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Occupied Equestria - Get Away
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169000
Now, on Occupied Equestria: Silver is storming the Ministry building to find a changeling bomb. Posey is making her get away from unknown hostiles after an adventure in the city. Amber is trying desperately to flee the country. All of that, and more
1359 replies and 106 files omitted.
Anonymous
70e4fb2
?
No.169710
169715
>>169709
Noted.
Anonymous
70e4fb2
?
No.169711
169715
>>169704
How long does take for August and Posey to meet up with the rest?
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169712
169715
>>169709
Where do Posey and August meet the group?
Amber Sunset
d3eae15
?
No.169713
Sorry for my absence, I'll be back soon. Posey has done a lot…oh my, that was fast. Looks like a fun adventure!

>>169559
Not GM but I understand that, and this is one of the hardest campaigns to commit to considering it's so long. Some people are naturally better cut out for one-session adventures. Maybe you'll be able to work something out with a short-term character?
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169714
169716
1168475.jpeg
>>169705
He seems to be satisfied with these answers, and does not otherwise bother her on the way back. Unless she wants to talk. Presumably about vampires.

>>169689
>>169700
When they meet back up with the group, talking starts again. August takes the radio set off of his back and gives it to one of the soldiers, but keeps the bag, his weapons, and the light. The one that Posey can discern is the leader starts asking questions. Where did the bag come from? August answers that he got it out of the truck, and encountered remnants that he believes came from Plivy two decades ago and added those to the bag. No, he didn't thoroughly examine the contents. What was it? It was a cart of items that Plivy was transporting. Anyways...

One of them asks about a plane and is concerned it may be military. August replies that he did hear a plane, but it can't be military, as obviously visibility is too low to do anything at night. The plane must have been either a mail plane, or a crop duster.

They state that they are doing this at night in part to avoid the military, and also to get out of there before they are noticed.

Though the leader is not skeptical of Posey's presence, other ponies are, and a debate breaks out amongst them. Two are definitely skeptical while a third is on the edge, but three of them and August are not, including their evident leader.

There's a question as to whether Posey could be an infiltrator or informant for the Fascists. No, August says, he knows that she cannot be. Well how would he know? He says that she's been vetted and he knows what is going on. But then, how do they know that she's not a changeling? After all, there are warnings everywhere about the random mares you meet being Changelings? Well, he insists that he knows she's not a Changeling. How? By having sex with her? Well, yes. And she was great at it. So now you like her? No, her botany is useful. And how can we trust that you know a Changeling when you see one after the whole Hydra fiasco?

This starts a separate argument about "Hydra." Posey hears enough to details are spoken for Posey to piece together the story:
Back during the war, the fact that New Mareland was building up a fleet of mostly captured vessels was known; what wasn't known was the destination. Then a set of documents were stumbled by Equestrian agents upon that revealed a plan by New Mareland to invade the east coast of Equestria en masse: "Operation Hydra." Or so it was until multiple sources came forward stating that the discovered documents were actually planted Changeling misinformation. The Changelings were planning an offensive in the west along the front line, and a naval invasion around Las Pegasus to try to flank the Equestrians. If many of the Equestrian troops, ships, and planes were moved to the east coast, that would help things greatly. Meanwhile, the New Mareland State was intending an invasion of Aquelia, or maybe Nova Griffonia, and could benefit from the misdirection as well, with New Mareland ships seeming to head to Equestria until they turned north. So it seemed that the Changeling trick had been discovered... until the New Mareland ships were already near the Equestrian shore. The original plan, Operation Hydra, was real and followed. It was the intelligence suggesting that this was misinformation, that was itself misinformation. August's role in this is that he was one of the agents that received some of the plans from an alleged reliable source. His failure in part lead to the downfall of Equestria. And on top of that, he could not find the spy that gave him the misinformation after the fact.

August has an answer. He claims he can identify infiltrators when he meets them in person, but his talents require field work. He was tasked by SMILE to handle documents. That misinformation came to him from a source allegedly in New Mareland (later found out to actually have been in Equestria) that he never met with or saw. He was, quite simply, placed in a task that does not suit him, and that's an equine resources failure on SMILE's part. Before then, and also since then, he says he has found multiple infiltrators.

He also claims that Hydra was a larger Equestrian failure. He was not the only one to be fooled and hoof over false information. He says that the Hydra misinformation was believed because the lie was more sensible than the fantastical truth. It was easier to believe that the chance documents encountered were a Changeling lie, then that the Changelings were willing to invite and help allies, that the old colonials would be so bold as to attack Equestria, the strongest nation ever to exist, and that anyone would try to pack so many soldiers on captured freighters and ship them across the ocean in a contested landing. The lie just made more sense than the truth.

It circles back to talking about Posey, and August makes his arguments. If she were trying to tip off their location to the military, she would have moved away to make a phone call, or speak to someone else. Instead, she's barely left my/August's side. Well did you have constant surveillance on her? Well, no, but she seems to have not left. August seems unsure of that, but the questions continue. Well maybe she's in it for the long haul. After all, the one major spy that we did find had been at it more than a decade. Well, if that is so, we can take her on. Or if she runs off, we can runaway more quickly. This argument is decisive, evidently. The fact that the two most senior members of the group are not skeptical of Posey means it's never a serious question, and perhaps is more just a waste of time as the group moves along.
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169715
169716
>>169711
>>169710
Between this conversation and a question asked by the leader, Posey finds out the real reason she is being brought along: August doesn't know the exact location of the lair and hasn't been there. He wants Posey to help identify it. When asked where the lair is by the leader, he says it's a little north and west of the bend in the river, but isn't sure of the precise location.

>>169712
By the creek, on the river bank. It's not a very big river at all, but it does provide constantly flowing water.
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169716
169717 169718
d489uqy-cd399bf1-65c9-4c7c-b71d-0e6ba878ed82.png
>>169714
.... Paladins don't lie... Looks like Posey might not be the only sussus amogus here.
Also he hasn't used Detect Evil, which is metagaming, but it puts me on edge...
>>169715
>August doesn't know the exact location of the lair and hasn't been there. He wants Posey to help identify it.
Oh, hahaha...
Any chance my background knowledge of vampire and their regional effects might actually be helpful in tracking down his lair?
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169717
169718 169719 169721 169722 169727 169750
>>169716
I'm gonna roll Religion to see if Posey's skills actual help in this scenario. I'm adding my Vampire Affinity bonus.
[1d20+10 = (17+10) = 27]
Anonymous
e750395
?
No.169718
169720
>>169716
Would Posey know if he had?

>>169717
He clearly thinks so
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169719
>>169717
(The affinity bonus is +1, from Vampire bloodline)
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169720
169739
>>169718
>Would Posey know if he had?
I mean, she can only guess he wouldn't have fucked her if he had, unless he's THAT horny.
Still metagaming though. Technically Posey doesn't know anything about paladins except that they're hard to hide from and have been giving the league a hard time for centuries.

So, does my 27 help Posey find a route to the lair?
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169721
169739 169750
>>169717
I'm going to follow this up with a Survival check, adding a +2 Circumstance bonus for what I assume to be a successful knowledge check.
[1d20+4 = (10+4) = 14]
Anonymous
e508328
?
No.169722
Is Posey successful in faking it till she makes it?
>>169717
Anonymous
7219527
?
No.169724
You know, Profession (Herbalism), might be a skill worth investing for a necromancer. Arcane Botanica can be pretty nifty, although it takes a lot of time in game.
Anonymous
f451a74
?
No.169726
169727
GM, just let me know if Posey succeeds whenever it's convenient for you. I'm going to stop bumping until then.
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169727
169728
>>169717
Posey has decent background knowledge of vampires and their lairs. The trouble is going to be finding the lair of a vampire that is gone.

>>169726
Sure, but I do have work this week that can slow things down. That, and Posey is nearing a heavy section
Anonymous
f451a74
?
No.169728
169729
>>169727
I have work too, although idk what the next step is aside from rolling more dice. I just want to get to be able to get to the section by next weekend. Should I roll a d100 for hexploration tables?
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169729
>>169728
You know what? Fuck it. I want to see what the 1d100 has to say
Anonymous
f451a74
?
No.169730
169750
>inb4 1
[1d100 = 47]
You could also just check the wandering monster tables.
Anonymous
391ea5d
?
No.169737
169739
GM, is there anything else you want me to roll or do for Posey's search before the weekend?
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169738
169739
Any time tonight?
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169739
169740 169741 169742
>>169738
Sure

>>169720
>>169721
>>169737
Search is relevant
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169740
169741 169750
>>169739
Gonna roll now. Gotta leave for 20-40 minutes though.

Search
[1d20+3 = (13+3) = 16]
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169741
169750
>>169740
>>169739
So, what does Posey find?
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169742
27 Knowledge
14 Survival
16 Search
47 on a d100
>>169739
I'm ready when you are.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169744
169748
1023335__safe_artist-colon-whydomenhavenipples_ghoul_clothes_fallout_fallout+4_ponified.png
Do you still have time tonight, GM?
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169748
>>169744
Just a miniute
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169750
169751 169752
52676.jpg
>>169717
Posey generally knows the signs and layouts of Vampire lairs. They tend to be in dark locations, usually underground, and either way, usually with stone or rock around them. They have a tendency towards ostentation. They are not usually too far away from settlements and thoroughfares, given the need for need for prey. And of course, Posey knows the signs. Or at least, Posey knows the signs of what a lair that still contains a vampire looks like.

August makes a comment at one point:
"Do you see that little spot in the river, under the big oak tree? That's where the last Vampire in Equestria met its end. There's no monument. Nothing to commemorate it. Just as well. Better to not glorify the quarry."

>>169721
The forest is, as stated before, dominated by oaks and cedars, with a decent number of pine trees scattered through it. Mostly the undergrowth does not prohibit traversing under the canopy layer. The canopy is almost free of foliage as it is the middle of winter. The temperature, while above freezing, is still low enough that sweaters and jackets are justified, especially when there is wind, and everypony is wearing a jacket, save for August, who is wearing relatively thin robes.

August has more or less been taking the ponies along the side of the river, which is basically a creek perhaps 20 feet wide, which is inside of a riverbed that's perhaps 10 feet below the level of the forest and has a fairly wide riverbank. the bank is mostly muddy, with a decent number of bushes, exposed roots of trees, and periodic rubbish like tin cans. There's a half moon, and its cloudy, so it's relatively dark. Every member of the team has an electric torch to light the way.

>>169730
August takes the ponies on a little path as the river bends, into the forest.

A member of the team comments "Vampires are gone from Equestria, but don't they exist elsewhere? Couldn't they reinter with the migrations and refugees? Couldn't they use the occupation and resistance as cover to hide? After all, did this vampire, or at least its family, not originally come from what is now Stalliongrad? Did it not spawn and hide under the cover of the Stalliongradian Succession? And can they not 'survive' buried for centuries? If they can do that, are we really rid of them?"

The leader says that stories of vampires coming in among immigrants is xenophobic propaganda made up by those who oppose Equestria's opening up to the world. When pressed, however, he has to admit it is possible.

August responds simply:
"Let them come."
And motions to grab his sword on his back

>>169741
>>169740
The ponies split up somewhat to cover more ground. Another pony is the first to see it, but Posey sees it herself, lit up by the light of the electric torch so that she can make out the colors. Posey sees a royal-guard style helmet placed overtop of a sword that has been stuck into the ground, near a tree and with a medium sized stone before it. A small amount of blue coloring can be made out in the bleached white plume, and the bronze helmet has slightly corroded blue-green.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169751
169752 169757
>>169750
>The leader says that stories of vampires coming in among immigrants is xenophobic propaganda made up by those who oppose Equestria's opening up to the world.
Posey chuckles internally.
>Helmet
"Stay back. I need to examine this." Posey says, as she walks up towards the helmet.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169752
169757
>>169751
>>169750
Posey examines the helmet, and the ground surrounding it.
Does she see any clues?
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169753
169757
I guess I have to roll something?
Rolling Search
[1d20+3 = (16+3) = 19]
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169756
169757
GM, are you still there?
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169757
169761
>>169751
>>169752
There's a bit more talk about migrants

One stallion mentions that in Baltimare just about a week ago, mercenaries hired by the New Mareland State's Revenue and Migration Service found and destroyed a Maarist Cult practicing sapient sacrifice in Baltimare. He would have dismissed this claim as Fascist Propoganda too, except that the Baltimare police claim to have found victims in the process of being sacrificed, and an entire garbage chute of equine remains. The papers even published an image of what was said to be the skeletons in question.

The leader responds that of course the Baltimare SDP backs the story their handlers gave them, because they are collaborators with the Fascists, and in any case they want to reduce the amount of migrants now that Fascist propaganda portraying migration as harming lower class wages has made migrants less popular with their constituents. It's all a part of a scare campaign that will end in Equestria's isolation, and likely an expulsion of non-ponies from Equestria.

Another stallion mentions that he knows something about that location, saying that it used to be owned by the equestrian church, and mass graves were found there from the times it was a mare's shelter. This statement likewise is likewise rebutted as an exaggeration by other members of the group.

August has a couple cryptic comments like "The fairytales your parents tell you are the truths of yesteryear. You better believe them, as they can be all too real."

Still another stallion reminds everypony that the terrorist attack on a train station in Manehattan that killed 200 six weeks ago, and started the mess there, was blamed on the Equestrian Liberation Front, when obviously it couldn't have been us. Another stallion bites back that while it wasn't ELF, it was probably a cell that was sympathetic to their ends, and they need, as a group, to discourage such attacks against civilians, while still another thinks it was actually done by the Fascists or the Changelings in what could be called a "false flag."

And another stallion comments that the police reported a Changeling infiltrator into a communist cell was found and killed a week ago in Baltimare, after a dispute over payment between the local crime syndicate hired to help the cell, the griffins smuggling in arms, and the cell itself lead to violence. The changeling is said to have gunned down two Baltimare police officers before being gunned down itself. Another stallion dismisses this as Fascist propaganda designed to incite distrust of resistance movements. Still another says "isn't that what the changelings would want you to believe? That they aren't there, and you're crazy to believe they are?" While August comments that whether the Communists are led by Changelings or not, you should have no faith they will take you anywhere you want to go.

>>169756
>>169753
>>169752
Posey can see that the helmet is a relatively standard "royal guard" model - a semi practical, semi-decorative Amberclad for soldiers the old Equestrian regime. It's placed on top of the pommel of a sword that has been inserted into the ground. It has obviously been there for years. There is a rock in front of it, and the whole thing has clearly been placed there deliberately. The helmet has turned brown and blue-green with corrosion, and the horsehair plume has bleached partly white with the passage of time and the elements.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169761
169764
>>169757
Posey picks up the helmet and examines it for writing. Then she picks up the sword.
"This is a sign; a warning to trespassers on his territory, and a little trophy of one of his kills. He was a cocky one... We must be close. And since he clearly didn't come from across the river... He must've come from that direction."
Posey says, pointing in the exact opposite direction as the sound of the river.

That being said, does Posey see any other clues that may indicate direction.
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169764
169767
>>169761
On the inside of the helmet is "Summer Breeze" in ponish.

The sword is a longsword, and its leather hilt has degraded with the weather. The cap on the pommel has as well. The steel under that has slightly rusted. The blade itself is dirty, but otherwise bright and shinny - like it was polished yesterday. The sword looks bizarrely expensive to simply throw away.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169767
169769
>>169764
"Summer Breeze... Helmet, but no skeleton. Scavengers wouldn't touch the victim of a vampire... It's quite probable that Breeze was made a thrall, living or dead, and marched towards the lair."
Posey holds the sword in the air
"Craftsmanship. Royal guard quality. This wasn't some run of the mill soldier..."
She points it towards the direction opposite to the river
"That way, I'll bet. This could have been a trap, but the setter is long gone."
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169769
169772
>>169767
Posey can't hear August moving behind her until he is in her peripheral vision. He moves over and looks down.

Speaking to himself, he says, almost sadly
"No... That's not a trophy, or a warning at all..."

But then he speaks up
"I know where we are." He looks into the woods
"A little... west, I think. And north."
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169772
169773
>>169769
Posey looks towards August
"Oh? What is it then?"
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169773
169774
>>169772
"There's no body because it was recovered. This is a memorial." He says, staring at it.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169774
169775
vlcsnap-2012-06-17-18h24m11s33.png
>>169773
"I see..."
Posey gives a moment of silence
"So this was the site of the battle."
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169775
>>169774
"Part of it." August says. But he does not elaborate.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169776
169777
After a moment of silence, Posey sheaves the sword in the earth and places the helmet back down on top. She makes a respectful gesture.
Then Posey speaks again
"Do you recall what direction he first struck from? That could lead us to his lair."
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169777
169778
>>169776
"Yes" He says

"We intercepted him coming about... over there"

He points his hoof north and west.
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169778
169781
>>169777
"If he wasn't in the form of a bat, wolf, or cloud of smoke as he traveled, then he must have had not had any belief that he would be found here: he was strolling, and likely in a single direction. We're deep in his territory. If we follow that path, it should lead us near his home."
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169781
169783
>>169778
“Yeah. This way.”

Search is likely most appropriate
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169783
169784 169787
>>169781
[1d20+3 = (17+3) = 20]
Anonymous
b31c986
?
No.169784
169787
>>169783
Haha!
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169787
169788
>>169783
>>169784
Not terribly far from the site, Posey notices:
The shattered remains of a dead tree that seems to have cracked a little too violently to have been destroyed by lightning.

More shattered remnants of a tree

In the barren branches of a rather tall oak, something shimmering in the light of a pony's electric torch, and then something shimmering on the ground.
Anonymous
f54e71f
?
No.169788
169789
Spoilered
>>169787
Excited, Posey quickly moves closer to the shiny things.
Anonymous
48efe0a
?
No.169789
169790 169791
>>169788
Posey goes to it, to find that it is the amber clad armor of a royal guard. The backpiece, with its plates still intact, to be precise. Looking closer, portions of a skeleton remain inside, specifically a spine. A couple loose ribs still hang on the leather strap of the armor. A little beneath it, on the base another branch beneath it, are parts of an equine leg bone.