Quirks

Quirks are like talents, but they have negative effects on your character. Everyone starts with one main quirk, but you might acquire more during your adventures. Quirks are things like fears (fear of heights, fear of bugs, fear of the dark…), bad habits (easy to anger, too shy, lazy…), or physical weaknesses (nearsighted, bad teeth, smelly…).

Quirks are very important, because they make your character more interesting — nobody is perfect, and it's great that you can rely on your friends to help you out with your quirks, just as you can help them out with theirs. They are useful for gamemasters too, as the GM can use quirks to make important moments of the story more challenging or exciting. Say, for example, that your character needs to reach a hoof deep into a hole in the wall to move a lever that opens a secret door in the dungeons of a castle. Easy enough, but the GM knows that you are afraid of spiders, so he or she tells you that there are some very thick cobwebs surrounding the lever and your hoof must go through the cobwebs to reach the lever... that's when your quirk — your fear of spiders — kicks in, making it very difficult for you to succeed in that very simple task. If you were on your own, it would require a difficult Mind test to force yourself to face your fear. Luckily though, you might have friends with you, who can simply reach the lever instead of you. Unlike talents, quirks are not rated with a dice value. Instead, the effect of each quirk is stated in its description.

Quirks aren't all bad — when a quirk stops a character from doing something meaningful, the GM gives the player a Token of Friendship — it's our quirks as much as our strengths that make our friendships so special! In the example above, if you couldn't reach the important lever because of your fear, then you would gain a Token of Friendship. The GM should give out Tokens of Friendship only when a quirk comes up in an important way. Using our example from above, some cobwebs in the corner of a room that your character wishes to avoid but which doesn't stop you from advancing would not earn you a Token of Friendship.

Sometimes a character may have a quirk that is not on this list and is very difficult to play. Some examples might be someone who is blind or unable to walk. Although these quirks are not listed directly, a GM might decide that their group is mature enough to approach playing such a character with respect. In fact, Tails of Equestria can be an excellent place to explore such ideas in safety, allowing players to empathize with problems other characters have, or even roleplay their own struggles in a positive and fantastic world.

List of Quirks

Allergy (choose): Achoo! Whether it's dragon-sneeze trees or bees, you are allergic to something that makes you ill or sneezy. If your allergies are very bad you may want to keep some ponybalm ready for emergencies.
Asthma: If you have this quirk, sometimes you have trouble breathing because of your sensitive airways. Characters with this quirk usually carry some ponybalm with them, which can clear up the symptoms fairly easily.
Attention Seeker: (aka Mememememe!) Where some characters dislike the spotlight, others like it a little too much, and love being the center of attention. You may not like it when others are praised when you are not, or may even go out of your way to catch everyone's eye.
Autistic: A little too interested in things that others might not pay any mind to at all. When taking this quirk, downgrade your charm by one level. Upgrade your mind die any time you use your mind for objects, machinery, puzzles, animals, or anything else the GM deems relevant for things other than other social interactions.
Blunt: It's true that honesty is important, but then again so is being aware of everyone's feelings. With this quirk you say what you are thinking, even when it doesn't necessarily help you out and might hurt someone's feelings.
Bossy: Maybe you really are a good leader, but you also think that you are the only one who should be making the decisions. A character with this quirk finds it hard to let his or her friends make decisions for themselves and hates to feel like he or she is helpless.
Easily Distracted: Was that a squirrel? What were we talking about?
Fear (choose): A character with this quirk gets spooked by lots of things, or perhaps is very scared of one thing. Maybe it's snakes, maybe it's heights, but whatever it is chills you to the bone and makes your mane stand on end. This quirk can be taken multiple times — each time you take this quirk you must choose a different fear.
Forgetful: You would forget your horseshoes if they weren't attached to your feet! A character with this quirk often forgets important information and you certainly can't count on him or her to remember to bring the rope for your climbing adventure unless he or she is very careful to write it down.
Illiterate: For whatever reason, you never quite mastered translating written glyphs into language. You may have a difficult time reading things, or maybe can't made heads or tails of the funny scribbles other creatures make, but it's ok because you have friends who can help you out!
Indecisive: You have trouble deciding on even the seemingly most inconsequential delimas, such as what to food to eat in the morning, what color of saddlebag do you like most, or what game you want to play. It's a good thing you have friends to help you out!
Know-it-all: Whether it's the name of the pony that designed the Canterlot Gardens, the best way to make a cake, or who's most likely to win the next Crystal Games, you know a lot and you're happy to let everyone around you know it, too! Even if they disagree on the facts sometimes.
Messy: You don't mind the muck, and you may sometimes forget to wash it off right away — your mane is a bit of a shambles! Others might be a little uncomfortable around you unless you make an effort to clean up, especially if they are neat freaks!
Naïve: You see the best in everyone, which is of course a wonderful thing, but it can lead to situations where someone may take advantage of you. Your character is especially vulnerable to shirelatans and conmares.
Neat Freak: You like order and perfection, and cannot stand it when things aren't absolutely perfect. This can make it hard when other characters are less concerned with perfection than you, or if they have a different style from your character.
Needs Glasses: A character that needs glasses may be nearsighted or farsighted, but either way has trouble making it around without their glasses. If you need glasses you might not even be able to tell other characters apart without them, which can lead to some interesting problems!
Oooohhh... Shiny!: Characters with this quirk are occasionally going to be overcome by greed and their desire for the shiny things that they love — be that gems, or old, fashionable clothes… You must agree with your GM what exactly it is that your character likes so much.
Overconfident: Racing, fashion, or dancing — whatever it is, you know you are the best and dare anyone to test that fact. This can cause problems when someone else is better than you or when you think that you can handle something you just can't.
Short Attention Span: Characters with this quirk find it difficult to focus on one thing for a long time. There is just so much in the world that they are interested in! You may find yourself distracted by birds or games when you ought to be working hard studying for a test, or you may start thinking about math problems when you should really be focusing on the hoofball game you're in!
Short Fuse: You just can't help but get angry from time to time, or even all the time! With this quirk you are hot-tempered, quick to anger and ready to blow at any moment. You sometimes find it hard to remember who your friends are, but with a little patience they can always remind you.
Super-Shy: You suffer from an excess of shyness, being a bit of a pushover, and are easily bullied around by nasty creatures. Uncomfortable about speaking in public and in general hating attention, you might freeze in these circumstances, even if something important is at stake.
Too Silly: If you are too silly you may be found annoying by your more serious-minded friends. Not everyone in Equestria is fond of antics and pranks, especially when they are trying to get some work done. Sometimes you find it difficult to figure out whether it is the right time for a silly joke or serious silence.