There exists, in every tale, a thousand choices of gods and ponies alike; a thousand choices that lead the flow of history down little currents and streams. Sometimes the shifts are small. For instance, on the day after she banished her sister, Princess Celestia chose not to hold court. Petitioners were turned away, the business of state temporarily ground to a halt. Small, in the big scheme of things. But sometimes small shifts add up. Like how, the next day, court did not resume. Or the next. Or the next.
Turn a flow enough and the important things will change. In every corner of Equestria, ponies stepped up nobly to fill the governmental void Celestia left behind. It gave her the time she needed to pull herself back together. But time and tide wait not even for the gods, and when she returned she returned to an Equestria ruled by the noble ponies.
It was not a problem, at first. But time and power can corrupt even the most noble of souls. Responsibility became entitlement, altruism greed, and protection oppression. Hundreds of years down the road, Celestia’s one decision turned a utopia into a nightmare.
This year is the year of the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia has done her best to do what she knows is needed, even if few other ponies remember. The funny thing about choices, though, is that sometimes they change even the things you think they won't. And with only a few months until the longest day of the thousandth year, there is only so much time to get it right. If there is even a right to be gotten.
But this is not her story. At least, not yet. The Summer Sun Celebration is not today. Today, instead, is a day for the nobles. A wedding; for the powerful Duke Blueblood, heir to the lordship of Canterlot province, and the third daughter of the lordship of Rock Ridge - Pinkamena Diane Pie.
Choices have turned the world upside down for a thousand years. And they will do it again today.
Guess who’s back? I’ve been reminiscing lately about the good old times I used to spend on the forum, and surprise surprise! I decided I wanted to start a new RP project like the old ones I had. It's been a while, though, and I'm not sure what activity’s like nowadays, so this is as much of a test of interest as a signup.
Like my old ones, a key component of this RP is
player agency - there’s no railroading, no forced storyline. I have my plans, of course, as any GM is wont to, but any sufficiently smart or unpredictable player can thwart both my plans and the plans of any villain or hero I control (depending on who you decide fits either role, you’ll also find there’s less of a black and white morality than usual). Your choices can lead the flow of history down a different path; the plot will bend and adapt to accommodate that.
A few things you need to take note of if you decide to post a signup:
1) Links to your character sheet please. I'd like to know as much about your OC as I can.
2) Just a single OC per player. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though; if you want to be an exception, and have a good reason, just PM me and I'll see what I can do.
3) This thread has violence in it. Ergo, by signing up you also agree to all the Terms and Conditions.
- Terms and Conditions:
By posting a signup, you, the player, agree to potentially subject your OC to a variety of harmful conditions, such as wounds, grievous wounds, very grievous wounds, and death. Such outcomes will not be likely, and of course will not happen often or by sheer coincidence, but keep in mind that it is a possible consequence of incredibly stupid decisions or falling for particularly lethal traps.
4) All site rules apply, such as no auto-hitting, no using OOC knowledge, etc.
5) This is something I didn’t do for my previous RPs, but I have learned through experience that I absolutely have to set down this rule:
do not post characters that are too overpowered. I do know that the site has its standards of OPness when accepting character sheets, but I also know that the average OC can wipe the floor with almost any ‘normal’ Equestrian pony, no question, hands down. This, in itself, is not a problem; it is a normal characteristic of heroes to be stronger than your common mook. However, there is no story without challenge, and if you can accomplish anything or kill anypony with the flick of a hoof then something is wrong. I have to assess every signup on a case-by-case basis, so I can’t set down hard conditions of what qualifies as OP and what doesn’t, but here are a few telltale signs that your OC might be too powerful for this thread:
- If they can kill a squad of, say, twenty veteran knights (assuming medieval weaponry and gear) in less than five seconds, using only their innate powers / gear and minimal preparation.
- If they have powers with no range, time, or magnitude limit.
- If they have time-influencing powers. I realise there are exceptions, depending on how it’s balanced, but this tends to be an indicator of OPness.
- If they can beat Princess Celestia in an impromptu duel.
- If they can be hit by twenty crossbow bolts, slashed through the chest, poisoned, burned, stabbed in the back, and survive. (A bit over the top, but you know what I mean.)
- If they can travel significantly faster than sound.
- If they can blow up a building on a whim.
- If they have absolute mind-control powers.
- If they have defenses that cannot be broken with any amount of conventional weaponry or magic.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the above. If you think your OC is fine, just put it in the post and notify me.
6) Make sure your OC fits the setting. For instance, none of the show events have happened yet, so if your OC’s backstory is based on one of them, then you'll either have to choose a different character or adjust your lore to fit the setting.
7) I may not be able to manage a very large game, so I might have to deny some signups if there are too many players. (Though I'm probably getting ahead of myself here.)
8 ) To prevent the game from stalling because one or two players don’t post for ages, there will be a limit on how much time you can take to post after every GM post (I haven’t decided precisely how long it will be, but from experience it’ll probably be a week or so). If you don’t post by then, your turn will be temporarily skipped and I will post the update. If need be, I will have to take control of your character for just that one turn, but I’ll try to avoid that if possible. Like, if the party is in a fight, I’ll just knock you out till the round’s over or something.
9) If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I'll answer them as best I can.
10) Have fun.
Subject: Choices (Adventure, AU) 
Fri Sep 30, 2016 1:18 am
