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forbarrayar_ooc2017-03-27 11:05 pm
barrayarmods) wrote in forbarrayar_ooc2017-03-27 11:05 pm
[ april i ooc info/signups ]
SIGNUPS ARE NOW CLOSED
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: I've noticed that the same groups of people tend to get to the plot-heavy missions (PVP, mystery plot, etc) because they're usually the first ones to see the signup posts. In the interest of letting more people have a shot at these kinds of missions, if you signed up for a PVP or Mystery Plot mission this month, please consider signing up for something else for April I; if you REALLY want to sign up for one of those missions this month, then I ask that you wait a day to give everyone a shot at seeing the post before signing up.
And a note on double signups -- while there's never been any formal policy on this, I'd like to ask that before you sign up for more than one mission (missions with unlimited signups do not count towards this), please wait a day to give others a chance to sign up. Sometimes not all players sign up for things and there are spots left over, in which case I'll announce them, but I try to make it so that there are enough spaces in missions with limited signups for everybody on each side.
Signups will close at midnight PST on March 30th (aka whatever is in my inbox when I wake up on the 31st) so that I have a day to write up the results and the log.
Before the plot rundown, please check out the new loyalty perks! I have also added a collapsible navigation menu for a quick look at what perks are available.
New Perks: Villagers' Trust II (Barrayar), Gene Therapy (Cetaganda)
For the record, you guys can absolutely take perks before signing up for a mission (provided you have the LP). If there happens to be a perk-related mission you want in on, you can slide right on under the wire there.
March was another rough time, but our exotics and outsiders -- or, as Micah prefers to call them, extrauniversals -- are quickly learning that there's no such thing as an easy time on Barrayar. A devastating flu epidemic swept through Vorkosigan's District, resulting in the deaths of many villagers and Barrayaran soldiers, but no one was hit as hard by it as the Cetagandan base. It wiped out more than 3,000 personnel, with thousands more still in recovery. Piotr's camp isn't at its all-time best, either, but they're recouping and getting back on their feet much more quickly.
Things are finally easing up, at least weather-wise -- with the cold finally banished, April is even warmer than usual, although there's not quite as much rainfall as expected for this time of year. With food, shelter from cold, and illness no longer pressing issues, the Barrayarans can turn their focus back to the war effort in full, and the villagers can return to their lives.
barrayar
The locals are celebrating the much-welcome coming of spring, and it is a warm one. Pleasant mountain breezes carry the far-off scent of the ocean, and bit by bit, the Barrayaran flora is beginning to bloom. Wildflowers spring up all over, adding a lively splash of color to the camp and village. While the villagers aren't exactly hosting a festival, the entire village is pitching in to sow the spring crops, delayed by the cold freeze. But with their numbers so thinned -- a quarter of the village's population lost to the epidemic -- they could use as many extra hands as they can get. The villagers will happily put up anyone who helps out in their homes should they stay a night or two -- it is a half a day's hike between the village and the camp, after all. While it isn't quite summer yet, the village children are already starting to splash around near the waterfall, inviting others by way of playfully splashing water on them as they pass by.
But morale is on the rise, steady and surely. People are feeling good, enjoying the sun and warmth, a relief and a blessing after the weeks of cold and near-starvation. And so the soldiers do what Barrayarans always do when they're in good spirits: they drink. Evenings spent around bonfires playing cards or chest, drinking wine and mead, and they're a lot friendlier to the outsiders these days. Even the new ones have proven themselves with all the aid they gave during the epidemic, so if you're invited over for a drink and a game with the soldiers, don't be too surprised.
After the Cetagandans' successful capture of Micah, it becomes increasingly clear that if they want to make any headway in this war, they need to recapture Vorkosigan Vashnoi. They have plenty of supporters in the city, not to mention several important contacts. They have a window of opportunity to strike while the Cetagandans are still weak. But they don't have a chance of successfully taking hold of the city without the rest of Piotr's army. About a month before the first outsiders arrived, the location of Piotr's previous camp was discovered by the Cetagandans, and the army split in two to return to fallback locations. The plan was always to rendezvous as soon as possible and reunite the army, but Piotr hasn't heard from them, and with the string of crises, he hasn't had time to look for them. But now that they're recovering, he's sending scouts out to search the mountains for the rest of the army.
They're also low on weapons and equipment, which means Piotr is sending several parties back to Vorkosigan Vashnoi to stock up. Piotr and Ezar have contacts in the city, valuable allies who are part of the underground civilian resistance. They can provide the goods -- but one of the teams will be responsible for making sure the weapons are smuggled safely out of the city with the assistance of other members of the civilian resistance.
With Micah in Cetagandan hands, they are no doubt making progress on the Star Gate Project. Piotr, however, is convinced of Micah's sympathies, and their work could still be to their benefit -- or at least, to the outsiders'. And if nothing else, Micah would be the ideal candidate for sabotage should it come down to it. But for now, Piotr is interested in keeping Micah alive. Micah is a personal friend of Prince Xav's as well as a sympathizer, and their care was entrusted to Piotr, a matter of honor. So for now, his orders to his informants are merely to keep a close eye on Micah and their activities, even befriend them, but not to let slip their true sympathies to Barrayar.
cetaganda
The base feels unusually dreary in the wake of the epidemic, and with thousands of dead, it's impossible to have a service funeral for each of them individually. And so dozens of collective funerals are held, each of them solemn and steeped in ornate ceremony. The Cetagandans take their dead as seriously as anybody, and no nonsense will be permitted during the funerals.
Zahal is furious at Piotr's successful biowarfare attack on his base, however accidental. It's devastated his ranks, and while they still outnumber the Barrayarans about forty to one, it's still a serious blow. The ghem-General decides that they need to force a forfeit, and they'll have to do it as quickly as possible, before Vorkosigan can strike them while they're down. The Cetagandan patrols double down and start swarming the mountains in search of the guerrilla camp.
The Star Gate Project is well underway with Micah on board, who is cooperating for the time being, though not happily. Most of their waking hours seem to be spent in the lab, though they're around the mess at mealtimes. They are certainly interested in the work -- it's totally unprecedented -- but their true sympathies lie with Barrayar, and they are entirely uncomfortable working for the Cetagandans. They're currently focusing their research efforts on possible power supplies and solving the problem of what, exactly, is getting people from the wormhole to the planet surface. To speed things along in the lab, the Cetagandans are asking for more help with their research -- anyone with any relevant knowledge is highly encouraged to step forward.
The Handmaiden of the Star Crèche is seen about the base, for certain definitions of seen -- she travels exclusive in an opaque luminescent force bubble, often escorted by one or two of her ba servitors. At the beginning of the month, Haut Sei announces the gene therapy trials they're conducting: if you're one of the exotics who lost genetically inherited powers, or were made human from some other type of being entirely, you are invited to participate in a new, experimental kind of gene therapy. Why participate? Well, they're aiming to restore any lost powers you might have had, although there's no guarantee of success, and such an experimental treatment does, of course, come with risks. But what's a little reward without risk?
missions
Each individual mission/plot opportunity is determined by signups and RNG, and most of them will net you some LP. If you haven't seen it yet, here's the post explaining the RNG system I use for the game. (Don't worry, all the dice-rolling is my work, you guys only need to sign up!) Scene-setting starters will be put up on the event log for each mission, and unless it's specifically an NPC-based thread, we'll only toss NPC tags into mission threads on request.
Mission signups are in the comments below. Signing up for any of these missions (or any missions ever) is OPTIONAL. You can have your character hang back at the camp if you don't feel like participating in a plot mission, so don't feel obligated. Signups close March 30th at midnight PST (read: until I wake up in the morning on the 31st), assuming they don't fill up before then, so that I have a day to write up the results.
MISSIONS: BARRAYAR
1) Harvest Moon +1 LP
SKILLS: AGRICULTURE, PHYSICAL
After the flu epidemic and harsh winter, the villagers are getting a late start on planting their spring crops. Having lost as many to illness as they did, there aren't quite enough hands to go around, and they'll take all the help they can get. So roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty like the rest of them. You might even enjoy the experience. Signups are unlimited.
1. Beth Greene
2. Agent Carolina
3. Agent Washington
4. Ratchet
5. Lucy Preston
2) Hunting 2: Hunt Harder +1 LP
SKILLS: HUNTING, WILDERNESS
The camp's food stock could still be better, so now that the small game that inhabit the area are emerging for spring, now's an excellent time to do some hunting. Hopefully it goes better than the last time Piotr sent hunting parties. Signups are unlimited.
1. Duv Galeni
2. Beth Greene
3. Agent York
4. William
5. Miles Vorkosigan
6. Agent Washington
7. Daryl Dixon
3) Scouting: Resistance +2 LP
SKILLS: STEALTH, WILDERNESS
The months since Piotr's army had to split and go to ground have been full of nothing but setbacks, not to mention the disruptive arrival of the outsiders. The General badly needs more men, and his forces are out in the mountains somewhere. You'll likely spend days in the mountains scouting, camping out a few nights to cover more ground, but it's not so bad now that it's warm out. There is room for up to four outsiders on this mission.
1. Beth Greene
2. Agent Washington
3. William
4. Ratchet
4) Resources: Weapons & Equipment +2 LP
SKILLS: STEALTH, NEGOTIATION
Piotr's army is badly in need of new weapons and equipment if they're going to mount any kind of assault on the Cetagandans. Parties will be sent to sneak into occupied Vorkosigan Vashnoi to meet with specific contacts of Piotr and Ezar's, who will supply them with what they need. Another party will be making contact with allies within the city who can help them smuggle the weapons out. There is room for up to six outsiders on this mission.
1. Lakshmi Bai
2. Agent York
3. Duv Galeni
4. Lucy Preston
5. Miles Vorkosigan
6. Agent Washington
5) MYSTERY PLOT! +3 LP
SKILLS: COMBAT, PHYSICAL
This is an RNG-based grab-bag mission – you don't know exactly what it'll be or how it will wind up affecting your character, but it will be exciting and plot-important! Up to four outsiders can participate, but we'll need you to sign this waiver surrendering your fate to the RNG gods.
1. Agent Carolina
2. Lavernius Tucker
3. Miles Vorkosigan
4. Agent Maine
MISSIONS: CETAGANDA
1) Culinary Garden +1 LP
SKILLS: COOKING
With so many dead and many more still in recovery, the Cetagandans are short on hands pretty much everywhere. But no matter what happens, the meal must march on, and so any extra hands in the kitchen would be greatly appreciated. Signups are unlimited.
1. Byerly Vorrutyer
2. Natasha Romanoff
3. Deanna Troi
4. Symmetra
5. Vex'ahlia
6. Jasper
2) Eavesdropping +2 LP
SKILLS: STEALTH
The intrigue is only rising more and more with each strange event and quiet whisper, and some of what you've heard might have left you with even more questions. But these days, you don't even necessarily need to sneak around at night -- with the Handmaiden's presence making waves on the base, you never know when you might overhear something interesting. There is room for up to six exotics on this mission.
1. Kurt Ambrose
2. Symmetra
3. Byerly Vorrutyer
4. Lapis Lazuli
5. Jasper
6. Pearl
3) Research: Specs & Power Supply +3 LP
SKILLS: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS
Figuring out a suitable power supply for the Star Gate as well as its overall design are two major concerns right now. Versions of schematics have been repeatedly scrapped, but with how close Pearl and Symmetra are to completing the hard-light device, they need to put together a solid set of schematics. Up to two exotics may participate in this mission.
1. Jasper
2. Whirl
4) Research: Star Gate +3 LP
SKILLS: ASTROPHYSICS, MATHEMATICS
The primary problem Micah is working on concerns why and how people are appearing on the planet surface instead of the local space immediate to the wormhole. They have a theory that the wormhole must somehow be projecting an extended Necklin field, but that can't be all. Micah may be a genius, but they need a few extra brains in the lab. Up to two exotics may participate in this mission.
1. Deanna Troi
2.
5) MYSTERY PLOT! +2 LP
SKILLS: COMBAT, PHYSICAL
This is an RNG-based grab-bag mission – you don't know exactly what it'll be or how it will wind up affecting your character, but it will be exciting and plot-important! Up to two exotics can participate, but we'll need you to sign this waiver surrendering your fate to the RNG gods.
1. Tarn
2. Natasha Romanoff
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