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Fade Rift Mods ([personal profile] faderifting) wrote in [community profile] allthisshitisweird2019-07-24 07:02 pm
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TEST DRIVE MEME

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 9:45, and there's a war raging in northern Orlais, where the Chantry, aided by the Inquisition, marshalling Orlais and the faithful of Southern Thedas into a new Exalted March against the army of demon-bound Wardens, Red Templars, Venatori loyalists, and darkspawn Corypheus has amassed over the last four years. Rifts are still scattered across the continent, periodically spitting out strangers from strange worlds with green-glowing anchors embedded in their hands. There's no Herald of Andraste to save Thedas. Someone else is going to have to do it.

You're part of (or allied with, recently hired by, imprisoned by, etc.) a new organization that's an offshoot of the Inquisition, dubbed Riftwatch, that consists mainly of the 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 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.

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 falling off. 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. 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.)

II. THE PLANASCENE FOREST: West of Kirkwall lies the Planascene forest. As far as enormous, ancient forests go, it's fairly small, but still large enough to disappear in if you aren't careful. And someone hasn't been careful. A merchant en route to deliver raw materials to the Gallows has gone missing somewhere on the road, and you're one of the lucky short-straw-drawers sent to find them. Or whatever is left of them. There are Dalish in the woods—mean ones, rumor has it—as well as Thedas' typical unnaturally aggressive wolves and bears, steep drops and hidden traps left behind by hunters, and at least one group of vicious bandits.

III. THE DEEP ROADS: The ground beneath Thedas is threaded with cavernous ancient roads, once used by the dwarves to traverse the continent, now largely abandoned by anyone except roving bands of darkspawn. Unfortunately for everyone, this abandonment and inhospitality make them an excellent way to travel unnoticed beneath everyone else's feet, which is why you're currently engaged in a skirmish with a gang of snarling, corrupted genlocks, or trying to cross a narrow stone bridge without thinking about how bottomless the dark beneath it seems to be.

IV. SEND A MESSAGE: Each member of Riftwatch (or rifter, or ally) 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.

V. 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.

vorbratta: (my heart is skipping triplets)

[personal profile] vorbratta 2019-10-20 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
With Sawbones at the far end, Sonia suddenly wishes she’d gone first instead. The yawning abyss between them is...very intimidating, and she feels suddenly exposed at the back.

“Coming, coming!” With a grimace like someone about to set foot in a grimy puddle, Sonia touches one toe to the bridge and...it does not immediately crumble out from beneath her, which is good. But it’s still a long way to reach the other side. “Honestly, who builds bridges like this...”
okayimin: (what's that)

[personal profile] okayimin 2019-10-20 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Hoo, this is gonna take a while, isn't it...

"These types don't get built," Sawbones tells her helpfully in her Duster drawl. Maybe talking will help move Sonia along, "They're a natural part of the Stone. Helps and harms and all that shit."
vorbratta: (set it up and tear it down)

[personal profile] vorbratta 2019-10-21 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"You mean this is a natural formation?" Sonia is not sure if that makes her feel any better. "You make it sound like it has a mind of its own."
okayimin: (Default)

[personal profile] okayimin 2019-10-21 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Sawbones shrugs. It’s weird talking about this with someone from the Surface. “Sure,” she says, “The Maker has his own mind, doesn’t he? So does the Stone.”
vorbratta: (while i sweep up the mess)

[personal profile] vorbratta 2019-10-23 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"I...suppose." Not that Sonia has ever been particularly attached to the Chantry or its teachings. She eyes the bridge dubiously, but she's got the feeling that if she delays much longer, Sawbones will begin laughing at her -- if only on the inside. So she steels herself with a breath and sets one foot on the bridge.

Nothing terrible happens. While she isn't looking down, she's keenly, terribly aware of the void below, and would like to get past it as quickly as possible. So once she's sure of her footing, she moves quickly. Can't fall off the bridge if you're already past it!!
okayimin: (what's that)

[personal profile] okayimin 2019-10-24 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
It's a relief when Sonia finally starts to move. Being anywhere in the Deep Roads is never safe, but staying in one place is even less safe.

...She'll wait til Sonia's on the other side before she tells her that though. Sawbones really doesn't want her losing her nerve halfway across the bridge. "Take it easy, make sure your footing is solid," she says instead, in the same calm and steady voice she usually reserves for people in labor.