There's a chance we can get Dwarf Poirot or Sherlock Dwarf for 4 points, as a hero character. I expect them to come on a bit to the inspector gadget style.
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
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- warhammer warhammer fantasy fantasy be gay do crimes (gay) female protagonist pansexual protagonist ck2 quest divided loyalties mountain vietnam ranald is real this is a dwarf quest (dwarfs) this is maybe an elf quest this is not a vampire quest this is not an empire quest try it and find out open voting
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
So while the Lyrics don't entirely fit, I think this song matches Matilda's mood on the march home.
Turn 15 - 2477 - A Farewell to Arms
[*] The fog of war is a bitch, to all involved.
[*] Sigmar abandoned his most worthy follower in his hour of need.
[*] Sigmar abandoned his most worthy follower in his hour of need.
Ignorance.
That was the greatest enemy and the most potent weapon of the campaign. During the Purge, a great deal of time and effort was frittered away where it wasn't needed because of unknowns. In the assault on the town of Drakenhof, striking quickly and without warning allowed the gate to be captured while wide open, and thus allowed you to take the walls and bombard enemy positions with impunity. You caught the garrison of the Castle napping, and trapped their forces inside by collapsing the gatehouse with artillery fire, where they were pounded for days by mortar and grudge thrower fire. A column of skeletons were found by your scouts moving through underground tunnels, and had the roof collapsed on them for no cost to your own forces; if they hadn't been spotted, they could have appeared where you least expected them and done terrible things to your forces.
The Fog Of War. Such an evocative phrase. And who better than a Grey Wizard to master it, to banish it, to weaponize it?
[Trait Gained: Warrior of Fog. +2 martial, bonuses to scouting and hidden gambits while in command, unlocks creation of battlefield spells for revealing or concealing troop movements.]
But deeper than that is one burning memory that you will never be free of: Kasmir's bleak expression as he prays over Abelhelm's dying body. Sigmar's light does not shine here.
Abelhelm and Kasmir are- were- great men. Together they had been giving you a new appreciation for Sigmar and his followers. But Sigmar had ignored the prayers of the latter and let the former die, and now you know that Sigmar is unworthy of the great men that have dedicated their lives to him. You remember Abelhelm's crisis of faith, the trust he lost in the institutions of the Sigmarite church and thus in Sigmar himself. You regret not reaching out to him, leading him to a faith more worthy of him - to a God that wouldn't abandon him.
You'll never make that mistake again.
[Trait Gained: Disdain for Sigmar. Piety +1, will not allow faith in Sigmar to flourish in the institutions under her control - will do her best to encourage faith in worthier gods, or face a heavy malus while it goes undone.]
---
To your extreme relief, word has outrun your slow march to Wurtbad, at least to Anton and Wilhelmina. Both of them look stricken, but are carrying on with their duties nonetheless.
First order of business: inheritance. Anton, his voice breaking every now and then, tells you he has left a letter in a drop box that Abelhelm gave him the location of, and he is to await a response. One will be forthcoming, apparently, within a few months, as news filters through the layers of protection around the Van Hal progeny, and then news will filter out once more as to whether said progeny will be making their existence known to the wider world, or whether the world will be allowed to think that Abelhelm's line died with him. For now, you are in limbo, and soon the rest of the Empire will step in to decide a new Elector Count. There's already an Elector's Meet scheduled for midway through the year, so it's likely they'll pick a candidate there, should no heir be forthcoming.
Second order of business: Eagle Castle. Mothballed during the campaign, apart from the guards protecting it it has been uninhabited. You make your way through the silent corridors, your footsteps echoing around you, and open the door to Abelhelm's study with the key he gave you so long ago for you to borrow books from him. Slowly, agonisingly, you crate up his belongings and try to fight back memories. Books, trophies, weapons hidden in a dozen different locations, a bottle of the Ostland brandy the two of you would share during your twice-yearly meetings - you pour a glass for yourself, another for Abelhelm's spirit, and drink to his memory. The halberd that was his weapon of choice during his career as a Witch Hunter that was supplanted by his Runefang. A spare hat, hanging from a corner of a bookshelf, that added another foot to the height of an already towering man. The door itself, that once withstood the battering of an ensorcelled berserker as you stood there with Abelhelm in your underthings.
You cry a lot in the process of cleaning out that study.
Finally, as crate after crate is loaded into a wagon for you to tuck away in your hidden sanctuary until an heir arrives to claim it all, you find the hidden compartment in his desk. You knew it was there from about five minutes after inspecting the desk simply because of the amount of space unaccounted for by drawer depth, but it still took you days to find and you had to cheat by disassembling part of the desk to get at it. But finally it swings open, presenting an empty space about the size of the lead box that holds the Liber Mortis, and at the bottom of it, a letter. Addressed to you. You eventually crack the cipher - it's encrypted using the Epistolary of Kurt III, which Abelhelm recommended to you so long ago - and, you recall, who was the Grand Theogonist who read the Spell of Unmaking from a copy of the Liber Mortis during the Third Vampire War.
Dame Weber,
If you're reading this, you either succumbed to the temptation inherent in that key I lent you or I've fallen in battle. If the latter, I trust you've avenged me upon whatever entity orchestrated said death.
I once told you that I have children; Anton has the details for contacting them, but should he have fallen also, then the experiment can be considered to have failed; let the Elector Counts choose another to sacrifice to Stirland. Likewise, if they are contacted and they respond with letter and not in person, leave them be. I hope to spend my life in lessening the hold of Sylvania over my line, not to strengthen it.
Your company has been of great value and comfort to me.
Yours,
Elector Count Abelhelm Van Hal
PS. I hope the books I have given you have been enlightening.
The letter was the last blow to your faltering self control, and you spent more time than you care to admit blubbering alone in Abelhelm's study. But the last line itched at the back of your mind. He hadn't given you many books; he had given you a key, and recommended books in his office, but the only book he had given to you was the Liber Mortis.
You return to your Sunken Palace and expose the letter to lights of various colours and strengths with the array of mirrors and prisms in your workshop, and find that pure sunlight does the trick, exposing a string of letters. With trepidation, you crack open the cover of the ancient grimoire. The title page, thankfully, is all that is necessary for the key, and you decrypt the string of letters.
I am now free. You should be too. Tell your Magister this: And then a string of names, dozens long, each with a set of letters next to them - H-W and H-BM are the most common, but some have L and others vC. Most of them are unknown to you, but three leap from the page:
GW M. Regimand Speiseschrank, H-BM
GW D. Mathilde Weber, H-BM
C. Gabriella v. Bundebad. vC(?)
---
The meeting with the EIC Board of Directors is grim, since it consists solely of you and Wilhelmina. Wilhelmina says that she intends to buy out Markus' share of the EIC, and that she has the votes to force it through no matter what the heirs say - some cousins, apparently. She's offered you the chance to split the shares with her as a courtesy. If you accept, it will increase the size of your debt significantly, and you and Wilhelmina will each hold 36% of the company. Otherwise, Wilhelmina will hold 48% and you 24%. Either way, the two of you will have enough votes to overrule whoever the new Elector Count of Stirland turns out to be. She also mentioned that she is going to resign as soon as the new Elector Count takes up his position, and focus on the EIC and trying to rein in her sons. Her loyalty was always to Abelhelm personally, not Stirland.
News from abroad trickles in, and Ostermark has apparently concluded its 'campaign' without setting a single foot in Sylvania, contenting itself with clearing the forests around Mordheim. You're less than impressed.
Julia reports on her attempt at milking money from gossipmongering; she's broken even, but that's it. You filter through the information she presents to you, both written and verbal, and can't find any indication as to why the profits just aren't there. Infuriating, but at least you didn't lose money in the attempt this time, which means you've ended the war with a scant handful of coins left in your discretionary coffers. Without the burden of the Attachés, you'll be comfortably in the black once more.
Jack reports the Watch's mood is acceptable for now, mollified as they were by internal training. The dogs are starting to join the patrols, too. You're currently in a healthy financial position with the Watch, but that was from Abelhelm's perspective. The new Elector Count will most likely take the status quo when he begins as the norm. Now might be the time to spend.
It feels surreal. Not long ago you were in this very position and everything was different - there was a war on and Abelhelm was alive. But you will continue on nonetheless.
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIONS - pick ONE from each category.
Information Network - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[ ] Expand your information network into another province (choose one)
[ ] Expand your information network into another county or barony (choose one)
[ ] Expand your information network into the military (choose a Division)
[ ] Expand your Intelligence Attaché program to another Division (choose one)
[ ] Open a dialogue with Zhufbar, offering an information exchange.
[ ] Off the Leash: Let Julia handle the network without your micromanagement from now on.
Information Network finances - can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above.
[ ] Gossipmonger: Maybe it was just bad luck. A long streak of bad luck. Maybe this time it will work.
[ ] Fixer: Work with the Wurtbad Thieves Guild, supplying them information in exchange for a portion of profits.
[ ] Special Branch: Pull some financial trickery to get the information network classified as part of the Watch, so that their costs are covered by the Stirlandian treasury.
[ ] Trade Delegation: Convince Wilhelmina to partner your network with the EIC based on the value of market information. Especially likely to work since Wilhelmina will soon be losing her position of power in Stirland's government. (NEW-ish)
Stirland Watch - pick ONE (no action expenditure required), currently at +1 Budget Points:
[ ] Expand the ranks of the Watch, so that they're able to start covering even the poorer parts of their covered area. (-1 Budget Point)
[ ] Expand the Watch into a new county or barony (choose which) (No Budgetary Impact due to expanded Gong Farming)
[ ] Expand the Special Branch into areas already covered by the Watch, so you have an additional pool of manpower you can call upon to supplement the full-time Watchmen. (-1 Budget Point)
[o] Improve the training of the Watch further, hiring trainers and dedicating paid time each week to sharpening skills (LOCKED until administrative staff acquired) (-1 Budget Point)
[ ] Integrate the Roadwarden network of covered areas into the Watch.
[ ] Investigate the possibility of adding a River Warden branch of the Watch.
[ ] Headhunt administrators from other organizations in Stirland.
[ ] Attempt to hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
Stirland Watch finances - can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above, will yield an unknown number of Budget Points.
[ ] Set up saltpeter production facilities using the information Jack has gathered. (-1 Budget Point) (NEW)
[ ] Set up saltpeter production facilities using headhunted experts from Nuln. (-2 Budget Points) (NEW)
[ ] Set up saltpeter production facilities and call in favours to bring a dwarvern expert in. (-1 Budget Point, -2 Dwarf Favours) (NEW)
[ ] Formalize and organize the payments people make for the Gong Farmers to perform their service, as well as having the Watch start enforcing existing laws against dumping human waste in the street or the Stir.
[ ] Currently, solid waste is sent by cart and wagon out to the fields for a pittance. It could instead be used to create market gardens along the banks of the Stir (hopefully downwind) and increase revenue and provide jobs for the desperate by growing a variety of cash crops.
[ ] Tanneries have a seemingly limitless demand for urine, which explains a lot about the smell. A bit of fragrant research would allow you to identify how much demand there is and how much of a profit you can wring from this.
Stirland Watch faith - can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above, penalty to any Watch actions Mathilde takes unless/until one is taken. Sigmarism must be driven out. (NEW)
[ ] Verena is the Goddess of Justice. Enshrine her as the patron goddess of the Stirland Watch.
[ ] Shallya is the Goddess of Mercy. An odd choice for the Watch, but it would ensure that they remember their duty to the common people.
[ ] Ranald is the God of Thieves, yes, but he's also the God of protecting the common folk. It's worth a shot, right?
[ ] Seppel is the Minor God of Vengeance, popular in Stirland. Vengeance is sort of like justice.
[ ] Grungni, the principal Dwarf Ancestor God, actually has some following among the Stirlandian populace - and he is their Lawgiver to boot. Bring in a few priests to make it happen. (-1 Dwarf Favour)
[ ] Expand your information network into another province (choose one)
[ ] Expand your information network into another county or barony (choose one)
[ ] Expand your information network into the military (choose a Division)
[ ] Expand your Intelligence Attaché program to another Division (choose one)
[ ] Open a dialogue with Zhufbar, offering an information exchange.
[ ] Off the Leash: Let Julia handle the network without your micromanagement from now on.
Information Network finances - can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above.
[ ] Gossipmonger: Maybe it was just bad luck. A long streak of bad luck. Maybe this time it will work.
[ ] Fixer: Work with the Wurtbad Thieves Guild, supplying them information in exchange for a portion of profits.
[ ] Special Branch: Pull some financial trickery to get the information network classified as part of the Watch, so that their costs are covered by the Stirlandian treasury.
[ ] Trade Delegation: Convince Wilhelmina to partner your network with the EIC based on the value of market information. Especially likely to work since Wilhelmina will soon be losing her position of power in Stirland's government. (NEW-ish)
Stirland Watch - pick ONE (no action expenditure required), currently at +1 Budget Points:
[ ] Expand the ranks of the Watch, so that they're able to start covering even the poorer parts of their covered area. (-1 Budget Point)
[ ] Expand the Watch into a new county or barony (choose which) (No Budgetary Impact due to expanded Gong Farming)
[ ] Expand the Special Branch into areas already covered by the Watch, so you have an additional pool of manpower you can call upon to supplement the full-time Watchmen. (-1 Budget Point)
[o] Improve the training of the Watch further, hiring trainers and dedicating paid time each week to sharpening skills (LOCKED until administrative staff acquired) (-1 Budget Point)
[ ] Integrate the Roadwarden network of covered areas into the Watch.
[ ] Investigate the possibility of adding a River Warden branch of the Watch.
[ ] Headhunt administrators from other organizations in Stirland.
[ ] Attempt to hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
Stirland Watch finances - can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above, will yield an unknown number of Budget Points.
[ ] Set up saltpeter production facilities using the information Jack has gathered. (-1 Budget Point) (NEW)
[ ] Set up saltpeter production facilities using headhunted experts from Nuln. (-2 Budget Points) (NEW)
[ ] Set up saltpeter production facilities and call in favours to bring a dwarvern expert in. (-1 Budget Point, -2 Dwarf Favours) (NEW)
[ ] Formalize and organize the payments people make for the Gong Farmers to perform their service, as well as having the Watch start enforcing existing laws against dumping human waste in the street or the Stir.
[ ] Currently, solid waste is sent by cart and wagon out to the fields for a pittance. It could instead be used to create market gardens along the banks of the Stir (hopefully downwind) and increase revenue and provide jobs for the desperate by growing a variety of cash crops.
[ ] Tanneries have a seemingly limitless demand for urine, which explains a lot about the smell. A bit of fragrant research would allow you to identify how much demand there is and how much of a profit you can wring from this.
Stirland Watch faith - can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above, penalty to any Watch actions Mathilde takes unless/until one is taken. Sigmarism must be driven out. (NEW)
[ ] Verena is the Goddess of Justice. Enshrine her as the patron goddess of the Stirland Watch.
[ ] Shallya is the Goddess of Mercy. An odd choice for the Watch, but it would ensure that they remember their duty to the common people.
[ ] Ranald is the God of Thieves, yes, but he's also the God of protecting the common folk. It's worth a shot, right?
[ ] Seppel is the Minor God of Vengeance, popular in Stirland. Vengeance is sort of like justice.
[ ] Grungni, the principal Dwarf Ancestor God, actually has some following among the Stirlandian populace - and he is their Lawgiver to boot. Bring in a few priests to make it happen. (-1 Dwarf Favour)
PERSONAL ACTIONS - CHOOSE BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN. ANY CHOSEN BEYOND THE FIRST FIVE WILL COME WITH RISKS - PLEASE SPECIFY THE 'ADDITIONAL' TASK:
Aftermath (NEW):
[ ] Abelhelm left you with a list of notarized names. Pass them on to your Master and let the fireworks fly. (does not take an action)
[ ] As above, but insist on being a part of whatever happens.
[ ] It may be a moot point, but you can still send off the entirety of information gathered on undead types in Sylvania to your string-pullers. (does not take an action)
[ ] Concentrate the gathered information on undead types in Sylvania into a single dense tome and publish it. It's likely to be of some use and interest to Morrites and Amethyst Wizards. Not ground-breaking, but a nice feather in your academic cap nonetheless.
[ ] Buy out half of Markus' shares in the EIC. (does not take an action; increases your debt to Stirland)
[ ] Visit the Amethyst Wizards in Altdorf and ask what the hell they were playing at.
[ ] Investigate the Valley of the Singing King.
[ ] Investigate the underground tomb complex in the southeastern Haunted Hills.
[ ] Investigate the very ruined ruins of Castle Drakenhof. Sure, there's several hundred thousand tons of rubble on top of anything interesting, and sure, the only tunnel you found to the castle catacombs was caved in by the dwarves, and sure, even if you do get in there's every likelihood that undead monsters still roam free in there and will eat you, but why not do it anyway?
Power Vacuum (NEW):
[ ] Your debt to Stirland is recorded in a handful of documents in the Archives, and the current Steward is leaving the position. If said documents were to be slightly altered at the right time, nobody would notice in the handover and your debt could evaporate.
[ ] Though the Haunted Hills have always technically belonged to the Elector Count, they've suddenly skyrocketed in value. If you could backdate some purchases from the Elector Count, you could make a killing reselling them, and still retain your own slice of prime grazelands.
[ ] There's never been less oversight on spending. Embezzlement now would be impossible to trace later. Scrape up whatever funds can still be found in the treasury, and pocket them.
Groundwork - should Van Hal's heir decide not to make themselves known, the question of who would take power is a very interesting one (NEW).
[ ] Spend time with Anton, possibly talking about how good a candidate he would be - local support, known to external powers, and a few powerful friends supporting him, and so forth.
[ ] Spend time with Gustav, securing his subordination to you.
[ ] Spend time with Wilhelmina. As emptied as the treasury of Stirland was by the campaign, the EIC may be the wealthiest institution in the province.
[ ] Attend the Elector's Meet yourself, to take any opportunity that arises to manipulate events in your favour.
Self-Improvement: Things have been going well so far, but the skills of a Journeyman Grey Mage can only go so far.
[ ] Practice, Practice, Practice: Having been thrown into the deep end of imperial politics, it would probably be a good idea to brush up on your skills and internalize the lessons you've learned (choose which trait; can be taken multiple times; will be more effective if you've used the trait a lot lately).
[ ] Combat Training, In The Free Market: The war cost you your combatant friends, but training is always for sale. Go out and buy some. (-personal gold)
[ ] Gun Shopping: You're currently using a pistol that was a spare for the pistoliers. Visit Nuln or Zhufbar to upgrade. (will trigger a subvote next turn for what type and how many) (NEW-ish)
[ ] Enchantment: You're naturally talented at enchantment; so far, this just amounts to being able to make your desk meow for about an hour. See if you can improve on that, or at least figure out a way to make that useful.
Home Comforts: Your Palace-Shrine is bursting with potential. And also mud.
[ ] Diggy Diggy Hole, Remixed: You're getting sick of having workmen tramping in and out of your abode. Recruit an entire team and personally oversee them to clear out all of the reachable portions of the Palace-Shrine and be done with it. (-personal gold)
[ ] Diggy Diggy Hole, Dwarf: You could call in some favours and get the entire place cleaned out with dwarven reticence and expertise (-personal gold for ale, -2 Dwarf Favours) (NEW)
[o] Filled with Potential: You've got a room cleared out and ready to be put to use. Decide what you're going to put there and get started on equipping it. (write in the purpose of the room) (currently being used as a storage room)
Research:
[ ] Undead Research: You know the basics, now. Perhaps a great deal of effort will allow you to advance further.
[ ] Shyish-kebabs: The Shyish swords are hideously dangerous as weapons, but fascinating as a subject of study. Try to reverse-engineer the lost enchantments woven into them.
[ ] Qhaysh Juice: Whatever it is, it's dripping out of the box at a steady rate. You've got several gallons of the stuff and it's still coming out. It's got to be good for something.
[ ] There's always room for more shadow spells in your repertoire. Send off to the Grey College for the basics on one of the others and get started on trying to learn it.
[ ] Read the Liber Mortis. (NEW)
[ ] Your experience with the so-called Fog of War has given you a lot of ideas for new applications of Ulgu. (NEW)
Influence:
[ ] Information Network: Work alongside to Julia to administer the network. Choose another Organizational Action for the Network.
[ ] Stirland Watch: Work alongside Jack to administer the Watch. Choose another Organizational Action for the Watch.
[ ] Financial Jargon: Everything with the EIC flew right over your head last time. Try again. Succeeding here will mean that you can take a more active hand in the company, adding it to the organizational actions; failing or not attempting means Mathilde will remain a silent partner.
[ ] Thieves Guild: It's currently little more than a church group, albeit of a very unconventional god. If it could be expanded under your aegis, it could be a powerful tool.
[ ] Non-Thief Guilds: Wurtbad, like all major cities, is home to a number of guilds. Reach out to them and enforce your will.
Relations:
[ ] Getting To Know You: Spend time with one of your fellow councillors,your liege, or any of the other important figures you've come to know, offering your help in their tasks and generally getting a feel for them (choose one) (can be taken multiple times).
[ ] Getting To Know You Whether You Like It Or Not: Trust, but verify. Spend some of your time seeing what a certain person spends their time doing (choose one) (can be taken multiple times).
[ ] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (does not take an action)
[ ] Abelhelm left you with a list of notarized names. Pass them on to your Master and let the fireworks fly. (does not take an action)
[ ] As above, but insist on being a part of whatever happens.
[ ] It may be a moot point, but you can still send off the entirety of information gathered on undead types in Sylvania to your string-pullers. (does not take an action)
[ ] Concentrate the gathered information on undead types in Sylvania into a single dense tome and publish it. It's likely to be of some use and interest to Morrites and Amethyst Wizards. Not ground-breaking, but a nice feather in your academic cap nonetheless.
[ ] Buy out half of Markus' shares in the EIC. (does not take an action; increases your debt to Stirland)
[ ] Visit the Amethyst Wizards in Altdorf and ask what the hell they were playing at.
[ ] Investigate the Valley of the Singing King.
[ ] Investigate the underground tomb complex in the southeastern Haunted Hills.
[ ] Investigate the very ruined ruins of Castle Drakenhof. Sure, there's several hundred thousand tons of rubble on top of anything interesting, and sure, the only tunnel you found to the castle catacombs was caved in by the dwarves, and sure, even if you do get in there's every likelihood that undead monsters still roam free in there and will eat you, but why not do it anyway?
Power Vacuum (NEW):
[ ] Your debt to Stirland is recorded in a handful of documents in the Archives, and the current Steward is leaving the position. If said documents were to be slightly altered at the right time, nobody would notice in the handover and your debt could evaporate.
[ ] Though the Haunted Hills have always technically belonged to the Elector Count, they've suddenly skyrocketed in value. If you could backdate some purchases from the Elector Count, you could make a killing reselling them, and still retain your own slice of prime grazelands.
[ ] There's never been less oversight on spending. Embezzlement now would be impossible to trace later. Scrape up whatever funds can still be found in the treasury, and pocket them.
Groundwork - should Van Hal's heir decide not to make themselves known, the question of who would take power is a very interesting one (NEW).
[ ] Spend time with Anton, possibly talking about how good a candidate he would be - local support, known to external powers, and a few powerful friends supporting him, and so forth.
[ ] Spend time with Gustav, securing his subordination to you.
[ ] Spend time with Wilhelmina. As emptied as the treasury of Stirland was by the campaign, the EIC may be the wealthiest institution in the province.
[ ] Attend the Elector's Meet yourself, to take any opportunity that arises to manipulate events in your favour.
Self-Improvement: Things have been going well so far, but the skills of a Journeyman Grey Mage can only go so far.
[ ] Practice, Practice, Practice: Having been thrown into the deep end of imperial politics, it would probably be a good idea to brush up on your skills and internalize the lessons you've learned (choose which trait; can be taken multiple times; will be more effective if you've used the trait a lot lately).
[ ] Combat Training, In The Free Market: The war cost you your combatant friends, but training is always for sale. Go out and buy some. (-personal gold)
[ ] Gun Shopping: You're currently using a pistol that was a spare for the pistoliers. Visit Nuln or Zhufbar to upgrade. (will trigger a subvote next turn for what type and how many) (NEW-ish)
[ ] Enchantment: You're naturally talented at enchantment; so far, this just amounts to being able to make your desk meow for about an hour. See if you can improve on that, or at least figure out a way to make that useful.
Home Comforts: Your Palace-Shrine is bursting with potential. And also mud.
[ ] Diggy Diggy Hole, Remixed: You're getting sick of having workmen tramping in and out of your abode. Recruit an entire team and personally oversee them to clear out all of the reachable portions of the Palace-Shrine and be done with it. (-personal gold)
[ ] Diggy Diggy Hole, Dwarf: You could call in some favours and get the entire place cleaned out with dwarven reticence and expertise (-personal gold for ale, -2 Dwarf Favours) (NEW)
[o] Filled with Potential: You've got a room cleared out and ready to be put to use. Decide what you're going to put there and get started on equipping it. (write in the purpose of the room) (currently being used as a storage room)
Research:
[ ] Undead Research: You know the basics, now. Perhaps a great deal of effort will allow you to advance further.
[ ] Shyish-kebabs: The Shyish swords are hideously dangerous as weapons, but fascinating as a subject of study. Try to reverse-engineer the lost enchantments woven into them.
[ ] Qhaysh Juice: Whatever it is, it's dripping out of the box at a steady rate. You've got several gallons of the stuff and it's still coming out. It's got to be good for something.
[ ] There's always room for more shadow spells in your repertoire. Send off to the Grey College for the basics on one of the others and get started on trying to learn it.
[ ] Read the Liber Mortis. (NEW)
[ ] Your experience with the so-called Fog of War has given you a lot of ideas for new applications of Ulgu. (NEW)
Influence:
[ ] Information Network: Work alongside to Julia to administer the network. Choose another Organizational Action for the Network.
[ ] Stirland Watch: Work alongside Jack to administer the Watch. Choose another Organizational Action for the Watch.
[ ] Financial Jargon: Everything with the EIC flew right over your head last time. Try again. Succeeding here will mean that you can take a more active hand in the company, adding it to the organizational actions; failing or not attempting means Mathilde will remain a silent partner.
[ ] Thieves Guild: It's currently little more than a church group, albeit of a very unconventional god. If it could be expanded under your aegis, it could be a powerful tool.
[ ] Non-Thief Guilds: Wurtbad, like all major cities, is home to a number of guilds. Reach out to them and enforce your will.
Relations:
[ ] Getting To Know You: Spend time with one of your fellow councillors,
[ ] Getting To Know You Whether You Like It Or Not: Trust, but verify. Spend some of your time seeing what a certain person spends their time doing (choose one) (can be taken multiple times).
[ ] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (does not take an action)
FINANCES
LAST SIX MONTHS:
Discretionary Income: +200g
Information Brokerage: +100g
Regional informants: -90g
Watch informants: -10g
EIC informants: -20g
Julia: -30g
Townhouse staff: -20g
Attaché program: -120g
Attempted expansion: -50g
---
Net: -40g
Personal Income: +50g
Estate Profit: +10g
Tithe: -6g
Student Loans: -35g
---
Net: +19g
---
COMING SIX MONTHS:
Personal Income: 60 gold/turn
Discretionary Income: 200 gold/turn
Informer Payroll unlocked
Currently paying Grey College tithe (-6 personal gold/turn)
Currently paying Grey College student loans (-35 personal gold/turn)
Not currently embezzling
Currently selling gossip (+50 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding regional informants (-90 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding Watch informants (-10 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding EIC informants (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently employing Julia Massif (-30 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently maintaining the staff of a townhouse in Wurtbad (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
[ ] Begin plumping the informer rolls (choose ratio of real:fake informers. Almost impossible to detect, but also very difficult to increase or decrease the amount quickly) (does not take an action)
[ ] Change tithe payment/loan payment/embezzlement (specify)(does not take an action)
LAST SIX MONTHS:
Discretionary Income: +200g
Information Brokerage: +100g
Regional informants: -90g
Watch informants: -10g
EIC informants: -20g
Julia: -30g
Townhouse staff: -20g
Attaché program: -120g
Attempted expansion: -50g
---
Net: -40g
Personal Income: +50g
Estate Profit: +10g
Tithe: -6g
Student Loans: -35g
---
Net: +19g
---
COMING SIX MONTHS:
Personal Income: 60 gold/turn
Discretionary Income: 200 gold/turn
Informer Payroll unlocked
Currently paying Grey College tithe (-6 personal gold/turn)
Currently paying Grey College student loans (-35 personal gold/turn)
Not currently embezzling
Currently selling gossip (+50 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding regional informants (-90 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding Watch informants (-10 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding EIC informants (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently employing Julia Massif (-30 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently maintaining the staff of a townhouse in Wurtbad (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
[ ] Begin plumping the informer rolls (choose ratio of real:fake informers. Almost impossible to detect, but also very difficult to increase or decrease the amount quickly) (does not take an action)
[ ] Change tithe payment/loan payment/embezzlement (specify)(does not take an action)
- Voting will be in Plan Format. If you've got a Cunning Plan regarding the succession, please explain what the plan is alongside the choices you make.
- The Elector's Meet will begin at the end of this turn.
- You currently have +15 Dwarf Rep. The explanation for how this works and a partial price list is in the Collection of Important Information threadmark. Feel free to ask for price-checks for anything not listed.
- Don't forget Ranald's Blessing!
- There were a lot of balls up in the air and it's possible I missed one - let me know if I did. The Elf Books will come up at the end of this turn.
- When the new Elector Count begins, the state of the watch's budget will be the New Normal, effectively resetting Budget Points to 0. Now might be the time to start spending relentlessly.
- There would be a great many financial opportunities open to you right now if you were a non-silent partner in the EIC. Might want to consider Financial Jargon.
- There are a lot of time-sensitive opportunities you could jump on during this power vacuum, if you're so inclined. Now might be the ideal time for overwork.
- EIC shares: your current outstanding debt is 750 gold. Markus' share of the EIC is worth 1500, so if you accept Wilhelmina's offer to join in on the buyout our debt will double.
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DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
He loved us.... :'(
First things first
[X] keep spare hat and add to daily wardrobe
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JaceAoT
The Architect
- Location
- The Netherlands
I m currently very willing to risk overwork, but I have no clue what you all think.
Besides that however there is a great many things to consider.
We want to speak with Kasmir, Anton and Julia probably.
We want to spend money.
Probably steal money.
This might also be the last turn in a while with free time to improve ourselves.
Also our secret 'masters'.
Jesus
Besides that however there is a great many things to consider.
We want to speak with Kasmir, Anton and Julia probably.
We want to spend money.
Probably steal money.
This might also be the last turn in a while with free time to improve ourselves.
Also our secret 'masters'.
Jesus
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- Location
- California, USA
I think we should get to know Anton. Poor kid.
@racnor sold it to me.
[X] The best battle is one where the enemy never gets a strike in.
This follows along the lines of "if war is fair, somebody fucked up badly".
edit: It seems I am late to the party.
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DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I meant to wear daily but that works too
We should probably change the watch faith soon. I nominate Verena. Justice, Watch, peanut butter and jelly.
VoidZero
Passing Flan 布丁魔王
- Location
- Anywhere but RL
We must do some creative accounting! $_$
Power Vacuum (NEW):
[ ] Your debt to Stirland is recorded in a handful of documents in the Archives, and the current Steward is leaving the position. If said documents were to be slightly altered at the right time, nobody would notice in the handover and your debt could evaporate.
[ ] Though the Haunted Hills have always technically belonged to the Elector Count, they've suddenly skyrocketed in value. If you could backdate some purchases from the Elector Count, you could make a killingreselling them, and still retain your own slice of prime grazelands.
[ ] There's never been less oversight on spending. Embezzlement now would be impossible to trace later. Scrape up whatever funds can still be found in the treasury, and pocket them.
Power Vacuum (NEW):
[ ] Your debt to Stirland is recorded in a handful of documents in the Archives, and the current Steward is leaving the position. If said documents were to be slightly altered at the right time, nobody would notice in the handover and your debt could evaporate.
[ ] Though the Haunted Hills have always technically belonged to the Elector Count, they've suddenly skyrocketed in value. If you could backdate some purchases from the Elector Count, you could make a killingreselling them, and still retain your own slice of prime grazelands.
[ ] There's never been less oversight on spending. Embezzlement now would be impossible to trace later. Scrape up whatever funds can still be found in the treasury, and pocket them.
- Location
- Brazil
I think these ought to be done, no time like the present.
- Location
- Scotland
[jk] Solkan the Avenger, a frequent, if covert, patron of witch hunters
WanderingEye
smol skeleton
I admit reading that hurts.
I think it's a nice time to spend time with all of our coworkers, we might not be friends with Gustav, Kasmir or Schultz but we've worked together dammit at least have a time to say farewell (if we need to).
I think it's a nice time to spend time with all of our coworkers, we might not be friends with Gustav, Kasmir or Schultz but we've worked together dammit at least have a time to say farewell (if we need to).
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
So it appears Van Hal managed to figure out that we were being blackmailed and had been investigating behind the scenes...neat.
- Location
- Norway
Why do you think you're going to get a straight answer to this question?
Logic dictates that if that was the case then he wouldn't need to give your Master a hit-list, he could just tell them to stop.