So this week we're going to start planning the Battle of Hogwarts, but we really want to make sure we hit all of the notes that everyone as a group wants to hit so we thought we'd share what we're thinking so far and then open up the floor to the group as a whole!
Based on the survey responses, the battle will be the weekend of the 12th/13th with a log deadline of either midnight CST that Friday or Saturday afternoon. We're planning on posting a volunteer post this week and we're hoping to get any pairings out by next weekend at the very latest. What we're thinking this will entail is a mix of the final showdown pairings you guys already have in mind and then mod generated pairings.
We'll be opening the floor to Death Eater NPCs and the other NPCs we mentioned in the survey, but if there are any other NPCs you'd like to see, let us know down below! As of right now, we're thinking of mainly focusing on DA NPCs that are related to our current characters with some of the main canon ones like Harry and Neville when necessary, but we'd be open to opening the rest of the DA up if that's something you guys would like to see. We can do a volunteer post for NPCs this week too if that ends up being necessary!
We're also planning to post an IC/OOC during the ceasefire and after Voldemort's death to give everyone the opportunity to get their character's thoughts/feelings on screen without having to log them, BUT we're open to anyone logging whatever they'd like before, during and after. We'll be sending out battle docs to focus on the different phases of the battle so just be sure to note your logs there and link them when they're done!
Below the cut is a list of things we've gleaned from this timeline and the chapters in the books just so you can have an idea of what we see happening.
The first half of the battle will last 2 1/2 hours. (Someone could feasibly have multiple duels during the first half, rolls permitting.)
The ceasefire will last 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The second half of the battle will last 45 minutes.
Duels can involve or be be interrupted by any number of entities or distractions, including:
Ghosts (both the Hogwarts ghosts, Peeves and the Headless Hunt)
General explosions and destruction of the castle
Enchanted suits of armor or school statues
Acromantulas
Giants
Dementors
Harry's sacrifice during the ceasefire places a protective spell on anyone fighting for his side meaning:
Only Death Eaters can die (immediately) during the second half of the battle.
Death Eater spellwork starts behaving strangely. This could mean anything from none of their spells will hit or spells with a lasting effect don't hold, such as silencing charms, stunners or body binds. The cruciatus will behave strangely too.
Distractions/entities fighting on the Death Eaters' side will also start acting strangely.
The anti-apparation ward on the school will hold throughout the battle, meaning anyone hoping to escape will need to get far enough away from the castle to apparate or will need to happen to have a portkey on them.
Let us know what you think down below! Or shoot us an email if you'd prefer to let us know that way! (Also based on your survey responses, we decided not to do a log challenge this month.)