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

[spiderhellian]

-[Y] [STEPPES] Ask for a favor, you need a place to imprison your assassin Copper off the books.

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I'm think take the free social call or just normal social to Steppes given the favor she asking for. Thoughts?

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I think this is a crazy favour. We don't know Steppes is a criminal, lol. All Steppes will know (at some point this turn, probably) is that we were near-murdered. Asking for a private prison is nuts.

 

[Shaper47]

Also, given the DCs for studying artifacts, this turn is probably the best turn for poking the tuning fork to see what it does. The L4 Artifact is just going to leave us scratching our heads, and the books will also be perplexing, though progress is progress. Also Artifacts are really useful for Expeditions, so we really should figure them all out during our forced sabbatical.

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Very good point.

Backfilling the level 1 books is possible but not really needed now. The tuning fork is a very practical choice.

I kinda want to to go the grief group or meet up with our sons for the narrative though. It might not be practical but it's some spicy in-character roleplay and might be illuminating.

 

[spiderhellian]

For the Tuning Fork, DC 70 when we roll with... +17-27 is pretty tough.

 

[Shaper47]

I think this is a crazy favour. We don't know Steppes is a criminal, lol. All Steppes will know (at some point this turn, probably) is that we were near-murdered. Asking for a private prison is nuts.

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Depends how Velvet words it.

Like mechanically Velvet is asking for to borrow a prison for a bit but narratively it might be like Velvet is asking for an out of the way warehouse he owns for a while along with some reinforced crates. Or like borrow some hunting lodge out of town with a big basement.

We could always pull the Luna card though.

For the Tuning Fork, DC 70 when we roll with... +17-27 is pretty tough.

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True even the books are hard in our current state.

 

[Maer]

I understand if its a question you aren't willing to answer, @OurLadyOfWires , but I'm planning to write out a story-game based on this for some friends of mine- including a number of the mechanical elements, and I will be providing a link back here as thanks for your inspiration- and I was wondering what effect Dread has on a person? I know we've seen Fascination in Twilight, and I plan to look over that as well, but I can't remember us dealing with Dread before in the story. Maybe I'm just forgetting it, but would you be willing to share what the mechanical effects of Dread are?

 

[Steady Gaze]

Wanted to try my hand at writing the objectives for a Copper assault done BEFORE the Bureau gets her trail. Maybe someone can incorporate it into their plan:

--[] What is their objective? (WRITE IN what your followers must do, in order of PRIORITY)

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---[] Make Copper disappear. If possible, have Mareinette "clean up" Copper on her bed as she sleeps in the middle of the night, or if not, just eat her and any other enemy casualties.
---[] Steal back (or destroy, if unable to steal) the manuscripts that have our name on them, plus any books that strike Baldomare's fancy.
---[] Find and destroy any other evidence that associates us with Copper, if any exists.
---[] Leave as little trace (evidence, non-grailed witnesses) as possible.
---[] They are free to steal anything that is valuable and easy enough to steal as long as it doesn't jeopardize any other objectives.

So Copper and the manuscripts are taken care of, plus we could get some books or other loot as a "bonus objective". I would not try to interrogate her, as I feel that's too ambitious if not in a controlled environment; I'm counting on Baldomare to find everything we need. Besides the manuscripts I'm not sure there's even any info she knows that we would even want.

EDIT: Basically, if it looks to the Bureau like Copper realized they were after her and decided to disappear without a trace, that would be a success. (Although that's an argument for assaulting Copper after the investigation starts, or maybe just after they start tailing ponies.)

--[] Who is going? (WRITE IN which followers will go)

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I'm in favor of a "minimal" strike force, with the goal of getting in and out without being seen. So maybe Baldomare (for her Lantern and Secret Histories to find things and to know if the team is leaving evidence), Mareinette (for her clean up, stealth/acrobatics, and grail nonsense abilities), and Biedde (for his combat ability, just in case). I think something like that should be able to do a stealth mission well enough. Keep in mind the objective (at least in my iteration) isn't "do a pitched battle and massacre the cult", it's "get in and out without being seen". I'm thinking Baldomare can find where all the objectives actually are, and Mareinette can clean up and also passively convince everypony who sees her that she was completely unremarkable. Not sure if sending DoA and Mareinette on the same mission is a bad idea, unless snakes = stealth.

--[] What are they taking?

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I don't see any artifacts as being useful, unless we ourselves aren't going to use the Heart artifact. Do names have the same mechanics for healing as other followers?

 

[Shaper47]

Mareinette (for her clean up, stealth/acrobatics, and grail nonsense abilities)

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Mareinette can clean up and also passively convince everypony who sees her that she was completely unremarkable

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Hmm, wouldn't Neighnia be able to work against Mareinette's Grail tricks with Winter?

I noticed she's missing from your planning.

 

[spiderhellian]

@OurLadyOfWires

A few questions:

1) Can we subdivide expedition priority? Like after killing Copper, we want Mareinette on scouting Neighnea, Comet on looting, DoA/Baldomare on locating/destroying our manuscripts? Or is that the point at which the Names say "Hey, mostly-dead pony, don't try to micromanage and just let us do our jobs"?
2) Can we get any narrative vibe on how Comet feels about attacking the cult?
3) Are there any penalties to taking extra people on the attack? E.g. to a Moth check of sneakiness-past-detectives?
4) Does Selene's Moth realization mean she can go on the attack expedition without showing off Luna to the world..?

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Pretty torn on before/after. Between sending Baldomare on the expedition and a RotT, maybe we'll have sufficient information? And things could get messy if some of the agents who spent a while at our estate notice some of our more peculiar guests carrying out bloody murder. But in terms of "Let's guarantee we get this done", but the more info the better

No real clue on Steppes action. Maybe he can get us a better rate on healing crystals? Maybe we could ask him to visit his nieces, they could really use it (I also like getting him out of Manehattan this turn)? Or we could ask him for some info on Manehattan? Guessing tying him into the investigation would be a little sketchy, lol. But I mean, we don't know he's a criminal, so maybe it makes sense...

Here's my tentative thoughts:

[] Plan Talk Like a Pony, Attack Like a Dragon (AFTER)
-[] [BUREAU] You will assault Copper AFTER the Bureau picks her trail.
-[] Assault an opponent (Copper Secateur)
--[] Who is going? (Biedde, Baldomare, DoA, Mareinette, Comet)
--[] What are they taking? (2 Wrong Keys)
--[] Objectives, in order of priority: First, Eliminate Copper Secateur. Next, locate and destroy our manuscripts. Next unsummon, or retrieve, or simply scout Neighnea. Next, loot Valuables. Next, kill high-ranking cultists.
-[] The Grave on the Hill
--[] Who is going? (Rarity, DoA)
--[] What are they taking? Heart 3, Edge 3, SH 3, 1 Wrong Key
-[] You are wounded! (You currently have 2 wounds. You must pick one of each option.)
--[] Take a few breaks, every now and then. (Costs 1 action. Rolls TWO dice. 0/-15)
--[] There is no holy grail for healing magic, no miraculous wound-closing spell. But vigor-enhancing spells, and other small boosts, are a thing. The crystals where they are stored for sale are expensive, though… (Costs 60 bits. Two dice will auto-succeed)
-[] [STEPPES] Does he know a good place to source healing crystals?
-[] [SOCIAL] You don't have it in you to teach anypony of the Lores. But you can make a social call to… (MAYOR MARE)
-[] [SOCIAL] You don't have it in you to teach anypony of the Lores. But you can make a social call to… (APPLEJACK)
-[] [SOCIAL] You don't have it in you to teach anypony of the Lores. But you can make a social call to… (CHEERILEE)

 

[Pittauro]

Still, the fact remains that you are looking at a mansion that seems to have come out of a horror story. Everypony you look at, whether they be your agents or the estate's servants, seem to be on edge. Everypony, without exception, seems to be concerned, scared, serious, or a combination of all those three things. And everywhere you look, your eyes need to strain to pierce through the shadows.

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so the mansion FINALLY looks the part of the Name Hotel?!

And despite her delicate state, a part of you can't shake the thought that… that maybe she is doing this on purpose. You think that she called for this meeting, with yourself and all the figurehead agents, precisely so they can see her in this state. Maybe because she wants to incense you all into acting. Maybe because she wants you all to see the fruit of your failure, and the price she had to pay for it.

Whatever her reason is, you think it is working.

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I'm not sure Velvet has enough lucidity to plan like that.

She's probably just fed up with Copper.

and the calm demeanor of the nurse by her side

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Mareinette as a nurse... I never thought we'd get to that point...

Mareinette also told you that you gave orders to your agents while they were here, but you… well, you don't even remember the Bureau coming to your home. And you have yet to confirm if the "guards" they placed in your house are real or not.

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damn she was REALLY out of it.

Dancing with Death is no joke. the name is really appropriate.

She has been keeping your heart beating. She has been changing your bandages, although you have never seen her throw them in the trash. And she has been… talking to you.

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tasty blood, I'm sure...

"Thank you all for coming here," you say to the room at large. "I am here to ask you all to do a few things for me."

You say that to the several Names who are currently in your bedroom.

You say that to Baldomare, who is calmly sitting on a nearby chair. To Mareinette, who is standing on a distant corner of the room. To the Daughter-of-Axes, who has a hoof over the hilt of her namesake weapon, and is on the opposite corner that Mareinette is.

And you say that to Biedde, who answers you with a knowing smile.

"What is the name of the pony you want us to kill?" the old stallion asks.

And then, you begin to tell them what you want to see happen.

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Can you imagine if we somehow answered to Biedde that no, we wanted to make peace with the one that nearly had us killed?

Would that even compute to him?

Relevant notes:
-Jade Whistle will perform a scrying ritual before your assault against your opponent departs, and they will act based on that information.
-Unfortunately, since both actions are happening on the same turn, you are not able to plan the expeditions "after" Jade's scrying attempt. You must make your plans now, and whatever she learns will be used by your assault team.
-The "leader" of an expedition is irrelevant, as their action point is spent gathering resources and making preparations, rather than being given "authority" over the assault. If your assault team needs to make an important decision, you (the players) will be offered a vote instead, even if Velvet is not physically present. (And Mareinette's trait only allows her to "vote" in your stead if she is performing an action by herself. Expeditions such as these do not apply.)
-However, you will not micromanage all aspects of the assault (you wouldn't do that even if Velvet was going herself). So, make your decisions, and QM will decide the finer details, including character agency.
-You must also vote for the "timing" with the Bureau's investigation.

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So...

Jade is scrying.

The Names are going to go and Finally Kill Copper.

we have to plan the expedition BEFORE the scrying... but the main thing we wanted was the general location, and that the team will be told in time to go the right place, presumably.

-[] [BUREAU] You will assault Copper BEFORE the Bureau picks her trail.
-Your assault team will not benefit from anything the Lunar Burau discovers, since you will not have a preliminary report on your attacker before you assault them.
-Your assault team will not be seen by the Lunar Bureau, since they will not yet be in place when the assault takes place.
-HOWEVER, it is possible the Lunar Bureau will find evidence of your assault team's actions. It is impossible to predict what ramifications that might incur, if that happens.

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I'd say this.

Between Axe's +50 and Biedde's moth 3 (for a total of +65 to the roll) I think we have a decent chance of not leaving behind enough traces for the Investigators to notice them.

and if they do... well, we'll deal with that problem later.

--[] Who is going? (WRITE IN which followers will go)

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I'd say basically all our Names.

that's Baldomare, Mareinette, Biedde, Axe. 100 bits, at minimum.

I'd say Selene too. She'd likely appreciate the chance to take her vengeance on Copper both for what she did to us, and her role in what was done to her. She WAS basically the founder of the cult, if you ignore the Master... and I suppose Jade.

so, with Selene it's 125 bits.

Jade is scrying, so she's not an option. Do we want to send Comet or Rarity to lead and not "waste" Name actions?

--[] What are they taking? (WRITE IN what artifacts, if any, to take)

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oh, right. we have some options.

Heart 3, SH 3, Winter 1, Edge 3 (artifacts).

that said, for Heart, SH and Edge we have plenty of people there with rerolls and high bonuses.

Still, more bonuses can only help.

--[] What is their objective? (WRITE IN what your followers must do, in order of PRIORITY)

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Your followers will try their best to fulfill those objectives, and they will follow the priority you specify. But you shouldn't expect more than your FIRST priority to be fulfilled, if at all.

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mh... I think that with such a large and stacked team we can reasonably expect to accomplish more than a single objective, honestly.

That said, I'd say in order of priority it goes

1)Kill Copper (without her, the Cult will fall into chaos, we can potentially attack them again next turn)
2)Acquire the Manuscripts
3)Acquire Neighnia
4)loot artifacts and bits.

The Grave on the Hill
Duration: SHORT (costs one action from one follower, additional followers can go without spending action points)
Base cost: 5 bits/day (you must have 25 bits per follower sent)
-[] The Grave on the Hill
--[] Who is going? (WRITE IN which followers will go)
--[] What are they taking? (WRITE IN what artifacts, if any, to take)


-[] Another expedition? (WRITE IN which)

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the second one should be either Mareinette or Axe (and I'm leaning Mareinette). Maybe we give them the SH artifact too.

not sure about the leader though. Comet?

--[] Take a few breaks, every now and then. (Costs 1 action. Rolls TWO dice. 0/-15)

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--[] There is no holy grail for healing magic, no miraculous wound-closing spell. But vigor-enhancing spells, and other small boosts, are a thing. The crystals where they are stored for sale are expensive, though… (Costs 60 bits. Two dice will auto-succeed)

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those are a must, obviously.

mh... 60 bits here, 50 for the grave, that's 110.

281-110 = 171. So we can send max 6 individuals against Copper (4 of which are the Names, with 5th probably being Selene)






with 1 social and 2 free actions left, I'm leaning Mayor Mare for the social, and... maybe both remaining actions on studying Lantern and Knock artifacts?

Studying an artifact:
-You roll against a CD of (50 + 10 times artifact Lore level), using Learning and Lantern Application.
-Your main objective is to discover if the artifact has any special properties, discover how to properly use it, and to ensure it is not cursed or dangerous to use.
-Upon success, you gain one scrap of the corresponding Lore, but you do not produce a corresponding Manuscript.

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...wait, so lantern 4 artifact would be DC 90, and we'd roll only +1 learning.

...super low chances, not worth it at all.

and low level books are not really worth it either.

If only the grail influence plans won... we have nothing good to spend actions on now!

 

[Bakkasama]

So we have 281 bits. Buying medicine costs 60 an RotT costs 30, which leaves 191.

For Copper I would like to send a Name squad (Biedde, Mareinette, Axe and Baldomare) so that is 100 bits. Their objectives would be 1- Kill Copper and 2- Destroy evidence of our previous involvement with the cult and 3- looting.

For the Grave in the hill expedition... That is a bit more complicated. We will likely need SH lore for this, which means Baldomare, but we don't want her as leader of the expedition because we will want her to use her action in order to search for the outsider. An alternative would be to send Mareinette or Axe due to their application bonus, but in all cases those Names are using their action for something else... So that leaves either Comet or Rarity as leader. Alternatively, plan Grail: send a Ponyservant as expedition leader with Mareinette as a second and have Mareinette get rid of their suspiscions (I don't think it is allowed, but it sounds hilarious)

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Neighnia is the priority Copper is secondary. The worse thing that could happen is Copper death while leaving Neighnia free in the wake. Name opponents are much much worse then simple mortals.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

I understand if its a question you aren't willing to answer, @OurLadyOfWires , but I'm planning to write out a story-game based on this for some friends of mine- including a number of the mechanical elements, and I will be providing a link back here as thanks for your inspiration- and I was wondering what effect Dread has on a person? I know we've seen Fascination in Twilight, and I plan to look over that as well, but I can't remember us dealing with Dread before in the story. Maybe I'm just forgetting it, but would you be willing to share what the mechanical effects of Dread are?

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First of all, that is absolutely delightful. I hope you all have fun! And I am glad this story might have some impact on that.

Secondly, sure! There is the aspect of me wanting to "reveal" Dread only when it happens. But to be honest, it's not like you guys "choose" to receive Dread. It's the kind of thing that springs up on you, so knowing its mechanical effects beforehand don't really impact your ability to avoid it.

With that in mind.

The mechanic of Fascination was that you would receive a general malus to all your rolls, and that you could instead sacrifice action points to fight against it. There would be other narrative things besides, but you were basically slowly going insane and that (1) affected your actions and (2) could be noticed by other ponies. The best remedy to that would be to lock yourself in your room and wait it out (hence the action-points cost).

Dread would be a bit of a complement to that. Especially given how, in this quest, Fascination and Dread do NOT cancel each other out like in canon CS.

So, Dread would:
-Automatically remove action points from Velvet; and
-Can be fought by picking a "type" of action, and receiving a massive malus on it.

This is a draft (don't take it as gospel for this quest) on how I could write a Dread turn.

Spoiler: Dread draft

You are currently afflicted by ONE level of Dread.
-You will automatically lose ONE action point this turn, which will be wasted and completely unusable.
-At the end of this turn, you will roll against (insert CD here) to decrease your Dread.
-You MAY pick as many options as you wish, from the options below, to help you fight your Dread.

[] You feel particularly prone to... letting go. (-50 to all rolls that use "Martial", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] You just don't feel like talking to anypony... at all. (-50 to all rolls that use "Diplomacy", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] The numbers... they don't mean anything to you. (-50 to all rolls that use "Stewardship", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] You have no energy left to wear this mask... (-50 to all rolls that use "Intrigue", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] Where did your light go...? It is gone. (-50 to all rolls that use "Magic", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] You wish it hurt you to think. Then you would feel something. But not even that... (-50 to all rolls that use "Learning", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

The same way Fascination narrative was "slowly going insane, lock yourself in your room", the narrative of Dread would be "crippling depression" with the caveat that you could COMPLETELY give up on some kinds of actions to try and rally yourself at the end of the month.

But like with any game mechanic, it is not meant to be crippling, and it is meant to be something you can plan around. The loss of one action point is a passive punishment, and the uncertainty of what kinds of actions they would perform that turn would be another. But still, not an insurmountable obstacle.

Hope this makes sense!

@OurLadyOfWires

A few questions:

1) Can we subdivide expedition priority? Like after killing Copper, we want Mareinette on scouting Neighnea, Comet on looting, DoA/Baldomare on locating/destroying our manuscripts? Or is that the point at which the Names say "Hey, mostly-dead pony, don't try to micromanage and just let us do our jobs"?
2) Can we get any narrative vibe on how Comet feels about attacking the cult?
3) Are there any penalties to taking extra people on the attack? E.g. to a Moth check of sneakiness-past-detectives?

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1 - No. And not even because you are half dead, but more because "no plan survives contact with the enemy". Give your team your intentions, and hope for the best.
2 - You can send him without any problems. Your deal with Fluttershy is worth not rocking the boat over this, and it's one less loose end being tied.
3 - Under normal circumstances, more ponies wouldn't give you a malus for sneakiness. Even in canon CS a huge expedition only applied the Lores it needed to apply. And I don't see a reason for things to be different here. But no promises for future circumstances.

 

[spiderhellian]

Jade is scrying, so she's not an option. Do we want to send Comet or Rarity to lead and not "waste" Name actions?

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YES. YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES.
Baldomare + Biedde + Servants gets us to 89% chance of success on the Outsider search. Which feels meaningfully more certain than the 78% of Baldomare + Rarity + Servants. And getting it figured out this turn means we can start figuring out what we'll need for the next step ASAP.

Baldomare (for her Lantern and Secret Histories to find things and to know if the team is leaving evidence), Mareinette (for her clean up, stealth/acrobatics, and grail nonsense abilities), Biedde (for his combat ability, just in case),

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DoA is really valuable. +10 on every roll (relative to Mareinette's base), good combatant, and BREAKING IN to a cult base will probably demand a Knock roll. (For Twilight, it was DC 80).

 

[Bakkasama]

I am very skeptical of our ability to use the expedition to take Neighnea's reins. That said, I demand that any plan that attemps to do so has a name that is a variation of "Plan Kicking Ass and Taking Names"

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

If Comet leads, sending him, Biedde, Mareinette, Baldomare, Axe, and Selene would be six ponies with a cost somewhere around 150 bits (if the assault lasts the expected 5 days). I'm also seeing the combination of Rarity lead + DoA being brought up for the Grave expedition, which is another 50 on top of that.

In total, that's 200 bits IF the expeditions don't last longer than five days. In addition to that, we need to heal two wounds, that brings the total cost of the turn to 260, leaving only 21 bits for the rest of this turn and next.

The Grave expedition could go longer and we could still afford it (extra 10 bits per day), but we would not be able to afford the Copper expedition going over five days (extra 30 bits per day).

We haven't taken that many expeditions in the past, but has there been an expedition in which the number of days was under the expected? Something like that in this case would be huge when it comes to managing the cost.

EDIT: I've just realized that scrying costs another 30 on top. That brings the total to 290, which we don't have enough to cover.

 

[spiderhellian]

@OurLadyOfWires Sorry, one other question I edited in a little too late: Does Selene's Moth realization mean she can go on the attack expedition without showing off Luna to the world?

(Personally, I'm not big on sending Selene, feels a little risky to possibly reveal her to Neighnea, and hopefully won't be necessary. Though her lores are nice, admittedly. EDIT: And good flag by @LieutenantSpirit , we dont have the bits to send 6 people on the attack!)

For Copper I would like to send a Name squad (Biedde, Mareinette, Axe and Baldomare) so that is 100 bits. Their objectives would be 1- Kill Copper and 2- Destroy evidence of our previous involvement with the cult and 3- looting.

For the Grave in the hill expedition... That is a bit more complicated. We will likely need SH lore for this, which means Baldomare, but we don't want her as leader of the expedition because we will want her to use her action in order to search for the outsider. An alternative would be to send Mareinette or Axe due to their application bonus, but in all cases those Names are using their action for something else... So that leaves either Comet or Rarity as leader. Alternatively, plan Grail: send a Ponyservant as expedition leader with Mareinette as a second and have Mareinette get rid of their suspiscions (I don't think it is allowed, but it sounds hilarious)

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It's really nice to save a Name action by sending Comet. It gets us the Outsider found near-guaranteed at the cost of 25 bits.

And then DoA + Rarity are pretty solid on any check for the grave expedition, except Heart and to a lesser extent Grail.

Neighnia is the priority Copper is secondary. The worse thing that could happen is Copper death while leaving Neighnia free in the wake. Name opponents are much much worse then simple mortals.

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Would Neighnea have the same level of personal enmity against us? I guess sending the Bureau at Neighnea is pretty spooky, and she'd probably cause a Mess in her own right, but I'm not sure she'd be a personal threat in quite the same way.

 

[spiderhellian]

We haven't taken that many expeditions in the past, but has there been an expedition in which the number of days was under the expected? Something like that in this case would be huge when it comes to managing the cost.

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Yeah -- BtRC Pt 1 had 3 checks (DC 75/60/80), completed in 3 days, and refunded the remainder. I think if DoA goes on another Short expedition, and we have Rarity covering her social failings (and maybe equipped with some artefacts), we should have alright odds?

 

[Pittauro]

This five member expedition would cost 125 bits over the course of five days. Each additional day would cost an additional 25 bits, as well. While Comet would be nice, including him is too close to his background. Four Names + an Alicorn should give us odds enough.

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we can't afford to go beyond the expected 5 days, because If I remember right once it reaches 6 days it becomes medium length and starts consuming follower actions as well as the leader's.


so 60 bits to heal, 50 on grave, and that leaves us enough forup to 6 followers on the Copper Attack (of which 5 are basically predetermined in 4 Names + Selene)

I kinda wanted to write to Uncle Steppes, just for him to know we are recovering.

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Honestly I'm wondering... should we write to him to ask him to "host" our dear friends on an errand for us in Manehattan?

imagine, him having to host 4 Names! Including the one who he was convinced was going to kill him, and the crush of his nephew.

@OurLadyOfWires CAN we take actions outside of the house in Ponyville, having it assumed it's basically Velvet going out near the end of the Month once she feels better?

Because if so I think our best bet might be to use her two actions on book searches, considering just how low the chances of studying artifacts are.

I understand if its a question you aren't willing to answer, @OurLadyOfWires , but I'm planning to write out a story-game based on this for some friends of mine- including a number of the mechanical elements, and I will be providing a link back here as thanks for your inspiration- and I was wondering what effect Dread has on a person? I know we've seen Fascination in Twilight, and I plan to look over that as well, but I can't remember us dealing with Dread before in the story. Maybe I'm just forgetting it, but would you be willing to share what the mechanical effects of Dread are?

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why, you forgot about the poor girl Comet rescued from an abusing husband and that reached 3 Dreads on the Windigo expedition!

So we have 281 bits. Buying medicine costs 60 an RotT costs 30, which leaves 191.

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oh, I forgot the cost of Rot, right!

in that case we can only send 5 ponies (4 Names + Comet/Rarity as leader to not use their actions I imagine) against Copper if we're also sending two on Grave.

Neighnia is the priority Copper is secondary. The worse thing that could happen is Copper death while leaving Neighnia free in the wake. Name opponents are much much worse then simple mortals.

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Neighnia is presumably FULLY in the Wake, AND presumably under Copper's bindings.

so if we don't kill Copper we can't really acquire Neighnia, and I'd rather not try to have our Names KILL Neighnia yet.

We haven't taken that many expeditions in the past, but has there been an expedition in which the number of days was under the expected? Something like that in this case would be huge when it comes to managing the cost.

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oh, literally ALL our expeditions thus far took less than the expected number of days. We get our bits back AFTER the expedition in that case, but that doesn't really help with our planning.

It's fairly likely we'll get back 10 or 20 bits from Graves (it's probably 3 obstacles, and we could very well pass them all on the first try).

Hard to say about Copper. It's possible that we'd use the extra days to try and accomplish the secondary objectives instead of finishing early.

281 bits.

60 to heal.

30 (or is it 35?) for Scrying ritual.

50 on grave (2 ponies, Rarity/Comet + Mareinette/Axe)

that leaves 136/141 bits (depending on if Jade gets our ritual discount).

5 ponies for Copper assault. Baldomare, Axe, Biedde, Mareinette, and Rarity/Comet to lead and use their AP on it.

sadly we can't afford to send Selene with them, unless we're willing to remove a Name to make room for her.

 

[Maer]

…

This is a draft (don't take it as gospel for this quest) on how I could write a Dread turn.

Spoiler: Dread draft

You are currently afflicted by ONE level of Dread.
-You will automatically lose ONE action point this turn, which will be wasted and completely unusable.
-At the end of this turn, you will roll against (insert CD here) to decrease your Dread.
-You MAY pick as many options as you wish, from the options below, to help you fight your Dread.

[] You feel particularly prone to... letting go. (-50 to all rolls that use "Martial", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] You just don't feel like talking to anypony... at all. (-50 to all rolls that use "Diplomacy", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] The numbers... they don't mean anything to you. (-50 to all rolls that use "Stewardship", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] You have no energy left to wear this mask... (-50 to all rolls that use "Intrigue", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] Where did your light go...? It is gone. (-50 to all rolls that use "Magic", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

[] You wish it hurt you to think. Then you would feel something. But not even that... (-50 to all rolls that use "Learning", gain +XX on your end-of-turn roll against Dread)

The same way Fascination narrative was "slowly going insane, lock yourself in your room", the narrative of Dread would be "crippling depression" with the caveat that you could COMPLETELY give up on some kinds of actions to try and rally yourself at the end of the month.

But like with any game mechanic, it is not meant to be crippling, and it is meant to be something you can plan around. The loss of one action point is a passive punishment, and the uncertainty of what kinds of actions they would perform that turn would be another. But still, not an insurmountable obstacle.

Hope this makes sense!
…

Click to shrink...

It absolutely does! Thank you! And the Fascination mechanic also immensely helps. I'll get these copies over and possibly tweak them. I'm planning to use different stats than these, so it'll have some slightly different specifics and such.

Thank you so much!

 

[Limabot]

In my opinion, if we are sending Mareinette and Axe to attack Copper, there's not really much of a point to Rarity being there (since the former has better Grail, and the latter's Knock would likely override Rarity's meager Forge power). I think sending her to the Grave would be a more sensible (and safe) action for her.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Only the leader matters and even then not that much as that only locks them into the action, it does not lock them out of others, for short expeditions which both the Grave and Assault are. Grave Send Ax and Selene. Baldamare should be scrying Copper so we get everything. Assult Lead Biedde backup Ax, Baldamare, Mareniette, Comet, Selene.

 

[Sveta08]

Goodness.
Just... goodness. Seems I'm a little slow on the uptake! Still, let's see...

Firstly? Love the updates to the reading and artifact information. Makes it very clean and easy to understand. The DC's become a mite painful, but that's reasonable I think for now.



Now! Let's see...
The main sticking point seems to be do we Assault Copper before, or after the Lunar Bureau start to find them.

If we send them before the Bureau shows up, then when the Bureau does show up... the cult should be like a chicken with it's head cut off. They should be able to wrap things up, clean and sharp, and have all sorts of useful info and material. Good stuff. But, we also have the issue of the Bureau being stuck with the obvious question "What happened? Who did this?" This would generate the least.. problems for us, as the Bureau wouldn't be there to see what goes down. However, this means we would have the least info going into it, and given Baldomare ain't much for fighting? Well, could be biting off more than we can chew.


If we send the assault after the Bureau shows up, then we have info. We are less likely to have Names unsummoned due to problems. And, less likely to run into all sorts of "By the way, there were twelve guards there, good luck" kinda problems. However... this I think is by far and away the worse option of the two. I'll explain.

Division by parts: One of two things will happen if the Name Hit Squad show up while the Bureau are there.
The first option, the Bureau sees the action. What they see, that's anyone's guess. But they see it and they notice it, and notice the, most likely, hitherto unknown group of assailants absolutely murdering their way through the people they are watching out for. That, obviously, will concern the Bureau and make them want to look into this assault squad. Mareinette is good, but dunno if she could make all of them look away and think that this is normal.
The second option, the Bureau doesn't see the action... but does see the end result. The people they were watching and guarding are suddenly hampered in a very severe and very actual way by a group that they, the best investigators in all of Equestria, didn't even see or notice. That makes the hit squad an unknown threat akin to the changelings to the Bureau. People they didn't know were there, or what they could do, until it was already over and they were gone. This hit squad of Names would be made target number 2 in Equestria I bet.



So, with that in mind, I'd highly, highly recommend we have the Assault happen before the Bureau shows up.

 

[Quaxotia]

Neighnia is presumably FULLY in the Wake, AND presumably under Copper's bindings.

Click to shrink...

How do we know that Neighnia is fully in the wake and is not just a summon? Is this some ritual that used to be available but now is not like Raucous Birth?

Because otherwise I'm not 100% sure that Copper will turn over the bindings on pain of death, especially since the plan is to kill her in the end anyway. I was thinking that if Neighnia is not fully in the wake, we could maybe try to dispel with some combat rolls and/or a wrong key and then resummon later if needed. I guess Mareinette could overpower Copper's Grail, but still don't want to have to depend on coercing consent out of her.

Baldamare should be scrying Copper so we get everything.

Click to shrink...

Didn't the expedition planning explicitly say that Jade will do the scry?

 

[Shaper47]

How do we know that Neighnia is fully in the wake and is not just a summon? Is this some ritual that used to be available but now is not like Raucous Birth?

Click to shrink...

It got mentioned earlier that Neighnia has been in the wake the entire time. Getting her for the cult involved getting her a body.

 

[Pittauro]

How do we know that Neighnia is fully in the wake and is not just a summon? Is this some ritual that used to be available but now is not like Raucous Birth?

Click to shrink...

it was just mentioned once that her summoning worked differently. Copper (just like we could have in the was-not on SH roll nat100) found the portrait in the Wake, and then did "something" to basically... awaken its powers?

We don't know the details.

In any case the portrait of Neighnia was in the Wake from the beginning, we know at least that much. We have no idea what she did with it after, but it was apparently different from a normal summoning ritual.

 

[Pororurin]

If we do the hit while the LB are there, then they will most probably be heavily concerned (assuming they see the Names kick ass). This would, obviously, be bad, but I feel that if it happened we could use it as an excuse to introduce the Lores to them, in the sense of "Oh yeah those guys, they're dangerous, here's a neat thing I learned to deal with them." That is potentially one way it can go, but I must admit to not really liking how little control we would have over that. It could be seen as us knowing about or maybe even colluding with the enemy in the worst case scenario, so I think I'm against same time hits. Not to mention, if we attack after they could have the cult as their first exposure to the Lores, which could be bad.


If we go earlier, then the LB will also probably be concerned, but in the vein of "what happened here????", which is both good and bad for us. Good in that it means the LB have less evidence of the Lores not given by us, bad in that it could mean they could potentially link the attack to us. As Sveta said, this would most likely end with the Names being Public Enemy Number 2 (after changelings), which would hamper the less subtle one's from acting to their true potential. Despite that, I still think that Before would be better overall as it gives us more control over the LB, and if we ever get suspected of being P.E.#2 supporters we can always bring out the nuclear option of Luna.

All of which is to say, Before allows for more control over how LB gets introduced to the Lores, while After gives us the opportunity to introduce them earlier/easier. Of course, this is assuming worst case scenario for both, where the Names leave a big trail in Before and attack while the LB watch in After. Not to mention, this is just focusing on the Lores, there's bound to be other consequences for both options that haven't been mentioned.

 

[Bakkasama]

Only the leader matters and even then not that much as that only locks them into the action, it does not lock them out of others, for short expeditions which both the Grave and Assault are. Grave Send Ax and Selene. Baldamare should be scrying Copper so we get everything. Assult Lead Biedde backup Ax, Baldamare, Mareniette, Comet, Selene.

Click to shrink...

Axe, Mareinette and Luna all had their actions determined during the followers phase, so while they can participate in expeditions, nome can lead them this turn. Jade is the one scrying so she can't either.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

So right now, initial thoughts seem to be:

Assault Copper Team: Comet (Leader), Biedde, Mareinette, DoA, Baldomare
Grave Team: Rarity (Leader), DoA

-Baldomare is part of the assault team for support (non-combatant), and Comet takes the lead to preserve Biedde's action for searching later.
-Rarity is leader of the Grave team due to availability, and DoA is tagging along because her bonuses are very useful.

We can't send more than five after Copper due to budget limitations. If we really want to, we could send Selene if we send only one pony on the Grave expedition or if we only pay to heal one wound. However, neither feels worth the risk.

 

[spiderhellian]

The second option, the Bureau doesn't see the action... but does see the end result

Click to shrink...

There's also worlds where it seems like intense gang violence. Or Baldomare sneaks us in on a day there isn't a stakeout.

It leaves questions, it's not guaranteed the Names will be in their radar.

Just don't think we should constrain the possibility space too far here.

We can't send more than five after Copper due to budget limitations. If we really want to, we could send Selene if we send only one pony on the Grave expedition or if we only pay to heal one wound. However, neither feels worth the risk.

Click to shrink...

One Pony to Grave seems a little sketchy, it'd have to be Biedde (and there's probably no combat) or Comet/Rarity (pretty mediocre bonuses).

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

we can't afford to go beyond the expected 5 days, because If I remember right once it reaches 6 days it becomes medium length and starts consuming follower actions as well as the leader's.


so 60 bits to heal, 50 on grave, and that leaves us enough forup to 6 followers on the Copper Attack (of which 5 are basically predetermined in 4 Names + Selene)


Honestly I'm wondering... should we write to him to ask him to "host" our dear friends on an errand for us in Manehattan?

imagine, him having to host 4 Names! Including the one who he was convinced was going to kill him, and the crush of his nephew.

@OurLadyOfWires CAN we take actions outside of the house in Ponyville, having it assumed it's basically Velvet going out near the end of the Month once she feels better?

Because if so I think our best bet might be to use her two actions on book searches, considering just how low the chances of studying artifacts are.


why, you forgot about the poor girl Comet rescued from an abusing husband and that reached 3 Dreads on the Windigo expedition!


oh, I forgot the cost of Rot, right!

in that case we can only send 5 ponies (4 Names + Comet/Rarity as leader to not use their actions I imagine) against Copper if we're also sending two on Grave.


Neighnia is presumably FULLY in the Wake, AND presumably under Copper's bindings.

so if we don't kill Copper we can't really acquire Neighnia, and I'd rather not try to have our Names KILL Neighnia yet.


oh, literally ALL our expeditions thus far took less than the expected number of days. We get our bits back AFTER the expedition in that case, but that doesn't really help with our planning.

It's fairly likely we'll get back 10 or 20 bits from Graves (it's probably 3 obstacles, and we could very well pass them all on the first try).

Hard to say about Copper. It's possible that we'd use the extra days to try and accomplish the secondary objectives instead of finishing early.

281 bits.

60 to heal.

30 (or is it 35?) for Scrying ritual.

50 on grave (2 ponies, Rarity/Comet + Mareinette/Axe)

that leaves 136/141 bits (depending on if Jade gets our ritual discount).

5 ponies for Copper assault. Baldomare, Axe, Biedde, Mareinette, and Rarity/Comet to lead and use their AP on it.

sadly we can't afford to send Selene with them, unless we're willing to remove a Name to make room for her.

Click to shrink...

Well, we could leave one healing die up to chance. After all, Lore Levels stack for Expeditions and Selene's slapping an extra 3 onto Moth, Winter, Knock, and Edge rolls, while also being a handy combatant if combat is needed.

As for Steppes, I'm tempted to send a letter telling him to GTFO of Manhatten, because I feel like Velvet would rather clear her beloved uncle from the blast radius.

Only the leader matters and even then not that much as that only locks them into the action, it does not lock them out of others, for short expeditions which both the Grave and Assault are. Grave Send Ax and Selene. Baldamare should be scrying Copper so we get everything. Assult Lead Biedde backup Ax, Baldamare, Mareniette, Comet, Selene.

Click to shrink...

Baldomare is not scrying Copper as per Bird's post, Jade is.