Plotting: Fierce Allies

[madcuriosity]

HELLO ASGARD!

Jax here! So, after fine-tuning things with the mods, I'd like to present a very big game-changer-esque plot for players to get involved in with Asgard!

What is it?

DRAGONS

Because everything is made better with dragons! Even Ragnarok!



So before we begin, a MAJOR factor about this plot: THIS IS A VERY LONG TERM PLOT.

This plot has two parts.

The first part of the plot, the MOST action, would take place in March/early April. However, the second part of the plot will not see actual results for a MINIMUM of three IC months and would be around August/September in real time for the eventual fruition.

The actions done by muses will have some serious results for power in Asgard LATER. With all that said, on to the details!

Very soon, Alice will be making a post about an idea she's been studying, practicing, and talking to Loki with about. The idea would be to gather as many Level 3 Drawn to Life-powered muses to draw Asgard dragons! (I'll get to the details on that in just a bit).

These dragons will be sent out to seek out the actual dragons of Asgard. Why do they need dragons to find dragons? Well this is because of how the real dragons in Yggdrasil work. As the plot doc tells us, there are very few left in the world and they are incredibly solitary creatures. They don't live together and they don't mate for life; in fact, they're only in the presence of other dragons when they're mating and raising their kid, which is about ten years before they all go their separate ways. They're highly intelligent creatures and nearly all of them don't care for Ragnarok in any way. Surt and Thiazi bribed one into siding with them in the interest of power, and one was actually loyal to Surt, but both are dead now and they were in the vast minority for throwing their chips into either side of the war. This means that not only will it be extremely difficult to find them - since no one knows where they are, likely not even each other - but it also means that convincing them to join any war efforts will be possibly even more difficult.

This is why they need their own versions of the dragons for 1. Endurance for the long trip and surviving what Yggdrasil might do as it's dying 2. Look in the places the Travelers themselves cannot get to and 3. So that they can actually approach the real dragons in question.

This is why it will take so long for the plot to see results.

But wait! There is success!

They will, however, eventually respond to the Travelers' call to action! Two or three real dragons will visit Asgard in August/September, and the Travelers will be able to make their bid for their alliance then.

Because of how far in the future this is, (and to retain at least some element of surprise in the plot) the specifics on how this might happen will not be disclosed (and don't ask me, I don't know either), but it will leave room for action and discussion amongst the Travelers and NPCs.

Having discussed this with the mods they might consider hiring people on to NPC the dragons but that is a lot of extra work that would be added onto the mod load, so if we do decide to make them interactive, in all likelihood, it would be solely for that event and they would be made fully non-playable afterwards. It all depends and we'll decide when we get there.

So now about the details on the Hand-drawn dragons. I would like to note that these are limitations stated by the mods and that if you have any questions regarding such matters, please ask them and understand this is to make things as fair as possible.

Continuing on!

First: Each Drawing Life user who participates in this can only make ONE dragon per user, this means that if they have made a dragon before this, they cannot make another, and they will not be able to make a dragon AFTER this either, so please keep this in mind going into the plot (this means Alice herself will not be able to make a dragon as she's already done so).

This is to keep a healthy limit on how many creatures that Drawing Life users can create so that we don't have a city full of hand-drawn animals when other characters can't accomplish the same level of pervasive magic.

Second: Something that's important to establish is how the drawn to life dragons themselves will work. These drawn versions of the dragons are hardly similar to Asgard's dragons beyond appearance and the ability to fly. They're basically imitations. They can look the same, but they have no relation to the real dragons themselves. They cannot be sentient in the way that real dragons are, and will have the equivalent intelligence of a dog or similarly domesticated animal (just incredibly BIGGER and much more deadly). They cannot breathe fire nor have any other magical abilities beyond the flight granted by their wings. These things apply to all animals that are drawn to life for the same reasons they apply to runes and potions; they can't give new magical abilities or replicate currently existing abilities. This is, again, in the interest of keeping things fair.

So what does that mean? Because they are only imitations, the Travelers' message to the dragons would have to be physically attached to the drawn dragons, kind of like a carrier pigeon but a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous. This quest will come with the understanding that interacting with real dragons always has the potential to be catastrophic, because they are such timeless and powerful beings and they really, honestly, don't care about the affairs of the gods, let alone a bunch of humans.

So where do people who don't have Drawing to Life powers play in? Well! A couple of places. First, drawing something so big would require TREMENDOUS amounts of energy, muses who do this could either faint from exhaustion or strain themselves in some other manner, and dragons as a whole are dangerous and a whole bunch are about to reside in Asgard for a bit. This means energy transfer and healing might be needed as well as strength, body-control, and other powers to help sort of keep the dragons in-line. Furthermore, and most importantly, the MESSAGES sent to the dragons have to be convincing.

This is where anyone can come in. Depending on how many dragons are made, they can try various forms of convincing the dragons and conversation could be had at great length on what to write and who should write it.

There can also be debate on the idea as a whole and even attempts to, if not stop it (which would have to ultimately fail), try and dissuade people from getting involved (results are of course up to you and the other muns).

THERE IS ALSO THE ASPECT OF PART TWO where muses can once again be involved by talking to the dragons THEMSELVES and that whole process.


Fast facts of the plot:

1. Alice will make a post calling everyone (but especially Level 3 Drawing Life muses) to make imitations of Asgard dragons

2. These dragons are going to have messages attached to them written by the Travelers and then sent out to every possible corner of the world to look for the real ones.

3. IC THREE MONTH WAITING PERIOD

4. SUCCESS! Real dragons show up to Asgard.

5. Endeavor to convince the dragons to side with the Travelers and Asgard in the battle.

And that's about it! There will be a sign-up here as well as a questions thread but you don't necessarily have to sign up here, it would just be nice to have a general idea of who wants to be involved. I will do my best to answer any questions and the mods will answer as well if I cannot.

Have a wonderful day!

Comments

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

[madcuriosity]

Re: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

[bythewaves]

Maglor would just like to say, ARE YOU NUTS? You can't trust a Dragon! Me, on the other hand, I this is awesome

Threadjack :-P

[fire_punk]

Maglor, are you crazy? Dragons are cool. They breathe fire!

lol

[bythewaves]

Let him tell you about the dragons he knows... starting with Glaurung maybe =p

[fire_punk]

This really needs to happen. Perhaps after the drawn dragons are made?

[bythewaves]

Heh Maglor will certainly be very reluctant to trust a dragon =p fili n kili even less so

[alternia_strength]

Equius would like to say that he just made an entirely inappropriate sound of giddy pleasure at the idea of this entire plot. You just made my day.

[realmenknitplushies]

While I can punt one L.3 drawer at the plot quite happily here: the later part worries me, as I'm going to be pretty busy September. What commitment is there going to be to do stuff at that date?

[madcuriosity]

Because of how far into the future this is, we understand that you may not be able to commit to the second part of the plot. This is perfectly fine and don't feel bad if you can't do it or even if you don't want to do it! There is absolutely no obligation to participate in both parts. You could be in part 1 but not part 2, or vice-versa since the elements of the plot itself are so different.

[asgardmods]

Also, as an addition to Jax's own comment, it's not 100% confirmed that the resolution plot will be in September. We're just aiming to have this early in Arc 5, but we don't have the entire arc mapped out yet so it really depends. It's tentative for now, so we'll keep you posted when dates are pinned down!

SIGN-UPS

[madcuriosity]

[afrozendance]

Considering Ninian's heritage and backstory (even if IC she's reluctant to fully disclose it), I can't leave her out of this. =) She's a healer too, so she'll do her best supporting everyone and patching them up.

[ka_sera_sera]

Roland's definitely going to want to be involved in this, though mostly in a supporting/planning capacity as he has energy transfer rather than drawing, and that only level 1. But, you know. He'll be there.

Re: SIGN-UPS

[alternia_strength]

Equius (Drawing Life 3) will sign up to create a Dragon, no questions asked. He's going to be giddy to the point of being creepy about stretching his limits.

Samantha (Energy Transfer 3) will volunteer to assist through Energy Transfer, boosting someone with hers and anyone else's power in order to enable the creation of one of the dragons. She's going to be hard to convince that this is a bad idea. She will also donate a selection of stamina-assisting potions for this, one to each creator at no charge, warning not to overdo it TOO hard while on them, as one can go too far.

However, she'll be kind of pointed in saying that it might be best if she not meet real dragons. There were actually five with the original sortie, though some of the others that aided the giants may have left their cause after three of them died. >.> Sam was on one of those dragon killing teams, so she suspects the creatures might know and view her poorly. (That, and she oftentimes wears a suit of their scales worked by dwarves under her clothes. It's sort of gauche to talk to Dragons while wearing the skin of their kin.)

[5thchild]

Kaworu has Healing level 3 and Ame has Damage Drain level 3 for whoever needs those powers. Both would be there because dragons yes.

Re: SIGN-UPS

[proudofwhatiam]

Evy will write convincing rhetoric in exchange for a dragon. o/

[exiling]

Dany only has Shadow Control but dragons. She'll at least make herself part of the discussion.

[therightchoice]

Jesse Turner is a Level 1 Drawing User but I think I have enough for him to boost him up to Level 2. Not sure if I have enough for Level 3 in time, but I still want Jesse to be involved somehow.

[comeonthensexy]

Eleven has level 3 Healing, John has level 3 Energy Lending. They'll happily lend their services. C:

ACTUAL BIG DRAGONS!!

[emgoldened]

Viserys would totally join in on the discussion with dragons, no questions asked. He knows all about them back home or the dead ones, he knows about how the dead ones work and Will Graham (infomodder) is a healer and I'm hoping to bump him up to level 2 soon so he would be more than cool with helping out those who draw the dragons and use up their energy, yes!

[dishonouring]

you can't have the eggs.

[infomodder]

check yourself before you wreck

oh

nvm carry on

[dishonouring]

[SAD BEAR NOISES]

[sexyoldgirl]

Both of mine will get involved with this. The TARDIS has level 2 Energy Transfer so she can supply energy to create the dragons. And Jamie may not have any powers to help but he will write a letter.

[littlesurvivor]

Clementine has healing! Currently still just level two but it will help at least. Not sure if Charm might work to keep the dragons somewhat tame either but if so I could possibly offer Elsa.

[asgardmods]

Unfortunately, the dragons themselves are a different sort of magic, and so the Traveller's powers won't really be able to work on them. Things like Body Control, Charm, Bardic Influence, etc. Think of it like trying to break into a very very secure vault; their minds can't be influenced by this minuscule amount of magic. They are still welcome to try, however!

[littlesurvivor]

I did wonder if they might be unaffected, so thanks for confirming that! In that case Elsa could always use Charm to calm the people down when the dragons appear and all? In case anyone freaks out about it, I mean.

[asgardmods]

Absolutely, yes! There's generally reason to panic any time a dragon is nearby, so without giving any potential plot bunnies away, it is very possible the city might need some calming agents in the months to come. :]

[true_renaissance_man]

I do have one level three drawing life character, though Leonardo might need a little convincing to see this as a good idea. He has brought a living thing to life once before but he is touch reluctant to use his power to create animals.

[asgardmods]

[true_renaissance_man]

[realmenknitplushies]

Level 3 drawing life here... Just make sure he doesn't start making the damn thing cute. However, I may need to backtag things (convention dates ahaha).

Re: SIGN-UPS

[shesearches]

Jane's powers are low-level and unlikely to help of themselves, BUT if we have people with energy transfer helping, we need people to transfer the energy FROM, right? So she'd be happy to do that/help with the letters/help attach the letters when the time comes.

[tradire]

He's pretty good with words and persuasion (so he likes to think), so I'd love to get in on that level. Unless the telepathy thing can also come into play here?

[in_loveless_memory]

Unfortunately the dragons won't be affected by telepathy since they themselves are not capable of actual thought besides basic instincts and instructions, so at most Loki would get thoughts like "little people" or "want to eat" at best.

[tradire]

LOL well. He can still make play at being diplomatic to have them not eat the little people....

[madcuriosity]

That's perfectly fine!

[asgardmods]

Not really a correction so much as an addendum to Jax's response - the drawn-to-life dragons are not capable of higher thought, and so their thought processes would reflect this. The real Asgardian dragons, on the other hand, are highly intelligent creatures that carry all the knowledge of their time in Yggdrasil.

On the same note, though, as I told Caprica over here, mind-breaky magic doesn't work on them. They're older than the magic the Travellers use, it'd be like poking a steel wall with a 14 gauge needle. Not gonna get you far.

That said, if Loki feels like pissing off a handful of timeless dragons, he can absolutely try! He can also use it to sway some natives / Travellers as well if the need arises. There's a ton of different ways to get involved on this one!

[tradire]

Yeah I didn't think so, but couldn't hurt to ask either!

He... probably wouldn't be so into pissing them off (self-preservation, hello), but would probably make a good play at diplomacy just to feel them out and see how they responded (since I think he'd sort of be interested in dragons as a whole - super magic beasts and all).

Either way, just very interested in the overall plot because dragons.

Re: SIGN-UPS

[brainiest]

Hermione would like to sign up to help Alice, look after her and help convince Dragons :3 She has experience with dragons of her world too~

[dragonspeak]

Count Merlin in for convincing them!

Level Three Healing, of course

[sheloves]

Level Three Healer, Ril Sorrin, definitely ready ready.

Re: SIGN-UPS

[izanyagi]

Sigyn Growth here. While he can't do anything about making the drawings, he can make presents for the dragons as a sort of peace offering.

Besides, he loves creatures like dragons just like his animes wait

Re: SIGN-UPS

[fire_punk]

Kevin has Body Manipulation. It's only level 1 yet and I know it won't help with the real dragons but he'll want to at least try to help somehow. Perhaps with controlling the drawn dragons.

[madcuriosity]

To my knowledge, since he's only a level 1, he won't be able to control the dragons, drawn or real. But he can still help, certainly!