Set six years after season 6, Occupied Equestria presents an alternative history where the Changelings have conquered half of Equestria, while a former Equestrian colony - soured to Princess Twilight's notion of harmony with all creatures because of their encounters with griffins - Invaded and took the other half. In Baltimare and the Equestrian Southeast, the magic of friendship has weakened, as Communists, Changeling infiltrators, Fascists, gangs, and corrupt creepy politicians threaten the city. This role play is based in large part upon the Equestria at War mod for Hearts of Iron 4, and uses D&d 3.5e mechanics.
The long train ride to Bales is over, with Brie, Onyx, and Spark reaching their destination a little bruised but not dead or arrested. Before them lies a new and unfamiliar city and world, at the crossroads of Equestria's past and present, and also the Changeling Occupied Zone and East Equestria. In Baltimare, Dark Star prepares to set out on a mission to track down and arrest unfaithful and unreliable local law enforcement that have been leaking information to rebel forces. Silver may finally have a new toy he can use to clear the Catacombs of their undead presence. Iron, meanwhile, has drifted further into an temple in his search for a treasure sough by an archaeological expedition that was ambushed by bandits.
1817 replies and 149 files omitted.
>>101931There are not coming up into the dark
>>101932Iron squints his eyes.
(Maybe they have fled. I should regroup with Cauldron to scout out further before moving the treasure.)
He goes up towards the friendly set of gunshots came from, confident she's okay.
You ever have something work, then not even five seconds later have it not work, even though nothing has changed? Not talking about laptop, in case anyone thought so.
>>101933Cauldron is...quietly freaking out
“You’re shot. And they’ve noticed us. They are blocking the only path out”
>>101934Oh hey. GM was expecting you.
>>101935Iron places a hoof on Cauldron, empathetic over her current emotional state.
"It is alright. They may know we are here, but we still have the cover of darkness for most of our path. We should scout ahead for any traces of enemies until the next chokepoint we can find. Would you do that for me, since you are the more agile and sneaky of us?"
I think I'll make the story stop for today. Have to get up early. Night. >>101937He was? Whoops. I was just waiting around for him, playing vidya and watching the thread in the meantime.
>>101938>>101937“Scout? They are right there”
>>101940Remember, Silver Sword. When GM does the posting, you post at him back.
Else he can't be sure of your availability.
>>101939Now that's one miffed TwigglesIron understands her worry further.
"We should change positions," he whispers to Cauldron. "I think they will reveal their position or at least conceal our movements if I start throwing rocks at random as we move."
Picking up a bunch of rocks, he looks at the zebra, waiting for a confirmation or rebuttal to his idea.
>>101946Neigh! Your Gonna have to Shoot me.
>>101947Sir, I am not asking this again.
Drop down the damn foreleg or I will shoot!
>>101950AAAAAAaauugh!
Call an ambulance, my snout has been booped. I repeat, my snout
has been booped! I NEED A MEDIC!
>>101952Oof!
Please, I yield! Stop your boopery, please.
Hello
Fuck me, today has been miserable
>>101957Well, damn, I'm sorry to hear that. Wanna share a bit, get some of it off your chest? Or do you just want to rest today?
Aww, is Dark Star Kill again?
>>101960Seems like it.
Why don't you flash Skies' rear to summon the pony you seek?
>>101960F. Come back to us, Starry boi.
To think, I just missed Dark Star...
>>101959Oh God, where do I even start. The good news is we finally got a trial to go on. The bad news is everything else.
>>101944"They know we are back here now..."
>>101963Wow. What an overall shitty situation you just stumbled into. Was it the defense's handiwork?Iron hums.
"Perhaps we can advance from cover to cover without getting shot at. I have not seen any lights pointing this way and it would throw off the opponent's strategy," he whispers to the stressed zebra. "The rocks would cause them to panic a bit and look around in order to see if we advanced at where the noise would sound."
>>101964"The moment you go over that bump in the trail, there is nowhere to hide that is completely unexposed to light"
>>101965Iron ponders a bit, looking at the stream to gauge if he would be visible to others while underwater.
>>101966The water itself is perfectly clear, and the moment any pony shines a light in it, whatever is in line of sight will be seen. The water has the advantage of being off to the side, and thus not in the normal area to aim a light. If some pony aimed a light across the ground, areas of the water nearer the surface, and further away from the source could be illuminated. Water that is deeper, and closer to the edge where the light is coming from are safer
Iron points the stream to her partner in crime.
"Perhaps we can use the stream to pass through and surprise attack them."
>>101968"Can you swim that far?
The area in the center of the path does not have a stream, as naturally the change in elevation would be too much for the flow of water to overcome. The stream exists on the ends of the trail, near the bridge, and near the treasure chamber. It seems to disappear through a path underground for part of its distance
>>101969Iron puffs his chest.
"Of course I can!"
with my endurance featHe peers over to the path towards entering the stream.
"Do you think we can reach it without being spotted?"
>>101970“Are you talking about the one behind us, or in front of us? Because that makes a hell of a difference”
>>101971"I believe the answer is a resounding no by your reaction."
Iron points towards the stream closer to the bandits.
"The one in front of us should lead us to the enemy."
>>101972“The enemy is right next to the stream. If you can touch the stream, you can touch the enemy
>>101973Iron huffs.
"Are there at least some cover to hide away from being damaged until I can reach their cheating snouts for a good kick?"
>>101974"Not if they look directly at you. Not if you go to them. Not with the trail as it is now, open as it is."
>>101975Iron purses his lips, looking at the ground for a bit.
"So we need them to regain enough confidence to try and push further into the temple unless we want to risk unwanted damage..."
Looking at the walls, the avalanche idea sounds rather tempting.
>>101976“Maybe?”
The decline in the trail is not steep enough for gravity to cause much damage. There are some nooks and crannies along the walls, as the walls are natural and uneven. The trail itself is a little uneven. However, it’s really not clear that the discrepancies in the walls are large enough to
hide, especially for a giant pony like Iron
>>101963I can't say I know that feel exactly, but damn, that sucks to hear. Hope tomorrow goes a lot better for you.
>>101978If the topography changes, then, well... the topography changes...
>>101979The week isn’t over yet...
>>101980I know, but there's always tomorrow. Nothing wrong with hoping that it gets better.
>>101980Let's give it a shot. Also, hoping that your next day is better than you current one.Iron stares at the walls.
"Perhaps we can create some cover. Try to stand at a safe distance and cover me from any bandits that could try to shoot me."
With that, Iron willingly leaves cover for a wall down the incline to cause a small avalanche of fresh cover.
>>101983In order to ensure that at least some of the debris fall on the side where the bandits can shoot at us, Iron should try to advance as much as possible and cause debris to fall where he wants cover, so moving forwards and then bucking the wall for cover increases the odds of favorable cover.
>>101984That... has questionable aspects
>>101986I mean...
Well, let's see. Iron jumps out into the open where he is seen and vulnerable to being shot. Then, he kicks the wall, causing rocks or perhaps stalactites to fall down in a radius centering on Iron's rear legs, with areas away from the epicenter being less likely to have rocks fall there. I guess what you want is for the first dice roll to result in a large rock falling not on Iron's head but next to him and on the correct side. Of course, that wouldn't be high enough even for light cover, so another rock would have to fall on top of the first, meaning, a second rock is going to have to land not on Iron's head, his back, or his legs, not to his side, or next to the rock, but ontop of the first rock, which itself by luck has not landed on Iron. If enough rocks land on the correct side of Iron, and Iron has not been killed by a falling rock, had his legs broken, been crushed or buried by a large pile, or impaled by stalactites, then maybe he could have a pile that could be used as cover. But what is he going to do at this point? He's a melee fighter. If the plan was to wait for them to come close, then why not just wait in the dark area behind the hill? If the plan was to jump out and charge them, then why not just charge them in the first place, since Iron will risk getting shot to jump out into the open to provoke rocks to fall? If Iron was going to use a gun or buck rocks at them, then why not do that in the first place? I guess it is also entirely possible that Iron could cause enough damage to make a stalactite fall and kill an enemy, although that is less probably than Iron getting impaled since he is closer to the epicenter.
tl;dr, it can maybe work if Iron wins enough dice rolls, but it just seems less workable than something like waiting to see if they approach, trying to parley with the enemy, using something as movable cover, seeing if Cauldron is stealthier, creating a distraction, or just charging them/shoot projectiles. Not say that the cavern is completely stable, because it
isn't, and Iron could damage it. It's just a matter of making the damage work in your favor
>>101987Dang. And here I thought I was smartly using my environment. Iron has low Int for a reason.Iron shakes his head.
"Perhaps I can make a loud sound like a scream or something on one side while you stealth away on the opposite side. Would that work?"
>>101988"Depends on the distance between the sound and where I am. This whole cavern tunnel is maybe 25 feet wide"
Like 7 and a half meters >>101989"Would it at least let you reach the stream for some stealth takedowns?"
>>101990"If the sound is far enough away from where I am expected to go... Who do you want to take down, anyways?"
>>101991"I would say any pony that could spot us going down this center until we can reach safe, concealed cover to transport the goods."
>>101993Iron nods.
"At least enough to grant us safe passage down and into cover, including Pear who is still behind us."
>>101995Iron pokes his chin, peeking out just to make sure he can at least see lights down the area for projectile throwing before answering.
>>101996There are lights, to be sure
>>101997Nodding, he goes back down.
"I was thinking you could flank them while I pick off some of these ponies with rocks while being obnoxiously loud."
>>101998"They'll already be looking this direction, because this is the only obvious path. It's getting them to look
anywhere else that's the challenge"
>>101999Iron rubs his temples.
"I see why you were so tense before."
He picks a rock with his forehoof, checking the nearby surroundings.
"There seems to be little we can do to outmaneuver the enemy."
Peeking out, he starts aiming for the light closest to their position.
"I believe they will stay on their side for quite a while unless we somehow create a situation where both of us could 'die' to warrant sending a group to confirm," he whispers as he steadies his rock. "If we try to speak with them, they would likely say 'give us your belongings and we will forgive your transgressions, if not you die' sort of spiel while hidden in their cover."
Huffing in slight frustration, he finally sets the rock on that sweet spot.
"The best strategy could be that I draw the fire by moving my bushy hair while in cover after throwing a rock to draw fire, giving you a chance to pick off some enemies with the high ground advantage."
>>102005Whoops, guess I really should've held my
beak! >>102006Feather or not we should be making these puns, I don't know.
>>102007If you have only one bullet, and before you stand a griffin and a bad pun maker, shoot the pun maker
>>102008Why are you tryna keep a man down? I've
clawed my way up from the bottom, you know.
I should be able to do something tonight if the bat is on.
>>102012Hello.
I am not so sure he will be
>>102011That pun is bad, and you should feel bad
>>102013He's just scraping the bottom of the barrel...
...with his
talons! So, how is everyone tonight?
>>102017Better than bad, at least.
The events of today were... very weird, to say the least
>>102019Weird as in "funny haha" or weird as in "eugh..."?
>>102020As in “what the fuck just happened”
Alright, who wants to play?