Archived GM Notes: This page is unsealed GM-notes pertaining to PRPG2. It is not canonical to PRPG2. It may contain contradictions (even with itself), and preliminary ideas that were merely written down as I thought of them, for later consideration. The absence of something mentioned here from the canon does not necessarily mean that the party "missed" it, it could have been mooted for other reasons or simply discarded by me.

UNSEALED after review.

- Malign will go over if amnesty is offered, not otherwise - Scion will suicide bomb libby if not killed quickly - Saltwithers will cut and run on the first night if not killed and no ultimatum - Saltwithers will cave to an ultimatum

PN: I had a speech about how we can make the North change and grow. It seems like most of you have already made up your minds one way or the other, about how you feel about this. So I'm going to take a different tack, and tell you how it is, and how it's going to be.

PN: This world was once lush and green. There was no crystal forest choking us to death, and rain watered fertile lands to feed billions of ponies and other creatures. And there was peace. Not a thousand squabbling warlords vying for tiny patches of barren desert before the sandstorms swallow them up.

Our world can be that way again. And it shall. Our Organization has discovered that the second moon of Equus, the Great Boreal Eye, is a precatastrophic spacecraft. It is a vast colony ship, intended to propagate the civilization of the Golden Age to a barren, alien world, a marginally habitable planet not unlike what ours has become in the intervening centuries. We have reached that colony ship, called the "Harmony" by its builders, and found it to be in serviceable condition. It contains many terraforming machines, like the one that Malign Gaze has helpfully shown us. I can also happily confirm that they are able to clear crystal forest with great effectiveness and safety. First there will be roads, enabling trade between all parts of the island. Then, the systematic extirpation of the crystal forest from the Isle of Yore. The Harmony also contains ponies in suspended animation. While, unfortunately, many of them have not survived down to the present, some have, and we are working with them even now to complete the restoration of the vessel. This is but the culmination of the Organization's attempts to preserve and understand precatastrophic technology and magic.

We have been working, not just in the North, but throughout the Isle of Yore, to build bridges with other polities and individuals for mutual benefit. Within a few years, we expect a railroad to connect the North with Docktown in the South and New Equestria in the West. We estimate that, even with just the single terraforming machine we now have, we can clear the crystal forest growth that overtook Old Turnip within four years. These areas should receive sufficient precipitation to sustain drylands farming, as is currently practiced in parts of New Equestria, providing food security for the North.

There are other legends about the Golden Age. They tell of six powerful artifacts, the Elements of Harmony, which brought peace and stability to Equus. Some of you may scoff at these legends, but I can tell you that they are true, and those artifacts have now been found. In fact, some of their bearers are sitting in this room right now. I've learned a lot from them in the past few days, as I've watched them try to help us all reach a solution beneficial to everyone living here in the North. I'm amazed to see many of you working together with us to build a brighter future for the peoples of Equus, and I'm sure your valuable experience and resources will leave us with a greater and brighter civilization.

That window of opportunity is closing, though. As Baron Geldbit alluded to, this summit is your last chance to get in on the ground floor. You will negotiate terms of accession today or you will negotiate terms of surrender tomorrow. [LYING] You leave this summit as our allies or our enemies. There is no neutrality. All who oppose the creation of this new state, who oppose the ideals of harmony, liberty, and justice, are its enemies. We will confront the challenge these enemies present with understanding and kindness, but not weakness or appeasement. No one who professes goodwill toward all can knowingly tolerate torture, despotism and other wickedness, wherever it occurs. But we desire if at all possible to avoid war. We have, therefore, decided to offer a generous amnesty to any of you who does not think he or she can find a place in the new order. In exchange for a peaceful transfer of power and a surrender of all means of warfare, we will provide for your comfortable retirement and immunity from prosecution for crimes committed prior to the transfer of power.

I know it may be hard to accept that I am telling the truth here, and that this offer is sincere. Some of you might not believe in Elements of Harmony. I don't really know what I could do to convince you. Some of you have grievances against Risen Bones' organization, which could never be repaired by mere words. But be reasonable. You face existential threats from all sides, on a dying world barely able to sustain its small population. And who of you doesn't have three or four lieutenants who are biding their time, who might even now be thinking that if they put you out of the way, it will fall to them to negotiate accession, or perhaps that comfortable retirement, for themselves? You'll be lucky if we get to you before they do.

One last thing. Malign Gaze said that we have an army of allies coming from the West, and a precatastrophic machine able to clear the forest. That's true. She also says I'm an alicorn. Well, she's three-for-three [removes cape] on those. But there is not a new race or army of alicorns. Only one alicorn has been born in our breeding program. An alicorn princess revives the hopes of the common pony and recalls the old legends of the Golden Age. But I have no aspirations to rule as an absolute monarch. I fell the responsibility to be the guardian of this new state, its people and its ideals, and not its overlord. I know that must seem like the hardest thing of all to believe. Trust is a precious, precious thing, and I feel like I can't really expect you to give it, but... well, I don't see what else I can say.

Nova: It was almost ten years ago when the Archlich Risen Bones, the Lord of Tears, was last represented at this gathering of Northern potentates. And what has changed in the last decade? Well, the crystal forest has grown. Some new monsters have been invented. I hear there have been some portentous astronomical omens, of late. Some of the present company deposed their erstwhile masters and took their place in these chairs, the same old game everyone here knows so very well. And there's no choice but play, is there? Who of you doesn't have three or four lieutenants who are biding their time? And what of the common mare - is she really any better off nowadays than in the time of the bandit kings? No, there's only --

Malign Gaze Jr: -- Who gives a damn about the common mare? We don't care about this depressing crap, we want to know what new weapons and monsters Risen's been cooking up these days.

Nova: No, I don't suppose you do really care about that. This vicious cycle suits you just fine? You really don't care? Well, the North is changing. It's going to leave behind those who didn't care, and those who got in the way.

Speaking order. (hosts)

(In order of senority)

---

Scion: Wizard Lords and imitators thereof. This are indeed portentous times for the North. There is a grave threat on the horizon, not camels or bandits but, an attempt to alter our mode of living and take away the creative freedom we currently enjoy. We live in a world in which the truly great can fulfil their whole, glorious potential - as sovereign rulers, as creators of new and wonderful things, as the very gods of this world. Where the reins of power are held by the great - by those who deserve them, who have either taken them by force of arms, or succesfully defended them against all comers. This is the law of nature. There are those here who would deny that. I am surprised, I must say, that some of you seem to be harbouring sympathies to the cynical lie of "democratic" governance. Sharing power with the common pony is impossible. The only ones you will end up sharing power with is a handful of agitators and skilful liars who are able to whip the feeble-minded masses into a frenzy - and that only as long as the agitators have any use left for you. As soon as they have consolidated power, they will trot out whatever aspect of your rulership is the most easily misunderstood by the average cretin and use it to do you in. I've studied precatastrophic history - their plans dovetail neatly with any number of tested scenarios in their dusty old playbooks. Democracy, republics, constitutional monarchies - they had their go. They left us with a civilization so awash in its own decadence that it collapsed. The north is not weak because of conflict. It is strong because of it. The strong rule, and they test their strength against each other. Our struggle of cunning, creativity and power - it is the eternal struggle of nature. If I am weak, let me be defeated! You will not find _me_ joining forces with a craven, spying, plagiarist lich who is too cowardly to even attend this summit in person, and instead sends a _child_ to speak for him.

Think carefully about what collaboration with this meddler will mean giving up. I have every confidence that you will get but one chance. For while he very much wishes for you to forget about the eternal struggle for power, his long centuries speak to the fact that he has not forgotten for a moment. If you forget now, you will remember it when some gaggle of worthless political sycophants proclaims you guilty of crimes against equinity or nature or whatever hogwash they can invent, and Risen Bones puts you out of his way forever.

--

Malign Gaze will announce that an army is massing in Old Turnip, concealed from conventional scrying but detected by her special methods.

"Wizards, you've heard here so far a lot of horseapples about new orders and improvements and change. A lot of talk, and you probably wonder exactly what it means. And maybe you wonder who exactly is going to bring about these changes. I don't know what those of you who are supporting it were told, but I know what I was told, and one thing it didn't include was any mention of THIS." "This huge thing, some kind of precatastrophic machine, has been ploughing a highway through the crystal forest near the Watchmount. It has made incredible progress, and broke through the forest yesterday. It is heavily shielded against conventional scrying, but not against advanced methods I came up with myself. So now there is a road between my territory and the Northwest, specifically, the territory of New Equestria, whose form of government some here are ballyhooing, but, I add, a government which could not protect it from a devastating attack by changelings and rogue dragons that killed its queen and the heir apparent, and now governs a state that is deeply divided." "As if this were not threatening enough, I have also scryed AN ARMY ON THE MARCH from the north, who at this very moment are assembled at two days march from Witch Point. In less than a week they could be at any of our gates. And if you have any doubt as to their allegiance, take a look at their banner." (Shows alicorn banner.) RBO party member (interjecting): That's a religious symbol of the Royal Pantheon, it's a common religion in the Northwes--" "It's an alicorn, just like the one on these coins that Risen Bones delegation is giving out... and just like THIS ONE speaking for him today! Go ahead, prove me wrong. Take off that cape."

"So those of you who are thinking of throwing your lot in with Risen Bones - how much of this were you told? Was I alone in having agents and spies sent to my territory to bribe bandits and criminals and destabilize my government? I think the experience of the Lord Saltwithers indicates to the contrary. There's cause here for unity alright. Unity against a damned lich whose ambitions have grown too large for the Isle of Tears. He's raised an army of outsiders against us, riddled our lands with mercenary agents and silver-tongued propagandists playing on the naive religious faith of the people in Elements and Princesses, and now he is breeding a race of alicorns. I call for a truce between all wizard-lords, to defeat this invading army of Westerners and destroy the lich Risen Bones once and for all. His meddling in the affairs of other magic users, attempting to control retrodivination and other things he judges misuse of magic, have long been worrisome, but this is leaps and bounds beyond that. He is no peer of ours, but our common enemy, and he will destroy us if we do not renounce him and his plans immediately."

If Akasha is not present for Baleful's death, it would be hard to know if her doomsday device geas claim is true or not. Baleful forces her secret police to take another geas to kill them if she dies an unnatural death. Libby will be in the position of either stopping the fight to ungeas the present secret police, letting Baleful escape, or killing Baleful (but also the secret police present, and needing to keep her death quiet until the secret police can be ungeased. Libby will probably not believe Baleful if Akasha is not there to confirm to her that Baleful is telling the truth. This will make Libby very sad, but more importantly, cause her to start to diverge significantly from Elly in terms of life experience.

--

Scion will try to assassinate Elly with an exploding bioweapon. This is magical weapon, which will disrupt (but not sever) the connection between Elly's soul graft and her body, leaving her incapacitated. Everyone present will also be magically drained and deafened. (Pegasi fall to the ground, unicorns are magically neutralized).

GMSummit (last edited 2018-04-06 04:15:34 by Bryce)