TEST DRIVE MEME #3: WELCOME TO NEVERWINTER

[balancemod]

No trace; not one carton NAVIGATION WELCOME TO NEVERWINTER Click for a full view. BACKGROUND Neverwinter, the most powerful city in all of Faerun, the Jewel of the North. Located on the northwestern part of the Sword Coast, it boasts a long history as an outpost at the once termed "Savage Frontier," where today it enjoys the wealth of free trade and craftsmanship the world over envies deeply. Its population is as diverse as it gets; turn a corner to find a mercantile street owned and operated by Dragonborn. Elves give lectures in the open libraries. Dwarves bring their findings from the Sword Mountains to turn into wondrous steel edges. And, for the most part, the city thrives on a sort of organized chaos. Temples dot the landscape, offering praises to Tyr, Oghma, and Helm, among a pantheon of other faiths. Pickpockets keep their hands busy, blacksmiths warm their irons in the fire to strike with heat. The Lord's Alliance has an unprecedented presence within Neverwinter, and all swear fealty to the most powerful man in the world: Lord Artemis Sterling. Few in the world know of the Bureau's presence and what it tries to accomplish, but the young lord is one of the Director's close confidants. It may seem odd for someone so concretely detached from the world of politics like Madame Director herself to ever engage in the local political administration of a city, but when you're as big as Neverwinter, it's good to have a friend or two in a high place. They keep out of each other's hair, up until the point that they don't. Today is that day. She receives a message in her office chair, bearing the seal of the Lord's Alliance. She can't help but roll her eyes at the sight. She has more important things to attend to- but she reads it over regardless. Lucretia, The city is being held ransom for 10 million Dragons. (Dragons are a colloquial term among the merchants of the Sword Coast, meaning gold pieces.) A powerful mage has enchanted Neverwinter with a powerful geas. This might be something you're looking for. Yours, Lord Artemis Sterling Grand Vizier of Neverwinter Magic that powerful can't be ignored, but neither can Arty's pomp. "You didn't need to sign this as Lord Artemis. I swear, that boy would kiss his own statue if he thought it'd make him more venerable." 1. THERE MUST BE MORE THAN THIS PROVINCIAL LIFE A. TRY THE GREY STUFF, IT'S DELICIOUS. DON'T BELIEVE ME? ASK THE DISHES! Things are quite amiss when you first make your way into Neverwinter, and it's about 8 or 9 p.m. There's an air of unease at every corner, and several of the most busiest streets have been all but abandoned, aside from people scurrying from one building to another to go about their business. Doors are locked tight, windows are barred, and everywhere you go, signs of chaos are left in a trail of unhappy circumstance. But wouldn't you know it? Someone's left the light on for you. One lone tavern is well lit in the midst of a city-wide lockdown. The front sign reads "The Rockport Inn," and it's just about the only place that seems alive tonight. Opening the door, a scene unfolds before your eyes like you've never seen before. Aside from the striking, (possibly familiar) image of Tom Bodett behind a bar counter, everything in the tavern that shouldn't be moving is... alive? The tables are floating in the air, the silverware is performing cabaret on the nearby fireplace, and some of the town's most carefree mages and adventurers here are living for it. Tom smiles at you, "Welcome, travelers. See you've made your way to the Rockport. Take a seat, enjoy the show." You'd think it'd be dangerous here. An errant knife flies forward, as a nimble and smart witted bus boy catches it in mid air, using it to carve out a nice haunch of meat to be served this evening along with the musical entertainment. Looks like Faerun's found its own version of STOMP, as the chairs have assembled themselves up against the wall on a raised platform and are currently attempting a very piss poor version of "We Will Rock You." Settle in, it's going to be a pretty wild night. B. WE TELL JOKES, I DO TRICKS WITH MY FELLOW CANDLESTICKS As you wind your way through the roads of Neverwinter, you come upon a small shopping district. It seems nondescript and completely not suspicious enough — given the unsurprising range of goods for sale, the inhabitants going about their day, the way they stare at the ground while fumbling past each other, the way a man at the nearest stall hands over the item you've purchased with his gaze purposely fixed anywhere but you. Completely normal. What isn't normal, however, are the signs plastered all over the buildings, seemingly inviting you to take a closer look: NOTICE TO NEVERWINTER CITIZENS Today I have a very important to discuss with you in this: PERFECTLY NORMAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENT. Yes, that's right. It's time to warn you, the viewer...er...reader...about the evils of various stuff. Today's lesson is: subliminal messages . That's right, folks, mass hypnosis via commercials. Now, I'm sure you've at least heard of subliminal messages , right? No? Well...prepare to be enlightened. Subliminal messages are an advertising technique that puts hidden pictures and words into a main image. You don't see them, but your subconscious (dreaming) mind does. Your subconsious mind acts on whatever it is told. What does this mean to you? It means that FANTASY COSTCO IS EVIL! EVIIIIIIIIIIIIL!!!!! That's only one of them. There are countless others, covering an inexplicable range of topics, and perhaps most alarming of all, the second you start reading one, you are physically incapable of tearing yourself away from the sign's message. It's almost as if someone's used magic to charm you into stopping and examining every random item Atlus wrote a dialogue for and programmed into the game, and your fellow party members are starting to get concerned. You'll be stuck there until you finish reading — or at least, until someone is kind enough to smack you upside the head and knock the spell right out of you. C. COURSE BY COURSE, ONE BY ONE, TIL YOU SHOUT 'ENOUGH! I'M DONE!' After your BIAS rations run dry, and after you've managed to pull off a few odd jobs, it's finally happening — you've got the coinage to purchase yourself a nice dinner for once. And after whatever the hell was in those rations, you are good and ready, and Neverwinter looks to be the place that knows its cuisine, and does it well. You find yourself outside of an, on the surface, snappy looking outdoor sort of dining setup, half empty, but bustling with a curious sort of energy all the same. As you're seated and as you place your order, you get the distinct sense that the people who are feeding you seem kind of ... dead inside. Like they're going through the motions of cooking, serving, brewing, and other general restaurant tasks. It becomes very obvious why once you're served your dinner, as well as a piece of paper and pencil. That steak and potatoes you ordered? They taste like lemon tart. The cold, frosty mug of ale or whatever beverage you feel like imbibing? Absolute essence of lemon tart. That grey stuff you ordered out of desperation? Lemon. Tart. That lemon tart? Yes. Even the lemon tart. After choking down the meal you were so looking forward to, you direct your attention to the piece of paper. Mandatory survey, the man who brought you your had dinner said. If it isn't filled out, he might make everything taste like wet socks instead. The paper reads: I AM THE GREAT MAGESTO, KING OF NEVERWINTER. LOOK UPON MY WORKS, YE MIGHTY, AND let me know what you think in the comments. How was the service? Was the food okay? Don't hold back now; I'm going to need your honest feedback. 2. THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE, DOCTOR. AS LONG AS ONE CAN THINK. You arrived in Neverwinter with the basic premise — that someone is holding the city hostage with magic bordering on the absurd — but what you lack is information about the man himself. The one behind it all. Aside from his ability to make food taste like wet socks, apparently. It's time to meet with some citizens. D. OH, IS HE IN FOR A SURPRISE! Your first target for questioning is Lord Artemis Sterling, Grand Vizier of Neverwinter. Arty is, to be frank, a pompous shit with Neverwinter's very reputation and safety on the line — he will listen to your questions, of course, but don't expect for him to provide answers without him demanding something in return. Specifically, he would like for you to locate and dispense of a gaggle of enchanted brooms that have been plaguing the nearest marketplace. Someone — whoever is controlling them — managed to sharpen the tips of their handles to something actually dangerous, so, for once in this city, it's not completely outrageous. Or, maybe it is. "Death by broom impalement would be a rather idiotic way to die, so do take care to avoid that," Arty says, as you're escorted out the door. Best of luck with that. E. YOU MUST MEET HIM, HE'S JUST THE CHAP FOR THIS Wandering down a random alleyway will lead you to Tomes and Tapestries, an expansive, multistoried bookstore. Lorkoris, a half elf, is the owner. He's sort of a softie at heart, and even though he has a wide variety of tomes for sale, his true claim to fame in Neverwinter is an impressive collection of Faerun romance novels. If there's a fiction trope, no matter how ridiculous, he's got a romance novel for it. His most popular fiction stock is the Longing, Loving, Good series by Iden Firehell: they're all stories of star-crossed lovers, cursed by the inexplicable magics of a demon, or a jealous wizard, or gods knows what else. Asked about the series' popularity, Lorkoris will simply smile, saying that perhaps the people of Neverwinter enjoy commiserating in their fiction. Seems a bit odd to him, he'd say, considering most tend to read to escape reality, but it couldn't hurt to take a book home with you, right? By the way, the books are enchanted, too. The simple act of reading a magical effect will transfer it to you as well. We'd like to keep this open-ended, you're free to have whatever magical effect you'd like, but here are a few thematic suggestions: ○ Whatever you touch turns into a stone for the next hour. That includes people! They'll be turned into an Adonis, or Fabio-like caricature of themselves, for peak romance novel cover purposes. ○ Every time you speak, it comes out in melody. Specifically, this melody. Yes, that means you'll be singing slowly! ○ You may be cursed to blurt out your deepest desires to the next person who addresses you. If you're the type to have no filter to begin with, you'll find that you can't speak instead. F. SHE HAS A TALE TO SPIN Finally, your investigation leads you to Oracey, a Halfling fortune teller who decided she already has a half-pun name for the job, so she may as well work it. Have a seat, traveler. For five Dragons, she'll gaze into the raging flows of time, like a river with one destination in the end, before you both and discern one fact about your future. You'll also get a lecture on how one should always take care with that knowledge. Changing one's future isn't as easy as it sounds, and should death be reaching your doorstep before you're ready, the knowledge of that fact alone may not be enough to save you. At least, that's how it would be if Oracey was good at her job. In every fortune she divines, in fact, the exact opposite will occur. Did she say you were about to come into some wealth very soon? Prepare to be mugged the next alleyway you look down. We encourage creativity with this one! 3. CALL TO ARMS (CHARISMA, INTELLIGENCE): THE CELEBRITY PLAGIARIST By this point, the Bureau of Balance has provided some frank feedback on the grey stuff, chased down some murderous broomsticks, and identified the culprit behind the absolute Relic-enhanced chaos gripping Neverwinter. It is, of course, none other than famed author Iden Firehell, a man utilizing the Trickster Tome — a book that enchants inanimate objects with the whimsies of whatever the holder writes into it — to gather as many genuine reactions to his bizarre magic twists for his next bestseller. That's right, Neverwinter, you've been PUNK'D. SLAM DUNK'D. When the news reaches the Director, she leans back into her chair with a sigh of a thousand years of utter suffering. "Not that lout again." You approach Firehell at his latest book signing in front of Tomes and Tapestries. He is a man of about 50, silver-grey hair down to his shoulders and a charismatic, all-too-knowing twinkle in his eyes. Before him, amidst a table of fresh copies of his latest work, "Meet Me at the Dancing Diner," sits a large hardcover notebook, open to a page somewhere in the middle. Scribbles, drawings, the most obnoxious of trickster curses line the pages. There's your target. Do you have the wits about you to take it from him? 4. A NOTE FROM YOUR MODS Hello everyone and welcome to the third Balance TDM! Here are some quick notes for you: The purpose of this TDM is to give you an idea of what our missions look like. It already assumes that your character has been initiated into the Bureau of Balance, and has been sent out on their first mission to retrieve a Grand Relic. To that end, threads in this TDM will not be considered game canon. What we're aiming to do with Balance is a little different from your typical DWRP game. In a typical setting, the mods set up some NPCs that have limited contact with you, the player, under a very structured set of conditions. For example, The Director is one of those NPC types, as are her two counterparts (Davenport and Garfield). However, in Balance, we'd like to take a moment to instill something early on as we run through the first TDM of the game. We've listed a few NPC's up there to give you a flavor of their personality and what their look and feel constitutes. Those NPCs are completely pilotable by any of you, at any time. What we're looking to do is give you all a structure for adventure and seeing where you all can take it. It's part of our core value and how we'd like to see things move along. Be amazing- not just in the sense of being amazing to each other and to your characters, but also with your character choices in-game. The world is completely malleable and up to you to meld, mend, repair, or bust. In a nutshell, what we're saying is... go wild. It's okay not to ask permission for something cool you'd like to do. We've given you some outlines of events, but the story that you create as you thread these out is entirely yours. And we, as a mod team, can't wait to see what you bring to the table. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

Sayori | Doki Doki Literature Club! | Bard

[hxppythxughts]

1C ☼
[As someone with a sweet tooth and already piss poor eating habits, Sayori actually finds it a little funny when the first course ends up tasting like a lemon tart. What a clever trick! And so tasty, too! She can't help but laugh at the absurdity of consuming a steak that tastes like a lemon tart.

Her initial amusement gets her through the rest of the meal, but though she isn't mad, she does end up a little disappointed by the end. It tastes like she swallowed a whole zesty, zesty lemon. The back of her mouth is still sour.

But that's what the survey is for! Sayori has no problem offering her constructive feedback--in the form of poetry. Her handwriting is cute, but clumsy.]

I liked the taste of the lemon tart!
When I ate it, it warmed my heart.

But sometimes a lot of lemon
Is just too much
When life gives you lemons
Isn't that enough?

A sweet treat is something special
But it's not special when that's all there is.
Let your steak be steak, and your tarts be tarts
And that way your food will warm more hearts!

[Sayori, perhaps, feels more generous about this meal experience than most people, potentially even her companion.]


2D ☼
[Chasing around animated brooms actually sounds kind of fun, but the last warning gives Sayori some pause. She fidgets with her fingers a little before turning to her fellow party member.] Um, you don't think the brooms will be mad because I don't clean my room, do you?


2E ☼
[Satisfied with her brief reading experience of a robber being caught red-handed, Sayori returns the book and moves to get on with her business. But as she pushes open the door of the shop--] Uwaah!

[It's red! The handle and the frame where her hand brushed against it! She glances around frantically and bolts from the shop.

And trips over the doorframe. And lands on the ground. Where she leaves two very red handprints on the ground where she's caught herself. And as she tries to right herself and fix her clothes--they turn red too!

With a troubled wail, Sayori finally looks at her hands. Wouldn't you know it--they're red now, right down to the skin beneath every little fingernail. It doesn't hurt, but...] What if I turn myself red?!

[Terrifying, truly.]


wildcard ☼
[DO YOUR THING. Or hit me up at ceesawaseesaw if you want to talk about an idea! ♥]

2D

[ribticklers]

[Sans doesn't seem like he looks prepared to actually do anything on this mission, given he's dressed as a farmer. He might just be going along to watch the chaos from afar.]

Don't worry, if they don't like stuff like that, they'll go for me first.

[hxppythxughts]

[That doesn't make her feel better!] So you do think they'll be mad? [If only she'd cleaned her own room more often!]

[ribticklers]

No idea. [Sans is just not being helpful today.] I've never met an enchanted broom before.

[hxppythxughts]

Neither have I! [This is a clear disadvantage in their mission. Sayori's gaze becomes more imploring.] Haven't you been here longer than me? What about an enchanted mop or feather duster? [Obviously Sans's seniority must mean he has seen at least one kind of enchanted cleaning implement.]

[ribticklers]

Nope. I try not to get involved with that sort of stuff. [Cleaning products, or enchanted items? Maybe both, but he's at least seen enchanted items.] Sounds like we're underqualified. Wanna do something else?

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori is underqualified for everything except writing poetry, and frankly she isn't even very good at that. This is too depressing a thought to entertain in front of company, and if she quits, that's all she'll think about all day.] No way! Someone could get hurt if we don't stop them.

1C

[noblegarnet]

[Sayori's current dinner companion, a brown-haired young man about her age, has been watching her compose her poem after filling out his own survey (a polite but firm rebuke of the experience). When she finishes, he lets out a restrained chuckle that's nonetheless genuine judging by the smile that lingers on his face. He can't help it, it's charming.]

That's really cute, if you don't mind me saying.

[He already said it, but you know. Manners. The smile fades a little, but it's mostly because the lemon taste feels like it's burned through his tongue at this point.]

It's probably the nicest response they're going to get, too, if I had to guess...

[hxppythxughts]

Ehehe~ [There's some bashfulness in her chuckle and some blush in her cheeks. She's not used to taking compliments and isn't really sure how to react, but she makes sure to stay topical in side-stepping it. She doesn't want to hurt his feelings!

Sayori holds up her pen in demonstration.] This is just the best way I know how to express my feelings! I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it, so I hope they listen.

[noblegarnet]

[Although he keeps the mostly-friendly smile on his face, the way he looks away doesn't speak to any great confidence towards that outcome even before he says it aloud.]

I have my doubts, but... I guess we can hope... [What is hope, can you eat it? As long as it doesn't taste like lemon tarts, he'll accept it.] Still, I think you have the best chance of making one of them feel a little less dead inside.

[Whether that will actually happen, well—looking at the servers' expression doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Accepted compliment or not, though, the topic is still clearly something she's interested in, and it makes for a fine enough distraction from the disaster of a meal.]

How'd you get into writing?

[hxppythxughts]

[If Sayori has doubts about the effectiveness of her poem, they don't show on her joyfully smiling face. The same goes for the question posed, which, as it turns out, has a somewhat personal answer.

But no one wants to hear that writing makes her feel more like life is worth living, so she keeps that smile on and gestures a little with the hand holding the pen, a flippant, hand-wavy motion.] Oh, it's because of my friend Monika! She wanted to start a literature club, so I helped her set it up! And now I write every day with my friends there!

[A pause. Her smile becomes a little sad.] ...well, I guess I did, before I came here. [It's hard to remember exactly what happened to her world, but she remembers it was bad.]

[noblegarnet]

[Yeah, good job there Ferran, you managed to immediately bring the conversation to the most depressing subject imaginable.

His gaze flicks away quickly, though he endeavors to keep the smile on his face anyway, and he manages to return his expression to purely friendly after a brief moment. Without the whole awful emotions thing. We're avoiding those as long as possible.]

That sounds like fun... I haven't gotten involved in a lot of clubs before, myself. [But hey, here's an upside:] Maybe you could see if anybody at the academy back at base is interested in making a club?

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori's face is filled with genuine surprise at the suggestion. This idea obviously never occurred to her before this moment, and her voice has some excitement to it.] Do you think people would be interested?

Wait, would I have to be Club President? [That sounds like a tall order for someone who's always oversleeping and doing homework at the last second.]

1C

[korekara]

Oh, wow! Are those song lyrics?

[ This is apparently what's going to pass for a greeting, as Honoka gets all up in poor Sayori's biz to take a look at her survey. ]

Omigosh, these are super cute! And they're totally on point, too! Steak shouldn't taste like anything except steak!

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori shows some surprise as Honoka leans in to look at her review, but what follows is a giggle, rather than a perhaps more appropriate reaction to a stranger invading your personal space.] It's a poem! But song lyrics are sort of like poems already, aren't they?

Ehehe~ Hopefully the manager will think it's cute, too. [Then maybe they'll take her feedback into consideration!]

[korekara]

I guess when you come down to it, they're pretty much the same!

[ After all, Umi's a capable lyricist, and the only prior experience she had was embarrassing chuuni poetry. Never give up on your dreams, kids. ]

Yours is probably the nicest one they're gonna get, too. That's kinda sad... I mean, everyone probably worked super hard on this, right? So hopefully, getting a cute poem like this will cheer them up a little bit!

[hxppythxughts]

Yeah... Everyone here looks pretty tired, so I don't want to get mad at them. I'm sure it was just a mistake. ["Tired" being a gentle euphemism for "completely dead inside," which is a familiar concept to Sayori in many ways.

She turns in her seat a little, smiling up at Honoka.] Do you write songs?

[korekara]

Oh, me? No way, I'm like, embarrassingly bad at writing basically anything. I'm pretty good at texting but that's it.

[ "pretty good" at texting, by which she means "extremely fast at texting because she leaves half the letters out of words".

But she's thoroughly distracted by all this literature talk by what's clearly her favourite subject, if the way she lights up is anything to go by: her awesome friends!! ]

But my friend Umi-chan writes the most adorable lyrics and then Maki-chan composes all kinds of awesome music to go with them! They're kind of amazingly talented.

[hxppythxughts]

Oh! [Sayori is beginning to understand.] They're like a musical duo? [...but she is still missing a few pieces. About seven of nine pieces.]

2E

[notaquaman]

[A young man walks jauntily past, turning his head back around only when Sayori lets out a wail. Curiously, he spins back around, the beginnings of a grin lighting up his face.]

Hey, hey, what's all the commotion?

[Nathan scans over her "handywork" as he considers her exclamation.]

No need to fuss, love. The color suits you.

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori looks up from where she still kneels on the ground, frozen by her fear of her new prismatic powers.] Everything can't be red! What about my pen and paper? What about colorblind people? What if I have to scratch my eye?!

[This is a very tumultuous time for her, you have to understand.]

[notaquaman]

Well who says it has to all be one shade of red?

[He crouches down, careful not to actually get within touching distance.]

Maybe you can expand this newfound Midas Touch to include all walks of red, like pink and orange! The world is your canvas, and you're the paintbrush!

[hxppythxughts]

[For a moment, this seems to halt her distress. She furrows her eyebrows and stares intently at her hands. Maybe if she wills them really, really hard, she can turn something pink?

After some very serious concentration, she moves to pick up a pebble from the ground.

It turns red.

The whining resumes.] It's impossible!!

[notaquaman]

Rome wasn't built in a day, love! You're gonna have to practice on a lot more pebbles. But look on the bright side: you can build a red-pebble road in the meantime!

[He's really doing his best to sound concerned, but Nathan's grinning wider and wider as he works on playing the optimist. Truly, this is going to be just fine!]

[hxppythxughts]

I don't want to practice! That could take forever! And I have to write and go to the bathroom sometimes! [She cannot just refrain from doing these things until she masters this strange...whatever it is!

Also, people might have different priorities than those two things, but frankly, for Sayori, it's a victory to even get out of bed, so those are usually the two needs on her mind if she really has to do something.]