Crystal Ponies
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ZamuelNow
Zarhon
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Crystal Ponies
Masterweaver Sun Nov 11, 2012 1:26 pm
We all knew this was coming.
SO! Concepts. Crystal Ponies seem to have some connection with Crystals. Obvious, no? Mayhap that should be translated into some form of crystal-based racial, like.... I dunno, they can store magic points in crystals for later use? A bit OP on the surface, so it needs some work. Also, they had griffon statuses, which implies the empire had some sort of relationship with griffons... that's probably not a pertinent detail. The shiny thing should also be considered.
SO! Concepts. Crystal Ponies seem to have some connection with Crystals. Obvious, no? Mayhap that should be translated into some form of crystal-based racial, like.... I dunno, they can store magic points in crystals for later use? A bit OP on the surface, so it needs some work. Also, they had griffon statuses, which implies the empire had some sort of relationship with griffons... that's probably not a pertinent detail. The shiny thing should also be considered.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Xel Unknown Sun Nov 11, 2012 2:27 pm
No, they've got some type of Harmony-ish related thingie I think. Something to do with the fact that their mood effects their ablities... That's my take on the Crystal Ponies.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Masterweaver Sun Nov 11, 2012 2:48 pm
Actually I think they use Crystals for Harmony and Harmony for Crystals... it's a great big circle of love, maaaaan.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Zarhon Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:47 pm
Flavor text:
Racials/utility talent ideas:
- Crystal Ponies:
Crystal Ponies
Natives of the crystal kingdom, crystal ponies are similar to earth ponies, with the exception of their body, mane and coat, which are all crystalline. They are known for being literal beacons of hope and light.
Racials/utility talent ideas:
- Crystal Coat:
Crystal Coat
A crystal pony's coat is a sight to behold, but subjective to their own mood. As a crystal pony's mood improves, so does their shine and splendor, which influences those around them. Every time a crystal pony succeeds in a assist roll or skill check roll, they provide themselves and their allies with a stacking bonus to future checks, while failing an assist/skill check roll subtracts from that bonus (cannot turn negative). The values increase/decrease as such:
- Normal success = +1
- Critical success = +2
- Cutie Mark Critical Sucess = +6
- Failure = -1
- Critical Failure = -2
The maximum bonus is +6 across a party, combined from the values of your own/other crystal pony bonuses.*
*For example, 4 crystal ponies with a +1 bonus on their coats provide a +4 total bonus, while two ponies with a +4 bonus would only provide up to a +6 (instead of +8, due to maximum limit) bonus to their party.
- Sparkle sparkle sparkle!:
Sparkle sparkle sparkle! - 1/day
Duration: 10 minutes
You instantly become a beacon of what you represent, spreading your innate crystal pony magic to all nearby allies and friendly creatures within 50 yards. Creatures affected by this are treated as though they have Crystal Coat, while your own coat is temporarily given +6 points (still affected by rolls, but resets to previous value after duration expires). The bonuses from multiple ponies with Crystal Coat add up to a single value (with it's normal +6 maximum value).*
*For examples, 4 crystal ponies with a +1 bonus on their coats provide a +4 total bonus, while two ponies with a +4 bonus would only provide up to +6 (instead of +8, due to maximum limit) bonus to their party.
- Perky Personality:
Perky Personality - 1/day
Crystal ponies only suffer half of the normal value of a penalty (Set by the DM for a circumstance or utility effects) they would receive when rolling a skill check. Once a day, they can do one of the following:
- Ignore a penalty on a roll completely
- Toss a coin to see if they can cause a critical failure to become a normal failure.
- Hex-o-vision:
Hex-o-vision
Crystal ponies have a much sharper eyesight than other ponies, allowing them to see magical effects in the form of a shimmer (they can see invisibility magic enveloping a door, for example, but not the invisible door itself), as well as the path (from caster to target) a spell or magical effect traveled, if it was cast within 4 hours.
- Glittery Coat:
Glittery Coat - at will
Crystal ponies coats are made of shiny, sparkling crystals. They may choose to have it provide a small amount of light (like that of a candle). They also gain immunity to most physical effects that would be unable to damage/penetrate their crystal coats (for example, a poison dart would harmlessly bounce off their crystal coat). The crystal coat is treated as a 2mm layer of mineral in this regard.
Last edited by Zarhon on Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Masterweaver Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:58 pm
I don't know about Crystal Coat and Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
ZamuelNow Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:31 pm
Crystal Ponies seem like they would be a really interesting choice but the issue is figuring out just what they are. Are they an entirely separate pony race? If so, then something like this would be needed with a number of racial options. Are they just a variant of Earth Ponies? I sorta lean towards this thought and thus they would just be swapping out Epic Pwny for Luster.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
ZamuelNow Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:32 am
With the inclusion of Crystalline, it's got me thinking of the Crystal Ponies again. Designed right, they could fit their own niche. However, I came to an interesting difficulty since things could be viewed different ways. Split this in half (and borrowed Zarhon's flavor text):
With two points left, it seems like a utility talent would be the perfect thing to round it out. Was thinking either Forcefield, Celestia’s Light, or Light Trap would be best. Forcefield would be flavored as a tangible shield of light while the latter two would be ways to represent their status as a beacon of light, though CL is probably the far better option.
- Crystal Ponies - First Half:
- Crystal Ponies
Natives of the Crystal Empire, crystal ponies are similar to earth ponies, with the exception of their body, mane and coat, which are all crystalline. They are known for being literal beacons of hope and light.
Cutie Mark (2)
Characters of your race gain a cutie mark.
Crystalline (1) [Created by kajisora]
Your race is composed of crystal instead of flesh and blood. Most carnivores will not consider you as food or prey and your body is slightly transparent and refractive. Once per day you can curl up and slow your metabolism, dulling your natural luster in order to impersonate an ordinary rock. If so hidden, a DC 30 Perception or Arcana roll is required to distinguish you from normal, non-sentient stone.
Grandeur (3)
Your race provides a +1 morale bonus to the skill checks of all allies that can see it.
With two points left, it seems like a utility talent would be the perfect thing to round it out. Was thinking either Forcefield, Celestia’s Light, or Light Trap would be best. Forcefield would be flavored as a tangible shield of light while the latter two would be ways to represent their status as a beacon of light, though CL is probably the far better option.
- Naturally Skilled options:
- Shield of Light - 1/Day (Forcefield)
Preparation Time: 1 Minute
Duration: 10 mins - 4 hours (if sustained with constant concentration)
Size: Up to 100-feet diameter
Conjure a spherical, semi-transparent force field at a chosen location. You may open holes in the force-field at will. It is considered under the effect of the Immovable talent once cast - and can support up to 5000 pounds. When cast, the user makes an Arcana check - which becomes the DC for shattering the force field with an opposing athletics or arcana check (the arcane check options requires Magecraft).
Beacon of Light – At Will (Celestia’s Light)
Preparation Time: 5 Seconds
You become a beacon of light. This light is normally omnidirectional and may light an area up to 50 feet in diameter, or may be focused into a tight beam that can light objects up to 200 feet away. Twice a day you may turn this light up to a blinding intensity that lasts for ten seconds - so bright it’s like looking into the sun itself. Any creature that sees this light is blinded for the next twelve seconds.
Light Trap - 1/Day
Preparation Time: 10 Seconds
Pull all the light within’ 50 feet of you into a small object you are holding. For the next 1 minute or until the object is destroyed the area affected is completely black. Treat the area as if it was obscured by a cloud of total darkness. You may release the light trapped within the object at any time you are not in combat, either returning the area to normal illumination or releasing the light in a brilliant flash that blinds all creatures seeing it for five seconds.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Kindulas Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:50 pm
Have you considered simply taking Bioluminescence? I suppose that would beg the question of what the other point should go to
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Jason Shadow Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:44 pm
If Bioluminescence is picked, then it seems to me that the likeliest options for the last point would be one of these:
- We're Just Good at This Stuff
- Magical Attunement
- Sharp Eyes
- Specialist
- Cultural Knowledge
- Herd Mentality
- We're Just Good at This Stuff
- Magical Attunement
- Sharp Eyes
- Specialist
- Cultural Knowledge
- Herd Mentality
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Zarhon Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:27 am
Sharp Eyes would be quite literal for Crystal Ponies.Jason Shadow wrote:If Bioluminescence is picked, then it seems to me that the likeliest options for the last point would be one of these:
- We're Just Good at This Stuff
- Magical Attunement
- Sharp Eyes
- Specialist
- Cultural Knowledge
- Herd Mentality
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Re: Crystal Ponies
ZamuelNow Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:52 pm
The reason I didn't suggest Bioluminescence over the others is that it's for a singular part of the body like an angler fish as opposed to an all body glow. Plus, blinding light and/or forcefields seems in line with the climax of The Crystal Empire. Bioluminescence is still a valid option and Jason Shadow's suggestions seem like decent options for a counterpart if Bioluminescence is chosen.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Philadelphus Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:15 pm
I'm not sure that bioluminescence really fits. It never looked to me like the crystal ponies were actually giving off light, just that they were reflecting and refracting light that was already hitting them from the sun.
If you need a two-point option to fill in, how about Stubbornness?
If you need a two-point option to fill in, how about Stubbornness?
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Kindulas Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:13 am
Perhaps we could make a special version of Light Trap for them that uses themselves as the Light Trap, then has a small buff to make it a worth (2) pointer. I mean maybe that isn't something they actually do in canon but it's a thought
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Philadelphus Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:33 am
I think another question we could stand to ask ourselves is, "Are crystal ponies really portrayed differently enough from regular earth ponies to justify giving them a completely different skill set?" Because we could always give them a little overlap with earth ponies in the official build, and people who feel differently will just use Genetic Engineering to make their ideal crystal pony anyway. Of course we have the problem that earth ponies have 3-point racials (barring Cutie Mark), and we don't have room for one of those with the current proposed setup, but perhaps we could revisit that, or come up with a 2-point version of one of the earth pony 3-point racials.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
ZamuelNow Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:15 am
I think their translucent bodies and ability to power the Crystal Heart actually would make them different enough from earth ponies to be considered their own entry.
As said, light and forcefield concepts were due to them powering the Crystal Heart. They did seem to start glowing right before the light wave hit them. I think the issue is figuring out how much of that is tied to a specific powerful artifact and how much is inborn. Playability would dictate stretching a few things but I'm not sure in which direction is best.
Kindulas wrote:Perhaps we could make a special version of Light Trap for them that uses themselves as the Light Trap, then has a small buff to make it a worth (2) pointer. I mean maybe that isn't something they actually do in canon but it's a thought
As said, light and forcefield concepts were due to them powering the Crystal Heart. They did seem to start glowing right before the light wave hit them. I think the issue is figuring out how much of that is tied to a specific powerful artifact and how much is inborn. Playability would dictate stretching a few things but I'm not sure in which direction is best.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
Stairc -Dan Felder Fri Sep 06, 2013 3:30 pm
The crystal heart connection might be a cultural thing too. It might be a part of their kingdom and not just a part of their race.
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Re: Crystal Ponies
ZamuelNow Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:03 pm
Quite possible. However, it's interesting to note that while Mane 6, Spike, and Cadance benefited from the wave, they didn't help power it up. Plus, culture is its own interesting concept due to the system having Freaky Knowledge. They have different architecture, agriculture, a massive library, and an actual biodome. I'm oddly starting to lean towards a slightly reflavored Bioluminescence and Cultural Knowledge to round the build out. This would still allow individual Crystal Pony players to pick up things like. Celestia's Light, Forcefield, etc
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