Shadow Turn.
Meanwhile in a parallell universe, user MoneyB wrote:
Uncertain Loyalties - an Advisors Quest
I hope you guys enjoy the Mage-Tolerant Witch Hunter Indiana MacGyver-Jones you've spent so many shinies on, because I'm calling in your debts, with the critglitches starting
right now.
Martial:
[x] Commander Stentz
Stentz is a man of both military and social skills, and his experience in a mercenary company suggests that he's more than just a time-server like some regulars. His
--IMPERIAL INTERRUPT--
[X] Professor Verezzo will be your new marshal, by Imperial arrangement.
Professor Verezzo may not be fired for 5 years (10 turns).
Diplomacy:
[x] Anton II Kiesinger
You've settled on continuity of office for the chancellor, both for information and to keep the local nobles happy. (Diplomacy 12 revealed, traits on index page.)
Stewardship:
[x] Frau Wilhelmina
Happily, it turns out Wilhelmina has managed logistics for Witch Hunters before! She's reasonably skilled at both supply and strategy, as well as favorably inclined to you by default. (Stewardship 11, Martial 14 revealed, traits on index page.)
Intrigue:
[x] Delay Intrigue appointment
Between a mage, a foreigner, and a set of mysterious notes, you've firmly resolved to get some more sensible candidates in. It can't be too urgent, you are a professional Witch Hunter after all. You have significant experience with gribblies trying to shank you in your sleep, you can handle a few months more while you actually read up on
--MYSTERIOUS INTERRUPT--
[X] Journeywoman Weber will be your new spymaster. You don't know who's arranged this, but there's a very short list of suspects that can arrange for wizards to be sent about like this.
Journeywoman Weber may not be fired for 5 years (10 turns).
Faith:
[x] Brother Kasmir
A hard man, a devout man, Kasmir seems like just what you need to be your strong right hand in your efforts pacifying Sylvania and getting the other priests in line behind you for this endeavor.
--THEOGONIST INTER...rupt?
Oh. You picked the candidate they were going to assign to you anyway. Here I was expecting you to pick the Morrite. Anyway, the Grand Theogonist set this as a condition to support you as Elector Count. (Faith 16 revealed, traits on index page.)
Brother Kasmir may not be fired for 5 years (10 turns).
Learning:
[x] Delay Learning appointment
The presented candidates were insatisfactory for various reasons. You've decided to look for someone more suitably unique matching your ambitions
--TALABECLAND INTERRUPT--
[X] Herr Schultz will be your new loremaster, arranged by Talabecland in exchange for supporting you as Elector Count.
Herr Schultz may not be fired for 5 years (10 turns).
ahahaha enjoy starting your turn with half your advisors still unknown and four of them placed here by political horsetrading
that counts as
one critglitch's worth of paying off your debt of shinies
I called it. I totally called it.
You called nothing. The thread title is literally "uncertain loyalties", you don't get credit for saying several of the candidates are here at the behest of outside backers.
That "very short list of suspects" for mage assignment is basically the Emperor and the Patriarch of the Grey Order, right?
Our Steward has Martial 14, while our Marshal is somewhere in the 8 to 13 range? Great. Just great. We're going to have council infighting and position envy all day here.
Hey, look on the bright side. Of the ones we did get to pick, we managed to not pick the Lustful Steward. So at least we won't have love triangles and relationship drama on top of a mostly-disloyal, irremovable council.
MoneyB said:
Just because they're externally appointed doesn't make them disloyal.
Yay, shadowmage spymaster! Dis gun b gud.
What is "MacGyver-Jones" a reference to?
I don't mind the result itself here, but I would like to complain about the mechanical implementation. MoneyB, next time you do something like this, do you think you could state up front that the critglitch is going to annul four of our votes and just ask us for the other two? Because it seems like quite a bit of wasted effort discussing and planning what to do on four positions where we didn't really have a choice.
QM, I don't think you answered my question last update. Is "Young" a negative trait with stat penalties that wear off as Anton gets more experience? Or is it more of a social descriptor that other people will treat him with less respect?
I have not been looking at the QM's notes, at least not in this dimension. All traits and values are figments of my imagination.