Aurora Express Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
trainmasters) wrote2018-10-22 02:27 am
trainmasters) wrote2018-10-22 02:27 am
Entry tags:
plot & mechanics
Welcome Aboard!
Aurora Express is a panfandom commentspam game set on the Aurora, a train traveling through fantasy outer space on a mission to bright light back to a universe which has been corrupted by a darkness referred to only as Malice. The Aurora stops at darkened Stars, tiny planets abandoned by sapient life and full of monsters, poisons, and other hostile conditions. Characters are placed onto teams and tasked with restoring the star's Prism -- a crystalline device that, when purified, emits a light to hold back the Malice. As they move along they'll discover more about the overarching plot and where the Malice came from.
Bonds and positive feelings will bring back the light, but the Aurora's passengers will have to survive first. Dangers surround them and monster NPCs wait in the wings to test their resilience. Will they be able to remain kind and hopeful in the face of great evil, or will the Malice swallow them all once and for all?
Light & Malice
Long ago, the universe was filled with light. All across the Stars, people lived and died, laughed and cried, loved and fought with strong hearts and lasting bonds. Their feelings powered magical Prisms, providing energy and bolstering the health and happiness of the people. But five years ago tragedy struck, when a darkness fell over the universe like a veil. Dubbed Malice by survivors, it swept away normal life, leaving in its place Stars full of evil creatures and toxic miasmas that sap the joy of everything they touch. As it spread and Prisms were corrupted, the sky was left in endless, starless night.
In a desperate attempt to save the universe, the Star Prince placed all his hope and love into one last, tiny Prism, placed within his personal vehicle -- the Aurora, an enchanted train that travels the stars. Leaving the train in the hands of a carefully designed construct, he sent it away to rescue what powerful souls it could, hoping to create a force of heroes to turn the tide.
It took some time, but now those souls have begun to wake. Some are more intact than others, but all hold the future of the universe in their hands -- your hands.
Basic Mechanics
★ Time - Aurora Express runs on flex time. Time moves forward as people post, at the pace of the game. For example, if one post is dated "Day 3, Morning", the next should be something like "Day 3, Noon". If you feel time is moving too fast or slow, feel free to not move it forward or to take a jump of up to 1 full day. Ideally, though, we should be moving at roughly 3 OOC Days = 1 IC Day. If you're going to jump ahead, please don't move us faster than that, and please be considerate of other players' plans.
If you need to backdate a post, feel free! Just make sure you clearly mark it as backdated so we don't repeat days on accident.
☆ Teams - Upon waking, all characters find themselves assigned to a team. Teams are designed to create strong bonds, and make it easy to form task groups both ICly and OOCly. Each team has its own themed carriage on the train as a dorm, and its own set of Bonds, specific acts that earn rewards for characters and advance the purification of the Prisms. Teams are chosen OOCly -- preferences are given in our app and the mods make final placements. Currently there are 6 teams with 7 character slots each -- you can see more details about the individual teams on our team page.
★ The Aurora - The Aurora is a magical train, and the main setting of the game. It includes team carriages and communal facilities, and will be upgraded as the game proceeds and Prisms are purified. For details on the train's facilities, check out the setting page.
☆ Stars & Prisms - A Star is a small, city-sized planet, and the secondary setting of the game. Imagine them sort of like a Super Mario world -- they're small and have a theme and related tasks you need to do. Each Star features a Prism, a cube-shaped, crystalline device that must be purified in order to restore that Star. To begin with, the Prism will glow black, and the environment will be dangerous, with monsters and special conditions that reflect the theme. Darkened Stars are extremely hostile environments and characters are likely to face death or injury while purifying them.
As characters clean things up, survive dangerous events and Trials, and make Bonds, the Prism will change to purple, then blue, then green, then white. Each change will unlock more of the original scenery/wildlife, as well as providing an upgrade to the Aurora. When the Prism is white, the whole Star is restored, as well as the surrounding piece of sky, and the Aurora will move on to a new Star. This process is meant to take between 3 and 6 OOC months per Star, depending on the pace of the game. The current Star and Prism status can always be found on the setting page.
★ Bonds - A Bond is what is looks like: an "act of bonds" -- an activity that generates positive feelings and increases the camaraderie of the Aurora's passengers. Some are Team Bonds, which can only be performed by the designated team, and some are General Bonds, which may be performed by anyone. Currently there is only one Team Bond per team, but we'll be adding a second "player choice" Bond in the future. All Bonds are made as long as the character has sparks in mind -- they don't have to announce it or draw attention to it, but they must be actively aware that their action will generate sparks for it to do so. They must also involve at least one other person, and the more people are involved the bigger the payout, so there's a definite benefit both ICly and OOCly to making and running posts. There is a sign listing both General and Team Bonds in the Aurora's main lounge. The current list of General Bonds is as follows:
For more information on sparks generation guidelines, please check out the sparks page. If you have an idea for more General Bonds, please let the mods know and we may add it!
☆ Sparks of Light - Sparks are the Aurora's currency! Characters are awarded sparks when they make a Bond, participate in events, or when their team participates in a Trial. They can then be used to purchase upgrades to carriages or personal rooms, weapons, clothes, luxury food items, or any number of other things characters might want. Sparks do need to be kept track of, so make sure you're updating your spreadsheet often. There's a template spreadsheet here, which you can copy into your own drive and link in your info page. See the spark shop for the exact rewards and costs associated with various tasks and items.
Additionally, sparks are how we determine how much progress the game has made overall towards plot goals. The mods will be tallying how many sparks have been earned across the game, so be sure you're regularly updating your sparks sheet. You can see the current tally on the collective sparks sheet. There's no exact schedule for updating the sheet, but we'll be aiming to check everyone's overall gain roughly every two weeks. Tentatively, we'll reach a plot milestone every 50k sparks earned across the game -- this will be adjusted if we're moving too fast or too slow.
LossesIf you need to backdate a post, feel free! Just make sure you clearly mark it as backdated so we don't repeat days on accident.
☆ Teams - Upon waking, all characters find themselves assigned to a team. Teams are designed to create strong bonds, and make it easy to form task groups both ICly and OOCly. Each team has its own themed carriage on the train as a dorm, and its own set of Bonds, specific acts that earn rewards for characters and advance the purification of the Prisms. Teams are chosen OOCly -- preferences are given in our app and the mods make final placements. Currently there are 6 teams with 7 character slots each -- you can see more details about the individual teams on our team page.
★ The Aurora - The Aurora is a magical train, and the main setting of the game. It includes team carriages and communal facilities, and will be upgraded as the game proceeds and Prisms are purified. For details on the train's facilities, check out the setting page.
☆ Stars & Prisms - A Star is a small, city-sized planet, and the secondary setting of the game. Imagine them sort of like a Super Mario world -- they're small and have a theme and related tasks you need to do. Each Star features a Prism, a cube-shaped, crystalline device that must be purified in order to restore that Star. To begin with, the Prism will glow black, and the environment will be dangerous, with monsters and special conditions that reflect the theme. Darkened Stars are extremely hostile environments and characters are likely to face death or injury while purifying them.
As characters clean things up, survive dangerous events and Trials, and make Bonds, the Prism will change to purple, then blue, then green, then white. Each change will unlock more of the original scenery/wildlife, as well as providing an upgrade to the Aurora. When the Prism is white, the whole Star is restored, as well as the surrounding piece of sky, and the Aurora will move on to a new Star. This process is meant to take between 3 and 6 OOC months per Star, depending on the pace of the game. The current Star and Prism status can always be found on the setting page.
★ Bonds - A Bond is what is looks like: an "act of bonds" -- an activity that generates positive feelings and increases the camaraderie of the Aurora's passengers. Some are Team Bonds, which can only be performed by the designated team, and some are General Bonds, which may be performed by anyone. Currently there is only one Team Bond per team, but we'll be adding a second "player choice" Bond in the future. All Bonds are made as long as the character has sparks in mind -- they don't have to announce it or draw attention to it, but they must be actively aware that their action will generate sparks for it to do so. They must also involve at least one other person, and the more people are involved the bigger the payout, so there's a definite benefit both ICly and OOCly to making and running posts. There is a sign listing both General and Team Bonds in the Aurora's main lounge. The current list of General Bonds is as follows:
★ comfort someone in distress
☆ give a gift
★ show physical affection
☆ make a gesture of gratitude
★ defend someone, verbally or physically
☆ give a gift
★ show physical affection
☆ make a gesture of gratitude
★ defend someone, verbally or physically
For more information on sparks generation guidelines, please check out the sparks page. If you have an idea for more General Bonds, please let the mods know and we may add it!
☆ Sparks of Light - Sparks are the Aurora's currency! Characters are awarded sparks when they make a Bond, participate in events, or when their team participates in a Trial. They can then be used to purchase upgrades to carriages or personal rooms, weapons, clothes, luxury food items, or any number of other things characters might want. Sparks do need to be kept track of, so make sure you're updating your spreadsheet often. There's a template spreadsheet here, which you can copy into your own drive and link in your info page. See the spark shop for the exact rewards and costs associated with various tasks and items.
Additionally, sparks are how we determine how much progress the game has made overall towards plot goals. The mods will be tallying how many sparks have been earned across the game, so be sure you're regularly updating your sparks sheet. You can see the current tally on the collective sparks sheet. There's no exact schedule for updating the sheet, but we'll be aiming to check everyone's overall gain roughly every two weeks. Tentatively, we'll reach a plot milestone every 50k sparks earned across the game -- this will be adjusted if we're moving too fast or too slow.
As your character has been rescued from the Malice and restored, it's possible there will be some lingering damage when they awake. This will take the form of either memory loss or power loss (not both!) -- but this mechanic is optional! When you app, you can choose for your character to come in memloss, powerloss, or intact, depending on what's fun for you! Both types of loss are complete wipes. Power loss includes losing physical combat skills such as swordsmanship training, and memory loss includes names and all memories from birth to their canon point. Memloss characters can still retain "background knowledge" such as pop culture references and what a cat looks like (how much is up to player choice), but they won't have actual memories of it.
★ Regaining Memories/Powers - To keep things fair, characters who've lost their memories or powers do not need to buy them back with sparks. Instead, their spark app will be issued a "restoration token" periodically. Memory loss characters will get a token every 500 sparks earned. One token will purchase a memory, but it'll play on the big screen in the Aurora's lounge (for bonding!!). For a private memory, they'll need to use two tokens. Power loss characters will get a token every 1000 sparks, to exchange for one fully fixed power. These numbers are based on total sparks earned, not current balance, so if you gain 250 and spend it immediately twice, you'll still have earned 500 total sparks. Additionally, all regains are ICly random, so give your character their powers/memories back in whatever order you want.
☆ Memory Guidelines - When setting up memories for regain, please split them up by "scene". Depending on your canon length you can make them longer or shorter, but keep in mind these are your character's memories. They will not see scenes they weren't in, and all memories are from their own POV. When they take a memory, whether it's broadcasting on the screen or not, they'll mentally relive it. This means if you give them a days-long memory they'd be standing there for days, so either break it up or have them just "see" the important scenes and have the in-between, offscreen stuff just come to them in the background. You can do montages to cover a lot of less significant, similar scenes if you like.
Again memories are relived, so your character won't remember a person, they'll remember a specific moment. Due to this we highly suggest keeping a list of memories on your journal to pull from. This helps when breaking down the memories and in planning in what order to give them back. For example, you might want to start with memories of fun, mundane events in order to let your character gain a sense of self separate from the knowledge that they're a hitman. You might instead want to start out with a memory of them killing someone, but not let them remember why for awhile. It's entirely up to the development arc you want your character to have.
★ Power Guidelines - When setting up powers for regain, please split them up reasonably. Harry Potter could unlock "wingardium leviosa" with one token, for example, but not the entirely of the charms discipline. As with memories we suggest making a powers list, so you can split your character's powers up in a way that's fun to get them back and which will give you a significantly lengthy arc. If your character doesn't have enough powers to space them out, you may make each regain a "level up", as if your character was starting from level 1 in an RPG. You should also include any physical skill an average person doesn't have, such as martial arts training.
Additionally, all players should cap powers which would break the game. Any power that involves time travel, long-distance teleportation, future sight, etc should be toned down so as not to spoil the plot. The mods will not do this for you -- please police yourself and be considerate of others!
☆ With Regards to Regain Speed - Please note that tokens do not appear over time if your character is not generating sparks and there is no official timetable for regains. Sparks generation is based on participation, and regains are based on overall sparks earned. This means you have to be active to regain memories/powers, and you must be keeping track of your sparks! Be aware that fully regaining your memories/powers quickly is not how this mechanic is designed to work. If you're playing a character with a loss, playing with how they develop around that loss is the goal. If you wouldn't enjoy playing your character without powers/memories long-term, just bring them in intact. With that in mind, we suggest having at least 20-30 regains on your list. Less than that isn't engaging fairly with the system, but you can make your list as long as you think you'll have fun with, accounting for how long you expect to play.
Chains☆ Memory Guidelines - When setting up memories for regain, please split them up by "scene". Depending on your canon length you can make them longer or shorter, but keep in mind these are your character's memories. They will not see scenes they weren't in, and all memories are from their own POV. When they take a memory, whether it's broadcasting on the screen or not, they'll mentally relive it. This means if you give them a days-long memory they'd be standing there for days, so either break it up or have them just "see" the important scenes and have the in-between, offscreen stuff just come to them in the background. You can do montages to cover a lot of less significant, similar scenes if you like.
Again memories are relived, so your character won't remember a person, they'll remember a specific moment. Due to this we highly suggest keeping a list of memories on your journal to pull from. This helps when breaking down the memories and in planning in what order to give them back. For example, you might want to start with memories of fun, mundane events in order to let your character gain a sense of self separate from the knowledge that they're a hitman. You might instead want to start out with a memory of them killing someone, but not let them remember why for awhile. It's entirely up to the development arc you want your character to have.
★ Power Guidelines - When setting up powers for regain, please split them up reasonably. Harry Potter could unlock "wingardium leviosa" with one token, for example, but not the entirely of the charms discipline. As with memories we suggest making a powers list, so you can split your character's powers up in a way that's fun to get them back and which will give you a significantly lengthy arc. If your character doesn't have enough powers to space them out, you may make each regain a "level up", as if your character was starting from level 1 in an RPG. You should also include any physical skill an average person doesn't have, such as martial arts training.
Additionally, all players should cap powers which would break the game. Any power that involves time travel, long-distance teleportation, future sight, etc should be toned down so as not to spoil the plot. The mods will not do this for you -- please police yourself and be considerate of others!
☆ With Regards to Regain Speed - Please note that tokens do not appear over time if your character is not generating sparks and there is no official timetable for regains. Sparks generation is based on participation, and regains are based on overall sparks earned. This means you have to be active to regain memories/powers, and you must be keeping track of your sparks! Be aware that fully regaining your memories/powers quickly is not how this mechanic is designed to work. If you're playing a character with a loss, playing with how they develop around that loss is the goal. If you wouldn't enjoy playing your character without powers/memories long-term, just bring them in intact. With that in mind, we suggest having at least 20-30 regains on your list. Less than that isn't engaging fairly with the system, but you can make your list as long as you think you'll have fun with, accounting for how long you expect to play.
A Chain is your character's basic RP smartphone. It'll be on your character's person when they arrive, and all the knowledge to use it has been automatically imparted. Chains look like any current-gen phone, and come in your team's colour. They're indestructible, and if lost will reappear in your character's room the next IC day. Chains have the following features you may find handy:
★ Your Key - In order to enter the Aurora, you must tap your Chain against the lock on any external door. In order to enter a team carriage, you must tap a Chain belonging to that team. If you've lost your Chain, you'll need to be let inside by someone else until it returns, and if someone else has your Chain, they can enter your carriage in your place!
☆ Spark Shop - In order to buy things using sparks, you need to access this app. Once you've bought an item (and if necessary, once it's been approved), it'll appear in the lockers in your team's living room. Items too big to fit in your locker will be left in the corridor, so be sure to claim them quickly!
★ ChainChat - It's a typical messenger program. You can make voice, video, or text calls to other passengers, or create group text chats. There's automatically a group chat for your team, though. Characters have a profile others can see -- it's filled out ICly and will be part of the required info post linked on the taken page. The name shown in the chat app can also be set by the character, so if your character has amnesia or wants to be sneaky, it won't display their real name.
☆ Contact Construct - The Construct that runs the train is essentially a specialized AI. It doesn't have a soul and it can only respond in pre-arranged ways. However, it can be accessed! When opening this app, characters can select from "I have a question" or "I am upset". Choosing the former will allow characters to ask questions about the basic functions of the train or Chain, and will get helpful robot answers. The Construct cannot tell characters anything about the plot or its own origins (outside what may be given in mod-run posts), but it can tell them how to work the TV in the lounge or what cycle they should wash their jeans on.
The latter option initiates a "therapy bot" program. The Construct will allow characters to tell it about their problems and will respond with affirming statements and gentle canned advice. However, it's not capable of understanding the nuances of specific situations or grey areas so while the advice is generally helpful it certainly won't solve all problems. It also seems really keen on having everyone show physical affection for some reason...
Trials & Events☆ Spark Shop - In order to buy things using sparks, you need to access this app. Once you've bought an item (and if necessary, once it's been approved), it'll appear in the lockers in your team's living room. Items too big to fit in your locker will be left in the corridor, so be sure to claim them quickly!
★ ChainChat - It's a typical messenger program. You can make voice, video, or text calls to other passengers, or create group text chats. There's automatically a group chat for your team, though. Characters have a profile others can see -- it's filled out ICly and will be part of the required info post linked on the taken page. The name shown in the chat app can also be set by the character, so if your character has amnesia or wants to be sneaky, it won't display their real name.
☆ Contact Construct - The Construct that runs the train is essentially a specialized AI. It doesn't have a soul and it can only respond in pre-arranged ways. However, it can be accessed! When opening this app, characters can select from "I have a question" or "I am upset". Choosing the former will allow characters to ask questions about the basic functions of the train or Chain, and will get helpful robot answers. The Construct cannot tell characters anything about the plot or its own origins (outside what may be given in mod-run posts), but it can tell them how to work the TV in the lounge or what cycle they should wash their jeans on.
The latter option initiates a "therapy bot" program. The Construct will allow characters to tell it about their problems and will respond with affirming statements and gentle canned advice. However, it's not capable of understanding the nuances of specific situations or grey areas so while the advice is generally helpful it certainly won't solve all problems. It also seems really keen on having everyone show physical affection for some reason...
Plots in Aurora Express will be one of two kinds: Trialss and Events. You do not have to participate in everything that happens, but the more you (and your team in general) do, the more rewards you'll earn and the more active the game will be!
As of April 2019, players can run trials through one of several means. To find out more about trial running and the NPCs involved, check out this page!
★ Trials - A trial is a short-term event directly run by either the mods or a gamerunner, where teams compete for victory in some kind of activity. These can be as simple as a competition to see how many kisses each character can get, or as intense as a trial where each team is locked in a separate room with a riddle and another team's clue, and must cooperate for everyone to escape safely. Trials are run via a Trial Journal, using filters to hide one team's activity from another while the trial is running.
Social trials like the aforementioned kissing trial will usually be mingles with a several OOC day timeframe. In that case, you'll have a deadline to turn in your results but may play at your own pace during the trial. More intense or involved trials will involve setting aside a few hours for everyone to play, and may rarely involve using a discord bot for dice rolls. We will avoid running multiple heavily emotional or traumatic trials in a row. Additionally you do not have to personally play to get trial rewards. As long as one member of your team played, all team members will receive the sparks.
☆ Events - An Event is your run-of-the-mill plot post. Often they won't have a hard deadline, and will be open to play with til you're bored. These could include "there are dragons nesting on the train", a bout of extreme weather, or a major decision that characters need to discuss. Depending on their complexity, Event posts could go up several times a month, or just once. They won't overlap with Trials.
Miscellaneous ConcernsSocial trials like the aforementioned kissing trial will usually be mingles with a several OOC day timeframe. In that case, you'll have a deadline to turn in your results but may play at your own pace during the trial. More intense or involved trials will involve setting aside a few hours for everyone to play, and may rarely involve using a discord bot for dice rolls. We will avoid running multiple heavily emotional or traumatic trials in a row. Additionally you do not have to personally play to get trial rewards. As long as one member of your team played, all team members will receive the sparks.
☆ Events - An Event is your run-of-the-mill plot post. Often they won't have a hard deadline, and will be open to play with til you're bored. These could include "there are dragons nesting on the train", a bout of extreme weather, or a major decision that characters need to discuss. Depending on their complexity, Event posts could go up several times a month, or just once. They won't overlap with Trials.
★ Items - Characters do not arrive with any items or weapons, as a general rule. There is one exception: if your character's powers rely on a specific item to work (e.g. a magical girl wand), it'll have been retrieved along with them. Please include any such items you intend to bring in the powers concerns part of your app, so the mods can be sure things are kept fair.
Items from home can be purchased from the sparks shop. Specific items from home with sentimental value have an upcharge, so keep that in mind!
☆ Languages - Upon arrival, along with the knowledge of how to use your Chain, your character will have been given the knowledge of how to speak a common tongue. This language will feel "natural" to speak, as if it's replaced their native language as the one they think in and the one that's easiest to converse with. Their other languages do remain, however, and they can speak them if they so choose.
Items from home can be purchased from the sparks shop. Specific items from home with sentimental value have an upcharge, so keep that in mind!
☆ Languages - Upon arrival, along with the knowledge of how to use your Chain, your character will have been given the knowledge of how to speak a common tongue. This language will feel "natural" to speak, as if it's replaced their native language as the one they think in and the one that's easiest to converse with. Their other languages do remain, however, and they can speak them if they so choose.
If you have any questions about mechanics, please go to the q&a and ask! We're more than happy to clarify any confusion!
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