Rules The Future of Equestria

[Skye]

*Important Edit by Manestream*

I have not made any final decisions on the RP availability of The Changeling Queen, or changelings in general. These are working concepts, but do not consider these final decisions, as they are still works in progress until I have a chance to sit down with my RP experts to discuss what is possible, and how best to incorporate as much from the show as possible.

*Manestream out*

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Hi, folks!

Wow, has it been two whole seasons already? And no signs of stopping that I can tell as of yet! I can't wait to see what season three has in store for us. But while we're waiting, I'd like to recap over some of the things that have been brought to our table here at Canterlot and hopefully address them in a fashion that folks will easily understand and will come to accept as a matter of course.

There's a few topics I'll tackle each in turn. They'll be about new cast characters introduced into season two, along with new technologies and concepts, and new abilities. Each of these topics I'll try to go into detail and hopefully you can reference them specifically for clarification on those particular items. I'd like to consider this as going forward as well to help keep things fair and comfortable, as well as sensible going forward into season three and beyond as well as what we have seen in season two.

And of course, I needn't mention that this will pertain most strongly to Mane Roleplay.

New Cast Characters

Firstly, New Cast Characters. We've seen plenty of new cast characters, and even some names for characters that we hadn't quite had before, like official names for Mr and Mrs Cake (Or at least, Mrs. Cake...she was specifically called 'Cup Cake' by her husband in Mmmystery on the Ponyville Express! Which means her husband is likely called Carrot Cake by canon as well if he hasn't been named so by Hasbro), Cadence and Shining Armor, Hayseed Turnip Truck, Fancy Pants, Fleetfoot, Fleur De Lis, Chrysalis, Flim and Flam, just to name a few. There's been such a rush on Cast Characters both old and new, that we've had a hard time keeping up! So here's how we're going to consider them from this point on, and in to the future.

Generally 'normal' new cast characters, such as regular ponies will be considered pretty much fair game. Any new unicorns or pegasi, earth ponies, or even new critters like Zecora will be pretty much appable. Those with 'special needs' or unusual powers may have to be considered by staff beforehand, but those will be very obvious. There is a general level of 'powerful' we're trying to maintain in the Mane Roleplay in order to keep things sane and fair for everyone, not to mention fun and sensible. Good stories are told by characters themselves, not in how powerful they are. In two seasons (Or even in previous generations!) the vast majority of the story is told about the characters and how they interact, not necessarily what they can do. After all, we've seen even in the last episode of Season Two that even Princess Celestia can occasionally meet her match, and that's saying something.

'Special Needs' Characters, such as new villains and characters with extremely powerful abilities (Such as Starswirl the Bearded, who has been mentioned several times) will generally be considered unplayable with one caveat: If they are a 'hero' type character, such as Starswirl the Bearded, they may become playable at the staff's discretion if it is considered that their general storytelling can be controlled reasonably. Villains, however, are a different story. Unless they are a villain like Trixie who turns out to be pretty much mediocre in power or otherwise unremarkable in any other magical or powerful way, they won't be generally playable by the general public. There will be special events where they may become available for the purposes of those specific events, but for general roleplay please consider them 'off the list' even if we haven't yet specifically added them to the off limits list. I ask that players please consider some self-policing in this regard, and don't get overly excited about the possibility of their being appable. The answer is probably going to be no.

If we take for example two villains at one end of the spectrum, Discord and Chrysalis are considered pretty powerful. Discord for his obvious reality-bending powers, and Chrysalis for her ability to steal other pony's powers and her hive followers. That's just way too much to put into sensible roleplay. However, if we take other villains, such as Gilda and Trixie, then we find ourselves at the end of the villain spectrum where really good stories can be told, and that's what we're looking for here. Try to find new and novel ways to bring these characters out, and others like them, in ways that can really get other characters involved in trying to defeat them if the story is going that route. After all, half the fun is finding out where a story can go, and you have the pleasure of not having to bicker about what you can and can't do with one another. Nobody likes a Powergamer, and Nobody likes the story hog. Discord and Chrysalis are considered at 'High Risk' for this sort of thing. It's also why monsters such as the Hydra aren't considered playable.

Going forward in the future, it may be that we may encounter more alicorns, like Celestia, Luna and Cadence. Cadence's appearance certainly makes things a little more awkward as we had assumed that Celestia and Luna were the only Princesses there are, but Cadence's appearance (And, for that matter, Blueblood) proves that there may yet be other Princes and Princesses out there in Equestria we have not yet met. As such, unless they are a standard type pony (Such as the unicorn, Blueblood), any new alicorns will strictly be characters that appear in the show directly, unless the show gives us something about Alicorns that allows us to include them as an 'everyday' race. Thus far, they seem to be specifically related to Royalty and more to the point, seem to be at this point only Princesses. So unless we see a male Alicorn in the future, there aren't going to be any in the Mane Roleplay either.

I'd like to draw you up a little graph that will likely help illustrate what we're looking for. At one end, we have Discord and Nightmare Moon, and at the other, we have Trixie and Gilda. In this graph is also Chrysalis, and I hope this is easy to understand.

Serious Villain | (Discord-Nightmare Moon--Chrysalis----------Trixie--Gilda) | Antagonist

As you can see, Nightmare Moon is just one pip below Discord, but that's only because while Nightmare Moon was technically Luna, and her powers were strong, she never got the chance to actually use them against the denizens of Ponyville, much less against Equestria. Discord, on the other hand, did get to use his powers and we were able to see what he was truly capable of, even if he focused them specifically on Ponyville for the time being. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Trixie and Gilda, and of course Gilda is two pips below Trixie because while Gilda isn't technically a 'Villain', she's still an antagonist, and Trixie had the luxury of actually being a unicorn with magic. But there's ten pips between Trixie and Chrysalis, while there's only two between Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon, with just one between Nightmare Moon and Discord. This means that the closer on the scale you get towards Discord, the more likely we are to say it won't be playable, but of course the closer you get towards the Gilda end of the scale, the more likely the character will be playable.

But you are more than welcome to developing your own 'heroes' and 'villains', too! Don't limit yourself only to the cast that's shown up in the show...you can create your own villains with which to threaten the welfare of Equestria! I'd consider it a challenge to see if you can create a character that could even entice all six of the Elements of Harmony to join your roleplay to defeat your villain as part of a great story! But try to keep it worth playing and fun.

New Technologies

This post will likely be shorter than the last, for some really simple reasons. We've seen some new technologies crop up in Equestria as of Season Two, and we'd just like to remind people that roleplay in Equestria is not supposed to be about the technology, it's about the ponies. The technology that appears is generally only there to assist the story and add 'color', but it shouldn't be specifically about the technology itself. Take the Ponyville Express, for example. We saw the train crop up in Season One, but it was handled kind of awkwardly. SInce Season Two, it's taken on it's own 'character' in a way, and we see that it has real steam technology, and even is powered by coal. This makes a lot of possibilities about technology that can be used in the roleplay based on this simple exposition of 'how things work', but we remind folks that this is a more primitive world than ours, and everything should be based around those simpler ideas.

Does this mean steam powered technology is main stream? Yes, in a way it does. But keep in mind that where it can be pony powered, it will likely be pony powered, since ponies tend to keep things simpler. They would much rather not put a pony out of a job with mechanization if they can help it, except for tasks that would be considered too dangerous or gruelling. Consider when Applejack was running the cherry sorting machine, for example, which could have been run by a waterfall instead, or a steam engine. It's simple, it keeps a pony employed, and for a pony who's joy is being fit and strong, Applejack or other characters of her type are perfect for that machine. Stuff like that is perfectly fine. However, it'd be nonsensical to have ponies running a generator 24/7 for electricity, so hydroelectric dams and such are more reasonable, and that's where the one outside of Ponyville comes in. Instead of inventing a machine that takes a job or task away from a pony that would otherwise be perfect for it, try to see about making a pony who's job it is to perform that task. Every pony needs a job, and it's much better to have a pony doing it than to hand it off to a machine. We have Flim and Flam to thank for that.

Going forward, we will likely see other things, such as resurgence of AIrships, and such. Pinkie's Party cannon and her welcome wagon are great examples of a persistent 'technology' with a specific purpose that may come up in the future. We'd like to remind folks about what was just said above, and remember to make their stories about the ponies in them, not about how fantastic a machine can be invented for a singular purpose, except if the story is to be about overcoming that machine. Perhaps a pony invents a machine that can cut down trees faster than manual labor, but it turns out that by doing so it's threatening the wellbeing of the forest or otherwise goes out of control and results in ponies having to work together to stop it before disaster strikes. Just a few ideas, but at its heart, it should really be about the story. The same goes for other unusual concepts, like Minecarts, and cranes.

New Abilities

This one will be even simpler than the technology bit. We know that Celestia and Luna are supposed to be the two most powerful ponies in all of Equestria. But Cadence's appearance and Chrysalis's suggest that there are other ponies out there with varying levels of power and abilities that have yet been untapped. Nightmare Moon is a classic example of a villain that threatens the very existence of Equestria, and I'd be sure to say that Season Three will likely bring about another Crisis as part of the season just as the last two have. I look forward to it, as well!

Let's address the two new characters we've been introduced at the end of season two. I'll start first with Cadence, and move on to Chrysalis.

Cadence is, of course, an alicorn, and evidently another niece of Princess Celestia. This means that Princess Cadence is likely of the same strain of power, but the last episodes of Season Two have given us pretty much the extent of her power. She only seems to be able to influence the power of love between characters, and this is actually a little bit dangerous. Unlike Celestia, who's main role seems to be to come in and pretty much be the hard stop when things are getting out of hand (As infrequent as she's been seen to do it, passing it off to Twilight and her Friends), Cadence is of a much lower caliber of alicorn than her aunt. She's most likely not as physically strong (As seen with the minecart scene, but her previous appearances during her babysitting sequences suggest the same) as Celestia and Luna, and her magic isn't particularily mind-blowingly powerful. Only with Shining Armor was she able to bolster his magic to allow him to cast the single spell that he was best suited for, but on her own she's otherwise pretty weak. This is unusual in that it has somewhat broken the hard and fast rule that all alicorns are super powerful, but that's to be expected as she doesn't even have the same kind of 'niche' to fill as Celestia and Luna, and as such, her powers wouldn't really have as much the same place. However, this also means that Cadence -is- playable by the general public.

But let's take Chrysalis as another example. She's also technically an alicorn, though by her very appearance, she's more like an insect than a regular alicorn. She's got a horn and wings, but she's the first appearance of a type of Flutter Pony we have seen as yet. She's like the Queen of a Bee Hive, and her 'subjects' are more akin to monsters than playable characters, and so we've decided that at this time they're not going to be appable. Chrysalis, like Cadence, doesn't seem to have much in the way of Celestia-caliber power, yet we've seen that one of her most significant strengths is the ability to feed off of love, and turn that into a powerful weapon she can use against Equestria's most powerful of ponies. Yet she was defeatable by that same power, when it was used appropriately, by Shining Armor and Cadence together. This is very similar to how the Elements of Harmony worked against Discord. This is why she's considered unplayable by the general public, but she -will- be allowable for special events, just as Discord and other powerful monsters will be.

For my take on Chrysalis's subjects, see this post lower in this thread.

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I hope this explanation helps folks understand where things are and where they're likely to go! If you have any questions, please by all means, feel free to post your comments and concerns!

[Ashton]

I'm not gonna lie, 99% of this I'm not happy with, but at the same time I know most of it (such as dissallowing uber-power chars like Discord) is required because of how many players would abuse them...

I do have one question (and if this needs to be asked elsewhere let me know): Where are we getting the idea that all the changelings are a hive-mind? Because they all attacked the city? All the guards are stading around doing the same thing in the beginning, by this logic the guards are a hive-mind too. I see them as just an army, unless I missed something there was no indication they were a hive-mind (I fully understand not allowing them since they're Always Chaotic Evil..., I'm just curious where this idea of a hive-mind came from?)

But I do have something I want to *agree* with for a change:

Cadence is, of course, an alicorn, and evidently another niece of Princess Celestia. This means that Princess Cadence is likely of the same strain of power, but the last episodes of Season Two have given us pretty much the extent of her power. She only seems to be able to influence the power of love between characters, and this is actually a little bit dangerous. Unlike Celestia, who's main role seems to be to come in and pretty much be the hard stop when things are getting out of hand (As infrequent as she's been seen to do it, passing it off to Twilight and her Friends), Cadence is of a much lower caliber of alicorn than her aunt. She's not even physically strong (As seen with the minecart scene) and her magic isn't particularily mind-blowingly powerful. Only with Shining Armor was she able to bolster his magic to allow him to cast the single spell that he was best suited for, but on her own she's otherwise pretty weak. This is unusual in that it has somewhat broken the hard and fast rule that all alicorns are super powerful, but that's to be expected as she doesn't even have the same kind of 'niche' to fill as Celestia and Luna, and as such, her powers wouldn't really have as much the same place.

I'm *so* glad others saw this! I've see so much "oh she only used 1 spell, she probably has hundreds she just did need that would nuke anyone that touched her!" um, no, if she did she wouldnt have been captured... or failing that would have escaped, given how easily she and twilight got out once they teamed up...

[Skye]

I do have one question (and if this needs to be asked elsewhere let me know): Where are we getting the idea that all the changelings are a hive-mind? Because they all attacked the city? All the guards are standing around doing the same thing in the beginning, by this logic the guards are a hive-mind too. I see them as just an army, unless I missed something there was no indication they were a hive-mind (I fully understand not allowing them since they're Always Chaotic Evil..., I'm just curious where this idea of a hive-mind came from?)

Well, the thing is that Chrysalis and her brood are insectlike in appearance. They have insect wings, their behavior is in swarms, they're more like insects than say, pegasi. They're just functionally different. It's not so much that they're a 'hive mind' so much that they exhibit hive-like behavior. They behave much in the manner of a swarm of bees, and I think part of the whole point was that they weren't -supposed- to have individuality. Even the reference of 'Queen' could be a similar reference to a 'Queen Bee'. There were just too many specific references that make it much easier to qualify them more as a hive than anything else. The Canterlot guards are known individuals, and they are known to speak, if not specficially to the known species, while the changelings were less distinguishable, although there were some with different kinds of armor. The problem with Changelings, is that they can be anyone, and it actually kind of presents the problem that it allows someone to create a character that can 'steal' a character from someone else simply by playing a changeling. I don't particularily think that's very cool to allow that loophole, so we'd rather not risk it.

[Ashton]

The problem with Changelings, is that they can be anyone, and it actually kind of presents the problem that it allows someone to create a character that can 'steal' a character from someone else simply by playing a changeling. I don't particularily think that's very cool to allow that loophole, so we'd rather not risk it.

Oh I'm not dissagreeing with you on banning them - too many trolls would abuse them on this site; it's a risk your rather not take and I can see that in light of what you've said about the members in your past 'state of equestria' posts, I'm just... uncertain... about the whole 'hive mind' bit, personally I think we just havn't seen enough of them to determine that particular trait. I do understand the logic behind it though now.

[Skye]

Oh I'm not dissagreeing with you on banning them - too many trolls would abuse them on this site; it's a risk your rather not take and I can see that in light of what you've said about the members in your past 'state of equestria' posts, I'm just... uncertain... about the whole 'hive mind' bit, personally I think we just havn't seen enough of them to determine that particular trait. I do understand the logic behind it though now.

Also, the goo that ponies kept getting stuck in, something that seems to me to be something very insectlike about it. Also, it is my theory that the Changelings were a sort of rehash of Flutter Ponies from G1. Just throwing that out there.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

we just havn't seen enough of them to determine that particular trait.

This is more or less correct.

[Apolline Allura]

When you say Chrysalis will only be appearing in events, does that mean that she's still unplayable, or can there be some sort of way to determine a possible RPer for her during that time? Variety is the spice of life, so it'd be great if there were some sort of way for a different person than staff to play a villain every event that would have to deal with them. And to ensure quality control, the RPer should have an idea of how the even would work, what they'd be doing and such. Sharing an outline with staff along with a temporary application or some such, as well as a statement regarding what they will and will not be doing in the RP, so that things don't get too hectic, while still posing as a viable threat.

[brianblackberry]

Airships and coal powered railroads are great as far as pony society go because they are "great equalizers" making more of the world accessible for more ponies. I would say they have telegraphs but that has been superseded by radio. I still feel many devices are magically powered instead of electrically powered, either through powered gems or unicorn magic (better yet both); it certainly explain rock farms.

[Skye]

When you say Chrysalis will only be appearing in events, does that mean that she's still unplayable, or can there be some sort of way to determine a possible RPer for her during that time? Variety is the spice of life, so it'd be great if there were some sort of way for a different person than staff to play a villain every event that would have to deal with them. And to ensure quality control, the RPer should have an idea of how the even would work, what they'd be doing and such. Sharing an outline with staff along with a temporary application or some such, as well as a statement regarding what they will and will not be doing in the RP, so that things don't get too hectic, while still posing as a viable threat.

She'll be playable in the same manner as other villains like Discord. We haven't worked out a system for how that will be done, but we will have an announcement and instructions when those characters become available for that specific purpose.

[flutterscotch]

[Skye]

Scotchie with the Non Sequitir.

[Manestream]

Added a small edit- I havnt been able to talk to my RP experts about this, but I havnt come to a final decision on how to incorporate changelings/the queen, and a few other things.

However, this decision will NOT BE A QUICK ONE, so everypony will have to be patient to see what happens in the future, and if we can allow them or not.

[Ashton]

Airships and coal powered railroads are great as far as pony society go because they are "great equalizers" making more of the world accessible for more ponies. I would say they have telegraphs but that has been superseded by radio. I still feel many devices are magically powered instead of electrically powered, either through powered gems or unicorn magic (better yet both); it certainly explain rock farms.

This just kinda bugs me... Why are we restricting everything to unicorns when we *know* there is electricity? I mean, sure it might be more expensive, but I'd think it would still be avalible in some form to everypony. I know in the RP ponies arent capable of jelousy (otherwise I'd say the Earth/Pegasai would be quite upset with the unicorns getting all the fun/useful toys like radios and such) But it really makes some of us feel like the game is slanted towards unicorns and there is little or no reason to make any other species because we'd be restricting ourselves severely...

[Skye]

This just kinda bugs me... Why are we restricting everything to unicorns when we *know* there is electricity? I mean, sure it might be more expensive, but I'd think it would still be avalible in some form to everypony. I know in the RP ponies arent capable of jelousy (otherwise I'd say the Earth/Pegasai would be quite upset with the unicorns getting all the fun/useful toys like radios and such) But it really makes some of us feel like the game is slanted towards unicorns and there is little or no reason to make any other species because we'd be restricting ourselves severely...

Mostly because we also do not want to cut unicorns out of the loop for one thing, but also that those who don't need to use them aren't generally going to either. As I said, it shouldn't be about the technology... it is rather an exception rather than the rule when a species steps a little outside their stereotypical 'role', but you can only be so flexible in that regard as we've discussed in other posts. But you have to keep in mind that in Equestria, each class of pony does have a rather broad but specific role that they play. As stated during the Heartswarming Eve episode, the Earth Ponies grow the food, the Pegasus ponies control the weather and the Unicorns bring up the Sun and Moon (And presumably other magic-related tasks that make life easier), and these roles are roles that they are all proud to fulfill. Unlike our species, where people tend to be generally disenfranchised pretty easily by their lots in life because of what they feel they deserve based on what everyone else has. But in Equestria, this concept does not exist.

As such, each species is happy to be where they are, and that's by design because it's intended to teach people to be less materialistic and more satisfied with what they can do and to be good at what they can do, and to take pride in it. Unlike ponies, who have that bit of utopia because they naturally do not have to deal with many of the problems we as human beings have created for ourselves, there are still points we can learn from them and we do not need to project our problems on them for no other purpose but to cause strife.

So much of what you seem to want seems more geared towards 'breaking down barriers' or addressing barriers that exist naturally. But I just want to mention that this is a conflict that does not actually exist in Equestria and shouldn't be introduced in the Roleplay because it's not something that the ponies would naturally be having to face, as it's a conflict that we as humans face, not the ponies.

[Ashton]

O_o what does that have to do with Unicorns getting telegraphs and radios that give them breaking news updated dynamically while Pegasai and Earth Ponies have to wait for the morning/evening paper to find out what happened that day?

[Skye]

O_o what does that have to do with Unicorns getting telegraphs and radios that give them breaking news updated dynamically while Pegasai and Earth Ponies have to wait for the morning/evening paper to find out what happened that day?

Because it would be something that the unicorns would most generally be the ones to invent it. Unicorns are generally the ones who focus more on the research and technology aspect of things. It's one of the things that they're better suited to and naturall]y would be expected to develop. HOWEVER, considering that it seems that either the mail is delivered in the old fashioned method because that's the way it's done, if not magically sent through dragons for more 'instant' communication, it is rather out of place and jumping the gun to assume that ponies would make or even need a telegraph and radio. It's just one of those technologies we have developed as a matter of course, but is something that ponies may not even need much less bother to develop. After all, why would a pony invent a fork if they don't actually have a need for utensils? Or, as a result, anything else that would be needed to develop that fork? You assume that the possibility of a technology in our world automatically means that it'd be something that ponies would have or even be attempting to bother researching, when this is where the problem actually is.

Let me stress this in hopes it heads off any further confusion. Don't focus on the technology of the world. If a roleplay calls for the use or invention of a technology to be in place, try to find other methods currently presently used in the show to accomplish the task. If you're spending a lot of time trying to work said technology into the RP simply for the purposes of having it, you're overthinking it. Scale it back.

[Ashton]

My only point is it provides jump-off points for RP, Technology *can* play an important role without being the focus. Things like a news bulletin on the radio announces something instantly instead of having to wait up to 24 hours for the next newspaper to cover the story. (which also means any plot has to start in the morning when everyone half-asleep instead of a more convenient (or inconvenient) time that would work better with the story.

I'm sorry, I apologize, I shouldn't be questioning the rules, I just keep running into this wall of "you can only use this idea if you are a unicorn. absolutely positively no other alternative whatsoever" I by a huge margin prefer pegasai, but I'm getting to the point I feel I shouldn't even bother with them because all the good plots go to unicorns.

I dont want to cause trouble, I dont want to make you repeat your answer over and over because it's a logic loop I have trouble breaking out of.

I'm just giving up and making a unicorn or two... I'm sorry for the trouble.

[Skye]

My only point is it provides jump-off points for RP, Technology *can* play an important role without being the focus. Things like a news bulletin on the radio announces something instantly instead of having to wait up to 24 hours for the next newspaper to cover the story. (which also means any plot has to start in the morning when everyone half-asleep instead of a more convenient (or inconvenient) time that would work better with the story.

I'm sorry, I apologize, I shouldn't be questioning the rules, I just keep running into this wall of "you can only use this idea if you are a unicorn. absolutely positively no other alternative whatsoever" I by a huge margin prefer pegasai, but I'm getting to the point I feel I shouldn't even bother with them because all the good plots go to unicorns.

I dont want to cause trouble, I dont want to make you repeat your answer over and over because it's a logic loop I have trouble breaking out of.

I'm just giving up and making a unicorn or two... I'm sorry for the trouble.

Well, think of it this way. Is what you're trying to do going to involve a unicorn one way or another? Is it something you're inventing that is supposed to bypass or otherwise cut out a functional member of society in order to enable its function? Is bringing it about something that is possible and within the character's present capabilities as it is? Keep in mind that Earth Ponies pick things up with their mouths, and so do Unicorns even though Unicorns can ALSO do things with Telekinesis, which effectively gives unicorns 'two hands' to an Earth Pony's one. But if in its fabrication, will require a unicorn anyway, you can generally assume it is something that a unicorn will either have a direct involvement in or will have invented themselves. There's no point in making an Earth Pony do it, because it's outside the scope of what an Earth Pony is. At that same token, an Earth Pony is, by nature, not going to have a hand in inventing any technology that's going to render themselves obsolete. That's just plainly against Earth Pony mentality.

At that same token, the same goes for Pegasi. If you're keeping it simple, you're keeping it on track. Things that have to do with the air? Pegasi. Things to do with growing food and other 'earthy' efforts? Earth Ponies. Have to do with research and magic? Unicorns all the way. Those species possess unique traits and abilities that are geared specifical;y towards those aspects of civilization, which is why those characters always appear doing them in the show. That's why we keep coming back to the loop, because I get the impression that kinda gets ignored or missed and I have to reiterate it to reinforce the concept, that's all.

[brianblackberry]

This just kinda bugs me... Why are we restricting everything to unicorns when we *know* there is electricity? I mean, sure it might be more expensive, but I'd think it would still be avalible in some form to everypony. I know in the RP ponies arent capable of jelousy (otherwise I'd say the Earth/Pegasai would be quite upset with the unicorns getting all the fun/useful toys like radios and such) But it really makes some of us feel like the game is slanted towards unicorns and there is little or no reason to make any other species because we'd be restricting ourselves severely...

Chill my man, I didn't say we were restricting everything to unicorns, I was just thinking of concepts. Don't read my ideas as sudden rules. Didn't I say the magical powered items could be by gems? Let me elaborate. Then gems with magical energy are grown inside rocks, but 'rock farmers' who move the rocks from location to location to follow the ley lines as they jump back and forth. I figure anyone can grow the gems in the rocks (any rock that has a little gem in it is all that is needed), and anyone can use them (think of them like rechargeable batteries); anyway its just an idea. Of course unicorns can charge with magic too.

I should also note that I never said no electricity.

[Skye]

Just as a note, to explain the 'hive' thing. I don't mean to say that Chrysalis's subjects have a hive mind and therefore no individuality whatsoever. The reason I mentioned hive is due to the many insect references that suggests they are more insectlike than ponylike, even if they have a general pony-like shape.

For example:

• They come in a huge swarm and act together and are of a much greater strength in numbers but individually more easily overcome
  
• Swarming Behavior (Many individuals acting virtually identically in concert)
  
• Their wings are very insect-like, as is much of the generally 'chintinous' nature of their bodies.
  
• Their eyes are insect-like, instead of containing the general appearance of regular pony eyes
  
• When they fly, they tend to adopt the general animated 'bee' stance when hovering
  
• Constant buzzing like insects, moreso when they're in greater numbres
  
• Crawling down the columns in the Elements chamber like insects
  
• The word Chrysalis refers to the transforming caterpillar within its cocoon, another insect reference
  
• Celestia was imprisoned within a Cocoon, appearing much as a chrysalis
  

These are the references for which I feel that 'hive' is more the correct term for Chrysalis and her subjects, but it does necessarily mean a 'hive mind' like bees or ants. Whether or not Chrysalis's subjects are enough of individuals remains to be seen, but based on what we've seen here it's not quite as likely to be a repeat occurrence. My main concern about their playability is the use of them to 'steal' other characters from other players which I know will cause an uproar on its own merit.

I hope this clarifies the 'hive' thing better.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

• The word Chrysalis refers to the transforming caterpillar within its cocoon, another insect reference (Even if it's not an official Hasbro name, or is it?)

Yes, it is official.

[Ashton]

Well, think of it this way. Is what you're trying to do going to involve a unicorn one way or another? Is it something you're inventing that is supposed to bypass or otherwise cut out a functional member of society in order to enable its function? Is bringing it about something that is possible and within the character's present capabilities as it is? Keep in mind that Earth Ponies pick things up with their mouths, and so do Unicorns even though Unicorns can ALSO do things with Telekinesis, which effectively gives unicorns 'two hands' to an Earth Pony's one. But if in its fabrication, will require a unicorn anyway, you can generally assume it is something that a unicorn will either have a direct involvement in or will have invented themselves. There's no point in making an Earth Pony do it, because it's outside the scope of what an Earth Pony is. At that same token, an Earth Pony is, by nature, not going to have a hand in inventing any technology that's going to render themselves obsolete. That's just plainly against Earth Pony mentality.

At that same token, the same goes for Pegasi. If you're keeping it simple, you're keeping it on track. Things that have to do with the air? Pegasi. Things to do with growing food and other 'earthy' efforts? Earth Ponies. Have to do with research and magic? Unicorns all the way. Those species possess unique traits and abilities that are geared specifical;y towards those aspects of civilization, which is why those characters always appear doing them in the show. That's why we keep coming back to the loop, because I get the impression that kinda gets ignored or missed and I have to reiterate it to reinforce the concept, that's all.

It's mainly throw-away plot devices, like pre-planned mini dues-ex-machinas. I.E. a non-unicorn character is captured and thrown in a cage, he pulls out some device that lets him get the keys from the table on the other side of the room, or as I mentioned before a news bulletin comes across the radio heralding a call to action for whatever reason (anything from a robbery to a disaster to a 1/2-off sale at the wagon shop) Or even things that don't so much put a pony 'out of work' in the plot as allow all the players to participate (such as a plot that involves traveling by airship, have an autopilot that can keep the airship prepped for escape after the adventure so one player doesn't spend the whole game sitting in the airship posting "I'm staring at the wall and wonder what adventure I'm missing out on" every Xth post) All of these are just "background noise" or "flavoring" as you'd say, but by design they fall under the "no you cant" rules even though they essentially are just simple plot coupons to get to the next part of the story. That's what bugs me.

[flutterscotch]

Scotchie with the Non Sequitir.

No, I am saying that given the mythology on the show, it's possible that part of Chrysalis' character design might be based on the Qilin ("Chinese Unicorn").

[Skye]

No, I am saying that given the mythology on the show, it's possible that part of Chrysalis' character design might be based on the Qilin ("Chinese Unicorn").

Initially Chrysalis's horn made me think that, but the rest of her kinda doesn't really follow the look. Matter of factly, it reminded me a lot of how insect armor is supposed to be all spikey and jagged edges, at least the way it tends to be done in that style of art for cartoons, which made it really hard to compare. Though my theory is that they're flutter pony reduxes.

[Skye]

It's mainly throw-away plot devices, like pre-planned mini dues-ex-machinas. I.E. a non-unicorn character is captured and thrown in a cage, he pulls out some device that lets him get the keys from the table on the other side of the room, or as I mentioned before a news bulletin comes across the radio heralding a call to action for whatever reason (anything from a robbery to a disaster to a 1/2-off sale at the wagon shop) Or even things that don't so much put a pony 'out of work' in the plot as allow all the players to participate (such as a plot that involves traveling by airship, have an autopilot that can keep the airship prepped for escape after the adventure so one player doesn't spend the whole game sitting in the airship posting "I'm staring at the wall and wonder what adventure I'm missing out on" every Xth post) All of these are just "background noise" or "flavoring" as you'd say, but by design they fall under the "no you cant" rules even though they essentially are just simple plot coupons to get to the next part of the story. That's what bugs me.

Well, there's nothing wrong with that as long as it's done within reason and it doesn't give people an excuse to go on speciesism rampages, of course. And simple devices, like getting some fishing line out of cartoon space like Pinkie, or random hat pins out of Rarity's mane for no reason has never been a problem. That's the rub, really. You have to think about some of the complexities of things too, for example an autopilot is really nothing more than a stick-jamming device. Ancient pirates used to put a rope around the spoke of a wheel to keep the rudder in place when they weren't actually standing at it, nothing more. If you can think of a simple and convenient way to accomplish the task, for example

'I have just the thing,' said Dimples, as she pulled a hairnet out of her saddle bag. Crusty tried to peek in, curious to what else she seemed to carry in there. She'd somehow managed to bring out a compass, a set of keys, an apple corer, a pencil, several feet of rope, an 8x10 glossy of Princess Celestia, a tennis racket, and any number of objects that surely wouldn't have all fit in at once, could they?

Because cartoon hammerspace can be a great and fun convenient plot device. And they're simple. There's always a simple solution to every problem, you don't always need a magic-powered levitation box, or an electric door corer, when a few feet of string and a good pair of hooves works just fine. If you're spending so much time trying to work said technology into a roleplay, you're focusing on the tech and not the roleplay, is what I'm saying. What you've tended to propose, is 'stuff for the sake of having stuff', at least that's been my general take in our discussions about it.