A Song of Ponies and Golems
Once upon a time, in a not so magical land of Westeros, a terrible winter threatened to engulf the continent and the rest of the Known World. It was then that a group of Heroes discovered an Alicorn, a magical horse with the power over the sun and moon, guarding the six Elements of Harmony. The Heroes each took an element for themselves and their leader rode on top of the Alicorn against the master of the Winter, Night King, and his Steed, the Alicorn Nightmare Moon. Together the Heroes and the Alicorn used the Elements of Harmony to destroy the Night King and banish his Steed to the Moon, where she resides to this day. At the same time the Heroes released the Rainbow of Light, a force of magic gone from the world since the First Age of Heroes, and magic returned full force to the Known World. The Heroes and the Alicorn took their responsibility as the guardians of this new world, and harmony has been maintained in Westeros for generations since.
A nice story, certainly, but sadly the reality is rarely like in the songs. Although it is true that Jon Stark led the first Elements of Harmony and formed the first Bond of Rider and Steed with Celestia, the details surrounding the events weren't as rosy as the stories tell.
After the return of magic, humans have had to share their world with other races both mortal and spirit. Horses and many other animals have become intelligent, magical and quite colorful. Dragons have returned as well, have gained intelligence, and are no longer bound by Valyrian blood, if they don't want to. And others, once thought to be little more than legends have found their homes in the new world. Yet humans, as determined as ever, have adapted to the world and still hold power.
But after hundreds of years, a new kind of being, not mortal in the traditional sense of the word, has appeared. In this new age of magic, the Alchemists' Guild has risen to prominence again, but not thanks to Wildfire. Wisdom Elijah, a young and brilliant alchemist, has created a new kind of life called a homunculus. These artificial humans have become increasingly popular among the rich as long lasting laborers, who don't need to eat or sleep.
Although stories speak of generations of harmony, even in this age there is trouble brewing. Once again, the question over the right to sit on the Iron Throne threatens to pull humans into war. Horses, masters of land and sky, grow evermore resentful towards humans and each other. And homunculi, long mistreated by their owners, start to become aware, like horses and dragons before them, and must find a place for themselves in the Known World.
And that's the basic gist of of it. The story will be set in a future Planetos over a thousand years into the future in a world of magic and technologies, so you don't need to worry too much about knowing of the canon events. Not everything about the world has been decided yet, so there is plenty of room for you to plan your characters.
Also, I should mention that this is the first game I have run here, so I hope you are not too harsh on me.
Rules
Although the game's premise can be considered crazy, some rules have to be laid down. First of course the basics:
- Be polite and keep things civil
- Although this is a relatively mature game, considering two of the source materials, try to limit the sex and violence. The former at least should not be explicit.
- There will be a one week posting deadline as to avoid you slowing down other players a bunch. If you are unable to make said deadline then please try and communicate this to the GMs.
- Auto hits and godmodding are not allowed.
- No meta gaming.
- Post character sheets in the OOC tab first! Only once they are approved can you move them to the character tab.
And then some special rules regarding the setting.
We allow both canon characters and OCs to be played. Although the events of the Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire happened centuries ago, those characters can be played, provided you can explain how they exist in the present (No need to worry, MLP canon provides plenty of explanations to use)
Next, I understand that some of you may want to play powerful characters like Discord and Tirek. We allow that, but certain limits are in place (you can be a god, but not a godmod).
In this game there are two kinds of "Deities": Spirit Gods and Incarnates. Both of these types have their own potentials, but also their limits,
Incarnate is a mortal who has ascended, gaining an Office to represent in the world. The Alicorn Princesses are Incarnates. Their powers are stable, and usually related to whatever is their Office is. An Incarnate can lose her Office, and the ascension, or gain additional ones (Celestia has one Office, Day, while Luna has two, Night and Dream). Incarnates typically manage themselves and get together rid of those who become Fallen (Nightmare Moon is an example of a Fallen Incarnate).
Spirit Gods are beings who are usually rather weak, sometimes less than mortal, but gain strength by causing and/or absorbing their Essence. For example, Discord's Essence is Madness, which is why he causes chaos, while Tirek's Essence is the Self, which he gains by absorbing symbols of identity, such as talents.
Basically, an Incarnate is strong, but must spend their existence taking care of their Office, and can risk losing it if other Incarnates so decide. Meanwhile Spirit Gods are typically rather weak, thus they usually need to be tactical.
And as can be seen many times in MLP, neither Incarnates or Spirit Gods are invincible.
Also, when a mortal becomes and Incarnate, their spcies change. Here are some mortals and their equivalents:
Human -> Hero
Equine -> Alicorn
Griffonkin (griffons, hippogriffs and the like) -> Simurgh
Bovine (yaks, minotaurs etc.) -> Apis
Homunculus -> ????
Other types may also exist. Dragons and changelings are Spirit Gods, so they don't have an Incarnate equivalent.
Character Sheets
Final Words
If you have any questions, suggestions or wishes regarding this game, you can ask them here or PM me.