Solaris Central - Skype Campaign

Recently the long running Skype campaign Lunaris Civitas came to a close. It kind of had to eventually, the players were out of levels and the characters were out of things to conquer (and the DM was out of monsters) but of course there has to be a sequel... That I'm doing for some reason despite being a player last time around. Well, either way, if you were in LC you might get priority treatment, but this is more a spiritual successor than a sequel (because sequels have to up the ante and everypony went all-in starting SIX MONTHS AGO in LC.) However, it IS a direct sequel to A Tale of Two Kingdoms.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms was a campaign I briefly ran on the forums, the dream sequence bits went on a bit too long and I got pressured by the players into making it PbP despite knowing that it would fall apart if it was. The general idea of it was Equestria becoming joined to a suspiciously similar kingdom by the name of Caballia. The kingdoms didn't normally interact, but both ended up entering the same Crystal Empire. The ToTK campaign was to be examining the strange phenomenon...

Long story short, the two kingdoms are from alternate universes; but because the barrier between worlds is weaker in the crystal empire, when both empires were sealed away their tyrannical rulers met up and hatched a plan. While the Crystal Empire returned to Equestria on schedule, a spell was cast so that Caballia would be saddled with Equestria's crystal empire - while the empire originally bordering Caballia would awaken in limbo for King Sombra and Queen Bellicosa to rule. Level one would have been discovering this, level 2 would have been weaving in and out of the dream world and real world to unseal the second empire, and level 3 would have been a grand assault (and the campaign always would have ended after that.)

With me so far? Good, now set all that aside, because it's mostly irrelevant. You are one of a vast number of visitors entering Solaris Central, a trading city in central Caballia. There's always news of SOMETHING floating around, and it feels like something big is on the horizon with interdimensional trading reducing SC's importance. The campaign is going to start as kind of a mystery/thriller and from there pretty much DEMANDS to go far off the rails.

I'll post more details on the setting here shortly (and possibly also in the 'Many Worlds of Pony Tales' thing much later.) I mostly wanted to get things open. We're using my alternate elements of harmony (though trust at least is getting overhauled, so maybe hold off on that [also I guess you can choose the non element regular virtues.])

OH, and one more thing: We'll be using the Utility Talents and Genetic Engineering system (with talent spec points likely coming later.)

I've been thinking over ideas of what to build... And I'd likely now build myself a "more Heroic" Sociopath version of my Jill Night character (sheet link just to old version that was apped to that villians game Paper Shadow Made. will make a new sheet for the one that will be apped to this campaign.)

going to make a character once you finish drafting up the local races. (You forgot to mention those in the OP)

That backstory is going to require some tinkering, but the core concept of "Scientifically-minded, gore-loving unicorn" is at least viable.

Okay, here are the races then:

Camels: (Replace donkeys)
Camels mingle with ponies well enough, living in many of the same communities, but prefer more solitary existences. Possessed of great focus and determination, they are seen by many as stalwart guardians of the deep desert.

Stubborn as a Mule (3) - Interrupt [3/Day]
Trigger - You fail a skill check.
Effect - Reroll the skill check.

Overachiever (1)
Donkeys can have up to 12 points in a single attribute instead of 10.

Best of the Breed (3)
Characters of your race gain an additional 2 attribute points at creation.

Waterborn (1)
Characters of your race cannot suffocate in water nor can they be harmed by environmental water pressure. Characters of your race can also safely spit pressurized water at will, up 50 liters per day. These spouts of water are identical to that of freshwater sources, allowing for drinking, washing, extinguishing fires, watering plants, pushing/propelling small objects or creatures and similar uses.

Oryx (Replaces Buffalo)
The nomadic tribes of Oryx are among the least considered of races (though not considered the least). They have been moving around the arid areas of the kingdom for as long as anypony (who will share) remembers. Personality wise, they seem pretty similar to the more industrial race of ponies, and recent years have shown a steady increase of Oryx visiting pony establisments for educational purposes.

Telekinesis – At Will (1)
Preparation Time: Instantaneous
You may mentally pick up or manipulate any number of objects within fifty feet of you with combined weights of 50 lbs. or less.

Untraceable (2) - At Will
Your race is a slippery folk. Your features and identity blur in the minds of others, making you very hard to pin down. Whenever you like, you can choose a creature that you can see. For the next month, that creature finds it nearly impossible to describe your appearance to others or remember what your name is. They still remember all your actions and will recognize you if they see you again, but can’t seem to give a description of you to anyone that might ask.

Pack Mentality (3)
Whenever a character of your race successfully aids a creature on a skill check, they provide a +4 bonus instead of a +2 bonus.

Sunderblade - Magic
Preparation Time: 30 seconds
You conjure a blade of pure energy in your hoof for the next ten minutes. It can cut through any solid object from soil to steel (effectively gaining +40 to athletics checks involving such actions). You can also slash through magical enchantments, letting you make athletics or acrobatics checks in place of arcana checks to attempt to dispel magical effects (this application does not benefit from the above-mentioned +40 bonus). Using Sunderblade requires complete concentration as you aim for the perfect angle on your target, thus it cannot be used as an attack.


Minotaurs will be replaced by Satyrs, but I don't have them statted up just yet.

I'm likely going to be retooling most if not all of the character's backstory... First idea is my character being a Science-Made Horror as well. Just I know that in spirit this character and Jill will be one and the same to me. Basically I more think of her as a Science and Knowage Loving Sociopath who knows she's a Sociopath but doesn't fully like it.

Prooobably going to veto the lab-made monstrosity (Don't you get enough of that with Synthia?) Also, being a sociopath trying not to be a sociopath is a lot less interesting than what I think you think it is.

Here's that Data, then.

Notable Ponies:
Dawn Glimmer - Element of Progress. Special Talent: Magic.
b7SKSHS+wzS//UQ00//80un18374O07fsEezfYT07Vp/C/t//2036zfYT

Viridian Charge - Element of Love. Special Talent: Flight.
eSlOR180APH/yIT056dimun1737002605WcejES31Vp/C/t//2132Pinc

Red Velvet - Element of Hope. Special Talent: Party Planning.
hWcOOGuUG00/yIT0KjxUtun173700450000/t//43Vp/C/t//28330000610000

Luxury - Element of Inspiration. Special Talent: Metalworking
h0/GKHS0000/yIT05zvGTun17370033es89zvGT0aVp/C/t//2145es89

Applejack - Element of Sacrifice. Special Talent: Farming.
gI/WW00zvGT/yIT00xHmaun17374O43//UQ/t//41Vp/C/t//2801es89

Silent Drift - Element of Perspective. Special Talent: Medicine. Not a fan of animals.
jW0RERal8s//yIT000BkMun17372e3y//80/t//3wVp/C/t//283C//80

Prince Ignis - Keeps the sun burning
/0/GGIayl/w/yIT0K05Icun18372e43zvGTycKY3hVp/C/t//2037zvGT
(Pose: 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000295342)

Prince Solum - Turns the planet
v0+GGiSKIaG00000K0BkMun17370039////Uyt838Vp/C/t//210Dk7Cp38Uyt8

A brief history of Caballia:

Founding: Unicorns, Earth Ponies, and Pegasi learn to unite their abilities to fight off the Typhons, spirits of decay that dessicated their previously isolationist home kingdoms.

The Reign of Tyranny: The draconequus Tyranny siezed control of the burgeoning kingdom. Her order magic robbed ponies of choice, reducing the population into nothing but parts of a machine dedicated only to self-continuance for YEARS. Eventually, the princes managed to trick the geas upon them and sought out the Elements of Harmony. Cutie Marks suffered a severe publicity hit because of her reign.

Rise of the Phantasm: Over a number of years Prince Solum became increasingly frayed by his lack of sway with the populace. Despite his executive skill, his concerns were rarely treated as noteworthy by any except his brother. Failure to properly treat the building anxieties resulted in a desperate Solum summoning The Phantasm when Prince Ignis dismissed Solum's concerns about the Crystal Empire's new leader. Transformed into Mirage Sands, Solum began trying to reduce Caballia to naught but sand and ash. Prince Ignis caught Mirage Sands and sealed him deep underground.

Disappearance of the Crystal Empire: Solum turned out to be TOTALLY RIGHT about things going wrong in the Crystal Empire, with Queen Bellicosa going madder every day and tormenting the crystal ponies with her capricious acts. Unable to stop her alone, Ignis used a rare ritual to send the Crystal Empire into limbo to buy time.


Return of Mirage Sands: Much, MUCH later; Solum's underground prison finally broke. Fortunately, before his rampage could build any steam, a group of ponies from Ponyville became the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony and were able to REMOVE the corruption from Solum totally.

Return of Tyranny: The draconequus Tyranny managed to recover herself and set about attempting to control the kingdom again. However, the madness (if not the magic) of friendship proved too powerful a chaos to be ended by Tyranny, and the Elements of Harmony were able to break free and defeat her once again.

The Changeling Invasion: A radical sect of Templars invaded the changeling hive with an anti-magic weapon of mass destruction. The battle seemed hopeless until Prince Ritornello was rescued by the visiting elements of harmony (who were there for his wedding to Element of Progress' sister Gleaming Shield) and was able to utilize his bond with the bride-to-be to power one of her spells enough to overload and destroy the device, wherupon the tide turned.

Rehabilitation of Tyranny: planning for another disaster like the changeling invasion, it was declared that Tyranny should be turned to the side of good if possible. For this purpose, the element of perspective was recruited. His patience and thoughtfulness eventually established a rapport with the draconequus and in understanding her morality managed to add to it. Tyranny is now pursuing a career in architecture (and dabbling in dance on the side.)

Return of the Crystal Empire: This is what the previous campaign was going to be about, but it kind of petered off... however, for the purposes of this one we're assuming the players won.

When King Sombra and Queen Bellicosa were banished with the Crystal Empires, they met. They formed something of a couple of convenience and used their powerful magic to set things up so that at least ONE crystal empire would remain in limbo for them to rule (just in case they were defeated again) - but with time restored. And the deal was when both crystal empires were meant to return to their respective countries, one stayed lost and the connection meant to be made forced Caballia to connect with Equestria's crystal empire
Eventually the players of the ToTK campaign would have discovered the messed up boundaries; connecting to the lost empire through the dream world. The Princes and Princesses would set it up so that both empires could be once again entered from both countries, and start up trade and whatnot

Which brings us to now...

This is actually the stuff that it NOT going to be center stage for this new campaign (ostensibly, I'm planning for plans to go awry so who knows?)

...I will accept any kind of question, and it would be nice if some of you could post your feelings on the campaign.

Actually, I would like more details on the Oryx and/or changelings of Caballia.

Because those are what I'm leaning most strongly towards (Either Oryx master of shivvery or possibly Changeling ninja-type. -probably- the former.)

With the Oryx, there really isn't that much to tell. Their history mostly consists of them roving about and not getting into a whole lot of trouble. They do have their own culture, and can be pretty good storytellers, but as a group they really do exist in the background. Maybe a specific question about them...

And the other: Caballian Changelings...

Changelings are a race of pony shaped insects that feed on emotions. They can transform into near perfect disguises of other lifeforms... Changelings also operate as a sort of hive mind. Things like procedural and semantic memory can be accessed by most changelings through a magical connection managed by King Chitin. Because of this, changelings are often sought after for their ability to excel at virtually any job (though not every job at once, they and their king have limits to how much information they can process and utilize at once.) Despite their connection, their independently held episodic memory and tendency to vary jobs gives individual changelings widely varied personalities. Because of their somewhat distressing appearance, most changelings in the wider world tend to keep to a preferred pony form for daily business. They are most likely to be found as musicians, fighters, therapists, or in another duty exposed to intense emotion.

Interest.
Might as well round out my investigative games. I' already in a PbP one, wait listed for another, and now signing for a Skype one. Yolo
I'm thinking like a...trade saavy camel? Not really sure yet. I like the use of Waterborn on them though, that's a nice touch.
No unlabeled doors, promise.
[edit] Character thus far
Still need to add some filler moves to not take into combat and actual personality, but there's some stuff.

While history and personality need to be written out, I figured before I forgot again I'd post my charsheet.
Meet Cipher.

...Because I couldn't decide if I was going to be a changeling or an Oryx. So I split the difference.

Got interested in maybe joining a skype game, because why not.
Just a few questions before I can think about it:
Any idea around what day/time would you run the game?
How long do you think it'll go for (hour and daywise)?

Campaign Questions:
What's the general flavor of a character in your setting (ie deserty/high tech/nomadic/somewhat crazy/etc/whatever)?
Anything important I should know?

The characters are somewhat supposed to be average joes. A desert theme is appreciated but not necessary. The 'general flavor' is supposed to be a bit like the show itself. As for time, it's on Saturdays at 8:00 PM GMT, it can go for up to 4 hours, but may often be less.

Ugh, I'd have to leave a little after 10 GMT, so I'd only make two hours of it. Never mind then.

Typically if the session goes that long it's because there's a rather sizeable combat... you could make a character with no combat stats, and still attempt?

Well, I guess I can give it a go, see how it is. I do really like combat. though XD.

You can still build a combat setup, surprises happen.

Right, here's my character: Action Point the Trainee Guard.
New straight from Equestria, he's arrived in Caballia to meet the locals, earn his right to wear stripes, and hopefully not get in trouble while off duty.
So when do we start ?

Added a little flavor/background to Dohm A Derry (tentative name).
Same sheet I already linked to, just felt like re-linking.
Whelp, time to rebuild I guess.
Rebuilt into...some kind of monstrosity.
Nope not that either. Pony problems, amiright?
Okay, so. SO. Meadow Blossom. Probably the last rebuild. We'll see how I feel about my jokes in the morning.

I thought the last two filled out the party pretty well, though definitely play whatever you want. Did you mention something about investigations in this setting, Z2? We could use a pony with strong knowledge skills. Maybe if we get another participant, then.

Apparently there's a camel mummy that I didn't know about, so I opted to rebuild from the camel.
I magecrafted in one of Z2's other skype games, but that basically devolved into hats and making them look neat, and I wasn't super feeling doing magecraft again.
I tried to rebuild the flutterpony, but it just didn't sit well for some reason.
So I built Meadow, who I'm surprisingly happy with.

Okay, we have so far:

Jill, knowledgeable but sociopathic - you all have permission to smack the character as often as it takes to send her on an arc; played by Xel.

Cipher, well rounded changeling and potential espionage forerunner should things come up; played by Caden.

Six String, surely to develop into the spooniest of bards; played by Lifeforce.

Meadow Blossom, bearer of endangered cabbages; played by Kal

Whatever it is Brolo comes up with...

And a DM consultant (DM standing for Department of Magic, of course) in the form of some kind of ancient camel mummy thing Tyger hasn't statted yet.

Also, I'm willing to let the size supplement be tried here; but with Shrink Ray and the colossal size banned (maybe tell me ahead of time if you want any of the other utilities in that supplement as well.)

I made a character, five posts up (my third last post counting this one). Might as well also link it here. Action Point the unicorn guard: Brawn focused, knowledge deficient first line hitter with a keen eye.

Broken, If you'll add me on skype, we'll try to get the game started this saturday.