Introduction

Welcome to My Little Pony: Roleplaying Is Magic, Season Three Edition!

Welcome, fellow Equestrians, to the Season Three Edition of My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic! It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since the last edition, and we’d like to start off by saying thank you—to returning players and our modest community of fans for sticking with us and supporting us while we’ve been working to make this game the best it can be, and especially to new players for picking up this edition and giving it a chance. My Little Pony: Roleplaying is Magic (or “MLP:RiM”) is a labor of love for the Brony community, and the greatest reward our hard-working team could ask for is to know that it’s being enjoyed by others. It is the love and support of our fans and players which motivates us to continue to improve the quality of MLP:RiM and expand its scope. Without you, we wouldn’t be here, and MLP:RiM wouldn’t exist. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

New players may be wondering at this point, “Just what is MLP:RiM, anyway?” In a nutshell, it’s a fan-created pen and paper tabletop roleplaying game designed for one to six players and one Game Master (GM), and is based on the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon series created by Lauren Faust and owned by Hasbro, Inc. The MLP:RiM project is not officially affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by Hasbro; it is an entirely unofficial fan creation made by Bronies for our beloved Brony community. The goal of MLP:RiM is to create a roleplaying experience in line with the aesthetics, themes, and messages of the original cartoon. MLP:RiM strives toward relative mechanical simplicity conducive to younger or first-time gamers and/or those who prefer more freeform roleplaying, as well as depth and complexity of content to appeal to veteran gamers who look for a more customized and immersive gameplay experience. The system also facilitates easy play over forums and chat or messaging services, such as Skype, by not requiring peripheral materials such as grids, maps, or miniatures. Our guiding phrase is “Canon focused, fanon friendly,” meaning the core design of MLP:RiM stays as true to the original cartoon as possible, while leaving enough flexibility for game groups to make it their own. The Brony community has a robust and dedicated fanfiction community, ripe for game groups to use for story inspiration and content, and we hope to promote this creative energy through roleplaying.

A new edition of MLP:RiM has been created during and after each season of the cartoon to incorporate revised canon established by the series, as well as to improve and alter the design of the game in our mission to make it the best it can be. Currently, MLP:RiM is on its third edition, following the third season of the cartoon series; hence the current designation as the Season Three Edition (or “S3E”).

Returning players should be aware that S3E differs considerably from previous editions of MLP:RiM in several important ways. First, S3E uses entirely d6-powered mechanics; this is to appeal to a broader audience and grant greater accessibility to inexperienced players who may not have the more specialized dice (such as the d20) used in previous editions. Second, to facilitate greater game balance, S3E has a pre-set list of skills, whereas previous editions used a less-defined method of handling skills. Third, S3E incorporates a new core mechanic, Virtue, which consolidates and unifies many similar mechanics in previous editions and brings them all into a more thematically-focused approach. Fourth, S3E has more playable races than in previous editions, and a character’s race no longer impacts their core attributes—instead, it defines the unique set of abilities they have access to. Fifth, many aspects of gameplay have had their focus shifted from individual characters to the group of friends as a whole. The most notable example is that characters do not have individual pools of Experience Points—instead, the entire group shares and advances a single pool of XP and benefits from it equally. There are many other changes from previous editions, but suffice it to say that S3E should be approached by returning players as being an entirely new game, or a ‘spiritual successor’ to previous editions, but not a direct mechanical progression from them.

New and returning players alike are encouraged to read through this Introduction section to help familiarize themselves with, and prepare themselves for, the S3E system and rulebook. Those who want to jump right in, however, may be able to skim through quickly and jump right into the next sections and the main ‘meat’ of S3E. However you choose to proceed, we hope you thoroughly enjoy this game, and you have our most sincere thanks for giving it a shot!

How to Read This Book

This rulebook is organized into several sections to allow for easy reference navigation and to guide players intuitively through learning S3E’s mechanics and content. Sections are color-coded, making it easy to find what you are looking for when flipping through pages, and the current section is named along the side of each page as well, with additional visual cues for players who are colorblind. The best way to read through this rulebook is to do so straight through from start to finish; as with any RPG rulebook, referencing back and forth through sections can be done during gameplay by using the table of contents in the front of the book.

In addition to the linear structure of this book, the text is also peppered with sidebars to give tips and help explain or expand on a given topic, mechanic, or gameplay point. These sidebars are titled and themed, pairing their general content with one of the ‘mane six’ characters in the Friendship is Magic cartoon, as follows:

What You’ll Need to Play

S3E is relatively light in terms of the materials necessary for a group to play. Ideally, a group of players should be able to play an adventure (or “Episode”) with only a few materials found around most homes. To play an Episode of S3E, you’ll need the following things:

Some Friends! S3E is meant to be played with one to six players and one person serving as Game Master (or “GM”), who runs the Episode and is responsible for bringing it to life around the characters.

Six-Sided Dice. You will need at least one, preferably three or more, six-sided dice (or “d6’s”). These can be found in most board games, as their size and coloring do not matter when playing S3E.

Pencils (or Pens) and Paper. Like any pen and paper tabletop RPG, there is a certain amount of note-taking and bookkeeping involved in playing S3E; players will need to keep track of their characters’ amount of various types of points and attributes during gameplay.

Character Sheets. Any player who will be controlling a character (that is, everyone except the GM) will need a character sheet for their character. Character sheets are provided in the back of this book.

This Rulebook. Finally, your group will need a copy of this rulebook for reference and to guide the group through certain parts of gameplay, such as character creation, formulating spells, or resolving Skill Checks. While one copy of this rulebook is all that’s necessary, you may wish to have more at hand.

The My Little Pony: Roleplaying Is Magic, Season Three Edition Team

Finally, we’d like to take the last part of this Introduction section to give a little background and introduce the ten-person team behind MLP:RiM, and the Season Three Edition.

Tall Tail, aka James Weimer, is the project lead of MLP:RiM. As an aspiring game designer, he has been at the helm of the game’s core design and vision through each edition, and has sought to improve it each time as he develops his own craft in game design in pursuit of his dream.

Know-It-All, aka Samuel Hanson, is the co-founder of MLP:RiM, as well as the co-founder of Roan Arts, LLC, the independent development studio which the game is published and copyrighted under. He has helped to design and refine MLP:RiM’s core systems from rough ideas to working mechanics.

Artsy Heartsy, aka Daniel Oakley, is the web / layout artist, and technical lead, for MLP:RiM. He joined the team during the final days of the original Season One Edition, turning it from a basic Google Doc into a well-designed booklet, complete with artwork and, eventually, even a website to call home.

Pixel, aka Caytlin Vilbrandt, is the art direction lead and lead illustrator for MLP:RiM. She joined the team as part of the Season Two Edition, and created dozens of original illustrations to bring it to life. She has gone even further for S3E, in addition to drawing her webcomic, Walking on Broken Glass.

Sketchbook, aka Michael Simpson, is an aspiring animator, and illustrator for MLP:RiM, who also joined the team as part of the Season Two Edition. He created a trio of beautiful watercolor paintings for the S2E rulebook, and has since returned for S3E, creating and designing the S3E GM’s screen.

Emerald Dusk, aka Casey Hayes, is the lead content creator for MLP:RiM, joining the team for the Season Three Edition. Under his direction, S3E has been fleshed out with all kinds of valuable content, including spells, creatures, characters, and pre-made Episodes ready to be played right out of the box.

Serious Business, aka Dominik Makowski, is a content creator for MLP:RiM, also joining the team for the Season Three Edition. Originally a player of S2E, he was brought on-board to assist in converting canon from the original cartoon into three seasons’ worth of usable content for S3E.

Kindle Bright, aka Shannon McMurtry, is the community manager and an illustrator for MLP:RiM. She joined the team for the Season Three Edition to help manage the increased workload of S3E’s expanded scope and depth, and has since become vital in interacting with the player community.

Blue Bolt, aka SilentMatten (Matthew Hollatz), is the vector artist for MLP:RiM, joining the team for the Season Three Edition. His exceptional vector work is well-known on DeviantArt, which led to his recruitment to create vector illustrations to be used to supplement S3E’s increased amount of content.

Silver Lining, aka Alan (Alex) Baker, is the editor for MLP:RiM, joining the team late in the Season Three Edition development cycle. Originally a playtester for S3E, he was recruited to lend his experience, expertise, and attention to detail to ensure that the S3E rulebook is far better than previous editions.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback on MLP:RiM, we’d love to hear from you! Just send us an email at TallTailTellsTales@gmail.com! In addition, if you’d like to join our growing community of players, or just find out more about the project, head over to our website at www.MLPRiM.com!

Who Is Best Pony?

Our team’s answers to the age-old, all-important question. Who’s right, and who’s foal-ish? You decide!

Tall Tail: Cross my heart and hope to fly, my Best Pony’s Pinkie Pie.

Know-It-All: AppleJack's Best Pony; she's honest and dedicated to doing the right thing. Where others get by on special powers, Applejack uses good old-fashioned willpower and hard work to get things done.

Artsy Heartsy: Pinkie Pie and Twilight tie for me. Pinkie’s bright, glowing outlook on all things in life, as well as Twilight’s love of helping her friends, both click pretty well with me.

Pixel: Best Pony is Sweetie Belle. She's warm, enthusiastic, overwrought, and a totally different character from her sister, which I find to be a… rarity. (Badumtssh.)

Sketchbook: Fluttershy's definitely Best Pony (as well as adorable). Even though she's timid most of the time, she can show some serious backbone when she needs to! She ‘kills with kindness,’ and I think that that’s the best way to be.

Emerald Dusk: I, for one, welcome our new magical overlord, Princess Twilight. Books and science are one thing, but I am happy for any given reason to use the word "crepuscular" in conversation, and Twilight delivers.

Serious Business: There's one pink maniac that intrigues me most. The one that, while happy, is a great party host; alone, when cotton candy melts to pink waterfalls, starts talking to turnip buckets in her own four walls. And let me add that her darker side, is what helped me finally decide.

Kindle Bright: As far as Best Pony goes I have quite a few favorites, but I choose Pinkie Pie because she and I share the same love of laughter and we both endlessly enjoy making others laugh. She shows that so long as you choose to laugh in the face of your fears, nothing can stop you, and that wisdom can be found in silliness.

Blue Bolt: Rarity is Best Pony because she is the most generous and gorgeous pony of them all. Although looks might not make the mare, the way her mane is styled shows she takes the time to look her best.

Silver Lining: Fluttershy may be afraid of a great many things, but she's certainly not afraid to be herself, accept her limitations, and stick to what her heart tells her, even if other pegasi might make fun of her for it. Furthermore, despite the misguided notions of others in the MLP:RiM family, I'm sure she'd let her friends have the title of 'Best Pony' if it made them happy, and that's what makes her Best Pony.