To best change the future, we must know the past. Or something. Honestly this seems to be the choice most open to growth and change, maybe with this we can finally break the cycle and bring prosperity to the Gerudo, as all other options seem to be archetypes Ganon has canonically filled, and we all know how that worked out.
[x] The King of Thieves: You led a daring raid into Hyrule, took the gate guarding the pass, and stole a whole caravan of food. +Stewardship +Money&Food +2 Relations to Thieves Faction
I'm voting this simply 'cause I'm assuming that "took the gate guarding the pass" is literal. Ganondorf shall steal gates, castles, mountains, rivers, and more! :3
[x] The Dark Lord: You've mastered sorcererous arts, as powerful as they are foul. Your display of power has shown that you are the true king. +Sorcery +2 Relations to Traditionalists +Monstrous Military Forces
Vote Tally : Fantasy - A Burning Wind, A Frigid Gale (Ganondorf CK II Quest) | Sufficient Velocity ##### NetTally 1.7.6
[x] The Dark Lord: You've mastered sorcererous arts, as powerful as they are foul. Your display of power has shown that you are the true king. +Sorcery +2 Relations to Traditionalists +Monstrous Military Forces No. of Votes: 8 Rossum Derek58 MasterDrakus Shadow-86 Silvan Eldar The Lazy One Zaratustra Happerry
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge No. of Votes: 4 Moronis Bugaboo veekie Tealg
[x] The King of Thieves: You led a daring raid into Hyrule, took the gate guarding the pass, and stole a whole caravan of food. +Stewardship +Money&Food +2 Relations to Thieves Faction No. of Votes: 1 Oh I am slain!
The problem is that some benefits are... less obvious than others. Gerudo is a desert, and if we are to prosper, that must change. All children born are females, and if we are to prosper that too must change. Now, we could go the Praes route of subjugating another nation and turning that nation into our breadbasket/source of male population, but I don't know enough about the local geography to suggest anything other than Hyrule, which is inadvisable for obvious reasons.
The Last King of the Gerudo moved them to the current part of the desert in the latter half of his reign. Hyrule is the only "civilized" land near you, though Moblins are in the northern mountain areas separating you from Hyrule, and Bulblins roam the desert to your south.
Actually it was a bit of a coincidence. I was planning this quest for a week or so when you put yours up, and I was like "I can't start mine now! It's too close!" So I waited a week. Which was fine, I wasn't ready yet anyway.
Anyway, voting will be open for a little while longer.
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge
Mosstly because I'm a sucker for discovering ancient history. And who wouldn't want to be known as "Ganondorf Dragmire?"
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge
[X] Ganondorf Dragmire: Going against the will of your advisors, Koume and Kotake, you researched the ancient history of the Gerudo, including your mother. +Learning +2 Relations to the Nomads +Ancient Knowledge
Sorry, it's been a rough work week. ^_^;; There are actually two updates incoming, Character Creation Results/Mechanics and Turn 1, so it's taking slightly longer than I anticipated.
You sit, rigid and imposing, upon a high-backed and ornate wooden chair. It's a luxury, using so much wood for just a single person to sit, but the witches had insisted. It's hot in the sun, and the burning wind from the desert stings your face, but you have long grown used to it. Around you are the Gerudo. All the Gerudo. Not just those who traditionally stayed in the Fortress, but not a single thief was away, and what's more, every single Gerudo who wandered further into the desert and the wastelands had gathered to see their new king.
They might not respect you, nor listen to you, but even these independent families and tribes came to see the man who was born a Gerudo.
Burying your feelings of nervousness with an ease born of long practice, you stare unwaveringly into the crowd, as Kotake and Koume, in a needless display of magic, settle the brooch holding the royal astrion on your head.
Ancient: They have lived a very long time, allowing them to see much, learn much, and know much. However, the years take their toll.
Effects: +2 All stats except martial. -4 Martial.
Close Twins: While it might seem like they're one person, they actually are just twins.
Effects: May use them in two advisor slots.
Powerful Witch: It takes only a glance to tell they are powerful in magic.
Effects: +1 Sorcery. Can use Sorcery instead of any other stat when acting personally.
Smiling widely, the witches turn to the crowd and announce in unison, "Behold! Gannondorf, King of the Gerudo!" and make a great show of bowing before you. The Gerudo follow suit and bow to you, though you note that those on the edges, the nomads, some of the thieves who spend a lot of their time away, do little more than slightly incline their heads. It doesn't bother you, after all, they do not know you.
You stand, and know you are supposed to give a grand speech, and vow to bring prosperity, or smash the enemies of the Gerudo, or even just proclaim your own greatness. Instead, you turn towards the group one of your guards had pointed out to you, and make your way into the crowd. You make it halfway to your destination before the witches stop you, flying on their brooms to bar your path.
"We told you, your greatness, there is no need to talk to-" they begin, to make their normal excuses. However, today is different. So you cut them off.
"Am I your king?" you say flatly, your voice carrying easily, for the crowd is completely silent, watching. Your entire life, Koume and Kotake have raised you to be king. They've spent their every waking moment working towards making you strong, smart, and well-regarded. Yet, they denied you many things, shaped you towards their ideals, uncaring of your opinions or any path but the one they laid before you. And you were powerless before them.
But today. Today you are the newly made King of Gerudos. If they deny you, all their work is for nothing. All Gerudo would see that you were no king, but a mere puppet for the witches. And what woman would follow a puppet? Yet if they were to permit you this, they knew you would never again suffer their control. Here, before all Gerudo, there was no path for them that did not lose them a puppet.
A long, heavy silence blankets the world, and you wait, agony and fear and uncertainty gnawing in the secret parts of your heart.
And then they bow, no mere show like before. It seems that while they lose their puppet, they are not willing to lose their king.
You resume your stride forward and soon find yourself before one of the few men present, who is eyeing you with a wary interest. The nomads, who often go several moons between visiting the fortress, have a not often practiced custom of taking strong men with them as husbands. There are perhaps a dozen, certainly no more than twenty men among all the tribes. The man before you is covered in robes and mismatched pieces of armor, a heavy sword at his belt. His face is tan and weathered from the desert winds, and his physique, though passed his prime, is still strong.
Aged: Tilo has lived for quite awhile. No one survives in the desert as long as he has without learning a trick or three.
Effects: +1 All Stats except Martial. -2 Martial
Strong: Blessed with a strong body, Tilo is still a powerful physical specimen.
Effects +4 Martial
Desert Wanderer: Has personally ranged far and wide throughout the desert.
Effects: +5 to rolls on actions within the desert.
After a brief moment, you break the silence. "Honored elder. Tell me-Please, tell me about my mother."
-
Her name was Meresa of the tribe Dragmire. Gerudo in the fortress did not bother with such distinctions. They slept together in the barracks, they ate together in the great hall, they trained together, they fought together, and they died together. The Fortress Gerudo were one family. It was not so with the Nomads. While the tribes would visit the Fortress every few moons or so, to trade and tell stories, among other things, their visits were very much at the whims of happenstance. It could be years between the times one tribe would meet with another nomadic tribe, and between these times they will have changed much.
So they took another name, so others knew that their traditions might differ, and where those traditions came from. The Dragmire tribe was well respected, known for being both strong yet generous. Surprisingly enough, it seems leadership had fallen to Tilo after the last Matriarch, his wife, had been claimed by the sands, and with the influence the tribe had, made him the effective leader of the nomads, as much as they had a leader. It was strange to see a man in such a role, sure, you were the King, but it was through ancient traditions and the will of the witches that made it so. Tilo had no such advantages, yet women still listened to him, still followed him.
When the last King, whose name had been erased since his newest incarnation had received a new name, had lead the Gerudo across the desert, the nomadic tribes were forced to leave any men behind. One tribe attempted to resist, and the King in his anger had killed the men and women, taking the daughters into the main body of the Gerudo. So when they arrived here, the tribes were hesitant to search for new men, for the Old King was not known for explaining himself. Tilo was the first who dared, and the King had permitted him...if he completed the trials in six months.
All Gerudo were trained since childhood to complete the trials and through them survive the desert. Each girl had a year to pass each trial, with the third trial's deadline coinciding with adulthood. It took months to recover the sheer grueling nature of a trial, so there were only 3 or 4 chances to succeed. For someone not trained, to pass each trial in one attempt, since six months allowed no room for failure, seemed impossible without sorcerous aid. Yet Tilo had done it, and in his wake the Old King had relaxed his decree, and subsequent men had only to pass the trials in three years, as was tradition.
You found out that Tilo was your Great Uncle, as Hylians counted such things, though he had confirmed none of his blood flowed through you. He had married your mother's mother's sister, and had helped raise your mother, and personally trained her to fight. She had been a wild and free Gerudo, quick to laugh, and quick to point out the folly of others. She had decided she did not wish to wait for the tribe to return to the fortress to slip into Hyrule to become a mother and left in the night. She returned half a year later, flush with success. She had been so proud, Tilo tells you, and so eager to meet her child. However, her pregnancy seemed unusually hard and draining. As the months passed, she seemed to unnaturally weaken, until she could no longer even stand.
The Witches had arrived then, told the tribe that Meresa bore the next King of the Gerudos, a great honor. They had also informed her that she would not survive the birth, her life sacrificed to overcome the curse to bear a male child. Despite their predictions, your mother lived long enough to hold you in her arms and name you, Ganondorf Dragmire.
And so shall you be known.
-
For the next week, the Dragmire tribe stayed close to the Fortress, and often Tilo would come and tell you stories. He told you of things the tribe had seen both in his lifetime and things passed down by word, mother to daughter and finally to him. Ancient wonders long buried in the sand, and even the history of how the Gerudo came to be.
The traditional story was that the First King had been cursed to have no children, so he had beseeched the Goddess of the Sands to help him. She agreed if her did her a favor and slay a great demon. Through his great strength and trickery, the First King slew the demon, and the Goddess tried to lift the curse. She only managed to partially lift it, allowing the King to have as many daughters as any other man, but no sons. He lamented how his people would have no King to bring them together and lead them, and the Goddess felt pity on him. She changed his spirit so it would return to his people every 100 years, so they would not be scattered to the winds.
The story Tilo tells you is different. The First King was not originally so cursed. He was in fact one of three servants to the Goddess, and the least. The Goddess relied upon the other two servants, her Knight and her Shadow, but expected nothing from the first King. They stood in opposition to a Great Demon, one so strong that strength alone meant nothing. The Goddess blessed her Knight with tools and magic to fight, and her Shadow with knowledge and plans to arrange the battle. However, the First King refused to do nothing, and used trickery to gather materials and tools, and built a great machine.
The Great Demon came to consume the Goddess, and the Shadow had spent her power preparing the battlefield. The Knight tried to fight, but the sheer might of the great demon proved unstoppable. Nothing stood between the Goddess and her demise, except the First King. His machine thundered with power, and Great Demon, who had not even slowed one step before, was stopped. This provided the Knight his chance, and he slew the Great Demon where it stood. With its dying breath, it cursed all present with its undying hatred. To be eternally reborn and suffer its wrath again and again until the world died. Unwilling to abandon her servants to such a fate, the Goddess gave up her divinity and joined them, burying her divine body in the Sands in honor of the First King. The curse had further effects, but only the First King's is known to us. He only had daughters, and his daughters would only have daughters, until his time to return to the world came. And we call ourselves the Gerudo. Our fellow servants are also bound in their lines, the Goddess in the Hyrule's royal family, the Knight in Hyrule's Knights, and the Shadow in the Sheikah.
And so it has been, since that day.
-
You know that not all stories are true, but your intuition tells you there are more sparks of truth in Tilo's story than the traditional one. You wonder, if you have been reborn, have the others from the story been as well? But the last King, and the king before him did not have to suffer a great evil, merely suffered the desert. Perhaps that was suffering enough? Would something stir inside you, if you met another reincarnation? Such were the questions that plagued you as you started your rule.
Gained Traits:
Rebellious, Son of a Nomad, Ancient Knowledge
Name: Gannondorf Dragmire Race: Gerudo Age: 16
Diplomacy: 13+1=14
You are well spoken, and charismatic. It is clear you are a leader of women. Martial: 11
You are strong as any who passed the trials, though in pure skill many of your women can best you. Stewardship: 11
You can appraise a gem, a horse, and a fat's merchant's purse just as well as any Gerudo. Intrigue: 15
You make it a habit of sneaking up on the Fortress guards. It keeps them alert, and the way a woman twice your age can shriek like a girl who hasn't faced her first trial makes you laugh. Sorcery: 16
Your studies in magic have come far, ranging from the elements, to curses, to empowering yourself. Learning: 18+2=20
You're only 16, but your mind is older. You understand mysteries that baffle Koume and Kotake, read, write, and speak half a dozen languages, and have learned the ancient history of your people.
Traits:
Son of a Nomad: Your mother lived in one of the more nomadic clans. Having talked to them and learned her story has helped you view things from more than one point of view.
Effects: +1 Diplomacy
Rebellious: You defied your advisors in front of the Gerudo.
Effects: ???
Ancient Knowledge: You've learned the ancient knowledge of how the Gerudo came to be, and what once was possible.
Effects: +2 Learning
You return to your room one night to find an older woman lounging on the window sill. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she avoided your guards by climbing up the outside, nor that it was a power play, to imply that she could kill you in your sleep. It wasn't really outside of what you'd expect from the best thief in the Gerudo, who was arguably the second most important authority figure, after yourself of course.
Traits:
Chief Thief: Not only is Sebeha an old hand at appraising stolen goods, but she also organizes all the other thieves and inventories their take.
Effects: +2 Stewardship
If the Door is Barred, Go through the Window: Sebeha has a natural talent for getting around obstacles via non-traditional methods.
Effects: +2 Intrigue
Expert Horsewoman: Sebeha has spent much of her life in the saddle, and it is clear she is an expert rider.
Effects: +1 Martial
"Sebeha, what do I owe the pleasure?" you say with a smile, as you sit down on a stool next to the table you were using as a writing desk.
She gives you a smile in return, as she hops to her feet, nimble as a woman half her age. "The Witches taught you a great many things, but they can't teach you something they don't know. I'm here to show you how to actually run things, my little king," she says, gesturing to the table.
- Mechanics Overview:
Each turn is a single quarter. The Gerudo calendar starts counting from the first year of your reign, and you came of age in the first quarter of the year, so we're starting in Year 1, Quarter 1.
You have three main resources. Rupees, Food, and Horses.
Rupees represent material wealth, things you can trade for, or build. It is somewhat an abstraction, so don't take it as simply people handing money over. You are starting with 300 rupees.
Food is food. You need it to live. Running short of food hurts morale. Food goes from a scale of 0 to 10. You currently lose one unit of food per quarter, except quarter three. Early in the third quarter a few heavy rains fall, giving you enough food to feed everyone, and a surplus of 1-3 units of food. You are starting at 5/10 food.
Horses are your people's horses. Your way of life relies on them, so running short of them hurts morale. Horses also go from a scale of 0 to 10. You currently lose one unit of horses per year. You are starting at 4/10 Horses.
Morale impacts how effective your people's actions are. Lose enough morale, and you'll start losing favor from all the Gerudo factions. Lose enough favor, and they'll oust you from Kingship, tradition or no. Morale is starting at 3/10, a -10 malus. This is due to having lost all easy routes into Hyrule, and the uncertainty with having a new king.
For the Gerudo, there are three Internal Factions. The Traditionalists, lead by the Witches Kotake and Koume, the Thieves, led by Sebeha, and the Nomads led by Tilo. Favor from these factions is a mix of how you are generally viewed, and your relationship with the leaders of the factions. Relationship scales from 0 to 10. A score of 1 means they are actively working against you. At 2 they no longer follow you. At 3 Only a portion of them will follow your commands. At 4 they are nominally loyal, but make no extra effort. At 5, you've earned their loyalty and they have started to commit troops to your cause, earning 1 unit at 5, 2 at 6, and so on with 5 units at 10/10 relationship. These units are free, with no upkeep, but too many casualties can reduce favor significantly, and how fast casualties are replaced is entirely outside your control.
External Factions have a wider scale, ranging from -10, hated enemy, to 10, close ally.
Spells are something Ganondorf can spend a personal action to cast. His two current spells are "Basic Curse" and "Strengthen Self."
Basic Curse: In the direct presence on an enemy, you can curse them. You invest points of Sorcery into the curse, lowering their rolls by 1 for every 2 points in sorcery, and introducing a chance for them to die every quarter. Your effective sorcery stat is lowered by the amount of points you invest, but are returned when the curse is broken, either through their death or other means.
Basic strengthen Self: Select an attribute other than sorcery, and using magic you will strengthen yourself. Add 5 to that stat for this quarter.
Turn 1:
You do not have advisors assigned. An advisor lends their full relevant stat to all actions in their area. If you assign one of the starting characters (The Witches, Tilo, and Sebeha) you may have 2 actions in that category, otherwise you may only have 1. You may also serve as your own advisor in one area, at the cost of both your personal actions.
Diplomacy:
[] Assign an advisor (free)
[] Look for an advisor.
Chance: 100% Effect: Advisor Found
[] Try to negotiate with Hyrule for passage through the southern pass.
Chance: 50% Effect: Negotiations Mini-turn
[] Try to make contacts with an external faction (choose one).
Chance: 30% Effect: Unlocks Diplomatic Options. Reveals opinion.
[] Find the pulse of the Gerudo. Ask around about what people think should be done.
Chance: 70% Effect: Reveals Hidden Faction Opinion Modifiers next turn
Martial:
[] Assign an advisor (free)
[] Look for an advisor.
Chance: 100% Effect: Advisor Found
[] Raid the Bulblin Tribes to the South.
Chance: 60% Effect: Acquire loot
[] Attack the Moblins to the North and try to clear the Northern Pass into Hyrule
Chance: ??? Effect: Northern Pass made safe
[] Attack and seize the Southern Pass Fortifications
Chance:??? Effect: Southern Pass in Gerudo Control
[] Send your forces out hunting what game can be found.
Chance: 40% Effect: Gain Food
[] Raise troops under your personal banner.
Chance: 90% Cost: Depends on Unit Type Effect: Opportunity to purchase troops personally loyal to you.
Stewardship:
[] Assign an advisor (free)
[] Look for an advisor.
Chance: 100% Effect: Advisor Found
[] Send Thieves into Hyrule, despite the dangers and difficulty.
Chance: 20% Effect: Loot
[] Begin Repairing the Fortress
Chance: 90% Cost: 50 Rupees Effect: Unlocks Further Renovations. Repairs leaky roof.
[] Construct Cisterns to collect and preserve the summer rains.
Chance: 80% Cost: 100 Rupees Effect: Helps protect against drought.
[] Construct Irrigation channels to gather and direct the rains.
Chance: 70% Cost: 150 Rupees Effect: +1 to food roll in 3rd Quarter.
Intrigue:
[] Assign an advisor (free)
[] Look for an advisor.
Chance: 100% Effect: Advisor Found
[] Gather information on the Northern Pass.
Chance: 60% Effect: Chance to clear the pass revealed. Bonus to Clearing the Pass.
[] Gather information on the Southern Pass.
Chance: 70% Effect: Chance to take the Fortifications revealed. Bonus to taking the Forts.
[] Send Spies to an External Faction (choose one).
Chance: 20% Effect: Early warning of hostile action. Unlocks further intrigue options.
[] Spy on internal factions.
Chance: 60% Effect: Early warning of hostile action and reveals secret agendas.
Sorcery:
[] Assign an advisor (free)
[] Look for an advisor.
Chance: 100% Effect: Advisor Found
[] Specialize in Ice Magic (Mutually exclusive with specialize in fire magic).
Chance: 70% Effects: Rank Up Ice Magic
[] Specialize in Fire Magic (Mutually exclusive with specialize in ice magic).
Chance: 70% Effects: Rank Up Fire Magic
[] Study better strengthening spells
Chance: 50% Effects: Rank Up Strengthen Self
[] Study more advanced curses
Chance: 40% Effects: Rank up Curse Spell
[] Study Ritual Magic
Chance: 30% Effects: Learn the basics of ritual magic.
[] Study Magics relating to the creation of minions
Chance: 30% Effects: Learn the basics of creating monstrous minions
[] Study Magics relating to the mind
Chance: 30% Effect: Learn the basics of Mind Magic
Learning:
[] Assign an advisor (free)
[] Look for an advisor.
Chance: 100% Effect: Advisor Found
[] Search for ancient ruins within the desert.
Chance: 30% Effect: Ancient Loot. More Ancient Knowledge
[] Collect books from the Gerudo to start the beginning of a library
Chance: 60% Cost: 50 Rupees Effect: Basic Library formed. More Learning actions unlocked.
[] The Gerudo have many legends, lore, and knowledge spread throughout the tribe. Write it down so it will not be lost.
Chance: 80% Cost: 100 Rupees. Time: 10 Quarters Effect: Gerudo knowledge written down, bonus to all actions within the desert.
[] You've heard tales of mighty towers built to harness the power of the wind to draw water up from deep underground. This would surely benefit your people.
Chance: 50% Time: 4 Quarters Effect: You may now build windmills.
[] Visit the Goddess's Temple, and search for hidden mysteries.
Chance: ??? Effect: ???
Personal: Choose 2
[] Personal Attention
Chance: 100% Effect: Add your relevant stat to the action.
[] Train a stat (Learning already maxed)
Chance: 70/90% Effect: Increase relevant stat.
[] Spend time with an advisor (choose which one).
Chance: 70% Effect: Improve relationship
A/N: And here's the first turn. Feel free to ask me any questions, but I'm going to sleep shortly, so don't worry if I take a bit to get back to y'all.
Though, for Learning, perhaps have Ganondorf be his own advisor? He has the highest stats for it by far. And narrative-wise, I'm not sure Kotake and Koume are trustworthy to be the Learning Advisors. Dunno if that's worth wasting his personal actions in terms of this system, though. Perhaps he can find another good advisor for it.
Regardless, it seems like for the first few turns, Ganondorf should focus on making sure he gains a trustworthy and skilled advisor in every category.
Besides that, there'll be some basic economic issues (rupees, food, horses) for which he'll need to stem the bleeding within 2-3 turns.
