@Applelight: I wouldn't say so much that they live underground, but they would retain the basic notoriety for being tough, stout, and occasionally grumpy. That and their accustomed to strength-based physical labor.

@Perpetual: Well, they still had the big knees back then, didn't they?

I really like this. Especially as I see E Ps as hobbit like, so the two together is cute.

The Nordsvensk brukshäst is a horse that can be easily mistaken for a pony, because of its general body shape and size. It is descended from the same stock of Tarpan that the Gotland Russ (Gotland Pony) is from.

You can hardly find a horse breed and a pony breed that are more closely related while still being demonstrably a Horse breed and a Pony breed.

Well, actually, Gotland Ponies can be considered horses if you go by the skull shape/proportions, but if you go by the legs and hooves, it's a pony.

In fact, when people have attempted to recreate the old Tarpan by selective breeding, the Gotland is almost always used.

So, in this show, if there was a pony that was only ambiguously a pony and only ambiguously a horse, something of both; how would that work? How would it be drawn? Would it be considered a new breed (Pegasi, Unicorns, Earthponies, Seaponies, Gotland?)?

edited 21st Feb '13 11:15:05 AM by ATC

Well, Celestia's a good indicator of that sort of thing. Wings and horn aside, her proportions are far more horse-like than normal ponies, but when compared to the Saddle Arabians, you can definitely tell that she's still a pony.

she is, in fact, one of the most adorable ponies ever.

It's a common trait of most Demihumans. Humans get the short end of the stick with regard to racial abillities. They're also pretty much the only race that doesn't have Low Light Vision (and a lot of races get Darkvision). Of course, their Bonus Feat and bonus skillpoints still make humans easily one of the best races in D&D 3.5. Boring, but Practical I suppose.

So what is the difference between horses and ponies? I thought they were just kind of on the same continuum, and that ponies were just small horses.

That's pretty much the case in real life, but in the show they might define the terms differently.

Horses are overgrown ponies.

@Storyyeller: I may prefer playing non-humans, but that's because I dislike Boring, but Practical and I'm a human in real life.

A human's bonus feat is a huge advantage and the extra skill points are also useful. And the fact that they aren't below average in any stat means that they can easily be good at anything. There's a reason they're the dominant land race in most D&D settings. (Of course, as one essay mentions, sahaugin are even more of a dominant race, but they spend too much time in the sea to properly compete with humans. If humans did try competing with them, it would not be pretty. At least they have a level adjustment to slow them down though.)

There's also the fact that, if you're minmaxing, non-human races can excel at certain classes. For example, no sure about 3.5 but I know in Pathfinder a Gnome would make an excellent bard - high charisma, plus racial skills for illusions, which a bard basically excels in anyways. A human does have a bit more general customization, though. I mean, you COULD make a fighter out of a gnome, but it'd be... interesting.

Assuming Gnomes don't take DEX penalties (which I don't think they do), Weapon Finesse and the like can shore up the STR issues by making the stat much less relevant. It's certainly doable so long as you don't want to wield huge weapons.

Typically humans are good at every class while other races are onoy good at certain classes. Th stat boosts are usually a good indicater for non-humans.Casters especially want their casting stat as high as possible of course. So in 3.5 (but not in Pathfinder) humans wouldn't be quite as good at those as the races with bonuses in those stats.

EDIT:No DEX penalty for gnomes. It's a strength penalty. Yeah. It can be fun to play an odd race-class combo sometimes. I recently decided that I want to play a gnome barbarian in response to the statement that people would only ever play a gnome if they wanted to be a bard.

edited 21st Feb '13 12:39:42 PM by Sereg

Aw, so you mean my gnome can't wield a Bastard Sword?

Well... huh. I fell into that mindset rather easily, did't I? Hm.

But yeah, it's fun if only just for the oddity of it. I made a Dwarf Bard in Neverwinter Nights two, when I had to play it for a course in school(Had to build something in the engine, needed to get a feel for the mechanics), and that was fun. I'm a fan of builds that either open you to, or force you into, a lot of creativity.

edited 21st Feb '13 12:41:57 PM by kegisak

Sereg: That was even more important in AD&D where stat increases were much, much harder to come by.

@Kegi: A gnome can't wield a normal sized bastard sword without Monkey Grip (which is a poor feat anyway) but they can wield a smaller than normal bastard sword. Still, it might be more optimal to go the two-weapon fighting route for a low strength character.

EDIT:Tell me about it! I remember playing AD&D. The loss of the stat-cieling was one of the things I considered an improvement in 3rd ed.

edited 21st Feb '13 12:44:25 PM by Sereg

That... was mostly a joke, but okay.

But yeah, if I WERE to make a Gnome Fighter I'd probably go a dual-weidling route - shortwords or something - and go in with the battlecry of "AIM FOR THE KNEES"

edited 21st Feb '13 12:44:21 PM by kegisak

I picked up the Twilight comic. Had a good laugh at the cover showing her large trunk of fanfiction.

Because she totally would.

Er...love the writing, but the art inside is looking kinda Ken Penders there >_>

edited 21st Feb '13 12:59:55 PM by Pykrete

Yeah, it seems the general consensus on the Twilight Sparkle spotlight is "Good story, not as good art". It was done by the guy who created Love And Capes. Maybe he's not used to drawing ponies?

Dat amazingly awkward dinner.

Twilight singing Call Me Maybe. Woooooow.

edited 21st Feb '13 1:17:09 PM by Pykrete

Twilight likes catchy pop music, who knew? Or maybe she listens to it for the meme...

Wait, what? I want to see this!

Also, anybody got a link to that picture of the trunk with the fanfiction?

edited 21st Feb '13 1:24:00 PM by CDRW

This cover.

Also Twi utterly owned the ending.

I looked up a few bits of Love and Capes. The artist really isn't that bad, even for unusual body shapes. This seems unusually rushed or...something.

edited 21st Feb '13 1:27:45 PM by Pykrete

That's pretty awesome. I like the look on Twi's face too.