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January 2023 Trial Event Plotting
Trial 9 Plotting Post
Welcome to our plotting post for this month's event! This plotting page doubles as our monthly CR meme. If you have questions about the trial, ask them below.
Although the longest night is behind you, there is still time to go before the warmth of the sun returns in full. The weather remains much the same as December: Wintermute is frozen, Willow covered in snowdrifts, Epiphany a mess of slush and black ice, Cruel Summer dangerously cold at night, and Exile wrapped in a numbing fog.
There is some change, and not for the better; all across Folkmore blackouts begin to occur at random. The power is cut to both businesses and private residences alike, which can be very worrisome for anywhere that is not equipped with a wood burning fireplace! The spirit folk of Folkmore are concerned, and you may see your favourite neighbours scurrying about trying to find ways to stay warm. Star Children would do well to to help those around them - interacting with others always generates Lore, which may help get the power back on. If nothing else, a good old fashioned cuddle can help you stay warm.
Not every building will lose power so you may just be one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to scramble for blankets. Maybe you could offer up a place to stay for those who aren’t as fortunate?
With the power being such an issue, you might not notice right away that things seem to be going missing around here. Books. Jewelry. Socks. Bird feeders. Bicycles. All sorts of things, both big and small. Eventually even pets begin to go missing! You better keep an eye on your Pokémon! And your friends, too, for that matter - there are rumours that even Star Children are up and vanishing.
Now where on earth could everything be going?
Reminders:
🦊 The game alternates between high and low intensity events each month. January is a high intensity month.
MUTING WINTER ★
Content Warnings: kidnapping,
What Have We Here?
It’s mid January when the transmission comes out from Cutting Edge. Thoth herself informs the citizens of Folkmore that her researchers have discovered the source of the blackouts: all over Wintermute deep wells have opened, created with Lore stolen from the rest of the world. They seem to have stabilized, so that should help with the power outages, but the question of where the wells lead remains!
"Everything in nature is beautiful, and it is no less beautiful because it is understood," she tells everyone via their Relic. "The challenge put to you, Star Children, is to explore so that we may understand."
Thirteen’s Trial is to study the wells. Although she is a little loose with the idea of safety, Thoth apparently does remember that Star Children might need a little help, and so she has tasked Cutting Edge’s mascot Togo to lead adventurous souls to the wells. A huge grey wolf, Togo is able to split into many versions so that they can lead multiple groups to different wells. The Togos are not affected by the harsh conditions of Wintermute, but the Star Children are and you’ll want to be mindful of frostbite, avalanches, snowstorms, and attacks from polar bears or other wolves. Even a simple thing like snow blindness can slow you down or get you lost... and Togo isn’t particularly fussed with babysitting you. It’s better to rely on your fellow Star Children for help when it comes to anything life threatening.
The journey can take hours or even days, but eventually Togo will stop in front of a large natural well. Surprisingly they are quite dry, and you can descend into them with no fear of drowning. The wells are deep, and they open up into large underground tunnels that in turn lead to massive caves. The caves are warm and dry, and you will discover that they are not unoccupied.
Dwelling inside the caves below the mountains of Wintermute are dragons.
Some are scaly, others furry, but all are absolutely massive. It would be foolish to attack one unprovoked as they are so big and so well equipped for destruction. Luckily, they don’t seem particularly interested in fighting! They are happy enough to have company in their dens and will invite Star Children to sit and chat, partly so that they can show off their marvelous collections.
Or 'hoard' if you prefer. Yes, the dragons are great collectors, and are in fact responsible for all that’s gone missing! How did you not notice a giant dragon stealing your socks?! Great question, maybe you should work on your perception! Or maybe it’s dragon magic. Yeah. Probably that.
At any rate they have piles of all sorts of stuff. Gold, sure, but it’s just as likely you’ll find a dragon who has thousands of pencils, or fish. Some dragons don’t even collect physical objects, but concepts like stories or numbers.
And some collect Star Children.
Collector's Edition
Yes, it’s entirely possible to be kidnapped by a dragon! It’s a rather nice sort of kidnapping, as the dragon dens are warm and comfortable, and the dragons provide food and water and everything else you could need, but it’s still kidnapping. You can send out a distress call on your relic, but you won’t have any real idea where you are as you’ve inevitably been flown through a snowstorm to reach the mountains, rendering visibility impossible.
The dragons are not aggressive, but they are very protective of their hoards. You can probably afford to let one keep your socks, but your best friend? The only way to get a dragon to give up anything from its hoard is to trade it for something else. Hope you’ve been working on that charisma.
The dragons are open to other deals, too - if you ever wanted to ride one? Now’s your chance to ask. You’ll have to trade something, though. Maybe you can offer to brush their fur or polish their scales...
At the end of the month, the wells will be locked again, cutting off entrance to the dragon tunnels and dens. The School of Thoth will be working on mapping the mountain properly so that these passages can be found once again in the future. Anyone is welcome to join the school if they wish to study dragons and their wells.
Whoever met the dragons will receive a shiny golden scale. This scale will allow characters to temporarily become a dragon themselves. This transformation only lasts about half an hour, but studying with Baba Yaga can prolong the length.
What Have We Here?
It’s mid January when the transmission comes out from Cutting Edge. Thoth herself informs the citizens of Folkmore that her researchers have discovered the source of the blackouts: all over Wintermute deep wells have opened, created with Lore stolen from the rest of the world. They seem to have stabilized, so that should help with the power outages, but the question of where the wells lead remains!
"Everything in nature is beautiful, and it is no less beautiful because it is understood," she tells everyone via their Relic. "The challenge put to you, Star Children, is to explore so that we may understand."
Thirteen’s Trial is to study the wells. Although she is a little loose with the idea of safety, Thoth apparently does remember that Star Children might need a little help, and so she has tasked Cutting Edge’s mascot Togo to lead adventurous souls to the wells. A huge grey wolf, Togo is able to split into many versions so that they can lead multiple groups to different wells. The Togos are not affected by the harsh conditions of Wintermute, but the Star Children are and you’ll want to be mindful of frostbite, avalanches, snowstorms, and attacks from polar bears or other wolves. Even a simple thing like snow blindness can slow you down or get you lost... and Togo isn’t particularly fussed with babysitting you. It’s better to rely on your fellow Star Children for help when it comes to anything life threatening.
The journey can take hours or even days, but eventually Togo will stop in front of a large natural well. Surprisingly they are quite dry, and you can descend into them with no fear of drowning. The wells are deep, and they open up into large underground tunnels that in turn lead to massive caves. The caves are warm and dry, and you will discover that they are not unoccupied.
Dwelling inside the caves below the mountains of Wintermute are dragons.
Some are scaly, others furry, but all are absolutely massive. It would be foolish to attack one unprovoked as they are so big and so well equipped for destruction. Luckily, they don’t seem particularly interested in fighting! They are happy enough to have company in their dens and will invite Star Children to sit and chat, partly so that they can show off their marvelous collections.
Or 'hoard' if you prefer. Yes, the dragons are great collectors, and are in fact responsible for all that’s gone missing! How did you not notice a giant dragon stealing your socks?! Great question, maybe you should work on your perception! Or maybe it’s dragon magic. Yeah. Probably that.
At any rate they have piles of all sorts of stuff. Gold, sure, but it’s just as likely you’ll find a dragon who has thousands of pencils, or fish. Some dragons don’t even collect physical objects, but concepts like stories or numbers.
And some collect Star Children.
Collector's Edition
Yes, it’s entirely possible to be kidnapped by a dragon! It’s a rather nice sort of kidnapping, as the dragon dens are warm and comfortable, and the dragons provide food and water and everything else you could need, but it’s still kidnapping. You can send out a distress call on your relic, but you won’t have any real idea where you are as you’ve inevitably been flown through a snowstorm to reach the mountains, rendering visibility impossible.
The dragons are not aggressive, but they are very protective of their hoards. You can probably afford to let one keep your socks, but your best friend? The only way to get a dragon to give up anything from its hoard is to trade it for something else. Hope you’ve been working on that charisma.
The dragons are open to other deals, too - if you ever wanted to ride one? Now’s your chance to ask. You’ll have to trade something, though. Maybe you can offer to brush their fur or polish their scales...
At the end of the month, the wells will be locked again, cutting off entrance to the dragon tunnels and dens. The School of Thoth will be working on mapping the mountain properly so that these passages can be found once again in the future. Anyone is welcome to join the school if they wish to study dragons and their wells.
Whoever met the dragons will receive a shiny golden scale. This scale will allow characters to temporarily become a dragon themselves. This transformation only lasts about half an hour, but studying with Baba Yaga can prolong the length.
JAEGER TIME ★
Content Warnings: Potential (optional) death.
Folkmore is severely lacking in snowplows. In areas where the snow falls, it builds up so much that some people are going to be snowed in! Unable to open their doors, some residents might be feeling a little cabin fever. Luckily before anyone can get too familiar with an axe or something, Thoth will transport some Star Children to Cutting Edge. There she will lead you to her 'experimental naturmechs' - huge humanoid robots that resemble the regular golems found around Folkmore. Each of these mechs requires two pilots who must forge a temporary telepathic link with one another in order to control it.
Initiation
Once you and your partner have agreed to link, your minds will connect.
Initially, this will manifest in your mind's eye as a memory place; characters will be transported to one of their ‘safe’ spaces, someplace they remember fondly. This is not a living memory or a scene playing out, it is only the location.
The person who the place 'belongs' to will feel the urge to remain there, potentially forever. It is up to the other person to use the link forged between them to haul them back to reality. It is possible that the character who wishes to stay can influence the other, of course, and then both characters will decide to stay put. What happens then? Why, the mech absorbs the Star Children, killing them.
Operation
Assuming you both return to the real world, now comes the fun part: operating your naturmech! The two of you must communicate across your link and work together in order for the thing to move and do what you want. Sounds easy enough, right? Well...
Some people tend to try and dominate situations. People. Life. Everyone has had the experience of working alongside someone who thinks they're in charge (if you haven't, surprise! it was you) and it doesn't work so well when you're not in agreement with them.
Whenever there is a lack of cooperation, whenever one person tries to entirely dominate the command of the naturmech, both characters will be drawn back to one of their memory places. When this happens, the mech will shut down if you're lucky, and run amok if you're not!
C-C-Combo!
Although the telepathic and emotional link forged in the mechs is much like the one formed between Familiars and Myths/Legends, it can exist between people with any role. Some roles are easier to navigate than others, however, making it more or less likely that the struggle for dominance will thwart your piloting attempts.
The role combinations are as follows:
Assuming the pilots can return to their physical bodies and maintain a healthy link, they can use the naturmechs to clear snow and ice.
Folkmore is severely lacking in snowplows. In areas where the snow falls, it builds up so much that some people are going to be snowed in! Unable to open their doors, some residents might be feeling a little cabin fever. Luckily before anyone can get too familiar with an axe or something, Thoth will transport some Star Children to Cutting Edge. There she will lead you to her 'experimental naturmechs' - huge humanoid robots that resemble the regular golems found around Folkmore. Each of these mechs requires two pilots who must forge a temporary telepathic link with one another in order to control it.
Initiation
Once you and your partner have agreed to link, your minds will connect.
Initially, this will manifest in your mind's eye as a memory place; characters will be transported to one of their ‘safe’ spaces, someplace they remember fondly. This is not a living memory or a scene playing out, it is only the location.
The person who the place 'belongs' to will feel the urge to remain there, potentially forever. It is up to the other person to use the link forged between them to haul them back to reality. It is possible that the character who wishes to stay can influence the other, of course, and then both characters will decide to stay put. What happens then? Why, the mech absorbs the Star Children, killing them.
Operation
Assuming you both return to the real world, now comes the fun part: operating your naturmech! The two of you must communicate across your link and work together in order for the thing to move and do what you want. Sounds easy enough, right? Well...
Some people tend to try and dominate situations. People. Life. Everyone has had the experience of working alongside someone who thinks they're in charge (if you haven't, surprise! it was you) and it doesn't work so well when you're not in agreement with them.
Whenever there is a lack of cooperation, whenever one person tries to entirely dominate the command of the naturmech, both characters will be drawn back to one of their memory places. When this happens, the mech will shut down if you're lucky, and run amok if you're not!
C-C-Combo!
Although the telepathic and emotional link forged in the mechs is much like the one formed between Familiars and Myths/Legends, it can exist between people with any role. Some roles are easier to navigate than others, however, making it more or less likely that the struggle for dominance will thwart your piloting attempts.
The role combinations are as follows:
Familiars + Myths/Legends: These roles will typically link with ease, and be able to work together smoothly. These robots will have strength on their side.
Familiar + Familiar: These typically will be able to form a link easily. These robots will be able to fly.
Myths + Legend | Myth + Myth | Legend + Legend: These are the most difficult links, as both parties will naturally try to be the dominant pilot. These combinations will have to work especially hard to learn how to work together and balance out their traits. These robots will have agility on their side.
Assuming the pilots can return to their physical bodies and maintain a healthy link, they can use the naturmechs to clear snow and ice.
FEAR ITSELF★
Content Warnings: Stalking, phobias likely in comments, potential (optional) death.
With the streets cleared by the naturmechs, it is easier to get around in the more populated areas of Folkmore. You might leave the warmth and comfort of your home a little more often to get some fresh air and see other people. It’s most likely that you won’t be in your own home when you first see it.
It might be in a crowd. It might be alone, standing at the far end of a road. You can’t quite make out any details, but there’s definitely something weird about the figure you notice once... twice... three times and more. Gradually you realise that this figure is following you.
It doesn’t run. It doesn’t have to.
The figure will walk ever closer, and as it does it begins to change, morphing from something nondescript into something you fear. For example, if someone is afraid of freezing to death, this creature starts to look frozen. If someone is afraid of spiders, the creature starts growing spider legs. If someone's fear is more metaphorical such as "fear of love", they can visualize something (or someone) that would remind them of the fear itself. This creature instills a deep animal terror in Star Children, and the closer it gets the more you will begin to panic. Everyone has their own personal fear (or fears - you’re not just scared of one thing, are you?) but they are visible to everyone.
The motive of the Fears is simple: they want to kill you. Being caught by one of these creatures means a death brought about in some way by that fear. Are you scared of horses? You’ll be trampled to death by a roving herd. Loneliness? You will die of a broken heart. In some way, no matter how abstract, your doom is written by your fear.
Characters can help each other, but once someone gets in the way and tries to stop the Fear, the Fear will start aiming for them too. This can cause characters who were just trying to help to also become terrified of the one thing the Fear represents too.
How to stop this? Face your fears. Fight them. Destroy them. Attack them. But not with the innate powers each character has, but with the powers each role provides, as well as any powers given by Thirteen in past trials or powers acquired through Spoons. So for example, Mr. Freeze’s ice powers would be useless, but if his role as a Myth gave him fangs and claws those would work just fine. Gandalf’s spells from home wouldn’t work, but as a Familiar he could use any of his animal forms to inflict damage. Be creative and fight!
Your chances of winning are improved, of course, by joining forces with someone else. The Roles of Folkmore play an important part here, too, as they will be affected in different ways.
Tag-Team
During the fight, Legends and Myths will end up becoming more emotionally unstable. This makes it important to have a Familiar nearby. This does not need to be a Familiar you have an established connection with! Any Familiar will be able to provide a stabilizing influence that prevents Myths from acting completely immorally and selfishly, or from emotionally detaching from the situation. They can keep Legends from acting solely based on emotions and ignoring rationality.
(For example, a Myth might decide the best way to get rid of a fear is to feed other people to it. A Legend might lose sight of rationality and run into a situation that is way of out of their depth and likely to get them killed.)
Familiars themselves require the presence of a Myth or Legend. Without one, they will become physically weaker as the fight goes on, or succumb to terror more easily. The presence of a Myth or Familiar provides them with strength and energy.
Characters must utilize their unique traits to help one another in order to defeat the Fears. If that is accomplished, you will be able to move on from that fear and no longer have such a strong reaction to it. Your deep terror of flying? Not so bad now. You may never let go of it completely, but it no longer controls you as much as it once did.
Those who do well and survive will be met by a Golem. Consider it a little gift from Thoth herself. The Golems will follow Star Children, wanting to help them, and can obey simple commands - if you tell them ‘goodbye’ they will power down.
Each character will have their own Golem, who will show up whenever called by the Star Child. These Golems are smaller than the mech versions, and are not interchangeable; other Star Children can't give orders to someone else's Golem. If you don’t want one, you can simply refuse to accept Thoth’s gift, or at a later date instruct it to return to her. (You won’t be getting it back again if you do that, though.)
With the streets cleared by the naturmechs, it is easier to get around in the more populated areas of Folkmore. You might leave the warmth and comfort of your home a little more often to get some fresh air and see other people. It’s most likely that you won’t be in your own home when you first see it.
It might be in a crowd. It might be alone, standing at the far end of a road. You can’t quite make out any details, but there’s definitely something weird about the figure you notice once... twice... three times and more. Gradually you realise that this figure is following you.
It doesn’t run. It doesn’t have to.
The figure will walk ever closer, and as it does it begins to change, morphing from something nondescript into something you fear. For example, if someone is afraid of freezing to death, this creature starts to look frozen. If someone is afraid of spiders, the creature starts growing spider legs. If someone's fear is more metaphorical such as "fear of love", they can visualize something (or someone) that would remind them of the fear itself. This creature instills a deep animal terror in Star Children, and the closer it gets the more you will begin to panic. Everyone has their own personal fear (or fears - you’re not just scared of one thing, are you?) but they are visible to everyone.
The motive of the Fears is simple: they want to kill you. Being caught by one of these creatures means a death brought about in some way by that fear. Are you scared of horses? You’ll be trampled to death by a roving herd. Loneliness? You will die of a broken heart. In some way, no matter how abstract, your doom is written by your fear.
Characters can help each other, but once someone gets in the way and tries to stop the Fear, the Fear will start aiming for them too. This can cause characters who were just trying to help to also become terrified of the one thing the Fear represents too.
How to stop this? Face your fears. Fight them. Destroy them. Attack them. But not with the innate powers each character has, but with the powers each role provides, as well as any powers given by Thirteen in past trials or powers acquired through Spoons. So for example, Mr. Freeze’s ice powers would be useless, but if his role as a Myth gave him fangs and claws those would work just fine. Gandalf’s spells from home wouldn’t work, but as a Familiar he could use any of his animal forms to inflict damage. Be creative and fight!
Your chances of winning are improved, of course, by joining forces with someone else. The Roles of Folkmore play an important part here, too, as they will be affected in different ways.
Tag-Team
During the fight, Legends and Myths will end up becoming more emotionally unstable. This makes it important to have a Familiar nearby. This does not need to be a Familiar you have an established connection with! Any Familiar will be able to provide a stabilizing influence that prevents Myths from acting completely immorally and selfishly, or from emotionally detaching from the situation. They can keep Legends from acting solely based on emotions and ignoring rationality.
(For example, a Myth might decide the best way to get rid of a fear is to feed other people to it. A Legend might lose sight of rationality and run into a situation that is way of out of their depth and likely to get them killed.)
Familiars themselves require the presence of a Myth or Legend. Without one, they will become physically weaker as the fight goes on, or succumb to terror more easily. The presence of a Myth or Familiar provides them with strength and energy.
Characters must utilize their unique traits to help one another in order to defeat the Fears. If that is accomplished, you will be able to move on from that fear and no longer have such a strong reaction to it. Your deep terror of flying? Not so bad now. You may never let go of it completely, but it no longer controls you as much as it once did.
Those who do well and survive will be met by a Golem. Consider it a little gift from Thoth herself. The Golems will follow Star Children, wanting to help them, and can obey simple commands - if you tell them ‘goodbye’ they will power down.
Each character will have their own Golem, who will show up whenever called by the Star Child. These Golems are smaller than the mech versions, and are not interchangeable; other Star Children can't give orders to someone else's Golem. If you don’t want one, you can simply refuse to accept Thoth’s gift, or at a later date instruct it to return to her. (You won’t be getting it back again if you do that, though.)
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