Moirae's Mirror - September

Hey all!

We're back with more outline stuff for the Mirror this time. A note of warning, of course: this is all completely speculative. Other than a few large plot developments I know I'm going to be using, none of this is set in stone, and details are added, removed, and shifted around as I get to the stuff in question, often.

But all that said, I do end up using most of the ideas somewhere, so this should be at least a somewhat-accurate preview of things to come. Needless to say, major spoilers ahead! Also a few swear words.

So as you may already be aware from the progress of the BIP, the fact that Lethe is ill is having consequences for the memories of the dead. As her illness continues, the memory suppression she exercises on them is going to fade. For a lot of the dead, this will be quite a traumatic experience, and there's definitely going to be some unrest in the realm, as people remember the living loved ones they want to see, and so on.

The 'wait and see' approach thing is already invalid based on prior events and some thinking I've done since then, but ultimately there won't be much that can be immediately done, as the culprit here is quite sneaky, and the consequences of these actions will soon require almost full-time management, as we start to see with the fight scene in Chapter Seven. 

Of course, serious plot developments in this sense are not the only thing going on. The romance starts to become a bit more prominent in these chapters, culminating in a lock-in choice for those wanting one. I'm also considering splitting the group for the fight scene, and letting who the PC accompanies be the choice that locks it in, as that has a more obvious platonic option feel. Still have to do some thinking on that. 

Oh that's right. I do get to debut transformations here. Basically, the Chthonics have this thing they can do where they change out of their genteel-looking human forms into things a little more beastly or primal according to their natures. Hades grows horns, among other things, Charon gets some fins, Pyri lights on fire, and so on. Yes, there will absolutely be an option for a Chthonic-leaning PC to acquire such as well. 

There's also a new element that might come up in this scene if PC fails a stat check, wherein they accidentally initiate a magical 'bond' of sorts with another of the characters, akin to the magic-sharing possible in Chapter Four, but to a greater extent. We'll see how that goes. 

Also the classic pomegranate reference will be happening here, eventually, though as mentioned I'm not sure it will be a pomegranate in all cases. 

And then we get the resolution of the Orpheus and Eurydice plot! Canonically, Persephone convinces Hades to give Orpheus a chance and then Orpheus totally blows it. But I think I will be giving PCs a chance to talk to him beforehand, and if they've formed a bond with Eurydice over the previous chapters that might have an effect on the outcome. 

The 'some items may be useful' bits are just reminders to myself to give the various trinkets one might have received from Olympian goddesses fun plot uses. Kind of an attempt at Chekhov's gun, only I don't know where I'm aiming yet. We'll see how it goes!

And then, because I am packing every myth I can into this series and it makes the most sense here... we have the attempted abduction of Seph by Theseus and Pirithous. In this instance, they are acting at the behest of Demeter, who even if PC is happy in the Underworld really doesn't get it. Still considering whether PC can actually successfully fight them off and go for help, in which case the Chthonic party goes to Olympus in slightly different circumstances but for basically the same reason. 

In any case the last 'confrontation' of the book isn't really a physical one, but it does allow PC to have various reactions to Demeter, including perhaps a much-needed assertion of independence. It also elevates the tension between the two realms, because unsurprisingly Zeus is not happy with Hades just showing up, but he's also not happy with Demeter trying to subvert him and almost succeeding haha. This sort of leads into the next couple of books, which as of right now cover the Trojan War and a big ol' fight between the gods, respectively.

The nonstandard game over is something I'm still debating. At one point I considered having an "Olympian Route" in the next game, but that's way too much work and I don't think the story would function properly if I did. PCs can still have differing views on Olympus, but I think by the end they do have to prefer the Underworld, at least for most of the year!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the preview. I'll be back next month with... something else, I suppose. :)