Do you come from a land down under?

[lucetimods]

Draft starts the 15th! Today is the 12th. Crikey! But first off, isn't there something you're forgetting?

THE ACTIVITY CHECK

Go take care of that before you even think about bothering with the rest of this post!



We're doing things differently this time. If you want to go on the draft, use the following code to add your characters to be involuntary draftees for this battle. If you don't want your characters to go, you don't need to do anything! You are limited to two characters each.

Player Name:
Characters Sent: ,

Please submit your characters in the acceptance thread chain only. This will be the list to refer to for the NPC post.


Concerning the battle:

You know how these draft posts are always obnoxiously long, even without the lists? Well, all of the info you need it up at the Nitpicker's Guide.

DRAFT AND ENEMY DETAILS CAN BE FOUND HERE

• First and foremost, MOST -IF NOT ALL- OF THE FIGHTING WILL BE ASSUMED; in other words, without mods playing the NPCs. If you absolutely must -MUST- play out something of great importance, please let me know and I'll provide an NPC, we can set up a log, something. But please, unless you need it for a specific purpose, don't ask for NPC battles. It will be largely uneventful and full of your character kicking ass and taking names and knocking down buildings and enemies, etc etc. This is to give you guys some freedom as well as keep us from a) getting overloaded and/or b) holding you back.
  
  
  
  
• This time around the draftees will be getting sent underground. A massive Malnosso mining operation has had the misfortune of digging directly into a Third Party underground city. The miners have mostly been utterly wiped out, leaving the place swarming with angry cultists who have been trapped inside. The entire complex is large - about five miles in diameter, with various sections being either manmade or natural. Many of the areas are very wide and open, having already been large natural caves to begin with. Crisscrossing the entire area is small tunnels with minecart tracks running through them.
  
  The mine has been in operation for decades and many parts are rather old looking, especially those connecting to the Depleted Mine. The Third Party have already swarmed this area in their attempts to find an escape. This area is largely supported by old wooden beams and is extremely subject to cave ins. The standing water in this area has been contaminated and is unsafe to drink or use for other purposes. Abandoned explosive equipment is also prominent and may be easy to set off. Some of the Third Party may use the explosions to prevent being captured. A spiraling tunnel around the area originally led to the surface, but is now inaccessible. This area is where the mine first began, before being abandoned.
  
  The Processing Area is a large central area for the mining operation. Roughly a mile in diameter, it is something of a 'mining city' with various storehouses for food and small buildings intended for use as barracks, kitchens, work houses, medical facilities, power generators, and so on. This area was the second area of the mine created, but has been greatly widened by mining operations. The ceiling of this cave has a Shifted crystal that provides artificial light. Though otherwise dim, it will never go out, even if attacked, due to protections made to it. Attempting to interfere with the crystal will reveal it is protected by a barrier, like the enclosure around Luceti. Draftees will arrive in this area. They will also be using the buildings provided for sleeping arrangements.
  
  This means characters will arrive at the dorm accommodations only briefly before the battle, for a duration of three hours. During this time they can request any items they will need for the draft, but will be unable to bring any of it back to Luceti with them. Draftees will also be limited to small vehicles for the draft. If they're much bigger than a mine cart, then you're out of luck.
  
  The Barricade was a last ditch effort by the miners to stop the Third Party from getting any further, by causing a massive cave in. However the Third party are working fast and will breach this area by the third day. At which point, the Third Party will be able to break through and try to swarm the Processing Area. For now the Third Party have been making through smaller natural tunnels (not shown on map) or going the long way around through tunnels that have not yet been collapsed.
  
  The Underground City is a small dwelling of the Third Party, located underground. It originally contained many passages to the surface, but Security Forces subsequently located the city and used explosions to block to the exits, trapping the Third Party inside. The city itself is crude, with the dwelling places having been carved into stone by its occupants. Although not as large as the Processing Area, it has a much higher ceiling of about one thousand feet and goes far deeper than any other sections of the mine. The city is thus built on several levels along the walls of caverns. A specially cultivated fungus can be found throughout the city, providing light through bio-luminescence. No children are present, but the Third Party will fiercely protect their homes. Anyone who makes it into the Underground City will be in for a fight more dangerous than in previous drafts.
  
  Beyond these areas, there are several existing mines and natural caves throughout the area. The natural caves (unlabeled on the map) are untouched save for the mine cart tracks crossing them, providing a natural underground beauty of stalactites and stalagmites, underground lakes and springs, and natural tunnels that usually will lead to dead ends. Any area with a tunnel running through it is illuminated by artificial lights running off an electrical grid that is sourced at the Processing Area. If something should happen to the lights, draftees will need to provide their own source of light to proceed. (Note: Adequate ventilation is available in all areas, so harmful gases will not be an issue.)
  
  
• So how about those Third Party guys? The Malnosso have no estimate on how many will be there. The city is estimated to be large enough to house a population of thousands, but many escaped before Security Forces arrived. Most of the population will be centered in the Underground City, around the Barricade, and the tunnels leading to the Depleted Mine. As always, most of he forces will be normal soldiers. Most will refrain from using Shifting abilities, save for providing their own light when needed. Some will have taken up mining equipment (shovels, pickaxes, and so on) as weapons. There will be many Elites as well and if they are in danger of being captured or killed, they may use their strength to try to cause a cave in. There will be a small number of Shifters, but they will not leave the confines of the Underground City. As in previous drafts, the Third Party will often have Shift Hunters in their party. Their ability to sense Shifts (as well as scent) will make the Third Party efficient in traveling the mines. However the Third Party will be at a disadvantage in closed areas, as they will be unable to fly.
  
  
• Draftees will need to exercise caution during their battles. Though standard combat will provide them with little danger, powerful blows or explosions will run the risk of causing cave-ins. Thus powerful fighters will need to exercise caution, lest they bury themselves and their allies under rock.
  
  
• The minecarts are automated devices that receive power through the tracks. They will automatically move through the tracks at a safe speed, slowing down in the case of obstacles so the path can be cleared. However the minecarts have a lever on the side which will quite simply increase speed and ignore safety features built in. Draftees may operate the minecarts however they please.
  
  
• As for the IC announcement, the draft will be announced shortly after this. It will not be provided by Bil or The Commandant, but will be simply a notice posted by the Malnosso of the draft details. They will not be taking questions this time around. However the NPC post can be responded to and characters are free to converse on it.
  
  
• As before, Draftees will have access to Filial Magic on the draft. It will be twice as powerful than inside the enclosure. It will, however, attract Shift Hunters.
  
  
  
• FINALLY the most important bit! Tagging Third Party soldiers! Each draftee will be provided with a familiar looking device to keep on their person. It is a simple device to use. Once a soldier has been incapacitated, the scanning device must be used on the back of their neck. This will generate a barcode, allowing them to be subsequently extracted by a Shift from the Malnosso (which may happen minutes or hours later). Though easy to use, the downside is that it only contains a charge to 'tag' twenty soldiers. At which point they will need to be recharged by maintenance droids in the Processing Area. Though built well, they CAN break. Although draftees are free to try and put them back together or study them, only a droid will be able to reactivate it into working order. If a draftee irreparably breaks or loses their scanner, they will be unable to receive a replacement, although they can use someone else's.
  
  That's about it, then. Questions, comments, plotting? All of it goes here. Remember, the draft lasts until the 19th! For everyone not going, there will be blizzard-like weather from the 15th (after the draftees have left) that will subside on the 17th. See? We all get to suffer together.