King Arthur
The Once and Future King
How many resources would it cost us to create the grandest Theatre in Estalia?
A Champion of Gods & Rogues (Warhammer Fantasy/Exalted)
- Thread starter Slamu
- Start date
What Solar doesn't have his own country?
If his Circle finds out they might think he is, like, mortal or something. Weirdo.
But sure, a tradepost is cool, too. But we may be better off starting a trading company and leveraging that Bureaucracy as a tradepost alone is a risky venture that's usually only worthwhile for larger actors as those are very expensive.
We could, of course, try and do a trading journey to Ulthuan or Grand Cathay. As those journeys are usually insanely difficult, the profit is equally insane. But with his Sailing skills it should be quite doable.
And hey, he is an Eclipse. Have boat, will travel.
- Location
- West Michigan
The Empire of Myrmidia will be our country. We can rule it out of the rebuilt-for-human-habitation remains of Skavenblight.
- Location
- Austria
What Solar doesn't have his own country?
If his Circle finds out they might think he is, like, mortal or something. Weirdo.
But sure, a tradepost is cool, too. But we may be better off starting a trading company and leveraging that Bureaucracy as a tradepost alone is a risky venture that's usually only worthwhile for larger actors as those are very expensive.
We could, of course, try and do a trading journey to Ulthuan or Grand Cathay. As those journeys are usually insanely difficult, the profit is equally insane. But with his Sailing skills it should be quite doable.
And hey, he is an Eclipse. Have boat, will travel.
Maybe trade company, although it'd require Bureaucracy dots while I'd much rather have more Athletics dots and Charms before that.
Plus I am not sure whether protagonist is the kind of person to even want trade company, to be honest. I don't know what would Salvadore even want, honestly - well, beyond killing Dark Elves.
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
Our country is the united Estalia and Tilea, because we want to bring glory to our home.
A Trading Company would be cool, yeah, but at the same time if we are running it we aren't Sailing which is what we are best at, and our bureacracy sucks anyway so we probably shouldn't run it.
Before choosing what we spend our money on, it might be best to take a long hard look at the people we trust, our family members and our most trust worthy friends, and think on what we think they might be successful at/what they'd like to run.
If we trust someone we think can do the Trading Company for us then, sure, let's go for it, but if that's not the case and we only have someone who, say, we think would be good at and enjoy having their own mercenary company or Concert Hall or some other business it might be better to invest in that instead.
Basically, if we are going to invest in a business let's make sure it's one that we can actually have people run for us, cause we probably wouldn't and shouldn't be running it ourself.
Grand in what sense? Size? Luxury? Having the most engaging plays performed there? You could theoretically do that by finding an amphitheater-shaped hill and start practicing your singing until the very beasts of the forest are soothed by your voice, but if you wanted to sink it into something like the Globe Theater in London that is well within your means.
There is also the possibility of engaging in acts that would key off of Larceny, but so far voters haven't been too keen on doing so.
"Salvadore, no!"
"Salvadore yes!"
Of course not.
There's a bit more to establishing a manse than planting a flag somewhere and saying "build me a really cool building", and frankly Salvadore isn't built for it right now. He'd need to have a geomancer find a proper site, conduct a survey, discover if anyone else is bound to the demesne and deal with that as appropriate, design a manse that takes into account all sorts of local conditions that can't be obtained remotely (no matter how detailed a report), keep interference away from the construction project while it's ongoing and of course overseeing the work itself.
And then you get to the really hard part; keeping pyromancers off of your fire-aspected manse.
If he puts some family member in charge of the paperwork bits while he travels around and makes contacts, it should work out. That's pretty much Solar SOP.
Dunno what else we could do that is actually going to have an impact on the world at large.
But for some ideas: Depending on how large a tercio actually is, we could try and attack Sartosa or another pirate port and plunder it in an audacious attack to get even more money and ships.
Or we do some piracy on some other deserving target as he is rather ill suited to actually legit business with his pathetic Bureaucracy but his War rating makes him quite good at using armies. The issue is that the acceptable targets are Dark Elves (hard to find), Orks (no valuable loot), Skaven (hard to find and questionable loot) and Norscans (risk of Chaos Corrupted shit).
Araby is the only ones that might be okay given that Estalians loath them. And they are loaded. But they are technically speaking an Order Faction.
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
Honestly, if we can't think of something better this would be a pretty good choice.
It's a lot safer then a Trading Company because, well, sail is risky when anyone but else is on the boat, so it's less likely to suddenly tank. With some luck we can probably make some real good money off of it. It needs a lot of staff so if any family members need work we can always shove this at them. We can probably get a good income from it, I guarantee you we could find someone able to run it for us, and it's a fantastic place to build influence.
Building a great Theatre, let alone the best like I'm hoping for, is a pretty good boost to reputation and it's a great platform for if we decide to do anything social or cultural. Access to huge audiences, rich and important people, it's a good spot to get a message across or spread our name or inspire change, or, really, whatever we want. Good start for our inevitable political career.
Heretek
Techpriest of Tzeentch
Well, the area is currently facing a dark elf problem. I'd say getting a ship better designed for combat or upgrading our own ship, hiring proper marines, and maybe striking a deal with those brettonian sea knights to go kick their asses and take whatever treasures we can sounds fun.
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
Yeah, but if we want that then there's no need to spend money on it. There are tons of tournament's all the time all over the place, we can just sign up for one and get the money for free without having to spend our own cash and time setting it up.
That's actually not a bad idea, we could sail around Bretonnia for around half a year and probably hit a dozen tournamnets, come back home with like twice as much money and some nice renown.
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- Location
- Austria
Private flotilla of "fuck dark eldars" ships?
Or maybe we can sponsor a Naval Academy? Could do an odd lecture on how to Sail good there.
WP6 is barely better than a vanilla mortal!
Willpower 6
Essence 2.
Third Excellencies everywhere.
I think I've said this before, but I'll reiterate:
Whoever did chargen for this character made some questionable decisions, even from a roleplaying perspective, let alone that of a powergamer.
He's reasonably intelligent, so I expect him to do the obvious smart thing: Invest.
Buying shares in other ship's cargos should bring a decent yield on investment, and it helps foster his own goal of increasing the number of Estalian ships on the ocean.
The obvious choice in such things would be family, but even assuming he wanted to establish some distance from family?
He could always invest with some dwarf merchants in Barak Var; there's plot backing for his having had dealings with dwarves, and they tend to be fairly scrupulous about monetary affairs, more so than humans. And Barak Var is fairly secure as cities go.
Alternatively, he could buy one of aforesaid emperor's concubines and have her end up watching his back on land, while his valet manages his household.
Not as fun as stealing one, mind, but surer.
And the (regular) misunderstandings that would ensue from having an Appearance 4/5 young woman as part of the retinue of a sea captain would be plot gold.
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- Location
- West Michigan
New Kavzar's harbor will be defended by not one but two stolen Black Arks. I think that'll be sufficient.
Should be fixed now. Still haven't figured out how to find the empty circles without copy and pasting them off of Alchemical Quest.
Sir Francis Drake made a tidy sum from his piratical ways, so piracy isn't a terrible way to go about making yourself both a name and a (dis)honest buck. The Prince of Ronda did issue him a letter of marque, so he's at least got a fig leaf of legality there so long as he keeps his predations to 'groups that Ronda is at war with', which currently isn't anyone but there's a good chance would be the Asur in the near future. There's also Tilea; there's a reason Salvadore's dear father was encouraging him to go there, and it's not just because Tilean coin belongs in Estalian pockets. There's always some merchant prince who has a nail needing an army-shaped hammer, but while Salvadore is a spectacularly competent general and combatant in his own right (and his Larceny skills would help him defend against several of the more oblique attacks), in Tilea the sword is bested by the knife, and the knife by the coin.
Sadly dwarfs have something aproaching a phobia of open water, else they'd be stumpy little paydays just waiting to happen should they ever reach the open seas.
Remas is pretty well known for generously funding anti-Druchii efforts they think have a good chance of being successful. Get a reputation for cracking dark elf heads and I'm sure their moneylenders would be delighted to give you the time of day.
It's complicated. On the one hand, most educated Estalians will eventually admit that Araby isn't exempted from the laws of Myrmidia and as such should be given a baseline set of rights as a human being (or human-analogue). Salvadore, despite his best efforts, is one of these educated Estalians. On the other hand when Sultan Jaffar invaded Estalia that was the first widespread cultural touchstone Estalia as a whole had fighting wars to the knife. It wasn't just what some notorious and well-published Arabian commanders did to cities that surrendered too slowly, or how conquered populations were treated, but that the conquerors burned temples (what monster burns a shrine to Shallya?) and censored entire libraries by razor and torch. No few Estalian saints were remembered for guerrilla action against Araby, and to this day both crown and church alike remembers the humiliation of their conquest. A contender for the throne of the Sultanate would have a mighty feather in his hat if he were to pull off something akin to those conquests of old, which is why el primer águila of the day was personally involved in crafting a series of mutual defense pacts between each of the cities of Estalia in case of a repeat, and whenever a township grows to a certain size and promenence they too are compelled to sign on. One of the less absurd definitions of 'what lands are Estalia' is 'who has signed these pacts', and one of the leading reasons Tobaro isn't considered Estallian despite what side of the Tilean Sea they are on. (Apparently desert raiders have trouble crossing defended mountain passes, who knew?)
That said, there is trade between Estalia and Araby. The Church very much cares what the price of bread in Al-Haikk and Cophor is, and figures careful and well-regulated trade with Araby is a better way to keep a finger on the pulse of the lands to the south than their first warning of an invasion is a number of triangular sails on the horizon. That it brings in much sought after silks, spices and rare pelts is convenient and has padded more than a few coffers, but to obtain permission to engage in such trade requires both the proper donatives to the church and passing an Inquisitorial colonoscopy to be checked for both loyalty and proper thought.
I believe the word you are looking for is 're-purposed' Or possibly 'appropriated'.
Barak Var suggests otherwise.
And the moron stupid enough to attempt to make a living boarding dawi ships is unlikely to get much profit out of it; they may not be great sailors, but they are superlative soldiers, and piracy only pays if you can board and take the ship intact.
Well, we know where that concubine hails from at least.
They do say add more drama when necessary; an Araby-born Appearance 5 teenager whose previous life was in the seraglio of an Araby sultan, and currently put up for sale because her mother terminally lost a harem power-struggle? Precisely the sort of drama you can happily throw into an Estalian sea-captain's life. Even a Solar's.
Eclipses are basically designed to operate where they can get their diplomatic immunity to work.
And since mami won't let us take Izzy to sea.....
bookwyrm
Doom of Public Libraries
- Location
- Wichita, Kansas
@Slamu What if said fat Arabyan trader happens to be trading in human cargo? If Myrmidian strictures and Estalian pride are okay with slavery (oriental tyranny of the worst sort, nothing like the war prisoners and debtors rowing galleys, or the civilizing labor of heathens, or the indentured servants of the Church, of course) I'd eat my hat.
If, hypothetically, a zealous son of the Eagle found, insidiously hidden among the personal attendants and rowers, the despicable trade in kidnapped Estalians* and false use of the flag of the Sultan- as kidnapping Estalian citizens would be an act of war and clearly no state of war exists- would said goods and monies not be the confiscated prize of a criminal brought to steely justice?
*Salvadore swears several of his crew quite clearly heard the poor captives cry out for Myrmidia to deliver them, before being rendered mute in joy and holy fervor.
If, hypothetically, a zealous son of the Eagle found, insidiously hidden among the personal attendants and rowers, the despicable trade in kidnapped Estalians* and false use of the flag of the Sultan- as kidnapping Estalian citizens would be an act of war and clearly no state of war exists- would said goods and monies not be the confiscated prize of a criminal brought to steely justice?
*Salvadore swears several of his crew quite clearly heard the poor captives cry out for Myrmidia to deliver them, before being rendered mute in joy and holy fervor.
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It is reassuring to see that you know how to explain things to the portmaster when he starts asking after why it looks like you've brought in a load of Araby-made goods. He's heard many such versions in the past, so you'll need to make sure that you hit all the right notes when speaking to him of divine deliverance from unjust bondage and the cruel whip. Be sure to cut him in on any profits made as well, else you'll have to sing a sweeter tune next time you come back.
Ship and/or cargo, but yes. And you're not making convincing the players to poke a sleeping dragon in the eye any easier you know.
Still, going by what I've read in splat books and other well-written quests (@Imrix 's Ulthuan Quest is a splendid source of elfy goodness) it isn't so much that dwarfs are afraid to go to sea, but they don't generally see the point of it and don't trust water farther than they can throw it. Yes, the ironclads of Barak Var are the closest one can come to fighting a Black Ark with parity one sees on the open seas, but you'll note that there is but a single port that answers to Everpeak.
Stop reading my notes for act two!
Incidentally, I am hesitant to solicit suggestions for pictures for some characters not because I don't think they'd be found on the internet, but because I fear what pictures they might be found in. How difficult is it to find a tasteful image of a seraglio?
*warms ups season one of Spice & Wolf just in case people want to take this route*
He's actually hoping to stay away from Barak Var for a bit longer, wait for some memories to fade a bit before coming back.
I'm not saying no, but I would ask if you wouldn't rather steal one? I mean, what else are you expected to do when visiting a foreign capitol?
Imrix
Periodically Malevolent QM
Pretty much, but it's a bit more than that. Dwarfs view going to sea as almost unnatural - not frightening, exactly, but disturbing and perhaps evidence of an unsound mind. It's too far from good, honest stone, and is generally reckoned the domain of elves and other such untrustworthy creatures; much of the reason why the dwarfen navy is made up of ironclads is that being surrounded by darkness, heat, metal and machinery makes them seem enough like the mountain homes for a dwarf to tolerate. Barak Varr is essentially Karaz Ankor's way of saying "see, we can too go to sea, so there! Now stop talking about it, it's weird!"
- Location
- West Michigan
I would rather steal one... out of Naggarond. What's the worst that could happen?
Is Sal a good enough investor that if he were to speculate on grain prices, or invested in a warehouse to hold beer, he wouldn't lose all his money? Baring truly bad luck, of course.
Edit: I guess that's one dot in Bureaucracy. He's honestly better off just buying some equipment or something
Edit: I guess that's one dot in Bureaucracy. He's honestly better off just buying some equipment or something
Given how much influence the dawi have in human affairs, it's probably a stupid idea anyway.
Especially since he's already poking the elves, with no particular care for distinctions for their point of origin.
And I don't think the chaos dwarves have any ports on this side of the continent.
*googles*
Marc Alfred Chataud, The fortuneteller in the harem. 1908.
Giulio Rosati. Harem Dance.
Georges Jules Victor Clairin. The Sultan's Favorites.
From what I can tell, as long as you stick to historical art paintings, you're unlikely to run into the more...gratuitous depictions favored by the likes of image sites like Danbooru.
Oh dear.
Is there anywhere he hasn't fucked up so far made an impression in? Sartosa?
Depends on the circumstances.
A relatively honest merchant? I mean, Salvador hasn't so far been characterized as some sort of moral crusader, barring shit like the Dark Elves. He may not deal in it himself, but I'm not sure he'd go out of his way to interfere in other people's business.
Now if the guy offended him personally, that would be a different matter.
We do want to be able to return to the city, and even the Eclipse anima power will only cover so much. And nothing stops one from stealing the money back. Or gambling for it *insert complaint about 3rd Larceny Ex here*
Remember me complaining about chargen?
But if he's investing in shipping, it's entirely conceivable to stunt him applying Sail instead of Bureaucracy.
Or using Presence to select a firm of financial investors to do it for him.