Keys, Nexus Mechanics, and Journals

[starlightmods]

Keys




Each character, upon their initial arrival to the Starlight Isles and the Last Sea, will discover an ornate Key tucked somewhere onto their person.

There aren't a great many doors available on the Starlight Isles, but upon using one of the Keys on a door, characters will eventually discover something remarkable: a Keyholder has simply to think of a location in their own world and whatever door they happen to be using will automatically connect them to a door in that location. This works in the reverse as well: the Key, when used on any door in the character's home world, will take them directly back to the last door they used on the Last Sea.

Yes, the Key may be used as a method of fast-travel in the character's home world.

Keys are only good for accessing the Last Sea and the original world of the character. Keys cannot access multiple worlds.

If two characters are from the same series and the same point in canon, their Keys will access the same world and may be used interchangeably. If characters are from the same world but not the same canon point, the Keys will access each point in time differently.

If metal keys and pin-and-tumbler locks are outdated or never developed in a particular world, the Key will alter upon arriving in that world to fit whatever sort of lock applies—be it cardkeys, chips implanted in the user's wrist, etc. Upon arrival back on the Last Sea, the Key will revert to its original, metal skeleton key shape.

Keys can be destroyed, but will always appear good as new in the original Keyholder's pocket the next morning. Keys may be lost in a Keyholder's home world, but there's no safety net for this eventuality! Consider this a chance for an epic quest, my friends. Lose your Keys at your own risk!





Travel Between Worlds




Starlight Isles takes place in two separate settings: the Last Sea, including any and all islands within the sea, and each character's home world.

Each "home world" is under the direct jurisdiction of that character's player (or group of players, if more than one character from a specific canon is in the game). Home worlds may be used as the setting for logs; the journals do not function outside of the Last Sea.

While a character is on the Last Sea no time will pass in their home world. For characters with castmates from the exact same canon point (ie: those sharing the same world), reality will bend a bit to allow all characters involved to continue functioning. One character staying on the Last Sea for three weeks will not completely freeze all of the other characters stuck in that person's home world.

Yes, it is possible to use the Key system to visit the home world of another character. Several caveats apply, however:

To enter the home world of another character, a character must have done one of two things: either travel with the Keyholder in question or steal their Key.

Travelling with Keyholders: This method is far and away the easiest method of visiting other worlds. The guest does not need to know anything about the world they're visiting, because the Keyholder is the one visualizing the world and opening the door. All the guest has to do is step through the door.

Stealing Keys: Yes, this can and may in fact occur. Thefts will of course be discussed and okayed by all players involved, whether or not characters are equally as informed. A stolen Key is good only if the character using it has some basic knowledge of the world they are attempting to access (having spoken to the Keyholder from that world about it at some point, spying on them, information-gathering with other characters, etc), and until they are familiar with the world itself (having spent at least several days there) they cannot control the location they come out inside that world.

Characters' appearances do not alter upon arriving in a new world. Yes, this may make them very, very out of place. Try not to get them killed, will you? Furthermore, the language barrier can and will be a very real problem for certain worlds and travellers. Arriving via Key with your best buddy in Japan does not guarantee that you will suddenly know Japanese.

Items and non-sapient beings may be brought through doorways and onto the Last Sea, as long as that item/creature/whathaveyou will fit through the doorway. NPCs cannot pass through the doorways, even if accompanied by a Keyholder—Keyholders are the only sapient beings that can travel between worlds, even if not currently in possession of their Key. Items may be brought back from the Last Sea as well, though any item originating from the Last Sea except the Keys and journals will disintegrate into dust within ten minutes of arriving in the character's home world. All items originally brought to the Last Sea may be brought back with no problem.

Characters whose Keys have been stolen are still considered Keyholders, but have no way to access their home world until they regain their Key. Thankfully it is possible to live quite comfortably on the Last Sea indefinitely.

If a Keyholder should happen to lose their Key to someone else, and that other character subsequently drops the game, fear not! The Key will return, shiny and good as new, into the original Keyholder's pocket the next morning.

Keyholders must accompany guests both on the initial and return trips from their home world, or they must open the door back to the Last Sea and allow the guest to go back without them. Keyholders left in a foreign world without their host and without the appropriate Key are trapped in that world. Stranding a Keyholder in a foreign world is a very serious matter, and should be discussed to every player's satisfaction before the fact.





Journals




Upon waking in Arrival, each character will find a leather-bound journal sitting on the table inside the hut. The journal has leather cords/ties so that it can be tied shut. Each journal has a fancy fountain pen tucked inside.

The journals serve as the "network" portion of the game; each journal connects to all the others, meaning that anything written in one--unless explicitly "locked" to an individual or small group--will be visible by everyone else possessing a journal. Video, text, and voice entries are all acceptable. Please note that there is no real interface inside the journal for switching between entry styles. There's going to be some trial and error at first, figuring out how the bloody things work (they respond to intent). The only exception is "locking" entries, which can be accomplished by simply writing the names of the person(s) you're addressing at the top of the page.

Very important: The journals only function as a network on the Last Sea. When in the characters' home worlds, older entries still play/read as they did originally but anything new written in the book will simply be that: something written in a book. There is no cross-dimension form of communication at this time.

So for now, feel free to misfire/accidentally post at will!

Journals may be used by any Keyholder, no matter the owner, opening the possibility of posting as someone else through their journal (drunk posts encouraged!). All entries are automatically tagged with the name of the journal's owner, NOT the specific person using the journal at that exact moment. Anonymouse posts are not possible except in the one instance listed below:

Journals can be destroyed, just like Keys, but journals do not regenerate into the character's possession the same way Keys do. If your journal goes kaput, the best thing to do would be to pop back down to Arrival and steal one out of one of the newbie huts. New journals will take a while to attune to the character; older entries cannot be accessed for a period of one week, and for that week all entries coming from the character will be helpfully anonymous. The original journals gifted to each Keyholder upon arrival are already attuned to them.

Journals may also be stolen or lost. There's no backup for this, except to go kick the shit out of whoever stole it and take it back. If a journal is lost, you'll probably want to go get a new one (as mentioned above). Once a new journal is attuned, the old journal will go blank and no longer be attuned to you anymore.