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beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenosooc2024-03-12 03:34 pm

THE ADVOCATE ORACLE - A RIP VAN WINKLE IN TIME


INTRO
Hello Kenos! Welcome to the Advocate Oracle! Did we say Stargazer? Shhh no we didn’t. As we hinted earlier in the Discord, the conclusion of this Oracle will lead to a timeskip that Bearers will be subjected to in the end. How long? Well, that depends on your choices, and how well you exemplify the Advocate Oracle.

Just like with the Exalt Oracle, and to keep things even until a little closer to the end game, this Oracle has been predetermined to go to Zenith.

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF BLISS
Bearers will find themselves being pulled into a deep sleep, where the Advocate Oracle will beseech them for their knowledge of home and seek understanding. Where did you come from? What made you as you are? What were the victories and challenges of your land? How did you become the you that you are? The Advocate seeks understanding and wants to see others achieve happiness. Does your world bring you happiness, or would it be cathartic to see it lost?

As the Advocate learns bits and pieces about Bearers, it will become clear that their dream is closing in on something that the bearers who have experienced it will recognize as the Timestream. The Advocate is not a thing, but a presence, and bearers will be able to sense the force (amorphous and shapeless) reaching into the Timestream, and you know – know that they are reaching for something on your behalf. As it slides out, you can feel a calming sense of joy, because you recognize it. It fills you with joy, bliss, or perhaps frustration and disgust, as you recognize the feeling of being home.

Everything will go white, and your one-on-one time with the Advocate will be at an end.

CLICK YOUR HEELS TOGETHER, DOROTHY!
Bearers will open their eyes and will find themselves in a new world. This is not Kenos at all, but familiar or not, you know it is someplace in the scattered worlds.

Where is it? Well, it’s either your world or another Bearer’s! That’s right, it’s a world share event! Bearers will find themselves scattered either on their own or in groups (up to you!) in a new world, that could be familiar or not, depending on your CR net. The Advocate has pulled the memories and description of a world from the Timestream, and for what purpose… well, that will become clear with time. However, these are not the worlds that characters came from, not exactly. These are worlds that are AUs of your character's canon, and this can be in very minor ways that would be essentially the same as canon, or it can be in very large, dramatic ways. Up to you!

You are not required to share a world, however, bearers will feel a strong compulsion to invite the Advocate to experience their worlds in their vision with the Advocate. (This leaves you all options to opt out of sharing your own world, but for those characters who may be less inclined, this is your opportunity to do so!)

But first, the logistics! Bearers will be in worlds for 12 hours each. You will not experience hunger or tiredness – but feel free to eat or sleep your way through worlds as you so choose (we expect there to be a lot of them!) – and the scope of each world is about what is discoverable within 12 hours. (You don’t need to describe the entirety of your world, but a city or area. Please make sure it's large enough to accommodate the entire shard-bearer population. For example, the Millennium Falcon would be too small, but a Star Destroyer would be fine. It should be a place that provides significant hold over your character.) There will be an open header here for players to post a short description of their world. If your character wants to go hang out at a coffee shop and watch shit go down, feel free! (The mod team has examples, and we will be sharing those shortly!) Please have your descriptions in by 03/15/2024 at 1:30 PM so that everyone can choose participation in other characters’ worlds before they get their TLs up!

For characters that are from shared worlds, we’ll leave it up to you how you all share that, but if you choose to have different regions or cities to share, go for it! For example, Batman might choose Gotham, whereas Superman might choose Smallville. Again, this really should be what’s feasibly travelable within 12 hours – they will cycle like the rest of the worlds – and your characters will not have money or funds on them for travel, so don’t feel like you have to describe the entirety of your characters’ worlds. Just a small blurb (you can include links of course!) to give players a general sense of what they can discover.

Also, these worlds will shuffle in the order on the taken list, just so the Savants have an unsolvable puzzle to chew on. (heh)

Characters will experience every world that is submitted into the header, but the Advocate’s last impression will echo as you move from one word to another. “Is this worthy of saving?”

Your twelve hours can be spent in one of three ways. Bearers can do whatever they want, and simply experience the world as they wish, they can hunt for the soul of the world, or they cant hunt for the soul of the dreamer.

  • The first is self-explanatory, of course. Each world is full of life, from creatures to people, to everything in between. (Conspicuously missing would be anyone of significant “closeness” to the character who manifested this world – think of it as the difference between a friend/family and an acquaintance.) Characters can create chaos, go to a café, find a precious spot you’ve heard about, and go wild! This is your opportunity to learn about your CR’s homes in a first-hand experience kinda way! This is your have fun and deepen connections sort of prompt.
  • The second, the Soul of the World will be a shard to be found by any who are searching for it. It is something that anyone can simply find, but it will be hidden. We ask that our players choose the location and list it in the description of their world, so players can actively plot for it! This is your opportunity to sneak, steal, fight, and destroy each other over the soul, it will come with a distinct benefit as you move onto the next world! They will be somewhere that is difficult to find, surrounded by shadows that creep closer and closer to the shard.
  • The last is the Soul of the Dreamer, which is, interestingly enough, a second Shard that matches the person who dreamed it up. The odd thing about these shards in these worlds is that they are of a different Aspect of the character that exists in game. (For example: Amos the Harbinger, or Hayame the Advocate) The character it belongs to will feel a pull toward it, but it is no guarantee that they will find it. Maybe someone else does! And maybe that’s a kind soul, or maybe it’s someone who would think to shatter that this Shard. Or maybe you keep it!


There will be a header on the turn-in post to list if your character chooses to keep the different Aspected Shard of themselves. If you find someone else’s Shard, and you keep it to the next world, it will return to that Bearer to decide what to do with it. Essentially, if you don’t shatter this Shard, they’ll be able to do with it as they see fit before you leave their world. If you do shatter the Shard, there will be no consequences to the owner. Or at least none that will appear in this event.

It goes without saying, but please plot this with that player, so there are no surprises!

AROUND THE WORLDS IN 60 SECONDS 12 HOURS
As you close your eyes, in that last moment, the Advocate will reach out to all of the Bearers that have made it to the end of this world, and beseech them to make a choice. Does this world have something of value? Something to be preserved? Do you understand the Bearer who dreamt of this world better, now? Do you think that this world has enough value to continue its existence? Before you open your eyes into the next world, Bearers will be compelled to answer yes, or no. This will be on a separate header post that will go up on the turn-in log. You will have until Wednesday March 27th at 10:00 PM.

As an aside, whatever bearer has captured the soul of the world will count to double their action's choice. (For example, if they choose to destroy, the total destroy votes will be doubled.)

We’ll be tallying the results, so there will be some extra exciting consequences to your choices as Bearers! Always keep in mind the tenets of your faction as you make your choices, bearers. Now that you have lost your leaders, the members of your faction back home are looking to you for victory. Of course, your choices will also determine the state of the world when you return, and how long it has been. Stay steadfast, and understand that you will have to make choices based on what your character believes is the best path forward. Your leadership trusts you – or if they don’t, they will have no choice, now will they? It’s up to you now, Bearers.

FAQ AND QUESTIONS
This Oracle is a touch more free-form than previous Oracles, and that is intentional! You are not required or expected to explore or have major action in every world. In fact, it's strongly discouraged, since this will provide opportunities for all players to have an opportunity to make big decisions! Even if you do not thread in the world, please still vote for them before 3/27/2024 so that we can have an accurate tally! The votes will make a difference in what our world looks like moving forward.

And finally, since they didn’t fit in the above, here are some quick FAQ style questions and answers about things we figure might be asked:

Are these really our worlds?
These are versions of bearer worlds. They can be very close (ie: identical) expressions of your character's worlds or they can have one event change such that the world is rather different. So they are alternate universes, but not so far that you're making up a whole world on the fly! The Advocate, unfortunately, cannot bring back your worlds. There's a lot of options out there in the Timestream. :(

What About Discord?
Characters do not seem to experience heightened Discord. Weird!

What happens if my character dies in the event?
They will fall into a deep, deep sleep and can no longer participate in the world-hopping adventures! They may be asleep for some time, depending on when they are dissipated, as they won’t revive early compared to their fellow Bearers. Whatever votes your character made leading up to the point that they died will count toward the goals of the faction. The Advocate accepts you for your efforts, even if they draw short.

Please make sure to post your deaths to the death page! You're gonna be sleeping a long time, and there may be things your Bearer discovers as they dream...

Are characters depowered?
Your powers will work perfectly fine! Oddly, if you are in a world where powers don’t exist, the denizens of the world may stare blankly, as if they Do Not Perceive. You gotta protect those little minds somehow.

We hope you have fun, and happy plotting!

CODING
dreamflowers: (a song in the silence.)

[personal profile] dreamflowers 2024-03-13 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
LOCATION NAME: Silvergrove, a desert jungle village on the east coast of Enderal.

WORLD SHARD LOCATION: Inside the Boy's necklace, who will always be carrying it with him.

DREAMER SHARD LOCATION: Aspected by the Advocate, the Shard can be located in the Ruin at the Waterfall, found inside the framing of a peculiar painting.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Welcome to Silvergrove, a peaceful village cordoned off by looming mountains and humid jungles, where there are absolutely no darker implications behind the curtain whatsoever. Those who arrive at Silvergrove will be initially overwhelmed with a crippling headache, which will subside within a few minutes. At the gate, they are met with a guardsman who greets them with an overly friendly and almost childlike demeanor. The locals seem to be very trusting, despite the cruel world they live in and the surrounding dangers they seem to have little fear of; in fact, the village itself is rather tranquil. Kick back, relax, and enjoy your well-deserved beach vacation where nothing bad is bound to happen eventually!

WHAT TO DO IN THIS WORLD:
  • The Old Silver Fortress to the south of the village, shrouded in jungle foliage, has been overrun with Lost Ones, basically a form of undead skeletons that usually weild swords, axes, maces, but sometimes use bows and arrows and fireballs at enemies. Upon investigating the Fortress, ghostly whispers can be heard even after clearing out the Lost Ones, but not much sense can be made of them. If the place is haunted, the ghosties are keeping to themselves.
  • The ruins of Old Darkesh is inhabited by some wild mages afflicted with the Red Madness, and will attack anyone on sight. If given the chance, they might shout things like "It burns!" and "You took him! Give me back my son!" and "How... how dare you come back?" or just laugh uncontrollably. It's clear that these people are hallucinating.
  • Make yourself at home! Swing by the marketplace for some coconuts and crusty bread (it is very tasty), or maybe stop at the Silent Moon's Inn, where the Innkeep will offer some complimentary date cakes and a story about how Silvergrove came to be. There will be music, banana brandy, and dancing. Most lines of questioning will lead to how great it is to live in Silvergrove, how you should stay, comment about "what a treasure that Boy is" and praise him as being the reason why the village has come to prosper.
  • Meet the Boy, because if you want the World Shard, you're going to have to. He will be intrigued by the new travelers who enter Silvergrove, as they are the only ones who are not immediately puppeted by the will of the entity that has trapped the village in a years' long illusion, using the Boy's wishes of being loved against him. He is in truth a lonely victim of circumstance who simply wishes for a family that will accept him for who he is, after his biological father abandoned him for being a "monster". He'll do everything he can to make sure that those who newly entered Silvergrove will want to stay, asking them to grant him three wishes in exchange for the Shard he's wearing. Interestingly enough, these wishes will be tailored to what he thinks will make your character happy. Maybe a relaxing day at the beach because you deserve it (and are Kennough), or an adventure in one of the aforementioned ruins/fortress to retrieve some old books he's always wanted to read? Catch some butterflies, and be the kid you never got to be. Isn't this fun? Don't you want to stay?


More Info—
  • QUEST TIME WITH DIVERGING ENDINGS IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT: Whether you threaten the Boy or go along with his wishes, he'll eventually lead into the Ruin at the Waterfall, where the Dreamer Shard is conveniently located as well. The World Shard can ultimately be obtained from the Boy through either trickery, force, or being nice and acquiescing to his wishes. For instance, you can lie to him that you intend to stay, which will convince him to hand over the Shard, only for the shadows to consume him and transform his body into a grotesque monster the size of an elephant, screaming in pain and covered in bumps and oozing boils -- the same will happen if physical force is used against him. This will lead to a pretty nasty fight, unless you're equipped for that kind of thing.
    • If you convince the Boy to put an end to the illusion through simple gestures of kindness, however, the shadows will still consume him before he can surrender his Shard... but will create an "avatar" of the grotesque monster instead. You'll get a nice little "bonus ending" where you get to see the "real Silvergrove" -- a ruined village of corpses of the people who were once happily greeting and walking around just an hour ago. The World Shard can ultimately be obtained by the dying Boy, his true form revealed to be a disfigured child with glowing red eyes (not much unlike those afflicted with the Red Madness encountered in one of the ruins). He will die shortly after, where the Shard can be taken from his necklace.

  • Whether it be felt right away or noticed after some time, there is obviously something... off, about the locals right off the bat. If characters have such abilities, they will find that the people of Silvergrove have no souls and are more or less just mindless puppets who don't need to sleep and have long since been dead. Time itself seems to have frozen the village in an eternal sunset -- which is pretty, but unsettling.

  • The wiki doesn't provide much to go off on beyond the questline, so enjoy this image gallery for visual references.

  • I don't have my playthrough uploaded that far into the game yet, so I'll just showcase my friend's. It's pretty long it's also a pretty good visual gist of the village and the vibes: 1, 2, 3

  • Enjoy your Depression Quest theme song while on your journey.

Edited (fixed some links) 2024-03-13 10:29 (UTC)