[MLP] Roleplaying is Magic: The Broken Road.

[Balmas]

Huzzah! I was just about going crazy.

I've been there for a while, but the absence of forum made it much more noticable.

[One Tin Soldier]

So is there anything left to do before we get started?

[Balmas]

Well, I've read the recommended fics, have most things figured out, and am eager to start.

[TheAmishPirate]

I'm almost ready, I'm just having trouble coming up with a special purpose. Going to try and catch BlasTech on IRC tonight.

[Ravian]

I've got a little left to work out, some on the IRC (cutie mark in particular) but I don't know when I can get to that. Latest probably Tuesday evening.

[BlasTech]

Just proofreading the OP now and I intend to deploy it sometime today. Amish, Ravian, I dont think there's anything left outstanding for your characters that precludes us starting, but if so just yell out here.

I'll be on the IRC for the rest of today, barring drop outs due to my house's dodgy wireless connection (Yay for renovations). Can plug the wired back in this afternoon when the builders go home.

[BlasTech]

Ravian, Amish, can you guys let me know when you're ready to go? ^^

[Ravian]

Probably not today, just got back from Europe so I got the Jet lag to figure out. Will probably go to sleep now and will most likely wake up early from the lag (around 5 am eastern US time most likely) and I may be able to get on the IRC then. Sorry I can't do earlier, really exhausted right now.

[TheAmishPirate]

Okay, so BlasTech and OneTinSoldier helped me get my Special Purpose sorted out: "highlighting what makes things special." Thanks for the help, and I'll edit that in later. Anyhow, this means I'm 100% ready.

[BlasTech]

I'll try to stay up tonight to talk to you Ravian.

If you don't see me on after about 7am eastern US, I'll probably be asleep. (Assuming I did the timezone conversion correctly )

[Ravian]

Alright finished

Description:

Spoiler

Show

Name: Soot
Nickname: Thief (Stop Thief! Get back here you little Thief!)
Hometown: Manehatten
Ideal: "If everyone cares, then nobody cries"
Flawed Ideal: If they won't care, I won't either

Personality: Soot's attitude is largely determined by who she's with. While with friends she's a very social pony, loving a good laugh and quick to lend a hoof to help with or a shoulder to cry on. She is very attached to her friends and works to help them any way she can. She often acts in a maternal role and will often take it upon herself to settle a dispute or work out a problem. While she'll often snark and be sarcastic, she never does it out of cruelty and is quick to realize when such an attitude is not appropriate. When her friends are in danger, she'll often go into a sort of momma bear mode and will go all out when against the threat.
Around others, she puts on a suspicious face. Life has taught her that charity is not easily found and there are many unscrupulous individuals who would feign it for their own advantage. She is quick to look the gift horse in the mouth and is distrustful of strangers. Only a clear show of trust will shake her
into acceptance. She takes betrayal particularly hard.
While alone her suspicion is also clear, but she also gets paranoid as well. Quick to see things that aren't there. She'll often talk to herself in vain attempts to keep her spirits up. During any extended time alone her paranoia hits a high and she will often start to go a little crazy (Not Pinkamena crazy, more like Rainbow Dash anxiety).

Family: Never knew her parents so her closest thing to a parental figure was a kind old Unicorn named Rusty who lived on the streets like her. He taught her
how to get by and treated her like his own, until the day he didn't wake up after a particularly cold night in the Winter, she still blames herself for not being able to help him even if there wasn't anything she could do. Since then she has formed her own band of young street ponies who she acts as leader and caretaker for. Drizzle, Scamp, Olive, Penny, and Whisper. Drizzle, the next oldest, is a Pegasus colt who she typically leaves in charge whenever she's off scavenging or doing a quick job. While he's good with the foals, he's not nearly as street savvy as her. Scamp is a rambunctious young Pegasus who idolizes Soot and her thievery, often getting himself into one stick or another. Olive and Penny are a pair of Earth Pony twin sisters who generally scavenge and beg but also have an eye for design, as their cleverly built hideaway will
suggest. Soot thinks the two are very creative and wishes the world had been kind enough for them to use their talents elsewhere. Finally Whisper is a shy little Unicorn colt who barely ever speaks above a mumble, Soot worries about him because he only recently ran away from his home and doesn't speak at all about the experience. She's not even completely sure if Whisper is his real name and worries if she should try to bring him home or not.

Physical Description: When ponies look at Soot the polite phrase they might use is scruffy, those less inclined to sugar words usually prefer filthy if they're not feeling very creative. Soot's coat is a patchwork of mottled greys supplemented by all sorts of actual soot and dirt she has contracted from a life with lots of dirty streets and not alot of showers. Her mane and tail are likewise messy and tangled, grey with a black streak running through the them. Her eyes possess some of the only real color in her body being a catlike yellow. While of average height she is fairly thin, and generally has an underfed look about her.

Likes: Foals, helping others, a good practical joke (usually with some snooty noble at the butt end of it), manehatten tofu dogs

Dislikes: Suffering, snooty rich ponies, cold, being alone

Mannerisms: Soot tends to hold herself lightly as if she's ready to run at a moment's notice, her eyes generally look around the room taking in details or else focus on a single thing and everything about it. She oftens moves her ears in a similar fashion. She often uses gestures with her hooves when she talks, pointing at or empasizing certain things. When she needs to be silent and communicate, these gestures are particularly handy.

Skills: Soot is first and foremost a thief. She has learned to become incredibly stealthy with or without magic and has learned everything from how to lift a purse to how to open a lock with a few scant improvise tools. She is also particularly good at scavenging, and is often amazed at what kinds of things ponies will throw away.

Stats:

Spoiler

Show

Soot
Unicorn Filly
Body- 2, Heart-3, Mind 4 (+1 heart from advancements)
Fortitude- 5(4), Energy- 6(3), Courage 7(3), Willpower 9(7)
Cutie Mark: Pale gold heart with white wings
Special Purpose: Redistribution of Wealth so that those without are cared for
Job: Thief (level 2)
Skills: Stealth 3, Pickpocketing 2, Lockpicking 1, Scavenging 1
Talents: Sensitive, Wary

Magic:
Aspects known: Telekinesis, Animate, Light, Body, Deceive, Diminish

Spells known:
Sneak in the Shadows
Level 3
Deceive, Light
Range- Contact, Duration- Temporary
Difficulty- 3
Soot shrouds herself to make light bend around her, rendering herself invisible to normal sight

Shrouded Sight
Level 2
Decieve, Light, Body
Range- Anmiomorphic, Duration- Concentration
Difficulty- 4 (+1 from attack against defenses)
Soot binds an illusory darkness to a target's eyes, rendering them blind as long as she concentrates

Lights Out
Level 1
Diminish, Light
Range- Spectacle, Duration- Temporary
Difficulty- 5 (costs 1 willpower if it fails)
Soot coats an area in a blanket of darkness, obscuring everything within

Detect Life
Level 1
Reveal, Body
Range- Spectacle, Duration- Concentration
Difficulty- 3
Soot is able to sense the locations of sentient creatures in an area, useful to avoid guards, not so much for their dogs

Follow the Pretty light
Level 1
Animate, Forge, Light
Range- Anmiomorphic, Duration- Concentration
Difficulty- 3
Soot conjures a mote of light and directs where it goes

Ghost Sound
Soot fabricates an illusory sound of anything from hoofsteps to a Dragon's roar to emanate from empty air
Deceive, Sonic
Range- Anmiomorphic
Duration- Concentration
Difficulty- 2 (2 elements+ 1 Range - 1 Duration)

New Spell:
Light Beam (AKA totally cribbed off of Celestia in Canterlot Wedding)
Tricks are all well and good, but sometimes a blinding ray of light can win out when subtlety fails.
Forge, Light
Range- Anmiomorphic
Duration- Instant
Difficulty- 4 (two elements + 1 range + 1 for affecting opponents)
(a less subtle version of Shrouded sight, more useful for self-defense since it doesn't wear off as soon as she focuses on something else)

Flaws: Low Society

Element: Kindness

Advancements:
+1 Heart 10 pts,
Uplifting Attitude 5 pts,
On-the- Job training (+1 level to thief) 4 pts,
Skill-up (Stealth to level 3) 5 pts
Horn Hocus-Pocus: Treat Horn as an appropriate tool

38/38 experience spent

Devices: set of lockpicks, saddlebag

[BlasTech]

And with that, I do believe we are finished with the character generation!!

Well done everyone! I've got to say ... even if this RP ends in tears after only the first six posts. I think we've managed to get a cast of pretty darn engaging characters. If nothing else, you can look at the life and personality you've given them and be satisfied at a job well done. I hope they can get good mileage both here and anywhere else you might seek to use them.

The only minor things outstanding still:

• Need a rationale for why Soot is catching a train out of canterlot.
• Amish needs to consoldiate his stats and background in one post for me to easily add to the OP.

Now the timing is probably not optimal, since I'm just about to head for bed. But if ya'll can wait eight hours for me to respond, then you can stew over the opening post for a bit:

Yes, that's right, you heard me correctly. We have an IC thread now.

[One Tin Soldier]

Wooooooooooooooo!

*runs off to IC thread, hands waving wildly in the air*

[Balmas]

Le's Dewit! [/Demoman]

[SiuiS]

And with that, I do believe we are finished with the character generation!!

Well done everyone! I've got to say ... even if this RP ends in tears after only the first six posts. I think we've managed to get a cast of pretty darn engaging characters. If nothing else, you can look at the life and personality you've given them and be satisfied at a job well done. I hope they can get good mileage both here and anywhere else you might seek to use them.

The only minor things outstanding still:

• Need a rationale for why Soot is catching a train out of canterlot.
• Amish needs to consoldiate his stats and background in one post for me to easily add to the OP.

Now the timing is probably not optimal, since I'm just about to head for bed. But if ya'll can wait eight hours for me to respond, then you can stew over the opening post for a bit:

Yes, that's right, you heard me correctly. We have an IC thread now.

I am honestly hoping this characterization carries over. I would like for Divebomb to, say, have more motive in ponythread when he comes up. Or maybe see Soot every once in a while

Even if the game doesn't work out (unlikely as it seems), this is all good mental work. And it's been fun to watch, too!

[Balmas]

I am honestly hoping this characterization carries over. I would like for Divebomb to, say, have more motive in ponythread when he comes up. Or maybe see Soot every once in a while

Even if the game doesn't work out (unlikely as it seems), this is all good mental work. And it's been fun to watch, too!

The future Dive Bomb of Ponythread is somewhat of a dystopian worst case scenario, where he's stopped caring and is just doing science for its own sake. Rather, he's somewhat conflicted due to his own awareness of this fact. However, he's still doing science for power instead of knowledge.

[Ravian]

For Soot's reason for being on a train.
I believe Amish suggested sometime earlier that she could be Crown Cork's go to errand runner, and I like this idea. So most likely she was adequately paid by Crown to take a train into Canterlot and do some errands while he was at the business thingy and she is now returning home to Manehatten by train.

[TheAmishPirate]

For Soot's reason for being on a train.
I believe Amish suggested sometime earlier that she could be Crown Cork's go to errand runner, and I like this idea. So most likely she was adequately paid by Crown to take a train into Canterlot and do some errands while he was at the business thingy and she is now returning home to Manehatten by train.

Well, that's going to make things a mite awkward with Cork taking a train out of Canterlot as well.

(Not saying it's a problem, it's just amusing.)

[BlasTech]

Great guacamole. You guys are posting up a hurricane.

[Balmas]

Are you kidding? We've been working on this for a month or so; we're chomping at the bit, to use a horse metaphor.

[One Tin Soldier]

Are you kidding? We've been working on this for a month or so; we're chomping at the bit, to use a horse metaphor.

I couldn't have put it better myself. Now our characters actually get to interact with each other in a situation that encourages small talk.

[One Tin Soldier]

So I just found this, and it seems to describe Dive Bomb and Soot oddly well. Not to mention the name of the song itself...

[Balmas]

So I just found this, and it seems to describe Dive Bomb and Soot oddly well. Not to mention the name of the song itself...

My feels! Why do they hurt?

Seriously, I'm honored, and this makes me want to play Dive Bomb better.

[Ravian]

So I just found this, and it seems to describe Dive Bomb and Soot oddly well. Not to mention the name of the song itself...

Huh I must have listened to this song dozens of times but I never realized that Soot fit it so perfectly. It is very appropriate though and I've always loved it.

[Balmas]

I just realized that I've been mistaken about Soot's age the entire time. When I hear filly, I think Applebloom and Scootaloo, so I had forgotten that in this game, filly means Mane six age. Whoops!

[One Tin Soldier]

I just realized that I've been mistaken about Soot's age the entire time. When I hear filly, I think Applebloom and Scootaloo, so I had forgotten that in this game, filly means Mane six age. Whoops!

I thought that was the case. Just chalk it up to how skinny she is, I guess. Call it accidental roleplay.

[BlasTech]

I sense a running gag in the making

[Balmas]

What monstrosity have I created? And should I perpetuate it?

[Balmas]

So, just out of curiosity, do we want to do this in present tense or past tense? Each has benefits; past tense has a greater degree of familiarity and narrative, while present tense has a greater degree of feeling attached to it.

The original post is in present tense, and we've been following that prompt, but I keep wanting to slip into past tense. (Plus, Blastech is posting in past tense.)

[BlasTech]

Use whatever feels more comfortable. For my part, I think I have a tendency to use present tense more when doing scene setting, but past tense for interaction or dialogue.

I'll try to stick to past tense more I think, feels better for this.