SAPPHIRE

[dramatispersonae]

[You're in an oval, almost egg-shaped room, with a high dome and clear walls that allow you to see the other team's rooms, although you can't hear them. In the middle of the room is a table, with some of the items from the Ring scattered about. An ornate book lays there as well, open to the first page:]

"There were formerly a king and a queen, who were so sorry that they had no children; so sorry that it cannot be expressed. They went to all the waters in the world; vows, pilgrimages, all ways were tried, and all to no purpose.

At last, however, the Queen had a daughter. There was a very fine christening; and the Princess had for her god-mothers all the fairies they could find in the whole kingdom (they found seven), that every one of them might give her a gift, as was the custom of fairies in those days. By this means the Princess had all the perfections imaginable."

The Princess is already wonderful, isn't she? What more could you want in a princess?

Comments

INSTRUCTIONS

[dramatispersonae]

All characters receive this information as they enter the room.

Your goal is to build the best princess you can imagine! Your starter princess already has the benefit of modifiers like beauty, wit, grace, dance, song, and music. You have 8 units of ??? to decide where she goes from here!

(You can't quite remember what the units you were given are units of. If you try to focus on that word, it feels like it could be something like "struggle" or "effort," but that's not quite right…)

There will be one round to decide your Princess’s outfit and accessories and justify those decisions, a second round with an opportunity for customized input, and a third for wrapping up and adding more details if you like. DO NOT worry if your selections mean you have units left over, as scoring will be based on your reasoning for each choice in Round 1 and on your creativity and reasoning in Rounds 2 and 3, not on units spent. While all rounds have an important effect on the outcome of the game, the later rounds have the potential for the greatest score impact if used wisely. Please manage your time/discussion with that in mind!

You will receive a final outcome for your Princess in a specific situation depending on what you input, and the cumulative effect of everyone’s efforts will be seen at endgame.

ROUND ONE

[dramatispersonae]

[The book opens itself to the next page. Handwriting in a flowing script that is magically comprehensible even to those who can't read appears on the paper, and you know that the book will record your answer even if you can't write it in on the provided lines. There's a strange sensation when you run your eyes over that ???illegible? word...]

Please choose one item from each list (Clothes, Shoes, Hands, and Accessories). You have 8 units of ??? total to spend on your choices. Justify your choice for each item with an explanation of that choice, even if part of your explanation is "I didn't have enough left to get what I wanted and got this instead."

Clothes
Light armor set. | (costs 3 units)
Simple but elegant dress, cut for free movement. | (costs 2 units)
Beautifully rich and luxurious gown, suitable for a palace. | (costs 0 units)

Shoes
Tough, practical boots. | (costs 3 units)
Decorative but sturdy shoes. | (costs 2 units)
Soft, heavily-embroidered thin slippers. | (costs 0 units)

Hands
Sword and shield. | (costs 3 units)
A heavy book. | (costs 2 units)
A spindle. | (costs 0 units)

Accessories
A full-face helmet and gorget, protecting the head and neck. | (costs 3 units)
A sterling silver key necklace. | (costs 2 units)
A lantern. | (costs 0 units)

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[appleofhiseye]

Ah...so we pick and choose what we think is best.

Re: DISCUSSION

[glorious]

[bringing in a book]

A Story of a princess, is it...?

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[glorious]

We discussed it and decided that the most important thing was giving our Princess the ability to freely travel, and be able to see the world for herself and learn from it. To that end, these are the choices we made:

For clothes we decided on the simple but elegant dress, cut for free movement (2 units) as that would give her the ability to move freely and quickly, depending on the situation. The royal dress allowed for no mobility or any other practical use, and the light armor, while useful in battle, may still be cumbersome enough to take away the option of escaping from a battle if it's too much.

For shoes we decided on tough, practical boots (3 units). Their steps are heavy and purposeful, and they will allow our Princess to explore rough terrain she otherwise could not. They were the best option out of the shoes, and also the item on the list that best fit with our stated purpose, so we felt they were worth the cost.

For hands we decided on the sword and shield (3 units). They were also a very expensive choice, but we felt it would allow our Princess the ability to fight and protect herself if necessary, yet not be so cumbersome she could not flee from battle latter. We considered the book, due to its tie with magic; however...Magic is difficult, and there's always the chance that a spell would be cast that may cause more harm than good. The spindle was an item we decided to avoided at all costs, due to its unfortunate...connections.

To that end, the sword and shield may not be the ideal choice, but of the three options it's the best one we had to choose.

For accessories we decided on a lantern (0 units). We considered the key and its ability to unlock doors, as well as its significance to the power of this world, however it's possible that our Princess will take a path with very few locked doors and a key in this story is not necessary for forming or strengthening bonds. We believe she can do that through her own power.

However, wherever our Princess will travel, she will have to deal with the night, and the darkness it brings. It's always important to carry your light with you when you travel out to darkened places.

ROUND TWO

[dramatispersonae]

[The book turns its own page again. This one looks a little different...]

Design a custom accessory or item for your Princess! You can only give her one item, and the item cannot be a person, but otherwise there is no limitation as to what the item can be. You must explain why you chose to give her this item, and the meaning behind it.

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

[spectralhealing]

A hat!

Re: DISCUSSION

[appleofhiseye]

Does it have to be symbolic?

Re: DISCUSSION

[kayochin]

[baby's first game and doing such a horrible job being useful]

Something to help her out, maybe...?

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[glorious]

Our item is a bag of useful items that would include flint, a bedroll, a few locking pick items and of course, a healthy amount of white rice as well as some other food items. As our Princess is going on a long journey for herself, it's important that she be self-sufficient and prepared.

Less practically speaking, the bag would be ice blue and have an embroidered snake design, in memory of a good friend and teammate that was sadly unable to come along on this journey with us.

ROUND THREE

[dramatispersonae]

[The page turns one more time, revealing a space for a small drawing and quite a lot of text under the instructions.]

Provide a final summary of your Princess! This can include personality and history, or be a simple cumulative description of her appearance and personal style. You can include a drawing, if you like.

((ooc: This is where you can add a Dreamselfy link with your text answer. You know you want to.))

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DISCUSSION

[glorious]

I think our answers before this has given us a clear personality to start with, and a purpose.

[spectralhealing]

Well, she's a practical adventurer. Knows how to use a sword. Independent. Organized. A clever girl, for a clever team.

Re: DISCUSSION

[appleofhiseye]

This will be something...

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

BONUS ROUND

[dramatispersonae]

[This question appears at the bottom of the page where you've been recording your choices once you're finished. You know without looking at it that answering it won't affect your game results… but maybe someone's reading this.]

If your Princess was separated from her Prince by grave danger, what would you think she should do about it? Do you think she would be well prepared to do that, based on the choices you have made?

DISCUSSION

[dramatispersonae]

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

FINAL RESULT

[dramatispersonae]

Re: FINAL RESULT

[dramatispersonae]

[You see that your Princess is awake, animated. She stands amid her knights and gives them directions. She mounts a horse herself, heading off with her friends; perhaps even leading them. Her Prince is just over the next hill, and she's going to bring him home with her own hands.]

((to endgame.))