Rules The Future of Equestria

[flutterscotch]

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.

But the FLUTTERPONIES were not insects. They were more like fairies in the Tinkerbell sense.

Are you thinking of the windywing/summerwing ponies?

(and no, I am not trying to be a jerk, I am standing up for the defamation of flutterponies EVERYWHERE!)

[Ashton]

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.

Correction, I propose "Stuff for the sake of solving plot twists that would otherwise be harder or impossible" i.e. "plot proofing with pre-planned Dues-Ex Machinas" Most of what I request are Chekov's Guns, everyone one of them will be used at some point in a plot for some possibly obscure but important purpose. Sometimes it just feels contrived to abuse hammerspace with items that shouldn't be there, I try to make a point of specifically mentioning an item that I think will later be used if it's put there. A lot of things I come up with are multi-purpose, yes, that means they fill multiple plotholes

[IceStorm]

Correction, I propose "Stuff for the sake of solving plot twists that would otherwise be harder or impossible" i.e. "plot proofing with pre-planned Dues-Ex Machinas" Most of what I request are Chekov's Guns, everyone one of them will be used at some point in a plot for some possibly obscure but important purpose. Sometimes it just feels contrived to abuse hammerspace with items that shouldn't be there, I try to make a point of specifically mentioning an item that I think will later be used if it's put there. A lot of things I come up with are multi-purpose, yes, that means they fill multiple plotholes

Um... The most i've ever seen weapon wise in MLP is a spear and a sword, (and in the case of pinkie pie, a party cannon) we don't even know if guns actually exist in Equestria.

But from what I've read, I can see the points from both sides here. For the most part, I doubt that I would ever be getting into any of the technology that they have in Equestria short of Train rides between Canterlot and Ponyville for my OC. While I realize most people on this site have more than one OC, for someone like me, most of the technology in the episodes don't really apply so I'd never even used them, and my OC is a unicorn.

That being said, my character is one OC of many, and I could easily see how other ponies could make use of some technologies. I haven't been through a lot of OCs, but I'm sure they are out there. Electricity, is pretty much a given that it exists, and has so since the first season, (The slumber party where Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity get caught in the storm and mid-way through the power 'does' actually go out.) Plus in Luna Eclipsed mark 2:25, there were strands of lights that were streaming across the sky from tent to tent. So I do agree that electricity should be allowed into the Mane RP as we've seen multiple occasions of where it exists in the show.

[Tempest Rime]

Um... The most i've ever seen weapon wise in MLP is a spear and a sword, (and in the case of pinkie pie, a party cannon) we don't even know if guns actually exist in Equestria.

Chekhov's Gun is a type of plot device, not a literal gun.

[Skye]

But the FLUTTERPONIES were not insects. They were more like fairies in the Tinkerbell sense.

Are you thinking of the windywing/summerwing ponies?

(and no, I am not trying to be a jerk, I am standing up for the defamation of flutterponies EVERYWHERE!)

Well, Flutter Ponies were the only ones I remember with insect wings from G1, and the changelings weren't quite a perfect representation, if anything they would have been an adaptation. Unless someone can actually find the critter they're really based off of from mythology, and I haven't done any research recently on it.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I have a few thoughts on this matter. I've been hesitant to bring them up because I realize the Mane RP is not my place, but I often wonder what it would be like if it were.

• There are lots of different ways to be a girl. You can be sweet and shy, or bold and physical. You can be silly and friendly, or reserved and studious. You can be strong and hard working, or artistic and beautiful. This show is wonderfully free of “token girl” syndrome, so there is no pressure to shove all the ideals of what we want our daughters to be into one package. There is a diversity of personalities, ambitions, talents, strengths and even flaws in our characters–it’s not an army of cookie-cutter nice-girls or cookie-cutter beauty queens like you see in most shows for girls.

• Find out what makes you you. Follow your passions and ambitions, not what others expect of you. For instance, if you like sports don’t let someone’s suggestion that that is unfeminine stop you from doing what you love. Be considerate of others’ feelings, but not at the expense of your own goals and dreams.

• You can be friends with people who are vastly different from you. And even though all friendships have their share of disagreements and moments when you don’t get along, that does not mean that your friendship has to end.

• Cartoons for girls don’t have to be a puddle of smooshy, cutesy-wootsy, goody-two-shoeness. Girls like stories with real conflict; girls are smart enough to understand complex plots; girls aren’t as easily frightened as everyone seems to think. Girls are complex human beings, and they can be brave, strong, kind and independent–but they can also be uncertain, awkward, silly, arrogant or stubborn. They shouldn’t have to succumb to pressure to be perfect.

- Lauren Faust

• I feel that a lot of excellent potential is being let slip by pigeonholing characters into racial standards. I'd like to think that a unicorn could be a chef or an apple cider provider, even though that is related to food and plants. I'd like to think that an earth pony could be a construction worker even though they do not have telekinesis. I'd like to think that a pegasi might want to live on the ground and care for animals. By saying that a character cannot and should not work around their limitations, it is segregating potential interactions between characters. Imagine what Sonic Rainboom would have been like if none of the ground stuck ponies even tried get into Cloudsdale.

• Players are not their Characters. You can have players working together to create an enjoyable story even when it involves characters that do not get along. You don't need to take it personally. It is ok to have complex plots, emotions and problems.

But its your barbecue, you can do whatever you want.

[Skye]

hi hi

I have a few thoughts on this matter. I've been hesitant to bring them up because I realize the Mane RP is not my place, but I often wonder what it would be like if it were.

- Lauren Faust

• I feel that a lot of excellent potential is being let slip by pigeonholing characters into racial standards. I'd like to think that a unicorn could be a chef or an apple cider provider, even though that is related to food and plants. I'd like to think that an earth pony could be a construction worker even though they do not have telekinesis. I'd like to think that a pegasi might want to live on the ground and care for animals. By saying that a character cannot and should not work around their limitations, it is segregating potential interactions between characters. Imagine what Sonic Rainboom would have been like if none of the ground stuck ponies even tried get into Cloudsdale.

• Players are not their Characters. You can have players working together to create an enjoyable story even when it involves characters that do not get along. You don't need to take it personally. It is ok to have complex plots, emotions and problems.

But its your barbecue, you can do whatever you want.

See, here's the thing, though. We're not pigeonholing characters into racial standards. What I'm talking about here, is people who are trying to find ways to render the racial standards irrelevant by making other species do what any of the other species do. There is absolutely nothing at all that says a Unicorn can't be a farmer, or an Earth Pony can't get into Cloudesdale to walk around (With the help of a unicorn of course). What I am saying here is that a character cannot and should not attempt to spend the significant amount of time being wasted trying to make an Earth Pony fly like a Pegasus, or a Pegasus cast spells like a unicorn. These racial archetypes are there for a -reason-, and if you want a character that can do such tasks, play that species.

Characters should and can work around their limitations, but they should be doing it in such a way that it makes sense and falls within the limits of reasonability. I'd like to be a super hero, but that doesn't magically grant me the ability to fly. We can't even do that in OUR world without some extremely hefty technological capability and even then it's still dodgy at best.

As for the last part, absolutely. Players are not their characters. Therefore, people also need to realize that the characters are not necessarily their players. Just because someone in the real world has lost a limb and therefore has to learn to negotiate the world without the use of that limb, does not mean that any character that they play also subsequently has to face the same limitations. This is supposed to be a fantasy, but even fantasies have rules that make sense. Somewhere along the line, individuals are going to find those boundaries and end up rubbing against them for one reason or another, but the solution is not to just simply expand the boundaries because otherwise, why bother having them in the first place? The answer is simple, if you find yourself up against a boundary, find a way to work with it, or try something else. Pushing against the boundary in hopes that you can make it budge or break is just silly, because we can't just do it for you, we have to do it for everyone and sooner or later, it comes down to the point of why bothering have rules at all.

The key thing here is this: Mane RP has strict rules that are there for a reason. Some of them we're going to rework as soon as we get a chance to find and fix things that have been creeping or are unnecessary (This is a lot of work, believe me). If you don't like the rules, then try what you want to do in the Crossover or FFA areas. That's what they're there for. I find that a great deal of wasted resistance is caused because of some strange prejudice against using Crossover or FFA, and so they want to get their thoughts and ideas into Mane RP. Rather than fight on the Mane RP rules, you can have your cake and eat it too in Crossover. I personally would LOVE to see the Crossover and FFA areas get more action, because that's a great way to get new ideas. Mane RP has both its benefits and drawbacks, and part of why it's so difficult to keep Mane RP sane is because we don't have as much to work with from Hasbro as we'd like.

[brianblackberry]

hi hi

I have a few thoughts on this matter. I've been hesitant to bring them up because I realize the Mane RP is not my place, but I often wonder what it would be like if it were.

• I feel that a lot of excellent potential is being let slip by pigeonholing characters into racial standards. I'd like to think that a unicorn could be a chef or an apple cider provider, even though that is related to food and plants. I'd like to think that an earth pony could be a construction worker even though they do not have telekinesis. I'd like to think that a pegasi might want to live on the ground and care for animals. By saying that a character cannot and should not work around their limitations, it is segregating potential interactions between characters. Imagine what Sonic Rainboom would have been like if none of the ground stuck ponies even tried get into Cloudsdale.

• Players are not their Characters. You can have players working together to create an enjoyable story even when it involves characters that do not get along. You don't need to take it personally. It is ok to have complex plots, emotions and problems.

But its your barbecue, you can do whatever you want.

I basically agree with what you say. I have to point out that when we go through applications, we never say no to a unicorn being a farmer, gardener, solider or any other job one could stereotype as "earth pony". Same with earth ponies, they can be scholars, scientists, smithers, etc. anything that sounds like it be easier with magic (they just can't use magical spells like unicorns can with their horns). One doesn't have to be a pegasus to be involved in exploration, astronomy, or even meteorology. Just that only pegasai can naturally fly and have that innate ability to control Equestrian weather. Almost any job is open to any pony, we just can't break the basic rules of the show. Take Ginger Mint, even though she is earth nothing stopped you from making her have almost any job, but no matter what the job was, she could never fly under her own power (but there are other means of being in the air), or conjure magical spells (her earth pony magic is inherent), that is all.

BTW she is a great mane RP quality character, I couldn't see why she wouldn't fit in at all.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Skye, I know my ideas are not particularly welcome and I'm sorry for being such a pest about it every time it comes up, but you know what they say, "only as high as I reach can I grow..." and all that. Not trying to rock the boat, just testing the waters really. I'm not sure if you quite realize the appeal of a meta-narrative like the Mane RP has. You've got a whole world where people can feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves and feel like they've made a difference, and that is no small feat.

(...only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be." - Karen Ravn)

[Skye]

hi hi

Skye, I know my ideas are not particularly welcome and I'm sorry for being such a pest about it every time it comes up, but you know what they say, "only as high as I reach can I grow..." and all that. Not trying to rock the boat, just testing the waters really. I'm not sure if you quite realize the appeal of a meta-narrative like the Mane RP has. You've got a whole world where people can feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves and feel like they've made a difference, and that is no small feat.

(...only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be." - Karen Ravn)

It's not that your ideas are unwelcome. Indeed, I left this topic open for comments on purpose precisely because I wanted to encourage discussion on the items at hand. What I didn't expect is the focus on negativity or on the one specific part. I rather feel like my efforts were pretty much completely ignored and wasted in favor of one very specific item at the expense of all else. There was a great deal of content in that post that was pretty relevant. It is precisely that I do understand what appeal as a meta-narrative that the Mane RP has, the issue is that there are a massive number of different ways that people can explore that creatively with the use of their own imaginations. But much of what I have seen tends to focus on solely what has appeared in the show. I would like to see more people, for example, inventing appealing and compelling adversity in the spirit of conflict without delving too deep into the realm of Mary-Sue. Or pushing the rules we've tried to establish to keep things fair, and it's that part that worries me the most.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Perhaps a less adversarial approach to people will produce better results? Its fair enough to consider what various things are capable of doing in an objective sense, but perhaps it is just as important to ask people "how do you intend to use this thing that you want, and how will it make the game more enjoyable for others?" There's lots of different ways to use any one tool, and I suspect that even with things that are allowed, people will find ways to write self-absorbed narratives. If filler anime has taught me anything, it is that its easy to get carried away with power levels at the expense of the story. A character with 10.6 wing power can be just as good as one with 2.3, and vise versa, though they are not the same thing.

Edit: I think people are here for a lot of different reasons. Discussion, fun, friends, but for the most part, people are here because of the show. The more removed the RP becomes from the show, which is continuously adding new elements and themes, the more dissatisfaction I think you'll end up seeing. On top of that, everyone has their own take on the source material as well.

How do you keep things organized when people can't agree on a single truth? You can clamp down and restrict things that don't fit into one particular interpretation or another, but you could also facilitate a way for different interpretations to get along together without stepping on each other's hooves. And really, you've already got the setup to do it. The mane RP has a plethora of different locales that could each host their own theme. Just because serious business goes down in Stalliongrad or in the Outlands, doesn't mean that Ponyville has to stop being the tranquil heart of a peaceful nation.