empatheias_ooc | Mod Announcement: July

— MONTHLY MOD ANNOUNCEMENT: JULY —

Good news! Peromei was placated enough that it didn't wreck the city! Bad news... Well it's not so much bad news, but unlike Elios, Peromei isn't fully convinced that the Otherworlders (thanks Junko). But for now, everyone has earned a well deserved break.

By the way, did you know that we're coming up on our one year anniversary? Just one more month!

» CALENDAR

The main calendar spreadsheet can be found here.

So here are the basic dates to keep up with:

7/01: Applications open.
7/07: Applications close; Reservations close.
7/14: HMD Meme
7/18: Test Drive.
7/25: Activity Check starts; Reservations open.
7/29-31: EVENT: Light of Helisium
7/31: Activity Check ends.

As always, any player plots or events will be added to the main calendar as they pop up, so feel free to throw events!

» SEASON OF EURUS

We're now in the "summer" season for Empatheias. Called "Eurus," it is season of warm weather, but not too warm. Being a floating island has its perks of always having cool winds to keep temperatures more temperate. But one can expect the lake to be busier than usual as more people go out for swimming and sailing.

For this month in particular, there's another traditional 3-day event called Light of Helisium. It's similar to the Summer Solstice as it is a celebration of the pre-harvest as well as a celebration for life in general. A lot of marriages occur during this festival, but it's mostly just one giant party.

Details as to how this event will play out in the game will be detailed in the Mid-Month Mod Announcement, but just be aware that this is a thing and that the town will be abuzz. They may even be more into it because of Peromei's appearance and hoping that a more positive outlook will help.

Of course, not everyone is as optimistic. That tension is going to return again because the message Peromei sent was heard by everyone. So the locals also know that someone caused the Arehtei's ire, and a few key figureheads know as well. So there may be some friction between those who want to keep things positive to save the drama later and those who want immediate action to ensure that their happy fun times isn't ruined.

After all, it was after this particular festival that the characters appeared. Many locals will remember this and wonder if something else will happen.

» ACTIVITY CHECK RESULTS

Below are the following who were either removed from the Activity Check or dropped out of the game. The list includes all characters who left the game throughout the month. The following names will also be posted in a visible place within the residential area where most of the characters are residing. This list reflects the names that are also on the wall.

Izaya Orihara |

aleatore
Jake Muller |

probiotic
Jo Youngjae |

ridicule
Kaihime |

bearestofthemall
Leia Rolando |

reported
Muzét |

schismophrenic
River Tam |

river_danced
Rudy Roughnight |

ofwesternwinds
Shroud |

shadowsandflame
Takasugi Shinsuke |

hachimaki

The following received strikes and must pass the June Activity Check to remain in the game.

elementalshot

former_endboss

jumpstheshark

mightycrash

prickster

windscourse

If there are any mistakes, please let us know ASAP!

» JOBS & TASK BOARD

The Task Board has been updated so characters can start taking on odd jobs if they are so inclined. Details as to how the Task Board works and sign-up can be found here. In addition, there is a Job List sheet that list out more permanent jobs available for characters. These are different from the Task Board jobs as they can be used as part-time or full-time jobs and do not have any specific time period. If you want your character to have a job, that's it. This is also where we will list character run businesses. So if you have one or are thinking about one, there will be a place where it can be referenced and looked at. You can even make tasks relating to your business.

» EMOTION TRACKER UPDATE

The Emotion Tracker looks very interesting. There's a huge slant toward the positive, so despite Peromei's appearance, the giant crystal will actually be shining a brighter golden color. Just a little more, and it might turn completely gold! Given there's a festival this month, unless someone deliberately sabotages everything, it should be guaranteed. Will we have a repeat of last year?

As for the Arehtei, all of them except for Sosyne are positive. Sosyne is pretty much neutral, which isn't a bad thing.

The following is a tally of the numbers for the month so far. The formula is TOTAL = RAW + (ALI-I * ALI-C) - APA. This includes both the emotions from the festival and the ones listed prior to it.

AREHTEI	RAW	ALI-I	ALI-C	APA	TOTAL	+/-
Aiada	34	1	1	0	35	+
Daimonia	56	4	2	9	55	+
Elios	38	25	7	2	211	+
Peromei	317	169	14	3	2680	+
Piphron	44	5	4	1	63	+
Sosyne	61	14	6	4	141	+-
Thras	43	9	3	7	63	+
[ Apathy ]	26	3	3	0	35

A couple of things you may have noticed here. One, Peromei had a huge number. Ridiculously huge and overwhelmingly positive. Much higher than Elios ever had during his event. And yet, somehow it still wasn't enough. Why, you ask? We'll explain in its own section. But keep that number in mind.

You'll also notice a new row on the chart: Apathy. And you may notice it's following the same calculations for a total. The "aligned" instances are just counting all instances someone aligned with that Arehtei had apathy, so there's no specific Arehtei it's reflecting. What will that number mean? Only the future knows... So for now, it's just a numerical value to be included with the overall tallies.

In terms of what Arehtei to expect next—Sosyne has been on deck for a while, then there's Daimonia, Thras, and Piphron is getting a surprise showing. Aiada has been trailing for a bit (hopefully it's not growing too envious!). What does that mean? It means it could be any one of them and there will be "background" events and effects for them in the meantime.

» PEROMEI

Like a storm, Peromei has come and gone. Fortunately, the city has been spared and the only ones injured were the ones who were caught in its maze. Although placated, the Arehtei still holds a great deal of distrust toward the Otherworlders and unlike Elios, is not so willing to be "friendly" with them. In its parting message, Peromei revealed that someone deliberately brought despair and questioned whether they would really be the "hope" of the world or the bringers of its "despair." Sounds like the Otherworlders may have another trial on their hands, but one that is spread out over time.

So a lot of you are likely wondering why there wasn't enough hope. Looking at the numbers, you'd think so, yeah? But it was only enough to get Peromei to that neutral state. The reasons for this are two-fold.

Since January, Junko has been dumping despair into Peromei—consistently. These acts of despair were not just incidental emotions that happen to come about every now and then. These were deliberate, which is much different than what usually happens. It's also happening pretty much 24/7. Even though Peromei did receive hope, these emotions were not as strong or constant. In the end, Junko's despair became something like a cancer for Peromei and not enough hope was being received to counteract it. Of course, if Junko had only been dumping despair for a month, then this wouldn't have been as big of a problem. But six? Now we're talking.

However, that alone wouldn't have been able to withstand the insane amounts of hope received. So now we have to delve a little more into Peromei's backstory, some of which was revealed to a few characters. We won't say all the details here to encourage players to share the information ICly instead, but we can say enough to give you all an idea of the background. Peromei was already overwhelmed with despair, even before Junko came into play. Whatever happened in the world's past—over eight centuries, mind you—has already taken a great toll on the Arehtei. Peromei has also suffered some personal despair, which adds more to it.

So to give one final visual, we'll go with an oversimplified cancer analogy. Before Junko, it was at Stage II, possibly midway to III. After six months of Juno's despair, it went to Stage IV. Now imagine this month's worth of hope as the treatment sent into blast the cancer. It was a huge blast, but it only eliminated the surrounding areas and brought Peromei back down to Stage II, possibly closer to II than III like it was before. Most of the despair is now contained, but it's still there and can still fester. With more blasts of hope, be it small or large, it can be cured.

With this visual, it's more clear that Peromei was already different from Elios. Although Elios suffered from the hatred spawned from that historical event, in terms of negative levels, it had a little less than Peromei. And since no one was directly dumping hate into it, Elios remained at a more manageable level. Thus Elios probably was between Stage I and II.

All of the Arehtei have varying "starting" states, all of which can change depending on how characters (and players) behave. If someone learns from Junko and decides to deliberately send a certain type of emotion to their aligned Arehtei, then their first appearance and behavior will change. How will again vary and depend on various factors (the character, time, the emotion, etc.).

Finally, Peromei is an excellent example of how much a single character (and player) can affect the game. Everyone knows group effort will get results, but individual ones are less known. Were it not for Junko, it's more likely that Peromei would have been more like Elios and potentially more trustful toward the characters. Hopefully this will encourage more plots like this because it certainly adds more flavor to the game.

» DEALING WITH JUNKO

So after all is said and done, what's happening with Junko?

Beats me. You guys will have to sort that one out! Us mods are going to be very curious what the end results will be. A certain kind of treatment has already been administered but will another be method be needed?

Of course as mentioned, a few key figureheads do know about Junko, namely Sergei and Ledwika. They will want to hear reports from the representatives and will need to be contacted. So we will be available if needed, but given how this is an Otherworlder issue, they will consider this as a test to see how the group handles one of their own. If it's unsatisfactory, they will step in.

» IMPORTANT! CRYSTALS

So about those completed crystals and new ones not exactly "working"...

Peromei has given a few hints to various characters about them. Again, as mods we're taking a step back to allow players to spread that information, but for everyone's edification, here's a more public repeat of the hint:

Go back to the temple ruins.

Those crystals need to be found first, but after that, players can just handwave their characters getting the crystals from the source. Assuming they're found of course.

We do suggest that to make things easy, some organization should happen, or someone volunteer to check it out. We're trying to give you players more leeway so it's less "mod directed" and "mod fed" information and more of "character and player led discovery." We're also encouraging everyone who received those hints to share them, be it publicly or with only a select group. The hints were given for a reason!

But of course, we want to be sure everyone gets the right info out, so you won't be completely unaided. Lindsy will be at the temple ruins, so you can expect her there. Rebbekah is another prime NPC candidate to assist if this is done more openly. So whenever a group or individual goes out, be sure to let us know so we can prepare and give you the information needed to proceed.

EDIT: A brave volunteer stepped up and a log has been posted. It's backdated to June 25th, set after Peromei's event and anyone interested is invited.

By the way, once a character gets their new crystal, any drops they would have accumulated in the time between will automatically form, so the time gap without a crystal will not be completely lost.

And finally, if your character's crystal is complete or will be this month, be sure to check in on the Completed Crystals entry.

» IMPORTANT! SWITCHING ALIGNMENTS

Once the crystals are sorted out, it will be possible for a character's alignment to switch after completing their crystal. This can be done voluntarily by the character or it can just be an arbitrary alignment. That is to say, a character who is aligned to Thras could

Voluntarily choose to go to Peromei for whatever reason;
Become naturally aligned to an Arehtei that also best fits their personality;
Or as a player, you can just select an Arehtei and the characters will be aligned to it for no real reason other than "it just happened."

Switching alignments isn't mandatory and it's possible for a character to just stick with the one they're with now. But if you would like to switch, go to the Alignment entry and fill out the form.

» MESSAGES FROM THE AREHTEI

For now, there aren't any noticeable events happening. We foresee that players will want a little break and get a chance to do some of their own things. The Mid-Month Mod Announcement will have a few more event details and other things going on, especially for leading up to August.

But if your character is aligned to either Daimonia, Thras, Sosyne, Aiada Piphron, Elios, or Peromei, then you have a chance for them to receive a message, vision, or something from their Arehtei. This connection is going to be a one-way only for now, but this might change later. In order to receive the message, however, there will need to be a thread that involves their respective emotion. So keep that in mind.

If you're interested, comment to this thread.

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And that's about it. If you have any questions, concerns, or want things clarified, please comment here!

Mod Announcement: July

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