Squeakening

Spring has arrived in New Ognos—but something’s gone horribly wrong. Instead of the usual critters nesting and hatching, the island is swarming with mouse hybrids: drakemice, serpentmice, woolymice, buzzmice—if it breathes, it's squeaking, and if it squeaks, it's... laying eggs?!

No one's sure what caused it. A magical misfire? A rogue spell? A Guild intern who shouldn’t have been touching that? What’s clear is this: the hybrids are multiplying, and their eggs are absolutely everywhere—clogging chimneys, bobbing in tidepools, even turning up in pockets that were definitely empty yesterday.

The Guilds are urging all settlers to assist in containment. That means: grab a basket, ignore the squeaking, and collect every egg you can find. Before they hatch. Again.

In Character

• No one knows why this is happening. Alchemical accident? Magical pollen? Curse? Fey prank?
• Settlers are overwhelmed but also a little charmed. There are egg-collecting competitions, bribes, and whisper networks about rare hybrid sightings.
• Some eggs hatch explosively. Some burst into glitter and vanish. Others hatch the second they’re touched. A few grow legs and sprint away, giggling. One reportedly whistled the opening bars of a sea shanty before rolling into the ocean. Another just squeaks every night at exactly 3:12 AM like a particularly annoying smoke alarm.

Out of Character

• Players will automatically collect 1 egg for every 100 words written, this is cumulative so if you write one 631 word post and one 545 word post your total is 1,176 words & 11 eggs.
  • This is tracked for you on the Leaderboard!
• Bonus eggs can be collected through completion of various tasks, outlined below! Please reply in this channel (#the-squeakening) to turn in tasks for bonus eggs! Signe will manually update the leaderboard on her end.

DURATION: April 18th - June 15th

SPENDING EGGS: Players can spend collected eggs in the Squeakening Shoppe (#squeakening-shoppe); the Shoppe will close on June 29th.

Bonus Tasks

OOC TASKS: You do not need to specify; ex: "Completed household task" instead of "Did the dishes" is fine

• Any kind of writing (non-RP included): +1 egg per day
• Work on a personal project (art, coding, etc.): +1 egg per day
• Complete a household task (laundry, dishes, etc.): +2 eggs per day
• Declutter, clean, or organize something (desk, inbox, phone, etc.): +1 egg per day
• Eat your frog (complete a task you've been putting off): +1 egg per day
• Go outside for at least 10 minutes: +1 egg per day
• Personal wellness (shower, exercise, journaling, etc.): +2 eggs per day
• Take a proper break (rest, game, nap, etc.): +1 egg per day
• Hydrate: +1 egg per day
• Submit to any database: +1 egg per submission
• Submit a bug report, typo fix, or suggestion (includes items, talents, features, etc.): +1 egg per submission
• Create or update a character layout (including adoptable layouts): +1 egg per layout
• Invite a writing friend to Kinship (whether or not they join): +5 eggs per friend
• Invent a hybrid species: +1 egg per creation

IC TASKS: Each post can include up to two bonus claims.

• Create or answer an "Any" post: +1 egg
• Encounter a hybrid species in-character: +1 egg
• Collect an egg in-character: +1 egg
• Be injured or otherwise inconvenienced by a hybrid: +1 egg
• Talk another character into helping you collect eggs: +1 egg
• Lose track of an egg: +1 egg
• Hear a rumor about a legendary hybrid: +1 egg
• Chase a legendary hybrid and fail to catch it: +1 egg
• Successfully capture a legendary hybrid in a post: +1 egg + small bonus prize
• Have an egg hatch in an inconvenient place (e.g., bath, bed): +1 egg
• Have a hatchling follow you around: +1 egg
• Try to sell an egg (successfully or not): +1 egg
• Attempt to study, analyze, or dissect an egg: +1 egg

Hatchling Species

All are mouse-somethings, and players are encouraged to invent or encounter any variant they like! Some known variations include:

• Mouseturtles – adorable, retractable, and prone to rolling downhill in groups
• Drakemice – smoke-puffing, squeaky, and dramatic about everything
• Serpentmouselets – gliding, ribbon-like squeakers that wrap around hats and necks
• Buzzmice – bee-mouse hybrids that hum when they’re happy and nest in honey jars
• Mousicorns – one has been spotted. Tiny horn. Very smug.
• Woolymice – sheep-mouse creatures with impossible fluff, prone to static shocks
• Chitterhawks – mouse-bird hybrids that caw-squeak from rooftops and divebomb snacks
• Whiskercats - large mice the size of housecats with the same attitude. Whiskercats are known to constantly cause mischief, especially by knocking things off counters, glaring at everyone as they pass by, and squeaking to beg for attention until they have had enough and swat you away. Submitted by Renny

The Mother's Day Slimelings

The eggs just keep coming. And hatching. And... mutating? Turns out, some of the Rift-exposed mouse hybrids have started laying not just eggs, but weird eggs -- ones that squish, shimmer, wobble, and hatch into something far stranger than a squeaky furball. The result? A sudden surge of newborn slimes across New Ognos. They're small. They're fast. They're sticky. And they're putting everything in their mouths. The Guilds are begging settlers to step in before these things coat the entire island in magic goo. Slime wrangling may not have been on your springtime bingo card, but here we are. Grab your cookies and try not to get slimed!

Slime Taming

This is an entirely OOC mini-game you can play at any time between now and June 15th, 2025 in the #squeakening-slimelings channel.

• Each player can pick three characters to participate; post the template below in this channel to get started!

• A randomly generated slime will appear; characters can choose to tame the slime or try to run/avoid the slime.
  • The area you select may influence what type of Slimes appear!

• Each character will receive 10 Slime Cookies.
  • Easy Slimes are more common, and a bit weaker; they will cost 1 cookie to tame.
  • Medium Slimes are 'average' rarity/strength; they will cost 2 cookies to tame.
  • Hard Slimes are super powerful, strange, or quirky; they will cost 5 cookies to tame.
  • Rouge Slimes may also show up and ask for something else (like an item, coppers, or Squeakening Eggs) in exchange for something special!

• When all cookies are consumed, the character can select one slime to keep. All other slimes will be handed over to the Wild Wardens in exchange for a randomized prize. These slimes may come up as bounty rewards or other special drops down the line!

Template:

**Character Name:**

**Area:** [Any discovered area + any open Rift]

Slime Evolution

Once you’ve tamed a slime, you can participate in an OOC bonding and evolution mini-game. This game allows your character to build a unique connection with their slime and shape its traits, abilities, and final form. There’s no time limit on this phase!

How it works:

• AP is spent on bonding actions that generate XP.
• Each bonding session begins with 10AP.
  • You may only have one active bonding session per slime at a time.
  • Cooldown: 2 real-life days between sessions per slime.
• Slimes evolve every 10 XP, up to a maximum of 6 evolutions (60 XP). At each evolution, a randomized list of options is presented, and the player may select one. Options may include:
  • Traits
  • Abilities
  • Mutations
  • Size
  • Companion Upgrade Offer
  • Character Upgrade Offer
• Companion and Character upgrades may each appear a maximum of 2 times per slime, randomly across evolution menus. If both offers are declined twice, they won’t appear again. If accepted, the slime gains a final evolution bonus, and exits the mini-game permanently.
• Slimes also receive half of their Slime Evolution XP as Pet Progression Points (e.g., if a slime earns 6 Evolution XP, they also receive 3 Pet Progression Points).

Bonding Actions:

• Feed Slime: -2AP
  • Options: Fruits, Veggies, Meats, Insects, Eggs, Sweets, or Mystery
  • The slime's personal preferences (Favorite, Liked, Neutral, Disliked) will determine how many XP (0 - 5XP) it gains.
  • First discovery of a preference grants +1 AP and a bonus trait.
  • Subsequent feeds of a Favorite food(s) may grant quirks or minor passive traits.

• Observe Slime: -1AP
  • Grants between 1 - 3XP for each attempt; you may also discover a bonus quirk or affinity.

• Let Slime Explore: -3AP
  • Grants between 2 - 6XP for each attempt.
  • Chance to unlock rare or mutant features that may affect future evolution menus.

• Play with Slime: -2AP
  • Grants between 2 - 4XP for each attempt.
  • May cause the slime to develop quirks, abilities, or aesthetic changes.

• Wildcard: -5AP
  • Grants up to 10XP per attempt... but results and rewards are very unpredictable!
  • May also include: XP windfall, sudden mutation, buffs, AP refund, or surprise reaction.

Template

**Character Name:**  

**Slime Name:**  

**First AP Use:** [Choose an action from the bonding list]