File: 1395821734931.jpg-(129 KB, 850x1275, Tia.jpg)

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Your train of thought is interrupted by Tia's stirring and waking up by your side in bed.
"Mornin', Maka." she mumbles, rolling over and hugging you.
"You should sleep a bit more." you playfully warn her, as you exchange a kiss. Of course what you mean is that she should let YOU sleep a bit more.
"It's impossible to sleep in bed with you."
"Because I snore?"
"Because you're way too hot." she states, straddling assertively over you. Tia as usual.
"...I'd love to continue from where we left yesterday night, Tia, but don't we have a war to fight? We can pick up after that." you invite her, wrapping your arms agains her waist and pulling her gently down onto your body.
"Oh, come on, just once. We can make it quick."
You grin. "Challenge accepted."
"Do your worse." she replies, sounding so sure of herself.

About five minutes later, you stand up and go and get dressed, leaving an utterly demolished Tia in bed. It'll be a while before she can join you.
Regis helps you don your new temporary outfit. You retrieved the scarf you used for Silk's collar two days ago, substituting it for an actual leather collar. She's napping under the bed, incidentally.
You SUSPECT she migh have been feeding on your and / or Tia's emotions, and that that might explain why the Lunar has been, these two days, even harder to satisfy in bed than usual (which was already pretty hard).
"Should I fetch you something for breakfast?" your little butler asks. You can't help but realize that, after getting him completely desensitized to your and Tia's bedroom antics, he's now gotten quickly used even at having Silk around. You really hope that you haven't traumatized him, and that he won't turn out weird when he grows up.
"Yes, thanks. Whatever you can find without too much hassle. And also something for Tia once she wakes up."

File: 1395821806467.jpg-(304 KB, 850x1198, Regis.jpg)

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After getting properly prepared, you consider a schedule for the day. Talon said that everything is "Ready whenever you are", which means that all the pieces are in place for the final assault. What should your next move be?
>you're ready!
>ask Silk to retrieve her baggage from the marsh and craft gossamer for you (alone/go with her/Tia accompanies her?)
>consider a change of outfit/equipment
>inspect, reorganize and inspire your men before the battle
>talk with (Talon/Zaan/Samiel/Dancing Smoke/Yaraon/Flow/your captains/Silk/Tia) first (about what?)
>other?

Rolled 7

>>31076046
>talk with (Talon/Zaan/Samiel/Dancing Smoke/Yaraon/Flow/your captains/Silk/Tia) first (about what?)
Get any last minute intel they might have, or any info they've picked up on the prince or his forces, then
>inspect, reorganize and inspire your men before the battle

Rolled 4

>>31076046
>>ask Silk to retrieve her baggage from the marsh and craft gossamer for you (alone)
I'd wager she's pretty trustworthy by now.
>inspect, reorganize, and inspire your men before the battle
Wouldn't hurt, but does this actually give our troops any bonuses?
>talk with (Talon/Zaan/Samiel/Dancing Smoke/Yaraon/Flow/your captains/Silk/Tia) first
Go over the battle plan.
We can wait until we get back to Tianna to change outfits. We need a pair of stilettos.

Kinda slow today, huh?

Rolled 1

>>31076046
>>inspect, reorganize and inspire your men before the battle
>>talk with (Talon/Zaan/Samiel/Dancing Smoke/Yaraon/Flow/your captains/Silk/Tia) first (about what?)

WAR COUNCIL

Get the finalised plan and any new recon data.

Then we're ready

Rolled 10

Where is everyone today?

File: 1395828852270.jpg-(120 KB, 600x751, Cpt. Rubel Sareni.jpg)

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You have your men gather up on the ship's deck.

The mass of pirates, seamen, brigands and cutthroats at your orders, who have gotten used to carry around all the iron they managed to put their hands on, might have survived the Wyld up to now, but they know that all they've done up to now has been in the Bordermarches.

And they know that the next push will be an offensive deeper in the Wyld.

On one side, morale is fairly high, because your campaign has been successful up to now. But, they're clearly worried about what's about to happen.

Rubeni, Quint and Alexei, their three captains, are there with you, having just rounded up their crews.

These men, as fierce and well-armed as they are, could probably use some pep talk right now. You ARE about to face a supernatural enemy, after all: every bit helps.

How will you motivate them?

>Talk about defending Creation against the Wyld
>Promises of loot and rewards.
>They're about to do something memorable.
>You will protect them.
>You need their help.
>Remind them of their loyalty.
>Remind them of their duty to Creation.
>Fear is the greatest enemy.
>Fae are tricky, don't trust your senses.
>Focus on tactics and planning.
>Threaten them with a worse fate.
>Inspire them with anger and vengeance.

Rolled 1

>>31076691
Loot and rewards are nothing in the face of death.
But really, it begs the question of why they're really doing this.
>They're about to do something memorable.
Men in fantasy settings are willing to risk their lives for honor.
>Promises of loot and rewards.
Secondary only, considering what I stated above. Something other to look forward to if they come out of this alive.

And unfortunately, there's not much mere mortals can do against fae trickery.

Rolled 5

>>31076691

>They're about to do something memorable.
>Fae are tricky, don't trust your senses.
>You need their help.
>Talk of loot and rewards.

Rolled 5

>>31076691
>They're about to do something memorable.
>Fear is the Mind Killer
>Fae are tricky, don't trust your senses.

Rolled 6

>>31076691
>Remind them of their duty to Creation, and more importantly, everyone they know and love within it.
>You're about to do something memorable.
>All of you are fighting to protect each other; so protect and watch for the man on your left and the man on your right.
>Fae are tricky, don't trust your senses and, above all, do not let fear cloud your mind.
>Move slowly on to tactics and planning.

Rolled 9

>>31076691
>Talk about defending Creation against the Wyld
>Promises of loot and rewards.
>They're about to do something memorable.
>You will protect them.
>Fear is the greatest enemy.
>Focus on tactics and planning.

Rolled 7

>>31076691
>>Talk about defending Creation against the Wyld
>>Promises of loot and rewards.
>>They're about to do something memorable.
>>You will protect them.
>>You need their help.
>>Fear is the greatest enemy.
>>Fae are tricky, don't trust your senses.
>>Focus on tactics and planning.

Rolled 4

>>31076691
>Just talk

Rolled 3

>>31076978
Seconded
(On a phone, so can't copy text well)

Rolled 3

>>31076978
>>31076859
>>31076858

We're giving a pre-battle speech, not a Ph.D Defense.

Early start today, huh.
I'll back >>31076770

Rolled 6

>>31076859
Seconding

Rolled 4

>>31076036
>You can't help but realize that, after getting him completely desensitized to your and Tia's bedroom antics, he's now gotten quickly used even at having Silk around.
He's not actually watching, right?

Rolled 8

>>31077271
probably not, I imagine we make a lot of noise with Tia, and we do walk around most of the time completely nude

Rolled 2

>>31077280
that being said, we are totally taking his cherry when he is ready for it and can survive a night with us

Rolled 10

>>31077292
>pretty orphan boy who lived in a seaport surrounded by pirates
>assume he's a virgin
Oh annon, you're so naive!

>>31077292
>>31077306

Remember the panties that where too small for us that appeared a while back?
We haven't had undeniable proof that he's actually a boy instead of being a reverse trap.

Rolled 6

>>31077353
A reverse trap is, if anything, even less likely to be "innocent"

>>31077372
well we need an actual man in our harem at some point

>>31077418
Let's get an actual man then, I say Samiel but Mikhail is cool too.

>>31077429
whynotboth.jpg

Rolled 9

>>31077418
Tia's an actual anything, man included, and Silk is more of a monogendered non-person blob than a woman. What we need is a non-gender-fluid member sooner or later.

And some maiden tea.

>>31077441

>non-gender fluid person in our harem
>implying gender fluidity is bad

That oppressive statement must come from cis person. Shame on you!

Rolled 1

>>31076691
>They're about to do something memorable.
Stunt dice for mortals ahoy!

>>31077441
>and some maiden tea
pfft, that's like, a resources ••• purchase, I'm sure the queen has a stockpile (what self respecting monarch wouldn't?)
>What we need is a non-gender-fluid member
... I have so many good jokes about "members", where should I start?

Rolled 9

>>31077464
>implying gender-static trans men and women don't deserve representation
For shame. Somewhere on this ship is either a woman trapped in a man's body our a strong woman living her life as a man. Are you saying they don't deserve representation in our non-traditional non-binary relationship?

Rolled 1

>>31077511
She may well, but we currently don't, and we've been riding Tia without contraceptives literally since the night we met her. I wouldn't be surprised if we're already carrying a litter of Lunar half-castes.

Rolled 1

>>31077511
>dragon-blooded trying to avoid producing offspring
It's like you don't even know how this works.

Rolled 4

>>31077537
naah, Solars can't even carry twins.
She might be carrying a litter, and, depending on her knacks, they could be beastmen for all we know! (we *have* been fucking in the wyld, so she wouldn't even need the higher essence knacks)
>>31077521
>>31077464
Not sure if troll...

Rolled 2

>>31077548
Dragon blooded are typically *very* picky with who they produce children, well, the women are anyway.

>>31077554
>we *have* been fucking in the wyld
the ship and the area around it is reclaimed creation, so no we *have not* been fucking in the wyld

>>31077537

That's true, I haven't looked at problem of those people from this perspective, albeit one would question if people describing themselves as gender-static aren't like that because of preconceived notions about gender dynamics they brought up from their upbringing in oppressive societies of Creation. Their lack of fluidity should be inspected if comes from concious choice after acknowledging possibility of gender reformulation or from suppression of willingness of changing their solidified gender paradigm by patriarchal ways of thinking.

Rolled 1

>>31077627
>patriarchal
>Creation
>a world where the greatest empire in the world has been ruled by a divine empress for the past 750 years
>a world which was ruled by a warrior queen from the prehistoric Mandate of Heaven to the Usurpation
So what you're saying is that you hate women and can't believe they can rule the world and society even with super powers, you misogynist rapist?

>>31077627

>patriarchal ways of thinking.

Have you SEEN the Realm?

>>31077724
Creation is pretty much "men exist to fight and die, women exist to rule", yes.

It's basically the opposite of patriarchy. It's more or less an MRA nightmare of how society really works.

>>31077554
>She might be carrying a litter, and, depending on her knacks, they could be beastmen for all we know! (we *have* been fucking in the wyld, so she wouldn't even need the higher essence knacks)
depends on our respective essences as per exalted RAW. Ties go to Solars, so she may be carrying golden children

Rolled 1

>>31077830
She's much older than us, in terms of exaltation date. I have every faith they wouldn't be sun-children.

Sorry, been AFK a bit. New post soon.
Also holy shit you people pick a lot of options.

Rolled 1

>>31077867
That's what happens when there are lots of good options which aren't exclusive to each other.

File: 1395843020952.jpg-(272 KB, 850x1292, Cpt. Iohannes Quint.jpg)

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Mental + Dawn = 1 5 5 6 9 (1 success)

"Men." You start, slowly pacing around the crowded deck. "Up to now, you've been raiders and bandits. You've been preying on traders, merchants and fishermen. I will not judge you for your life up to now." You tell them. "But now you have the chance to do something different." You point outwards, towards the rolling, smoking mass of the Wyld. "Today, we're going to plunder the enemy of Creation."

You let them murmur in amazement for a moment.

"Not many can claim as much, can they?" You grin. "Be proud. Be proud and strong. And remember: our enemy specializes in tricks, manipulation and misdirection. Don't trust your senses. Don't trust what you see or what you hear. Stand close together. Support each other. But most importantly... out there..." You reach for and draw a pirate's sword, and point it to the sky. "...trust in this."

Everyone looks at his own weapons.

"If you feel fear, seek refuge in iron. They can twist your fears against you, remember. But they can't twist this. Iron will stay true."

You hand the blade back.

"Move in groups. Stand with your captain. Never stray, never split up. If someone starts acting strangely, slap him on the head with the flat of your weapon."

Everyone nods.

"Now gather up all the iron you can find and get ready!"

There's no general "yes, sir" like a disciplined crew would say. Instead, you're met with a variety of chaotic agreements as the crew breaks up and begins to comb the ship for anything useful. Tools, rope, food, extra weapons, a barrel of booze...

"We'll form them up in a minute and stand by." Iohannes Quint informs you.

You leave things to them, and head to the captain's room to meet with the gods and the other Exalted.
(cont.)

>>31078205
>Mental + Dawn = 1 5 5 6 9 (1 success)
No Heroism-Encouraging Presence? Disappointing.

>>31078228
Would have added 3 dice, so ne 1 success. Wouldn't have been enough to make a difference wo why waste the essence?

Rolled 4

>>31078228
Definitely. Leading troops today is what we got the charm for.

>>31078242
Because the whole reason we got the charm was to lead and direct the troops today. Otherwise we would have gotten something else.

It last a scene. Don't turn it on until we're in an actual troop-leading scene.

>>31078228
we didn't activate it, so no bonus

>>31078258
Yeah, but even so I'd rather save our Essence for the fight. We have another freaking Behemouth to kill on top of Tarien Darian.

File: 1395844390886.jpg-(229 KB, 850x906, Talon.jpg)

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In the captain's room, you meet with Talon, Zaan, Samiel, Flow, Dancing Smoke and Yaraon, gathered around the small round table there. The small room is crowded, and the air feels charged with Essence, like static electricity. A few minutes later, Tia and Silk join you, and you're ready to start.

"What do we need to know?" You ask Talon as you step in. He's the one who spent the most time scouting the Wyld, after all, but he doesn't look too cheerful about his progress.

"Silk's directions are correct, as far as I can tell. I found this Starleaf Tree. It seems to be the centerpiece of the Wyldland, or rather its crossroads. The chaos is so thick around it, though, that it would be impossible to mount an offensive from there. The mortals would just... die." Of course, he doesn't mean that literally. It would be much, much worse than merely dying. "And frankly I'm fairly sure that even we'd have a really bad time."

"Didn't Silk say that there was a guardian?" Dancing Smoke wonders, eyeing the Fae.

Talon grins. "I and Samiel took him down last night." He explains, exchanging a glance and a nod with the Dragon-Blooded. "But, guardian or not, the chaos there is too thick for us to do anything from there."

"Our objective isn't the Starleaf Tree." Points out Yaraon. "It's Tarien Dorian's palace."

"Precisely." The wolf-like Lunar replies. "From the Starleaf Tree, we managed to find it, and then reverse-engineered a few routes from here to there that avoid the deep parts of the Wyld. More or less."

"We can take a short route that moves through some thick Middlemarches close to the Tree." Explains Zaan. "More natural hazards and more likely to lose men along the way, but we could reach the palace with less risk of ambushes or being forced to fight a pitched battle. The second route is longer, but safer. If we take it, though, we're going to be easier to intercept."

(cont.)

File: 1395845275540.jpg-(145 KB, 850x1133, Silk.jpg)

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"Given the chance, Tarien Dorian will try to fight a pitched battle." Silk informs.

"Why?" Samiel doesn't understand. "He has a fortified palace. He has every possible tactical advantage if he fights defensively."

"He wants to look cool." She explains.

There's a short bit of silence across the table.

"...How about we take a third option, and instead of the short or long route, we move straight across this Starleaf Tree thing? It's the shortest route, right? We have Silk. Can't she keep the Wyld under control so it doesn't eat us?" Asks Yaraon.

"I can keep it under control near the Tree, which is common ground. But not in the rest of the Wyld, which is mostly Diroan's dominion."

"I see." You mumble.

"But if we do it, Tarien Dorian will certainly be there to fight us."

"Why?" Dancing Smoke asks back. "...Because it would be cool?"

"Yes." she nods. "It's a perfect scenery for an epic battle or a duel."

"Regardless of how much tactical sense it makes?" Samiel is just giving up on it.

"It's the Wyld." She replies. "Tactics are subjective."

>Speak in favor of taking the long route, safe from the Wyld but more likely to be ambushed or forced in a pitched battle.
>Speak in favor of taking the short route, safe from ambushes but more exposed to the horrors of the Wyld.
>Speak in favor of taking the direct route, passing through the Starleaf Tree into the thickest Wyld. Silk will keep you safe, but Tarien Dorian will be there to fight you on his terms.
>Propose an alternative (what?)
>Let others decide.

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the short route, safe from ambushes but more exposed to the horrors of the Wyld.
Lets not go near the tree or fight a pitched battle, our men have been dealing with the Wyld for a few days now and have their iron, they'll have to make do

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the short route, safe from ambushes but more exposed to the horrors of the Wyld.

Rolled 2

>>31078571
keep forgetting dice

Rolled 8

>>31078534
>The long route.

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the long route, safe from the Wyld but more likely to be ambushed or forced in a pitched battle.

>>31078534
What are the chances he would agree to a duel if it included the words epic proportions in the message? (only when he shows up we pile on him)

Rolled 5

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the short route, safe from ambushes but more exposed to the horrors of the Wyld.
pitched battles in Wyld space, deep or not, sound like no fun. And we can fight Dorian on the top floor of his castle, rather than in the middle of the deep Wyld

>>31078534
>"Tactics are subjective."
>Propose an alternative
>In your opinion, what would look most cool? Even cooler than anything Tarien Dorian could ever pull? The coolest of cool?

>>31078534
How good is Maka's sense of tactics and strategy by now? Does she have any idea on which of these is the best idea?

I genuinely don't know what to pick.

>>31078595
Its the Wyld. How often do such tactics work on the villain of the story? Or the main hero for that matter.

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the direct route, passing through the Starleaf Tree into the thickest Wyld. Silk will keep you safe, but Tarien Dorian will be there to fight you on his terms.

One Solar, three Lunars, one DB, not an easy fight to lose.

And taking the direct route means we can end this quickly.

>>31078606
>In your opinion, what would look most cool? Even cooler than anything Tarien Dorian could ever pull? The coolest of cool?
We'd have to make sure Tarien Dorian looks like a punk, if we're doing this. If we're just giving him a cool-as-fuck opponent to fight this will make the story even better for him.

Rolled 7

>>31078612
No, we'd have to fight Dorian on our own. Otherwise he'll be powered up by the law of inverse ninjutsu

Rolled 10

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the short route, safe from ambushes but more exposed to the horrors of the Wyld.

Let's try this, I mean, what can be worst that can happen?

>>31078534
>>Speak in favor of taking the short route, safe from ambushes but more exposed to the horrors of the Wyld.

If he wants to force a decisive battle, we have to avoid that.

>>31078623
For no logical reason I now believe that Tarien Dorien is Dan McNinja. Yes, King Radical would be more appropriate for a Fae, but I'm still stuck on Dan.

Rolled 8

>>31078534
>long route
Ambushes our men can handle. The Wyld, less so. Though it would probably burn more of our Essence, so we'll just see how the votes shake out.

>>31078534
Can we do a two-pronged strike? Maka, Tia and someone else can go to Dorian and tie him up in a cool battle. Meanwhile mortal army goes a longer way and slams him from the rear.

Rolled 5

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the long route, safe from the Wyld but more likely to be ambushed or forced in a pitched battle

How dangerous is the Wyld anyway? We got Heroism Encouraging Presence, so let's make the most use of it.

>>31078996
For mortals? Very.
Just as an idea how dangerous it can be: a Raksha Noble can fairly easily turn a mortal's lungs into stone and he'll die. Or, even easier, just say "The floor is now lava!" and it is now lava.

The deeper the Wyld, the less the actual reality resists.

Rolled 7

>>31078534
>>Speak in favor of taking the long route, safe from the Wyld but more likely to be ambushed or forced in a pitched battle.

Rolled 7

>>31078534
>Speak in favor of taking the long route, safe from the Wyld but more likely to be ambushed or forced in a pitched battle.
We want a pitched battle more than a siege, just be ready for an ambush

File: 1395850080721.jpg-(329 KB, 707x1000, prince samiel tai tianna.jpg)

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"I think the shorter route is our best choice." You say. "As long as it's not excessively dangerous."

"Depends on your idea of "excessive". We ARE going to lose people just moving through there." Talon warns you.

"And how many are we going to lose to ambushes or battles on the other routes?" mumbles Yaraon. "Probably more."

"I'm mostly worried about the effects on morale of seeing their friends being eaten from the inside by bugs made of mildew or their skin peeling off and walking away on its own." Talon frowns. "...But let's go with that. I hope we're not making a mistake."

It takes about a hour to prepare everything. Your men are briefed and gathered, the barbarian tribes likewise, and the route is planned.

Talon is going to move ahead and scout along the road. Zaan will move with the barbarians, and you with the pirates. The two forces will move together as left and right column of your group, each covering the other's flank.

Flow, Smoke and Yaraon will stay back and focus on solidifying Creation and expanding it wherever possible. You should decide if to leave behind, on the ship, a contingent, or move with your entire force; what Samiel's role should be, since he's alone; and where should Regis stay.

>Attack with your full strength
>Leave behind a token force to guard the ship
>Leave a full crew behind (one third of your force)

Combined with:

>Samiel stays on the ship
>Samiel goes with the barbarians
>Samiel scouts with Talon
>Samiel comes with you
>Samiel falls back with the gods

Combined with:

>Regis falls back with the gods
>Regis stays on the ship
>Regis comes with you

>>31079271
>Leave behind a token force to guard the ship

>Samiel scouts with Talon

>Regis stays on the ship

>>31079271
>Attack with your full strength
>Samiel goes with the barbarians
>Regis falls back with the gods

>>31079271
For gods' sakes we're not taking Regis into the horrible death zone.

Rolled 8

>>31079271
>Leave behind a token force to guard the ship

>Samiel scouts with Talon

>Regis falls back with the gods

Rolled 2

>>31079271
>Leave behind a token force to guard the ship
>Samiel comes with you
>Regis falls back with the gods

Let's get this show on the road.

Rolled 1

>>31079271
>Leave behind a token force to guard the ship
>Samiel scouts with Talon
>Regis falls back with the gods

>>31079271
>Leave behind a token force
They're dead.
>Samiel goes with the barbarians
Someone with leadership skills needs to keep them alive.
>Regis stays on the ships
Honestly think that's safer than leaving with him with a frisky Smoking Dancer.

Rolled 1

>>31079491
>not wanting /ss/
What's wrong with you?

>>31079491
>>31079507
Because we're still working on setting her up with Samiel.

Geez.

>>31079507
>/ss/
???

Rolled 7

>>31079429
Seconded

>>31079551
Straight shota.

Older woman/adolescent boy sexytimes.

Rolled 5

>>31079394
Seconded. Let's not leave anyone alone. Besides, it looks like they have a cute bromance blossoming.

>>31079582
Huh, learned something new today. Honestly I just want to set Regis up with that cut maid we're planning to poach/add to our harem.

>>31079609
>Honestly I just want to set Regis up with that cut maid we're planning to poach/add to our harem.
I don't think my heart could take tiny butler/tiny maid romance.

Too cute.

Rolled 7

>>31079609
we can do that after we test him out to see whether he'd be worthy to add to our harem

>>31079633
Eh, he will be. Might need some training but I'm sure we could use Silk for much of- oh wait you aren't trying to break him and make him a little trap petboy. We probably shouldn't farm his training out to Silk and Tia then.

File: 1395852747534.jpg-(164 KB, 767x678, Cpt. Alexei.jpg)

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As your men gather, you order to Alexei: "Gather ten men, all volunteers, to picket the ship."

"Got it." He replies.

"...And let's hope they do a good job at it." mumbles Rubel. "I'd hate to lose the boat."

"...How do you plan to get it back to the sea anyway?" Wonders Samiel, walking up to you. He has an iron chain around his neck as a choker, and tosses one at you. "Put this. Zaan's idea."

"I was hoping lady Flow could help." The pirate replies. "She brought us here, after all."

"I trust she will." Alexei smiles.

"Oh, Samiel." You poke his shoulder. "Would you mind going out scouting with Talon? You seem to be a good team."

"Can do." He nods. "We'll try and leave you signs to follow and warn you ahead of time if bad things lie in wait ahead."

"What about me?" Regis tugs at your clothes to draw your attention.

"You'll go back to Creation with the gods." You reply. "They'll keep you safe."

"Oh." he pouts. "I wanted to come with you."

You pat his head. "Next time, I promise."

Still pouting, he hives you a goodbye hug, then moves out.

"He's so cute." Tia licks her lips.

You're not sure how to reply to that. As you put the chain around your neck, you notice Tia has one on her own.

Silk doesn't seem to like it. "...I can't hug you like this~"

"I'm sorry." You reply, noticing Samiel and Talon leaving to blaze a trail ahead of your main force. "I'll take it off later. But, right now... we have a war to fight, and a castle to siege."

(Roll Mental + Dawn, optional [Heroism-Encouraging Presence], for the journey. keep in mind that the siege, if it happens, will be a separate scene)
(Also, sorry for being slow today. I have another bit of AFK before I'll post again. Please be patient.)

Rolled 5

>>31079752

>>31079752
>"Oh, Samiel." You poke his shoulder. "Would you mind going out scouting with Talon? You seem to be a good team."
Shit, I forgot to mention we should give him a high-five for taking down that Behemoth with Talon.

Rolled 1

>>31079752

Rolled 10

>>31079752
>called roll
Uh oh...

>>31079752
>"He's so cute." Tia licks her lips.
So cute she could just eat him up?

Hopefully not literally.

Rolled 8

>>31079752
don't you worry Silk, we'll give you plenty of hugs when this is done

Rolled 4

>>31079804
Well, we know we didn't botch, at least.

Rolled 9

>>31079752

>>31079808
Tia isn't a cannibal...normally.

She might want a cute form for bedtime shenanigans though.

Rolled 7

>>31079752
save HEP for the siege itsself

Rolled 8

>>31079752
Voting for [Heroism-Encouraging Presence], and for calling it [HEP] in the future because goddamn I can't touch type long words.

Rolled 2

>>31079752
>optional [Heroism-Encouraging Presence]
Anons more knowledgeable than I, should we use this?

>>31079893
Well, it'll help keep the Wyld from horribly mutating or killing more of our troops than it normally would. Also, don't forget the Wyld can warp minds as easily as bodies. People suddenly going insane and getting rid of most of the iron we have with us or stabbing their comrades to death for no apparent reason sucks for moral.

Rolled 1

>>31079893
We got 3 successes if we didn't use it, so...

>>31079993
Yeah, but we're also marching through the equivalent of a Middle March with vanilla mortals...

Rolled 4

>>31079752
I say use it. Marching through the Wyld is gonna be when they're really looking to their glorious Solar queen to lead them true.

>>31080085
And IPP if we haven't put it up today.

Well, HEP WOULD add nothing but successes if I'm counting the roll right.

So yeah, I'd say use it. We bump up to an exceptional success.

>>31080105
Holy crap I forgot! This this this this!

>>31079752
IPP on!

Rolled 3

>>31080105
seconding activating IPP

>>31080105
it's reflexive, isn't it?
We can wait until we need it.

sort of off topic, but are their logs for this anywhere?

Out of curiosity, was it ever explained how we by more essence?

>>31080215
there's at least one charm we have access to

Rolled 2

>>31080211
Yeah, on the archive.

Rolled 5

>>31080215
With Lore (Twilight) charms.

>>31080215
That reminds me, can we raise our Essence?

Rolled 1

>>31079752

You guys, why the hell are you constantly conserving essence? We are going into danger and we want to use this now.

Voting for HEP and IPP.

>>31080372
because blowing 2/5 of our essence before we even meet the big bad means we'll have none left to fight him

Rolled 5

>>31080372
>IPP
I definitely agree on that one. We could use 24 hours of Shaping protection right about now.

Probably unrelated to the rest of the thread, but what's the source of the woman in the OP's image?

Rolled 5

>>31080488
It's some dude's anime slut from a booru somewhere.

>>31080498
Probably, but I was hoping for more detail than that.

Rolled 2

>>31080506
There is no more detail than that. It's an original character with no background - the only other picture of her is with her on her back, topless, her panties half-off. It's some dude's animu slut from a booru.

Rolled 1

>>31080389
We can go from zero to one with just a short break. It also makes zero sense to conserve when the intermediate dangers could be just as dangerous as the big bad.

Also, spending our essence here is not 'blowing' it by any stretch of imagination.

Rolled 7

>>31080585
I'm inclined to agree, but the guy has a point. On our first day of this war, we blew through essence fast enough that we were all out by the time we fought the final fae of the day. We really do need to be careful with how this ammunition gets spent - most of our buffs last for a single scene, not an entire day.

IPP, though, lasts for an entire day. We should absolutely use it. On top of that, we should try to always stay at Essence 4 or less, that way we're always regenerating. Whenever we're at Essence 5, we should spend at least a little on whatever we're currently doing.

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Mental + Dawn = 5 1 10 8 4 9 7 8 (6 successes)

[Heroism Encouraging Presence] [Integrity-Protection Prana] [Essence: 3/5]

You begin your journey. Despite all the amount of iron you and your men are carrying around, you see the world around you really become freakishly distorted as you move further away from the small, stable island of Creation you've managed to carve out of the Wyld. The swamp turns into a flat grassland with a little eye on the top of each individual blade of grass, then in a forest with only one tree, endlessly repeated in identical clones, then a lake of still water you can walk on, droplets of it gently raining up to fall into a phantasmagorical city upside-down above you.

The scenery gets more and more bizarre as you move on, and your men become clearly more and more stressed.

No one is brave enough to walk up to you and say things outright, but you her them murmur about hearing calls and invitations, or the voices of long lost friends, or seeing in the distance beautiful hallucinations. Being pirates, unsurprisingly, most of them seem to feature booze, wenches or riches, or some combination thereof. wenches swimming in booze and wenches festooned with riches are common, but some of the more disturbed individuals report wenches made of booze, or booze wearing riches.

"...Are you made of alcohol, by any chance, Silk?" Rubel dares to ask.

"...no?" Is her reply, extremely confused. "...Why?"

"No reason." He looks sideways, to his crew.

Your advance has slowed down, as more and more often your men stop, begin to wander off and have to be brought back in line, or begin screaming or babbling incomprehensibly, at least until their pals pin them to the ground and smack a bit of sense back in them. With a lance to the other side of your formation, you can confirm Zaan's barbarians being burdened by the same problems.

(cont.)

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>>31080488
Art by Ran'ou aka Tamago no Kimi.
http://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1448814

>>31080641
Turn around and flash them. Then start walking backwards in front of them. If that's not a big enough carrot to keep them back from the Wyld , I don't know what is.

we got 6 successes, I hope we found a way of shaking them out of it

>>31080826
Pretty sure we rolled well enough to give an effective motivational speech for our crews and the barbarians. Are we even wearing a top at the moment?

Perhaps a prayer to the UCS or leading the men in prayer to the UCS might help.

Even if he doesn't actually help, the act of prayer might help steel their nerves. Though i don't quite see the pirates as a faithful and pious lot, the saying about atheists and foxholes should apply.

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The situation takes a slight turn for the better when Rubel allows his men to open one of the two barrels of rum that they've been carrying along. That is, your progress stays just as slow, but for different reasons, and your men's morale, and ability to ignore the weirdness and insanity around them, improves. Though you can't be sure about their combat effectiveness.

You're almost relieved when they later autonomously decide to open the second barrel and find it full of bees rather than alcohol.

Once the panic has died down, you manage to make good progress, through endless valleys of broken glass, abandoned cities inhabited by disembodied points of light, and forests of copper trees made from song and music.

Then there were the hills inhabited by xenophobic stone-carved totems with spider legs and prehensile tentacles, but everyone agreed to forget about that place.

You follow the trail left by Talon and Samiel dutifully: iron nails hammered along the way, impervious to any attempt of the Wyld to move or destroy them. Still, the malicious nature of this realm is ever-active, and the world itself tries its hardest to conceal them to your eyes, slowing down your progress even more as you have to continuously check for them in order to be sure that you're on the right track.

It's basically impossible to give a correct estimate of time spent in the Wyld, so you have no idea how long you've traveled after leaving the ship. But anyway, at a certain point, you see Samiel emerging from the distance, heading towards you hurriedly. He's limping a bit, bloodied, and overall quite distressed.

"We're close to the palace. But we have a problem." He warns you.

>>31080911
If they're half as cowardly and superstitious as they seem I think a convincing argument that tUCS, the great fearsome demon or benevolent whatever, is on there side should help steel them.

>>31080928
"What did Talon do?"

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>>31080861
Your roll was on mental, not social. It was about navigating the wyld while putting your men under minimal risks, not inspiring them.

The charm has the word "inspiring" in it, but it's not exclusively a morale thing: it makes Maka a more skilled commander all around.

And yes, you're wearing a top.

>>31080928
>He's limping a bit, bloodied, and overall quite distressed.
>"We're close to the palace. But we have a problem." He warns you.
well shit. I hope he isn't an illusion

>>31080268
Can i get a link?

>>31080980
Huh, ok I was thinking about HEP completely wrong, thanks for the clarification. Also, nice top, very tribal. Did we think to work some iron in between the beads and charms?

>>31080980
dawww
that picture is adorbs

>>31080936
The gods are real in creation, so they can't be faulted for being superstitious. After all we can see the storm mothers are a thing.

Cowardly...they're in a mind bending nightmare realm out of MC escher and Lovecraft crossed with a demented fairies imagination. Unless they are suicidal or Valor 4+, i can't fault them for that either.

The prayer is a genuine attempt to help them handle their fear and discomfort.

Stripping is optional but highly encouraged.

>>31081046
Hey, I said they were cowardly and superstitious, not stupid or out of touch with reality.

Fair points though.

Rolled 3

>>31080634
That happened on the island. During our attack on fae we suffered a lot of needless wounds because we did not spam Iron Kettle Body (which we definitely should have as it renders us immune to non bosses.) For that I think we should readjust our essence use upwards. It would be different if we did not have the quick break option.

"How do you even tell what's "close" and what's "far" in this mess?" wonders Quint.

"Generally you measure distances in waypoints, but all the iron you people are carrying, and blazing a trail with iron nails, upsets the natural balance of the Wyld so much that I don't know what are the metrics behind our movement." Notes Silk and is promptly understood by no one.

"What's the problem?" You ask him, cutting to the chase. "Ambush? Hobgoblin army? Hostile terrain?"

You realize that the wording "hostile terrain" in the Wyld takes a much more literal meaning, but he shakes his head vigorously. "Behemoth."

"Ooh, which one is it?" Wonders Silk. "Is it Assy, or Nelly, or He Who Crushes?"

"It's... It's kind of..." He hesitates, then struggles for a way to describe it. "It's kind of like this, with a... Well, it has two hands... I think..."

"Oh, then it's not Assy?"

"...Mayb- why am I even discussing this with you? Anyway, it's scary, and stupidly huge, and it got Talon!"

"...Is he dead?" Zaan keeps in the conversation, really worried.

"I don't know. I lost sight of him and rushed back to get reinforcements."

"What's the terrain like?" Alexei asks.

Samiel gives him a "really?" look, but says nothing, and he backs up, lifting both hands. "...Fair enough. It was a stupid question." He admits.

>Avoid the Behemoth, ignore Talon, march on the palace
>Attack the Behemoth with your full force
>Leave the troops behind and attack the Behemoth with only Exalted (leave someone with them?)
>Other?

Rolled 9

>>31081164
Yeah, honestly, we should activate IKB at the start of literally 100% of fights.

>>31081273
>Leave the troops behind and attack the Behemoth with only Exalted

Samiel stays with the troops.

>>31081005
never mind, found it myself

>>31081273
>Leave the troops behind and attack the Behemoth with only Exalted
send Tia and Zaan, you stay here
We're down to 3 essence, they're both full. We have to conserve our essence better

>>31080980
Let's get rid of the top, it will improve morale.

Rolled 9

>>31081273
>Attack the Behemoth with your full force
The Wyld follows narrative structure. If we try to sneak around the behemoth to save our own skins, there's a 100% chance that it will come out of nowhere in the final fight as dramatic reinforcements. On the other hand, once rescued, someone is safe for at least the next full act of the piece, meaning Talon will be safe to recuperate and, instead, be OUR dramatic reinforcements in the final battle.

Narrative structure, people!

Rolled 1

>>31081273
My paranoia says we should quickly tap Samiel with iron just to make sure it's him. Fuck trusting anything in the Wyld at face value.

>>31081273
Chuck a piece of iron gently at Samiel before doing anything else.

>>31081273
>Attack the Behemoth with your full force
before that, though, touch Samiel with iron

Rolled 10

>>31081273
>Leave the troops behind and attack the Behemoth with only Exalted (leave someone with them? let Samiel rest a bit)

Rolled 5

>>31081273
>>Attack the Behemoth with your full force

>>31081273
>Leave the troops behind and attack the Behemoth with only Exalted
It's a giant monster, I don't think Extras can do much.

Rolled 5

>>31081273
Wait, I thought we were dealing with one more Behemouth, not three?

Shoot, leave the troops, Zaan and Silk behind.

>>31081383
depends a lot on what's running the bethmoth. Its probably not tied directly to a fae noble, which will make it weaker.

>>31081273
>"Generally you measure distances in waypoints, but all the iron you people are carrying, and blazing a trail with iron nails, upsets the natural balance of the Wyld so much that I don't know what are the metrics behind our movement." Notes Silk and is promptly understood by no one.
Man, we should probably have a sit down talk with Silk after we conquer this place about how fae and the wild work.

Rolled 3

>>31081273
>Leave the troops behind and attack the Behemoth with only Exalted

Let's use IKB for this fight.

(votes are close, but this is an either-or vote so there's no middle ground)

"...Alright." you reply, taking off the iron chain wrapped around your neck. You lightly tap Samiel with it.

"Uh, It's me, yes. I'm real."

"Just making sure." You reply, putting it back on. "How badly are you wounded?"

"Not a lot, and I still have most of my essence." He replies, tapping his had where he evidently took some kind of blow to check the entity of the wound. "Why?"

"I was thinking you could stay back here with the men. We brought them for a siege, but they're not equipped to fight a Behemoth." You explain, and the three captain emphatically nod in agreement.

"Can't Silk stay? She'd be a lot more useful, since she can manipulate the Wyld and keep it under control."

"Uh, not that easily here." She points out. "This area is under Tarien Dorian's domain, I only have limited influence here. Still, I guess it's something..."

"Good, then I'm coming with you." He replies to you, adamant.

"...Samiel, no one thinks you're a coward for leaving Talon and coming to warn us." You can guess why he wants a piece of the action.

"...I do." He answers.

>Let him come. Tia will stay.
>Let him come. Tia will also come, you'll leave your troops on their own for a while.
>Ask him to stay with the troops and Tia.
>Ask him to stay with the troops. Instead Tia will come.
>Other?

>>31081666
>Let him come. Tia will stay.

>>31081273
Mind if I ask a Wyld question OP? Let's assume that this Wyld zone is large on the inside than it is on the outside, when we reintegrate it into creation is it going to shrink and stretch to fit the Creation around it, or could we end up with more territory than we initially lost?

>>31081273
Tap Samiel with iron, just in case.

>>31081666
>Let him come. You will stay

Out of all our Exalted, we need to recharge essence the most

Rolled 6

>>31081666

Rolled 10

>>31081666
>Ask him to stay with the troops. Instead Tia will come.
We want him in top shape, and he's the only one here who has need to heal. He can prove his mettle in a later fight.

Rolled 7

>>31081699
forgot to roll, in case it matters

>>31081686
It's going to shrink and fit Creation.

Rolled 10

>>31081666
>Honestly I think hest the best leader we have available after ourself, so I'd rather he stay with the men and organize them for the nearly inevitable surprise attack by TD's forces. Surprise attacks are cool, right?

Rolled 4

>>31081666
>Let him come. Tia will also come, you'll leave your troops on their own for a while.

Rolled 3

Just want to remind you guys, the Wyld works on narrative structure. If we leave our allies behind while we go fight the behemoth, extras WILL die off-screen. We'll come back to find our captains and whomever we leave to guard them in a heroic last stand against hobgoblin hordes.

Just make sure you're prepared for that fact.

>>31081722
Shucks.

>>31081739
In case it wasn't clear this is a vote to leave Samiel and take Tia.

Rolled 5

Why does no-one like my "we stay here" idea, we're the only one that has spent essence recently

>>31081783
We're a woman of action. We lead from the front.

Rolled 5

>>31081783
Because Samiel needs to actually heal, and the narrative structure of the Wyld guarantees that - if the hero remains behind while their allies go ahead - the allies will fail and need further rescuing. Especially if the allies are romantic interests or have something to prove. Archetypes, tropes, and cliches are much more important than tactics or logic right now.

Rolled 3

>>31081801
but Tia is our Knight, we're the damsel

>>31081770
I'm hopingn Alexi is as much a survivor as I expect and Luna (or a shard) decides to save her ass.

Rolled 7

>>31081666
>Let him come. Tia will stay.
I'd be okay with the other options, too, as long as we don't leave them alone

>>31081818
Pretty sure this damsel also likes kicking ass and taking Names. Ain't nothing wrong with a power couple.

Rolled 10

>>31081818
Not if the camera stays focused on us. If it does, then our knight will disappear and will probably have their final words on-screen when we run across their broken form after they fail to return. That or slip into a long coma as they heal, rendering them unable to help in the final battle.

Narrative structure.

I completely forgot to ask about another issue: Silk. Coming with you or staying with the troops to shield them from the worst of the wyld?

Rolled 7

>>31081666
>Ask him to stay with the troops. Instead Tia will come.
the wounded warrior that feels guilty for having fled goes back into combat? Practically guaranteed to die.
>>31081873
she stays here.

>>31081856
Yes and no. Remember, that while we are in the wild we still are of creation. Narrative structure has power, but not nearly as much as in a fight between to fae.

>>31081873
She stays.

Rolled 6

>>31081896
It still has a huge impact on whether or not someone's going to get ambushed and what kind of force they come up against. If we leave our troops here, they'll get ambushed by just enough hobgoblins to kill the extras but not the heroes. If we stay here, then the people we send to fight the behemoth will die, get taken captive, or be sufficiently injured to report back on what happened and be unable to offer much more help.

And we're the only one completely immune to being personally affected by Wyld warping. Aside from just the level of opposition they run across, our allies are going to have to deal with the results of their actions, their very minds, and so forth being warped to fit the scene.

In other words, what we decide to do here will likely decide who and how many of our allies die, and for reasons entirely unrelated to tactics, reason, or logic.

Rolled 1

>>31081948
>And we're the only one completely immune to being personally affected by Wyld warping.
I'm pretty sure the Lunars have charms in addition to their Tattoos, as does Samiel

Rolled 3

>>31081980
>I'm pretty sure the Lunars have charms in addition to their Tattoos, as does Samiel
Dragon-blooded don't have a proper Shaping defense, and considering how Tia's mind got warped by Garnet, I'm pretty sure she's just relying on her tattoos.

So, no. Our allies have imperfect defenses at best, and possibly no special defenses at all in some cases. The lives of our allies - ESPECIALLY the mortals - hinges entire on which story structure we play into.

>>31081873
Either she stays with the troops or we absorb her for the duration of the battle to keep her safe and sweat her out later.

>>31081980
I think only Zaan and maybe Talon have defenses against Wyld mental shaping. Only the lunars, solar and fae in the party have any resistance to physical shaping attacks.

Rolled 9

>>31082040
>Dragon-blooded don't have a proper Shaping defense

CHAOS-WARDING PRANA
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Since the Usurpation, the Fair Folk and the other creatures of
the Wyld have been the most persistent adversaries of the Dragon-
Blooded. As the avatars of stability, it has fallen to the Earth Aspects
to develop the means to counter the corrosive effects of Wyld energies.
For the remainder of the scene after invoking this Charm, the
Dragon-Blood can ignore Shaping effects, such as the mutational
effects of the Wyld or the glamour sorcery of the Fair Folk. Both
the Dragon-Blood’s person and gear are protected and cannot be
changed by such Wyld effects. The Charm does not protect against
any Shaping effects brought to bear by Celestial Exalted, however,
including Sidereal astrology. This effect can be extended to any
number of other people by touching them and paying the full cost
of the Charm for each of them

Rolled 9

>>31082085
Color me corrected. Still...
>Earth Aspect
>Essence 3
>One scene
Even if he has it - which I doubt - he can't afford to spam it every scene and still be able to function at any real level. Irene could be expected to have it - for Samiel, though, I would be genuinely surprised.

Rolled 7

>>31082085
he lives on an island with a big fey presence,I think it would have been sensible of him to pick that up

Rolled 5

>>31082125
>Earth Aspect
that's just because it's an Integrity Charm. He can it it as easily as we can Tiger Warrior Training, for example and Essence 3 really isn't much

Rolled 1

>>31082169
Which is our second focus. His second focus seems, if anything, Wood or Water. Certainly not Earth or Air.

>>31082206
He lives on an island with an active wyld presence, he'd be pretty stupid not to pick it up

Tia comes, Sam and Silk stay

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"...Alrignt. You'll come. But we need someone to stay behind in case the troops need someone who can manipulate Essence." You reply, eyeing Tia. "Can you stay behind?"

"I can." She reply, looking a bit worried. "...But that way I wouldn't get to fight alongside you."

"Well, not the behemoth, but I can promise that once we reach the castle, during the siege I'll be all for you!" You cheer her up, and it seems to work to motivate her.

"I'm staying too?" Silk wonders.

"Yes. Try and keep the Wyld under control. Keep the troops ready, you two. Ready and safe."

"Let's hurry up." Zaan urges you.

Leaving the two girls (?) behind, you, Zaan and Samiel hurry up along the path, following the Dragon-Blooded's lead until you reach a landscape of pipes and stripes jutting out of the terrain, looking equal part like artificial structures and like veins, naturally grown, from a monstrous steel body infesting the ground. There is an enormous amount of damage all around, with these structures smashed and crushed all around a giant, shapeless monolith that looks like as if it has fallen from the sky.

"...Where's the Behemoth?" You ask him. "Did he do all the damage? It almost looks like that giant rock did it, falling here."

"Both." He replies, drawing his sword. Fire dances on its blade. "That rock IS the Behemoth."

You turn and face it, and, under your eyes, it opens like a giant, ravening maw, sprouting, like a tongue sticking out of a monstrous mouth, a... a...

Well, now you understand why Samiel had so much trouble describing it.

[session end]

Rolled 1

>>31082232
He could easily just simply not qualify for it. By his total lack of knowledge or interest in Irene's essence cannons, I'd bet good money on him not having enough Earth to learn such a charm.

>>31082438
but if Irene has a shaping defense and he hasn't, why send him with us?

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Sorry for being slow today and not making as much progress, but it was a busy day for me.

2 XP (Base)
1 XP (Navigated the Wyld)

XP Espenditures:

Twilight 3 (6 xp)
Night 3 (6 XP)
Eclipse 3 (6 XP)

Rolled 7

>>31082470
He came entirely of his own accord. Nobody sent him, and the queen isn't formally supporting any of this. He even said she was upset about putting himself in harm's way like this.

People rarely do the smart thing, especially when emotion and ego are involved.

Rolled 5

>>31082533
Save it. We're holding out until we hit 10 experience again to either get Tiger-Warrior Training Technique or - if something is Moore urgent - something else.

>>31082399

Damn, this picture is awesome. Thanks for running.

>>31082533
>>31082589

Chaos Repelling Pattern would be good perhaps.

>>31082589
how about, after we finish off the fae, we spend a few sessions fighting lintha to get tiger warrior... and while we are still fighting the fae, we spend all our XP as we get it?

Also, I think we should get twilight, night, and eclipse 3. they are very cheap and apply to a great many things.

Rolled 4

>>31082665
There's a very good chance we're going to have some downtime after fighting the fae. We won't be able to just go and fight the lintha. We don't know where their base is, for one, aside from vaguely to the south.

So we should make sure we get Tiger-Warrior before we finish the campaign against the fae. We want to already be well and prepared to deal with any downtime we might stumble across when we stumble across it. Grinding up experience is incredibly unreliable to that end.

>>31082743
I'm 100% on board with this. We should make Tiger-Warrior Training Technique our next purchase. If we don't, I fully expect that we'll not get enough experience by the end of this arc to actually put any downtime to good use.

>>31083211
on the one hand, it seems wasteful to not put the downtime to good use. on the other hand there will be more downtime in the future, and if we don't have what we need now we could die, or we could lose someone important because we weren't powerful enough to support them in combat.

Also, even if we don't go after the lintha immediately, we still have the plan to set up the trading company (by recruiting a merchant) and to press gang the remaining pirates in the area (we got 3 of the 9 who commonly frequent one island, there might be more that don't frequent it). so quite a lot of stuff to do, I don't know where you are getting the notion we are just gonna chill for a few weeks.

>>31084724
Well, we're not going to just wander off the island until Silk is at least somewhat secure in her new territory.

>>31084804
That is even more things to do.

>>31084900
Right. But its a thing that will require us to stay more or less in one location while not taking up all or even most of our time.

>>31084804
>Silk secure in her new territory
I think we might have different interpretations of the bargain we struck when we made Silk our pet. She isn't leaving our side for any length of time anymore and I don't think she's ruling a territory period. Those are things people do. She's a pet.

Look, I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I just think we should clarify this with EF next thread because I'm weary thet what you're suggesting might undo the changes Silk made to herself when she agreed to our bargain, and then we have another unbound Fae Lord running around.

>>31082533
In case you see this before next thread, any chance of Zaan re summoning that earth elemental or was in only up for digging the lava trench?

>>31085037
The fact that she NEEDS to spend time in the Wyld, and that she's arguably going to be better both for herself and for you if she does, is indisputable, though.

You'll have to balance how long she can spend in the Wyld doing fae things and how long she'll be at your side. Her becoming "a pet" basically means that, rather than negotiating this with her, you get to decide on your own.

>>31085132
You'll see~

>>31085135
Right. So presumably we'd hand down conditions like this:
Tribute X% of your gossamer production
You may have up to Y commoner Fae, Z heroic commoner fae, A behemoths and maybe one or two nobles.
One of the nice things about the way fae work is that commoners become heroic when they get a chance to distinguish themselves. So if most of the nobles get clear-cut without the commoners being completely massacred heroic commoners start showing up to fill vacancies pretty quick.

>>31085135
>The fact that she NEEDS to spend time in the Wyld
I wasn't aware of that fact... my experience with exalted comes from jukashi quests and a few webcomics (not by him) and whenever fae were involved it was implied that they can become beings of creation by spending long enough in creation itself.

>>31085037
>Look, I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I just think we should clarify this with EF next thread because I'm weary thet what you're suggesting might undo the changes Silk made to herself when she agreed to our bargain, and then we have another unbound Fae Lord running around.
She is unbound though. As near as I can tell, what happened is that we BEFRIENDED! her so hard that she developed a positive intimacy towards us and changed caste from artisan to entertainer.

>>31085376
artisan to ornamental, sorry.

>>31085345
Keep in mind a few things:

1) You don't need to set conditions, you can just tell her what to do. She'll be willing to go along with it, just... don't push it too far. She's a pet, not a slave or gossamer production machine or things like that.

2) She explicitly wants to not have other fae around her.

>>31085373
Fae calcify and die if they are unable to return to the Wyld.
Also, outside of the Wyld their only way of regaining Essence is to Ravage mortals (i.e. damaging their souls and emotions permanently) so a fae with no prolonged access to the Wyld and who doesn't want or can't harm mortals is essentially useless.

>>31085376
I'm not going to go into Fae caste technicalities because Maka doesn't know, it's not terribly relevant, and for all you know I might be changing or ignoring castes, but you're right: she's not technically bound by any sort of oath right now. There is nothing FORCING her to be your pet: she's doing it because she wants it.

>>31085345
>>31085488
Honestly, we shouldn't get greedy with the gossamar. If we have something specific we want her to make, fine (but since gossamar is inferior to Orichalcum we should really just get maka a set of orichalcum equipment and be done with it).
let her keep her gossamar.

>Fae calcify and die if they are unable to return to the Wyld.
Well crap. what time period are we talking about here? (how long till death, how long till uncomfortable)

>>31085488
How...portable could a Wyld zone be?

On an unrelated note, could one punch a behemoth into being a docile mobile platform for a fortress city?

>>31085488
>Also, outside of the Wyld their only way of regaining Essence is to Ravage mortals (i.e. damaging their souls and emotions permanently) so a fae with no prolonged access to the Wyld and who doesn't want or can't harm mortals is essentially useless.
Unless they have access to a penant and cryst. Since Silk is presumably going to come out of this with complete control of what's left of the wyld zones freehold that's not out of the question. Granted, you might do it differently, and even with both her regen rate wouldn't be stellar.
>She's a pet, not a slave or gossamer production machine or things like that.
I think she might be able to make a gossamer production machine though, depending on powers.

>>31085694
>How...portable could a Wyld zone be?
Not.

>On an unrelated note, could one punch a behemoth into being a docile mobile platform for a fortress city?
Theoretically, yes. Mask of Winter sort of did that. Of course, it required Solar Circle Sorcery. You're unlikely to manage to do it with just a normal punch. Or even a very good one.
(Fae, though, can more easily control them)

>>31085602
>Well crap. what time period are we talking about here? (how long till death, how long till uncomfortable)
Depends a lot on how much they have to use their powers, how powerful the fae is, if they can feed off ambient emotions (which doesn't cause permanent damage), and how much they have available.
We're talking about weeks for uncomfortable, months for dead, IMHO.
If she doesn't do ANYTHING that requires Essence, a lot longer. But she's going to be basically a weird heroic mortal in power level, eventually.

>>31085871
Minor question: last thread, she talked about reforging her sword and acquiring an army. Since she doesn't like fae, what would this notional army be made of?

>>31085964
>Minor question: last thread, she talked about reforging her sword and acquiring an army. Since she doesn't like fae, what would this notional army be made of?

Hobgoblins.

>>31086213
what are hobgoblins?

>>31086237
Creatures made out from simple Wyldstuff. Basically dreams/nightmares given shape and matter from nothingness.

If the Fair Folk are sentient Wyld given purpose, which takes on a mask and a persona in order to interact with Creation like they're on a theater stage...

...then hobgoblins are basically cardboard cutouts of people used to simulate crowd scenes.

>>31086368
I see. and what was that earlier about kidnapping children and making them into... was it lizardmen?

>>31084724
>so quite a lot of stuff to do, I don't know where you are getting the notion we are just gonna chill for a few weeks.
But almost none of it requires spending full days at a time focused on it - and much of it really does require simply waiting for days or weeks at a time as it progresses. At any rate, Exaltedfag's version of Tiger-Warrior Training Technique only requires a few hours per day of down time using it - which, I should add, is actually MORE than the canon charm requires.

I think you and I have very different interpretations of 'downtime.' Downtime is any time where you're able to spend hours of every day pursuing side projects instead of spending 24/7 focused on a specific task at hand. Right now, we don't have any downtime because we've been in 24/7 recruitment/battle for about the past in-game week.

But after this battle we'll be doing things like securing lodging for our crews in Tianna, figuring out trade routes for gossamer goods, easing Silk into her new role, and so forth. And all of that count, for me, as 'down time' stuff. That's stuff we can do while also using Tiger Warrior Training Technique.

Downtime is NOT time where we have a completely empty schedule - that's not a thing that exists for exalts even remotely involved in civilization. Downtime is any stretch of time where we have enough free time to pursue side tasks. And spending four hours per day to grind our followers up to Zenith 4, Dawn 3, Physical 3 warrior-monks is great.

>>31086440
>I see. and what was that earlier about kidnapping children and making them into... was it lizardmen?

Well, dreams/nightmares given shape and matter. Specifically, those of children.

Probably by ripping them out of said children first, leaving them empty shells.

Then they probably ate the bodies or reforged them into comfy chairs or something.

Rolled 5

>>31086507
>Zenith 4, Dawn 3, Physical 3 warrior-monks
We can even grind Regis up to that level. And that would be fantastic.

>>31086368
technically, I think they also count as commoner fae, specifically the warrior type. WW explained the matter as clearly as usual.

>>31086554
Also keep in mind that we established that there's a charm to give Awakened Essence to a number of mortals equal to your Followers background on top of that.

>>31086521
is it possible for them to make those without harming the child?

>>31086851
Ask Tarien Dorian :D

>>31086507
Oh, I completely misunderstood what you meant by downtime, thanks for clarifying.

Still, the question is:
1. will we gain enough XP to buy it in days, or weeks of doing that. (all sides of the argument are meta)
2. are we so focused on not wasting this downtime (the first of many) that we are neglecting other important stuff that will come to bite us in the ass.

Rolled 9

>>31086955
>1. will we gain enough XP to buy it in days, or weeks of doing that. (all sides of the argument are meta)
We should have enough experience to buy it at the end of next session. I could also see us having successfully or nearly finished the battle by the end of the next session. If we don't take that charm before the battle ends, I think we'll skip past the downtime too quick to pick it up and still put it to use.

>2. are we so focused on not wasting this downtime (the first of many) that we are neglecting other important stuff that will come to bite us in the ass.
Not really. We're already fantastic at fighting, leading people in combat, and social stuff. We also have a shaping defense and an environmental defense. We're pretty covered on most fronts - anything else we might get would largely, at this point, be making us even better at something we're already fantastic at instead of adding new options.

Tiger-Warrior Training Technique, on the other hand, would let us have seriously good followers. Superhumanly strong and talented warriors who can talk a conman into a timeshare. It adds entirely new options, instead of just making us even better at our existing ones.

Personally, I really want to pursue that. I want to be able to have competent, trustworthy, fantastic followers, instead of three crews of poorly-trained and cantankerous pirates. I want to add the new option, instead of enhancing an old one.

Make sense?

>>31087054
>Personally, I really want to pursue that. I want to be able to have competent, trustworthy, fantastic followers, instead of three crews of poorly-trained and cantankerous pirates. I want to add the new option, instead of enhancing an old one.
I see how the tiger training will make them into super stronk pirates.
How would it make them trustworthy and fantastic? (It is worth noting that at the end of our training, they could actually overpower us)

>>31087054
>Not really. We're already fantastic at fighting, leading people in combat, and social stuff.
Our combat is really poor compared to other exalts, and for many things our dicepool is 4 (social + twilight/night/eclipse)
We are about to try to set up merchanting to feed and keep our pirates loyal. But we are not actually all that good at it. So if we tiget train them and then botch it, we end up training them only for them to run away from us and become a major threat.

>>31087127
Well they'd gain Drill every time you used the charm and trained something, so they'd become one of the most disciplined units in creation in short order. You can also raise their valor IIRC giving them a strong moral compass (of sorts) but the only way they'll become trustworthy or more upstanding (besides being well disciplined and valorous warriors who owe their new found prowess to your teachings) is by doing things the hard way (earning loyalty through charisma and action and setting an example they want to follow). Now if you had the Legendary Warrior and Legendary Scholar charms you can pretty much turn anyone into a veritable paragon.

Rolled 2

>>31087127
I meant in terms of having trustworthy skills. And they could already potentially overpower us. The bare minimum it takes to kill us with IKB is five mortals with good weapons and lucky rolls. They could kill their captain too. The point is they we're a good leader who gives them fabulous loot (in terms of gossamer) leads them to unrealistic victories (against the fae) and is their direct source of becoming even more badass (with further training as we ourselves improve). We're the gravy train - and that's before we keep using social charms to earn their respect and loyalty.

And they won't just be stronger and better at fighting. They'll be more socially competent and tactically skilled too. At the moment, they're barely better than worthless - cannon fodder we have do drudgery tasks we find beneath us. With proper training, they would have the skills to actually be dispatched to accomplish things without us holding their hands.

>>31087180
>Our combat is really poor compared to other exalts
Citation very much needed.

>and for many things our dicepool is 4 (social + twilight/night/eclipse)
Which is still considered all-around exceptional for a mortal, according to Exaltedfag. We're bad at literally nothing. We're just less-amazing at it.

I kind of see your point on the dangers of training them and then them going rogue, but our social skills are so huge, I doubt they would get to the end of our training regimen without loyalty.

>>31086598
Hobgoblins are a human term that describes three different things:
The fake: Summoned through Transient Work of Flesh and Bone these guys are almost laughably fake and entirely temporary. The classic: wave my hand and hordes of mooks appear.
Cutouts: created by Awakened Dream Manufacture, these guys are the cardboard cutouts mentioned by OP. They can vary in strength from a random scrub all the way up to a godblooded. They have no true self awareness and can't become a noble.
Extras: Warrior Commoner fae. These guys have next to no self awareness and are equivalent to line-less extras. However, its theoretically possible that if they stand around enough they'll eventually get to speak a line or two and transition into a secondary role as a heroic commoner.

As a practical matter, the difference between cutouts and extras is that if Silk makes a bunch of Extras there's a decent chance one or two of them will become somewhat more competent and get a name as time passes.

Rolled 1

>>31087328
>the end of our training regimen
That reminds me. It takes one week of training fourish hours per day to give them a +1, right? Can we get the stat blocks of our average pirate to get an idea of how much time it will take to train them (during which time we'll be earning their respect and loyalty), how improved they'll be, and how useful/useless they currently are?

Context for the discussion would surely be useful.

>>31087328
>The bare minimum it takes to kill us with IKB is five mortals with good weapons and lucky rolls.
At the moment, they need REALLY lucky rolls since our dicepool is vastly larger. Once fully trained our dice pools will be the same size

>>31087328
>Which is still considered all-around exceptional for a mortal, according to Exaltedfag.
we aren't a mortal

>>31086507
It'd be nice if we could turn Regis into an Enlightened Mortal with Tiger Training and give him a Terrestial MA...

Rolled 5

>>31087614
We would still outclass any one of them dramatically with our charms. And they could already pretty reasonably kill us I'd they collectively ganged up on us. As long as we could reasonably take at least half a dozen with us - and even fully trained we still could - we still seem like an unassailable badass.

And even then, it'll take, what, at least six weeks to train them all? If we haven't won them over enough in that time to trust their loyalty, I don't want them anyway. We have no use for incompetent people, and even less for incompetent people who follow us out of fear instead of loyalty.

You have very little faith in our ability to inspire loyalty in our allies and followers.

Rolled 6

>>31087631
No, but their alternative is more mortal leaders, by and large. As long as we're at least add good as them in every way and ridiculously better in a few others, we're a better leader than functionally all of their alternatives.

>>31087645
requires a twilight 3 charm.

>>31087738
>You have very little faith in our ability to inspire loyalty in our allies and followers.

And our stonking great tits.

>>31086237
If you want, there's usually an Exalted General where you can ask questions. I'm not saying you're wrong to do it here, it's just I think we all like to blather about setting stuff regardless.

>>31091649
This isn't exalted exactly, it is based on exalted with some changes.
Hobgoblins were explicitly brought up by the QM, and this quest is explicitly meant to be noob friendly.
So there is every reason to ask here and not in exalted general

>>31092268
Fair enough. I'll stop the derail.

>>31092268
Yes.

>>31087583
Physical 1, social 1, mental 1
Dawn 2, zenith 2, twilight 1, night 1, eclipse 2.

Rolled 8

Are you running today?

>>31096657

Do we have any Clue how skilled Silk is?

>>31096754
I intended to, but i ended up in bed with flu. Can't.

>>31096766
Not really. Fae are weird.

Rolled 3

>>31096657
Hmmm. So, it would take five weeks - mute than a month - to get our troops up to our level. Yeah, that's definitely enough time to earn their respect, loyalty, and obedience with our social skills.

>>31096781
>I intended to, but i ended up in bed with flu. Can't.
You should anyway. I'm sure exalted and huge stonking tits will help you recover.

Rolled 8

>>31097386
EF needs his own Tia to help nurse him back to health

>>31096781
Sorry to hear OP, hope you feel better soon.

Rolled 2

>>31097416
No, Tia would only exhaust him and give him a reason to stay sick longer.
He needs his own Zaan.

Rolled 6

>>31097965
Good thing he does not have his own Dancing Smoke, speaking of which, has Yaraon recovered from her affections yet?

>>31098127
we should really ask Smoke how things between her and Yaraon went

>>31097416
Tia is a terrible nurse.

so what's everyone's opinion on looking at adding a dot or two in Mental, Twilight, Eclipse, and/or night?