@OurLadyOfWires Totally random question that you may not be able to answer for us, but what was up with this? Was it a reference to something in particular? Had we heard the whisper of the woods once before..? Or was it just the way the scene was written?
(Fond memories of speculating that the Master was… Velvet's Mom!
)
I mean, you literally know the identity of the Master now. Doesn't that put all your previous interactions into perspective?
Or do I need to add the "unreliable narrator" tag?
@OurLadyOfWires Can Velvet go get the Wolf Sacrament in her current state of agonizing near death?
Or does she like need her lore levels back.
Oh, we will discuss this in more details during the Velvet's Phase vote.
But you cannot enter the Mansus.
No, you literally can't. Check out the effects of Knock level 0. That is your mechanical key into the House of the Sun.
Say, @OurLadyOfWires, bit of an odd question but I thought it worth asking.
In light of our current, exceptional circumstances, would it be appropriate to reexamine how many actions Velvet has this coming turn?
I hope the last update gave you a little more context on why the answer is "no"
"We don't have time for this!" Rarity yells.
I really want to know what they are cooking.
Very heartwarming and hopeful. I also have a Cadance interlude/scene planned for soon.
Although a Sacrament entailing mask-off running face first into Honored Guest might just break the poor pony's brain instead. @OurLadyOfWires , any thoughts Velvet may have on such an Eldritch interaction?
This would legitimately be an awesome narrative way to frame the mechanical effects of the Sacrament. I'd totally go for it, if we go in that direction.
@OurLadyOfWires, few questions in regards to upcoming turn.
1.You said that we would not have Fleeting Opportunities this turn, but so far they were mostly social in nature. So can't Mareinette cover for us if something important happens?
2.Also somewhat related, can Mareinette take our role in the Bureau, while Velvet is indisposed? Like a body double. Assuming that we make assassination attempt known we can still present it as Velvet getting back on her hoof the next day to demonstrate a strong front. Cadence and Shining Armor can be made informed of it, and Shining likely can deal with bulk of the work, with Mareinette only needed to look good in her role. And would Mareinette be able to take on COMMISSIONER tasks this way, like increasing Bureau loyalty toward Velvet, befirending Midday Dew or even leading assault on changeling hive?
3.We can't rise Rarity Grail lvl without lores, correct? Even with Grail influence?
4.Can we tell Baldomare which books to search for? I think that we need two Heart 3 books if we want to reach lvl 4 next turn and teach our family Lores. So while we can't do it with other followers, would Baldomare be able to focus on specific lore if we ask her to search for it? Or can we scry for two Heart books in Ponivilee to buy in one action or it must be two scrying attempts?
In turn.
1 - No. A fleeting opportunity is...
So, Velvet can't look into the future. So, whenever a turn has a FleetOp, it's as if Velvet "official" plan was to "Go on an Expedition, read, teach Rarity". And when she meets the FleetOp, her plan turns into "Go on an Expedition, talk to Comet, teach Rarity". You still need to be out and about to meet the Fleeting Opportunity (it's one of the reasons of why they are a one-turn deal, they're a coinscidence you happen upon, most of the times). So no. No FleetOps this turn.
2 - No. That would be inconsistent with how little thread trusts her. So far, you have not had her use her skill even once, to talk to a lesser friend. Having Velvet suddenly trust her with the Bureau wouldn't make sense.
3 - No.
4 - Also no.
Btw @OurLadyOfWires, out of curiosity, can we also take our "Commissioner" actions as regular actions? Not this turn, obviously, but if later down the road we wanted to e.g. increase Bureau loyalty and social Midday Dew, could we throw "social Midday Dew" into our personal AP or free social?
For now, I am leaning towards "no".
Both because, narratively, Velvet is very busy at the Bureau, so using personal actions to "work overtime" would be... well, not entirely out of character, but still a little janky to justify for other reasons.
And the second reason is because
you should be gunning for Glory. I won't give you guys another avenue of distraction when Velvet, a canonically Glory-smitten pony who has the ambition to reach the Branding Door, is so close to the damn thing.
Huh. We haven't actually tested to see if that artifact helps with this, have we? That's a really good catch if that works. @OurLadyOfWires , does that work? Would we have to test that to find out?
It didn't have any effect on the last SH Sacrament attempt thought?
I mean, it's kind of hard to consult a book while transporting your consciousness to another History.
Like spider said right after:
We didn't get it on the prior roll...
Soon.
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Alright. Reached update.
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I am noticing a distinct lack of Biedde here, @OurLadyOfWires? Shouldn't Follower AP be 10?
Also, minor typo I found:
Thank you. Fixed.
This was, rather unusually, written in an inspiration binge during the night of a weekday. I was beyond exhausted when it was done, and mostly focused on the narrative side of things.
Kindly let me know if you find more errors or inconsistencies. I appreciate it!
@OurLadyOfWires I found some outdated
Selene's information is not outdated, because Velvet will take this "resentment" to her grave
Thank you for the Biedde headsup though. I'll work on it later (might need another reminder, but all in due time).
Can Rarity afford to take a commission this turn @OurLadyOfWires ?
Rarity focused on her career on turn 18, and my rule is "three months is a fashion season".
But this is just me saying "SHE is not telling you that she FEELS she should focus on her career". No comments at all on any other factors. You know commissions stress her, and that she is a living pony on top of all of that.
@OurLadyOfWires I'm guessing that would wind up a complex enough plan that you'd rather not see it?
Yeahhh, really appreciate if the plans don't get too complex for discussion.
But more than just that, it would be hard for me to judge what is a RotT failure. The SH check is 60, and you have a +30 artifact for Jade to use. Other than that, the Lantern roll is variable.
So from the get-go, I find it hard for Jade not to get SOME level of information, minus any wards that might be in place. The thing you guys need to decide if that would be enough.
@OurLadyOfWires What happens if we have multiple followers going to Search for the Outsider, but not all their actions wind up being necessary?
Well, for starters I'd be very happy if you got that much Glory progress this turn
And more realistically, I'd probably reopen a vote to "decide what this leftover character does".
More specifically, does being pushed into dance with death deactivate our leash?
Yes.
Alright, that seems to be all!
So. The reason I did this now, instead of waiting till friday, is because I'd like to have Velvet's Phase opened on sunday night. No promises, and things might end up differently. But I felt inspired to write last night, so this is what ended up happening.
I hope you are all doing well! And thank you for the kind words. Let me know if there is anything you want to ask/negotiate/correct regarding this update and the voting period. Voting should be open... some four hours from now I think? But we can extend the moratorium if people prefer.
Aye, that's all.
