"Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it's a rebirth of the spirit."
- Toni Sorenson
Greetings Sykans!
In life, the bad often follow the good. We need these dichotomies in life to understand the true meaning of good and evil, light and dark, and even simple things as day and night. Would we truly appreciate the sun if we had no moon? Would the stars lose their wonder if they were shining in the sky perpetually where the night was never broken up by day? Syka, last season, was blessed with a windfall of magical trinkets. The citizens shared this bounty, each selecting a trinket from the trinket box and wearing the items as jewelry.
In every case, the trinket gifted its wearer with a unique and timely ability that somehow benefitted that person. If that person was lucky and hard-working and indeed favored by the Gods, that ability transferred to the person permanently (if they wrote 50K words for the season). And in the rest of the people, the ability faded into nothing with the change of the season, leaving them with a pretty trinket to remember their special ninety-two days.
With the coming of the Anniversary of the Valterrian, darkness walks the land. Syka's residents are infused with curses, not gifts, and plagued with them throughout the season of spring. If the Sykan works hard, investigates their curse, and ultimately completely and utterly understands its nature... they can rid themselves of the curse. If they end up being cursed and just bear it without working to cure it, they will retain it long after the season is over. If a curse is not broken by the end of the season and it lingers on, that individual will be given opportunities down the line to break the curse... but it might be years, even decades before that happens.
OOC everyone who participated in the previous season's gift-giving is required to participate in this season's curse giving. New players and people just coming to the Settlement can opt into joining or just get their feet wet in Syka slowly and let this one slide by. If you participate (or are required to participate) you must write 25K words in the next three months wherein the curse is mentioned, dealt with, and ultimately broken. Not every thread needs to be about the curse, but we are definitely expecting some deep diving psychology to be involved. When the 25K is written, the final thread towards the end of the season should be about breaking the curse.
"What's my curse... ?"
Why, I'm glad you asked. Below is a list of curses. First, register for the season in the character registry. Then, go to the Syka Discord Channel in chat and roll a 1d20. The person getting the highest roll gets to select their curse first! The next highest goes next... and so on. If you roll a 1, you are getting to pick your curse last. We'll do all these rolls in the next couple of days and let the selection process happen. Once you've rolled in the Syka Forum... everyone should know their order and they can select their curse.
Post below in your Syka Requirements Post in this thread... and let everyone know what your number was. Once everyone registered has posted, highest number can pick on down... and not only post your roll, but the curse you picked. Then add the rest of your requirements into your post below as well.
Once a curse is picked, no one else can select that one. It is completely off the table. One curse per person, one use per curse.
The Curses
You see, feel, and smell yourself aged, decayed, and ugly. Your flesh is falling off, bones exposed, hair falling out, teeth lose. The stench is horrible. Yet, you look and smell normal to everyone else.IalariYou are stalked by a shadow figure. It simply follows you, saying nothing, always staring with glowing eyes. No one else can see the shadow figure. As time passes, the figure's interaction with you escalates and it messes with you in a similar manner as a poltergeist.OralieYou can only tell lies. Absolutely everything that comes out of your mouth, regardless of what you are trying to say, is untrue. If asked if you are lying, you vehemently insist you are telling the truth.Moritz- Your sleep is disturbed with horrible nightmares that become progressively worse. They become so bad that they encroach on your waking periods becoming daydreams that you have no control over.
You begin to age 5 years each day until you reach the lifespan of your race then you die. When you die, an infant crawls out of your pile of remaining clothing and the aging begins all over again. Each death, each aging, is acutely remembered in your mind.Faye- You become magnetic.
- When you speak, you can only speak in rhymes.
Each 'day' you wake up speaking a new language fluently. You cannot remember any language you knew previously to that day. Your language known is what is randomly rolled from the Language_List in the lore via chat. That would be a 1d17. If you cure this curse, you will automatically gain the language you used most at the basic level. If the character stays awake through the night, their language doesn't change. The change happens during their sleep cycle.Shade- You cannot be convinced by any means that magic exists. You rationalize magical events away by using insane, impossible logic. This is even true if you are a mage.
- You are incapable of ignoring direct orders given to your person.
When splashed with cold water you transform into the opposite gender. Warm water temporarily reverses the transition.Naadiya/Naddiyo- You are followed by all bugs that are found within twenty yards of your character. They want to be on you, in you, around you, and they swarm unnaturally.
- You grow a mouth on your chest. You can feed the mouth but you do not know what it will do. Over time the mouth will complain if unfed. It speaks to you, and others but it is not your voice or consciousness.
You receive at least one false vision from your primary deity a day. If you are not religious, it is from a random diety.(Antelokes)- When sunlight strikes your skin, it feels and looks to you as if your skin is burning and being destroyed. It is incredibly painful, but to onlookers, your skin is unmarred and only affected as normal skin is affected by the sun.
You are compelled to hug all people you come across, even if it would be inappropriate or awkward.Crylon- You are constantly hungry. You can't get full and eat all the time. This results in weight gain and the hoarding of food. You are definitely chronically snacking.
You randomly lose one of your senses every day. It might be eyesight one day, hearing the next, or taste a third.Alexandra- People are automatically offended by you - either by action, something you say, the way you stand, how you chew your food, your laugh, the way you smell, etc. This curse affects everyone that encounters you.
People forget who you are entirely. If they know you, they have no memory of you. If they meet you they forget who you are when you leave their presence again.Tazrae- Every metal item you touch rusts, tarnishes or dulls immediately upon you touching them.
You are haunted by the ghost of someone whom you killed or whom you loved. That ghost can manifest and hurt you physically. They are not friendly. If you killed them, they hate you. If you loved them, they blame you for their death. Regardless, they seek revenge.Shiress- You acquire a parasitic infection - fleas, lice, leeches, intestinal worms, etc. You can get cured of this infection, but will immediately acquire a new infection.
Your body hair grows out of control. It doubles in length each day.(Artik)- You become incredibly forgetful and have to compensate for this in unusual ways.
- Birds do not like you in any way shape or form. They flock around you and tend to harass you by fly-bys, throwing things and defecating on you when you are outside.
You become bestial and your features take on crude animalistic features that are a combination of multiple creatures... maybe horns of a deer, teeth of a wolf, the eyes of a shark... etc.Randal- You become incredibly violent and bloodthirsty. You escalate simple arguments, spars, and often take training to an extreme. Hunting becomes a sort of mini massacre and not for food to eat.
- You become supercritical. You criticize everyone's clothing, personal style, haircut and grooming choices as often as possible. You make fun of how they talk, walk, and their choices in dialog. You get progressively worse and move on to criticize other's bloodlines, religions, and the way they do things.
You become an addict. However, you don't just become addicted to one vice. You pretty much have them all... drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.Cleon
While everyone is struck with a unique and individual curse, what brought all the cursing on itself still remains a mystery. PCs can investigate this mystery if they like and try to solve the main problem of what is happening in Syka. If the overarching mystery is solved, all curses will vanish.
Cursed PCs need to make their word count of 25k to actually get their curses to vanish with the rest of the city if the curse situation is solved by a group investigation. NPCs will be randomly afflicted by non-claimed curses from the above list. Their names will be placed next to the curse they are afflicted with.
New PCs to the city of Syka can take a curse and try for the 25K. If they fail to make the 25K mark, other pcs both inside and outside of Syka can 'donate' word count to them to get their curse lifted.
Good Luck! It is my hope you enjoy this season.
"Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?"
- Neltje Blanchan
Please keep these requirements in mind. If you go inactive in Syka or take a break for a season or two, you lose your free claims (that have been awarded in the past) because you haven't contributed to the community. If you have purchased your property and it's paid in full, you can feel free to go inactive with no penalty. If you are still paying on it, inactivity isn't an option without the loss of your property for missed payments. Please be aware job threads and placeholders can be no older than a season behind. Nothing will count or be paid for that is older. I do not pay partial wages. It's all or nothing.
The list below is things you need to include in your Spring threading.
- ❖ Start a post in this thread keeping track of how many requirements you have completed and the 1d20 roll you made in the #Syka Chat Channel.
❖ Select and Post the Curse you have chosen (when it's your turn to go).[/b]
❖ RP the tenth day of spring having your curse descend... after the first tenday.
❖ RP the curse and explore its effects, limits, etc
❖ Involve other people in your curse and the situation around it.
❖ Complete TWO job threads of at least 2.5K words if you want to be paid.
❖ Pay Seasonal Expenses of Common or higher.
❖ Be active.
❖ Work on one or more recommended Syka Skills (Wilderness Survival, Tradeskill, etc) and increase it by 5 points.
❖ Include one of the NPCs listed in the NPC Masterlist in one of your threads.
❖ Utilize at least 2 storyseeds in a creative way. The storyseeds can be used in whole or part or could even be used as an inspiration for a whole different story arc. Folks will just have to be able to see the connections.
❖ Write 25K words in three months during the season to get rid of your curse.
❖ Keep a log of your word count below in a spoiler.
If you complete all these tasks successfully and fulfill the requirements, then you will get an award in the form of Quest Coupons of your choice (minus the Artifact coupon). Incomplete threads do not count. These items must be completed by the end of the season.
Please note. These are Syka challenges. The threads must be completed in Syka or The Outpost relating to Syka business.
"Spring: a lovely reminder of how beautiful change can truly be."
- Unknown
Please remember, storyseeds are just ideas, hints, and nudges for you to craft a greater plot from. They are a starting place. Feel free to mix, match, and combine storyseeds and knock out more than one in one thread. For example, a survival situation could easily be combined with a deep-seated unbearable pain while hunting whales. Got it? Great!
- ❖ Explore a vice.
❖ Get incredibly angry about something no one in their right mind would get pissed about.
❖ Knee someone in the groin or ladybits. Boobs are extra credit.
❖ Plot and acquire revenge.
❖ Increase one of your core skills by one whole level (ie. Novice to Competent).
❖ Invent a new game or custom for Syka. Bonus points for crudeness or lewdness.
❖ Gossip about someone in a mean-spirited way.
❖ Learn a secret about someone else then tell multiple other people.
❖ Take a trip and have a miserable time.
❖ Get into a fight with an NPC.
❖ Take some ill effects from the jungle (snakebite, food poisoning, spider bites, food allergy, jungle rot etc).
❖ Slap someone in utter rage when you aren't really mad.
❖ Borrow or steal something without asking.
❖ Blame someone for something you know you did.
❖ Kill something you don't want to kill in a survival situation.
❖ Suggest someone end their miserable life. Bonus points if they actually kill themselves. Extra bonus points if you convince them something incredibly dangerous is 'fun' and 'safe' and that's how they die.
❖ Show up for a Tenday celebration on a day ending in 5... ie.. the 25th, the 65th, etc. Then cause a scene because there are no festivities happening.
"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own."
- Charles Dickens
Spring is a crazy season in Syka this year. It bursts into being dramatically and plants expand everywhere. Emotions run high. People would almost swear the God of Spring, Tavasi, is running wild in Syka.
The weather becomes erratic and storms roll in one after the other. Syka gets high winds, heavy rains, and breaks of absolutely stunning heat. The jungle is sweltering or soggy depending on the day, bell, or even chime. The steam from evaporating water clouds the vegetation giving it a surreal foggy quality.
Flooding is common, especially flash floods of the streams which can turn deadly and affect the water tables or natural watercourses. The coast is plagued by extra rip-tides and swimming becomes somewhat dangerous in all wild landscapes such as the Confluence, the Syka River, and the Ocean itself. Just about the only safe place to swim or bath is the Community Pool.
There are good days, bad days, and as the spring stretches on, the weather levels out and returns to its natural pleasant accommodating habits. But interviewing the Sykan's themselves, one would say the external chaos has turned internal and is affecting the Settlement rather than the environment as the season hits midstride and begins to wane.
I'm always willing to run a personal storyline for anyone who joins Syka for the season. People get such few opportunities to interact with their actual storylines in generic calendar situations within various domains, so in Syka I'd like to change that. I will be willing to run the following:
- Personal Quests
- Gnosis Threads
- Flashbacks & Future Foretellings
- Training Threads
Just let me know what I can help you out with. Syka might be small but we have had some really incredible storylines here in the past.
Happy Threading!
Goss
