Blue Lacuna — 454 of 475
Aaron A. Reed
Section - ambience
The ambience table of Rebelworld-Outdoors is the Table of Plaza ambience.
Table of Plaza ambience
| freq | start time | end time | text | table | trigger | flag |
| frequent | -- | -- | "With an enormous rumbling, a smoke-spewing train pulling six windowless metal cars flies past on elevated trestles." | -- | train | |
| common | -- | -- | "One of the boxy grey cars comes to a halt, and [one of]two[or]three[or]four[at random] people quickly get out, leaving the hatchway open[if a random chance of 1 in 2 succeeds]. A moment later a pedestrian hops in and, with a cough, the vehicle speeds away[end if]." | |||
| common | -- | -- | "[one of]Muffled shouting come from inside one of the indistinct buildings[or]The sound of children floats down from an open window on an upper story[or]Smells of sizzling meat waft through some window a story above[or]An unpleasant odor lingers for a moment, then is swallowed up again in the general city scent[in random order]." | |||
| uncommon | -- | -- | "[one of]Somewhere a percussive alarm bell rings for a moment, echoing across the plaza before vanishing into silence again.[or]The crowd of pedestrians swells as a group pours out of a nearby building.[or]The boxy vehicles pull to the side as some armored behemoth trundles by.[or]A deep rumbling thrums through the ground for a moment, before being swallowed up by the other noise.[or]A group of children dodge through the pedestrians, the expression on their faces unfamiliar to you, then disappear into the crowd.[or]An old man passes slowly through the crowd, piling discarded litter into a small wheeled cart tugged behind him.[or]Walking slowly, a woman dressed in a great fur coat despite the heat speaks loudly words that your borrowed mind don't bother to translate. Most of the passers-by ignore her.[or]A dozen people in matching red outfits pass quickly by in formation, their gait a strange skipping hop.[in random order]" | |||
| rare | -- | -- | "From a high window above, an old woman throws handfuls of tiny purple squares, which flutter through the air before settling on the ground around you." | |||
| rare | -- | -- | "Two men wearing strange stilt-shoes walk by, frowns on their faces as they scan the crowd warily." | |||
| rare | -- | -- | "A long car drives slowly by, some incomprehensible noise being broadcast from megaphones extending on all sides." |
[BUG: Make City ambience happen more often than Lacuna ambience.]
The pedestrians are a backdrop. They are in Plaza, Room1, Room2, Room3, Room4 and Room5. Understand "people/person/pedestrian/crowd/passers-by/passersby/children/man/woman" as pedestrians. The description is "[if Islander Bombing is happening]Only a few people are in the streets now, rushing hurriedly indoors while glancing in fear at the skies[else]Seas of faces, each intent on some important and personal endeavor, passing by almost too quickly to take in: old faces, young faces, angry, oblivious, crafty, annoyed; frightened faces and weary faces and cynical faces and contented faces. They are the faces of all crowds in all cities. In that, at least, this world seems no different from any other you've found[end if].". Instead of attacking pedestrians: say "You [one of]lash out viciously at the crowd[or]strike out a random face[in random order], and cries and gasps ring out. People back away from you nervously."; increase the rap sheet of DrQuick by 3.
To vague greet pedestrians: say "You approach a[one of]n old woman wrapped in gray, but she[or] tall man in a charcoal suit, but he[or] well-dressed older gentleman, but he[or] woman in a fiery red gown, but she[or] schoolboy in uniform, but he[or] woman dressed in thick green wool, but she[in random order] [one of]ignores you and continues walking[or]ducks into a passing vehicle and doesn't see you[or]walks into a crumbling brick building before you catch up[or]vanishes into the crowd before you can say hello[or]points apologetically to a brass timepiece and hurries on[or]turns to argue angrily with a companion and you pull back awkwardly[in random order].".
The boxy vehicles are a backdrop. They are in Plaza, Room1, Room2, Room3, Room4, and Room5. Understand "car/cars/vehicle" as boxy vehicles. The description of boxy vehicles is "The grey cars are all sharp edges and angles, touched with rust and rumbling with internal vibrations. Tendrils of acrid smoke whisper out from underneath their large textured wheels." Check entering boxy vehicles: say "You approach one of the boxy vehicles, but it speeds noisily away before you reach it." instead.
The train is a set dressing. Understand "windowless" or "metal" or "cars" or "elevated" or "trestles" or "trestle" or "trains" as the train. The description is "The long boxcars are made of hammered metal dulled to a sooty black, covered in dents and rusty seams.". Instead of doing anything other than examining to the train, say "It has already disappeared down a long, narrow avenue."