The Adventure continues
Six years after season 6, Occupied Equestria presents an alternative history where Chrysalis chose a different approach to her second attack on Equestria. The Changelings have conquered half of Equestria, while a former Equestrian colony - soured to Princess Twilight's notion of harmony with all creatures thank to their dealing with griffins - Invaded and took the other half. In Baltimare and the Equestrian Southeast, the magic of friendship has weakened, as Communists, Changeling infiltrators, Fascists, gangs, and corrupt creepy politicians threaten the city. This role play is based in large part upon the Equestria at War mod for Hearts of Iron 4, and uses D&d 3.5e mechanics.
The Eastside Tavern Gang has broken through the house and pool-house of the politician Comte Burgher. What they found has been nothing short of astonishing. Deeds for properties bought by secret societies, seditious communications, cryptic booklets, concerning academic interests, and above all else, a sex dungeon with two young colts chained up, and traumatized. With these, they found something else: two caged and chained up adolescent Changeling drones. So doing what any logically minded group of people would do when encountering caged life-force vampires, they let the things suck on them, then took them home and hugged them and loved them and squeezed them and called them 'George.'
Dark Star is coming to terms with loss in the Stallion's room of the Eastside tavern, while Iron aids him. Silver dreams of an Equestria that is no more and his long lost family (while sleeping in a fairly awkward position). Ash awaits a new dawn of service, Onyx a new life of possible employment, while Brie and Spark stay in a small room with two strange guests
1812 replies and 43 files omitted.
>>87614"I'm just glad everypony made it out of there. There has to be a way to make our decent a safer one. I just can't think of how. It's times like these I wish I paid more attention in school."
>>87616She is a little surpised
"Oh, I have a couple minutes. What do you need?"
>>87608A shimmer on one of the puddles. Who said they were empty? They have very large holes in them
>>87618>shimmer on one of the puddles"....Oil.." she says with utmost disgust
She checks the barrels again, searching for any kind of leak.
>>87618Iron nods, then fishes out the book that was recently found. "I found this on an orange tree not far from here. Seems to have some religious stuff in there. I am hoping you can tell me what it is about in detail." He hands over the book to Marey.
>>87617"Easiest way would be to simply keep calm, slow, and methodical. If it is not yet cleared of poisonous gas, then we should acquire gas masks for all members of party that go back down." Silver continues to eat his bowl of oatmeal.
>>87615dark Star tries to get the license plate in a picture.
>>87619Again, they have definite holes
"I'm not as sure that's oil..."
>>87620She opens it, flips through a few pages, is sort of startled, and then quickly closes the book
>>87623Roll. I'm not sure what, but roll
[1d20+1 = 2]>>87624"What could it be?" Sister Ash replies
She examines the substance leaking bout of the barrels
Intelligence check, to see if she recognizes it.
>>87624Iron cocks his head. "Is something wrong?"
>>87622"Any ideas where to find some?"
>>87627It's not even a liquid, just salt
>>87630"This book is meant to contact spirits. Malign spirits"
>>87626He just barely gets a shot
The griffins start to walk off, and Wind Bard starts to walk back to the boat
>>87632"Strange. You do not seem like ones who would do that. Is there any suspected owners of the book?"
>>87632Oh.
Actually, it's gotten really late, and I'm still really sick, despite insomnia, so I think I'm going to have to cut it here for now.
Goodnight, guys.
>>87631"Black Hooves have plenty of gas masks in their supplies, but whether they could be convinced to part with them is...questionable, at best. There might be couple military surplus stores or even general stores in city that carry them. I know they were freely available for sale during War, to calm fears of gas attacks."
>>87632Dark Star goes back to shoveling coal
>>87636"There was that much surplus? I didn't figure that. Well, we should see who is coming back with us before buying them."
>>87638A number of ponies who seem to be holding weapons of some sort walk around the wharf area
>>87635Alright
>>87634She looks down saddened
"We had a filly practicing dark magic It may have been her, or another filly associated with her"
>>87640Iron pokes his chin. "Do you think it is a good idea to show her the book to see her reaction?"
>>87641"We could try that, yes"
>>87642No, but they are looking around and sort of "clearing" the area
>>87643Has dark Star filled the ship with coal? if so he walks over.
>>87643"Do you think your other business can wait, then? I am not that good at reading ponies' feelings."
>>87644Well, it's a large steamer, so it would take hours for a single pony to fill up the bunker. But he can walk over
>>87645"No, I have time for
this"
>>87646"Alright. Lead the way, Marey."
>>87646Yea sure Dark Star walks over
>>87650They are
not happy to see Dark Star
at all“Who are you, and why are you here?” Asks one, a little angrily
>>87649You're probably right. Iron does not have a good track record on foals.Iron shakes his head. "On second thought, I will not intervene. I am not good with foals, specially fillies. Be sure to notify Ash of the new book that was found, please."
>>87652"woah colts,calm down. i just started. and i saw you all over here looking for something. so i wanted to know if you needed help."
>>87654They look serious
“I will ask you again. Who are you, and why are you here?”
>>87653I mean, you can do it, it’s just that Ash has a sort of relationship with the fillie in question“Oh, I will.” Sister marery responds
>>87655"If I can weigh in on this. Do not, I repeat, do not punish her just from knowing or admitting that the book is hers. You will only cause the foal to act rebellious and fall to the dark side."
>>87655"look i already told you i started today, i'm a dock worker and my name is Big Iron"
>>87639"Of course. You would not want there to be sudden shortage of supplies in middle of war, yes?"
>>87658"You're right."
I finish up my oatmeal.
"So, how bad of a shape do you think the room will be in when we get back?"
>>87660"Oh, it will probably be minefield of jacks and/or marbles." Silver finishes up his own, and stands up. He doesn't seem upset or annoyed at the thought, in fact, he seems quite amused at it.
>>87656“That’s an interesting perspective. How do you figure?”
>>87657He looks at Dark Star strangely
“Are you that guy who tried to threaten Milk Sullen after some bird dropped a crate a couple days ago?”
>>87664"No, i heard he was a big colt. look at me i'm too small."
>>87663"We better head back then before they decide to set off any of those mines."
I pay for our meals, leaving a bit for a tip as always.
>>87665“So you’ve
heard of him... Tell me then, why are you called
big Iron then?”
>>87664"I know excessive punishment will lead to resentment or apathy." Iron pokes his chin. "From what you said, she was punished accordingly when the act of dark magic was actually done. That punishment should be enough to dissuade her from trying again for the time being. If you punish her some more from just owning the book, she will grow bitter or cynical and eventually stop following your rules of conduct. You do want her to be on the path of harmony, right?"
>>87667"well, you'd have to be a mare form me to show you."
Dark Star Big Iron laughs
>>87666"I suppose Onyx and Star would be willing to continue to help, if they were not previously put off by threat of curses and paralysis. I am not sure if Iron and Ash would be. Perhaps with some convincing. And talking about how to ask questions first before setting fire to things." He chuckles a bit, and goes quiet for a couple seconds before adding on: "I am serious if you wish to have place to stay, though. I can not say it will be most comfortable living arrangement, but rent is most cheap."
>>87670He is not amused by the joke
“Right. Now tell me, why are you here, and where did you hear of this ‘Iron’ from?”
>>87668“I suppose, but I am not sure she appreciates how dangerous it is, or that we will not tolerate its use”
>>87673"theres a rumor going around baltimare. i heard he hurt some ponies bad."
>>87674“I see. I have not heard any such rumors. Anyways, why are you on this pier?”
>>87675"this is my part time job."
>>87673"Did she confess why she used dark magic to begin with? I am certain she knows the danger but thinks it is worth a try still. If you can satisfy her demands, you will probably succeed in dissuding her from using dark magic ever again."
>>87672"Thank you Silver. If you can stand a spoiled rich kid as your roommate, then I will gladly take up your offer. Just don't let me slack off payments."
>>87678Silver laughs. "And if you can stand crazy old geezer from Severyana as yours, then I think we will get along just fine. And do not worry, I will not make you slack. You pay when I pay."
>>87677“Ash has done most of the talking to her”
>>87676“Right. Either get back to it, or clear off these wharfs”
>>87682"You should ask her about it. She is pretty good around foals." Iron thinks fondly about Ash, a small smile forming on his face. "Has she made any progress that you noticed?"
>>87679I mainly explained away the lack of spoiled attitude with the backstory, but I think it explains rather well why I can't pass any strength checks.
>>87681"Agreed."
I smile.
"We should really go check on the foals now though."
I head to the door.
>>87683“With regards to Abby Willows the filly? She seems a little less angry, although still distraught”
>>87684"That is good idea."
>>87682When they arrive back at Silver's room at the Tavern, Silver knocks on the door, and, making sure nopony else but him and Spark are around outside to hear, calls through the door. "Wir sind zurück."
>>87685"I see. If you are going to question her about the book, you should be gentle. No need to undo Ash's progress with more punishment."
>>87687“Alright, we’ll think about it”
>>87686No pony answers, although he can hear some shuffling inside
>>87688"Trust me on this. Ash knows what she is doing. I can see her experience handling foals."
[1d20-1 = -15]>>87688He takes it as a sign that they're still there, and that they're aware of their presence, so he enters the room.
Search: As Silver enters, he keeps a look out for any sudden toys he would step.
[1d20+7 = 24]>>87682"sorry,to bother you colts i just was seeing if you needed help is all."
Dark Star starts to walk away
Diplomacy
"Are you colts sure you don't need some help?"
>>87691Of Silver had walked into the entrance of a tunnel used by the Viet Cong, he would not find so many traps littering the floor
\r
>>87693"Nun, wer hat das alles hier gelassen?" He looks at the mass of toy traps in front of him, and exactly who could have set them all up.
>>87684He motions to Spark to not enter the room quite yet.
>>87694Spark understands, but wonders why Silver doesn't have him clear a path with magic.
Iron decides to go back to physical excercises at the garden until either Ash comes back or a nun informs him of Ash's current position.
If 30 minutes passes without any response, I'll suppose GM has gone to bed.
>>87692He looks back one last time
"We are finished here" and walks off
>>87694Silver only gets two pairs of eyes staring back at him
>>87699Big Iron goes back to the ship
>>87699He sighs, and uses his telekinesis to make a path to the bed. He doesn't look angry to the young 'lings. "Es sieht so aus, als hätten Sie jedes einzelne Spielzeug herausgeholt."
>>87702Silver chuckles at the response. "Schade, ich habe schon gelernt, nach solchen Fallen Ausschau zu halten. Du hast mich fast erwischt." He sits down on the bed once a path as been cleared.
>>87695With Silver now safely inside and with a clear path to the bed made, he invites Spark back inside.
>>87704I head inside and close the door.
>>87703I assume you mean shoveling to the coal bunker, alright, he returns
>>87704Wesley is on the bed
I don't think I can come up with any other activities for Iron at the abbey. I guess the book is the abbey's property now. Iron will probably run some laps around the gardens until Ash comes back.
>>87706Silver smiles at Wesley, and gives him a head pat. "Geht es dir gut?"
>>87706yea i assumed it was a furnaceDark Star shoveles some more coal and then looks around for wind bard
>>87708poner doppelganger is pet
"Ja, mir geht es gut"
>>87709He walks out from the ship with a casual set of clothes
>>87710"Nun, da wir alle hier sind, sollten wir über Möglichkeiten sprechen, Sie und Ihren Bruder nach Hause zu bringen."
>>87712"can i ask you a few questions? i'm sure a world traveler such as yourself has some amazing stories."
>>87714Silver gives him the stereotypical confused look: raised eyebrow, cocked head, one ear at the side of his head. "Stimmt etwas nicht?"
>>87715"Sure, I've seen a few places"
>>87716He lays down, and lays his head on the bed
"Ich habe gerade die Spielsachen geöffnet..."
>>87717"so how did your ship get its name?"
Shoveling intensifies
>>87717This just results in Silver giving him an odd look. "Ich verstehe nicht, warum Sie sie nicht mitnehmen konnten. Satteltaschen für Sie zu kaufen, sollte nicht zu schwierig oder teuer sein."
>>87718"Oh that? It was named that before I was assigned to her. I presume because she ferries cargo between Equestria's jungle ports."
>>87719"Okay ... nimm mich wo?"
>>87720"whats it like outside of Equestria?"
>>87720Resume Silver's confused face. "Ich verstehe diese Frage nicht."
>>87721"That depends on where you go outside of Equestria. The Dragon Isles are rocky and mountainous, with dangerous creatures in and around them. Nova Griffonia is cold and hilly along its shores. Zebrica has jungles and Savannah. For the most part, there aren't very many ponies"
>>87722He doesn't seem to know how to rephrase it, or possibly doesn't want to
>>87723"Have You ever been to Nimbusia?"
>>87724"He asked me where I want to take him and his brother."
>>87723"Nun, wenn die Frage ist, was ich denke, dann möchte ich Sie und Ihren Bruder in die Nähe von Tall Tales bringen."
>>87727This response worries Silver. "Sie klingen nicht sehr begeistert. Stimmt irgendetwas nicht?"
>>87728"I only stopped in to drop off a load of electronics and pick up a load of oil and wine. But what I saw... Well, when you approach their capital city, you can see the old temples atop the hill, with great marble columns and intricate marble freezes. White plastered buildings with red tiled roofs. Beyond the city, and all along the shore line are these great rolling green hills. Fairly tall, each several hundred feet, and draped in the greenest grass, or in terraces of olive trees. Sometimes capped by temples or houses. And you could see monasteries perched atop sheer cliff drops. Between the hills were more meadows of green grass and grain crops. In the skies you can see well trimmed clouds, and pegasi darting about"
>>87730"Wow, it sounds Beautiful. I'd like to see it some day
Dark Star thinks to himself "to retake it from those dirty reformists.".Whats The Dragon isles like?"
Shoveling even more
Alright, I'm going to sleep nnow
>>87632"Who would just leave a barrel of salt out here in the middle of the meadow?!" Sister Ash fumes in annoyance
>says the mare with medieval price standards, who still thinks rock salt is worth its weight in silver
>is trying to figure out how to move this barrel of salt
>>87755Now that I look at it, I have an armed Satyre as a 2nd level summon.>>87756I'll get to it as soon as I'm sure that this is what's polluting the water.
>>87758Idk why we're still spoilering.
Nah, Nymphs aren't anywhere on the Summon Nature's Ally table.
Like most Fey, they advance by character class, but their +7 level adjustment renders them virtually unplayable.
>>87759Oh. That sounds like a hard nerf on nymphs, then. Strange how you can summon satyrs but not nymphs. I think I see nymphs are a PC class, right?
>>87761I can't blame them. There's some nasty stories about nymphs and other sprites out there.
>>87760Spoiler, cuz metafaggotry
>hard nerf on nymphs
Nah, that's just the rule for powerful creatures. Nymphs have a lot of powerful abilities that make them as powerful as 13th level PCs at level 6.
Technically, any creature with at least 3 intelligence is playable under the rules of the game (with DM approval), with the proper level adjustment though.l0
Level adjustment basically means that a creature has certain powers or abilities than cause it to be considered X levels above an average creature of its hit dice: that creature needs tohavr more XP to level up, since it's effectively a level higher than other creatures.
Not all races are created equal, so certain PC races wlalso have level adjustment to balance them in gameplay.
For example, think of Drow. Drow are very powerful among elves, possessing boosts to Charisma and Intelligence, in addition to their elf traits and their most notable buff which is their spell resistance; the Drow's game-changing abilities give it a level adjustment of +2. In a campaign that starts at lvl 5, the Drow starts at level 2, but the Drow is still considered to be level 5 for the sake of Experience points, and that Drow also needs just as much XP to level up as a character of 5th level. The affects of level adjustment account for the Drow's racial traits making it superior to most other Humanoids.
Level adjustment is the game's way of allowing races of all kinds to be played, while maintaining balance.
>>87762Humanoids have a complicated relationship with sprites.. just look at any fairy tale..
>>87764Although, in game, only certain types of fey are sprites. I think that group encompasses Pixies, Nixies, Leprechauns, Brownies, and Grigs.
Nymphs are their own thing.
>>87766There actually aren't that many fey creatures in the first monster manual, although the second and third manuals bring in a lot more though.
Idk what would count as fey in Equestria though. I guess Breezies and Parasprites would fit in the creature type.
>>87763I see. Good to know if I want to D&D with set races.
>>87764I read some of them. They don't end well.
>>87766Ah. I see that satyrs are not sprites from your description, unless they enter in a subcategory race in the list you mentioned
>>87767Possibly.
>>87768Maybe contact a bird to fetch Iron? You wouldn't be using magic to do that. Just some animal empathy, kind of like Fluttershy does >>87769Eh, I think that'd be stretching the effectiveness of Wild Empathy. Even casting Animal Messenger wouldn't work unless the birb knew who to give it to.
She'll just walk back to get him.Sprites are basically just the group of fey-type creatures with sizes of small or smaller. Fey can be pretty much any shape or size though.
>>87755>satyr abomination generals?What
>>87763There are no fey, sprites, or human-shaped anything in this game
>>87771>No feyNot even Breezies? They're basically horse-shaped Grigs.
>>87771Right. 4chan is not allowed here. It was a general I used to see at the catalog back when I lurked /mlp/ 1 year ago. Basically, they were top human, bottom pony spawn from copulation between humans and ponies. The thread used to be called that. It's not here in /mlpol/.
>>87770Alright. Iron is currently doing laps around the abbey for some resistance training. >>87774I remember that thread. Never really participated in it though.
>>87775Me neither, tbh. I only saw it in the catalog. Never really entered it.
Praise Football. Praise American.
>>87778I don't really have anything to do today but lie in bed and rest, so I should be available all day.
>>87779Cool. If you can do it and does not mess with your real life, you should nap a bit to last a bit longer when the session starts.
>>87779Hope you get better soon.
>>87783Have a funny gif for compensation.
>>87786I laughed, sensibly. Have more cutes, because this guy has a lot of them.
>>87788Kirins are by far the best non-pony race.
Prove me wrong.
Pro-tip: you can't
>>87792I wonder if they'll add the Kirin Village to Equestria At War once they add Zebrica to the game. Their next big update should be either Zebrica or the rework of Stalliongrad, and I'm excited for either. Imagine the resurrection of the White Army of Severyana, and the creation of the Pony Tsardom in Northern Equestria.
>>87793I wonder if they'll make it a big country or just a tribe like some griffonian countries in the game currently. I would also want to know which classifications and special properties the kirins would have.
I can feel the rise of niriks as a possible facist route for the kirin territory. >>87793>>87793According to development logs, they say that there will be something like four Kirin countries, which will include parallels to Vietnam and China
>>87793>>87794The movie map placed the Kirin Grove on the Southern half of the Dragons' continent. Idk how expansions in war games work though.
>>87795>Kirins == AsiansI guess that works.
>>87796Pretty sure they'll add a whole continent for them as well as other races whose homeland are in said continent.
>>87795Neat. We don't have many oriental-styled countries in the mod.
>>87796It's fairly simple: before you can declare war, you need to justify a casus belli for a specific reason, ranging from forcing your ideology on a different country, to puppeting them, to taking their states. Then you just declare war and do your best to command your armies to victory. If one side ends up victorious, they can enforce their claims on the losing side, even those they haven't justified in exchange for appearing like a threat to the rest of their neighbors and increasing world tension even further. Different ideologies can only declare or justify wars if world tension is at a certain point. Communist and Fascist nations can declare war from the get-go, while Non-Aligned and Harmonist nations can only do so when world tension is beyond the 50% mark. Considering how much, in this game's headcanon, both the Changeling Hegemony and New Mareland have declared war, it's very likely world tension is well beyond the 50% mark.
The kirins will probably have a few states per country, ranging from 1 for countries like the Kirin Village, to 4 for minor countries, to 10 for major countries. I don't expect them to have anything close to the Changeling Land or Olenia's large number of states, and especially not Equestria's ungodly number of states.
>>87798I don't think he meant territorial expansions. More like game expansions.
>>87799In that case, please ignore me.
>>87807Meh,I was never really into war games. I prefer RPGs.
>>87810>Reactionary or Anarcho liberal governmentWhat else are the Fascist and Non-Aligned paths of Bodfield and the Goldfeather path of Nova Griffonia?
>>87808That’s why you make the Wargame an RPG
>>87811It's a bit deeper than that. It's hard for me to accurately explain.
>>87812>>87808Some wargames, like HoI, are RPG. The character you roleplay is the whole country instead of a aingle PC
>>87814Well, that's what I meant. I prefer to play individual characters than I do entire countries. I just prefer the story telling aspect.
>>87815If it makes you like these war games, you can pretend to be the leader of the country, therefore the PC is present and you can like wargames again.
I loved the british in CoH:OF >>87816No, I meant I prefer
playing individual characters on adventures, instead of the nation-wide micromanagement style of play.
>>87819Fair enough. I am trying hard to get into HoI IV to begin with, but I need to bang my head on the table some more>>87820See you later. Hope it's a good trip.
>>87824Iron and Silver are a safe guess, but I wager that everyone will be ready by 12 AM ART
>>87825Well, I have no obligations for the rest of the night, so I'll just wait here then.
>>87826I suggest you take a nap until then, unless there's external obligations IRL.
>>87801Just watch iSorrowProductions and you'll be driving trucks into Moscow in no time.
>>87828>Not playing the superior pony version >>87826I guess Ash can make movements
>>87830Sister Ash checks the water upstream of the barrels, to see if they are in fact the source of pollution.
>>87831What does “check the water” mean?
>>87833It means she checks the plants surrounding the stream, and sees if the water gas the same off scent that the water downstream had.
>>87834Yes and no. The plantlife upstream is denser, but still not “healthy” looking
[1d20+13 = 26]>>87835She decides to look further, upstream, looking for anymore signs if what day be poisoning the plants.
Rolling a knowledge check, to see if she notices anything she recognizes.
>>87836She can see it from where she stands. A noticeable plums of steam not that far ahead. As for the water, it looks more clear than not, but a brown substance rests along part of the banks