TEST DRIVE MEME



While in some alternate, tidier timeline, the War against the Elder One ended years ago, you're not in that timeline. It's now 9:51, and the war continues, with Corypheus and his cult of Venatori openly ruling a Tevinter. An enemy force has decimated several Marcher Cities, while the Chantry and the Inquisition have marshaled Orlais and the faithful of Southern Thedas into an Exalted March against the army of demon-bound Wardens, Red Templars, Venatori loyalists, and darkspawn Corypheus has amassed and now begun to encroach on Tevinter territory. Rifts are still scattered across the continent, periodically spitting out strangers from strange worlds with green-glowing anchors embedded in their hands, and of late the Veil that separates the physical world from the Fade seems to be wearing thinner and thinner. There's no Herald of Andraste to save Thedas. Someone else is going to have to do it.

You're part of an organization, dubbed Riftwatch, that consists of these otherworldly new arrivals, rebels and Wardens, and other people who want to prevent the apocalypse without necessarily marching under the Chantry's banner to do it. Their headquarters is in Kirkwall, on an island fortress called the Gallows—formerly a Circle of Magi, more formerly a prison for slaves, but its new occupants have done a good job removing the more grotesque reminders of that past and making the place livable. Their goal is to do what the Chantry can't or won't do, to go more directly after Corypheus and the dark magic he employs, and to keep the Veil from coming apart entirely.

Maybe you're here because you want to help. Maybe you need the money (though there isn't much of it). Maybe you acquired an anchor and sticking around is the only way to prevent your hand from killing you. Maybe you've been sent by the Chantry or some other entity to keep an eye on everyone—they're rumored to be a lot of weirdos and troublemakers. Or maybe you're a new rifter and just going where the nice people with swords tell you that you need to go.


I. THE FREE MARCHES: Starkhaven remains under Tevinter control meaning traveling anywhere north of the mountains runs the risk of running into enemy raiding parties. Maybe you've been sent out to intercept before they find the unwary, or maybe you're just trying to pass through unnoticed to Markham or Ansburg when you run into trouble. Or maybe you're more in the thick of it: slipping your way into also-occupied Hasmal to gather intelligence, or helping an ally smuggle a shipment downriver past Tevinter patrols.

II. GATE SEARCH: Invading big chunks of the world is really just a side project for Corypheus; secretly his real goal involves finding and cracking open the Seven Gates of the Black City, mysterious ancient ritual sites that may let him physically enter the Fade—and he's already managed at least two. Maybe you're wading through the marshes of the Korcari Wilds or the sands of the Western Approach, racing a Venatori team to a rumored temple site that might hold a Gate, maybe you're infiltrating a black market auction in Wycome or Antiva City to try to prevent an enemy agent from acquiring an Old God artifact that could be used in a Gate-opening ritual, or maybe you're dodging traps and solving puzzles in an ancient ruin in search of such an artifact yourselves.

III. TATTERING VEIL: Across Thedas, the Veil that separates the Fade and the Crossroads from the real world (and from each other) is thinning. Riftwatch knows this is almost certainly caused by the Gates Corypheus and his Venatori followers have been opening, but the rest of Thedas just knows there are strange pockets appearing where you can take a turn that yesterday led into an alley in Minrathous and today opens on an island in the Crossroads, at least for a few yards before you step back into a gutter again. It might feel like a moment, but it could have lasted an hour. Or you might step into a grove of trees in the Planasene Forest and find yourself looking up at the Black City on the horizon of a Fade-green sky, with the tops of the trees hanging impossibly above your heads as if gravity has momentarily reversed, just in that spot.

IV. KIRKWALL: Even when enormous evil darkspawn are trying to take over the known world and you and your colleagues might be the only ones who can truly stop him, you can't work all the time. And when you aren't working, Kirkwall is there for you with its dingy Lowtown taverns, its flashy Hightown establishments, its market stalls and street musicians and cellars hosting gamblers. (Or maybe you can work all the time, and you're in the city to do some official shopping, try to spy on a suspicious character, or show a potential financial backer a good time.) Attacks by Corypheus' forces have left the city scarred, with some streets still under reconstruction and a gash in the cliffs over Lowtown leaving parts of the mining tunnels occupied by the city's poorest citizens exposed (letting some rare light into Darktown). But it's Kirkwall. They've seen worse.

V. SEND A MESSAGE: Each member of Riftwatch is assigned a blue crystal, small enough to wear around the neck, that can transmit voice messages, as well as an enchanted book tied to that crystal that can be used to exchange written messages. They're secure enough to discuss the war, if you'd like to get down to business, but loosely controlled enough to ask a question or play a game with only a few rolled eyes from people who hate fun.

VI. WILDCARD: From the Gallows' library to the pirate islands off the coast, from Hightown's high-priced market stalls to the bloody frontlines of the war, Thedas is yours to explore.


NOTE | Hi! If you're new here, our test drive memes are semi-static; we post them yearly or so, and current players track for new top levels and link them on the game discord as they come in. So if you're arriving at this months after it was posted, yes, it is still in use! And if you're here with a Veilguard character or with a mind to play a native OC inspired by Veilguard lore, please refer to this post for notes on what may need to be adjusted to take into account Fade Rift's game history.

Thedas has cell phones now, plus whatever other modern conveniences and cultural practices are necessary for the bit.

Have fun.

Hey. Fill this out. Post it with your character's name in the subject line. Then read about everyone else to find out what your character would know about their colleagues and neighbors. (You can see who your character lives near by checking out the housing spreadsheet. Also put your character on it if needed.) Comment to handwave CR or make plans based on responses or just tell people you like what they said. Thanks.

<big><B>LIVE</b></big> <B>Where does your character live? With whom?</b> Whom includes pets. <b>What might neighbors notice?</b> What would people living nearby (next door or on the same floor of the Gallows for example) notice about their routines and habits? Instruments in the middle of the night? Slamming doors? Shouting fights with their roommate or visitors? <b>What can people tell about your character's living space from outside?</b> Are there weird smells or noises? Do they leave their door open so people can see inside just walking past, making the next question relevant as well? <b>What about inside?</b> Messy? Neat? Decorated? So bare you can't even tell someone lives there? Booby-trapped? <b>How accessible is it?</b> Does your character invite people over or let them come inside if they stop by to talk about something? What level of friendship is required to have been invited in? Would it be normal for most people in the Gallows to handwave having glimpsed inside the room at some point? Or is it a complete mystery? <b>Do they eat in the dining hall? Which meals? Any observable eating habits?</b> Never eating meat? Wolfing things down quickly? Using their fingers instead of silverware? Do they eat alone in the corner or find people to sit with? Grab food and leave? <b>Do they bathe in the public baths? What's that like?</b> Are they luxuriating or getting in and out as fast as possible? Are they uncomfortable about being naked in front of people? <b>What's their hygiene like?</b> Do they smell like roses or uhh. not roses. Neat hair? Clothing stains? <b>Anything else?</b> <big><b>LAUGH</b></big> <b>Where do they go during their off time?</b> Hang out in the Gallows? Go to Lowtown? Try to escape the city altogether on their days off? Continue to work as if no one told them they get evenings and a day a week to themselves? <b>What do they do for fun? What would people know about it?</b> Are they frequently seen reading? Do they draw, but only in privacy so most people would never know? <b>What's common knowledge about their social life?</b> General reputation for being a loner, a social butterfly, or something in between? Do they have an obvious BFF (or several)? Romantic partner(s)? Anyone they're publicly feuding with? <b>Are they known by any NPCs in Kirkwall? Do they have a reputation among any particular sets of locals? For what?</b> Do merchants gossip about how hard they bargain? Are their neighbors scandalized by their presence in the neighborhood? Are there any taverns where everyone knows them? Any places they are not allowed to go back to because of The Incident? <b>Any publicly known political opinions or sympathies?</b> <b>Anything else?</b> <big><b>LORK</b></big> <b>Remind everyone what division they're in, any other job they have, and what they generally do.</b> Thank you. <b>Do they regularly assist with anything else?</b> Guard duty, stable work, etc. Stuff that isn't their main job but is still work. <b>How often are they in the Gallows vs. working elsewhere? Do people know where they go when they're gone or is it a mystery?</b> A mystery from people aside from their division head anyway. Div heads generally have to know where folks are. <b>Where in the Gallows do they usually work? If they have a regular work space, what's it like?</b> Clean desk? Messy library nook everyone knows is theirs? <b>Do they spend any time in the training courtyard? Doing what?</b> What weapons/fighting styles? Are they showing off? Inviting people to spar? Practicing alone and bolting if anyone else shows up? <b>What are some things they might teach other people how to do?</b> Language lessons? Griffon training? And do they openly offer this, or do people need to come ask them? <b>What would their general reputation be, as a colleague?</b> Imagine a faceless Riftwatch member who is generally reasonable in their opinions about other people. What would that person think? Hard worker? Talks too much in meetings? Known for wanting to hit first and ask questions later, or for throwing chemicals together in the Research lab just to see what happens, or being very careful and thorough about researching people before meetings? (Actual PCs of course can form their own opinions based on actual RPed encounters. This is just a baseline.) <b>Anything else?</b>

In the Dragon Age games, as you travel Thedas with your best pals, they have a lot of short conversations about politics, the weather, butts, etc. So this is the Fade Rift equivalent, in four easy steps!

1. Imagine your characters are on a very long walk somewhere, or on a very long walk back after kicking ass, or standing guard together, or gathering herbs, or working in the library late at night, or anything else sort of boring. You can provide context if you'd like, like "[ On the way back from Antiva: ]," but it isn't mandatory.

Note: setting this banter specifically during the most recent mod plot with related prompts earns an A+. But you can still get an A without that.

2. Post a few different remarks your character might make—similar to TFLN, except spoken out loud and less ridiculous, maybe, or maybe not, I don’t know your life—while passing the time.

3. Tag around to reply to those general remarks or to start new/wildcard conversations! Threads should be pretty short and involve minimal action; there’s no need to turn anything into a big production. Threadjacking to create multiperson conversations is encouraged (unless someone says not to). Multiple different conversations between the same characters occurring on different days are also encouraged.

4. Gather up all of your little conversation snippets like a bouquet and keep them forever, because they’re game canon.