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

[Venerable Ro]

We could, but do we want to? I know sunk cost fallacy and that...

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Well I want to, go for a walk, bring back a Sacrament, slap on Knock Influence just in case, and go for another walk. Maybe call up a 5th level Secret Histories influence on our own just in case.

 

[Greymere]

Maybe call up a 5th level Secret Histories influence on our own just in case.

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5th level?

If a fourth-intensity Influence is equivalent to the direct attention of an Hour, what in the world would a fifth-intensity Influence be? Taking a dip in the Glory?

(more seriously, Level 4 Influences (+40 bonus) are the highest they can go. I assume this was probably a typo, though)

Edit: I think a more pressing issue with "will we actually be able to finish DoA's Sacrament next turn" is that the fallout from the attack is probably going to spawn at least one Fleeting Opportunity regarding Cadance. Which we will, of course, want to take. I do think that, regardless of what else is happening on T21, we should still take at least one DoA Sacrament action, if only so we know what we're supposed to be doing even if we can't feasibly finish it in time.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Outsider, study artifacts, remove scar, SH/Knock/Edge Sacraments...


...actually...

@OurLadyOfWires if the Forge ritual succeeds and we remove the scar, would we immediately go to health 3? If so, we might want to do Biedde's Sacrament that same turn...

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We are NOT ready to face Biedde even with three Wounds. Man is insanely dangerous. We definitely need a weapon too.

 

[Greymere]

Hmm.

If we play our cards right, we should be able to get ourselves at least three Sacraments by T23, even if we can't manage to finish DoA's Sacrament on T21.

T20 (this turn): Get Moth Sacrament sacrifice onto contacts list (either Spoiled Milk or new contact, depending on winning plan)
T21: Start DoA's Sacrament, Mareinette socials the Moth sacrifice (Acq. -> Friend)
T22: Either finish personal SH Sacrament or do Baldomare SH Sacrament, Mareinette socials the Moth sacrifice again (Friend -> Close Friend)
T23: Finish DoA's Sacrament, Leash Moth Sacrifice and acquire Moth Sacrament*

Edit: *assumes we either get a Moth scrap from elsewhere or read the Moth 5 book at some point

 

[Sveta08]

Goodness...
I think... yes. I think this is just what Velvet will need.

This... attack. This failure. This struggle and this dance with death, it is... gegh, Lantern bright words. Poor Baldomare, always on the giving end of them.
The only way that the people who Velvet cares about the most would see what Velvet is struggling against, is something like this. Words and earnestness and all, they would believe Velvet, yes. And they have.
But now...

... The rest of the world has felt the touch of Evil. The bite of Paranoia. The revelations by Ash.
Now her family has felt that too.


They did not need this. They did not want this. And this, is why Velvet did not want them to know.
Maybe it would be kinder had they not known. Or...


... No. No, I had the right of it.
We have seen what Kindness did.
It ventured into a cave knowing it would be slain, knowing it was not wanted there, and it refused to let them suffer in that dark, dangerous place alone.
Ignorant, Blind, and Toothless. But not alone.

It is what he needed. Not what he wanted, but what he needed.


Velvet needs her family. And her family needs Velvet.
I think, one of Velvet's actions this turn should be spent with her family. They... they all will need it.

 

[Pittauro]

Or maybe we don't do trial-by-combat only a single turn after we were nearly killed and while also attempting a Sacrament with unknown risks?

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fiiiiiiiiine, I suppose we can wait a tiny bit


...that said, for the next... 3-4 turns we can basically get a sacrament per turn.

Edge, Knock and SH are all ready and can occupy us for turns 21-22-23.

In those 3 turns we SHOULD get ready for Lantern on turn 24.

and if at any point Celestia becomes too risky, or we decide we're fine with it, we can go Moth Sacrament too.


Edge, Knock, SH, Lantern, Moth. they're all EASILY doable one-per-turn in the next 5 turns.

it's near impossible to predict our situation THAT far into the future, but if the quest is still ongoing then we'd probably be also ready for Forge, and we could always decide we want to go for Winter and/or Grail as well. Heart remains an unknown of course.

We are NOT ready to face Biedde even with three Wounds. Man is insanely dangerous. We definitely need a weapon too.

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actually I think we did the math before, and with Influence and after healing we have a decent-ish chance of giving him that wound.

we'd be Health 3 Combat +69, "best of two" every 6 rolls, and Biedde is +80 "best of 2" every 2 rolls.

If we can get a weapon that's nice, though, I suppose. We could try to scry for one.

Side note, Selene would have a fairly easy time getting such a sacrament from Biedde. fully trained she'd have health 7 combat 50 not counting influences.

With them, she actually reaches +90, even above (not influence) Biedde.

That's assuming she'd have to go for the same type of challenge. Who knows, Arguably Selene definitely killed "worthy opponents" in the past, so maybe she doesn't need to do it again?

 

[DelightedOne]

Now that Sacraments are the topic again:
Did we get any confirmation that [ONE WHO IS VERY GREAT] is a Level 6 trait?

Because if it allows a character to share a Sacrament, couldn't it just be a Level 5 trait, since that is a very special Level already?

 

[Greymere]

we'd be Health 3 Combat +69, "best of two" every 6 rolls, and Biedde is +80 "best of 2" every 2 rolls.

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We'd also be at +89 for at least the first two rolls, due to AotL (9 + 20 (Edge 4) + 20 (AotL) + 40 (Influence)), and we can do more than one AotL besides our free one, it'll just take an AP. Which, if we're trying to wound an Edge Name, it might be worth sacrificing an AP or two to bring in more AotLs.

We should probably send someone out to at least look for mundane combat equipment, though. Even if it only gives a +5 bonus or something, that's still +5 we wouldn't otherwise have. I don't even think it would be that suspicious, considering what just happened to us.

Edit: Hunting down an artifact weapon would be ideal though. Maybe we can find some time for either us or Baldomare to scry one.

 

[Pittauro]

Now that Sacraments are the topic again:
Did we get any confirmation that [ONE WHO IS VERY GREAT] is a Level 6 trait?

Because if it allows a character to share a Sacrament, couldn't it just be a Level 5 trait, since that is a very special Level already?

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nope. we just don't know.

It could be a lvl 6 thing, a lvl 7 thing, or maybe a "Long or above" thing.

I think Bird implied it's not a lvl 5 trait though.

 

[Sveta08]

Given that discussion seems to have fallen away from the plan of the Followers, and more towards actions and goals of further turns, and I need something to turn my mind to else it begin quietly spiraling into doubt and self sabotage...

I present you, a basic plan of what to have Velvet do this turn.


- Option: Where the Heart Rests (4 Actions, 1 Free Social)

- [GRAIL] This action has been offered to Mareinette
-[WOUNDED] Take a few breaks, every now and then. (Costs 1 action. Rolls TWO dice. 0/-15)
- There is no holy grail for healing magic, no miraculous wound-closing spell. But vigor-enhancing spells, and other small boosts, are a thing. The crystals where they are stored for sale are expensive, though… (Costs 60 bits. Two dice will auto-succeed)
-[SOCIAL] Of course you love your family very much, but you could always spend a bit more time with them.
- You died. You'd be scared if you had the energy for it. They certainly do. Speak to them
-[SOCIAL] Princess Cadence. Or, to you Cadence. Half sister from another Lore to Selene. You gave her hope, and near stole it from her in the same breath. Speak to her
-[SOCIAL] Mayor Mare. The de-facto ruler of Ponyville, the one town that was spared the Calamity. Where it's only noble, favored by Celestia herself, was near assassinated. Speak to her

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

I'm not counting on an Influence because I can see Biedde simply going, "I can do that too," and matching the Influence. I could be wrong and he's feeling more merciful, though.

 

[Greymere]

I'm not counting on an Influence because I can see Biedde simply going, "I can do that too," and matching the Influence. I could be wrong and he's feeling more merciful, though.

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Iirc, Bird said that the Sacrament (i.e. Biedde) intends for us to use a max Edge Influence. Or implied it by saying that the Sacrament not eating Biedde's AP (thus letting him channel an Influence for us) was very much intentional?

Edit:

Given that discussion seems to have fallen away from the plan of the Followers, and more towards actions and goals of further turns, and I need something to turn my mind to else it begin quietly spiraling into doubt and self sabotage...

I present you, a basic plan of what to have Velvet do this turn.


- Option: Where the Heart Rests (4 Actions, 1 Free Social)

- [GRAIL] This action has been offered to Mareinette
-[WOUNDED] Take a few breaks, every now and then. (Costs 1 action. Rolls TWO dice. 0/-15)
- There is no holy grail for healing magic, no miraculous wound-closing spell. But vigor-enhancing spells, and other small boosts, are a thing. The crystals where they are stored for sale are expensive, though… (Costs 60 bits. Two dice will auto-succeed)
-[SOCIAL] Of course you love your family very much, but you could always spend a bit more time with them.
- You died. You'd be scared if you had the energy for it. They certainly do. Speak to them
-[SOCIAL] Princess Cadence. Or, to you Cadence. Half sister from another Lore to Selene. You gave her hope, and near stole it from her in the same breath. Speak to her
-[SOCIAL] Mayor Mare. The de-facto ruler of Ponyville, the one town that was spared the Calamity. Where it's only noble, favored by Celestia herself, was near assassinated. Speak to her

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This is pretty much what I'd like to do, yeah. Though I would prefer social-ing either Cherilee or Applejack instead of Mayor Mare, since they're closer to becoming Confidants (and therefore more Follower AP). I'm actually leaning toward Cherilee right now, just because I'm curious if she can help with the whole "teaching other people the Lores" thing or leveling up our Secret Library somehow.

 

[Bakkasama]

I'm not counting on an Influence because I can see Biedde simply going, "I can do that too," and matching the Influence. I could be wrong and he's feeling more merciful, though.

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I asked about it when Biedde's sacrament first became available because it seemed fishy and OurLadyOfWires confirmed that while mechanically Biedde could do it, him calling an Influence on himself for the sacrament fight would render the point of it moot, so he wouldn't.

 

[Pittauro]

Given that discussion seems to have fallen away from the plan of the Followers, and more towards actions and goals of further turns, and I need something to turn my mind to else it begin quietly spiraling into doubt and self sabotage...

I present you, a basic plan of what to have Velvet do this turn.


- Option: Where the Heart Rests (4 Actions, 1 Free Social)

- [GRAIL] This action has been offered to Mareinette
-[WOUNDED] Take a few breaks, every now and then. (Costs 1 action. Rolls TWO dice. 0/-15)
- There is no holy grail for healing magic, no miraculous wound-closing spell. But vigor-enhancing spells, and other small boosts, are a thing. The crystals where they are stored for sale are expensive, though… (Costs 60 bits. Two dice will auto-succeed)
-[SOCIAL] Of course you love your family very much, but you could always spend a bit more time with them.
- You died. You'd be scared if you had the energy for it. They certainly do. Speak to them
-[SOCIAL] Princess Cadence. Or, to you Cadence. Half sister from another Lore to Selene. You gave her hope, and near stole it from her in the same breath. Speak to her
-[SOCIAL] Mayor Mare. The de-facto ruler of Ponyville, the one town that was spared the Calamity. Where it's only noble, favored by Celestia herself, was near assassinated. Speak to her

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yeah, that sounds like what I'd like to do as well. Assuming Cadance is allowed, at least.

I suppose we could replace Mayor Mare with Filthy, Spoiled, or Filthy + Spoiled though.

 

[Zxzx24]

... No. No, I had the right of it.
We have seen what Kindness did.
It ventured into a cave knowing it would be slain, knowing it was not wanted there, and it refused to let them suffer in that dark, dangerous place alone.
Ignorant, Blind, and Toothless. But not alone.

Click to shrink...

One can learn lessons from both Kindness and suffering.

"Wisdom from many sources" etc

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Given that discussion seems to have fallen away from the plan of the Followers, and more towards actions and goals of further turns, and I need something to turn my mind to else it begin quietly spiraling into doubt and self sabotage...

I present you, a basic plan of what to have Velvet do this turn.


- Option: Where the Heart Rests (4 Actions, 1 Free Social)

- [GRAIL] This action has been offered to Mareinette
-[WOUNDED] Take a few breaks, every now and then. (Costs 1 action. Rolls TWO dice. 0/-15)
- There is no holy grail for healing magic, no miraculous wound-closing spell. But vigor-enhancing spells, and other small boosts, are a thing. The crystals where they are stored for sale are expensive, though… (Costs 60 bits. Two dice will auto-succeed)
-[SOCIAL] Of course you love your family very much, but you could always spend a bit more time with them.
- You died. You'd be scared if you had the energy for it. They certainly do. Speak to them
-[SOCIAL] Princess Cadence. Or, to you Cadence. Half sister from another Lore to Selene. You gave her hope, and near stole it from her in the same breath. Speak to her
-[SOCIAL] Mayor Mare. The de-facto ruler of Ponyville, the one town that was spared the Calamity. Where it's only noble, favored by Celestia herself, was near assassinated. Speak to her

Click to shrink...

Oh I am most definitely not voting for this. Our family is undoubtedly seeing us every chance they can get already, an action should make practically to no difference. And we already have put a ton of effort into Cadance, I don't think we need a dedicated speaking action to her, especially since we've already talked to her since this incident as per the last Interlude. Y'all are vastly overestimating Velvet's ability to reassure anyone in her current state.

No, we reach out to the people who haven't talked to us yet.

 

[Sveta08]

This is pretty much what I'd like to do, yeah. Though I would prefer social-ing either Cherilee or Applejack instead of Mayor Mare, since they're closer to becoming Confidants (and therefore more Follower AP). I'm actually leaning toward Cherilee right now, just because I'm curious if she can help with the whole "teaching other people the Lores" thing or leveling up our Secret Library somehow.

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Mechanically? Agreed, whole heartedly.
However, there's three non-explicit mechanical things that I am hoping for there.

1: People are pretty obviously gonna be not-okay that the one town spared the Calamity still had an assasination attempt made. Especially since, in the aftermath of the Calamity, Velvet was prominent in the recovery effort. Remember the last time they spoke, and Velvet was surprised by that? Quelling the worry and anxiety there, and reinstilling a bit of trust and faith in Ponyville as somewhere safe would help.
2: We are going to have Constables at our home. There will be a present and active pressense in town, even if only faintly. Getting that confirmed, or having them maybe help the guards in town would be good. Mayor Mare is the one to speak to about that. And especially both of these because
3: There is a nascent Wolf Cult in town. If anyone knows if someone is missing (other than Pinkie) then Mayor Mare would know. Or ask for advice, or so on.

 

[Rafuki22]

Our family is undoubtedly seeing us every chance they can get already, an action should make practically to no difference.

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Yeah, don't know about that.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

I know I say this a lot, but I am not caught up to thread. Still want to check out the winning plans, to say how I am currently interpreting them, and answer pings besides.

But on a more important note, someone just told me about this quest!

Earth Bet: House of the Sun (Cultist Simulator/Worm)

You've been recruited into a cult, something small that turned out to be just a little bit more. However you can't just leave, you agree with their points after all. The world is crooked and there are things older than the history that is known. A shame that most people aren't likely to see it...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

If you know the setting of "Worm", then this might be a great read for you! And it only just started, with the Character Creation having just finished, so absolutely go check it out.

And if you can, save that protagonist from the terrible mistakes Velvet Covers has done!

 

[Greymere]

And if you can, save that protagonist from the terrible mistakes Velvet Covers has done!

Click to shrink...

You vastly overestimate our ability to avoid disaster, Bird

 

[Potdl]

[X] Plan More Heart

 

[Venerable Ro]

Oh I am most definitely not voting for this. Our family is undoubtedly seeing us every chance they can get already, an action should make practically to no difference. And we already have put a ton of effort into Cadance, I don't think we need a dedicated speaking action to her, especially since we've already talked to her since this incident as per the last Interlude. Y'all are vastly overestimating Velvet's ability to reassure anyone in her current state.

No, we reach out to the people who haven't talked to us yet.

Click to shrink...

On Cadance I agree, I don't recall ever seeing her as a specific social action before (most likely due to her busy schedule and our inability to casually insert ourselves into it) so I assume that any actions related to her will be in their own little thing as they've always been.

With our family... We've been bedridden and focused on manually operating our circulatory system, and then we Wolfed our own brain in a panicked anxiety spiral, then we continued to zombie along with brain-damage still running our Heart until Mareinette took pity on us and fixed our everything.

(As it turns out Grail is the Lore of brain surgery, who knew?)

We haven't exactly been good company, in fact we've been extremely distressing company as only a parent/spouse with degenerative neurological damage can be. Don't ask me how I know what that's like. The single best thing we could do for our family would be to take the time, once we're healthier, to dedicate ourselves to them, to blessed normality, just for a little while. It would be a gift, an act of love, and it would make an incredible difference.

If you know the setting of "Worm", then this might be a great read for you! And it only just started, with the Character Creation having just finished, so absolutely go check it out.

And if you can, save that protagonist from the terrible mistakes Velvet Covers has done!

Click to shrink...

I'm sure they'll be ever so happy for our help. Time to go stick an oar in!

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Earth Bet: House of the Sun (Cultist Simulator/Worm)

You've been recruited into a cult, something small that turned out to be just a little bit more. However you can't just leave, you agree with their points after all. The world is crooked and there are things older than the history that is known. A shame that most people aren't likely to see it...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

If you know the setting of "Worm", then this might be a great read for you! And it only just started, with the Character Creation having just finished, so absolutely go check it out.

And if you can, save that protagonist from the terrible mistakes Velvet Covers has done!

Click to shrink...

Should be easy not to make those mistakes, after all: different system, different setting, different Mansus, different terrible mistakes to be made.

EDIT: Yeah they're an Edge Cultist specced for Combat and with bonus Health, definitely going to be different mistakes made.

 

[Pittauro]

(As it turns out Grail is the Lore of brain surgery, who knew?)

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nah, Grail is the lore of morphine and painkillers obviously

 

[Sveta08]

shrug
If you all don't want the action with Cadence there, feel free.

It simply felt... right. Heart and Home, you know?

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

We should probably take the action with Cadence. Last turn, we already began to set up a recruitment opportunity by introducing her to Luna. This turn, however, we're so injured that we cannot take Fleeting Opportunities.

Using a Social action on Cadence won't be the same, but we might be able to salvage at least part of that lost opportunity.

 

[Venerable Ro]

EDIT: Yeah they're an Edge Cultist specced for Combat and with bonus Health, definitely going to be different mistakes made.

Click to shrink...

Considering the winning character creation plan was "We recruited John Wick. Apparently.", it definitely looks to be an interesting ride. I for one look forward to our grand quest to assassinate all of the Endbringers.

shrug
If you all don't want the action with Cadence there, feel free.

It simply felt... right. Heart and Home, you know?

Click to shrink...

Oh it's a great idea, I just don't think we can do it with standard social actions. Last turn she wasn't an option at all.

 

[Sintonir]

I know I say this a lot, but I am not caught up to thread. Still want to check out the winning plans, to say how I am currently interpreting them, and answer pings besides.

But on a more important note, someone just told me about this quest!

Earth Bet: House of the Sun (Cultist Simulator/Worm)

You've been recruited into a cult, something small that turned out to be just a little bit more. However you can't just leave, you agree with their points after all. The world is crooked and there are things older than the history that is known. A shame that most people aren't likely to see it...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

If you know the setting of "Worm", then this might be a great read for you! And it only just started, with the Character Creation having just finished, so absolutely go check it out.

And if you can, save that protagonist from the terrible mistakes Velvet Covers has done!

Click to shrink...

And that's what I get for delaying my own Worm/SH quest for like eternity. Somebody starts it first!
Well, maybe it will serve as an inspiration or reason for me to speed up my preparations.

 

[Zxzx24]

Get a forge artifact on Cadence and teach her to heal

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

If only we had such an artifact. Alas. Alack.