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

[sacrifeyes]

Yes, I asked around. Those two, there...

[He nods at a couple buildings down the street.]

There were disappearances from them last week. And two houses beyond it, to the right--someone disappeared the night before last.

[emberserker]

Do you suppose it's a pattern or just who was easy to knock off?

[sacrifeyes]

Something that's hungry... will grab whatever's closest, right? I couldn't think of any link between these disappearances but proximity. Don't you think that's why the survivors are accusing their neighbor?

[emberserker]

So either it's been hiding out around here or it finds this place the easiest target. Probably both. There's got to be somewhere we can root it out.

[sacrifeyes]

Well... where is it easiest for you to fight? If you go there first, I can try to lead it towards you. It might not be able to resist a target walking alone along the street.

[emberserker]

[She takes her halberd in both her hands and looks around.]

If I can get into the open, I'll have more room, but don't underestimate me. I'm sure I can make a plan that works anywhere.

[sacrifeyes]

[He lifts his gaze the way she came.]

Do you see where the stairs turn a corner, there? [He points.] A path off the landing leads to a small playground. Will that work?

[emberserker]

All right. There should be plenty of space they could be hiding there, but I'll check it out and you go trying to get them over there.

[She starts down the path he indicated, but pauses.]

What was that?

[sacrifeyes]

...What was what?

[oh no.]

[emberserker]

Shut up and --

[A pebble rolls down the street. Quickly, Anna jumps up and back, thankful for Executors' heightened abilities, and turns around as some kind of large cat monster winds the corner and bounds up the stairs.]

Get moving!

[sacrifeyes]

Ah--!

[Claire: Yeah combat's gonna be important so I'm introducing mechanics re: weapons and powers so everyone can participate equally!
Asher, re-upping the paid of a man who'd literally rather die than defend himself in any way ever: Lol CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

V's not as quick on his feet as Anna, and he actually stumbles back and falls on his rear in that first critical instant. Before the hungry feline can get to him, though, a lanky fistful of weeds shoot up from the seam in the steps where they were growing and wrap tightly around its back paw.

The monster hisses as it's brought up short, more confused than alarmed. Ripping itself free of the plants' grip is the work of a mere second, but it's enough for V to scramble to his feet and start to run.]

Playground!

[emberserker]

I know already!

[Anna's dress isn't conducive to running, but thankfully, Executors can platform-jump. She ends up wall-jumping out of the way and running in the direction of the playground.]

Now if we can just...

[sacrifeyes]

You go ahead, I'll slow it down!

[Is that even what she wants, V? Either way, he remains ground-bound, using his speed to race up the stairs but letting her take the vertical dimension. Divested of the element of surprise, the cat gives heated, relentless chase, eyes gleaming and feral.]

[emberserker]

Since when are you giving the orders?

[She shoots a fireball at the cat, then gets back to running. Maybe it'll chase her, maybe it won't, but if she lets this idiot die she'll never hear the end of it.]

[sacrifeyes]

Sorry, but--

[The cat yowls and paws at its face to clear it of heat and smoke before returning to the pursuit. V doesn't stop running. For now, no one has definitely caught the Revenant's attention, but neither have either of them shaken it.]

You're the only one who can strike it down, so--distracting it is all I can do!

[emberserker]

Well, it's good to be appreciated!

[She makes it to the playground and jumps up to balance on the top of the slide, halberd ready in her hands. She watches, preparing another fireball, in wait for it to get close enough.]

[sacrifeyes]

[V hurtles over the last step with barely a second to spare. He sees Anna at the ready, hears the Revenant's breath at his back, and beelines for the Escherian jungle gym. Just before reaching it, he turns and shoots a flash of light--a literal flash, no flame, no heat--point-blank into its eyes. It shrieks, but more importantly, it freezes there in front of the slide.

V dives behind the jungle gym for cover, clearing Anna's line of fire.]

Please!

[emberserker]

Take this!

[She sends the fire flying and leaps down after it, cleaving the monster with her axe. As soon as the stun wears off, it cries out and starts to claw and bite wildly, but she manages to block most of the shots, only being knocked back with a gash on her arm.]

I'll destroy it before it gets anything else!

[She screams as she slams her blade into the creature again.]

[sacrifeyes]

Ah--

[He sees it, the angry streak of red carved out of her arm. The Revenant is attacking so ferociously, so quickly, he doesn't know how she can stand against it.

Without realizing it, he summons his weapon to hand: a modern sniper rifle, entirely unlike her halberd. He steadies it against part of the jungle gym--a wall composed partially of a spinnable tic-tac-toe game--and centers the desperate Revenant in the rifle's sights. Only then does he seem to realize what the consequences of his actions could be.

If he does nothing, Anna will probably suffer more injuries. She could even lose. But if he does this...

The Revenant seems to jitter between the crosshairs as he inhales a shaky breath, and then he fires.

It howls, the great cat, as the bullet explodes into its hind leg. It buckles, unable to support its weight on that flank. Its pupils blossom from slits to black circles as it glares up at Anna, open-mouthed with pain.]

[emberserker]

Good!

[It's always good to be able to direct people and have them listen to her. Not like... whom?

She takes the opportunity to blast the creature with fire and then follow up with another halberd swing, knocking it to the asphalt as it begins to break down. She stands with an angry smile that looks a little unsettling.]

I'm sure you're sorry now, aren't you? Just so you know, any creature that tries to consume me, I'll break you into bits!

[sacrifeyes]

Please, that's... that's enough.

[V sounds like he's going to be sick. His voice drops low as he addresses the dissolving creature.]

I'm sorry...

[emberserker]

[Anna scowls, but backs off and turns to V.]

Why are you so sad? Even if it did used to be a person, it was trying to kill you.

[sacrifeyes]

It ended up like that because it was in pain.

[He braces himself against the wall of the jungle gym.]

And even if it was to protect others, I only caused it more pain before the end. It's... hard not to think that's sad.

[emberserker]

[Anna's about to make another biting comment, but something stops her. She just growls and detransforms to her regular outfit.]

You're really not good at putting yourself first, are you? Don't end up a Revenant yourself.

[sacrifeyes]

Do you think it could happen like that?