HELIODOR

[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

[oedipuswreck]

[sighs and looks around to see who's there, looking determined]

Re: DISCUSSION

[catchandrelease]

Er... [raises hand] You're Beauty's knight, right?

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[oedipuswreck]

Simple but elegant dress, cut for free movement. | (costs 2 units)
Decorative but sturdy shoes. | (costs 2 units)
A heavy book. | (costs 2 units)
A sterling silver key necklace. | (costs 2 units)

Everything we chose reflects Beauty as she is now. Not—because we don't think she should change, if she wants to. We think Beauty should be able to have the power to change and grow—based on her own free will. We're not here to tell you that a real Princess should be quiet and helpless, or able to charge into battle with a sword. It's fine if you need to be rescued sometimes; it's fine if you need to be the rescuer. You can be everything and anything you want to be—more than anything, we want to make sure that Beauty can make that choice. You're a—a good friend, a princess, a person, a leader, and all sorts of other things but . . . we don't define that.

I guess you can say, we're choosing the options that don't seem like a change—not because we don't think that there should be a change, but because we want to wish Beauty every freedom in the world to grow at her own pace and in her own direction.

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]

Re: DISCUSSION

[oedipuswreck]

An item . . .

Re: DISCUSSION

[catchandrelease]

Oh, man.

[THIS IS REALLY INTENSE]

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[catchandrelease]

I'm, um, we talked, and we think the special item should be a fishing rod. I know it seems a bit odd at first glance but... fishing really... it's calming, it's centering, and it can help you... understand how to face what you're fighting against much better. For me, fishing has... it's made me so much stronger. It's made me learn to enact my own will so much more. And I hope to maybe pass some of that along.

As well it... really helps with getting things at a distance! So you may not need to wade into the darkness always, if you can fish out what you need.

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

[catchandrelease]

Do you... want to discuss her? Since she's... yours.

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[oedipuswreck]

[Heliodor has provided Beauty with the pen so she can have the freedom to define herself how she prefers.]

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]

Re: DISCUSSION

[catchandrelease]

I think... our entire setup is... to help her prepare?

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[oedipuswreck]

Our Princess can absolutely rescue her Prince if he's someone important to her, and I have total faith that she'll be successful! And she'll have people to help her, so she should know she can rely on her friends!

FINAL RESULT

[dramatispersonae]

Re: FINAL RESULT

[dramatispersonae]

[You see that your Princess is awake, animated. She stands amid her knights and gives them directions, then watches them ride off over the hill without her to find her Prince and bring him home. She wants to follow… but you're not sure if she will or not.]

((to endgame.))