It's been a downtime for me running My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria. The kid's schedules are still crazy and the my primetime spots at conventions in the kid's track is cut short from COVID. However, an order in need of padding from Miniatures Market was the perfect ticket to add a book from my want list.
Filly Sized Follies is a collection of three adventures for ponies levels 2-5. Three different scenarios, three different settings around Equestria, but certainly the same quality straight out of the main rulebook.
Sky Arrow's Big Flight involves some sinister goings-on at a tryout for the famous Wonderbolts.
Cutie Mark Mystery centers around the ponies waking up to their cuties marks simply vanished!
The Secret of Starfall gets the ponies involves a great journey to the far North, a fallen meteorite, and a political conflict only outsiders can resolve.
All three adventures are solid concepts, but the continued delivery of the stories is what impresses me the most. Each adventure is broken down into multiple parts, and each part is further fleshed out for both beginning GMs and appreciative experienced GMs.
This is not a dungeon crawl with ponies, nor is it some overfilled sourcebook. The author, James Fleming, and the editorial staff lay out each scene with just enough helpful detail, reinforcing NPC personalities and motives, and carefully scoping out options and alternatives. Does a bad pony go to (pony) jail, can they be rehabilitated outside a cell, or what if the pony character don't really care. Options and hints at solutions are included. Even small sidebars involving how to run a mystery game, or how a GM can handle the passing of time are small morsels of wisdom even the most veteran GM can savor.
My only complaint about the book is that the 66-page softcover has the same dimensions as other softcovers River Horse has produced, yet it feels a little unwieldy... like a Giant-Sized comic. Given the old school comic feel of the cover art, it might just be my nostalgic sensibilities.
I haven't run any of the adventures, so despite their initial look, there may be issues (although I doubt they are severe). However, with hints at how to adjust each scenario to handle higher and lower levels, I'm confident it should handle most pony-lovers at the table.
With that I give Filly Sized Follies four and a half gnomes on the Gaming with the Gnomies 5-Gnome scale.
Filly Sized Follies is a collection of three adventures for ponies levels 2-5. Three different scenarios, three different settings around Equestria, but certainly the same quality straight out of the main rulebook.
Cutie Mark Mystery centers around the ponies waking up to their cuties marks simply vanished!
The Secret of Starfall gets the ponies involves a great journey to the far North, a fallen meteorite, and a political conflict only outsiders can resolve.
All three adventures are solid concepts, but the continued delivery of the stories is what impresses me the most. Each adventure is broken down into multiple parts, and each part is further fleshed out for both beginning GMs and appreciative experienced GMs.
This is not a dungeon crawl with ponies, nor is it some overfilled sourcebook. The author, James Fleming, and the editorial staff lay out each scene with just enough helpful detail, reinforcing NPC personalities and motives, and carefully scoping out options and alternatives. Does a bad pony go to (pony) jail, can they be rehabilitated outside a cell, or what if the pony character don't really care. Options and hints at solutions are included. Even small sidebars involving how to run a mystery game, or how a GM can handle the passing of time are small morsels of wisdom even the most veteran GM can savor.
My only complaint about the book is that the 66-page softcover has the same dimensions as other softcovers River Horse has produced, yet it feels a little unwieldy... like a Giant-Sized comic. Given the old school comic feel of the cover art, it might just be my nostalgic sensibilities.
I haven't run any of the adventures, so despite their initial look, there may be issues (although I doubt they are severe). However, with hints at how to adjust each scenario to handle higher and lower levels, I'm confident it should handle most pony-lovers at the table.
With that I give Filly Sized Follies four and a half gnomes on the Gaming with the Gnomies 5-Gnome scale.
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