Unicorn talents

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:Self-Levitation
Prequisites: Advanced Ponykinesis
You may fly with poor maneuverability. (While flying, you take a -10 penalty to Athletics and Precision checks.)

I love this idea. About time we get some self-levitation skills. Maybe even getting more talents to take after it that let you do better if making an Arcana Check or something?

Xel Unknown wrote:

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:Self-Levitation
Prequisites: Advanced Ponykinesis
You may fly with poor maneuverability. (While flying, you take a -10 penalty to Athletics and Precision checks.)

I love this idea. About time we get some self-levitation skills. Maybe even getting more talents to take after it that let you do better if making an Arcana Check or something?

In theory, that sounds good, but in practice I worry about Unicorns feeling like they have to stack Arcana because they're unicorns as-is. Not sure if yet another reasons to up their Arcana is a good idea...?

You bring up a good point... But I totally do think there should be upgrades to Self-Levitation, but other then thinking of Arcana Skill Checks... I'm not sure how to best balance it... Or maybe have them only get a +3 to skill checks? So it'd be that at their max they'd only have -4 to skill checks? Or I'm just totally wrong and Self-Levitation is good enough by itself to be an end that Talent Tree? I'm totally unsure...

Xel Unknown wrote:You bring up a good point... But I totally do think there should be upgrades to Self-Levitation, but other then thinking of Arcana Skill Checks... I'm not sure how to best balance it... Or maybe have them only get a +3 to skill checks? So it'd be that at their max they'd only have -4 to skill checks? Or I'm just totally wrong and Self-Levitation is good enough by itself to be an end that Talent Tree? I'm totally unsure...

Forgive a newbie's intrusion, but...

It's Witchcraft! You might as well restrict unicorns to one utility because that one is kind of required reading. It alters spell effects, which could also be used in conjunction with this to improve your maneuverability by DM permission and DC.

Every RPG has a big problem: Either mages are total junk, or they're gods. Self-levitation allows flight. This is a major racial trait of a number of other races that suffer serious lack of other bonuses. Allowing further bonuses and you might as well hop over to the "races" section and have your Utility read "You become an Alicorn (see race description)".

As it is, flight in canon is exhausting: Granting Rarity wings (read: This feat was applied to Rarity) tired out Twilight to the point where she could not do it twice, and we assume Twili is pretty high level. Time limit it and [Magic] it, but make it targetable, would be my thought on the matter.

About self-levitation.
Ponies are what, a little over 100 pounds max? All you need is Master Ponykinesis or something and you can levitate yourself for 10 minutes, and add precise to that and you can levitate multiple ponies. At least that's what I'm thinking.
And yeah, I do like what Raven says about it's witchcraft. It really is the "All around, use this for anything" skill :/

Maybe giving it some type of straight up pure Knowledge check to keeping airborn or something? And also having that you can't use your normal Ponykinesis at all while doing the Self-Levitation could be a good drawback to such a skill. Also limiting it to an X/day talent could be a good add on as well, I'd suggest 5/day.

LoganAura wrote:About self-levitation.
Ponies are what, a little over 100 pounds max? All you need is Master Ponykinesis or something and you can levitate yourself for 10 minutes, and add precise to that and you can levitate multiple ponies. At least that's what I'm thinking.

I know there was a thread on here at some point that attempted to figure out how much ponies were likely to weigh, and came up with an answer of approximately 200-250 pounds scaling down from the real world. I know in Pony Team Bravo we've taken it to be about 200 pounds, so two unicorns with Advanced Ponykinesis working together could move one pony, or one unicorn with Master and Precise Ponykinesis and could lower 5 others down to the ground from the upper floor of a building.

Also, I can't point to anywhere specific in the show to prove it, but I feel like ponykinesis is probably relative to the unicorn using it, so you no more be able to levitate yourself using it than you can levitate yourself by grabbing hold of your hair with both hands and lifting up. Just my opinion, though.

Philadelphus wrote:Also, I can't point to anywhere specific in the show to prove it, but I feel like ponykinesis is probably relative to the unicorn using it, so you no more be able to levitate yourself using it than you can levitate yourself by grabbing hold of your hair with both hands and lifting up. Just my opinion, though.

Introducing physics?! Blasphemy! Luna takes on the extra gravity from all telekinesis, it's why her plot thickens with every passing day. Next you're going to say Applejack couldn't lift herself up by her own bootstraps!

This is a random attempt at rewording it, let me know what y'all think, since I like the idea (and I believe Twilight originally wanted to cast it on herself but Rarity insisted)...

Gossamer Wings [Magic]
Pre-Requisite: Advanced Ponykinesis
Preparation Time: 30 seconds
A pair of wings sprout from a willing target within 30 feet. These enable the target to fly at Good Maneuverability (no penalty on checks) at a speed equal to their land speed. The wings are fragile: any time a stunt involving them is performed, another stunt check at DC 20 must be made or the wings disintegrate. Once cast, the wings last for 8 hours unless they are destroyed.

We already got that in The Talent Show:

Dazzling Wings - 1/Day
Preparation time: 6 Seconds
Target creature gains a pair of dazzling wings. The wings are made from gossamer and morning dew, stunning but delicate. The target can fly with good maneuverability (the target suffers no penalty to athletics or acrobatics checks while flying) and gains a +2 bonus to Persuasion checks due to the beautiful appearance of the wings. The wings last for eight hours before dissolving into mist. However, the wings are delicate – attempting any athletics or acrobatics check while flying that has a DC of 30 or higher has a 20% chance to cause the wings to disappear into mist.

Wow... All things considered in forgetting that... I was pretty close to emulating it without looking...

The real issue, then, is this: The requested Talent is inherently broken as it stands (it makes several entire races obsolete), any attempt to balance it will be treading on the territory of Dazzling Wings...

Wait, wait wait... If we have Dazzling Wings, we fundamentally already have this utility: Granting a unicorn flight. The flavour is different, but this system encourages variation and alternative interpretation of abilities.

So how about this:
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Ponykinetic Wings - [magic]
Prerequisites: Adv. Ponykinesis
Activation Time: 6 seconds
Formless, insubstantial tendrils of ponykinetic energy surround the caster. For 24 hours, the caster may fly at Good Maneuverability.
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The prerequisite offsets the vulnerability for the wings shattering, and the increased length of time makes up for the lack of targeting and the use of their daily Magic point. They still need to sleep, so 24 hours is really 16 hours, but it looks nicer that way. I think this would be the only route we could take to avoid overlap with the existing utility. I'm not sure if the effort is even worth it, if we should just say "use Dazzling Wings for unicorn flight. Final word."

Personally I like the idea of there being a talent for unicorns to use their magic to lift themselves... Maybe they get a pentaily to all skill checks unrelated to their flight, because it being just that hard? Like how I had built with my Everypony Cloudsurfer Talent.

So something like a permanent buff but with the drawback:

"flying this way is physically and mentally exhausting. No ponykinesis nor magic points may be used while in flight from Ponykinetic Flight, and all endurance checks are done at a -12 penalty"?

Now that's a really smart way to work that talent...

So so far the feat/utility reads as follows, and I believe makes it distinct enough from Dazzling Wings to be considered:

Ponykinetic Flight
Prerequisite: Advanced Ponykinesis
You may use your inherent ponykinesis to give yourself the ability to fly at Good maneuverability (suffering no penalty to athletics or acrobatics checks while flying) at will. Flying this way is mentally and physically exhausting: You may not use your ponykinesis for other purposes nor expend magic points while using this ability. In addition, all Endurance skill checks are done at a -10 penalty while airborne.

(mechanically, nothing is stopping somepony from stopping flight, using a magic point, and jumping in again before they hit the ground, but it all depends on how long the action takes requiring that MP. Gravity is a harsh mistress.)

Pyrokinesis - At Will
Prerequisite: Precise Ponykinesis
Preparation time:
Ignite an object you can see, either with YOUR MIND (arcana), or magic friction (mechanics). You may:
- Cause sparks or miniature fires, capable of igniting highly flammable objects (oil, fuel, fuses, tinder, coals, straw...) (DC15).
- Cause a flammable (non-laquered wood, for example), object to ignite, or heat to a boil (DC25).
- Cause fireproof/heat-resistant/metallic objects to melt (DC35).

Ponymorph [Magic]
Prerequisite: It's Witchcraft
Transform a willing creature into another type of creature. You must know basic biological facts (appearance, species, diet, special details...) about the creature you wish to transform it into. Transforming into an alternate player race temporarily grants you its racial abilities (at the cost of your own). The length and effect of transformation depend on how high you roll the arcana check:

DC <15 - Lasts 10 minutes. Creature personality/mind/behavior matches that of creature it is transformed into.
DC 15 - Lasts 1 hour. Creature personality is retained, but mind/behavior matches that of creature.
DC 25 - Lasts 8 hours. Creature personality/mind/behavior is retained, but cannot speak in pony tongue unless form allows it.
DC 35 - Lasts 24 hours. Creature personality/mind/behavior is retained and can speak in pony language.
DC 45 - Effect permanent, unless intentionally removed/dispelled, or the caster ceases the effect. Transformation is perfect and allows for use of utilities, communication and other innate traits of the creature.

Flip Screen - [Magic]
Reverse the effect of gravity on all creatures with 50 feet. This effect lasts 1 minute. Creatures that are caught by this effect outdoors are stopped/caught/ensnared by conveniently placed clouds, which will slowly descend with them over 5 minutes to ground level. Flying creatures may attempt a DC15 flight check to resist being pulled, or a DC25 flight check to move freely. Non-flying creatures may roll an athletics or acrobatics check (DC25) to grab and hold onto something.

Unicorn flight now canon, or at least self-levitation!

Actually unicorn flight was canon all the way back in Baby Cakes but I guess that doesn't count???