CAN CRY: FIRST TEST DRIVE

[cancrymods]

CAN CRY: INITIAL TDM

Welcome one and all to the very first test drive meme for Can Cry! If you're unfamiliar with the game, then you can check out the interest check, FAQ, world & setting info page and the powers and abilities page to get up to speed! Since the game is still very much under construction, this is just an initial test drive for people to dip their toes into the water and see which characters they'd like to consider for the game. In order to not spoil the opening of the game for players, the TDM is not canon to Can Cry and will take place in a slightly wonky little AU just over to the left. Characters have awoken in Purgatory after their deaths and been conscripted as Executors by Rei, the sole other Executor in Purgatory. The population of dangerous spirits has gotten out of control and she needs some allies to help her keep things under control. Characters on the TDM will have access to all of their starter powers as outlined on the powers page as well as two unique abiliites to play around with as you please. Some prompts and location details have been provided below for you to play around with but please feel free to go hog wild and have fun!

LIMBO

Limbo is the Executor's main base of operations as it is the top level of Purgatory and the one most populated by non-violent spirits. Distorted by the cognition of all the human souls here, Limbo has taken on the form of a hazy, dream-like recollection of a town. It's full of winding paths that go up, down and all around and the geometries of the town and its surroundings don't always make much sense. Stairs might lead loop back around on themselves or a door to the outside might end up leading right back indoors. It's a bit of a headache, so it's usually best not to think about it too hard. The town is mostly functional, mostly thanks to all the human souls here. Players are free to invent any additions to the town that they would like for their threads, but here are some to get you started: ⚝ Conbini: A seemingly normal Japanese convenience store, full of the sort of fare you'd expect from a cheap 24-7 convenience store. There's only four aisles and everything's a bit clustered together, but it's not overly claustrophobic. Things start getting a bit weird when you try and go to the back of the store, though – no matter how long you look, there is always just one more aisle for you to browse and the further back you go, the stranger and more abstract the items on the shelf will look. If you walk too far or turn around you will suddenly find yourself back at the first aisle in the blink of an eye as if you were rubberbanded back there. ⚝ Hotel: A so-called luxury hotel that towers over the rest of the buildings in the area. Even if you don't have a reservation, all you have to do is approach the desk and the Spectre there will apparently recognize you and hand over a key to one of the rooms. Except... you can't quite read the number? It seems to fluctuate whenever you try. Not that it matters, because the key will open any of the hundreds of doors in the building, though no one door will ever open onto the same room twice. The layout of each room is subtly off in a number of ways, with the dimensions of the room not seeming quite right no matter how you try to work it out. The decor is luxurious through and the extravagant room service is free, so it's a nice place to relax. Be warned, though – if you misplace your key, you'll find yourself lost in the mazelike halls until you eventually stumble out into the reception with no way of knowing how you got there. ⚝ Bathhouse: An enormous Grecio-Roman styled bathhouse for you to relax in after a hard day's work of dealing with Revenants. There don't seem to be any workers here that you can see, so feel free to let yourself in and make yourself at home. Interestingly, even without anyone around, you'll find the water is always adjusted to a temperature and a fragrance that's most appealing to you and drinks, towels and anything else you need will appear within reach by the side of the baths whenever it occurs to you that you might need it. When in doubt: Just get weird with it!

QUESTS

Since it's up to Executors to maintain order in Purgatory, this also means they need to resolve any issues that crop up for the Spectres occupying it. You can come up with any sort of quest you like, but here are some ideas to get you started: ⚝ A lost child will request your help in reuniting with their mother. It's a bit of a struggle for them to communicate with you as they are a freshly-awakened Spectre and it's also not entirely clear if their mother is, in fact, in Purgatory with them. Eventually, careful questioning of the child Spectre and some of the other Spectres around Limbo will lead you to a bookshop where mother and child will be reunited. Happy end! ⚝ Two Spectres are causing a ruckus in town with a screaming-in-each-other's-face tier argument. Calming them both down is going to be a task all on its own, but if you manage to, it turns out the first Spectre is missing a precious object and has accused the other of stealing it. The second Spectre insists the precious object never existed in the first place. Uh... good luck with this. ⚝ A uncommunicative and kind of creepy Spectre is accused by others in the town of being a Revenant in disguise after some of their neighbors disappear in the night. Investigate and uncover the truth! Feel free to NPC Spectres as you need for this TDM!

THE UNDERSIDE OF LIMBO

Though it's the most peaceful level of Purgatory, Limbo is not without its dangers. Directly below Limbo is what's known as the Underside, a darkness cast by the city above where Revenants and malicious spirits linger. It appears as a dark, mirror-reversed version of Limbo, though the geography is much more twisted and confusing. If left unchecked, Revenents from the Underside would attack the town and consume any number of Spectres. It's up to the Executors to head down there and see to them! This is a general prompt for combat-oriented testing, to allow characters to experiment with their new powers as Executors! Because of that, and because combat will function slightly differently in-game, this section is pretty loosey goosey. Like previous posts, you are free to invent locations and NPC Revenants to make things more fun and exciting! Because Revenants will function in a unique way in-game, players are encouraged to invent their own Revenants to fight for this TDM. If you would like some ideas for what sort of Revenants to battle, you can check out this video to see what sort of enemies exist in the original game, but beware that it does contain spoilers for Crystar.

Comments

[pride_of_amarcia]

... Or we could go beat up more things!

Or not.

Sure.

[She has no reason NOT to go along with this.]

[emberserker]

You're very happy with this Executor business, aren't you?

[pride_of_amarcia]

Eh, I can take it or leave it, but if it's helping people, it's good enough for me for now!

[... She'd probably be happy in several other conditions.]

[emberserker]

Look, just listen to what I tell you and we'll all get along fine. I can lead us through this, and you're going to spend a week stuck in the convenience store otherwise.

[Never mind that Rei is leading them, if anyone.]

[pride_of_amarcia]

... Hold on, the convenience store isn't that bad! Is it???

[But she is following, at least!]

[emberserker]

It's as much of a maze as the hotel, and the things they sell are ridiculous. I can see why they accept payment in anything, rocks off the street included. That blond man, the one who always looks like he's stepped in something, got a "fruit and cream sandwich" with very little of either.

[pride_of_amarcia]

I mean you're not wrong, but I went in a ways, then I was right back in like a minute when I checked out? Maybe I wasn't paying attention and I found myself that way?

... Weird. Also, I haven't checked out the hotel yet.

[See "tent in the library" comment earlier.]

[emberserker]

Well, when you do, don't leave anything important in there. The doors like to change around which room they go to.

[pride_of_amarcia]

... Yeah maybe I'll just keep sticking to tents.

[This girl may not be considering showers and their importance.]

[emberserker]

Are you sure that doesn't have its own problems? We've got the baths, but you've still got to brush your teeth and things like that.

[pride_of_amarcia]

There's clean sinks at the library!

[And she doesn't even respond to the bath thing. This is the kind of woman whose work addiction has that sort of issue.]

[emberserker]

And they don't mind? -- Of course they don't mind. I'm not sure they have minds.

[pride_of_amarcia]

I feel like no one actually complains anyways? Or I just don't notice because I'm busy brushing my teeth.

[emberserker]

Shopkeepers take payment in garbage! Obviously these people aren't complaining. This place is a migraine.

[pride_of_amarcia]

The trick's to know what to take seriously! Right now, that's the Executioner thing and the protecting people from monstrous people thing!

[emberserker]

No, it's everything. And it's Executor. How can someone who spends all her time in research be such a ditz?

[pride_of_amarcia]

Hey, hold on, I just am good at my priorities! I'm really good at research, so I stick to that and put my focus there!

Taking too much else seriously ends up with me being all. Serious. That's not good!

[emberserker]

Yes, it is good! Ugh, you're a headache. You'd better prove yourself useful to this cause or we might leave you behind.

[pride_of_amarcia]

Aw, you kinda remind me of... Someone super serious...

[... It seems that, unsurprisingly, Pascal can't actually complete that memory.]

But trust me, between my stick here and my reading there, I'll probably be super-duper useful!

[emberserker]

You'd better, or I really will just leave you here, no matter what Rei says. Come on, before you get eaten.

[pride_of_amarcia]

Y'okay!

[And Pascal just starts. Moving to follow Anna, her first few steps more tromping before she settles into a quick gait, her expression seemingly carefree.]