Event: City of Thras

[simpathis]

— CITY OF THRAS: DETAILS —

GENERAL INFORMATION

As you probably guessed, this event is focused on Thras's Artifact, and it lays hidden deep within the lost city of Ephyria. Unlike Shaarnath, which rests within what was once Simpathis's domain, this city is 100% Thras. However, rather than the city proper, the characters will be exploring deep down in the underground labyrinth. The event itself has a lot of action, but also a lot of puzzles, and cooperation and teamwork will be the key to defeating the guardian that patrols its halls.

Here is some of the general logistics:

• Schedule: Starts Wednesday 11/20. ICly, this is a 1 day excursion but OOCly will last a week, with a finale follow-up afterwards.
  
  
• Opt-in: Only those who wish to participate will travel in a large group from Shaarnath to the city walls. Others can either wait in Verens or in Shaarnath for their return.
  
  
• Threading: There will be a designated log for the event.
  
  
• Team Sign-ups: There will be a portion of this mission that requires sign-ups for puzzles and fighting. Please read below for details.

THE CITY: EPHYRIA

Time and apathy have worn away much of Ephyria’s architecture, but the city has not been erased completely. Though largely overtaken by sand and debris, within the walls are the remnants of what was once a great city. Fine columns mark the remains of public buildings, only partially crumbled. Much like Shaarnath, the city appears to have been sparse with decoration and designed with efficiency in mind, but the marble and carved stone that have stood the test of time show that Ephyria embraced beauty in its own way, focused on simplicity. Statues depicting military heroes and Thras himself can be found throughout the ruins, resisting apathy’s attempts to wear them away, and there are several points of interest: a colosseum, an enormous amphitheatre near the city’s center, and an aqueduct that has long gone dry with no sign of any immediate water source. Most interesting, however, will be what lies beneath the city itself— and the treasure that sits at the heart of it. All the while, it feels as though there is something stirring within the city: this place that has been left long-forgotten wishes to come back to life, but it can’t do so without a little help.

THE LABYRINTH

The labyrinth beneath the ruins is large enough to be considered a city unto itself. Being underground, the sun does not reach this place, and yet you will not be left to wander entirely in the dark— those bold enough to venture forward will find that torches ensconced in the walls will light themselves as intrepid explorers draw near, though they should not be trusted to show you the way to the labyrinth’s center. As its name implies, the labyrinth is long and winding, but it’s far more than just a maze— there are traps at nearly every turn, many of which are still in good working order even after so many years gone by, and it’s almost as if the place itself has a will of its own, the way it seems to go out of its way to mislead those who venture here. What’s more, the dark corridors of stone and wrought iron aren’t empty— you’re not the only thing alive down here, and the labyrinth’s guardian is none too happy about trespassers.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Ruin Explorers. While the explorers’ ultimate goal will be beneath the city itself, there will be plenty that’s worth investigating topside, as well. The apathy that has settled over much of the ruins will need to be driven away in order to allow themselves relatively safe passage.
  
  • Of course, what’s an ancient city without security mechanisms? Visions granted by the sword replica showed that this city was once protected by an army that fought alongside Thras himself, but those soldiers weren’t the only means of defense. Spike traps, pitfalls, rolling boulders— Ephyria has it all. There’s something for the Indiana Jones in everyone.
    
  • The colosseum will present another challenge, though this one won’t be so straightforward as a rolling boulder. Though Thras himself prefers to celebrate courage, fear remains an important part of his emotional spectrum, and the city itself has not forgotten. Those who set foot on the sands of the colosseum will find themselves facing a full, physical manifestation of their greatest fear— but how it must be overcome will depend entirely on the person in question. Those who are combat-capable may find this to be relatively easy if they want to rely on brute force, but strength of will and a sharp wit will be even more important than physical prowess when it comes to facing one’s fears.
  
  
  
• The Labyrinth. The labyrinth itself is challenging enough, but within its twists and turns, voices will be intent on calling out to those who try to make their way through, trying to lead them away from their goal and back to the start— or worse, into a trap. If you’re especially lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a spirit trying to lead you through the corridors, some of whom may even look familiar. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.
  
  • Much like the mechanisms that barred the way into the city proper, there will be more mosaic puzzles within the labyrinth, many of which must be solved in order to open doors that lead further in. In addition, there are ancient generators that will need to be charged up using characters’ emotions in order to power the devices that open the way forward— it’s not enough to open the lock if the mechanism itself is stopped.
    
  • Not every roadblock down here will be physical, and things will only get more challenging the closer you are to the heart of the labyrinth. Eventually, characters will be forced to look inside themselves to find the will and motivation to move forward— those who know what is important to them will be met with great success and be able to rediscover what drives them, but the apathy in this place is so thick that for some, it may seem easier to become complacent and leave the hard work to someone else. Fortunately, characters won’t be left to figure this out on their own: the spirit of Ephyria itself will do its part to help people through.
  
  
  
• Special Equipment. Certain tech is getting an official test run on this excursion that those who volunteered may remember. They are mostly to help push back the apathy and give everyone done bravery or fear boosts if needed.
  
  
  • Emobytes. Just running around to produce emotions, focused on apathy rich places.
    
  • Armor pieces. For those susceptible to emotional influence, can have special arm guards that can push back or help induce certain emotions.
    
  • Crystal boosters. One time use pre-filled crystals with bravery or fear. Use by channeling on the emotion to make it disperse. Everyone gets only 2 of each and can give to others if necessary.
  
  If anyone would like to try out their tech let us know so we can include it in the list!
  
  
• Puzzles and Bonuses. While some general puzzles will be included in the log prompts, there will be specific puzzles that will grant helpful bonuses those going up against Ephyria’s final boss! If puzzles are your thing, please see the section below regarding sign-ups, because our heroes are going to need all the help they can get when it comes time to challenge the labyrinth’s guardian.

FINAL BOSS: MINOTAUR

From time to time, the arena trembles as if something is stirring within its depths… And in the distance, the sound of echoing snarling is constantly audible. The guardian of the labyrinth, the quintessential Minotaur, awaits all those adventurous enough to probe the deepest passages of the labyrinth. Those who seek Thras’s artifact will have no choice but to face an ultimate manifestation of fear itself.

The creature stands several dozen feet tall, and though its sickly hot breath and menacing screams are tangible enough, part of its form appears to be cloaked in tendrils of shadow and mist. Those who strike at the monster will find that their attacks are less effective than they would hope. This will certainly take a team effort: both to combat the beast itself and to solve the mechanisms behind some of its protective powers. Perhaps the key to destroying the creature lies hidden elsewhere in the labyrinth?

If you wish to take a stab at the guardian, sign up below for direct combat. If you wish to solve some puzzles to weaken the creature, bait some traps, or indirectly contribute to this fight, sign up for the puzzle section.

TEAM SIGN-UPS

We have two categories for team sign-ups: puzzle solving and minotaur fighting. It's possible to be in both categories, but we would prefer if everyone focused on one first and then sign up if slots are available. There are ten slots available for each category, to be divided into smaller groups when the time comes. Everyone will be randomized and as always with team ups, please be sure you will be available and communicate with your partner! ICly this means characters will just randomly meet their partner at the location, a "coincidence" kind of thing. It's a labyrinth, it's easy to split up and run into random people.

For the puzzles teams, they will be tasked with solving a certain puzzle they run into while in the labyrinth. Players can choose the type of puzzle and we'll try to tailor it to fit the characters. The categories are: logical, emotional, and physical. It's up to the players whether the team fails or succeeds, but we would like to know ASAP what your inclinations are so we can go ahead and provide the bonuses for the Minotaur fighters.

For the minotaur teams, they will randomly encounter the Minotaur within the labyrinth and will have an opportunity to fight and inflict considerable damage. We will assign specific points for the team to hit as well as apply any bonuses that could help them out. We will also try to order everyone in a certain sequence so that subsequent fighters can see the other damage. Like the other teams, players can decide whether the team fails or succeeds in their mission, so let us know ASAP!

Deadline for sign-ups is Tuesday, November 19th, 8PM CST.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[simpathis]

[blitzcheer]

Fluff question but do those who come on the trip get their teleporter expenses paid, do they get fed.

[lightofchaldea]

I KNOW I MISSED SIGNUP DEADLINES but I never saw this post because I didn't get a notif for it going up! (I track the !mod tag on this comm specifically to make sure I see things...) Given that it had such a short window of time for signups was so short I don't suppose there's any chances for latecomers? :/

emobytes!

[blitzcheer]

'eyyy i only remember the emobytes as the little bots that would produce certain elemental effects (wind/water/air/fire/heart) depending on the emotions pinged their way + their elemental cores. can you describe how these ones act more? would their "producing emotions in apathy rich places" also maybe include hanging around characters.

can tidus get a little buddy is what i'm asking, he's going to be susceptible to apathy-drain, laughs

also do the mods need mosaic puzzle attempts at all still or is it not necessary.... i am guessing no since the city is accessible but i remember something was meant to go up for them?

[regisrex]

Just asking re puzzle team 2 - would the illusion fire affect abilities that the characters have, such as Regis's warping ( throwing a weapon to a point in the distance and practically teleporting to hold it)? Or is it only an illusion, so abilities are not affected?

Re: QUESTIONS

[readytobe]

For the fear conjurations! If a character’s fear involves advanced technology or other special powers, would these manifest as well, or is this just a physical sort of thing? For example, if you were afraid of a machine that trapped you in it and took away your powers....

Re: QUESTIONS

[rustyhonesty]

The poison arrows in Jean and Tidus's adventure... what effects would they have if one was hit by them? Just by a scratch but, still.

TEAM SIGN-UPS: PUZZLES

[simpathis]

If you're interested in joining Team Puzzles, fill out the form below! If possible include more than one preference for the puzzle categories.

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Puzzle Preference:</b> logical, emotional, physical <b>Extras:</b> Anything particular about the character that could affect how they perform, such as strengths or weaknesses, worst fears, etc. <b>Questions:</b>

[rustyhonesty]

Player: AL
Character: Jean Kirstein
Puzzle Preference: Physical or emotional, but I can also work with logical if necessary
Extras: Jean is very afraid of being powerless and not able to help someone who needs help. One of his first fears is being forced to watch his friends and loved one being eaten by titans. Losing Mikasa is also a huge no.

While he can keep himself calm in difficult situations, he's sometimes temperamental and reckless. However, he is a reliable ally and even take a position of the leader if needed of him.
Questions: nope

[ballseeker]

Player: Jessica
Character: Bulma Briefs
Puzzle Preference: llogical or emotional!
Extras: Bulma's got a fast temper and has a hard time putting hard feelings aside to accomplish things. On the other hand.. she's an absolute genius and can probably blow through some puzzles in a breeze.

Questions: none!

Re: TEAM SIGN-UPS: PUZZLES

[sobored]

Player: Steve
Character: Junko Enoshima
Puzzle Preference: Any of them would be fine, emotional's probably my top preference, but it's all good!
Extras: For emotions, Junko doesn't usually do much with fear/bravery, but if you put a gun to her head about it, she'd probably make things really weird and unpleasant really fast her fears and insecurities are probably things like becoming irrelevant or becoming complacent with how things are and not aggressively Junkoing at the world. Also possibly losing her despair again and it being more permanent, it's been a while since that Reaper punishment but it's the kind of thing that sticks with you, especially if they're like her and know they might do something to risk it happening again someday.

On the logic side, she's got super analytical ability which is basically canon's way of saying she's really smart and one of those just as keikaku types. And on the physical side, she's probably going to be okay with things unless the puzzle's like “move this 5-ton boulder” and she's not paired with someone capable of moving a 5-ton boulder.

Also could possibly just kind of not try too hard with whatever the puzzle is for despair purposes. WOULDN'T IT BE AWFUL IF THE MINOTAUR KILLED EVERYONE BECAUSE WE FAILED A PUZZLE?, that kind of thing.
Questions: Nope!

[blitzcheer]

Player: Reena
Character: Tidus
Puzzle Preference: Physical to logical to emotional, though I really have no preferences. He doesn't mind pushing around things to solve puzzles, he's used to it!
Extras: Strengths are that he's stubborn, can be the optimistic voice—he hates losing or giving up, and is also willing to be a team player, so working with others isn't an issue for him. also hey if the puzzle involves water and diving, he's basically the ace for the job. B) could be interesting if his partner has to help him out via telepathy!

Weaknesses is that he doesn't have superhuman strength, he's awful with channelling emotions (but there are some options for helping with this!), anddd maybe that anything too specific to Empatheias-game history would stump him? He's new, don't ask him to show his lore knowledge.

Worst fears revolve around abandonment/loneliness, being incapable/weak and being mocked for it, and the fear of his home city of Zanarkand being nothing but rubble and having nowhere to go.
Questions: none!


NOW IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

[hamnation]

Player: Gore
Character: Gundam Tanaka
Puzzle Preference: Emotional or logical
Extras: Gundam's main strengths are that he's passionate and intuitive with animals, and he can control his emotions well around them. He's also well-practiced at dunamis. On the flip side, he's bad about being about his emotions when it comes to people and can be bad at being positive, too. His worst fears involve his time as an SHSL Despair back home and how badly the world has been damaged. Gundam has also helped with several murder investigations, so he has some skill at solving logical problems, although he can tend to be distracted by his own tangents.

When it comes to physical feats, he does seem to be more capable than he looks, even moreso when he has animals to work with.
Questions: None!

[regisrex]

Player: Kiki
Character: Regis Lucis Caelum
Puzzle Preference: emotional, physical
Extras: Regis's emotional state is still a little unstable after the disappearances of everyone from Eos, but he's been working steadily on Dunamis for nearly three years altogether and he's pretty proficient, on top of his experience with handling emotions from the decades before Empatheias. His worst fears have come to pass about ... three times already and he still keeps going.
Questions: No questions right now, thank you!

Re: TEAM SIGN-UPS: PUZZLES

[simpathis]

Signups are closed and assignments will be posted in a separate sub thread!

TEAM SIGN-UPS: MINOTAUR

[simpathis]

If you're interested in joining Team Minotaur, fill out the form below!

<b>Player:</b> <b>Character:</b> <b>Abilities:</b> Noteworthy fighting skills and powers they have. <b>Extras:</b> Anything particular about the character that could affect how they perform, such as strengths or weaknesses, worst fears, etc. <b>Questions:</b>

... okay he kinda has to tho

[beefaroni]

Player: Melissa
Character: Asterios
Abilities:
Wields a heavy labrys that has been split in two.
- As a Berseker, he has "Madness Enhancement", which gives him super strength at the cost of his sanity.
- Noble Phantasm : when he has built up enough energy, he can summon an image of the labyrinth, called "Chaos Labyrinth: Eternally Unchanging Labyrinth", which lowers an opponent's attack and defense.
Extras: As a Berserker, Asterios has a very weak defense to make up for his immense strength. Too many blows and he's down for the count.

As for fears, he's actually afraid of being stuck in the labyrinth of his world again, being "forced" to eat people once more.
Questions: can asterios sue for copyright infringement

[thememorywitch]

Player: Emma
Character: Naminé
Abilities: Keyblade wielder, training in both combat and magic!
Extras: She'll want to sketch down the ruins along with way!
Questions: n/a

[callyourname]

Player: Nea
Character: Mikasa Ackerman
Abilities: She'll have her gear and blades which is like... Aerial acrobatics with dual blades. She can also kick and punch with martial arts, she's a terrifyingly competent prodigy ( what do you mean something is her first time doing it, she looks like she's been doing that thing forever ) with survival instincts by her heritage. And she seems to lift just about anything heavy like they're just feathers. Also agility and speed, she's like a really fast cat or something.
Extras: Okay but while she's used to fighting against monsters in whatever form and her skills get her far with that, she's still bad at emotions. Sounds like a bad thing here most of the time... So, unlike her fast actions with attacks, emotions take time but she can probably get those done too, it's just slower. She's excellent at bottling things up and staying cool and calm through most situations, worst fears not included. Her worst fears are things like dead loved ones (not that many of them are alive anymore and only Jean is in the game), losing Eren and Armin and everyone and also oh hey, Eren saying "I hate you. I've always hated you." goes to the top of that list too. Generally, being unable to protect / save people, especially those she cares about. Do you know how afraid she's about going home one day, when they'll have to walk into the basement and she isn't wrong with her hunch of that place changing too many things? She freaked out during that one event, when Jean disappeared to Elios' tasks, so anything with Jean works too.
Questions: Nope!

Re: TEAM SIGN-UPS: MINOTAUR

[spirialink]

Player: Kyo
Character: Kor Meteor
Abilities: expert swordplay, lightning/light/fire element-aspected attacks, high speed and agility, can dive into another being's heart
Extras: nothing particularly stands out. Aside from his combat abilities, he's pretty much your regular human with regular human strengths and weaknesses.
Questions: nope!

[ledbythewind]

Player: Luna
Character: Richard
Abilities: He's a balanced fighter who can wield both a rapier and various types of magic-- pretty much your classic "magic knight" type of character.
Extras: Right now Richard is... more than a bit emotionally off-balance now that Asbel has gone home, making him more vulnerable than usual to any sort of emotional or mental attacks (or even just his own self-doubt).

His greatest fears are losing/letting down the people he loves, failing his people as king, or allowing himself to succumb to his negative emotions (which is what got him in trouble with Lambda) again.
Questions: None right now!

[rokubro]

Player: Laena
Character: Rokurou
Abilities: Dual wields greatswords, but will have his short swords as well in case he needs them. Typical JRPG swordsmen special set moves with extra daemon strength and endurance, but he's style is like a mix of samurai and ninja.
Extras: Don't break swords okay no more seriously he should be fine. He's a close combat type so range is something he would have a disadvantage.
Questions: Nope!

[renegadeprince]

Player: Dr Panncakes
Character: Vegeta
Abilities: High physical strength, super speed, super endurance, ki sensing, ki blasts, flight.
Extras: Easily susceptible to bouts of anger, over confidence, and is still learning the limitations of this place on his strength. Will want to solo most of the solutions/fights depending who he is paired with.
Questions: Mostly how his strength/ki blasts would affect the environment/enemies, such as would he be able to knock through walls to by-pass the labyrinth or be able to move/unbalance the Minotaur with a ki blast along with damage to it. Also including if he would have ki sensing abilities with other teammates/enemies (assume with teammates it will come down to op-in/out as previously discussed with mods). Note: I'm also happy to move him over to Puzzle team if there is too many on fighting/not enough on puzzle.

TEAM PUZZLE ASSIGNMENTS

[simpathis]

Instructions: You will need to create your own thread, but you can start it any way you'd like. Please comment underneath your team assignment with the link to the thread AND whether the team is a success or failure.

TEAM 1: BULMA & GUNDAM

[simpathis]

An ancient apothecary, or so it appears. There is a dull sign that reads ‘The apothecary of Set: no two potions alike’. This room is filled with dozens of jars, ranging in shape from squat and rectangular to tall and narrow to tiny and spherical, barely the size of your palm. Each of the jars is filled with some kind of unidentifiable liquid. Under normal circumstances, you’d never dream of it, but there’s an overwhelmingly fruity, alluring smell that seems to bypass your normal inhibitions… You absolutely want to drink whatever’s in these jars.

There are four different colors of liquids: red, green, blue, orange. There are four different shapes of jars: square, rectangular, spherical, and cylindrical. There are four different patterns on the jars: three stripes, vertical lines, spirals, and no pattern. There are four different sizes of jars: tiny, cup-sized, vase-sized, and gallon jug-sized. There is also one empty jar into which you can pour each of these liquids.

While drinking any individual liquid won’t harm you, you will feel weaker and weaker if you drink from a jug that repeats any one of the characteristics of a previous drink you’ve imbibed. The key is to create an elixir from four jugs that are each completely different from one another. Once you’ve made this potion, it can be imbibed to grant resistance to any of the Minotaur’s emotion-manipulating effects.

TEAM MINOTAUR ASSIGNMENTS

[simpathis]

Instructions: Below are the five different targets that each team will take a whack at. The teams are completely random and the set up is that the characters run into each other by chance. The location where the Minotaur is encountered and fought will vary, but it will reflect the progression through the labyrinth. Team 1 will be nearer the entrance while Team 5 will be in the deepest part, close to the end. The damage done to the Minotaur is cumulative, so all teams must determine if objectives are filled and any noteworthy marks that will be made so that subsequent teams can safely assume and even reference in their threads if they so wish. Of course the cooler details aren't necessary to start threads, so really we just want to know for sure that an area was considerably damaged or not as it could make the next fight easier or tougher. Thus in response to your assignment, include a link to your thread AND whether they will be successful or fail. You can edit and update your comments as threads progress, and players are free to communicate with each other at any time.

Target Symbols: ICly, the characters won't be explicitly told they need to hit certain areas. Instead the target areas will be marked by a shimmering golden light, similar to Thras's symbol and the characters should be able to figure it out from there. They can still try to hit other areas of the Minotaur, but as a reminder those areas will be shrouded in black mist and attacks won't be effective or miss completely. Once a target area has taken considerable damage, the symbol will burn and remain like a brand. Should a team fail to do enough damage, the next teams can try and finish it along with their own targets, but it's optional. Early teams can dispense this information to everyone after the first fight (can be handwaved for ease).

What's "considerable damage"? Honestly it's whatever the players want it to be, but of course be reasonable. Several big powerful hits will still be necessary, so no one shot hits. But otherwise, we don't want to make it too difficult or restrictive for players. If you guys want to use RNG or D&D dice to make things more interesting for yourselves, go for it! If you want to just make a straight plan, that's fine, too.

TEAM 1: CLOCHE & ASTERIOS

[simpathis]

Main Focus: Legs and feet
Objective: Inflict enough damage to cripple the Minotaur to hinder and slow its movements.
Environment: The team will encounter each other in the middle of a large arena like room. Upon entering, all entrances will be sealed by steel gates that emit strong waves of fear that can be felt if standing close. There are hundreds of bones scattered about and the ground is clearly stained by the blood of those who lost their lives here. They will only have a few minutes to observe their surroundings before there is a loud ROAR and the Minotaur suddenly drops in from the darkness above. After that, it's battle start.

Strategy: The Minotaur has some huge cankles and damaging the tendons around that area, especially the heel, will definitely cripple the Minotaur to a hobble. The left knee will also be a weak point, so busting that will score some big damage. There are chains scattered around the arena, so they can be used to help try and trip up the Minotaur as it charges at the fighters.
Warnings: The Minotaur is huge, and its feet could easily stomp someone flat if they're not careful. Despite its size, it is also quite fast and agile, so don't expect a lumbering giant—it is a true hardened warrior. Stomps are especially dangerous as the impact can create shockwaves that can knock anyone off their feet. It's even strong enough to crack and dislodge the ground. Kicks should also be watched for, along with its weapon and the rest of its body. Speaking of, the Minotaur's body is too thick and strong for any amputation of the limbs, so at most there can be deep cuts and heavy spell damage, but the marks will remain.

End of the Fight: The Minotaur will begin slamming its fists into the ground for a big ground pound, strong enough to knock down the fighters and causing the room to start crumbling around them. This will also cause the gates on the doors to shatter and fall, so if they can get up, they'll be able to run out. Otherwise, the floor will collapse and they will be sent down to their deaths……