redstringtheories

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TDM #17

➥ Arrival

Photo of a modern office building from the outside. There is a manicured lawn with several trees and bushes. To the left side of the photo, there is a waterbody with reeds around the fringes. There is a purple gradient filter over everything.
(cw: potential for severe disorientation/vertigo, claustrophobia, arachnophobia, body horror)

It happens in the blink of an eye. You may have been asleep. You may not have. You may have stepped through a door or turned a corner. You may have seen a flicker of something at the corner of your vision and turned to look. Or maybe you didn't.

It doesn't matter. What matters is that you find yourself somewhere entirely new and entirely unfamiliar. The arrival point is not always the same. (If you're lucky, it might be a canteen or an open office. If you're not, well... you aren't claustrophobic, are you? Or arachnophobic. These ducts do seem to be a bit cobwebby.) You might even arrive in a section of building that has been demolished, leaving a pit of rubble open to the sky–hope you're up on your tetanus shots! There is no one waiting for you but you don’t seem to be alone, either. Even in a janitor’s closet or the bathroom, you’ll find at least one person who seems to be just as out of place as you are. The one exception is the demolition zone off what used to be one corner of the building: it seems the security teams are keeping a particularly close eye on that area to document new arrivals and bring them in quickly.

If characters have arrived in a location devoid of NPCs, they may want to work together to figure out what is going on... or to avoid their 'kidnappers.' If you’ve arrived in the middle of the entry foyer or the gym, there may well be a few people who startle a bit at your arrival and try to approach (or discreetly leave the room... where are they going?). Will you cooperate or fight? Do you even understand what they're saying? You might need to find a translator, if you’re not immediately willing to follow a stranger.

After characters follow their new hosts (or are forcibly taken in) there will be a limited tour and the chance to settle in at the ADI-provided housing. (Do you enjoy living with strangers? Well. It's a new situation to navigate, anyway.)

➥ Survival of the Fittest

Photo of caucasian woman bent over a small fire in a forest. She has a waterbottle hung over the fire on a stick.

"They're opening up Dogtown, and given what we've been seeing… it's not a pretty picture," the ADI employee who had led you down to the underground training facility explained. "You'll need to have some basic skills; more than basic, really. Even if you're not going out soon or ever… it's safer to know these things. We keep being attacked. More things are… it's dangerous." There's a haunted look in their gaze, something that speaks to the strain they're feeling, the uncertainty.

Basic skills, in this case, appear to mean survival and weapons training. The room you've been brought to on Floor B3 below ADI Headquarters is a massive, underground gym, and there are sections set up for various skills practice. One side of the gym is dedicated to fighting: bare-knuckles, wrestling, knives, and tasers are all out on display. There are also a few guns, but those are reserved for people who can prove they can manage the other weapons first. You might see that one of the people at the firing range is that cheerful HR lady, Pam Ruan, who helped you to find housing, either at ADI or with Bonnie. One of her hands is a prosthetic, but that doesn't seem to be stopping her as she sinks a full clip into the chest of a practice target. Her expression is grim and you might hear whispers that intrigue:

"I heard they're canceling the office holiday party."
"Yeah. Top brass said it was too dangerous after Thanksgiving."
"Aren't holiday parties Pam's thing?"
"Don't rub it in. Just be glad you won't turn into a vampire reindeer or something."

The other side has areas for fire-making, building a shelter, navigating without a phone, supply preparation, cooking, and basic first-aid. Through a side door, there's also a small pool where people are being taught the basics of swimming… and also water rescue.

Any or all of these skills would be useful in a dangerous situation, and there aren't enough native ADI employees to cover training for all of them. If you show that you're proficient with something, you'll be asked to man one of the areas to assist in training others. If you're at a loss and looking lost, you will be pushed toward whatever skills practice area is physically closest to you, whether you wanted to learn anything about that or not. Best make the most of it… and try not to kill anyone or burn anything down.

Even those who have refused ADI Housing and taken themselves to Bonnie's Flophouse will find that they're welcome for this training under the strict understanding that no supernatural abilities will be used. Bonnie will have informed them of it and helped them get to ADI to ensure they learn some of the things they might need to survive, especially if they plan to investigate Dogtown ... and also just to bond with the people they'll be working with for the foreseeable future.

➥ Relativity

Rendering of an M.C. Escher impossible building/stairway.
(cw: altered reality, altered perceptions, gaslighting, claustrophobia)

Unless your business has taken you from ADI’s halls, it’s likely one of the most familiar locations to you. Its halls and offices, training rooms and canteen, everything about it thrums with the bustle of regular activity and daily routine. It’s not a conscious thought, how you take mostly the same path from the doors to your destination. Most people do. So when you turn right, barely aware of your own feet, the hall you always take should stretch out ahead of you.

It does not.

What lays in front of you is a bustling block of cubicles, the occupants of which vaguely look up at your arrival. One of them is kind enough to sort of wave. ‘Are you okay? You seem confused. Are you lost?’

No, no, this has always been the A-5 block of offices, don’t be absurd. What you’re looking for is a left turn two halls over. It’s always been like that.

The canteen? Upstairs between the rec room and the larger offices. The training halls? Three doors down, not two. The stairs seem to end abruptly and when you turn back on them, there’s the hallway to the third floor….but weren’t you just on the first?

Finally, you head for the elevator at the end of the day, moving with the people who are just as eager to end their perfectly normal shifts. The elevator seems crowded even as the ding of the doors being held open for you pings out. Someone smiles kindly at you. ‘There’s room for one more,’ they say.

Step into the elevator and the doors close just in front of you, packing you in with the rest. When the metal box shifts and drops in its descent, it seems a little sharper than normal, but no one comments. The grind and whir of the metal pulleys and cables shouldn’t stutter like that, right? Are you moving faster? Did the box just lurch? Don’t stumble, there’s not a lot of room in here… and few others seem to be noticing anything wrong.

Maybe it’s just you.

➥ For They See

Photo of caucasian hands holding a pair of silver binoculars and peering into the distance.
(cw: references to arson; references to injuries and property loss due to fire; references to extreme injury and body horror; description of a hostile and corrupt Christian community; violence against unhoused people; please refer to content warnings at the top of each linked post as applicable)

The acts of arson that plagued Gloucester in November have all but ceased since Thanksgiving, barring a few incidents easily traced to local teens. The timing of the reprieve lines up with the arrest of a local teenager who has claimed responsibility for all the fires… but it also lines up with the attempted arson at the Holy Light Church on Thanksgiving evening, as well as the first sightings of a wretched, melted monster that was once a circus performer and known agent of the Desolation named Pyre (who currently remains at large).

ADI is investigating on multiple fronts, suspecting a link between what had previously appeared to be unrelated phenomena: the relatively sudden end to the spate of fires, Yelena Belova's report of a cult operating out of the Holy Light Church, and the ongoing supernatural attacks against both the volunteers of Helping Hands (a civic organization dedicated to helping unhoused people) as well as the people being assisted by the organization. Given the nature and seriousness of Yelena's accusations against the church and specifically against Greta Thomas, a senior member of the congregation, Greta's clash with George Milton and Helping Hands over a proposed ordinance against sleeping in public spaces back in September has gained relevance in hindsight.

The higher-ups have done their best to lay out the timeline and evidence for investigators both old and new, but if it's all too much they'll boil it down to the following: members of the Holy Light Church are strongly suspected of being a cult in service to the Eye, and Helping Hands appears to have been attacked by a group serving an Entity, likely the Eye given the symbols and artifacts used in their acts of terrorism (never mind Pyre the blob monster right now, they'll say, he's just a loose end to be cleaned up when the opportunity arises). If a cult of the Eye has been operating under ADI's nose and gaining a foothold in Gloucester, it's the duty of everyone at ADI to wipe them out, regardless of whether or not the cult is currently planning a Ritual attempt, and whether or not you're new to the situation or an old hand.

In the last few days, ADI volunteers who were guarding Helping Hands' soup kitchen have managed to chase some of their tormentors to a warehouse on the outskirts of town. In addition, several members of ADI have already infiltrated the church as new converts. Rather than rush into either location, however, now is the time to get the lay of the land and find out just what they'll be up against. This means electronic sleuthing as well as scoping each building out on foot. Agents are strongly cautioned that if they mean to investigate the church or the warehouse, they will need to be either exceptionally stealthy or have a strong alibi for their presence. Holy Light Church is an unwelcoming congregation, with a gray-haired crowd eager to call the cops on any loiterers or trespassers they spot on their property. The warehouse is an unknown quantity at this point, aside from its apparent use as a home base supernatural terrorism.

Before they can attack, ADI wants to confirm the link between the church and warehouse, as well as determine how many avatars they're dealing with, what resources are hidden in the two buildings, and what (if anything) this cult has planned beyond their current operations. That means staking out the buildings to see who comes and goes (hopefully without being seen in return), sleuthing online for more information, and perhaps even infiltrating the church or warehouse (though the last is strongly discouraged for anyone not well versed in espionage).

Good luck…and happy hunting. If you don't have any luck out on patrol, maybe you'll at least have someone with you to complain about the cold or the fact ADI is so understaffed they're sending out new people like this.

➥ Mod Notes

ARRIVAL (December 1-31): Two people will almost always arrive in the same general location together. Arrivals occur throughout the early month, not all on the same day or in the same place. Arrivals are not naturally fluent in English/other languages immediately upon arrival. Characters may attempt to evade capture, but they will eventually be snagged before they can leave the building (or the rubble that used to be part of the building). PC's already in-game are more than welcome to interact with and try to guide new PC's to get them oriented. Please refer to the Arrival page for details regarding the arrival and onboarding process, as well as information about the state of ADI Headquarters.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (December 1-31): Characters may be students or trainers in this scenario. They might be able to get away with small displays of supernatural abilities if they want to risk it and if they find themselves with the necessary reserves of power. Anything significant will have them immediately removed and asked not to return to ADI for a few days.
RELATIVITY (December 1-15): Characters who come across the turned around layout of the ADI building will find that the same effect never happens to them, personally, twice. Any maps of the building or floor layouts might either be exactly as characters remember it or entirely different from what they remember and what they can see. Stairs leading nowhere or leading to more stairs, doors that open to different floors, the building simply isn’t right. Two characters can be caught in the same phenomenon at the same time or two completely different ones. Perhaps your friend opens a door only they can see and simply vanishes into an empty wall. The majority of native ADI NPCs asked about the effects will assure characters that the aberrations have always been like that and nothing seems odd, then politely suggest maybe taking a break or a visit to the med wing. A small number of native ADI NPCs do note the issues if PCs raise them, though. Offworlder NPCs have noticed the building changes, as well.
FOR THEY SEE (December 1-15): Characters researching the history and finances of Holy Light Church online will find that a lot of records (particularly financial records) are incomplete or just don't match up–something hinky is going on in those coffers. A link between the church and the warehouse will be one of the first pieces of information found once characters know to look for it: the warehouse is owned by a limited liability company that is in turn owned by Father Mark Sullivan and several church members. General information on the church beyond the links in the post can also be found here, including a list of named NPCs associated with the church. For additional discoveries beyond the information here and in linked posts, please respond to the Questions header below to let us know what your character is looking into! Characters previously involved with Helping Hands or with investigations into the church may be granted additional insights based on their proximity to these events.
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➥ Arrival

It's not the vents again this time at least, and Jester's glad of it. For all her experience adventuring now she's never really relished crawling through long dark tunnels. There's probably some kind of dirty joke in there but she's too preoccupied with trying to find her way out of this broom closet. Which is, unfortunately, locked.

"Hello?" Jester's voice rings out in the hallway, an eastern European accent seeming to tinge her words for those not used to what those from the Menagerie Coast of Wildemount sound like. "Can somebody get me out of here please?!"

➥ Survival of the Fittest

Talking behind someone's back but in that stupid gossipy way where you very clearly want them to hear you is one of Jester's pet peeves, which is why she resolves to go talk to Pam when there's a moment when she's not shooting things.

Maybe, like... Well after she's done shooting things...

Still, she can enact her own proxied revenge without having to ask, so she busies herself at the supply preparation station. Carrying water, Jester takes a bucket and intentionally overfills it, then proceeds to 'trip' on her way back, pretending to be startled by the noise of the gun as Pam fires again, resulting in her not just spilling the water but downright tossing the pail so it hopefully lands on one of the jerk ADI employee's heads.

Unfortunately, you can't really aim that sort of thing, and it might end up thoroughly soaking someone who was just minding their own business.

"Oops!"

➥ Relativity

Elevators are a new thing. Or rather, they were new when she was here the first time. It was kind of cool then, convenient and quick and novel. Now, though, it feels like she's stuck in a rattling can with a bunch of people who seem bound and determined to ignore how jerky and wrenching the elevator's movements are.

There's something wrong isn't there? This can't be how they're supposed to work. But she doesn't know enough about this thing and no one else is reacting but her heart feels like its going to jump out of her mouth every time there's another jolt. And isn't this ride taking way too long!? She was only on the second floor!

"I really don't like this..." she mumbles aloud, cramming herself further in the corner of the elevator car and possibly into the side of someone else without intent. It is really cramped in here, after all. "Is this always what it's like?"

➥ For They See

"I'm a detective you know. At home. Part of an agency and everything," Jester informs her partner as she leans back in her folding chair. They're situated in a closed down business across from the Church, meant to be on a stakeout so they can record the comings and goings of the cult members. At first it sounded like a really cool mission and so Jester jumped at the chance, even expounding on her experience as a cleric for a good reason why she would be perfect for the job.

She regrets that a lot right about now.

"This is suuuuuper boring though. Not like real detective work at all. Real detecting is like. Looking for clues! And chasing down perps! And sometimes you have to even open other people's mail. You know. Fun stuff."

This was absolutely supposed to be a really cool mission. Couple of spies out...spying on people. Catching them in the act! Instead it's just a lot of sitting and staring and sometimes someone comes by, but like there's been nothing for what's definitely been an hour for sure.

Mae's sat backwards in her chair, arms folded over the back while she inspects her weird human nails. The fact she can feel her claw extend out and not see it is still the worst part. They wouldn't even let her bring her bass, so all she's got for her baseline is her journal with it's cover of various stickers. It's fine, it's under one of her legs and that's weirdly grounding. Also this girl's chatter is super helpful, actually? So that's nice to focus on.

"You can open other people's mail without being a detective, but apparently 'that's a crime' so I guess it's fine if you're also a cop. Which, like...yeah, tracks for cops." Detectives aren't cops. They're like the cool-guy-cops that aren't actually all jerks.

"This is super boring, though, you're right. Aren't they supposed to be evil? Shouldn't there be glowing lights or ritual sacrifices or, I don't know, parking in a fire lane, even?" The ones they've seen haven't even looked like they're breaking the law.

"Right? Like, evil guys are supposed to be all 'Mua ha ha, I'm going to end the world and there's nothing you can do to stop me!!'" Jester fakes twirling her non-existent moustache, setting her voice deeper in her impersonation. "And there's like, a big circle on the floor that glows all red and summons a guy made of eyeballs that can shoot lasers and breathe lightning."

She pauses, going still for just a moment while she thinks of something, then becomes a flurry of movement as she goes for her sketchbook. "I should draw that!"

"Oh shit! That'd be good." Better than a goat god that eats sacrificed children and wanderers.

But then the girl says she's going to draw it and...well, yeah. "Damn, good idea."

She pulls the journal from under her leg and balances it on the back of the chair as she pulls the pen out of the binding and flips to the next open page. She's half through this one and the next one won't have her band stickers and stuff...maybe she'd frame this one and all it's pages or something.

"Do you think you can scrapbook a journal?" She says that one out loud, at least, while she starts drawing a grouping of a bunch of circles in one corner of the page.

"Do you need to?" Jester looks up from her drawing, a rough-hewn charcoal pencil in one hand. "It's in a book already. I just keep mine on a shelf in my room, though I think I'll probably need to get another one soon, once we can go home. It's pretty full."

She goes back to drawing for half a second, then gasps suddenly. "Or I could get a bookshelf for the Nien Heroez! That's Fjord's ship." Conspiratorially, she leans in as if to share some great secret with Mae, giggling. "That's my boyfriend."

Well....maybe she has a point. Putting a book in another book was kinda pointless. Oh well, she'll just have to hope nothing happens to it when it's full.

Mae looks up from her own massing of circles that are slowly accumulating pupils at Jester's gasp and shrugs. "I mean...yeah, a bookshelf is a home for your books, right? So if you love your books, they should have their own home." She puts a few more pupils in, one of them goes a little off the mark and that one's got a lazy eye now.

"Is he, like...super hot? Or just kinda 'grown at home' cute?" The boyfriend, obviously.

Jester Lavorre | Critical Role | Hello let's try this again!!

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survival of the fittest

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for they see

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arrival!

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Relativity

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