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

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Applebloom would trot along with every pony out of the throne room, just keeping up and listening. Thankfully, it was easy for her to keep pace with Lucian. She'd listen, and when she heard about the cartel, she felt her spine chill slightly, before she'd look around, trying to spot on of these 'spies'.

Once they were in the safe house, she'd take off her hat, and wipe her brow quickly, sighing. She'd put her hat back on, and roll her shoulders as she listened to Lucian speak.

Not only were they dealing in drugs, they were peddling flesh, and she couldn't believe that was a thing going on. Least of all in Canterlot, you'd think it would be on lock down, "So... we go in and... kill them, then free the gryphons?" She'd ask, before nodding slowly.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver

Wind Whistler took note of the magic of the room, paying special attention to the locking of the door. Not that she didn't alweays lock doors, but it was still something very important to remember. Onto business. It would appear their first mission was shutting down a gang. Wind Whistler didn't know how she'd feel about killing. At least, not until she'd killed for the first time. But this gang did need to die. That, she firmly believed in. The horrific acts they had committed needed to stop, and the Griffins set free.

"So, do we have a plan of attack, or is it a 'get in and figure the rest out afterwards' kind of plan?" she asked Lucian.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Cyan Hide Andrita GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
As their newest recruit showed up, Lucian eyed him up and down a few times and then just frowned. He already didn't like him. "... You smell of dark magic and death. A necromancer has joined our ranks." Lucian said aloud, so that the others would know that and beware. Some necromancers were good, some were bad... he got the feeling this was one of the bad ones. He then turned back to Aurelion to answer her question.

"If things go wrong, Aurelion; run. This is Canterlot, if you run away screaming then the guards will come check the disturbance. If things go terribly wrong... then I am sorry, and will ensure your bodies get a proper burial." He said rather grimly, but that was the nature of this business. Sometimes ponies died. "As for an approach, there are two ways you can do this; the stealthy way, or the 'guns blazing' approach."

"I want the guns blazing approach!" Rose immediately interjected, only to be silenced when Lucian stared at her and rolled her eyes. He continued again, "... As I was saying, there's a stealthy way to do this and a straight forward way to do this. The straight forward way to do this would be assaulting the place directly. You'll see more reinforcements that way... but that also means more practice for your abilities."

That went without saying.

His horn lit up and the building beside the gang warehouse lit up. "This is a metallurgy plant. It's very loud at all times of the day. You could sneak onto the roof and get the pegasus among you..." he pointed at Aurelion. "... To carry you over to the gang buildings roof. From there you can work your way down and eliminate some hostiles before they get a chance to rally a proper defense. You have a pretty nimble group here... you might be able to pull it off."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Applebloom would listen closely, and nod her head as Lucian explained the mission and the options they had. When Rose suddenly spoke up, talking about just brute forcing they're way in, she'd shake her head, "Ah don' think that'd go very well." She'd say, looking at Rose, raising a brow, before looking back to Lucian.

"Seems to me that we'd oughta go in from the roof... Would be more sneaky life." She'd say, smiling, nodding her head. Something she wasn't thinking about, was the fact she'd be killing these bad ponies. They were bad, but they were still ponies. It was just another thing that you had to get past when you worked for the crown probably...

 

[Andrita]

Dreamweaver
Apocalypse was a pretty sickly appearing mare, despite it. He wore a black cloak and hood that covered his entire appearance. His fur was grey, and his eyes flared to life with burning energy, appearing to be a purple flame esque energy. It was implying whatever magic reserves he had at his disposal (albeit cannot utilize properly unless he reached near his peak), it was definitely ancient and extremely powerful , despite his lower level of one. Anyone with enough magic power could see that. Unlike most of the equines here, his soul, one of his main sources of necromancy in the past, was his main source of power aside from regular unicorn magic. This is why his eyes were such a coloration, it's an indication that the strength of his soul was vast, as expected of the son of the esteemed 'Black Death' .


Apocalypse was sitting in the corner, discussing with his wisps the actions of what they were going on about.He did notice Lucien speaking about him specifically when he entered, but he didn't care what he thought, despite his supposed position as his 'Leader'. These wisps were black and blue flamed spirits from the very pits of Tartarus, who were debatably amongst the most demented in history. Their stories and recollections of life failed to really affect Apocalypse all that much. Some of the people are interesting indeed, but some definitely were less than ideal to even strike up an conversation with . I mean , yes he was called here. But he was no hero. He was far from it: He was usually Neutral and didn't care what happened to Equestria (for the most part). He yawned boredly at the tiresome conversation. However, when he first thought about demons, he thought about the very aspect of being in Tartarus to face them.... his eyes didn't change emotion, but his mind was thinking of such ravenous things. Oh.... wonderful Tartarus . How he longed to visit such a place of agony. To hear the screams of the damned would be the most soothing lullaby, and Tartarus is such a minefield for potential new host to experiment Necromancy. He wanted to see the terror of Tartarus so bad it wasn't even funny. Just imagine how many souls would be there.... Just waiting to be taken, to be experimented. For a necromancer, such a proposition would make him happier than he could ever become.... That would be the case if he still had emotions.

However, he shook his head and cleared his throat. He didn't have time to be daydreaming. He needed to focus on the task at hand. As he looked over at the people arguing on whenever they killed, he shook his head and stated the following. I mean, he was an Necromancer. To not know what a fricking Demon was to say that the Royal Guards didn't know of the Alicorn they served. It was stupidity of it's finest to even imply he didn't know of it. For reasons unknown, he knew of most of the lingo Luna stated to the others, but didn't give any indication of it. He just stood there, with the same blank face he always shown to others. He didn't no fear, and for good reason: Emotions themselves were removed from him by his father to become the Strongest Necromancer, and show no fear whatsoever.

He did have a statement about the creature. He didn't realize how loud he was stating this however. "The Tarrasque is an legitimate .... Interesting. I'm looking forward to studying it's soul once I find a spell to anchor it from it's imprisonment, if the Demon Lords don't do it first...." . He then realized he said it outloud, and was interested to see how people responded to that, perhaps in the future . The wheels were turning. Perhaps the Demon Lords weren't the only thing these people should be wary of. As he heard the plan, he just muttered. " No sympathy from me.... They will be gone... " . The tone made it seem like he had no remorse or feeling of regret for whatever he planned to do. And Just like that, he walked out of the place with no emotional charge. He just had a mission to do, and he planned to do it. It was a pretty simple objective.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Well, that wasn't very inspiring, being told that her only shot at surviving if things went wrong was to just run away screaming. She was hoping for something a bit more... foolproof than that. First thing they'd need is to plan out some sort of escape route if things went that far south. It would probably save their flanks. When in doubt, know your way out.

The rest of the plan could be figured out when they got a better look at what exactly they were dealing with. A metallurgy plant, with all of the loud noise, meant that sneaking through wouldn't be very hard. It was a double-edged sword, however; the Demon's Claw couldn't hear them coming, but they also couldn't hear the Demon's Claw coming, if one of them happened to be spotted. That could be a problem, but that just meant they had to watch each other's backs. Take this slow and carefully.

At the mention of her being a pegasus, Aurelion grimaced and looked away. "I'm... I'm not a pegasus..." She mumbled. The politically correct term was a batgriff, thank you very much. Hippogriff and a bat pony mixed together. She continued on a little more loudly. "I'd like to see what we're dealing with before charging in. So... sneaking around would be better!"

Andrita
At the necromancer trying to walk out the door, Aurelion reached out and grabbed their shoulder. "Hey, hold on a minute, we're not ready to go yet." She objected, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're just gonna get yourself killed going over there alone. Stick with the rest of us and don't be stupid."

 

[Andrita]

Dumbledoof , Dreamweaver
As he was about to leave, Aurellion took him by his shoulder and held him still. It was understandable. He was viewed as an inexperienced brat, and wouldn't be given respect unless proven otherwise. Weirdly enough.... Somewhere inside that dark infested mind, he was happy someone cared about him. It was a nice change of pace. But that thought was swallowed by his inner darkness / despair and just simply stated coldly "Hmm... You passed miss. I was seeing if any of you would willingly let me leave into danger... Proves you at least have nice character... And are likely going to be good to work with" . When they were discussing which to do, he looked at Rose who harbored such ignorance in her words and shook his head disapprovingly. It was like a father scolding his children. However, he looked at Aurellion and nodded his head at her answer. "The batgriff is correct. Stealth is the smarter plan. Amateurs in the ways of combat such as these, including myself, do not have the ability to fight such bandits head on without effective magic. And even then, caution should be heavily considered as we do not know what aces, rare items , or tactics these 'wastes of life' are going to use to accomplish their goals... Whatever they are. At least with stealth and taking them out... We are more likely to succeed" . He knew each of these people had hidden talents that would prove useful later on. He didn't want these pawns to die before he could play them.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Cyan Hide Andrita GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
Rose wasn't really liking this plan much, and just rolled her eyes. "Fine. We will go sneaking in like a bunch of cowards." She proceeded to pull her blunderbuss off of her back and quickly checked to make sure the crystals were charged, before doing the same for her revolver. Not exactly the most stealthy of weapons, but that's why she had a short sword at her hip! The truth was that she didn't really like being stealthy, but she was more than dexterous enough to do it. "My best friend is a raptor. I'll just... do what she does."

That's pretty much all Lucian had to say to them. He wasn't here to coddle them and hold their hooves; he was here for basic guidance and to be some protection if a massive demon tracked their location. But if they wanted to get stronger, he needed to stay out of the way. "That will be all then. Make your way over to the metallurgy plant, get to the roof, then get the Batgriff..." He corrected his term! "To fly you all to the roof of the bandit hideout. No survivors, no matter how much they beg."

They that being said, Lucian gave Applebloom a quick kiss and a hug and told her that he'd be keeping an eye out on them, before sending them away. To the metallurgy plant!

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Applebloom would look over at Rose, confused, "Rose, come on, this would lead us all to having a better chance of survival." She'd point out. She'd nudge Rose's side, before smiling, looking over at Lucian as he finished wrapping up the mission briefing. She'd nod her head, and give the best salute she could, before he suddenly trotted over, kissing her. She'd blush, and hug him back, before nodding at his words, "I will." She'd say, smiling warmly, before heading off with the rest of the group!

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Aurelion rolled her eyes slightly at Rose's reaction. Rushing into danger with no plan, especially when they were all inexperienced, was just a death sentence. They would die before they ever got the chance of completing the mission. It was plain stupidity. "It isn't being a coward. It's called being smart. We don't know what we're up against. Finding out when we're not in immediate danger is better than finding out as it's coming to kill us."

It was a dead argument though. So, since they were all in agreement, she nodded her head at Lucian and headed back out the door to go find those Demon's Claw gang ponies!

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver


Wind Whistler followed along, and feeling a little bad for Rose getting talked down to, trotted alongside her. "Though reconnaissance is the logical first choice, there is also merit to attacking and taking the enemy unawares. I would prefer to survey the situation first, and for that, we need stealth, but a guns blazing approach might be the better choice later, if picking them off one by one is a less tactically sound option." She offered Rose the tiniest of reassuring smiles.

 

[Andrita]

Dreamweaver , GeneralTyrus , Cyan Hide , Dumbledoof

He nodded to his leader Lucien. There was no reason to disrespect his wishes. Besides, he had no reason to save their lives , as these bandits proved without a shadow of a doubt how better off everyone was for them to merely suffer. Nodding to the wisps of fallen equestrians that always surrounded him, he was ready to do battle and become stronger with his powers. However, he seemed to be a bit at an crossroads. He didn't want to ride the batgriff without it's approval, despite knowing he wasn't exactly heavy (he was skinny and light weight). However, part of him, his darkness, just wanted to not care and demand the batgriff to leave. It was driving him insane, but due to his poker face, no one would ever know the inner struggles he had fighting his inner darkness.

As he left along with the group, he heard another state it is likely possible that we can do the beserker tactic later on if it proved to be legitimate choice. He wasn't really planning on doing it at this point, but whatever suit them best I suppose. He was much better at stealth when he wasn't physically capable of doing much on the battlefield.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Cyan Hide Andrita GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
Rose looked over at Wind Whistler with a little smile and nodded her head. "Thank you." She said with a short nod. She wasn't the most warm mare around, but Wind could tell that she was being genuinely thankful. Rose just... didn't like stealth. Stealth is not what she trained for. She trained to go in there and shoot some bandits in the face with her shotgun. But this is what the group wanted, so this is what they would do.

Soon enough they were all on top of the metallurgy plant. The metallurgy plants roof was taller than the Demon's Claw hideout roof was, so flying to it shouldn't really be that hard. However, there were two problems they had to overcome first; in the form of gang members. On either side of the roof there was a gang member patrolling the area, though they looked half drunk and not paying attention at all.

"... My firearms are far too loud for this, and I don't think we can kill one without alerting the other. We need to get down there and try to take out both guards at once, in a split attack." Rose suggested quietly.

If Aurelion was ready, she could try flying each of them down. There was a billboard that was totally pitch black located just above one of the guards; if they could land on it, they could spring onto the guards before they had a chance to do anything. However, Aurelion had to get each of them to the billboard without being spotted...

Aurelion, decide the order in which you are bringing people, and then roll 5 dexterity checks, adding your proficiency bonus to them and rolling with advantage due to it being night time. Stop if you get below a 10.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver GeneralTyrus Cyan Hide Andrita
The order of people going across; Dreamweaver, GeneralTyrus, Cyan Hide, Frankling RIchards, and then me.

With them all on top of the metallurgy plants, Aurelion could see clearly. Being part bat pony came with the benefits of night vision, and in this case, she could see clearly in the darkness. The guards, seeming to be drunk and not even bothering to check their surroundings, would make this pretty easy for her! While she wasn't fully grown, the perks of being part hippogriff would show through in sheer wing strength. Sort of. Being a fourth griffon meant she was fairly reliable when it came to lifting heavy loads with her wings.

Dreamweaver
"Your firearms will probably come into play soon..." Aurelion whispered, glancing at Rose. "If you get spotted... shoot first, think later. Don't want any of us dyin' because we're trying to be sneaky still when it already failed. I'm flying you across first... a nice vantage point for you to shoot from would be good."

With the pitch black billboard, that would be a perfect place to strike from. She stood up and flapped her wings, grabbing Rose's midsection and hoisting the pony into the air. With her wings beating, she easily flew them across, a quiet, barely noticeable blot in the sky, and gently placed Rose down on the other side, with the billboard. She put her talons up to her lips in a gesture to stay quiet, and then went back over to the other side.

GeneralTyrus
Next was Applebloom's turn. "You're next, farm girl." Aurelion said quietly, smiling cheekily. It was never a bad time to make a joke... so long as it wasn't a good one. A good one meant everybody would burst out laughing and their whole stealth plan would be compromised. Unless they're a Rogue.

She lifted up the earth pony and took them back across like she did with Rose. It was a quick flight, and she gently placed them down next to Rose. With another talon to her lips to ward them against talking, she flew back to the other side for the next pony to ferry through the air.

Cyan Hide
Wind Whistler was up on the list now, and Aurelion approached her after touching back down. "So... you know the drill. Stay as calm as possible, no thrashing, keep your hooves inside the ride at all times, and it is guaranteed I won't drop you. As long as we're not spotted and thus shot at!" That wasn't very reassuring.

Whether or not it was reassuring, they had to continue on with the plan anyway. Taking herself up into the air, she grabbed Wind Whistler and pulled them along. "The ride will now be starting." The batgriff whispered, taking them across the span to the black billboard as quickly as she could, depositing them on the other side. Another quick gesture to hush them and then she was heading back to the metallurgy roof for the last contestant.

Andrita
The last one left would be Gothic Apocalypse. Aurelion looked a little wary around them, particular the wisps floating about. "So... I don't know your name... just don't squirm and this will be really simple, okay?" That was the best she could offer. This was a pony she actually wasn't looking forward to adventuring with. They just did not seem like they were a good pony. At all.

She just did the job as quickly as she could, moving them across to the billboard and touching down beside them when that was all done. Now they had to actually do the ambush... quietly.

 

[Andrita]

Dumbledoof , Dreamweaver
Apocalypse could feel the tension with his leader. He just shrugged slightly, having the same poker face as before. Noticing her reaction to the wisps, albeit through facial expressions and attention to detail, he responded with a voice soft and creepy , but no malice within. It was soft enough no one would hear what was said but them. However, his voice changed to dark and demented during the bolded letters suddenly "... Miss, Don't worry about me... Okay ? " . It seemed to temporarily be that the voices of the dark things surrounded him, making his voice then as dark and chiling as meeting the very embodiment of Death itself. It wasn't meant to be intimidating, just show him one of their many uses. He then continued "These wisps are far more useful than you'd believe they are. They represent people who previously were master practitioners of the Necromancy Magic ... And they tell me things the average Necromancer wouldn't begin to comprehend. So they walk the thin line between Life and Death and live on as a 'different existence'. I'm not sure why they have bonded with me... Maybe they see something in me that they don't in themselves ." With that, the wisps softly cackled, not making much noise but filled to the brim with malice. Each of them were previously powerful Necromancers in their past life, and if anyone noticed each of them contained impressive amount of Necromantic Magic from within. He cannot access their powerful magic (yet), but he will learn to do so when he reaches the absolute peak of his power.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof


Wind Whistler didn't answer Rose. She wasn't the warmest pony either. Despite that, it was apparent that behind that cold, 'logical' exterior was an empathetic pony who cared. As they reached the roof's edge, Wind Whistler could see the guards. They weren't paying attention, but they were armed. She gulped. She wasn't in Dream Valley anymore.

Aurelion started to ferry them over one by one. Wind Whistler stepped closer, preparing to fly across herself, but Aurelion, having not seen her wings most likely because of the darkness, picked up Wind Whistler and started carrying her across! That speech he'd given just before picking her up must have been for her. Wind Whistler had ignored it because she thought the batgriff was talking to somepony else. But now this was happening. Wind Whister didn't want to make things awkward mid-flight, so she kept her mouth shut and went with it until they touched down. When she was let go, Wind Whistler sighed quietly and gave her wings an obvious flap.

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof

Applebloom was a little worried about being picked up and flown across a divide. She was never one for flying, and remembered very well the first time she ever really flew. She'd crashed, rather painfully. So, when she was picked to be flown across second, she'd let out a deep sigh, knowing she'd need to pony up.

"Farm girl?" She'd ask, raising a brow as she felt herself being lifted. Her insides tensed painfully, and she'd close her eyes. "Jus' set me down easy like." She'd say, before she'd finally feel her hooves hit the ground again, then she was let go. She'd crouch low, before standing back straight again, feeling her joints pop, before letting out a deep sigh, "Alrigh'..." She'd say, feeling a whole lot better!

 

[Dreamweaver]

Cyan Hide Andrita GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
While Aurelion went back for the others, Rose kept herself low to the ground and checked to make sure her blunderbuss was properly loaded. In the event of them being spot, she would blow the closest bandits head off! Luckily when Applebloom landed beside her, nothing seemed to be going wrong. Rose did reach out to silence Applebloom before she started speaking, though. No talking! Rose also kept close to Applebloom, since she was kind of defensive over the mare.

Somehow, Aurelion got them all across without being spotted. It was an incredible feat of stealth, even with the guards not paying any attention. Aurelion had definitely already made herself useful on the adventure! But they needed to take out these guards before they could progress; both because they were in the way, and also because having enemies behind you wasn't good for an escape plan.

Rose quickly motioned that she was going to attack the nearest target, and drew her short sword. She couldn't possibly teleport to the other side of the roof without being seen, and her guns were far too loud to do this stealthily! Unfortunately she was severely out of her element here. While she had killed with a blade before, she almost always kept her distance.

She needed to invest in a bow for stealth...

Rose leapt right down and landed gracefully beside Bandit 1, and just lashed out with her sword. He wasn't even paying attention, and she was shocked by how clueless he was. His head was removed from his shoulders and went rolling silently away... it was so clean that the other bandit hadn't even noticed this happening.

Rose looked back up at the group, and just shrugged. That was easy!

• Bandit 1 (Close) - Dead
• Bandit 2 (Far)

• 
  AC: 12 (Leather)
  HP: Dead as fuck, yo/10
  
• 
  AC: 12 (Leather)
  HP: 10/10
  

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
When the last of them were across safely, and Wind Whistler gave the subtle reminder of her wings... Aurelion turned bright red on the spot. She was too frozen in embarrassment to even think about making a sound. God, that was... flying a pegasus across a gap was embarrassing. How she hadn't seen their wings at all, she had no idea, but that clear indication was being duly noted from now on. Wind Whistler was a pegasus. Yes.

She needed to get over it soon, though, because they had a plan to act out. Since their queues were coming up, she flew through the air and towards the other guard, soon changing shape into a raptor. With Rose jumping down, Aurelion went with her, but instead jumping straight on top of the guard pony instead of going for lopping their head off. She went straight for a bite to the neck, clawed hands scoring across the back of the neck. Feral instinct was serving to hone her killing abilities a bit here.

Aurelion Sol's AttackAttack: To-hit

• Pounce: Make a DC 15 Dexterity Save or fall prone, granting Aurelion one free Bite attack.
• Multiattack
  • Claw: 18 (12, +6)
  • Bite: 11 (5, +6)

Attack: Damage

• Multiattack
  • Claw: 12 (8, +4) Slashing
  • Bite: 8 (4, +4) Piercing

Bonus Action: Bite (if Pounce succeeded)

• Bite: 5 (1, +4) Piercing

Total: 25 damage

Aurelion Sol's StatsHP: 11
Wildshape HP: 10

AC: 13

Buffs
None

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof

Applebloom was still trying to steady herself when Rose rushed forward, doing some fancy trick to land beside a guard without making a single sound. Saying she was amazed would be an understatement. Then, when Rose took care of the Guard, she'd feel slightly sick, and looked away, just in time to hear Aurelion take down the other. She felt pretty rough when she looked over, to see that the... Raptor had taken a bite out of the guard. She'd shuffle off to the side quickly.

After inhaling deeply, she'd give a shaky smile, and look around, "Alright... What's next?" She'd ask, looking at Rose and Aurelion, who seemed to be leading thus far.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof

Before either guard had a chance to cry out, one was headless, and the other was Dinosaur lunch. This group was incredibly efficient and Wind Whistler was less worried about them raising any alarms if their future altercations were this coordinated. What she was worried about was if she could kill. There was a hollow feeling in her stomach, and she felt dizzy. Her face was burning up. She had just seen two lives end. It was...horrifying. And in a short while she may be called upon to take a life herself. Could she do it? Was she capable? She still didn't know. This feeling was growing even more doubt in her. Looking visibly uneasy, upset and pale, the pegasus followed behind the group silently.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Cyan Hide Andrita GeneralTyrus Dumbledoof
Without much effort at all, Aurelion had torn the throat out of that gangster with just a swipe of his claws. He was caught by surprise and her claws dug deeply through his left carotid artery and partially into his windpipe. He died quickly from a loss of blood and collapsed... right onto Aurelion. He fell somewhat to the side but she could see the fear in his eyes and felt his blood squirting onto her face and neck. The last thing he saw was her eyes before the life left his.

Okay so that just happened. Rose took a look around at the group and frowned a little. Aurelion seemed to be handling it okay, and Applebloom looked to have at least composed herself enough to talk, but Wind Whistler wasn't looking good at all. Being the most experienced killer here, Rose figured she should try and comfort the pegasus. Rose came up to Wind and laid a gentle hoof on her shoulder, smiling. "Wind, you ain't lookin' so good. It'll be okay. Just..." Rose looked over at Wind Whistler's bow. "... Just do what I do. Don't see them as a pony, see them as a target. You can detach yourself that way."


With that being said, the only way forward was down the stairs. As the group descended downwards, they would find that the warehouse itself wasn't actually two stories, but was rather one very large building with no second floor. Their stairs led onto a walkway that was about 15 feet off the ground, and on the ground below them were roughly 3 gang members. One of them was dressed in robes, and the other 2 looked to be bodyguards of some sort. They were definitely not like the other ones they had dispatched a few moments ago; they looked much tougher.

It didn't look like the griffons had even arrived yet. Further along was a ladder down to the floor. Luckily in the darkness it was hard for them to be seen.

The walkway was about 10 feet wide and went fully around the building. On the walkway were 4 guards, each on a different side of the building, overlooking the floor. If they made a coordinated assault they could kill the guards, but it would take quiet a bit of luck. If they failed to kill these 4 guards at the same time, that would alert the ones below to their presence but at the very least it would take them a few seconds to actually get up here.

Or they could wait for the griffons to arrive, and cause a distraction before attacking.

At this point Rose quietly whispered, "I have dynamite. Wait or attack?"

Everyone make a dexterity check, adding your proficiency bonus and rolling with advantage.

Rose Stealth Roll: 23

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver Dumbledoof Cyan Hide

Applebloom would follow Rose down the stairs, looking nervous, before stopping, looking around. She'd spot the guards, and would look at everyone, before sighing quietly, "Ah'm, thinkin we wait. Ain't no point to jus' run an' gun." She'd whisper; though she was really just trying to avoid having to kill somepony. She'd crouch, and stick to the distance, getting into a decent position in case things went south quickly.

Dex Check: 24 (1d20 + 5)

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver
Aurelion was indeed handling the killing of another pony better than the others. She already knew what she was getting into before the rest of them... Aurelia was able to give her some insight on it before. At some point of another, she would end up killing another pony, as that was pretty much inevitable. She wasn't quite as emotionally affected by it as the others. In fact, the bat pony inside of her seemed to delight in the blood was spurted into her mouth. It tasted sweet to her, but also... a little yucky, because alcohol in their blood.

She flinched back from the blood hitting her face, blinking and wiping it away, dropping the corpse and staring it down for a few seconds, face unmoving. This was something that had to be done. They were Demon's Claw... as Lucian had put it, they were all bad ponies, and needed to be put down. If she wasn't the one that did it, they would only continue to go and hurt others. That helped her mind deal with it, and thus, she was okay. Much better than Applebloom and Wind Whistler.

She turned to Applebloom, patting their shoulder gently. "Just... think of it like this—if we don't stop them, they'll hurt other ponies. And griffons, too. They've gotta go." She murmured.

Soon they were moving on and further into the metallurgy plant. Down the stairs and they were at the warehouse. The griffons coming, four of them, made her think. If they all attacked at once, they could take them out... but Wind Whistler and Applebloom didn't seem like they would hold up too well for that. Or, even if they did attack and failed to kill them all, that could make things... difficult. It didn't seem like a good scenario either way.

With the knowledge of dynamite, however, maybe it would be better to just attack. "Let's hit them before they have time to react." Aurelion murmured. "They all have to die. We can't let any Demon's Claw escape."

Dexterity Check: 21 (19, +2)

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver


"Thank you, Rose, but I'm afraid no amount of facts or logic can help me. It's an emotional problem. I just have to, if I need to kill, just get it over with and try not to have a breakdown." The pegasus sighed, giving a strained smile and following the group down the staircase to the interior of the warehouse.


Wind Whistler pondered Rose's question, and the responses of the group. "If we wait, we increase our risk of getting spotted every second that passes, especially if they have some sort of position changeover, or guard rota. I say we take them out now, very quietly, and secure the walkway. No dynamite. At least not until we know where the Griffins are. If their captives hear an explosion before we have a chance to actually save them, we'll blow this whole mission."


Dex Check: 20 (15 +5)