Best example of Changeling defensive strategy would be their hive.
Name: Garrick Golden-Feather
Age: 36
Titles: Emperor of Gryphus, King of Griffonia, Inheritor of the Imperial House of Gryphus
Description: At first glance, you seem like a pretty average example of the Griffon race. Head of an eagle, body of a winged lion, standing perhaps a hair taller than most other quadrupedal species. It's not until one looks closer that they see the things that distinguish you from a crowd. An unmistakably masculine build, a strong, prominent beak, feathers and fur that seem to be perpetually well-groomed, and a pair of piercing amber eyes hiding a fierce intelligence. But you're no peacock, only known for your good looks; your talons are razor sharp, and though you are not as strong as your wife, you are still an apex predator, and your musculature reflects that. Your wife's workout regimen has also improved your physique, cords of taut muscle now visible across your body.
Martial: 9+2+1+1=13
Diplomacy: 14+2+2=18
Stewardship: 13+2=15
Learning: 16+2=18
Intrigue: 11+2=13
- Trait-Attractive: You are a very handsome fellow. +2 Diplomacy, better spousal relationship
- Trait-Genius: Smart doesn't even begin to describe you. +2 all skills
- Trait-Toned: Working out with your wife has done good things for your body. +1 Martial
Inventory:
- Blade of the King: an ornate and deadly sword you had forged for yourself after being crowned King of Griffonia. +1 Martial
- Royal Armor: Serving to protect you as well as display your royal status to onlookers, this armor is both durable and aesthetically pleasing.
- Dragon Egg: an egg recovered from a dead dragon's nest. It's still warm, and could still hatch.
Wife: Gabriella Golden-Feather
Opinion of You: 8/10
Age: 34
Martial: 15+1+2=18
Diplomacy: 11+1=12
Stewardship: 8+1=9
Learning: 13+1=14
Intrigue: 10+1=11
Trait: Strong - Born stronger than most. (+2 Martial)
Trait: Experienced - Has been a mercenary for several years, ranging across the lands of the former Empire. Knows much about the world. (+1 All Stats)
Son: Gawain Golden-Feather
Age: 4
Status: Infant-No Stats
Status: Designated Heir. Will become player character in event of Parent's Deaths.
Trait: Strong-Born stronger than most. (+2 Martial)
Trait: Attractive-A cute kid, and eventually a handsome fellow. (+2 Diplomacy, better spousal relationship)
Not sure myself about the clothes/Armour myself , but even without magic attack on hive would be hard to pull out simply due to it being able to split enemy forces in smaller part's and cutting them of from comand chain, then Changelings can simply march in and take out those smaller army pockets one by one, or if general is in the hive sending most of their forces to attack him and cut invading armys head of.
Also a general lack of understanding our command structure and mannerisms of troops. A fresh recruit may have lack of understanding of command, but they are restricted to areas for them, and a recruit who mouths off to someone like a general is normally have their butts kicked for it. Also I figure general or important figures of a military society is going to find a recruit who is not apart from their unit as suspicious, doubly so if they are in a commanders area. Also who uses fresh recruits to relay important information I figure that's also a subcategory of the army to handle.
True but all of this is relative toward stages of development of our and Changelings civ development as at the moment i doubt that Changelings are able to build a hive that Chrysalis had 1000 years later from post Discordian era, developing it probably took ages of magical research (magic draining to the point that not even Discord is able to use magic, creating shape shifting magic material for building said hive and so on) just as it will take us ages to industrialise.
Changeling Queen = Alicorn
Just because there is a Queen named Chrysalis doesn't mean it's the Chrysalis from the show. She could be Queen Chrysalis the First, or Chrysalis the Third, etc.
Awesome Omake! Would you mind adding a title so I could threadmark it and add it to the Omake List?Okay this started out as a pro-colonialism argument but evolved into my very first omake ever!
-X-
Hail Emperor Garrick! First of your name and Unifier of Gryphus.
I am Graham Green-Wing of the Former Feathersian League. While I obtained my Mercantile licence slightly over five years ago and doing fairly well for my self I have arrived at a bit of an economic road block. With the annexation of the League and other polities I have found my self with a lack of economic opportunities. However word has reached me of your intentions to sen out an exploratory expedition in order to make sense of our new stabled world. So I have taken it upon my self to bring this important issue an potential opportunity to you attention.
As you very well know we stand at the precipice of an Age of Exploration and if handled properly Great economic opportunity for our Empire. After several reviews of our Empire's economic potential I have come to the conclusion that in order for our economy to grow we must expand into foreign lands. What form that expansion takes is a decision for those above my station, however I have prepared a number of points that might persuade your Majesty to take a more "aggressive" stance to acquiring land and resources for our people. If not they should at least provide a good guide line for our future colonial endeavors.
1.Resources
- Our Empire's greatest short coming is its lack of tradable goods. This suited our people just fine during the age of Discord and Time of Healing where we were more focused on survival over profits. The unfortunate reality is that the majority of foreign markets (with the exception of the Nobility and Merchants) aren't going to be interested in foreign cuisine. While our recently created Munshine might become a popular luxury among the common people, we currently lack the means to produce the beverage in large enough quantities to sustain a viable market.
- To remedy this short coming lands with useful, valuable ,and rare resources should be prioritized when considering our future land acquisition. On that note I would also suggest that a new type of cargo ship be developed. While the humble cog is a very versatile ship it simply isn't a dedicated cargo/merchant ship.
2.Natives
- While we are well aware that the other Sentient species of our world survived the Age of Discord, I would like to remind his majesty that not all territories were explored and inhabited before the landmasses were moved around. There is a good chance that a portion of any newly discovered territory will be uninhabited and ripe for the taking, if not as a colony then at the very least an outpost where our ships and couriers can get some r&r.
- In the likely event that the newly discovered territory is inhabited there even more points to consider.
- Have they successfully unified/re-unified into a greater nation or are they still divided into smaller polities?
- What is the disposition of the ruling sovereign/'s?
- What resources do their territories posses?
- What resources does their market desire?
- What are their military capabilities and can we counter them effectively?
- And most importantly of all, will they try to cave-in our skulls on the first meeting?
- While I understand that his majesty is not the most militarily inclined of our people as a former merchant you must understand the necessity of the eventual "aggressive acquisition". Obtaining favorable trading rights through negotiation is always preferable, but some polities will either try to under cut us or be to Isolationist/Stu-born/Pigheaded to establish any for of meaning full dialog. In such an event "aggressive negotiations" will be required to obtain favorable terms.
3.Distance
- The further away from the home land a colony is the harder it will be to administrate and defend. While the fact that our people can fly is great boon I highly doubt any of us can cross the ocean in a single flight without rest.
- While exploring we should make note of any small islands en route to potential future colonies. These can be potentially converted into rest and resupply outposts for our couriers and ships. In fact with enough islands we could form a intercontinental courier system without having to over rely on our ships.
- While on the subject, if such island chain does not exist then communication between the home land and the colonies will almost entirely rely on the speed of our ships. In the event that this holds true I highly recommended that we invest in a dedicated courier ship specifically designed to traverse a large distance in as short a time as possible.
All of the points above should be considered if our Great Empire is to become/remain leading power in this Post-Dicordian world. Even if we do not follow the path of Conquest we should still utilize all the tools at our disposal to ensure Gryphus becomes and remains the worlds leading Economic power.
Your humble and enterprising servant Graham Green-Wing.
-X-That's 815 words, I used spoilers to save space.I hope this helps persuade our Emperor to take a more aggressive approach in our future colonial endeavors.
Cool, Okay I added a Title. It is now know as A Letter from a Enterprising servant.
Ha, now that would be good for a laugh. We find the changeling nation and do to dice rolls are really peaceful and likely to form a union with us or even join us directly but with the catch that they're the "every shade under the rainbow" colorful/"good" changelings.
...i can't decide if it's worth it!
The technicolor changelings won't be appearing in this Quest. At least, not unless a lot of people indicate they'd like to see them. Like others in this thread, I too dislike the implied "you have to look good to be good" message sent by their sudden species-wide metamorphosis.
i like to believe they're faking it.My headcanon: they ARE redeemed, but they know ponies would still fear them if they looked like that, so they simply decided to look more like them. They're shapeshifters, it shouldn't be that big a deal to (most of) them.
you mean completely or just that we won't be seeing them on our side. I'm just asking that if things happen similarly enough to canon that equestria manages to get a hive of changlings to join them will they be normal or would they be technicolor just for ease of telling the difference between equestrian changlings and other changlings?
And it's GOOD! Well thought out and works well In Character. Not much of a story but works great as a vignette.Okay this started out as a pro-colonialism argument but evolved into my very first omake ever!
