Friendship is Dragons
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Page 90 - Friendship Really Is Magic
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Newbiespud
3rd Mar 2012, 5:00 AM
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I just can't decide if TS is actually spoiling the DM's plans by guessing everything that was supposed to happen early, or if the party is now so far off the rails that their train's now more of a submarine.
I think the DM is now in a stage of:"holy shit, that is better than what I made up.
She called it.
She derailed a whole overarching plot because she BUCKIN' CALLED IT.
That's why he's so surprised.
She derailed a whole overarching plot because she BUCKIN' CALLED IT.
That's why he's so surprised.
Also, that one moment of calling it means I could retroactively say this:
Buck the Jack Pine boys, we just ended the overarching plotline in one fell swoop.
Buck the Jack Pine boys, we just ended the overarching plotline in one fell swoop.
Submarine in space, maybe, because only from space can they FIRE THE ORBITAL FRIENDSHIP CANNON!
Correction: Deep *Pacific* Submarine. And no, they aren't in space, they are in the Marianas Trench, where there is a Pacman-physics rift. Where does it lead? Wherever the hell they please.
Best rule of GM'ing. If the players come up with something more awesome than what you came up with, and you can run with it without it looking like you just switched it around, then do it.
Real class is then congratulating the players for "solving" the problem, and leaving them scratching their heads and giving you the evil eye while they try to figure out if they guessed it, or if you're pulling one over on them.
Real class is then congratulating the players for "solving" the problem, and leaving them scratching their heads and giving you the evil eye while they try to figure out if they guessed it, or if you're pulling one over on them.
Jugglers have an informal rule of thumb: If you lose control of a juggled object but manage to catch it again before it hits the ground (and without dropping any of the other objects), then it wasn't a drop. And if you manage to catch that out-of-control item with anything other than your fingers/palm (i.e. the back of your hand, your elbow, your foot, your hat, another juggled item, etc), then it was a trick, and therefore even more impressive than if you hadn't lost control of the object in the first place.
DMs, I think, are subject to this same rule of thumb. Albeit with their stories, rather than merely with spinning chainsaws and bowling balls (which, let's face it, are far easier to catch and toss back into the air than is a moving story element!)
DMs, I think, are subject to this same rule of thumb. Albeit with their stories, rather than merely with spinning chainsaws and bowling balls (which, let's face it, are far easier to catch and toss back into the air than is a moving story element!)
I dunno, Orbital just means it's orbiting something, maybe it could be orbiting something in the ocean, like a ball of glue. Or Janet Jackson.
The Friendship Nuke. We did decide that the Elements of Harmony were the equivalent of one.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Totally Broken and Needs to Be Nerfed, STAT
we all live in a yellow submarine
a yellow submarine
a yellow submarine...
c'mon ev'ry ponie y'all know the words so sing-along!
a yellow submarine
a yellow submarine...
c'mon ev'ry ponie y'all know the words so sing-along!
5 6 7-8-9-10
I love you.
A B C D
Can I my friend for tea?
I love you.
A B C D
Can I my friend for tea?
I can only imagine that the DM is so pissed by this that he's just "Okay, buck this. I'm out"
Oh Double Damn.
This is brillient, a great way to conclude I'm hope we get lots of buthurt for the GM now.
This is brillient, a great way to conclude I'm hope we get lots of buthurt for the GM now.
I'm rolling on the floor here. Laughter may or may not be involved, because we all know how much Pinkie Pie loves rolling on the ground.
That was an amazing moment; well played, well written, hats off to you. /ponyclap.gif
That was an amazing moment; well played, well written, hats off to you. /ponyclap.gif
Hey, your not the only one! The GM's reaction is hilarious!!!
What REALLY sells the moment for me, is the expression in panels 10-12:
10: Twilight tearing up at how beautiful frienship is, while struggling to find her words.
11: Pause with neutral expressions, while Twilight's face is hidden.
12: The evil grins of a group of players who just realized their roleplaying has lead to the greatest minmaxing of all.
10: Twilight tearing up at how beautiful frienship is, while struggling to find her words.
11: Pause with neutral expressions, while Twilight's face is hidden.
12: The evil grins of a group of players who just realized their roleplaying has lead to the greatest minmaxing of all.
The DM bursts into tears and rips up all his notes through his sobbing.
Optional storytime: Tell us about a "rocks fall, everyone dies" moment that happened to you.
I sadly haven't had one yet.
I sadly haven't had one yet.
Well, we were exploring a dungeon/mine, and the rouge goes to look in a minecart just inside the entrance for loot. BOOM! Thunderstone falls on his head, the noise alerts ALL 20-ISH KOBOLDS in the next room, and all but our sorcerer get pwned. He continues, immediately upon entering the next room is attacked and killed by the Dire Weasel hiding there. I in fact dubbed that adventuring party "6 F*cktards and a Sorcerer", because he was the only smart one there.
Was in a Star Trek RP where we had this one player who was playing the captain of the ship, and no matter how or why, always had to tick the frikking borg off and lead us in a chase across multiple star systems.
The GM finally had it when even though our ship was already being pursued by three cubes, he decided to do a frontal assault on a Borg Transwarp hub. The GM threw his hands into the air shouted "You fire a bunch of shots, borg beam aboard, your all assimilated, THE END!!" He was really ticked off when the player's only reaction was "Did I go out in a blaze of glory?"
Naturally, the next ST game we did, we left him out of it.
The GM finally had it when even though our ship was already being pursued by three cubes, he decided to do a frontal assault on a Borg Transwarp hub. The GM threw his hands into the air shouted "You fire a bunch of shots, borg beam aboard, your all assimilated, THE END!!" He was really ticked off when the player's only reaction was "Did I go out in a blaze of glory?"
Naturally, the next ST game we did, we left him out of it.
Actually, we had a half-way 'Rocks Fall, everyone dies' moment in my current Pathfinder game.
My group is investigating this haunted jail that burned down 50 years ago. We learned from a friendly ghost that these 5 ghosts that were NASTY serial killers when alive are starting to cause trouble. She makes it VERY CLEAR that we need these 5 artifacts that are in a locked room to weaken the ghosts enough to kill them, or we'll all die so hard it isn't even funny.
So, we're searching for the keys to the locked room. Due to our luck and horrible sense of direction, we end up blundering into the meanest, strongest ghost's lair. Aka, the main boss of the campaign. WITHOUT the artifact. And the door slams shut behind us. To make things worse, our cleric gets knocked into a well in the first round.
We very well should ALL have died. Somehow we managed to kill the main boss despite all of this (literally, our DM was sitting there, jaw dropped and everything).
So, yes. Semi-example (note that now we're on the mini bosses, of which we've killed 2, 1 went down in 5 rounds, the other was literally OHKO by our CLERIC. Yes, we made the DM cry), but again, we all SHOULD have died.
My group is investigating this haunted jail that burned down 50 years ago. We learned from a friendly ghost that these 5 ghosts that were NASTY serial killers when alive are starting to cause trouble. She makes it VERY CLEAR that we need these 5 artifacts that are in a locked room to weaken the ghosts enough to kill them, or we'll all die so hard it isn't even funny.
So, we're searching for the keys to the locked room. Due to our luck and horrible sense of direction, we end up blundering into the meanest, strongest ghost's lair. Aka, the main boss of the campaign. WITHOUT the artifact. And the door slams shut behind us. To make things worse, our cleric gets knocked into a well in the first round.
We very well should ALL have died. Somehow we managed to kill the main boss despite all of this (literally, our DM was sitting there, jaw dropped and everything).
So, yes. Semi-example (note that now we're on the mini bosses, of which we've killed 2, 1 went down in 5 rounds, the other was literally OHKO by our CLERIC. Yes, we made the DM cry), but again, we all SHOULD have died.
Some advice:
Be careful about looking at lakes through windows.
Be careful about looking at lakes through windows.
Exactly what it sounds like, there is no metaphor involved.
(Gur ernfba lbh unir gb or pnershy vf gung gurer vf bar jurer lbh zvtug whfg frr gur Oynpx Tbng bs gur Jbbqf jvgu n Gubhfnaq Lbhat, guvf vf abg urnygul sbe bar'f fnavgl.)
(Gur ernfba lbh unir gb or pnershy vf gung gurer vf bar jurer lbh zvtug whfg frr gur Oynpx Tbng bs gur Jbbqf jvgu n Gubhfnaq Lbhat, guvf vf abg urnygul sbe bar'f fnavgl.)
Ah, the Carrion Crown adventure path. That's a good one. Assuming you guys are going through the sequel modules as well, you're in for some awesome times ;)
That reminds me of my usual premise for a "Mirror Trek" game I run occasionally. I have no real plans for what the game does after the first mission, as the kind of team they become is largely shaped by that mission.
They start off as lieuts under the command of Captain Henry Styles (Yeah, the guy from Star Trek 3 with the swagger stick on the Excelsior,) who in the Mirror, Mirror universe is a flunked out has-been who's been assigned to an old Constitution class which is on its last legs. It's even been used by the Empire in target practice a few times, which is why they claim it's impossible for Styles to change the ship's name, the "Clay Pigeon".
Both times I've run the Dark Trek game, the players have handed a "rocks fall, the captain dies" in the most hilarious manner imaginable. Each time, they didn't team up to kill off the captain. They all had their own private schemes running, usually set to go off at the same time.
By the time the second game's first "episode" concluded, the party had poisoned him with a binary toxin, electrocuted him when one of those hand-crank elevator controls overloaded, blew out the electricals in the overhead lighting, causing recently-replaced, non-insulated copper wire to fall into the car (electrocuting him a second time,) and finally overcompressing the elevator's environmentals, blew out the bridge door, and simultaneously overrode the safeties on the bridge hatch and blew it out into space. This turned the entire bridge into an instant hurricane of loose debris and random superior officers, eliminating the PC's promotion problems in the process.
Eventually, the players tricked out the backup bridge and made that the main control room for their ship. The main bridge they left open to space, found the corpse of Captain Styles, duct-taped him to the captain's chair, and used him as an object lesson for anyone who thought the PC's were "nice people". They'd show *that*, and follow it up with something like, "If we did that to our *captain*, imagine what we'll do to *you*?"
Games like that are hard to top, but they're usually a lot of fun. :)
They start off as lieuts under the command of Captain Henry Styles (Yeah, the guy from Star Trek 3 with the swagger stick on the Excelsior,) who in the Mirror, Mirror universe is a flunked out has-been who's been assigned to an old Constitution class which is on its last legs. It's even been used by the Empire in target practice a few times, which is why they claim it's impossible for Styles to change the ship's name, the "Clay Pigeon".
Both times I've run the Dark Trek game, the players have handed a "rocks fall, the captain dies" in the most hilarious manner imaginable. Each time, they didn't team up to kill off the captain. They all had their own private schemes running, usually set to go off at the same time.
By the time the second game's first "episode" concluded, the party had poisoned him with a binary toxin, electrocuted him when one of those hand-crank elevator controls overloaded, blew out the electricals in the overhead lighting, causing recently-replaced, non-insulated copper wire to fall into the car (electrocuting him a second time,) and finally overcompressing the elevator's environmentals, blew out the bridge door, and simultaneously overrode the safeties on the bridge hatch and blew it out into space. This turned the entire bridge into an instant hurricane of loose debris and random superior officers, eliminating the PC's promotion problems in the process.
Eventually, the players tricked out the backup bridge and made that the main control room for their ship. The main bridge they left open to space, found the corpse of Captain Styles, duct-taped him to the captain's chair, and used him as an object lesson for anyone who thought the PC's were "nice people". They'd show *that*, and follow it up with something like, "If we did that to our *captain*, imagine what we'll do to *you*?"
Games like that are hard to top, but they're usually a lot of fun. :)
That...that is epic. Now I want to play a dark trek RPG!!
Is my story allowed to be literal? Because it's completely literal.
One of my first 4e campaigns, I have the characters venturing into a cave to rescue the King's daughter who was kidnapped by Goblins. The boss chamber is at the bottom of a 30-foot hole. The characters slide down and I have some goblins they failed to clear out earlier drop rocks on them from the top.
They're playing a premade first level encounter at second level and the paper says 3d8 damage. So I roll 3d8 damage. Four players are in the area, and I KO 3 of them.
Conveniently, this panel effectively happens. While the characters are trying to figure out how to get out of this, the (now-unconscious) Cleric is saying that he should be asking for divine intervention. I tell him to roll a Religion check - the intent would be for it to be DC30, and each attempted use would raise the DC by 5 spanning the campaign. He has a Religion skill of 11, which means he would get it on a 19. Sure enough, he crits it instead. Time rewinds noticeably for everyone affected, and this time, instead of rocks falling on their heads, a trio of goblins fall to their death.
One of my first 4e campaigns, I have the characters venturing into a cave to rescue the King's daughter who was kidnapped by Goblins. The boss chamber is at the bottom of a 30-foot hole. The characters slide down and I have some goblins they failed to clear out earlier drop rocks on them from the top.
They're playing a premade first level encounter at second level and the paper says 3d8 damage. So I roll 3d8 damage. Four players are in the area, and I KO 3 of them.
Conveniently, this panel effectively happens. While the characters are trying to figure out how to get out of this, the (now-unconscious) Cleric is saying that he should be asking for divine intervention. I tell him to roll a Religion check - the intent would be for it to be DC30, and each attempted use would raise the DC by 5 spanning the campaign. He has a Religion skill of 11, which means he would get it on a 19. Sure enough, he crits it instead. Time rewinds noticeably for everyone affected, and this time, instead of rocks falling on their heads, a trio of goblins fall to their death.
Not quite the same, but I had a "DM quit, everyone dies" happen a couple weeks ago.
Also, my friend was in a high-level 3.5 campaign and the DM angrily decided to drop a literal mountain on them. With some quick thinking, a combination of Morph Stone and eating druid animal companions, and a week of waiting, and they got out unscathed.
So they had a Rocks Fall Everyone Dies, and WON.
Also, my friend was in a high-level 3.5 campaign and the DM angrily decided to drop a literal mountain on them. With some quick thinking, a combination of Morph Stone and eating druid animal companions, and a week of waiting, and they got out unscathed.
So they had a Rocks Fall Everyone Dies, and WON.
The closest I've ever come to such a thing (other than a DM who would threaten us with a insta-death door if we started to annoy him. Not rail-roading, just getting annoyed), was when our group was playing a Savage Worlds game and we got ambushed by three invisible Illithids.
The first to fall was our "wooden paladin," who had just enough time to shout "they're in the corners" before getting three simultaneous mind blasts that outright killed him.
Next was our Kid Prodigy Mage, followed quickly by my Magic Archer.
Then our Old Man War Veteran managed to last /six more rounds/ against these invisible Mind Flayers, before they took him down and he was eaten, too.
Suffice to say, our group hates Illithids now.
And that's the story of our GM's first TPK.
The first to fall was our "wooden paladin," who had just enough time to shout "they're in the corners" before getting three simultaneous mind blasts that outright killed him.
Next was our Kid Prodigy Mage, followed quickly by my Magic Archer.
Then our Old Man War Veteran managed to last /six more rounds/ against these invisible Mind Flayers, before they took him down and he was eaten, too.
Suffice to say, our group hates Illithids now.
And that's the story of our GM's first TPK.
@Darkside
I've played Savage Worlds before. It was fun. It was a super-hero campaign, and I was playing a russian super-anti-hero who had a suit that was a combination of Iron Man and the Master Chief. I even had a cup-holder in my belt.
I've played Savage Worlds before. It was fun. It was a super-hero campaign, and I was playing a russian super-anti-hero who had a suit that was a combination of Iron Man and the Master Chief. I even had a cup-holder in my belt.
Tiefling fighter decides that collapsing the ceiling would be an excellent tactic against a boss. We had seen the map of the cave, and all tried to stop him from...
dropping a room of Stone Golems on us.
My Players dropped a rock on one of my main villains once. In hindsight making the entrance to his lair at the bottom of a pit AND having him stand there during the climactic battle were big factors. In my defence most of the party was at the bottom of said pit already.
Well I wasn't present for it, but our party had to deal with a situation like that.
Our first legitimate DM was all about DM is God, players are nothing style of DMing. He wouldn't let us get away with anything unless it was stupid amazing and roleplayed like a boss (and were all new to this, and had no chance of performing as such). This got on our nerves a little, and we continually tried to jump the rails on him, only to have him retaliate with near-impossible situations; the only reason we would survive is because he wanted to exude his power over us more later. Well one session, he decided enough was enough and had our lvl 4 party (excluding my character, as I wasn't there to witness it), suddenly and quite randomly come face to face with an Ancient Dragon.
Needless to say, almost instantaneous TPK, and the other party members decided to give up on his campaign. I sided with them of course.
Our first legitimate DM was all about DM is God, players are nothing style of DMing. He wouldn't let us get away with anything unless it was stupid amazing and roleplayed like a boss (and were all new to this, and had no chance of performing as such). This got on our nerves a little, and we continually tried to jump the rails on him, only to have him retaliate with near-impossible situations; the only reason we would survive is because he wanted to exude his power over us more later. Well one session, he decided enough was enough and had our lvl 4 party (excluding my character, as I wasn't there to witness it), suddenly and quite randomly come face to face with an Ancient Dragon.
Needless to say, almost instantaneous TPK, and the other party members decided to give up on his campaign. I sided with them of course.
I had a sh*tty DM like that, once. I was maybe 7-8 years old, and there was a D&D summer workshop. So we have a massive party, with bunch of kids. We're going along, and we find this HUGE pile of treasure, just sitting in the open. Everyone else starts going through it, taking stuff, but I see an old man off to the side. I go over and ask if it's his stuff, and the GM makes the old man cast a fear spell on me! I was f*cking running around, screaming my head off, with absolutely no control over my character, and when it wears off, he says I'm too tired to even move. What the f*ck? I'm the only one who doesn't randomly grab sh*t, and I'm the one who gets incapacitated. WHO F*CKING DOES THAT TO A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD?!?
had a rocks fall, I die before.
mass effect setting, using a poorly converted dark herasy system. we are tracking down a group of mercs who may have had something to do with the death of a specter we are investigating. for some reason, i think that since they are mercs, we can get them to do the legwork for us. so i set up a meeting with the boss merc, and pay him to track down a "missing individual" for us. as i turn to leave, he goes "i am not thick you know" and takes me hostage. i panic, and yell HELP to the rest of the party who are outside. the gm just turns to me and says "he shoots you in the head. you are now dead". que kickass gunfight in a seedy bar that i can not parcipitate in because i am dead.
mass effect setting, using a poorly converted dark herasy system. we are tracking down a group of mercs who may have had something to do with the death of a specter we are investigating. for some reason, i think that since they are mercs, we can get them to do the legwork for us. so i set up a meeting with the boss merc, and pay him to track down a "missing individual" for us. as i turn to leave, he goes "i am not thick you know" and takes me hostage. i panic, and yell HELP to the rest of the party who are outside. the gm just turns to me and says "he shoots you in the head. you are now dead". que kickass gunfight in a seedy bar that i can not parcipitate in because i am dead.
Well it's not quite "Rocks fall! Everyone dies!" but...
For some long forgotten reason, our party is in a monastery that's being invaded by velociraptors and suddenly starts to collapse all around us-all to the tune of Ragnarok Online's 'Monastery in Disguise' BGM
For some long forgotten reason, our party is in a monastery that's being invaded by velociraptors and suddenly starts to collapse all around us-all to the tune of Ragnarok Online's 'Monastery in Disguise' BGM
This actually explains the whole "sixth element is magic" thing so much better than the show did. Thank you for the excellent writing! <3
Oh, hey, I just noticed that NM used her wing as a shield against the light. Nice touch.
If the GM's anything like ME, his reaction was, "Holy crap! That was better than what I'd come up with!" *erase erase erase crumple crumple crumple* "That's it! Yeah! Magic! That's the ticket!"
I call this "Penguin Plotting", for reasons explained here: http://kddr.blogspot.com/2010/07/fine-feathered-felony.html
I call this "Penguin Plotting", for reasons explained here: http://kddr.blogspot.com/2010/07/fine-feathered-felony.html
.... and that's the wrong entry. I can't FIND my discourse on "Penguin Plotting"!
Wrong JOURNAL:
http://athelind.livejournal.com/341507.html
http://athelind.livejournal.com/341507.html
Ok, so the DM got a bit mad at all of this, stepped out, and another DM came in and started doing daily life? Or are we going down that path at all? I suppose he can just do the episodes it makes sense to send an adventuring party on. So, the next one would be...Boast Busters is possible, but my bet's on Dragonshy if we're going down that route.
And now the GM has only one hope left to continue the fight with his sanity intact: Praying to the RNG for the dreaded natural one. Too bad the RNG doesn't like evil railroading GMs. :p
I think we'll be able to gleam into the personality of the GM in the next few strips, based on his actions. Should give us an insight on how the next episodes will progress as well.
What do you think, will he:
a) Be an angry railroader, bent on getting revenge on the PCs in a future session?
b) Quit in frustration and be replaced by the PCs or another GM?
c) Stop being a "Killer GM" (those were some pretty unfair challenges for a lvl 1 party, plus he was ready to TPK them after Twilight's gambit)?
d) Stop railroading as much and start making stuff up on the fly more (like a good GM does).
I think we'll be able to gleam into the personality of the GM in the next few strips, based on his actions. Should give us an insight on how the next episodes will progress as well.
What do you think, will he:
a) Be an angry railroader, bent on getting revenge on the PCs in a future session?
b) Quit in frustration and be replaced by the PCs or another GM?
c) Stop being a "Killer GM" (those were some pretty unfair challenges for a lvl 1 party, plus he was ready to TPK them after Twilight's gambit)?
d) Stop railroading as much and start making stuff up on the fly more (like a good GM does).
Well it could also be that "Ticket Master" and the whole gala arc is basically the DM fishing for a new hook now that the players have beaten the BBEG in the first session. After that the various slice of life sessions might be the result of scheduling conflicts preventing the whole group from meeting at once and so to pass time the play out some character building mini-adventures. If that's the case, then Apple Bloom, might actually be a younger sibling who one of the players was forced to bring with them, ala Sally of Darths and Droids fame, who then starts inviting her own friends resulting in the CMC-centric episodes.
ah could see that hapining or all three cmc's being younger players.
If the OGM does step out, I am totally 100% okay with the party running episodes while he is plotting revenge in the form of a min-maxed, meta-gamed, mindbogglingly broken campaign boss named Discord, strong-arms it into a session as a guest GM, and we have ourselves a bit of GM on GM psych warfare.
So how many dice of damage does the team get to roll I wonder?
All of them? :D
All of them? :D
If anyone gets the reference, I will hug you.
None, the GM has one last trick up his sleeve. After Twilights epic speech the elements fire the rainbow death ray. The ray makes an attack vs Will on Nightmare Moon, and changes her alignment to good upon a hit, and Lawful Good on a critical hit. The GM wrongly thinks this way at least Rainbow won't be happy about the ending, but she is the first to cheer about this of course.
Roll *ALL* the dice? *Takes out bag of Zochi's Golfballs*
EDIT: I'm fairly sure that almost no one knows what a Zochi's Golball is. It's a 100-sided die.
EDIT: I'm fairly sure that almost no one knows what a Zochi's Golball is. It's a 100-sided die.
ALL?
B-b-but...
Wha? Gg..b-b bawabba?
*calms down*
I have three of those if garage storage tubs full of D20s...
And six boxes of lucky dice...
And a box where I keep all the evil ones that roll 1s continuously for When I play Paranoia.
Or for slipping into the hands of people about to make important rolls.
I think that rolling all my dice would result in about 1500-40K damage
Did I mention my DAwesomes, which are golf balls with random numbers from 1 to three hundred carefully painted on each little side.
B-b-but...
Wha? Gg..b-b bawabba?
*calms down*
I have three of those if garage storage tubs full of D20s...
And six boxes of lucky dice...
And a box where I keep all the evil ones that roll 1s continuously for When I play Paranoia.
Or for slipping into the hands of people about to make important rolls.
I think that rolling all my dice would result in about 1500-40K damage
Did I mention my DAwesomes, which are golf balls with random numbers from 1 to three hundred carefully painted on each little side.
Kind of hard to believe that Twilight's char-sheet still has that -1 skill penalty to Bluff, considering how expertly her player just pulled that out of the ol' rear end.
good roleplayers don't need social skill checks to convince NPCs
Ten bucks said Twilight's player got it off the box the game came in. "Friendship Is Magic" seems like something they would put on the back cover if it was a premade campaign.
If it was supposed to be a year long custom campaign to discover the "magic inside us all," and she got it in the one session, my reaction as GM after the initial shock would probably be a deadpan "F*** you," finish the game, and just spit ball a bunch of slice of life games around for the party if they wanted to keep using those characters.
Course if you do switch GMs, you could have a game with the original playing Discord, out for blood and with the entire campaign and original character sheets at his disposal.
If it was supposed to be a year long custom campaign to discover the "magic inside us all," and she got it in the one session, my reaction as GM after the initial shock would probably be a deadpan "F*** you," finish the game, and just spit ball a bunch of slice of life games around for the party if they wanted to keep using those characters.
Course if you do switch GMs, you could have a game with the original playing Discord, out for blood and with the entire campaign and original character sheets at his disposal.
In the first comic it is said to be a "brand new custom setting"
I think the DM's reaction confirms the "theory" of earlier posts, that the party has jumped WAY ahead in the plot due to Twilight's shenanigans.
DM: How did...you couldn't have...HOW IN THE NINE HELLS DID YOU GUESS MAGIC?
Twilight: Well, I just sort of reasoned it out and it just made sense.
DM: Just made sense? Five Elements representing general virtues and the last representing "something wizards do"?
AJ: So you deliberately made the last Element not match the others just to mess with us? What, just to drag our session out?
DM: *pulls out thick notebook* I had created a full campaign for you guys to explore. Filled with dangerous encounters, both combat and social. But now that you defeated NMM in the first session, how can I possibly top that? How can I keep you engaged?
FS: Um, well, can't the encounters come to Ponyville?
DM:...What?
FS: The Everfree Forest is still an unnatural place, and we live right next to it. I'm sure that many monsters you planned us to meet would feel right at home there.
DM: But...I wanted you to meet some ponies who specifically can't be from Ponyville. How can I...
FS: What types of ponies?
DM: Well...one of them is a stage performer.
FS: She can be part of a traveling show. And I'm sure you can use our backstories to give us motivation to visit other places as well, and it will feel less like we're being dragged around.
DM:...You're right. Sorry, I kind of invested a lot of time in this.
FS: There, there. Now how about you pull out the flavor text about how the Elements work? I'm sure it's quite impressive.
DM: Right. Let me just reach into the back here.
RD:...How did you do that? I was sure he was gonna disallow SOMETHING so we'd have to follow the original plot.
FS: I studied a bit about conflict resolution since my character doesn't have many combat capabilities. It's mainly about figuring out what the person REALLY wants.
Rarity:...Fluttershy, if I ever seem to underestimate you, I want you to bring up this conversation.
FS: Why?
Rarity: Because I need to be reminded not to mess with you.
DM: How did...you couldn't have...HOW IN THE NINE HELLS DID YOU GUESS MAGIC?
Twilight: Well, I just sort of reasoned it out and it just made sense.
DM: Just made sense? Five Elements representing general virtues and the last representing "something wizards do"?
AJ: So you deliberately made the last Element not match the others just to mess with us? What, just to drag our session out?
DM: *pulls out thick notebook* I had created a full campaign for you guys to explore. Filled with dangerous encounters, both combat and social. But now that you defeated NMM in the first session, how can I possibly top that? How can I keep you engaged?
FS: Um, well, can't the encounters come to Ponyville?
DM:...What?
FS: The Everfree Forest is still an unnatural place, and we live right next to it. I'm sure that many monsters you planned us to meet would feel right at home there.
DM: But...I wanted you to meet some ponies who specifically can't be from Ponyville. How can I...
FS: What types of ponies?
DM: Well...one of them is a stage performer.
FS: She can be part of a traveling show. And I'm sure you can use our backstories to give us motivation to visit other places as well, and it will feel less like we're being dragged around.
DM:...You're right. Sorry, I kind of invested a lot of time in this.
FS: There, there. Now how about you pull out the flavor text about how the Elements work? I'm sure it's quite impressive.
DM: Right. Let me just reach into the back here.
RD:...How did you do that? I was sure he was gonna disallow SOMETHING so we'd have to follow the original plot.
FS: I studied a bit about conflict resolution since my character doesn't have many combat capabilities. It's mainly about figuring out what the person REALLY wants.
Rarity:...Fluttershy, if I ever seem to underestimate you, I want you to bring up this conversation.
FS: Why?
Rarity: Because I need to be reminded not to mess with you.
True, but the comments are flat-out *awesome*. I may not always know the technical side of RPGing, but the stories and the humor are what keep me coming back.
Hey guys,
I just have been itching to mention this, but everyone's talking about how miffed the GM should be right now, what with the players running away with the act... but isn't that what RPGs are all about, honestly?
Having some experience as a GM myself, it's that element of surprises on the players' part that keeps me going.
I just have been itching to mention this, but everyone's talking about how miffed the GM should be right now, what with the players running away with the act... but isn't that what RPGs are all about, honestly?
Having some experience as a GM myself, it's that element of surprises on the players' part that keeps me going.
A few examples?
Okay, so we've got a party of 5 - 2 rogues, 2 wizards, and 1 warrior - playing in a Dragon Age RPG.
Well, first off, one of my wizards and rogues have latched onto a little girl side-character and taken her under their wings (even though she wasn't intended to be a major side character). She was a latent psyker in a wizard-phobic world, and the sanctioned wizard in our party gave her this heart-warming speech about coming to terms with her powers (speaking as the GM, it totally made me cry - and later on I decided that because of that speech, the little girl would find the strength to save the party during a hostage situation. The villain was the girl's treacherous uncle, and he was holding her brother at knife point. The party didn't know what to do, but boy, was the villain surprised when he suddenly got blasted in the back with a psychic bolt from the girl. Didn't even see it coming).
Then there was one time when the party was trying to get an artifact from an angry and zenophobic blacksmith. While the rest of the party planned on burning down the blacksmith's house (did I mention they really didn't like this guy), the party warrior went to talk with the blacksmith because he thought they could find common ground in their bulging, rippling abs.
Well, by the end of the encounter, when all else failed and the other party members were sneaking around outside with the oil and matches, the warrior ended up challenging the blacksmith to an arm-wrestling competition!
Winner would keep the artifact!
Well, I was floored. Hadn't seen it coming at all, but of course the blacksmith couldn't refuse a display of strength. I had to come up with rules for arm-wrestling on the fly, and it was a pretty epic scene. By the end, the blacksmith had technically won, but he had so much respect for the warrior putting up a good fight that he gave him the artifact anyway.
Okay, so we've got a party of 5 - 2 rogues, 2 wizards, and 1 warrior - playing in a Dragon Age RPG.
Well, first off, one of my wizards and rogues have latched onto a little girl side-character and taken her under their wings (even though she wasn't intended to be a major side character). She was a latent psyker in a wizard-phobic world, and the sanctioned wizard in our party gave her this heart-warming speech about coming to terms with her powers (speaking as the GM, it totally made me cry - and later on I decided that because of that speech, the little girl would find the strength to save the party during a hostage situation. The villain was the girl's treacherous uncle, and he was holding her brother at knife point. The party didn't know what to do, but boy, was the villain surprised when he suddenly got blasted in the back with a psychic bolt from the girl. Didn't even see it coming).
Then there was one time when the party was trying to get an artifact from an angry and zenophobic blacksmith. While the rest of the party planned on burning down the blacksmith's house (did I mention they really didn't like this guy), the party warrior went to talk with the blacksmith because he thought they could find common ground in their bulging, rippling abs.
Well, by the end of the encounter, when all else failed and the other party members were sneaking around outside with the oil and matches, the warrior ended up challenging the blacksmith to an arm-wrestling competition!
Winner would keep the artifact!
Well, I was floored. Hadn't seen it coming at all, but of course the blacksmith couldn't refuse a display of strength. I had to come up with rules for arm-wrestling on the fly, and it was a pretty epic scene. By the end, the blacksmith had technically won, but he had so much respect for the warrior putting up a good fight that he gave him the artifact anyway.
Final story, and I'm done - I promise.
In one particular plot twist, the party's other wizard, a Dalish Elf (think forest elf), finds out that his childhood friend has been possessed by a demon and is raising an army of undead to bring flaming vengeance down upon the world of man.
Well, the elf wizard's been pretty quiet throughout this quest, but before he has the epic confrontation with his demon-possessed friend, he finds the children of his elven caravan. They've been kidnapped and caged up by the demon-possessed friend, and he has a heart-warming talk with them (there are a lot of heart-warming speeches with my party, if you haven't noticed yet). The children tell the elven wizard that his friend is still in that Abomination, somewhere, and the wizard promises the children that he won't kill his friend, if he can help it.
Then when the party gets to the boss chamber, they get instantly ambushed by skeletons that rise up from the ground and hold them at sword-point.
I wanted the skeletons to hold the party at sword-point so I could have the boss give his monologue without being interrupted - but of course, the elven wizard wasn't having any of that. The skeletons were magically programmed to attack anything that made a false move, and in true Doctor Who fashion, the elf steps up, gets slashed by the skeletons for 20 damage (he's down to 1 hp at this point - and no, I didn't plan that) then he starts arguing with his demonic-possessed buddy. I really didn't see that coming, and the elf does such a good job of distracting the demon, I give the rest of the party time to think up a plan to get out of their situation.
So yeah, I guess for some GMs, they feel that a nice, straight railroad is the best way, but I prefer my unbeaten paths through dark and deadly forests and bottomless chasms any day. I've had players surprise me constantly, and it's the surprise that keeps the game fun.
In one particular plot twist, the party's other wizard, a Dalish Elf (think forest elf), finds out that his childhood friend has been possessed by a demon and is raising an army of undead to bring flaming vengeance down upon the world of man.
Well, the elf wizard's been pretty quiet throughout this quest, but before he has the epic confrontation with his demon-possessed friend, he finds the children of his elven caravan. They've been kidnapped and caged up by the demon-possessed friend, and he has a heart-warming talk with them (there are a lot of heart-warming speeches with my party, if you haven't noticed yet). The children tell the elven wizard that his friend is still in that Abomination, somewhere, and the wizard promises the children that he won't kill his friend, if he can help it.
Then when the party gets to the boss chamber, they get instantly ambushed by skeletons that rise up from the ground and hold them at sword-point.
I wanted the skeletons to hold the party at sword-point so I could have the boss give his monologue without being interrupted - but of course, the elven wizard wasn't having any of that. The skeletons were magically programmed to attack anything that made a false move, and in true Doctor Who fashion, the elf steps up, gets slashed by the skeletons for 20 damage (he's down to 1 hp at this point - and no, I didn't plan that) then he starts arguing with his demonic-possessed buddy. I really didn't see that coming, and the elf does such a good job of distracting the demon, I give the rest of the party time to think up a plan to get out of their situation.
So yeah, I guess for some GMs, they feel that a nice, straight railroad is the best way, but I prefer my unbeaten paths through dark and deadly forests and bottomless chasms any day. I've had players surprise me constantly, and it's the surprise that keeps the game fun.
Wow, you sound like you must have an AWESOME group. I wish I could see some of your sessions.
That aside, a good GM has to learn to adapt and incorporate anything the players could bring to the table. Sure, I've been surprised a few times by my group but the next minute, I'm already planning on how to use what the group did in the story.
Xanatos Speed Chess is something a GM must be able to do.
I'm sorry, I got distracted at 'bulging, rippling abs'. First, the image of two men flexing their abs at each other as a show of comraderie was hilarious, then it got hot...
I'm sorry, what was I saying?
I'm sorry, what was I saying?
Oh, so you mean the display between ALEX LOUIS ARMSTRONG and Mr. Curtis (I can't remember his name right now) from Fullmetal Alchemist?
Because that's totally what happened.
Well, minus the "then it got hot..." bit.
Because that's totally what happened.
Well, minus the "then it got hot..." bit.
"THIS METHOD OF FAST TALKING THE DM HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"
8th Panel, Pinkie has the same nightmare stare that she does at the end of Bridle Gossip, when the camera's panning out and everyone else is laughing. Ad she's just sitting there, staring at the camera like "I see you out there, and I'm coming to get you." Same look.
ATTENTION ALL BRONYS:
ENTITY KNOWN AS PINKIE PIE HAS BEEN REPORTEDLY ATTEMPTING TO BREACH THE 4TH WALL. IN THE EVENT OF 4TH WALL BREACH, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REASON. THE ONLY ADVISABLE ACTION OF ENSURED SAFETY IS TO HUG THE PONY.
THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT BROUGHT TO YOU BY BRONY_IS_MAGIC. THANK YOU.
ENTITY KNOWN AS PINKIE PIE HAS BEEN REPORTEDLY ATTEMPTING TO BREACH THE 4TH WALL. IN THE EVENT OF 4TH WALL BREACH, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REASON. THE ONLY ADVISABLE ACTION OF ENSURED SAFETY IS TO HUG THE PONY.
THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT BROUGHT TO YOU BY BRONY_IS_MAGIC. THANK YOU.
Newbiespud, I hereby give you 1d4 Internets as a reward for an awesome strip.
I've actually had a player do that legitimately. Fourth edition, the character used Strength as their dump stat (Pacifist Cleric - assloads of healing, attacks for shit). With no better action at the time, the Cleric decides to try a basic attack against a Minion in front of him (Minions only ever have 1HP). He lands the attack successfully, but due to his Strength of 8, his damage roll is 1d4 - 1 (that's MINUS 1).
Sure enough, he rolls a 1.
Sure enough, he rolls a 1.
Activate Eyes of Multidice to make that 6d4. And then the helm of Nat-20 to make it a solid 120.
I'm just amazed that he managed to get 120 on 6d4. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense.
Did she just explained that by saying "I don't have to explain shit, it's magic" ? That's the first time that I see it used that way. Brilliant.
Interesting reaction from the DM. He seems shocked, but I imagine he must be enjoying himself. After all, it's his world and he's chosen to allow everything so far. He wouldn't do that if he was actually upset.
Looking forward to the next one.
Looking forward to the next one.
Mr. Newbispud,
Thank you. I thoroughly enjoy your comic, and greatly appreciate it, as it is currently my only source of pony. Thank you again.
-Brony Is Magic
Thank you. I thoroughly enjoy your comic, and greatly appreciate it, as it is currently my only source of pony. Thank you again.
-Brony Is Magic
Sorry, it's 11 pm. I'm tired out of my mind and don't know what I'm doing.
I should say so. You have internet access. By no account should this be your ONLY source of Pony.
Sorry. My only input of NEW pony. But, E19 has come out, so I am filled with hope.
Meh, average episode. Nothing really special to mention, little rewatchability.
^^Like he said, EQD. New art, comics, pmvs, music, etc., every day.
^^Like he said, EQD. New art, comics, pmvs, music, etc., every day.
I hope that, after this story's done, we see something similar to what 'Darths and Droids' does after each movie: shows the GM notes about what he had PLANNED for the story, so we can see just how far the party derailed it.
It's pretty gutsy of TS's player to make such a touchy-feely speech in real life. And also endearing. And this might the over-emotional goofball inside me, but I can't help but think she's genuinely pouring her heart out.
Sometimes, it's actually easier to make those touchy-feely speeches during a roleplaying game.
I'm told roleplaying was originally a therapy technique, so... yeah.
DM: F**k it, im out... all my freaking campaign ruined because of lucky guesses.
TS: They weren't "Lucky guesses", you dropped your notes about 5 minutes ago.
DM: WHAT?! *Looks at the ground* WHAT?!?!
TS: They weren't "Lucky guesses", you dropped your notes about 5 minutes ago.
DM: WHAT?! *Looks at the ground* WHAT?!?!
ah figger after this wraps up the slice of life episodes will be the players takeing turns dming when some folks cant show up.
Ahh yes, i am quite familer with this sort of thing. Sometimes the players just enjoy screwing with the dm.
Well, I tried anyways. And failed. Badly.
But the point is that I tired!
Should I think it's sad that a webcomic based on a children's TV show is better than anything made by Marvel or DC?
I was going to post some witty, sarcastic response referencing subliminal homosexuality and immaturity, and then I didn't.
No, no you should not.
No, no you should not.
Watch Justice League, you will be amazed. It's like Dragon Ball, only with STORY. FUN story! And GOOD fights.
And then the Cadmus arc starts tying in events that date back to Superman Adventures and Batman, the Animated Series. Better by far than Dragon Ball.
One of the things I always liked about the Justice League was that Cadmuus created team of superheros/clones. Anyone else realize that they were upgraded versions of the secondary characters from the old Superfriends cartoon? (SuperSamurai, Apache Cheif, The Wonder Twins, and an odd take on Black Lightning)
I don't think I made it that far. I was always partial to Teen Titans, and I caught a bit of Young Justice when it first started airing.
As for Marvel, aside from the odd amazing movie (that they immediately try to devastate with one or two horrifying sequels), and the retro Spiderman meme, there really isn't anything there. I feel like a FIM movie would trump any of their movies, not to mention be the highest grossing film of all time.
As for Marvel, aside from the odd amazing movie (that they immediately try to devastate with one or two horrifying sequels), and the retro Spiderman meme, there really isn't anything there. I feel like a FIM movie would trump any of their movies, not to mention be the highest grossing film of all time.
I never liked superheroes before Justice League. Hell, I didn't even know the Green Lantern existed! Now? Constantly referencing them.
I did download the entire Teen Titans series a while back, still have to get around to watching it. But I'm pretty sure that if you liked Teen Titans, you'll like Justice League. Though it might be a bit more violent in comparison. (Let's face it. The entire show is about super heroes beating the crap out of super villains and even one another. AND IT'S AWESOME :D)
I have seen it, I just never finished it. I think. I don't remember how Cadmus ended. I do remember gratuitous amounts of so-called "military personnel", and thinking that the artists should have given them real guns instead of stupid looking fake shoulder-mounted lasers.
But yeah other than that it was a great show, and Young Justice is cut from the same cloth.
But yeah other than that it was a great show, and Young Justice is cut from the same cloth.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold. "The Music Meister". Best. Superhero. Musical. Episode. Ever.
I second that! My bro even gave me the soundtrack for Christmas. Wait... Why hasn't Music Meister been ponified? This injustice must be rectified! NPH deserves better!
Hulk Vs. Wolverine is worth it purely for the note-perfect original!Deadpool:
http://youtu.be/sAI5y20X2Gk
http://youtu.be/sAI5y20X2Gk
No sadder than the show *itself* being better than what Marvel and DC are putting out these days...
I must have read this one like 50 times, and every time I get shivers. This is /so good/.
So the DM's more likely to give a slow clap than rage-quit on them?
It's not really aimed at girls. The target audience is actually adult males, but there's a big conspiracy.