[Event] AH! Real Monsters!

[trpmods]

It all starts with a noise. A savage roar tears through the Temba night and the sound trembles in the air, echoing among the towering buildings. Then the noise isn't the only one, because then there's a loud honking, and a crooning sort of bleating. And the noises roll through the whole night.

Come the morning, or perhaps earlier if you are brave enough to head out of what safe place you pass your nights, you might find the source of the noises. Actually, it's rather easier in the light of the day, where the sunlight seems to make them almost angrier.

Them? What them? Oh, well you might have gotten some glimpses of them last month, near the obelisks. That's right, the strange monsters that appeared and faded away just as fast are back. Except this time they aren't fading. When they stomp the ground shakes, when they swipe their claws and antlers you better bet damage follows in their wake. Oh, and they don't seem that fond of you. Or the city they are in.

Someone better do something about that.

The good news is that the monsters seem to have chosen territories to call their own, so you won't need to face them alone, He Rows. The bad news is that their rampage is not going away quickly if you ignore them. The worse news is that the city is sort of... suffering from the mess they're making. For instance, the Deerclops may rove the southwestern parts of Temba in general, but it's paid some unfortunate attention to the Power Station and by the morning, power will be down in most of the city. The fearsome Bearger seems to have made the center of Temba it's territory, and while there's plenty of places to hide, it seems to be making itself the greatest menace by the Hospital, so hope you don't need patched up. As for the dreadful Moose/Goose, well, the eastern part of the city is its roost but it seems to be particularly intent on people not reaching the station. Last but far from least is the almost comical looking Dragonfly, which has taken to roving the city as a whole and making a general menace of itself. Hopefully it isn't too attentive toward the ships if you choose to flee.

He Rows, clearly it is time to prove yourselves, to defend your homes, and to take down this creatures that seem very real this time around. Perhaps they'll get bored with time and leave on their own, but can you be so sure that they will? And what will happen to you if you just leave them alone? Surely it's time to take up your weapons and fight, or at least grab that Security datapoint, an energy gun or scythe, and hope for the best.

Good Luck.

FAQ
What is the date range for the event?

The monsters will appear on the night of April 10th, and will linger until they are either all defeated or through April 20th, at which point any undefeated monsters will disappear.

Is it possible to opt-out of this event?

Absolutely. Characters are welcome to be in Sh'Ka during the duration of the event. Within Temba the Whale Comb Sent Her will be surprisingly untouched, so it's a very safe location. While these are not the only options for safety (we welcome characters' personal residences to stay as safe as you desire), they are the ones most easily offered.

Is it possible to travel between the cities?

Yes, Sh'Ka will still be accessible either by sneaking by the Moose/Goose to the station or by using the ships with a pilot to fly you past the attention of the Dragonfly. Both are 'dangerous', though become a lot easier if there are people willing to serve as distractions, and without risk at all once the appropriate monster is taken down.

How badly damaged is the Power Plant?

A single engineer accessing the damaged nodes could repair the Power Plant in less than an hour. The problem is that as long as the Deerclops is roving in the district, damages will continue to happen and power will repeatedly fail. This means the city should be considered without power except with those devices that are powered by crystal rods, or are being charged on the ships. The replicator will still function during this time.

What about water and communications?

The water station requires running power to purify and pump. This means that until the Deerclops is fully defeated and repairs are completed, water will not be running. Communications, though, has redundancies not running through the city systems and will continue to function. All the better for He Rows to communicate their combat strategies.

Can we defeat the monsters?

Absolutely. Fight them at your own risk, but know that these creatures can be taken down. We won't provide road maps to your victories. However we do encourage players to get together and figure out teams for take downs. In this we advise at least two characters together, or perhaps more than that in small teams together attacking the same creature. However you want to go at these beasts, feel free to use the comments below to make your teams and discuss your plans. We've even made headers for the four monsters for people to note their interest in team-ups. What we do ask is that (unless no one else has volunteered), please don't have a single character go after multiple monsters. Give people a chance to join in on the battles.

My character doesn't have a weapon, what should they do if they want to fight?

As noted, the Whale Comb Sent Her is a secure location, and it just so happens to be where the Security Data Point is. In a separate side room of this building is the data point and the energy guns you might want for this battle. Remember that use of these guns without the data point will cause misfires, backfires, and potential character injury. If ranged weapons aren't your thing, the Temba Greenhouse has energy scythes also useable in conjunction with the Security Datapoint. For the period of this event use of the weapons for He Row and property defense can result in minor injuries of other He Rows without immediate delinking from the datapoint.

As a reminder to our He Rows, deliberate attempts to harm each other with the Security Datapoint weapons will lead to the Datapoint delinking from the He Row, turning off the energy scythe and increasing risk of other issues with the guns. The good news is that these things seem to release a black ichor when cut, which the scythes don't register as 'blood' and so they are good to attack to your heart's content.

What are the territories of these creatures?

The Deerclops will wander the whole of the Cyan districts of the Temba Map, with a lot of focus near the Power Plant and associated facilities.

The Bearger will mostly move through the Yellow and Green districts, with serious focus around the Hospital.

The Moose/Goose roves through the Pink districts but strays occasionally into the Orange, with it always returning to the Station.

The Dragonfly is fully wandering, circling the whole of Temba, though if there is action over by the Hangar it's likely to come and investigate. It's also drawn to tall buildings, like the Residence Towers.

Exact locations vary, but you will commonly run into the monsters in these areas. The good news is that they don't really like each other so they aren't going to team up. The bad news is that they don't dislike each other enough to fight among themselves.

Can this event seriously injure/kill my character?

You bet it can. So please remember the Injury and Death Intervention form if it's relevant. The Agrii will not be letting you die today.

Comments

Questions?

[trpmods]

Are your questions not answered above? Then turn them here!

Re: Questions?

[sinistral]

How large are each of these monsters compared to "real" creatures? For example, are we dealing with COLOSSAL SCALE or is the Deerclops maybe a bit larger than a "regular" deer?

[trpmods]

Oh these are big. They aren't Godzilla big, but it would be fair to say these things are close to/around 15 meters (about 50 ft) tall in their main body mass. The horns of the Deerclops might make it the 'tallest' and the Dragonfly is a bit longer because tails always lead to length.

Re: Questions?

[crystalmaster]

Radley still has the machete he was using against the plant problems. Is that a good enough weapon, or will it not do much against these things?

[trpmods]

It's definitely a weapon, and for the truly courageous and dedicated it can do some damage. It will not be enough on its own, but the skin can be pierced this way. It may be wise to seek some upgrades weapon for serious damage though.

[newmemorywhodis]

Are the monsters like the obelisks and would also count as 'evil' / dark forces?

(i.e. would they also make the Master Sword glow?)

[trpmods]

Yes on being evil and glowiness.

[only_an_echo]

This may be a little redundant for a question BUT

Are we supposed to make a post/log about fighting the beasties, or ???

[trpmods]

That's up to players to decide upon. This is not something the mods are making a log for.

[ashwantstobattle]

Are the monsters susceptible to electricity. Asking for a friend.
.
.
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That friend is Pikachu.

[trpmods]

Yes.

Monster Battling Team Ups!

[trpmods]

Use the headers below to express interest in which beasts your characters might be after and possibly discuss plans. You can discuss them elsewhere as well, but this may be a quick and easy way to see what monsters need assailing.

Please also see them for information on monster specifics.

Bearger

[trpmods]

Attacks with wide, strong swings of its claws but also hits the ground to send a small shock wave around itself.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon comes in on this fellow with an Eldritch SMITE attempt - Which will not quite have the desired effect but he can try, right? RIGHT?!

Maybe the Eye rather wants to watch the beasts cause havoc, who knows......

Anyway. Jon is here. Trying his best. He may have to run away at some point.

[out_of_order]

Tangling with giant creatures is just a normal day for Cal I guess. Has lightsaber, will rave. I mean

[doubled_speed]

Threaten HIS Greenhouse and cafe? Not happening. Going to try and blow its feet up.

Okay, but let's be honest he's going to do his normal fight support thing of 'scoop people out of emergencies'

Re: Bearger

[crystalmaster]

Radley will come at its legs and feet with his machete, and if anyone can give him a weapon upgrade, he will be grateful! He does not consider himself particularly courageous, but he is dedicated, and he doesn't want these things hurting his friends. Or himself either, really.

[hashtagparkerluck]

Since it's around the area Peter woke up I guess he'll try webbing it.

Deerclops

[trpmods]

Attacks with claws and hoofs. Flings volleys of ice shards when swinging with its claws. Being hit directly by its claws can cause severe freezing.

Dragonfly

[trpmods]

Attacks with its claws and spits lava around itself and even covers itself with lava for protection. Immune to fire and fast.

Moose/Goose

[trpmods]

Attacks with feet and antlers. It’s a hybrid between an angry goose and a moose and therefore needs no special attack. Honks very loudly.

Plotting

[beyourzoomer]

If anyone wants a distraction so they can get by a monster, or someone to play bait so they can attack a monster, Max is up for that!

Tae & Lark

[butterfly_kiss]

As is made clear above, my three guys are going to be out fighting. But my ladies aren't suited to these combat situations. So here's my thoughts.

Tae might need rescued from the hospital and taken somewhere secure to treat emergency injuries.

Lark would need secured and taken out of the area of threat.

Anyone want to help them with those?

Re: Tae & Lark

[crystalmaster]

If residences are safe, does that include the hotel? Radley would definitely try to help either or both of them if he can! He'd probably be better suited to that than trying to fight for very long.

Lark

[fatedsacrifice]

Since Tae is taken, Noct can help Lark out!