[FWM] OOC 5: Egocentric Changeling Hive

[Luka]

I don't exactly know what could be done about the situation, it looks like part of the problem is because of using turns: Once someone is missing, it all collapses, but I'm not sure about any alternatives that could work.

Also, I agree a bit that the characters had been sort of separated, some characters seem to be most of the time into isolated groups, but they occassionally seems to interact; you still might want to create something that could promote interaction between most characters.

As for a "gatekeeper character", that seems like a pretty cool idea! It actually might help a lot with certain players that tend to get lost when there's not something directly involving them.

About power levels, It's sorta the reason I was so adamant about keeping my character's powers: So they could fight the big superpowered ones who could lift a building and throw it at others, mostly because I wanted my character to fight that kind of characters and I couldn't think about how to make a non-superpowered character do it.

Ah, yeah. Maybe just a short greeting with the guards then? I can play them briefly if you like. (Mach can just join in later.)

Yeah! that might help, I'm not sure if that might get a bit longer though, since my character left the town before the battle.

[MCerberus]

I could do a more structured RP or any other setup, but I can't really lead it until at least June due to work heating up.

Mach or Finder (in this case he'd be a medic for a salvage squad reassigned) can easily be appropriated to the Cirrus. They're both definitely "adventure" level power. Griffon, probably a little up there. Staccata, more of stealthy stealy support.

[PurityIcekiller]

Awww, but I was gonna shoehorn Dawn into a Heroic Sacrifice. [/facetious]

No, no! Bad Dawnstrider! No getting yourself killed before you're done being my father figure! You're not getting any dessert when we get back.

Does Doth even have reason to threaten Bridle Shores anymore? They offed Redshift and the pegasus has already spilled her beans. If anything, now that their cover is blown they should be evacuating before Luna shoves something heavily armored and very unpleasant down their throat. Regardless of whether she's in a position to actually do that.

That's a good point. If Doth carries on as he is, enough powerful factions will want his head that the question stops being whether they will get it and starts being which one will get to him first. Even if the Princess of the Night doesn't get all up in his business (which would not be very pleasant for him, given his whole darkness shtick), it's likely that some big important duke or whatever will tire of his aggression, a nearby country will declare war on him, or both. Unless he either dramatically improves his diplomatic policy or gets the bang out of there, he's in some serious trouble.

We don't necessarily have to remove the heavy hitters from the game, just make sure they're all under the same cloth. Something like giving Stellar, Flare, and maybe Esmerelda and others I don't even know about their own sidequest away from the main action. Something that requires finesse over raw power but still needs a magic touch would make for an interesting dynamic.

Hmm... That could work. It would give them something to do with their abilities aside from showy useless stuff.

Oh THAT Precious. Forgot about her, but then, the feyworld was another plotline that disintegrated faster than those cavern roofs Starbeam did in. With that connection made, I am intrigued.

Very well. I shall summon her with my next post.

Grif wanted me to give my opinion on the current situation.

*ahem*

-I'm sick of waiting for stuff to happen in the misc thread, can LS, Es and FT come back to Bridle Shores now?!
-A gatekeeper character would be nice
-We've diverted into cliques that barely interact with the others, yes, and that needs to be fixed. Though that's sorta the nature of FFRP.
-This place needs new blood.

I concur, although I don't know what to say that hasn't been said already.

[Grif]

First off, thank you all for your time. Really, really appreciate it. Now, to get down to business.

We don't necessarily have to remove the heavy hitters from the game, just make sure they're all under the same cloth. Something like giving Stellar, Flare, and maybe Esmerelda and others I don't even know about their own sidequest away from the main action. Something that requires finesse over raw power but still needs a magic touch would make for an interesting dynamic.

I agree with this. The problem now comes with where do we put them?

Oh THAT Precious. Forgot about her, but then, the feyworld was another plotline that disintegrated faster than those cavern roofs Starbeam did in. With that connection made, I am intrigued.

Speaking of feyworld, I'm not entirely sure what happened to it. Nor its relation to Equestria for that matter.

Grif wanted me to give my opinion on the current situation.

*ahem*

-I'm sick of waiting for stuff to happen in the misc thread, can LS, Es and FT come back to Bridle Shores now?!
-A gatekeeper character would be nice
-We've diverted into cliques that barely interact with the others, yes, and that needs to be fixed. Though that's sorta the nature of FFRP.
-This place needs new blood.

LS, Es and FT can definitely come back now, I think, and we can wrap up whatever lingering threads in Misc Adventures.

As for new blood, well, yeah. That's another issue onto itself.

I don't exactly know what could be done about the situation, it looks like part of the problem is because of using turns: Once someone is missing, it all collapses, but I'm not sure about any alternatives that could work.

On turns, the very nature of forum-based RPs (and all table-top RPGs in general) means turns are kinda necessarily if we want to keep some semblance of order. Otherwise it quickly becomes hard to tell who's supposed to be doing what. Something we have to live with I'm afraid.

About power levels, It's sorta the reason I was so adamant about keeping my character's powers: So they could fight the big superpowered ones who could lift a building and throw it at others, mostly because I wanted my character to fight that kind of characters and I couldn't think about how to make a non-superpowered character do it.

Honestly Luka sounds like he should just go adventuring with Flare.

Yeah! that might help, I'm not sure if that might get a bit longer though, since my character left the town before the battle.

Nah, it won't. Just some awkward questions to answer.

I could do a more structured RP or any other setup, but I can't really lead it until at least June due to work heating up.

Mach or Finder (in this case he'd be a medic for a salvage squad reassigned) can easily be appropriated to the Cirrus. They're both definitely "adventure" level power. Griffon, probably a little up there. Staccata, more of stealthy stealy support.

That's cool. I'm thinking Mach, since he seems like the most natural fit. I mean machines! Flying machines! And experimental toys!

That's a good point. If Doth carries on as he is, enough powerful factions will want his head that the question stops being whether they will get it and starts being which one will get to him first. Even if the Princess of the Night doesn't get all up in his business (which would not be very pleasant for him, given his whole darkness shtick), it's likely that some big important duke or whatever will tire of his aggression, a nearby country will declare war on him, or both. Unless he either dramatically improves his diplomatic policy or gets the bang out of there, he's in some serious trouble.

Oh, don't you worry. Doth has a plan. He always has a plan. (Well, my version of Doth do. I'm not entirely sure what Luka had planned originally for him.)

[Luka]

On turns, the very nature of forum-based RPs (and all table-top RPGs in general) means turns are kinda necessarily if we want to keep some semblance of order. Otherwise it quickly becomes hard to tell who's supposed to be doing what. Something we have to live with I'm afraid.

(...)

Honestly Luka sounds like he should just go adventuring with Flare.

Yeah, the problem would still persist however, so a few mechanics could be set as well to help it, like applying a timer for replies or something.

And It was more like I wanted him to be able to fight mages that were of a damage capacity somewhat comparable to Flare's, I'm not sure if someone mentioned throwing buildings at characters if they had a spell reflector.

[Grif]

Yeah, the problem would still persist however, so a few mechanics could be set as well to help it, like applying a timer for replies or something.

And It was more like I wanted him to be able to fight mages that were of a damage capacity somewhat comparable to Flare's, I'm not sure if someone mentioned throwing buildings at characters if they had a spell reflector.

I wonder if he actually could, but this is more a power level discussion. Not something I rather go in now.

Anyway, here are my proposals for moving forward (after some discussion with some others). Feel free to criticise them as you see fit.

1. Everything currently in the Misc Adventures is wrapped up, and we close that story. In their place, some of the new proposed storythreads might be started there. One such proposal at the moment is the "Supers" adventure team Kelvin was bandying about earlier in the thread.
2. FWM Cut! becomes the new go-to thread for non-adventuring stuff. We dump all the funny and comedic shenanigans here that has little or no adventuring value. With that in mind, nothing in this thread should be canon unless explicitly stated so, and plots may be dropped at any time once people get bored.
3. FWM General storythread about Doth is wrapped up, and we advance the time again by a few weeks/months. (A year if so inclined.) One of us might have to summarise up what happens in the interim. We try and run a tighter ship with future adventuring campaigns, with an actual GM/DM to do the busywork and set players.
4. FWM Game of Ponies will remain as it is, since we still do have plot threads going on there. However, the investigation story should probably be wrapped up in some manner if the players are no longer interested in continuing. On that note as well, you guys are also free to join the other existing storythread if you wish. Just ask if you want a summary of what happened so far. (I know it's a little insular to me and Kelvin.)
5. We have a self-appointed character to help ease new characters in if and when they come in. That'd probably be Precious.
6. We try and make an effort to expand our character's social circles.
7. All those character sheets and location info, as well as background info should be cleaned up to be much more presentable.
8. I'm pre-emptively calling not it for this, but someone should go and try recruit new players for this.

[PurityIcekiller]

I wonder if he actually could, but this is more a power level discussion. Not something I rather go in now.

Anyway, here are my proposals for moving forward (after some discussion with some others). Feel free to criticise them as you see fit.

1. Everything currently in the Misc Adventures is wrapped up, and we close that story. In their place, some of the new proposed storythreads might be started there. One such proposal at the moment is the "Supers" adventure team Kelvin was bandying about earlier in the thread.
2. FWM Cut! becomes the new go-to thread for non-adventuring stuff. We dump all the funny and comedic shenanigans here that has little or no adventuring value. With that in mind, nothing in this thread should be canon unless explicitly stated so, and plots may be dropped at any time once people get bored.
3. FWM General storythread about Doth is wrapped up, and we advance the time again by a few weeks/months. (A year if so inclined.) One of us might have to summarise up what happens in the interim. We try and run a tighter ship with future adventuring campaigns, with an actual GM/DM to do the busywork and set players.
4. FWM Game of Ponies will remain as it is, since we still do have plot threads going on there. However, the investigation story should probably be wrapped up in some manner if the players are no longer interested in continuing. On that note as well, you guys are also free to join the other existing storythread if you wish. Just ask if you want a summary of what happened so far. (I know it's a little insular to me and Kelvin.)
5. We have a self-appointed character to help ease new characters in if and when they come in. That'd probably be Precious.
6. We try and make an effort to expand our character's social circles.
7. All those character sheets and location info, as well as background info should be cleaned up to be much more presentable.
8. I'm pre-emptively calling not it for this, but someone should go and try recruit new players for this.

Hmm... Most of those sound good to me. I'm not sure what you mean by cleaning up character sheets, though; can you give me examples of things that could be improved? As for the time-skip, any amount of time is fine just as long as we can get certain scenes dealt with first (Precious's introduction comes to mind).

Also, I'm putting out a call in the Count to 50 thread. Hopefully we can find some interest there.

[Silent_Interim]

Ahem. Answering the call from the count to 50 thread. I would be interested in bringing in one or more characters here after the time-skip. Seems like an interesting concept and setting.

Also, hi! Nice to meet you all.

[Kelvin360]

1. Everything currently in the Misc Adventures is wrapped up, and we close that story. In their place, some of the new proposed storythreads might be started there. One such proposal at the moment is the "Supers" adventure team Kelvin was bandying about earlier in the thread.
2. FWM Cut! becomes the new go-to thread for non-adventuring stuff. We dump all the funny and comedic shenanigans here that has little or no adventuring value. With that in mind, nothing in this thread should be canon unless explicitly stated so, and plots may be dropped at any time once people get bored.
3. FWM General storythread about Doth is wrapped up, and we advance the time again by a few weeks/months. (A year if so inclined.) One of us might have to summarise up what happens in the interim. We try and run a tighter ship with future adventuring campaigns, with an actual GM/DM to do the busywork and set players.
4. FWM Game of Ponies will remain as it is, since we still do have plot threads going on there. However, the investigation story should probably be wrapped up in some manner if the players are no longer interested in continuing. On that note as well, you guys are also free to join the other existing storythread if you wish. Just ask if you want a summary of what happened so far. (I know it's a little insular to me and Kelvin.)
5. We have a self-appointed character to help ease new characters in if and when they come in. That'd probably be Precious.
6. We try and make an effort to expand our character's social circles.
7. All those character sheets and location info, as well as background info should be cleaned up to be much more presentable.
8. I'm pre-emptively calling not it for this, but someone should go and try recruit new players for this.

I was thinking about tossing Joyous into the fire as a backup/addition to Precious, as well. Part of his CD was going to be clinging to the civilians after losing his stripes, and while I don't want to gloss over that entirely, his serving as a gatekeeper fits with that new direction.

Which would leave me with... Dawnstrider and Arvadraa as main characters in the main thread, Stellar as a tertiary background character in the main thread if the Supers campaign doesn't come up, Joyous as an on-again-off-again gatekeeper, and Feathergrin in the GoP thread. Moonlight's probably going to stick with the Motes when they go out and start gathering intel, and Moonshine isn't going to be participating in anything intensive for obvious reasons.

@#3: Is this a matter where we're all patching a unique sticker onto the explanation, or should the players just concentrate on what their characters have been doing, and the new DM gives an overview of the actual plot details?

Ahem. Answering the call from the count to 50 thread. I would be interested in bringing in one or more characters here after the time-skip. Seems like an interesting concept and setting.

Also, hi! Nice to meet you all.

Hey there! Good to see a new face, as always. Give us a holler if you want/need help making new characters or adapting ones you may already have to the world. This place is pretty versatile.

[Silent_Interim]

Hey there! Good to see a new face, as always. Give us a holler if you want/need help making new characters or adapting ones you may already have to the world. This place is pretty versatile.

Thanks! I already have a couple of designs in mind, but I want to develop them a bit before doing anything else.

[Merellis]

So.

Yeah.

I am really bad with keeping on track these last couple months. Gaaaaah.

Reading over the last few pages here and I'll post some ideas too I think, maybe.

EDIT::

Anyway, here are my proposals for moving forward (after some discussion with some others). Feel free to criticise them as you see fit.
FWM Cut! becomes the new go-to thread for non-adventuring stuff. We dump all the funny and comedic shenanigans here that has little or no adventuring value. With that in mind, nothing in this thread should be canon unless explicitly stated so, and plots may be dropped at any time once people get bored.

FWM General storythread about Doth is wrapped up, and we advance the time again by a few weeks/months. (A year if so inclined.) One of us might have to summarize up what happens in the interim. We try and run a tighter ship with future adventuring campaigns, with an actual GM/DM to do the busywork and set players.

I really agree with this one, trying to invade the town or make it an actual desperate fight was a bit harder than expected due to the really loose plan I was going with and along with the rather wide range of power and numbers. Like I had no idea what I was doing for most of it and kept faltering there and making it last longer and longer as I scrambled to figure something out.

FWM Game of Ponies will remain as it is, since we still do have plot threads going on there. However, the investigation story should probably be wrapped up in some manner if the players are no longer interested in continuing. On that note as well, you guys are also free to join the other existing storythread if you wish. Just ask if you want a summary of what happened so far. (I know it's a little insular to me and Kelvin.)

Still interested in the investigation story, but not sure where it's going at the moment. A summary would most likely be best maybe?

We have a self-appointed character to help ease new characters in if and when they come in. That'd probably be Precious.

No problems here.

We try and make an effort to expand our character's social circles.

My character's social circle is more of a straight line.

All those character sheets and location info, as well as background info should be cleaned up to be much more presentable.

Assuming you mean condensing it a bit for readability? Not like everyone needs to know a lot of the background and such. People can also update the sheets as interesting things happen too I would think.

Example

Events: Infiltrated Bridle Shores. Failed to kill target and escaped over the wall.

Or something like that anyway.

I'm pre-emptively calling not it for this, but someone should go and try recruit new players for this.

NOT IT

[TheAmishPirate]

I wonder if he actually could, but this is more a power level discussion. Not something I rather go in now.

Anyway, here are my proposals for moving forward (after some discussion with some others). Feel free to criticise them as you see fit.

• Everything currently in the Misc Adventures is wrapped up, and we close that story. In their place, some of the new proposed storythreads might be started there. One such proposal at the moment is the "Supers" adventure team Kelvin was bandying about earlier in the thread.
• FWM Cut! becomes the new go-to thread for non-adventuring stuff. We dump all the funny and comedic shenanigans here that has little or no adventuring value. With that in mind, nothing in this thread should be canon unless explicitly stated so, and plots may be dropped at any time once people get bored.

These are good ideas, also for allowing folks to keep characters in multiple threads/adventures if they so pick. Cirrus folks can have their adventure, but also hang out with townsfolk in their downtime.

• FWM General storythread about Doth is wrapped up, and we advance the time again by a few weeks/months. (A year if so inclined.) One of us might have to summarise up what happens in the interim. We try and run a tighter ship with future adventuring campaigns, with an actual GM/DM to do the busywork and set players.
• FWM Game of Ponies will remain as it is, since we still do have plot threads going on there. However, the investigation story should probably be wrapped up in some manner if the players are no longer interested in continuing. On that note as well, you guys are also free to join the other existing storythread if you wish. Just ask if you want a summary of what happened so far. (I know it's a little insular to me and Kelvin.)

Agreed on both counts. No real sense in continuing on plots that nobody has any interest in. Better to start smaller/with a clean slate.

I think I'd also propose another suggestion: No threats that battle the town as a whole. It's too big, too confusing, and too much for any one person to manage. Plus, we've done it like, five times now. I think we can work on foiling the threats before they show up with a big army.

Also with that, I'd say that plots/adventures should probably be self-contained, rather than full-blown quests. We can absolutely gain stuff on adventures, and elements from previous adventures may spring up, but we haven't really been able to pull off any sort of multi-adventure quest thus far. Better to design for the single, contained adventure right from the get-go.

-We have a self-appointed character to help ease new characters in if and when they come in. That'd probably be Precious.

Dang, I wish I'd thought of this idea sooner. It's a really good one.

-We try and make an effort to expand our character's social circles.

Some of this can't be helped, as ponies will go on adventures and stick around with some ponies more than others. But if we make sure to vary up the casts on each adventure, then that could work. Also playing around more with Backstage could help.



One other thing of note; if it wasn't obvious enough, I haven't got the time or focus to properly DM right now. I can act as an advisory or helper role, but beyond that I just don't have it in me right now. But the way things are headed, I don't think this'll be much of a problem. It's a lot easier to share the load in a communal adventure game, rather than a full-blown FFRP where one or two people DM at all times.

[Grif]

Ahem. Answering the call from the count to 50 thread. I would be interested in bringing in one or more characters here after the time-skip. Seems like an interesting concept and setting.

Also, hi! Nice to meet you all.

Welcome! It has been awhile since I got to say that.

Hmm... Most of those sound good to me. I'm not sure what you mean by cleaning up character sheets, though; can you give me examples of things that could be improved? As for the time-skip, any amount of time is fine just as long as we can get certain scenes dealt with first (Precious's introduction comes to mind).

Mainly to update and possibly condense them to a more readable format. A lot of that info is hilariously outdated. (Mine included.)

One other thing of note; if it wasn't obvious enough, I haven't got the time or focus to properly DM right now. I can act as an advisory or helper role, but beyond that I just don't have it in me right now. But the way things are headed, I don't think this'll be much of a problem. It's a lot easier to share the load in a communal adventure game, rather than a full-blown FFRP where one or two people DM at all times.

That's the plan, really. Sorry to hear about your real-life thingy.

@FWM GoP Investigate team
I see Merellis still interested, with Amish tending to a no. How about the others? (Kelvin, Purity and MCerberus).

[Kelvin360]

Wait, which investigative team? Because one I'm already running and the other I'm deliberately not involved with.

[Merellis]

Wait, which investigative team? Because one I'm already running and the other I'm deliberately not involved with.

The one dealing with the Stoutheart murder.

[PurityIcekiller]

Ahem. Answering the call from the count to 50 thread. I would be interested in bringing in one or more characters here after the time-skip. Seems like an interesting concept and setting.

Also, hi! Nice to meet you all.

Good to have you here! I look forward to seeing what characters you come up with.

Mainly to update and possibly condense them to a more readable format. A lot of that info is hilariously outdated. (Mine included.)

Hmm... It would be a shame to part with the variant formats I used. Still, I will try to make sure they're up-to-date on things like character personality and history.

@FWM GoP Investigate team
I see Merellis still interested, with Amish tending to a no. How about the others? (Kelvin, Purity and MCerberus).

I don't know. I was into it at first, but then pretty much everyone except Glory got locked out, and there's only so much I can do with a naive Prince Charming figure. I guess I kind of lost interest when I didn't have a smart, sensible pony to actually get stuff done.

[MCerberus]

@FWM GoP Investigate team
I see Merellis still interested, with Amish tending to a no. How about the others? (Kelvin, Purity and MCerberus).

Unless there's some other crazy politics scheme Riposte can be used for yes.

[Silent_Interim]

Thanks for the welcome, everypony! I have a few ideas, but I think I'm going to wait until the time-skip I've heard being talked about before throwing anything in. Only sensible option.That said, I do have a couple of ideas I would appreciate feedback on.

First, a unicorn blacksmith, silversmith and general metalworker and jeweller forced into semi-retirement due to unpleasant business competitors. Still somewhat active in the community as a tradesman, but mostly only working on commission. Possibly something of an artificer and magical craftsman. Cutie mark of an anvil, most likely.

Second, I'm thinking some kind of former or vastly reduced in status pegasus noblepony. Very greedy and ambitious, but stopping short of actually killing anyone to get their way. Moderately rich, but also quite miserly and careful with money. Cutie mark of either a castle or money.

Once again, I don't want to set anything in stone until after the time-skip, since that'll be the best time to bring them in as new characters, but I would appreciate feedback on either or both of these as very rough sketches. Thanks!

[Kelvin360]

A unicorn blacksmith you say? I think I know who those 'unpleasant business competitors' are. A good 40% of my and Purity's respective rosters, natch.

Mainly to update and possibly condense them to a more readable format. A lot of that info is hilariously outdated. (Mine included.)

Not sure what this means. I stuck to pre-Bridle Shores histories and attribute descriptions with mine. (still steamed that I didn't get any mileage out of Moonlight's bear)

@FWM GoP Investigate team
I see Merellis still interested, with Amish tending to a no. How about the others? (Kelvin, Purity and MCerberus).

The one dealing with the Stoutheart murder.

I'll continue to play out the NPCs as necessary, yeah. Not 100% down with playership, though, since I basically co-DM'ed the plot. To be fair, I have a couple of Lunatics who can act as Canterlot 'gatekeepers' if need be.

[MCerberus]

Hmm it seems that it may be a good idea to just assume an outcome and then allow the characters to be free for other things

[Merellis]

Might be best, though not sure where to toss my dirty as hell unicorn at now.

[Grif]

First, a unicorn blacksmith, silversmith and general metalworker and jeweller forced into semi-retirement due to unpleasant business competitors. Still somewhat active in the community as a tradesman, but mostly only working on commission. Possibly something of an artificer and magical craftsman. Cutie mark of an anvil, most likely.

This one would have no problem fitting in, I feel. And as Kelvin said, his character provide some prime business competition, if you like.

Second, I'm thinking some kind of former or vastly reduced in status pegasus noblepony. Very greedy and ambitious, but stopping short of actually killing anyone to get their way. Moderately rich, but also quite miserly and careful with money. Cutie mark of either a castle or money.

Hm, have you looked at the Game of Ponies thread by any chance? We have a list of noble house there you could choose. (Or you can entirely invent your own, and attach his name to it). But no objection to this character either, though I think it might be hard for him to find ponies to interact with in normal settings. Adventures will probably the only way this fellow would ever interact with those with lower status, I feel (read: the vast majority of the populace in Equestria that isn't born nobleponies).

[Silent_Interim]

Thanks for the feedback. I might ditch the noblepony, or at the very least start over with the concept slightly. If I do, he'll probably be disgraced or otherwise recently landless. Perhaps even just a petty noble with no land to start with. I'm thinking a more down-to-earth-pony style character for him at this point, more in touch with his roots as a non-noble.

[Grif]

Okay. I think we all had our say, so let me just list down the various scenes I know of that's currently ongoing. This should help us sort out what's what.

Active
Semi-Active
*Hiatus

FWM Game of Ponies
Political Shenanigans - Princess Luna/Moonlight/Eclipse/Moon Motes
*Investigation Team AKA Solace vs Stoutheart - Branch/Lord Glory/Solar Eclipse/Solace reps/Riposte/Stoutheart reps

FWM General
Cirrus Love Affair - Gearstride/Silverpine/Sandy/Gwen/Lucky
*Guardhouse Giddiness - Hyper-ReporterGal/Tyrol/Blueshield(?)
Outskirts Introductions - Luka/Precious/NPC Guards
Heavy Metal - Arvadraa/Blades/Flare/Stellar
*Scout Team - Dawnstrider/Staccata/Night Jewel/Windy Breeze/Purple Prose
Cafe Coffee - Joyous/Bitter Herb/Pulp Fiction

FWM Misc Adventures
Manehattan Mess - Icy/Fox/LS

FWM Cut!
Clouds Nine - LS/Dawn
Beach Sappiness - Icy/Fox
*Winter Play - Gear/Silverpine/Sandy/Ember(?)/One of Kelvin ponies(?)
*Bar Brawl(?) - Hay Bale/Shell Shock

Did I miss anything?

[PurityIcekiller]

Blueshield has extricated herself from Scoops for the sake of her own sanity. She is no longer present for that scene.

[Kelvin360]

To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of deliberately backing off from posting until the timeskip actually occurs. Dawnstrider and Arvadraa and maybe a couple of others will still be around, though. Actually I should go ahead and briefly go over planned progressions, since it's been noted that we should probably do that. I think we should consider what our characters will be doing in the intervening time both on an individual basis and by plot point. For example, if we're going to split the supers, should we make the introduction a new focus, or begin in medias res in the new misc thread?

Spoiler: Arvadraa

Show

Taking up Moonlight's suggestion, Arvadraa began arming and training herself to act as a diplomat between the townsfolk and the vampire population. While the duty appears to have given her and Horne a new sense of purpose, it's also caused a drop in her productivity with Heavy Metal. Between her archery training and the sudden slew of meetings and research opportunities, it seems as though the formerly-introverted druid has little enough time for her family now.

True to her word, she has made a concerted effort to avoid using her shadow magic, and thusfar, she has succeeded.

Spoiler: Dawnstrider

Show

More confident in his local capacity after the events of the scouting mission, Dawnstrider has ceased wearing his classical armor without due cause, instead sticking to a pad-and-cloth suit requisitioned from the Heavy Metal armory as a sort of peace offering, although Arvadraa and Stellar remained rather icy in temperament throughout the process.

Face now uncovered, he spends most of his time reading quietly in the square, accomplishing good deeds when he sees the opportunity, or getting embroiled in whatever hijinks Night Jewel decides to engage in at the time.

Spoiler: Joyous

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Former PFC Joyous (who now simply goes by Boon) has spent much of his time simply trying to adjust to his civilian life and figure out what he wants to do with it. After his injury, he was promised a place in the Moon Motes again, but he was adverse to the prospect of having to spend so much time training in a new fighting style. He accepted the pensions from the Equestrian government (which he now lives on) as well as his medals of service, which made him a prime candidate for supporting the town guard, especially in wake of the attack.

After so much time spent in war, though, and learning so deeply its consequences, he found himself disillusioned, and refused the position.

For the first few months, he was accompanied by his former commanding officer, Lieutenant Coconut, whose injuries had been misdiagnosed on account of her pre-existing medical condition, which necessitated the removal of one of her lungs and all but removed her earth pony capacity for fortitude. Even more unfit for combat than Boon was, she elected to stay local, acting as a liaison between Bridle Shores and the Canterlot military forces. She is seen in town regularly, but is not a full-time resident.

In between travels, she served as a more private adviser to Boon, and at her urging, he took up his first job in Bridle Shores, as a 'civvie' accompaniment to the guards of the gate, primarily in charge of identifying and clearing any visitors.

[MCerberus]

I'm also in a similar place

Spoiler: Whadda

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Will make it a habit to get a reputation by the guard. Every time there's something going on, she'll suddenly pop up in silly locations

Spoiler: Mach

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Mach's likely going to keep on artificing until anything regarding the Cirrus shows up. The crazy healing machine is still there, and everypony is just going to pretend it's secret in a non-credible way

Spoiler: Staccata

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Staccata has an idle state, making money shipping info and funneling it to useful places around town. Likely she'll be friendly to any 'outcast' groups like the vamponies

Spoiler: Griffon

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After taking a bit to recover, he'll be back to being a semi-stoic trainer and out-of-place riot officer

[PurityIcekiller]

I've got ideas for what will happen with most of my characters, but I'm trying to figure out what to do with Blueshield. Logically, she'd probably be called back to her homeland once the danger was past, but I'd prefer not to take her out of action. Should I find an excuse for her to stay, get some local PCs to accompany her on outside adventures, or just let her go?

As for the others...

Flare: Will go with whatever is decided about the high-power group.

Spoiler: Blades

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The metalworker has finally gotten all of her strength back after a long period of recuperation. In addition to helping Arvadraa learn archery, she's been working extra-hard to make up for lost time. She seems to be threatening to kill ponies less frequently, although that may be because she's so busy.

Spoiler: Night Jewel

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After showing her worth to the town in the scouting mission, Night Jewel seems rather more comfortable. She has finished her work on Gearstride's hoof, and continues to stop by the Cirrus (usually without prior notice) to see what the crew is up to. Her little workshop is up and running now, and although it doesn't get a lot of visitors, she's still proud of her progress. Of particular note are her experiments with gloomium; after a few painful incidents, she has become quite good at working with the metal and disenchanting it. One of her inventions is a "gloomium battery", with a gloomium end to absorb and store energy and a shimmerite end to release it.

However, her life still isn't ideal. Her reward from the mission was spent quickly (much of it on baked goods and sweets), and she's not getting a comfortable amount of business. An occasional bit of filching has helped cover this, but she knows ponies will quickly get suspicious of her and has kept it low. Mostly, she's been living off the kindness of Dawnstrider and his family/friends.

Spoiler: Precious

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Precious has managed to integrate herself into Bridle Shores society, and spends most of her time getting to know other ponies. She's been harmless and friendly so far, but many ponies notice that there's something peculiar about her. Maybe it's the number of "lucky guesses" she makes about the town, or her surprisingly familiar way of talking to anypony she meets, or that she hasn't become a target of robbers or worse despite appearing to be a defenceless rich mare.

[Grif]

To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of deliberately backing off from posting until the timeskip actually occurs. Dawnstrider and Arvadraa and maybe a couple of others will still be around, though. Actually I should go ahead and briefly go over planned progressions, since it's been noted that we should probably do that. I think we should consider what our characters will be doing in the intervening time both on an individual basis and by plot point. For example, if we're going to split the supers, should we make the introduction a new focus, or begin in medias res in the new misc thread?

Fair enough. I'm already thinking of the broad outlines of the timeskip. You can read them further below.

I've got ideas for what will happen with most of my characters, but I'm trying to figure out what to do with Blueshield. Logically, she'd probably be called back to her homeland once the danger was past, but I'd prefer not to take her out of action. Should I find an excuse for her to stay, get some local PCs to accompany her on outside adventures, or just let her go?

Depends, is Blueshield the kind that would stay for something else? She doesn't seem the type, but Iunno, I haven't got a feel for her character.


That said, here's what I propose:
FWM General

1. We skip for two months.
2. The town will be mostly back to normal.
3. Doth and his army pulls out of the area after the raid by Dawnstrider et al. Rusty Falls later liberated by a metaphorically red-in-the-face Royal Army.
4. Supers Team eventually meet somehow, and gets shunted off to an adventure. (Either by the Captain, or the Princess herself).
5. Icy, Fox and LS et al returns to the town during this period. Shenanigans continue to occur.
6. The Cirrus takes on a few more crew, as per Backers recommendations, and then leaves for further adventures. (Current candidates are Mach, and possibly one of Kelvin's character. Other players are welcome to join if they feel like it).

FWM Game of Ponies
This one's a little tricky, because some are still interested in continuing the Investigation thing, but it's looking like schedules isn't quite permitting. With that said, we can wrap the investigation with the same two month skip.

Spoiler: Open only if you want to spoil

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The culprit would eventually be found to be a double-agent in the Solace's party, if I recall correctly. Neither sides are in the wrong.

For Amish, Kelvin, you may need to elaborate on Solace and Stoutheart's eventual response to this result.

FWM Misc Adventure
It's looking like it's about to end, so I think we need not skip this. The Supers adventure would have to start here though.

[PurityIcekiller]

Depends, is Blueshield the kind that would stay for something else? She doesn't seem the type, but Iunno, I haven't got a feel for her character.

If something urgent were to come up that she has to deal with, then she'd put that above routine duties in her homeland. With Doth dealt with, she'd leave unless she was really needed for clean-up work.

That said, here's what I propose:
FWM General

1. We skip for two months.
2. The town will be mostly back to normal.
3. Doth and his army pulls out of the area after the raid by Dawnstrider et al. Rusty Falls later liberated by a metaphorically red-in-the-face Royal Army.
4. Supers Team eventually meet somehow, and gets shunted off to an adventure. (Either by the Captain, or the Princess herself).
5. Icy, Fox and LS et al returns to the town during this period. Shenanigans continue to occur.
6. The Cirrus takes on a few more crew, as per Backers recommendations, and then leaves for further adventures. (Current candidates are Mach, and possibly one of Kelvin's character. Other players are welcome to join if they feel like it).

Most of that sounds good to me. I believe I offered one of my characters to join the Cirrus, and that Night Jewel would be interested.

FWM Game of Ponies
This one's a little tricky, because some are still interested in continuing the Investigation thing, but it's looking like schedules isn't quite permitting. With that said, we can wrap the investigation with the same two month skip.

Spoiler: Open only if you want to spoil

Show

The culprit would eventually be found to be a double-agent in the Solace's party, if I recall correctly. Neither sides are in the wrong.

For Amish, Kelvin, you may need to elaborate on Solace and Stoutheart's eventual response to this result.

FWM Misc Adventure
It's looking like it's about to end, so I think we need not skip this. The Supers adventure would have to start here though.

I don't think I have anything to add to this, either.