/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>178582
Might be worthwhile for a hail Mary diplomacy roll.

>>178584
Please stop constantly antagonizing the specific player in and out of character. It only does harm.

>>178561
"There are millions of griffons in the world, Miss Kira. Some good, some bad. I can only try to be one of the better ones."

Cavaliere returns to chat with Adamance. "I couldn't help but overhear. We are called for a reason." He lowers his voice and leans forward such that the Major cannot overhear. "I am a new arrival myself, but the ponies in charge are rather suspicious of Equestrians, and Harmonists in particular. I am not sure how you have managed to not just avoid this, but be hired by them on a confidential mission. You probably have your ways and contacts. I appreciate that, but do exercise caution."

He gets the opportunity to listen in on Posey's message.

Listen: [1d20+3 = (8+3) = 11]
Sense motive (8 ranks + 3 wisdom modifier): [1d20+11 = (15+11) = 26]

>>178585
[1d20+7 = (15+7) = 22]

>>178584
Brie, but also you.

[1d20+8 = (18+8) = 26] spot

>>178585
>Please stop constantly antagonizing
You got me wrong. I'm not trying to antagonize at all. I acknowledged that our characters should have natural disagreements, but I was roleplaying to cooperate in spite of that.

Rosey Ring doesn't want any paladins to get arrested for loyalty to the princesses by the Blackhooves, for the sake reason that she didn't report seeing August Wreath.Telling Tenebrous to keep his oath secret was genuine advice, both in and out of character.
Now that she's hidden her alignment with magic, she can confidently be friendly with him without risking exposure to herself. Perhaps later she might even tell him about August Wreath, who she secretly supports because she wants to squish all of the Changelings before they destroy everything that she herself wants to destroy, and knights of the old guard may be pivotal to that cause because of their motivation to save the princesses.
I like Tenebrous and I am rationalizing ways to be friendly with him, in spite of confliction alignment and background.

>>178586
If you were right next to Adamance talking to him, the DC for Listen is much lower, so you hear the chainshirt clad unicorn whisper her secret entire message to Tenebrous.
I did not expect you to be able to make that check. Darn. Oh well.
What do you do with this information?

>>178591
And you are? I roled a 26 on a spot check for whatever posey was trying to hide

>>178572
>>178590
He turns to the unicorn, eyes widened slightly. "You understand the situation in this land quite well. Miss, Rosey Ring it was?"

>>178589
I’m not talking about Tenebrous. I am talking about the other bat.

>>178593
Rosey Ring keeps her callously-beautiful poker face, but with a check like that you can see by the twitch in her eye that she's ever slow slightly ticked-off and alarmed that the griffon saw through her bluff, ever so confident in her skills.
"Studying Equestrian history and politics is quite common in Farbrook: we try to stay in touch with our roots. It's part of my profession too: there's always work for a Necrologist where there's war..."

>>178595
I suppose I should roll for knowledge on Farbrook and its relation to Equestria.

Knowledge: Geography (+5 ranks, +2 intelligence)
[1d20+7 = (7+7) = 14]

>>178596
I think that's enough to know that it's a pony colony in northern griffonia.
They are a harmonist pony culture, surrounded by hostile countries on most sides:
https://equestria-at-war.fandom.com/wiki/Farbrook

>>178594
Okay. I was just fucking around with the sperm count bluff. I'll cut it out.

>>178597
"Those are truly ancient roots. Keeping abreast of current events is always valuable. For example, here in Baltimare…"

He chats about several recent events that he had read earlier in the morning. >>177970

>>178599
Rosey Ring nods
"I've only been in Baltimare for about a week. I'm still getting used to this city. I had been planning to move to Equestria for years, but then the war happened..."

>>178601
"Yes, I was interested in studying magic in Equestria and seeing its culture for myself. Every apprentice in Farbrook is. It's a bit of a rite of passage for gifted students. I thought I might even raise my son in Canterlot, but it wasn't to be..."

>>178603
"Yes, yes, I worked my entire life to get where I am now. I thought it was my 'destiny'... I'm not sure if I'll ever get to see Canterlot though."
She gives a wistful sigh

>>178582
>>178587
Metsän Vaeltaja: ”I understand quite enough. You must have labor to keep the fire going or else you’ll freeze. You must work the long day in summer to gather the lichen and ferns for the winter or else you’ll starve. Place the blossom at the shrine and light a fire to remember the dead. Cede our ancestral lands to the griffins. We can do better. The seraph can bring light and warmth. He can speak to the dead. He can conjure things unlike what we’ve seen. I know he can. You must not try to stop this.”

Kakainen Ukkonen: ”You spoke to the Seraph?! Marionettes?”

>>178604
Silver: "I do believe Canterlot ended up on New Mareland side of border when peace treaty was ratified. Perhaps it is too close to Changeling border for your taste, but it is still under pony control."

>>178606
I guess I'm just stupid then. Strike that part of the conversation.

>>178608
I don't think that's necessary. It's not as if Posey would have perfect knowledge about every single city and settlement that ended up on one side of the border or the other. It's entirely reasonable for her to believe it's under Changeling control.

I need to find a map of the occupation so I can make up a new (fake) character motivation that involves travelling Equestria...

>>178607
"He is almost 8 years old. I am not married."

>>178605
Amber has a manic look to her, not unlike Vaeltaja himself. She stares indistinctly ahead and talks loudly, shrilly, and fast, at a pace a normal pony couldn't think his words through. There's definitely something with that air.

"I did speak to him, and he told me he doesn't understand our concepts of life or death, or winter and summer! How can he do better if he doesn't understand them? You try forging a tool out of a lump of iron without understanding it! Our elders teach us that life, death, cold, warmth, darkness, light, all have value, and we worship the spirits of each of these, so that we may carry on fruitfully through them. The Seraph wants to dominate the spirits, not live alongside them, and it'll throw everything into chaos! He's lying to you and what he'll do will destroy us, either with his own actions or through the 'Inspector' who is on his way now. There will be nothing left of us without the natural order!"

>>178613
This is the part where Rosey Ring would normally just charm you and make an opposed Cha check to get you to stop prying into her personal matters, but the DM says I can't do that, so...
"I nearly brought him with me . We've been through a lot worse together. I can leave him for one day though. I'm doing this for his sake, afterall...." She turns her head, hiding her expression

"If we're going to be going on a rescue mission, maybe we should bring wands or scrolls to help endure the elements. If possible, we'd want the weather to be working _for_ us, and not against us. They would also help us extract the subjects if they're in a weakened state."

(They're on some sort of island with bad weather, right? For some reason, I have an image in mind of very severe snowstorms that inhibit visibility. There is no recollection of where this image comes from, save for a trace memory of this being imagined briefly when speaking about the setting / adventure. I have little to no memory of the actual audio of the exchange.)

>>178568
"Hello, Mala Mata. You seem like you're going to be on the front lines. That's where I intend to be, too. I look forward to working with you."

>>178569
"Noted. Thank you, Silver."

>>178571
>I'm VERY MUCH not a nice pony
Tenebrous looks at Brie and activates Detect Evil.

It's a cone-shaped emanation, so depending on how we're all standing, Rosey-Undead may or may not be caught in the scan.
Honestly, I don't know how to roleplay finding evil within the party. I'm literally restricted by class features from knowingly associating with evil-aligned characters. In order to keep things flowing, the best I can think of is that the implication from my dream-granted quest is that this is the cohort I'm destined to be with while doing this quest which is very important for reasons I don't know yet.

Given Rosey's interaction with me later on in this comment, I guess we can say that she's literally on the opposite side of me to Brie.

>Associates
>While he may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil characters, nor will he continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful good.

On that note, needing to act without lying or dishonourable conduct while respecting legitimate authority figures sounds pretty complicated if we're doing something tangled in this many layers of scrambled loyalties, plans within plans, layers of misdirection and secrets going every which way, and who knows what else.

>Code of Conduct
>A paladin must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits an evil act.
>Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

>>178572
Ten glances at Rosey's face. Then down at her extended hoof. Then back to her face. He smiles mildly and shakes her hoof in return.

(Military occupation? I thought we were in the border of a Twilight managed Equestria getting ready to do something in an unoccupied area of the world so that the exploring Griffon kingdom wouldn't get the secret stuff that might have been researched there, along with the high tech stuff in the research craft. Now that I'm typing this, I think I vaguely recall something about there being multiple griffon countries and more than one pony country. Also, what does "Your oath" mean? Where am I? Who is occupying it? Where do I go to learn this? How many hours of exploring and wandering without direction inside of the EaW Hearts of Iron 4 mod do I have to do to learn this? Is there a faster way to learn this? What do you mean by my oath? I thought the Night Guard / Lunar Harmonist Paladins semi-disbanding or becoming less active was because they were exhausted after the war ended, and that things were otherwise mostly normal. I can roleplay a head injury for partial amnesia, but I really feel like there are many complex and important things that should be present in some kind of document somewhere.)

Not understanding anything about the politics, local politics, history, or geopolitics while being in a complicated clandestine geopolitical power struggle with divided loyalties, motivations, and all this is... I dunno. I feel like I'm way outside my depth.

>>178589
>Blackhooves
...What is a blackhoof? Some kind of secret police intelligence organization, sure, but what is their alignment? Some kind of anti-princess pony faction? Are they acting within this area, or is that the name of the army that is occupying this country, which may or may not be Equestria?

As far as the changelings go, Ten dislikes them. A lot.

TTRPGs have always been a "Let's start in a generic medieval fantasy world and build the society around us as we interact with it" sort of thing.

>>178597
>https://equestria-at-war.fandom.com/wiki/Farbrook
I just saw this wiki link with that post. Are there specific pages I should prioritize? I'll start scanning the Timeline of World History, then the World Map, but the cities will take a long while to read. It'll take a bunch of my thread time

>>178616
>"If we're going to be going on a rescue mission, maybe we should bring wands or scrolls to help endure the elements. If possible, we'd want the weather to be working _for_ us, and not against us. They would also help us extract the subjects if they're in a weakened state."
"I completely agree."
Rosey Ring proposes crowd-funding the following items:
>Wand of Lesser Vigor (750 gp, half that if half-charged)
>Swan Boat Feather Token
>Divine Scroll of Animal Messenger (150 gp)
She presses the Feather Token the most
>Honestly, I don't know how to roleplay finding evil within the party. I'm literally restricted by class features from knowingly associating with evil-aligned characters. In order to keep things flowing, the best I can think of is that the implication from my dream-granted quest is that this is the cohort I'm destined to be with while doing this quest which is very important for reasons I don't know yet.
Yeah, I knew that, so I took the initiative to conceal my alignment so that you wouldn't have to deal with that.
>(Military occupation? I thought we were in the border of a Twilight managed Equestria getting ready to do something in an unoccupied area of the world so that the exploring Griffon kingdom wouldn't get the secret stuff that might have been researched there, along with the high tech stuff in the research craft. Now that I'm typing this, I think I vaguely recall something about there being multiple griffon countries and more than one pony country. Also, what does "Your oath" mean? Where am I? Who is occupying it? Where do I go to learn this? How many hours of exploring and wandering without direction inside of the EaW Hearts of Iron 4 mod do I have to do to learn this? Is there a faster way to learn this? What do you mean by my oath? I thought the Night Guard / Lunar Harmonist Paladins semi-disbanding or becoming less active was because they were exhausted after the war ended, and that things were otherwise mostly normal. I can roleplay a head injury for partial amnesia, but I really feel like there are many complex and important things that should be present in some kind of document somewhere.)
I think the GM would do us all well to make a long post clarifying the exposition, for new players and for current players (like me). We can adapt your backstory based on that.

>>178616
>Not understanding anything about the politics, local politics, history, or geopolitics while being in a complicated clandestine geopolitical power struggle with divided loyalties, motivations, and all this is... I dunno. I feel like I'm way outside my depth.
I felt the same way when I joined. You'll figure it out eventually.

>>178612
Metsän Vaeltaja: “Because he’s above the natural order. He will take us to something higher than, and better than the frozen world around us. The elders are wrong! Their ‘natural order’ was just their own way of having power over us while we are content in misery.”

Father is wearing his scarf over his mouth to give him a thicker covering than normal. He interrupts:
“Little pony, you did not speak to any spirits or any ‘Seraph’. There’s something in the air here. It’s making you hallucinate, and you are hallucinating what Vaeltaja suggests. I could hear them chanting behind us. But you are right about something." Father looks over towards Vaeltaja.

"At best, you are 'high on your own supply' and have forgotten your own fires you lit. But whether you know that what you are saying is false or not, you are spreading mistruths that will result in the ruin of all of us. Paradise is not coming, save for the future we collectively build for ourselves. But the Inspector is coming from the Central Council and he will have you arrested. As a part of the village council, I demand you cease."

Metsän Vaeltaja: “Keskiyon, how do you close your mind to so much? Listen to it. Feel it. Convergence between the spirit world and ours is coming, and soon your Central Council, and your village council will have no meaning. The sunrise is upon us, and your "Path Forward' cannot stop it. No. You shall not go to any inspector, and the Seraph will protect his own."

Kakainen Ukkonen: "I am on the village council..."

Father: "Aha! So you do admit that your 'sunrise' can be stopped. Otherwise, it wouldn't matter if I went to the Inspector, would it? End your charade."

>>178617
Do we have anybody here who can use Message or other communication related magic? That could be very useful if we split up.

(Side note: One idea for a small magic item that isn't as powerful as a numeric bonus could be something that lets us use a cantrip or message spell once a day.)

>>178616
>They're on some sort of island with bad weather, right?
Not yet. They are currently in an immigration office in Baltimare.

>For some reason, I have an image in mind of very severe snowstorms that inhibit visibility
That reason is either because I mentioned severe fog on the island when we talked about it in Bulgaria, or because you live in Canada

>"Hello, Mala Mata. You seem like you're going to be on the front lines. That's where I intend to be, too. I look forward to working with you."
The creature comes out and walks closer to Tenebrous, albeit cautiously.
"What uh, what do you do, exactly? I mean, how do you fight? Where do you fight? I'm uh, not super used to it. I mean it's not my first time, but uh, it's my first time in a big group. Like this..."

>Honestly, I don't know how to roleplay finding evil within the party. I'm literally restricted by class features from knowingly associating with evil-aligned characters.
Just consider it a work relationship. What the rules say about "henchmen, followers, and cohorts" doesn't apply here, because those words refer to NPC characters that are below and under the control of player characters. Not player characters.

A blue pegasus pony in a blue uniform speaks to Tenebrous.
"Ah, Hello Tenebrous Adamance. I am Captain Shoal Water of the New Mareland Republican Naval Air Service. I can see that you're not very into the loop, so let me give you the quick rundown.

Equestria was ruled by a Princess. Maybe there was another one, I don't really recall, but she was getting old and going senile and she knew it, so she stepped down and let this purple one be in charge. But the Purple one had more love for griffins and yaks and hippogriffs and minotaurs and what have you than her own ponies, and was too trusting of the rich ponies who had been long kissing up to the throne. So the old colony of New Mareland went its own way and acted to secure the resources necessary for its own survival against the greedy claws of its neighbors. The Purple one's foreign advisor didn't like this, so she tried to stop us. But then the Changelings invaded Equestria, and the Equestrians were too weak to stop them. Thankfully, we were able to save about half of Equestria from itself, and now that half of Equestria is administered in Autonomous Districts under our hooves.

I understand that our government is kind of complex, and you wouldn't know it as an outsider. But basically it's this. On the one hoof, here in Balatimare, you have the local government. The Baltimare City Council. They do things like criminal law enforcement, Healthcare, and what have you. Above that, you have the New Mareland State. The New Mareland State is divided into three branches. There is the old civilian government, whose power segment is the Revenue and Migration Service. They are responsible for enforcing immigration and customs duties. And some taxes. Then there is the New Mareland Military, who are responsible for prosecuting the War that continues in Griffonia and Northern Zebrica and defending New Mareland and her Sister Republics. That's what I am a part of, the New Mareland Navy. And then the last segment is the Blackhooves Political Party and their enforcer agency, The State Security Administration. They are a Republican and Fascist political organization and technically in charge of everything. They have their own political police force to try to keep things in order.

Further west, in Western Equestria, you have the Changeling Hegemony in charge. And up north, there is Stalliongrad. But more on them later."

>>178621
>Do we have anybody here who can use Message or other communication related magic? That could be very useful if we split up.
Kita can cast Animal Messenger. Dusty can cast Helping Hand. They would need time to prepare spells again though.

>>178620
Metsän Vaeltaja shakes his head "Then we will stop you."

From behind,
"I'm stopping your Blasphemy!"
The other stallion runs and jumps, slamming down an axe that he has been holding in his mouth into Vaeltaja's back. Vaeltaja makes a "Gack!" sound, and starts to move towards the ground.

Kakainen Ukkonen "PAKKASEN! What are you doing?"

Stallion, with the axe still stuck in Vaeltaja's back,
"What I should have done a month ago. Even the Atheists are not this insolent."

>>178625
Amber screams and attempts to gallop away. She cannot bear to look at the sight, and at the last moment tries to find Jakala to bring her along, away from this place.

>>178626
Vaeltaja does not seem to be out, and tries to rise up. From further behind, a third pony jumps on Pakkasen, who takes the axe out of Vaeltaja's back, and attempts to sling it back.

From beyond the rim of the depression, from the leveled forest, Amber can hear a roar, a loud "Ahreeee" howl or roar. Father hears it too, and looks over towards the source of the sound

"RUN KULTAINEN! Pakkasen! Get out of here!"

Father lets Amber go, and quickly rushes over towards the other stallion.

>>178626
>>178627
Jakala just sits on the top of the sled, which Amber has presumably dragged there.

>>178627
>>178628
Without a word she picks up the sled harness with her mouth and drags it with all her strength. Unfortunately she lost her adjustment to the darkness and is functionally quite blind.

>>178629
Father speaks,
"To Tuonela with the sled, get the filly and go!" Father shouts. He seems to have started to get the other stallion free, but is kicked in the face, knocked down, and then starts to run as he flees.

Again, from the dead forest, a very loud "Ahreeee" howl that seems closer than before.

Father:
"Akka, Beaivi, forgive me!"

>>178630
That howl does not sound like a pony, or really anything she's heard about. She books it in the opposite direction from that sound, trying to make it out of the forest.

>>178631
No. No it does not. It sounds big. And coming closer.

Amber is able to move over the frozen surface of the of the depression more quickly that she likely though, pulling the sled.

Jakala mumbles,
"mmmemben membe"

They reach the end of the depression, and Amber pulls it up the mud and out of the depression. Father runs past her and stops at the sled.

"Come on Kultainen, get the filly and forget the sled!" He grabs onto Jakala.

As Father grabs onto the filly, he starts to levitate into the air, as if something unseen is grabbing him. "Ah! Ah!" His hindquarters go up first. Amber can see his eyes go wide and then turn to her with a look of fear and desperation. His forelegs move apart, dropping Jakala who herself screams with an "Ah!" as she falls a few inches to the ground. Then Father flails his legs and screams as he is dragged upwards until he disappears into an unseeable black night, still screaming, which starts to fade.

>>178632
"Papa!" she screams up at the sky, tears springing to her eyes.

She doesn't pause for long though, as her survival instincts kick into gear. She puts Jakala onto her back and bounds away, trying to get away from the area.

>>178633
"AAHHHH" She hears the scream before it is cut off. Looking up she believes she sees shadows moving, perhaps her father, and likely she could see more in if she had her night time vision. But nothing reflects the dim light of the glow and there is no moon. Amber gets the filly, and goes.

Her headache continues, and the world around her becomes oddly disconnected as she feels more and more tired. She can hear the sound of the music again, with its high-pitched glass harmonica sound. Gradually the ground beneath her lightens, until she can see the burnt-out trees and the snow.

>>178635
Perhaps insulting the interdimensional conquerer of the spirit world was not the right move. But she cannot reflect on it now, as she races across the treacherous, snowy ground. Her exhaustion threatens to collapse her, and she mentally vows to get Jakala to flee if that happens. But she will use every ounce of energy she has to get away from this accursed place.

>>178636
Amber trots along through the burnt out remains of the forest, through so many charred hulls of trees. As she does so, she hears the music slowly increase in volume and distort and shift in tone. The ground around her becomes slowly lighter and lighter. She feels herself become oddly disconnected with herself, and what she sees is more and more fuzzy. It's a sensation almost like falling asleep, though Amber can see what is happening ahead of her. Her body moves forward more and more as if on pure rote muscle memory.

Eventually Amber comes to the end of the forest, and to a permafrost covered marshy field. She can see the small plumes of smoke emanating from the cone huts, and other buildings covered in snow. She can see the snow along the ground oddly reflective or luminescent. And she can see droves of ponies come from all directions. Jakala jumps off of Amber's back. She can see, walking from the village, her mother, Makea, and the salespony. From the forest she sees Ukkonen and other ponies. She sees everypony converge until every pony in the town is walking along in a straight line, including herself.

They walk past graves that are oddly disturbed, dug up and with snow and soil removed. Past storage houses, past huts with the stoves left on and smoke rising. Everypony in the town walking in a straight line. In front of them, they can see the reflection in the snow of a rising light as the world around them becomes more reflective. It could be compared to a rising sun, but the angle and the yellow tint of the light almost seems suggestive of a flare launched from a gun, or a flood light. Amber feels much warmer, certainly much too warm for what she is wearing. She would take it off if she could, though she can see many of the ponies around her are not wearing as much clothing as her. Jakala is behind her, and mother is somewhere in front of her. She can hear the music, which has changed from a representation of the sky above to something more frantic

They walk around the village, and slightly past it, over a small bridge and then inside of a ravine that has been dug out and excavated into a canal, useable by canoes in the summertime. Now, it is covered in ice, though Amber can feel with her hooves as she steps into it, water that is not so cold as to drain the life out of her. The music has a scratchy quality.

By this point, though she feels separated from herself, she feels definitely constrained. Like she's being physically held or forced as her hooves move along, as the entire village moves along and into the canal. Then every pony sits down. Then Amber feels her own legs bend as she, and Jakala, and her mother, and every other pony, goes prone into the canal. She faces down, as the light rises above her. The music comes to a crescendo, angry and screeching.

Amber awakens in her bed. The sun is out.

>>178588
1st item, the dice roll was a spot check to notice Posey hiding the sword, clearly a success. Brie can be said to have observed her hiding the sword (which wouldnt fit into saddlebags, it would jut out awkwardly no matter what like trying to fit a baseball bat in a small duffel. Idgaf about any whispering, or I'd have rolled a listen check).
>>178585
2 he does this to somepony every game, good luck getting him to stop, we're at 6 years and counting
>>178616
>Posey is opposite direction
Awfully convenient
Brie registers as neutral evil, and seems quite unabashed, almost expectant that you would see through any attempt to try to hide who he is. In fact, his demeanor while your scanning him seems almost placating.

>>178637
Amber sits up in bed, drenched in sweat and trembling. That dream was nothing short of horrible, and she tries to get that music out of her head. She feels if she has a fever, as if that is the only thing that could explain such visceral terror and that unpleasant warmth.

Those ponies had actual names, and faces, and voices, and they seemed as real as herself. She struggled to remember the name of the singular city she heard, but she wasn't sure if it was real or a figment of her imagination. Wherever it was, it was in the distant north, though she never heard of ponies living that far north. Don't penguins and polar bears live up there? No matter, it would be best for her to forget. And yet, the mere possibility of that dream being real in some distant place sets her heart to aching for those poor ponies.

She shakily climbs out of bed, as if she was learning to walk again, and immediately prays for Luna to come back so all ponies would be guarded from such nasty dreams. She washes up, puts on a dress and a few choice belongings, and sets out to go to work. She is surprised to find 100 bits in her possession, being so used to being penniless at this point. It was an advance payment after all, so she'll have to make it last extra long until next payday. If there is time, she'll stop by a cheap diner before going to High Sewn's clothing shop–the exact name escapes her.

>>178580
Allow me to clarify. Posts that are in quotations are speech, in character. If theres no quotations, it probably means it is not in character.

Typically, OOC posts are more direct and conceptual, whether questions or comments.
RP posts tend to be anything from story-form dialogue where:
"He said," she said, doing a thing before continuing "With more."
When one feels comfortable, they are encouraged to write short paragraphs (and more) describing things their character is doing in detail; it is an opportunity to add color and flavor to the scene/story, making increasingly memorable/gratifying experiences for everyone. It doesn't always go this way by necessity/efficiency, but it has it's time and place.
Alternately one can be succinct and brief with their descriptions, play how you're comfortable.

Alot of the time things that players want their character to do will require skill checks, and it isn't required that the player know in advance which skill check to make, though many players do more or less. Several players may seem to be needlessly spamming skill checks - including times where they claim boredom - but there is function in doing so even if it seems disruptive. I for example have made random skill checks without saying what it was for, and will DM the GM about what that roll meant for my character. Moreover, any time ANY character (PC or NPC) makes a bluff, sleight of hand, or any sort of attempt to conceal, any other observing player can make a spot check to notice.

Assuming that spot check succeeds - as it did - I could have rolled a sense motive check, but that wasn't what my character would do, he would simply observe and take notice of everything.

It can be alot to take in, but aside from how characters present themselves, as players we all want everyone to have a good time, including the GM who is expending extraordinary levels of autism and effort to make this happen consistently/regularly. More experienced players can offer suggestions and answer some questions in thread if advice/information is needed, but it always comes down to GM's decision/discretion even in the face of canon rules.
And let's also remember we're autistic retards ourselves - who don't always get along - and try to cut each other a little slack for the benefit of the GM and the other players. This is what is known as the RP Gamer's Contract, and while it can get overlooked, it is essential to having the best time possible.

Also, we shit/funpost in this bitch, though it pays to be mindfull and not driven to excess

Being a GM is all things:
Laborious, time/resource consumptive, often (though not entirely) thankless, but on a more experiential level it involves lulls and extremes of frustration, aggravation, irritation, personal demand, and in some cases (for a dozen reasons), heart-break.
Being a GM often means doing things to characters/players you wish you did not have to do, who you have grown to know and love as disting universes of their own actively participating in yours.

And with all that said:
>>178622
"Captain, are we to understand that the possible areas of conflict will be onboard the ship with the potential for wilderness engagement, depending on the response from Stalliongrad,... as well as any unexpected guests if we should come the ship was sabotaged, boarded, or otherwise attacked?" Brie says, raising an eyebrow and watching very carefully for any sign from the captain that he may know of a possible threat/problem he isn't letting on about.
Spot Check [1d20+8 = (4+8) = 12]
The spot check is based on the idea that if Brie's suspicions are true, there is a chance that the Captain's face will betray recognition of something, discernable to a sharp eye. Whether there is something or not, he's looking for it.
The captain - if there IS something he wants to keep concealed - will roll a bluff check to not reveal any recognition, as well as to deny/divert-from the question.
Having said, the GM won't want me to know if the captain is being honest or not, so will likey roll a bluff check regardless.

>>178645
"... come to find..."

Also, a correction: GM will likely roll in person or elsewhere, so as to avoid my knowing whether the captain is being honest or not, as even if he succeeds on his spot check, only a follow up sense motive would give a better idea why anything might have been observed.
Its a little complicated, but you grt the hang of it through repetition

>>178638
>>178642
>>178641
>>178643
>>178644
>>178647
I really think all of these ooc posts would be better served in a separate thread.
It hasn't been a substantial issue before because the party wasn't together and thus had no need to communicate ooc.
But now it has become an issue.

>>178649
During active gaming including most/all players I tend to agree, once the mission gets going there will be a greater need to not disrupt gameplay and activity, but thats also why it seems positive to outline these things before we start, to potentially avoid having to do so as we go.

Moreover, it's fair to say that ooc is unwarranted when [i]anyone]/i] is playing, and it wasn't my intention to suggest otherwise. There is a case to be made that ooc could occurr during lulls and periods of inactivity, and I would appreciate a clarification as to what GM/everyone prefers, though this will be my last such post unless specifically warranted.

Brie continues: "The only disqualifier I'm aware of with using a boat token - at least exclusively - is that such things tend to be rather identifyingly distinct and easy to target by a suitably competent Unicorn spell-caster. Our priimary mission being rescue, it would put us in quite the predicament if halfway through our escape the ship was dispelled and we found ourselves suddenly struggling against a current, potentially with guns drawn on our position. I maintain the use of a Bird token rather than or alongside a boat token - assuming either/both are available - so that at the very least we can extract all personnel, absolving us of the liability of baby-sitting - no offense Captain - until we can ourselves extract.

>>178652
I forgot about the bird feather token. It's probably a safer bet than the divine scroll of animal messenger, if only because it's still usable if Kira is killed.
The combined cost of the swan boat and the bird tokens is 750 gp: the cost of a single lvl 1 wand. If we take it out of the reward, we can split the cost evenly. Let's do that.
Gosh, I love feather tokens.
>>178622
Rosey Ring approaches Shoal Waters and proposes her intent to buy the items mentioned above, to improve the chance of success for the mission. She requests to take the money for the items out of the reward for the quest. To ensure that she doesn't just run off with the money, she offers to leave him her special vampire-slaying sword (which, for the record, is worth more than a grand house), as collateral.
"I believe that these items would strongly improve our chance of success, and more importantly our chance of returning home alive. If we find we don't need them, we may simply return them."

>>178655
>if only because it's still usable if Kira is killed
concerned snej noises

Perhaps it might also be worthwhile explaining to Kira why it would be useful to have one of her spells be Animal Messenger.

>>178657
Did Kira prepare her spells yet? Or did she leave her slots open to prepare now?

>>178658
She has yet to prepare them, as she didn't know what spells would be needed and I forgot until recently that Ragners do indeed have magic. She already has a couple ideas in her mind for what spells to use, and having input from another creature may prove useful.

>>178655
Bluff [1d20+3 = (20+3) = 23]
Brie's head inclines slightly to the right.

>>178659
Okay, then take 10 minutes to prepare them now. How many Slots do you have?
I request Lay Of The Land and Animal Messenger.

>>178661
3. Also I don't think Lay of the Land is an actual spell, or if it is I can't find it anywhere.

>>178655
"Agreed, though none of this is to suggest that either resource - if available - would be undesired, and if indeed collateral is required," he shoots the captain a look as if to imply that "I really hope you arent expecting us to finance that level of resource ourselves" before continuing verbally, "then perhaps we can negotiate with the prize money; In any case, the first question is if."
*smiles in (dc 1 sense motive check) knowing his smoke grenades just became a whole lot smaller of an ask*

>>178664
Alright, I can see why you recommended these two spells together. Lay of the Land would give Kira all of the knowledge of the island's geography she could need in order to make Animal Messenger work to its fullest. Of course I'm still a bit confused as to why Animal Messenger is the requested spell, unless the idea is that Kira can be sent ahead as a scout to find the opposing Stalliongrader patrol and can send a field mouse or something similar back to the party with their location, heading, strength, and equipment written down on a small piece of paper. There are also other options for spells to be considered that could be useful to the party in a combat scenario, such as Summon Nature's Ally or Entangle.

It should also be stated that while she does have 3 slots, only 2 will be available because one of the three will be taken up by Endure Elements. Kira may be warm blooded unlike regular snakes, but she is still entirely unused to freezing temperatures and she has no warm weather clothing like a nice comfy sock or what have you.

>>178668
>why Animal Messenger is the requested spell
Because then we could use a seagull to call for help in case our radio fails.
It's just a suggestion though.
Lay Of The Land is just nice to have in general.
>Entangle
Always great battlefield control.
>Summon Nature's Ally
I have summoning spells. You don't need to prepare any.
Speaking of animal allies, where is your animal companion? Did you trade it for an ACF?
>Endure Elements
Fine selection, but you already have Endurance as a bonus feat, don't you? I think you'll pass most saves vs cold.

>>178669
Hmm, an interesting use for the spell, though I'm not sure Kira can find a morsel easily enough that a seagull would like to eat.

>summoning spells
It's true that Posey has summoning spells, but something tells me her summoning giant demonic amoebas that have a chance of turning against the party may cause characters to get weirded out, unlike if Kira summoned a wolf or something similar.

>animal companion
It didn't seem like an appropriate feature for a lamia to have an animal companion, so I asked the GM if I could have an extra point to spend on Kira's abilities instead.

>Endurance
Yeah, it's one of the first class features Rangers get, but as I understand it she would still be exceptionally cold and miserable. Passing the saves would basically just her avoiding freezing to death. Something tells me the lamia would prefer to not have to deal with the cold at all if it can be helped, she's not like Silver who's half snowpony or Posey who's undead.

Also, since we're still waiting on the GM pone to return...once Kira is set down again by Free Rover, she slithers up to the chain-adorned mare.

Kira: "So...how do you train to resist landmines? Is it like that saying where 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'? Did you find a field of landmines and stepped on them one by one to build up your immunity to them? Did you ever get exploded, like bwoosh?" The lamia spreads her legs out to enhance the impact of her mouth-made sound effect. "Not like being regular blown up, like actually exploded, with body parts flying here, there, and everywhere. If you got exploded, how did you manage to get put back together? Is it possible to use unicorn magic to put someone back together after they've exploded?"

>>178621
>>178623
>>178655
>>178657
You know this is a setting with two way radios, right? And that people have been trying to find mundane ways to communicate in wars for centuries. Like messenger pigeons. Just placing little notes on the legs of mundane pigeons and having them fly. Or using colored smoke from grenades. Or flag signals. Or flare guns. Or having Kira's deer slave serve as a runner.

[YouTube] BATTLEFIELD 1 Pigeon Gameplay - Beautiful Moment Scene [Embed]

No? You don't want any mundane solutions? Alright

>>178671
You said we only get one tho, (which doesnt make sense, 2 radios are needed to be functional)

(I may be retarded and missing something)

>>178670
>so I asked the GM if I could have an extra point to spend on Kira's abilities instead.
I would have picked the Spirit Companion ACF, but you do you.
>summoning giant demonic amoebas that have a chance of turning against the party may cause characters to get weirded out
Posies's Puppies are not demonic. They are just congealed blobs of metaphysical hunger and insanity.
I can also summon skeletons and zombies. That might have similar effect though.
We have a pretty big party. Idk if we'll need summons for anything other than to trigger traps.
>"So...how do you train to resist landmines? Is it like that saying where 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'?
"In a way... I learned to reinforce my body with magic.
>"Not like being regular blown up, like actually exploded, with body parts flying here, there, and everywhere. If you got exploded, how did you manage to get put back together? Is it possible to use unicorn magic to put someone back together after they've exploded?"
"... Um... No?" (Lie)
[1d20+14 = (19+14) = 33]

Rosey Ring is acutely begining to regret bragging about her supernatural durability.
>>178671
Maybe we're overthinking this.

Posey doesn't know how to handle a pigeon. Her Unnatural Aura makes birds freak out near her.
I think Kira might be able to handle it though. Rangers are good at that kind of stuff.
>flare guns
I mentioned this last week. I thought we were already doing that.

>>178674
Presumably, Shoal Waters has the other.

>>178676
>Spirit Companion ACF
Explain pls

Kira has no real reason to think Rosey is lying, and as such the lie goes uncontested. She looks at her with an intense curiosity evidenced by her big lamia eyes. Her tongue flicks out of her mouth, causing her to scrunch at another taste in the air she's apparently picking up.

"No as in you've never been exploded or no as in unicorn magic can't put someone back together after they've exploded? Also, how have you reinforced your body with magic? Is it like the thing you did with the cutie mark you gave me? I don't see any markings on you, but I guess you're wearing all of that chain armor. And how do you ignore caltrop wounds? Those have to hurt stepping on them with your hooves! It makes me glad for my snake tail, it's pretty sturdy when it comes to sharp pokey things on the ground and I can always just zig zag around stuff. Well, normally I could, I'm not sure how easily I can with this big ol' goal inside me."

>>178678
>Explain
I fucked up. It was actually called spiritual guide:
https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/classes/baseCore/ranger.html#spiritual-guide
One of the several ACFs rangers can trade their companion for.
It's not much for combat, but great utility. Commune With Nature 1/day is nice at lvl 5.
The only reason I don't take it on my Ranger builds is because I prefer Mystic Ranger, which doesn't get an animal companion and delays most features, but has much faster spell progression.
Combat-wise, Solitary Hunting is great (adds FA bonus to attack rolls), but I find it boring.
Utility Wise, Urban Companion, which gives a familiar instead of an Animal Companion, is great for skilled classes Rangers who are most likely to use their companions as scouts anyway. It's actually stronger than most familiars because it has higher HP.

An ability score boost is nice too though.
>how have you reinforced your body with magic?
"It's complicated unicorn stuff. I could explain it, but you wouldn't understand."
Rosey Ring is evasive, she's already said too much. Also the GM threatened to nerf me earlier, so I'm going to stop flexing.

>>178678
Oh yeah.
Gloomy was left at Silver's house. You said there were other foals there. What are they like?

Gloomy, unless approached, would keep to himself. He's rather shy. He's also rather... Creepy. He busies himself drawing weird symbols with the crayon in his mouth.

>>178684
Hmm, interdasting.

Kira's ears fold down, and she pouts. "Oh. Okay..." She sounds a bit sad and/or disappointed. Perhaps Posey could make it up to her (and move the conversation away from herself) by asking about her, her tribe, or lamias as a whole, since Posey seemed to show an interest in the knowledge that there's an entire tribe of lamias like her.

If Silver is asked about the other foals at his house, he would respond thusly:

Silver: "There are two, both orphaned. I am caring for them now, sort of like foster parent, and I would like to adopt them if state would allow it. Unfortunately state for some reason has little faith in single fathers' ability to raise foals. Anyways, those foals have...well, I will not get into it now, but they have been through lot. More than any foal should have gone through. White Orchid is bit older. He has expressed interest in camping, boating, and he seems to love being outdoors. Usually if I can not find him in house, he is outside looking out across water. Mint Marine is younger by couple of years. He likes reading, and shows much interest in marine biology. Devil whales are one of his favorite sea creatures, and he also gets along famously with Mala. Just this morning I saw Mint and Mala sharing same bed. I can tell you both like candy very much, and they are definitely looking for chance to live normal lives as part of family."

>>178686
Free Rover crouches, looking at Kira
"It's okay. You can come back to me."
He extends a leg and beckons her over

>>178686
>Perhaps Posey could make it up to her (and move the conversation away from herself) by asking about her, her tribe, or lamias as a whole
"So... You are a type of naga, am I correct?"

>>178686
>If Silver is asked about the other foals at his house
Rosey Ring doesn't care, but I was asking ooc because I thought I might want to RP Gloomy for a bit

>>178688
>>178687
Kira beckons Free Rover to come over to her instead. If he does, Kira gets back on him, draped across his shoulders as she was, and continues conversing with Rosey.

Kira: "Well, I've heard my deer friend Neela call me a 'nagini', while sounds a lot like 'naga'. Maybe it's her people's name for us? She's one of those Hindi deer that live in the mountains to the north of my tribe. I forget what her specific group of deer is called, though. I'm going to say yes, but we usually just call ourselves lamias. Maybe one of the other types of lamias call themselves nagas, though."

>>178689
Ahhhhhhh. This would be a good question to ask GM pone then, as he would know far more in depth about the two colts.

>>178690
He does not come to her

But as she is talking to Posey
yoink
[1d20+4 = (18+4) = 22]

>>178691
Hey! That's my potential bone naga! You can't just drag her away.
Counter yoink. Tug of war.
[1d20+7 = (15+7) = 22]

>tie
The noodle is stretched.

>>178693
>>178692
Free Rover scrunches, and places the lamia back over his shoulders. Posey presumably gets the tail as there is quite a lot of lamia

>>178691
>>178693
>>178694
Kira: "eep!"

The noodle is indeed stretched, with one pony taking her tail, the other taking her pony half. Perhaps the noodle's friend seeking has gone too far...

>>178695
>>178694
>>178690
Despite being yoinked from both sides, Kira is still available for Posey to continue talking about the different types of lamias with if Posey still wished.

>>178696
Mr. Zeeb simply shakes his head at the antics going on around the noodle, wondering who got this crazy group together.

>>178691
>>178693
>>178696
The griffon chuckles as he shakes his head. "I see you two are appreciators of the exotic."

[1d20+12 = (8+12) = 20] Brie strides silently(?) back into the room. "Here you are good Captain, my government-issued documentation for,...safe keeping," his face belies that he thinks it is not for safe keeping. "Do keep a diligent eye on those, theyre difficult to replace!" On observation, the passport is written in Changeling.

Map to come later. This is released in parts

Shoal Water looks around, breathes in, and says

"Alright, I suppose I should tell you more about where you are going, who you will be dealing with, and why.

The location that I draw your attention to is an island known to the ponies by the name of Mended Horn. The legend goes that a band of ponies adventuring south in a boat, back in the time that the whole of Nova Griffonia was pony territory, and the north was warmer, encountered a large octopus that attacked the ship. The octopus was repelled when a brave unicorn shoved its horn into its beak and discharged a spell, but in the process her horn was cracked, as was the hull of the ship. They had to stay on the island to make repairs, and while there, her horn was repaired, as was the ship. Some versions of the story have a group of helpful sea ponies mending her horn, though it isn’t clear that that detail isn’t a later addition or from a different story. Of course a simpler answer may be that a stack in the water near the island resembles a unicorn horn that has been cracked and bandaged.
Still another possible origin is that the name “Mended Horn” is a corruption of the Vedinian phrase “Mindre Bjorn,” which means “little bear.” This could be a refence to the constellation Ursa Minor, and within it the North Star, which would have been important to the early griffin navigators returning home. It could also be a reference to a legend about an Ursa Minor encountered by griffin explorers, the same legend that may have given the name of the adjacent Nova Griffonian province of Bjornholm.

Though Mended Horn is located only 20 miles off of the coast of Bjornholn and was presumably formed by a continental break away from the Nova Griffonian mainland, the island is incredibly remote from inhabited settlements. The nearest port of any significance is in Ravenskoye, more than a hundred miles away. The Village up North and Ny Winghaven are not much further, albeit in opposing directions, and Trottingham is near two hundred miles away. The island is a little less than three miles in total area if you count the smaller surrounding islands, consists of one big island with most of the land mass and two smaller satellites. It has reasonably high hills, with two dominating its landscape, and rocky cliffs along portions of the coastline and coves resembling semi-natural harbors along its north and southern coasts. If trees ever came across the small straight from the mainland to Mended Horn, they have long since all been cut down for firewood, griffin longships, or who knows what, leaving the island covered in grassy hills. Some trees were introduced a century ago, and thus a few trees can be found. The island has the remnants of a village and its harbor, the remains of a medieval village nearer the center, and a modern light house on its northern edge. A recent survey suggests the presence of an illegal whaling and sealing station on its south eastern coast. There are the remains of stone walls that used to partition fields, and stone storage sites all across the island, though some areas have more than others. Some cliffs have caves, and there are rocky outcroppings near the islands. Many seabirds take residence on the island and the surrounding seas host many creatures, but the only known mammals are mice and maybe sheep.

It is unknown when the first ponies came to inhabit Mended Horn, but they are recorded around five hundred years ago. It is unknown whether griffins ever settled on the islands in their early, fleeting settlements in Equus, but a sword belonging to griffins was purported to be found some centuries ago on the island, and since lost. Whether the island was or was not included as a part of the territory sold by the Griffin throne to the Equestrian Principality in the ancient treaty is a subject that can be and has been debated endlessly. What is known is that the island was continuously inhabited for more than a half millennium by a tiny population of ponies of the same culture as belong to the Griffish Isles. Nominally under the dominion of the lord of the Village Up North, these ponies, never more than maybe 200 in number, scrounged out a living farming barley and herding sheep, almost entirely separated from life on the mainland. They did not have a trained priest. They scarcely traded with the Outside. When Equestrian soldiers landed on Mended Horn looking for fleeing members of the Griffish Regency in 748, who supported the pretend-king during his period of rebellion from the Equestrian throne, and who were said to have fled to Costa Sterner upon his defeat, the ponies of Mended Horn not only had never heard of the Regency, they could scarcely name Celestia as the present Princess. In 712, One ship docked at Mended Horn to find that half the population had died of famine when rats spoiled the grain. In 850, chronicler Sodded Glory wrote that the inhabitants were ignorant of all knowledge of the Princess or of the world beyond the island, and none could read. Presumably he exaggerated, but the fact remains that the little village on the island continued its own life parallel from the mainland in relative isolation for centuries, with little interludes like griffin pirates briefly taking up residence on the island. What few ships did arrive sometimes carried in outside diseases, such as distemper in 880, which again wiped out much of the adult population."

>>178712
He continues,

The 900s were a harsh time for all of the rural ponies of the Village Up North and the Griffish Isles, even if they did not suffer famine to quite the same degree as Severyana across the straight. Severyana to quite the same degree. The price of wool fell making herding an even less fruitful occupation than before, besides the crop failures that plagued the entire region and made farming likewise unprofitable. Farming opportunities in the then-Dominion of New Mareland were more profitable, as were especially jobs in the factories of Trottingham, Manehattan, Sunset, and New Manehattan. All rural areas of the Griffish Isles and the Village Up North began to slowly depopulate as better jobs and better lives were available elsewhere. The inhabitants of Mended Horn nevertheless clung on to life on the edge of nowhere. But when a ship from the Village Up North stopped at Mended Horn on its way to New Mareland in 947, half the population left. The island would never again have more than a hundred ponies living on it. The drain of rural populations to the cities subsided in the late 970s, after the collapse of the Griffonian Empire meant the profitable export market to Griffonia was no longer available, and soon, open factory jobs in Trottingham or New Mareland were no longer in supply.

All the same, Mended Horn met its final death upon the Stalliongradian Succession in 989. The port of Ravenskoye, the closest to the island, had long been its sole connection to the outside world. It was where in the summer, a lone boat left to buy the barley and wool of Mended Horn, and in turn where islanders could buy pots, matches, and whatever luxuries of the outside word they could manage. Indeed, for centuries there had been a hooffull of Severyanans on the island, coming from a family of merchants who were among the few ponies to immigrate to the island since recording began, and on the few occasions that Mended Horn got a visiting priest, he came from Ravensyoke. All cut off with the embargo Equestria placed on the successionist territories. But this was far from the worst of it Early in the succession, a platoon of Stalliongradian rebels got on a boat and landed in Mended Horn, flying the red flag over the island for the first and hopefully last time. They left after little time, but Equestria sent a company of its own soldiers to the island to garrison it and have a presence in the straights, and with this garrison came money and glimpses of what life outside of the island could be to the islanders. When the garrison left after the end of the crisis, there was nothing left for the ponies on Mended Horn. The very last of them left in 1001, and the island has been uninhabited by any permanent population. The Equestrian Lighthouse Service maintained an unmared lighthouse until the capitulation. If illegal fishers and whalers go to Mended Horn they do so seasonally. It is otherwise deserted.

As you can tell from the history, Equestria has the best claim by far to the island, and when the Princess left the Village Up North to the Republic of New Mareland, she passed that territory to New Mareland."

He sighs

"Which leads us to our expected adversary. Stalliongrad is like a dark mirror of New Mareland. It was a pony nation captured into Equestria's sphere long ago. Like New Mareland, it suffered under the indifference of the Princesses and the malfunctioning of the international capitalist system. And like New Mareland, it decided to break away and forge its own, autarkic socialist regime. But its ideology is a twisted one that rejects the hierarchies inherent in nature, shuns the spiritual aspect of the equine, and destroys nationhood and tradition. Its Equalist ideology is “Universal.” It purports to be applicable to every culture in every time and place, if only with some adaptation. Every economic system, every tradition, religion and culture, is “backwards” at best, but more probably, oppression. And to that end, the communists believe in “The World Revolution” – That every nation must have a revolt, theoretically performed by the weak and the workers, but in reality is always performed by the bored offspring of the petite bourgeois. Stalliongrad has a network of Communist and Equalist nations that it supports. And this where the Kostroma enters.

The intelligence document that we received said that the Kostroma left port from the port of Sleetfall in the “Free Northern Communes.” This is doubtful, as though Sleetfall is purportedly a ‘warm water port,’ kept ice-free year round by currents carrying warm waters from further south, in all likelihood, an icebreaker would have been needed to move a ship of Kostroma's size out of that cold, northern port, a place that only three weeks ago was in a pseudo-polar night. Even the port in Everfrost, many miles further east, seems doubtful, and a much more plausible origin would have been Dinkau, the port of Skynavia in the Skynavian Socialist Republic, or even Bluffhead. Any of these would have likely required a dedicated icebreaker to make transit possible if it were possible at all, though if one were sourced locally or from Vedina, we wouldn’t know. What we do know is that the Kostroma was sighted leaving from the port in Sirius approximately thirteen days ago, and when encountered by the KS-19 for the first time, was headed south from the Vedinan Straights, consistent with an origin in Skynavia or perhaps The Free Northern Communes. Skynavia is an administration created by griffins who were considered too radical for the exiled Republicans in Cloudbury. They invaded the Skynavia region, ancient lands inhabited by ponies since at least the time of the Dread Crusades, and colonized it, forcing the ponies native to the region to their regime. That was not enough for them. They soon invaded the Northern Tribes – the only confederacy of ponies in the region and the last sovereign remnants of the snow ponies who used to be ubiquitous in the global north – and finding their way of life offensive, forced upon them a markist-lemonist dictatorship, willingly staffed by radical leftist collaborators. The Skynavian Socialist Republic is several times more radical in spreading its vile doctrine across the planet, as they said recently they ‘shall no longer conscientiously tolerate the oppression and exploitation of the proletariat — the common creature — by the capitalists, imperialists, monarchists, fascists, and reactionaries of the world!’”

He pauses a moment to lick his lips and swallow before continuing his recitation from memory,

‘We declare that as long as such scourges remain in existence in our world, the revolutionary people of Skynavia shall not rest until all of creaturekind is free!’

It is easy to dismiss such words as irrelevant drivel, but I assure you it is a threat, and one that may well be directed at all of us here."

"Now, as to how we got here… Our source of that information was the foreign intelligence branch of the State Security Administration, known as “Rooke,” and of course run by the Blackhooves. They asked us simply to follow the Kostroma and keep an eye on its movements. Though they didn’t tell us why the freighter’s movements were important, the request was far from unusual. Stalliongrad regularly sends support to its few allies, including the Skynavian Socialist Republic. The most important of these missions carry arms to arm revolutions, or in the case of the Skynavian Social Republic, to use against revolting snow ponies.
Please understand that the KS-19 was serving in the Rocky Sea as a part of the larger Wonambi Plan, which is an operation to prevent uprisings within the territory of our Customs Union by cutting off supplies of outside resources. And in particular, that means trafficked arms. We don’t know, of course, that the Kostroma had been carrying weapons to Skynavia on its outward voyage. It may just as well have been carrying industrial equipment like factory machines, lathes, or bulldozers. It may have simply been carrying fuel oil, or even food, for the winter. It could have been carrying technicians, engineers, or experts. It may have been carrying a special team of pony warriors to act as instructors, or perhaps, to carry ponies and griffins back to learn in Stalliongrad.

We certainly don’t know what it was carrying on its return journey. The most natural answer would be that it was carrying payment for the weapons, equipment, or fuel it was delivering to Skynavia or the Free Northern Communes. Ideally this would be in the form of gold reserves, or perhaps silver, gems, or foreign currency. Given the poverty of those two states something like ivory, taken from walrus tusks, furs, or even ore or timber. Perhaps it was carrying griffins or ponies. Perhaps it was empty on its return journey. The truth is, we don’t really know what it was carrying either direction, and what was so important to transport that it couldn't wait until the spring time."

A bit more on the Kostroma. The Kostrama is a 23,000 Tonne freighter commissioned in 983 by Petershoof Shipping and built in Trottingham by Horn & Wolf, originally intended mostly for bulk cargo carrying. It was one of three ships set aside for hauling grain during the infamous episode in 987 where Grover VI offered to provide grain for famine relief and the Tsar refused, but aside from that, little of note has occurred with the ship before and since its acquisition by the Stalliongradian Merchant Marine. Given the embargo against Stalliongrad by Equestria and Stalliongrad’s autarky its spent much of its time in port, but it was lent to A Nimbusian shipping company for some years, and has been in such diverse places as Saddle Arabia, Hayvana, and Olenia. Recently the government of Stalliongrad has retaken control, and has used the ship in its World Revolution, most prominently when it carried artillery pieces to Ngua Nam, but also carrying weapons to Equalist elements in the Saddle Arabian Civil War, and shipments of what was admittedly probably food to Prywhen. Not to imply we’ve kept close tabs on the ship, but as Stalliongrad must necessarily pass through the Rocky Sea to reach the world, we tend to keep track of many of the vessels.

It is this contested control over the Rocky Sea, much more so than any sentimental attachment to a small piece of land, that makes Mended Horn so important. Traditionally, control over land gives control over the waters near that land going out to twelve nautical miles. Stalliongrad, or even Nova Griffonia, having claim to the waters on each side of what Stalliongrad calls “the Bay of Equality,” would nearly cut off our access to our enclave in The Village Up North by reducing access through a narrow path of neutral waters. Having Mended Horn as New Mareland Territory gives us a path through Equality Bay that inconveniences Stalliongrad. And besides the claim to territorial waters, the island is useful as a location for an observation post, a radar station, or even a weather station.

And as for the crew of the Kostroma... Well, normally it would be crewed by something along the lines of fifty ponies, give or take about ten. However, there are almost certainly an attachment of marines and anti-aircraft gunners on the ship - and yes, there are both - as well as a political commissar. This could be another 20 or even 30 ponies. And of course we don't know if there were any passengers."

>>178715
"Captain, just to make sure I'm adequately following, the mission we're tasked with is to investigate the KS-19, which you've lost contact with after it positioned to observe the movements of this,... what was it, Kostromo freighter?"
Bluff [1d20+3 = (19+3) = 22]
"Known and potential adversaries include Stalliongrad and allied Skynavia, as well as anything indigenous in the area, and while our mission is specific to the KS-19 we may find ourselves opting to stop by and visit with the occupants of the freighter.
Mission-Critical objectives in priority order is the safe and successful extraction of 10 airponies as well as the destruction of two critical systems, to be further detailed," he finishes, realizing that while the license to kill is definitely on the table, he was hoping this would be a black operation.

>>178715
"As for your marines, how did you find out that they are on this island, or that they survived their crash at all? Did they send out an SOS?"

>>178700
>>178720
>>178712
>the passport is written in Changeling
"Captain Waters, can we really be sure that this bat isn't a changeling infiltrator or collaborator? I mean, he's named after cheese: that sounds like something a cheeselegs would make up. This is a covert operation, and risking changelings having Intel on it could give them blackmail material that would put New Mareland n a diplomatic gap. We do have technology to detect changelings, but that technology is only in still its infancy and we don't know if it can be subverted or not. I propose a thorough dissection, just to make sure."
Bluff
[1d20+14 = (7+14) = 21]

This is a shitpost.

>>178726
I actually want to roll with it, if thats okay with you. If u dont want this to count I can "not", but this is how I would have him respond
Brie's head twists slightly at the mention of dissection, his face betraying an expression of pleasant surprise. He glances around at all the ponies and then back centrally (but not directly) at Rosey. "Miss Ring, am I to assume that you chose your given name? Ridiculous. As for my affiliation with the Changeling Empire, allow me to dispel all doubt. I have numerous business dealings of a more and less nefarious nature with several interests throughout the hive, on a level that is heavily classified. Our dear Captain here may be briefed on it, but the lot of you certainly are not. Still, in the interest of making friends," he emphasizes those last two in a way that makes it sound slightly cheesy and a little patronizing, "I would be willing to subject myself to a truth spell, just to grease the wheels as it were."

>>178727
Okay then. It is not a shitpost.
>>178616
"Sir Adamance. You look like an upstanding thestral citizen: a herald of your culture. Does this bat look like someone who would cohort with Changelings to you? Does he seem untrustworthy? Does he seem... evil? My career as a necrologist has taught me to be wary of Evil. We wouldn't want to go on this precarious mission with someone who is Evil, or worse, a spy from a hostile nation."
Bluff
[1d20+14 = (12+14) = 26]

>>178730
(I got the message. I'll be doing catch-up reading for a bit before replying.)

>>178720
>>178726
>>178728
>>178730
>>178731
>>178732
Silver: "I can vouch for him. He has Changeling passport as last I saw him he was returning two foalnapped drones back to their mother. He has information that only he would have known about, and I doubt there is any changeling in existence that could so effectively copy his demeanor. He is singularly unique character. You would not need any fancy technology to prove that he is indeed still Brie, just flashlight. Shine one in his eyes, and if he is changeling then his 'true' changeling eyes would be visible behind his pony ones."

Kira blinks, barely following along with the conversation due to the lack of a critical piece of information. She raises her hoof to ask a question. "Um...what are changelings?"

>>178733
Brie looks over at Kira with an expression of adoration and bemusement, before turning to Silver and gesturing a slight bow, "Quite right, and thank you Silver. While on familiar terms with many of the afore-referred-to changelings, I work with them and they me because collectively we need eachother as individuals and business professionals; I am under no auspices of the Changeling empire - though I'm sure my associates are required to volunteer all sensitive information to the Queen periodically - which is why we have compartmentalized our various roles and responsibilities from one another. It's all quite tedious, but is there such thing as overspending on peace of mind?"

>>178731
>Without a doubt, I engage in philosophies and practices that good ponies such as yourselves have historically and contemporarily chosen to describe as "evil"
"Hmmmmm, that sounds like something that somepony who is metaphysically Evil would say..."
>>178733
"So you are telling me that he is a Changeling-sympathizer? Hmmmmm...."
>"Um...what are changelings?"
"Changelings are insect-like shapeshifting monsters that feed off of the essence of ponies, in a bad way."

>>178737
"Are you implying that you've allowed changelings to enter and consume portions of your mind?! Oh goodness gracious, it is worse than I thought...!"

>>178734
>>178735
Silver: "You would sympathize with those drones as well, had you seen what they had gone through. In truth what he did likely saved New Mareland from extremely embarrassing incident with Changeling Lands."

>>178737
>>178739
Silver gives Brie a pat on the shoulder. Kira is a bit disturbed by the image of an insect eating parts of a creature's mind.

Kira: "So...they're parasites?"

"A pony who has let changelings feed off of their memories is not to be trusted. Afterall, they say think they know how it works, but who's to say what else that they've forgotten? If they've been fed on hundreds of times before, they may not even remember. For all we could know he might be an unwitting sleeper agent ready to strike at a moment's notice."
"Patients of advanced changeling consumption are prone to delusions, mood swings and schizoid tendencies and acute mental deterioration. Can we really put our faith in a pony who is a changeling sympathizer, evil by own admission, and possibly our thief as well? Is this the pony who would bring our colts home."
She cups her hooves to her cheeks
"How are we to be certain that he's not some sort of psychopath that might, I don't know, plot to kill his entire party because he foolishly believed himself to be the target of a charm spell?"
Bluff
[1d20+14 = (18+14) = 32]

>>178745
>>178746
Rosey Ring shakes her head
"We do not have such magic on hand, nor do we have the time to acquire or prepare such magic before the mission tod-..." She pauses
"Well, I do know one spell that could do that... if you would cooperate. Afterall, I would never cast spells on my allies without consent."
Bluff
[1d20+14 = (9+14) = 23]

>>178744
>>178745
>>178746
Silver: "Heh. Evil is perhaps overstatement, if true at all. I mean no offense to Brie if it is caused, but I believe it is more just part of persona he has created around himself than actual fact. I have seen him perform selfless deeds which no truly 'evil' creature would perform. It is also sensible to sympathize with another creature's plight, even if you must remain adversaries. By understanding motives and motivations of your adversary, you may come to understand ways of defeating them without ever actually coming to blows. Such as how there are many changelings who are resentful of Chrysalis' claim of being 'queen of all changelings' as they feel they are being sent to their deaths on needless suicide missions, and as such are likely to dissent against her rule. As for him being thief, not only is there no evidence for him being your thief, even with his roguish nature he is still far more noble of pony than many who claim to be of higher standing than him."

>>178750
"Not one word on the party killing part..."

>>178752
What are your intentions, by that post?

>>178753
Idk. It began as a shitpost, but then Brie said he wanted to engage with it because it gave him an opportunity to roleplay.

I'm just killing time until we actually start the mission.

Let me be more specific.
I thought that little "dream" got nerfed out of existence. I can screencap GM saying so. So, what are you doing?

I feel this is important to emphasize, cuz this was fun RIGHT up until that post. Then it wasn't fun for me anymore, because it SEEMED you wanted to just be an asshole.
We're done with this scene, thank you

>>178742
>"So...they're parasites?"
"Psychic parasites, correct. They are exceedingly dangerous, and they can be anywhere."

>>178748
>By understanding motives and motivations of your adversary, you may come to understand ways of defeating them without ever actually coming to blows. Such as how there are many changelings who are resentful of Chrysalis' claim of being 'queen of all changelings' as they feel they are being sent to their deaths on needless suicide missions, and as such are likely to dissent against her rule.
"Interesting. I should have considered that."

>>178715
Silver: "I know I am thinking it so I know at least some of my compatriots here are thinking it as well, so I will ask; if Kostroma is indeed carrying something valuable back from Skynavia as payment, and it has not yet delivered it back to Stalliongrad when it makes this stop near Mended Horn...would you find objection if Kostroma were to arrive back at dock after this expedition without its cargo?"

>>178759
Halfway through Silver's suggestion, Brie erupts in a coughing fit, as loudly as semi-conceivably possible, while making an attempt to signal to Silver "later".
Bluff [1d20+3 = (4+3) = 7] ; Sleight of Hoof [1d20+9 = (7+9) = 16]

>>178759
>Oh quest-giver, may we pretty please keep loot we find?
Innuendo:
[1d20+14 = (5+14) = 19]
"Bruh, you didn't need to ask permission for that. It's all legitimate salvage. I'm not taking less than a full share of any treasures found."

I want the military tech we're supposed to destroy

>>178761
It's a question not for GM pone but for Shoal Water. Silver isn't going to ruin his and the group's reputation over valuables that may or may not be located in the Kostroma's cargo hold.

>>178760
Brie really should get that cough checked out, it could be serious.

>>178765
Its chronic, but it wont be a liability

>>178761
Im sorry that I misinterpreted your reference, I asked for clarification with that express intent. I'll happily olay along with jokes I know how to play

>>178763
Also to this point, theres an entire fucking freighter. It MAY be a cave of wonders scenario, where there's endless piles of loot (of whatever type: gold, bullet,... golden bullets)
Maybe magic carpets n shit

"And now, on the KS-19…

The KS-19, as the name implies, is a KS class non-rigid airship, a medium sized lighter-than-air craft. The craft I around about 250 feet long, has a cabin with two attached engine nacelles below an envelope, and a crew of, in this instance, 10. You do not need to know the range, endurance, or top speed of the craft as that information is classified. This type of airship is built for anti-submarine warfare, with a machine gun and two depth charges as armament. However, this particular airship, like many of its class, has been modified for extra endurance, and for resupply from ship, as it is intended to fly alongside or near convoys and escort them, spotting enemy submarines and either attacking them, or aiding escort ships and planes. It can also perform scouting missions, search and rescue, or even sometimes transport.

The KS-19 was commissioned during the war against Sicameon with the intention of acting as a scout, and delivered during a brief period of peace in 1011. It’s first combat operation was Operation Hydra, where it escorted Head Typhoon in its seizure of Fillydelphia. After that, it performed escorts for convoys in Operation Hoopsnake, escorting thousands of New Mareland reinforcements in their liberation of Equestria. It has since served escorting passenger ships in Operation Songline, taking ponies to Griffonia. It participated in the search for SS Sunny Hauler. The highlight of its career was when it picked up a boat of seven ponies from the sunken SS Minotaur. Just last month it participated in the failed search for the vanished Flight AF11 off the Discovery Sea. It was moved to the Rocky Sea only a few weeks ago to patrol for Aquelian submarines and Haukland Pirates, but also to patrol the Griffish Straights as a part of the aforementioned Operation Wonambi, to patrol for illegal smuggling from Nova Griffonia or Stalliongrad.

KS-19 was assigned to follow the Kostroma four days ago, encountering it south of the Straights of Vedina, the exact location being classified. It followed the Kostroma until the latter stopped at the port of Sirius. Per a request from Rooke, the KS-19 attempted to come as close into port as it could to take pictures, but then returned to Trottingham to refuel and change crews. The KS-19 was able to catch the Kostroma on its way out of Port in Sirius the evening before last. Kostroma remained in port for 34 hours in Sirius. We have no idea what happened while in port. The direction the Kostroma took after leaving port was consistent with a final destination of Ravensyoke. However, yesterday evening, the Kostroma took a subtle turn to the North, almost consistent with a final destination of Krasny Port, but over shooting it.

The KS-19 would have been within visual range of the Kostroma for a majority of its time following the ship. It’s entirely possible that they were intentionally diverting the ship to confuse the KS-19 about its final destination, or perhaps cause the KS-19 to enter into Nova Griffonian Territory. It’s also possible that there was a problem with the ship that caused it to either not have full control, or to need to stop at Mended Horn for repair. Among the last messages we have from the KS-19 is that the Kostroma had maintained the same slight starboard bias consistently for the night, and that only a small number of the Kostroma’s normal lights were on. It’s possible that the ship was trying to lose the KS-19 in the darkness.

The last message from the KS-19 was shortly before sunrise this morning. We lost contact with it not long after that. A seaplane confirmed in visual that the KS-19 had partly-deflated on Mended Horn on a hill side, though banks of fog prohibited much more confirmation than that. The KS-19 would have encountered Mended Horn shortly after sunrise, though it may have occurred before then. Lighting was minimal, and the island has been covered in rolling banks of fog from the Equality Bay, which are usual in the spring, if perhaps a bit early in January. The usual explanation would be that the KS-19 was caught in a downward draft of air and crashed against the ground. Another, very realistic possibility, is that the KS-19 simply lost sight of the Kostroma in the fog, descended to a lower altitude to look for it, and quite simply flew into a hill in the fog and morning twilight. What we call a ‘controlled descent into terrain’."

>>178769
Rosey Ring nods
"But what of the possibility of enemy attack? Isn't it plausible that the Kostroma lured the KS-19 into a trap, or even fired on the craft causing it to crash? The fog could have made easy cover for enemy attack, especially if magic is involved. I don't think we can rule out the possibility of enemy sabotage, or that more enemies may be waiting there to greet us when we arrive."
Her paralyzed face momentarily twists into a sinister grin, her excitement breaking through her professional demeanor.
"That only makes things more interesting. When do we begin?"

>>178771
Shoal Water Smiles

"But there is another possibility, one that is far more insidious, but cannot be dismissed out of hoof. Kostroma, as was said before, was aware of the KS-19 trailing it. The lights on the Kostroma may have been turned off specifically to lure the KS-19 closer to it, and within easier range of its anti-aircraft guns. KS-19 may have been lured to Mended Horn to be shot down. Perhaps this a show to keep New Mareland from trailing its ships. Perhaps the cargo of Kostroma was that critical, that it’s final destination could not be known. Or perhaps they wished to capture the KS-19’s crew or its new systems.

KS-19 had two systems that were upgraded since its production. One, is an air-to-ground radar system that is able to detect a surfaced submarine even dozens of miles away. The other is an improved, higher performance engine set. We cannot afford for these systems to be in the hooves of International Communism. If I am being honest, Stalliongrad likely already has similar radar systems. But the engines they almost certainly do not. And we do not need Stalliongrad, nor any other nation having faster, higher flying fighters or bombers.

The KS-19, being literally a balloon, did not crash at high speed or with force. It’s crew – or at least most of them – almost certainly survived. A seaplane reports that at least one pony was seen walking about near the crash, and more importantly, waving at the passing plane. They are alive and have at least some means to defend themselves. Whether they could survive the cold night, or avoid being captured by Stalliongrad, is uncertain.

The Kostroma was also cited in a small bay in the island. It was in the water away from shore, and had no obvious list. If it ran aground it avoided sinking, though it may have beached itself upon a reef or sandbar, and may come lose in higher tides.”

It is a fair bet that Stalliongrad will have more interest in Kostroma than KS-19, especially if the freighter’s stop on the island was unintended. If that is the case, it may be possible to simply slip past the Stalliongradian patrols with no bloodshed. However, if targeting KS-19 was indeed the goal, the combined force may be nigh unstoppable.

And now, why you are here...

As stated before, this is contested territory with Stalliongrad as they consider it to be their own territory. They may have ignored the KS-19's presence on the island if it were alone, but the Kostroma arrival at the island guarantees a Stalliongradian response.

Now, there are those that say that Stalliongrad does not base all of its decisions on its ideology, and that in foreign policy it acts in many ways like a traditional nation seeking its own national interests and claims. Unfortunately, that is probably at least partly true. White Severyana, that portion of the historical Severyana territory that did not secede from Equestria in 995, has long been eyed with envy by Stalliongrad. They did not invade Equestria, nor the New Mareland administrated territory to seize White Severyana during the war. Now, however, neither the Equestrian Army nor the New Mareland Army are present to prevent Stalliongrad from simply walking into the territory and taking it. Our Army is almost wholly engaged in the defense of the Homeland, and in Operation Thylacine over in Griffonia. Even the excess sailors and marines of the Navy have been similarly reassigned. We absolutely cannot afford a war with Stalliongrad right now. We cannot afford an international incident that could lead to Stalliongrad creeping South.

And as you may have guessed, it isn't just Stalliongrad. Nova Griffonia claims the island as their own. They won't send a force in response to a blimp, but they might to Stalliongrad's force. They have their own conflicts with Stalliongrad. We likewise have disputed claims with them, as they claim the Village up North as theirs. While Mended Horn is not very valuable to us, keeping it as a claim has value in having something in counter to Stalliongrad and Nova Griffonia. There is also a non-zero chance that the Kostroma will attract pirates who hide out in the Haukland Islands. It has the appearance of being a weapons trafficking ship returning with payment, afterall.

It would be easy to say that every dead Stalliongradian soldier is one less whom we must stare down over White Severyana. However, even that is not necessarily the case. The entire situation is made much more complicated by the Changeling Hegemony. The Changeling Hegemony may attack either Stalliongrad or New Mareland, and either nation must surely either lose, or through itself into the fight, as it will not get a better chance for victory. Likewise, if New Mareland and Stalliongrad are at war, and especially, if one nation wins, the Changelings would have an easier time of defeating the winner. If Stalliongrad did creep south, we'd have less to bribe them with in the event of a sudden Changeling invasion, and we'd be less disposed to cooperate as well. Thus any war between any two of Stalliongrad, the Changeling Hegemony, and New Mareland is almost certain to drag in the third. We cannot afford to do that now. It must wait until it is on our terms, or never happen at all."

>>178772
At Shoal Water's statement about waiting until it's on their terms, Silver gets a grim look on his face. "In few years, it may not matter whose terms it is on. Everyone loses regardless..."

>>178746
The zeeb looks at all the ponies in the room, points a hoof at himself, and shakes his head no
"Magic like that is not my type
Please do not involve me in your tripe."

“Returning to the subject of Pirates…

You have already noticed that your… documents are not exactly traditional. We have here somepony with a Changeling Hegemony association, and with the Hives, no less! The Changelings are our greatest allies, after all…” He looks over to Brie, and the last sentence contains definite hints of sarcasm.

“And then we have… what? Farbrook? That’s exotic. And a visa that’s only a couple weeks old. A clear foreigner. We’ve got Nova Griffonia. An even fresher visa. One of you, ”Mala Mata”, is not a pony, probably Stateless, and there’s, well, no record of you existing anywhere before a week ago. I would suspect a false identity, except that I don’t care. It actually suits us. And then we have a… uh… a… snake thing? I don’t know. Your visa is also fresh, and you don’t look Equestrian. In fact, we only have two Equestrians here at all. One of you is a Severyanan Émigré. Both of you are military veterans of the last war. You both fit the profile of being an Equestrian Émigré, or even ELF. In short, you, as a group, you’re not from New Mareland. You don’t fit the profile even of an Auxiliary unit raised in East Equestria. If you were captured or noticed by Stalliongrad, you’d look to them more like pirates from Haukland. And that’s exactly the cover we are going with. Once you leave that sea plane, you will be considered ‘pirates’. While the New Mareland Navy has a policy of never admitting to negotiating with pirates, we have a spot in our budget for paying ransoms. That is what, nominally, the pay will be. A ransom to pirates for our lost crew and equipment.”

He looks over towards Brie with a malign smile, like he’s gotten away with something

“As for the Loyalty of a potential Changeling Operative, do you think New Mareland would have gone as far as it has gotten if it could not turn treachery into Opportunity? The Changeling Hegemony could give us no greater gift than to have one of its operatives found to have participated in hostilities against Stalliongrad, especially if the Hegemony simultaneously attacked a New Mareland Navy Airship. Our alliance with the Changing Hegemony has done us well, but if our friendship is ended with the Hegemony, Stalliongrad could now be our friends. Stalliongrad may agree to a defensive pact with New Mareland against the Hegemony without demanding White Severyana as a concession. More importantly, we could use the occasion of an attack to enact a mild draft in East Equestria and raise several hundred thousand Equestrian soldiers to guard our Eastern border. That would be more valuable than any airship.

And no, I’m not concerned about anything any of you could say to your Stalliongradian captors if you are captured. It’s very well known that their prisoners will and have said anything to make the torture stop.”

>>178775
Kira looks a little pale at that last part. "Um...did you just say 'torture'?"

The smile fades, and his expression becomes serious.

"And now... to something that I think I should disclose. You've noticed that I didn't simply plan a secret rescue by marines, nor go to the Blackhooves, nor recruit auxiliaries from the much closer Manehattan... You've noticed I've come here, and I am in the office of Revenue & Migration. Well, I am in Baltimare for a fuel oil procurement contract, but there is a reason I am recruiting here.

Well, you see... I told you that Rooke asked for photographs of the Kostroma as it was docking in Sirius. KS-19 could of course not get close enough to take good pictures, but they tried all the same. I took the undeveloped photographs from the KS-19 myself. The Blackhooves operatives who came by to collect them were forceful in a way I have never seen from them before, were very rude, and did not believe me when I told them we gave all that we had, and that we did not have many, or any, photographs of what they wanted. Something in that interaction... It cannot be put into words. I knew I could not trust the Blackhooves, nor those portions of the military under their supervision, nor the Blackhooves friendly governments of Trottingham and Manehattan, to get our stallions home. And that is why I am looking further afield for help this time, and why I am here in Revenue and Migrations holding this briefing, and not with the military."

>>178772
>They are alive and have at least some means to defend themselves. Whether they could survive the cold night, or avoid being captured by Stalliongrad, is uncertain.
"They are marines. I believe that they should be formidable enough to take care of themselves until we arrive." Posey replies... judging solely on the price that Shoal Waters has put on recovering them, with her archaic slave price mindset (judging them to be CR/lvl 3-4)
>may have taken them prisoner
"I don't believe that will be a problem. Recovery is one of my specialties, and I pride my self in.. tense negotiations."
>destroy the tech
"With pleasure"
>get them before commies/griffins/bugs/pirates do
"Very well. Let us make haste."

>>178776
Answering,

"Staliongrad is known to have had a number of trials wherein the defendants confessed to all manner of heinous, but especially implausible crimes. They make ponies say things. I would strongly recommend you don't be captured."

>>178778
"They can survive the day, but I don't know what they'll have to keep warm when it goes below freezing at night."

>>178773
"Well, no. In a few years, New Mareland will have ended its wars against the Griffins and secured its territories. We will be much better able to defend ourselves, especially if the Sister Republics will be able to raise their own armies."

>>178759
"Oh, I don't have any say in the assets of the Stalliongradian Merchant Marine nor Navy. Only for the New Mareland Navy, which means the KS-13 and the ponies assigned to her."

>>178720
"Adversaries are whatever in Tartarus is on that island and preventing my ponies from coming home and our equipment from falling into hostile hooves."

>>178775
>pirate disguise
"Excellent! That means I don't have to be concerned with professional appearances and have some fun. The Dread Pirate Rosey Ring is at your service. Arrrg!" She says, whirling her cape snarling
Intimidate to look pirate-like
[1d20+15 = (18+15) = 33]
>Changelings are our greatest allies, after all…
Posey wretches at this, even though she knows it's ironic.

>>178777
Rosey Ring nods in understanding
"The political situation is rather precarious these days. Sooner or later, we all find ourselves on the receiving end of it."
She smiles warmly
"But you need not worry. I am a professional."

>>178779
Kira: gulp "So, uh...I guess there's nothing to it other than to not get caught! Ha ha...ha..."

Silver nods at Shoal's statement about the Kostroma, understanding him completely: as long as his ponies are rescued and the equipment is destroyed, everything else is fair game for their merry band of pirates. As for his statement about the future, Silver just gives him a sad look. If only he had seen Silver's dream last night and had seen the horrors that the future has in store for them, if fate isn't changed...

>>178780
Kira looks awed at Posey's pirate display. "Woooooow! That was really good!"

"Any last questions before we proceed to the airport?"

>>178783
"It gets better."
Rosey Ring opens saddlebag, and takes out some grotesque looking shoulder pads, spines and bracers, seemingly made of bones and teeth of various monsters: elements of the grotesque barding armor she entered the game with, before she swapped it out for the elegant chain shirt she now wears in her last attempt to impersonate a paladin.
She begins affixing them to her barding, which makes her armor look
"If we're going to be pirates, let's make sure we go there in style."
Rosey Ring is unable to hide her excitement at this point. It's been too long since she's been able to fight wearing all of her grotesque dread glam
>>178784
"Do we have time to go hunt for that feather token, or should we save daylight and split?"

>>178784
Silver: "Two last requests; ammunition for our firearms in case we do end up in firefight with Stalliongraders, and some flares in case our radio becomes inoperable."

>>178785
Kira: "Oooooooo..."

Knowledge, Nature: Can Kira recognize any of the monsters these bones belong to?

[1d20+3 = (14+3) = 17]

Once the briefing is over…

>>178733
>>178742
The griffon looks over to Silver.
"That is information we needed to know, thank you. Without that, I would be reluctant to trust a creature with confessed ties to changelings, nevermind his–if you forgive my choice of language–buffoonish behavior. The way you phrased it lends credence to his ability as an operator."

>>178735
"Not just ponies. They can feed off any creature that has a soul."

>>178744
"Miss Ring, that threat is lessened by the fact that the target location is nowhere near the Changeling Empire but instead near Stalliongrad, and they are no friends of the Changelings either. The worst he could manage would be to smuggle part of this technology to them, and we will just need to keep and eye on him," Cavaliere calmly explained.

>>178715
He then raises a talon and looks around at the group.
"Captain, I don't have much in the way of sailing experience, but an average freighter is crewed by a dozen griffons or ponies. Eighty ponies or more implies that there is something extraordinarily valuable on that freighter beyond mere arms. Unfortunately it also makes it unlikely for us to find out what that is, and heightens the risks for your sailors. I can tell you now that even if this company-sized group wasn't ready for combat, I simply don't have enough ammunition to fight through them, let alone any additional communists who show up. We must focus on destroying the airship's engines and saving the crew, who may have found a place to hide, perhaps among the ruins. You've thought about this quite thoroughly and have contingency measures in case of failure. Nevertheless, I can assure you that we will not be captured."

>dress for the job you want, not the job you have
>the job I want
>>178786
Cryohydra, owlbear, griffon, and several things that don't count as "nature".

>>178789
Kira's not particularly knowledgeable about the arcane, but she at least knows a bit about animals and monsters. She's working with the best of what she's got. Regardless, she shows a keen interest in the armor, and where normal ponies would likely be grossed or weirded out by the macabre armor, Kira pokes at it while examining it closer.

Kira: "We've never used bones in this sort of fashion before in my tribe. I mean, we do have fur and leather armor, and some hunters like having some bone decorations adorning their equipment, but never to this extent. Is it sturdy? Like, is it as strong as my studded leather armor? Stronger?"

>>178787
>80 is too many
"You don't understand. This is a 440 foot freighter with five cargo holds that can carry at least twenty two million pounds of dry cargo, including hundreds of tanks, or tens of millions of rounds of ammunition. Fifty is a light crew for a vessel that size. And twenty marines with it is about the minimum just to man the anti-aircraft guns. It's dangerous, to be sure, if all of those are armed and against you. But your mission is not to seize the Kostroma. It is to rescue a few ponies, burn two engines and a radar, and leave.

As for Ammunition, make do. Borrow some from the communists if you have to."

"Another thing. Your group will be given at least one two way radio, a set of explosives, and a camera. The camera is specifically to take pictures of the destroyed KS-19's engines and radar to confirm the torch.

And while it may be an option... any requests for possible requisition of armor, weapons, ammunition, or utility items? I can't promise a request will be granted, but it may be considered."

>>178792
Rosey Ring requests part of the payment up front to pay for the Swan Boat feather Token.
Also a piece of black fabric and some good ol' white lead paint, to paint a pirate flag to put on her polearm.
And any other pieces of pirate cosplay (hat, toy parrot, if available.
>>178793
>And while it may be an option... any requests for possible requisition of armor
"A set of magic armor would be greatly appreciated, but otherwise I think I am prepared. Perhaps a tower shield, to provide cover from incoming fire. Maybe a Cloak Of Thorns.
>weapons
"If you have any least or lesser augmentation crystals, I would appreciate using one, such as a lifedrinking crystal or an energy assault crystal."
Also, a flamethrower, perhaps? I'm not a big firearms mare, but I'm able to use a flamethrower."
>ammunition
"I am proficient in a compound bow. Perhaps explosive ammunition? Grenade arrows? Grenades in general? Noxious Smokesticks? Tanglefoot bags?"
She lights up
"Eggshell Dust grenades. So cheap, yet so effective. I only brought a hornful with me, but if you have any I'll take them."
>utility items
"I STRONGLY SUGGEST investing in that Swan Boat feather token. It could mean a world of difference." She says again
"Otherwise, well, I could use scrolls or wands of any black weave or necromancy spells, although I would expect you to just have those lying around. Perhaps an amber amulet of vermin, I know they're not too pricey."
"I believe a healing belt or wand of lesser vigor could be worthwhile, although it's not a priority for me."

"And well... I could always use a new cape of charisma..."

Posey is a greedy mare.

>>178794
>would expect
*would NOT expect

>>178793
>>178794
Silver: "Uh...hmm...I think I will stick with my request for ammo, flares, and also maybe medical supplies."

>>178796
>>178793
"Just the feather token would be okay though..." Rosey Ring follows up

>>178785
Cavaliere raises an eyebrow as he turns his head to watch her. He takes a Knowledge: Arcana to see if Posey's armor looks enchanted in some way.
[1d20+7 = (16+7) = 23]

>>178792
"I suppose the sheer quantity is the reason behind that freighter's value."
>>178793
"I will need a couple boxes of forty-five calibre ammunition at least. In addition, a camouflage net or tarp would be essential to hide on this barren island. As for freezing survivors, would you happen to have any chemical mixtures that would provide heat without light? Defiant Dust might make use of those, since a fire would give away our position."

>>178798
You can't tell if an item is magic just by looking at it, lol.
But you can tell this barfing isn't magical because it doesn't even look masterwork. It looks like a cumbersome and grotesque patchwork of the bones of various demons. It actually looks like it would hamper its user in combat (-2 to attack rolls), but that's worth it for getting to demoralize on attacks.

>>178799
>barfing
*Barding

>>178794
>A set of magic armor
"We have multiple varieties of armor, but not magical armor"

>Swan feather token
"Fine. We can try to locate one and have it available in Manehattan"

>If you have any least or lesser augmentation crystals, I would appreciate using one, such as a lifedrinking crystal or an energy assault crystal.
"Huh?"

>lifedrinking crystal
>Energy assault crystal
"Ohhhhh" Shoal Water opens his jacket, pulls out a suspicious looking can, walks over, and hoofs it to Posey
"Here you go." It is a purple can with the words "PONYTHIRST" in white letters along its side.

>A flamethrower
"That's a bit beyond what we can allot. You aren't necessarily missing that much. Flamethrowers are extremely heavy, explody, not bullet-proof, and much less effective in open areas, which this is.

>explosive arrows
He rubs his chin
"Possible, though it may have to meet you in Manehattan"

>eggshell dust grenades
"Viable"

>Amulet of vermin
"Hmmm... Maybe?"

>scrolls or wands of any black weave or necromancy spells
"I've never heard of 'black weave' unless you're talking about mane extensions, and as for necromancy, would you believe me if I told you that it is not a regular part of our combat mage spells?"

>I could always use a new cape of charisma
"Ha, I could too."

>>178796
>Ammo
Yes

>Flares
A few could be spared, yes

>Medical supplies
Yes. And you will need it

>>178798
>"I suppose the sheer quantity is the reason behind that freighter's value."
"That may be, yes. It could have carried an entire factory over there, and then most of a forest on the way back. Then again, I don't know what the rush would be. But sending fuel oil there... That, it could be."

>ammunition
"Yes, we can do that"

>Camoflauge
"I... think so? It may need to meet you elsewhere."

>chemical mixtures
"I think we have that, yes"

>>178794
>>178801
Kira: gasp "You can make arrows explode!?"

>>178801
>"PONYTHIRST"
Posey looks at the can, and decides to open it later.
>"Hmmm... Maybe?"
"A scorpion amulet costs even less than the feather token. Do consider it while we are on our way..."

Gonna make a Charisma check to leverage Posey's charm
[1d20+6 = (19+6) = 25]
>>178802
"Yes. You can also make ones that split into three copies, which is great if you also have a splitting bow, and cast Arrowsplit on top of it. Really great if make it an alchemist's razorfeather dragonsbreath arrow."

(This is why Mystic Ranger is better. Early access to Arrowsplit is awesome)

>>178803
Kira's eyes almost seem to glaze over at Posey saying "alchemist's razorfeather dragonsbreath arrow".

Kira: "Uh...we just have these..." Kira pulls out an arrow from one of the two quivers on her person. The arrow seems to be an entirely mundane steel-tipped barbed arrow intended primarily for hunting. Thankfully, the lack of plate armor or even just metal armor on modern soldiers means that even these should be effective against any soldiers they come across, and would be an absolute pain to try to remove or treat. It should be noted that the arrow appears to be of excellent craftsponyship, and looks to be it's hoofmade rather than made in a factory. She may have even made them herself.

>>178774
As you wish
>>178775
Sense motive [1d20+8 = (18+8) = 26]
"My my, it seems ponies are quick to demand answers right up until one offers to give then freely and under a veil of truth!" He seems slightly offended, "Very well, glad am I that we can dispense with this superscilious game of 20 questions and get to business like adults."
>>178798
All magical equipment must - prior to enchantment - be "masterwork" quality (+1 nonmagical) which you can ascertain through an "appraise" check

>>178794
The zeeb hears the word "necromancy" and immediately snaps out of whatever prayers he's been muttering in tbe corner. His eyes narrow as he stares at Posey. He's tense, but it doesn't look like he's going to do anything yet. He will be watching a bit closer than before now, however.

>>178811
Roll Arcana to see if you know what blackweave spells are, and how they differ from spells that animate the dead (of which Posey has none, yet).
Or ask in character.

Hmmm, does Posey really think she can avoid being Kira's friend that easily?

>>178812
Oh he doesn't know anything about that. But she did specifically say necromancy. He doesn't care if it's to raise the dead or control them, you've tipped him off

>>178817
Oh well. I guess we'll see how it plays out.

Eh, its 2 digits at least
Keep in mind, all Brie has on/with him is a nmidnight blue vest with finely embroidered pink pinstripes, and a small tea set.

>>178816
Bluff: Now it's Silver's turn to try to give Brie a secret message to stop it, in an attempt to cut him off from angering Shoal Water.

[1d20 = 16]

>>178806
Yes, it’s a threat. It’s directed specifically at Brie. Whether the details of the threat are true… it seems to be made up on the spot. But the message is clear. He who fucks around, shall sooner or later, most assuredly find out.

“The quartermaster is elsewhere. He works for R&M, not me. I will call him so your equipment may meet you at the airport. Any items that are more difficult to procure or budget for can be acquired from the naval base at Manehattan and meet you at the airport there.”

>>178816
Shoal Water, feigning surprise,

“It would be unnecessary, wouldn’t it? Completely unnecessary. As for these… ponies… I have stated already where they fit into my plans. Thus far I trust them to execute their part. And if you refuse? Well, tell us now. We’re not paying for your return from Manehattan if you aren’t up to the task.”

>>178812
Neither the Paladin nor the Cleric need arcana to know that Posey just asked for necromancy spells in front of everyone.

>>178821
When do you want to start the crawl, GM?
I think we've made all necessary preparations. I have this evening off.

>>178823
Silver: "I feel we can discuss this after we rescue those navy ponies and blow up those airship components. Arguing with pony who is giving us mission is not very good business decision."

>>178823
Bruh, don't push the potential consequences of a failed intimidation check against our quest-giver.

>>178823
"Well, you've tried to intimidate me on... two, occasions, I think? You've been trying to go around me to acquire explosives on at least two occasions. You're not exactly inspiring confidence here.

Literally what even is your motivation here for being antagonistic towards me? I'm trying to offer you 3,000 bits and the opportunity to loot and kill, and your response is to be hostile to me? Just.... what? I don't get it.

And yes, I am telling you that if you fuck me over, I will make it unpleasant for you. I will leave the exact details of the punishment up to Staliongrad or the Changeling Hegemony, as they will surely do a better job than I could. Why do I tell you and only you, and not the other six? Because they aren't hostile for no fucking reason. Now stop.

And no. I can't cast 'Zone of Truth,' though I'm flattered that you think I can."

>>178827
"I were you right now, I would keep that bounty on your head a secret from your teammates here.

I've told you very explicitly exactly what I want out of all of you. I want my own soldiers back, I want our technology kept secret, and I want everything done quietly. Do that, and I will reward you handsomely. Fail, well that's disappointing, I'll look for help elsewhere. Deliberately fuck all of us over? Stalliongrad and the Changelings will fight over who gets to decide your punishment."

"A bit more information, since Mr. Cavalierie asked. I don't believe that the Kostroma was carrying a full load of ore or timber or whatever it was. The ship was only medium-low in the water, and going at an unusually high speed, and this was true even before it got to Sirius, and did not change thereafter."

>>178829
"Okay, so this is about that damned freighter. Fair enough I suppose. First of all, it really isn't that hard to shoot down a blimp that's been following you for days. The ship has a 120 mm gun and 20mm canons. All that it would take is the KS-19 to get a little to close, and the will to do it. Admittedly I didn't expect either, yet here we are.

I have no idea what is or was on that freighter. It may have been empty, had a jammed rudder, or even been derelict for all I know. The only thing I know for damn sure is that I do not trust my own government to get them home because they are more concerned with that damned ship. I don't care what was on that freighter. I care that Military Intelligence caused one of my blimps to be lost pursuing it. And frankly, you should hope that you aren't dealing with Stalliongrad. Do you really want to deal with an 80 pony crew and an army contingent both fighting together against you?"

>>178829
>>178830
Silver, who has already staked his reputation on advocating for Brie's loyalties, looks at the bat with a glare that is asking - no, telling - him to please just drop it.

Silver: "Whatever it is, I know that we as group can handle it. We are meant to be professionals, after all. We will get those ponies home safe and sound, and make sure that radar and propulsion system is destroyed."