ooc Unlikely Guardians Discussion

[Shanashie 39]

Unlikely Guardians

We presently have ( 1 ) spaces for additional players 
 

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”When you stepped onto the plane five hours ago, you expected a comfortable and uneventful flight into Miami. What you got was some of the worse turbulence you’ve ever experienced, followed by some kind of freaky mid air collision with super-sized ball lightning. As you awaken you find yourself in a smouldering crater, surrounded by fire, wreckage and the bodies of your fellow passengers. More important though is the giant three headed dog that’s looking at you from beyond shattered obsidian gates.
Dark shadows loom on Equestria’s horizon; the denizens of Tartarus have escaped their imprisonment.
Amid the brewing storm, the ancient Labyrinth has summoned its champions.
You have been called upon, Guardian. ”

Welcome to ‘Unlikely Guardians’. This is a character driven, adventure roleplay set in the high fantasy world of Equestria. Your character, an everyday Joe/Jane with everyday problems, has been flung into Equestria by the weirdest plane crash since Lost. Along with your fellow survivors, you find yourselves empowered by strange forces and must piece together what lead to your unexpected trip between dimensions. Yet for now, you are ignorant to the greater destiny that has been thrust upon you. The fate of a world rests in your hands.

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Rules of RP

• Rule 1: This is an Advanced character driven RP. Whilst there is an overarching plot, it will be up to your characters to discover it for themselves.
• Rule 2: Usual rules go here, only doubled. Power-playing, god-modding and being generally 'LOOK AT ME!' are just not cricket. The system being tested here is open to all sorts of abuse, so I’m trusting everyone to play nice and support their fellow role players. All things in moderation. We’re all here to have fun after all.
• Rule 3: As Game Mod, I’ll hold control over most major NPC’s and hence, won’t be entering a main player character myself. I’ll also be occasionally passing PM’s on to players. This might be just info that only their character has noticed, or about how their character’s meta is developing.
• Rule 4: Your character’s are unaware of their potential and will only discover it through genuine story writing. Quintessentially this simply means that when your character receives some new ability, don’t just go and use it straight off the bat like some video game upgrade; think of, Da Magics! Sinuous drama is everything, so find a way to weave character changes into the story naturally rather than dropping them in like concrete blocks.
• Rule 5: Quality over speed. We’re not going anywhere, so take your time with replies.
• Rule 6: Lastly, remember that you are not a superhero or some avatar of virtue. Your character is their own person; They have a genuine personality, needs and desires, not to mention dreams and ambitions that this disaster has likely torn from their grasp. With that comes inner conflict and all the emotions that cascade from it. Interact, clash, grow as people and make this an experience worth remembering.
  
  
  

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  System
  Welcome to your new life Guardian. Evil most foul has escaped from the dimensional prison of Tartarus and, through unfathomable means, Labyrinth has chosen you to serve as one its champions.
  
  Rather than riddle this OOC with the various implications this imposes on characters, I’ll instead place them all under this sub-heading of ‘System’

• Arrival:
• Your characters will start off as humans when they first enter equestria, but that is not to say they will remain that way.  As creatures from beyond the realm of magic, they just don't 'fit' in the grand scheme of things.  This hampers a guardian's ability to draw on their fundamental powers, cutting them off from their true potential.  That is, until they stretch their limits.  Dragons, Minators, Harpies, fay and some of the more exotic species of Pony are all descended from Guardians that 'adapted' after tapping into their well spring of unique magic.  They chose to become protectors of this world.  Perhaps this change is avoidable, but It has been millennia since an incursion like this last occurred though; so the mechanisms by which this transition happens remain a mystery to even the greatest sages. (This concept is still a little rocky and I'm unsure as to whether it isn't just surplus to requirement. Any input would be appreciated.)

• Immortality;
  Characters in the Tartarus System are Immortal... kinda. By transcending the barrier between worlds, you have also broken free of the mortal coil and no matter how grave your injuries, you will not die. However, I wouldn’t go testing this as your new ‘blessing’ does not make you immune to injury, disease, unimaginable pain and all manner of wonderful experiences that could leave you wishing you could die. Ambient magic aids in the healing process, but don’t go expecting a ten minute rest to fix broken limbs.
   
• Magic;
  On earth you were limited by physical laws that strictly forbade the fifth element, known as Magic. Now that you have entered Equestria, your body is becoming acclimated and a dormant power has been awakened within each of you. When selecting this ‘power’, there are a few things to keep in mind. Try to make this ability balanced and unique to your character, perhapse to fit their personality (think ‘The Powers of Harmony’). I do not want to have to place limitations on your imaginations, but please try to keep it reasonable. No man is an island. Abilities that aid or empower others are highly encouraged, but weird and wonderful would be awesome too. Often it is the seemingly mundane powers that prove most interesting when a character is forced to use them creatively. Abilities will evolve alongside the characters, but at first they will be fairly weak, especially as the character’s won’t even know they have to begin with.
  
  As for using these abilities, discovery of them will come through stress, expression of harmonic virtues and just the right circumstances. It is really up to you when you power first manifests, but aim to make it both awesome and inkeeping with your character’s personality.
  
  Guardians are like magic batteries, sucking in the ambient mana around them to use their awakened abilities. These reserves are finite though, allowing for only brief bursts of empowerment before the well is exhausted and needs time to replenish. Whilst this does not prevent the character from continuing to use their abilities, pushing past your limits will come at a great cost as Equestria imposes its own fundamental laws upon you.
   
• Ascension;
  As your characters grow through experience and interaction, their affinity for this world will grow along with them. As GM I’ll be keeping track of everyone’s progress and will let people know when new abilities are becoming available to their characters, as well as any physical changes that may come along with these.
  
  
  

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  Application Guide
  Name: (Your character’s human name.  Use this as a link to their basic profile in the character arrive too.)
  Age: (Anything between eight and eighty. So long its within reason I honestly don’t mind.)
  Gender: (M/F)
  Personality; (Three keywords that describe your character’s personality)
  Power: (a brief idea about what you character’s idea power could be. I'm not guaranteeing that I'll allow everything, but we need a starting point to work from / too. Also, feel free to make suggestions or comment about other character's abilities too. The more input we have, the better the game will be.

When making a character Profile you don't need anything fancy, just enough to flesh out their personality and basic history for yourself and others.
 
Player List

• Morgan Card - Scoutaloo
• Character Name - Agent 505
• Katarzhyna Nikolaeva Karpov - Invisable Pink Unicorn
• Emily Williams - Fire Sky
• Silas - Suigintou
• Chandra Santiya - Starshine
• Character Name - Player
  
  
  
  I think that should about do it. Time to head off to bed as see if this gets any interest.
  Night all

Edited August 10, 2013 by Shanashie

[Standard User 2,127]

Name: Morgan Card (yup, using this name...again.)
Age: 17 (too typical/expected?)
Gender: Male
Personality: Fun-loving; neutral; quirky
Power: Uh...I'm actually not terribly sure how to do this part. Whenever I use him, Morgan is all about the luck of the draw and random "wildcard" moments. I was thinking some power that reaches into a grab bag of sample abilities and passes those off to his friends/the surroundings? Think like the Wabbajack from Skyrim -- it can help, it can hinder, or it can just be weird. If that isn't what you're looking for, lemme know.
 

This sounds like an interesting roleplay!  

 

EDIT: Some more character info would be a nice thing to ask for, I suppose. I know this is character-driven but having an inkling of what each person/person-turned-pony is like will help move things along in the beginning. Also, are we still humans, or are we now ponies?

Edited June 30, 2013 by Scoutaloo

[Agent505 661]

I am...unsure, about this roleplay. 

Honestly, due to past experiences with advanced roleplays, I dont expect this to take off or last overly long, simply because most people I have RP'ed with before sometimes find it difficult to fit the 200 character limit, and they very often flunk that. I've heard of many RPs dying out simply because their participants don't wish to fulfil the 800 character limit every time they post something. 

 

Be that as it may, it does sound incredibly interesting and it has caught my eye. The only thing i'd like to know is: What are our characters? I'm guessing, from the looks of things and certain rules, we will be playing human characters? Yes? 

If that's the case then i'm a little lost as to how to go about this, personally. I'm used to RP'ing with ponies, obviously, but i've generally steered away from human based RPs. 

 

Would you have us create a character from scratch for this RP, or human...-ify one of our pony characters? 

Either way let me know, and i'll consider joining up with this, because honestly it looks like it has the potential to be a LOT of fun, should it take off. 

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

I think I'd like to make a character for this game.  Will characters need to have human and pony personas, or will they stay human while in Equestria?

[Shanashie 39]

Three responses already 0.0 Sweet!

 

It seems I kind of left out that crucial bit of information on species, didn't I.  To address the one question on everyone's lips; Yes, your characters remain unchanged from their human selves when first arriving in Equestria...  To begin with.  Human beings don't 'fit' into Equestria's grand equation, they are an anomaly that it will try to correct from the moment they arrive.  What happens beyond then? In a way that's up to you, the more power you seek the greater the cost will be to your humanity.  Many of the more exotic and dangerous people's of Equestria are descendants of the first Guardians, those who chose power in order to protect the land they adopted as their new home.  I'm still a bit 'um-ah' about this aspect though, frankly it feels a tad superfilous.  

 

What do you all think? 

 

I find myself torn on another issue too; the inclusion of MLP in the character's original world.  A large part of me wants to say that the show and its predecessors don't exist for the main characters, leaving them a blank slate for the shock and awe of this fantasy world they now find themselves within.

 

Scoutaloo; I think you might be right about the background and personality info, I just didn't want to impose the necessity of Profiles.  Perhaps it would be best for people to build a basic profile in the character archive to link too?

As for your character concept, it looks good from here, especially the base concept you've come up with for his ability.  The key word that hooked my attention there was 'wildcard'.  I like this plan (insert evil gm laugh here).  An almost supernatural ability that seems to effect the laws of chance, but is rarely directed.  It could cause the most outlandish of effects that are, somehow, always plausible if highly improbable.  Hehe, I can see Morgan giving Pinkie Pie a run for her money in the weird department.

 

 

I am...unsure, about this roleplay. 
Honestly, due to past experiences with advanced roleplays, I dont expect this to take off or last overly long, simply because most people I have RP'ed with before sometimes find it difficult to fit the 200 character limit, and they very often flunk that. I've heard of many RPs dying out simply because their participants don't wish to fulfil the 800 character limit every time they post something. 

 
 Oh crumbs.  I didn't actually know there was a minimum character limit on the advanced rps.  That could be a major hindrance to any rapid character interaction.   Usually I can waffle like nobodies business, but we may have to orchestrate some combi-posts via pm if quick banter takes place.  Then again, I suppose there's nothing stopping us from starting the RP in the Main section rather then advanced. What do you think?

 

As for Human RP, where you draw your core inspiration from is of no consequence to me, so long as you feel comfortable playing the character and can get inside their head.  Imagine how a person much like yourself would react to being flung so violently into a completely different world.  Maybe they had people back home relying on them, a business to operate or lives to save. Perhaps they were travelling with family who weren't so lucky.  Everyday, relatable folks being thrust into a life changing scenario.  

 

Don't know if that helps, but feel free to throw up any ideas or thoughts you have here and flesh out your ideal character. 

 

Well, I think that's everything.  I'll go edit the main post with this new info.  Thanks for the interest everyone!  I really hope we can see this concept take flight

Edited July 1, 2013 by Shanashie

[Agent505 661]

I wouldn't see a problem with starting this up in normal RPs? I don't think there are any rules against it, although I am unsure. 

 

As for getting inside a characters head, honestly if I found myself  waking up this morning in Equestria, I think the first think I, personally, would do, would be to roll over and go back to sleep for a while  

I have a pretty boring life and at the minute there wouldn't be too much consequence if I did just vanish for a while :3 

So i'll have to put some work into that department for my character...

 

I'll get to writing an application soon, I need to get some caffeine in me first, otherwise it's just going to be more of this gibberish.

[Shanashie 39]

I wouldn't see a problem with starting this up in normal RPs? I don't think there are any rules against it, although I am unsure. 

 

As for getting inside a characters head, honestly if I found myself  waking up this morning in Equestria, I think the first think I, personally, would do, would be to roll over and go back to sleep for a while

I have a pretty boring life and at the minute there wouldn't be too much consequence if I did just vanish for a while :3 

So i'll have to put some work into that department for my character...

 

I'll get to writing an application soon, I need to get some caffeine in me first, otherwise it's just going to be more of this gibberish.

 

 

No worries, Agent.  Keep us posted and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

On another note, what's your opinion of the whole 'gradual change' thing.  I have to admit the more I think about it the less sure I am that it should be included.  It seems a bit much to force on the characters along with everything else that they've already been lumbered with.  Perhaps if player's wanted to keep something like that mechanic in, it would be better as a kind of instant effect, when a character pushes their abilities past the point of no return?  What do you reckon?

[Agent505 661]

@@Shanashie, 

 

Scratch this, i'm stupid, apparently

 

Right, so I just read the OoC post for the 50th time (walls of text dont register well for me, I read them, but I don't take it in) and I see where you're coming from. An instant effect would have to be thought out quite a bit, and would take a lot of leading up to, and then there's the trigger of the effect - that could be hard to grasp the right opportunity for. 

 

A gradual change, I think would be better. Say our human characters suddenly grow horns, but no more. That would make for an interesting set-piece, if they're small horns, the character could try to hide them, or something. It would give us more to do in the times where we wouldn't be doing anything otherwise. Also, I think once we have our characters take on the smaller forms of transformation (horns, wings, tails, maybe altered legs or something) then we can just go for the full transformation in the end, all at once. 

 

That's just my take on it, anyway. I'd prefer to keep the gradual change in, but I think either could work with some planning. 

Edited July 1, 2013 by Agent505

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

*Reads the OP...reads the replies...* "Holyshit...this RP looks amazing."

 

 

Seriously though, I totally love the look of this RP and would love to be a part of it...buuuut, I gotta agree with Agent505 Advanced RP's can get...annoying.
I've been in a few and eventually replying to them turned into a chore...trust me, putting it in the normal section would probably be better.

I'll start mixing up a character sheet right now 

[Standard User 2,127]

@@Shanashie:

 

I hope I don't forget to touch on anything. I keep scrolling up and down, trying to remember everything I need to say.  

 

Just my opinions here, but:

* I like the idea of a gradual change from human to pony. It would be disturbing/terrifying for the characters and force them to make some hefty decisions.

* A profile in the Roleplay Characters section wouldn't be a bad idea, though what you have here works just as well. It would guarantee that everyone has the same info if we all made proper character pages, however.

* If nothing else, the characters shouldn't know of the existence of MLP beforehand. If we had characters that knew the show or knew that it existed, we might accidentally metagame. And no one likes metagaming. 

* I know that a lot of people are turned off by the "Advanced" tag. HOWEVER, having that character limit generally means that the players develop well-thought out posts with lots of detail. Sometimes it can get snagged, however. In the end I'm okay with this being either a normal RP or Advanced.

 

And I'm glad that you like the widlcard idea, as I didn't really have any other powers in mind. 

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

 

A gradual change, I think would be better. Say our human characters suddenly grow horns, but no more. That would make for an interesting set-piece, if they're small horns, the character could try to hide them, or something. It would give us more to do in the times where we wouldn't be doing anything otherwise. Also, I think once we have our characters take on the smaller forms of transformation (horns, wings, tails, maybe altered legs or something) then we can just go for the full transformation in the end, all at once. 

 

That's just my take on it, anyway. I'd prefer to keep the gradual change in, but I think either could work with some planning. 

 

This is actually deuterocanonical: in Equestria Girls, when the HuMane 5 plus Twilight start busting out the heavy magic, Dashie and Flutters sprout wings and everybody gets pony ears and tails.  The therianthropic forms vanish once Twilight has left and the portal to Equestria is closed, but that's because the HM5 are still in Not Quite Earth.  Since the therianthropic forms persisted between the magic use itself and the closure of the portal, it appears that in the deuterocanon of EG, intense use of Equestiran magic does bring on partial transformations, and those transformations persist afterward unless the magic is withdrawn and the "axioms" of a non-magical world are restored.  In our characters' case, they'll be in Equestria itself, so transitional stages of transformation should persist.

[Mephala 2,633]

Name: Silas (link TBA)
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Personality: arrogant, intelligent, chaotic
Power: Hemomancy (the ability to use your blood and other's blood as a tool) For example, Silas is able to take the blood from others to replace his own if he is wounded, he can eject it at high speeds and temperatures, etc.

 

Personally, I'm all for doing Advanced. However, something that can make it a bit easier for some is using two characters rather than one; whether you choose to do this or not is at your discretion. I may change from Silas to Luce, who is semi-similar in personality. 

Then again, I'm one of those people who writes at least 600+ characters every time I make a post, so I'm perfectly happy with either. I just don't know if I'd be able to keep up since I'm away were it not an Advanced. Some people spam post mindless stuff and I can't go on with it.

Edited July 1, 2013 by Suigintou

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Shanashie,

 

 

Name: Emily Williams (Sorry bout the crappy backstory...)

Age: 27

Gender: Female

Personality: Shy, smart, curious.

Power: I'm stumped...I've been thinking all day and I cant come up with anything good. The only idea I got was maybe something to do with her music...maybe alter stuff...peoples minds? Make them sleepy or maybe unable to think straight? Or somethin' along those lines.

 

 

I also think that a gradual change would be more fun.

And I agree with Scoutaloo that they shouldn't know of MLP...but I still think that we should make it a normal RP...

Edited July 2, 2013 by ~Fire Sky~

[Agent505 661]

So i'm pretty much in the same situation as seems to be most people's here, what exact powers are we thinking of having? 

I've pretty much gotten my character sorted, I just need to know what you mean exactly by "power"?

[OceanFlare 0]

Name: Christopher Biddle http://mlpforums.com/page/roleplay-characters/_/oceanflare-r3790

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Personality: Smart,Creative,Eccentric,Well Read,Witty,

Power: The Verse the power to manipulate reality with music

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

Name: Katarzhyna Nikolaeva Karpov

 

Age: 26

 

Gender: Female

 

Personality: Smart, determined, optimistic

 

Power: Gravity Control: This is a levitation/telekinesis ability that is based on the ability to warp spacetime.  It will begin as a modest ability to lighten or levitate herself and/or small objects close to her, and grow more powerful and controlled as she learns to wield it.  At a future stage of development, she will gain the ability to perceive the 'shape of space,' which will enhance her ability to control what she does with her power.

 

----

 

 

@@OceanFlare, would you consider having Christopher's power be something other than "manipulates reality with music?"  Another character in the RP (Emily Williams) already has a music-based power.  If Christopher Biddle is a human version of the pony character your link leads to, maybe something like Elemental Water (the ability to "water-bend," i.e. control water) and/or an ability to talk to water creatures and gain their help? 

 

BTW, I'm not the GM, so this is just a suggestion.  I think it would be best if the characters had a diverse range of powers, and I didn't see any mention of music in the Ocean Flare OC's bio, so a "water element" power seems like a better fit for him.

Edited July 2, 2013 by InvisiblePinkUnicorn

[Mephala 2,633]

@

I love that power; I used it one a character in a story I wrote and you can do such unique things with it, good fun.

 

Also, would Silas be a bad choice? So far I seem to have the worst personality out of all of the others (he's very hateful) and I don't want to screw things up for everyone. In addition his power is quite dark and involves a lot of murder. XD

[Standard User 2,127]

@

I love that power; I used it one a character in a story I wrote and you can do such unique things with it, good fun.

 

Also, would Silas be a bad choice? So far I seem to have the worst personality out of all of the others (he's very hateful) and I don't want to screw things up for everyone. In addition his power is quite dark and involves a lot of murder. XD

 

So how amazingly awkward would it be to murder some innocent griffon and play with his blood while everyone else looks on in horror? I'm telling ya', you've got a winner there.

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

@,

 

I think the hateful personality is a bigger problem than the power because it seems more likely that he'd align himself with the Forces of Darkness^tm than side with the Guardians.  And would the Guardians want him around if he's bleeding his enemies out and putting their heads on pikes?  Maybe they could be forced to accept an alliance of necessity (the Forces of Darkness^tm do not accept him), with the "good" characters having to continually restrain him from committing atrocities, and he can't kill them, as much as he might want to.

 

The power itself could be interesting in the hands of a good-hearted character.  Such a person might be ethics-bound to extract only their own blood to weaponize it, thus paying a high price to wield the power.  Or, they could struggle to control it, causing gruesome collateral damage by accident or having to fight against the temptations of the Dark Side.

 

I think it's up to you and/or Shanashie as GM.  The main obstacle IMO is finding a plausible reason for him to be on the Guardians' side.  Maybe he could stick with them at first since they're the only other humans in an alien world.  As he discovers his power and perhaps undergoes the first stage of his transformation, he could decide to switch sides now that he knows he can be a powerful magical being in Equestria.  Why stay with the humans in hopes of going back to Earth when he can rip the blood out of hapless victims and rule a dark empire with an iron [whatever ends up at the end of his arm]?

[Agent505 661]

@@Shanashie,

 

(I would suggest "following" this thread, so you are made aware of any posts as they happen)

 

I have a character thought up, but this will be my first human RP character, so i'm not sure exactly how to go about having them. Also, the addition of powers has me confused, as I asked earlier are these powers we will acquire while we are in Equestria, or do we start with those when we enter? I need to know what guidelines I should be using to help me make a decent character. :/ 

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

If it helps, I'm playing Katarzhyna as if she does not have her power until she gets to Equestria.  That's how I understood the concept of the game, anyway.

[Starshine 16,334]

The concept is very intriguing... If there is still some available slot I would like to join in on the roster. I assume the human characters would be a humanized version of our equine ones?

 

Name: Chandra Santiya (Link)

Age: 22

Gender: F

Personality: Nonchalant, curious, optimistic.

Power: Agility. While her strength and stamina is a bit lower than that of an average human, she can sprint at unbelievable speed and jump over houses at ease, even though she would tire herself quite quickly. Her reaction time is also much faster, allowing her to dodge most physical attacks coming at her.

[OceanFlare 0]

@InvisiblePinkUnicorn

I thought Waterbending might be a bit generic, and the verse comes from Aquaria, an ocean themed game that has the verse in it look it it up bro.

 

p.s.oh and derp

Wait what is the rival force of The Guardians?Maybe we should start considering the story i mean, come on i made a Naruto roleplay on reddit before i was a brony and people just made up crap and godmoded all the time we should establish a solid story and set of rules.

Oh and as our characters start to progress they could have night terrors, and dream of dark evils, and then begin to flare out in fits of dark magic.

 

P.S. I got  that idea from what i vaguely remember of an anime called Claymore where the people nicknamed Claymores were a cross between human and demon and would eventually become evil, but then its discovered that affection can revert the transformation.

@,

 

I think the hateful personality is a bigger problem than the power because it seems more likely that he'd align himself with the Forces of Darkness^tm than side with the Guardians.  And would the Guardians want him around if he's bleeding his enemies out and putting their heads on pikes?  Maybe they could be forced to accept an alliance of necessity (the Forces of Darkness^tm do not accept him), with the "good" characters having to continually restrain him from committing atrocities, and he can't kill them, as much as he might want to.

 

The power itself could be interesting in the hands of a good-hearted character.  Such a person might be ethics-bound to extract only their own blood to weaponize it, thus paying a high price to wield the power.  Or, they could struggle to control it, causing gruesome collateral damage by accident or having to fight against the temptations of the Dark Side.

 

I think it's up to you and/or Shanashie as GM.  The main obstacle IMO is finding a plausible reason for him to be on the Guardians' side.  Maybe he could stick with them at first since they're the only other humans in an alien world.  As he discovers his power and perhaps undergoes the first stage of his transformation, he could decide to switch sides now that he knows he can be a powerful magical being in Equestria.  Why stay with the humans in hopes of going back to Earth when he can rip the blood out of hapless victims and rule a dark empire with an iron [whatever ends up at the end of his arm]?

With an iron hoof.I guess? And Silas could collect and store blood from dead animals and steal the blood of those with evil in their hearts.

Edited July 3, 2013 by OceanFlare

[Shanashie 39]

That is... a lot of replies.  I actually thought I was following this topic, but clearly not :S Thanks Agent for pointing that out.

 

Sorry for letting this lag a bit, wasn't feeling great yesterday so just focused on writing an intro post.

Welp, let’s start combing through these

 

Firstly, welcome to our new players; Suigintou, Ocean Flare, Fire Sky and Star Shine!  I think we probably have more then enough characters to be going on with, so I’ll be closing up application slots and starting up the RP relatively soon.

 

Everyone’s additions to the character roster are now looking pretty good, though there seems to be a debate on a few things.  So let’s go character by character.   

So far we have;

 

 

Morgan Card, an atypically happy teen, whom both luck and fate seem to have taken a shine too.

 

(BTW Scout, did you make a profile like you suggested?  I’d be interested to hear more about him, whether luck has always been on Morgan’s side and if the last name Card is an actual sirname a stagename of some kind.)

 

Emily Winters, a shy but talented violinist and bookstore worker.

(Had Ocean not beaten me to the punch, I would have suggested something like world manipulation through music.  What we need to ask now is what else we could derive from the magic of music...)

 

 

Silas, a jaded man approaching middle age from the wrong side of bed.

 

(I’m a little torn on this character.  We need the inter party conflict really, but without seeing a more in depth background, I find myself wondering why he is so jaded?  No one is just plain ‘bad’, unless they suffer from a psychosis it is the forces of the social world around us which shape our personality.  What I can see working is the combination of personality and power, with a minor adjustment.   Like Uni suggested, we need to add a twist in here somewhere to even out the ability and remove some of its blatent volitity.  So how does this sound; make it a morally sound ability.  A healing power that should be aimed mostly at aiding others, but twisted to violent means by the character who wields it.   What do you think?)

 

 

Christopher Biddle... who is a water bending pony? 

 

(Not sure if you linked the right profile there Ocean.  I love, love, LOVE that ability concept though.  It can start off so simply and almost mundane, yet grow into something with incredible scope.   Keep in mind though that your characters have no idea they even possess these abilities.  You will have to carefully consider how your character discovers this power.   I just wish I had the profile that fit it personality wise XD.   To be honest this is the kind of thing I’d associate with Emily.  Hmm.. if you were going for a twist on your linked profile, what about Aqueous affinity? The ability to transform into water and heal one’s wounds through contact with natural bodies of water.  Just an idea though, let me know what you think)

 

 

Katarzhyna, a successful Russian pilot with her eyes and heart set on the stars. 

 

(Honestly can’t see any problem with Kat, I’m going to be very interested to see how you play her abilities.  As I mentioned to Ocean, your character’s are unaware of their deeply buried magic, coming from a world where such things are an impossibility.  Discovery of these will take time and no amount of luck.  In Kat’s case I can see her waking up to a bedroom where the direction of ‘up’ is currently in debate )

 

 

Lastly, we have our little Chandra, the girl who is ever ‘going with the flow’ whose curiosity will no doubt be the end of us all.

 

(Starshine’s going for a more classic ability, that would effectively equate to super-speed.  My temptation when approaching such powers is to suggest a twist of some sort.  She’s physically week, yes?  So what if, rather than just being ‘fast’, she’s actually fooling around with air resistance in some respect, effectively slipstreaming through the world.  Remember this will only gradually become as powerful as you have described, but an easy way to start would be the apparent dodging of an aggressive attack where her personal slipstream actually directed the blow around her.  Sound good?)

 

I can sympathise with your struggle Agent and understand why powers are causing such issues for everyone; it’s tricky to say the least.  Heck the last time I had to come up with a relatively original superpower, I ended up with Glutomancy, the power to levitate biscuits. 

 

I suppose the easiest way to approach the idea is to see the character’s powers as their own unique magic.   Just as Earth ponies have domain over their name sake and pegasi can physically manipulate moisture, each character is effectively a new species in their own right.  Classic super powers can mostly be tweaked  to fit, but the easiest thing to do is to post up your character profile here, chuck powers at it and see what sticks to their personality.  Don’t dwell on ‘should they have this power’, look at ‘how are they going to react to and use this power once they have it’.

 

Oh, also your transformations are not limited to ponies and I’d welcome any ‘out-there’ ideas for species.  They will look different to the other breeds of Equine even if they do become their analogue, so keep some ideas for additional character flair in mind. 

 

 

 

As for the nature of the guardians and their opposition... well, you’ll just have to play and find out, won’t you? Muahahaaaa!

 

I’ll tell you now though, the title is not morally aligned despite its connotations.  If Harmony is the Shield, the Guardian’s would be the sword. 

 

Hope that cover's everything! I'll see to the edit of the main post soon.  Give us a yell if I'm missing something or if you have any additional questions!   

Edited July 3, 2013 by Shanashie

[Agent505 661]

Didn't see Unicorn pointed it out too otherwise I wouldn't have, sorry. 

 

Alright well I think i'll go with what I said before, a pretty basic concept of a character who is fairly opposite to me, it's something interesting to play at least. 

 

Name: Myra Ramanche (I don't...I don't even...)
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Personality:  Emotionally Frail - (While she generally tries to be happy all the time, merely saying the right words to her would be enough to change her mood and make her question things. This could be anything from being happy to being sad, or to downright morbid),

Generally happy, (Always one to look on the brighter side of things if possible, she'll try to keep a smile on her face and others around her, but it's not always easy and she can't always fake it)

Optimistic (She'll always look for the best in things, even if they seem dire, she'll do her best to try and find a way to make it seem "not so bad.")
Power: (So i'm gonna be Mr. Generic with this because I have no idea, hope you don't mind.) She can project her feelings onto others, and make them feel how she feels, or a variation of her emotion. It's easier for her to project positive emotions, but she can do the same with negative ones too.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Agent505