Friendship is Dragons
Updates Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
Page 577 - Boycott Movement
Author Notes:
(Pop-out)
43 Comments:
AJ nailed it in the final panel. Ponies are not intelligent creatures on average. :D
Horses are extremely skittish, too, which accounts for the constant panics.
Newbiespud completely nailed what I was going to say as I read. He's great at turning my expectations upside down.
Newbiespud completely nailed what I was going to say as I read. He's great at turning my expectations upside down.
Yes, that is one thing he does really well with these comics. :)
I read Jennifer's reply in FemShep's voice.
Damn you, Jenny Hale.
Damn you, Jenny Hale.
A <b>pony</b> is smart. <i>Ponies<i> are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.
In fact, being able to name several alternate motives for a single action while staying in character is not only personally entertaining, but it will teach you more about the way the character thinks, and if you examine your theories, it can say a lot about yourself as writer.
In other words, I advocate the Roshi method of training. Pick the most complicated and difficult way of doing everything. When the restrictions are removed, you will find your mind much more powerful.
Same. My preferred method of character meditation is to randomly pick an actiony or iconic scene from a mainstream cartoon, anime, or tv. series and drop my character in the middle of it. What would they do? What choices would they make? Why are they even here in the first place and should they be?
It allows one the luxury of fantasy, what-if questions and new opportunities to find out about one's character without having to generate an entirely new situation for a simple thought experiment.
It allows one the luxury of fantasy, what-if questions and new opportunities to find out about one's character without having to generate an entirely new situation for a simple thought experiment.
I believe Raxon is referring to Master Roshi in DragonBall, where he puts Goku and Krillin through convoluted, seemingly pointless, and overly difficult tasks to accomplish goals that are ultimately very simple. It inspired creativity, deviousness, and hunger-based motivation.
Don't forget running on your hands while your master holds your legs in a dead sprint or swaying back in forth over a blazing fire in vertical crunches to avoid being burned. And while we're at it, creating a massage chair out of your disciple's pain and frustration powered by them running on a weighted treadmill with restraints.
What motivation do you need other than "Why not?" Or "because I can" ?
Anyone who isn't retarded, or a poorly-written character (such as deadpool), needs more motivation than that.
Definitely a technique to bear in mind, especially when my own major pony crossover is several seasons behind. Thanks, Spud.
Thinking......Nope I got nothing.
So how about Ask the Pony.
Today, She is mostly a Seamstress.
Here she's the noble thief.
It's Rarity.
So how about Ask the Pony.
Today, She is mostly a Seamstress.
Here she's the noble thief.
It's Rarity.
Do you mean why I stay in Ponyville?
First, It was where I was born and raised.
Second, it's where my friends and family lives, and I will not leave them behind.
First, It was where I was born and raised.
Second, it's where my friends and family lives, and I will not leave them behind.
Has there been enough of an enduring boost in business, to make up for everypony now expecting the Element of Generosity (and her friends) to save their hides whenever disaster looms?
Oh more so then ever.
Of course that's only in Ponyville.
Everywhere else, it's about the same.
Of course that's only in Ponyville.
Everywhere else, it's about the same.
How well did you know Applejack and Rainbowdash before Twilight moved to ponyville?
(I consider the episode "Putting your hoof down" a flashback episode that established Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie where friends before twilight came to ponyville but AJ and RD where not in that episode)
There wasn't a pony in town that didn't knew those 2 before Nightmare Moon.
Did I knew them personally?
Let me separate that question in 2.
First Applejack. I would say I knew her good enough. I buy her apples, and she would once in a while bring her hat in for repair.
As for Rainbow Dash, I didn't get to know her or Fluttershy until after Nightmare Moon.
Did I knew them personally?
Let me separate that question in 2.
First Applejack. I would say I knew her good enough. I buy her apples, and she would once in a while bring her hat in for repair.
As for Rainbow Dash, I didn't get to know her or Fluttershy until after Nightmare Moon.
But I just couldn't, I couldn't think of a single reason I would do this. They're corrupt, and they appear to be the ONLY doctors in the region. They stole thousands in gold, and medical equipment isn't cheap.
Then I made the mistake of going to ask a local guard about the doctors, cause he was apparently a former patient. All he said was, "I use to be an adventurer like you, until I took an arrow to the knee."
... I killed those doctors without mercy later.
But... that arrow to the knee. It means that doctor was married!
What will happen to his wife and kids?!
What will happen to his wife and kids?!
Plus, everyone else was willing to kill the doctors just because they were asked to, and they were of the "good" alignment.
And I can believe good aligned people being willing to kill people on a whim. I've watched my group murder everyone in a tavern because we guessed that it belonged to the bad guys, so obviously everyone in there is with them. The only reason my cleric didn't stop them was because he left to go question a drunken minion that had gone outside. He only came back in after the damage had been done and he wasn't too happy with it all.
Oddly enough, the tavern owner didn't seem too flushed over it all. In fact, he was more ticked off that we wouldn't let him close the tavern early (because we wanted to search the place for clues) than he was with all the damage my group caused in the bloodbath that happened.
DM: Rainbow Dash, you see Spitfire and Soarin, but they seem to be engaged in conversation with the nobles.
RD: ...Alright, I'm going to try kicking a table, sending a cup flying into the air, and then catching it with my back hoof. Rolling Acrobatics...27.
DM: Um...you actually manage to pull it off, with the cup landing daintily on your back hoof. The Wonderbolts look impressed, but then are pulled away by some nobles for a photo op.
RD: Oh, they actually noticed. That's cool, I guess.
DM: Wait, weren't you trying to get their attention with that stunt?
RD: I am a barbarian at a fancy party. There's no evil plots going on, I'm not allowed to smash anything, nobody's insulting me, the rest of my party's doing their own thing, and it's clear that the Wonderbolts are here to on business, not pleasure. No, I'm going to be knocking things up in the air and catching them to stave off the SHEER BOREDOM that my character is experiencing.
DM: Well, what about the rest of you?
TS: I've apparently spent the last hour shaking hooves with really important ponies who my DM doesn't even have the names for.
PP: My bonuses don't work outside of Ponyville, and these ponies wouldn't know fun if it hit them in the face.
AJ: And in a shocking twist nopony could see coming, my apple foodstuffs aren't selling well at a fancy event.
DM: ...Well, at least Fluttershy is invested.
FS: WHY ISN'T MY ANIMAL EMPATHY WORKING? ARE THESE ANIMALS FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION? SO HELP ME, I'M GOING TO CUDDLE ONE OF THESE CRITTERS IF IT KILLS ME!!!
As was standard procedure, all the animals were replaced by changeling spies during every major social event.
I am definitely stealing this idea. I've got no games with both upper class events and magic right now, but someday I will again...
These comics have made me want to try RPing myself. Can anyone help me?
Haha, welcome to the club mate.
Here's a tip: get a good group. Preferably one that wants to play and has done so before. A group can make or break your RPG experience, being the social game that it is
in the same vein, be careful of making a game with family/friends who aren't fully on board. You will very likely go well for a session or two, but then slowly descend into the endless abyss of oblivion.
Also, if you are Gming, go light on setup and just start with a dungeon. It will make your life so much easier.
Here's a tip: get a good group. Preferably one that wants to play and has done so before. A group can make or break your RPG experience, being the social game that it is
in the same vein, be careful of making a game with family/friends who aren't fully on board. You will very likely go well for a session or two, but then slowly descend into the endless abyss of oblivion.
Also, if you are Gming, go light on setup and just start with a dungeon. It will make your life so much easier.
There are also so many others, if you enjoy those but want to try more. Exalted, Shadowrun, Warhammer 40K Roleplay (subdivided into Dark Heresy, Only War, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, and Black Crusade, plus fanmade supplements like Mon'Tau), Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Deadlands, Mutants and Masterminds, GURPS... what are you interested in, primarily? 1d4chan and TVTropes can often give you some idea for the feel of a game's setting & mechanics if you want to poke around before you get started, and D&D3.5's core rules (and Pathfinder's; the two are largely compatible, though mixing them can exacerbate their balance issues) are freely available online.
edit: those last two, D&D 3.5 & Pathfinder, are kind of infamous for their issues with a bloated amount of options in character creation (there are over a hundred base classes in 3.5 supplementals, and hundreds more prestige classes... and that's without even getting into the feats...) so they really aren't the best starting point - but the link to 3.5, at least, is just the core rules plus a few optional bits tucked to the sides, so you *could* start there if you really wanted. I did, but 5e is a lot more accessible. Aspirations of Harmony, of course, is totally free, being fanmade, and Wizards of the Coast offers most of 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons as free PDFs, but with some goodies like premade adventures withheld for the paid versions.
There are forums like Giant in the Playground and the Pony Tales forum (probably Wanderlust too - a successor to Pony Tales, but I've yet to take a look at it) that often host Play-by-Post games, and /tg/ usually has a gamefinder thread running for all kinds of games. Roll20.net hosts plenty of games, and I've heard good things about it; there's also something to be said for just making time to hang out at your local comic shop and seeing if they host any games you might be interested in.
There's also Ponyfinder, which is someone's attempt to do MLP:FIM with just enough difference that they won't get sued. It's compatible with Pathfinder, but is also capable of being entirely stand-alone from anything else. And you can clearly see where the MLP influences are, so it's extremely easy to import the game into an Equestria-based pony game.
Actually, Ponyfinder is a campaign setting for Pathfinder. You'd still need the Pathfinder rules to run it.
You can get those for free on the web, though. I've been using d20pfsrd.com but there's an official site too.
Don't be so quick to dismiss ideas, AJ. My group has convinced a group of guards that nobles love spicy hot wings before in an attempt to get into a mansion. Granted, it ended with us nuking the place...literally. Look, all I'm saying is that you can find creative ways to use food to your advantage here.
EDIT: I didn't like what I wrote on character motivations and, after some thought, I've changed my opinion on it all as well. I don't mind a DM handing out character motivations like this as long as it makes sense and both parties agree to it. I'm not a fan of it if it forces someone to go out of character in order to stay with it because said motivation is important to the plot of the campaign.
Naturally, when you're writing fanfiction crossover remixes, retreading is all you do and this trick comes in very handy. But it's also a neat little tool for writing in general, to build upon common lessons and create new challenges. I mean, yeah, I'm basically just describing subversion/aversion as a writing tool, but there's more than one TVTropes way to look at things.