ooc The Dark Millennium - a combat & exploration RP - updated rules for joining

[Colenso Rivers 85]

The six knives are more for rapid fire attacks rather than all at taking at once. Arcane it is. And horn foiling is definitely not his forte, his only use of it in a similar manner is the ole ram and gore.

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers

 

And we're off! This first post may start things off with little to do for you (soon to be amended) - which is why I want to stress that I understand the value of letting your characters face choices and I'll be doing my best to provide these while keeping steady the planned course of the adventure. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy these last moments of your education, for once you get a job life won't be the same...

[Hederik 119]

 

 

beating a unicorn's head against the ground repeatedly was a tried and true way of breaking their concentration

 

 

That's a keeper. I'm gonna go ahead and start a collection right away.

 

 

Also, @@Colenso Rivers, don't take it too hard, but do try to read your post through once you've finished it before posting. It's amazing how many of one's own typos and misconstrued sentences can be eliminated that way, and it makes your posts look that much more appealing (plus, it saves others the trouble of reconstructing 'since' into 'science'). Again, nothing major, just trying to be helpful.

 

 

And if either of you catch me posting something unclear or badly-worded (I am notorious for constructing endless sentences), do call me out on it and I'll rush to the rescue.

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Sorry, I am not a bad speller, just bad at typing. I'll edit.

[Hederik 119]

Nah, nothing that bad. I just wanted to share how helpful self-proofing your reading can be.

 

 

Also, I'll be responding today, albeit no sooner than in seven hours, as school begins in a while for me.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Colenso Rivers.

 

 

 

As her head went back up, she saw Colenso raising his carver and realised that she was already too late.

 

 

Hint:

 

She missed the knife.

 

[Hederik 119]

Ooookay, so you went and played through the fight unsupervised. With surprising grace. The speed, the adrenaline! Well done, even though I'm somewhat stunned. Guess you cannot teach an old GM new tricks without some shock therapy.

 

Starting my next post now.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

Ooookay, so you went and played through the fight unsupervised. With surprising grace. The speed, the adrenaline! Well done, even though I'm somewhat stunned. Guess you cannot teach an old GM new tricks without some shock therapy.

 

Well, when it only concerns player characters, as long as no arbitration is required then PCs can interact without GM assistance / intervention. Whilst some action-film physics and abilities were in effect (throwing the bag of shot whilst diving through the air) I tried to stay within what seemed reasonable for my character, as did Colenso, and as you say it seems to have worked out.

 

I did actually try this as an experiment on an RP group I was GMing for when I was unavilable for a while - I gave them an enemy (a strong but simple mutant monster thingy), suggested a format for how to fight it (distract-attack-avoid) and they actually ran with it very well.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Hederik 119]

I did actually try this as an experiment on an RP group I was GMing for when I was unavilable for a while - I gave them an enemy (a strong but simple mutant monster thingy), suggested a format for how to fight it (distract-attack-avoid) and they actually ran with it very well.

Can't say I've tried the same, although I see the reasoning behind that. From my experience, in turn, moderating fights has almost always been necessary to dictate what went well and what didn't, especially once temperaments started to run hot and the fights weren't as insubstantial as was the case here. I once had to prevent a huge schizm about to happen in the game by making a duel end in defeat of both parties involved without anyone dying. And the players behind the characters were pretty determined to out the other one.

 

Now that I think about this, it was one of very few cases where the players would stand against one another. So perhaps there's more food for thought in the matter than I expected. And I'm not one to denounce a good thing, so I can honestly say to have already benefited from my cooperation with the two of you. Thanks.

 

...but as a rule of the thumb, do not expect to fight anything other than yourselves without me having the last word

 

 

EDIT: I'm in school tomorrow as well, so you can expect me popping in around the same time as today. Which with my tempo of one daily post doesn't seem to be an important information, but heck, I've already typed it.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Hederik

[Colenso Rivers 85]

@@Hederik,

Wow, I got my ass kicked. Do you think that I could have a gravity based movement de-buffing spell. But is my character incapacitated, he took quite a walloping.

[silvermoon15000 337]

Hmmm that is alot to process in this head of mine but I might as well give it a try for the story is very intriguing.

 

Name: Silvermoon

Age: idk I'm guessing an age of 16

Weaponry: secondary: a revolver

Melee: a staff

Primary: a musket(modern reloading mechanism, modern ammo, and aN acog sight.)

Appearance: navy blue fur, a long blue mane with midnight silver stripes, (probably cut for military purposes depending on you) same with tail except being cut and is a bit shorter.

 

Cutie mark: a moon with the shadow of two horns crossing in it.

 

Species: Unicorn

 

Personality: quiet, rarely speaks, usually tries to be a lone wolf prefers light armor for agility purposes.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

This is Carto's plan, featuring physics and stubborn bloody-mindedness. The stabbing bit probably won't work if Ardent simply flies over, but she doesn't strike me as the sort to back down, so if she tries to lift Cat then she'll get a knife in whatever is nearest. And if she tries to ram downwards from an angle... crunch. For Carto too, but she'll be happy to take that if it means beating (or at least drawing with) Ardent.  

 

 

 

 

But is my character incapacitated, he took quite a walloping.

 

 

I think it's a case of use your judgement - if @@Hederik believed was going to be insistent that the attack would incapacitate them, then I imagine they would have said as much in the post. He's probably not in the best of shapes, that much is clear, and quite possibly out cold.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Hederik 119]

I think it's a case of use your judgement - if @@Hederik believed was going to be insistent that the attack would incapacitate them, then I imagine they would have said as much in the post. He's probably not in the best of shapes, that much is clear, and quite possibly out cold.

Exactly.

 

 

@@Colenso Rivers,

 

As to the current course of action, I'm not entirely sold on that gravity spell; especially the part considering altitude. If we're talking relative altitude, as in distance from the nearest object denser than air in the downwards direction, than maybe it would make sense; absolutely, you're halfway up a mountain, for pony's sake, she'd bend time with how heavy she would get from that, probably knock a hole all the way to the Valley itself with her fall.

 

That being said, I require and expect no changes in your post and to explain, I'll need to share two of my ideas about how the world works.

 

Firstly, I see magic as an ability to exert force in a wild variety of forms, from shaves and pulls to creating elemental outbursts. It's like operating a ghostly hand: you know the movements necessary to do something. But knowing how to push an object with a hand does not mean you can knock down a wall, although all the gestures will be correct. The same I'd expect to be true for magic: you can try to make something blue, do all the right steps, and yet if for some reason it should oppose it, the effect might be different than what would have been expected. Thus, I approve listing the desired effects of a spell; just don't always expect it to work exactly in this way.

 

Secondly, (I meant to mention it somewhere earlier, either in the introductory post or in the course of RP, but of course forgot to) ponies are naturally resilient to magic. That is not to say a pony can shrug off a fireball or laugh at a force pulse because those are the physical manifestations of magic. But trying to lift a pony against their will with telekinesis, stop a flow of blood in their veins, force them to perform a movement against their will would be nearly impossible. And I'd like to stress that this is something the Cadets would have known for quite some time, practiced working around, partially overcoming and au contraire, allowing themselves to be affected by a trusted one's magic (for example for some internal healing).

 

Both of these point go against what is canon to a point, but the canon is a merry fairy tale and we're faced with a grim reality, so differences like these are a must. I can elaborate if you wish, preferably in the RP itself, but not necessarily.

 

 

@@silvermoon15000,

While I'm glad to see the RP gaining more popularity, I will have to refuse your application. The description provided is rather laconic, and from what other posts of yours I've glimpsed, this is a typical quality for your writing. The age you guessed a little low, the entire section of rambling about firearms you blatantly disregarded, there is no story behind your character's cutie mark and the personality you described just points to more no-interaction one-liners as an expectancy. So, sorry, but until you up the ante, I'm not game.

[Colenso Rivers 85]

I see. Well, I will keep that in mind from this moment forward, and I'm sorry for the mistake. From this point forward, I will put intense depth and realism behind spells, considering posibilities

[Hederik 119]

Nothing to apologize for. I should have done a better job describing all the quirks of the reality I've placed this RP in if I were to expect you to observe all of them at once. I didn't, and I don't - life is learning, and so is RPing. But I do approve the idea of well-thought-out spells

 

 

EDIT: If what I described in the last IC post was understandable, I have something to be proud of. Otherwise, this does not bode well, for I don't possess skill enough to illustrate these breakneck acrobatics in any other way than by crude stickmen, which would probably serve only to confuse everybody further.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Hederik

[Colenso Rivers 85]

@@Hederik,

By the way, canon depicts unicorn magic directly correlates with physical fatigue. If so, my character shouldn't be able to do much of anything, unless even though the spell is complex, doesn't require as much energy as formerly assumed. However, if magical stores don't go alongside physical fatigue, my character would only be off-set for a moment before recovery.

[Hederik 119]

@@Hederik,

By the way, canon depicts unicorn magic directly correlates with physical fatigue. If so, my character shouldn't be able to do much of anything, unless even though the spell is complex, doesn't require as much energy as formerly assumed. However, if magical stores don't go alongside physical fatigue, my character would only be off-set for a moment before recovery.

 

The way I see it, using magic requires concentration more than anything else. Therefore, the biggest forte of unicorns in general is multitasking, practiced from a very young age, which allows them to exert magical influence while, say talking, running or punching somebody's face in. Managing several objects/forces at once becomes exponentially more difficult, facilitated only when they form a set somehow, although even then much practice is needed to get it right. Hence I perceive your character's six knives a particularly advanced weapon to wield.

 

Back to the point, however, when a unicorn wants their magic to accomplish something really hard, they can redirect more of their divisible concentration towards it. First off, that would mean stopping performing any other conscious activities, then shutting senses off one by one, most likely beginning with sight. Should even that not suffice, the unconscious can be borrowed from a little as well, slowing the breathing and heartbeat - and these would show on the surface as exhaustion.

 

Beyond that is one more reason. I should direly hope to be explaining this in the RP itself, but I realize that would mean dragging the "school year" chapter endlessly, so it's not feasible. What I mean here is that a pony's vitality is partially connected to their reserve of magic. Unicorns who use a lot magic will be particularly attuned to feeling this effect, so with said buffer being expended, they will feel "closer to dying" for lack of better phrase, which would also translate into tiredness. In a critical case, if a unicorn should come close to draining themselves dry, their organism may just shut down to prevent that from happening. Similarly, if an attempted feat should lie beyond the scope of a unicorn's concentration range, they will pass out from inadequate breathing and blood circulation before any serious damage can occur.

 

I'm sure there could be found a lot of arguments based in the canon for and against this reasoning, but as eventually I'd just tell you to disregard them and stick with this vision, I don't see the point of seeking them out. 

 

 

Man, does absolutism feel nice.

 

 

[Colenso Rivers 85]

@@Hederik,

Thank you, I will roll play based upon these criteria. I fail to understand who is fighting now, and what would be expected of those defeated.

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers,

 

Basically no one is fighting anymore. I'm giving you a little space to exchange pleasantries or something, I dunno. In any event, tomorrow I'll move the plot a step forwards to the day's most important meal.

 

 

I. HATE. HOW THE POST MERGING MECHANISM WORKS.

 

 

She tried to recall the last moments of the fight, "her front legs were definitely above me, I'd just made contact with her chest... how she brought her back legs round I have no idea," she ended with a shrug.

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, this was too perfect for a quick Google search not to post. In all seriousness, however, I am now officially attempting to explain that which somehow escaped my wording, and no wonder.

 

Before the main course however, a couple general remarks:

 - this is done hastily and sloppily

 - the grinning moron on the left is Cat (no offense, just grabbed the first random code there was)

 - the generic nothing on the right is Ardent

 - the skewed lines represent the floor

 - despite its crudeness, this can actually prove to be an effective way of explaining what the hell is happening in the heat of battle

 

And here's the graph:

 

 

Edited June 7, 2016 by Hederik

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Hederik.

 

That was intended more as recognition of how skilled her opponent was (hinting at a touch of envy) although on a meta level I won't deny that there was a touch of 'physics doesn't work like that' to it (Tile 2 to 3 specifically. I understood what happened - your post was absolutely fine on detail.) Still, action film physics applies, especially to ninjas, so I don't have any issues - a good fight scene, with a nice reminder that combat is dangerous (the number of PCs I've tried to teach that to...) 

Edited June 7, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[Blaire D. Lycan 91]

can i join it sounds fun and well thought out..noted i cant type long paragraphs but i can try.

my character is a person that i mad who was mad in a laboratory  from the higher ups with no memory of anything. she was build by them to be a weapon and she possess sound magic even though she is a earth pony her name is three (until someone gives her a nick name) and she is purple with black hear. she has red eyes. she has never be introduced to anyone due to the fact that she has been in the lab (i know you said normal ponies don't understand technology but she was made by the higher ups. please allow this) the entrance day i join is the day she is allowed into the world of the others to learn and test her combat skills. she has no memory of her powers as well.

[Hederik 119]

@

Your shift key appears to be broken, you should contact somebody about that. I don't necessarily require long paragraphs of my players, but compliance with the setting and an adequate sense of grammar are a must. There is no "higher ups lab" or any reason for a magic-possessing earth pony mutant to be created therein, so under the risk of sounding draconian, I'm refusing your application as well.

 

 

@@Colenso Rivers, @@Once In A Blue Moon

Feel free to do anything you like in the midst of my post if you will, I just didn't want to break it up for fear of stretching this initial chapter endlessly. Also, I don't mind you making up other Cadets within the mess hall (within reason, of course), if you'd like to prompt some interaction that way. And the decision is yours, obviously, to turn astray of what I described as the group's actions at any point.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

 

 

Also, I don't mind you making up other Cadets within the mess hall (within reason, of course), if you'd like to prompt some interaction that way.

 

Create red shirts. Got it.

 

 

One other matter; having spent far more time thinking about it than any reasonable person should (sensible people pick unicorns to avoid this problem), I came up with an idea for how a knife or similar might be held in the hoof. Given that mlp ponies hooves seem to be more malleable, I envisaged a hoof-boot with a spike or blade on the end that is kept in a sheath by their side. When required (usually having knocked their opponent down) the pony contracts their hoof slightly, pushes it into the boot and then lets it expand, filling the space and giving a tight hold. This can then be used to stab downwards at the fallen enemy, although it will prohibit use of that leg for walking. The boot is dropped by contracting the hoof again. With your permission, that is the technique I would like Carto Sketch to use, with the 'short sword' being closer to a punch dagger in terms of role. Failing that, I will probably dispense with the short sword in favour of unarmed combat as her 'specialist' area. 

[Hederik 119]

 

 

Create red shirts. Got it.

Managed to close that page without clicking on any links. Four hours saved, so much win! Also, it may console you to know they aren't created just to die. Which makes them even less relevant, I guess. In your faces, nameless Cadets.

 

 

 

 

hoof-boot

I can't exactly imagine the anatomical process behind contracting a hoof, but I have no problem with such being employed by you - or anyone else for that matter. The equipping time I'd imagine to be rather long for this easily working against someone who is just downed, not subdued, but we can turn half of a blind eye towards it. And I'm somehow sure you'd find a way to make it work in a tight spot nonetheless.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

 

 

when I make pathfinder

 

 

@@Hederik. 

I took the liberty of assuming that such a role would be available (eventually) and known about by the cadets. Also, if you want to just brush past the armoury scene with 'Cat gets a helmet' (or not), so as to move on to meatier matters, that's fine by me.