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Design Masterclass: Tails of Equestria
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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 7849822" data-attributes="member: 8461"><p>The correct spelling of her name is <a href="https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/Pinkie_Pie" target="_blank">Pinkie Pie</a>, you philistine. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></p><p></p><p>This article talks up the way Tails of Equestria uses exploding die rolls (the game calls it the "exploding hoof" technique) and relatively low target numbers along with the possibility of upgrading your dice in relevant areas to make an intuitive system where success ranges from unlikely-but-possible to all-but-guaranteed. However, it neglects to mention that the system also uses an action point mechanic ("tokens of friendship") to allow for re-rolls or even simply automatically succeeding at the task in question.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>There's an interesting synergy that comes up when it comes to My Little Pony and RPGs. Or maybe with that show and genre fiction altogether. The thing is that, while the show looks like a fantasy setting, it presents itself more in the vein of comic book superheroes. That might sound odd at first, but beyond superficial things like the bright colors of the heroes and the names that sound like titles (e.g. "Rainbow Dash"), there are deeper parallels.</p><p></p><p>One of the big ones is how the characters don't really gain new powers or abilities over time. The same way that most superheroes stay the same over their careers (with what power-ups they do get largely being temporary), the ponies don't really change what they can do either. They might get better at using what abilities they have, but major changes are notably rare (such as Twilight Sparkle ascending from unicorn to alicorn).</p><p></p><p>One of the best games to mimic this was the old FASERIP system for TSR's Marvel Superheroes RPG. In that game, buying up existing powers was notably expensive, and buying new powers was prohibitively so. In that regard, Tails of Equestria is actually a bit more permissive than I'd like, but that's not really a big deal.</p><p></p><p>There's another way that the ponies and comic superheroes dovetail though, even more than the constancy of their abilities. It's in how the good guys don't lose. Obviously, there's more nuance for that in the comics, but the overall result is the same: the bad guys are beaten and bystanders are saved. To that end, both systems allowed for resource expenditure to make that a given (i.e. spending karma in FASERIP and spending tokens of friendship in ToE). So "letting the characters (have a chance to) win at anything" is kind of a necessary underpinning for this sort of RPG. Failures can happen, of course - they do in the show - but they're inevitably meant to make the characters learn something and ultimately succeed.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, as this long post has probably made clear, I'm a brony, and a fan of this game in particular. I've got everything that's been released for it so far, including listing the various web-only creatures the publisher has been releasing <a href="https://alzrius.wordpress.com/2019/06/01/official-new-monsters-for-the-tails-of-equestria-rpg/" target="_blank">over on my blog</a>. If anyone wants to know more about the game, please feel free to ask away!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 7849822, member: 8461"] The correct spelling of her name is [URL='https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/Pinkie_Pie']Pinkie Pie[/URL], you philistine. :p This article talks up the way Tails of Equestria uses exploding die rolls (the game calls it the "exploding hoof" technique) and relatively low target numbers along with the possibility of upgrading your dice in relevant areas to make an intuitive system where success ranges from unlikely-but-possible to all-but-guaranteed. However, it neglects to mention that the system also uses an action point mechanic ("tokens of friendship") to allow for re-rolls or even simply automatically succeeding at the task in question. There's an interesting synergy that comes up when it comes to My Little Pony and RPGs. Or maybe with that show and genre fiction altogether. The thing is that, while the show looks like a fantasy setting, it presents itself more in the vein of comic book superheroes. That might sound odd at first, but beyond superficial things like the bright colors of the heroes and the names that sound like titles (e.g. "Rainbow Dash"), there are deeper parallels. One of the big ones is how the characters don't really gain new powers or abilities over time. The same way that most superheroes stay the same over their careers (with what power-ups they do get largely being temporary), the ponies don't really change what they can do either. They might get better at using what abilities they have, but major changes are notably rare (such as Twilight Sparkle ascending from unicorn to alicorn). One of the best games to mimic this was the old FASERIP system for TSR's Marvel Superheroes RPG. In that game, buying up existing powers was notably expensive, and buying new powers was prohibitively so. In that regard, Tails of Equestria is actually a bit more permissive than I'd like, but that's not really a big deal. There's another way that the ponies and comic superheroes dovetail though, even more than the constancy of their abilities. It's in how the good guys don't lose. Obviously, there's more nuance for that in the comics, but the overall result is the same: the bad guys are beaten and bystanders are saved. To that end, both systems allowed for resource expenditure to make that a given (i.e. spending karma in FASERIP and spending tokens of friendship in ToE). So "letting the characters (have a chance to) win at anything" is kind of a necessary underpinning for this sort of RPG. Failures can happen, of course - they do in the show - but they're inevitably meant to make the characters learn something and ultimately succeed. Anyway, as this long post has probably made clear, I'm a brony, and a fan of this game in particular. I've got everything that's been released for it so far, including listing the various web-only creatures the publisher has been releasing [URL='https://alzrius.wordpress.com/2019/06/01/official-new-monsters-for-the-tails-of-equestria-rpg/']over on my blog[/URL]. If anyone wants to know more about the game, please feel free to ask away! [/QUOTE]
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