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

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Talon Tiger Dino said:
Speaking of Tall Tale, if Velvet were to stumble upon a Worthy Opponent such as the head of the hive, would we go for it over Biedde's Sacrament?
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It depends? Risking death is pretty bad, getting a Sacrament is pretty good. Flexing (again) in front of the Bureau is pretty funny.

Is it on a 10% or a 1% or a 0.1%? Is it unknown? A pretty important decision.

...But I don't really think it will. I don't think we'll just stumble on an Edge 5-level foe.

Huh, it's a fair point that +1 lore level is not quite so impactful as we're maybe making it out to be. My heart hopes that Sacraments have other, cool, benefits. Like that Silver Key is really cool, we just don't know it yet. But you're right that MitLs are pretty solid creatures and combatants.

EDIT: Also when are we going to learn more about Heirlooms, man!
 
spiderhellian said:
...But I don't really think it will. I don't think we'll just stumble on an Edge 5-level foe.

Huh, it's a fair point that +1 lore level is not quite so impactful as we're maybe making it out to be. My heart hopes that Sacraments have other, cool, benefits. Like that Silver Key is really cool, we just don't know it yet. But you're right that MitLs are pretty solid creatures and combatants.
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+25 to combat and nothing else is Worthy Combat worthy. The minimum floor for a Worthy Foe is somewhere between an Edge 3 normie and an Edge 4 normie. It is absolutely intended behavior to absolutely dump truck a fool for a personal edge sacrament via "I brought an Edge Influence and you didn't". Comet only didnt do it because he traded Shining to the Master and no other reason.

spiderhellian said:
EDIT: Also when are we going to learn more about Heirlooms, man!
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Either we get a Winter sacrament or we befriend Mareinette and get 2 Heart lessons and a Heart influence. That's when.
 
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Talon Tiger Dino said:
Two AotLs might be enough if you want to spend two studies on the Moth book, but what if we also want a bunch of artifacts studied so we can dump them for bits on the open market?
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There are better things to be studying then artifacts if we get a Lantern influence.

Talon Tiger Dino said:
Speaking of Tall Tale, if Velvet were to stumble upon a Worthy Opponent such as the head of the hive, would we go for it over Biedde's Sacrament?
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ses said:
+25 to combat and nothing else is Worthy Combat worthy. The minimum floor for a Worthy Foe is somewhere between an Edge 3 normie and an Edge 4 normie. It is absolutely intended behavior to absolutely dump truck a fool for a personal edge sacrament via "I brought an Edge Influence and you didn't". Comet only didnt do it because he traded Shining to the Master and no other reason.
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Considering how Comet picked a fight with the toughest Husk Changelings he could find and didn't find any of them worthy I heavily doubt it's going to be that easy.
 
I agree the odds are against it, though the fact of "Comet tried that exact strategy and failed" does need to be balanced against "He was on a team with 4 killstealing Windigos who all popped ults"

After all if there's a single Hero Unit changeling in all of equestria Tall Tale is exactly the most likely place for it to be. I do agree the odds are against it but it's certainly possible.
 
It unlikely any changeling qualifies as a worth opponent with the queen dead. The rest are just generic mooks, and nowhere near enough time as passed for a new leader to grow enough to be worth.
 
If we have Rarity do a 2nd commission in a row this turn we could afford to send Axe and Forge Name to BTRC3 AND have Selene Scry Book/Scry Iotic Essence/Soothe the Night, and we'd be able to afford Book Hunt plus Essence Hunt next turn even if they were both Long expeditions.

I don't think we'll actually do this but it's an interesting line. I don't think we're allowed to teach Rarity on a turn she does a commission and honestly I kinda really want to teach her this turn so that we can get MORE BITS. She can double commission after lmao.
 
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ses said:
If QM lets us do so before attempting the duel god yes we'd take the refunded action point in a heartbeat and use it for like, literally any of the five different priorities we're being pulled in. I honestly really doubt it's a thing that will happen though. Like I'd bet at 5% odds or worse.

Personally I'm kind of back in favor of skipping edge sacrament this turn. We have no shortage of high impact things to do with the AP that don't have a 21% failure+wounds rate, and honestly like... just because a Sacrament is a Big Deal doesn't mean it's actually very impactful in terms of effort-in-to-All-In-power-out. An extra MITL brought to the expedition is BETTER than +1 Edge level on Velvet. Even just a study action for 100 bits of level 1 artifacts studied will help more because it helps us make sure Baldomare and Forge Name get befriended. That's easily a 2nd train ticket to the 2nd Great Book Hunt.

Heck, an extra level 1 artifact studied is half an AP for exactly the same amount of extra oomph in terms of total Lore levels that a Sacrament gives us for All-In. It doesn't help in the Malleary of course nor does it help as much in our preparations, but that's just to illustrate the point.
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I explained it a little at an earlier time, but combat uses Edge in a manner that focuses a more on the individual than the collective. The attack on the manor showed that even with two strong guards, Velvet cannot be expected to avoid combat. In such a situation, I would rather be able to depend on Velvet having bigger numbers than trying to use Mares to supplicate extra combat prowess when she has a squishy 3 HP that will have to get through the entire expedition. The same expedition that we currently know nothing about the challenges that will await us. Our Edge sacrament will also give us a new trait that might apply during combat. We can absolutely ensure that our Forge Name and Baldomare are befriended before our deadlines, but skipping this now means we won't be able to afford another chance at it later. This sacrament has a risk to it, but given the unpredictable nature of combat, it's one worth taking.
 
Flaregamer82253 said:
I explained it a little at an earlier time, but combat uses Edge in a manner that focuses a more on the individual than the collective. The attack on the manor showed that even with two strong guards, Velvet cannot be expected to avoid combat. In such a situation, I would rather be able to depend on Velvet having bigger numbers than trying to use Mares to supplicate extra combat prowess when she has a squishy 3 HP that will have to get through the entire expedition. The same expedition that we currently know nothing about the challenges that will await us. Our Edge sacrament will also give us a new trait that might apply during combat. We can absolutely ensure that our Forge Name and Baldomare are befriended before our deadlines, but skipping this now means we won't be able to afford another chance at it later. This sacrament has a risk to it, but given the unpredictable nature of combat, it's one worth taking.
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You took very different lessons from the attack on the estate than were there to learn. Velvet went into combat wearing [A Resolution] and an Edge Attention and had an absolutely sky-high personal combat modifier, far larger than we can possibly take into All In (Even if we take a Called resolution we can't bring an Attention to the expedition). We almost died because we had a lack of combatants because numbers matter. Having even a single extra shit-tier combatant reduces Outnumbered penalties or even better soaks up enemy attacks. Having an extra MITL on hand means that's one fewer combatant attacking Velvet and soaking hits to an hp pool that doesn't matter if it gets injured. That's a lot better than +5 to personal combat that doesn't stop you from getting critted or just rolling low on a single turn.
 
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For another example of why numbers matter, look to Windigo vs Hit Squad.


Shaper47 said:
There are better things to be studying then artifacts if we get a Lantern influence.
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Like what? I wouldn't want to touch the Knock Book in case we fail to scry a Level 7 book again, so what else would we bother studying after slamming the Moth Book?
 
Talon Tiger Dino said:
Like what? I wouldn't want to touch the Knock Book in case we fail to scry a Level 7 book again, so what else would we bother studying after slamming the Moth Book?
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If we want Moth 6 on turn 25 we'd need to save the influence till turn 25. I.e. gather the Moth Books first.

But there's also our Stain, Children, Baldomare's Beacon (Mansus), the Dry Grail (Mansus) and the Frangiclave.
 
In which she tells The Sweetest Lie
The Sweetest Lie

It shouldn't be this bright.

The world shouldn't be this bright. This happy. This easy going and casual, as though nothing had changed. As though nothing had happened! There should be shouting in the streets, clouds in the sky, darkness on every house! The paper should be late, the toast should be burnt, the world should be-!
Hurting.

It shouldn't feel like every other day in every other home.

It isn't the same.

Even pretending it is is wrong. You could feel it in the tension in your shoulders. The near imperceptible hesitation in your butlers words. In the worry that draped sweet Diamond when you sent her to school. The world, your world, is changed. But there, just outside your front door? In the papers, in the news, on the faces of strangers it... It's the same.

The world didn't change. But yours did.



You are Filthy Rich and it's been three days since your wife disappeared.



The thought alone makes you nauseous. It was supposed to be perfectly normal, supposed to be just a meal with a friend. You can almost pretend you hear the harsh sound of her hooves walking down the halls. You can still smell that bright citrus perfume she wore when she left! The sharp words, how it was only she who had been invited, so you should just "stay where you are useful."
Out of her way.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the curtain, the soft carpet of your office illuminated by the light of the morning sun. It wasn't worth shuttering it. It would just drift open again.

it shouldn't be this bright.
You should be mourning. You should be angry. You should have thrown something, yelled something, screamed at her.
You did. You should have done something that mattered.

But here, in this little office, light bled in. A gloomy refused to settle over anything but your mind.



When Spoiled hadn't come home, it was easy to dismiss. It would be a quiet night, most likely she and the Lady had simply eaten or drunk too much. An offer was made to stay the night, and why would Spoiled refuse? The host puts up the guest if they can't safely make it across town, and Spoiled was always one to invite herself in, if she could. It was easy to rationalize.

In the morning, it must have been a hangover. In the afternoon, she was out shopping. But when the sun set... something had to be wrong. It was supposed to be a meal, not a whole day affair. It might have grown into something more, Spoiled always tried to push for that, but...

But.

You didn't push. You didn't look. Didn't ask to speak with the guards to find her.
It would be another quiet night.



Diamond, bless her, could tell though. Should have schooled yourself into a more calm smile, been cleaner and more inquisitive over dinner. Shouldn't have let her know you were so distracted. Put on a business face and let her carry your worries away as only your daughter could. But... you were distracted. You were anxious.

Clever little girl she is, she put two and two together and found out how to make interest. Even though it hurts, you can't help but smile remembering how she looked at you. Confused. Worried. And just a moment later, with understanding.

Celestia must have blessed you with her, because she just tried to smile back.
Neither of you talked about the missing chair in the dining room.



Your eyes drift to the other chair in the room. If you pretend, you can almost see the tea cup and saucer on the side table. The one she could hardly touch. Could still hear her words ringing in your ears, didn't need to pretend to hear that. They hadn't left you. Couldn't. You wouldn't... You shouldn't...


It was the second morning, after you gave Diamond Tiara a firm hug. After you told her you were going to figure this out. That she shouldn't worry and to go to school. It was after Diamond left that She came.
She didn't want to see Diamond as usual, nor did she come to talk with Spoiled. There was not the gleam of business in her eyes, nor the comfort of a social call.

Your Wife disappeared two days ago after going to meet with Velvet Covers for a meal.
And Velvet Covers came to your door, shoulders heavy with responsibility. Before you could speak, she asked you a question.
"Can we speak in private, Filthy?"
Maybe it was a worry. Or maybe it was the way the words seemed to burden her. Or was it her eyes, so full of a emotion without a name, that you couldn't help but nod and lead her away to your study.



You asked. The only question you could.
"Where is Spoiled? What happened?"
Even then, you couldn't bring yourself to yell. Not yet at least.

She... she just looked at the tea. Weighing it in the grasp of her magic. Looking for... you only wish you knew then. You only wish she hadn't found it now. But the tea was set aside, her reservation along with it.
She only looked to you. And answered.
"Do you know what the Lunar Bureau is, Filthy? Not- Not that it is my responsibility. Not that it is where I work. But what it is. What it's purpose is, Filthy."

The furrow on your brow was the only answer she needed.
"The Lunar Bureau is an institution to safeguard Equestria, now and into the future. From threat of monsters and beasts and unknowns that the rest of Equestria isn't built to handle. It is an institution built upon The Calamity, and how unprepared we were. It is meant to hunt down the last of those who escaped. It is meant to prevent another disaster like that, ever again. It is my burden. My responsibility."



She looks... pained.
Velvet Covers, who entreats with royalty, who caught the ear of Celestia when her patience was gone. Bridesmaid of Princess Cadence, Alicorn of Love. Head of the Lunar Bureau, a group of investiagators and... and monster hunters by the sounds of it. And she looks like it hurts when she looks to you.
... no. Not when she looks to you.

For what she has to tell you.



"Filthy... you're my friend. And because of that, I feel you are owed more than... more than what I need to say. More than the clinical, harsh, nothing answers I am supposed to say. You deserve... more than that."

"Do you know what a Changeling is?" A rhetorical question, as she explained. "It is... a monster. Not the kind you see out in the Everfree with claws and fangs and wings and tail. But it is a monster all the same for what it does. It... it is a Monster of chitin and wing that steals ponies away in the night, only to wear their face, live their life, and take their place. It laughs because we laugh. It drinks because we drink. It eats because we eat. And it looks just like the pony who's life it has stolen. Invisible."
"A Changeling, is a lie in the shape of a pony."

Her eyes.... Gods above she looked so-
"I... As the Bureau has learned more about these... creatures, responsible for The Calamity, we learned there were signs. Small signs. Little movements. Ticks you might call them. Not perfect, but a way to begin to suspect somepony who... isn't. Something who replaced a pony. Something just acting through their mask of skin and lies. Signs I... saw. More than once. More than just a few times Filthy."

"I invited... her... because I had to make sure. I had to know that it wasn't like that. That she wasn't one of them. That you didn't have..."



"Spoiled was a Changeling, Filthy. And she had been for a long time."

You don't want to remember those words. What you yelled at her there. How after she spoke, the spell of normality broke and you screamed. Demanded, shouted, threw things in the room just looking to... say it wasn't true. That Velvet was lying. That it couldn't be. It Couldn't. It had to be wrong. Had to...

You don't want to remember how you broke down and sobbed. How you called her a liar and a fraud. How... understanding she looked there.
How she waited outside the room. After you had torn half the books from the shelves, tearing through them to find something. Something, clear, direct, obvious, proving! Proving it was wrong. Proving it wasn't true! Proving that-

Your wife hadn't been gone for much much longer than two days.



She bandaged your hoof when you finally left. Ignoring your glare. Ignoring your sobbing. Moving past that emotional turmoil of despair and anger that threatened to swallow you. She didn't stay long after that, but you...
You...



You couldn't tell Diamond.

The night was quiet, but it was the wrong kind of quiet now. Too tense, too sharp, too brittle. Diamond could tell, bless her, but she didn't press. Didn't ask. She knew, you knew but couldn't. How... How could you?

How could you tell her that her Mother was gone? That she had been for a while?



Now.
As the world kept moving.
As your study lay in ruins. As the light threatened to creep in on that devistation. Threatened to illuminate it...

You feel something else.
Guilt.

Hatred that she was taken. Wronged that you hadn't been told. Disgusted that you hadn't noticed. And Guilt... whenever you opened your eyes.
The light nearly blinded you when you did, and it hurt to even pretend to think about moving on without her, but what if



What if
Your heart ached to simply think of it. Shaking your head didn't get rid of it, and closing your eyes didn't make the question go away. It only made it burn in deeper. Quieter. Sharper.

What if
What if... it wasn't your wife that made you two drift apart?

What if it wasn't your wife that near sneered as you passed?
What if it wasn't your wife that filled the house with this useless crap? That demanded only the finest and most expensive simply because it was expensive? That all but threatened your daughter with every demand that was made? That turned a home into a house into a prison? That made the world about placating her rather than living?



What if it wasn't your wife, that caused these problems?
What if it wasn't your wife at all??



Light drifted in through the crack in the curtains. Almost having to bend around the fabris as it showed what lay in that little study.
Offering but the slightest, tainted thing. Reflecting in the world, the same thing you felt.
The same thing you hated, but couldn't drive from your mind. That circled, and spiraled, and hurt.

The world isn't supposed to be bright. You're not supposed to... to have this... this...
This ugly hope.
 
[] Plan MothLanternForgeEdgeGrail
-[] Leash Filthy Rich
-[][DETECTIVES] Dodge City
-[][CONSTABLES] Tall Tale
-[][COMMISSIONER] Get your hoofs dirty
-[][SELENE] Soothe the Night
-[][BALDOMARE] Channel an Influence. (Lantern)
-[][BIEDDE] Channel an Influence. (Edge)
-[][MAREINETTE] You need her to talk to… (Spoiled Rich)
-[] Two extra Velvet actions! (Costs 5 follower actions)
-[] You would like somepony to help you with a small ritual (Edge)
-[] You would like somepony to help you with a small ritual (Edge)
-[] You need somepony to perform this ritual… (Scry a level 7 book)
--[] To be performed in Jade's house (up to two-circle rituals)
-[] You need somepony to perform this ritual… (Scry a level 6 Forge reagent)
--[] To be performed in Jade's house (up to two-circle rituals)
-[] You would like for somepony to search for a 3-circle ritual site

Here's a plan that attempts the Biedde duel. If we skip it we get our choice of extra social action ([AP]!) or study 2 level 1 artifacts ([Bits]!), alongside 2 Name actions to be some mix of Wrong Keys, Find Easy Expeditions, Make Bits, or Forge Lesson. I don't think we can fit Spy on Windy in because I don't think two different followers are allowed to use the SH artifact for rituals on the same turn, which means that we can't split the scry duties even if we swap forge name to Lantern configuration, so both would need to be Selene AP.
 
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Your putting Axe, a Name of Knock, on giving edge Aotls...

Rarity getting put on covering bases...

Not to mention the math doesn't add up.
 
Hey I was arguing earlier against doing the edge sacrament but the thread seemed against it. The number of follower actions does indeed add up correctly.

There's not a long list of extremely powerful things for Axe to do this turn due to the failed scry. We could do the crazy double-commission idea to fund a BTRC3 attempt but that introduces a lot of risk to our name befriending efforts and probably isn't worth it.

Knock lessons are a thing we could do but Axe is probably going to be busy with expeditions after this turn for the forseeable future and the thread is going to refuse to read the Knock book for safety net, so Knock 6 is never going to happen anyway.

She could search for Easy expeditions but honestly her hoofs will be full with the manehatten expeditions and the two scried ones regardless. So that leaves... Wrong Keys and Make Bits as the alternative.

If we want to do edge sacrament this turn this is pretty much what we've got to work with, the only wiggle room being maybe taking a forge lesson and giving up on the 3circle site this turn completely.
 
About expeditions. If being bad parent is to be declared eating deserving under Velvet's reign, how about someone we actually know about.

@OurLadyOfWires Would Velvet Hill be a valid target for Assault Opponent expedition? I mean beside Spoiled one of ideas was to scry for some random murderer, but with Hill we can skip that step as we would know where he is.

Narratively Velvet just had a hard talk with uncle Steppes and while she have forgiven him, she definitely have not forgiven her father. And uncle explicitly stated that Velvet was a crime family, something Cover mostly ignored until now. Plus uncle always ran interference on Hill schemes and without him Velvet could conclude that it is only a matter of time when Hill would become problem.

And it would be more meaningful that Velvet sacrificing first bad mother she run across. Would still need to build a prison, but if we grab some bits from mansion as side objective could replace Rarity commission action.

Edit: Also could Uncle FO or Soft FO be done through free social action?
 
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Flaregamer82253 said:
Rarity immediately regathered her composure. "I-WELL, never let it be said that your FATHER-" her voice cracked, "-can't step up to the plate! Now! Let's go get you settled in Sweetie Belle's room until we can prepare something better!" Rarity mentally moved her home expansion plans to her top priorities. If this was going to be more common after this week, she needed to expedite a bigger house to better care for him.
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QM said this could be canon if Rare Item won the vote.

That would be... a very hilarious way of spending his Name AP on getting us a 3circle site. (also one that makes use of his Forge levels)
 
ses said:
QM said this could be canon if Rare Item won the vote.

That would be... a very hilarious way of spending his Name AP on getting us a 3circle site. (also one that makes use of his Forge levels)
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While it would be funny, the size of the room needed for three-circle rituals is probably a bit beyond Rarity's home expansion plans.

From the old thread:
Think that you need a "small space" for a one-circle, a "large room" for a two-circle, and a "hall" for a three-circle. You already have up to two-circle space in Jade's house, so you're really hurting for a place to cast summoning rituals undisturbed. In fact, you could even cast them in your own home's main hall, for example, but it's better if you use a handy farm barn, since they are slightly easier to clean up after and a bit more isolated.
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Though that does give me an idea. @OurLadyOfWires can we ask the Forge Name to just dig out and build a large enough room for three-circle rituals underneath Jade's house instead of asking him to search for one? While that would probably be too much to ask from a normal pony I imagine, he is the Forge Name.

Edit:
Shaper47 said:
There was also the search for a 3-circle ritual site.
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That wasn't a scry action, just a normal search.
 
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Hmm, thinking about scrying for a level 7 book. It probably could go down on our priorities.

With our money issues (despite all warnings) and the cost of befriending our Forge Name. We probably won't be able to afford going on the no doubt long expedition for the level 7 book.

So move up the SH Sacrament or just get a lantern lesson perhaps.

Turn 25 lantern influence

So turns 22, 23 and 24. Scry level 7 Book, lantern lesson and SH Sacrament. Order doesn't really matter.
 
I'm sure the Forge Name can figure out some kind of brilliant solution that fixes all our problems while remaining within our budget of 'AAAAAAAHHHHHH"

Because if Forge is known for anything, it's delivering results without requiring a budget!

Also on the subject of Budget, Jade Whistle is now our second best moneymaking pony now that she can study our level 1 artifacts for us. That's hilarious and hopefully takes the sting out of being fired as our faction scry-pony after her failure.

(I am very worried about her psychological response to failing that roll. Good thing we at least took the FO Friends to check in on her so it didn't compound. But still.)
 
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ses said:
I'm sure the Forge Name can figure out some kind of brilliant solution that fixes all our problems while remaining within our budget of 'AAAAAAAHHHHHH"

Because if Forge is known for anything, it's delivering results without requiring a budget!
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Look, if we can build a prison without paying bits, maybe we can get away with just building a really big room instead :V
 
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