Wow, this vote is ridiculously close still. Guess I'll try an effort post? Hopefully it helps a little?
If I had to rank the top four, it would be Waystones = Loremaster >>>>>>>> Bodyguard > Markgraf
I am leaning slightly more towards Bodyguard over Markgraf, simply because Mathilde would get to travel around the Empire instead of stuck in Sylvania for most of her time.
Part of the reason I like the other options over Markgraf is how wide ranging they are. They don't tie Mathilde down to a small area and in comparison to the other three, it is a small area. Only Sylvanian Count would be smaller.
Waystones will mean travelling to the Eonir in Nordland, the Colleges in Altdorf and likely research posts the Jade and others have around the Empire. There's the Henge college in Nuln, I think, and the dwarves in various holds to get their runesmiths on board. There might be options to get Kislevite Ice Witches to contribute and other magic traditions.
Many groups might need a task completed first. Some of the research will almost certainly require actively searching out corrupted or broken waystones, offering many chances to shank gribblies in crypts and forests all over the Old World. There will also be lots of sweet character interactions with new and interesting people, plenty of opportunity for deep lore and world building and shiny loot.
Loremaster is very similar to the above, just focused on travelling all around the Karaz Ankor to help out in the various problems each Hold has and popping into the Empire now and again to reintroduce ourselves to the local monsters. I really love the dwarves and helping them out gets us further dwarf interactions, loot, interesting problems in many different areas and Belegar as a boss. He's perfectly happy giving us a list of problems and letting us get to them in our own time, including stuff in the Empire, which aligns perfectly with how the quest has progressed. We visit friends in the Empire now and again, if something seems serious like with Roswita, we go in and sort it out, then go back home.
Not a fan of Bodyguard. Has nothing to do with Heidi, whom I quite like, more to do with Empire politics and just not wanting to go back to the Empire when we have a cool magic tower home on top of a mountain in a reclaimed Dwarfhold. Same as why I don't like Markgraf as well. One thing Bodyguard has over Markgraf is plenty of travel around the Empire, interesting problems in many different areas, loot and Empire favour. Also helping to make sure Mandred has enough support among the Elector Counts, that he is guaranteed to be voted next Emperor even if he isn't yet old enough. Only thing is, they don't really need the help all that desperately. It also has us interacting with the average human when they generally don't like wizards, as Mathilde has mentioned before.
Markgraf of Sylvania has plenty of travel through the scenic undead infested bogs, swamps and forests of Sylvania. Possibly to some of the border provinces, but mostly just Sylvania. Get to deal with Sylvanian nobility and peasantry as a Stirlandian Grey Wizard and Stirlandian Military Governor. We'll be in charge of smoothing relations between the occupying forces of Sylvania and the occupied.
We'll have to investigate the nobles, the peasants, the towns and every shady tower and old castle or ruin in the place. There'll probably be plenty of loot, just most of it will be necromantic, vampiric and almost certainly full of Dhar. There'll be little chance to research while inside Sylvania due to the massive amounts of Dhar. Sylvania has had multiple years of grinding warfare wrecking it, and it was controlled by vampires and necromancers before that, so a lot of infrastructure needs building. Mathilde will have to oversee that or get people to oversee that. She has more or less free reign to do as she wants in Sylvania, so long as it keeps the lid on all the horrors lurking in the undergrowth.
Compare that to how much freedom of movement and options she has in any of the other jobs, even Bodyguard.
So, yeah, here's an effort post. I hope it didn't come off as too agressive or preachy? I don't think it did, but you never can tell sometimes.
If I had to rank the top four, it would be Waystones = Loremaster >>>>>>>> Bodyguard > Markgraf
I am leaning slightly more towards Bodyguard over Markgraf, simply because Mathilde would get to travel around the Empire instead of stuck in Sylvania for most of her time.
Part of the reason I like the other options over Markgraf is how wide ranging they are. They don't tie Mathilde down to a small area and in comparison to the other three, it is a small area. Only Sylvanian Count would be smaller.
Waystones will mean travelling to the Eonir in Nordland, the Colleges in Altdorf and likely research posts the Jade and others have around the Empire. There's the Henge college in Nuln, I think, and the dwarves in various holds to get their runesmiths on board. There might be options to get Kislevite Ice Witches to contribute and other magic traditions.
Many groups might need a task completed first. Some of the research will almost certainly require actively searching out corrupted or broken waystones, offering many chances to shank gribblies in crypts and forests all over the Old World. There will also be lots of sweet character interactions with new and interesting people, plenty of opportunity for deep lore and world building and shiny loot.
Loremaster is very similar to the above, just focused on travelling all around the Karaz Ankor to help out in the various problems each Hold has and popping into the Empire now and again to reintroduce ourselves to the local monsters. I really love the dwarves and helping them out gets us further dwarf interactions, loot, interesting problems in many different areas and Belegar as a boss. He's perfectly happy giving us a list of problems and letting us get to them in our own time, including stuff in the Empire, which aligns perfectly with how the quest has progressed. We visit friends in the Empire now and again, if something seems serious like with Roswita, we go in and sort it out, then go back home.
Not a fan of Bodyguard. Has nothing to do with Heidi, whom I quite like, more to do with Empire politics and just not wanting to go back to the Empire when we have a cool magic tower home on top of a mountain in a reclaimed Dwarfhold. Same as why I don't like Markgraf as well. One thing Bodyguard has over Markgraf is plenty of travel around the Empire, interesting problems in many different areas, loot and Empire favour. Also helping to make sure Mandred has enough support among the Elector Counts, that he is guaranteed to be voted next Emperor even if he isn't yet old enough. Only thing is, they don't really need the help all that desperately. It also has us interacting with the average human when they generally don't like wizards, as Mathilde has mentioned before.
Markgraf of Sylvania has plenty of travel through the scenic undead infested bogs, swamps and forests of Sylvania. Possibly to some of the border provinces, but mostly just Sylvania. Get to deal with Sylvanian nobility and peasantry as a Stirlandian Grey Wizard and Stirlandian Military Governor. We'll be in charge of smoothing relations between the occupying forces of Sylvania and the occupied.
We'll have to investigate the nobles, the peasants, the towns and every shady tower and old castle or ruin in the place. There'll probably be plenty of loot, just most of it will be necromantic, vampiric and almost certainly full of Dhar. There'll be little chance to research while inside Sylvania due to the massive amounts of Dhar. Sylvania has had multiple years of grinding warfare wrecking it, and it was controlled by vampires and necromancers before that, so a lot of infrastructure needs building. Mathilde will have to oversee that or get people to oversee that. She has more or less free reign to do as she wants in Sylvania, so long as it keeps the lid on all the horrors lurking in the undergrowth.
Compare that to how much freedom of movement and options she has in any of the other jobs, even Bodyguard.
So, yeah, here's an effort post. I hope it didn't come off as too agressive or preachy? I don't think it did, but you never can tell sometimes.
