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beastlyroses) wrote2013-09-05 01:53 pm
beastlyroses) wrote2013-09-05 01:53 pm
Entry tags:
State of the Village
Recent changes are bolded.
Villager Approval: 50% (-12)
Village Construction Status: 35% (-30)
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Astor
The Glass Forest
Traders
Goblins
The Rat Kingdom
Draco Mountains
Levon
Astor
- The country is called Loria. It is an island nation that no one has been able to enter or leave for ‘many decades’.
- The village is called Astor. It has a population of approximately 400 people, and appears to be entirely self-sufficient.
- The generally accepted length of time the coffins have been around is about fifty years. There doesn’t seem to be anyone with a memory of the time before the coffins.
- Characters receive this post in their inbox in the village center. Because of this, the majority of villagers have decided to place the blame for the curse on either the Queen or the Princess, although a few stalwarts think it's the Fox. Since the Crackatook event, certain elements have begun questioning the legitimacy of the information. This is due to rising discontent with Mitch, and also suspicion and hatred towards Fox - surely he's the one responsible for this?
- After the village Council and Guard being formed, more and more villagers are starting to recognise that not only do they need to start looking after themselves here, they're also capable of it. Therese Goodman is the councilperson in charge of the Guard.
- Much of the Guard was decimated in the recent dragon attacks, but their numbers are building up fast as more and more villagers want to get involved in the defence of their village.
- Therese Goodman is experiencing a surge in popularity. After being the leader of a small but vocal minority, it seems that the idea of Astorians for Astorians (and only Astorians) is spreading. Consequently, attitudes towards the Heroes are cooling off
- The Guard will now intervene in altercations. They're willing to smash heads (literally!) if necessary. Please respond to this post if you want to have a run in with the Guard! This now includes altercations with goblins, now that the treaty has been signed
- While people once used to defer to the opinions of the business owners in town, the formation of a Council has created a new central authority that, for the time being, most villagers seem to be deferring to.
- Brad Mekor has been found dead. The Guard has investigated and found no evidence of foul play. He is survived by his wife, and his apprentice. The former will be taking over the business, but none of his collection of followers seem to be willing to step up to take his political position.
- The old woman who gives characters the mirrors is Grandma, an old woman who lives on the edge of the village and sometimes sells helpful potions and other artifacts. Villagers will agree that she’s the only person alive who could have any clear memory of what happened before the player characters showed up. However, upon visiting her cottage, no one seems to be home.
- Other towns do exist, and the capitol city Kerros is situated to the north east. The blacksmith has visited this place and actively warns against trying to reach it, but no other Astorians seem to have been there.
- Villagers who warned people to stay within Astorian boundaries were once regarded as kind and helpful, but are now starting to be considered by their fellows as timid and maybe a little tiresome. A number of Astorians have teamed up with adventurer/traders to explore the mountains and the Glass Forest. They're willing to join up with player characters if people would like to go exploring, so reply to this post if you're interested in that!
- The man eating roses have gorged themselves on dragon meat and are now content to eat other forms of meat. They are also back up to full strength, and farmers will start to report that while the harvest is smaller than previous years, it should be enough.
- On a related note, alcohol is still scarce and expensive.
- Two members of the dead hunters families have decided to pick up where their loved ones left off, and forge into the forest. As such, the price of meat is a little cheaper than it was.
- The Council has decreed that any donations of food in particular (but other helpful objects as well) are to go to Sylvia the Innkeeper, who will be in charge of distributing them as necessary. While the odd helping hand here and there will be overlooked, anyone making a habit of giving food out for free will be fined. The reason given for this is that the village needs to be self-reliant, and while they obviously don't want people to starve, they also don't want people expecting that there will always be heroes to feed them in hard times.
- After the week of darkness, many people were ready to blame Mitch for a sudden evil having befallen them. There is now a patch of dead earth near the village where nothing will ever grow again, thanks to Mitch's attempts at protecting the roses. With Peeta and his mitigating influence gone, rumours about how the Witch has fallen to evil are starting to swirl again.
- This isn't helped by the fact that Red Kill (Mitch's river) is still running black. Comment below if you want to have a run in with Mitch!
- Thanks to the efforts of player characters, more traders than ever have started to return to the village with the break in the bad weather. However, no Lekkites have been seen since the surviving attackers from the dragon attack melted back into the mountains.
- Despite hostility toward Flavia and general fear of dragons, the villagers seem to accept the fact that there are now Dragon Riders in Loria again - especially since they all seem to be living in Astor. Claudia, Fenris, and even Reginald will be treated with equal amounts of awe, fear, and respect. Children especially are excited about this, as they would like to become Dragon Riders.
- The village is currently in a state of disarray with much of the houses destroyed or damaged in some way. There is talk of rebuilding in stone rather than wood, but no one has yet taken charge of this.
- Bandits have not yet clued in to the fact that the roses are better, and can be found hanging around the outskirts of the village. Loud screaming around the roses is beginning to be the norm.
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The Glass Forest
- Villagers seem to hold the Glass Forest in equal amounts of fear and awe, although more and more of them are starting to venture into its depths now. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets, and you are guaranteed at some point to stumble across something from the Bestiary. Encounters with less dangerous beasts are common occurrences, and no one should be able to get too deep into the forest without running across something more dangerous.
- There are rumours of a man who lives within the woods, who has watched the coffins as long as they have been there. Whether he was involved in magical calamity that caused the destruction of Loria is a hotly debated topic.
- The glass coffin containing the body of Prince Reginald Fairfax has been found and he has been awakened! He's a grumpy jerk though, and hasn't been willing to engage in much conversation yet. All in due time.
- The Fox once lived in a burrow somewhere in the forest, but it has since been emptied and abandoned. The Witch lives somewhere in the forest, in a cottage next to the river, Red Kill. It's rumoured to be a river of blood. The villagers don't ask. The Dragons live in the south, beyond Lake Inferior. No one has any information on where the Queen or the Princess are.
- Dwarf bones can be found scattered in some of the deeper areas. Many of them appear to be charred
- A few kids who were exploring the forest while playing "Hero" claim they saw a mermaid climb out of Lake Inferior walking on two feet instead of fins. Any male who asks about this will be told they're not allowed to investigate.
- The ents have disappeared back into the deep forest. It is still possible to find and speak to them, but it will be an arduous journey.
- There are a number of fairies floating around the forest at this time, too. Some are mischievous and will play pranks and harass people, while others might grant blessings, or boons. If you would like to have an encounter with a fairy, please reply to this post! The type of encounter will be determined randomly.
- Various villagers who evacuated can be found in here over the next few weeks. Some of them have just collapsed on the forest floor and appear to be in a deep sleep. Others have gained an uncontrollable urge to eat sweet things. A couple have stripped themselves bare and won't accept any offers of clothing unless it happens to be red. Three of them turned into bears. Bears that talk! But still bears. If your character encounters any of these villagers, please let us know in the comments!
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Traders
- Surprise at the existence of Astor has largely faded - many of the traders are returning to the village after winter. Most evacuated during the dragon attack, but have returned at least in the short time, in a hope to recoup their losses, to help out Astor, or simply to catch their breath before travelling on.
- Some expected to find a castle of some sort beyond the roses, with the Princess Tristana asleep inside. Most of the people who hold this belief consider themselves more adventurers than traders, and you might be able to get a few stories about fighting dragons and seducing sirens out of them. While many adventurers have held negative views towards Astor, this is view is changing as the village expands and the villagers become braver. They have taken a number of Astorians under their wings, and are the non-villagers who were involved in the taking down of the dragon to feed the roses over winter. They’re not afraid to start a few tavern brawls – or finish them. The majority of these people stayed in the village to help fight the dragons during Flavia's attack.
- The discovery of the prince's body in the Glass Forest has led to much crowing amongst the traders who believed he existed, and much grumbling amongst the Astorians (who did not) - and requests for stories. This has not noticeably changed now that Reginald is awake. It seems that the prince could not have been Tristana's brother, as Fairfax was a small principality on the mainland. It was either very poor, or very secretive. The prince was their finest warrior - no, the son of a Witch - no, a spy for Alexandra (it seems no one can agree on what the prince did, exactly).
- The Lekkites took the side of the dragons during the attack, and the majority of them were wiped out in the process. However, a few goblins say that they saw Gailene Marquette fleeing back into the mountains.
- There was a mass exodus of traders from other villages over the winter,
- There is a lot of ill will towards the Levonese due to their bringing dragon meat into the village. This, coupled with the news that thanks to Roy, the creature stealing their children has been captured, has resulted in a number of Levonese leaving Astor once they've got things sorted post dragon attack.
- Non-specific to any particular group is the knowledge that Kerros is definitely still functioning in the north-east. Very few traders have made it that far, and even fewer are willing to speak about it. The general sense of the capitol from the traders is that it’s a good place to get either very rich, or very poor, very quickly. Corruption is a word associated very closely with it, said either in a tone of disgust, or laughingly – of course the capital would be corrupted, what else would you expect in the world?
- Unlike the Astorians, the traders seem to have much firmer opinions about whether they would have supported the Princess or the Queen. Advocates of the Princess say that she was kind and cared about her people, and would have been willing to do anything for them, whereas the Queen was brutal and uncaring, and willing to do anything for power. Advocates for the Queen insist that she was an excellent administrator who would have taken the country into a new age, and that the Princess was young and flighty and should have known when to quit.
- Also unlike the Astorians, if asked about the Witches, the majority of traders will believe that they’ve been abandoned by those who are supposed to keep the balance. There’s little respect here for them, and a few spots of outright anger. It is notable that Astorians, while still likely to disagree, have stopped taking these arguments to the heights of physical violence. A couple even begrudgingly agree.
- Some of the traders have picked up on the stories of this 'Fox' character. One enterprising merchant has started to sell fox masks, but none of the Astorians will buy them. The adventurer traders seem quite fond of them however. More fox merchandise is starting to appear - fox hats and tails.
- No one seems to have known about the coffins in the Glass Forest, or who these supposed Heroes are until recently. Apparently the Astorians are the only ones who even venture near the place anymore, at least from amongst this new wave of people. While many traders cling to their own personal beliefs, some have started to question the 'heroes'. People may find themselves accosted about their hero-ing credentials, asked for stories from their homeland, or (in a few desperate cases) ask if they can find so and so's long lost sister or cousin or father.
- Ross Meer the toymaker has fled the village in the wake of the Cracktook event. Nothing further is known about him.
- While any number of the traders possess instruments, there is one woman whose only means of income appears to be a set of pipes. She plays the sweetest music you've ever heard, and has set up camp at the inn in exchange for room and board for the time being. If asked, she'll tell stories about her travels - the time she stole a golden goblet from the dragon Flavia, getting lost in the caverns around the city of Lekk and following the wind out, a few intimate encounters with the mermaids in Lake Inferior. The answer to how she got out of all these situations is a wink and a trill on her instrument. She goes simply by Piper. Piper is back in the village, and recently assisted the evacuees in fighting the rats in Arativ. It seems she can control them with her pipes.
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Goblins
- Are no longer tolling! While still mafia-like in their organisation (smuggling and controlled substances are experiencing a rise), they have signed and are honouring a peace treaty with the Council after the dragon attack.
- With the housing mostly gone, have reverted to canvas tent camps (although some of those tents look more like miniature palaces).
- On the condition that they be allowed a share of the housing, are offered to help people find resources and sell tools etc. for a lower rate when it comes to the rebuilding of the village.
- Are willing to trade a lot more opening now! If a number of the things they have for sale look suspiciously like they might have belonged to bandits at one point or another, maybe don't question it too closely. They also sell materials for forging weapons, and are charging Astorians and Heroes fair rates. Other traders are getting a little skinned though.
- They're still demanding the head of Captain Pissoff.
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The Rat Kingdom
- A previous post related to this area can be viewed in the Mirror archives.
- To the north of Astor is the burned husk of a village. Throughout the village, tiny trapdoors can be found, leading to an underground network of tunnels - the Rat Kingdom
- Rumours in the village say that the destroyed village was once the relatively prosperous town of Arativ. Player characters who were present, or who search through the Mirror archives, might recognise the name.
- In order to enter the Rat Kingdom, a potion needs to be obtained from Grandma, or size-changing mushrooms found in the forest. The former will cost money, but is more reliable - it's possible for the mushrooms to wear off while in the tunnels, although the severity of effects (from getting out in time, to getting stuck but being dug out or pushing through the dirt on their own, to being buried alive) is up to you as a player.
- The tunnels underneath are spread out at first, but grow more numerous and widen out into actual rooms the closer you get to the centre. It looks like tiny beings once lived there, but the most of the tunnels have been cleared out in a hurry. It's possible to loot the remains for scraps of gold and gems, which will grow in size if they remain on your person when you return to normal.
- The closer to the centre you get, the harder it becomes to breathe. There is an oppressive air about the rooms, and the sound of scratching and squeaks is loud.
- It's possible to run across large rats who will attack on sight, either with teeth and scratches, or tiny rapiers. The closer you get to the centre, there will be both more rats, and mutated rats - too large teeth, two heads, extra arms, that sort of things. If wounded by these rats, nausea and swelling will take hold of the victim, followed by unconsciousness if they don't exit the tunnels soon.
- There is a shard of the Magic Mirror in these tunnels that was not retrieved during the Mirror, Mirror, Everywhere quest.
- A number of rats were killed during the recent evacuation of Astor, leaving the population extremely depleted - but also more dangerous. Their mutations are getting worse.
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Draco Mountains
- An attempt has been made by villagers to visit Lekk! It failed miserably. Whenever a promising pass in the mountains is approached, two dragons will swoop in and block it unless other dragons, gryphons, or wyverns happen to be with the people in question. Although it is possible to bribe dragons with gold, these ones appear to be incorruptible.
- The northwest edge of the mountains near the Glass Forest holds the lair of a dragon that is clearly suffering from some kind of corruption or illness. There is a massive cave with a hoard of treasure in it set into a cliff behind it but getting close to this area will result in faintness and nausea. The closer you get to the dragon, the stronger the sensation becomes, but the dragon is also weak from its illness. If you want to sneak up the cliff to get to the hoard, talk to the dragon, or fight it, please reply to this post! It is possible to intentionally acquire a map to this place, which will make the journey easier, or accidentally stumble across it (the hard option).
- Somewhere in the heart of the mountains is a breeding ground, where young dragon hatchlings used to romp. They have since cleared out after the attack on Astor, but what other mysteries could be there? Maps to this place can be found on the bodies of dead Lekkites
- From the southern side of the mountains, you can see the ocean! Unfortunately, it's all sheer cliff face - no beaches or easy descent into the water. But at least it definitely exists?
- Somewhere within the mountains are resources such as limestone and slate. The river and its tributaries can be panned for gold.
- If you choose to go up rather than through, you'll find the air getting thinner, and colder. The most notable find is giant nests, far too big for any bird. Stick around long enough, and you'll find that they're home to gryphons! Please reply to this post if you would like your character to have a gryphon encounter. Death is possible, but so is great reward.
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Levon
- Situated on the southern side of the mountains, Levon is a village backed onto the cliff and surrounded by stacks of hay that feed off gold. They are somewhat sentient, and will attempt to rip apart or strangle anyone not admitted to the village by someone born there. The previous camps that were here for this purpose have packed up, and you now have to be nice to whoever happens to be hanging around the hay bales to get in.
- The hacked apart carcasses of three dragons about fifty foot in length each are lying on the outskirts. It is still possible at this point to take scales, and bones from them - the Levonese won't stop anyone. The scales can be made into armour and shields, and the bone into weapons, although a blacksmith will have to be found for this purpose. Levon doesn't have one.
- Once a thriving village of about 800 people, the population has decreased sharply to about four hundred. There are less than fifty children present. However, villagers are starting to trickle back in.
- In the centre of the village is a creature surrounded by an armed guard, trapped under a small mountain of gold. All it really does is laugh whenever someone approaches it. When asked, the guard (or any villager) will tell you that the creature stole countless children and has not yet given up their location
- The headman has locked himself up in a room and refuses to open it. It's unknown how he's sustaining himself at this point, but he has a shard of the Magic Mirror. No one has tried to forcibly remove him for some reason yet, but his daughter has taken charge of the village and is currently attempting to get the location of the children out of the creature.
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no subject
The recent expedition to Lekk would normally have ping'd his interest, but he's feeling pretty reclusive since regaining his (questionable) sanity. As such, he's spending a LOT more time in the woods and otherwise avoiding a lot of human contact. He's doing a lot less trading than he was, but he's also no longer giving food away out of the goodness of his heart
since that was forbidden a while back oops. He needs money for rent, yo.SINCE THAT IS THE CASE (that is, Hawke practically living in the forest), how frequent would his encounters with the tolling goblins be if he was sneaky, and how common are Ent attacks? He mostly relies on his dog to steer him clear of both of these things, but I'm going to assume even adorable mabari warhounds aren't 100% infallible. Also, is he likely to be recognized as Captain Pissoff's friend by the aforementioned tolling goblins?
no subject
The goblins have only set up tolls on the roads/around them, so if he sticks to the forest, he'll probably only come into contact with the occasional scout/s. It's up to you if they recognise him or not, but if they do and there's more than one of them, they'll attack. Again, totally up to you with what you want to run into!
Also it should be noted that if he's spending a lot of time in the forest, he'll inevitably come across some of the creatures from the Bestiary, getting more dangerous the deeper he ventures. He doesn't have to be attacked by them necessarily, but some kind of encounter could happen. That could very well be with ents if you want! They only attack people they see chopping down wood, but will still angrily start demanding answers of anyone they see carrying some, which could lead to an attack.
I THINK I HIT EVERYTHING let me know if you need clarification.