The mission is now
live! This is for preparation and the start of missions. An 'onward' set of team mission posts will go up on
13th July (Day 7) as mission continue. There will be a conclusion posts on the
19th July (Day 10) for the climax of the mission and a final wrap up on the
23rd July. You are very welcome to put up your own posts for the mission in
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middleofsomewhere just be clear which team your character is working on!
Remember for the plotting and planning only the information in the blockquoted area of this
post is available to the characters before their arrival on world.
Dressing CarriageThe dressing carriage is open with optional extras as promised. There are flight suits, somewhat like those they wore into space, light weight and good at keeping body warmth. There don’t come with the helmets this time but there are hard hats for anyone who wants them. And thick work gloves. All these are in team colours.
There are some
harnasses in the four colours, as well as some rope,
carabenas,
belay devices and even some
cam sets.
There are bags to carry thing, also in team colours. There are also a number of red tents.
People and NPCsTerran The Terran are the main people of Terra. They are large, if they stood upright an adult would measure between seven and eight feet in height. As it is they mostly move crouched over. They are bipedal but use their hands as much as their feet to navigate their tunnel environment. They can see in the dark, and those who work in more delicate scientific fields will train to acclimatise their eyes to the light.
They are a very scientific people. They believe in using technology to make the best life they can out of their planet. Though they have achieved space travel they use it predominantly for trade and it space travel is considered a young persons career- something to fill those adventurous years before they are ready to settle down and get a ‘real job’. Most Terran work in factories, scientific facilities or other practical fields. There is not much in the way of arts in their culture. Education is prised highly with Terran children starting school before they are two and continuing until they graduate at around twenty years of age.
The Terran homes are simple. They live communally so each home will hold up to twenty adults and usually twice as many children. They consist of a lot of small bedrooms all connecting to a central hub where meals are cooked and eaten, people gather and work gets done.
Despite literally living underground in darkness they have a high level of technology. They have modern commodities for cooking and cleaning. They have computers, black screens with green text that might seem strange to anyone used to earth type worlds but will soon become apparent are as capable as modern-earth computers with internet.
Any Terran under the age of twenty will also probably have a sand box- a device literally looks like a metal box of sand but is a computerised mining and building game where you can create miniature civilisations. It’s quite fun, but is clearly as much a teaching tool as it is a game.
They are all trained in a form of unnamed martial arts, one very suited to their size and strength. Not all of them practice it seriously but most adults are at least competent. They do not own or carry any weapons and will look askew at any Voidtreckers who do so, though they will not openly condemn it.
The voidtreckers may wish to avoid their traditional delicacies- consisting as they do mostly of insects and grubs (cooked to perfection of course) and will be glad to know that, especially among the young Terrans there is a rising market in off world foods- meat, various vegetables, rice and other food more palatable to humans and the like.
The GryThe Gry are a much smaller people, both in number and stature. Most Gry do not grow past four feet, with many being smaller. They are generally slight in build and have two antennae on their head, which they mostly use for learning their space and moving more accurately. They are also capable of seeing in the dark tunnels where they live, and unlike the Terran do not use lights for astethic purposes, though they do use fire for cooking. Burning a coal like rock rather than wood.
They are an honourable people who shun science and most technologies (though anyone befriending any teenage Gry will soon learn they literally all have illicit communication devices and access to the Terran internet!) They train with spears and short swords and even the youngest will spend time each morning going through simple drills.
They are vegetarian and their diet consists mostly of root vegetables and various weeds which they manage to grow in the loose soil of their burrows.
In the past they were hunted by the Terran’s, but they reached an uneasy truce three generations ago. They still keep themselves separate, though thanks to advances in communications there is more contact between the young Terran’s and the Gry then there is between those of previous generations
They have belief in
The Burrower, a god who they believe burrowed into the planet and lives their, bringing balance to the world. It is them that they believe the visions come from. Each Gry village is small and they live all together, there are some smaller off shoot caves for those who wish for privacy but for the most part everyone sleeps in the main cavern area- a tradition that began during the dark days of the Gry and Terran war when night raids were a common occurrence.
If anyone wishes any NPCs please fill out the form below.
RoutesRed The surface of the planet is mostly red sand. Plant life is few and far between and when it appears is bare and thorny. The air is dry and dusty. There are some water sources, water springing out of the ground, to disappear under it again not long after. The day and night cycle seems to be pretty equal, ten hours of each. Sunrise and sunset is very sudden, the planet going from light to full darkness or vice versa in less than ten minutes. There is no light pollution and so night time is pitch black.
Noticeable are the large entrances to the warrens. Covered entrances to underground. Though they are covered they are not locked, nor do there seem to be any guards. People come and go as they please. Not that there are many people on the surface, those they see will be labourers, moving in and out of the factories that rise up from the ground. Train tracks cross the land and there are trains a couple of times a day, passing at high speed.
Mostly though the surface is barren, it is clear no one lives up here. The air, as well as being hot and dry is polluted from the chemicals spewing from the factories. The planet probably could be lived on with some work, but they will probably be grateful for the SCA.
They won’t need to go far to find the orbs. Large and silver they almost look like they are made from liquid mercury. They are cool to the touch and feel firm but springy to the touch. If they try they can scoop some of the orb. The material acts almost like a liquid, but will firm up when pressure is put on it. (For an easy real world comparison think about what happens when you mix cornflour with water.) They don’t move of their own volition, though it is possible to move them around by pushing them. When they catch the light they are indeed beautiful, shimmering in greys and silvers.
The orbs are a little eerie but apart from that they may wonder what they are doing here… Until night falls.
Dark falls quickly, there is no moon and though there are stars, they are mostly obscured by smog. It won’t be long after dark that they are attacked. The monsters only attack at night and there are no signs of them in the day time.
OrangeThe research laboratory is indeed large. A sprawling compound. It is only three floors high on the surface but goes down five more stories underground.
The first thing they will notice is how light it is. There are four large floodlights on the outside of the building, flooding the surrounding area with light. Every light in the building is on and pressing switches doesn’t do anything.
The building itself is made of a stark metal, corridors are wide and many of the inside walls are made of glass. Though there is an outer fence and warning signs to say they are entering a restricted space the gates are not locked, nor is the door. Indeed there don’t seem to
be any locks. The floors are connected by a set of elevators.
There don’t seem to be any people in the facility. It is notable that everything in the facility is made for a people larger than the average human.
For more information on searching the lab go
here.
PurpleUnderground, in comparison to the surface is cool. Despite being underground the warrens are large and wide. Homes and businesses are built into the earth, leaving large corridors or tunnel between them. Tunnels aren’t level, they go up and down, twisting in strange angles and though it’s never impossible to navigate it sometimes will take some mad scrambling on the part of the Voidtreckers.
It is possible to hear underwater rivers through the walls and there are plenty of places where pumps and taps have been fitted for access to water.
Some tunnels are clearly for transport. As well as the obvious underground train system many of the Terrans drive large cylinder hover cars. It can be a bit chaotic, especially with no light.
The Terran’s don’t live completely in darkness, their homes are often lit with soft lantern light, but it is clear this is an aesthetic choice rather than a necessity. They will not mind if Voidtreckers use their torches.
The section of city that collapsed was one of the main thoroughfares between the business and living districts. They have managed to establish contact and remarkably there have been no fatalities, though there are a number of injuries. What is worrying is that tunnels are unstable and extracting people without causing further harm is going to be difficult.
They will be grateful for any help, even if it is just the voidtreckers using their, mostly, smaller size to get supplies through to the trapped Terrans. They will also need people who can help stabilise the tunnels, either through knowledge of engineering, magic or shear strength. There are a good number of sections that need stabilised so there will plenty for everyone to do.
The rescuers will invite the voidtreckers to stay with them in their homes, splitting them between homes- in a way that seems to half be to share resources and half because everyone wants to host the weird aliens.
BlueThe Gry live much closer to the surface. Though still underground their homes are more cave like, dipping just under the ground. Their connecting tunnels are a lot smaller though all but the largest voidtreckers should be able to walk normally in them.
The Gry will welcome them and though they will be confused at their presence at first. They will tell them their visions- mostly vague fears. Often of predators (spiders, snakes) or of tunnel collapses, being trapped.
Indeed when those visiting Voidtreckers sleep the first night they may indeed have disturbing dreams themselves.
These nightmares will pray on fears. Not a persons individual fears. But the big cultural fears. Falling, drowning, the dark, fire. Even if this is not something they usually fear. None of the dreams will be vivid or solid enough to hold onto, but will leave them with the kind of terror that makes them want to flee, whilst fearing to get out of their sleeping bags for fear of what might be waiting.
Of course they might not have any dreams at all, and wonder what all the fuss is about. During the day time things are peaceful and they are welcome to speak to the Gry and share in their day to day work.
MonstersThe monsters are grey, slender creatures with long arms and legs. They have jet black eyes, almost like gemstones. They move fast on all fours, though they can stand on their legs and do so to fight with their arms. Their hands are claws and their teeth are sharp.
They can be beaten back with normal weapons but they don’t seem to get hurt all that much. Able to clamber back up and fight again after some rest.
Though it will not be known IC at first. These monsters are weak to
light. Even a flashlight beam is enough to make them stumble away in pain and brighter lights will damage them. Strong light directed into their eyes will destroy them and they seem to shatter when they are destroyed.
They only attack at
night and during the first two nights of the mission (days 5 and 6) only the
red team will encounter them. Characters should be capable of figuring out how to take them down, though it might take a little while and some trial and error.
Rewards.Taking part in a mission in any way will earn you five team points! You claim those by submitting a link during AC!
Also threads of 10 comments or more where mission goals are being worked towards will also earn you 10 team points. To claim those please fill in the form below and reply to the rewards header!
If you have any questions just ask! Have fun!
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