Anonymous the Dungeon Master (v2, Unfinished)

>Canterlot High, home of the Wonder Colts and the nation's leading average of spontaneously springing out into song.
>Anonymous, the new guy at school.
>The shut-in, the quiet guy in the background, the weirdo with the drawings.
>That’s you.
>More content to sit alone at lunch than with others.
>Forced to move to this place due to your dad’s job.
>Ever since mom died, you and he haven’t really ever connected.
>You see him, and he sees you, and you talk to each other, but you don’t really say anything meaningful.
>It's not that you want to be the loner, but you just can't seem to fit in.
>It doesn’t help that everyone at this school seems to be part of a group already.
>To your credit, you looked around for anyone who might share your hobby, but there’s nobody.
>Not even the nerds at this school share it; they’re all into math and science.
>Which is fine for them, you appreciate science and math just fine, but it's not your thing.
>And given that you’re not very fashionable, not good at sports, not into theater or drama and not good at singing and dancing (which happens more often than you’d think), it’s felt like you don’t belong here.
>The truth is, you belong somewhere else, where the rules of reality don’t matter.
>Where dragons soar over fantastic lands, where Space Marines battle the forces of Chaos and foul Xenos, where Shadowrunners steal from future corporations and where the Exalted go on epic quests with the gods.
>Back in your old hometown, you were the designated DM or GM of every game your group played.
>You didn’t mind, really.
>It let you be creative and tell stories and engage with people.
>It was the most fun you’ve ever had, but it all ended when you moved.

>You realized then that while you had really good players, none of them were your friends and you haven’t kept in contact with them since.
>Online roleplaying just isn’t the same.
>You miss the smiles, the rolling of dice, the face-to-face interaction and how it could impact the game through roleplaying.
>Nothing to be done about it now, though…
>One day at lunch, as you sit alone eating your food, there’s a sudden slamming noise that jolts you out of your thoughts.
>Sitting across from you is a girl with wild pink hair, bright blue eyes and a big smile.
>You remember her: Pinkie Pie, an easy enough name to recall.
>”Hiya, Anon!” she beams.
“Hey… What’s up?”
>She puts her cheeks in her hands and leans over the table.
>”How come you’re always sitting alone, Anon? Don’t you have any friends?”
>Ouch.
“Uh, no, not really…” you reply honestly.
>”That’s awful!” she says, sitting up. “Everyone needs friends!”
“I’m fine, really,” you insist. “Nobody here really seems like they’d want to be my friend anyway.”
>”That’s just not true! I want to be your friend!” she says with wide, blue eyes. “Why would anyone not?”
“Well… nobody here shares my hobbies.”
>She thinks for a moment. “Video games?”
“I mean, I like those, but I’m not really into the popular games, you know…”

>”Don’t tell me: chess? Anime? Cartoons?”
“Not really… I like those things, but they’re not exactly what I do…”
>She scratches her head. “How about parties? Do you like parties?”
“Adventuring parties,” you say quietly with a small smile.
>”Huh?”
“Never mind. Not the parties you’re probably thinking of. Last party I had was a birthday party four years ago.”
>Her jaw opens wide, as do her eyes, and her gasp can be heard halfway across the cafeteria.
>”You… you haven’t had a birthday party in FOUR YEARS?!”
>She nearly shouted that, drawing all kinds of stares.
>You duck your head and wince, suddenly wishing you weren't here.
“Well… There was nobody to invite, really.”
>She gets a sympathetic look on her face. “Oh, no, this is worse than I thought… This is an emergency! A red alert! A code-five defcon-niner-zero!”
“What?”
>”DON’T WORRY ANON! I’LL SAVE YOU YET!”
>She gets up and dashes off.
>You try to follow her movement but the bell rings and everyone in the lunchroom stands up.
>Well, that was strange.
>Probably nothing.
>You go through the rest of the school day as normal, packing up your things in your locker when it’s done.

>As you exit through the school’s back doors, you whistle to yourself and thank Crom that it’s Friday.
>Suddenly you are ambushed by a blur of pink leaping in front of you.
>”It’s done, Anon! I got everyone to clear their schedule so they can try… whatever it is that you do!”
“…What?”
>”I got some friends together so we can try your hobby! You know, to play with you and so you can make friends!”
>What?
>WHAT?
>Your mind is left spinning at what she's told you.
“Pinkie, it’s not that simple, it needs preparation and it’s really not the kind of thing I think you’d be into—“
>”We’re meeting tomorrow at the public library at 9 A.M. sharp! Don’t be late!”
“Wait, what?! I can’t just—I need to prepare things! How many others are there going to—“
>And just like that, she’s gone, leaving you with a lot of questions.
>You contemplated not going, you contemplated just staying home like every other weekend.
>But as you snap back to the present, you find yourself in a room in the public library.
>You asked the old lady for the room with the largest table; you’d need it.
>You brought your chest full of materials; dice, character sheets, miniatures, maps, rulebooks…
>You spent last night making a bunch of characters, easy and simple concepts.
>You pull out your phone and check the time.
>9:02.
>Well, good try, looks like they’re not coming, better pack up and—
>The door opens and Pinkie bounces in.
>She smiles when she sees you.

>”There you are, Anon! I thought you weren’t going to show up, and I got really sad and stuff, but then I asked the librarian, and she said that someone was in this room and here you are!”
“Yeah… I’m here. So, who else is—“
>You cut yourself short when six others enter the room.
>Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Sunset Shimmer.
>”Hiya, Anon!” Applejack greets you.
>"Nice to meet you!" Twilight says. "I'm glad we're meeting at the library. I would have been here anyway!"
>Rainbow kicks a chair back. "Don't mind her. She's an egghead."
>Twilight fumes a little as she adjusts her glasses.
>Oh god this is a fate worse than hell.
>All these girls are miles above your league and you’re about to expose your innermost nerd-dom to them.
>Not to mention their popularity; this could ruin your school life forever.
“Uh, this was a mistake,” you say hastily, gathering up your things. “I—I need to go home.”
>”NO!” Pinkie suddenly says, all serious and dark and in your face. “I am NOT leaving until you have had some FUN with us in your hobby!”
>Holy shit.
>She's got some serious death-beams in those eyes of hers.
>Slowly, you sit back down and feel a bead of sweat drip down your forehead.

>Sunset puts a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder.
>”It’s okay Pinkie, I’m sure he’s just nervous." She gives you a warm smile. "What are we going to play, Anon?”
>Rainbow Dash picks up a miniature of an orc. “Is this like a board game piece or something?”
“It’s… It’s just that I’ve never, uh… played with girls.”
>They all stare at you somewhat blankly, and then Rainbow Dash starts to crack up.
“I—I mean, with the game! In this game, I’ve never played with girls! An all-girl party, I mean, uh…”
>Rarity seems amused. “I assure you, darling, there’s nothing wrong with playing with girls.”
“I didn’t mean it like that either! Just that… well… I wasn’t expecting this, so I’m maybe not as prepared as I could be…”
>”It’ll be alright, Anon,” Pinkie says while taking a seat next to you, “as long as we all have fun! That’s all that matters.”
“Well… I hope you will,” you say to her. "That is the golden rule of the game."
>Everyone else takes a seat around the table and looks at you expectantly.
>You clear your throat and try to calm down.
“Well… Uh… I guess we should get started…”
>They continue to stare.
>Rarity pulls out her phone and checks something while Rainbow Dash takes out a piece of gum and chews it.
“I… I thought we’d start off with something simple, so I prepared a game of… Dungeons and Dragons.”
>Sunset tilts her head. “What’s that?”
>Rainbow Dash scoffs. “Isn’t that for nerds?”
>Ouch again.
>You felt that one, alright.
>Pinkie Pie shoots Dash a nasty look and mouths something.
>The rainbow-haired girl rolls her eyes and continues chewing her gum.

>”How do you play, Anon?” Sunset asks.
“Well… it’s a tabletop RPG.”
>”Um, RPG?” Fluttershy asks.
“Sorry. Role-Playing Game. You make a character and play as that character.”
>Dash looks over. “Like Skyrim?”
“Well… Sort of. It’s not electronic.”
>You’ve lost her again; she checks for dirt under her fingernails.
>Applejack sets her hat on the table. “Then how do we see our characters?”
“In your imagination. Play proceeds like this: I, the Dungeon Master---“
>Rainbow snickers.
“…The Dungeon Master sets the narrative; I explain what is happening, where your characters are, and what is happening around them. When it’s your turn, you in turn describe or act out what your character does. Everything takes place in our collective imaginations.”
>”Oh, so it’s like interactive theater?” Rarity asks, looking up from her phone.
“…Sort of? Maybe?”
>”I have a question,” Dash says.
“Okay, sure.”
>”What’s the point?”
“Well… Fun? You make a character who joins the other characters to go on adventures. You fight monsters, level up, get new weapons and powers, and become legendary heroes.”
>She raises a brow. “Okay… that does sound kind of cool. Still iffy on it, though.”
>Pinkie asks, ”So what kind of character do we get to make?”
“Well, I’ve made a few already, to save us some time. The world we’re going to be playing in is a fantasy world, with elves and magic and dragons and things like that.”

>You take out a folder of character sheets.
“I’ve left a few details blank, like gender and hair color and other details, but I’ve got them all ready to go. So…”
>You look at Pinkie Pie; since she started this, she’ll go first.
“Pinkie, think of your favorite fantasies and what kinds of characters are in it. An adventuring movie or cartoon or book. What kind of character would you like to make?”
>She smiles. “I want someone who sings and dances and just has a good time!”
>Perfect.
“Well, I have a bard. They cast spells through song and their job is to keep everyone else happy and motivated.”
>”Super-duper!” Pinkie says as she takes the sheet you hand her. She scans it over. “What does Race: Gnome mean?”
“It, uh, means you’re a gnome,” you say, thinking you might have made a bad choice.
>”Neato!” she smiles. “I’m a tiny gnome, heehee!”
>That puts you at ease.
>She takes out a party hat (she has those just on her person?) and puts it on.
>”Hey, Dashie! Lookit me! I’m a tiny gnomey-womey!” she giggles.
“You can write in your character’s name and other details on the sheet in the empty spaces.”
>You distribute several mechanical pencils.
>She takes the pencil you hand her and thinks for a moment.
>As she does, you look at Sunset.
“Same question for you. What kind of character do you want to play?”

>”I’d just like to help people,” she says.
“Hmmm. How about a cleric?”
>”What’s that?”
“Think like kind of a priest. Their job is to heal people and protect them from evil.”
>She nods. “I like the sound of that.”
>You take out the human cleric sheet and look it over.
>Appropriately enough, the god she worships is the god of the sun.
>You hand it to her and then look at Applejack.
>The cowgirl thinks for a moment.
>”Shoot, I don’t know. What do you think?” she asks you.
“Um… How about a knight? Or a ranger?”
>Her ears perk up at the sound of ranger.
>”What kinda ranger are we talkin’ about? Like a park ranger? Or a cattle ranger?”
“A ranger is someone who is more at home out in the woods, tracking animals and monsters and using a bow. A survivalist.”
>”Now that sounds good to me! Hand 'er over!”
>You take out the sheet for a human ranger and hand it to her.
>Next, Fluttershy, who hasn’t said more than three words since coming here.
>”Um… I don’t know…”
>Think, Anon.
>You haven't gotten to know these girls well in the time you've been at school, but you've seen them all over the place.
>Fluttershy almost always has some kind of animal with her, doesn’t she?

“How about something to do with animals?”
>Her eyes grow a bit brighter. “Oh, that sounds lovely. What is there?”
“I have an elven druid made and ready. You can start off with a pet of your choice.”
>”Can it be a bunny rabbit?”
>Not exactly a combat animal, but how could you say no to that face?
“Sure. That’s fine.”
>You hand the sheet to pinkie, who passes the sheet down.
>Now you look at the girl in the glasses.
"Twilight?"
>She ponders for a few moments. "I like magic. Can I be something like a wizard, like Merlin the Magician, or Star Swirl the Bearded?"
"Yes, in fact, you can be exactly a wizard."
>"Fantastic!" she says excitedly.
>You fish out the elf wizard character sheet, along with another sheet that lists its spells, and pass them down to her.
>Next is Rarity, and you ask what she would like to be.
>She places a hand on her chest. “I want to be a queen.”
>Rainbow bursts out laughing.
>”What?” the fashionable young woman asks, a little offended. “This is a fantasy, isn’t it? I want to play a royal and regal queen!”
“Well… I don’t have a queen made, exactly, but perhaps something just as regal? How about a royal knight? Or a paladin?"
>"A paladin, you say? What is that?"

"It's kind of like a knight, only they also make use of divine magic."
>"Well, that sounds simply 'divine', darling! But can I not also be a queen?"
>You try to find a way to delicately phrase the lack of realism involved in a queen going on adventures, but hey, it's a fantasy game, right?
>Perhaps there is a compromise.
"What about a princess? That way, you could be a royal character, but not tied to a throne through marriage or something."
>"Absolutely fabulous! I've always dreamed of being a princess! Oh, the gowns will be to die for!"
>As you get out the sheet for a paladin, Rainbow cracks wise. "So, if she's a princess, doesn't that mean we have to rescue her from a tower or something? Since this is like a fairy tale or whatever."
>Rarity retorts, "Nonsense, Rainbow Dash. As a knight, I---I'm sorry, what was I again?"
"Paladin."
>"Thank you. As a paladin, which I am told is very much like a knight, I'll be quite able to rescue myself from any towers."
>"Sure, sure, we'll see."
>And finally, Rainbow Dash.
“Well? What kind of character do you want to make?”
>”Something awesome.”
“How about a thief?”
>”Eh… could be cooler.”
“How about an assassin?”
>”Getting there…”

“…A dark elf assassin?”
>”What’s a dark elf? Is that like some kind of cool shadow-elf?”
“Yeah… Kind of.”
>”Oh! Can my character have wings? How about a kickass sword? Oh! Oh! A bow that can shoot, like, three arrows at once!”
>”Dash, let Anon tell you what you can have,” Applejack says.
“I have a dark elf assassin pre-made… and eventually, you can get all of those things, but not start off with them.”
>She sits back and crosses her arms. “Sure. Whatever.”
>You hand her the sheet and wait as they all write details down on their character sheets.
“Has everyone finished filling out their personal details?”
>After a few moments, everyone nods.
“Alright, let’s go around the table and introduce ourselves.”
>Pinkie goes first.
>”Behold!” she says, holding her sheet aloft, “I am Sparkles the Gnome!”
>”Really, Pinkie? Sparkles?” Dash says, rolling her eyes.
>She makes a pouty face. “Fine.” She writes something in. “Now she’s Sir Sparkles! She was knighted, by Rarity! She’s got blue hair and wears big clown shoes!”
>Dash audibly groans but you can’t help but smile; Rarity and Fluttershy both giggle behind their hands.
>Sunset next. “My character’s name is Celeste, and she is a cleric who worships the sun. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes and is 25 years old.”
>Applejack now. “My ranger is Joan, and she’s tough as nails. She’s got brown hair and matching eyes and she wears a hat like mine.”
>Dash adds in her two cents. “Pssh. Real original.”

>Fluttershy’s turn. “Well, I wanted to name my character Angel, after my bunny rabbit, but then I changed my mind when I wanted to name my character’s bunny Angel too, so, um… I still don’t know what to call her.”
>Sunset taps her lips with the pencil you gave her, and suddenly you wish you were a pencil.
>She offers, “How about… Skye?”
>”Oh, that’s pretty. I like it. I’ll be Skye, and my bunny is Angel. Hey, that fits in a way!” she giggles.
>Twilight is next. "My character is a wizard named Arwen."
Your ears perk up. "Oh, named for the character in Lord of the Rings?"
>"I... I'm not very good at coming up with names," she admits. "That's not a problem, is it?"
>Normally you'd cringe when someone names their character Aragorn, or Geralt, or Ezio or Kratos or any other number of pop culture badass names, but you find it endearing when she does it.
>Is that a double standard?
>Whatever.
"It's fine. Arwen it is."
>She smiles. "As I was saying, she is a wizard, and has an intelligence score of eighteen. I'm guessing that is very high, correct?"
"Yeah, it's definitely very above average, which is ten."
>"Hold on," Applejack says, squinting as she looks at her character sheet. "What exactly are all these numbers anyway? What's a dexterity?"
>Rarity then asks, "And why is my intelligence only a twelve? Am I not royally educated?"
>"A royal pain in the butt, maybe," Dash says with a laugh.
"Well, okay, hang on, I can explain everything but let's handle one thing at a time. Rarity, your character's name please?"

>“Well, my character is Princess Sapphire the Second, and she is---“
>Dash interrupts, cupping her hands around her mouth, "Lame!"
>Rarity ignores her and continues. “As I was saying, Sapphire wears an elegant white dress with beautiful trimmings and keeps her raven-like hair styled at all times, as befits a noble such as herself. She’s also a paladin.”
You feel the need to clarify, "As a paladin, you are kind of like a knight, so you are wearing armor, which will allow you to survive being hit by an enemy better than a dress."
>"I suppose that is valuable. Well, my armor is stylish, and gleams brilliantly silver, with jewels inlaid along with patterns of gold and---"
>"Okay that's great and all but can I go now?" Rainbow Dash interrupts her.
>Rarity huffs. "Fine. Just don't expect me to help you in this game, with how rude you have been today."
>"Like I'll need it." She stands up and cracks her knuckles. ”Alright, check it! My character is Quickheart the Awesome, and she’s a badass dark elf with red hair and twin daggers. She’s pretty much awesome all around and is going to totally kick ass.”
>Oh boy.
>Looks like Rainbow is shaping up to be the ‘that guy’ of this group.
>Or ‘that girl’ rather, oddly enough.
>You can see where this is going to go a mile away but there’s nothing to be done about it now.
“Alright, well… We can begin now.”
>”Wait, hold up Anon, what about you?” Applejack asks. “Who’s your character?”
“Oh, I’m everyone else. I act out all of the non-player characters, or NPCs, like townspeople, monsters and all the bad guys.”
>”Don’t we need dice or something?” Pinkie asks.

>Oh damn, you almost forgot.
>You take out a big bag that shifts with the sounds of many, many dice.
>You pour them out on the table and their eyes all go wide.
>”What the hay are those?” Applejack asks.
“Uh, dice,” you reply. "You know, for rolling."
>Dash picks up a four-sided die. “How the heck do you roll this thing?”
>”Same as any other die, silly!” Pinkie says, holding two translucent d20s up to her eyes and looking through them, making small 'ooos' and 'aaahs'.
>Applejack picks up a d12. “I didn’t even know they made shapes like these.”
>"That one's a dodecahedron," Twilight tells her, quick to interject with a friendly nerd fact. "That means it has twelve sides."
>Sunset takes a handful. “These are really cool, Anon! Where’d you get all of these?”
“You pick them up when you’ve been in the hobby as long as I have,” you say, actually kind of digging the fact that a girl is complimenting your dice.
>Rarity leans over and starts picking through them. “Oh, this one, and this one, and this one!”
>She’s taking all the gem-like dice.
“Well, you only need about six of them. A d4, a d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.”
>You pick out groups of those and hand them out to each of them.
“I’ll tell you which ones to roll when the time comes.”
>Next, you set up your DM screen.
>”What’s that for?” Pinkie asks, looking at the cool pictures of adventurers fighting monsters on the outside.

“So I can roll my dice in secret and look at the rules and other things that the Dungeon Master needs to do,” you reply. "Oh, one more detail. I mentioned that a lot of this takes place in our imagination, but we can use visual things like maps and miniatures to help convey things like placement and give you a better understanding of the environment your characters are inhabiting."
>You take out several minitures that you had prepped ahead of time, essentially one male and one female version for each race and class combo you had come prepared with.
>Since they're all female, that takes care of itself, and you hand them out.
"They might not look exactly like what you've envisioned, but like I said, they're only a stand-in for your characters."
>Pinkie Pie takes the smaller-than-average gnome female miniature and inspects it. "How cute!"
>"I like the little mace mine is holding," Sunset says.
>"Hah, mine's got two daggers," Raindow says, making little stabbing motions at Rarity. "Two daggers! Stab two people once, or one person twice!"
>"My hair isn't this color," Rarity pouts.
"Like I said, it's only a visual substitution."
>You get to work laying out a wide map of a forest with a river and a bridge.
>They all look on, studying its intricate details.
“So, I'm certain that you all have some questions about your characters and what they can do, but take my word for it, it's not as complicated as it might seem. On your turn, I'll ask how your character reacts to what I am describing; perhaps there is an enemy or an obstacle in front of them, and you describe what they do. I'll tell you what to roll, and you can reference it on your character sheet. Ready?”
>”I’m ready to play,” Sunset says, and the others all nod.
>You close your eyes and take a deep breath, actually feeling very confident since they seem to be getting into it.

>When you open your eyes, you are no longer just Anonymous.
>You are the Dungeon Master once more.
>Cracking your knuckles, you take a deep breath and prepare to transport them to a world of high adventure.
>Time to do what you do best.