The Old Cemetery

The Living Side: Old Cemetery

Location:

• Access from village
• Navigation: "Gates" → "The Old Cemetery"
• Must be alive to enter
• At edge of town (convenient for morbid contemplation)

Atmosphere:

• "At the edge of the old town is a long-abandoned cemetery of broken headstones and sickly weeds."
• "In this place you can hear the whispers and moans of the dead."
• Maximum spooky vibes achieved
• No actual functionality besides commentary

Commentary Settings:

• Commentary area ID: "shade" (separate from graveyard "shades" commentary)
• Prompt: "Whisper to the dead"
• Display limit: 25 messages
• Default talkline: "whispers" (atmospheric!)

The Dead Side: Ghost Town Haunting

Access Requirements:

• Must be dead (alive = 0)
• Access from Shades page
• Navigation: "Places" → "Haunt [City Name]"
• Appears in cemeteryloc setting (admin-configurable village)

Haunting Description:

• "You are standing once again in the deserted ghost town, %s."
• "The strange silence no longer worries you." (you're dead, you've got bigger problems)
• "Several tourists clutch each other in frightened silence, sensing rather than seeing you."
• "You move among them, almost invisible."

Commentary Settings:

• Commentary area ID: "village-ghosttown" (unique to this location)
• Prompt: "Speak from the afterworld"
• Display limit: 25 messages
• Default talkline: "eerily moans"
• Perfect verb choice (10/10 spookiness)

How It Works

Two Separate Commentary Sections:

• Living Cemetery: "shade" commentary area (living players whisper)
• Ghost Town: "village-ghosttown" area (dead players moan)
• These are SEPARATE - messages don't cross between living/dead
• No actual interaction between alive/dead players
• Just thematically-appropriate chat rooms

Who Sees What:

• Living players: Can only see "whispers" from other living players in Cemetery
• Dead players: Can only see "moans" from other dead players in Ghost Town
• No cross-communication (death is a one-way door for commentary)
• Tourists in Ghost Town can't actually hear you (they just "sense" you)

Use Cases

For Living Players:

• Roleplay dramatic graveyard visits
• "Whisper" memorial messages to dead friends
• Gothic atmosphere for edgy character moments
• Discuss mortality in thematically-appropriate location
• Feel morbid without actually dying

For Dead Players:

• Haunt tourists who cannot hear you (existentially frustrating)
• Chat with other dead players about graveyard grinding
• "Eerily moan" about how you died (again)
• Spooky roleplay while waiting for resurrection
• Alternative to regular Shades commentary

Admin Configuration

Settings:

• cemeteryloc: Which village has the cemetery (location field)
• Default: Server's default village name
• Auto-updates when village name changes (changesetting hook)
• Only one cemetery per server (choose wisely)

Hook Integration:

• village: Adds "Old Cemetery" nav link in cemeteryloc village
• footer-shades: Adds "Haunt [City]" nav for dead players
• commentary: Standard commentary system integration
• Both locations use lib/commentary.php for chat display

Comparison to Other Commentary

• Village Commentary: Living players, public chat, all villages
• Shades Commentary: Dead players, graveyard general chat
• Old Cemetery: Living players, atmospheric "whispers"
• Ghost Town: Dead players, tourist-haunting "moans"

Cemetery module adds thematic flavor to otherwise-standard commentary areas.

Roleplay Value

Atmospheric Benefits:

• Dedicated location for memorial/mourning RP
• Gothic aesthetic for dark characters
• Thematic verb choice ("whispers" vs "eerily moans")
• Separate space from busy village commentary

Narrative Potential:

• Living characters visiting fallen friends' graves (metaphorically)
• Dead characters frustrated at unseeing tourists
• Graveyard vigils and dramatic confessions
• Spooky stories told in appropriately spooky location

Technical Details

Module Hooks:

• village: Checks if location == cemeteryloc, adds "Old Cemetery" nav
• footer-shades: Adds "Haunt" nav with cemeteryloc village name
• commentary: Standard commentary integration
• changesetting: Updates cemeteryloc when village name changes

Commentary Implementation:

• Uses lib/commentary.php standard functions
• addcommentary() for input form
• commentdisplay() for message feed
• Separate section IDs prevent message crossover

Location Variables:

• Living: op=cemetery, area=shade
• Dead: op=deadspeak, area=village-ghosttown, village=$cemeteryloc
• URL: runmodule.php?module=cemetery&op=[cemetery|deadspeak]

Player Strategy

For Roleplayers:

• Use Cemetery for dramatic character moments
• Reference "visiting graves" for backstory depth
• Dead characters can "haunt" same location they knew in life
• Coordinate with friends for memorial RP scenes

For Everyone Else:

• Probably just another commentary area
• Slightly spookier than regular village chat
• Good for quiet conversations away from main area
• Dead players get alternative to standard Shades chat

Limitations

• No Cross-Communication: Living/dead can't actually talk to each other
• Single Location: Only one cemetery per server
• No Functionality: Pure commentary, no mechanics
• Tourists Ignorant: Mentioned tourists don't actually see your haunting
• Same Old Commentary: Just standard chat with atmospheric text