NO EXITS

INTRODUCTION

This is a setting inspired by dark fairytales, DC’s Vertigo Comic (RIP) titles like Sandman and House of Mystery that you loved as a goth or goth adjacent teen/twenty-something in the 90s, as well as TTRPGs like Changeling: the Lost and Dungeons & Dragons’ Feywild setting.

The object of the game is survival in a dream-like fairytale land. It’s a world where the rules of reality aren’t always clear but the consequences for breaking them are often severe. Order and chaos sometimes appear turned on their heads, the logic buried behind riddles and old stories.

Think of this setting like a post-apocalypse survival game. Only instead of a world where it was clearly defined, flawed, ended and now trying to rebuild, this is still a young malleable world fighting to define itself. What characters do in this world will make an impact into what kind of world it becomes.

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THIS PLACE?

• Instead of the typical reset, it appears as though 100 years passed while everyone was unconscious. You haven’t aged, but…

• The buildings of Derleth look more like ruins, hidden by overgrowth. The Green has expanded radically, pulling the buildings even further apart than they were last time The Green expanded. It might take some searching to find them all.

• Remember those depictions of sleeping beauty where rooms and people are covered in vines and growth in the ruins of a castle? Yeah, waking up in the dorm this week is kind of like that.

• So what is this place exactly? Another Derleth AU? Or… is this the Void? Having grown into its own literal world? That last idea might have some legs. After all, Derleth has never broken the Void/World/Void pattern before.

• Finding food and shelter is going to have to be a thing. The magical wards that kept your rooms safe have dissipated. Perhaps you could stay in the ruins of the dormitory, assuming the building is still safe. (It’s sturdy enough, but those rooms are still a pain to get into.) Time to camp?

POINTS OF INTEREST
Should we choose to stay in this world, more places on the “map” will become available, as well as other factions of people and antagonists to interact with. I swear I’m doing my best not to make another 14 page document, lol.

THE GREEN

The trees shift and move and redirect people to keep them contained within the woods. Flight makes it impossible to see the borders of The Green, and astral projection gets one just as turned around. There are more strange animals than before, the strange but beautiful wildlife population going rapidly over the reset.

THE SKY

The magic veil over Derleth, formerly Ikol’s illusion spell that gave the impression of a daytime sky with fluffy clouds that cycled into a nighttime spectacle of crisp, twinkling stars, is gone. At least that’s the first impression one might get. Above Derleth is an expanse of sickly green, marked by some tendrils of smoke. No sun is apparent, but during daytime hours there is enough ambient glow to navigate. It casts everything in a queasy pallor. Sometimes, the outline of a child’s face with a vacant stare and tormented expression flashes, but it’s hard to say if you really saw anything or if it’s just a trick of the light.

Night is dark. The stars are murky blots on a dark green background. There are no sunrises or sunsets, merely a dimming and brightening of a featureless canopy.

THE GOBLIN MARKET

A secretive black market where magical deals can be had. Like the original poem, the market is interested in making a single deal with you. Once the deal has been struck, you will no longer be able to see, hear or find the goblin market. If you received the short end of the stick, you’re going to have to find a friend still able to see the market willing to undo any regrettable foolishness you might have gotten up to.

See: FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT for more!

FINDING FOOD/SHELTER

For a week, that’s not so bad. If we settle here, there will be an element of survival and rebuilding. This is what I call the “Jaha” model of game. So have fun coming up with temporary shelters and food sources this week! If you want to do something on easy mode, please feel free to have your characters stay in the ruins. They’ll be safe and stable enough for the week.

A BALL
Let’s call this the “main event” of this plot. Shenanigans won’t always be like this, but this should give you an idea of the flavor and vibe of antagonists you might find here.

DAY ONE
You are invited to a ball. The invitation does not say by who, where it is taking place, or when. The only thing it specifies is that if you do not arrive with a date, a date will be provided.

Did you drink the potion during the little cakes plot? Then uh oh, you must accept the invitation. Not only that, you will announce your intention to go to the ball. Looks like this is that favor being called in, and you’re being used as bait. You cannot admit this. If asked you will insist it’s because you want to go for whatever reason sounds at least semi plausible.

DAY TWO
Fine shoes arrive. They are your size and fit perfectly. Whether or not they’re your style is up to your character’s personal taste.

DAY THREE
Formal clothing arrives, appropriate for a ball put on by your fair hosts. Maybe it’s something your character would love or hate. That depends on how nice you want to be about it.

DAY FOUR
Accessories arrive. Anything you need to complete the outfit; jewelry, makeup, a ceremonial weapon that hangs at your side, hair product! It’s up to your imagination.

DAY FIVE
The ball. You going? Watch for the IC/OOC event!

FUCK AROUND & FIND OUT

FEY MARK*
Can it really be a curse when there’s nothing super bad about it? Maybe you ate the wrong thing, helped a tiny pixie that thought it was thanking you appropriately, or some other wrong move has transformed you in some small way by your visit into this world.

Important notes about the Fey Mark:

• It will not reset. Your character will be stuck with this fey mark for the rest of their time in game.

• Obviously, they won’t realize they’re stuck with it until after the reset. Thankfully, none of these options make a character unplayable.

• The mod that rolls for which mark you get. This is an optional plot, do not sign up for it unless you are willing to accept the consequences.

Potential Fey Mark Outcomes:

1. Your eyes swirl with iridescent colors
2. You have a sweet scent, like that of nectar or honey
3. You have long whiskers like those of a cat
4. Your ears are covered with soft tufts of fur
5. Your skin sparkles in the moonlight
6. Flowers either bloom or wilt in your presence
7. Your hair is made of vine or brambles and grows back to normal length within an hour of being cut
8. You have a tail like that of a dog or another animal

*SOURCE: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, a D&D adventure campaign sourcebook.

GOBLIN MARKET: LOST THINGS
Shopping at the Goblin Market? They’re very good at making deals, and by good I mean shady as fuck. You might end up losing something you didn’t mean to.

Fortunately, you don’t have to lose this aspect of yourself forever. You can find it again. Well, not you. Your character won’t be able to see, hear or find the goblin market again. You’re gunna need to take a friend. Oops.

An IC/OOC event toward the beginning of the week will go up for people to report their shenanigans. Lol. I will allow players to roll or pick for this plot.

Lost Things*:

1. The ability to smile.
2. The ability to keep a secret.
3. Your name. For that matter no one else remembers your name either. 😬
4. A memory. You didn’t settle on what that memory was, but you seem fine!
5. Creativity/fashion sense/musical taste. (Whichever applies.)
6. Five years of physical de-aging (on a human scale) and the loss of wisdom that goes with the change in appearance**.

*SOURCE: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, a D&D adventure campaign sourcebook. Sorta. With some changes.

**The only time I’m going to allow characters to potentially become young children. Please use content warnings for child endangerment, this could potentially be a test case for allowing younger characters in game if there’s interest.

LET’S MAKE A DEAL
Need a bigger deal? Something more powerful? Something your character really desires? Talk to the mod. Let’s make a deal. These deals will come with consequences, but let’s make sure it improves your RP, lines and plot prospects. Got an idea? Let’s workshop it!

FAQ

Can my character figure out the correlation between those who “have” to accept the invite and those who drank the potion?

I think if they’re willing to do some sleuthing, it can be figured out! Please don’t have your character know automatically. After all, no one who drank the potion can admit to it either. To make it easier to figure out, however, let's say that unless your character drank or threw away the potion, they have it on their person. It would be simple enough to prove who did not drink the potion and make the deduction from there.

Once the above is deduced, it seems more than likely.

Check the little cakes plot doc! You likely said in the comments there!

For now, this world is simply a place Derleth visits. (More accurately, this is what Derleth/The Green/The Void could become if allowed to expand into its own baby world permanently without resetting.) However, due to its magical nature, if the players vote for this setting for No Exit’s second incarnation something will happen that will bring Derleth back to this world and anchor it there more concretely. A curse, a fairy deal, a betrayal. There are a ton of possibilities. What you write during this plot will determine if and how we revisit it. The time periods when Derleth travels again could be the characters’ attempts to try and escape (or reset) this place and break free of it! Talk to me if you’re interested in this!

Guess you’ll have to wait for the event to find out!

They absolutely can skip out. >:D I’m sure nothing bad will happen to their friends and loved ones for them to regret later.

No! There is not. So this week will function like a typical Void week. Vampires can go out during “the day”, there’s no moon to affect werewolves or other beings, etc. Now if we select this setting as a pilot, I have future plots in mind for the world getting a sun and moon, which could affect those characters in the future, but we’ll save that plot if we get there!

Cuz I came up with 20 curses off the top of my head for the little cakes plot, and I just wanted to give myself a break. Lolol. Are there too many curses? I mean, they’re there if you want them but you absolutely don’t need to do anything to your character like that for this plot.