The Helix

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The Helix

Setting

The town of Maplewood has long been protected by a mystical barrier known as the Helix. In the year 1599, an orc invasion of the Freelands led by an Avatar of Grak came through Maplewood. During the ensuing fight the Helix helped adventurers banish the Avatar, but its power has been diminished ever since. Today the power of the Helix only protects one location- the local inn known as the Spinning Jenny. Inside of the inn, attempts to attack other characters result in the offending person being cast out of the building.

Setting Information

The Helix itself is a great unknown. No one knows exactly what it is or why it does what it does. While it was working it would drive mindless creatures away from Maplewood, and intelligent creatures with hostile intentions would feel severely ill while in its presence.

For some reason it has always been most potent in the location of the Spinning Jenny, the local inn. There, any attempt to harm another individual has resulted in them being removed from the building much like the Avatar of Grak was removed from the town, though these individuals typically wind up in a nearby field.

The Elders have spoken for it for centuries now, and any who wished to become citizens of Maplewood were sworn in through a ritual that gives them access to some healing powers the Helix also provided. Those rare citizens who committed crimes would sometimes be shunned by the Elders and from that point on, the Helix would treat them like they intended to harm the community regardless of their actions.

When it still worked the boundaries of the Helix were flexible, capable of moving seemingly based on where the citizens resided around it and if the Spinning Jenny relocated.

Helix Mechanics

This section can be summarized by the following sentence:
Please refrain from fighting in the inn.

When a player triggers the Helix's protection, they are warped across the field and to the totem pole. The character gains the Ley Transit condition and the player is to take the most direct and least disruptive route to the totem pole, dropping the condition when they reach it.

The protection is triggered by all weapon attacks, throwing a tag bag, and anything an innkeeper deems inappropriate to be happening in the inn.

Offensive attacks against characters in the Helix/ Inn do not have any effect, whether the attack makes contact or not.

Innkeepers may call a 'Time Stop!' to inform players of the protection being triggered, or when a player knows they have triggered the protection they can simply immediately put their arm up as if affected by Ley Transit and travel to the totem pole. Innkeepers have the final say in all matters regarding Helix protection, do not argue with them.

Trapped items are a special case situation. The Helix doesn't know who set the trap (or if it does, it doesn't do anything to them). Instead, the Helix will remove anyone who sets off a trap inside the Jenny. Though traps only affect the person who sets it off, imagine a trapped box opening with a large explosion that is potentially dangerous to others as the reason why this triggers the protection.

Poisoned food or drink does not set off the protections at all, though if a poisoner is so obvious as to get noticed by an innkeeper that might still cause them to get removed from the building. Whatever remains of the Helix is in a state of flux that is not always consistent on this subject.

References

Ley Transit

  • NPC Use: NPCs should cast this spell very sparingly. Sometimes villains need to escape to come back another time, but if it happens too often that's disappointing at best and incredibly dumb at worst. Only major villains, extremely powerful NPCs, or significant recurring characters should ever use ley lines to escape a combat. You will know if the character you are playing falls into that category.

The Spinning Jenny

This is the largest building on site. Sleeping is not allowed in this building. It is split in half during events by a large curtain. A gap is available in the curtain so that people in the front half of the building can have access to the restrooms in the back and for during out-of-game hours. Please don't use the the gap in the curtains to enter or exit play as an NPC, use the doors.

The front half is "logistics" where check-in takes place at the beginning of each event. During shifts Gamemasters can be found at the same desk, in addition to the Logistics Officer that is on for that shift. Non-player characters will get dressed and get make-up for encounters here as well. This is the best location to find a member of staff if you need one at any time during an event. Entry to logistics is primarily through the buildings front doors. The fire place here should only be turned on or off by staff.

Meanwhile, the back half of the building is the Inn, known in-game as the Spinning Jenny. During game the Jenny can be accessed by either of the side doors on the building. The Inn has food for coin available during every shift for player characters. Non-player characters eat for free. Dishes can be washed in the kitchen, and space is available in the kitchen to store your dishes when not in use. Please do not leave your personal belongings or dishes out in the inn, as it takes up space others could be using.

The kitchen should only be used for cooking or storing food with approval from the Inn Marshal, Jordan Bellassai. At the back of the building is one last door which goes straight into the kitchen. This should only be used by innkeepers working a shift, operations staff who are doing their shift duties, and emergency situations.

Time Stop Calls

A Time Stop is a period of time where the game is paused briefly, strictly for in-game reasons. During a 'time stop' you should close your eyes and babble, ramble, mumble or hum to reduce the chances that players can hear what is happening. The goal is for whatever occurs to be as much of a surprise as possible.

This call is done when changes need to happen in-game that would normally happen instantly but cannot actually happen while players are roleplaying such as being teleported out of the inn, blowing up a giant rock, or turning into a werewolf.

Further Helix Information and Trivia

Before the Helix was broken in 1599, its original intention was a way to give players who didn't want to fight or who were worried about character death an area where no fighting was the expectation. It was a large experiment and while some aspects of it worked, many did not. Over the years the size and rules of the Helix were changed several times to attempt to find a happy medium, but ultimately it created a lot of confusion. Even without the Helix town is relatively safe, and the decision to remove the game mechanic was made.

However, the inn itself still needs to be a combat free location if only to ensure none of the camp's irreplaceable things get damaged. We also want the inn to be a location where players feel safe bringing delicate items (such as musical instruments) without concern that combat might break them. This is the reason it still exists in the Spinning Jenny.

Categories: Encounter Rules | Setting


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