![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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.
.
no subject
1. This is definitely a direction you can take, but it will take a lot of work. As we see it, there are two routes that Octavia can take:
Route A: She can join an existing gang and gain reputation that way. It will take a lot of work, but if she does things like the fighting rings on the side - which we believe she's very suited for - she'll end up gaining a lot of clout. Jason Todd is in one of the gangs right now - the Warlocks - and has been working toward this for a while. You can reach out to Jessi if you're interested, or even have Octavia join one of the rival gangs (which we'll provide more information about below).
Route B: She can create her own gang! This will take a lot more work, especially given the unified front of the underground at the moment (since they're widely afraid of Morningstar breathing down their necks). That won't always remain that way, and players are currently developing plots to shake that up. However, Octavia does have that glowing blue presence that could make her stand out and draw attention, and gather a group around her. You could even have her gang absorbed into one of the larger ones over time, making it that she obtains a leadership position that way.
Both of these can be done in conjunction with the fighting rings.
As for the gangs themselves, here are the big ones:
The 66: We haven't outlined anything for them! We'd like to keep this open-ended for now, so if you'd like to tackle this, we'd be glad to have you.
Warlocks: Mostly deal in drugs and drug trafficking, some violence and intimidation. Jessi wrote a great outline for them here. They handle stolen parts and street racing.
The Hi-Jacks: A nerdy, technical gang. Fitz was once a member before he disappeared. They deal in a lot of the usual stuff and may even be involved in the development of a drug created out of bits of monster parts that, when diluted, can make someone become blindly angry when they enter the fighting rings (but doesn't have a lasting effect). We introduced that drug on this calendar.
The Kings: They also handle drugs and drug trafficking, as well as stolen goods. Laura Moon is currently in talks with them!
The mob families:
Petrov Family: A widespread organization that's been around since the early 20th century in some form. Once known to be a facet of the Russian mob, those lines and definitions don't exist in the year 2511. Mostly, they carry the same name because it has clout. They deal a lot in the casinos, using their back rooms for shady dealings. They also run a lot of gambling dens. They have a stake in the fighting rings - primarily in keeping them up and running. However, that isn't the same as maintaining the fighters themselves.
Riverside Mob: They also deal in casinos! We haven't fleshed them out as much!
The main thing to keep in mind for all of these organizations is that they don't trust easily.
2. There are no bounty hunters in the traditional sense given how difficult it is to pull off in a surveillance-ridden world. That's not to say that there aren't people who do similar jobs as mercenaries or enforcers! The mob families definitely have enforcers like this - people who are trained to know how to duck surveillance. Octavia would need to stand out to be taken on and trained in this, first in the fighting rings for her brutality, and then perhaps in making a plot to stand out to who matters. This would take a lot of work to find out what she needs to know, but we don't believe that it's beyond Octavia to figure out. This is also a route she could take in developing clout. It would have a similar base of showing off her skill before she started to move up.
no subject
at the moment, i'm most interested in her beginning her own group. octavia isn't above using the blue glow in her chest to achieve progress with that if it inspires them to follow her, so she'd be trying to gain clout via that perk and her endurance/pain threshold/efficiency in the fighting rings. if that sounds like an okay start to get the ball slowly rolling forward, let me know!
with that said, i have a couple of questions! i apologize in advance that i have so many, but ty for all the good nuggets of info and suggestions to work with that you've given me.
no subject
1. There are definitely a lot of people who feel powerless or are disenfranchised in the current social environment. Gangs tend to recruit these individuals, but given the population of New Amsterdam, there are always plenty. It would be less people screwed over by the UNA itself—most people do not have interactions with the UNA—and more people jaded and made impoverished by corporate capitalism. It will take quite a lot of footwork to get a solid base going, as people in the position of needing to join a gang would be more attracted to an already established one. However, some might be especially attracted if Octavia couches her gang in idealistic terms.
For recruiting current gang members on the promise of Morningstar protection, this would be a tough sell, mostly because Octavia is just one person and doesn't have an established reputation for her gang. More likely, advertising the glow to current gang members would make Octavia a target for people who are afraid. Down the line, however, as Octavia's gang grows, she will begin to look more attractive to current members and even whole smaller gangs that are floundering.
2. The exact consequences of playing up the blue glow long-term are iffy right now! Damian is making motions to make the blue glow more public now, as well. However, the UNA are definitely starting to take notice of this blue glow and will be more aggressive in finding glowing individuals in the future, so it is safe to say being a known glowing person makes a brush with the UNA very likely.
3. For this option, it depends on what you mean by "going after." Would Octavia be aiming to kill these individuals, threaten them, or get them into legal trouble, etc? This would be a tough path to tread, as Octavia would at minimum need access to surveillance-dodging/implant-scrambling equipment for her gang. Let us know a little more about how Octavia would play this angle, and we can provide more detail.
In general, we recommend you connect with Jason Todd's player, Jessi, as Jason is doing some dramatic gang re-organization himself! This could be a source of conflict or a potential ally for Octavia.
no subject
jokes aside, thanks for the information! that'll come in handy to keep in mind. in terms of 'going after', it's likely to be a combination of all three (more in the sense that she'll be catering to gang member's personal grudges at first, to try to earn their respect/trust, so she isn't going to exactly stop someone if they're going to go ham on someone who really, really wronged them) but with less emphasis on murder and more emphasis on intimidation tactics and, where possible, legal trouble that's not exactly ... always in line with the law (blackmail, ruining their public image, threatening them into confessions, exposing them on social media, stealing evidence, etc - whatever it takes to get certain individuals to stop and/or turn themselves in, basically).
i'm not sure if all of that makes sense, but lmk if more clarification is needed. i know it'll be the long game, of course, and take significant development; i'm fine with it backfiring on her, especially in the beginning stages when she'll need to somehow get her hands on the proper equipment.
also — ty, i'll be sure to reach out when i get all of my thoughts and ideas sorted and know which directions i can take! as you can see, i'm partially brainstorming as i go along.