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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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[X] [RIDER] Knight
-[X] Conventional Empire (Mathilde's Heraldry)
[X] [RIDER] Great Cat Knight
[X] [RIDER] Mist-shrouded Grey Wizard on a Shadowsteed
 
[X] [RIDER] A Humongous (for a goblin) Goblin Warboss on a Warboar who's a massive chonker
[X] [RIDER] A Purple Ork Warboss (Who's a bit naff for a Ork) On a Warboar who's a massive chonker

The Purple warboss idea is far too amusing to pass up.

Also the practical benefits of hijacking a WAAAGH!!!

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[X] [RIDER] The Dämmerlichtreiter
 
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Also, another of my reasons I forgot to mention for the heraldry option: she was knighted by Abelhelm. It is thanks to him that she has a blazon. I feel like having mounted knights show up occasionally around the Empire like this, even though almost no one knows the link, is a good way to quietly honor him.
 
Glau said:
Plus, the first time someone hits the rider and doesn't get the rune of spite backlash, they'll know it's not her. (Assuming that Mathilde is using an escape gambit because she is injured, the rune of spite would be obvious to all involved in the fight.)
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I believe by that point you're in melee with a reskinned Red Rider and not really in a position to disengage until you kill it, dispel it or run out the spell duration.
 
[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Visual

[X] [RIDER] Great Cat Knight

[X] [RIDER] Other (Ulgu Dragon)

[X] [RIDER] A man who could look like a depiction of Ranald, though there a lot of ambiguity about it due to the smoke drifting around him partially obscuring his face at all times, in a knight costume, wielding swords, riding a horse-sized housecat.

TOOO MANNNY GOOD IDEAAAAAS
 
Talon TigerDino said:
Cats, while great at taking on things roughly their size or smaller, have a lot of overlap with Mathilde, who is also great at taking on things her size or smaller thanks to her sword style.
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Cats are honestly pretty fantastic at taking on things bigger than themselves, actually. Certain types of great cat especially.
Derpmind said:
I think the auditory one is the most likely to get us Grandpa Kragg headpats. Because it's the most Dwarfy: Reliable, simple, reproducible, operates in a way that would be familiar to Runesmiths, and doesn't rely on any magic in the device itself to work. Sure, it takes more time and effort to use for an in-depth scan, but since when is that a problem for Kragg?

Compare that to the visual one: A one-off prototype, complicated, fidly, and it uses Wind enchantments.
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All Seviroscopes are equally unreproducible to Dwarves. Also, "able to be mass-manufactured" is the actual antithesis of Dwarf manufacturing, which is 100% highly detail-oriented artisanship. Dwarf craftmanship only looks simple from the outside, and I'm pretty sure that is extra true for Runes by probably at least an order of magnitude.
picklepikkl said:
As one of the default options with the best chance of gathering momentum. Per earlier discussion, I am not worried about Hexwraith confusion as a possibility. This is totally fine.
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As somebody who apparently missed that discussion, why is that fine actually?

Anyway, I want a rider with a Sabretusk for my entry for the "riding a big cat" category. You can take this with a grain of salt since it's from the (notoriously unreliable) wiki, but here's their description re: warfare:
Red in tooth and claw — an apt description for a Sabretusk, as this powerfully muscled hunting beast is a creature perfectly evolved for slaughter. A lone Sabretusk will bound into the midst of its prey, slashing and stabbing with its elongated tusks, seeking to sever arteries and disembowel its quarry. The snarling assault that follows is a fury of pounces, bites and ripping claws. Should an entire pack of Sabretusks attack at once, then even the largest beasts that haunt the Mountains of Mourn can be quickly brought down in a howling flurry, leaving a red mist hanging in the frosty air.[1a]

Sabretusks are opportunistic hunters that prowl the slopes and valleys of the Mountains of Mourn. They are silent stalkers, preferring to stealthily work towards unguarded flanks or rear positions before springing their attack. However, a hungry pack is more than hold enough for a straightforward clash, and Ogres admit that even their most numerous hunting parties are not safe from the predations of Sabretusks. Although soundless while stalking its victim, upon slaying its mark a Sabretusk will proclaim its kill to the pack with an enormous roar — a frightful sound that echoes off the peaks.
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And here's their appearance:


[X] [RIDER] A rider formed of shadows wearing robes and a Witch Hunter's hat on a Shadowsteed, with their face perpetually obscured by mists and a cloak of mist trailing from their shoulders.

[X] [RIDER] A rider formed of shadows wearing robes and a Witch Hunter's hat on a Sabretusk, with their face perpetually obscured by mists and a cloak of mist trailing from their shoulders.

[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Visual
 
[X] [RIDER] Mist-shrouded Grey Wizard on a Shadowsteed
[X] [RIDER] Great Cat Knight
[X] [RIDER] The Dämmerlichtreiter
[X] [RIDER] Mathilde on a Shadowsteed
[X] [RIDER] A man who could look like a depiction of Ranald, though there's a lot of ambiguity about it due to the smoke drifitng around him partially obscuring his face at all times, in a knight costume, wielding swords, riding a horse-sized housecat.
[X] [RIDER] Mounted Wraiths
[X] [RIDER] Mist-shrouded Grey Wizard on a Shadow-Demigryph
[X] [RIDER] Misty Wraith on top of a Giant Wolf
[X] [RIDER] Orc on a Chonky Boar
[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Visual
[X] [RIDER] Cloaked Grey Wizard on a Shadowsteed


The only options for riders that I actively dislike are the generic knight on steed options. They just seem straight up inferior to having a Grey Wizard on a shadowsteed.

If you have the apparition on a shadowsteed it means you have great options for running decoys in combination with the doppelganger spell. A normal horse just doesn't provide that benefit and in fact doesn't seem to provide any benefit that I can see whatsoever.

Having the rider then be a mysterious grey wizard then makes it even better because it means the caster doesn't even need the doppelganger spell as long they wear the right clothes. Even if the disguise isn't used or fails to be effective you don't lose anything from having it available.


A classic example of when this would be useful would be when Mathilde was in the goblin caves. She could have sent an apparition off to distract while she hid.
Another is on the battlefield where the similiarity in appearance would cause confusion and result in the caster being targeted less (always kill the wizard first!).
 
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I'm surprised no one suggested knight riding on a dinosaur yet. Cold one should be about the right size and Imperial Zoo might have some.

[X] [RIDER] Cold One Knight

[X] [RIDER] Great Cat Knight
[X] [RIDER] Misty Wraith on top of a Giant Wolf



[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Visual
 
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Rafin said:
Doesn't that have more to do with instincts? That wouldn't apply to a being that's naturally an apparition imitating a horse rider. Or maybe it would, given that a creature of the Aethyr might care more about the associations its victims make than about a physical form it used to adopt. I honestly have no idea.
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Function follows form. Something shaped like a horse will fight like a horse because that is the best way for a horse-shaped thing to fight.

Rafin said:
Also Demigryphs seem to have a broad chested build instead of one that would be more expected from a pouncing predatory mammal. At least in the official art, models and Total War. If your quest canon Demigryphs are more sensibly proportioned then I'll shut up about it.
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They have the frame of a big cat, so they'd fight like a big cat.

veekie said:
...has Mathilde ever seen an actual Great Cat before?
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If nowhere else, then in the heraldry and art of the Knights Panther.

Retrueno said:
@Boney would it be possible to add a cross tattoo in one of the fingers of the Red Rider?

And more important, if we codified the spell could we codify it in a way that the people who learn it don't realize about said cross while learning it?
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Symbols of dedication to a God aren't just an aesthetic. Throwing a rune of dedication to a God that is the complete conceptual opposite of what your spell is trying to do could perhaps go poorly.
 
There are several big problem about riders on exotic mounts is that they're likely to spook friendly cavalry mounted on horses. Another horse is much less likely to.

Also, one of the advantages of a Shadowsteed is that it makes complete sense why you can find one just about anywhere, without it being obvious that the mount is very unlikely to have managed to get there.

If you want decoy value, the Shadowsteed makes it more plausible.
 
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[X] [RIDER] The Dämmerlichtreiter

[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Auditory

I'm intrigued by the possibilities of magic alarm bells. Because the regular Alarm spell is Petty Magic, apprentice-level spell. But this could detect someone using Shadowcloak, Substance of Shadow or Take no Heed, and they wouldn't be able to dispel it because there isn't an actual enchantment or spellwork there.
 
[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Visual
[X] [RIDER] A man who could look like a depiction of Ranald, though there's a lot of ambiguity about it due to the smoke drifitng around him partially obscuring his face at all times, in a knight costume, wielding swords, riding a horse-sized housecat.
[X] [RIDER] Great Cat Knight
 
Something to note is that if we go for a Mathilde copy, or the more generic "misty Grey Wizard on a shadowsteed", is that it'll most likely go a very long way towards obfuscating the nature of the spell.

A lot of the other colleges would take one look at that spell and be like "okay, the Shadowmancers figured out how to make semi-corporeal copies of themselves, seems about right for the ninja wizards". It would likely take a while for anyone to even notice that the spell "only" creates mounted copies, and even when they do they're far more likely to think it's some sort of uber-illusion that's so real it causes physical injuries or something, rather than it just being an apparition we yoinked and slapped a new paintjob on.
 
Fayhem said:
Also, "able to be mass-manufactured" is the actual antithesis of Dwarf manufacturing, which is 100% highly detail-oriented artisanship.
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I did not say that. I said it was "reproducable", as in something people who aren't these exact two Lord Magisters can make. And as a contrast to the Visual version. In no way was I suggesting mass-manufacturing.

It's clear Auditory has already lost, so I won't bother arguing for it anymore, but if you quote me please quote what I actually said.
 
Boney said:
Symbols of dedication to a God aren't just an aesthetic. Throwing a rune of dedication to a God that is the complete conceptual opposite of what your spell is trying to do could perhaps go poorly.
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My write in might be a terrible mistake.

No. No, it's fine. It's just a cheeky wink at our friend, it's not actually Ranald.
Just something that looks like they could be a depiction of him.
 
[X] [RIDER] Misty Wraith on top of a Demigryph
[X] [RIDER] Misty Wraith on top of a Giant Wolf

[X] [SEVIROSCOPE] Visual

Gonna do an auditory one next turn.
 
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