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

[Flaregamer82253]

What is the current plan on the action refund looking like? Is it really that big a deal that the re-roll for SH is used when we have the SH influence up? (And are forge's redemption'd to full?) We'd have to do multiple SH challenges under the same month later anyway to avoid wasting SH influence...

I'm literally brand new so I dont know what the lantern artifact is important.

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A bit belated, but welcome to the quest! I'm a somewhat recent newbie myself, so feel free to join in. Here you will find riveting discussions on topics such as optimized daughter-maxing, the benefits and repercussions of cannibalism, how we're sort of seducing a married princess as a married mare while setting up our estranged younger brother with an actual snake, and the nature of a God of Hate that we accidentally our patron. Also, we see Twilight Sparkle in the corner of our eyes sometimes and go crazy because of it. It's fun here!

So to explain why we're hesitant about the SH re-roll being used, it's because the biggest thing we'd want to use it on is our personal SH Sacrament. We're currently 1/3 of the way through it, but the DC for the first one was already 110, and we've been told that the next one will be higher. Furthermore, we know that the SH Sacrament is dangerous, and we expect it to give us a serious malus on failure like Fascination, which will result in AP loss, or an HP injury when we are also trying to prepare for an Edge Sacrament with Biedde where we're likely to take damage. The only other thing we could do to take advantage of our SH influence is "search" for something, like high level lore books. Although I will say that we may want to use that last action to search for a 3 circle ritual site.

The Lantern 4 artifact is somewhat important because it is something that can be used to substitute for a lore level in rituals such as our Reflection of the Tapestry, our scrying ritual. This would allow any of our other confidants, such as Selene and her great general bonus, to scry as well. And we have a lot of things that we want to scry for right now while only having two dedicated scryers.

So far on action refund we have book search either for Heart/Forge or Moth, study lantern artifact or the badly suggested study Moth Book 5 idea.

Getting Heart books would set us up for Heart Level 4 (needed for depths of the church expedition). While Forge Books would set us up for Forge Level 5.

The idea of studying our Moth level 5 Book is because we have a free Aotl but ignores the fact we're going to be studying the Summit. Which is the kind of thing that probably requires a lantern Aotl.

Study the Lantern artifact means our confidents can use it for rituals to apply a lore Application bonus of Level 4. Which with Selene's +30 general bonus and our SH artifact would have her auto pass the scry ritual with a base roll bonus of +70 for the lantern check.

Selene has three actions a turn and Velvet can make a free reagent creation action to boost a lantern check even further.

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I'm a little confused. I'm pretty sure we're allowed to study 2 artifacts, 3 books, or 1 book and 1 artifact if I'm not mistaken. We should maximize our gain here by studying something relevant to us with the artifact like the Moth book. I think our AotL is better spent ensuring that both succeed, especially as the moth book has that -50 malus.

Although I'm becoming more partial to searching for Heart books or a consistent ritual site while we have the SH influence up. I need to think about it more.

 

[Spacemurica]

Well I am pretty sure I'm not going to vote for a Twilight option again, that vote was brutal.

Which is a shame since I am most curious about Harmony and the Harmony ending, as I think we have a pretty good idea on what the other endings would be like.

Also I for one did not feel like that last dream AP was wasted, knowing more about Harmony and Celestia is always a good thing in my mind, as they are still the dominant force in this world.

 

[AuthorTransient]

Now that Mareinette has suborned Spoiled Rich though, we could always ask Her for Heart lessons?

 

[Shaper47]

Now that Mareinette has suborned Spoiled Rich though, we could always ask Her for Heart lessons?

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She still a friend, not yet a Confidante.

Besides a single level 3 Heart scrap is trash.

We could get 4 Heart level 3 scraps with only 2 Velvet actions and 120 bits.

 

[Steady Gaze]

No high-schooler for you it seems.

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Ah… my heart.

I will say that this option is "safer" in that there is less chance of things getting worse, as is often the case with inaction; things will stay as they always were. (I mean, we should heed what the QM's said about suspicion and needing to sink AP into getting mirror Twilight acclimated.) But there is also less chance of things ending up (net) better than they were before.

I am really wondering how OurLadyOfWires will choose to write Velvet's inner thoughts on the decision. And will Velvet confide in Cadence about this? If so, that would be fascinating. Or will there be any fulfillment of people's expectations of Cadence wanting us to heal Twilight and Shining?

Regardless, we go ever onward.

I just did I think four days of nonstop reading?

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Welcome! I had a very similar experience when I found this work. Are you coming from the MLP side or the CS side, or both?

 

[Limabot]

SNIP

I am really wondering how OurLadyOfWires will choose to write Velvet's inner thoughts on the decision. And will Velvet confide in Cadence about this? If so, that would be fascinating. Or will there be any fulfillment of people's expectations of Cadence wanting us to heal Twilight and Shining?

Regardless, we go ever onward.

SNIP

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Given how any actual consideration for the original Twilight has been functionally absent during this dream, I assume it will be something along the lines of "Velvet nearly goes through with it, before her conscience stops her at the last second as she finally thinks about what it would do to her ex-friend, hastily has to explain why she can't go through with it to Mirror-Twilight, and feels bad the whole time".

As for the Cadence thing, it's very likely we'll be asked to help with Shining directly, though anything with Twilight will be much more complicated and distant. At most, we'll just hand Cadance an instruction manual and some Reagents before wishing her luck.

 

[Nevermort]

Given how any actual consideration for the original Twilight has been functionally absent during this dream, I assume it will be something along the lines of "Velvet nearly goes through with it, before her conscience stops her at the last second as she finally thinks about what it would do to her ex-friend, hastily has to explain why she can't go through with it to Mirror-Twilight, and feels bad the whole time".

As for the Cadence thing, it's very likely we'll be asked to help with Shining directly, though anything with Twilight will be much more complicated and distant. At most, we'll just hand Cadance an instruction manual and some Reagents before wishing her luck.

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We should tell Mirror Twilight that right now we don't have means to bring her with us, but later we surely could. I am sure that for Hour Velvet it would not be an issue.
Do a variation of

[] "Oh, Twilight. I'm so sorry. I don't have the power to free you yet, but I'll do everything I can. Just hold on. Your friends will come for you. You're not forgotten."

so Mirror world is proper reflection of the wake. Maybe scratch friends part as it would just leave Twilight confused.