Fade Rift Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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faderiftooc2018-07-02 02:12 pm
faderifting) wrote in faderiftooc2018-07-02 02:12 pm
Entry tags:
MOD POST ↠ JULY UPDATES
MOD ANNOUNCEMENTS: JULY
ORGANIZATIONAL/OOC UPDATES
For a full list of events IC and OOC, check the Calendar and this month's IC news updates. Upcoming OOC dates:
Major Application Changes
Beginning with the August rifter application round, we will no longer be accepting applications for rifter elves--this includes both characters that are elves in their canon and any "humanized" into elves. Also, effective immediately, we will no longer be accepting applications for OC or AU Tevinter mages from the Altus class. Canon DA Altus mage characters will still be permitted.
We use app caps to try to maintain some rough balance to the game's PC population, and ensure that no one faction or point of view unrealistically dominates others or grows wildly out of proportion with IC realities, and to preserve the uniqueness of things that should be rare. In this case, about 40% of characters in the game who are (or identify as) elves are rifters rather than natives, and we want to make sure that the IC conversation about elven issues isn't overwhelmed by that perspective. As for Tevinter characters, right now all of our Tevinter PCs are Altus mages.
As with all of our application limits, we'll continue to reevaluate the situation each month.
ETA: We'll allow rifter elf characters who have test drive threads on the most recent TDM to be grandfathered in if they choose to app in the next round, as long as their TDM threads predate this announcement.
Minorish AC Reward Changes
We're thrilled with how many of our IC leaders have been creating mini-plot assignments for their project/division members, and we want to reward their hard work and that of players who contribute by participating in those assignments. From now on (and applicable retroactively!):
- every group of three mod-approved plot assignments (which can be broken up, so two one month and four another equals two groups of three) offered to other players is worth 5 AC Reward points for the assignments’ creator(s), and
- each posted report describing the outcome of an assignment and containing a link to at least one thread related to the assignment is worth 5 AC Reward points to each character who was given that assignment and participated in RP about it.
In addition, we want to make sure we're continuing to reward players who put in the time and effort to craft larger player plots. Going forward, proof of at least one thread run in a mod-approved player plot will be worth 10 AC Reward points for the player who submitted the plot request. This change does not apply retroactively, just because that would be way too much for everyone to account for.
PLOT/IC UPDATES
Tourney
We've tallied up the points you all put towards various causes at the Tourney, plus the points gained from successful diplomacy and espionage efforts. Based on the totals, we're going to offer a number of plots designed to achieve specific advancements towards those causes. We planned to prepare plots, but decided it might be better to see what your characters would actually most want to accomplish rather than deciding for you.
To that end, we've created a poll here where you can let us know what types of things your characters would want to spend this goodwill/political capital they've gained on. We're looking for the broad areas of interest rather than specific plot pitches--things like "economic opportunities for elves" or "legal rights for rifters." We've also included a question on the poll regarding whether your character would prefer to pursue a lot of smaller goals or focus on one or two big ones.
Once this poll is finished, we'll take all your answers, figure out what the most popular ideas or themes are, and develop some player-led plots that would characters to capitalize on their accumulated good will to secure concrete gains, scaled to what's realistic given Thedas’ Thedasiness and to how many points were put toward that effort at the Tourney. Your answers about preferred strategy and how significant and difficult the goals you all choose to pursue are, combined with how many points were won for the cause, will determine how many plots we offer. These plots will be rolled out after this month's mod plot is complete.
War Updates
There should no longer be any doubt that the Anderfels' incursion into Orlais is an actual, full-scale invasion and not just an extended border raid. Over the past month, the Ander forces have pushed en masse through south-western Nevarra into northern Orlais. Despite the best efforts of Orlais to quickly mobilize their forces, and the rapid assistance of the Inquisition army from Skyhold, the Anders have pushed well past the still-besieged Perendale and continued to force the Orlesian lines to retreat further south. The allied forces have succeeded in slowing the Ander advance, but the invaders are still making constant progress in their push into the Orlesian heartland, with Churneau and Ghislain next in their sights. While those cities aren't presently in danger, the threat seems imminent enough that debates have begun in the imperial court about whether to evacuate the populations or prepare for a siege.
While the initial push was swift and fairly neat, with minimal resistance and thus minimal destruction and loss of life, the armies on both sides of the front have since experienced significant casualties. The current location of the worst fighting is primarily farmland and plains, but a few of the villages dotting the countryside have been occupied by either side, while others have been abandoned by residents seeking shelter in the cities and some have been razed to prevent use of the structures by enemy forces.
So far, reports from the front speak only of a normal human army--Ander soldiers supplemented by Wardens and a few Templars with red insignia--and there have been no sightings of demons, darkspawn, or Corypheus and his red lyrium dragon, not that anyone outside the Inquisition knows to look for those things to begin with. This is worrying, not least because if the Ander army is successfully pushing back the Orlesian/Inquisition forces without the use of those assets, how much worse will this get once they do bring them to bear? NPC Inquisition scouts have been focused on finding the location of Corypheus and the demon and darkspawn forces known to exist, but so far, other than a few scattered reports of darkspawn attacks in and around the Hunterhorn mountains, their current whereabouts or possible movements since the Inquisition’s last excursion into the region are unknown.
Other nations have remained largely silent, with none expressing any intention of coming to the aid of Orlais. The Empire, as the chief power in Thedas over the last few centuries, isn't particularly popular with any of its frequently-invaded neighbors, and for now they all seem content to wait and see what happens, unconcerned with the prospect of the Anderfels whittling their territory down a bit.
Tevinter
In early Solace (July), the Inquisition will receive an invitation from the Archon to send a delegation to visit the court in Minrathous. Officially, the Archon wishes to build upon the comradery inspired by the first-ever magical competitions at the Grand Tourney by bringing members of the Inquisition to celebrate their mutual success, exchange ideas, and foster ties, etc., etc. Unofficially, he wants to meet with Inquisition representatives to discuss the invasion of Orlais, politics in the Anderfels and Nevarra, and the rise of the Venatori within Tevinter politics. Word of this true purpose would likely filter down through the ranks, but will remain deniable speculation, and Inquisition members will be encouraged to keep it that way.
As the outpost tasked with northern relations, and housing a significant number of mages and Tourney participants, the delegation traveling to Minrathous will be drawn exclusively from those at the Kirkwall base. Because this is a highly sensitive mission involving a trip into the lion's mouth, so to speak, only current members of the Inquisition or its Warden allies will be chosen to attend or permitted to volunteer. Rifters, non-humans, and non-mages will be allowed, but must be prepared to be on their best behavior, and will be counseled beforehand on just how much pride-swallowing and refraining-from-killing-slave-owners that is likely to involve in Tevinter. Anyone the Division Heads cannot trust to behave themselves will be left behind, and unlike on past missions, they will have orders from Skyhold that anyone attempting to stow away with the group should be immediately sent back to Kirkwall and subject to strict discipline. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the Inquisition to potentially gain an incredibly powerful ally against Corypheus in the Archon, and no one will be allowed to jeopardize it.
OOCly, the mod plot will consist of two open plot posts, similar to the way we handled the Tourney. The first log will allow some opportunities to explore the city before things inevitably go wrong in action-heavy log #2. The first log will go up around mid-month, but the mission is forward-dated to the end of Solace. Because this would ICly be a mission of limited size, each player will be able to bring just one character into Minrathous. Generally, as long as the character is capable of behaving or convincingly swearing that they will, you can choose which of your characters will participate. There may be opportunities for other characters to participate in mini-plots elsewhere in (or related to) Tevinter.
IC Leadership
We are currently accepting applications for:
From now on, we'll be allowing players to have more than one character hold a leadership position, as long as at least one of those is an assistant-level post. E.g., you can have one character be a Project Leader and another be an Assistant Project Leader, or play two Assistants of different projects, but you cannot have one character holding two roles, and you cannot have two characters simultaneously holding Project Leader or Division Head posts.
We've also created some new specific, official roles related to the war effort that can give characters more official authority over some different realms. Many of these are under the Base Operations project and will ICly answer to the Seneschal, but a couple come under the direct authority of a Division Head, as described below. These are all considered assistant-level positions, meaning if you have one character who is a Project Leader, Assistant, or DH, you are still eligible to have another character hold one of these posts.
Unlike projects, these roles don't involve leading whole teams (though characters are certainly welcome to enlist help) and deal with more specific, practical aspects of the war effort. These roles require being within the Inquisition's chain of command, and thus a formal member—allies such as mercenaries or Wardens, rifters who are here because they have to be but haven't formally joined the cause, etc., won't be eligible. Because they're exclusive opportunities, side characters can't hold these positions, and OCs who fill these roles will have to do a full AC proof rather than a single comment each month. You can apply for one of these roles using the form here.
- Captain of the Watch: In charge of the details of the Gallows' security, including setting up guard rotations, conducting or delegating inspections of large shipments, and educating the base's population on their stations (or escape routes) during an emergency. Can occasionally run surprise drills in the middle of the night and yell at everyone about their lack of preparedness, if desired. Reports to the head of the Forces Division.
- Chief Cryptographer: Responsible for designing and regularly changing ciphers used for the Inquisition's sensitive communications, as well as cracking particularly difficult enemy ciphers. Multilingualism a plus. May also have a hand in ensuring any changes to the sending crystals or future written instant communication methods are secure. Reports to the head of the Scouting Division.
- Head of Special Acquisitions: Not all artifacts are elven! This role requires identifying potentially beneficial resources—generally items of significant power or diplomatic value, but occasionally rare books, animals, herbs, etc.—and coordinating their purchase, recovery, or extralegal retrieval. Reports to the head of the Research Division.
- Head of Community Outreach: In charge of strategically utilizing the Inquisition's limited available resources and those members willing to volunteer to undertake projects that would strategically endear the Inquisition to the citizenry, strategically, and did we mention that it should be strategic. Expected emphasis on efforts to repair damage left behind by rifts or various conflicts that the Inquisition is involved in, or to coordinate the travel and placement of refugee populations if making their homes livable in the immediate future isn't feasible, rather than solving social problems at large. Reports to the head of the Diplomacy Division.
- Master of Information: In charge of synthesizing news reports into regular bulletins to the Inquisition troops, and crafting the Inquisition's public messaging in the north of Thedas in accordance with official priorities. Read: writing propaganda. Reports to the head of the Diplomacy Division.
- Trademaster: managing trade routes throughout the north specifically to supply the Inquisition forces at the front (and potentially their Orlesian allies in the future). Will involve coordinating shipments and protection for them, liaising with existing merchant contacts, and developing new relationships. Reports to the head of the Diplomacy Division.
- Chamberlain: In charge of handling accommodations for visitors to the Gallows, particularly wealthy and powerful visitors. Coordinating tours, meetings, or exhibitions for them, providing servants and supplies as needed, and maintaining the fancy guest quarters in the Gallows for their use. Reports to the Seneschal.
- Fieldmaster: In charge of overseeing the Inquisition's camp set-up and general situation during large missions, including scouting suitable locations for larger camps, making sure idiots know how to set up their tents, organizing food, etc., like a mobile quartermaster when the rest of the base staff typically stays behind. Reports to the Seneschal.
- Master of Fashion: Charged with designing uniforms, banners, etc., that will strike fear into the hearts of enemies and comfort into the hearts of allies. Veto power over members' choice of clothing when the Inquisition is invited to formal events. Reports to the Seneschal.
- Master of Works: In charge of the Gallows' fortifications and the development of siege/anti-siege weaponry, with some potential coordination with the Kirkwall city guard and government to provide them with additional security, too, since they're putting the city at risk by allowing the Inquisition to work there. Reports to the Seneschal.
- Morale Officers: Up to three characters in charge of keeping an eye on the morale of the Inquisition's local forces and coming up with ways to use a shoestring budget to improve it as needed. Think party planning committee. Trust falls. Kegs. They will report to the Seneschal.
- Quartermaster: In charge of the Inquisition's routine acquisitions of food, raw materials, and other supplies, as well as directing recruits to available lodgings and keeping an eye on the use of offices and storage space. Reports to the Seneschal.
- Recruiter: Up to three characters responsible for deliberate efforts to recruit new members, whether they're large groups of NPC foot soldiers to send to Skyhold or individuals with specifically necessary expertise for the Gallows. Similarly tasked with reaching out to new volunteers or recruits to make sure their skills are being correctly utilized and directing them toward appropriate training or divisions/projects as needed, as well as orienting rifters (and convincing them to actually join up and help). Reports to the Seneschal.
Additionally, we currently have characters in Base Operations who are already serving in some roles that we would otherwise have included on this list: Head Armourer (James Norrington), Head Archivist (Gareth), and Stablemaster (Skadi). Those characters are being grandfathered in and officially appointed to those roles without needing to apply for them, but if they stop serving in those roles, they'll be filled by application in the future! They will continue to report to the Seneschal.
And, lastly, everyone remains 100% welcome to sign their characters up for Base Operations as a project with roles of their own invention, as they have in the past, or as assistants to any of these positions without going through an application process or taking on additional AC requirements For example, if you want your character to assist the Chamberlain, you can just sign them up on the Base Operations page as an Assistant to the Chamberlain. You can also still create a new role, like Etiquette Officer, or Gardener. Characters in Base Operations who have already invented their own roles can keep those with no changes.
Applications for all roles will be accepted until July 31, with new appointments made in early August!
Projects are always open to new members, and player plots related to project goals can be submitted by anyone at any time. And as a reminder, for your reference and to help you know what your characters are doing day to day, we have a breakdown of the divisions and projects and the work characters in each would be expected to perform.
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tl;dr THANK YOU MODS YOU DA BEST.
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Haha, makes sense they wouldn't but of course that's the first example that would come to mind for me & Base Operations jobs. Thank you for clarifying!
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Also, am I right in thinking it's the offer of plots that's worth bonus points and not relying on the plot being accepted by the player to count?
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And you're right that it's just offering them that qualifies you for the points! (With the obvious caveat that if anyone submits, like, thirty minor plot ideas for a ten-member project so that they can claim 50 bonus points even though there's no way all of those will be taken, we'll have to say something.)
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