Friendship is Dragons
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Page 1027 - The Enigma Lode
Author Notes:
Newbiespud
17th Feb 2018, 5:00 AM
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51 Comments:
Who else wants to guess she wants to turn the Thieves' Guild into her own spy network, with Rarity at the head?
Celestia hijacking the Thieves Guild for her own (hopefully far more benevolent) purposes I was going to guess.
Setting up Rarity as the new head of the Thieves Guild, on the other hand, that I had not considered.
Setting up Rarity as the new head of the Thieves Guild, on the other hand, that I had not considered.
As long as the guild gets paid, they probably wouldn't have an issue. Dunno how good the loyalty rating will be.
Digo: Plus, most of the members won't know who the real leader is.
Only Isabeau, Garrett, and Imoen (I think) will know who used to be the leader, and they probably won't be hard to convince.
Heck, Garrett will probably be happy for the change, and the other two probably won't take much convincing.
Also, this opens the option of Rarity's boutiques being cover for the Thieves' Guild spy stations and approved smuggling.
Only Isabeau, Garrett, and Imoen (I think) will know who used to be the leader, and they probably won't be hard to convince.
Heck, Garrett will probably be happy for the change, and the other two probably won't take much convincing.
Also, this opens the option of Rarity's boutiques being cover for the Thieves' Guild spy stations and approved smuggling.
That's what I like to do when I can. The players failed miserably? Take them prisoner; now they can escape, be interrogated or given an out by the guards. They succeeded and wrecked the campaign? What will be the result in the campaign world? They killed the Big Bad? Nature abhors a vacuum, and there are probably many NPCs itching for a piece of his pie... or ready to go after the heroes to collect his debts.
And that is how Celestia recruited secret agent Sweetie Drops (A.K.A Bon Bon)
I think Like na would have time to do that, and could help Rarity manage the Thieves' Guild's transformation into a spy network/crime limiting tool.
I'd wager Luna gets the nod. She works the night shift anyway, so she's well equipped to deal with folks who are noted night owls to begin with.
Also, she's "not Rarity" so the party can keep cheerfully plugging along without undue "complication"
Also, she's "not Rarity" so the party can keep cheerfully plugging along without undue "complication"
Yeh Rarity could work Thieves Guild, but managing spy network... I don't think so.
Story time
Have you ever had to pull someone of the group off to the side and have a little one on one talk?
Have you ever had to pull someone of the group off to the side and have a little one on one talk?
Another option would have been to create a Nemesis for their character. A recurring baddy that's designed specifically to counter their proficiencies, at least enough to keep the uber-fighter occupied.
And that could be entertaining of itself, depending on the behaviour and attitude of the Nemesis.
And that could be entertaining of itself, depending on the behaviour and attitude of the Nemesis.
With every character I make I remind the gm that they only need to talk to me to have me rebuild it if there's too issues with it.
Props loyalchaos, for knowing your limits, and working with the player causing you issues. Too few gms do that.
Props loyalchaos, for knowing your limits, and working with the player causing you issues. Too few gms do that.
i mean, she's got over a millennium of experience and the time to wait out plans that take generations if necessary. It would be weird if she didn't play at least a little chess.
The papers on top weren't, in hindsight not the best design decision.
(Or)
She found it with her shins, middle of an empty room was maybe not the best location.
(Honestly though, I bet she has constant truesight of some variation, wait, changlings, nvm, she doesn't XD)
She found it with her shins, middle of an empty room was maybe not the best location.
(Honestly though, I bet she has constant truesight of some variation, wait, changlings, nvm, she doesn't XD)
Plot Convenient True sight. Only on when the writers need it.
Screw Truesight, I like the shins of furniture finding theory and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. :D
Or, "I'm giddy because of all the painkillers I took because of exactly how I found the Invisible Desk. I figured I should check his office, but I didn't imagine it would be out in the open."
The image of Celestia barking her shins and falling over the desk is hilarious.
Maybe the desk could only be assessed with Blueblood's magic.
She knew where it was, but couldn't get into it without knowing who he was.
When she found out, she copied his aura.
Allowing her to get the documents she was searching for.
What do you guys think about my theory?
She knew where it was, but couldn't get into it without knowing who he was.
When she found out, she copied his aura.
Allowing her to get the documents she was searching for.
What do you guys think about my theory?
Oh no. You think Liara managed to spread her influence to DnD Equstria. That's scary.
Someone needs to commission a drawing of Rarity and Liara sharing a brohoof/brofist.
Better yet, Liara as a pony, checking herself out in front of a mirror while asking Rarity how the assimilation of the Thieves' Guild is going, and wow how she *loves* her new look...
With Rarity mentioning that it's *so* much easier with VI support and Liara's skills. Oh, and she has a lovely idea for an evening dress which will go *perfectly* with Liara's new look.
With Rarity mentioning that it's *so* much easier with VI support and Liara's skills. Oh, and she has a lovely idea for an evening dress which will go *perfectly* with Liara's new look.
So instead of a Chessmaster, she's a Master of Xanatos Speed Chess? :P
Nah. Probably more like Xanatos Slow Chess. She's immortal alicorn. Any problem she encounters will be solved sooner or later. She just needs to wait enough. In this case she probably just struck the target of opportunity.
Just a thought if comics is going to follow timeline of the show then next chapter is going to start with Twilight doing EPIC CRITICAL FAILURE on Epic level spell reawakening the Spirit of Chaos that Luna and Celestia saved the world from. (strips 797-801)
Nah. Discord's release will happen after a slow buildup of disharmony, probably triggered by something small at the end.
Or maybe one too many other Villains will cause enough chaos to set him free.
I wonder how Newbiespud will adapt the Discord arcs.
Or maybe one too many other Villains will cause enough chaos to set him free.
I wonder how Newbiespud will adapt the Discord arcs.
I'm sure Spud will find a way to surprise and entertain us. ;)
My guesses are just that. Guesses.
So... We might get a much more chaotic Discord than before, or we might get a swerve almost no one expected.
My guesses are just that. Guesses.
So... We might get a much more chaotic Discord than before, or we might get a swerve almost no one expected.
This strip and the comments on it reminds me that my normal home city setup for a game tends to have my LG halfling thief/rogue in charge of a more benevolent thieves' guild. Sure, shady stuff happens, but you have most everything above-board and in the graces of town's high level patrons (Sorc/Dragon Disciple and Paladin/Monk), or else you risk not doing business in town. (Those two patrons are also my characters from past games)
Perhaps her plan is to do... nothing. And make it clear that she's doing nothing. "Just walk away. We'll all forget ANY of this happened. You were never thieves, you were never in a guild, I never found the proof. Just... walk away, and live the rest of your lives as law abiding ponies..."
I think it's more fun seeing a future Sassy Saddles as a confused "former" thief, having to run a dress shop with Rarity, to go "legit".
*Considers Spud's interpretation* ...Okay, yeah, I see what you mean.
Season 1 pit the epic boss fight in the premier, it made sense for the finale to be an epic social challenge.
I agree, Celestia's plans have too many points of failure to be a real chessmaster. Like, how could she be sure Twilight would figure out the Elements in time to stop NM? How did she plan for the friendship lesson letters to snap Twi out of discording when that whole scenario wasn't planned in the first place? And if she really thought Flutters could leash Discord, would she really have put so many contingencies in place in case it didn't work? She doesn't plan ahead, she backplans; she's hoping for one particular outcome, then stuffs in as many failsafes as she can so the loss isn't too catastrophic in case it doesn't work out.
I'll buy opportunistic though, just not that she plans ahead. Random schoolkid has improbable power levels, ends up with a talent for magic, full stop? Divert some time and effort into that one and see what comes of it. With some luck, you get a shiny new court mage and a pet dragon for the military. Oh hey, wunderkid dug up one of several doom prophecies and thinks something should be done about it immediately? Toss her in the general direction of "magical artifacts that can solve this shit if conditions are met", give her a list of names that meet those conditions and some arbitrary reason to interact with them, oh and a pile of books with the answer to the current predicament in case she gets stuck and needs it spelled out in plain English.
That's basically the script of the first four seasons, with the exception of Chrysalis and her changelings. But those were such an outside context problem, and goes to show what Celestia is like when she *doesn't* have a plan running at the time and isn't aware of her enemy.
I'll buy opportunistic though, just not that she plans ahead. Random schoolkid has improbable power levels, ends up with a talent for magic, full stop? Divert some time and effort into that one and see what comes of it. With some luck, you get a shiny new court mage and a pet dragon for the military. Oh hey, wunderkid dug up one of several doom prophecies and thinks something should be done about it immediately? Toss her in the general direction of "magical artifacts that can solve this shit if conditions are met", give her a list of names that meet those conditions and some arbitrary reason to interact with them, oh and a pile of books with the answer to the current predicament in case she gets stuck and needs it spelled out in plain English.
That's basically the script of the first four seasons, with the exception of Chrysalis and her changelings. But those were such an outside context problem, and goes to show what Celestia is like when she *doesn't* have a plan running at the time and isn't aware of her enemy.
Alternative interpretation: Celestia is a betting mare, and running Equestria is just one long horse race for her.
The most well-written Chessmasters in fiction always have cases where they fail, largely because of things they can't predict or information they don't have.
It occurred to me while watching "Equestria Girls: Friendship Forgotten" that Celestia's *real* power might be knowing where to go to find the solution. During the MLP movie, she knew the solution could be found by traveling to find the Queen of the Hippogriffs. She also knew that trusting Twilight and her very brand-new friends would save her sister. And in the new EqG movie, she knew that the answer would be found in the restricted section of the Canterlot Library, even though she didn't actually know what it was.
It seems like her greatest ability is to divine where the next step is. Although because she doesn't always know what the step *after* that is, she tends to play her cards close to the chest, and pretends omniscience as much as she can get away with.
It seems like her greatest ability is to divine where the next step is. Although because she doesn't always know what the step *after* that is, she tends to play her cards close to the chest, and pretends omniscience as much as she can get away with.