GM Notes for PRPG3
These are the notes and documentation used by the GM for game construction and session planning in PRPG3.
Because static pre-game / pre-session planning does not always translate precisely into the more dynamic realities of execution at gametime, not all of the information in these notes translated into actual in-game PRPG3 canon. They should not be read as contradictions to what is established in the actual game.
GDocs documents:
PRPG3 GM Plot Outline: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIpvNjLiejC7kbpwZgA73cJVlCA_RDSy8w4JjxfjpDc/edit?usp=sharing
PRPG3 GM Backstory: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g_2KJZtMCV_WSdm6jTiOIc-QnCEu_TRxRFRSnt1lU_s/edit?usp=sharing
PRPG3 GM Location Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/122Exx4H_vZ9kW8hzliekq3jexvExTCzRXjn7Y5-kb2Y/edit?usp=sharing
PRPG3 GM Player Character Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ORC_zhsE4z7Ntb7y6YZrs4uOTfFzlq606JhFbHM1TTk/edit?usp=sharing
Session notes on story actual progression: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lAn-sGTxNC6sLD5ZSEno0X0zABdAUsONKDQrNJLGeK4/edit?usp=sharing
Dawn's Journal (never discovered and read in-game by PCs): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wdfYNtaUnm8bwy7zkWiZGJFy1iCmiExoe73NB2wSa4I/edit?usp=sharing
Time Travel Information, Procedures, and Expedition Plan in PRPG3: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11idE6WrwFTLuzJsovVEOMcdmRwlUcpfZbX2VKj1b30k/edit?usp=sharing
Zebra culture, per Swicked: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zF7Mz2Elf9thPxYet3V3PJVFEoTK9NlwQt3jZjHYVcI/edit?usp=sharing
Resources on this wiki:
Local files copy/pasted:
"stuff Libby should know.txt" (A local text file used by the GM to coordinate with the player running Libby on what information she should have):
Stuff Libby would know that you (the players collectively) will likely be finding out next session:
1. Libby knows about Dawn's background. Explaining it all here would be a lot of reading and I would prefer that Dawn reveals this herself in-game, so please just roleplay Libby as having already known whatever Dawn reveals in this regard.
2. It was suspected before they even began that the time travel portal experiments would not remain in operation for more than a relatively short time, due to the possibility of some sort of paradox rendering them non-functional. The reason they were constructed was not to establish a permanent capability for time travel in general (although this would have been nice to have if it had worked out), but rather as a temporary instrument to pursue specific goals for which time travel was believed to be necessary.
The expeditions to recover lost biodiversity, while producing very valuable results, were themselves really just trial runs to show that pursuit of material items in the past is viable without undue danger to an expedition, and served as a screening process to determine the suitability of the party members. Once the expedition was concluded, your party (assuming they established their competence) was going to be offered to take on the task the time experiment was really constructed to accomplish.
The task in question was going to be to track the sunstone, an ancient magical artifact, through time and retrieve it.
Recovering the sunstone is important because it is a necessary component of two ultimate goals that Libby, Emerald, and Dawn have been working to achieve. These are:
- to re-establish and maintain control over the capability to reliably magically control the orbits of the sun and moon (Dawn and/or Emerald will explain more about this and its importance in-game)
- to act as a conduit for drawing sufficient power from the sun to cast a great enchantment over Equus. This enchantment has been in long development by Emerald and Libby and is finally believed to be perfected and ready to cast at its final full scale. They refer to it as 'the great no-spell' and its intended effect is to induce a brief flux of a special kind of subtle quantum indeterminacy that has no macroscopic effects, but interferes with retrodivination. Retrodivination spells cast after this enchantment is cast will appear to work, but in fact end up having no bearing on the later actual outcomes of events within the zone affected by the no-spell (which is intended to be all of Equus). It cannot prevent or undo past retrodivination, but does permanently prevent any future retrodivination spells from working correctly.
These two goals are high priorities because as the recovery from the Dark Age continues, magical knowledge is quickly being regained and Libby and Emerald have realized that it's more or less just a matter of time before spells for moving celestial bodies and for retrodivination are regained as well. Preventing them from being independently rediscovered at some point is probably not feasible, so rather than let that happen in an uncontrolled manner they have decided it would be better to proactively seek these out and take necessary control measures. Restoring a Mover of the Sun and Turner of the Moon is intended to keep the sun and moon's orbits from being tampered with (and detect any attempts to do so). The no-spell is believed to be the best available defense against ponies accidentally destroying themselves through the temptations of retrodivination, and also possibly from existential threats arising due to hostile aliens or elder powers trying to fix the fate of ponies externally for their own ends.
Libby's policy re retrodivination until now has been to "stomp out the fires" one by one by shutting down anyone who comes plausibly close to threatening to achieve some form of retrodivination (eg. people doing research like Genius Loci was), but she has to recognize that this approach isn't going to be viable forever, because recent recoveries of previously lost knowledge are quickly reaching a tipping point where it's increasingly likely that someone is going to slip through the cracks and accomplish it before she can stop them. A more comprehensive solution to the threat is needed at this point.
Aside from these purely practical considerations, Libby (at least as I understand her) probably also has some pretty strong personal/emotional motivations for wanting to finally lay the spectre of retrodivination to rest permanently.
3. The rationales for how the Sickle Island Laboratory's security functioned were:
- The lab was not intended to remain operational indefinitely, so it was considered better for security to prioritize giving the staff a freer hoof to accomplish the lab's intended purposes quickly and then decommission the facility and deconstruct sensitive equipment to conceal what it was used for.
- A minimal number of personnel, with those selected being considered highly trustworthy, was chosen to minimize the number of people exposed to sensitive information and to minimize the possibility of a leak. Adding a large number of security personnel and guards was evaluated as actually likely to be counterproductive to overall information security because of the extra personnel who would then necessarily risk being exposed to at least some sensitive information, and because the large visible presence of extra security would attract attention and mark the facility as an interesting target with something to hide.
- For this reason, instead of using on-site guards, most physical security was built into the structures of Sickle Island. Strong but mostly invisible security devices and enchantments were constructed into most buildings, which is why Dr. Hour was difficult to get to once she had locked herself in the portal chamber. The strategy was that in the event of a physical security incident, attackers could be locked out of (or locked inside) the buildings, which would then be able to resist penetration long enough for a rapid response force from mainland Yore to be called in.
- Emerald, Libby, and Dawn all placed extremely high trust in Dr. Hour. She was one of Emerald's graduate students, as well as her friend and colleague for nearly a century. She had proven to be trustworthy on many sensitive projects in the past and there was no indication that she would act any differently now."Tune Tome book.txt" (A journal that Tune Tome was keeping):
PROPERTY OF TUNE TOME ---- ''Dr. Hour gathered us together in the night. She ordered the time portal activated, and ordered us through. This came as simultaneously a shock and a thrill to me: it was clearly an unauthorized use of the portal for making our exit, which I took to mean that the time had come for the execution of Dr. Hour's plan to clean Equus of the shadowy influences it has fallen under. After all she had told us, and shown us -- dark secrets about the alicorns of the modern day -- I believed in this work. I thought it risky but necessary for the future of ponykind. As we departed, Dr. Hour did something that made it clear there was no going back. I watched as she brought down a falling star, using the piece of meteoric iron brought to her by Glorious Spiral, who I now realize has acted not only as Dr. Hour's assistant, but also as her hench-goat. Dr. Hour claimed this purging of the facility and the explorers sent to the island was necessary, and maybe it was -- I can accept the possibility that perhaps they already knew too much, and they would, knowingly or not, report it back to their alicorn masters. Their sacrifice was justified, as I considered it. But now, as I write this in the spare pages of my log book, I have doubts. A determination has gripped Dr. Hour that I've never seen before, and with it, a ruthlessness that I fear reflects the worst tendencies of unicorns with vast magical powers and no bounds on using them. As we passed through Calkin, we stumbled across an archaeological dig crew there. Whether it was a knee-jerk reflex, or a coldly deliberated act, I don't know, but I watched with horror in Calkin as she used her horn to disintegrate them. She claimed afterward that we couldn't take the risk that we would be reported passing through, and that their silence would buy us more time to go undetected. Another necessary sacrifice. She also tried to reason that it was a painless, instant way to go, the best she could do under the circumstances. I'm not sure I believe that. Even if it were so, they were innocent ponies, and didn't deserve... I will never forget the look on the yellow mare's face, the shock and betrayal in her eyes as the beam of disintegration passed through her, turning flesh to dry dust, revealing, for a bare second, her own bones to her while she watched, helpless. Suddenly, after that moment, it was hard to believe that somepony willing to go that far represented much of a better option than what we have now, dark alicorn secrets or not. What could they do to us that is worse than what Dr. Hour did to those diggers? ---- I've managed to escape Dr. Hour's party. As we traveled through the Forgotten Weald, I found myself separated from the rest of them, as some of us have in these cursed woods from time to time. Frightening as this place is, I realized it was my chance, so I gathered what nerve I could and I opted not to return, hoping that they wouldn't miss me until I was too far lost to find. It seems to have worked. With any luck, perhaps they will assume I've died, although I doubt it -- Dr. Hour is no fool and will not leave a loose end. Cleaning up will be on her to-do list. Still, I find being lost in these woods, haunted as they are by the regrets of the past, preferrable to helping Dr. Hour with whatever fresh regrets she might be bent on creating in our future. ---- Wandering the woods for days now. I think she has her source looking for me. Accordingly, I've constructed some sight-confounding stone circles. They're an improvised design, but they should, for the time, hide me from Dr. Hour, and from the power she consults. I've placed them at random in the forest, to create a large blind zone in the hopes that I can hide in it. For those who ever find this book, if anypony does, I should explain what I know of that 'source'... I call it a power, for lack of a better word, or for lack of any better knowledge on my part. But I don't know what it really is. I know that Dr. Hour communicates with it. I saw a glimpse of it only once, when Dr. Hour was conversing with it and I happened by. It was similar in form to a shadhavar, a female I think, but eyes I don't know how else to explain it, other than that it has many eyes, scattered across its whole body. Dr. Hour does not particularly hide that she speaks to this creature -- she calls it Mel-Anhu by name -- but it seems to have little interest in directly appearing to or conversing with anypony but her, so it remains mysterious to most of us. Whether this is out of apathy, sinister intent, or simply a desire not to unsettle us (the many eyes are very disturbing), I can't tell. Whatever else it does, Dr. Hour seems to have business with it. I wish I knew more to tell. It might shed more light if I could... I find myself frustrated by the mysteries of what has gripped my old teacher, and what drives her as she seems to be driven now. ---- I managed to find the coast. I have been watching for passing ships or boats, hoping to flag one down and gain passage by water to some nearby town, but none seem to come past the woods. Maybe they know better. Or maybe it's simply not a well-trafficked water route. Either way, it seems I'm stuck here for the time being, spending my days hiding.
"lyrics.txt" (The compilation of session-starting My Little Pony opening theme lyrics used in the course of the game):
My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what friendship could be Until you all shared its magic with me Big adventures Tons of fun A beautiful heart, faithful and strong Sharing kindness It's an easy feat And magic makes it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know you're all my very best friends? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what friendship could be Until you all fell in this cave with me Big tatzlwurm Tons of stone A subterranean lake, underground Ice cold water Way too hard to drink And fungus makes it all complete! You have My Little Cave-in I hope we're not all stuck down here for good... My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what friendship could be Until you went into the jungle with me Menacing mollusks Mosquito bites Tons of trees, where are we? Finding cans It's an easy feat And leeches make it all complete! You have My Little Pony I think we're all just lost out in the woods... My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what strangers could be Until some random pegasus approached me Quaestor hat Lazy cops Magic prayer, is that a thing? Creepy old ritual Can't be beat And setting it off makes it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know you're all my very best... prospective time travelers? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what seasick could be Until you all barfed overboard with me Big freak waves Tons of spray Everything's wet, smells like fish Wow this sucks It's all moldy And sinking makes it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know you're all my salty best friends? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what this hunt could be Until you all killed some veggies with me Big tomatoes Tons of seeds A cucumber beast, pickling brine Pepper sprayed It's an easy feat And a radish makes it all complete! You have My Monster Veggies Do you know you're all my lithic age friends? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what Care Bears could be Until you all got ambushed with me Surrounding us Menacingly Belly magic, bright colors Growling noises It's an easy feat And mind beams make it all complete! You have My Care Bear Nightmare Do you know you're all my little ursine fiends? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what plot twists could be Until someone blew up the Harmony Big explosion Wasn't fun Getting backstabbed, gotta run Teleporting It's an easy feat And panic makes it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know we're all maybe kinda screwed? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what ruins could be Until you all walked to this old abbey Cloistered monks Church of the Sun Ancient ghosts whose vows aren't done Seeing the dead Alchemical feat Honesty made it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know there are still secrets left to find? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what friendship could be Until you all climbed this tower with me Dungeon crawling Boss might be tough But if we beat her, take her stuff! Find the sunstone It's an easy feat And looting makes it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know that we might die if we screw up? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder what boss fights could be Until some magic was stolen, oh gee Doctor Hour Had a horn Ah holy ****, she's an alicorn! She might kill us It's an easy feat And high stakes make it all complete! You have My Little Boss Fight Do you know you're all my very best friends? My Little Pony My Little Pony Ah - ah - ah - ah I used to wonder how weird things could be Until you all shared this crazy with me Big strange portals Tons of eyes A creepy presence, mysterious Sharing strangeness It's an easy feat And Megan makes it all complete! You have My Little Pony Do you know you're all my very weird friends?