Orc Quest; or, A Critical Examination of Agency Through in Interactive Fiction (Warcraft)
- Thread starter FractiousDay
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Reno
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Honestly, even if Darkstorm's forces were pretty beat up, we still took the fuckers head. In the Horde, esp among the Orcs, thats gonna count for a lot personally. We defeated him in single combat with some amount of ease, showing our personal strength, honor and might. A small victory, but one that the wise will correctly see as a good stepping stone and a sign that we can be trusted with greater tasks.
- Location
- United Kingdom
I think I'll write an info post about it actually. I've mentioned it a few times but it'd be good to get everything in a single place.
Are there any specific points people want to know about?
What Mak'gora specifically can and cannot do for us. Will authority bestowed by winning a Mak;gora apply to all segments and races of this new Horde?
hapcelion
The Abyss gazed back
- Location
- n/a
About Mak'gora or this whole battle in general?
Because I'm curious if there's anything that disqualifies you from challenging people as well as what you can or can't do in the duel.
- Location
- United Kingdom
Well for the info post things about the mak'gora, but in the meantime yea sure let me know any questions about this battle too.
hapcelion
The Abyss gazed back
- Location
- n/a
so just for clarification, that dead guy they found before hitting the main base, that was because of the harpies, right?
Additionally, would we be able to loot anything from Darkstorm's base?
- Location
- United Kingdom
So from piecing things together IC you can learn that the harpies started attacking so the bandits had to hold up, leading to supplies running low. Some of them tried to make it out and got killed by harpies, such as the dead guy at the start. Others correctly identified that the harpies didn't like Darkstorm being a warlock etc and tried to do a coup, which didn't work and explains why there were bodies which had been killed by magic as well. These could have also been harpy shaman but its not really relevant.
Darkstorm was having the usual sort of problems most bandits groups do, in this case having his guys desert. This could have been for a variety of reasons, from them simply wanting to leave, to them no longer being confident in his leadership etc. He tried to make them stay but was suffering from serious attrition which was one reason the battle was so easy. I was always going to have the harpies involved as I did a roll for them a couple of pages ago, but here I've used them to explain why Darkstorm got his crit fail.
As for loot, not really, they didn't have much. You got some Fel stuff though, for one thing because Nazgrel specifically ordered you to.
- Location
- United Kingdom
I hadn't really considered it that much but I suppose one of your BB grunts. He's low ranked so doesn't really merit a pyremaster's attention, the RPG indicates that they're more interested in burning high ranked people, but I'll give you an action option to have him burned if you like.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
described
Something seems wrong with this sentence, but I am not sure what it was meant to say. "Holed up"?
A comma is needed to separate the fool from the rest of the sentence, else he would declare service to a fool.
...technically that would be us as a prospective heir. Off with his head!
harpies', with an apostrophe
For a moment there I forgot that rolls are made for actors, and thought the critical failure was bad for us.
Maybe we didn't get that much from the victory, but it's one less problem for the region... and you can't discount the importance of our first command being a success.
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- Location
- United Kingdom
I thought about using the roll as bad for all parties, such as darkstorm sacrificing all his guys and summoning some big demon that squashed him and then you had to fight but I've got something like that planned fairly soon so I decided to keep it simple for the moment.
- Location
- United Kingdom
Small roll before I post the next chapter
Oof.
Oof.
Orgrimmar 3
- Location
- United Kingdom
All the previous rules on voting apply including the voting being open, votes without reasoning being ignored, and draft plans and discussion highly encouraged. Remember the boosts you've got and that you can double down on actions.
If you've recently turned up and are reading this hello, but remember to also participate!
I'll be writing an infopost on the Mak'gora between this post and the results of this chapter. If you want to know specific things about it let me know and I'll include it.
I've amalgamated some of the actions which previously stood alone to streamline some of the choices.
ORGRIMMAR TURN 3
There's no great triumph for your return, but you do receive nods of respect as you enter the city with your warband at your back and you can't keep the smile off your face as you imagine yourself at the head of a larger army, Blademasters walking proudly behind you and the banners of the Burning Blade flying in the wind.
Happy as you are though your warriors disband, the trolls, Warsong, Sorek and the aspirants and several others going their separate ways while your clan warriors escort the remnants of Darkstorm's bandits to the Cleft of Shadow.
Deserters? = 6
Of the 17 who surrendered, only 11 remain, others having escaped into the night during your march despite your best efforts. You felt almost personally offended by this, they were your warriors now, your warband, but your anger had cooled in time as you considered the warriors themselves. They had, after all, surrendered, and it wasn't surprising a few had taken the opportunity to run off. An unusual upside of this development was that those remaining were the bravest and more reliable of the survivors, though not necessarily the most virtuous as you knew at least some were criminals. You would simply have to rely on their own self-interest to protect you as you were their path back to civilisation and society and without your leadership these orcs would have to flee again.
Your father's face is familiar as you approach. He's frowning, as he seems to quite often when regarding you but you present yourself, revealing the shrivelled claw of Darkstorm that you cut off, as well as a few other artefacts which he accepts and begins to poke over before lifting his head.
"My son." he addresses you, loudly enough for others nearby to hear, "In the destruction of these traitors you've brought honour to your clan."
Pleased at this public praise of your actions you follow him inside your shared tent and recount your adventure.
"Darkstorm was a fool." your father remarks at the conclusion of your tale, "He led himself to his own death, and he would have done anyway even if he managed to summon more powerful demons. You say you found no other warlocks there and I suppose that's good as well, though it's a shame to lose the talent." he shrugs stoically.
"I'd like to have the pyremasters burn the orc that was killed." you tell him, thinking back on the only casualty you'd taken.
Neeru looks at you, "Why? He was too low ranked to deserve the rites, burning by a pyremaster sets the spirit free and cleanses it of worldly darkness, or so I was told when I was your age, they burn heroes not grunts."
You'd not know that, but you weren't entirely surprised. "Well I'd still like to enquire with Drek regarding it, it seems right."
"As you wish," your father says, shrugging again and apparently in a rather good mood given his indulgence, "I've set Drek duties in the caverns below, I can order him to assist you but you'd be better to go yourself and barter help in exchange for his expertise."
It's a mark of your father's greater warmth toward you that he didn't dismiss the suggestion entirely and you're thankful of it, bowing you head.
"What about these…" the Chief of the Burning Blade waves a hand in the direction of the door, "these dregs you've brought back? I won't have a band of exiles lurking about. Hand them over to your friend Nazgrel."
"I'd thought to use them to begin my own force." you suggest hopefully, though you hadn't seriously considered it that much.
"Well they're your responsibility, just make sure they know if they cause trouble I always need additional sacrifices."
The callousness of the declaration disturbs you, such things are rarely discussed openly in Thrall's Horde, but you know Gul'dan sacrificed a child to open the Dark Portal while the Orcs stood watching behind him, perhaps sacrifices were more common then, in fact they had to be given the proliferation of warlocks.
"I'll be visiting Dreadmist Peak soon." your father continues, "You'll come with me, and I've a mind to post you there for a time, perhaps with this little warband of yours, they'll be plenty for you to fight and it'll be good for you to speak with some of the warlocks there." he remarks, "They've been battling the Elementals of the Peak, maybe you'll learn something if you don't want to learn such things from me."
The remainder of the day passes quietly and actually quite pleasantly as your father speaks of the old days and his own memories of his first battle. You revel in the pride in his eyes, knowing he's comparing himself to you and that he's willing to give you a command representing your clan again, though you also know if you're out in the Barrens at Dreadmist Peak you'll also be out of the way given you know he's been annoyed at your disobedience before. There are various subtleties you consider, but you also realise you know several of the Blademasters are in the Barrens currently.
Lose Fel artefacts taken from Darkstorm, some given to Feldad, some given to Nazgrel as directed in original mission brief.
Mission successful, minor increase in Feldad opinion and both Horde and Burning Blade fame for winning a duel.
Respect of participants of mission gained proportionate to their opinions of your actions.
Feldad doesn't like yourfriends with their loud music and their motorcycles deserters and wants them gone soon.
You will accompany your father to Dreadmist Peak, a mountain in the Barrens, at the end of this turn and likely remain there for an undisclosed time.
CHOOSE 6 ACTIONS
While you remain in your position as clan heir you can choose 1 action to boost. I've modified this somewhat to include all actions, not just Burning Blade ones and some of them fell into various categories. This represents you using your nebulous future authority as clan heir to persuade someone to help you and generally speaking guarantees success, though certain individuals or groups won't really care so it won't work on them.
Communal actions
You serve two communities at the moment, the first being the wider Horde, the second being your clan the Burning Blade. While the two groups aren't openly hostile, you've observed the tension between them, whether from the insults of the Warchief toward the traditions of your clan, or from your father's embrace of demonic magics.
Horde Actions
The Warchief has apparently taken personal interest in you, perhaps you might increase this interest and benefit from any ensuing patronage.
[ ] You were successful in your mission, now it's time to seek further orders from Nazgrel.
[Write in] You consider some way to serve the Horde.
Burning Blade Actions
Your father has certain expectations of you and you think it best to devote a decent amount of time to solidifying your position in your clan.
[ ] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak and a number of other issues [Write in anything else you want to cover].
[ ] Organise your warband: Your father's indicated that he has no interest in Darkstorm's former bandits, and if you don't organise them yourself the orcs will likely be conscripted into the wider Horde's military forces.
[ ] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
[Write in] You consider some other way to serve the clan.
Social
You've recently arrived in Orgrimmar after many years away, you should spend some time getting to know people again and refreshing old acquaintances.
[ ] Familiarise yourself with Orgrimmar: You should take a look around and see what's changed in the city, as well as getting news from the various travellers and town criers.
[Write in] You choose to socialise with some other person or group. Note: Query the write in with me before putting it in a plan.
Training
It's important for a warrior to keep themselves well trained at all times to better serve clan and Horde. You're no exception, and you can train some things without a teacher, though for others your understanding is too basic at the moment to learn independently and you'll have to search for a teacher to learn something new.
[ ] Blademaster training: Train your skill with the sword or you physical conditioning by sparring among the Blademasters and their aspirants.
[ ] Shamanism: Kardris Dreamseeker has begun your education as a shaman, visit her again and continue your path.
[ ] Tactics: You're good with a sword but you know there's more to victory than the ability to swing a weapon.
[ ] Alchemy: The Darkspear are well known for their alchemy and there are plenty of trolls in Orgrimmar, as well as a reasonable number of other races practicing this art.
[ ] Stealth: The Shattered Hand are known to be a dishonourable lot, striking from the shadows and using poison and though you don't intend to adopt their methods you might at least learn them.
[ ] Intrigue: It's said the Shattered Hand can kill with a whisper in the right ear, seek out this power.
[Write in] Your father has commanded you to be strong, perhaps strength can be found in another skill?
Research
You've hit a breakthrough in your studies and feel ready to take on more complex projects. LIMIT OF 2 ACTIONS PER TURN
[ ] Gather, create or barter for various materials you might find useful. Vark's bombs were essential to your success at the Kul Tiran tower, perhaps you can gain something useful like [Write in required]
[Write in] You've had more than your first tastes of outside cultures and there are several things you can think about investigating from the Trolls' voodoo to the human gunpowder weapons.
If you've recently turned up and are reading this hello, but remember to also participate!
I'll be writing an infopost on the Mak'gora between this post and the results of this chapter. If you want to know specific things about it let me know and I'll include it.
I've amalgamated some of the actions which previously stood alone to streamline some of the choices.
ORGRIMMAR TURN 3
There's no great triumph for your return, but you do receive nods of respect as you enter the city with your warband at your back and you can't keep the smile off your face as you imagine yourself at the head of a larger army, Blademasters walking proudly behind you and the banners of the Burning Blade flying in the wind.
Happy as you are though your warriors disband, the trolls, Warsong, Sorek and the aspirants and several others going their separate ways while your clan warriors escort the remnants of Darkstorm's bandits to the Cleft of Shadow.
Deserters? = 6
Of the 17 who surrendered, only 11 remain, others having escaped into the night during your march despite your best efforts. You felt almost personally offended by this, they were your warriors now, your warband, but your anger had cooled in time as you considered the warriors themselves. They had, after all, surrendered, and it wasn't surprising a few had taken the opportunity to run off. An unusual upside of this development was that those remaining were the bravest and more reliable of the survivors, though not necessarily the most virtuous as you knew at least some were criminals. You would simply have to rely on their own self-interest to protect you as you were their path back to civilisation and society and without your leadership these orcs would have to flee again.
Your father's face is familiar as you approach. He's frowning, as he seems to quite often when regarding you but you present yourself, revealing the shrivelled claw of Darkstorm that you cut off, as well as a few other artefacts which he accepts and begins to poke over before lifting his head.
"My son." he addresses you, loudly enough for others nearby to hear, "In the destruction of these traitors you've brought honour to your clan."
Pleased at this public praise of your actions you follow him inside your shared tent and recount your adventure.
"Darkstorm was a fool." your father remarks at the conclusion of your tale, "He led himself to his own death, and he would have done anyway even if he managed to summon more powerful demons. You say you found no other warlocks there and I suppose that's good as well, though it's a shame to lose the talent." he shrugs stoically.
"I'd like to have the pyremasters burn the orc that was killed." you tell him, thinking back on the only casualty you'd taken.
Neeru looks at you, "Why? He was too low ranked to deserve the rites, burning by a pyremaster sets the spirit free and cleanses it of worldly darkness, or so I was told when I was your age, they burn heroes not grunts."
You'd not know that, but you weren't entirely surprised. "Well I'd still like to enquire with Drek regarding it, it seems right."
"As you wish," your father says, shrugging again and apparently in a rather good mood given his indulgence, "I've set Drek duties in the caverns below, I can order him to assist you but you'd be better to go yourself and barter help in exchange for his expertise."
It's a mark of your father's greater warmth toward you that he didn't dismiss the suggestion entirely and you're thankful of it, bowing you head.
"What about these…" the Chief of the Burning Blade waves a hand in the direction of the door, "these dregs you've brought back? I won't have a band of exiles lurking about. Hand them over to your friend Nazgrel."
"I'd thought to use them to begin my own force." you suggest hopefully, though you hadn't seriously considered it that much.
"Well they're your responsibility, just make sure they know if they cause trouble I always need additional sacrifices."
The callousness of the declaration disturbs you, such things are rarely discussed openly in Thrall's Horde, but you know Gul'dan sacrificed a child to open the Dark Portal while the Orcs stood watching behind him, perhaps sacrifices were more common then, in fact they had to be given the proliferation of warlocks.
"I'll be visiting Dreadmist Peak soon." your father continues, "You'll come with me, and I've a mind to post you there for a time, perhaps with this little warband of yours, they'll be plenty for you to fight and it'll be good for you to speak with some of the warlocks there." he remarks, "They've been battling the Elementals of the Peak, maybe you'll learn something if you don't want to learn such things from me."
The remainder of the day passes quietly and actually quite pleasantly as your father speaks of the old days and his own memories of his first battle. You revel in the pride in his eyes, knowing he's comparing himself to you and that he's willing to give you a command representing your clan again, though you also know if you're out in the Barrens at Dreadmist Peak you'll also be out of the way given you know he's been annoyed at your disobedience before. There are various subtleties you consider, but you also realise you know several of the Blademasters are in the Barrens currently.
Lose Fel artefacts taken from Darkstorm, some given to Feldad, some given to Nazgrel as directed in original mission brief.
Mission successful, minor increase in Feldad opinion and both Horde and Burning Blade fame for winning a duel.
Respect of participants of mission gained proportionate to their opinions of your actions.
Feldad doesn't like your
You will accompany your father to Dreadmist Peak, a mountain in the Barrens, at the end of this turn and likely remain there for an undisclosed time.
CHOOSE 6 ACTIONS
While you remain in your position as clan heir you can choose 1 action to boost. I've modified this somewhat to include all actions, not just Burning Blade ones and some of them fell into various categories. This represents you using your nebulous future authority as clan heir to persuade someone to help you and generally speaking guarantees success, though certain individuals or groups won't really care so it won't work on them.
Communal actions
You serve two communities at the moment, the first being the wider Horde, the second being your clan the Burning Blade. While the two groups aren't openly hostile, you've observed the tension between them, whether from the insults of the Warchief toward the traditions of your clan, or from your father's embrace of demonic magics.
Horde Actions
The Warchief has apparently taken personal interest in you, perhaps you might increase this interest and benefit from any ensuing patronage.
[ ] You were successful in your mission, now it's time to seek further orders from Nazgrel.
[Write in] You consider some way to serve the Horde.
Burning Blade Actions
Your father has certain expectations of you and you think it best to devote a decent amount of time to solidifying your position in your clan.
[ ] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak and a number of other issues [Write in anything else you want to cover].
[ ] Organise your warband: Your father's indicated that he has no interest in Darkstorm's former bandits, and if you don't organise them yourself the orcs will likely be conscripted into the wider Horde's military forces.
[ ] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
[Write in] You consider some other way to serve the clan.
Social
You've recently arrived in Orgrimmar after many years away, you should spend some time getting to know people again and refreshing old acquaintances.
[ ] Familiarise yourself with Orgrimmar: You should take a look around and see what's changed in the city, as well as getting news from the various travellers and town criers.
[Write in] You choose to socialise with some other person or group. Note: Query the write in with me before putting it in a plan.
Training
It's important for a warrior to keep themselves well trained at all times to better serve clan and Horde. You're no exception, and you can train some things without a teacher, though for others your understanding is too basic at the moment to learn independently and you'll have to search for a teacher to learn something new.
[ ] Blademaster training: Train your skill with the sword or you physical conditioning by sparring among the Blademasters and their aspirants.
[ ] Shamanism: Kardris Dreamseeker has begun your education as a shaman, visit her again and continue your path.
[ ] Tactics: You're good with a sword but you know there's more to victory than the ability to swing a weapon.
[ ] Alchemy: The Darkspear are well known for their alchemy and there are plenty of trolls in Orgrimmar, as well as a reasonable number of other races practicing this art.
[ ] Stealth: The Shattered Hand are known to be a dishonourable lot, striking from the shadows and using poison and though you don't intend to adopt their methods you might at least learn them.
[ ] Intrigue: It's said the Shattered Hand can kill with a whisper in the right ear, seek out this power.
[Write in] Your father has commanded you to be strong, perhaps strength can be found in another skill?
Research
You've hit a breakthrough in your studies and feel ready to take on more complex projects. LIMIT OF 2 ACTIONS PER TURN
[ ] Gather, create or barter for various materials you might find useful. Vark's bombs were essential to your success at the Kul Tiran tower, perhaps you can gain something useful like [Write in required]
[Write in] You've had more than your first tastes of outside cultures and there are several things you can think about investigating from the Trolls' voodoo to the human gunpowder weapons.
- Location
- PA
Hrrrm...
Honestly, Dad's suggestion of handing the exiles to Naz sounds decent enough, frankly. I don't have solid plans to actively HAVE a bodygaurd detail, just yet. Although that's dependant on the whole 'surrender terms' and whatnot. I suspect the surrender>interrogation/torture>death squence is not what our protagonist had in mind.
I like the idea of hanging around the Firecallers and the like so as to ground/expand our use of Fire Shamanism so we think of Fire as more then *just* a weapon. We can't be only a warmonger if we are to be a proper Clan Leader.
[] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak.
We have much to speak about with our father. Even if things are chilly it's us who turned the temperature down even further recently.
[] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
We should remember our fallen. I realize that guy's nothing special, but it's still good to pay attention to the reprecussions to our actions, both good and bad.
If possible I'm thinking of actually spending a second action of Filial duties, since we have much to discuss and I think doing it all in one session will be somewhat rushed in general.
[] Blademaster training: Train your skill with the sword or you physical conditioning by sparring among the Blademasters and their aspirants.
We might not make Blademaster but we can still study their ways to develop our ability.
[] Shamanism: Kardris Dreamseeker has begun your education as a shaman, visit her again and continue your path.
More Shamanism! Honestly this one is about getting down more practice with our Flame-seer abilities so they can be more reliable and dependable in the future, or at least keep up our practice since we know what we're doing with them, but it's also an action I'm not that attached to, honestly.
[ ] Familiarise yourself with Orgrimmar: You should take a look around and see what's changed in the city, as well as getting news from the various travellers and town criers.
Something of a filler action. Best I can think of is, to weirdly enough 'boost' this action in the sense of 'hey, I'm clan heir right? What concerns does the Horde public at large have?' kind of deal. Another action I wouldn't mind dropping, especially since we're going to be away for some time.
Honestly, Dad's suggestion of handing the exiles to Naz sounds decent enough, frankly. I don't have solid plans to actively HAVE a bodygaurd detail, just yet. Although that's dependant on the whole 'surrender terms' and whatnot. I suspect the surrender>interrogation/torture>death squence is not what our protagonist had in mind.
I like the idea of hanging around the Firecallers and the like so as to ground/expand our use of Fire Shamanism so we think of Fire as more then *just* a weapon. We can't be only a warmonger if we are to be a proper Clan Leader.
[] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak.
We have much to speak about with our father. Even if things are chilly it's us who turned the temperature down even further recently.
[] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
We should remember our fallen. I realize that guy's nothing special, but it's still good to pay attention to the reprecussions to our actions, both good and bad.
If possible I'm thinking of actually spending a second action of Filial duties, since we have much to discuss and I think doing it all in one session will be somewhat rushed in general.
[] Blademaster training: Train your skill with the sword or you physical conditioning by sparring among the Blademasters and their aspirants.
We might not make Blademaster but we can still study their ways to develop our ability.
[] Shamanism: Kardris Dreamseeker has begun your education as a shaman, visit her again and continue your path.
More Shamanism! Honestly this one is about getting down more practice with our Flame-seer abilities so they can be more reliable and dependable in the future, or at least keep up our practice since we know what we're doing with them, but it's also an action I'm not that attached to, honestly.
[ ] Familiarise yourself with Orgrimmar: You should take a look around and see what's changed in the city, as well as getting news from the various travellers and town criers.
Something of a filler action. Best I can think of is, to weirdly enough 'boost' this action in the sense of 'hey, I'm clan heir right? What concerns does the Horde public at large have?' kind of deal. Another action I wouldn't mind dropping, especially since we're going to be away for some time.
- Location
- United Kingdom
The choice here is between maintaining them as a party under you, and otherwise giving them to Nazgrel in his capacity as the Horde's chief of security (a fairly nebulous office but he appears to be sort of the internal minister). You don't know what Nazgrel will do with them, its possible it'll send them off to join some garrison. You've got your honourbound trait so you can't allow them to be executed summarily by either Kartha's suggestion, or by your father, but your trait permits you to give them up to a higher lawful authority.
This also impacts the track of traits I'm keeping. If you keep taking 'loyal' actions you'll start not being able to refuse them to represent the traits of the character changing.
hapcelion
The Abyss gazed back
- Location
- n/a
I agree with the five proposed choices, though it's this portion I'd like to differentiate on. Instead of doing Filial Duties again, could we not start learning other languages like, say, Common? I assume we'll eventually be dealing with human again and it would be really beneficial for reading up on intelligence, overhearing conversations through flameseeing, etc.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
"not known"
Should probably take this, if only to finally make use of Proudpeak.
Are there any time limits to consider? Any upcoming events we need to prepare for?
@FractiousDay did we get any skill improvements from our fight?
- Location
- United Kingdom
Well you're going to Dreadmist after this turn, which is in the north of the Barrens, and Feldad is thinking about leaving you there for a while (for a variety of reasons). This means you'd lose access to the stuff in Orgrimmar briefly, such as friendly trainers.
At the end of this arc (so maybe 6 turns or there abouts) you'll be heading off on some sort of adventure far away from Orgrimmar, you'll get to decide where you go but again that would mean you lose access to different trainers unless you can persuade them to come with you.
You're on the cusp of a few things, and aren't anywhere near other things. For example, it wouldn't be wise to start learning the human language unless you're planning to be able to continue training it and use it etc, such as if you went to fight the Kul Tirans it would be much more useful than if you were hanging out with orcs a lot. On the other hand, if you decide to wander off into Stranglethorn there aren't many humans there so spending actions on learning Common isn't as useful.
Comparably I'll say now that if you spend 2 actions on shamanism this turn I'll give you another elemental connection if you like, and get you set up to train it independently in future.
Oh yea. Actually forgot about that. I'll give you a load of +5%s, the battle was minor so no massive advancements.
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Well that fight went fairly well all things considered! Plus, it got Feldad seemingly psyched with us which is can be a good thing. Especially so that we can drill him for information on how to get the most out of our fledgling magical abilities. Though I do hope that if we take that action it comes after any shamanism/orcish religious learning sessions. Would give us more to work with when the conversations come. One of the cooler things about the orcish identity is its malleability at this time after all, so I hope we can use all available resources to Keep the Burning Blade - > The Horde - > Semi-Decent Azerothians Safe.
With that said, here is my thoughts on what actions to do along with my reasoning to lay the groundwork for plan making.
[] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak and a number of other issues [Write in anything else you want to cover].
~This just makes sense, given that he was slightly salty with us for ignoring him before. Beyond that, learning about Fel from a TOPMAN is a good idea. If we can bring that knowledge forward to help taming Proudpeak/futzing around with Elemental Forces makes it more appealing. I still like the idea of bringing the Balance Seeking elements of shamanism into the Fel. Both to make it less corrosive, and make a life line to Fel users who would otherwise serve the Legion. Plus, our ideas to re-organize the Blademasters into something more Forward looking should go through the man currently nominally in charge of them.
[ ] Organise your warband: Your father's indicated that he has no interest in Darkstorm's former bandits, and if you don't organise them yourself the orcs will likely be conscripted into the wider Horde's military forces.
~Every great power has to start somewhere. There are only so many living people on the continent right now, so any extra warm bodies brought to serve the Not-Jerk faction (which currently consists of Us). Random bandit scrapings are hardly the best raw material to form a power base with, but they provide a pretty jaded/rocky ground to try our inspiration/selling our vision to people. That way when we get fertile soil in the way of actual people coming to us of their own volition we shall be able articulate our message/why they should like and serve us better.
[ ] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
~As previously stated, the Orcs are pretty rootless right now. They literally squat in caves/tents for their capital city it is so new. Naturally, that means most individuals would like things to shore up their sense of security. Cultural Heros and Traditions are obvious ways to do this. We are no Hero yet, but helping bring about more of a resurgence of what it means to be an orc can only help keep individuals from falling to the Legion or Ennui. So we should see what the current Traditions are, and apply them in our own unique idiom.
[ ] Shamanism: Kardris Dreamseeker has begun your education as a shaman, visit her again and continue your path.
~Magic just has more of a mass application then more generally martial sword swinging. So it only makes sense to learn as much as we can of the paths others have forged, so as we keep bumbling forward we can bumble slightly better each round!
[ ] Blademaster training: Train your skill with the sword or you physical conditioning by sparring among the Blademasters and their aspirants.
~However, sometimes you kneed to stab someone in a chaotic world like Azeroth. So it makes sense to learn from the best, as well as continue deepening ties with the more "Traditional" power bloc of our clan. It will both give us more knowledge to work with for forming our own ideas/methods, and potentially let us leverage more brain capital that would otherwise be spent being old and curmudgeonly (the blademasters).
[ ] Tactics: You're good with a sword but you know there's more to victory than the ability to swing a weapon.
~We just came off our first major leadership test. It only makes sense to use this time to look over things and learn.
With that said, here is my thoughts on what actions to do along with my reasoning to lay the groundwork for plan making.
[] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak and a number of other issues [Write in anything else you want to cover].
~This just makes sense, given that he was slightly salty with us for ignoring him before. Beyond that, learning about Fel from a TOPMAN is a good idea. If we can bring that knowledge forward to help taming Proudpeak/futzing around with Elemental Forces makes it more appealing. I still like the idea of bringing the Balance Seeking elements of shamanism into the Fel. Both to make it less corrosive, and make a life line to Fel users who would otherwise serve the Legion. Plus, our ideas to re-organize the Blademasters into something more Forward looking should go through the man currently nominally in charge of them.
[ ] Organise your warband: Your father's indicated that he has no interest in Darkstorm's former bandits, and if you don't organise them yourself the orcs will likely be conscripted into the wider Horde's military forces.
~Every great power has to start somewhere. There are only so many living people on the continent right now, so any extra warm bodies brought to serve the Not-Jerk faction (which currently consists of Us). Random bandit scrapings are hardly the best raw material to form a power base with, but they provide a pretty jaded/rocky ground to try our inspiration/selling our vision to people. That way when we get fertile soil in the way of actual people coming to us of their own volition we shall be able articulate our message/why they should like and serve us better.
[ ] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
~As previously stated, the Orcs are pretty rootless right now. They literally squat in caves/tents for their capital city it is so new. Naturally, that means most individuals would like things to shore up their sense of security. Cultural Heros and Traditions are obvious ways to do this. We are no Hero yet, but helping bring about more of a resurgence of what it means to be an orc can only help keep individuals from falling to the Legion or Ennui. So we should see what the current Traditions are, and apply them in our own unique idiom.
[ ] Shamanism: Kardris Dreamseeker has begun your education as a shaman, visit her again and continue your path.
~Magic just has more of a mass application then more generally martial sword swinging. So it only makes sense to learn as much as we can of the paths others have forged, so as we keep bumbling forward we can bumble slightly better each round!
[ ] Blademaster training: Train your skill with the sword or you physical conditioning by sparring among the Blademasters and their aspirants.
~However, sometimes you kneed to stab someone in a chaotic world like Azeroth. So it makes sense to learn from the best, as well as continue deepening ties with the more "Traditional" power bloc of our clan. It will both give us more knowledge to work with for forming our own ideas/methods, and potentially let us leverage more brain capital that would otherwise be spent being old and curmudgeonly (the blademasters).
[ ] Tactics: You're good with a sword but you know there's more to victory than the ability to swing a weapon.
~We just came off our first major leadership test. It only makes sense to use this time to look over things and learn.
Whoa. Did dad just invite us out to a road trip?! And we're about to get a command and an official posting, a big deal for a young orc like us, but who cares!
Feldad is taking us on a road trip! HYPE!
[X] Plan Roadtrip!
-[X] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak and a number of other issues [Write in anything else you want to cover].
--[X] Write-in: notify Feldad that we will meet with Nazgrel to offer our services to the Horde in the region. See if there is a way to combine the interests of the Horde and of the Burning Blade in this.
-[X] You were successful in your mission, now it's time to seek further orders from Nazgrel.
--[Write in] Present our report to Nazgrel. Report the whole truth without any obfuscations and (very tactfully!) suggest that we might serve the Horde in the Barrens as the leader of a warband if we had a worthy foe to pursue. Ask Nazgrel for three things: (1) an actual job to do in the Barrens that would require a warband, (2) ask for a mentor as per the Training choice and (3) a letter of introduction to the local authority in the Barrens whom we will be working under. Really lean in on the 'young talent' thing we got going for us.
-[X] Tactics x2 [BOOST]: ask Nazgrel to get us an experienced warlord and skilled mentor to teach us how to lead orcs in war and peace, to better serve the Horde. We developed a taste for this leadership thing and we think that we can be a real asset to the Horde if we can get some proper training.
-[X] Organise your warband: Your father's indicated that he has no interest in Darkstorm's former bandits, and if you don't organise them yourself the orcs will likely be conscripted into the wider Horde's military forces.
--[X] Write-in: start preparing them for the missions (if any) given to us by Feldad and Nazgrel. Ask for our mentor's help in organizing them properly, if we manage to get assigned to one.
-[X] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
--[X] Write-in: If we manage to arrange funerary rites, invite our new warband to observe the funeral and use this as a team-building moment. Talk to them about the value we place on fellowship in the battlefield and that a warband lives and dies based on the discipline and fraternity of its members. Tell them that we will be a fair leader, and that we will go to the ends of Azeroth for them if they do the same for us.
My plan focuses on getting the most of our trip to the Barrens. Do work for both our clan and the Horde, see if Kardris can give us some pointers for shamanism training in the Barrens, and get a firm hand on our Clan and our warband.
Feldad is taking us on a road trip! HYPE!
[X] Plan Roadtrip!
-[X] Filial duties: You have a number of things to discuss with your father and you should really spend more time with him. Discuss your thoughts regarding the Blademasters, warlocks and other clan matters. You also intend to speak with the chief regarding personal matters such as Flameseeing, learning more about Fel magic, the Kul Tiran magical tomes, subjugating the defiant Earth Elemental, Proudpeak and a number of other issues [Write in anything else you want to cover].
--[X] Write-in: notify Feldad that we will meet with Nazgrel to offer our services to the Horde in the region. See if there is a way to combine the interests of the Horde and of the Burning Blade in this.
-[X] You were successful in your mission, now it's time to seek further orders from Nazgrel.
--[Write in] Present our report to Nazgrel. Report the whole truth without any obfuscations and (very tactfully!) suggest that we might serve the Horde in the Barrens as the leader of a warband if we had a worthy foe to pursue. Ask Nazgrel for three things: (1) an actual job to do in the Barrens that would require a warband, (2) ask for a mentor as per the Training choice and (3) a letter of introduction to the local authority in the Barrens whom we will be working under. Really lean in on the 'young talent' thing we got going for us.
-[X] Tactics x2 [BOOST]: ask Nazgrel to get us an experienced warlord and skilled mentor to teach us how to lead orcs in war and peace, to better serve the Horde. We developed a taste for this leadership thing and we think that we can be a real asset to the Horde if we can get some proper training.
-[X] Organise your warband: Your father's indicated that he has no interest in Darkstorm's former bandits, and if you don't organise them yourself the orcs will likely be conscripted into the wider Horde's military forces.
--[X] Write-in: start preparing them for the missions (if any) given to us by Feldad and Nazgrel. Ask for our mentor's help in organizing them properly, if we manage to get assigned to one.
-[X] Funeral rites: You only took one loss in the battle, but it as the first person to die under your command. Your father's indicated that the orc was too low ranked to normally merit the attentions of the Pyremasters, but you could perform some favour to Drek the Firecaller in return for him performing the relevant rites.
--[X] Write-in: If we manage to arrange funerary rites, invite our new warband to observe the funeral and use this as a team-building moment. Talk to them about the value we place on fellowship in the battlefield and that a warband lives and dies based on the discipline and fraternity of its members. Tell them that we will be a fair leader, and that we will go to the ends of Azeroth for them if they do the same for us.
My plan focuses on getting the most of our trip to the Barrens. Do work for both our clan and the Horde, see if Kardris can give us some pointers for shamanism training in the Barrens, and get a firm hand on our Clan and our warband.
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- Location
- United Kingdom
A note on this, because while it's not necessarily incorrect I think it might be reading into it. The orcs were largely nomadic for a while, with only a few specific settlements. That might explain why they live in caves and tents, and keep in mind that the orcs as a people lived in the caves of Gorgrond for a long time, especially the Blackrock so it might just be a thing for them. More recently they've started building but they're not a race that does a great deal of construction.
Having said all that I think you're broadly right saying their rootless. One of my criticisms of Thrall is that he didn't really offer a new political settlement and way of anchoring society, he just tried a lot to adapt to new circumstances and not do particular things (like fel stuff)
Actually, on the tactics note. @FractiousDay, how would we 'train' in tactics? Are we looking for a warlord to teach us, or looking for books? Both? Is this something we can combine with organizing our warband?
I'm liking this, but I think we should be doing double combat training. Lets get it over the top to the next level.