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

[Greymere]

Important reminder Knock lesson do not need to consume DoA action for the turn. We can visit her real self in the Manses for a lesson.

Knock, Lantern, Secret History, and Edge, lessons can be done by hanging out with the names in the Manses.

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Important reminder that this is 100% speculation and not something we know to be true as a rule, as you seem to be implying.

 

[Turamarth]

[X] Retreat (you will safely retreat back to the Wake)

 

[spiderhellian]

This also pretty much locks in getting the Heart Influence next turn. Does that bring us up to 4 Heart.

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No lol, we're at 0 scraps to 4.

We can just not do this expedition right now, there's other things in the Mansus to find and explore, like the other Edge name and the Victory-related Immortal-killing instrument.

 

[DelightedOne]

AotL is unused, but using it here would be a waste if there is combat further in on this expedition. Which… there almost certainly is, because Bird does usually not hold back on something like this if there's no reason to not use it.

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That is kinda hollow when we have +40 Edge from A Resolution. And using AotL to avoid losing 1 Health and 1 Heart scrap doesn't sound like a waste to me, more like a miracle since the lore that was supposed to boost isn't even in the roll and all we need is that +1 to Martial... Oh, the tragedy of only needing one point more but not having it.

3)We spoke of her to the Master, but in a way that painted her as a potential resource or leverage point against Celestia rather than a potential recruit, and he treated her as such. We should have tried to paint her as someone we could have recruited, and then she'd like have treated Twilight better. Maybe try to gaslight her into being loyal to us? Still better than months of torture and isolation.

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That might have actually saved her life in the hive, because the Master knew to keep her alive at least.

 

[Sveta08]

[X] Retreat (you will safely retreat back to the Wake)

Well
It's been a while since Velvet more or less lost an action.

... shoot, and restoring that health will cost some bits for medicine too.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

if Copper does not attack us this turn we MIGHT actually be done! I imagine this update is the Church one.

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Biedde relies heavily on Moth. Though he's taken the Guard action, it's entirely possible he's remained unseen until now. Given that Comet isn't actively guarding us but instead seems to have prepared himself to face us, whoever Copper has sent to spy will now see an undefended home and Velvet with 1 health left. An "easy" victory!

Except, you know, there's also everything else currently lurking within the depths of Velvet's home.

But there's good news as part of this! We might have access to corpses next turn!

 

[Venerable Ro]

In context though I got the impression you were claiming our Edge Name with a secondary in Moth lore and a Grail Name would be sus in collecting bits. There more competent then that.

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And I'm not disputing that fact. I'm arguing that bit-collection in and of itself draws attention or more accurately chums the metaphorical waters. As we've just seen sometimes things just plain go wrong, therefore the best risk management is risk avoidance. Now, being totally risk-averse means a lack of progress, but you've got to balance risk with reward. I seriously doubt that illicit fund-acquisition carries enough of a reward to be worth the corresponding risk-chance and investment of a Name's action.

Yes, Biedde or Mareinette could certainly manage to "find" a decent pile of bits, it would almost certainly be safe too, but it wouldn't be as rewarding as other possible actions such as clearing expeditions.

Ultimately, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, it just seems kind of boring really. Having a whole entire supernatural soldier and having him go out to mug and/or thieve like we can't come up with anything else to do with him. Where's the creativity, the pizzaz, the satisfaction of pulling a solution out of aimless confusion? If we want to make money off of Mareinette for example then we should find something that suits her particular creative gifts in a way that will benefit us, interest her, and remain sustainable without becoming its own problem.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

We have to wait until we see what benefits Shining, and Candace bring to the table before we can really plan.

 

[Pittauro]

Important reminder Knock lesson do not need to consume DoA action for the turn. We can visit her real self in the Manses for a lesson.

Knock, Lantern, Secret History, and Edge, lessons can be done by hanging out with the names in the Manses.

This also pretty much locks in getting the Heart Influence next turn. Does that bring us up to 4 Heart.

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not quite how it works.

We can certainly visit the Names in the Mansus. but we don't get to pick what they do during the visit.

and as a general rule the "second visit" to a location is LESS rewarding than the first. Maybe visiting Axe would give us a minor Knock influence. Maybe we'd get a Knock lesson. Maybe we'd get Dread from seeing her sad condition, or just nothing.

This also pretty much locks in getting the Heart Influence next turn. Does that bring us up to 4 Heart.

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we're at 0/4 to lvl 4, so no. If the influence was enough we probably would have taken it this turn, really.

We need 2 lessons AND the influence, or some other sources of heart scraps.

Our best bet is honestly to do multiple expeditions and hope to get lucky. OR to scry for Heart stuff.

we could also try to buy heart 3 books, admittedly, they're 30 bits each at lvl 3 and I think we can find them in ponyville with our servants, though that's also somewhat up to luck.

No lol, we're at 0 scraps to 4.

We can just not do this expedition right now, there's other things in the Mansus to find and explore, like the other Edge name and the Victory-related Immortal-killing instrument.

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We'll probably try again in a couple turns, after going up to health 3 and maybe getting the heart influence.

We're definitely not trying again next turn or continuing NOW though.

That is kinda hollow when we have +40 Edge from A Resolution. And using AotL to avoid losing 1 Health and 1 Heart scrap doesn't sound like a waste to me, more like a miracle since the lore that was supposed to boost isn't even in the roll and all we need is that +1 to Martial... Oh, the tragedy of only needing one point more but not having it.

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the question is really if the lore is auto-applied at need or not, because let's be real, if we had known we could have used AotL on a +1 to this roll, even knowing the consequence of failing it... would we have still used it?

It's a +1. it's USUALLY near negligible. I suspect many of us would have preferred to keep it for combat instead.

That might have actually saved her life in the hive, because the Master knew to keep her alive at least.

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true, but if we had painted her as a potential recruit then maybe she would have had her treated better in an attempt to appear like her saviours.

A group of anti-heroes, so to speak, instead of outright villains.

It's been a while since Velvet more or less lost an action.

... shoot, and restoring that health will cost some bits for medicine too.

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more like half an action, to be fair.

and we also have the heartifact, we might not need to spend much on medicine.

 

[Greymere]

and we also have the heartifact, we might not need to spend much on medicine.

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Heartifact + Heart Influence from Mareinette + Heart 3 would be something like a +85 to roll to heal right? What's the healing DC again?

Edit:

Found it! It's DC 70. Meaning that between our Heartifact and an Influence from Mareinette, we'd autosucceed at the healing roll (and get two Heart scraps).

-For every single dice you roll, a success will only heal a single wound.

-All rolls are against a DC 70.

-You are currently afflicted by a "Not really helping it" malus, your rolls will suffer a -15 malus this turn.

-You currently have an Artifact in your possession. It shall grant you a +30 bonus for your roll.

-Your current Heart application bonus is +10 (since this is a long-term process, you cannot apply Attention of the Laws to it).

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[Sveta08]

Heartifact + Heart Influence from Mareinette + Heart 3 would be something like a +85 to roll to heal right? What's the healing DC again?

Edit:

Found it! It's DC 70. Meaning that between our Heartifact and an Influence from Mareinette, we'd autosucceed at the healing roll (and get two Heart scraps).

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I was about to ask what the use would be for Heart Influence at that time, but the scraps would help us get it back up.

Not to mention, I'm always a fan of Mareinette things, and Heart things. Good idea to consider, and will be my mental default unless I see something else that Mareinette would be better for.

 

[DelightedOne]

true, but if we had painted her as a potential recruit then maybe she would have had her treated better in an attempt to appear like her saviours.

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I don't think the Master would have treated a Harmony aligned being like Twilight in any decent way. Hell, I remember there was something Bird said that taking Selene to the Master could have caused more long-term damage to the lights compared to the Catastrophe's short-term damage.

 

[Pittauro]

Found it! It's DC 70. Meaning that between our Heartifact and an Influence from Mareinette, we'd autosucceed at the healing roll (and get two Heart scraps).

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but do we roll at the BEGINNING or end of the turn?

I see from that update 30 bits auto-heals a single wound though. Also last time Stormchaser payed for us... though this time he'll likely KNOW the cause of our bad health.

-[] The medicine taste is worse than its appearance. But it is exactly what you need, if they are to be believed… (Costs 30 bits. One dice will auto-succeed)

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this might be better than Heart Influence, really. I'd keep that for the turn we're also doing the Church expedition.

I don't think the Master would have treated a Harmony aligned being like Twilight in any decent way. Hell, I remember there was something Bird said that taking Selene to the Master could have caused more long-term damage to the lights compared to the Catastrophe's short-term damage.

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I don't remember any comment about that, but maybe I just forgot it.






by the way...


View: https://youtu.be/jYFefppqEtE?si=URpb_kHa2d3yFkYD&t=140

Daring Velvet ran away.

resolutely away away!

When teethy stairs sucked out her blood
she then found out her fate was out
yes Velvet left the gloomy church
to go and prepare her fillies lunch

Quickly taking to her hooves
she went and showed the world her moves

Back to being Awake, oh Velvet!

 

[Greymere]

I don't think the Master would have treated a Harmony aligned being like Twilight in any decent way. Hell, I remember there was something Bird said that taking Selene to the Master could have caused more long-term damage to the lights compared to the Catastrophe's short-term damage.

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It's not like Twilight's (currently) an alicorn or anything. The Master certainly didn't seem to gaf about Rarity.

this might be better than Heart Influence, really. I'd keep that for the turn we're also doing the Church expedition.

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We can use it now and then also when we repeat the expedition. Influences exist to be used, and 30 bits saved here is a whole RotT later! Or a majority of a MitL.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

By the way, @OurLadyOfWires, considering what the current tentative plans for next turn are, is DoA's Sacrament action dangerous? As in, do we risk getting another Wound if we're attempting it next turn?

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I put a "warning, dangerous" label on SH Sacrament because that was something that looked so tame (basically, introspection and mental effort) that I felt it warranted a warning to avoid whiplash.

I don't think DoA's description falls under that same category. So I won't answer one way or the other.

Make your own judgment.

is confusing. Have we used Edge AoTL on meeting with Comet or any previous rolls? If so then okay, but it is not clear from this statement. If not then where and when Velvet planned to use it? Сause we mostly finished with our actions this turn and potentially have AoTL unused. Or AoTL is not used in Mansus climbing at all?

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I thought the AotL applies sort of automatically to what's most beneficial to us that requires that lore. In that case, as we did NOT use the edge bonus on anything else, that SHOULD apply here.

Or do we need to consciously decide when we use the ritual circle?

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So, here's the thing.

Dice rolls are one of the few things I can't control. Which means they are one of the few things that can make the quest's development exciting for me. So, I try to be as fair as possible when rolling them.

Velvet cheats a little bit, when deciding when to use her resources, because she "knows" (through me) what actions will happen when. For example, if she has a Grail AotL, and two social actions, I give her the benefit of popping the AotL on the "best" social action. Even if, from her perspective, it feels like she "missed the opportunity" to use it on the first conversation, while she (chronologically) had no idea the SECOND conversation would happen.

Anyways. What matters is that, although I tell her when she should use or hoard a resource, I still decide what resources to use BEFORE rolling the dice.

So, she looked at the stairs, both me and Velvet agreed that "yeah, this is just Martial and Heart Lore", and then she tried to walk over it.
When she failed by a single point, I then went over her file to check if there was SOMETHING she could do.
But here's the thing. I was looking for something like a status I forgot to auto-apply. Like, if she missed a conversation for one point, and I forgot to apply "Beautiful +5", I wouldn't have any problems changing it retroactively.
But an AotL is something she has to decide to use before the fact. So, since she didn't activate it before I rolled the dice, I wouldn't give her the benefit to time-travel so she could use an ACTIVE skill after knowing she would fail for so litle.

I debated not adding that comment on the author's notes. But ehh, it is what it is.

 

[Venerable Ro]

I put a "warning, dangerous" label on SH Sacrament because that was something that looked so tame (basically, introspection and mental effort) that I felt it warranted a warning to avoid whiplash.

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Ah, is that it then? I've been debating under the impression that it was specifically more risky than other equivalent options such as Name-sacraments. That is, that it could potentially do us serious damage if we got unlucky.

 

[Greymere]

Ah, is that it then? I've been debating under the impression that it was specifically more risky than other equivalent options such as Name-sacraments. That is, that it could potentially do us serious damage if we got unlucky.

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I mean, it probably could! But then, so might the other Sacrament options

Just look at Biedde's invitation, for example. We're almost certainly going to take a Wound there.

 

[Pittauro]

So, she looked at the stairs, both me and Velvet agreed that "yeah, this is just Martial and Heart Lore", and then she tried to walk over it.
When she failed by a single point, I then went over her file to check if there was SOMETHING she could do.
But here's the thing. I was looking for something like a status I forgot to auto-apply. Like, if she missed a conversation for one point, and I forgot to apply "Beautiful +5", I wouldn't have any problems changing it retroactively.
But an AotL is something she has to decide to use before the fact. So, since she didn't activate it before I rolled the dice, I wouldn't give her the benefit to time-travel so she could use an ACTIVE skill after knowing she would fail for so litle.

I debated not adding that comment on the author's notes. But ehh, it is what it is.

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eh, that's fair. and if you didn't mention it, someone might have anyway.

and really, if WE got to vote on if to use the +1 there or keep it for potential combat further in, I suspect we might have not used it here.

After all it's a +1 now, or potentially a +20 to TWO combat rolls later (or a +20 to an Edge Challenge). That feels like a no-brainer, +1 IS after all just a +1% chance of success, it doesn't feel significant usually.

Ah, is that it then? I've been debating under the impression that it was specifically more risky than other equivalent options such as Name-sacraments. That is, that it could potentially do us serious damage if we got unlucky.

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same, actually @OurLadyOfWires.

you made it sound explicitly riskier than even the risky stuff we can do.

Which, hey, MAYBE IT IS...

 

[DelightedOne]

but do we roll at the BEGINNING or end of the turn?

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End of the turn. On the two times Velvet was wounded we got the confirmation it healed on the beginning of the next turn after the "how much do you care about being hurt" option was chosen.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Ah, is that it then? I've been debating under the impression that it was specifically more risky than other equivalent options such as Name-sacraments. That is, that it could potentially do us serious damage if we got unlucky.

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same, actually @OurLadyOfWires.

you made it sound explicitly riskier than even the risky stuff we can do.

Which, hey, MAYBE IT IS...

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Both of you qualifying your statements with "but it MIGHT be dangerous" is exactly the intended effect.

Maybe this is just a warning you might get slapped on the wrist, maybe this is a warning you might die.

But you do not have that concern when considering other Sacraments (personal Forge or Grail, for example). And this is exactly why I did this warning for personal SH.

So yeah. Calculate your risks.

 

[Greymere]

By the by, do we want to try and summon one or two MitLs next turn? We could take one of them, should be fairly likely w/ our Lantern reroll and an Edge 1 reagent. And either Jade or Selene could pick up the other with a reasonable chance of success if we wanted two. Jade would be generally better I think, especially if we study the Lantern 4 + Knock 2 artifacts so she can apply +20 Knock, but we might want her on researching the Memory of Light ritual.

 

[Shaper47]

I seriously doubt that illicit fund-acquisition carries enough of a reward to be worth the corresponding risk-chance and investment of a Name's action.

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I think your underestimating our Names skills but understandable reasoning.

Ultimately, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, it just seems kind of boring really.

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I feel you brother. There's just so much interesting stuff we could be doing if it wasn't for this end of malarkey.

and an Influence from Mareinette

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Do we want to get a level 4 heart influence?

Because waiting might be better for leveling up purposes especially given how adverse people are being to getting bits here. Level 3 heart books are a lot cheaper then level 4 heart books afterall.

 

[Pittauro]

End of the turn. On the two times Velvet was wounded we got the confirmation it healed on the beginning of the next turn after the "how much do you care about being hurt" option was choosen.

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yeah, in that case next turn we CAN'T

1)Have Velvet retry the church expedition
2)heal the scar unless we REALLY minimize the chance of failure
3)send her on expeditions. or "risky" stuff.

mh... what are our odds on forge, actually?

Magic

13​

12​

+1 FORGE​

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"The Forge's Redemption"
-CD: GRAIL 60, FORGE 100
-Cost: 20 bits on simple materials.
-Duration: Permanent.
-Effect: Permanently removes a "Lasting Wound" or other body-affecting malus.
-Failing this ritual risks you suffering a Wound.

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so, for Grail we roll 13+40 with reroll. we need a 7. chance of failing twice in a row should be 0.07^2 = less than 0.5%. Good enough for me.

for Forge... 13+40 with reroll. 0.47^2= 22%. too high of a chance to end up in "Dancing with Death", I think... UNLESS...

with a forge 2 reagent it would be 0.27^2= 7.3% chance of failure and wound.

with a forge 3 reagent... 0.17^2 = 3% or so.

...hey @OurLadyOfWires , let's say we get to zero health next turn (dancing with death), end of turn we roll to heal, can we heal the damage from the failed ritual as well or can that only be healed the turn after?

By the by, do we want to try and summon one or two MitLs next turn? We could take one of them, should be fairly likely w/ our Lantern reroll and an Edge 1 reagent. And either Jade or Selene could pick up the other with a reasonable chance of success if we wanted two. Jade would be generally better I think, especially if we study the Lantern 4 + Knock 2 artifacts so she can apply +20 Knock, but we might want her on researching the Memory of Light ritual.

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If we research Lantern artifact AND can have our confidants use it in the same turn, I'd say to NOT have Velvet do it at all.

If we research Lantern and Knock artifacts in a row (especially Lantern), we can then have Axe, Biedde or Selene just do it for us. Even Comet, potentially.

I'd say it depends on how many bits we have left after budgeting for grave expedition and potentially one or two of the other ones.

Do we want to get a level 4 heart influence?

Because waiting might be better for leveling up purposes especially given how adverse people are being to getting bits here. Level 3 heart books are a lot cheaper then level 4 heart books afterall.

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to be fair we really need Heart 4 for the "teach family" lesson plan (which would include Selene's 4s, though I think we can do it on its own if we want and don't have Heart 4), and cheaper is not cheap. we're still talking 30 bits per book, and we need to send someone to find them.

We also have enough Sacraments we can work on (SH, Knock, Edge, Lantern not that far off, and potentially Moth and Winter if we decide to go for them) that delaying our chances of Heart 5 a bit barely registers to me.

 

[Greymere]

If we research Lantern artifact AND can have our confidants use it in the same turn, I'd say to NOT have Velvet do it at all.

If we research Lantern and Knock artifacts in a row (especially Lantern), we can then have Axe, Biedde or Selene just do it for us. Even Comet, potentially.

I'd say it depends on how many bits we have left after budgeting for grave expedition and potentially one or two of the other ones.

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I think DoA will be a bit busy getting us to the threshold of Knock 4, but I did actually totally forget about Biedde being able to also summon MitLs, since they include Edge. (Actually, looking at his character sheet, he doesn't seem to have the "Proud" malus that the other Names sans Baldomare do? Is that intentional @OurLadyOfWires?)

So for summoning MitLs, assuming we study the Lantern 4 and Knock 2 artifacts, the chances for everyone would be...

Jade
Lantern (DC 80): X + 13 (Magic) + 40 (Lantern 4) -> X + 53 (~93% chance w/ reroll)
Edge (DC 60): X + 13 (Magic) + 30 (Artifact) -> X + 43 (84% chance)
Knock (DC 60): X + 13 (Magic) + 20 (Artifact) + [30 (Wrong Key)] -> X + 33 [63] (74% chance, autosuccess w/ Wrong Key sacrifice)

Biedde
Lantern (DC 80): X + 30 (General) + 40 (Artifact) -> X + 70 (91% chance)
Edge (DC 60): X + 30 (General) + 60 (Edge 6) -> autosuccess
Knock (DC 60): X + 30 (General) + 20 (Artifact) + [30 (Wrong Key)] -> X + 50 [80] (91% chance, autosuccess w/ Wrong Key sacrifice)

Selene
Lantern (DC 80): X + 20 (General) + 40 (Artifact) -> X + 60 (81% chance)
Edge (DC 60): X + 20 (General) + 30 (Edge 3) -> X + 50 (81% chance)
Knock (DC 60): X + 20 (General) + 30 (Knock 3) + [30 (Wrong Key)] -> X + 50 (81% chance, autosuccess w/ Wrong key sacrifice)

So, just eyeballing it, it looks like if we have two followers summon MitLs, the ones with the best chances would be Jade with a Wrong Key sacrifice, and Biedde if we make him a Lantern 1/Knock 1 reagent. Comet is technically an option too, I guess, but he'd be worse at it than the above three, so I'd rather not ask him to do it until we have Frangiclave to boost the Knock roll.

On the bright side, once Selene is at +30 General and Lores 4, she'll be very good at summoning MitLs! Since she'll autosucceed the Edge and Knock checks, and get up to X + 70 on the Lantern check.

 

[spiderhellian]

@OurLadyOfWires Something I'm not sure you ever clarified —

Once Selene completes her training, she will be able to reach Level 4 in all of her Lores at the same time. That lesson will require an action from Velvet Covers, who must have the requisite Lore knowledge, and will grant Selene a further +1 total health and +5 to her General Bonus. As well, of course, as the upgrade in her personal Lore levels.

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What are the requisite lores, here? Is it Level 4 in all Luna's lores? Is it All-4?

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

(Actually, looking at his character sheet, he doesn't seem to have the "Proud" malus that the other Names sans Baldomare do? Is that intentional @OurLadyOfWires?)

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That's weird. I'll go fix it. Thank you!

What are the requisite lores, here? Is it Level 4 in all Luna's lores? Is it All-4?

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So.

If you only have Luna's Lores, your action will only teach Luna. If you have All-4, your action will "rope in" the rest of your family and it will be a "teach everyone" action.

Basically because Selene is part of your family, so she can/should benefit from a "teach your family" action. But since there can be a focused interest in leveling her up solo, you also have the option to only teach her, if you don't have the Lores to teach your family as a whole.

 

[Potdl]

[X] Retreat (you will safely retreat back to the Wake)

 

[Pororurin]

[X] Retreat (you will safely retreat back to the Wake)

because but of course its one fucking point.

 

[Rafuki22]

I mean, there are other choices, but come on, unless we have the luck of god we aren't going very far.

[X] Retreat (you will safely retreat back to the Wake)

 

[Pittauro]

So, just eyeballing it, it looks like if we have two followers summon MitLs, the ones with the best chances would be Jade with a Wrong Key sacrifice, and Biedde if we make him a Lantern 1/Knock 1 reagent. Comet is technically an option too, I guess, but he'd be worse at it than the above three, so I'd rather not ask him to do it until we have Frangiclave to boost the Knock roll.

On the bright side, once Selene is at +30 General and Lores 4, she'll be very good at summoning MitLs! Since she'll autosucceed the Edge and Knock checks, and get up to X + 70 on the Lantern check.

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Honestly I don't think we need to use reagents here.

we can afford to fail rituals on this, can't we? we just have say a couple between Biedde, Selene and Jade try, and we're near certain to get at least a Mare, and fairly likely to get more than that.

reagents should be kept for rituals we can't afford to fail at. Like the scar removal and Name summoning, or when we're trying to kill someone with EiB (if we ever do that)

That's weird. I'll go fix it. Thank you!


So.

If you only have Luna's Lores, your action will only teach Luna. If you have All-4, your action will "rope in" the rest of your family and it will be a "teach everyone" action.

Basically because Selene is part of your family, so she can/should benefit from a "teach your family" action. But since there can be a focused interest in leveling her up solo, you also have the option to only teach her, if you don't have the Lores to teach your family as a whole.

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we might very well end up doing that, I imagine. Luna at all-4 would be far more useful, and it seems like it will take us AT LEAST another two turns to reach Heart 4, possibly 3.