- She is unmatched at stealth in cities, because she cheats
- She is pretty good at stealth in tunnels because she has experience from her time in K8P
- She has never tried to stealth in a forest
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
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Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
pucflek
Verified simpleton
- Location
- Czech Republic
Depends really.
We went over it and yeah its entirely possible it was rerouted recently and it is going somewhere there, in which case its really bad news. But i would still place my bets on it being absorbed by The Land.)
Lot of bonuses that make Mathilde's scounting stat (Intrigue) higher depend on her affinity for Ulgu or effectiveness against mundane defences.
Not only is the Forest in this case really far from being mundane, it is also occupied by one of the most potent casters of Ulgu, her chosen wind, that walks the Old world. And a dryad, so she can probably suss out the revival shtick Mathilde has.
The trees likely literally have eyes and ears.
So yeah, i wouldn't say its unscoutable period, i am sure Alith Anar would laugh through with reckless abandon insofar as he is capable of such, but i really don't want her to walk in there.
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- Location
- Denial
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ok, so, hear me out. What if we invented a spell that that utilises ulgu to confuse you as to what options the thread picked previously. That way we could have the ability to cast any spell we want. As an added bonus I'm pretty sure we could confuse you into thinking we had voted to buy a delicious burrito.
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Mathilde is not the peak of stealth in all of Warhammer. There are people out there who have been stealthing for centuries if not millenia more than Mathilde and some who are just more focused on the area then she is. Some even have special abilities that would be usable here that Mathilde does not have.
If we had Cadaeth on our side I actually wouldn't mind scouting, because I trust the sexy forest to have our back in this very dangerous and unfamiliar environment that she would be far more experienced with. Matbilde literally only knows the basics about Dryads and magical forests. Entering into one with her level of experience can very well end up with her being eaten alive.
I urge people to not overestimate Mathilde's abilities. She's skilled and resourceful but not invincible, and this situation is far too disadvantageous to be confident of her safety.
Mopman43
Mountain-Hermit of Nitpeak
- Location
- Vermont
And the name of the spell will be Schrodinger's Character Creation.
"But… your name isn't Schrodinger?"
*Casts SCC*
"Isn't it?"
- Location
- Utrecht
That's when you use many disposable scouts.
One lady magister gets caught and gives you no information, other than that they can take a lady magister.
The problem is that that information cost you a lady magister.
But if you use many scouts, they either come back with information, or they don't come back, and that tells you that they have enough people watching to nab all your scouts.
If i may make a pun on your username, this is when you send the redshirt army.
Kislev has reserves.
We have a +10 to scouting rolls when in command due to warrior of fog, and we can bypass defenses so long as they are not actively seeking magical infiltrators.
Unfortunately, I don't think either of those apply here?
Unfortunately, I don't think either of those apply here?
pucflek
Verified simpleton
- Location
- Czech Republic
Yeah, the mastery of forest they have is unnatural enough that i don't think those trait will necessarily apply.
The +10 to scouting is us commanding a force and the scouts, which is not happening, and i am not really sure about what Drycha may or may not be expecting.
I think the enemy likely expects magical infiltration. When we looked at them with the help of the Hedgewise it seemed that they looked back at us, and while they rolled low their bonus was hidden. I'm guessing they didn't identify Mathilde personally, but they know someone was watching and they are acting accordingly. And even if they didn't, there's plenty of magical dangers in the forest that they could be guarding against. They are using pretty potent shadow magic, they're probably no strangers to magical infiltration.
I guess it's possible that they are so sure they're dealing with normal human forces that they didn't bother to defend themselves against magical sneakiness, but I really wouldn't bet Mathilde's life on it.
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- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
If we do that will the DC on the background 'Time travelling apprentices who are angry at how Mathilde names things' rolls be lowered?
I think that it is unscoutable, in terms of not being found out/seen by these peeps from Athel Loren, period. Maybe if we were an elf with centuries of experience in forest scouting. Or maybe a Lord Magister of the Amber College who has spent years learning the ins and outs of various spites and woodland gribbles.
But Mathilde has little experience with the specifics of woodland gribbles.
---
There's a plot afoot, and I believe it probable that the Keslevite mustering has been noticed by this warband: they've gone to a lot of effort to hide what they are doing. Observing the general area in case anything goes looks be going wonky with one's plan to lure Boyar Kalashinivik seems sensible to me.
I know that I think the risk to Mathilde's life is significantly larger than I think you think it is.
(Please note: I have 100% confidence in the above statement.
)
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Now that I'm at a PC:
[ ] Bring in the Kreml Guard
Tsarevich Boris is leading the Kreml Guard, but they are travelling on foot on a dirt road and may not arrive in time for the battle. Kislev's forces actually having infantry would be helpful for a battle in a forest. Use Rite of Way to speed their journey.
What if not done: Battle potentially happens without heavy infantry support. Note, they still likely have a shitload of levies.
What if done: Battle is the best of Kislev's conventional forces inside a forest vs forest spirits, odds are better, but still not pretty.
Risks of doing: Negligible
[ ] Bring in Ice Witches
Currently, the only Ice Witch that is likely to be present for the battle is Milica. If you travel to Kislev City, you could bring in additional Ice Witches on Shadowsteeds. Milica says there are at least two and perhaps as many as five Ice Witches in Kislev City that would be able to respond and could meaningfully contribute to a battle.
What if not done: Battle happens with only Mathilde and one Ice Witch for magical support. We are aware that the enemy is likely magically powerful.
What if done: At least double magical firepower, possibly more, we should have enough countermagic on field that our ice witches can go on the offensive.
Risks of doing: Negligible
[ ] Bring in the Tzar
Tzar Vladimir is on his way and bringing the very many rotas of Kislev City with him. It might be preferable for him to get here first, and would definitely be preferable for him to get here knowing who his enemy is going to be. Travel to Kislev City, tell him all you know, and tell him he needs to get moving or he'll miss the fight.
What if not done: Tzar Vladimir potentially joins battle without prior knowledge...I assume someone sent a rider on an intercept, but they might not get there.
What if done: Battle likely happens ahead of schedule, which may throw off enemy plans(e.g. Drycha may be still casting a ritual and cannot participate if we're lucky), or may just leave us fighting with less than our full force.
Risks of doing: Negligible
[ ] Find the Boyar
For some reason, the Athel Loren forces seem to be trying to lure in Boyar Kalashinivik and his rota. Boyar Kalashinivik should be somewhere on the road between Praag and Kislev. Intercept him and see if you can figure out what this is all about.
What if not done: We don't have any lead on why Athel Loren is here
What if done: Battle likely happens ahead of schedule, which may throw off enemy plans(e.g. Drycha may be still casting a ritual and cannot participate if we're lucky), or may just leave us fighting with less than our full force.
Risks of doing: Some risk of not being able to actually find him, and if he's bad juju, there may be a fight.
[ ] Investigate the missing leyline
The Waystone Nexus in Gross Selon seems to be set up to receive energy from Kislev City, but currently nothing is coming through. Investigate where the leyline should be between Resvynhaf and Kislev City to see if it is still flowing out of Kislev City, because if it is, then it is being intercepted somewhere in the Shirokij.
What if not done: We cannot confirm if Drycha is doing a big ritual with the power.
What if done: We can confirm if Drycha is doing a big ritual with the power. If she is, then we'd have the option to do our historically best bet for taking on a superior spellcaster - disrupt their big magic, if she is not, then the block may be why she's here.
Risks of doing: Some might notice us looking, but its unlikely. Not many have magesight of our resolution.
[ ] Scout the Shirokij
Of the forces here, only you would have any chance of moving unseen through the Shirokij. Use this to try to scout the enemy.
What if not done: Battle commences without solid numbers on the enemy composition.
What if done: Battle commences with better info on enemy composition...noting that it might not affect our side's tactics that much - we already have locals who know the terrain and the leadership is nationalistically bound to rush in regardless of what we find.
Risks of doing: Significant. We're very good at stealth, but they're forest spirits, in a forest...we do have a giant flame attack if necessary though, so I'd put it as serious risk, but one we do have some answers for.
[ ] Bring in the Kreml Guard
Tsarevich Boris is leading the Kreml Guard, but they are travelling on foot on a dirt road and may not arrive in time for the battle. Kislev's forces actually having infantry would be helpful for a battle in a forest. Use Rite of Way to speed their journey.
What if not done: Battle potentially happens without heavy infantry support. Note, they still likely have a shitload of levies.
What if done: Battle is the best of Kislev's conventional forces inside a forest vs forest spirits, odds are better, but still not pretty.
Risks of doing: Negligible
[ ] Bring in Ice Witches
Currently, the only Ice Witch that is likely to be present for the battle is Milica. If you travel to Kislev City, you could bring in additional Ice Witches on Shadowsteeds. Milica says there are at least two and perhaps as many as five Ice Witches in Kislev City that would be able to respond and could meaningfully contribute to a battle.
What if not done: Battle happens with only Mathilde and one Ice Witch for magical support. We are aware that the enemy is likely magically powerful.
What if done: At least double magical firepower, possibly more, we should have enough countermagic on field that our ice witches can go on the offensive.
Risks of doing: Negligible
[ ] Bring in the Tzar
Tzar Vladimir is on his way and bringing the very many rotas of Kislev City with him. It might be preferable for him to get here first, and would definitely be preferable for him to get here knowing who his enemy is going to be. Travel to Kislev City, tell him all you know, and tell him he needs to get moving or he'll miss the fight.
What if not done: Tzar Vladimir potentially joins battle without prior knowledge...I assume someone sent a rider on an intercept, but they might not get there.
What if done: Battle likely happens ahead of schedule, which may throw off enemy plans(e.g. Drycha may be still casting a ritual and cannot participate if we're lucky), or may just leave us fighting with less than our full force.
Risks of doing: Negligible
[ ] Find the Boyar
For some reason, the Athel Loren forces seem to be trying to lure in Boyar Kalashinivik and his rota. Boyar Kalashinivik should be somewhere on the road between Praag and Kislev. Intercept him and see if you can figure out what this is all about.
What if not done: We don't have any lead on why Athel Loren is here
What if done: Battle likely happens ahead of schedule, which may throw off enemy plans(e.g. Drycha may be still casting a ritual and cannot participate if we're lucky), or may just leave us fighting with less than our full force.
Risks of doing: Some risk of not being able to actually find him, and if he's bad juju, there may be a fight.
[ ] Investigate the missing leyline
The Waystone Nexus in Gross Selon seems to be set up to receive energy from Kislev City, but currently nothing is coming through. Investigate where the leyline should be between Resvynhaf and Kislev City to see if it is still flowing out of Kislev City, because if it is, then it is being intercepted somewhere in the Shirokij.
What if not done: We cannot confirm if Drycha is doing a big ritual with the power.
What if done: We can confirm if Drycha is doing a big ritual with the power. If she is, then we'd have the option to do our historically best bet for taking on a superior spellcaster - disrupt their big magic, if she is not, then the block may be why she's here.
Risks of doing: Some might notice us looking, but its unlikely. Not many have magesight of our resolution.
[ ] Scout the Shirokij
Of the forces here, only you would have any chance of moving unseen through the Shirokij. Use this to try to scout the enemy.
What if not done: Battle commences without solid numbers on the enemy composition.
What if done: Battle commences with better info on enemy composition...noting that it might not affect our side's tactics that much - we already have locals who know the terrain and the leadership is nationalistically bound to rush in regardless of what we find.
Risks of doing: Significant. We're very good at stealth, but they're forest spirits, in a forest...we do have a giant flame attack if necessary though, so I'd put it as serious risk, but one we do have some answers for.
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K von Carstein
Likes to go for a walk
- Location
- Belgium
- Pronouns
- He
I completely forgot that😅 Yeah, what better use of a big flamer than against very flammable trees?😏
Codex
Fantasy Addict
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I mentioned this before, but Treemen and Tree Kin are flammable, Dryads and Branchwraiths are not. At least in terms of their statblocks throughout the Editions. Boney might decide otherwise, but I wouldn't bet on them being super flammable.
I think this is in part the result of their differing origins. Tree Kin and Treemen are the results of Spirits melding with the husks of trees from magical forests. Dryads and Branchwraiths are spirits produced by the forest. That's the reason Dryads and Branchwraiths can shapeshift but Treekin and Treemen cannot. One is static and solid, rooted in the phyical frame. The other is more spiritual and flexible, capable of shifting aspect.
Mopman43
Mountain-Hermit of Nitpeak
- Location
- Vermont
Mathildean, you mean.
On the first point: She's never done stealth in the woods. A dedicated woodsman (Taalite priest if possible, but not necessary) would be both stealthier and more able to gather useful information based on what he sees. But yes, the spooky woods filled with asshole wood elves and extremely asshole dryad waiting to spring a trap (and therefore making sure no one gets close to investigate said trap) is pretty damn close to unscoutable. Especially when the scout in question is Not-A-Woodsman-Mathilde. We didn't try to sneak into the depths of the Eshin base until they were very busy, and in that case Mathilde had time to prepare and they weren't waiting to spring a trap.
As for saying the risk is worth it? There's a few points on that.
First is that, frankly, I don't really give a fuck about the risk/reward ratio. I don't want Mathilde to die on a (already completed) sidequest. I just don't really care that much about the people at risk here. If Belegar was leading a throng, I'd be more inclined. I like the Kislev guys, and they're right proper badasses, but I don't like them that much.
Second, it's really not clear that scouting is even the best option. Getting some infantry to fight in the forest is the first best thing. So scouting is at most second order. But what can we expect there? I could be really important information. Or Mathilde could fail to get close enough, or only find that yup, theses guys sure are planning a trap. That is absolutly critical information, but because the scrying worked well and Mathilde told the locals, that was already deduced. So the next bit of really important information is "Are they doing evil magic things?". And scouting might show that. But there's also a low risk option to check that, and the option to bring in a bunch of very grump magic grandmas*, which would help with that as well. I'd rather do one of those.
*It's my opinion that all ice witches, while unobserved, are eastern grandmas. It's a quantum thing.
MiracleGrow
Miracles for only $19.99 [They/Them]
- Location
- DOOR STUCK DOOR STUCK PLEASE I BEG U
On that note, Mathilda is so sidereal it hurts. A keeper of secrets of course. Even if Journeys is technically more thematic for her.
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
[x] Investigate the missing leyline
[x] Find the Boyar
[x] Bring in the Kreml Guard
[x] Find the Boyar
[x] Bring in the Kreml Guard
You know, I wonder what Paranoth's reaction to all this is going to be?
"I sent her to investigate a spooky forest and she started a war".
"I sent her to investigate a spooky forest and she started a war".
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