TEST DRIVE - April 2021

[mistralmods]

TEST DRIVE

Welcome to Shattermoon's very first test drive! Below you'll find an assortment of prompts, arranged in the following fashion:

1. Current Events - Samples of events taking place during the month of April based on the event calendar, and organized by location.
2. Grimm of the Month - A Grimm randomly selected by the mods featured as a threat for characters to deal with.
3. How They Met - Events intended to have taken place before the game started, to be used as a springboard for characters to develop deep and important CR. In addition to this month's provided prompts, you may also choose from any previous calendar events or recent history events. We fully encourage players to create their own 'wildcard' options!

You and your tag partners may decide whether or not any threads written here will remain IC or not. So long as threads don't contradict the game's events or settings, we're happy to allow CR created here to transfer directly to the official game. If you simply want to use the test drive to mess around with no strings attached, you're free to do so, but we recommend you make a note of this so your tag partners know what to expect in the long run.

 

*MOD NOTE: Menagerie is currently not featured as a location in this month's test drive, as we're discussing details of the Faunus with concerned members of the RP community. Once we've come to an agreement about how to best incorporate the Faunus into Shattermoon, a Current Event prompt for Menagerie will be included.

CURRENT EVENTS

Spring Talent Show

The school year is almost at an end, which means it's time for the annual Spring Talent Show once more! The sign-ups are closed and the schedule solidified, placed in the capable hands of the student body vice president. Typical talents include skits, short rounds of stand-up comedy, singing, juggling, and amateur magic. Solo and group performances are all allowed! There's also the ever-popular Battle of the Bands, with a special prize given to the band that garners the loudest applause from the audience. Students have the full weekend to practice and prepare for the Monday night performance! Admission is free to students, although anyone can purchase a ticket and attend. They'll even sell popcorn and soda! Not all students choose to showcase their talents, of course. Some are content to get comfy as an audience member, and others might have signed up to be on the judging panel.

 

 

Shattermoon Eve Happy Hour

Numerous taverns and hotels advertise for the annual Shattermoon Eve Storytelling holiday, where most set up an impromptu stage or clear a large space on the floor for amateur storytellers to step up and tell their wildest tales about how the moon of Remnant came to be broken. Ale flows freely as do orders for platters of fried food as people come together to be entertained by their fellow Valemen and Valewomen. Storytelling in the cities tends to be handled by professional performers, such as actors, reporters, and radio broadcasters, while the surrounding farmlands and small villages have a more 'neighborly' experience. Some bar owners may attempt to spark creativity and impromptu stories by providing a hat full of slips of paper, upon which they wrote a word or phrase that must become a central element in making up the unknown chapter of Remnant's history.

 

 

Film Festival

The winner of the Shattermoon Eve storytelling event isn't decided by locals, but film industry professionals, selecting from submitted scripts for screenplays which become a yearly cinematic feature, much in the same way horror movies tend to appear around Halloween. Most of these films tend to be big dumb action flicks with lots of explosions and special effects, or tragic dramas. The theaters are packed with eager citizens looking to enjoy an evening at the movies. The wealthy elite prefer operatic versions with live actors and singers, middle-class people see new cinematic releases, and poorer citizens treat themselves to B-movie marathons of older moon-shattering classics and the occasional independent film who may not have had access to good quality equipment.

 

 

Shattermoon Eve Festival

In Mistral, street performances are all the rage! Instead of a single person narrating their version of the moon's shattering, one can expect to see actors in bright costumes and painted faces doing dances, puppet shows, pantomimes, or even completely improvised performances where audience members are dragged onto the stage and coaxed to play the part they're given. Numerous stalls go up to sell food and drink, with both sweet and savory moon dumplings being the most popular. Children play a 'Shatter the Moon!' game where they attempt to take bites out of each other's skewered moon dumplings with prizes going to those who take the most bites, and who have the fewest bites taken from their stick. It's not completely uncommon for teenagers or adults to hold their own version of the game as well, especially once they've had a bit too much to drink.

 

 

Moonlight Hunt

Vacuo, too, celebrates Shattermoon Eve with scary stories and tales of buffoonery. More popular than the storytelling is the Moonlight Hunt that follows, which can be somewhat romantic. Warriors and Hunters set out to exterminate any Grimm that may be lurking nearby, clearing out the area and returning home to receive the affection and adulation of the others. Warrior couples find this particular holiday to be rather romantic, and single Hunters may receive cheek kisses, flowers, and handmade charms for luck from fans and admirers. Businesses are closed on the day after as most people are too hung over to work.

 

 

 

GRIMM OF THE MONTH - SULFUR FISH

 

 

The Sulfur Fish's base form is reminiscent of a silverfish. It has a black body with spikes, six legs, and an armored abdomen which leads into three fiery, yellow tails. In Vacuo, the Sulfur Fish has three fiery, red tails.

Its head appears to resemble an amalgamation of a jackal and feline skull, with horns or tentacles rising out of its eye sockets. It has a singular eye where the skull's nose would be, and a spider-like marking on its forehead. Most Sulfur Fish are very small, about three inches long, but some can grow to ten times that size, especially in Vacuo where they're most common.

A Sulfur Fish will usually flee from humans or watch them from a distance if by itself or in very few numbers. But should a hunter finds themselves in the midst of a sulfur swarm, they are known to be quite ravenous. They attack by latching onto their prey, then repeatedly stab or slash them with long, barbed tails. These barbs are super-heated, which can cause intense burns, especially when being attacked by multiple Sulfur Fish.

In severe cases of Sulfur swarms, they gain the tendency to tightly clump together and synchronize their movements to form larger bodies in order to overpower their prey. The type of body the swarm forms into (usually that of a humanoid golem or a serpentine head and neck) depends on how many Sulfur Fish are present.

A few Sulfur may be little more than a nuisance. Most can't get through Dust Barriers, though a few might be able to tunnel their way beneath the poles to seek out someone who's having a bad day. They're far more dangerous encountered in big swarms, as they will attempt to isolate and overwhelm travelers and Hunters. Finding a den of Sulfur Fish could result in a tough fight, especially if they cluster together to assume a larger, nastier combo form.

 

HOW THEY MET

School Meetings

• First Day of School (September) - The first day of school can be nerve-wracking, exciting, or both! The large airship, piloted by Headmistress Quase, makes a stop at every city and village to pick up new students and escort them to Beacon Academy. The trip is comfortable with several couches and seats arranged for the students, a full cafeteria offering free food (with ginger ale for those who get airsick), and a couple of bunk rooms where students can catch a quick nap. The teachers and older students are there at the courtyard to greet new arrivals and show them around, explaining the rules and boundaries as they go. At night, everyone gets comfortable in their sleeping bags in the mass common area where they're free to mingle and talk about the future days to come.
• Forming Teams (October) - After a month, people get pretty sick of living in a big communal pile, and the chance to get outdoors and find their future teammates is a big fat bright spot in the hearts of young first-year students. Early in the morning, they grab a quick breakfast to eat on the way as they head out to the Emerald Forest on foot, with the only instructions being to 'bring your weapons.' Upon reaching the Forest, the Headmistress lays out the objective: make your way as fast as you can to the other end of the forest, where several neon-colored puzzle pieces can be found. There are only four of each color, and those with matching colors are destined to be teammates for the rest of their time at Beacon (and sometimes longer). The teachers are close by to supervise and keep students safe, but there are a few Grimm lurking in the forest that may need to be dispatched. Work together to complete the journey, find the puzzle pieces, and find out who your new roommates are. Even if you don't know or like them much, at least now you get your own room to share!
• Food Fight - It happens every year, sooner or later. Someone in the cafeteria gets a little too much energy and starts lobbing food at their friends and rivals, resulting in a chaotic over-the-top food fight with Auras and Semblances ablaze! The janitors might hate this event, but the teachers secretly enjoy seeing the students have a good time.

Non-School Meetings

• Ship Ride - The most common method of travel between continents is by boat or airship, with the former being exponentially more affordable. Passengers must pass a brief psychological examination to make sure they're not experiencing any pronounced grief or stress so they don't attract Grimm during the journey. After that, they're assigned a cabin where they can store their luggage, and the thrifty may share a room with up to three other passengers. There's not much to do on a boat or an aircraft except wait, so many people decide to mingle with other passengers and discuss where they're going or why. Unfortunately, no trip is guaranteed to be 100% safe, and Grimm may attack anyway. Hopefully there's a Hunter or other experienced fighter on board to fight back in the case of an emergency! And if not, you could wind up shipwrecked with a few other survivors.
• Hunter for Hire - Hunters are sought out by other people all the time for any number of reasons. Villages might need help fending off Grimm or bandits. Travelers might need protection when making a long journey, or an archaeological expedition to Grimm-infested territory. Even other Hunters may hire or team up with a Hunter if they know they're up against a particularly strong or lethal Grimm. Some Hunters leave their scroll numbers posted in bars or town halls, others join city guilds.
• Bandit Attack - Unfortunately, Grimm aren't the only threat people have to face. There are rumors of bandits lying in wait along the shadowy paths and roads, looking for merchants and unarmed travelers to rob. Big tribes may also be plotting an ambush on an unprotected village! Residents may be taking precautions to defend themselves by setting traps or training with more experienced fighters. Or they may suddenly wake up one night to the smell of smoke, only to find that their home is on fire! Help!

Premise | Rules & FAQ | Setting & History | Character Specialties | Notable NPCs | Applications | Taken Characters | Event Calendar | Drop Post

IC Community: shattermoon | OOC Community: shatterooc

Mod Contact: mistralmods

CR Workshop

[mistralmods]

PERMANENT CR WORKSHOP

( Click to expand )