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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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Just found this about the last time we gave a lot of money to the college from our book.
BoneyM said:
You expected a handful of coin; you get a chest. You worriedly tithe, raising a few eyebrows at the Bursar's Offers which lead you to write a report on the whole business to submit to the College, just in case questions start being raised about all this money.

You expect a coffer; you got a crate, and the loan of a wheelbarrow and pair of bodyguards until you found somewhere to stash it. The Bursar is openly staring as you tithe near a year's pay, and you submit receipts and a copy of the memoirs along with the tithe.
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That was a tenth of like a 1000+ gold. This time it's several times that. I look forward to seeing the reaction from Bursar's Office this time. :drevil:
 
Regiments of Renown: Silver Pikes

Silver Pikes are most often found in the employ of dwarf King Belegar of Karak Eight Peaks. Famous for their role in retaking East Valley of the Karak - when the regiment was formed - they are armed with the ancient dwarf-forged silversteel pikes and are ready to take any charge unabated but are especially good against greenskin opponents.

For Hire: Silver Pikes units can be hired as a Core Unit in Dogs of War armies or in Dwarf armies led by the King Belegar. Alternatively, they can be hired as a Special Unit in other Warhammer armies, except Bretonnia, Skaven, and Orks & Goblins.
Points: Silver Pikes Captain plus nine Pikemen, including a Standard Bearer and Musician, cost a total of 180 points. This is the minimum size of unit you can hire. The regiment may be enlarged by adding extra Pikemen at a cost of 13 points each.

Silver Pikes Captain
Code: 
M  WS BS S  T  W  I  A  Ld
4  5  5  4  4  2  5  3  8

Pikemen
Code: 
M  WS BS S  T  W  I  A  Ld
4  3  3  3  3  1  3  1  7

Equipment:
SIlver pikes and heavy armor. Captain is equipped with a two-handed weapon and heavy armor.

Special rules
Hatred (Greenskins)
Silver pike weapon: as pike, but get an additional +1S when charged from the front by any unit.
The captain can be equipped with runic weapons and armor.
 
[X] There's a lot of prime real estate currently unclaimed. Stake out a prime position for a wizard's tower.
[X] Scout the rest of the Eight Peaks, to find out what other horrors are waiting out there.
[X] Travel to Karaz-a-Karak with King Belegar for the striking out of several well-aged grudges.
 
Guile said:
*snerk*

Ehh... I mean, I understand they're watching Death's Pass, but that sounds awful Shyish-y.

What about Blackwatch? Black Crag is across the way and our main competition for control of the road, and it sounds appropriately Ungu-y.
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Deathwatch was made as a WH40k reference I believe. They're Space Marines that kill xenos such as Orks or Dark Elves Eldar.

Blackwatch calls to mind Prototype's Blackwatch who contain infectious diseases by killing and burning everything.
 
The three highest votes decide our combined focus, and then we can choose others on the list at will - that means everyone should vote for at least three options.

Myself, I want to secure an area for us here as a secretive-if-not-secret home/research station, get our spy network and trading company to connect our two bases so we exploit the newly-opened trade route and get the news from either location, and of course continue to work on conquering/protecting Karag Eight Peaks.


[X] Scout the rest of the Eight Peaks, to find out what other horrors are waiting out there.
This suggests a future assisting Karak Eight Peaks with its reconquest, as a Spymaster focused on threats within the Karak.

[X] All this time away has made you miss your friends. Visit Anton and Wilhelmina.
This suggests a future in Stirland, whether Roswita likes it or not.

[X] There's a lot of prime real estate currently unclaimed. Stake out a prime position for a wizard's tower.
This suggests a future catching up on your pre-existing study topics.
 
WorldSlayer said:
Deathwatch was made as a WH40k reference I believe. They're Space Marines that kill xenos such as Orks or Dark Elves Eldar.

Blackwatch calls to mind Prototype's Blackwatch who contain infectious diseases by killing and burning everything.
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A town full of burning orks warms the heart.

Omegahugger said:
If only there was some way for him to see it with his own eyes.

Or possibly someone else's eyes stuffed into his sockets, I am not too picky on that front.
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I think once we raise him as a black knight his eyes will actually be pits of yellow fire or something. Close enough, though.
 
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[X] Travel to Karaz-a-Karak with King Belegar for the striking out of several well-aged grudges.

[X] Scout the rest of the Eight Peaks, to find out what other horrors are waiting out there.

[X] You could help the Undumgi and the Ulricans establish themselves.
 
TotallyNotEvil said:
I like the Papers vote, but it feels like something to pursue on the side.

We will get this one chance of leading a massively more powerful version of the Stirland Watch, through the Undumgi. It synergizes beautifully with anything related to spycraft, and Mathilde both enjoys and is good at this.

And we can call it the Deathwatch. Win-win.

Introducing a democratic vote, in a kingdom, when we are best buddies with the King and said vote would be for our highly elevated position of power and influence... Well, I don't need to point out what I think of that idea, do i? Mathilde has better things to do than worry about popularity contests and voting peasants.


In an unrelated topic, folks, I think we are going to have to be a bit more practical and just spend a personal action on learning the Axe, given that we can have a good anti-miscast channel on our super-killy weapon without detracting from either.

Remember, we can either have a +Magic item, or an anti-miscast one.

That +1 would serve us greatly mainly in two situations: enchanting (so we can make, say, a 3+ robe), and battle magic.

Unfortunately, the latter, as we've just seen, is incredibly dangerous, and we can use a separate tool no problem for the former.

@BoneyM I assume that we should be able to do some sporadic bursts of Deceiver-fueled scouting of the Peaks, even with the external option?
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Why would we be getting the ax? our great sword (With some modifications) can act as a grounding rod... pretty easily I think?

Like, ask a human smith to make a sword with a few caveats, then scratch on a few runes. could be wrong though.
 
[] Travel to Karaz-a-Karak with King Belegar for the striking out of several well-aged grudges.
This suggests a future assisting Karak Eight Peaks with foreign relations, as a Spymaster focused on threats outside the Karak.

This is voting for spying on dwarfs and humans right? I'm surprised it's so much more popular than assassinating Orc Warbosses and causing Skaven societal collapse at Eight Peaks.
 
[X] Travel to Karaz-a-Karak with King Belegar for the striking out of several well-aged grudges.
[X] There's a lot of prime real estate currently unclaimed. Stake out a prime position for a wizard's tower.
[X] You could help the Undumgi and the Ulricans establish themselves.
 
spiritualatheist said:
We just had Squishy come into the thread, in part because of remarks like this. Can you please not?
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I mean, on the one hand this is fair, because Squishy did in part lock the thread for Rule 2: Don't Be Hateful applied against fantasy orcs.

On the other hand, we literally just got done setting Grobitown on fire in-quest. A quest based on a war game is going to involve killing people, are we not supposed to discuss it?
 
WorldSlayer said:
[] Travel to Karaz-a-Karak with King Belegar for the striking out of several well-aged grudges.
This suggests a future assisting Karak Eight Peaks with foreign relations, as a Spymaster focused on threats outside the Karak.

This is voting for spying on dwarfs and humans right? I'm surprised it's so much more popular than assassinating Orc Warbosses and causing Skaven societal collapse at Eight Peaks.
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That vote is dealing with external threats. Chaos dwarves, the ongoing mess with border, opening travel route to Ind, etc.
 
[X] There's a lot of prime real estate currently unclaimed. Stake out a prime position for a wizard's tower.
[X] Write a series of papers on the magical phenomena you witnessed. Or better yet, get your Journeymanlings to do the actual writing.
[X] Scout the rest of the Eight Peaks, to find out what other horrors are waiting out there.
 
Guile said:
I mean, on the one hand this is fair, because Squishy did in part lock the thread for Rule 2: Don't Be Hateful applied against fantasy orcs.

On the other hand, we literally just got done setting Grobitown on fire in-quest. A quest based on a war game is going to involve killing people, are we not supposed to discuss it?
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We are not supposed to glorify it.
 
Guile said:
That is cool. We're not gonna be around to see it, though.

The dwarf-friends are a power bloc.
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We don't need to see it but we may feel it. Stirland is fairly close to Black Fire pass. As trade picks up in Stirland more and more merchants will be drawn away from the primary route through Averland. Combine this with the surge of safety people will feel with the fall of Castle Drakenhof and more people will be moving through the region. As more trade moves through the region the more merchants find those trade routes desirable. This has a snowball effect.

Now why would we notice the expanding trade power of Stirland? Because of Karag Azul. How long has Karag Azul been near unreachable to the rest of the world? How long have their smiths pounded metal into shape that none could buy? The entire old world's markets have just been opened up to Karag Azul. The amount of fine metal weapons pouring out of the storehouses of Karag Azul will be staggering.

Money makes money. As merchants rise to make use of the new trade routes that Stirland is opening up the more wealth can be extracted from the various mines and farms of Stirland. The more money people have the more money can be spent. In this world filled with terrors there is nothing more valuable than trusted steel at your side. So as the Stirland becomes wealthier so too does the Empire become wealthier. As the Empire becomes wealthier so too does the Old world become wealthier. Naturally as the Old World becomes wealthier so too do the dwarfs. Who might sit on the great nexus between the weapons of Karag Azul, the spice of the east and the rest of the old world? None other than King Belegar and a flickering shadow.

Stirland getting an economic boost is greater than just peasants getting slightly better hovels. Stirland is one of the most untapped markets in the empire because of the curse of Sylvania next door. Now though, Sylvania's star is on the decent while Stirland's is on the rise. How many iron mines lie untapped because of the fear of Sylvania? How many veins of precious metals could be uncovered now that the hills can be guarded? How many farms lie fallow from farmers disappearing in the night? Before the success of Stirland could only marginal be leveraged because the province of Stirland was broke.

With some of the richest paid mercs in recent memory going home to Stirland soon Stirland's situation changes greatly. Soon they will have the money to hire more soldiers. They will have the money to survey more hills. They will have the money to build more roads. The money to build more factories. The wealth that has for eons been trapped by skeleton and empty vaults will be able to burst forth and not only enrich Stirland but also the rest of Empire and the world.

I would have concerns if the Elector count of Stirland was known for hoarding wealth and for being lazy. That is not my read on Roswita though. Her actions show me that she is driven to make Stirland a better place. To use the momentum her father bought with his life to improve the province. While she may be a little hasty she is young and she is trying. She has also been stymied by the empty vaults of Stirland. Those empty vaults though are about to change.

I honestly see a great economic upswing as both the wealth trapped by greenskins and skavens are added back to the markets but also as the wealth of Stirland will finally be able to flow once again.

Economics is a series of ethereal dominoes. If something cause trade to slow down, the fall of a major hold, then trade all over the world slowly fades as a result. If something causes trade to pick up, the linking of a major hold or the unlocking of trapped wealth, then trade everywhere picks up. Stirland and Karag Azul will both be the first dominoes of what I expect to be a long series of ever increasing wealth for everyone in the Old World.
 
@Neshuakadal that's a very nice prospect but it counts of Roswita not being dead in a couple of years from vampires which is the usual fate of the elector counts of Sirland if they show themselves too competent.
 
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I've been thinking, and I realized that in the future, after a couple of years here in Karak Eight Peaks, I would really like for Mathilde to occasionally shift her homebase between the Grey College, Stirland and Karak Nar, at least when she is not on any of her wizardly adventures or Grey Order missions.

I think it would be both in character, useful and playing to one of Mathilde's (and Ulgu's) strengths - mobility.

It would also be a nice compromise between Mathilde's three main aspects (the imperial mage, the stirlander legend and the dawongr/ranaldian mix).
 
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DragonParadox said:
@Neshuakadal that's a very nice prospect but it counts of Roswita not being dead in a couple of years from vampires which is the usual fate of the lector counts of Sirland if they show themselves too confident.
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They already tried with Abelheim. We killed them and razed Drakenhof to the ground.

EDIT: Also, we've set up a largely successful system to ensure the elector count would be protected, which has been inherited and probably improved by a Witch Hunter. I'm not too worried.

EDIT2: And even if a vampire summons an army or some-such to retake Sylvania, I fully expect the thread to go and help. So they'll have to deal with us as well.
 
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DragonParadox said:
@Neshuakadal that's a very nice prospect but it counts of Roswita not being dead in a couple of years from vampires which is the usual fate of the elector counts of Sirland if they show themselves too competent.
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You only need a couple of years to make a huge difference. Plus with how many witch hunters are roaming the place I doubt that fate will befall Roswita.
 
DragonParadox said:
@Neshuakadal that's a very nice prospect but it counts of Roswita not being dead in a couple of years from vampires which is the usual fate of the elector counts of Sirland if they show themselves too competent.
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It kind of sounds like the witch hunters are the ones holding the leash in that relationship, so they won't want to lose her.

Say what you will about them, but they're a competent bunch. At intrigue as well as martial. I'd be concerned for the innocent with them around, but Roswita should be well-protected.
 
Neshuakadal said:
You only need a couple of years to make a huge difference. Plus with how many witch hunters are roaming the place I doubt that fate will befall Roswita.
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I can't help but note how BoneyM said that Vlad, Isabella and Mannfred are dead... probably (Mannfred we know for sure isn't dead). There's nothing a normal Witch Hunter can do against either Vlad or Mannfred.
 
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