LQB: Lore Questions Bomb

[Ciraxis]

Since I was encouraged to do this here I go, for there is some I want to ask about. Apologizes for being all over the place with the questions.

 

1) Does the languages for regions/nations/species have a more specific, flavorful names? For example for Equestrian it's obviously Equestrian, and for Maretonia it's Maretonian (I guess?) but what about the others. And while we are that, is there are languages that are considered 'dead' but not forgotten? Like Latin and Ancient Greek?

2) Is Whitescar considered an island or continent?

3) Is there Ice Age megafauna living in Whitescar? We talking about animals specific for norther hemisphere that lived back then of course.

4) Since Maretonia and Saddle Arabia appear on the map as (relatively large) peninsulas, can we assume that they are part of larger landmass/landmasses?

5) Did caribou had settlements on Equestria continent in the past, before founding of Stalliongrad?

6) What does 'City of Sisterly Love' referring to, in description of Fillydelphia?

7) Can Unofficial Lore be promoted to Official if it's considered good enough?

8) Besides the upcoming big lore expansion (And by the way, thanks for that in advance. Your guy's are awesome.) Can we expect other smaller additions in between them. Like adding islands to the big sparkling sea's?

9) The oceans. Does they have names?

10) The polar caps. Does the World have them? And if it does, how far is the northern one from upper edge from the map?

11) Traveling between the timelines/dimensions. Ones shown within the show (and maybe comics - see next question) of course. Is it allowed?

12) The concent coming from IDW comics series. Will part's of it will be (pragmatically) adopted for Roleplay? Like characters or locations?

13) Can Seaponies survive in freshwater or are the exclusively sea dwellers? What is their level of tolerance for it?

14) And finally, how many cakes daily does Celestia eat? Are they all chocolate?

 

Again if some of these were explained/ answered elsewhere then I apologize. All of those come fro curiosity and desire to be a better Roleplayer, I am not trying to be annoying wth those questions.

Spoiler

Except maybe with the last one.

 

[SteelEagle]

Moved to lore forum. (When home I'll answer some of these- other staff may answer, and people are welcome to comment!)

[Blueblood]

A couple of answers from me right now:

 

1)  Foreign languages are used more for flavor than anything else; for obvious reasons of practicality.  It just makes things easier if all characters can speak a lingua franca.  Some regions, such as Roam, Germaney, and Prance have rather obvious language expies.  For regions where the language expy is not obvious nor listed in the official lore, we don't mind if you make an unofficial, flavorful name for a local language.  Dead languages included.

 

2)  Whitescar is a continent, much like a northern Australia.

 

3)  Canonically, the spine mountain range is full of monstrous and giant beasts, so yes, but with longer tusks.  And a bit more mythical flavor.

 

6)  It's a pun on the original Greek name of Philadelphia, which literally translates to "city of brotherly love."  The pun actually kind of works, if Filly is said to equal "sister."  I can go into detail on the history, but long story short, the original name was chosen by the Quakers as an expression for what they wished the capital of their colony to be.  There may be some similar history there?

 

11)  That would be considered part of the AU board.

 

The rest I either don't know, or am not qualified to answer.

[Bellosh]

1, 2, 6, & 11) What Blueblood said.

 

3) Rare and deadly creatures are found all over Whitescar; the Spine is merely the place where the biggest and baddest of them dwell. As a general rule of thumb, if a creature wouldn't look out of place in Skyrim, then it'll belong in Whitescar just fine.

 

4) Yes.

 

5) Not out of the realm of possibility.

 

7) That has yet to be determined, although if we do decide to promote Unofficial Lore, a lot of factors would have to be considered first before making a decision. Rest assured though, we'll take notice if you're a highly prolific and skilled writer of Unofficial Lore (ask Dubstep).

 

8) We'll naturally have to make small additions here and there whenever the show features a new locale. Funnily enough though, the new Lore expansion is going to feature a ton of new islands.

 

9) Only two seas have official names so far.

 

10) I see no reason why our world wouldn't have polar caps. We'll have to see if Brian can freeze up the northernmost oceans on the next map update, because that seems like a logical landscape (or oceanscape rather) to include.

 

12) We used to do so, but the IDW comics have fallen out of favor with RPH as of late. Chances are that we'll mostly keep to developing our own original content.

 

13) The last time somebody asked this question, we all agreed that seaponies could thrive in freshwater.

 

14) You'll have to ask a Celestia roleplayer for a proper answer.

[Dubstep]

Oh pish tosh. The answer to 14 is however many are presented to her, and in whatever flavour they're baked. Celestia is an equal opportunity cakeketeer.

[SteelEagle]

1, 2, 6, 11 what Blueblood said.
4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 what Bellosh said.

3- The Southern Wilds are what I look to as Skyrim esque. The Spine is more like Norse Super Apocalypse styled outrageousness. The beauty of either is that while there is lore, there isn't a minute focus on what is and isn't there. A good rule of thumb is that everything you find there and around it is incompatible with sentient life, civilization, or peace, while the Southern Wilds is more classical adventure.
12- I think it is more accurate to say the comics were never truly IN favor with most staff. Personally I still really enjoy them, and several pieces of lore I plan on writing soon for the Unofficial Section will be based on them.:)
14- 42.

[Ciraxis]

It's been a while. Once again, thanks for an answers. And once again i come with few fresh questions, picking off with numbers from where we left.

 

15) The only recognized currency is bits. (Or should we say The Bits?) Is it world's universal, or Equestria exclusive?

16) And while we at money, does Equestria uses bills alongside the coins?

17) Seeing how common they are, do gemstones less valuable then in our world?

18) Is there in-universe reason of Neighpon and Long Guo only recent involvement with the west? Like that perpetual storm that cut XXXX from rest of the Disc in 'The Last Continent'? Or seeing that Long Kung is run by Equestria representatives, it's just the case: 'It just didn't pop up out until now'?

19) Does OC's can become officials in cities, that don't have ones established leadership by show's cannon? (Like Las Pegasus for example?)

20) We know Equestria has institution of Mayors. Does it also has Governors? (Predictably five, for each mayor part of the country?)

21) Does movie theaters exist in-universe? If they do, how old is that form of entertainment?

22) Not a question but: San Flanksisco. Come on. Make it happen.

23) How popular is travel by airships in comparison to traveling by sea or by train?

24) How much can OC's  affect world technology levels lore-wise? We talking about characters that are foremost described as inventors of course.

25) Previously it was said that it was REA that takes the role of both Equestria military and law enforcement. Of course with show exposing us so much more to Manhattan, this was changed. What is the current lore stance about the Police as the public service? Was it only recently established, with Big Orange being forerunner for other big agglomerations or was it around for a while?

26) Is there equivalent of United Nations? Or is it in making in-universe?

27) Approximately, how old are those tombs in 'Pharaoh Vale'?

28) Is Crystal Empire a city state?

29) Natural disasters, how much we can use them in threads? (We talking about ones that are usually beyond ponies control, like forest fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts).

 

Again thanks in advance for satisfying my insatiable (and annoying for you, I am sure) curiosity.

[SteelEagle]

15- Most nations have their own currency. Maretonia would have three.
16- Only coins.
17- No, if only because while they are more common, they can likely be used for a greater amount of activities or purposes. So the extra supply is equaled by extra demand.
18- In universe they've always been there. As ancient nations, they've gone through the gamut of relations with Equestria, and the distance means there is always a bit of wonderment at them.

19- Yes.
20- Mayors, or the equivalent of them in any locality, are the highest form of government outside of Royalty and what they have control over.
21- Yes, but not in the traditional sense. I personally always call them Projector Theaters and they are 24/7 places. Our equivalent of television shows, news, documentaries, taped sports, etc. as well as projector films are shown on set schedules. This is to make them functionally different from RL theaters and maintain as much of the non-MT/20th century world as possible. As for how long it has been around- decades, maybe more. I view it very strictly as the best it will ever be in terms of this type of entertainment technology in Equestria in WoE.

22- Hey, feel free to start writing.:)
23- Depends on who you are. Assuming we are discussing Equestria- sea travel is the least popular. Airships are more popular, but the cost associated with them definitely make it not as likely as train travel for most.
24- Official lore wise? No. Unofficial? Go at it. We have several OC inventors and CEOs of major tech corporations that do stuff.
25- REA takes over policing duties in smaller towns and communities that aren't big enough or rich enough to warrant the establishment of official law enforcement authorities. Bigger cities that can handle the costs of a police force may do so. Very much up to the individual community.
26- Not currently, no. Most nations aren't at that stage of development that they'd even seriously consider the idea.
27- There is no approximate age. The oldest are thousands of years old, while the newest are only a few years.
28- The Crystal Empire is a full nation centered on the name-sake city. There are small villages and hamlets outside the city that are part of the Empire, and it is technically, technically independent. Of course it is a province of Equestria in all but title.
29- Go at it.
 

[Dubstep]

Kay! So none of these answers are 100% endorsed by anyone, just my thoughts on things (Also I wrote out these answers before Steel there made his post, so his may have different answers than me =P)
15: I don't think we currently have any other currencies at the moment. But I personally think sticking with Bits is the best idea, cus then you have to actually start thinking about things like exchange rates. That's not to say players can't say specific areas or tribes or what have you have their own currency, but I think sticking with Bits as the mainstay is a good idea.
16: Pretty sure it's just coin, paper money is so passe, unless it smells like maple syrup.
17: I'd wager it depends on the stones. Some areas may have an abundance of some times, while others have a deficit.
18: The last Emperor stuck to the tradition of not really mingling much with external affairs, the current Empress is looking to strengthen bonds between Long Guo and outlaying areas. But likely Bellosh could elucidate more on this topic.
19: I can't see why not.
20: Likely depends on the area.
21: Movie theaters do exist, I mean heck, we've seen cameras, as well as that recording bit that Twilight did to expose Svengallop, I'm certain they exist. As for how long, I'm not certain.
22: Nah bruv, it'd totally be San Fransiscolt.
23: Air travel, just like others, still runs the risk of robbery. Though by sky pirates in this case. Given that the ships, I assume, are more costly to run and maintain, I figure it'd be a bit  more expensive than average, so likely behind behind both of them simply due to cost.
24: We try to stick at an ambiguous tech level, similar to the show. We don't want things like real cars or aeroplanes around. But stuff like the Flim Flam Brother's magitech car, or simple phones like seen in Manehattan are fine.
25: I think it's probably safe to assume that police forces have been around for a while, with the REA being the 'primary' law enforcement, so to speak. Where the police forces within their cities would have to answer to REA officials should the need for intervention arise.
26: As far as I'm aware, nope and nope. Certainly an interesting thought though.
27: Old enough to know better too young to care (I don't actually know)
28: It's an Empire of course!
29: Feel free to make one! Just keep in mind, some players may not hold it as canon in their own threads, as such things may mess with their plans

Edited July 14, 2016 by Dubstep

[Bellosh]

4 minutes ago, Dubstep said:

18: The last Emperor stuck to the tradition of not really mingling much with external affairs, the current Empress is looking to strengthen bonds between Long Guo and outlaying areas. But likely Bellosh could elucidate more on this topic.

 

Correction: the previous emperors mostly didn't mingle much with their subjects the way that Princess Celesita would. In terms of world affairs, Long Guo has not displayed isolationist tendencies within living memory.

[Dubstep]

2 minutes ago, Bellosh said:

 

Correction: the previous emperors mostly didn't mingle much with their subjects the way that Princess Celesita would. In terms of world affairs, Long Guo has not displayed isolationist tendencies within living memory.

Ah, there you have it! My bad c:

[Ciraxis]

LQB, I have returned! Without further ado....

 

30) Which systems of military ranks various nations follow? While we have pretty clear idea of how it works in Equestria due to articles, various Roleplays and occasionally main show itself. Places like Neighpon have obvious counterparts, but locations like Whitescar, Acroneighos (which wouldn't have navy I assume) or Saddle Arabia (which is a gestalt of various Middle East/Egyptian inspirations) are not so clear in that regard.

31) So, population. Around how many ponies there are really?

32) The world's Equator. Which locations are north of it, and which are to the south?

33) Are there any in-land seas we haven't seen yet?

34) Despite astronomy in the setting being rather....unique, seeing that there were orreries present in various scenes/backgrounds it means that there have to be at least few other planets in star system. Do they have names?

35) ....And while we at it, what is the setting's planet name?

36) Lost/forgotten civilizations. (In the vein of Mu, Lemuria etc.). Allowed/Not Allowed?

37) How many time Aquelia and Equestria came to blows exactly?

38) Had any members of the Wonderbolts saw any real action prior to the show's start? As in, military unit, not the stunt-show obviously.

39) Since we have the Neighpon...does it mean there's N-Pop ?

[Dubstep]

34) I would figure we likely have other planets in the system. As of right now we've not come up with any or named any, but it could be a possibility that could be discussed in the future.
35) Another case of it currently not being named. I like the idea of Equus fairly well, but we've not got anything official.
36) Other staff, feel free to correct me on this. I believe that we do allow that sort of thing under the Unofficial Lore section.
39) It sure does! I actually have a character relevant to this question! >Here<

[Ciraxis]

LQB 2 : The Quickening!

 

Continuing numbering from the last time....

 

40) Submarines! Invented yet or not?

41) Equestria's Air Force. Who's the top dog? Wonderbolts?

42) Time travel. how restricted it is?

43) Are we allowed to discover/rediscover more dimensional mirrors besides one in Castle of Friendship?

44) Equestria Games seem restricted to...well...Equestria (and Saddle Arabia somehow. Perhaps it's like Australia's participation in Eurovision?). Can it be possible to organize similar even but worldwide. You know, FiM version of Olympics.

45) Where on u map Abyssinia supposed to be? The part we saw seemed pretty desert-like. South of Saddle Arabia?

46) How big environmental changes we are allowed to make? Can group of  determinated players to create something akin to - I dunno - Aral Sea in the middle of Painted Pinto for example?

47) Can we expect a bio of Dragon King Faba?

48) Can it be possible for Equestria to acquire any overseas territories beyond Long Kong?

[Dubstep]

42) Time travel is quiiite restricted, given it was such a difficult spell to transcribe and perform in the first place. One would be hard pressed to duplicated it.
43) I'd wager that alternate dimensions and the like not shown in Show or Comic canon would be more restricted to the AU section
44) Could totally be possible yeah! I think it would be a rather interesting addition to our cycle of events.
45) My guess would be around the south of Saddle Arabia possible, I'll see about bringing up more thoughts on that to staff.
46) Environmental changes are a lot more far reaching than say personal changes for characters or their homes and the like. I'd personally say it'd be a bit pushing it to go as far as that. But theoretically I suppose it could be possible.
47) @Bellosh That one's for youuuuu
48) Theoretically, though Equestria doesn't seem like the kind of place that would do that, at least to me

Granted as usual, not endorsed by anyone, just my 2cents and assumptions 😄

[SteelEagle]

30) Which systems of military ranks various nations follow? While we have pretty clear idea of how it works in Equestria due to articles, various Roleplays and occasionally main show itself. Places like Neighpon have obvious counterparts, but locations like Whitescar, Acroneighos (which wouldn't have navy I assume) or Saddle Arabia (which is a gestalt of various Middle East/Egyptian inspirations) are not so clear in that regard.
- Norse for Whitescar. Greek for Acroneighos. Saddle Arabia has Middle Kingdom style ranking with modern twists.

 

31) So, population. Around how many ponies there are really?
- Intentionally left open. 

 

33) Are there any in-land seas we haven't seen yet?

- Possibly, though unlikely to be on Equestria's continent.

 

34) Despite astronomy in the setting being rather....unique, seeing that there were orreries present in various scenes/backgrounds it means that there have to be at least few other planets in star system. Do they have names?

- Possibly!

 

35) ....And while we at it, what is the setting's planet name?
- Equus.
 

36) Lost/forgotten civilizations. (In the vein of Mu, Lemuria etc.). Allowed/Not Allowed?
- Yes, within reason.
 

37) How many time Aquelia and Equestria came to blows exactly?
- Three.
 

38) Had any members of the Wonderbolts saw any real action prior to the show's start? As in, military unit, not the stunt-show obviously.
- Since characters are taken by players hard to say, but likely very little if any.
 

39) Since we have the Neighpon...does it mean there's N-Pop ?
 

40) Submarines! Invented yet or not?
- Always possible. Though if done so, likely not militarily.

41) Equestria's Air Force. Who's the top dog? Wonderbolts?
- Unlikely. The Wonderbolts are a mix of civilians and members of the military and an aerial demonstration team. While some members may have military experience, based on the evidence we have, we can ascertain that the majority do not. And if they do, unlikely to be a lot of combat training. If anything, the Wonderbolts, when pressed into direct military service, are likely quite bad as a unit.
 

42) Time travel. how restricted it is?
- Are you somepony we've seen toy with time? If not, then you'd need to have a very good and likely difficult reason to be able to do so. And if you do, there'd be a lot of restrictions.
 

43) Are we allowed to discover/rediscover more dimensional mirrors besides one in Castle of Friendship?
- In theory, sure. In practice, the mirrors aren't necessarily lost/abandoned. It would require a bit of a bend to find them, and resultant RPs are likely best saved for the AU section.

 

44) Equestria Games seem restricted to...well...Equestria (and Saddle Arabia somehow. Perhaps it's like Australia's participation in Eurovision?). Can it be possible to organize similar even but worldwide. You know, FiM version of Olympics.
- Yes. I would assume something like that exists, even if it is downplayed.

 

45) Where on u map Abyssinia supposed to be? The part we saw seemed pretty desert-like. South of Saddle Arabia?
- It is not on the map currently. I would play it to the far, far south of Saddle Arabia.
 

46) How big environmental changes we are allowed to make? Can group of  determinated players to create something akin to - I dunno - Aral Sea in the middle of Painted Pinto for example?
- Within reason, though such changes would likely need approval from the royal government.
 

48) Can it be possible for Equestria to acquire any overseas territories beyond Long Kong?
- In theory yes.

[Bellosh]

47. I never really planned on writing a lore writeup devoted to King Faba. Basically, the important guidelines to follow are that Faba is of the Lawful Evil persuasion, REALLY hates chaos, and is a dragonified take on the "First Emperor" Shi Huangdi. King Faba was active around the same time Grogar was running amok in Equestria, during the Hyponian Age. Although I haven't made it official, I've played with the idea that the Imperial Watch was essentially founded by Faba to serve as his spies and elite agents during the Tyrant King's reign of terror, and that they switched their loyalty to the Two Champions and their dynastic successors upon Faba's imprisonment.

 

Sorry I don't have much more to provide for King Faba at this time.

PS: Long Kong is not an actual colonial possession of Equestria's, but Princess Celestia was heavily involved in developing that land roughly a couple centuries ago into the modern metropolis it is today.