The Magic of Friendship

Equestria is a magical land of adventure, opportunity, wonder, and friendship; but it is also a land of action, danger, old mysteries to unravel, and new challenges to overcome. From vanquishing frightening beasts from the Everfree Forest to learning lessons about the magic of friendship, as a player, you will guide your character through any number of situations and rely on yourself and your friends to succeed.

Perhaps your character maintains a dual identity as a mysterious masked hero, helping ponies before vanishing back into their mild-mannered alter-ego. Maybe your character is a talented artist, or magician, or athlete, striving to become the best at what they do. Or your character might simply be a number one assistant or another hard-working citizen of Equestria, making their way in the world as best they can—but destined for greatness.

Whatever their persona, goals, ambitions, or talents, nopony goes through life entirely alone. Even the most talented pony in Equestria benefits from having friends by their side, and a group of friends can accomplish what nopony can on their own. In My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic, friendship means more than just a few companions for an adventure; it is a powerful force worth fighting for.

You're All My Very Best Friends!

In My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic, there are three main ‘roles’ for the group of friends sitting around the gaming table to fill: Players, Characters, and the Game Master. It’s important to understand what these roles represent, and how they fit together. This section of the book deals with players and their characters, going in-depth into the concepts and mechanics of roleplaying with My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic.

Players are the driving force behind the action and adventure of the game, and it is the duty of the players to be creative and expressive in moving the story forward. At their core, players are responsible for entertaining themselves and each other, and ultimately, they are the ones with the power to steer the game in whatever direction they wish. This means that (despite appearances to the contrary) players have the most responsibility among the game group to ensure that the game they are playing is a fun, engaging, and rewarding experience.

Characters are the method of driving the story forward and of providing players with a vessel and a mechanism for making things interesting and fun. If the players are the ‘directors’ of a game of My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic, then the characters are the ‘actors;’ they provide the flavor and flair which give the game a personal feel.

The Game Master (or ‘GM’) is the writer, assistant, and supervisor for the game, and is responsible for fleshing out the world around the characters. While the players control only their characters, the GM controls everything else—but they are not the driving force behind the game, they merely assist the players in various ways to create a good story. Where the players have the most conceptual responsibility (that is, to ensure the quality of the game), the GM has the most logistical responsibility; it is the GM’s job to ensure that the game progresses smoothly and that the players have the situations, resources, and challenges they need to make the game fun.

She's Just Being Pinkie Pie

Many beginner roleplayers (and some experienced ones) have a tendency to fall into one of a few behaviors which can negatively effect the gameplay experience. It is important to know these behaviors so that they can be avoided, and help ensure that the group roleplaying is rich and enjoyable for everyone. The first and most prevalent of these behaviors is called ‘Meta-Gaming.’

Meta-Gaming is the use of information which a player knows but that their character would not, in deciding upon the actions of that character. An example of meta-gaming would be for a player who saw in their GM’s notes that a griffon is coming to town, to have their character be looking for a griffon or telling ponies that a griffon is coming to town. The reason this is meta-gaming is that, while the player has seen the GM’s notes, their character has no way of knowing about a griffon coming to town.

Meta-Gaming is one of the most fundamentally difficult behaviors to avoid, as it seems to be self-contradictory; a player controlling a character not using knowledge that player has, often seems strange to players who engage in meta-gaming. The reason it should be avoided is for the sake of immersion; pen and paper roleplaying is at its best when the players feel as if they are their characters, instead of simply controlling them. In essence, meta-gaming is like reading the ending of a book first; it ruins the fun of reading the story. In the case of the griffon example above, it is more ‘immersive’ and fun for everyone at the table if the player has their character act as if they do not know about the griffon coming to town, and thus act as surprised as everyone else.

You've Gotta Share, You've Gotta Care!

Another behavior to avoid is called ‘Main Character Syndrome.’ Main Character Syndrome is when a player acts as if their character is the most ‘special’ or ‘unique’ character, disregarding the importance of the characters other players are playing. Most often, this manifests itself as unnecessarily quirky or disruptive behaviors for the character, which serve to draw attention and make the game more fun for the player controlling the character, but not for the other players in the game.

While a character is always very personal to their player, it is important not to ‘hog the spotlight,’ so to speak, and to try to use your character (and sometimes step back from the action) to make the roleplaying experience fun for everyone. Often, these kinds of character ‘quirks’ seem to be a fun idea, but end up being a disruptive element or an unnecessary ‘speed bump’ to the flow of the game.

An example of main character syndrome would be for a character to be afraid of sunlight; while this might seem like an interesting and fun quirk in theory, in practice it simply means that every time the other characters want to do something during the day, they have to first deal with the fear—instead of focusing on the more important challenges at hand. Rather than adding to the fun and flavor of the game, it becomes a tedious and unnecessary barrier to overcome before the game group can get on with having fun.

If I Can't Find a Friendship Problem…

It is not uncommon for a game session to hit a point where the action has slowed down. Usually, this happens when the players didn’t pick up on a clue the GM gave them, or when the players are trying to do things one way, and the GM can’t or won’t tell them that they are focusing on the wrong thing, or that what they are trying to do won’t work. Whatever the cause, this slowdown is no one’s fault specifically, and can be easy handled if the players and GM cooperate.

In these lulls in the action (or ‘bottleneck scenes’) it is important for a player to find something for their character to do, and not just get stuck—as that leads to boredom. If a door won’t open, look for a secret switch, or a key. If a monster won’t go away, look around for an escape route. If nothing is going on, backtrack to see if there is something you missed. Often, this provides the GM with a way to let the action move forward, by improvising a potential solution or ‘work-around’ for the situation at hand.

…I'll Make a Friendship Problem!

While it is important to keep the action moving, it is also important to be constructive when seeking methods of doing so, instead of starting trouble for the sake of entertainment. Being disruptive or creating a problem in order to have something to do is yet another behavior to avoid, which is called ‘Starting Drama.’

An example of starting drama would be for a character who, whereupon finding a barn door locked, decides to burn down the barn instead of look for another way in—or a character who doesn’t have anything to do and who starts a fight to stir up some action. Often, a GM will work with a player to help them find a solution to a problem or find something to do, but it is important to leave options open. If a character sets fire to a barn, as in the example above, it will force events down a specific track, instead of giving the players and the GM some ‘breathing room’ to work out more constructive solutions.

Stop it, Discord; You’re Not Playing Fair

It is the role of a GM to provide challenges for the players and their characters, and from time to time, it is not uncommon for players to feel as though the GM is being unfair in the difficulty of a challenge. It is natural for players and GM’s to ‘lock horns’ over things from time to time, but it is also important that ultimately, they trust each other. When a player decides that the GM is the ‘enemy,’ they are falling into another behavior to avoid, called ‘Beating The GM.’

An example of beating the GM would be for a player to try to have their character go against the guidance of the GM, and try to do everything they can to use rules and technicalities to limit what the GM is able to do. The reason this is a behavior to avoid is two-fold. First, a GM’s enjoyment of the game is dependent on the players succeeding in their adventure, but also in truly earning their success and overcoming challenges; a good GM is not too lenient, not too strict, but fair. After all, the GM wants to have fun just as much as the rest of the game group.

Second, trying to limit the GM’s abilities only leads to less overall fun for the group. While it seems like a good idea to make sure the GM isn’t ‘cheating,’ it also prevents the GM from ‘cheating’ to help the group when they’re stuck, or ‘cheating’ to prevent an unlucky turn of events from ending the adventure unfairly. A GM needs a certain amount of leeway to improvise and react to the story as it unfolds, so that the game remains fun for the whole group. In short, the GM is not the enemy, but rather a friend and assistant to the players—whose job includes presenting challenges and hurdles to overcome.

You Simply Must Stop Reading Those Dusty Old Books

Unlike many pen and paper game systems, My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic is not designed to feature a comprehensive system of rules, tables, and equations which cover every possible action and ensure complete balance. Instead, it focuses on the narrative, storytelling elements of roleplaying, and assumes that players and their GM will play fair and work together to create a good story.

There are many ways in which this system could be abused to accumulate power for an individual character, and in fact it was designed with that kind of flexibility in order to encompass many concepts and allow the players and the GM to use their imagination as much as possible. Players seeking to make characters who are ‘powerful,’ or who seek to ‘win’ a pen and paper roleplaying game are advised to find a different game to play. Players seeking to use their imagination to create a fun story for everyone at the game table, however, are encouraged to keep reading.

Make Some Friends!

Now that some core concepts have been discussed, and some disruptive behaviors have been outlined to be avoided, the next section will cover character creation utilizing the game mechanics themselves. Character creation is best done (and is a lot of fun) when done as a group, so gather your game group together, pass out character sheets, and make some friends!