Man, I am absolutely torn here. On the one hand, I want to see what happens when AV meets divine magic. On the other hand, I want to see Boney's fantastic elven worldbuilding.
[X] Plan WEB-MAT & Max Research
[X] Plan Don't Ignore Engrim
I feel like the AV plan does both and that's sort of why I'm happy with it and ofcourse we can dip more on the culture in subsequent turns to. Get that AV hit and magical world building and get that faction world building.
[] Plan Sharing (Research) is Caring (About Research)
-[x] JOHANN: Have Johann spend time getting to know Kadoh, who has expressed an interest in meeting the 'fist metal-Mage'.
-[X] EGRIMM: Study an artefact: Aetheric Vitae
-[X] MAX: Write a paper: Observations on the Chaos Wastes in the western Great Steppes
-[x] Attempt to bring a Karak's Runesmiths into the Waystone Project (Karak Azul)
--[x] COIN: The Gambler
-[x] Furnish the living spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (600gc)
-[x] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Cityborn' Toriour inhabitants of Tor Lithanel
-[X] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Forestborn' Faniour inhabitants of the woods surrounding Tor Lithanel
-[x] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.
-[x] SERENITY: Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian
[X] Plan Sharing (Research) is Caring (About Research)
-[x] JOHANN: Have Johann spend time getting to know Kadoh, who has expressed an interest in meeting the 'fist metal-Mage'.
-[X] EGRIMM: Study an artefact: Aetheric Vitae
-[X] MAX: Write a paper: Observations on the Chaos Wastes in the western Great Steppes
-[x] Attempt to bring a Karak's Runesmiths into the Waystone Project (Karak Azul)
--[x] COIN: The Gambler
-[x] Furnish the living spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (600gc)
-[x] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Cityborn' Toriour inhabitants of Tor Lithanel
-[X] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Forestborn' Faniour inhabitants of the woods surrounding Tor Lithanel
-[x] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.
-[x] SERENITY: Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian
I'm also pretty sure Boney has said previously no one else can help us with AV at this point. As they don't have the ability to give us valuable insights into it.
That's doesn't quite say that we can't do a write-in "work with me to study how this Aethyric Vitae I'm introducing you to right now reacts to powerstones", given as WEB-MAT AP explicitly involve Mathilde's presence now in a way the old half-AP didn't - simply that "study artefact: AV" is invalid - but it is the sort of thing that definitely wants a Boney-check before writing in.
Poked by someone doing a read through and liking an old post, this (again) struck me as amusing, looking back. (Edited to take out my vote, as this snippet got a bookmark!)
"What were we... oh, yes. It is my pleasant duty to inform you that the Grey College has seen fit to bestow upon you the rank of Magister, along with all responsibilities and privileges thereof." He nods to his staff. "We used to give a staff to commemorate, but the previous Turner passed away and none have shown the ability and inclination to take it up. So I'm afraid all I can offer you to commemorate the occasion is my congratulations."
You stand there silent for a moment, taken aback by the abruptness. "I was expecting something more," you admit.
He nods. "The other Orders, no doubt, fill this moment with pomp and ceremony. But we are the Grey Order. Our work is rarely seen and even rarer appreciated. Temper your expectations accordingly. A job performed well needs to be its own reward, for we so rarely see any other."
---
The very public gratitude and deep appreciation of a Dwarven King, completing the biggest Hold Reclamation after thousands of years.
From our obvious mountaintop penthouse, using the influence and reputation thus accumulated to shape and steer the rebirth of the Karak.
Wielder of the personal Rune and finest craft of the greatest living Runesmith, three times over.
Making damn sure everyone knows we saved a Magic-fearing Elector Countess, then giving her aversion-therapy by a flood of Battle Wizards.
Great wealth accumulated, spent, and accumulated again.
Armfuls and cartloads of the best possible news.
The awareness of an Emperor, and his Council.
The public favourite status with an Empress.
Lectures to an international audience of grandees.
Our name carved across the Colleges by the second greatest Runesmith, paid for with a unique material.
The bold rescue of hundreds of Dawi metalworkers.
The soul-deep knowledge of 20,000 Dawi that we are selflessly, bravely, personally responsible for their salvation.
The (reactionary but predictable) acknowledgement of the magnitude of that feat by the Conclave of Ancestor Cults and the High King.
---
You hum to yourself, quite satisfied, as you turn on your staff from congratulating the newest Grey Magister. Motivating talented juniors is often a simple matter of finding the right presentation and framing.
every time 'next turn' is said on a long turn action, its not next turn.
the other social interaction can almost be certain to be pick next turn if it's not this one. that's the power of being a short term action.
but AV gets regularly shafted when something comes up, its not certain we will come back to it if 'we wait for a better time' because people get distracted.
We have to start committing to long term projects, or just give up on them completely. there will always be 'something new'.
People! stop looking for time to do long term projects, start making the time!
I've been won over by arguments about making nice with political appearances - AV can wait a turn or two. With tongs having been dealt with I'm confident that we'll come back to this when time permits. I'd be willing to vote for a plan with AV if we dropped both cultural options in favor of something else, but I'm a bit leery about picking favorites right now.
I'm hoping we can take the action where all of our people get together and try to come up with an understanding of waystones based on basic colleges combined with dwarves.
[ ] Lay the foundations: work with the current members of WEB-MAT and the Waystone Project to build a single unified framework for understanding the Waystones
It won't be especially good or comprehensive at this point, but it's probably something we want to have assembled before we bring in the elves in earnest, so that we have a basis to work off of, and don't appear incompetent.
I'd be willing to vote for a plan with AV if we dropped both cultural options in favor of something else, but I'm a bit leery about picking favorites right now.
[X] Plan Don't Ignore Engrim but See the Sights
-[x] JOHANN: Have Johann spend time getting to know Kadoh, who has expressed an interest in meeting the 'fist metal-Mage'.
-[X] EGRIMM: Study an artefact: Golden Arm
-[X] MAX: Go through every library of the Colleges you can access for any scrap of information about Waystones.
-[x] Attempt to bring a Karak's Runesmiths into the Waystone Project (Karak Azul)
--[x] COIN: The Gambler
-[x] Furnish the living spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (600gc)
-[x] Explore the wonders of the ancient and beautiful city of Tor Lithanel
-[x] Investigate how the Vitae reacts with Divine Magic.
-[x] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.
-[x] SERENITY: Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian
Same as the Engrim plan, but I swapped out the Cityborn action for the Tor Lithanel tourist action, which I feel is in character, for the simple fact the the Library of Mourning would no doubt be one of the sights. Mathilde ignoring politics for B O O K.
Nothing :\/ I mean mathilde hasnt even done her due dillagence on the waystones yet. I think the plan is to convince them to be on board with the project but not send any one over yet.
I feel really bad about having screwed things up by convincing Shard to change the Max action when Boney clarified that I was wrong in my interpretation of what its value was, but given that clarification, this Max action is just better and I strongly encourage everyone voting for WEBMAT & Culture to swap. Waystone progress is more valuable than the CF of the paper.
We don't need to give the runesmith any specific instructions, because we're not recruiting a runesmith to WEBMAT, we're recruiting runesmiths to the Waystone Project.
I think the divide in expectations isn't that simple. Many of us imagine the Waystone Project to be a grand collaboration between at least five Colleges, a couple of Elves and Dwarves, and maybe even Human casters from non-Teclisian traditions. They then would combine their understandings to eventually achieve gods know what with Waystones. At the bare minimum (without firing Max or Johann) that would be eight people working alongside Mathilde. But if we have to spend an AP on each person each turn, then we have one AP too little even of we invest all five (plus two) AP into the WEB-MAT actions.
Here's the way I'm looking at it right now: recruiting to WEB-MAT is recruiting a subordinate, recruiting to the Waystone project as a whole is recruiting collaborators. So while we need to assign work to everyone in WEB-MAT at least two turns out of three so as not to waste their time, we don't need to give our future Runesmith buddies marching orders, because they don't work for us, they work with us, as fellow stakeholders. And so the cost of recruiting too many organizations to the Waystone project is not just the cost of AP, but the cost of having too many cooks* in the kitchen and the project getting divided too many ways: the gains in "maybe this group knows something valuable" need to be weighed against that downside risk.
Boney hasn't put it in those words, but that's the gist I'm getting from his posts.
I've been won over by arguments about making nice with political appearances - AV can wait a turn or two. With tongs having been dealt with I'm confident that we'll come back to this when time permits. I'd be willing to vote for a plan with AV if we dropped both cultural options in favor of something else, but I'm a bit leery about picking favorites right now.
I don't mean this in a bad way (this is your priority, and its your game as much as mine) but this is the exact reasoning that keeps long term projects lasting irl years.
in a turn or two something else will come up.
the cultural actions are safe, we will pick the other one next turn if we only do one this turn. ('only' being the key word, we are doing social actions no matter the outcome. it's long term actions on the chopping block.)
we need to stop kicking the long term actions bucket down the road, now, not next turn or the one after that: becue that's not changing the habit, just convincing yourself that your not doing the same thing while doing the same thing...
