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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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After some chatting with fellow PCs and taking some time to recover from the previous event, Markus is set to continue investigating the mysteries surrounding the shrines and the mysterious street artist! Here are some questions I have regarding that:
1. Would there be a way to trace the metallic, iridescent paint used in the shrines (and also at the ball, iirc) to a specific manufacturer? And from there narrow down the list to artists who utilize this paint prominently in their own work? Obviously this will only aid Markus in helping him find out who the artist is if they also are keen on displaying their artwork through more traditional means (galleries, shows, etc), but he wants to be thorough. Just in case.
2. If he checks online conspiracy boards, focusing on the subjects of these shrines and where they come from, will he find any useful nuggets of information that could act as a lead? Anything that would be viable for him to follow up on? This would include things he’s inquired about before, including the artist’s identity, their methods of working under the radar, their connection to the Insomniac’s Ball, the paint they use (in reference to my first question), and various theories regarding how to get in touch with them, or to get their attention?
3. Would Markus be able to find out (from either his artist connections or online) just who is absconding pieces of the shrines to be sold at auction? Would he also be able to find out who’s attending said auctions, and who the buyers are? Any big names (government, political, movers and shakers, basically) that would stand out to him? Better yet, would he actually be able to attend one of these silent auctions and see exactly where money is changing hands?
4. Finally, Markus will be attempting to get the attention of the artist in question, in hopes that if he can’t track them down, maybe they’ll be the one to initiate contact. He would work to put up his own street art in tandem with those mentioned in the last comment to do his own version of a “shrine”, mixing his own style with the graffiti art he’s seen in Detroit countless times before — but incorporating the same geometric shapes that are on his new invite to the next Insomniac’s Ball.
notice him, senpaino subject
1. The paint can be traced, but unfortunately it can be traced to just about everywhere. The brand isn't very unique, and is common in most art and craft stores around the city. It's used in everything from street art to decorative flourishes on building exteriors, and will hold up against almost any weather. It's a good quality paint. While it isn't that special, it is readily available for Markus to purchase himself some.
2. The conspiracy boards are just a mix of speculation. There isn't anything on the connection between the proprietor of the Insomniac's Ball and the shrines, themselves. Most of the theories surround government and corporate lines, the Insomniac's Ball being a method of public complacency, and the shrines being a government tactic used as a diversion.
3. The shrines are being commandeered by privately owned construction contractors who specialize in not leaving a paper trail. There's a lot of red tape that goes into the removal of the shrines, and most involved want to keep their heads down.
Finding the buyers is simple, but may take some legwork. It's a matter of public tax record, and he'll have to use the servers at city hall to access them. The auctions themselves are a mixed bag, so it's difficult to tell who's there for what. The governor herself has attended some, but generally for reasons of political mingling. While names are listed, they are difficult to pin down in how that person may be important, as companies and the government are hush-hush about their higher ups. There is one family name that sticks out: "Maeda" has purchased one of the shrines recently. He may find more information if he asks Damian, Dick or Jason.
He's welcome to attend one, himself, but he'll need to find a way to secure an invitation. If you have any ideas on how he'd go about this, please let us know!
4. It'll take at least a week, and it would be overlooked by anyone normally passing by, but there will be a small bottle of wine left near Markus' street art mock shrine. The bottle's label will have a little paint on it with a hand-applied series of dots that, when researched, will turn out to be "the tree of life."
no subject
Is the wine safe to drink if someone... decides to do so? Is there anything special about it, other than the markings? Or is it just ordinary wine?
no subject
That's right, it's ordinary wine with a slightly smoky aftertaste. It's from a out-of-city hydroponic vineyard that's pretty trendy right now, but there's nothing special about it.
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Markus and Peggy are both very interested in trying to land invites to one of these auctions; their reasoning is that it would beneficial to see who’s attending them in person, as it might present an opportunity to strike up conversation (or just overhear something juicy) as to why these individuals, some of them influential big names, are so interested in art which basically represents the displaced as a whole.
Markus will do his best to earn an invite the only way he knows how, at the moment: hobnobbing with the elite. As he works at a very high-end, very exclusive restaurant, he surrounds himself with these sorts of people fairly frequently (movers and shakers, executives at big companies, etc.); I’ve established that Markus is generally well-liked at this venue, and that he does spend time eavesdropping when given the chance. He would keep eyes and ears out for any talk of the shrines, or talk of private auctions in which this art would be sold. After that, it’s a matter of striking up conversation with them, getting friendly, cranking up the charisma to 11, and relaying interest as an artist and individual intrigued about the shrines’ subject matter to see if he can wrangle an invite or two out of them. He’d play the humble card, if need be, implying that they’d be doing him such a wonderful favor, showing him endless generosity, by humoring him with a pair of invites. He’s always wondered what it would be like to attend one, and view the kind of art that goes on sale! Et cetera.
If it helps, there was discussion of Markus sometimes playing for corporate execs in privately rented rooms (here, #4 specifically) if that would make this scenario more reasonable.
So I suppose my questions would be:
1. Would he be successful in landing two invites to one of these auctions?
2. And not related to the auctions themselves, but if Markus goes back to the shrine he created about a week later, will he find anything else waiting for him?
no subject
Prepare yourself for some answers.
1. With a little legwork and brown nosing on his part, Markus shouldn't find it too difficult to land an invite. The person who extends it will be very clear: The conduct of Markus and Peggy will reflect back on them, the one who invited them, so it will be essential that they know what they're getting into.
The auctions are mostly thrown in the now evenings, and require some demands of high style and fashion. Markus will, however, be there at the behest of someone else, and will most likely be under additional judgmental scrutiny by those attending the auction. The people there live in a world quite different from that of the majority of New Amsterdam, and many have never stepped outside of their wealth bubble. They'll have no problem picking out both Peggy and Markus, as they will obviously Not Belong.
When Peggy and Markus converse with these people, most of them will turn the conversation into light, meaningless gossip of the "problems" of the upper echelon, and ask Markus and Peggy about their own investments and what they plan to purchase at this event. Peggy and Markus will want to be careful, as their answers could easily end with them being the butt of a joke, or someone looking to put them down so they could find a leg up politically. Those attending will know the ins and outs of social politics, and they will play themselves accordingly, deliberately focusing judgement on Markus and Peggy - who are easy targets - whenever they get a chance to find a dig.
There are no mentions of the displaced, or people with powers, or anything of the sort when it comes to the auctions. Maeda is there, playing the game and scoping the competition. The trend seemed to catch by someone seeing the art in someone else's residence, and wanting to reflect the same style. They see it as a matter of a status symbol, rather than anything artistically significant, though there will be conversations surrounding the "philosophical and existential meaning" of the art (that Markus will be able to tell is completely off base).
2. No, but the shrine itself has gotten some foot traffic! He'll find that a few people have tried to assign their signatures to it, trying to claim it as their own, but there aren't any more physical offerings.