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Humble Master
2013-08-03, 07:23 PM
So I am starting a campaign set in Equestria from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Obviously some homebrewing needs to be done and I am starting with the three major pony races: Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn. I am having some trouble balancing them however and that is what this thread is for. I was hoping the good homebrewers in the playground could help me balance out the races while still having them stay true to the show. Thank you in advance for the help.

Pegasus
Magical Beasts: Pegasi are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
Medium: As medium creatures a Pegasus has no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Pegasus' base land speed is 40ft
Flight: Pegasi can fly using their wings and become more skilled with experience. At 1st level, pegasi have a flight speed of 40 with clumsy maneuverability. This improves to 60ft with poor maneuverability at 3rd level, 80ft average maneuverability at 7th level, 100ft with good maneuverability at 11th level, and 120ft with perfect maneuverability at 15th level.
Cloud Walking: A Pegasus can stand on clouds as if they were solid. (For the purposes of this ability, clouds are defined as water vapor and/or ice crystals that are suspended in the air.)
A Pegasus, despite not have any hands, can effectively wield one hands worth of items through a combination of holding it in their mouth and balancing it with their wings and hooves.

Unicorn
Magical Beasts: Unicorns are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
Medium: As medium creatures, a Unicorn has no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Unicorn base land speed is 40ft
Horn Magic: A Unicorn channels magic though their horn and as such may ignore the somatic and verbal components of a spell.
Horn Casting: A Unicorn can always perform some minor tricks with her magic. A Unicorn gets Prestidigitation, Light and Mage Hand as Spell-like Abilities usable at will.
A Unicorn, despite not have any hands, can effectively wield one hands worth of items through a combination of holding it in their mouth and balancing it with their hooves.

Earth Pony
Magical Beasts: Earth Ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
+4 Strength, +4 Constitution: Earth Ponies are very strong and resilient when compared to other equestrian races.
Medium: As medium creatures, an Earth Pony has no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Earth Pony base land speed is 40ft
Bonus Feat: Earth Ponies are adaptable and fast learners. An Earth Pony gets a bonus feat at 1st level.
Wild Empathy: An Earth Pony has an innate connection to the natural world and can communicate on some level with animals. An Earth Pony gains the Wild Empathy ability of the Druid.
An Earth Pony, despite not have any hands, can effectively wield one hands worth of items through a combination of holding it in their mouth and balancing it with their hooves.
(Obviously, Earth Ponies are significantly weaker than Pegasi and Unicorns. If anybody has some ideas on abilities I will welcome them.)

Plerumque
2013-08-03, 07:35 PM
I'd really love to see a weather-manipulation ability for the pegasus. It seems like such an awesomely flavorful ability that gets left out of most conversions, which makes me sad.

I believe unicorn telekinesis is sometimes replicated with Greater Mage Hand rather than the regular version, so you may want to think about that. It'd certainly be a power bump but it may seem a little more true to the show.

An idea for a way to increase the power level of the Earth Pony would be to let them pick a skill and have a bonus to it (maybe +4?) and have it always be a class skill for them. Alternatively, a bonus feat like the human. You could also do both.

Other than that, looks good. Have you seen the Ponyfinder races? That could help with balance issues. Also, how are you planning to handle Cutie Marks? Just curious, as that is an issue of system conversion that I have found to be difficult to handle without introducing a whole new subsystem.

Humble Master
2013-08-03, 11:31 PM
I always view weather manipulation as a kind of special training that is made possible by the Pegasi's ability to walk on clouds. After all, not every Pegasus is seen creating rain/lightning/snow by bouncing on clouds. Now just kicking clouds (referred to as cloud busting in the show)is fine, I'm just going to treat clouds as a material that has 1 hit point and no hardness but because they only act as a solid to Pegasi only Pegasi can just kick them to get rid of them.

What book is Greater Mage Hand from? I'd like to look at it before I commit.

Hmm, the extra feat I can see helping but I was really looking for something more unique, like some sort of 'connection to nature' thing.

As far as cutie marks are concerned I just decided that they are fluff, based on what your character does. If you are a Wizards that specializes in fire spells you get a fire magic cutie mark. If you are a bard who plays the bongos you get a bongo cutie mark. This way, I don't have to make a new system and it is still true to the show.

Debihuman
2013-08-04, 05:36 AM
To flesh it out you might want to look at these examples:

http://lurkingrhythmically.blogspot.ca/2011/07/mlp-d-equestria-campaign.html

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=12296.0

http://torturedartist745.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Equestria-MLP-FIM-RPG-300487764

There is also a kickstarter project for pathfinder system: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/224492525/ponies-for-pathfinder-setting-handbook

Debby

Plerumque
2013-08-04, 09:12 AM
I always view weather manipulation as a kind of special training that is made possible by the Pegasi's ability to walk on clouds. After all, not every Pegasus is seen creating rain/lightning/snow by bouncing on clouds. Now just kicking clouds (referred to as cloud busting in the show)is fine, I'm just going to treat clouds as a material that has 1 hit point and no hardness but because they only act as a solid to Pegasi only Pegasi can just kick them to get rid of them.

That makes sense. How will you handle the special training, then? Do you have a class for weatherponies?


What book is Greater Mage Hand from? I'd like to look at it before I commit.

I believe it's from Magic of Faerun. It's like Mage Hand, but the object can be up to 10 lb/level. You could also add a clause stating that they can control multiple objects at a time.


Hmm, the extra feat I can see helping but I was really looking for something more unique, like some sort of 'connection to nature' thing.

That seems more like a fluff ability to me- 'food you grow is more bounteous', etc. Or the aforementioned skill bonus.


As far as cutie marks are concerned I just decided that they are fluff, based on what your character does. If you are a Wizards that specializes in fire spells you get a fire magic cutie mark. If you are a bard who plays the bongos you get a bongo cutie mark. This way, I don't have to make a new system and it is still true to the show.

Interesting. I guess that would work a lot better than trying to introduce a new subsystem.

Rogue Shadows
2013-08-04, 02:18 PM
Not much to add, other than to post my own Pathfinder pony variants for you to pick-and-choose from.

EARTH PONY
• Magical Beasts: Earth ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
• +2 Strength. Earth ponies are gifted with extraordinary strength, and are further gifted with no real drawbacks.
• Medium-sized. As medium creatures, earth ponies gain no special bonuses nor penalties due to their size.
• Earth pony base land speed is 40 feet. This exceptional speed gives them a +4 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.
• Stability: Earth ponies are stable on their hooves. An earth pony has a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or knocked prone.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft, Handle Animal, and Profession checks: Earth ponies are good with their hooves and skilled at handling animals. Furthermore, these skills are always class skills for earth ponies, regardless of their class.
• Earth ponies gain Improved Bull Rush as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if they don’t otherwise meet the prerequisites.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any

PEGASUS PONY
• Magical Beasts: Pegasus ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom: Pegasi are dexterous and quick, but also tend to be flighty.
• Medium-sized. As medium creatures, pegasi have no special bonuses nor penalties due to their size.
• Pegasus pony base land speed is 40 feet. This exceptional speed gives them a +4 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.
• Flight: Pegasus base fly speed is 40 feet. Pegasi gain the flight ability by using their wings. At 1st level, pegasi are clumsy (-8 to Fly checks). This improves to poor at 3rd level (-4), average at 7th level (+0), good at 11th level (+4), and perfect at 15th level (+8).
• +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Fly checks: pegasi are naturally agile and athletic and, of course, good with their wings. Further, these skills are always class skills for pegasi, regardless of their class.
• Cloudwalk: Pegasi may treat clouds and fog as solid ground or as vapor at will.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any.

UNICORN PONY
• Magical Beasts: Unicorn ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
• +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength. Unicorns possess a keen intellect, but are not as physically able as the other two tribes of ponies.
• Medium-sized. As medium-sized creatures, unicorns have no special bonuses nor penalties due to their size.
• Unicorn base land speed is 40 feet. This exceptional speed gives them a +4 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.
• +2 racial bonus on Knowledge and Spellcraft checks: Unicorns prize knowledge and magic highly. Furthermore, these skills are always class skills for unicorns, regardless of their class.
• Natural Attack: Unicorns have a horn that lets them execute natural gore attacks. This attack deals 1d4 damage.
• Spell-like abilities: At will – light, mage hand and prestidigitation. This is cast as a Sorcerer of equal level to the unicorn.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any.

Humble Master
2013-08-04, 04:10 PM
That makes sense. How will you handle the special training, then? Do you have a class for weatherponies?



I believe it's from Magic of Faerun. It's like Mage Hand, but the object can be up to 10 lb/level. You could also add a clause stating that they can control multiple objects at a time.



That seems more like a fluff ability to me- 'food you grow is more bounteous', etc. Or the aforementioned skill bonus.



Interesting. I guess that would work a lot better than trying to introduce a new subsystem. I'm going to make the feats Rainmaker (lets you make rain and snow) and Lightningmaker for weather control stuff. Any other ideas for potential weather tricks would be appreciated however.

Hmm, Greater Mage Hand seems a lot better. I will probably just sick to Mage Hand. As for separate objects I guess I will rule that Mage Hand can effect multiple objects as long as they don't add up to more than 5 pounds. Actually, I might just homebrew a Unicorn Levitation spell.

I know. Earth Ponies are really important in the world because they are the only source of food but farming does not a D&D adventure make.

Not much to add, other than to post my own Pathfinder pony variants for you to pick-and-choose from.

EARTH PONY
• Magical Beasts: Earth ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
• +2 Strength. Earth ponies are gifted with extraordinary strength, and are further gifted with no real drawbacks.
• Medium-sized. As medium creatures, earth ponies gain no special bonuses nor penalties due to their size.
• Earth pony base land speed is 40 feet. This exceptional speed gives them a +4 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.
• Stability: Earth ponies are stable on their hooves. An earth pony has a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or knocked prone.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft, Handle Animal, and Profession checks: Earth ponies are good with their hooves and skilled at handling animals. Furthermore, these skills are always class skills for earth ponies, regardless of their class.
• Earth ponies gain Improved Bull Rush as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if they don’t otherwise meet the prerequisites.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any

PEGASUS PONY
• Magical Beasts: Pegasus ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom: Pegasi are dexterous and quick, but also tend to be flighty.
• Medium-sized. As medium creatures, pegasi have no special bonuses nor penalties due to their size.
• Pegasus pony base land speed is 40 feet. This exceptional speed gives them a +4 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.
• Flight: Pegasus base fly speed is 40 feet. Pegasi gain the flight ability by using their wings. At 1st level, pegasi are clumsy (-8 to Fly checks). This improves to poor at 3rd level (-4), average at 7th level (+0), good at 11th level (+4), and perfect at 15th level (+8).
• +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Fly checks: pegasi are naturally agile and athletic and, of course, good with their wings. Further, these skills are always class skills for pegasi, regardless of their class.
• Cloudwalk: Pegasi may treat clouds and fog as solid ground or as vapor at will.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any.

UNICORN PONY
• Magical Beasts: Unicorn ponies are magical beasts, not humanoids. They are immune to any effect that specifically targets humanoids, such as charm person. Unlike normal magical beasts, however, they do not have Darkvision.
• +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength. Unicorns possess a keen intellect, but are not as physically able as the other two tribes of ponies.
• Medium-sized. As medium-sized creatures, unicorns have no special bonuses nor penalties due to their size.
• Unicorn base land speed is 40 feet. This exceptional speed gives them a +4 bonus on all Acrobatics checks made to jump.
• +2 racial bonus on Knowledge and Spellcraft checks: Unicorns prize knowledge and magic highly. Furthermore, these skills are always class skills for unicorns, regardless of their class.
• Natural Attack: Unicorns have a horn that lets them execute natural gore attacks. This attack deals 1d4 damage.
• Spell-like abilities: At will – light, mage hand and prestidigitation. This is cast as a Sorcerer of equal level to the unicorn.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any. Thank you for this. You reminded me that they are Magical Beasts and that Unicorns should probably get Light as a spell-like ability. Still not finding anything inspirational for the Earth Pony however. Also, I am liking the flight skill scaling with the Pegasus' level. I think I will incorporate that into my version.

Gadzooks27
2013-08-04, 04:38 PM
If you're okay straying from d&d/d20 system, there is a really good mlp tabletop game and system out and available. They're already on version 2.0 and the rules were easy to learn quickly. There's a lot more role playing than stat-building. My favorite aspect is the magic mechanic, which is simple, yet loose-ended enough for a massive range of unicorn spells.

I have the PDFs of the first and second version if you'd like to message me. I'd be more than happy to share them if you have trouble finding them on your own. It's was definitely a bitch to find version 2.

Plerumque
2013-08-04, 04:49 PM
Interesting. Would you mind sharing them with me? I can PM you if you'd like.

Gadzooks27
2013-08-04, 08:22 PM
... Idk how to send an attachment :(
Is there a button in the reply box?

Debihuman
2013-08-04, 10:15 PM
I don't think you post attachments, just link to websites and such.

Gadzooks27
2013-08-05, 01:54 AM
Easier to find than I thought! They compiled all THREE seasons into this website for download!

My Little Pony: Roleplaying Is Magic (http://mlprim.com/)