(Creaturefies your ponies)

((Refuses to explain))

(((Leaves)))

The Chinese Zodiac

Those accepted into this tribe gain the ability to shift into one or more animals under the sign.

Each individual initially has a different affinity for this shifting capacity. Some will find it relatively easy to gain traits of the animal, some will find it relatively easy to hybridize with the animal, some will find it relatively easy to entirely become the animal, some will find it easy to partially shift, and some will even find it relatively difficult to not be shifted, as some examples. Additionally, what animals can be accessed differs from person to person. Some will find it easy to access a single animal, some will find it difficult to control which animal's traits they use, and some will find it difficult to utilize only a single animal. An unfortunate number find themselves in the unfortunate position of finding any use of this ability difficult.

However, this ability is one that can be learned, bettered, and honed with time, effort, and practice. Even the most inept of this ability can become quite skilled if driven enough to work for it.

OA stands for Origin Age, which is the timeframe in which it can be assumed that the clock aligns. The only reason it exists is because I want to assume that I have what I would have in this world. After all, I am selfish like that.

Rat; OA: 1996; Of all the animals, this one is the most stable, deviating only minorly from 'common perception'. For example, their size and fur color are the few things that will generally change for most people.

Ox; OA: 1997; Ox includes all kinds of cattle and buffalo.

Tiger; OA: 1998; Various types of tigers, even rarely including the Sabertooth Tiger, though no one knows what that is. Uncommonly includes orange cats, such as a tabby, and extremely rarely includes the cat dog.

Rabbit; OA: 1999; Includes various rabbits, rarely including a particularly dangerous carnivorous variety.

Dragon; OA: 2000; Is only the personal conception of what a Dragon should be, it is the least stable from person to person. Some can fly, some have venom, some can breathe flame, some have feathered wings, some have furry bodies, some are large, some are small, some are insectile, some have seven limbs, some have tails, some of horns, some have multiple heads, some are little more than large snakes. They are diverse in nature being the only 'truly unreal' animal, however, the concept of what someone considers to be a dragon seldom changes much in their life. Most of those under this sign are restricted to that singular concept as if it were the only type of dragon to ever exist. Rarely, someone will have general freedoms, being restricted to traits or body type rather than a 'single' dragon. An extremely rare few are capable of leveraging the 'unrealness' to their advantage, capable of adding or removing traits and forms as they desire. This is, an extremely few, easily within the 1% of the 1%.

Snake; OA: 2001; Includes all manner of snakes, small and large, rarely including sea serpents or even a basilisk. Disturbingly, basilisks do not vary in capacity from person to person despite their assumed 'fictional' status, highly venomous gargantuan serpents with three sets of eyes, only one set can actually see, one set can paralyze those who look into it and the other set petrifies those who look into it, turning them to stone. Se Serpents, however, those who can access it, enjoy nearly all of the benefits that dragons do, though in a more limited fashion.

Horse; OA: 2002; Includes all manner of horses, rarely including Zebras or Reindeer, an extreme few include unicorns, alicorns, pegasi, hippocamps, sleipnir, kelpies, and a creature known as a nightmare. Unicorns, Alicorns, Pegasi, Hippocamps, Sleipnire, Kelpies, and Nightmares enjoy many of the benefits of dragons in that they are not real animals, so many traits of them can differ from person to person, but they tend to have the same physicality and generally similar traits with others of their type, which is mostly attributed by scholars due to the shared ancestry of 'they are horses'. (Ask or comment if you want to know what traits I attribute to all of them)

Goat; OA: 2003; Includes all manner of goats, uncommonly includes sheep as well.

Monkey; OA: 2004; Includes all manner of monkeys, does not include apes, however.

Rooster; OA: 2005; Includes most if not all birds, though chickens are disproportionally common.

Dog; OA: 2006; Includes all manner of dog breeds, uncommonly including wolves, extremely rarely the wolf cat.

Pig; OA: 2007; Includes pigs and boars.

Shifting Method: Considered to be self shifting, as such, no change, a 12-year cycle when looked at alone.

Do you like your capacities in this world were you born into this world? Feel free to comment below.

A Little Traveling Music - Making travel interesting in RPGs

Hullo, Gentle Readers. This week’s Question from a Denizen comes to us from an Anonymous source. They ask, “Hi! I'm a longtime DM and reader of dmsden (Been thinking about making my own DnD tumblr but that's another story). However, one thing I've always struggled with is the inevitable, and fabled, travel session. So, with a huge change in location coming up in my game, I wanted to ask. What tips do you have for keeping travel sessions fast paced, interesting, and most importantly, feel like a worthwhile use of my player's time?”

Honestly, I love travel sessions. Right now, in the little side game I’m running as we prep for the big showdown with the Tarrasque, my players are travelers through a dense and deadly jungle. We’ve doing a series of travel sessions, but they are just as full of adventure and excitement as any dungeon. You can easily handwave them, of course, but they are, in my opinion, an excellent way to reinforce some of the themes and moods of your campaign and the adventure, as well as to show off the three pillars of D&D.

You can use travel sessions to set the atmosphere and the mood you want to evoke very easily. If you describe a shadowy moor where the local winds have scoured the bare rock into eerie shapes, that’s a very different mood than if you describe a tranquil, rolling farmland, where peasants pause, leaning on their plows, to watch the adventures pass. A lush jungle with vibrantly colored flowers that hide the bones of those who got too near feels very different from a moonlit feytouched forest where elegant white deer cavort and gambol in meadows of clover.

Use descriptions that evoke the senses. The rainforest my PCs are venturing through smells green, with underlying notes of decay. It’s humid, and sometimes sudden rainfalls drench them. Insects buzz, while the cries of hunting jungle cats in the distance keep everyone awake. Talk about what they see and hear, but also what they smell, what the temperature and humidity might be like, any physical sensations they might experience, and any tastes in the air.

I like to talk about the weather, and I’ve usually used random weather tables to chart out the next few weeks before any session, taking notes and using that info to inspire my narrative. Rain is a frequent inconvenience in the jungle. In a desert, it could be incredibly refreshing and welcome. At sea, it could presage the coming of a dangerous storm.

Beyond mood and the senses, use travel to reinforce the themes of your campaign. Is your land one torn by war? Occasionally describe the scene where a battle played out, with broken weapons, old stains, places where fire scorched the soil, and the like. My land is one of ancient, fallen civilizations, so the landscape is dotted with mysterious ruins that remind the traveler of the people who once lived there. If you have an authoritarian government in the area, have patrols demanding the PCs’ business in the land or collecting “taxes”. If it’s lawless, have bandit encounters more frequent, showing that the roads are no longer patrolled as they once were.

Combat encounters are easy enough to understand. You can find all kinds of dangers on a journey, from carnivorous plants encroaching on the trails to gnoll raiders, orc bandits, hobgoblin patrols, or a wandering dragon looking for a place to settle and start a hoard. Travel gives you opportunities to have interesting terrain features in the encounter or to have another group come in either on the PCs’ sides or against them. Since things are mostly wide open, other people could come from (or run away to) any direction.

Social encounters can be just about anything or everything. Your PCs might meet with a group of knights seeking that dragon to make it seek greener pastures. They might meet some pegasi and try to convince them to take them over the dangerous forest in their way. They might meet a gnome merchant and his warforged bodyguard selling potions and trinkets. They might meet a caravan of merchants who’re panicked because of their wagons has lost a wheel, and they need protection against bandits until they get it repaired.

You can use these encounters to give the PCs rumors from faraway places, to reinforce your moods and themes, to give the PCs a chance to earn or spend money, to seed future adventures, or purely for the pleasure of roleplaying an eccentric character that you developed that you weren’t sure how else to work in.

Travel is, by its very nature, exploration. You can pepper your landscape with interesting things for your PCs to check out. Broken ruins, a massive tree larger than any others in the forest, a circle of singing mushrooms, treacherous terrain like quicksand, or anything else you come up with. Travel is, by its nature, not where the PCs normally are, so you can add fantastic and strange encounters throughout.

I use encounters like this to flesh out details of my world, introducing elements that the PCs might never notice otherwise. I tell them info based on their characters, like just telling someone trained in nature that the purple flowers with yellow stamen are Kingsbrooch and considered fortunate by the people of Summerlund. Or I might tell someone who knows History that those red-leafed trees are the rare Orcsblood trees that dwarves used to plant to mark boundaries of their ancient lands. If the PCs then think that maybe this means there are dwarven ruins nearby and seek them out, that might lead to something new!

I hope this helps, Anonymous. Travel sessions can be a blast. They can teach your players about your campaign world, and they can bring as much adventure as they could want. Let us know how they go for you in the future.

This concludes the Fanfiction Blitz of 2022. Hopefully by next year my life will be a little less crazy. Or maybe I will change my yearly tradition and keep doing it this way. The once a week update did have its advantages.

Apologies to those who wanted Tobirama awake. I was reading people’s comments when this scene just sprang into my head and demanded to be written.

Acquainted with the Night: Interlude

Madara didn’t comment as the door to the carriage was opened. Usually the gesture annoyed him. One of many useless traditions that those of rank seemed to think made them powerful rather than ineffectual. He, Uchiha Madara, was perfectly capable of opening the door himself. Just this once though, the vampire would make an exception due to the fact his hands were full.

It was tempting to keep Tobirama in his arms for the length of the journey. However, Madara knew that would be irresponsible and potentially put the other in danger, Danger that could be easily avoided. So instead he lay the hunter down on the back bench before strapping him in. Quickly claiming the side seat nearest his prize’s head.

Most of the other members of his entourage had chosen seats as far from the Senju as possible, only Hikaku choosing to remain nearby. Once the door had been closed and secured, the carriage began rolling faster and faster, the entire structure giving a particular jerk as the winged horses lifted it into the air.

These were no glowing pegasi though. The winged horses bred by the Uchiha clan were black as night with wings more akin to those of bats then birds. They were also carnivorous. And, while the Uchiha Clan had changed a great deal under his leadership, they were still a favored method of disposing of inconvenient bodies.

As their flight leveled off, Madara reached over to run his fingers through Tobirama’s silvery hair. It really was as soft as it looked, like dandelion fluff. He remembered the first time he had seen the other. It had been nearly ten years ago, shortly after his ascension to Lord of the Uchiha Clan. A number of his kin had welcomed the changes he had demanded. But not all of them.

Madara had been tracking down one of his late, unlamented, Father’s lieutenants. In spite of his edicts, in spite of the warnings he had been given, Kaen had refused to change his ways. So, Madara had resolved to handle the matter himself. Only Tobirama had gotten there first, having tracked the older vampire’s victims through half a dozen villages.

When Madara had seen the hunter standing oven Kaen’s decapitated body, he had known who the other was at once. Even back then, Senju Tobirama had possessed quite the reputation. He had also heard things from Izuna who had known him much longer and who also had a tendency to rant about his rival’s latest ‘crimes against nature.’

In truth, Madara had been predisposed to dislike the other before they met. If only for the fact that the Senju was a threat to his baby brother. The brother that their Father had purposely set in the hunter’s path even though Izuna was barely of age at the time. One thing Izuna had never mentioned though was how beautiful Tobirama was. Or that he had such remarkable eyes. Like rubies.

“So,” his cousin’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I have to ask, why him?”

Madara blinked, coming back to the present. “He is beautiful, powerful, and brilliant.” He answered. “What’s there not to like?” He also enjoyed the way Tobirama never hesitated to say what he really thought. A far cry from the constant ‘Yes Uchiha-sama’ and ‘Of course Uchiha-sama’ he sometimes had to endure. “I wouldn’t think I would have to explain the appeal.”

Hikaku snorted. “I enjoy pretty-deadly as much as the next Uchiha cousin,” he said. “I just enjoy it a lot more with a lower risk of waking up with a stake in my heart.”

Teralia- Chapter One: Prologue

Clouded by the eternal roars of hurricane winds and patrolled by mysterious entities whose very nature is a mystery, lies an island. An island that is hidden away from the rest of the world, never revealing its vast lakes of lava, fields of metallic foliage, and azure forests. These strange, magical conditions affected the life developing and visitors inside the island, and has thus developed its own unique, beastly races and even subspecies of humans. Ranging from aquatic to airborne, these creatures have evolved in special conditions, forming a society were both humans and monsters can coexist relatively peacefully. Each creature is immortal by age, including humans and monsters. The only way to die is from outside forces, such as being killed or disease. The humans themselves were quite diverse, having multiple subspecies and variants. Some, nicknamed Matuppian Humans, are amphibious in nature, sporting both gills and lungs, as well as webbed appendages and venomous spines. Others are troglobites, having larger eyes to see in the dark, as well as glowing markings upon their bodies. Some, although rare, can even take to the skies. The monsters, however, are much more diverse. Monster is a classification rather than a species, giving way to much more variation. Some are avian, canid, and others resemble modern monsters like cyclopses and vampires. The wildlife was equally diverse- unicorns are carnivorous apex predators, with their male counterparts, pegasi, flying above the skies, always closeby. Steel-covered bison roam the hills of metal, adapting to the harsh conditions. Desert dwelling, dinosaur-like beasts lurk beneath the sand, waiting for their next meal. All life, animal or no, giving their thanks to the island’s natural biological magic for fueling their bodies with the power they needed to get this far. And the island itself has The Elementals to thank for its existence. 

Little is known about the god-like beasts known as The Elementals, but what is confirmed is that they have the ability to control one of the five elements; Fire, water, air, life, and death, as well as their subcategories like Earth and Ice depending on the elemental. They vary in size, from eleven feet tall, to thousands of feet long. Every elemental has its own strength, but each element has an alpha leading their sections. And they themselves have a leader; Ebrietas. Water Alpha and Mother Of Teralia. Seen as a figure of respect by every Teralian citizen, her name commands respect. Her very existence is the reason why Teralia exists, thus the nickname. Very few have seen her, but to those who have, she is the most beautiful thing they have ever laid eyes upon. But the Elementals’ mystery also has a downside; No one knows where they are, or if they made The God’s Plague. 

The God’s Plague started out in The Ember citadel, property of the Ember Army. The sworn protector of Teralia’s civilizations. The guards protecting the castle started getting erratic, human or monster. Over time they then lashed out at random citizens and even their own fellow guardsmen. These individuals were detained, held in cells for their captain Midir, a vampire, to observe. When he got there, however, the guards were almost unrecognizable. Mutated into incredibly aggressive yet oddly beautiful beasts, the guards had broken out of their cells and had attacked the scientists trying to help them. Blood and entrails spilled on the walls and floor, soaking the mutated guards’ iridescent skin and fur. Midir managed to slay them all with some help from some nearby sentries, but this caught the attention of the higher-ups. He and anyone else who was seen killing the mutated guards were put on trial for murder. Midir tried to reason with them, saying that there was no apparent cause to this mutation and that the scientists had been mauled alive when trying to help the guards. The court didn’t listen and sentenced him to death. In his cell, Midir saw more and more beasts. Some were friends. It was a disease, spread via a bite. And the Ember Army did nothing to help. Luckily, Midir managed to escape with the help of the remaining sentries and headed deep into the forests. There, he found a meadow, and declared a resistance to be made against the Ember Army. Naming themselves hunters, they would go out and slay as much infected people as possible to prevent further spread and research the disease. Midir labeled the infected as savages, named for their aggressive and mindless behavior. The Hunters believe that the savages should be put out of their misery, while the Ember Army deems it murder. They gathered up supporters and after a year, war broke out. Many losses were suffered on both sides, and as the disease grew, it divided Teralia into three groups; Ember districts, Hunter districts, and neutral districts. 

It has been 58 years since the division. The disease runs rampant throughout the nation, panic amidst the horror. Some cry out to the Elementals for help, while others blame them for the outbreak. And others try to find a source, and hopefully put a stop to this. Nothing has succeeded, not even a clue. The moment one thinks that they have it figured out, something happens that throws the research on its head. No one knows. But one thing is certain; Someone or something is behind this, and whatever it is, it must be found and stopped.

And with curiosity comes discovery.

Or Fluttershy: Dragon Slayer...

The episode begins with Fluttershy feeding her critters. This includes otters who are eating meat. We’ll learn later that, indeed, there are carnivores in the MLP Universe. So likely the fish are likely of old age or condemned murderers in the fish universe. So I wouldn’t take this seriously.

This also includes Angel bunny who was eating until Fluttershy told him to slow down. Then he decides to act like a spoiled brat and not eat. This stops until he notices smoke in the sky. He tells Fluttershy who tries to tell the rest of Ponyville...

But no one pays attention to her. Luckily Twilight is much better at getting attention and informs them that the smoke isn’t from a fire, but from a Dragon. Twilight assembles a team to take care of it, but it includes Fluttershy who obviously doesn’t want to go. Twilight ignores this and says they need her.

Rainbow Dash thinks taking Fluttershy is a bad idea. While she says its because she’s a weak link, I really think its because she wants to protect Fluttershy. After all, a pony who is afraid of her own shadow Vs a dragon sounds like a bad idea. But Twilight insist that she’s needed.

As you expected. climbing the mountain is going to be a lot harder with someone who is scared to go up. So here’s some highlights.

Pony Squad Represent!

Pinkie Pie, you scary!

Don’t take on Pinkie Pie in Tic Tac Toe.

DON’T TELL HER TO LOOK DOWN! THAT’LL BE THE FIRST THING SHE DOES!

They make it to the top and Twilight’s big plan is to use Fluttershy to help negotiate with the Dragon. This is when Fluttershy reveals she’s scared of dragons. While the others seemed annoyed she didn’t tell them, ITS A FRIKKIN DRAGON! What made you think the most timid of the group was up to fighting one?!?

Without Fluttershy, Twilight tries anyway. And fails. Luckily he was more interested in sleep than attacking so Twilight got off easy. This is then followed by Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s attempts, which both failed. Thing is Rarity’s was seemingly working but in the end it failed...

Gee, I wonder why...

But Rainbow Dash went agro on the Dragon and he began to attack. it all seemed liked they were going to get their tails handed to them (considering the dragon hasn’t used his fire despite creating a lot of smoke, I’m guessing he was going to just toss them off the mountain) until Fluttershy steps up.

She maybe scared, but when her friends are in danger she’s willing to step up and take down the Dragon. We even see basically a prototype of the Stare before the episode came to be. With this power, she makes the dragon cry and convinces him to leave the mountain and away from Ponyville.

The episode ends with them back in Ponyville, Pegasi clearing the skies from the smoke, and a good laugh. Overall, it was a fun episode to see all the character interactions. And finally seeing Fluttershy step up to take on a Dragon was just fun to watch. Its episodes like these that turn what would essentially be traditional “girly” characters and show they have more depth than you expected.

Sadly, we don’t get to see that in GLAB. But somewhere along this timeline she does do it.

The merpeople: come in all a manner of shapes and sizes, have everything from fish tails to octopus tentacles, can make their tails disappear and form legs and feet so as to walk on land, have both lungs and gills, hair and eyes are all colors of the rainbow, productive, full of energy, willing to communicate and compromise with other creatures

The fairies: same story, different colors, all give off glittery pixie dust that changes through all colors of the rainbow, all have magenta and yellow butterflies wings, communicators, writers, counselors, peaceful and good friends with the merpeople

The ghosts: noisy, vengeful, only want the best for the living, can teach the living what they’re facing after the end, vulnerable but indestructible, easily scarred and wounded, go from being transparent to fully opaque, come in elemental forms (like Hale Harper is a fire ghost; Queen Mars is a lightning ghost) send out warnings but hardly anyone listens or learns

Morissa/The Grim Reaper: tall, female, dressed in a white cloak and black underclothes, has straight white hair covering her eyes, she’ll come to take you home depending on what kind of life you lived

The naiads: small, slovenly, savage, are amphibians too, carnivorous with mouths full of razor sharp teeth, are actually undead, radiate a blood red aura from the scars in their backs when in repose and neon green when provoked, are basically a huge middle finger to the hmhmhmm testing at Bikini Atoll

The neons: all colors of the rainbow, change through all colors of the rainbow, thrive on space nectar, create a sweet bright blue honey which is an antidote to Fall of Saturn, nearly died out because of imperialism and human activity, were saved by a young woman

The Neptunian pegasi: huge, crimson with black tule fog for manes and tails, have glossy black raven wings and hooves, fly because their other option is to live on a core of metallic hydrogen, reclusive, gentle, love other living creatures