We hope you all enjoyed the Great Ghost Race!

As this is an annual event, we hope to bring it back at the same time next year. To that end, if you have any suggestions, concerns, what you liked, what you didn't, or whatever else, feel free to post them here.

You can also PM the mods directly or send an email to highseasmods@gmail.com.

Again, we hope you had a great time and have a good weekend!

The Great Ghost Race is a time of oddities, strange weather patterns, unseen dangers and hidden treasures. You can expect something different every week.

Weather and Phenomena for the week of 7/28-7/31

Weather
(This is a world-wide effect, from sea to land to cloud islands.)

The sunset on Monday will take on a greenish tinge and by Tuesday morning the clouds will be thick and low, laced with green light until the end of the race. A roiling mist will rise from the sea, tinted green from the clouds and though it won't obscure the horizon, it will completely cover the sea as if you're sailing on fog. On Tuesday there is little wind and everything seems muted and dull. Even voices don't seem to carry far when outside. There is only the sea and a low insistent hum.

On Wednesday the wind will pick up to brutal speeds, clearing the mist away sending everyone catapulting in the same direction provided it doesn't tear your sails through first. Throughout the day there will be a light rain of rain followed by a heavier, shorter rain of thoroughly annoyed crabs of various species (from fiddler to coconut) that will last for about an hour or so Wednesday evening.

Thursday the wind will be brisk but manageable, the clouds still green but with blue patches of sky starting to break through as you race to the finish.


Phenomena
(World-wide)

The mist on Tuesday will creep up onto the ship on occasion for a minute or two and when it leaves, things will be left behind. Sometimes skeletons of various creatures/people. Sometimes small barnacle encrusted jewels, sometimes mysterious fish with jagged teeth that seem dead until you reach for it and it tries to bite your hand off.

If the mist touches you while it is on deck, it will seem to have no effect, but the next person you touch will become glued to your hand until the mist clears on late Wednesday morning. Additionally, if two people are touched simultaneously by the mist, they will find themselves stuck together until the same time.



Opportunities

Starting on Tuesday morning, all crews will be able to catch fleeting glimpses of a gigantic ghost ship as it plows its way through the waves, laced with green light. The Jolly Roger is in tatters and impossible to make out. All crews will also be able to see this ship anchored somewhere on some day for a few minutes. You will be able to approach and even board the ship, and, should you succeed in escape, you may come away with a magnificent pigeon blood ruby.

Succeeding, however, will require guessing the correct number (1-100). This will work on an individual basis and those that acquire a ruby will not remember what they saw on the ship but be left feeling faintly uneasy. Those that fail will die.

If you wish to play, put your name and your number. The winning number will be re-rolled every entry. If you should lose your roll, you're not obligated to go through with it (so long as you don't attempt to board). However, if you do wish to go through with it and die, your character will be gone for the rest of the race + 3 days and end up back in Port Chance stuffed in a barrel.

Token 3 Winners!

The Shepherds of Justice v. The Hazmats
The Shepherds win at 6 seconds and 31 moves.

The Queens Gambit v. Katabami
Katabami win at 7 seconds.

The Straw Hats v. The Bloody Roses
The Straw Hats win at 6 seconds.

The Spade Pirates v.The Howling Sabers
The Howling Sabers win at 5 seconds.

The Triton's Mistress v. The Corpse King
The Triton's Mistress wins at 5 seconds.

The Maharajan v. The Cephiro
The Maharajan win at 10 seconds.



Finalists
(Meaning these crews each have 3 tokens)

The Maharajan

The Katabami

The Straw Hats



( But wait! There's more! )


To determine the winner and runner ups, each team must complete a puzzle, take a snapshot and send in the times to highseasmods@gmail.com by 11:59PM EST on Wednesday the 30th. While the puzzle can be any picture, it must be a 48-piece jigsaw.

Winners will be announced on the 31st.



If you have any questions, feel free to ask below

The Great Ghost Race is a time of oddities, strange weather patterns, unseen dangers and hidden treasures. You can expect something different every week.

Weather and Phenomena for the week of 7/21-7/27

Weather
(This is a world-wide effect, from sea to land to cloud islands.)

A huge storm will billow up on Monday night, lasting for two solid days into Wednesday evening, flashing green lightning and dumping buckets of rain.

Thursday morning will dawn with heavy oppressive clouds and simmering humidity. The sea will be still as glass and swarms of mosquitoes will rise up to sting and bite well into Friday. They'll clear out by Saturday morning and into Sunday the weather will be bright and sunny, though in the distance-- always just beyond wherever you are, it sounds like someone singing.


Phenomena
(Seas only. Up to you whether or not you encounter it.)

Huge sea monsters will breach the waves at the height of the storm, creatures almost bigger than the mind can conceive with eyes that seem to glow yellow or red. They will show no interest in you unless you attack and, if you should, you'll go down with all hands. No exceptions.

On Sunday you may catch glimpses of People's of Nautilus swimming just under the sea. They will shy away from any contact, however, including those of fishmen/mermaids. But to those who do go in the ocean, you'll find strings of pearls they've generously attached to your keel.


Opportunities

One lucky crew (who chooses the correct number between 1-100 before 11:59pm EST on the 23rd) will find a small patch of seven crystal flowers growing on their deck. Take good care of them and by the first they will open to reveal tiny shard pieces, a little smaller than a shrew's eye. In addition, these flowers, if kept after, will chime in a low tone when there is shard related event danger near.

As always, put the crew/ship name in the header.

Token 2 Winners!

The Shepherds of Justice v. The Hazmats
The Hazmats win at 6 seconds.

The Queens Gambit v. Katabami
Katabami win at 9 seconds.

The Straw Hats v. The Bloody Roses
The Straw Hats win at 9 seconds.

The Spade Pirates v.The Howling Sabers
The Spade Pirates win at 5 seconds.

The Triton's Mistress v. The Corpse King
The Corpse King wins at 7 seconds.

The Maharajan v. The Cephiro
The Maharajan win at 11 seconds.




The next maze times will be due by 11:59pm EST on Saturday the 26th.

The Great Ghost Race is a time of oddities, strange weather patterns, unseen dangers and hidden treasures. You can expect something different every week.

Weather and Phenomena for the week of 7/14-7/20

Weather
(This is a world-wide effect, from sea to land to cloud islands.)

A light rain starting on Monday night will produce dazzling rainbows on Tuesday morning, lasting throughout Wednesday. Double, triple, and quadruple rainbows all the way across the sky what does it mean? Unlike ordinary rainbows, however, these reach the sea and you can pass through them. However, doing so will coat the entire ship and everything on it in a thin film of multicolored glittery goop that will take hours to wash out of clothes and hair and leave a faint sparkle trail afterward. The goop acts as an adhesive however, and going through enough of these rainbows will allow you to sail them. However, it's wiser to quit your rainbow surfing by the time the sun goes down on Wednesday because they will suddenly disappear.


Phenomena
(Seas only. Up to you whether or not you encounter it.)

Every night starting on Wednesday, you can see beautiful lights just below the water. Lights that seem to speak to you, that offer you something special if you can just reach out and touch it. Going underwater to reach these lights will put you face to fangs with a very huge, very ugly, very hungry angler fish. And a lot of them. However their lights can be pulled from them (killing them sadly) and will glow for a few weeks afterwards.

Whirlpools will open up in the North and unexpected sink holes in Cloud Islands, sending people not paying attention on the very express elevator down to the sea.


Opportunities

On going through these rainbows on lucky crew will be able to get more than goop. A black pot full of ten golden beans will be left behind, shimmering with a web of internal light. Anyone who eats the beans will be able to move faster, hit harder, and generally be a bamf. They will also hear a faint beautiful melody which will last as long as the bean's effect does. (one bean lasts two hours)


The pot o' beans goes to the member/crew who can answer this riddle. Theme: Creature

Sometimes together, always alone.
Traveling in its colorful home.
Spirals without, body within.
Hidden from danger that comes on fins.

Please put the crew name in the header.

ETA: We should have said FIRST member/crew who can answer this riddle. However since there are two correct answers there will be two pots.

Token 1 Winners!

The Shepherds of Justice v. The Hazmats
Shepherds of Justice win at 7 seconds.

The Queens Gambit v. Katabami
Katabami win at 8 seconds.

The Straw Hats v. The Bloody Roses
The Straw Hats win at 10 seconds.

The Spade Pirates v. The Howling Sabers
The Howling Sabers win at 8 seconds.

The Triton's Mistress v. The Corpse King
The Triton's Mistress win at 10 seconds.

The Maharajan v. The Cephiro
The Maharajan win at 11 seconds.




The next maze times will be due by 11:59pm EST on Saturday the 19th

Maze Times Info Post

The maze itself is here.

Anyone in the crew is welcome to try their hand at the time, but we'll only be accepting one time per crew.

Please email the time to highseasmods@gmail.com. Put the crew/ship name in the subject header and then a screenshot of the time itself in the body of the message.

All times are due by 11:59pm EST on Saturday. Winners will be announced sometime on Sunday.

Maze times work on a weekly basis. In other words, the winners of the mazes submitted on the 12th will receive the first token. After winners are announced on the Sunday of the 13th, the competition will begin for the second token.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here.

The Great Ghost Race is a time of oddities, strange weather patterns, unseen dangers and hidden treasures. You can expect something different every week.

Weather and Phenomena for the week of 7/7-7/13


Weather
(This is a world-wide effect, from sea to land to cloud islands.)

Starting mid-afternoon on Monday, the clouds will roll in, dark and dingy brown at first and around 2pm the sky will break open in a torrent of assorted vegetables, (carrots, onions, potatoes) etc. Fortunate crews may even end up with a very confused chicken or two. About 11pm on Tuesday, the wind will shift to the west and there will be a brief break in the vegetation agitation until around 5am when it will start to hail a mix of brussel sprouts and cabbages well into Wednesday afternoon.

After that is clear skies except for a brief unexplained swarm of frogs, early Saturday morning.

Phenomena
(Seas only. Up to you whether or not you encounter it.)

Whirlpools will open up unexpectedly in the western seas, threatening to crush any unsuspecting ship in the depths of the sea. In the South, throughout the week, Singers can be heard over the waves, ready to lure in unsuspecting sailors into packs of feisty bore sharks in the midst of a feeding frenzy.

Opportunities/Treasure

Those who sign up before 11:59pm EST on Thursday, (and pick a number between 1-100) will have a chance to be nearly nailed on Sunday by a fifty foot long angry, and slightly confused, kraken, plummeting from the sky. Flee if you can, but if you chose to fight it and kill it, you’ll be able to pry off the jewels that have been encrusted sporadically along its tentacles.

Race Day, Q&A!


How is this going to work?
Each crew is paired with a rival, fighting for the island’s token. See this post for more detailed information. In order to determine who gets the token, crews will play the maze game here, screenshot the fastest time, and e-mail it to the mods. More details will be given out in the first maze announcement after the race starts, but please note that each crew may only send in one screenshot per token! Play amongst yourselves to find your best time and then e-mail us. The rival with the fastest time wins the token for that island.

There will be one maze a week and all results must be turned in by 11:59PM EST on that particular Saturday. Crews that do not turn anything in will forfeit the token. If both crews forfeit, the token will become free range, first claim, first served.

On the final days, we’ll have another competition between the six remaining crews to see who ultimately wins the race.

Can I steal another crew’s token?
You can certainly ask the other crew if you can, but whether or not you are able to steal the token is up to them.

Do we have to visit the islands in order? Can our crew go to a different island than the rival crew with a chance at the token?
You may, but the token games are going to be in order. In other words, even if you are at island B in the first week, the game will still be for the token located at island A.

What’s the deal with the NPC crews?
The NPC crews are to use as you like and do whatever you wish with. However, if you end up destroying the crew/killing the captain, please inform the mods just for information’s sake.

How can we travel across the world with these sailing times?
The Great Ghost Race is a chaotic time in terms of currents and winds as Davy Jones stirs underneath the waves. In ooc terms: the sailing times can be hand waved shorter or longer depending on preference/convenience.

Can I kick the Corpse King’s ass?
Because we have an uneven amount of crews participating, the Corpse King is a special character. While an NPC, he still needs to be around so a mod can use him to participate in the maze game. You are welcome to come try and thrash him and if you or your crew is interested in doing so, please send a private plurk to our event mod at handsoplenty.



That is it insofar as information and rules. Should you have any questions, feel free to ask. Most importantly, remember, communication is key to a great game!

Information can be found here


The deadline for signing up for the race is June 28th, 11:59pm EST. Please include your crew/ship name.

Additionally, there will be a versus component to the race. If you absolutely do not wish to interact/compete with another Player Crew, please indicate this as well. (Though you will have to fight NPCs regardless).

Otherwise the mods will randomize who goes up against whom for the island token.



If you have any questions, please ask them under the appropriate thread.