ooc OOC - Tale of the two Wastelanders

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse @Maple Bat

Love triangle? Maple,  kids read this forum!

Kidding ofc, but on a more serious note, if I knew I can pull it off, I would roll two rp's. The reality is that I won't have the time to reply to both every day, and maybe even mess up which is which somewhere along the road. But I wanted something faster paced, seeing my other ones slowed down...

I don't know, maybe we could do a group one between the three of us, and leave the romance part hanging for now. And don't worry too much about strictly keeping to FOE lore, I haven't read it either. Hay, I don't even know the Ministries and the like. But it's an open box full of stuff ready to use, and that's what drew me to it. 

I have a fallout backstory for my character already, sothat's one problem solved.

So, thoughts?

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

Aaaaaand the interest went kaputt, it seems. 

[Contrast 292]

@Raven Rawne

I doubt it, just try messaging them; also, I know i'm a random individual here, but your idea sounds solid. I'm a fan of the Fallout games (and I have been meaning to read Fallout Equestria), so I agree with you, there is a lot to explore and utilize with the setting. If you want a random idea or starting point... It could be a case of 2 (or 3 chacracters from what I've heard) in over thier heads. You scavenge an item, not knowing its' worth or power, and now others are after you. Many close calls to be had and, with few people to trust, close relationships can be formed.

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne,

Still here. I didn't seem to be notified of your last response?

I'm gonna be honest, I personally think the premise would work better with just 1x1, at least in the sense that it would make the adventuring seem more 'at risk' when they literally only have each other for company. If one is trapped or incapacitated somehow, it's then down to the other to get them out of there. It would be too detrimental to carry on alone. I just feel like that could be utilized to much greater effect in giving deeper character development to the player's toons overtime whilst keeping it as the romantic-adventure tale you originally had in mind.

It could certainly work as a three-band adventure if you'd rather not be forced to choose, but I don't feel it could hit those same levels of personal impact for the characters and story.

Those are my thoughts at least.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

Maybe the notification got buried under other ones, or its just another forum mystery... Anyway, I get what you mean. Even though I hate the parts about kidnappings and getting hit unconscious, they do play a part in the larger picture.

I thought about it and I'd like to roll this one with you. Even if this may not be lighting fast, I sure like the amount of detail you bring with your posts.

@Maple Bat - thanks for the trio idea, but I guess it would stray too far from my original plan. Hope to rp with you in some other project though!

@Contrast thanks for stopping by, that idea sure can be useful, even further along the line.

[Lunar Echo 10,335]

I'll do whatever, I just don't have a character written out before hand like yourself so I'd probably just make a character as I go along.

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne,

I appreciate the opportunity! Looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Alright, so we should probably take this time to lay out any particulars we might want known before we get started; and then decide on how we want this to begin. Do we want the two to have already been travelling together for a while, or should we start out with them encountering each other whilst venturing through a ruin or such?

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

A chance meeting with forced socialisation I think. Meaning they stumble on each other but have to run from danger moments later. Keeping together would seem like necessity for a few hours to allow them to talk at first.

I think they could meet up in a ruined settlement North of Canterlot Mountain, a once sleepy town turned Mirelurk swampy nest. These things are tough but can be outrun by a pony, so they would be good for a scare at first. 

[Maple Bat 3,568]

  On 2017-06-23 at 12:59 PM, Raven Rawne said:

@Dark Horse

Maybe the notification got buried under other ones, or its just another forum mystery... Anyway, I get what you mean. Even though I hate the parts about kidnappings and getting hit unconscious, they do play a part in the larger picture.

I thought about it and I'd like to roll this one with you. Even if this may not be lighting fast, I sure like the amount of detail you bring with your posts.

@Maple Bat - thanks for the trio idea, but I guess it would stray too far from my original plan. Hope to rp with you in some other project though!

@Contrast thanks for stopping by, that idea sure can be useful, even further along the line.

Expand  

Alright it is your choice to make after all (again it was just something I was throwing out there)

Would love to Rp with you in the future when you get free time. I'll try to refine my Romantic Rp skills some other way in the mean time.

See ya around. 

[Dark Horse 12,964]

  On 2017-06-24 at 12:52 AM, Raven Rawne said:

A chance meeting with forced socialisation I think. Meaning they stumble on each other but have to run from danger moments later. Keeping together would seem like necessity for a few hours to allow them to talk at first.

I think they could meet up in a ruined settlement North of Canterlot Mountain, a once sleepy town turned Mirelurk swampy nest. These things are tough but can be outrun by a pony, so they would be good for a scare at first. 

Expand  

That sounds good. Gives us a bit of time to establish our toons as well, see where they might stand to begin with.

Are there any significant changes to Crystal's personality that this RP would entail? I know you mentioned already having a Fallout-centred backstory in place. In Saffron's case, his adventurous and knowledge-enthusiastic traits would be much more pronounced, as well as in general adopting a more hard and somewhat colder outward personality that the environment calls for. He'd still be quite introverted however, and probably feels that the only one he can really rely on is himself at first, but he's not so closed off as to deny the possibility of making new friends. Can't ever have enough of those in the wasteland after all.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

Crystal Clear is more or less the same. She's a Stable dweller.  Ex to be exact. Born in Stable 29 under the Crystal Empire to the same family as in description. Her special talent is exactly the same, as well as her Stable career - the dwelling is made of crystal and the ponies scavenged the former metropolis for generations to expand it. Crystal Clear 's job also entailed such away missions to select stuff to bring. She left the Stable when she was 25, for reasons unknown... It's her second year above ground, roaming the land, looking for a place to call home.

She was taught to fear the outside world, and for good reason - with the Heart gone, the whole area became a frozen wasteland full of danger. Still, she couldn't help but look into one more building,  break open one more entrance etc when she was out on "reclamation missions" back North. Living in a self contained snow globe of a world made her feel claustrophobic. And the never ending toil...

After she ran away, with some stolen items and some her stuff, Crystal had to learn the hard way how things are above ground, and she does seem disillusioned, wearing jade colored glasses and skeptical at first. Although, she didn't forsake her naive ideals of kindness and selfless aid, even if it's hard to know who to trust these days. She wish she could find a place where she could live that dream.

At the rp's start,  she has lots if construction jobs done, since it's her learned career. But she also had some mercenary jobs, and roaming the map taught her how to use the gun. At the beginning, she owns a 10mm pistol for self defense.

[Dark Horse 12,964]

Alright, sounds good!

Saffron also originally comes from a Stable that was located under the ruins of Manehattan, but was taken out of it at a young age when a dispute erupted over letting the stable be opened to the outside, and several residents departed in protest. For the majority of his young life, he was thought the values of scavenging and self-sufficiency, and since the Manehatten ruins were full of pre-war treasures and pickings just waiting to be found, it's where he acquired the majority of his knowledge regarding old world tech and interests in obtaining and studying these relics of the past. He's currently hunting down another lead at the beginnings of our story.

He never stays in one place for too long; preferring to drift wherever the call of treasure takes him, and he's well used to traveling across harsh environments. He wears a customized duster over a jury-rigged combat armor chestplate, with leather pads strapped around his hind legs. Almost all of his equipment is scavenged and not in the best of shape, though he tries to keep them going for as long as possible with whatever repair materials he can find.

He longs to find the "big one". A haul of untouched, pre-war technology that he determinedly believes is out there waiting to be uncovered.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

Seems reasonable that Saffron is the more knowledgeable one. Crystal had to learn the world from the ground up,  once she moved South. Hence she doesn't have anything fancy on her - anan upcycled Stable jacket with leather and studded reinforcements here and there, rather worn saddlebags filled with her things and whatever she found for sale. Also a scavved one axle open cart to dump loot. She may have had to learn about materials other than crystal,  but she learned her lessons and can intuitively pick stuff apart. Reassembly can be a problem though. Still, her belongings are as tidy and well kept as circumstances allow.

 

So we're ready to roll or you want to settle something more?

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne,

I think I've covered enough to start with. I'm good to begin when you are.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

Sure thing. So, a ruined pre-war settlement North of Caterlot, now deserted and turned into a swamp? With some signs of post-apocalyptic living, like shack bridges over the water? With strage looking round "stones" in it (ambushing Mirelurks). Crystal sped the night in one of the buildings on the outskirts and will come out to explore - she found the place before nightfall and simp;y dug in a more or less okay looking house.

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne

Alrighty. I think Saffron will be approaching the settlement having heard vague stories of the site from traveling traders and spent much of the previous day pinpointing the exact location. Most reports were of it being abandoned so he's not expecting any encounters, though his main objective would be to prioritize anything that looks as though it may have been hiding potentially valuable materials.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

There could be a Deputy's Ofice or other public building fitting the place's small size that he could lay eyes on. Pre-war documents, maybe an armoury, valuables? Crystal would head towards it too, once she checked every nook and cranny on the way towards it.

It's too late for me to cook up the opening post now, so if you have the time, go ahead, okay?

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse I think they should meet by that public building. Either on the shack bridges leading to it or at the doors.  And get in together, out of necessity - Crystal can take a shortcut and jump on the round thing across a gap, thus waking up a mirelurk. And it's friends. So they barricade inside.

Another thing entirely is the town's story.  At first I thought they lived till the lurks came and decided to move out to a safer place,  but I have another idea. What if all the citizens are in that building? Dead of course. In a large room where they came for some reason. Let's say a travelling salespony gave a presentation of their wonderful invention. In reality it was a pink cloud making device or something similar that killed them all, save for the fake salespony who simply wanted to rob the whole town. That's why the houses are picked of most loot.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

New idea - what if the townsponies are alive,  just ponynapped into slavery? They can discover it in the administration building,  which just happens to have an electrical talisman that still works (and a lot if cables coming out of it to the previously inhabited buildings) and they see what happened on the security camera tapes? Or some other more believable means.  It would allow them to run the first joint mission,  and bask in the feeble light of heroism afterwards. Crystal for once would decide that she's not doomed to live in a crapsack world, and can have agency outside of securing her own survival.  We meet her in a moment when she's disillusioned and giving up on things.

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne,

Yeah, that could be interesting. Crystal is given what looks to be a faint light above her cynicism over the world, the chance to just maybe make some changes for the better and reassure that not all is a hopeless venture. I wouldn't expect it to change her outlook completely of course, but it would give hope, and in this world you hold on to hope for all it's worth. Saffron would try to be pessimistic about the townsponies chances of survival, but his conscience would get the better of him eventually. He's no 'knight in shining armor', but he certainly wouldn't lose any sleep disrupting slaver operations.

If the surviving security cam footage seems a bit too far fetched, we could also have them find a hidden note that was left by one of the townsponies just before being captured, kind of a desperate cry for help in the event that anypony else stumbled into the ruins. They may have overheard the slavers discussing where they were based, or leave a trial that they could follow.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

A discarded journal of the Mayor sounds good? They would get a hint on their life, hopes, and the date they stopped writing. I think a unicorn stranger coming to town and casting spells to enthrall them would work, because of no battle damage and the way houses seemed like their inhabitants packed and left.

Also, it's the first step for both of them.  Crystal would decide that if she can make a difference,  it's worth it. The one good deed that would make somepony remember her by, a slight change for the better in the crapsack world she found herself a part of. A dent in her jade colored glasses.

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

Any ideas where the juice comes from? In Fallout there are fusion cores and other tiny reactors but FOE doesn't have nukes. Yet we need a way to recharge energy weapons, and power up stuff.  Power armours also need energy.

One way to do it would be energy crystals/gems, recharged by zapping them with a magic beam. But industrial non-coal based energy production? I don't have a good idea yet.

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne

Yeah, energy crystals or gemstones would seem like the most believable source, since they're often used as a conduit for storing magical energy. Some FO:E lore seems to imply that the Crystal Ponies were experts in their craft, no surprise really since that's what they were specialists in. I would imagine however that post-war it has become something of a forgotten knowledge, especially after the Crystal Heart was lost, so for this early part of the story at least I don't think the duo would have that luxury available to them, hence why Saffron's own energy pistol is in quite poor shape. There's only so many times you can jury-rig it. It's always an ability that they could acquire later on though, once they've become more travelled.

Another energy source were Talismans, which it seems were very powerful magical items that were individually created to perform a specific task. For example; I read that almost all Power Armour suits had a special Talisman built into them that allowed them to regenerate lost armour so long as they were fed sufficient scrap metal. Others essentially served as the Water Chip for stables, and so forth. These seem to be the power sources for especially advanced technology.

As for small ammunition sources, I would think that in the place of miniature fusion reactors you instead have these tiny crystals that are encased in a capsule or energy cell etc. The crystals have been charged with magical energy that is then used as the source for the weapon's ammo until it runs dry. The Crystals/Gemstones could potentially become damaged however and if they rupture there is a chance that the weapon could explode.

That's just a couple of workshop ideas anyway. So far it seems like the simplest approach to it, from my view at least, but throw some other ideas down if you have them~

[Raven Rawne 1,381]

@Dark Horse

Yeah, Crystal Clear, being a Stable dweller from the former Empire would know about this tech, but it's the crystal unicorns who produced and maintained them - she just used them in power tools and energy weapons (btw she owns a 10mm right now mainly because she had no means to recharge the gun she stole on the way out.). Since some fics say Cadence survived and became the overmare of Stable 35 near the Empire, she would keep the Old World alive in the Stable.

Crystal/Gemstone magic power storage seems best in our case, along with traditional, "real world" electricity. Magic being ofc better for portable uses and exclusive for weapons and running robots/power armour suits etc. Normal electrical devices can be powered by usual means: water wheels, dynamos, old steam generators and so on. Those are not a problem. Magic power won't become a resource for them for a long time, and we can omit it's production till then. But talismans acting as generators seem plausible - a suitcase sized box with a big socket in it, for example. Juicing up the cells by a unicorn is both impractical and unfeesible, seeing how they were made for industrialised war and industry.

Back to the thgs ahead, I think in the next round of posts, the mirelurk decides it was very rude to use it as a stepping stone and wakes up, chasing them into the admin biulding. They will see from thewindows that the whole place came alive and is crawling with them. Unles we come up with a better idea, they can electrocute the **** out of them by dropping a high voltage cable from one of such talisman driven generators, destroying it in the process.

 

 

[Dark Horse 12,964]

@Raven Rawne

So, I had a thought about where we could go with this. I was thinking of having them find a discarded mind control device, maybe like a small head unit powered by a drained crystal that looks to have been corrupted with dark magic. My thoughts were that this Unicorn stranger came to town and used a spell to gradually take control of the mayor as you said (their journal entries could start off normal but then become more and more posessed like). He then uses the town as a testing centre for these mind control devices, eventually being able to enthrall the entire town en-mass. There could be an amplifier machine of some kind, powered by a talisman, which emits a strange magic that completely takes control of anypony in a wide radius wearing the device (Saffron and Crystal could witness the effects via Mirelurks who were used as test subjects), the eventual goal being that this Unicorn, and the faction he is a part of, would slowly introduce them into more and more isolated settlements across the wasteland and have a highly efficient means of enslaving entire populations, giving them a monopoly over the slave market. The settlers of this town have been brought back to their base of operations to be used as slave labor for commencing mass production. Another hidden journal of the Unicorn's progress log could provide them with the necessary information to track them down.