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

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Adhoc vote count started by notbirdofprey on Mar 28, 2020 at 6:22 PM, finished with 64 posts and 18 votes.
  • [X] Blessing of Gods and Literacy
    [X] Plan Warships and Magic
    [X] Plan: Ballistas and Sacrifice
    -[X] Issue Command (Green Men): research magic to empower weapons and armor, while testing different kinds of weapons and materials to see which gives better results. Try and replicate the runes Frost saw on the weapons in the Barrow. Resources: 100 Gold, a shipment of different types of weapons (swords, daggers, arrowheads, axes, spears, maces, hammers, etc) from the Winterfell Forge Complex made of different materials (steel, bronze, stone, wood, bone, etc) Diplomacy DC 15, Piety DC 75
    -[X] Gifted Warriors: There are nearly a thousand wargs in Wintertown, and more scattered about your lands. There are a few hundred men and women blessed with incredible strength, albeit not to the level of the Mormont berserkers. There are people who can heal with a touch, people who can steal the courage of their foes with a song…the blessings of the Old Gods are many and mighty. Brandon intends to organize some of the Gifted into a force to be reckoned with upon the battlefield, or possibly in the more strategic sense. He has filled papers with possible uses for wargs alone – everything from delivering messages to using armored bulls as living battering rams. Time: 3 seasons. Cost: 600 gold, upkeep. DC: 55. Reward: Some sort of Gifted force attached to Winterfell guard. Type will be determined by dice rolls.
    -[X] Building Ballista: You generally don't put ballista on ships, relying on archers and warriors for fighting, but there is no reason for that to be so. Adding ballista and men trained in their use to the galleys will add to their lethality at range, allowing your fleet to kill your enemies from further away than they can kill you. Only a fool would not find that valuable. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 600 gold. DC: 60. Reward: Ballista mounted on all fleets.
    -[X] Speak with Vassals (Northern Lords): Most of your direct vassals are loyal and trustworthy, but it's good to keep an eye on them all the same. And if any of them have trouble, you might be able to help. Time: 1 season. Cost: 50 gold. DC: 30. Reward: Vassal relations boosted, aware of problems
    -[X] Offer Assistance to the Faith: Given the situation in the Reach, you can understand why the Faith is going through so much panic. Those blessed by the Seven will probably help against the fey, but the Old Gods have demonstrated far more ability to ward off the ravages of the fey. Offering aid to the Starry Sept in bargaining with them and fending them off would improve your relations and make Septon Willem look very impressive to the Most Devout, who just happen to have a few gaps in their numbers…It might upset the Green Men at least a little. Time: 1 season. Cost: 300 gold, chance of Green Men disapproval. DC: 55. Reward: Improved chances of Septon Willem joining the Most Devout, increased opinion with House Gardener and the Faith
    -[X] Free Action: Setting Standards: You have designed your standard weight and measure system and found semi-logical reasons for them. Now comes the difficult part: getting others to use them. While everyone can see the benefit, deciding who needs to change tends to be troublesome. Fortunately, you are the king and can simply order people to use your system, although that's only really practical in Wintertown thanks to the Snowcloaks and your civil service being so efficient. Arrange a meeting with the not-quite guildmasters and the head of the smith's guild, give your orders to the King's Men in Wintertown who run the bureaucracy, and have the standard system spread across Wintertown and some of the immediate neighborhood. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 300 gold. DC: 55. Reward: Standard weights and measures system used in Wintertown and surrounding areas. Note: may cause temporary issues with trade. (+15)
    -[X] Hire Acolytes: The Citadel is the ordinary source kings turn to when there are more tasks that require literacy than there are literate people in the kingdom. You are reasonably certain you are not an ordinary king, and you remember that the Citadel is not always trustworthy, but there is no sense in not taking advantage of such a resource. Ask for the assistance of a few more acolytes and use them to assist your civil service while the school at Winterfell keeps teaching people. Time: 1 season. Cost: 500 gold, Citadel attention. DC: 35. Reward: Citadel attention, support for civil service.
    -[X] Ritual Crafting: While the Sacred Arrows created by the rite do not last forever, several other rites do create objects or blessings that last for a long time. While some can be done by some of the more skilled among your Green Men, others are beyond the power of all but Frost, most notably the making of protective talismans. He will devote his time to doing so if you ask and have some of his brethren do the same. Thresholds will be blessed, beast-bane spears given to those in the Wolfswood, and a few sacred arrows will be made as an assurance. Time: 1 season. Cost: 400 gold. DC: 30. Reward: Varying number of rites performed
    -[X] Rites of the Wild: The First Men and the Children of the Forest learned much from each other once the Pact was sworn, but much has been forgotten. Frost and his brethren will begin to seek the rites of the wood and waters and attempt to recreate them. Time: 4 seasons. Cost: 50 gold. DC: 75. Reward: New magic unlocked
    --[X] Double Down: Rites of the Wild
    -[X] Speak to an Advisor (Maester Brynden): You want to know more about the people you work with. Time: 1 season. Cost: 0. DC: 50. Reward: Gain knowledge of an advisor, improved opinion.
    -[X] Sacrifice the Armor: The black armor is an unclean thing. Looking at it makes your skin crawl. You can't think of anything to use it for, but as a given sacrifice to the Old Gods. Doing so personally would grant you some boon, although you know not what form it will take. You doubt it will be anything great, certainly nothing that will extend beyond the walls of Winterfell. You are not even certain you will get to choose what the gods bestow upon you. Time: 1 season. Cost: 0. DC: Special. Reward: Boon or choice of boon.
    [X]Plan Health and Magic:
    [X] Blessing of Gods and Literacy
    [X] Guard Training: Brandon has replaced all the dead or severely wounded guardsmen by now, or at least selected men who will serve as adequate replacements after their training is done. With some of his spare time, he could train other men to a similar standard for other houses. And naturally, he will encourage those men to remember their loyalties to Winterfell should the unthinkable happen…Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 100 gold. DC: 45. Reward: Other houses gain small number of men trained and equipped equivalent to Winterfell guard, vassal loyalty increased.
    [X] Gifted Warriors: There are nearly a thousand wargs in Wintertown, and more scattered about your lands. There are a few hundred men and women blessed with incredible strength, albeit not to the level of the Mormont berserkers. There are people who can heal with a touch, people who can steal the courage of their foes with a song…the blessings of the Old Gods are many and mighty. Brandon intends to organize some of the Gifted into a force to be reckoned with upon the battlefield, or possibly in the more strategic sense. He has filled papers with possible uses for wargs alone – everything from delivering messages to using armored bulls as living battering rams. Time: 3 seasons. Cost: 600 gold, upkeep. DC: 55. Reward: Some sort of Gifted force attached to Winterfell guard. Type will be determined by dice rolls.
    [X] Braavosi Recruits: While most of the North, and indeed most of Westeros, are immensely proud of their heritage and way of life, but even the most arrogant noble cannot deny that the Braavosi are better at some things: trade, banking, making canals, and many other such tasks. Find down-on-their-luck or adventurous men and women of the Secret City and offer them work and pay to come to Westeros, and you will be able to use some of their skills. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 400 gold. DC: Special. Reward: Braavosi recruits, new actions unlocked.
    [X] Speak to Pyrite: The Rite in the Vale is something of a concern, as is the sudden presence of beastmen and House Upcliff. While your relationship with the Vale is generally fairly good, it is not good enough to get the sort of information you need by going through Queen Sharra, so you must speak to Pyrite, who is still loyal to you in many ways. Even though he has been reluctant to broach many of these subjects in detail, if you ask he will surely tell you, right? Time: 1 season. Cost: 20 gold. DC: 75. Reward: Partial information about the Vale ritual, Lord Upcliff, and the beastmen.
    [X] Expand the Schools: You've a school in Winterfell which serves a few dozen children and less than twenty adults as a part-time duty for one or two of the acolytes. Buy a small building in Wintertown, give those acolytes the full-time duty of teaching people to read and write, give an incentive or two for people to learn and then join up with the civil service, and you expect to have classes much larger. Hopefully at least a few of the graduates will fill in the gaps in your civil service. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 900 gold, upkeep, Citadel attention. DC: 45. Reward: Increased literacy, support for civil service, Citadel attention. (+15)
    [X] Copy Books: Create some copies of books for the Citadel. They will pay you a good price for it, but they will also be trying to figure out how you do it, and saying yes risks your monopoly. Saying no will get their attention as well though. Time: 1 season. Cost: 25 gold. DC: 35. Reward: Increased attention from the Citadel, one-time income.
    [X] Ritual Crafting: While the Sacred Arrows created by the rite do not last forever, several other rites do create objects or blessings that last for a long time. While some can be done by some of the more skilled among your Green Men, others are beyond the power of all but Frost, most notably the making of protective talismans. He will devote his time to doing so if you ask and have some of his brethren do the same. Thresholds will be blessed, beast-bane spears given to those in the Wolfswood, and a few sacred arrows will be made as an assurance. Time: 1 season. Cost: 400 gold. DC: 30. Reward: Varying number of rites performed
    [X] Aggressive Recruiting: Not all who join the Green Men have the skill and strength of will necessary to perform even the simplest rituals, but some do. And some who do have the skill do not join, either for personal reasons or lack of opportunity. Frost refuses to do anything about the first, but the second he can help with. Coin and royal favor will certainly help him find those with the potential to wear the Green. Time: 4 seasons. Cost: 1500 gold. DC: 45. Reward: More Green Men recruited.
    [X] The God's Eyes: While you can open the God's Eyes more or less at will now, it can be difficult to keep them open, especially in places full of magic like Winterfell. You also suspect you are missing a great deal of nuance when you look at people or more complicated items like your crown, which just looks like plain metal. Or that skin, which makes you shudder whenever you think of it. Further practice could also extend how long you can use this gift. Time: 1 season. Cost: 0. DC: 70. Reward: Greater control and skill with the God's Eyes, more information about the skin.
    [X] Train Your Children (Stewardship): You have been making your sons go to lessons like green boys. Now it is time to teach them like men. Have them learn by shadowing you, by leading their own projects, and by discussion. You'll probably rely a lot on history for those discussions, ones you remember having with your own father as he taught you the arts of persuasion and deception. You will have to decide what to focus on teaching your sons of course. Time: 3 seasons. Cost: 0. DC: 55. Reward: Eddard's and Edwyle's stats improve, chance of trait, chance of your stats improving.
    [X] of books and men
    [X] Guard Training: Brandon has replaced all the dead or severely wounded guardsmen by now, or at least selected men who will serve as adequate replacements after their training is done. With some of his spare time, he could train other men to a similar standard for other houses. And naturally, he will encourage those men to remember their loyalties to Winterfell should the unthinkable happen…Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 100 gold. DC: 45. Reward: Other houses gain small number of men trained and equipped equivalent to Winterfell guard, vassal loyalty increased.
    [X] Gifted Warriors: There are nearly a thousand wargs in Wintertown, and more scattered about your lands. There are a few hundred men and women blessed with incredible strength, albeit not to the level of the Mormont berserkers. There are people who can heal with a touch, people who can steal the courage of their foes with a song…the blessings of the Old Gods are many and mighty. Brandon intends to organize some of the Gifted into a force to be reckoned with upon the battlefield, or possibly in the more strategic sense. He has filled papers with possible uses for wargs alone – everything from delivering messages to using armored bulls as living battering rams. Time: 3 seasons. Cost: 600 gold, upkeep. DC: 55. Reward: Some sort of Gifted force attached to Winterfell guard. Type will be determined by dice rolls.
    [X] Braavosi Recruits: While most of the North, and indeed most of Westeros, are immensely proud of their heritage and way of life, but even the most arrogant noble cannot deny that the Braavosi are better at some things: trade, banking, making canals, and many other such tasks. Find down-on-their-luck or adventurous men and women of the Secret City and offer them work and pay to come to Westeros, and you will be able to use some of their skills. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 400 gold. DC: Special. Reward: Braavosi recruits, new actions unlocked.
    [X] Speak to Pyrite: The Rite in the Vale is something of a concern, as is the sudden presence of beastmen and House Upcliff. While your relationship with the Vale is generally fairly good, it is not good enough to get the sort of information you need by going through Queen Sharra, so you must speak to Pyrite, who is still loyal to you in many ways. Even though he has been reluctant to broach many of these subjects in detail, if you ask he will surely tell you, right? Time: 1 season. Cost: 20 gold. DC: 75. Reward: Partial information about the Vale ritual, Lord Upcliff, and the beastmen.
    [X] Expand the Schools: You've a school in Winterfell which serves a few dozen children and less than twenty adults as a part-time duty for one or two of the acolytes. Buy a small building in Wintertown, give those acolytes the full-time duty of teaching people to read and write, give an incentive or two for people to learn and then join up with the civil service, and you expect to have classes much larger. Hopefully at least a few of the graduates will fill in the gaps in your civil service. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 900 gold, upkeep, Citadel attention. DC: 45. Reward: Increased literacy, support for civil service, Citadel attention. (+15) (free action)
    [X] Improving Rivers: Not all rivers are suitable to place waterwheels on. Some don't have the necessary current to drive a wheel, some don't have a steep enough drop, some are simply to narrow. There are beasts which can shape the water to their needs – most prominently beavers, which are admittedly rare through much of the North. But if they can do it, surely men can as well? Time: 3 seasons. Cost: 600 gold. DC: 65. Reward: Dams, weirs, and mill ponds. New actions unlocked.
    [X] The Gift of Might: The Umbers were kings once as well, and their blood is ancient as the Bolton's. It is said that the hill that Last Hearth rests on was lifted up and thrown to its current location by one of their many powerful warlords in a fit of rage. Send Frost north to awaken these powers in Lord Umber and his sons. Time: 2 seasons. Cost: 200 gold. DC: 55. Reward: The Giant's Strength reawakens in Lord Umber and his sons.
    [X] Blood of the Bear: House Mormont were never kings, and they have been conquered many times. Umber blood runs in their veins, as does the salty blood of Ironborn. Nevertheless, they have their own gift. Some could call bears to their side, some could become them. Have Frost try and awaken this in Lyanna Mormont. Time: 1 season. Cost: 150 gold. DC: 55. Reward: The Gift of the Bear-kin reawakens in Lyanna Mormont.
    [X]Uplift:Health and hygiene improvement:water and milk boiling,expecially for children,washing the hands more regularly, washing the bed sheets and linen,separation between animals and humans,a better waste disposal from both humans and animals(dug pits covered with wooden lids were the weaste can be put until it is used in farming),regular bathing and the use of saunas for communal bathing,introducing soaps and it uses,better cleaning during birth(boiling the linen used,washing hands,a clean room with sauna being the best for a clean birth),a more cleaner house.
    [X] Train Your Children (Stewardship): You have been making your sons go to lessons like green boys. Now it is time to teach them like men. Have them learn by shadowing you, by leading their own projects, and by discussion. You'll probably rely a lot on history for those discussions, ones you remember having with your own father as he taught you the arts of persuasion and deception. You will have to decide what to focus on teaching your sons of course. Time: 3 seasons. Cost: 0. DC: 55. Reward: Eddard's and Edwyle's stats improve, chance of trait, chance of your stats improving.
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Turn 22 Results
  • Threadmarks
    • New Commands

    -Issue Command (Green Men): research magic to empower weapons and armor, while testing different kinds of weapons and materials to see which gives better results. Try and replicate the runes Frost saw on the weapons in the Barrow. Resources: 100 Gold, a shipment of different types of weapons (swords, daggers, arrowheads, axes, spears, maces, hammers, etc.) from the Winterfell Forge Complex made of different materials (steel, bronze, stone, wood, bone, etc.) Diplomacy DC 15, Piety DC 75

    --Diplomacy: 1d100+19 = 41. Piety: 1d100+25 = 49. Frost is uncertain that just trying to replicate the runes will be enough, but you are paying for the weapons and so he is willing to have a few of his brethren try it. Some are made of bronze, some of steel, some are made of wood. Even dragonglass from Skagos is purchased and used to make axes. If nothing else, the results are extremely consistent. The runes just don't work. Something is missing…Action unlocked.



    Ongoing Commands

    -House Dustin had their efforts disrupted by the Barrow-Quake, as it had been called. It seems the whole town had shifted just a little, resulting in damage to the docks which were being built, as well as the existing ones. Repairs took more time than you would have liked, but even with that slowing them down the shipyard is nearly halfway to completion. And in seeming imitation of your defenses on the Fever River, the docks have been fortified, concrete flowing like water to form a pair of stout towers overlooking the growing harbor. Shipyard halfway complete, defenses being built

    -Having a prince as an ambassador is a high honor, one the Braavosi can certainly appreciate. He has definitely made a very positive impression on the Bastard Daughter of Valyria…positive enough that the Sealord gave him a personal gift when he parted: a Valryian steel blade, forged from the melted down scraps of several broken daggers. The Sealord was somewhat circumspect about where he got those daggers. Regardless, Braavos certainly desires something from the North, although you are uncertain what. Edwyle has come home with a Valyrian steel blade, lessons from his time in Braavos mixed with yours, and the Secret City wants something from you…you don't know what yet.

    -The Green Men have managed to soothe the conflict between the fey and the forest clans, hunting and killing two redcaps, depositing them before the dryad, persuading her to pull back the forest from a nearby stream, and then having the road built on that bare patch. With transport eased, goods and people have begun flowing. Even the heavy snow does not stop progress, although it certainly changes the look of the buildings, as many are half-buried to take advantage of the relative warmth below ground. The shipyard is about half complete, and the town is growing.

    Military

    -Gifted Warriors: 1d100+23= 47. Brandon makes several more offers, trying to find willing recruits. He is not the most diplomatic of people though, and none of the Gifted wish to join a newly formed group in the middle of winter. The most martially inclined have headed to White Harbor, in any case. His efforts have made some inroads in convincing a few of the less stubborn, but he gives up in frustration before more can be done. The bright side is he doesn't have to spend anything this time. Failure, cost recovered



    -Building Ballista: 1d100+23= 114. 1d100+14= 108. 1d100+8 = 14. And he turned his full attention to mounting ballista on your ships. All of them. Every. Single. Ship in your war fleet has at least one ballista mounted on them. He also purchases several hulks roughly the size of a typical Ironborn longship and fills it with stuffed straw figures, then he vents his frustration by putting the crews of the ships through training almost as punishing as that of your guard until they can fire three bolts a minute with incredible accuracy. Then, because he isn't satisfied with that rate, he begins to sketch a potential modification using a chain and a handle to fire bolts as fast as they can be loaded. Ballista installed on all existing ships, crews highly trained, new actions unlocked.

    Diplomacy

    -Speak with Vassals (Northern Lords): 1d100+20 = 112. 1d100+12 = 42. The Northern lords do not lack for food for a change of pace. Even the Skagosi will probably survive without too much trouble, although they are selling their whalebone carvings as fast as possible to get more food…You supposed having nothing but whale meat would get tiresome, and you are sure those rumors about the Skagosi loving the taste of human flesh are just rumors. House Bolton is continuing to construct their waterwheels, having run into several serious obstacles. House Umber and House Karstark are mostly in a holding pattern, although House Karstark has made some additional coin trading with the Skagosi. +100 trading income, all houses are managing winter.

    -Offer Assistance to the Faith: 1d100+20 = 68. You had multiple options for providing support for the Most Devout. You could have sent Green Men to handle the fey. You could have sent them some talismans to protect them from the fey. But both those would have annoyed the Green Men, cost an irritating amount of resources, and in the case of the talismans, you worry they could be turned against you. But sending a Green Man disguised as a septon to the Reach, escorted by the Warrior's Sons…it might irritate the Old Gods, but at least some of those who speak for it find it hilarious. The threshold is created on the Starry Sept, and reveling fey, drunk on strange wines and darker things, file out, even seeming apologetic. Now all that is left is cleaning the inside…The results have certainly impressed the Most Devout, who are preparing to add to their number. Septon Willem very likely to join the Most Devout, no opinion loss. +2 Opinion with All Faith factions, +1 Opinion with House Gardener.



    Stewardship

    -Setting Standards: 1d100+18+15= 81. There are a few more guildmasters present than there were when you first decided to do this, almost leading to some awkwardness, but Eddard reminds you to invite the head of the brewer's guild and the carpenter's guild. The second especially will be important for this. You explain what you want to them and show them the standards you had custom made for this: long bars of metal and wood, labeled with what unit they represent. They promise to see that these standards will be put to use. Unfortunately, this leads to several small dislocations in trade. The new business with the whalebone just keeps you from actually losing any coin though. Locked 1 season, -100 trade.

    -From Wool To Yarn: The sheep are sheared, the wool pressed into bales, and the bales are placed in carts that travel down one of several roads. The wool is carded and then places on more carts and shipped out to market. The profit is…immense, even with the amount of gold that goes to paying everyone working for this whole operation. More important though, was that the experiment worked. The drum carder is much faster than the regular ones. Slowly, the North is beginning to industrialize. +300 gold from trade.

    -Improve Roads (Advanced): The temporary roads are slowly pried up and the concrete poured in, while the network of temporary roads is steadily extended. They are almost three-quarters of the way to Moat Cailin, and the finished roads are only a little far behind. If it weren't for the snow, you expect you would already see traffic doubling or tripling. Locked 2 seasons.

    Learning

    -Hire Acolytes: 1d100+20 = 53. You are aware you are asking for more than the normal amount of acolytes…more than most kingdoms would ask for across a decade. But in your letter, you explain what you need them for, and it seems that you have gained another, less loyal friend in the citadel. Archmaester Garth wears a gold link, and he is fascinated by the economic changes to the North. You suspect plenty of the acolytes are sending letters home describing how things work in your bureaucracy and probably other observations too, but they are doing their job very well, dramatically reducing the burden on your civil service. Civil service bolstered, gained Citadel attention.

    -Copper on Ships: Copper does not like being in saltwater with iron or steel it seems, and silver has its own problems. But if you use copper nails, or copper alloyed with cheaper base metals, the plating and the bolts remain undamaged no matter how long they are immersed. The cost makes you wince though. Action unlocked.

    Piety

    -Ritual Crafting: 1d100+25 = 85. Frost spends much of the season making the talismans you asked for, mixing small amounts of blood with the thick red sap and then dipping tools in them before carving wooden amulets. He gives you one, which rests around your neck. It feels strangely warm. He gives each of your children one, and your brother, and he manages to give a few more out to your guardsmen, although you can see the effort is costing him. Other Green Men start taking over the rituals, making the Sacred Arrows with Brandon and invoking thresholds. The one in Winterfell is especially strong. You will always have a small number of Sacred Arrows available. You have a small number of protective talismans. Winterfell, Wintertown, and several other places have thresholds.

    -Rites of the Wild: 1d100+25+20 = 81. Frost retreats to Castle Green, seeming almost grateful to halt his rituals in favor of study and remembrance. You feel a bit guilty for working him so hard, but then you see the amulet around Serena's neck and that fades away. He sends messages, reporting painfully slow progress. Locked 3 seasons

    Intrigue

    -Spies in the Citadel: The Starry Sept has been cleansed of fey, and some seem to be gaining more peaceful inclinations. But all manner of uncanny things live in wood and dale now, being troublesome for lord and peasant alike. Meanwhile the various nobles jockey for influence in an almost callously disturbing fashion…the loss of the Hightower's presence at court has led to a feeding frenzy. Nearly every action has some undercurrent, although all are aimed at each other. Simple Spy Network established in the Reach.

    -Further Afield (Iron Isles): 1d100+19 = 82. You have people in place to hear rumors of what the Drowned Men and their allies are doing. While the information might be important, you wish you didn't have to hear about the sickening horror that the servants of the Drowned God inflict even on their own people. Rumor Mill (The Iron Islands) established.

    Personal

    -Speak to an Advisor (Maester Brynden): 1d100+19 = 111. 1d100+11 = 100. 1d100+ 71. Maester Brynden is old, you realize as you sit down to speak with him. He taught you your first lessons…you can remember learning to read from him, and in preschool. You haven't thought about your two sets of memories in a long time. Despite how long you have known him, you can't think of anything that would make him more than a stranger to you…you don't even know his favorite food. So you sit and have a long conversation, just the two of you high up in the library. Eventually, though, there is only one topic left. You could have explained away most of your ideas, but between the seed drill and coppering, he has grown suspicious. You tell him…

    [] The truth

    [] Nothing

    [] Blame a kindly spirit giving you ideas

    [] You are just that clever

    -Sacrifice the Armor: 1d100+25 = 86. It is another solemn ceremony in the godswood. There is no moon this night. Even if there had been one, you could not see it, for a storm roils in the sky, thunder roaring and rain soaking you. The Ironborn claim the Storm God is the foe of their god…perhaps he will witness this and look upon it with favor. You shake your head, pushing the thought out of your head. You breathe slowly, steadily, and as you See you also begin to hear a song. It is a beautiful thing, full of life and power, all swirling into the weirwood and then out. But there is a discordant note, where the ugly black armor lies, stealing and poisoning. Looking at it is like seeing the scent of rotten flesh, like the sound of maggots chewing. You hate it. Ice is in your hand before you even realize you have moved.

    The armor falls apart as you hack it down slowly, steadily, pieces falling apart, crumbling beneath your rage and the focus of the Old Gods. Green Men standing to your side soak the decaying armor in oil and light it, the fire blazing up bright red, as vividly red as the tears leaking from the eyes of the carved face. The sap leaks down and you gather it, cupping it in your hands and then pouring it over the fire. As suddenly as it ignited it goes out, leaving behind grey ash. The wind in the leaves sounds like whispering. And what do they whisper of…the song goes out, your vision vanishes like a candle in a rainstorm, leaving only your ordinary senses. But you hear a faint voice, ravaged by war whisper in your ear. "Luck in battle, kinsman. May you be as fell-handed as I." Boon of the Old Gods: +2 to Martial and Personal Combat.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Great turn, especially the boon to our Martial since it is our weakest stat. Valyrian Steel Sword is SWEET unexpected loot, but Gifted Warriors failing AGAIN has gotta suck when we're time-constrained. Do we have to worry about Acolyte espionage now btw?

    So, Important Question: What is our stated objective and win condition for the War against Ironborn? Do we have a long-term, strategic plan to achieve our goal?
    I ask this because when I first skimmed over the thread discussion after our alliance with the Vale against the Ironborn, there was a split opinion on just WHY we're doing it because we were "only" getting an allied buffer kingdom.

    And with our deadline inching closer, I want to confirm this.
    I'm also wary of the "What comes after?" discussion if it will inevitably involve attempting to pacify the Ironborn reaving culture; I'd rather us discuss potentially sensitive topics like that now so the QM can gauge thread expectation/mood and take that into account when writing.

    Because I highly doubt our invasion will prevent future Ironborn raids on Westeros. And especially so when Magic & the Drowned God exists in this fic, it puts us at irreversible odds. Do we plan to just counter-raid the Iron Isles, take captives like Gerold Lannister and cripple their military for a generation? Do we try to bring them into our Westerosi alliance and would that be viable in the first place considering how easily rebellious they are?

    EDIT: For the vote, saying "Nothing" or "You are just that clever" is basically a waste when the whole point is to address his concerns and we will continue to come up with modern ideas that can't be explained with just that reasoning. So either The Truth if we want to keep an honest working relationship or kindly spirit if we want to make a plausible excuse.
    Tbh, Maester Brynden is old enough to probably retire soon. I don't mind giving him The Truth and thus, reinvigorate him with a new perspective to think on as he slowly retires.

    EDIT2: @notbirdofprey I noticed that Improve Road (Advanced) has the same exact rolls from turn 21, is that intentional or did we actually roll such a coincidence? Also this is me being pedantic, but the flavor description for it only says building roads only around Winterfell/Wintertown but the actual reward implies they are throughout House Stark lands. E.g. I was thrown out of a loop when it says our road network has almost reached Moat Cailin.

    Also, did Edwyle learn anything special while visiting the Isles of the Gods in Braavos?
    Also, will you let us vote on a name for both our Direwolf and Edwyle's new Valyrian sword?

    EDIT3: So here's some of the changes to opinion to various factions I found for those interested.
    The Snowy Sept: 6 -> 7/10
    House Hoare: 1 -> 0/10
    House Arryn: 6 -> 7/10
    House Corbray: 5 -> 6/10

    Not sure if House Grafton had any changes.
    The Golden Sept: 1 -> 2/10
    The Most Devout: 4 -> 5/10
    House Gardener: 3/10 (Unchanged, pending +1 Opinion from turn 22)

    Both of these are new, I think:
    House Hightower: 5/10
    They Fey: ??
    House Durrandon: 7/10
    House Targaryen: 6/10
    Braavos: 7/10
     
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    On second thought, an argument for not telling the truth is: we haven't even told our family yet so we shouldn't tell our Maester first. It's really bad optics, otherwise.
     
    [X] Blame a kindly spirit giving you ideas

    We haven't even told our wife and kids the 'truth' so why would we tell him?

    Also kindly spirit makes some sense given we have both sets of memories, we certainly arent just either of our bases at this point.
     
    [X] Blame a kindly spirit giving you ideas

    We haven't even told our wife and kids the 'truth' so why would we tell him?

    Also kindly spirit makes some sense given we have both sets of memories, we certainly arent just either of our bases at this point.
    Or maybe even better we receive dreams from the old gods.
     
    [X] Tell the truth of how some year's ago when he fell terrible sick, the Old Gods came to him and gave him the wisdom and knowledge belonging to a departed soul, to prepare the North for the change the world would and is going through.
     
    NightKings said:
    [X] Tell the truth of how some year's ago when he fell terrible sick, the Old Gods came to him and gave him the wisdom and knowledge belonging to a departed soul, to prepare the North for the change the world would and is going through.
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    I like this plan. It's very Obi-Wan about telling someone the truth. If we're going to give anyone the complete truth, I'd say to tell Frost, who as one of the Children knows full well the odd workings of the old gods...possibly Edwyle as well, on that front. Having them, along with the Maester, on our side with this, will make the full (or Kenobi-esque partial) truth easier to swallow for Eddard and Jeyne, who aren't as likely to be like "yep, this sounds like a thing the old gods would do." Let's be real, if we went to Jeyne first she'd want to have us committed. Having the person she'd go to for help (the maester) along with the relevant expert (Frost) will hopefully help with her accepting it.

    [] Tell the truth of how some years ago, when he fell terrible sick, the Old Gods came to him and gave him the wisdom and knowledge belonging to a departed soul, to prepare the North for the change the world would and is going through.
    Edit: added to later vote.
     
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    I think I'm going to take the example from Ascendance of a Bookworm and describe it as a dream, but it's basically the Obi-wan truth that others have started voting for.

    [X] The Truth (Obi-wan style)
    -[X] When we fell terribly sick, we dreamed a dream, in which we lived another life in another world, a world filled with wonders. We have been trying to recreate some of the wonders from that world.
     
    [X] Tell the truth of how some years ago, when he fell terrible sick, the Old Gods came to him and gave him the wisdom and knowledge belonging to a departed soul, to prepare the North for the change the world would and is going through.

    What's funny is how people are going let's tell the truth from a certain point of view. I just find it hilarious.
     
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    notbirdofprey said:
    -Issue Command (Green Men): research magic to empower weapons and armor, while testing different kinds of weapons and materials to see which gives better results. Try and replicate the runes Frost saw on the weapons in the Barrow. Resources: 100 Gold, a shipment of different types of weapons (swords, daggers, arrowheads, axes, spears, maces, hammers, etc.) from the Winterfell Forge Complex made of different materials (steel, bronze, stone, wood, bone, etc.) Diplomacy DC 15, Piety DC 75

    --Diplomacy: 1d100+19 = 41. Piety: 1d100+25 = 49. Frost is uncertain that just trying to replicate the runes will be enough, but you are paying for the weapons and so he is willing to have a few of his brethren try it. Some are made of bronze, some of steel, some are made of wood. Even dragonglass from Skagos is purchased and used to make axes. If nothing else, the results are extremely consistent. The runes just don't work. Something is missing…Action unlocked.
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    Oh well, 100 gold to gain a new Piety action isn't a bad result.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Having a prince as an ambassador is a high honor, one the Braavosi can certainly appreciate. He has definitely made a very positive impression on the Bastard Daughter of Valyria…positive enough that the Sealord gave him a personal gift when he parted: a Valryian steel blade, forged from the melted down scraps of several broken daggers. The Sealord was somewhat circumspect about where he got those daggers. Regardless, Braavos certainly desires something from the North, although you are uncertain what. Edwyle has come home with a Valyrian steel blade, lessons from his time in Braavos mixed with yours, and the Secret City wants something from you…you don't know what yet.
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    So the Braavosi want something do they? Something big enough they gave us a Valyiran sword too. Also, what is Edwyle's new trait? His character sheet has not been updated.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Gifted Warriors: 1d100+23= 47. Brandon makes several more offers, trying to find willing recruits. He is not the most diplomatic of people though, and none of the Gifted wish to join a newly formed group in the middle of winter. The most martially inclined have headed to White Harbor, in any case. His efforts have made some inroads in convincing a few of the less stubborn, but he gives up in frustration before more can be done. The bright side is he doesn't have to spend anything this time. Failure, cost recovered
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    Again? At least we didn't lose the money this time.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Building Ballista: 1d100+23= 114. 1d100+14= 108. 1d100+8 = 14. And he turned his full attention to mounting ballista on your ships. All of them. Every. Single. Ship in your war fleet has at least one ballista mounted on them. He also purchases several hulks roughly the size of a typical Ironborn longship and fills it with stuffed straw figures, then he vents his frustration by putting the crews of the ships through training almost as punishing as that of your guard until they can fire three bolts a minute with incredible accuracy. Then, because he isn't satisfied with that rate, he begins to sketch a potential modification using a chain and a handle to fire bolts as fast as they can be loaded. Ballista installed on all existing ships, crews highly trained, new actions unlocked.
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    Woah.... well, we took only one season instead of one, we got Ballista, and trained crews, and new actions. Okay, I'll forgive the Gifted Warriors fail.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Speak with Vassals (Northern Lords): 1d100+20 = 112. 1d100+12 = 42. The Northern lords do not lack for food for a change of pace. Even the Skagosi will probably survive without too much trouble, although they are selling their whalebone carvings as fast as possible to get more food…You supposed having nothing but whale meat would get tiresome, and you are sure those rumors about the Skagosi loving the taste of human flesh are just rumors. House Bolton is continuing to construct their waterwheels, having run into several serious obstacles. House Umber and House Karstark are mostly in a holding pattern, although House Karstark has made some additional coin trading with the Skagosi. +100 trading income, all houses are managing winter.
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    Okay, if everything is well, don't rock the boat. I was worried what with the Skagosi making unexpected efforts to buy food, and our reserves dropping to Medium.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Offer Assistance to the Faith: 1d100+20 = 68. You had multiple options for providing support for the Most Devout. You could have sent Green Men to handle the fey. You could have sent them some talismans to protect them from the fey. But both those would have annoyed the Green Men, cost an irritating amount of resources, and in the case of the talismans, you worry they could be turned against you. But sending a Green Man disguised as a septon to the Reach, escorted by the Warrior's Sons…it might irritate the Old Gods, but at least some of those who speak for it find it hilarious. The threshold is created on the Starry Sept, and reveling fey, drunk on strange wines and darker things, file out, even seeming apologetic. Now all that is left is cleaning the inside…The results have certainly impressed the Most Devout, who are preparing to add to their number. Septon Willem very likely to join the Most Devout, no opinion loss. +2 Opinion with All Faith factions, +1 Opinion with House Gardener.
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    This was the action I was most worried about backfiring, but it all went well. I'm amused that the Green Men decided to disguise one of their own as a Septon.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Setting Standards: 1d100+18+15= 81. There are a few more guildmasters present than there were when you first decided to do this, almost leading to some awkwardness, but Eddard reminds you to invite the head of the brewer's guild and the carpenter's guild. The second especially will be important for this. You explain what you want to them and show them the standards you had custom made for this: long bars of metal and wood, labeled with what unit they represent. They promise to see that these standards will be put to use. Unfortunately, this leads to several small dislocations in trade. The new business with the whalebone just keeps you from actually losing any coin though. Locked 1 season, -100 trade.

    -From Wool To Yarn: The sheep are sheared, the wool pressed into bales, and the bales are placed in carts that travel down one of several roads. The wool is carded and then places on more carts and shipped out to market. The profit is…immense, even with the amount of gold that goes to paying everyone working for this whole operation. More important though, was that the experiment worked. The drum carder is much faster than the regular ones. Slowly, the North is beginning to industrialize. +300 gold from trade.
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    Okay, this worked out pretty well. The new standards isn't costing us too much, and it's good we got it done before the guild grew even more.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Improve Roads (Advanced): 1d100+18 = 106. 1d100+6 = 18. The temporary roads are slowly pried up and the concrete poured in, while the network of temporary roads is steadily extended. They are almost three-quarters of the way to Moat Cailin, and the finished roads are only a little far behind. If it weren't for the snow, you expect you would already see traffic doubling or tripling. Locked 2 seasons.
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    All the way to Moat Calin? I didn't realize it would stretch that far. Hmm... with this and Edwyle's success in Bravos, I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to build a port on the bite near to Moat Calin, and then build a road connecting the two, and then giving the southern part of our own lands to Edwyle. I'm sure he could setup some cross Neck trade with Braavos.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Hire Acolytes: 1d100+20 = 53. You are aware you are asking for more than the normal amount of acolytes…more than most kingdoms would ask for across a decade. But in your letter, you explain what you need them for, and it seems that you have gained another, less loyal friend in the citadel. Archmaester Garth wears a gold link, and he is fascinated by the economic changes to the North. You suspect plenty of the acolytes are sending letters home describing how things work in your bureaucracy and probably other observations too, but they are doing their job very well, dramatically reducing the burden on your civil service. Civil service bolstered, gained Citadel attention.
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    Is it a bad thing that the Citadel observes the economic changes in the North? Not really. Probably the only important thing is that we establish some cover story for the new inventions. Once we have Braavosi recruits... well, that will probably suggest a self-explanatory excuse for engineering developments.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Copper on Ships: Copper does not like being in saltwater with iron or steel it seems, and silver has its own problems. But if you use copper nails, or copper alloyed with cheaper base metals, the plating and the bolts remain undamaged no matter how long they are immersed. The cost makes you wince though. Action unlocked.
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    Ouch... wondering about the cost here...

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Ritual Crafting: 1d100+25 = 85. Frost spends much of the season making the talismans you asked for, mixing small amounts of blood with the thick red sap and then dipping tools in them before carving wooden amulets. He gives you one, which rests around your neck. It feels strangely warm. He gives each of your children one, and your brother, and he manages to give a few more out to your guardsmen, although you can see the effort is costing him. Other Green Men start taking over the rituals, making the Sacred Arrows with Brandon and invoking thresholds. The one in Winterfell is especially strong. You will always have a small number of Sacred Arrows available. You have a small number of protective talismans. Winterfell, Wintertown, and several other places have thresholds.

    -Rites of the Wild: 1d100+25+20 = 81. Frost retreats to Castle Green, seeming almost grateful to halt his rituals in favor of study and remembrance. You feel a bit guilty for working him so hard, but then you see the amulet around Serena's neck and that fades away. He sends messages, reporting painfully slow progress. Locked 3 seasons
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    Nice, and we just barely passed the Rites of the Wild DC because of the Double Down. Glad it worked out.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Spies in the Citadel: The Starry Sept has been cleansed of fey, and some seem to be gaining more peaceful inclinations. But all manner of uncanny things live in wood and dale now, being troublesome for lord and peasant alike. Meanwhile the various nobles jockey for influence in an almost callously disturbing fashion…the loss of the Hightower's presence at court has led to a feeding frenzy. Nearly every action has some undercurrent, although all are aimed at each other. Simple Spy Network established in the Reach.

    -Further Afield (Iron Isles): 1d100+19 = 82. You have people in place to hear rumors of what the Drowned Men and their allies are doing. While the information might be important, you wish you didn't have to hear about the sickening horror that the servants of the Drowned God inflict even on their own people. Rumor Mill (The Iron Islands) established.
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    Finally getting our spy networks done.

    notbirdofprey said:
    -Speak to an Advisor (Maester Brynden): 1d100+19 = 111. 1d100+11 = 100. 1d100+ 71. Maester Brynden is old, you realize as you sit down to speak with him. He taught you your first lessons…you can remember learning to read from him, and in preschool. You haven't thought about your two sets of memories in a long time. Despite how long you have known him, you can't think of anything that would make him more than a stranger to you…you don't even know his favorite food. So you sit and have a long conversation, just the two of you high up in the library. Eventually, though, there is only one topic left. You could have explained away most of your ideas, but between the seed drill and coppering, he has grown suspicious. You tell him…

    [] The truth

    [] Nothing

    [] Blame a kindly spirit giving you ideas

    [] You are just that clever
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    Going for the Obi-wan truth.

    Resonant said:
    So, Important Question: What is our stated objective and win condition for the War against Ironborn? Do we have a long-term, strategic plan to achieve our goal?
    I ask this because when I first skimmed over the thread discussion after our alliance with the Vale against the Ironborn, there was a split opinion on just WHY we're doing it because we were "only" getting an allied buffer kingdom.

    And with our deadline inching closer, I want to confirm this.
    I'm also wary of the "What comes after?" discussion if it will inevitably involve attempting to pacify the Ironborn reaving culture; I'd rather us discuss potentially sensitive topics like that now so the QM can gauge thread expectation/mood and take that into account when writing.
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    I say that our objective is the conquest and occupation of the Iron Isles. That includes the establishment of laws against murder, rape, and theft. It means freeing the thralls. We need to eliminate the Ironborn threat if we hope to establish a thriving economy. Trade between the Western coast and the Eastern coast ought to be a major part of our economy. Since the Drowned God is actually evil/mad in this version of Westeros, I think we also need to replace his worship with either the Old Gods or the Seven. Considering the nature of the Drowned God, perhaps some syncretization can be attempted. Such as having the Stranger put at the center of the Seven in the septs there, and depicting the Stranger with gills and fish like appearance. Somewhat similar to the Septwood faiths.

    Resonant said:
    Great turn, especially the boon to our Martial since it is our weakest stat. Valyrian Steel Sword is SWEET unexpected loot, but Gifted Warriors failing AGAIN has gotta suck when we're time-constrained. Do we have to worry about Acolyte espionage now btw?
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    Some worries, but mainly I think we need to establish cover stories for some of our uplifts.

    Perhaps creating short books on Chemistry (the Table of Elements), Mathematics, and Biology with attributions to a dead civilization would work. Probably explain them as a Westerosi traveller's summary of records from Sarnor, which themselves were a summary of records from the Empire of the Dawn. We gained the books from a Braavosi merchant who claimed they were recovered from Omber, where a Westrosi traveler had died several decades ago. We don't know if those claims are true, but purchased a right to copy the books (thus explaining why we don't have the originals) and are gifting a copy to the Citadel.

    It would fit with what the Citadel knows of us gathering books and knowledge, and our connection with Braavos. The above are information that are hard to exploit by ourselves, but with the Citadel's backing would provide for some major long-term benefits to everyone. And it would give the Citadel something to identify as the likely source of our new ideas.

    Maybe combine it with us training our sons in Learning?
     
    [X] Tell the truth of how some years ago, when he fell terrible sick, the Old Gods came to him and gave him the wisdom and knowledge belonging to a departed soul, to prepare the North for the change the world would and is going through.

    this is pretty much "a kindly spirit gave us these ideas"
     
    [X] Tell the truth of how some years ago, when he fell terrible sick, the Old Gods came to him and gave him the wisdom and knowledge belonging to a departed soul, to prepare the North for the change the world would and is going through.
     
    [X] The truth

    [X] [Direwolf] Arya
    [X] [Sword] White Fang

    Tell the truth, the truth, and nothing but the truth. Why? Because lies carries just as much risk as the truth, it all depends on the dice rolls, so might as well come in clean.

    As for the names, well, I just started thinking of whichever sounds the fanciest.
     
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