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
Jason would ask that the background given to "Jason Todd" be pretty average and normal: a normal family life, normal grades in school, maybe a background in some popular sport in high school, a normal career that ended approximately two or three weeks before El is assigning it to him. He'd hand over some stupidly mundane pictures of himself and Loki to backdate a social media account to around that time posting something about "finding himself" with the love of his life or some mushy shit like that.
Basically, he's using this as an excuse to completely go under cover during daytime hours. He'll get some colored contact lenses and style his hair different, change his body language and clothing style during the day to match, too. Look he's got some plans.
He will have Takeshi Kovacs and Caroline Forbes helping take down specific people within both gangs--most likely giving Caroline a few more names due to her enhanced speed and strength. Jason will let Gaby know that he'll try to keep the deaths to a minimum, and will instead focus on debilitating the gang members instead: causing injuries that even advanced tech won't be able to fix entirely, and will therefore take them out of commission (taking a few fingers, lobbing off a hand, injuring spines and digging knives into skulls at just the right spot to render them effectively braindead without murdering them. see, look! he can keep from murder) but he will let her know that he doesn't completely control the individuals he's working with. Jason will also not give them names of those that are working with him, since he's not tattling.
Going after other gangs is more of a longterm goal; for this specific plot, it would just be the Kings and the Warlocks. He'll also be leaving behind a note (in blood / carved into their skin / however he and Kovacs+Caroline can figure out) with the location to an abandoned building in the shittier area of town.
Where he'll be waiting, with a nice bag full of body parts collected off those they've taken down, in a nice new designed ID scrambler (even if he needs to use the blinding colors, he'll keep them under the red. look he's gotta be stylish it's important) that doesn't match up to any of the tech Morningstar has, and let them know he's their new leader, if they don't like it they can get the same treatment.
(Kovacs and Caroline will also have their own, he wouldn't leave them out)
And he'll start it off with some nice new ideas on how to get money going back into gangs (some nice companies to hit), the benefits of mashing them both together(which he knows will cause tension, he's looking forward to it) and promising them use of tech that'll help them get even more resources.
Jason is not above using his own new abilities to assist with this, too. He'll be wearing a very, very thick top to hide the blue glow, going so far as to wrap himself up with whatever it takes to get it to stop shining through. If anyone tries to fight back with him at his "meeting" of sorts, he'll use shadows as bullets / knives / mouth covers to shut them up. Not killing, but taking them out enough to keep them quiet.
Let me know if any of this doesn't work, and I'll figure something else out! Jason is running off the assumption both gangs wouldn't want to pull in law enforcement for gang business, if they would he'd have backup plans for that too.
And I'm not quite sure what timeline this would be running off of just yet, as it depends on Caroline+Marcos' thing, as well as when he's able to get the masks done. He's having Abel assist him in figuring out that tech, and I'll figure out a good date once I get a good portion of the bigger details figured out.
no subject
All this sounds good!
We will want you to touch base and provide more details for: "And he'll start it off with some nice new ideas on how to get money going back into gangs (some nice companies to hit)... and promising them use of tech that'll help them get even more resources." But feel free to follow up with that at your leisure, since the bulk of this plot has yet to go down yet.
no subject
It'd be a lot of empty promises, tbh. He'd show off what he's capable of, show off his id scramblers, and give lines about earning it. Since El was willing to hand over blueprints--Jason will be using those to get a mask for Kovacs and Loki, too. Kovacs will be (eventually) taking a place as Jason's right hand man, and Jason will be pretty adamant about how Kovacs earned his place and his toys!
Jason will also be taking advantage of Loki's weapon cache, since he offered to share! But again--it'll be a show of force and of tools he has, but he won't be sharing with any of the gang members for a while.
He just wants to keep them on their toes and waiting for it!
Re: the tech anyway! Any really detailed plans would wait until he established his place among them better. And he'll likely go to El or Gaby for a good hitlist.
no subject
Sounds great! Reach out to us when it's time for that!
no subject
For the initial plot I just want to note down a date of November 27th! For posterity.
no subject
Just to verify: given the assistance of Kovacs, Caroline(+Marcos), and Laura--is a headcount of seventeen victims alright? Five for Jay, five for Kovacs, seven for Caroline with Marcos--and Laura helping with quick transports.
no subject
That sounds fine. Thanks for the follow-up!