TEST DRIVE MEME #4

[hadrielmods]

Welcome to Hadriel's test drive, and thank you again for your interest in the game! As always, our reserves page is here, and our applications page is here! Reserves open December 25th, and apps are open January 1st.

Two quick points here as well:

1. Any thread made in Hadriel's test drive will be accepted as the sole Action Log sample in the application.
2. All threads made in the test drive can be considered game canon, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

Test drives will be broken up into specific god mini-events, during which your characters can see how well they fare under the watchful eye of one of the gods. Choose wisely or just simply pick 'em all, and have fun!

F E A R

SCENARIO ONE: A FACE FIT FOR A MEME
[The Door brings in all that is chaotic and evil in the world. This may include you, may include the person next to you... and may include the monster behind you.

Watch out as you explore the streets of Hadriel, because you're not alone, and there's always something on the rooftops watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to separate you from your group and tear you into pieces. This time, the Door has brought in trolls, from the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop roleplay series for you meet.

These trolls have a height of nine feet and weigh up to five hundred pounds. They may be slower and less intelligent than you, but their regenerative abilities make them difficult to kill. Trolls are capable of healing nonfatal damage dealt to them and can use simple tools, like swords and knives- all the better to incapacitate you so they can roast you alive!]


SCENARIO TWO: RED SNOW
[It's cold. A layer of snow envelops the city, turning the caves into a winter wonderland. Feel free to have snowball fights, scrounge for blankets and coats (there's never enough to go around), and make snow angels! It's just like back home during the holidays, isn't it?

That is, if your home had yeti and white walkers roaming around trying to kill you. Be careful when wandering out and about, because they seem to blend in with the snow, and they definitely want a snack.

Or, uh, to raise you from the dead to murder your friends at their behest. Either way, you're dead.

This is a mini version of our Red Snow event this month!]


H O P E

SCENARIO THREE: HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
[You're sitting on a couch in a living room. All around you are hints of magic- the mirrors seem to flicker with moving objects and people, the fireplace crackles with light, but no heat. There's a Christmas tree in the corner with soft, glowing lights that are unattached to any sort of wires.

Underneath the tree are four presents- two of them clearly marked for you, two of them clearly marked for the other person in the room with you. Inside one of these gifts is something you badly want- a stack of cash, a magical bow, an out-of-print book- but inside the other is something a little less pleasant. There may be spiders or snakes, or the box may be empty but coated in acid. It could be a wolf in sheep's clothing- wonderful-looking fruits, rotted on the inside- or it could just be a particularly nasty smell.

You can only open one, and there's no way to know which is which. Which gift will you choose?]

Comments

[jackoboyce]

[There's somewhere in the back of Boyce's mind that does speak, but even if he wanted to (and this is a rare instance when he would want to) he can't for multiple reasons.

The first is a disconnect between mind and actions. The second is a lack of working parts for the job, as given example by the louder, more intentional growl he gives off in response.

The wolfman begins to stalk in a semi-circle around the human, eyes never leaving Ashraf's. Unlike their usual dark hue, tonight they're bloody red to match the sticky remnants of his earlier transformation. If he were a mindless beast, he could probably overrun the man in a matter of seconds, but the beast sees an opportunity to back its prey into one of the buildings on this lonely, empty street, and it still displays Boyce's careful planning, if nothing else.]

[healplz]

[ Still no answer. That would have been too much to hope for. Still, though, those shreds of clothing... it would be one thing if it looked like the shredded remains of a meal, but this honestly seems like clothing the creature had burst out of. It's a little worrisome.

Ashraf refuses to back up, standing right where he is as the creature stalks forward. He does lift his free hand though, gesturing absently through the air. A shimmering light surrounds him and fades out again, but leaves an invisible shield behind. It will go with him where ever he turns for the next little while, shielding any blows.

And, for good measure, he gestures again, but this time toward his new friend. It's a spell to discrease speed, to make one feel slow and sluggish. Ashraf's smile is almost apologetic. ]

If you're looking for dinner here, you're going to have a tough time of it. I'd really recommend some wild animal out there instead.

[jackoboyce]

[Before his encounter with this particular change, Boyce has never seen proper magic in play, so he is of no help to the creature watching the gestures and shimmers coming off of its prey. Seeing Ashraf hold his ground, it begins its charge, but partway through that awkward gallumph through spraying snow the slowing spell hits and it finds itself dragging forward.

It tries to shake its head, but even that is difficult, slow, ungainly.

Still, it is determined, so rather than continue forward full-tilt, it eventually regathers itself to continue to tighten its spiral around the man. It might be an imposed slow, but it's one that the beast can understand and work with, even if it is practically salivating with the need to dig its teeth in.]

[healplz]

[ That's bought him some time, good. Not that he really needed it. Ashraf is still a few minutes more, considering the creature a little longer... and then the buildings behind him. You know, maybe that is a good idea. He doesn't really want to kill it, not with that clothing giving hi so much pause, but chasing this thing off would probably just have it running into someone else.

So, after a few seconds of thought, he turns on his heel and strides away, toward the nearest building. He's sure he'll hear it coming if it tries to charge him, but even if not he has his shield. He's not worried. ]

[jackoboyce]

[Until that slowing spell wears off, the creature is not making a run at anything. It does, however, snap a few hair-tingling, guttural barks after the man, like he's trying to goad him along.

It's still trying to push itself, too, digging into the ground with over-long arms as it strains against the imposed limits on its body. Rather than follow Ashraf in through the door, which is much too small for the creature, it seeks to flank him by thrusting itself through the nearby window. It doesn't seem to notice the damage it does to itself by stomping across shards of glass, but the moment that it feels some give to its binds it is going to seek a way to close the distance and pin the healer in this much smaller space.]

[healplz]

[ Ashraf doesn't take long to take stock of the building interior, not with the thing still so close on his trail. He knows that slowing spell won't last for much longer, either. So what does he have -- a closed, abandoned restaurant, it looks like. He can work with that. He darts to the kitchen, moving faster now that they're enclosed together, and... yes, there. A walk in fridge. This is better than he might've hoped for.

Ashraf smiles to himself, glancing back over his shoulder to check on the progress of the beast as he nears the solid steel door. ]

[jackoboyce]

[Seconds tick by as the creature that was once Boyce bulldozes through chairs stacked on tables. Slowed or not, there is still a lot of force behind each movement, so splinters fly behind Ashraf as he dodges into the kitchen. The creature's snarling--slowed but still very loud and very real--creates a menacing baseline that ought to have the healer counting down moments before that last spell wears off.

The last few moments wear on the creature as it shakes its imposed sluggishness off. Ashraf is front and center in its bloody sights. The sound of its snarl jams all together and picks up speed just as its mass does, and, bloody claws digging into the tiles and leaving deep, raking tracks in its wake, the wolfman surges with arms wide and snout agape to rip the human into several decidedly less pretty pieces.]

[healplz]

[ This almost reminds him of home. Keeping just ahead of a slavering monster, slowed just enough and not a single bit more, pulling it along, making sure it doesn't give up and charge off elsewhere... it's almost a feeling of nostalgia. Ashraf is nearly smiling when he makes it to the fridge door, pulls it open, and darts inside, away from those claws. The door will swing shut, left to its own devices, but he's sure the creature is close enough not to let that happen with it locked outside.

Ashraf stands at the center of the darkened fridge, waiting. The slowing spell should have completely worn off by now — his shield too, not even needed despite it all. That's fine. Now he does smile, peaceful and ready. ]

[jackoboyce]

[The fond smile should not have escaped the monster's attention--it wouldn't have with Boyce, who by this point would probably have been sweating profusely and disappearing behind the nearest tree like an offput Bigfoot--but it does, and now that it is free of its slowing spell, it digs its claws in around the edges of the swinging door and gives a mighty heave to rip it off of its hinges.

At least it doesn't charge mindlessly in after the human, recognizing that it has it cornered. Holding onto the fridge door absently, it drags it to one side with a nails-on-chalkboard scratch of bent metal on industrial floor tiles, then gives a whuff as it bends to peer in after Ashraf. The growl brewing at a low level in the back of its throat mounts again, and the creature takes a swipe in with an outlandishly long and brutishly strong arm.]

[healplz]

[ His smile flickers out as the beast, rather than do something polite like join him in the walk-in fridge while leaving the door intact, just rips it off its hinges. He lets his breath out in a huff, looking distinctly annoyed. ]

You just had to break it, didn't you? This was perfect. [ He's gesturing as he speaks, and that reaching swipe catches his left arm. He's dragged forward a little at the force of it, and blood instantly springs forth to stain his nice, white sleeves, and Ashraf just sighs again. (After a quick wince. That wasn't painless.) ] Come on, then, while I work out something else...

[ He backs away, deeper into the fridge. There's really nothing more in here, just a ventilation system that probably won't be much help, and stacks of frozen, unidentifiable foods. Well, it's not all unidentifiable. There's what looks to be a whole, bagged, frozen chicken to his right, and he eyes it thoughtfully as he backs toward it. Maybe it's hungry above violent? It could be worth a try... ]

[jackoboyce]

[The scent of blood not its own is enough for the last of Boyce's human patience and reticence to melt completely behind the aching haze of the beast; as Ashraf trails off, it gives an eager bellow and surges forward, muzzle snapping in hopes of a lucky bite.

The frozen chicken nugs are far less tempting than live, human flesh, unfortunately, so even if the entire bag gets tossed at the creature's face, all it is going to do is twitch a little as it advances into the freezer completely, door dropped behind it as it drools frantically. Really, the dog-like comparisons aren't too far off in some respects... just horrifically twisted.

When it thinks it has Ashraf cornered, this time it snarls and leaps with claws and teeth bared for the kill, or if not that, then a messy turn towards the same condition that Boyce is suffering from.]