modsurge | Plot Threads

GEOSURGE
PLOT THREADS

Occasionally mods will be allowing a set number of characters to schedule an involved conversation with a mod regarding the discovery of something in game, as announced on the OOC community or on a mod log. Characters who have signed up for the option will be selected via RNG (with preference given to characters who have not yet had a thread like this), and the thread will be conducted on this page.

You can see a sample thread in the comments below, but in essence, this thread is meant to mimic the conversation a tabletop player might have with their DM. The mod will establish the setting, and you may describe your character's actions and decisions. The mod will respond with reactions and any particular consequences, and the mod and player will move throughout the scenario together, until all questions are satisfied and all actions are taken.

After this informational thread is complete, it's assumed that anything learned within is now common knowledge for the rest of the game. You're still welcome to thread out discussion or discovery of this ICly, but if you'd like to skip ahead to any fallout or follow-up action, that's also fine.

As a note, these threads do not have to be limited to one character in the scene. For the ease of moving threads along quickly, we ask that one player take the reins in terms of writing out the actions of all characters involved in the scene. We have a channel reserved in the Discord channel limited to current thread participants to facilitate OOC discussion of who's doing what for this purpose.

NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He hears a steady drip of water from somewhere in the darkness, but otherwise the only sounds come from the square he left above.

He'll dig a convenient lighter out of his pocket and flick that on. Does it illuminate anything?

He has just enough time to see that he's in a narrow arched stone tunnel, with a wall not far in front of him, covered in graffiti written in the same language as everything else in the city above. Then a drip from the ceiling lands squarely on the flame of his lighter, dousing it. It might work again in about five minutes, if water didn't get anywhere important.

He may also notice, in the renewed darkness, a spark answers the brief flare of the lighter. It looks to be about twenty feet away, and flashes intermittently.

Did he happen to see any access ladders before the lighter went out?

The wall he saw was just plain graffitied stone, although there may be something outside what his light illuminated.

Then bravely he marches toward the spark! And with impressive forethought, he goes with a hand on the wall so he doesn't trip and land on his face again.

He may not trip and land on his face, but the first step he takes does land him in cold ankle-deep sewage water with a very unpleasant splash.

He otherwise makes it to the spark with no mishap. It's irregular, but when it lights it seems to be from a broken wire set into the wall, spitting electrical sparks. More graffiti surrounds it, along with one long, spray-painted green line that connects the area of the broken wire with something under the waterline.

Can he touch the wire?

Does he touch the wire?

Yes, he'll go for it!

He gets zapped. His hand hurts, his finger tingles weirdly, and otherwise nothing happens.

Oh, good. He'll indulge in five minutes or so of self-pity, then finally remember that green line, and kind of kick at the water it leads to to see if there's anything there.

His foot thuds against something solid and unmoving that isn't part of the wall. It seems to be a heavy metal handle set into the ground below the water.

Can he pull it open?

With enough effort (lift with your legs, Zaphod, not your back!), it will slowly come open — quicker, as water and sediment finally shifts off of the trap door set into the bottom of the sewer. Water cascades down, but it's designed to flow around the small latched metal box set into the bottom of this depression. It's about six inches on all sides, and just barely illuminated by the sparks in the wall.

Is the box locked?

It is not locked, only latched.

Then he'll pick it up and look inside.

Inside the box is a hard drive and a folded piece of paper. The hard drive looks damaged, but could probably be set to rights with a bit of repair work. The paper is a little soggy, but that's all that can be seen in this dim lighting.

Is there any writing or markings on the paper?

Maybe; no amount of squinting in this light will tell.

Zaphod will tuck the hard drive under his arm and jog back toward where he fell in — is the lighting there good enough to see the paper?

It is, just barely. It looks like a love letter, written to someone being left behind. It mentions the hard drive, and writes that the recipient "might find this useful". It isn't very long or descriptive, and the rest of it is sentimental poetry. It's signed "your enduring love-flame forever."

It's beautiful. He's so touched. He stuffs it into a pocket and will stand there and shout until someone up above hears him and dangles down a rope for him, or something.

Good luck, Zaphod. If you have no further questions, then please link an example of this information being dispersed or otherwise used within a week of today!

(no subject)

thebigzee - 2018-12-27 00:53 (UTC) - Expand