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RobD2003 — PND: The Boys

Published: 2013-02-01 03:39:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 21472; Favourites: 487; Downloads: 363
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Description PND: Where I try to translate characters from the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" into D&D style adventurers.
Since I've done the Mane Six and an alternate party of 'background' characters, I figured it was worthwhile to include some of the more prominent male characters: Big Macintosh (Applejack's brother), Shining Armor (Twilight Sparkle's brother), and Time Turner (another 'background character; also known as Doctor Whooves (or just "The Doctor")).
Aside from Snips, Snails, and other child characters, who would be too young to adventure, I gave some thought to including a few other male characters that you see scattered throughout the show, particularly Hoity Toity and Soarin. In the end, I decided Hoity Toity would work better as an NPC contact, and Soarin is already affiliated with the Wonderbolts....which might be a picture all on its own somewhere down the line.

So, to start with: Big Macintosh.
Obviously, he'd need a class that emphasized his high strength and constituion; the intuitive choice would be barbarian (though the class' 'rage feature' somewhat contradicts with his normally placid personality). To work around that, I'd just say that when Big Mac get's enraged, it's the 'cold' kind. I stuck him with a quarter staff because it's A)more multipurpose than a sword, and B) a traditionally more 'non-lethal' weapon (in perception anyway; anyone who's seen "ultimate Warrior' on SpikeTV knows that sticks and clubs can be brutal).
Alternatives to the barbarian class might be Cleric or Druid; not because of any particularly ability of his in the show (no magic powers for earth ponies), but stemming more from his personality. Besides Strength and Constitution, I'd say his next highest stat would be Wisdom.

Shining Armor: as the classic knight (in shining armor, no less), there are a couple of options for SA, the simplest and most immediately available (that is, Core) option being a straight fighter. There's also the Knight class, which I was never all that excited over, plus a few prestige classes floating around out there. I couldn't say which would suit him best, as the different one emphasize different aspects of the 'knight' concept. However, since his primary function IS captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, I'd say Fighter would work fine; sword and board fighting style, with skills concentrated in the physical aspect of his job-riding, in particular. Not much thrown into sense motive-after all, he had no clue his fiance was replaced by Chrysallis.
Design-wise, I was of two minds on his armor. On the one hand, show actually designed him some armor for his first appearance. On the other, it was purple, and I wanted his outfit to reflect his coat colors (I usually do; Rarity, I think, has the biggest departure, and that's becaue she's wearing a dress that appeared in one of the episodes). Ultimately, I decided against the purple, but tried to keep some design elements from the show's armor-particularly the curving gilt and the shield on the breast. I think it came out all right, but could stand improvement.

Time Turner: Hoo, boy, here's a fun one. The most popular fanon has this character named "Doctor Whooves," with personality and adventures based on The Doctor. How the heck do you stat The Doctor in D&D? To be honest, you don't; I think the most successful strategy is not to attempt to recreate The Doctor, with all his abilities and power, and instead just cherry pick your favorite aspects to play a similar character. Go for flavor, is what I'm saying.
Let me preface this by saying I'm nothing more than a "casual" fan of Doctor Who; I've seen all the new stuff (except for the latest season, and by God I'm impatient for it), as well as some of the older stuff available on Netflix. My favorite Doctors are Tom Baker's and David Tennant's(though Matt Smith's is tied with him); Amelia Pond is my favorite companion. Feel free to disagree with my build thoughts.

First off, I'd say any "Doctor" type character would need to be incredibly smart (Int is probably the highest stat), with Charisma coming in second. I know Time Lords are also supposed to be super strong and whatever, but remember: We're not making a Time Lord. We're making a smart, charismatic character who always has a plan, a joke, and some technobabble to solve his problems.
The class would be tricky to pick; rogue's get lots of skills (and I see The Doctor as being a primarily skill-based character), and would be my choice if I was only working with the Core Rules. Otherwise, I can see Artificer as being a really good pick; maybe Factotum, but I don't know as much about that class.
For skills I'd say Knowledge (History), open lock and disable device are a must, as is diplomacy and (for when he gets all serious) Intimidate (this varies, of course, depending on which incarnation of The Doctor you're trying to emulate; I'm working with David Tennant's because I really liked his run). Bluff and sense motive would be good choices, and I'm sure you could come up with a whole bunch more; go nuts. I'd just say it would be better to really concentrate on maybe four of five key skills, with a little dip in a bunch of others.
For feats, I'd start with "Run," and at some point pick up "Leadership," though I'm not sure what else I'd fill his list out with. Again, personal preference would go a long ways here.
As far as combat goes, I'd probably put it low priority. The Doctor is (mostly) a pacifist, after all....
Oh, and as for the Sonic Screwdriver? Chime of opening. Opens anything, given enough time (and while I realize the screwdriver does a lot...LOT more, it's most basic ability seems to open doors), and even makes a noise. Sonic, see?

Anyway, those are my thoughts on these characters. Haven't decided what to do next; might do Wonderbolts, might do Other NPCs; haven't decided.
Related content
Comments: 36

PhoenixFlambe [2018-08-13 16:14:40 +0000 UTC]

That. Looks. Amazing!

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RazorMaverick [2016-07-14 00:14:35 +0000 UTC]

Big Mac looks like a Monk

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BlazeDeku [2016-04-03 16:10:00 +0000 UTC]

I love the look you have going for Dr. Hooves in this and how it has elements both of the 10th Doctor and medieval fantasy woven into a single character! Nice work!

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KingNicholas1 [2016-01-05 18:20:52 +0000 UTC]

I'd totally be part of their campaign.

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Jack-Conners [2014-11-18 19:44:52 +0000 UTC]

I personally believe that Macintosh would be a monk, possibly with the vow of silence.  Only problem would be the occasional 'Eeyup and Nnope'.  The monk would work with his personality as well, being calm and relaxed most of the time, but extremely hard working.  I agree with your stat choices for him: strength, constitution, and wisdom.  Those three being the three primary stats for a monk.  And no class works better with a quarterstaff than a monk.

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R-gonz [2014-08-07 16:13:29 +0000 UTC]

If you need a character for a Barbarian, I suppose Bulk Biceps ought to fit the bill.

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Cps43327097 [2014-07-03 14:29:51 +0000 UTC]

For Time Turner( Doctor Whooves) I would have made him a Chronomancer, a admittedly made up class with limited control over time, thanks to the magical hourglass around his neck. He can trap enemies in time loops, where they repeat the same action over and over again, stop time, or travel back in time to an earlier point in a battle and fight alongside himself from the past.

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icewhip [2014-04-05 18:53:33 +0000 UTC]

*squeals* The Cadence colored cloth on Shining Armor's belt! OMG! OMG! That is the most adorable details EVER!

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Sw0rm [2013-11-23 07:42:19 +0000 UTC]

The factotum, HD: d8 SP per level: 6 BAB: 3/4 good saves: Ref
The basic job of a factotum is to fill in when another PC role goes down.
They have a pool of points per encounter that they use to get a bonus for Int or level depending if the bonus is for combat or skills/spells.
All skills are class skills, all of them.
I think it's a great class for the doctor.

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BlisteredBlood [2013-10-07 09:22:47 +0000 UTC]

I think you might have overthinked things with Big Mac if he were spec'd as a barbarian. Technically, he could still have the look of a barbarian, but if he were any alignment that was non-Chaotic (LG, LN, LE, NG, N or NE), he would not be able to use his Rage ability. Not sure about the weapon choice, since a barbarian's preferred weapon is usually a battleaxe, but hey. To each his own.


But then again, this does open up a different can of worms since there are prestige classes that can allow barbs to keep their rage ability and take on a lawful alignment. One of which you might find in the Book of Exalted Deeds, but hey. You're free to come up with whatever you want.

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BenRG [2013-10-02 19:26:36 +0000 UTC]

Yeah... yeah, the Doctor would be a Rogue wouldn't he? From the start it was an ego thing for him - he actually stole the TARDIS after all, after deciding that he didn't want to play life by his people's rules.

It wasn't until after centuries travelling time and space that he became a do-gooder and he had to face off against some pretty major-league monsters (the Daleks, the Cybermen and The Master for example) before he really became committed to an interventionist stance.  So, if Time Turner were starting off at the same place as The Doctor, he'd be primarily a thief and a trickster with an enormous technical skill package and a bucket of charisma but also a moral base lurking in the background waiting to be triggered by injustice when he's seen to much of it.

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EbonyManta [2013-05-31 07:32:13 +0000 UTC]

Well, here's my basic opinion:

I would have had Big Macintosh as a fighter, or alternatively as an alternate class feature Barbarian - there's a feature in Unearthed Arcana (love that book) that trades away the rage feature for a Ranger's combat track (archery) and favored enemy.

I would have pegged Shining Armor as a Paladin, or at least something capable of casting defensive magic. I'm currently looking into how a wizard/fighter would work, possibly going into the Eldritch Knight prestige class (though I'm pretty sure there's other "spellsword" prestige classes out there.)

Time Turner... jeez, that's a tough one. I... got nothing. Although if you look past the core books I think a Warlock or Favored Soul would be interesting.

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cobalt-kate [2013-05-17 10:37:01 +0000 UTC]

I really, really love these D&D renderings of the characters! Both the guys and the gals. Your colouring and attention to detail are lovely!

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Akutabai [2013-05-17 01:43:05 +0000 UTC]

I'm surprised Soarin and Fancy Pants didn't make the cut

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R-gonz In reply to Akutabai [2015-08-13 18:06:05 +0000 UTC]

And what about Bulk Biceps?

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Sonic-chaos [2013-04-28 07:47:51 +0000 UTC]

Run? Yeah that sound about right for the Doctor!

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truedragon5374 [2013-04-24 22:34:40 +0000 UTC]

For Big Mac why not make him a Monk?
Not the whole "focus chakra under a waterfall" kind,
but more of a salt-of-the-earth, simplicity=serenity kind.
I just see him as being more of a down to earth, straight arrow, rather than being chaotic.

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theSouthernCross [2013-04-14 10:09:23 +0000 UTC]

I could see Shining Armor as a Paladin. Full BAB and spells. They make a good protector/healer class.

As for Time Turner, you should check out the Factotum base class from the book "Dungeonscape". It's as close to a Dr. Who class as I can come up with.

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EqFAzrael [2013-03-29 18:26:47 +0000 UTC]

Big Mac would fit best as a multiclass Barbarian Cleric with a Neutral Good Alignment.

Shining Armor seems to fit the Paladin Class more than the basic Fighter, and would have a Lawful Good Alignment.

Time Turner seems like he would best fit as a Lawful Neutral Rogue. He has all the basic skills of a Rogue, but doesn't seem to be the type to steal from his partners.

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PhaidrosthePeep [2013-03-24 21:48:12 +0000 UTC]

A very skilled rogue would indeed fit Time Turner or indeed The Doctor: a little bit of everything, always a plan, a jack-of-all-trades, etc. Rarity in contrast, while also a rogue, would be more geared towards sneakiness or charming. Big Mac, I would stat as either as no-nonsense cleric or as a fighter with improved unarmed strike. If you allow variant monks that are not part of a convent but self-taught, that would seem fitting too.
Now, Shining Armor: does that do not scream paladin to you, or knight? A paladin-variant not bonded to a deity, but to a code of honor and the protection of the Kingdom!

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EqFAzrael In reply to PhaidrosthePeep [2013-03-29 18:27:58 +0000 UTC]

It seems The doctor is more of a Lawful Neutral Character, whereas Rarity would have a Chaotic Neutral alignment.

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MKSfan14 [2013-03-08 00:22:58 +0000 UTC]

Am I the only one who notices a lock of Cadence's mane tied to Shining Armor's belt?

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garciarael In reply to MKSfan14 [2013-03-12 04:04:49 +0000 UTC]

You ain't.

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Rungok [2013-02-02 04:31:33 +0000 UTC]

I would think that Big Macintosh would be a Monk...
He's generally peaceful, but he KICKS HARD. And is overall a quiet character.
Str/Con/Wis build monks do that in ooodles!

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TheLugia702 [2013-02-02 02:36:15 +0000 UTC]

Ugh, The Doctor would be a tough for me, too. I'd have to say, as a Time Lord with his magic-like abilities I'd classify him as a psion/rogue or psion/bard. He's so charismatic he'd have to be at least PART bard or rogue. For his sonic screwdriver I'd give him a large selection of wands or staves or wondrous items as him primary weapon/tool. He (Working with the 10th incarnation) would have to have at least a staff of passage, a wand of cure light wounds, charm person, and knock or shatter, and perhaps a wand of suggestion to represent the Psychic Paper. Also, a bag of holding that can A) represent a "Bigger-on-the-inside" TARDIS, and B) sotre all of those wands and staves. He would also have skills in mostly knowledge and Use Magic Device. He would also have his best ability scores in INT and CHA (At least 22 in INT and 18 in CHA) and a good WIS, too, at least 16. And, back on his class, I'd say he could also be a rogue/sorcerer or /wizard instead of psion, and his alignment? Oh, THAT is tough. I have only a vague idea of him being Chaotic Good, because he cares about the laws of people third, behind time and having fun.
Now on Big Mac? I would make him a fighter/barbarian or ranger/barabrian, because he needs good skills with animals and he is incredibly strong and needs a class to represent that. His skills would mostly be spent in Handle Animal and maybe Ride, plus anything you think would be useful on a farm.
Now, on Shining Armor. Ohhh boy...He would absolutely a wizard/fighter or wizard/paladin (Pick your poison), specialized in either evocation or abjuration. He'd have mostly spells like Shield and battle spells like Magic Missile or fireball, to represent his job and ability in keeping a barrier above Canterlot for so long and possibly protecting himself and the city.
That is really all of my opinions about what classes and abilities they would have.

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Ysengrinn [2013-02-01 20:44:34 +0000 UTC]

They look somewhat like the main heros of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series.

Świetny rysunek, jak zawsze.

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MountainLygon [2013-02-01 20:40:31 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it wouldn't be fair to play a Time Lord in an RPG where most of the characters are human or on par with humans. Gotta compromise somewhere. Still, does he have two hearts? You could get away with a stamina bonus if you kept that aspect. Also, Time Lords are only stronger than humans because Gallifrey is more massive, so they have to compensate for the extra gravity. If your RP Doctor comes from a world of equal mass to earth, he'll only be about as strong as your average human.

Also, if you want to see more of the classic stuff, head on over to Doctor Who Media. They've got all of Jon Pertwee's stories up and they're in the process of adding Doctors one, two and four. They also have the latest Eleven story, but don't watch that one until you've seen the first part of season seven, or at least Asylum of the Daleks and Angels Take Manhattan.

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Lurks-no-More [2013-02-01 15:53:11 +0000 UTC]

Really nice designs! Personally, I think Shining Armor would be a good candidate for Eldritch Knight, or even Abjurant Champion, but starting with a fighter seems like the best bet.

Also, Chime of Opening for the sonic screwdriver is an inspired idea!

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DeftCrow [2013-02-01 15:37:57 +0000 UTC]

Big Mac may fit well as a ranger too, something like Ranger 11 / Barbarian 1.

=> Two weapon fighting as his combat style, to use his quarterstaff more effectively.
=> Animal Empathy can be very useful for herding non-sentient animals in his farm.
=> Most ranger spells of levels 1~3 can all be explained as Earth Pony magic. Or, he can play the Champion of the Wild variant ranger in Complete Champion, receiving bonus feats for every four ranger levels he has.
=> Rangers need high wisdom scores to cast ranger spells and use several of their key skills, mostly tracking. He needs that wisdom to give out sound advice to those around him, too.

Applejack would also be a straight, Champion of the Wild variant ranger, except she would have Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Lasso) and archery as her combat style.


The Doc? An Elan Psionic Artificer or Erudite or something, can't really say.

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RobD2003 In reply to DeftCrow [2013-02-01 16:05:54 +0000 UTC]

I like that Complete Champion Ranger idea; but then, it's my favorite class in the entire game, so I may be biased.

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DeftCrow [2013-02-01 15:20:30 +0000 UTC]

Within the core rules, fighter or paladin seem to be reasonable choices for Shining Armor.

If you're going to use supplements, I'd say he's an Ardent 10 / Fighter 2 / Psionic Abjurant Champion 3~5, with Guardian, Justice, Force, Law mantles and the Guardian mantle as his dominant ideal. This way he has access to:

=> Heavy Armor Proficiency(Ardent, Fighter), Shield Proficiency(Ardent, Fighter), Martial Weapon Proficiency(Fighter)
=> +14 BAB at level 17. Combat abilities reflecting his Royal Guard training
=> Manifester level equivalent to a level 15 Ardent; Psionic powers have no chance of failure based on armor type so he can wear plate armor without problems (most melee Ardents already do off the shelf)
=> Access to powers with the Force descriptor and other defensive powers; the only way to give him something that resembles his forcefield

Yes, this way he would have a very high wisdom score and also very high will saves coming from his manifesting classes, a minimum of +16 at level 17. That's part of the reason why nobody believed Twilight's claim of him being under mind control, as penetrating his will save as a regular character would be very, very challenging. Chrysalis can be considered an epic level character, however, and may have been able to penetrate his will saves easily. His low skill point total leaves him with no ranks to put into Sense Motive either.

Used supplements: Expanded Psionics Handbook(Psionic Powers), Complete Psionic(Ardent class), Complete Mage(Abjurant Champion prestige class), The Mind's Eye: Expanded Classes, Part Four(Ardent - Dominant Ideal ACF)

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Sire-Sword [2013-02-01 05:04:58 +0000 UTC]

Doctor Whooves is best Rouge.

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IceCappuccino In reply to Sire-Sword [2013-02-04 05:55:29 +0000 UTC]

I hate to correct people on spelling. You know it's R O G U E, right? Not rouge, the french word for red?

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Sire-Sword In reply to IceCappuccino [2013-02-04 16:32:28 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I know. I'm just really bad at spelling.

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ArtieStroke [2013-02-01 04:07:14 +0000 UTC]

Augh- where was this when I was trying to think of a DND character for the new session I started two weeks ago?! These are perfect!

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SecretNilRuins [2013-02-01 03:49:57 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely lovely, and I really dig the explanations for you choices in the description~ They really flesh out the reasons for the characters, and it seems wonderfully thought out.

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