Post by Sunshine Swirl on Nov 10, 2014 6:17:14 GMT
These are notes for a role-play setting. A “large than life” Daring Do style adventure. If you are curious about it, or want to play some role — please message Sunshine Swirl.
Summary:
A band of pony adventurers have discovered clues leading to an ancient lost library deep within the Griffin territories. They have a hundred year old map and a series of riddles guiding them. Each pony has their own reason for going on the quest: Riches, Family, Fame, Adventure, Knowledge.
They will be up against an NPC villain. "Gold Brick”. A greedy and corrupt ashen earth pony with pointy fangs and a black mane. His cutie mark is 3 stacked gold bars. He and his thugs travel in a black airship called “The Manticore”.
Sunshine Swirl has convinced the Headmaster at the Canterlot Academy of Magic to fund the expedition to find this fabled lost library. And now, our adventurers are preparing to leave their familiar pony-lands for parts unknown.
Setting:
As not much is known about the Griffin Kingdom from the show itself, I am extrapolating based on Greek Mythology. (The show itself is heavily based in Greek Mythology, it’s where pegasus, manticores, griffins, cerberus, orthros, etc. all come from.)
I am using the “Equestria and Beyond” map suggested for use in RPs here.
There are several sub-settings on the way to find the lost library.
* Canterlot - the adventure begins on the Airship Docks with an encounter with Gold Brick and his goons on the black airship.
* Trottingham - This is the last city within Equestria. The adventures will cross an inland sea here to reach the Unclaimed Lands and Foresaken Forest.
* The Foresaken Forest - Home of several ruins and the graveyard of the forgotten. Our heroes must cross through here to reach the mountain pass into the Griffin Kingdoms
* The Talos Pass - A treacherous pass through mountains twice as tall as any found in Equestria.
* The Gryphus Sea - On the other side of the Talos Pass is a massive inland sea with many islands. This was the heart of the old Griffin Empire in the times before the Great Griffin Wars.
* Skyros Island - Home of Griffin Sky Pirates. Not a nice group — or are they? Might even meet the legendary Skyros Ponies here, the rarest of earth pony breeds.
* Stavronisi, Trikeri, Alexandros - Three Islands. Currently uninhabited (well, mostly uninhabited). Each contains dangers and ruins — but one contains treasure and the Lost Library of the Archivist of Rhodes.
I am using the “Equestria and Beyond” map suggested for use in RPs here.
There are several sub-settings on the way to find the lost library.
* Canterlot - the adventure begins on the Airship Docks with an encounter with Gold Brick and his goons on the black airship.
* Trottingham - This is the last city within Equestria. The adventures will cross an inland sea here to reach the Unclaimed Lands and Foresaken Forest.
* The Foresaken Forest - Home of several ruins and the graveyard of the forgotten. Our heroes must cross through here to reach the mountain pass into the Griffin Kingdoms
* The Talos Pass - A treacherous pass through mountains twice as tall as any found in Equestria.
* The Gryphus Sea - On the other side of the Talos Pass is a massive inland sea with many islands. This was the heart of the old Griffin Empire in the times before the Great Griffin Wars.
* Skyros Island - Home of Griffin Sky Pirates. Not a nice group — or are they? Might even meet the legendary Skyros Ponies here, the rarest of earth pony breeds.
* Stavronisi, Trikeri, Alexandros - Three Islands. Currently uninhabited (well, mostly uninhabited). Each contains dangers and ruins — but one contains treasure and the Lost Library of the Archivist of Rhodes.
Key NPCs:
* Gold Brick - Your typical James Bond or Indiana Jones over-the-top villain. He’s a clever and manipulative bad guy. He has no magic, his fangs are cosmetic. His talents include bribery, deception, misdirection and misinformation. Ashen coat, black mane, eye-patch, fangs, stack of 3 gold bars marking his flank. (introduced in Bell Book & Candle)
* Thistledown - The mare in trouble. She’s a trim pegasus mare who is a professional courier. She was tricked and betrayed by Gold Brick and now needs our adventurers help. Although prickly and somewhat distant at first, she’s very soft and caring inside. Tan coat, gold mane and tail, cutie mark is a thistle plant in bloom with its white down exposed. (introduced in Looking for Trade)
* White Quill - Mysterious author of the map and its riddles. Wrote several books on Griffin Culture. Rumored to be a “Hippogriff”, offspring of a Griffin and a Mare. Presumed to have died over 100 years ago.
* The Archivist of Rhodes - A famous griffin scholar who spent his (or her?) life collecting the combined knowledge of the old Griffin Empire. Hundreds of years ago, War broke out. Both the Archivist and the collection disappeared. The archivist might have been a title, rather than an individual griffin, hence the confusion over age and gender. The collection probably took generations to assemble. There have been rumors that the lost Library of the Archivists exists, and contains not only books but treasures of the old Griffin Empire. Most Griffins dismiss these rumors as fairytales told to excite hatchlings.
* Long Shore - One of the dock managers at the Airship Docks in Canterlot. He’s also a respected senior member of the Canterlot Merchant Guild. He’s an older unicorn stallion with a chipped tooth, sea-green coat and dark blue mane and tail. He’s quite strong for a unicorn and speaks with a lower Manehatten accent. (“Tanks for yah support last guild meeting, Esme. I owes ya one.”)
* Misc. - The adventurers will meet many incidental characters through their travels, some friends, some foes. A lot of the NPC’s dispositions will depend on how the Heroes approach them. Will the captain of the Griffin Pirate Airship be shooting at your ship? Or perhaps he’ll be an ally and be shooting at The Black Airship giving our heroes time to escape yet again…
Note: “Friendship is Magic" is the operative phrase here. Success will depend more on friendship and role-play than tactics or weapons.
* Thistledown - The mare in trouble. She’s a trim pegasus mare who is a professional courier. She was tricked and betrayed by Gold Brick and now needs our adventurers help. Although prickly and somewhat distant at first, she’s very soft and caring inside. Tan coat, gold mane and tail, cutie mark is a thistle plant in bloom with its white down exposed. (introduced in Looking for Trade)
* White Quill - Mysterious author of the map and its riddles. Wrote several books on Griffin Culture. Rumored to be a “Hippogriff”, offspring of a Griffin and a Mare. Presumed to have died over 100 years ago.
* The Archivist of Rhodes - A famous griffin scholar who spent his (or her?) life collecting the combined knowledge of the old Griffin Empire. Hundreds of years ago, War broke out. Both the Archivist and the collection disappeared. The archivist might have been a title, rather than an individual griffin, hence the confusion over age and gender. The collection probably took generations to assemble. There have been rumors that the lost Library of the Archivists exists, and contains not only books but treasures of the old Griffin Empire. Most Griffins dismiss these rumors as fairytales told to excite hatchlings.
* Long Shore - One of the dock managers at the Airship Docks in Canterlot. He’s also a respected senior member of the Canterlot Merchant Guild. He’s an older unicorn stallion with a chipped tooth, sea-green coat and dark blue mane and tail. He’s quite strong for a unicorn and speaks with a lower Manehatten accent. (“Tanks for yah support last guild meeting, Esme. I owes ya one.”)
* Misc. - The adventurers will meet many incidental characters through their travels, some friends, some foes. A lot of the NPC’s dispositions will depend on how the Heroes approach them. Will the captain of the Griffin Pirate Airship be shooting at your ship? Or perhaps he’ll be an ally and be shooting at The Black Airship giving our heroes time to escape yet again…
Note: “Friendship is Magic" is the operative phrase here. Success will depend more on friendship and role-play than tactics or weapons.
Key Items:
* Message Candles - It’s a magical candle that burns with a bright green flame. If you place a scroll in the flame along with a hair, or feather of a pony, the scroll will be consumed and “teleported” to that pony. Each candle can send six such messages.
* The Map - It has not a very good map. It seems to be of an island, but there’s no scale, and exactly where that island is, isn’t clear. There are various cryptic annotations on the map that end up being references to portions of a book called “The Fall of the Griffin Empire.
* Book: The Fall of the Griffin Empire - Written by White Quill, the self-proclaimed “Hippogriff” author. There are parts of this book which make little sense. The copy that contained the map hidden in its spine was signed by the author himself on the inside cover. The inscription on the cover was filled with misspellings and grammar errors. This led Sunshine Swirl to suspect that the signature was a fraud. Upon closer inspection though, each spelling and grammar error is a clue. (for example: "The rhodes to noledge” is not a misspelling - it’s a reference to the archivist of Rhodes and the north ledge of a certain cliff.)
* Drakhmae - A griffin currency, it means “a fist full”. It’s a smaller silver coin, almost too small, hard to handle in hoof or mouth. The large gold Equestrian Bit was easy to handle, and a simple bite told you if it was real. The engraving on our Equestrian Bits pales in comparison to the beautiful detail on the silver Griffin Kingdom Drakhmae. The Griffins are skilled metal workers.
* Healing Potions - The heroes start with several of these - when consumed injuries are healed as though a pony has had a full week of pampered bedrest. (but broken bones must be set before drinking it, and rest may still be required.)
* Other Potions - Our heroes will probably come across these in your travels. Some are very good. Others may have strange side effects.
* Barding: Armor for ponies. Our heroes will start with cloth/woven barding or none at all. They may come across metal barding, sea-serpent scale barding, or even dragon scale barding. The Griffins themselves often use leather barding, but ponies generally find this distasteful.
* Weapons: The heroes are warned by the Expedition Sponsor not to engage in crimes or violence. At times though, savage creatures may attack. Our heroes may have swords, daggers, spears, bows, and other light weapons for such events. Remember: Friendship is your ultimate weapon.
* The Map - It has not a very good map. It seems to be of an island, but there’s no scale, and exactly where that island is, isn’t clear. There are various cryptic annotations on the map that end up being references to portions of a book called “The Fall of the Griffin Empire.
* Book: The Fall of the Griffin Empire - Written by White Quill, the self-proclaimed “Hippogriff” author. There are parts of this book which make little sense. The copy that contained the map hidden in its spine was signed by the author himself on the inside cover. The inscription on the cover was filled with misspellings and grammar errors. This led Sunshine Swirl to suspect that the signature was a fraud. Upon closer inspection though, each spelling and grammar error is a clue. (for example: "The rhodes to noledge” is not a misspelling - it’s a reference to the archivist of Rhodes and the north ledge of a certain cliff.)
* Drakhmae - A griffin currency, it means “a fist full”. It’s a smaller silver coin, almost too small, hard to handle in hoof or mouth. The large gold Equestrian Bit was easy to handle, and a simple bite told you if it was real. The engraving on our Equestrian Bits pales in comparison to the beautiful detail on the silver Griffin Kingdom Drakhmae. The Griffins are skilled metal workers.
* Healing Potions - The heroes start with several of these - when consumed injuries are healed as though a pony has had a full week of pampered bedrest. (but broken bones must be set before drinking it, and rest may still be required.)
* Other Potions - Our heroes will probably come across these in your travels. Some are very good. Others may have strange side effects.
* Barding: Armor for ponies. Our heroes will start with cloth/woven barding or none at all. They may come across metal barding, sea-serpent scale barding, or even dragon scale barding. The Griffins themselves often use leather barding, but ponies generally find this distasteful.
* Weapons: The heroes are warned by the Expedition Sponsor not to engage in crimes or violence. At times though, savage creatures may attack. Our heroes may have swords, daggers, spears, bows, and other light weapons for such events. Remember: Friendship is your ultimate weapon.
Monsters:
You might have to fight some!
Attacking sentient beings is something to be avoided and is going to be discouraged. There are many preferred ways to deal with ponies, griffins, and any other speaking, intelligent beings.
For combat role-play I may ask that you roll a regular six-sided dice or flip a coin to determine an outcome. This is an honor and story-telling based system — not a table top gaming system.
If the story calls for an amazing attack or gigantic comedic fumble — please go ahead and write that. Don’t bother rolling.
If you want to live dangerously, roll a die. On a 1 your attack is ineffective. On a 6 it’s super-effective. 2’s or 3’s are less effective than 4’s or 5’s. Use vivid descriptions to describe your success or failure. Make it fun!
The monsters will be things either from the show: Manticores, Hydras, Windigoes, Timberwolves or will be from greek mythology. In any event, nothing grim-dark or gruesome.
The Font used in illustrations above is "Equestria.TTF" from Pixel Sagas Freeware Fonts
Attacking sentient beings is something to be avoided and is going to be discouraged. There are many preferred ways to deal with ponies, griffins, and any other speaking, intelligent beings.
For combat role-play I may ask that you roll a regular six-sided dice or flip a coin to determine an outcome. This is an honor and story-telling based system — not a table top gaming system.
If the story calls for an amazing attack or gigantic comedic fumble — please go ahead and write that. Don’t bother rolling.
If you want to live dangerously, roll a die. On a 1 your attack is ineffective. On a 6 it’s super-effective. 2’s or 3’s are less effective than 4’s or 5’s. Use vivid descriptions to describe your success or failure. Make it fun!
The monsters will be things either from the show: Manticores, Hydras, Windigoes, Timberwolves or will be from greek mythology. In any event, nothing grim-dark or gruesome.
The Font used in illustrations above is "Equestria.TTF" from Pixel Sagas Freeware Fonts
i was kinda excited to feel like im back in 2015