Vladivostrot: Setting Concept for private RP
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:24 am
by Ametros
So I've recently started building a setting for an RP I plan to hold for and with my friends, and I was wondering if people might be interested in giving the concept a read through. Any feedback and discussion on it would naturally be very much appreciated.
Spoiler: show
Vladivostrot is a crucial gear in the economical work-horse that was Equestria during the war against the zebra. Unlike Fillydelphia which focused on industry and production, Vladivostrot was focused on the procurement of raw resources.
The city is situated in the north-west of Equestria, nestled against the base of one of the outlying Griffon Aeries. The city has mines running into the base of the mountain, and is surrounded on most sides by extensive farmland with which to feed Equestria.
Unlike most elsewhere in Equestria where operations were run by the Ministries, Vladivostrot is primarily headed by civilian corporations that vied for a dominant position in the city. Due to the city’s position near the Griffon Kingdom, griffons were a common sight in Vladivostrot, and were frequently contracted by the corporations to act as guards, enforcers, and even saboteurs and assaulters.
In the hours following the destruction of Cloudsdale, Vladivostrot was targeted by a unique incendiary balefire bomb. Unlike the other balefire weapons used to destroy Equestria, this one left only a small impact site, and instead sowed destruction by incinerating every organic entity caught in the blast wave. Whether intentionally or not, the missile fell short of the city, landing in the fields to the east - as such, the city was not hit by the blast in full. While most in the city perished in flames, roughly a third of the city in the western suburbs were untouched, and lived on.
From the ashes of this bomb new powers rose, while tenacious ones adapted.
The corporate buildings in the centre had been burned clean by the fire, and ponies from the west sector moved back into the central district, with one group forming a mob - enforcing their own law and extorting those they could and eliminating the rest. Years later, as the Pegasus Enclave took control of the skies, many griffons flew down from their lofty purchase and started taking control of parts of the city, forming a second less-than-wholesome faction; one that contested mobster territory. As skirmishes between the two escalated, an elusive figure emerged from the shadows with a proposition. This figure proposed - with some not-so-veiled threats - that the three of them enter an alliance of sorts, for the benefit of all. Thus the Triumvirate was formed.
The Steel Rangers, resolute and confident in their power, withdrew from the world for some time, only occasionally sending forth a scouting party to scavenge technology, or collect information on the proceedings of post-war Vladivostrot. In recent years, the old Elder of the chapter, swayed by the words of his protege, encouraged his contingent to emerge more readily from their bunker, and try to help the descendants of those who survived the blast. Growing old as time and the struggle against the newly-formed Triumvirate weighed down on him, this Elder Rocksteady passed the mantle of Elder onto his student, the new Elder Hayseed. The traditionalist and power-hungry Star Paladin Claymore - a very capable military mind and leader in his own right - saw the chance to wrest control of the Vladivostrot contingent away from Hayseed and staged a coup. What little word that comes from Ranger territory speaks of Claymore being in control, and Hayseed left dead. What became of the honoured and mighty Rocksteady can only be speculated upon...
Two decades after the Triumvirate was formed, a resistance movement began to take hold, pushing the Triumvirate out of a small pocket of the city and taking it for themselves and the civilians as they fortify their position and prepare to reclaim their city piece by piece. Their leader is known as ‘Venerable’, acting with both honour and skill. It is due primarily to his efforts that the resistance has achieved what they have. He’s said to be clad in Ranger armour, painted grey to differentiate himself from the faction, and so is often labeled as the ‘Grey Knight’.
On the edge of the city, the fields lie fallow and untended. Those nearest the explosion burn perpetually, and have come to be known as the Burning Ring. Outside the city, dark things are said to lurk, ensnaring unwitting ponies who wander too far from the urban sprawl. Within the city boundaries things are not much better, with ‘citizens’ of Vladivostrot being subjected to the tyranny of the Triumvirate, who maintain their hold over the city even as they make subtle strikes against each other and broker deals with irreputable sources in their bases which once held the ruling corporations. The ore mines lie to the north, delving into the roots of The Aerie, where shadows lurk and horrors feast. Amidst the shadowy city lie an uncertain number of Stables, commissioned by the Stable-Tec wing located on the edge of the inner sector. Who knows what secrets they might contain...
Balefire Bursts - The old balefire bomb outside the city isn’t entirely dormant. Instead it releases periodic bursts of flame that once again purge the streets of the living. The bursts have weakened in the intervening years since the initial blast, becoming less potent and incinerating a smaller area around the bomb itself. Being unstable, the blasts are intermittent, with no discernible pattern - however a warning signal is given beforehand by the night sky above the bomb glowing fiery-green, a signal that’s not-so-useful during the day - instead fliers have an advantage as they can periodically scan the bomb’s surroundings for signs of activity and glowing during the day. The potency of the blast is reduced to such that barricading oneself indoors is sufficient to endure, or if need be, one can wear fire-retardant apparel outside during the blast in order to make such an experience survivable.
A sect of zealous individuals who worship and embrace the balefire have formed the Cult Of Flame. While regulars are inducted as initiates, to be truly accepted one must embrace and survive a Balefire Burst. Those who survive often wear their burns with pride, while the militant wing - the Ash Zealots - don fire-retardant gear and patrol the city with nothing more than reverential gestures each time a blast occurs. Such soldiers of the flame fight, of course, with weapons such as flamethrowers, enhanced and enchanted with the eternal flames that are occasionally found after bursts. The Ember Prophet who leads the sect is held in high regard, for they were singularly ‘blessed’ by the balefire, being infused with the flame and as such burns eternally. As would be expected, the Burning Ring is a place of great importance and sanctity to this cult. The Ash Zealots are led by their paragon, a mute former Steel Ranger - Inferno - of whom little is known apart from his armour being perpetually red-hot, burning anything it touches.
(Campaign begins 10 years prior to Littlepip emerging from Stable 2)
The city is situated in the north-west of Equestria, nestled against the base of one of the outlying Griffon Aeries. The city has mines running into the base of the mountain, and is surrounded on most sides by extensive farmland with which to feed Equestria.
Unlike most elsewhere in Equestria where operations were run by the Ministries, Vladivostrot is primarily headed by civilian corporations that vied for a dominant position in the city. Due to the city’s position near the Griffon Kingdom, griffons were a common sight in Vladivostrot, and were frequently contracted by the corporations to act as guards, enforcers, and even saboteurs and assaulters.
In the hours following the destruction of Cloudsdale, Vladivostrot was targeted by a unique incendiary balefire bomb. Unlike the other balefire weapons used to destroy Equestria, this one left only a small impact site, and instead sowed destruction by incinerating every organic entity caught in the blast wave. Whether intentionally or not, the missile fell short of the city, landing in the fields to the east - as such, the city was not hit by the blast in full. While most in the city perished in flames, roughly a third of the city in the western suburbs were untouched, and lived on.
From the ashes of this bomb new powers rose, while tenacious ones adapted.
The corporate buildings in the centre had been burned clean by the fire, and ponies from the west sector moved back into the central district, with one group forming a mob - enforcing their own law and extorting those they could and eliminating the rest. Years later, as the Pegasus Enclave took control of the skies, many griffons flew down from their lofty purchase and started taking control of parts of the city, forming a second less-than-wholesome faction; one that contested mobster territory. As skirmishes between the two escalated, an elusive figure emerged from the shadows with a proposition. This figure proposed - with some not-so-veiled threats - that the three of them enter an alliance of sorts, for the benefit of all. Thus the Triumvirate was formed.
The Steel Rangers, resolute and confident in their power, withdrew from the world for some time, only occasionally sending forth a scouting party to scavenge technology, or collect information on the proceedings of post-war Vladivostrot. In recent years, the old Elder of the chapter, swayed by the words of his protege, encouraged his contingent to emerge more readily from their bunker, and try to help the descendants of those who survived the blast. Growing old as time and the struggle against the newly-formed Triumvirate weighed down on him, this Elder Rocksteady passed the mantle of Elder onto his student, the new Elder Hayseed. The traditionalist and power-hungry Star Paladin Claymore - a very capable military mind and leader in his own right - saw the chance to wrest control of the Vladivostrot contingent away from Hayseed and staged a coup. What little word that comes from Ranger territory speaks of Claymore being in control, and Hayseed left dead. What became of the honoured and mighty Rocksteady can only be speculated upon...
Two decades after the Triumvirate was formed, a resistance movement began to take hold, pushing the Triumvirate out of a small pocket of the city and taking it for themselves and the civilians as they fortify their position and prepare to reclaim their city piece by piece. Their leader is known as ‘Venerable’, acting with both honour and skill. It is due primarily to his efforts that the resistance has achieved what they have. He’s said to be clad in Ranger armour, painted grey to differentiate himself from the faction, and so is often labeled as the ‘Grey Knight’.
On the edge of the city, the fields lie fallow and untended. Those nearest the explosion burn perpetually, and have come to be known as the Burning Ring. Outside the city, dark things are said to lurk, ensnaring unwitting ponies who wander too far from the urban sprawl. Within the city boundaries things are not much better, with ‘citizens’ of Vladivostrot being subjected to the tyranny of the Triumvirate, who maintain their hold over the city even as they make subtle strikes against each other and broker deals with irreputable sources in their bases which once held the ruling corporations. The ore mines lie to the north, delving into the roots of The Aerie, where shadows lurk and horrors feast. Amidst the shadowy city lie an uncertain number of Stables, commissioned by the Stable-Tec wing located on the edge of the inner sector. Who knows what secrets they might contain...
Balefire Bursts - The old balefire bomb outside the city isn’t entirely dormant. Instead it releases periodic bursts of flame that once again purge the streets of the living. The bursts have weakened in the intervening years since the initial blast, becoming less potent and incinerating a smaller area around the bomb itself. Being unstable, the blasts are intermittent, with no discernible pattern - however a warning signal is given beforehand by the night sky above the bomb glowing fiery-green, a signal that’s not-so-useful during the day - instead fliers have an advantage as they can periodically scan the bomb’s surroundings for signs of activity and glowing during the day. The potency of the blast is reduced to such that barricading oneself indoors is sufficient to endure, or if need be, one can wear fire-retardant apparel outside during the blast in order to make such an experience survivable.
A sect of zealous individuals who worship and embrace the balefire have formed the Cult Of Flame. While regulars are inducted as initiates, to be truly accepted one must embrace and survive a Balefire Burst. Those who survive often wear their burns with pride, while the militant wing - the Ash Zealots - don fire-retardant gear and patrol the city with nothing more than reverential gestures each time a blast occurs. Such soldiers of the flame fight, of course, with weapons such as flamethrowers, enhanced and enchanted with the eternal flames that are occasionally found after bursts. The Ember Prophet who leads the sect is held in high regard, for they were singularly ‘blessed’ by the balefire, being infused with the flame and as such burns eternally. As would be expected, the Burning Ring is a place of great importance and sanctity to this cult. The Ash Zealots are led by their paragon, a mute former Steel Ranger - Inferno - of whom little is known apart from his armour being perpetually red-hot, burning anything it touches.
(Campaign begins 10 years prior to Littlepip emerging from Stable 2)