Quirks
Focuses, Talents, & Specializations
Quirks are like talents, but they have bad effects on your pony. Everypony starts with one main quirk, but you might acquire more during your adventures.
Quirks are things like fears (fear of heights, fear of bugs, fear of the dark...), bad habits (easy to anger, too shy, lazy...), or physical weakness (nearsighted, bad teeth, smelly...). A list of common quirks and their effects is found below, but you and the GM can have fun creating new and unique quirks.
Quirks are very important, because they make your pony character more interesting—nobody is perfect, and it’s great that you can rely on your friends to help you out with your quirks, just as you can help them out with theirs.
They are useful for gamemasters, too, as the GM can use quirks to make important moments of the story more challenging or exciting.
Say, for example, that your character need to reach a hoof deep into a hole in the wall to move a lever that opens a secret door in the dungeons of a castle. Easy enough, but the GM knows that you are afraid of spiders, so they tell you that there are some very thick cobwebs surrounding the lever and your hoof must go through the cobwebs to reach the lever...that’s when your quirk—your fear of spiders—kicks in, making it very difficult Mind test to force yourself to face your fear. Luckily though, you might have friends with you, who can simply reach the lever instead of you.
Unlike talents, quirks are not rated with a dice value. Instead, the effect of each quirk is stated in its description.
Quirks aren’t all bad—when a quirk stops a pony from doing something meaningful, the GM gives the player a Token of Friendship—it’s our quirks as much as our strengths that make our friendships so special!
In the example above, if you couldn’t reach the important lever because of your fear, then you would gain a Token of Friendship. The GM should give out Tokens of Friendship only when a quirk comes up in an important way. Using our example from above, some cobwebs in the corner of a room that your character wishes to avoid but which doesn’t stop you from advancing would not earn you a Token of Friendship!
Picking an Additional Quirk
If the GM decides to allow this rule, you might decide to have an additional quirk when you are creating your pony character—pick the additional quirk as described above and write it down below your main quirk.List of Quirks
Quirks | Requirement | Tokens | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Allergy | - | Yes | Achoo! Whether it’s dragon-sneeze tree or bees, you are allergic to something that makes you ill or sneezy. If your allergies are very bad you may want to keep some ponyblam ready for emergencies. Cats |
Always... | - | Yes | Angry, hungry |
Angry | - | Yes | You have a bit of a temper. |
Animal | - | No | A creature with the animal quirk is just that, an animal. This means it cannot speak with ponies (unless that pony has the Speak with Animals talent) and can only think in simple animal ways, though it can still be quite cunning! |
Asthma | - | Yes | If you have this quirk, sometimes you have trouble breathing because of your sensitive airways. Ponies with this quirk usually carry some ponybalm with them, which can clear up the symptoms fairly easily. |
Apostate | Apostates only | No | If you choose to play an apostate, your character will have a disadvantage that those of other backgrounds do not. Namely, your character’s powers must be used carefully lest they draw unwanted attention from the Circle of Magi or the Chantry templars. The upside is that this conflict can lead to some great stories, but you should understand that your character will face challenges others do not. |
Attracted to noisy environments | - | Yes | You like loud places. |
Blind | - | No | You can’t see. |
Blob | - | No | You’re kinda shaped like a potato. You’re just...there. |
Blunt | - | Yes | It’s true that honesty is important, but then again so is being aware of everypony’s feelings. With this quirk, you say what you are thinking, even when it doesn’t necessarily help you out and might hurt somepony’s feelings. |
Bound | Mistform | No | They cannot leave the area in which they first appeared |
Bossy | - | Yes | Maybe you really are a good leader, but you also think that you are the only one who should be making the decisions. A pony with this quirk finds it hard to let their friends make decisions for themselves and hates to feel like they are helpless. |
Changeling | Changelings only | No | Changelings are able to do anything they set their minds to, but are unable to do anything perfectly. As such, a pony with this quirk starts with a D4 in all of their traits (although they still upgrade their Body die from the Stout Heart talent). |
Cheesy | - | Yes | No, you’re just made of cheese. Literarily. |
Commanded | - | No | When the creature is summoned, it is given a command word or phrase. While it is active, it will try single-mindedly to carry out this command. If it is somehow summoned without a command, it is likely to go on a rampage! |
Clumsy | - | Yes | You’re a walking accident. |
Cranky | - | Yes | Someone peed in your Cheerios. |
Creepy Crawly | - | Yes | You are a bit scary to most ponies in Thedastria, and so start with D4 Charm, rather than D6. |
Cruel | - | Yes | You’re mean just for funsies. |
Cryptic | - | Yes | You talk in riddles. |
Crystal Heart | Crystal Ponies only | No | A pony with this talent uses their Charm trait instead of their Mind trait when determining their Stamina value. For example, a crystal pony with D6 in Body and D10 in Charm would have 16 Stamina points regardless of their Mind value. |
Darkspawn Resistance | Darkspawn only | No | Their tough, Taint-infused body has a natural Armor Rating of 4 which stacks with whatever armor they may be wearing. |
Disobedient | - | Yes | You do what you want. |
Dragon Greed | Dragons only | No | Dragons have a unique condition known as Dragon Greed; when they five in to greed, they grow in size but become even more greedy! If the Dragon acts greedily, they gain an upgrade to their Body stat (so a D6 would become a D8) but they also gain the Oooohhh...Shiny! quirk and downgrades their Mind die. If a Dragon that is already under the effects of Dragon Greed acts even greedier, they will upgrade their Body die again and downgrade their Mind die once more. If their Mind die is at D4, then they cannot grow any bigger! Reversing the effects of Dragon Greed requires showing the Dragon the power of friendship. The Dragon must want to reverse the effects and another pony must spend a Token of Friendship. The Dragon loses the Body upgrades as well as the Mind downgrades. |
Easily Distracted | - | Yes | Squirrel! |
Entranced | - | No | I put a spell on you... |
Fear | - | Yes | A pony with this quirk gets spooked by lots of things, or perhaps is very scared of one thing. Maybe it’s snakes, maybe it’s heights, but whatever it is chills you to the bone and makes your mane stand on end. This quirk can be taken multiple times—each time you take this quirk, you must choose a different fear. Dark, fire, outside, sunlight. |
Fight to the Death | - | Yes | Never give up. Never surrender! |
Forgetful | - | Yes | You would forget your horseshoes if they weren’t attached to your feet! A pony with this quirk often forgets important information and you certainly can’t count on them to remember to bring the rope for your climbing adventure unless they are very careful to write it down. |
Glows | - | Yes | It’s hard to find a place to hide. |
Greedy | - | Yes | Mine? |
Hard of Hearing | - | Yes | What? |
Hardened | - | Yes | You’ve seen things. |
Hatred | - | Yes | No pony likes you. |
Heartbreaker | - | Yes | Every pony likes you. But they’re not the one. |
Hungry | - | Yes | Me at anytime of the day. |
Hungry for... | - | No | Apples, love |
Indebted | - | Yes | IOU |
Indecisive | - | No | Must use Multi-headed at every opportunity |
Jealousy | - | Yes | Not mine!? |
Lazy | - | Yes | TBD |
Likes to Monologue | - | Yes | You like to talk a lot. About anything. It doesn’t matter if you’re Hamlet or Mojo Jojo, you just need to talk. You may brag about yourself, your evil plans, yourself, your kids, yourself, your pet. Did I mention yourself? So, yeah, just keep talking. About anything. Don’t shut up. Keep going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on... |
Limp | - | Yes | You have a injury that never really healed. |
Lonely | - | Yes | All by myself... |
Loves... | - | Yes | Gems, Music, Silence |
Mad! | - | No | %*&^^^(*(* you! |
Mean | - | Yes | You steal candy from babies and kick puppies. |
Megalomaniac | - | Yes | You’re so vain! You probably think this quirk is about you. |
Mememememe! | - | Yes | Where some ponies dislike the spotlight, others like it a little too much, and love being the center of attention. You may not like it when other ponies are praised when you are not, or may even go out of your way to catch everypony’s eye. |
Messy | - | Yes | You don’t mind the muck, and you may sometimes forget to wash it off right away—your mane is a bit of a shambles! Other ponies might be a little uncomfortable around you unless you make an effort to clean, especially if they are neat freaks! |
Mindless | - | No | Duh....... |
Must... | - | No | Things have to been done in a certain order |
Mute | - | Yes | ... |
Mysterious | - | Yes | ... |
Naive | - | Yes | You see the best in everypony, which is of course a wonderful thing, but it can lead to situations where somepony may take advantage of you. Your pony is especially vulnerable to shirelatans and conmares. |
Neat Freak | - | Yes | You like order and perfection, and cannot stand it when things aren’t absolutely perfect. This can make it hard when other ponies are less concerned with perfection than you, or if they have a different style from your pony. |
Needs Glasses | - | Yes | A pony that needs glasses may be nearsighted or farsighted, but either way has trouble making it around without their glasses. If you need glasses you might not even be able to tell other ponies apart without them, which can lead to some interesting problems! |
Never... | - | Yes | Things you would never do. |
Nirik | Kirin and Nirik only | No | A Nirik is a Kirin that has been overcome with anger. Reverting back to a Kirin requires the Nirik to want to change, and for any player to spend a token of friendship. |
Nucleus | Greater Ooze | No | If the nucleus is damaged or removed from the body, the Greater Ooze quivers and bursts, returning the slime to an immobile puddle. |
Odor | - | Yes | You stink! |
Old | - | Yes | You just have experience. Lots of it. |
Oooohhh... | - | Yes | Ponies with this quirk are occasionally going to be overcome by greed and their desire for the shiny things that they love—be that gems, or old, fashionable clothes...You must agree with your GM what exactly it is that your pony likes so much. Fire, shiny |
Overconfident | - | Yes | Racing, fashion, dancing—whatever it is, you know you are the best and dare anypony to test that fact. This can cause problems when someone else is better than you or when you think that you can handle something you just can’t. |
Phylactery | - | No | A summoned creature is always summoned from a specific item. If this point of origin is destroyed, the magic that supports the creature is deactivated and the creature collapses into pieces. |
Protective | - | Yes | My precious! |
Proud | - | Yes | You did a good job. |
Quiet | - | Yes | ... |
Ravenous | - | Yes | Very hungry. |
Rebellious | - | Yes | I’d tell you, but you wouldn’t listen. |
Resistance to the Taint | Grey Wonderbolts only | No | You can’t be turned into a ghoul by darkspawn blood (see <br>The Chant of Light<br> ) |
Restricted to water | - | Yes | You can’t go on land. |
Secret Identity | - | Yes | You are somepony else. |
Selfish | - | Yes | Mine? |
Short Attention Span | - | Yes | Ponies with this quirk find it difficult to focus on one thing for a long time. There is just so much in the world that they are interested in! You may find yourself distracted by birds or games when you ought to be working hard studying for a test, or you may start thinking about math problems when you should really be focusing on the hoofball game you’re in! |
Short Fuse | - | Yes | You just can’t help but get angry from time to time, or even all the time! With this quirk, you are hot-tempered, quick to anger and ready to blow at any moment. You sometimes find it hard to remember who your friends are, but with a little patience, they can always remind you. |
Sleepy | - | Yes | Zzzzzz... |
Slow | - | Yes | Loading... |
Sore Loser | - | Yes | *^*&^&^(&)* you! |
Super-Shy | - | Yes | You suffer from an excess of shyness, being a bit of a pushover, and are easily bullied around by nasty creatures. Uncomfortable about speaking in public and in general, hating attention, you might freeze in these circumstances, even if something important is at stake. |
Too Silly | - | Yes | If you are too silly, you may be found annoying by your more serious-minded friends. Not everypony in Thedastria is fond of antics and pranks, especially when they are trying to get some work done. Sometimes you find it difficult to figure out whether it is the right time for a silly joke or serious silence. |
Topsy-turvy | - | No | I guess everything is wonky? |
Underconfident | - | Yes | Don’t know why I’m writing these extra bits in; no one’s going to read it. I’m just wasting my time with this game. |
Unliving | - | No | A creature with this quirk is a golem, a robot, or some other animate but unliving thing. This means that is does not feel pain or think about self-preservation in the same way as living creatures do. |
Upset | - | Yes | You’re a little miffed. |
Vicious | - | Yes | You’re mean because you love it. |
Vicious Caster | - | No | Can use the Mighty Spell stunt for 1 SP (instead of 2) and Lethal Spell for 4 SP (instead of 5) when casting Entropy and fire-based Primal spells. |
Vulnerable | - | No | Choose something to vulnerable to. Downgrade your die on all tests and challenges involving this thing. Fire, magic. |
War Wound | - | Yes | You got hurt in the war. |
Weak... | - | Yes | Wings, etc. |
Weakness | - | No | A weakness is something that physically hurts you when it is in contact. The Weakness quirk has a die value associated with it. When you are affected by your Weakness, you take Stamina damage equal of the die value of the Weakness. Acid, loud noises. |
Wild | - | Yes | Yeet? |
Winterzilla | Winterchilla only | No | You turn into a Winterzilla |
Difficult Quirks
Sometimes ponies have a quirk that is not on this list and is very difficult to play. Some examples might be ponies that are blind or unable to walk. Although these are not listed directly, a GM might decide that their group of ponies is mature enough to approach playing such a pony with respect. In fact, Tails of Thedastria can be an excellent place to explore such ideas in safety, allowing players to empathize with problems of other ponies have, or even roleplaying their own struggles in a positive and fantastic world.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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