[FwM] Recruitment/OOC/Character Thread

[Crisis21]

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Was Magic
OOC/Recruitment/Recurring Character Thread

Pretty much what it says on the tin.

A place where people of the more high action-oriented Pony RP can come to discuss out of character ideas without disturbing those of the normal Pony RP with anything significantly darker than what they are doing.

A place to recruit and keep track of characters, particularly villains, that recur in the FwM RP.

The following is where I'm putting general information and FAQs as they are formed. It is a work in progress. If you have any information to add, please let me know.

Races

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((Note - All races listed here are able to be selected as protagonistic characters. Races deliberately not listed here are reserved for NPCs and antagonists. If you think I should add a race here, please PM me.))

Earth Ponies - Standard ponies, and are well balance physically on average. Few possess any magical abilities.

Unicorn Ponies - They have a single horn on their forehead and can learn and cast magic with relative ease. Nearly all of them have at least some telekinetic abilities.

Pegasus Ponies - Ponies with feathered wings. They can fly, and often at great speeds. Some even possess wind based magic.

Alicorns - Ponies with both unicorn horns and pegasus wings. They have immense magical potential. So far, only the great princesses are of this race.

Sea Ponies - The front half of a pony and the back half of a seahorse. They can breathe underwater and are all great swimmers. Their magic is almost exclusively centered around water manipulation.

Flutter Ponies - Slender, and often very beautiful, ponies with the wings of either a dragonfly or a butterfly. They tend to be a little smaller than average. Their magic is innate, and can rarely learn any other spells than what they can cast intuitively. No two Flutter Ponies have the exact same list of spells.

Fire Ponies - Also known as Dragon Ponies because they look like a cross between a pony and a dragon. They have dragon wings, claws on their hooves, long dragon tails with pony hair, dragon horns, beaks, and most can breathe fire. A number of Fire Ponies also eat the occasional meat, which most ponies find disconcerting.

Feline Ponies - These ponies have thick shaggy coats of fur and almost prehensile tails. They have been known to purr when content as well. On the whole, Feline Ponies tend to be more wild than most ponies, and are more likely to act on instinct. Like Fire Ponies, they also eat meat on occasion.

Mountain Ponies - Shorter and stockier than Earth Ponies, the males are also characterized by having thick beards. Most of them live in mountain caves.

Desert Ponies - Well known due to their large fangs, and pronounced underbite, and predisposition to living in hostile environments. They tend to form tribal groups and are skilled hunters. Obviously, they also eat meat which tends to alienate most other pony races. There are many cautionary tales circulating Equestria that paint the entire race as villainous. Not all of these are true, but just enough are to keep relations from progressing. Also known as Swamp Ponies depending on where they live.

Nightmares - A type of ethereal pony that is capable of manipulating dreams. They have a fairly bad reputation as a whole. Sadly, this reputation is not completely undeserved.

Pony Flies - Ponies that are rarely taller than one inch and flit around on buzzing insect wings. Not many ponies are aware of them as their small size makes them easily overlooked.

Space Ponies - Immigrants from a destroyed extraequestrian civilization. They tend to be more slender and streamlined than the typical pony, but they can almost always pass as one of three races (Earth Pony, Unicorn, Pegasus) under casual scrutiny.
Space Unicorns tend to have a corkscrew shaped horn rather than the usual spiral.
Space Pegasi tend to have wings with feathers that fit together very closely, making it hard to pick out an individual feather and giving the wings a sleek appearance.
There is a shadowy rumor among the Space Pony population of a Space Alicorn Princess somewhere in Equestria, but if anypony knows her identity, they aren't talking.

Zebras - A striped pony-like race that still practices old tribal rituals and magics forgotten to most of Equestria. They often have a great deal of herbal knowledge and a few are said to be oracles as well.

Deer - A tribal society that lives in the forests of Equestria and actively avoids pony civilization. Little is known about them and many ponies consider them merely legend.

Factions (aka Politics)

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Followers of Luna:
Luna is the only one of the two princesses still left on Equestria. She is the 'nicer' of the two, and the one who believes most strongly in the power of friendship. She is diplomatic and democratic, and prefers to discuss problems rather than fight them out. This does not mean that she's helpless in a fight, far from it, but she prefers to explore other options first.

Luna's followers are the bulk of the pony population, and a large number of them tend to be more open minded than other ponies. Like Luna herself, they dislike conflict, but they are not likely to just roll over for the opposition either. Unfortunately, they can sometimes take a long time to come to a decision regarding something important. Their hearts are in the right place, but they often lack a consensus on what needs to be done.

Followers of Celestia:
Celestia, also known as the Iron Hoof, was the premier military commander of Equestria before her dictatorial regime was overthrown by Luna and Twilight and Celestia herself imprisoned in the sun. She is not 'evil' however, and genuinely wants what is best for Equestria. She is quite militaristic and dictatorial, believing in a single point of command that is obeyed without question. She does believe in the power of friendship, but thinks it should be backed up with plenty of military might. Due to Luna's love for her sister and unwillingness to completely isolate her, Celestia can contact her followers at will, but cannot come in person.

Celestia's followers still make up the bulk of Equestria's military, having been reintegrated after the coup, and they are almost all competent fighters. Most of them are fairly hard-nosed, and quite a few are more than a little distrustful of anyone outside their fellow comrades and display varying levels of xenophobia. They serve Equestria loyally, but nearly all of them would greatly prefer Celestia's leadership to Luna's.

The Nobles:
Less a true faction than a group of monetarily, socially, and politically privileged ponies who work towards their own ends within the Equestrian government. Politicians, military leaders, subversives, and layabouts alike can all be found in this group. Some may truly be working for the better of Equestria, some may only think they are, and still more could not care less as long as their personal fortunes and power remain intact. Some members of this group keep their own personal armies on their payroll that are outside the command of the Equestrian army.

A Voice For Balance, The Unificationists:
And finally is the most minority political group of ponies in Celestia, those that would seek to reconcile both sides and have the princesses rule side-by-side. The Unificationists think that the best option for Equestria is full unity of all ponies. Many followers of both princesses openly scoff at these ponies. The rest tend to think the ideal is a nice one, but believe that it is an impossible dream. Luna herself would dearly love this group to succeed, but tends to refrain from saying so out of worry that her own followers might revolt if she was seen to openly support this group.

The Extreme Ends:
There are extreme political ends of all three camps as well, the Purists of Luna, the Rebels of Celestia, and the Resistance.

The Purists of Luna believe that Celestia's banishment should be complete and total, not this 'imprisonment with communication privileges' that she currently has. Most of them also think that all of Celestia's followers should share her punishment as well instead of being tolerated as part of the community. Fortunately, they do not have the numbers necessary to push this view through, much to Luna's relief.

The Rebels of Celestia are dedicated to returning Celestia to the throne by any means necessary. They are a constant headache to the rest of the pony population, and even other Followers of Celestia often think they are out of line. Perhaps the most telling indication of how out of line they are is that no faction of the rebels has received contact from Celestia herself, despite the fact that Celestia probably could contact them if she wanted to.

The Resistance is commonly believed to be another group of the Rebels of Celestia, but little could be further from the truth. An extreme camp of the Unificationists, the Resistance believes that Unification can only be achieved by literally uniting the two princesses into one entity. This plan is unknown to the pony population at large, but it would horrify every faction listed above, the other Unificationists most of all. The potential insanity inherent in a single pony who used to be two ponies means that this plan might be the result of influence by Dark Forces as they would greatly like to see the princesses driven irrevocably mad. Of course, it could just as easily be simply the result of a group of extremists with more vision and resources than sense.

Special Note - The Decorated:
Decorated ponies are those that have been recognized as having performed a great service to Equestria and one or the other princess. The Lunar Medal of Honor is typically granted to those whose efforts have bettered or protected the lives of all ponies in Equestria and its awarding is decided by Luna. The Solar Medal of Honor is typically granted for valor in combat and its awarding is decided by Celestia. Recipients of either medal are often greatly respected among the followers of the related princess, and sometimes suffer the enmity of the other camp. Most decorated ponies have even sworn an oath to the princess that honored them.

There are a few exceptions though. An exclusive group of ponies known informally as 'Double Decorated' are those who have received honors from both princesses for services to Equestria. Acts deserving of this honor are so sweeping in their importance that neither princess can afford to ignore them. These ponies have almost never sworn a binding oath of service, aside from the usual 'loyalty to Equestria' that all ponies swear, to either princess at the time they are honored. As a result, they receive double the respect, as they are recognized by both groups, but also double the enmity. They are almost constantly hounded by zealots and politicians from both camps looking to get them to swear binding oaths to only one princess and foresake the other. They are some of the few ponies who can actually refuse an order from one of the princesses and get away with it, or rather they are burdened by the duty of sometimes having to refuse such an order because they know it would violate the principles of the other. They are caught in a political tug-of-war, burdened by being able to see both sides of the equation, knowing how hard it is to reconcile the two into a single whole, and understanding just how necessary such unity is for Equestria's future.

Spirit Worshipers:
Spirit worship is a practice that has been slowly dying for a thousand years as religious ponies switch their worship to the princesses themselves. The spirits in question are the spirits of nature. Forces such as fire, water, lightning, earth, wind, and many others are called upon by these shamanic priests. Some priests are even able to call upon the power of the spirits directly to aid them in various tasks. Few ponies still worship the spirits in any capacity and the practice is actively frowned upon in pony society. However, various non-pony races still actively practice spirit worship.

Undecided/Independent:
An extreme minority of the pony population are those who can't seem to decide between the known factions. They are a minority because most who are undecided eventually cave to peer pressure and join one faction or the other.

Dark Forces:
Any intelligent individual that would be considered an antagonist to any of the above groups falls into this category. The Dark Forces are actively working to overthrow the princesses and bring an end to pony civilization. They wish to see the power of friendship stamped out forever and the lives of everypony under their control. The group is disjointed, with many heads that each have their own plots and plans for Equestria and there is more than a little infighting between distinct sub-groups. However, their biggest weapon is the disunity among the ponies and the princesses themselves that they have managed to engineer through centuries of careful manipulation. It is unknown how much direct influence, if any, the Dark Forces have over the extremist camps of ponies, but few level-headed ponies can deny that such extreme views ultimately serve the designs of the Dark Forces more than they do Equestria. This disunity will need to be overcome if the power of friendship is to ever truly prevail.

Dark Factions:
The Dark Army is an organization of monsters and evil ponies dedicated to the overthrow of the Princesses. Their movements are erratic and the various commanders spend almost as much time fighting each other as they do the rest of Equestria. Nevertheless, they are considered the largest active threat to Equestria as a whole.

Devil Shamans are the opposite of Spirit worshippers and they actively worship and seek out the aid of the darkest most twisted spirits known to ponykind.

The Nightmare Family is an organization of evil ponies who believed the line about 'Nightmare Moon' back when Luna was imprisoned by Celestia. Despite the fact that this proved false, they believe that a corruption of Princess Luna is possible and work towards this end.

The Iron Empire is a group that not only wants Celestia back, but they want her back as the 'Iron Hoof' and not herself. They are very confident that they can pull this off. Confident enough to be worrisome.

The Cult of the Eclipse is a group that works towards the corruption of both princesses, an event that would surely spell doom to all of Equestria if it came to pass.

Timeline

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All of the following is tentative and subject to change

~1000 years ago - Twin pegacorn princesses are born on Equestria. Their innate power and goodness is so great that the Dark Forces that plague the land retreat before it.

Roughly 17 years after that, several thousand light years away, another pony planet known as Argonia is invaded by a mysterious and hostile force. The invaders, led by a horrific pony named Zoda, lay waste to the planet and the population when the Argonians refuse to surrender to their rule. The Argonians manage to put un enough of a fight against the invaders that a sizable portion of their population is able to flee the planet, including a stasis pod containing the Argonians' own young pegacorn princess and six of her closest friends.

~950 years ago - An Argonian stasis pod is mistaken to be a meteor as it crashes into the ruins of an ancient pony civilization in the South Islands.

~900 years ago - The Dark Forces begin to tire of hiding in remote caves and start to organize into armies and attack cities all over Equestria. Celestia, the more proactive of the princesses, decides to form an army to fight back. A pony known as Gallant Garion becomes one of the first generals of the army and leads them to many victories over the Dark Forces.

~850 year ago - During one particular engagement that Celestia herself was present for, the princess is struck with an unknown form of dark energy. She appears to be unaffected, and the incident is written off as unimportant.
Gallant Garion willingly volunteers for a magical procedure to make him an immortal servant in Celestia's army. However, the process goes awry and the villainous Simmer escapes into the wilds of Equestria.

~850 years ago to 20 years ago - Celestia gradually becomes more agressive and tempermental as the undetected taint from the darkness she was struck with influences her mind so gradually as to be unnoticable. As her temper worsens, only her sister Luna is able to stave of the worst parts of her personality.
Argonian Space Pony refugees arrive on the planet sporadically and are absorbed into the greater population.
Zoda hunts down the Argonian refugees across space, not knowing that political maneuvering (aka backstabbing) and subversive rebel movements are gradually eroding his existing galactic empire.

~500 years ago - A group of settlers in the northern mountains find a ship they name the Ark of Yamato frozen solid in a mountain lake. The lake remains solidly frozen for centuries.

~110 years ago - An innately amoral pony named Xykon is born. He quickly kills his own family at a young age and joins the Dark Forces for a few decades before striking out independently.

~30 years ago - Xykon transforms himself into a skeletal abomination using forbidden magics. He bigins a plot to steal the powers of the princesses themselves.

20 years ago - Organized Dark Forces armies show up claiming alliegance to an unknown individual they call 'Iron Hoof'.
Celestia's temper finally reaches levels where even Luna can no longer calm her sister.

10 years ago - Celestia imprisons Luna in the moon after her sister was supposedly taken over by the Dark Forces and transformed into 'Nightmare Moon'.

10-5 years ago - It is revealed that 'Iron Hoof' is actually an evil split personality of Celestia that has become dominant in recent years.
Celestia begins a tyrranical reign over Equestria under a sun that never sets, and a summer that never ends. She brutally quelches any resistance with either the Equestrian army, or an army of monsters under her control.
A division in an old clan of Unicorn pyromancers throws nearly every fire-using pony in Equestria, including the entire Fire Pony race, into a bloody civil war.
A young pony named Twilight discovers that 'Nightmare Moon' never truly existed and plots to release Luna.

5 years ago - Luna escapes her prison thanks to Twilight. Together, they manage to best Celestia and imprison her in the sun. At the same time, they manage to dispel the evil personality of 'Iron Hoof' and free Celestia from direct influence by the Dark Forces.
Luna, loving her sister very much, allows Celestia to contact ponies outside her prison. However, Celestia's personality is still highly aggressive and she and Luna get into frequent arguments over how Equestria should be run.
Unable to reconcile their differences, and legitimately fearing that her sister might suffer a relapse into 'Iron Hoof', Luna does not ever set Celestia free. Celestia understands this position to a degree, but she feels that Luna is much too soft and forgiving to do what needs to be done to combat the Dark Forces which grow ever stronger.

3 years ago - Zoda finally locates the escape pod that held the Argonian Princess in the South Islands and lands his flagship. He kidnaps a local archaeologist and has him decipher the instructions to bring the ponies in stasis out. The kidnapped pony's nephew, Mike, a Sea Pony named Echo Wave, and a wandering bard named Eric, band together to locate and rescue Mike's uncle, and then the Space Ponies in stasis, and hand Zoda his first military defeat in over a millenium. In the process, they destroy Zoda's flagship and strand the alien conqueror on Equestria with no way to contact his extraequestrian armies which also never come looking for him.
Mike is able to free the Space Ponies from stasis and the Argonian Princess Mica finally awakens after nearly a thousand years of sleep
Mike, Mica, Echo, and Eric are later joined by two other ponies, Shutter Shade and a pure white adult Blank Flank called Ammy. Together they call themselves the Starlight Six.

2 years ago - Following a blood oath from his father, Roy forms a band known as the Order of the Stick to hunt down and destroy Xykon.

1 year ago - The Great Eclipse occurs.
Despite most science ponies saying that most of Equestria will only be able to see a partial eclipse, everypony views a full eclipse that then plunges the world into darkness. For several minutes, many ponies are claiming everything from Celestia turning the sun black from within to Luna finally showing her 'true evil colors' to the Dark Forces being victorious. Then the sun comes out and the shadows are banished.
The official statement from Luna is that the event was due to a horrible weapon of the Dark Forces that was so powerful even the Dark Forces rightly feared it. Both she and her imprisoned sister present medals to a band known as the Starlight Six which they publicly credit with this weapon's defeat. Most ponies believe this story at face value, and within twenty four hours this previously unknown weapon has a dozen different foreboding titles/nicknames.
The Starlight Six publicly disbands after they are awarded medals by both princesses. Oddly, a Pony Fly named Issun is among their ranks at the time instead of a now mysteriously missing Ammy.

6 months ago - Xykon finally puts his plan to drain the princesses into action. Targeting the imprisoned Celestia, he is able to begin siphoning her powers without breaking or entering her prison in a process that would have killed Celestia had it succeeded. However, he is defeated and destroyed by the Order of the Stick at the cost of the lives of two of their members, saving Celestia's life. Thankfully, the details of the process Xykon developed die with him.
The Order is presented with both the Lunar and Solar Medals of Honor, including posthumous honors to their fallen members, for their defeat of Xykon.
Zoda's name begins to circulate across Equestria as a new powerful commander of the Dark Forces' armies.

Places

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Bridle Shores:
Guardhouse
Public Works Guild

Character List

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Ponies

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Aero Naught
'Aventura' Gearstride
Barley Hop (Minor NPC)
Beyn Counter (Minor NPC)
Blazing Hooves
Brazen Thorn
'Captain' (Major NPC)
Dreamrunner
Emerald (Major NPC)
Eric
Ember Sol
Fantasia
Fire Flowier Flamestrong
Fox Trot
Grills Flamestrong
Gwynfillion
Handsome Stranger
Harten
Hover Heart
Icy Touch
Issun
Julia
Juniper Star
Kalectro Stelvana
Lemongrass
Lone Star
Machanic
Mica Nohansen Dartanius Helena Allura Xion de Argos
Mike
Nimbus Grey
Rainbow Pepper
Rockem Wrench (Major NPC)
Roy
Sandy Shore
Shell Shock
Silverpine
Skyrial Stelvana
Smoothie aka "The Blind Seeress"
Soft Serve
Staccata
Tyrol Shieldbearer
Vermillion
Zach

Major Villains
(Use with caution)

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Dark Forces Set-up

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The Dark Forces want control of all of Equestria, plain and simple. Their unity as a force is a simple hierarchy of power. If you can take the position, it is yours, if you can't then your life expectancy is increased by following orders. Plots to backstab and murder rivals and obstacles run rampant, and every member knows this. Sometimes a high-ranking individual, like Xykon, breaks off and sets out on their own, but one has to wonder if they are truly as independent as they think....

Leader - Mysterious figure who is pretty much behind everything going wrong with Equestria to some extent or another. While 'it' logically couldn't know about every plan going on, any of its subordinates who thinks he or she is getting away with something without the leader's knowledge is likely in for
a rude surprise.

Seconds in Command - These two are the administrators. They oversee all the plans the Dark Forces have in motion (that they know of anyway). They are almost never seen on the battlefield anymore, and spend almost all of their time being 'puppetmasters' and manipulating various factions that think they are in control of their own actions. They would likely love to usurp full power, but even they don't know who, or even what, the Leader is.

Generals - These four do some of the same things that the Seconds in Command do, but they also are seen on the battlefield and are the most fearsome foes any pony could face. Any given general is likely a Hero Killer to some extent. A-rank threat easily.

Majors - Each general is served by two Majors who typically command the forces in battle. They are very powerful adversaries and are at least a B-rank threat.

Elite forces - Squads led by Lieutenants, and under the direct command of a higher ranking official. These are the ones sent out when a ranking official wants something done right. Even the Leader has some squads that answer directly to 'it'. Every member is at least a C-rank threat.

Grunts/Mooks/etc - Everything else. Disposable combatants and the bulk of the Dark Forces. Mostly made of D-Rank threats, but could include anything from E to B-Rank depending on circumstances.

Dark Forces Ranking members

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Leader - John Flitwisp (Identity unknown to the rest of the Dark forces)
Second in Command 1
Second in Command 2
General 1 - Jellax Hullaxburom (Killed by Soft Serve)
General 2 - Mystic Blade
General 3
General 4 - Frankenstein (Killed and succeeded by Zoda)
Zoda "The Prime Invader"
Major 1a
Major 1b
Major 2a
Major 2b
Major 3a
Major 3b
Major 4a
Major 4b

Crossfire
Fire Pony Nobility (Second Page - can also be non-villain characters)
Glados (Dead, we think...)
Simmer ('Redeemed/Cured')
Xykon (Dead/Destroyed)
'Yami' (Destroyed)

FAQs

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Q: How dark is this RP?
A: Somewhere below 'Happy Sunshine Fun Land' and above 'Hopeless'. Happy endings are the bulk of life, but the possibility always exists for a sad ending. Darkness also runs rampant across the world and is always lurking outside the safe walls of town.

Q: What is the tech level?
A: I think the general consensus is 'Steampunk' right now. There may be occasional alien technology influence as well.

Q: What is the general policy on weapons?
A: Equestria is an armed society right now. Every military member, including the common town guards, carries a potentially lethal weapon with them everywhere, even off duty. Even civilian ponies are commonly seen carrying weapons. However, it is standard practice to never draw your weapon unless you intend to use it. Drawing a weapon, for whatever reason, is considered a hostile act by most ponies.

Q: How dangerous is the town of Bridle Shores?
A: Interesting question. The town has seen much more than its fair share of action and odd occurrences over the years since its founding, and no one can say why this is. Skirmishes with monsters at one or more town entrances happen almost daily, and certain loud noises are common enough that they no longer enough by themselves to induce a panic in any town resident. That said, the Town Guard and Militia are good at what they do, and few things are a high enough threat level to greatly disrupt life in the town for long. In D&D terms, this is a town where your neighbor is likely to have one or more levels in a PC class.

Q: How are threats classified?
A: Threat Ranks (guidelines):

F-Rank - Helpless. No threat at all.
E-Rank - Mild threat. Only about as dangerous as an average civilian.
D-Rank - Competent combatant. Not something a pony could be expected to defeat without combat training.
C-Rank - Dangerous combatant. Not something your average soldier could defeat reliably.
B-Rank - Highly dangerous. Defeating something like this is what makes your average heroes. Super-Mook/Sub-Boss/Early Boss status.
A-Rank - Extremely dangerous. 'You and what army?' is no longer a joke at this point. Big Sub-Boss/Late Boss status.
A-Rank+ - Army Killers, unofficial ranking. No official is really willing to admit that such dangers even exist at all. End boss status.

Q: Where is the Roleplay thread?
A: There's a link to it right below.

The Roleplay Thread

The Roleplay Thread 2

The Roleplay Thread 3

Blank Character Sheet

Name:
Title: (If any)
Race:
Appearance:
Age:
Skills:
Biography:
Personality:
Relationships:
Cutie Mark:

[HalfTangible]

EDIT: FAQs are your friend

[Mindfreak]

Name Zach
Title Leader of Celestia's Resistance
Appearance A brown Stallion Pegasus Pony. With Brown Eyes, and glasses.
Cutie mark The symbol for the game Caverns and Centaurs
Skills
Feat: Two Weapon Fighting
Feat: Weapon Proficiency: Katana
Feat: Two Weapon Defence
Feat: Weapon Proficiency: Words
Feat: Wizard Acolyte
Str: 11
Dex: 14
Con: 15
Cha: 21
Wis: 21
Int: 21
Total Hp: 60
Healing Surges: 9
Biography When Zach was young he recieved a magic set of C&C dice. This was when his parents were still rich, since then, Zach has become an Orphan, trusting to his wits only. He dislikes the world he lives in, but it is like Caverns and Centaurs. He is the leader of Celestia's Resistance. An orginization who's finaly goal is too merge Luna and Celestia into one body. He does this secretly, lest someone rat him out to Princess Luna.
Relationships None, he trusts no one.

Inventory:
1 Saddlebag of Holding(To carry everything in)
2 Katanas
1 Dice Bag(Holding many dice)
1 D20 Necklace
1 Pair of Glasses(Note, these can be turned into a saw)

((The Alternate Universe form of Zach Rolfe))

[Rodny]

And also would it be strange if i just use Rodny/Damrot/Berathor?

[Mystic Muse]

Uh Mindfreak? Luna is the goodguy in this RP. Celestia was evil and iron hoof. Twilight and Luna helped overthrow her.

And also would it be strange if i just use Rodny/Damrot/Berathor?

Should be fine

[Mindfreak]

Uh Mindfreak? Luna is the goodguy in this RP. Celestia was evil and iron hoof. Twilight and Luna helped overthrow her.



Should be fine

Yeah, I was wondering about it. I'm going to change my post a bit. But Zach still likes Celestia better then Luna. There always has to be one evil-ish pony out and about.

[Mystic Muse]

Yeah, I was wondering about it. I'm going to change my post a bit. But Zach still likes Celestia better then Luna. There always has to be one evil-ish pony out and about.

Well, Soft's entire family is entirely Pro-Luna so he won't be particularly welcome in her bar. Just so you know.

[Rodny]

Screw it! Im going with Luna as Rodny/Damrot's Princess! And their First is going to be with Iron Hoof making Rodny first in command of Princess Luna's royal guards and Damrot second :p

[Mindfreak]

Well, Soft's entire family is entirely Pro-Luna so he won't be particularly welcome in her bar. Just so you know.

Ah! But he is a secret vigilante for this cause. He has almost been caught many times, but, no one still knows that he is part of the group that is Pro-Celestia.

[Mystic Muse]

Ah! But he is a secret vigilante for this cause. He has almost been caught many times, but, no one still knows that he is part of the group that is Pro-Celestia.

Three words.

Mind-reading-pony.

That's fine though.

[Grif]

Interesting. We can use characters from our main RP in this as well right?

I'm lazy enough as it is.

[RdMarquis]

I'm probably going to stick with Wind Dancer, but under another name (I'll eventually rename him in the regular RP, too). He's not especially attached to Wind Dancer, anyway. It's just the name his alter ego was given at birth.

Though, I do have another character concept. Would an airship be too advanced for this world? I'm toying with the idea of a former follower of Celestia who stole an airship when things went south and now makes a living piloting ponies and things around. He's based somewhat on Lee Scoresby from the Dark Materials series.

[Lix Lorn]

Not as far as I can tell, nope. Airship go!

[Mystic Muse]

Three words.

Mind-reading-pony.

That's fine though.

I'll actually have Smoothie just be a powerful wizard/Sorceress this time around. No mind reading. This way it doesn't kill your character idea Mindfreak.

[Grif]

Not as far as I can tell, nope. Airship go!

High fantasy indeed. This just went the steampunk route.

[RdMarquis]

Cool. I'll be back in a couple hours with a tarot-themed unicorn named Aero Naught and his ship, The Magician.

[Crisis21]

I'll be back later with some villains and heroes as well as comprehensive pony races for the RP.

Also, I'd like to propose this for the overall plot:

Luna was always the good princess, and she's the embodiment of hope and light for the world. Her followers are those who truly believe in the power of friendship ultimately prevailing. They are willing to talk with non-pony groups and make peace with them if at all possible. This doesn't mean that they can't fight when they need to, but they are the nicer of the two princess factions.

Celestia used to be evil, but was indeed overthrown and redeemed by Luna and Twilight. Despite being 'good' now, she's still pretty militaristic and keeps a large organized standing army. Her followers are usually the strongest fighting force against monsters and villains. However, they are almost solely concerned with driving out the monsters and darkness by force, and often alienate potential non-pony allies this way. They are often untrusting of non-ponies, and some are even openly suspicious of less common pony races.

Towns and cities often contain followers of both princesses within their borders. While there are no open hostilities between the two groups, relationships are strained to put it nicely. this is compounded by the fact that both groups believe they are working for the greater good of equestria and ponykind, and can make solid, reasoned arguments to back their position up. Few ponies are considered welcome by both groups (I will be making both Eric and Roy two of these few ponies, and I will be giving what I hope are solid reasons for this), but even these ponies have issues as they are frequently hounded to 'pick a side'.

A third faction are the Spirit followers. Spirits, also called Gods by some ponies, possess power over the natural forces of the world. Their followers often are granted similar powers. However, spirit worship in the society of Equestria is frowned upon at best and banned at worst. While there are a great many ponies who would be accepting of a Spirit follower, practicing this faith openly is often inviting trouble.

Finally, there are the Dark Forces. This disjointed group is ultimately responsible for all the larger ills that plague Equestria. Every villain is working towards their ends whether they know it or not. Their crowning jewel against the ponies right now is the division of loyalties among the ponies between Luna and Celestia. This lack of unity among the ponies is the Dark Forces' greatest asset by far. Their ultimate goal is the complete dissolving of the Power of Friendship across Equestria, to be replaced with suffering.

Thoughts?

[Rodny]

I think it's perfect except for the fact that some of the races could actually be untouchable by others and therefore have little to no interest in any conflict. The Nightmare Ponies I use are a prime example of this. No one can really do anything to them, due to them living entirely in dreams.

Also. Deadtiming.

[Thanqol]

I think the duality between Celestia/Luna shouldn't be good/evil but tyranny/democracy. I'm also strongly against the idea of a redeemed, 'good' Celestia in the iron hoof setting. She should be sealed in the sun, but perhaps still able to influence the material world through avatars/prophets.

I have no interest in cluttering the mythology of Equestria with gods and spirits. If other people want to bring those topics in, I can't stop them, but I personally will avoid any interaction with the topic.

[Crisis21]

I think the duality between Celestia/Luna shouldn't be good/evil but tyranny/democracy. I'm also strongly against the idea of a redeemed, 'good' Celestia in the iron hoof setting. She should be sealed in the sun, but perhaps still able to influence the material world through avatars/prophets.

I have no interest in cluttering the mythology of Equestria with gods and spirits. If other people want to bring those topics in, I can't stop them, but I personally will avoid any interaction with the topic.

Okay, I can handle a sealed Celestia. My thought was that she's not 'evil', but she's been misguided into thinking the 'Iron Hoof' route is what is best for Equestria. Luna isn't the kind of pony willing to completely cut off her sister from the world, so Celestia is still allowed to contact other ponies, but she can't come down in person.

Luna's followers would be diplomatic/democratic. Celestia's followers are militaristic/dictatorish. There are tolerant/intolerant ponies in both groups.

Luna followers are the bulk of the pony population, but Celestia's followers are the bulk of the military which defends the populace from monsters and such. Luna's determined to make this work, but not everypony thinks she's the best choice for a leader.

The whole Spirits thing would be a vast minority, but I wanted to give a few people another option. Especially if anyone wants to play a cleric-type character.

[Thanqol]

Okay, I can handle a sealed Celestia. My thought was that she's not 'evil', but she's been misguided into thinking the 'Iron Hoof' route is what is best for Equestria. Luna isn't the kind of pony willing to completely cut off her sister from the world, so Celestia is still allowed to contact other ponies, but she can't come down in person.

Luna's followers would be diplomatic/democratic. Celestia's followers are militaristic/dictatorish. There are tolerant/intolerant ponies in both groups.

Luna followers are the bulk of the pony population, but Celestia's followers are the bulk of the military which defends the populace from monsters and such. Luna's determined to make this work, but not everypony thinks she's the best choice for a leader.

This is what I had in mind. Baller.

The whole Spirits thing would be a vast minority, but I wanted to give a few people another option. Especially if anyone wants to play a cleric-type character.

Clerics are only interesting, to me, in how they interact with the divinities and the setting. Bringing a Cleric of Pelor into Eberron is a waste of both Pelor and Eberron. I think it's unlikely that so many people want to play a divine caster that they need more gods than Celestia and Luna to differentiate themselves.

By all means, there can be monster cults in a grimdark setting. But these should stay monster cults. Thematic consistency is a lot stronger with structured and few divinities.

[Crisis21]

This is what I had in mind. Baller.



Clerics are only interesting, to me, in how they interact with the divinities and the setting. Bringing a Cleric of Pelor into Eberron is a waste of both Pelor and Eberron. I think it's unlikely that so many people want to play a divine caster that they need more gods than Celestia and Luna to differentiate themselves.

By all means, there can be monster cults in a grimdark setting. But these should stay monster cults. Thematic consistency is a lot stronger with structured and few divinities.

Spirits would be literally the embodiment of a force of nature. Like spirits of fire, or lightning, or water, etc.

Luna and Celestia, for all their power, are not actually the moon and the sun. They have a date of birth, and those two things existed long before they did. A sun spirit, for example, on the other hand would be akin to the sun itself in a way.

In real life, sailors have been praying to the sea, in one form or another, since the invention of the boat. I see no reason why ponies wouldn't do something similar.

It's a dying practice, as Luna and Celestia are not only very powerful and all-encompassing in their influence, they are quite tangible. However, the practice of spirit worship would predate both princesses. It would also likely be the primary form of worship for non-ponies (like the deer tribe mentioned in the other RP) that don't follow Luna or Celestia.

[Mystic Muse]

I'm posting a different version of Smoothie. Still a good guy but much different, so I think it's justified

Name: Smoothie. AKA "The Blind Seeress"
Appearance: Same as in the other RP, except Often cloaked, and always has a band covering her eyes, or eye sockets or whatever is underneath the thing. Nopony knows for sure and she refuses to elaborate. She often has a smile on her face, but it looks much more menacing than its intended to be.
Skills: Magic.
Biography: Has always enjoyed studying magic. She gained her cutie mark once Sprinkles gave Smoothie her wizard hat. It sounds like soon after that birthday, Smoothie lost her eyesight somehow. There are many different rumors why, but nopony who knows ever confirms them. All the general public really knows about her is that she never takes the band covering her eyes off, she can read minds, and that she almost never comes out of her room. So much so that there are many, many rumors surrounding her. She's pro Luna but also pro unification.
Personality: Huge recluse. Doesn't speak a whole lot because she usually doesn't have a lot to say. Most who don't know her personally are quite unnerved by this. She sometimes uses this and her reputation to her advantage, appearing as an obscenely evil wizard to some if she thinks it will serve the greater good. She hates doing it, but occasionally considers it necessary.
Relationships:Her immediate family, and any of her friends from the other RP.
Cutie Mark:A wizard hat like the one she sometimes wears.

She spends most of her time in her back room which keeps her mind reading abilities from going haywire, and keeps her from reading the mind of anybody who isn't in her back room. This way, it won't kill any character concepts, and I thought it would be interesting.

[Thanqol]

I still consider it clutter, and think that just expanding the portfolios of Celestia and Luna covers most everything you're after (Luna looks after sailors because they navigate by the stars etc). You can do it and make a case for it, certainly, I just think it's an inelegant way to explain something that doesn't need explanation. 'tis all I have to say on the topic.

[HalfTangible]

Name: Lone Star

Appearance: A pegasus pony with an Inky Black coat, red irses and a silver mane.

Skills: Lone Star possesses a great aptitude and competence for the written word, and adores writing stories of all kinds. He also is an above-average aerial combatant at night, and an average one by day.

Biography: Largely unknown. He showed up at Bridle Shores one day with cuts all over his flank and an apparent refusal to speak. He kept that way for nearly four months, during which all his communication occurred in writing. He did eventually start talking again, but he still kept mostly quiet and grim.

He showed a great aptitude for writing, especially highly outlandish fiction stories, and often took challenges and requests from other ponies to make something boring into something worth reading (though usually not worth remembering)

Relationships: Usually complicated.

Cutie Mark: A single silver star with a pen in the center.

[Rodny]

Oh crap! Crisis just summed up Nightmare Ponies in one sentence >.>

[Crisis21]

First major Villain! ((This is mostly background flavor for the world at large. This guy is a bonafide Hero Killer so don't invoke him casually.))

Name: Zoda
Title: Prime Invader
Race: Evil Space Pony 'Alicorn'
Appearance: A horrific space pony that looks like a twisted version of an alicorn. He has nasty dragon-like wings and a horn that's more like a blade than anything else. His 'hooves' sport vicious claws that he can use to grip with. He wears a helmet that keeps his face in constant shadow, only allowing his glowing red eyes to be seen, along with full sinister body armor complete with spikes and a dark cape (which his wings are usually hidden under).

Age: Unknown (over a thousand years though)

Skills: Basically, anything and everything that could possibly deal with War. He is a superior armed and unarmed combatant, he has great marksmanship, and he's a lot stronger than he looks (and he looks pretty dang strong). His magical ability is high magus level, and his telepathy has few equals.

His leadership and tactical abilities led him to be an undefeated warlord for over a millennium.

If he feels it necessary, he can shapeshift into another form that is even stronger and more horrific than his normal one.

Biography: Zoda has made a business of scouring the galaxy and conquering or destroying extraequestrian pony civilizations for longer than the princesses have been alive. One of his conquests, the planet Argonia, managed to hold him off long enough to send a significant portion of their population, including their own alicorn princess, away from his immediate reach. He's spent the last thousand years hunting them down and eradicating them. This hunt is what ultimately brought him to Equestria, the place where the Argonian princess's own suspended animation escape pod crashed, where his perfect record of victory finally came to an end, resulting in the destruction of his flagship and his own death at the hands of a group known as the Starlight Six.

However, he had clones of himself ready just in case he was ever slain and he rose again, and again, and again. He has been defeated, and killed, numerous times by the Starlight Six in general, and their primary warrior, Mike, in particular. It wasn't until he found himself on his last clone that he was able to check his pride and rage and examine the facts. This careful thought has made him more dangerous than ever. He is effectively stranded on Equestria until he gains enough resources to build another ship. Until then, he has found a position as general of the Dark Forces on Equestria.

He sometimes wonders if his space empire has collapsed in his absence.

Threat Level: High A, easily. He got the position of General by literally ripping his predecessor in half with his bare hooves.

Personality: Zoda is pure evil, if there is anypony who fits the description. He is proud, arrogant, wrathful, greedy, and covetous. About the only personality flaw he doesn't have is laziness. He views everypony as either a tool to serve him, a rival to be dealt with, or garbage to be disposed of.

Relationships:

Underlings: Most of the Dark Forces in Equestria
Equals/Rivals: Any part of the Dark Forces that he can't intimidate into serving him or dispose of openly.
Pawns: Anypony he can manipulate without their knowledge.
Enemies: Everypony else.

Cutie Mark: None. Zoda doesn't do things like cutie marks. He considers them pointless.

[sildra45]

Hmm. I can probably bring in a much more evil version of Simmer into this then. MUAHAHAAAAA...*coughcough*...evil laugh, not so easy on throat!

[RdMarquis]

Name: Aero Naught

Appearance: A white unicorn with a green mane. He wears a pair of goggles around his neck and a dark blue coat.

Skills: Aero feels right at home in the sky, although his wings aren't attached to his back. He is an excellent airship pilot, and able to repair flying machines. He has a talent for telling remarkably accurate fortunes using the tarot deck he always carries around. In a pinch, they also make excellent throwing weapons. While he will never be a master magician, Aero has some skill in this area, which he is trying to improve. He hates fighting, but as a former member of the Equestrian military, he is more than able to do so.

Biography: Before Luna's rebellion, he was a member of a special division of the Equestrian Air Force. Unlike the pegasi, this special unit was composed of unicorn pilots in magic and steam powered craft. When it became clear that Celestia would lose the war, he abandoned his post and fled Canterlot, taking his family and prized airship. Aero took refuge at a magic academy owned by a family friend. Remodeling his ship, he set himself up a courier, transporting goods and ponies throughout a world in which travel can be dangerous.

Personality: Inherently mistrustful of others, but he would never let the ponies around him know this. Rather, he pretends to be social and friendly, knowing that one catches more flies with honey than vinegar. Aero Naught is self interested, with a mercenary outlook on life. If you can afford to pay for his services, rest assured you will. That said, he has a soft spot for anypony down on their luck, and he despises bullies.

Relationships: He has family living elsewhere, and attends classes at a magic school. As far as Bridle Shores is concerned, he is a stranger.

Cutie Mark: A wheel with five wings.

Airship: Except for the "01" decal on either side of the nose and the basic design, there is little evidence that The Magician was once a fighter employed by the Equestrian Air Force. Almost every part has been replaced or remodeled to disguise the ship and improve its performance. Its hold has been enlarged for extra cargo and passengers and the body has been given a dark blue paint job.

Like most airships, The Magician follows the "pegasus" design popularized by Canterlot artificers. Wings enclosed around a pair of propellers are placed on top of the cockpit and main body. The landing gear is extended from the base of the tail and where the cockpit meets the body. It resembles two pairs of legs and can be clamped around larger vessels to aid in boarding them.

[Grif]

For the heck of it, I'm going to post Icy here as well. She seems to fit right in.

Name: Icy Touch

Appearance: Unicorn with light blue coat. Cyan mane and tail. Has a cutie mark of three icicles, arranged radially.

Skills: Ice Mage

Biography: Icy Touch hails from the frozen northern regions of Equestria. Being a unicorn of the north, she has powers over ice and water, like most of the northern unicorns do.

No one knows why she choose to leave her homeland for the warm beaches streets of Bridle Shores. There are rumours she seeks revenge on ponies loyal to The Great Tyrant who set her homeland ablaze and committed unspeakable atrocities on her family.

Personality: Aloof and cold, a venerable ice queen, Icy will only speak when spoken too, and will not entertain strangers unless her interest is piqued, or she has some purpose of her own. Also ruthless in pursing her goals, with other ponies being tools for her purpose. Strongly believes in the concept the ends justifies the means.

Relationships: None in Bridle Shores.