[FWM] OOC 4: Enchanted Manticore

[TheAmishPirate]

So, there's still something I don't really understand. Namely this:

-Dark magic, which is the only type of magic that can easily penetrate the resistance and also weakens its normal properties slightly while in contact

So, in designing this material that is supposed to be representative of the elements of light and all that, something that is supposed to be primarily for a small subset of paladins and the like, we're making its main weakness be evil-aligned spells? To the point where it completely bypasses its resistance and negates its spell-focus properties?

Also, "turning positive energy into magic": If this means that this armor effectively allows a non-unicorn to use unicorn magic, then that is getting a flat 'No' from me. Fancy armor or not, that takes a fundamental part of the setting and breaks it over its knee.

More will come when I'm more coherant, but just be aware that both sides are probably going to have to compromise here. This is a collective work - especially since Grif now has control of the army plot - and things might have to be changed. I don't say this to be mean or to ruin anypony's fun, I say it because that's just the truth of the matter. Grif kindly took over this plot (hurr hurr hurr) and it's not terribly fair to give him a massive laundry list of constraints. On the other hoof, it's also not fair to ask everypony to completely re-write their backstories to fit new information. Gotta keep a balance between the two, y'know?

For now, continue discussing, and let's see what we can come up with here.

[Luka]

OBJECTION! Dark! Not evil! Light! Not good-

Mr. Icekiller, calm yourself. This is a petty thing to get angry about.

...Right. Well, I still object to the whole "dark is evil and light is good" thing. It could be negative and positive emotions, but that still doesn't equal "good" or "evil". Take, for instance...

Blueshield: Full of negative emotions, cynical, and constantly irritated with the world around her. Nonetheless, clearly Lawful Good and definitely better than most of my other characters.

Blades: Cheery, lively, and quite full of positive emotions. Also a murderous psycho from time to time. By no means a good pony.

Night Jewel: Aligned with darkness, but still full of positive emotions. Definitely Chaotic, and probably Good; her moral standards are strange, but they exist and are consistent.

Meanwhile I've got an idea for how Night Jewel could overcome its defences, but I have a question. How resistant is it to natural (not magical) extreme temperatures, lightning, or other such things? If I knew this, I could concoct something for Blueshield.

Not exactly emotions, desire, I think I said "positive desires" somewhere in my post, that means, goal instead of emotions, also, like I said, a well-intentioned extremist could use shimmerite and an anti-hero could use gloomium.

It's as resistant as iron or steel I would think, but possibly would get a bit more sluggish than usual, dunno how travel relates to density though.

@Amish it's not unicorn magic, it requires direct contact with the armor and with what is going to be casted at, it's mostly warrior/archer magic, like in MMORPGs where one can use showy skills that make attacks hit stronger than usual, like a power strike, a powered shot, a stun, etc.

[Kelvin360]

Hmm. I think the troublesome part here is in fact that the focus on light aspects was intended to be the point. I'd feel more comfortable if any magically reactive properties were a fringe benefit rather than the whole point. Meantime, I'll see how this turns out.

[Luka]

Eh.... I think I actually said Shimmerite had resistance against dark-based attacks, didn't I?

[TheAmishPirate]

Eh.... I think I actually said Shimmerite had resistance against dark-based attacks, didn't I?

Alright. This helps. Not in the traditional sense, but from a more meta-perspective; namely, this shows that you and Kelvin both have different ideas on what this metal should do/should be, and that there really isn't a single unified definition of what the hay this stuff is/does. Thus, dragging out further discussion solely on that matter is just going to have us running about in circles.


With that in mind, let's just step back and get back to the basics: What do people want this stuff to be/do? I think we have two things that we can generally agree on:
-Shimmerite is supposed to resemble the properties of light.
-The metal itself is lightweight, hard, and naturally resistant to magic.

Beyond that, there is room for debate. Yes, I realize that Gloomium ain't on the list, but if we can make up something that just has a single metal used in two different ways, as opposed to two versions of the metal that work mostly the same but with a few restrictions here and there and maybe one isn't fully perfect and etc., then I think that means a lot less headache all around.

Now then, where to go from here: Kelvin, you said that no matter what, you'd like the final product to primarily focus on the light aspects, with benefits of the material flowing from this central concept. Understandable, as you've made Taylor go through a great deal of effort for his shield. And already, I can see a bit of it there; lightweight material, Grif's idea of it shimmering in the dark, etc. So, my question to you is this: What are the aspects of Light? What sort of ideals would you like to see represented in this material?

I ask because once I know what it is you're looking for, what ideals and concepts you wish for this armor to embody, I reckon I can better whip something up that'll be a lot less complicated and leave everypony happy.

[PurityIcekiller]

Right. Well, I'm still kind of ticked about the alignment thing (A more "law and chaos" setup might fit better), but I can work with this. It means Blueshield actually stands a good chance with the right sort of arrows.

[TheAmishPirate]

Right. Well, I'm still kind of ticked about the alignment thing (A more "law and chaos" setup might fit better), but I can work with this. It means Blueshield actually stands a good chance with the right sort of arrows.

Don't be so quick to...be ticked? Hmm. That rhymed much better in my head...

*ahem* Anyway, we're still discussing and piecing together what all this stuff is/does, so things very well may change. I'm not so certain a whole element should be based off of alignments, especially when - as you bring up - Light does not equal Good. That which chases away shadows can blind, that which brings warmth can burn, and so on.

[Luka]

I don't really know where did that "weakness to dark" appear from, since I thought I've stated several times that it was resistant to it

Right. Well, I'm still kind of ticked about the alignment thing (A more "law and chaos" setup might fit better), but I can work with this. It means Blueshield actually stands a good chance with the right sort of arrows.

I don't see in any way how law and chaos would make it fit better, if it was for either of two, Luka would be incredibly underpowered and it would be either Aisis or Mile who would be able to use it, not both. Though if the problem was alignment, I think I already proposed two more metals for that, didn't I?

It's the idea that shimmerite had afinity to dark that completely pissed me off, since it would dramatically change not just the army, but my character's skills, which are almost completely based on it. I don't see where the headache is, it's just "light metal, resistant to dark and bonus to light-based powers. Dark metal resistant to light and bonus to dark-based powers" as easy as that, just like in any RPG

[Kelvin360]

...Wait, what? Hang on. I said that 'I'd feel more comfortable if any magically reactive properties were a fringe benefit rather than the whole point'. That's...kind of the opposite. Ideally, I want to see any material made from this stuff be above average in normal qualities. THEN add a couple of neat little side effects from an elemental sub-scale.

It's like having a screwdriver that instantly repairs any mechanical appliance and also acts as a Taser. Your average person is going to use that first (and most prominent) function waaaaaaay more than the other. But by the same token, the secondary attribute is pretty neat even if it doesn't see a lot of activity. (Unless you're some assault-happy type of guy, which, hello stereotypical blackguard!)

In this case, the reparation function is our 'mithril' attributes, and the Taser is the ability to....vomit high-intensity rainbows or whatever.

[TheAmishPirate]

...Wait, what? Hang on. I said that 'I'd feel more comfortable if any magically reactive properties were a fringe benefit rather than the whole point'. That's...kind of the opposite. Ideally, I want to see any material made from this stuff be above average in normal qualities. THEN add a couple of neat little side effects from an elemental sub-scale.

It's like having a screwdriver that instantly repairs any mechanical appliance and also acts as a Taser. Your average person is going to use that first (and most prominent) function waaaaaaay more than the other. But by the same token, the secondary attribute is pretty neat even if it doesn't see a lot of activity. (Unless you're some assault-happy type of guy, which, hello stereotypical blackguard!)

In this case, the reparation function is our 'mithril' attributes, and the Taser is the ability to....vomit high-intensity rainbows or whatever.

Huh. My apologies then, I misunderstood.

So...you basically just want this metal to be a magically-resistant mithril, with one or two side goodies thrown in that only a small, small subset of the population can actually use? That's what you want, nothing less, nothing more, correct?

[Kelvin360]

Well golly gee willacres Amish, when ya say it like that it sounds so silly, dont'cha know.

That's not what I want so much as my moldable first impression. I'm not really in the best position to make a judgment on 'what I want this to be' since, well...I'm only an advisor here. But if I had to put an outline on paper for review...that would probably be it, yeah.

Though, admittedly, 'with one or two side goodies thrown in that only a small, small subset of the population can actually use' makes it sound like I'm advocating school-of-magicism or something.

[TheAmishPirate]

That's not what I want so much as my moldable first impression. I'm not really in the best position to make a judgment on 'what I want this to be' since, well...I'm only an advisor here. But if I had to put an outline on paper for review...that would probably be it, yeah.

As it's a part of one of your characters, and as a member of this RP, then you're certainly entitled to an opinion on what it should be. And as the fellow who is trying to make a judgement call on it, I'd certainly like to hear it.

Though, admittedly, 'with one or two side goodies thrown in that only a small, small subset of the population can actually use' makes it sound like I'm advocating school-of-magicism or something.

To be fair, that's kind of the effect this armor would have. The screwdriver-taser example isn't exactly perfect, as everybody can use a taser. Whereas with this armor, not everybody can use its extra goodies.


I need to think a bit more on how to best express where I'm coming from on this, but I think I understand where you and Luka stand now.

[Grif]

I don't see in any way how law and chaos would make it fit better, if it was for either of two, Luka would be incredibly underpowered and it would be either Aisis or Mile who would be able to use it, not both. Though if the problem was alignment, I think I already proposed two more metals for that, didn't I?

It's the idea that shimmerite had afinity to dark that completely pissed me off, since it would dramatically change not just the army, but my character's skills, which are almost completely based on it. I don't see where the headache is, it's just "light metal, resistant to dark and bonus to light-based powers. Dark metal resistant to light and bonus to dark-based powers" as easy as that, just like in any RPG

Riddle me this then: Why in seven bucks is the army going all the trouble to capture a village that mines the "good" metal? To turn it into "evil" metal in a process which is reversible and therefore represents a fatal flaw in their plan should they run into a good-aligned character?

...

You know what? We really should work out the magic system in Equestria before even considering such powers. I would personally favour either the elemental system used in some RPG, where only fire, water, earth etc exists, or even the colour system used in Magic. (where the five colours have their extremes, and there is no true good side.)

Alignment was already silly in D&D and I see no reason why we should handicap the entire (freeform!) RP based on an outdated mechanic in another RPG. Good and evil is entirely subjective and basing any powers based on this fiddly background would just lead to endless arguments.

[Luka]

Riddle me this then: Why in seven bucks is the army going all the trouble to capture a village that mines the "good" metal? To turn it into "evil" metal in a process which is reversible and therefore represents a fatal flaw in their plan should they run into a good-aligned character?

Because here are chances they could be able to experiment with it enough to find a way to make the Doth's armor-like "evil" metal easier to create in mass cuantities, plus that reverting it would require a pretty strong magic to overwhelm it and then bypass the whole armor's resistance.

Plus what trouble would the village have been? it wouldn't have had a guard they wouldn't be able to curbstomp, except by Luka's family, but that's precisely another reason why Doth attacked: to get rid of them at once. Plus they would also be blocking that metal's supply, should any other be interested in it.

[PurityIcekiller]

I agree that purely alignment-based magic is bad, as it relies on a straightforward conflict between good and evil rather than the complicated morality that comes up fairly often. Sometimes it's good versus evil, but it's also likely to be good versus good, evil versus evil, neutral versus evil and so on. There's no such thing as pure good or pure evil; everyone has their good and bad traits.

I don't know about elemental magic, though, since some characters' spells don't really fit in any given element. I'll try to think of a workable other system.

[TheAmishPirate]

I've always thought that Equestria didn't really have a traditional magic system. Magic seems to be doled out based on special talent, and that was that. Everybody gets some TK, and other spells are based on their talent. In the case of unicorns with something like "Magic" as a talent, they get a bit more leeway.

I think that whatever system we go with should ultimately keep this in consideration. This is still Equestria, after all.

[Kelvin360]

Stellar gave Blades a lecture on some of my headcanon a while back:

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"Hold up a sec there, boss. There's not exactly a universal solvent for magic. Dr. Horne could probably give you the full lowdown when Brains wakes up, but being good at it doesn't necessarily mean I know all about it.

That being said, I can give you a rough explanation of terms here. There's three ways to stop magic from happening. Countering, blocking, and nullifying. Basic examples from each would be using a spell of the same type at the same time, a magical shield, and anti-magic respectively.

I'm not entirely sure if any of those can apply to weapons, but I have noticed that when I enchant one, it's a lot harder to break by normal means. Armor, on the other hand, could probably have any of those on it. For countering you'd need a spell trigger, which means limited choices...

But I'm going on. It's kind of a complex subject to give the full information on in one conversation if I'm left to ramble. So questions'll probably help you get the points you want faster. So I'm all horns.


"Metaphor time. There's a pretty big difference between offense and defense. If you're up against a brick wall, sure, you can bring it down if you hit it enough times, whether or not you have a battering ram. But if somepony's throwing the wall at you, you're gonna need another wall, or a stronger wall. Armor and such CAN be used for this, but on the whole, enchantments are more reliable as a defensive measure."

"There are a lot of spells and even schools-slash-types-slash-subtypes-slash-subschools that each have advantages, disadvantages, avoidances...and so on. For most offensive magics, your best bet is dodging, or if you can't do that, real sturdy body composition. You're an Earth Pony, so you've already got a fair advantage there.

I'm not really an expert on natural stuff, but I'm willing to bet a hoof or two - not literally - that there's a bunch of naturally-magical elements lying around just waiting to be crafted. Usually, your best bets for more common materials are things that'll take normal damage just as well. The most common offensive magics are going to be energy, concussion, and elemental.

A heavy steel shield will probably take as much punishment from your average concussive blast or beam as from a hammer. Whether it's a fop or barbarian wielding it is what'll make the damage difference.

Energy is gonna be the worst problem to deal with. Pure energy in itself is sort of like concussion and all the elements blended together, fire foremost. So it'll hit like a hammer and a few minutes in a hot forge at the same time. That's what I use. Because, hay, what works and stick with it.

Most elementalists focus on just one of the four 'classic' elements. Power over variety is always more alluring. Also, what works and stick with it. If you're using armor, the sliding scale of least to most dangerous is probably water, air, earth, fire.
Water isn't much of a problem if you've got a tight helmet or facial covering so they can't drown you, and rusting isn't exactly instantaneous.

Air is most dangerous to you if it's something like a tornado, where you get lifted up and tossed back down. So, cushioning impacts is big. Or, if they're weak enough at it, just pile on the weight, maybe the air currents won't have the strength to lift you. I wouldn't bank on that, though. The heavier you are, the bigger the crater.

Obviously, the second-biggest threat from a Geomancer is gonna be rocks. Again, this is all about experience and power. If you've got good gear, fast pebbles won't do much. But keeping it light enough to dodge will save your flank if they start throwing around boulders. The first most dangerous earth-thrower threat is actually pretty rare. If they've got the specific focus on that aspect and enough power, some geomancers can control metal deposits and even shaped metal. Which means good-bye shield and hello being crushed to death by your own armor. So, you might try muddling the armor composition. Throw in enough filler to make your armor not 'metallic' enough for them to manipulate, but still strong against aforementioned pebbles. Or, if you can find ironwood or something, bonus.

Fire is, again, pretty obvious. To have gotten armor in the first place, it needs to be meltable. And ever tried to wear melting armor? Not fun. So lightweight stuff is the hidesaver. Dodge and weave. Most if not all fire magic needs to be aimed, so if you're light and quick, just jump out of the way. Or better, close in and see if you can make them hit themselves with their own fireballs. That'll be fun."


"What, you mean like poison? Not always. I mean, no matter how many times you stick a hoof in it, fire still hurts. It might apply to contagions and maybe a few domination subschools, but anything else would be an interesting case.

For example, I know about some Underpony families who've bred specifically for magic affinity and a semipermenant racial warding effect, but normally you'd need certain Arcanist-Abjuration spells for resistance. Your buddy probably figured out a fire ward if they were a pyromancer. Or rock-skin. That could work, too.

But yeah. If I blasted away at you every day for a few years, your bones would probably get stronger after breaking so often, but the blasts wouldn't just stop working. Unless you want to get your nerves surgically removed...heeeey, you wanna get your nerves surgically removed?"

It's pretty restricted to defensive enchantments, but I've got some other stuff swirling around. Stellar or Arvadraa might have also explained more magic and its types, but I didn't look very hard for it, so I'll paraphrase.


All unicorn magic starts with a focus. In almost every case, that focus either is or ends up being the unicorn's special talent. Fire-butts use fire, mind-butts use enchantment, and so on.

Now, I really like the way D&D's magic system is divided into schools. Sue me. Abjuration is defense, anti-magic, and extraplanar warding. Transmutation turns something into something else. And so on. Elementalism falls within its own category, dividing into Air, Earth, Water, Fire. Pure energy, which Stellar touched on above, is in Evocation.

Then, there's Universal magic, which is essentially the easiest to learn and most innate. Telekinesis, which all unicorns have, is Universal. So is force magic, including concussion (which Stellar also touched on).


Afterwarning: This is all my headcanon, not necessarily OUR canon. Even the stuff ICly from Stellar above is just her theorizing (not that she'd ever admit she was wrong). So, yeah. Just some stuff I came up with, if it helps with the envisioning process.

Another theory I had in regards to the armor was, instead of specifics, meshing (or some other really neat word). It doesn't modify or resist specific types of magic - it alters them according to the bearer. Slight boosts you your spells, slight resistance to magic harmful to you directly, and a little more resistance to magic in general. If you don't use magic, no big, it's just really good armor.

Okay, I think I'm done brainvomiting!

[PurityIcekiller]

Taylor did contradict part of the stuff on magic resistance, saying that it can actually be developed, so Stellar might not exactly be the most reliable narrator.

So, who's up for explaining my ideas of a possible magic system, ponies of mine?

Don't look at me. I don't do magic.

I neither know nor care about the technical parts. I have my power. That is what matters.

Hmm... Will I be paid for this?

No.

Then not me.

I'd do it, but Lady Ciona doesn't want me to for some reason.

*sigh* Fine, fine. Since you're all obviously not capable of reciting a simple set of hypothetical guidelines, I'll handle it.

Spoiler

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Magic is often divided into fields in any of a variety of ways. However, there are inevitably magical anomalies that don't fit into existing subdivisions and end up classified as "neutral", "universal", or other non-fields. There is, however, one way of dividing magic into two types with nothing left out: Passive and active.

Passive magic is continuous effects not deliberately created by a spellcaster. It is in all ponies, usually related to their marks and special talents, along with other living creatures and even inanimate objects. Passive magic tends to be strongest and most variable in earth ponies, with their widely-varying talents. In pegasus ponies, passive magic almost always includes manipulating weather, with some additional advantages. Unicorn passive magic is the least often noticed, but still existent.

Active magic, on the other hoof, has transient effects deliberately created and controlled by something or someone. It is the first thing most ponies think of when they think of magic. Active magic is possessed by all unicorns, channelled through their horns. In other kinds of ponies, it is rare, or at least used to be - anomalies including ponies infused with others' spellcasting abilities, ponies with certain talents, or ponies who simply got lucky somehow can have these abilities as well.

The magic of a pony depends heavily on the pony's skills and personality. A magical effect tends to be stronger if the pony's mind is attuned to it - a stubborn pony might do better with earth spells, and a hot-headed pony would have trouble with ice spells. Attunement, however, is a complicated process, as multiple mindsets can correspond to one kind of power or vice versa. For instance, a spirited pony might attune to fire magic, but could just as easily attune to plant magic. In most cases, a pony's special talent may be the best way of determining what they attune to.

Magic resistance comes in the form of using passive magic to counteract active magic affecting oneself. This is a delicate process; outright contradicting it can either stop it or cause a nastier reaction, and attuning to it can either allow one to control it or give it more to feed off of.

In any form of magic, exercising it makes it stronger. It is highly difficult to learn entirely new abilities, but using existing abilities in new ways is quite possible. This applies to both kinds of magic; you will grow stronger using active magical abilities more, but will also become better at using your passive-magic-enhanced skills and resisting spells the more you do it.

Examples of magical principles and strength:

Blades: Possesses no active magic. Reasonable level of passive magic, allowing her to make exceptional weapons or throw objects faster than ought to be physically possible. Has little practice resisting magic, and is thus quite vulnerable to it.

Night Jewel: Attuned to manipulation of mechanisms due to her complicated personality. Her active magic is the weakest known, but she uses it creatively. Possesses some passive magic improving her agility and finesse, and possibly other unusual characteristics.

Me: In possession of purely passive magic. In addition to normal pegasus abilities, I can parry, evade and withstand blows more easily. My heavy reliance on tactics and special weaponry rather than force, however, have rendered my abilities weaker than those of the above metalworker.

Obsidian Flare: Attuned to earth magic due to her direct mindset. Possesses exceptionally strong active magic developed over many years. Her passive magic is far less noticeable.

Precious: Possesses passive magic improving her fortune and helping her work with precious metals. Cannot use active magic directly, but has greater skill in activating the magic in objects. Somewhat modified by the dark fairy Ciona.

Please note that these are not strictly defined rules, and that they are, at this stage, still just hypotheses. Icekiller may well be wrong, and he definitely put less effort into these than he could have. It's up to you to figure out whether they have any actual worth. That is all. I had best return to awaiting my long-delayed confrontation with the Stygian battalion's scouts now.

[Kelvin360]

For the record, I support the explanations ^. I never would have thought about including bits on Passive/Active magic. Props.

Though, I do have a small nitpick regarding Taylor and Stellar's non-face-to-face knowledge battle. While Stellar is hesitant to provide information on natural magic resistance (she uses words like 'normally' or 'not always', but she does point out the Underpony precedent and that this principle applies for certain types of magic most definitely), she never outright states that 'yeah, no, built SR is not a thing'.

This part

If I blasted away at you every day for a few years, your bones would probably get stronger after breaking so often, but the blasts wouldn't just stop working.

Does look like that, but that's more her pointing out the difference between 'game' Spell Resistance and 'real' Spell Resistance. Realistically, you can built up a tolerance to magic, but that makes you more resistant, not more likely to shrug it off with no effect. Also, Stellar Spark would sooner bite off her own tongue than bluntly state a strong possibility that a 'normal' like Blades could get access to a way to stand up to her in a fight. So ego plays a part there.

Taylor, on the other hand, knows from personal experience more in-depth details about things like that. And he's way more open about this than Stellar would be. He's seen things, maaaan!

So, you're correct in a way that Stellar isn't an entirely reliable narrator, but Taylor and Stellar's differing explanations of the same phenomenon aren't so much contradictions as two people playing the same tune in different ways.

Geez, what is it today with me and scads of words? Heh. Anyways, good work with the Passive/Active magic explanation, it's inspired, hope I cleared up a little bit of the Magic Resistance talk, and good night/afternoon/evening/noontide/apocalypse to everyone.

[Grif]

Hmmm, this might not be the final consensus my mind is telling me, but I do like the school of magic idea that Taylor proposes we adopt from D&D. Not being familiar with D&D myself, (only the most rudimentary knowledge of the workings of D&D, mainly obtained from webcomics and a session of D&D 3.5e I once joined) I think I'll refrain from actually trying to classify the schools of magic of FWM Equestria. The interesting thing to note about this schools of magic that I read up is that it seems they are generally separate from alignment, though I do believe D&D features a lot of alignment based spells like Smite Evil and similar.

The active and passive magic thing Purity proposed has merit, but it's quite vague and undefined on its own. It can be used to supplement whatever magic system we would eventually adopt, however.

Because here are chances they could be able to experiment with it enough to find a way to make the Doth's armor-like "evil" metal easier to create in mass cuantities, plus that reverting it would require a pretty strong magic to overwhelm it and then bypass the whole armor's resistance.

Plus what trouble would the village have been? it wouldn't have had a guard they wouldn't be able to curbstomp, except by Luka's family, but that's precisely another reason why Doth attacked: to get rid of them at once. Plus they would also be blocking that metal's supply, should any other be interested in it.

I'm actually thinking more of the cost-benefit for the army in this case. Since you're already mining the "good" stuff, then you will need to expend a substantial amount of energy just to corrupt and bend it to your will. (and it's not even permanent) It's not a matter of what trouble the village might be. It's a matter of the bigger fish that will inevitably flatten Doth if he attracted too much attention. Be it the Republic, some griffin clan or even the Fetlocks. Better if Doth just laid low and kept a lookout to see if anyone else discovered the "evil" stuff instead and seize that one.

You do have a good point on trying to kill off the supply of shimmerite, but in that case, he may as well just destroyed the mine and quickly melt away into the countryside before anyone raised the alarm.

[Benson]

It's not a matter of what trouble the village might be. It's a matter of the bigger fish that will inevitably flatten Doth if he attracted too much attention. Be it the Republic, some griffin clan or even the Fetlocks.

Or Gwynfillion alone if Soft Serve ever gave the word.

[Grif]

Or Gwynfillion alone if Soft Serve ever gave the word.

Can't forget our planacidal marebeast.

[Mindfreak]

So um, Grif and Kevin, did you ever end up posting in Schoolhouse of Terror?

[Grif]

So um, Grif and Kevin, did you ever end up posting in Schoolhouse of Terror?

I'm waiting for you to answer Kelvin's question before posting, actually.

[Mindfreak]

Born of shadow, made of magic.
Mostly magic, but there's still some shadow

[Luka]

I have no idea about the magic thing, just that my characters actually work on aligment and the rest is MMORPG/RPG-like skills with mana cuz they're pretty much the only thing I know and can understand to use.

I'm actually thinking more of the cost-benefit for the army in this case. Since you're already mining the "good" stuff, then you will need to expend a substantial amount of energy just to corrupt and bend it to your will. (and it's not even permanent) It's not a matter of what trouble the village might be. It's a matter of the bigger fish that will inevitably flatten Doth if he attracted too much attention. Be it the Republic, some griffin clan or even the Fetlocks. Better if Doth just laid low and kept a lookout to see if anyone else discovered the "evil" stuff instead and seize that one.

You do have a good point on trying to kill off the supply of shimmerite, but in that case, he may as well just destroyed the mine and quickly melt away into the countryside before anyone raised the alarm.

Is not permanent yet, they're still developping ways to make the permanent ones. The only big fish I can think of is the Republic, no idea how big a griffin clan is, nor the Fetlocks, but chances are the army could beat them.

[Benson]

Can't forget our planacidal marebeast.

Of course not! Not Miss Curbstomp Everything. And from what I remember....Soft relinquished control of the collar control and raised up her spell levels to its maximum. Mwahahah.

"Be quiet Benson....I'm gonna go watch a movie instead."

[TheAmishPirate]

Of course not! Not Miss Curbstomp Everything. And from what I remember....Soft relinquished control of the collar control and raised up her spell levels to its maximum. Mwahahah.

"Be quiet Benson....I'm gonna go watch a movie instead."

Wait, did this actually happen? I don't seem to remember that happening. Benson, are you looking for an excuse for Miss Gwyn to go rampage some things? Do I need to bust out the Big Guns?

LiteGarion: *big, watery foal eyes with sniffle and quivering lip*

[Benson]

Wait, did this actually happen? I don't seem to remember that happening. Benson, are you looking for an excuse for Miss Gwyn to go rampage some things? Do I need to bust out the Big Guns?

LiteGarion: *big, watery foal eyes with sniffle and quivering lip*

I believe so...I'll have to ask Mystic Muse but I believe it happened.

Anyways, she wouldn't need the turned up to 11 powers anyway to go rampage some things.......so as long as Soft don't find out. xD

Soft: Bad gwyn! We're you off rampaging again?

Gwyn:....Nooooo....I was...ramp....diving...!

[Grif]

(Can't remember the colors for these guys. Oh well!)

Left them vague on purpose. (I think I only worked out Snowflake's and Flameshield's colour, but their information has mysteriously disappeared.)