>>31178751
Morning, OP.

Rolled 9

>>31178751
Evening, EF. Late run tonight.

Rolled 4

>>31178976
>9
Off to a good start, lets our luck stays with us.

Rolled 2

>>31178751
Time to see what Tia got us to wear
How lewd is it going to be?

Rolled 10

>>31178991
Dude, never ever EVER say that.

You probably just jinxed us, for Lady Luck is a petty, spiteful bitch.

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"Oh, she said she wanted to go and find me something to wear herself." You explain.

"You had Tia go and get you clothes." She replies. "Now. I know it's not my place to intrude, and that you've known Tia for longer than I have, but you realize that Tia is-"

"A pervert?" You interrupt her. "Yeah, I know. But I'm curious to see what she'll come up with. Besides, I don't dislike that side of her. She's just being honest."

"If you say so."

"...Besides, why is a Fair Folk even lecturing me on this? You're probably the worst case around here. Even your body looks like it was made with nothing but lewd intentions in mind." You point your finger at her.

"...I suppose you have a point." She admits with a chuckle. "Let's just wait and see how terrible is whatever Tia bring-"

"I'M BAAACK!" Oh, here she is. Trotting merrily around (an especially jarring scene, considering you camped in a corpse-strewn battlefield. although it's technically just one corpse) She's carrying a small sack, which she proceeds to open on front of you, on the ground. It contains some cloth, a large straw hat, a lot of flowers and some pieces of plate armor.

"What?" You inquire.

"Well, I couldn't make up my mind..." The Lunar begins to sort the items, "...so I picked up three possible outfits for you. Also, I tried to make them as different as possible."

"...You say outfit, but isn't the first one just a sweater?" Silk notes. "And nothing else?"

Tia nods.

"...The second looks... cute, I guess?It... looks a lot more appropriate for a seaside vacation than for a battle. Where did you even find those flowers?"

"In the Wyld." She replies.

"Are those-" you turn to Silk. "Are those safe? They're not carnivorous or anything?"

She giggles. "They're fine. Well, now that they've been picked, at least."

That doesn't help to make you feel more safe. Then you check the last option. "How does that even-"

"You'd be mad sexy in it." She smiles. "Well, You'd be mad sexy in anything."

>Pick one

Rolled 4

>>31179024
>Sweater
Tia has the best fetishes

Rolled 3

>>31179024
Door number 3, wham bam thank you ma'am.

>>31179024
Number 3

>>31179024
>Sweater with armor from number 3

>>31179024
>Sweater

Rolled 3

>>31179024
Oh god I can't decide. Rolling for vote

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>>31179024
>choosing anything but brown sweater girl
Not even once

>>31179024
Sweater

>>31179024
number 3

>>31179024
Put on the sweater. Pull it down so that it's tight on us and ask Tia if we look alright

>>31179251
oil + sweater = clingy, form-fitting sweater

Rolled 5

>>31179024
Number 3 with a flower or two in our hair

>>31179251
>>31179288
do this now!

>>31179251
>>31179288
you two are beautiful people

Rolled 1

>>31179024
All 3 options, because we know we're going to get some of them destroyed in fighting, so why not wear all of them?

>>31179438
nah, just have all of them.We couldn't wear a bikini under a sweater or armor over one, that'd just be silly

Rolled 5

>>31179452
yes we could, and we'd look damn sexy in it, no matter teh state of our clothing as its slowly damaged and reveals more during the course of a fight

>>31179024
Sweater puppies. Can we put the plate armor over the sweater? And a flower in our hair?

>>31179024
Sweater
and Tia gets a kiss for her trouble

Rolled 7

>>31179480
we should just do like >>31179438 said, Bikini under the sweater with armor on top, and a flower in our hair

Rolled 2

>>31179438
we could just wear one at a time throughout various stages of the fight, we one set of clothing gets destroyed, we jump into another and get back into the fight

>>31179544
That'll probably work.

Pick one, change into the next when it gets destroyed.

We should start with the "armour" one first, if that's the case.

>>31179544
>Wasting valuable naked punching time getting into new clothes

>>31179480
I don't mind the flower in our hair, but I have to say no to the armor over the sweater, that's just silly, the point of wearing just a sweater is to go for a comfy/sexy look, wearing armor would ruin that effect

>>31179024
Wear the sweater, have our hair pinned back with a flower

Whatever happens, the Tailors back in Tianna are going to have a full workload with the rate Maka goes through clothes.

Whole wardrobes get emptied with every new antagonist.

Rolled 8

>>31179562
but we'd look badass and sexy and epic as we revealed which set of clothing we'd wear next, and apparently that matters with the fae prince

>>31179562
We can have plenty of naked punching time next time we want it rough with Tia.

>>31179595
this is a good argument against your idea. We want to piss the prince off, not work to his idea of an epic fight. That's why we're heading out there wounded, instead of doing the 'fight your brainwashed friend until he remembers himself' bullshit

File: 1396274221402.jpg-(129 KB, 850x1275, Tia.jpg)

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"...Well, you obviously worked hard to gather all this stuff for me..." You praise Tia. "...So I can't really choose. I'll wear the armor under the sweater, I guess."

"That- no!" She stops you. "What's the point of the sweater if you wear something else under it?!" She looks VERY distressed. "Or the armor if you wear something over it?! It just doesn't work!"

"...Uh, Tia, people normally do wear stuff under a sweater."

"We're Exalted. Common sense doesn't apply to us." She states proudly, putting the soft yellow sweater on you more or less by force.

"Uhm." You tug at it, wondering where she must've found it. Maybe on the battlefield? But no, it's undamaged and perfectly clean. She probably pocketed it while on the ship.

You pull it down hard, letting the slightly elastic fabric adhere to your body in this humid atmosphere, and turn to Tia with a grin, intent on seeking some payback.

"Do I look good in this~?" You ask her.

She gives you a long, ice-cold, predatory stare in response, then grabs the sweater and begins to pull it off you.

"You can flirt all you want later, you comedy duo." Zaan sighs, exasperated, stopping her. "We have a war to finish now."

"Aww." She signs, putting your new sweater back down (not without some hesitation).

Thus, you move out, deeper into the wyld and towards the fortress or Tarien Dorian.

(cont.)

Rolled 2

>>31179645
Tia best husbando

>>31179645
You know I just noticed.

Tia's portrait is a Human-ified Gardevoir.

>>31179681
oh yes

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As you proceed, the ever-shifting landscape around you seems to adjust and fall into one consistent shape: a flat, solid floor covered uniformly by about a centimeter of highly reflective, quicksilver-like water. The ever-present fog is a bit lighter here, granting you some improved visibility.

...Or maybe, the landscape here is solid water you and your men are actually walking on, thinking about it. It's almost impossible to tell.

"...Silk." You ask your Fae pet, worried. "Are we going to be alright here? Aren't our men going to sink and drown?"

"Dorian will certainly try that trick." She replies. "But, even if this is his domain, I have a higher affinity for water than he has. I'll focus on keeping your troops safe."

"Thanks." You'd like to pet her now, but you remember that you have iron studs on your gauntlets just in time.

After a short while, you reach sight of a white, circular palace. A large force of lizardmen hobgoblins is arranged in a line of battle in front of it. You scan their ranks for Tarien Dorian, or any distinguishable commander, but find none. "He's hiding in the fortress. Probably working on cracking Talon's head."

"Plus that fortress doesn't look like it has any ground-level entrances." Zaan notices immediately. "We can probably jump that high and get in, but for our troops it's going to be a bit harder to storm the palace."

"Not if we make a giant ramp with their corpses." Tia laughs, loudly unsheathing her daiklave.

>Order a charge right away, no time to waste.
>Hold back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy.

>>31179767
>Hold back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy.

>>31179767
>Hold back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy.
This is what we brought these mooks for

>>31179767
>Hold back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy.
Can Zahn nuke the fortress with his anti sorcery spells?

Rolled 6

>>31179767
>>Hold back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy.

TIME TO BRAIN

Rolled 9

>>31179767
>Order a charge right away, no time to waste.
more time we spend not punching Tarien in the face, the more time he's brainwashing Talon

Rolled 6

>>31179767
>Hold back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy.

Rolled 9

Might be a good time to start rolling guys.

>>31179767
>ld back for a moment, analyze the situation and come up with a strategy
Flying guillotine can probably shred through the fortress walls, and Dorian already knows Zaan can use it. Plus it only takes him a minute or so to charge
Create multiple breaches at ground level, have the troops rush through. We'll hit from above, since the mooks will be preoccupied fighting our mooks. Dorian will probably be on the highest room of the tallest tower, or in a ballroom in the middle of the castle

>>31179816
Ah, right.

Rolled 4

>>31179826
forgot dice

Rolled 1

>>31179826
Exaltedfag said FG was more for big monsters than taking down fortress, but he might have a another spell for that

Rolled 5

rolling

(you also have the option of turning on Heroism-Encouraging Presence here if you want, since this is a relevant roll)

Rolled 4

>>31179855
voting against HEP. We have 2 essence left, which we need for Solar Hero and IKB

>>31179855
Nah, we only got 2 successes, but that should be enough against unled troops

>>31179826
IIRC EF said Flying Guillotine is an anti-monster spell specifically, and that Zaan has an anti-fortress spell

Rolled 3

>>31179855
Let's not use it against just a bunch of mooks

>>31179863
Honestly, as long as we save a point for IKB, I think we can survive without Solar Hero for a fight. Our troops will certainly do much better with improved leadership, after all, and they're ALL armed with iron weapons.

>>31179855
Turn it on. Let's save our last point for surviving the final battle, though.

Rolled 2

>>31179855
we can't afford to. Our 2 essence needs to be for the boss fight

Hm. Going by TWTT's description we could spend a week training Regis and have him with mad SWOLE stats by the end of it.

Should we use him as a trial run later?

Or should we give our captains individual sessions first?

Rolled 3

>>31179898
If we have to choose between IKB and SHS I'd rather Solar hero since that also improves our DV on top of making us extra punchy

Rolled 2

>>31179910
dude, we've got 2 wounds left. Without IKB, Dorian will kill us in two rounds at most

Rolled 7

>>31179907
>Should we use him as a trial run later?
Yes

>>31179910
seconding that

Yo EF, whats our HP/Essence levels currently at?

Rolled 9

>>31179907
Train the captains before Regis, methinks
>>31179919
it's on the sheet-we're at 2/2

>>31179919
>Yo EF, whats our HP/Essence levels currently at?
It's in the OP pic, nonce

>>31179910
Absolutely not. If Dorian uses an equipment bonus, he could one-shot us, and all it would take is two hits from a mook to take us down. We're severely wounded - we want to use the tank charm if we end up in a fight. We simply cannot afford to prioritize offense.

>>31179918
Yeah, but extra DV makes us harder to hit in the first place

Rolled 4

>>31179918
Actually with a weapon bonus he could kill us in one round, well we wouldn't actually die, just knocked out and taken prisoner, but you know

Rolled 7

>>31179939
Dorian's a powerful well-trained Fae Noble in the Wyld with probably top tier equipment. Best to assume he's hitting us every time, DV boost or no

Rolled 3

>>31179946
Bad End is Bad End

Rolled 2

>>31179954
yeah, we're going to have to be fucking careful to not get hit cause we're way low on health and Ess, fucking bad situation for us

Rolled 10

>>31180008
yep. And if Talon's already brainwashed, we're pretty much dead and relying on Tia to carry the fight

Rolled 2

Don't assume we'll fight 1v1. Ideally we'd fighthim 3 on 1, so it doesn"t matter that he could take us down in 2 rounds if he takes 6 attacks during this time.

Rolled 2

>>31180029
3 on 2. He's still got a Behemoth, remember? Worst case, Talon's already brainwashed and it's 3 on 3

>>31180029
You should also not assume we won't be surrounded by hobgoblins. Without IKB, all it takes is two of them getting in a lucky hit to take us down. IKB is our best combat charm for the sheer survivability it provides us, ESPECIALLY when we're already low on health.

Rolled 7

>>31180040
yeah, we're going to need IKB and SHS for the boss fight

>>31180055
IKB bare minimum. Remember, we have a fae noble, two Lunars, a Dragon-blooded, and a bunch of mooks to also kick out damage. We're not hurting in the damage department. We're hurting in the 'having hit points' department.

Mental + Dawn = 6 9 6 9 4 = 2 successes

Since the terrain is completely flat, there's... not much to strategize here beyond your respective forces.

You have about 300 soldiers. You're calling the "soldiers", but they're really half pirates, half barbarians.

The 150-ish barbarians are under Zaan's command, but they'll follow your battleplan. They're a tough, well-trained bunch, and pretty disciplined warriors. They are mostly armed with melee weapons, and lightly armored but mobile and powerful in a fight. Their ranged firepower mostly consists of javelins and throwing axes.

Your own forces are about 150 pirates, the assembled force of three different crews. They fare less well as far as discipline and effectiveness goes due to fighting outside of their element, but they're resourceful and vicious. They also sport light armor, a mix of weapons including many bows, and quite a lot of iron (more than the barbarians could find or spare, it seems).

They're split in three units. Rubel's crew is mostly armed with bows and harpoons and seems more fit for a skirmishing role. Quint's crew has the most armor and best equipment, and is the closest to an organized, military-style fighting force, with most of his men wearing at least light armor and fighting technically, with sword and board, and even some flamepieces. Alexei's crowd, on the other hand, favors close, dirty, brutal fighting.

As for the enemy, you see a shieldwall in the first line: a rank of burly lizardmen with long stone-tipped spears and wood pavise-like shields. Behind, more short spears, or more likely javelins. You don't see archers, which means that, if there are any, they don't see you either, given the fog.

Or, they could be in the castle, ready to support the troops outside. But that construction doesn't look like it has many firing points, so unless they really have some outlandish weapons, you can assume that it's not going to drop a lot of fire on you.

(cont.)

>>31180075
mooks should fight Dorian's mooks, Silk's going to be busy making sure we don't all drown, and Samiel's a jobber. We've got Tia and Zaan versus Dorian and a behemoth

>>31180104
Our mooks are armed with iron. I don't expect the hobgoblins to last long. The behemoth, on the other hand, we could really use a few dozen mooks chopping at with iron blades.

Overall, you'd say that the lizardmen are about 500 on the field, maybe a bit more, and the fortress, if completely filled, could hold as many as 200 more.

Not good numbers, but on the other hand they have only one essence-user while you have several.

On the other other hand, he's a Fae prince in the Wyld, in the center of his dominion.

On the other other OTHER hand, you have Silk, who is pretty confident that she can keep a way the worst Dorian can throw at you through the Wyld!

And on yet another hand, you also know he still has a Behemoth somewhere.

You consult with the others.

"I don't know any anti-fortress spell, but I can open the fight with a pretty good anti-army spell. I can use it to either hit their whole deployed force, or to cut a gap in their ranks if you intend to charge and break through. As usual, though, you'll have to cover me, because as soon as they see that I'm casting a spell, they'll try to interrupt me." Explains Zaan.

"Inside that fortress there's a throne room that symbolizes Dorian's control over this portion of the Wyld. If you can get me there and I can claim it, I can turn the Wyld against his forces and use it to actively help our." Is Silk's suggestion.

"Ramp. Made. Of. Bodies." Tia says her plan.

>Battle plan?

Rolled 4

>>31180180
I love you Tia, I love you soooo much.

Hows about an anti-army spell from Zaan, we use that to cut a breach open and breakthrough bringing us, Tia, Silk and Zaan, we then try to get Silk control of his throne and have her help us fight Tarien and support our forces outside

Rolled 8

>>31180180
I feel like we can do all three. Blast the main force, use our iron-armed troops to mop up the survivors, build a corpse ramp over the wall, and then push hard for the throne room. We can have Tia, Silk, ourselves, and our armies cover Zaan until he gets his spell off, then use the momentum of the spell to make our push.

Thoughts?

Rolled 4

>>31180216
Sounds good.

>>31180180
Wear Silk as armor-it'll give her our mobility, since I'm pretty sure we're faster than her
Zaan should blast a hole straight through the middle. Barbarians hit the center, while the two melee pirate crews flank. Rubel's crew skirmishes. Once the spell goes off, we are absolutely making a ramp of corpses to get inside

>>31180180
Ok. Priorities:
1) Not let Dorian brainwash Talon. We REALLY don't need a Lunar on the opposing side.
2) Croak Dorian. This part might require some Behemoth-killing.
3) Keep as many of our crew alive as possible.

Does everyone agree?

Rolled 3

>>31180216
Are we sure we want to leave our outnumbered army behind to try with only Samiel as back up?

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Rolled 4

>>31180226

This works.

Rolled 6

>>31180226
Sounds solid. Has enough drama and suspense that the Wyld should play into it too. It's weird recognizing that efficiency and logic aren't the best strategies in our fights in here.

>>31180243
Seconding this plan
also, Samiel stays with the mooks. He nearly died to summoned extras earlier

>>31180216
This plan sacrifices our mortals by not providing them with any proper leadership and denying them protection from Wyld-fuckery

>>31180226
Whis plan costs us time and gives Dorian a chance to turn Talon into a pawn.

Rolled 8

>>31180226
+1`

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941 KB GIF

Rolled 7

>>31180261
Here's the better one.

Rolled 4

>>31180283
So suggest an alternative...

Rolled 9

>>31180283
>Whis plan costs us time and gives Dorian a chance to turn Talon into a pawn.
I don't see how it costs us time. It sounds like the fastest option, to be honest.

>>31180226
liking this, combine with the strategy and Silk-armor >>31180243

Rolled 7

>>31180243
I'm up for this plan, but the ramp might take too much time to make, giving Dorien time to finish brainwashing Talon

Rolled 7

Fucking shit dice, as usual...

I'm not familiar with the setting, but we really need some modifiers for our dice.

Rolled 8

Considering our lack of essence and health, i'm against any strike team heroics.

>>31180216
This is a bad idea.

>>31180226
This is a better idea.

I say we blast a breach, push through and leave all exalted in reserve until the last moment.

Rolled 1

>>31180314
it'll take minutes. And we need our army inside

>>31180304
I'm just pointing out flaws. There is no flawless plan in this situation. We need to choose what inconveniences us the least.

>>31180311
Building a corpse-ramp requires killing all hobbos first.

Rolled 5

>>31180315
>I'm not familiar with the setting, but we really need some modifiers for our dice.
I don't understand with what you're asking. At any rate, for context, 1 in a skill is the low end of professional, while 2 is absolutely exceptional and the highest mortals get. Our dice pools are already enormous compared to normal humans, and the bonuses we would get from environmental stuff would be tiny by comparison.

Does that help?

Rolled 8

>>31180333
So make a suggestion then, all your doing is shooting down every option in sight and not being helpful

If we had a Night caste in our circle, Doormat would be dead already.

Rolled 4

>>31180333
>Building a corpse-ramp requires killing all hobbos first.
We don't have a way of breaching the wall as it is, and it's literally suicidal to leave our army behind entirely.

Rolled 9

>>31180335
No, I'm asking if there is anything in the setting material that would allow us to roll more dice or lower the threshold of success, because we're rolling plenty of dice and coming up with very few successes

Rolled 5

>>31180352
>roll more dice
Yes, dice-adders like Majestic Radiant Presence, Solar Hero Style, and Hero-Encouraging Presence. We've, frankly, been fairly aggressive about picking those up.

>lower the threshold of success
Nope.

>we're rolling plenty of dice and coming up with very few successes
Sometimes you roll poorly. We've actually been doing fine. The bad rolls just stand out more because they're, well, bad.

Rolled 10

We're using a anti army spell no matter what, so that leaves 3 options on what we do. Other exalts aren't factored in these options.

Option A: Lead a strike team to seize the throne: (High risk, low attrition.)

Option B: Lead from the front along with the army. (Medium risk, medium attrition.)

Option C: Stay in reserve, wait until we needed, meaning Dorien or a behemoth showing up. (Low risk, heavy attrition.)

All these plans have more or less the same chance of success. I think.

>>31180317
Since i'm these guy, yeah i'm supporting option C.

>>31180180
Leave Sam (he likely has decent War) and Zaan (as artillery) with the troops. Silk controls Wyld.
Go inside with Tia.

Also, whose bright idea was it to by Tiger-Warrior Training when it takes weeks to teach anyone anything?

Rolled 8

>>31180411
>Go inside with Tia.
We need Silk to claim the throne room, and we're already terribly injured. Of everyone here, the only one who should be doing LESS frontline stuff is Samiel.

>Also, whose bright idea was it to by Tiger-Warrior Training when it takes weeks to teach anyone anything?
About 2/3 of the participants of the quest, based on the poll.

>>31180424
>frontline stuff
He could lead from the back. Though it probably won't work with barbarians and pirates.

>About 2/3 of the participants of the quest, based on the poll.
And what, pray tell, was the logic behind this decision?

Rolled 1

>>31180462
>And what, pray tell, was the logic behind this decision?
From what was being said by supporters? Mostly the fact that we're one, maybe two threads away from the end of this fae war and that, if we don't pick up Tiger-Warrior Training Technique now, we won't have it when we actually have time to use it. It was an argument that a majority of the playerbase apparently found compelling.

The other major faction was arguing for Ox-Body Technique - +1 HP - because we're already critically injured and getting it unlocks a bunch of neat new Zenith things for us. This one had - if I remember right - a little less than 40% support.

>He could lead from the back. Though it probably won't work with barbarians and pirates.
I was more talking about us. We're seriously injured. We're not the frontline brawler right now. We can't survive being that. We're not going to lead any high-risk buddy strike teams with Tia. We're support, tactical advice, and emergency combat support in the event we run into the behemoth or Dorian himself.

Right now, we have to be the general, not the fighter. We have neither the essence nor the health to be the latter.

Rolled 8

>>31180462
>And what, pray tell, was the logic behind this decision?
No idea, they probably didn't think about having to actually survive and finish this fight with Tarien and were thinking ahead with delusions of grandeur

Rolled 10

>>31180520
>delusions of grandeur
That's not how that phrase works, but yes, they were prioritizing long-term plans over short-term strategy. I'm excited to see how it pans out. Since our other option was +1 HP, the people who were against getting Tiger-Warrior Training Technique should feel vindicated if our side loses because Maka gets knocked out.

Rolled 4

>>31180519
>Right now, we have to be the general, not the fighter. We have neither the essence nor the health to be the latter.
WIth this in mind we should get Zaan to blast the Gobbos and then we can mop up the survivors
Actually if they engage us will Zaans spell hit our guys too?

Rolled 3

>>31180542
I'd rather it not devolve into factions arguing over choices and shitting up the thread and we actually come out of this alive and victorious.

Rolled 1

>>31180659
Agreed.

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"Alright, here's the plan." You gather Tia, Silk, Zaan, Samiel and your three captains. "Rubeni, Alexei, Quint, you're the opening act. Move into range, get in formation, and loose three volleys of iron-tipped arrows into that formation. Meanwhile, Zaan. You'll prepare your spell."

"I'll need cover." He nods.

"Tia, you're less wounded than I am. Can you cover him?" You ask your mate.

"Sure can." She nods. "What then?"

"Then we charge. There's no terrain and we don't have any mobility advantage, so we can't exactly flank them. All that we can do is a frontal attack. We break through and ramp up to the castle. We'll have to be fast."

"What if they shoot at us from the castle?" Samiel wonders.

"Then we'll have to just storm it faster." You reply.

"You're not making this sound easy."

"Because it isn't."

"Touché."

"Once we're in?" Silk asks.

"We punch him." You answer. "Until there's nothing left to punch. Take positions."

The preparations take a few minutes. Not too long later, your forces advance, and the first volley of arrows is shot into the lizardmen lines.

(cont.)

Rolled 4

>>31180797
>"We punch him." You answer. "Until there's nothing left to punch. Take positions."
The best plan

Rolled 1

>>31180843
There's an elegant simplicity to it. Very few factors to cause it to go wrong.

Rolled 2

>>31180797
I always worry when PC's come up with my kind of plans...

Social + Dawn = 4 8 4 3 4 6 = 1 success

As the arrows begin to fly, you see that shields are raised and some lizardmen fall in the enemy lines. Overall, your volley is less effective than you'd have liked, but there's not much you can do about that.

You aren't getting any return fire at least.

Standing behind your lines, Zaan is meanwhile focusing on a spell. Essence is gathering around him and flowing around, in a texture like hand-drawn sea currents in colors of silver and dark blue. A disc of light is gently spinning in his hands, growing bigger and bigger with every word he says as complex glyphs of light form and slow in the circle with every his word.

You're standing a bit back, and Tia is in the front, between him and the rest of the battle. For a moment you're worried that this will mean that she'll be in the line of fire, but you hope that Tia knows that she's supposed to move from there.

Of course, while this positioning covers you as well, it also means that your sight of the battlefield is partially obstructed by the glow of Zaan's spell. You do feel a bit bad about standing back like this, even though you justify it as being wounded and short on Essence, which is, well, quite true.

When his spell is almost ready, you hear shouting from the first line.

First, it's Quint's voice: "Look out! Right side, third window from the top!"

Then, Samiel: "He's going for Zaan!"

Finally, Tia: "I got this!"

You have no idea what's happening, but you can assume that they've detected a sniper aiming for Zaan. If his spellcasting is disrupted right now, a misfire could easily wipe out your own troops, but from where you stand now, you can't see the shooter.

>Push Zaan aside
>Rush in front of Zaan
>Do nothing

>>31180927
>Do nothing
she said she's got this, let's trust her

Rolled 5

>>31180927
>Do nothing
Tia's got this
I hope

Rolled 3

>>31180927
>Rush in front of Zaan
There are 2 possibilities. She's really got this, in which case we're not harmed, or she doesn't and it saves us from a spell exploding which would probably do more damage

Rolled 6

>>31180927
>Rush in front of Zaan
In case there's you know, more than one sniper in TD's forces.

>>31180972
...or WE get in the spell's line of fire.

Rolled 71

>>31180927
>Rush in front of Zaan

Rolled 2

>>31180972
Good point. I'll back this one.

Rolled 9

>>31181006
Shit. Can we count it as a 7?

Rolled 5

>>31180927
>Rush in front of Zaan

Rolled 3

>>31180927
>Rush in front of Zaan

Rolled 4

>>31180972
>or she doesn't and it saves us from a spell exploding which would probably do more damage
Its not going to save us shit, we've not got IKB active, so if we get hit we're fucked cause we're only on 2hp, and 1 hp is not anywhere near enough to even last halfway through our fight with Tarien

Rolled 1

>>31181061
>Its not going to save us shit, we've not got IKB active, so if we get hit we're fucked cause we're only on 2hp, and 1 hp is not anywhere near enough to even last halfway through our fight with Tarien
Better than Zaan's spell exploding.

Rolled 3

>>31181019
if its accepted as a 7 (which is fairly plausible, its just another 0 on the dice, exact same odds when rounded down, that means 2 successes, if not, then 1 success, like we've been getting since three threads ago

Rolled 6

>>31180927
>Do nothing
trust the husbando

Rolled 10

>>31181095
Don't count on it.

>>31180927
Extra roll in awe you need one.

File: 1396282949505.jpg-(1.57 MB, 1125x1350, Tarien Dorian.jpg)

1.57 MB JPG

Physical + Night = 5 3 6 2 9 = 1 success

Acting on instinct, you rush in front of Zaan, standing in front of him to shield him from any projectiles.

There's a moment of chaos as you step past the cloud of light gathering in front of him and get a nice view of the battlefield. Tia is standing slightly to the side, a long, decorated crystal-tipped javelin in hand, still smoking. Tracing back the trail of smoke it left, you spot the window. You recognize Tarien Dorian standing in front of it, having just launched it.

"...Why yoooou...." Tia turns the weapon around and tosses it back. The projectile's trajectory is a straight line intersecting with the window, but the fae prince ducks out of sight long before he can be hit, accompanying his movement with a malevolent laugh.

You're distracted by a sudden call by Samiel: "MAKA! LOOK OUT!"

Suddenly realizing you're standing right in front of Zaan's spellcasting you try to step aside, but it's too late: a blast of high-pressure magical energy washes through you. You feel sharp knives slashing your skin and veins as countless shards of obsidian take flight from the sorceror's magic circle, shot against the enemy ranks like a hurricane of razor-winged butterflies.

[HP: 1/5]

You catch briefly sight of the enemy ranks, caught entirely by surprise by the force of the spell, being thrown into disarray as the flying shards fly around raised shields to strike cowering soldiers, or blast right through them. Their lines waver, and your commanders call the charge.

Samiel, Silk, Zaan and Tia, however, are left behind by the sudden twist of events, as you lose your footing and land in the inch-deep water in front of the sorceror, which quickly colors with your blood.

(cont.)

Rolled 10

>>31181286
>[HP: 1/5]

>>31180972
well done idiot

Rolled 6

>>31181286
Great, we're screwed...

Rolled 5

>>31181286
guys, we should probably stay out of the boss fight

>>31181286
Should'a bought dodge charms last session...

Rolled 9

>>31181286
whelp, we're not storming the castle

Rolled 2

>>31181286
Activate IKB

Rolled 10

>>31180972
...

Told you so

Rolled 7

>>31181315
You think they would've helped us more than our soak charms? We don't use our defensive charms, even the reflexive ones, without us telling EF to do it beforehand.

Rolled 4

Why can't we decide if we want to use IKB after we know we're going to be hit? That's how those charms usually work.

Rolled 6

On the bright side, at least that ugly looking sweater is shredded.

A little bitter that the armor option got less votes.

>>31181286
Time to start playing general instead of hero.

File: 1396283701133.png-(12 KB, 356x41, IKBIsSimpleYouDolt.png)

12 KB PNG

>>31181349

Rolled 10

>>31181349
It's not reflexive
>ded sweater
I'm more mad about this than anything else

>>31181433
I assume Simple means "consumes your action for a turn"?

Rolled 5

>>31181433
we brought it as an upgrade for a reflexive charm, though

>>31181286
>We literally jump into the line of fire of the horrible death spell being fired by OUR OWN GUY
Good going, guys!

Rolled 5

I think we should definitely leave Maka's Mental at 2. It would fit how the players make her act.

Rolled 5

>>31181286
Requesting either bullshit healing via Silk or a PoV shift to Tia for the rest of the fight. Because Maka should not move anywhere

>>31181493
Fine, but at lest raise her goddamn Night stat. We've been using that near constantly for thread upon thread now.

Rolled 9

>>31181450
so buying that charm made us weaker? I'm not sure that should ever be possible

Rolled 2

>>31181498
Yeah, I was expecting us to take around 4-5 wounds once we actually get to fighting Dorian. And we don't have those

>>31181498
Belaying that request. PC acts dumb, players should be forced to sit out the fight.

Rolled 6

>>31181498
Nah, pop HEP and stand in the middle of the army buff our guys and try not to die. We can still contribute. And it's best if the men see that their leader is fine. For a certain value of 'fine'.

Rolled 5

>>31181519
It was a trade off, Iron Skin was reflexive but it only soaked one attack while IKB is scene long, its worth it

Rolled 2

>>31181514
because for some reason EF made us try to dodge stuff when we could just as well have tried to parry it. You can parry Death of Obsidian Butterflies, for example, but he still made us use our worse defensive stat.

Rolled 2

>>31181533
I'm only making the request because I doubt we're going to sit out the fight, either because player stupidity or Dorian coming to us right now

Rolled 6

>>31181545
Yeah, I agree with this. At this point, we can do a lot more good using HEP and leading the troops than we can by using Solar Hero Style and fighting personally. Just keep 1 essence around for IKB if we run into something personally.

Rolled 1

>>31181559
>You can parry Death of Obsidian Butterflies
Not in EF's version of the system. Stop making assumptions about how Sorcery works, he's pretty clearly revamped a ton of it.

Rolled 8

>>31181552
Buying a charm should never be a trade off, unless it's a very special case where the charm itself has severe drawbacks. Losing access to the perquisite is just bad design

"Wh- Maka! I said I had it!" Tia rushes by your side, while Zaan, panicking, starts to kneel down and pull shards of obsidian as large as knives from your back.

"We- we can't stand back here!" Samiel points out. "Out guys are outnumbered, they count on us!" He draws his sword and runs past you and into the fray, just as you hear the noise of battle when the two formations crash and the melee is joined.

As you find yourself slowly slipping into unconsciousness, you're suddenly awakened by a jolt.

Silk is slapping her hands against your wounded back, her goolike substance going into your wounds and filling them with a brief burning sensation as Zaan clears and cleans them. That much is enough to make you groggily, weakly stand back up on your feet.

"I'm... I'm alright." You lie, trying to stay straight.

"No you aren't!" Tia protests.

"Samiel is right! We need to- aaaaah." Zaan gives up on explaining, sure that his point is well understood, and rushes after the dragon-blooded and into the fight, leaving you, Tia and Silk behind.

"Seem like I was so worked up for nothing." You can't tell from where it's coming, but it's Darien's voice. "You're probably all going to kill each other if I leave you just five more minutes. Now I see why Garnet had such an easy time pitting you one against another."

>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back
>Ask them to come with you, you'll fight together
>You and Tia will join the battle, Silk will stay back
>Other?

Rolled 3

>>31181581
It was that or have a shit-tier version of IKB that only reduced attacks to a minimum of 1 damage. EF said at that time that he had made a mistake - this was the compromise that we voted on. Stop complaining about issues long-since settled.

>>31181563
So, you'd rather be playing at Tia when TD decides to g all out against Maka? No, holding out until the cavalry arrive is our job.

Rolled 2

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back

Rolled 2

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back
Use HEP to direct things. That's a much better use of our essence than SHS at this point. We can pop an IKB later too.

Rolled 8

>>31181607
Wear Silk like a suit of armor and head on in

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back.

Rolled 3

>>31181613
the versions we voted on didn't include information on whether any of them would be reflexive or simple. I assumed the straight upgrade would be the same speed

Rolled 3

>>31181638
>Wear Silk like a suit of armor and head on in
FUCK. NO. We can't be on the front line anymore. We have to be a general, not a warrior. The next hit will take us out entirely.

Rolled 4

>>31181643
Forgot roll...

Rolled 7

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back
activate HEP and IKB

Rolled 7

>>31181649
>I assumed the straight upgrade would be the same speed
Next time, don't assume things.

>>31181649
There are no "reflexive" or "simple" charms in this system because we're not using Exalted's turn structure or action economy.

Rolled 7

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back

Rolled 8

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back

Pop HEP

Rolled 5

>>31181607
Turn on Iron Kettle Body and Heroism Encouraging Presence. We'll help best, at this point, by leading the troops and not-dying. So let's get that done.

Rolled 7

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back
Glorious Solar general time.

Rolled 10

>>31181668
for future reference, how is that going to impact dodge and parry charms?

Rolled 2

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back
We should probably pop HEP

Rolled 5

>>31181607
Pop HEP and IKB and be a general. Not that IKB really matters now, Dorian can oneshot us even through our DR

That's what you get for not trusting husbando. Shame I was on FEM course so I couldn't prevent this.

Rolled 10

>>31181715
>Not that IKB really matters now, Dorian can oneshot us even through our DR
It'll be damn useful if any hobgoblins manage to reach us, or if Dorian underestimates us and doesn't use his equipment bonus/damage boosters.

Rolled 9

>>31181715
Then swap IKB for SHS and pray that we can dodge and parry well enough to not take damage.

Ah, back to vanilla Exalted, take a hit and die.

Rolled 2

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back

>>31181668
so we have to decide we want to use our charms before we need them?

Rolled 8

>>31181754
>so we have to decide we want to use our charms before we need them?
Since they're scenelong buffs that makes, you know, a ton of sense, actually.

>>31181694
>for future reference, how is that going to impact dodge and parry charms?

If you have an "instant" defensive charm (i.e. one that only lasts for a single attack) and you want to use it against an attack, you say so when i describe an incoming attack and ask for a reaction.

When I don't, it's because there are no applicable reactions due to circumstances, like not enough time, not having the right charm, or being caught by surprise.

Rolled 6

>>31181775
but not all of them are

Rolled 6

>>31181786
We're only talking about the ones that are. See:
>>31181784

Rolled 8

>>31181607
>Ask Tia and Silk to join the battle, you'll stay back
sigh. Tia SHOULD be more powerful than us since she's been exalted longer and she's mostly uninjured, so she should be able to carry this

Rolled 5

>>31181840
How strong is Tia actually, like how much stronger than us is she, we really should be trusting her to do shit for us more, well when it involves killing shit at least

Rolled 8

>>31181840
And we can marshall the troops with HEP.

>>31181840
She's also better at combat than we are.

We're no slouch in a fight, but that is her specialty. Our specialty is leading and priesting, and we should be leading right now.

Let Tia lead the troops from the front, we can direct them from the rear.

Rolled 6

>>31181858
I would guess exponentially

>>31181840
Agreed. Let our wife do her thing.

Rolled 4

>>31181887
>wife
husband

Rolled 2

>>31181885
We should ask her how old she is at some point

>>31181899
>asking a lady her age.
No

Rolled 8

>>31181858
Well, she's a Full Moon Lunar who is probably many years older than us, so when it comes to being tough, quick, precise, and strong, she should outclass us pretty dramatically. So, fighting, athletics, mobility, tanking - she should be amazing at all of that.

And since we're also focusing on social stuff and buffing groups and things, she'll probably ALWAYS be a better frontline combatant than us. Despite how we see ourselves, we are (compare to her) a frail, weak, beautiful southern flower to be protected and respected.

We're her waifu who's just strong enough to keep up and inhumanly charismatic. We're the queen she can play knight to. We're the general to her champion.

And we're still strong enough to keep up with her most of the time, even if she outclasses us in a straight fight after a while.

It's a pretty neat dynamic.

Rolled 6

>>31181922
Exalted don't really show signs of aging, so it's not really a problem

File: 1396285915125.gif-(1.02 MB, 540x540, 1379197128412.gif)

1.02 MB GIF

Rolled 8

>>31181925
>Despite how we see ourselves, we are (compare to her) a frail, weak, beautiful southern flower to be protected and respected.
>We're her waifu who's just strong enough to keep up and inhumanly charismatic. We're the queen she can play knight to. We're the general to her champion

>>31181925

Don't forget that we're amazing at being objectively stupid at times.

>>31181925
True. Admittedly, I'd kill for a few Golden Janissary's to direct right now.

"You two..." You stop, suddenly feeling short of breath, and cough a glob of blood in the water. "...You two, go join he battle. Stick to the plan as long as it's working."

"...And when it doesn't?" Tia asks, clearly unwilling to leave you alone.

"Then you improvise. Now go!"

Silk nods and quickly slithers away, but Tia stands her ground "...I'm not leaving you alone." She replies.

"Tia, those men need your help-"

"Not as much as YOU do." She points out. "What were you even THINKING? Didn't you trust me to keep Zaan covered?"

"No, I... Look, we'll talk about this later. When there's not a giant battle going on. Okay? For now, I need you to handle this." You put both hands on her shoulders, and look at her straight in her eyes. "I need you to go there, and completely wreck everything. Talon's prisoner, I and Samiel are wounded, and Zaan is both not a warrior, and short on Essence. You're the only one who can do this."

"...But what if something happens to you?!"

"Look. I was wrong to not trust you. I acted on instinct, without thinking. I DO trust you. I trust you enough to leave everything in your hands. So... you trust me, as well. Trust that I can survive this."

"...make me a promise, Maka." She holds your head in her hands, and you can feel them snaking. "Promise me... promise me that you'll never die before me."

>I promise, Tia.
>I'll do my best not to.
>I can't make that promise.

>>31181925
Maka and Tia really are a perfect duo.

Rolled 4

>>31181965
Well, if we play our cards right with Tiger-Warrior Training Technique, we could start an order of Golden Janissary bodyguard-monks.

Rolled 2

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.

>>31181981
You need to know a style to teach it

>>31181973
(also gonna activate IKB and HEP, don't worry)

>>31181973
>"Promise me... promise me that you'll never die before me."
Only if she'll make the same promise.

We don't need her heroically sacrificing herself to save us.

Rolled 1

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia, I'll never let you be alone again

Rolled 4

>>31181975
Nah, neither of them have any common sense. The perfect duo always has one person with their head squarely on their shoulders. But aside from that, they're pretty close.

Rolled 5

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.
gives us a reason to not give up when wounded

Rolled 10

>>31181973
>>I promise, Tia.

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.
We still have too much to do, after all.

Rolled 4

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.
just promise me the same

Rolled 2

>>31181995
>You need to know a style to teach it
Well, obviously. All that means is that we need to learn it.

Now, Solar Hero Style gives us a scene-long +3 dice to fighting. What do you think Golden Janissary gives, a scene-long +1 Damage vs Creatures of Darkness? Maybe it's like Ten Ox Meditation, so it can either be used as a scene-long damage booster against CoDs or an instant damage booster against anyone else?

Rolled 5

>>31182003
Sounds good. Go with this.

Also, I fully expect Tia to die for us this encounter. Not sure why.

Rolled 3

>>31182035
DIIIIICE

Rolled 3

>>31182003
This. Make it clear that we do NOT find her sacrificing herself for our benefit acceptable.

It also has the beautiful romantic implications of dying of old age in bed together.

Rolled 5

>>31182041
but Solars have native charms to fuck up Creatures of Darkness and they're a lot better than Golden Janissary and we'll need to enlighten them before we can teach them

>>31182023
Sixth. Either saved our ass or we still botched this one.

>>31181999
EF, mind telling me if we're rolling Zenith or Eclipse for this interaction? I need to decide whether to vote to activate TTtH.

Rolled 7

>>31182066
Leading armies should be Social+Dawn so nine dice counting HEP, I think

Rolled 1

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.
But you need to make the same promise, ok? I don't want you dying on me before our wedding

>>31182061
>Dying of old age
>Exalts
Much more likely we'll both go down in some sort of heroic last stand fighting back-to-back to save all of Creation, but that's also pretty romantic.

>>31182086
Right now we're rolling to convince Tia not to limit break on us. Leadership rolls come next.

At least that's how I read this...

Rolled 3

>>31182084
We're activating IKB and HEP, so officially out of essence

>>31182041
>>31182065
I always figured it was made for Solar Children. Would explain why Solar like effects are in a TMA. Also, definitely a better bonus for Golden kiddies then random access to parents charms.

Rolled 6

>>31182065
>but Solars have native charms to fuck up Creatures of Darkness and they're a lot better than Golden Janissary and we'll need to enlighten them before we can teach them
In normal Exalted, yes. But since Solar Hero Style is basically just an excellency, I think tiered martial arts isn't really a thing in EF's system - thank god. Making assumptions about what is and isn't in the native solar charmset is a really bad idea with such a different system.

Golden Janissary will probably be a fucking sweet charm as far as beating CoDs to death with our bare hands/a spear is concerned. And teaching it to mortals would probably be hella useful.

But yes, we would need an Enlightenment charm.

>>31182105
We haven't activated them yet and keeping Tia on task might be a lot more important than using HEP.

Look, you're probably right but I still want to know my options.

Rolled 8

>>31182093
Eh, same thing, really.

And yeah, if we succeed hard enough, we can still die of old age. It happened a few times in the First Age.

>>31182065
Technically, our favorite volcano god might be able to do that, or even "adopt" our minions with a charm. Gods could do that supposedly, though white wolf being white wolf they never made the actual charm.

Rolled 2

>>31182125
See:
>>31181999

We totally have. Which is good, because we needed both of them.

Rolled 8

Does anyone else get the feeling this is all gonna fail and we're going to have to surrender in exchange for the safe release of everyone else?

>You too. I can survive much, but not your death.

Rolled 10

>>31182110
>I always figured it was made for Solar Children. Would explain why Solar like effects are in a TMA.
I always figured it was made to help people fight the millions of nasty monsters preying on humanity. It's not like only Solar Half-Castes can be attacked by Demons/Ghosts/Fae

>>31182119
>But since Solar Hero Style is basically just an excellency, I think tiered martial arts isn't really a thing in EF's system
We had the option of buying another charm from our Hero Style, so there's definitely upgrades

Rolled 3

>>31182138
>though white wolf being white wolf they never made the actual charm
That's not true. There's charms in Scroll of the Monk and the Rolls of Glorious Divinity for deities to do that.

>>31181973
Why do I feel like this is heading toward a "Who the hell do you think I am" update in the near future?

>other

"I can't promise I won't die of happiness beside you in bed, Tia."

>>31182164
Actually, technically not. You can make someone an enlightened mortal, or give them a few neat tricks, but you can't actually make them a godblooded. Well, scroll of hero's had a page of prose that basically said how it worked, but they never stated out the charm

Rolled 9

>>31182191
That is nauseatingly poor prose.

Rolled 8

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.
"And don't you DARE go dying on me either."

>>31182211
RP'ed Wisdom score!

Rolled 2

>>31182267
I don't understand what you're trying to say.

Rolled 4

>>31181973
>I promise, Tia.
kiss her
"Together forever, that's what you said, right? I'll be alive after the fight, I swear. Now go on, chop off Dorian's head and see if there's some nice beds in that castle for us to ruin."

>>31182267
Except we have high Zenith, which means high Presence and Performance. We're great at coming up with stuff that sounds good.

"I promise, Tia."

She pulls you to her in a deep, long kiss.

"...If we make it out of this together..." She asks once she's done, still holding you close to her.

"Don't say it!" You warn her. "You know how it works always out in stories. And we're in the Wyld, so-"

"I don't care." She gently lets go of you, and then turns to the castle, angrily. "YOU HEAR ME, YOU FAIRY FAGGOT? I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR RULES AND YOUR WORLD!"

She turns back to you, crying from the stress. "He can't enforce them on us. And if he tries, I'm going to DESTROY him. So, I'll ask anyway. I don't care about good or bad luck, or about fate, or about narrative causality. I only care about you. So..."

Tia goes down on both knees. "Maka. If we make it out of here alive... would you marry me?"

>Yes
>No

>>31182409
>Yes
>And you damn well better make sure we both get out of here alive

Rolled 7

>>31182409
>YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes

Rolled 2

>>31182409
>Yes

Rolled 10

>>31182409
Damn it, yes. That headstrong, romantic fool already won me over.

Rolled 1

>>31182409
>Yes
>Yes
>Yes
>Kiss
>Grab Tia by the crotch and pull her close
>Tell her she's not allowed to die. Ever
>Happy tears
>Start leading troops like a boss

>>31182409
>Yes
But Oaths sworn in the Wyld don't hold back in Creation

>>31182409
>Yes!

Rolled 5

>>31182476
who gives a fuck, she is best husbando

Rolled 4

>>31182409
how many times can we kiss her and say yes before we realize we need to go lead the army?

Rolled 2

>>31182409
>Big stupid grin, kiss the girl repeatedly, whisper "I'll tell you when you get back" in her ear.

Or "yes" if you want less romantic tension.

Also, if this is TD in disguise I'm going to laugh my ass off.

Rolled 8

>>31182409
>Yes
Sigh.
Guess we don't have a choice

>>31182494
That just means we'll get to say yes again when we get back

>>31182409

>Yes

We'll need a fancy ring designed to survive our punching.

>>31182409
Soooooo many death flags.

>Yes!

Let's see how this goes.

>>31182505
Ooh, I like this one.

Let's do this.

Rolled 1

>>31182516
Roll...belated.

"Yes."

[Session End]

Rolled 5

>>31182513
Orichalcum and Moonsilver wedding bands. We get the Moonsilver and she gets the Orichalcum, for symbolism.

>>31182538
FFFFFffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuu

>>31182538
Bravo EF!

>>31182538
Yep, she's dead.

So, if we'd activated IKB at the start of the scene would we still have two health levels?