Yes, this is a My Little Pony Roleplay, centered around the setting known as Equestria Divided. Here is a link that leads to a forum which has the majority of the information needed (reading the header about each Faction is recommended). This forum page doesn't have everything, so a quick google search will lead you to the rest. There are 6 factions in total, which means there are 2 missing from the forum page and the header image for the faction known as House Everfree. Every necessary information can be found with these two links. If, however, there are any questions left then feel free to ask me.
In Nómine
An Equestria Divided Role Playing Game
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In the beginning, there was Faust.
She stared out into the vast aether, the void between realms and felt a longing to fill it. For all was cold and dark, and she alone drifted through its expanse. She spread her wings, and lo, the cosmos were given birth. A single tear from her shining eyes became all of the seas. She placed a hoof and mountains rose from the level plains. Her sigh the eight winds of the earth. She placed two great shining orbs into the sky to give all Light.
Faust looked out over the land she had created; the lush forests, the rolling plains, the icy mountains and endless seas, and found it lacking. A world filled and a world empty. Faust looked deep within her, and found enough for one last act.
With the first verse came the Great Lords of Harmony and Discord, firstborn and mightiest of her brood. With them, Faust placed the easel of all creation within their power.
With the second verse came the Sisters Celestia and Luna, wardens of Faust’s Lights. With them, Faust placed dominion over all their light fell upon.
With the third verse came the last of Faust children, many in number and name, beings formed of her divine song. When they looked upon what their Mother had created, they bent the knee to the Sisters, to the Lords, and to Faust herself. These were the alicorns of old; wise and powerful beyond measure. With them, she placed all that remained; guardians of the land, sea, and sky and all within. They looked down on their Mother’s creation and smiled…
-An excerpt from ‘The Mother of us All’
There are countless legends throughout history. Tales of heroes and mighty battles. The ponies of old fought for freedom they cherish. For the honor they hold so dear. For the Sisters who they adored without question. We blessed them with summers that never ended, harvest that never failed, and foals that never ailed. But the arrow of time points in only one direct
Until at last we were remembered only in song and legend…
That is, until our Sisters had vanished. Now they would forget us complete. They cling to these… Houses of theirs and allow their hatred to rule all judgment.
With each passing day, the mortal races grow more daring. They dabble in forces beyond their comprehension and control. Seas of blood fertilize the barren salt sown land in their petty squabbles. They sacrifice their own to feed the hunger of eldritch spawn and let loose abominations upon the land. The dead walk amongst the living. Creatures and spirits from Elsewhere poison the mortal minds and will to their bidding. Those blessed with magic dare try to walk where we alone may tred. They knock upon the very wall of the Astral Plane, and a poison seeps into the realm of the Divine.
They have destroyed Faust’s paradise. The flower is wilting and our power wanes with it. They have forsaken us.
Equestria’s darkest hour has come… and we will no longer be remembered as just fairy tales anymore. A consensus has been reached amongst we few. Now, for right or ruin, we shall return. All of Equestria will tremble before us and bend the knee. For those who resist… well…
We all know what happens to thing that cannot bend.
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Welcome to Equestria Divided RPG: In Nómine.
The idea behind this RP is that it is now twenty years after the start of Yorick’s universe (five years after official present canon). The war between the houses has escalated to all new heights and none of the sides show any signs of truce. Hundreds of thousands have been thrown into the war machine and the damage is extensive. Hunger, poverty and disease run rampant through city streets and hundreds die in combat daily. The once beautiful Equestria is no more. It is a wild and dangerous place. Ponykind’s gods have abandoned them, and thus, the ponies have forgotten them.
Until one day… they return.
That’s right. I’m encouraging you to make Alicorns. Let that sink in for a moment.
Your god, for their own reasons or at the will of another, has descended from the Astral Plane and Eternal Fields to walk upon the mortal ponies once more. Maybe you come to try to end the current conflict; maybe you wish to expand it. Perhaps you feel this is the time to carve out your own niche and form your own kingdom, or try to fill in the power void that Celestia and Luna left? Will you raise an army and your own banner? Will your name be the one that fills the voices in choirs and cathedrals? Will you make war against your fellow brethren, or work together?
That is for you alone to decide.
To be fair, I should say this RP takes place 3 months AFTER the return of the alicorns. You, of course, will write the prior of how they came to Equestria. Grand return and all that, and help set the stage, and then we step into current events.
Now, before many of you balk about the absurdity, I have to ask; is it absurd? In nearly all mythologies, there have been stories in which the Gods themselves would walk and act amongst mortals. The most famous, of these would undoubtly be the greek pantheon, who took sides and even fought in the battles of Troy. The same goes for the omniscient and all knowing bit too; the Greek Gods weren’t and neither are these alicorns.
Now, your gods are powerful, but not all powerful. To put in comparison, these alicorns would be weaker than Celestia and Luna, but far more powerful than Cadance or even Twilicorn (if she existed in this universe). If you could have tiers, imagine Faust being Tier 1, Discord and Harmony Tier 2, Celestia and Luna Tier 3, and now we’re Tier 4, with Cadance/Twily/mortal alicorns at Tier 7 or 8.
Now, personally, I’m a little surprised by what people consider an RPG. Ladies and gents, this is going to be a simple freeform text RP without all the extra bells and whistles. No dice or rules of movement, character sheets, monster books, game masters, ect. This is intended to be purely shared storytelling narrative between equals following a few basic guidelines above which I shall take the responsibility to moderate. We start with the basic premise, and we’ll go with the winds that take us. Anyone can contribute (but not control, myself included) the plot and flow of the story. There can even be multiple story lines going on if you or someone else want to focus on them.
Please only join if you can post frequently as folks who go too long without posting will be pruned from the game. Multiple/few times a day is preferable (more on post length below), but no one is going to come at you with pitchforks and torches if you can only write once a day. Unless like, y’know, there’s a mob with pitchforks and torches coming after your character. Point is, we’ll try to work around your character in absence, but if you up and vanish, their life expectancy will decrease suddenly. It is surprising how often people die via stray arrows to the knee…
If for some reason a player informs me that they will becomes unable to post or need to stop altogether, said character will be requested to a) killed off, b) Separate from the group via story or plot, of C) failing the previous two, we’ll come up with something that results your guy vanishing into obscurity.
This is meant to be a game of intrigue, war, and betrayal with adult themes and real consequences. Due to the nature of the source material, this game will be rated ‘Mature’ and I ASSUME by joining that you lot are mature enough to participate. I encourage graphic description of gore and conflict, to whatever you and others feel comfortable with. Obviously, if you wind up writing the next Cupcakes and somebody is bothered by it, you’ll have to scale back.
In regards to clop, that is forbidden in this RP. Your character wants to make a perverted joke in a tavern, go ahead. That sort of stuff is permissible. You want to bump uglies in the bushes, go do it in the PMs or another RP. Romance and off scene stuff can happen, but nothing that can be considered ‘lime’, ‘lemon’, or ‘softcore’. Look, just make both our lives easier and don’t have sex with anyone. You have sex, you die. Proven fact.
Me: My name is Kapuchu (and Dawnscroll, my co-conspirator) and as the Alicorn God (actually, I AM an Alicorn God!) Mod of this RP, my job will be to sit back, sip this mojito, and make sure you darn kids don’t break the neighbors’ windows.
No seriously. I’m not a mod who will control plot, character interactions, or even the appearance of villains. I’m giving everyone in this RP (nearly) full creative freedom for the happenings of the RP. Nothing contrived, nothing that’s outside of the realm, and nothing absurd. Now, obviously the idea of ‘Lord Caxatur from the 11iethbillion dimension and flaming sword of starblood’ is out of the question for a villain. I’m not here to control the plot. What you produce has to be of good quality, and has to be cleared with the people you’re working with if its big or a plot line sorta bit. No need to go into uber detail, just shoot everyone involved a PM or add something here in OOC about what you vaguely want to do.
Course, I’m not completely lazy. I’m still a mod, will also help settle any disputes and offer information asked for by the players. Just here to keep the peace folks.
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Da Rulez
Not to be confused with ‘The Rules’ or ‘Da Rulz’
A few rules to follow for this game.
I. No god-mode. Yes, considering most of you will be playing as GODS, this almost seems counterintuitive, but I’ll get to this in a bit at the botttom. Few things in a freeform game are as annoying as a God-Mode player. The sort that pull random things out of their tails to dominate the story, making up powers and assets on the fly without any explanation and always expect things to go their character’s way. While I DO encourage creativity, that does not mean that your pegasus pony ‘suddenly’ gains the ability to make anvils rain from the sky just because you are surrounded by wildlings that want to turn you into bitesized pony-bits. As Mod, I WILL react with the force of a.. no wait, TWO sonic rain-nukes at such blatantly outlandish things. If you do something incredibly stupid that will warrant death (Like for instance attempting to assassinate Lady Rarity in the name of the Cult in the middle of her Court when she’s surrounding by guards, by breaking wind in her general direction) then don’t expect to just be able to just say ‘whoopse’ and walk away. Injury and death is a REAL possibility in this game. And if you DO decide to Ezio your way out of there, for heaven’s sake, write it as a realistic possibility for your character.
II. Story is King: My approach to any RP. Characters come and go and plots will be twisted and subverted (take that as you will) but all things that happen must progress the story of these characters, their interactions, and the interactions they have with the rest of the world. The better your description of your actions, the more you can do and the better everybody else can react to them. It is critical in these sorts of games to play attention to what your fellow players are doing in character. With this now being said, I’d like to point out an absolutely brilliant freaking RP called the ‘Caravan’ led by none other than our beloved L2L. If you read it, you’d be in awe at the amazing length and detail she and her crew go into each of their posts. Pretty freaking sweet, right?
To people that have a tendency to create exceptionally long posts, this section is practically directed to you. I’m not asking that from you. I’d actually like to discourage it. Not the incredible detail or writing of course! But rather, the length and wait time between responses. Reading the Caravan is like reading each post as the chapter of a much bigger story. Its mouthwatering incredibly good, but it's also slow and character interaction seems minimal, primarily because people in that and other RPs each have their own plot with their character, and NPCs to support merely that plot. Its like reading Game of Thrones. Interaction is something I heavily encourage (just like multiple posts!). Let’s build this plot together and our characters interact.
Therefor, for posts, I’m asking a minimal of a few paragraphs for each post. Keep detail and writing skill high. No need to write 8k word posts or anything like that. I mean, if you want to do that for your opener, go ahead. More power to you, and THAT is supported. But Im not asking for you to (and would prefer that you not) write a book with each post.
III. Mutual Character Approval: While I am not adverse to the player control of NPC’s so long as they keep in character, and everyone handle's their own NPCS, puppeting another player’s character is STRICTLY forbidden. If the green pegasus and yellow earth pony get into a fight, the green pegasus cannot write up a complete curb stomp battle description declaring herself the winner without the consent and input of the yellow earth pony’s player. While I am happy to help moderate such things, I would ask that players work out between themselves how such interactions will go and come to a mutually acceptable outcome. If need be, I’ll take the facts about the situation, and promptly chuck them out the window. We're all mature adults, and if you two can't play nice, don't play at all. That said, I will not ‘execute’ a player without permission or warning. While players can die, they will have full control of when they wish their characters to die. Just write it realistic, plausible, and no deus ex. Other characters MAY have to come save your ass. You may have you character’s death as a complete surprise to shock us all. Also, if a player grows bored with or wants to go in a different direction plot wise, again, PM the people you’re with of write it here in the OOC.
IV. Meta-gaming: Please keep in character information IN character and out of character information OUT of character. Just because the yellow earth pony has revealed to the green pegasus that she is a member of the Cult of Laughter does not mean that the blue unicorn who was not anywhere near the scene at the time knows about it. This game will have many twists, secrets, and (hopefully) dramatic reveals, but try to keep track of what it is your characters know about your ‘allies’ and what is to be discussed ‘in character’.
V. Format: Please use proper narrative. Italics for thoughts, “speaking in quotations” and such to make it clear what is being thought and what is said. Use the ‘quotes’ boxes (ala [-quote-] OOC stuff [-/quote]) when speaking out of character such as to ask questions, comment on things happening as a player instead of pony. I, and nobody else will go ape-crazy on you for minor spelling and grammatical mistakes. We all make them. If you ‘rite liek dis, hten I afraid ur dead bro.’ Arrow to the knee.
VI. Godly Rules – Since there’s gods in this RP, we need to establish some ground rules.
1) The first rule of immortality is that one day you will die. Just like the gods in most mythologies, you are powerful. You are immortal. And you can be killed. Now that you have left the Astral plane, you are subject to the same rules. While an alicorn can take far more punishment than a mortal, they have their own breaking points. A single foot soldier could do nothing against you. An army, or another god, would be an entirely different story.
2) You cannot create life. That is to say, you cannot create something from nothing. That alone belonged to Faust and the Lords. You cannot will a pony or creature into existence, and not even you can bring the dead back to life. A forest or nature god, however, could urge a forest to grow around them or for plants to grow a certain way or speed.
3) You cannot control that which is not yours. Fire god has no control over water. That sort of idea.
4) You are not omniscient. You do not know everything that was or will be. You cannot see the future. You cannot be everywhere at once. Imagine like the greek gods; they were able to lie and cheat and trick each other. Your character might know things, but they do not know everything, nor can they.
5) Collateral Damage. I’m allowing it. Extensively.
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Characters
To submit a character, please use the following template as an example. I will need to approve any character that is presented, but this is mostly to just trim out any rough spots and make sure nopony is OP.
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Name- (Please try to keep in regular Equestrian tradition. So no Georges, Geoffs or Greggs. Greenbean, Graphite, and . You may also use more ‘unusual’ names for your divine being, so long as it correlates to their sphere. Celestia-Day and Sun, Luna- Moon and Night)
Species – (Self explanatory.)
Gender – (You have two options. PICK ONE. I shouldn’t have to explain this, but my god, I have seen things man…)
Coat/Eyes/Mane/Cutie Mark: (Their appearance in general. Go into as much or as little detail as you want. Add weapons, cloaks, whatever. Please try to keep a ‘normal’ color scheme. Pretty much anything is allowed, but be realistic. If you make your guy black with blood red hair, I’ll bite my tongue in disdain, but I’ll still pass them. If you give them rainbow colored hair, bat wings, and golden hooves, I shouldn’t have to tell you what will happen. Arrow. Knee. You do the math. If you’re an alicorn, I do encourage a little ‘oomf’ to some trait of your character. Celestia’s hair flows with solar wind, and Luna’s is filled with stars. I see no reason why a Nature god, for example, couldn’t have flowers grow and die in their footsteps or such.)
Cutie marks should obviously correlate to your special talent. However, in regards to Divine Beings, you are allowed to have a bit more of an abstract cutiemark.)
Ponies Only – This is for all mortal characters
Special Talent: (WHAT exactly their cutie mark represents. It doesn’t need to be super specific; Rarity’s three gems represent her ability to find gemstones, but on another pony it could be a jeweler, a gem cutter, a miner, a designer, ect. So long as the mark can correlate with the talent somehow, its all good. Obviously don’t make talent OP, but don’t feel like you need to hold back. Ponies get their marks for being good at things.)
Occupation: (What they are currently doing at this point and time as a profession)
Affiliation: (Is your pony loyal to any of the houses or dieties?)
Personality: (Don’t need to know the inner psychological working of your character in every expressed detail. But give us something that makes him seem real. You should put a few good lines into this part and flesh them out. One line, one-dimensional, or stereotypical characters will be rejected.)
Other: (Literally, anything else you folks can think of. Anything you want to add or put here about the character that you couldn't find a spot for.
Back-story : (For their bio, I’m being generous: You may put as much or as little as you want here.The reason why is because there ARE things people generally want to reveal via story or plot lines. They have history or things they want to tell other characters. There for, no need to give away those juicy parts, and can keep the entire bio vague if you want. You still need to give us SOMETHING, but like personality, make it a good paragraph or two and just make it something to chew on.)
Divine Only – This is for all alicorn characters
Spheres of influence: A sphere of influence is essentially what your character is god or goddess of. In the idea that Apollo was god of prophecy, music, intellectual pursuits, healing, and sometimes, the sun, you too should claim one or more spheres of influence. This is likely going to be the part that I will reject frequently, to lower the possibility of power abuse or mary sues. For instance, you can’t be the god of Order. This falls under Harmony’s dominion, no can you be God of the Stars, because Luna controls the stars under her influence of the Night.
Powers and abilities: Self-explanatory and should correlate with your spheres of influence. This is less ‘magic’ and more natural ability. As an alicorn, you are already blessed with the traits of unicorn, earth, and pegasi. But Luna could walk among dreams and controlled the night sky, among other things.
Seat of Power: A seat of power is where your character has claimed as the stronghold of your dominion. It can be for strategic location or because of your own personal reasons. For instance, a God of the forest or nature of some sort might chose ‘The Cave of Life’ in the Everfree as their seat of power. Or, they might choose the ‘Heart of the Everfree’. You can choose wherever you like, but it is entirely up to you to describe what such a location would look like in your RP posts. A map of Yorick's Equestria, as well as various seat of Power can be found HERE.
Number of followers: How many ponies have pledged themselves to your cause? The number does not equate to how powerful they or their followers are. Does your character work with a few trust worthy groups hiding you in secrete, or do they have thousands of followers ready to die in your name?
Divine Blessing: A gift bestowed on your faithful, if you choose to give one at all. It can be an overall blessing or physical tool for them to use, and must correlate to your god’s sphere of influence. Ex: A god of the sea might give his faithful the ability to breathe under water, or maybe even allowed to walk on its surface. You only get to give one, however.
Purpose: Why did your character descend from the unknown heavens and return to Equestria? Was it to fill the void of power left by Celestia and Luna’s disappearance? Rule Equestria for themselves? Maybe they are just content to be worshipped, or they have come to erase the Sisters’ mistakes from the face of the earth. There is a purpose which compelled them here, and let us know it.
Divine Flaw: A flaw or weakness in your characters personality or beliefs which contrasts with the idea of an ‘infalliable’ or perfect god. For instance, one could argue that Celestia’s Divine flaw was her reliance on schemes and plots to achieve her ends, or that Luna’s was her jealousy. Or to give a more common knowledge example, Zeus’s; his ridiculous pride and stubbornness, coupled with his adultery with mortal women.
Other: (Literally, anything else you folks can think of. Anything you want to add or put here about the character that you couldn't find a spot for.)
In the beginning, there was Faust.
She stared out into the vast aether, the void between realms and felt a longing to fill it. For all was cold and dark, and she alone drifted through its expanse. She spread her wings, and lo, the cosmos were given birth. A single tear from her shining eyes became all of the seas. She placed a hoof and mountains rose from the level plains. Her sigh the eight winds of the earth. She placed two great shining orbs into the sky to give all Light.
Faust looked out over the land she had created; the lush forests, the rolling plains, the icy mountains and endless seas, and found it lacking. A world filled and a world empty. Faust looked deep within her, and found enough for one last act.
With the first verse came the Great Lords of Harmony and Discord, firstborn and mightiest of her brood. With them, Faust placed the easel of all creation within their power.
With the second verse came the Sisters Celestia and Luna, wardens of Faust’s Lights. With them, Faust placed dominion over all their light fell upon.
With the third verse came the last of Faust children, many in number and name, beings formed of her divine song. When they looked upon what their Mother had created, they bent the knee to the Sisters, to the Lords, and to Faust herself. These were the alicorns of old; wise and powerful beyond measure. With them, she placed all that remained; guardians of the land, sea, and sky and all within. They looked down on their Mother’s creation and smiled…
-An excerpt from ‘The Mother of us All’
There are countless legends throughout history. Tales of heroes and mighty battles. The ponies of old fought for freedom they cherish. For the honor they hold so dear. For the Sisters who they adored without question. We blessed them with summers that never ended, harvest that never failed, and foals that never ailed. But the arrow of time points in only one direct
Until at last we were remembered only in song and legend…
That is, until our Sisters had vanished. Now they would forget us complete. They cling to these… Houses of theirs and allow their hatred to rule all judgment.
With each passing day, the mortal races grow more daring. They dabble in forces beyond their comprehension and control. Seas of blood fertilize the barren salt sown land in their petty squabbles. They sacrifice their own to feed the hunger of eldritch spawn and let loose abominations upon the land. The dead walk amongst the living. Creatures and spirits from Elsewhere poison the mortal minds and will to their bidding. Those blessed with magic dare try to walk where we alone may tred. They knock upon the very wall of the Astral Plane, and a poison seeps into the realm of the Divine.
They have destroyed Faust’s paradise. The flower is wilting and our power wanes with it. They have forsaken us.
Equestria’s darkest hour has come… and we will no longer be remembered as just fairy tales anymore. A consensus has been reached amongst we few. Now, for right or ruin, we shall return. All of Equestria will tremble before us and bend the knee. For those who resist… well…
We all know what happens to thing that cannot bend.
Welcome to Equestria Divided RPG: In Nómine.
The idea behind this RP is that it is now twenty years after the start of Yorick’s universe (five years after official present canon). The war between the houses has escalated to all new heights and none of the sides show any signs of truce. Hundreds of thousands have been thrown into the war machine and the damage is extensive. Hunger, poverty and disease run rampant through city streets and hundreds die in combat daily. The once beautiful Equestria is no more. It is a wild and dangerous place. Ponykind’s gods have abandoned them, and thus, the ponies have forgotten them.
Until one day… they return.
That’s right. I’m encouraging you to make Alicorns. Let that sink in for a moment.
Your god, for their own reasons or at the will of another, has descended from the Astral Plane and Eternal Fields to walk upon the mortal ponies once more. Maybe you come to try to end the current conflict; maybe you wish to expand it. Perhaps you feel this is the time to carve out your own niche and form your own kingdom, or try to fill in the power void that Celestia and Luna left? Will you raise an army and your own banner? Will your name be the one that fills the voices in choirs and cathedrals? Will you make war against your fellow brethren, or work together?
That is for you alone to decide.
To be fair, I should say this RP takes place 3 months AFTER the return of the alicorns. You, of course, will write the prior of how they came to Equestria. Grand return and all that, and help set the stage, and then we step into current events.
Now, before many of you balk about the absurdity, I have to ask; is it absurd? In nearly all mythologies, there have been stories in which the Gods themselves would walk and act amongst mortals. The most famous, of these would undoubtly be the greek pantheon, who took sides and even fought in the battles of Troy. The same goes for the omniscient and all knowing bit too; the Greek Gods weren’t and neither are these alicorns.
Now, your gods are powerful, but not all powerful. To put in comparison, these alicorns would be weaker than Celestia and Luna, but far more powerful than Cadance or even Twilicorn (if she existed in this universe). If you could have tiers, imagine Faust being Tier 1, Discord and Harmony Tier 2, Celestia and Luna Tier 3, and now we’re Tier 4, with Cadance/Twily/mortal alicorns at Tier 7 or 8.
Now, personally, I’m a little surprised by what people consider an RPG. Ladies and gents, this is going to be a simple freeform text RP without all the extra bells and whistles. No dice or rules of movement, character sheets, monster books, game masters, ect. This is intended to be purely shared storytelling narrative between equals following a few basic guidelines above which I shall take the responsibility to moderate. We start with the basic premise, and we’ll go with the winds that take us. Anyone can contribute (but not control, myself included) the plot and flow of the story. There can even be multiple story lines going on if you or someone else want to focus on them.
Please only join if you can post frequently as folks who go too long without posting will be pruned from the game. Multiple/few times a day is preferable (more on post length below), but no one is going to come at you with pitchforks and torches if you can only write once a day. Unless like, y’know, there’s a mob with pitchforks and torches coming after your character. Point is, we’ll try to work around your character in absence, but if you up and vanish, their life expectancy will decrease suddenly. It is surprising how often people die via stray arrows to the knee…
If for some reason a player informs me that they will becomes unable to post or need to stop altogether, said character will be requested to a) killed off, b) Separate from the group via story or plot, of C) failing the previous two, we’ll come up with something that results your guy vanishing into obscurity.
This is meant to be a game of intrigue, war, and betrayal with adult themes and real consequences. Due to the nature of the source material, this game will be rated ‘Mature’ and I ASSUME by joining that you lot are mature enough to participate. I encourage graphic description of gore and conflict, to whatever you and others feel comfortable with. Obviously, if you wind up writing the next Cupcakes and somebody is bothered by it, you’ll have to scale back.
In regards to clop, that is forbidden in this RP. Your character wants to make a perverted joke in a tavern, go ahead. That sort of stuff is permissible. You want to bump uglies in the bushes, go do it in the PMs or another RP. Romance and off scene stuff can happen, but nothing that can be considered ‘lime’, ‘lemon’, or ‘softcore’. Look, just make both our lives easier and don’t have sex with anyone. You have sex, you die. Proven fact.
Me: My name is Kapuchu (and Dawnscroll, my co-conspirator) and as the Alicorn God (actually, I AM an Alicorn God!) Mod of this RP, my job will be to sit back, sip this mojito, and make sure you darn kids don’t break the neighbors’ windows.
No seriously. I’m not a mod who will control plot, character interactions, or even the appearance of villains. I’m giving everyone in this RP (nearly) full creative freedom for the happenings of the RP. Nothing contrived, nothing that’s outside of the realm, and nothing absurd. Now, obviously the idea of ‘Lord Caxatur from the 11iethbillion dimension and flaming sword of starblood’ is out of the question for a villain. I’m not here to control the plot. What you produce has to be of good quality, and has to be cleared with the people you’re working with if its big or a plot line sorta bit. No need to go into uber detail, just shoot everyone involved a PM or add something here in OOC about what you vaguely want to do.
Course, I’m not completely lazy. I’m still a mod, will also help settle any disputes and offer information asked for by the players. Just here to keep the peace folks.
A few rules to follow for this game.
I. No god-mode. Yes, considering most of you will be playing as GODS, this almost seems counterintuitive, but I’ll get to this in a bit at the botttom. Few things in a freeform game are as annoying as a God-Mode player. The sort that pull random things out of their tails to dominate the story, making up powers and assets on the fly without any explanation and always expect things to go their character’s way. While I DO encourage creativity, that does not mean that your pegasus pony ‘suddenly’ gains the ability to make anvils rain from the sky just because you are surrounded by wildlings that want to turn you into bitesized pony-bits. As Mod, I WILL react with the force of a.. no wait, TWO sonic rain-nukes at such blatantly outlandish things. If you do something incredibly stupid that will warrant death (Like for instance attempting to assassinate Lady Rarity in the name of the Cult in the middle of her Court when she’s surrounding by guards, by breaking wind in her general direction) then don’t expect to just be able to just say ‘whoopse’ and walk away. Injury and death is a REAL possibility in this game. And if you DO decide to Ezio your way out of there, for heaven’s sake, write it as a realistic possibility for your character.
II. Story is King: My approach to any RP. Characters come and go and plots will be twisted and subverted (take that as you will) but all things that happen must progress the story of these characters, their interactions, and the interactions they have with the rest of the world. The better your description of your actions, the more you can do and the better everybody else can react to them. It is critical in these sorts of games to play attention to what your fellow players are doing in character. With this now being said, I’d like to point out an absolutely brilliant freaking RP called the ‘Caravan’ led by none other than our beloved L2L. If you read it, you’d be in awe at the amazing length and detail she and her crew go into each of their posts. Pretty freaking sweet, right?
To people that have a tendency to create exceptionally long posts, this section is practically directed to you. I’m not asking that from you. I’d actually like to discourage it. Not the incredible detail or writing of course! But rather, the length and wait time between responses. Reading the Caravan is like reading each post as the chapter of a much bigger story. Its mouthwatering incredibly good, but it's also slow and character interaction seems minimal, primarily because people in that and other RPs each have their own plot with their character, and NPCs to support merely that plot. Its like reading Game of Thrones. Interaction is something I heavily encourage (just like multiple posts!). Let’s build this plot together and our characters interact.
Therefor, for posts, I’m asking a minimal of a few paragraphs for each post. Keep detail and writing skill high. No need to write 8k word posts or anything like that. I mean, if you want to do that for your opener, go ahead. More power to you, and THAT is supported. But Im not asking for you to (and would prefer that you not) write a book with each post.
III. Mutual Character Approval: While I am not adverse to the player control of NPC’s so long as they keep in character, and everyone handle's their own NPCS, puppeting another player’s character is STRICTLY forbidden. If the green pegasus and yellow earth pony get into a fight, the green pegasus cannot write up a complete curb stomp battle description declaring herself the winner without the consent and input of the yellow earth pony’s player. While I am happy to help moderate such things, I would ask that players work out between themselves how such interactions will go and come to a mutually acceptable outcome. If need be, I’ll take the facts about the situation, and promptly chuck them out the window. We're all mature adults, and if you two can't play nice, don't play at all. That said, I will not ‘execute’ a player without permission or warning. While players can die, they will have full control of when they wish their characters to die. Just write it realistic, plausible, and no deus ex. Other characters MAY have to come save your ass. You may have you character’s death as a complete surprise to shock us all. Also, if a player grows bored with or wants to go in a different direction plot wise, again, PM the people you’re with of write it here in the OOC.
IV. Meta-gaming: Please keep in character information IN character and out of character information OUT of character. Just because the yellow earth pony has revealed to the green pegasus that she is a member of the Cult of Laughter does not mean that the blue unicorn who was not anywhere near the scene at the time knows about it. This game will have many twists, secrets, and (hopefully) dramatic reveals, but try to keep track of what it is your characters know about your ‘allies’ and what is to be discussed ‘in character’.
V. Format: Please use proper narrative. Italics for thoughts, “speaking in quotations” and such to make it clear what is being thought and what is said. Use the ‘quotes’ boxes (ala [-quote-] OOC stuff [-/quote]) when speaking out of character such as to ask questions, comment on things happening as a player instead of pony. I, and nobody else will go ape-crazy on you for minor spelling and grammatical mistakes. We all make them. If you ‘rite liek dis, hten I afraid ur dead bro.’ Arrow to the knee.
VI. Godly Rules – Since there’s gods in this RP, we need to establish some ground rules.
1) The first rule of immortality is that one day you will die. Just like the gods in most mythologies, you are powerful. You are immortal. And you can be killed. Now that you have left the Astral plane, you are subject to the same rules. While an alicorn can take far more punishment than a mortal, they have their own breaking points. A single foot soldier could do nothing against you. An army, or another god, would be an entirely different story.
2) You cannot create life. That is to say, you cannot create something from nothing. That alone belonged to Faust and the Lords. You cannot will a pony or creature into existence, and not even you can bring the dead back to life. A forest or nature god, however, could urge a forest to grow around them or for plants to grow a certain way or speed.
3) You cannot control that which is not yours. Fire god has no control over water. That sort of idea.
4) You are not omniscient. You do not know everything that was or will be. You cannot see the future. You cannot be everywhere at once. Imagine like the greek gods; they were able to lie and cheat and trick each other. Your character might know things, but they do not know everything, nor can they.
5) Collateral Damage. I’m allowing it. Extensively.
To submit a character, please use the following template as an example. I will need to approve any character that is presented, but this is mostly to just trim out any rough spots and make sure nopony is OP.
Name- (Please try to keep in regular Equestrian tradition. So no Georges, Geoffs or Greggs. Greenbean, Graphite, and . You may also use more ‘unusual’ names for your divine being, so long as it correlates to their sphere. Celestia-Day and Sun, Luna- Moon and Night)
Species – (Self explanatory.)
Gender – (You have two options. PICK ONE. I shouldn’t have to explain this, but my god, I have seen things man…)
Coat/Eyes/Mane/Cutie Mark: (Their appearance in general. Go into as much or as little detail as you want. Add weapons, cloaks, whatever. Please try to keep a ‘normal’ color scheme. Pretty much anything is allowed, but be realistic. If you make your guy black with blood red hair, I’ll bite my tongue in disdain, but I’ll still pass them. If you give them rainbow colored hair, bat wings, and golden hooves, I shouldn’t have to tell you what will happen. Arrow. Knee. You do the math. If you’re an alicorn, I do encourage a little ‘oomf’ to some trait of your character. Celestia’s hair flows with solar wind, and Luna’s is filled with stars. I see no reason why a Nature god, for example, couldn’t have flowers grow and die in their footsteps or such.)
Cutie marks should obviously correlate to your special talent. However, in regards to Divine Beings, you are allowed to have a bit more of an abstract cutiemark.)
Ponies Only – This is for all mortal characters
Special Talent: (WHAT exactly their cutie mark represents. It doesn’t need to be super specific; Rarity’s three gems represent her ability to find gemstones, but on another pony it could be a jeweler, a gem cutter, a miner, a designer, ect. So long as the mark can correlate with the talent somehow, its all good. Obviously don’t make talent OP, but don’t feel like you need to hold back. Ponies get their marks for being good at things.)
Occupation: (What they are currently doing at this point and time as a profession)
Affiliation: (Is your pony loyal to any of the houses or dieties?)
Personality: (Don’t need to know the inner psychological working of your character in every expressed detail. But give us something that makes him seem real. You should put a few good lines into this part and flesh them out. One line, one-dimensional, or stereotypical characters will be rejected.)
Other: (Literally, anything else you folks can think of. Anything you want to add or put here about the character that you couldn't find a spot for.
Back-story : (For their bio, I’m being generous: You may put as much or as little as you want here.The reason why is because there ARE things people generally want to reveal via story or plot lines. They have history or things they want to tell other characters. There for, no need to give away those juicy parts, and can keep the entire bio vague if you want. You still need to give us SOMETHING, but like personality, make it a good paragraph or two and just make it something to chew on.)
Divine Only – This is for all alicorn characters
Spheres of influence: A sphere of influence is essentially what your character is god or goddess of. In the idea that Apollo was god of prophecy, music, intellectual pursuits, healing, and sometimes, the sun, you too should claim one or more spheres of influence. This is likely going to be the part that I will reject frequently, to lower the possibility of power abuse or mary sues. For instance, you can’t be the god of Order. This falls under Harmony’s dominion, no can you be God of the Stars, because Luna controls the stars under her influence of the Night.
Powers and abilities: Self-explanatory and should correlate with your spheres of influence. This is less ‘magic’ and more natural ability. As an alicorn, you are already blessed with the traits of unicorn, earth, and pegasi. But Luna could walk among dreams and controlled the night sky, among other things.
Seat of Power: A seat of power is where your character has claimed as the stronghold of your dominion. It can be for strategic location or because of your own personal reasons. For instance, a God of the forest or nature of some sort might chose ‘The Cave of Life’ in the Everfree as their seat of power. Or, they might choose the ‘Heart of the Everfree’. You can choose wherever you like, but it is entirely up to you to describe what such a location would look like in your RP posts. A map of Yorick's Equestria, as well as various seat of Power can be found HERE.
Number of followers: How many ponies have pledged themselves to your cause? The number does not equate to how powerful they or their followers are. Does your character work with a few trust worthy groups hiding you in secrete, or do they have thousands of followers ready to die in your name?
Divine Blessing: A gift bestowed on your faithful, if you choose to give one at all. It can be an overall blessing or physical tool for them to use, and must correlate to your god’s sphere of influence. Ex: A god of the sea might give his faithful the ability to breathe under water, or maybe even allowed to walk on its surface. You only get to give one, however.
Purpose: Why did your character descend from the unknown heavens and return to Equestria? Was it to fill the void of power left by Celestia and Luna’s disappearance? Rule Equestria for themselves? Maybe they are just content to be worshipped, or they have come to erase the Sisters’ mistakes from the face of the earth. There is a purpose which compelled them here, and let us know it.
Divine Flaw: A flaw or weakness in your characters personality or beliefs which contrasts with the idea of an ‘infalliable’ or perfect god. For instance, one could argue that Celestia’s Divine flaw was her reliance on schemes and plots to achieve her ends, or that Luna’s was her jealousy. Or to give a more common knowledge example, Zeus’s; his ridiculous pride and stubbornness, coupled with his adultery with mortal women.
Other: (Literally, anything else you folks can think of. Anything you want to add or put here about the character that you couldn't find a spot for.)