applications

[groundrules]

APPLICATIONS

Eastbound is primarily an invite-only game — each existing player can currently invite up to one person per month, or get in touch about further invites. Existing players can hold two characters in game. A third character can be applied, if players can prove they have met activity requirements for two consecutive months with their existing two characters and have stayed engaged with the game. If you don't have an invite, somehow stumbled upon this neck of the woods, and you’d like to stay, drop the mod journal a line — we'll try to figure it out.

As of Oct. 1, cast/game caps are off. Please note, as of Dec. 1, Eastbound only has 3-4 months of gameplay left.

WHAT CHARACTERS CAN BE APPLIED?

YES: canon and original characters, if they have a solid and consistent personality and background. Characters brought in after they've died are a-okay. For characters taken from a time point just as they're in the process of dying, please read below on meeting medical requirements.

NO (at this time): real people, original characters set in a canon environment, characters from canons or canon instalments that have been released for less than one month, characters with imported development from other games (CRAU), alternate universe, or gender-swapped versions of canon characters.

Children or characters with very specific medical/magical/environment needs: appable, but please make a note of how your character will ICly meet their requirements and stay alive. Likewise, if you are applying for a character taken just as they're dying, provide a suggestion for how they can be kept alive on arrival (this might be easier in some app cycles than others). You can bend the world a little to make miracles happen (ex: a substitute for the medication your character needs to survive can be found for a high price at certain apothecaries, etc.)

Characters that were dropped or swept by activity checks: yes, but they’ll come back without their previous memories, if they are applied in by a different player.

APPLICATION FORM & INSTRUCTIONS

EXISTING / RETURNING PLAYERS

<b><Small>PLAYER NAME</small>:</b> <b><small>CONTACT</small>:</b> <b><small>CHARACTER</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON POINT</small>:</b> <b><small>BACKGROUND</small>:</b> link out or write no more than two-three paragraphs...! <b><small>PERSONALITY</small>:</b> bullet points a-okay, or written out. You can also link out to it, if you agree to what's on your wikia. <b><small>SAMPLE</small>:</b> a written sample or one or more threads to show your character's personality. <b><small>NOTES</small>:</b> you know the ropes, jot down if your character has any world-breaking powers or accommodations you need for them!

NEW PLAYERS

<b><Small>PLAYER NAME</small>:</b> <b><small>CONTACT</small>:</b> <b><small>REFERRED BY</small>:</b> Who invited you, please? c: <b><small>CHARACTER</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>CANON POINT</small>:</b> <b><small>BACKGROUND</small>:</b> written or linked history both fine. Bullet points also a-okay. If no information is available in English, please write this out in short. <b><small>ABILITIES | POWERS</small>:</b> Include any relevant power restrictions, so you don’t break our playground. <b><small>PERSONALITY</small>:</b> make sure this ties back to the character’s time point and background. <b><small>SAMPLE</small>:</b> one or more samples to showcase the nuances of your character’s personality. Submit at least one prose sample of five comments or more. You can link memes, PSL or other game threads, provided they took place within the last 12 months. You can also write a single prose sample in the game or character canon setting, if you think you can cover good introspective ground that way, or a top level with enough variety to show how the character engages in various scenarios. <b><small>INVENTORY</small>:</b> No world-breaking items. For living or magical beings, or anything colossal (think... Gundams...) please let's talk beforehand! <b><small>SUITABILITY</small>:</b> Eastbound is a plot-heavy game that typically features sleuthing, action and the undead. How is your character likely to deal with all that (and the game bear)? <b><small>NOTES</small>:</b> Are there any particular accommodations your character will need? How do you propose to handle that?

APPLICATIONS CLOSED


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[soulmonger]

ABILITIES | POWERS:

| INFOSHEET - full breakdown of abilities, powers, spells, and skills

HEXBLOOD > the cursed child of a hag, Thistle is technically immortal in the sense that she won't die of old age. She can still get sick and be killed in battle. She also has darkvision for up to 60 feet, seeing darkness as greyscale colors without light. Additionally, Thistle can create a token of a lock of hair or her teeth. These tokens allow her to telepathically communicate with the wielder of the token or scry on them. These tokens also grow back overnight for Thistle. And finally, Thistle has the ability to cast the spells disguise self (creating an illusory image over herself to appear as another humanoid) and hex (the ability to curse someone in battle to harm them further) each once per day.

SORCERER > in addition to being the child of a hag, Thistle has her own innate magic that marks her as a sorcerer. As a sorcerer, Thistle can cast spells, and has the ability to manipulate her own spells with metamagic. Currently, her metamagic allows her following effects: the ability to change a spells damage from one type to another (ie. a fireball can now be an acid ball), the ability to cast a spell without verbal or somatic components, the ability to manipulate a spell into missing some people she chooses, and the ability to quicken her casting of a spell. These can only be done a certain number of times a day.

ABERRANT MIND > as a sorcerer, Thistle's powers manifest in her aberrant mind skills. This power allows her to telepathically communicate with one other person for up to seven minutes at a time over five miles. Additionally, Thistle's special abilities give her access to spells not normally accessed by other sorcerers. These psionic spells can be used instead of using her metamagic if Thistle does not have the spell slots to spend on them. Doing this bypasses the spells required components. And finally, Thistle has psychic defenses from this ability that protect her better from psychic damage and give her better chances to resist being charmed or frightened.

BEASTHEART/INFERNAL BOND > through her journeys with Fluffy, Thistle has developed a battle rapport with the hell hound. This bond runs deeper than the pair really know, tying their spirits and magics together in unknown ways. It allows Thistle to communicate strongly with Fluffy, as well as utilize his ferocity in battle to their advantage. Her infernal bond with Fluffy, utilizing their ties tot he seven hells, also gives them greater exploits such as the ability to teleport greater distances more easily.

PERSONALITY:

Thistle has a complex relationship with herself that she's constantly running away from.

On the one hand, Thistle remembers a very human childhood. She recalls when she was just a normal girl in a normal town. A child willing to help the local church without a second thought. On the other hand, she remembers cruelty at the hands of humans. She remembers anger and hatred and darkness swelling in her in her youth and the dark thought of peoples' anguish when her magic exploded in tiny curses around her foster home.

Thistle has come to realize that that part of her is both natural and fed by the hags' curse. A darkness in her that she can't escape. But a part of her yearns for a humanity that was never really hers to begin with.

In what Thistle would call her "weaker" moments, she imagines she could be Bessy again. She yearns to return to that kindness and heart of her childhood. When Wisp gave her a shot at her humanity, Thistle had let herself hope and dream however briefly that she could. In her journeys since then, she's had moments of human empathy. Sitting by fires with other humans, eating meals with them, things that make her feel like a real person again. Seeing the kindness in Tay was odd, but it made Thistle feel like less of an outsider for the first time in years.

Then she witnesses the betrayal of Wisp or the mage or others like them, and it's like the darkness in the world claws at Thistle all over again.

Overall, the young woman has tried to strike a balance of the two halves of herself. A cynical, jaded child. Sarcastic and a bit biting. Thistle doesn't take the world too seriously because the world will always let you down after all. Yet she doesn't deny little acts of kindness. She doesn't outright reject everyone that approaches her. She'll even go out of her way to do a quest and complete it properly at times. For her, it's almost like an exchange of emotions. Her kindness done is a kindness earned. But expect nothing of anyone all at the same time. If you expect nothing, then it doesn't hurt when you get nothing.

Thistle tries to take the same approach to Fluffy, as well. She remembers the promise Wisp made her years ago about the hound, but it's hard to hold onto cynicism for years at a time when the only creature who's been at your side the entire time is a devoted hound. Fluffy has never acted like a watch dog over Thistle, but rather like a genuine companion. He can't quite communicate with her, but Thistle believes he cares for her as much as she does for him. She'd never say it out loud, but she's put her trust in the hound.

All in all, Thistle is still a young woman discovering who she is, trying to define herself in the face of great adversity. Deep down, Thistle would like to see herself a hero, but can only see herself the villain. These two trains of thought war in her mind constantly, and she knows one day the world will make up her mind for her. Until then, all she can do is try. Because Thistle has nothing else but her ability to keep fighting.

SAMPLE:

"As bad or worse than Forest's Edge?"

Thistle's standing at the edge of the chaotic town that she's learned is called Taravast. Beside her stands a rather large, black mastiff with a long drooping face and broad haunches. He's not bigger than a dog should be, just as big as a dog really gets...

The mastiff seems to regard the city a little too intelligently, tilting his head slightly then looking up at Thistle and giving a soft grumble. Thistle looks at the dog, purses her lips, and raises an eyebrow. "Not as bad? Seriously? I think a coup's at least as bad as invasion by trees." The dog gives a low bark in response, causing Thistle to sigh and shrug as she turns her gaze back to the city. "You can't win every argument with 'hell's worse.' Hell is always worse. It's not even a debate."

Thistle starts moving into the city, Fluffy plopping alongside her, as the pair look over the shops at the edge of the town that are trying to pick up their own supplies. The palace may have seen much of the chaos, but there are always people who take advantage of bad times. Thistle shakes her head at little shops that couldn't defend themselves properly from looters. Part of her thinks she should stop to help...

Then Fluffy nudges Thistle's attention forward. Yes. That's where she's heard the otherworlders will be. She has to keep to her task. She scratches behind Fluffy's ear and presses forward into the brilliant city. So much beauty in one place... It's garish, really. Thistle doesn't know how large cities with far too much money for their own good don't implode more often.

As she walks, Thistle notes a child wandering through the crowds. She doesn't mean to, but she finds herself lingering on the child. Surely it's mother is close. Someone will call it back soon or reach out to take it's hand or follow after it. It wanders further and further and Thistle's silent hope that it's guardian will stop it dwindle with each step it takes. No one else seems to pay the child any mind either.

Thistle groans.

She leaves her path with Fluffy huffing behind her. She approaches the child and squats down next to what she now sees is a young boy.

"Hey," she calls to the kid. "What are you doing?"

The boy turns to her, looking at her with anxious eyes and clinging to a blanket. He doesn't speak, looking skeptical of her and her large dog. Thistle glances back at Fluffy, then thumbs back at him. "Oh him? Don't worry. He's not important." She reaches back to shove Fluffy further back, the dog obediently stepping back at her urging. "See? Don't worry about him."

The young boy relaxed a little more, taking a nervous step towards Thistle. "Where's your mom? Dad?" She tries, frowning. "Yeah you've got nothing for me, huh?" She deduces as the boy finally shakes his head.

Thistle sighs, standing up and holding a hand out. "Come on. Someone around here's bound to know." She tells the kid. He eagerly takes the offered hand and plops after her. Fluffy follows at a careful distance, Thistle not really bothering to check. "You know your hand's sweaty right?" She asks the kid. "That's gross." The boy seems to laugh a little at that, bringing a slight smile to Thistle's own lips. "Yeah, you think that's funny, huh? Of course you would. Look at you." She reaches down, Lifting the kid onto her shoulders. "Keep laughing. I'll throw you in one of the canals. Then who's laughing."

The young boy only laughed louder.

INVENTORY:
1 Crossbow, light
1 Dungeoneer's backpack
20 Bolts
2 Daggers
1 Arcane Focus
1 Rope, hempen - 50 ft
1 Hell hound named Fluffy
1 Companion collar - magical collar that allows Fluffy to make his appearance that of a normal dog

NOTES: Thistle's Summon Aberration spell is pretty strong, and I had intended to take away the component for it that she had, but then I realized since it's psionic she can technically cast it with great magic expenditure. So I'm okay with just nerfing it entirely or else saving it for like some plot element?

IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? something plot-heavy related would be fun!

APPLICATION RECEIVED

[groundrules]

ACCEPTED

[groundrules]

Thank you for your application!

ADMIN

When you have a second, have a last read through the game rules and comment to the TAKEN LIST.

Join eastbound, lostcompass, westwhere. Feel free to make an OOC intro post on lostcompass, if you want!

All game-relevant updates will be posted on lostcompass, but you can also consider following eastbound. There is an informal optional game discord server — you’ll get a private message with an invite, once you comment to the Taken List.

Like it says on the application page tin — you can have a maximum of two characters in the game, and you can invite one new person in per month.

If you’re not already served on that front, we have some custom codes to help you set up a character inbox or permissions post. Both are entirely optional, and feel free to customise at will!

Your character is exempted from activity requirements this month.

We are in the last stage of Arc II: Taravast. We’ll be heading into the travel interlude to Arc III shortly.

As a heads up, the telepathy/communication tokens might need to be unavailable in certain Arc parts that rely on the characters being fully lost or cut off from the world. We’ll figure things out when we get there!

Saving the Aberration summon spell for ‘special’ moments sounds like a plan!

NOTES

INTRO: as Thistle joins us right on the brink of the party’s departure out of Arch II destination Taravast, it’s a tiny bit difficult to accommodate a plot-heavy entrance. However, we’ll slate her for quest involvement as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, as she didn’t participate in the test drive meme, and she’s arriving just as the Taravast beacon is set to open through sorcery, it’s a great opportunity to have Thistle be our transport ‘guinea pig.’ The beacon will first open for characters departing from Taravast to their respective worlds, but will die down and malfunction towards the end, starting to pull some departees back in. It will also be bringing back ‘gifts’ from various homeworlds — such as Thistle.

For Thistle, getting pulled through the beacon from her home world can be as challenging or as soft as an experience as you want: either she can ‘blink’ and wake in Taravast, or perhaps she feels the stomach-turning motion sickness of simultaneously feeling movement, but resting stagnant. Importantly, she will need to have been physically touching or holding on to her hellhound, for it to be coming with her. Perhaps mid-puppy hug?

Her abilities will be muted at first, following her arrival. Her powers will naturally and fully recover within 1-3 days (the exact period and intensity of this recovery is at your discretion). Further details on the beacon will be in a post due up over the next 90 minutes. I’ll link this for you here shortly.

Thistle will be taken in by the Merchant’s sorcerer assistant Karsa, who will be able to provide her a communicator and translator device, explain how Thistle got here, and summarise the story so far.

[soulmonger]

love this thank you bb 🥰