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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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no subject
So in the aftermath of the event I think that Jack would be interested in trying to track down members of some merc groups. He was often out in the streets fighting during the event, so I think it's fair to assume that he may have seen some of them in action.
Given that he works at Giles Bell and it's been established that some of the merc groups are linked to the corporations, I was wondering if it would be possible for him to spot some of them coming and going from Giles Bell HQ? I doubt that they would just stroll through the front doors and imagine there would be some amount of discretion involved, but since he's security, it seems like he might be able to interact with them as a result of letting them into the building or having access to less traversed areas, etc.
While he wouldn't try to have a real conversation in the midst of Giles Bell HQ, he would be willing to reveal that he was a Displaced and ask if it was possible to arrange a meeting with one of them somewhere a little more private. Would this work, or would they just tell him to get lost?
His goal here is to hopefully unearth which merc outfit is in charge of the Displaced new arrival dropoffs and to learn about the group that was hired during the Gates event and dig into that some more.
Thanks for the help!
no subject
It's unlikely that the mercenaries would be meeting on the grounds of Giles Bell because these corporations keep their ties to these groups under wraps. After all, the Displaced had to come across this information through external means. The corporations don't want to seem as if they're employing their own private military group when they already hold most of the power in the world. Thus, their mercenary circle of choice doesn't tend to meet on Giles Bell's grounds, and they likely receive their orders digitally.
That said, the orders have to come from somewhere—and those orders would typically be associated with protecting scientists and sensitive materials (such as samples, specialized goods, and more). When needed, Jack's boss would likely be the one in charge of delivering the orders. He would need to persuade his boss to provide him with information about the group. Would he utilize his power to get this information and find out what he wants to know?
no subject
So if possible, Jack would at first try to learn information about what mercenary groups were being hired on what jobs through eavesdropping while on his shifts -- that is, placing himself in spots where he might be able to overhear his boss' conversations and learn some details. If that didn't really work as intended, he might go so far as to ask his boss about it directly ("hey, I heard you mention [x name], what's that about?" with a certain amount of playing dumb), or volunteer to go on one of these jobs as security detail (transporting samples or specialized supplies, etc so that he could interface with the mercenaries directly).
If none of these strategies work, he would eventually go so far as to use his power to try and order his boss to tell him the information. He would try to do this without actually revealing that he was using a power (covering up so the glow didn't come through his clothes, etc). This would definitely be the last resort, though!
no subject
Jack might not be able to finagle his way onto a run, but he could act as a point of contact to organize one! Since he's been at the company for a while, he'd be trusted to act as a go between, ensuring that the runs that do happen go down safely and discreetly.
This would put him in contact with the mercenaries directly, but he may want to tread carefully here so as not to draw too much attention to his goals. How do you think he'd go about this? Would he lay low and try to gather information that way, or aim to build a relationship with the mercenary group himself?
no subject
Jack would figure that there are tons of mercenary groups out there and that not all of them necessarily have any connection to the Displaced drop-offs or the kidnappings to the Gates, but in light of the monster event, he would bring up the Displaced as a general topic and try and gauge the mercenaries' feelings about them, to see if that reveals any possible connections to those topics or information they might have. What might he learn by doing this?
He wouldn't reveal himself as a Displaced right away with this set up, instead hoping to slowly learning more about the mercenaries via working with them, even if it's not directly.
no subject
As for eavesdropping, he won't find much information there. The mercs tend to be tight-lipped around strangers, and so most of what he'll hear is the general sort of grumbling among coworkers. It is pretty clear that the different mercenary crews are aware of one another and gossip about each other, however. Apparently these guys aren't huge fans of the mercenaries that work for Pulsar. They tend to be dirtier and more underhanded on their jobs, and a few of the people Jack will overhear take issue with that, whether because they're afraid that will bring more scrutiny on their own work or just because they don't think those sort of tactics are necessary.
If he wants more sensitive, in-depth information, his best bet might be to grease the wheels so to speak, whether that be through his power or other means.
no subject
Instead, after pinpointing which of the mercs were more sympathetic to the Displaced, he would contact one of them via neural implant -- not as part of a job, but off-hours so to speak. He would reveal that he was a Displaced and, now that he knows the merc groups are all aware of each other to some degree, would ask if they had any information about which other merc groups were based in New Amsterdam -- and what their purview was.
He figures there must be a reason why all the drop-offs have been in NA, which is his thought process for this line of questioning. Would this get him anywhere?
Thanks for the help!
no subject
That's a pretty basic question, one the merc would feel comfortable answering. However, if Jack asks for anything more detailed, his contact will want to know why he's digging. Is he working for the Displaced? Why do they want to know?
no subject
If the contact wanted to know why he was asking all this, Jack would explain that the Displaced as a group had some interaction with Global Spiral, but wouldn't really want to say more than that, citing that it wasn't his place to speak for the Displaced as a whole. He would imply that he'd had a run-in with them that he wasn't too thrilled about, but wouldn't go so far as to allude to kidnapping or anything like that.
no subject
Jack might remember that a Morningstar agent named Gavin dug quite a bit into the mercenaries, and could be a good back up source as he pieces this together. Gaby would be a great go between for this, as she's publicly stated that she knows him!