Humanised Pathfinder RPG Crossover. Knowledge of Pathfinder not needed.
Canterlot, the glimmering jewel of the civilised world, throne city of the demi-goddess Celestia. No bastion of civilisation can match it and few try. Power is traded, bartered, stolen and forged in a thousand forms in the mad hive of life. Some are born to the power of a name, of a title. Some take power, ripping it from the world around them. Some are even gifted with power, for no better reason than that someone is willing to give it.
Some precious few, however, have power in their blood.
Twilight Sparkle, sorcerer and wizard both, seeks answers to her questions. Mysteries grow in the darkness beneath Canterlot, putting innocents at risk and threatening her home and her loved ones.
Rainbow Dash, thief and daredevil, dreams of the sky. Bound to the earth, she leaps between buildings and bounds across rooftops, forever searching for that elusive, fleeting sensation that plagues her as she stands on nothing and is held aloft no more than that.
Applejack, hunter and warrior, has fought. She has struggled, cutting down the aberrations of the Everfree with blade and arrow alike in a war her family has waged for generations. Fleeing from a failure, she seeks solace in the soft, civilised world. But not everything in Canterlot is as soft as she expected, and the cost of her failure may yet haunt her.
United by power, by ancient ties, the fate of not just a single city but an entire world rests upon their shoulders, and they don't even know it.
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Written in tribute/inspriation acquired from Nealend86's homebrew Pathfinder Sorcerer Pony Bloodlines.
Edited by the wonderful Nealend86 and excellent Web of Hope.
The cover art is a creation of Robd2003 over on deviantart, who kindly gave me permission to use it for my story. Go check out his stuff, it's amazing.
Well, blow me down. I just got done writing about the pointlessness of humanized ponies, and then you give me this. Feelin' like a fool is feelin' good right now.
Good, princesses. 3.75 e magicky GOODNESS. May I ask; have you statted out any of the characters? And does this take place in the Golarion setting or is it simply based off the class ideas?
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Well, I feel accomplished. My latest blog post, I actually had in the comments a discussion about humanising. I have to say, it's quite admirable that you're willing to change your mind rather than just hold to an argument for the sake of not changing your mind. I applaud you, sir or madam, for that and your willingness to try the story even with such a view.
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I have yet to stat them out precisely, as I want to get a better feel for them first so I can work out precisely where I think they should each be, level wise. I do know, for example, that Twilight has both Sorcerer and Wizard levels, but mostly Wizard, and that Applejack has only a tiny bit of barbarian mixed into her ranger.
It takes place in a setting of it's own, an AU of Equestria, but I do actually have bits and pieces of Golarion crossover involving Radovan Virholt and Varian Jeggare, characters from an Adventure Path/Module and the Pathfinder Tales novels by David Gross, in my mess of folders and files.
It was, as I said, ultimately inspired by Nealend86's homebrew Bloodlines: Unicorn, Pegasus and Earth Pony. I'll provide links to each as the story progresses. I think you can guess who has which.
3321804 So when do you want me to unveil the special documents?
3322514 Oh, I'll let you know, don't worry. When it is most appropriate, I think, then shall be the time.
Haha! Now this is a delight of a start. Good writing, a little mix-up here and there for me, but re-reading cleared things up for the dash focus. A lovely bit of RAaaaaGH! for applejack. Its nice to see folks doing barbarian right! Especially to handwave in the Mad Foam Rage approach, love that option, and would fear anyone that she decided to unsheath that blade on. Already poking on a good dynamic, the drunk bit was classic! Im curious how the geas/quest aspect of, royal service will be done, as otherwise, yeah, its at first opportunity high tailing it to the hills!
Still, this is human style done right, a rare thing, im usually not that much for this as its hard and really needs a right touch to get it right. A rare thumbs up from me, and of course, gotta fave!
Poor spike.. And heaven and hells help the sod unfortunate enough to earn this very sound thrashing. Also, huzzah! Great update!
Damn, looks like Spike inadvertently was a hero, that acid probably woulda killed a lesser human, half dragon 4 lyf.
Someone prepared explosive (acid) runes this morning.
This story is absolutely amazing! I cannot wait for the next chapter! Thief Rainbow Dash is definitely my favorite character xD
Question: is the spellcasting ability only accesible throught bloodlines on this setting?
3379441 no, Bloodlines are the source of a Sorcerer's spellcasting. No other class uses it. Wizards cast the same spells but with different means, namely arcane formula. Casting magic for a sorcerer is an act of instinct and will, while a wizard uses a arcane formula and an understanding of how magic works to generate the same effect. A sorcerer might know how to cast a spell but they rarely understand why a spell does what is does. A wizard would know. But that takes years of training and study.
Plus, there's stuff like divine casting which is gained through completely different means.
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Thanks, but I know Pathfinder rules. What I was really asking was if you have disallowed the other magical classes, thus creating setting where magic was both the right and privilege of the nobility, another tool to maintain power over the commoners.
3382024 Ah, I see! No, magic is not based solely on bloodlines. Twilight herself is both wizard and sorcerer. While most wizards tends to be from higher classes, bards and witches still exist. Granted, there are some - coughBluebloodcough - who have very...particular ideas about what nobility and commoners deserve, there is no formal restriction. I'll get around to looking at it more in-depths as the story progresses, but in short so long as someone is able afford it and prove they're not a raging psycho, they can learn wizardry, which doesn't mean they'll be good at it or smart enough since it's hard to learn. Sorcerers who are found are usually offered a sort of scholarship, since Celestia decided a long time ago that if you find someone with magical powers but no knowledge of how to use them, it's a good idea to offer them a way to learn more and hopefully instill ethics and such into them so they don't turn evil. Obviously, it's still much easier for nobility to become wizards due to throwing money at it to get spots in the college of wizards.
Hope that answered your question properly.
I don't get to guess? Aww man.
Jeez, I'm surprised that the guard isn't out for his blood.
Another great chapter, THE SUSPENSE THOUGH!
A gem to see this one updated, and heh, we might get to see a bit of that magic soon it seems.
Oh bugger all cliff hangers and the leaving of your readers on the edge of their various seats... Can't wait for more now x_x;;
Ouch! talk about a very nasty way to go.. and ah, the ever nasty were-rats. Good and bad times abound.
I would very much like everyone to please check the link at the end and tell me what they think of the sorcerer Bloodline. Any thoughts of how it can be improved and game balance are much appreciated.
Consider me interested in what the other lineages are.
Oooohh, the link has me very excited for future Rainbow Dash chapters! I also want to explore into Dash's relationship with Scoots a bit more, the poor kid has some abandonment issues going on.
Can't wait for the next update!
+1 for Applejack being awesome in this chapter
I love this story so much
I doubt that’s really the end of Time Turner.
3617493 I can give you a link if you want.
3620226
Can I say "please do" strongly enough?
One thing just struck me. Have we ever been told what kind of dragon Spike is descended from in this? My first guess would be purple/deep, but I'm not sure they exist in Pathfinder.
3625612 No, Spike's draconic origin has not been revealed. It isn't a plot point in this story, but believe me, I'll be muddying the issue gleefully and making it hard to work out.
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I'm just gonna assume he's actually the son of Bahamut and Tiamat, then.
A listening coin heh! But glad to see this updated. Its a real gem to enjoy.
So...the coin shows the Mare in the Moon?
Yesss, I love your writing! Can't read it now but I'll be back for this chapter
3620226 I must agree with themunck, I would very, very much like to see the other bloodlines, (if only for selfish reasons
)
haha, cliffhangers.I really ought to start taking notes on these things at some point. I'm actually fairly glad I didn't go into my usual obsessive study of Pathfinder/D&D when I started playing them. Like this I have no chance of guessing what might happen aside from major plot points. It's nice to know that I won't be able to guess what could happen. I shall be watching this story.
so, i'm guessing this is not going to be an eventual twiappledash? i'm still gonna read it, but i was just curious.
3898120 I have no plans for that, although one of the editors, Web of Hope, kept implying TwiDash during the first few chapters. So far, there are no plans for shipping at this stage, at least, no intentional shipping. I do hope you continue to ready anyway.
3890301 I'm glad you're apparently enjoying the story (I think?). Pathfinder knowledge isn't actually needed, but might help at times.
3874875 They are good, aren't they? His bloodlines did inspire this after all.
3898133 oh i will, but i always felt that a good romance always helps spice up a story. especially a polygamous shipping. makes for all kinds of interesting twists and turns.
3898142 It can. I'm trying a bit of romance in my other story, Justice Itself, but I'm still quite new to that sort of...romance-y thing, so I'd be hesitant about adding it without a firm grasp on the how, why who, what, when and why of it all.
3898187 Just as well because I'm not fond of that pairing at all.
This is fantastic. You especially deserve kudos for character reticence that's actually justified and doesn't make me want to punch the people in their dumb, stubborn faces. Definitely looking forward to more, especially the details on the other two bloodlines.
(Also, given the amount of drama, I'm guessing this is one of those campaigns without resurrection magic.)
3898695 I've yet to decide, but it is VERY rare, at the very least. It would take a Miracle or Unlimited Wish, which obviously are hard to find a spellcaster to come across. Actually, it's sort of the kind of legendary thing there are stories and tales about, but no one has ever seen.
Glad you're enjoying the story, and thank you for the compliment. Keeping everyone in character in a different setting is interesting, especially trying to make Twilight a bit pre-friends rather than the post-friends Twilight we see most of the time. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
EDIT: I think I misunderstood about the character reticence, which is silly of me. I try to avoid making people want to punch people in their dumb, stubborn faces when I can, unless of course I want them to want to do that, hehe.
3898695 I could give you a link to the Bloodlines since I made them.
3898133 Oh I am very much enjoying this story. It feels fresh and honest. I'm also very glad that I'm not spoiling the story for myself by guessing what's about to happen.
3898187 i'm actually reading Justice Itself. i think you have a decent idea of romance so far. of course, there's always room for improvement or refinement, but i feel that you do a pretty good job.
I noticed a few typos, which could use some fixing. A careful, thorough reread should do it for you. Great story, though, and the character types seem to fit well. I wouldn't have pegged Rainbow Dash as a Rogue, though the acrobat thing makes sense, but it works out pretty well. So far so good.
This is a very well written piece of work. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.
I love me some Pathfinder. I really do.
When dash pulled out that mini storm cloud I half expected it to be pink and rain chocolate milk. FimFiction needs a Discord emote because
trollestia doesn't quite cut it
Paizo is an impressive Archmage, right up there with Gygax, Bigsby, Mordenkeinen, and Starswirl.
Love the work so far, I do love pathfinder as well. I really like 'the ancient wizard, Paizo' I laughed when I saw that.