A great blanket of snow falls heavily upon the Empire. News of the disastrous Southern expedition, and the...thing it brought back with it, has already spread amongst the populace. The reaction has been...mixed.
Some express disbelief, but after a weeks-long blizzard drops several feet of snow in the middle of Spring, they're in the minority. The reaction for most has been to band together in preparation for the worst. Most of your people still remember Discord; the idea of a monster wielding powerful magic as a weapon against them is not a foreign concept. Still, the very fact of such a being's existence, so close to your territory and not so long after Discord's disappearance, has shaken more than a few. -5 Army Morale
Still, your people channel their fear and uncertainty productively. Food is stockpiled in preparation for rationing, should the inclement weather continue and sabotage agriculture, as has already begun to happen in the southernmost reaches of the Empire. -500 Farming Income
Town and village militias engage in frequent drills and training exercises to reassure the public, as well as themselves. The great stores of coal hidden within your mountains prove to be worth their weight in gold as the demand for firewood rapidly outpaces supply, miners working overtime to keep the homes of their fellow citizens warm.
The Diamond Dogs, used to dealing with inclement weather, are a godsend, inviting their neighbors into their subterranean homes once surface roofs begin to collapse under the weight of the ice. The tunnels and warrens may be dark and cramped, but they are preferable to freezing in the open air. Communities band together to support each other, neighbor helping neighbor as Griffons and Dogs across the Empire put aside their petty differences before an existential threat.
And as all this occurs, your palace is a frenzy of activity, advisors, officers and bureaucrats scrambling to respond to the developing crisis. And in the increasingly brief and infrequent moments of respite and relative calm, you drag yourself back to your personal chambers and hold your wife and children close, cherishing what might very well be your last few months together as a family, or alive.
These are dark times for you and your Empire. There is much work to be done if your people are to stand a chance of surviving the coming storm.
Martial: Gustav is frantically gathering together as many troops as he can, coordinating supply buildups and attempting to rally the militias and Knightly Orders in preparation for the war that everyone knows is coming. Gabriella assists him as much as she can, calling on old mercenary contacts and putting her considerable logistical experience to use, but things are still frenzied and disorganized. (Three Actions per Turn-One Additional Martial Action per Turn until Sombra no longer an imminent threat)
[ ] Rally the Militia: You'd integrated the informal village and town militias into the national defense infrastructure several years ago, promising only to call upon them when the heartland was threatened with invasion. Well, here you are. If there was ever a time to rally every able-bodied defender to the defense of the Empire, this would definitely be it. Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Militia Units rallied to supplement the Imperial Army
[ ] Emergency Impressment: You'd thought your army large enough to take on any foe. But the arrival of an enemy powerful enough to use the weather as a weapon against you has shed doubt upon that belief. The militia may supplement your numbers, but they are not real soldiers. They have no knowledge of drill, and most do not possess armor.
But recruiting new, professional troops in the traditional fashion isn't practical at this point. You simply don't have the time to go through the process of recruiting volunteers and sorting out payroll before putting them through weeks of training. Gustav has proposed a desperate solution: forcibly conscript able-bodied Griffons off the streets and press them into service as quickly as they can be kitted out and given the most basic military instruction. They might not be as well-trained as the more "veteran" soldiers, but they'll be better equipped than the militia.
This will probably upset some people, especially the peasants forced to fight, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and you can always compensate them once you're no longer facing imminent death. Cost: 2000. Time: One Year. Reward: Additional Soldiers forcibly recruited, army expanded, reduced peasant opinion.
[ ] Emergency Fortifications: It would take years to construct even the most basic fortifications along the Southern Border. You have weeks, if not mere days. Still, you can take steps to prepare the settlements most at risk of a siege. Stockpile supplies, shore up existing defenses, dig pit traps and tunnels, and do what you can to ensure the towns and cities most likely to be attacked are prepared to endure whatever the enemy can throw at them. Cost: 1000. Time: One Year. Reward: Reinforced defenses at Southern Settlements
[ ] The March South: Intelligence reports are spotty, infrequent, and often contradictory, but you don't need them to know that any Invasion is almost certainly going to come over the Peregrines before carving its way into your heartland. Whether you intend to wage a purely defensive war or launch an assault into enemy territory, you'll need to gather your forces along the Southern Border before you can consider actually engaging your foe. Rally the troops once again and march off to war. Cost: 0. Time: One Year. Reward: War turns begin
[ ] Big Sticks: The mobile Ballistae proved instrumental in your victory at the Battle of Wingbardy. Clearly they are a valuable battlefield asset. Build a few more. Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: +10 mobile Ballistae added to army.
Diplomacy: Elva Von Cleef retains her air of haughty indifference, but you can tell she's as concerned and stressed as the rest of you, a situation not helped by her seeming inability to really contribute to the defense of the Empire in any meaningful way without relying upon the kindness of strangers. (One Action per Turn)
[ ] Yak Attack: You've only recently come to know their language and have only just begun to grasp their culture, but all you really need to know is that the Yaks have among them some of the strongest warriors in the north, warriors that you desperately need to fight back against oncoming storm. Go before the leaders of the clans, explain the situation and the threat this pony of shadows poses to all of you, and plead with your neighbors for assistance. You can discuss reimbursement and diplomatic relations once you're not at risk of freezing to death or being enslaved by a mad sorcerer. Cost: 200. Time: One Year. Reward: Gain assistance from Yak Clans. Chance of Success: 50%
[ ] The Kindness of Strangers: You don't really know anything about them, but they haven't done anything to harm your people, which already places them a league ahead of your Southern Neighbor. Send a ship and some volunteer diplomats to make contact, explain your situation, and maybe get some help. At the very least, it would be nice to know that you don't have to worry about a war on two fronts. Cost: 300. Time: One Year. Reward: Contact made with Eastern Neighbors. Gain Assistance? Chance of Success: ???
Stewardship: You feel bad for Frida. Her first year on the job and already thrown into handling a crisis. Still, despite everything she manages to keep up her positive outlook, upholding office morale with her optimistic statements and encouraging her colleagues with her seemingly inexhaustible reserves of energy. (Two Actions per Turn)
[ ] Hothouses: This unnatural, unseasonable cold has caused extensive damage to your agricultural sector. Not only is this biting into tax revenues, if it keeps up you might have to worry about food shortages! A few creative farmers have come up with a solution. By constructing large, insulated grow houses and ensuring they are well-heated, it becomes possible to grow crops even in the midst of this blizzard. Set some funds aside for the construction of more of these hothouses and see if you can't build enough to offset the damage already done. Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Hothouses constructed. Alleviates some risk of food shortages, repairs some of the agricultural damage wrought by the storm.
[ ] I'm a Lumberjack and I'm OK: Were it not for the fact that they were infested with monsters, the forests of your kingdom would provide a nearly inexhaustible supply of lumber. That's not to say that your people don't cut down trees, it's just that they've never really done it on a large scale for fear of angering the things living in the woods. If your kingdom is going to grow and prosper, you'll need that timber, especially for firewood in this blizzard. Construct some sawmills and woodcutting camps. Cost: 150. Time: One Year. Reward: Logging income. Chance of Success: 70%
[ ] Blast Mining: Archimedes' fire powder, while little more than a noise maker in small amounts, is a potent explosive in large doses. A few miners have expressed interest in using it to blast their way through solid rock that can't be easily excavated. It's risky, but the rewards make it worth consideration. Cost: 200. Time: One Year. Reward: Increased Mining income. Chance of Success: 70%
[ ] Imperial Brew: This is something that could be...controversial. Archimedes' shroomshine has been exceedingly popular with the Imperial Citizenry. However, given it's relatively recent invention, all the people brewing it are doing so on a small scale. Someone raised the idea that, instead of having a bunch of independent brewers making a bunch of wildly disparate concoctions in their basements, the government could contract them and arrange the sale and distribution of the alcohol itself, ensuring consistent quality and netting a tidy profit in the process. Of course, some people might not approve of the government selling alcohol, or taking control of the market in such a fashion. Cost: 400. Time: 1 Year. Reward: Government Controlled Breweries. Gain Alcohol Sales Income. May raise Peasant Opinion. May lower Peasant Opinion. 50% chance of either outcome.
[ ] Steam Pumped Land Drainage: Due to the mountainous and heavily forested nature of the Griffonlands, arable land is often at a premium. If one wishes to establish a farm, one must clear the land of trees (and the beasts that live among them), or risk trying to farm on rocks. There are a handful of places in the Empire that would be prime farmland were they not flooded or otherwise too wet to plant crops on. Ordinarily these lands would be impossible to drain or simply not worth the effort, but Archimedes' new Steam Pump offers a new potential option for land reclamation. It'll be expensive and time consuming, but the extra agricultural output just might be worth it. Cost: 500. Time: Two Years. Reward: Water-logged areas cleared, additional farming income.
Learning: Archimedes increasingly involves himself with weapons development and research projects that might assist the war effort. Genevieve assists, albeit reluctantly. Coming up with new ways to kill people wasn't what either of them signed up for, but they are well aware that any innovations they can devise in the limited time available just might tip the balance of the war. (Choose Two)
[ ] Explosive Siege Weapons: The success of his ballistae and his access to supplies of fire powder has given Archimedes some ideas. The concept is simple, if unorthodox: a metal tube, sealed off at one end, filled with an amount of fire powder that, when ignited, propels a metal or stone ball out the opening at great speed. It…honestly sounds kind of dangerous, but Archimedes is the expert on this sort of thing. He tells you that, with additional funding, he might be able to have these new weapons ready for the first true battle of the war, assuming they don't blow up on the testing range. Cost: 4̶0̶0̶ 800. Time: T̶w̶o̶ One Year. Reward: New Siege Weapon. Chance of Success: 60%
[ ] Burning Shrooms: While working on turning mushrooms into alcohol, Archimedes realized that, if distilled a certain way, rather than an intoxicating beverage, the mushrooms produced a highly flammable liquid that caused health complications and death if ingested. At the time, he considered it a failed batch. Now, he thinks it might form the basis of a family of new weapons. Naturally, he'll need funding to run tests and establish a distillery dedicated to the production of this new substance. Cost: 200. Time: One Year. Reward: Flame Weapons? Chance of Success: 60%
[ ] Coke-Fired Blast Furnaces: Iron and Steel are the lifeblood of your economy, constituting everything from tools to building materials to weapons. However, they are difficult to produce in vast amounts. The only reason your people have been able to do so thus far is because of the sheer amount of ore available to you in your mountains, and the number of mining and smelting operations currently underway as a result. Genevieve has come up with a potential solution to allow for greater production of these metals. Using coal that has been treated in much the same way wood is treated to produce charcoal, a new form of dense, cleaner-burning fuel can be used to heat a new kind of massive, vertical smelting furnace the size of a building with a much greater output of metals. Naturally, this will be expensive, but Genevieve states that the increased metal production will be necessary to allow for greater innovation and widespread implementation of new devices. Cost: 600. Time: Two Years. Reward: Increased Iron/Steel Production, new Learning Actions Unlocked
[ ] Caltrops: You've never faced an all out invasion by ground-bound enemies before. As such, Archimedes' rather simple suggestion of scattering sharp-pointed objects about potential battlegrounds is as obvious as it is novel. The small bundles of metal spikes won't kill anyone (unless they're unlucky enough to trip and get stabbed in the temple or eye), but they'll slow them down and get those who step on them to stumble and even fall over if they hit the things at a run. Useful when on the defensive, if not very deadly. Cost: 200. Time: One Year. Reward: Caltrops added to Army Arsenal.
Intrigue: Ravenburg is a rock of calm in an ocean of confusion and uncertainty. You're not sure if that's because or in spite of the fact that you know almost nothing about your enemy. Regardless, he intends to do what he can to keep you informed of whats happening both within and without your borders. (Choose One)
[ ] Forecast: All the information you possess regarding your new enemy comes from five half-mad explorers who barely escaped the southlands with their lives, and they didn't say much beyond "doom is coming." It's risky, especially after the last group to do so was ripped to pieces, but you need to send some spies over the Peregrines to get a clearer picture of whatever it is you're up against. Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Information on Sombra/Crystal Empire, better idea of what to expect. Chance of Success: 40%
[ ] Mysteries of the East: The strange vessels off your coast are concerning, especially as they've shown up right as you and your Empire are in the midst of a crisis. You'd really like it if you knew some more about these strangers you're dealing with. It might not be the most diplomatic solution, but Ravenburg can arrange for some of his more observant agents to go out on the water and see if they can find one of the red-sail ships. From there, they can either attempt to infiltrate the vessel from the air, or simply try to learn what little they can from a distance. Cost: 300. Time: One Year. Reward: Information on mysterious Red-Sail ships, risk of International Incident/Bad First Impressions. Chance of Success: 55%
Personal: You refuse to let your duties as Emperor take up every moment of your day. (Choose One-One less Personal Action per Turn until Sombra no longer an imminent threat)
[ ] Getting Swole: One of the numerous reasons you refused to fight Brochard was that he was so much stronger than you. A blade and a suit of armor mitigated that advantage a great deal, but it didn't remove it completely. You trained with your wife not long ago, and that training showed results, but the results weren't quite as big an improvement as you'd hoped. If you're going to be an Emperor worthy of the title, you need to be strong. Have Gabriella put you through an even more grueling fitness regimen and see if you can't improve your physique a bit more. Cost: 0. Time: One Year. Reward: Increased martial stat, chance to upgrade Toned Trait, chance to improve Gabriella's opinion of you. Chance of Success: 55%
[ ] Small Blades: The world is a dangerous place, especially for Griffons in positions of power. Your son is one such individual. In this world, one of the greatest gifts you can bestow upon someone is something they can defend themselves with. Your son is young, but you could commission him a blade for when he is a bit older. Not just any hunk of steel, but a dagger worthy of a Prince. Hell, while you're at it, make one for Gwyndlyn. She'll definitely outgrow it at some point, but it's probably a good idea to give her one too, just in case. Cost: 50. Time: One Year. Reward: Master-Crafted Daggers for Gawain and Gwyndlyn.
[ ] Gabriella's Greatswords, Part 2: Prior to the battle of Wingbardy, you asked your wife to dig up some of her old mercenary contacts and see if any of them would be willing to fight alongside you. Their numbers and skills were but one of several factors that allowed you to claim victory. After the unification, most of the mercenaries hung up their swords and made to pursue other lines of work. But now the Empire is threatened, and you need every able-bodied Warrior you can get your talons on. See if Gabriella can't convince her old friends to come out of retirement and help you kill an evil sorcerer. Cost: Varies, depending on Choices. Time: One Year. Reward: Mercenaries Hired
