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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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CrimsonOddball said:
It might depend on the wolf, but some of them are pretty huge
I've only seen one in person once, and it was a long while ago so maybe my memory is playing tricks on me
But when it reared up on two legs it was taller than I was then, and would be a similar height to me now
And I'm not a short person, around 6'2 to 6'3
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I mean, a 6' long wolf isn't unusual...they also weight within the range I cited, if at the higher end. Bigger wolves than that are possible, but extremely unusual once we're talking 120 lbs and up...especially if you're not talking a wolf that just gorged itself (which can add 20 lbs of meat in a distended stomach). Higher than about 140 lbs even including having gorged themselves is vanishingly rare.
 
[X] Plan Business
-[X] Go over the privileges and expectations of living in K8Ps, mention the other wizard inhabitants briefly.

I think less is probably more in this situation, go over the new intake stuff, and briefly talk about the other wizards around to subtly give some grounds for optimism without pushing too hard.

DeadmanwalkingXI said:
I mean, a 6' long wolf isn't unusual...they also weight within the range I cited, if at the higher end. Bigger wolves than that are possible, but extremely unusual once we're talking 120 lbs and up...especially if you're not talking a wolf that just gorged itself (which can add 20 lbs of meat in a distended stomach). Higher than about 140 lbs even including having gorged themselves is vanishingly rare.
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Something to remember is this is the warhammer world, even "Normal" wolves probably have a pretty significant range of deviations from what you'd find in the real world.
 
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I do still think that Mathilde should address the fact that she's a Grey LM talking to an apprentice that has been investigated for execution-worthy crimes. The approach in the leading plans is also ok, I think, but I think some uncomfortable truths will make the positive parts of the message go down more easily.

[X] Plan Soft Touch
-[X] Clarify that this is a social call by Panoramia's girlfriend, not an investigation by a Grey Wizard.
-[X]Yes, Mathilde is a Grey LM and will act if Sofia gives her enough of a reason, but Sofia isn't under any more scrutiny then she already was; there are laws and no harm will come to Sofia unless she actually breaks the articles.
-[X]With that uncomfortable business out of the way, tell Sofia about K8P and Panoramia. Be positive, but not unrealistically so: she's going to a nice place that is fairly accommodating to Wizards and she will have a good Master, but don't pretend that it's all smooth sailing from now on.
-[X]Emphasize to Sofia that Mathilde's door is open to her, as it is to all the Wizards of K8P. Tell her she can feel free ask whatever questions she has.
 
Boney said:
You pay a brief visit to Lady Magister Stanisława Skłodowicz of the Gold Order, the High Wizard of Middenheim, both out of politeness and to make your visit official and visible. She feigns interest in your adventures among the Dwarves, and you feign interest in her latest concoctions, decoctions and recoctions in her search for the Universal Solvent.
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… It just occurred to me on rereading, but what are the chances that she would be very interested in experimenting on *Vitae*? I'm not certain what the requirements are for being "the universal solvent" but Liquid Aether has to be something she would find fascinating if nothing else.
 
[X] Plan Friendly Welcome

If doing the Windfall paper, remember to specify Egrimm as the primary author in your plan if that's what you want to happen. If you'd rather hold onto the College Favor, ignore this of course.
 
DeadmanwalkingXI said:
I mean, a 6' long wolf isn't unusual...they also weight within the range I cited, if at the higher end. Bigger wolves than that are possible, but extremely unusual once we're talking 120 lbs and up...especially if you're not talking a wolf that just gorged itself (which can add 20 lbs of meat in a distended stomach). Higher than about 140 lbs even including having gorged themselves is vanishingly rare.
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I am going to use the (I believe) largest still existing wolf breed as an example
But the Northwestern Wolf Canis lupus occidentalis averages between 99-159 lbs for males, 79-132 lbs for females, in recent studies
That's significantly larger than the Doberman you are comparing it to

The absolute largest Northwestern Wolf recorded (and killed) weighed 230 lbs
Though that was obviously exceptional
Still, others have been documented at 175 lbs
 
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I expected this to be a pretty low-engagement vote, but that's okay because unlike most votes my main objective with this one wasn't to present an interesting choice. The objective here is to pass the buck after starting at a blank screen for far too long, trying to figure out what Mathilde is supposed to say in this situation.

bms111 said:
… It just occurred to me on rereading, but what are the chances that she would be very interested in experimenting on *Vitae*? I'm not certain what the requirements are for being "the universal solvent" but Liquid Aether has to be something she would find fascinating if nothing else.
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Universal solvent is an theoretical chemical that was one of the goals of alchemy, which would be capable of dissolving any substance while preserving its favorable properties. Vitae is about as far from this as you can get, in that it dissolves nothing and in fact will evaporate if you look at it funny.
 
Boney said:
Universal solvent is an theoretical chemical that was one of the goals of alchemy, which would be capable of dissolving any substance while preserving its favorable properties. Vitae is about as far from this as you can get, in that it dissolves nothing and in fact will evaporate if you look at it funny.
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On this note, I'm given to understand that alchemists get a bit peeved at you if you ask them if there's any container that could possibly hold the universal solvent without also getting dissolved.
 
Boney said:
Universal solvent is an theoretical chemical that was one of the goals of alchemy, which would be capable of dissolving any substance while preserving its favorable properties. Vitae is about as far from this as you can get, in that it dissolves nothing and in fact will evaporate if you look at it funny.
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Interesting. Still, I think a letter would not be harmful, unless we are trying to keep our Vitae quiet. I think it would be very interesting for her to be able to interact with aether in a tangible form, and could inform her studies and direction.
 
bms111 said:
Interesting. Still, I think a letter would not be harmful, unless we are trying to keep our Vitae quiet. I think it would be very interesting for her to be able to interact with aether in a tangible form, and could inform her studies and direction.
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The general plan the thread seems to have is to finish all or most of the related research solo before revealing the existence of the Vitae alongside a book on all its properties.
 
[X] Plan curiosity
-[X] Mathilde and Sofia are going to hang around each other a bit in the next few years, might as well have the meet and greet and get the awkwardness out of the way now.
-[X] "This magic addiction thing, how does it work, how does it feel? Is there enough material to write a book about? How do you react to this perfectly banal snake oil I conveniently by happenstance had on me for this meeting?"

Let's just skip straight into Mathilde-ing.
 
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[X] Plan Faith
-[X] "Would you describe yourself as a woman of faith?"
-[X] Discussion of Ghyranic worship compared to conventional deific worship.

Hmm, not 100% happy with that, I'm going to try a different track.

[X] Plan Wizard of Eight Peaks
-[X] take the hat off and put it to one side. "I'm here to speak to you, wizard to wizard today—nothing more or less."
-[X] "In your own words, what do you think it means to be a Wizard of the Empire?"
-[X] explain similarities between that and the duties and expectations of a Wizard of Karak Eight Peaks, where those who did not fit into traditional college culture found a place to create a niche for themselves.
 
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bms111 said:
Interesting. Still, I think a letter would not be harmful, unless we are trying to keep our Vitae quiet. I think it would be very interesting for her to be able to interact with aether in a tangible form, and could inform her studies and direction.
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The thread has decided that we want this to be mathys big thing that she did alone and that she can wow everyone else with all at once. This necessitates that no one knows about it until ready.
 
Why does Mathilde have to be the personable person herself?

Cant we make that part Eikes job? Like, tell her to engage with Sofia while giving Mathilde regular reports?

Yes, that is saying that Eike should 1) make a friend and 2) spy on that friend. But that is part of the job we are teaching her, so that works just fine.

Mathilde herself can stay a bit more distant (because lets be real, we are always moving, so we wont meet sofia that often anyways)
 
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LawsOfRobotics said:
Eike on the windfall paper
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I think in light of the recent revelations about her, she'll find it fairly easy to sit quietly and listen while adult wizards talk about things which may or may not be above her level of theoretical understanding. Upside: unlikely to annoy Egrimm. Downside: unlikely to impress Egrimm either... although she is just an apprentice, she'd only need to ask insightful questions, or be interesting/a good rubber duck because of her Windsight, she wouldn't be expected to contribute on the same level or anything.
 
naths said:
Why does Mathilde have to be the personable person herself?

Cant we make that part Eikes job? Like, tell her to engage with Sofia while giving Mathilde regular reports?

Yes, that is saying that Eike should 1) make a friend and 2) spy on that friend. But that is part of the job we are teaching her, so that works just fine.

Mathilde herself can stay a bit more distant (because lets be real, we are always moving, so we wont meet sofia that often anyways)
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To flesh out the idea a bit more: telling Eike, who likes 2nd chance stories iirc, about Sofia and telling her to make a friend has several advantages

1. it gives Eike a wizard friend roughly her age

2. it gives Sofia a wizard friend roughly her age

3. Eike, a fellow apprentice, will be much less scary and more approachable for Sofia

4. making friends is arguably a big part of Mathildes diplomacy, so of course we gotta teach that

5. quizzing Eike, say once a turn on how Sofia has been doing would probably give us insights that Sofia would never share with the scary lady magister


So in conclusion, i think we should introduce Eike during this meeting
 
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It's not surprising that this is not getting that much track. Write-In votes generally are lower engagment, and emotional conversation write-in votes even more so.

But there's also the difference in thread and voting culture. Boney's votes are certainly not thoughtless, but the considerations are generally about personal interactions. So the voters are self-selected and trained for that. Compare that to Bruce quest, where votes like the current are quite common, though even there you generally have a handful of people who create the votes (though the same goes for this quest when it comes to plans).

Plus, there's the additional difficulty that we don't actually know Sofia, or how she would react to stuff. Which probably applies to Boney to some degree too, since this is her first appearance, and is part of the reason he decided to chuck this over.
Boney said:
Universal solvent is an theoretical chemical that was one of the goals of alchemy
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Some addition: Alchemy was believed to happen in four steps, the first of which was dissolving. So the Universal Solvent was the perfection of the first step of alchemy, and there were similar "goal" substances associated with the other three.

I'd also like that chemical sounds more mundane than it was. The whole process had a hefty spiritual aspect to it, and Universal Solvent would not necessarily be just a spiritual thing. That's why the philosopher's stone can turn metal into gold, but also grant eternal youth: It's the ultimate substance that helps with perfection, so it perfects metals into gold, and humans into less broken humans.
Somic said:
I think in light of the recent revelations about her, she'll find it fairly easy to sit quietly and listen while adult wizards talk about things which may or may not be above her level of theoretical understanding. Upside: unlikely to annoy Egrimm. Downside: unlikely to impress Egrimm either... although she is just an apprentice, she'd only need to ask insightful questions, or be interesting/a good rubber duck because of her Windsight, she wouldn't be expected to contribute on the same level or anything.
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Accurate, that's pretty much how it went on the other papers.
 
CrimsonOddball said:
It might depend on the specific wolf, and the breed, but some of them are pretty huge
I've only seen one in person up close once, and it was a long while ago so maybe my memory is playing tricks on me
But when it reared up on two legs it was taller than I was then, and would be a similar height to me now, maybe a bit shorter
And I'm not a short person, around 6'2 to 6'3



Mathilde mused once that Wolf could kill a full grown man by the time he was 1
I don't think she was exaggerating
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Seeing this just makes me really appreciate what the early humans did in taming wolves.
 
naths said:
1. it gives Eike a wizard friend roughly her age

2. it gives Sofia a wizard friend roughly her age

3. Eike, a fellow apprentice, will be much less scary and more approachable for Sofia

4. making friends is arguably a big part of Mathildes diplomacy, so of course we gotta teach that

5. quizzing Eike, say once a turn on how Sofia has been doing would probably give us insights that Sofia would never share with the scary lady magister
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Forcing a friendship between Sofia and Eike seems like a terrible idea to me. Sofia will be always aware that Eike is part of the secret wizard police, but might also be too afraid to tell her off. Which would lead to even more pressure and stress than she is already feeling, because she has to pretend that everything is fine, while knowing that her 'friend' is actually there to surveil her.
 
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