Pandora's Box OOC

So in light of people posting about going away or being slow, we thought we'd give you guys a glimpse at our upcoming plot timetable. Because people? There is some serious plot a-coming and it's coming to a head during the Fall Festival. This is big big Jaynedora plot, so it's gonna be somewhat epic. ( Convenient Table ) So the big plot days will be the game days Friday November 21 and Saturday November 22. In real time that's the last two weeks of March. (Mind you we counted Sunday-Saturday even though you guys still have most of Sunday to wrap up what went on the week before). We're telling you this now so that you can let us know if you won't be around or so you can be sure you are. As it gets closer, we'll give you more info, but for now? SAVE THOSE DATES!

Hey guys! This is just another reminder to please remember to tag your posts. It helps us keep things running smoothly, helps keep track of who is in what thread when. If an appropriate tag has not been created yet, just let us know. Also, when your thread is complete, please tag it !complete and one of the mods will come along an remove the !incomplete tag for you.

When sending owls, please remember to time-stamp them (just the initial owl; the replies don't need timestamps unless you want them). It makes life easier for getting the game summaries together.

Thanks again!

-Shi

Please remember to tag your posts. If an appropriate tag has not been created yet, just let us know. Also, when your thread is complete, please tag it !complete and one of the mods will come along an remove the !incomplete tag for you.

Also, when sending owls, please remember to time-stamp them (just the initial owl; the replies needs not be unless you want them to be). It makes my life easier when I do the game summaries, so I know when stuff happens.

Thanks guys! :)

-Meesh

Now that Mister Corner has lured you into using his wares, here are the specifics on what is going to happen as a result.

1st Nightmare Night after using the potion: When your character dreams, they will not experience it directly - it will be more like watching a movie, rather than participating in the torture. This will, obviously, lessen the effect. [EDIT: movie as in POV movie like Blair Witch Project, where you're watching through the 'eyes' of one of the characters, still seeing the same 'view' you had during the regular nightmare, but not as personally affected.]

2nd Nightmare Night after using the potion: When your character dreams, it will be the same nightmare as before, no longer diluted, and instead everything will feel twice as bad. All the fear, disgust, terror, pain, all of it will be magnified.

Any questions?

-Jaime

Over the next two game days, there will be a major event going on that will affect all characters...

Have you ever wondered what happens to the bodies of those who are given the Dementor's Kiss? Their souls have been eaten, but their bodies remain, fully functional but without a mind to direct them. Pandora, in an effort to create havoc and teach Marietta Edgecombe how to really create panic, is going to use these soulless bodies to terrorize the magical community.

As of 11 AM sharp on Wednesday, November 12, the wizarding community will be invaded by a force of mindless beings (think zombie apocalypse as inspiration). These beings will suddenly appear in the Ministry of Magic, Hogsmeade, and Diagon Alley. They will be highly violent, prone to creating damage and maiming those who get in their way, but will not kill people. Having no soul/mind, spells such as Imperius and distraction spells will have no effect, nor are they affected by sensations like pain or heat or cold (not even the loss of a limb will stop them - it's just a flesh wound after all!). They will continue to go on until they are immobilized.

The Kissed are comprised of prisoners from Azkaban who were given their final punishment from Dementors, as well as those who had been Kissed during the reign of Pius Thickness because of their blood status or because they had rebelled against the administration. This means that it is very possible that your character may know someone who has been kissed, and may encounter this person during the rampage.

The vast majority of the Kissed will be wearing the same blue/grey pyjamas. Only a handful are wearing non-standard issue brought to them by family that actually visit with them.

It will take two game days for all of these "Living Inferi" to be neutralized, so for two game days they will be roaming the public streets and the halls of the Ministry, doing as much damage as possible.

If you have any questions, please let us know. Otherwise, have fun!

- Jaime

Hey all! Just making sure everyone is making use of the wanted characters page. If there's a character you really want in game, comment there and we'll bold them on the available list as being most wanted! We also use that list for advertising for specific characters, so if we overlook someone you want, just let us know.

-Meesh

Hey guys - I know there are a few things waiting on us, and we apologise for the delay. We'll answer all your questions once we've all have a chance to chat. It's a bit rough trying to catch us all on to talk over things during the holidays. We should be around tonight!

--Meesh

We're going to be changing the date change format slightly. From now on we are no longer splitting up the day change between morning and afternoon. On Sunday nights, when the date change goes up, it will be for the whole day and you can feel free to post in whatever time slot you want. This way no one has to wait until Wednesday to post an evening thread or worry about backdating a morning one if you're not available until later in the week. Sound cool?

Tomorrow will be our last afternoon date change, and then starting next week Sunday (Christmas Day) we'll start posting one date change a week.

Let us know if you have any questions!

-Meesh

Please re-run the friend button to add Samara Chambers née Capper and Elijah Chambers, brought in by Emmie and Liana, respectively!

(There was a small error previously that interfered with the adding, but has now been fixed).

-Jaime

As mentioned the other day, a certain Zarkin Frood has been rustling up trouble with his ramblings along Diagon Alley. We would like a volunteer to run across him next game day, Saturday the 8th, (him NPC'd by one of us, of course) so that the plottiness may continue.

(We would also like to remind everyone that you may request NPCs from us at ANY time, as well as ask for information your character can discover/pass on/etc.)

EDIT: This offer is open to more than just one character, btw! Frood can have multiple run-ins.

It's Justin Finch-Fletchley's birthday this game day, November 7th! In case you've missed it there with be a gathering at Ernie's place this game evening for Justin, but it's a sort of surprise for Justin. Justin thinks he's having dinner with Ernie and Hannah, and he invited Bianca along. However, all his Hufflepuff and DA crowd are invited as well - see Ernie's journal for details.

Just a reminder :D

-Meesh

Just as a note, I will be linking to this from the FAQs so it's easily found in the future.

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is broken down into several categories. The department is located on the second level of the Ministry of Magic. There are many offices within the DMLE. Here's a run-down.

( This is a very long post. I don't know how that happened. )

All righty everyone, Imma need y'all to just sidle on over here and read this thread. Stuff has most seriously just happened.

Please do not have your characters reply to that thread (or in that time slot now); it's being handled ICly at the moment. There will be more IC news to come. No one but characters on the scene/involved know any of this right now, but we wanted all the players aware OOCly. As we said, more to come, including assigning the case, Daily Prophet articles, and other important bits. The spread of IC news will happen after the day change.

Please be patient with us as we get this plot out there to all the characters, but if you have questions please ask.

What your characters (those who attended the gala and were still in attendance this late) do know:

There was was brief scream just before midnight.

There seemed to be a bit of confusion, but nothing to induce panic, and then ministry employees were told to quickly usher the guests to the exits in an orderly fashion.

Guests would be allowed to collect their wands but they wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

-Meesh

Hi all!

In regards to those DMLE employees actually working security for the Gala, they would be made familiar with all the wait staff beforehand so they know who is supposed to be there and in what capacity.

Also, please just comment to this post to let us know which DMLE employees will be working security.

Thanks!

-Shi

In a few deliciously short moments, I'll be posting the thread for the gala we've all been so eagerly awaiting! A note before I do:

The comments section will be broken up by hour long time slots. You can comment beneath each time slot so you know when your thread's happening. If your thread is open for someone to come join you, write "Your Character & Open" (or something similar) in the subject line. If it's a closed thread, write "Your Character & Their character" (or similar). If two characters are already engaged in a thread, be courteous and ask before you jump in, in case the players in question had plans for that thread you may inadvertently derail. Alternatively, you can also use the subject to make it clear that it's open to all/multiple people, or closed to just two. For example "Neville & Luna (Closed)" or "Neville & Luna (Still open)." Use whatever works best for you!

Pay attention to the later portion of the evening, as plot will be occurring. Once that portion of the thread goes up, though, we'll post here in the OOC and link directly to it so you don't accidentally miss it.

If you have any comments/questions, email us or comment and whoever's available first will get back to you as soon as possible!

Happy playing >D

-Meesh!

Just as an FYI, our OOC is now unlocked, meaning all future posts will not be automatically friends locked. Obviously you're free to lock whatever posts you want, but we'd like the game summaries and other important information to be public for potential players, without having to continuously go back and change the privacy setting each time. There'll also probably be some future announcements we'd like to keep public for potential players.

That's all folks!

-Meesh

As the day progresses on, those that work at the Ministry would know a bit more about what happened inside its walls than the average citizen on the street. So here's what they would know.

Most employees would be aware by 9AM that a body was indeed found inside the Ministry this morning. The body was found in the Department of Mysteries and, as of yet, no one knows who it is or what the person was doing there.

Department of Mysteries and DMLE employees would know a little more. They would know that the body is that of a wizard of indeterminate age, with dark hair and eyes, and most definitely not a Ministry employee, though it's believed he gained access to the Ministry by disguising himself as an one. Cause of death has yet to be determined, but both that and the man's identity are of utmost priority.

Aurors will be assigned to the case shortly. In the meantime, the Ministry is attempting to keep the incident as quiet as possible, but that won't last very long.

-Shi

Hey all!

The official opening of Pandora's Box (the game, not the box) is this Saturday! To help with plottage and plans, here are two things that will be coming up.

1. DMLE Staff Meeting - Since we happen to have such a large number of Aurors/Hit-wizards/etc, we thought we'd get started with a staff meeting. The thread will be posted opening day, and will take place a few days before October 30, 2003. All Aurors and Hit-Wizards will be presumed to be present - please feel free to post questions/comments, but it's not required.

2. Ministry of Magic Hallowe'en Party - The game-night of Friday October 31st, there will be a huge Hallowe'en party at the Ministry of Magic. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it should be fun and quite eventful! A master thread will be posted by the mods - players should feel free to post within that thread or in a separate thread.

- Jaime

We were discussing amongst ourselves and came to a conclusion. We all know this game is going to be very dark and all that heavy plot sometimes gets a little, well, depressing. Also, sometimes you're just chatting OOC and come up with a hysterical idea for a thread or plot that wouldn't fit anywhere in the game so you gnash your teeth and wail in despair that you can't do it. Fear not! We've gone and created pandoracrack! In this community you can ICly send owls, write threads, do backstory, and generally play out fun silly things or things that just otherwise don't fit in the game proper.

The only real rules we'd want to enforce is that gameplay in pandoracrack is not to supercede anything in the game proper. In other words, don't play in there more than you do in the actual game because activity there doesn't count towards keeping you in game. It's just for fun and stress relief if needed. But the best part? Those of you way too eager to wait until the 15th? You can go ahead and mess around in the crack comm until we open! That way you don't have to twiddle your thumbs and just wait around :)

So go forth! Request to join pandoracrack and have fun!!!

-Meesh

Hello Pandora People!

I can't say how excited I and the other mods are, and like you are counting the days to the start date. In anticipation of the start of the game, we'd like to take a moment and remind you of the game timing and RL timing.

Because Pandora's Box does not happen in real time (one real-day = one game-day), the mods will be putting up notifiers for every game-day change. This will be easy to remember, as well, because new game-days will begin every Monday.

The first two days of game-play - October 15 & 16 - will be outside the regular schedule to give players a chance to backstory, characters to meet each other for the first time, and to get a feel for each other and how our characters interact. You can thread for any game-date PRIOR to Thursday, October 30, 2003.

The first regular day of game-play will be Monday, October 17. The game-day will be Thursday, October 30, 2003

As stated in the FAQ:

One RL week equals one game day. This is how it will work each RL week:

• RL Monday 12AM EST to Wednesday 11:59AM will equal, for example, October 30 12AM to 11:59AM in game.
  
• RL Wednesday 12PM EST to Friday 11:59PM will equal, for example, October 30 12PM to 11:59PM in game.
  
• RL Saturday 12AM EST to Sunday 11:59PM EST will be what we call the "Witching Hour". This time is for players to finish up the week's threads and start any ones they want to, so long at they aren't set for the following in game day.

Please feel free to ask us any questions to help clarify the timing. I know to some this may seem a long time to dedicate to a single game-day, but it should make sense once the game begins. It will leave us plenty of time and opportunity for full development of plots and threads... plus there will be a lot going on in-game, so trust us, the time will be well used!

-- Jaime