The Mare in the Moon OOC

Okay, got a tentative character sheet prepared, and by tentative I mean that I have some of the utilities up and not much else. Everything is tentative, even the name. I'm horrible at human names, much less pony names, though I'm drawn to Wormwood for some reason. Anyway, I'm mostly posting this here so I can find it later. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KB7Nj_Lw-lOIa460rA3m5TMPdAucC1wXLA1zKgzda-Q/edit?usp=sharing

Still lookling for another Utility Talent... finding things that can be flavored with a druidic/shamanist mindset is hard. I play to save Animal Speech for later, so other contenders include Telepathy (representing an ability to use the spirits of the land to convey messages), and... I'm not sure what else, really.

Combat Talents are also in need of decision. I'm aiming for a summon/support build, with at least one healing spell but not necessarily focused on healing. I'll take a look at some of the Warlord skills, those empower PCs in ways other than direct healing.

Just a heads up, you can't take Animal Magnetism without Animal Speech, as it is a prerequisite...

Ooops, I thought it was just Animal Empathy and Call Animal that were prerequisites. Guess I'll add that to the list of edits I need to make tomorrow...

Well, personally, I don't see many assist checks happen, so while you did say that you wanted assists because of character reasons (which may have changed by now), you could consider replacing Friend in Deed with Animal Kinship, saving you two utility talent slots for other stuff you want to take...

Meet Cherrytree! Because the idea of making a pony doctoral dress was far too tempting.

Z2 wrote:About my earlier thing, Twilight apparently got the wings from stealing some energy from the elements, hence my wonder about how exactly she's still got the same thing in her future...
I guess my issue is that while I like the idea of the other five hanging around Ponyville, doing their things, "Ultra-powerful magic user, protege to the 'big good', and apparently fated successor to an ageless princess" are not things that fit well into the background (ESPECIALLY in an RPG) - they're either qualities for 'that one character' from one of your players, or a really good choice for an antagonist for the players to totally annihilate at later levels - couldn't we JUST have Twilight as Ponyville's (still magically powerful) librarian? (Same exact backstory otherwise, she simply had her entrance exam one day BEFORE RD's first Sonic Rainboom and as a result, didn't get discovered by Celestia.)

Minor issue with that is that I've already said the divergence point was the Summer Sun Celebration Overseer choice, nothing else. Twilight isn't chosen to go to ponyville, for a reason, and instead the NPC does, and visits everyone, which results in the change of ponies chosen as elements.

As you've said, having a character like that in the background doesn't sound appealing, HOWEVER if you take into account her being a "Princess in Training, unknowingly" that sort of thing is more viable. Princesses and proteges are often found in rpgs after all.

The biggest issue with your idea? Twilight would most likely not have her cutie mark then, unless she finds it later in life without Celestia there to fix it. I can butterfly effect that to something serious.

Paper and Dusk, you'll probably see more assist checks around, but yeah they're always rare.

And I just realized I have 7-ish tentative players.... Well, I have 6 sheets and the elements are aligned.

Z2 wrote:
I figure he could be at the festival for some advertising, maybe he volunteered to provide some equipment... or maybe he was just hired for his perceived organisational skills.

Why not both! Pyrotechnics, and helping the overseer. Could be a reason for the Element of Magic to bring the ponies together.

Not sure what you mean about Celestia being there to 'fix' it... Twilight can discover a talent for magic without causing chaos all over the city.

I guess my issue is that I'm not really a big Twilight fan - most notably because of how she always seems to be written as being 'better' than all the others. Hearing, "No, YOU don't get to be an alicorn or a prince(ss), that's still happening to Twilight," despite the fact that she isn't actually doing anything useful in this continuity is really annoying... Yeah, she's 'in training' for it, but without the friendship or the elements' power it seems less viable for it to actually happen... You have the neuroses without the hero.

Maybe if you just had Twilight magically eat Sombra later - with a more competent version of the Crystal Empire episode - and DIDN'T necessarily forbid your players from similar progressions. (It doesn't have to be ONLY Twilight's thing, within two score Equestria has gotten at least two alicorns made.)

Alicorn Prince God of (Insert title here) would end up getting a primary focus since I honest to goodness CAN'T explain away why people would ignore the alicorn prince and not ask him for everything. I want every member of the party to shine, not just one.

edit: And she's not doing anything... in Ponyville, readily seen. She's still got her own life, and will learn the magic of friendship herself, as a background pony while the party deals with bigger things than just everyday things like "Dressmaking" and "Applebucking"

Double edit: And I'm not making one exception to the 'no Mane 6 expy' rule.

Triple Edit: Yes there'll be slice of life episodes of this, but they'd be more "Boast Busters" than "Look before you Sleep"

Quadruple edit: I've said it before, I'll say it again. The mane 6 will grow their friendships slowly in the background rather than the Fire Forged Friendship that the party is going through.

LoganAura wrote:Alicorn Prince God of (Insert title here) would end up getting a primary focus since I honest to goodness CAN'T explain away why people would ignore the alicorn prince and not ask him for everything. I want every member of the party to shine, not just one.

That would make a good episode. Everyone is asking the new Alicorn God to do stuff (from large things (which don't take too long to sort out, maybe dealing with some scary beasts in the town) to small things (the traditional cat stuck in a tree comes to mind) and the alicorn begins to suffer under the pressure of having to do so much and not wanting to disappoint their subjects, or their friends (the rest of the players, who you can have explore a small but amusing sub-plot with their new Level 10 tools, assuming that the alicorn transformation takes place at Level 10), who could expects them to hang out sometime. Applebuck Season comes to mind. The episode resolves so that everyone doesn't just constantly ask for the alicorn's help. Of course, you could still put other players in the spotlight in other episodes by having them the one with the problem. Not necessarily making them the only one who can solve the problem, but the problem revolves around them and their goals, even though at this point the characters are about Level 10...

Not saying that we must have an alicorn, and due to the nature of how they are seen OOC I'd rather avoid it unless it is a route which the character has worked hard and strived towards, justifying the transformation, but I can see it being possible. No big deal either way, it's not something I'm aiming for my character anyway, so I don't really mind what your decision is, just throwing the above out there...

I would very much like to apply alicorn flavor to the Dragon Disciple destiny which Coppertop IS TAKING.

I consider the 'alicorns as deities' interpretation particularly silly, but a subplot involving everyone asking Copper to magecraft all the things could be pretty funny.

That does sound like a really good idea for a story arc, but in the end? I... Don't like anything remotely relating to "One party member becomes a god-prince" unless everyone becomes god-prince/princesses, because it gives a bit of a focus issue. Yeah, that's a really good idea Paper, but I'm hesitant to the point of outright banning the idea, even though it seems that Z2 really likes it. I don't want to do something like that, because bluntly put it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Yes, the party'd be around lv 10, lv 7 if said alicorn took Dragon disciple for Wings at lv 7, but once again, I'm worried that due to my personal restrictions of acting in character and the fact that even twilight's friends bowed down to her at the end of season three I'd be hardpressed to NOT have NPCs worship the ground the PC walks on and- *deep breath*

Ok. Best thing for that instance? Probably along the lines of an episode where the alicorn is busy and the friends try to help people see the alicorn is still just a pony to let the party have focus.

But I'm still hesitant about allowing it because even with what Z2 had told me about the idea for the arc, it's still on the border of an expy of an existing character and I really... *Sigh* I just want characters and arcs to be relatively unique.

They really can be.

What exactly alicorns are is up in the air, all we really KNOW is that they are 'the three pony types combined'. Trust me, NOBODY considers Twilight's friends bowing and getting cast as her lessers a terrible thing more than ME... and you might be hard pressed to find someone with more distaste for that episode in general...

If anything, I want to try the alicorn thing to prove that it doesn't have to take away from the others...

Rather than a coronation, I figure Copper's immediate reaction to alicorn transformation would be things like (or nothing like if it seems distasteful, this is just IF it's 'a big deal'):
Looking for a shirt to hide the wings.
Feebly trying to bluff his way out of being seen with some of the connotations of being an alicorn... (or desperately insisting on the honest ones)
A particular amusing moment where X is dragging him off to do something princely, while he scratches futilely at the ground before shouting, "STUPID HOOVES!"

...
Ok then, That's making me a little better about the idea. My big worry was something along the lines of "Letting it get to your head" but I'm, while still hesitant, sort of anticipating that now.

Alright then, anyway, Copper's sheet has been updated to how it should actually work in this campaign...

Six character sheets, you say? Do you think you could gather those in the first post, Logan? I can only find my own and two others...

All sheets but Dusk's and Ping's are now on the front page.

I will admit, I would be done sooner, but I'm really struggling for a combat build. Luckily, it's given me time to think more about the character, so that's something...

That's good. I'm going to have 3 9am-10pm days in a row wednesday-friday this week, so i won't be able to answer a lot :?

Ping brought up something on skype and I thought I should clarify:

This is a bit of a slice of lifey game, yes, with 3 sets of conficts

1.) Small, everyday sort of things, akin to just having an issue with a pony or two around town that needs solving (Probably a subplot to an arc, and maybe multiple ones of these.)
2.) Bigger conflicts (Like actual episode-like conflicts) which would be the grander plots of an arc, though the subplots are just as important.
3.) Start of season conflicts (Giant and grand, though these'll be few and far between. A lot of what I want this game to be is exploring different events with different ponies.)

Putting it simply, plots'll be like the more-than-one-pony-focused episodes of MLP, subplots are like single-focused-episodes, and there'll be big things every few 'arcs'

I think I'm getting it across wrong still... Try giving me possible scenarios to fit in. I'll tell you this though: type 3 are like Mare in the Moon, return of harmony, changeling invasion, and that sort of thing more than Season 3 open/finale.

Filled out my combat talents, hopefully they'll be of use. Also, started work on my backstory, though unfortunately my muse seems slow... I know what to say, I just don't know what to write.

LoganAura wrote:Putting it simply, plots'll be like the more-than-one-pony-focused episodes of MLP, subplots are like single-focused-episodes, and there'll be big things every few 'arcs'

LoganAura wrote:3.) A rather in depth backstory, admittedly. I want to explore them in different "Episodes" revolving around the characters.

This kinda gave me the idea that episodes would explore backstories and goals, kinda like Sonic Rainboom, Green Isn't Your Colour, and Hurricane Fluttershy. I do understand you not wanting episodes which leave others out though, since PbP game sessions can take around a month or so while traditional sessions only take the couple of hours the session lasts for, meaning that an episode which revolves around a character's backstory or goal in life will take some time, making players wait for their moment in the spotlight. However, I don't think you should worry about it too much. Players make their own spotlights, and an advantage of PbPs is that, unlike regular sessions, you can do something all the time, as opposed to waiting for the GM to deal with the session's focus character. Of course, you don't have to listen to me, as you clearly have more GM experience, but I would like to link this article because I can and whatnot...

Dusk Raven wrote:Filled out my combat talents, hopefully they'll be of use. Also, started work on my backstory, though unfortunately my muse seems slow... I know what to say, I just don't know what to write.

You could always link us to what you have currently filled out...

In other news, I also have finished my combat stuff, and will get cracking on writing the backstory (although I will most likely sleep between now and when I finish)...

..... Goddammit paper, yeah you do have a point where I can split the focus, even a single 'episode' can revolve around a theme, like the cutie mark chronicles or the gala.

Okay, here's the sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KB7Nj_Lw-lOIa460rA3m5TMPdAucC1wXLA1zKgzda-Q/edit?usp=sharing

Backstory's more or less done, combat talents are up for review, and utility talents... need work. Going the "Animal Magnetism" route would require me to use 4 out of 5 utility talents, and I don't really want to do that. I'd rather shift focus away from animals (for the most part) and towards a more spiritual/shamanic/druidic route. Unfortunately I don't know what to take for that other than maybe Weathercrafting (not a bad choice since I think one of our Pegasi can't do Weathercrafting). Possibly I could throw a use of Freaky Knowledge in there as well...

Yeah, Lightfoot can't weathercraft but Colter Bolt can, and he's got Quick Weather-Crafting, too. If you want to take weather-crafting and Freaky Knowledge, go ahead, but might I also offer as crazy suggestions Medicinal Training or Fabricate? As for the combat I can kind of see where you're going with this - letting allies take more turns and stay up longer - and I personally don't have any problems with it.