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Occupied Equestria - We’re Starting It This Thread I Swear
Anonymous
989814f
?
No.177003
177010
Continuing, and hopefully introducing new characters.

And on the wrong damn post number
1713 replies and 81 files omitted.
Anonymous
da6fe93
?
No.177232
177233
>>177230
>the show had very many mages
Well I would say that even the show isn’t super high magic. Outside of the characters of Starlight Glimmer and Twilight, we really don’t see all that many uses of magic besides basic telekinesis or weather control. For example, despite teleportation existing in the setting, pretty much everyone takes the train. Even characters that can teleport tend to take the train or the chariot or fly or go by hoof, implying the teleportation has limits. While some types of magic are pervasive throughout the show (basic telekinesis), I think the only reason is looks super-high magic is because so much of the show focuses on Starlight Glimmer and the alicorns.

>Posey being out-of-touch with the nuances of the modern world is meant to be a flaw in her character and the potential for character development. It's why she thinks flaunting her powers and acts of brutality are the solution to all life's problems, and why she uses archaic weapons instead of guns.
She can be like that, all I’m saying is that if you have expectations for extremely high levels of magic, you will probably be disappointed.

>Well, I can do that whenever you are ready. I don't mind if it takes railroading or time skipping to get there
To be clear: I am fully aware that silver’s character/player started it; coming back to the catacombs is fine, just know that I have nothing planned for it that hasn’t already been dug up. If you want something new or special, you’re probably going to have to wait to give me time to think of new things. The only reason Silver got things is because I basically dumped a plot hook for every quest I’ve been thinking of for the past three years.

>>177231
Let me get back to this
Rosey "Posey" Ring
5326dd2
?
No.177233
177236 177256
zombie_rose_by_hopessanctuary_dg8m907-fullview.jpg
>>177232
>I have nothing planned for it that hasn’t already been dug up
Well, there go my hopes of discovering a sealed lich whom I could revive later, and for getting a fancy new set of magic robes.
If there's nothing left to do in this dungeon, Posey would just continue her inspection, and then write up a report to spook Glass Horizons into quietly selling the property to her for pennies on the dollar. She'd possibly come back to the property on another day to plant haunted objects to scare off the archaeologists and convince Glass Horizons that the liability isn't worth keeping. Maybe she could get her ghast minion to prowl the catacombs and pick off the occasional archaeologist over the course of the next week or so, to scare them off.

Intent to buy the property would also give Posey a reason to want to come up with a very large sum of money in a very short amount of time, which would easily lead her to look into mercenary jobs for the next quest.
>>177217
With Silver's cooperation, I would like to try to streamline this and treat it as our "meeting in the tavern" moment, just to establish contact for the mercenary quest later. GM has already outright told us that there is nothing left. Posey detected some ghouls in the walls, but from her perspective the ghouls are fine where they are so she wouldn't share them. She would tell Silver that there aren't any tangible entities left to kill off here, but she would assert that she detects that the land is "poisoned", and that for the sake of his health it would be best that he not stay on the property for too long.
If there's nothing here left you think you could use Posey's help for, she would finish her cryptic but unremarkable inspection of the property, take a few samples, and then probably leave.
>>177232
>if you have expectations for extremely high levels of magic, you will probably be disappointed.
I'm just interested in finding cool treasure and magic items, and maybe the occasional discovery about death/necromancy that
What I did expect, however, is war/battle; and although I'm not complaining about how you run your game I would appreciate some clarity on the matter later.
>Let me get back to this
Alright.

Once Posey leaves, she will pick a flower or some other plant-based prop from the surface. She will then use the negative energy from her her charnel touch to cause the flower* to wither and warp and sprout diseased pox all over. She finally uses her Magic Aura SLA to cause the flower* to radiate an aura of strong necromancy for 7 days, turning it into the ultimate Necro-botanist prop to convince glass Horizons or even her peers at the university that the land is poisoned by the necromantic activity that took place there.
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177234
177235
>>177231
Not the DM and I have zero idea what the endgame will be, but I'm not sure he knows exactly what the endgame is either. Barring exceptional circumstances, I don't see this game ending in less than five years, and that's if there aren't long pauses like there might have been (it's been so long since I've read the entire thing that I can't remember). As a player, worrying about something that far out may be inadvisable.
>I thought the point of the game would be to eventually free Equestria from occupation: to raise an army, to defeat the changelings, and to liberate Equestria.
Well it's certainly the long-term goal or aspiration of a couple of PCs, but that doesn't mean it has to be yours. I see this setting as a sort of sandbox to play around in, sort of like Far Cry but with even more freedom. In Far Cry you can do lots of things but you're still limited by the programming and set plotlines. This being DnD there's only really a limit to it by imagination and worldbuilding, and Equestria at War's world adds a huge depth and breadth that we've only scratched the surface of (I'm guessing this is why there are so many dream quests; the main setting is Baltimare but it could've been anywhere else, so the dreams help to scratch that itch of seeing how the rest of the world is doing, or seeing its past or possible future). There are different factions to side with, large and small, and you can pick any of them. One (sadly inactive) PC sided with the Changelings, and another joined the Blackhooves. Speaking of the Blackhooves, they are the actual occupiers of the playing space, and you would have to go through them to get to the Changelings. But that raises a dilemma: although most ponies in Equestria hate the Blackhooves, if you were to topple them then the Changelings (who are far worse) would invade. It's this dynamic world of politics and power balances that makes the game more than merely DnD but with ponies, though the ponies are a great reason to play.
>I thought it would be a gritty, grindy game with mass combat where the characters are constantly in war.
I don't see this happening very soon, personally. Besides the issues 3.5e has with mass combat (a system like AD&D might work better for this), the players (aside from Posey becoming an extremely powerful necromancer, which is its own can of worms with how everypony else would deal with it) would have very limited impact on the overall war. They would have an impact, but instead of simulating the entire Battle of Stalingrad it would be more like Operation Market Garden or the many commando raids that happened. There has been combat and it's more-or-less played out like this, resembling a video game with a combat>brief reprieve>combat>brief reprieve>combat>goal format. It could be played like The Campaign for North Africa board game but, again, 3.5e isn't built for that, it would make the interminable campaign even longer, and you could get that experience far easier just by playing the Equestria at War mod.
The HOI4 mod macro-scales the world of MLP by turning the lovely setting into a grand strategy game, and the drawing point of this campaign is that it reverses that. You get the dark and gritty setting that EaW provides, but with more focus on individual characters and heroics that can never be captured in a Paradox game. It's a microcosm of a larger world with powerful nation-states and armies numbering in the millions. I'm guessing PCs will get the chance to affect this larger world with their actions, but it will be through diplomacy, seduction, and the dagger of small-scale combat, not through personally leading a million-strong army. That doesn't mean PC actions are useless, but it changes the dynamic. If Hercules was real and was alive in the modern day, he'd still be superhumanly strong but he wouldn't be able to fight the whole U.S. army, for example. He would still be able to affect the world in powerful ways, he would just have to go another way about it.
>because she's based off of the white horse of Conquest (antichrist) and represents her role as a false savior.
That's really cool
>It took me more than a year irl just to join with another party member
Has it really been that long? You really lose all sense of time playing this campaign.
Anyway, these are just my own thoughts and I hope they help, but I don't have much more to add.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
5326dd2
?
No.177235
>>177234
>I see this setting as a sort of sandbox to play around in, sort of like Far Cry but with even more freedom.
Well, not exactly. I can't just go killing ponies and making monsters as I please. I have to deal with military checkpoints and whatnot that require me to keep a low profile. I don't know how I'm going to get that advanced bone lurker out of the swamp.
>dream quests
Posey doesn't need sleep, but I considered giving her ranks in Lucid Dreaming so that she could topple Baltimare's leadership by attacking them in the realm of nightmares and dragging them into the "if you die here you die in real life" portion of the dreamscape. A very vampire-like tactic.
>But that raises a dilemma: although most ponies in Equestria hate the Blackhooves, if you were to topple them then the Changelings (who are far worse) would invade.
I am the far worse thing.
One idea could be to invoke a wight-apocalypse and convert the population of Baltimare into undead, and then immediately march the wights into Equestria to attack the changelings. It's a rash and drastic plan though, as it conflicts with potential to cooperate with the rest of the party (because it's so overtly evil).
>issues 3.5e has with mass combat
Read Heroes Of Battle.
>would have very limited impact on the overall war
This can be resolved using the Victory Point system, in Heroes Of Battle. Characters winning battles and finishing key quests contributes to the overall victory of their faction.
>3.5e isn't built for that
I've seen, played in, and DM'd 3.5e campaigns that worked skin such a way.
>I'm guessing PCs will get the chance to affect this larger world with their actions, but it will be through diplomacy, seduction, and the dagger of small-scale combat, not through personally leading a million-strong army. That doesn't mean PC actions are useless, but it changes the dynamic.
That's what the Victory Point system is good for.
>If Hercules was real and was alive in the modern day, he'd still be superhumanly strong but he wouldn't be able to fight the whole U.S. army, for example
Hercules was capable of bringing back the dead by ambushing and wrestling death itself, fought the entire armies of tens of nations by himself, could lift and throw mountains and reroute rivers, once held up the weight of the sky, overthrew countries for sport, and could even change the weather by threatening to shoot down the sun with his longbow. He only died because he killed himself in shame, and then ascended to actual godhood upon death. Don't underestimate demigods; he could easily lay waste to any nation.
He has canon stats in 3.5e, and iirc he could probably solo pretty much any d20 modern campaign. The US army doesn't even have any weapons that could damage him, and even if they did he has so many hit points that they would be able to do anything to him before he picks up Oceanus by the ballsack and crushes the country under the weight of the Atlantic Ocean. He has enough HP to survive an atomic bomb dropped on him.
>Has it really been that long?
Yep.
Anonymous
803f954
?
No.177236
177238 177239
>>177233
>Well, there go my hopes of discovering a sealed lich whom I could revive later,
If you really want it, you can have it. You just can't have it now.

>>177231
The game is intended to be more or less open ended

I was inspired more than any other source by a video I watched many years ago about Skyrim, where the reviewer said that they thought that Skyrim would be better if it were made without the main questline. What is Skyrim without the main quest line? It's a mostly open ended story where the central plot focuses on the civil war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials, with many side quests and especially the guild questlines, and the Thalmor looming above all as a greater evil, and the presumed big bag of any potential sequel. That's more or less what I wanted to do here. Later, I discovered Fallout New Vegas, and it was an even better example of what I sought to achieve. It has an open ended plotline where you can choose between three distinct ideologies or start you own. It explores issues of political philosophy that I find fascinating

That's more or less what I wanted to do here. To create a world in motion that's at a crossroads and could go any of several ways. There's a Far Right option, a centrist/center right option, a far left option, a center left option, a criminal syndicate, and many types of "fuck it" options. One player immediately went and got in bed with the fascists in the fullest metaphorical and literal meanings of the phrase, and fully sided with them. One decided fuck it, went to the changeling lands, and intended to come back with changeling infiltrators to take over Baltimare. One joined the criminal syndicate. One did a more or less good but neutral mercenary work. One decided to just be a regular filly. Several of them decided to do waifu simulator.

Thus far, the players have attacked communists, fought ELF fighters on a train, killed random changeling infiltrators, fought undead, and so forth. Most of the quests have been for the New Mareland Occupiers, or have at least favored them, in large part because of the aforementioned full-blown fascist, even when their characters aren't really entirely aligned with it.

In terms of overall plot, the main things going on are that within East Equestria is that the new Governor of Manehattan is leading a revolution to clear out the criminal syndicates, leftists, and moderates, and in teh process is draining all of the Fascist aligned resources on the continent. Overseas, a war goes on between the tripartite pact and the old allies of Equestria. Here in Baltimare, the New Mareland Government wants to get rid of its untrustworthy Social Democratic Party allies, and also is likely to do a crackdown on immigration and immigrant communities after recently exposed cultist activities. Down south and in many places, war continues against separatists, rebels, and bitter-enders. Over all, there is a serious looming threat of the Tripartite pact breaking down, and war happening between Changelings and the New Mareland State, and this is the long term danger. You could think of it like being in German Occupied France or Belgium during the time of the invasion of Yugoslavia, after the fall of France and before the breakdown of the Molotov Ribbentrop pact and the invasion of the Soviet Union.

> I thought it would be a gritty, grindy game with mass combat where the characters are constantly in war.
Not... Not really. I mean, it can be done that way, it would just need to leave baltimare. Posey could join with a resistance group in West Equestria to fight changelings, or go fight against griffins in the Meredines, or fight overseas, or... maybe create a fight.

I absolutely would not have approved any kind of pure evil aligned character, if I could do it over again.
Creamy Cheese
6611fb3
?
No.177237
177240
There was interest to reprise/resolve the aspirations of no particular changeling-sympathizer,....
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177238
>>177236
Has Stalliongrad been sitting around twiddling thumbs the whole time? In EaW they do different things based on leader chosen. Vasiliy Pentsushenko helps Equestria fight against the Changelings, but that didn't happen so presumably he's not in charge. Sinister Serov prefers to start wars of expansion and there's no news of that so he doesn't seem to be in charge either. That leaves Dark Wing and I'm not sure what he does except have a risk of turning harmonist over time.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
5326dd2
?
No.177239
177240
>>177236
>If you really want it, you can have it. You just can't have it now.
Cool.
>Skyrim without the main quest line
Oh, I see. Total open-world.
>just need to leave baltimare
I am okay with this. Posey has only been in Baltimare for about a week, and aside from the few NPC contacts and support networks that she has made in that time, she doesn't have any attachment to the area.
Transportation isn't even a big issue. Posey could pack up Gloomy and his snacks, go out to the swamp to that massive Bone Lurker, and ride it like a flying carpet wherever she wished. I just need a plothook to know where I am going.
>Posey could join with a resistance group in West Equestria to fight changelings
That sounds like fun. Going Changeling-hunting was something I wanted to do.
>fight against griffins in the Meredines
Posey is experienced in fighting griffons.
>fight overseas
This is one thing I would prefer avoiding. Posey just got to Equestria to start her mission, and she gets sea sick so she's not going to get back on a boat soon.
>maybe create a fight
I thought of that, but I've also been mindful of your efforts as a DM by not killing off the entire map or causing unending cataclysms in your world, despite all of the ideas I came up with to do that. The result is that I've been playing Spy, even if I wanted to play Warlord.
>spoiler
Technically, being a Dread Necromancer only requires being nongood. There's room for character development.
Anonymous
803f954
?
No.177240
177244
>>177237
wags tail rather intensely

>>177231
>>177239
>I've been playing Spy, even if I wanted to play Warlord
>Posey saw conquering Equestria as her calling in unlife, her reason for being, and without that reason for being she's just a shambling corpse of an ex-slave doomed to eternity of hunger and hate.
>invoke a wight-apocalypse and convert the population of Baltimare into undead, and then immediately march the wights into Equestria to attack the changelings.
I very, very, very seriously doubt that a single necromancer is going to conquer the entire continent of Equus all on her own with only a small amount of support from a couple ethnic minorities. Period. I just don't buy it. Baltimare itself has about 2000 garrison soldiers. But of course it isn't just garrison soldiers, it's also 1000+ police, some number of anarchist fighters, and all of their support like mortars, armored cars, and what have you. And then if she gets all of Baltimare, then what? There are 100,000 occupation soldiers in East Equestria. These have thousands of artillery guns, several battleships, and hundreds of bomber planes in support, as well as 500,000 more that can be brought from across the ocean. Now, I'm sure your response is "oh, but an infinite number of soldiers can be easily beaten by a good necromancer. Soldiers are not a threat at all." But please remember, the main purpose of soldiers is to delay the enemy while artillery shelling does most of the work. 70% of casualties are caused by artillery, and half of the rest by bombs and mines. I really don't imagine the undead as being very effective at countering artillery and mines. And it isn't just artillery. There are bombers, land mines, barbed wires, ships that also have artillery, flame throwers, tanks, combat mages, mortars, machine guns, and what have you. This is besides the fact that the 30 million of population who don't want to die would help, including formerly hostile partisans. And you just assume that they won't have paladins, clerics, mages, wizards, and hell, fucking necromancers of their own to fight back? Why would you ever assume that? If they don't have them, they will move them in from abroad.

And let's assume that the New Mareland State is defeated in its entirety. Then you have the full Changeling nation, at something like 500,000 to 1.5 million soldiers, with proportionately far more tanks. You have Stalliongrad with some hundreds of thousands. Probably yaks. And all of this is ignoring the fact that Starlight Glimmer, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, the Mane Six... They ain't dead. They are in captivity but if there were a very obvious need for them, they would be drawn out.

The essence of the problem is that when you go out and make a thousand or a half million wights, you've announced who you are, what your intention is, and how you operate to the entire planet. The entire planet is on notice that there could be necromancer operatives ready to spring up in their own population. They are on notice that they need to start making counter measures. And most of all, they are on notice they need to stop fighting each other and fight together.

The ELF can go on in part because they are cowardly and run away, in part because they can hide in plain sight with the general population, in part because they can recruit and get supplies from the mostly sympathetic population of the 65 million ponies in occupied Equestria and the Crystal Empire, in part because they have multiple foreign nations as well as the remains of the former Equestrian military supporting them, but mostly because they aren't self-evidently a threat to literally everyone. An undead army will have none of those benefits. And even with all of that, the occupiers are adjusting their strategies and means of fighting to try to counter partisans. They are introducing check points and internal passports, just as Britain did in Malaysia. They are banning and searching for all firearms, explosives, and cameras. Do you think there wouldn't be an adjustment in approach if the undead became an undeniable problem? It's not like how to counter the undead is unknown. It's just put to the side because it is not necessary. You can bet that book would be dusted off if there were a need.

The Dread League has one hell of a lot more than just one necromancer, and they build artillery. And even then, they almost always lose, and when they win, it's only by taking out the nations one by one. Never all at once.

>Hercules could defeat the entire US military
Would you believe me if I told you a little pink pegasus filly could suck the magic out of all of Equestria and disable every mage? What if I told you that a passive defense of the Changeling Hive - a literal rock - could neutralize even a god? You'd best believe it. Chrysalis and Cozy Glow are not stone or in Tartarus in this world, either.
Anonymous
803f954
?
No.177241
177242 177246 177255
>>177221
"Uh, well, yeah, sure, just... looking to see how... what you were doing, heh heh."

>>177174
"He left. The mare was mubling and moving her hooves like she was walking. Then she stopped. She went to sleep."

>>177212
>>177207
Posey knows exactly what this is. She can feel it. It is a cloak of resistance. It's on the weaker end +1. Almost certainly at one time it was much stronger. But it's been battle damaged, having been hit with at least two magic bolts and partly cut by two sword slices, slightly damaged by mold, and by the magical entropy of the passage of time, and in that time it has deteriorated in power. Posey could imagine that this cloak was made and donned for battle, but more likely it was kept around for dangerous magical experimentation.
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177242
177243
>>177241
"Oh. Oh! That's good. Maybe you can come walk with us, so long as you promise to not be too loud." Amber gives a smile that would look forced if she wasn't wearing a cloth mask over her muzzle.
Anonymous
803f954
?
No.177243
177245
>>177242
Jakala moves over to the sled. The stallion speaks,
"Why is this one here? Jakala, you need to go back."

She looks up towards him
"You left."

He says,
"Little pony. You need to go home."

Replies,
"Everypony is out... I'm scared..."
Rosey "Posey" Ring
5326dd2
?
No.177244
177246
>>177240
>a single necromancer is going to conquer the entire continent
Well, it would depend how quickly she could level up, but I had several different plans for how to go about it.
>only a small amount of support
A fun part of being a Necromancer is that you can gain the support of your deceased enemies, such as via Juju Zombies or Dread Warriors, or other various monsters.
>Now, I'm sure your response is "oh, but an infinite number of soldiers can be easily beaten by a good necromancer. Soldiers are not a threat at all."
Well, it depends how good. Posey is currently unable to even animate a single skeleton with her own power. As Possy stands, she it's really a necromancer at all, but closer to a warrior who happens to also know a handful of magic tricks.
Level 8 is when she would kick off, because that's when she gets access to Animate Dead + Undead mastery: at that level she would have ~77-150 HD worth of undead under her control, which is an entire legion and a half of undead soldiers, on top of around ~100 followers from Leadership + Undead leadership. These numbers can be further pumped with items, spells, and feats. At higher levels it could be possible to create bound undead versions of fiends who have at-will undead creation abilities alongside spawning undead to raise a truly absurd number of undead minions.
That's certainly not enough to take over the world all by herself, but it's enough to play a war game, isn't it?
>paladins, clerics, mages, wizards
Those sounds like cool bosses to fight as quests, and possibly even great minions when Create Undead comes online.
I don't know how many paladins or Clerics the changelings would have though. Wizards maybe. I didn't consider changelings to be very religious creatures.
>This is besides the fact that the 30 million of population who don't want to die would help, including formerly hostile partisans.
Well, that is a hurdle for the Dread Leagues run, yeah. Its cause cannot be justified, although that is made up for by the 100% recruitment rate for conquered territories.
But I'm not playing as Rosa Maledicta. I'm playing as an apprentice warmagus who wants to prove her worth on the battlefield and expand her powers by contributing to the war against the changelings.
>And let's assume that the New Mareland State is defeated in its entirety. Then you have the full Changeling nation
I was kind of hoping to go fight the changelings first. I have contacts in New Mareland that I would rather keep alive (for now).
I don't believe that the changelings have very many allies anywhere, because they are untrustworthy by nature. I think if a powerful and beautiful magician started freeing pony villages by squishing bugs, other factions wouldn't be quick to come to their aid, even if there are rumors of her using black magic on the battlefield.
>Starlight Glimmer, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, the Mane Six... They ain't dead. They are in captivity but if there were a very obvious need for them, they would be drawn out.
I considered that, but that's also sounds like something that would occur 10-15 levels from now.
If you think of it, the presence of Celestia is probably one of the biggest deterrents for necromancers from the league attacking Equestria, and the fact that she's currently cocooned would mean that this is the best opportunity for the league to infiltrate the continent.
>The essence of the problem is that when you go out and make a thousand or a half million wights, you've announced who you are, what your intention is, and how you operate to the entire planet. The entire planet is on notice that there could be necromancer operatives ready to spring up in their own population. They are on notice that they need to start making counter measures. And most of all, they are on notice they need to stop fighting each other and fight together.
This is kind of why I haven't done it. I'm still gunning for the false-savior gig, and Posey's cardinal flaw is her sense of vanity.
>The ELF can go on in part because they are cowardly and run away, in part because they can hide in plain sight with the general population
Well, August Wreath can count himself lucky that there's at least one mare in this world who believes in his courage, despite the odds. The Reconquista began with only 40 Christian monks hiding in the mountains, afterall.
He could make a good Shadowbane Inquisitor, and perhaps far later an excellent Blackguard.
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177245
177247
>>177243
"Everypony?!" Amber exclaims. "Are you sure?" She looks back at the different huts in the village.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
5326dd2
?
No.177246
177247 177249
>>177244
>An undead army will have none of those benefits. And even with all of that, the occupiers are adjusting their strategies and means of fighting to try to counter partisans. They are introducing check points and internal passports, just as Britain did in Malaysia. They are banning and searching for all firearms, explosives, and cameras. Do you think there wouldn't be an adjustment in approach if the undead became an undeniable problem? It's not like how to counter the undead is unknown. It's just put to the side because it is not necessary. You can bet that book would be dusted off if there were a need.
Idk, GM. I've thought of a lot about this, but all of my calculations and simulations have been null, because the mere thought of an undead army is still 4 levels away, and that will take me 4 years at this rate unless I start doing a lot more combat a lot more often.
I would still be interested in fighting changelings and/or liberating Equestria even before the undead army becomes an option. Posey has a bow and a sword, she has a formidable amount of hit points, and she has spells that are useful for making victims look like the died of disease or dessication.
I'm really excited for the mercenary quest.

But I'm getting from your implicit tone that you're not really interested in my aspirations of taking Equestria back from the changelings with an army of skeletons. Since that's not going to be for at least four levels, would you mind giving me some hooks/guidance/advice for how to go forward? I feel like I could play a bit better if I had a good sense of direction for how I could play my character in a way that's helpful to the party and/or GM's story. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>>177241
>cloak of resistance
Ooh!
>battle damaged
>Posey could imagine that this cloak was made and donned for battle, but more likely it was kept around for dangerous magical experimentation.
"This was a cloak made to defend its wearer from hexes and deadly curses. I have a a strong hunch that this may be Curwhinny that we are looking at, based on the clothing alone." Posey says

If there's nothing left to do in the dungeon, what's stopping Posey from casting Speak With Dead to know the answer for sure and call it a day? Posey would just go home to meditate after her investigation is over. I know it's meta-gaming, but you seemed a bit strangely insistent on Posey preserving her magic, when by your own admission there's nothing left for her to do on this quest. Are you planning for us to do something immediately after this dungeon on this same adventuring day?
Anonymous
803f954
?
No.177247
177248 177250
>>177246
>Are you planning for us to do something immediately after this dungeon on this same adventuring day?
Yes.

>>177245
At least one of them has smoke, surely

"She means her family," Father says

"Little pony, you shouldn't really be out here."
Jakala sits down

"But I am bored. I am scared and I am bored."
She trots along when the sled moves, to sit slightly in front of the sled, and then moves along as the sled passes again.
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177248
177251
>>177247
"Let's bring her along, Papa. She won't make too much noise," she pleads.
Anonymous
cfa9245
?
No.177249
177250
>>177246
>what's stopping Posey from casting Speak With Dead to know the answer for sure and call it a day?
I mean, I guess there’s nothing. I know that you’ll 1000% wish you had that spell slot when you need it later. I suspect you’ll like the answer you’ll get if you wait until after the quest is over much more than the answer you’re going to get if you ask it now. I know from a meta perspective that it’s a very bad idea to do it now (and there is no reason at all it can’t be done later). But in character, I’m not sure why not.

I hate that fucking spell for how it undermines world building. It will never, ever, ever be referenced as existing by any NPC anywhere in the world. It will not come up in any conversation. If posey mentions it, the answer will be “what?” I’m not going to nerf your character’s spell set, but I don’t have to acknowledge it either.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
5326dd2
?
No.177250
177256
>>177247
>Yes.
Okay then.
The only question left is what to we do to get there? I guess that's our job to figure out.
We could just leave.
>>177249
>I know that you’ll 1000% wish you had that spell slot when you need it later.
Noted.
>I suspect you’ll like the answer you’ll get if you wait until after the quest is over much more than the answer you’re going to get if you ask it now.
Cool. I'm excited.
>But in character, I’m not sure why not.
In character, Posey has no reason to expose the scale of her powers to strangers, or to help these two ponies with their quest.
Out of character, I, the player, just wanted to be helpful to Silver's player because I like contributing to things.
>I hate that fucking spell for how it undermines world building. It will never, ever, ever be referenced as existing by any NPC anywhere in the world. It will not come up in any conversation.
Well, that should be simple, because in the PHB it's a Cleric-only spell, and it looks like Clerics are pretty rare in this setting, and those in the business of extracting information of corpses could be even rarer due to burial practices, let alone those of "heroic" level capable of casting lvl 3 spells would be few and far between. This is reinforced by priests being virtually non-existent in FiM and irrelevant to the plot if they did exist.
>I’m not going to nerf your character’s spell set
Thank you. I would have missed this spell, because the word "Necromancer" means done who speaks to the dead.

That aside.
>>177219
"I strongly suspect that this cadaver may be Curwhinny, but I can't be sure. We should stow him back, so that nopony else tampers with him. I intend to take some samples and revisit this dungeon at a later date, perhaps within the week. There shouldn't be any corporeal entities left here, but it is inadvisable to stay on this property very long, because I strongly suspect that the soil may be cursed."

She turns to leave, to resume her inspection of the grounds before making her way aboveground.
Anonymous
cfa9245
?
No.177251
177252
>>177248
Father:
“Well, she needs to stay somewhere. Should she really be alone?”

Stallion, exasperated
“What are we going to do with the child?! What, is she going to just follow us? What then?”

Father:
“Well, maybe”
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177252
177261
>>177251
"Jakala is very trustworthy to bring on hikes, but she shouldn't be left here. We got us firewood earlier and she did very well," Amber says in a lauding tone.
Kubana "Nope Noodle" Kirafiki
7aa5c3a
?
No.177255
177257 177258
>>177241
"Just getting to bed! Did you want to join? There's plenty of room."
Silver "The Floof" Sword
7aa5c3a
?
No.177256
177257 177258 177262
>>177227
"I do, but let us get out of this dank dark place first."

>>177233
>>177250
Silver supposes that will have to do. He does ask for Posey's help in re-sealing and stowing away the casket containing the skeleton, as it's probably not a one-pony job, even for him.
Anonymous
bc8a050
?
No.177257
177259 177260
>>177255
Her eyes go wide, she breathes in, and she moves a half step back.
“Oo-what?! In the bed?”

>>177256
“Ah, okay. Fair enough.”

It’s at least not too difficult to place the large stone casket back where it was formerly placed. Soon enough, it is done.
Anonymous
bc8a050
?
No.177258
>>177255
Her eyes go wide, she breathes in, and she moves a half step back.
“Oo-what?! In the bed?”

>>177256
“Ah, okay. Fair enough.”

It’s at least not too difficult to place the large stone casket back where it was formerly placed. Soon enough, it is done.
Silver "The Floof" Sword
7aa5c3a
?
No.177259
177262 177274
>>177257
With the casket placed back where it belongs, Silver leaves the strange Necrologist mare to her work and exits the dark catacombs with Pear via the quarry exit. Once back out in the open, Silver stretches and breathes in the fresh air deeply. He's very much glad to be out of the stale, dank corridors and cold dungeon rooms. He looks over at Pear and smiles.
Kubana "Nope Noodle" Kirafiki
7aa5c3a
?
No.177260
177274
>>177257
Kira nods in the affirmative. "Yeah! If you wanted to, that is." In a singsong voice, she adds, "*It's really comfy!*"
Anonymous
d5659d1
?
No.177261
177263 177264
>>177152
“Alright. If you would, step over to the side.”

Garb is placed over into a side room. He has to wait. Quite a while, actually. Garv can’t see much of the world beyond the one open door, which seems to forever await the arrival of the pony who is the key to his new life in this new land, but what he does see he surely analyses to no end. A couple ponies move by, and he can hear noises, but mostly it’s a still room with indistinguishable sounds of talking elsewhere.

Then he steps through. It’s a peppered gray unicorn with a green uniform, a slough hat, and a cigarette in his mouth.

“You the new one?” He asks

>>177252
“Just. Ugh- You know what? Sure. It will give your daughter something to do. To look after the even smaller one. Come on.”

Jakala hops onto the sled.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
3227e47
?
No.177262
177269
>>177256
Rosey Ring complies. She even carefully puts the cloak back on the skeleton (she can always come back for it later), and helps him stow it away.
>>177259
The white mare follows him, shielding her eyes from the light of the sun. Gloomy does the same.
Amber Sunset
22573a8
?
No.177263
177431
>>177261
Heavy clothes obscure their expressions too much, but Amber would be smiling and wagging her tail. She considers sitting behind Jakala, but she doesn't want to make the grown-ups second-guess their decision by being dead weight. She instead helps pull the sled.
Garv Cavaliere
22573a8
?
No.177264
177266
>>177261
Cavaliere nods, remaining in place.

"Name is Cavaliere. May I know whom I am speaking to?" he replies.
Anonymous
68428cd
?
No.177266
177267
>>177264
“Major Jungle Dark of the New Mareland Army Corp.” He nods.

“You’re a… special recruit, as I understand, from Nova Griffonia? To help replace some of those we’ve lost to Manehattan and general attrition.”
Garv Cavaliere
22573a8
?
No.177267
177272 177273
>>177266
The griffon raises an eyebrow. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am not a 'recruit' however, more of an 'auxiliary.' I understand there are areas where you need discretion and don't want a pony that can be tied directly back to the Army."
Rosey "Posey" Ring
8169d5b
?
No.177269
177270
Screenshot_20241018-231356.png
>>177262
Oh wait, I forgot to do my actual job. Rosey Ring may be a liar, but she's also a trained professional, so when she says she's going to complete a quest she makes sure it gets done.
Before Rosey Ring leaves she takes a minute and chants in the throes of recitation to perform the necessary exorcism ritual to force any haunting presence on the grounds to reveal itself. She takes 10 on her DC 20 religion check for a modified 21.

(I don't expect anything to come of this. I'm just make a point to show that Posey did in fact do what she promised she would do).
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177270
177271
>>177269
For best results for number of ghosts, if any ghosts, and any traits these ghosts may have, check in after I’ve had enough time to think of individual stories and traits even though I did this for the undead in the vampire cavern and it amounted to nothing.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
655d04d
?
No.177271
>>177270
>even though I did this for the undead in the vampire cavern and it amounted to nothing
Yeah, I was really interested in that, but I was preoccupied by the hail of gunfire and subsequent burning of the building. It wasn't necessarily my intended path, but that's how it played out.
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177272
177273 177338
>>177267
He takes a seat in the room and invites Garv to sit down on a seat across a small table from him. “Come, sit.” Any insistence on standing is met with “No no. Sit.” He speaks

“Yes, auxiliary. I suppose that’s the term. I think you’re already familiar with our practice of recruiting Nova Griffonian mercenaries. Most of those are assigned to patrol the Changeling border. To hopefully cut off any trade of arms, or movement of rebels across the border, and to provide warm bodies to slow down any potential invasion, while the real defensive line is built back here, in the Port of Baltimare. Those griffins are paid well by Nova Griffonian standards, but very little, all things considered. They are recruited from among the vagabonds and the unemployed. You can imagine we’ve had to hang quite a few for smuggling arms themselves.” He taps his cigarette over the floor and lets the ask fall to the ground, then takes another draw

“But that isn’t why you’re here, as you’ve surely surmised. Let me give you the background. This is Baltimare. Baltimare is not a live, organic city. A live city - if any settlement so large as to be called ‘a city’ coulr ever be considered ‘live’. In any proper pony settlement, a pony is born, lives, and dies in more or less the same region, if not the same village. He has a connection to the land he lives in by birth and by blood. Its myths are his myths. Its history is his history. Its successes, failures, and suffering are his successes, failures and and suffering. It’s collective project is his collective project its its glory is his glory. He has a place, a purpose, and a destiny within a carefully crafted social scheme where he is connected to those around him by shared history, myths, blood, and destiny. That is harmony. That is where loyalty, generosity, kindness, laughter, honesty, and friendship flourish.

And that is not what Baltimare is. To be sure, at one time in recent memory, it was a simple fishing village, then a moderately important trading port, even if lacking a royal shipyard. But Baltimare’s curse is the have a natural harbor, not far by rail from the equestrian interior, the closest by barge to the resources of the south, and closest by sailing clipper to southern Griffonia or northern Zebrica, and even closer by steamship or ocean liner. Always a center of entrepôt, it is now a center of heavy industry. Not even half of the creatures residing here were born here. Its most obvious, to be sure, with the myriad non-pony creatures in Baltimare, a majority of whom flooded the east side in the last five years, but a great many have been here far longer than that. There are diamond dogs, griffins, zebras, deer, Kirin, and more than that, and most are not well assimilated, if a non-pony may ever be said to be fully assimilated into the land of ponies. But even among the ponies most are alien, and if they are not their parents are. Many come from oversees, many are severyanan emigres, from the natives of the south, or of the bat pony communities, and many are simply from the countryside or the interior, looking for work.

The result is that most are strangers living amongst strangers, whose only relationship with the city and its ponies is that they are employees under large industrial employers. They are alone, in need, and angry. Just as mold grows in cold, dark, environments, so too do dangerous lies take hold here.

They are told lie that harmony does not need a delicate ecosystem, but only a simple set of values that may be applied to an ever-growing circle. They are taught that friendship does not require commonality, but may encompass the whole universe. They are taught the lie that money is the only defined value, and that every other value is pure idiosyncrasy. Abd for this dangerous lies, a few are willing to kill and die. These are the anarchists, the harmonists, and the assortment of other leftists who make up a majority of the politically inclined members of the population. Baltimare was rebellious against the old princesses, trying to establish a state based on the abolition of most of what forms the foundation of civilization, as they did in Severyana. But unlike Severyana, the Princess was having none of it, and the rebellion was crushed.

But in the chaos, a few opportunists seized on the chance to present themselves as the harbingers of the brighter tomorrow, holding back the reactionaries, and in reality creating their own little fiefdom. You have them in Nova Griffonia, don’t you? Social Democrats. A socialist state by non-violent means, or something. They set up their own secret police force, gathering information on their political enemies, then hoofing it over to the Equestrians who then arrested their enemies. Perhaps the most efficient of these was Lavender Berry, who placed himself at the head of the police force, and allowed organized crime - and disorganized crime, for that matter - to flourish, so long as he and his friends stayed in power. After we came in, this arrangement was abolished by the previous military governor. A revolt ensued. It has been reinstated, but our trust in our collaborators must be forever verified. And likewise, Baltimare has long been a cauldron of racial tension, especially with the bat ponies, who have not gotten along well with the labor and leftist organizations of the city.”
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177273
177338
>>177267
>>177272
“Against all of this, Baltimare is actually useful to our overall efforts. The city refines the tin and copper mined in the south and brought it on barges. It processes the jute and the rubber. It refines the oil of the south into aviation gasoline and fuel oil we use in our planes and ships. It makes the chemical dyes we use in our uniforms, and fertilizer we ship to far off Griffonian fields. So there is a need to keep order in this modernist mess of leftist extremists, organized crime, potential bat pony or southern separatists, and whatever dangers come out of the immigrant population, besides more traditional and obvious threats, like royalist rebels along the countryside, or hippogriffian spies and commandos.

And now to you
If you were following along, and as you may have guessed, relations can get… complicated. More discretion is required in, for example, labor relations. We represent the ponies, but also industry and the migrant workers that compete with labor. Having somepony… err, someone else to handle the finer details is hoofy.

Over in Bales, you can stay your entire tour on the border, flying patrols or sitting at check points.” Shaking his head. “That is not what this is. Here, you will serve as required. Your pay is for results, not hours. Your contract does preclude you from any work adverse to the military district, but it is not exclusive. You may work for the State Secrurity Administration or Revenue and Migration Service doing much the same, or for the police, for the Feltons doing security, or even the Bail Bonding companies taking bounties. Though if a war breaks out on the continent…” He smiles “That would change things.”
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177274
177275 177279 177284 177371
>>177259
“Yeah…” Pear places the light down, turns it off, and then turns back towards Silver. “Gasp!” Her eyes go wide and she jumps back. Head pulled away. “Silver! You’re different!

She turns her body to face him, and slowly steps closer and moves her head closer. Her neck slowly extends and tail slowly moves upwards. And raises her right hoof and extends it until it touches Silver’s fur.

“I thought your coat looked different inside but uh, I couldn’t be sure in the dim light… I thought I saw something. I guess I did see it. Silver, your coat is brighter… Your mane is darker… you must look at least twenty years younger…”

>>177260
Her head moves down and ears go back. She is blushing. “Do you uh, do you normally sleep with other snakes? Other females. At night?”
Rosey "Posey" Ring
655d04d
?
No.177275
177276
>>177274
>. I guess I did see it. Silver, your coat is brighter… Your mane is darker… you must look at least twenty years younger…
Iirc, this was one of the warning signs of potential demonic possession. Posey makes a religion check to see if Silver needs an exorcism.
[1d20+11 = (18+11) = 29]
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177276
177277
>>177275
While there is a surge in harmonic magic in the subject, what Posey observes is not consistent with said magic containing an intelligence. It’s also worth mentioning that his appearance has not changed since Posey first laid eyes on him.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
655d04d
?
No.177277
177278
>>177276
Well, that begs the question: wtf is going on?
Arcana check
[1d20+11 = (17+11) = 28]
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177278
177279
>>177277
Best guess? An introduction of unnatural amounts of life energy. This is consistent with Posey’s observations of magic, and also Dr. Faucet’s claims that the subject de-aged.

Pear may have also gone semi-blind while underground. That works too.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
655d04d
?
No.177279
177280 177284
>>177278
>An introduction of unnatural amounts of life energy.
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE muh real estate! I wanted a dungeon full of lingering negative energy and entropy.
Is the source of the magic within Silver, or within the dungeon itself affecting him? If there's one thing Posey is familiar with, it's negative energy, and by extension it's polar opposite.
I think *now* might be the appropriate time to use my 1/day Detect Magic SLA.
>>177274
"Silver, ummm... Something is going on..." Rosey Ring appears to be at a loss for words
She appears to be agitated, her eyes widening. The pony who talked so casually about torture, monsters and death appears to be on guard for whatever has caused this sudden change in the ambient energies.
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177280
177282
>>177279
If you really want to, you can. I’m just saying you are also probably going to want to use detect magic later
Rosey "Posey" Ring
655d04d
?
No.177282
>>177280
I think I'll wait for Silver's response.
Silver "The Floof" Sword
7aa5c3a
?
No.177284
177285 177286 177287 177292
IMG_4342.jpeg
>>177274
>>177279
Even as Pear makes her exclamation, Silver can feel something has changed. As he stretches, the usual cacophony of pops and cracks that accompany his aged joins is surprisingly missing, as are the aches and pains that naturally coming with aging. As Pear's hoof touches Silver's fur, she can tell immediately that somehow it's managed to become softer, fuller, fluffier than before. Silver looks at Pear, and she can see in the light of day how even his eyes seems to be sparkling in a brighter shade of blue than they were before they delved beneath the earth.

"I feel different. I feel good! I have not felt like this in...years!" It was hard to tell inside the dungeons and catacombs with how their voices reverberated against the walls, but even his voice sounds different to her. It's still deep, but much of the gravel of age seems to have left it, making him sound clearer and younger. He looks up and off into the distance, the cogs turning in his mind coming to a realization. "Мои богини...that fruit!" He looks over Pear, seeing if similar changes have been made to her as well.
Rosey "Posey" Ring
655d04d
?
No.177285
177288 177289
>>177284
"Whatever could be the cause of this...?" Rosey Ring says as walks out of the dungeon, her tone flat
She doesn't appear quite as glowing as she did in the darkness, her colors slightly dulled and not quite as strikingly beautiful as she was in the dim light of the dungeon. It seems as though she wasn't lying about being sensitive to sunlight.
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177286
177287 177288
>>177284
Pear's body is turned towards Silver, allowing mostly her front profile to be seen, and not much of her body. Still, Silver can see that her coat is a strong lemon-yellow, and her mane a vibrant strawberry-red, kept up as it is by several ties, and her tail likewise tied up. She's small and thin, and appears to be a youthful mare of about 24 or 25. How old is she really? 26? 28? Hard to remember. She may not be a borderline filly like Khoi, but she's hardly old, either.

Pear is very close to Silver. Her head is stretched out, now near his. He can see her little pink nostrils at the end of her rounded snout slowly open then close. She stares into Silver's eyes with her own. Her irises are yellow-green, the color of a pear. For a moment the two stare into each other's eyes. Pear breaks off after twenty or so seconds, looking to the side. Her hoof presses against Silver's chest, buried slightly in her fur, up until she breaks away.
Anonymous
6a07eb9
?
No.177287
177288
>>177286
>>177284
Her coat is indeed more vibrant than it seemed. But is that only because it stands out more than it did in the dim light of the catacombs, or is she really more brilliant than she was before?

She looks confused. Her heart rate is heightened. She seems almost frightened, and certainly surprised by what has occurred. But she is certainly calming down.