WILD WILD JEST

[noematic]

Yee-haw, heroes.

That is the text you will be getting via your communicators sometime during October 23rd. It is from Lachesis, and it plays prelude to the fourth and final off-world chapter. At high noon on October 24th, you will be transported to a world set in the Wild West, and specifically ported into a town called Capers. Now, Capers is an unusual town in that despite being technologically locked into the early nineteenth century, its human populace is very used to transdimensional travelers from a particular mostly-human pocket of the multiverse. In fact, Capers has a system to easily integrate newcomers who newly come. This means that the Town Mayor of Capers, Mr. Eisner, will designate a Wild West role to your character, which will be RNG'd by the mods for you. The list of all possible roles will be listed below.

You have the choice to either embrace your arbitrarily designated Capers role, or you can reject it. However, if you reject your role, you will face difficulties in the society. The easier path is to accept your roles. Below is a list of benefits and difficulties that you can experience through accepting or rejecting your roles, respectively.

Another thing about Capers: all non-human animals in the town of Capers are dinosaurs. Horses are actually dinosaurs, rodents are actually tinier dinosaurs, cows are actually edible dinosaurs. There is no restriction on what dinosaurs you may see; Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous pullpoints are all up for grabs.

Last weird thing about Capers: while the native residents are normal humans, many traveling individuals are Vulcanus Metamen. Not all of these Metamen HAVE to be HUMAN, but they will appear humanlike. These Metamen have all been imbued with ONE SUPERPOWER, and they have come here with a purpose! That purpose? BATTLING YOU! Specifically you. At dusk on October 28th, the Metamen will attack specific imPorts in an all-out brawl that will last until dawn of the 29th. This means you can use OLD TIMEY GUNS or POWERS or DINOSAURS in epic battle. You can kill Metamen, or you can get killed (but as a reminder: all deaths MUST be cleared through the plot post as per usual).

But how will a Metaman target specifically you? You will be randomly assigned a Metaman that has been conceived by a fellow player. When you sign-up, you MUST fill out a METAMAN FORM before you get assigned a random role. You will create this NPC Metaman, and that NPC will be assigned to another character. Your Metaman won't attack you until the dusk on the 28th (in which there will be a timely thread for that adventure within the main log), but they can stalk you, or taunt you, or challenge you to whiskey shots.

This final chapter is about who. Who are you, imPort?

Notes in short:
- You will have your communicator with you.
- The bulk of the plot will be in a self-contained log, but you can make your own logs too.
- If you want to organize something big, like a stampede of Tyrannosaurus Rex, you can. But do the plotting for it in this post.
- Plot runs from noon October 24th to noon October 29th.
- Residents of Capers will find you appropriate clothing for your roles.
- Nothing but your clothes and your communicator will be ported in with you. You WILL have all your powers (or any paraphernalia that your powers require to work, as an exception to the former rule).
- You CANNOT BRING BACK DINOSAURS FROM CAPERS if -- oh yes, there is an if -- IF they are bigger than you are.
- You can sign up more than one character.

Lists are below in the initial comments, including the Metamen form and an example of how to fill out the form. Please adhere to the example format! Questions and comments welcomed.

You can sign-up until 12:00AM October 24th.

Comments

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

[noematic]

Say 'em here!

[foreshadower]

In terms of different species for the metamen! Is it more of a sky's the limit kind of thing, or are we restricted to skrulls as the species before their human appearance if we go that route?

[noematic]

This is open to the CNC multiverse (as opposed to the City's universe), so any alien species is applicable, have fun with it -- but again, they have to be disguised well enough to look mostly human!

[heal_or_execute]

Am I correct in assuming characters won't be able to pre-empt their nemeses by tackling them before the 28th?

Also, would Mordin's omni-tool (necessary for applying the medi-gel his power generates, but also a weapon) be allowed as excepted paraphernalia for the 'nothing but clothes and communicators' rule?

[slightlyoffchilt]

As mentioned, your Metaman won't attack you until the dusk on the 28th (in which there will be a timely thread for that adventure within the main log), but they can stalk you, or taunt you, or challenge you to whiskey shots -- but since they won't attack you until the dusk of the 28th, that includes any violent reaction if you attack them. They would simply flee, since they are under direct orders.

Since he needs it to manifest part of his power set (in terms of application), I'll allow it.

[erewhile]

If Hanky Panky doesn't make an appearance I'll be disappointed.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Hank Schrader is in our hearts.

Re: QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

[wild_roar]

what sorts of limits/expectations are there for metamen? i.e. do they have to have certain powers/not allowed to have certain powers, or is it completely up to our imaginations?

because I'm trying to prepare to sign up but I'm so braindead I can't think of powers...but willing to cheat by going to the One Piece wiki and hauling out a list of known Devil Fruit powers...

Re: QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

[slightlyoffchilt]

As mentioned in the form itself, the only limitations are that the power must be an offensive power (as opposed to defensive), must be a singular power (cannot be lazer vision AND acid-energy projectile balls), and cannot be all-powerful (nothing game-breaking, nothing that imPorts couldn't have, etc). Otherwise you have a lot of latitude to work with! You can certainly use inspiration from other media and work it into those specifications.

[waiting]

Regardjng accepting your role or rejecting it, and apologies if this is an obvious thing: do we have the option of having a character do both? IE initially rejecting the role, then realizing roughing it sucks, so deciding to reluctantly play along, OR going from enjoying playing up the caper role and then deciding they want out? Subject to reasonable limits, of course, no daily switching over or anything like that.

[enigmaestro]

It is fine to reverse your decision of acceptance/rejection of your role, as long as you adhere to the appropriate and respective consequences of accepting or rejecting a role!

[fronttowardenemy]

How obvious does 'rejecting' your role have to be? As in, I imagine it's obvious is a saloon worker doesn't show for shift and such, but for the more casual things -- like Frank being a prospector, will people not immediately know and shun him? In other words, CAN YOU LIE and have people not realize in circumstances...

Or can they sense your filthy non-conformity...

[slightlyoffchilt]

That depends on how you want to play it out! Passive rejection of the role will have to be observed -- Frank won't be digging for gold, or hanging out in the Caper barter market, or buying equipment, or talking business in regards to land with any railroad barons, etc. This can all be noted by NPCs, who might at first gently coax Frank into his proper place. Or they might be more aggressive about it.

Active rejection, the sort that would involve Frank rejecting people calling him "Prospector Frank" or "Stinky Frank" if the case may be, or the sort that involves him yelling that everyone was crazy, or sullenly storming off -- that would inspire a more reactive, volatile response. Either way people would notice eventually, lying about your acceptance won't show in your actions, and they will know. Because they'll be watching.

So it's sort of like sensing non-conformity!

[notadartboard]

whoops one more query before I decide how Kotetsu is going to deal with things.

I know he won't get to bring his power suit along and I'm delighted with that. But what about a mask? Or should he just fashion a bandanna-bandito mask if he wants to keep his identity secret? ;)

[erewhile]

That's completely fine! Wait, let me clarify better: yes, a mask fashioned after the setting is totally fine.

[crab]

so what's the deal with those who have powers allowing them a convenient hammerspace? does said hammerspace's contents get left behind or brought along for the ride?

[capemods]

The contents will be left behind, but anything from Capers that you hammerspace away can be brought with you back to the City. Dinosaurs still must be smaller than their imPort, however.

[deformer]

So is the metaman we're assigned to play

A) Attacking our own character, and we write out the confrontation between our character and assigned metaman ourselves?
B) Attacking the character whose player created that metaman?
C) Something else entirely?

[capemods]

Just A, and as mentioned you can have your assigned metaman engage with your character -- there's just no physical confrontation until the big showdown. If your character pursues fisticuffs, the metaman will default to fleeing, under orders of Vulcanus.

[magicalworld]

Late question, but do Skrull Metamen retain their usual shapeshifting, or do they only have the one power Vulcanus has gifted them with?

[noematic]

They have a subdued shapeshifting, which allows them to look human -- but they won't use it for anything else (and it doesn't mean they can't slip up in disguise, if you want to play that). Vulcanus is hoping that the confrontation showdown will be a surprise, and they want data explicitly on how their powers work against imPorts -- so all metaman agents are under orders to employ no other offensive tactic, in terms of superpowers. Doesn't mean they can't use the setting/firearms/dinosaurs, etc.

[shipper]

I figure that the answer is yes but I just want to make double sure before throwing it up into the log - would it be ok to cause a cowsaur stampede?

[enigmaestro]

Yes, definitely!

[fronttowardenemy]

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

What are the specifics involved in taking a dinosaur back with you? Sorry if this will be more obvious when the plot wraps up, but characters are usually POOF ported back home, so I was curious.

[slightlyoffchilt]

The only stipulations are OOCly determined (dinosaur can't be bigger than you). ICly, your character doesn't have to "choose" the beast -- it might be that they simply port back with you, and you deal with it from there. Or you can intentionally bring them back! No DNA melding will occur.