There was a foul stench in the air.

It stung deep in her nostrils as she took a good look around. She knew this place and she would have plenty of time to get to know it better; she knew that, too. She knew the spiderwebs draping down from the ceilings, and she knew the moisture that stubbornly clinged to the cold, stone walls. She knew the dripping in the nearby pond, with its never ending drip-drip-drop and -- most importantly -- she knew exactly what she was going to do with all of it.

The plan had been in motion for several months already and it was nearing such completion that it could be executed. Soon, soon, she thought to herself while letting the putrid smell of the old and unused cavern intoxicate her. It was thrilling. So much that it sent shivers up her spine and she could barely contain her anticipation, running her fingers along the stone pillar's column and leaving blank trails in the moisture that coated it. Before her eyes danced the shadows of a possible future and she couldn't help herself as her tongue ran across her already wet lips.

Pulling a wicked smirk, her eyes fell on the woman next to her. Expectantly, she stared back.

"Find me some sheep."

::: What is Kidnapped?

It's that time again. For those of you who haven't participated in Kidnapped before, it's an event chain that's gone strong for a few years now on CotH with the first event kicking off the ground as early as 2010. Since then, I've ran four more of these events and while there's been bouts of drama and unpleasantries in the OOC and IC environment, overall... People've had a good time and a lot of players have taken something good from the events to apply to their characters and future roleplay.

Kidnapped is essentially an event designed to force people together. I came up with the idea back when I was a fresh little GM in the days of my... CotH youth, so to speak. Since then I guess it's caught on, seeing as every event draws a significant crowd and absorbs most of the RP on the server for its duration. I've heard that the concept has been used on other servers as well, and I'm not sure if they were inspired by me or not. I'm going to go ahead and feel a bit flattered, either way. ... Moving on...

The concept of Kidnapped is to snatch a bunch of different kinds of people from all walks of life and put them in the same restricted area with a common threat looming about the outside, keeping them in place. They are forced to interact with eachother, for good and bad, and these are usually people who ICly would've otherwise had no reason whatsoever to meet or interact in any sense prior to being involved in the event. The idea, when it started, was to be a catalyst for character development and finding new RP connections on the server. I believe it has been largely successful despite it's various bumps and setbacks. I mean, Kidnapped 4 and 5 still hold the highest view- and postcounts in the Event Planning forum...

... And I'm running another one. Hopefully people'll enjoy it this time, too.




::: The special rules of Kidnapped.



I'll be reverting to the old magic-suppressing rules of Kidnapped in order to keep things consistent and to enforce the consequences of character actions in this one. Besides, there's a certain charm to being powerless when you're used to having your magic to protect you. So, the rule for magic during this Kidnapped is simple: None. There will be no use of any kind of magic during Kidnapped, and I won't try to explain how this is possible. Many things are possible within the WoW universe and we already know that some classes are capable of Anti-Magic feats, so the NPCs behind this event will be more than capable of nulling out any casting to render all magic useless and it's users powerless. This is very important to remember, if you intend to take part in the event. No magic. Zilch. Period. (Worgen will be able to enter the event in their Human forms or their Worgen forms, whichever they are captured in. If you are captured in Human form, however, and your shift is triggered somehow emotionally, you will be unable to shift back to a Human. The Human form is the more unstable one and can be disabled the normal way, but not transformed back into once you transition into your Worgen form.)

On the bright side, however, there will be no presence of collars this time around. At least not from the start. Whether collars will sneak their way into the event later or not is entirely up to the Player Characters and their actions throughout the event.

Regarding IC enforcement. There will be NPCs, like I've mentioned further down in this post, that'll keep the characters in check for the most part. They won't be visible all the time, but you'll definitely know when they're around. They'll be played by DMs/GMs as required and will be there for flavour, fun and games, and fairness and adherence to the rules of the event and the server. Keep them in mind and respect them when they come around. Like with past Kidnapped events, don't expect to be free of consequence when you attack or defy an enforcer NPC.


MUST READ. Simply click the Spoiler open.



::: Participating in Kidnapped.

This Kidnapped is going to be different from the rest of the series. Namely, there'll only be one faction and no other. No guards this time around. Mind-boggling, isn't it? This time, all of the participants are going to be captives in one way or another. All of you were snatched from somewhere in your lives, using various different methods and people to pluck you from your different walks of life and places in the world(s). This Kidnapped is returning closer to its roots and the original idea I had for the very first one back in 2010, so it's taking a whole new spin this time around. Still a bunch of kidnapped people, but no outside menace except for a number of NPCs that you'll have limited interaction with. This time, all the threats will be coming from within. Social discord, conflict and betrayal.

Who gets Kidnapped? Anyone, really. From living to undead, and spread between the wide variety of character classes. The area has been tailored in such a way that any kind of character will be able to be tossed in and enjoy the event, though my personal recommendation would be to stick to living characters simply because the undead tend not to have the same emotional response to what's going on. (And, whoever's behind the kidnappings would most likely prioritize the living.) You may still submit undead characters (Forsaken and Death Knights) as you wish, though keep in mind that they might not draw the same kind of development from the event as a whole. It depends on the character, of course!



Joining the event is actually fairly simple this time around. You take the application form I'll provide a little further below and you PM it to me (Loxmardin) on the forums, titled "Kidnapped" or something similarly obvious so it's easier for me to organize the applications in my PM inbox. You may sign up all the way to the start of the event as I won't be writing any intrigues this time around (but I may write a flavour post at some point). Late entries are also permitted provided new applicants take the time to read this post and send in a new application of their own so that every participant goes through the same process and gives appropriate tribute to the DMs when joining.

Due to the restricted space in the event area and for the sake of fluidity in the In Character storyline, I would advise against submitting multiple characters to the event. I would rather a player focus more on a single character and further their development to get the most of the event and the interactions with other characters. If you really want to play more than one character and feel you can handle it (fingers crossed), feel free to submit more than one application (one per character).

There is no Player limit.







::: The already Kidnapped.

Every dog has his day.

Now, to send Hrodebert, Maeia, or Mathieu...

Or Henry I guess. :|

There we go. Updated the roster with the first applicants in the order the applications have come in. (Myes. Lambs to the slaughter.)

To note, I also updated rules 7 and 8 in the OOC rules section, so people should take a gander at those. I also added a bit about Worgen transformations in the in-game rules section at the end of the paragraph regarding the magic-blockage.

Man, that's a really bad time for me- my big sis's birthday and one of her best friends (and someone I totally enjoy hanging with) coming to visit during the event. :/

If plans change though, I still might enter with my mute Tauren, just to give her some exposure to the world outside Thunder Bluff and Orgimmar. I do like her, she's just... quiet.

I haven't been able to make -one- kidnapped event. Not for nearly four years now... And it looks like I won't be breaking that trend any time soon. I'll be out of the country then. :C

You need to stop being away when I run events, Belth. :c

Also, as a sidenote...

I do want to discourage characters who've participated in the Kidnapped event chain previously. I won't forbid them, but I think the experience could be pretty rewarding for a new character who won't recognize the event patterns. And, admittely, it takes away a little bit of the punch if people at the start of the event start going off about "OH, I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON" who've been there previously.

Granted, things won't be exactly the same this time around, but still.

Huh. The population isn't 50% blood elf.

That's new.

... I am SO mad right now. I'm going to miss the first week of this because of my early shift at work. All of my rage.

3 Blood Elves (Tyestus, Celonia, Dalariel)
2 Worgen (Joseph, Marquin)
1 Tauren (Bah'tahu)
1 Night Elf (Bananor)
3 Goblins (Wuvvums, Norell, Geoni)
1 Human (Elsamina)
1 Troll (Mokaku)

A pretty nice spread between the races so far.

Orcs too good to get kidnapped.

Or something.

*waves Horde banner energetically*

Quote:(Worgen will be able to enter the event in their Human forms or their Worgen forms, whichever they are captured in. If you are captured in Human form, however, and your shift is triggered somehow emotionally, you will be unable to shift back to a Human. The Human form is the more unstable one and can be disabled the normal way, but not transformed back into once you transition into your Worgen form.)

Made that update to the Worgen transformations in the OP.

*steeples fingers*

I will be using this against you.

brb kil'shi being kidnerps