1.0 game launch log

[gamedevs]

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.

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

• 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!

Nina is a talented assassin, and moreover, she's mad as hell. Basically a flurry of knives that lashes out from the dark corners of the room, she'll specifically target princesses.

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.

---

duocaeli duologs duolingos FAQ & Game Info / Calendar / Locations / Mechanics
Taken / Applications / Hiatus & Drops

FULL NAVIGATION

Comments

[paraselenes]

1. on / princess hours
[ While people are dressed to the nines, Dimitri is perhaps even less formal than usual, sticking to simple leather armor and a scarf. If not for his gloves—a fine, black leather rather than his adventuring clothes—he might pass for a sellsword.

A sellsword turned page. He's carrying a ridiculous amount of shopping bags and boxes, one of which wobbles off the pile and bonks onto someone. Hope it wasn't a vase. ]

Oh, pardon me—

2. on / dungeon
[ A. CHAMBER 2: Even in cases where he's the princess, it's hard to keep him from acting as a knight—so either way he's here, leading the way, currently using his spear as a glorified duster and spinning the head of it into a cloud of cobwebs blocking the path. He speaks quietly, squinting into the darkness. ]

Strange that we've yet to see what might've made this web.

[ probably because it's like right above them, about to spit a bunch of silk at one of the pair? wow ]

[ B. CHAMBER 3: The story has him conflicted, which is plain enough on his face; even as he tries to keep his expression level, it turns pinched, tight in the brow. ]

This... is not supposed to be real, is it? [ Or so he's been told. ]

3. off / quest
[ The ON world is more familiar, and Crane City is almost overwhelming in how alien it is, but at least there's less murderous decisions to make.

Instead, he's in charge of secondhand heartbreaking. So armed with some flowers and basically no idea what he's doing, he's here to hand you a bouquet, looking somber as he remarks— ] My condolences. [ sorry u got dumped ]

4. off / school daze
[ Out in the Gruidae University maker lab, which he's somehow found his way into, he's watching a 3D printer go. Layer by layer. It's very exciting, except it isn't, but he's clearly entranced.

Enough to reach out and—gently, gingerly, with all the caution of a cat pawing at a mysterious toy—touch the little print in progress. And immediately burn himself on the extruder. Wowee. ]

*. wildcard
[ guys the body is so weak when it comes to open prompts and these are all bad, please feel free to ask me for a custom starter. or hit me up with anything, wildcards are my favorite!

here is my au plotting comment. ]

3.

[boarwitness]

What.

[he's not taking the flowers? what's going on??]

[paraselenes]

[ Take the flowers, they're very nice flowers. Probably yellow ones, classic friend-zoned flowers.

Dimitri reads the accompanying card with the romantic intensity of a doctor's note. ]

"I care about you, but I just think we should try dating other people."

[boarwitness]

[felix makes a noise. it's not a typical noise, and the closest comparison is probably like a pug choking on its own breath. his brows knit together as he snatches the little card out of dimitri's hands to read it himself, disbelief writ large—and embarrassment written a little smaller in the light flush of his cheeks.]

I'm not dating anyone. [he flips the card over, looking for answers. nada. the other side has a heart broken in two.]

Who did you get this from?

4

[pyojeol]

[she snaps a picture of him with her phone. hi dimitri]

[paraselenes]

[ viral video: IDIOT burns himself on STATIONARY OBJECT

Dimitri yanks his hand back, wagging it in the air in pain before he notices someone making fun of him. ]

—Sooyoung!?

[pyojeol]

[She gives him a V-sign,]

Yo. [JUST YO?] How's your hand? Lemme see.

[she'll just shove her nosy face into Dimitri's space to look at his stupid burn,]

1!

[janescayre]

[What luck. It is a vase.]

AACK—

[Cue a terrible shattering sound and a flailing of spindly arms. The victim is bruised but not battered. It was a rather delicate thing, fret not, no accidental dingdong bingbongs here. She cringes as she clutches her head in agony, then hurriedly swipes at the ceramic shards in her hair.]

Wh-what the hell! Who did that?! Are you trying to k-k-kill me?! Knock me unconscious and have your way with me?

[paraselenes]

[ IT'S A VASE...

The shattering and squawking immediately gets his attention, and the rest of the finely wrapped boxes and bags of designer clothes gets unceremoniously dumped on the ground. Somewhere, a princess gasps. ]

My apologies! Are you— [ hurt? or so he would finish if, now that a mountain of boxes is cleared out of the way, he wasn't left looking directly at a familiar face.

Instead, he gapes. ] Fukawa?

[janescayre]

[damn missed my chance to icly yell at him for dub brain mode

Anyway his gasp is matched by an equal horror from the girl. She knows that voice. Of course she does, because where one Frua...Furhg...where one Fargo goes the others soon follow.]

D-Dim...

[She doesn't even finish. She just stares.

Then spins on her heel and jets into the crowd.]

2.

[hexensabbat]

["Strange", he says. She follows casually, one hand on her hip, the other with her sword at the ready.

But really...]

Hunting spiders catch their prey by waiting for vibrations along their webbing.

[... She plucks at one of the webs that surrounds them, making a face at its stickiness.]

I bet it's somewhere around here, waiting for us to get close enough.

[paraselenes]

Do they? So tearing down the webs is only informing them of our location...

[ He lacks basic spider knowledge. What are they teaching kids in royal academies.

Either way, there's no progressing through the clumps and mats of cobwebs without striking them down somehow. No getting around what beasts might lurk among them. ]

Maybe I can draw it out then. You should stay back. [ because i'm assigning her princess ]

[hexensabbat]

[Princess Ringo pauses for a moment, and then shrugs a bit, stepping back obediently.]

How... very knightly of you. Sure, alright.

[With a hand at her waist, ready for her sword, and the other holding the necklace close to her chest--]

Have at it.

1

[oomfies]

[ Lottie is in a.. Hm, rather poor disguise, when she skulks the streets. It's really because she wants nothing to do with this princess nonsense, especially since once a fashion innovator, always a fashion innovator. She's been hounded since someone (some royal from a nearby land), caught sight of some of the jewelry she'd been fucking around with.

She hasn't known peace since.

And she thinks she never will, what with this random ass bag assaulting her?? Luckily it's no vase, but it's a very heavy pair of Ye Olde™ platform boots. ]

Ow??

[ There goes her high shrill of a shriek, the bag flopping to the ground and her hands going to cradle her head. One shoe from the pair peeks out onto the ground, spilling from the bag, and Lottie childishly kicks it without much thought given to the person who was carrying it. ]

What the hell?? Why did that hurt so much?

[paraselenes]

[ Maybe this bad disguise would actually work on him from behind the mountain of Shopping Paraphernalia, but her voice is unmistakable.

He peeks out over yet another box of shoes. ]

Lottie...? [ By now, he's seen too many familiar faces to Freak Out, but it's—certainly strange. Why has so much of the underworld wandered here? How? Does being here mean that "dying" had been a mass hallucination of some sort?

...Maybe he can worry about it after he checks in on her. ]

Are you all right!? [ wow there goes all the stuff he's carrying, set aside hastily enough that it kinda tumbles sadly over. Instead, he's going to try and check her hair for like, blood. Did she get bludgeoned by some boots. ] Hold still, let me see.

[oomfies]

[ This stranger knows her name?!?!?!

..Wait, actually. ]

What — [ She hears the toppling of all those boxes, those beautiful gaudy designer somethings as they hit the ground, and then he's already touching her ducked head and examining her hair. This is all a lot!! Lottie audibly flounders, makes a confused noise, but not from the fact that this is Dimitri (body swap buddy?! Flower allergy understanding king extraordinaire?!?!).. It's from the fact she's still bent over and the blood is rushing to her head, and her nose is getting clogged. ] ..Dimitri?!

[ Luckily while she got injured, she definitely isn't bleeding. Just severely bruised — he'll find the more he examines her head, he'll be able to find the exact spot the heel hit her at (it's a raised bump, slightly tender and will elicit an 'OW!!' from the woman below him). ]

Am I okay??

2b

[hollowedground]

Would that change your answer?

[ Brakka's had a pretty sullen look on his face the entire dungeon, but that's apparently just his normal. He's pulled his weight even if he hasn't made for the most social company, until now. ]

[paraselenes]

...No. They seem real enough to me.

[ His grasp of 'video games' is tenuous to begin with—and reality is distorted enough here that he's not willing to risk a life, virtual or not.

But someone is going to die here. He looks over at his stoic partner, who's apparently open to conversation now. ] What would you do?

[hollowedground]

I'm a mercenary. [ Brakka, that isn't your class or guild here. ]

Once I take a job, I finish it. But this is the end of the escort. And people who claw after power like that, don't change. Killing her would be doing all of us a favor.

[ It's a good thing Andalina is in a crystal, but he would have said this to her face too. ]

4

[sanguinary]

[Now there can be two idiots staring at the 3D printer, except one of them miraculously holds enough of a braincell to not touch things that he doesn't recognize (most of the time). He will just watch as this happens... Girl.]

—Are you in need of medical care?

[paraselenes]

[ listen who doesn't want to touch mysterious moving parts? he looks properly embarrassed, at least. ]

...It's minor.

[ it's a gross burn, but tiny... ]

More a wound to my pride than anything else. [ why is there a WITNESS ]

2b

[appeale]

[ as someone who has had a simple novel become her living reality, Rudbeckia finds herself caught between two extremes: on one hand, it is easy to consider these as real people rather than characters, as it's something she herself has experienced. on the other hand, it is easy to detach herself from the situation entirely and view it from the outside as a narrative, because living as Ruby never meant she stopped thinking of the world as a novel. she's walked that line for years.

it's funny, actually. this is exactly the kind of story she thinks she would have really enjoyed reading. now it hits close to home. ]

... I— don't know if it matters whether it's real or not. Right now, it's real enough. I think we should just... do our best to make a decision.

[ sympathy is a difficult thing to fake, so Ruby settles for downcast instead, her head bowed and gaze lowered, arms folded across her body as if to hold herself for comfort. better that than the blank stare she'd worn behind Dimitri's back as they watched this scene play out, or the nauseated grimace she can feel her face wanting to twist into. ]

But this is a lot of responsibility... I-I don't know if I can make that choice. I mean... choosing whether someone will live or die...

[ she'll get teary-eyed, just for good measure. ]

[paraselenes]

[ A nod; even if he wanted to divorce his feelings from this, to treat these "NPCs" as fictional characters, there's no denying how real Nina seems, and how genuine the tensely wound grief in her eyes is. Destructive, and completely relatable.

He'd made his choice as soon as the context was all laid out for him, but that doesn't make it easy. It doesn't mean he brandishes his spear. Rather, he answers with a hum, looking at her seriously. ]

Do you want me to make it, then?

[ It doesn't have to be her decision, if that responsibility is too much to bear. Maybe casting the decision away is what she wants, anyway. Ruby's always seemed a frail girl, and maybe the change in setting hasn't changed her. ]

3

[heartlands]

[this kind of city is still unfamiliar enough to him that it's difficult not to just stare in mild awe and confusion at some of the buildings, which is what he's doing when dimitri approaches him with the bouquet.]

Uh - wait, sorry, what? Condolences for what?

[paraselenes]

[ he understands the wide-eyed reaction, having suffered as much himself earlier. but right now, he has a job to do, and that job is to read a little note attached to some balloons. ]

"I think I need some time to discover 'me' outside of 'us.'"

[ his voice is serious, even if the message is stupid ]