( june event ) who's that pokemon?

[officialnotice]

Pinecoooones! This is the infopost you've all been waiting for. Our first survival event was thus far named ░▒▓▒█░▒▓▒▌░░▓░, but we're way too lazy to keep copypasting that everywhere so now you can just call it...



WHO'S THAT POKEMON

SURVIVAL EVENT: HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE
EVENT DATES: June 19th - 21st

For the residents of Wayward Pines, it's just your typical boring Monday. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping.

Until suddenly, they're not.

That's the first sign. Maybe you don't even notice — you're far too busy with your nine-to-five, or maybe even by poolside, blissfully ignorant to the trouble brewing just out of sight, or to the fact that SPF 15 is basically just water anyway. Or maybe you aren't quite so lucky. You notice the birds have gone silent. You feel the eyes upon you, unseen but still raising goosebumps on the back of your neck.

And then from the woods, that telltale scream.

No, two screams, then three, then five, then more than a dozen. You can't count them, can't figure out which way they're coming from. It's like they're all around you now. Even above you. Now you spot them on the rooftops — god, they're huge, you can't even fathom how they made it up there unnoticed.

But they're not playing at stealth anymore. One leaps off the roof, a single fluid bound on long thick limbs, and barely lands on the sidewalk for a moment before it lunges at the nearest person — your neighbor mowing his lawn, or maybe the woman carrying that armful of bags out of French's Grocery — long claws slicing through their flesh like a hot knife through butter. Then comes another, and another. Into the streets, the backyards, and the ill-timed pool parties, tearing through every living soul they can find.

The time has come to fight for your lives. Where will you be when the bloodshed begins?

IN CHARACTER

IT'S GETTIN', IT'S GETTIN', IT'S GETTIN' KINDA HECTIC

At mid-afternoon on the 19th, the first wave of a large-scale invasion manages to breach the fence surrounding Wayward Pines via a fissure created by one David Haller. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, characters and NPCs alike must survive and ultimately fight off this invasion — and while the invaders eventually retreat, they don't go far, lingering in the woods to creep into the town by cover of night and cause more carnage still until the last of their numbers are eliminated.

( see larger. )

WHO ARE OUR INVADERS? Say hello to what is currently the biggest threat to your ongoing survival. These— creatures? Individuals? — are very large and very muscular. They vary somewhat in size but on average stand at eye level with your average-sized man when hunched over as pictured. While they're bipedal in theory, in practice they keep both 'hands' near the ground and utilize them heavily while they run, effectively doubling their movement speed to a whopping 30 miles per hour. Their senses of sight, hearing, and smell are significantly stronger than that of a human, and their sense of bodily awareness appears to be heightened as well, able (despite their size) to be extremely stealthy, and often surrounding their prey long before it notices them. They have a variety of advantages that make them highly effective in combat: Their teeth are very sharp, not to mention the jagged talons they use to tear up their prey. If that isn't quite enough, they are also some ten times stronger than a human man in peak condition. Their intellect falls somewhere between humans and the next most intelligent creature. While they are far from human-level intelligence as a whole, they do show near-sapient choices in matters pertaining directly to their own survival. They appear to travel and fight in packs, and while they clearly must communicate with their peers somehow, it's impossible to discern quite how they are doing so.

THE INVASION'S TIMELINE GOES AS FOLLOWS. 2:08 PM: The intruders breach the fence. The invasion begins to the northwest, moving as quickly and quietly as is possible through the staggering brunt of the fence's strength and toward the town of Wayward Pines. Their presence is thus far unperceived by the population and wildlife alike. 3:21 PM: They enter the city limits. The intruders make their way through the various streets and backyards entirely unnoticed, utterly precise in the care they take to remain unseen and unheard despite the business of the town at large. They avoid the main street proper, looping around the town to trickle in from all sides as if in an attempt to 'surround' the town's citizens. Many scale to rooftops for the high-ground advantage. (Somewhere in this stage, all of the the birds in town go silent. Characters who are able to 'sense things' in some way can definitely get a nonspecific but ominous reading that Something Isn't Right.) 3:57 PM: A familiar scream echoes from the woods to the north. It's just like the screams many have heard in the woods in their time here so far, almost human but far too distorted. It appears to to be some sort of cue to strike — a chorus of similar screams join in as the figures on the rooftops finally reveal themselves. 4 PM: All hell has officially broken loose, and all semblance of strategy on the part of the intruders has fallen by the wayside. It sincerely seems like they just want to kill and eat everything in sight, at this point. They're ravenous, mowing through any wildlife they can find (even a bear is no match) and feasting their way through the town itself. Most weapons barely seem to give them pause. Not even a shot to the head seems to do the trick. Citizens who flee to the woods will find more of the beasts awaiting them there. Those who make it to the cliffs will encounter still more, scaling down the cliff face as if utterly unhindered by the sheer vertical faces. 4:03 PM: The fence powers down to normal levels. Once again and henceforth, only the immediate 100 yards along the fenceline have any weakening or depowering effect. The distinct sound of a helicopter can be heard over the northern cliffs. 4:08 PM: A helicopter appears over the northern cliffs, making a rapid landing on the roof of the hospital. Six men dressed in black and deep green leap out and rush to the rooftop entrance, disappearing down into the hospital. 4:25 PM: Those six men + the Sheriff and his force can be seen firing guns into the fray at various locations throughout the town. Each time a shot they've fired hits home, whether in an intruder's skull or just their forearm, the target gives a bodily shudder and a subsequent scream, and will either mindlessly attack them or attempt to flee. In either case, their movements are jerky and uncontrolled, and in ten to fifteen seconds, they collapse in a convulsing heap on the ground and eventually go still. Others who witness this appear to learn from it and make themselves scarce, at least from that neck of the battle. 6:48 PM: The intruders begin to enter buildings. Until this point, they've largely kept to the streets, with no lack of prey to choose from. Now, they begin to enter many businesses and residences, especially those with signs of life. They are able to break through the windows or even doors of a private residence, should they so choose. ( ! ) Note that this part is opt-in and your character's home will be safe unless you actively choose otherwise. 9:14 PM: Within the span of a minute or so and for no discernible reason, all surviving invaders retreat to the woods. Attempts can be made in pursuit, but they are very quick and will rapidly disappear into the trees if given half a chance. After entirely too much bloodshed, the town of Wayward Pines is left in peace... for now.

HOW CAN WE FIGHT THEM? Those who choose to fight have a task ahead of them. These intruders are very strong, very quick, and very difficult to damage. On top of that, they lack any sign of hesitation in the face of most anything you can throw at them. However, they aren't entirely invulnerable. Here are some notes for attempting to fight off the invading army: BLUNT FORCE: Almost entirely ineffective. They are highly durable, and you're unlikely to possess the strength or force it takes to damage them this way. SLICING & STABBING: Their skin is thicker than a human's, but the discrepancy is much smaller than with blunt-force damage. If your weapon will cut a particularly tough steak, it will cut straight through the intruder's skin. However, they seem to shake off most bleeding wounds. Consider aiming for the eyes or the throat, or — if your weapon is large enough to manage without putting yourself in arm's reach — the gut (with intent to gore). FIREARMS: NOT IDEAL. You can empty an entire machine gun clip into one of these motherfuckers and they'll keep on truckin' unfazed. It takes about three bullets straight to the skull to knock one down for the count, two for a high-caliber rifle. (...Huh? That's strange... Both Sheriff Griffith's men and the strangers from the helicopter seem to be taking them down with a single shot to the arm or torso. Might be something to look into.) MAGIC: Seems to spook them. Falls about at 'slicing & stabbing' levels of actual physical effectiveness, but if you start throwing magic around, they're more liable to eye you and ultimately leave you alone. This seems to deter them less and less as the evening goes on. FIRE: They don't like fire. At all. The amount of evasion they'll display is directly proportional to the number of enemies present and the likelihood that you will, in fact, be able to set them on fire if they come in range. ANYTHING ELSE: Run it by us in the appropriate top-level below, and we'll let you know how your character's precise weapon, powers, etc. will impact the intruders! ( ! ) Keep in mind that while we've given you many of the answers, your characters might not know them offhand and would likely have to learn through dumb luck or risky trial and error.

LATER THAT NIGHT... The fight isn't over. Not by a long shot. But the citizens of Wayward Pines apparently put up more of a fight than initially anticipated, so the attackers opted out of the full-frontal assault in favor of less risky guerilla warfare tactics. Once night falls on the 19th, many of the intruders creep carefully back out of the woods and into the streets of Wayward Pines. They're attempting to pick off as many wandering citizens as they can find now that the battle itself has ceased and the citizens think they're at least relatively safe. If you dare to venture out on this night, the odds are high that you'll be stealthily attacked from outside of your field of vision. Depending on how much noise the victim makes, his or her assailant retreats hastily back to the woods once the kill's been made, quite possibly dragging the body along with it. ...AND THE NEXT TWO, AS WELL. During the daylight hours of the 20th and 21st, the Sheriff's force and the men from the helicopter systematically comb the woods, picking off as many intruders as they can find. By night on those same two days, the intruders do the same to the town... But their numbers dwindle each night. Wayward Pines is winning. In the predawn hours on the 22nd, the last of the intruders is dead.

OF COURSE, YOU MUST HAVE QUESTIONS. For the first time so far, the Wayward Pines officials have answers. In light of this tragic sequence of events, a very crucial hand has been unquestionably forced. On the 22nd, a public address is made on the network.

It's time to come clean about our little town of Wayward Pines.

OUT OF CHARACTER

THE BREAKDOWN

A battle log will go up sometime tonight, to cover all event-relevant threads on 19th, 20th, and 21st. Logistically, we're basing the enemy's numbers on timeline rather than quantity killed — which is to say, the quantity that any given character mows through does not affect the pacing of the event's end on an OOC level. But while we aren't policing who kills what, please, try not to go overboard. These enemies, on an IC level, are intended to be dangerous to even our strongest of characters, and we trust you guys to keep this in mind as you play things out.

This event is partially opt-out: While the entirety of the town knows at the very least that something very bad is happening, you are more than welcome to have your character hide in his or her basement and be left entirely alone throughout the course of the battle. Most notably, the facet where adversaries break into your character's home or place of work is entirely up to your discretion, and a character who participates in the battle at large is still able to find safe refuge in any given building if you so choose.

Many, many people will die. If your character dies, it will not be considered a 'failed integration' and requires no deterrent or consequence. He or she will wake up a week later in the hospital. Further details on their awakening will be unveiled on the 22nd.

It's also worth noting that while the battle is the 'main event', characters who find the time or the will to do so may still interact with or investigate the plot by other means. This will work much like the previous couple of event posts, with a top-level below dedicated to plot interaction in which you present your ideas. This includes investigating the town in any way or interacting with any specific mod-run individuals. You do not need to reply to this in order to battle intruders.

A public address will go up on the network on the 22nd. The address will... well, address many of the questions the battle and events leading up to it have raised. There will not be an event post pertaining to this public address — all relevant OOC information will be included in the 'mod notes' section at the bottom of the address.


That's it for our SURVIVAL EVENT! We welcome any and all questions to the relevant top-level below.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[officialnotice]

QUESTION

[allfornothing]

Okay so. The creatures will be trying to kill and eat everything in sight.
A. Does that mean they may try to take bites out of unkilled people
and
B. If they do, will that person suffer any consequences beyond the obvious medical ones?

[officialnotice]

A. Yes.

B. Characters with bite-wounds will be strongly urged to visit the hospital for an innoculation, in the same way that they would be urged to get a tetanus shot after stepping on a nail.

The visit is promised to take just a few short minutes, and will take place in a regular hospital room with the door wide open. Will she comply?

Re: QUESTIONS

[vdova]

What's the likelihood of Natasha getting an​ effective gun from the sheriff and co if she asks nicely?

[sospita]

+1 to this! hi lins

[officialnotice]

What kind of gun does she currently already have?

[aeturnus]

This is such a weird damn question and I'm really really sorry

but say one of the Intruders does in fact eat part of someone (read: Cain) but the part wiggles its way out probably very grossly and probably painfully

Would that deter the Intruder(s) at all?

[officialnotice]

Yeah, it uh. It definitely will not... want to try that again by any means. (Cain u gross.)

Doesn't mean it won't try to kill him, especially if he keeps trying to take part in the fight, but it will no longer be too keen to start taking actual chunks off.

[dragoness]

so what's the likelihood of someone (who can fly), say, getting their hands on one of the people in the sheriff's.. group... on day 2 or 3.

[officialnotice]

eLIZA NO.

I'm not sure if you mean the Sheriff's men or the ones from the helicopter, but the answer is 'pretty likely'. Toss it up in the Plot Interaction top-level if you'd like to proceed with this!

[futureserialkiller]

I haven't made my decision yet but I want to run it by you guys

if Carl is killed and is reanimated, how would that go? Would the intruders pokemon still try to "kill" him? Would his bites have any effect on them? Can Carl bite and turn the natives?

[officialnotice]

If he is killed and reanimated, the pokemon might take a snap at him if he comes too close to them, but ultimately he registers as 'sick' to them and they don't want much to do with them.

His bites do not affect them, but they do affect the natives.

[blaiiines]

So the creatures want to eat everything. How effective would it be for someone to use meat to lure them into some kind of trap? Or are they more inclined to go after living meat? :P

[officialnotice]

They are more inclined to go for living meat, it's guaranteed to be fresher, but they also won't say no a meat offering of some kind...

As for the trap, it depends on how blatant the trap is. You'd have to be about as careful as if you were trying to trap an alert and watchful human.

Re: QUESTIONS

[dehanded]

IT'S NOT DEAD CAN IBARAKI EAT SOME NOW

[officialnotice]

pleaSE DON'T

like, YES?? but it's a Very Bad Idea.

[keephimtalking]

Are they only interested in human meat specifically?

[volitaunt]

With the initial assumption that Sharon will be getting some of the Super Effective Bullets, how successful would she be in convincing the sheriff to offer a share of them to certain members of the public?

[seeyaduke]

Will phones and the network be up and working during this?

[coy]

so... i kind of want to figure out a way for caroline to disappear while i'm on vacation post this event but without her dying. WOULD SHE MAYBE GET PUNISHED FOR EXPOSING HERSELF AS A VAMPIRE IDEK.

or for trying to compel poe's vertigo punishment away?

[thatelectricitything]

TWO QUESTIONS.
1. I doubt this but I gotta ask anyway. Do any of Anders' healing spells help with the bites?

2. Anders is a Grey Warden which means he's Tainted in a controlled way. Which means he's got like. Zombification resistance to his own local zombies due to already turning very slowly into a zombie. Sort of. Does this translate in any way to getting bit by these guys?

[sospita]

i'm so sorry i'm in y'all's inbox like 100000 times but real quick

what's the policy/procedure for burning down a building ( probably something in the section of pines that's more ghost than town )

not asking for a friend xoxo

[silver_lined]

Kal's almost certainly going to try and figure out what these things are. He can legit see down to the sub-cellular level.

Are there traces of human DNA? Are these things aliens? And are their bodies living or dead tissue reanimated? Do their hearts beat? Do they breath normally?

[unweaving]

If somebody dies, does their corpse need to have a particular level of intact-ness for them to come back?

[oldladyleia]

Oh great and powerful mods, I have a question for you. Is it possible for me to NPC smaller kids from the school and have Leia drive them to the hospital in a minivan and basically run over one of the monsters?