Hinderances

From the Core Rules

All hindrances from the core rules are available in MLP:SA:

All Thumbs ("All Hooves"), Anemic, Arrogant, Bad Eyes, Bad Luck, Big Mouth, Blind, Bloodthirsty, Cautious, Clueless, Code of Honor, Curious, Death Wish, Delusional, Doubting Thomas, Elderly, Enemy, Greedy, Habit, Hard of Hearing, Heroic, Illiterate, Lame, Loyal, Mean, Obese, One Arm, One Eye, One Leg, Outsider, Overconfident, Pacifist, Phobia, Poverty, Quirk, Small, Stubborn, Ugly, Vengeful, Vow, Wanted, Yellow ("Skittish"), Young

Slight Changes to Core Rules Hindrances

  • Allow Code of Honor, Curious, Heroic and Loyal to be taken as Minor hindrances, instead of only Major. Come on, this is pony, you're playing the good guys, right? (Note that only the severity has been changed, not how the hindrance is treated)
  • All Thumbs is renamed as "All Hooves" and Yellow as "Skittish" for pony-flavor
  • Bad Eyes is considered to be a Minor hindrance, as most ponies can acquire eyeglasses or even contacts (giggle points if you get the multi-colored ones. You know the ones)
  • Lame may also apply to a wing for pegasi, in which case the reduction in pace/running applies when flying, and is treated as a minor hindrance with an affected wing (a pegasus still has all 4 hooves after all)

New Hindrances in MLP:SA

  • Ailing (Minor/Major)
    • Your character tends to get every single sniffle, cough of the year, and spectacular bruises. As a minor hindrance, you have a -2 penalty to resist all Fatigue; as a major hindrance your character already suffers from a long-term chronic disease (see core Savage Worlds, Situational Rules > Hazards > Disease).
  • Allergy (Minor/Major)
      • Your character is allergic to some relatively common substance, like pollen, cat fur, or peanut butter, imposing a -4 penalty to all Trait rolls when you're triggered. With a minor hindrance, you may roll Vigor (no penalty) to see if you can "tough it out" (GM's call on how long it lasts). With a major hindrance, you can't; better hope somepony has an EpiPen!
  • Arcane Weakness (Minor/Major)
      • For whatever reason, your pony has a lot of problems resisting and shrugging off anything magical. As a minor hindrance, you have -2 to resist opposed spells. As a major hindrance, you have -2 to resist opposed spells and -1 Toughness if hit by a damage-causing spell. Ouch! You can't have both the Arcane Weakness hindrance and Arcane Resistance edge.
    • Backfire (Major, Arcane Background (magic) only)
      • You have a harder time wielding and controlling arcane forces, and sometimes it feels like you're a lightning rod. You suffer a Backlash result when a natural 1 comes up on either the skill die OR the Wild Die.
  • Blank Flank (Major, ponies only)
    • Your character hasn't found out their special talent yet, and may be a bit ashamed of the fact, or other ponies look at you funny. On the flip side, because of that you're always willing to try new things! Until you find your special talent, you have -4 to Charisma and 2 less skill points, but +1 benny.
  • Broken Magic (Major, Arcane Background (magic) only)
      • Your character no longer, or perhaps never could, easily harness the magical energies around you. You have an additional -6 penalty on any attempt to spellcast. On the flip side, this Major hindrance counts as 4 Hindrance points instead of the regular 2.
  • Can't Hurt A Fly (Major)
      • No matter how much you practice or how much you train, you're...really, really, really bad at hitting things. At least hard enough to matter. You have a -4 penalty to all Fighting rolls, although your Parry calculation remains the same.
      • Design Note: This is to represent characters that are great at not getting hit (points in Fighting skill, which means points in Parry), but just aren't good at hitting their target or causing damage. Pacifist is the philosophical hindrance for not Fighting, Can't Hurt A Fly is the action hindrance for flailing away and missing every time, but at least being good enough to not get hit in the first place! ;D
  • Clipped Wings (Major, winged creatures only)
    • Your character, whether by birth or terrible, terrible injury, can't fly all due to severely injured wing(s).
    • With a prosthetic or other aid (presuming your GM allows this technological level), Clipped Wings works like Lame (for a wing): your flying Pace is 4" and you roll a d4 for "running while flying." A character's Pace may never be reduced below 1.
    • Without a prosthetic or other aid, the character's flying pace is 0" (they can't fly). If for some reason your character needs to make a flying check anyway (they're falling off a cliff perhaps), you have a -4 penalty to your flying check.
      • The fact that you can no longer fly can be a heavy weight; either you are uncomfortable with your flight status or other ponies are awkward around you. Because of this, you have -2 Charisma.
    • Clumsy (Major/Minor)
      • You might not be as clumsy as The Bubble Butt Pony, but, well, you're kinda up there. You have a tendency to crash, drop, or trip over things. As a minor hindrance, you have -2 to resist Agility Tricks. As a major hindrance, you have a -2 to all Trait rolls involving balance or stealth as well as resisting Agility Tricks.
    • Cocky (Minor)
      • You know those shonen anime shows where all the attack names are yelled? Yep, your character is a braggart who must announce his actions, possibly in ALL CAPS. Come on, it's the rule of cool, man! Even if it means your opponent knows exactly what's coming...
  • Disability (Major/Minor)
    • This is a catch-all hindrance for any physical or mental affliction not covered by any of the other similar-themed Hindrances (Ailing, One Arm/Eye/Leg, Lame, Delusional, Quirk). Arrange with your GM on the specifics and severity.
  • Doubt (Major/Minor)
    • You should be good at this, but...well...I don't know... Choose one Trait that everypony expects you to at least be competent in (so you need at least a d4 in it). As a minor hindrance, you have -2 to that Trait; as a major hindrance, -4.
  • Gullible (Minor)
    • Wait what's that? Squirrel! Your character is distracted easily and has a -2 to resist Smarts Tricks.
  • Hopeless Romantic (Minor)
    • Whether you are an eternal optimist or ~forever alone~, your character tends to fall hoof over heels with nearly every dame (or buck) you meet, and basically pushes too hard trying to nab a date. Your character has -2 Charisma.
    • This isn't Brock from Pokemon wat r u sayin'
  • Impulsive (Minor)
    • The saying's "Leap before you think," right? When an idea takes you, more often than not, you run with it. You're not overconfident; you just don't always think things through before taking action.
  • Obligations / Quest (Minor/Major)
      • Your character has responsibilities or a goal they must fulfill or achieve. Whether it's external (Obligations) or internal (Quest), you are either financially, legally, ethically, or otherwise bound to your vow.
    • As a minor hindrance it's generally constraints on time and the responsibilities are occasionally inconvenient. As a major hindrance, your character's obligations are crucial and can even put you in harms way.
      • Design Note: This is a optional slight reskinning of the Vow hindrance
  • Pushover (Minor)
      • Sometimes it feels like you've always got a "Kick Me" piece of paper taped on your back, and more often than not you cave to peer pressure. You have -2 to resist Intimidation Test of Wills.
  • Short-Tempered (Minor)
    • It's incredibly easy to rile you up; insults have a way at digging into you like none other. Your character is -2 to resist Taunt Test of Wills.
  • Slow (Major)
    • Your character's reaction speed is a bit slower than average. When you draw for Initiative, draw two cards and act on the worst. If the first card is the Joker, you may use that card.
    • You cannot both have the Slow hindrance and the Quick edge. Level-Headed allows you to draw one card and act normally. Improved Level Headed grants you two cards and you act on the better of the two.
  • Smart Mouth (Minor)
    • True, you may be a master of witty banter, but you do it all the time, which annoys someponies at the best of times, and worst of times, you're "poking the angry gorilla." Your character's sharp tongue gives -2 Charisma.
  • Trouble Magnet (Minor/Major)
    • Where you go, trouble follows. Weird stuff just happens to bestow its dubious grace upon your character, like always tripping over cats, rain, and falling pianos. As a minor hindrance it's annoying or unsettling; as a major hindrance it could be downright dangerous (I see dead ponies; attack of the falling anvils).