Virtues – Kindness, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, and Laughter (Joy)

Maintaining a virtue isn’t easy in the equestrian wasteland. It’s difficult – which is why in this system taking one counts as a hindrance, and gives you a creation point back as a reward if you pick one at character creation. Ponies don’t have to take a virtue, though the wasteland tends to be easier to survive for ponies that know what their virtue is and actively live up to it; all ponies who want to make the wasteland a better place should at least read through and consider it. Virtues can also be earned by characters that demonstrate them frequently during gameplay. Some GMs might even want to only allow virtues to be earned in this way.

Taking a virtue does not by guarantee that your character is the embodiment of that element of harmony; that decision should be made by individual GMs based on the way a character is played. Players who pick a virtue but do not embody it or manage to corrupt it through their actions may find themselves losing karma as a result. And don’t forget: only ponies can be elements of harmony that we’ve seen, but having a virtue can apply to anyone – Alicorns, Zebra and Griffins as well as any of the other myriad races that still manage to survive in Equestria. If your GM wants to have a zebra as the element of kindness, that’s up to them. Just don’t take virtues lightly – the fate of Equestria ultimately depends on the Elements of Harmony, which in turn depend on virtuous ponies. Characters with negative karma run a high risk of becoming an embodiment of a corrupted virtue.

Generosity – Your pony frequently gives to others, at personal expense if necessary. Even if they might only barely have enough to survive themselves, generous ponies continue to give to those less fortunate. They might have no qualms taking what they need from the more fortunate, though. Generous ponies frequently sacrifice themselves in order to aid in the escape of others, and give what they can to help any they come across who are in need. Corrupted ponies with generosity as a virtue might only give to those who they deem worthy, or only give of themselves to save their close friends.

Honesty – Ponies with this virtue might find themselves thinking, “The Truth will set you free,” quite a bit. Lying and deception are not your style; you are not necessarily completely straightforward, but lies, even what some would call “white lies,” you find to be repulsive. You believe that if everything were fair and honest, the world would be a better place – even if you know that sometimes the truth hurts the most. Telling the truth might not fix the problem immediately, but you know full well that even if it might cause some pain in the short run, it enables the healing process to begin. You are honest, sometimes to a fault; lying for you is nearly impossible, and when you do manage to do it it’s completely unconvincing. Take a -100 penalty on Speechcraft or Mercantile skills when you lie or attempt to broker what you know to be an unfair deal. Honest ponies that aren’t corrupt often have trouble even withholding information that they know might help others (if those being helped are known to be trustworthy). Examples of corrupted honesty tend to be manipulative, using the truth to tell lies.

Kindness – You are a kind pony. You try to help those in need, often at great personal cost. It might not be a perfect world, but you believe that we can do better than we are to make it one simply by being kind to others. Some others might try to take advantage of this, but you’re certainly no fool; your kindness towards both friend and foe is done in the knowledge that, whether or not they are grateful, you’ve done the right thing. Kind ponies who are not corrupt must try to be kind, even to their enemies if given the opportunity, but that doesn’t mean they won’t defend themselves or their friends. Corrupted kindness is both dark and brutal; it manifests most commonly where ponies give up on being kind to individuals in order to help what they decide is a “greater good.”

Laughter (Joy) – “How is laughter a virtue?” asks Lil’pip. Perhaps laughter isn’t the right word. Upon close examination, what is really meant by laughter as a virtue is that those possessing it have the ability to laugh in the face of fear, to smile when the situation looks grim. In other words, those possessing the virtue of laughter have within them a deep, powerful reserve of joy. Ponies who have found these joy reserves are capable of seeing light in the darkness, and they use this light, metaphorical though it may be, to guide themselves and their companions through the sadness and despair of the wastelands. Joyful ponies aren’t necessarily optimistic – that’s a different hindrance described above – but they are always capable of finding something to smile about, even if the situation is dire. Ponies whose joy and laughter have been corrupted are almost never able to be truly happy, or are only happy because of the effects of some drug or other unnatural source.

Loyalty – Your pony would never betray their friends, no matter what they may have done to deserve it. She might not always be kind to them, and will certainly still make mistakes within the friendship, but at the end of the day she will always be there to help out in a pinch. Ponies with the loyalty virtue also tend to stick to their guns on their ideals – sometimes at a terrible cost to themselves. Loyal ponies that aren’t corrupt simply cannot bring themselves to betray friends or family – even if they’re out to kill you. Corrupted loyalty tends to manifest as loyalty to causes, rather than to the ponies supporting them. It is often quite merciless, willing to go beyond the pale and to make great sacrifices (both morale and otherwise) to support the object of the loyalty. Remember – loyal ponies have been known to often do things that those who they’re protecting would be mortified to find out about….

Notice that magic is not listed here. The legend of the elements of harmony says that once the other five elements are present, a spark will cause the sixth element to appear. The element of Magic was the sixth element for the Mane 6 ponies, but it is not necessarily the case that the sixth element of Harmony remains tied to magical ability. Included in the traits section is a set of rules for using magic as the sixth virtue, listed as the two-part Magical Savant and Arcane Devotion traits; due to its power, it’s treated as a set of traits rather than a hindrance, with some specific requirements. For more information on using magic as the sixth element, see the perk’s description and requirements below.

For those of you who want to make a pony with a different virtue than those listed above, note that almost any positive quality that a pony can have can be considered a virtue. A few other good choices for possible virtues not listed here are Sacrifice, Love, Patience, Restraint, Pity, Modesty, Humility, Determination, Perseverance, Discipline, Tolerance, Hope, and Courage, but even including these the list is not anywhere close to all-encompassing. To be a good choice for a Virtue a trait must be positive, but at the same time may require personal sacrifices in order to uphold in your wastelander’s life. Try to consider how a virtue might manifest as corrupted in your character before choosing this hindrance.

Traits

Sometimes a character has some special facets or abilities that are the result of their background. Traits represent these sorts of things, and can be purchased at character creation using character creation points. Unlike Hindrances, Traits almost exclusively provide characters with positive effects and benefits.

Some of the traits below can only be obtained by characters at character creation, or gained through play as “Quest Perks”. Traits that can be taken during play as you level up will be relisted in the Leveling up your Character section as perks; their requirements and eligibility may change. Traits should be bought after purchasing hindrances, as certain hindrances preclude or are necessary to obtain some traits; traits are labeled appropriately to note this. They cannot be bought as traits when leveling up characters. Those perks are listed in the “Leveling up your Character” section, later in this document.

Characters who are Ghouls and Canterlot Ghouls (a subtype of many races in the wasteland who have survived a normally lethal dose of necromantic radiation) should take the Ghoul or Canterlot Ghoul trait accordingly.

Table VIII: Traits Summary

Trait Name	M/P	Creation Point Cost	Brief Description
Ace Flyer	M	1	Increase the number of flight maneuvers you can learn. Increase varies by level of maneuver.
Additional Spell/Recipe	M	1	Cast or brew one additional 1st or 0th level spell or potion.
Agile Tongue (Prehensile Tail)	P	1	Removes lockpicking penalty to races without fine manipulation; grants +5 rank bonus to lockpicking and science.
Animal Companion	P	1-3	Grants an animal companion who will travel with you.
Arcane Devotion	M	2	+5 rank bonus to magic, multiple additional spells at character creation.
Astronomer	M	1	+10 to zebra magic under certain conditions.
Brave	M	1	Reduces the MFD for any fear or horror rolls by one step for you. Companions gain a +10 bonus on this roll.
Cache Location	P	1+	Your character knows the location of a cache with goods and supplies in it.
Channeler	M	1-2	+4 magical strain capacity, or regenerate strain 25% faster, or both. Can be taken twice to stack either effect.
Clear Conscience	M	1	+25 to INT or willpower rolls made to resist gaining mental hindrances.
Contortionist	P	1	Ponies shouldn’t bend that way. +15 to rolls made to dodge; you can squeeze into impossibly small spaces.
Cyberpony	P	1-3	+3 DT, +10 DT versus fire, +10 to END rolls vs. Poison, +10% radiation resistance effects. Makes you age much slower.
D. A. R. E. ing Do	M/P	1	You receive a +20 bonus on either END or INT rolls made to prevent addiction to substances.
Disease Resistant	P	1	+20 bonus on END rolls made to resist disease.
Faith	M	1	Lowers MFD for allies to overcome mental hindrances, change the critical range for a single roll every session.
Foal at Heart	M	1	Opens up unique dialog options with young NPCs. Also Grants +2 CHA towards young NPCs.
Formal Education	M	1	+10 on background knowledge rolls. Character knows more about the world, such as historical information.
Good Luck Charm	M	1	Allows an ally to reroll a single roll once per session. Additional effects with Live by Luck.
Heavenly Vision	P	1	+5 roll bonus on CHA-based rolls, and +1d10 damage against those ponies to which the Pony Romance traits or perks apply for you. Those who see you as competition deal +1d10 damage to you.
Implanted	P	2+	Your character has major internal implants. The implants provide them with bonuses or have specific specialized and/or situational effects.
Internal/Concealed Storage	P	1	Character can conceal a small object, no bigger than a small handgun or tool, even when naked. (Eww.) Free with Slave.
Iron Stomach	P	1	Can eat spoiled food without negative effects, MFD for ingested poisons is one step easier
Large	P	1	Only take wounds every 12 points of damage; 5% penalty to dodge. 20 additional units of carrying capacity.
Lucky	M	1	Reroll and take the preferred roll once per session per time you’ve taken this trait.
Trait Name	M/P	Cost	Description
Magical Savant	M	2	Learning spells by pushing them beyond their limits is easier for you, and physical cost to cast and sustain spells is lowered by 1, minimum 1.
Ministry Descendant	P	1 (0)	Access to ministry-encrypted or locked files, information, and locations.
Ministry Employee	M/P	1 (0)	Access to ministry-encrypted or locked files, information and locations.
Named Weapon/Armor	P	1	You begin with a named weapon or named piece of armor, as per the rules listed in the equipment section.
Omnivore	P	1	Characters can now survive off a wider range of foods.
Open Minded	M	1	You ignore all racial speechcraft penalties, and can make a speechcraft roll to convince members of races that you would otherwise suffer penalties towards that you are a friend.
Organization	P	1-3	Your character belongs to an organization or settlement and gains a benefit accordingly.
Poison Resistant	P	1	+10 on all endurance rolls to resist poisons. 50% chance that deadly poisons are not deadly to you.
Pony Romance	M	1	+1d10 damage against your gender of interest.
Power Armor Training	M/P	1	Your character knows how to wear and operate power armor to its fullest extent.
Prehensile Tail	P	1	See Agile Tongue.
Quick Witted	M	1	+10 to initiative rolls, + 5 to INT or PER rolls made under timed conditions. May act during surprise rounds.
Reversal of Fortune	P	1	Swap the tens and ones places on one die roll per game session.
Robot Companion	P	1-3	Grants a robotic companion who will travel with you.
Sense Magic	M/P	1	Your character can detect the presence of magic when it is used around them.
Specialization	M	1	+15 on skill rolls related to your specialization.
Stable Dweller	M/P	1	You grew up in a stable, and gain the benefits of stable life.
Sterner Stuff	M/P	1-2	+1 DT and +5 versus diseases and poisons, OR +10 on mental resistance rolls, including hindrance resistance rolls.
“Tastes Fine to Me!”	P	1	+5 bonus on Survival rolls
Touched by the Sun	M/P	1	+ 1 on all SPECIAL, -5 on all skills. -1 skill rank per level up.
Trained under a Medicine Mare	M	1	Grants non-zebra access to a single level-0 zebra recipe. You may now ignore racial speechcraft penalties towards zebras completely
Wasteland Weirdo	M/P	1-4	Your character has a rare or unique attribute, ability, or effect as a result of their history in the wasteland.
Zebra Augmented	P	1	+3 DT, +10 DT versus fire, +10 Poison Resistance, 10% resistance to radiation effects. Makes you age much slower.
Ghoul	P	2-3	Your character is a Ghoul. They’re healed by and immune to radiation and no longer need to consume food.
Canterlot Ghoul	P	4	Your character is a Canterlot Ghoul. They’re healed by and immune radiation, immune to pink cloud, and no longer need to consume food.

Remember to check for trait requirements and limitations!

Trait Full Descriptions:

Ace Flyer (Requires Flight as a racial skill, cannot be taken with Flight School Dropout) – You were the best flight jock in your class, and no one could touch you. Other students fought for the privilege of being your wing mare. Not only did you master the techniques you were taught, but your innate understand of them has made it easier for you to remember a wider variety of techniques than your peers! Characters with this trait may learn two additional level 2 flight maneuvers and one additional level 3 flight maneuver above the normal maximum limits determined by their agility attribute score.

Additional Spell/Recipe (Requires Magic as a racial skill, cannot be taken by Alicorns) – For whatever reason, your character is talented enough at magic or alchemy to the point that they know an extra spell or recipe. Perhaps they had a mentor teach them, or maybe they found instructions in an old pre-war book. Characters that take this trait begin with one extra level 0 or 1 recipe or spell, usually related to their cutie mark.

Agile Tongue – Some Earth Ponies and Pegasi are just that talented at using their tongue, tail and hooves. Take that however you wish. If your character’s got this trait, not only are they talented, they’re so good they don’t suffer the dexterity penalty to lockpicking normally suffered by hooved races. They receive instead a rank-bonus to both lockpicking and science of 5. Characters of other races that take this trait are just abnormally dexterous with their mouth or tail, and receive the same bonus, though obviously the trait doesn’t negate any penalties for them that they already don’t have (unless they lose their magic or their opposable digits). May also provide situational benefits related to intercourse (and we definitely don’t mean talking), and will allow characters to reload weapons at an accelerated rate. Whenever reloading a weapon outside of SATS, they reload twice as many bullets as they would otherwise.

Animal Companion (Variable Point Cost, cannot be taken with Robot Companion) – Taking this at character creation means that, at some point in your character’s past, they befriended an animal in the wasteland that now follows them around. The animal might be intelligent, or it might not, but it is far more than a pet to your character -- it’s practically family, and both the companion and the character rely on each other. A list of possible animals or wasteland creatures that can become companions is below, though this list is not by any means exhaustive and other options may be available to your wastelanders depending on locale. These companions do not gain experience or increase in level as player characters (though their stats may be increased via roleplaying events, such as training), and if playing with the “Live by Luck” rules they receive a single luck card each. This trait can only be taken once, and if your companion dies you may befriend another during gameplay.

The most commonly available critters available as animal companions in the Equestrian Wasteland are listed on the following page. For stats on these creatures, look to your GM; the stat blocks are listed in the back of the book. This list may change depending on setting and GM preference, and is in no way limited to the creatures listed here – this is just a basic suggestion.

Balefire Phoenix (3 Creation Points) – These rare and majestic creatures are capable of flight, and are immune to the negative effects of taint due to their regenerative abilities. Balefire Phoenixes are very intelligent, and are healed by the effects of ambient radiation as well as from fire. It’s been rumored that several of these creatures have been seen around the Fillydelphia and Manehattan ruins, but the creatures are so rare and elusive that these rumors are difficult to confirm. In environs where a balefire phoenix may not be reasonable as a companion, we recommend you substitute either an Ankha or a Qetzal.

Brahmin (2 Creation Points) – Brahmin are sturdy, two-headed bovine creatures descended from the cattle that once roamed the areas south of Ponyville. Frequently used by travelling merchants as pack animals, the majority of Brahmin are, unlike their ancestors, not very intelligent. Occasionally one of the two heads may possess average intelligence, but this is rare (have GM roll percentiles for each head, on a critical success that head is of average intelligence). They are immune to the effects of radiation, and extremely resistant to taint.

Dog (1 Creation Point, 2 if Cyberdog) – The surviving canines of Equestria are mostly unchanged by radiation, having sheltered in tunnels or in stables with their owners through the apocalypse. They are extremely loyal and can be quite vicious in a fight, and have noses capable of detecting or tracking down just about anything you might come across in the Equestrian Wasteland. While wandering the wasteland you may also encounter cybernetically enhanced canines, which tend to be much stronger, faster, more intelligent, and more resistant to the effects of taint and radiation than their organic brethren. If you find one of these canines alone and can help it out in some way, you may find yourself with a new friend.

Mole Rat (1 Creation Point) – While not particularly intelligent or pleasant to look at, the mole rats of the wasteland are extremely skilled scavengers and diggers, and are immune to the effects of radiation and taint. Mole rats tend to imprint on the first creature they see as their mother when they first open their eyes, around 6-8 weeks after being born.

Timber Wolf (2 Creation Points) – These intelligent, lupine-looking creatures are actually plants, not animals, and have their origins deep in the Everfree forest. Generally hostile to all animal species, they travel in packs protecting their seedling pups, which the females plant in small clearings. The only known successful attempts at domestication of these ferocious creatures required that they be raised from seeds. Even domesticated they are still ferocious, loyal and extremely protective to any creatures they perceive as part of their “pack,” and vicious towards outsiders.

Nightstalker (3 Creation Points) – Nightstalkers are creatures of taint, a strange-yet-stable magical combination of snakes and dogs. They were created as an experiment by pre-war scientists in an attempt to combine the loyal aspects of a domesticated dog with the ferocity and reflexes of a viper. They were at least partially successful; if raised from the moment of their hatching, nightstalkers are extremely loyal. Marketing them as pets was less successful. Their magical origins allow nightstalkers to naturally generate a 2 MFD step stealth field, and their poison is known to be both deadly and fast-acting.

Radroaches (1 Creation Point) – Rad roaches are the result of generations of enlargement as a result of radiation. Not generally dangerous but fiercely territorial and aggressive, they are considered something of a nuisance to most living today. They generally eat the dead, but will attack the living if not fed regularly. These creatures are roughly the size and intellect of a housecat, and can actually be domesticated quite easily (though few make the attempt). 1 creation point spent grants 1d4 Radroach companions.

Yao Guai (3 Creation Points) – Yao Guai are the mutated descendants of the ursine tribes that occupied some of the lands bordering northern Equestria and the Griffin territories. They are intelligent and immune to radiation, as well as highly resistant to taint, but they are quick to anger and extremely dangerous in melee. Trying to help most Yao Guai will get your head bitten off really quickly (and that’s not just a colorful metaphor), but if you can earn their loyalty you’ve got a friend for life.

Arcane Devotion (Requires 2 Character Creation Points. Requires Magic as a Tag Skill and either Studious or INT 8. Requires Magic as a racial ability; cannot be taken with Illiterate, Imprecise Magic, Stubby Little Horn or One Trick Pony) – Your character has an affinity for magic that is the end result of a lifestyle dedicated to its study.

This trait allows a unicorn, alicorn, zebra or half-breed to reduce the level requirement for learning a spell by two levels. It also doubles the number of spells a character can learn at each spell level; these effects do not stack for those equines who also take Magical Savant.

Their studies of magic and spells (or recipes) translate into their being able to learn how to cast nearly any spell (or brew any potion, or create any talisman) they can study for a sufficiently long amount of time – including just watching other ponies cast the spell or just examining a talisman for a few hours! This means that they can learn any spell or recipe that their level and skill with magic allows as long as they have access to a teacher, a spellbook, or an example (or for zebras, a sample of the final product that a recipe is for is usually sufficient). This ability does not grant them a bonus on rolls made to improve their on spells by pushing them beyond their limits.

Note that what is required to learn a spell depends heavily on the spell itself – studying a rock brought into existence by the “Create Matter” spell isn’t going to unlock the mysteries of how the spell pulled off such an impressive feat, but studying a unicorn who is currently casting the spell might. Arcane Devotees start with an additional five ranks in Magic, and an additional number of spells or recipes at level 1 or 0 equal to their casting attribute (Intelligence or possibly Charisma) divided by 3, rounded up. Zony Shamans may pick these additional spells from either list.

Astronomer (Zebra or Zony only, requires GM permission. Cannot be taken with Illiterate) - You know more about the stars than almost anyone, including most zebra. This is particularly impressive due to the fact that the zebra astronomers were years, perhaps decades ahead of their pony counterparts, and their knowledge of the stars and their movements and impacts on the world was unparalleled even as the balefire fell. This edge is purely informational, and its use and utility are completely GM dependent. As such, even if your character does end up with this hindrance, you should discuss with your GM what exactly they do and do not know about the stars - both above and below.

Astronomers are revered within zebra society, and the possession of such knowledge is closely guarded within Caesar’s Legion due to the possible power it confers upon the bearer. Zebras with this trait get a +10 on their Zebra Magic skill roles to recite zebra lore, culture and history, or if making talismans or potions involving stellar influences in either their recipe origins or their ingredients.

Brave (Cannot be taken with Cowardly) – Bravery isn’t a lack of fear – it’s the ability to act in spite of it. Characters with this trait know how to react to scary situations in ways that do not involve running away in fear, yelling “The horror! The horror!” or soiling themselves. If a frightening situation arises – one in which a fear roll must be made - Brave characters may treat the MFD as one step lower that it would normally be.

Bravery is inspiring. Whenever a brave character rolls fear, they provide a +10 bonus on fear rolls to those traveling with them. This bonus can stack with itself if multiple characters have this trait, and characters with this trait will still receive this +10 bonus (or bonuses) if other characters in their group also have this trait.

Cache Location – Your pony has a stash of goods, food, gear, or perhaps even weapons and armor somewhere out in the wasteland. It’s well hidden or protected, and only they know how to access it, but it may be fairly out of the way relative to where they usually hang out. This trait can be taken multiple times. For every character creation point spent, your pony has an additional 1000 caps worth of gear in their stash.

Channeler (Requires 1-2 Character Creation Points, requires the Magic racial skill) – Your character is capable of storing and/or generating more magical energy than almost any other unicorn or alicorn. Depending on which one it is (and you must choose which one before taking this trait), their magical strain capacity is either increased by 4 points, or they now regenerate one point of strain every 45 minutes instead of the normal every hour. This trait can be taken twice to obtain both effects, or to obtain a better version of either effect. If taken twice to increase magical strain capacity, then the total increase to capacity is 8 points; if taken twice to decrease strain regeneration time, then the character now regenerates one point of magical energy every thirty minutes. A character cannot invest more than two creation points into this trait overall (that is to say, it can only be taken twice).

Clear Conscience (Cannot be taken with Half-Heart or Guilty Conscience) – Maybe your wastelander really hasn’t done anything they regret, or perhaps they’re just very good at rationalizing their actions to themselves and others. Either way, characters with this trait are good at staying focused on the task at hoof and not getting bogged down with the aftermath of their decisions. After all, somepony needed to make the call, and they did their best to make it as they saw fit at the time – no point worrying about what ifs and might have beens. This trait grants a +25 bonus to resisting the gain of a mental hindrance that might otherwise result from witnessing or hearing about the less desirable results of past actions. If the character with this fails to resist gaining a mental hindrance three consecutive times (for a total of three different hindrances), then they lose the effects of this trait. If a character loses the trait in this way, they may increase their intelligence or luck attribute score by one point. They still get the mental hindrance as normal.

Contortionist (Cannot be taken with Elderly or Obese. Requires AGI 6 or greater) – Your wastelander is incredibly flexible, to the point where they could probably have made a living off of bar bets alone before the war. They are capable of squeezing into spaces or through gaps usually only big enough for a small foal to fit through. This trait really shines in combat, as contortionist characters receive a +15 bonus on rolls made to dodge or move behind cover as a result of their ability to compact their form and to move their bodies in unexpected ways. This bonus does not apply to rolls made to dodge by means other than agility, such as rolls to dodge employing the fly, magic or dig skills. Also of note, this bonus to dodge does not stack with dodge bonuses provided by the Pipsqueak, Skinny as a Rail, or Young Hindrances.

Cyberpony (Recommended: Stable Dweller or Sand Dog. Cannot also be Zebra Augmented or Canterlot Ghoul; Costs 1 or 3 Character Creation Points; gain a maximum of 1 character creation point for areas Maimed that start play replaced by cybernetics) – Your character had access to highly advanced technology at some point in their lives. They may have been a pony in a stable that continued to advance technologically in spite of the apocalypse, or they might have been cybernetically augmented as part of an experimental procedure, but reasons aside they are now part machine. They are a cyber-pony (or zebra, griffin, or sand dog), and as a result they’re much more physically able than their non-enhanced counterparts. Their augmented form is extremely durable, which translates to their limbs being able to take one extra wound each before becoming crippled and one extra wound each before being removed, and they age at a greatly reduced rate due to the arcane technology integrating the cybernetics with the rest of their form. They also have a permanent increase to their Damage Threshold around the area of the prosthesis, gain 10 DT versus Fire over all locations, 10% radiation resistance, and have a +10 Bonus on resisting (most) poisons.

If you put in one point, this trait grants you all of the above bonuses, making you functionally part machine. The damage threshold of your cyborg is increased by +6, but only in the location of their prosthetic. The machine components don’t have to be extensive at this level, nor must they be visible – perhaps your waster had an eye enhanced, or has an artificial leg below the knee on one side. Maybe they have an artificial organ.

For three character creation points, characters are more machine than flesh, likely having 3-4 cyber limbs and many more internal components and implants, such as cyber eyes or a built-in pipbuck interface. The damage threshold bonus for this level of cybernetic enhancement is a +3 bonus to the entire cyborg – all locations (even otherwise unmodified locations need artificial strengthening in order to support the surrounding cybernetics). They do not need to eat or sleep as normal ponies (though an hour or three of sleep every few days is still recommended, lest they go insane), and must consume gems and scrap metal as normal ponies would consume food. Depending on how advanced the cybernetic systems are they may be unable to move silently or have other downsides. All 3-point cyber ponies have internal repair talismans (often more than one) that are very nearly indestructible; that doesn’t mean they’re indestructible, mind you - eating a balefire egg omelet is still a bad idea.

Cybernetic components must be regularly fed crushed or whole gems and bits of scrap metal or electronic components to keep them functional. All cyber prostheses have compartments into which these materials can be placed, some of them considerably less obvious than others (some ponies even ‘eat’ their gems and scrap metal alongside normal food). For the purposes of bookkeeping, cyber prostheses should be ‘fed” crystals or alternative power sources as a normal pony would consume food and water; a limb that is approximately ¼ the size of a pony should require crystals about ¼ as often, excepting under heavy use when it may consume more.

Crystals allow the limbs to function at full power, while scrap metal initiates repairs and maintains components via the repair talisman installed within the device. Less complex prostheses may lack repair talismans (and thus the ability to accept scrap metal as a means of self-repair), but still require power. If the repair talisman is damaged, the cybernetic component can be repaired using the repair skill, though it will take considerably longer to do so. Fully functional repair talismans initiate repairs whenever damage is present and scrap metal is available to them, and recover wounds at a rate of one wound per 15 minutes in most cases. Differing models of repair talisman and varying conditions may alter this.

Characters with this trait at the 3-point level may purchase the Implanted trait at a reduced cost – they need only spend one character creation point for their first additional implant instead of two.

D. A. R. E. ing Do (Cannot be taken with Addiction or Addictive Personality) – Due to a quirk of genetics, or perhaps due to some anti-drug program that they were indoctrinated into within their stable as a child, your pony is extremely resistant to the addictive effects of drugs, chems and medicines. While this background edge doesn’t negate any of the side effects of such substances, it does provide a +20 bonus to resist addiction to a substance. This bonus immediately counter-balances the addiction chance penalty on either INT or END rolls made to prevent addiction; for most substances, it more than compensates for the substance’s addiction chance. Characters choosing to take this trait must select whether their bonus applies to END or INT, and they cannot pick both. This trait cannot be taken more than once. For more information on addiction, see the Medicine and Drugs header under Equipment of the Wastelands.

Disease Resistant – For whatever reasons, your pony has an extremely strong immune system. They are resistant to the diseases of the wasteland. If they’ve been exposed to a disease of any sort, even if the disease generally does not grant a roll to prevent its onset or effects, they may make an endurance roll. The base TN of the roll depends on the disease, but unless the disease wouldn’t normally allow a roll, wastelanders with this trait get a +20 bonus to resist it. For more information on disease, see “Dangers of the Wasteland”, later on in this document.

Faith (Cannot be taken with Faithless) – While it may be unusual for many non-pony races, having faith in the goddesses Celestia and Luna is as natural to most ponies as eating grass or trying to avoid radioactive fallout. Regardless of race, characters with this trait have an abnormally strong faith in the princesses. They use this faith as a basis for their endeavors – their beacon of light in the darkness of the wasteland. This is not the same as the Optimistic Hindrance; players with faith simply radiate a degree of hope and serenity that is rare in the wasteland. Barring a crisis of faith that might be caused by seeing a particularly horrible abomination, or perhaps seeing the corpse of one of the goddesses, characters with faith tend to be a little bit healthier in the head.

Characters with this trait may, once per session on a single die roll, change the range of a critical success for themselves. This roll cannot be an act that the goddesses would frown upon, such as killing an innocent, and the player must declare that they’re calling on divine assistance before they roll. Critical failures still occur on rolls of 1-5, but the critical success range for this roll is now any 5 number spread (or 10 number spread, if they’ve taken the finesse perk) that the player chooses. This range must be declared before rolling, and cannot include the range for which they would roll a critical failure.

In addition, characters with this trait, or characters who are friends with a character who has this trait, have an easier time getting over, and a harder time getting, mental hindrances through gameplay. If a character in the group has this trait and another character in the group would normally gain a mental hindrance from something they’ve just experienced, the character with the trait must roll Charisma, MFD ½ with any applicable bonuses and penalties. If they succeed, the character does not get the hindrance. If they fail, the hindrance is acquired as normal. If the faithful character critically fails this roll, then they cannot attempt to make another roll to prevent a hindrance this session. If they critically fail three sessions in a row then the character has a crisis of faith, making this ability (and the +5 bonus on a roll) temporarily unavailable until they are able to restore their faith in the goddesses by some in-game means.

Foal at Heart (Cannot be taken with Young) – This trait opens up dialog options with younger NPCs of all races that may not have previously been available to adult or elderly characters. Your GM may give you suggestions on what to say and should change how younger characters will react towards you. Characters with this trait receive a temporary attribute bonus of +2 to their Charisma Attribute when dealing with younger NPCs, up to a maximum effective attribute score of 12. Alicorns, zebra and pony races may opt to take Foal at Heart at character creation in order to join the Crusaders.

Formal Education (Cannot be taken with Abandoned or Illiterate) – Not the same as the Egghead or Bookworm level-up perks, this trait focuses instead on the breadth and depth of your knowledge rather than how well trained you are in extracting that knowledge from your experiences. Characters with a formal education can be treated as knowing basic background information about Equestria, such as what the war was fought over, how the ministries were founded, what the Sun is, who was in charge of Stable-Tec, etc.

In situations where it is unknown if a pony would know something, rather than roll a normal intelligence roll as described in the “Skill Based and General Character Knowledge” section, they may make an intelligence roll with a +10 bonus to determine whether or not they know something about whatever the topic at hoof may be. Slightly less well known facts, such as the order in which cities were hit by megaspells, the name of the location where Princess Luna’s school of magic once stood, or the fact that the Enclave can only grow certain types of crops (if you’re not a pegasus) are good examples of knowledge that could be obtained in this manner. Knowledge that a character has is always ultimately subject to GM approval.

Good Luck Charm (Cannot be taken with Bad Luck Charm or Jinxed) – You’re lucky to have around! Whether or not you’re lucky yourself, when you’re around all of your companions seem to fare better. Once per session, you may allow one other character (not including yourself) to reroll a failure or critical failure. If your group is playing with the Live by Luck rules, you may activate this ability additional times per session at the cost of two luck cards per time - still more reliable than having them spend luck cards themselves for the same effect. At the beginning of each session all other group members (including any NPC companions, not including you) draw one additional luck card.

Heavenly Vision (Cannot be taken by Ghouls, Canterlot Ghouls, or Hellhounds) – Darling, you look simply GORGEOUS! Everypony knows it – you’re the most beautiful mare (or most handsome stallion) ever to grace the wasteland with their presence. You receive a +10 roll bonus to all charisma-based rolls (including skills), and if you take any of the Pony Romance perks or traits you deal an extra 1d10 of damage whenever they apply.

You may also find that others of the same gender hate you for being so beautiful – they’re just jealous, darling--and as a result, those enemies who see you as competition will go out of their way to cause trouble for you. Enemies who might see you as “reproductive competition” (those who have the same –ahem-- appetite as you do, regardless of actual reproductive ability) will deal an extra 1d10 damage towards you. Enemies that find you attractive, on the other hoof, will never shoot to kill such a heavenly vision as yourself – at least not until you shoot to try and kill them (or their friends) first.

Implanted (Cannot be taken by Alicorns, or with Canterlot Ghoul or Zebra Augmented; costs 2 or more Character Creation Points) – Your character has had at least one cybernetic implant that is completely internal. For mares in many stables, sterility implants were commonplace – that’s not the kind of implant this trait is talking about (such an implant would be an associated benefit of the Stable Dweller trait). For your character this is a relatively major implant, such as one that would increase your attribute score by one, boost your natural healing rate, help you better regulate your body temperature to survive in extreme climates, or grant you increased resistance to certain poisons, among other possibilities. A list of example implants (ignoring attribute-score increasing implants due to their obvious effects) is provided below. This list is certainly not exhaustive – implants can come in many different shapes and sizes and have any number of different effects besides those shown in the examples provided.

Table IX: Example Implants

Implant Name	Function
Phoenix Monocyte Breeder Talisman	Regenerate damage at a rate of 1 wound per hour, stacks with natural healing. This is an extremely uncommon implant.
Starry Eye Vision Enhancement	Take no lighting penalties, even in pure darkness.
Eagle Eye Vision Enhancement	Double your maximum PER range.
Drug Injection System	Can be loaded with almost drugs that can be injected on a mental command during combat, making injection a free action. Can also be used out of combat.
Homeostatic Regulator Matrix	Provides a +10 bonus on poison resistance rolls. Can be upgraded to slowly decrease the level of Taint in a character’s body.
Console Matrix Remote Control Talisman	Allows for direct control (via science rolls) of anything that runs on a spell-matrix within 20’, including most robots and terminals. Powered armor and pipbucks are a bit more difficult.
Star and Cross Iron Pony Internal Reservoirs	Your character no longer needs to eat or sleep normally. Instead, they must either consume gems or receive power from an external source, such as a powered armor suit or a spark generator. Requires at least one point in Cyberpony.
Internal Energy Reservoir	Store up to 50 magical energy cells, 25 magical fusion cells, or 100 gem cells worth of energy internally. This energy can be transferred into weapons by way of an extendable cord.
Small-target Optimization Matrix	+10 Damage versus targets with D/W less than 8.
Crouched Muscular Optimization	Move an additional five feet per round while sneaking.
Nemean Sub-Dermal Armor	Increase DT by 4 in all areas. Does not stack effects with Basilisk IAA.
Basilisk Impact Assault Armor	Increase DT by 10 in all areas, permanent -1 to CHA and a -10 penalty to all CHA based skills. Does not stack effects with Nemean SDA.
Rapid Chemical Resource Reallocation Matrix	Eating food heals a single extra wound per unit of food eaten (maximum 3 extra wounds per 12 hours)
Internal Water Filtration Talisman	Removes all radiation from fluids ingested by this character. Self-powering.

Implants cost two creation points for the first implant and one additional point for each additional implant, to prevent players from taking implants frivolously in place of traits that would grant similar effects. GMs have the final say on what implants a player can have (i.e. what was available to them), as well as the function of said implants. Most implants require power beyond what the character’s body can supply and have a power source of some kind as a result – this may change a character’s dietary habits (i.e. they need to consume metal or gemstones occasionally), or they may power them via externally accessed battery compartments.

In the case of implants that increase your attribute scores, please note that you cannot increase any attribute score by more than one point by way of implants. Theoretically, you can obtain attribute scores of greater than 10 with implants in this fashion, especially if used in conjunction with Wasteland Weirdo or one of the many other traits that affect your attribute scores.

Note that implants can sometimes be obtained through normal play, generally through paying a skilled doctor to do the surgery or bartering for the use and services of an Auto-Doc.

Internal/Concealed Storage – Your character is capable of concealing something no bigger than the size of a small mouth-gun or tool on their person, even when stripped to the nude. For Cyberponies and Implanted characters, this may be a compartment within their prostheses. For most characters, however—Eww, they’re keeping that where? What if it goes off?!

You get the general idea. Those characters with the Slave hindrance may choose to receive this trait at no point cost, due to the conditions of slavery generally preventing them from keeping their prized possessions safe in any other way. Hellhounds, it should be noted, have a difficult time with this one – the sharp claws can make accidents in storage or retrieval fairly lethal (AGI MFD ½ or you cut yourself with your own claws for 3d12 damage).

Iron Stomach (Cannot be taken by Ghouls) – Not to be confused with Omnivore or “Tastes Fine to Me!” ponies with this trait can stomach just about anything (though they might not care much for the taste). This does not include meat if they’re an herbivore, but it does include exceptionally tainted or radioactive food, food that has begun to rot, or food that may be poisoned, negating any rolls that would be required by normal ponies with lesser gastrointestinal fortitude. They won’t suffer penalties to keep food down, and will never suffer from food poisoning unless there was actual poison in their food. Nasty side effects of what they’re eating, such as poison, taint, or radiations are slightly reduced, and this trait does not expand a character’s dietary requirements. If they’re an herbivore, their system will still not be able to get the nutrition it needs from meat (even bacon, sadly), and carnivores with this trait won’t find plants looking any tastier.

In technical terms, characters with an iron stomach recover the same amount of health from rotten or spoiled food as normal food, and they only get half the amount of taint or radiation from it that any other character would. They also get hefty bonus resisting ingested poisons, equivalent to raising the MFD one step (from Very Difficult to Hard, from Hard to Normal, etc.)

Large (cannot be taken with Pipsqueak or Young) - Some ponies are just way bigger than others. This trait represents this. Large characters receive a -5 penalty to rolls made to dodge, a -5 penalty to all sneak rolls (roll penalty; this stacks with itself for multiple instances of this trait), and may not always be able to fit into tight spaces. In combat, however, they only receive a wound for every 12 points of damage dealt to them at first level, which increases at the standard rate (one point every three levels). Out of combat, this trait also grants characters an additional 20 units of carrying capacity. Large characters are 2d8” taller and (2d8*10) units of weight heavier than normal-sized members of their race or species.

Lucky (Cannot be taken with Jinxed or Bad Luck) – Some ponies are just luckier than others. If you’re using the Live by Luck rules, such ponies should get an extra luck card every session to reflect this. Whether or not you’re using those rules, ponies with this trait may choose to reroll a single die roll once per session per time they’ve taken this trait. They may choose between the two rolls to pick the one they like best (which needn’t necessarily be the best one), and they can still spend an additional luck card to re-roll if using the LbL rules. This ability can be used on critical failures without first having to reduce them to normal failures using the method described in the LbL rules.

This trait can be taken up to three times, and grants an additional (luck card and) die roll per session for each time it is taken.

Magical Savant (Requires 2 Character Creation Points. Requires INT 8 or higher, Magic as a racial ability; cannot be taken with Imprecise Magic, Stubby Little Horn or One Trick Pony) - Your character is a magical prodigy!

This trait allows a unicorn, alicorn, zebra or half-breed to reduce the level requirement for learning a spell by two levels. It also doubles the number of spells a character can learn at each spell level. These effects do not stack for those equines who also take Arcane Devotion.

This trait represents a natural magical affinity. Magical Savant characters are capable of learning spells or recipes more easily than most, and receive a +10 roll bonus to learn new, different and/or more powerful versions of recipes or spells when they push a recipe or spell beyond its normal limits or attempt to combine different types of magics. Savant unicorns find that they are better able to sustain spells, allowing them to reduce the physical strain cost of a spell by 1 (minimum one), and reducing the time it takes them to recover from magical burnout by half. For more information on the physical strain cost of spells and on magical burnout, see the Magic section.

Savant zebra have an innate understanding of natural magical flow that aids them in combining ingredients to achieve desired results, and may replace rare ingredients with much greater ease. They require only 3 of a lower level of ingredient to replace an ingredient of the level above it (as opposed to the normal 4), and may now replace “high” rarity level ingredients with 9 “low” rarity ingredients. Note that “very high” rarity ingredients are still not able to be replaced by medium rarity ingredients. For more information on Zebra spell casting, see the Magic section.

Ministry Descendant (No creation point cost, Pony or Pony Half-breed races only) – Ponies with this hindrance are a direct descendant of one of the six ministry mares – one of the mane six – or one of their close friends and/or personal advisors. Don’t get the wrong idea, players – yes, this trait has a character creation point cost of zero, but that’s because it requires GM approval, and comes with a few very important caveats. So listen close, kiddies, this one’s important:

This trait is completely subject to GM approval. The ministry mares weren’t known to have produced any offspring before the war reached its abrupt conclusion. Therefore, a character with ministry blood can only mean one of two things: either they are a descendant of a relative of one of the ministry mares, or they are a descendant of a lovechild produced by a secret affair. Both of these require GM approval because of their effects on the story, and the accommodations that must be made to reveal this background to the character and the player.

No, that wasn’t a typo – both the player and the character with this trait don’t necessarily know which ministry mare they’re a descendant of! In some cases, like Lil Pip, the answer is obvious and can be revealed through casual scrutiny of their family history and genealogy. In other cases, however… well, it can be said truthfully that the ministry mares wove a very twisted tapestry within their government. The source of ministry blood for Project Horizon’s Blackjack is such an example. The decision of which ministry mare or high ranking official the character descended from is ultimately up to the GM, and they should pick it to best suit the story that they are creating, not base it off which pony their players think is best.

So what exactly does this trait do? Well, it mostly grants characters access to restricted areas. Players with this trait can access any area that their ancestors would have wanted no one but themselves and their close relatives having access to. Classified ministry safe rooms, data storage, personal studies, you name it – many such areas were sealed off to anyone but the highest ranking members of the ministries and the princesses, the only other means of access granted by specialized talismans that decayed and had to be renewed by the ministry mares themselves at regular intervals. Some areas are even keyed to specific members of the mane six, such as many areas in the Ministry of Awesome hubs and large areas within the Ministry of Arcane Sciences hub in Tenpony Tower. This trait also grants access to locked containers and restricted data encrypted for access only by ministry mares. If there are robotic systems, security or otherwise, that scan for and accommodate high ranking members of government, there is a good chance that they will identify characters with this trait as their respective ministry descendant (though they probably won’t be able to say who it is they’ve identified the character as!).

Ministry Employee (No creation point cost, Alicorns, Cyberponies, Ghouls and Canterlot Ghouls only. Cannot be taken with Illiterate) - Similar to the Ministry Descendant trait above, this trait represents the ability your character has to access restricted areas, items, and information. The difference between the two is that this perk does not represent the fact that your character is related to a ministry mare or someone with security clearance – it represents that they have the security clearance themselves. This perk can only be taken by characters that are old enough to have worked for one of the six ministries.

As a result of their experiences working for the ministries, they know how things ran, at least in the small area of the ministry that they worked for. The odds are good that they lack any still-usable identification or passcodes from their time spent working there, but the information they may have on specific facilities, security procedures, and projects can prove invaluable and potentially even life-saving in many situations. What exactly they did and what they know as a result should be discussed with your GM; this perk can accommodate everypony from the lowliest janitor to the right-hoof mare of Rainbow Dash. It goes without saying that this perk is completely subject to GM approval.

Named Weapon/Armor – Your waster has a weapon or armor that’s very special – so special and unique, in fact, that it has a name of its own. For each time they take this trait, your character gains one unique named weapon (or set of weapons, in the case of pistols or knives) or piece of armor (either helmet or bodysuit). For help on constructing a named weapon or piece of armor--you must have bought or otherwise obtained the base item first, for example--see the Named Weapons section under Equipment. Griffins who take the Organization: Mercenary/Bounty Hunter trait receive this trait once for free, and must choose use it on a weapon rather than on a piece of armor. This trait can only be taken once per character at creation unless taken in tandem with Organization: Mercenary/Bounty Hunter; if taken with Organization: Mercenary/Bounty Hunter, this trait can be taken up to three times, which includes the first free instance for Griffin characters.

Omnivore (Cannot be taken by Ghouls or with Picky) – Characters with this hindrance have a more diverse diet than their fellow wastelanders. Herbivorous races find themselves able to eat meat with no gastrointestinal detriment, and carnivorous races find themselves able to survive on a diet of plants without noticeably diminishing their health or cognitive abilities. Ponies with this trait may finally fully appreciate the wonder that is bacon.

Oh yes, and the fact that they can stomach a more diverse diet also gives 3 extra ranks to the omnivore characters’ Survival skill.

Open Minded (Cannot be taken with Prejudiced) - You lack your race’s natural prejudices against other races, and may ignore the penalties to charisma-based skills normally imposed by interacting with them. This is most useful for ponies, who otherwise suffer a -20 CHA penalty versus Alicorns and Zebra, a -15 penalty versus Sand Dogs, and a -30 penalty versus Hellhounds. With a Speechcraft skill roll (which you’re now not taking huge penalties on), you can convince members of these other races that you’re not like those other ponies/zebras/etc., and that you mean no ill intent. The MFD for this roll is situational, and it’s probably just not going to work if the target in question is currently trying to kill you. This trait is recommended for those planning on taking Virtue: Kindness.

Organization (Cannot be taken with Stable Dweller or Abandoned, Costs 0-3 Character Creation Points) – Your pony belongs to an organization, one of the many in the wasteland. This trait can only be taken once at character creation, and only grants membership to a single organization per time it is taken. Most groups don’t get along too well, and would rather you not belong to any others – only so much loyalty to go around these days.

This trait is frequently given out by GMs at a reduced cost or at no cost at all simply as part of a character’s backstory. Characters who are considering taking this perk for purely backstory purposes at no or reduced cost should talk with their GM about the benefits they receive from their group, which may be reduced or eliminated as a result.

Group item benefits are in addition to whatever standard gear you might receive at character creation (300 caps worth).

- Caesar’s Legion (aka Remnants) or Proditor (must pick one of the two) (Zebra or Minotaur only) – Your zebra either comes from one of the tribes that have banded together to form the last remaining zebra forces in Equestria loyal to the Caesar, or comes from one of the tribes that have broken away from the zebra loyalists.

As a member of Caesar’s legion, you have a strong distrust of ponies, and a downright hatred of alicorns. Coupled with your advanced survival training, zebra weapons and talismans, and horrifically effective hunting techniques, this means bad news for any ponies you come across. For you, the war never ended – and any pony or proditor (Zebra for traitor) that’s still breathing is still your enemy, unless they can do a damn good job of convincing you otherwise (or if it would be more convenient to let them live for the moment). Remnant/Legionnaire zebras are exceptionally skilled at sneaking and survival, receiving a +5 rank bonus to both skills on top of their racial bonus skill ranks, in addition to a +5 rank bonus to Zebra Magic gained by the amount of information on zebra culture that the Remnant has been able to recover and preserve. Their attitude towards all non-zebra races reflects poorly on their reputation, giving them a -25 Speechcraft versus all non-zebra races (on top of the penalties already incurred by their race), and starting any legionnaire characters at -10 karma. Remnant zebra begin play with a either a set of leather barding or a zebra stealth cloak, and their GM’s choice of either a sniper rifle, a high powered hunting rifle, a 10mm SMG, a zebra assault rifle, a zebra spear, or a zebra officer’s sword.

Zebra characters who have escaped from the legion, or whose tribe has splintered away from them and no longer upholds their views and attitudes, are considered Il Proditore. The Proditore receive the Enemy hindrance (their enemy being the legion) in exchange for starting with neutral karma. Nearly all proditor zebras suffer from a curse that changes their stripes from black to red. The original Proditore were zebras who served in the equestrian army during the last war. As a result of their origins and their willingness to act against those loyal to the Caesar, Zebra who are a part of this ‘organization’ do not suffer the -25 speech penalty towards Zebra garnered by Caesar’s legion, and their racial penalty to speechcraft towards ponies is reduced to a -5.

Because their stripes have been turned red by the magic of the remaining zebra shamans, it is considerably more difficult for a proditor to sneak around, effectively negating the +5 bonus ranks to sneak granted by their training. In spite of this, proditor zebra tribes still have considerably more knowledge of their ancestral lore, alchemical practices, and survival techniques than those zebra tribes that were never a part of the legion, and still retain their +5 bonus ranks to zebra magic and survival.

Note that most, but not all proditore have red stripes. Depending on the circumstances of their departure and their own skill with zebra magic, they may not warrant the use of the curse or may be able to undo its effects.

- Crusaders (Requires Young or Foal at Heart) – The Crusaders are an organization comprised almost entirely of colts and fillies. This does not mean they should be underestimated, however. Crusader characters are extremely capable, and have learned how to take advantage of their smaller size to help them survive in the wasteland. Young characters belonging to this organization get 3 extra ranks in Survival, Sneak and Speechcraft, and get a +5 bonus (not a rank bonus) on mercantile rolls in nearly all major settlements. Crusaders start with a crusader cape, bearing the rearing filly logo of the organization, as well as a single pistol or mouth wielded melee weapon of value 250 caps or less.

- Enclave Volunteer Corp (EVC) (Pegasi Only) – Your character is one of the pegasi of Thunderhead who believes that the Enclave should be actively working to restore communications and trade with the surface, likely after having tasted a strawberry for the first time. Those with this opinion are closely monitored and driven to be members of the EVC, where they can be allowed to see the surface as the Enclave wants them to. After a short crash course in basic survival, they were sent down to the surface. Your pegasi wasn’t in-the-know about any of the secret projects that the EVC may or may not be a front for, and was regularly dispatched with a few sub-par energy weapons and some questionably healthy food to spread the Enclave’s message of renewed prosperity for the wasteland to those who probably greeted the message with bullets. As a result, you have some serious trust issues with the Enclave, but you still believe that they’re at least trying to do the right thing, writing off your bad experiences to bureaucracy and bad luck - at least until convinced thoroughly otherwise. Enclave Volunteers start with EVC or Enclave Officer Uniforms and a single magical beam pistol. Their extremely brief training also grants them a +3 rank bonus to Survival, Energy weapons, Science or Medicine (pick one), and they may or may not start with up to a week’s worth of Enclave rations (usually fresh apples and sky wheat), depending on the situation. EVC Membership grants the Formal Education trait for free, though it only does so if this organization trait isn’t awarded to a character at no cost.

- Ganger – You belong to one of the many gangs that have sprung up around the wasteland. Players, you have a choice to make here: You can look through the fiction and find a gang and then choose that as your gang-of-origin, or you can create a gang of your own and claim loyalty to them. If you do decide to create a gang of your own, keep in mind that most gangs in the Fallout Equestria universe (and in the Fallout universe as well) have a theme that ties them together, and generally have a very distinct style, frequently including a noticeable “uniform” or colorful article of apparel that distinguishes members as part of that gang and a unique style of combat. You should also talk with your GM about including your gang in the world – there’s no point in taking this trait if the organization you’re a part of doesn’t exist!

The biggest benefit of being in a gang is that your character’s gang will usually back them up, as long as you provide support and do errands for the group as needed. To get help from fellow gang members, depending on the circumstances, characters need only convince NPCs that their assistance is required. If the gang is large enough, they may even get discounts with specific merchants friendly to the group.

Gang-member characters, similarly to mercenaries, may also have responsibilities within their organization; these vary depending on the strength of the gang and the position of your character in it. At character creation, characters shouldn’t be in a position of much importance or responsibility within a gang unless it’s very small. Gangers start with their gang uniform (which should be roughly equivalent in stats to Raider or Leather Barding) and a single gun or melee weapon of their choice below 300 caps in value. Most gangs also control a territory, which may include one or more settlements, farms, and other areas that may look kindly upon helping out a fellow gang member.

- Mercenary/Bounty Hunter– You might be a Talon mercenary, or you might belong to one of the numerous other mercenary groups that operate around the Equestrian wasteland. You may even be a simple bounty hunter, or a member of a group of bounty hunters. You aren’t necessarily on good or bad terms with your group, and you may even be currently working on a contract with them. On the other hoof, you may have gone freelance for a bit, in which case their reaction depends on the group you work with. Either way, you have extensive knowledge of mercenary and bounty hunter work, and begin play with a set of mercenary or bounty hunter combat barding (as Equestrian Combat barding), in addition to a combat knife and 1-2 guns or other melee weapons, any or all of which may be named weapons if the trait has been purchased for each weapon in question (see the Named Weapons section in Equipment of the Wastelands for more details on creating a named weapon). Griffin mercenaries, due to their race’s long tradition of mercenary work, get one named weapon (or set of named weapons) for free at character creation, without having to spend the additional point.

The catch is that as a mercenary or bounty hunter you are a part of a business, and that comes with responsibilities (though not as much as the Obligation hindrance does). You may have to take breaks occasionally from adventuring with your friends to do work for your organization, or take on contracts. If your friends contract you to do work for them though, and your boss gives you a green light, you’re home free! Mercenaries are encouraged to take the Code of Honor hindrance.

- Raider (Requires the Sadist Hindrance) – No, you’re not one of the crazed, psychopathic cannibals that are the end result of the raider disease. You’re just an asshole who doesn’t mind taking what he needs from others, by force if necessary. You hang out (or used to hang out) with a bunch of likeminded assholes who got the brilliant idea in their heads to cause as much pain and suffering to the rest of the world as they possibly could, starting with whoever had the nicest things to take. If you encounter your old gang again, they’re not likely to shoot you if they recognize you – at least until they’ve had a chance to talk to you first. However, if you encounter anyone who might recognize you from your raiding days, expect a fight unless you last parted under amiable terms. Characters that start as raiders get a set of raider barding and a single gun (no energy weapons) or melee weapon of their choice below 250 caps in value at character creation.

- Reaper (Requires 2-3 Character Creation Points) – There are only ever as many as one hundred Reapers, operating out of the Hoofington Sports Arena (making this organization only practical to take if your campaign is set in or around the Hoofington area; savvy GMs may want to create a similar organization in their chosen setting if they like the idea). If they belong to this organization, your pony killed a previous Reaper and took their place in the arena as a result. The Reapers are a very exclusive group, and every single one of them is a trained (or at least ruthless) killing machine, usually with their own gang behind them. This isn’t necessarily the case, however; occasionally the reapers attract some ponies with simply outlandish abilities, or just an incredible ability to kill without dying. It should be noted that the ONLY way to become a Reaper is to kill a Reaper. In short, if your wastelander belongs to this group, they are a certifiable badass.

Characters belonging to the Reapers have quite a few options open to them at character creation. For only two points, they’re a higher-ranking member of one of the more powerful gangs that have close ties with the Reapers, but may or may not actually be one of the hundred themselves. They gain the benefits of the Organization: Ganger trait, listed above (except for the weapon and armor options, of course, which are replaced by the reaper weapons and armor options listed below), in addition to the five extra ranks in any combat skill, mentioned below.

If they instead choose to spend three character creation points, they’re a Reaper who works alone – the most dangerous kind.

Lone Reapers tend to have a distinctive flourish – something that makes them stand out as a particularly challenging, unique opponent, be it a matter of style or some kind of special ability. Deus “Ex Machina,” for example, has 120mm autocannons literally built into his torso, and is more than half machine (he’s a Cyberpony, Rank 3). Gorgon, another Reaper, is completely impermeable to bullets and can turn ponies to stone with his gaze. Rampage, one of the example characters, adopted her predecessor’s style of combat as a melee-meat grinder, a fact emphasized by her bladed metal armor. She also has the advantage of being virtually impossible to kill, an ability which would fall under the Wasteland Weirdo trait below. Consider combining traits and hindrances to emphasize some effect, style or ability that sets your Reaper apart from all those other bozos out there with a gun and an itchy trigger finger. Characters with the 3-point version of this organization trait may reduce the cost of Cyberpony and/or Wasteland Weirdo by two points, minimum cost 1.

Reaper characters are extremely good at killing without being killed, and can count on the backing of their fellows in situations that benefit the organization as a whole, or at least come into line with the ideology of Big Daddy (the leader of the organization). Note that this means that your Reaper may also be called on to help other Reapers in the same way when Big Daddy requires it. Most Reapers also have fairly intimate, though not necessarily up to date, knowledge of the local gangs and their territorial boundaries, and of the rules and regulations that govern Hoofington Arena. Finally, and most importantly, they are highly skilled at the art of ass kicking. Depending on their focus, Reapers get 5 additional ranks in a weapons skill of their choice.

Both 2-point and 3-point Reapers begin play with any set of non-powered armor of their choosing, and any number of weapons totaling less than 1500 caps in value. It is recommended that Reaper characters start at level 5 or above, reflecting their experiences in the wasteland. Create a character as normal, and then level them up four times (this is, of course, totally optional and dependent on your GM’s plans for your character).

- Settlement (Minor) – Your character hails from one of the many small semi-tribal settlements in the wasteland. The settlement has a total population of somewhere between 10 and 50 people, and as such every person is valuable and must contribute to the settlement in some way. Your character probably knew every single person living in the village, and held some job there keeping the place running. They are obligated to keep the village safe and try to direct trade towards it, or to bring back something of value, such as technology, or a supply of food or water, to help keep the village alive. Characters that belong to a settlement tend to focus on a single trade-skill that benefits them, and so start with 7 extra ranks in any single skill of their choice.

- Settlement (Major) – Any settlement with more than 75 people in the Equestrian Wasteland is a large one, and your wastelander hails from one such settlement. Such settlements are large enough that they are thriving centers of trade, and won’t cease to exist if a few of their citizens decide to go off scavving in the wastes and don’t come back. Your character still has ties to their settlement of origin, and receives a +5 bonus on mercantile with any other traders hailing from that location. They also start with considerably more background knowledge of about the equestrian wasteland, and a more well-rounded education than can be provided in the smaller settlements. Characters from major settlements start with 100 extra caps at character creation, and receive a permanent +5 roll bonus to any INT or CHA based skill.

- Slaver – You don’t necessarily work for Red Eye or hail from Paradise Falls, but you are, or used to be, a member of one of the many slave-collection groups that scour the Equestrian wasteland. Slavers don’t necessarily care much if one of their own ends up going into the pot, so don’t expect too much in the way of loyalty, but all slavers know their way around a couple of the major slaver camps and installations, and maybe a couple minors ones as well. Slaver characters start with a full set of leather barding and a single small gun (no energy weapons) or melee weapon under 500 caps in value.

- Steel Rangers/Applejack’s Rangers (Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Half-Breeds only) – Your pony belongs to the Steel Rangers, the descendants of the last remnants of the Equestrian military. The Steel Rangers have two main subdivisions: the Knights, including the paladins, the squires, and all the other combat units affiliated with the order, and the Scribes, including the researchers and all other non-combatant members. If your character belongs to this organization, they must pick between the two divisions. Earth ponies can join either division; unicorns cannot usually advance beyond the rank of squire in the knights unless their horn is removed due to armor restrictions. Intelligence greater than 5 is required to join the Scribes, and both Strength and Agility must be greater than 4 to join the Knights. Membership to the Steel Rangers comes with responsibilities, which may vary based on what division a character is in and what their role is within that division. Characters belonging to the Rangers may have to take breaks occasionally from adventuring with their friends to do work for the organization, or run the risk of being considered in dereliction of duty.

Scribe characters are party to some of the technological knowledge of the Steel Rangers, and are likely to be involved in either the recovery of new technologies or researching how to apply technologies already recovered to helping the organization. Discuss with your GM what your character may have been specifically involved with to determine what they might or might not know about the organization, or just general knowledge they might have about magic and technology. Depending on the projects they were involved with within the order, scribes get a +3 rank bonus on to 2 skills related to their research, or a +5 rank bonus on a single skill related to their studies. At character creation, scribes start with a set of blue and grey cloth robes with the Rangers’ insignia and a single ranged weapon under 300 caps in value.

Knight characters are the defensive force of the Rangers, and have access to the high-technology, extremely powerful weapons that the organization is known for. Regardless of deployment in the wasteland, all knights are trained in the use of magically powered armor (ala Power Armor Training) and the weapons systems typically included in them, granting them an additional 5 ranks in the Big Guns skill. Depending on the mission they are assigned, they either start with a set of P-45d magically powered armor and two heavy weapons mounted on it of their choosing, or with a set of lighter scouting armor such as equestrian recon barding, usually one with a visor and an integrated battle saddle. The battle saddle on the scouting armor may come equipped with any pair or combination of rifles or energy rifles that the GM deems appropriate for the mission your character is on.

Applejack’s Rangers are a faction of the steel rangers who have committed themselves to fulfilling Applejack’s true goal and objectives, turning away from the Steel Rangers’ primary objectives of securing any remaining technology and hoarding it for their own use. Characters belonging to Applejack’s Rangers function as Steel Rangers, but have a red and grey color scheme rather than a blue and grey one. Otherwise, the two organizations are technically identical. Their difference lies in their goals and philosophy, which leads to a great deal of enmity between the two splinter factions.

The Applejack’s Rangers are not as strong as the Steel Rangers in terms of numbers, but due to their altruistic philosophy and the help they provide to neighboring communities, they begin play with +10 karma.

- Tribal – You belong to a tribe. It may be small, it may be large, or it may even be completely gone except for you, but you once pledged allegiance to it and it still holds your loyalty. Tribes are not the same as settlements; though they may be based out of a single settlement, tribes tend to be nomadic groups, usually all of the same race or species, who are bound together by tradition and culture. Your tribe has its own distinct traditions and culture. Similar to gangs, most tribes also have a distinct ‘uniform’ or type of weapon that they use. This uniform or weapon should be decided between the player of the tribal character and the GM, as well as the strength of the tribe, their origin, etc. Remember players, the GM always has the final say, and they can always say no if your ideas don’t work with the story that’s planned.

Tribal characters get 5 free ranks in Melee Weapons or Unarmed (or Small Guns if their tribe predominantly uses guns), as well as their tribal uniform (equivalent to raider barding in stats) and weapon. If their tribe does not have a distinctive weapon (or if you’re making up the tribe), then they may select a single weapon of value less than or equal to 250 caps.

Poison Resistant – Over the last few years you’ve apparently developed immunity to iocaine powder. You may also have inadvertently developed an immunity or resistance to arsenic, cyanide, anthrax, and almost any other deadly poison under the clouds (except alcohol and beneficial drugs and medications, thankfully). The real kicker is that your character likely has no idea how this came to be.

Characters with this hindrance are (usually inexplicably, but you can change that if your backstory would allow) extremely resistant to poisons, and receive a +10 bonus to endurance rolls made to resist their effects. Additionally, poisons that are deadly to others will be less likely to kill poison resistant ponies – the first time any sort of deadly poison is encountered, roll d%. If the result is an odd number, then that poison is not lethal to the resistant pony. It may still be effective – it just won’t kill them. An even result means that the poison is just as lethal as it is to everypony else.

Pony Romance – Ponies with one of these traits get +1d10 damage on all attacks versus the specified group. This trait can be taken twice. It also cues your GM in to what tails your character might be chasing and specifically whose flank it is they’ll most likely be staring at (it’s the same group you get a damage bonus against).

• Filly Fatale (Female only) - +1d10 Damage versus the opposite sex. You go for the guys.

• Coltsanova (Male only) - +1d10 Damage versus the opposite sex. You go for the girls.

• Cherchez La Filly (Female only) - +1d10 Damage versus the same sex. You go for the girls.

• Colt Cuddler (Male Only) - +1d10 Damage versus the same sex. You go for the guys.

If your character’s gender swaps at any point, these are subject to change appropriately. How they change depends on the circumstances of the gender change, and should be decided between the affected player and the GM.

Power Armor Training (Available only with Dashite, Organization: Applejack’s Rangers, Steel Rangers, Mercenary (Griffins only) or EVC, or with GM permission. Cannot be Illiterate) – Your character once belonged to an organization that trained its members in the use of powered armor suits (i.e. the Enclave or the Steel Rangers). As a result, they now know how to use power armor to its full potential. They no longer take penalties to agility, and now benefit from the ability enhancements provided when using powered armor. Enclave Dashite Pegasi, Applejack’s Rangers Scribes, Steel Ranger’s Scribes, and Griffin Mercenaries must purchase this trait, but Applejack’s Rangers and Steel Rangers in the Knights division of their organization receive this trait for free. Note that this trait doesn’t give you a set of powered armor at character creation – you still have to scrounge or purchase that yourself if your organization doesn’t provide you with one.

Quick Witted (Cannot be taken with Thorough) – A character with this trait is capable of thinking more quickly than most, and this is reflected in their reaction time in certain situations. For starters, this causes them to react much faster in combat. When rolling initiative (a process that is described in more detail in the Combat chapter), they receive a +10 bonus. In addition, characters with this trait receive a +5 bonus to any INT or PER check they must make under time sensitive conditions, such as those that must be made while trying to diffuse a timed bomb, fixing or hacking their way through a broken or locked door when enemies are about to round the corner, or simply making an intelligent quip during a conversation in progress. Quick Witted characters may also act during a surprise round, even if they were among those being surprised.

Reversal of Fortune – Sometimes you just can’t believe that plan worked; by all rights it sure as hell shouldn’t have. Once per session, after you’ve made a roll, you may choose to reverse the digits on that roll. For example, this allows you to turn a roll of 91 into a roll of 19, or a roll of 10 into a roll of 1. You may even use this trait to prevent yourself from critically failing. Sadly, it won’t help you much if you roll doubles. Remember, on a roll system of 1-100 with 2d10, double tens makes 100!

Optionally, if playing with the Live by Luck rules, you may use this trait as many times per session as you’d like. Each time you use it after the first you must spend a luck card.

Robot Companion (Variable Point Cost, cannot be taken with Animal Companion) – Similar to Animal Companion, this trait grants characters a robotic accomplice who will loyally follow them around the wasteland and attempt to protect them should the need arise. Taking this at character creation means that at some point in your character’s past they either bought, repaired, created or befriended a robot. The robot may or may not be sentient, but it’s not just a machine to your character – it’s practically family. A list of possible robot types is below, but similarly to the animal companion list it is not necessarily exhaustive; different types of robots are available in differ locales, after all. This perk can only be taken once, and if your companion ‘dies’ you may obtain another during gameplay.

Robot companions do not increase in level or gain experience as player characters, though their stats may be increased or altered by roleplaying events, such as overhauls or reprogramming. Playing with the “Live by Luck” rules, companions receive a single luck card each every session. This trait can only be taken once, and if your companion dies you may befriend another during gameplay. For stats on these sophisticated machines, look to your GM; the stat blocks are listed in the back of the book.

Protectapony (mk. I /mk. II) (1 Creation Point) – The protectapony MK I was the first ever commercially available security robot, and is by-far the most common robot still functioning today. Slow and bulky, their matte-steel pony-shaped finish frequently bears the insignia of whatever company purchased them however-long ago to enforce security with an iron hoof. Their programming isn’t terribly advanced, with limited IFF subroutines and an easily reprogrammable spell matrix that can be accessed via the panel behind the withers. The standard model has a magical beam projector mounted in its glowing faceplate. The Mk II is substantially faster and better armored, but had limited commercial success due to the rise of commercially available spark-disruption grenades, making both parts and working models considerably harder to find. It came in a construction-site yellow finish.

Spritebot (1 Creation Point) – Without a doubt the longest lasting of any of the Ministry or Morale’s public works projects, these gun-metal gray floating antennae-spheres were originally pink, with a fluffy cloth ‘mane’ that hid their antenna array. Created in their ministry mare’s image, they flooded Equestria with propaganda and ‘uplifting’ music before the war’s end, capable of operating autonomously for extended periods of time in virtually any environment. While they possess a view-screen on their ‘front,’ protected by a metal grill, they’ve never been seen to actually display anything on it, opting instead to broadcast audio loudly over their external speaker mounts. While most of the Spritebot network has stayed intact on its own, many Spritebots are actively maintained by various organizations (such as the enigmatic Watcher). Notoriously tamperproof and hardened against spark-disruption weapons, the spell matrices that operate a pinkie-bot have long been rumored to be capable of housing a sophisticated AI or hiding a secret ministry agenda. Spritebots are equipped with a powerful levitation talisman, a magical beam emitter, a powerful compact observation and transmission suite, and their speaker array. They are easily maintained.

Mister Handy (2 Creation Points) – Equipped with a powerful levitation talisman and three robotic armatures, these devices were common during the war in ministry facilities or upper-middle class homes as cleaning staff. Their fairly advanced AI makes them extremely dependable and they come standardly equipped with a flamethrower and a buzz saw mounted on separate armatures. Perhaps most useful, they have a built in moisture collection system that is capable of producing 1 unit of purified water every day. The mister gutsy model was a militarized variant.

Mister Gutsy (2 Creation Points) – A militarized equivalent of the mister handy model, the mister gutsy model is extremely effective in combat. Before the implementation of powered armor, these devices had a longer average survival time in the field than most trained soldiers. This is in spite of the fact that they were programmed to loudly spew propaganda and hateful racial slurs against zebra whenever deployed. The buzz-saw of the civilian model has been swapped out for a magical pulse projector, and the armor is significantly increased.

Ponitron (2 Creation Points) – The ponitron security robot was mass produced by Cerberus Cybernetics as a competing model to the already widely successful RoBronCo Protectapony approximately two years before the war’s end. They were highly successful; the design incorporates heavier armor, increased ground speed, and vastly improved durability and versatility, at the cost of not looking like a pony. Their AI was also one of the most sophisticated ever developed before the war’s end, with multiple personality options and increased resistance to tampering and spark disruption. While they are easily maintained, these devices were produced in neighboring Caledonia rather than in Equestria itself, making parts difficult to find.

Sentry Bot (3 Creation Points) – The earliest pony military response to zebra tanks were these black bulky four legged or wheeled robots. Equipped with both heavy armor plating and integrated heavy weapons (a minigun and a missile launcher), Sentry-Bots are mobile armored weapons platforms. Their AI is strictly utilitarian, not usually intelligent enough to hold a conversation but quite good at path-finding, basic military strategy, target acquisition and following orders. They are easily maintained, but replacing their armor and treads can be difficult as most of the replacement parts for these bots are quickly snapped up by the Steel Rangers or other factions with similar technological priorities.

Sense Magic – Your character has an uncanny ability to detect the presence and usage of magic around their person. This often manifests as a sort of burning or ache, possibly the end result of a magically-induced injury or an interaction they had with a powerful magical item at some point in their past. If they focus on it, they can actually use this ability to detect invisibility magic and dispel illusions. This ability can even allow them to detect magical poisons within any nearby food and drink, or highly magical creatures such as Alicorns. It’s passive to notice the presence of magic, but with a difficult (MFD ½) PER roll, they can pinpoint a source of magic to within a 10 foot radius, as long as there isn’t too much other magic going on around them. This ability doesn’t work on spell matrices or other artificially sustained magics, and only works if the magic is within PER*5’ of the character with the trait.

Illusion spells cast on characters with this trait are 2 MFD steps harder to cast, target or maintain (as appropriate).

Specialization (Cannot be taken with Illiterate) – You’re what some ponies like to call a specialist. Specialists were particularly common in the years leading up to the war’s end, in nearly every field worth its salt. Equestria had produced world renowned specialists in nearly every branch of the civil community capable of contributing to ponykind’s scientific and technological advancement - scientists, doctors, engineers, economists and mages, all among the best and brightest in the world.

The last 200 years, however, have not been ideal for the sort of higher education or advanced training required to produce a specialist in any field, save perhaps survival. Those places where formal education still occurs at all tend to focus on the preservation of any and all technology and on rebuilding, rather than on specialization and further advancement, technological or otherwise, within a specific field. In short, specialists are something of a rare breed these days (which is why old-ghouls and Canterlot ghouls may choose to receive this perk at no additional point cost).

Being a specialist means that you’re extremely focused in one or two closely interrelated branches of a specific non-weaponry related skill (don’t get me wrong, there are certainly plenty of explosives and guns ‘specialists’ out there, but they’re not rare or valuable enough to warrant taking a trait to become one). The survival, mercantile, speechcraft, magic, medicine, repair, and science skills are all fair game for a character to specialize within. Within each of these skills, there are a large number of smaller sub-fields – specializations – that a pony with this trait can select from. A summary list of a few different example specializations and their overarching skill is provided below. This list is not comprehensive. Note that between skills there may be some specializations that overlap. To specialize within any skill, that skill must be one of your character’s tagged skills!

Table X: Example Specializations within Non-Combat Skills

Survival	Mercantile	Speechcraft	Magic	Medicine	Repair	Science
Hunting	Bargaining	Negotiation	Spell Matrices	Surgery	Powered Armor	Spell Matrices
Fishing	Microeconomics	Bargaining	Memory Spells	Stasis Technology	Repair Talismans	Energy Weapons
Navigation	Macroeconomics	Dancing and Seduction	Applied Gemstones	Healing Talismans	Spell Matrices	Physics
Botany	Slavery	Dialects and Languages	Zebra Magic	Healing Potions	War Machines (Pick a type*)	Astronomy
Regional Biology	Appraisal	History	Necromancy (Soul Magic)	Medical Devices	Architecture & Civ.Engineering	General Biology
Cooking	Navigation	Literature and Poetry	Megaspells	Cybernetics	Manufacturing	Botany
Meteorology	Fencing (Stolen Goods)	Singing or Music	Energy Weapons	Pediatrics	Cybernetics	Inorganic Chemistry
Drugs and Biochemistry	Entrepreneurism	Equinology (Anthropology)	Potions and Talismans	Healing Spells	Home Appliances	Drugs and Biochemistry
Trapping	Trade Customs (i.e. Methods)	Legal Processes	Elemental Spells	Drugs and Biochemistry	Conventional Weapons	Rocketry & Aeronautics
Tracking	Regulation	Oratory/Public Speaking	Healing Spells	Fusion Spells	Energy Weapons	Archaeology

*Air, Land or Sea

Specialists receive a +15 roll bonus on any and all skill or attribute rolls made when dealing with their specialization. This bonus cannot be applied to the direct use of any weapons, but can certainly be used to enhance the effect of weapons by improving their design. Similarly, this bonus cannot be used directly to cast related spells, but it can be added to rolls made to learn new related spells (despite the fact that that roll is technically neither a skill nor an attribute roll). If there’s any doubt whether the subject matter is closely enough related, then the decision of whether or not the bonus applies is up to the GM.

Stable Dweller (Cannot be taken by Alicorns, Sand Dogs or Hellhounds, or by Enclave or Dashite Pegasi. Cannot be taken with Organization, Cache Location, Illiterate or Abandoned) – Your character once resided in a stable, and has reaped the benefits of stable living. They had a steady supply of food, proper dental care, and even received training in at least one profession necessary within their stable, usually related to their cutie mark and tag skills. Many mares and stallions received minor implants as part of their life in the stable; sterility implants for mares, for example, or even smaller implants like subcutaneous tracking chips are not out of the ordinary for a character to have at creation if they have this trait (though the implants should align with the nature of the stable in question – no highly advanced brainwave regulator-implants in the stable populated entirely by hairdressers!). Stable Dwellers start play with a pip-buck, usually a 2000 or 3000-model, and a stable uniform that may vary based on their position within the stable – security ponies get a set of security barding, a cook might get an apron in addition to her stable jumpsuit, a maintenance pony would get utility barding, etc. Depending on the circumstances under which they leave the stable, stable dwellers might also get a weapon from their subterranean home, or perhaps a small supply of food, healing potions, or other useful supplies. This trait is recommended for first time players, as it gives a role-playing reason to initially know little to nothing about the background and history of the system.

GMs may want to give this trait to characters for no cost as part of a character’s background story, similar to the 0-point cost option for Organization.

Sterner Stuff (1-2 Character Creation Points) – Similar to the Toughness perk, your character is tougher than your average mare or stallion. Unlike Toughness, however, this isn’t represented solely by their physical form - they’re also tougher mentally. This can manifest in a number of ways for your lucky wastelander. Physically, characters with this trait gain +1 DT to all locations, which stacks with other DT effects such as Toughness, and get a +5 bonus to rolls resisting non-magical diseases, toxins, and health effects, including drug addiction (the END roll only) but not including taint. Mentally, they gain a +10 bonus on rolls to resist unwanted mental influences (such as might occur from an Alicorn or from a sentient evil spell book) and rolls made to resist the gaining of a mental hindrance. This roll bonus is applicable to both INT and CHA when making a willpower roll. For two character creation points, characters get both the mental and physical benefits of this trait. For one point, they only gain either the mental or the physical benefit.

“Tastes Fine to Me!” (Cannot be taken by Ghouls) – Characters with this trait enjoy a wider range of flavors than most of their compatriots – or indeed, most of their species. They were just born with a tongue that tastes things differently, and a nose to match. Bitter flavors taste fine to them, and they have less of an issue quaffing medicines or mixed drinks that might taste foul to other characters. This doesn’t mean they’ll eat anything; their tongues do not trick them into thinking that things that are extremely harmful are less so (with the possible exception of alcohol and certain drugs), but they have no problems eating food that might have been prepared improperly, such as horribly burned eggs. Spoiled or rotten food is still far off their radar – that falls under the Iron Stomach trait, earlier in this section.

This trait gives characters a +5 bonus on Survival rolls – they can eat stuff most others wouldn’t.

Touched by the Sun -- You are blessed with remarkable talents, making your inherent abilities significantly more impressive than most ponies. All of your SPECIAL attributes are permanently increased by 1. However, this natural talent has made developing skills and training more difficult, and as a result all your skills begin 5 points lower, to a minimum of 0 (this is the only trait or hindrance which can reduce a skill to less than 5 at first level), and you gain 1 less skill point on each level-up. If a skill rank is reduced to less than 5, characters may only succeed in using that skill on a die roll of 1-5 (though such a roll is no longer considered a critical success).

Trained under a Medicine Mare (Cannot be taken by Zebra, by Enclave or Dashite Pegasi, with Illiterate or Prejudiced, or with Organization: Steel Rangers, Applejack’s Rangers, or Reapers. Requires GM Permission. ) – Your character trained their medical or other spellcasting abilities under a zebra shaman or medicine mare, who imparted to you a great deal of knowledge about their culture and perhaps even a few tricks. This trait grants non-zebra characters access to a single level-0 zebra recipe, but is otherwise strictly a knowledge-related trait. On a related note, your character may actually know how to speak, read, or at least understand zebra glyphs and language.

Characters with this trait may ignore the speechcraft penalties normally associated with talking to zebra who are non-party members, as may the zebra they’re talking to.

Wasteland Weirdo (Requires between 1 and 4 Character Creation Points) – Okay GMs and players, here’s your best opportunity to take this game and go nuts! As a word of warning, conservative or inexperienced GMs might want players to ignore this trait.

The Equestrian Wasteland is a very strange place indeed, and if your GM okays them taking this trait, your character fits right in. Perhaps your character is actually the result of some sort of science experiment gone wrong, or their vault was a successful testing ground for giving earth ponies advanced telekinetic abilities, or maybe they’re the culmination of years of genetic mutation on sea turtles to make them look like ponies. Maybe they selectively channel Princess Luna’s soul, trapped on earth by the necromantic radiation that saturates the atmosphere, or were bitten by a Manticore and absorbed and incorporated some of its DNA into their own. Whatever it is, they’re not crazy (well, unless they are), they just had crazy happen to them, and it left them permanently a little different. If they’re lucky, it was in a way that mostly benefits them.

Exactly what happened to your wastelander or what makes them special is between you and the GM, players, but you should try to make sure it isn’t something game breaking, even if this trait is basically here as a work-around for creating truly bizarre characters.

This trait should ideally be used to make a character’s backstory more elaborate or unique, such as by allowing an Alicorn character to be male, or allowing a character to max out a single attribute so as to be the very best at it at creation; these things can be detrimental to game balance depending on your situation, but they can be perfectly fine as long as players come up with a reasonable backstory justification for it. Solid reasoning and being within the realm of possibility (in other words, making the unbelievable into the believable within the setting) is key. Ideas for viable backstories more often than not might include killing joke, secret ministry projects, strange zebra magics, or extraordinarily lucky taint exposure.

This trait needn’t be something extreme, it just needs to be unusual – simply taking this trait to raise attributes above the normal soft-cap of eight or nine at character creation (i.e. your pony just happened to be freakishly strong, smart or tough) is enough to warrant it. That being said, you cannot use this trait to raise an attribute score above 10. (Though raising an attribute point with this can be quite expensive, as the minimum cost of this trait is 2 points!) If you do raise it to 10, and you’re absolutely set on raising it past that, we recommend getting an implant as per the Implanted trait above.

The GM always should have the final say when it comes to this trait, and they shouldn’t be afraid to say no. At the same time, GMs, try to give the characters at least however many character creation points they spent worth of net bonuses or cool effects and abilities. For example, if a wastelander with this trait was hit with some sort of magical beam that turns them into a part-Manticore abomination, the negative psychological effects, such as the loneliness they feel from driving away every pony they know with their now-horrible visage and carnivorous diet, should be less than any positive physical effects they might have gained, for a net gain of ability. A list of some example point costs is in a table below.

Table XI: Wasteland Weirdo Suggested Point Costs

Point Cost	Example Limitations – May be modified by your GM, particularly if your backstory isn’t sensible!
1	Unusual origins, abilities extremely uncommon to your race or species but not unheard of. Minor physical abnormalities. Resistance to specific uncommon type(s) of damage.
2	Significant physical abnormalities, abilities unheard of within your race or species but common to others, possibly requiring a non-conscious trigger for activation. Unusual origins that have significantly extended your lifespan and/or granted extra experiences. Resistance to specific common type(s) of damage.
3	Abilities extraordinarily rare to any race or species. Abilities that may normally be biologically impossible for your race or species, or are simply unheard of but can be triggered at-will. Immunity to uncommon types of damage. Most species combinations.
4	Functional immortality, extreme physical or magical power. Immunity to common types of damage. Extremely rare or powerful abilities that are triggered at-will.

GMs, if you do let a character take this trait, be sure not to let them make their character nigh-indestructible unless you give them a weakness you can exploit regularly enough to keep them on their toes. Do not let a player create an Alicorn direct descendant of Luna who’s more powerful than both the previous Princesses at level 1, and who wants to head out into the wasteland to start turning villages into pools of chocolate syrup. Even characters with this trait taken out to its extreme should still be able to be severely inconvenienced by things that would kill other characters. For an example in the fiction of a character that has this trait taken to its extreme - 4 creation points - check out Arloste Rampage from Project Horizons. Advanced characters may gain traits that resemble this at some point along the way simply as a result of surviving so long in the wasteland.

Zebra-Enhanced (Zebra Only; cannot take with Cyberpony, Ghoul or Canterlot Ghoul) – Your tribe survived the apocalypse, probably by residing within one of Stable-Tec’s mixed or all zebra stables, with the bulk of their traditions and knowledge intact. As a result, when they train their young to be warriors they administer the traditional means of improving upon a warrior’s strength and endurance. You were one such warrior, and you now know yourself to be much more physically able than your non-enhanced counterparts. You are extremely durable, which translates to your limbs being able to take one extra wound each before becoming crippled and an additional wound each before being removed, and you age at a greatly reduced rate. You also have a permanent increase to your damage threshold of +3, +10 DT versus fire, 10% radiation resistance, and have a +10 bonus on resisting poisons.

Ghouls and Canterlot Ghouls

To paraphrase DJ PON-3, Ghouls are people too. They just had the misfortune to being exposed to more-than-lethal amounts of the necromantic magical radiation released by the balefire bombs and not dying of it (or at least not staying dead, depending on your personal views on ghoulification). The resulting mutated ponies age at a greatly reduced rate, capable of living at least as long as 500 years, possibly even longer. Many ponies speculate that the changed appearance and longer life of ghouls is a reaction related to the necromantic energies released by the bombs, but no one, not even the zebras, knows for sure.

There are a few different types of ghouls that you may encounter wandering about the wasteland, but only two versions of them are intelligent and aware enough of their surroundings enough to be player characters. Those two versions, and their various characteristics, are listed below. Alicorns cannot become ghouls but react in much the same way regarding radiation. There are no documented instances of Buffalo, Diamond Dog descendants, or Donkeys becoming ghouls – it is believed that they just die.

Ghoul (2 Character Creation Points, cannot be taken with the Addictive Personality, Unstable Genetics, or Mutation hindrances. Alicorns cannot become ghouls.) – Ghouls are the mutated and heavily irradiated ‘survivors’ of the balefire holocaust, and characters with this hindrance are the most common variant of ghoul around, save for the feral ones. Ghoul characters have an appearance similar to a monster from an old zombie flick, covered in flaking, greyed skin and rotted-looking flesh covering a form that appears emaciated to some degree. Many of them look near-skeletonized, their fur matted, irregular, and completely fallen out over most of their form, with only a few uneven patches remaining; the hair of their mane and tail is all but completely gone, only a few traces and strands still intact. Their eyes usually have some degree of post-mortem cataracts present, but in spite of this most ghouls can actually see almost as well as any smoothcoat (non-ghoul) in normal lighting, and can see quite clearly even in pitch blackness. They suffer from a considerable amount of prejudice because of their appearance (receiving a -20 to speechcraft versus most non-ghouls), but ghouls are a resilient bunch and get by as best they can. Those that don’t… well, there’s a reason there are so many feral ghouls around. Ghoul characters are (2d4*15) units of weight lighter than normal, “living” characters.

Ghoul characters are dead, technically speaking, and don’t need to sleep or eat to sustain themselves. Instead, they are sustained by the ambient levels of radiation in the wasteland, and cannot survive in areas completely free of the stuff for extended periods. If completely cut off from radiation for more than 14 days, a ghoul will become dormant and begin to starve. If dormant for longer than 2d4 days, they will die. Fortunately for them, the ambient radiation in the equestrian wasteland is quite easy to come by, and just being outside for an hour or two a day is sufficient for most ghouls’ needs.

Ghoul characters are healed by radiation at rate of 1 wound to all limbs per 200 rads absorbed every five minutes, and can regenerate broken or crippled limbs simply by exposing themselves to sufficient radiation levels. While maimed limbs cannot be regenerated in this way, they can be reattached if held in place while the regenerative effect takes place. Each wound removed by radiation-fueled regeneration metabolizes 20 rads. Rather than suffering from radiation poisoning as normal characters and creatures, ghouls are strengthened by it, providing them with a temporary bonus to their attribute scores equal to the penalty that normal wasters would take at that radiation level. If a ghoul has absorbed more than 600 rads worth of radiation, they will begin emitting it slowly (low to medium levels – see the Radiation header under “Dangers of the Wasteland” for more info) and affecting those around them. A ghoul who has absorbed a full 1000 rads or more might find that it takes them several days or even weeks before they can safely be around non-ghouls (Their radiation level decreases at 1d4*100 rads per day).

Ghouls also have an extremely increased resistance to drugs, particularly mind affecting ones. Drugs such as Dash and Flash, which affect the nervous system, simply do not work (though enhanced versions of these drugs, such as Rainboom, work as well as normal drugs do on non-ghouls). Other drugs and medicines, such as Med-X, healing potions, Stampede, and Buck, which have a predominantly physical rather than a mental effect work just fine. Ghouls receive a +20 bonus on endurance rolls made to resist addictions, and cannot become addicted to substances that do not significantly affect them. This resistance also affects a ghoul’s ability to get drunk or to resist the effects of poisons, but taint and enervation remain just as deadly to ghouls as it is to non-ghouls. Normal ghouls, being dead, are not affected by pink cloud. The difference for ghouls is that enervation simply pulls their spirit away from their decaying form rather than causing them physical harm, and taint doesn’t (usually) cause further mutation – just insanity or death, and these only after it’s built up to sufficient levels.

Ghouls have a very long lifespan (or un-lifespan), and no longer age physically after their turning. Characters that spend only two points on this trait are relatively young for ghouls, less than 50 years old. As a result, they have about as much experience with the wasteland and knowledge about its various goings-on as any other person living in it; they do not receive any skill bonuses.

Elderly Ghouls, i.e. those with the Elderly hindrance, are assumed to have survived from pre-war. In addition to the normal effects of Elderly, these ghouls gain the gain the benefit of their experience in terms of starting play with an additional 5 skill ranks, which they can distribute amongst their skills as they see fit. In place of these skill ranks, they may opt instead to receive the Specialization trait for free, or to begin play with positive or negative karma scores of up to ±100, subject to GM approval. Note that even elderly ghouls may still take the Young hindrance, the effects of which are not altered despite their actual physical age - this is the only scenario in which taking both the Young and Elderly hindrances could be considered acceptable barring Wasteland Weirdo.