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PLOT ENGAGEMENT (ARCHIVED)
What is Plot Engagement and how does it work within Meadowlark? This is the page where players can come discuss with us how to facilitate plots within the setting. However, there will be occasions where a plot doesn't work within Meadowlark's world, and we'll suggest alternative routes. For small worldbuilding or gameplay details, please direct your question to the FAQ. If you're ever not sure if you're at the right page, don't worry—we'll help you get it sorted out. We know we have a load of info!
WHEN WILL YOU HEAR BACK?
◉ All Plot Engagement answers go out on Sunday, except during events.
◉ The deadline to submit a question and ensure you'll hear back from us on Sunday is 11:59 PM UTC on Saturday.
PLOT ENGAGEMENT INCLUDES
◉ Player plots! If you'd like your character to become a mafia boss, this is your place to start. Typically, this involves anything that could impact the setting or other player characters.
◉ Character career advancement that gives the character additional power or status within the setting.
◉ Metaplot exploration and information! We plan all events to give characters something to explore after the event ends. This is the place to do it!
SUBMISSION TIPS
◉ Specify what your character is looking for when they're investigating. What questions are they asking and what angle are they trying to explore?
◉ If you have a specific goal in mind but don't know how to reach it, please let us know.
◉ If you link a thread to us, please summarize it! That helps us process the plot in question.
◉ Don't worry about not knowing the setting like the back of your hand before you submit the plot—that's up to us! We're here to help you with any adjustments to get you on the right track.
NOTES & THINGS THAT YOU CAN HANDWAVE
◉ Characters always start out in entry level positions. Characters can update their skill sets to the 2512 standard through paid apprenticeships or internships.
◈ If a character is advancing within a major corporation (as noted on the Setting or Locations page) or one of its subsidiaries, we will need to approve this advancement.
◈ If a character becomes a supervisor at a local bar or other small business, we do not need to approve this advancement.
◉ Joining the police force within a city requires three months of IC training (six months OOC).
◉ We'll approve whether someone has social media fame, but we will not be providing social media follower counts. Once you have a plot for how to use those followers, that's where we step in!
◉ All Morningstar business goes on our Morningstar page. Please feel free to discuss specific plots here (including joining), and go there for signups and anything else.
◉ Characters getting jobs, finding apartments, participating in the fighting rings, getting married, making workplace friends, the creation of minor NPCs, etc. do not need to be run by us. Please let us know if these expand into player plots or other plot bits!
QUICK LINKS
◉ FAQ: For small worldbuilding or gameplay details.
◉ Setting: Our setting page! We'll update as needed.
◉ Jobs: A reference for who's working where!
◉ Locations: Both major and minor locations within New Amsterdam, as well as outlines for other megacities.
◉ Mod Contact: For wider game concerns.
◉ The Story So Far: Gamewide plot events up to current (your CTRL+F best friend!).
◉ NPC page: Includes NPC blurbs and inboxes.
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Just as a heads up, Mini-Jason, henceforth forever known as Mason is doing a bit of undercover work.
1. He's going to be working on snooping around Tempo by getting "lost" occasionally, but also curious about what he'd gather from just being a fly on the wall, in between being bored out of his mind?
And 2. He's going to be working on getting into Hideki Maeda's social group to see if he can get access to the wild parties at the Maeda place. You know. Useless, party bro stuff. I figure this one might take him some time, but he's gonna be looking to see how one might gain access to that room, if they were trying to commit some violent crimes.
It's "Mason goes deep undercover" month.
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1) He'll be getting lost occasionally, but also he's going to be working on befriending the people who manage some of the more sensitive docs, or in the teams/organizations that he thinks would have those. Basically, he will be working on building up some rapport, under the guise of innocently actually wanting a career in that organization. Expect that he'll have done his homework to make sure the lie comes off as believable enough. And again, always being an invisible fly on the wall, either by making sure he looks distracted and like he's not paying attention.
2) The room he's concerned about in the Maeda residence was mentioned by Jason as being heavily guarded. He's going to try and figure out how to gain access to it, and depending on how the situation shapes up, he might test the access point. I guess it depends on how likely it is he thinks he'll get caught, whether or not he tests or whether he passes the information back to Jason without trying it.
Sorry, I threw all that up with. a lot of stuff left out. Apologies!
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1. Tempo is not the only business in that building! It's shared by other offices, so his meandering may get him shooed back into the right place depending on who catches him, but he'll have the office space down well pretty quickly. Since his duties would include normal intern stuff, he'd need to run lunch and coffee errands for a variety of office meetings. He'll learn that their warehouses are not anywhere in the financial district. There are three, but all of them are situated in spots that are more lucrative to Tempo with cheap rent and more space. He's probably heard phrases such as "testing according to plan," "resources need to be adjusted" and recalls on specific bits and pieces of weaponry. He'll find that there are blueprints and specifications of the manufacturing of these weapons, but they're kept under some hefty security. Mason wouldn't have the permissions to get them, himself, and breaking the encryptions will take some slick 2512 hacking skills. There are a couple of teams that have access to that sensitive documentation, depending on what Mason's looking for: weapon specs, contracts, or shipment and customs documentation. He'll have to work a little to dig any further, but befriending all of them and snooping around will definitely cause some suspicion, so he should choose wisely. Let us know if there's a specific path he'd like to take here!
2. It would take a little time! Could you give us a few more details on how he'd go about getting in with Hideki? Let us know if there's a specific way that he'd approach him, and how he'd start to gain his trust! Since Hideki is a little more whimsical, Mason will need to find a way to keep his attention if he wants to party. Let us know what you'd like to do on this front, we want to make sure we can give you something to work with!
As far as the second part of the question goes, it's going to tie into the first. We'll say that most of the going-ons in the Maeda household don't usually involve Hideki, so while Mason might be able to gain some in, he'll need to find a more intelligent way of getting into that room. Once we get the first part down, we can follow up with the rest of this! Though, if possible, can you touch base with Jessi about what room Mason is trying to get into? It's possible that this was simply a locked room in the Maeda estate, and we want to make sure that we clear that up ahead of time so that the entirety of the plotting isn't pigeon holed by a miscommunication.
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2. As for this one, Jason's going to focus on upping his party bro nature. He'd pick up what type of things Hideki typically likes (through his socials) and try to position himself as "hey shit, me too bro." It helps that Mason does genuinely love drinking in bars-- and would have some actual first hand research. Even if "partying" is something he'd have to fake it till he made it a little bit.
As for the room, I went back to the thread where Jason told Mason what to look for and it was "under heavy surveillance, but locked." This comment. If there are multiple rooms that fit this description, Mason would need to go back to Jason for questioning anyway.
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1. There's one of the paralegals that might be a good choice to befriend! Their name is Reese. He'd have to stick with Tempo for at least a month and focus on this budding relationship. Mason will have to do a little schmoozing to get them to trust him (including spending lunch breaks listening to them yabbering about their personal life and spending time with them during happy hour). To get the information, he'd have to approach with a reason why he'd want it and what he'd like specifically to avoid suspicion. He wouldn't be able to get access to the actual contracts, but if he approached his new friend with certain business requests (false or not), he may be able to spin it to get something that may be interesting to him. Let us know what kind of information he'd be poking around for in this case, and what excuse he'd give Reese!
2. Mason wouldn't be able to get to Hideki at first, he'd need to work on the how a little more. Hideki is notoriously bratty and difficult to please, so phrases of solidarity might get the response of "who are you, again?" especially if Hideki isn't familiar with Mason. He hangs out at very affluent bars and loves to gamble. The prior PCs that had a relationship with Hideki (Cain and Prompto) had a bit of a cheat code in getting in with him the last time, which was the dream plot that went down. That said, Mason might need a wider plan to get his attention. We can turn this around more quickly for you if you want to toss out some ideas on how he might strategically go about friending Hideki while trying to navigate the "spoiled rich kid" personality that Hideki has going for him.
We also wanted to follow up to say that even if Mason does get in with Hideki, it might not gain him access to the room that he's looking to unlock. We want to ensure that the effort that's going into this gives you something!
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For contracts, I think he'd be interested in getting lists of other vendors Tempo works with, that can provide good hints on what resources Tempo might be using, or things that might hint at the kind of weapons they need? Basically he's casing them to build as much of a profile as possible, given how the information is under lock and key.
As for why he'd want to know these things-- at first, he'd be asking about "how this is done" and then really trying to get him to give him an example of "what would you do in xxx case." Or "What's an example of how that contract went wrong?" Stuff that could give examples of companies, and then move into more "Oh, I'm supposed to be helping with a presentation on this, but I wasn't sure who to ask." Basically, piecemealing it?
2. Honestly, getting a good look at his gambling, does Hideki play fair, or would Mason be able to catch cheats? And there is definitely the possibility of him doing gambling to work his way in to that crowd better-- especially since he's good at sleight of hand and cheating. Especially if he can find someone dumb and rich that Hideki likes seeing get beat. That he could challenge and beat at a gambling match. Bonus points if it gives him more money to operate off of. Which can hopefully be used to counter the snotty rich boy act.
Is that a possibility?
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Strange is going to be using his manipulation powers to get Jason an in. So, add that to some shenanigans, I think that should work out for getting and maintaining Hideki's interest?
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1. The defense contracts themselves are generally made with the United Nations Treasury with the explicit purpose of producing small, handheld weaponry—this is not common knowledge, as Tempo wants to keep the target off of their back. In the current weapons' industry, they've built their identity on producing technologically advanced weaponry that outmatches anything that's in the hands of radicals. To keep their contracts, Reese will explain, Tempo needs to bid annually against other contractors within the United Nations. While there's no instance of contracts "going bad," per se, Tempo is on thin ice with their current UN defense contract due to a shipment of product lost during the EMP in November. They have to produce a newly advanced weapon and present it to some high-ranking military officials in the next few months.
We know that you probably have a better handle on this sort of thing than we do, so feel free to hit us up with any corrections you think that we should make.
2. Hideki plays badly. It's the reason he lost to (big) Jason in the first place! No cheats, necessarily, just loud privileged kid fun.
Jason would need to find a way to dress himself up as a rich kid to support any attention in the first place. Strange's rewiring will help getting in with Hideki, but his friends won't be keen for any newcomers joining the group. He can get Hideki's attention through gambling, but Hideki isn't a fan of losing, especially thanks to what happened with (big) Jason all those months ago. There will be some unspoken rules in dealing with Hideki, like "help him win" and "let him win," even if it goes against the recommendation of the cards system in play. As for Hideki's friends? They're still pissed about Hideki's hot (and eventually cold) relationship with Cain and Prompto a while back. Those dicks just ditched them, so they'll put Jason through the ringer and try to sabotage his place among them. If Jason's smart, he can use this as an opportunity to cement himself at Hideki's side.
Let us know if this works for you, or if you'd like any other details about Hideki.
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2. I see this conspiracy to make him dress up. Fine, he can do that. But also, he's definitely smart enough to pick up that these guys are going to try and ruin things for him, so I imagine a little smart deflecting, or making them look bad will go far? As will the plan of helping Hideki win big against someone he doesn't like. So, hoping this works as far as getting him in with Hideki?
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Glad to hear it! We look forward to seeing where you take it. As for Hideki, he has his in! Have fun trying not to murder the most shallow rich boy alive, Jason. Some smart deflecting will work, but the issue is that they'll be blunter, less subtle and more likely to try to trick Jason into messing up! Let us know what he does to take care of this. Right now, Hideki will mostly be hanging out with Jason in gambling dens while his friends act as nuisances in his ear, but Jason can try to get him alone for a ... frustrating time?
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Anyway, he's going to start prying on why Hideki isn't hosting gambling parties at his house, especially since being the house has its advantages.
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Both Hideki and his friends are the holier-than-thou types simply because they have money. They're spoiled brats who believe they're better than everyone else, but they do seem to be very fond of Hideki (as well as the clout they get from being his friend). It's probable that they will get under the skin of someone like Jason if you'd like, so let us know if things go that way!
As for the gambling parties, Hideki will play it off that his house isn't so great. There's so many guards around that it would be, in his words, "a total drag." His mother has been scrutinizing his activities since the incident where he lost her dog. In actuality, he'll be uncomfortable because he's afraid of his mother, who's already threatened to cut him off if he keeps messing up.
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Also time to point out that the guards around means people sure would be scared to fuck with the house, basically he is going to subtly start being a bad influence or using that to get more information about when the house might be clear.
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These spoiled brats of children won't be keen to make a fight, but the fact that it's a gamble will leave Hideki interested in the outcome. He's not one to gamble on the fighting rings, but he'd be happy to find a place for a fight like this to go down. (Specifically: not his apartment.)
Hideki won't be persuaded to have any kind of gambling night at his house! Actually, he'd be pretty firmly against it. Mason might notice that this is something that Hideki definitely won't budge on. We'd suggest drawing in Stephen here to smooth things over, but that could be a problem, too, given that he's making himself known. That said, Mason could try something a little smaller than a gambling night and it could work out in his favor!
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Anyway, if he won't do the gambling night, how about post fight drinks? Something light with a few people there, and celebratory for the winner. Might make it interesting.
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Hyped by the fight itself, Hideki will be happy to bring back his friends. Not that night, but his mom is due to be out of town soon, so he'll send them a message when it's go time!
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And once in, is it possible for Mason to misuse his powers of "getting lost looking for the bathroom" to identify where that room is? and what security measures are being taken?
Could he get away with getting subtle pictures of the place to return to Jason?
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You're free to assume that Mason, as well as a handful of Hideki's friends, made it to his house after the fight for drinks while his mother was out of town. He will be very specific about this!
Upon entering the Maeda estate, there will be armed guards posted at the doors. They won't be keen on speaking and will ensure that the group entering knows they're being watched. There will be cameras in most places, so Mason will have to make his detour in the Maeda household believable. The locked room – to specify, this is a neural implant lock – is the master suite shared by Aoi and her husband. Since neither of them trust Hideki, the room will be locked when Mason passes it!
Pictures are fine, but keep the above in mind! He's going to have to act natural.
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You can feel free to have Jason figure out a path from outside into the locked room. However, keep in mind that this room doesn't have a whole lot going on. It's actually Maeda's bedroom. All of her super sketchy stuff is digital - and therefore, in her head! Let us know if there's something else that he'd be looking for.