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Live in Infamy

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QTesseract said:
This deal is a heck of a bad offer by mr cardinal; it's the kind of thing that if I was a villain protagonist would result in me telling him I'd take my chances with the abyss. Failing that, though, we'd better make one heck of a counteroffer. Of the plans proposed I most like the one about mining, since the problems with Dwarf Zionism seem intractable enough that this doesn't end up going anywhere and I don't want to be his slave and only get a joke of a puppet kingdom out of it, but I'm not really sure he'd agree to it if he planned to follow through rather than just drive a loophole (perhaps he exercises his right to tell us where we want the money sent, or something) so I'm open to more ideas about what to do instead.
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[-] A formal recognition that all metals and precious gems which lie under the earth are the sole property of the dwarven race, and an agreement that a penalty payment equal to tenfold the value of materials removed followed by death shall be levied upon any others who mine or otherwise gather them after the fall of the House of Darius. A similar penalty, though only twofold in magnitude and with life imprisonment replacing death, shall be levied upon all who have gathered metals or gems from the earth prior to the house's fall, unless this was done in the service of Asmodeus. Should those who gather or have gathered this wealth pass on or otherwise be rendered unable to pay the aforementioned fines, responsibility for monetary reimbursement shall become the responsibility of their nearest family member. This chain of responsibility shall continue until no living relatives can be located, upon which responsibility for payment shall instead pass onto the ruler or rulers of Talingard, or should this nation cease to exist onto any successor nation or nations which replace it.
-[-] Any wealth accrued through these penalties shall be granted to a soveriegn dwarven nation of Valka's choice, or should no such nation exist be provided to her and those she names to finance the founding of such a nation. Valka must be permitted to make her decisions on this matter entirely on her own judgement, free from the influence and/or orders of any others even if they would otherwise and/or normally have the right to command her. Payments to this end must commence within 1 year of the fall of the House of Darius, and conclude no less than 50 years after it. Should Valka fall before payments are completed, all money that would otherwise have been paid to her will instead be distributed evenly between all adult members of the dwarven population. No attempts may be made by the nation of Talingard or its successor(s) to claim any of the wealth granted by this agreement through means other than lawful trade, or to hinder the fulfilment of this agreement in any way.
-[-] All clauses of this agreement shall remain in place for 100 years from the fall of the House of Darius.
 
I'll be honest, I'm not very interested in asking for a Dwarven nation or for a ludicrous tax.

It feels like it'd be better to just go with an undefined favor from Adrastus Thorn of Valka's choice, granted in good faith.
 
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Voting Options Expanded
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    • Alright we've had a lot of discussion but all of three votes, which I suspect was probably because I went and said "be very careful about your wording" and everyone decided they'd see what someone else came up with. So! I'm going to take the opportunity to step in and offer vote options based on the discussion. For these ones, don't worry too much about the wording, since it's a QM offered thing I'll assume Valka and Thorn hammer out more specific wording to cover any obvious loopholes etc.

    Choose One of the following to ask for:

    [ ] A New Kingdom
    When Talingarde comes under new rulership, Adrastus Thorn will ensure that the new monarch recognises your ancestral claims to the Ansgar Mountains, supporting with troops, gold and resources the creation of an independent and sovereign Dwarven kingdom.

    [ ] Freedom of Faith
    You've no interest in replacing one tyrannical faith with another. The contract guarantees that the Church of Asmodeus will recognise the legitimacy of Dwarven faith and permit its teaching and worship, neither oppressing it directly nor allowing others to do so unopposed.

    [ ] Wealth of the Earth
    The contract will grant Valka proprietary and exclusive claim on all metal and precious stones beneath the surface of Talingarde for a full century. Such leverage will make her extraordinarily wealthy, and with such wealth she may pursue other projects and ambitions at her leisure, without relying on the Devil God and his cult.

    [ ] A Favour
    It is folly to commit yourself to such an uncertain future. Instead, require only this - a single service of Valka's choosing, commensurate with the effort she invests in seeing Thorn's ambitions fulfilled, to be named at a future date and fulfilled by the Cardinal or his agents.

    [ ] Write-in
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Freedom of Faith
    You've no interest in replacing one tyrannical faith with another. The contract guarantees that the Church of Asmodeus will recognise the legitimacy of Dwarven faith and permit its teaching and worship, neither oppressing it directly nor allowing others to do so unopposed.
     
    [X] Wealth of the Earth

    Aside from the obvious material value of this option, the resources it provides can be leveraged towards completing the other ends. It's not a freebee 'pick this to get all the options' deal, but it does put us in a position where achieving multiple other goals is possible.
     
    [X] Freedom of Faith

    If this is meant to be a vote on character priorities I'd prefer this.
     
    [X] Freedom of Faith

    We're in it to ressurect our culture, not our state, per the crime choice. Also, once we have a working parallel society, we can do a time-honoured villain thing in Sudden Yet Inevitable Betrayal and fight our way to independence the old-fashioned way.
     
    [X] Wealth of the Earth

    I do believe this will give us the best position in the long term. The dwarves faith and the kingdom can be built over time naturally with a great deal of wealth. I'm not entirely sure we will get a chance for a legal monopoly to gain such wealth later as easily.
     
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