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The Races of Dust

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The Races of Dust Empty The Races of Dust

Post  AlicornPriest Mon Jul 15, 2013 6:03 pm

Thought I'd make up all of the racial stuff for the groups in my Dust setting, in case any one is interested in a game about it. They won't make a whole lot of sense outside the Dust setting, but within it, it's all but necessary.

Magnus Ponies
Magnus Ponies are the new summit of pony existence. While all ponies gain benefits from the usage of Dust, Magnus Ponies are the most talented of society, and thus, they experience a higher tier of power. Normal ponies who cross Magnus Ponies will find themselves swiftly beaten down without remorse. Magnus Ponies lead all walks of life, from the eight districts of Canterlot to the beautiful lunar city of Selene, from the inner circle of the Azure Guardians to the encampments of the Neo-Changelings.
To build a Magnus Pony, start with the basic racial design for your tribe (earth pony, unicorn, or pegasus). After that, the following traits are added:
From Dust You Are Made
You are cripplingly addicted to Dust. You must regularly eat, drink, or otherwise consume Dust in order to maintain your powers. Should you neglect to partake of it within a certain amount of time, you may also feel significant withdrawal effects, such as shaking, headaches, difficulty breathing, etc. Higher level Magnus Ponies may even risk death.

Blue Blood
Dust flows through your veins. The benefits from imbibing Dust (+5 to all stats, trait boosts) never go away. Consuming more Dust will not double this bonus, however. You also have a blue tongue and blue-tinged sclera. Anyone who looks at you knows you are a Magnus Pony, without a doubt.

The Azure Gift
As a Magnus Pony, you have one of the three special Gifts of using Dust: shapeshifting (for Earth Ponies), prescience (for Unicorns), and teleportation (for Pegasi). Choose the appropriate trait from the list below:
Form is Fluid - At Will
Preparation Time: 30 seconds
You may change your appearance through a variety of methods. First, you may change up to X aspects of yourself (where X is your current level), from mane to coat to eyes, etc. (You cannot, however, hide the effects of Blue Blood.) Those who see you change will not be fooled, but anyone else will require a Perception check of DC 20-50, depending on how much is changed. You may also change your appearance to that of any medium-sized creature that you have seen. In this case, it takes a perception check of DC 34+X to see through the disguise. Lastly, you may also choose to take on a unique form of another race, similar to that created by the Alter Ego talent, which is impossible to recognize as a disguise.

I See All - At Will
Preparation Time: 30 seconds
Your magic reaches into the very fabric of the time. You know things that you could not possibly know. The secrets of the past, present and future are laid bare before you. By tapping into the past, you can see what has occurred where you currently stand. By melding with the present, you can read the minds of those around you, or view the goings-on elsewhere around the world. By glancing ahead, you may be able to glimpse patterns in the ever-changing future. Perform an Arcana check. DC 35 for past and present, and DC 70 for the future.

Here and There - At Will
Preparation Time: 30 seconds
Your body has perfected travel through space. You hardly need to try, and you are where you desire to be. You have the power to move instantly to any place you are aware of. (DC Streetwise or History as appropriate.) No matter where this takes you, you will not be negatively affected by the environment. Lava will not burn you, water will not drown you, and the deathly air on the moon will not choke you.

I suppose you could also play as a Deviant, though I wouldn't recommend it...
Deviant
Deviants are the strange, broken figures who reacted negatively to Dust. There seems to be no pattern between who can consume Dust without incident and who begin to fall apart into Deviants. Nevertheless, they exist, though many of them are swept under the rug by Ponyville or Canterlot authorities. It is, generally speaking, a poor idea to interact with one, and an even worse idea to be one.

Lost Heritage
Whatever you were before you had your first meal with Dust, you aren't that any longer. If you had a horn, it is broken and powerless; if you had wings, they are no more than featherless stumps. Your cutie mark is gone. Your coat, mane, and tail are ragged and uneven, and whatever color they were before, they are now Azura Essence Blue. You have blue sclera and a blue tongue. No one would ever recognize you for who you were, and there is no cure yet, if there ever will be. There is one positive side, you could say: you look pretty similar to the other Deviants roaming around. If other ponies are looking for you, they will like as not confuse other Deviants with you. At least the other Deviants will take you in...

The Madness
Your body is not your own. At the most inopportune of times, you will fall into a Dust-fueled frenzy, attacking friend and foe alike, babbling nonsense and frothing at the mouth. Taking Dust can ward it off for a time, but that will only cause it to be even worse when it finally overwhelms you.

Grotesque
Your malformed, hideous body significantly affects your ability. Take -1 on all stats, and all traits are weakened at the determination of the GM.

So... yeah. Those are meant to be enemies/NPC's, not player characters. Razz The other groups (e.g. Lyrans, Selenites) fall under either normal pony or Magnus Pony, so there's nothing to say there. And you can't play as Sapphires. (Partially because I don't know fully know what they are yet. tongue )

BONUS: Here's a quick throw-together of Dust as an item.
Azura Essence (Dust) - 500 gold per 100g/3 oz.
Consumable
100g: All stats increase by 5 for 30 minutes.
200g: As above. In addition, one trait increases in efficacy by GM's description. (For example, Flight School becomes Cloud Chaser.)
300g: As above. However, all traits increase in efficacy.
400g: Overdose. Gain all effects above and 1 magic point. However, after 30 minutes, if the magic point is not used, it dissipates. The user also suffers from withdrawal effects (shaking, dizziness, difficulty breathing, etc.) for 30 minutes.

I'm not sure if we even have consumable items. The way this would be used is, you could pay X gold to start with so much Dust. After that, you can simply go to any store and buy more without considering price. You always have "enough."
(Now that I think about it, I may have been the one arguing against consumables previously. For this setting, however, I wanted people to be antsy about running out. Hmm. I'll have to think about it.)
AlicornPriest
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