Well, that's going to be interesting. Twilight trying to sort out a story told by Rarity, AJ, and Pinkie about their trip gone wrong.
Discussion about remaining Season 6 episodes:
This also definitively confirms that one list of leaked titles. So, even though they're not officially confirmed... the three remaining on that list are:
"Where The Apple Lies" - Either Applebloom or AJ focused (possibly both). I know what I wish the title referred to (them addressing the Apple siblings' parents at last), but mostly likely someone's lying.
"Top Bolt" - This is probably the episode where Twilight goes to the Wonderbolts academy (from the SDCC spoilers). I bet it's also the Twilight/Rainbow map episode.
"To Where and Back Again" - As I've said, I think Chrysalis is the villain and will be making off with Flurry Heart. So, I think the Mane 6 will need Thorax to help them get to the Changeling kingdom to rescue her. Dropping that cameo of Chrysalis in "The Times They Are a Changeling" just reeks of foreshadowing for the finale.
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Here's the latest blurb (and picture) about Tails of Equestria, the MLP:FiM RPG, that was in the latest newsletter from River Horse, the game's developer.
The link in that picture went to the game's Facebook page, but rather oddly that picture isn't there (at least not yet).
I'm becoming slightly nervous about the game. First the cover spotlights three standard fantasy classes (fighter, wizard, and thief/rogue), and now it's highlighting a new creature that's presumably a monster to be fought. I know it can be difficult to make a role-playing game (or rather, story-telling game, as they're calling it) about solving friendship problems with understanding, empathy, and respect, but I really hope they don't turn it into a game focused around fighting monsters and taking their stuff.
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Dragon78 wrote:
Anyone else see this past Saturday's episode?
I did, and I have to say I've never seen an episode that had so many different levels, at least insofar as they got reactions from me. The sheer number of things in that episode to analyze, critique, and geek out over is incredible.
I saw it and it made me laugh quite a bit. I do wish they could have done a little more with Discord putting Spike and Big Mac into a LARP of the game, but nothing's perfect. It was a good episode.
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Dragon78 wrote:
I really liked it as well but then again I have liked every Discord episode so far.
To be clear, I wasn't saying that I liked it per se. I certainly didn't dislike it...rather, there were a number of points that I found noteworthy, in one way or another.
For example:
Yeah, this is where I turn into the "Genius at work" guy. I can't help it; it's just how my brain works.
The Premise, Part 1: This episode's prologue immediately lost me. Why is Discord so bereft that Fluttershy is leaving for a few days? The implication seems to be that he won't know what to do while she's gone, but that doesn't make any sense; most episodes that feature Fluttershy don't feature Discord, which suggests that he's not spending the vast majority of his time around her anyway. So why is he practically begging her to stay (or at least to take him with her)?
The Premise, Part 2: Why are Spike and Big Mac even trying to keep their love of tabletop RPG's a secret in the first place? I get that this is a play on the old stigma about being a gamer, but does Equestria - the land of friendship and harmony - really have that stigma in the first place?
(Wait, does that mean that Spike saying that he and Big Mac were going to talk about hoofball back in The Cutie Map, Part One was just a cover?)
The Setup: Oh Spike...a GMPC? Really? That's about as fun as playing a game of chess against yourself. Wouldn't it be better to tradeoff GMing with Big Mac, where you each run a solo adventure for the other?
Also, Spike is playing a level 30 enchanter and Big Mac is a level 27 black knight? Yeah...I call Monty Haul on this campaign.
Crappy GMing: Spike told Discord that his archer (who was using arrows against skeletons there at the end) couldn't use magic. Then, when Discord insisted, had him mis-cast a spell - and then described at length how the NPCs were laughing at him for it - and then went back to saying that Discord's character couldn't use magic. And yet this is somehow within the rules? Really? Because it seemed to me like Spike was being a real jerk about that entire exchange. That's like a primer on how not to bring someone into the hobby.
Interaction: It really felt like the conflict between Discord and Spike and Big Mac was being artificially played up. Why didn't Discord leave immediately when he found out what they were doing, or at least when they made it clear they weren't going to stroke his ego? It just seemed weird that he kept at it for as long as he did.
By that same token, why did Spike and Big Mac immediately miss Discord when he finally did leave? Considering how angry and upset they were less than a minute beforehand, it seemed almost schizophrenic.
Discord Does What?: Wait, so Discord's idea of a guys' night out is drinking, dancing, and...picking up girls? Well, this certainly adds a whole new meaning to that time that he gave Celestia flowers.
Big Mac Stays Silent: I really feel like this was a missed opportunity to give Big Mac some speaking lines. I get that sticking to just "eeyup" and "nnnope" is his schtick and all, but he's stepped outside of that before, and it would have been nice if he did here, since he's so rarely anywhere near the spotlight.
The "Gamers" Part: I knew ahead of time this was going to go "in-game" at some point; that just seemed inevitable once the premise was established. That said, I did like that the very first thing that Spike and Big Mac did once they were brought into the game was start wrecking stuff. Murderhobos indeed.
But Spike, why oh why did you turn tail and run when the Squizzard and his skeletons appeared? Were his stats really that overwhelming? I mean, you're a level 30 spellcaster for cryin' out loud! Elminster was only level 29 at his highest! (Albeit with a major template, and his Third Edition stats added another six levels on top of that, but those didn't add to his arcane spellcasting and so don't really count for much of anything.) You should have been packing some serious punch!
(Yes, Ogres & Oubliettes isn't D&D, but it's clearly meant to be in the same vein, and there's no edition of D&D, nor any class-level-based retroclone, OSR game, or fantasy heartbreaker wherein level 30 isn't damn high!)
The Canon: So I suspect that the use of "Ogres & Oubliettes" will trigger a debate on if that makes the comics canon, since the game is first mentioned there. I don't think that it does, if for no other reason that there are still many, many more instances where the show contradicts the comics - usually in a much more egregious manner - to counter that assertion. It's not like Discord made any mention of the CMC having played the game, so this doesn't really reference any instance or circumstance from the comics anyway.
"Guys Night": Okay, a slightly more controversial topic here. At the end of the episode, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash throw themselves into the game that the guys are playing (Pinkie looked like a bard, but Rainbow was a...rogue of some kind? I see her as being much more of a fighter-type), openly cheering "guys night!" when they do. Given that the premise of the episode was that the boys wanted to spend some time playing their favorite game together - as in, not with the girls - was this discourteous of them? Or was the very nature of the boys wanting to have a "guys night" exclusionary (and therefore immoral) of them in the first place?
In both cases, the answer I came to was "no." This is largely because we saw exactly the opposite of this happen in Brotherhooves Social (wherein Big Mac dressed in drag to be with Apple Bloom at the Sisterhooves Social, only to find out that everyone knew it was him, and didn't care). The tone that both episodes struck was the (very mature) realization that celebrating one particular group doesn't mean you're denigrating anyone else, and that if someone else does want to join in that celebration, then there's no reason not to welcome them.
Looking back now, that part of the episode was probably my favorite. Except...well...they were LARPing there at the end. Damned dirty LARPers.
Warning to all those wanting to watch Saturday's ep blind... It aired early on Polish TV so watch out for spoiler screenshots.
Saturday's episode:
Darn it, if it was going to leak it could at least leak in English. I'm not going to watch it in Polish. Also means I'm inevitably going to be spoiled by some jerk posting about the ending.
This sounds like a very interesting setup, based on what is posted in that description, the Mane 6 are incapacitated or captured by said bad guy leaving a B team to take care of matters.
So we have the Elements of Harmony, trapped and incapable of getting out of things for once, and a new group is formed to rescue them? What do we call this group, The Guardians of Harmony maybe? They have the job of making sure the Mane 6 stay safe/in condition to deal with other things?
This has the feeling of either a Series Ender (which as of right now it hasn't been said to be) or a springboard episode for a side series starring the B Team.
This is really the first synopsis from the second half to make me anticipate a new episode again.
I'm no longer certain Chrysalis is the villain of the finale. The synopsis describes it as an old foe returning. I'm kind of wondering now if they're going to bring in a new villain, or revamp a G1 villain (maybe Grogar?). I saw someone even ponder about the Windigoes making a return.
As for Starlight's team, I'm pretty sure we're going to get Trixie (who will finally get her chance to prove she's really changed) and Discord. I'm also betting if Spike's with her, we'll also get Thorax and maybe Ember. Wonder if Starlight will make another new friend in "Every Little Thing She Does?"
I know some have complained season 6 not having a story arc... but I think they're wrong. I think it's just been more subtle than the last two. This season has focused on making friends in unlikely places and from unexpected backgrounds. Spike befriending Ember and Thorax. Starlight befriending Trixie. The CMC befriending and helping Gabby the griffon. Heck, Discord spending time with Spike and Big Mac (and ending up having fun). Wait a minute... Could Big Mac get recruited to help? We know he's had something of a complex about his sister being such a big hero and wishing he could be too. It'd be nice if he got to do something heroic.
Sorry about all the rambling. I had a lot of thoughts I needed to put down.
Though it looks like my guess about one of the big conflicts being EqG!Twilight running from her new powers was right from "The Midnight in Me."
"Embrace the Magic" is a gorgeous Sunset solo. She's encouraging not just Twilight to accept her new powers but all of them. Which says to me they aren't losing their magic any time soon.
"We Stand For Everfree" is an incredible villain song. I never would have expected Gloriosa to sing like that.
I already liked the snippets from the trailers, but "Legend You Are Meant to Be" is really good.
"Hope Shines Eternal" is pretty clearly the ending credits song. Pretty one at that.
Starlight, you're overreacting again. I doubt there's anything that justifies using this kind of spell. Twilight's going to royally chew you out for this stunt.
Welp, the spoilers for the finale are going to be everywhere. Next week, the UK is going to be airing the last five episodes of Season 6 including the finale. (Starting with episode 22, which airs Saturday in the US.) I wanted to go into the finale blind apart from the synopsis and any preview released, but that's probably not going to happen if I wait for the US airing. (Has this been the season of leaks or what? I'm used to one episode a season leaking early, but this is ridiculous.) So much for Season 6 lasting the rest of October.
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Well, I'm determined to go into it spoiler-free (including preview synopses). I just need to make damn sure I stay away from various fandom-related areas of the Internet during that time.
Equestria Daily just got a bit of info that seems to say a Season 7 is coming! It was a denial that season 7 was switching to a Netflix premiere, but seems to pretty strongly hint that season 7 is a thing. There's been some unofficial hints dropped by show staff that it was in the works, but this was the first official clue from Hasbro.
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I'd sort of taken it for granted that a seventh season was incoming; I seem to recall that, right around when the fourth season ended, there was some statement that intimated that they planned to keep it going for at least five subsequent years.
That said, it's still nice for the next season to get a hint of official confirmation!
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Some preliminary thoughts on Legends of Everfree (which, in my eternal quest to avoid spoilers, almost slipped by me. I hadn't realized that it was being released on Netflix, rather than theaters or cable):
Spoiler:
Okay, so we got some interesting notations on the timeline here. For one thing, this confirms that all of the previous films took place during the same school year. We knew that already, but it was still nice to have it plainly stated. There was also that Applejack had waited "a month" to go to Camp Everfree...but waited since what? My guess is "since the summer began," which would seem to suggest this takes place during late June/early July, since U.S. public schools typically end in late May/early June.
That's particularly notable since there's nothing to suggest that time in the EQG universe passes at anything other than a 1:1 rate with Equestria. So this has some interesting implications for trying to figure out how much time has passed in-universe since fourth season started (since we know that the fourth season premiere is a year after the series premiere).
*headdesk* So the magic that the girls have has changed again. This has now been the case in every single Equestria Girls film! At least this time we got an explanation, even if it was "new magic geodes."
Okay, while I question whether or not the fandom actually was the cause of this, I'm still very surprised - not unpleasantly so - to see that things aren't going to work out between Flash Sentry and native-Twilight. Moreover, they're hinting at him and Sunset repairing things between them. Interesting...or at least it would be, if this wasn't another dangling plot-element that went nowhere.
I liked the interplay between Twilight and Timber, at least more than I did between (the other) Twilight and Flash. Timber comes across as a more holistic character, since he has his own hopes, fears, and relationships outside of Twilight. Their flirting instantly after meeting seemed a bit hackneyed, but I can deal with that.
So Twilight got kiss-blocked again. And this movie ended with a hint of what's coming next. Apparently the even-numbered movies are the only ones to do this, for some reason.
So it's finally canonized that Twilight's brief psychotic episode from the end of Friendship Games is called "Midnight Sparkle." I know the dolls called it that, but until it's used in the source material, that's non-canon. Hence why I still won't call Sunset Shimmer's same power from that film "Daydream Shimmer."
I'm anticipating a lot of the fandom arguing if Midnight Sparkle was her own personality, or if Twilight's anxieties were just picturing her that way. Personally, I'd go with the latter interpretation; there was no real evidence that "Midnight Sparkle" was taking any independent action at any point; even the out-of-control magic during the film was something all of the Mane Seven experienced.
The movie made good use of red herrings to throw us off on who the major antagonist was going to be. I felt like Friendship Games tried to do this but bungled it (e.g. with the "alternate Mane Five"), whereas this film did it much better with Timber, Filthy Rich, "Gaea Everfree," etc. (Though I still have a few quibbles, like why did Timber have sparkles coming from his pack that one time if he wasn't the culprit?)
For the first time, no one from Equestria (Sunset notwithstanding) appears in this movie. In fact, this movie moves the furthest in distancing the EQG universe from Equestria altogether...other than the issue of the presence of Equestrian magic on the loose.
Only a handful of songs this time around - comparable to Friendship Games - but I found myself liking them more than the previous movie's.
Overall, I'd rank this higher than the first movie, and a bit better than Friendship Games, but not quite as good as Rainbow Rocks.
I found Legends of Everfree to be weaker then the last two movies.
Also I couldn't stand Timber, he came off as a giant D-bag and his sister is almost as annoying. I was fine with flash Sentry but this guy, I hope Timber doesn't show up in later movies.
Official confirmation season 7 is happening!Also, we're apparently getting three EqG specials next year instead of a movie. I wonder if it's testing the waters to transition to a TV or Netflix series.
Legend of Everfree ending:
That scene with the statue felt like a big set up to me, and today's announcement confirmed it.
I'm pleasantly surprised we're getting anything EqG next year. I sorta expected it to go on hiatus so the MLP movie would get all the attention. I do expect the specials will release at different points throughout the year, not all three at once.
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I've been expecting some sort of announcement about Equestria Girls becoming a TV series for a while now - to me, that's what the gradual decreasing of direct crossovers with Equestria suggested.
Given how successful MLP:FiM has been, having a second series to take advantage of that popularity seems self-evidently prudent.
Hmm..as far as season finales go, that wasn't too bad, but not the best. Seems like they were hampered by the time limit again. I wish they would try to do a 3 parter sometime just to give them a chance to really build up something.
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Okay, some thoughts on the most recent episode (that is, Where the Apple Lies):
Spoiler:
Okay, I know Apple Bloom wasn't there for most of these, but she's completely wrong when she said that Applejack never lies. We've seen her do it! She lied in Spike at Your Service about being attacked by timber wolves. She lied about the "miracle curative tonic" in Leap of Faith. Heck, she may not have technically lied about having the Crystal Heart under a sheet in The Crystal Empire - Part 2, but she was still trying to perpetrate a deception.
I absolutely loved the portrayal of Big Mac in this episode. I'm something of a fan of his, and this was what I'd wanted to see for a long time; more of who he was, how he felt about various things, and why he did what he did. This episode made up for a lot of my complaints about the wasted opportunity that was Brotherhooves Social.
I liked the allusions in this episode (which I usually miss), such as the filly twins in matching dresses in the background of one hospital shot, a shout-out to The Shining. That said, the background shot of Derpy (having been brought to tears by this video, I refuse to call her "Muffins") with a bandage around her eyes made me scratch my head. If that was from some sort of eye surgery (which was my presumption) then why are her eyes still going in different directions later on? Did the surgery fail? Did it make things worse? What's the story there?
Okay, awkward realization time: Given that Filthy Rich and Spoiled Milk weren't married at that point, the implication was pretty clear that Diamond Tiara hadn't been born yet. But if Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara are roughly the same age - being in the same class and all - that should mean that Apple Bloom hadn't been born yet either...which means that Applejack and Big Mac's parents should still have been alive. That makes it rather awkward that they were not only never seen, but never even referenced; you'd think that would have come up during those conversations about who'd run the farm.
Going further...so (at least some) mares will change part of their name when they get married? How does that make any sense? Even if we leave aside the completely random way that names are used in the series (sometimes they're mononyms, sometimes they have two-word names where the second word is a surname and sometimes it's not...even within the same family, e.g. Twilight Sparkle and her brother, Shining Armor; their parents were credited in The Crystalling - Part 2 as "Mrs. Sparkle" and "Mr. Sparkle"), how does that particular tradition ever even begin in a society that not only has primarily female leaders, but also has more mares than stallions (which it does; I've seen Digibrony's video about this, and he's completely wrong about virtually every point he brought up).
Apple Bloom, saying "nopony starts out perfect" implies that they end up that way. But that's not true; no one is perfect, not even your big sister. Did you forget about that recent incident with the Applewood Derby?
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Dragon78 wrote:
Well yesterday's episode was really good.
I can't bring myself to agree. I found it to be, while not bad per se, one of the weaker episodes in recent memory.
Part of this was because I really couldn't get invested in guest characters Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail. Their actions, particularly Vapor's, just seemed off to me. When Vapor confessed the truth to Sky, we subsequently got a scene of the two of them being mad at each other...but why was Vapor mad at Sky? She was the one who'd been lying to him for some time; how does she have any right to be angry?
Subsequent to that, Vapor's desire to excel as a Wonderbolt felt like it came out of nowhere. There was no buildup or foreshadowing to show that she was growing out of her shell and wanting to excel on her own. Instead, it was just her suddenly saying to Rainbow Dash that she wanted to do the best she could.
For that matter, after their (extremely quick, even by pony standards) reconciliation, how was it that Sky had anything useful to offer when Vapor was training? I can understand her giving him tips on how to fly better, but the idea that he could offer her any tips was awkward, since he was the one who hadn't actually been putting in the requisite work required to gain such experience.
And just to nitpick, that bit with Misty showing up at the end to call Rainbow Dash back because of a "Wonderbolts emergency" felt too flimsy as a joke. Even leaving aside that it was obviously to bookend the episode with another "but I was just there!" line, it seemed odd for there to be an emergency of such severity that an off-duty member of the closest thing that Equestria has to an air force needed to be called back up, and yet was tossed off as a joke.
Throw in the lack of world-building (save for an off-handed mention of a new town, "Stratusburg"), and this really didn't strike me as an episode worth mentioning.
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Okay, I just wrote a really long post with my impressions of the season finale, and the forums ate it (and I didn't think to save it first), so I'm going to try and recreate it:
(As a note, I'm putting this in spoiler tags even though it's already been aired domestically. Better to be safe than to ruin things for someone.)
Spoiler:
I had a little bet with myself as to whether or not this season's finale would be connected to the season premiere. While seasons one and two had finales that weren't related to their premieres, every season subsequent to those has (though season three's was very indirect). Interestingly, this season seemed to try and split the difference, as there was no direct connection to The Crystalling...save for those last few moments where we glimpsed a changeling (now known to be Thorax).
I have to give the show major props for handling internal logic and self-consistency so well. Given the sheer scope of the kingdom-level threat, it would have been very awkward if Discord hadn't been involved. Bringing him in was the right move on the showrunners' part, particularly with his being uncaring about everything until he realized that Fluttershy had been taken.
On a similar note, the characters were all very smart about realizing that the way to deal with shape-shifters was to ask them something only the real person would know, to the point of proactively coming up with a code! It's nice to see the characters reacting intelligently according to the threats that they face!
That said, how in the hay were the changelings able to take all four (well, five, but Flurry Heart doesn't really count yet) alicorn princesses...apparently not only without a fight, but without even having Queen Chrysalis be there to do it (the implication was that she was in her castle while all of it went down)? While we know that Luna and Celestia can be taken unaware (e.g. Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1), that ordinary changelings could have done so seems like something of a stretch.
How in the hay were the changelings able to enter Luna's dreamwalking and pull her away from Starlight's dream? Seriously, how did they do that?!
I was never a fan of Trixie the way a lot of bronies seemed to be, but I have to admit that she's growing on me, a lot. She's gone from a belligerent braggart (even if the Mane Six did interrupt her show), to a crazy-tyrant-turned-apologetic-pony, to learning about friendship with Starlight, to a hero who helped save Equestria. She's really stepped up and changed, and I really think she deserves an episode in the future highlighting how much she's grown.
I'm really hoping that Starlight turned a corner with the events of this episode. Her character this entire season has been about her dealing with her insecurities, whether it's been with making new friends, reconciling with old friends, learning friendship lessons, and now trying out leadership again. It's entirely in-character for her, but I'm ready to see her becoming more confident from now on.
So yeah, now we have even more evidence that the comics aren't canon, since "The Return of Queen Chrysalis" arc (the very first comics!) had the Mane Six going to the Changeling Kingdom and using magic there.
I know that Thorax had mentioned it in The Times They Are A Changeling, but I still clucked my tongue at the idea of the changelings having a permanent kingdom of their own. Chrysalis' speech in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 alluded to them being itinerant (e.g. she sounded like she had only recently discovered Equestria), and that made sense given that they were stealth-based parasites who need to blend in to an existing population in order to feed (even if they can apparently store the love energy they've taken, somehow).
I've heard (and I have no idea how true this was) that season six's theme was supposed to be "explore Equestria." Clearly that wasn't the case, since the Changeling Kingdom was the first new locale we've been to all season (the closest we otherwise had was a few new parts of the Dragons Lands).
I'm sorry, I know that it's "magic" and all, and that Thorax also theorized it previously (and again here with the crystalline wings), and that it was clearly meant to be reminiscent of the pupae-to-butterfly transformation (e.g. Thorax briefly being in a cocoon before he emerges), but the entire thing with the changelings transforming made no sense! If they need to drain love in the first place, then it doesn't follow that they'd be able to generate it on their own to share with others. It's obviously allegorical to personal growth (e.g. from being selfish and taking what you want, to being selfless and giving to others), but giving away the very energy that sustains them - and having that evolve them to a form that, it's implied, doesn't need to be parasitic anymore - doesn't seem logical. (And I really wish we'd learned more about what these new forms could do.)
So now the number of episodes where Queen Chrysalis' voice doesn't have that weird modulation (The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 2 and To Where And Back Again - Part 2) outnumber those where she does (A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2). Did the show staff just decide that they liked her better without it? Because I thought that was cool. On the other hoof, her entrance, where she moved her body in alien ways, was super creepy! So I suppose it all balances out.
I'm always glad to see a villain be available for a return, but I have to wonder just how much more use we can get out of Queen Chrysalis. We've seen her use the whole "changeling invasion" schtick three times now (albeit one of those was in an alternate timeline), and now that that's closed to her, I'm honestly not sure how much more of a threat she can pose. Obviously, the writers can come up with whatever they want, but at this point she seems pretty well over and done with.
Was there really a need for the show to canonize that Discord is a "draconequus"? He's a singular, unique entity - of chaos, no less - so giving him a taxonomic classification seems rather redundant. "Discord" is who and what he is.
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So it occurs to me that there was a theme I missed with regards to the finale. I was rather surprised by this, because in hindsight it seems obvious, even though the episodes themselves didn't call attention to it.
Spoiler:
That theme being that the entire rescue team was made out of reformed villains: Discord, Trixie, Starlight, and Thorax (well, Thorax was never really a villain, but being a changeling he was presumed to be by everyone).
Really, while it seemed like the finale was about Starlight regaining her confidence as a leader, it was really (or at least, also) about how good deeds can come back around when you need them most. Had Discord been left a statue, had Trixie and Starlight been locked up for their crimes (and I heard quite a bit of grumbling in the fandom about how Starlight should have been punished for the events of The Cutie Re-Mark), and had Spike not advocated for everyone to give Thorax a chance, Equestria might have fallen to the changelings.
This was, in essence, a story about the virtues of forgiveness and redemption, and I'm quite impressed at how organic they made it seem. Not calling that out allows for the lesson to speak for itself, and it does so quite powerfully.
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So there's been an announcement of the first adventure for the Tails of Equestria RPG, titled The Curse of the Statuettes!:
Quote:
Take the first step into the exciting world of Tails of Equestria (coming 2017) with our first full length adventure – The Curse of the Statuettes!
Equestria is in trouble and it needs your help!
All over Equestria ponies have started to turn into statuettes, figurine versions of themselves. Nopony knows why, nopony knows when and to make it all worse, nopony knows where the Mane six have gone! It looks like it’s up to you to travel to distant lands, overcome terrifying danger and save ponyville, neigh the world!
In The Curse of the Statuettes ponies will explore the mysterious badlands and have to find ways to befriend or outfox the many ponies and creatures they will meet. Creatures such as the Roc, a mythical bird that uses its massive size and slate-like feathers to intimidate anypony who gets in its way or the greedy Dr Caballeron, caring more for wealth than for than good of ponykind!
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Some major announcements and previews have been handed out regarding the Tails of Equestria MLP RPG in the last few days! We now know when the game will ship, and what will be released first, thanks to a pair of new articles over on ICv2. The first article has several highlights:
The North American and Canadian distribution will be done by Shinobi 7, the new game company created by Ninja Division and Seven Seas Publishing.
The artwork (obviously notwithstanding the cover) for the book will be screen-grabs from the show, and "art from Hasbro's My Little Pony artists." Presumably this will be the case for subsequent releases as well.
Three items will ship in March of 2017. These will be Tails of Equestria main rulebook, The Curse of the Statuettes Adventure Story Box Set, and Tokens of Friendship.
The core rulebook will be a 152-page book with full-color artwork.
The Curse of the Statuettes Adventure Story Box Set is being called a "boxed expansion," and will have 48-page full-color adventure book, a gamemaster screen, a set of six polyhedral dice, and 40 customizeable character sheets.
Tokens of Friendship are twelve gemstones with a collector's bag. These are used as a play mechanic, where you can turn in tokens to affect the course of events in the game (e.g. re-roll a failed check, etc.).
After these initial releases, new products will come out quarterly.
River Horse - the European company producing the game - is said to be "currently working on a big line" for the game, with "lots more exciting things that they're planning for it."
There's currently "no comment" on the possibility of miniatures for the game being made.
According to Ninja Division Partner and Sales and Marketing Director Deke Stella, the game's target audience is the "tween demographic," but added, "However, one of our goals with it is to make it accessible to everybody."
According to the same source, "It's a roleplaying game, but we're using the term a storytelling game. It's a light roleplaying mechanic."
There's also the possibility of some "light" organized play happening. Deke Stella noted, "Like with most roleplaying games, as far as organized play, what we'll probably look at is doing some game nights, some introductory adventures, and things like that, kind of light engagement stuff that makes it so that you can learn how to play a game at night with a group of people, that sort of thing."
The game is being sold via the book channel, and should release across all channels simultaneously.
If that wasn't enough, there's also a second article that goes more directly into previews for the game, including several screenshots of pages from the core rulebook! Specifically, there are four images of the final products, and six images of pages from the interior of the Tails of Equestria book.
Between the article and the screenshots, we can get a few more hints of what we can expect to see from the final products:
The Curse of the Statuettes Adventure Story Box is for characters level 1-3.
The "tokens of friendship" product/mechanic are supposed to represent "pure crystallized friendship." (Despite this, I'm doubtful that the tokens are supposed to have any sort of in-game representation, considering that they're used as a meta-mechanic.)
Some of the screenshots of the core rulebook's interior pages note that, when creating a pony character, you associate your character with one particular Element of Harmony. While this might just be used to help flesh out your character's personality, another page specifically mentions who the "last" pony was to have each Element (e.g. the Mane Six). I have to wonder if this is meant to indicate that your characters become the new bearers of the Elements!
When starting the game, the number of friendship tokens you gain is equal to the total number of players, including yourself and the game master. It notes that they are "difficult to earn." It gives examples of using them in play: 1 can be spent to re-roll a failed "test." 2 can be spent to re-roll a failed test with a d20. 3 can be spent to auto-succeed on a test. It also notes that they can be spent to create narrative effects, and that the game master can adjust costs as appropriate.
Level 1 is characterized as being "young ponies that have just earned their cutie mark."
We actually get to see stats for several creatures: diamond dogs, mohawks, quarray eels, timberwolves, ursa minors, and even Zecora herself!
There's no pre-order entry for any of these products on Amazon that I saw, but it's probably only a matter of time now!
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Woot! The latest newsletter from developer River Horse has an image of the game's character sheet! Check it out!
Interestingly, the basic pony image seems to be for a mare (based on the eyelashes and shape of the muzzle). Maybe there'll be more than one version in the final game (or, more likely, in the Curse of the Statuettes adventure/supplement)?
So it occurs to me that there was a theme I missed with regards to the finale. I was rather surprised by this, because in hindsight it seems obvious, even though the episodes themselves didn't call attention to it.
** spoiler omitted **
Watching it i was thinking of suicide squad, pony edition.
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River Horse has posted an update about supplementary products for the Tails of Equestria RPG line. This includes for the products we knew would be releasing alongside the Core Rulebook this March, as well as heretofore unannounced products that will be released later in the year!
The picture, notes the following new products:
Tails of Equestria Role-Playing Dice are small cases that appear to contain a full set of polyhedral dice. There are three dice sets - one each for earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi - and each one includes a mini-adventure! Each case has two ponies from the Mane Six on them to show what set they are, such as having Pinkie Pie and Applejack for the earth pony set, or Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash for the pegasus set. Interesting, the unicorn set has Rarity and Starlight Glimmer!
Pony Sheet Pads are, from the look of things, character sheets identical to those in the Curse of the Statuettes expansion set. The blurb here confirms that the pictures on the pads will either be blank, or will have an earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn picture on them, and notes that there are filly and colt versions.
The last entry is simply for "expansion books," naming only one in particular: The Bestiary of Equestria!
A blurb accompanies the picture:
Quote:
As we get ever closer to release, we thought it would be nice to share some of the products that will accompany our core rulebook, some on release and some further down the line – from the essentials such as roleplay dice and pony sheets right down to the simply awesome. You’ll love the Bestiary, which has rules for creating Dragon, Griffon and other non-pony characters as well as tons of creatures from the series for you to include in your stories!
This seems to confirm that the Core Rules won't have options for non-pony characters, which is probably to be expected. Moreover, I'd be willing to bet that there won't be special character sheets for dragons, griffons, or other non-pony races; in all likelihood, the character sheet with the blank picture is likely to be what's used for them.
(As a note, when the game releases I'll start a new thread about it over on the "Other RPGs" forum. In the meantime, if you want an easy-to-peruse list of announcements made about the game so far, check out the Piazza thread on it.)
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A few days ago, Tabletop Weekly posted an interview with Alessio Cavatore, Managing Director and Lead Designer of the My Little Pony Tails of Equestria Storytelling Game. During the interview, they let several new tidbits about the game slip:
The Core Rulebook will include a two-page full-color spread of the (updated) official map of Equestria.
In the game, "PC" means "pony character."
The combat section will be referred to as "scuffling," and will result in, at worst, characters being knocked out or captured, rather than killed.
The initial adventure included in the Core Rulebook will apparently be called "The Pet Predicament," and will involve the PCs rescuing the Mane Six's pets while their owners are away.
The reason that the Mane Six are away is that they're investigating why ponies all over Equestria are turning into statuettes; naturally, this initial adventure will serve as a lead-in to the Curse of the Statuettes adventure/expansion.
The idea of ponies turning into statuettes is a feature from Alessio's own gaming history, as he'd always have deities curse the PCs to turn into statuettes (and back again) at random times...and so giving an in-game representation for what happened when someone couldn't make it to game night! (It's unclear if that will be in effect in Tails of Equestria, but it seems likely at this point.)
Alessio lets it slip that one of the new PC races that will be in The Bestiary of Equestria will be changelings!
Tabletop Weekly will be posting a preview video of the game on February 14th. Here's hoping that we can find some new information then too!
The combat section will be referred to as "scuffling," and will result in, at worst, characters being knocked out or captured, rather than killed.
Which gives a lot of breathing room regarding a GM accidentally having a TPK and not having to end or retcon the campaign because of it.
Though I do still wonder if they'll explore other realms. We have Chaosville, the prison of Tartarus, and whatever that pathway of memories was that Celestia showed Twilight before she got her wings. Where do Celestia and Luna come from? What's (or what are) the pony afterlife (lives) like?
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A quick update; during his interview, Alessio briefly showed some character sheets used by (if I recall correctly) his daughter and her friends during the game's playtesting. You can now see those character sheets in more detail, along with brief overviews of the characters, over on the River Horse webpage.
Interestingly, alongside the Body and Mind stats, there's one for what looks like "Cuteness" as well.
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Tectorman wrote:
Though I do still wonder if they'll explore other realms. We have Chaosville, the prison of Tartarus, and whatever that pathway of memories was that Celestia showed Twilight before she got her wings. Where do Celestia and Luna come from? What's (or what are) the pony afterlife (lives) like?
No idea. My instinct is to say that they won't venture too far afield, but that's just a guess on my part.
I am interested in seeing how the MLP RPG turns out. I hope PDFs will be available, in any rate. I am glad that it looks like they're going to keep the game less violent.
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Tails of Equestria is now available for pre-order at Amazon! The listed price is $37.99 + $12.99 shipping. It has a listed "in stock" date of May 31st, which is later than the March release that we were told previously.
The page also reveals some details about the book's contents - it's 152 pages, for instance - including what looks like a chapter outline:
Introduction
Creating Your Pony Character
Pony Kinds
Elements of Harmony
Traits & Stamina
Friendship
Tests & Challenges
Talents & Quirks
Pony Names, Cutie Marks & Portraits
Equipment & Money
Levels & Leveling Up
Playing the Game
Adventure Module - The Pet Predicament
Dice charts & character sheet
EDIT: The listing says that it's being sold by a storefront called CollecTOYbles, which seems to be unaffiliated with River Horse or Shinobi 7.
