The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Monolith Disposal Site #4 has been added as a Hazard Site on page 5!
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Speculation: After Sombra
Say HREC gets it's hooves on the Megaspell chamber in Vault 63. Say they successfully kill King Sombra, and suddenly every Monolith shatters and all Corruption vanishes (may not be how it actually goes down). HREC no longer has any reason for existence. What happens then?
If you said 'HREC quietly disbands and the survivors take up farming' I will take this opportunity to laugh at you.
HREC is, in it's current state, prepared to do anything on the grounds that they think their endgame (kill Sombra) is impossible. Therefore, the only option for them is to achieve a miracle and do something utterly impossible. If they do that then they realise that they're alone in the world - they are the superpower, they have done the impossible, and there is no one and nothing that stands as a reasonable challenge to their power.
The first thing that happens is the HREC faction holding the Megaspells cleans house. They settle scores, disintegrate rivals, and shock and awe everypony into accepting that they are the sole CEO of HREC. What happens second is the Republic of Bear gets blowed up and has to retreat into their Stables. The third thing that probably happens is HREC kills Shining Armour. A Megaspell-armed HREC is perhaps more qualified than any other group in the Wasteland to pull this off.
After that, the HREC CEO declares herself Princess. She marches her elite armed troops out into the wastes and reclaims all the old, forgotten installations. She reactivates the Purple Librarian railroad and re-connects the North and South. The armies of the Crystal Empire and HREC march down into the ruins of Equestria, conquering and enslaving. If this is Post-Lil'Pip, Equestria has a pretty good shot at resistance, especially if the Enclave is on side. At any other point in history, the Empire just rolls over everything.
A few things happen from that point.
One: HREC's neurotic response to hazardous situations kicks in and the Company devotes vast amounts of resources clearing up hazard sites of all kinds. They work to clear the Pink Cloud, smother the baelfire, and generally purge the Wasteland of all it's fallout. This is not easy work and will claim the lives of many thousands of ponies, many of them slaves. HREC will get bogged down in tasks like this even if it hasn't secured the wasteland, or even if it's in the middle of a full-blown war with Lil'Pip and Co.
Two: The Crystal Empire will overextend and become vulnerable. All that it will take to cut off it's armies in the south from it's command in the north is somepony bombing the Purple Librarian reactor. Once that happens it could be years before the chain of command is restored and who knows what happens in the meantime.
Three: If neither of those things manage to completely stop HREC, and there aren't player characters to intervene, Equestria settles into a technomagical dictatorship. After a few decades, when Equestria is restored and healed, invasions are launched to wipe out the survivors of Zebrica and other nations. These genocidal campaigns have the intention of leaving the Crystal Empire as the first, last and only civilisation in the entire world, rising out of the ashes and fire on a mountain of skulls.
And after they are done, there will be peace.
Say HREC gets it's hooves on the Megaspell chamber in Vault 63. Say they successfully kill King Sombra, and suddenly every Monolith shatters and all Corruption vanishes (may not be how it actually goes down). HREC no longer has any reason for existence. What happens then?
If you said 'HREC quietly disbands and the survivors take up farming' I will take this opportunity to laugh at you.
HREC is, in it's current state, prepared to do anything on the grounds that they think their endgame (kill Sombra) is impossible. Therefore, the only option for them is to achieve a miracle and do something utterly impossible. If they do that then they realise that they're alone in the world - they are the superpower, they have done the impossible, and there is no one and nothing that stands as a reasonable challenge to their power.
The first thing that happens is the HREC faction holding the Megaspells cleans house. They settle scores, disintegrate rivals, and shock and awe everypony into accepting that they are the sole CEO of HREC. What happens second is the Republic of Bear gets blowed up and has to retreat into their Stables. The third thing that probably happens is HREC kills Shining Armour. A Megaspell-armed HREC is perhaps more qualified than any other group in the Wasteland to pull this off.
After that, the HREC CEO declares herself Princess. She marches her elite armed troops out into the wastes and reclaims all the old, forgotten installations. She reactivates the Purple Librarian railroad and re-connects the North and South. The armies of the Crystal Empire and HREC march down into the ruins of Equestria, conquering and enslaving. If this is Post-Lil'Pip, Equestria has a pretty good shot at resistance, especially if the Enclave is on side. At any other point in history, the Empire just rolls over everything.
A few things happen from that point.
One: HREC's neurotic response to hazardous situations kicks in and the Company devotes vast amounts of resources clearing up hazard sites of all kinds. They work to clear the Pink Cloud, smother the baelfire, and generally purge the Wasteland of all it's fallout. This is not easy work and will claim the lives of many thousands of ponies, many of them slaves. HREC will get bogged down in tasks like this even if it hasn't secured the wasteland, or even if it's in the middle of a full-blown war with Lil'Pip and Co.
Two: The Crystal Empire will overextend and become vulnerable. All that it will take to cut off it's armies in the south from it's command in the north is somepony bombing the Purple Librarian reactor. Once that happens it could be years before the chain of command is restored and who knows what happens in the meantime.
Three: If neither of those things manage to completely stop HREC, and there aren't player characters to intervene, Equestria settles into a technomagical dictatorship. After a few decades, when Equestria is restored and healed, invasions are launched to wipe out the survivors of Zebrica and other nations. These genocidal campaigns have the intention of leaving the Crystal Empire as the first, last and only civilisation in the entire world, rising out of the ashes and fire on a mountain of skulls.
And after they are done, there will be peace.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Added the Failed Princesses as a faction on Page 2!
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Added info on Starswirl's Observatory and the Alicorn Amulet, both on page 9.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
I kind of think it might be cool to have lesser alicorn amulets. (Since I dunno that effect feels kind of lesser from the effect shown in the show.)
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
I'm not sure how you feel a 4X Potency multiplier and unlimited Strain is an inaccurate representation of what Trixie does with the Alicorn's AmuletGodna wrote:I kind of think it might be cool to have lesser alicorn amulets. (Since I dunno that effect feels kind of lesser from the effect shown in the show.)
Even if Trixie is Potency 6 and Twilight is Potency 10, Trixie will be Shadowcasting with an effective Potency of 40 for every single spell.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
I guess I was thinking more the immunity to manifestation part....I guess I need to reread the corruption part 
I do still think a lesser version that was an attempt to reverse engineer it might be cool.
I do still think a lesser version that was an attempt to reverse engineer it might be cool.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Triggering a Manifestation is the only catch to the devil's bargain that is Corruption. If you take away the only catch then you've got a free ride!Godna wrote:I guess I was thinking more the immunity to manifestation part....I guess I need to reread the corruption part
Sure, sounds like something HREC would do. I'll have a think.I do still think a lesser version that was an attempt to reverse engineer it might be cool.
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
Oh! I had a thought about the whole bits/caps thing and Realized...The Northern Empire is a seperate empire...maybe they have their own currency?
Re: The Northern Empire: An Alternate Setting
I think I said earlier, but I barely want to think about the inflationary/deflationary forces in a monarchy as scatterbrained as the Crystal Empire. I think the normal Wasteland barter system, with Imperial Bits, scavenger caps, and Republic Dollars is a perfectly reasonable cover.Godna wrote:Oh! I had a thought about the whole bits/caps thing and Realized...The Northern Empire is a seperate empire...maybe they have their own currency?