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

[Greymere]

Are all the mortal Edge Sacraments really the same or is it just the method?

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I don't know. Is there a meaningful distinction to make between the two? If you correctly follow the same blueprint, would you not end up with the same house?

 

[Limabot]

So like, do we really want to trust Biedde with the sacrament after we learned that it reshapes our soul?

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I would like to see what the Lionsmith-Name's counteroffer is if/when we find them, but going with Biedde's offer doesn't seem like the worst idea. Even if he isn't truly trustworthy, he seems fairly "sober" by Name standards and his parton Hour means his Sacrament isn't too likely to come with any nasty surprises.

 

[Greymere]

I would like to see what the Lionsmith-Name's counteroffer is if/when we find them, but going with Biedde's offer doesn't seem like the worst idea. Even if he isn't truly trustworthy, he seems fairly "sober" by Name standards and his parton Hour means his Sacrament isn't too likely to come with any nasty surprises.

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I'm still hoping for a Lionsmith Forge/Edge Name.

C'monnnnn Bird, give us a cool lion(ess) Name! Pretty please?

Edit: I mean realistically, if we find a Lionsmith Name it's going to end up being another mortal pony ascendant cause that's just how dyads work. But I can dream!

 

[Shaper47]

keep in mind 90 bits is not little, when we also have to pay for Biedde, possibly for Mareinette, for Mares-in-the-light, for influence rituals, for reagents, for Winter/Forge Sacraments if we go for those, for expeditions (including the ones we'd unlock!)...

but you're right, it IS doable. We'd have to give up something else though. Also maybe we might want to have Selene search for expeditions without scrying? not sure if the SH artifact would help her though. Probably not.

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I generally get pretty annoyed at this not enough bits talk when you convinced others to throw away 900 bits.

Especially when we can just not pay be Biedde along with the options of sending Biedde and Mareinette to get us some cold hard bits.

That makes a lot of assumptions about cost and ease of potential expeditions. I believe we specifically scried for the easiest one to get last time. Possible, yes, but I'd argue the cost are greater then you think and it's much less efficient considering everything else that needs done.

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3 Selene actions scrying, 2 on level 5 Moth Books and one on level 6 Moth Book (with level 2 reagent) - 110 bits
2 Velvet AP for short expeditions with Axe for level 5 Moth Books
1 Axe for level 6 Moth Book Expedition

Easily possible and we can pay the cost.

 

[Solace2117]

3 Selene actions scrying, 2 on level 5 Moth Books and one on level 6 Moth Book (with level 2 reagent) - 110 bits
2 Velvet AP for short expeditions with Axe for level 5 Moth Books
1 Axe for level 6 Moth Book Expedition

Easily possible and we can pay the cost.

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You're making assumptions about the ease of expeditions. They could very easily be medium length with more difficulties than expected. Also I think spending 3 of Selene's actions scrying books, especially if one is not a level 7 book seems wasteful. Unless you're planning to devout more then 3 actions to scrying next turn.

 

[Greymere]

3 Selene actions scrying, 2 on level 5 Moth Books and one on level 6 Moth Book (with level 2 reagent) - 110 bits
2 Velvet AP for short expeditions with Axe for level 5 Moth Books
1 Axe for level 6 Moth Book Expedition

Easily possible and we can pay the cost.

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So, correct me if I'm wrong, because I had to flip through the reply chain real quick, but I think you're arguing for rushing to Moth 6 once we get our Sacrament? Because I'm not quite sure what the logic is here of scrying for two Moth 5 books and also a Moth 6 book instead of three Moth 5 books?

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Selene going expedition hunting is generally way better then scrying for books. We get books from expeditions anyway, and it cost less. We should only scry for books if we have a use for it beyond reading.

Between Selene and DoA they can handle 3 medium difficulty missions a turn. And those give 4-5 level books, which we can use to power up.

So I say Selene go all in on expedition discovery next turn

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

This does make me wonder if one has a greater ability to shape the Lores and the Mansus on Ascension if one has fewer Sacraments, simply because you are freer to interpret reality in a way contrary to the current Lores.

 

[Pittauro]

Like Pitt said, I don't think it's a majority, I believe it's just that minority being loud, and pushing against it so harshly, that it drives off those who would potentially vote for it.

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To be precise, it's minorities that are STRONGLY arguing either for or against.

I THINK the general opinion is more of a "let's keep it in reserve for emergencies", so effectively no to the Sacrament... but to be fair it's impossible to know for sure.

That said, It's extremely unlikely for one more reason: We're ready for the Edge Sacrament, and I expect Biedde's Edge Sacrament to be taken next turn. So unless we can get TWO Edge Sacraments, or someone proposes a plan with wolf sacrament next turn and has it win, I think the topic will be mostly put to rest, because the main selling point of Wolf Sacraments is that we get 2 sacrament for JUST one action.

But the cost of the alternative has been slowly growing lower. We're ready for Biedde Edge, and we're not THAT far away from Winter.

Honestly I think that if Wolf was offering a Grail Sacrament there would be a lot more support for it. We have alternatives for his lores, so I'd rather take those.


IF we didn't have those alternatives.... maybe I'd be considering it. I'm not sure. Wolf is horrible, but we admittedly DO need power.

also as I said before Axe's explanation of what Sacraments are makes me even more hesitant to take the Wolf Sacrament (and, to a nearly equal extent, Mareinette's).

Now yeah, it'll harm Equestria, that sucks, but we can do our best to make the world a better place ourselves through in-character actions, like how we've been building up Ponyville. If we can manage it, help Celestia get back to a better space of mind, and with her and Selene working in concert, they can be a balm against any of the badness that comes with the Wolf.

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Nothing short of omnipotence can really make up for the bad the Regrettable action release, I think. Just Paranoia on its own is likely to cause MANY deaths each year by nudging things towards the worse outcome in uncountable situations in the country.

well, MAYBE, just maybe, Cadance's wedding made up (at least a bit) for Ash, but I'm unconvinced it's enough to go net positive. It MIGHT go net positive if Cadance starts doing more, maybe.

And of course having Velvet's soul more stained by the Wolf, and even worse shaped by it through Sacraments... I'd be worried about how that could affect Velvet once she reaches Glory. How it might taint our victory.


...of course if someone wants to vote for Wolf or Mareinette because they like them, because they want Velvet to become more evil, or similar reasons, there's nothing I can say against that. I don't want that, but that's a personal preference.

I draw the line at arguing that Wolf actions are NOT a bad thing, or that they would be a net positive (extremely unlikely in nearly any situation).

As long as we try to keep some morals, to try to not make the world a worse place, Regrettable Actions are nuclear bombs. They're Chemotherapy. They're a poison that we hope will kill what's ailing us faster than it will kill us.

Why do we not worry about other Sacraments?
Because they're either VELVET'S Sacrament, or someone we don't mind becoming more like. The rare exceptions are with Grail. We dislike BOTH options.

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I'm a bit worried about all Sacraments, really, but the harsh truth is that we NEED power, so I'll keep my worries for the more apparently "evil" changes to our soul. And that's basically Wolf and Mareinette Grail.

Even Winter can potentially be seen as... not good, but also not really evil. I imagine it as some kind of acceptance of the inevitability of death, maybe a "Death is not so bad" viewpoint. Which feels a bit wrong, but also not the worst thing.

Wolf is a being of agony. imprinting AGONY into our soul, be it the agony of combat and conflict or the agony of endings, doesn't feel like a good idea.

Mareinette and her "satisfy your thirst and hunger/indulgence" sacrament are NEARLY as worrying to me, and yet for all that Mareinette is a monster she's STILL (likely) better than the Wolf.



I basically agree with everything Maer said, except for this bit above. Wolf is the last option before losing or Worms. It should be taken in no other situation in which we have valid alternatives. I'm still not 100% sure it was the right choice to take wolf for the master, and I'm fairly convinced it WAS the wrong choice for the door, if not for the fact I worry we might have gotten stuck due to not being able to push the "kill a unicorn and earth pony" plan quickly enough.

As I said before, we didn't really get a choice about surviving the wolf and keeping Soft alive, so those actions don't count for my argument.

It is either Biedde, going without it or try to kill Comet Feet(or Mareinette, but I doubt we would win).

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or technically first heal than kill Shining

or hey, we could kill SELENE or CELESTIA. They count too!

More seriously, there's MAYBE Sombra. He should happen soonish.

Of course we do, we're the head of the Secret Police on behalf of a regime, the only way the Colonel would be more favorably on-side is if we had kept our horrific scarring.

Alternatively we could try the Comet Feet approach I guess: learn of a worthy foe we wouldn't mind killing (albeit via scry in our case), grab an Influence, stock up on AotLs, and proceed to murder-raid them.

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You know, scrying for a CRIMINAL Worthy Opponent wouldn't have been a bad idea if we didn't already have Biedde right here, actually. Maybe we'd have gotten the location of an adult dragon, that would have been an epic combat encounter!

I generally get pretty annoyed at this not enough bits talk when you convinced others to throw away 900 bits.

Especially when we can just not pay be Biedde along with the options of sending Biedde and Mareinette to get us some cold hard bits.

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where does this 900 come from? I get the 500 from not picking at the wedding (even if I don't regret that decision), but that's it.

and I assure you I get far more annoyed at your wolf talk and "I push for love through cruelty" talks that sound to me as lies most of the time, or roleplaying a sociopath, but nothing I can do about that.

Hell, if I remember right you outright ADMITTED that your wolf apologism is at least partly roleplaying, so the "roleplaying a sociopath" accusation is pretty apt.

Selene going expedition hunting is generally way better then scrying for books. We get books from expeditions anyway, and it cost less. We should only scry for books if we have a use for it beyond reading.

Between Selene and DoA they can handle 3 medium difficulty missions a turn. And those give 4-5 level books, which we can use to power up.

So I say Selene go all in on expedition discovery next turn

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totally agree.

as a reminder we currently have two expedition sites available (quoted below), AND a book that might or might not reveal more expeditions in Manehattan (not counting Baldomare Sacrament expedition, though for all we know it might have more rewards than just the Sacrament. We just found out Axe's Sacrament basically included the Frangiclave (and potential for more stuff), though to be fair we still don't know if we'll get to KEEP the Frangiclave or not.

BOOK, of no Lore levels. "A pile of reports, letters and maps. No doubt containing a wealth of information about the less reputable places of Manehattan. And perhaps of the treasures they hide."

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Spoiler: The proto-hive of Tall Tale

Location: Tall Tale is a growing city, surrounded on one side by a quickly-disappearing forest, and by tall mountains on the other. Those mountains, according to your agents, are currently infested by changelings. You could sneak in there, to either strike at the changelings yourself, steal from them, or maybe even PLANT something you would like your constables to find later. But unfortunately, this endeavor will not be without dangers.

(NOTE: This expedition will DISAPPEAR if the Lunar Bureau raids it before you do. But an expedition sent here will arrive before the Bureau raids it, if both actions are taken on the same turn.)

Expected duration: MEDIUM

Base cost: 7 bits (you must have at least 70 bits per creature sent)

Expected dangers: Sneaking past your own agents shouldn't be hard, since you know their every move. And there are changelings in the mountains themselves. Other than that, anything else is UNKNOWN (expedition not scouted)

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Spoiler: Beneath the Royal Castle, pt. 3

Location: Within the depths of Mount Canterlot, there is a warded door. Rank with the authority of a solemn threshold. It would be foolish to open it before being prepared, and there is only one way to find out what lies behind it.

Expected duration: LONG

Base cost: 8 bits (you must have at least 120 bits per creature sent)

Expected dangers: UNKNOWN (expedition not scouted)

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[Greymere]

This does make me wonder if one has a greater ability to shape the Lores and the Mansus on Ascension if one has fewer Sacraments, simply because you are freer to interpret reality in a way contrary to the current Lores.

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I suspect it's not a question most adepts have had to consider

 

[Solace2117]

Honestly if we are going to focus on books that aren't the level 7 for Baldomare, I'm much more interested in heart books. I'd like to see the heart sacraments and I'm curious if it's a more palatable option to befriend Mareinette.

 

[Shaper47]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, because I had to flip through the reply chain real quick, but I think you're arguing for rushing to Moth 6 once we get our Sacrament? Because I'm not quite sure what the logic is here of scrying for two Moth 5 books and also a Moth 6 book instead of three Moth 5 books?

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Basically for the Moth 5 Books.

Stealing books from houses and such are Short Expeditions, or at least they were waaaaaaaaay back in the early days of the quest.

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Short Expeditions we can do pretty easily.

As for the Moth 6 Book; it's worth 2 scraps (also a trait) and I'm pretty confident Axe can complete that expedition in one to two turns.

It might not be as easy as our last level 6 book but Axe is pretty strong.

where does this 900 come from? I get the 500 from not picking at the wedding (even if I don't regret that decision), but that's it.

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Nobles.

and I assure you I get far more annoyed at your wolf talk and "I push for love through cruelty" talks that sound to me as lies most of the time, or roleplaying a sociopath, but nothing I can do about that.

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Risking eternal torture for her daughters out of desire to be be "moral" looks like the opposite of love from my view.

But I'm pretty burned out on the topic.

In character risks vs out of character desires.

Especially given how much the thread hurt Velvet's family and friends already by refusing to get the Wolf Sacrament. Something you refuse to take responsibility for.

 

[Greymere]

As for the Moth 6 Book; it's worth 2 scraps (also a trait) and I'm pretty confident Axe can complete that expedition in one to two turns.

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That... wouldn't really work out, mathwise. A Moth 6 book would currently give us 2 scraps, but we would end up losing one anyway because any extra scraps past what's needed for 4/4 get discarded until we reach Sacrament and therefore Moth 5.

But once we reach Moth 5, Moth 6 books will only give us 1 scrap, same as Moth 5 books. We only get extra scraps if the source is two levels (or more) higher.

 

[DelightedOne]

well, MAYBE, just maybe, Cadance's wedding made up (at least a bit) for Ash, but I'm unconvinced it's enough to go net positive. It MIGHT go net positive if Cadance starts doing more, maybe.

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There was a way to go net positive.

[] A host of guests

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But not in this History.

More seriously, there's MAYBE Sombra. He should happen soonish.

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Oh, we are so jumping on the... whatever it is that will take us to the Crystal Empire. With Baldomare and the Daughter of Axes we have a good chance of finding the Crystal Heart and helping Cadance fulfill her destiny in one turn if it is a Expedition.

as a reminder we currently have two expedition sites available (quoted below), AND a book that might or might not reveal more expeditions in Manehattan (not counting Baldomare Sacrament expedition, though for all we know it might have more rewards than just the Sacrament. We just found out Axe's Sacrament basically included the Frangiclave (and potential for more stuff), though to be fair we still don't know if we'll get to KEEP the Frangiclave or not.

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I also just noticed Selene can lead BtRC pt 3 now... We should think about this.

 

[Arrkhon]

Now I think about it if we promoted the lores there's a good chance we would get free access to Canterlot archives and the like, we will likely still get that but it will take a while until everyone realizes what's going on

 

[Greymere]

I also just noticed Selene can lead BtRC pt 3 now... We should think about this.

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Couldn't she always? The AP cost's just what it costs if they have more AP than listed, not the minimum amount someone needs to lead, isn't it?

 

[Shaper47]

That... wouldn't really work out, mathwise. A Moth 6 book would currently give us 2 scraps, but we would end up losing one anyway because any extra scraps past what's needed for 4/4 get discarded until we reach Sacrament and therefore Moth 5.

But once we reach Moth 5, Moth 6 books will only give us 1 scrap, same as Moth 5 books. We only get extra scraps if the source is two levels (or more) higher.

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Woops, I thought it was one level higher not two.

My mistake.

Yeah, just scry for another short expedition level 5 Moth Book then.

Turn 22-
Selene 3x scry Moth Book 5
3 Velvet AP for short expeditions with Axe for the Books

Turn 23-
Selene 3x scry Moth Book 5
3 Velvet AP for short expeditions with Axe for the Books

Turn 24-
Lantern influence + Read Moth Books combo

 

[DelightedOne]

Couldn't she always? The AP cost's just what it costs if they have more AP available, not the minimum amount someone needs to lead, isn't it?

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I meant it like "she has enough bonuses/finished her training" so we can be sure she is capable enough to do it. But I'm really not sure about the minimum amount thing.

 

[spiderhellian]

We can't rely on him to act in our best interest. He might obey orders in a way we don't like, he might do other things on the side we don't like that we haven't expressively forbidden.
What we can rely on is the binding itself. He will do as he is told, no more, no less. Unlike Mareinette, he doesn't have an out.

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Considering who and what Mareinette is I think Biedde would at the very least stop her from reaching Velvet since, you know, Colonel morality means "kill monsters and maintain the status quo" and letting a Alukite reach Glory is definitely against that.

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We've just had a scenario where Biedde was tasked with guarding, and Velvet died. Selene at least believes he could have stopped that, and chose not to, and I believe her. He has literally told us there's things we don't know and they're what we kill you.

I can buy he'll fight Mareinette. I also don't have confidence he'd necessarily stop her from idk, killing Stormchaser or Ponpon or the children! Oh maybe he'd try, maybe he'd kill her in the process. But he can't be undeniable and effective while still not being maximally effective in the ways we care about. He just was.

 

[Greymere]

Woops, I thought it was one level higher not two.

My mistake.

Yeah, just scry for another short expedition level 5 Moth Book then.

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Could I interest you in the suggestion of, instead of scrying single objects multiple times, we perhaps scry "a location with multiple Moth 5+ items"?

I meant it like "she has enough bonuses/finished her training" so we can be sure she is capable enough to do it. But I'm really not sure about the minimum amout thing.

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Ehh, considering the DCs we saw last time, I'm not sure she could handle it herself, especially since her baseline is lower than DoA's.

She could accompany someone else and still have a single AP left to soothe the night (or do something else) though, which is nice.

 

[Pittauro]

As for the Moth 6 Book; it's worth 2 scraps (also a trait) and I'm pretty confident Axe can complete that expedition in one to two turns.

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no it's not.

we're at 3/4. we'd get a single scrap and then be at lvl cap.

and if we studied it at lvl 5 then it would no longer give two scraps, but just one. UNless you meant lvl 7 moth book?

Nobles.

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you'll have to be more specific, I still don't get it.

Risking eternal torture for her daughters out of desire to be be "moral" looks like the opposite of love from my view.

But I'm pretty burned out on the topic.

In character risks vs out of character desires.

Especially given how much the thread hurt Velvet's family and friends already by refusing to get the Wolf Sacrament. Something you refuse to take responsibility for.

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...

I have no words for how much I think you're wrong, so I won't bother arguing this point.

There was a way to go net positive.
But not in this History.

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oh, right. still not 100% sure that it would have FULLY made up for Wolf, but it's possible.

Oh, we are so jumping on the... whatever it is that will take us to the Crystal Empire. With Baldomare and the Daughter of Axes we have a good chance of finding the Crystal Heart and helping Cadance fulfill her destiny in one turn if it is a Expedition.

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well, we still don't have an option for it, but we're in a good position to find out, unless Celestia just decides to go there and burn Sombra to ashes on her own instead.

IF we find out about the Empire in time, we MIGHT get a chance to go and kill Sombra. Hell, maybe we'd get a chance to steal the Crystal Heart and keep it for ourselves (though that would doom the crystal ponies, so we might not be willing to do it).

...can you imagine if we saved them from Sombra, became their queen, and THEN left Equestria to rule over our own city-state?!

But hey, if it went more like in canon... Cadance might very well allow us to sometimes research or even use the Heart, as long as we didn't take it away from the Empire...

I also just noticed Selene can lead BtRC pt 3 now... We should think about this.

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oh, look, the leader doesn't NEED to have 3 actions to lead a LONG Expedition. That's only necessary for Velvet.

Axe can lead that, it will just use ALL of her actions (so still 1). In fact we want anyone BUT Selene to lead that, as it would use all of her actions.

Basically if the leader has fewer actions than the required, it will use all of them. If it's Velvet, she NEEDS to invest that many actions.

for BtRC, I expect we'd send something like Axe (or Mareinette) + Biedde, I think, with MAYBE a third follower added. if we want to overdo it.

 

[Shaper47]

Could I interest you in the suggestion of, instead of scrying single objects multiple times, we perhaps scry "a location with multiple Moth 5+ items"?

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Hmm that might work. It could give a harder expedition then short book stealing though.

I was kinda of playing it safe but if we want to spend the Axe AP on its possible.

 

[Greymere]

Hmm that might work. It could give a harder expedition then short book stealing though.

I was kinda of playing it safe but if we want to spend the Axe AP on its possible.

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It'd pretty much end up either the same amount of AP or possibly more efficient, depending on how many is "multiple". Besides, there's no guarantee we'd get short expeditions for singular books either, so going for multiple from a single expedition would be better imo.

Also Velvet has other Sacraments she can pursue with her own AP while DoA and Selene are off doing Expedition Things.

Also also, considering this is sun defense we're talking about, I would argue that DoA's AP would be pretty well spent on something that'd get us at least a third of the way to Mastery.

 

[DelightedOne]

oh, look, the leader doesn't NEED to have 3 actions to lead a LONG Expedition. That's only necessary for Velvet.

Axe can lead that, it will just use ALL of her actions (so still 1). In fact we want anyone BUT Selene to lead that, as it would use all of her actions.

Basically if the leader has fewer actions than the required, it will use all of them. If it's Velvet, she NEEDS to invest that many actions.

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I know. Clarification incoming.

I meant it like "she has enough bonuses/finished her training" so we can be sure she is capable enough to do it. But I'm really not sure about the minimum amount thing.

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My desire for sending Selene to lead that Expedition is mostly narrative, because Star Swirl.

You are correct that having Axe lead is better, but I still like the sound of Selene leading. At the very least I would like her to go.

 

[Shaper47]

Also also, considering this is sun defense we're talking about, I would argue that DoA's AP would be pretty well spent on something that'd get us at least a third of the way to Mastery.

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I know, like half of reason I was focusing on short expeditions was so DoA's AP was free for stuff like lessons.

you'll have to be more specific, I still don't get it.

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The Greenhoof Nobles.

The ones we got blackmail on.

for BtRC, I expect we'd send something like Axe (or Mareinette) + Biedde, I think, with MAYBE a third follower added. if we want to overdo it.

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For narrative reasons I'm pretty sure people want Selene and Velvet.

Though I would love to send Jade.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

I am not invested in sending Velvet on the BtRC unless we really think it's necessary. Only narrative I am invested in is sending our Daughters off on Baldomare's Lantern Trip for quality Auntie time. Unless DoA continues to be unadopted and Soft Sweeps is unable to contribute Eldritch oomph still, in which case maybe we'll send Jade or, if we are boring, a MitL.

 

[Greymere]

I know, like half of reason I was focusing on short expeditions was so DoA's AP was free for stuff like lessons.

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I don't think that's so valuable, compared to more Sacraments and Moth 6. Knock 6 doesn't do anything for us in particular beyond the usual power boost stuff (I suspect it gets us a reroll on every action instead of 1/turn), and it'd take a while for those lessons to amount to Mastery. I think we'd be much better off using that time to have the expedition specialist do, well... expeditions.

Edit:

for BtRC, I expect we'd send something like Axe (or Mareinette) + Biedde, I think, with MAYBE a third follower added. if we want to overdo it.

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Mechanically, without spending a ton of bits, I think our best combo would be DoA + Mareinette. They're both combat capable, Mareinette covers two different Lores, and she can handle any social situations that might occur. I mean I'm not really expecting there to be any, but I wasn't expecting there to be a giant mole negotiation in Part 2 either.

It'd be nice to send Selene along too. But. 360 bits

 

[Shaper47]

I don't think that's so valuable, compared to more Sacraments and Moth 6. Knock 6 doesn't do anything for us in particular beyond the usual power boost stuff (I suspect it gets us a reroll on every action instead of 1/turn), and it'd take a while for those lessons to amount to Mastery. I think we'd be much better off using that time to have the expedition specialist do, well... expeditions.

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Depends on AP she has.

 

[Pittauro]

Could I interest you in the suggestion of, instead of scrying single objects multiple times, we perhaps scry "a location with multiple Moth 5+ items"?

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There's a very real chance such a location doesn't exist.

Lvl 5 artifacts are RARE. having multiple ones in the same place would be rarer. Having multiple ones OF THE SAME LORE, even more so.

I know. Clarification incoming.

My desire for sending Selene to lead that Expedition is mostly narrative, because Star Swirl.

You are correct that having Axe lead is better, but I still like the sound of Selene leading. At the very least I would like her to go.

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Ah, I see. I think the narrative of Selene leading is cute, but we saw how it worked for the Expedition to kill Mareinette. She LED that one, didn't she?

all in all I don't think it's worth the extra cost in actions though. I'd rather have Axe lead.

We have many expeditions (and other things) to do, so we need to be efficient with our actions. And as I said we currently have 2 expeditions available, plus one expedition book and (if you count it) the SH Sacrament one.

The Greenhoof Nobles.

The ones we got blackmail on.

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ah. To be fair we got a LOT of respect from the Bureau, and that might be worth a lot, especially if we start subverting the Bureau and get them to trust us. It might actually help us in keeping the fact we BURNED EVIDENCE secret if that guy trusts us and doesn't mention it around.

but sure, there was a good argument for bits there.

For narrative reasons I'm pretty sure people want Selene and Velvet.

Though I would love to send Jade.

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While the narrative is interesting, the cost in action would be so damned high...

I don't think that's so valuable, compared to more Sacraments and Moth 6. Knock 6 doesn't do anything for us in particular beyond the usual power boost stuff (I suspect it gets us a reroll on every action instead of 1/turn), and it'd take a while for those lessons to amount to Mastery. I think we'd be much better off using that time to have the expedition specialist do, well... expeditions.

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It's possible. we see that Biedde rerolls 1 every 2 combat rolls (if I remember right) instead of 1 every 6, so getting more rerolls makes sense, and it also fits as "Mastery" feels a lot like an evolution of "A confident Certainty", the lvl 4 one.

Mechanically, without spending a ton of bits, I think our best combo would be DoA + Mareinette. They're both combat capable, Mareinette covers two different Lores, and she can handle any social situations that might occur. I mean I'm not really expecting there to be any, but I wasn't expecting there to be a giant mole negotiation in Part 2 either.

It'd be nice to send Selene along too. But. 360 bits

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I prefer Biedde as he's better in case of combat, and he still offers a decent-ish +30 replacement for Axe's bonus in case of grail challenge. But yeah, there's a decent argument for Mareinette.

Then again, we'd be sending Axe with something she really REALLY hates...

and yeah, Selene would be nice, but NOT ONLY 360 bits, but also it would use TWO of her actions!


As small mercies, thus far we've finished basically ALL expeditions much faster than expected. I think usually 6 days for 10-days-expeditions, and 2 days for the lvl 6 book we gave Baldomare instead of the expected 5.

That leads me to expect/hope we'd take again that much less time and money to complete Canterlot part 3, as long as we don't roll too badly. Also it's FINE to fail some challenges, we saw that some of them only result in lost time (though admittedly some likely have worse consequences.

 

[DelightedOne]

Ah, I see. I think the narrative of Selene leading is cute, but we saw how it worked for the Expedition to kill Mareinette. She LED that one, didn't she?

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Uh... Did I miss something or did you mean Copper instead of Mareinette?