Magnus the Pious's reign is over, and the Colleges of Magic face a battle against the weight of history, no longer buttressed by the Emperor's staunch support. You have the dubious honour to be the first Journeyman to leave the Colleges after Magnus's death: significant enough to draw attention, but not enough that the Colleges can spend precious political capital on you if you fail.
Good luck, and remember: The Order of the Silver Hammer can neither confirm nor deny that Witch Hunters can smell fear.
It has been two thousand, three hundred and sixty-nine years since the founding of Sigmar's holy Empire. Sixty-five years ago, Magnus von Bildhofen, called the Pious by Sigmarite and Ulrican alike, brought an end to the shameful infighting of the Age of the Three Emperors. He forged a coalition despite the feuds within the Empire and the Grudges beyond it which brought low Asavar Kul and reminded his fell masters that they were no match for the steel, courage, and faith of the righteous. His deeds are countless, and his reputation stainless.
In a very real way, he saved your life. For you have spent the formative years of your life as an Apprentice of the Colleges of Magic, created as part of Magnus's alliance with the elves and in flagrant defiance of past Imperial perceptions about magic. Those born with your gift before Magnus's time would count themselves fortunate to merely be smothered in their sleep, instead of being left to the creative cruelties of a mob of fanatics desperate to cleanse the world of corruption, real and imagined.
The first Magisters of the Colleges, some few you call teachers and some fewer you consider friends, had Magnus's unshakeable faith and fame protecting them from anyone who might otherwise prove light in tolerance but heavy in timber and turpentine. But as you prepare to leave the Colleges, your Master having deemed you a suitably competent...
[ ] Journeyman
[ ] Journeywoman
...who can be trusted not to deal any grievous wounds to either the fabric of reality or the Colleges' reputation, a shadow hangs heavy over your head. News travels quickly between Nuln and Altdorf, and bad news travels all the faster. Overnight, the world has been changed by what you all knew to be inevitable, even as you felt it to be impossible.
Magnus the Pious, Unifier of the Empire, Breaker of Chaos, Saviour of Kislev, and general Doer of the Impossible, is dead.
With him dies the greatest ally the Colleges of Magic may ever know. The fate of the Colleges, the fate of the Empire, is in the hands of the Electors for the first time in more than a thousand years, and rumours buzz through the Colleges like mosquitoes. To hear them tell it, every Apprentice is party to the deepest thoughts of at least one Elector Count, the Council of States meets in every cheap inn along the Reik, and all matters of state are decided by a vast conspiracy of sewer jacks. It's hard to say if anyone believes them, but there's more comfort to be found in arguing over a thousand implausible stories than in the awkward silence born of acknowledging that no one really knows what's going to happen to them.
Your last circuit of the College's halls seems to stretch on forever. The places you have spent most of your life take on a different look when you know you are leaving them. As you walk past friends from your long apprenticeship, you are met with congratulatory cheers and nervous well-wishes in equal measure, before they hurry off to their next class or task lest they disappoint their Masters. Your own Master has already departed the College on undisclosed business, having given you one last appraising stare and an old travel case last night, along with an insistence that you write once you've settled on where, exactly, you'll be spending the most of your Journey.
At last, you reach the front doors of the College, and step out into the bustling streets of Altdorf. The dense crowds move as one to avoid passing close to you; as your Master once put it, the people of Altdorf will only clear the roads for Wizards and Elector Counts, and the latter can't be sure of it unless they bring their Greatswords. The only people who dare approach the College's threshold wear the same robes and symbols that you do, all marking them as members of...
[ ] The Celestial College, students of the wisdom of Azyr, Wind of the Heavens.
[ ] The Bright College, students of the passion of Aqshy, Wind of Fire.
[ ] The Gold College, students of the logic of Chamon, Wind of Metal.
[ ] The Amber College, students of the ferocity of Ghur, Wind of Beasts.
[ ] The Jade College, students of the fertility of Ghyran, Wind of Life.
[ ] The Light College, students of the majesty of Hysh, Wind of Light.
[ ] The Amethyst College, students of the solemnity of Shyish, Wind of Death.
[ ] The Grey College, students of the secrets of Ulgu, Wind of Shadows.
You take a deep breath, and set off into the crowds. One hand tightly grips the handle of your Master's gift, and with it all your worldly possessions, while the other firmly but carefully holds the letter of introduction your Master had offered you. A dense scroll which bears the usual marks of her... distinct handwriting, the bulk of the message is rolled up within it, but as you look down on the outer layer, you can carefully make out the phrase
a most suitable student of mine, ... [ ] Name: Write-In
You read it a second time, just in case your Master's quill had concealed an "ly" in the "t", but in the end you have to take the compliment for what it is. A smile breaks out on your face, followed shortly by a bark of laughter.
The lively throngs of Altdorf step away from you in a single, smooth motion that would be the envy of any troupe of dancers.
Well then. Time to see the Empire.
Hello all; I've been thinking about doing something with WHF's magic system for a while, and I think the quest format is probably the best approach for it. I'm largely a lurker in these parts, but I resolved to actually write things again and settled on plucking this from good old ideas.txt. (That I just finished re-binging Divided Loyalties may or may not be a factor.)
The next few updates will be split between deciding where you're going and your background; I'm going to aim to update a couple times a week, schedule and brain willing.
This might have been clarified before but is this a plan vote or is each category separate?
Mostly wondering because well if each is going to have different results it can end up with some rather odd combinations.
Not going to change the category of my first vote either way but if plans do end up a thing I'm definitly going to modify the rest if it comes down to it.
My current plan for this vote is to close the vote when I get up tomorrow morning (~10 hours from now, about 1:30 UTC), and follow it up with a runoff vote among the top three Winds, and the name write-ins of the winning gender vote. That will run until the evening, at which point the second part of the intro will go up. The intent is to make things a little more flexible than what I understand in plan votes, since there's some major decisions in play.
Vote Tally : First Impressions [Warhammer Fantasy Wizard Quest] | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 2-53] ##### NetTally 3.1.3
[23] Journeyman
[9] Journeywoman
[12] The Light College, students of the majesty of Hysh, Wind of Light.
[8] The Celestial College, students of the wisdom of Azyr, Wind of the Heavens.
[7] The Amber College, students of the ferocity of Ghur, Wind of Beasts.
[4] The Jade College, students of the fertility of Ghyran, Wind of Life.
[3] The Amethyst College, students of the solemnity of Shyish, Wind of Death.
[3] The Bright College, students of the passion of Aqshy, Wind of Fire.
[3] The Gold College, students of the logic of Chamon, Wind of Metal.
[1] The Grey College, students of the secrets of Ulgu, Wind of Shadows.
[2] Anton (formerly Anton Von Leibetwitz)
[2] Elizabetta von Kurnow
[1] Alexandria
[1] Dafyd Ossan
[1] Dieter Hertzfeld
[1] Jon Irenicus
[1] Rochelle Musäus
[1] Siegfried Magnusson
[1] Wencit of Thann
Okay, it looks like you will be a Journeyman of either the Light, Celestial, or Amber Order, with the Lights currently leading. If you voted for another College, and would prefer Azyr or Ghur to Hysh, then this is the time to recast your votes. (If you've already voted for one of those three, there's no need to recast.)
We've had five write-ins for the name vote, so pick one of:
[ ] Dafyd Ossan
[ ] Dieter Hertzfeld
[ ] Jon Irenicus
[ ] Siegfried Magnusson
[ ] Wencit of Thann
Vote Tally : First Impressions [Warhammer Fantasy Wizard Quest] | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 2-76] ##### NetTally 3.1.3
[16] The Celestial College, students of the wisdom of Azyr, Wind of the Heavens.
[14] The Light College, students of the majesty of Hysh, Wind of Light.
[11] The Amber College, students of the ferocity of Ghur, Wind of Beasts.
[7] Siegfried Magnusson
[4] Jon Irenicus
[3] Dieter Hertzfeld
[2] Anton (formerly Anton Von Leibetwitz)
[2] Dafyd Ossan
[1] Wencit of Thann
Total No. of Voters: 54
You are Siegfried Magnusson, Journeyman Astromancer of the Celestial Order, and before you stands the beating heart of Altdorf. To your left, the heights of the former Imperial Palace can be seen above the lesser buildings all around you. To your right, pilgrims and priests flock around the Great Cathedral of Sigmar, where the Emperor's body will lie in state upon his arrival from Nuln. The people of Altdorf, from gaunt street urchins to gaudily-dressed burghers, flit in every direction.
That is, every direction but one: for behind you stands the halls of the Celestial College, and the will of Azyr stands like an island in the river of fate. Those without the touch of the Winds flow around it, all but the most strong-willed unaware that anything was ever in their path. Even now, as you turn back to look up at the Colleges one last time, you feel the tug of the Blue Wind reminding you that you cannot yet cross its threshold.
When you arrived, the College was little more than a few humble halls, but throughout your apprenticeship the greatest Magisters of the College seem to have made a sport of architecture. Observatories and grand towers stretch up from every corner of the grounds, each simultaneously a monument to the prestige of their occupants and a tool which brings them closer to the highest parts of the world where Azyr blows strongest.
It also had no small effect on the health of your fellow Apprentices. You'd be surprised if any soul in the Empire could keep pace with a student of Azyr on a staircase.
You note that your own Master's tower seems to have more scaffolding atop it than it did yesterday. With a wince of sympathy for your juniors, you resolve not to call on her until you have learned Wings of Heaven.
You wave a last farewell to the College, and turn back towards Altdorf's streets, pushing aside the faint whisper of Azyr that politely insists you were looking at them all along. You straighten your back, look up at the sky, and join the crowd. The Emperor's death seems to have brought a flurry of life to Altdorf; between the Emperor's funeral and the meeting of the Electors, no one in the city wishes to be at anything but their best. A thousand small memorials to the man who saved the Empire have been erected on every street corner, draped in enough garlands of flowers to banish the ever-present stench of the Reik.
As you approach your planned lodgings, however, no flowers could spare you. For the moment, you will be living in a small room atop one of Reiksport's less successful fisheries, one apparently desperate enough to let out rooms to Wizards without a surcharge. As you descend towards the river, the air becomes a battleground between the Reik and its bounty, and you already yearn for the immaculate corridors of the College.
Stairs or no stairs.
As you turn the corner to your destination, you are met by the bull-headed glare of an enormous woman holding an even larger fish. "You the wizard?" she grumbles in an accent you can't quite place.
You introduce yourself: [ ] HELLO: Politely. "Siegfried Magnusson, at your service." A little politeness goes a long way towards getting along with people. (Gain Trait: Sophisticated. You're naturally polite when dealing with strangers.)
[ ] HELLO: In kind. "You the fishwife?" There's no point in putting on airs, unless someone else does it first. You'll always be a wizard, but you don't need to be a stuffy wizard. (Gain Trait: Casual. You're not one to stand on ceremony.)
[ ] HELLO: Maximum Overwizard. "Yes," followed by answers to her next questions as she asks them. You haven't spent years in the Celestial College not to have a little fun with it, and in Altdorf you can at least assume you won't be burned for it. (Gain Trait: Wizardly Demeanor. You act like a wizard, with all that implies.)
[ ] HELLO: Write-in. (Trait subject to QM approval.)
* * *
After a while, your erstwhile landlady tosses you a single dented key and points at a rickety ladder leaning against one side of the storefront. After one slightly embarrassing experiment, you manage to climb to the top, case in hand, without unduly unbalancing it, and pull yourself onto a narrow balcony overlooking the Reik. A heavy, wooden door with a rust-speckled lock sits on the far end. The key fits in with deceptive ease and the door swings open to reveal a small, but comfortable, room complete with a bed, a desk, a chair... and two notes from your Master, one explaining how to properly fasten the ladder at the top, and another how to wash the smell of fish entrails out of Collegiate robes.
Filing that away for things to do tomorrow, you change into your spare pair of robes and sit down at the desk. You're a Journeyman, now... time to Journey.
[ ] PLAN: Remain in Altdorf for the immediate future. (0 No Modifier)
The Elector Counts will be arriving shortly to choose the next Emperor from their number. Of course, every Wizard ambitious enough to ask will be clamoring for their patronage, and it would take spectacular effort to even rise far enough from the crowd for them to turn down you, specifically. But the Electors won't be the only patrons to be found: the eyes of the Empire and the world will be focused on Altdorf and the Volkshalle, and a Celestial Wizard makes for a very valuable eye indeed. Your preparations for your Journeying should make finding accommodation in the city for several weeks a simple affair. Besides, you would have a chance to pay final respects to the man who let you become who you are.
[ ] PLAN: Remain in Altdorf for an extended period. (-1 Expenses)
Even before the Colleges were established, Altdorf was the centre of knowledge in the Empire. The University of Altdorf has few peers in the Old World, and maintains close ties with your College due to the academic bent of many a Celestial Wizard. The Imperial Engineering School has taken the artifice of the dwarves and wed it to the ingenuity of mankind, and has no rivals outside the homes of the Mountain Folk (whatever the Tileans may say). That said, living in Altdorf outside the auspices of the Colleges is expensive, so some effort to make ends meet may be required.
[ ] PLAN: Look for opportunities elsewhere in Reikland. (0 No Modifier)
The Reik is one of the Empire's most vital trade routes, and the Reikland has grown strong along its banks. You have more than enough saved up to travel the Reik and search out a place to begin making a name for yourself, and the people of Reikland are... easing their way towards being grudgingly tolerant of Wizards due to the relative proximity of the Colleges.
[ ] PLAN: Try and find opportunities elsewhere in the Empire. (-1 Distance, -1 Distrust of Magic)
Few are widely advertising their need for magic users in the Empire, especially with political uncertainty on the horizon. Between the insights of Azyr, what support your College may offer, and the the constant flow of goods and people through Altdorf, you should be able to find someone in need of your abilities.
[ ] PLAN: Search for opportunities outside the Empire. (-3 Distance)
The College has few firm ties outside the Empire beyond the few among the Elves who helped found it, and the Asur have little need for human magic. While it's possible that Azyr or chance may help you blaze a path beyond the Empire, it's difficult to find opportunities with your current contacts.
* * *
As your plan finally takes shape, Azyr helping chart a clear path through the myriad potential failures and successes, your mind turns to a more esoteric topic. Wizards and priests often have a turbulent relationship, but not even Teclis himself would deny the power of the gods outright. The College takes no official stance on religion, and you have met Apprentices and even some Magisters who adhere to most of the Empire's cults, with varying degrees of devotion. Your Master has long had an interest in divine omens and their relationship to the Astromancer's art, so the temples of Altdorf are all somewhat familiar to you; as a last stop before you begin your Journey in truth, you pay a final visit to...
[ ] GODS: The Great Temple of Sigmar.
In the minds of most people of the Empire, the phrase "a Sigmarite Wizard" is a contradiction, or perhaps the start of a bawdy joke. More fool they, for was it not Sigmar's heir, the Pious Emperor whose name you bear, who proclaimed magic was a powerful tool when wielded wisely for a righteous cause?
[ ] GODS: The Temple of Morr.
The Cult of Morr may keep its closest ties to the Amethyst Order, but many forget the God of Death is also the God of Dreams. Omens and portents are as much his domain as the grave, and you are tied to them more closely than most.
[ ] GODS: The Temple of Verena.
There are no official ties between the priesthood of Verena and the Celestial Order, but as two organisations dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge individual Celestial Wizards or priests of Verena have been known to cooperate.
[ ] GODS: The Temple of Manann.
The Celestial College may chiefly concern itself with divination, but Azyr is also the Wind of the stars, by which ships find their way, and of storms and lightning, by which they find their ruin. The God of the Sea shares a goal with your College: guiding the righteous of the Empire to a safe journey.
[ ] GODS: A stray cat that you spot out of the corner of your eye, who leads you to a small shrine in a back alley.
The idea of an Astromancer, master of the Blue Wind of fate and destiny, worshipping a god of luck and chance seems ridiculous on its face; but what is luck, beyond the means by which fate achieves its ends? What is destiny, if not a tapestry woven from threads of chance?
[ ] GODS: A tour of the temple gates of Altdorf, making appropriate brief signs of respect as you pass.
The Gods are but beings of the Aethyr, powerful and crucial allies against the forces of Chaos, but not objects of personal devotion.
[ ] GODS: Write-in another acceptable (non-proscribed) God, and why.
* * *
Informational post on dice mechanics and modifiers to come after this post.
This quest will be using a system of my own design, WHFRP being a bit crunchy to handle in a quest format.
An unmodified roll is 3d10, divided into bands for critical failure (3), regular failure (4-6), setbacks (7-12), regular success (13-20), "efficient" success (21-26), "enhanced" success (27-29), and critical success (30). Most of these categories are self-explanatory, but for the other three:
If you roll multiple setbacks attempting a task multiple times, the threshold for success gets lower: you can only roll a 12 for a setback once, for instance, and after six setbacks a success is guaranteed on a 7 or higher as long as you don't fail. (Story-wise, this represents finding solutions for each problem you encounter until you solve the problem even if it takes longer.)
An efficient success saves time, resources, or effort depending on the task at hand, but doesn't give you any "more" than a regular success otherwise. If a carpenter rolls an efficient success on making a table, they'll have some wood to spare for the next one.
Enhanced successes give better-than-expected results. If the carpenter rolls an enhanced success on making a table, they might make a larger table, or a better-decorated one, or find a way to spin that spare wood from the efficient success into a matching chair.
Modifiers are conditions which make tasks harder or easier: staying longer in Altdorf, for instance, means Siegfried will need to find a more direct source of income while he tries to make his case to the city's institutions that he's worth bringing on, which is harder than staying in the city for a short time and then finding cheaper lodging outside it. Each -1 modifier adds one more die, and drops the highest result.
Conversely, positive modifiers add an extra die and drop the lowest result. The result is made based on the net modifier if both are present; e.g., a -1 modifier and a +1 modifier result in an unmodified roll.
Traits are largely character-based, but having one can provide a positive or negative modifier when dealing with certain people in certain ways.
(And yes, Siegfried's very first roll in the quest was a failure. Thankfully, it was just a "find where he's living" roll, but...)
Vote Tally : First Impressions [Warhammer Fantasy Wizard Quest] | Page 4 | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 79-117] ##### NetTally 3.1.3
[20] HELLO: Politely. "Siegfried Magnusson, at your service." A little politeness goes a long way towards getting along with people. (Gain Trait: Sophisticated. You're naturally polite when dealing with strangers.)
[9] HELLO: Maximum Overwizard. "Yes," followed by answers to her next questions as she asks them. You haven't spent years in the Celestial College not to have a little fun with it, and in Altdorf you can at least assume you won't be burned for it. (Gain Trait: Wizardly Demeanor. You act like a wizard, with all that implies.)
[3] HELLO: In kind. "You the fishwife?" There's no point in putting on airs, unless someone else does it first. You'll always be a wizard, but you don't need to be a stuffy wizard. (Gain Trait: Casual. You're not one to stand on ceremony.)
[25] PLAN: Remain in Altdorf for the immediate future. (0 No Modifier)
[5] PLAN: Try and find opportunities elsewhere in the Empire. (-1 Distance, -1 Distrust of Magic)
[2] PLAN: Look for opportunities elsewhere in Reikland. (0 No Modifier)
[1] PLAN: Remain in Altdorf for an extended period. (-1 Expenses)
[27] GODS: The Temple of Verena.
[10] GODS: The Great Temple of Sigmar.
[6] GODS: The Temple of Manann.
[5] GODS: The Temple of Morr.
[2] GODS: A tour of the temple gates of Altdorf, making appropriate brief signs of respect as you pass.
Total No. of Voters: 34
"Siegfried Magnusson, at your service." You slightly tip your battered woolen hat slightly, as befits a guest imposing on a host.
The woman snorts. "You can call me Little." Without looking away from you, she swings her fish onto a surprisingly clean granite counter. In the same motion, she draws a knife with her other hand and slices it cleanly down the middle. "Don't have much need of service; pay the rent, no fires or magicking my customers."
You nod. "I assure you, I have no desire to breach either the Articles of Magic or the base tenets of hospitality."
She looks you up and down, grunts once, and turns down to her fish. "Any magic shit spoils my stocks, and you pay for the lot."
"Of course." You smile, pass her the first rent payment, and turn to leave.
"Oi, wizard." You crane your neck to look back at Little; she's pointedly not looking up from her fish. "If you need some eats, my boys're due back an hour before nightfall and we'll eat what we can't sell. Take it or leave it."
Before she can say anything more, a man steps into the store, and Little waves you towards the exit while standing up, donning a shark-like smile, and steering the man over to an icebox filled with several large slabs of meat.
* * *
Sure enough, that evening, a stout young man with familiar features knocks several times on your window. When he sees you look up at him, he smiles and shouts "Oi wizard! Catch's in!" before jumping off the balcony to the ground below.
You elect to take the ladder, after double-checking that your master's suggested modifications were all in place.
Little gruffly invites you into the back of the fishery, where she and three men sit around a table; she introduces them as her sons.
The first, who introduces himself as Arlan, is an absolute mountain of a man with a well-groomed beard and steely eyes. An iron pendant bearing the symbol of Manaan hangs heavy around his neck, and he opens the meal with a passionate prayer of thanks to the God of the Seas. The prayer quickly becomes a sermon, and nearly devolves into a fiery denunciation of Stromfels before his mother glares at him and he sheepishly retakes his seat, spending the rest of the meal in stern silence.
The second son, Manfred, seems to be the odd one out; lighter of hair, slighter of build, and completely without the gruff affect of his brothers. It does not take the insights of Azyr to guess that he takes more after his late father. He is the source of the staggering majority of conversation around the table, as he badgers you with questions about life in the Colleges and the nature of magic. It's rare that you even finish an answer before he's followed up with two more questions. Apparently, he's saving his share of their profits to study history at the University of Altdorf, and your Order offers him a new topic of fascination. In return, he shares what he knows of his own family's history; his grandfathers were both members of a tribe of Norscans who kept to Ulric, and were settled into the Empire after they joined the Emperor for his march on Kislev.
Franz, who fetched you from your loft for the meal, has very little to say. His attention seems single-mindedly dedicated to picking every piece of meat from his plate, then enviously staring at his brothers' servings once his own is gone. Eventually, at a slight nod from Little, he stands from his seat, tucks a fish under his arm, and heads out into the streets of the city.
The meal itself is better than you expected; no match for the best of what the College's cooks could offer, but better than what apprentices could usually expect to afford. After the meal's end, Little bids you good night, with a mumbled apology for Manfred's enthusiasm, and you climb back to your loft to retire for the evening.
Accommodations in Altdorf secured: Little's Fishery, run by a family of Norscan refugees, is willing to put you up for a few weeks at an affordable price.
* * *
The Temple of Verena is the oldest institution of learning in Altdorf, predating the University and the Great Library which rose up on its sides. While neither of the latter are formally controlled by the Cult of Verena, the three are connected both physically and spiritually; a strong plurality of the University's professors are Verenans, and only a scarce few of the Library's staff aren't. Students pass through the Temple simply because it is the shortest route between the University and the Library, which in turn makes it their natural gathering place.
The Temple itself is little more than a small, open space filled with an irregular assortment of benches, tables, and stacks of tomes, moved around as needed by the small gatherings of scholars which fill the hall. True worship of Verena is nothing like the unilateral sermons of the Sigmarites; priests should not seek only to teach, but to learn. To blindly recite dogma before a crowd is shameful in Her eyes. Instead, priests of Verena are expected to engage with each other and lay members of her Cult, discussing both the intricacies of Verena's teachings and all manner of worldly scholarship.
As you pass beneath the grand sword and scales atop the Temple's gates, it seems as alive as ever. You walk to one side of the Temple floor, to small enclaves designed for individual study and contemplation, and sit. You thank Verena, as you always have, for the Justice which has allowed you to join the Colleges instead of a pyre; and you ask her for the Wisdom you know you will need for your Journey. Finally, and above all, you hope her Law will shield your fellow Wizards during the times of change in the Empire. Even with your physical eyes closed, you can see the pulse of Azyr through the Temple, drawn by the inspiration and curiosity of the assembled scholars.
As you finish your prayers and turn to leave, you find your attention drawn to... [ ] An elderly Priest of Verena, wandering the room with a watchful eye.
[ ] A mixture of acolytes of Shallya and apprentices of the Jade College, engaged in debate.
[ ] A group of students from the University, poring over books of law.
[ ] A group of students from the Engineering School, and what appears to be a model of a siege engine.
[ ] A woman wearing the heraldry of the Knights of the Everlasting Light, standing guard before a hardwood door.
[X] An elderly Priest of Verena, wandering the room with a watchful eye.
The priest has been circling the room since you first arrived, drifting from group to group like a cloud on the wind. He is an old man, slightly hunched over, and walks with a gnarled cane of bronze, topped by the scales of Verena. A golden pendant of an owl hangs low from his neck.
As you draw closer, you see that what you had once thought a simple wary gaze looks to be much more in your mind's eye. Somewhere behind the priest's gaze is a bright spark of Divinity, a Mark of having delved deep into Verena's mysteries and emerged touched by Her will. As he sees you staring, his expression softens slightly, but you still cannot help but feel watched, not by the hungry eyes of a predator or the envious leer of a scoundrel, but the calm, judicious gaze of someone who has sought the heights of Justice.
"Ah, a young wizard," the priest begins, his timbre deep and imposing in spite of his aged, bent frame. "It gladdens me to see your fellows pass through this Temple; truly, Verena's hand guided the Emperor when he gave his Empire the gift of such Knowledge, and those learned enough to apply it to Just ends. On behalf of the Temple of Verena, I bid you welcome." He takes a slight bow, and you return the gesture, careful to go slightly lower.
"I am not so learned yet, I fear; I left the Colleges for my Journeying but one day ago. I came simply to ask Verena's protection, for myself and for my College in these times."
"Good, good," the priest mumbles. "There are still too many of your kind who lean too close to Elven arrogance, dismissing the gods as mere magical curiosities. While I admit, the arguments of the Loremasters are perhaps not wrong," he grumbles, and you recognise the familiar tone of a Verenan whose mind has been convinced of something while their heart holds out, "the power of the gods in this world draws on more than their image in the Aethyr."
"Ah, my master was a student of divine miracles and omens, and-"
The priest shakes his head. "No, no, nothing so petty as that. Tell me, young wizard; when one of Sigmar's templars calls down His Comet into battle, there is magic to be sure, but is it magic which fills the hearts of his fellows with courage? When a Shallyan priestess approaches the diseased, is it the touch of the Goddess that wrings relief from their families?" He gestures around the room, at the clusters of scholars, students, and even a few wizards who fill the Temple of Verena. "What miracle of Verena do I cast which draws you, and all these others, to this place at this time, to receive Her gift of thought and learning?"
"Well, if I desired the debate," you start, and the priest chuckles, "I would note that Sigmar's followers in battle would naturally draw the passion of Aqshy, and likewise Shallya's priestess is a new life, bearing Ghyran, which battles Shyish for the sickly. And the air here thrums with Hysh and Azyr, though I feel the latter more strongly." You shrug. "As it happens, though, I agree; the Winds of Magic are no more what makes the Gods than stone is what makes a temple. Verena teaches that we learn; to learn of another reflection of Verena makes her greater, not less." The priest nods, and you smile. "I cannot speak for all my fellow Wizards, of course; but I suspect neither can you speak for every priest, Verenan or otherwise."
"There are few in the Cult, least of all here, who object to new avenues of knowledge being welcomed in the Empire, or to the hand of Justice reaching out to those who would otherwise be damned by chance." There's fire in the priest's words now, a conviction born from a life of service to an impossible ideal. "Though I cannot say the other Cults have done much to endear themselves to your fellows. I dare say Verena would knock down the gates of Sigmar's realm if some of his priests ever made deeds of their words."
At this time, a younger acolyte of the temple approaches the priest, and whispers something to him that you could overhear, if you pried it from Azyr, but you elect to remain politely ignorant. After all, Knowledge must always be tempered with Wisdom, even in the house of Verena. The priest draws a small book from within his robes, and scowls as he looks it over.
The old priest shakes his head, sliding the book back into his robe. "Alas, that the Temple's preparations ask so much of my time. It seems we shall have to continue this another time. Perhaps once the Emperor's procession has arrived?" He reaches back into his sleeves and draws out a small disc, which he presses into your palm. "Present this token to any priest of this Temple, and they will see you to me." He smiles. "It does my old bones good to warm by the fires of youth, every now and again." With a twinkle in his eye, he chuckles. "Or perhaps, in this case, the lightning?"
You look at the disc. It is a smooth disc of granite, inlaid with a beautiful carving of an owl. Its talons grasp the Scales of Verena as it descends towards a burning mountain pass, where impossibly small carvings of men and dwarves prepare to battle. The craftsmanship alone marks it as not the work of human hands, something quickly confirmed by the maker's mark cut into the reverse side: a wholly mundane, but unmistakably Khazalid rune.
You look back up at the priest, and he smiles. "Speak truth, young wizard."
"Be truth, good priest." The traditional parting words of the Cult of Verena fall naturally from your mouth, and the priest walks back into the temple, towards two growing flocks of arguing students.
The Cult of Verena has no formal mortal head in the manner of most of the Empire's cults. To worship in Verena's halls is to accept that Verena alone can balance Knowledge with Wisdom and Law with Justice in such harmony as to lead the Cult down Her path. Individual temples choose High Priests from their number on the grounds of their ability and adherence to Verena's virtues. For one temple to directly interfere in the affairs of another would be taken as a grave insult: to claim that one High Priest holds true dominion over another would be to name the latter temple fools incapable of comprehending Verena's tenets themselves.
Of course, this does not preclude some level of informal hierarchy among temples. Many Tilean priests look to the High Priests of Luccini for inspiration, though they are as likely to denounce their proclamations as to support them (either, well-argued, would bring glory to Verena). In Estalia, the temples in Bibali and Magritta feud as openly as Her tenets allow, filling debate halls and taverns alike with eloquent but bitter debate.
And in the Empire, more sensible men look to one city as the capital of learning and law. A city with a grand scholastic tradition, and a small Temple of Verena bridging two institutional titans of education. While no Priest of Verena from outside the Altdorf Temple would name him as the leader of the Cult, few would deny that the High Priest of Altdorf is a leader, and a credit to the Cult within the Empire.
From the token in your hand, you have just impressed him.
Contact gained: High Priest Detlev the Reckoner, de jure head of the Altdorf Cult of Verena and arguable de facto leader of the Verenans in the Empire writ large.
* * *
So yeah, that happened. All of the options for the last vote were essentially 'networking' votes, with a 1d100 rolled to see how important the people you're talking to would be with their respective organisations. Detlev was a 100.
For generating major NPCs, I have some tables and some rolls made up behind the scenes. Of particular note, "How did he become a contender for High Priest?" was a critical success on a +2 skill roll (30 on the highest three of 5d10). Azyr has found the dice already.
Post for a full Altdorf "turn" vote will be up tonight, covering the days before Magnus's body arrives.
Name: Siegfried Magnusson Titles: Journeyman Wizard of the Celestial College Age: 29
A freshly-released Journeyman of the Celestial College, you have the dubious honour of being the first Apprentice to leave the Colleges since the death of their sponsor, Emperor Magnus the Pious (the father of Imperial magic, and thus your namesake). You are primarily an adherent of Verena, Goddess of Knowledge and Justice. Currently, you're living in Altdorf as you await the arrival of the Electors, hoping to find employment to fund your Journeying.
As a newly-released Journeyman, you're not much more powerful magically than a typical Apprentice, and thus have a base modifier of 0 on spellcasting. Your ability to cast most spells hinges on your ability to channel the Winds accurately, and access to ingredients and foci to ease the process, and will receive an additional -1 modifier when casting without these preparations. More complicated spells also impose a modifier, and they are sorted according to them below:
No Modifier: The simplest of spells, which you should reliably be able to cast as you need them.
Glowing Light: Any held item is made to glow like a lantern. The effect persists for one hour, or until you release your hold on the item.
Sounds: Produces any noise other than speech.
Drop: Attempts to force one creature within a short distance to drop what they are holding.
Marsh Lights: Creates a number of phantom lights in a wide area around you. If within line of sight, they can be controlled; otherwise they move forwards, turning to avoid obstacles.
Magic Dart: A basic offensive spell which creates a deceptively small projectile with a short range.
Sleep: Attempts to force one touched creature to sleep for a short period.
Omen: The most basic spell of the Celestial College, which uses Azyr to determine if a given course of action is suitable in the immediate future.
First Portent of Amul: A highly concentrated version of Omen, granting detailed but extremely short-term prescience that allows you to avoid immediate dangers. Once.
-1 Modifier: Spells with some degree of complexity.
Lightning Bolt: Hurls lightning at something within a moderate distance. The classic offensive magic of your College.
Skywalk: Briefly move freely through the air. One of the more complex Lesser Magic spells, so unfortunately irresponsible to use just to skip stairs.
Second Portent of Amul: An advanced version of First Portent which lasts far longer and issues not one but two warnings.
-2 Modifier: The most complex spells a new Journeyman is reasonably expected to be able to use.
Dispel: Disrupts hostile magic. While difficult to cast at your level of ability, your Master insisted you learn it before your Journeying.
Wind Blast: Creates a physical wind which buffets a large area, blowing smaller creatures off their feet and forcing larger ones to their knees.
Curse: Azyr introduces a snarl into a target's fate, hampering their every action for a whole day.
Spells at a -3 Modifier or more are more complex than most people would be willing to teach an Apprentice. You're a Journeyman now, but you'd need to find a teacher. And the money to pay them.
Competent Perception of Azyr: While not quite "true" Wizard's Sight, your Master would settle for nothing less than well above-average perception of the Wind of the Heavens. Vision of Things to Come: Enveloped in Azyr, you have seen visions of a man, a wolf, and a vulture. Something dark is at work in the Empire.
Recursive patterns: You noticed that the edges of Azyr manifestations in the heavens can have infinitely complex but describable patterns to them. Maybe there's something there? Wind-writing?: There's something going on with your Azyr-laced notebook, though you're not quite sure what yet.
Formal Academic Education: Astronomy, Azyr, Economics, Magic, Meteorology, Religion (Arcane Perspective) Informal Cultural Knowledge: Cult of Verena, Celestial College Languages Spoken: Reikspiel, Classical, Lingua Praestantia
Giancinto Hernandez de la Torre de Cebreros: An Estalian Diestro who has become a senior apprentice of the Bright Order.
Martial Background: Has experience working with the Empire's armies as a mercenary. Bonus to interactions with soldiers.
Diestro: A trained student of Estalian schools of swordplay. Bonus to Martial actions and interactions with Estalians.
Glory Hound: Motivated heavily by personal glory, and needs little encouragement to go looking for it. Enables some special actions.
Hildegard: A stern near-journeywoman in the Amethyst Order. Not much for talking, but a very capable Wizard.
Shyish Prodigy: Shows considerable talent for handling the Wind of Death. Bonus to Magic actions, enables some special actions, penalty to interactions with non-Wizards.
Aloof: Usually quiet, and gruff when she does decide to speak. Penalty to interactions.
Wizard Sense (Touch): Has developed a tactile sense of the Winds of Magic.
Magical Pioneer: Willing to experiment with the Winds of Magic in ways that many more cautious Wizards aren't. Enables some special actions, potentially increased risk on miscast.
Reinhold: A nervous apprentice of the Jade Order who currently works as a researcher.
Nervous: Sometimes appears to be afraid of his own shadow. Penalty to interactions.
Researcher: Has a strong talent for scholarship. Bonus to Research actions and interactions with academics.
Noble Upbringing: Raised in a noble house, with all the social and political expectations thereof. Bonus to interactions with nobility, enables some special actions.
Disinherited: In many areas, Wizards are not welcome in high society. Penalty to interactions with nobility, enables some special actions.
The Celestial College: Your alma mater. As you are a Journeyman, you're expected to survive independently of the College; while you can write to the College for advice, any firmer support is unlikely.
Magister Regina van Zijl: Your Master, a stern woman from a Marienburg merchant family. Maintains close ties to the Empire's mercantile interests, which is probably how she funds the giant tower she's building on the College grounds. Has terrible handwriting.
Apprentice Wizard Willibert Streicher: An elderly Perpetual Apprentice who is your Master's unofficial valet. A veteran of the Great War against Chaos.
Apprentice Wizard Gertrud von Behrmann: Your Master's next Apprentice after you. Daughter of a minor noble house from Wissenland.
Magister Patriarch Helmut Erlichen: Your Master's former Master. You've only met him in passing, when your Master congratulated him on his election.
The City of Altdorf:
"Little" and Sons: Owners of a small fishery on the Reik. Descended from Ulrican Norscans who fought under Magnus. You're currently living on the disused second floor of their fishery.
Heinrich Salthair: Captain of the Shrieking Wilhelm, a ship working the deepwater Reik and Sea of Claws. Has some ties to the Amber Order.
The Cult of Verena:
High Priest Detlev the Reckoner: High Priest of the Temple of Verena in Altdorf. You met him by chance while paying respects to Verena, and he has invited you to return to the Temple once the city finishes preparing for Magnus's funeral.
Sturdy Travel Case: A gift from your Master. Contains your worldly possessions with enough room to spare for rations and other travel supplies. Azyr-Laced Notebook: Extremely detailed notes on your celestial observations prior to being caught up in a Magical Event. Traces of the Wind of the Heavens seem to have bound to the letters. An Owl's Feather: Prodded you in the shoulder to pull you out of an Azyr-induced trance. A classical symbol of Verena.
You return to your loft above the fishery as the sun dips below the horizon. Soon enough, the steady drone of accented Reikspiel haggling over cuts of a variety of river fish fades away as the store below you closes for the night; it is quickly replaced by what you vaguely recognise as Ulrican and Manannite prayers, followed by silence.
Years of apprenticeship at the Celestial College have conditioned you to stay awake long into the night, taking notes as your Master observed the sky, and later being granted the conditional privilege to make your own observations. While you do not yet have your own proper telescope, a gift traditionally granted to new Magisters, you still possess a trained eye and the simpler tools of astronomy.
Your first priority is the progress of the wretched green moon of Morrslieb. Thankfully, the fell moon is waning, and only of middling size in the sky; though your Master always insisted that Morrslieb was only one sign of the Enemy's power, and that its withdrawal can always be a feint, it at least reassures you that none of the more overt forces of darkness will be acting too openly this night.
The Broken Cart, sign of nobility and pride, hangs where it ought in the centre of the autumn sky. Azyr congregates around the faint stars of the Gloaming, tied by fainter strands to the edges of the Piper. Mysteries and doubt, tied to negotiation. Together, not the most auspicious signs for a meeting of the Electors, but perhaps all inevitable for it. The Drummer and the Dancer both seem to repel the Wind towards the Cauldron: it is no time for celebration or desire, but for the natural cycles of life and death.
The low-lying districts of Reiksport are far from the ideal site for stargazing. Regardless of skill, the lesser constellations are too faint or too low for you to draw any conclusions from without the use of magic. Even if you had such a spell, the Articles would likely frown upon an unemployed Journeyman working any magic in the heart of Altdorf to indulge his habits and curiosity.
You set down your telescope and retire to the loft for the night.
* * *
Memorial services to the Emperor are currently being held in Nuln, as preparations are made for his final journey to the Great Temple of Sigmar. Between that, the time needed for the Electors to travel and establish themselves in Altdorf, and the ceremonies here, you expect you will have about two weeks available in Altdorf until your meeting in the Temple of Verena.
While you are aware of the Empire's politics in broad strokes, there would be merit in spending your time brushing up on the specifics before it all descends on Altdorf. On the other hand, that time might be better spent preparing for the one man you know you'll be meeting with; you knew his heraldry and token from your Master's academic interest in the Cults, and his reputation from your time among the Cult, but you know few specifics about the history of Detlev the Reckoner. And of course, you're a Celestial Wizard; perhaps there is more to be found if you follow the clues the stars left you.
There is also more material concerns. While you have coin enough to cover room, board, and any immediate travel expenses, your Master's Marienburger heritage shines through in how little else there is. Some more discretionary funds would not go amiss, and access to Altdorf's markets means you'll have no shortage of uses for a few spare coins. There's also always loans to consider...
Altdorf is no stranger to wizards taking short-term posts. Barring unusual exceptions, every Journeyman Wizard starts in the same place, and more than a few need to earn their way out before the Colleges start making sterner encouragements to travel and learn. Thankfully, the Emperor's passing does not seem to have disrupted the informal magical markets of Altdorf, and the traditional tasks of every Celestial Journeyman are open to you: namely, the roles of fortune teller and weather vane.
Beyond information and employment, there's also the possibility of just going out to meet people. Only being able to leave the College's halls at your Master's request has limited your social circle, and being unable to return to those selfsame halls has cut off what little you had built up. While the city's more influential figures would be unlikely to meet a Journeyman without at least some pretext for your presence, not all of the common folk are wholly unwilling to associate with wizards; at the very least, patrons of cheap taverns are rarely particular about their company.
You have three actions. Please use plan voting.
[ ] Investigate:
-[ ] The Electors, in advance of their arrival. (No Mod)
-[ ] High Priest Detlev, to prepare for your meeting. (+1)
-[ ] A message from Azyr: Nobility, doubt, and broken pride. (No Mod)
[ ] Seek employment:
-[ ] Telling fortunes in the noble district. May lead to contacts in local nobility. (No Mod)
-[ ] Preparing weather forecasts in Reiksport. May lead to mercantile contacts. (+1)
[ ] Find contacts:
-[ ] In the lower ranks of the Army of Altdorf. (No Mod)
-[ ] Among Apprentices or soon-to-be Journeymen of other Colleges. (+1)
-[ ] Among the students of the Engineering School and/or University. (No Mod)
-[ ] In the Dwarf Quarter. (-2)
-[ ] Maybe you could find the High Elves' Embassy? (-3)
