The Great Metaplot Reveal

[shadowmods]

Hello, everyone.

It's been a few weeks since we put out the poll regarding the future of the comms. Unfortunately, between Kally's busy schedule and my medical issues, we haven't been able to look over the results just yet. However, we realized that we've left many, many metaplot questions hanging. Questions you may want answered. Therefore, this post is the Great Metaplot Reveal! Here, I'm going to post our "metaplot bible," the document that we used to guide the game.

Answers await you below the cut. Be warned, there's a lot of information ahead. And it doesn't even cover the entire three and a half years the game was active. We welcome players to ask any additional questions that they don't see answered in the comments below.




Perhaps you'd like it in words?
 

The Backstory

The First Generation

The Nysgods have existed so long that no one in recorded history can remember a time when they didn’t exist. Historians and mages often classify the race as one of “the old ones.” For as long as the Nysgods have existed:

• Mithos has been their king

• Lord Thierry served as his chief advisor and best friend

• Uri served as the Head Carver.

These three were the leaders of what is known as “the first generation,” the oldest Nysgods who have existed for the entire duration of the race.

When the race first came into existence, there were both males and female Nysgods, born in the old-fashioned way. Many thousands of years ago, King Mithos was married to Queen Rhea, a female Nysgod. It soon became clear to the race, however, that there was something wrong. Often, men would venture out into the mortal world and become enamored of a mortal female, so much so that they utterly rejected their Nysgod mates. After a pattern of this, the Nysgod women had suffered enough. Led by Queen Rhea, the female Nysgods abandoned their world and eventually became an entirely new race known as Polarians, and learned to manifest themselves as stars in the nighttime sky.

The Modern Nysgods

The remaining male Nysgods of the first generation were at a loss after the departure of the women. As the Nysgods were unable to reproduce with other races, for a time, it seemed the race was destined to fade away. However, Uri encountered a humanoid man named Lucien, who was temporally displaced and knew about modern-day Nysgods. Lucien knew that the Nysgods could procreate by bringing the mortal females they imprinted upon to Dagaz, where Uri could change them into Nysgod females and create offspring for them (see race details section). From this information, the modern-day race of Nysgods was born.

Some years later, King Mithos fell in love with a human woman named Thea. Although Thea was married with children of her own, she had also fallen in love with Mithos and agreed to return to Dagaz with him after her mortal husband had died. However, Thea had a condition. In order to return to Dagaz with him, Thea requested that Mithos find someone who would claim her sister, Blaise, as a mate as well, so that the two of them could be together forever. Mithos’ friend, Thierry, had imprinted on a mortal woman who married another Nysgod. Mithos and Thierry made a deal:

• Thierry would marry Blaise and claim her as a mate, even though he did not love her.

• In exchange, Blaise and Thierry’s son would be second in line for the throne (after the child of Mithos and Thea).

The bargain arranged, Thea and Blaise both became Nysgod females.

Mithos and Thea, who were happily in love as they ruled the kingdom together, had a son named Tristan. Thierry and Blaise had a son named Quinn. Unfortunately, their marriage was less ideal. Although Thierry was a good husband to Blaise, he could not love her. As she had fallen in love with him, Blaise became a bitter individual.

The New Generation

Tristan was prepared to one day become king, serving his father as a royal ambassador to other worlds. Blaise and Thierry’s son, Quinn, was also trained in diplomacy. As cousins, Tristan and Quinn spent a lot of time together. However, though Quinn became popular with his peers, Tristan was a bit of a lone wolf, always forced to choose duty over pleasure. Quinn formed a group of friends:

• Robin

• Edwin

• Jaan

Soon, Edwin’s mate Blake joined their group. Occasionally, Tristan joined the group in their fun and games, but more often, he was stuck at home with only his annoyingly loyal valet, Skokan. The fun and games ended, however, when Quinn met Egime. Egime was a mortal priestess and Quinn’s first love. Although she returned his love, Egime refused to become a Nysgod. The pair lived together for the duration of her lifetime. On her deathbed, she made Quinn promise to find someone else to love. Though it seemed an impossible promise to keep, after Egime’s death, Quinn and Robin realized that the only possibility was to find the Carver who created Quinn and convince him to change Quinn’s symbol so that Quinn would be able to fall in love again.

The Carver, Hesiod, was willing to change Quinn’s symbol. Unfortunately, the treachery was soon discovered. As a ban against changing carvings was one of Dagaz’s strictest laws, Quinn and Hesiod were both banished from Dagaz. Robin’s involvement was not uncovered. When Hesiod was banished from Dagaz, he took his Carver’s Staff with him. For the next millennium or so, Quinn wandered the Known Worlds aimlessly, desperately hoping to fall in love again.

The Story is Set

Quite by accident, about two years ago, Quinn met a young Human girl named Casey and fell in love with her. Despite some initial protests, she soon returned his affections.

At this time, several other forces were at work. Jaan and Robin journeyed to a realm called Araba where they both fell in love. Though Jaan’s love was mutual, the woman Robin fell in love with was happily married with children. In despair, Robin visited Hesiod and asked to be carved out. Hesiod granted this wish and Robin disappeared.

Robin’s death enraged Jaan, and he became convinced that a revolution was necessary. He decided that if Dagaz’s stringent rules didn’t change, more of his friends would kill themselves. Meanwhile, Tristan was sent to a mortal realm to assist in a war effort. By strange coincidence, his destination happened to be the mortal realm where Quinn and Casey were living. There, he met and fell in love with a friend of Casey’s named Mia. Mia, however, was killed, leaving Tristan alone and depressed.

Nysgod Today

There has been a great deal of unrest recently in Dagaz. The main events that have led to this recent unrest have been:

• Tristan losing the potential next queen

• Rumor spreading of Quinn’s success in falling in love a second time

• Jaan’s mouth running on and on

The stability of Dagaz, a place that has not changed in thousands of years, is being threatened. In order to bring about some kind of stability, Tristan’s valet Skokan, who will stop at nothing to ensure the continuation of the status quo, has decided it’s time to find Tristan a proper mate. Therefore, Skokan has opened an inter-dimensional portal, called The Grasp, programmed to draw potential mates in from the Known Worlds, in the hopes that one will satisfy Tristan and bring stability back to Dagaz.

And so it begins...

The NPCs

Major Nysgods

King Mithos (Wizera) → The reigning monarch of Dagaz. He’s been in charge since time began and people love and respect him, more or less worshipping him as a god. He has final say on all matters and generally takes a pretty hands-on approach to ruling. That said, he does much of his work from a distance. Mithos is an intimidating individual, but he is generally seen as fair.

Queen Thea (Kally) → Mithos’ true love, who has been the queen at his side for a very, very long time. She was once the wife of a tribal chief, from a treetop village in the mortal realms, and as such, left behind mortal descendants. Thea is a very visible figure. She is known to be warm, kind, considerate, and all around just a pleasant person.

Lord Thierry (Kally) → Mithos’ right hand man. Thierry is a kind, considerate man, who does a very good job at hiding some severe pain. The woman he loved ended up bound to another Nysgod and Thierry has never quite recovered from the pain of that. He is a dutiful husband, but he does not love his wife.

Lady Blaise (Carly) → Thierry’s wife and Thea’s sister. Thea and Blaise both became Nysgod together, so that they could spend eternity with one another, but Blaise never bargained for the fact that she would fall in love with someone who could not return her love. This has made Blaise into a very bitter, unpleasant woman. She often serves as an adviser to newly-turned Nysgod mates.

Uri (Wizera) → The Head Carver. Uri is often the judge of legal cases in Dagaz. He is intimidating, but very reasonable. As a Carver, his appearance is much older than most Nysgod. It saddens him very much to see Nysgods, many of whom he created, carving themselves out when they lose their mates. He himself has a mate named Anastasia.

Skokan (Wizera) → The royal valet. Skokan has been charged with the task of finding Tristan a new mate. He takes this duty very seriously, to the point of being a zealot. Skokan’s mate would not come with him to Dagaz, and this has left him a hollow shell of a man, who’s only love is Dagaz itself. He will maintain the status quo of his beloved homeland at any cost, beginning by ensuring that Tristan assumes the throne, as planned. He manufactured the Grasp and has lied about it malfunctioning. No one can question this lie, since no one else knows how the Grasp works. He's also aiming to frame Quinn as a villain and will occasionally kidnap candidates (dropped characters) and leave a toy in their place.

Prince Tristan (Kally) → The son of Mithos and Thea who is next in line to the throne. Tristan is a fairly melancholy individual, more so than normal lately, since the death of Mia. Having been trained from birth to be the next king, he is a skilled diplomat, vastly intelligent, and worldly.

Quinn (Kally) → The banished cousin of Tristan. Quinn is charming, witty, intelligent, and at his core, very good-natured. He very much disapproves of the current situation in Dagaz and is trying to help Skokan’s captives escape. Because of his status as an outlaw, he is often blamed for the bad things. In truth, he has the best of intentions.

Jaan (Wizera) → A young Nysgod and friend of Quinn and Tristan. Jaan is a revolutionary thinker who doesn’t really know how to keep his mouth shut. Since he’s never done anything illegal, he can’t be banished, but a lot of the older, more traditional Nysgod find him to be radical and dangerous. Jaan has a happy life outside of Dagaz with his mate. The reason he’s so angry is because he has seen so many of his friends carve themselves out because of the laws about only being allowed to imprint once. He is out to change all that.

Minor Nysgods

Edwin (Kally) → Tristan and Quinn’s friend, who is the head of the Seers’ Guild. Edwin is very soft-spoken and shy. He is kind to everyone, but on the whole, a very ineffectual person.

Blake (Carly) → Edwin’s mate. In contrast to Edwin, Blake is a very boisterous, friendly individual. He hosts the best parties in all of Dagaz.

Robin (Wizera) → Robin was a friend to Tristan and Quinn. He helped Quinn to change his symbol. Many years after Quinn was banished, Robin fell in love, but his mate was already married and happy. To end his pain, Robin had himself carved out. For now.

Hesiod (Carly) → An exiled Carver who took his staff with him when he left. Like Jaan, he’s a revolutionary thinker. Unlike Jaan, he’s not a very nice person. He might possibly be gunning for Uri’s position.

Major Mortals

Casey (Wizera) → A human girl, with some possible demon blood, Casey is the second mate of Quinn. She is curious and intelligent, but clumsy when it comes to social interactions. She is an alchemist by trade and enjoys experiments, although they often end in explosions. Although she was initially repulsed by Quinn, she grew to love him and is now helping him to fight the good fight in defense of his homeland. She was unknowingly chosen to serve as an escort to the PCs.

Adriana (Kally) → A Hylian girl and friend of Casey. Like Casey, she was chosen by the Nysgods to ease the transition for the PCs from their old lives to their lives with the Niflehim.

Minor Mortals

Egime (Whoever needs to) → Quinn’s first mate, a priestess who loved him dearly, but refused to become Nysgod. On her deathbed, she made Quinn promise her that he would find another mate.

Mia (Whoever needs to) → Tristan’s imprinted mate, who died recently.

Lucien (Kally) → A mortal man who once accidentally traveled back in time. With his knowledge of modern-day Nysgods, he inadvertently became the father of their race, teaching them how to create female Nysgods.

Insa (Wizera) → Lucien’s cousin and Tristan’s lover.

The Plot

Phase One

-Skokan is kidnapping people, bringing them into Dagaz as potential mates for Tristan. These are the PCs. Tristan is not eager to choose a new mate, so the PCs are kept in a “waiting room” with assigned roommates.

-Quinn, Adriana and Casey are working to try to rescue the PCs. As an outlaw, Quinn has attained a villain status. Much like the Green Hornet, he is blamed for everything bad that happens. In reality, he is only trying to help.

-Quinn employs many tactics to rescue the PCs. They manifest as “games” which cause different things to happen.

-PCs are allowed to start learning levels of Nysgod magic: 1) Able to tell when a Nysgod is reading your mind, 2) able to push a Nysgod out of your head, 3) able to close your surface thoughts, 4) able to close deeper thoughts, 5) able to tell the difference between a Nysgod illusion and something real, 6) able to see anything being hidden by an illusion

-PCs are allowed to start learning levels of Nysgod tech: 1) They understand all the basic functions of a Netbox. 2) They can create private channels on the network, such as the current Waiting Room channel. 3) They can create holograms. 4) They can create un-hackable posts on the Network. 5) They understand the mechanics of basic Nysgod technology and can work repair on broken equipment. 6) They can begin incorporating Nysgod technology into their own creations
-The candidates are bounced from Niflheim city to Niflheim city, gathering information about the different factions. Eventually, Skokan is Carved Out (to return later), letting the PCs fend for themselves.

-Eventually, Quinn and Casey are caught. They are put on trial for their crimes. The story of Egime is revealed.

-Tristan decides to attempt to pull a Quinn by changing his own symbol. He is punished by being turned into a mortal. He goes off to live a happy little life away from Dagaz.

Phase Two

-The PCs ought to be sent home, since Tristan is no longer around. Unfortunately, Skokan (alive again) is so furious about the events in Phase One that he is nowhere to be found.

-The PCs are given their own village and are allowed to create their own buildings, set up businesses, and generally begin some of their own plots.

Phase Three

-Skokan suddenly returns and demands that Tristan be restored. He probably gets the PCs to help him with this petition, since getting Tristan back sooner means they can go home.

-Tristan’s UNHAPPY. Therefore, he’s no closer to choosing a mate. Something is very wrong. Some PCs who care to investigate will learn that while he was mortal, he took up with a mortal woman, Insa, and fell in love with her, but as a Nysgod, he believes he is still biologically compelled to be in love with Mia.

-At this point, players are allowed to app Nysgod OCs of the second generation.

Phase Four

-News reaches Dagaz that Insa’s pregnant. This throws the world into complete chaos.

-Skokan eventually decides that the baby must die, because it is completely screwing up the line of succession. His attack is a failure and he is exiled from Dagaz. Unfortunately, without him around, the PCs cannot be returned home.

-Hesiod starts re-carving dead Nysgods in order to start a revolution. They take over the village. The good guys form several parties to take it back. One to distract the Nysgods, one to try and grab Hesiod’s staff, etc. The party that Casey leads is soundly defeated and she is mortally wounded, so Uri carves her in to save her life. The bad guys are eventually defeated but now Robin and the other re-carved Nysgods are alive!

Phase Five

-The aftermath of Hesiod’s rebellion is addressed. Casey’s gone to crazy town, since she was carved in so hastily. She was probably carved in so quickly that something went wrong, which is why PCs can still remember who she is.

-Tristan makes it clear that he intends to become mortal again. The line of succession is up for debate, with Team Quinn and Team Robin. Robin, however, wants Tristan to stay heir, in the hopes that he’ll change the laws, allowing all men a second chance at love (neither Quinn nor Robin could make such a law as it would be viewed as self-serving and kings cannot be self-serving).

-Through Edwin, Robin learns that Adriana was supposed to be his soul mate, but he didn’t see her in time.

-Robin becomes completely unbalanced, slowly descending into madness.

Phase Six

-Robin is named heir. He starts doing very bad things.

-Tristan becomes mortal and goes away.

-The history of Mithos, Thea, Thierry, and Blaise is completely revealed by Edwin, in a desperate attempt to get Robin removed from the throne and Quinn named heir.

Phase Seven

??? Something with the Polarians maybe? We'll see if we actually get that far.