are going to be keeping close, sending out patrols to fight off any monsters that get into their jungle. They are extremely not inclined to leave the safety of the Meadous to explore beyond.

The Moomba are on their island and relatively safe. Unless someone comes and grabs them to tell them 'hey, this is happening,' they're going to assume it's just earthquakes and strange things and continue their best beach life. The friendly sea monster, Charlotte, and many other monsters in the deeps of the Meadous ocean will be defending the world by sea.

The Yetis are hiding in the mountains. Winter has no interest in getting her kiddos embroiled, so they're on lockdown.

The Beetles are the most out front of any of the sentient races of the Meadous. They'll be seen fighting back monsters around the village and even in the village. Those are their Trading Partners, thank you very much! They'll also be exploring a bit once the walls fall. Like the Lost of the Meadous, the Beetles do actually have the capacity to terraform! Their efforts will be geared toward creating Beetle-friendly landscapes with lots of shiny and interesting things to collect.

Can forged/created paths have shifting properties? Particularly if 7 makes a path meant for her size, will those walking behind her later be her size?

The terraforming ability more acts on the world around than on people! So the path she's creating could have shifting properties where it will accommodate people of different sizes. Like it will shift to work for her, then it will get bigger and wider to work for a human-sized person, then even bigger if a large monster rolls through.

Does that make sense?

That makes perfect sense thank you ^^ Humans be prepared for them sized screws to swing off of and cracked drainpipes! Whennnnn I get to 7 yup XD

Beautiful. Live your best (and terrifying) life, 7!

Major Happenings

Ara has been Lost! The first godling since Pai to visit the Meadous and Zephyr's favorite cousin, has vanished. She took with her the Wild West, as well as the stability she provided to the walls of the Meadous and all other connected worlds.
The Walls of the Meadous crumbled completely, leaving it exposed to monsters and elements from the space between worlds. This happened to all of the godling worlds.
Characters who stepped out of the Meadous were granted magic to shape and terraform the space between worlds and asked to bridge the gap between the Meadous and other godling realms to help stabilize things and make everything safer, creating:
- A mighty canal;
- Sandy beaches, sandy cities, and... sandy mountains... there's a lot of sand;
- A quiet forest leading to high cliffs and an ocean stretching to the horizon;
- A rolling savanna;
- Hills and valleys with paths between;
- Ancient wonders to explore; and
- A blocky, gray city cut through with a beautiful river.
- There are a few more threads with more landscaping on the horizon.
Color has been... a neutral party in its interactions with characters, thus far. At this point, anyone who's gone out terraforming will have picked up that it has its own agenda, and that agenda very much changes depending on the actual Color in question. Crimson wants to aggressively terraform to take on the monsters in the in between. Emerald wants to build up defenses. Azure wants interesting patterns and features to run around. Violet wants something new and different and filled with imagination. Silver wants something utilitarian that just gets the job done to bridge worlds. Gold is just happy to be here and very encouraging of whatever the characters themselves want, for better or worse. And Amber would like to create a land rich with resources to gobble up.

Color will continue to be a shoulder angel/demon for characters, but it's not always wise to listen to it. Or at least be selective in listening.
Characters will have beaten back a great many of the smaller monsters at this point and maybe even reached some of the other worlds. The inhabitants of the other godling realms are just doing their best to fight back their own monsters. They have not been granted the same terraforming abilities as those of the Meadous. This is likely due to their gods taking a much more active role in defending their worlds. Godlings may be seen in the distance fighting against some of the largest monsters in the space between. Characters may assist with these endeavors, but the godlings are not being exceptionally careful with their powers. You may get caught in the crossfire of a tornado, massive fire blast, a tidal wave, or any other sort of elemental disaster you can think of.

Characters who die in their fights will wake up three days later (or at the start of the next part of the event, whichever is sooner) in their beds feeling incredibly groggy and unwell. They'll have lost their terraforming abilities at that point.

TL;DR

The efforts of the characters are turning the tide on monster attacks in the Meadous.
Everyone is making good progress terraforming.
Zephyr's flock are the only ones capable of terraforming.
Color is being both help and hindrance in terraforming because each Color has its own agenda.
Characters might end up getting caught in godling crossfire if they're hanging around any big monsters in the space between.
If you die, you lose your terraforming ability.

Please direct questions for Part II of endgame here!

Is there a page or some info you could link me to how aetherometers work? I wasn't here for that event and can't seem to track down a good description.

Over here is Ienzo's IC announcement about the aetherometers, but a basic rundown:

- Think barometers, but with magical crystals that detect... magic stuff!
- The aetherometers can both locate magical traces and be used to pull on ley lines to essentially snap them into the correct place.
- Worlds' leylines are broken and scattered, so characters would want to use the aetherometer to find these broken bits of leyline and pull them back to where they belong.
- Example of the aetherometers in action to rescue a god.
- Weird Effects can happen when you futz with leylines.

Does that give enough info for you to work with?

Yes, this is all perfect. Thank you!

Of course! Get after 'em, Harley!

Major Happenings

Zephyr reached out to their flock, asking for their help to rescue worlds and gods of the multiverse. Drawing on their experience with Bren and Tren and their shared world, Zephyr has been working to hold worlds that are on the brink of being Lost in place while their flock sets about saving them.
To save a world, characters need to fix the broken and scattered leylines using aetherometers, find the Lost god, and touch them with Okota's Wheel.
To facilitate that last part, characters received an upgraded communications device that they can use to create mini-portals to pass Okota's Wheel back and forth to each other between worlds.
Characters have been having mixed success in dealing with both the problems of each world and its inhabitants. Characters that currently have open worlds that might need assistance:
- Roy is feeling the heat in Haze, trying to help the God of Passionate Flame, Shimmer.
- Kiziah is herding cats in Purrfect for the God of Unbreakable Bonds, Catisse.
- Flynn is getting wild and crazy for the God of Brawling, Old Steg.
- Stephen is dealing with gnolls, ghosts, and scattered (g)leylines to save the God of Memory, Ankou.
- Gabe is brushing up on his beauty sleep in a realm of infinite improbability with the God of Slumber, Rem.
- Ienzo is facing a lot of complicated feelings and questions surrounding the God of Loneliness, Silk.
- Eliza is ready to fight tooth and nail to save the God of Competition, Siwuu.
- Waspfire is being challenged to a new game+ by the God of Consorts, The Operator.
- Alfie is a little out of his depth with the God of Hold Music, Wate.
- Lilly is enjoying the quiet with the God of Silence, [ASL for Owl].
- Harley is on a destructive... not rampage, but... well-intentioned bender with the blessing of the God of Rebirth, Po-ni-ke.
- Mary is getting a potential makeover with the God of Transformation, The Stylist.
- John is fighting with flying coyotes and wild gales to rescue the God of Storms, Nayndu.
- KD6-3.7 is taking on a world that's inhabited by robots everywhere to bring back the God of Second-hand Goods, the Caretaker.
- Gordon needs help staving off the worst for the God of Laziness, Aanh.
- Aeleus has deep thoughts with the God of Contemplation, Pond.
Characters will find that once they stabilize a world, a portal back to the Lost Plane will appear nearby and they'll be able to travel to help the next god or head back home to the Meadous.
The Meadous, as it stands, are being protected by the Wasps and Beetles while most everyone is away. Inhabitants of the other nearby worlds have also pitched in, providing protection for their neighbors while they go wandering. Coming back, characters might encounter characters from other godling realms in the Meadous.

This is an opportunity for anyone who AU'd a character into another godling realm to play them! This portion of things will not kick into full gear until the next part of the event, but it will essentially serve as a final hurrah 4th Wall event.

TL;DR

Characters are chugging along, saving gods and worlds.
The Meadous are being protected in their absence by the sentient insect residents of the Meadous and neighbors from other godling realms.
The final part of the event will serve as a 4th Wall event that will allow people to bring in characters they might have AU'd into other godling realms throughout the years.

Edited 2020-08-01 16:51 (UTC)

Please direct questions for Part III of endgame here!

For characters who visit other worlds, will the passage of time in the Meadous always be ICly unstable/unpredictable, or will there be a way for them to be sure that they won't be missing anything while they travel?

Characters may be able to work out a means of stabilizing it. The unpredictability is mainly an OOC mechanism to allow folks to determine how much, if any, time passes for them! So, Alfie could say... wish for a stabilizing gem from Zephyr that pins him to a particular moment or lets him pick how much time passes.

Awesome, thank you!

A COUPLE MORE QUICK QUESTIONS apologies if I missed any of this somewhere

1) What is the criteria for characters from other godling realms? Will they all have been pulled straight from their canons, or are CRAUs from other games okay?

2) Going forward, will the Meadous continue to collect lost CRAU characters, or will it only be a travel hub?

1. The godlings of Zephyr's cohort are only pulling those who are Lost. They are CRAUs! Fully other godling world descriptions can be found HERE, but in summary:

Ajras, Realm of Tintin - Musical, Upbeat, Adventurous
Midnight, Realm of Nocturne - Nocturnal, Dual Natures, Hidden Sides
The Sunset Circus, Realm of Fovos - Fearful, Young, Misfits
Samudra, Realm of Blue - Unique, Flashy, Prideful, Confident
The Wild West, Realm of Ara - Inventors, Healers, Builders
Aria, Realm of Lalilia - Caregivers, Parents, Builders
Willowhispers, Realm of Tyvn - Artists, Misanthropes, Tech Savvy

2. Going forward, there may be the occasional new person collected from the Lost, but it will predominantly be a travel hub. Zephyr's efforts will be focused toward rescuing lost worlds and their gods, so not as much time to go hunting for a flock.

Thank you! So once the game goes into sandbox mode, would I be able to bring in the (far too numerous........) characters that I'd previously considered apping and just say their journey consisted of "other DWRP game -> other godling world -> making their way to the Meadous somehow", or will sandbox interaction be limited only to characters who are in-game at the time of endgame? (And if other characters will be allowed, will posting access be opened up, or would they only be able to comment around and not post?)

You can absolutely bring in other characters! We want this to be an open setting for folks. Posting on the comms is currently open. You do not have to be a member. But we will make them open so that anyone can join without mod approval.

Edited 2020-08-13 02:01 (UTC)

Awesome, thanks!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mod Announcement: Endgame

QUESTIONS

A QUICK RUN-DOWN

Endgame (Part I): Shattering Perspectives

Re: Endgame (Part I): Shattering Perspectives

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Terraforming question!

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Recap (Part I)

Endgame (Part II): Collecting Fragments

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Recap (Part 2)

Endgame (Part III): Mosaic

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