I Don't Know What I'm Doing EditionLast time on BraeburnQuest: launching a desperate rescue attempt, femanon and Braeburn interrupted Chief Red Eye's posturing in town square, only to be handily repelled by the overwhelming magic power in his wand. With the mayor, sheriff, and Jubilee taken prisoner, the town must now mount a defense to repel the invaders. Trapped on the edge of the frontier, with no hope of summoning help in time, the ponies of Dodge Junction rely solely on the Cherry Girl's leadership.Documents on goo dot glInfo: 035doArchive: 9Nj0YNAttendance call. Review and recap to follow.
>>13654116 (OP)Reporting in.
>SKILLSCover: Vault obstacles, use cover, and find hiding spots.Arms: Expert use of ballistic weaponsBadge: Invoke the authority of the law.Wanted: Analyze and intuit criminal activity and identities.>INVENTORYBadgeWristmasher (1 of 6 shots, gold)Gold Potato - basic ammoRed Potato - high accuracy, slow ROFSweet Potato - trick shotsDog Prints - paw prints of Jester and the StrangerStrange Feather - not a pegasus, probably a griffon>SYSTEMRoll 3 times for non-Skill rolls (6 for Skills).Using a Skill also lets all 10s (0) reroll.Rolls of 6 or greater count towards success.
>>13654187oh yeah, weren't we supposed to earn a skill point last week?
As you recover in the doctor's office, you have an opportunity to examine your arm. When you grabbed Red Eye's wand, it backfired on you and left you with a terrible pain. Now you see strange, obsidian-like growths covering your arm, limiting your use of it for the time being. Even in your time living in the strange and magical world of Equestria, you've never seen anything like it. Just hope it isn't permanent."Pardon me, Deputy, can I come in?" You hear the doctor and see his silhouette standing beyond your screen. You could cover it up if you don't want to bother him.(start)
>>13654259Let him see. Maybe he'll know something.
>>13654259Show him. "Probably never seen anything like this before, but you're also probably the best chance I've got at finding out what the heck this is."
>>13654259try pulling one of the growths out
>>13654259Amputate arm with hatchet/saw and attach aforementioned tool to the stump.
>>13654315It feels like trying to pull out a cactus needle. You are NOT going through that again, and decide it's best to leave it be for now. there's no telling how deep these things go.>>13654279>>13654312"Jumping jellybeans!" The doctor just about falls over at the sight. "Is that contagious?"There's a clatter on the other side of the screen, and Braeburn comes hobbling through. "What's the matter? Is she alright?"The doctor and Braeburn both spend time pondering over it, and you explain that it was likely caused by the magic wand when you grabbed it. The doctor presumes it's some kind of minor curse to prevent theft and disarmament, but has no idea how it works."I'm afraid we don't have many arcana experts out here, but you might try showing it to 'Cats. She's the biggest brain we've got in this town. And Braeburn! You shouldn't be on that leg." The doctor goes to fetch the makeshift crutch he made for Braeburn."Well... where do we go from here, pardner?" Braeburn leans on your chair, looking ruefully at your arm......LEVEL-UP BREAK
>>13654650Go check in with Cats. See if they found that crashed flying machine and hauled it back.
>>13654643But first get really drunk on cider to numb the pain
>>13654650Lets go visit the NERD
You have the opportunity to add a trained skill to your repertoire. Using a trained skill increases your dice pool and allows rerolls.Skills can be trained when all other skills pointing to them are trained. You can train ONE skill by visiting the associated area for training. Here are your options:>Snap Shot: Perform fast draws and physics-defying trick shots with ease. Applies to all types of attacks.Recoup at Cherry Hill Ranch for some target practice.>Manners: Blend in with Equestrians and locals more easily, and sooth hostile personalities.Head back to Town Hall to address the locals.>Flora: A basic understanding of the magical properties of Equestrian vegetable life.Head back into town to help produce munitions for tomorrow.
>>13654839Flora.Because Magitech sounds hella cool and you need Flora for that.
>>13654839we should probably go for the manners skill, this can improve our speech to deliver orders more efficiently, and we can be more stealthy in crowds
>>13654902>Stealthy.>The human is going to be stealthy in a crowd of ponies.
>>13654839Eh, manners.We haven't exactly been great at being physical. Perhaps we can roll a little better at talking it out.
>>13654839So far, we've gotten into some tight spots up close and it would be handy to be toughen up in such circumstances.To that end, Close Quarters sounds like a useful skill, but we'll need to navigate quite a few skills for that; either Snap Shot or Manners to start with.Manners might have been nicer sooner but we might still get some use out of it this early.On the other hand, Magitech does sound cool, and we'd also be on track to Forage and Trace which sound like they'd be pretty useful when we get away from civilization.We probably don't want to spread ourselves too thin, though, so maybe we should try for two branches, which kind of starves out Easy Reader, Lore, and Relics, unless we're never taking another blue skill.((Unless I'm misreading this and we only need one of the two prereqs))
>>13655217Do we need another blue skill?Being able to shoot things and take cover seems good enough.
>>13655217You need all prereqs unlocked to train a skill. For example, taking Manners means you could train Shadow next, as it requires Cover and Manners. Once you have Shadow trained, you can train Snap Shot to unlock Close Quarters.
>>13655276Right.So as it stands, we're going to need to get one of the other bases to unlock any cross skills, but we could shoot straight to OHKO.Hmm... Flora or Manners...I'm torn, but we've shown interest in speechifying, so for now, my vote is for Manners.
You're now trained in Manners! You feel like you're getting the hang of this leadership business...."As long as it's not falling off, I'm not going to worry about it until it changes. As long as I can shoot..." You flex your arm and fingers, rolling the sleeve down. Even the act of standing up sends a sharp pain up and down your side, radiating out from the tender nerve bundles in your arm. A very unfunny bone, that. "But first, I have to go make sure the folks in Town Hall are secure. Can't have any pony panicking.""Right with you, there. If you need help, I've still got one more leg than you do." Braeburn tries to tip his hat, but with no foreleg available he just sort of slumps and slouches against your shoulder. "Um, maybe a raincheck on that."You head back out to Town Hall, keeping your injured arm secure in a pocket and using your other hand to do everything. Town Hall itself looks transformed, with all the windows and walls reinforced with spare wood salvaged from various furniture and carts. On the inside, tables and chairs are overturned to form makeshift bunkers and barricades, with a crowd forming up in the back towards the cellar doors as families try to get organized. Foals are crying, adults are bickering, storeowners are gritting their teeth, and the volunteers doing the heavy lifting are already starting to tire from all the work.Your arrival, and the banging of a hammer against a counter, get everyone's attention.Roll 6 dice to use Manners and lift their spirits. 0s are rerolls.
>>13655695WE'RE GOING TO LIFT THEIR SPIRITS!WE AREN'T GOING TO LIFT THEIR SPIRITS!
>>13655695Lift spirits!With bad rolls!
>>13655695rolling
>>13655695>Braeburn tries to tip his hatBrae you dumb horse.You aren't wearing a fedora.
>>13655695I want us to fail so badly. SOOOO badly.
>>13655695Well, alright then...
>>13655695If we got a 0, that'd be nice. I don't think we're so good at this whole talking thing.
>>13656020Oh cool.One more then.
>>13656025Because we have been amazing at the whole fighting thing.
>>13656139maybe we should retire to become a rice farmer
>>13656169No dog, I told you.Suck all the dicks, solve all the problems!I guess if we have to use our mouths to talk, that works too, I guess!
>>13656169We should have been a hooker...
>>13655802>>13655825>>13655839>>13655889>>13655924>>13656020>>13656087Out of 6+1 rolls, you had 4 successes! Glory to Arstotzka.A hundred questions batter you from all sides. Why are they doing this? How will we survive? Why don't we just run? How can we fight?You raise your one good arm and solemnly remove your hat."Whatever vendetta Red Eye has against this town, it doesnt matter. This is where some of you have spent all your lives, where you've earned your livelihoods. Where you raised a family. I haven't lived here as long as some of you, I don't even come from this world, but this is my home, now, too. And if I'm going to be doing my part to protect it, I expect each of you to try twice as hard.""There was a leader in my world, who said 'We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.' What happened today was meant to instill fear and worry in us, but instead, we will summon courage! Bravery and righteous anger in the face of fear. Who is this dog that shows up on our doorstep and demands we bend to his whim? On what authority? We were here first, you all made this town on the sweat of your brow, it belongs to you and you only until you say otherwise. So tomorrow, we will keep our families safe, our fortifications will hold, and whatever apocalypse those magic-weaving mutts try to lay at our door, WE CANCEL IT!"Drawing upon short flashbacks to scenes you're certain you'd seen in your lifetime, nonetheless you put your hat back on and raise your badge in the air once again, not a symbol of your authority but of the mutual bond of trust and loyalty you have with this dusty nowhere land on the edge of the Equestrian frontier.(cont)
>>13656744Cherry Girl is such a dork.
>>13656817Shut up, ponies don't know human history.She can dork it up all we want, we made sun bombs if we have to say it!
>>13656744Stallions and mares give you shouts of approval throughout your little speech, a veritable stampede of applause starting up as they rattle the floorboards with stomping hooves and hollering. Even Braeburn is doing his best, content to kick his hind legs into the ground."You heard the Deputy, we'll pull through this!" Another rousing call goes up, and the ponies start to organize themselves around each other, saving you much of the effort of herding them. The volunteers have renewed strength, pegasi and unicorn alike lifting tables into place, earthies moving furniture around. Families renew pledges to stick together and share their food stores when the time comes, and some promises of whose children go where should that need arise."Land sakes, Cherry Girl, you got a cutie mark in badass you're not showing me?" Braeburn pulls you aside to catch your breath as the Town Hall looks lively once again. For once, your arm doesn't hurt so much.
>>13656891"You wanna check?"Wink at him and ruffle his mane.And then let's check in on Cats.
>>13656965Heh, this.
>>13656965I agreement
>>13656984>>13657644but humans can't get cutie marks or wink, whatbare you guys talking about
Apologies for the interruption.>>13656965"What, you wanna check?" You give him a wink and tug at your belt playfully, and even though ponies dont have the same sense of modesty that humans do, Braeburn seems to get the hint. Appleloosa has been more popular with tourists these years, so he must be accustomed to some of your manners."Well, uh... I don't mean to say that... it was just a figure of speech and all." Okay, maybe he doesn't get the hint.You share a laugh, ruffle his mane, and endure a few backslaps on the way out of Town Hall. Time to check out the gunsmith for any word on that crashed flying machine, and whether you can make sense of your arm "infection"....Ducats' place is a smoking heap, moreso than usual. The roof is caved in, her spare parts and such are scattered about, and yet Cats herself seems much more chipper than you'd expect her to be. She darts about the wreckage, grabbing various tools and such."About time, girl! You wanna know where that flier crashed? Right here, in my shop! Haha, fortune favors the prepared mind, don't it?" The pegasus flips a welding mask down over her face and starts up a burning torch on the far side of the wreckage. "Now if'n either of you heroes could lend a hoof to get it out of this mess, that'd be mighty fine of y'all."
>>13658080"About that..."Show her your arm."Don't worry though, I've got another one."Help her out as best you can.
>>13658080I noticed we only have 1 more potato, should we get some more ammo while we're at cats?
>>13658080Maybe we can help pick up the mess around it.
>>13658368We have one of each type in our pockets.
>>13658130>>13658369Roll 2 dice to DO YOU EVEN LIFT?!?! You're at a penalty for having one good arm.
>>13658449LET'S IMPRESS BRAEBURN WITH OUR AWESOME MUSCLESWE'RE SUCH A GIRLY GIRL
>>13658449All that crossfit is gonna pay off today!
>>13658470...D-Do I get a reroll...?
>>13658470>>13658510I'M SEEING DOUBLE!4 0's!
>>13658510Damn.Well, just in case it actually counts...here's one more.
>>13658530bahahaha
>>13658530...You gotta be kidding me.ANOTHER!>inb4 none of these 0s matter
>>13658461>>13658470Out of 2 rolls, you had 1 success. That'll do, deputy.>>13658510Rerolls are enabled only when using a skill.You can't do much to help, but you do manage to push one or two heavy beams off. You can see the telltale gold plating of the flying machine beneath the rubble.Braeburn handily places himself in the rubble, using his hindlegs to do most of the work. Although ponies in general are rotund, plush creatures, you get to see the extent of the muscles built up in his hocks and hindquarters, a momentary flash of stallion strength and stamina borne from a life of hard work. He easily shoves off a large part of the pile, outshining you. Cats even looks up from her work and whistles in admiration."Your boy there's a strong 'un, strong in the head and the hoof." The pegasus calls out over the sound of an arc welder cutting through metal."Aw, shucks, missy, I'm just happy to help.">>13658130You walk around the pile and place yourself between Braeburn and Cats, rolling up your sleeve. "Hey, the doc said you should look at this.""Bits and bridles, Cherry Girl, where'd you get that?" Cats flips up her welding mask, turning the looking glasses on her headband to give her an examining loupe to check out your arm. You explain what happened, and she ponders this for a moment. "I'm more of a technical-minded gal than a thaumaturge, but if you're saying this came out of a wand, then I might have something on it. Spells like that are very specific-like.""Well, it's a bitch to deal with, and I'm gonna need both arms soon enough. Can you figure it out?""Sooner I get this machine out, the sooner I can dive into my personal reference library. I don't want you forcing that arm, though, you best mosey on home and get some rest 'fore it gets any worse."
>>13658648>you get to see the extent of the muscles built up in his hocks and hindquartersrowrWell, we're going to have to rest soon enough but is there anything else we can do for her?
>>13658648Does Braeburn have a place to stay?...And are we ever going to actually ask him what the hell he's doing here? And why he had a fake marshal badge?
Bumb
>>13658683You make a move as if to say something, but your old friend Cats puts a dirty hoof to your lips. "Don't disturb a genius at work! You git along, now. I'll see you at Cherry Hill later tonight once I've made some progress.">>13658789You shrug and step out, beckoning Braeburn to follow."Do you even have a place to stay, Braeburn?""I was supposed to be put up by Miss Jubilee, but now that she's gone, I don't know.""...About that." You casually lead Braeburn down the roads to Cherry Hill Ranch, Jubilee's place of business and residence. Home, to you. It's fairly obvious to anyone this is a house of ill repute, and Braeburn seems more than a little nervous to approach. You have to tug him by his vest to get him to move. "Yeah, I live here. Jubilee set me up with work and a place to stay when I came here years ago.""If you say so." Despite his anxiousness, Braeburn has little to fear. The Ranch seems a mite quiet tonight, with ponies having bigger issues occupying their minds. It's a little depressing, but you hope that the girls who aren't here are out in the town doing their part to fortify.A problem soon becomes apparent: the Ranch doesn't have guest rooms. Well, it could take up "guests" but you couldn't rightly shove Braeburn into one of the other girls' rooms, especially not without their consent or knowledge. Jubilees quarters are the only ones unoccupied, and considering the circumstances that'd be right out (every girl at the Ranch respected her privacy anyway). Your room seems the only decent option.There might be an answer in the ledger at the front desk, though.
>>13659051Confirming here.Name fell off.
>>13659051Check the ledger.
>>13659080
Uh... wow, it's late. What happened to the time?I'm just going to cut us off here for the night. Next week we get some alone time with Braeburn! Thanks for playing.
>>13659458Thanks MSOB.
>>13659458See you next week
