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

[Earth-Destroyer]

I did miss it, could I possibly get a citation on that?

Click to shrink...

Baldomare is the Name of Lantern and Secret History's. And from all the things she since we first meet her what, two things stand out as occurring across almost all interactions.

Baldomare, only spoken the truth, Lantern, and can change between the 3 races at will, Secret History. Note that none of the other names can change their form so easily not even the Master Moth 7, the Lore of changing form.

 

[Bakkasama]

Hilariously, I've been thinking on that. And, you know?

We could just send Baldomare, Ax, and Biedde when that time comes. That's near assured to handle.... Anything on that side.

Click to shrink...

Except snowy climate. That usually requires winter and either heart or forge to resist iirc.

Figures that what might end a godly squad composed by a giant snake and two members of the elderly is a cold.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

I know we planned on an Edge Influence here, but taking an influence would certainly be... interesting, when it comes to Comet Feet. Especially when you consider who we're getting it from and his own experiences with the same effect.

I just reread the sections involving Fluttershy as a refresher on how we gained her as a Confidante in the first place. Primarily, she was worried about Comet Feet, as he was coming off off the Edge Influence during the assault on the Changeling Hive. More than that, when we rolled a 150 to convince Fluttershy, this was the text:

(Roll 150) "… and if that happens, the Colonel will never release him." (You tell Fluttershy everything. Fluttershy will also be immediately introduced to the Lores, and will become and Enlightened of Winter 0, and lesser affinity unknown.)

While picking up an Edge influence here will likely help us stay safe in the Mansus, I have to wonder about how Comet will see it. He certainly didn't seem pleased with himself after his own, and I can't say either he or Fluttershy holds the Colonel in high regards.

 

[Pittauro]

Well no. But we wouldn't have taken nearly as much damage. Or lost half our Grail Influence, which IIRC cost us later in that turn.

Click to shrink...

we lost grail right before talking to Twilight for the last time.

It was extremely heavily implied that with that +20, hitting the DC 100, we would have offered an IMPOSSIBLE SUGGESTION.

So... yeah, losing the grail 4 influence quite literally costed us Twilight.

So I'm guessing that "Loan Biedde to Comet so he can get his Edge Sacrament" is an action for next turn?

Click to shrink...

well, IF we go for it. Which I think would depend on how the talk goes.

Like, everybody else wants Velvet to do shit for them and spend resources. All Biedde wants is for her to prove her skill in a fight.

Click to shrink...

I'm taking it to mean a drop of blood from an Edge Name is indeed worth the life of a "worthy opponent".

Okay, time for some Pittauro-posting. I want to digest the updates before I get into the mechanical weeds.

Click to shrink...

Hm? What does Baldomare profess, but not follow?

Click to shrink...

she showed Mercy. She gave up on Glory by not stealing Selene from us. Maybe something about Illopony, or how she went inside the Blank Plains while still being able to talk?

Biedde and Marinette. DoA should be doing the Expedition. Which is fine, because Marinette is honestly probably scarier in a fight if only due to sheer health pool.

Seriously, imagine running into those two at the same time. And then an Influenced Velvet just for funsies.

Click to shrink...

They synergize really well.

Mareinette the tank, and Biedde the DPS. and Biedde's "they will avoid ganging up on me" means they go against Mareinette first, which... well, she IS the tank... so that's good.

Poor Steppes. And then he gets letter from us asking what ponies think about us.

Click to shrink...

oh, I forgot about that! Talk about a whiplash!

You know, part of me wishes there would be a timeskip or something, so we could see the effects of Silky's "education" of absorbing info from all the "honored guests" she's surrounded by when she grows up. If Velvet is overpowered, how OP do you think Silky will be if she's educated in the lores (passively or actively) from such an early age?

Click to shrink...

It depends on if she's "allowed" to have multiple affinities.

but... has it EVER happened in history that a filly/child has directly interacted with MULTIPLE Names in a friendly family-like setting?

This might very well be unprecedented.

Right now she's getting friendly with Axe, Baldomare and Biedde. Mareinette is obviously not allowed to come close to her, ESPECIALLY when we're not there, and The Master is ashes...

In order of Sacrament acquisition, the progression might look something like:

SH -> Knock -> Edge -> Moth -> Lantern -> Winter -> Forge -> Heart?.

SH, as I said, is something we're actively working on now, and I imagine people will probably like to finish it before starting on other Sacraments. Edge and Knock are within striking distance considering our access to max Edge Influence (+2 scraps) and near-future expedition to go get Frangiclave, though I put Edge lower than Knock due to the possible prep work needed vs. Knock, whose prep work is basically just "Knock Influence". Moth is next due to both simplicity of the Sacrament as well as only needing to find a single scrap somewhere, anywhere at all to be within Sacramenting distance. Lantern, Winter, and Forge are in descending order of "how many scaps do we currently have". Heart is all the way at the end for obvious reasons, and Grail is absent because I don't like either and would rather just not get it.

Click to shrink...

As you said, Grail options suck.

I think you might be underselling how bad Moth is, but I'm also willing to consider it (and Winter).

For Edge... maybe we could use personal actions (training with Biedde?) to try and get either combat bonuses (NOT EDGE), Martial level ups, AND/OR extra health.

Both Shining Armor and Comet have 4 Health. They also likely have combat-related traits, with Shining being +25 (so probably a +10 trait?) and Comet having 39 (with 20 from edge, so probably something like a +5 trait).

SH, Knock and Edge are close and "simple" enough I see no reason to not get them given a few turns.

Moth is a maybe, morally speaking.

Lantern is a bit far away in terms of scraps, but otherwise doable.

Winter is a maybe due to morality. Forge and Heart are unknowns, and Grail seems like a lost cause unless we find an alternative source. Though hey, if we're lucky healing the scar might trigger some self-reflection, leading to a new kind of personal sacrament... Bird never explicitly denied the possibility of sacrament requirements changing if Velvet changed enough, which fits the description of at least the Grail and Moth ones (Grail: you fear they'll leave you, make it so they won't, and Moth: You hate yourself, so become a mask you don't hate)

There is one Hour who can call back the dead, or rather those in Nowhere. We just need to track down the Elegiast and convince him to think of someone for us, no biggie

As for the Biedde sacrament, would a Wrong Key count for the purpose of a wound? I mean the Key decays next turn anyways so we're probably spending DoA's action on nabbing them and RotT-ing the Frangiclave next turn, if so we could pop the Influence this turn and then take the Sacrament the next while using up the decaying Wrong Key to get it while DoA provides us the new set.

If that isn't possible I'd very much rather send Biedde to scout Copper. In our last vote people were just lamenting the lack of information, we have the ability to gain it now. Please let's do it rather then poping an Influence for Comet and the Church. We can manage the church without it I feel and doing an Influence for Comet is just wasteful.

Click to shrink...

...that should not be allowed!

@OurLadyOfWires Please tell me it's allowed!

if it was, we could get a sacrament the moment we get a key! (or do we still have one? in that case, potentially this turn if we get the edge influence).

Well, it's basically just like... a test, right? And a good test should ultimately be fair to the testee. And a mortal fighting an Edge Name (with a combat specialty) without any sort of external support isn't really fair to the petitioner.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but I kinda expected him to require us to summon the influence on our own. a mortal CAN do that after all.

In case you missed it Baldomare secret history Sacrament is the ability to switch between the 3 pony races. Something that would be god like, if the situation of the quest favored it, but it does not, switching races, is just not something Velvet would befit from. But she will benefit greatly from pulling knowledge from other histories, admittedly that a super powerful ablity for any student of the Lores.

Click to shrink...

that's a near baseless guess. It's POSSIBLE that's her SH Sacrament, but it's also possible it's not.

It's just a thing she's shown to be able to do, but Names can do MANY things, and not all of them are JUST the result of their sacrament.

For all we know her SH Sacrament is actually about her "teleport" ability (she reached canterlot by following the Anchor that is Discord), or maybe her simulation ability (as we saw with the alternate Velvets for the "how to treat Soft Sweeps" choice).

We don't know for sure what ANY of the sacraments will give us in terms of powers. We just have guesses.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

I'm taking it to mean a drop of blood from an Edge Name is indeed worth the life of a "worthy opponent".

Click to shrink...

Man. Steppe's face if he learned his fragile, fearful niece—I don't believe he's learned that she stopped being afraid yet?—put a scratch on Biedde. Just imagine it.

"And besides, your grandniece spoke well of you. Her company has earned you a stay from execution."

Click to shrink...

…Oh. Also, I misunderstood earlier. It wasn't Velvet saying good things that saved Steppes' life. It was Silky. Goddamn, that kid.

 

[spiderhellian]

And we will soon have an unending supply of murders, cultists, and other problems cases filling our jail cells

Click to shrink...

Nah, we explicitly made the choice that we can't just disappear people, they go to the Solar Court.

In case you missed it Baldomare secret history Sacrament is the ability to switch between the 3 pony races.

Click to shrink...

You're making really strong assumptions about what the Baldomare Sacraments do based on somewhere between none and minimal evidence! Give the Mare some more credit.

 

[Bakkasama]

that should not be allowed!

@OurLadyOfWires Please tell me it's allowed!

if it was, we could get a sacrament the moment we get a key! (or do we still have one? in that case, potentially this turn if we get the edge influence

Click to shrink...

Just because a wrong key would inflict a wound it does not mean it would make them bleed, but given that it is Knock I would be inclined to think so

 

[angelsadvocate666]

To be fair, I think I vaguely recall Bird explaining once that the Keys work by essentially damaging the connection between the Mansus creature and the summoned body or something? That might not include spilling blood.

 

[Sveta08]

Well!
Now that I have the time and energy to write a little bit, and we are all up and excited about Biedde and sacraments... I propose an alternative thought!
Something else, that could be true! But one I don't know is true.
More than other long thoughts I've written out, this is the closest to a half-prediction. Make of that what you will.

In which someone's value is weighed

---

What is most valuable?

A common thought exercise as much as a measure of practicality, you find yourself following that same question time and time again. The first answer, Glory, is always the same. Always has been since you felt the brand to touch your skin. Every moment it's allure still sits in the back of your mind like a flickering candle. Ever out of reach, and requiring to be burnt to touch. And even then, something has to burn to hold it.
So, it's the wrong question. What's most valuable. But it's a useful question none the less.

You are in your room. Or, office would be a better way of putting it. The secrets that need to remain in the Wake written down here, the lores and laws you have found that could not be etched upon the surface of your mind or body scattered throughout. Not wildly like a mad prophet though. No, that would not do. It would be unpleasant. Unseemly. And that just wouldn't do.
It is yours. So it must be clean. It must be polished. It must be pleasant and inviting.


You are Copper Secateur, and you are trying to balance this months budget. The question of value always comes up when you do this. And is more literal than most would think.


Bits are valuable. Obviously, they are valuable by their very nature of a currency. But they are valuable as a tool. What syrupy words you can spill help, but having an incentive that people take home with them always helps clear up misunderstandings. Recruit people to the cause. If you draw people in saying they will gain something valuable, they will think of bits after all.
And it's not like you are lying, you think with a silvery grin. They do get something valuable, if they are lucky.
Your attention.

Because time is valuable. Incredibly valuable. No matter how many hooves you have, no matter how many people under your thrall, there is only so many hours in a day. For now, you think. So your time is valuable. Spend it wisely. The matter of finances is handled slowly by you, but quickly by your assistance. All you are here for is-

Loyalty. To sniff out those who can handle these budgets cleanly. Quickly. See how many are devoted to you and only you. How many people might try to sneak something by you. Whether they should be rewarded for their initiative... or made an example of. Your time is valuable, so better spend it finding problems that others can spend time answering. Because the better it is, the more perfect everything under you is...

The more you can focus on what's important.
Glory
Revenge

Really it's both.


But, this month has been... a disaster if you are honest.

The last few months you have been hemoraging bits like no one else trying to keep all your suppliers online. That new Lunar Bureau hasn't dropped the hammer on any of them yet... but there's that Yet. The nobles themselves weren't safe, so you and the people you have to buy from, sell to? Whoever isn't making themselves scarce is making themselves more expensive. And of course... of fucking course... you can thank Velvet Covers for that.

Leave it to that mare to somehow worm her way up into... that. Because nothing less than the princesses own guard would be good enough for her. No, she had to go on and be the damned alicorn's bridesmaid.
... Come on. Focus. Refocus.

Bits. Bit troubles. That's the focus.
Because the Lunar Bureau has been a threat the last few months. This month was...

The Manus.
It changed.


Ash coats the entire Wood. Or maybe it's better to say that Ash has supplanted The Wood. Full of that sticky dirty smell that just can't quite be washed out with a good wine or a pleasant evening. No, it's... it's worse now. Not darker, but worse. That alone would be bad...

But they are dead.
Every summon. Every species. Everything that you have been carefully cultivating, carefully crafting and maintaining from The Woods is dead. Lost in the blink of the eye at the stroke of midnight. Hundreds, Hundreds of bits and dozens of days and a dozen or more lives lost all because... The Woods is gone.

It is going to be a very very expensive month.

---

You had just about finished the plan when you got the call. Which, itself, was unusual.
You don't take calls. You hand out the orders, and your people handle the problems.
And moreover, noone, noone interupts you when you are actually busy handling this side of things. The last one who did wound up far more useful dead.

But still, you are getting a call.
Which means something had to have happened. Something that changes your plans. It's the only reason they would risk it.
Your ire because you made a plan without the full info, or your ire because they interrupted the plan.

So, you answered it.
And scowled past a pleasant smile. Listening to the wonderfully delightful frightened and enraptured words that flowed out like honeyed wine.
Because... something had changed.

You didn't bother answering. You simply hung up.
And began preparing for a walk.

---

The most valuable thing, you have found, is Glory. It is the power to take revenge, to be revered, and to make the world dance in your hoof.
But the most valuable tool for that... is people. Something you learned a long, long time ago.
They have more hooves to work. More eyes to see. More ears to hear.
And apparently...

More lives to be threatened.

You are currently in one of the offices of a tool of yours. The base of operations they keep in Manehattan. A tool you grabbed and wined and dined because of his reputation.
As well as his name.

"So tell me, Mister Steppes"
Your words laced with a rich, warm poison that he relaxes at. The faintest of tugs required as the chains you wove around his mind, his heart even are pulled.
He is not The Velvet you want. But he is ever so useful a tool.
Especially when she slips up.

"Just who came to visit you?"

 

[angelsadvocate666]

I kinda doubt that's the case, but if it was I would almost feel sorry for Copper.

Copper: "Who visited you?"
Steppes: "So… you know how you've been having a really bad month?"

 

[Sveta08]

I kinda doubt that's the case, but if it was I would almost feel sorry for Copper.

Click to shrink...

You are free to doubt it all you like! But...

Copper is based in Manehatten. They deal regularly with the criminal underworld there. So too, does Steppes.
Steppes is well known. It's likely that they have crossed paths.
And if they have, do you really think Copper would be willing to let go a potential lead into Velvet, what makes her tick, and an active informant? One that Velvet trusts, but doesn't guard?

I hadn't thought of it until the Beidde post. But now?
I doubt it's not the case.

 

[Solace2117]

We know very little about Baldomare's SH sacrament and what the exact effect would be. All Ourladyofwires has said that I remember is it would deal with the history of the world.

 

[spiderhellian]

In which someone's value is weighed

Click to shrink...

Sweet apocrypha. Love your depiction of Copper PoV's.

And I totally agree that when our gang leader uncle has twice been mentioned spending time in a city where our Foe took over the gangs, we should read into that.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

Oh, I think Copper might try, but I also think that Steppes is an old hand at the criminal game that even a Grail sacramented person would have to be very careful of. Even Grail control only goes so far, and unless she's got control of his entire organization he probably has people who would notice him acting weird and fight back.

And I totally agree that when our gang leader uncle has twice been mentioned spending time in a city where our Foe took over the gangs, we should read into that.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, Manehatten is, like, the criminal city. And the Velvet family seem to have a powerbase spread across the entire country.

Though yes, it might be wise to look into it. Or just kill Copper off really soon.

 

[Pittauro]

…Oh. Also, I misunderstood earlier. It wasn't Velvet saying good things that saved Steppes' life. It was Silky. Goddamn, that kid.

Click to shrink...

uh. Good catch, somehow it seems we ALL misunderstood that bit as we were thinking about Velvet and not the realm MVP Silky.

But they are dead.
Every summon. Every species. Everything that you have been carefully cultivating, carefully crafting and maintaining from The Woods is dead. Lost in the blink of the eye at the stroke of midnight. Hundreds, Hundreds of bits and dozens of days and a dozen or more lives lost all because... The Woods is gone.

It is going to be a very very expensive month.

Click to shrink...

uh. I didn't consider that Copper might have lost wood summons. Considering they were presumably the easiest to get, she might have actually invested some into searching for them and summoning them.

Then again, presumably she would have had to discover them in between the cult's last report to the Master and now... That's turn 14 I think?

yeah, more than enough time for her to get some Woods summons...

 

[BritBiscuit]

Actually whilst reading what Sveta posted I stumbled upon a thought, when Copper was saying there were only so many hours in a day for now , it made me realise that of all the remnants of the Cult, only Copper would actually have a source for knowledge about the terms and beings of the old Mansus. Because we have been hoarding Names and in the time where we shared Names with the Cult they weren't keen to talk about knowledge, wouldn't it be that no one has learned the term Hour other than Copper, after all she is the only one with a Name especially a Name of the Hour who is specifically for remembering dead hours and those that pilgrimage to Nowhere.

Windy is chasing the Wolf but I highly doubt he knows what an Hour is, he'll know they are great and powerful but would he know that they were Gods? That everyone represented an Hour of the day? It also adds a nice spin to Coppers thought in this omake not enough hours in a day, not yet it adds that slight referance to her ultimate goal of reaching Glory and becoming a new Hour, literally adding more Hours to the day, it showing up in passing thoughts about the passage of time and business really shows how Adepts would get obssessive with the Glory as seen in some of the scenes where Velvet daydreamed about the Glory whilst talking to either her tea party or Ponpon I don't recall exactly. Either way nice omake.

Edit: whilst posting this I noticed I got a like from OurLadyofWires on my post about how Bleidde/The Colonel have an agenda in the Wake and how terrible it would be to just give him free actions with Religious Duties so uh not taking that as confirmed as it may be Birb just liking how I put my thoughts and arguements in a rational well argued way that made sense but might be entirely wrong, but I am going to just have a bit of Dread now so im going to take a rest action and turn in for the night.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

To be entirely fair, I think even Velvet didn't know Ponies had gods until she passed… one of the Doors. The first or second, I can't remember which. Copper and Windy have probably passed those by now, but not any others if I had to bet.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

I just know that OurLadyofWires is wending her way through the thread, liking posts languorously until she surmounts the latest post and finally, finally answers the question of if we can can Key Biedde for our Sacrament.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

This will turn out long.

Still, the answers to the pings, and general thread stuff.

Spoiler

Actually now that I'm thinking about it, @OurLadyOfWires the assault an opponent is basically a short expedition for one goal, right? Can we add more goals at the cost of making the expedition longer?

Click to shrink...

Not really. But you can always give several objectives and rank them with priority.
Because an assault, when successful, is meant to be an attack. So it's hard to try to pile more things to do when your enemy (and all your plans) will be thrown into disarray when the time to strike arrives.

...actually @OurLadyOfWires do we know ANYTHING about other countries? They're NEVER mentioned, but as leader of the secret police I'd expect them to come up at times.

Click to shrink...

Nothing relevant, other than the vague knowledge that they exist.

@OurLadyOfWires do Names progressively give you more actions per turn as you progress on their "friendship quests", so to speak?

Click to shrink...

Suddenly interested in Name friendship huh?

...uh. @OurLadyOfWires would it be possible to try to scry for "A being or item capable of granting Moth (or any other lore) Sacrament"?

Click to shrink...

Not really.

I mean. Trying to scry "beeg moth" is already a fool's errand to begin with. And then there is the fact that, if such a thing exists, it would probably be in the Mansus which can't be scryed. Finally there is the matter of "it costs AP and Velvet is stingy with those"

@OurLadyOfWires: Copyedits!

Click to shrink...

Thank you kindly, as always!

@OurLadyOfWires we could really use some of Cadance's spare change, you know!

Click to shrink...

Judging by your finances, I completely agree. You really could use it.

One, is an AotL also allowable? And two, the flavor text implies that if Velvet is reduced to one health instead of wounding him we'll fail. Would we have to retry sometime later if so? Or does it still give the Sacrament?

As it is he's got +80 unless he starts pulling on his own Influence, which is unlikely. A max Influence puts us at +69, with an AotL at +90. It's not impossible to win even as we are. We just need to get a little lucky.

Click to shrink...

I think there are several pings that ask something similar. So:
-Trying to "ambush" him for an initial bonus is not allowed.
-Using End Is Beautiful or Wrong Key is not allowed.
-Attention of the Laws or Influences are allowed.
He really just wants to judge your sparring.

Would Bliedde be slightly offended if we use the Forges Redemption to get rid of Scarred

Click to shrink...

No, it's fine.

@OurLadyOfWires would biedde offer his Sacrament to Comet. If we asked him to?

Click to shrink...

Having your followers reach Lore level 5 is something I am avoiding as of this moment. I have the prerequisites for it in mind, but now that we have Jade at Level 4 I will ask for a bit longer before I decide on the mechanism for it.

And about Comet Feet, that would be between him and Biedde. He, uh, isn't your follower remember?

Speaking of secrets. Now that Cadence is in our circle are we telling her about the forges redemption @OurLadyOfWires ?

Click to shrink...

Not at this exact moment. One thing at a time.

No, really, try to think of it this way. I just released the update where you learn Cadance is on your side. And this is quite literally the first turn Luna is also back.

There is a reason I am taking things slowly. It would be overwhelming for everyone, be it readers myself or even Velvet, if I just threw everything in and opened all the doors.
So, regarding Lores and loyalties and everything else when it comes to Cadance, my answer is "not right now". Let the dust settle a little bit before we start planning what we want to do next.

Ultimately, it is very obvious that Velvet WANTS to reveal as much as possible, and benefit as many ponies as possible. However, I as the QM still need to make sure I don't throw you into any death traps (like a logical trap where Daybreaker wants to kill you, because she learns about something). So let's finish this turn, see where the chips fall, and take it from there.

But thank you for your question! Sorry if I sound rough right now, I really mean all of this in the best way possible. But it's the night of a weekday so I am tired.

@OurLadyOfWires I'm guessing you won't let us change up Mareinette/whoever's Guard action, would you?

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately no. A bit late into the turn for that.

@OurLadyOfWires …Was my Apocrypha's depiction of Biedde wrong BECAUSE HE WAS TOO SCARY?? Not friendly ENOUGH with Silky?

I guess it's time to make a version where he's a total story-telling pushover!

Click to shrink...

Ahahahahah, yes basically.

But about that, my view of him isn't really that he is a pushover, or that he has a grandfather "persona" he wears.

I really think he is just the definition of a resolute person pony. But also that he has such a mastery over it that he is aware of that. And, importantly, he is also mindful about it.

So, he will usually ask questions. Because if he states something, that means he has already decided and there is no turning back.
He never makes requests, because he cannot be denied.
Ponies around him are more polite, because something about him just makes the idea that "the rules are the rules" make sense.

Of course, he is still a pony-turned-monster from an ancient era. And like any other name, he was a pony once, and he isn't totally a pony anymore.

Still, yes basically. Your Biedde was too scary, because Biedde doesn't need to be scary. He is the single most dangerous character we have met, even when we take an enraged Celestia into account.

So there is no need for him to push his weight around.

By the way @OurLadyOfWires, can Biedde heal from wounds?

Click to shrink...

No. Unfortunately.

mh... I wonder... should we ask him, CAN we ask him, what does it take to kill a Worm @OurLadyOfWires ? He might be interested in learning that Harmony apparently can do such, on the worms in the Dreamrealms and the Worm that possessed Luna...

Click to shrink...

Not really. Nothing productive would come from this conversation.

Excellent!

Click to shrink...

I am assuming I am correctly recognizing you. So again, thank you for the kind words from before!

Except snowy climate. That usually requires winter and either heart or forge to resist iirc.

Figures that what might end a godly squad composed by a giant snake and two members of the elderly is a cold.

Click to shrink...

This honestly gave me a good laugh.

…Oh. Also, I misunderstood earlier. It wasn't Velvet saying good things that saved Steppes' life. It was Silky. Goddamn, that kid.

Click to shrink...

Correct.

In which someone's value is weighed

Click to shrink...

This looks delightful. But my eyes are already weighing down as I write this, so I will keep this to read it later.

In other news, the current Ash order/target has been included in your character sheet. And I am aware there are still several tiny things, from Biedde's description on your Contacts threadmark to your Forge Sacrament, to update. But all in due time.

I hope you are all doing well, and thank you kindly for everything! I will go sleep now.

Oh, and voting is still open. no idea how the tally is going. And I blame myself for dropping so many updates and giving you all so much stuff to discuss. But still, Biedde's vote should be closed around thursday, so don't forget to put your vote in by then!

Cheers

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Welp, we can't Key our way to an easy W against Biedde, so let's see about them Expeditions instead of an Influence!

As for assaulting Copper, there is the small matter that Biedde can't really undo locks, break down wards, or really anything other than sneak, kill, and scare the shit out of ponies. Which is why we should send him with Marinette and Axe! Or Baldomare and Axe. Okay just do the Name Drop, it'll be funny.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Ah, another productive weekend. Thanks for your continued writing @OurLadyOfWires, it's always a fun time.

 

[Iustus Vitea]

Originally The Colonel was Edge, of course, and also Moth due to his willingness to Change and Adapt in order to overcome his enemy The Seven-Coiled.

Click to shrink...

Your Moth bias is showing.

Chaos somehow helping random actions succeed? With past actions compounding to build better situations?

Click to shrink...

Chaos, they say, is a ladder that only those skilled in it know how to climb. A very Mothy thing to do no?

Just because a wrong key would inflict a wound it does not mean it would make them bleed, but given that it is Knock I would be inclined to think so

Click to shrink...

It is Knock and it is Mother of Ants flavoured Knock, he will bleed.

we should read into that.

Click to shrink...

Hey, you know we could be doing that right now.

Also, we're gonna have to actually fight Biedde. Shit.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Biedde not being able to regen means we have to let his summoning end, to refill his health bar.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

[X] [BIEDDE] Ask for an Influence of Edge.
[X] [BIEDDE] Send somepony to locate, or spy on, this opponent (Copper Secateur)

I still want the Influence, but taking a look at Copper's bullshit isn't entirely terrible, I'll admit. Know how much effort we need to burn her entire organization to the ground.

 

[spiderhellian]

Hmm, I could be persuaded about that…

[X] [BIEDDE] Ask for an Influence of Edge.
[X] [BIEDDE] Send somepony to locate, or spy on, this opponent (Copper Secateur)
[X] [BIEDDE] Attack a Foe (Copper Secateur)

 

[Darkday]

[X] [BIEDDE] Send somepony to locate, or spy on, this opponent (Copper Secateur)
We really do need to get this done at some point and we need to have him give us the influence when we want to sacrament anyway, so we're still going to get the scraps (though to be fair it could be useful for the church expedition this turn. I just think the scouting is more urgent considering what happened last time we decided we don't need to know what our opponents are up to)

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

[X] [BIEDDE] Send somepony to locate, or spy on, this opponent (Copper Secateur)

[X] [BIEDDE] Equestria is full of undiscovered places. You must learn their secrets…
--[x] Search for a place that is old in its History. Where the influence of the Mansus is but an echo, but that can still be heard in the wind. (Search for an intermediary expedition)

He'd be a decent spy, I'll admit.

 

[Venerable Ro]

I still want the Influence, but taking a look at Copper's bullshit isn't entirely terrible, I'll admit. Know how much effort we need to burn her entire organization to the ground.

Click to shrink...

At some point in the future I could envision getting Biedde, Mareinette, Axe and Baldomare together, putting Biedde in charge of the operation, and telling him to clean up our rival situation. Something something "Bring Copper back with you, burn the rest".

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

At some point in the future I could envision getting Biedde, Mareinette, Axe and Baldomare together, putting Biedde in charge of the operation, and telling him to clean up our rival situation. Something something "Bring Copper back with you, burn the rest".

Click to shrink...

"Except for Steppes, if he is involved."

 

[Venerable Ro]

We really do need to get this done at some point and we need to have him give us the influence when we want to sacrament anyway, so we're still going to get the scraps (though to be fair it could be useful for the church expedition this turn. I just think the scouting is more urgent considering what happened last time we decided we don't need to know what our opponents are up to)

Click to shrink...

I would like to remind all and sundry that we have an appointment scheduled with Comet Feet regarding The Master and his involvement in yon tree's scheme. Since the context of the Fleeting Opportunity was that ignoring it would indicate tactic approval, this is among other things us indicating disapproval.

Now, OurLadyOfWires has stated that an active influence will never result in bad things happening, it's still a flavor choice and even more importantly it could certainly mean good things happen. I'm thinking of breakpoints specifically, Edge since this is Comet, perhaps an opportunity to prove our sincerity or convince him or whatever else. Having the influence on might well be the difference between a middling result and an excellent one, either way it literally cannot make things worse.