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>>174060It's almost a warehouse, rather than a true store. However, it has a good set of couches, beds, mattresses, chairs and the like. Neela looks around, and answers
"Well, it needs to be big enough to lay on and soft, but firm enough to support you."
>>174061Paper Clipping scrunches, and his ears go down
Then Khoi adds
"This is made with the pain and produce of another animal... He can have it."
>>174062Silver smiles, and lets Clip have the pancake. He even gives him the strawberries and powdered sugar, if it's available.
"See, is not so hard. There is plenty for everypony, no need to hog or steal pancakes."
He then turns to Khoi, looking confused.
"Pain? What do you mean?"
>>174062"That sounds pretty nice. Usually us lamias just use a nice soft rug, or something like it."
Though she is likely too big and heavy to
properly try out beds, she still uses her pony half to feel various beds they pass by and continue to marvel at the variety of items this store has for sale.
GM, can I please, please, please level up? I've been playing this game for more than a year, and Posey won/survived combat encounters that should have brought her up to the rest of the player's level at this point:
>600 XP driving off Jaguar
>1350 XP defeating Luminous (assuming lvl 4 Paladin)
>Up to 1350 XP for August Wreath (undefeated by choice) (assuming lvl 4 Paladin) + ??? XP for evading ELF (if they were all non-elite warriors, the encounter would be worth about 3000-4000 XP, half if escaping doesn't count as winning it it)
>??? Wolves in the forest (idk if they counted as summons, monsters, or a trap)
>600 XP Diamond Dogs on boat (assuming two lvl 2 non-elite Warriors)
>300 XP Random Thugs in the city (assuming two lvl 1 non-elite warriors)
>1350 XP Hydra (1688-2700 XP if you consider fighting it underwater to be an "unfavorable condition", which I would)
From combat alone, Posey earned 5550 XP (lvl 4, close to lvl 5) estimating normally, or 9550 XP (lvl 5, close to lvl 6) with a more generous estimate. Even with a conservative estimate, she should have earned her way to lvl 4. And this is all assuming the characters involved were minimum level for abilities and hit points totals that I observed.
(If you count Posey as an ECL 5 character (she is ECL 3; LA bought off), she would have earned slightly less (about 1800 less XP). I know Posey's charm ability and reduction did carry her through some encounters, so I get it if you want her to earn less XP despite being bought off.)
Furthermore, Posey has had several non-combat achievements that could factor in to her development as well.
Non-combat
>Several military checkpoints that involved skill checks or use of spells/charming (each could be considered an encounter worth 100-300 XP, because Posey risked exposure for all of them)
>Gained Baka as an Ally, plus brought him to the manor (how much XP would have been given for defeating him?)
>Established connection with the university
>Making peaceful relations with four ghosts (worth 3600 XP, assuming each was CR 3)
>Fooling Alluring into bringing Luminous out of hiding (Alluring has to be at least CR 2, because he took enough hits from the puppy that should have squashed any lvl 1 character)
>Meeting with the Kaftars
>Raising the zigger as a zombie to impress Lament
If you factor these encounters in for the XP that they would have been worth as combat, Posey could be lvl 9 by now.
I really don't mean to be pushy, but I've been playing Posey for over a year, and if it takes me more than a year to gain even a single level, I'm never going to get to play her as a Necromancer: Posey can't natively cast animate dead until lvl 8, which is 5 levels from now. I sit around between posts dreaming of the things that Posey could do, but I won't do any of those things at this rate. I paid XP costs in character creation because I thought that Posey would level up faster, but I still haven't caught up to the party's starting level. I understand that this is PbP and progression is going to be slow, but based on everything Posey has done, she should at least be lvl 4.
>>174040"The guns were taken further down the road. To a clearing.">>174067Past the house, the road continues as a simple set of dirt and rock. Trees line to the left, and a small clear area with trees further to the right. The trees have been thinned, with broken trunks and craters in the tree line. The road continues before turning left into an even more forested section with rougher terrain and sometimes submerged sections, especially to the left. The road itself is often levelled over little "valleys" between higher sections with rocks. But continuing down this road, Posey comes to another clearing. And she spies the first object of
immense interest. She sees something she has never seen before, yet has a solid guess as to what it is. In a ruined condition, with a tire entirely missing, and laying on its side, is a giant, steel, gun.
>>174068Sure? Next quest line
>>174064"I... kind of figured, actually."
Kira surely gets the impression that she is wise to avoid placing her full weight on a bed, as simply laying on the edge almost flips the mattress off. But what Kira can feel... it's so...
soft.
>>174063Khoi explains. Kinda. Not really, but she seems to think she is.
"You use animal. Extract its milk. Eat its eggs."
Paper Clipping starts nomming on the pancake.
>>174072"Woooooooow..." Kira has to actively avoid melting onto the bed. "Are all beds like this?"
>>174072"But these are things they do anyways. Cows produce milk in their udders, and if they are not milked regularly then their udder gets swollen and painful. Chickens produce eggs even without them being fertilized. If it doesn't harm either of them to take what they produce and they're useful to us, then why shouldn't we?"
>>174071>"The guns were taken further down the road. To a clearing.""Thank you very much. Let's trot along then." Posey replied
>she spies the first object of immense interest. She sees something she has never seen before, yet has a solid guess as to what it is. In a ruined condition, with a tire entirely missing, and laying on its side, is a giant, steel, gun."At last, my mission is coming to a close." Posey declares, striking a pose in vainglory
She readies to prance forward, but catches herself, and first checks for traps and/or landmines.
[1d20+3 = (15+3) = 18]"Any chance that there were any landmines buried here?" Posey asks, to any of the ghosts who will answer.
>>174075Posey can see a few craters, and in particular, one next to the ruined gun. She does not, however, find any traps, though a couple rocks may hide snakes or spiders
"We move too fast for the Monarchists to mine their soil""Mines probably not. Unexploded shells maybe" >>174073"Not... quite?" Neela looks over at the sight. If it were Kira sized, there would indeed be a serious danger of melting.
>>174074Khoi has her attention turned to Silver, while Paper Clipping takes a moment to take more butter and spread it on the pancake
"But you make the do that. Impregnate them. Make them make milk. And then you eat of the animal."
Paper Clipping joins in
"You know, she's got a point." He takes a piece and starts to chew
"It's"
smack "kind of exploitative of another. That's"
smack "the mindset"
>>174079Without further ado, Posey prances through the meadow towards the gun and looks for whatever might look like the description of a dual-action shock absorber.
"It should be tubed-shaped, with a spring and a column..."
She examines the remains of the weapon very thoroughly.
>>174080Silver takes over the flipping and cooking of the pancakes, while Khoi is distracted. Don't want to let them burn, after all.
"You know, you do not have to be pregnant to produce milk, it just takes stimulation to your mammaries. That goes for all or at least most mammals I think, not just cows but ponies as well." He looks over at Clip and says, "It's rude to speak with your mouth full, nopony wants to see what you eat," before returning his attention to the pancakes. "I do not know how dairy industry works. Maybe cows are paid for their milk? I know if I produced milk I would sell it for some extra Bits."
>>174080"Awww...that's a shame." Having enjoyed the bed immensely, she gets off of it. "Do you like it? Or does another one catch your eye?"
She goes over to another bed to try, finding that it's incredibly firm. Judging from the look on her face, she's a bit disappointed. "Huh, I guess you were right. Still, I guess it's better than sleeping among bananas for days on end."
>>174081[1d20 = 2]There is only one gun in the meadow, though it appears from the size of the area there once may have been many more, and this is simply the one that never left. It's right wheel has been not simply removed but ripped off, as are several parts. Paint is chipped, blown away, or has otherwise fallen off, and there are many scratch marks.
>>174082Paper Clipping scrunches. Rather intensely. Khoi too, gets the message, and gets back to flipping, or tries to.
"Pay cows?" This gets a little smile from her
"But still... It is a product of an animal. Not in keeping with the place of the Kylan, err, pony."
From the hall, Silver can hear claw steps. Jubilosa walks over to the kitchen door, and peers in. She has evidently washed, with her fur still a bit wet.
"What ae you doing over here?" She asks, looking in and around
>>174083Neela gives a little smile. "It's nice. Though I think you may like it more... One is needed for my bedroom."
>>174084Something about seeing Neela smile is uplifting to Kira's soul.
"It's your bed, and we've still got plenty of Bits. Pick one, any one. I'd get a bed for myself, too, if they made them big or strong enough."
>>174084>not simply removed but ripped off, as are several partsDoes it have the part that Posey is looking for though?
Posey scrunches a bit, thinking that her mission may not yet be finished.
>>174084D'awwwwwww. A scrunchy Clip is a qt. Silver smiles at his griffon as she peaks into the kitchen. "Making pancakes and debating ethics about using milk and eggs. Want some?"
>>174086The hydro-pneumatic tubes are still on the gun. However, it appears a piece of shrapnel has penetrated the cylinder.
>>174085She wags her small tail. "Okay!"
>>174087"Ethics, or pancakes?" She asks
Sure. Though eggs sound nice..."
>>174088"Either or. Grab what you want to put on them."
Silver divvies up a plate of pancakes for his griffon, before turning to Khoi. "So, what do you mean, 'not in keeping with place of Kylan'?"
>>174088"D'awwwwwww!" Wait...crap, that one was said aloud. Ah well, surely Neela knows how cute she is, especially for being a normally food-shaped creature.
>>174089She takes a moment, and then replies.
“As stewards. And not to consume.”
>>174090Neela moves back, and appears to blush. She seems almost frightened by the possibility that she might be cute
>>174088>The hydro-pneumatic tubes are still on the gun. However, it appears a piece of shrapnel has penetrated the cylinder.Is that good enough for the Masters back in magebold to analyze the design?
Posey gets to work unscrewing the cylinder with her wrench, humming as she goes.
>>174092>>174093Posey doesn’t know, though she can guess that it will be more difficult to reverse engineer an inoperable cylinder than an operable one.
>>174091Dread it. Run from it. Cuteness exists all the same.
"Well, come on. Pick one." Kira smiles brightly at the cute deer.
>>174094Posey puts the damaged cylinder in her saddlebags regardless.
"Hmmm, I was hoping to get a one in better condition, although I can't say for sure how many there are left out here..." she says, looking around
>>174091Now Silver is curious. "Your religion teaches you to be stewards of animal life? Or is it just part of your culture?"
>>174096Posey does not see another artillery piece, but she does see that the road continues to the left.
The dampener is very large, needing to be strapped to her, unless she has what is basically a duffle bag.
>>174097“It teaches us not to harm, but we know our place is as those-who-eat-plants. And… you adjust the clouds and the rain, do you not?”
>>174095“Uh” she looks down then back up, holding her right leg up “okay”
She eventually picks one. Eventually.
>>174098>unless she has what is basically a duffle bagI figure saddlebags would cut it?
>the road continues to the left.Posey continues down the road, seeking a more intact dampener, keeping an eye out for any more artillery.
"They couldn't have been spaced that far apart..There could be more nearby."
>>174098"Eeehhhhh, it is more
Equestrian thing than
Severyanan, but I see your point. Weather factories, Winter Wrap Up...it is definitely very 'steward like'."
>>174098Kira claps her hooves together when Neela picks her bed, and her tongue flicks out excitedly.
"Great! We'll remember it for when we're ready to check out, I may be strong but I don't want to have to lug an entire bed around with us as we're shopping. What's next?"
>>174099These things are big.
"They would have moved further down the road when we pushed the Monarchists back""This was a battery. Six guns in a battery, fourteen batteries in the division."Roll Search, Listen, and Spot as Posey moves further down
>>174100She blinks
"Is there much of a difference?"
>>174101"Well, a dresser. Some chairs for the dining room... couches for the living room would be nice."
>>174104Silver looks at Khoi for a moment, before asking her in turn, "Is there much of difference between Kylan and Kirin?"
>>174104Kira is as yet blissfully unaware of just how much she's bit off and how much she can in fact chew.
"It's amazing this store has all of this. Imagine how many homes could this store fully furnish, I wonder."
>>174104>Roll Search, Listen, and Spot as Posey moves further downI'm adding +2 to each, with the assumption that at least one of the ghosts succeeds on a DC 10 check to assist Posey on each check.
Search
[1d20+5 = (19+5) = 24]Spot
[1d20+5 = (19+5) = 24]Listen
[1d20+5 = (16+5) = 21] >>174104>"They would have moved further down the road when we pushed the Monarchists back""Let's head down there then." Posey replies
>Six guns in a battery"That means there should be five more. The odds should be in our favor, so long as scrappers haven't found them first."
>These things are bigHow much does it weigh?
>>174105"They used magic instead of spirit to hold the peace of mind. They don't now, and they don't have peace. As for whether they eat animal products, that depends on their position on the Great Vehicle. Some do, and some don't I think. But I have never been the Empire, so I cannot say for sure."
>>174106After Kira's experience at the restaurant, Kira ought to be aware that she can barely chew at all.
"Quite a lot, I think." Neela looks around
"This table looks nice. And that chair over there... that would be lovely. Oh! And imagine this couch. Do you want any furniture?
>>174107>>174108>those rollsDamn
>>174107Somewhere under 100 pounds.
"I would hope there are not five more. That would mean five more were lost."This area tends to be higher, more conventional forest with more diverse trees. The occasional breaks in tree cover continue
>>174109>Somewhere under 100 pounds.That's less than half of Posey's light load then. She remains unencumbered.
(I know this because I've been trying to figure out how to transport that hydra carcass... It sadly weighs more than Posey can drag on her own)>That would mean five more were lost."Then let's go see about that for ourselves." Posey says, trotting along
>DamnDoes Posey see anything of note?
>>174109"Oh, I don't know what I would get. You saw my belongings, they fit pretty neatly into just a couple bags." She looks around her at all the variety of pieces for sale. "We had furniture, of course, but it was definitely in a much different style from all of this. This looks very...modern, I suppose? Hmm...I wouldn't mind a chest. Someplace safe to store my belongings at home."
>>174109"Huh. I suppose that is bit of what I am getting at. Equestrians and Severyanans, they may have similar origins - we both originated from various pony tribes living in northern reaches of Equus - but we moved east when windigoes attacked while Equestrians moved south. Then after windigoes were banished from this world, we had hundreds of years of history apart from Equestria where we developed our own language, our own culture, and our own religious practices, all in our own kingdoms and eventually our own empire. It is only because of Groverian Conquests that we ever became part of Equestria in first place."
>>174111It is indeed rather "modern," generally with lathe cut wooden legs, woven fabrics, and sometimes flamboyant dyed colors.
"Oh they'll have a chest around here somewhere. Maybe you should get one."
>>174112"I see..." she says. "So, you dominate. You are not stewards." Just a
little bit disappointed.
>>174113>>174110>>174109Does Posey find anymore guns further down of the road?
>>174113"Like I said, Equestria and Severyana are different and have different histories and cultures. Winter Wrap Up for example is very much Equestrian tradition, where ponies helped nature prepare for transition from winter to spring by melting snow and ice, waking up creatures from their dens and burrows, and making new nests and homes for animals. It is very steward-like tradition."
>>174113Kira flicks her tongue as she smiles, and goes to look for chests. She doesn't need anything super fancy, just something with plenty of storage room and the ability to be locked.
>>174110Posey continues her trek through the woods. The path is occasionally blocked by felled trees, though more commonly, the logs are cut in half and moved to either side. Damage to trees is sporadic, sometimes with all nearby trees intact, and sometimes with an entire acre reduced to muddy craters and wood chips. The path winds along, sometimes hugging the edge of lakes, bogs, or rivers. The sounds of a holler, and later, of a wolves' howl, are miles distant. Closer, Posey can hear the sounds of birds and insects, and occasionally see them.
Then the path takes an interesting turn. Going around the edge of what seems to be a lake, the path turns to the left to hug the left rim of the lake to meet up on the other side. This path, however, is a simple hoof path, not big enough for vehicles. For that, there is a pier that extends into the water, though the last half is damaged, with broken wood and exposed lumber piers. The water of the lake is greenish-brown, and Posey can see movement in it, both from insects and larger creatures. On the other side, a few hundred feet away, is another pier. But in the water, not far at all from pier and not in deep water, Posey can see... What seems to be the barrel of a steel gun sticking out. Insects buzz about, and on the far side, Posey can see what seem to be humingbirds.
>>174115She nods
"Yes, Equestrian harmony" and gives a small smile
>>174116She has to move a while and perhaps even gets lost...
But she sees it. A series of wooden - all wooden - chests. Some rectangular, some looking like old treasure chests. Some big, some small.
>>174117>The sounds of a hollerLike, a pony holler?
>The water of the lake is greenish-brown, and Posey can see movement in it, both from insects and larger creatures.I take it that means it's not running water?
>But in the water, not far at all from pier and not in deep water, Posey can see... What seems to be the barrel of a steel gun sticking out.Posey approaches the gun and examines it for the components she's looking for.
"I wonder if the shock absorber rusted by now... Only one way to find out." Posey says drawing her tools as she finds herself getting wet for the second time today.
>>174118Silver smiles back. He returns his attention to the pancakes, almost all of which should be finished by now.
"You know, if you want to learn more about Equestrian traditions, holidays, and culture in general, it could be good opportunity to get acquainted with colts here and learn all about it from them."