• Member Since 30th Dec, 2012
  • offline last seen Jun 6th, 2022

pchn00


T

A reclusive mage.
A devoted cleric.
A disgraced sell sword.
A beautiful thief.
A timid knight.
A travelling gypsy.

Six mares who've never met, will suddenly be thrown together as an ancient threat returns imperiling their entire world. Now these unlikely heroes must band together, or their entire world is doomed to eternal darkness.

This is a dark fantasy retelling of the series premiere, using Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition rules, spells, and monsters. It was an idea that I've been wanting to write for a good while, and I hope folks enjoy it.

Chapters (9)
Comments ( 923 )
Spacecowboy
Moderator

This is how you D&D.
Dat Intelligence Score.

EDIT - And featured, just as it should be. Damn good story.

I came expecting a pretty blah knock-off of ponies doing vaguely dnd-y things.
That is not what I got.

While I'll still hold reservations depending on what you do with the others, you have at least made mage Sparkle entertaining enough to read about along with her less-than-wanted apprentice Apple Bloom - so for that i'm going to track this fic and hope what comes next entertains and interests me as much as this part did.

Plus, y'know... Celery to Cake. I would so want that spell too.

This story is fave #3 for you, from me, pchn. That means you have a new follower.

post date says the 29th but my time says the 28th fanfictions from the future that combine d&d and ponies WIN!!

3272762
Hope it continues to be so!

3272778
:rainbowkiss:

3272795
She's a brainiac! But man is she a wimp physically. XD

3272810
I'm actually really excited to get to Dash and Rarity's stories. They're the ones I feel have the most interesting hooks. I'll probably work to get the next couple prologues out sooner rather than later.

3272835
Well thanks! Glad you're enjoying a number of my stories. XD

3272856
Apparently I've broken the boundaries of time!

Pony's and D & D......

I am more than okay with this.

Always nice to see a D&D related story on here.

Oh my, I am going to THOROUGHLY enjoy this! :twilightsmile:

haven't read it yet but already I think I will like it. Old school/new school d&d player here. this should prove amusing.
I would have made Fluttershy a Multi-class druid/paladin.

PPS

Special Abilities
Twilight Sparkle prepares spells as an ordinary wizard of her level, however once these spells are expended she may continue to cast. Each level of spell cast after her prepared spells for the day have been used, deals her subdual damage equal to twice the spells level. She can render herself unconscious casting in this way.

There's an infinite spellcasting loop in there, somewhere. Someone with more knowledge of D&D than me can figure it out. In the meantime, though, the party is going to have both a cleric and a druid, and if we assume the rest of the party is of similar level, this ability allows 1 casting of Cure Light Wounds to power anything Twilight can cast.

silly Twi, not having any feats. also props for making her a support mage rather than a blaster. Its how you wizard properly. now she just needs spells to control the battlefield like Grease, Glitterdust, or Web and some non combat spells like Dispel Magic, Rope Trick, Alarm,Invisibility ect.

Useful guide for any potential DnDer's out there too
3.5 How to Wizard Guide

PPS

Are we going to be ignoring spell components, or are the casters all carrying around saddlebags full of endless poop, butter, and other odds and ends?

3272884
I'm more than okay with that avatar. :o

3272927
Now that's a positive endorsement.

3273047
All my thanks! :o

3273048
Thanks! I've been a DM for years so all my stuff is sort of DnD influenced (I even have a pony underdark in my main series).

3273150
I certainly hope so!

3273155
Hope to not disappoint. :o

3273186
Hm, my only problem with that is paladin's tend to be rather the opposite of quiet and timid.

3273198
And it's only the first prologue. XD

3273204
Sure if you wanna munchkin, but where's the fun in that? :x

3273262
I've been playing a wizard since I was 12 and my cousin made me be a drow mage forever ago. No feats because these are just little quicky things I tacked on to the end of the chapter.

3273390
No components?! What kind of wizard has no spell components? The abnormal kind that's what kind! Twilight Sparkle is old school.

3273417

Just a request, will we see anything Forgotten Realms related? As you can tell from my screen-name I'm a huge fan of FR. Any edition really.

I'm guessing bat ponies or changelings would be the drow of this setting?

3273435
Mmm, probably not Realms specifically. I kinda lost track of everything going on in it with 4th ed. Gave up on the novels and such, just loathed what they did to the setting. Until then it'd been my favorite haha. If I do a drowesque species in this, I'll likely just borrow from my other works and use the Spiderkin again, as I called them. the bat ponies will have a major role to play in this story however.

PPS

3273417
So Twilight's going to be carrying around scraps of leather for whenever she wants to use Mage Armor?

I really can't wait to see the other mane six... Thirty bits says Big Mac is armed with a war hammer at some point. (Yes I know he's not part of the mane six, so hush all y'all, but it wouldn't be Apple related without Big Mac, now would it?) :eeyup:

Apple Bloom's got some spunk to to her.

Twilight did what she always did when a curious pony had taken an interest in her, and ignored her. They always gave up after she failed to sprout demonic horns or huge bat-like wings as expected.

I'm gonna be mildly disappointed if neither of the above happens by the end of the story. Same for that bow, surely somepony will be an archer if we have epic enchanted bows kicking around.

Granny Smith as an old, powerful mage? Hell yeah.

"All the magical power in the world can’t equal a true zest for knowledge.”

:twilightsmile:

Ooo, I like this variant on Spike.

I was really hoping that was going to be a rocks-to-cake spell, and I was not disappointed.

Woah. Somepony min-maxed.

3273594
Well I tried to go by her stats in the show. Twilight isn't exactly a physically impressive specimen. She's incredibly intelligent, but lacking in common sense so low wisdom. And she couldn't really get more awkward in social situations, so low charisma.

3273521
Mmm, a little I suppose? It's not necessarily leather made from horse flesh lol

3273517
The second prologue should be done tomorrow, MAYBE the third one depending on how long they take me to write.

3273617

Well depending on when I get back home I'll be happy to help edit again, providing your normal editor isn't back by then that is.

So good I just had to promote in a blog post! :pinkiehappy:

3273822
I'm unfamiliar with that publication alas! I read VERY little ever since I started writing. :/

Awesome! I've seen a few D&D/MLP crosses, but I don't think I've seen one with the potential this one shows. I love how you gave Celestia a somewhat different background and personality, and I love Applebloom as Twi's apprentice. It'll be interesting to see what Dinky's mom makes of her encouraging the kid to drop out of school, I gotta say.

3273825
Well, let me put it this way.

:ajsmug:=Ranger
:twilightsmile:=Wizard
:raritystarry:=Rouge
:pinkiehappy:=Bard
:rainbowdetermined2:=Barbarian
:yay:=Druid

Wow. I stared reading this reluctantly. Skeptical that a D&D crossover could be done competently. Then I was worried when it started out like is was just going to be the First episode rewritten with D&D classes thrown in. As I read however I was intrigued and enjoyed the very original start it had and how interesting a plot you've started with. I'm now definitely hooked to at least see how the other mane 5 are introduced. Please don't tease us by abandoning this story after such a strong start.

Favourited, Liked and Followed.

3273444


Agreed. I can't stand the half-baked spellplague idea, but Ed Greenwood saved the books (again) at least, with Elminster Must Die through Elminster Enraged, and managed to basically restore the Realms to working order. I hate 4e myself. But they've basically fixed the Spellplague nonsense. Elistraee and Mystra are both alive for instance, but not exactly well.

Plus Drizzt got a new girlfriend. I still hate what happened to Catti-brie, Cadderly, Deudermont, Delly, and Regis. (Salvatore seems to have gained a penchant for killing off characters.) Gauntlgrym and sequels really make up for Transitions. I haven't really read anyone else's
post spellplague stuff.

D&D and ponies whelp i have a new campaign idea with my friends now. Also i figured that Twilight's wisdom would be just a bit higher

...and now I want to see a MLP crossover with the old D&D cartoon.

Dump constitution???

Nothing is more terrible of a decision...

3273831
I think I write Celestia differently in every single story I've done. XD

3273833
Ah! Hm that's close. Dash is a cleric and AJ's a fighter though.

3273870
I don't ABANDON anything, I just at times take a little while to get around to updating. This will make story number six I'm writing at the moment. XD I have very different takes on all six girls, with the initial prologues at least well planned out.

3273874
Drizzt is the only thing I've been reading. Still can't figure out if like, he's dead at the end of the fourth book of Transitions or what. XD

3273882
Well, Twilight exercises an extreme lack of common sense pretty frequently, so she gets a low wis.

3273964
Can't help you there, that show still gives me the shivers. XD

3273964

I just pictured Luna as Dungeon Master. :rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh:

Good idea though.:pinkiehappy::raritystarry:

This is going on my read later list. I'm too tired to read it now. But in any case, may the blessings of Helm guide you.

Oh, wait.... I think I just gave the author AID&D AKA The Wailing Death..... Sorry.

Also, Best use of a teleportation spell? Transport your enemies four hundred feet into the air.

3273964
That Would be epic

3273998 Looking at your profile you definitely have a good track record for finishing huge stories.

Would you mind if I read this story on my YouTube Channel?

3274017
Haha, oh Wailing Death.

3274028
Go for it. XD

Love the combination of D&D and ponies. But I noticed you're missing the eighth school of magic, illusion. Was that intentional, with illusion forever associated with Nightmare Moon?

3273998
You want shivers? Listen to the audio drama version of the unaired series finale.

Polymorph Any Object, just to get cake? You surely are a troll, Celestia :rainbowlaugh:
Or, did she research a new spell that duplicates the effect just for cake, lowering the level down to 3 or lower?
A spell that makes raw food out of thin air is a 3rd level spell, so it may be a possibility.

In place of the spellbook, you can probably say she has the Blessed Book.

Also, she would be starting as at least level 7, because she has casted Dimension Door at S1E02 against Nightmare Moon to get to the elements. Level ups in tabletop don't usually happen before the end of the current arc, unless the character undergoes a very major epiphany. (you would be familiar with this concept because you DMed before)

3273204>>3273417
Yes, as it stands the ability allows regeneration of spell slots via CLW/CSW/CCW potions. It easily becomes an infinite spell slot loop if she gains access to healing spells by starting as an Archivist, one of the plausible choices for adapting Twilight to D&D, aside from Wizard, Psion or Erudite.

The way you would want to write her cutie mark ability would be similar to a psionic feat called Body Fuel. For arcane users, that's equivalent to 1 point of strength, dexterity or constitution for each level of the spell slot. Still really overpowered because you can circumvent the lackluster physical ability scores via Polymorph. This kind of ability would be okay for the purpose of this fic because Twilight never used Polymorph in the show. (She did use Baleful Polymorph and Mass Hold Person while having a magic surge as a filly, and Polymorph Any Object in Too Many Pinkie Pies.)

Also, being able to specialize in all schools is a big no no. Being a wizard itself is already huge privilege in a D&D setting, so there is no need to hand in even more free spell slots. I would just say she's a generalist and her colleagues just concentrate on their specializations. She would already get her bonus spell slots from intelligence anyway.

3273882
Her adorkableness, inattentiveness and lack of social understanding comes from low wisdom scores. She's not exceptionally resistant to mental influences either. Even 12 is too high; I would probably assign her a wisdom score of 8, at most 10.

So, her scores will be something like;
STR 8, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 18, WIS 8, CHA 10.
(28 Point Buy, and she has known to take an impressive amount of physical abuse. Still better stat numbers than using the elite array.)

Wow Twilight would be up there as among the most broken characters ever. Reducing or eliminating the issue of subduel damage is trivial and getting unlimited spells is not.

Oh well can't wait to see Pinkie. Most people suck at making good bards even if they are a very strong class in 3rd edition.

3273987

More so because she would have to make Concentration checks very frequently.

Slow claps for cleverness.
Okay...Twilight is a wizard, good. Now, assuming the 3.5 rule set, Twilight has obviously had Leadership force-fed to her as her sixth-level feat, which, eh...kinda' sucks. But then, I've never really been a Leadership kinda guy. Now, given Twilight's Generalist nature, she's probably going to want to keep grinding as a wizard rather than Prestige Out, unless she ops for Ultimate Magus or (if she takes a few levels in Cleric to tick Celestia off) Mystic Theurge. Personally, I was always fond Mystic Theurge, because...so many many spells :twilightsmile: Though, it is a bit late for that, given she really should be (3)Wizard, (3) Cleric by now...
Ah well, straight wizard's good too. Now, she's obviously gone into the item creation feat tree, which is the big sink, so her wizardly bonus feats should help with that. And that Int...what kind of rolling convention did Twilight get? Or is this point-buy? Maybe Unicorn gets an Int buff for dropping Str. or Con?
Oh, Apple Bloom...don't go Warmage, they get crap for spell progression. If you absolutely have to Prestige, go Master Specialist and Focused Specialist, they get some nifty stuff at later levels.
...and I've just waaaaaay over analyzed this, haven't I?:twilightsheepish:Carry on with the awesome fic, good...sir? madam?:facehoof:
I'll just...see myself out now. Bye.

Hmm, I'm actually running a pony D&D campaign so I'm curious about this. Since "fun" spells seem too exist I'm going out an a limb and saying this isn't 4th edition, lol. I would imagine Twilight's charisma would be higher though since she displays great presence and natural leadership in the series. I believe her social awkwardness is more a result of a lack of experience then being uncharismatic. Outside of that I would more or less agree with you on her other stats.

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