Politics and Adventuring in the Crystal Empire
No one challenges the Emperor's right to rule. In his presence, the strength of his convictions are so mighty that all are forced to bow down before him and swear allegiance. There are no pretenders; there are not even any would-be regicides. Not only do none expect to be capable of harming the Emperor, but none of the Empire's ponies even consider how to do so. Right or wrong, sane or mad, the Crystal Ponies have always understood that the Monarch is to be feared and obeyed.
This does certainly not mean there are no traitors in the empire.
Shining Armour leads without a bureaucracy or civil service; the Crystal Empire does not even have a formal legal code or court of law. There is no mechanism of state here, no diplomats or envoys, no coherent taxation policy. The Emperor reigns from the Crystal Palace (those wings of it which are not corrupted by dark crystals), and he reigns alone. When he wishes to fight, he walks forth into the city and commands any who can hear him to gather their weapons and follow him. When he needs something, he claims it - or commands it built. The Emperor cares nothing for the personal politics, ethics or even corruption of those he has commanded to see his will done, or even their methods of accomplishing it. One of the most distressingly constant justifications for atrocities is "The Emperor commanded it so".
At any time, anything that resembles a civil service consists entirely of personal assignments from the Emperor. At times these can be astoundingly sophisticated - when the Emperor marches to war, he is canny enough to ensure supply lines and military fortifications are constructed. At other times, these different factions have contradictory or mutually-exclusive goals and are even drawn into bloody and brutal conflicts to see their missions through. To his credit, when supplicants are able to reach the Emperor, gain his attention and tell him tales of atrocities committed in his name, he usually flies into a rage. Unfortunately his response is usually to go out, gather a group of crystal ponies, and order them to slaughter the transgressing ponies to the last. The Emperor is not malicious or cruel in his decrees - rather, the underlying flaw in his orders is that he fails to recognise that ponies are not as selflessly heroic as he is, or that mercy should be shown to wrongdoers.
But for all his unbreakable personal charisma, military genius and awe-inspiring magical might, the Emperor is only one pony. Wherever he stands, there is righteousness - and everywhere else falls through the shadows. An aristocracy of twelve dark unicorn sorcerers has sprung up under the Emperor's reign, known collectively as the Dukes. These Dukes seek the return of King Sombra and work to spread corruption and blight, infamously raising the black crystal monoliths away from the Emperor's eyes. It is hard to characterise the Dukes as a whole - while there are some who are irredeemable sadists, there are also some genuine altruists who seek refuge from the Emperor's insanity. These Dukes offer safety and shelter to ponies avoiding the Emperor's wrath or commands, and protect their communities with powerful Shadowed spells. Constantly clashing, scheming and vying against each other, a Duke can be a powerful patron or implacable enemy.
Dukes also provide safe communities against the monsters and Republic aggressors, however they are often isolated or difficult to reach in order to conceal themselves from the Emperor. Underground tunnels, old mines, fortified bunkers or small islands are common places. However, every so often the Emperor reaches a Duke directly despite all the levels of security and bends her and all her resources to whatever mad cause burns in his mind. At any time, two or three Dukes are 'Imperial Dukes', holding allegiance to the Emperor and eschewing their dark sorcery until their mission is complete or becomes impossible.
The Mad Emperor
Shining Armour is over two hundred years old, and the source of his longevity is not clear. Some have claimed that he is a Crystal Pony himself, but he has never been seen to adopt somepony else's virtues or flaws like a normal Crystal Pony - if he is, this raises the question of what his constant mind shifts are reflecting? Another possibility is that he is a Ghoul - the Megaspells that shattered against his Shield rotted and blasted him from the inside-out, twisting his mind and soul with necromantic energy. The third option is that he has some magic to enhance his lifespan - perhaps some secret of his Imperial Armour, or some hidden treasure of the Crystal Palace. Maybe his dead wife's love sustains him.
Or perhaps he's secretly an Alicorn. Nopony's seen under that armour in hundreds of years. Twilight Sparkle might have mailed him a sample of the Taint. Stranger things have happened.
Mechanics: Shining Armour is an epic-level combatant and should never be faced directly. For 20AP he can create a Shield spell with complexity, finesse, size or bypass conditions limited by his imagination (actually a limitation - Shining Armour can't actually imagine a shield covering a larger area than a city, though who knows what might happen if he got hooked on Mentats?). These shields are effectively indestructible to anything short of megaspells or sustained firepower from an entire army. Shining Armour also wears a suit of custom Imperial Power Armour, warded and reinforced with all the potential and resources of an entire Empire.
On the plus side, Shining Armour carries no weapons of any sort. He seems content with immobilising and entrapping his opponents and leaving them for his guards to slaughter. He is also a One Trick Pony, unable to cast any spell other than his grand Shields.
Just as menacingly, Shining Armour is augmented by his attunement to the Crystal Heart. Whenever Shining Armour is in the presence of a Crystal Pony they automatically adopt whatever Virtue or Vice Shining Armour currently has - and due to Shining Armour's insanity, his Virtue and Vice are constantly shifting. In addition, the sheer weight of his personality, magic and reputation are so immense that his decrees are rarely disobeyed.
Game Master's Note: While it is totally in character for Shining Armour to walk up to a group of player characters and give them some insane, far-reaching quest, this should be a very sparingly used strategy. Most groups of 4-8 ponies are beneath Shining Armour's notice, unless they have performed deeds so famous that even the Emperor might have heard of them. In that event, the Emperor is more likely to honour them with a feast and titles than give them some random fetch quest. The attention of the Emperor can be a dangerous thing to have, though, because the Emperor listens closely and is prepared to make split-second decisions based on what might seem like a casual complaint or idle joke. An offhoof comment about increased Raider activity can lead to the Emperor gathering half the Capital's population and marching about in the snow for five months, wiping out every Raider tribe he can find.
The Emperor is also not subtle, so attempting to manipulate him into wiping out political rivals - especially one of the Dukes - rarely works out. The Dukes all know enough to try and flee the Emperor's presence, and often respond to such an assault by trying to assassinate the advisor working against them rather than the Emperor himself. However, the Emperor is certainly powerful enough to single-hoofedly destroy fortified positions and wipe out guards or minions too slow to get out of the way.
While the force of the Emperor's personality, his extremely high speech score, and attunement to the Crystal Heart are together potent enough to border on mind control it can always be resisted by spending a point of Willpower. However, if the Emperor finds that he has been crossed he assumes treachery and orders a random group of Crystal Ponies to seek vengeance. Happily, he usually assumes that this group has succeeded and forgets all about the matter afterwards.
Killing Shining Armour:
This should be addressed straight-up.
A direct fight against the Emperor is pure suicide. Don't do it. If he is to be defeated, two things need to happen:
1: Remove his Infrastructure. The Emperor is invincible, but his guards, supporters and hangers-on are not. Normally the Emperor keeps 12-20 guards with him if he's expecting trouble, though he's certainly been known to walk around alone when feeling especially paranoid. However, he's normally a pretty short run from some group of ponies who'll come to his aid. To kill the Emperor he must be isolated.
2: Find a way around his shields. Perhaps there is some mythical piece of pre-War technology that bypasses unicorn shields, perhaps some kind of dimensional weapon? Alternately, he must be drained of Strain, as he was by Queen Chrysalis. After a major military engagement the Emperor may be weak, but still can maintain enough Strain to project a shield to cover his retreat. It's possible to goad Shining Armour into fighting past his limit - particularly if he thinks that whatever he's fighting against had something to do with his wife's death. Various magic disruption technology is also possibly useful.
A final possibility is Corruption. Shining Armour refuses to Shadow Cast, but if he was exposed to enough Corruption to trigger a Manifestation then he would likely not survive the ensuing fight. However, the consequences of a True Incarnation of Shining Armour's Manifestation have a body toll measured in six digits.
Be warned that if Shining Armour decides to fight directly he'll sculpt a spell that will lock himself in single combat against one party member at a time, and he is a brutal combatant in melee.
Healing Shining Armour:
It is unclear what, if anything, might heal the Emperor's battered mind, although the key is undoubtedly wrapped in the mystery of what happened to his wife. The true answer is at the Game Master's discretion.
Adventuring in the Crystal Empire
Adventuring in the Capital itself is a risky but profitable business. Rogue, shattered adherents to forgotten Imperial Decrees function as Raiders, killing and looting in the name of some command given in a fit of insanity. Dark sorcerers cautiously walk the line between corruption and purity, and the genuinely mad work alongside shadow-beasts to wreck havoc and sacrifice in the name of their sealed King. Strike teams from the Republic of Bear unleash chaos and even have fortified outposts or entire city blocks within the Capital itself. Monsters from the Belt, the twisted and irradiated point where the Shield had met the Megaspells, hunt through the abandoned streets.
There is a huge amount of migration between city districts as the Emperor directs population groups to different sites and professions. What might be an abandoned, monster-infested and tainted district one week might be assaulted by a dedicated army of Crystal ponies the next and then occupied the week after. These migrations are very high risk and high attrition missions and the migrants are always willing to pay mercenaries for backup or support. They also tend to leave great deals of gear behind them when they move, launching momentary scavenger rushes which frequently devolve into firefights.
Finally, there are the endless feuds, schisms and rivalries within the Empire, always looking for additional mercenary support to carry out some great Imperial Decree. When the Emperor raises his banner and calls the Empire to war, the risks are immense but so are the potential rewards for a skilled strike team.
Killing Republicans is always rewarded by some group. Few ponies willingly quest out further than the blasted wasteland of the Belt, because it takes them further from civilisation and into the territories of the Republic, but there are mighty installations and great secrets buried in the snow. These hidden landmarks are often untouched and equipped with the best of pre-War technology, but the Republic armies, wild snowbeasts, windigoes and the extreme climates of winter all prove dire obstacles.
The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Commentary: Themes and Parallels
The key real-world inspiration I'm using for this writeup is the declining period of the Roman Empire. This was, in it's time, very much an apocalypse. All of civilisation was destroyed by barbarians and pretender-Emperors. It was a time of questions of governance, individual powers and ambitions, and yet the Empire wielded unquestioned and unstoppable power and had no rivals in all the world. For obvious reasons this hasn't been explored before in the Fallout setting, but with the Legion in New Vegas it's a worthy comparison and something worth thinking about. While the end of democracy has been examined in depth, Fallout's never really looked at the end of monarchy.
(FOE is kind of an aberration in this regard; while Equestria is a monarchy, the war is being waged and scaled by forces far outside of Celestia's control. She has little actual influence in the war itself, especially in comparison to the industrial scale of the Ministries)
This is why I've piled so much power, responsibility and authority on Shining Armour's shoulders. He's very much the virtuous king and powerful, conquering ruler that monarchy idolises. He's holding it all together with force of personality and stubbornness. At the same time, there are no checks and balances in place. The Fisher King and his land are one. As a consequence of this, things fall apart wherever the monarch isn't - the empire is collapsing at the fringes, not at the core. And goodness knows what happens when the Emperor dies.
Equestria is a land where monarchy of eternal goddess-princesses seems to be the natural, right state of things; the Enclave democracy is something of an alien aberration to most ponies. So there's a little better lighting on the Crystal Empire than there would be otherwise. Shining Armour genuinely cares about doing a good job. If he wasn't insane then things might be good. In the Crystal Empire, things aren't right - but you can see right from here.
The key real-world inspiration I'm using for this writeup is the declining period of the Roman Empire. This was, in it's time, very much an apocalypse. All of civilisation was destroyed by barbarians and pretender-Emperors. It was a time of questions of governance, individual powers and ambitions, and yet the Empire wielded unquestioned and unstoppable power and had no rivals in all the world. For obvious reasons this hasn't been explored before in the Fallout setting, but with the Legion in New Vegas it's a worthy comparison and something worth thinking about. While the end of democracy has been examined in depth, Fallout's never really looked at the end of monarchy.
(FOE is kind of an aberration in this regard; while Equestria is a monarchy, the war is being waged and scaled by forces far outside of Celestia's control. She has little actual influence in the war itself, especially in comparison to the industrial scale of the Ministries)
This is why I've piled so much power, responsibility and authority on Shining Armour's shoulders. He's very much the virtuous king and powerful, conquering ruler that monarchy idolises. He's holding it all together with force of personality and stubbornness. At the same time, there are no checks and balances in place. The Fisher King and his land are one. As a consequence of this, things fall apart wherever the monarch isn't - the empire is collapsing at the fringes, not at the core. And goodness knows what happens when the Emperor dies.
Equestria is a land where monarchy of eternal goddess-princesses seems to be the natural, right state of things; the Enclave democracy is something of an alien aberration to most ponies. So there's a little better lighting on the Crystal Empire than there would be otherwise. Shining Armour genuinely cares about doing a good job. If he wasn't insane then things might be good. In the Crystal Empire, things aren't right - but you can see right from here.
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TyrannisUmbra
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Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Why is this so amazing? Now I wanna play a game in this setting!
Primary IRC nicks: TyrannisUmbra, Silver_Wing
Current PNP characters: <Non-FoE Only>
Current PNP characters: <Non-FoE Only>
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The Custodian
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Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
I wouldnt say that... My plans for the empire had the city reappear completely empty after the Elements were activated in the south leading to a gold rush of sorts as ponies rush in to loot the city. THat said... As far as how the empire worked during the war itself. I always imagined it as the Canada of FoE. Reluctantly giving away resources (gems and crystals) and eventually annexed completely by Equestria
Anyway. What species is the Republic of the Bear comprised of?
Polar/Brown bears?
I made up a small ruleset for Reindeer earlier, they also would work.
Zebras im guessing.
Seals?
Cows, Sheep, DOnkeys...
Another idea on how to have Shining Armor still alive.. Maybe he has a manifestation that was created when he lost Cadance? Add in a clause that ponies are effectively immortal if they create a manifestation, nether creature is permitted the peace of death until one is destroyed or something.
Anyway. What species is the Republic of the Bear comprised of?
Polar/Brown bears?
I made up a small ruleset for Reindeer earlier, they also would work.
Zebras im guessing.
Seals?
Cows, Sheep, DOnkeys...
Another idea on how to have Shining Armor still alive.. Maybe he has a manifestation that was created when he lost Cadance? Add in a clause that ponies are effectively immortal if they create a manifestation, nether creature is permitted the peace of death until one is destroyed or something.
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Viewing_Glass
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Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Custodian: I am thinking Griffins, Buffalo, Minotaurs, possibly Reindeer. Zebra and Donkeys both would count under 'equine', I think.
Love what you are doing here Thanqol, just have a couple questions and a couple trait ideas.
In regards to Corruption: Do the 'All Other' effects stack, similar to the way that the 'If Unicorn' effects stack?
Are you sure you want to give unicorns that much extra potency? I mean, a One-Trick Pony who is in the 800-999 range would do ridiculous things with the spell they have.
Trait ideas:
Touched by Shadow (Any Race): Whether you were born near a crystal monolith or your mother shadow cast frequently while carrying you, you have found that corruption seems more willing to soak into you. Whenever you gain corruption, gain 50% more (rounded up).
Kissed by Celestia (Any Race): Perhaps you are descended of the line of Celestia. Perhaps your mother stayed cleansed of corruption. Whatever the reason, the touch of Sombra's Shadow Magic can not seem to stick with you as long. Whenever you would lose corruption, you lose it at twice the rate of others. This trait may not be taken at the same time as Touched by Shadow.
Love what you are doing here Thanqol, just have a couple questions and a couple trait ideas.
In regards to Corruption: Do the 'All Other' effects stack, similar to the way that the 'If Unicorn' effects stack?
Are you sure you want to give unicorns that much extra potency? I mean, a One-Trick Pony who is in the 800-999 range would do ridiculous things with the spell they have.
Trait ideas:
Touched by Shadow (Any Race): Whether you were born near a crystal monolith or your mother shadow cast frequently while carrying you, you have found that corruption seems more willing to soak into you. Whenever you gain corruption, gain 50% more (rounded up).
Kissed by Celestia (Any Race): Perhaps you are descended of the line of Celestia. Perhaps your mother stayed cleansed of corruption. Whatever the reason, the touch of Sombra's Shadow Magic can not seem to stick with you as long. Whenever you would lose corruption, you lose it at twice the rate of others. This trait may not be taken at the same time as Touched by Shadow.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
I think that does the Empire a disservice. They've basically got an invincible defensive position, especially if Shining Armour and Cadence are still around. Equestria could march hundreds of thousands of troops through the snow up to an invincible defensive shield and try to siege it out, but the personal relationship between the rulers is so strong that I don't think they would.The Custodian wrote:I wouldnt say that... My plans for the empire had the city reappear completely empty after the Elements were activated in the south leading to a gold rush of sorts as ponies rush in to loot the city. THat said... As far as how the empire worked during the war itself. I always imagined it as the Canada of FoE. Reluctantly giving away resources (gems and crystals) and eventually annexed completely by Equestria
I imagine a primarily trade and expansionist policy during the War, into the lands that would one day become the Republic of Bear. We'll get to that soon.
Very much not zebras. The Republic is, above all, motivated by hatred of the Equines who brought about the end of the world; if it were up to them, all unicorns and all zebras (the species capable of producing Megaspells) would be dead. Earth ponies and pegasus can live within the Republic as second class citizens (they get the protection of law but can't vote or hold political authority).Anyway. What species is the Republic of the Bear comprised of?
Polar/Brown bears?
I made up a small ruleset for Reindeer earlier, they also would work.
Zebras im guessing.
Seals?
Cows, Sheep, DOnkeys...
I plan on doing bears up as a playable race. Reindeer are an excellent idea. I think no on seals, yes on walruses.
Cool idea! It could also explain the weirdness of his personality swings - he's actually two ponies, one of which is evil!Another idea on how to have Shining Armor still alive.. Maybe he has a manifestation that was created when he lost Cadance? Add in a clause that ponies are effectively immortal if they create a manifestation, nether creature is permitted the peace of death until one is destroyed or something.
Thank you!Viewing_Glass wrote:Custodian: I am thinking Griffins, Buffalo, Minotaurs, possibly Reindeer. Zebra and Donkeys both would count under 'equine', I think.
Love what you are doing here Thanqol, just have a couple questions and a couple trait ideas.
No, those ones replace the lower increments. A Corruption 800+ pony only heals at 10hp/1corruption, not 16hp.In regards to Corruption: Do the 'All Other' effects stack, similar to the way that the 'If Unicorn' effects stack?
Uh, think about the Strain multiplier on a Mighty Spell. And then ask yourself if sucking up 50+ Corruption per hit is worth it.Are you sure you want to give unicorns that much extra potency? I mean, a One-Trick Pony who is in the 800-999 range would do ridiculous things with the spell they have.
Corruption 800-999 is designed to be overpowered. A pony at this level can and should be able to empty Hellhound lairs, challenge major setting figures, or wreck incredible destruction upon his enemies. This is because this is also the period of Corruption where you are locked in. You can't cast regular spells, you can't heal without taking more Corruption, you've basically got a short period of time where you are a god before it all comes crashing down and you lose everything.
Corruption needs to be very attractively phrased because of how extremely bad a Manifestation is. When the Devil is tempting you, his offer needs to be tempting. As it is, this system encourages ponies to try and ride the line as high as they can safely, while leaving room for unexpected hits of Corruption - like a broken Monolith or a Dark Crystal Dart.
I feel like this is a very poor choice because gaining Corruption is something that even Corruption-addled madponies want to manage carefully. You've only got so many Shadowcast spells in your system before the Manifestation triggers and you quite possibly die.Trait ideas:
Touched by Shadow (Any Race): Whether you were born near a crystal monolith or your mother shadow cast frequently while carrying you, you have found that corruption seems more willing to soak into you. Whenever you gain corruption, gain 50% more (rounded up).
I think a 50% increase in corruption per hit is cool, however this is the downside of that trait. It needs a significant upside to balance it out.
I am also concerned about this because Corruption is the cost of a very powerful effect. Any way to lose it beyond cold turkey no-more-evil-magic gives player characters access to huge healing effects and Potency multipliers.Kissed by Celestia (Any Race): Perhaps you are descended of the line of Celestia. Perhaps your mother stayed cleansed of corruption. Whatever the reason, the touch of Sombra's Shadow Magic can not seem to stick with you as long. Whenever you would lose corruption, you lose it at twice the rate of others. This trait may not be taken at the same time as Touched by Shadow.
Again, both these Perks are cool enough thematically to justify being there, however one needs a very careful step around the Corruption rules. I'll come up with variations soon!
Thank you! =DTyrannisUmbra wrote:Why is this so amazing? Now I wanna play a game in this setting!
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
The Republic of Bear
The Crystal Empire is an empire. Empires, by definition, rule over multiple nations, cultures and peoples. The Empire had done this once before, back when Sombra was Emperor and the Terror of the North. These territories were lost when the Empire vanished. The Empire did this again after it returned, conquering and annexing the surrounding Arctic lands and bringing peace and civilisation to the savage races of the frozen wastes. These territories were lost when the Empire spent a hundred years behind it's Shield, waiting out the Baelfire Bombs. Now, for the third time, the armies of the Empire ride forth to conquer the savages - but this time the savages are prepared, armed and organised. They march under the banner of the Bear and they have had enough of tyrants.
The Republic was a thought shared by many, but articulated by only one. In the latter days of the War, Stable-Tec was constructing a series of Stables through the North, and rather than freeze imported pony workers to death in the cold they hired (Republic history says 'enslaved at riflepoint') a great many bears to build on their behalf. Bears were strong workers and completed their tasks on time, but when the time came to populate the Stables they found there were no spots reserved for them. Soon after, the bombs fell and the bears were lost in the cold as the world burned in green fire.
One particularly embittered bear engineer, a male known as Whole Tooth, had installed a few back doors in the Stables' monitoring equipment for his own use. While he couldn't open the sealed doors, he could access the Stable cameras and logs and watch what was going on inside. Whole Tooth watched in increasing shock and horror at the insane social experiments that the ponies had inflicted on each other, and how time and again Stables turned into slaughterhouses, dictatorships or other nightmares. When the first Stable was scheduled to open, Whole Tooth lead his tribe to the door and lay in ambush. They attacked and slaughtered the emerging ponies to the last, claimed the Stable as their new headquarters, and overnight became a regional powerhouse.
Whole Tooth's information on the Stable burial sites and scheduled opening times became the greatest commodity in the region. Whole Tooth sought out and made alliances with other non-pony races, offering them the comfort and security of a Stable and a military alliance against all ponykind. By the time of Whole Tooth's death seventy years after the bombs had dropped six Stables had been slaughtered and occupied and the Republic of Bear was a collection of powerful, allied city-states.
Then they waited for the Crystal Empire to lower it's shields. It would be their last great conquest.
After that, there would be peace for-ever.
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The Republic had to form a unique political system in order to satisfy the mistrustful races of the wasteland. It works like this:
- Each Race may retain it's own political structure. The Griffon Kingdom was not about to dethrone it's King in order to join the Republic, and the Walruses were not prepared to give up their timeless legal code for the sake of unity.
- Each Race sends one Senator to the Republic. How the races decide on this is their own business, be it a vote or royal appointment. This Senator represents the Republic and votes on important matters. Ponies are excluded from this process, having proven that they are incapable of governance.
- The Consul is elected by the popular vote. Every citizen of the Republic (even in the monarchies, but not including the ponies) has the right to vote for the Consul, who presides over the Senate. The Consul has a lot of influence in directing the Republic's course but he must take into account the desires of his Senate, who can override him with a majority vote.
Legal codes and systems vary from region to region. A summary of the six 'Stable' Races will outline the major power groups.
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The Republic of Bear, if it has an abundance of anything, is Stable-Tec technology. Almost every Republic citizen wears a Pip-Buck, and Pip-Bucks are almost a badge of office for the Republic. Perversely, if a Stable Dweller from elsewhere in the Wasteland shows up wearing a Pip-Buck chances are everyone will assume they're a Republic citizen or sympathiser. In the Crystal Empire, this can be an issue, but in the Mountain Ring it can get you a remarkably long way. Since Pip-Bucks are so hard to steal from corpses the Empire doesn't have many ponies wearing them, which means those that do have them almost always had them fitted by Republic specialists.
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BEAR
New Race: Bear
Bears gain the effects of the Large Frame trait for free, with small framed bears being the size of a pony. Bears can grow to truly exceptional size, and may take the Large Frame trait twice. Bears have an unarmed claw attack giving them +2d10 with bare-handed attacks. Bears possess 30% cold resistance. Bears may take Earth Pony perks.
The bears are proud. The bears are strong. The bears are patient.
The founding race of the Republic, the bears claimed a Stable that contained a full industrial sector, and set it to use constructing themselves outsized sets of power armour. Armed with Whole Tooth's knowledge and an industrial base, Bear has become the North's version of the Steel Rangers - technically minded scavengers and hoarders. They maintain a level of knowledge sophisticated enough to work with many pieces of pre-War technology and constantly seek out installations buried by the snow. The long term game of the bears is to recreate the heights of pony technology, including and especially weather technology - an utopian sect within Bear believes that they will discover a way to tame the snowstorms of the North without magic and create a land of plenty.
The Bears are lead by seniority; the eldest able-minded bears are given leadership positions, and the younger bears obey. They are slow to move and react, but when they do their actions are extremely deliberate and planned.
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WALRUS
New Race: Walrus
Walruses start with Cold Resist 30% and Swimmer Rank 2, and can increase their swimming capabilities with perks. A walrus can use her tusks to break through ice or dirt at a rate equal to their climb speed.
The elder race, Walruses are diplomats, statesmen and canny merchants of the Republic. With their long lifespans and slow metabolisms, walruses prefer to take the long view and think in terms of reputation and precedent. They are the most calm and balancing voice in all the Republic cities, and keep their borders open to trade even with pony races. They are a moderating voice in the Republic's senate, arguing for practicality rather than ideology. Their system of government consists of an elaborate, bureaucratic meritocracy that is thoroughly incomprehensible to outsiders.
Walruses don't like battle, and their preferred tactic when they must fight is a sudden ambush from under the ice. They also have an appreciation for land mines and attrition tactics, and it is a universally recognised truth that no one can lie like a walrus.
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GRIFFON
The Griffon Kingdom is proud and savage and controls the skies of the North. Their culture is predicated on martial honour and strength, and as a result griffons are warmongers. In times of peace, many hundreds leave the Kingdom to join roaming mercenary companies. Much of the time, the Kingdom duels against the Enclave's northern mountaintop-mining teams in a constant low-level war.
Griffons function similarly as they do in the Equestrian Wasteland, maintaining a savage sort of law and order. Even political appointees are quick to fight and eager to claim the bounties on the heads of the Republic's enemies.
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DRAGON
It is curious that the most welcoming place to be a pony in the Republic of Bear is in the Dragon's lands. Dragon is ruled over by a single mighty figure, Korelhaku the White, who reigns from the Stable he converted into a great and opulent lair for himself. However, the stereotype of dragons who are uninterested in the affairs of ponies does not hold true here: Korelhaku loves ponies. He thinks they're amazing. He painstakingly reconstructs pre-War cultural artifacts and lore, and talks endlessly with any pony who enters his presence.
This is not a good thing.
Korelhaku's obsession is driven by his chronic use of pony memory orbs, which he prizes above all other treasures, and are having a distorting effect on his mind. At times, the dragon fancies himself a pony. Korelhaku's obsession often leads him to imprison ponies within his lair so he can talk to them at length. Celestia help you if you are a ghoul or otherwise well versed in pre-War Equestrian society. He has mastered shapeshifting magic and at times walks about as a great and impressive white stallion and regularly seduces ponies under his care.
The dragon supports the Republic on the condition that he is given tithes of memory orbs and pony slaves, and when he manifests in battle he is the greatest weapon in the Republic's arsenal.
New Trait: Dragon Blood
You are descended from the union of a dragon and another race, and have many small draconic traits, such as fangs or scales. Up to [Endurance] times per day you may make a breath attack as per a Flamer.
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MINOTAUR
<TBA>
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REINDEER
<TBA>
The Crystal Empire is an empire. Empires, by definition, rule over multiple nations, cultures and peoples. The Empire had done this once before, back when Sombra was Emperor and the Terror of the North. These territories were lost when the Empire vanished. The Empire did this again after it returned, conquering and annexing the surrounding Arctic lands and bringing peace and civilisation to the savage races of the frozen wastes. These territories were lost when the Empire spent a hundred years behind it's Shield, waiting out the Baelfire Bombs. Now, for the third time, the armies of the Empire ride forth to conquer the savages - but this time the savages are prepared, armed and organised. They march under the banner of the Bear and they have had enough of tyrants.
The Republic was a thought shared by many, but articulated by only one. In the latter days of the War, Stable-Tec was constructing a series of Stables through the North, and rather than freeze imported pony workers to death in the cold they hired (Republic history says 'enslaved at riflepoint') a great many bears to build on their behalf. Bears were strong workers and completed their tasks on time, but when the time came to populate the Stables they found there were no spots reserved for them. Soon after, the bombs fell and the bears were lost in the cold as the world burned in green fire.
One particularly embittered bear engineer, a male known as Whole Tooth, had installed a few back doors in the Stables' monitoring equipment for his own use. While he couldn't open the sealed doors, he could access the Stable cameras and logs and watch what was going on inside. Whole Tooth watched in increasing shock and horror at the insane social experiments that the ponies had inflicted on each other, and how time and again Stables turned into slaughterhouses, dictatorships or other nightmares. When the first Stable was scheduled to open, Whole Tooth lead his tribe to the door and lay in ambush. They attacked and slaughtered the emerging ponies to the last, claimed the Stable as their new headquarters, and overnight became a regional powerhouse.
Whole Tooth's information on the Stable burial sites and scheduled opening times became the greatest commodity in the region. Whole Tooth sought out and made alliances with other non-pony races, offering them the comfort and security of a Stable and a military alliance against all ponykind. By the time of Whole Tooth's death seventy years after the bombs had dropped six Stables had been slaughtered and occupied and the Republic of Bear was a collection of powerful, allied city-states.
Then they waited for the Crystal Empire to lower it's shields. It would be their last great conquest.
After that, there would be peace for-ever.
*
The Republic had to form a unique political system in order to satisfy the mistrustful races of the wasteland. It works like this:
- Each Race may retain it's own political structure. The Griffon Kingdom was not about to dethrone it's King in order to join the Republic, and the Walruses were not prepared to give up their timeless legal code for the sake of unity.
- Each Race sends one Senator to the Republic. How the races decide on this is their own business, be it a vote or royal appointment. This Senator represents the Republic and votes on important matters. Ponies are excluded from this process, having proven that they are incapable of governance.
- The Consul is elected by the popular vote. Every citizen of the Republic (even in the monarchies, but not including the ponies) has the right to vote for the Consul, who presides over the Senate. The Consul has a lot of influence in directing the Republic's course but he must take into account the desires of his Senate, who can override him with a majority vote.
Legal codes and systems vary from region to region. A summary of the six 'Stable' Races will outline the major power groups.
*
The Republic of Bear, if it has an abundance of anything, is Stable-Tec technology. Almost every Republic citizen wears a Pip-Buck, and Pip-Bucks are almost a badge of office for the Republic. Perversely, if a Stable Dweller from elsewhere in the Wasteland shows up wearing a Pip-Buck chances are everyone will assume they're a Republic citizen or sympathiser. In the Crystal Empire, this can be an issue, but in the Mountain Ring it can get you a remarkably long way. Since Pip-Bucks are so hard to steal from corpses the Empire doesn't have many ponies wearing them, which means those that do have them almost always had them fitted by Republic specialists.
*
BEAR
New Race: Bear
Bears gain the effects of the Large Frame trait for free, with small framed bears being the size of a pony. Bears can grow to truly exceptional size, and may take the Large Frame trait twice. Bears have an unarmed claw attack giving them +2d10 with bare-handed attacks. Bears possess 30% cold resistance. Bears may take Earth Pony perks.
The bears are proud. The bears are strong. The bears are patient.
The founding race of the Republic, the bears claimed a Stable that contained a full industrial sector, and set it to use constructing themselves outsized sets of power armour. Armed with Whole Tooth's knowledge and an industrial base, Bear has become the North's version of the Steel Rangers - technically minded scavengers and hoarders. They maintain a level of knowledge sophisticated enough to work with many pieces of pre-War technology and constantly seek out installations buried by the snow. The long term game of the bears is to recreate the heights of pony technology, including and especially weather technology - an utopian sect within Bear believes that they will discover a way to tame the snowstorms of the North without magic and create a land of plenty.
The Bears are lead by seniority; the eldest able-minded bears are given leadership positions, and the younger bears obey. They are slow to move and react, but when they do their actions are extremely deliberate and planned.
*
WALRUS
New Race: Walrus
Walruses start with Cold Resist 30% and Swimmer Rank 2, and can increase their swimming capabilities with perks. A walrus can use her tusks to break through ice or dirt at a rate equal to their climb speed.
The elder race, Walruses are diplomats, statesmen and canny merchants of the Republic. With their long lifespans and slow metabolisms, walruses prefer to take the long view and think in terms of reputation and precedent. They are the most calm and balancing voice in all the Republic cities, and keep their borders open to trade even with pony races. They are a moderating voice in the Republic's senate, arguing for practicality rather than ideology. Their system of government consists of an elaborate, bureaucratic meritocracy that is thoroughly incomprehensible to outsiders.
Walruses don't like battle, and their preferred tactic when they must fight is a sudden ambush from under the ice. They also have an appreciation for land mines and attrition tactics, and it is a universally recognised truth that no one can lie like a walrus.
*
GRIFFON
The Griffon Kingdom is proud and savage and controls the skies of the North. Their culture is predicated on martial honour and strength, and as a result griffons are warmongers. In times of peace, many hundreds leave the Kingdom to join roaming mercenary companies. Much of the time, the Kingdom duels against the Enclave's northern mountaintop-mining teams in a constant low-level war.
Griffons function similarly as they do in the Equestrian Wasteland, maintaining a savage sort of law and order. Even political appointees are quick to fight and eager to claim the bounties on the heads of the Republic's enemies.
*
DRAGON
It is curious that the most welcoming place to be a pony in the Republic of Bear is in the Dragon's lands. Dragon is ruled over by a single mighty figure, Korelhaku the White, who reigns from the Stable he converted into a great and opulent lair for himself. However, the stereotype of dragons who are uninterested in the affairs of ponies does not hold true here: Korelhaku loves ponies. He thinks they're amazing. He painstakingly reconstructs pre-War cultural artifacts and lore, and talks endlessly with any pony who enters his presence.
This is not a good thing.
Korelhaku's obsession is driven by his chronic use of pony memory orbs, which he prizes above all other treasures, and are having a distorting effect on his mind. At times, the dragon fancies himself a pony. Korelhaku's obsession often leads him to imprison ponies within his lair so he can talk to them at length. Celestia help you if you are a ghoul or otherwise well versed in pre-War Equestrian society. He has mastered shapeshifting magic and at times walks about as a great and impressive white stallion and regularly seduces ponies under his care.
The dragon supports the Republic on the condition that he is given tithes of memory orbs and pony slaves, and when he manifests in battle he is the greatest weapon in the Republic's arsenal.
New Trait: Dragon Blood
You are descended from the union of a dragon and another race, and have many small draconic traits, such as fangs or scales. Up to [Endurance] times per day you may make a breath attack as per a Flamer.
*
MINOTAUR
<TBA>
*
REINDEER
<TBA>
Last edited by Thanqol on Thu May 30, 2013 5:44 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Tribes and Factions
Hazardous Resources Excavation and Control (HREC)
HREC is the rival of any of the pre-War ministries in invention and grandeur and would change the world if they could work together for five fucking minutes. Founded by Emperor Shining Armour in response to the rising tide of Sombra's Corruption, HREC exists to "Control, contain and destroy King Sombra and all his works and allies". They maintain the Monolith dump sites, research Corruption and anti-Corruption techniques in depth, and conduct grand experiments and assaults on Sombra's allies and forces. HREC is not wanting for resources - whenever the Emperor delegates another group of ponies to combat Sombra, he places them under HREC's command and authority. Unfortunately, HREC has thirty three Ministers, four Directors and eighteen CEOs and they all hate each other.
HREC does a lot of stuff, and the sight of their unique hazard suits are part of daily life in the Empire. The majority of the Empire's qualified doctors and medics are current or former HREC officials. The Corporation is pulling in many, many different directions, though, and it's conflicting rivalries and branches do as much damage to itself as it does to King Sombra.
Here's an example. In the early days of HREC, a series of genius inventors perfected the HREC Hazard Suit, an armoured Hazmat suit that provided immunity to all ambient Corruption effects from monoliths and the like. The Emperor issued a decree that every citizen of the Crystal Empire was to be equipped with a HREC Hazard Suit. HREC didn't have the resources to do this, so one enterprising Director determined the only way it was possible to accomplish this goal would be to reduce the population of the Empire to a point where the survivors could all be equipped with Hazard Suits. This branch of HREC has worked ever since to kill as many ponies as possible.
Other branches of HREC have investigated Corruption in depth to try and find ways to harness, weaponise or combat it on it's own terms. Still more have tried to construct portals to the lair of Sombra that he might be confronted and destroyed permanently. Some branches have tried to tame Manifestations, or harness the power of the Sun, or resurrect Celestia, or any number of other ghoulish activities. Incredible inventions have emerged from HREC's constant innovations, but as surely as one branch produces a miracle another branch will be aghast at that miracle's moral implications and try to destroy it. HREC prototypes are incredibly valuable and capable of doing things no ordinary weapon or armour would be capable of - but they are all so tied so closely to the dark research of Corruption that they so often contain some hidden catch, terrible flaw or evil price.
Outsiders walk very carefully around HREC. Nopony knows what the organisation is thinking or what it's capable of. Nopony knows the horrors it will unleash in the name of progress.
*
The Pure
Corruption is an ever-present temptation for ponies of the North. Who knows when a pony will snap and create a Manifestation? Who knows when a previously trustworthy unicorn will start throwing Shadow magic around and decide that she likes it? Who knows what other magic King Sombra has that can reach through a pony's shadow and take control of them?
The Pure are determined to never let this happen to them. The Pure are determined to find their inner darkness and beat it into submission and lock it up where it can never harm them or others.
Operating out of a pre-war prison facility, the Pure have perfected a ritual for combating the corruption of Sombra. A pony is placed in a specially warded, extremely brightly lit room and made to touch a Monolith until they create a Manifestation. Then the guards enter the room and beat the Manfiestation into submission, and drag it down into the dungeon. The newly 'cleansed' pony now has no shadow, their darkness is locked up within the prison of the Pure and they are free from the corrupting influence of Sombra.
Down in the dungeon, however, conditions are beyond hellish. The nightmare versions of hundreds of ponies are locked in together, trapped in a place so bad that a sane pony would ask if even they deserve it. The guards are even more cruel, regarding the Manifestations as things rather than ponies, thus giving them leave to do whatever they like with no consequences. The only rule in the prison is 'no killing', but anything else goes. Manifestations do still die, but this is 'fixed' with another round of extraction and incarceration.
Many ponies, especially those very close to complete Corruption and fearing the consequences of their actions, come to the Pure for help, and the Pure are glad to provide it for a small price to help them cover expenses. However it should come as no surprise that the magical extraction and horrific abuse of a pony's darker side can have severe consequences.
For one, there's the risk of a prison break. If Sombra ever feels his military might has grown sufficiently powerful to make a move, the prison is one hundred percent certainly going to be the first place he hits as it comes with an extremely pissed-off army. The Pure are aware of this threat and spend their time fortifying it, but they can't be sure it'll be enough.
The second is that a pony who has had their shadow removed is forbidden from ever holding a weapon again, and to enforce this these ponies are outfitted with carefully designed slave collars. This is a critical and non-negotiable cost of the Pure's operation: the last thing they need is for their prisoners to start materialising assault rifles or, Celestia forbid, dynamite inside the cell blocks. The collar gives 3 rounds warning if it's user holds a weapon more severe than a knife or armour heavier than light before it blows. As a natural result, ponies who have taken the Pure's offer are frequently pacifists, researchers, and doctors. Many HREC scientists are members of the Pure because it gives them total safety when working with shadow elements. There is a very large and peaceful community surrounding the prison, protected by watchful griffon mercenaries.
The third price is perhaps more rumour than fact. Ponies who turn over half of themselves to abuse and torture become... changed when their Manifestation dies and re-unites with them. Their shadow reappears more tattered and miserable than other ponies who have survived Manifestations, and these ponies can develop derangements or nightmarish visions of what happened to their other halves while imprisoned. Some legends say that the shadow is the soul, and cutting it off is a monstrous act.
Perhaps it's not the shadow that is sinful, but what ponies do to it.
*
Historical Reincarnation Society
Back in The Day, there were such things as fan clubs. After the War, those clubs got weird.
Chronic use of memory orbs leads to some slightly unhinged side effects, and in order to escape the constant nightmares many ponies use them chronically. Due to their scarcity, ponies have to use the same orb over and over. Sometimes as many as four ponies share the same orb. It takes a truly greedy pony or a Dragon to own more than two memory orbs.
But due to the chronic use of memory orbs, many ponies get lost in the memories of long-dead, pre-war ponies and take on aspects of their personalities. As this cycle goes on, old romances, rivalries, and outright impassioned hatreds are reborn in the modern era. This is especially awkward when there are, say, four Lyras per Bon Bon. These fights can become truly strange and Byzantine, and keeping track of who thinks who's what can become as nightmarish as Sombra's curse.
The "Historical Reincarnation Society" is a derisive term for any group of ponies living out the lives of the long dead. In extreme cases, ponies can paint themselves the appropriate colours and dye their manes. Reincarnators can be found all throughout society, from HREC to some of the Dukes to the infamous "Rainbow Wing" of the Crystal Airforce, consisting entirely of forty five Rainbow Dash wannabes. Reincarnators should be treated gingerly, because they might be fighting wars that no longer exist - many of them are extremely hostile towards non-pony races - but they also tend to be a little less militant and trigger-happy than the average wastelander pony.
*
The Failed Princesses
One of HREC's major projects is a campaign to invent new Alicorn Princesses. This idea has a lot of support in HREC's circles because the only major defeat ever inflicted on Sombra was from a pair of Alicorn Princesses. However, there's a bit of a gulf between 'Taint Alicorn' and 'Goddess-Princess attuned to a celestial body', and this is a gulf that HREC goes to some pretty weird places in order to cross.
This isn't to say that 'merely' creating an Alicorn is easy for HREC. The organisation hasn't yet figured out Twilight Sparkle's masterpiece, but it has perfected the method of extracting it. When HREC captures an Alicorn, Hellhound or other taint-touched creature they can extract the Taint through a lethal dissection. Some HREC departments are very enthusiastic about harvesting Alicorns, making it very inadvisable to be public about your Alicorn-ness.
If the HREC barely understands how to create an Alicorn, it has no fucking clue how to turn an Alicorn into a Princess. It has a whole bunch of ideas though. One HREC team is trying to build a ship to send an Alicorn into the sun (probably involving rediscovering Equestria's space project). Another Alicorn has been forced to generate a Manifestation, which HREC performed invasive cybernetic surgery on and then killed in order to see if it had any ramifications when it re-united with it's host. A third group has sponsored repeated expeditions to find the snowy tower of Starswirl the Bearded. Yet another tries to brainwash an Alicorn into thinking it's Celestia via memory orbs.
Sometimes HREC comes close. Sometimes it produces Alicorns which are a long way away from the mould. Many of these Alicorns are powerful enough to escape, and then - what?
One Alicorn, a heavily cybernetic former Earth Pony calling herself Princess Daybreak, is trying to re-unite and care for 'her sisters'. Princess Daybreak believes that even if none of the individual Alicorn 'Princesses' is a whole, complete copy of Celestia, together a hundred or so could emulate her - each one covering for the others' weaknesses. Together they could break HREC and it's impious and horrible experiments and re-unite Equestria with magical might and true benevolence. It's actually a good plan, if you buy into Daybreak's premise that if you get a hundred Alicorns who think they are Celestia and Luna in a room all the crazy will cancel out. The Failed Princesses are generally a force for good in the Wasteland, many of them programmed with virtues like kindness and loyalty in the hopes it would invoke the Princess' connections to the Elements of Harmony, but they are also all trauma victims and escapees from some of HREC's least ethical departments. Individually, they are almost all crazy in some major way, but they all share a common theme instilled in them by Daybreak's leadership:
If there is an Alicorn in trouble they will go to any lengths necessary to save it, heal it, and guide it, even if the Alicorn has repeatedly demonstrated utter evil, and even if this means stepping over many innocent bodies. They may restrain or even brainwash the Alicorn for it's own protection but there is no hiding the fact that the Failed Princesses value the lives of their own over other ponies. Princess Daybreak argues that this is because they are all aspects and fragments of two greater ponies, and only if they are all together can they truly be whole. "If," Daybreak kindly reminds petitioners, "we act strangely or chaotically now, that is simply because there are not yet enough of us."
Hazardous Resources Excavation and Control (HREC)
HREC is the rival of any of the pre-War ministries in invention and grandeur and would change the world if they could work together for five fucking minutes. Founded by Emperor Shining Armour in response to the rising tide of Sombra's Corruption, HREC exists to "Control, contain and destroy King Sombra and all his works and allies". They maintain the Monolith dump sites, research Corruption and anti-Corruption techniques in depth, and conduct grand experiments and assaults on Sombra's allies and forces. HREC is not wanting for resources - whenever the Emperor delegates another group of ponies to combat Sombra, he places them under HREC's command and authority. Unfortunately, HREC has thirty three Ministers, four Directors and eighteen CEOs and they all hate each other.
HREC does a lot of stuff, and the sight of their unique hazard suits are part of daily life in the Empire. The majority of the Empire's qualified doctors and medics are current or former HREC officials. The Corporation is pulling in many, many different directions, though, and it's conflicting rivalries and branches do as much damage to itself as it does to King Sombra.
Here's an example. In the early days of HREC, a series of genius inventors perfected the HREC Hazard Suit, an armoured Hazmat suit that provided immunity to all ambient Corruption effects from monoliths and the like. The Emperor issued a decree that every citizen of the Crystal Empire was to be equipped with a HREC Hazard Suit. HREC didn't have the resources to do this, so one enterprising Director determined the only way it was possible to accomplish this goal would be to reduce the population of the Empire to a point where the survivors could all be equipped with Hazard Suits. This branch of HREC has worked ever since to kill as many ponies as possible.
Other branches of HREC have investigated Corruption in depth to try and find ways to harness, weaponise or combat it on it's own terms. Still more have tried to construct portals to the lair of Sombra that he might be confronted and destroyed permanently. Some branches have tried to tame Manifestations, or harness the power of the Sun, or resurrect Celestia, or any number of other ghoulish activities. Incredible inventions have emerged from HREC's constant innovations, but as surely as one branch produces a miracle another branch will be aghast at that miracle's moral implications and try to destroy it. HREC prototypes are incredibly valuable and capable of doing things no ordinary weapon or armour would be capable of - but they are all so tied so closely to the dark research of Corruption that they so often contain some hidden catch, terrible flaw or evil price.
Outsiders walk very carefully around HREC. Nopony knows what the organisation is thinking or what it's capable of. Nopony knows the horrors it will unleash in the name of progress.
*
The Pure
Corruption is an ever-present temptation for ponies of the North. Who knows when a pony will snap and create a Manifestation? Who knows when a previously trustworthy unicorn will start throwing Shadow magic around and decide that she likes it? Who knows what other magic King Sombra has that can reach through a pony's shadow and take control of them?
The Pure are determined to never let this happen to them. The Pure are determined to find their inner darkness and beat it into submission and lock it up where it can never harm them or others.
Operating out of a pre-war prison facility, the Pure have perfected a ritual for combating the corruption of Sombra. A pony is placed in a specially warded, extremely brightly lit room and made to touch a Monolith until they create a Manifestation. Then the guards enter the room and beat the Manfiestation into submission, and drag it down into the dungeon. The newly 'cleansed' pony now has no shadow, their darkness is locked up within the prison of the Pure and they are free from the corrupting influence of Sombra.
Down in the dungeon, however, conditions are beyond hellish. The nightmare versions of hundreds of ponies are locked in together, trapped in a place so bad that a sane pony would ask if even they deserve it. The guards are even more cruel, regarding the Manifestations as things rather than ponies, thus giving them leave to do whatever they like with no consequences. The only rule in the prison is 'no killing', but anything else goes. Manifestations do still die, but this is 'fixed' with another round of extraction and incarceration.
Many ponies, especially those very close to complete Corruption and fearing the consequences of their actions, come to the Pure for help, and the Pure are glad to provide it for a small price to help them cover expenses. However it should come as no surprise that the magical extraction and horrific abuse of a pony's darker side can have severe consequences.
For one, there's the risk of a prison break. If Sombra ever feels his military might has grown sufficiently powerful to make a move, the prison is one hundred percent certainly going to be the first place he hits as it comes with an extremely pissed-off army. The Pure are aware of this threat and spend their time fortifying it, but they can't be sure it'll be enough.
The second is that a pony who has had their shadow removed is forbidden from ever holding a weapon again, and to enforce this these ponies are outfitted with carefully designed slave collars. This is a critical and non-negotiable cost of the Pure's operation: the last thing they need is for their prisoners to start materialising assault rifles or, Celestia forbid, dynamite inside the cell blocks. The collar gives 3 rounds warning if it's user holds a weapon more severe than a knife or armour heavier than light before it blows. As a natural result, ponies who have taken the Pure's offer are frequently pacifists, researchers, and doctors. Many HREC scientists are members of the Pure because it gives them total safety when working with shadow elements. There is a very large and peaceful community surrounding the prison, protected by watchful griffon mercenaries.
The third price is perhaps more rumour than fact. Ponies who turn over half of themselves to abuse and torture become... changed when their Manifestation dies and re-unites with them. Their shadow reappears more tattered and miserable than other ponies who have survived Manifestations, and these ponies can develop derangements or nightmarish visions of what happened to their other halves while imprisoned. Some legends say that the shadow is the soul, and cutting it off is a monstrous act.
Perhaps it's not the shadow that is sinful, but what ponies do to it.
*
Historical Reincarnation Society
Back in The Day, there were such things as fan clubs. After the War, those clubs got weird.
Chronic use of memory orbs leads to some slightly unhinged side effects, and in order to escape the constant nightmares many ponies use them chronically. Due to their scarcity, ponies have to use the same orb over and over. Sometimes as many as four ponies share the same orb. It takes a truly greedy pony or a Dragon to own more than two memory orbs.
But due to the chronic use of memory orbs, many ponies get lost in the memories of long-dead, pre-war ponies and take on aspects of their personalities. As this cycle goes on, old romances, rivalries, and outright impassioned hatreds are reborn in the modern era. This is especially awkward when there are, say, four Lyras per Bon Bon. These fights can become truly strange and Byzantine, and keeping track of who thinks who's what can become as nightmarish as Sombra's curse.
The "Historical Reincarnation Society" is a derisive term for any group of ponies living out the lives of the long dead. In extreme cases, ponies can paint themselves the appropriate colours and dye their manes. Reincarnators can be found all throughout society, from HREC to some of the Dukes to the infamous "Rainbow Wing" of the Crystal Airforce, consisting entirely of forty five Rainbow Dash wannabes. Reincarnators should be treated gingerly, because they might be fighting wars that no longer exist - many of them are extremely hostile towards non-pony races - but they also tend to be a little less militant and trigger-happy than the average wastelander pony.
*
The Failed Princesses
One of HREC's major projects is a campaign to invent new Alicorn Princesses. This idea has a lot of support in HREC's circles because the only major defeat ever inflicted on Sombra was from a pair of Alicorn Princesses. However, there's a bit of a gulf between 'Taint Alicorn' and 'Goddess-Princess attuned to a celestial body', and this is a gulf that HREC goes to some pretty weird places in order to cross.
This isn't to say that 'merely' creating an Alicorn is easy for HREC. The organisation hasn't yet figured out Twilight Sparkle's masterpiece, but it has perfected the method of extracting it. When HREC captures an Alicorn, Hellhound or other taint-touched creature they can extract the Taint through a lethal dissection. Some HREC departments are very enthusiastic about harvesting Alicorns, making it very inadvisable to be public about your Alicorn-ness.
If the HREC barely understands how to create an Alicorn, it has no fucking clue how to turn an Alicorn into a Princess. It has a whole bunch of ideas though. One HREC team is trying to build a ship to send an Alicorn into the sun (probably involving rediscovering Equestria's space project). Another Alicorn has been forced to generate a Manifestation, which HREC performed invasive cybernetic surgery on and then killed in order to see if it had any ramifications when it re-united with it's host. A third group has sponsored repeated expeditions to find the snowy tower of Starswirl the Bearded. Yet another tries to brainwash an Alicorn into thinking it's Celestia via memory orbs.
Sometimes HREC comes close. Sometimes it produces Alicorns which are a long way away from the mould. Many of these Alicorns are powerful enough to escape, and then - what?
One Alicorn, a heavily cybernetic former Earth Pony calling herself Princess Daybreak, is trying to re-unite and care for 'her sisters'. Princess Daybreak believes that even if none of the individual Alicorn 'Princesses' is a whole, complete copy of Celestia, together a hundred or so could emulate her - each one covering for the others' weaknesses. Together they could break HREC and it's impious and horrible experiments and re-unite Equestria with magical might and true benevolence. It's actually a good plan, if you buy into Daybreak's premise that if you get a hundred Alicorns who think they are Celestia and Luna in a room all the crazy will cancel out. The Failed Princesses are generally a force for good in the Wasteland, many of them programmed with virtues like kindness and loyalty in the hopes it would invoke the Princess' connections to the Elements of Harmony, but they are also all trauma victims and escapees from some of HREC's least ethical departments. Individually, they are almost all crazy in some major way, but they all share a common theme instilled in them by Daybreak's leadership:
If there is an Alicorn in trouble they will go to any lengths necessary to save it, heal it, and guide it, even if the Alicorn has repeatedly demonstrated utter evil, and even if this means stepping over many innocent bodies. They may restrain or even brainwash the Alicorn for it's own protection but there is no hiding the fact that the Failed Princesses value the lives of their own over other ponies. Princess Daybreak argues that this is because they are all aspects and fragments of two greater ponies, and only if they are all together can they truly be whole. "If," Daybreak kindly reminds petitioners, "we act strangely or chaotically now, that is simply because there are not yet enough of us."
Last edited by Thanqol on Thu May 09, 2013 6:19 am, edited 7 times in total.
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TyrannisUmbra
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Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
That's the idea, I think. If you decide to take the traits, the idea is that for the first, you will become more powerful, faster, but at the cost of being less able to control the intake. The second is almost the opposite -- It will take longer to become more powerful along that path, but it's also a much safer path.Thanqol wrote:I feel like this is a very poor choice because gaining Corruption is something that even Corruption-addled madponies want to manage carefully. You've only got so many Shadowcast spells in your system before the Manifestation triggers and you quite possibly die.Trait ideas:
Touched by Shadow (Any Race): Whether you were born near a crystal monolith or your mother shadow cast frequently while carrying you, you have found that corruption seems more willing to soak into you. Whenever you gain corruption, gain 50% more (rounded up).
I think a 50% increase in corruption per hit is cool, however this is the downside of that trait. It needs a significant upside to balance it out.
I am also concerned about this because Corruption is the cost of a very powerful effect. Any way to lose it beyond cold turkey no-more-evil-magic gives player characters access to huge healing effects and Potency multipliers.Kissed by Celestia (Any Race): Perhaps you are descended of the line of Celestia. Perhaps your mother stayed cleansed of corruption. Whatever the reason, the touch of Sombra's Shadow Magic can not seem to stick with you as long. Whenever you would lose corruption, you lose it at twice the rate of others. This trait may not be taken at the same time as Touched by Shadow.
The positive for both of the traits is also the negative. It's actually pretty elegant, in a way. Though maybe the second should be 'Your corruption increases 50% less' or something (Though I'm sure 50% is the wrong number to be opposite -- 50% less would be opposite of 100% more... I just don't remember what number is right in this situation. Maybe 25%.)
Primary IRC nicks: TyrannisUmbra, Silver_Wing
Current PNP characters: <Non-FoE Only>
Current PNP characters: <Non-FoE Only>
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Just so we're clear, gaining corruption is really easy. You can rub your face on a Monolith for five minutes and make ~60 Corruption. If you're a unicorn you can just Shadowcast Clean 50 times for 500 Corruption. There is no positive to making that number go up faster. There is an incredible positive in making that number go down because there simply isn't anything that will do that other than direct sunlight, thereby letting you coast on the higher levels for a lot longer than a normal pony.TyrannisUmbra wrote:That's the idea, I think. If you decide to take the traits, the idea is that for the first, you will become more powerful, faster, but at the cost of being less able to control the intake. The second is almost the opposite -- It will take longer to become more powerful along that path, but it's also a much safer path.
The positive for both of the traits is also the negative. It's actually pretty elegant, in a way. Though maybe the second should be 'Your corruption increases 50% less' or something (Though I'm sure 50% is the wrong number to be opposite -- 50% less would be opposite of 100% more... I just don't remember what number is right in this situation. Maybe 25%.)