CITRINE

[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

[trope_attack]

Wait, is she a warrior princess or a wizard princess? Does she know how to use armor and a sword or a spellbook?

Re: DISCUSSION

[firstflower]

[looking over the choices...]

Hmm...

Re: DISCUSSION

[saviorsoul]

She does realize we're not all girls right?

Re: DISCUSSION

[heartrending]

Let us pick the least useful options and send the princess out to be devoured by beasts.

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[heartrending]

Citrine clothes our princess in the light armor and gives her a sword and shield, so that she may be a warrior against the Darkness; we also give her a key, for that has proven itself to be an effective weapon here against the Darkness.

As for shoes, we give her none at all. She will be more nimble without them, and her feet will grow tough and strong.

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

[firstflower]

[thinking...]

Flowers? To make her happy.

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[firstflower]

We're giving her a miniature garden wagon, grown from seeds that came from all her friends, family and knights. She offers the flowers with enemies to make them happy and avoid fighting. If she can't avoid fighting, she'd have poison from some of the other plants instead.

She can also get seeds from the flowers and plant them everywhere she goes, and share the thing that made her happy with everyone.

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

[firstflower]

...She likes flowers, and has lots of friends and people who love her. And she fights a lot...

DECISION

[dramatispersonae]

Re: DECISION

[firstflower]

Our princess is a kind person who has lots of friends, and wants to share the happiness that they gave her with everyone. So she set out to try and spread as much happiness as she can with the flowers that her friends, family and knights helped her grow. And since the Darkness tries to take happiness away, she fights it whenever she can and plants flowers in the places she saved so the Darkness can't ever come back.

And because she's so good at fighting and spreading happiness, she wins all the time and the Darkness goes away forever. The end.

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]

Re: DECISION

[firstflower]

She'll be prepared because she'll be able to either calm the danger with flowers and convince it to go away, or fight it. She'll know what to do.

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.))