If I understand the inspiring game correctly, success is a matter of ruthlessly pruning one's family line. That is kind of important considering that our worst choice is set to become the Dragonfly heir, which will either prove to be a decisive factor in winning the Greengraft throne, or prompt a splitting of the family and nations.
Now, ideally, we'd get the Dragonflies to switch to coordinated tanistry and train up Victoria as a superdiplomat who can take over and then win election in the 504's while her sisters specialize in handling the military and intelligence operations, but that doesn't seem pessimistic enough to bet on.
The alternative is to just write Anna off as not worth further investment of precious personal actions and arrange a hunting accident. Unfortunately, that doesn't really sound like Dia- oh, well, would you look at that.
Anna isn't that bad a choice. She has diligent, and if we combine that with patient, it nullifies the intrigue loss from kind. With that, she's already as good at her specialty as her sister is at martial. The higher level intrigue education traits give diplomacy too, further covering up that hole. The "weak" trait can then be removed with the UHM. The result is a fairly powerful intrigue focused character with a skilled general for a sister.
Playing the intrigue specialist has the additional advantage an intrigue specialist that you know you can trust.
Anna isn't that bad a choice. She has diligent, and if we combine that with patient, it nullifies the intrigue loss from kind. With that, she's already as good at her specialty as her sister. The higher level intrigue education traits give diplomacy too, further covering up that hole. The "weak" trait can then be removed with the UHM. The result is a fairly powerful intrigue focused character with a skilled general for a sister.
Playing the intrigue specialist has the additional advantage an intrigue specialist that you know you can trust.
I'll give this another hour or two to figure things out. As the votes stand there is technically a 1 in a 100 chance of a tie so I will let it go just a little longer to see what happens.
To those selecting culture: remember that there is no quick fix for our situation. Even if culture is the way to go, and I think it is, current events is important enough that we would probably want to grab it in the next few turn. We want both, but culture is less immediately relevant.
You spend some of your free time over the next few months trying to focus on the more recent material, but there are too many cultural touchstones involved for you to work out anything as complex as motive or current disposition. You can sort out that there are two... maybe three... factions of the aliens involved in this mess. You're not entirely certain how many are on Dandriss, but you get the feeling that there is some sort of social conflict going on with the aliens. There is the mainstream culture, the traditionalist reformers, and the radical separatists, with the degree of radicalism being inversely related to the degree of dickishness. Their mainstream culture is utterly psychotic as far as you can tell, which admittedly isn't very far.
The alien you encountered is apparently fairly firmly in the separatist camp, who basically just want to be left alone by the galaxy at large. They will wipe out all intelligent life on a planet if it is in the way of their settlement projects, but otherwise they have no interest in being involved with others. Dandriss was surveyed because... because of something in the past, something cultural and mythological and neither and you can't really parse it all at once. You can't put order to the feelings and impressions and memories, you will probably have to figure out their language or something like that first, now that you have some grounding in things. There is something with the trees that makes the world bad... wrong?... for ghosts or something. Other ghosts? You really have no grounding for the complexity of the idea. In any case, there is something that means that the group won't be setting up shop, but there is something else that their more violent peers are doing that has them sticking around to observe, for the time being.
For their more mainstream peers, this is an... amusement? That's the impression you get, by way of a political detractor anyway, that their presence is purely a private distraction. This is apparently happening all across the galaxy, with bands of these aliens tormenting local populations for no better reason than because they gain enjoyment from it. There is something about advancement level or strength or something... in any case, Dandriss is at an ideal position: strong enough to be fun, weak enough that they don't have to exert themselves. Although 'exert' might refer not to personal exertion but needing to bring in outside forces. The idea is pinned together with multiple concepts, it is hard to make out.
So two, maybe three, factions, and one of them is fighting the Authority and tormenting people basically because they can and it is fun. There's something about the trees that is also drawing their attention, but in more subtle ways. You will need to figure out more about their culture and their history with Dandriss before you can get the full picture.
You do now know for fair certain that the raiding aliens will eventually come for you, either out of boredom or because they finished beating up the Authority and now you are the hardest target around to beat up on. There are a number of strong feelings there, underlying assumptions that just because the individual you interacted with did not agree with the mainstream position does not mean that they did not also have them. While more subdued, there is a strong current of constant desire to push to the limit of the possible.
It is all very troubling.
Eldar Index Upgraded from Repressed to Confused. Total Effect: +2 Learning, +10 Diplomacy rolls with Eldar
Meanwhile, two other major developments are occurring. The first is the talks with the Machine Heads, and the second is the birth of your fourth child.
The talks with the Machine Heads are going strangely, in that just when you think you have the Machine Heads and 504s about to agree on something, one of them pisses off the other and the situation flip flops. It is exceedingly aggravating. More than once you just want to explode into a torrent of alien nonsense at their ambassadors, but you keep it in check. Still, you need to figure something out.
Which tactic do you use?
[] Conciliatory - attempt to find some way to smooth over the bad blood between the two groups (0.7+d.10x)
[] Forcefulness - attempt to use your superior military position to force some degree of reconciliation (0.3+d.10x)
[] Removal - the simplest solution is to remove the Machine Heads from the presence of the 504s by having them move into your territory, where you have plenty of space (0.5+d.10x)
[] Independent - start figuring out ways to go around the 504s economically (0.2+d.10x)
As for the birth of your daughter...
Complications
Rolled 1
Dangerous Birth!
Danger negated by hospital
Health
Rolled 14
Sickly trait
Trait will be removed without complication by age 3 without further intervention
Can be removed earlier with personal action
Genetics
Rolled 66
Did not inherit Attractive Trait
Random traits
Rolled 32
Nothing
Meditation influence
Rolled 50
Rolled 3
????
Well, you weren't awake for the majority of the delivery, according to your doctors, since things went wrong in a hurry and you had to be rushed into surgery. They're not quite sure what went wrong, possibly something similar to what happened with Anna, but your fourth daughter is also surprisingly small and sickly, although they assure you that with the facility up and running and access to proper pharmaceuticals everything should be sorted out in short order.
[] Conciliatory - attempt to find some way to smooth over the bad blood between the two groups (0.7+d.10x)
[] Independent - start figuring out ways to go around the 504s economically (0.2+d.10x)
Bleh; I suspect shenanigans going on vis a vis the negotiations.
How would removal work, exactly? And would the Machine Heads be amenable?
I love how quickly the idea of discussion and consensus before voting to reduce the harm of the new random weightings went out the window. -especially since the possibility of absorbing a large chunk of new population and a polity that likely has the UAM design tech we have been so obsessed with is being disregarded to once again play peacemaker at our own expense by instead laying the foundations for absorption by the treacherous and disloyal polity we aren't already prepared to inherit and who already has an advantage over us in the Shattersaw elections.
I'm In favor of
[] Removal - the simplest solution is to remove the Machine Heads from the presence of the 504s by having them move into your territory, where you have plenty of space (0.5+d.10x)
but I won't actually vote until some discussion has been had.
The machine heads are basically a less crazy (and less powerful) version of the 504s. By letting them and the 504s make friends, would we mitigate a lot of the crazy from them?
On the other hand, machine heads moving in sounds a lot like they'll be joining our population directly, sooner rather than later. Direct boost to our own power in a number of ways, at the cost of increased 504 hostility.
At this point, I'm heavily considering the possibility of using our knowledge to become invaluable to the authority, and then kicking 504 butt, with the authority turning a blind eye to any requests for help because we are so much more useful. Alas, 'tis but a dream. It's unlikely to happen for a number of reasons... Recently formed confederacy being high among them.
Back to topic, do we attempt to alleviate some of the worst traits of our allies, or do we seize the chance for more power, and influence them from that direction?
Edit: filled in my vote.
...and then removed it. voted on pg 269
Why do you think the Machine Heads would want to move when it seems the 504's are the aggressors? Why would they want to join us either? The DC for that will be absurdly high.
Why do you think the Machine Heads would want to move when it seems the 504's are the aggressors? Why would they want to join us either? The DC for that will be absurdly high.
Because the machine heads want our protection. They're fairly friendly towards us, they hate the 504s, and we're the ones keeping the 504s off their backs.
The machine heads are the smaller of two chained dogs, and we hold both of their leashes. Of course they'll want to come inside the house, eat our food and share our beds. Especially since we keep the 504s as outdoor dogs.
I love how quickly the idea of discussion and consensus before voting to reduce the harm of the new random weightings went out the window. -especially since the possibility of absorbing a large chunk of new population and a polity that likely has the UAM design tech we have been so obsessed with is being disregarded to once again play peacemaker at our own expense by instead laying the foundations for absorption by the treacherous and disloyal polity we aren't already prepared to inherit and who already has an advantage over us in the Shattersaw elections.
I for one only put in empty brackets because I still want to sleep on it - and I want a couple answers from @Academia Nut over just *how* viable the "come live with us" plan would be. Because if it checks out, that would be almost ideal.
I mean, sure, they almost certainly wouldn't join our polity, but we've got a lot of more-or-less empty territory and then we have another trading partner - one that's both industrial-type and somewhat more friendly then the 504s.
But if they are unlikely to go for it, or if there's some unpleasantness that results...
[X] Removal - the simplest solution is to remove the Machine Heads from the presence of the 504s by having them move into your territory, where you have plenty of space (0.5+d.10x)
Yeah, getting them to transfer from their current space to ours would probably be fairly good. Though the question is whether they'd just become neighbours, or citizens, or something in-between. Also, there's the question of just how many of them are.
Plus, the 504s would likely use that to expand their territory.
That sounds a good idea, if we can persuade them to do so.
[X] Removal - the simplest solution is to remove the Machine Heads from the presence of the 504s by having them move into your territory, where you have plenty of space (0.5+d.10x)
I agree that the removal idea sounds best.
I do not want to vote yet, some more discussion is probably good, but barring some convincing new arguments my vote will be
[] Removal - the simplest solution is to remove the Machine Heads from the presence of the 504s by having them move into your territory, where you have plenty of space (0.5+d.10x)
Dear god, I think that sounds like a horrible idea. Why would they want to move from their homes, which by now they've lived in for decades, giving up the fight against an agressor and giving them all of that land, space, and resources...just to move in under our auspices.
[] Independent - start figuring out ways to go around the 504s economically (0.2+d.10x)
[] Conciliatory - attempt to find some way to smooth over the bad blood between the two groups (0.7+d.10x)
I'd like to not make the 504s that much stronger and piss off the Machine Heads chasing after some pipe-dream of yoinking tech, please.
Well, yay for the UHM I guess.
I do think that our high tech level and standards of living give us a chance at
[] Removal - the simplest solution is to remove the Machine Heads from the presence of the 504s by having them move into your territory, where you have plenty of space (0.5+d.10x)
but on the other hand, I am unsure what level of control we're have over them, and am worried about public perception a bit. Also, It's less tech we'd get from them, and more Mechs. @Academia Nut What would we use to motivate the machine heads, and how would we plan to integrate them?
Finally, no-one has been reacting to the knowledge. It looks like the normal Eldar are in this for the usual DE shenanigans, but the information on the Exodites is very interesting. It seems to suggest that they surveyed the planet for becoming an Exodite World, but were unable to reincarnate here/create a world spirit(not sure if they came up with world spirits yet, since they don't need them) because of the warp presence of the trees. This merits further investigation.
