So, in addition to not actually feeling well for a few days, there was also the whole Memorial Day weekend and subsequent days off my father had, so I spent time with my family. Can’t use all this time talking about Friendship being Magic if you don’t actually socialize, ya know?

For all those who serve, well, this says what should be said best. /salute

Anyways, things should get back to the normal daily updates either this evening or early tommorow morning (EST). To be honest, I feel refreshed from taking a break, too, as it gives plenty of time to gather one’s thoughts, brainstorm new ideas, etc. Better to deviate from a schedule occassionally, then to never break it and get burned out, IMO.

Is.. is this the part where I post a sad girl in snow? No?

Well, yeah, just lettin’ ya all know, probably nothing today. Physically, horribly ill all day yesterday and still feeling awful today. I hate missing updates, but eh.. have some House bloopers (which has also been what I’ve been watching since, fictional character or not, a guy who’s always in pain? I can relate..).

scorch-mechanic submitted:

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic does indeed fit well into the rules of Dungeons and Dragons, though the parallels are a little limited (I don’t think that unicorns use Vancian magic, for example). It’s worth noting, however, that Fallout: Equestria runs somewhat differently.

Fallout: Equestria operates on the SPECIAL system developed by Black Isle and later, Bethesda. This is no coincidence. Fallout: Equestria is heavily influenced by Fallout 3 (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Fallout series). Kkat kept a character sheet for Littlepip detailed down to every last attribute, perk, and skill point. All based on Fallout 3’s version of the SPECIAL system.

It follows, then, that the most popular version of the Fallout: Equestria Pen & Paper game is a percentile system adopted from SPECIAL, with additional rules dealing with magic as presented in Fallout: Equestria by Kkat. The design goal, as requested by Kkat, was to create a system with which all of the existing characters of Fallout: Equestria can be made.

So far? It is a success. I am part of the first group using the rules created by Sunrise, the author of the main document and the GM of Group 1. In addition to the main rules doc, we are using an expanded perk set and alchemy rules. There are many more groups running and in the planning stages as well. More players are always welcome!

Here you go, some more info on the subject. As I said, this wasn’t an original idea by me in any case, but it’s something many in the fandom have thought of. Lauren Faust and the rest of the MLP production crew are known geeks; after all, that’s why Discord was voiced by John de Lancie, and why Canterlot strongly resembles Minas Tirth.

Anyways, there’s several different pony RPG systems out there, including ones specific to FO:E, so if you’re interested in that, check ‘em out!

Over the months, I’ve gotten questions about the magic system in Equestria, or at least how it pertains to FO:E. These queries have increased as the arcane systems behind the world show up more often in the series itself.

As you may or may not know, Hasbro, the creators and owners of My Little Pony, also own a ton of other properties, including Wizards of the Coast, and thus Dungeons & Dragons as well as Magic: The Gathering. Thus, all the jokes about the Everfree Forest looking like a D&D Monster Manual actually have a bit of truth to them, as MLP’s scriptwriters are free to use anything they want from it’s pages. While many of those beasts are of course public domain or well-known mythological legends, others are considered to be property of D&D. Now, I doubt a Beholder or Mind Flayer will show up anytime soon, but considering that freakin’ Cerberus made an appearance, and Queen Chrysalis is basically a shapeshifting succubus, well, anything’s possible.

What I’m getting at is, for all intents and purposes, Equestria is basically a D&D Campaign Setting, which also means you can define everything that isn’t explicitly pointed out, under those rules (3.5E, of course ;P).

But wait, you say! Fallout: Equestria uses the SPECIAL system, and none of the SPECIAL games used magic! Actually, one did, a lesser-known title called Lionheart, which was published by Interplay in 2003 to little fanfare since it was, well, unremarkable to put it kindly. As you might expect, mana was derived from Intelligence, but it also allowed you to “overcharge” your character and go over the maximum MP limit for a short time. Something that you could argue we’ve seen in the show itself; the usage of the Elements of Harmony and Twilight’s reaction to the first Sonic Rainboom, for instance.

So what I’m getting at with all of these history lessons is that I consider the main MLP setting to be D&D, just with ponies, zebras and griffons instead of humans, elves and dwarves. FO:E on the other hoof, converts that setting into not only a post-apocalyptic setting, but the SPECIAL system whenever it can.

This.. isn’t as far-fetched or as big of a kludge to compromise as you may think. Warcraft was converted to d20 rules a few years ago, and while it’s lorebooks came under fire, the actual framework was solid. Similarly, the most popular D&D setting of all time, Forgotten Realms, was created by a fan who got hired for his work. Even Slayers, one of the great Japanese anime & manga fantasy series, began it’s life as a game between the creator and friends, before becoming an entire media franchise.

It’s not a stretch to consider the same for MLP, especially since they wouldn’t have any legal issues, being part of the same company and all. The SPECIAL thing, well, yeah, that’s harder to explain since, again, only one game, mediocre at best, awful at worst, used magic, but eh, what can ya do..

Long story short, use D&D 3.5E (or Pathfinder!) rules for equine magic, in case you’re wondering what can and cannot be done in the show and in fanfics alike. And then, uhm, just.. think of them in SPECIAL terms when it comes to FO:E in particular. This is one of those times I’m expressing an opinion rather than a solid fact on MLP lore, but I think I’m pretty close to the mark, if not right on it.

… and one more thing!

This wasn’t entirely my idea either. Actually, back when I first was getting interested in MLP, and Equestria Daily was beginning, several others were, and still may be, working on a D&D pony ruleset. I tossed in a bunch of these ideas with the rest at the time, but my Google-fu is failing me at the moment.

Just wanted to point that out, so you don’t think I’m stealing another’s ideas. Nope. “I was there. I was there man!”

Click here for more on this subject from the perspective of another involved in the fandom!

I’ve been throwing out a few drafts tonight, not because of bad questions, in fact, there’s been a bunch of very good ones over the last few days (and honestly, most days.. ya’ll are great followers!), but what I have written tonight I just haven’t felt has been up to standards.

I think I’ll sleep on it, then update in the morning. Time to hit the hay!

Ha ha ha! Pony pun.

While it doesn’t happen everytime, you know that trope about seeing your life flash before your eyes when you think you’re going to die? That’s true. (Ed. - And I can confirm that personally, as in, me, the mod, not just the character, because I’ve had near-death experiences; just not because raiders shot me or anything, heh..)

It might be like a dream, where you’re simply relieved upon waking up, or in other instances you might feel like you’re supposed to just give up and let death win, but there’s a part of you that says to ignore that sensation and stick with life, no matter what.

This isn’t a religious thing either, although I’m sure some interpret it as such. My thoughts on such matters are mixed (and please, don’t ask me to elaborate further on that topic), but it wouldn’t surprise me if the simple, scientific reason for this phenomenon is that it’s a form of self-preservation. Your mind basically dredges up as much of your memories as quickly as it can so that if you do indeed survive, you put your remaining time in the world into perspective.

Oh yeah, and just to cover my own flank, while this may be a profound event, don’t try this at home and deliberately put your mortal existence at risk. The only reward for doing so would be one of these.. and that’s not a legacy you want to have!

I found this video recently, but I don’t think it’s from my world, considering, well, everything, although the personalities of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch match what little I know about them.

As for Octavia herself, I believe she was sheltered in Stable 49, but, again, given all the interdimensional activity and the uncertainy in records (no pun intended) out there, I can’t confirm that right now. Sometimes recordings of her performances will be unearthed, so whenever that happens I have my friends buy them for me, and send them to DJ PON3 for preservation.

It is not ugly! It’s stylin’! Also, it was a gift, so, there’s that too!

I normally give longer answers than this, but.. argh!

OOC

I have a few awesome friends whom occassionally draw stuff for me, but I don’t want to seem like I’m taking advantage of ‘em either by, ya know, asking ‘em to do so constantly. In all honesty, I’d like to get more guest artists on here, not only to see other folks’ interpretations, but to get them some more exposure too.

Many, many years ago I had a scanner, which I used to digitize some of my even older drawings. I’ve done some pixel art for textures and things like that for some of my maps, but I lack both the expertise and hardware to render stuff in a way that wouldn’t be offensive to the eyes. I’ve got a DA and FA page, with the first used merely to favorite stuff, and the second has a mirror of all the original art made for this blog.

I’ve got some of the aforementioned ancient art I created myself in the Scraps section, but other than that, well.. that’s all I have to say on that.

What?! Forget you, I can eat all these apples!

Special thanks to Doctective for making this, and of course HotDiggedyDemon for the original inspiration!

Youtube with NSFW audio here! <3 Doc

The smallest ones are slightly larger than I am. The biggest ones are about three times bigger than an armored Steel Ranger (except maybe this guy..).

Nopony is sure where exactly they came from, beyond obviously being some kind of mutated bat. One day they simply appeared and begin flocking about, breeding and killing rapidly. You don’t ever want to get caught on the road, or anywhere for that matter, by these things.

And due to all the issues I described about them last time, most notably their fire resistance, their population has barely been dented even as civilization finally begins to rebuild. You’d think that full body armor would be protection enough, but apparently not, as they’re extremely good at prying apart such defenses at the seams and sucking the blood out of the unfortunate pony underneath. If you’re an NCR soldier and you get sent on duty to clear out some Bloodwings, you’ve either seriously pissed an officer off, or majorly impressed others.

askprincessmolestia:

Ask Princess Molestia #194

All of this and then some.