Want to App an Extended-Canon Species? (Last Ruling Update - 6/8)

[CoffeeLand]

Stupid question, but could there be a possibility of adding an orky/barbarian race?

[Bellosh]

Sorry I've been AWOL these last couple days. I've..... been distracted.

 

Qilin: Personally, I'd think they'd make a good WoE species too. The only black mark against them is that currently, we don't have a realm inspired by the Far East on our map, meaning they lack an obvious homeland. I suppose you folks will have to settle for immigrant communities within cosmopolitan cities, or something. 

 

Sphinx: I suppose Zeig has a point about giving it a horse-head, but I'm still iffy on the aesthetics of it. You know, I'll get back to you folk about sphinxes. XD

 

Kelpie: The "kelpies" described on our species list were the result of an ancient compromise regarding how WoE seaponies would look like. This was long before we adopted the current seapony lore we have in place today. If it was up to me, I'd say go ahead and make your kelpie OC more like the actual real-life myths. Ie. a shape-shifting being that's essentially a water-changeling.

 

Windigo, Timberwolf, & ADULT Sea Serpent: All three already banned from being apped on our Species List. Please read the list to make sure what you're proposing isn't already restricted. Juvenile sea serpents and Steven Magnet are okay though.

 

Siren & Centaur: They have enough of a precedent in FiM material to be permitted as extended-canon species.

 

Ork: How about NO? Bad Pinchy, you go sit in the corner!

 

Abada: We've already approved one Abada app actually! I actually urge all of you to read the app and our Staff feedback right now; you'll get a sense of what to do and what not to do when you're apping an extended-canon species. Try to strip your species idea down to its most basic and essential physical components, and never assume anything about how the rest of the species lives.

 

Hypothetical Barbarian Species: i have to say no, on account of what I wrote just above. For Lore reasons, you can't assume that one extended-canon species is comprised of mostly barbarians.

[CoffeeLand]

I don't mean a race comprised of barbarians, I mean a race based off of groups that were considered barbarians. You know? Like the Huns or Mongols. 

[Bellosh]

That's a culture you're talking about, not a species. With adequate justification, players can app OCs with traits inspired by Huns or Mongols.

[CoffeeLand]

Then what about viking caribou? Isn't that just a race based on early Scandinavian culture? 

[Bellosh]

That is beyond the scope of our extended-canon species initiative. Cultures like those of Whitescar or Maretonia involve more than a species; they need locations on the WoE map that inform how their societies develop. And at this time, we are not prepared to force players into accepting the presence of major cultures that are not described in our Lore.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Bellosh101

[Bellosh]

UPDATE: To make sure I don't have to make rulings for the same species over and over again, I added a list of rulings to the OP. And here's my codified thoughts on cultures:

 

Cultures in General: Character applications are not allowed to describe a culture that extends beyond a character's local community. If you really want to introduce a regional culture for WoE that is not described by WoE Lore, it will have to be done with the approval and OOC collaboration of your fellow roleplayers. Everyone has the right to reject or ignore any WoE culture-building not based off the TV show or our official site Lore.

[Lyipheoryia]

Sorry I've been AWOL these last couple days. I've..... been distracted.

 

Qilin: Personally, I'd think they'd make a good WoE species too. The only black mark against them is that currently, we don't have a realm inspired by the Far East on our map, meaning they lack an obvious homeland. I suppose you folks will have to settle for immigrant communities within cosmopolitan cities, or something. 

 

Sphinx: I suppose Zeig has a point about giving it a horse-head, but I'm still iffy on the aesthetics of it. You know, I'll get back to you folk about sphinxes. XD

 

Kelpie: The "kelpies" described on our species list were the result of an ancient compromise regarding how WoE seaponies would look like. This was long before we adopted the current seapony lore we have in place today. If it was up to me, I'd say go ahead and make your kelpie OC more like the actual real-life myths. Ie. a shape-shifting being that's essentially a water-changeling.

 

Windigo, Timberwolf, & ADULT Sea Serpent: All three already banned from being apped on our Species List. Please read the list to make sure what you're proposing isn't already restricted. Juvenile sea serpents and Steven Magnet are okay though.

 

Siren & Centaur: They have enough of a precedent in FiM material to be permitted as extended-canon species.

 

Ork: How about NO? Bad Pinchy, you go sit in the corner!

 

Abada: We've already approved one Abada app actually! I actually urge all of you to read the app and our Staff feedback right now; you'll get a sense of what to do and what not to do when you're apping an extended-canon species. Try to strip your species idea down to its most basic and essential physical components, and never assume anything about how the rest of the species lives.

 

Hypothetical Barbarian Species: i have to say no, on account of what I wrote just above. For Lore reasons, you can't assume that one extended-canon species is comprised of mostly barbarians.

I was talking more about a baby sea serpent...like the baby dragon species.

[Bellosh]

As I already said in that post you quoted, the WoE Species List permits players to app young sea serpents.

 

PS: The thought occurred to me that perhaps WoE sphinxes could have the heads of Saddle Arabian horses, since the Saddle Arabian region is a good fit for a sphinx rather than the overcrowded Equestrian continent. It'll mean the sphinx's body will have to be taller and leaner than a pony's body to make the head look right, but I'm confident this hybrid arrangement will work out. Any objections?

 

Oh, I'm also going to recommend that WoE sphinxes should NOT have wings, which will make these guys appropriately resemble the Egyptian Sphinx (ie. the Great Sphinx of Giza) more than their Greek-style counterparts. Again, feedback is appreciated.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Bellosh101

[Zeig]

I said as much on Skype, but I'll just reiterate here that I like the concept of MLP Sphinxes originating in Saddle Arabia, and having a look that reflects that. Saddle Arabian horse heads, lion's body (or any African big cat body, to add some visual diversity to the race? Think the only real difference might be the tail - lions have tufts on the ends of their tails, cheetahs and leopards don't) and no wings. Personally those traits make a lot of sense to me.

[MidnightMask]

I thought Tirek was just... Tirek. His g1 counterpart is essentially just an evil monster, and his current counterpart, beyond four legs and torso, is more apt to be a demon than a centaur. Since he's not really a centaur per se, his bull head worked out and explained his demon horns.
 

As for the sphinx, I could see a head swap for something other than a cat to make it less obvious, but I'm not sure a horse head is the best pick. And once the wings are gone, it's sort of just become a new chimeric mixture with no real origin. Even calling it a sphinx at that point is a stretch.


 

[Bellosh]

I thought Tirek was just... Tirek. His g1 counterpart is essentially just an evil monster, and his current counterpart, beyond four legs and torso, is more apt to be a demon than a centaur. Since he's not really a centaur per se, his bull head worked out and explained his demon horns.

The MLP showrunners say Lord Tirek is a centaur, so there's that.

 

And once the wings are gone, it's sort of just become a new chimeric mixture with no real origin. Even calling it a sphinx at that point is a stretch.

 

 

Again, what exactly a sphinx is varies quite a bit by historical culture. I would be more accommodating of a sphinx based off the Greek model myself, but for extended-canon species, I'd like to keep each one we approve of as standardized as possible. Hmmm.... I may have to consult my colleagues about this matter. We'll see how it goes.....

[MidnightMask]

Hmmm, looking at your posted article...
 

"and in the New Kingdom the head was sometimes that of a ram and representative of Amun"

That actually sounds like a way to go that both fits myth and the MLP way of going about things.


 

[Bellosh]

Eh, most people today would never think to associate a ram's head with a cat-bodied sphinx. At least with the goat-headed centaurs of MLP, goats and horses are fellow ungulates. Possibly then with a sphinx, what we actually need is the head of a fellow mammalian carnivore. But then, we'd have to settle on which carnivore head to choose from, and bleh. No matter what the RPH sphinx ruling will be, I'm sure not everyone will be satisfied.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Bellosh101

[MidnightMask]

A cat with ram horns?

It may just have to be a bridge left uncrossed unless the series gets to it.

 

[Ciraxis]

Actually the one with ram's head would be called criosphinx if we all getting technical. There's also one with hawk head, hieracosphinx.

[Bellosh]

Those names only apply for D&D/Pathfinder-based settings though.

[Ciraxis]

Wrong, the first guy who named them such on paper is Herodotus. Who I dare to say is significantly older then....well any RPG at all, table or not.

[Bellosh]

*checks Wikipedia* Ah, I see then.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Bellosh101

[CoffeeLand]

You guys could just make it a lion with wings, but instead of doing regular manes they could be stylized like Eygptian or Babylonian beards since those two styles are pretty prevelant in old Middle Eastern history.

[Dubstep]

One I just thought of bringing up that seems to be fairly popular. Moth Ponies! They're super adorbs and there's already quite a bit of stuff on them that would make incorporating them easier perhaps.

And another idea would be Twinkle-eyed Ponies! I recall mention of Twinkle-eyed Pegasi in the comics (tho I know comics aren't empirical canon or whatnot) so it'd certainly be a plausible option.

[Bellosh]

After deliberating with RPH, we've reached a final determination on sphinxes: we shall define "sphinx" as a sentient being with the body and head of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In the end, determining what sort of alternate face a basic sphinx could have was too much of a headache-inducing riddle. While it would have been interesting to base a sphinx off of Egyptian tradition, going the lazy route and giving that wingless creature a lion's head would have left us with little more than a simple talking lion. By giving our sphinxes wings, we can at least preserve the chimeric quality of such species. This is our decision.

 

*GAVEL SLAM*

 

Moth Ponies: I'm going to have to say no to them, adorable as they may be. If we permitted concepts for extended-canon species not derived from WoE lore, official MLP products or real-life mythology, we run the risk of making WoE resemble less of a structured FiM-based environment and more of a free-for-all where anything goes. For some users, letting moth ponies fly around could potentially break immersion with our game.

 

Twinkled-eyed Ponies: From what I understand, they're essentially regular ponies with gem-shaped irises. Thing is, if you take a close look at crystal pony eyes in the show and compare them to other pony characters, you'll notice that crystal pony eye lights are hexagonal, while everypony else's are round. This leads me to believe that to a certain extent, G4 crystal ponies are a revisitation of the prior twinkle-eyed pony concept.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Bellosh101

[Dubstep]

Moth Ponies: I'm going to have to say no to them, adorable as they may be. If we permitted concepts for extended-canon species not derived from WoE lore, official MLP products or real-life mythology, we run the risk of making WoE resemble less of a structured FiM-based environment and more of a free-for-all where anything goes. For some users, letting moth ponies fly around could potentially break immersion with our game.

 

Twinkled-eyed Ponies: From what I understand, they're essentially regular ponies with gem-shaped irises. Thing is, if you take a close look at crystal pony eyes in the show and compare them to other pony characters, you'll notice that crystal pony eye lights are hexagonal, while everypony else's are round. This leads me to believe that to a certain extent, G4 crystal ponies are a revisitation of the prior twinkle-eyed pony concept.

Fair enough with moth ponies, though I do feel with the fact changelings exist as buggypones, mothponies could easily exists, but totes fine. Didn't expect that one to be an a-okay.

Though with Twinkle-eyed Ponies, the irises aren't just shaped like gems. Rather they ARE gems themselves. I don't feel like the Crystal Ponies are quiet meant as an expy to Twinkle-eyed Ponies, but perhaps you're right. I figure the real issue with Twinkles would be figuring out, well, A: why (Original lore they were forced to mine for an evil wizard and gem shard embedded in their eyes and just, became gems over time and breeding I think? Something like that) and B: Beyond eyes, what really sets them apart from any other pony.

Thanks either way!~

[Bellosh]

With this extended-canon species initiative, we're going with a "just the basics" approach where we only consider a species' appearance and basic abilities. History and culture are not things a player can introduce as Lore. With twinkle-eyed ponies, the only thing they got going for them is that their eyes are actual gems. That doesn't add much to WoE's worldbuilding, other than giving players a cheap way of turning their otherwise-normal ponies into special snowflakes. We'll reconsider twinkle-eyed ponies if they ever appear on the show, but for now, we're going to have to say no to them. Sorry.

[Dubstep]

With this extended-canon species initiative, we're going with a "just the basics" approach where we only consider a species' appearance and basic abilities. History and culture are not things a player can introduce as Lore. With twinkle-eyed ponies, the only thing they got going for them is that their eyes are actual gems. That doesn't add much to WoE's worldbuilding, other than giving players a cheap way of turning their otherwise-normal ponies into special snowflakes. We'll reconsider twinkle-eyed ponies if they ever appear on the show, but for now, we're going to have to say no to them. Sorry.

Fair enough, though I DO think some lore building should be a thing. Because truly, what makes the various races interesting to play are their differences and cultures. And while I'm certain staff will get around to that at some point, I do feel like having some input from the player base is always a good option, as it gives staff a possible starting point as it would show what people may be interested in! =3 But no need to apologize! It's all totally fine. No skin off my nose, I just like checking things and seeing how they'd sink or swim!

Which brings me on to the next two.

First up is one I feel would be acceptable since Centaurs (such as Tirek) are acceptable. Gargoyles, ala Scorpan! Course, there's not much to say on them, they're pretty self explanatory.

Next up would be one I see as a little iffy? Harpies. Now of course I certainly wouldn't suggest the human body, bird wings etc. But I could see them as an expy for the Raptorians from G1. Altbeit not...quite as weird looking? (and I do mean really weird.)

I do hope me popping in more suggestions after another isn't becoming a bother. Like I said, I just like to see what'll sink or swim c: