Bat Ponies Fanclub

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Dancing with bat poneh

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

With the 10th anniversary of the "Bats!" episode, the hope we won't fear them in 2024  

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Bat poneh with socks and bellybutton 

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

At least I'm not wearing a big scarf.  

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Cute bat poneh 

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[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

The wink itself is haunting  

[Otaku-sempai 460]

My Bat Pony Homebrew for Tails of Equestria - The Storytelling Game: 

Typical Bat pony
Body: D8 Mind: D6 Charm: D6 Stamina: 14
Talents: Fly (D6), Night Vision* (D4), Stout Heart (D4), Pick one appropriate Cutie Mark talent
Quirks: Weakness: Bright Light (D6), Choose one

Accustomed to the harsh winds of the Trotsylvanian Alps, Bat ponies are strong flyers--though not as agile as Pegasi--with bat-like wings, tufted ears and cat-like eyes with slit pupils that allow them to see very well at night. They typically have gray coats, black wings and dark-colored manes and tails, though other coat and mane colors do occur. It's true that Bat ponies have fangs, mostly used for sucking the juice out of fruits--a favorite being mangoes. Bat ponies dwell in a chain of mountains located east of Equestria, and might be related to Pegasi (though Bat ponies themselves dispute this). Bat ponies make up the Night Guard of Princess Luna.

Bat ponies are nocturnal by nature. Prolonged, unprotected exposure to sunlight or other bright light can cause blindness that lasts from several hours up to a couple of days. Their unusual appearance and nocturnal habits, combined with a reputation for fierceness, have given rise to the rumor that Bat ponies are vampires; however, this is just a tall tale spread by superstitious ponies. Other names: Cavalum; Noctral(s); Sarosian(s); Thestral(s).

* Talent: Night Vision. A pony with this talent can see very well in the dark, though not in complete blackness. The downside is that the pony also gains the quirk of Weakness: Bright Light.

This write-up is largely inspired by the fanfic "Interview with a Batpony" by Gulheru. I highly recommend checking it out: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=ctyAr4MpNi1pL5R... 

I opted not to give Bat Ponies the talent of Echolocation, but your mileage may vary (subject to GM approval). I probably would give it to "Flutterbat" because of her unusual circumstances! 

Talent: Echolocation (Creature only). The creature who possesses echolocation is able to use ultrasound to send out signals that bounce off of objects to let her "see" at night and even in complete darkness (colors cannot be distinguished). Treat as Truesight against invisible creatures: You automatically succeed at tests to see invisible creatures who have an Invisibility talent die equal or lower than your Echolocation talent die, e.g. a creature with Echolocation (D6) always succeeds against a creature using Invisibility (D6), but against a creature with Invisibility (D8) she would have to roll as normal.

* * * * *

And the version I did for the My Little Pony Roleplaying Game: 

BAT PONY
Accustomed to the harsh winds of the Trotsylvanian Alps, Bat Ponies are strong flyers--though not always as agile as Pegasi--with bat-like wings, tufted ears and cat-like eyes with slit pupils that allow them to see very well at night. They typically have gray coats, black wings and dark-colored manes and tails, though other coat and mane colors do occur. It's true that Bat Ponies have fangs, mostly used for sucking the juice out of fruits--a favorite being mangoes. Bat Ponies dwell in a chain of mountains located east of Equestria, and might be related to Pegasi (though most Bat Ponies themselves dispute this). Bat Ponies make up the Night Guard of Princess Luna.

Bat Ponies are nocturnal by nature. Their unusual appearance and nocturnal habits, combined with a reputation for fierceness, have given rise to the rumor that Bat Ponies are vampires; however, this is just a tall tale spread by superstitious ponies. Other names: Cavalum; Noctral(s); Sarosian(s); Thestral(s).



EXAMPLE BAT PONIES
• The Night Guard: Princess Luna employs Bat Ponies as her personal guard. They can often be seen pulling her carriage.
• Flutterbat: Fluttershy was once accidentally transformed by Twilight Sparkle into a form closely resembling a Bat Pony.

ORIGIN BONUSES
Essence Score Increase: Increase your Strength or Speed, or the Essence tied to an Influence Skill, by 1.
Starting Health: You begin play with 2 Health.
Movement: Your base movements depend on how often you use your wings and your legs. See Air Born, below.

ORIGIN PERKS

Acute Sense (Hearing): Your hearing is much stronger than that of the average pony.
• You gain Edge on Alertness Skill Tests where your hearing can be applied.
• You gain an upshift of 1 on non-Alertness Skill Tests where your hearing can be applied.
Air Born: You were born with wings but without the strength to use them. How fast you fly depends on how well you took to it, and how much your training paid off. Choose one of the following as your starting Movement:
• 15ft ground and 45ft aerial
• 30ft ground and 30ft aerial
• 45ft ground and 15ft aerial.
Lighter Than Air: Aerial acrobatics are in your hollow bones. You get an upshift of 1 on Acrobatics Skill Tests. Unlike Pegasus ponies, you cannot land on clouds or walk around Pegasus sky cities.
Night Eyes: Darkness does not affect you like it does other ponies. You can see in darkness as well as in light.
Cutie Mark Perk: Pick a Skill, Specialization or abstract area you are especially talented with (see pages 30–31) as guided by your GM. You get an upshift of 1 shift on any action that area might apply to.

ALTERNATE ORIGIN PERK
Echolocation (replaces Night Eyes): You have the ability to use sound to navigate in your environment. You does not need to be able to use your eyes to see their environment, and you are immune to the Blinded condition.

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

A royal guard bat pony still brings fear  

[Otaku-sempai 460]

3 hours ago, ZiggWheelsManning said:

A royal guard bat pony still brings fear  

I haven't (yet) used either template to created a Bat Pony player-character. Maybe I will if I actually have a chance to play either of the games!

[thunderlane26 3]

truly the best type of pony

[Otaku-sempai 460]

1 hour ago, thunderlane26 said:

truly the best type of pony

I'm hoping that Renegade will make Bat Ponies canon to both their RPG and the Deck-Building Game. 

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

3 hours ago, thunderlane26 said:

truly the best type of pony

I must add the most feared type of pony  

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Micro bat poneh 

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Edited March 20 by Steve Piranha

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Bat pony, with bellybutton 

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

A Spring night, I don't wanna be with her  

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Beautiful bat poneh

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[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Cute chibi bat poneh 

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[Steve Piranha 29,424]

Cute bat poneh 

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[Otaku-sempai 460]

2 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

Cute bat poneh 

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Very lovely! Does she have a name? 

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

1 hour ago, Otaku-sempai said:

Very lovely! Does she have a name? 

“News Flash” according to the derpibooru tag 

[Otaku-sempai 460]

Would Hasbro's ownership of Wizards of the Coast allow Hasbro to adopt the name Noctral (from Gulheru's fanfic "Interview with a Batpony") for Bat Ponies? Noctral seems to have originally been coined for an owl-like race of avian outsiders that inhabit the plane of Mount Celestia (yes, Celestia!) in D&D's Forgotten Realms setting. 

Thestral is problematic as it would likely invite a cease-and-desist order from Warner Bros. and/or J.K. Rowling. 

Edited June 20 by Otaku-sempai

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

I would worry much about the order from Warner Bros.  

[DubWolf 17,263]

There's a club for batttttts????

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,272]

That's right @DubWolf, cuz there isn't one for small insects  

[Otaku-sempai 460]

On 2024-06-22 at 9:56 AM, ZiggWheelsManning said:

I would worry much about the order from Warner Bros.  

I don't think Warners or eve Rowling would bother with fanfics, but it might be different if Hasbro tries to adopt the name Thestral.