Thursday, October 8, 2015

Ponyfinder/MLP-style Ponies for Great & Small

Given my penchant for animal fantasy tales, it is probably ironic that I've never seen an episode of any version of My Little Pony (MLP).  It has managed to cruise under my radar for the entire span of its existence; it's not that I'm averse to it, per se.  It's just that I wasn't the franchise's target demographic.  I always filed it under, "Get Around To It One Day."

There is, however, no irony in the fact that I've never been a big fan of Pathfinder.  Just not my cup of tea.  After the burn-out I had with 3.5, I just wasn't ready for a system that doubled-down on all the elements of which I'd grown weary.  Though they do put out some excellent supplements...

So, imagine the quandary in which I found myself when I stumbled upon the Ponyfinder game yesterday.

One the one hand, it's a complete campaign setting designed for animal player characters.  Well, sort of (I'll come back to that).  And it's gotten excellent reviews, especially from people who claim to have been skeptical of the project.

So, I sort of feel like I have an obligation to buy it, both for scholarly and collecting purposes, and for solidarity with other animal roleplaying fans.

On the other hand, it's a Pathfinder supplement, which makes me want to avoid it.  There is, apparently, a 5e conversion manual, and like many PF-compatible products, it's full of rules-neutral setting fluff... so I'll probably end up buying a copy in the near future.

Which means I'll probably get around to watching MLP.  

(To be clear, Ponyfinder doesn't reference any of MLP's intellectual property, just creates a set of rules for PCs who are similar enough to ponies to pass whatever the MLP version of the Turing test would be, and gives them a setting that "feels" like MLP at its best without actually using anything from the show. Or so I am told.)

Meanwhile, I figured, why not drum up some blog hits by statting out Ponyfinder ponies in Great & Small?  Following is a more-or-less straight conversion of the basic pony from Ponyfinder (which I am able to read as part of the product's free review pages).  If I buy the actual product, I might do more conversions later.

You knew this day was coming...

Fey Pony
"Ponies are a race whose time has come and left. According to their legend and lore, they once oversaw nature, guiding and protecting it much like contemporary druids: controlling the weather,overseeing animal migrations, and protecting the lands they called home. They have surrendered much of these tasks over time, but their spirit is not yet faded. Most ponykind live in isolated communities, far from civilization, but growing numbers have migrated to join multiracial cities, where they trade, craft, and make their livings."
-- Ponyfinder Campaign Setting, p. 8.

     AC: 7
     AT: Bite 1d3 [1d4], two hooves 1d5 [1d6] 
     Beginning HP: 7 [8]
     Habitat: Any
     MV: 8 (4 bipedal)
     SZ: Medium

Species Traits:
  • Feyborn:  Ponies and their kin are natives of the faerie realms.  As such, they are considered fey for the purpose of herbal, magical, or other effects that effect or can be used by fey beings.
  • Feyspeech:  Ponies automatically know and can speak the language of faeries.
  • Low-Light Vision 
  • +2 bonus on all Poison saves
  • +2 bonus on all saves vs. magic, regardless of save category
  • +1 bonus on all Runner lore checks
  • +1 bonus all lore checks to push, pull, drag, break, or otherwise use their raw muscle power on heavy objects.
  • Suitable Niches: Any

3 comments:

  1. A part of me is curious, why scent specifically?

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  2. It's a typo, actually. A cut-&-paste error.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happens to the best of us. They have a lot of natural attacks, I see.

      Delete