788 replies and 39 files omitted.
>>187424Silver: "That is where you come in. Your ability to wither and rot things through touch, with all respect to your power I do not think it is enough to kill Traveler on its own...but it might be enough to weaken him. Then we follow it up with forcing explosives inside his body, bypassing his unusually resistant hide and damaging him internally, where he is likely less resistant. Doubly so with your magic affecting him."
>>187425Silver: "That as well, of course. Especially against stronger summoned monsters, like that Abomination."
Kira comes back, holding a trembling Pipette in her coils.
Kira: "Uh...sort of? She tripped and took a big spill and...uh...I don't think she likes being held in my coils very much. Sorry, Ms. Pipette."
>>187426"I believe you are misunderstanding the metaphysics of supernatural damage resistance, but I guess it would not hurt to try..." She replies
>>187418>is he notWell that depends. Are you as a GM adviso g me that there might be consequences to this decision?
>>187428Yes, hes messing with the torpedo, where did you think this was going
Taking a 10 tho, not trying to blow anyone up (my bad)
>>187427Silver nods at Posey. "I appreciate your agreement, and I also understand your reluctance."
>>187429Breaking this down as an ostensible explosives expert.
1. Make sure no boom
2. **make sure no boom**
3. Fucking 1 and 2, yall swear Im an amateur
Yep, Im gonna. Not trying to stop the flow, but lets stop pretending qe're playing credible versions of the characters we're trying.
Olay fine, Brie does does notjing, cuz in absence of his careful choices, haphazard idiots make haphazard choices.
>>187434What endgoal do you have?
>>187432>>187433I appreciate the criticism, but being ex-military is only one part of his character, and honestly not even that big a part. There's also more ways to portray someone who's ex-military other than "ultra-disciplined hardass" or "jaded PTSD burnout". So far I've received no other criticism from other people besides you. I apologize if you're ex-military yourself and it's something you hold dear to your heart, but I've liked how I've played Silver and it's how I'd like to continue to play him.
>>187438Fine.
But at the moment Brie - who I assure is a hairtrigger if anyone is thinking - especially in that hes contemplating dissectibg a warhead
FOR FUCKS SAKE LET THE BAT WORK
Gm, I think we're ready
>>187438I think your character is great.
>>187440D'awwwww, thanks. I personally hope we get to see more of your character and get to see the deeper sides to her in the near future. I think Posey is pretty cool.
I won a Posey with the help of John Elway. Your argument is invalid.
>>187442You lie. John Elway is a myth. Speak of who can testify to John Elway
>>187442Based Posey Bloom enjoyer
Brie fucks back off to unavaillable until GM is available , cuz y'all
Brie contemplates cutting the wrong wire on the torpedo
Just saying, and not intended as a threat (though how do you intuit it otherwise?) I figured out how to kill Brie off outright and still make Lacey work. So Im good with killing him pff now if it means not getting cucked by absentee players
And yes, I would be okay with waiting until Mended horn is over to actually do things. I'll still be in the comments tho :3
Id still like to get his CM, but I'm more interested in not wasting my weekends hoping for something that just doesnt happen, but theres no way to know until its already wasted. I know, dnd and player being available, thats expressly why I was leery about going on a 5 player and 1 gm mission.
virtually impossible to get a solid, "shake your hand in good faith" dnd group of 5-6 reliably. With anon-board "lol Im a shitposter" shenanigens, you're inviting a nightmaee,... that doesnt have a moon on its flanks
>>187430"Yes, now let us go find the commissar."
>>187451>>187458We don’t need everyone else there’s combat, and at the moment, there is no combat nor on the immediate horizon.
>>187478Could we get to the commissar this weekend?
>find the marines
It does sound like a plan. The torpedo might be useful in the long run, but better to put first things first maybe
>>187475>>187478It takes a moment, but eventually Silver and Garv (who is currently absent) arrive carrying the plane's MGs and their ammunition. "I think we are ready to go find Commissar Black Heel, now."
Kira, meanwhile, still has her head set and seat cushion, and is currently wearing the oxygen mask with its dangling, trunk-shaped breathing apparatus. Kira giggles to herself as she shakes her head from side to side, causing the apparatus to swing around. "Hehe, I look like an elephant!"
>>187481Grootslang encounter, when?
>>187483I forgot the comics already has a Grootslang
I want it. I want its corpse.
>>187483When it’s appropriate to the story and world such that its appearance feels natural and not contrived. The Grootslang is an African myth. There’s a reason it showed up in Season 10 in Zebrica
>>187485Would Kira know what a Grootslang is, then?
Whelp, let’s see. It’s a legend from South Africa specifically. In fact, “Grootslang” is a Dutch phrase, and it’s a creation of the Afrikaans people. “Grootslang” literally means “big snake,” and the legend is basically of the Afrikaans people imagining a giant snake inhabiting a cave full of diamonds. So basically no, I don’t think Kira would know what a “Grootslang” is.
>>187486The Grootslang is a magical beast, so roll Arcana, or Nature at GM's discretion.
It's a rather obscure and powerful one though, being a creature that was able to evade the wrath of the gods, so the DC might be pretty high.
Let's see if Posey knows:
[1d20+11 = (4+11) = 15] >>187488Nah, 15 isn't cutting it...
>>187487>big snake,” and the legend is basically of the Afrikaans people imagining a giant snakeKira has not heard of a grootslang cause Kira IS the grootslang
How far is the commissar? Does it take us long to get there?
>>187490>>187487It could be the local griffon colonists have made up the Grootslang legend based off of seeing lamias.
>>187492There are far more impressive snake creatures in d&d than lamias
>>187493I know, but taking into account the universe that this game takes place in, lamias
are pretty impressive, probably impressive enough to inspire such legends.
Is there any other prep we need before we meet the commissar?
>commissar before marines
Yes, not trying to prioritize, just expressing interest to continue
rot intensifies
"How far is it to the commissar? I do not wish to delay finding the airponies for very long."
"Quick reminder, there was gunfire anout a mile that way. Whether it relates to the Commissar, the Marines, or the ostensibly time-sensitive situation between the Traveler and the military, in all cases, we should endeavor to waste as little time is possible."
>>187500>>187502Silver: "It sounds as if it is not far. Gunfire seems to be in direction of GRU landing party, so I imagine that Traveler has sent welcome party."
OOC: GM pone is wanting to reply to some posts before we proceed, give him some time. >>187427>>187430"It is also plausible that The Traveller regressed into a state of dormancy in anticipation of or in response to its impact in our world. I believe that its current, immobile form is only a transitory stage in its metamorphosis. Once it discovers that supernatural attacks are still able to damage it in its dormant state, it is unlikely that it will simply surrender to being destroyed: at that stage, it may reveal its true form, much more dangerous, but also physically destructible." Posey say
"Time will tell."
For those trying to take a machine gun, please understand that these are decidedly
heavy machine guns, purpose built to kill small aircraft like fighters, and not to fight against infantry. The bullets are .50 cal, which is to say, several times the size of standard .30 cal bullet. 250 rounds weighs about 75 pounds. The gun itself is 84 pounds. But please understand that the rate of fire of this, the aircraft version, is twice the rate of fire of an infantry or vehicle mount version. That is to say, its rate of fire is just under that of an MG 42. It is physically impossible to hip fire. And further more, it and its ammo feed is screwed into the turret. It can be removed to be sure, but that would take time.
>>187381>>187426“Ahhh!!!” Puppets waves her hooves around, and tries to get back up and continue running. She’s trembling, but in fairness, she’s been doing that continuously.
>>187508>>187502To get the torpedo warhead, Brie would probably need to be continuously working on it while the others are trying to meet with the commissar, or what have you.
>>187500>>187508The party members should have a vague idea of where the commissar is supposed to be, but Pipette knows more.
[Read more] >>187512>>187511"Pipette, you know where the Commissar is, right? Lead us to him."
>She’s trembling"And if you do it quickly, you could have us all out of your mane soon enough."
>>187511Hmm...how much time?
Kira, with Pipette in her grasp, gives the mare some headpats, hoping it will calm her down.
>>187515"Kira, let the poor mare go. We need her on her hooves to lead us to the Commissar."
>>187511This is why Cavaliere was hesitant about grabbing the gun. He simply cannot carry that much weight. Does anypony volunteer to carry either the gun or the ammunition, and does anypony object to waiting for the gun to be dismounted?
"Miss Pipette, none of us intend to hurt you. Lack of sleep has made you jumpy, but please get a hold of yourself. We need your help," he says gently.
>>187517I don't care either way.
I have space on my floating disk.
>>187518You have four caster levels, correct? That's 400 pounds we can carry in the air.
Let’s say that the warhead of the torpedo has 255 pounds of Amatol explosive
>>187511Brie has zero interest in the torpedo. I envisioned something smaller, like standard missile size, except for air-water
>>187521That is a lot of potential god-killing power there. Hopefully.
>>187519We should have asked Captain Waters for a Talisman of The Disk. It's only 500 gp for at-will Floating Disk.
I think I'll buy one after this adventure.
>>187525Let's find the commissar and the Marines first.
>>187528No, I mean it would be a huge help to smooth over Brie's IC concerns about the plan if Posey explained (again, in character) in a bit more detail about the scroll. She's explained she would need the leviathan whale skeleton, but not what she would need it for or what it would do.
>inb4 "Posey wouldn't so willingly divulge this kind of information"The party is in a life or death situation against a god with the ability to summon monsters seemingly without limit and control an unknown number of creatures at any given time. For Posey it's especially a case of life or death because she has 0 Constitution, so if she goes down that's it, no bleedout period or anything like that where the rest of the party can save her. Information isn't at a premium here, we need to communicate with each other if we wish to survive and succeed.
"I'm certainly not going to be able to.convince the science mare, even when bartering or engaged in diplomacy, there's an aire of intimidation to it. Still, she does seem to require some degree of convincing, and since I'm quite certain thar several.of you will be very cross if I try to force her at gunpoint. So! I'm going to whipnup a fresh batch of tea, and maybe we can get her a bit more settled hmm?"
Brie first reloads his revolver from the 3 potshots, before making a full pot of tea.
>>187530This. Ill be happy to have Brie do whatever, but it has to make sense
>>187531Kira: "Is there an aire of intimidation to headpats," the noodle asks, as she continues to give the scared science mare comforting headpats. "I like giving pets and headpats to friend-shaped creatures."
>>187535Brie does for a moment contemplate giving 'special headpats'to the science mare, but is pretty sure that would not be approved.
I don’t believe Kira ever actually ran Pipette down, lunged at her, and constricted her. I mean… caught up to her, whumped, and hugged her.
>>187538Did Pipette run? Cuz Kira's hunter insticts would have kicked in.
Can we pretend that the ladt few hours of dialogue isnt wasted on a tiny bit of oversight? :3
>>187539Yes.
Running from a massive predator whose normal prey is medium sized ungulates, like ponies,
may have been a mistake.
>>187538Well, that was the intention. The friend-shaped creature must not be allowed to run off on her own, she must be given friendly snek hugs.
>>187534>>187535Kira: "Awwwwwww..."
>>187530>it would be a huge help to smooth over Brie's IC concerns about the planI missed the part where that's my problem.
>She's explained she would need the leviathan whale skeleton, but not what she would need it for or what it would do.The nature of the magic in the scroll is purview to her master's practices: it is as much of a military secret as the sensitive systems that Captain Waters is having us destroy. Adhering to the privacy of her masters is part of her code of conduct, which is why she cannot reveal it to outsiders so easily, even at the expense of her own safety. Until her apprenticeship/enslavement is over (level requirement), death is preferable to slighting the masters.
>if we wish to survive and succeedYou say that, but Posey also have my secrets to keep.
She did request to break off and perform the magic in privacy. I guess it wouldn't hurt to witness the results of the spell if you didn't witness its casting.
I'll consider it. Let's talk about it again after we find the Marines and Commissar.
>>187541"Stop chasing her. This is counterproductive."
[Read more] >>187544>>187543Kira: "Okay..." Kira loosens her grip on the science mare.
>>187541As Brie approaches, Kira first, he pauses.
"Ms. Kubana, our guest will need to be able to move to be able to sip her tea. If she runs, she won't get far," And Brie deli erately makes eye contact with Pipette, "but for now let's just take a moment." His head tilts as a thought occurrs. But he finishes his motion, holding out a small cup of calming tea to the frightened science mare.
>>187540Pipette is less grappled and being offered tea by a crazy bat in a camo murdersuit that yes, has blood on it.
"Go on Miss, youve been through alot. It isnt poison, and we're not here to hurt you. I brought biscuits as well.:
"
>>187493RUDE
>>187543So Brie is taking the time to boil water?
>>187544>I missed the part where that's my problem.Also rude
>>187545>>187544>>187541Sure, we’ll assume that Kira, despite never rolling for it an only stating the action as kind of post hoc fait accompli, has grappled and coiled Pipette after she tripped.
When Kira loosens her grip, Pipette jumps out of Kira’s coils. She fails to clear Kira’s body and trips over it, falling on her belly with an “yumph!” squeal, eyes closed forelegs spread in a y shape forward, and chin against the ground. Her tin-hat slumps down, though the horn stops it from covering her eyes, and she looks upwards towards whomever approaches, presumably Brie
[Read more] >>187544Silver: "We have time at moment because of distraction to be able to go to Commissar, whale skeleton, and airponies without worrying about GRU or Traveler. I highly doubt, however, that distraction will hold long enough for us to backtrack all way across island multiple times to go to airponies, come back for skeleton, come back for torpedo, then go to Kostroma. Whatever secrets your masters have bid you to hold, they would surely understand that needs and circumstances of current moment outweigh need for secrecy. I also doubt any of our original party members will divulge any secrets we discover."
>>187551Did you want a roll for it? I didn't know if you did or not.
>>187551Posey approaches her
"If you would be so kind as to lead of to this commissar you spoke of, that would be very much appreciated." she says
Without waiting for a response, Brie simply shrugs and starts laying out teacups and biscuits. First to Pipette, then Kira, Silver, Dust (hes the lankier), and finally Garv. Somehow, Brie intuits that Rosey would decline tea and biscuits. All the same, he only has a dozen and with those six he can only offer 2 per pony without breaking them.
"Ms. Pipette, please be at ease. In spite of our colorful and outlandish nature and appearance, we are here to be of service to you. And not just to you, but the good locals of stalliongrad, and whoever else has been caught up in this messy little scenario," he's quite upbeat at this point, wriggling his nose and shaking his head a bit at 'messy little scenario'. "Its quite absurd, and not what the lot of us were expecing when we took this mission. You're a mare of science, I assumed you would benefit from a more detailed and HONEST level of disclosure," he smiles, finally bringing his own tea to his lips. "The tea it's self.is wonderful, but consider dipping the biscuits in for a moment, not too long or they'll crumble. Anyhow, where I was going with that is to say that we are a privately contracted, paramilitary group tasked with recovering Equestrian personnel and either sabotaging or running off with military vehicles.
However, as you are no doubt aware," he gestures to the bags under her eyes, "There is more going on here than a simple territory dispute between rival militaries." His voice grows deeper and more deliberate. "Something foul is going on here, and it is not implausible to say that the few here, offering you tea,... may be the kast kine of defense that Equestria has." His voice jumps back up in pitch. "Life is so erratic and unpredictable isn't it?
So, while appreciate what given the circumstance a slight disinclination to trust us, it would behoove our survival if you would help aid us in locating the commissar."
[Read more] >>187551If we can dialogue without your adjudication, and if the dialogue takes far longer than boiling water for tea, yes Brie made tea
>>187557Idk what check that counts as
[1d20-1 = (18-1) = 17]Bluff and intimidate are a +5, but this is sorta more diplomacy? Total newb
>>187552>>187553>>187554>>187555Pipette lies collapsed on the ground on her belly. Her hind legs are propped up against Kira’s body, slightly raising her hindquarters, even as her chin presses against the grass. Her wine-red eyes look up at the creatures around her. She moves her hooves closer to herself and tries to push herself upwards. She manages to pull herself off of Kira, and is only just able to stand up, still trembling and dirt on her white coat jacket.
She looks over to the biscuits (I’m unsure if the biscuits are actual biscuits or if these are cookies), and sniffs one. Then she uses her magic to take it, and starts eating it. She eats it rather quickly and not exactly in the manner befitting what is presumably a professional. She takes the tea with an aura of red purple magic, sips it, then drinks it quickly, with the only limit being an aversion to having her mouth burned by hot liquid.
>>187559"....Take your time to recover, but we are in a hurry, so be ready to leave soon." Posey says, coldly
>>187555Cavaliere takes a cup of tea, but stares at Brie as he gives away information that is not his to give.
Or maybe I should retcon this, as if we're taking the machine guns he will be taking precious time to dismount them?
>>187559Kira gives Pipette a friendly smile. "Sorry about all of that..."
Silver likewise smiles at the mare. "I know they are weird bunch, but they are good creatures."
>>187562Brie acknowledges Garv's glance, and tips his head to suggest he has a plan, but acknowledges we cant discuss it now, wat matters is getting this cunt to.gove us the next waypoint
Pipette speaks:
“I can take you to him.”
Tentatively, I don’t think a character can both try to take a machine gun or disassemble the torpedo, and go to find the commissar, unless some other measure is taken.
>>187565Agreed, and without the aid of a sufficient load-besring device, it simply isnt feasible. If only it were someone else's problem. But anyway, since Pipette is gratefully obliging
"Splendid. You'll be in fine care. Lead from the middle, let us protect you.:
>>187565Then let us nix the machine gun retrieval. Unless if we seriously split the party, losing time in the process, Cavaliere cannot have it moved which makes the whole effort worthless. If Brie is going to stay behind and work on the torpedo, the party will have to come back for them anyway which would make the machine gun worth it. It's dependent on Brie's decision.
>>187568Brie is not going to stay behind, because as said he would be unable to move the extracted explosives and no option for moving them is forthcoming
>>187570Oh how Ive waited,....
But now would be a good time for Rosey to maybe say something vague like "If I can come up with a load-bearing,... device, can these weapons be utilized?"
Just a suggestion
>>187565"Excellent. Lead the way, Miss."
>>187571Nevermind, allon zee as they say