pinesmods: (a crow.)
[personal profile] pinesmods
The heavy cloud cover that has hung over the town since the lights came back is growing heavier, and thunder can be heard overhead. People around town will comment on the funny weather, and the local radio will even report on the "hanging storm" as they call it, jokingly taking bets on how long people think it will stick around. Don't get too comfortable.

Starting September 28th, the clouds will finally break, covering the town in a heavy rain that lasts day and night. Characters will notice figures in the rainfall, though with the clouds and the hard weather it will be difficult to make them out. They seem to be approaching from a few yards away, but they won't make any noise. If characters pursue them, they will always remain at a distance, although they will respond to those that call out to them and seem to beckon them closer. For characters who go inside, the figures will remain on the streets or lawns, looking toward windows. They will only target visiting characters, and the locals won't notice anything strange about the weather aside from the fact it won't let up. But, hey, no need to get excited. You think that's bad, just wait until the snow hits. :) Animals in town, however, will shun the outsiders. Cats will hiss and dogs will growl whenever someone passes by, and crows will watch them from a safe, high perch, gossiping quietly in groups of two or three.

On September 30th, characters will be able to make out the shadows approaching through the rain. Characters will find themselves facing old friends, enemies, and victims they failed to help, now speaking loud and clear as they shout accusations and plead for help that they never received. They will appear badly injured or suffering, maybe from recognizable events or from being forced to wander in the freezing rain for days. The ghosts will attempt to drag the characters they know into the storm with them and can physically attack characters, as well as be seen by other outsiders. Again, the townsfolk will go unmolested and in general not acknowledge anything strange. However, the spirits will be trying to break into buildings and drag their victims outside--It's a particularly bad storm, it seems.

Players may choose to have their characters flee or fight the phantoms. With combined effort, they might even kill them, in theory, even though they are already technically dead. For people who do want to try killing the rain people, there will be a sign up comment below. For the sake of the event, sign ups will be necessary to receive feedback on their attempts. An IC log will be going up on September 30th, in tandem with the test drive. Please use this post to plot together or ask questions regarding the event!
pinesmods: (Default)
[personal profile] pinesmods
The town continues to be overrun by mysterious animals, and without any real means to keep them in check, the police are at their wits end. Authorities are advising everyone to remain indoors while they come up with a plan--unfortunately, those authorities seem pretty clueless. Out of desperation some of the townsfolk are catching on that light helps, but these are normal civilians and they don't stand a chance against invading monsters.

Meanwhile, some progress is being made by the outsiders. Player characters are starting to work on strongholds, and with the creatures getting more aggressive, this is the time to practice that teamwork. Leave questions concerning the event and new information in a comment on the questions thread below, and feel free to use this post to plot OOCly with new developments.

Rick Schoenbrun has a supply run log up in the Town Square and there is a general event log open here as well, available for any scenario players want to use it for.

Current projects:

The Motel. Hank Pym is working on keeping the lights on at the motel, which can provide shelter and a good place to start stockpiling some weapons or get groups together.

Rose Run. The power is still dead at the old prison, but large bonfires are enough to deter attacks, and the solid concrete floors allow for this. Bellamy and Clarke have been doing a lot of outside wandering and this is a potential site if enough light can be brought in.

All-Mart. Tony's working on maintaining power here, hopefully to keep supplies going for a while. Keeping the power on is an ongoing thing that is only so reliable, but it might help for necessities.

On the other hand, going out into darkness at all now will result in an immediate attack. Large packs of the monsters are roaming everywhere, so at least having a flashlight to chase them back is essential. There is no moon and it remains pitch black at all hours with no sign of improvement.

Additional notes:
A few points for the players of specific characters. This information is ICly only available to the noted characters until they decide to share it with others.

Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin. Whether they stay or not, their visit to Rose Run reveals a notable increase in the monster population. Even with attacks occurring throughout town, the number of monsters in and around the prison is exceptionally high. More information will be available if characters decide to investigate.

Rick Schoenbrun. Interviews and general rumor circulating as things get worse have kicked up some noteworthy points. The number of monsters does appear to lessen as you get to the edge of town. Attacks around the diner, the police station, and the new housing development to the north by the Wilderness seem less frequent and severe. Perhaps because of the stronger street lights and police force, perhaps not. Chet Horne, a young, local fix-it man, mentions to Rick that it's been one thing after another. First all the trouble with rats nesting in everyone's basements and then the wiring. Now these wild dogs. They can't seem to catch a break.

Carol Danvers. An overhead survey shows that the darkness seems to end a few miles out of town on all sides. Reaching that line isn't possible as it extends beyond town boundaries and for some reason will always seem too far to get to, but it is visible as she nears the edge of the perimeter.
pinesmods: (Default)
[personal profile] pinesmods
The darkness is closing in and electricity is becoming nearly impossible to maintain. Even the street lights go on and off sporadically, and buildings are having complete blackouts as the wiring is chewed through by the infestation of creatures. Animals are going missing. Some claim even people, but that will be hard to confirm. Characters with electrical skill will be able to repair the ruined wiring with parts from the All-Mart or scavenged around town, but they'll need to maintain a source of light to do it. Hopefully someone has a torch and lots of batteries.

Whatever is blocking out the sun has nearly shut out all the sunlight in town. The locals have different theories they might have heard from various sources, from astrological events to religious explanations, but no one has any clear solution set. The best thing to do is try to restore power to the buildings or see if they can find information on the lack of light. How they go about it depends on what players decide.

Why should they work together? Because the creatures are hungry and they're figuring out the town is full of prey. Starting now, the infestation will become aggressive, attacking anyone they find in the dark. They can still be driven off by light and even killed by weapons, but their numbers have increased to packs lurking in every darkened space. Tomorrow, July 18th, a wave of hundreds of the creatures will run rampant through town, attacking civilians and outsiders alike, leaving casualties wherever they go. Characters can choose to aid the victims in town or defend themselves, but light is going to be dependent entirely on what they can produce themselves or find. A log will go up today for the event even though the blackout begins tomorrow. There will be a thread for before the lights go out completely and one for the attack wave during the blackout. After the end of the day tomorrow (midnight EST -5:00), the blackout will continue in town until further notice.

Players can plot here and ask questions as needed!
pinesmods: (a crow.)
[personal profile] pinesmods
Moving in is always hard. All of the new visitors to Great Pines might be feeling out of place, but thankfully you have each other. And getting to know your new neighbors would probably be a good idea. Effective immediately , characters will start noticing strange noises whenever they are in or near a dark place. Small, scratching noises in the walls or outside wherever there is overgrowth. Dark corners, alleys, under vehicles or in the trees—if light doesn't reach that area, the noises will be there. And, for those who are perceptive (or paranoid), the noises seem to be following people around.

The townsfolk don't seem to notice anything out of place. Todd Horne is getting more work fixing wires and setting traps. People say that there seems to be a bit of pest problem lately. Chewed wires and scurrying in the basements or attics. That's what you get from a warm winter, after all. The local wildlife, however, seem to be scarcer lately. Birds stick to light posts and tree tops, and even the neighborhood dogs are on edge. The wild pack that lives in the open on the Old Development property have virtually disappeared.

Say, do the days seem to be getting shorter? Maybe it's just cloud cover, but by Saturday, July 19th: 1:00 am (EST, GMT -05:00) the town will have gone permanently dark. Up to that point there will be light, but it will grow increasingly hard to tell night from day. Even the people in town will notice the phenomenon, although they will blame it on solar eclipsing, or maybe smog pollution from big cities. You know how those big cities are!

With the growing darkness, the noises will become more frequent, numerous, and aggressive. At first, with strong light still pervading, characters who explore darkened areas will not find any source for the sounds. They can still hear the scratching all around them, but if they shine a light into a dark area, they will only see a normal room or space. As the darkness gets stronger, characters will start to hear hissing when they shine lights into shadowy cover, and may even catch the glint of tiny, red eyes staring back at them. This supports the town claim that they have a pest infestation. But those are awful big noises for rats. Thankfully, light will deter the creatures stalking the town. Characters can drive them back by sticking close to light sources, although they will still hear scratching at the edge of the shadows. If they go into dark places without a source of light, the scratching will get gradually closer.

And, yes, they do bite. Attacks will be possible if a character stays in the dark for too long. The creatures move in like piranhas, gouging flesh with similar teeth and long talons. And like piranha, they're attracted to blood. It might be possible to fight back, but they will never enter into the light, so actually seeing them in a fight will be impossible. Better find a good way to maintain power.

Feel free to plan here. Leave questions about the event in the thread provided below. This event will be updated mid-week.