solmara plotting

[etrayamods]

⏵ Solmara ⏴ Hello, Etrayans! We've had several people reach out to us for plotting with the Solmara reveal, so we wanted to give all of you one space you can use to discuss your plans, and plot with other players! For those who had originally come from Solmara, please feel free to reveal anything that hasn't been brought up on this post! For those who have reached out to the mods regarding Solmara in different spaces, we would like to ask to move all plotting in regards to this other city bubble to this post, to ensure visibility for others participating. Thank you! Etraya Mods

Comments

mod queries.

[etrayamods]

Please feel free to post any questions directly to the mods under this header. This includes future plotting that may need some mod guidance.

[clavesregni]

Hi mods! Moving my question over here: Caitlyn's thinking of organizing a small team to scout out Solmara and gather information on Alrys and everything going on over there and report back what they learn to Etraya. Would getting to Solmara for recon purposes be a thing she could do?

[ascarylady]

Okay, so I've been thinking and have a few questions:

1. Does Aurora know when Solmara is off on a mission?

2. Is it possible to break into another bubble city from the outside? Clearly, someone was able to cross over to place that sign, and I know about the robot the Bad Kids sent out at least OOC (but not IC).

2a. If possible, would Aurora know the location of Solmara? And would it be close enough to try cracking open if they had a way to survive the vacuum outside? Or would AI-generated portals be the preference overall?

Because if Etryans go in the same way that the four from Solmara did here, it sounds like they would end up registered with Solmara instead. It's not the best outcome for people intending to return.

[fatedfinality]

Hello, mods!

I'll let the questions about potential recon missions and getting to Solmara be answered, but piggyback off it by asking what happens if someone wants to stay and/or would infiltrating their ranks instead of returning be something that could be explored?

No worries if not, Ardyn may still try it/betray Etrayans in a greedy perceived potential at a power grab and suffer the consequences of his actions accordingly. But the opportunity for a villain to villain is a fun idea!

[tinflower]

Adding some questions here that Gorgug would ask Aurora!

1. If people are still coming and staying in Solmara, that means they must still be connected to the city's AI there, correct? From what Aurora told Maria and Gorgug about them being connected to her. Does Aurora think there's a way of helping to fix the AI?

1a. Would Aurora want to help her other sister? Does she think she could do something to help the AI if another copy of her body went over to Solmara? If it would be a smart idea, tbh. Solmara AI may not be very happy.

2. Will Aurora support people going outside the city to investigate/do something about Solmara?

If so, since this is semi-relevant to the question about reaching Solmara, Gorgug could help would the atmosphere issue, but would need help with the materials, etc! He can provide oxygen masks (not very glamorous) that will give people air, but it will take him time to make some! But he can do it on the side while people are away, to at least lessen the workload, if Aurora will support people going out. (He needs time to build them + the magical energy to do so.)

Gravity is an issue, though I think he could work with other smart individuals to make a means of making some devices to help with that!

I don't mind having Gorgug help with dealing with the barrier, but I'll keep him as support in supplying items than deal with any of the NPCs.

[overconfidently]

Here comes the telepathy questions. 🙋‍♀️

Is Nate able to locate any of the people of Solmara via his scanning with his mind? I know the hospital has been brought up to see how many people are/may be there. Also if there’s anything he might be able to pick up about the planet itself, more in the whole what he can feel sort of way. Is it dying, unstable, corrupted, fake, sentient, etc.

Are there any potential minds he could pull information from on Solmara? Like if he were to skip across minds looking for various keywords in thoughts and conversations that could help them with this mission.

For my own curiosity, are there any spots or things on Solmara that might block his telepathy? More curious for me to potentially play around with if it comes up.

I think that’s it for now, I may be back as the mission progresses. 🤔 Thank you either way, mods. 😎

Monster question!

[tinflower]

For the Whisper-Vipers, would Gorgug's Rage ability (topped with Mindless Rage, which makes him immune to being charmed/frightened) be able to block out their mind static? Rage usually means that his head becomes focused on pure anger and he can't even pull off spells that require concentration well on his part because his mind is Busy already.

Also, are the armoured scales literally like metal or just really tough snake scales? Since we have a few people with heat abilities!

[cantilevers]

Vander is going on a scouting mission for locals and trying to ingratiate himself with them and learn whatever he can. Nate is helping him to provide names, descriptions and things to say/not say to the locals to help them. He will be using both bribery, his natural charm and social talents to earn him their trust.

He will not be going back to camp except to provide information of what he's found out so as to limit the risk of giving away that location. He will probably be meeting up Sevika to exchange intel and make a web of who knows who and what so they can cover more ground.

Vander would specifically be seeking the following information:
- entrances and exits to the city compound
- how many people and/or bots are inside
- city defenses / weaponry
- what alyrs' charm power looks like or feels like and range

Oh and I forgot to ask: is the cost of dying in Solmara the same at Etraya or is it permanent? Asking for a friend.

[laserguy]

Hello mods!

Scott and Nate (and maybe another person??) will probably be investigating/scouting the abandoned mansion. Would they find anyone or anything of note there?

The old observatory will also probably be investigated too, either by the same group or a different group, and wondering the same thing here, if they would find anything of interest over there?

[tinflower]

Hey mods! There was some discussion about giving you an idea of where we are with planning, so that it might help you know what we're thinking about, how it looks, etc. We're still asking individual questions! This is just an overview.

For the first couple of days to nearly a week, the idea so far is to set up a camp with some individuals sticking back (Accelerator, Gorgug, possibly Charlie) that others will come back to from time to time. This is close to the portal I think, since there were concerns about Solmarans noticing it anyway, and it's a good starting point. People won't always go back so as to not draw attention, but it's there.

Some characters will go schmoozin' and look for intel (Vander, Sevika, Dazai; Max will hit up anti-Alyrs folks he knows, Furiosa will be with him), to get a feel for the mood of people, and potentially getting allies who would help them out in dealing with Alyrs and her crew, and possibly creating a distraction so some folks can go into the hospital with less of the bigger guns. If people are fairly tightlipped about Alyrs, then if people press on it, they can let you know individually!

Items are going to be bartered (cigarettes, foods, alcohol, useful essentials taken from Etraya; Gorgug has also made and supplied drinking flasks of water/alcohol that will refill each day, as well as oil to be bartered) if there does seem to be any potetial allies. Some Etrayans will target a couple of the tougher monsters and get materials from them to be used and shown as proof that they have some power behind them if there seems like there's wiggle room to get people on their side.

Another group will be approaching the city (Yuri, Dimitri, Caitlyn) who want to investigate and see what they can find out there. They're talking about this with you, but just mentioning it!

The idea so far is potentially gathering allies, getting as much defence as they can (Gorgug and Accelerator using parts others bring to create amulets that can make detection hard supernaturally/scientifically, incorporating Accelerator's reflections into them), and cause some form of distraction that will bring out Alyrs and her main crew out into the open while a well-shielded group can get into the hospital.

This part of the plan wholly depends on what they can find out and what NPC back up they can get, and if there's anything else that might do better, so it isn't set in stone!

I did want to ask just as an aside for Gorgug, for people outside of the main city, could he potentially register any charm energy/magic on regular people? He can detect magic, but is using his goggles upgraded to work with other forms of energy to, from the technology he got a while back!

[supbitches]

Quick question now that I'm no longer dying of allergies!

How hackable are the robots guarding the hospital? Also, how long would that take/how much effort would it require? Because Charlie is willing to give that a try if there's an opportunity for it.

Elevator question

[tinflower]

For the elevator, it works but won't go down, correct? Would Caitlyn, Yuri, and Dimitri have seen this, and would they have been able to find a place for a card to be read?

If the above is all a yes, would an elevator card work, with a message added into the code on the lines of 'Aurora sent us, we're here to help you'?

[sonofzod]

Hi mods!

Just a quick question: Would Hernan have to deal with any countermeasures against him?

Hospital Team

[tinflower]

Hi mods! A team will be going into the hospital around the same time that another group will be dealing with Alyrs and co, hopefully they'll come to you with the details soon! The hospital team consists of: Yuri, Sevika, Charlie, Accelerator, Gorgug, and Shaw.

Yuri will be helping to get the group to the elevator that they used to get to the lower floors. Accelerator will use his powers to help float the gang down as far as they need, but they will be stopping by the computer with the communication module to check that out.

Charlie, Gorgug, and Accelerator are the tech nerds of the group. Can they send a message through the computer in binary? Like, 'Aurora sent us, we're here to help.'

As a note, they will have 3 of the null- and glasswing- amulets on them to help mask their location and to mess with mind fuckery.

Re: Subduing Alrys

[hauntedsnowfall]

Would Max be able to request a meeting to hand off intel to Alrys, as well as introduce a new recruit/man on the inside from Etraya— a person who can help get her supplies? { It’s Dazai, and it’s a lie }

[tinflower]

Gorgug's going to have bagged that broken bot when he leaves, if that's ok. He wants to compare Aurora and Borealis's bots!!

Can he have also found the missing earpiece the banner NPC had before leaving? Or taken another one somewhere IDK.

sorry if this posts twice, spotty internet

[codicies]

Just so I'm up to speed, can someone point me to the event Sevika is referencing here?

[ascarylady]

It was a part of the January mingle: https://etrayalogs.dreamwidth.org/27107.html

At the bottom in the Notes section:

"Some may notice that in the area Gorgug's friend had gone exploring outside of the environmental bubble, there is a message written on a massive piece of fabric, which is tied to two large rebar poles. The message is in an alien language, but the earpiece will automatically translate it: DID YOU THINK YOU WERE THE ONLY ONES?

On the bottom of the fabric are four vertical lines. Every Friday, a vertical line becomes crossed through with a horizontal one."

[imperatour]

Furiosa was not here to see the countdown but she does know Max who was in Solmara for a year and will be fiercely defensive of him. By extension she might defend the others (except Conner because of reasons) who were stuck there - everyone does things to survive. So basically, she knows nothing but I am offering her inserting herself in defense of them if anyone is interested in IC tension about that, hehe.

(frozen comment) assassination stuff

[leewards]

As mentioned here, Ithaqua will be gunning for Alrys' life. Given his... lovely personality, it's fine to just OOCly say "hey I want in on this" without having your character talk to him! All he cares about is people not getting in his way or needing to be helped, is all.

As to not clash with the upcoming mission however, the mods did ask that any attempts happen after it.

[theroadwarrior]

Max is planning on joining in on the attempt on Alrys' life if Furiosa is adamant on doing it, but also if Alrys becomes an obvious threat by attempting anything towards Solmara! Other than this, he's trying to just keep his head down and do anything to NOT go back to Solmara, for fear that they could get stuck there all over again.

Max however is very familiar with the area, so he could be convinced to help guide people through the terrain if they end up having to. He is allowing people to copy his map of the bubble city, and explaining the symbols/places on it, since he uses shorthand symbols for a lot of stuff.



Here is the cheat sheet with the words on it!

[fatedfinality]

After learning a little bit more from Romano here on Solmara, Ardyn is interested in doing what he does best: being a fucking awful excuse of a man.

As such, he'll be interested in any recon missions or infiltrating of the other city... but likely betray any Etrayans once there to try and grab for power. I am totally fine with, as mentioned in the question to the mods, this being a futile effort and exploring the consequences of his dickbag actions.

But basically, I'm here for:

• good-natured or too trusting types to believe him at his word that he wants to 'help,' then the confrontation of what his 'help' looks like being only helping him
  
• any other villains/scheming sorts who might also want to try and collaborate with potential power gain in Solmara
  
• if or when it goes south/doesn't work out, anyone willing to work with Ardyn on his 'maybe be less of a dick' suggestion on his report card in the aftermath (he promises he will get better. maybe. probably.)

Pre-Solmara prepping!

[tinflower]

Hi! I thought it would be good if we discussed how much our characters would have prepped for arrival: if anyone would have put forward the characters meeting or holding a discussion over the network!

Gorgug may have reluctantly put the suggestion out, but there's possibly more proactive characters than this green awkward guy who hates speaking up.

Gorgug has offered to make a few magical bullets for individuals -- for Furiosa, he would offer walloping ammunition to help knock targets down, and winged ammunition for Max for his rifle.

I had also wanted to discuss with Max's player what Max would have thought about the initial banner, and if he thought it was mocking them or perhaps a warning. If it was the latter, Gorgug would admit to having tried to make contact with the individual casing out Etraya, and them having access to an Etraya earpiece, and if this could be of help (they should be able to contact it from Solmara). Also, since Max is from Solmara, he would offer him a potential disguise of face if he thinks he needs it!

Sevika asked Gorgug to make potential items for trading, and he could offer flasks that refill each new day, containing water, oil, or honey. He can also make a couple for the gang themselves, with water containing up to 8 gallons, oil 1 quart, and the honey 1 gallon! Beer is also an option at 4 gallons. He'll be offering her a special bag to hold extra items up to 500lbs total.

For everyone, he'll be offering some smoke grenades and EMP grenades, to those who will take them. If they had a meeting before, he would have been able to give people duds to practice tossing them if they needed it. They won't be limitless, but everyone could have potentially 2 max of each! So 2 smoke, 2 EMP. ALSO Accelerator, Riz Gukgak, and Gorgug worked together to make everyone going a radio.

Caitlyn, Gorgug was asked to potentially make her some protection! If she would have accepted this, we can discuss this here.

anyway this is a lot of words and i'd love to know what anyone else would have done! and if your character could do with some prep, i can check what gorgug could have helped them with! how many of the flasks he could make depends on what else he promised to make. He didn't go to everyone offering things because it's weird and he's awkward.

edit: also if anyone wants one, they can have a small pin that will help them dodge one or two attacks max. It won't be guaranteed, but it can help!!

[theroadwarrior]

Max is thinking it's possible that the Solmara crew does not realize he's no longer on their 'team', though he's not 100% on that. But if this is the case, he can actually become a bit of a secret agent, pretending to be a Solmaran still that has returned from his 'mission' with the hospital 'data' that Alrys was seeking out. This is a bit of a back-up plan he's got in case other things fall through, but y'all can let him know if you wanna incorporate it into any plans people have. :)

With regard to the banner... I'm sorry Gorgug, he has absolutely minimal knowledge of what Alrys or any other Solmaran was has been doing in her inner circles. :( He had been on his own for a majority of his year in Solmara, intentionally avoiding the city/Alrys and trying to live in complete isolation. The other portion of his time in the city was being starved out and forced to cooperate.

So. He has very no information about the banner. 😭

His usefulness will definitely be primarily in helping people avoid the most dangerous areas of Solmara and keeping them from getting either lost or harmed by the environment.

... He also definitely wants someone, anyone, to shoot Alrys.

Plotting, planning!

[tinflower]

Heyyoo, some of us discussed putting forward a general overview of what we have planned to give to the mods so they can see what info they can give. Everyone can/should still ask their individual questions of course! But we hoped this would also help figure out what we're doing.

I wrote this all here, and it can be edited if you want to do so, but I'm also sharing it here so that folks can see it outside of plurk:

For the first couple of days to nearly a week, the idea so far is to set up a camp with some individuals sticking back (Accelerator, Gorgug) that others will come back to from time to time. This is close to the portal I think, since there were concerns about Solmarans noticing it anyway (and it's a good starting point.

Some characters will go schmoozin' and look for intel (Vander, Sevika; Max will hit up anti-Alyrs folks he knows, Furiosa will be with him?), to get a feel for the mood of people, and potentially getting allies who would help them out in dealing with Alyrs and her crew, and possibly creating a distraction so some folks can go into the hospital with less of the bigger guns.

Items are going to be bartered (cigarettes, foods, alcohol, useful essentials taken from Etraya; Gorgug has also made and supplied drinking flasks of water/alcohol that will refill each day, as well as oil to be bartered), and some Etrayans will target a couple of the tougher monsters and get materials from them to be used and shown as proof that they have some power behind them.

Another group will be approaching the city (Yuri, Dimitri, Caitlyn) who want to investigate and see what they can find out there.

The idea so far is potentially gathering allies, getting as much defences as they can (Gorgug and Accelerator using parts others bring to create amulets that can make detection hard supernaturally/scientifically, incorporating Accelerator's reflections into them), and cause some form of distraction that will bring out Alyrs and her main crew out into the open while a well-shielded group can get into the hospital.

This part of the plan wholly depends on what they can find out and what NPC back up they can get, and if there's anything else that might do better, so it isn't set in stone! If there's also NPCs who might want particular items or can help with crafting, that would be also to know.

[unaliveyourself]

sliding in here since i didn't wanna edit the document w/o checking in w ppl but!

i wanted to offer this guy for a few possible things:

- posing as a hostage from max & furiosa's original etraya mission to insert himself into alrys' vicinity where he might be underestimated as a threat. can pretend to be charmed and serve as a mole.

- if this doesn't work/max and furiosa don't want to deal w that, posing as an etrayan defector who wants to propose an "alliance" w alrys to overthrow their own AI; he would make himself out to be some easily manipulated idiot that she'll assume she can use.

- since he's a walking nullifier, if they get info on who the telepath protecting alrys is, he can bring them offline at least briefly enough for THEIR telepaths to extract as much info out of their head as possible

- as a mental black box who can relay information between various subgroups without any risk of interception due to being telepathically inaccessible

- related to the above he's extremely skilled at picking locks so if they need someone to open up some inaccessible areas without being easily detected he's your man

SECOND PART PLANNIN'

[tinflower]

Heyoo, here's a post to discuss and plan the next stage of events! Here's a consolidation of the information we know, as I can remember it:

general info
- alyrs has a crew, alyrs herself uses charm abilities, beckett is a strong psychic that masks their location, callie is a tactician, and flynn is a tank that absorbs energy and throws it back at people
- the individual who put up the banner was found dead in the mansion, and an earpiece he had was taken from his camp that has gorgug in its contact list
- ithaqua is in a shielded area (in a spot nate cannot mentally 'see')
- while the bots do their normal routine, hacking into them to remove the changes made to them lead them to going berserk in an attempt to go 'home' (lower into the hospital)
- max has a data disk from aurora with a message to borealis that is disguised as the material that alyrs was seeking for from etraya (a means to get resources to solmara)

the hospital
- the elevator isn't working (there doesn't seem to be anything physically/mechanically wrong with it); nate's psychic searching writes that the elevator can go up, but going down is blocked off
- there's a computer on the 4th floor, the records have been expunged but there's a communication module on it
- everything else on the lower floors is spotlessly clean
- the hospital is guarded by bots but they can be snuck past

What comes now is deciding what characters will do! There is interest in having 2-ish teams working on different things at the same time: a group dealing with Alyrs and her crew, while another goes into the hospital to reach Borealis.

There's also been talking about getting Alyrs outside, and also Max approaching Alyrs while having Dazai with him to attempt to make use of Dazai's power nullifying ability.

I believe Sevika, Accelerator, Charlie, and Gorgug are interested in going towards the hospital, and then everyone else wants to work on the main crew? Let's talk about it now and see what everyone thinks!

Timeline wise, we believe this might take place on around the 6th day of being in Solmara.

[wolfish]

Yuri's still about the rescue which I think is +1 for the hospital. His wind magic was how they had oxygen and moderated the heat situation when diving in Etraya's hospital, so that may also come in handy here.

Edit: let me note that Caitlyn, Dimitri, and Yuri did improvise their own climbing equipment to get down as far as they did, but the ideal would be restoring elevator functionality I think. The environment deeper in is harsher.