/pone/ - My Little Pony

What system are you using?

Tabletop games and any format thereof are for disgusting smelly autistic nerds. Pony tabletop games are for nerds twice as disgusting and smelly than the norm but three-hundred times more autistic

>>315834

>>315832

Sorry, I probably should have been more clear when I said “rules of my own design”. I’m not a fa/tg/uy, so I’m not familiar with all the different rules systems out there. I’ve played D&D 3.5 with my friends a few times, but I dont want to try running this on something resembling those rules. I’ve seen CYOAs on 8chan get bogged down by complicated rules before; I want this game to be pretty chill. I also have some experience with the BRP system, and I like some of the stuff in that system. In the end, I’ll probably just pick and choose whatever mechanics I think would be fun and make a custom ruleset that wouldnt require me to master an existing system I’m unfamiliar with.

With regards to how “kid-friendly” it will be, I feel no need to adhere to the standards set by the show. In other words, I am probably going to treat things like damage “realistically”; you cant get seriously injured and then be fine the next day, you can die if you do too much, etc. That being said, I was thinking about having whatever campaign I do be very combat-light, because turn-based combat would be hard to pull off given the pace we’ll probably be moving at.

I was planning on having the campaign not take place at the same time as the show, so I dont know if I’d be able to use something like Pony Tales like you suggested.

>>315841

>I dont know if I’d be able to use something like Pony Tales

If I find the .pdf, I'll post it – it might actually be somewhere else around here, titled "a magical land" IIRC – it's system agnostic, but it does put names and numbers to things like cannons, film cameras, hydroelectric dams, and some of the likely reasons for their tech not matching ours as caused by how ''magical' their land is.

Mostly it's about putting some real meat into the setting, so you can describe everything clearly and sensibly.

>“rules of my own design”

I don't have any reason to neigh-say this, but the purpose of rules, is to nail down what exactly our characters are capable of. If a player says they're building their character with excellent perception, and then later the player is snuck up by a mook who shouldn't be good at being quiet, still, or blending in, they're going to feel cheated.

Too, if a player says "I rolled a nat-20 this should be world-bendingly awesome!" you have a system of rules in place to describe WHAT a nat-20 on that kind of roll does (you successfully stab the mook. He's bleeding now.)

So while I get why you would want to avoid a ruleset geared primarily towards combat (that's what my joke about shadowrun was about; it's *very* action specific to the nth degree) you still want to lay out some stats, so we can differentiate ourselves, and understand when we're about to get in over our head.

Have you ever read up on Call of Cthulhu? An investigator's stats are mostly about how healthy they're feeling right now; agility and speed are mostly ignored in the assumption these are normal people, thus don't need to seem heroic. That might be a good direction to go with your intended ruleset.

moderately sure I found a reference to it, but the page is so badly broken I can't read any of the work in question.

https rpggeek.com/rpg/14397/pony-tales-open-d6

See if any of you can get more from it than I can?

>>315846

I dont want you to worry about me making this too babby-tier. There will be rules that cover all the basic shit you’d have in any RPG, I just dont want a ruleset that forces people to keep track of a dozen modifiers for any given roll. I actually have played Cthulhu before; that’s what I meant when I said I had experience with the BRP system. I’ll probably use the skill system from that if nothing else since it’s really lightweight.

>>315847

I dont see a pdf or anything on that page anywhere.

>>315854

Thanks for finding that. I probably wont use that ruleset, but the tables of numbers might come in handy.

Alright, since we have a few people interested, I’m going to go ahead and set things up. It may take me a few days to decide on the rules and write our first campaign, so I’ll try to keep you guys posted. In the meantime, start thinking about what kind of character you want to play. The campaign will probably take place a few hundred years after the defeat of NMM in mainland Equestria. The setting will be heavily medieval in terms of tech, culture, etc. You must play as one of the three pony races; no dragons, changelings, etc (at least for now).

>>315869

Don't forget to storytime when anything interesting happened. I would've loved to join but I don't think timezone and my free time would align with you guys

I’ve finished throwing together some rudimentary rules. I would appreciate it if everyone who plans on playing the game take a look and tell me what you think. If you think something should be changed, let me know.

https://pastebin.com/ME4LEgHF

>>315879

>thaco

Rolled 4, 3, 4 = 11 (3d6)

okay not thaco, this is more like sanity checks. Now I'm okay with it again.

Dice rolls as done by the system? We could make a thread in /ponerpg for rolling I suppose.

>>315886

>you have a total of 150 points you may use to increase any of your skills

Okay not so ready.

DM! DM! I want to craft a weapon; easy name would be magic bolt; range of about ten feet (assuming our characters are imagined in a 5x5 square, which might not be the most accurate) and of course would count as a spell as well as a weapon.

How many crafting skills can I have? I'm going to at least take "weaving" with the intent of makeshifting my own saddle buckets from suitably pliable twigs, but would also work to make blankets but the "holes" would make the "blankets" look more like macrome tapestries. Suitable for carrying but maybe not too warm. Also not fast to make of course but if our characters are supposed to have a week of down time I could come back with a blanket for wrapping up winter in. Assuming Winter is a mostly-physical manifestation like a windigo, and I've acquired materials that are windigo-proof.

>>315887

You can have as many skills as you want, bro. Maybe my skill description wasn’t very clear; you can have multiple “Crafting” skills, but they wouldn’t share points between them. As for that “magic bolt” thing, I’m not sure what exactly you’re trying to do with that. If you just want a spell that does damage, that’s fine, but that means you’d have to choose a relevant special talent. If you’re talking about some kind of magic item that lets you use magic the same way as a melee weapon, that would be a bit too overpowered for me to approve.

>>315888

>As for that “magic bolt” thing,

Trips checked.

I'm wanting to add skill points to "fighting" – the association between damage done and MP spent would have to be considered, but I'm thinking something like a 6mp bolt that does something akin to 1d3+3 at touch range, 1d3 while still within melee range, and 1d2 just beyond that. Chance to hit would maybe be my fighting vs their dodge, or my dex vs their dodge.

>>315889

Also, since you don't say otherwise, can I add skill points to dodge?

Two spells I'd like to discuss – one pie-in-the-sky one, one mundane.

The mundane one is "light" – how fast does being the company flashlight drain my MP? Does it get easier or night, if I tone it down to pocket-lighter level? Actually given my character build it might make more sense that either a roll, or DM-choice determine the 'level' of brightness, and I have to spend extra effort to change that.

The second, is I think my character has been working on arcane wings. In part, this makes the flight skill meaningful to me, although at the start it wouldn't be successful–perhaps during the course of study it could be developed, or perhaps it will be set aside. In order to be meaningful to the game, it would need to be considerably cheaper than simply levitating myself. In exchange, again considering my character build, I could envision a dex-check for every airborne move action including hovering, and no weather manipulation unless I develop a spell for that, and cast both at once (no plans at this time to develop a cloudwalk spell, much less a make-lightning spell).

lastly (nextly?) are you expecting each spell a unicorn knows to be listed separately, with its own skill consumption? I'm envisioning unicorns to mostly be on-the-fly spell creators, with a single skill in casting – less familiar spells, more complex spells, all have higher difficulty ratings, but "throw", for example (not levitation but to throw something with enough force to break glass, or even bone) would be obvious to construct, but perhaps difficult to execute.

sage for double posting and then-some.

>>315889

I’m just going to make a spell that does something along the lines of what you want. You’ll have to specialize as a battlemage or something like that though.

>>315891

Now that I think about it, a “Light” spell is something that quite a few unicorns in the show are capable of pulling off, so I might just make that a default spell like Levitation. As such, it will probably be very low-powered and low-cost. Also, I’m not letting you have a magic wing spell right off the bat; that would be way to overpowered. I would recommend you re-read the rules I posted, because you seem to be confused about how magic works. Spells are not skills, and I currently don’t have a way for spell creation to work. I’m probably not going to let characters invent new spells at a moment’s notice. I kind of already have a difficulty system for spells, but I don’t think it would be affected by a “Casting” skill, because skills in this game are not built for certain tasks being harder then others.

>>315905

>How many bits do we have for equipment?

I will decide this as soon as I can come up with stats for more items

>Are the 150 points for skills in addition to the default skills?

You can spend your starting skill points on any skill, not just the ones I mentioned

>Can you heal during combat?

I will probably have health potions be a thing, and have healing spells if someone goes that route

>Is bluffing included in speechcraft or psychology?

That would probably be “Speech”; “Psychology” is similar to the “Sense Motive” skill from D&D

>Do sneak attacks use the Stealth skill?

I haven’t written rules for sneak attacks yet, but I probably will

>Can medicine be used to make poisons or are they their own skill?

That will probably be it’s own skill, which I will make at some point

>Is there a throwing skill (for things like rocks, caltrops, pocket sand etc.)?

Not yet, but there will be

>>315909

After some consideration of my character backstory I seem to be creating now, 'slingbolt' is a bit more important than "magic bolt" – the main difference being this new spell requires a physical piece of ammunition, and would behave approximately like a sling, probably with a much easier DR for a 'thrown improvised weapon' form – depending on whether I'm trying to injure or seriously destroy something, or just break a window with a rock or make a noise "over there" with a rock bouncing off a wall.

But do also get back with me on how many spells I can have written down and in my pack – I get than there'll be a time delay while he sifts through his ratty notebook looking for the page he needs, but given how strapped for cash he probably is, and that he has 55MP most of the time, he might have foregone a lockpick set for an auto-unlock spell. Also either a 'detect life' or 'detect heat' to figure out whether the coast is clear; maybe a muffle spell so his hooves don't go clip-clop so much (easy enough to just wrap felt on his hooves, though (maybe a night vision spell so he doesn't need to ignite a light.

Which brings me to another question needed for extreme cases of magic casting. Does it make noise, and/or create light? A thief would need to know how much attention he's drawing to himself by casting while crouching behind the kitchen counter.

Alright, I made some changes to the rules today:

>changed a few skills

>changed how spells work

>added several new spells

>added detail about sneak attacks

>added a bunch of new items

>added level advancement rules

>>315910

>>315909

I’m fine with you being a sneaky ninja unicorn, but you have to keep in mind that you’re a level 1 sneaky ninja unicorn. I can see most of the spells you mentioned being relevant to your character if that’s how you choose to specialize, but you will not be proficient with all of them initially. Your ability to carry magical writings is limited only by your physical ability to carry around scrolls and books and such. I added some spells that are similar to the ones you suggested. I also added an addendum specifying that using magic does create light, so take that into account.

>>315918

looking good. For a weapon, I'd like to consider 'dart' (much like pocket sand, but would not require your target be looking at you; you just have to hit an unarmored patch of skin) – and, would that be a fighting skill, or just file it under 'throw' ?

I'd also like to propose rules for using 'levitate' to throw things – calculate the object's weight at 30 times to throw (plus one pound first, so everything is calculated as "above 30" before being squared), just to break a window or make noise – and 100x heavier to cause damage. Also this would require some 'wind-up' so only one object every other round or so.

Running the math, a half pound sling bullet, adding one pound beforehoof, and rounding down for 'toss' and up for 'throw', costs 2, or 3 MP. And while it took me some tries to verify this was out of the realm of the possible for tossing a pony forcibly off a rail, I've finally gotten workable numbers. Again, adding a 1 beforehoof, it's about ninetytwo hundred MPs just to toss her, or a hundred and two THOUSAND MPs to throw a guardspony as if she is a sling bullet.

>>315925

Okay, good. (mis)Quoting Conan the barbarian, "I'm to small to be a t'ief I'm finessing skills now.

I also want to make sure I understand how you're playing the (newer) magic system. Saying I've written down my theoretical thaumiturgical shield, the first five times in-game I cast it, I've got at best a 10% chance of successfully creating an actual shield, but MPs are consumed either way. After that, for a little while I've got a one-in-four (-ish) chance of successfully creating a shield. All of this assumes I haven't managed to get a professor to look over my notes and give hints.

Are you counting spellcraft notes to require special paper, or ink? IOW if I find a useful spell written down in completed form in a known-good spellbook, can I just write it in my notebook, or do I need to have a spell-tome with spell-ink (so, that would need to be another item in your list of known-costs).

>>315925

also, explain to me what the 'apprentice robes' do plz.

I'm too small to be a t'ief

>>>/ponerpg/3074 Current skillset; will probably need to cut a few corners to buy a lockpick set.

>>315927

I will add a dart weapon, which will probably just use the Throw skill. I intentionally designed the Levitate spell to not be suitable for combat; it’s just for utility.

>>315928

Re-read the rules. There is no “spell failure” chance; all spells work 100% of the time if you meet the requirements to cast them. Mastering a spell only affects your ability to cast it from memory; you either can, or you can’t. Written spells do not have to be written in a particular way with specific materials.

>>315929

Re-read the “Items” section.

Here's today's progress report:

>loosened the restrictions on special talent usage

>added some notes on spell functionality

>came up with stats for NPCs

I'll probably only need another day or two to get everything wrapped up. If you are planning on playing, please take a look at the rules and let me know if you think something should be changed. I will be less inclined to change things at your request once we start. And don't wait until the last minute to make your characters.

>>315981

Thank you I think it's clearer, now.

Also I think I want to save 'grey horn' for some other circumstance and want to change my name to Indy, An' A…

Unfortunately I also answer to Junior but Indy is preferred, by and large. Some day it'll be famous! Indy, An A … Truffle Hunting Pig!

…assuming an agreeable sow both chooses to travel with me, and we somehow save Equestria. But with Nightmare Moon both arrived, defeated, and presumably not scheduled to return this side of "permanently banished to the moon" I'm not sure what myself and my sidekick will defend us all from.

…to the library! I shall endeavor to find more dangerous secrets!

>>315981

Just noticed the updated file was in the same pastebin location…

Could we have smokebombs as an item? Pineblaze prefers to have an escape plan if things go south.

Also how about items like caltrops, poisons, acids, molotovs, bolas etc… this character is a fighter that specializes on trying to avoid fair fights.

Speaking of specializing, would "underhooved tactics" be a valid special talent? She's all about sneaking, bluffing, hustling and suckerpunching her way to victory while pretending that she won fair and square.

>>315982

*huff!* I'm a bodyguard, not a sidekick! It would be unthinkable to let a scholar like you on a dangerous quest without a knight to protect you!

>>316031

Also, what's the alchemical DR for producing a mana potion (or health) ? Assuming I have the ingredients and tools, already.

For tools, That should normally be a mortar & pestle, which is basically a rock and another rock if need be; and a way to boil water, and stir. More complicated potions (below 50DR? 30DR?) would require the ability to constrict heat transfer rates, like how candy needs you to keep the temperature just right because boiled & burned sugar has a whole range of end-result textures based on how hot it was held during cooking. Also, less complex but more than difficult than chicken soup, a strainer might be required to more precisely separate the tea-leaves before adding the next ingredient.

Being as I'll be starting the game dead broke, I'm wanting to have a little side job, selling cheap potions from stuff picked around the cave mouth.

>>315879

>can't be griffon gunsmith

fug

back to the drawing board

Today was probably the last day I needed to change things, unless you guys still want me to.

>added some more to the campaign

>changed the number of starting skill points characters get

>changed spell Difficulty Rating to Difficulty Level to avoid confusion with armor Damage Reduction

>changed the amount of bits characters get for starting gear

>added many new items

>tweaked existing item values

>added recipe for healing potions

>moved spells to a separate page

>added player character sheets to the pastebin

So far, we have Indy, An’ A (https://pastebin.com/E3Hgj12m) and Pineblaze (https://pastebin.com/S5Hcf5QP). If you’re still planning on joining, please try to get ready to play by tomorrow. If you’ve already made your characters, you’ll have to tell me how you want your skill points and bits distributed based on the new values.

>>316031

>are you using the chart from the PDFs I posted, for weight?

probably

>is there any restriction against levitating myself?

not right now

>How slowly can you move things?

I’m assuming you mean “how quickly can you move things”. Probably around 3-4 mph; slow enough that someone could easily dodge whatever it is you’re moving.

>what portion of a minute's MP are burned up moving an item fifteen vertical feet?

I’d imagine that would take less than a minute, which under the current rules would consume as much MP as it would if you levitated it for a full minute.

>what's the alchemical DR for producing a mana potion (or health) ?

specific items are not easier or harder to make than other items of the same type, and I’m not sure why you think they are.

>alchemy tools

I’m not making this game more complicated than it needs to be. I added “alchemy equipment”, but that’s all I’m doing.

>>316040

>I think the "health" spell is within purvue of my character

I’m still not even sure what your character is supposed to be. If you want an Indiana Jones-ish character, then your focus should be on academic stuff, not combat. Your special talent cannot be “Adventuring” or something like that. I’m not going to allow you to have an array of combat and other tangentially-related spells just because they would be useful.

>>316050

>I’m still not even sure what your character is supposed to be

We've clashed on magic since you set out on this journey. I can see a couple ways forward that involve a minimum of discomfort; maybe you can collect your spells together into sensible groups, and I'll pick my most must-have spell and we'll assume Indy's talent is that.

Or you could tell me how many spells I can successfully cast while reading them from 3x5 woodcuts I keep in my pack, and you can assume the spells I assemble seem sensible to my for my vision of my character (then the question becomes, how often, if ever, do I gain a "spell slot" when leveling up. Assuming this runs that long I know but it's a question that needs considering).

I'm not sure how else we're going to resolve this but am open to further discussions.

Oh, and also

>changed the number of starting skill points

Your new system gives me 225 skill points so I need to go rewrite my sheet again. Plus spend the extra 50 bits you gave everyone. Hopefully I can still finish tonight.

>>>/ponerpg/3077

>>316066

I had several goals in mind when developing the magic system for this game:

>learning spells must be difficult to some extent

hence the “mastering” mechanic

>some spells must be more difficult to learn than others

hence the inclusion of spell DL

>a character’s magic must be limited in scope

hence why you can only use magic related to your special talent

>a starting character must have very little magical ability

hence why you only have one spell mastered at the beginning

>magic must be relatively weak

achieved through a combination of the above rules

Other than these things, I don’t want to make magic more complicated than I have to. There is no limit to the number of spells you can master. And I really don’t care how many spells you cary around in written form at a time, just which ones you have.

Magic is not supposed to be a game-changer; it really shouldn’t give you more of an edge than a pegasus’s flying. The rules are very lenient regarding what spells you can know within your character’s area of expertise. I will let you have pretty much any spell you can think of so long as it adheres to the rules I set out. Choose a special talent, then you can either come up with a spell you want or I will do it for you.

>>316066

Important question: Do all swords use the same skill? On one hand splurging all her money on a "knight-like" weapon would be totally in character, but if switching from shortsword to longsword someday takes as much skillpoints as switching from spear to longsword it may not be worth giving up all the other starting equipment.

>>316040

I've meant that griffons as a race aren't allowed, lack of skills didn't occure to me, but I guessed it could be negotiated anyways. I've got a pegasus design in mind and it should be done Soon(tm)

Also, how general can the special talent be? "Unscrupulousness?" "Sneakyness?" "Trickery?" What would you suggest for a character that prefers sneaking and subterfuge over fighting and wouldn't hesitate to suckerpunch someone below the belt at the first sign of danger?

In DnD terms, she'd be a chaotic good rogue who aspires to be a paladin but lacks the moral resolve to follow through with it. She will talk a big game about her heroicness, and then cheat her ass off to win that proverbial game.

>>316074

>Magic is not supposed to be a game-changer

You've never played many RPGs, have you? Arcane classes, if they live long enough to reach mid-level, easily and consistently overpower everyone else. Even attempting to randomly nerf them doesn't actually make them equal – it just makes them killable as they take down half the army sent against them.

>within your character’s area of expertise

That's where we're going to clash the most; you're wanting, it seems, a narrow set of spells, I'm wanting to play a JOAT.

>Choose a special talent

"adventuring" is hardly less specific than "skulduggery." But if I were to put a name to it, Indy's talent would be "securing secrets"

Which first means finding them, and the backstory I have in my head, the open-sesame spell works fine as his mastered-spells.

But in the dungeon, dangers must be overcome, to learn the nature of the secret. Thus the skill in fighting, bandaging, and avoiding the need for either. So all of the spells made (with a question on 'heal' that concerns practicality), would be of interest to his self-image, though the shield spells would be the most problematic as they'd only be useful if you had mastered them. I think he's way too "practical" to work-out in a gym, or to level-grind his spell masteries, or worry about his own injuries so long as he can still move.

If you're worried about the 25pt skill roll benefit, that can easily be negated. skill rolls aren't within his cutie-mark talent unless "the secret" is within sight ("in this room / across this crevasse"), … or in danger; some secrets needs must be kept, after all.

That latter is more likely, in roleplay terms. Once Indy knows what the secret actually is, anyone asking around after it is suspect – do they want to abuse its power? So a psych roll after Indy is asked what he found, would get the bonus. Likewise speech checks to hide, or to negotiate transfer of the secret, would get the bonus.

But in the dungeon? Energy enough to live, without calling into doubt the nearness of the prize, or estimating the value thereof in the absence of context.

>>316049

You should note that I didn't read the rules closely enough, and as a result, didn't add the 10pt racial bonus to my willpower.

WIL is actually 90; I rolled an 80.

I just noticed something… Unless you use a ranged weapon, there is never any point in dodging. A counterattack is basically a free atrack so it's always better than dodging which still gives an enemy a chance to hit you but you no chance to hit the enemy. And because a counterattack cannot be dodged it means the skill can only be used to deprive yourself the chance of using the undodgeable attack against the enemy.

>>316083

that assumes you have a weapon out. If you get startled and don't have your weapon handy, you can either dodge, or slap him.

Slapping isn't very damaging, so it might still make sense to dodge until your preferred weapon is available to you.

>>316084

From my experience in tabletop, the best retaliation to being ambushed is to shout "Ha! I've got you now!" and hope it confuses the hell out of them.

I was planning on this being the last day of tweaking things, so I didn’t do much

>added a new spell

>updated character sheets

I gave you guys a deadline of tonight just so you wouldn’t put it off until tomorrow. I’m planning on starting the campaign tomorrow around 5pm PDT. I will delay a bit longer if you really need more time for whatever reason, but we’ll definitely have this started by the weekend.

Pineblaze is over his skill allowance by 5; please tell me what you want to dock points from.

>>316075

>Do all swords use the same skill?

Yes

>>316078

I just put your special talent down as “Skulduggery”. It doesn’t really matter what your special talent is called; I just need an idea of what it’s about. Ultimately, I will be the one who gets to decide when your special talent bonuses apply. You guys can be pretty broad with this, so long as I don’t think you’re too overpowered.

>>316079

>You've never played many RPGs, have you?

I have, actually, so don’t talk to me like I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t care about what other games let their magic-users do, because we’re not playing those games.

>I'm wanting to play a JOAT

You should know that that’s not how the MLP universe works.

>So all of the spells made…would be of interest to his self-image

No. You can have the lockpick spell cause I think that’s relevant enough, or you can come up with something else if you prefer.

>>316083

I can think of a few reasons why you’d want to dodge:

>you’re attacked with ranged weapon

>you’re low on health and need to wait for your turn to heal

>you suck at combat and would probably miss anyway

>you’re trying to hold off an enemy much stronger than you

>>316098

>No.

Not interested. I'm out.

>>>/ponerpg/3081

Did I allocate skill points properly? also

Spears are underpowered in /pone/ RPG and deserve much better than that. Namely, the difference is that pole arms are looong and can be used to keep the enemy outside his effective range while fighting. It irks me that this pretty significant feature is ignored.

I changed Pineblaze’s stats as requested. I also added Thunder Strike’s character sheet (https://pastebin.com/at7PdZBe). I’m going to start writing the first part of the campaign now; please try to finalize your characters ASAP.

>>316126

I think you messed up your math a bit, so I went ahead and calculated your stats based on what you rolled. Also, I don’t know what you’re imaging the “Weather Manipulation” skill would do. You’re gonna have to explain what that would apply to if you want that as a skill. You’ll also have to explain what you mean by “balls of lightning”. Don’t forget to tell me what starting equipment you want as well as what your special talent is.

The reason why spears are shit is because I intended for them to be beginner-tier weapons; I did not plan for you guys blowing your starting bits on a shortsword. Also, I didn’t put any rules about movement or distance into the game, so the extra reach of a spear wouldn’t amount to any mathematical advantage.

>>316147

>special talent

Handling lightning. In practice it amounts mostly to getting rid of storms before they flood the whole area.

>weather manipulation

I sort of assumed I should have this as a pegasus. Clouds n shieet

>balls of lightning

Small clouds full of electric static. I might be bending what is plausible a little bit, but I intended it to become some sort of an advanced skill and not yet useful.

>spears

Eh, alright. I just figured weapons being more unique would be desired.

>>316163

>I sort of assumed I should have this as a pegasus

Yes, all pegasi have Weather Manipulation as a racial ability, but it’s not really on a spectrum (at least not in my mind). You either can or cannot do it; no pegasus is “better” than another at moving a storm cloud. In terms of gameplay, I’m not going to make you roll to do something related to this ability. I’m either going to say you can or cannot do it, so there’s no real point in you wasting your skill points on it.

>Small clouds full of electric static

I’ll tell you right now that I’m not going to let you use a storm cloud as a weapon (at least not in the same way as other weapons). If you make a cloud shoot lightning, it will work like real lightning does, i.e. you will not have any control over where it goes. You’re welcome to move a storm cloud above a battle and trigger it, but it might not do what you’d want it to do.

>I just figured weapons being more unique would be desired

I would be willing to make combat and weapons more complicated later on if you guys want, but I wanted to keep things simple as we start out. Besides, combat will not be a large focus of the campaign.

Remember to tell me what you want for your starting equipment, unless you want to go /noitems/.

>>316175

Pineblaze's starting equipment:

Shortsword

Bolas

Bedroll

Waterskin

Rations 2x

1 spare bit

Glad to hear it's not combat focused too. :)

>>316175

Alright. I tried >>>/ponyrpg/3085

Does spear fighting skill help in fighting with a staff?

>>316177

fug

>>>/ponerpg/3085

Okay, now that it looks like everyone’s ready, I will go ahead and start. Just a quick note on updates: I will try to give everyone ample time to respond to each update and make decisions, but at the same time, I don’t want to make anyone wait for anyone else for too long. I will give you at least 24 hours from the last update to respond, but at that point I’m moving on. Unless, of course, nobody has responded, in which case I will wait longer. For now, I won’t be able to update very often on weekdays, but I will try to be around as much as possible.

>>316177

>Does spear fighting skill help in fighting with a staff?

Sure, why not.

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…

The sun is shining brightly as you walk down the forest path, flanked on both sides by thick, dark foliage. Despite it being around midday, the air has the beginnings of an autumn chill, foreshadowing the eventual cold which will surely come to this part of the world in a few months. The day is (coincidentally) August 11th, of the 334th year of the Era of Celestia. Few of Equestria’s citizens remember the precise events surrounding the Princess’s conflict with her younger sister, although tales of Nightmare Moon have already wormed their way into the collective consciousness of ponykind. Aside from spooky stories told around the hearth each year on Nightmare Night, the ponies of Equestria have very little to fear nowadays. The years when the land was tormented by strange gods, evil tyrants, and devilish witches have long since passed. Peace and prosperity has been the norm for hundreds of years. Most people concern themselves with nothing more than being able to live their lives in simple comfort in the company of their families and friends.

You have been walking down this road for several hours, and are beginning to wonder how much longer you will have to traipse through these woods. Shortly afterward, however, you are presented with a welcome sight. Rounding a bend in the path, a sudden change comes upon the otherwise monotonous scenery that you’ve been staring at for what feels like forever. The path begins to move down, into what appears to be a shallow valley nestled in the vast expanse of the forest. In this valley, you can see signs of civilization: a cluster of buildings, surrounded all around with what appear to be trees of a different variety from those you’ve been looking at all day. The settlement is very small, no more than a hamlet, with a population probably no more than a hundred.

What do you do?

>>316179

Fine, then change spear to a quarterstaff with whatever stats you want and give the difference in bits. I also think that lockpicking without a picklock is going to be hard, so I either need to take one at the start or find before I need to pick something.

>>316181

I'm not gonna make you keep track of lockpicks; just assume you always have one (under normal circumstances).

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>316180

Just noticed the part about different trees. Better check them out before getting involved with anything.

Do I roll for agriculture?

>>316191

The trees look different than the ones making up the rest of the forest.

Hint: You could do a Spot roll, otherwise you'd have to get closer to tell anything else.

>>316180

I'm new to this type of thing, we're assumed to travel together already or not?

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>316193

Rolling for spot.

>>316194

It’s just a beginning-of-campaign thing; I either have to put you guys somewhere specific or tell you about the setting and let you choose, which I chose not to do in this case. You’re both traveling down this path through the forest (the in-universe reason is up to you). Whether you guys are together or not is up to you to decide.

>>316195

The trees surrounding the settlement look like they are growing in parallel rows, as if they were in an orchard of some kind. You can see movement amongst the trees.

Rolled 42 (1d100)

Pineblaze is adventuring for fame, so she could easily stick together with anypony who looks like they could lead to adventures.

What's Thunder Strike's story? Or gender for that matter?

>>316197

Good to know they're intentional, but I'm staying away from the movement. Can I spot the movement or was this all information I got about the trees?

>>316198

You can see things moving throughout the trees. You're too far away to see who (or what) they are.

Hint: Get closer.

>>316196

thanks

>>316198

>implying there are colts on the internet

Coincidentally, she's also looking for an adventure, while also searching for the biggest, baddest storms out there (just to witness them, though, she's not going to try and dispel them), one in a lifetime kind of experience and the like. And maybe just travel, it can't be too hard, can it?

Though, at the moment, she's just staring at Pineblaze that's staring at the trees. "Are they fruiting yet? I mean, no pony would cut a forest just to regrow it."

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>316200

"*ssh!* There's something moving in there!"

I sneak closer.

(Sorry to break the pace, but I have to go to sleep for today. Goodnight!)

>>316201

You attempt to continue down the path as stealthily as possible, but you are still plainly detectable to anyone who cared to look. You are now close enough to the trees for you to see that it is indeed some sort of fruit orchard. You can’t tell exactly what kind of trees they are.

Hint: Roll for Agriculture/Spot to identify the trees.Roll for Listen.

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>316202

pretty used to third person, but I think I can manage

I roll eyes, can't help but smile. I go into the trees surrounding the path, fly through a hole in between tree caps, then fly over to the mystery orchard, assuming trees will conceal me until I'm close, then I take a look there. I hope whatever I see is totally scary and amazing not merely ordinary.

>>316203

How close are you? Are you about as far away as Pineblaze is? If so, then you see the same thing she is seeing. Whatever you were rolling for didn’t work. Get any closer and you’ll be in the orchard.

Rolled 49, 87, 72 = 208 (3d100)

>>316202

I listen

I spot

I agriculture

>>316204

Just a peek over the closest tree from the forest. No idea about distance, but I'm not trying to spot anything for real. There's nothing extraordinary there, no?

About leveling up, if you roll under the skill you want to increase, does that mean the entire level up goes to waste or that you need to try advancing some other skill instead?

>>316215

>I listen

You hear nothing out of the ordinary

>I spot

You see the trees

>I agriculture

They look like fruit trees

>>316224

You see the orchard of fruit trees. You can see movement amongst the trees.

>>316233

The system I took that rule from says that you only get one chance, but I realize now that might be a bit bullshit. I’ll let you try a different skill if you fuck up, as long as you used that skill at some point.

>>316244

Then I just land a little further back and follow Pineblaze, from between the trees and not in the open.

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>316244

This isn't leading anywhere. I take a bold posture and clear my throat.

"Hello there! My name is Pineblaze, what may I call you?"

>>316248

I’m not sure what you’re rolling for. You announce your presence loudly and clearly, but receive no response.

Hint: Just keep walking; nothing bad will happen.

>>316249

It was a speech check to make the thing in the woods think we'd already seen it.

Anyway, I brush it off as a random animal and proceed towards the hamlet, trying to cover my blush.

"You can never be careful enough Thunder Strike, a defender of justice must always stay vigilant."

>>316250

You continue down the path as it leads you into the orchard and toward the settlement. When you get closer, you can see that the trees are laden with perfectly normal apples. Further on, you can see trees with other fruits, such as peaches, plums, and pears. You can hear noises coming from off in the distance. The outlying buildings are not very far off.

>>316250

I come back to her and say with a little fun at her expense, "Yeah… I'm pretty sure sunny fruit trees is when all the darkest monsters dwell. Though, that'd be a pretty clever trick on their part, to be there."

>>316251

I pass Pineblaze and trot towards the town, giving fruits a passing glance, each and every one! Maybe I stare a little too much. No matter. Do these sounds come from the town or somewhere else, though?

>>316252

oops

>>316252

You continue down the path through the orchard. You can hear occasional sounds coming from within the trees, but they are too far off to identify clearly. As you near the buildings, you can see that they are modestly constructed houses, built with the sort of rugged architecture you’d expect from people living in the woods far from civilization. There doesn’t seem to be much activity going on within the town.

Hint: Roll for Listen or just keep going (it’s not that important).

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>316254

I'll keep my ears open as we walk. It can't hurt to pay attention.

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>316254

I stop for a short while and listen. Besides making some old man somewhere happy it doesn't do anything useful, or does it?

Does "not much activity" mean "no pony there"?

>>316255

>>316256

Neither of you are able to distinguish what the sound is. You proceed through the midst of the houses, noticing that a good amount of them seem to be in a severe state of disrepair, as if abandoned. You continue on until you come to a small clearing, which you can only assume is the town square. In the middle of the square you can see what looks like a large signpost of some kind. You can see a few buildings around the square that look a bit bigger and fancier than the rest of the ones in town.

Roll for Intelligence.

Hint: Read the signpost.

Rolled 26, 13 = 39 (2d100)

>>316257

intelligence, spotting

I look around and try to spot anything interesting, or at least, anypony, in or around those better looking houses in particular. I shuffle closer to Pineblaze and say "Alright, I take that back, this seems genuinely out of place. What's that?" I take a look and read the sign out loud.

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>316257

I'll wait for Thunder to read the sign, eyeing the town around us.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>316262

"Hmm… the reward sounds nice. I mean, a doing a good deed is it's own reward, right? Now where can we find this lady Plum…"

I try to read the parchment.

>>316263

You pick up the scrap of parchment and read it. It says:

"Fill your gut and rest your head to help stave off the coming dread"

>>316262

"…And there's also a map, there!" I point it out. "We're already there, so I guess now we know how to leave." I look around to orientate myself with the map, and maybe see some pony.

>>316263

"I think we can ask for directions in the inn, or just ask somepony. Or we could if there was anypony dilly dalling around…" I then look at the smoking chimney and think for a while before speaking again. "Well, she should be somewhere around, if she's old she shouldn't work in the orchard."

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>316264

"Huh, sounds like the world's most ominous advertisement for an inn. Oh well, it seems like a good place to head for in any case, maybe we can ask about lady Plum too while we're at it."

I stop for a minute and turn around.

"Oh, by the way, could you borrow me some bits? If they have a card table I'll get them right back to you in a jiffy."

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>316265

I look at the cozy house too.

"Yeah, i got the feeling she might live there too."

Heading to cozy hut fist.

>>316267

"I'm not letting you get a hoof on my money yet, I still think the last one was luck!" I snark, but follow her to the house. "Let's see if we guessed right."

knock-knock

>>316267

>>316268

You two head toward the building to the south. Above the door is a hanging sign that reads “THE RUSTY HORSESHOE”, with a picture of a mug of ale juxtaposed with the eponymous horseshoe. You knock on the door and hear a voice answer from within: “Door’s open, sugar”. You open the door and head inside. The main room is full of tables and chairs, with a bar counter off to the side. There is a fireplace on the far wall, the heat of which fills the room and helps warm you after your day in the autumn chill. At one of the tables off to the side is a stallion eating his lunch; he pauses for a moment to observe you when you enter, then returns to his meal. In the far corner is a much older looking chap who seems to be passed out in his seat; his face rests on the table and his snores can be heard even from the door. Behind the counter is a large, middle-aged-looking mare wearing a conservatively-cut tavern dress wiping a mug. The mare welcomes you warmly as you enter. “Well well, I see we have a couple a’ fresh faces here in town! We don’t get too many travelers comin’ through these days. Why don’t you two sugars come and take a seat and let Big Mama get you somethin’ to eat.”

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>316272

(speech check)

"That would be delightful! But alas, we lost most of our supplies along with our money in a fierce encounter with the most terrifying monster. Perhaps the tale of our mane-raising adventure could cover our bill?"

>>316296

(that's me)

>>316296

Big Mama seems genuinely concerned. “Oh my, you poor babies. Come over here and let Mama fix you up some o’ her famous cabbage & apple soup, on the house”. She hurries off to the kitchen and returns swiftly with two large bowls of soup, which she sets down in front of you. Steam emanates from the liquid and it looks and smells appealing. “I bet it was those damn timberwolves, wasn’t it? Bothering the townsfolk wasn’t enough for ‘em? Now they have to go pickin’ on poor travelers comin’ through the woods? It ain’t right is what it is. I aught to have a word with the mayor about this”. She trails off and starts grumbling to herself as she goes back to cleaning the bar.

>>316272

I step inside and look around, can't help but smile, the room looks indeed welcoming, nice enough for me. I look a little too long at the stallion, but assuming he's just passing through pay no more attention. I walk towards the counter and try to ask her about Plum mare, before being cut off by my companion.

>>316298

Stimulated by the smell I let it slide and just seat myself ready to eat. I say excited "Wouldn't mind them if they were anywhere this tasty", then I almost try to ask again about Plum, but I decide not to, since we're supposed not to care about it, yet.

>>316298

I finish my meal and thank Big Mama with a deep bow.

"Thank you for your kindness. If you ever need a sword by your side, you can count on me being there for you."

"Speaking of kindness, we would like to pass the good around by helping out Old Lady Plum. Could you tell us where to find her?"

>>316305

Big Mama sighs and shakes her head, slightly annoyed. “Oh, that old gal’s gone and lost that damn pet o’ hers again, has she? She can be so forgetful sometimes, although I suppose that’s to be expected from a woman o’ her age. If ya really want to lend her a hoof, she lives on the outskirts o’ town.” Big Mama tells you where to find Old Lady Plum’s house. “A word o’ warnin’ though: she tends to prattle on a bit. Keep yer patience ‘round her though; ya don’t want to be gettin’ on her bad side.”

Hint: Roll for Spot.

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>316315

Imma gonna roll too, yabba dabba doo

"Again? That must be one unruly cat if he doesn't come back, doubly so if the old lady needs to write a poster. We're going to check it out and find the cat." I giggle and look at Pineblaze. "We can't save every place we visit, can we? It doesn't seem there's much else to do, it's pretty calm in here."

>>316353

Out of the corner of your eye, you see that the guy who was looking at you two as you walked in is still keeping an eye on you. You didn’t notice it before, but he is dressed in clothing much nicer than what you’d expect of someone living in this part of Equestria. He also doesn’t look that strong (at least not for an Earth pony), making you doubt that he is the sort of pony who spends his time working in the fields.

>>316353

"Yeah, not the most heroic quest out there, but at least it's something."

I turn my head to briefly glimpse what Thunder Strike was looking at.

"Hey Mama, who's that wealthy-looking fellow over there?"

>>316361

I poke Pineblaze in the side and hearing a positive reaction, I add to her words with glee "I assumed he's traveling, like us. He doesn't look terribly local. Quite sharp, in fact, would get all dirty in no time."

>>316368

>>316361

Big Mama glances over at the pony in question for a moment before returning her attention to you. “Ah, him? Name’s Gilderbilt. I thought he was a traveller too, at first; problem is that he doesn’t do much travellin’. Jus’ showed up in town one day a few months ago an’ never left. He’s been stayin’ here at the inn, which I wouldn’t mind normally, seein’ as how business has been slow lately. He pays his bills alright, but that fella’s a bit too big for his bridle if ya ask me. Thinks he’s so high n’ mighty jus’ cause he’s got more bits than the rest of us put together. An’ yer right about another thing too: that city pony ain’t ever been dirty, I’d wager. I bet he ain’t done a single honest day’s work in his whole life!” Big Mama delivers this last remark with a volume and enunciation that make it clear that she intends Gilderbilt to hear it. The fancy horse directs a smug sideways glance toward the mare, then chuckles to himself and returns to his meal. Big Mama grumbles to herself and angrily cleans the dishes.

>>316379

I whisper to Thunder Strike.

"Sounds like bits may have gone to his head. Maybe we should give him a lesson in humility, but let's hear both sides of the story first."

>>316379

I tilt my head in confusion. "So he just sits here all day? Every day?" I give the pony of our discussion a quick glance and turn back to Pine and Mama. "And you just let him? I'm going to talk to him, I'm curious enough now."

I give Big Mama a nod and go to Gilderbilt's table. I pause and watch him for a while. "Aren't you bored with sitting here all day? You ought to have something else to do."

>>316395

Gilderbilt continues chewing, seemingly ignorant of your attempt to start a conversation. Finally, he swallows, and gently pats his lips with an embroidered hoofkerchief produced from his pocket. After an awkwardly long silence, he finally responds to you. “You needn’t concern yourself with my affairs. Although, I can understand why one would think living in such a backwater town as this would be a trifle dull. Suffice it to say that I have more than enough business to spend my very valuable time on. Making idle chit-chat with a wannabe adventurer, however, does not warrant such attention. As such, I would politely request that you go about your own business and not interrupt civilized ponies while they are enjoying their midday meal.”

Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>316423

(speech check)

I sit next to Gilderbit and glance suspiciously around before leaning in closer.

"Hey, we're not locals either and are going to soon skip town anyway. Why won't you tell us what you're up to and maybe we could help each other before absconding?

>>316426

Gilderbilt narrows his eyes and scowls at you. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re >implying. I am not “up to” anything.” He puffs up his chest, his pride clearly offended. “I am a very important pony here on business which would certainly go over the heads of riff-raff such as yourselves. If you really want to do me a service, then get back on that road out there and keep walking! This town has no need for ponies who meddle in things they know nothing about.” Gilderbilt stands up and straightens his clothing. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment with the mayor. I’m sure the same cannot be said of you ruffians”.

Hint: You succeeded that roll; you did get something out of that.

>>316430

"Sure it can't, we don't waste our time bumming around. I'm sorry we can't accompany you." I smirk, shrug and start walking away nonchalantly. "Let's go, Pineblaze!"

Assuming nothing happens to me, I leave the inn and take course for Old Lady Plum's house. Outside, I mention to her, "now we know to hang out around the mayor for interesting times. Do you think he's going to cause some trouble? Or maybe cause work for us, can be either way".

>>316460

I casually trot out of the tavern with Thunder Strike before tapping her on the shoulder and stop.

"We could go to Old Lady Plum's house… but if this creeper is about to meet with the mayor right now we'll have a perfect opportunity to listen in and hear the truth straight from the horses mouth."

>>316460

I casually trot out of the tavern with Thunder Strike before stopping.

"He's clearly up to something, no doubt about that. Speaking of which, we could go to Lady Plum's house right away, but if this creeper is about to meet with the mayor right now we'll have a perfect opportunity to listen in and hear the truth straight from the horses mouth.

>>316479

>>316460

While you two are standing around discussing your next move, a sudden breeze kicks up and something is blown into Thunder’s face. Upon closer examination, you discover that the object is a scrap of parchment. It looks like it is very old, and it has been folded and crumpled up many times. Scribbled on the parchment in barely legible writing is a message:

"Many lives are bought and sold with hollow words and lots of gold"

While this is going on, Gilderbilt emerges from the inn and begins walking toward the mayor’s office. He scoffs as he passes you two, then continues on across the square.

(goddamit, there WAS my name in the name field when I was writing it, no idea why it didn't stick there)

>>316481

"Eww!" I shake the thing off my head, but then I notice there's something written on it. I catch it before it gets away and read it. "Huh? What is with these? That's a second ominous text we've found; this place doesn't look like it's got a library or another source of these. Many lives are bought and sold with hollow words and lots of gold…" I wipe my face, hoping I didn't get too messy.

>>316479

I sigh and look at mayor's office, speak with a little uncertainty, "we can, but let's think about it. We don't know how it's inside or if there's somebody else there besides mayor and that fancy pants, but maybe there isn't, it's not too crowded in here. Do you think they'd believe us if we said we were watching Gilderbilt just in case?" I turn to mayor's office and take a look at it, mainly to see if there are curtains or anything to obstruct the view.

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>316489

I trot in place nervously as I alternate looking after Gilderbilt and Thunder Strike.

But… I'm a regal knight and you're a flying pegasus! I could say I have some other unrelated business in the building and you could see if you can peek through a window or open a skylight or something! Come on Thunder Strike, this is our chance to get on the trail while it's hot!"

>>316490

"Uh, well, I didn't mean Gilderbilt, he's a doof, but mayor would be concerned about us eavesdropping, wouldn't he?" I too get a little excited. After Gilderbilt gets inside the building, I leave my stuff on the spot, do a quick recon flight around and over the building and come back.

>>316494

(Uh, I didn't actually mean to send this, I pressed the wrong button)

(Maybe I'll get some details, though)

>>316494

You circle the the mayor’s office in the air. There seems to be only three points of entry: the front door, a window in the wall on the far side, and a chimney. The window is closed and the chimney is currently expelling a substantial amount of smoke, suggesting that whoever is inside has a roaring fire going.

>>316496

>>316490

"There's just window at the back, but I don't think I can open it silently. I guess we have to follow him."

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>316498

"Trust me."

I wink to Thunder Strike and proceed to march straight into the town hall. (Waiting long enough that Gilderbilt wont be in the lobby when we get there, of course.)

>>316504

You open the door of the mayor’s office and stroll in. You are in what looks like a small anteroom, which is modestly decorated. There are some chairs along the wall, presumably for people who are waiting to see the mayor. There is a door on the opposite side of the room from the entrance, leading further into the building. Sitting next to the door on a small stool is a pony of abnormal size and build. He looks a good head taller than what would be normal for a grown stallion and he looks strong enough to harvest the whole orchard on his own. He is decked out in some very worn-looking leather armor and carrying a rusty spear. When he sees you enter, he scrambles up and stands at attention, adopting a stern, professional expression.

>>316506

It would help if I actually used my trip.

Rolled 48 (1d100)

>>316506

(Speech check)

Greetings! We're here about the ownership deed of the vacant plot on the outskirts of the town. We would like to go over the paperwork one more time before finishing the deal.

>>316506

>>316517

I follow Pineblaze and enter the building, glance the room and see it's not very useful for sneaking around.

"Hello, yes, just business."

>>316554

>>316517

“Do you have an appointment?”, the guard pony grumbles at you. “Anyone who wants to see the mayor has to make an appointment, and I don’t recall you making one recently. Although, it wouldn’t be the first time I forgot.” He says this last remark mostly to himself. “If you have an appointment, please take a seat, and the mayor will see you shortly.”

Hint: If you want to wait, it will be a while.

>>316555

"Nah, it's okay, I'll just review my own copy when I get home…"

I walk out with Thunder Strike in tow, not showing my dejection until we're outside.

"Oh well, it was worth the shot. Let's go meet the Old Lady Plum next, shall we?

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>316556

(Rollan just in case)

"Gah, bad time."

"What a waste of time," I say annoyed outside and then fly to the back of the building, look around and if nobody sees me, peek through the window.

>>316559

(I took your roll as a Listen roll)

The window shutters are closed, and are most likely latched from the inside to keep them from blowing open. You hear muffled voices from inside, but you can't make out what they're saying.

>>316561

"Nothing doing!" I land on the ground and go back to Pineblaze. "Shut window, can't see, can't hear… I guess we don't have a choice." I knock over some random rock and get on my way to where we were headed in the first place, old lady house.

>>316556

>>316563

You two head off toward Old Lady Plum’s house. She lives on the outskirts of town, almost within the orchard itself. You can see that the trees nearby are covered in, as you’d expect, plums. The house itself looks very old, although it is not falling apart. Approaching the door, you can hear faint noises coming from inside, indicating that the house is occupied.

>>316564

(welp)

I approach the house and knock on the door. "Hello? Lady Plum? We're here to help with the cat"

>>316607

(Sorry. I try to avoid making decisions for you.)

You hear a crash from within the house. “Hold yer hayseeds; I’ll be there in two shakes of a timberwolf’s tail!”, you hear. You hear several more crashes of varying intensity, with audible grumbling mixed in. Finally, the door opens to reveal the house’s occupant. Old Lady Plum is a shriveled old mare with white hair and a weather-worn face; she greets you cheerfully. “Well hello dearies! It’s been a mighty long time since any o’ you young fellers came to pay ol’ Plum a visit. An’ here I been askin’ fer someun’ to come lend a hoof an’ help me find my…oh, what was it again?” She seems to get lost in thought and begins mumbling to herself. “Let’s see…was it mah slippers? No, that was last week that I lost them. Turns out they was in the larder! No it was somethin’ else…” She continues to go on like this for a while. She evidently did not hear you and/or is too senile to remember what she lost.

>>316609

I politely listen to her prattling for a while before suggesting:

"Your cat, maybe? We were hoping we could help you find your cat."

>>316609

If she doesn't repond to Pineblaze's words, I add to them after a while, "yeah, it was definitely a cat, over there on a post. We have some spare time so we can help with finding it!"

>>316643

>>316638

“Now, don’ interrupt me whippersnapper! I dun gone and forgot what I was thinkin’ ‘bout. Ah well, maybe you two could just help me find my Ferdinand. He’s my darlin’ kitty-cat ya see? Went missin’ ‘bout a few days ago. That feller’s ‘bout as hard to deal with as a monkey in yer marmalade. This’d be the sixth time he’s run off without tellin’ me…or is it the seventh? I can’t quite recall. Oh, hold that thought.” Old Lady Plum turns away and walks back into her house for a moment. You can see that her house is an absolute mess and is covered wall to wall in various junk. Plum rummages around in various piles, drawers, and boxes looking for something. Finally, she seems to find what she was looking for and returns to the door. “If you two are gon’ find mah missin’ bat, y’all’ll need this.” She hands you what looks like a small, tin whistle. “Mah baby always comes runnin’ when he hears that. Didn’ work this time though. Might’a got himself somewhere he can’ get himself outta. Anyway, have fun lookin’!” Plum abruptly slams the door in your faces.

Hint: You could try looking for clues, asking around about the cat, or just wander around looking for it.

>>316649

I stand shocked a little by her bluntness. "Alright… Well. We have a whistle." I look around for workers in the orchard, "do you think other ponies have any idea where the cat is? I guess some could have seen him and not troubled themselves to catch it." I enter the orchard and go to the nearest pony, ask him, "have you seen Lady Plum's cat? We're looking for him"

I give the whistle an occasional blow as we walk, just in case Ferdinand happened to be at a hearing distance.

>>316659

>>316655

Roll for Luck

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>316664

oh boy

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>316664

Rolling luck.

>>316679

>>316677

You wander around the orchard looking for somepony to talk to, but you are unsuccessful. Eventually, you emerge from the trees back into the inhabited part of town. You find yourself next to one of the old, broken-down-looking houses. The roof is caving in a bit, the wood is falling off in places, and the whole thing looks like a strong wind might knock it over. You notice, however, that there are loud noises coming from within the building, which seem to pick up when Pineblaze blows the soundless whistle.

>>316708

I come closer to the shack and check for holes. Can I look inside through a hole, if there's one? If not, I try to open the doors gently, not pushing my luck if they're stuck.

(forgot my name, fug)

>>316715

You attempt to open the front door. You find that the door is locked, although the hinges are very rusty. You then try to find some way to see inside the house. You manage to find a small hole in one of the boards on the side, just big enough to peep through. Looking through, you can see that the interior of the building is very dark, only lit by what appears to be a small amount of natural light coming from the ceiling. You can, however, see something moving in the shadows. It looks large and slow. The noises you heard earlier are now very audible: they sound like the grumbling of a creature and the scrape of something hard against wood.

Hint: Unlock the door, break down the door, or check the roof.

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>316726

"Seems like Lady Plum has one big cat. I hope the whistle is enough to tell it we're friendlies."

I try to open the door, but if it's locked I wait to see if Thunder Strike can open it or get in without causing damage before I'd buck it open.

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>316741

"I am not sure this is a cat…"

I try to pick the lock, but expect it to be rusted way, way beyond usability. Unless by divine intervention I actually succeed, I get up in the air and peek through the collapsed roof.

>>316751

You fly up to the roof of the house and discover that there is indeed a fairly large hole in the weakened roof allowing sunlight to stream in. The hole is big enough for you to fit through, if you were inclined to do so. For now, you poke your head through the hole and survey the interior. The house is mostly empty, with a few old boxes and pieces of furniture scattered about. You’re more concerned about the creature, however. Whatever it is is currently moving around the walls of the house, scratching them with its forelimbs. The creature looks about twice your size, is quadrupedal, and has fur.

Hint: Roll for Spot.

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>316752

oWo what's this!

>>316753

(fuck's sake, either it keeps the name on elsewhere or it forgets it here…)

>>316753

You lean in a bit further and squint through the dim light. To your shock, you realize that the creature that you had been looking at is actually an adult grizzly bear, who seems to be scratching the walls of the house and sniffling around.

Roll for Intelligence.

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>316757

"Oh! Is that- that's um!" I shut my mouth before I upset the bear and back up a bit, just to be sure.

>>316758

You reason that the bear must have climbed up onto the roof and fallen through, given that the hole is the only viable method of entry into the building. Furthermore, it is probably trying to find a way out of his predicament, which is why it is investigating the walls. It has probably not been in there very long, as the building would not be strong enough to resist its full strength if it grew desperate to escape.

>>316762

>>316741

I back up and turn to Pineblaze and say cautiously, "there's a bear inside, I think he fell through the hole in the roof. I don't know if the cat's there, if he is he's hiding well. I'm not sure if we should let him out, we're pretty close to the rest of the ponies…"

"Either Plum thinks this bear is her cat or she gave us the wrong whistle. We could ask her for verification, but I fear the bear might get away if we left it alone. How fast do you think you could fly to her house and back if I watched the bear in the meantime?"

>>316782

"I think I could go back fast enough, but…" I interrupt myself with a hearty chuckle, "that granny cannot possibly keep a bear as a pet! Poster pointed clearly to a cat too. I think it reacted to the whistle, maybe we can lure it away."

>>316798

>Poster pointed clearly to a cat too

Old Lady Plum made that poster

"Hang tight, I'm going to ask her anyway." I leave my bags on some tree and speed back to Plum's house and knock on the door. When I finally get to speak, I ask, "Lady Plum, how big is the cat? It's really big, isn't it? And he's quite fuzzy too, right?"

>>316801

You race back to Old Lady Plum’s home on the other side of town. You once again knock on the door and are once again greeted with a cacophony of crashes and bangs. Plum eventually re-emerges from the house, no worse for wear. “Well howdy do, deary! So nice o’ you to come pay lil’ ol’ me a visit. Why don’tcha come on in an’ let me fix you up a cup o’ tea?” Old Lady Plum seems not to remember you or your conversation earlier. Before she goes off on a tangent, you manage to ask her your question. “Cat? Now what’re you askin’ ‘bout a cat for? Only cat ‘round these parts is my darlin’ Ferdinand. Been with me for years that one has. But come to think of it, I ain’t seen hide nor hair o’ that rascal in quite some time. Maybe you could help me track him down, young’un. He couldn’t’ve gone far; prob’ly just got himself stuck somewhere he ain’t got no right bein’. You’ll know him when you see him too; biggest cat this side o’ Canterlot he is! Come back ‘ere when you find him an’ I’ll give you somethin’ for your troubles.” Plum once again bids you good luck with your search and ends the conversation abruptly.

>>316802

"I guess that's enough… How she keeps that bear is beyond me!" I get back to the shack and check if something's happened. If not, I land next to Pineblaze and get my staff ready. "We let the bear out and see if it's calm… In the worst case, I'll get his attention with my stick and annoy him into leaving"

>>316819

The situation has not changed since you left. The bear is still in the house.

>>316827

"Ok then, sounds like it's time to let the cat out of the bag…"

I buck the door open, turning to face the bear with the whistle between my lips.

>>316832

Roll for Strength

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>316833

Rolling

>>316841

You send a mighty kick towards the decrepit door. There is a loud crack as the old wood is violently separated from the hinges and bolt. The door topples down with a mighty thud, sending out a wave of dust. Sunlight streams into the house, and the bear is now clearly visible. It seems startled by the noise and is looking intently at you and the door. After a few moments, it seems to regain its composure, and begins lumbering over to the now-unobstructed doorway. The bear takes a moment to inspect the fallen door, then steps over it and out into the sunlight. It pauses to orient itself and take in its surroundings. It seems to notice you, but it seems uninterested in investigating you. The bear begins to slowly wander off.

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>316853

I start blowing the whistle to herd it toward Plum's house.

>>316878

The bear’s ears perk up at the sound of the whistle, and it turns around to locate the source. Realizing that it’s coming from you, the bear begins walking at a brisk pace towards you. When it gets close enough, you begin walking in the direction of Old Lady Plum’s house. The bear follows, and you slowly but surely lead it to your destination. It takes a while to get there as the bear occasionally gets distracted by other things, but eventually you make it back to Old Lady Plum’s house.

"Alright…"

I knock on her door again once the bear comes close enough.

>>316886

You repeat the ritual of knocking on the door and waiting for the flurry of noise to die down before the mare you seek appears before you. Old Lady Plum once again seems to have trouble remembering who you are and why you’re there. When she notices the bear, however, she seems to get back on track. “Well butter my flank an’ call me a fritter! What do you think you’re doin’ back there, Ferdinand? Don’tcha know I been lookin’ for you for ages? An’ now you gone and got yourself all dirty as well. You’re lucky you found your way back ‘ere ‘fore I decided to come lookin’ for you myself! Now haul your furry hindquarters into the bathtub this instant ‘fore I throw you in there headfirst! Go on, scoot.” The bear lumbers past Old Lady Plum and into the house. Plum turns her attention back to you. “Well, you dearies were awfully nice to look after my Ferdinand for a spell. I s’pose I ought to give y’all somethin’ for your troubles.” Old Lady Plum produces a coin purse from within the house and rummages around in it for a moment, before producing a grand total of…two bits. She passes the coins to the two of you with a wink. “Y’all go buy yourselves somethin’ nice, you hear? An’ be sure to come back an’ visit every once in a while!”

QUEST COMPLETED

You Received:

>2 bits

>bear whistle

>>316887

I stare down at the single bit in my hoof.

"Well, at least the job was an easy one. And ability to call bears ought to come in handy sometime too."

"Say, do you think we should get back on the case of that shady Gilderbilt fellow? I just can't help feeling that someone so smug must be up to no good."

FYI it's about 4:00pm in-game

>>316905

"Uhh, yeah, we should come back and see him… I should've seen this coming. Can't undo, let's just go." I shake my head and turn around, walk back towards the square.

>>316980

>>316905

You two say goodbye to Old Lady Plum and head back toward the town square. The town is a bit less empty as ponies have started to filter in from the fields after a long day’s work. You notice that the inn seems a bit more active than it did a few hours ago.

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>316984

"Let's head to the inn. I don't think we'd get any answers from Gilderbilt himself, but it's a good place to talk with the locals about any recent rumors or happenings."

>>317046

You return to the inn. Upon entering, you find that the main room is a bit less empty than it was when you were there earlier. Your entry invites momentary glances from some of the patrons, but they quickly return to their cups. Evidently, they are used to having strangers in town. You can recognize the guard pony from the mayor’s office sitting at a table having a drink. There are about a handful of other ponies sitting around having drinks or a meal. Gilderbilt doesn’t seem to be around. Light conversation fills the air and the fire has been built up a bit, providing a comforting warmth. Big Mama is not manning the bar, instead being replaced by a pretty, young-looking mare with a curly mane, who is busy wiping the counter.

Hint: Talk to the girl at the bar.

>>317046

I point at the guardspony sitting by the table. "Do you think he heard something about Gilderbilt? Or maybe he's told somebody already. Would be nice to know."

>>317120

"I'd rather keep away from him. The less anyone knows we're snooping around the better."

I sit down to talk with the girl at the bar instead.

"Hello there. We just finished rescuing a bear, and were wondering what else is going on around the town."

>>317191

You approach the bar and strike up a conversation with the mare. Upon closer inspection, you estimate that the mare is probably in her mid-to-late teens, and has a face that features a unique combination of youthful cuteness and feminine beauty. She pauses her work and looks up as you greet her. As you mention your previous mission, realization dawns on her and her eyes light up. “You two must be adventurers! Oh it’s been so long since we’ve had real adventurers come into town. Please, have a seat and tell me about yourselves. Where are you from? Where are you going? What sort of adventures have you been on?” She seems to catch herself and ceases her torrent of questions. “Oh, where are my manners? My name is Fuji, and I’d be happy to tell you anything I can about our little town. Although, I don’t imagine we don’t have much that would interest a couple of adventure-seekers such as yourselves.”

Hint: Ask about the timberwolves.

>>317192

I take a prolonged glance at the guard, then follow Pineblaze to the counter. I get a bit overwhelmed by Fuji, "yeah, we are- Um. I am Thunder Strike, she's Pineblaze!" I pronounce with pride, to put some more fire to her excitement. "We were just passing by, here doesn't happen much, just that lost bear. Hey, where's Big Mama? Talking with Mayor about timberwolves?"

>>317214

“Well, Big Mama’s just back in the kitchen right now. But I don’t think she or anyone else has bothered talking to the Mayor about the timberwolves in a while. Whenever anypony asks him about it, he always just tells us to “be patient” and that he’s working on a solution. I don’t want to be patient though; I want someone to get them out of our town. I can hear them at night, prowling around our fields and making those frightful howls. I’m scared; And I know a lot of other ponies in town are scared too. I wish we didn’t have to rely on that old fogey. We need someone more proactive, someone who’s…big and strong.”

Roll for Spot or Psychology.

Rolled 83 (1d100)

>>317219

Do both have the same requirement for succeeding? I have some points in psychology, but my spot skill is still 10 points higher.

I guess I'll roll for psychology, since Thunder Strike is better of us in spotting things.

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>317219

So I roll for spot.

>>317221

bloody name

normally would delete the post and repost with my name, but this time it would be rigging the roll

>>317220

>>317221

Neither of you notice anything out of the ordinary.

(To answer your question, success for skill rolls is based solely on how high you have those skills. If you roll under your value in the skill, it is a success. If you have a choice of which skill to use, just roll once and you will succeed if you roll under either of the skills.)

>>317219

>>317225

I puff out my chest at the compliment.

"Well you're in luck, because you just got the Equestria's greatest and strongest to aid you!"

"If the timberwolves have bothered the village for a while now, has anypony other than the mayor done anything about them? It could be helpful to learn what you already know about the problem."

>>317226

Fuji looks a bit unhappy at the latter half of your comment. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. Every once in a while I hear some of the stallions talking about forming a posse and heading into the woods to drive them out. But, come morning, the drink wears off and they just go back to their daily lives. I think they’re too scared to go through with it, and I don’t blame them. Those woods are deep and dark, and few ponies who go into them ever come back. The only thing anyone’s really done about it is just pick up and leave town, like my daddy wants to do. Of course, that doesn’t stop that loud-mouth sister of mine from voicing her opinion. That girl would charge into those woods and take on those monsters all by herself if she could get away with it.” Her tone suggests that she does not share her sister’s opinion on the situation.

>>317228

I perk up as she mentions ponies leaving town and ask:

"Wait a minute… Ponies are leaving town because of the timberwolves? As in, if someone wanted to buy the orchard, the timberwolves would make it much cheaper for them?"

I lean in closer and continue.

"Have the wolves always been this bad or have they started troubling you only in the recent months?"

>>317252

Fuji looks a bit gloomy. “It’s not as if we want to leave town or anything. Most ponies who live here are stubborn folk; their families have lived in Shady Grove for generations. But people have their families to think about as well. It was easy for ponies to ignore the timberwolves back when they stayed in the forest all the time, but things have changed. We first started seeing them poking around the outskirts of the orchard a few months ago, if I recall. Later on, they started walking through the orchard at night and making those bone-chilling howls. But just recently, we’ve started seeing one or two prowling about during the day as well. That was the final straw for a lot of ponies; no one wanted to run into a timberwolf while they were alone in the fields. Now it seems like half the town has packed up and left, which doesn’t make it any easier for the ponies who are still here.”

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>317228

I smile and nod knowingly.

"A few months ago, eh? We already met one foul creature that popped up around that time…"

I lean closer and lower my voice.

(Speech check)

"Big Mama is very suspicious about Gilderbilt, and I think she may be right. If you could borrow us a spare key to his room, we could take a quick peek inside and see if she's right the next time he's away."

>>317282

Fuji seems confused at your request. “I’m not sure what Gilderbilt has to do with the Timberwolves. A lot of ponies in town don’t think highly of him, including Big Mama, but I don’t see how he could be to blame for it. Besides, Big Mama would whup my flank if she found out I was giving out spare keys for no good reason.”

Hint: You’ve already gotten all you need from Fuji.

>>317225

(I am almost sure Gilderbilt is listening to us)

>>317267

(At first I thought about pulling of an education roll to see if I know that timberwolves act this way only if provoked, but >80 education. And I don't even know if I could do it in the first place.)

I take a look to the side, as if to agree with somebody, then turn to Fuji and say, "this sounds bad, I don't think this is natural, typical for them."

>>317282

I lean to Pineblaze and speak quietly. "I think we should rather check where Gilderbilt goes, I doubt he keeps whatever he's using in his room. That's where everybody would look for, no?"

>>317285

"Good point. We already know he visits the town hall, so maybe we could try getting in there later when there are less ponies around."

>>317285

(You can make an Education roll if you want to)

“Well, I wouldn’t know anything about timberwolves”, Fuji remarks. “I wouldn’t imagine many ponies in town would either. Before recently, they were a rare sight. Most ponies only knew about them from stories.”

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>317287

>>317337

You know that timberwolves are reclusive creatures by nature, and will avoid settled areas whenever possible. Most encounters between them and ponies occur deep into forested areas. Those rare timberwolf encounters that occur in other areas are typically the result of provocation from ponies.

>>317286

(this was me)

>>317287

I stop whispering and turn back to Fuji.

"Thank you for your information. I swear I will get to the bottom of this."

"So, Thunder Strike, do you have any ideas? There's still a lot of time before dark, so we have plenty of time to check the forest for clues or something."

Sunset and sunrise occur around 6:00pm and 6:00am, respectively.

>>317341

"I said it's not normal… Somebody's poking them for sure. Timber wolves are animals like any other, they keep out of settlements. I'm not sure if we can find anything before night, but we can try. We need to hurry." I nod to Fuji and jump to the ground, walk out of the inn.

>>317367

You are standing in the town square. You estimate that you have about an hour before it gets dark.

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>317374

"It may be a bad idea to wander too far into the forest, but let's use the remaining daylight to get familiar with the surroundings."

I try to look for any signs of timberwolves from the edge of the forest, also making note of any potential escape routes and hiding places just in case we'll ever need them.

Also, are there still many ponies outside at this hour, if we tried to get inside the town hall uninterrupted?

>>317477

"I was thinking about checking out just the orchards and near them. I think that we'll have to stay there for longer to be sure…"

>>317477

(I treated your roll as a Spot roll)

You cannot see any trace of the timberwolves from where you are standing. The forest presents no obvious paths or shelters.

Most of the townsponies are at home or at the inn. There are not many ponies milling about.

I don't suppose there are any decent pony rom hacks or mods?

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>317487

I check out if there's something suspicious in the trees, and orchard in general

>>317563

You find nothing.

Rolled 76 (1d100)

"There's nothing here, I think we should go into the woods, at least a bit." I go in one direction away from the town, looking for anything interesting.

>>317568

(And I did it again.)

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>317568

I squint my eyes at the darkness, frustrated with the difficulty of finding anything but looking around with Thunder Strike for now.

"I doubt we'll find anything deep in the dark woods either. Least of all anything we'd like to encounter. Maybe we could check the town hall now that it's empty?"

>>317568

You see lots of trees.

>>317571

You see what appear to be tracks scattered across the forest floor. They seem to go in all different directions. They definitely do not look like pony tracks.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>317574

I perk up and try to study the tracks further, trying to identify what could have made them.

"Wait, I think I just found something! Take a look at these tracks."

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>317610

"Let's take a look, where do they lead?"

>>317610

(I took your roll as an Education roll)

The prints seem to have a central pad with three toes in front pointing forward. The shape is similar to what you would expect the prints of a feline or a canine to look like. The size of the prints suggest that they were made by a relatively large animal.

>>317611

There appear to be several sets of tracks going in different directions. There is no singular direction of origin or destination.

(Neither of you have points in any skill that would let you learn more).

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>317611

"Looks like the timberwolves have just ambled around here. Don't know what to make of that."

I take a short pause to listen for any noises.

"Think we should check the town hall again? There shouldn't be anypony in there so maybe we could find something about the dealings between Gilderbilt and the mayor."

>>317627

You hear some birds some ways off and the breeze rustling the trees a bit, but nothing else.

>>317627

"Don't know, if we could find something before the night we at least would have some pull." I get in the air, hover over the tracks, then follow their lead quickly.

>>317662

You attempt to follow one of the sets of tracks, but quickly find yourself confused and turned around due to the many overlapping sets of tracks going in different directions.

Hint: Stop messing with the damn tracks.

>>317663

I sigh, shake my head and start walking back to the town hall.

"We're not going to make heads or tails out of these tracks. Let's try searching the town hall for clues again, it should be easier now that the guard isn't there."

>>317697

You arrive back at the mayor’s office. It is now around sunset. Most of the townsponies seem to be at home. There are no lights on inside the mayor’s office.

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>317769

I start looking for possible ways in.

"I hope Thunder Strike comes here soon. Having a pegasus who can pick locks with me would be a great deal of help…"

>>317780

The only openings in the building that you can see are the ones that you already know about: the front door, the window in the back wall, and the chimney.

I get sidetracked by tracks, but after noticing they lead nowhere I get back on the track and catch up with Pineblaze at the square. I am ashamed I haven't noticed her leaving.

"Sorry, I spent too much time on those tracks, I thought they might be the thing. And we're back here. There's a window in the back too." I look at the building, "and a chimney, but I'd rather not go there".

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>317783

"You could try picking the front door first."

I try the handle just in case it wasn't locked in the first place.

>>317785

The door is locked.

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>317786

"Just watch my back"

rollan for lock picking

>>317841

You are unable to pick the lock.

>>317842

"We aren't getting in this way. I don't remember if I can open the window from the outside, probably not. And, uh, the chimney, but I'm not sure if I could get out that way."

>>317844

(You could go check out the chimney and the window if you wanted to.)

>>317846

So I guess I can check the window, if there's any way to open it from the outside.

>>317848

You fly around the building to the far wall and take a look at the window. The shutters are closed, but they’re still just shutters. You give them a gentle nudge to test them, but determine that they will not yield to force unless you wanted to risk breaking them.

Hint: Both the window and the chimney are possible points of entry.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>317849

I try to see if there are trees close enough to the window that I could make it look like the shutters were broken by a fallen branch.

>>317851

There are no conveniently-placed trees right next to the mayor' office.

"I can get there through the window, but others are going to see somepony broke in. I don't think we can get beneath suspicion here, and it would be easy to blame us anyway. Do you think Gilderbilt is more likely to get heat for this rather than us?"

I press the shutters a little, wondering if they could possibly come off cleanly.

>>317939

(and again…)

>>317939

The hinges of the shutters are on the inside of the building. There is no way to just remove the shutters from your end.

Roll for Intelligence.

i think pony D&D would be awsome

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>317941

Do I roll too?

Sorry if I'm being overtly cautious, it's a new system with a new GM so I don't yet know how punishing making mistakes could be in this game.

>>317975

(Sorry, I was talking to Thunder Strike.)

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>317941

ok

>>317998

You don't get any ideas about how to open the window.

I look around if there really isn't anyone there in vicinity, who could hear me, then I start pushing on the shutters until they break. I do it slowly, so that they don't make a lot of noise when they do break.

"Warn me if somepony comes, Pineblaze"

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>318030

I nod and start to keep watch for any potential witnesses.

>>318039

I land on the floor slowly and scoop the broken latch. I check the desk, if there's on it or in it something related to Gilderbilt or wolves on the top (of the papers).

>>318083

You ruffle through the papers sitting on the desk. Most of them are uninteresting; harvest records, tax forms, speech drafts, etc. You do find what appears to be the mayor’s daily planner. Skimming through it, you can see that the mayor has had frequent meetings with Gilderbilt over the past few months. You look through the drawers of the desk as well. Most of them just contain office supplies, but one appears to be locked and will not open.

I cringe at the loud noise but am relieved to see Thunder Strike enter the building. I consider asking her to let me in too, but figure it's better to let her do the searching and stay outside ready to distract anypony who might get too close.

>>318088

I check if there are any notes in the planner concerning Gilderbilt (and if there's one scheduled for the near future), then look around the office for the key.

>>318111

The information in the planner is very high-level and does not reveal much beyond who the mayor met with and when. You can see that the mayor does have another meeting scheduled with Gilderbilt in a few days, though.

You look around the office for the desk key. You check the mantelpiece, the cabinets, and in the potted plant, but you cannot seem to find it anywhere.

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>318112

While waiting for Thunder Strike to search the place, I try to listen for timberwolf howls.

>>318189

You don't hear any howling.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>318112

(Sorry. Family matters.)

I check the room again, if I perhaps missed something. If I can't find anything useful, I put all the things I've moved roughly the same way they were and put the broken latch on the floor, near the desk or some other place it might blend with the environment, then I fly out, carefully close the shutter to make it look as if it didn't move (or at least as close I can get) and go back to Pineblaze.

"Nothing interesting. Only a meeting in a few days." I walk away a fair distance, to make it look less suspicious, then I add quietly again, "I feel kinda dumb now, I could've opened the shutters the first time we tried to listen to them."

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>318211

(at least my ID didn't change from the last time)

>>318211

You find nothing of note in the office, so you leave.

It is now after sunset and it is beginning to get dark. You can see the moon beginning to rise over the horizon.

>>318211

"At least that means we'll get another chance to eavesdrop again, if everything else fails. Maybe I should have tried to get something out of that guard at the tavern after all…"

I raise my head to look at the rising moon.

"Welp, at least the timberwolves should be waking soon. Not looking forward to meeting them without a plan though."

>>318235

"Fighting wolves is one thing, but they will come next night again. I guess we won't be suspected, if we do… It's pretty late now, I hope they will bugger off quickly." I walk towards the forest and look around. "I doubt anybody will help us, so it's not going to be much of a plan."

>>318288

There's not much we can do to find timber wolves early, is there? Just going out and looking for them isn't going to work. At least we can (?) see if there are any guards or somebody on the lookout.

>>318292

>>318288

You two walk back out to the edge of the forest. It is now pretty dark. You cannot see any other ponies wandering around nearby. You cannot see very far into the forest.

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>318293

"Nothing but waiting and listening. At least until our eyes get used to the darkness. As for the plan, I think we can scare the wolves with fire, I have a couple of torches in here."

>>318375

"I got a feeling it takes more than scaring wolves away to solve the problem for good, but at least we might learn something about what's luring them here.

Speaking of torches, could you light one up for me? I can't see anything."

>>318424

>>318375

(Okay, I’m just going to assume that you both light up a torch and look around)

Your torches light up a small area around you. You can see a bit further into the trees, but don’t notice anything of note.

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>318587

"Thanks. It's good to have something that can actually kill a timberwolf at hoof in case we need it."

I cautiously walk deeper into the woods, listening intently for any suspicious noises.

>>318644

You don't hear anything out of the ordinary.

>>320841

>It was a failure on the players part

I disagree, but placing blame won't fix things.

>>320841

You guys were actually doing well. I did have a railroad planned (which you guys were just about to run into), but I wanted to give you guys time to explore before I rushed you along with the main quest.

Is Thunder Strike's player still around?