My Little Pony LI: FE

[Maxtronaut]

What would lithium friendship look like? What would iron friendship look like, for that matter?

They wouldn't look like anything. Friendship, like the force, has no physical form whatsoever. :/

[BlasTech]

When is it being run, and where is the link to this game of thrones wonders?

Hasn't started yet. Will start probably around mid to late October after I get back from a holiday I'm planning (I don't want to start it only to have to go AFK for a month)

I might start the recruitment thread soon though, that way people can start talking character concepts and group dynamics well in advance. (Depending on feedback to my earlier question as to whether it's too early to do that right now)

I'm actually interested, particularly if it's a more serious take. Depends on a number of things, particularly other players, but put me down as interested.

Part of me is going "woo".

Another part of me is going "dammit" because I wanted to bounce plot and setting ideas off you

What would lithium friendship look like? What would iron friendship look like, for that matter?

Lithium-Iron friendship is probably the Energiser Derpy banging a drum.

(LiFePO4, lithium iron phosphate batteries are sooo close to being LiFePON3 so. dang. close.)

EDIT:

Sounds like a pretty interesting game, though I'm curious about how your two different pitches interact. A traveling home journey, to me, is not usually the best place for tiny decisions making a big impact because you don't have time to hang around any one locale and see how you tiny decisions influence others over a long time. Random powerful ponies wandering into new locations is more of a big decision kind of thing.

But, to answer your actual question, 2 months is fine, just make sure your players are engaged and discussing stuff and if everything seems to be ready early, try to be prepped to start early.

Well the small decision is basically what gets the whole thing started ... Lets just say you pick a bad day to catch a train.

After that, what happens is up to the players, including ignoring the overarching story in order to go cause havoc. (Ha ha, railroading joke)

[Anarion]

What system did you end up settling on Blastech?

[Thanqol]

Part of me is going "woo".

Another part of me is going "dammit" because I wanted to bounce plot and setting ideas off you

I'm totes fine with you erring on the side of not including me. I'm quite picky as a player, and I've got a fair haul of PBPs right now. I'm also not sold yet; I'm very much waiting to see more of the pitch, the tone, the system and the other players.

[BlasTech]

What system did you end up settling on Blastech?

Unless someone decides to ponify WoD, I'll be using Roleplaying is Magic: Season 2 Edition.

I'm totes fine with you erring on the side of not including me. I'm quite picky as a player, and I've got a fair haul of PBPs right now. I'm also not sold yet; I'm very much waiting to see more of the pitch, the tone, the system and the other players.

Fair 'nuff. It's kinda win win for me anyway.

Or lose lose I guess, depending on how you look at it.

[Thanqol]

Unless someone decides to ponify WoD, I'll be using Roleplaying is Magic: Season 2 Edition.

Ponify the WoD:

- Remove Computer
- Remove Drive
- Remove/replace Morality
- Reskin/design your own magic system. Changeling contracts seem a reasonable power parity for pony abilities. Add a telekinisis contract for unicorns and you're basically set.

It's a charmingly easy system to adapt. That said, I am unsure if it's what I'd use when running a pony game; it does very different things. I'd probably use something like Heroquest, but I've also heard good things about Fate and Smallville for pony. I'm not boned up on pony systems.

Link me to Roleplaying is Magic, I'll see if I hate it.

[Pokonic]

RP: now in spoilers and slightly damp

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Why, it's year 2 of the glorious joint reign of the royal pony sisters, forever may they prosper. What year did you think it was?

.

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Wahhhat! Wait, a question: Do you know what Nightmare Moon is?

Pleasesaynopleasesayno

Hasn't started yet. Will start probably around mid to late October after I get back from a holiday I'm planning (I don't want to start it only to have to go AFK for a month)

I might start the recruitment thread soon though, that way people can start talking character concepts and group dynamics well in advance. (Depending on feedback to my earlier question as to whether it's too early to do that right now)

Huh, well, sign me up!

Unless someone decides to ponify WoD, I'll be using Roleplaying is Magic: Season 2 Edition.

.....Or not. Err, RisM is not realy the bestist system for high adventure. I (enter opinon here) would suggest this as the better system to use in the creation of the adventure's of colorful equines in interesting enviroments. Simple but efficant mechanics are better than barely and mechanics at all.
(end opinon here)
"cue cheezy smile here"

[Thanqol]

.....Or not. Err, RisM is not realy the bestist system for high adventure. I (enter opinon here) would suggest this (end opinon here) as the better system to use in the creation of the adventure's of colorful equines in interesting enviroments.

"cue cheezy smile here"

I'll state ahead of time I've got no interest in any system derived directly off dungeons and dragons.

[One Tin Soldier]

We interrupt your regularly scheduled pony for the Official release of Dash's stage theme from Fighting is Magic by RainbowCrash88

Ok, I'm 3 pages late on the reaction, but... Dang. That's freaking awesome.

The Pony PbP game I've been wanting to participate in for so long that I got fed up and decided to try running it

As for the pitch, it comes in varying levels of cheesy depending on your appetite. From least silly to most;

• It's an adventure/journey trip about trying to find your way home set in the wider MLP verse and tone of fics such as "Dangerous Business", "Off the Edge of the Map" and "One Last Quest". Making liberal use of the Where the World Ends wiki.
  
  
• It's a story about the small decisions that, thanks to simple fate, sometimes have an impact that vastly dwarfs our expectations.
  
  
• It's a story about four ponies, stranded on the far side of the world, who might find that getting home is very different from going home.
  
  
• Travel the world, meet interesting people, save and/or destroy Equestria in the process.

That right there is a good pitch. I am intrigued. I'll have to look into Roleplaying is Magic, see if I like the system. I might very well be interested.

[Anarion]

Further RP

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Wahhhat! Wait, a question: Do you know what Nightmare Moon is?

Pleasesaynopleasesayno

Sure do, we celebrate her holiday every year during Nightmare Night. Last year, I dressed as a tax collector and everypony said my costume was really scary! *Broad smile* Princess Luna even came to Ponyville this year to honor the holiday. She put on a great show.

.....Or not. Err, RisM is not realy the bestist system for high adventure. I (enter opinon here) would suggest this as the better system to use in the creation of the adventure's of colorful equines in interesting enviroments. Simple but efficant mechanics are better than barely and mechanics at all.
(end opinon here)
"cue cheezy smile here"

I've heard mostly good things about that system, but I don't know if it's all that great for epic adventure either. It seemed more focused on character exploration from what I've read about it.



Edit: By the way, have you ponies seen the literal version of the smile song? It's epic flash mob.

[otakuryoga]

/shakes hoof angrily
Damn you Anarion...i was about to post that

oh well..have Twilight learning to fight fires instead

In honor of Sundancer's entirely rational choice, some Luchador Ponies;

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hmmmm, that 1st one...she looks familiar...but can't quite figure out where i think i know her from...

[Pokonic]

Further RP

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Sure do, we celebrate her holiday every year during Nightmare Night. Last year, I dressed as a tax collector and everypony said my costume was really scary! *Broad smile* Princess Luna even came to Ponyville this year to honor the holiday. She put on a great show.

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Oh, thank you! I thought I was a thousand years in the past for a second there. Wait, why are you staring at me like that?

hmmmm, that 1st one...she looks familiar...but can't quite figure out where i think i know her from...

I thought so too, but she can't be Fluttershy. She has no wings!

[BlasTech]

Huh, well, sign me up!


.....Or not. Err, RisM is not realy the bestist system for high adventure. I (enter opinon here) would suggest this as the better system to use in the creation of the adventure's of colorful equines in interesting enviroments. Simple but efficant mechanics are better than barely and mechanics at all.
(end opinon here)
"cue cheezy smile here"

I'll state ahead of time I've got no interest in any system derived directly off dungeons and dragons.

I've heard mostly good things about that system, but I don't know if it's all that great for epic adventure either. It seemed more focused on character exploration from what I've read about it.

That right there is a good pitch. I am intrigued. I'll have to look into Roleplaying is Magic, see if I like the system. I might very well be interested.

Ponify the WoD:

- Remove Computer
- Remove Drive
- Remove/replace Morality
- Reskin/design your own magic system. Changeling contracts seem a reasonable power parity for pony abilities. Add a telekinisis contract for unicorns and you're basically set.

It's a charmingly easy system to adapt. That said, I am unsure if it's what I'd use when running a pony game; it does very different things. I'd probably use something like Heroquest, but I've also heard good things about Fate and Smallville for pony. I'm not boned up on pony systems.

Link me to Roleplaying is Magic, I'll see if I hate it.

Wuahg, feedback on the chosen system! Awesome!

Forum 503 error ate my previous post, so I'll try to remember how it goes.

RiM - S2E is here: http://www.mlprim.com/s2e/

I've looked into a few systems so far, including PonyTales (The DnD lifted one), PonyTales Aspirations of Harmony (hereafter refered to as AoH), and RiM.

PonyTales: DnD

I'm rejecting the first PonyTales right out of hand as unsuitable to a PbP, having to fiddle out character positioning during a fight is not fun.

Aspirations of Harmony

AoH is the second on my list of preferences. From what I've read, the combat system is the main draw and I admit that AoH does that amazingly well. It also has tonns of fun mechanics like the special abilities and criticals.

The problem is that this story, while a long adventure kind of story, is more likely to face hazards that are social or environmental in nature than combat. (Which is not to say that there won't be fighting, but that it won't be the main thing going on).

AoH, or at least what I've read so far, falls a bit flat on that side. It's far more geared to the group of ponies swashbuckling through bunches of mooks to the demon's lair as opposed to a bunch of ponies struggling to find their way home in an unfamiliar land and hopefully learning a bit about friendship along the way.

Consequently, it er ... also kind of feels a bit un-pony I guess.

Finally, the PP system also seems like it might get a bit fiddly to run during a PbP, or at least rather slow.

Roleplaying is Magic

As for RiM, I remember Thanqol's criticism of the original Season 1 edition was that the use of the d20 roll added far too much randomness to the outcome of task checks.

I think they addressed that in the second season edition by making it far less about the d20 roll (although that is still there) and more about piling on bonuses from teamwork, skills and items.

Basically any task is broken into a Body task, a Mind task, or a Heart task. Then you add bonuses for teamwork, willpower, xp, gear, applicable job, talent etc etc. It's rather flexible.

Teamwork is the big one, it can add up to +15 to a roll, which is massive given that the hardest DC's are usually in the mid thirties. It also helps in combat because, while ponies are not hard to knock down, they can be brought round by a friend spending a point of willpower.

The focus on working together to overcome common obstacles gives it a very pony flavour, and also ties into the theme of the game I think. The intent is that these are everyday ponies, not fabled warrior heroes. They may still save/destroy the world, but it won't be because they were raised from birth to cast fireballs

In short, RiM is my first preference due to flexibility and the theme underlying the mechanics. AoH is my second preference unless they update the non-combat aspects.

[Thanqol]

As for RiM, I remember Thanqol's criticism of the original Season 1 edition was that the use of the d20 roll added far too much randomness to the outcome of task checks.

I think they addressed that in the second season edition by making it far less about the d20 roll (although that is still there) and more about piling on bonuses from teamwork, skills and items.

Basically any task is broken into a Body task, a Mind task, or a Heart task. Then you add bonuses for teamwork, willpower, xp, gear, applicable job, talent etc etc. It's rather flexible.

Teamwork is the big one, it can add up to +15 to a roll, which is massive given that the hardest DC's are usually in the mid thirties. It also helps in combat because, while ponies are not hard to knock down, they can be brought round by a friend spending a point of willpower.

The focus on working together to overcome common obstacles gives it a very pony flavour, and also ties into the theme of the game I think.

In short, RiM is my first preference due to flexibility and the theme underlying the mechanics. AoH is my second preference unless they update the non-combat aspects.

Looking over RiM, goodness, they made everything insanely wordy and completely overlooked summaries and examples. I'm trying to pull out enough numbers to make a balance assessment and it's taking ages. Can you give me the short, no words version of character creation and XP costs?

Other than that, it doesn't seem to be hitting my panic buttons.

May have an idea. Will get back to you.

[BlasTech]

Looking over RiM, goodness, they made everything insanely wordy and completely overlooked summaries and examples. I'm trying to pull out enough numbers to make a balance assessment and it's taking ages. Can you give me the short, no words version of character creation and XP costs?

Other than that, it doesn't seem to be hitting my panic buttons.

May have an idea. Will get back to you.

Yeah, the rulebook could be better written. Gimmie a second.

Ok here goes:

Pick a Race and an Age category (Foal, Colt, Stallion), this determines starting XP and points to spend.

Being a Foal sucks. Dont be a foal.

Magic is a wordy system; essentially you first learn from a list of magical aspects and combine them to create a spell you want. Having the aspect means you can "improv" any spell using them, but it's more costly to you and can backfire unless you have spent the xp to learn the actual spell.

There are no lists of Jobs, Skills or spells. Basically you can make up whatever you want, but skills are more focused than jobs.

Primary attributes are Body, Mind and Heart. All start at 1.
Secondary attributes are determined by adding up different primary attributes.

Here are the numbers

Earth Pony

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Foal: 1 Attribute Point, 10 xp,
Filly/Colt: 2 Attribute Points, 35 xp
Mare/Stallion: 3 Attribute Points, 60 xp

+1 to Mind, +2 to Heart

2 Talents
2 Job Points
(1.5 x Mind) Skill Points

NB: Racial abilities discount all XP costs by 1, even during character creation. (Min 1 xp)

Unicorn

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Foal: 1 Attribute Point
Filly/Colt: 2 Attribute Points, 25 xp
Mare/Stallion: 3 Attribute Points, 50 xp

+1 to Body, +2 to Mind

2 Talents
1 Job Point
(Mind) Skill Points
(Mind) Magic Aspect, +Telekinesis
(2 x Mind) Spell Points

Pegasus

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Foal: 1 Attribute Point
Filly/Colt: 2 Attribute Points, 25 xp
Mare/Stallion: 3 Attribute Points, 50 xp

+1 to Mind, +2 to Body

Aerobatics = Body
Weathercraft = Mind
Add Heart to Either Aerobatics or Weathercraft
2 Talents
1 Job Point
(Mind) Skill Points

XP Costs can be summarised as

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Increase a primary attribute 10 xp

Increase a pegasus flying skill ability 5 xp
Learn a new Magical Aspect 5xp
Learn or increase a new spell (Highest of spell difficulty or new spell level) xp

New Job 10 xp
Increase a job (New level + 2) xp

New Skill 5 xp
Increase a skill (New level) xp

New Talent 15 xp (page 38-40 for talents)

New ability 5-20 xp depending on the ability (See page 104-108)

EDIT: Have an Example starting pony

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Name: Big Bang
Race: Unicorn Pony Stallion
Job: Chemist
Guiding Element: Generosity
Special Purpose/Cutie Mark: Improving ponies through SCIENCE/An explosion


Mind: 6
Body: 3
Heart: 1


Energy (MB): 9
Courage (MH): 7
Fortitude (BH): 4
Willpower (MBH): 10/10

Talents: Smart, Creative.
Abilities: Capable Companion – A pet monkey.
Jobs: Chemist (5)
Skills: First Aid (3), Cleaning (1), Cooking (1), Public Speaking (3), Painting (1).
Flaws: Clumsy

Prime Effects: Telekenesis
Magical Effects: Diminish, Reveal
Magical Subjects: Heat, Energy, Plant, Body

Known Spells:
Dampen Fire (Diminish, Heat) (8 ranks); Instant, Line of Sight – Difficulty 3
Absorb Energy (Diminish, Energy) (2); Persistent, Self – Difficulty 4
Locate Energy Source (Reveal, Energy) (1); Concentration, Area – Difficulty 3
Analyse Plant (Reveal, Plant) (2); Concentration, Contact – Difficulty 1

XP spend;

+1 to Mind (10xp)
Capable companion (10xp)
+4 to Job (18 xp)
+1 to Analyst plant (2 xp)
+2 to First Aid (5xp)
+2 to public speaking (5xp)

Total; 50xp

Bio; Big Bang is a mad scientist pony with a pet monkey, what more is there to know?

[Balmas]

Well, sorry to be the downer here folks, but better we self regulate before the Modguin wakes up.

*Spritzes the RP-in-spoilers bottle at the thread*

Sheesh, with the amount of spontaneous RP in this place, you'd think we were all completely insa ...

Ok, well that explains it.

Back to the part where I ask everyone for GMing tips; I know Thanqol's mantra that successful RP's are made or broken during the character creation stage. I'm thinking of starting recruitment soon, even though the RP is at least two months off, just so we can have a bit of a discussion around character types and how the group may work together.

Am I jumping the gun here? (Also, is anyone else interested? )

I'm not having much luck identifying potential quests and things. I keep tossing around ideas but just thinking "Well, it really depends on what kind of ponies these are"

As food for thought, have a poem I found that I think I'll use as part of the OP for the game;

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I read within a poet's book
A word that starred the page,
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage."
Yes, that is true, and something more:
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.

I would be interested in this, though I'll have to familiarize myself with the system. Are we talking high adventure, mature ponies, or more along the lines of what we see in the show?

Character would probably be my Avatar: a green scientist pegasus with a quest to find new knowledge.

Spritzed:

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They aren't your anything partner if they aren't willing. If they are willing, it's not a kidnapping.

Involuntary spectators? You can bring them to the match, but you can't make them watch. Not without magic, anyway.

And as for luring your Rival for a final showdown, if you have already kidnapped him then there need be no showdown, simply kill him whilst he is at your mercy and throw his lifeless body from the damn. Preferably in pieces.

...why am I even discussing this with you?
That's it, I need a latte.
*evaporates*

In honor of Sundancer's entirely rational choice, some Luchador Ponies;

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Fluttershy makes a surprisingly good masked wrestler.

[Thanqol]

Thank you for typing all that up.

Hmmm.

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I don't like the system.

RPG-Design Philosophy:

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These days when I assess systems, my first and only question is "Why would I use this system rather than Heroquest?"

Knowledge of the Heroquest system is an excellent tool to have as a storyteller. As far as a completely generic conflict resolution system goes I don't think you can do better. Heroquest works with everything. Ponies. Exalted. Space cyborg ninjas fighting Galactus. DC superheroes. It's a pure conflict resolution mechanic which promotes good storytelling through it's fundamental success/failure structure. Heroquest also takes twenty minutes, tops, to teach a new player everything they have to know.

There are better systems than Heroquest. The World of Darkness Storyteller System, for example, is utterly optimised for the task of being a horror game. Bonuses and penalties are easy to assess, and creeping reductions to your dice pool as a horror scene drags on is intimidating. Combat is fast and bloody. The game will rarely, if ever, get dragged down in minutae. Supernatural powers are discrete, flavourful and interesting to advance. Merits allow a vast swathe of customisation. WoD is way better at being a horror game than Heroquest could ever be.

Using that same system for something else, like Exalted... well, you get the clusterfrag of Exalted 2E. Storyteller is not good at being a generic system. That's okay, so long as it does the one thing it's meant to do well.

Now, this system? It feels like it's an attempt to reverse-engineer the show as a roleplaying game. All the choices in it feel really limited, with so few points that it doesn't seem possible to expand a character past their base competencies. There's no fun for me to had in gaming the system.

And I do like gaming systems. All my characters tend to be very optimised for a task - I really like the concept of being the very best at whatever it is that I do, even if it means I have to make some costly trade-off. This system lacks the ability to do that through it's super specific character creation process, limited array of choices, and lack of an effective benchmark. WoD I know 13 dice is fantastic because Joe Average rolls 4. This... bluh?

It just wouldn't be fun to make a character in this system. It wouldn't hurt, but I'd get no joy out of it. It'd just be a thing I did so I knew what to roll when conflict resolution time came and it wouldn't cover all aspects of my character (particularly the character I was tossing around).

A small thing? Maybe. But I've got Opinions, I've refined them over time, and these days I don't have time for things I don't find interesting.

So if that's back to Plan A for you I guess Mirror Flag will wait in my back pocket a while longer

[SiuiS]

And if narrative casualities always says "screw you" then nothing you ever do ever matters in the first place, so why bother?

If nothing matters but how you acts nd who you are, then who you'd re and how you act matters. Saying there are no rules so bad stuff isn't bad any more is just proof you're not on my team in the zombie apocalypse. All things being equal, do the right thing is a much better way to go about it.

But I, personally, don't believe that, anymore than I believe that all the preportedly unkillable concept personifications (e.g. Unicron, Galactus, most demon lords blahblahblah...) that continuously spout off about how they can't be defeated are really unkillable.

Yeah, those are a matter of interpretation. I'm "unkillable", in the same way the doctor is. Each time I am destroyed, I come back. Or something comes back that is A) similar enough to think it is and register as me, and B) remembers enough to be sad about the transition.

I've actually "died" a lot recently... It's terrifying. You wake up stronger, better, and no longer fully yourself. I used to be a paladin. Lawful, good, naive, small world view. State-scale power at most. Then a high Archon, basically a solar Exalt. Then an archmage. Then... Well, on down the line. The amount of time I spend sadly pining for what I once was, the values I once held is staggering. Downsides to eternity, I suppose. First world problems.

It's my signature because I know how important proofreading is

And a Darn sight dissapointing it was that you know this.

OK, first of all I'll accept your premise that power = magical death beams, even though other forms of power (political, economic, etc) are often more interesting to write about although not germane to this particular topic.

I agree completely. My statement was that the universal understanding Of power was expressed in laser, not that it's accurate. I hate the concept. But seriously, show me an example.

It's a bias I am aware of but cannot truly shake.

The idea that the pony with less power can never win a fight is over-simplistic

And wasn't mentioned, actually. It was a more drastic "the pony who picks flowers wot win against the pony who emanates a lethal lightning aura". A purposeful exaggeration.

as if the two combatants were just comparing a single factor and the one with more of it wins automatically.*

Who wins depends on tactics, psychology, discipline, and even what "winning" means to each combatant. So if even if Celestia is 50% stronger or whatever than Luna, if Luna can goad her into a running battle that takes her away from something Celestia is supposed to be guarding while an Earth pony with a power level of 0.2 sneaks in and hits the self-destruct button, Luna wins.

Even in a toe to toe fight, two fighters can have different criteria for what they call a win. See: Rocky.

I agree. That's why my "power base" is about knowledge, and using it. There's always a way to outsmart someone, make them look bad and lose their cool. My thus-far final evolution has even as an internet troll >_<

What do you mean not that kind of-


Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Hehe.

If that's your response, I'll have the guild leave you be.

I see the "FE" on the title name, and I think it means "Friendship Express". *I don't know. *I hate, hate, hate acronyms, so one that's never used becomes my ultimate pet peeve.

I have no news really, except that a fellow MMOC brony and awesome artist Valcron/Dreatos(I think is his name on DA) has a new Tumblr. Fans of Calvin and Hobbes should enjoy it

http://twilightandsmarty.tumblr.com/

LI:FE. Love interests: for Everypony!

wait, that's an acronym?
what in equestria for?

Well, it's not a word.
You young'ns and your skimming.

Me too. I... ummm... *Ninja Vanish*

I never got the the whole "ashamed o myself" thing that's jokingly thrown around here. Hel, I want to draw what amounts to pony smut, I just don't have the refined sense of composition yet. And I feel it being a family legacy is sufficient reason.

Actually for some reason I think Flix (or maybe Flick) would be a really cool name for somepony, though probably not the Shadowbolts. I might have a different use for it

we learned at bronycon that "flick" is a swear in the same way most people use "buck", because having some pony flick your horn is flicking annoying!

Aaaaanyway, I just got out of a livestream with my friend Angie Cakes, and she drew some great stuff that I feel like sharing :3

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And this one is based on my own oc!

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Speaking of which, here he is! My alchemist pony! Two versions because I'm still not sure which colour scheme I prefer.

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And I can't think of a good name for him, so he is currently just Dr. Havoc. Anyone got any good names for an alchemist? :I

Love the art style! What tools and program does she use? Could you bother her about brush settings for me?

What time is it? It's quotepost time!

Woo!

I agree with everything you say here. But I also don't think that magical beam wattage alone is a valid metric for power-in-general.

I whole-heatedly agree and would assign you right this instant as Prime Minister if you could possibly show me a valid counter-metric that is not Bigger Beams or a poorly established notion of difficulty.

It's a good metric for blowing-you-up-with-magical-lasers-power, but power comes in many forms that are difficult to compare to each other. A strait up fight only measures combat prowess.

And the childrens all think that's what power is.

Depends on the kind of magic. In the kind I prefer, the scope and power of magic is limited not by physical restraints, but narrative ones. Narrative Causality, conceptual proximity, that sort of stuff.

That's motto say finding a Discord-in-space is easy, though. No. The effor is monumental. But it won't take a bajillion years if at all, which is where the assumed sense of relative ease comes from.

And maybe I came off a little hard there. Sorry.*

But I do think it's a little unfair to call it OOC when many authors (I at least) put a lot of effort into staying true to the characters and the setting, to specifically not be OOC even if it's a different genre and different tone than the show.

This is unfortunately one of those topics where I sound like a sociopath if I get into it deep enough.

You tried. Good! One gets credit for trying. you do not get credit for succeeding just by tryin though. Oh no. You get that by succeeding. That's the only way.

Effort put in is not always important, and when we are measuring the success of the end result (which we are), then it doesn't matter if you bent over backwards, got divorced and lost your job in the process or if you sneezed and it was accidentally a masterpiece.

Now, if you work against type, and you do succeed, you get bonus points for overcoming the handicap of making something that, by formula should be OOC, actually work As IC. Credit where it's due.

Quaver's story is getting told in the Bridle Shores RP (or at least, I started telling it ... or rather, it was getting told, until I put everything on hold to work on the RiM RPG)

Stars an Fire!
Ah well. Bridle shores eludes me. I do not have a character who could interact with them, except in the grimdark parts and then it would just be a contest of egos between me and the other self-styled gods quad members.

One of these days, one of my plans to strip myself of power an start anew will succeed, Damn it.

Painting a symbol on a changeling's butt does not a true cutie mark make. Even if the paint is magic.

You just couldn't get it to work, huh?

"Just once I'd like to be kidnapped by something that doesn't have a crush on me."

As you wish.
Eventually.

"WHAT, CANTERLOT IN RUINS!?" Luchadore Mask raises a hoof to the sky, "I SWEAR UPON MY SECRET TECHNIQUE TO FIND THE ONE RESPONSIBLE BOFFINSPARK AND HEADLOCK HIM INTO SUBMISSION!"

You will work this into the ATG somehow or I shall be cross with you.

Err, what year is it? I am utterly sure I saw repairs going on last time I was here.

I'm pretty sure by now they have Royal Capitals stashed all around Equestia, in case of Royal Capital emergencies.

Back to the part where I ask everyone for GMing tips; I know Thanqol's mantra that successful RP's are made or broken during the character creation stage. I'm thinking of starting recruitment soon, even though the RP is at least two months off, just so we can have a bit of a discussion around character types and how the group may work together.

Am I jumping the gun here? (Also, is anyone else interested? )

I'm not having much luck identifying potential quests and things. I keep tossing around ideas but just thinking "Well, it really depends on what kind of ponies these are"

As food for thought, have a poem I found that I think I'll use as part of the OP for the game;

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I read within a poet's book
A word that starred the page,
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage."
Yes, that is true, and something more:
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.

Your poem honestly made me tear up. Good show, wee beetle.

I'm*Having a slow time making it through the rules, because doing ANYTHING ELSE resets the app to page one.

THANQOL. PAGE 2 OF THIS THREAD, POST 39, TOPAZ'S TARDY GAME POST. IT IS LISTED THERE.

I have Starry Notions worked out, kind of. Enchantment doesn't seem to be a viable pony thing, nor the usual techniques he uses.

Thistle Ponisdottr is slated for a creation, but she shares traits with both Pegasus and Earth ponies.

Starry has been considered just for completeness, but likely wouldn't see play.

The Pony PbP game I've been wanting to participate in for so long that I got fed up and decided to try running it

As for the pitch, it comes in varying levels of cheesy depending on your appetite. From least silly to most;

• It's an adventure/journey trip about trying to find your way home set in the wider MLP verse and tone of fics such as "Dangerous Business", "Off the Edge of the Map" and "One Last Quest". Making liberal use of the Where the World Ends wiki.
  
  
• It's a story about the small decisions that, thanks to simple fate, sometimes have an impact that vastly dwarfs our expectations.
  
  
• It's a story about four ponies, stranded on the far side of the world, who might find that getting home is very different from going home.*
  
  
• Travel the world, meet interesting people, save and/or destroy Equestria in the process.

That last one sounds about right in the immediate future. The first and second form Starry Notion's zeitgeist.

I'm actually interested, particularly if it's a more serious take. Depends on a number of things, particularly other players, but put me down as interested.

Serious, RiM might not quite be. It's possible to be sidelined by no health, but it's also possible to be sidelined by running out of courage or energy - passing out or putzing out. It's more narrative, with a trend towards episodic feel (complete with Letters to Celestia as it's XP mechanic) and a dice system designed to be fairly easy to learn with fascinating permutations.

What would lithium friendship look like? What would iron friendship look like, for that matter?

Iron friendship? *points at Luchadora Mask*

Huh, well, sign me up!


.....Or not. Err, RisM is not realy the bestist system for high adventure. I (enter opinon here) would suggest this as the better system to use in the creation of the adventure's of colorful equines in interesting enviroments. Simple but efficant mechanics are better than barely and mechanics at all.
(end opinon here)*
"cue cheezy smile here"

While Pony Tales would do much better at handling dark or gritty games, as is one I want to try at some point (it exists in my mind as an unapologetic, uncompromising and sharp granite grey, etched with enameled purple and soft red-pink ponies in the fresco style of the storybook, a thing from another age), it is not necessarily better. The rules system in RiM lens themselves more to an easy access game on PbP, faster, looser. I actually thought it would have made a better chassis for your dragon game, just yesterday.

And given how your dragon game has gone, I don't think I want suggestions from ya on a more realistic and "adventurous" system. I'd like one bright, shiny game in my PbP roster!

I'll state ahead of time I've got no interest in any system derived directly off dungeons and dragons.

It's not, aside from*Using a d20. Neither is Ponytales, actually. Ponytales struck me as much more a Exalted style of game, without the stunts and awesomeness. It's wait every Lowe magic, gritty medieval game I've ever seen tried for.

Looking over RiM, goodness, they made everything insanely wordy and completely overlooked summaries and examples. I'm trying to pull out enough numbers to make a balance assessment and it's taking ages. Can you give me the short, no words version of character creation and XP costs?

Blastech covered it, but basically it's
"develop concept. Design job and skills to fit concept.

Pick pony type. If earth, pick these abilities. If Pegasus, pick these abilities. If unicorn, see form 32-A sections alpha, gamma an epsilon. Cross reference with Rgng99."

Unicorn magic works pretty much exactly like the arcana, except you don't get much for just one arcanum. You have to combine them. You can also pick Rotes at creation which are independent of your arcana; a forces/prime Mage could start with one mind spell they knew by heart, for example.

The general concept of dice rolling is stat + skill + job + cutie mark + friends + tool for your die bonus. I'm... Not sure what the differences would be if that were changed, honestly. On the one hoof, the designers are familiar with other systems. D&D never benefited from a build-your-own-character (players option being close), an they use willpower with the Hunter add-ons.

But on the other hoof, it's a d20 game, which makes me think it's either geared to be easy or they didn't actually crunch the numbers. It's a system that doesn't benefit from breaking. Or requires breaking, depending on where you set your benchmark.

Other than that, it doesn't seem to be hitting my panic buttons.

May have an idea. Will get back to you.

Heh. Ah well. What we lose in player base we gain in brains for Blastech to pick?

[thubby]

They wouldn't look like anything. Friendship, like the force, has no physical form whatsoever. :/

i would more readily compare it to fluorine. it has some appearance of its own, but bonds with everything so readily you never get to see it.
it'll also consume your entire being if you're not careful

[Aotrs Commander]

Replacemnt paint arrives, one week after ordering.

Paint is not grey but emphatically green.

Useless.

On inspection, stupid colour is apparently not only one of few in range that is not a close match, but one of the furthest apart.

@#*£ing typical. As I ordered two pots as all the other colours I'd bought were close enough.

Going to have to start mixing grey again. Only plus is that I ordered new white and black at same time.

*extremely fracked off*

[Tiki Snakes]

hmmmm, that 1st one...she looks familiar...but can't quite figure out where i think i know her from...

No, no no. That's not how you do it. What you mean to say is;
"Just who IS this mysterious masked pony?!"

[thubby]

Replacemnt paint arrives, one week after ordering.

Paint is not grey but emphatically green.

Useless.

On inspection, stupid colour is apparently not only one of few in range that is not a close match, but one of the furthest apart.

@#*£ing typical. As I ordered two pots as all the other colours I'd bought were close enough.

Going to have to start mixing grey again. Only plus is that I ordered new white and black at same time.

*extremely fracked off*

awe, poor lichy.
here, have some feels

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[Deadly]

This is unfortunately one of those topics where I sound like a sociopath if I get into it deep enough.

You tried. Good! One gets credit for trying. you do not get credit for succeeding just by tryin though. Oh no. You get that by succeeding. That's the only way.

Effort put in is not always important, and when we are measuring the success of the end result (which we are), then it doesn't matter if you bent over backwards, got divorced and lost your job in the process or if you sneezed and it was accidentally a masterpiece.

Now, if you work against type, and you do succeed, you get bonus points for overcoming the handicap of making something that, by formula should be OOC, actually work As IC. Credit where it's due.

Not really the point.

I like to think I'm occasionally successful, but mostly I leave that for others to judge. The point is I think a lot of authors ARE successful at this, and saying none of them are or can ever be is rather insulting, in my opinion.

It's like saying "No one can teach history well, it's just not possible". That's rather insensitive to all the history teachers who try really hard, and some of which I'm sure succeed some of the time. And you can probably find people who will gladly praise their history teacher and credit them with giving them a life-long love of the subject. Others may disagree and say the teacher was boring and dry, but you don't have to succeed all the time.

One success in all the history of the world is enough, because it says that it is possible, even if it's fiendishly hard.

Here instead you're just saying "no one can write a dark pony story and make it IC, it's just not possible", never mind that a lot of authors try really hard and, I would say, some of them succeed. And, I am sure, a lot of people will agree with me that some authors do succeed at this. Not all of them, and not all the time, but sometimes.

[SiuiS]

Replacemnt paint arrives, one week after ordering.

Paint is not grey but emphatically green.

Useless.

On inspection, stupid colour is apparently not only one of few in range that is not a close match, but one of the furthest apart.

@#*£ing typical. As I ordered two pots as all the other colours I'd bought were close enough.

Going to have to start mixing grey again. Only plus is that I ordered new white and black at same time.

*extremely fracked off*

Good heavens. They seriously gave you paint that is diametrically opposite? That takes either one hel of a transcription error or actual malice. You have my honest condolences.

Not really the point.

Dependent. I specifically made it the point when calling out this conversation, and because you keep listing trying really really hard as a salient point.

I like to think I'm occasionally successful, but mostly I leave that for others to judge. The point is I think a lot of authors ARE successful at this, and saying none of them are or can ever be is rather insulting, in my opinion.

I think you're successful too. And I never said it was impossible.

It's like saying "No one can teach history well, it's just not possible". That's rather insensitive to all the history teachers who try really hard, and some of which I'm sure succeed some of the time. And you can probably find people who will gladly praise their history teacher and credit them with giving them a life-long love of the subject. Others may disagree and say the teacher was boring and dry, but you don't have to succeed all the time.

Unfortunately, I'm American. My education system has even actively engineered to make people dumber, less questioning, more obedient, and better at being cogs in a greater machine. So teachers aren't the best example. I've net teachers who were deeply passionate and letaned on their subject, an still sucked as teachers. I've met teachers who hated their subject, had their credentials in another subject entirely, and we're still good at teaching their subject. Effort is important, but so is aptitude.

One success in all the history of the world is enough, because it says that it is possible, even if it's fiendishly hard.

Here instead you're just saying "no one can write a dark pony story and make it IC, it's just not possible", never mind that a lot of authors try really hard and, I would say, some of them succeed. And, I am sure, a lot of people will agree with me that some authors do succeed at this. Not all of them, and not all the time, but sometimes.

The bolded part? Unimportant.

If part of what defines "pony" is a thing the author is actively working against and cutting out of their work, then it can be a great story, and have ponies in it, and not be a pony story. It happens all the time in real life. Dozens of science fiction books are turned away from publishing and told "you've got a great story, but publish it as [Genre] because this isn't science fiction."

I also never said it was impossible. I made sure to add a "but it's cool, it still works" to EVERY post on this topic.

It is taking me a lot of effort not to get casually vicious. I politely concede.

[Anarion]

Good heavens. They seriously gave you paint that is diametrically opposite? That takes either one hel of a transcription error or actual malice. You have my honest condolences.

Actually there are greys and greens that can look quite similar. I just had an extended conversation with my mother a couple days ago about whether a shirt was grey or green, and our conclusion was that we agreed to disagree.

I politely concede.

Since I agree with SiuiS and still think I can avoid being insulting, I choose to take up his mantle for the moment.

The unfortunate reality is that life isn't always fair, and sometimes people try really hard at things and they still don't turn out right. The conversation here has never been that all dark stories fail at being pony. Rather, it has been said that writing a dark story that is also pony poses a significantly increased challenge, one that is also deceptively difficult because it's not always obvious right away why the tone is off.

Can it be done? Absolutely, yes. But lots and lots of authors have tried really hard and failed. It's like trying to become a gymnast and setting up your balance beam 30 feet off the ground. If you're perfect, it makes no difference, but if you mess up, the consequences are way worse.

[DigoDragon]

I realize they're provinces in a video game series, but I think Daggerfall and Morrowind make cool evil pegasi names too.

Therefore, love(time) ∝ root(all power)
The love of time is proportional to the root of all power. Uh... if we slightly grossly and unforgivably mangle the English there, we get roughly "Love is Power" -- or "Friendship is Magic", if you prefer.

Yeah that's kinda where I was wanting to take it. Works for me, thanks!

The kicker is, I agree with Batman on whether he himself should do any such thing. It's not his place to do anything of the sort. It's Gotham's responsibility to administer Justice, Batman's place is in making the Joker available to face it.

True and I wouldn't want to force the Wayne Batman to break his moral code on the subject of justice. Its what I respect about him. He wouldn't be Batman then. I simply think McGinnis Batman was slightly more effective since allowing the villains to croak is pretty effective in keeping them from trying to instigate crime a second time (or third, fourth, fifth...)
Have you watched the Justice League? I remember an episode where Batman and superman had an argument about that. I think it was over killing Darkside or something. Really good stuff.

"Ooooh, can I use this one?"

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What the heck happened to all my respect?
Oh there it is. In NMM's pocket.
(I know it's not exactly NMM, but it's close enough in my mind to be like an "upgrade")

[Aotrs Commander]

Good heavens. They seriously gave you paint that is diametrically opposite? That takes either one hel of a transcription error or actual malice. You have my honest condolences.

Actually there are greys and greens that can look quite similar. I just had an extended conversation with my mother a couple days ago about whether a shirt was grey or green, and our conclusion was that we agreed to disagree.

I was expecting this, given that all the other colours I'd had were not far off:

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but in practise, it's this:

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Not "fairly close to grey" but very definately green, and certainly not dark grey. Nor, does it, on experimentation, dry grey either.

Put it this way - mixing black 1:1 with white (which is what I did in the days before getting grey paint to save me all the hassle) gives me close enough to the right colour - and it's waaaay out from that, being green-grey at the very best, and certainly totally the wrong thing to base coat grey-bluegrey.

The one and only minor saving grave is the Valleyo paints are in those bottles, so it makes it microscopically quicker to squeeze the paint out from the pots rather than drag it out with a paint brush.

It's still a massive pain, though, since guess what proportion of my fleets and ground forces use dark grey as the base coat (for grey, blue-grey, light blue-grey etc etc)...?

I'l give you a hint. It ain't a small one.

[DigoDragon]

Okay I hate to do this to you guys but I have to ask. What's been going on since page 9?

I think it was a discussion about which princess was stronger, Luna or Celestia, which in truth was a lie being masked as truth and then something about Best Majora's Mask mask ending with luchador ponies. In masks.
And now there's a discussion about going into a PbP RP.

Replacemnt paint arrives, one week after ordering.
Paint is not grey but emphatically green.

If you can't return it, you can always use it to mix a nice camo color for something. Or paint some scenery to run your minis on?

[Aotrs Commander]

If you can't return it, you can always use it to mix a nice camo color for something. Or paint some scenery to run your minis on?

Don't use camo, and even if I did, I've already got better camo colours, as the greens and such I've got have the progressions to shade them without pratting about mixing. (Which I loathe doing.)

Also, "paint" scenery? Heh. Haven't done that for years, unless you dubiously want to count the 144 turrets. All our terrain is either flocked hexes (for 144 hills and ridges) or cardboard fold-flat stuff, aside from the couple of hundred of something trees my mate has. Has been for like, fifteen years or so!

Might see if anyone at the club wants 'em or something.

[SiuiS]

Don't use camo, and even if I did, I've already got better camo colours, as the greens and such I've got have the progressions to shade them without pratting about mixing. (Which I loathe doing.)

Also, "paint" scenery? Heh. Haven't done that for years, unless you dubiously want to count the 144 turrets. All our terrain is either flocked hexes (for 144 hills and ridges) or cardboard fold-flat stuff, aside from the couple of hundred of something trees my mate has. Has been for like, fifteen years or so!

Might see if anyone at the club wants 'em or something.

Fifteen?

One of those rare moments where you realize the difference in age, geography and perspective means you might as well be from another world.