Behind the Scenes: H&H · 8:20am Nov 29th, 2023
So, some backstory on H&H and how it came to be, along with bonus lore on some of Inova's friends. This is also to put a blog on my page that isn't a progress update.
First off, any good D&D clone/expy will have alliteration in the name. Ogres and Oubliettes, aside from being an actual thing, has been done before, and I wanted to stick with humans, so after some thought, I settled on Humans and Hostiles. The game has guidelines for settings with technology, magic, or a mix of both. Inova's group is in the mix category, since that allows for MAXIMUM HIJINKS.
And now to go clockwise around the table, starting with the GM.
Storybook/Brooke's name, nickname, and how her mane and tail look like flowing water came from a mix of a good name for a GM and the setting of the series Once Upon a Time, Storybrooke. She found the game while she was in first grade and was fascinated with the many settings and the possibilities it held. Her character, Rita Scripture, is a play on written scripture, which is exactly what a story is. Rita's motivation is to go out, explore, and record things.
Quick Quip is basically my silly retort side given pegasus form, thus he's the silly one of the group. Jester, naturally, is an extension of this, and is skilled at laying traps anywhere. Jester's motivation is a vendetta against tax collectors.
Soprano, being Mr. Slice's daughter, needed to be associated with something from (B)Italy, so I chose the musical route. The nickname of Soapy and how she likes to keep things clean are the result of my punny mind. Aurora the bard takes the memes about bards and what they do and tones it down a bit. No NSFW stuff here. Aurora's motivation is to lift an inconvenient curse that will randomly make any meal of hers become spicy, something her gut does not like.
Sunflower is a huge shout-out/reference to Sunflower from Project: Sunflower. She has a sunny disposition, but in H&H, she lets her dark side play out with Solaria. The hurting/healing interrogation technique is pulled from a Power Ranger OC villain of mine who took that torture to the extreme.
Hearthstone was kind of tossed together at the last minute at great expense to fill the last space I needed. Rex the druid was once king of the forest, then got bored and wandered off. The many creations of other people fascinated him as well. Rex is no longer king of the forest, but he got to keep all the cool powers and abilities the rank came with.
Girder is your typical big muscley guy playing a nerdy game type. Joakim the barbarian is heavily based on Joakim Broden from Sabaton. Joakim the barbarian has very solid charisma, and can use that to distract an opponent with a history lesson before catching them off guard. Joakim can also be easily distracted with a new history book.
Diamond was the first one to play H&H with Storybook, and came up with Ferria after a trip to the ferrier. Ferria's equipment is based on an idea I had for a medieval Kamen Rider. Her motivation is that Rita paid her to be a bodyguard on the adventure, then friendship followed.
Shining's character, Wallace, is Shining playing to his strength: defense. Also, Wallace is the wall ace. Puns!
Inova's character, Queen Nova, is basically Kamen Rider Geats as far as the equipment and motif goes. The former advisor Starzkran is based on none other than the legendary traitorous backstabber Starscream.
Technia was my first MLP OC, and has been featured in a few other fics on this site. She loves her technology and EXPLOSIONS. Naturally, I channeled a bit of TORGUE from Borderlands in there, including the part where she blew up the ocean. Machina channeled that passion for explosions all the time, and Technia didn't come up with any creative uses for the explosions. In the pasta and marinara dimension Machina was dragged off to, stuff happened. What happened? Nobody knows, and Machina won't say either, but there was probably at least one flying spaghetti monster.
Canyon Cliffs, the toll booth, and some of the events were inspired by Blazing Saddles and Looney Tunes.
Cool!