Excursions & Torment Hunts

[beautifuldreamermods]

EXPLORING DREAMS

The Dream Sphere is a place full of mysteries and for Dreamers, it's theirs to explore as they see fit. Exploring the Dream Sphere, experimenting with their powers and battling it out with Torments and Nightmares is how Dreamers grow their magic after all - and come on. Admit it. It's pretty fun. Players are, of course, free to goof around in logs at their own pace but for formalized investigation and exploration of the Dream Sphere, this is the place to do it!

Dreamers can investigate the Dream Sphere in two main ways; Excursions and Torment Hunts. All Dreamers are encouraged to take part in Excursions and Torment Hunts and OOCly, the process can be rewarded with points that can go towards... well, rewards!

EXCURSIONS

Excursions are when a Dreamer explores the Dream Sphere with the specific goal of finding and investigating new locations. They may find new and interesting locales or stumble across trouble in the making and take care of it.

Currently, these new locations will disperse and become inaccessible once the Dreamer leaves it behind, but characters will unlock the option to Stablize a location in an event in the near future, so they can permanently add one to the Outlying Locations page if they so wish.

It's important to note that, like Outlying Locations, Excursions also come with an element of Risk. You're heading out into the unknown, after all! You can indicate in your comment what Risk level you would be comfortable with, which will correlate with how far into the Dream Sphere your character is choosing to go. Some of this Risk can be mitigated by going on an Excursion with multiple characters (up to three at a time) but you still might run into some trouble and should be aware that your character could end up hurt or potentially failing out of the Excursion at higher Risk. Take care out there!

To head out on an Excursion, fill out the form below and submit it in the comments. The mods will reply with the results of your Excursion and what cool things your character may have encountered. You're free to leave things there... but! If you use the results of the Excursion as the basis for a log or thread and submit it as a reply to the Excursion result, you'll receive points! As with AC bonus threads, these completed Excursion results must be AC length and you can submit two per month. On top of this, each character can head out on an Excursion twice per month - though this is an OOC limit and you're free to play out and handwave other IC explorations even if they aren't officially an Excursion.

EXCURSION FORM:

<b>Character(s):</b> (List the characters taking part in the Excursion) <b>Archetype(s):</b> (Note the Archetypes of all the characters taking part) <b>Maximum Risk:</b> (Note if you would like the potential Risk to cap out at Low, Medium, High or Very High) <b>Keywords:</b> (The fun part! Let us know what sort of thing your character is looking for – but more importantly, what sort of feelings and thoughts are on their mind as they explore. This will affect the Excursion Result!)

TORMENT HUNTS

Torment Hunts are the main method of keeping the Torment and Nightmare populations of the Dream Sphere under control. In contrast to Excursions, Torment Hunts consist of Dreamers going into known locations and hunting down any Torments that have spawned there. Without Dreamers to keep them in check, Torments would eventually form into Nightmares and so, Torment Hunts are the most proactive way of keeping peace in the Dream Sphere while getting to grips with your magic.

Like Excursions, you can complete Torment Hunts by filling out the form below and submitting it in the comments. The mods will reply with a result, taking into account things such as the Outlying Location's overall Risk factor and how many characters took place in the Torment Hunt. You're free to head out on Torment Hunt solo, or with others. Having friends along makes the whole thing safer, of course, but you don't need anyone else to join you - however, higher Risk locations will be much more difficult without the proper backup and should a Dreamer be unlucky enough to be overwhelmed while on their own, they will fail out of the Torment Hunt.

Once again, if you use the results of the Torment Hunt as the basis for a log or thread and submit it as a reply to the Torment Hunt result, you'll receive points! The above limitations on submissions also apply to Torment Hunts though you are, again, free to thread out unofficial Torment Hunts between characters just for fun.

TORMENT HUNT FORM:

<b>Character(s):</b> (List the characters taking part in the Excursion) <b>Archetype(s):</b> (Note the Archetypes of all the characters taking part) <b>Outlying Location:</b> (Where is this Torment Hunt taking place?) <b>Strategy:</b> (How exactly are the characters managing this Hunt? Are they being very precise or a little haphazard? Are they attacking on sight or taking their time? Go into detail here, as it'll affect the results!)

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Comments

Excursion~

[healthepast]

Character(s): Finley Baines (Guardian), Zeke Genbu (Chaosbringer), Sam (DropD-Tune)
Archetype(s): Sentry, Striker, Saver
Maximum Risk: Medium
Keywords: Finley is just looking to get stronger and to level up his powers. His thoughts and feelings are mixed from last month. They saved Mio, but he regrets his lack of attack power. So he's kind of muddled about that. He's also a little strung out because his mother is sick, worrying about her a lot and what he can do to help, either from the DreamSphere or the waking world.

For once Zeke is not overenthusiastic and would prefer something NOT ridiculous.

Sam is just happy to be there. she likes helping people!

Excursion!!!

[hanamane]

Character(s): Amane (Hanako), Serena (Lunalight), Illya (Prisma), and Keiwa (Tycoon)!!
Archetype(s): Striker (x2), Novice (x2)
Maximum Risk: spicy but mild Low!
Keywords: Basically Hanako wants to get back on the saddle of exploring stuff again after the Dream Sphere was effectively shut off from everyone last month, so he's pulling a few Dreamers along for what will (hopefully) be a fun field trip! Since Illya and Keiwa are still newer to the Dreamer thing and probably haven't been on a lot of Excursions just yet, it'll be a good opportunity to show them the neat stuff that they can find there-- as well as maybe a chance for them to get more acclimated to their powers. (Meanwhile, this could also be a good chance for Serena to see the fun side of Dreamerhood too, sobs)

... of course, given it's three kids and a shy Tanuki, there's probably going to be some shenanigans involved, but given the Low risk, they should be fine, hopefully??

Torment Hunt!!!

[hanamane]

Character(s): Amane (Hanako), Zeke (Chaosbringer), Lisa (Rhodonite), Junna (Sage)
Archetype(s): Striker (x2), Novice (x2)
Outlying Location: Reverie Necropolis!
Strategy: yeet Hanako into the hoard so Chaosbringer can lunge at the targets instead--

NO BUT SERIOUSLY, after the events from last month, they're all looking to play things a little safe and careful, with Hanako and Zeke using their intangibility and durability powers (respectively) to keep the Novices from getting hurt, while Lisa both tries out her new powers in combat, but also focuses on defense with an intent to wrap things up safely and quickly. Meanwhile, Junna's probably going to help keep the Torments restrained with her plant arrows, but otherwise following whatever orders come from the others since she's the most Novice in the group! They can also use Hanako's upgraded Haku-Joudai to scout ahead in the labyrinth and take whatever creatures they find there by surprise!

Excursion

[liedol]

Character(s): Ai (Ai-Doll), Zeke (Chaosbringer), Jeannette (La Pucelle)
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Sentry
Maximum Risk: High
Keywords: Dreamer Crimson come closer we just want 2 talk <3

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Zeke (Chaosbringer), Sam (Drop-DTune), Hibiki (Gungnir), Mio ($TBD)
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Saver, Newbie
Outlying Location: The Vale of Sorrow
Strategy: This is meant to be training and confidence-boosting for Mio! As such they'll be going to the Vale, where Torments are few, prone to hiding, and not giant intimidating constructs. No big fights and furies, they're just looking for some simple targets to let Mio get used to fighting (and meet some fellow song-inclined Dreamers).

Torment Hunt!!

[hanamane]

Character(s): Amane (Hanako), Junna (Sage), Keiwa (Tycoon) and Sylvain (Luck)
Archetype(s): Striker (x2), Novice (x2)
Outlying Location: Stardust Sanctuary for the Bounty Hunt!!
Strategy: Since this is technically supposed to be a training session for Sage, they're going to approach this with some degree of caution, opting to attack the little star dudes before they try to hit them first (and since Hanako's already familiar with how the Torments operate in Stardust Sanctuary, he might be just a touch more aggressive in how he fights back) Hanako and Sage both have ranged attacks (his Hakujoudai and her Plant Control/Energy Arrow) so they can definitely hit the farther glowy star dudes, and they can bat them in Tycoon and Luck's direction so they can hit them with their swords/spear respectively! Tycoon has his cloning ability and Luck has his chance buff (and of course Hanako has his whole wheelhouse of ghosty abilities), though considering the moderate level/strength of the enemies, that might be a bit overkill, but!! GOOD TO KNOW REGARDLESS

Excursion #1

[hanamane]

Character(s): Amane (Hanako), Illya (Prisma), Shinsha (Cinnabar) and Cooro (Crow)
Archetype(s): Striker, Sentry, Novice (x2)
Maximum Risk: Medium with a touch of spice
Keywords: To quote Jelle, "it'd be cute if illya could ever see hanako genuinely get into danger since she WOULD worry about him and try to help him........." so-- LET'S PUT THE DUMB BABY IN SOME DANGER!!! (But maybe not Too Much danger because it's the holidays and also he just had to deal with Ango's Disturbance stuff, so 8'|)

ICly, Hanako's just doing his usual and pulling along his fellow Dreamers for trips because the Dream Sphere's open for business again (not to mention he's excited there's a boy Dreamer his age around now too!!), and no doubt Cinnabun's coming along for the ride to be the designated second Experienced Dreamer of the crew (but also keep an eye on Hanako because this dumbass got himself into boss combat last month) Essentially it's just another Dreamer friendship road trip, with a hint of danger to keep things exciting!

Excursion #2

[hanamane]

Character(s): Amane (Hanako) and Nene (Koi)
Archetype(s): Striker, Novice
Maximum Risk: THE LOWEST IT COULD POSSIBLY BE....
Keywords: Hanako on a date with the wife

Hanako's going to try to help his newest unwitting trainee with figuring out her abilities, although... it's easier said than done when said trainee can only turn into an itty bitty fish 8'| That, plus Nene already being disgruntled over the fact that her Dream Boy turned out to be a Dream Gremlin is going to make things a bit rocky from the outset, but ultimately the goal is for this to be a nice field trip + bonding opportunity and for them to get to know each other better! (But also shenanigans because nothing ever goes smoothly for these two, even in an AU 8'''|)

Excursion

[shrieking_violet]

Character(s): Chris (Bullet), Junna (Sage), Zeke (Chaosbringer), Jade (Space Witch)
Archetype(s): Novice x 2, Striker x 2
Maximum Risk: Medium
Keywords: Chris is pretty unfocused - she's not looking for anything in particular, and is more focused on keeping at least the appearance of being useful. Having a cringey adult around is mildly annoying, but Zeke, Jade, and Junna are all either more disciplined, upbeat, or both.

...Huntscursion?

[darknesshotpot]

Character(s): Decadence (Ango), Tycoon (Keiwa), Hanako (Amane)
Archetype(s): Saver, Novice, Striker
Outlying Location: Reverie Necropolis... probably? But if they end up somewhere else, Very High Risk is fine! These idiots are here to FAFO.
Strategy: They're headed to the Reverie Necropolis to find Reverie's tomb (if it exists) and loot that body look for clues to what really happened to Yumeko Kamizaki! Or, alternately, they'll get their asses kicked by Torments after taking a crowbar to some random tombs. Since all of them have some sort of stealth ability (and cool ninja costumes), they're hoping to sneak deeper into the Necropolis than their skills would normally allow. Surely Torments won't pay attention to that suspicious cardboard box shuffling through the crypts...

Torment Hunt!!

[hanamane]

Character(s): Ai (Ai-Doll), Illya (Prisma), Nene (Koi) and Amane (Hanako)
Archetype(s): Sentry, Striker, Novice (x2)
Outlying Location: Twinkle Keep
Strategy: HONESTLY, THIS IS JUST AN EXCUSE FOR AI TO SEE HER SON BEING BULLIED BY TWO GIRLS.........

-- but as far as strategy goes, Hanako and Ai-Doll already work fairly smoothly as a team with her B-Side ability, although considering the lingering effects of SOMEBODY'S bad choices searching for Reverie, he might have a harder time syncing up to it! Meanwhile, Prisma has her lasers and Nene now has Mokke swarm so they can get their hits in, although somebody's going to need to keep an eye out on the two of them because they're both Anxious Girlies and one of them unfortunately turns into a fish when stressed, so 8') HOPEFULLY THIS WON'T BE A MESS AND NOBODY GETS HURT except for Hanako's pride, absolutely decimate that shit

Triple Triad Torment Hunt #1!

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Chaosbringer, Tycoon, Rhodonite, Drop-DTune
Archetype(s): Sentry, Striker, Saver, Novice (what's with this balanced group???)
Outlying Location: Facet Lagoon
Strategy: Since Dreamers act like bait to Torments here, the group plans to find advantageous ground on the beach, and gratuitously exploit Electricity powers in seawater. The goal: attack/defend until either the Torments stop coming, or until the group is sufficiently worn down enough to call it good.

Triple Triad Torment Hunt #2!

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Chaosbringer, Hanako, Decadence, Siren
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Sentry, Novice
Outlying Location: Stardust Sanctuary
Strategy: ...so Zeke maybe should have thought more carefully about this particular combination of Dreamers. The main strategy appears to be "somehow keep Ango and Hanako from killing each other while trying to keep Mitsuki convinced that the entire mission isn't doomed". Witness a lot of just chasing falling star Torments around and whacking them. Maybe by some miracle actual teamwork will result.

Torment Hunt!!

[hanamane]

Character(s): Amane (Hanako), Bruno (Omen), Jade (Space Witch), and Lisa (Rhodonite)
Archetype(s): Striker (x2), Sentry (x2)
Outlying Location: Abandoned Dojo
Strategy: Overall, the group is going to be careful-- Hanako doesn't want to botch things again after the failed Reverie Hunt, Jade will be taking her time and trying to be businesslike and careful (though she tends to get a tad distracted by socialization opportunities!), Lisa going to err towards midrange support and tanking, until she can get a feel for how Omen + Space Witch fight and interact, and Bruno will go with the flow, keep his distance and help attack/protect via Rat! Strategy-wise, depending on the temperament of the Torments at the Dojo (read: whether they just wanna spar or are up for actual Violence), Hanako and Jade will either spar with them hand-to-hand, OR fall back to their usual strategies (orby-bois + knife combo for Hanako, and Jade gauging a Torment's aggressiveness + likelihood of attacking somebody before opting to shoot), Lisa's probably err on the side of active defense and shoot at approaching problems rather than putting up the shield and waiting for something to attack, and Bruno is going to utilize his elemental rats for long-range attacks and avoid close-up combat! (Hanko also has his invisibility + intangibility to help with any sneak attacks or helping others get out of the way!)

TORMENT TRIAD TRIPLE PLAY

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Chaosbringer, Drop-DTune, Space Witch
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Saver
Outlying Location: Whispering Grotto
Strategy: Zeke has an idea. A crazy, revolutionary idea. What if he went out and fought Torments with a group that ACTUALLY GETS ALONG?

They're here to have fun and kill Torments, and they're not out of fun or Torments.

Excursion!

[pegasinister]

Character(s): Hubert, Aname, Sam and Ageha
Archetype(s): Sentry, Saver and Striker (x2)- a perfect Light Party!
Maximum Risk: Hubert is icly aiming for Med, but oocly up to High!
Keywords: Hubert is looking for clues about Crimson and the Disturbances- and is stressed about recent information from Ai and having some young Dreamers with him. Not even getting into his own personal Recent Events.

Ye Torment Hunte

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Zeke (Chaosbringer), Amane (Hanako), Tycoon (Keiwa)
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Novice
Outlying Location: Mod's Choice, really
Strategy: After being drawn together pretty much entirely thanks to Hanako, the team wonders what the heck is going on for a bit before the Nightmare, completedly fed-up with its inability to get the straightforward dummies Chaosbringer and Tycoon to have any secrets, emerges to squash them like bugs. THEY FIGHT

Yon Excursione

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Chaosbringer (Zeke), DropD-Tune (Sam), Luck (Sylvain)
Archetype(s): Striker, Saver... Striker?
Maximum Risk: High
Keywords: The very first expedition to Fury Peak in search of Crimson got everyone killed here. That's suspicious. Having gained in strength since then, Dreamers return to figure out what possible connection the castle here has to Crimson. Featuring: not standing in front of the gates and saying her name; not provoking infernos in general; some success would be nice!

Excursion

[hgs]

Character(s): Shinsha (Cinnabar), Lisa (Rhodonite), Keiwa (Tycoon), Nene (Koi)
Archetype(s): Sentry x2, Novice x2
Maximum Risk: whatever it takes to find that mfer
Keywords:
why didn't you tell me something was wrong
why didn't you ask me to come with you

Hanako's friends intend to find him and bring him home -- whatever it takes! They're prepared to smash their way through the Dream Sphere until they find him, and then he's going straight into the dumpster where he belongs. They're looking for Dream Sphere anomalies that could lead them to Hanako's Disturbance, but if they run into Torment trouble along the way, they'll deal with it. Of course the more experienced Dreamers will be protecting Nene!

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Chaosbringer, Sage, Crow
Archetype(s): Striker, Novice x2
Maximum Risk: High, but don't tell Zeke that in-character
Keywords: Thanks to everything that's happened and a few questions raised in conversations afterward, Chaosbringer has decided they really really need more information on what was happening in the Dream Sphere before Dreamer Reverie came to the forefront. Was she really the first one? If so, why was she the first, and why did it happen when it happened? If not, what was going on before then?

Chaosbringer is unusually serious about this mission, having decided that the general lack of understanding of the Dream Sphere has become a critical problem between Disturbances, the Crimson-Reverie-Gazebo Conspiracy, and the extremely alarming Hidden-Mirror Sea Monster.

[thezekeinator]

Character(s): Chaosbringer, DropD-Tune, Tycoon
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Saver
Maximum Risk: Considering what they're after, can it be any less than Very High?
Keywords: The goal is to find out more about the Hidden-Mirror Sea Monster, since it appears to be like nothing they've run into in history. The goal is also not to run into the monster itself, because frankly it scared Chaosbringer last time, but he kind of accepts that it's a real possibility. You can tell it's serious when he of all people plays it safe!

Torment Hunt

[404heronotfound]

Character(s): Kenko Yoshida (Dreamer Ghost) and Ai Hoshino (Dreamer Ai-Doll)
Archetype(s): Novice and Sentry
Outlying Location: Vale of Sorrow
Strategy: This hunt is largely to test the pair's compatibility as mentor and student. More specifically, Ai-Doll is trying to train Ghost out of her bad habit of rushing in recklessly as if she's invincible after a few instances of biting off more than she can chew left her repeatedly locked out of the Dream Sphere. With that purpose in mind, Ai-Doll and Ghost will tackle the hunt slowly and methodically, warming up by letting Ai-Doll observe Ghost fighting weaker, isolated Torments on the fringes of the Vale of Sorrow on her own. They'll move on to groups of the weaker Torments after that to get in practice working together and to give Ghost more detailed feedback, then try to separate one of the bounty target lizard Torments from the group using Ghost's Vacuum Soul before fighting it together with Ghost following Ai-Doll's lead.

[thestarknows]

Character(s): Junna, Amane, Ilya, Keiwa
Archetype(s): Striker x2, Novice x2
Outlying Location: Vale of Sorrow! The Bounty!
Strategy: The rough plan is for Tycoon to lure Torments into an enclosed area, then get out of it with assistance from the others (e.g., Sage's vines). He may be going ahead because of awkwardness with Amane and Ilya. Then, all four of them will do ranged attacks to take all of them out (and with buffs and supporting abilities as appropriate)! There may be some complications -- because things are Awkward between Ilya and Amane. Good luck, everyone...!

Torment Hunt!

[greaterspeed]

Character(s): Nikki (Sonic) and Illya (Prisma)
Archetype(s): Striker, Novice
Outlying Location: Twinkle Keep
Strategy: But what if we spent time together on a Torment Hunt... Kya~ :flushed:

j/k

We'll be aiming for an easier hunt though. :) Sonic will probably be handling most of the combat on account of being the much more experienced Dreamer, zipping around and making sure to keep any Torments away from Prisma while still letting her get some practice in (aiming, hitting moving targets, etc. the usual stuff!). He's absolutely just winging it on his end because he's used to fighting in the Dream Sphere! But because Prisma is newer at this, Sonic will be trying to target Torments their size so she doesn't get overwhelmed.

Excursion!

[greaterspeed]

Character(s): Sonic, Chaosbringer, Rhodonite!
Archetype(s): Two Strikers and a Sentry o7
Maximum Risk: High Risk because Sonic's insane. 8(
Keywords: Sonic is out here in the name of the Spirit of Adventure! Chaosbringer is here to be here!! And Rhodonite has been given the unfortunate task of holding onto the singular braincell between the three of them. Thankfully for her, Sonic and Chaosbringer are both confident and fully(?) prepared(??) for whatever the Dream Sphere decides to throw at them!

Though it probably would have been nice if Sonic mentioned they were going somewhere high risk before they set off, huh? Don't worry about it, they're all experienced Dreamers.