Varys should have plenty of tricks available to him also, we've been blindsided by tripwires quite recently and he's better than that.
He's had more time than anyone to prepare for us, years, and he's a proven planner, a manipulator of the highest order.
Ultimately he should be a threat because he is a central figure of the Westeros conspiracy, if he's rolled up in an afternoon off-screen (an interlude is hardly better) how am I supposed to care about anyone else left in the continent as a threat?
Just more devils and demons with generic infernal motivation, it's something to deal with but not something to engage with narratively, they're just fertilizer.
Varys should have plenty of tricks available to him also, we've been blindsided by tripwires quite recently and he's better than that.
He's had more time than anyone to prepare for us, years, and he's a proven planner, a manipulator of the highest order.
Ultimately he should be a threat because he is a central figure of the Westeros conspiracy, if he's rolled up in an afternoon off-screen (an interlude is hardly better) how am I supposed to care about anyone else left in the continent as a threat?
Just more devils and demons with generic infernal motivation, it's something to deal with but not something to engage with narratively, they're just fertilizer.
There was no way Varys was ever going to be a threat once we became like, level 10 or so. Spider in his web or no, the guy's a muggle with no personal fighting prowess in a position where he can't get guards good enough to actually back him. His weakness, much like Littlefinger's, is people who decide to just have him killed by main force. Joffrey could literally kill both the masterminds in canon if he randomly got pissed and sicked the Hound on them while they were in the castle.
The Westeros conspiracy's greatest strengths kind of fail to be relevant when Viserys already plans to kick them all out of their places of power because he does not give a shit IC and the players see no reason to put up with them OOC. Their only chance is to start pulling high level casters out of their pants, and Littlefinger is better equipped for that, being Mammon's (likely) pawn in the Small Council. Varys would need one of Tiamat's very scarce clerics to come bail his ass out.
I think you might be missing what we gave Vargor for Sallosh infrastructure, as well as what we recently paid for the various plant creatures. It cost us hundreds of thousands of IM. I can dig each of them up for you if you need me to.
[] Plan Poking Stuff
-[] Amulets: Keep them and poke them next month with Lyas Soul Drum to learn about their occupants and if they have died recently enough to revive them.
-[] Sallosh: Poke the undead about the following things:
--[X What are their current goals?
--[] What can they tell us about the undead outside the city?
--[] Do they know something how we could help out the colony?
--[] Would they object to us stationing a sizable force in Sallosh to fortify the place and defend it?
-[] Sallosh: Assuming that the undead are not wholly against the notion, station a large contingent of soldiers to defend this strategic location.
--[] Pull the 3rd Infantry Company, the Scout Company and the Lancer Company from the 1st Column of the 2nd Legion.
--[] Add 500 Tolosi Slingers.
--[] Take the 64 launchers that were earmarked for the new Siege Company.
--[] The whole force will be branded as the Salloshi Expedition Force and will be under the command of Vargor Alexi. They will assist and defend the city to the best of their ability, starting with helping to build a huge, beautiful wall.
-[] Sallosh: Further aid and sign-up bonuses.
--[] Vargor Alexi gets a Valyrian Steel longsword.
--[] They get a budget for further supplies of 10,000 IM, to be dropped off together with the military units. This can include whole ships, who Viserys will Teleport over.
[X] Try to find the cat and only if that doesn't work out, try something else.
-[X] Add it to the things to be done when you visit the Red Keep again. Which will be soon, considering you also want to have a certain Spider.
-[X] Fungus Forge production:
--[X] Mulch up everything except the Hero Killer Xenarth.
--[X] 1,000 Giant Fungal Darkenbeasts, who are covered entirely in HD
--[X] 12 Giant Fungal Darkenbeasts for a total of 10,800 IM
--[X] 46 Advanced Druid Creature Lotus Leshies for a total of 110,400 IM
--[X] 10 Advanced Plant-Imbued Gigantic Manta Rays, mostly covered in HD and let's just charge 8,800 IM for the rest
--[X] Total Price: 120,000 IM
10,000 IM given to Governor Vargor for improving the Imperial Infrastructure of the Sallosh Province, and then 120,000 IM spent on various plant creatures.
Vargor was also given a PfE Ring and a Valyrian Steel Longsword, but that's more of a side note.
Varys should have plenty of tricks available to him also, we've been blindsided by tripwires quite recently and he's better than that.
He's had more time than anyone to prepare for us, years, and he's a proven planner, a manipulator of the highest order.
Ultimately he should be a threat because he is a central figure of the Westeros conspiracy, if he's rolled up in an afternoon off-screen (an interlude is hardly better) how am I supposed to care about anyone else left in the continent as a threat?
Just more devils and demons with generic infernal motivation, it's something to deal with but not something to engage with narratively, they're just fertilizer.
If he wants to be relevant and survive, he needs to not be there when we come looking for him, and he needs to be behind wards we can't bypass. If so, he gets to continue as a manipulator. Otherwise, he's fucked.
There was no way Varys was ever going to be a threat once we became like, level 10 or so. Spider in his web or no, the guy's a muggle with no personal fighting prowess in a position where he can't get guards good enough to actually back him. His weakness, much like Littlefinger's, is people who decide to just have him killed by main force. Joffrey could literally kill both the masterminds in canon if he randomly got pissed and sicked the Hound on them while they were in the castle.
The Westeros conspiracy's greatest strengths kind of fail to be relevant when Viserys already plans to kick them all out of their places of power because he does not give a shit IC and the players see no reason to put up with them OOC. Their only chance is to start pulling high level casters out of their pants, and Littlefinger is better equipped for that, being Mammon's (likely) pawn in the Small Council. Varys would need one of Tiamat's very scarce clerics to come bail his ass out.
That's is just out and out false, you can emulate a high level mage purely with gear, you can get gear to make the checks to use the rest of your gear. There are a million more direct ways to do the same and better.
There is no proof he is a "muggle without magical support" we have no idea the deals he's made, we've trapped spiritual beings in word games and he lives on top of an Eldritch Evil.
The man has options, your dismissal is pure arrogance and a lack of creativity.
The problem with traps in the Red Keep is that he can put a few discrete ones in his room and that's pretty much it. He could also trap the tunnels but those would hinder him and his agents as much as help them. UMD he can have, keeping them hidden would be very easy, but ultimately his chassis is at best some kind of Rogue so he better not waste too many turns trying to cast that shit at Daenerys.
That's is just out and out false, you can emulate a high level mage purely with gear, you can get gear to make the checks to use the rest of your gear. There are a million more direct ways to do the same and better.
There is no proof he is a "muggle without magical support" we have no idea the deals he's made, we've trapped spiritual beings in word games and he lives on top of an Eldritch Evil.
The man has options, your dismissal is pure arrogance and a lack of creativity.
We know he needs to be keeping it hidden in the Red Keep. Can't exactly have a major fiend there, not with the Lannisters keeping watch for such things. Gear he can hide plenty of, but gear is expensive and unless you have a crafter or can access well stocked markets there's serious limits to that.
Changes:
- Valeria is finishing up the Golden Egg
- Leila goes to the Golden Fields expedition
- Valeana goes to Yi-Ti by popular demand and because I think it would be neat if we can show off a small dragon there
[X] Core Plan for the 8th Month -[X] Orb of Dragonkind
--[X] Lya, Richard, Malarys, Teana and Rina will travel to the Red Waste and look for the Orb of Dragonkind
--[X] They will also take along Leto and 3 other Erinyes as scouts and emergency messengers, with everyone having a marked stone so that Viserys can Teleport over in a heartbeat. -[X] Research
--[X] Xor will finish Fire Whale research
--[X] Vee, Mercy and Mereth will finish up the Fungal Pods
--[X] Anu resumes his Warforged research
--[X] Svitran resumes his Serpentfolk research
--[X] Naria resumes her research on Weirwood Hybridization -[X] Scholarium Matters
--[X] The Sorcerers Deep Scholarium will resume preparations for the Silver Eye class.
--[X] Waymar resumes his work on the Alchemy classes.
--[X] SD spends it's Admnistration action to continue establishing the Tyrosh Scholarium.
--[X] Mantarys will spend it's Province action to start building it's own Scholarium branch.
--[X] Naath spends it's Province action to continue establishing it's Scholarium outpost.
--[X] Horio resumes overseeing efforts in Tyrosh.
--[X] Velen and Sarah continue teaching in the Scholarium.
--[X] Valeria will finish up the Golden Egg research. -[X] Basilisk Isles
--[X] All three provinces of the Basilisk Isle will construct Guard Posts to strengthen our hold on the area.
--[X] Salladhor will take his fleet to scout the cost of Sothorys, both for any remaining pirates, other expeditions and to determine good landing or colony sites. Preferably, he checks as far as Basilisk Point, so that we can extend our reach to the eastern straits. -[X] Draconys
--[X] To strengthen our hold on the area, establishing control over the Demon Road, easing the task of protecting the Lyceos outpost and to finally bring Henekar into the fold, we will commence military and diplomatic efforts to take control of the province Draconys.
--[X] Yrael will lead the diplomatic efforts, due to his connection to the local people and Archon advantage.
--[X] Rhango and his Khalazaar will take care of the military side of things, focusing on killing bandits, supernatural treats and pushing back Dothraki in the northern parts of the province.
--[X] They will use Rhangos Khalazar and the Draconys Expedition Force for this. -[X] Crafting
--[X] See @Goldfish proposal on the matter. -[X] Inquisition Expansion
--[X] The SD Inquisition offices, with the aid of Garin and Wyla, who will capitalize on their efforts there last month, will establish a full Inquisition Base in Myr.
--[X] The Tyrosh Inqusition offices, with the aid of Hermetia and Glyra, will do the same in Lys. Hermetia will leverage her contacts, while Glyra will leverage the Fey and add her expertise to combat Fey influence.
--[X] Mia and Anya will establish a Inquisition Outpost in Kings Landing, subverting existing networks where possible and building their own, disconnected cells. They will coordinate with the other intrigue mission in the city. -[X] Red Keep Infiltration
--[X] Dany, Rhealla, Maelor and Aradia will infiltrate the Red Keep to achieve the following objectives, in descending order of priority.
---[X] Capture or kill Varys.
---[X] Subvert Varys informant network to leverage it for our own purposes.
---[X] Learn the identity of the Mammon pawn in the Ursupers court.
---[X] Find Balerion the cat or it's remains.
---[X] Find Balerion the Dragon, or more precisely his bones and that of the other Targ dragons. Loot everything.
---[X] Do something to drive Cersei crazy.
--[X] Copy or steal as many official documents as possible, especially correspondence, financial statements, information on troop strength and movements, and all the other little things that could be interesting. -[X] Tolosi Training Centers
--[X] Tolos will spend it's Province action, aided by Amrelath and Relath, will further expand the Training Centers in Tolos to increase the speed of Legion training. -[X] Three Daughters Buildup
--[X] Tyrosh spends it's Province action to finish it's Guard Posts.
--[X] Lys and the Southern Disputed Lands spend their Province actions to establish a Messenger Service in Lys itself.
--[X] Myr and the Northern Disputed Lands spend their Province actions to establish a Messenger Service in Myr itself. -[X] Disputed Lands Economic Package
--[X] Use all three available sets of Titan Tools to build the roads connecting the current network with Myr and a sufficiently sized coastal town near Lys. Any remaining days of work are invested into the bridges of the Stepstones.
--[X] The Daughters March, aided by Red Scales Holding, will establish the "Blooming Fields Agriculture Consortium", a agriculture business that will hopefully better the local economic situation by growing cash crops. Later on, they will grow poppies and tea in particular.
--[X] To establish firmer control on the far-flung and lawless Eastern Flatlands and properly end slavery there, Ser Gerold will impose Martial Law with 1st Legion on the area, aided by a Law Action and the Public Schools bonus from SD. -[X] Golden Fields
--[X] To further increase economic activity on the frontier, to curtail Volantene expansion in the area and to get access to the upper Rhoyne for economic and military purposes, such as a campaign against Qohor, Sorcerers Deep will spend it's Province action to establish a Trade Colony in Golden Fields.
--[X] This will be aided by the Eastern Flatlands using their Province action to send settlers there and Kira will use the Violin of Building to construct initial settlements.
--[X] Since the area is infested by Fey, Tyene, Soft Strider, Argo, Bronn and Leila will be send to negotiate with them and / or establish a pecking order. Kira will join them when available. -[X] SD Buildup
--[X] Alinor, with aid by the Western Disputed Lands Province action, will establish the first non-magical institute of higher learning in SD, the core of a university. The first courses will focus on Economics.
--[X] Beryl resumes building the Training Center for gunners and engineers. -[X] Assorted
--[X] Azema has the month off. -[X] Yours Truly
--[X] Viserys will focus on arranging a festival to commemorate the victory against Lys, introducing the Mirror Network in the process and making it a truly Imperium wide celebration. He will also give speeches and generally sprinkle in a lot of propaganda.
--[X] After the initial things are organized, he shovels free a day or two to go to Amun Khelisk to sell off the current gold reserves and buy property for a Planar Terminus in the city. -[X] Yi-Ti Expedition
--[X] The Queen Rhealla, Diana, Moonsong, Asha and Theon will embark on a expedition to Yi-Ti with the Yi-Ti Expedition Fleet.
--[X] Details of the outfit of their expedition will be done in a separate vote. -[X] Military Reorganization and Deployment
--[X] Reorganize the military:
Task: secure the colony against the undead and the Dothraki
Scout Company
Elite
0,836
Lancer Company
Elite
0,836
Tolosi Slingers
Elite
0,5
Salloshi Caravan Guards
Levies
1
Man-portable Launchers
Siege Engine
64
Total
4,008
1st Siege Company
Base: Westhaven
Soldiers
Elite
still waiting for personel
Task: still in training
Man-portable Launchers
Siege Engine
Scorpions
Siege Engine
40
Total
Draconys Expedition Force
Base: Draconys
Levies
Levies
4
formerly Army of Mantarys, gave up 4000 levies for retraining and 500 MAA to Tolos
Task: establish control over the province
Men-At-Arms
MAA
3
Tolosi Slingers
Elite
1
Total
8
Rhangos Khalazaar
Base: Draconys
Screamers
MAA
5,191
unchanged
Task: establish military control
Veterans
Elite
2,889
Total
8,08
Eastern Army
Base: Tolos
Levies
Levies
8
formerly Army of Tolos, took 500 Men-At-Arms from Mantarys and gave 2000 levies for retraining
Task: guard the region against Slavers Bay
Men-At-Arms
MAA
6
Tolosi Slingers
Elite
8,5
Total
22,5
Westhaven Recruits
Base: Westhaven
Levies
Levies
20
Former levies of Lys and Myr.
Task: Retraining
Total
20
Tolos Recruits
Base: Tolos
Levies
Levies
10
Former levies of Lys, Myr, Mantarys and Tolos.
Task: Retraining
Total
10
Specialists
Base: SD
Specialists
Specialist
0,5
From the Myrish army.
Task: aiding Beryl
Total
0,5
Garrisons
Base: Various
Sorcerers Deep
MAA
1
Taking the Men-At-Arms from the dissolved armies of Lys and Myr.
Task: maintain control and security of the province they are stationed in
Tyrosh
MAA
1
Western Disputed Lands
MAA
1
Lys
MAA
1
Southern Disputed Lands
MAA
1
Myr
MAA
1
Northern Disputed Lands
MAA
1
The Daughters March
MAA
1
Eastern Flatlands
MAA
1
Mantarys
MAA
1
Tolos
MAA
1
Western Basilisk Isles
MAA
1
The Three Snakes
MAA
1
Eastern Basilisk Isles
MAA
1
Total
14
--[X] Reorganize the navy:
Formation
Deployment
Ship Type
Number
Manpower
Commentary
1st Fleet
Base: Basilisk Isles
Large Galleon - Valiant
1
0,5
Former 2nd Fleet, taking over 2 Medium and 8 Small Galleons from Saans Fleet.
Task: raiding shipping between Slavers Bay and Qarth
Medium Galleon
11
2,2
Small Galleon
8
0,4
Total
20
3,1
2nd Fleet
Base: Tyrosh
Large Galley
8
4,8
Formerly Myrish fleet, with one unassigned Medium Galley added. Also took over 6 Medium Galleys from the former 3rd Fleet
Task: patrol Narrow Sea and report on Pentoshi fleet movements
Medium Galley
17
6,8
Small Galley
6
1,2
Total
31
12,8
3rd Fleet
Base: Lys
Large Galley
4
2,4
Fomerly Lyseni fleet, with 3 Medium Galleys added. Stripped 2 Large Galleons and 1 Medium Galleon
Task: patrol southern seas and report on local ship movements
Medium Galley
10
4
Small Galley
11
2,2
Total
25
8,6
4th Fleet
Base: Tolos
Medium Galley
17
6,8
Formerly Tolosi Fleet, having gotten 2 Medium Galleys from the former 2nd Fleet, and 4 sloops and 3 Medium Galleys from the former 3rd Fleet, and 3 unassigend Medium Galleys
Task: keep control of Slavers Bay shipping routes
Small Galley
14
2,8
Sloop
12
0,3
Total
43
9,9
5th Fleet
Base: Basilisk Isles
Great Galleas - Valyrian
1
0,5
renamed from Saans Fleet and downsized by reassinging the Galleons
Task: scout coast of Sothoryos, look for good colony sites, potentially as far as Gorosh
Medium Galley
13
5,2
Small Galley
16
3,2
Sloop
5
0,125
Total
35
9,025
Stepstones Toll Fleet
Base: Stepstones
Medium Galley
15
6
renamed from 1st Fleet
Task: collect toll
Sloop
5
0,125
Total
20
6,125
Yi-Ti Expedition
Base: None
Fey Ship - Queen Rhealla
1
0,5
Made up out of the Galleons stripped from the Lyseni fleet, the Queen Rhealla and the Hunters Moon. Also added the 6 unassigned Small Galleons and 5 Medium Galleons from Saans Fleet
Task: travel to Yi-Ti on a diplomatic and economic expedition, also showcase our strength along the way
Great Galleas - Hunter's Moon
1
0,5
Large Galleon
2
1
Medium Galleon
6
1,2
Small Galleon
6
0,3
Total
16
3,5
--[X] Use 3 scrolls of Create Greater Demiplane to create temporary connections between SD, the southern DL, Mantarys and Sallosh to conduct troop movements. -[X] Military Construction
--[X] Stepstones - Build 1 Medium Galleon and retrain 6,000 Levies to Legionaries
--[X] Tyrosh - Build 1 Medium Galleon
--[X] Tolos - Build 1 Medium Galleon and retrain 900 Levies to Legionaries, founding the 3rd Legion
--[X] Lys - Build 1 Large Galleon and train 200 Legionaries
--[X] Myr - Build 1 Medium Galleon and train 200 Legionaries
--[X] The Daughters March - Train 400 Legionaries
--[X] Basilisk Isles - Don't do any training or shipbuilding there yet, on account of your grasp being still weak.
--[X] Total: 1x Large Galleon, 4x Medium Galleon, gain 7,700 Legionaries, loose 6,900 Levies -[X] Free Actions
--[X] Travel to Amun Kelisk for short business early in the month.
--[X] Travel to the Opaline Vault to pick up your commission and make a new one. Also buy crafting materials.
--[X] Right away craft a few tons of Valyrian Steel so that progress on the Harbinger can begin.
If he wants to be relevant and survive, he needs to not be there when we come looking for him, and he needs to be behind wards we can't bypass. If so, he gets to continue as a manipulator. Otherwise, he's fucked.
Varys, unfortunately, really isn't that dangerous on his own. It is his spy network and connections that make him dangerous. The problem is that when he is usually doing his thing it is though proxies and done through ways that cant be tracked back to him. Unfortunately for Varys not only do we know who he is but we also know who he works for, what conspiracy he is a part of and everything else to nail him. Can he escape? Sure if he gets lucky. But is it unbelievable for him to get captured by the party being sent? No it isn't.
...I genuinely don't get how people kling so tightly to characters of show/book when we ourselves have obviously moved so far past beyond them that they aren't even worth our attention.
We moved into the "Interplanar Empire Dragon Action Game"-territory very, very long ago.
I'd like to have Viserys on that "capture Varys" stuff, if only to make sure all goes well, but I'm still confident that him somehow managing to either survive or get away (assuming he didn't already) will cause me to cry bullshit all over it.
Or, well, incompetence of our PC's.
@Azel@Goldfish sorry if this is getting on your nerves, but another reminder that the Valyrian Steel for the Harbinger needs to happen at the beginning of the month for maximum crafting time.
10,000 IM given to Governor Vargor for improving the Imperial Infrastructure of the Sallosh Province, and then 120,000 IM spent on various plant creatures.
Vargor was also given a PfE Ring and a Valyrian Steel Longsword, but that's more of a side note.
Doesn't Tiamat have some high level spellcasters that are unaccounted for? I forget exactly what, but a whole bunch of Mages of the Fourth and Fifth Circle could do devastating things with access to Westeros' resources. Given how easy it was for Littlefinger to embezzle, it would not surprise me if Varys has stolen enormous sums to pay for magic items of the best quality. I'm sure some of them have access to Teleport and Illyrio isn't going to let his best friend hang out to dry, especially when he's one half of the conspiracy.
This was also months ago. How much could those Clerics and Wizards have grown since then? I suspect that Varys does have a cabal of mages around him and it would be very unwise to underestimate him. There's ways for muggles to befuddle higher level casters, especially since we need to maintain stealth for this mission. All it takes is one errant fireball for the entire thing to come uncovered.
Honestly Varys best chance to survive is having had a body double replace him a while ago. That would let him keep his position at the Red Keep without being there, and it'd be pretty smart. His operations would still be hosed, and he'd end up stuck in some bolthole where he can barely contribute to his side.
Doesn't Tiamat have some high level spellcasters that are unaccounted for? I forget exactly what, but a whole bunch of Mages of the Fourth and Fifth Circle could do devastating things with access to Westeros' resources. Given how easy it was for Littlefinger to embezzle, it would not surprise me if Varys has stolen enormous sums to pay for magic items of the best quality. I'm sure some of them have access to Teleport and Illyrio isn't going to let his best friend hang out to dry, especially when he's one half of the conspiracy.
This was also months ago. How much could those Clerics and Wizards have grown since then? I suspect that Varys does have a cabal of mages around him and it would be very unwise to underestimate him. There's ways for muggles to befuddle higher level casters, especially since we need to maintain stealth for this mission. All it takes is one errant fireball for the entire thing to come uncovered.
Depends on if they have the feats to craft items. Also, growing (or for that matter being useful to Tiamat, their actual boss) is not compatible at all with hiding in the Red Keep in case Varys needs backup. He could call them in to teleport, but that'd require him to not instantly fold when the party gives their best shot to capturing him.
@Azel@Goldfish sorry if this is getting on your nerves, but another reminder that the Valyrian Steel for the Harbinger needs to happen at the beginning of the month for maximum crafting time.
Oh look he runs. Let me tell you how that goes.
Dany: Viserys we got a runner
Viserys: I am on it
Varys: *caught*
Even if he somehow had Mindblank we have proven time and time again that it isn't infallible. We can ask the Old Gods or the Merling kIng to divine it. All in all the only way he gets away is if Tiamat bails his ass out. If the insertion team get captured (hah that is funny out loud) then guess its off to save them.
Bad thing is, I have a buttload of minor actions written up that people around here wanted, so the month is goign to be filled with a lot of filler anyway
