TEST DRIVE MEME

[theflaws]

TEST DRIVE MEME

PREMISE PLOT ARRIVAL SETTING NAVIGATION

01. ARRIVING IN PELEA
A cold wind singing down from the white-capped mountains which hang blue-black in the distance stirs your cheek, the tall grass all around you. A bough creaks as the wind makes it tremble, and the dappled shadows drift over you, leaves rustling. As you blink awake, you hear the quiet hiss of water over stones. You are not where you once were!

You and a large group of strangers are blinking awake, pulling yourselves up off the dirt, grass, and rubble near a small wooded stream. There is no evidence of civilization in sight, and as you exchange stories you realize that you must decide what to do.

Will you head past the trees and towards the mountains? Deeper into the forest? Stay put and wait for help to arrive? You might even try to meet everyone else, and either convince them to band together... or head their separate ways.

02. CITY SLICKER
There are many cities throughout the world of Pelea, and in most of them player characters, the Flaws, are welcomed as curiosities. Whether they're among the passionate, oft thought as hot-headed, but hospitable folk of the Banner or the noble and haughty people of the Empire, your characters will find a wide variety of cultures, races and simply people to interact with and investigate. They could be seeking employment, answers to the mystery of their arrival or other folk like themselves, or a quiet place to drink away their worries.

03. WILDCARD!

Comments

[teratias]

I miss when I could have water without worrying about that.

[It sounds strange, he's sure, but details are more important.]

Details. First things first: I arrived here three months ago, with others. The theory on how one gets here relates to magic, and there was an individual sent to, and I quote, "collect" us from the area where we arrived.

[letitallout]

[Water from country springs and isolated wells and whatnot is much safer, and she assumes he's talking about that that.]

Of course it's magic... [Obviously.] ...but you don't seem like a man who's been collected.

[teratias]

No. [Waver breathes out, given he hates repeating this part:] There was a matter of a knight making an attempt, and losing his life for it.

[letitallout]

Not the first man to pick a fight he couldn't win.

[Aila is unconcerned with the death of someone who appears to have had it coming, and takes a pull of her drink.

Yep, watered.]

[teratias]

[Waver's drink remains untouched, if only because he's found he really prefers to save anything alcoholic for the evening. And around fewer people, given that he's still learning his own tolerance.]

No, but he spoke of taking the group to higher individuals known as Archons. There's a few conducting investigations of what they are and what they'd want, but I haven't heard of any successes yet.

[letitallout]

Always a good time, being chased by a shadowy organization of questionable intent.

[That is absolutely the (dryly sarcastic) voice of experience speaking.]

[teratias]

--Perhaps you can share tips then, given that for a lot of us, this is the first time dealing with such a situation.

[The arid remark is frankly welcome, if only because it feels familiar to Waver's ears.]

[letitallout]

I don't think my solution would work for anyone else.

["Be metaphysically significant enough to attract the patronage of a demon prince."]

But, generally...aim for the top, as soon as you can. They will never run out of thugs to send after you.

[Unless you want to level your combat skills, then you should draw out the endless waves of thugs.]

[teratias]

I think a few people would be inclined to take that on. But apparently the politics here, from what I've learned, are precariously balanced.

[Which is it's own situation that he's only begun to grasp. As such, he can only offer the very brief version.]

There's one country with dragons that's kept in check by a country that loathes magic, but they're kept in check by an empire, and all of that's balanced by a place that thrives in trade.

[letitallout]

Heard about the dragons.

[They really don't sound like her kind of dragons.]

All they need is an excuse for a war. Not like those are hard to come by, but "strangers from another world weakening the fabric of this one with their presence" would make a damn good one.

[That's a remarkably good summary for someone who claims not to know anything, but she's had some experience with rifts in reality and the resulting problems.]

You know which country these Archons are associated with?

[teratias]

Empire. Furthest place south, and the unpredictable player in how things'll shake out, as I've learned.

[Quite literally. Traveling in Vairaya had afforded Waver a chance to pay for a few university lectures to sit in on, and he had made sure to pick those that related to the current state of the world.]

And you're right, we'd make a nice excuse. One of us also has dragons, but three versus many isn't exactly great odds.

[letitallout]

[Aila snorts into her drink.]

Dragons are killable.

[It's not just goats she can win fights with!]

We're probably magically detectable, so lying low is a temporary solution, at best.

Which isn't to say you should stop, mind.

[teratias]

But are all dragons created equal? [Fuck, that sounds too snarky.] I'm genuinely asking, as what works for you may not hold up here.

[And if one can defeat a dragon, that's good to know.]

Mm. There's been some spreading out as well, which is encouraging more information to be gathered quickly.

[letitallout]

If their dragons are intelligent, immortal sorcerers whose very language is magical, I haven't heard that part.

[She is just not capable of being frightened by dragons anymore, sorry.]

Mm. Allies of circumstance are not always the reliable kind. Someone could very easily be turned.

[Judging by her expression, she's aware of the humor in her, a near-stranger, giving that warning.]

[teratias]

--Honestly, I'd need to learn more about the dragons and get back to you.

[But you know, that involves strictly Too Much Time with Dragons.]

Likely, but a big group catches too much attention too. There's no good way to handle it.