Basically, Sunny needs a reason to give her a chance to prove herself so he can trust her. Obviously everyone has to earn everyone's trust but it's much easier for adults to pull that off so I'm not as worried about them. Sunny is liable to take one look at Xalyne and not be inspired with confidence thanks to how small and frail she undoubtedly looks, given her SPECIAL. It also depends on what, exactly, the party is sent out to do and stuff. The issue is getting past the initial knee-jerk reaction of a kid of her stature would be nothing but a liability.
However, I hadn't thought of the drug thing. He's got a thing for a few chems. Not quite an addict, but with the double addiction chance from his chem reliant negative trait that probably won't last so that could become something he wants her around for... but again, that would require him to give her a chance first. It's that very initial point that I'm worried about.
Picture this: The game starts in the quintessential way these things do: By having the party meet one another in a tavern. Perhaps they're answering a help wanted ad for clearing out a raider nest (because if we're going cliche we may as well go full cliche! XD). Their "boss" introduces them to one another. Sunny takes one look at Xalyne and is like, "...you're kidding, right? /She's/ supposed to help us kill raiders?" Now not only does he not have confidence in Xalyne, but he's doubting the intentions of the NPC as well because who the hell sends an unproven kid out to kill raiders? That implies that getting people to take the job is proving difficult because, let's face it, she's not exactly raider killing material. There could be a few reasons for scraping the bottom of the barrel like that. A: The raiders have killed everyone sent to kill them thus far. B: They're being set up. Sunny is a smart and socially savvy stallion. He'll think of these things. Whatever the reason, Sunny is suddenly not too excited about this job and would likely quit the group before he even joined it.
Instead, let's say Xalyne bought passage to another city in a caravan. Sunny and the others are working as guards. Sunny wouldn't have a problem there as he's not relying on her for anything, then when shit goes down Xalyne gets her chance to prove herself and from then on Sunny has less of an issue with her. Assuming the dicebot doesn't make her look like an incompetent buffoon XD. Obviously this particular idea won't work in the setting TicTac has going, but if the group meets and comes together in a way where Xalyne is not critical to the task at hand then it becomes a whole different ball game.
Five Pointed Star - FPS Group [4/4]
Re: Five Pointed Star - FPS Group [3/4]
Hmm...what if I simply massively increased her MEW skill? It would change up her character a bit, but I can handle that. Maybe she was as much a protector for her mother as a caretaker? Or maybe she simply loved her fathers old laser pistol and spent every day practicing with it? Played to many videogames?
Either way, I think blasting a few Raiders to dust would be enough to impress Sunny. In the scenario above she could simply demonstrate her skill and make a quip about strength not mattering for a recoiless laser and be on her way. Would that be enough to overcome her appearance in Sunny's eyes?
I made some changes to the character sheet and pushed MEW to 80. Ideally that'll make her enough of a combat monster in the early levels for Sunny to overcome any reservations.
And I was wondering if you'd be okay with the drug thing. I figured it would be a bit of a dick move to try to push addiction on your character, but it could be a cool role-play dilemma later on!
Either way, I think blasting a few Raiders to dust would be enough to impress Sunny. In the scenario above she could simply demonstrate her skill and make a quip about strength not mattering for a recoiless laser and be on her way. Would that be enough to overcome her appearance in Sunny's eyes?
I made some changes to the character sheet and pushed MEW to 80. Ideally that'll make her enough of a combat monster in the early levels for Sunny to overcome any reservations.
And I was wondering if you'd be okay with the drug thing. I figured it would be a bit of a dick move to try to push addiction on your character, but it could be a cool role-play dilemma later on!
Re: Five Pointed Star - FPS Group [3/4]
You're missing the point here a little bit, Atom. It doesn't matter how actually skilled she is if Sunny writes her off as a liability before he gets to see her in action. I'm not even saying it has to be combat skill or anything like that. Her being good at hacking could be useful in the right situation but it doesn't matter if Sunny takes one look at her and decides bringing her is a bad idea.
It depends on the situation, too, like I said before. The less dangerous/important it is, the more likely Sunny will be to shrug her coming along off and not care. If he's putting his life, reputation, or anything else important to him on the line he's not likely to entrust said important thing to whether or not a foal he doesn't know can handle whatever situation they're being put in. It doesn't matter if she /can/ in that situation. It matters whether or not he perceives her as being capable and not just a liability that he and the others have to keep an eye on.
It depends on the situation, too, like I said before. The less dangerous/important it is, the more likely Sunny will be to shrug her coming along off and not care. If he's putting his life, reputation, or anything else important to him on the line he's not likely to entrust said important thing to whether or not a foal he doesn't know can handle whatever situation they're being put in. It doesn't matter if she /can/ in that situation. It matters whether or not he perceives her as being capable and not just a liability that he and the others have to keep an eye on.
Re: Five Pointed Star - FPS Group [3/4]
I get it. Just being a kid is enough to turn off most normal ponies. It occurs to me that a noncombat role may actually be a more reasonable way to get on Sunny's good side. Few reasonable ponies would give much credence to the idea of bringing a kid on a combat mission, but bringing a kid along as a tech specialist to get into a specific terminal (for instance if the job is more of a heist than an extermination) seems quite a bit more believable.
I'll talk to talk to TicTac to get a generally idea of what the campaign introduction is going to entail. If all of the characters are being directly hired for a combat job then it may be necessary to give the character a more extensive redesign.
I'll talk to talk to TicTac to get a generally idea of what the campaign introduction is going to entail. If all of the characters are being directly hired for a combat job then it may be necessary to give the character a more extensive redesign.
Re: Five Pointed Star - FPS Group [4/4]
Skyfall
RP Sample
Sky circled lazily through the air above the I-95, watching the carriage below her make the slow trek from Fillydelphia towards Baltimare. The sun warmed her feathers as she glided back and forth through the air. She smiled and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the breeze on her fur and feathers. No more gusting wind blowing dirt in her face, no more rambling conversations with her mother. She could finally just be alone with her thoughts. This trip was almost worth it, even if it hadn’t been by choice. The NCR was expanding, pushing east from New Apploosa and into Dodge City. One of their troopers, some former mercenary who fought at Navarro recognized mom and sent the whole town into a frenzy. “A bunch of degenerates with more bullets than brains.” her father had called them. She couldn’t really disagree. Only a few shots from her father’s ME Rifle had kept her family from being lynched at gunpoint when a mob of ten armed ponies forced their way into the house. Sky reminded herself to ask her father how exactly a bunch of earth ponies could lynch pegasi. Maybe tie up their wings? She shuddered at the thought.
That night her father called in some favours, sold the house and bought a carriage. They’d been walking since.
“Do you see the city?” Sky heard the voice from down below her. “We should be getting close now.” Three weeks travel, we’d better be. Sky opened her eyes and looked down at the ground. Her father was staring up at her, chained to the carriage and plodding slowly along the ground. Sky sighed and looked back up, scanning the horizon for anything besides yellow grass and broken trees. She could barely make out a beacon of light flickering in the distance; light hitting a cluster of glass windows. It could be the city, or it could just be another abandoned building.
“I’m not sure, I can’t quite-” Sky paused, closer she could see a decaying billboard and a few ponies clustered beneath it. Armed ponies, clad in matching red uniforms. Gangsters. They watched the cracked asphalt with a hungry gaze. And they hadn’t spotted her. Finally some action! She’d been waiting days for this. Sky took her Battle Saddle’s brittle in her mouth and tucked her wings into her sides, dropping into a dive and swooping towards the billboard. “Sky, what are you-” her fathers voice cut off by the howling wind. Sky shot towards the closest pony, covering a hundred yards in ten seconds and fired two shells.
*BLABLAM*
Blood splattered against the billboard as the surprised earth pony collapsed to the ground. But Sky was already gone. She shot back into the sky, another two rounds in the chamber. She heard a gangster yelling orders, and the ponies below her scrambled to cover. Stupid dirt ponies, they never thought to look up.
*BLABLAM*
Sky came in for another pass, the lead gangsters head exploded before he could bark another order. She landed on the ground, perched on a crate less than 10 yards away from the remaining two gangsters. They were still disoriented and she didn’t want to waste another chance. She sighted the gangster to her left and fired.
*BLABLAM*
He smacked into the ground, his right foreleg separated from his torso in a torrent of blood. “You’ll pay for that!” A cacophony of automatic fire ripped through her barding, tearing away chunks of flesh on her left side, causing Sky to grunt in pain. She shot into the sky once more and looked down at her foe. He was waving at her? Why would he be-
A massive weight crashed into Sky’s side, massive talons tearing into her right wing. She barely had time to think before the talons ripped out of her wing, rending flesh and feather from bone. Sky spiraled towards the ground in an uncontrolled spiraling dive, and crashed into the muddy ground. She saw stars as her head smacked into the ground, sending waves of pain through her body. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the last earth pony running towards her, rifle trained on her. He fired a burst of automatic fire which tore at her armour and left a cluster of bloody wounds along her side. Fuck! She wasn’t going to die today. Sky pivoted her body, eliciting a burst of pain from her neck, and grabbed her brittle, firing at her attacker. The shells connected, sending his mangled corpse flying into the dirt. Sky sighed. Four shells left, she could still make it back to-
Then the griffin landed on her, pinning her to the ground and slashing at her torso with serrated talons. She could feel blood trickle down her side as she let out a squeal of pain.
“Oh, has baby bird fallen from her nest? Can’t take a little love smack?” the griffin dug her talons in deeper, extracting another scream from Sky. “I’ll make sure you suffer as much as every one of my-”
*TwamTwamTWAM*
The was a sudden bright flash of light, and the griffin vanished, disintegrating into a pile of dust. Sky collapsed, exhaustion and pain overtaking her.
And another pegasus landed at her side, blue eyes staring at her with a mix of scorn and concern. Sky looked away in shame, grimacing.
“Don’t move your head.”
“Sorry”
Through the corner of her eye, Sky watched her father take out his tool bag. He removed a faded rag and placed it over Sky’s torso. “I’m going to move your foreleg over this. Put pressure on the wound, don’t bleed out on me.” She did as commanded, without thinking
He father crouched next to her again, pushing her bedding softly around her head to form a small, makeshift brace. “Alright, I’m going check to check for midline posterior cervical spine tenderness, try to relax.” he said, keeping his voice monotone and stable. “That won’t be easy.”
“Shut Up!” her father’s voice surprised Sky; she hadn’t seen his bedside manner collapse so quickly. Her eyes went wide as she stared into his with a mixture of fear and horror. Terrifying thoughts began to jump through her head. How bad were her wounds? Would she ever fly again? Would she even live Sky spared a glance down at her body, shifting her eyes quickly and trying not to move her head. Small red gashes covered her upper body and right foreleg. And she could see where the bullets impacted her armour. Blood pooled underneath right side, and she was starting to feel lightheaded. Her father’s eyes softened as he put on his mask again, but fear was still evident in the creases of his face. Sky closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. In and out, in and out…
She felt her father's wings on her shoulders and neck, softly and carefully smoothing the fur on the back of her neck and her shoulders. She didn’t feel any bursts of pain or numbness, that was a good sign. Her father seemed satisfied, and removed his wings. “Now I want want you to try to move your hooves and feathers; first forehooves, then hind hooves, then primary feathers. Left to Right. Can you do that?”
“What about the bullets?” Sky said, shifting her eyes down towards the right side of her body.
“Just fight through the pain, remember, life over limb. You can do it Sky.” Life over limb. Sky thought of her mother in the carriage and grimaced. She shifted left forehoof, no numbness or pain. The her right forehoof. Pain shot up her arm from a gash near her wrist, but the pain was external, and the fact she could feel it at all was almost a relief.
“Good, now your hind hooves, then your wings.”
Sky continued without incident until her right wing. Pained lanced through it as she tried to move a primary feather. Her father looked down below where the wing laid, splayed out across the ground she could feel a sticky substance on her feathers as he lifted the wing slightly off the ground. Pain shot through her wing and stars seemed to fill her vision. Her breathing increased in tempo, but slowed as her father lowered the wing.
“You’re alright, just a minor wing fracture and a bunch of minor subcutaneous tissue damage, nothing punctured more than an inch.” the stress seemed to melt from her fathers voice as he bandaged her wounds. “Plus a nasty bruise on the back of your head, I’m concerned that you may have a concussion, but there ain’t much I can do about that right now. But thank Celestia, there doesn’t seem to be any spinal damage” Sky could nearly make out he unspoken, “not like your mother.” Sky sighed in relief, it felt like a two ton weight had been lifted off her chest. She would fly again. It might take a month or two for the wing to heal, but by Celestia she would fly again.
“Now no sudden movements, I don’t want you to aggravate your injuries.” Sky’s father looked towards the horizon. “And take this.” He held out a small poultice full of purple liquid. “A healing potion? Aren’t you saving this for mom?” he pointed a hoof east. Sky’s followed it. In front of her she make out the grey blotch of a city. Skyscrapers reached up from the ground like a twisted hand pulling itself out of the dirt, reflecting the dull yellow light of the sun. “We’re almost there, maybe two hours off. We can refresh our supplies when we arrive.” he looked back at Sky, his face completely devoid of emotion, “Drink up, and don’t think I’ve forgotten your stupidity.” He turned and flew back towards the carriage Sky scowled as she watched him go, then turned back towards the city. Grey spires grasping at the sky, she just stared at them for a minute, marveling at their majesty. Baltimare, that was the city’s name, wasn’t it.
Then she turned back towards the carriage and began her long trot back.
Note: I'll expand this to include the more interactions between Sky and her parents, but it was getting away from me as is.
RP Sample
Sky circled lazily through the air above the I-95, watching the carriage below her make the slow trek from Fillydelphia towards Baltimare. The sun warmed her feathers as she glided back and forth through the air. She smiled and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the breeze on her fur and feathers. No more gusting wind blowing dirt in her face, no more rambling conversations with her mother. She could finally just be alone with her thoughts. This trip was almost worth it, even if it hadn’t been by choice. The NCR was expanding, pushing east from New Apploosa and into Dodge City. One of their troopers, some former mercenary who fought at Navarro recognized mom and sent the whole town into a frenzy. “A bunch of degenerates with more bullets than brains.” her father had called them. She couldn’t really disagree. Only a few shots from her father’s ME Rifle had kept her family from being lynched at gunpoint when a mob of ten armed ponies forced their way into the house. Sky reminded herself to ask her father how exactly a bunch of earth ponies could lynch pegasi. Maybe tie up their wings? She shuddered at the thought.
That night her father called in some favours, sold the house and bought a carriage. They’d been walking since.
“Do you see the city?” Sky heard the voice from down below her. “We should be getting close now.” Three weeks travel, we’d better be. Sky opened her eyes and looked down at the ground. Her father was staring up at her, chained to the carriage and plodding slowly along the ground. Sky sighed and looked back up, scanning the horizon for anything besides yellow grass and broken trees. She could barely make out a beacon of light flickering in the distance; light hitting a cluster of glass windows. It could be the city, or it could just be another abandoned building.
“I’m not sure, I can’t quite-” Sky paused, closer she could see a decaying billboard and a few ponies clustered beneath it. Armed ponies, clad in matching red uniforms. Gangsters. They watched the cracked asphalt with a hungry gaze. And they hadn’t spotted her. Finally some action! She’d been waiting days for this. Sky took her Battle Saddle’s brittle in her mouth and tucked her wings into her sides, dropping into a dive and swooping towards the billboard. “Sky, what are you-” her fathers voice cut off by the howling wind. Sky shot towards the closest pony, covering a hundred yards in ten seconds and fired two shells.
*BLABLAM*
Blood splattered against the billboard as the surprised earth pony collapsed to the ground. But Sky was already gone. She shot back into the sky, another two rounds in the chamber. She heard a gangster yelling orders, and the ponies below her scrambled to cover. Stupid dirt ponies, they never thought to look up.
*BLABLAM*
Sky came in for another pass, the lead gangsters head exploded before he could bark another order. She landed on the ground, perched on a crate less than 10 yards away from the remaining two gangsters. They were still disoriented and she didn’t want to waste another chance. She sighted the gangster to her left and fired.
*BLABLAM*
He smacked into the ground, his right foreleg separated from his torso in a torrent of blood. “You’ll pay for that!” A cacophony of automatic fire ripped through her barding, tearing away chunks of flesh on her left side, causing Sky to grunt in pain. She shot into the sky once more and looked down at her foe. He was waving at her? Why would he be-
A massive weight crashed into Sky’s side, massive talons tearing into her right wing. She barely had time to think before the talons ripped out of her wing, rending flesh and feather from bone. Sky spiraled towards the ground in an uncontrolled spiraling dive, and crashed into the muddy ground. She saw stars as her head smacked into the ground, sending waves of pain through her body. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the last earth pony running towards her, rifle trained on her. He fired a burst of automatic fire which tore at her armour and left a cluster of bloody wounds along her side. Fuck! She wasn’t going to die today. Sky pivoted her body, eliciting a burst of pain from her neck, and grabbed her brittle, firing at her attacker. The shells connected, sending his mangled corpse flying into the dirt. Sky sighed. Four shells left, she could still make it back to-
Then the griffin landed on her, pinning her to the ground and slashing at her torso with serrated talons. She could feel blood trickle down her side as she let out a squeal of pain.
“Oh, has baby bird fallen from her nest? Can’t take a little love smack?” the griffin dug her talons in deeper, extracting another scream from Sky. “I’ll make sure you suffer as much as every one of my-”
*TwamTwamTWAM*
The was a sudden bright flash of light, and the griffin vanished, disintegrating into a pile of dust. Sky collapsed, exhaustion and pain overtaking her.
And another pegasus landed at her side, blue eyes staring at her with a mix of scorn and concern. Sky looked away in shame, grimacing.
“Don’t move your head.”
“Sorry”
Through the corner of her eye, Sky watched her father take out his tool bag. He removed a faded rag and placed it over Sky’s torso. “I’m going to move your foreleg over this. Put pressure on the wound, don’t bleed out on me.” She did as commanded, without thinking
He father crouched next to her again, pushing her bedding softly around her head to form a small, makeshift brace. “Alright, I’m going check to check for midline posterior cervical spine tenderness, try to relax.” he said, keeping his voice monotone and stable. “That won’t be easy.”
“Shut Up!” her father’s voice surprised Sky; she hadn’t seen his bedside manner collapse so quickly. Her eyes went wide as she stared into his with a mixture of fear and horror. Terrifying thoughts began to jump through her head. How bad were her wounds? Would she ever fly again? Would she even live Sky spared a glance down at her body, shifting her eyes quickly and trying not to move her head. Small red gashes covered her upper body and right foreleg. And she could see where the bullets impacted her armour. Blood pooled underneath right side, and she was starting to feel lightheaded. Her father’s eyes softened as he put on his mask again, but fear was still evident in the creases of his face. Sky closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. In and out, in and out…
She felt her father's wings on her shoulders and neck, softly and carefully smoothing the fur on the back of her neck and her shoulders. She didn’t feel any bursts of pain or numbness, that was a good sign. Her father seemed satisfied, and removed his wings. “Now I want want you to try to move your hooves and feathers; first forehooves, then hind hooves, then primary feathers. Left to Right. Can you do that?”
“What about the bullets?” Sky said, shifting her eyes down towards the right side of her body.
“Just fight through the pain, remember, life over limb. You can do it Sky.” Life over limb. Sky thought of her mother in the carriage and grimaced. She shifted left forehoof, no numbness or pain. The her right forehoof. Pain shot up her arm from a gash near her wrist, but the pain was external, and the fact she could feel it at all was almost a relief.
“Good, now your hind hooves, then your wings.”
Sky continued without incident until her right wing. Pained lanced through it as she tried to move a primary feather. Her father looked down below where the wing laid, splayed out across the ground she could feel a sticky substance on her feathers as he lifted the wing slightly off the ground. Pain shot through her wing and stars seemed to fill her vision. Her breathing increased in tempo, but slowed as her father lowered the wing.
“You’re alright, just a minor wing fracture and a bunch of minor subcutaneous tissue damage, nothing punctured more than an inch.” the stress seemed to melt from her fathers voice as he bandaged her wounds. “Plus a nasty bruise on the back of your head, I’m concerned that you may have a concussion, but there ain’t much I can do about that right now. But thank Celestia, there doesn’t seem to be any spinal damage” Sky could nearly make out he unspoken, “not like your mother.” Sky sighed in relief, it felt like a two ton weight had been lifted off her chest. She would fly again. It might take a month or two for the wing to heal, but by Celestia she would fly again.
“Now no sudden movements, I don’t want you to aggravate your injuries.” Sky’s father looked towards the horizon. “And take this.” He held out a small poultice full of purple liquid. “A healing potion? Aren’t you saving this for mom?” he pointed a hoof east. Sky’s followed it. In front of her she make out the grey blotch of a city. Skyscrapers reached up from the ground like a twisted hand pulling itself out of the dirt, reflecting the dull yellow light of the sun. “We’re almost there, maybe two hours off. We can refresh our supplies when we arrive.” he looked back at Sky, his face completely devoid of emotion, “Drink up, and don’t think I’ve forgotten your stupidity.” He turned and flew back towards the carriage Sky scowled as she watched him go, then turned back towards the city. Grey spires grasping at the sky, she just stared at them for a minute, marveling at their majesty. Baltimare, that was the city’s name, wasn’t it.
Then she turned back towards the carriage and began her long trot back.
Note: I'll expand this to include the more interactions between Sky and her parents, but it was getting away from me as is.