Howdy-do, Canterloters! I'll still write about my own RP characters every once in a while, but now I'll be introducing a new series of articles. Starting today, I plan each week or so to do a spotlight feature on other RPer's characters and threads. With this new series, I wish to provide a way to cover the happenings of Canterlot's RP section in an in-depth manner. Note: any RP thread and character I review will be done so with the permission of the OP/RPer, and you'll won't find any sort of drama in these posts. So without further ado, let' get this show on the road!

WARNING: HERE BE RP SPOILERS.

If adventure had an old name, it would have been Indiana Jones. Well, not anymore it ain’t; it can be safely said that the crown of adventuring now belongs to the one of Canterlot’s most popular original characters, Pathfinder. For those of you not in the loop, Pathfinder is the Mane RP’s resident Daring Do fanatic; a pegasus mare heck-bent on imitating her cherished idol down to every letter. Created and role-played by SteelEagle, this pony fills every thread she appears in with the energy and fanaticism that only a die-hard, half-insane master explorer can provide.

To briefly summarize her life story so far, Pathfinder is the orphaned daughter of a husband-and-wife duo of stunt-flying performers who mysteriously vanished. Left to cope in the Cloudsdale orphanage system, the young filly found a source of strength in the Daring Do books, whose heroine reminded the orphan of her parents. Pathfinder became a huge fan of Daring Do, and her love for the books empowered her to thrive on and become an adventurer when she grew up.

Pathfinder thus spends most of her time roaming the land, on a seemingly never-ending journey to find exotic locales teeming with dangerous booby traps and frightening monsters. The Daring Do impersonator lives for almost nothing else; she sees no current reason to find conventional jobs or worry about the opinions of others who don’t share her devotion to adventuring. Whenever she ventures into civilization for reason unrelated to questing, you can be sure that it’s because Pathfinder’s hunting down the latest Daring Do book or gracing a fan convention with her overzealous presence.

The following four RP threads may not be the only stories that Pathfinder has appeared in, but they exemplify why she belongs in the Luna-tier of Canterlot OCs. Should a character find themselves unprepared, they’ll end up overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness/insanity that is Pathfinder. However for those few who let themselves become captivated by the thrills of outsmarting traps and conquering the ruins of ancient civilizations, the living embodiment of Daring Do may just become one of their most treasured companions.

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[colour=#006400]The Heart of an Adventurer:[/colour] While this RP isn’t the first thread to feature the half-crazed adventurer, it is the chronological beginning of one of Pathfinder’s most important character arcs. It is this thread where the Daring Do fanatic meets her fillyfriend Snowfall, the Northern Storm Industries CEO played by Phil the Time Wizard. Paired up by a matchmaking service, the two are sent on a blind date to an obstacle course nestled in a desert town; a rather ideal date spot for a master explorer like Pathfinder! Over the course of the story, Pathfinder and Snowfall connect with one another quite handedly; by the end of the date, the two pegasi are convinced that the other is their special somepony.

As shown in this thread, Pathfinder can barely go a moment without recollecting past escapades and generating excitement in the heat of the present moment. Yet even with Pathfinder’s everlasting obsession with Daring Do, this RP demonstrates that even someone like this pegasus has basic emotional needs to fulfill, like companionship. We also see that the touchy-feely adventurer who says whatever’s on her mind without any reserve actually has some sort of plan for the future; to start-up a survival gear business that’d naturally go bankrupt from bankrolling an expedition.

While it would seem that a nearly-broke vagabond would be extremely hard-pressed to relate to a wealthy business owner, it turns out that matching Pathfinder and Snowfall together was a stroke of genius. For Snowfall (herself a Daring Do fan in her youth), the adventurer provides the CEO a sense of raw fun and nostalgia that she hasn’t been to experience for a long count of time. Meanwhile, Pathfinder sees in the businessmare someone with the willpower and confidence to potentially serve as an amazing (and not to mention beautiful) companion on voyages. Of course, both mares also share the sorrowful common ground of losing parents to the Badlands. It retrospect, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Pathfinder and Snowfall become a couple.

Commenting on the premise of the thread itself, an action date consisting of an obstacle course littered with loops and tourist-friendly booby traps serves as a very original concept for a romance RP. In fact, it really helps drown out the clichés that befall most romantic-based well... anything in general. Many writers would do good to take a look at “The Heart of an Adventurer” to gain insight into how to avoid a by-the-books date story involving bog-standard fancy restaurants, walks in the park, and all that jazz.

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[colour=#006400]Daringcon General:[/colour] After the events of “The Heart of an Adventurer”, we find Pathfinder attending a Daring Do convention held not too far away from Ponyville. The fanatic is not alone though; it turns out that Snowfall (meticulously dressed-up as the character Princess Veil) is in attendance too, having rekindled her old foalhood love for the franchise. The stage is thus set for numerous con hijinks, such as failing miserably to let con goers sneak inside the sold-out con and having a brief run-in with a biased news reporter. And to think Pathfinder hasn’t found out yet that one of her closest acquaintances is selling off most of her beloved Daring Do merchandise at the con itself!

“Daringcon General” is a perfect example of how poorly Pathfinder fits into normal society. The pegasus frequently regards rules as mere annoyances meant to be broken, an attitude readily on display as she carved out badges to help unfortunate fans sneak inside the con. As it turns out, Daringcon itself wouldn’t have taken place at all without the extremist fan first sabotaging a rival convention. Equestria is thus fortunate that Pathfinder is only just a half-insane fanfilly at heart.

Any RPer looking for a slice-of-life thread to interact with Pathfinder in her element should definitely consider participating in this thread. In addition, this is the perfect place to act out any sort of con-based scenario in Mane RP. The thread has recently gained a griffon vendor to sell merchandise; hopefully, other types of OCs like artists will join him shortly. Come here if you want to check out the OOC thread first.

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[colour=#006400]Pathfinder and the City of the Griffons:[/colour] Now we get to one of Pathfinder’s most larger-than-life adventures. Set in the Aquellian capital city of Talonpolis, this story revolves around the madmare’s mission to recover the Helm of Commander Hurricane, a relic seized by the griffons long ago. By happenstance Pathfinder stumbles upon Gilda, the ex-friend of Rainbow Dash (and also brilliantly played by Phil the Time Wizard). Joining forces, the rabid adventurer and the roguish griffon commence a spree of robberies, each one failing to turn up the Helm.

On one such break-in gone wrong, Gilda gets captured by the griffons and is given the choice of either assisting in apprehending of Pathfinder or face punishment. Gilda agrees to help the Aquellian military in order to save her own skin, but she experiences conflicting feelings over betraying her new-found friend. In due time Pathfinder’s luck runs out too, as the exhausted mare fails to escape from a griffon trap. Both Gilda and Pathfinder are thus banished to the Pit; the dreaded prison inhabited by Aquellia’s most dangerous criminals. At the time of this blog post, the two partners are resolved to escape from their Tartarus-on-Earth and recover the Helm of Commander Hurricane.

If there’s one thing that “City of the Griffons” makes clear, it’s that Pathfinder is an absolute determinator. No matter what impossible odds she faces, she’ll charge at them head-on no matter the consequences. Unfortunately the pegasus ain’t that bright too, as it’s eventually revealed that the object of her desire was actually stashed away in a totally different city altogether. Of course no mention of “City of the Griffons” is complete without discussing Gilda, who despite her antihero demeanor not only comes to admire Pathfinder but even learns to like the Daring Do books (which the pegasus somehow keeps on her person at all times). For a griffon who came off as somewhat one-dimensional in her sole-appearance in the show, here she’s given honorable qualities by Phil in a believable way without sacrificing her less-than-stellar downfalls in the process.

If anyone wants to read through an exceptional character study of Gilda, look no further than “City of the Griffons”. Obviously, this thread is also one of the best adventure RPs one can read at Canterlot, especially since it makes exceptional use of the Talonpolis setting. If you haven’t done so, you should read it now!

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[colour=#006400]From Stormy Skies to Roaring Waters:[/colour] The first thread in the Staff of Fate adventure series, expect to see great things from Pathfinder as she pursues an epic quest to recover a series of powerful artifacts before they fall into the wrong hooves. Joining with the likes of Twilight Sparkle, Trixie Lulamoon, Dr. Spin Tale, and Rain Leaf (played by Helix, Brianblackberry, myself, and Doc Hoof MD respectively), expect chaos and hilarity to ensure as the band of five struggle to work coherently as a group… let alone cooperate with a rival team.

Anyone wishing to RP in Staff of Fate should feel free to sign up in the OOC thread. While the positions for the main and support characters for Teams 1 and 2 are currently filled up, location-based characters are always welcome. No adventure-RPer should pass up on the opportunity to have their OCs interact with Pathfinder, Twilight, or even Doctor Whooves!

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For additional insight into Pathfinder, below in the spoiler box is an interview with SteelEagle where he elaborates on how he came up with his character and how he plans to use Pathfinder in the future:

Bellosh101: Could you provide me with some details as to how you created the character of Pathfinder?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] Sure… I saw “Read It and Weep” and loved a super adventure mare. I knew that she was a fictional character, so I knew I couldn't just use her for forum RP. I had to make an OC, but honestly, I am and remain horrible with colour schemes so I wanted a way to make a character that looked just like Daring Do. At the same time, I also was getting super heavy into the fandom and was thinking about pony all the **** time. A light went on: I can make a super fandom character who has taken her obsession to the sort of conclusion that fans in real life could never see, that being utter and complete emulation.

So I decided that this would be a normal filly or mare who has become completely and totally obsessed with Daring Do. She dyes her mane, tail, coat so expertly that barring the rigors of time she looks just like her first love, Daring Do. She considers the books in the series to be as close to a religious experience as she would ever have, and she has devoted herself to adventure in an effort to be just like Daring Do.

I chose to make her an orphan because no reasonable parent would allow their daughter to become this obsessed with Daring Do, and I also needed a good reason for her to become that obsessed. Lacking any parental figure and any sort of closeness with those around her in an orphanage meant something fictional like Daring Do could fill in these huge gaps and come to dominate her paradigm.

Bellosh101: Do you ever intend to resolve the question of what happened to Pathfinder's parents?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] I do, in fact. And it will be the singular event that takes place after Staff of Fate that will dictate how she develops.

Bellosh101: What sorts of situations do you like putting Pathfinder through (other than adventuring, of course)? And what types of characters do you think Pathfinder plays off against the best? PS: feel free to talk about adventure too, if you must.

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] I like putting her through fandom type stuff. Cons, talking about Daring Do, etc. But I also love putting her into normal slice of life stuff. Still, she was designed as an adventure mare. She plays well with the straight-laced, even if slightly silly, sort of character. Her zaniness doesn't play right when the other character is a nutjob as well.

Bellosh101: What do you feel is the most challenging part about portraying Pathfinder?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] Keeping that energy up. Writing her can be a huge drain. It doesn't come easy like Apple Bloom. Her mindset is insane. Her energy is kinetic. She has to be a mix of comedy and action at all times. You can't have normal dialogue with Pathfinder.

Bellosh101: How has Pathfinder progressed as a character throughout the course of RPing her in numerous threads? What sort of long-term character arc is she going through, if she has one?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] She has a fillyfriend in Phil's Snowfall, the CEO of Northern Storm Industries. The hope is that over time Pathfinder can be brought to see some semblance of reality through Snowfall and calm down before she makes the sort of mistake that can't be undone. She has more than a few arcs that are part of a long term arc.

The Staff of Fate stuff is the big shebang for Pathfinder- all of her other adventures are going to tie into it. At the end, she'll be a used up but well-experienced adventure mare. Post that, her arc is about either devoting herself to adventure and taking the sort of risks that come naturally to those who now readily reject reality(as opposed to just being slightly insane as she is now), or learning how to cope with a life more stable and less frantic.

Getting to that stage, however, is a many step process. Almost every thread she is in plays some role in it.

Bellosh101: If you could pick one thread that you'd consider as Pathfinder's definitive RP, what would it be, and why?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] Pathfinder and the City of the Griffons. It's a great adventure that displays her character to the full tilt, and we aren't even close to being finished!

Bellosh101: Are there any cast characters and/or OCs that you'd like to have Pathfinder interact with in future RPs?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] Excepting those in Staff of Fate, not really. I tend to focus on her planned threads, so it's kosher.

Bellosh101: Last question: what sorts of upcoming threads can we expect Pathfinder to appear in (including Staff of Fate)? What prospects of her future excite you the most?

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] I want to do some more simple stuff with Snowfall, but Staff of Fate is where she will be for a lot of the future. Post-Staff of Fate, it depends on my attitudes regarding the character's arc at the time. Adventure will always play a role- whether people end up playing with a wise, experienced, cautious adventurer with a super silly fandom crush on Daring Do or a completely insane nutjob(as she is now, only even more Pathfindery) is the real decision.

Bellosh101: Well... that's a wrap. Thank you for your time, SteelEagle.

[colour=#006400]SteelEagle:[/colour] Thank you for your questions Bellosh.

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I hope everyone who views my exposé on Pathfinder finds it a very enlightening read, especially if you didn’t know much about her up until now. If you’d like to have me spotlight one of your characters or RP threads, feel free to give me a shout either through the comments below or through PM. If you’re interested, we can arrange a time where I can interview you about your OC or RP. Depending on the feedback I get, I just might very well make this a weekly series.