Chapter 3 OOC and Plotting

[thenine]

Chapter 3 Launch

Chapter 3 Event Log is up for your review. Please feel free to post there or your own logs for the event - whichever works best for you.

Chapter 3 Calendar / Timeline is available here for the expected timeline of the month.

Information on the new network system and their subsequent devices has been added to the technology page! To save you some clicking, here's the rundown:

Communications

Like all of the tech in the Quad, its distribution comes down to wealth. If you have the status and the joy, you can get your hands on some fancy holographic projectors that make it look like the other person is right next to you no matter how many lightyears might actually be between you. But for most people--i.e., those who aren't ingratiated with the Qreshi elite--the standard technology is still text messaging, audio calls, and video chatting.

As part of Qresh’s outreach initiatives, handheld Personal Digital Devices (PDDs) have been distributed and made available to all citizens of the Quad. These function in a very similar way to modern smartphones and tablets, coming in different sizes and with different levels of luxury and processing power depending on the amount of joy you’ve spent.

The standard-issue, freely provided PDD has enough power to browse the network, stream video calls, buffer kitten and puppy videos, and function as a basic communication tool. It does not have the storage space or processing power to house advanced AIs in entirety or be used for high-level hacking.

Standard Issue PDD	Tablet style PDD

The Meshwork

All PDDs are connected to the Meshwork, a Quad-wide network that allows for instantaneous communication across its associated devices. PDDs distributed through the Qreshi initiatives come pre-equipped with this feature while PDDs obtained prior to it will have mandatory updates to make them compatible.

The Meshwork’s primary hardware is housed on Qreshi soils while satellite nodes around the different moons connect further away locations. Since its introduction in the Quad, there have been rumors of public posts being edited or changed from the author’s original content, and some even suggest that the Nine might be using the system to gather data on citizen’s personal lives. Most people, however, disregard those theories as the wild fantasies of conspiracy-lovers and benefit greatly from the increased connectivity that the Meshwork provides.

(OOC: This functions like the standard network community, but with added subterfuge and potential side-effects of continued use that can range from migraines and nosebleeds to temporary blindness and memory regains hallucinations.)

Prompt Notes

To help you get started, here are some potential quick notes for things you could do with these prompts--but feel free to expand or come up with something entirely on your own!

The Nine

The Nine have funded the design of new PDDs, technology that they will give out freely to all residents of the Quad. With these devices, everyone now has real time, reliable access to the network. However, side effects ranging from headaches to hallucinations result from heavy usage.

Within the nobility itself, power continues to shift, as Land Kendry continues to make the most of their advantageous position by proposing more oppressive legislation. While the Nine have united to blame the Resistance for the repeal of the Seventh Generation Accords, little else binds them together as the upheaval from below trickles upwards.

The Company

Those within the Company will find their duties increasing. While still cleaning up the streets from the pandemic and maintaining their other expected assignments, they will also be tasked with increased security for border control and the quelling of riots. Officers can expect to have any combination or all of these tasked piled on them, as the awakening Resistance means no rest for those who stand to face it.

Westies

In addition to still weathering the after-effects of Chapter 2's illness, Westerley will become a hotbed for civil unrest as news of the Accords spreads and spurs protests. Protests will give way to destructive riots and subsequent travel restrictions placed on Westies. Once the chaos of the riots has simmered down--claiming more than a few lives in the process--Old Town will host a Peace Summit between diplomatic representatives of Leith and Westerley.

True Leithians

True Leithians will find their numbers quickly dwindling. In what should be a celebration of a mission completed, this faction will find itself left out to hang by its most prominent benefactors and pursued doggedly by members of Hyperion.

Leithians

Leith will be host to a number of charity-driven galas and social functions in an effort to pool resources and address the aftermath of the P43X attack. Disheartened by the riots, Leith will initially be a hostile host for any stationed Westies, but with the rise of moderates, the Good Will Corps will be established for the sake (obstensibly) of aiding their sister moon. Leithian delegates and prominent members of society, alongside the Good Will Corps, will attend the Peace Summit scheduled in Old Town on Week VI, Day III.

Resistance

The entity known as Hyperion has managed to compile a surprisingly detailed dossier on each person they reach out to. Based on each character's strengths, Hyperion is going to direct them to a specific cell in order to maximize their effectiveness towards furthering the Resistance's aims.

The RAC

The RAC, in addition to its usual flow of warrants and assignments across the Quad, will be undergoing IC evaluations for potentially promoting its lower-ranked agents. The evaluations will be carried out by Level 4 agents, who will have their own evaluation conducted in the next chapter. Although not mandatory, Level 4s will find their transition to Level 5 greatly helped--or hindered--based on their ability to carry out these evaluations and the accuracy of their reports.

Major Plot Points

Plot Management Going Forward

With the fall of the Accords comes a shift in how the mods intend to interact with the game plot. Up to this point, we've provided you with "either or" options, in which as a game you would collectively decide by majority rule which direction the next chapter moved in.

From here, however, it's going to be your IC actions (such as the success or failure of the Hyperion missions, the brutality or kindness of Company characters, et cetera) which will shape the flow of the plot. As such, we will seldom provide an "A or B" scenario and it's your character narratives that will determine the climate of the game. AC next month and in subsequent months will include an optional form submission to provide a short plot-relevant description of what your character has been up to because while we would love to stalk every thread in the game, we're liable to miss important details without a report mechanism. (But we promise, it won't be an essay, and it isn't mandatory!)

To be clear, however, we still fully intend to participate in the plot and will continue with chapter releases as before, but now rather than mods steering it, we're just here to guide it and interact with it ourselves on a player-based level.

As such, the direction of the "Peace Summit" will be determined based on the reports of Hyperion's missions and other involved players. More details to come as we get closer to it, but it will be the jumping off point for Chapter 4.

Resistance - Hyperion Missions

Depending on how many characters are signed up to participate, each cell will begin with between 2-4 characters and have a max of 6 per team to allow for inclusion through IC CR as character plot lines develop.

Those that wish to have their character coerced, blackmailed, or given some other form of incentive to get their character to participate are encouraged to sign up - we just ask that you detail out what leverage Hyperion would have that would ensure cooperation.

Teams will be established via RNG, though if you have any special requests for certain team members, please feel free to make a note of it in your sign up and we will try to accommodate it! Once teams are confirmed, team leaders will receive IC instructions via encrypted communication through the Meshwork, to provide them a set of dossiers on the people selected for their cell, as well as an initial set of instructions in order to both bring the cells together. Their respective safehouses will be stocked with the supplies needed for their first missions.

OOC, a write up on each of the different cell bases will be provided in this community for reference, though ICly, only those within the team should know the details without prior player plotting.

Please see the top-levels for sign ups and opt-outs!

RAC - Promotions (or Demotions)

Sign-ups for evaluations will be open for OOC days (until Feb 16th), after which we'll RNG the evaluation match-ups if players indicate no preference - the only exception being personnel on a recognized team (ex: Since Joe and Schmoe are a team, Joe cannot conduct Schmoe's assessment, as that does not suggest an impartial evaluation).

Players are green-lighted to make up their own warrant(s) for this, though you are free to request a warrant the monthly warrant page. Please remember that characters that have two mod-issued warrants cannot request another warrant until they either submit a completed thread for the additional HP, submit a request to withdraw (if the warrant was never started or the other player dropped from the game), or a failed notice in the case that it was started and never completed.

Each character should have 2 evaluations. Both will include a 'mental fortitude' element, however one will focus on the tactical combat proficiency and the other strategic planning. The only requirement is that character being evaluated has to 'take lead' and the warrant must be for the level they are being evaluated for, rather than their current one.

Please see these top levels for sign-ups. Opt-outs are not necessary as this is not mandatory in an IC framework.

CR Meme Template

<b>Character</b>: <b>Location</b>: <b>Primary Faction Goals</b>: <b>Secondary Faction Goals</b>: <b>Desired CR</b>: <b>Offered CR</b>: <b>Anything else?</b>