Windfall Island - OOC Thread

[Amaterasu]

This is the OOC thread for the Windfall Island IC thread in the Vasty Deep.
Please read the below for further info.

Information about Windfall Island
[spoiler]
General Information

Windfall Island is about 30 miles (48 km) from Costa del Sol and thus, while not completely cut off, is relatively secluded. The empire originally took interest in this location due to a vein of silver ore that was discovered, but after mining most of it out the mine was abandoned. The idea was to leave Windfall island as a whole, however many people who had moved to the island to work as miners or support them (farmers, merchants etc) decided to stay.

Due to its location it offers a good port for traveling merchants who navigate the Vasty Deep’s ocean but cannot dock at Costa del Sol (for instance due to troubles with the empire) to resupply, buy and sell their wares and repair their ships in the relative absence of the imperial customs and Navy forces. While not as big a hotspot as the larger islands and Costa del Sol itself, the free trade affords the citizens of Costa del Sol a happy, though not luxurious, lifestyle.
 
Though the silver ore is almost completely mined out, Windfall Island offers other resources, most notably rich earth that allows for crop-growing and the aquatic fauna which lets fishermen to catch a wide variety of fish from the docks and offshore. As a result it offers enough resources to maintain a small population self-sufficiently while leftover resources are traded in for outside goods.
 
Windfall Island is notable for the special rules voted on by the citizens: in order to avoid destruction of the island’s beautiful but fragile ecosystem there are hard limitations imposed on things such as hunting and fishing, treecutting and building as well as polluting the air, ground and water. As a result the technology on the island has developed to be a weird mixture of modern tech powered by renewable energies and steam- or muscle-powered machinery. Fossile fuels, among others, are completely forbidden. While this means that the efficiency of Windfall Island’s industries is far behind those of Coruscant the quality of the products is many times higher. Maybe it’s Omniverse physics?
 
Despite the healthy lifestyle thanks to the physical exercise coupled with the modern medicine available through the merchants, not many Secondaries (let alone Primes) choose to live on Windfall Island due to the severity of the rules and the lack of comfort and luxury offered by the more modern and prosperous Costa del Sol, Coruscant, Dalaran or Minas Tirith. The population of the island is fairly small, to the point where most people know each other by their first names. The regularly held community festivals further tighten these bonds.
 
Silverrock Town
Named due to the vein of silver ore that had been found beneath the island and, Silverrock Town started out as the lodging area for the miners. After the mining operation was finished and the area was abandoned those who remained behind rebuilt it into what is today known as Silverrock Town. While it is not the sole area where people live (there’s a few lodges, farmhouses and encampments) the vast majority have their home somewhere in the town area.
 
Silverrock town is built near the docks where the ships come and go, providing paved alleyways for them to drive wagons with their products up to the stalls and shops around the city center. It acts as the central point for visitors who intend to go further on the island or coming back from there.
 
The Town organizes a variety of festivals, contests and other events throughout the year that bring the community closer together and are great fun for its population – perfect to get to know newcomers. Both these events and the residents’s birthdays are publicly displayed at the bulletin board.

Locations in Silverrock Town:

Bar/Casino: Owned by Ozal.
The Bar is a spacious three-story bar and grill, with a gambling floor available. There is a respectable selection of food and drink from most of the Omniverse, but you're not going to find Klopkaan Berry Schnapps from the Tangled Green every day. Ozal mans the bar, serving drinks and chatting with customers.

General store: Owned by Kaylee Furon.

The General store is a medium sized building. The first room is Kaylee's shop, with access to her personal home behind the counter. It stocks a variety of items, including silverware and other small household items, groceries - fish, meat, vegetables etc. which Kaylee buys from the fishermen, hunters and farmers on the island - and weaponry like swords, daggers and bows.

Library: "Owned" by Melody.
The Library, called the Rune Archives, is technically owned by the town but Melody is entrusted with taking care of it. The townspeople can rent books for free from a broad selection, though over three quarters of the books are "government approved" by the Empire as the library used to be part of the mining operation. The library relies on donations or help from the citizens to be kept in shape.

Merchant Stalls: Owned/rented by various.
The Merchant Stalls are located near the city center and form a colorful assortment of small and medium stalls where those who can't afford a shop or aren't staying for long can sell their wares for a modest rent to the town. While there are rules and limitations on the type of items that may be sold it rarely comes to that point, except maybe for the shadier figures that visit Silverrock Town to sell items that would spell trouble with the imperial customs of Costa del Sol.
Samuel Lariss has a stall here where he prepares and sells his food.

Police Precinct: Owned by the town.
The Precinct is the police headquarters for the small police force of Windfall Island. It's arguably the most secure building in town as it used to be the imperial mining operation's administrative building where all the bigwigs stayed at and thus needed to be fortified. Its massive walls of reinforced concrete, the barbed wire on the roof and sims, the bars before all windows and the asphalt ground around it make it more of a bastion than a building, and quite intimidating. It also has a vault for holding sensitive data and a cellar big enough to hold up to 50 people for a week in a pinch, should Windfall Island ever be ravaged by a hurricane, tornado or other catastrophe. Jack Jensen is the only police force in town currently, and next to the mayor is the only person holding all the keys.

Tinkerer's Workshop: Owned by Karax.
[Placeholder until I know what to write here]

(more examples of vacant spots)

-Clinic/doctor’s office
-Museum
-Blacksmith
-Town Mayor (NPC)
-Church (a "general purpose" church with multiple areas for people to each practice their own religion)


Silverrock Town: Residential Area
There is no single residential area in Silverrock Town, really. There are shops intermixed with homes, and in the commercial areas many shopkeepers have their apartments above their workplaces. Thus the "residential area" cannot be clearly defined on a map.

People who have a dedicated house in Silverrock Town (not by their workplace):
Samuel Lariss, Artom.



The plains
The plains are, for a lack of a better word, all the areas that aren't covered by the other areas named of Windfall Island. They are vast, expansive landscapes with irregular surfaces, hills and valleys, copses and rivers. Most pathways going to and from Silverrock Town from and to the various areas on the island such as the docks or the mines traverse the plains at some point. Most farms are placed somewhere on the plains of Windfall island.

Jack Jensen's farm: Jack owns a small farm just outside of Silverrock Village, but not quite at Paradise Bay. It includes a small house, a shed, a silo, and a good sized field, all just off the trail between the two destinations.


Paradise Bay
Paradise Bay is a large, almost circular bay located on the south side of Windfall Island and at a relatively short walk from Silverrock Town. It used to be the docking area for the large cargo ships that transported goods and silver for the mining operation, but overall its ecosystem remains well preserved.
 
Paradise Bay has a large population of small to medium fish and crabs, making it a good location for net and rod fishing from a small boat or from the headlands. A beach of white sand extends around the bay, tapering off near the two headlands where it gives way to cliffs.
 
Beneath the cliffs the entrance to the Bay of Raisins is filled with strange currents that keep the water mostly circulating within the bay, where it is warmed throughout the day by the shining sun and thus creates a great area to swim. The currents also frequently wash up corals, shells and all sorts of junk. While the currents can displace careless swimmers they are not as treacherous as in many other spots and do not constitute a danger so long as one stays away from the jagged cliffs.
 
The two headlands are bare of trees and windswept. A small part of the rockface has been dug out to provide a sheltered haven for lights to help guide boats in during storms or at night. This is mostly a backup however as a modern lighthouse was built after these shelters. The lighthouse’s greater potency means that it is used as the primary guide to ships.

Thomas is the only person that enjoys the privilege of having a spot on the docks reserved for him. The catch is that because it's a rather large spot to fit his sizable ship it is the preferred location for imperial navy ships to dock at when they send someone to collect taxes, deliver official mail, inspect the mayor's bookkeeping and so on. If his spot is taken even by an inconspicuous-looking ship (the Imperial Navy likes to disguise their ships to catch the unsuspecting by surprise) Thomas will know to be wary if he docks there.
 
 
The Cyan Cliffs
Extending round clockwise from Paradise Bay, the Cyan Cliffs are filled with nesting seabirds and small, tiny beaches in coves protected by terrible shoals.
 
The Cyan Cliffs are, unsurprisingly, cyan, coloured by some unknown force. While that blue stone can be found across the island, at the cliffs it is most obvious. The sand here is just as pale as the beach in Paradise Bay and is mostly untouched thanks to the difficulty getting there. Shipwrecks and the potential for bird eggs does make abseiling down the cliffs an attractive prospect for some of Silverrock Town‘s youth.
 
The cliffs shelter the island as a whole from the worst of storms coming from that direction, but when they do glowing lights can be seen rising from that part of the island. No one has yet found any proven explanation, though all sorts of theories from scientific („The salinity in the air buffeting against the cliffs causes a chemical reaction“) to supernatural („The blue stone is magically infused and protects the island“) have been established.

Rufus Dellarosa has a secondary home in a hidden cove on the cliffs.

 
The Forest
West of Silverrock is what’s simply called the „forest“, or sometimes „Windfall forest“. This thick mysterious forest grows abundantly thanks to the rich earth and the trees, when cut, provide high-quality wood. In addition the forest offers many opportunities for foraging and hunting. The deeper one ventures into the forest, the more untouched it is and as a result the greater the potential gains are. However the animals dislike being disturbed and do not take kindly to intruders.

Rufus Dellarosa has his main home somewhere deep within the forest.


The Mines
The mines, whose main entrance is located on the side of the mountains to the north of Silverrock Town, were abandoned after the mining operation was declared finished. Ore deposits, especially of silver ore, do remain though – just not in quantities and accessibility that would justify the continuation of the mining operation. The underground passages created to mine out the precious ore is connected to naturally formed mines and have allowed all sorts of underground critters to spill into the manmade mineshafts, though they are warded away by light sources, allowing for relatively undisturbed mining if one brings along a sufficiently potent lamp. Alternatively, brave adventurers can head down there for some monster hunting.
 
 
Mt. Silver
Directly north of Silverrock Town is Mt. Silver, owing its name to the silver ore that once was within. It’s a relatively large mountain considering the small size of Windfall Island, and is rumored to be a dormant volcano, which would explain the rich minerals found in the earth of the island.


Mt. Silver Hotsprings & Bathhouse
In a cavern in the side of Mt. Silver is a Hotspring with incredibly rich mineral water that rejuvenates the body and spirit and is occasionally used to brew drinks. It forms the primary tourist attraction, especially from Coruscant, though even so the actual number of tourists is very minor. The Hotsprings have been built into a Bathhouse which is a little way off from Silverrock Town but has good access.

The Bathhouse is run by Melody, though there's not a lot to do because the water runs through the cracks in the rock and thus the springwater is regularly refreshed and stays clean. There are several smaller pools with varying degrees of heat and three relatively large pools. They are divided into three areas by rocks and wooden walls that Melody has built herself, or enlisted the aid of the other citizens of Silverrock Town to build. These areas can only be accessed from the main entrance. One is for men only, one for women only and one is for the mixed baths, allowing both genders. They're clearly marked with blue, pink and white curtains respectively.
The cavern entrance has a wooden structure with a door built around it that allows Melody to control who gets in and out. There's a deposit box for payments, a till where Melody is on busy days to collect the entry fee and, if necessary, hand out towels, bathing suits and other items for rent or purchase.
The Hotspring's waters are

 
Rocky Plateau
The top of Mt. Silver is a large flat expanse known as Rocky Plateau. It constitutes the highest point of Windfall Island and offers a panoramic view in every direction, as well as forming the most recognizable landmark of the island – it can even be seen from Costa del Sol on clear days. Rocky Plateau also has several small rivers which merge into the pair of large, nameless rivers that split the island up and provide fresh water along with the wells.[/spoiler]

Player Characters (alphabetically)
Artom (Secondary by The Future Warrior)
Jack “Rooster” Jensen (Secondary by Zack Fair)
Karax (Secondary by Sarah Kerrigan)
Kate Wilder (Secondary by Zack Fair)
Kaylee “Kay” Furon (Secondary by Dawn)
Melody (Secondary by Amaterasu)
Ozal (Secondary by Hiro Protagonist)
Rufus "The Voodoo Vagrant" Dellarosa
Samuel Lariss (Secondary by Mick Rory)
Temmie (Secondary by Chara)
Thomas "Tom" (Secondary by Caira Aryryn)

To join this list submit your form!


Public NPCs (alphabetically)
Please read the corresponding rules before you use one of the Public NPCs.
NPCs are placeholders for important roles and may be replaced if a player decides to occupy that same role. Some NPCs are simply there for story purposes.

Inspector Gordon
[spoiler]
As Windfall Island is under imperial legislation Inspector Gordon regularly visits to inspect that its people are abiding the law. He also inspects the mayor's office, the police precinct etc. and has the authority to hand out and withdraw licenses such as for Ozal's bar or fishing permits at his discretion, and overrule any rules not compliant with imperial laws. Despite this he has some tolerance for errors and cuts the citizens some slack if they cannot always and perfectly follow the laws.

While not necessarily a bad person he takes his work seriously. Attempts at bribery or telling him how to do his job are the fastest way to get on his bad side - although he insists that he is not working against the Silverrock Town citizens. His attempts at making friends with the people on his brief appearances usually fail because they suspect him to be feigning friendliness to trick them into letting down their guard. He is, however, not treated too coldly either. All in all, he's a decent man and Windfall Island could be off much worse with a more severe Inspector.[/spoiler]
Mayor Thomas:
[spoiler][No picture yet]

The elected mayor of Silverrock Town. Thomas is a very friendly individual who manages to both uphold a good image of himself as a mayor and a person while not coming off as a cold bureaucrat. He is in charge of the town's events, as well as legislation such as taxes and laws.

Thomas once worked in Coruscant and was temporarily in charge of one of the districts, prior to being replaced. This job has earned him much experience that he now puts to use in Silverrock. Almost everyone likes him as he is friendly and leads a fair rule for everyone regardless of their species, gender and background.[/spoiler]
Merchants:
[spoiler]There are many merchants sailing the Vasty Deep oceans, and many of them stop at Windfall Island sometime or another. Ranging from occasional, one-time visitors to regulars, they have very varied views on the island's population. Some consider them to be a great community and have even expressed their desire to settle on the island some day, while others seem to think of them either as cash cows that they can squeeze out with overpriced goods, or as people who must either be insane or hiding from the law to live on such a place when they could live in Costa del Sol. And just like their views on the citizens vary, they are recieved in all sorts of ways by the inhabitants of Silverrock Town.[/spoiler]
Navy Troopers & Officiers:
[spoiler]The imperial Navy occasionally stops at Windfall Island for "routine checks", which includes a quick-sweep inspection similar to Inspector Gordon's but much less thorough, checking for prisoners or exiles that are to be returned to the mainland or to Impel Down, verifying verdicts and if necessary calling for a judge from the mainland to hold court again, verifying that all citizens are registered, and so on. A few times some ships have dropped anchor simply for shore leave, which creates a one-time high in demand of lodging, alcohol and warm food and a large influx of imperial credits that in turn can be exchanged for silver coins at the town hall if so desired.[/spoiler]
Sister Catherina:
[spoiler][No picture yet]

Sister Catherina lives in the Church and acts as both a priestess to Omniists (the religion believing that Omni is a god) and as a pastor that takes confessions from anyone regardless of their religious beliefs. She also gives out free food to the least fortunate on the island, collected from donations of visitors and from the Town's taxes.

Her cheerful and motherly behavior make her an almost universally appreciated figure on Windfall Island. It certainly helps that she does not attempt to force her beliefs on anyone, actively or passively, and that she believes that Omni would not punish those who don't believe in him. She believes in that everyone chooses their own path, wherever it may lead, and that there is no single right one.

For "church business" such as weddings and burial ceremonies she keeps one copy of each book of religion in storage and is decently versed in each, though not an expert. Furthermore she holds a ceremony each Sunday at 9:00, taking around one and a half hours.[/spoiler]
Tourists:
[spoiler]Windfall Island is not the greatest tourist attraction, but its history as a former mining colony, its idyllic and preserved landscape, the rustic-mixed-with-modern feel of Silverrock Town, the hotsprings and the myths and stories surrounding the various locations, most notably the Cyan Cliffs, make it a popular location to visit if one happens to be spending their vacation in Costa del Sol. Tourist ships sail back and forth between Windfall Island and Costa del Sol on the busy seasons and bring various groups from all over the Omniverse. An unproven story has it that Emperor Palpatine himself once visited the island accompaigned by his Space Marines, but these things tend to get blown out of proportion.

In either case, tourists do appear occasionally, often in groups and, much to the people's chagrin, they are often noisy, littering, trespassing and/or feel entitled. Some even believe that Windfall Island is an open-air museum rather than an actually inhabited island, and that its inhabitants are disguised actors. But luckily, there's also the good ones that are genuinely interested. Both those groups form a large source of income to Silverrock Town, primarily paying with imperial credits. A good chunk of the money earned usually goes right back into fixing their mess, though.[/spoiler]

Rules
[spoiler]
Note: Unfortunately none of the below rules are OOCly enforcable. You won't get warned, banned or restricted for breaking them (except for Rule 1 of course), but you'll make yourself look like an ass as a person. Do you really want that?

• It's still the Omniverse. The standart rules and limitations (in particular the max. number of playable Secondaries) apply as normal!

• Secondaries and Primes are both allowed, but playing a Secondary is encouraged. It is MORE THAN HIGHLY discouraged that you play your Player Prime - consider submitting an NPC Prime instead.

• If you want to play one of the public NPCs make a note of such in the thread when you start and finish using that NPC. Make sure that the NPC isn't being used by someone else to avoid clashes.

• If you play a Prime, keep summoning of items to a minimum. A single Prime could jack up the entire community's economy by summoning products that Secondaries must craft, forage or grow in minutes, and would effectively ruin the game.

• Be aware of your writing availability limitations. Depending on how big the thread gets, it might be a big commitment. There is no hard character limit besides how many secondaries you can play, but I personally recommend that you play only one character unless/until you are certain that you can reasonably play 2 or even more.

• Don't play an unapproved character on the island. Visiting is fine, but if you plan on playing a dedicated character please submit a form.

• Submit only characters out of your own canon or original/generic characters out of other canons or original ones.

• If you play a new character, don't have them poof into existence. Maybe they arrive with a ship, get washed up on the shore, come back from a prolonged trip in the mines etc. Or maybe they have always been there but just not worthy of note.

• Avoid major changes without the approval of all the involved. Earthquakes, meteorites, volcanic eruptions, zombie outbreaks... just don't. Please.

• PLEASE don't rampage on the island, don't destroy everything etc. If you want to let your destructive urges out, please do it somewhere else.

• In a similar vein, keep PvP combat to a minimum. An occasional bar fight is okay and you're free to hack n slash your way through the beasties in the forest or the mines, but this is not a battle arena for secondaries.

• Follow the IC rules. They could lead to your character being penalized or even banished off the island if you break them too often.
[/spoiler]
Special Rule on Time Advancement
[spoiler]
Because Windfall Island has professions which take place at certain times - an example being the bar which is mostly in the evening, the church is mostly in the morning etc. - here's a few rules on the subject.
Note that Omniverse physics are primarily designed to justify different timespans between two events taking place in different threads. In the case of Windfall Island where a single thread holds most or all of the island's activity, continuity is more important. This is why time passes similar for everyone in that if it's 12PM for character A it should ideally be so for all other characters too.

How to do it:

Skipping ahead to another time of the day, or even the next day, is allowed on the following conditions:

• All characters that are active must have concluded their activity, or be in a situation where they won't really do much. If everyone is at their workplace, at home, on a prolonged walk or the like this would be the case.

• An exception can be made if one or more characters or character groups are dragging out the storyline and holding everyone else back, for instance because they're having a prolonged conversation. You can request that the people/groups either conclude their thing, or move it to a new thread to continue. Don't request this if few players are inactive and there's a much larger number of people still playing. Either wait or come up with some way to play for a while longer until more people are ready to advance.

Example:
Characters A, B and C are chattering in the bar, having fun and such. The players of characters D, E and F are bored and want to move on. One of them tells A, B and C such.
A creates a new thread for B and C to join so that they can continue their thing, and move back to the main thread when they get finished. Meanwhile the main thread can continue their thing, skipping ahead in time.
A, B and C should just remember that while a few minutes/hours may pass for their characters, once they rejoin the main thread it may be far into the future - days, possibly. You can justify this ICly with Omniverse physics on time, though.

• The maximum time for skipping time is 12 hours ahead: no skipping from noon of day 1 to 8AM of day 2.


So, let's say that the conditions are met. You can do a timeskip by placing a quote into your post stating such - either at the end of the post during which you conclude your activity, or at the start of it so your post takes place post-timeskip, or two parts with a pre-timeskip and a post-timeskip component and the quote in the middle, like so:

Quote:
This takes place before the timeskip.

*events happening*

Quote:
Timeskip to XX.XX (time)

*more events happening*

A timeskip is happening, what now?

If you were still active before the timeskip but someone else has posted that the timeskip takes place before you concluded your activity, you have the following options:

• You can conclude your activity in one post. Write a little quote at the top saying that this part takes place pre-timeskip, then do your thing, and wrap it up. Possibly write something post-timeskip as well if you want.

• If it's gonna take more than one post create a new thread where you can set your own pace. Refer to the example above.

[/spoiler]


Post Format

As the Island is rather sizable but everything is likely going to take place over one or a handful of threads, it is recommended (not mandatory though!) that you add a location to your post for others to reference. Please find an example below.
[spoiler]

Location: Silverrock Town - Town Center

"Blah blah" said the character as he did the thing with the things. He then moved over to the merchant stalls to see what the merchants had to offer that day.

If you really want you can interrupt your post with repeated quotes, but usually one at the beginning will be sufficient, if you then describe where your character goes to in your actual IC post.
[/spoiler]
Join Form

To get approved, just select the correct form, fill it out and send it to me via note or post it into the thread!

For Secondaries
[spoiler]
Name, Gender, Age etc.:

Appearance: (you can also post a picture)

Relationships: (to other characters, if you want any: Family? Friends, enemies, rivals? Apprentice of X? Working for Y?)

Profession(s): (maximum 2 professions per character, can also be none but you'll need some way for them to make a living. Hobbys don't count towards this limit. Multiple people may take the same profession if it makes sense in character - 2 merchants are okay, but 2 mayors not so much)

History: (go into as much or as little detail as you like. Be sure to include how they got to Windfall Island if they're already there - did they come for the original mining operation? Did they come afterwards on their own will? Were they found mysteriously washed up on the shore one day?)

Possessions: (what does your character own - items, territories, a house, a shop? Established characters will probably have some more than newcomers, but be realistic about it. Even the richest characters on the island aren't swimming in money)

Powers & Abilities: (It's still the Omniverse - your Secondary doesn't have to be a realistic, powerless human. You can feel free to describe a few supernatural abilities and moves that aren't covered by your possessions, but keep it simple)
[/spoiler]

For NPC Primes
Please seek approval for your character through the corresponding Help Desk thread. Once you are approved, send me the form.
[spoiler]
Approval Link: (A link to show that your NPC Prime was approved)

Relationships: (to other characters, if you want any: Family? Friends, enemies, rivals? Apprentice of X? Working for Y?)

Profession(s): (Not obligatory since Primes can summon stuff faster than anyone can craft an item. If you do want them to work normally: maximum 2 professions per character, can also be none but you'll need some way for them to make a living. Hobbys don't count towards this limit. Multiple people may take the same profession if it makes sense in character - 2 merchants are okay, but 2 mayors not so much.)


History: (go into as much or as little detail as you like. Be sure to include how they got to Windfall Island if they're already there - did they come for the original mining operation? Did they come afterwards on their own will? Were they found mysteriously washed up on the shore one day?)


Possessions: (what does your character own - items, territories, a house, a shop? Established characters will probably have some more than newcomers, but be realistic about it. Even the richest characters on the island aren't swimming in money)
[/spoiler]
I recommend that you post your approved form on your profile, and update it if stuff changes, like your character learning a new profession or acquiring/losing an item.