Imperfectionist

Danger! Excitement! Adventure

-shrug- I would, but I don't know enough about it to give the mythology justice. And, we do need some original ideas, not just a patchwork of myths from around the world...

:P Those are still a secret, though.

EDIT: As for Pony Europe, I also had some thoughts on that (it being an archipelago of sorts about half-way between the Elkwood and Equestria), and we may go there, but I don't have any story planned so far for it...

While I'm talking about story, once it actually starts again (ugh), don't be afraid to have your characters make plot-changing decisions! I have a general idea of what I'd like the NPCs to do, of course, but you're all free to trailblaze however you wish! Thought you'd like to know.

Dear Apprentices...

Okay, I've let the idea sit for a bit, and I'm backing away from the languages, in favor of having her be a less specific (and slightly more flawed) know-it-all... :) So, the sheet is in the works. I'll edit it into this post when it's done.

Danger! Excitement! Adventure

:) The ponies already have Greece. Equestria has a ton of creatures and ideas based around Ancient Greece (the Pegasi and the Hydra, off the top of my head), mixed liberally with Medieval Europe (esp. the "ancient Equestria", like Starswirl the Bearded) and the modern day USA...

I did have a thought for the homeland of the minotaurs, though, and it will probably turn out pretty Greece-like.

Danger! Excitement! Adventure

I knew this was a good idea.

As for the cats, well... I hate to admit it, but my thought was Persia. Because, you know, "Purrsia"...

x.x Yeah, Egypt might be better. It'll still work with my plans, as well, because the Purrsians were going to be neighbors to Saddle Arabia, and Egypt is also a neighbor of Arabia in real life (just to the West, instead of the East). Yes, yes, good stuff.

As for the ancient America, it's also in the works, as the jungle located directly South of the Badlands. To maintain that Daring Do's Cottage was on the edge of Equestria, the jungle would be bordering the Equestrian South-West US/Northern Mexico-based San Palomino desert, before it morphs into the more Sahara/Arabian Peninsula-based Camelu desert, which is where Saddle Arabia and our as-of-yet unnamed catty Egypt will be... I haven't decided an animal for them yet, though. Maybe leopards, cousins of the smaller Egyptian cats (just like the Arabian horses are somewhat related to the ponies)? That could work. What do you think?

EDIT: Sorry, Crimson, future-tech just wouldn't fit in. Even the ponies' technology is all based on magic, you know? It doesn't have to be ancient, just more mythological than not (Saddle Arabia, for instance, is based on the mystical Arabia of legend, with djinn and alchemy and flying carpets and all that good stuff).

Danger! Excitement! Adventure

Ohoho, don't you worry, Rune. :P I've been planning for that since I first read the sheet. Conflict indeed.

:) Any thoughts on possible civilizations we may come across?

Danger! Excitement! Adventure

Alright, so, I'm at a point where I think I should take some suggestions!!

I would love to have ideas that aren't just my own, for this specific game and any future renditions. Think about your characters, situations you think would help them grow, places to visit that would interest them or create some kind of conflict, whatever you want. I have something of a plan already, but it's entirely possible (even likely) that your ideas are better than mine!

In any case, I really want to see what you'll come up with, and as an added bonus, ;) discussing these things might make for a more lively OOC in this little interim period we're having.

Shattermane Academy |Rise of the Dragoons.|

:) Thanks for the responses, but I don't know, druple. That works as an okay rule of thumb, but maybe in general it should just be left up to the player to interpret (and then if they overstep what you think is appropriate, you tell them so). That's the least-limiting way that I can see, considering the massive variety of possible combat situations. Allows for more drama, or what have you.

Anyway, I'm really more interested in out-of-combat applications, and whether Flawless Study is limited to individuals or not.

Shattermane Academy |Rise of the Dragoons.|

Hmm. I have a question about the Artes, and considering the above two pages of argument, I assure you, I don't mean to offend, I am only curious. Perhaps all of this is left up to the players' artistic license? I mean, I can see a lot of interesting applications of the various Artes, both in-combat and out (while keeping their downsides intact), but it's entirely possible you want them to be a bit more rigid, and that's fine.

So, say my Dragoon has mastered Whisper Haste and Flawless Study, allowing her to be some sort of field tactician (physically more frail than the others, but with a highly developed mind; she gives tactical advice and points out weak spots for the others to attack, plots ambushes, all that good stuff, while Whisper Haste allows her to avoid damage during fights). The problem is, none of the Artes have quantifiable durations. So, how long does a Study take? Are certain enemies easier or harder to figure out? Can there be an adapted application of Flawless Study for perceiving group tactics instead of individual abilities? Can it be used outside of combat, for a kind of Sherlock Holmes "pick up on all the details and make deductions" thing?

Same thing for Whisper Haste. Just how long can a Whisperer dodge before the sluggish aftereffects start? Does it have to be "activated", like a spell (and then it always lasts for a set amount of time), or does it have more to do with the number of attacks dodged in succession? For example, my tactician is fighting a single, weak opponent, and she knows she'll only need to dodge a single attack to be able to kill it. Can she use her Haste on that single attack, kill the beast, and be on her merry way, or does she have to be needlessly Hasted for an excess of however many seconds, then succumb to the clumsiness? Basically, the first one means she always has the same amount of dodging time, and always the same amount of clumsiness, while the second means the amount of dodging time correlates to the severity of the aftereffects. Hopefully that makes sense.

Danger! Excitement! Adventure

:P Strangelander knows how it is.

In other news, wow is it taking me a long time to post. So, I want you guys to ignore me and go about your merry way, make your posts about meeting people in Ponyville, about the train ride, all of that, while I keep working on setting up the storylines for Baybylon and the rest of the game. :( Again, sorry for all of the delays, but I do want it to be well crafted, and spending considerable amounts of time on it is the only way to ensure that. The upside is, once I have it all worked out, there will be very little waiting indeed!

To be perfectly honest, RPing does not come easy to me, at all. I get serious periodic burnout (followed by bouts of shame for abandoning the site), even when I'm only in a couple of games, and I'm very determined not to let that happen again. So, no matter what happens, I'm not going to abandon this thread. It may take way longer than is appropriate to get moving again, but this game is not going to die.

Interest Check of: Dear Apprentices...

Yay! Also, yeah, I wish I was French Canadian. Monolingual English-speaker from the States here. Not even any history of other languages. Ancestors on one side... from England. On the other? England. -sigh-