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

[hanamane]

So the group is going to use their collective braincell for once and get the hell out of there!! Nobody says they can't come back another time and bring a larger, more prepared group so they can handle things better!

... that said. Hanako's going to use his orby boi's free-flying ability to his advantage and have it travel a little further down the crevasse so it can get one final look at... whatever the fuck is lurking down there, for reference sake! He's not exactly thrilled about looking at the void dead-on (even remotely), but he may as well do SOMETHING considering he's not actually with Sonic and Chaosbringer! (Though whether or not this is a good thing is... debatable lmao)

[beautifuldreamermods]

It's an easy enough retreat for Hanako and Miraidon, at least! They've gotta be careful about it but with their sick Dreamer parkour, they can make their way back up the path that took them deep into the volcano. Or, well. Miraidon does, at least. Hanako... we'll get back to him!

Sonic and Chaosbringer will be having a harder time for a few reasons. Their descent was more or less a one-way trip, so they might be forced to wake up and return to reality if they want to get out of here without getting creative. But before they can make a decision as to what to do, Hanako's orby boi goes ptchooing off the edge of the crevasse so it can get a closer peek at the horrors. For a few seconds, it seems like the Hakujoudai’s descent will go unnoticed... but then the cavern shudders violently, as if the volcano itself has drawn breath in outrage.

The formless mass of darkness reacts immediately, writhing and twisting with an unnatural speed that makes it seem far more alive than it should. Tendrils of shadow lash out like living things, impossibly fast, swiping the Hakujoudai with what look like scrabbling fingers. The force of the collision sends it careening wildly through the air and the connection flickers violently, its usual clear feed now marred by static and warped, incomprehensible images of twisting shadows and flashes of light.

The tendrils don’t stop there - several slam into the cavern walls, sending chunks of molten rock flying, while others recoil into the shadowy core, dragging trails of distorted light behind them like oil spreading across water. Then the sound hits. It’s not a roar, necessarily - it’s a low, pulsating frequency that bypasses the ears entirely and slams directly into your skull. Poor Hanako in particular will be subjected to an up-close burst of it straight to the noggin, as if his brain is being squeezed, every pulse of the core’s reaction hammering into his mind like a war drum.

Jagged cracks race across the cavern floor, splitting open with terrifying speed to reveal veins of molten magma glowing ominously below. Heat and light surge upward as superheated steam bursts from the fissures, hissing violently and filling the air with a choking, sulfuric stench. The massive stakes that litter the cavern shudder violently, their twisted forms vibrating as if struggling against some unseen force.

You need to escape, now.