Applejack: Okay, ya got me, but… Can it wait until tomorrow at breakfast?
Rainbow Dash: Seriously?! All day we've been doing this, and you want to delay even more?
Fluttershy: Maybe tonight at dinner instead?
Applejack: Look, after everythin' you've done at me, can y'all at least gimme the courtesy of pickin' the time and place? There's a lot more harvest to be done, which is very important, and Ah'll be putting in late hours makin' up for mah mishap earlier. Besides, Ah gotta put my thoughts together… There's a lot to cover; gotta figure out how ta say it…
Rainbow Dash: Uh-huh. Suuuure…
Pinkie Pie: You'd better promise to be there. Your honest reputation is on the line! ...We wouldn't happen to have some kind of geas power or ritual in the party, would we?
DM: One, no. Two, that'd be kind of overkill for this. Three, no.
We never established Pinkie Promises in this series? Well, probably for the better. There are some powers you want to avoid giving your players.
Actually, the Pony Tales/Living Legends system has a Pinkie Promise-style power. It has a clause forbidding coercion, though - the targets have to accept the binding promise willingly. So naturally, I rarely ever saw it used.
Spending time with Family and friends. Looking forward to seeing one of my oldest friends, we don't see each other much since she is a teacher now so she's busy most of the year.
I read that in Japan there is a popular tradition to eat fried chicken, like KFC, during this holiday. I'm trying to confirm this with my friends who live there.
... Ok seriously I'm just spending time with the family and overall enjoying one of the few days I get off this year. One of my sisters wants me to draw her a pony (I'm the only one in my family that's in the fandom so this came out of left field) so I might just wait until Christmas Day and have her watch me draw it for her. Just to make it a bit more special than just handing over a piece of paper with some scribbles on it.
I think I'll teach the cat to dodge beer cans and walk on the ceiling by strapping her into a suit covered in springs. That way, when she falls off the ceiling, she'll bounce back up to it, looney tunes style.
Oh, and I'll be spending time with the family, but mostly the cat thing.
Baking! Cooking! Seriously, I can get why Pinkie Pie once looked forward to an all-day cooking spree (an artistic endeavor, a day-long burst of well-planned creation). In my case, most of my output is likely to be cookies, and I have already begun.
Oh, yeah, and shopping/wrapping/giving presents somewhere in there too. And the meals at which all the oven/range/etc. creations will be consumed.
I never really put much thought into what I want to do for holiday, but that's probably because others plan it for me.
If I was to have a plan, it would probably involve family/friends, and us doing something together. It's like the one thing I've always wanted, yet everyone has something they need to do. Sometimes I think that when they're finally done with whatever they have to do, then I'll need to be the one to let them down.
... Oh well, I guess that means there is even more to overcome in the future. Woo! Obstacles!
Stress myself to the point of illness worrying about finances, slack off because I'm too burnt out from the stress and work to do home stuff like decorating or writing ponyfic, try in vain to get my friends back together for a Pathfinder or Shadowrun campaign, then resign myself to the fact that the holidays are just going to be me and my wife at home with our toddler this year, and hope we do better next time.
Tomorrow/tonight (depending on time zone), one of my PTU games is going to have a Christmas special session. I've read some of the GM's old game logs, so I know his Christmas sessions are always super-special and awesome, especially the NPC he uses for those. He also let us choose to "shake" our presents beforehand, so I'm super-hyped to learn what they are.
Ah, geas. I remember it well. A favorite spell for paranoid players to ensure that if anyone ever attempted to betray them, they would suffer horribly for it. If whoever the party was associating with wouldn't bind themselves to the geas, it was instantly assumed they were evil or had intentions to betray them and so all communications would be severed. Or they'd kill them, depending on party consensus. When you can reduce even imaginary people down to numbers and threat assessments, I guess it doesn't matter.
After all, it's not like they're PEOPLE, who would be understandably nervous and likely unwilling to swear themselves to a mystical pact they don't understand the consequences of, and so have no desire to endanger themselves.
And of course they could expect the same treatment: would-be allies expect the PCs to geas themselves willy-nilly. Refuse or hesitate in the slightest and you're a sworn enemy, instant combat time regardless of all previous actions, which can only be averted by immediately agreeing to whatever geas is demanded (and even then only sometimes: if you've had a moment to think about it and then agree, you've obviously found a way to subvert it so binding yourself to it is meaningless).
But no, I'd set up bear traps at every entrance point if I was in their shoes. I find its a nice deterant for everyone who isn't a rogue or a mage and it should properly motivate DM-AJ to stay put.
I doubt they have the metagaming skills to get the plan AJ is putting together by using Bluff:delay to get away from it. but I still wish them luck at spotting the clever wording anyway. it's like asing a programmer if (s)he wants coffee or tea. the answer is yes, prompting the question of which one. in this case, they are unaware of the programmer question asked. cue the "what were we thinking!" reply when they expect AJ and get air.
I happen to be running a Living Legends campaign thst features the exact talent you're referring to. Starsworn Oath: It's how the party's employer is making sure their contract is fulfilled. Sort of a way to keep things from derailing too much from their assassination list, with a justification in the story.
What's your plan for the holidays?
'Tis traditional.
Breakfast is a nut-fruit roll bead shaped like reindeer and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Present exchanging and staying at home.
(btw, my niece was asked what she wanted for Christmas and she said 'choclate')
... Ok seriously I'm just spending time with the family and overall enjoying one of the few days I get off this year. One of my sisters wants me to draw her a pony (I'm the only one in my family that's in the fandom so this came out of left field) so I might just wait until Christmas Day and have her watch me draw it for her. Just to make it a bit more special than just handing over a piece of paper with some scribbles on it.
All I ever want to do during the holidays is eat food and play video games. Rarely do I get either option during this holiday. :p
Oh, and I'll be spending time with the family, but mostly the cat thing.
Oh, yeah, and shopping/wrapping/giving presents somewhere in there too. And the meals at which all the oven/range/etc. creations will be consumed.
If I was to have a plan, it would probably involve family/friends, and us doing something together. It's like the one thing I've always wanted, yet everyone has something they need to do. Sometimes I think that when they're finally done with whatever they have to do, then I'll need to be the one to let them down.
... Oh well, I guess that means there is even more to overcome in the future. Woo! Obstacles!
Wind my way over to work.
Also, not working, that'll be awesome for the next week.5
After all, it's not like they're PEOPLE, who would be understandably nervous and likely unwilling to swear themselves to a mystical pact they don't understand the consequences of, and so have no desire to endanger themselves.
But what do I know? Happy Holidays everyone.
But no, I'd set up bear traps at every entrance point if I was in their shoes. I find its a nice deterant for everyone who isn't a rogue or a mage and it should properly motivate DM-AJ to stay put.
"QVACK"