Scuffles

When Talks Break Down

Another (rather unpleasant) example of a situation that might involve several challenges is when you get involved in a fight against one or more bad guys that want to capture you...or maybe against hungry creatures that want to eat you!
Remember when the Mane Six were attacked by Queen Crysalis and her changelings? Things certainly got heated and our pony heroes had to fight for their freedom and for the safety of all of Thedastria. Another example of a scuffle was the wizard duel between Twilight Sparkle and Lord Tirek...sadly, there are cases where you have no choice but to fight to defend yourself and your friends.
Remember that it is important to never seek out a fight, and if possible to resolve arguments by talking. Trying to understand why your opponent is upset might mean that you can help them become happy again, and because of that, you might even become friends! Fluttershy showed us how to do this when she pulled the thorn of the manticore’s paw, turning the angry, upset monster into a big, purring kitten!
If you are left with no choice, however, you’ll have to take part in a scuffle.

Looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way!

— Rainbow Dash

Taking Part in a Scuffle

In a scuffle, the GM will guide you through a series of challenges, either individually or all together as a group (or both), that will lead to a result where your group wins or your opponent wins.
The characters taking part in the scuffle are called scufflers.
The scuffle will usually end when everyone on one side is reduced to zero Stamina (everyone is too badly hurt to fight on), or when one side decides to surrender.

Using Battle Maps

Many game groups play through combat encounters without the use of props. Actions are described and the GM keeps a mental picture of the battlefield and adjudicates distances and relative position on the fly. This keeps scuffles loose and doesn’t bog the game down in tactical details. Other groups find they like to use a battle map and miniatures or other tokens to handle scuffles because it makes it easier to see what’s going on in the fight. And miniatures, particularly painted ones, look great and add a nice visual element to the game.
If your group is going to use battle maps, you’ll need a miniature or token for each pony. You have many choices here. The most popular miniatures are sized at 28mm and are made of either pewter or plastic. These days there are several pre-painted lines, though many gamers prefer to paint their own. There are also some cheaper options than miniatures, such as 2D tokens and cardboard stand-ups. Several companies make these in PDF format, so you can print out what you need when you need it. If all else fails, you can always use coins, colored stones, or even dice to represent characters on the map. If you do use dice, make sure no one scoops them up to make a roll!
You will also, of course, need battle maps. These come in a variety of sizes and formats. A popular option is the vinyl battle map overlaid with either squares or hexes. These can be drawn on with wet-erase markers, so terrain can be sketched out and then wiped away when the encounter is over. Dungeon walls, pits, water features, and even furniture can be quickly sketched in for all to see. Wet-erase markers come in different colors, allowing scenes to use blue for water, black for buildings, green for vegetation, and brown for relative altitudes of terrain. The height of objects can be written next to them, allowing players to distinguish quickly the 10-yard wall from the 20-yard tower.
Other companies make pre-printed maps of common locations like inns, shrines, dungeons, and so on. These have the advantage of looking great, but they must be used as is. Another option is map tiles, which are smaller areas that can be built out into a larger map. You can get printed sets of such tiles, or PDFs that you can print out as needed. There are also some computer programs that let you design your own maps and then print them.
Using miniatures and battle maps in Tails of Thedastria is easy. Two yards in the rules translates into 1 square or hex on the map. Round down if needed. So a character with Speed 9 would move 4 squares or hexes on a battle map with a move action. A short bow with a range of 32 yards can shoot up to 16 squares or hexes on a battle map.
Another option is to use miniatures with 3D terrain instead of a map. Some gamers, particularly those who regularly play miniatures games, have a ready supply of 3D terrain, such as hills, buildings, ruins, and so on. A table with built-out terrain is a beautiful thing. A cheaper option is again provided by PDF products. You can find fold-up terrain that you can print out and assemble as needed. If you go with 3D terrain, there are no squares or hexes to regulate movement. Instead simply use a ruler or tape measure with each 2 yards of distance in the rules translating to 1” on the tabletop (round down). So a throwing axe with a range of 8 yards could be thrown 4” on the tabletop.
A final option is to use a digital tabletop gaming website. While you don’t get the tactical feel of actual miniatures, it’s cheaper than having to buy tons of figures and great for games with players who don’t live in the same city. Plus, many websites allow you to use special effects for attacks, store setting music, and do all the math for you.
You can also mix and match these options to suit your needs. I’m converting an old, glass-top coffee table to have a square grid underneath a plexiglass top that will be dry erase marker friendly. A projector will be rigged to display a digital map onto the table, using the grid to help with sizing. There will be a mixture of official Tails of Equestria 2D miniatures, custom made, and 2D printed ones.
Please check out the Gaming Supplies page for a list of pony related websites to help run your game.

One-on-One Scuffles

A typical scuffle between two scufflers involves a challenge using the Body trait and any suitable talent (Special Skill: Bucking is a good one).
The losing scufflers loses a number of Stamina points equal to the score rolled by the winner.
In the case of a draw, the GM must decide one of two things: either the scufflers are equally matched and get a chance to think things over and stop fighting, or, if they want to try again, they can re-roll.
Alternatively, the GM can decide that both scufflers are “winners”, so each of them loses Stamina equal to the score rolled—for a possible double knockout!
For example, a pony with Body D8 and the Special Skill: Bucking (D6) talent is having a scuffle with a small diamond dog that has a Body of D6. The pony rolls a 3 and a 6 (choosing the 6), while the diamond dog rolls a 4. The pony wins the scuffle, and the diamond dog loses 6 points of Stamina.
Note that armor, helmets, and some abilities may reduce the number of Stamina points lost due to a scuffle (see the Equipment section). For example, if the diamond dog was wearing light armor, he would only lose 5 Stamina points.

Big Scuffles and Ganging Up

If a scuffle involves lots of scufflers on each side, split up the scuffle into separate, smaller scuffles. In each separate scuffle, there is always going to be one scufflers on one side and one or more scufflers on the other side. The side with the most scufflers can normally choose how to split the scuffles, unless the GM says otherwise.
The advantage of ganging up on one scufflers is that the side that is ganging up will roll more dice and will therefore have more chance of rolling a high number or scoring an Exploding Hoof result.
Note that if the ganging up side loses the scuffle, then the winning scufflers divides the Stamina loss amongst all the scufflers on the losing side in any way they like.
For example, two ponies are facing off against five changelings. The changelings, being evil, decide to split the scuffle as follows: four changelings gang up on a pony and the last changeling keeps the second pony busy. Let’s look at the scuffle with four changelings versus one pony. If the changelings roll a 2, 3, 4, 4, and the pony rolls a 5, the pony wins and shares out 5 points of Stamina loss among the changelings, in whatever way the pony likes.
The GM might want to make this scuffle and the other, smaller, scuffle, happen in sequence, playing out the smaller scuffle first and then moving on to the larger scuffle. This might create an entertaining moment such as the pony scuffling the single changeling defeating her enemy and then coming heroically to the rescue of the pony that is surrounded, taking one or more changelings out of that scuffle.

Zero Stamina!

If your Stamina ever gets to 0 or less, your pony faints or can’t carry on anymore—tiredness gets the better of you, and you need some rest right now! This can be annoying as it can stop you from finishing a task. It can also cause problems, as some bad guys could take you prisoner while you sleep, and you might wake up in a cell or a cage! That’s why it’s normally a good idea not to adventure alone—having friends around to help you out when you’re down or in trouble is best!

Wait! My Pony Can’t Die!?

What if you don’t want to play your pony anymore? It may not be as fun being a Warrior like you thought. Or that Magic Book is a new playable race. Or you want to see if you can make Black Panther into a Cat Rogue. In any other tabletop RPG, you would just do something stupid to kill off your pony, but this game is based on Tails of Equestria, which is family friendly.
But Dragon Age is blood and death and disappointment. Yes, but actually no. This is more of a blood and rainbows game. Yes, there is death off camera, but that’s either plot or a consequence of your actions. But DON’T WORRY! Instead of killing off your pony, they can retire and become an NPC. Now, they will happily live out their life.
Also, another player could decide that they really like your now NPC pony, and decide to play as them. That’s okay. You should be proud of your cool creation.

Mounts & Combat

Combatants can ride animals and other mounts. Accounting for that requires a few special rules.

• To mount an animal, you must be bipedal (walk on two legs) and smaller than or equal to the size of the creature that you are trying to mount. You don’t want to crush them.
• You can mount an animal as part of a move action. If you do so, you can only move half your Speed in yards (a move action normally lets you move your Speed in yards).
• You can mount other players. If you don’t have their permission, roll your Body die vs. their Body die. If you fail, you get bucked off and take 1d6 penetrating damage. The rider gets to make attacks while the mounted player gets to move and supply items to the rider.
• Once you are mounted, you use move and run actions as normal, but you use the Speed of the mount instead of your own.
• Many mounts do not have attacks of their own (they aren’t trained for fighting). Those that do take their attacks on your turn in a round. You don’t need to roll initiative separately for the mount.
• When engaging in melee combat, you get to upgrade your attack rolls vs. opponents on foot. The GM may rule that this does not apply vs. particularly large monsters.
• Enemies can choose to attack you or your mount. You must keep track of your mount’s Stamina.
• Opponents can use the Knock Prone stunt to try to dismount you. This is more difficult than overbearing someone on foot, though, so you get a chance to resist it. If you make a successful Body test, you remain mounted. The Difficult for this test is equal to the value of opponent’s Body die. If you fail, you are knocked to the ground, take 1d6 penetrating damage, and are now prone. The GM controls the actions of the mount until you re-mount or the encounter ends.
• Passengers do not have to use move and run actions, as they are simply carried along. They take actions as normal but the GM should bear their situation in mind.

These rules also apply when driving a vehicle like a cart or wagon. If Knock Prone is used against a passenger of a vehicle, Body is also used to resist it. Certain ponies like those with the Chevalier specialization or Mounted Scuffle Talent have special rules for mounted scuffles. These are described in Flemeth Zecora’s Black Grimoire.

• Among the Changeling of ancient Thedastria there was a tradition that fused the arts of magic and scuffles.
• Known as arcane warriors, these mages channeled mana to boost their scuffle prowess.