Darkness Before Dawn (OOC)

[The Wandering Magus]

Sign-up: http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=7415.new#new
RP: http://forum.legendsofequestria.com/index.php?topic=7421

basic idea:
G-rated "horror"/suspense without violence, mostly mental/psychological.  Supernatural spirits/creatures of fear take over a shadow-world of Ponyville as the players wake up in an empty and dark replica of the village/world, and are forced to face their fears and take sides in a terrifying war for the hearts of Equestria.

*****

RULES:
Forum rules.
No powerplaying (no controlling other ponies' characters or the NPCs)
No godmodding (no invincibility, no instant-win abilities, no time travel, no unreasonably meta knowledge)
No swearing besides pony swears (buck, horseapples, banish, mule, etc)
No flaming, trolling, personal attacks, or anything else of the matter, you will be reported and banned from the game.
No using "real" weapons, as per forum rules.  This includes "real" projectile and melee weapons.
No gore
No sex, drugs or anything that would be inappropriate for minors.
Violation of any of the above or any of the Forum Rules will result in being reported and banned from the game.

Only the GM and assistant GMs can run the game.  If you think you are qualified to help out, please PM me or assistants.
Please sign up before playing.
Keep OOC in the OOC thread.
All rules and conditions subject to change at any time by GM and assistants.

All players will start by waking up in wherever you consider "home" or "safe".  This will be your "base" and personal "safe spot".
NOPONY can EVER ally with or befriend the Antagonists or the Neutral party.  They are out for your soul, and cannot be reasoned or bargained with.
you will occasionally find Corrupted/controlled ponies.  These are their soul-shadows, their subconscious, and they do not act like this consciously.  The solution is to purify them or run, not to destroy them.
this is meant to be an entirely violence-free game on the player side.  That means that physical fighting will only make things worse for YOU and your teammates.  Remember that the enemies are manifestations of ideas, not actual physical beings.

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Antagonists:
Judge: It Which Sees All, the All-Seeing Eye, the manifestation of paranoia and the fear of being judged
Choir: manifestation of the fear of being manipulated by others, the feeling that everypony is lying to you
Embryo: manifestation of the fear of novelity, fear of foals, the "butterflies in your stomach"
Nemesis: manifestation of your darkest self, your subconscious, every evil thought you've ever had
Rake: the monster under your bed and in your closet, fear of animals.
Wooden Mare: manifestation of the fear of being controlled and not being able to make decisions, of being trapped
Plague: fear of illness and disease
It: fear of water, fear of drowning
Nothing: the fear of emptyness, of The End, of silence, of the Void, of the dark

Possible allies:
Blind Stallion: manifestation of the fear of strangers, fear of elders, fear of disability, fear of forgetfulness
Cold Foal: manifestation of the fear of death, fear of alienation, fear of what you find if look at somepony's face
Swarm: manifestation of the fear of swarms, flocks, the feeling of a hive mind, the crowd, the masses, the government
Xanadu: manifestation of the fear of doors, fear of what you will find on the other side, fear of being lost

Neutral parties:
Slenderpony: unknown

Celestia and Luna manifest as beings of purity, hope, and Harmony.  The Mane Six, if present, manifest as representations of their respective Element.

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Mission: free the world and overcome Equestria's Fears

Side Quests: purify important places and homes of Fears

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Places of interest:
Safe Spots:
Loving Homes - homes full of harmony and trust.  Enemy Fears stay outside.
Hope Beacons - gathering places that the ponies of Equestria have come to trust, and any place close to Beings of Hope

Dangerous:
Basements outside of Loving Homes
Hospital
Sewers
Everfree
Circus
Colgate's office

*****

Important objects:
Hope Orbs: used to restore Hope points, drive away Fears, and as light sources.  gathered during quests.
Notes: lost memories and notes from previous ponies who had found this place.  gathered during quests.
Flashlight: very useful tool for fighting Fears and restoring Hope points to allies, recharged with Hope Orbs.  default.
Hope Charms: used to nullify Hope-sapping environmental effects.  earned from and traded by quest givers.

end-game items, earned from Beings of Hope:
Embracing Shawl: Fluttershy's security blanket, protects one individual from Fears when used in kindness.  lasts as long as the target is wearing it.
Gift Box: Rarity's birthday present; if offered to another pony, will give them what they need most. vanishes on use.
Truth Chord: a strand from Applejack's lasso; when used on another pony, removes all Fear effects and restores all Hope points.  once per encounter.
Balloon: one of Pinkie's balloons; when given to another pony, restores half of Hope points to entire party.  can be used once per threatening encounter.
Torn Page: a priceless page from Rainbow's Daring Do book; when used on another pony, removes all Fear effects and restores all Hope points to entire group, but vanishes.
BFF Card: a letter from Twilight Sparkle reminding everypony that we are all friends together.  when used, drives away all nearby Fears.  only usable once every two encounters, and not on bosses.


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interested ponies:
FlameandIce
Arty and Tian (ArtVeigar)
Majem (Chirp)
Misty Moon (Dark Hooves)
Farsight (Seriack)
Confetty and Wavelength (Bravo 539)

[FlameandIce]

I saw the judge I instantly thought of OFF



I like the idea and I would join

[The Wandering Magus]

anypony else?

[Bravo 658]

I'll be joining in soon, but I'm still working through the nature of the enemies and allies here.  This is a pretty dang scary storyline...

[The Wandering Magus]

RP has started!  please use OOC for OOC.  I will be putting up rules shortly.
Post Merge
update: rules have been posted.

[ArtVeigar]

Forgot to say at the sign up (even though I know you know) that Tian isn't a resident of poniville, but was at an inn when everything started, so how will the "safe house" work for her?

[The Wandering Magus]

unfortunately it probably won't.  you'll probably want to open a Door regardless of the risk and get moving.

[The Wandering Magus]

hey Vick, when the GM says it's a good idea to get to a safe spot, it's probably for a good reason.

[SuperNovaNightmare]

Wow, just started and wanted to say, wow, cool how somethings that could save me might have some negative effects as well. Very nice suspense you build during the wait, wondering what might happen after a decision is suspense enough. You are AWSOME LOVE IT SO FAR WOO!

Thanks for reading, Bubai!

[The Wandering Magus]

...narwhaliagames, HOW did Miku get to Fluttershy's house again?

[ArtVeigar]

Gonna be out for the weekend, and come back at Sunday afternoon. Sorry for the trouble, and till then!

[The Wandering Magus]

see you soon