Aterat; Out of Character Community

The sporatic rainstorms of the previous months have abated, leaving Aterat and its environs warm and humid. The encroaching mist is still a problem, but it doesn't seem to be creeping any closer, either. So very odd.

Another odd thing passerby may notice is a new shop front present in the market district. It isn't uncommon to see new arrivals opening businesses, but no one seems to be taking credit for this one. It appears to be under construction, and while improvements to the facade seem to be moving apace, no one ever sees anyone actually working on it, either. Lockpicks won't open the door for anyone industricous (and morally gray) enough to try, and the expansive front windows are blacked out.

(Event credit goes to Whimsy!)

As another month rolls around, things seem to carry on as usual around Aterat as they have for a while now, but as the days pass, people might start to notice that there’s some kind of trend spreading across the city. It starts in small waves at first, nothing that would strike anyone as particularly odd.

One might come across a group or two of the younger locals gathered in the late summer evenings around a fire telling stories to either spook or amuse their friends, each story more wild than the last in an attempt to ‘win’ the game they seem to have decided to play. Best story gets the last s’mores and bragging rights until the next game! Who doesn’t love that? But it’s just good, innocent fun at the end of the day.

Then there might be the odd group at the pub sharing a weird tale or two that they remember from their youths, or heard from a coworker that sounds a little tall even by Aterat’s standards… Probably the product of a little too much ale and the late hour, right? Sure… Strange, though, that more than one person finds themselves claiming to have seen or experienced something similar to the story in the nights following. It must be a coincidence and nothing more…

From there, the inevitable shift continues, moving from the shopkeepers in the market to the guard and onward through the rest of the city. It seems like everyone’s got some kind of story to tell, and they’re incapable of keeping themselves from sharing it with whoever might be around to listen… And as the stories spread, the odd sightings and experiences get more frequent by the day.

The only commonality people might offer if someone asks around is they thought they saw someone out of the corner of their eye just before they felt the need to share. No one is quite able to describe them, beyond a woman in a long, dark gown and a large leather-bound book tucked under her arm.

Finally, the one group that hadn’t been among the storytellers so far is struck. Those not among the ‘locals’ start to feel the terribly odd compulsion to share something as well. A nagging thought tugging at the back of the mind, a story or legend, recalled that they need to get out. Maybe it’s something they have firsthand experience with, but can’t quite prove it happened to this day… Maybe it’s an old tale that they heard growing up or was shared by a friend that stuck with them. It could just be some legend handed down over time that no one quite escapes from hearing once in their life. But whatever it is? They have to share it, and their hand reaches for the tell-phone without even realizing it.

Before long, the story is shared. Maybe a couple people message back to talk about it, laugh a little at the silliness or theorize about what truth might be buried at the bottom… The sharer might feel a little tired, but the weight on their mind is lifted and they can go about their day as normal beyond that.

Until… The story comes back, and not by word of mouth…

For the month of August there is now an unknown entity that lives off of stories roaming around Aterat.

The basic idea is it will creep up on your character at some point in time, and compel them to share a particular tale from their world. Whether it’s a ghost story, an urban legend or a piece of folklore from their own world, your character will find themselves unable to keep from opening up the Tell Phone network and sharing. The feeling will dwindle and go away once the tale has been shared, the entity satisfied. Because the story has been drawn from your character’s mind, they might notice they feel a little tired after the fact.

The magically inclined and attuned might be able to tell as it happens that they’re being affected by something outside themselves, but they can’t stop it either. There is also the off chance that those who are particularly observant of their surroundings (Magically inclined or average person) might think they see someone in the shadows or out of the corner of their eye before the feeling hits, but again, they can’t do much about it. The entity won’t let your character see her more than once if she realizes you know she was there. Plus, once she gets her free meal, she leaves pretty quickly.

That said, her being satisfied doesn’t mean that it’s over.

A few hours later, your character (and potentially those who heard the story) will find themselves confronted with the subject of the story shared! Depending on what the tale was, this means that they could be dealing with any number of situations.

Some examples include (but aren't limited to!):

Maybe your character is lucky, and they shared a story about a spirit/creature that’s totally benign, known for being particularly ‘helpful’, either imparting wisdom or doing nice deeds around the house or business…!

Maybe they were less than lucky and shared a story about a mischievous spirit that’s known for playing pranks...

Maybe your character shared something a little less fun to think about and now there’s a ghostly figure wandering the halls whose mournful cries keep people up at night.

Or maybe your character got dealt the worst hand of all and shared a story about something known to be quite unsettling as they follow at best, or are deadly hunters at worst.

In order to end the effects, your character might need a little help from someone else! Or maybe your character knows just what to do, and is saddled with the task of helping people who heard the story too. Or maybe it’s a whole big epic team up to deal with it between a couple or more characters!

So, The tone for this event can range for each character from quirky to exciting or downright scary! The choice is yours!

At the end of the month, the entity will simply return to its slumber with a head full of new stories. Any lingering spirits/creatures will disappear at that time and things will go back to normal.

Considering the wide variety of canons/world types the characters in game come from, it should be a really fun way to get creative and collaborate! Of course, this is not mandatory, it’s just something to have fun with for those interested!

It isn't mandatory to be involved with the manifestations of any stories shared, either, so feel free to use stories told as a springboard for new CR as well!

Please use this post to plot as not everyone has the same method of contact!