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1.0 game launch log
1.0: Game Launch
Patch Update
Maybe you’ve been getting settled in for a little while now, maybe you just arrived yesterday. Either way, a big change is coming! All Dodo residents will receive a city-wide broadcast on their phones:
> Thank you for your patience with our construction, city-goers! As our month of pride celebration has wrapped, all our streets are once again open. Hope it sets your hearts aflutter for 🤍 White Day! 🤍
The streets of Crane City have opened, and what glorious streets they are! Decorated with gently blooming white flowers, ivory streamers hung from building to building, and floating snowy balloons, everything seems to be elevated with a touch of elegance. What’s that? It’s looking a little bridal? Now you’re getting in the spirit! The city is abuzz about an upcoming celebration...
Meanwhile, Duocaeli has also become the loveliest storm. It’s a tornado of silks, a cyclone of chiffon, ribbons as far as the eye can see - that’s right, it’s time for a parade of princesses. Avis Isle is tittering with gossip, airship after airship coming to land as royalty gets to enjoy the fresh air and roguish sights of a guild town. There’s princesses from faraway lands, kingdoms large and small, excited to rest before they depart soon to their next destination—some kind of royal slumber party? rich people—and they’re so excited to be here! Some are children, others as mature as their late 300's—once a princess, always a princess.
Avisle is excited for their business too! ♥ Looks like everything’s a little more expensive around these parts (know your audience) but there’s also better service and rumors of special treatment for those of blue blood pedigree, or their staff. Why don’t you slide on in? If anything, you might want to teach your friends how to pass for royalty, lest they get mistaken for a worker!
Speaking of roleplay, it seems like there’s an abandoned chest in one of the roadways, likely fallen off a carriage in the chaos… Inside, characters will find gorgeous adornments, including lovely gowns, crowns, etc. The criers looking for royal customers ring in the back of your mind – “Princess business welcome!!” – do you do the proper thing and look for the owner of the chest, and see if you can get a reward? Or is it time for royal cosplay? (Though should you return it, and the shopkeep may ask you to wear some garments as advertisement anyway...)
Alternatively, in your plain clothes, or... most clothes, it’s easy to be mistaken for a page. Well, they’re all awfully young ladies–have a sense of humor! Don’t let it rankle you too bad... or do?
Guild business is in high demand now especially, with most specialties being sought after by a monarch-to-be for one reason or another.
♔ Crafters are highly sought after, especially those who specialize in adornments. Won’t you make them some hair ornaments that bloom just like true roses?
♔ Warriors are being asked to fulfill more bodyguard roles. You know! Just like in their romance novels…
♔ Scholars are being asked to fulfill divinations—how good are you at fortune tellings? The future of their kingdoms are prosperous, aren’t they? Aren’t they?
♔ Wanderers are being requested as tour guides and escorts. They have a higher chance of being mistaken for pages. Sorry.
♔ Menders must clean up after everyone’s messes, as usual. Stained gowns, broken hairpins, the occasional sprain of a princess fallen out of a tree (we told her not to!)—you name it.
♔ Warriors are being asked to fulfill more bodyguard roles. You know! Just like in their romance novels…
♔ Scholars are being asked to fulfill divinations—how good are you at fortune tellings? The future of their kingdoms are prosperous, aren’t they? Aren’t they?
♔ Wanderers are being requested as tour guides and escorts. They have a higher chance of being mistaken for pages. Sorry.
♔ Menders must clean up after everyone’s messes, as usual. Stained gowns, broken hairpins, the occasional sprain of a princess fallen out of a tree (we told her not to!)—you name it.
1. Questboard
The quest board at the guild hub has been updated with the latest patch! Excited players are gathered around to collect new bounties, which are open to all. The guild hub also provides a useful bestiary, which is readily accessible by guild members via crystals.
2. Dungeon Crawl - Guild Hub Catacombs
Welcome to your first limited time domain! Princess Andalina is the belle of the ball, and the one organizing the royal slumber party... when she's suddenly attacked by robed figures in the Guild Hub! It's your job to escort her safely through some secret underground catacombs so that she might be smuggled aboard an airship and escape–though naturally, there's a catch.
Task: Escort Princess Andalina Quartzrosen Pili Majesteria the Third
Reward: Daiya, diamond jewelry of choice.
Chamber 1: Once Upon a Time...
Right in front of your eyes, the exhausted Princess suddenly transforms… into a beautiful diamond? Housed in a necklace, it seems that this icy stone is her dormant form, and is entrusted to players for safekeeping. Dungeon party members will be given roles in the first chamber: knight or princess. Knights will be in charge of defeating foes; princesses will have to wear the enchanted stone and keep it intact. If princesses are hurt, the stone will be damaged. If they're grievously injured or killed, the stone will be destroyed outright.
Additionally, knights will find themselves buffed overall and invulnerable to damage. But it's not that convenient–princesses will sustain any injuries meant for their knights. In RPG terms, princesses serve as the HP for all members of their parties.
It's imperative to keep moving to avoid the incoming assassins, though that's easier said than done: some of the hallways are incredibly narrow, there's constant forks and uneven terrain, and the darkness is thick and suffocating. It'll be easier to stay close–or maybe even get a piggyback ride? A princess carry, if you will? It's easy mana!
Chamber 2: A Sticky Situation
The catacombs are damp and stale–and of course, in their neglect, they're teeming with danger. The pitch black corridors make it easy to stumble into giant spiderwebs, which are nearly impossible to escape alone, though they can be burned or otherwise destroyed with some help. The webbing itself is weaved with magic, and will quickly drain the mana of anyone trapped within.
But where there's spiderwebs, there's bound to be… spiders! Careless knights and princesses may find themselves kidnapped and carried away by these hunters, which can attack with sharp barbs and acid that lingers on every surface. Knights are invulnerable, but can still be incapacitated by webbing–be careful!
Chamber 3: Sins of our Daughters
The light is at the end of the literal tunnel, but one obstacle remains: the young leader of the assassins who introduces herself as Nina.
Nina doesn't attack outright, instead first explaining Andalina's crimes against her kingdom, and her desire for justice. Proudful and grieving, Nina will only accept Andalina's death, but nevertheless offers the players a choice:
Destroy Andalina: By deliberately injuring a party's princess, Andalina's crystal will be destroyed, and she'll be killed. Nina will thank the party and slip away without another word, looking wearied.
Save Andalina: Protecting Andalina will cause Nina to attack, leading to a boss battle.
BOSS: Nina the Emerald
HP: 10000
Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
Weakness: Water, despots
Resistance: Earth
Attacks
Defeating her can be as "simple" as beating her in a fight before the party sustains too much damage, but there's also a large, deep lagoon in this chamber. If you can make Nina sink like a stone, the water might be enough to dispatch her permanently…
HP: 10000
Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
Weakness: Water, despots
Resistance: Earth
Attacks
- Crystal Cage: Summons giant, emerald shards to create walls, isolating party members.
- Shatter: Anything her knives touch turns temporarily into crystal, including limbs and portions of flesh. Nina will often throw these knives, though she can also be turned to stone using them. Payback's a bitch!
Defeating her can be as "simple" as beating her in a fight before the party sustains too much damage, but there's also a large, deep lagoon in this chamber. If you can make Nina sink like a stone, the water might be enough to dispatch her permanently…
G̴̮͇̽ĺ̶̻͉̓͝i̷̜͓̙̊t̵̤̄́̏c̶̝̘̃̉̀h̶̯͓͘i̶̖͙̭͆ń̷̻̦̘g̶͐͒͜ͅ: Occasionally throughout the dungeon, including during this boss fight, the role between princesses and knights can switch without warning! Don't get too comfortable.
In the end, only one of the two girls can survive. While others may view this as just a cutscene in a game, to PCs, something about both these women feels quite real. Claim your reward, and step into the glowing portal that will teleport you back to the dungeon entrance. Players may thread any number of outcomes, but can only report one of their threads here for rewards!
OOC Notes
March's OOC Event Plotting Post is also here for your reference!
Please look forward to our next gamewide mingle for Dodo's Doki Doki White Day Auction on Friday, March 17th.
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duocaeli duologs duolingosTaken / Applications / Hiatus & Drops
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no subject
[ that's mithos' princess name, and his way of life. to be honest, the hustle and bustle is more than a little overwhelming — annoying, even — and the way he's called for even more so.
excuse him if he catches someone staring, glancing in his direction, or generally Existing after a particularly troubling bout of Everything, because he's definitely mistaking whoever does for one of these fussy monarchs when he says the following: ]
Your kingdom is cursed and I don't care!
[ help
he is a REALLY good fortune teller and amazing for business y'all, the scholars guild is really loving him right now ]
B. Princess No Teamwork Ever
[ haha. people turning into stones. hilarious! mithos does pause over andalina's new form for a moment, but there's a feeling that the emotion running underneath that isn't surprise. if anything, it seems like familiarity?
but that doesn't really matter much! what's a bigger concern is the fact that this feral child — wings like transparent rainbow petals out in full display on his back — is absolutely not waiting for his partner's acknowledgement to continue on after that's done. whatever role he's assigned makes no difference, because he's trucking on ahead to either be the token Never Guard Stand in Every AoE DPS that we all know and love (not great for our princesses), or the most bloodthirsty escort mission princess you've ever seen (not great for our knights).
will andalina even survive until nina? find out next time, ]
Hurry up.
[ oh my god, he talks. ]
C. Blood for the Blood God
[ somehow, miraculously, Everyone Made It. and now here comes the troubling moral dilemma. the heavy question of a life. the choice of who will live and die—
—actually, he's just looking at the necklace form of andalina (whether she's in his possession or his party member's) and raising up his sword a little. hey, he thought about it for like... half a second. ]
... They should've done this in the beginning. What a waste of time.
[ oh no! anyway. ]
D. Wildcard
[ for any other desires! cute wind whale times? let him deliver a break up package to you? he'll be fine with the cute quests and awkward everywhere else. i can write a starter for anything! ]
a
if he's mistaken as one, that's awkward. is his hair longer than he thought? he's so unsure.]
Beg pardon. [whatever he looks like, shalem certainly sounds like a man. a lean man with a breathy, wispy voice, but a man nonetheless.] I've no kingdom to curse.
[he was just looking for a new outfit, how did it turn into this...]
no subject
there is a moment where the realization of his mistake seems to cross his expression — a moment where mithos scans his features and seems to think — but that's about all the pause that's being offered to shalem for this social whoopsie. that brief second of surprise, before mithos take a step back like he's the one who was cursed by some random stranger. ]
... That wasn't meant for you.
[ obviously, he's not taking a good look at everyone around him. because there's a whole lot of "everyone around him." ]
There's too many people asking annoying questions. I'm not looking at everyone... or anyone.
[ this is still not an apology! and also not entirely true anymore, given that he now can't seem to stop looking at shalem with... mild suspicion.
this is fine. ]
no subject
Perhaps... You could look at a person the next time you're cursing them.
[a rebuke is a rebuke, even if it's delivered in a soft tone by a delicate-looking man who is taking up swathes of fabric and holding them up to the bare skin on his arm to see how well they go with his pale skin.]
no subject
with shalem doing what he's doing and looking like he does... there's a lot mithos has to navigate here. ]
Or I could change my mind on what I just said.
[ his attention is on shalem now, after all. this is so petty? he can't even curse people. but it isn't particularly biting, either — as if mithos has something else on his mind, that he isn't quite saying. ]
no subject
You could, yes. [shalem tucks his hair behind his ear, arm cradling fabric to his chest, as he straightens up and looks at the man properly.]
Are you telling me as such for approval?
no subject
I don't need your approval for anything. It's a warning.
[ he's an edgy, feral cat that swats back reflexively. though that isn't entirely false, either.
especially with mithos' attention brought back to one of shalem's features that particularly bother him, so he's just going to ask straight up: ]
... What are you?
[ ears say elf, but everything else does not. ]
no subject
as paranoid and anxious as shalem can be, he doesn't exactly feel threatened. not when true threats tend to not give warnings before they strike... and they don't carry that air of defensiveness either. he's just brushing that off, though is going to keep that in mind for later.
just in case.]
What, not who? Hmmm... [he lets the silence stretch out a little, before deciding he shouldn't be malicious or unkind. he should just be patient.]
I am a serpent.
a
Mithos, you good. Do you need a nap. ]
I don't think I would ever have possession of a kingdom, and I wouldn't want one, either.
no subject
and he seems even worse now that it's set in that sophia is not a fussy monarch, and is instead a....... sophia. a sophia who says things. ]
Then I'm not cursing you.
[ maybe don't curse people at all, mithos. but he does pause, lingering on sophia for a moment before he glances away. ]
... I don't even know what that is.
[ an AI, that is. is this him asking for clarification? no. yes? no. ]
no subject
[ Which is, in and of itself, really interesting to her, so she's fine with explaining it over and over. ]
'AI' stands for 'Artificial Intelligence', intelligence demonstrated by data instead of organic life forms, like humans. In other words, I'm not human.
no subject
mainly artificial. tabatha is the first thing that comes to mind, but there's some things about sophia that aren't the same. mainly that she doesn't talk in ALL CAPS. ]
Like an automated doll.
[ this is so rude. but that is what tabatha was. it's not a great connection to make. ]
You were made. For what?
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I don't really have memories of anything before I woke up in the trash, except that I'm supposed to be humanity's companion.
[ But. Uh. She woke up in the trash so maybe she just hadn't done great with that?? She has no idea. ]
no subject
actually, he looks unimpressed. ]
They would make something with that vague of a purpose, and then dump it in the trash.
[ she's right there?
anyway. ]
I'm not a human, so you don't need to be a "companion" to me.
[ that's the only reason he's assuming sophia's sticking around still. ]
no subject
Just because you aren't, whatever you are, that doesn't mean I don't want to get to know you better. You were asked to tell fortunes too?
[ "whatever you are." Amazing. ]
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c
What makes you say that?
[it's a matter of sincere confusion to him - what makes one life more important than others? there's something in him that has a desire to protect by default, that considers it his duty.
but he is, unfortunately, obedient and easily swayed on anything that involves the will of others.]
no subject
which it is. mithos doesn't see the things here as real to begin with, so he doesn't need the additional justification... even if he does have his truths in response. ]
Do I need to explain it?
[ obviously, he does. ]
She didn't get what she wanted the first time, so if she lives, she'll do the same thing again. Going through all that trouble for someone who shouldn't be protected is a waste.
[ yes, he does say this like it's the clearest thing in the world. blood for blood, that's just a rule. and people like her — people who can ruthlessly shut themselves off for a goal — don't stop unless they're stopped. he knows this. ]
no subject
[easily led around, that's buzen! though he crosses his arms and looks thoughtful about it, finally using that braincell that's gathered dust for somewhere near eight-hundred years....
but every now and then, it's important for him to act his age]
People make all kinds of decisions they don't believe in though - or ones they think they have to, when they've got too much power and too little time on their hands. Do we know if she regrets it...? I guess it's hard to ask her now...
no subject
mithos does consider the worth in even engaging with this. he's so far disconnected from nina's personal vendetta (regardless of how familiar it is) to put this much stock into killing andalina, and it's not like he particularly values her life, either, for different reasons.
one thing is just much less of a pain than the other. ]
She doesn't. But does it make a difference if she did? I'm not the one you need to convince.
[ he sure says this like he's certain about this one, too. ]
Tell the one who's had their country torn apart by her [ a glance towards the pendant around buzen's neck ] that it's fine, because she could regret it. I'm sure that empty kind of idealism would satisfy her.
no subject
I don't think that's really how I'd say it... but more like - if Lina-san dies here, that'd just be another kingdom left without direction, right? There'll be a struggle for power, and more fighting...
Maybe that's always what people will do - but we can't say that for sure either, right? I don't know... This type of thing - deciding the future of people - isn't something I'm used to.
[he's more the kind of person who protects the past. who's already given the answer, and he just has to make sure to see that through.]
Does it always have to be like that? [he looks to mithos, as though he'll have an answer readily available] The fighting and revenge. There isn't another way?
no subject
where buzen protects the past with no experience deciding the future, all mithos has done is manipulate and decide the future in an effort to rewrite the cursed past he can't accept.
so... ]
If you have to ask...
[ he does have an answer available, just like he knows nina does. he's isn't empathizing with her — there's nothing to empathize with — but there's no pacifying that circle, or those feelings. not when they've been left to stew in it.
yet still, mithos puts his sword down. ]
You're not used to deciding the future of people? Then, you can get used to it now. Because if you have to ask that, you're not going to change her mind.
[ the unsaid answer is yes. yes, it does always have to be like that. crime begets punishment; when what you love is taken from you, it's only right to want, and get, revenge. ]
You kill the murderer, or you kill defending her. Which one is it?
no subject
[his answer came way too fast - but that's buzen, quick even when he shouldn't be. a tendency to deliver rather unsatisfying, stupid answers. but he crosses his arms as he thinks about it, tilting his head.]
We don't know what'll save more people - what's the right thing for them, or this course of history. Ah, maybe I'm thinking too hard about it if this whole world is fake but...
[is it?
everything here feels like it has oddly real stakes - kingdoms on the line, but pride and honor too.]
... I think I'd want to protect people, whenever I can protect people. Is that bad?
b!
[ Why is this Child running ahead of him? Doesn't matter if he's clearly a fantasy type—still child-shaped enough to be concerned about.
They've barely learned the princess and knight mechanic before he's gone off, though Dimitri is quickly hurrying off to catch up. ]
Allow me to take the vanguard. [ since he's the knight? pls. there's barely any room to navigate it stands. ] It'd make the most sense, given our roles. [ Also, again, child-shaped... ]
no subject
a socially adjusted person would say "you right." mithos says: ]
Or the least sense given everything else. I don't know you — I'm not taking the consequences for any mistakes and stupid decisions you make.
[ he has his own mistakes and stupid decisions to make!
anyway, goodbye andalina. ]
ahhh sorry about the delay!
...It's not ideal that you have to be hurt by my actions, no. [ He sounds like he regrets that, and he does. It's not an ideal circumstance. ] And I don't presume that you would trust a stranger.
But we have to protect that diamond as well. [ so they could at least stand to be cautious..... ]