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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

MLP D&D: Applejack

Pony week continues! Partially because I've had crippling headaches which prevented me from finishing the MLP D&D series, but also because these fillies are too awesome for one week to contain!



Name: Applejack
Race: Earth pony
Alignment: Lawful Git 'er done
Class: Ranger

Applejack is a headstrong country filly who is one of the best athletes in Ponyville (whether or not she is the best is a matter of debate between her and Rainbow Dash). She lives on a farm (Sweet Apple Acres) where she and her family harvest -- you guessed it -- apples. In fact, her entire extended family have names based on apples and know the best ways to plant, grow, and harvest apple trees. (The latter is called applebucking and AJ has refined the skill into a sweet science -- one kick and all the ripe apples fall into waiting baskets.) And when that's done, she can prepare those apples for eating in more ways than you thought possible.



So to reiterate, she's a slayer who comes from a long line of slayers. Her clan is so dedicated to this task that every single one of them takes the name of their Favored Enemy (that they are ever mindful of their duty? as an atavistic remnant of a primitive religion whereby they assume the characteristics of those they hunt? to strike fear into their quarry? The ways of the Apple Clan are chthonic and mysterious and their reasoning is unknown). In short, while they may love apple trees, Applejack and her kin clearly have no love for apples themselves, as she spares no opportunity to subjugate them.

Combine this with her outdoorsy nature and that fact that she has an animal companion (a dog named Winona, who understands complex commands perfectly) and it's obvious that Applejack is a Ranger.

Favored Enemy: Plants (specifically Apples)
Combat Style: Natural Weapon (Hooves)


She once single-hoofedly saved Ponyville from a stampede. Represent, girl.


She's strongly driven, our Applejack. The path of a slayer is a hard one, and requires both determination and dedication -- strong Lawful qualities which make her a natural second-in-command to Twilight Sparkle. She frequently clashes with the more chaotic members of the team (Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and Rarity to a lesser extent), but when it's time for the hoof to meet the hay, she isn't afraid to jump into a scrap or shoulder a burden if it'll help a friend.

And I will show you fear in a bushel of apples.
To summarize:
  • Strength and Constitution are her core stats.
  • Charisma and Intelligence are her dump stats (she's quite likable but is terrible with social niceties).
  • She defends society without being part of it. 
  • Has an animal companion. 
  • Has a ton of outdoorsy skills. 
  • Comes from a long line of apple-slayers.



Key "Applejack is a Ranger" episodes:
  • Leads the party up a mountain to a dragon's cave in Dragonshy (and then drags another party member along a different route while the rest of the group takes the main path)
  • Suffers for her dedication to duty as she swears to slaughter harvest all the apples in Applebuck Season
  •  Does all sorts of athletic, rangerish things as she competes with Rainbow Dash for the title of "Ponyville's Best Athlete" in Fall Weather Friends
  • Uses a combination of animal empathy and rodeo skills to round up a village full of parasprites in Swarm of the Century
  • Transports an apple tree named Bloomberg to Appleloosa, where she and her apple-loving kin get stuck in a range war against Buffalo in Over a Barrel.


10 comments:

  1. Hmm. What happened to Disqus? I ended up in the full page comment w/ show post.

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  2. Favored enemy: apples. Haha! I love it. :)

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  3. Yarg, the typo up there... "Raindbow Dash"


    Once you see it, you can't un-see it. >_<

    I can't wait to see what you come up with for the last two. I have NO idea what Rainbow Dash ought to be.

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  4. Man, as much as I agree with this Ranger thing she *almost* ought to be some sort of Paladin... She's stalwart and loyal and always tells the truth (honesty was her element), she's not afraid of a fight... shy of being an earth pony and not having magic (other than of the "friendship" type) I'd go with being a Paladin here.

    Incidentally the "earth" pony comes from G1 MLP stuff where the Unicorns reperesented Fire, Pegasii were Air, there were (unfortunately) Mer-Ponies for water... I think it's a hold-over from an elemental thing.

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  5. While I take your point, one doesn't have to be a Paladin to be stalwart and loyal and honest and brave. Those are more qualities of alignment than class.

    What I looked at was this: Is AJ in the service of a greater good? Does she crusade at all? Are her deeds dedicated to the glory of, say, Princess Celestia? Is she holy in some way?

    I couldn't say "yes" to any of these. At most, it could be said that her actions are in service to family and community -- which, while commendable, are not solely the province of Paladins.

    In the end I felt that she didn't have enough Paladin qualities and hit far more of the marks for Ranger. Plus, Favored Enemy: Apples just made me giggle. :)

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  6. Another thing to note about Applejack is she's a skilled ranged fighter as well based on her apple-projectiles in Dragonshy.

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  7. While I agree with a lot of the evidence of her being a Ranger I have to put in that just because she displays some outdoorsy abilities doesn't automatically place her as a Ranger. I'd say she's just a fighter who's more oriented towards farming.

    Fighters are the THE MOST versatile of all classes, case in point: Legolas, a lot of people mistook him for a Ranger but he's actually a Fighter who just so happens to focus more on dextrous fighting and precision rather than strength and toughtness.

    Thusly, I believe that AJ is a Fighter who just so happens to have some outdoorsy abilities after all; many other farmer ponies have many of the same skills as most of her nature abilities were passed down from her family and if that makes her a Ranger than every other farmer pony would be a Ranger as well.

    As for personality traits fitting a Ranger, yes she does possess a lot of them but she's missing two critical points and granted I know that there could be Rangers who are just more positive and friendly but generally Rangers are outcasts forced to live in the wild.

    And there's another thing, it's one thing to have knowledge of how to survive in the wild for a few camping nights, it's an entirely different story to actually LIVE in the forest.

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  8. saying "buck" is like saying "fuck" to ponies lol

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