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apocalypsehowooc2022-05-14 08:27 am
apocalypsehowmods) wrote in apocalypsehowooc2022-05-14 08:27 am
Event OOC - Appalachia: Into the Pines
Appalachia: Into the Pines - OOC
This is the start of our Arc 1 finale, and it's going to take a little bit of a different format. We'll be providing information about (Alternate) Wolf Pen, West Virginia, where characters will be visiting for this event. While there may be similarities to the real Wolf Pen, please note that this is an AU version of that town. Anything written into the setting information here supersedes the real-world counterpart information.
The event will have heavy mod interaction for those characters wishing to engage with and influence the course of the plot. There will be opportunities to contribute regardless of any skills, powers, or resources your character may possess. If they can walk around and/or talk to someone, they can play an important role in stopping what's coming. For folks who want to take it a little easier and/or just interact with each other and this new place characters have traveled to, there will be more general setting prompts. Summaries and content warnings for those general setting prompts are provided below. The timeline for this event will be a bit looser than previous events to allow for players to drive how quickly things are addressed. Prompts related to mod interaction will be available at the time the IC event post goes up.
➥ tl;dr: Characters have been brought to Wolf Pen, West Virginia via train to try to stop an apocalypse ritual. ADI believes that a mining company called FYRE has something to do with it based on intel gathered by PCs in previous events and player plots. Characters will be housed in a hotel in town and asked to suss out what's going on with FYRE, liaise with the townsfolk, and investigate odd happenings nearby. Ultimately, they want to try to stop whatever ritual attempt is going on and maybe help with any other problems they identify.
➥ Country Roads: 16 May-4 June
➥ Puppet Show: 16 May-4 June
➥ No Place Like Home: 16 May-4 June
➥ Jeffrey's Hell: 16 May-4 June
Welcome to Wolf Pen, West Virginia!
Wolf Pen is a small town nestled in the heart of Appalachia. It is home to two large coal mines, one historic (Bluestone), one still active (Keppler). Both mines are owned by Faulkner, Yuan, Reid, and Eames (FYRE), Inc. FYRE is run by Carl Watts, a man known for his ruthless business acumen, union-busting tactics, somewhat shoddy mine safety record, and germaphobia. According to ADI intel, Watts is in Wolf Pen this month as part of a PR stunt. FYRE is reopening its closed mine as a tourist attraction, offering tours and guiding visitors through the history of mining in Appalachia, in general, and in Wolf Pen, specifically. On June 15th, a large celebration is planned within the mine, itself, promising to draw 'hundreds, possibly thousands.'
The inhabitants of Wolf Pen are a varied lot. Mining is the biggest industry in town and everyone is connected to the mines in some form or fashion, either working there or serving those who do. They're not the most trusting of people coming into their town given said people have tended not to care about them or theirs, so why extend the courtesy? The younger people are more welcoming, eager to hear about opportunities outside their town that aren't related to mining, but they have their own suspicions. It seems like people who ask too many questions tend to go missing in Wolf Pen. There's a lot of danger in those woods, in the mines, and in the hidden hollers that stretch out like veins from the town, reaching into the mountains.
People working directly for FYRE seem to be the least communicative; though, it might just be because most of them look exhausted. Some of the older ones have wheezing coughs that everyone local and above the age of 40 studiously ignores. The nearest general hospital is half a county away, and no one has time for that trek. Where would the money come from, anyway? The union's been gone for ages now, and FYRE doesn't take that good care of its people when they can just bus workers in from elsewhere.
There are plenty of outdoor activities for those who make enquiries in town. There are hiking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Silver Lake, mountain biking and climbing, fishing, and hunting. Anything the outdoorsperson might well enjoy. As a general rule of thumb, if it's something you could find in a small, rural town, Wolf Pen has it and players are welcome to name specific diners/bars/what-have-yous if the mods do not specifically identify them. Notably, there are no chain-type stores in town.
Locations of Note
➥ Country Roads
(cw: mention of drugs/alcohol and altered perceptions)
Characters will have a chance to settle into Wolf Pen, figure out their rooming in the hotel, and explore some of the local establishments and points of interest while ADI does their logistical set-up and investigations begin. Room assignments will be ICly random, but players are welcome to OOCly put their characters together. It's officially two PCs to a room with a pair of twin beds. For anyone who wants to RNG, please respond to the comment HERE by 5/16, and the mods will randomly assign partners. This prompt provides a place for anyone investigating the setting points of interest identified above to play around in general, and makes mention of the White Things that supposedly roam the mountain hills, according to local legend.
➥ Puppet Show
(cw: supernatural compulsion; manipulation; loss of autonomy; humiliation)
Characters will find themselves captured and controlled like puppets by the greenery on the Woven Isle in Silver Lake. Pairs of characters will be forced to play out uncomfortable and/or humiliating scenes. The only way to escape is to let the scene in all its awful play out… or for one person to discover that willing their partner into worse or more humiliating positions will help to loosen the hold of the vines on them. But at what cost?
➥ No Place Like Home
(cw: refuse/filth, hallucination)
While exploring the town, some characters may wander their way to Ferguson's Dump where it not all is as it seems. There are the standard piles of grossness, but there are also some salvageable items that might be found. Nothing particularly valuable, except… except that thing. Your thing. Characters will seem to find objects from home littered around the dump. Nothing big, but sentimental items or ones that might be valuable in some form or fashion to the character. The problem is, if you pick it up, you notice something else that's yours just a little ways further. Characters will be lured deeper and deeper into the trash heaps by these things from home until they find themselves surrounded and sinking into the refuse, something actively pulling them down and trying to feed on them. The only escape is to have someone physically haul you out somehow, or to reject the 'comfort' of these things from home. In either case, those who try to escape with these items from home will find they were never anything but more garbage once they've left the dump.
➥ Jeffrey's Hell
(cw: altered mental states; animal attacks and mauling; ambiguous fate of a lost dog; becoming lost in seemingly eternal night)
Local legends tell of lost spirits and strange creatures that prowl the woods, luring the unwary and hunting those who dare trespass in the night. Characters who investigate the woods at nighttime rapidly become disoriented as they encounter what seems to be the voice and lantern light of a man in search of his lost dog. As the woods become impossibly deep and the night wears on impossibly long, the attacks begin. Huge, white-furred creatures stalk and viciously attack characters again and again throughout the night. While the attacks don't leave any physical wounds, they certainly feel real, and feel as though they ought to leave fatal wounds. Characters will be unable to find their way out of the woods until sunrise, which seems to take far too long to come. Those who go out on multiple nights will find that the same thing happens each time and that each consecutive night feels longer than the one before. Careful - spend too many nights in these woods and it may be your voice calling in the darkness for the next hundred years.
A Handy Plotting Form
The event will have heavy mod interaction for those characters wishing to engage with and influence the course of the plot. There will be opportunities to contribute regardless of any skills, powers, or resources your character may possess. If they can walk around and/or talk to someone, they can play an important role in stopping what's coming. For folks who want to take it a little easier and/or just interact with each other and this new place characters have traveled to, there will be more general setting prompts. Summaries and content warnings for those general setting prompts are provided below. The timeline for this event will be a bit looser than previous events to allow for players to drive how quickly things are addressed. Prompts related to mod interaction will be available at the time the IC event post goes up.
➥ tl;dr: Characters have been brought to Wolf Pen, West Virginia via train to try to stop an apocalypse ritual. ADI believes that a mining company called FYRE has something to do with it based on intel gathered by PCs in previous events and player plots. Characters will be housed in a hotel in town and asked to suss out what's going on with FYRE, liaise with the townsfolk, and investigate odd happenings nearby. Ultimately, they want to try to stop whatever ritual attempt is going on and maybe help with any other problems they identify.
➥ Country Roads: 16 May-4 June
➥ Puppet Show: 16 May-4 June
➥ No Place Like Home: 16 May-4 June
➥ Jeffrey's Hell: 16 May-4 June
Welcome to Wolf Pen, West Virginia!
Wolf Pen is a small town nestled in the heart of Appalachia. It is home to two large coal mines, one historic (Bluestone), one still active (Keppler). Both mines are owned by Faulkner, Yuan, Reid, and Eames (FYRE), Inc. FYRE is run by Carl Watts, a man known for his ruthless business acumen, union-busting tactics, somewhat shoddy mine safety record, and germaphobia. According to ADI intel, Watts is in Wolf Pen this month as part of a PR stunt. FYRE is reopening its closed mine as a tourist attraction, offering tours and guiding visitors through the history of mining in Appalachia, in general, and in Wolf Pen, specifically. On June 15th, a large celebration is planned within the mine, itself, promising to draw 'hundreds, possibly thousands.'
The inhabitants of Wolf Pen are a varied lot. Mining is the biggest industry in town and everyone is connected to the mines in some form or fashion, either working there or serving those who do. They're not the most trusting of people coming into their town given said people have tended not to care about them or theirs, so why extend the courtesy? The younger people are more welcoming, eager to hear about opportunities outside their town that aren't related to mining, but they have their own suspicions. It seems like people who ask too many questions tend to go missing in Wolf Pen. There's a lot of danger in those woods, in the mines, and in the hidden hollers that stretch out like veins from the town, reaching into the mountains.
People working directly for FYRE seem to be the least communicative; though, it might just be because most of them look exhausted. Some of the older ones have wheezing coughs that everyone local and above the age of 40 studiously ignores. The nearest general hospital is half a county away, and no one has time for that trek. Where would the money come from, anyway? The union's been gone for ages now, and FYRE doesn't take that good care of its people when they can just bus workers in from elsewhere.
There are plenty of outdoor activities for those who make enquiries in town. There are hiking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Silver Lake, mountain biking and climbing, fishing, and hunting. Anything the outdoorsperson might well enjoy. As a general rule of thumb, if it's something you could find in a small, rural town, Wolf Pen has it and players are welcome to name specific diners/bars/what-have-yous if the mods do not specifically identify them. Notably, there are no chain-type stores in town.
Locations of Note
- Keppler Mine - An enormous, industrial coal mine several miles away from downtown Wolf Pen. There is a shuttle that runs three times a day out to the mine. While it's technically shrunk in size over the past several years, it's still one of the largest in the country and the largest in FYRE's company portfolio. The work force is not unionized as Carl Watts made it a mission to destroy the local union several decades ago. And he succeeded.
- Bluestone Mine - An historic, underground coal mine being transformed into a museum. It's closer than the Keppler Mine, but still needs a shuttle to reach it. There are free shuttles all through the next few months in anticipation of a grand party FYRE's planning to hold in the mine.
- Howling Moon Inn - A quaint hotel that ADI has commandeered. There are two floors with rooms spread out and almost all of them surrounded outside by pine forests in the windows. The hotel is dominated by rustic, light-colored woods, dark furniture, and a plethora of deer heads and other stuffed animals staring down accusingly at the inhabitants. It has the feel of a converted hunting lodge. There's a small pool out back that's always filled with pine needles. There are two large conference rooms where ADI will be setting up all of their equipment and holding meetings with staff.
- FYRE Apartments - The industrial-looking, three-story complex is the tallest in town and sits along the main road up to the mines. It's surrounded by high chain link fencing and doesn't appear to have any particular amenities associated with it. This is a work camp, and little more.
- Downtown - The 'heart' of the town, seeing as it's the only place where you can find a gas station, pharmacy, grocery store, K-12 school, and church. It's also where the touristy shops are that feature the standard tat one might expect for an out-of-the way town whose main vacation offering is that it's away from other people. City hall (such as it is), the post, sheriff's, and local news offices can all be found here. Imagine a small town vibe. Now imagine it's the sort of place that doesn't have stoplights, just a few stop signs here and there.
- Ferguson's Dump - Located about a mile past downtown, it's where everyone goes to dump their garbage, old machinery, mattresses, whathaveyou. It didn't start as a dump, for those who manage to get the story out of some locals. It was Patrick Ferguson's salvage yard. But with no place else to go, it eventually became the place, and Pat didn't say anything about it, just accepted his lot and made use of the still-useful things people left behind. It's not particularly regulated, and it stinks to high heaven when the sun gets to baking it. You might see a few stray dogs and cats roaming around this area. It seems to be their domain… along with the rats.
- Silver Lake and the Woven Isle - Silver Lake is a decent-sized impoundment about half a mile from downtown Wolf Pen. There's a dock and a small stand that opens up in the afternoons to rent canoes, kayaks, and fishing gear. Woven Isle appears to be a kudzu-infested little spit of land off to the eastern side of the lake. In areas where the pines haven't been taken over by vines, the trunks twist and spiral strangely.
- Plessy's Holler - Down one of the unpaved roads that shoots off from the main drag through town is Plessy's Holler, so named for the family that used to live there. It's said that every Plessy was killed in the great mine collapse of 1884 at the Bluestone Mine. It's also said that Edmund Plessy packed up and ran after some gambling debts came due. Still others will insist that there was a massacre in the holler back in the 20s, a bear attack or some such. Whatever actually happened, the area is no longer officially occupied. Unofficially… it's a place for any unhoused people to set up camp and for kids to go and spend the night as a test of courage. Strange things are said to happen in that holler, and if someone occasionally goes missing out there? Well, there are black bears and especially enterprising bobcats, maybe, along with a mess of steep drops and short stops to be had for the foolish, misinformed, or drunk.
- The Woods - The forests surrounding town. It's dominated by pine trees and has all of the flora and fauna beyond that that one might expect. There's probably more out there, though, much of it unfriendly. Not to mention the large number of signs indicating 'NO TRESPASSING' and 'TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT.'
➥ Country Roads
(cw: mention of drugs/alcohol and altered perceptions)
Characters will have a chance to settle into Wolf Pen, figure out their rooming in the hotel, and explore some of the local establishments and points of interest while ADI does their logistical set-up and investigations begin. Room assignments will be ICly random, but players are welcome to OOCly put their characters together. It's officially two PCs to a room with a pair of twin beds. For anyone who wants to RNG, please respond to the comment HERE by 5/16, and the mods will randomly assign partners. This prompt provides a place for anyone investigating the setting points of interest identified above to play around in general, and makes mention of the White Things that supposedly roam the mountain hills, according to local legend.
➥ Puppet Show
(cw: supernatural compulsion; manipulation; loss of autonomy; humiliation)
Characters will find themselves captured and controlled like puppets by the greenery on the Woven Isle in Silver Lake. Pairs of characters will be forced to play out uncomfortable and/or humiliating scenes. The only way to escape is to let the scene in all its awful play out… or for one person to discover that willing their partner into worse or more humiliating positions will help to loosen the hold of the vines on them. But at what cost?
➥ No Place Like Home
(cw: refuse/filth, hallucination)
While exploring the town, some characters may wander their way to Ferguson's Dump where it not all is as it seems. There are the standard piles of grossness, but there are also some salvageable items that might be found. Nothing particularly valuable, except… except that thing. Your thing. Characters will seem to find objects from home littered around the dump. Nothing big, but sentimental items or ones that might be valuable in some form or fashion to the character. The problem is, if you pick it up, you notice something else that's yours just a little ways further. Characters will be lured deeper and deeper into the trash heaps by these things from home until they find themselves surrounded and sinking into the refuse, something actively pulling them down and trying to feed on them. The only escape is to have someone physically haul you out somehow, or to reject the 'comfort' of these things from home. In either case, those who try to escape with these items from home will find they were never anything but more garbage once they've left the dump.
➥ Jeffrey's Hell
(cw: altered mental states; animal attacks and mauling; ambiguous fate of a lost dog; becoming lost in seemingly eternal night)
Local legends tell of lost spirits and strange creatures that prowl the woods, luring the unwary and hunting those who dare trespass in the night. Characters who investigate the woods at nighttime rapidly become disoriented as they encounter what seems to be the voice and lantern light of a man in search of his lost dog. As the woods become impossibly deep and the night wears on impossibly long, the attacks begin. Huge, white-furred creatures stalk and viciously attack characters again and again throughout the night. While the attacks don't leave any physical wounds, they certainly feel real, and feel as though they ought to leave fatal wounds. Characters will be unable to find their way out of the woods until sunrise, which seems to take far too long to come. Those who go out on multiple nights will find that the same thing happens each time and that each consecutive night feels longer than the one before. Careful - spend too many nights in these woods and it may be your voice calling in the darkness for the next hundred years.