Path of the Vampire forum

Welcome to Chapter 7, which continues the story started by Chapter 5: Underworld War, and the Side Story: Trouble in the Deep. This chapter is going to introduce a multi-phase system whereby the actions taken in phase 1 influence the story of phase 2, and it’s after the end of phase 2 when the consequences will be felt on grid, in the Path’s canon universe. Phase 1 will not end until Dec 20, 0:01am UTC, even if the slider reaches 100% / -100%.


BACKGROUND

Recently, the sirens of the Hebigumo Foundation uncovered a mystical and ancient ruin which has been nicknamed the Labyrinth. Up until recently, the exact reason for their excavations have been largely unknown, though evidence of attempts to search for something underground has been there for those looking since Spring of 2016.

Now, the sirens of the Hebigumo Foundation have begun an assault on the Labyrinth, fighting against the undead creatures found there. Perhaps expecting reprisal from the vampire community, they have released statements to the press alluding to doing research in the area to try and pinpoint exactly what causes the dead to return to life in Harper Rock. They have requested the aid of anyone willing to help secure the area for testing purposes - something they feel is necessary in light of the zombie threat.

Publically, they claim this has nothing to do with vampires, but with protecting the city. Given that it is not common knowledge the Hebigumo Foundation is run by sirens, the general public is unaware of any potential deeper motivation. Those with knowledge of the supernatural could pretty easily put the pieces together; that the sirens recognize a zombie apocalypse could mean their extinction through starvation and an inability to procreate.

The Administrator has come out vigorously against the Hebigumo Foundation on CrowNet. He has made it very clear that the sirens are not to be trusted, that they are not really just conducting research, but are in fact looking for a way to make the Rift in the Fade smaller. His claim is that they wish to weaken the hold of vampires on the world with perhaps the eventual goal of completely eradicating the Rift entirely. The exact mechanism for their plot remains a mystery. However as incentive, the Administrator has promised that if the sirens are stopped, he will uncover their plans, and hopefully reverse engineer a way by which the Rift may be expanded so that vampires can spread further afield without needing to fear.


THE CHOICES

The choices for Phase 1 of this chapter drastically impact the story for Phase 2, so be careful when making them.

On its face, the choice is fairly simple, either support the sirens or fight against them. However, this is not a simple choice of vampires VS sirens, nor the status quo VS change. There are more complex issues at stake.

Supporting the sirens will most likely (but not definitely) lead to a chapter result in which the Rift begins to gradually get smaller. With the recent talk of walling off the Harper Rock area entirely, this means the city is more likely to be quarantined / abandoned, because the government will realize the vampire ‘menace’ can be contained. This won’t just prove problematic for vampires however. Without a robust human infrastructure, human characters may find gameplay much more difficult in many ways. Please note: permanent death becoming possible in HR will not be a consequence of any chapter, ever.

Combating the sirens will most likely (but not definitely) lead to a chapter result in which the Rift begins to gradually grow larger. While this would make walling off the city as a quarantine zone pointless, it also means the dead could rise further afield than just the quarantine zone. This could affect a whole host of gameplay mechanics and story elements, including but not limited to shop prices, human population, business earnings, and more security on the streets. There is also the possibility that this outcome could eventually mean vampires will be able to rise from the dead should they fall in other, neighboring cities (not just towns).

However, those wishing to maintain the status quo may be able to do so in phase 2, though you shouldn't count on it going your way.


CHARACTER INTEGRATION

For vampires, the post by the Administrator is a call to action one way or the other.

For supernatural humans (or humans aware of the supernatural), the statements released by the Hebigumo Foundation will act as a clue as to what’s going on. Characters can feel free to make choices in one direction or the other accordingly. Siren allies would also likely be aware that for sirens this is presumably an act of survival on their part.

And of course, any humans with connections to vampires could easily find out through them.


IMPORTANT DETAILS

To impact Phase 1 of the chapter, you can either engage in the massive fight taking place on the Labyrinth GF and/or through roleplay.

The chapter slider (complete with details about how to influence Phase 1) can be found here.

The Labyrinth can be found on grid at 18,-2 world, beside the Abandoned Mansion.

Using the tags [FOR SIRENS] or [AGAINST SIRENS] will impact the slider at an increment of 2% per 500 words in whatever direction is tagged. This means that roleplay could potentially have an enormous impact on the chapter, given that characters on grid only have a set amount of energy they can gain in a day, whereas there is no cap on the amount of writing a person can do.

The battle in the Labyrinth will only be on the ground floor, so only enemies there count towards the chapter.
Each NPC on either side of the conflict has an equivalent NPC on the other side of the conflict.

NPCs to kill in order of difficulty, FOR the sirens:
Ancient Zombie (0.016% per kill)
Mooncalf Titan (0.033% per kill)
Revenant Guardian (0.05% per kill)

NPCs to kill in order of difficulty, AGAINST the sirens:
Encantado Worker (0.016% per kill)
Encantado Shaman (0.033% per kill)
Jorogumo Guardian (0.05% per kill)


HOW TO ENTER PHASE 2

Once the date reaches Dec 20, 0:01am UTC, the first phase of the chapter is at an end, and the next phase will be announced shortly after. Remember, the actions taken in the first phase will radically influence the layout, play style, and story for the second phase.

We have 2 days remaining until the end of this chapter. As such, future roleplay impact on the chapter slider has been decreased 50%. Grid-side impact actions have not been adjusted.

This has been done to prevent people from saving up 100 roleplay posts right until the final hour of the chapter in order to suddenly swing it one way or the other. We want to encourage people to post roleplay throughout the chapter, rather than writing it in secret and posting it right at the end.

However, roleplay is still the best way of influencing the chapter, so this is your chance to do so, with mere days remaining!

Phase 1 of Chapter 7 has drawn to a close!

Phase 1 has ended with a score of 40.67% in favor of working against the sirens. This means that the sirens are unsuccessful in their endeavor to dig out the Labyrinth and get to whatever lies beneath it. This loss has forced a retreat, and the NPCs on the ground floor of the Labyrinth will be removed shortly to reflect this.

Of course this leaves numerous questions. What exactly were they looking for? What can be done with it? Is it safe to trust the motives of the Administrator?

Whether you fought for the side of the victors or the defeated, there still looms the larger problem of the Rift and what may happen to it as a result of Phase 2!

To find out more about how Phase 1 will impact Phase 2, and participate in the next portion of the Chapter, please stay tuned! More information, details, and story will be coming on January 1st, 2018!

Just so people are aware, the [Against Sirens] tag is not necessary for this (the second) phase of the chapter, as the Hebigumo Foundation (and therefor the Sirens) already retreated from the Labyrinth.

To be entered into the drawing to get a key through RP, all you need is to meet the requirements listed in the update post:

1) Thread title with 'Chapter 7' in it somewhere.
2) Between 2-4 participants
3) It has to hit at least page 3
4) Must have an ambiguous end point

Sorry for any confusion.

One week left until the RP key draw.

To ensure that most of the keys are actually found, we've began making the Labyrinth 'throne room' keys appear sooner than we initially had them. The required floor for finding keys in both the temple and the labyrinth will begin to decrease in number a little every couple of days, until the keys are found.

At the beginning we set the keys to drop on a floor which would pose a challenge to even the strongest characters, but as many are giving up we've realised we need to start making it a little easier each day. This not only makes it so that the keys are found, but it also adds urgency to the race.

The RP Key Drawing will take place tomorrow morning at around 10 AM EST. Any and all entries should be ready by that point, as I will put together the lotto then. I'll be using this site to ensure 100% transparency. <3!

Alright, the RP key drawing is complete!

The public record of the draw can be found here.

The winning thread is Down the Rabbit Hole.

The winning participants (those who gain keys) are Every and Freyja, and the keys will be distributed soon.

People can wrap up threads as they desire (though obviously only the winning thread can find the keys). Taking place in the Labyrinth, the keys can be found on an NPC if so desired, in a secret passageway, or something of that nature.

A huge thanks to everyone who has participated!

Only a few days until the end chapter roleplay goes up =D!

The end chapter roleplay prompt will be posted by one of the developers a little bit later today.

Our list of key holders are as follows:

Ariadne
Amalea
Llangort
Every
Freyja


Thread will be linked here when it's up so that people can easily follow!