The Earthquake
The Earthquake was a major plot that launched on 10 June, 2002.
Redwall Abbey sustained serious structural damage. The plot ran for almost two years.
Summary of Events
Otter's Letter
OK, here's the heads-up on what is going to happen and how we're going to manage the aftermath of the earthquake that is going to rip through Mossflower this evening at 6pm PDT (MUCK time).
First, let me make something clear: WP #1 applies here.
We are a Redwall MUCK, and Brian Jacques' storylines are centered on events forcing the "good beasts" to struggle. Now, BJ tended to hit them with plagues, either microbial, viral, or verminal. Well, this time around, the plague is environmental.
So, the fact that we have something horrible that _demands_ attention and causes harm undesired is to be considered _100% approriate ICly_ and covered by the mission statement, as well as being supported by the senior management and the Chief (hence the WP #1 issue).
This doesn't mean that all staffers can now go forth and aggravate players for sport...but it does mean that we _can_ and _will_ mark some players as injured, and we can and will require players to stay IC and we can and will eject players from the TP who refuse to cooperate. And possibly eject them from the game if they interfere.
What does cooperation entail?
Well, some players are going to be injured, some are going to sicken. Some may even die. I know, players will howl that their precious character is crucial to them etc. etc. etc., but you know what? A) this is a game, B) in a dangerous genre, C) in a dangerous time, D) see WP #1. If we do decide to kill a character, one of the wizards will assist that character in _renaming_ the object, so that they don't lose their work on the game, but the identity will be gone.
Ideally, we'll kill alts and zombies. We won't always live up to the ideal. People who want to have alts or zombies die should absolutely come to a staffer and get it marked as terminally damaged!
This plot has risk. Risk, contrary to the modern world which demands that everything be fuzzy and warm and safe and in-offensive and dull, is a factor of life in the Redwall genre. If you go into the woods, you could get attacked, you could get enslaved, you could get eaten.
If players don't want risk, they are free to go somewhere safe. I suggest www.we-are-boring.org...but not any online VR system.
If a player is to be damaged, it should be logged with +damage like this:
+damage who=Nature of the damage
For example: +damage nicodemus=Broken left leg
There's nothing wrong with asking people if they want to be damaged...it's a good plotline for characters that aren't spineless cowards. The point is, we need damaged characters, and we will make sure we have enough.
A damaged character is expected to ICly act out the damage. Updated descriptions, short descriptions, poses, etc.
Travel time in this TP will be enforced. In the portal, it points out the length of time necessary to travel around. It's long. If people live in Mossflower, the plate tectonics have "updated" their world. They can't just leave town until FEMA gets it fixed. They are the town...and they are the only beasts that can fix things.
It's a shame that other, less ethical, creatures are going to take advantage of the time of weakness to push their agendas. Everyone: vermin use the weaknesses of others for gain. PERIOD. Some players don't want to be harmed by vermin? Too bad; it could happen. Some players want to be a vermin and harm others? This is their chance.
Now, some beasts are warriors...way too many in fact. That's fine. A good warrior can likely beat a vermin or two...Martin could. But ten? Twenty? Numbers tell. Even Martin required an army to beat a horde.
And no, armies of zombies or new characters aren't going to be allowed. We can tell when characters are created--if someone want to create victims, that's fine, but if they attempt to create a "1000 badger army" to help defend Redwall, they are going to be adjusted. Adjustment starts with dark forest and it ends on the blocked port of the firewall.
Alas, not many beasts have gone into the trades. That's too bad; new characters or zombies that try to have building skills (masonry comes to mind, carpentry, etc.) will not be allowed into the IC context unless they are damaged. Why? Because if people didn't have the wisdom to have IC useful positions, this is the chance to learn the folly of that!
So how will Redwall reubild? It will have to arrange for outsiders to help. Sounds like missions to Collinsel, perhaps...and the need for coin. Too bad Redwall doesn't have money. Ah, well...
All plot is based on conflict. There's lots of conflict here:
struggle to survive in a land torn apart struggle against vermin slavers and pillagers (looters, for instance) struggle to rebuild homes and the Abbey struggle to heal struggle to live without those who die The books are full of sweeping melodrama. Fine, so are we now.
This plot will run until basically the Abbey is rebuilt and order is restored. Vaticus will be happy to tell people just how long it takes without marauding hordes to rebuild a complex stone abbey...assuming supplies, builders, etc. With what is around now? Heheh, it will take awhile.
Remember: small damage is ideal for most players...large damage for some, terminal should be focused on volunteers intially.
Oh, and when the vermin hordes come forth and do their thing, logs will be used to determine if each side is consistent with their positions as described in the books. A single woodie against a group of vermin is toast. Hopefully (for the woodie) the vermin want them as a slave and not just a corpse.
For those who are guiding vermin: slavery is better than death, but death is fine for those who won't be enslaved. To some, "Death before dishonor." Accomodate them.
One last note: earthquakes have amazing long-reaching and lasting effects where aren't obvious at the end of the initial tremblor. Guess you'll all just have to wait and see what else happens.
Keep the Light, Otter, Chief Wizard, Redwall MUCK
Official Earthquake Chronicles
Excerpt from the Redwall Rag:
Atanis, the Champion of Redwall, stood in a quiet room above the still-peaceful Redwall Abbey, lit softly by the late afternoon sun. Occupying the sole bed was Heartwood, whose striped face had been appearing less and less among the beasts of the abbey in the recent months. Old age and the ravages of the sickness that had plagued the Abbey the previous summer had taken their toll.
Bringing him close, the badger told Atanis that without her and in the absence of an Abbot, the responsibility of leading the Abbey would fall heavily on the Champion's shoulders. Then her words become more confusing...and more ominous. She spoke of a dream that had forewarned some great disaster, but couldn't say what it was...or if anything could be done to stop it. "Be strong, warrior" she whispered to him. "You need to."
Those were her last words: the Badgermother died peacefully about an hour later.
She was fortunate.
Chapter One: "Where Were You When the World Turned Upside Down?"
"On a peaceful night, as the sun is falling, the ground beneath you begins to tremble slightly. After a few quick moments, the shaking begins to increase to a much more violent blow. Branches fall, and things begin to crumble..."
Most of the beasts of Redwall were assembled in Great Hall...it was nearly dinnertime after all. There was chatter, laughter, dibbuns playing around or making nuisances of themselves...a few were lingering at some game in Cavern Hole. Nothing out of the ordinary...until their world literally started crumbling down around them.
Silverleaf, the head Infirmary Sister, was still in the room of the recently dead Badgermother when the shaking started. There wasn't time for much more than a final glance at her still form before she made a break for the stairs...before they became nearly impassable.
A number of beasts were killed instantly with many more injured as the red sandstone bricks that had protected its inhabitants for countless seasons suddenly became deadly hazards. Most of the dibbuns in Cavern Hole were lost in the falling rubble...one, Skylet was crawling under the table at the time and that saved her, although her tail was crushed. Her panicked cries carried through into the hall until Lilybud, the cook, dug her out.
Chaos was the name of the game. When the shakes subsided, many dashed around in the rubble trying to find missing children, missing parents, missing friends. Some desperately tried to save the wounded, others pleaded that they run and save themselves for the building was no longer a safe place to be. "This can't be...the Abbey's always been a safe place! A few beasts stumbled outside to a shocking scene...the walls were mostly shattered leaving massive holes in the Abbey's defenses...
Some leagues away to the north, Valerian, barkeep at the Black Gull Tavern, was not in a good mood...the quake had shaken most of his drink supply off their shelves and broken the containers all over the floor. Needless to say, it had been a slow night...but not for long.
All the local vermin and villainy flocked to the Gull (still mostly intact) for the news...and what news! "...de redstone place d'n south, e'know, de woodiepit? De walls'r down! Dey felled in, anna woodiebeasts'r swarmin' out!" One beasts brings a chunk of red sandstone with them as proof. This is the chance of a lifetime! A reward in gold and silver to the vermin who can bring back a Redwaller as a slave! First come, first plunder!
"Rush departs the Great Hall and then turns around to see how extensive the damage really was. "Funny dat it beasts been trying ta' do dis for da' longest time, and all it took was a little shake of da' earth. Dats irony for ya'," mutters the tod as he departs the abbey."
Word spread quickly...vermin were starting to move onto the now defenseless Abbey. A monitor lizard, Malice, was the first to arrive with a group of six rats. And he was in the mood for flesh: met by scared beasts with whatever stones were at paw. An aftershock only added to the confusion. According to Malice: too easy.
In the rush to escape, a young mousemaid named Pax somehow found herself in charge of a whole group of Dibbuns: Skylet, still scared and whimpering, Dumble, Akayshia and several others. With the lizard causing havoc in the entry and a third aftershock bringing down even more rubble, speed is of the essence. Carrying a couple of the young ones in her paws, she leads them into the woods.
A group of vermin from the Black Gull, led by Rhys and Lor, arrive on the scene of the destruction, chasing Malice and his rats off. The Redwaller's simply can not fight this one out. A wounded Silverleaf heads up as many of the remaining woodlanders as she can while a token force...Atanis, Vincent (the gatekeeper), Laysia, Torwin, Eideen and Veronica, keep the vermin temporarily occupied. Vincent sustained numerous wounds and died a hero's death while covering for the retreat of the other five
And while the vermin howl their victory (and take a number of slaves back with them), the Redwallers scatter into the woods...
To be continued....
Damage to Redwall Abbey
Kevarr wrote (08/25/2010):
The last major MP with Redwall that I was around for involved a massive earthquake that knocked down one of the walls, destroyed the main gate, flooded the grounds, killed the orchards, toppled the bell tower, and pretty much utterly destroyed the Order.
Room Descriptions
Earthquake damage recorded by Compest 10/13/2003.
Dirt Road
The massive form of Redwall abbey rests on the east side of the road like a wounded animal, licking its wounds. The rose colored stone has been cracked and mared in many places, allowing water to seep in and turn many of the crack into streaks of blood red stone upon the face of the abbey. A certain amount of mence comes from the sight of the entry gate, the once proud and strong gates have been hewn from their moorings on the wall, leaving only splinters, and being replaced by the presence of armed guards. The earthquake left the abbey a wounded and aching animal, ripe picking for some beasts of ill intention; now though, it has grown claws and teeth, intent upon defending its life to the last. As start contrast to the destruction of the walls, the grass of the meadows grows tall and strong, unadulterated, life goes on.
RW Abbey: Main Gate
The once strong and impenitrable gates of Redwall Abbey are eerily absent, being shattered to splinters by the actions of the earthquake. Everywhere there are cracks and rivulets in the rose colored stone betraying the devistation of the upheval. A couple of beasts might be glimpsed moving about hither and thither ont he grounds of the abbey, but most of quiet excepting the motions of the winds or the march of time.
RW Abbey: Entry
The sandy entry between the Great Hall and the Main Gates as definately seen better days then these, All manner of activeity is happening here, beasts running back and forth with carts of rubble, guards marching around keeping an eye out for danger, and dibbuns running and playing among the large peices of rubble in the distance. Underneath it all though is a hollow feeling, Redwall Abbey has lost its warm feeling of safety; it would seem that the brigands and rogues who roam the road are more deady and dastardly.
RW Abbey: Great Hall
The Great Hall of Redwall Abbey, countless paw falls have echoed through these walls and untold numbers of feasts and merry gatherings. For all the hopeful memories of this fond room, the devistation wrought by the earthquake seasons ago still shows vividly at the minor repairs that the beasts living in the abbey were able to make. Rubble has been cleared and the floor swept clean, but only a few tables occupy this room with their accompanying chairs. The once great stained glass windows have been patched with canvas and boards to keep the wind and rain out Beyond these visual sights, the hall still contains an unmistakable feel of emptiness.
The Tapestry hangs proud and tall over the roaring fire, the figure of Martin the Warrior watching over his own at this festive celebration. For its own sake, the massive wall hanging seems to have been taken down and beaten of some of its collected dust, so each of the colors appear more vivid and bright.
RW Abbey: Kitchen
The Abbey's Kitchen is a long and narrow room with five large fireplaces set in one wall, and two impressive, wood burning, iron stoves on the oppisite wall. Several tables sit in here flanked by a whole array of shelves and cupboards that hold day to day cooking supplies and serving utensils.
It is a sad sight to see in the Abbey's kitchens, known far and wide for the feasts they produce, to see so little food here. Only a couple bags of flour or jars of preserved fruit sit here a mind some baskets or scant nuts and berries.
RW Abbey: Orchards
You stand in a sort of verdant sanctuary where the sun glares through the once thickened leaves. The occasional downed tree, in combination with the standing, murky water, cause the harsh light to bounce about the pond. A soft covering of moss and grass finds itself suffocated by the oozing sludge of mud, seeping in, and crushing into the trunks of the many once-proud trees, only serving to add to the displeasure of the whole scene.
Flowers, leaves, fruit, lie face down, dead in the mire below, leaving cool, empty branches. Fruits of all kinds are crushed and destroyed, as a result of the deluge of water, and the shaking all about. Any trace of the snow and death of winter is completely replaced by the great doom of despair and loathing, as of blooming flowers, developing fruit add to the slush below. The little flowers of the ground-covering plants, now covered by the marsh, begin to add a musty smell to the air, as they begin to become dusted in rot.
Something flashes in the sunlight up in a tree, maybe you can climb up the apple tree.
