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The Game of Crusading Thrones, Self-Insert Edition (GoT CK2)

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Special Vote: Handling the Theft
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    • You study the report from Snow for a moment. "It's a rather ingenious system," you comment, impressed. You doubt you would have ever come up with working symbols into a rug to serve as a code. If it hadn't been for stealing a copy of the key, Snow's men would have been completely stumped about what the message was. "It is, Your Grace. And my concern is that if we reveal that we have figured it out, it will be changed and become useless to us unless it is handled very carefully." You nod, following his reasoning, but at the same time you are uncertain you want to allow this theft to take place, and coming up with a way to stop it without revealing your knowledge would be difficult.

    While it would be entertaining for the Storm Watchers to break into your factory and find you casually sharpening Ice, not only would that be terribly impractical but your guards would probably refuse to allow it. After you did most of the work in the Barrow they have been training even harder, and you have noticed them speaking with the Green Men often, trying to bargain for something to render them resistant to fell magic you suspect, although you have been careful not to show that. You realize that your thoughts have gotten somewhat off track and return your focus to more immediate matters.

    "Hmmm...I suppose I have a few different options."


    [] Send her a printing press...
    -[] For free. It will be an incredibly simple way to improve your relationship with Princess Argella, and having someone like her speak well of you will only increase your standing in the eyes of her father and his bannermen.
    -[] For books. The library of Storm's End is probably about as old as the one in Winterfell, and Durradons of old warred with the Children of the Forest and perhaps other creatures and other gods as well. It would be a simple argument as well. (DC 10)
    -[] For coin. Some might consider it beneath a lord, let alone a king, but you need to build fleets and shipyards and roads, and none of those are cheap. How well you argue would determine how much you get, and if Princess Argella has a typical noble's attitude toward these things, it might lower her opinion of you. (Amount will depend on roll.)
    -[] Write-in

    [] Allow the theft and keep reading her messages

    [] Prevent the theft
    -[] Try and do it subtly. It will be difficult, but you could perhaps arrange for a series of "coincidences" to foil their scheme. (DC 70)
    -[] Just be blatant about it. If she wanted a press, she could have damn well asked! This will be nearly impossible to mess up since you will know the plan, but it has a small risk of upsetting her if some of her best men are killed or wounded.
     
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    • [X] Prevent the theft
    -[X] Try and do it subtly. It will be difficult, but you could perhaps arrange for a series of "coincidences" to foil their scheme. (DC 70)

    Lets not give away things away that they try to steal
     
    If we send her a press, would she know about her being caught? Because I had a thought. We could send it and claim it was a gift in exchange for the books of Storms End and then not mention the spies at all. That way we keep the spies in the land and keep an eye on them.

    Edit: Better the spies you know and all that.
     
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    [X] Send her a printing press.
    -[X] Claim it was a gift and an attempt to further the flow of knowledge
    -[X] Request the copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands to further this flow and better future relations.
    -[X] The spies are not to be mentioned. At all. This is a gift.

    --[X] [Speech/Note] As a sign of good will between our two kingdoms I, King Torrhen Stark King in the North, would freely give unto the Kingdom of the Stormlands this invention. All I ask is for books to be sent North so that we may know of the dangers that are awakening.
     
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    [X] Send her a printing press.
    -[X] Claim it was a gift and an attempt to further the flow of knowledge
    -[X] Request the copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands to further this flow and better future relations.
    -[X] The spies are not to be mentioned. At all.

    Changed my mind to this plan after reading the options. The original draft plan was to do the "Send the Press as a Gift but also give them a warning wink-wink nudge-nudge" but that would ruin the advantage of knowing their codes. So just send her the printing press as a gift for trade but keep quiet on everything else.
     
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    DC 45 Diplomacy for the books since it is all the books in the Stormlands, although if you make at least 10 you would get the books in Storm's End but no more.

    DC 50 Intrigue to make her think it is an unrelated gift.
     
    [] Send her a printing press.
    -[] Claim it was a gift and an attempt to further the flow of knowledge
    -[] Request the copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands to further this flow and better future relations.
    -[] The spies are not to be mentioned. At all.
    --[][Speech/Note] As a sign of good will between our two kingdoms I, King Torrhen Stark King in the North, would freely give unto the Kingdom of the Stormlands this invention. All I ask is for books to be sent North so that we may know of the dangers that are awakening.

    Not the best speech I admit but we have that modifier so we might as well use it.
     
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    Fallout5368 said:
    [Speech/Note] As a sign of good will between our two kingdoms I, King Torrhen Stark King in the North, would freely give unto the Kingdom of the Stormlands this invention. All I ask is for books to be sent North so that we may know of the dangers that are awakening.

    Not the best speech I admit but we have that modifier so we might as well use it.
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    I am just going to yoink this then.

    @Resonant can you do the same?
     
    [X] Send her a printing press.
    -[X] Claim it was a gift and an attempt to further the flow of knowledge
    -[X] Request the copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands to further this flow and better future relations.
    -[X] The spies are not to be mentioned. At all. This is a gift.

    --[X] [Speech/Note] To the Honorable Princess Argella Durrandon, Daughter to the Storm King, Regent of the Stormlands I, King Torrhen Stark King in the North, would freely give unto the Kingdom of the Stormlands the invention of the printing press in the hopes of furthering ties between our two kingdoms and to further spread knowledge throughout both our realms. All we ask in return is knowledge and tomes from throughout your kingdom so as to both preserve and spread the knowledge and histories of the realm as well as to prepare for any threats that may be coming in these strange times which have befallen our kingdoms. I hope for this gift to be the start of a long and prospering relationship between our two kingdoms. Sincerely King Torrhen Stark, King in the North

    How is this?
     
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    One Autumn Leaf said:
    To the Honorable Argilac Durrandon, Storm King, King of the Stormlands
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    This Speech is good but I don't know about this part. I admit I'm not an expert on courtly politics of the middle ages, but shouldn't this be to Argella considering she is his regent.
    And we now have a face for the princess taken from the Game of Thrones Wiki.
     
    Fallout5368 said:
    This Speech is good but I don't know about this part. I admit I'm not an expert on courtly politics of the middle ages, but shouldn't this be to Argella considering she is his regent.
    And we now have a face for the princess taken from the Game of Thrones Wiki.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I mean Argella is his heir, not his regent. We would address the letter to the king no? @notbirdofprey
     
    [X] Prevent the theft
    -[X] Try and do it subtly. It will be difficult, but you could perhaps arrange for a series of "coincidences" to foil their scheme. (DC 70)
     
    --[] [Speech/Note] To the Honorable Princess Argella Durrandon, Daughter to the Storm King, Regent of the Stormlands I, King Torrhen Stark King in the North, would freely give unto the Kingdom of the Stormlands the invention of the printing press in the hopes of furthering ties between our two kingdoms and to further spread knowledge throughout both our realms. All we ask in return is knowledge and tomes from throughout your kingdom so as to both preserve and spread the knowledge and histories of the realm as well as to prepare for any threats that may be coming in these strange times which have befallen our kingdoms. I hope for this gift to be the start of a long and prospering relationship between our two kingdoms. Sincerely King Torrhen Stark, King in the North

    Is this ideal?
     
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    [X] Send her a printing press.
    -[X] Claim it was a gift and an attempt to further the flow of knowledge
    -[X] Request the copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands to further this flow and better future relations.
    -[X] The spies are not to be mentioned. At all. This is a gift.
    --[X] [Speech/Note] To the Honorable Princess Argella Durrandon, Daughter to the Storm King, Regent of the Stormlands I, King Torrhen Stark King in the North, would freely give unto the Kingdom of the Stormlands the invention of the printing press in the hopes of furthering ties between our two kingdoms and to further spread knowledge throughout both our realms. All we ask in return is knowledge and tomes from throughout your kingdom so as to both preserve and spread the knowledge and histories of the realm as well as to prepare for any threats that may be coming in these strange times which have befallen our kingdoms. I hope for this gift to be the start of a long and prospering relationship between our two kingdoms. Sincerely King Torrhen Stark, King in the North
     
    I don't actually think we have much to gain from keeping the fact we know about her spies and their code hidden. Unless they're atrociously incompetent, they'll change their cyphers and codes pretty frequently, so the fact we have one will only provide a temporary advantage at best.

    On the other hand, revealing it has the potential to scare off future attention, as she might overestimate our abilities, since she wouldn't know we only cracked their code by luck, thanks to literally finding a copy of the cypher. Moreover, a diplomatic and conciliatory response is also an invitation for her to genuinely trust without being blind or naive about it, since were our motives malevolent we could easily have acted with hostility, or attempted to deceive her.

    [X] Plan: Friendly Reveal
    -[X] Send her a printing press.
    --[X] Request copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands in exchange, as "payment" for attempting to steal it.
    --[X] Acknowledge that we know about her plot, but that we aren't angry, and instead are merely disappointed that she didn't think to ask, as had she done so we would happily have sent one to her as a token of friendship.
    --[X] Gently caution her to be careful of revealing the Printing Press, since it may provoke the enmity of the Citadel by threatening to upend their hold on knowledge.
    --[X] In the name of friendship between our two kingdoms, we request that she not plan or execute any such hostile missions again in future, and warn that if she does we will not be so forgiving and magnanimous a second time.
    --[X] While we desire her trust, we understand that the head must rule the heart in affairs of state. As such, to verify that trust in us is well placed, we will not begrudge her if she wishes to maintain her own spies in the North, so long as she is willing to accept the same in return, with the understanding that neither of us will seek to harm or compromise the other through espionage.
    --[X] Since our interests are aligned against Harren and Loren, we ask that she agree to share our information on them with each other. We hope this might serve as the springboard for further cooperation in pursuit of our shared interests.
    --[X] Should the Stormlands wish for knowledge of our discoveries and inventions in future, they are welcome to trade for them, and we would particularly welcome any offer of knowledge in return.
    --[X] Suggest that beyond the cordial relations and cooperation we have proposed, Argella and her father may wish to consider an even closer relationship between the Stormlands and the North. We hope that she can appreciate and understand that we truthfully bear her and her people no ill will, and that we genuinely desire only earnest friendship between us.

    @notbirdofprey Does this work?
     
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    [X] Send her a printing press.
    -[X] Claim it was a gift and an attempt to further the flow of knowledge
    -[X] Request the copies of books in Storms End and the Stormlands to further this flow and better future relations.
    -[X] The spies are not to be mentioned. At all. This is a gift.
     
    --[X][Speech/Note] Storm's blessings upon you Lady Argella Durrandon,
    It is often said that the North remembers, and House Stark remembers a time whereupon my great ancestor Brandon the Builder, Durran Godsgrief and the Children of the Forest bled together to raise one of the great wonders of Westeros, the castle of Storm's End. In that spirit of cooperation, House Stark and the Kingdom of the North, would gift unto House Durrandon and the Kingdom of the Storm this brilliant instrument of enlightenment, so named the printing press, that our two realms may grow wise, prosper, and unite as allies once more! It is our hope that in return, our good faith's only reward be that of tomes and the lore of our new friends, such that we know them better, strengthen our bonds and become harmonious during these strange times. Winter has Come.
    Signed, Torrhen Stark, King in the North, Warden of Winterfell

    My first speech, hope it passes your consideration. @One Autumn Leaf @Fallout5368
    I replaced King Torrhen Stark with House Stark instead because it's more diplomatic if we refer to our respective Organizations rather than attributing this gift from one person. It helps spread the goodwill to the whole realm of the North rather than just Torrhen's PR.
    Also, the ASoIaF Wiki says the correct term is Kingdom of the Storm, without the extra (lands), so corrected that for accuracy.

    EDIT: I cobbled some parts of your speech after just seeing it One Autumn Leaf, hope that's ok. Argella's full title didn't fit well with the introduction as I wanted to keep it informally warm/cordial. I chose to emphasize closer relationships rather than simply mutual interest in preservation or threats.
     
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