The Enemy Within (WHF Witch Hunter Quest)

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[x] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.
[x] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.
[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[x] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.
[x] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[x] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[x] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation.
[x] [Other] Ensure the Stevedores directly involved with the cult see the pyre.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

if we end up doing these, should we also level up the stats the correspond to these choices like law knowledge and speech, if we can I mean.

[X] [Goetrin] The Pyre.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent.
[X] [Teugen] Replaced.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation.
[X] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.

So, let's go through the options here.
Edel might have been a willing cooperator, but his personality doesn't strike that way to me. Regardless, we can't really prove anything except stupidity and incompetence. While that might not matter for his fate right now, it will matter to his patrons within the church hierarchy, whom we will be working with in the future.

As for Teugen: as he allowed his personal enmity to interfere with his duties, and the entire structure of the current running of the town was responsible for enabling this situation. Taking down him and his family to me goes to far, as we'd also be hurting innocents. Having him indebted to us will improve our personal power, but that is itself also a form of corruption: using our position for personal beneftis. That form of corruption is what caused the entire mess in this town in the first place. Let's deal witht he problem root & stem.

Lastly, Goetrin. In my personal opinion, he must burn. I don't even care if he knew about the Chaos cult. He had a duty as Captain to protect the town. A sanctioned witch hunter inquisitor get's brought before him, and instead of doing his minimal duty of at least investigating, he willingly and knowlingly ignored offical warning of human sacrifice and daemon-summoning. Either he is a cultist, or he deliberatly shriked his duty and thereby risked the lives of thousands of inhabitans and visitors. Both are capital grade crimes, and thus the sentence must be death.

On a secondary level: our Order has a reputation to uphold. We hunt witches and other monsters. When a witchhunter tells people something is happening, when a witchhunter tells members of the secular authorities they needs hem to jump, the secular authorities may only ask "how high". Allowing this guy to get away with only disgrace is a threat to said reputation. A reputation we need to do our work, to keep the millions of citizens of the Empire save from Chaos, Witches, Vampires and Heretics.

To further explain my thinking: see below. The afternoon that happened from Goetrin's perspective and some of the options he had.

Goetrin nega quest: a town captain's story
you are the captain of the town guard of Bögenhafen, which is currently incredibly busy with the yearly Schaffenfest. Suddenly a squad of your soldiers walk in. They have arrested a noblemen Witch Hunder Inquisitor of the Order of Silver Hammer. He was found at the site of murder of the local Guild Master, a patron of yours and of very few friends. One of the local councilmembers has warned that this particular witchhunter dislikes merchants, while the local high priest has assured you his investigations are merely a political sham. You know, however, that said high priest is very close the the local merchant elite.
The witchhunter claims to be investigating a local cult among the merchant elite, and that said guildmaster was murdered for cooperating witht said investigation. Furthermore, the witchhunter claims a dark ritual is taking place tonight, including human sacrifice and the summoning of Daemons.

What do you do?
[] summon the guard, call forth the militia and rouse the priests. bring down the hammer on these file heretics.
[] ask the witchhunter for proof of his claims, and will visit of this ritual together with him and your men. depending on your findings, you will
[] a claim like this from a men of his position must be investigated, but you do not trust the man. have him tell you the site of the supposed ritual. You disarm the witchhunter and will go yourself or send a squad tonight. If he promises on his personal honor and that of his family that he will stay quit and not incite a mob, he will be allowed to come along, with his blessed weapons under your care to be returned to him at the site if deamons are indeed present.
[] you don't believe the man. have him locked up on suspicion of involvement in murder, but send word to the high priest and town council, as well as a squad to check out this supposed ritual site. They probably won't find anything but you can't be too carefull, and it is your duty after all.
[] hidden option: you know of this cult. Denouce the witchhunter as a murderer and inciter of mutiny. take his arms and armour, have your soldiers beat him up, and throw him in a dark & lonely cell. Your masters will reward you for protecting tonights event

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.
[X] [Other] Return to the High Temple of Sigmar and spend some time praying for your god's guidance. You came face to face with a formidable servant of the Great Enemy and perhaps came out not unscathed. Clear you mind, find your focus, reflect. Fortify your soul to face the trails ahead. Maybe now, with you holy duty complete you will find a semblance of peace and answers.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

Looking at the votes again, people are rightfully treating Edel as an incompetent that should be placed as far as possible from any position of significant power. That's 37 votes while burning him at the Pyre is a distant second at 20 votes.

Teugen meanwhile is pretty close, with Repaid at 25 and Replaced at 23 votes.

Meanwhile, Goetrin still has a commanding lead of 33 votes wanting him Disgraced while Retirement is 2nd at only 16 votes.

I really do believe we have the opportunity to leave Bogenhafen a better place than when we first step foot in it. If Repaid wins for Teugen's fate, the Town Council remains intact, and we know the local High Priest of Sigmar has a seat in that Town Council.

Since we're solidly all for removing Edel from his position and replacing him with Sigiwalt, we'll have one seat in the Town Council secured by a devout priest. We can further increase Sigiwalt's power over the town if Teugen, who also has a seat in the Council, supports him because he owes the continued existence of his career and his family's lives to Markus.

If the Town Watch is also allied to Sigiwalt because Goetrin Retired and we chose one of Sigiwalt's allies to replace him, that's some major political weight behind the High Priest, especially since the other merchant families will want to clear their names by currying his favor. This way, Sigiwalt and his faction become dominant in the town's politics, and I'm confident that as long as they're at the helm, any cult that wants to do a repeat of Franz' plot is going to have a very hard time at it.

This is better than just letting the Graf appoint a noble whose character and integrity we don't know to rule over Bogenhafen and the Town Watch. The dissolution of the town council won't only incite unrest due to taking away the political rights that Bogenhafen's citizens used to enjoy, it also reduces the power that Sigiwalt and his allies have over the town, and thus his ability to stop Chaos in its tracks.

As a Witch Hunter, it's our duty to stop the enemies of the Empire wherever we find them, and part of that is making sure the people are better positioned to resist the temptations of Chaos. Making sure the Town Watch and the Town Council are all allied to Sigiwalt is key to that. If we pull that off, clean-up of the town after we've left should go pretty smoothly.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Heretic. Whether knowingly or through ignorance, Edel lent significant aid and guidance to a cult of the dark gods, and Bögenhafen nearly paid the price. You will publicly condemn and prosecute the man, and damn all warnings of his friends and patrons.

[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted
[X] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation.
[X] [Other] Enjoy the Schaffenfest with your companions while it still lasts.
[X] [Other] Return to the High Temple of Sigmar and spend some time praying for your god's guidance. You came face to face with a formidable servant of the Great Enemy and perhaps came out not unscathed. Clear you mind, find your focus, reflect. Fortify your soul to face the trails ahead. Maybe now, with you holy duty complete you will find a semblance of peace and answers.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Replaced. You will speak with Graf von Saponatheim, or whoever he sends to represent him, and make it clear that the Cult views the current situation in Bögenhafen's leadership as responsible for this mess. The Graf will likely clean house, dissolving the council entirely and assuming a more direct rule over the town.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation.
[X] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.
[X] [Other] Enjoy the Schaffenfest with your companions while it still lasts.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[X] [Teugen] Repaid You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.
[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[x] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Enjoy the Schaffenfest with your companions while it still lasts.

[X] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.

[X] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.

[X] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[X] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[X] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted.
[X] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.

My thought on this is that while these three are absolutely corrupt, incompetent, and/or unable to look past their grudges to varying degrees, there's also no evidence they're active heretics. And burning should be reserved for those.

In the captain's case, he ignored the explicit warnings of one of the people whose job it is to locate and root out demons and heretics. That's extreme dereliction of duty, to the point that I'm actually a little surprised that execution for it isn't an option. Still, in the absence of that option sending him home in disgrace seems suitable.

The priest is the simplest of the three; his issue was just regular corruption and incompetence. Still, that's not something that can be looked past in his position, especially considering what happened and how bad it nearly got. So he loses his position and goes into quiet exile.

The merchant basically just tried to stonewall and discredit us because he didn't like us, and we also know he has some... questionable friends. That grudge nearly had disastrous consequences for the town, and we can't have people getting it into their heads that you can try fight the witch hunters because of simple dislike or grudges. So public shame seems the right option- it makes it hard for him to act against us again, and also serves as a 'yeah, don't try this shit you idiots' warning.

[x] [Goetrin] Disgrace. Graf von Saponatheim will be sending a representative to the town, and you expect they will be eager to be seen 'cleaning up' the town. Goetrin will likely be stripped of command and sent home in disgrace, tarnished with this failure in the eyes of his peers.
[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[x] [Teugen] Recalled. You will not resort to the courts for this, but make it publicly known to all Bögenhafen what Teugen did and what the consequences almost were. Merchant families depend on their good reputation more than coin; likely, he will lose his job on the Council and his entire house will face very hard times until they can redeem their good name.
[x] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[x] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted
[x] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.
[x] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.

I still think that Retirement is probably the best option to guarantee that Sigiwalt's ally can become the new Captain ( @Maugan Ra if Sigiwalt becomes High Priest can he have the influence to have her become the Captain?) but honestly the more I think about it, I think Goetin's actions really were corrupt and unreasonable. He deserves Disgrace but for the fact that Sigiwalt needs all the backing he can get.

To quote Maugan Ra...

Maugan Ra said:

Markus absolutely has enough legal authority to reasonably expect the watch captain to hear him out, review the evidence and agree to send a force of soldiers to Warehouse Thirteen under Markus' command that very night.

The problem is that the law only works if people with power care about it. Captain von Goetrin had the power there, with the only higher authority being eighty miles away, and he did not care. The charm test was made to see if Markus could convince his soldiers to care enough to defy their commanding officer and social superior, and as it turns out he could not.

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Kaiya said:

[x] [Goetrin] The Pyre. You will lay charges of conspiracy and blasphemous intent against the Captain, proclaiming that he willingly assisted a cult of the dark gods. He will likely be found guilty, regardless of his actual involvement, and sentenced to burn at the stake.
He was doing it for vengeance for a dude that had an innocent tortured by whipping and was going to burn her alive. Burn him.

EDIT: I cannot stress enough. Goetrin's friend tortured a woman for saying 'no' to his sexual advances, and was going to burn her alive. Imagine what Goetrin himself gets up to. I'd argue for a beheading if that was the vote, no sense torturing someone to death, but the sentence is the sentence. Shouldn't have been such a monster.

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As others have mentioned, the man from the first update (that Markus executed) was one of Teugen's friends, not Goetrin's.

ty2bp said:

Question for people more well versed with Warhammer fantasy and the GM, what are the odds we could get a jade wizard to come out here and heal Max if we request it? @Maugan Ra

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Deeply unlikely.

The Jade College does have people who can heal that kind of injury (assuming Max isn't OK with just a couple of months of bedrest and then a few more of careful exercise to regain lost strength) but most of them would tell a witch hunter to fuck off on principle and the rest would charge astronomical rates that Markus can't afford to pay.

This general attitude can be reasonably expected to hold true across all of the Colleges, who really don't like you on account of how half your job is finding people like them and having them murdered.

Andres said:

@Maugan Ra is Max gonna stay in our retinue?

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By default yes, though it will be some time until his injuries heal enough to allow him to contribute productively. Markus is going to keep him on the payroll until then though, just to make sure he doesn't starve to death or something equally unfortunate.

butchock said:

@Maugan Ra in the write-in section, do we have time to inspect the residences of all the cultist and confiscate as necessary as well as burn their kin? How about making one of the cultists' houses a base of operations/safe house for witch hunters in this city? Can we also buy better gear? Since if i recall correctly our armor was damaged and there is probably a brace of pistols for a town this size. Also can we buy horses and hire guards since we'll be travelling back to Altdorf after this?

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A general investigation of the properties and dealings of the known cultists can be expected, though as being related to a cultist is not in itself a crime there will be no burnings there.

You could potentially expect to have some of their property confiscated and repurposed/sold but that depends on how well regarded you are by the local judges and authorities. Markus will at the very least be able to recover his equipment from Goetrin and arranging transport back to Altdorf won't be too hard either.

LucidProp said:

I really do believe we have the opportunity to leave Bogenhafen a better place than when we first step foot in it. If Repaid wins for Teugen's fate, the Town Council remains intact, and we know the local High Priest of Sigmar has a seat in that Town Council.

Since we're solidly all for removing Edel from his position and replacing him with Sigiwalt, we'll have one seat in the Town Council secured by a devout priest. We can further increase Sigiwalt's power over the town if Teugen, who also has a seat in the Council, supports him because he owes the continued existence of his career and his family's lives to Markus.

If the Town Watch is also allied to Sigiwalt because Goetrin Retired and we chose one of Sigiwalt's allies to replace him, that's some major political weight behind the High Priest, especially since the other merchant families will want to clear their names by currying his favor. This way, Sigiwalt and his faction become dominant in the town's politics, and I'm confident that as long as they're at the helm, any cult that wants to do a repeat of Franz' plot is going to have a very hard time at it.

This is better than just letting the Graf appoint a noble whose character and integrity we don't know to rule over Bogenhafen and the Town Watch. The dissolution of the town council won't only incite unrest due to taking away the political rights that Bogenhafen's citizens used to enjoy, it also reduces the power that Sigiwalt and his allies have over the town, and thus his ability to stop Chaos in its tracks.

As a Witch Hunter, it's our duty to stop the enemies of the Empire wherever we find them, and part of that is making sure the people are better positioned to resist the temptations of Chaos. Making sure the Town Watch and the Town Council are all allied to Sigiwalt is key to that. If we pull that off, clean-up of the town after we've left should go pretty smoothly.

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This is a solid analysis, though I should take a moment to note that Bogenhafen isn't actually a free town, it's just sort of awkwardly pretending to be one.

A real Free Town would have an imperial charter and it's council would be legally appointed according to a formal process and such, but Bogenhafen is still, on paper, a normal town ruled and administered by Graf von Saponatheim. It's just that the noble in question doesn't like dealing with merchants all that much and leaves them to self-organise while he focuses on collecting the taxes. They have effective autonomy, but not legal autonomy.

Maugan Ra said:

This general attitude can be reasonably expected to hold true across all of the Colleges, who really don't like you on account of how half your job is finding people like them and having them murdered.

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Could we improve that a bit over time if we keep bringing magic people to them and generaly not being an jerk with them ?

Maugan Ra said:

This is a solid analysis, though I should take a moment to note that Bogenhafen isn't actually a free town, it's just sort of awkwardly pretending to be one.

A real Free Town would have an imperial charter and it's council would be legally appointed according to a formal process and such, but Bogenhafen is still, on paper, a normal town ruled and administered by Graf von Saponatheim. It's just that the noble in question doesn't like dealing with merchants all that much and leaves them to self-organise while he focuses on collecting the taxes. They have effective autonomy, but not legal autonomy.

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This does sound like we should avoid forcing the Graf to look too deeply into Bogenhafen. It's not a true free town, so the people aren't actually losing any rights, but I'd rather consolidate power around Sigiwalt than have the Graf's chosen man dissolve the Council if Repaid loses, or purge the town watch and serve as a counter-balance to Sigiwalt for the merchant houses to potentially hide behind if Disgraced wins and whoever becomes the new captain turns out to be vulnerable to bribes.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.
[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[x] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.

[x] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[x] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted
[x] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.
[x] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation.
[X] [Other] Enjoy the Schaffenfest with your companions while it still lasts.

I'm going with the more "politically minded" options for consiquences because i think that Markus developing in such a way to actually have a platform for reform is interesting. Though sending Goetrin and Edel to they pyre would be personally satisfying. I'm a lot less convinced that this platform of reform will actually be *good* for Bogenhafen, zeolous sigmarites cause more problems than they solve in my opinion, but Markus *having* a way to try to make things better with the rule of law fits with his desire to send wizards to the collages and is a step in the direction of absolution from his self hatred maybe.

Maugan Ra said:

Deeply unlikely.

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At work, but doesn't one of the provisions allow for the conscription of their services in certain circumstances?

Carcer said:

Could we improve that a bit over time if we keep bringing magic people to them and generaly not being an jerk with them ?

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You'd be able to create a personal reputation through actions like that, certainly, though it would take a lot of work for the average wizard to perceive you as Markus von Bruner, as opposed to just another witch hunter. Generally you're better off cultivating a professional or personal relationship with individual wizards and working through them. For example, if Spatin becomes a respected wizard of a given college, she'll give your requests a lot more weight than she would a request from another templar (and might think of the templars as a whole a bit more positively than most wizards), and could be called upon to introduce or sponsor your request to another wizard who might not give you the time of day.

Dutch said:

At work, but doesn't one of the provisions allow for the conscription of their services in certain circumstances?

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Per the Articles you have the right to conscript a wizard if you have a reasonable belief that your current opponent/target is something you cannot overcome without magical support. Healing one of your agents of a wound he will recover from on his own in time is unlikely to qualify, in this circumstance.

Incidentally, the fact that the templars can conscript them for dangerous work like this does not endear you to the wizards either.

[X] [Goetrin] Retirement. You will speak privately with the captain, and offer him a chance to bow out with some honour. He will appoint a replacement of your choosing, someone of integrity, and then take an early retirement to pursue some harmless interest.
[x] [Edel] Incompetent. You will make the necessary reports through the cult hierarchy to make it clear to the Arch Lectors the scale of Edel's failure. Likely he will be quietly 'promoted' to some forgotten corner of a distant abbey and a more appropriate high priest appointed. Perhaps Sigiwalt would like the job.
[x] [Teugen] Repaid. You will have a quiet word with the councilman, and make him see the wisdom of burying the hatchet. His wealth, and his connections among the nobility of Reikland and beyond, will be of great help to you and your agents in the future.
[x] [Other] Arrange a fitting reward for Adhema and Ozzy.
[x] [Other] Give a glowing report on Sigiwalt and recommend that he be promoted
[x] [Other] Arrest and investigate the Stevedores directly involved with guarding the ritual site.
[x] [Other] Arrange to pay for the murdered woman's funeral and rest in the nearest Garden of Morr.
[X] [Other] Visit the Doktor and Loremaster of the Pandemonium Carnival once more to try and work out Markus' feelings on mutation.
[X] [Other] Enjoy the Schaffenfest with your companions while it still lasts.

Anyone who appointed Edel might be worth investigating in an ideal world but this entire story has been a lesson in what happens to those who don't play the political game. Even if the leniency is somewhat undeserved these are all compromises we can live with that put us in a better position for the next 'deal' we have to spit on.

Maugan Ra said:

if Spatin becomes a respected wizard of a given college

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What will be her preferred Wind of Magic that suits her best after joining the Eight Colleges of Magic?