Chapter 4: Cracks in the Surface

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Mooncalf
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Chapter 4: Cracks in the Surface

Post by Mooncalf »

Welcome to chapter 4. This chapter is where things start to get serious and move more quickly. Here you'll have 4 very plain choices before you, and each character will only get to make the choice once at most (though roleplay will also play a part). Two of the choices will pit two very popular desires against one another; selfish need VS protecting vampiric secrecy.

The in-game chapter page summary for this chapter is as follows:
It began with reports on the news about more murders at the hands of what humans thought was the city's infamous serial killer. However, as more reports come in, some of which about strange looking animals, it becomes clear that something else is going on. As it turns out, the sundering between realms is further weakening for some unknown reason, and this is causing "fractures" to appear at random places around the city. These fractures are just big enough for insane wraiths, spirits of the dead, and powerful fadebeasts to claw their way out and attack anything nearby.

As posts appear on Crownet and a human conspiracy board about vampires, it becomes clear that humans and vampires alike have a choice to make. Do you seal the fractures, ensuring that the supernatural element remains secret for a while longer? Do you absorb the power from the fractures, growing significantly in power, but causing short-term havoc nearby? Or do you perform the Fracture Control ritual in an attempt to narrow, or widen, the city-wide sundering itself?

[Please note the following: City-wide alerts will go out when a fracture appears in a district. Thralls cannot see fractures. Lastly, choosing to close the city-wide sundering will not bring about perma-death (for gameplay reasons), but it WILL have huge consequences to the story and game, as will the other choices.]
Two important posts have been made on the IC forums. One on Crownet by the Administrator, asking vampires to seal the fractures to maintain secrecy. The other post was made by anonymous individual, asking humans to use a ritual on the fractures, to attempt to close the city-wide sundering.

The four choices available to you are as follows:
  • Choosing to absorb a fracture will cause you to gain a whole level. You will carry over your experience (number, but not percentage) onto the next level. It will, however, be quite damaging to supernatural secrecy in the long run.
  • Choosing to seal a fracture will protect supernatural secrecy (and by extension vampires).
  • Choosing to perform a ritual to use the fracture as a conduit in order to widen the city-wide sundering itself (the cause of the QZ) will attempt to increase the area of effect of the sundering.
  • Choosing to perform a ritual to use the fracture as a conduit in order to narrow the city-wide sundering itself (the cause of the QZ) will attempt to decrease the area of effect of the sundering. As already stated, choosing to close the city-wide sundering will not bring about perma-death (for gameplay reasons), but it WILL have huge consequences to the story and game, as will the other choices.

Notes

- The chapter will last for 3 months. During most of this time, the chapter sliders will be invisible to everyone.

- Fractures appear randomly, on average once every 1.5 days, but this will vary greatly.

- Once you have interacted with a fracture, that character will be unable to do anything with any further fractures.

- Alpha Fadebeasts will appear during the duration of this chapter. Fadebeast spawn rate is also increased.

- Rituals on fractures are completed instantly with no chance of failure. This is in order to make it fair, as rituals would take too long to complete and somebody else would use the fracture in the mean time.

- The city-wide alerts will remain visible until the fracture has been used by another character, at which point they will vanish. Alerts will give a district location of a fracture, which can be outside or inside any public building within that district. You can roleplay the information coming from any source which makes sense to your character.

- Impact threads are welcome and encouraged for this chapter. All impact threads may be posted on the hardcore forum, where you'll receive 1.5x roleplay experience points. Impact threads can be about the fractures themselves, but you will not be able to encounter a fracture directly in an impact thread. Instead, you could attempt to influence the chapter in other ways, or attempt to discover secrets surrounding this story.

- We will be introducing 4 new chapter characters for this event, who will play a big part in the story, but will only have 1 life, as is the standard practice with chapter characters. If you wish to play one of these characters, you must have a character slot free and PM me directly. 4 people will be chosen randomly, and they'll get the chance to pick the character they wish to play. It might be possible for you to use an existing character as the chapter character, but the same rules still apply regarding 1 life for this character, and at least 1 extra character slot available. The basic premise of the character will be revealed to the randomly drawn writers, who will have a chance to invent their personality, looks, background, and so on.
- Mooncalf AKA David AKA Moonie
- Founder and creator of Path of the Vampire
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Mooncalf
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Re: Chapter 4: Cracks in the Surface

Post by Mooncalf »

The chapter characters have now been given their missions. You will likely encounter them in roleplay at some point over the next couple of months, or feel the impact of their efforts at the very least.

Chapter characters only get 1 life, so please only kill them if you have a viable in character reason to do so. Thanks.
- Mooncalf AKA David AKA Moonie
- Founder and creator of Path of the Vampire
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