Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience

[jelloloaf]

Great update!

Also, minor typo I found:

"She'll get through this, sir. She's a though mare,"

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Probably should be 'tough'.

 

[Shaper47]

Actually can we reveal that a Windigo was part of the attack to Celestia?

We don't have any lores expect wolf at the moment so we're not sus. Biedde has Moth 3 so he's not sus at all despite somehow murdering a Windigo in single combat.

Because Biedde guarding us is something sus in the case of an attack if the guards are there to see it. Also this suddenly jumps in priority so Celestia won't have an ira increase over the Changeling delay.

 

[DelightedOne]

Follower phase already? Okay, let's see what we can work with.

Mareinette fed us the remains of the ponies didn't she... And the Grave on the Hill is in that hill isn't it? At least the monster helped.

Want the more permanent Guard, kinda obvious why. I kinda regret the Bureau was not based on Ponyville.

Not sure about the Bureau actions.

Please don't fall for Mareinette's tricks, she helped because she has something she wants from us, not because she cares or is even "good". She is a monster by choice and nature.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Well then, having had some time to think some things over, I think it's safe to say that the Forge's Redemption ritual is no longer optional. We need to get that eldritch therapy sorted because by Storms and Crows Velvet is fucked up. It's a good thing the Moth Sacrament hadn't been forced through already or we might have actually just straight up died.

This gives powerful credence to the theory that the Moth Sacrament is based on Velvet's trauma/insecurity. Like, not in a flavor-text way, a "this is a foundational part of my identity" way. We can't be building anything on *this* or we're going to implode if and when we're forced into this state again.

I'm pretty sure Velvet actually Wolfed her own brain rather than deal with her spiraling anxiety and guilt, (let it be noted for posterity that Velvet is not on board with Shaper's shennaniganry) the brain damage seemed to manifest after the fact.

On a similar note, I reiterate my profund regrets that we chose the Master's Moth-apple over Baldomare, as Mareinette's unilateral ministrations are yet another consequence thereof. We never actually extended her time, we never took her Sacrament (either one!) for all that we've been a perfectly lovely Bed&Breakfast host we've never made a serious investment in our relationship. Yes yes the book is in the works, but that's tomorrow and Mareinette is in our bedroom tonight.

All in all, dear Velvet is in dire need of some positive reinforcement and care, it is a damn good thing we opted to bring in literally everyone or we'd have no support structure at all right now. We have confirmation of Cadance visiting, that's very good.

Ai, what a mess.

Well then, let's see what needs doing.

• We need the Book, so that'll be one thing,
• we need the raid done, that'll be another,
• a guard action for Selene and the constables,
• revenge for the investigators,
• we need a Knock-scrap for to take a crack at the Knock Sacrament next turn (probably ask Axe for that)
• we need Copper scryed to aim the hit-squad (that'll probably be Baldomare)
• we need to at least get started on the Moth-fuckery that is the Sacrament so that'll need a patsy (Mareinette),
• in terms of Velvet actions I would strongly prefer as many wholesome influences as possible so socials for her family, Cheerilee, and Mayor Mare,
• Rarity needs to focus on her career so that that doesn't go up in flames too and this should be a cheaper turn anyway,
• Comet can lead the Graveyard expedition and bring Baldomare along to actually find the bloody place,
• Biedde ought lead the raid unless he's gone AWOL for some strange Edge-reason,
• Jade I think can either search for the Outsider or progress the Memory of Light (I don't have a strong opinion) Edit: no I actually do, she's probably stressed as hell, either give her time off or let her contemplate a merciful Light.
• That leaves the servants, I don't really have any ideas that leap out at me.
• And of course the Baldomare free action, the level six book from the expedition if successful, one of our level five books otherwise. I personally choose the Moth book, because I'm petty like that.

Alright, I think that's everything, thoughts from the peanut gallery? I note that I very deliberately did not mention any Influences because Velvet has had quite enough of that already and needs to re-center herself without nine different flavors of mood-altering Lores cluttering things. The talk with Cadance in paticular, that needs to be honest, for Velvet's sake Cadance needs a proper look at her without the Lores muddling things.

 

[Shaper47]

let it be noted for posterity that Velvet is not on board with Shaper's shennaniganry

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That's totally baseless!

She could have won without loosing health with the wolf sacrament.

Though it was nice to see Velvet finally taking the time to look inward and start asking the big questions. Who are you? And what do you want?

We can't be building anything on *this* or we're going to implode if and when we're forced into this state again.

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Seems a lot of fearmongery to me.

Accepting ones self involves moving past her denial.

 

[DelightedOne]

This gives powerful credence to the theory that the Moth Sacrament is based on Velvet's trauma/insecurity. Like, not in a flavor-text way, a "this is a foundational part of my identity" way. We can't be building anything on *this* or we're going to implode if and when we're forced into this state again.

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It gets worse when you remember that Moth was the lore that Velvet demonstrated the most interest/affinity in the past(Copper recruited her talking about it).

Plus the fact that affinities change due to trauma(Soft's Sheep, Coin, Daughter) must have pushed Moth as her primary instead of the most likely Secret Histories.

Accepting ones self involves moving past her denial.

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She is not in denial, she knows who she is, that is why she hates herself. At most you can say that Velvet needs to learn to love herself.

Edit: Good thing Love is in her home now.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Seems a lot of fearmongery to me.

Accepting ones self involves moving past her denial.

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Mate that's what I just spent the last however long saying, Velvet has been self-medicating with the Lores to an alarming degree and she needs to get straight with herself and her family before she gets any worse off.

She is not in denial, she knows who she is, that is why she hates herself. At most you can say that Velvet needs to learn to love herself.

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Hear hear!

 

[Shaper47]

She is not in denial, she knows who she is, that is why she hates herself. At most you can say that Velvet needs to learn to love herself.

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Errr, are you reading the same sacrament as me?

That is an ugly truth you have always denied, and that you attempted to bury underneath the love that others feel for you.

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Because saying she's not in denial when the sacrament directly says the exact opposite...

That's not very trustworthy of you.


Besides as it's been mentioned before we had a bunch if opportunities to get the Master's Moth Sacrament. The thread choose not too.

To late for takebackies now that we've burnt that bridge and forest down.

 

[AuthorTransient]

• Jade I think can either search for the Outsider or progress the Memory of Light (I don't have a strong opinion) Edit: no I actually do, she's probably stressed as hell, either give her time off or let her contemplate a merciful Light.

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Alright, I think that's everything, thoughts from the peanut gallery?

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I kind of want Jade to scry for Windy so that we have a headstart on finding him, and then if he's with Copper, to either capture or kill him.

 

[DelightedOne]

Because saying she's not in denial when the sacrament directly says the exact opposite...

That's not very trustworthy of you.

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When someone says they are in denial, then state the reason and what they are denying are they really in denial or just pushing things forward no matter what? Even when she knows it, why would she be thinking about it all the time, when the distractions are so much more pleasant?

Also, remember that Velvet is a liar, so lying to herself about being in denial about her self-hatred so she can keep hiding it from everypony around her and not having to deal with it in any way makes a lot of sense, just one more skeleton in her closet that only she knows exists.

And really, you wanna play that game?

I kind of want Jade to scry for Windy so that we have a headstart on finding him, and then if he's with Copper, to either capture or kill him.

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He is not with Copper, Velvet made sure of it by scaring the fuck out of him at the TRIGGER EVENT.

He most likely is working on his project, now tainted by the Wolf. Still dangerous, but Copper comes first, dividing our attention is not a good idea.

 

[AuthorTransient]

He is not with Cooper, Velvet made sure of it by scaring the fuck out of him at the TRIGGER EVENT.

He most likely is working on his project, now tainted by the Wolf. Still dangerous, but Copper comes first, dividing... (cont.)

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No, I don't plan on dividing our forces or attention this upcoming turn, I fully intend on eliminating Copper. It's more that we get a headstart on finding Windy to deal with him on Turn 21 to avert a Wolf-flavored Catastrophe.

 

[Pittauro]

Here's what I'm thinking.

The current talk about the Moth Sacrament is driven by the Celestia-learning-the-Lores situation, and the fact that when her Lantern equals or exceeds our Moth she will see us. So we need more Moth right?

Well that's not going to solve our problem. Yeah we could get to Moth 5, but then Celestia's achieving her own Sacrament and so we've got to keep running. Level 7 is the limit, and she can still achieve a 7th level in Lantern to see through even that dappled shadow. Getting levels in Moth just to stay away from Celestia is the very definition of "playing to not lose instead of playing to win". Celestia is still Celestia and still grappling with Daybreaker no matter if we're Moth 4 or 7, it's entirely possible that she could be triggered by some other factor (such as our Brand!) or even by someone's random dumbass roll firing off where it shouldn't.

Looking at you Luna...

"Winning" in this case is defined to me as removing Celestia as a danger to us rather than punting the can down the road hoping that we can keep the Moth/Lantern race going until we hit Glory. As to how we'd remove the danger, I'm confident that Bird has at least conceptualized a method, and more than likely has put the first string within reach.

Luna, and Cadance, will be the one to properly settle this, with our backing. She's training right now, once she's done with that one would assume she'll begin work on finding a way to save Celestia (I note the [Diligent] trait making her training inevitable in the event of us faffing around) and I think she'll probably request supplies/time/help with her efforts.

That would be how we win the Celestia "conflict", by making sure Celestia isn't a threat to us by enabling Luna to defuse her.

In the meantime the Moth Sacrament may indeed be useful, but I don't consider it so overridingly necessary that we have to solve the problem like we did the Tribal Door, with the most expedient solution possible. We have a Mareinette, sending her out into the world to find somepony we'd consider acceptable and even Ideal for the Sacrament will not beggar us, will possibly entertain her, and will avoid burning a contact that can actually do something useful for us.

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well, of course Moth Sacrament is just meant to buy time. It's a "in case of emergency, break a confidant" button, basically

Though keep in mind that raising your lores is not exactly easy, and personal Sacraments are fairly hard to accomplish more often than not. We don't KNOW what Celestia would need to do to reach Lantern 5... it's a fair assumption she'll get there eventually, but who knows. And presumably it would take her more than a couple turn, so we can prepare "disposable" confidants this turn while we have so little that Velvet can do, and if we need the extra Moth either for Celestia or for other reasons we at least know it's just there, a single action away.

It's not like the Sacrament is ONLY to deal with Celestia. It's ALSO a source of powers. Sacraments give us options. Hopefully we'll gain the SH, Knock, Edge and Lantern Sacraments in the next few turns, as they're all fairly easy to get. And Moth and Winter if we end up needing them.

As for dealing with Daybreaker... well, best option would be getting to Glory and hoping it either has us win or that it gives us more tools to deal with it.

Beside that, Finishing Luna's training (which will basically be done on either turn 21 or 22 no matter what) and maybe pursuing Memory of Light (I could see a ritual or trait suitable to our problem being unlocked from it) might also help.

I'm starting to wonder why everyone thinks the rest of the Elements don't talk to each other anymore when it is just Twilight that shut herself in her house. That is without even mentioning how Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy knew each other for years before Twilight arrived in Ponyville. They may not be heroes, but they are still friends.

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not particularly close friends though.

There's I think implications of Dash and Fluttershy being relatively close, but I don't think to Pinkie the other Main 6 are particularly special right now, and Applejack and Rarity have basically nothing in common to bond over beside their former adventure. Season 1 even had a couple episodes about them clashing due to their differences, mainly the sleepover one.

So yeah, they know each others, but I'm not sure they're ALL friends with each others. Not really.

Applejack and Rarity are likely only really acquaintances to each others, for example. And Pinkie might as well have a trait that anyone starts as friends with her and skips acquaintances, really

The bigger issue with the Moth Sacrament is that the SH Sacrament is closer to completion and the Knock Sacrament is far more urgent.

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Not really? Arguably Moth and SH are more or less equally close (Moth: 1 action or at most 2 to bring someone to good friend, than one action for the Sacrament itself. SH: 2 actions + Baldomare Influence. Knock: PROBABLY 3 actions, but it might be more or less), and even Knock is not necessarily more far away, it's just that we don't know how long it will take. My guess is 3 actions, maybe 2 if we get lucky and 4 if we're unlucky, and an SH influence is likely to help as the errand is supposedly to "find something" (probably the Frangiclave, but maybe Axe wants something else from in there).

We have multiple sacraments that are one simple action away if it's just power and options we need, I find it funny that getting the Moth Sacrament is treated like a hurry-up emergency and yet the Secret Histories Sacrament that we could have had turns ago but for a quick hike with Baldomare is consistently deprioritized. Admittedly this whole "nearly dying" thing has thrown a wrench in the plans for the Knock Sacrament, and the Edge/Lantern Sacraments are well into the planning phase, but still.

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Actually, let me go one by one.



MOTH

Needed:

1) one more scrap of Moth (we have a book for it), so probably less than one study action.
2) one confidant (or leashed good friend). One or two social actions to bring someone expendable up to that rank.

That's it. 2, MAYBE 3 actions. we can do the social now, and the studying on either turn 21 or 22.

presumably useful, but not super-urgent. Celestia will take some time to reach Lantern 4 anyway.


LANTERN
Personal: we need 4 scraps of Lantern (we can get 2 from influence) AND a prisoner, and an action with DC 100 to "have a conversation" with them



BALDOMARE: still need the 4 scraps of Lantern, then give Baldomare followers (optimal is 2 Mares in the Light close to expiring). It's a SHORT expedition, so we still get their actions on that turn by the way, and if they survive we could probably sacrifice them for summoning replacements.

FORGE

4 scraps needed (2 minimum before we can start, we probably can get 1 or 2 scraps from this action as well), and on average probably 3 actions (under forge influence) and 150 bits.


EDGE
Personal: Kill a worthy opponent. No acceptable targets available currently.

Wolf: fuck no.

Biedde: we need to first heal, then remove the scar, then get the influence back again. Earliest we could get this is probably turn 22.

We're definitely going to heal and remove scar next turn, so the cost is effectively only Biedde's action to get the influence back, and I suppose healing time/costs right after.

WINTER
Personal: 3 actions, 3 unfortunate victims, 90 bits (30 per action) AND we still need 3 scraps (though the rituals to kill people might give us some...)

Wolf: fuck no

HEART

UNKNOWN

GRAIL
unpalatable. 4 scraps, then either an act of cannibalism on a prisoner/minion (Mareinette) or what's heavily implied to be permanent leash/brainwashing of three minions (we kinda have two already even. Rarity with Leash and Jade)

KNOCK

Personal: likely to be ignored.

Axe: 1 scrap, then an unknown amount of actions (preferably under SH influence as our best guess for what would help)


SECRET HISTORIES
Baldomare would have been 1 personal and one baldomare action and some bits, but I think we're committed to personal.

For that, best way to go about it is SH Influence + 2 actions on it (with a conditional of "drop second action if used reroll on first).




We can get SH, Knock, Moth, Edge and Winter fairly easily in the next 3-5 turns really, with Moth and Winter only being potentially problematic due to moral reasons, but otherwise doable.

Forge and Lantern will take more time, we have no idea about Heart, and Grail options suck but are also technically doable once we get the scraps.

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Our own SH Sacrament is but two actions away and is much cooler. Just slap an SH Influence and some AotLs on us to go to town.

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AotL doesn't apply, otherwise I agree.

If we get (and keep) more confidantes we can open more lines of attack/action on expeditions and directly increase the effectiveness of our Names. For example, sweeping up local basic expedition sites using Cheerilee and/or Applejack as the leaders and an appropriate Name or Luna as backup. That's more books, more artifacts, more reagents that we don't have to craft, and whatever else (such as a hidden ritual site perforce?) we can dig out. Heck, maybe we should consider having Baldomare or Jade check to see if there's an Oriflamme's equivalent we could be selling reagents to for cash.

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we already visited the "oriflamme equivalent" I think, it's where Uncle Steppes bought us the Lantern 6 book in the SH100 roll update.

So I'd say if we want to sell stuff there, we just do it through our uncle.

On the contrary, I'm aiming for at least two Much-More-Than-Level-Zero confidantes. It never came up since we power-leveled Rarity, but our Library Mechanic is tailored to rapidly leveling groups of confidantes without our personal attention.



The more books we stuff in there the better the effect, if we end up reading that level 5 Knock book for example I'm pretty sure our library will be able to get someone clear to Knock 3 without us having to raise a hoof. This thing is an incredible asset that we've simply never used because we don't recruit people.

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this is true. IF this turn we end up making significant progress and get more confidants, then raising the library so they can become useful on their own MIGHT be worth considering.

and hey, maybe we can recruit confidants from the Bureau? Instead of introducing EVERYONE to the lores, we could, say, try to recruit our detective by introducing him to Luna.

Probably too risky right now, but maybe later... also we might be able to use the Library for Cadance and/or Shining...

We even had it written:
So if an opportunity comes to save Celestia and maybe get her horn back, she is very likely to take it. And of course there is that nice bonus of a foundation for the Harmony Victory(just in case).

And with Daybreaker gone Celestia will be far more forgiving when certain truths come to light, removing our main time bomb and giving us some peace to deal with the other problems.

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makes sense.

Just... let Cadance bring the possibility up to Twilight. offer the healed horn, and ask to help save Celestia.

It's probably better if Velvet does not talk to Twilight, unless Twilight ask herself. If at all possible it would be better if somebody else healed her, even, which would even get better rolls if we got some appropriate artifacts...

Reading the quest's story, the Master's actions clearly demonstrated it to be too powerful to contest or even perceive even for the four alicorns, and just plain impossible for mortals. So the players defaulted to 'grin and bear' attitude towards Master's activities. It was the reasonable and practical course of action.

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We COULD have tried to scry for Master with Baldomare, or even just for Starry and ask her.

It's just that we judged the knowledge we'd gain and the difficulty of the action not worth it.

The Master was Moth 7 and lived to regret it, they were so spooky that the early questers refused to engage and discover or work with the character behind the theatrics.

Which we now know was an eldritch tree/wood spirit that was painfully young by the standards of the Names and spent it's life in solitude aside from stories heard in passing from Names and the creatures that inhabited it.

Edit: in other words we murdered the fuck out of a chunni tree that was doing its best impression of a dreadfully imposing Master of the Lores because the pony best suited to teach it what ethics are bought its Grogar impression. We killed Pinocchio, we set Pinocchio on Wolf-sent super-fire.

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To be fair this was kind of amoral Pinocchio at best.

Master was hardly innocent, though they COULD be somewhat sympathetic at times, and not wholly impossible to get along with.

If we had been willing to kill Luna and get the Blood of the Outsider he'd have wholly been on our side I imagine. All he wanted was for us (or someone, really) to reach Glory... and presumably to have some influence on them after, I imagine.

Shame that was not an agreeable option.

I have my doubts that things would have turned out any better if we didn't give them Baldomare. Because then, the changelings would still have their perfect disguises, Chrysalis would still be running around as Luna (and had accurate suspicions of where the cult was headquartered), and there's a very real possibility that we would have ended up on the hostile end of both the cult and the changelings at full strength. Which strikes me as... not a great situation to be in.

What pushed the Master toward dousing the lights wasn't about us giving them Baldomare. It was about the cult's (read: Velvet Cover's) lack of dedicated progress toward any of the other win conditions.

Like, for the Hours' sake, the Tower (the suspected way to the Moon) was in the Blank Plains this whole time, the second-lowest area of the Mansus. And yet we didn't find out until Turn 13, even though we had access to the Blank Plains since Turn 5.

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the fact we didn't do that great of a job with the manuscripts also was a factor. Though the Master was arguably too impatient.

Silky's second-favourite stuffed animal lays beside you, because she didn't want you to be alone even after you finally convinced Softy to drag her to school.

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that's sweet, but... only the second favourite?!

You've felt this power before, but it feels different now. You're in the eye of the hurricane, not its periphery. It's more intense than before, even if you're not buffeted the same way. It's more concentrated, more focused.

You are loved. You are loved. You are loved.

VELVET, YOU PROMISED!

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I can only hope something like this actually happens...

Poor Cadance, really. All this love's-chosen-facing-a-brush-with-death cannot be good for her heart.

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it might be good for her HEART though!

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and I'll read this worryingly red and red colored update as soon as I have the time

 

[Greymere]

Mareinette fed us the remains of the ponies didn't she... And the Grave on the Hill is in that hill isn't it? At least the monster helped.

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The Grave on the Hill is quite a bit farther away than that, methinks.

 

[Zxzx24]

Mmm becoming immortal would stop Copper from killing us. But I suppose she pushed hard enough that we ought to do something about it.

 

[Greymere]

And of course the Baldomare free action, the level six book from the expedition if successful, one of our level five books otherwise. I personally choose the Moth book, because I'm petty like that.

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- Talks about regretting not progressing Baldomare's social bar

- In the very same post mentions intentionally not giving her the Level 6 book

Well which is it? Do you want to progress her friendship quest or not?

 

[Venerable Ro]

- Talks about regretting not progressing Baldomare's social bar

- In the very same post mentions intentionally not giving her the Level 6 book

Well which is it? Do you want to progress her friendship quest or not?

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?

How do you mean? I said to give her the level six book if the expedition is successful, if not give her one of the level five books instead of letting her just vanish in a puff of wasted opportunities. In fact, I'm inclined to just write "Baldomare's choice of level five book if the level six book is not available".

 

[Greymere]

?

How do you mean? I said to give her the level six book if the expedition is successful, if not give her one of the level five books instead of letting her just vanish in a puff of wasted opportunities. In fact, I'm inclined to just write "Baldomare's choice of level five book if the level six book is not available".

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Ah, my bad. I seem to have skipped over a part of the sentence.

 

[Bakkasama]

we need a Knock-scrap for to take a crack at the Knock Sacrament

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I rather we have her craft for wrong keys this turn. Even if we know there are no rituals incoming, we can't know whether there will be summons sent after us and as we don't know what defenses Copper's base has or what are Neighea's stats, we should get the keys just in case Axe becomes unavailable for whatever reason (which is very unlikely but rng can be a bitch). We can get the lore lesson next turn without it changing anything but if we need the keys for whatever reason we would regret not crafting them.

 

[des-pair-2]

@OurLadyOfWires I found some outdated info in Contacts and Names.

Selene:
-Lores: [MOTH 3] [WINTER 3] [EDGE 3] [KNOCK 3]
-Info: Selene is your daughter, and you will brook no argument that claims the contrary. She may be Princess Luna, put to sleep due to powers beyond your comprehension. She may have been entrusted to you by her parents, somehow, rather than born from your own blood. But all that matters to you is that she is one of your fillies, and you have helped her grown every step of the way. The only issue you have with this whole situation is that, to this day, she has not yet called you "mother".

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She did call us mom already.

Biedde: An old soldier, still guarding his post within the Mansus. You might get to know him better if you ever summon him.

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We have summoned him.

Anyway, this chapter was delightfully horrifying, I fear losing memory more than actually dying and you did great job capturing that.


I think we should do Forge's Redemption this turn, if we won't have permanent guard from constables. Then investigate Copper with detectives and have constables raid the changeling hive. We can take the loyalty hit, just like with Selene, tell them in nicer words to be proactive rather than reactive.

 

[Venerable Ro]

I think we should do Forge's Redemption this turn, if we won't have permanent guard from constables.

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I mean, we've got the "unnoticed ritual site" bonus still going, but where are we supposed to get the requisite Forge?

I'm genuinely curious, it would be very thematic if we could pull it off.

 

[Bakkasama]

I think we should do Forge's Redemption this turn, if we won't have permanent guard from constables. Then investigate Copper with detectives and have constables raid the changeling hive. We can take the loyalty hit, just like with Selene, tell them in nicer words to be proactive rather than reactive.

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As a reminder, it has a 100 Forge DC and we take a wound if we fail. While Mareinette could potentially do the ritual, it will kill us if she fails and we will never get Velvet's backstory if she succeeds (Velvet has to do it herself for us to see it)

Edit: I mean, our best odds this turn for a Forge Redemption is a coinflip between dying and getting rid of a malus, unless you want to sacrifice a pony.

 

[spiderhellian]

It is pure and plain charity. Succor and salvation, comfort and reprieve. A solution to all of your pains and problems, and then some more

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And even though you have not yet befriended any Names, there is one among their number who is interested in you out of her own volition.

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Wow! Thank you Mareinette! I trust you immediately and we should be deeply grateful for your friendship!

 

[des-pair-2]

I imagined we have Rarity cast it + reagent, but I suppose it would still be too risky.

Confronting past without lores would be thematic, but practically it will have to wait a turn or two.

 

[Greymere]

[] A loose security detail, on her discretion.
-Constable's "Guard" option will be permanently increased to a total of 6 Constables.
-However, they will ONLY act if the Constables are ordered to "Guard" you a certain turn.


[]A tighter security detail, at all times.
-Your house (but not your person) will be permanently (automatically) guarded by 2 Constables.
-Ordering the Constables to "Guard" will add an additional 4 Constables for that turn (to a total of 6).
-HOWEVER. The constant presence of Bureau security means additional scrutiny on your personal life. Meaning that:
--Velvet Covers is skilled enough to act without raising additional suspicion. Actions YOU perform, such as rituals, will not cause any more suspicion than they normally would (although if you commit a big blunder, your security guards might hear from the household gossip).
--But actions that happen TO you (caused by external actors) will cause more suspicion, as your security will notice them, and cause the information to eventually "bleed" into the Bureau.

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There hasn't been much discussion on which to pick so far, so I figured I'd throw my opinion into the ring.

I think we should go with the permanent guard upgrade. The looser security detail is technically nicer in terms of information control, but a) so far we seem determined to keep pressing that "increase Bureau loyalty" button until it stops being as much of an issue, b) if things work out as I hope they will, with the Names taking out Copper & Neighnia (or stealing her, whichever is manageable) and the Bureau working over the lesser cultists, the Bureau should soon become aware of the Lores and the accompanying ability to summon The Horrors(tm) and perform killing rituals, and c) the problem with the looser security is that it relies on our ability to predict when an attack will happen, and even if we correctly do so the constables won't be able to do anything else that turn; at least with a permanent 2 guards, there will always be someone around to help even the odds and act as meatshields.

(edit: also, once we manage to get the Lores into the Bureau, hopefully soon with that shiny (VENGEANCE) option, two Edge adepts will be very handy to have around as guards)

Though even after we deal with Copper, I have to say, I think we should still run a guard action (in addition to Biedde) at least until we find out what Windy is up to and whether or not he's a threat to us. Plus, there's always the chance later that a disgruntled cultist might get it into their heads to send an Ash-Ghoul against the dastardly Commissioner who ruined their nice little cult-slash-gang. It doesn't require a ritual circle, after all, and they are very easy to summon as long as you're willing to secure the sacrifices.

Edit:

I imagined we have Rarity cast it + reagent, but I suppose it would still be too risky.

Confronting past without lores would be thematic, but practically it will have to wait a turn or two.

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We were hesitant to do it before when we were at Forge 3 and access to reagents. Rarity only has Forge 1, and we can't make any reagents right now. It would be insanely risky do have her do it. Better to wait until next turn when we're at (presumably) full health again.

 

[Pharohman777]

I love this story/quest. It's been a fun ride so far. Thanks OurLadyOfWires.

 

[Pittauro]

You think you coughed blood onto your badge, before giving it to Soft. And that you maybe ordered her to fly to the Bureau and do… something.

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bloody badge? fitting.

Because you feel so… you feel so small. You feel so weak. You feel so pathetic right now.

You can't hide from this pain. You can't rationalize it. You can't change it or fight it or accept it. You can barely march through it as it is, and you certainly can't… you can't…

… you can't even remember the colors anymore. You can't remember ANYTHING.

Or rather, you can only remember one color… you are stuck inside your mind, and there is only one other part of you here with you.​

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Yeah, losing all those extra senses and abilities and just ways to understand the world... must be really traumatic and confusing to go through, and that's IN ADDITION to the wounds and weakness.

You can only remember one color.

And it is the worst possible color to be alone with.​

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...I suppose it was too much to hope the color was Heart's?

Though to be fair it's only the second worst color, not the first

… why not? Are you afraid of some introspection?​

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...a bit?

You tell yourself you are using the Lores to build yourself up. But in truth, you are burying your true self under them, aren't you?​

Not this…

Although… it is actually better that you bury yourself, isn't it? After all, you are such an ugly little creature, deep down… A crippled wife to an unsatisfied husband. A smothering mother to a suffocated daughter.​

Don't… don't bring them into this… please don't…

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the core of the Moth "you hate yourself" intro to the Sacrament blurb...

I can only hope her family and Cadance can help her through this.

And then there is the other one. Because you might tell yourself that you raised her, but oh no… that is not the right word, is it? You did not raise her. You groomed her. You molded her fragile, broken mind into something useful to you, and then you told yourself that she forgave you out of love. Your own little moon, who you stole away, and damn the world and the sun.​

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we had VERY GOOD REASONS for going about it as we did! In hindsight Celestia would have likely used the mirror on Selene! It would have been merciless and NOT what she needed!

But deep down, your greatest sin will always be the one that came from your own flesh. Because you hate her, don't you? Or maybe you love the idea of her so much, that you hate what she is becoming. You don't really want her to grow up, do you? Oh no, you are terrified of it. You would cut off her wings and keep her in a cage if you knew of a painless way to do it and-​

"SHUT. UP."​

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...
this reminds me of the wolf ritual that DEFINITELY did not happen no sir!

"M-M… mom…?"
"Mrs. Velvet we j-just-…"
"… Silky, come with me. Now."


In fact, you can't even recognize them.

The inconsolable filly, who is looking at you with a face full of grief as she cries.

The serious-looking filly, who is dragging the other one away with a furious expression.

And the larger one, the pegasus, who just looks confused and scared.

You… you look at them and…



And you have no idea of who they are.

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...

ouch

Silky, who is suddenly confronted with her mother's mortality.

Selene, furious at those who DARED attack us, and probably feeling guilty about not being there to help.

Soft Sweeps, fearing this is a repeat of her first loss.

and Velvet apparently has some brain injury. HOPEFULLY Heart means we'll heal fully from it, but I could see us getting a new scar out of it...


...uh, I also just realized (on a second read of this part) that they're reacting to Velvet screaming to them to shut up...

You just don't know. It hurts too much to even remember that. Your mind, your very brain, is quite literally too damaged to recognize them. That is if you ever met them at all.

And frankly, you don't care about who they are.

You barely have enough energy to turn around and…

… and start sobbing.

Because you are alone.

And it hurts.

And you hate this.

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...damn. That's so BAD...

Something crawls towards the outer side of your closed window.

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...this is NOT how I hoped the bindings renewal was going to go...

"[GRAIL]?"



It is not a deal.

It is not a price.

It isn't even an exchange of favors.

It is pure and plain charity. Succor and salvation, comfort and reprieve. A solution to all of your pains and problems, and then some more.

It will demand some of your time of course, but right now you have nothing but time.

It will require her to step but a hoof inside your room, but she swears not to overstay beyond what is necessary. And only out of sheer necessity, of course.

And she will do it completely for free, no strings attached and no repayment needed.

Because are you not associates? Are you not… friends?

She offers all of that, in a single word.

And to your pained, beaten, and crying self, there is no other option.



"Yes…" you say. "Please… yes…"

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This is potentially worrying... hopefully she won't get Velvet addicted on herself or something.

And then, something fills you. Something fills your mouth and throat and lung and soul. Something swarms over you, and floods your heart like a fountain of nectar.

Your heart begins to beat again, all on its own. Your blood begins to sing through your veins, rather than drag itself through your meat.

And within the limited labyrinth that are your broken memories, this is the first time you remember not feeling pain.

Under normal circumstances, your broken body would have taken an entire week to even start healing itself.

If you were acting under only your own power, your broken body would re-knit itself at a snail's pace. And it could have taken you an entire month for your damaged brain to re-connect itself enough for you to be able to form a string of ideas.

And throughout all of that, you would have been forbidden from doing anything else. You would have been forbidden from sleeping, or speaking, or even thinking. Lest you accidentally stopped running your blood through your veins, and your body finally failed.

But with this?

With this sudden, strong and lush thing beating inside your chest.

With this, you can finally sleep. You can finally let go.

As you close your eyes, sweet, soft and quiet oblivion takes over your body.

And you finally begin to do something that approaches getting better.

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damn. a month of nothing but focusing on the dance with not one moment's rest?

That would be hell.

For once we really need to be grateful to Mareinette. Which is of course a problem in and of itself.

Because sure, this was basically charity. But it doesn't change the fact she's a monster, and having to recognize we're in debt/should be grateful to a monster is NOT a good position to be in.

However, the one item she was carrying with her, worn around her trembling neck and covered in dry blood, turned her from an unwelcome guest to somepony who was immediately rushed to the doors of the Lunar Bureau.

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you're telling me she wasn't at the family day?! They should recognize her just from that!

Seventeen hours have passed since then. And right now, the Velvet estate in quiet Ponyville is perhaps the second safest place in all of Canterlot.

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That's an incredible achievement for a place that is NOT in Canterlot, @OurLadyOfWires !

Is our estate so eldritch that it can be in Canterlot while also being in Ponyville know? I thought we'd need more Secret History for that

Because this isn't right. This isn't fair. They have an entire Bureau of guards and soldiers, of ponies with cutie marks dedicated to protecting others, and the one pony who gets hurt is the thin, fragile, and delicate mare who was practically drafted into the job.

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cough cough

if only they knew...

Iron Button is asking, of course, about the pink-and-gold carriage that is parked by the front door of the central mansion.

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oh, she's already here!

"Ma'am, once again thank you for your time. Now, this is very important. If you could please tell my superior here everything you told me, that would be much appreciated," he says, encouraging the mare to speak up.

The two stallions patiently wait as the mare gathers her courage. And they understand her hesitation, of course. It must be intimidating for her to be in a situation like this.

But eventually-

"[GRAIL]!"

-she speaks.

"I immediately trust you, and I believe everything you just said," the Deputy says, to which Iron Button nods in agreement.

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this is funny in the most horrifying of ways!

As the hours pass, and a multitude of cutie-marked ponies work their craft, a large is slowly pieced together.

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a large...?

The official story that will be released is that there was only one attacker. But they found enough evidence, such as trails and strands of fur, suggesting there were certainly two attackers, and perhaps three of them.

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technically 4, actually. but good work!

We should try to recruit him for real at some point, if we can.

And yet, they have not yet found a single drop of blood. Anywhere.

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Mareinette: GRAIL! (Waste not, want not always)

Furthermore, the idea that the attackers fled… it also doesn't make sense. Reproach has already been in several fights in his life, with crooks and lowlifes. And he realizes there comes a point where they just fight to the death, or until you subdue and shackle them. He knows that there comes a point when both sides know the other is not going to back down, when the decision between "fight or flight" is bent towards fighting, and the idea of escape is completely forgotten by the brain.

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foolish of them, really.

And to be honest? The way Reproach saw things…? At the end of the day, he thought the Commissioner did Equestria a favor. He honestly thought that, and he was sure several ponies in the Bureau would agree with him, even if they never admitted it.

Because in the end, what happened there was just a mare defending herself, from a bunch of crooks who tried to kill her in her own house. She did nothing less than defend her family.

And given how many of them lost somepony in the Catastrophe… he knows plenty of ponies who wish they could have said they did the same. He knows too many ponies who wish they could have stood their ground, and defended their house from the monsters. Even if those monsters were ponies.

So, he wouldn't spare them any sympathy. They were just evidence, to be dissected, analyzed, and then used to track the next crook.

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I'm surprised Mareinette left that much of them. Didn't she eat them?

"… total of four stallions, three earth ponies and one unicorn. Three were covered by dozens of lacerations, which appear to have been caused by tiny, thorn objects. Consistent with the report that "ice magic" was used, as the penetrating needles could have been icicles. Last subject was killed by a single piercing strike to the chest, which impaled the heart. A request has been sent for the measures of the Commissioner's horn, to compare with the dimensions of the chest-hole. Interestingly, all bodies were completely devoid of blood, for reasons unknown. Magic is suspected, but simple freezing would not have accomplished that. Furthermore, a total of five legs, two intestines and one liver were missing. Given how all the bodies were found dismembered and scattered in a wooded area, and had to be pieced back together, it is possible that those organs and members were simply not recovered by field agents. Suspicions that all bodies were swallowed, chewed, and later spit out were easily dismissed by a reliable source. All cutie marks were relayed to the criminal database department for comparison with that of known criminals and…"

-Excerpt from autopsy report of four "John Colts" found near the Velvet Estate.

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...I think I know who the reputable source is.

Despite what is written here, you are not "forced" to act upon any of this information. However, these notes should be considered carefully:
-Selene insists that you order her to "Guard" this turn, with one of her actions.
-The Constables of the Lunar Bureau insist that you order them to "Guard" you this turn.
-The Investigators can follow the trail of your attackers in a specially-tailored investigation.
-Your family is extremely worried about you, and about their safety.
-No enemy rituals are forthcoming. And no Fleeting Opportunities will be made available during Velvet's Phase.

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no rituals, no FOs. good to know, we can proceed with Knock lesson then.

we PROBABLY want to satisfy the Constables' request, and maybe Selene's too. Not sure about investigating Copper. I suppose if we're proceeding with the name-team it would be fine, presumably the Bureau wouldn't be ready for the actual attack until next turn, giving us time this turn and the next to do everything we want about the Cult (steal artifacts, recover Manuscripts, imprison or kill Copper...)

Current bits: 281
(You have gained 160 from your monthly salary, and 45 from Rarity's dividends)

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oh, that's a decent number to play with!

"The Commissioner eventually agreed to…"

[You MUST pick one of the following two options]

[] A loose security detail, on her discretion.
-Constable's "Guard" option will be permanently increased to a total of 6 Constables.
-However, they will ONLY act if the Constables are ordered to "Guard" you a certain turn.


[]A tighter security detail, at all times.
-Your house (but not your person) will be permanently (automatically) guarded by 2 Constables.
-Ordering the Constables to "Guard" will add an additional 4 Constables for that turn (to a total of 6).
-HOWEVER. The constant presence of Bureau security means additional scrutiny on your personal life. Meaning that:
--Velvet Covers is skilled enough to act without raising additional suspicion. Actions YOU perform, such as rituals, will not cause any more suspicion than they normally would (although if you commit a big blunder, your security guards might hear from the household gossip).
--But actions that happen TO you (caused by external actors) will cause more suspicion, as your security will notice them, and cause the information to eventually "bleed" into the Bureau.

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...I have no idea, honestly.

Can we afford to risk it?

-Velvet Covers MAY "plant evidence" in advance, in an already-explored expedition site or somewhere you direct the Bureau to go. Consult with QM for details, to write-in a Velvet action aimed at that.

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we can do it with the cult if we deal with them first.

Rarity (3 health, GRAIL 3, FORGE 1)
-[] [RARITY] Focus on her work. (Guarantees she will "succeed" on her career roll)
-[] [RARITY] Take a commission. (Gain at least 100 bits immediately, will "fail" her career roll)
-[] [RARITY] Focus on her studies, and learn more of the Lores. (SECRET LIBRARY INSUFFICIENTLY LEVELED)
-[] [RARITY] Something else? (WRITE IN)

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Can Rarity afford to take a commission this turn @OurLadyOfWires ?

-[] [SELENE] You need her to talk to somepony about… (WRITE IN whose dreams she will enter, and what you want her to talk about with them, or if you just want her to spy on them)

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mh... Maybe we should ask her to go and check Copper's dreams? It's a valuable source of intel.

--[] You might need a place to… "store" your enemies. Alive. Dig a small prison under her house.

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We might want to do this, especially if we're acting against Copper.

Getting her as a prisoner would give us a chance for grail/personal Lantern sacraments, if we want to go for them.

...a small, crazy part of me kinda hopes that if we send Selene to check her dreams we might get a hint of a route that allows us to spare her, but I don't think we can afford peace with her at this point.

It is not that you nearly died. You did die. And the final ace up your sleeve is not the true immortality of a Long, but the parlor trick of a desperate mortal.

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that admittedly put things into perspective.

Also, as we were once told, well-adjusted ponies don't join cults.

Velvet, ironically enough, found MORE stability in the Eldritch. Now that she lost it, many of her old doubts are coming back, magnified by the wolf.

If you wish some other Name had stepped in, maybe you should have befriended them by now. If not, or if you like Mareinette, then this is probably fortunate. Still, this is neither a reprimand nor a praise, just my own thoughts on this.

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...well, we ARE trying to work on that! We'd have given the lvl 6 book to Baldomare right this turn, and hopefully found the Frangiclave the next one!

Truly, this is a pretty bad timing for us to get wounded like this. Curse my pushing for Church! At least we had both Mareinette, Biedde and Influence to help us... we still got so unlucky on that roll...

More reasons to get Baldomare's books and DoA's key!

Edit: Also, I have to say, 45 bits is a lot more than I was expecting to get from Rarity considering her career roll auto-failed last turn due to the commission. Not gonna complain though, more bits are always welcome!

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the way I understand it she's probably payed based on the results of her previous fashion season, or a more generic "state of career" secret stat maybe. In any case she only suffers a serious downgrade in her career if she fails ALL career rolls in a full season (3 turns) I think.

I think the general idea, last I checked, was that we take out Copper via Name squad and use the Bureau to clean up the lesser cultists?

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and maybe introduce the lores through their library AFTER removing our manuscripts (and maybe the Lantern book, because, you know, Celestia. Did we ever share the lvl 6 book with the cult?)

 

[spiderhellian]

A few points on planning:

1) Rarity does not need to focus on her work. She's a d100 + ~11 on the Outsider search, pretty good. At Grail 3 she should have quite good odds of succeeding the roll even without guaranteeing it. And in the very unlikely chance she does fail, it's okay -- as long as we don't get three failures in a row, it'll be alright.
2) Does Baldomare need to scry Copper? As opposed to Jade? She can guarantee we find the Outsider this turn. What I'd really love is some conditional mess based on how Jade's scry goes... @OurLadyOfWires I'm guessing that would wind up a complex enough plan that you'd rather not see it?
3) I think we should push Luna to not guard. 6 mortal guards, and Biedde? That's an incredible amount. Her actions are really useful, I'm not sure we can use one like this...

 

[Greymere]

and maybe introduce the lores through their library AFTER removing our manuscripts (and maybe the Lantern book, because, you know, Celestia. Did we ever share the lvl 6 book with the cult?)

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Nope. We only ever read it after we left, so they shouldn't have any Lantern manuscripts at all. Unless Copper found another source, I guess.

2) Does Baldomare need to scry Copper? As opposed to Jade? She can guarantee we find the Outsider this turn. What I'd really love is some conditional mess based on how Jade's scry goes... @OurLadyOfWires I'm guessing that would wind up a complex enough plan that you'd rather not see it?

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Doesn't matter. Unless Jade is busy doing something Jade-specific (i.e. the Memory of Light), Bird is going to be the one deciding which of our Lantern followers does the Copper RotT. And Jade may or may not be doing something Jade-specific; obviously, unless their opinion has changed recently, DO will probably want Jade to do Memory of Light, but we could also put in another RotT to look for Windy, or put in a(nother) Outsider search die into the pool.

 

[spiderhellian]

Doesn't matter. Unless Jade is busy doing something Jade-specific (i.e. the Memory of Light), Bird is going to be the one deciding which of our Lantern followers does the Copper RotT. And Jade may or may not be doing something Jade-specific; obviously, unless their opinion has changed recently, DO will probably want Jade to do Memory of Light, but we could also put in another RotT to look for Windy, or put in a(nother) Outsider search die into the pool.

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It does matter when planning, because it makes a big difference to how many Outsider Search actions we need!

Though maybe with everything going into a pool you're right, and we simply cannot plan to that level of granularity. That's unfortunate, even if I understand.

 

[Greymere]

It does matter when planning, because it makes a big difference to how many Outsider Search actions we need!

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If Bird assigns Baldomare to the Outsider search and she rolls 200+ by herself, I imagine he'd probably reopen a vote about what to do with the extra AP (if we assigned multiple AP to it). It wouldn't necessarily help with the planning part, but at least AP wouldn't be going to waste.

Edit: Actually whoops, Baldomare wouldn't be able to do it by herself, she rolls a 180 max

Unless she actually decides to be serious for once and pull out the Influence.

Point about unused/extra AP from Outsider search still stands, though.