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

[spiderhellian]

Well, I suppose if we wanted to investigate Windy Flakes, having a Selene AP spent on Consulting is probably more effective than spending an AP using Selene's Knock realization to spy since that's the sort of thing that she'd probably do for free as a subset of helping the Bureau doing so. But doing something like spending a Baldomare AP just to give her Lore as a bonus to a search for expedition action seems absurd compared to just having her spend AP separately. It's the True Strike D&D problem.

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It's an interesting thought. In-universe one Bureau action has narrative weight in a way most "single actions" does not -- this is the action of hundreds of Equestria's finest, after all. But you raise a good point that Name actions are so high-value...

The Selene idea is extremely tempting though, we get her better introduced and it gives us a great outlet for the sketchiness that is sending the Bureau after Windy. It's a little... aggressive, might take diplomacy off the table (if e.g. he figures out he is being targeted for investigation by the Lunar Bureau, that's a pretty hostile act from Velvet/a possibly precipitous one), but that might be tolerable.

I do think that the world where Velvet decides "No, Name actions are too valuable for personal empowerment compared to bolstering the Lunar Bureau" is a totally valid choice. It says something about Velvet, is a totally reasonable decision, and that's a good thing.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Do people remember the advice that we were given?

There is a difference between aiming for the win and aiming to not lose.

Even the QM was a few times like "The GLORY is right there".

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I care not for such advice and find Equestria's Wake far more engaging than any nebulous indescribable ball of light, so I will continue channeling my inner Velvet (the Hour, not Covers) and tell it to wait until we are good and ready with our ducks in a row.

 

[Sk1lz3r]

Going hard on getting Smiles as a Friend is the right thing to do. It potentially diminishes Biedde's dangers and gets us a powerfull permanent actor.

 

[Pittauro]

Going hard on getting Smiles as a Friend is the right thing to do. It potentially diminishes Biedde's dangers and gets us a powerfull permanent actor.

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Sure, the point is that we have other sacraments and names to work for, and Smiles basically requires 8 actions from Mareinette and Velvet...

 

[DelightedOne]

Honestly we don't need to rush that bad, Smiles becomes a friend immediately after the bar is full.

BEFRIENDING SMILES
-Smiles operates on a "progress bar" mechanic. He will start his progress bar at "0/40." Once his progress bar reaches "40/40" he will be immediately BEFRIENDED.

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So even if we got there at the end of a turn he would be eligible for All-In. But it is preferable to do that before we have to extend his summoning, for efficiency sake. So between 3 turns, which matches the pessimist view of how much time we have left.

 

[Rafuki22]

Sure, the point is that we have other sacraments and names to work for, and Smiles basically requires 8 actions from Mareinette and Velvet...

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We don't need to befriend him in 1 turn.

1 Comet action, 2 Velvet actions, 1 Selene action and 1 Mareinette action put us at 20/40.

Alternatively, 1 Comet, 1 Maids, 1 Velvet, 2 Selene and 1 Mareinette actions.

I do think that reaching the halfway point right of the bat could be benefitial against Biedde.

 

[Pittauro]

We don't need to befriend him in 1 turn.

1 Comet action, 2 Velvet actions, 1 Selene action and 1 Mareinette action put us at 20/40.

I do think that reaching the halfway point right of the bat could be benefitial against Biedde.

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MY hope is to make it in two turns really. 4 Velvet + Mareinette actions per turn (with one cover your bases per turn at least on Velvet)

Mh... @OurLadyOfWires do we get the extra action from befriended Smile in the same turn we befriend him? If so, we'd actually "recover" one action in that last turn basically. It helps a bit.

That said, Baldomare and cherenkolt friendships (lantern 7 and forge 6 + blue ingot) take precedence. Healing the poisoned blood can potentially wait a turn if necessary, and we'll probably have Cherenkolt do it for us.

Velvet has 4 actions, + 1 social, + cover your bases (usually at least 1 by using servants + risen or comet). Potentially constable action too

Next turn she could go... Assuming 4+1+1 actions. 6, maybe 7 actions.

1) Moth sacrament
2) Grail sacrament ( do we get Mareinette second action immediately?)
3) SH expedition (also 1 Baldomare action)

Potentially instead of 3, we do 2 actions for personal SH, but I think the idea was to get SH5 first from Baldomare to make the roll a bit easier?

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...on second thought, what if we went 10 or 15 points next turn (2 velvet actions, maybe +3 followers as Mareinette I'll be busy on expeditions), and then 30 or 25 points second turn (2 Mareinette actions, 3 or 4 Velvet actions)

I think it's doable.

Next turn Mareinette isn't really available because we need to do forge 6 and lantern 7 expedition's. And we kinda want to send her with cherenkolt in artifact form to one of them, and probably Smiles or Axe on the other one (always with Cherenkolt).

Turn after shed have two actions, which we could sink on Smiles immediately, and make a small sacrifice to finish with him immediately

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

What I do not understand is why Smiles cannot just spend his own action to increase the numbers.

 

[Sveta08]

What I do not understand is why Smiles cannot just spend his own action to increase the numbers.

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"So what's your brefriending quest?"
"Action Economy"
"... you know what, do it yourself."

 

[DelightedOne]

What I do not understand is why Smiles cannot just spend his own action to increase the numbers.

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He is already doing that, but he isn't that knowledgeable about the Wake as it is in the present, so his progress is limited. Represented by him only giving a +1 each turn.

Also because he is just one Name not specialized in social actions trying to change the culture of a society.

 

[spiderhellian]

BOOK Non-Lore. "The Way Home (Fragment)." A fragment of a map, retrieved from a small changeling quasi-hive, that might point the way to their original hive. (Requires deciphering. Progress 0/100. Confusing text, "-20" to deciphering rolls.)

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@OurLadyOfWires This was described in the vote as having a progress bar that starts at 0/300... did something change or is it just a typo?

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Heavens, quite a lot of pings.

But Selene's update should be up today, and I want to catch up before finishing that.

So, one thing at a time.

We currently have Edge 5 and thus Velvet can potentially do a "Teach Comet" social action by the rules, and Comet is likely interested in breaking the block he's had for over a year. You said you didn't have the rules for getting a follower to Exalted hashed out and didn't know if you were going to bother doing so since it's so late in the game.

(And while normally Names dont give our followers invitations, Smiles seems fairly interested in giving his out and getting Comet to Edge 5 seems like the sort of thing that might earn him as a genuine Confidante outside of our fluttershy-arrangement. I honestly am very interested in what sort of narrative results having fluttercomet do Smile's action gifting will result in too considering both Comet's comet-ness and Fluttershy being a picture perfect representation of the Strength tarot card the Lionsmith corresponds to)

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It is too late in the quest for me to want to sit down and figure out a mechanic that is both fun and rewarding for a level 5 follower. And besides, the most important bonuses (re-rolls) come at level 4, which you already can and know how to access.

And about Comet Feet in particular, I considered nerfing his Edge down to 3 after he settled down, to show how impactful Fluttershy was in his life. So, even though I didn't act upon that nerf, Comet himself is not interested in reaching Edge 5, which makes this a moot point.

@OurLadyOfWires I think there is a need for some changes to the "Contacts and Names" threadmark, specifically to the Names section

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Agreed. But I don't have the time to do that right now.

@OurLadyOfWires Could we potentially recruit temporary followers for Bits, to just have them work for Smiles? Kinda like in CS with the minions for hire. Or is the kind of help he requires too suspicious?

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I suppose you can. Spend a personal action on that come next turn for us to discuss options.

@OurLadyOfWires
Shouldst we... perhaps, devote an action. A time. An effort into a coming Sacrament, whilst also having some time to... study said corpse.
Might it be possible for us to have that study action after said Sacrament? Incase it is a bit more flavorful writing that way.

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It will depend on how next turn goes.

@OurLadyOfWires Does sending Smiles as a consultant earn him any Befriending points..?

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No.

His own efforts are already reflected on his "+1 per turn."

And besides, Smiles may be very energetic, but he is not very subtle. And causing a cultural change in an entire civilization is very hard when you are a one-ton [citation needed] herculean rockhoofian horse with push-the-glass-off-the-table cat instincts hardwired into your brain.

Seriously, his own efforts are quantified at "+1 per turn" exclusively because of his esoteric weight. He is the least equipped Name to do what he wants to do.

@OurLadyOfWires there's a tiny bit of a discrepancy between the progress bar we were originally told for the map fragment, and what it is in our inventory...

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Will fix it, thanks. Probably happened because I typed it rather than copy-paste it.

Smile could join assaults. Would he be able to use his free action for that @OurLadyOfWires ?

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I suppose he can, the same way Velvet could spend an entire action to go on a short expedition that "coinscided" with the Bureau assault.

But mind you, it will not be a turn-long "Consultation" action, with more positive consequences. It will be him just showing up for the assault.

In Which the Sharpness of Edge is Studied

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This was great. Thank you for sharing it!

I always enjoy the SCP (with the last P being for "Pony") stories.

(Seriously @OurLadyOfWires when do we get the ability to send the Constables on an Expedition and have them dump the resulting artifacts in our lap? That deal with Fair Trial can't possibly be so all-encompassing that we can't wiggle our way around that thorn)

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The answer is obviously "not now"

@OurLadyOfWires Would using RotT to search for Biedde's pawns/assets help with Smiles befriending? So he can counter the Colonel's influence more directly.

And if we leash Mayor Mare or Filthy Rich to Confidante and lend them to him does that make a difference due to their status/influence?

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Looking for Biedde's pawns is not exactly in your radar at this exact moment. Due to a more pressing concern.

And no special bonuses for Mayor Mare of Filthy Rich. They operate under the "+2, mortal" rules as well.

Wonder if we can sic the Bureau on looking for like, "cult activity" in general. Because at this point we have three potential 'infection points' in Neighnia, Windy, and Steppes/other unknowns. @OurLadyOfWires would that be possible?

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Cult activity is not yet a quantifiable or known enough issue for it to be searched for. More on that later.

Mh... @OurLadyOfWires do we get the extra action from befriended Smile in the same turn we befriend him? If so, we'd actually "recover" one action in that last turn basically. It helps a bit.

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No.

I know the rules say he is "immediately" befriended. But his changes in point are executed at the end of the turn, since they reflect an entire turn's worth of work.

@OurLadyOfWires This was described in the vote as having a progress bar that starts at 0/300... did something change or is it just a typo?

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Yes, thank you kindly.



I hope you are all doing well! Back to writing.

 

[Arrkhon]

@OurLadyOfWires Can we ask Ash to deliver things to someone visiting Mansus or at least point them to something we left there and would doing so cost a action? For example a invitation to a talk to Windy

 

[ses]

Oh fuck we're about to get very bad news on the Daybreaker Question aren't we? That's the only explanation for Biedde's pawns to not be at the top of our concerns.

 

[Wise Wolf]

Looking for Biedde's pawns is not exactly in your radar at this exact moment. Due to a more pressing concern.

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The Name of Edge having it out for us is not even on our radar.

Oh no

 

[DelightedOne]

So the Doom clock is doing something huh.

I genuinely hope this is just a "SOLVE THIS PROBLEM NOW OR DIE" situation and not a "YOU CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS, JUST RUN" situation.

 

[Wise Wolf]

So the Doom clock is doing something huh.

I genuinely hope this is just a "SOLVE THIS PROBLEM NOW OR DIE" situation and not a "YOU CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS, JUST RUN" situation.

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I don't think Selene would be asking to meet with us to update us if Daybreaker was here. That's more "run into our office screaming" territory.

 

[DelightedOne]

I don't think Selene would be asking to meet with us to update us if Daybreaker was here. That's more "run into our office screaming" territory.

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Oops, the text cut off. It was supposed to be "run to Glory"

But yeah I put a bit more panic than I wanted to

I was trying to make it "Celestia can be saved but you need to do it fast" and "You will be caught if you don't reach Glory soon". Guess I failed.

 

[ses]

Okay. If Selene tells us it's PANIC TIME:

Baldomare can be befriended at End of Turn 23
Mareinette can (probably) be befriended at End of Turn 23
Cherenkolt can be befriended at End of Turn 24
Smiles can be befriended at End of Turn 24 if we dump all our excess Velvet AP into it and do triple Selene AP into Smiles

That puts us All in at end of turn 24, with poisoned blood still on us but it's fine, we Heal Without Scars, Malleary at Turn 25. We do a Calling of influence ritual on Turn 24 for +Winter and hope that we highroll a Perfect Frost. That leaves our only weakness in the Malleary as Moth ironically.

 

[Wise Wolf]

Okay. If Selene tells us it's PANIC TIME:

Baldomare can be befriended at End of Turn 23
Mareinette can (probably) be befriended at End of Turn 23
Cherenkolt can be befriended at End of Turn 24
Smiles can be befriended at End of Turn 24 if we dump all our excess Velvet AP into it and do triple Selene AP into Smiles

That puts us All in at end of turn 24, with poisoned blood still on us but it's fine, we Heal Without Scars, Malleary at Turn 25. We do a Calling of influence ritual on Turn 24 for +Winter and hope that we highroll a Perfect Frost. That leaves our only weakness in the Malleary as Moth ironically.

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And that still leaves time for SH and Moth sacraments next turn, I think.

 

[Pittauro]

I suppose you can. Spend a personal action on that come next turn for us to discuss options.

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Mh... Maybe something to consider on turn 24 actually.

Turn 23 we have the two expensive expeditions (135+150=285 bits minimum), + whatever else we end up doing.

Probably one or two Manehattan expeditions, maybe a Mare in the Light.

If I had to guess, we might have to pay something like 40 bits per paid follower action? Maybe a bit less if paid in bulk.

But I could see paid minions being less "influential" and giving only 1 point...

That said, next turn I'm leaning 1-2 Velvet actions and 0-1 Mareinette actions on Smiles. And then we try to make up the difference the turn after that.

As always, the priorities are the lantern/forge expeditions, the Moth/grail sacraments, and one SH sacrament (either of the two).

And this is ignoring any fleeting opportunities, of course... Including ones about daybreaker, or our uncle's gift

 

[Greymere]

That puts us All in at end of turn 24, with poisoned blood still on us but it's fine, we Heal Without Scars, Malleary at Turn 25. We do a Calling of influence ritual on Turn 24 for +Winter and hope that we highroll a Perfect Frost. That leaves our only weakness in the Malleary as Moth ironically.

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Maybe we could cram the Forge's Redemption in on T24 too, depending on how the timeline goes. I mean, if we/Velvet know that making the Blue Gold is going to give us radiation sickness, getting a healing ritual ready ahead of time doesn't seem an unreasonable action.

 

[Wise Wolf]

That said, next turn I'm leaning 1-2 Velvet actions and 0-1 Mareinette actions on Smiles. And then we try to make up the difference the turn after that.

As always, the priorities are the lantern/forge expeditions, the Moth/grail sacraments, and one SH sacrament (either of the two).

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We have Moth, Grail and SH sacraments lined up for nest turn, so probably only one Velvet action available for Smiles?

 

[Greymere]

We have Moth, Grail and SH sacraments lined up for nest turn, so probably only one Velvet action available for Smiles?

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Two, potentially three if we make the constables do our paperwork. Having the Risen and Fluttershy do Cover Your Bases to give us +1 Velvet AP for Smiles is more efficient than sending them to help him directly.

Edit: Actually we could get up to four, if we're willing to leave Mayor Mare to her fate and add our social AP to the pile. Which, if the news really is bad enough to the point where we're going all hands on deck... yeah, sorry Mayor Mare.

 

[DelightedOne]

Actually we could get up to four, if we're willing to leave Mayor Mare to her fate and add our social AP to the pile. Which, if the news really is bad enough to the point where we're going all hands on deck... yeah, sorry Mayir Mare.

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Well, I doubt it will be that bad but we could compensate for sending Mareinette to her in the next turn, since we are very likely to do her Sacrament and get 2 actions from her.

Besides a close friend Mayor Mare means a Confidante Mayor Mare(with a little help from the Leash) that we can use to cover our bases or other stuff like telling her to help Smiles for that extra bit of progress. Considering we will likely get Filthy Rich too(the bare minimum after probably making his wife go crazy) it sounds feasible.

 

[Greymere]

Well, I doubt it will be that bad but we could compensate for sending Mareinette to her in the next turn, since we are very likely to do her Sacrament and get 2 actions from her.

Besides a close friend Mayor Mare means a Confidante Mayor Mare(with a little help from the Leash) that we can use to cover our bases or other stuff like telling her to help Smiles for that extra bit of progress. Considering we will likely get Filthy Rich too(the bare minimum after probably making his wife go crazy) it sounds feasible.

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Maybe? I don't know if we want to expect that we'll get her +1 AP immediately. Plus, I feel like chances are she's either going to be duoing the Quarry w/ DoA while we get the Forge reagent the more expensive but also more reliable way (making it ourselves), or she's going to be soloing the Quarry while DoA solos the City if we want to try and YOLO it.

Edit: Also we do already have a Close Friend we can yeet the Leash at once we've Moth'd Spoiled in Cheerilee, if we need more Follower AP.

 

[DelightedOne]

Plus, I feel like chances are she's either going to be duoing the Quarry w/ DoA while we get the Forge reagent the more expensive but also more reliable way (making it ourselves)

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I agree with making the Reagent ourselves. Maybe send Smiles with Recalibrated(Grail) and miniaturized Cherenkolt to help DoA instead of Mareinette? That could work.

Was the rule that we can only purify and turn to blue gold the reagent on different turns or can we just drop 2 actions on the same turn? I feel like that was mentioned but I don't remember where.

 

[Greymere]

I agree with making the Reagent ourselves. Maybe send Smiles with Recalibrated(Grail) and miniaturized Cherenkolt to help DoA instead of Mareinette? That could work.

Was the rule that we can only purify and turn to blue gold the reagent on different turns or can we just drop 2 actions on the same turn? I feel like that was mentioned but I don't remember where.

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Ehh... that still lands them at a maximum social bonus of +45, which isn't great if there really is a social hurdle in there somewhere. And there's also the bit about the land being thrice-cursed. Considering Heart and Winter are usually the "resisting curses" Lores, having the Heart Name around would probably be helpful. There's also the aspect of, if things are RED ALERT ALL HANDS ON DECK then we don't really have time or AP to spend on sparing Mayor Mare from Consequences, and if we aren't in full panic mode then we can probably still afford to spare our Social AP to do it ourselves.

Yeah, we can't do the Forge 4 -> Forge 6 purification and the Blue Gold alchemy on the same turn.

 

[ses]

I agree with making the Reagent ourselves. Maybe send Smiles with Recalibrated(Grail) and miniaturized Cherenkolt to help DoA instead of Mareinette? That could work.

Was the rule that we can only purify and turn to blue gold the reagent on different turns or can we just drop 2 actions on the same turn? I feel like that was mentioned but I don't remember where.

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We must have the Forge 6 reagent in our inventory at start of turn to turn it into Blue Gold.

If we refine the Iotic Essence ourselves, and spend 2 expedition tickets on the Quarry, plus 40 bits for Beyond the Map's Edge, that's a total of 530 bits, which is quite affordable out of the 600ish bits we'll have access to next turn. We can even afford a MITL summon if we're not so panic-mode we need to triple Selene-Smiles.

It costs us an extra 5 Smiles points though, but we should still be able to 2-turn it if we're committing Selene and Constables AP to it.

2 Quarry tickets for Axe-Mareinette, 1 Map's Edge ticket, 190 bits for Iotic Essence, and sending Smiles to solo two Manehattan expeditions fits in our budget.

We might actually consider selling the Lantern 4 artifact if things are truly dire on the RED ALERT front: we only needed it so Selene could do Scrying and summon MITLs, and if we're committing to Turn 24 All-In, Turn 25 Malleary after the next update Selene wont have time for those things.

Note that if we're doing Turn 25 malleary, then a turn 23 MITL perfectly gets us +5 Lantern levels and a good chunk of combat power for All-In while exactly lasting the rest of the game. So we should try to fit one in next turn if we possibly can. Going one ticket each for Mareinette-Quarry Axe-City lets us afford that while leaving an extra Velvet AP for Smiles.

 

[DelightedOne]

And there's also the bit about the land being thrice-cursed. Considering Heart and Winter are usually the "resisting curses" Lores, having the Heart Name around would probably be helpful

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I think the curse is mostly in the Diamond Dogs by the wording(forgot why they still dig) but in the case of it affecting anyone near then it would be Winter that is needed, I think.

I also can't help but feel that a Quarry would need a ton of Forge someway.

Yeah, we can't do the Forge 4 -> Forge 6 purification and the Blue Gold alchemy on the same turn.

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Uh, thanks for answering.

You know what? Better stop thinking about this till Selene tells us the news(which I still think won't be an extreme thing, but still bad, AP draining bad).