Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
[X] Keep Blacksmiths Tools
[X] Melt down the idol, cast it into a new one to Ranald, call in your priest friends to re-sanctify the room. (bonus to rolls and reduced cost to creating a second shrine to Ranald, either in your Estate or elsewhere, +1 room, ???)
[X] Return to the Bright College (???)
[X] Dwarven Pistol: 100 gc and Dwarven Revolver, 125 gc.

I really don't want to risk making the bright college angry, they literally have explosive tempers.

@BoneyM I have been meaning to ask, how would using our pistol in our magister duel go over?

A lot of people have mentioned it but would we get disapproval for it because "Wizard need to use magic how dare you try and break the rules" or would we get approval because "This is the Grey College, use whatever tools you can to solve actual problems want to spend your time arguing over useless semantics go join the Celestial College."
 
@BoneyM I have been meaning to ask, how would using our pistol in our magister duel go over?

A lot of people have mentioned it but would we get disapproval for it because "Wizard need to use magic how dare you try and break the rules" or would we get approval because "This is the Grey College, use whatever tools you can to solve actual problems want to spend your time arguing over useless semantics go join the Celestial College."

Actually shooting and killing the Magister you're duelling would not go over well, but in principal it's completely okay and encouraged. The Grey College is very practical.

Mentality

Shadowmancers seldom stay long in one place. They are restless, curious and independent individuals and their character and duties mean that they spend most of their lives travelling from place to place. Due to the nature of their duties, the journeys Shadowmancers embark upon are often undertaken under the cover of darkness, and therefore nearly always seem to imply some evil purpose or ulterior motive to the few ordinary people that witness them. Shadowmancers do not talk easily of their deeds, or much of other matters, for they are aware of the suspicion with which they are viewed by their fellow men, and prefer to remain inconspicuous and discreet.

The Shadowmancers are renowned for their practicality. A grave sense of responsibility and a sharp mind are prerequisites for potential apprentices to their Order. The Shadowmancers prize diplomacy and the skills of debate and rhetoric, especially for those times that they choose to become involved in disputes, where they take the part of open mediators. The history of the Order of Shadows has, with very few exceptions, been one of great asceticism, skilful diplomacy, and absolute opposition to all things associated with the Dark Powers.

Magisters of the Grey Order may rarely be viewed as honest individuals, but they are incredibly loyal to their Order and the Empire as a whole. Teclis chose the most dependable and honourable of his Human protégés to study the Grey Wind because he knew full well the temptations that would soon come their way.

The symbol of their Order (the Sword of Judgement) is a reminder to them as scholars of magic that seeking knowledge and wisdom is not enough in itself. They are worthless if not actively used to better society.

These are generalities and there are exceptions to every rule, but it's still a useful insight into what the College as an institution would value.
 
@BoneyM
1) Would the college bean-counters react badly if we told them that, having had our land surveyed (provide recites), we don't think it is worth developing and want to use the money else where?
2) Would Wilhelmina be willing to only have a portion of our EIC earnings paid directly into the debt? When Abelhelm was paying us wages and discretionary funds it was fine but now we find ourselves with little actual income. There is a significant psychological difference between having a reliable supply of funds and having a large but finite reserve.


It seems like a good time to examine where we are going and how we intend to get there.

Short term:
We need to go do our trials. We have three basic options as I see it.
1) Just go do the trials, relying on our existing knowledge and accomplishments.
2) Spend half a turn cramming spells into our head, overwork included, then do the exam.
3) Spend one turn doing a bit enchanting, a bit of spell study and a bit of other work. Then take the test next turn.
Off hand I favour 3 but I can see reasons for each.

Medium term:
I had wanted to keep working for the betterment of Stirland. However the EC, however polite she tried to be, dislikes us enough that she couldn't even be bothered to send us a 'No thank you.' message. Her sypmaster is likely to be just as bad as he is probably the one that taught her that opinion. Our fief is as unassuming as it first appeared and the loose end (the not openly hostile vampire) is gone.
So my plan would be to get the factory producing gunpowder then fold it into the EIC. Do a bit of work buffing the EIC. And otherwise just sink action after action into the research backlog. If Stirland needs us they can get in touch through Wilhelmina or Anton.

Long term:
It is entirely possible that the situation in Stirland will change. If so, if we are called then I am all in favour of answering. However it may not. It may be that when we finish our research the EC and her spymaster will still consider us 'surplus to requirements'. If that is the case then I say it will be time to move on.

I propose we go to Miragliano, the most northern of the Tilean cities. Openly we will be there to oversee the expansion and running of the EIC in Tilea. Officially, and secretly, we will be there to keep watch for any Threats To The Empire coming from the south. Actually we will be trying to achieve three goals. A) Introduce Ranald to the Skaven, hopefully triggering internal schisms and 'holy' wars to fracture their nation. B) Take the thieves, cut-throats and assassins of Miragliano and forge them into an Order of Smoke Knights (basically European ninja). C) Bring Miragliano under the rule of the Empire, by whatever means seem the most entertaining at the time.

Thoughts?
 
@BoneyM
1) Would the college bean-counters react badly if we told them that, having had our land surveyed (provide recites), we don't think it is worth developing and want to use the money else where?

It is valid and would likely be accepted but would also likely lead to even more scrutiny.

2) Would Wilhelmina be willing to only have a portion of our EIC earnings paid directly into the debt? When Abelhelm was paying us wages and discretionary funds it was fine but now we find ourselves with little actual income. There is a significant psychological difference between having a reliable supply of funds and having a large but finite reserve.

The debt is actually to Stirland. If you think now might be a good time to cut your repayments, you could do that.
 
These are generalities and there are exceptions to every rule, but it's still a useful insight into what the College as an institution would value.
Okay, pistols+diplomacy for the exam.

-Uh uh. I know what you're thinking. "Did she fire eight shots or only seven?" Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a dwarven revolver, the most powerful handgun in the city and would blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, Magister?
 
I'm almost tempted to ask if we can call in the Dwarves for a second opinion about the mineral findings. I know it sounds fairly desperate, but unless we want to set up a college or something then we need some form of natural resources.
 
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[X] Keep Blacksmiths Tools
[X] Melt down the idol, cast it into a new one to Ranald, call in your priest friends to re-sanctify the room. (bonus to rolls and reduced cost to creating a second shrine to Ranald, either in your Estate or elsewhere, +1 room, ???)
[X] Return to the Bright College (???)
[X] Dwarven Revolver, 125 gc.

Damn those low resourcing rolls. Everything else was good.
 
[X] Keep Blacksmiths Tools
[X] Melt down the idol, cast it into a new one to Ranald, call in your priest friends to re-sanctify the room. (bonus to rolls and reduced cost to creating a second shrine to Ranald, either in your Estate or elsewhere, +1 room, ???)
[X] Keep it.
[X] Dwarven Pistol: 100 gc and Dwarven Revolver, 125 gc.

I really don't want to risk making the bright college angry, they literally have explosive tempers.

You seen to have missed it but it was clearly stated by Boney that while they would like to have it back they wouldn't care if we keep it since the ring has no true owner, so there is no risk whatsoever of makin then angry and so no reason we shouldn't keep it.
 
You seen to have missed it but it was clearly stated by Boney that while they would like to have it back they wouldn't care if we keep it since the ring has no true owner, so there is no risk whatsoever of makin then angry and so no reason we shouldn't keep it.
On a second note.
Wiki said:
"Forged by the first Bright Wizards, the Doomfire Rings were circulated among the Apprentice and Journeyman Wizards to better serve the Empire in the Great War Against Chaos. "
To me, this sounds more like they were more or less mass produced (as much as you can with enchanting) in order to create a spellcaster who could reliably cast something.

Edit: Even though they'd possibly like a template for future enchanting, chances are they still have a few laying around.
 
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I propose we go to Miragliano, the most northern of the Tilean cities. Openly we will be there to oversee the expansion and running of the EIC in Tilea. Officially, and secretly, we will be there to keep watch for any Threats To The Empire coming from the south. Actually we will be trying to achieve three goals. A) Introduce Ranald to the Skaven, hopefully triggering internal schisms and 'holy' wars to fracture their nation. B) Take the thieves, cut-throats and assassins of Miragliano and forge them into an Order of Smoke Knights (basically European ninja). C) Bring Miragliano under the rule of the Empire, by whatever means seem the most entertaining at the time.
I like the plan but it's kind out of the blue IC. @BoneyM maybe after magisterials we can get a meta-vote for possible tasks order will propose to us? Being an illegal agent can be very fun.
 
Given illegal magic-users and their ilk seem to be a newfound focus of the old spy network and the new watch - has our name been brought up at all in the Councils or briefings?

Not saying they might end up thinking we're bad news and want to preemptively solve a problem, buuuut...
Already mentioned, under "Relations between Witch Hunters and Magisters". They can't just black-bag a College Wizard and expect to get away with it.

there are exceptions to every rule

And Mathilde has more of those exceptions than most. She's stayed in Wurtbad for most of the last decade, rather than travelling. She travels during the day to get the most out of Shadowsteed, rather than under the cover of darkness. She regularly reported her work in more detail than the other councillors, rather than keeping her deeds to herself. She was probably Abelhelm's second-most trusted subordinate, rather than being considered suspect. She often carries a greatsword, which is hardly remaining inconspicuous. Diplomacy is her dump stat, rather than being what she prides herself on.

But she does line up with other Grey Order stereotypes. She's certainly practical, for one. Although her research has focused mainly on the theoretical, it could be of great practical use to many wizards. She's got the sense of responsibility, or she wouldn't have put so much effort into doing her job well for Abelhelm. She was as loyal to him as anyone else, too. And she does love herself a big sword.
 
[X] Keep Blacksmiths Tools
[X] Melt down the idol, cast it into a new one to Ranald, call in your priest friends to re-sanctify the room. (bonus to rolls and reduced cost to creating a second shrine to Ranald, either in your Estate or elsewhere, +1 room, ???)
[X] Return to the Bright College (???)
[X] Dwarven Revolver , 125 gc.
 
Of the short term suggestions, I fully agree with option 3. Enchantment is something worth pursuing, and it's a practice better done from a stable base of operations, like our Sunken Palace. But the trials are important, and we've been forced to put them off long enough due to other affairs. Best to avoid getting invested in new matters, and growing our backlog even bigger, before we get that done with.

Medium and long-term, though, I decidedly have my own ideas.
I would suggest we hang out a shingle and continue operations in Stirland, particularly in Sylvania, in the medium term at the very least. Even if the Elector Countess and her Spymaster consider us surplus to requirement doesn't mean there won't be other political players in Stirland that see the value of our services. It will also enable us to serve the Empire while having plenty of discreet opportunities to sabotage the Sigmarite fools from building another one of their mage-hating strongholds on the foundation of our own blood and sweat. Preventing that ought to be our most important medium term goal. We can't in good faith leave Stirland until we are certain Sylvania is going to be a religious/political center that opposes the Sigmarites. If we succeed quickly, we can put a full change of scenery in our long term goals. If not, then stopping the Sigmarites would evolve into our long-term goal.
 
Take the thieves, cut-throats and assassins of Miragliano and forge them into an Order of Smoke Knights (basically European ninja).

I'm trying to find a way to say this without sounding like an asshole and it's probably not going to work so I apologize in advance: it is rather galling to see you continually try to railroad the future of this quest into an extended reference to a completely unrelated steampunk comic. Earlier, if memory serves, to achieve this end you were talking about swearing Mathilde's entire family line to Abelhelm's before you even met any of his children, and now you've come up with another method completely unrelated to anything that's happened in the past one hundred and sixty thousand words of questing. On top of my own preferences, I haven't got the impression that the thread as a whole is inclined to turning Mathilde into some sort of Dumbledore figure for a ninja school, instead of focusing on having an active hand in current events.

Besides the smoke knight thing, for one you ICly don't even know that skaven exist and for another annexing chunks of Tilea on behalf of the empire is, if anything, even more out of the blue than the ninja school thing. The Empire has enough trouble pacifying what it already has.
 
Everyone voting for getting a Dwarven Revolver who wants to look cool should approval vote for [ ] 2 Dwarven Revolvers, 250 gc

Mathilde could be a better Pistolier than Gustav. She charges into battle on her Shadowsteed, fires off a dozen or more magical attacks, and rides away only to reload while still riding and return to do it all over again.
 
Inserted tally

Tally is shit.
Adhoc vote count started by TotallyNotEvil on Mar 19, 2018 at 11:36 AM, finished with 10786 posts and 52 votes.
 
Anything we've learned about her personal traits/habits?
Reserved, bookish and private.
CK2 Translation(note, do NOT assume this is how the quest handles it):
-Reserved - Shy -Diplomacy
-Bookish - Scholar +Learning
-Private - Paranoid -Diplomacy +Intrigue

So...loosely speaking, she's not too different from Abelhelm. Minus 30 years of seasoning. Not a people person and it shows.
Still, whatever the intent, that's likely one for the Weber Book of Grudges.
Thats stupid really. Getting into a feud with an Elector Countess, who despite her evident prejudice against magic users, at least gives you a letter of recommendation is petty, futile and self destructive.

Note she didn't have to. A normal Elector has decent odds of firing you and ordering you out of the city on the same day if they had the same prejudice. They are fully within their rights to do so.


This is correct. As long as you abide by the Articles of Imperial Magic, without solid evidence of your wrongdoing they cannot touch you without getting in a world of shit. 'All eight Colleges threatening to declare war on Stirland' levels of shit. 'The Emperor himself asking what the fuck is going on over there' levels of shit. If there is one thing that the Colleges will move heaven and earth to prevent, it's the precedent that members of the College in good standing can be victimized by Witch Hunters. Besides that, Magisters legally have all the rights and protections of nobility, and as a Journeywoman you are under the protection of your Master - besides which, you actually are a noble.

I cannot emphasize it enough: THIS IS NOT 40K. It takes more than someone pointing and shouting 'heresy' to be murdered by the Witch Hunters.

Here is the legal status between the Witch Hunters (aka the Templars of Sigmar) and members of the Colleges of Magic:

14. All Magisters are required to render such aid as is deemed necessary to the Holy Orders of the Templars of Sigmar, should said Templars provide satisfactory proof that the servant of malignancy they face is beyond their capacity to capture or destroy without magical means.

You aren't their prey. You're their backup.
Also worth keeping in mind that the Deal is literally the main(and in some cases, only) reason the Colleges work for the Empire. Its important.

Granted, we DO have solid evidence. Might want to get the Liber Mortis to an alternate hidey hole than Wurtbad and counting on obscurity alone.
I'll be adding enchantment options to the next turn, and will likely add something to the threadmark then after I nail down how it's all going to work.
IIRC you mentioned before that our starting level of enchantment was only good for imbuing Petty Magics. So I had assumed with the upgrade we can make basic magic weapons and armor...but based on the description what we tested it with was closer to Shadowcloak.

I assume we're getting something more freeform?
As long as it works within Ulgu themes of course, and presumably stuff that's just copying a spell we know is far easier than improvising(at least until high end enchantments where the spells are literally impossible to cast outside of ritual and you have to wing it for a largely unique enchantment)
There is something stopping them: they have to not only admit but also prove that they can't triumph without magic every time. It's a neatly worded clause - they can't call you in without taking a heavy blow to their own ego, and it means those most opposed to magic are the ones that never end up working alongside wizards.
Makes sense. Also this illustrates more clearly WHY Abelhelm trusted us more after we joined him on the tomb raiding, I presume? We came to help despite not being required to.

That said, it makes a lot of sense, because if you're going up against necromancers and cultists that had gotten beyond reanimating the cat, you either bring an army and be willing to pay oceans of blood, be dead sneaky, assassinate them and hope you can murder your way out of the horde or you bring some wizards.

I'm not sure what the average Witch Hunter is even going to do to a ghost or even a minor daemon. Magic weapons don't come standard, and neither do warpriests.
You can take it as granted that the reward would be of comparable value to the ring, but the entire point of the mystery box option is that it is a mystery. Perhaps they'll make you a new magical artifact, perhaps they'll owe you an enormous favour to be called in at a later date, perhaps it will negate some favour that the Grey College owed the Bright and you'll get something from them instead. If the option is chosen I'll generate a handful of possible options and roll for it on the spot.
Cool, and looking over the item descriptions...I think the role is well occupied by our gun(s) as it is. We'll be fine. Editing to return it to the rightful owners.

There's not really a good way to drop the information that you have a shrine to what may very well be Khorne on your hands, and it's likely to end in them insisting quite strenuously that you tell them the location so they can burn it to the ground and salt the earth it stands on. The safe option is to brick it up and pretend you never saw it; if you want to get something out of it, either smelt down the icon and take your chances or sic Ranald on it and watch the fireworks. That said, being in Stirland is about as safe as you can be from a malevolent ocean deity without being up a mountain.
Well...Piety is one of the stats we hadn't raised lately :p
Pray hard?
So just to sound out the idea, how does the general thread population feel about use offering our services to the new intrigue adviser. At the very least it reaffirms how loyal we are to Stirland and our willingness to help, plus if he does accept then we can more easily keep our ear to the ground in regards to what the countess is doing and maybe even open up the possibility of getting past her fear of magic so that we can make her into a proper ally.
I think if they need us they have plenty of ways to contact us, via Wilhelmina and the EIC if nothing else. Considering that Julia's network is appreciated, the new intrigue adviser doesn't trust magic, but our reputation made us...respected enough that he's willing to take out network over just fine.

So we just focus on our own stuff, and make ourselves available if the Call comes. No need to pine around Wurtbad, we can do that after we make Magister.
No, seriously, WHY would you worship a forbidden ocean deity in a place that distinctly lacks an ocean? It seems like a lot of risk with absolutely no reward.
It is entirely possible that the previous owner was a river pirate. In which case Stromfels is indeed in his domain, even if not a very strong one.
What do we know about the Witch Hunter who replaced us? Like general attitude, province of origin, Hat sizes and the weapons he carries around.

By name and accent, a northern Ostlander; combined with Abelhelm's taste in brandy you suspect that's where his children were holed up. He's equally suspicious of damn near everyone and seems to be really jumpy to suddenly find himself on the front line of the whole Sylvania business. He favours a falchion.
Hmm...well he has good tastes in weapons.
No, they can't. They're finding a way that the spell meshes with you and your understanding of magic, so they're completely personal. If you took an apprentice and taught them your view of magic and prevented them from developing any of their own, then it's possible, but far from guaranteed, that they could learn your Masteries... but wouldn't be able to manifest any of their own.
Also I imagin most of the colleges would consider doing something like that a little abusive of the apprentice. Magic being intensely personal is a thing after all, and forcibly molding apprentices that way stunts their growth.
Actually shooting and killing the Magister you're duelling would not go over well, but in principal it's completely okay and encouraged. The Grey College is very practical.
I think they'd probably have more to say about the big freaking sword myself :p
A good dwarf made revolver is after all, very Grey Order.
 
So, how's the threads interest in taking Belegar Ironhammer's offer?

Personally, I want to shoot for dwarf rep in the Old World, and maybe get some sweet gromril Runed items.

@BoneyM Would just sending a message to a Runelord cost favor? Something like a short letter and a small flask of qhaysh juice?
 
[X] Keep Blacksmiths Tools
[X] Melt down the idol, cast it into a new one to Ranald, call in your priest friends to re-sanctify the room. (bonus to rolls and reduced cost to creating a second shrine to Ranald, either in your Estate or elsewhere, +1 room, ???)
[X] Return to the Bright College (???)
[X] Dwarven Pistol: 100 gc and Dwarven Revolver, 125 gc.
 
I think they'd probably have more to say about the big freaking sword myself :p
The sword is actually the signature weapon of the Grey Order. They might consider it to be of an impractical size, but Mathilde can quite easily demonstrate her skill. And it's what she used to defend Abelhelm, so there's evidence of real practical use.
 
So, how's the threads interest in taking Belegar Ironhammer's offer?

Personally, I want to shoot for dwarf rep in the Old World, and maybe get some sweet gromril Runed items.

@BoneyM Would just sending a message to a Runelord cost favor? Something like a short letter and a small flask of qhaysh juice?

Personally I'd love to go with Ironhammer and reclaim Karak Eight Peaks.

Unfortunately, it appears Dwarf Vietnam is coloring people's perceptions.
 
1) Would the college bean-counters react badly if we told them that, having had our land surveyed (provide recites), we don't think it is worth developing and want to use the money else where?
I would point out that with the Gunpowder/Niter factory we have other avenues for productivity. If your land is shit, then develop the people, set up a forge and have a smith crank out tools for the surrounding region. Route the EIC trade through it, and then set up cottage industries of weaving and cheesemaking so we multiply what we can get out of the herds.
Short term:
We need to go do our trials. We have three basic options as I see it.
1) Just go do the trials, relying on our existing knowledge and accomplishments.
2) Spend half a turn cramming spells into our head, overwork included, then do the exam.
3) Spend one turn doing a bit enchanting, a bit of spell study and a bit of other work. Then take the test next turn.
Off hand I favour 3 but I can see reasons for each.
1) Our Master actually seems to hint we're just about ready.
2) I agree with this...except for the overwork. Never overwork spell research. Never overwork any kind of applied magic.
3) Our enchanting, depends on what we can make at present. Though I THINK we can actually enchant our guns to be Silent fairly easily, and I got a crazy idea or two about enchanting our Flamberge with Take No Heed. This should allow us to get enough spells to unlock the next rank of Magic however.

A Flamberge with Take No Heed might well be considered THE order weapon :p
 
@BoneyM Would just sending a message to a Runelord cost favor? Something like a short letter and a small flask of qhaysh juice?

A Runelord, yes, it'd cost a favour just to get a letter to them, and they'd reply if the flask interests them; if you're after a specific investigation into it it'd cost more favours. A Runepriest you could open communications based on rep alone.

Should this be "Advanced Economics (Proficient)"?

No, it's one level below Proficient, but I need to find another word to describe the level after proficient for use with Greatswording.
 
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