AUGUST INFOPOST

[vestigemods]

AUGUST INFOPOST

► HELLO, VESTIGE!

Sup, horrorfiends. 🔪 We've finished our first month in Vestige, and I don't know about you but I've had a pretty good time. It's time for our second monthly infopost - but first, a word from our sponsors!

(Me, I'm the sponsors.)


THINGS I LEARNED FROM JULY


So this is all kind of experimental, which means I'm learning what does/doesn't work and what I can/can't do as I go. And since I have no mod team to bounce shit off of, y'all get to be the ones who hear about the Shit I Learn Along The Way (which isn't too bad a deal, since it's relevant to you). Some of this, folks on the Discord server have already heard a bit about since y'all are my guinea pigs. But!


EVENT LOGS
Starting in August, I'll be getting event logs up even earlier than the 24-48 hour window I initially planned to aim for. I'm honestly thinking like a week early, or something like that. This stems from the observation that we (as a game) don't tend to do things as they ICly happen, we do them as we OOCly have time/bandwidth to do them, so the concrete concept of time and chronology (and also, I guess, the element of ✨suspense✨) that a lot of games adhere to isn't really useful or relevant here.


LOGS IN GENERAL
So I noticed that while we seem to have a decent amount of network activity, folks hesitate to post their own individual logs. Instead, we've been getting posts on the intro log even after it was technically 'over' (the notes at the bottom specified that it lasted until the event started, ish), which makes me wonder if the current RP environment (at least in Vestige?) is one which prefers catch-alls over individual logs in general. My thoughts on this are as follows:

I wouldn't mind tossing up a mingle log for each month. I already planned for an additional log in late July/early September to mark the opening of a new section of the containment zone, BUT that log would be self-contained in a single location, not open for the entirety of the containment zone at large.

What I don't want to do is write up to three whole ass logs in a given month, my prevailing fatigue draws the line - but if folks would rather have a place to shove top-levels for generally out and around throughout the month rather than making their own logs, I wouldn't mind doing a very simple low-effort 1-2 paragraph 'catch-all' dump for that.

I'm polling for opinions in this top-level! Please consider tossing your feedback in as a comment there.


INVESTIGATIVE SUBPLOTS
'I'm too tired for metaplot,' she said. 'All we really want is good old-fashioned horror, anyway!' (Narrator: And thus, Trace played herself.)

While I'm still not serving up any actual metaplot just yet - which is to say, no escape plot, no mod-provided slow-burn effort to subvert the Technicians, probably no exploration of the world outside of the containment zone because that is still Beyond Me - I've come to realize that I'm also incapable of running a game without some sort of Intrigue under the hood. Over the next few months, at least a couple of investigative opportunities will crop up within the Containment Zone. Situations in which a character's choice to poke around further might uncover some sort of helpful Easter Egg, a new location, etc.

None of these will be mandatory, though some will have IC rewards or the ability to impact the Containment Zone at large. It'll be pretty obvious when one pops up, subtlety is not my strong suit.

ONGOING PLAYER PLOTS


Though most of the folks here in the Containment Zone are still new and getting their footing, a few player-plots of note have already cropped up!


MARKING THE BARRIER
Early in July (at the suggestion of Lalli Hotakainen), Graham Casner, Geralt of Rivia, and Luke Crain have marked the trees along the barrier with white and yellow spray-painted X-marks to indicate as accurately as possible where it is and isn't safe to travel. For more details, feel free to inquire with any of the respective players!

TAKING A CENSUS
Just before everything went event-crazy last month, Graham Casner attempted to take a census of who all is here + what useful skills they have. Word of Lynn says that not only is he making an actual list based on the responses, but he plans to make an effort to keep the list as thorough and up-to-date as possible, and to consult that list whenever a situation arises in which a given skill might be needed.

If you want to get your character involved in networking - possibly even get them on a short-list to be contacted if their skills are needed - feel free to hop in on that post regardless of how late you are.

A STUDY OF FEAR
And now for the bad news, at least for our lovely cast of characters. After a brief exchange with an unnamed Technician, Jonathan Crane has received the supplies and clearance to conduct an observational study of his fellow captives' fear responses. He will be supplied video/audio footage of specific characters' fear-based experiences (whether mild, moderate, or severe), and will provide a report of his conclusions to the Technicians with the ultimate goal of assisting them in figuring out how best to invoke fear in those characters.

This study is opt-in, and unless you voluntarily do so, Crane will receive zero footage or information about your character - nor will he be personally attempting to interact with/scare individuals as part of this player plot.

If you'd like to volunteer your character for this study, check out the fear study permissions post on Crane's journal! Opt into the study by linking threads in which your character experienced some form of fear in the relevant month's top-level. While there are no immediate benefits to doing so, some future fear-related events/incidents will likely include a 'characters who participated in Crane's fear study may also experience X and Y' clause resulting from Crane's reports.

Alright, that's it for the meaty OOC bits - time for the rest of the regularly-scheduled infopost!


ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VARYING IMPORTANCE



• We have a new Test Drive Meme, this one set in a spooky hospital! (A spooky hospital in a dream - see the mod notes at the bottom of the TDM for info on how this fits into the continuity of Vestige as a whole.) Spread the word to any friends you may want to invite, and go tag the folks who've already top-leveled! There's no such thing as 'late', this TDM should be good for at least two months.
  
• We'll be getting a Containment Zone expansion at either the end of this month or the beginning of September, variable based on my availability to work on it. This will expand the IC setting a decent chunk and give characters more to explore and inhabit. This will also (probably, hopefully) include Vestige's first map! So that's fun.
  
• Based on a vote on Discord, our first CR Meme will accompany the unveiling of the new section of Containment Zone! This will also include a handwaved CR element, so that those who have busy schedules/had a fucky July don't miss out on all the neato CR we've all been building so far.
  
• I really am going to get those fun pages I mentioned in July up this month. I got kind of swept away in the fun of actually having a horror game to play in again, whoops.




AUGUST IN VESTIGE


A GIFT!


Sometime in the first week of August, your character will wake up to find three things on their kitchen table, or the floor of their shack, or basically somewhere in the immediate vicinity in which they're living.

First, a card! The front looks as such, and it reads: Congratulations! You made it through the first round of terrible fucked-up shit here in the Containment Zone. (Trivia: Did you know that it used to be called the 'killing floor'? The more you know!) Have a complimentary cake and Party Pack on us.

True to their word, there's also a cake! But not just any cake: One of these cakes. It can be relevant to the character, or it can be totally unrelated. Pick a disaster, any disaster. As a general rule, they're hideous but delicious, although for some you might have to scrape off some sketchy frosting to reach the delicious part.

And, of course, the Party Pack. The box is totally lying, there are neither tacos nor bells inside. Open the box and you'll find:


• Four (4) cone-shaped party hats. These aren't just hats, though. They're fleshy hats. No, literally, they're made of flesh. And if you aim them at one another, they interact like Furbies! Except Furbies don't scream in autotune to Happy Birthday, your favorite Christmas carols, and Elvis's greatest hits. So... that's a thing.
  
• Four (4) party blowers. They... seem pretty much harmless?? Is that even a thing here? NOT IF YOU'RE THAT GUY. You know the one - the douchebag who takes all of the party blowers and does this shit. Y'know what happens to That Guy? That Guy starts blowing on his trifecta of orchestral douchebaggery and he literally just can't stop. It sucks the air straight out of his lungs until he passes out on the floor or someone else pulls the blowers out of his mouth for him. Don't worry, it stops once he's passed out on the floor, but does that sound like fun to you? No, it doesn't. So don't be That Guy.
  
• Four (4) slap bracelets. Very few of them are just boring iridescent colors - in fact, each pack's different. Some have nonsense words. Some have kooky prints. Some have offensively-accurate sick burns. Some have cartoon (or non-cartoon) genitalia. Some have... advertisements to adult websites that don't even exist in this dimension, who even knows. That's not the point. The point is that the second that bracelet's on your wrist, you are suddenly irresistibly inclined to party. It doesn't even have to be 'wild crazy rave' party either, although that is 100% an option. Even just 'relax for once and enjoy a piece of cake' is acceptable partying. This lasts for anywhere between two hours and ten hours, and then it wears off and you're just a loser in a slap bracelet.

█ A BRIEF FAQ


Q. Are the Technicians high or something??
A. Yes.

Q. Wait, does everyone get their own Party Pack?
A. Yes and no. The Technicians didn't really fuck around with counting - in some cabins, everyone gets their own. In some, they dished out two or three Party Packs for the household. Individuals who live alone tend to end up with their own.

Q. BUT I DON'T WANT TO PARTY.
A. Just shut up and put on your flesh hats.


And for the record: Yes, all of these items are entirely combustible.


WEATHER.


It's still fucking hot. Even hotter than July, with an average peak of 85°-90°F with the occasional spike even higher still.

We've entered into 'potential heatstroke (if you're stupid and stay outside in it)' weather, with the gas station containing the only surefire AC unit in the entire Containment Zone - though many of the cabins have old semi-functional (and probably smelly) window units somewhere in the basement that should work in a pinch. At this point, even the shade fails to offer quite the relief you might hope for, and the lake... well, it's refreshing while it lasts. See the 'EVENT BUILD-UP' drop-down for more on the lake.


WILDLIFE.


The animals seem a bit agitated this month. The heat affects even our woodland critters, and their increased need to hydrate drives them to the lakeside even during the daylight, or when humans are nearby. Those who get too close will find that the animals continue to urgently drink right up until the last possible moment, then scramble haphazardly (and possibly violently) back toward their forest refuge.

Plant life also seems to be struggling from the heat, with much of the greenery left out of the shade browning visibly as the days go by. The poison ivy of last month has disappeared, now that Rhys took a faceful and settled the bet. The blackberries(?), however, are still alive and kicking in the shade of the cabins.


RESOURCES.


This month again is mostly standard 'backwater woodlands gas station' fare at the gas station, heavy on nonperishables with a decent supply of non-food items (first aid supplies, batteries and flashlights, condoms, etc). Items of particular or unusual interest:


• Perhaps the best thing on offer this month is an influx of clothing in varying shapes and sizes, mostly modern-styled and plain (cotton shirts with no words, etc). Long sleeves and short sleeves and hoodies, pants and shorts and sweats, undergarments of varying shapes. It's like they raided an Old Navy and grabbed the plainest shit they could find.
  
• Ice. So much ice. Ice cream is now limited to one single small freezer, with the rest of the ice cream freezers now filled with bags upon bags of cubed ice. What? It's no fun if everyone dies of heat stroke.
  
• Severely overpowered bug zappers. These don't look like much, but they could functionally taser a grown man. Whatever is in their battery compartment will forever be a mystery, since that shit's melted shut. (These things will fizzle out after about 15-20 uses on humans or human-sized entities. Then all you have is a glorified tennis racket.)
  
• By special request from Brooklyn, there's a rack full of assless chaps in various sturdy materials for your viewing pleasure. (Or for your wearing pleasure and others' viewing pleasure.)


ANOMALIES.


Y'all remember the somewhat concerning tree from last month? The one sitting at the far end of the field across the street from the gas station, at least 200 yards past the barrier? It's closer now, about 150 yards out. The figures inhabiting it haven't moved beyond shifting slightly in place, and continue to watch passersby from their perch. Characters who look at them for more than a passing glance will feel either briefly disassociative (mildly distant from yourself, here, in the present) or a feeling of deja-vu. This goes away once your character averts their eyes.

Additionally, cabin-dwellers with porches will find that semi-alarming hands begin to reach up through the cracks anytime they approach or step onto the porch. This is especially prevalent if you happen to have food or water on your person... almost as if they're asking you to share. Further investigation reveals that heat has driven a godawful quantity of woodland raccoons to seek shelter (and handouts) under the cabin porches, but no attempts to chase them away prove successful for more than a day.



EVENT BUILD-UP


Starting on August 7th, the water level of the lake begins to drop at a rate of 3-4 inches per day. It could be the heat... but doesn't that seem a little quick for water to evaporate, even given the weather? This continues for a week until August 14th, at which point this month's event takes over!

I'm aiming to have the event infopost up on the 6th - 7th and the event log up on the 9th - 10th. The IC event dates are arguably from the 17th - 22nd. This is a multi-stage event focused on working together and problem-solving, but all of the stages take place in a fairly short IC time-frame so I'm trying to offer as much padding as possible in order to get shit plotted.

If you have any questions, toss them into the top-level below! Hope you enjoy this month in our fun horror adventure!