So before I start this, I know, you're probably wondering "Hey, it's the middle of summer, why are you suggesting an event for Halloween?"
The answer is that I like Halloween.
Now, then, with that out of the way, here's my idea for a new Halloween Event, which I have decided to call the "Plague of Fates."
Starting on the first day of October, a new NPC will appear on the Ferry of the damned. A hunched figure, clad in tattered, ragged clothes, a hood up over their head. If you speak to the ferryman, he will have a new dialogue option relating to this figure.
Dialogue:
P: "Who is that man over there? He looks... Odd."
F: "The Seas are home to innumerable curses and spiritual ailments alike- I advise you to give the wretch his space."
P: "And, why is that?"
F: "His fate has become tainted. His spirit, sick. You do not wish to share in his suffering."
When approached, the Wretch will begin to snarl and groan, only barely looking up at the players. Speaking to this NPC will "begin" the event, in a manner of speaking.
Dialogue:
P: "Excuse me- Are you alright?"
W: [The Wretch doesn't seem to react to your presence... ]
P: "Sir? Can you hear me?"
W: [Suddenly, the figure lunges out, biting you on the arm! You recoil away as he flashes a sinister grin. You begin to feel... Strange.]
Upon respawning, players will be granted a new curse- "The Plague of Fates." This will be a limited-time curse, only obtainable through the duration of the event. The effects are as follows:
-Player's skin turns gray, with dark/lightness depending on their normal skin tone
-Player's lips, fingernails, and scars turn black
-Player's eyes glow bright red
Now, this is where the event's actual gameplay starts;
Players can choose whether or not they wish to obtain this curse by deciding if they want to ignore the ferryman's warning and talk to the Wretch. If they speak with him and obtain the curse, then whenever they have it equipped, they become plagued. This has no real impact on gameplay, except for this; If they kill a player who doesn't have the curse, that player will recieve it upon respawning- The Curse has been spread to them. For those who do not obtain it, however, there will be some challenges for them to complete- Easy ones, for the most part- Sail a certain distance, fight a certain number of crews, etc- That will last through the month. The most important one, however, is also the most difficult; Survive the Plague of Fates without becoming infected. The other challenges exist purely to make sure they play during the event- they exist to put players at risk of becoming cursed.
At the end of the month, the NPC will vanish from the ferry, and things will return to normal- Players with the curse can no longer spread it to others [though they do get to keep it and can wear it at any time], and the players who survived and finished all the challenges will get some nifty cosmetics called the "Cursed Survivor" set. I'll leave how that looks up to y'alls imagination since all I've got is the name.
Tl;Dr: For the month of October, the seas get a fun little optional Zombie Survival twist, and both teams get a cool reward regardless of if you "survived" or not.
