New OC/Ponysona Star Gazer

[Fifteen1413]

So, well, I decided I wanted to make a OC for RPing purposes. This is my first OC, so hopefully I'll do okay. Fingers crossed!

Image courtesy of Ramisha, who just sort of made it out of the goodness of his/her heart. He/she is awesome. And did not indicate gender on his/her account. Sorry, Ramisha.





Name: Star Gazer

Race: Unicorn

Gender: Male

Color: Light blue with a dark blue mane. Cutie mark of a single star.

Myers Briggs Personality Type: INTP

OCEAN scores: O - 9(Strongly open); C - 31(Organized); E - 39(Introverted); A - 89(Strongly Analytically); N - 81(Confident)

Weight: 197 Kg

Lift/Carry: 25 Kg/45 Kg

Net worth: 1925 Bits. (Total worth of all items owned.)

Items of Greatest Personal Value: 50 ml vial, with 50 ml of class 2 painkiller inside; Picture of family(well worn, taken May sixth, nine hundred ninety-six.)

Spoiler: show

Twenty-five page notebook with the first 9 glyphs inscribed inside.

Magic Aptitude Quotient(MAQ): 0.82 (Below Average magic)

General Intelligence Quotient(GIQ): 146 (Genius intellect)

Greatest fear: Absolute darkness.

Date of birth: 6 September 982 C.R. (Seventeen years of age when Nightmare Moon returned)

Sanity: 147/250 (Current/Max);

Spoiler: show

- 1 per failed check for proximity to the eighth symbol, check made daily.

Current Location: General Ponyville Area.

Background: Born to a normal unicorn family in Trottingham, Star Gazer was very quickly recognized as different from his peers. By age three, he was preforming basic arithmetic on three digit numbers, by five he was learning simple chemical formula, by six he was designing his own experiments. Though never quite capable of reaching the levels of 'child prodigy', he was very obviously in an intellectual league of his own - or, at the very least, one he shared with only those other 1 in 400's. Unfortunately, the most incredible intellect in the world gets you nowhere when your interests don't align with that of society, and so, by the time he was thirteen, Star Gazer was considered no different than any other teenage unicorn, for the simple fact that he found Classical Physics more interesting than Magic. He was a slightly-above average magic student, and that was all.

Star Gazer's interests switched. He did what the other's wanted him to, and began to study magic harder. Very quickly, his reputation was turned around. By fusing his knowledge of physics with his growing understanding of magic, he was able to effectively preform feats of magical engineering, more advanced than almost any spell. His relatively weak magic prevented him from doing all that he hoped, but very quickly he found his niche. He published his first paper, Applications of Magical Channeling in Engine Design, on his fourteenth birthday. He graduated from Trottingham High at the age of fifteen. It was right about then that things got interesting...

Star Gazer received a small grant to fund research into the nature and use of combined magical glyphs on March first, nine ninety-eight. Though it was not his ideal project, it was the only job the young Star Gazer could get, so he took it. Three months into his six month contract, on the seventh of June, Star Gazer managed to get a success, out of nowhere, which far exceeded any progress he had so far achieved. This new glyph, on top of holding the properties of the five combined glyphs, had something that no previous glyph had - what no glyph, as far as Star Gazer knew, should ever have - its own magical aura. Flush with success, Star Gazer sent off a report as soon as he could manage, and by the ninth of June, the discovery was available to all of academia.

Spoiler: show

This was, perhaps, the greatest mistake Star Gazer ever made.

The next day, Star Gazer was attacked in his lab by two earth ponies and a unicorn. They made it very clear that Star Gazer was to abandon his current line of research. Star Gazer refused; his entire body of research was burned. Not one to give up, Star Gazer, using his personal notes, continued his research into combined glyphs. After all, he was under contract to do so for another three months. And, in the beginning, it seemed that things would be okay. So long as his discoveries were of a less strange nature, no goons showed up.

Despite his own personal interest, Star Gazer did not follow up on his discovery, opting instead to concentrate on the work to which he had been assigned.

Of course, it couldn't last. He was simply too curious to keep away. So, just before his contract ran out, he preformed a set of experiments using the knowledge he had gathered, and in three days, on the twenty-ninth of August, he created a second such glyphs - this one with a much stronger magical aura. Again, he published. This time, he waited for the response.

None came. His contract expired on the first of September. With the success of his research, Star Gazer was sure he could get onto some project which he was excited for. But all his applications came back negative, even in fields directly related to his previous research. None of his proposals would get funding, and no team would accept him.

Spoiler: show

Star Gazer tried, in vain, to get some contract, until November fifteenth. After seventy-six days unemployed, Star Gazer was getting to the end of his rope, when he was contacted.

The pony who sought him was Blister Wind, a pegasus scholar from Cloudsdale. Initially, Star Gazer was ecstatic. Blister Wind was, of course, one of the most respected ponies in academia. If he wanted to meet, things were going very up. However, Blister, upon meeting him, made it very clear that he was the reason that Star Gazer was unable to get any funding. He was using his influence to shut him out. He told Star Gazer, in no uncertain terms, that if he wanted to get employment in any research field in the next decade, it would be under Blister, and his focus would be the Glyphs. Blister explained that the glyphs that Star Gazer had 'rediscovered' were ancient and powerful, and that he had, willingly or not, become part of something he was not ready for. Blister told him that there were nineteen such glyphs. He declined to mention what, exactly, they were used for. He offered Star Gazer the opportunity to join his team, for a good sum of money, with only one stipulation: He was not ever to publish anything ever again.

Star Gazer showed Blister the door.

There is always demand for spell-casters in earth pony towns, so Star Gazer began his journey across Equestria, working his way from inn to inn. He continued to apply for research grants. He got on with his life.

And he decided that whatever Blister wanted with these glyphs, they were much safer in the hands of academia, where anypony could have access. He was going to beat him to the full set, and give whatever there secret was, to the whole world.

Without the option of getting grants or funding, Star Gazer turned to the private sector for work. He traveled from town to town, working, researching, and making new discoveries - and new friends. It took him a while, but by January of one thousand, he had landed himself a research contract;

Spoiler: show

because even Blister Wind's influence only spread so far, and

his own reputation was beginning to build.  Today, he lives outside of Ponyville, doing the jobs that unicorns are needed for, the research that needs somepony not afraid to get his hooves dirty.

Spoiler: show

And looking for those glyphs! Nine found, ten to go!

*** A Word On Glyphs, from the Equestrian Scientist, Issue 198 (Pub. 12 October, 998) ***
Many of our readers have been writing in to ask us what Glyphs are in response to Issue 196's special on them. We here at the Scientist were initially surprised at response, but have come to the realization that we are at fault for the confusion.  Glyphs are, of course, symbols. Any symbol that is part of a standardized set is a glyph. Our alphabet contains 26 glyphs. So why, exactly, are they important to the Science of Magic?
In the context of magic theory, Glyph is basically just a fancy way of saying Rune, or Magic Symbol. There are 128 magical Glyphs, used in advanced spell-casting. Or, you know, normal spell-casting too. They're a really good example of 'Easy to learn, difficult to master'. Using glyphs allows one to cast spells on timers, or in specific locations, or to be triggered by specific stimuli. Using multiple glyphs can lead to very complex, precise, and efficient spells. However, not every combination works, and even fewer are effective. The rules are very complex. It works a little like chemistry, actually. Different glyphs will only combine with a few others, adding just a single glyph can radically change the effect of the spell, there are set, exact rules that the combinations follow, and there are tons of explosions.

During the last eighty years or so, a new type of glyph combination technique was invented, involving literally drawing the glyphs on top of each other. The rules are even more complex for these, as the order you inscribe the glyphs, the angle you inscribe them at, and the time between each inscription all seem to have some effect on the outcome. Work into the use of five-glyph combination did not begin until 996, with the publishing of Application of Computer Aided Calculation in the Field of Higher Level Glyph Combination by Number Crunch, which proved that, through extensive work, five, six, and even seven glyph combinations were possible, if very difficult and rare. The latest breakthrough work in this field came in 998, when Star Gazer published Evidence of Internal Unique Energy Fields in Fifth Order Glyph Combinations, at the young age of 15. His work was the subject of Issue 196's special.(See Page 41, Why You Should be Excited for Magic Symbols Again.)

On that topic, some of our readers will be disappointed to know that young Star Gazer declined to have a interview for our 'greatest minds of 998' special we will be running in Issue 200, on the grounds that "The discovery was a fluke, and not based upon my past research. There are hundreds of more talented ponies who work for years on a project and just get unlucky. I can name at least ten off the top of my head more deserving than myself whom I am sure you won't include." ...
(Passage continues for another paragraph on Star Gazer, then switches to another topic.)

[Ramisha]

Wow.
That's very, very, like, very detailed. Um, don't you think some of the information is a bit useless? Like how much money he owns, how much he can lift and  the items he owns.
Nevertheless, you can find everything here, so that's good. And if you need a picture, send me a private message - I can make you one.

[Gracie Sky]

I would probably leave out all the details about the OC that looked like it was taken from a survey. When giving information about a pony, it's best to stick with information that is already commonly known about the pony to his or her peers. Things like where they grew up, what kind of personality they have, and other tidbits the OC is open about. All these scores and questionaires do provide some insight, but nothing really for the reader to relate to, unless they also took the same tests (unlikely for most readers). More importantly, some of those questions reveal things about the character that I don't recommend revealing in an introduction topic, unless those details were not designed to be kept secret. You put them in spoiler tabs, though, which indicates they would spoil the development of your character if read. I would avoid things like that; save such secrets for RPs or stories which develop the character.

Now... about his story... I do like how he combined magic and technology, although I'd hardly call it new, unless his time was before that of Twilight Sparkle or you're simply basing your story independant of the mane 6. You also say that while he progressed through his studies much faster than his peers, he wasn't a prodigy. I don't normally promote prodigy OCs, but at the same time, this guy is brilliant for his age based on the feats you list. You brush off his prodigy status by saying he focused more on science rather than magic, which made him only average in the long run. The best way to go is to dismiss the concept of being a prodigy, but push the idea that he is a genius instead. He seems to be able to absorb information far better than those of his age, although it would be a good idea to address his "max capacity". When he reaches his smartest, how smart will he be compared to the other students? If it's not that much higher, then he's just a fast learner. And be sure not to compare magic to intelligence; the two are completely separate from each other. Magic is the ability to harness and manipulate matter, which is perfected through training, not being intelligent. Intelligence would only aid in this concept if used to figure out more efficient methods of harnessing and manipulating matter. Just because Star Gazer doesn't excel at magic doesn't mean he is not smart or a genius.

You go on to say some... stuff about Glyphs, which is completely going over my head. You might want to throw a crash course at the reader about what a glyph is exactly if you're going to use the term so liberally. Perhaps it would also help me figure out why he needs funding to research these glyphs. It also might help explain why ponies would flat out attack and burn his research. It's because he's stumbling into ancient powerful magic, which I'm presuming was lost to time due to the fact that it's being rediscovered by Star Gazer and is not publically available, right? But wait, if it's lost to time, then how did the ponies who attacked him know he was stumbling into ancient powerful magic? They must've known about this magic and wanted to stop him from progressing, but this is also true of every possible pony who could fund his research. They all knew the magic he was messing around with was dangerous, but it took 76 days for anypony to fill him in. Still, Blister Wind wanted him to continue, but keep all the research to himself. It's starting to sound like am arms race to rediscover the entire set of glyphs for Celestia knows what. Speaking of Celestia... is she aware that ponies in Canterlot are trying to keep these apparently ancient powerful glyphs out of public view? Shouldn't Star Gazer bring this up with her, since he suspects something is up with the other ponies he's competing with?

You do have an intruging story this character is built upon, although you might actually be revealing too much of his story. I would focus more on explaining what the glyphs are and what they do, and only then detail how other ponies are reacting to his research.

[Fifteen1413]

Okay, here goes!

Idea Defense Mode, Active! Mind, Open! Information, Processing!

Alright. So, as far as the sixty questions thing goes, you're absolutely right. I had my own doubts about including it. It will be going, no questions asked.

For the "combined magic and technology" thing, I feel it's rare enough in the normal setting to be worth note. Besides, he was doing it a few years before Twilight. Only like, two or three, but still. Besides, new breakthroughs come in old fields all the time. That's how science works.

You also say that while he progressed through his studies much faster than his peers, he wasn't a prodigy. I don't normally promote prodigy OCs, but at the same time, this guy is brilliant for his age based on the feats you list. You brush off his prodigy status by saying he focused more on science rather than magic, which made him only average in the long run. The best way to go is to dismiss the concept of being a prodigy, but push the idea that he is a genius instead.

As for the 'prodigy' thing, the reason I presented it as I did was because most people have an unclear idea how smart someone who is 'supper smart' actually is. I've had this happen to me multiple times. I happen to share GIQ scores with my OC, and I'm always surprised at exactly how smart people seem to think that should make me. Us 140's aren't really all that rare, and we're certainly not all that different from normal people. His milestones (Well, the first paragraph anyway) aren't that far fetched; They're my milestones. The second paragraph is, frankly, a stretch. Well beyond what the real me is capable of. But, hey, we don't make OC's to be boring normal people! We role-play to be more than we could be! Still, none of this changes the fact that it is apparently confusing. If you can't explain something, it matters not how well you understand it. I'll try to fix it, but I'm not sure how well I'll be able to.

I don't have a max capacity, personally. Being highly intelligent usually comes, at least in part, with an increased ability to learn. There's no max capacity because that's not how it works. I know from experience.

And be sure not to compare magic to intelligence; the two are completely separate from each other. ... Just because Star Gazer doesn't excel at magic doesn't mean he is not smart or a genius.

First of all, I don't agree. Magic, like all skills, when more clearly understood is easier to learn. It's Celestia's SCHOOL for Gifted Unicorns, after all, and we know from the show that magic theory is thing. There are defiantly some intelligence based things going on there.
That being said, it also appears that the practice of magic and the understanding of magic are different. Perhaps that is what you meant? If so, you're absolutely correct. Star Gazer is great at magic theory, but terrible at spell-casting. He'd be able to design a spell for you, but you'll need some-pony else to cast it.

You go on to say some... stuff about Glyphs, which is completely going over my head. You might want to throw a crash course at the reader about what a glyph is exactly if you're going to use the term so liberally. Perhaps it would also help me figure out why he needs funding to research these glyphs.

A Glyph is symbol. In the context of magic, think magic runes. That's really all there is. It's an actual term, used in the real world. And here's the part where I again say that that does not matter, because if it's confusing, it doesn't help. Besides, I could always include some special magical aspects of glyphs or something.

Why he needs funding!? It's science! We scientists don't live off of air, you know. We need to get payed. Also, laboratory time is not cheep. If you want to preform any controlled experiments, you need the correct equipment. That's how science gets done.

It also might help explain why ponies would flat out attack and burn his research. It's because he's stumbling into ancient powerful magic, which I'm presuming was lost to time due to the fact that it's being rediscovered by Star Gazer and is not publically available, right? But wait, if it's lost to time, then how did the ponies who attacked him know he was stumbling into ancient powerful magic?

Your inferences are correct, which means I did a good job. Star Gazer himself doesn't really understand what they are, so why should the reader? It's not supposed to be clear. As for why some ponies seem to know this forbidden knowledge, have you watched any of the Indiana Jones movies? Played any Tomb Raider? Heard any conspiracy theories? For every one hundred false ones, there is something that holds truth. Certain people just know certain things, and ancient and powerful knowledge has a habit of showing up at the most inopportune times to the most inopportune people. And anyone who has it usually goes to quite some lengths to make sure other's don't.

They must've known about this magic and wanted to stop him from progressing, but this is also true of every possible pony who could fund his research. They all knew the magic he was messing around with was dangerous, but it took 76 days for anypony to fill him in.

Most ponies don't know about the fact that they are a set, or that they have any special purpose. All they see is a new branch of magic theory in the making. There are actually very few ponies who know about these particular glyphs. And he's a freelance 'sensitive situations' research scientist. Ponies don't usually hire or fund him to work on the glyphs. That's his project. And, as for why no one contacted him for 76 days? It was to make him desperate. Blister Wind wanted his proposal to be Star Gazer's only way out. Cut him off from the world, make him starve a little, then offer the reward. It makes the proposal that much easier to swallow.

Still, Blister Wind wanted him to continue, but keep all the research to himself. It's starting to sound like am arms race to rediscover the entire set of glyphs for Celestia knows what.

Oh, does it? I hadn't noticed. That was sort of the point.

Speaking of Celestia... is she aware that ponies in Canterlot are trying to keep these apparently ancient powerful glyphs out of public view? Shouldn't Star Gazer bring this up with her, since he suspects something is up with the other ponies he's competing with?

Well... I hadn't really thought about that. That's a really, really good point. The first point is moot, as most ponies don't know anything about the glyphs beyond simple curiosity. I actually don't think that anyone is working out of Canterlot. Blister Wind is a pegasus. Celestia does not know of these glyphs.
Still, that second point... It just doesn't make any sense, does it? Perhaps he's waiting until he has more solid proof and a stronger reputation? After all, it's his word against Blister, who is one of the most respected scholars in Equestria. Still, he should have said something. At least tried. Really, I'm worried that Celestia might believe him, and end up having him work in her command. I don't want that. Star Gazer is supposed to be a relatively normal pony thrown into an abnormal situation. Still, I'd rather he be associated with Celestia than have a plot hole that large. I'll think of something.

Thank you for taking the time to review my OC! I don't agree with you always, but, man, some of that stuff, I must have been stupid. I blame it on having been awake for 29 hours when I made the character.