MLP - Age of Exploration (D&D 5e Custom System)

[Cyan Hide]

Shadeofshade GeneralTyrus Dreamweaver


Mud was the first to raise her hoof at the prospect of a shower, and afterwards, after shaking herself dry (away from Devotion), she just sat down and looked out at the Oasis, finding joy in the simple things. When Applebloom asked her how she was doing, Mud turned to her. "I'm holding up just fine. My burns sting a little but a little rest and I'll be alright. I've rarely been in a fight before, and never swung a sword, so that was different. It's nice to try new things once in a while."

When the group spotted the other group a short ways away, Mud didn't move. She just kept watching them with her expressionless face and unblinking eyes.

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
"Oh fine. Grumpy sword. Not going to get put in the water and cleaned up then!"
Valentine sat down to bathe in the river and splash around with her wings before even noticing the other adventurers
"...is that us? Is this one of those fun desert mirages?"

 

[Dreamweaver]

Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade
Applebloom and Midnight get hit by a Meteor Swarm.

Spitfire stopped her frolicking and took one look at Applebloom and Midnight walking away, before looking back over at Rainbow with a frown. "... I am going to help them." She said before rushing on over to the two of them.

So, these were the brave three who decided to approach the suspicious group. Devotion seemed happy with that, but also echoed out a warning to them. Mostly to Applebloom. Devotion's voice echoed inside of their minds. "Bloom, Spitfire, Midnight... please be careful. It is good to be friendly, but let us not make the mistake of dropping our guard." She warned with a slightly worried tone. And then she disappeared.

As the three of them approached the other camp, they would immediately notice that this was quite an assorted group in front of them. The group consisted of; a half-true dragon who stood twice as tall as Applebloom, a unicorn wearing robes, a bat pony who was wielding a spiked chain just like their old Captain on the pirate ship, and finally a griffon who seemed to be the weakest of the group but still looked tough.

The half-true dragon was the one to walk towards them. He met them both on the outskirts of camp and stopped a few feet away, crossing his arms over his chest. "... What do you want?" He stated rather bluntly.

Spitfire didn't like his tone at all, so she tried to put her moves on him a little bit! She crept a little closer and flashed him a smile. "Hey, now... that's no way to talk to a lady is it?"

Spitfire rolled a 21 Charisma Check vs the half-dragons 2.

He paused for a moment and then smiled much more openly. "... My apologies. What can I do for you all?" He reiterated, much more kindly this time.

Avedon
"Don't call me grumpy, that is incredibly rude. How are you going to not get smited when you keep talking to me like that?" Devotion stated plainly, though there was a slight amount of humour in her voice. Apparently she wasn't totally serious!

Cyan Hide
"... Mud, be a dear and wash me in the river would you?" Devotion asked, although her tone had a little bit of a command to it. She just wanted to be cared for and treated like a Queen! "Truth be told, I need to talk with you. I was toying with the idea of giving a portion of my powers into creating more powerful healing spells. You seem to all be lacking that. It would make the blade much less effective though."

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
"Uh I dunno, how about I just fly like all of three meters above the ground? Your wings don't work well enough to reach me up there!"
Valentine smirked as she rested on the shore, kicking her back-hooves and splashing in the watyer

​

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof Shadeofshade

Applebloom would immediately not like the group they were dealing with based on that ponies first response. Applebloom would smile, and look at the pony once he'd... relaxed, "We were just hoping to say hello to our fellow travelers." She'd say, giving a polite wave of the hoof. She'd look back over at the group, watching them carefully. They looked... Well... Tough, and she really wasn't trying to fight another band of whatevers after she'd just gotten back to using her hoof again!

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Avedon Cyan Hide

"They have been in the sun for a bit to be this grouchy" thought Midnight. With the response that Spitfire gave them and the reply from Applebloom Midnight gained an idea "Just as my companion says, we came over to say hello. I am Midnight Sonata. If you would like, I can offer a makeshift shower for you and your companions to use?" He said,tapping his waterskin. "Heck, if no one minds, why not come join our group for a bit? I can assure you, the worst you will get with our group is a prank from the lovely Devil in the water over there or getting splashed with water by someone else."

Persuasion check - 20 + 4

HP 44/44
AC 15
-2 to-hit because of Desert Heat 1/3
Spell Slots
Novice 3/4
Apprentice 1/1

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Avedon

Mud set about washing Devotion in the oasis without needing any persuasion. As she did so, she considered the sword's offer. "It's true that we will most likely need healing in the mission to come. If I were alone, I'd deny the offer, but as we're a team who fight's together, there is only one choice I can make. At the cost of some of the power of this sword, I think we'll need more powerful healing."

She then turned to Valentine. "Why do you two provoke each other so much?"

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof
Devotion seemed to be thinking deeply over Mud's answer, even as Valentine insulted her. At the mention of them provoking each other so much, a little laugh echoed out from Devotion into both Valentine and Mud's minds. "Oh, that's just because Valentine has a thing for me. Don't worry Mud, I'm sure it's nothing. She will probably just kill you in your sleep like a good little Devil and whisk me away..."

GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade
Spitfire was a bit shocked by how charismatic Midnight was being right now. Usually being charismatic was a job that fell to her, but the rogue seemed to be doing very well! In fact he did a little too well. The half dragon seemed to take the invitation for a 'shower' as something else entirely and his eyes sparkled as he smiled at Midnight sweetly. "A shower... sounds nice. We should go shower somewhere private..."

From behind the half dragon, one of his companions started laughing uproariously. Specifically it was the unicorn in the robes who spoke up, and it turned out that unicorn was a mare! "Oh, kid. You just made the biggest mistake of your life!" She paused a moment and then motioned to the massive half-dragon that Midnight had just accidentally turned on. "... Literally. Good luck with that."

Regardless, Midnight's offer was interesting and the unicorn, who appeared to be this groups leader, wandered over and shooed the half-dragon away. She took one look at Applebloom, Midnight and Spitfire and then arched an eyebrow. "You wish to join groups? We are currently hunting a blue dragon that inhabits this area."

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide
"Why do I need to kill her? I can just wait for her to die within a few weeks of using like both the last two ponies I've seen wield you! You're not very good at keeping your owner alive when that ismore or less your only job! Dumb angel sword!...and she started it!"
Valentine whined like a kid!

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Avedon Cyan Hide

Midnight didn’t think anything about the comment from the Half-Dragon until the Unicorn made a comment that made Midnight realise he had just unintentionally had fallen for him. “This...will...be interesting.” he thought.

“Well, what a coincidence, we’re looking for a blue dragon too.” says Midnight. “I’m afraid that I don’t know all the details. But my companions, Miss Spitfire and Miss Applebloom, will be able to give you more details on why we are trying to find the Blue Dragon.” explained Midnight as he backed up to allow Spitfire and Applebloom to explain the quest they were on.

HP 44/44
AC 15
-2 to-hit because of Desert Heat 1/3
Spell Slots
Novice 3/4
Apprentice 1/1

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Avedon

"Neither of you have to worry about me," Mud spoke to them both. "I'm tougher than I look." And it was true. This lanky teenager looked as if a stray breeze could snap her like a twig. However, both Devotion and Valentine knew she was a barbarian in more than name. Deep cuts didn't faze or slow her, and she could swing Devotion like she was made of paper.

"Trying to kill me will be a grave mistake. You'll never catch me unarmed. I can split a boulder with my hooves. Not that I ever have to worry about you trying to kill me." Mud gave Valentine a tiny smile. "You'd squee at a cute puppy. That's the kind of Devil you are."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Shadeofshade

Applebloom watched with intrigue as the dragon seemed to become very interested in Midnight, and couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. She was thankful though when he was shooed away by the mare, "Oh, ya lookin' fer the dragon too?" She'd ask, raising a brow, before looking over at the little group they had again, "Well... Spitfire is really our leader." She'd say, before looking at Spitfire, raising a brow at her.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof
"Did you hear that, Valentine? The little mortal thinks that she is strong! Truly, she is worthy to be a Champion of Heaven." Devotion echoed with obvious sarcasm in her voice. Her and Valentine might not get along very well, but she was totally okay with ganging up on Mud and mocking her! She was, after all, an Angel. And that meant that underneath all the kindness, generosity and warmth... she was also egotistic, over confident and condescending towards mortals.

GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade
... Really? Spitfire was the leader? Spitfire, who joined the group all of three days ago? Spitfire, who's first act was having her eyes gouged out? Spitfire, who so far had been knocked unconscious during their first fight? Spitfire, who almost incinerated the entire group when her angry primordial came out?

Sweet.

"... I'm the leader?" Spitfire asked with a little furrowing of her eyebrows, before she broke out into a huge grin. Of course she was the leader! She was, like, the best at leading. It's what she does! "I mean, yes! I am the leader, obviously. Look at these other ponies, they couldn't lead a group north if they had a compass glued to their hoof."

The cloaked unicorn that they were speaking to threw back her hoof, revealing an absolutely beautiful mare with a dark blue coat and a while and green mane. "Spitfire, Applebloom... I did not expect to see a celebrity and the sister of an Element so far from Equestria. My name is Sky. Sky Stormchaser. What are your plans with this dragon, when we do finally catch it? My partners and I will want a fair portion of the dragons body parts."

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Rainbow kind of kept her distance from the other group for most of the exchange. She didn't exactly trust them all that much. Never could really know who to trust out here, for all she knows, they might just be another band of bandits... wandering around. She never really saw the appeal of trying to make a living in a desert but to each their own. Ponies lived here for a reason, right?

She actually approached right when Spitfire said something about being the leader. A snicker erupted from her, to which she quickly slapped her hoof over her muzzle to silence herself. It took a few seconds before she had gotten enough control to not laugh and instead talk. "Honestly, Spitfire, that compass would probably be plain broken even if we did have one. Those things don't tend to last too long on these adventures." Dash replied with a little bit of a smirk. The conversation quickly took a bit of a turn for the worst at the mention of the dragon's body parts. Uh oh.

She leaned over to whisper into Spitfire's ear quickly, glancing over at the other group. "Um... should we tell 'em that we weren't planning on killing the dragon, or...? " That's a little bit awkward. The original plan was to go talk to blue dragon about a missing dragon egg, wasn't it?

 

[Avedon]

Cyan Hide Dreamweaver
"Uuuuh yeah? Puppies are cute. That is literally what they were made to do. Nothing wrong with that! Of course I can literally speak a word and reduce a boulder to dust. That is also the kind of wizard I am."

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Avedon

Mud was completely silent as Devotion mocked her, and Valentine matched her boast. As usual, it was very hard to read what she was thinking as no expression showed on her face. She looked over to the other group, and then changed the subject as smoothly and as subtly as a brick.

"So, what do you think about that other group? I've been listening to the conversation. I couldn't hear parts of it, but I think they definitely want to kill that Dragon. I wonder if they'd fight us if they learned our goal was to talk to it first."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Shadeofshade

Applebloom would stare at the mare as the threw back to hood, and was a bit stunned. She'd blink a few times, looking down, before blushing as the mare brought up their status. She'd look up, a bit surprised, but then realised that she should have known that ponies probably knew about her by now. She was even making a small name for herself as an adventurer. She'd look at the mare, thinking about her question for a moment, "We uh.... Jus' wan'ted to talk with 'em... if'n yer thinkin' 'bout doin' anything violent, could ya hold off on it?" She'd ask, throwing on a thick southern accent. She didn't need to, it just kind of slipped.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide
"I think the other group is much prettier than ours, and not so... stinky." Mud would be able to sense that Devotion was probably talking about her. Or Valentine. Or both. Actually it was kind of hard to tell, she was just a telepathic angel sword. "Listen to the devil, thinking she can turn boulders to dust. Maybe a hoof-sized rock. At least she's prettier to look at than some of our other female friends here..."

Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus
"What? No, we are not telling them that. That seems like a terrib-..." Spitfire's telepathic words promptly cut off as Applebloom spilled their intentions to the mare. Sky, as she was called. After a few seconds, Spitfire's telepathy kicked back up. "... Fuck."

The mare went slightly tense at Applebloom's words. "Why would you ever wish to speak to such a monster?" Sky asked with an obvious amount of disdain in her voice. She was not liking the way this conversation was going, but she was at least remaining friendly-ish. "Blue dragons are good for one thing; dying. Their scales make armour and enchant weapons, their teeth and claws can be weapons themselves, and their eggs are worth a fortune. Not to mention blue dragons are evil. It's kind of what they do. They're a chromatic."

Sky leaned back and frowned slightly. "If you come with us to defeat the dragon, we will split the treasure fairly. If you wish to pursue speaking with the dragon... It would be best if you walk away. We have no reason to trust you aren't going to simply kill it and steal all of the treasure."

That was a fair point.

Monster Difficulties

Half-True Dragon Fighter: Challenging (13 to hit).
Sky the Unicorn Wizard: Deadly (10 to hit, 14 to resist spells).
Bat Pony Shadowdancer: Respectable (9 to hit, 9 to resist spells).
Griffon Rogue: Respectable (11 to hit).

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver GeneralTyrus
Rainbow cast an exasperated sideways glance towards Applebloom. Seriously? Everybody in this group is damn blabbermouth. You don't just go telling everybody what exactly your plans are the moment you meet them. That kind of information is a little bit sensitive. Looks like the cat is out of the bag, thanks to Applebloom. Yay for inexperience when dealing with other adventuring companies.

She turned her head towards Sky and their group, narrowing her eyes slightly. It'd be pretty stupid of them to attack, especially when two members of the group are very well known. Pretty good way to have the rest of Equestria on your back is when you attempt to kill or do kill an Element of Harmony. "... Yeah, whatever. Chromatic or not, if you actually know anything about a blue dragon, they don't just go attacking ponies at random. They were probably provoked."

Actually, that gives her a bit of an idea. Maybe instead they could lead this group in a different direction? "Say, Spitfire. How much of a good idea do ya think it'd be to tell 'em about the dragon egg up in that one mare's tower? " She thought, since Spitfire was already using telepathy, why not, right? "Tell them about the egg, they go do that, they're out of our hair for a while. With any luck, we might even be able to get back before they've formulated a plan to steal it."

Could be worth it. Could totally blow up in their face. Either way, it is just a blue dragon, so they didn't really need to stick their necks out for them.

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Avedon Cyan Hide

Intelligence check - 13+2+3=18

Now things were getting bad with the conversations with Sky’s group, Midnight felt that he had to step in. He did know a bit about Blue Dragons and felt that he might be able to dispel the tension that had suddenly appeared.

“Evil you say? Well now, I would say that’s a bit harsh. Sure they are Chromatic but they are rarely cruel.” Interjected Midnight as he walked in front of the others to grab their attention. “I mean, they even have an extremely organized and hierarchical societies unlike other Chromatic dragons.” as he spoke, he punctuated two points that he felt were very important from what he knew.

Midnight closed his eyes and then asked “Now, playing Devil’s Advocate, let’s say that the Blue Dragons that we all appear to be looking for is well and truly evil and just wanted to destroy the world. How will you beat it?” he then opened his eyes and stared straight into Sky’s eyes and said “Blue Dragons are the best fliers of dragonkind, stay airborne when fighting and shoot down there Lightning Breath when they are in the air. They are not also known as the Storm Dragons for no reason.” Midnight tried to emphasize 4 more points.

Midnight felt that he might be either berating the other party or just nagging them but he felt that it was necessary to get his point across. He let out a long sigh and then proposed, “Look, the way I see it, fighting the Blue Dragon should be a last resort. How about we team up and if the talks go poorly then we see who can kill the Blue Dragon before it kills us?”

Persuasion check - 10+4=14

HP 44/44
AC 15
-2 to-hit because of Desert Heat 1/3
Spell Slots
Novice 3/4
Apprentice 1/1

 

[Avedon]

Cyan Hide Dreamweaver
"You mean they're not just joining us? I'm used to randiom cereal-mares, talking-swords, and all kinds of stuff just dropping in on us. I guess if they're not our allies that means they're our rivals out to like...collect all the dragon-badges and become the treasure-masters. I think murder is a bit harsh but we should at least write a mean-spirited song about them."

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Avedon


Mud stopped cleaning Devotion and held her up to the sunlight. The earth pony was staring right at the sword pointedly. "Of course, if a fight breaks out and they kill us, they'll take you when they're looting our corpses. Then you'd get to be carried around by the prettier, nicer smelling group. At least until they either sell you, or that dragon uses you and you end up as rough and chipped as his sword is."

She then continued to clean and polish the greatsword. "You're welcome," she mused with what was probably humor, before turning to Valentine. "They don't seem like the rival types. If we don't join them to fight the Dragon as one team, or turn back now, they'll kill us. From their point of view, there's no way they'd just let our group go first. They'd lose the element of surprise. The Dragon might even be sleeping, which is perfect for them but we'd have to wake it up."

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide
"Ha! A dragon would take better care of me than any of you mortals ever could. Do you know how much of a prize I would be to add to a dragons hoard? Besides, as far as I know I cannot be chipped or scratched. At least nothing has done so yet..." Devotion mused though she was mostly just rambling to herself by this point. She spoke up again when Mud started explaining their situation.

"I agree with the dirt pony, Valentine; this is a very dangerous situation. You should use caution, or else you might die and end up back in Hell. I would so hate for that to happen..."

Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade
Spitfire projected her mental words back at Rainbow. "I don't know, Rainy. I really don't. That could lead this group away from the dragon, but could also end up hurting other ponies. This group looks..." She didn't want to say 'stronger than our group', but uh... "... They look proficient. And you saw what I did to the guard outside of the tower. This group might not be merciful and may simply kill all of the guards there. The guards are just doing their jobs..."

Luckily it seemed like Midnight was onto something here. He wasn't convincing the other group of anything in the slightest, but he also wasn't making them angry. At least this opened up a route for conversation that had otherwise not been appearing!

"And why, exactly, would you wish to talk with this dragon?" Sky asked with an arched eyebrow at Midnight, and then directed that at the rest of the group as well. She did not really want to fight this group, but she would if she had too. Rainbow Dash maybe an Element of Harmony, but that afforded her absolutely zero legal protections. Equestrian law was rather simple; adventurers had no real protections under the law and any harm that came upon them was not the Crown's problem. This would not be anything but a sad fight between two adventuring parties, which happened every day across the land. Adventurers didn't always get along.

Still, Sky would rather not risk it. Killing Rainbow, Spitfire and Applebloom would of course get Twilight and Applejack involved. Sky's party couldn't handle them. And of course since she was an adventurer, it's not like Twilight and Applejack would be tried in court for murder.

"Let's say that the dragon does not kill you on sight. What are you hoping to gain from talking with the beast, rather than just killing it?"

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide
Actually thats a good idea. Lets sell the sword to the dragon in exchange for it leaving here.! Two problems gone with one uh...bird throw."
She blinked one eye at a time. She thinks that was the metaphor.

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Avedon Cyan Hide

With the questions posed to the group, Midnight tried to think of a response. He looked back at his group for a hint of something, anything to say. It seemed that Rainbow Dash wanted to say something and Spitfire was responding to Rainbow. Wait, what?

“Not now Midnight. We have a chance to get them to at least back off from the idea of fighting the Dragon. Try and keep up the momentum while not revealing why you think we’re going exactly.” he thought. Turning back to Sky, he said “I can not tell you exactly why we want to go to talk to the Blue Dragon as I do not know the exact reason but I can tell you what I understand.” he said, after which he looked at Spitfire and added “If I’m allowed to explain what I understand by our leader.” trying to hint what he thinks might be the best direction to go.