OOC Info A Profusion of Rum and Coconuts!

[Gossamer]

Tonight marks the end of Spring 521 A.V. Tomorrow is the official start of Summer 521. Please act accordingly and get your placeholders in and your job threads done. Every thread that's not completed at this point is considered grandfathered. You can finish them at leisure but don't start any new ones in Spring.

I will have the new calendar up this week and a new registry up tomorrow.

Happy Summer!


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[Gossamer]

Hi Guys!

Just checking in with you. If you are playing in Syka this season, please register in the Character Registry and answer the questions as best as you can.

If you need a job, The Syka Employment Guide is your location to peruse what is available. Remember, jobs that require you to go out in the jungle mean you have to have EXPERT level WS or always be with another PC/NPC that does... so I discourage people from getting jobs that restrain their capacity to function. If the job you want isn't listed, don't hesitate to suggest it. But whatever you do, make sure you have some ability to pay living expenses of common or higher.

Remember, that thread says:

Before anyone gets approval for Employment, they must complete the REQUIRED Syka introduction thread where they arrive in Syka, talk to one or more of the Founders, and get permission to live and work here. That thread is your gateway to employment, housing, etc. It can be solo'd or moderated. But it must be one of the first things you do in Syka before anything else. It clearly states this in the Codex.

So once you decide what sort of job you want, let me know by posting IN the employment guide. You must have your intro thread well underway or done. If you can pay your living expenses through starting coin, contest winnings, etc... you don't have to work. You can hang out on the beach and be a bum.

Intro threads - They are required, but I don't need to moderate them. I really enjoy moderating them and will be happy to post to yours. But you can solo it if you'd like. Almost all the NPCs in Syka are available for you to use... including the Founders. However, if you do solo your intro thread, you'll need to arrange jobs/loans with me ooc in the above way. That's done through PMs.

That leads me to loans. If you take out a loan, you must TRACK that loan and make payments faithfully just like you do irl. The thread for that is The Syka Housekeeping Thread - Lands And Loans. If you take out a loan, track it here.

If anyone needs anything - Let me know. I'll be happy to help.

[Gossamer]

Hi folks!

Just dropping a note to say at Midnight tonight the season changes and it officially becomes Winter. We will be getting a new calendar in Syka, new challenges, and new plots for the city to jump into. We will have a few new PCs joining the ranks this next season including yet another Kelvic! Kelvics are my 6favorite... as you all know.

I'll focus on getting the city grading done early this month and make sure everyone is having a good time. If you can grade your own threads or are an official grader, please consider helping clear grade ques game-wide because a lot of people are waiting!

Thanks!

Gossamer

[Gossamer]

Hey Folks!

The Calendar is up so I hope you enjoy the season. If you need help with your trinket ability power, let me know. We can discuss. Chat is also a good place for ideas. If anyone finished the last season's tasks, let me know. I'll reward appropriately. I am going to add a few new businesses to Syka this season.

Randal is going to full time retire from construction and open a surf shop to sell surfboards, paddleboards, and lessons.

Tony Swiftwater is going to take a wife finally. Dawn has moved from Riverfall to Syka to start a clothing shop. She's been working at the Red Diamond in Riverfall and is starting a shop of her own.

If anyone would like to see any more businesses open, let me know.

Goss


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[Gossamer]

Hey Folks!

Just a quick note to remind you that you have one week left of this season and thus one week left to get those 50K words in and get that little gift permanent on your PC. If you have hardly gotten started, no worries. I've actually seen people bust out these sorts of word counts easily enough in shorter amounts of time. Just try! You'll never know until you give it a shot. There's also the seasonal challenge to fulfill. I will grant quest coupons (subject to approval) to those that finish the challenges.

Next season, we are having a bit of darkness hit Syka... and everyone will fall under a very shadowy spring gloom. We had gifts this season. That means we need to do something dark and nasty this coming one. I hope regardless, you all enjoy. Get those job threads done, and fill in placeholders! Remember, seasonal jobs are only paid back one season, so if you are behind on your job threads, get the previous seasons' done first. I'm one of those people. I need to write another job thread for last season to make sure my PC gets counted.

You aren't alone!

Reminder: If you want to leave town or come to town, you can always roll a 1D100 at the season change and if you get 90 or above you can take a wind eagle to any location in the game and make your travel days, not weeks or seasons. May the odds be ever in your favor. I thought I'd remind you in case you want to get out of town before bad things start happening.

Goss

[Gossamer]

Greetings Sykans!

I hope this season change finds you all well! It was a whirlwind of a season with its ups and downs. Most of us had challenges in and out of character and I want to commend you all for getting through it.

I see that some of you indeed did hit your word counts. I can see that some of you tried like hell to do it and just maybe missed the mark by a tiny bit - in some cases just 2k!!! I hate to see some of you miss your marks by such a little tiny bit of word count, and February has only 28 days! It sucks because some months give you up to 31! So unfair! In that light, I'm going to give you a free day... a pretend leap year... to wrap up those 50K word counts. But be warned... this is the ONLY slack you'll get.

Next season? No slack! And if you participated in this season's gift challenge, you will automatically enrolled and be assigned a curse! There will be a word count requirement to remove said curse... and active threading towards that goal. If you are new to the Syka scene, you have an option to join or not depending on your mood!

If anyone finished the Syka Challenges, let me know! You need to update the post you did in the Calender thread, and list everything you accomplished where etc. The rewards for doing that are a choice of coupons (always subject to my approval of course - especially for the quest items that are super rare or one of a kind).

I will give you guys until the Calendar for Spring 522 is posted to update your posts in the still-current calendar thread and update everything including your word counts. When your posts are updated, your rewards will be handed out. It will not be tomorrow, as you have a free day to finish your word counts. But it could be ANY time after tues... so update update update.

There's no reward for going over 50K... but a genuine thanks for keeping Syka open. I will consider allowing those who go over the set word count next season to gift their excess count to someone that is struggling to rid themselves of the curse for whatever reason... but that's just a consideration atm.

I'm open to suggestions for next season as always. My PMs and DMs are always available.

I hope everyone enjoyed the old and looks forward to the new. Hurry and finish up your threads which all become Grandfathered now! And if you have old job threads, remember, they can only be one season old to count towards payment. So everything Fall can't be counted after midnight tonight.

Happy Season Change!

Goss


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[Gossamer]

The Character Registry and the Seasonal Calendar events are up. Follow instructions carefully. Post your Calendar posts with your dice roll numbers so we can start selecting curses in order of highest to lowest. Good luck on ridding yourselves of the curses. I'll organize a group quest for finding the source of why we are all cursed if there is enough interest. Let me know. My PC can't play... I'm mean like that.

You have until SUNDAY to get your word counts from last season posted up, to see if you have qualified for the Seasonal Challenge, to update your Calendar posts to let me know if you hit word count etc... and if you earned a coupon tell me which one of course. I'll have all your SS threads updated if you retained your gifts.

If I can help anyone in any way this season let me know. A couple of you were interested in buying/building homes, new jobs, and property in general. Let's get on that. Loans are available from The Founders. I hope a lot of you take advantage of the atmosphere and contests we've had lately and buy homes or invest in property. If we get new people in the city, from migration or just new PCs... make them feel welcome.

I think there was something else but it's awfully late for me to be up so I'm fading fast. I'll see you all on the flip side!

Goss

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[Gossamer]

Hi Sykans!

Just a quick note. If you have not got confirmation from me on employment in Syka this season... meaning I haven't specifically told you that I updated your SS thread or even gave you an SS thread... I DO NOT HAVE IT DONE.

Remind me until I get you that SS thread. Some jobs are pending two businesses... a surf shop and a building company that are moving into Syka this season. I need to get those in this week. The surf shop is owned by Randal. The Building Company is a new PC situation.

I have a few other shops planned... little things. A kite/whirlygig type beach store and an exotic animal pet type shop. I also need to put in some Ixam housing because we have about twenty in the city now. That will probably be in the storm shelter since its perfectly big and cave-like for Ixam to be comfortable in. You will see them hanging out tame as can be looking to hook up with some folks who might want to befriend one or at least the use of one since they are sociable. There is no tack in the city for them atm... but we'll get to that.

Did I forget anything? I'm not sure. PM me if you are unsure you are all good to go in the city. And if you post up a thread for me ... REMIND me.

Goss


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[Gossamer]

Hi Folks.

I just wanted to point out I added some new locations today. I have NOT finished the Children's Pavilion, but I added it anyhow so I could not loose any work. The main hangup is finishing the NPCs in the list beneath the description. I'll work on it tomorrow with fresh eyes.

But in the mean time, Syka now has.....

A Tranquility Center - For meditation, yoga, flux, unarmed combat and a few other things. You can go get a massage as well. The space can be rented out for events as well.

Creature Comforts - This is in essence an exotic pet supply store for pets and pet food, supplies, etc. The lady that owns it is also a Vet. So take sick pets to her. She doesn't have 'stock' per say of pets, but she will randomly have creatures she's nursing back to health, litters of various baby things, etc. So the actual availability of things varies.

Standing Tall - This is a building center... It's Syka's version of Lowes or Home Depot without the wood. Go to the Sawmill for the wood. Go to ST for everything else. You can also get your building project contractors there.

Ride The Waves Board Shop - This is your typical hawaiian surf shop with a board workshop below and retail space above. You can go on excursions in this location or get private lessons with Randal.

Then we have the Children's Pavilion.. its a Drykas tent erected over a wooden platform and furnished. It houses the orphans Syka was recruiting from other cities to help flesh out their population. I'll have it finished tomorrow. It just needs the NPCs fleshed out. Feel free to involve the children in antics.

And finally the GRADE QUE. It's getting huge. I'm a little confused why graders aren't grading their own threads... please do so if you can. I will hit all the other ones up starting with a few a day until I get them done. I'm seriously grading burnt out... I have been for seasons since that time I was grading the entire site which was one to ten threads a day .... I just can't keep that up and can't stand to grade much these days. I will though... if anything to prevent others from having too.. and I'll get our que (and the outpost que) cleaned out as soon as I can. But again, if you are a grader, GRADE YOUR OWN STUFF.

Goss


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[Gossamer]

I added a few things to the Codex. Just a heads up.

Any questions, just ask me... or ask here for the group. Or ask in chat. I'm not pickly where.

✨ Mounts And Companion Animals

Animals in Syka mainly consist of things found in the jungles including bright parrots, monkeys, and a million sorts of small mammals. This should seem obvious, but to some players, it is not. Animals common outside of Syka, such as horses, often do very poorly there. The reason this occurs is that there is very little grazable fodder for such creatures. The question has been asked about importing hay for mounts, however, such things aren’t really feasible. Why? Hay was not baled until relatively late in human history with the onset of the industrial revolution and mechanical harvesting methods. To import hay any other way, one would have to ship loose hay which would be prone to molding in the dank conditions of a ship’s bowels or pose a major fire hazard. Plus, the fact that loose hay by volume takes up a huge amount of room for a relatively low payoff. One almost needs to condense hay (bale it) to ship it. And until that happens, The Veronica will not import horses to Syka unless it is a very special situation (say a Bloodbane that is carnivorous).

Dogs and cats (so long as they don’t have thick coats) do well in Syka. Birds common other places such as crows, ravens, hawks, etc also seemingly do fine.

Animals that are far more feasible in Syka as draft and mounts include Ashta which are small tuskless elephants and Jungle Ixam. Ixam are ridable lizards. However, since there are no individuals in Syka that raise or breed these animals, a PC would have to go through a great deal of threadwork to get one of these animals unless circumstances in the city change as the overall city plot evolves. New characters cannot start with Ashta or Ixam but must acquire them in thread.

• Ashta value starts at 300 for a young untrained individual and goes from there, with fully trained adult elders valued at around 2,000 GM.
• Jungle Ixam start out at 400 (egg), 450 (young), 700 (juvenile), 800 (young adult), 1000 (adult), 2,500 (elder) GM.

In Winter of 521 A.V., Syka rescued a large group of Ixam in the jungle that had been captured by an invasive mage force. They brought the Ixam to Syka and now they run wild, often sheltering in The Storm Shelter or on Garden Beach.

There is tack available for these animals and most are trained to ride or be pack animals. Players can tame individual Ixam and use them as mounts, though when not in use they will run wild with their lounges. They feel most comfortable in groups of three or four, though their lounges (a group of lizards) can be sometimes more.

They tend to be more active at night because they spend their days soaking in shallow streams to cool off. They are excellent hunters. They can carry half their own body weight without being unencumbered. They can carry ¾ of their body weight in rider and gear while moving at half speed. They can drag up to five times their weight.

** The Veronica will not ship horses to Syka. Captain James will patiently explain why to anyone who wants to argue as to why. James will not take bribes to ship them anyhow.

✨ Cenote & Fresh Water Sources

Pure drinkable water in Falyndar is often hard to find. Any sort of settlement or permanent camp needs a freshwater source that is safe to consume. Stagnent water in the jungle is not safe to drink and conveys a whole host of problems to most sentient creatures. Stomach aches, vomiting, and disentary often result in the consumption of this type tainted water. Other diseases are also common. And because of the type of porous soil in rainforests, digging wells is not preferred and does not guarantee safe drinking water. Due to the fact that most of the rivers and streams come into contact with stagnant water in the course of their risings and fallings - depending on weather and rainfall - they are most usually contaminated and unsafe to drink as well.

The vast majority of freshwater is collected via rainfall in cisterns that are housed on roofs and in water storage systems. The people in and around Syka can also collect water from plants such as vines, roots, and palm trees. Water can often be collected from condensation since the jungle is often thick with humidity.

The Maw Peninsula is basically a flat piece of limestone protruding out into the Suvan Sea. This landmass is scattered with caves and cenotes which host a huge number of distinctive locations. This vast network of fractures drains the rainwater from the surface into many vast underground river systems which in turn charge the Syka River and drain into the Suvan. Some of these underground fractures from cenotes. Cenotes can be in various stages of development and are constantly evolving. They tend to house freshwater that is potable, with each individual cenote often forming a microcosm with its own species. It’s very difficult to know the exact number of how many cenotes are out there in the Falyndar jungle but there are over a dozen in the immediate vicinity of Syka, with more being discovered as the people of Syka grow bolder and more familiar with the jungle.

• CAVES - Caves, sometimes called Solution Caverns, are naturally acidic groundwater seeping through cracks in the limestone bedrock dissolves areas of softer rock lying beneath the hard surface crust. Over time, this process creates large undergound caverns roofed with only a thin layer of surface limestone.
  
• YOUNG CENOTE - As erosion continues, this thin roof eventually collapses, leaving an open, water-filled hole.
  
• MATURE CENOTE - Over hundreds of years, erosion gradually fills the cenote with organic and mineral debris, reducing its depth.
  
• DRY CENOTE - As erosion continues, the cenote may completely fill, becoming a dry, shallow basin supporting trees and other vegetation.