My Little Pony XLIIV: Season II Ruined My Fanon!

[Thanqol]

Well, it's been about three months since I last really wrote anything I had any expectation of finishing, but I think I've got the ducks in my head sorted out by now. It's time to commit. Time to find the time if it's there, and make it if it's not.

Easy As Lying is going to happen at long last.

And good gosh golly gumdrops I love writing for Rarity.

[DigoDragon]

Hi! Are you new here? I haven't seen you here before!

Annnnnnd now I'm thinknig of Pinkie Pie as Jim Raynor approaching Chrysalis in a modified vulture, sporting a friendship cannon.

[Aotrs Commander]

Well, it's been about three months since I last really wrote anything I had any expectation of finishing, but I think I've got the ducks in my head sorted out by now. It's time to commit. Time to find the time if it's there, and make it if it's not.

Easy As Lying is going to happen at long last.

And good gosh golly gumdrops I love writing for Rarity.

HUZZAH!

Wait, re-write?

Okay, works for me! (Not that I thought there was anything wrong with the last version, of course.)

But I know that feeling; sometimes you just have to scrap something and start again to get where you want to go. (In my case, this is more with CAD models or quest writing, but the principle is the same!) There's just no substitute sometimes for actually doing something in anger, so that you can physically look at it in front of you and say, "ahah, that's not what I wanted." Sometimes you have to do it "wrong" (for a given value of "wrong") so you can work out what "right" is.

[Thanqol]

HUZZAH!

Wait, re-write?

Okay, works for me! (Not that I thought there was anything wrong with the last version, of course.)

What was wrong with the last version was that there was no main character. It was anarchy; unfocused, disorganised anarchy. Amusing from a comedic perspective but there was no buildup occurring or payoff in the works; just a series of events.

Dissatisfying to me. And moreover, the idea in my head didn't do nearly justice to the theme of Lying and the character of Metal Mask which were both due to make their debut in that piece.

Ultimately, that's what killed the last version. I got to the point where I was starting to think through Mask and Lying and realised that the story that involved those was much bigger and more complicated than the one I was telling. I found the story I wanted to tell inside the story I was telling.

But I know that feeling; sometimes you just have to scrap something and start again to get where you want to go. (In my case, this is more with CAD models or quest writing, but the principle is the same!) There's just no substitute sometimes for actually doing something in anger, so that you can physically look at it in front of you and say, "ahah, that's not what I wanted." Sometimes you have to do it "wrong" (for a given value of "wrong") so you can work out what "right" is.

Exactly! Whenever I make a character, every single time, I come up with two versions. The first version is something super dumb. The second one is a tiny little aspect of that first version that contains the concept I really want to play. If I'm lucky, I'll find that out before the game starts.

Jayden Mavel's first draft was a time travelling Nazi. That's the good example because it's so clearly and obviously dumb and quippable. I have others which are so spellbindingly dumb that I couldn't articulate the extent of the dumb if I put pages to it. And yet, the dumb leads directly to the good.

See also: My art thread.

[Tiki Snakes]

Interesting question is how and why ponies developed such a change - sterioscopic vision is required for either arborial or predatory creatures. Though ponies seem to have a variable amount of magical tactile telekinesis (as well as the ability to use their mouths and tails as manipulative limbs), which would seem to cover what in other species would be the requirements for hands, they do not seem to have any especially affinity to climbing at all.

Ponies also seem to have a fairly good endurance - unlike regular horses, they don't seem to require massive amounts of rocket fuel (e.g. oats) to be able to run about¹. (My Dad once spoke to a horse rider, who mentioned that, with oats to hand, she could get a full five miles per hour out of her horse riding.) Ponies seem to be quite capable of marathon-level distance running (see Running of the Leaves).

It has also been noted that ponies are "vegetarian" and not "herbivorous", and they certainly use non-plant stuff like eggs and milk (for baking if nothing else), and there is a suggestion they eat some meat as well (the mention of hot dogs). So they are at least biologically capable of being omnivorous.

This leads me to believe that there is a strong possibility that the early ancestral ponies were actually cursorial hunters. Not exclusively, like humans were not, but certainly it's a possibility. (Colour vision is helpful with both hunting and gathering plants and seeds.)

Such has obviously fallen by the wayside in modern civilised Equestria, but I think it's a very strong possibility.



¹'Well, 'cept maybe Pinkie.

It is a possibility, but there's always the fact that evolution isn't an intelligent process. All that would have to happen is a few mutant ponies with weird eyes happen to not be selected against and it becomes a strain in the gene pool. Anything from disease, accident, windigo predation or all manner of other random events could have had the effect of selecting for binoculor vision despite them not technically "needing" it.

Though if I'm honest, I do kinda like the idea of Ponies having a slightly omnivorous past.

[Aotrs Commander]

What was wrong with the last version was that there was no main character. It was anarchy; unfocused, disorganised anarchy. Amusing from a comedic perspective but there was no buildup occurring or payoff in the works; just a series of events.

Now, I think this is where our preferences are fascinatingly different.

I quite like a big cast with lots of perspective switching; but then again, I realised in my old age, it must be said I'm often almost more interested in WHAT is happening, as opposed to WHO it is happening to. (Which is why Lord of the Rings is still my favourite book, despite it being arguably a bit light on the characterisation, and why I can read Biggles or Rip Foster Rides the Grey Planet (an obsure atomic sci-fi book that's one of my favourite in the same mold), or the Three Investigators.) This is not to say I don't enjoy characterisation, but to me, stories are about Stuff People Do or Stuff That Happened, and characterisation is not the driving force.

(One of my other favourite books - at which's feet, you can lay 99% of my starship obsession - is Spacecraft 2000-2100AD. It's basically a fictional future history Jane's All The World Guide to starships, so there aren't really any characters. (In fact, I think only one person is mentioned by name in the whole book.) But there's the story there, of the war between Earth and Alpha Centauri against Proxima Centauri, in snippets, and with a lot of mystery. (It's never mentioned what the Proximians or even the Alphas look like, and only a little is implied about their societies - as of course the "real" reading audience would be familiar with them, in the same way history books don't explain what the French look like.))

So I personally didn't see what you'd done as a problem, because our mindsets run on fairly diverse principles. You go deep into character analysis and why people act the way they do - where as I'll cheerfully just watch them Do Stuff without worrying too much about why.

Also, I would cheerfully sit and watch a giant starship battle for three straight hours with no context and then rate it as my favourite film ever, so there you. (I'm a cultural peasent; I know this!)

Exactly! Whenever I make a character, every single time, I come up with two versions. The first version is something super dumb. The second one is a tiny little aspect of that first version that contains the concept I really want to play. If I'm lucky, I'll find that out before the game starts.

Jayden Mavel's first draft was a time travelling Nazi. That's the good example because it's so clearly and obviously dumb and quippable. I have others which are so spellbindingly dumb that I couldn't articulate the extent of the dumb if I put pages to it. And yet, the dumb leads directly to the good.

See also: My art thread.

Oddly enough all of my characters either come from a mechanical basis (and with only a vague idea of who they are until I actaully play, where they will develop) or from a single hook (often a parody or a Silly Voice), wherein once play starts, they will also develop. I tend to find I spend very little time thinking about who my characters are until I actually start playing them.

It is a possibility, but there's always the fact that evolution isn't an intelligent process. All that would have to happen is a few mutant ponies with weird eyes happen to not be selected against and it becomes a strain in the gene pool. Anything from disease, accident, windigo predation or all manner of other random events could have had the effect of selecting for binoculor vision despite them not technically "needing" it.

True (and one suspects that is part of it too).

It could even be a defensive trait, too - a predator that was so good at camoflage that exceptional eyesight was required to spot it. Heck, given the level of general intelligence prevalent in Equestria intelligence could have become a survival trait itself.

(Which begs the question: what sort of prehistoric creature/monster became so deadly that it forced most animal life to adapt intelligence as a defensive measure? What would such a creature have been like? That would be fascinating.)

Though if I'm honest, I do kinda like the idea of Ponies having a slightly omnivorous past.

Yeah. Mentioning of hot dogs aside (which casts something of an interesting pall over the pigs at Sweet Apple Acres, as we've observed before - are they like that cow in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe...?), I don't see Twilight grabbing a spear and running down some herd creature anymore that I do you or I when you want lunch. Well, you, anyway; I'd probably do it for kicks, but you get the idea!

[Thanqol]

Now, I think this is where our preferences are fascinatingly different.

I quite like a big cast with lots of perspective switching; but then again, I realised in my old age, it must be said I'm often almost more interested in WHAT is happening, as opposed to WHO it is happening to. (Which is why Lord of the Rings is still my favourite book, despite it being arguably a bit light on the characterisation, and why I can read Biggles or Rip Foster Rides the Grey Planet (an obsure atomic sci-fi book that's one of my favourite in the same mold), or the Three Investigators.) This is not to say I don't enjoy characterisation, but to me, stories are about Stuff People Do or Stuff That Happened, and characterisation is not the driving force.

(One of my other favourite books - at which's feet, you can lay 99% of my starship obsession - is Spacecraft 2000-2100AD. It's basically a fictional future history Jane's All The World Guide to starships, so there aren't really any characters. (In fact, I think only one person is mentioned by name in the whole book.) But there's the story there, of the war between Earth and Alpha Centauri against Proxima Centauri, in snippets, and with a lot of mystery. (It's never mentioned what the Proximians or even the Alphas look like, and only a little is implied about their societies - as of course the "real" reading audience would be familiar with them, in the same way history books don't explain what the French look like.))

So I personally didn't see what you'd done as a problem, because our mindsets run on fairly diverse principles. You go deep into character analysis and why people act the way they do - where as I'll cheerfully just watch them Do Stuff without worrying too much about why.

Also, I would cheerfully sit and watch a giant starship battle for three straight hours with no context and then rate it as my favourite film ever, so there you. (I'm a cultural peasent; I know this!)

See, I sympathise with that view and those priorities. It's a valid view, and those are valid priorities, and I certainly had what was more or less that as my mindset in the past. My ongoing crusade to chart out the corners of my own mind and be more than who I am has, however, shifted my perspective a lot.

I love minds. Understanding them, bending them, breaking them. I want to see how people react above all. As this character driven side of me has intensified I've drifted ever further away from mechanics-driven systems and stories and ever closer to character studies and games that support character studies.

In a way, it's almost selfish. Everything I come to understand about other people helps me understand and expand myself. Every character I understand utterly I fall in love with, just a little, and a little bit of that character becomes a part of me. And my mind broadens a little as a result. After I wrote Yours Truly, I understood Applejack on such a different level than when I had started and now she's this permanent presence in the back of my head. Echoes of the beautiful farmer waiting out the Winter run through my mind, fragments of inspiration. That makes me better at what I do. The more I understand the better I am.


On the topic of starship explosions, I can appreciate them as a bipedal male, but there's deeper interest to be found amongst them. The scene in Battlestar Galactica that stands out for me is one of the first few where everyone in the fleet is so desperately, insanely exhausted from the constant fighting retreat from the Cylons. That deep, shattered, nihilistic combat made those starship explosions infinitely more satisfying to me than they would have been on their own.

Oddly enough all of my characters either come from a mechanical basis (and with only a vague idea of who they are until I actaully play, where they will develop) or from a single hook (often a parody or a Silly Voice), wherein once play starts, they will also develop. I tend to find I spend very little time thinking about who my characters are until I actually start playing them.

Most games succeed or fail during character creation. This is Truth.

That doesn't mean your way is remotely wrong though.

For a tabletop D&D game designed around a bunch of friends who want to get together, laugh and roll some dice then the guy who brings Hamlet to the table is the guy failing. For the purposes of the game, a collection of mechanics and a silly voice are actually best practise.

For a different toned game, like World of Darkness, an entirely different set of competencies and practises are necessary. When you're doing something character driven then it's of absolute importance to know who the characters are before the dice start rolling.

EDIT: It's the same thing as a guy not bringing a character sheet or reading the rulebooks and trying to guess what his stats are.

[Aotrs Commander]

See, I sympathise with that view and those priorities. It's a valid view, and those are valid priorities, and I certainly had what was more or less that as my mindset in the past. My ongoing crusade to chart out the corners of my own mind and be more than who I am has, however, shifted my perspective a lot.

I love minds. Understanding them, bending them, breaking them. I want to see how people react above all. As this character driven side of me has intensified I've drifted ever further away from mechanics-driven systems and stories and ever closer to character studies and games that support character studies.

In a way, it's almost selfish. Everything I come to understand about other people helps me understand and expand myself. Every character I understand utterly I fall in love with, just a little, and a little bit of that character becomes a part of me. And my mind broadens a little as a result. After I wrote Yours Truly, I understood Applejack on such a different level than when I had started and now she's this permanent presence in the back of my head. Echoes of the beautiful farmer waiting out the Winter run through my mind, fragments of inspiration. That makes me better at what I do. The more I understand the better I am.

I just find it fascinating the realisation in my old age how prosaic I am.

Easy to please, but within a very narrowly defined window of mediums.

I think it's a large dose of my engineering background (from both sides of the family), with an agricultural background before that, on my mother's side, as I recall.

On the topic of starship explosions, I can appreciate them as a bipedal male, but there's deeper interest to be found amongst them. The scene in Battlestar Galactica that stands out for me is one of the first few where everyone in the fleet is so desperately, insanely exhausted from the constant fighting retreat from the Cylons. That deep, shattered, nihilistic combat made those starship explosions infinitely more satisfying to me than they would have been on their own.

As I just said on your art thread, you REALLY need to see B5.

Most games succeed or fail during character creation. This is Truth.

That doesn't mean your way is remotely wrong though.

For a tabletop D&D game designed around a bunch of friends who want to get together, laugh and roll some dice then the guy who brings Hamlet to the table is the guy failing. For the purposes of the game, a collection of mechanics and a silly voice are actually best practise.

For a different toned game, like World of Darkness, an entirely different set of competencies and practises are necessary. When you're doing something character driven then it's of absolute importance to know who the characters are before the dice start rolling.

EDIT: It's the same thing as a guy not bringing a character sheet or reading the rulebooks and trying to guess what his stats are.

And this is the sort of thing why I don't think I could ever play a WoD-style game (you know, aside from the chronic lack of Liches.) I'm just totally the wrong mindset. (Hell, my group struggled a bit - me most of all - when someone ran Shadowrun for us once.)

Most of the adventures I write are about Stuff That Happens. Some of the Stuff That Happens may occasionally come from the characters, but it's usually something that boils down to Fight Opposing Alignment.

Though I probably could, if given half a chance, write nearly an entire adventure that was "explore alien planet/ancient ruins/ancient ruins on a alien planet." Exploration certain factors large in my sci-fi advantures...

Not so much on the social/diplomacy side... Though there was last last adventure where the PCs had crashed on a planet and had to basically join an alien tribe who had a crippling fear of universal translators and telepathy, forcing them to communicate via other means, i.e. pantomime and speaking very slowly and loudly (and the aliens did too...) That had, like one combat scene, which was the PCs proving their tribe-hood by hunting animals with spears.) And I suppose the first Evil Dark Lord's Commando party was basically CSI: Dark Lands...



Heck, even my nascent fanfic ideas (both for pony and ME) are a little bit more about Stuff That's Happening than the characters (though maybe less so in the latter, since it would basically be the ending Bioware didn't gives us...)

[Soras Teva Gee]

Equestrian pony eyes are odd, indeed. I'd say they're neither in the front or on the sides, rather they're both.

Take your hand, place the base of the fingers over your eye without the hand touching either your nose or your mouth. Then your hand is roughly the same size and location of an Equestrian pony's eye, covering a large part of the side of your head, as well as your real eye. From mouth to forehead and from nose to almost ear.

Which is pretty bizzare. I think it suggests that ponies might be able to see really far, and have a very wide field of vision too.

I don't find them particularly odd... then again I'm told this:

Spoiler

Show

Is anatomically odd in certain realms too.

[Thanqol]

I just find it fascinating the realisation in my old age how prosaic I am.

Easy to please, but within a very narrowly defined window of mediums.

I think it's a large dose of my engineering background (from both sides of the family), with an agricultural background before that, on my mother's side, as I recall.

My father is a pure-bred Bureaucrat and my mother is a philosopher and therapist.

HMMMM

As I just said on your art thread, you REALLY need to see B5.

I shall bother the meatspace units about it.

And this is the sort of thing why I don't think I could ever play a WoD-style game (you know, aside from the chronic lack of Liches.) I'm just totally the wrong mindset. (Hell, my group struggled a bit - me most of all - when someone ran Shadowrun for us once.)

There are Liches in Mage, just should mention. But yes, I would not recommend you the WoD; it's just fundamentally at odds with your mindscape.

Most of the adventures I write are about Stuff That Happens. Some of the Stuff That Happens may occasionally come from the characters, but it's usually something that boils down to Fight Opposing Alignment.

Though I probably could, if given half a chance, write nearly an entire adventure that was "explore alien planet/ancient ruins/ancient ruins on a alien planet." Exploration certain factors large in my sci-fi advantures...

Not so much on the social/diplomacy side... Though there was last last adventure where the PCs had crashed on a planet and had to basically join an alien tribe who had a crippling fear of universal translators and telepathy, forcing them to communicate via other means, i.e. pantomime and speaking very slowly and loudly (and the aliens did too...) That had, like one combat scene, which was the PCs proving their tribe-hood by hunting animals with spears.) And I suppose the first Evil Dark Lord's Commando party was basically CSI: Dark Lands...

... have you heard of Rogue Trader?

It's what I play when I'm looking for ridiculous, low-thought, over-the-top and silly fun. You're the command crew of a Warhammer 40K starship, given a document that basically says that God has made it your personal mission to go to alien worlds and rob them blind. You are free to use whatever means you can imagine to do this. If someone tells you that atomics are overkill you can execute them for questioning God's authority.

I think that the game line would be one hundred percent up your alley. Give it a try, really; I think it plays to every single one of your gaming preferences.

[CoffeeIncluded]

So let's see if I can make two of my friends bronies after the chem final tonight!

(My exact words after showing them a clip of Hurricane Fluttershy: "It's surprisingly good, because they have very strong characterization, it's like the cartoons we grew up with, and the animators clearly put a lot of care into the show. If you find it's not your cup of tea, that's fine, but don't knock it until you try it.")

[Alabenson]

Except that ponies clearly don't have their eyes in the same position as real-world equines. The positioning of their eyes (especially when seen from the front of their heads) is clearly indicative of sterioscopic vision.

In fact, if you look at their whole facial proportions, it's actually very different to real-world equines. Their eyes are much bigger in proportion, though this could be argued to be mainly stylistic. However, their eyes are not set on the top of their head on a long snout like a real-world equine's (to be able to see predators), but more centrally located, over a much shorter snout, and they have a larger forehead. Their eyes are obviously in a position like humans eyes. Clearly ponies - like primates and especially humans - use their eyes as their primary sense, with smell being much less important. (The bright colours naturally back this up.)

Interesting question is how and why ponies developed such a change - sterioscopic vision is required for either arborial or predatory creatures. Though ponies seem to have a variable amount of magical tactile telekinesis (as well as the ability to use their mouths and tails as manipulative limbs), which would seem to cover what in other species would be the requirements for hands, they do not seem to have any especially affinity to climbing at all.

Ponies also seem to have a fairly good endurance - unlike regular horses, they don't seem to require massive amounts of rocket fuel (e.g. oats) to be able to run about¹. (My Dad once spoke to a horse rider, who mentioned that, with oats to hand, she could get a full five miles per hour out of her horse riding.) Ponies seem to be quite capable of marathon-level distance running (see Running of the Leaves).

It has also been noted that ponies are "vegetarian" and not "herbivorous", and they certainly use non-plant stuff like eggs and milk (for baking if nothing else), and there is a suggestion they eat some meat as well (the mention of hot dogs). So they are at least biologically capable of being omnivorous.

This leads me to believe that there is a strong possibility that the early ancestral ponies were actually cursorial hunters. Not exclusively, like humans were not, but certainly it's a possibility. (Colour vision is helpful with both hunting and gathering plants and seeds.)

Such has obviously fallen by the wayside in modern civilised Equestria, but I think it's a very strong possibility.



¹'Well, 'cept maybe Pinkie.

My theory regarding pony eating habits and eye placement is that their prehistoric ancestors were omnivorous, similar to humans. However, as pony society developed, they stopped consuming animal proteins on account of the fact that most, if not all, Equestrian animals display sapient levels of intelligence.

(Which begs the question: what sort of prehistoric creature/monster became so deadly that it forced most animal life to adapt intelligence as a defensive measure? What would such a creature have been like? That would be fascinating.)

My guess, the monsters in question would be Equestria's dragon population. They would qualify as apex predators, are likely far ranging, and are willing to eat just about anything. They certainly sound like creatures that, in prehistoric times, could have forced their prey to undergo evolutionary changes in order to survive.

[Aotrs Commander]

My theory regarding pony eating habits and eye placement is that their prehistoric ancestors were omnivorous, similar to humans. However, as pony society developed, they stopped consuming animal proteins on account of the fact that most, if not all, Equestrian animals display sapient levels of intelligence.

Exactly.

(Though there's still those pigs...)

My guess, the monsters in question would be Equestria's dragon population. They would qualify as apex predators, are likely far ranging, and are willing to eat just about anything. They certainly sound like creatures that, in prehistoric times, could have forced their prey to undergo evolutionary changes in order to survive.

That doesn't seem to be a good enough answer to me. Sure, dragons are big and hard, but they also are very torpid *long periods of sleep, slow growth), and I also don't see them being a problem for small animals.

No, it'd have to be something a lot more insidious than just "dragons."

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences - as if we look at it, dragon natural weapons are a bit overkill for dealing with herd animal potential prey as traditional draconic tastes are depicted - to avoid being predated upon, and forced smaller, less inherently magical creatures to develop intelligence?

And more importantly, where are they now?)

... have you heard of Rogue Trader?

It's what I play when I'm looking for ridiculous, low-thought, over-the-top and silly fun. You're the command crew of a Warhammer 40K starship, given a document that basically says that God has made it your personal mission to go to alien worlds and rob them blind. You are free to use whatever means you can imagine to do this. If someone tells you that atomics are overkill you can execute them for questioning God's authority.

I think that the game line would be one hundred percent up your alley. Give it a try, really; I think it plays to every single one of your gaming preferences.

The problem with that is that I really don't like 40K. Like, at ALL. Dawn of War was about the most fun I've had with it, but that was it. I don't like the GRIMDARK¹ tone or the fluff, the sides, the chronic rule-of-cool that I don't find at all cool, the fact most of the fluff is hyperbole meant to encourage rampant factionalism, and I don't think 40K is anything like as hard and high-tech and uber as it claims it is. Apart from a very, very few elements I find reasonably well done (the Orks are quite cleverly done), I am really not impressed with 40K, and never have been, even when I started wargaming twenty years ago.

(So bear in mind, I knew about 40K since the FIRST Rogue Trader. And I have the magazine where Ghazgul Thaka made his first appearance as someone's generic Warband boss...)

Besides, we have Evil parties like that anyway. (Several in fact. Star Wars inverse-Rogue Squadron elite TIE pilots have cropped up more than once, and there's the aforemention Evil Dark Lord's Commandos to boot.)

Also, I directly discourage anything that lets the PCs (or more particular the players, one particular play in fact) to go around CE killing things for the lulz, as I find it mind-shatteringly unfun to DM. (There is a rule, which my players know. I will run Good parties. I will run Evil parties. I flat-out will not run criminal parties. No negotitation. If they want to roleplay the equivilent of Grand Theft Auto 1 or something, they can run it themselves. (And that's the L part of my LE...!))



For sci-fi, mostly I use Rolemaster/Spacemaster anyway.



¹Never liked that entire concept. I generally avoid grimdark tagged pony fics, save a handful that didn't start out with one. On a related note, I never liked the hopelessness of Warhammer Fantasy either; nor am I the sort of person you could ever have playing Call of Cthulu, as I am exactly the type to make a spirited attempt to kill Cthulu; the precise sort of person they had to make Cthulu statless for. Because I inherently cannot accept that some betenticled thingy can be so much better than me that it can't be horribly killed in some way. (Part of that is the ol' Lichy arrogance - but only part.)

Have you ever read the Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming? (If not it's a jolly good giggle.) There's a except in that about basically Vampire, where everyone else is going all roleplayer-y and reacting to the situation of a potential vampire in a... what they consider a "realistic" fashion. Then the munchkin comes in with a shotgun, makes a called shot to the head, and blows the vampire away. That's me, that is. I'll happily play along with almost anything, until you say "no existance is useless, everything you do is a heroic but futile gesture and chaos/the darkness/the old ones/whathave you always wins in the end" I develop a sudden urge to go ballistic.

(And that's why you never want me to even try playing something like WoD!)

Given the choice of Brighthappy or Grimdark, I'll always choose the former without even a slightest thought. Real world's grim enough, doesn't need makign worse in my entertainment, thank you very much.

[otakuryoga]

i take no responsibility for any time lost to this

http://youtu.be/IugE2hfYxm0

[otakuryoga]

i take no responsibility for any time lost to this

http://youtu.be/IugE2hfYxm0

[Tvtyrant]

Personally, I think the Pony world is/was a dangerous one. Look at how many predators they have! Hydras and dragons and manticores, oh my!

[Alabenson]

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences - as if we look at it, dragon natural weapons are a bit overkill for dealing with herd animal potential prey as traditional draconic tastes are depicted - to avoid being predated upon, and forced smaller, less inherently magical creatures to develop intelligence?

And more importantly, where are they now?)

Regarding this, my theory would be that dragons developed their massive arsenal of natural weapons to compete with each other over food/territory/mates/etc., while their wings were an adaptation made to increase their range.

[Silverraptor]

So let's see if I can make two of my friends bronies after the chem final tonight!

(My exact words after showing them a clip of Hurricane Fluttershy: "It's surprisingly good, because they have very strong characterization, it's like the cartoons we grew up with, and the animators clearly put a lot of care into the show. If you find it's not your cup of tea, that's fine, but don't knock it until you try it.")

Good luck, Coffee!
...
..Oh, and good luck on your chem test too.

[Forum Explorer]

That doesn't seem to be a good enough answer to me. Sure, dragons are big and hard, but they also are very torpid *long periods of sleep, slow growth), and I also don't see them being a problem for small animals.

No, it'd have to be something a lot more insidious than just "dragons."

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences - as if we look at it, dragon natural weapons are a bit overkill for dealing with herd animal potential prey as traditional draconic tastes are depicted - to avoid being predated upon, and forced smaller, less inherently magical creatures to develop intelligence?

And more importantly, where are they now?)

Well there are also Manticores and Timberwolves. Hydras as well (though I always got the impression that they were really rare)


Now I don't know what caused Dragons to be so bad*** but I know where they are. Tarterus of course!

The problem with that is that I really don't like 40K. Like, at ALL. Dawn of War was about the most fun I've had with it, but that was it. I don't like the GRIMDARK¹ tone or the fluff, the sides, the chronic rule-of-cool that I don't find at all cool, the fact most of the fluff is hyperbole meant to encourage rampant factionalism, and I don't think 40K is anything like as hard and high-tech and uber as it claims it is. Apart from a very, very few elements I find reasonably well done (the Orks are quite cleverly done), I am really not impressed with 40K, and never have been, even when I started wargaming twenty years ago.

(So bear in mind, I knew about 40K since the FIRST Rogue Trader. And I have the magazine where Ghazgul Thaka made his first appearance as someone's generic Warband boss...)

Besides, we have Evil parties like that anyway. (Several in fact. Star Wars inverse-Rogue Squadron elite TIE pilots have cropped up more than once, and there's the aforemention Evil Dark Lord's Commandos to boot.)

Also, I directly discourage anything that lets the PCs (or more particular the players, one particular play in fact) to go around CE killing things for the lulz, as I find it mind-shatteringly unfun to DM. (There is a rule, which my players know. I will run Good parties. I will run Evil parties. I flat-out will not run criminal parties. No negotitation. If they want to roleplay the equivilent of Grand Theft Auto 1 or something, they can run it themselves. (And that's the L part of my LE...!))



For sci-fi, mostly I use Rolemaster/Spacemaster anyway.



¹Never liked that entire concept. I generally avoid grimdark tagged pony fics, save a handful that didn't start out with one. On a related note, I never liked the hopelessness of Warhammer Fantasy either; nor am I the sort of person you could ever have playing Call of Cthulu, as I am exactly the type to make a spirited attempt to kill Cthulu; the precise sort of person they had to make Cthulu statless for. Because I inherently cannot accept that some betenticled thingy can be so much better than me that it can't be horribly killed in some way. (Part of that is the ol' Lichy arrogance - but only part.)

Have you ever read the Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming? (If not it's a jolly good giggle.) There's a except in that about basically Vampire, where everyone else is going all roleplayer-y and reacting to the situation of a potential vampire in a... what they consider a "realistic" fashion. Then the munchkin comes in with a shotgun, makes a called shot to the head, and blows the vampire away. That's me, that is. I'll happily play along with almost anything, until you say "no existance is useless, everything you do is a heroic but futile gesture and chaos/the darkness/the old ones/whathave you always wins in the end" I develop a sudden urge to go ballistic.

(And that's why you never want me to even try playing something like WoD!)

Given the choice of Brighthappy or Grimdark, I'll always choose the former without even a slightest thought. Real world's grim enough, doesn't need makign worse in my entertainment, thank you very much.

It's weird I've always loved 40K. I think it's because of two things. Early exposure and the fact that for all it's GRIMDARK there is still hope that 'they' can pull it off. Due to that hope it makes for a much more interesting story.

This basically means that I consider GRIMDARK to be a lot lighter then other people. I hate stories where there is no hope and everything is going wrong. It just loses it's impact and becomes boring. One of the reasons I love the Fallout series is that hope exists and as you play through you notice the difference you make in a crappy world.

[Luka]

Wait, just read more FO: E.....

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What the....? Homage x Littlepip? NOT AGAIN!

Personally, I think the Pony world is/was a dangerous one. Look at how many predators they have! Hydras and dragons and manticores, oh my!

That would be nice if Earth was like that! Humans would have use for the ton of war stuff we have and we could cause more explosions!

¹Never liked that entire concept. I generally avoid grimdark tagged pony fics, save a handful that didn't start out with one. On a related note, I never liked the hopelessness of Warhammer Fantasy either; nor am I the sort of person you could ever have playing Call of Cthulu, as I am exactly the type to make a spirited attempt to kill Cthulu; the precise sort of person they had to make Cthulu statless for. Because I inherently cannot accept that some betenticled thingy can be so much better than me that it can't be horribly killed in some way. (Part of that is the ol' Lichy arrogance - but only part.)

You know, I kinda agree, grimdark stuff has more Angst than fighting, just compare how FO:E is to the actual Fallout 3, difference is that in the later you have nuke launchers, gauss rifles, bears exploding from touching non-exploding grenades and a storm of action
In fact if I did a fic about it, I wouldn't make it lighter and softer, but explosions would do it, I think

Also, for the Call of Cthulhu, I present you Old Man Henderson, for all your needs of pwning stuff that you shouldn't pwn in the first place

[DigoDragon]

...and Diamond dogs, and Changlings, and escaped spirits of Chaos...

But between the life I live now of working a dull job to pay bills versus a dangerous life of adventurous ponies and spontaneous musical numbers? Give me Equestria any day.

[Gamerlord]

Season two has recently been added to Netflix, at least in the US.

[Soras Teva Gee]

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences - as if we look at it, dragon natural weapons are a bit overkill for dealing with herd animal potential prey as traditional draconic tastes are depicted - to avoid being predated upon, and forced smaller, less inherently magical creatures to develop intelligence?

I'm suspicous of any time some attempts to asses the results of evolution from a functional stand point, nothing for example has to force an adaptation beyond say competition between dragons. Unless we can see the progress I'd find it highly suspicious to attempt to divine the why.

Also well we have to establish the premise "evolve" first I think before questioning its results. Because we have good reason to question the most basic of physics (Think Equestria is a flat planet at the center of its universe) the basis for chemistry and biology is undermined. And well we need magic to make dragons work anyways, how does that influence things?

[SlyGuyMcFly]

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences - as if we look at it, dragon natural weapons are a bit overkill for dealing with herd animal potential prey as traditional draconic tastes are depicted - to avoid being predated upon, and forced smaller, less inherently magical creatures to develop intelligence?

And more importantly, where are they now?)

I'll echo other people and suggest that the big, scary things that forced Dragons into the air was other Dragons. A biological arms race prompted by intra-species competition, an evolutionary civil war, if you will. The remnants of this war can be seen in specimens like Crackles - the draconic gene-pool hasn't quite stabilised after the latest upheaval.

[Lix Lorn]

Hey without those "farm hick"s out there you'd have nothing to eat, I think a little more respect is deserved.

Oh, sorry, I'm not meaning to disrespect farming itself, I just don't really like the archetype that AJ fits in, don't much like her accent, and the cowgirl thing was never something I really liked.

Huh. Ticking. Odd. Why would I send a ticking thing? Unless it's a bomb, but if it is, why did I make it tick? That's daft, 'cos there are so many better ways.

*shrug*

*unwraps package*

Huh. It is a bomb. Hopereaver, did you know I made a ticking bomb?

*from cowering behind a console*

Shouldn't you, um, get rid of it!?

Pssh. Oh ye of little faith. Honestly, this sort of bomb is easy to disarm you just - there - pull all the wires out.

*ticking stops*

They're ridiculously easy to disarm.

Yes, but YOU made that!

So?

So, even in a state of delerium, would you have made an easily disarmed bomb?

No, I'd have have made something that looked ridiculously easy to disarm, but was in fact, actually activated by being disarmed and set to go off a short while afterwards, thus lulling the poor victims into a false sense of secu...

ohhh.

*KABOOM*

...

...

I'm okay.

One day, Aotrs will come into the thread. And rather than being villainous comic relief, he will be Not So Harmless and you will all know fear.

Then I'll ruin it with a mass resurrection and the dramatic tension will cry, but wow we're too chummy with the evil lich. xD

Annnnnnd now I'm thinknig of Pinkie Pie as Jim Raynor approaching Chrysalis in a modified vulture, sporting a friendship cannon.

Nah. Celestia is raynor, chrysalis as Kerrigan. Someone please write it.

If someone tells you that atomics are overkill you can execute them for questioning God's authority.

I want to play this with you so much D=

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences?

And more importantly, where are they now?)

Ooh
Ooh
I know this one

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[Siosilvar]

Oh, sorry, I'm not meaning to disrespect farming itself, I just don't really like the archetype that AJ fits in, don't much like her accent, and the cowgirl thing was never something I really liked.

I c'n agree with most'a that. 'Course, I've a South'n accent m'self (sorta), so the only th'n that really annoys me 'bout 'er accent is'at she uses "y'all" as a sing'lar an' that's just unne'ssarly confusin'.

[Translation for those who, you know, speak English: I can agree with most of that. Of course, I've a Southern accent myself (sort of), so the only thing that really annoys me about her accent is that she uses "y'all" as a singular and that's just unnecessarily confusing.]

[TheAmishPirate]

Apologies for lurking mostly over the past while. Turns out not getting enough rest after a few all-nighters in a row makes you less healthy. Last time I take medical advice from undead, grumble grumble.

Well, it's been about three months since I last really wrote anything I had any expectation of finishing, but I think I've got the ducks in my head sorted out by now. It's time to commit. Time to find the time if it's there, and make it if it's not.

Easy As Lying is going to happen at long last.

And good gosh golly gumdrops I love writing for Rarity.

And a great chorus of huzzah's was had. Additionally, I would've loved to watch the writing of the whining/complaining scene. Not only would it be hilarious, but you'd also get to see the other staff read it for the first time.

[Maxtronaut]

Well, it's been about three months since I last really wrote anything I had any expectation of finishing, but I think I've got the ducks in my head sorted out by now. It's time to commit. Time to find the time if it's there, and make it if it's not.

Easy As Lying is going to happen at long last.

And good gosh golly gumdrops I love writing for Rarity.

Is that the angelic choir singing in the background?

[Soras Teva Gee]

Oh, sorry, I'm not meaning to disrespect farming itself, I just don't really like the archetype that AJ fits in, don't much like her accent, and the cowgirl thing was never something I really liked.

Farmgirl or southern is an archetype. Hick is a stereotype.

[Pokonic]

(Which begs the question: what sort of prehistoric creature/monster became so deadly that it forced most animal life to adapt intelligence as a defensive measure? What would such a creature have been like? That would be fascinating.)

Short-Faced Ursas?

(In fact another good question is, why did dragons evolve as big and intelligent, primarily diurnal flying creatures if what they mainly eat is gems, which are found underground? What's so deadly it forced dragons into the air, with heavy weapons and defences - as if we look at it, dragon natural weapons are a bit overkill for dealing with herd animal potential prey as traditional draconic tastes are depicted - to avoid being predated upon, and forced smaller, less inherently magical creatures to develop intelligence?

And more importantly, where are they now?)
.

I present to you the former terror of the dark times: roughly five foot tall, with shoulders nearly as wide, these canine creatures are bipedal, a rarity usaly only found in several strange creatures normaly only found in the outskirts of Tarterus. Known primaraly for there pack mentality, with increadably long and potent claws able to cut into solid rock. Formed hive-like tunnel systems in search for gems, which they consumed in small amounts to enjoy the inherently magical substance's effect on there minds. As such, one of there most effective ways of obtaining said gems was to cave in the dwelling of sleeping dragons and scooping up vast quantites of gems with each paw swipe.Even if a dragon lived after the cave-in, the dogs would simply claw there way into them no less easier than rock. Dragonkind may be adapted to fight off even Ursas or Rocs, but even they can be slain by trickery and ambushes.

Eventualy, there was not enough easy stores (sleeping dragons) of gems, and without widespread use of the magical substances the creatures where eventualy reduced to a few small, scattered pockets. These sad creatures, once one of the greatest creatures produced by the land of Equestria, now are reduced to kidnapping ponies and forcing them to locate gems for some vague feeling of self-hatred.