Kanna Dipolous, the manic archmage of Chelska, who has headed up the Economic Ministry and planned development of the nation for over a decade, has been forced into retirement. Well enough. She was getting tired of the job anyway. Instead, she departs for new lands and new challenges, such as spreading the message of Communism to new nations. The distant land of Halve, with its mysterious caste system, has recently rebelled against the imperialist fist of Glitterdawn Vale. They can surely use all the help they can get, and perhaps such a troubled nation will prove fertile ground for new doctrine...
Bearing the Torch of the People (Central Planning Fantasy Edition sequel/sidequest)
- Thread starter Rockeye
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An Old Friend
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
Kanna Dipolous, the manic archmage of Chelska, who has headed up the Economic Ministry and planned development of the nation for over a decade, has been forced into retirement. Well enough. She was getting tired of the job anyway. Instead, she departs for new lands and new challenges, such as spreading the message of Communism to new nations. The distant land of Halve, with its mysterious caste system, has recently rebelled against the imperialist fist of Glitterdawn Vale. They can surely use all the help they can get, and perhaps such a troubled nation will prove fertile ground for new doctrine...
Sequel to Central Planning, Fantasy Edition Fantasy
The home of a former Head of the Economic Ministry, Ignotius Hornzollar, is perhaps surprisingly humble. It is a single-story wooden cabin in the village of Chemis-Vau. His childhood home, and one of the relatively few saved from the "reorganization" by dint of its reliance mostly on herds and timber, in the steep foothills of the Upper Lakes fading into the mountain ridges. This is a quiet place. Once every day or two, a car or bus shows up with mail or bureaucrats, or a truck trundles away carrying bundles of wool or a few logs or animals. Usually, the most exciting thing going on is the old Bull's latest hobby project. The lawn is littered with wrought metal in dozens of shapes and sizes, ranging from rooster-decorated wind vanes to homemade wheelchairs to a working trebuchet.
People mostly put up with his antics. Most of all his wife. The old Bull deserves to have his fun in retirement, relaxing and tooling around. At seventy-six years old, he's surprisingly hale, still working in a fully magic-fired hand forge in his shed.
"Thank you for the biscuits, Mrs. Hornzollar!" Kanna nods her head rapidly, her manic energy not retreating even for this.
"It's no trouble. I like baking like he likes pounding metal." She pokes her husband in the ribs. "I stayed well clear of all of that like a good wife, and I've never been gladder for it. I can just see to my own domain, and all would be well. Such a headache. I have no idea how you didn't explode from worry, Igo!"
"Ah, I did explode some days! But you always were an island of peace from all that, Mary."
Ignotius Hornzollar leans over and kisses his wife on the forehead, making her giggle.
"I can't say I understand the appeal," Kanna hedges, "It never made much sense to me, the Chelskan tradition of marriage… But I'm glad you enjoyed it none the less. You two seem very happy together still."
"We are," Mary nods firmly. "But enough about us! What brings you here again, hmm? Aren't you doing Igo's job now?"
"Ah. Not anymore, you see. It's the most infuriating thing. Are you aware of the latest enterprise reforms?"
Ignotius waves his hands. "Spare us the details. What, something greedy and stupid, I guess?"
"Quite. So I put a stop to it. First within the legislative chambers, but that went nowhere. So I went public with it. That got a lot of people very mad, and it seems… That our friend and comrade Mr. Velkon, though he has punished the idiots dearly, would still prefer a minister who does not go public with such concerns."
"...Ah. I see." Ignotius Hornzollar sets down his cherry-syrup-glazed biscuit and looks seriously at Kanna. "Do I need to hide you?"
"What, no! No no no." Kanna's curly hair bounces as she shakes her head rapidly. "There was an outcry, and… Well, it would be worse if I were actively punished. As it is, publicly, I resigned. I've been offered a research post instead. It's all very… Light touch. My career in bureaucracy is dead, of course, but it was a fucking headache anyway. If you'll pardon the language."
"I hear worse every day," Mary assures her with a roll of her eyes.
"Fucking right," agrees Ignotius. "Who's replacing you? That train girl?"
"Miss Staver is taking the overall minister position, yes. I'm sure she'll do well enough. She has plenty of advisors if nothing else." Kanna claps her hands to refocus. "Anyway! I'm not taking the research post. I'm just going to… Leave."
"Oh? Where to?"
"I wasn't sure at first. There are other nations that need my help. There's a whole lot of world to see. The Goblin lands? Beseren, or Halve? Mathylko? Grenoble? Those enigmatic Lizardmen? Other lands yet unseen, even…"
"Oh, don't keep us in suspense," Ignotius protests. "Just spit it out already."
"Very well. Halve. They may appear to be monarchists from what we know, but what we know is very little, and they certainly are actually fighting against the imperialists… Perhaps it'll be fertile ground for the good news of communism, the power inherent in the working class. And if not, it'll be a glorious adventure."
The couple sigh. "You're going to get yourself killed, Kanna… You're a fucking genius when it comes to magic, you could get a lot more done in a lab than on a battlefield, I think. Weren't you dodging assassinations for a while? Will those Interior spooks even let you leave?"
"Yes, I was. And yes, I might… And they didn't want to, but I've managed to call in enough old favors to make it happen. I have permission to leave, I simply might not be able to ever return. I'll miss this place. The place that we both have helped build, and turn from a muddy pit into something that can bloody the Old Vale's nose!"
"Everyone tells me your fleet killer was very impressive."
Kanna grins and twists side to side for a bit, reliving the warm fuzzy sensation, the gut-churning mix of urgent fear and courage and raw magic. Then she sighs.
"Mm. Yes. But I can't bear letting that stop me. It might be dangerous, but this is what I want to do. I just… Wanted to come say goodbye to one of my oldest friends and my old boss, before I did go haring off into a battlefield."
"How are you even going to get there?" Ignotius wonders, muttering. "Glitterdawn rules the waves, according to the news."
Kanna giggles. "Oh, they aren't calling me an archmage for nothing, old friend. If I put my mind to it, I can do it. I've decided on something, though."
Choose your method of transit. How exactly are you going to get to a distant island nation, currently under blockade?
[]"I'll just teleport! If I make it a four-hour ritual, the cost becomes only very slightly ludicrous."
Teleport directly. Fast, safe, and direct. Can't bring any bulky items with you, and you might land somewhere slightly unexpected. Costs a lot of mana to perform (you'll spend some of your remaining resources to acquire it), but actions to prepare more efficient teleports might reduce this. Leave in at most eight weeks. Cannot bring (Bulky) supplies.
[]"I've got a ticket as a turbine expert on the next convoy to Grenoble, and then I'll travel the rest of the way myself."
A ticket on a well-protected cargo convoy across the ocean, to Grenoble. See some of the Old World on the way, like a summer road trip. You'll need some foreign currency (bought for R). The convoy leaves in exactly six weeks, barring unforeseen circumstances. (Bulky) supplies may make transit harder. The last leg might be trouble.
[]"There's a great many custom vessels in our western neighbors that can make passage safely, and I've signed on to one of them."
Commission a Goblin vessel to make the passage. You can arrange to pay in material goods (~3-5 R?), or with a promise to work as a skilled wizard along the way. Leave in six to eight weeks. Goblins are notoriously anarchistic, and the captain has told you to expect some side-tracks, not a direct course. (Bulky) supplies may cause extra fees.
[]"I've bought an airship- One of the Nesting Dolls, and I'll be kitting it out personally. So I'll just fly there."
Outfit a personal airship to make the journey. This ship will become a useful asset in Halve, but there's only so much leeway you have before your 'opportunity' to leave expires. Leave in at most ten weeks. (Costs 4 R, expect to spend more fitting it out) Up to two sets of (Bulky) supplies are not a problem. You'll have to blockade-run.
Each prep turn represents one week. You will have three actions per prep turn, many of which will cost some of your Resources. Your R represents a mixture of hard cash, "expired" supplies, favors from government enterprises, work buddies, and political allies who still view you fondly, and all remaining personal possessions.
You start with 20 R. Use them well.
First turn, plan vote both actions and travel type:
[X] Locked in: Travel Arrangements. All the details and fuss and negotiations for your departure need to be arranged as soon as possible. Sooner started, sooner finished. For teleport: Designs the basic ritual (Magic). For the convoy or goblin passage, organizes tickets and introductions (Organize). For the airship, take possession of it and fly it to a rented location for outfitting (Optimize). (Difficulty 4)
[] Learn Spoken Halvean: While the presence of a Chelskan embassy ensures that there are at least a few of the Halvean people who speak Chelskan, most will not. It would be much better to be able to actually speak the language instead of relying on notoriously finicky and unreliable telepathic or translation magic. (Speechify) (Repeatable) (Difficulty 5)
[] Learn Hanji: The writing system of Halve is a character based system rather than a phonetic alphabet, leading to some predicted difficulties in becoming fluent, but at least some of the most common words can be learned. Immersion will make learning an inevitability, but getting a head start certainly does not hurt. (Organize) (Repeatable) (Difficulty 6)
[] Target Practice: You are not a soldier, and likely never could be. For all that you have dodged multiple assassination attempts, it was as much luck and paranoia as personal skill. Getting some actual foundation in magical combat from a warmage would only be prudent before heading to a warzone. (Precaution, Magic) (Repeatable) (Difficulty 5)
[] Prepare Combat Gear: Your usual, everyday magical equipment simply won't be enough. Going to a warzone with JUST your boots of flight, three protective amulets, hat of winds, emergency adrenaline ring, four wands, emergency grenade crystals, and bag of glitterdust? You'd be practically naked! You need to make more gear. (2R) (Precaution, Magic) (Difficulty 7)
[] Read War Reports: Getting a detailed picture of what the current material situation with Glitterdawn is like would be a boon if you end up actually fighting them. Which you almost certainly will. Getting access to these sorts of reports when you're no longer a minister requires some favors called in, though. (1R) (Precaution) (Difficulty 4)
[] Acquire Weapons: If you want to help equip freedom fighters in Halve, you'll certainly need war material to give them. Actually getting permission for anything more than small arms might be difficult, of course. And they'll be heavy and bulky. But no war can be fought without weapons. (2-8R if successful?) (Bulky) (Speechify) (Difficulty 7)
[] Magic Supplies: All the bits and sundries of a well equipped wizard. Slide rules, crystal balls, mana crystals, spell circle stencils, compasses, field analyzers, wands and amulets and gold wire and so much more. You already have some of this, but there's not really such a thing as 'enough supplies'. (1R) (Organize, Magic) (Difficulty 6)
[] Industrial Plans: You have a great resource for how to build up from nothing at all on tap- Your old friend Hornzollar, and all the reports from that first era. Brushing up on the challenges and solutions of early Chelskan industrialization could help you pull Halve out of its current colonial state, too. (Optimize) (Difficulty 6)
[] Machine Tools: Some of the older series of steam equipment are still available from failing co-ops. From what you've read, the industrial situation in Halve is far from ideal. Bringing in some of the machines they're least likely to be able to build locally could help the situation greatly. (1-3R?) (Bulky) (Organize) (Benefits from Industrial Plans being done) (Difficulty 5)
[] Brush up on Theory: You will admit that you've never been the keenest political operator. For all your fervent belief in the ultimate good of Communism, the political systems to actually achieve it are something of a weakness of yours. Brushing up on that would be wise. (Speechify) (Difficulty 5)
[] Acquire Precious Metals and Hard Currency: Not exactly a very difficult task, it just requires filling out a lot of paperwork and pushing things through the bureaucracy. You'll only get so much at a time, but small amounts of silver, gold, osmium, and foreign banknotes (especially Grenoble ones) could make things easier. (2-6R?) (Organize) (Difficulty 3)
[] Consulting Work: You're famous enough as an immensely skilled wizard that you can probably earn some favors and money with a few short gigs here and there. It's an inherently short-term thing and getting rich quick is difficult on purpose, but if needs must... (Gain 1 R per success) (Magic) (Difficulty 7)
Please let me know if you have any questions, and refrain from voting for the first few hours to allow discussion and planning.
VOTE MORATORIUM 24 HOURS, how about
Sequel to Central Planning, Fantasy Edition Fantasy
The home of a former Head of the Economic Ministry, Ignotius Hornzollar, is perhaps surprisingly humble. It is a single-story wooden cabin in the village of Chemis-Vau. His childhood home, and one of the relatively few saved from the "reorganization" by dint of its reliance mostly on herds and timber, in the steep foothills of the Upper Lakes fading into the mountain ridges. This is a quiet place. Once every day or two, a car or bus shows up with mail or bureaucrats, or a truck trundles away carrying bundles of wool or a few logs or animals. Usually, the most exciting thing going on is the old Bull's latest hobby project. The lawn is littered with wrought metal in dozens of shapes and sizes, ranging from rooster-decorated wind vanes to homemade wheelchairs to a working trebuchet.
People mostly put up with his antics. Most of all his wife. The old Bull deserves to have his fun in retirement, relaxing and tooling around. At seventy-six years old, he's surprisingly hale, still working in a fully magic-fired hand forge in his shed.
"Thank you for the biscuits, Mrs. Hornzollar!" Kanna nods her head rapidly, her manic energy not retreating even for this.
"It's no trouble. I like baking like he likes pounding metal." She pokes her husband in the ribs. "I stayed well clear of all of that like a good wife, and I've never been gladder for it. I can just see to my own domain, and all would be well. Such a headache. I have no idea how you didn't explode from worry, Igo!"
"Ah, I did explode some days! But you always were an island of peace from all that, Mary."
Ignotius Hornzollar leans over and kisses his wife on the forehead, making her giggle.
"I can't say I understand the appeal," Kanna hedges, "It never made much sense to me, the Chelskan tradition of marriage… But I'm glad you enjoyed it none the less. You two seem very happy together still."
"We are," Mary nods firmly. "But enough about us! What brings you here again, hmm? Aren't you doing Igo's job now?"
"Ah. Not anymore, you see. It's the most infuriating thing. Are you aware of the latest enterprise reforms?"
Ignotius waves his hands. "Spare us the details. What, something greedy and stupid, I guess?"
"Quite. So I put a stop to it. First within the legislative chambers, but that went nowhere. So I went public with it. That got a lot of people very mad, and it seems… That our friend and comrade Mr. Velkon, though he has punished the idiots dearly, would still prefer a minister who does not go public with such concerns."
"...Ah. I see." Ignotius Hornzollar sets down his cherry-syrup-glazed biscuit and looks seriously at Kanna. "Do I need to hide you?"
"What, no! No no no." Kanna's curly hair bounces as she shakes her head rapidly. "There was an outcry, and… Well, it would be worse if I were actively punished. As it is, publicly, I resigned. I've been offered a research post instead. It's all very… Light touch. My career in bureaucracy is dead, of course, but it was a fucking headache anyway. If you'll pardon the language."
"I hear worse every day," Mary assures her with a roll of her eyes.
"Fucking right," agrees Ignotius. "Who's replacing you? That train girl?"
"Miss Staver is taking the overall minister position, yes. I'm sure she'll do well enough. She has plenty of advisors if nothing else." Kanna claps her hands to refocus. "Anyway! I'm not taking the research post. I'm just going to… Leave."
"Oh? Where to?"
"I wasn't sure at first. There are other nations that need my help. There's a whole lot of world to see. The Goblin lands? Beseren, or Halve? Mathylko? Grenoble? Those enigmatic Lizardmen? Other lands yet unseen, even…"
"Oh, don't keep us in suspense," Ignotius protests. "Just spit it out already."
"Very well. Halve. They may appear to be monarchists from what we know, but what we know is very little, and they certainly are actually fighting against the imperialists… Perhaps it'll be fertile ground for the good news of communism, the power inherent in the working class. And if not, it'll be a glorious adventure."
The couple sigh. "You're going to get yourself killed, Kanna… You're a fucking genius when it comes to magic, you could get a lot more done in a lab than on a battlefield, I think. Weren't you dodging assassinations for a while? Will those Interior spooks even let you leave?"
"Yes, I was. And yes, I might… And they didn't want to, but I've managed to call in enough old favors to make it happen. I have permission to leave, I simply might not be able to ever return. I'll miss this place. The place that we both have helped build, and turn from a muddy pit into something that can bloody the Old Vale's nose!"
"Everyone tells me your fleet killer was very impressive."
Kanna grins and twists side to side for a bit, reliving the warm fuzzy sensation, the gut-churning mix of urgent fear and courage and raw magic. Then she sighs.
"Mm. Yes. But I can't bear letting that stop me. It might be dangerous, but this is what I want to do. I just… Wanted to come say goodbye to one of my oldest friends and my old boss, before I did go haring off into a battlefield."
"How are you even going to get there?" Ignotius wonders, muttering. "Glitterdawn rules the waves, according to the news."
Kanna giggles. "Oh, they aren't calling me an archmage for nothing, old friend. If I put my mind to it, I can do it. I've decided on something, though."
Choose your method of transit. How exactly are you going to get to a distant island nation, currently under blockade?
[]"I'll just teleport! If I make it a four-hour ritual, the cost becomes only very slightly ludicrous."
Teleport directly. Fast, safe, and direct. Can't bring any bulky items with you, and you might land somewhere slightly unexpected. Costs a lot of mana to perform (you'll spend some of your remaining resources to acquire it), but actions to prepare more efficient teleports might reduce this. Leave in at most eight weeks. Cannot bring (Bulky) supplies.
[]"I've got a ticket as a turbine expert on the next convoy to Grenoble, and then I'll travel the rest of the way myself."
A ticket on a well-protected cargo convoy across the ocean, to Grenoble. See some of the Old World on the way, like a summer road trip. You'll need some foreign currency (bought for R). The convoy leaves in exactly six weeks, barring unforeseen circumstances. (Bulky) supplies may make transit harder. The last leg might be trouble.
[]"There's a great many custom vessels in our western neighbors that can make passage safely, and I've signed on to one of them."
Commission a Goblin vessel to make the passage. You can arrange to pay in material goods (~3-5 R?), or with a promise to work as a skilled wizard along the way. Leave in six to eight weeks. Goblins are notoriously anarchistic, and the captain has told you to expect some side-tracks, not a direct course. (Bulky) supplies may cause extra fees.
[]"I've bought an airship- One of the Nesting Dolls, and I'll be kitting it out personally. So I'll just fly there."
Outfit a personal airship to make the journey. This ship will become a useful asset in Halve, but there's only so much leeway you have before your 'opportunity' to leave expires. Leave in at most ten weeks. (Costs 4 R, expect to spend more fitting it out) Up to two sets of (Bulky) supplies are not a problem. You'll have to blockade-run.
Each prep turn represents one week. You will have three actions per prep turn, many of which will cost some of your Resources. Your R represents a mixture of hard cash, "expired" supplies, favors from government enterprises, work buddies, and political allies who still view you fondly, and all remaining personal possessions.
You start with 20 R. Use them well.
First turn, plan vote both actions and travel type:
[X] Locked in: Travel Arrangements. All the details and fuss and negotiations for your departure need to be arranged as soon as possible. Sooner started, sooner finished. For teleport: Designs the basic ritual (Magic). For the convoy or goblin passage, organizes tickets and introductions (Organize). For the airship, take possession of it and fly it to a rented location for outfitting (Optimize). (Difficulty 4)
[] Learn Spoken Halvean: While the presence of a Chelskan embassy ensures that there are at least a few of the Halvean people who speak Chelskan, most will not. It would be much better to be able to actually speak the language instead of relying on notoriously finicky and unreliable telepathic or translation magic. (Speechify) (Repeatable) (Difficulty 5)
[] Learn Hanji: The writing system of Halve is a character based system rather than a phonetic alphabet, leading to some predicted difficulties in becoming fluent, but at least some of the most common words can be learned. Immersion will make learning an inevitability, but getting a head start certainly does not hurt. (Organize) (Repeatable) (Difficulty 6)
[] Target Practice: You are not a soldier, and likely never could be. For all that you have dodged multiple assassination attempts, it was as much luck and paranoia as personal skill. Getting some actual foundation in magical combat from a warmage would only be prudent before heading to a warzone. (Precaution, Magic) (Repeatable) (Difficulty 5)
[] Prepare Combat Gear: Your usual, everyday magical equipment simply won't be enough. Going to a warzone with JUST your boots of flight, three protective amulets, hat of winds, emergency adrenaline ring, four wands, emergency grenade crystals, and bag of glitterdust? You'd be practically naked! You need to make more gear. (2R) (Precaution, Magic) (Difficulty 7)
[] Read War Reports: Getting a detailed picture of what the current material situation with Glitterdawn is like would be a boon if you end up actually fighting them. Which you almost certainly will. Getting access to these sorts of reports when you're no longer a minister requires some favors called in, though. (1R) (Precaution) (Difficulty 4)
[] Acquire Weapons: If you want to help equip freedom fighters in Halve, you'll certainly need war material to give them. Actually getting permission for anything more than small arms might be difficult, of course. And they'll be heavy and bulky. But no war can be fought without weapons. (2-8R if successful?) (Bulky) (Speechify) (Difficulty 7)
[] Magic Supplies: All the bits and sundries of a well equipped wizard. Slide rules, crystal balls, mana crystals, spell circle stencils, compasses, field analyzers, wands and amulets and gold wire and so much more. You already have some of this, but there's not really such a thing as 'enough supplies'. (1R) (Organize, Magic) (Difficulty 6)
[] Industrial Plans: You have a great resource for how to build up from nothing at all on tap- Your old friend Hornzollar, and all the reports from that first era. Brushing up on the challenges and solutions of early Chelskan industrialization could help you pull Halve out of its current colonial state, too. (Optimize) (Difficulty 6)
[] Machine Tools: Some of the older series of steam equipment are still available from failing co-ops. From what you've read, the industrial situation in Halve is far from ideal. Bringing in some of the machines they're least likely to be able to build locally could help the situation greatly. (1-3R?) (Bulky) (Organize) (Benefits from Industrial Plans being done) (Difficulty 5)
[] Brush up on Theory: You will admit that you've never been the keenest political operator. For all your fervent belief in the ultimate good of Communism, the political systems to actually achieve it are something of a weakness of yours. Brushing up on that would be wise. (Speechify) (Difficulty 5)
[] Acquire Precious Metals and Hard Currency: Not exactly a very difficult task, it just requires filling out a lot of paperwork and pushing things through the bureaucracy. You'll only get so much at a time, but small amounts of silver, gold, osmium, and foreign banknotes (especially Grenoble ones) could make things easier. (2-6R?) (Organize) (Difficulty 3)
[] Consulting Work: You're famous enough as an immensely skilled wizard that you can probably earn some favors and money with a few short gigs here and there. It's an inherently short-term thing and getting rich quick is difficult on purpose, but if needs must... (Gain 1 R per success) (Magic) (Difficulty 7)
Please let me know if you have any questions, and refrain from voting for the first few hours to allow discussion and planning.
VOTE MORATORIUM 24 HOURS, how about
Last edited:
Mechanics
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
Mechanics
Kanna has five stats.
Organize: 3
Optimize: 4
Precaution: 2
Speechify: 3
Magic: 5
When attempting an action, she uses the most relevant stat. If you attempt an action that doesn't fit any of the stats at a stretch, you will roll 1d10. If you attempt an action that is especially suited to a synergistic approach (such as 'Optimize Magic' for making an airship more efficient), she adds two stats together and rolls the total.
After rolling, any die above a certain threshold counts as a success. The threshold depends on the difficulty.
3: Routine (I.E. cleaning cantrips)
5: Simple (I.E. construction via telekinesis)
7: Complicated (I.E. hand-build a mana motor)
9: Fiendish (I.E. complicated magic shields)
10: Cutting Edge (I.E. teleportation, portals, etc)
As far as chances of success at difficulties 3/5/7/9/10 go, the chance for at least 1 success are as follows:
At 2 dice (weak) that's 96/84/64/36/19%
At 3 dice (average) that's 99/94/78/49/27%
At 4 dice (strong) that's ~100/97/87/59/34%
At 5 dice (excellent) that's ~100/99/92/67/41%
Extra successes make the result more dramatic, but two successes is not necessarily exactly twice as good as one.
Rolling 10s adds extra dice- One for each 10 rolled. Since 10 is the hardest difficulty, these also automatically count as 1 success.
Rolling 1s subtracts one success for every TWO 1s rolled. If the final result has a negative number of successes, it's a critical failure with dramatic negative results
EXAMPLES:
Kanna wants to sort through some paperwork and figure out how much supplies an army has available. This action seems pretty applicable to Organize, which is scored at 3.
Scenario 1:
This particular portion of the army has a dedicated and well-organized logistical corps that keeps the paperwork in good order. Difficulty: 4. Not quite routine, but still easy.
She rolls: 8, 2, 4. Two successes! She gains an excellent picture of the supply situation and even thinks of ways to extend it a little bit, perhaps new routes to get supplies faster or ways to reduce wastage.
Scenario 2:
The reports were made by unmotivated conscripts so the papers are confusing, but at least she's familiar with the jargon. Difficulty: 6. Tricky, but far from impossible.
She rolls: 10, 9, 1, and an extra die: Another 1. What rotten luck! The extra die rolled a 1 and took us from two successes down to one. Still, one success means that she does manage to understand the current supply status.
Scenario 3:
The paperwork is a mess, and worse, she's not great at the language yet. This makes it very difficult to get things done. Difficulty: 8. Ugh, what a mess…
She rolls: 5, 6, 7. No successes. But not a terrible failure either. The result is simply that she makes little progress on understanding thanks to language issues.
Scenario 4:
Kanna wants to make her favorite shield spell even more efficient. It's already very, very good, so making any further improvements is quite difficult. This is cutting edge stuff! Difficulty is 10. However, her Optimize plus her Magic is 9 dice! With that many rolls, surely it'll work well?
2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 5, 6, 8
Alas! No successes. Even with her prodigal skill at optimizing magic, this task was simply too difficult to always succeed at. If she'd rolled two ones, though… Perhaps she would have failed to notice a fatal flaw in the new design until it was too late.
Kanna has five stats.
Organize: 3
Optimize: 4
Precaution: 2
Speechify: 3
Magic: 5
When attempting an action, she uses the most relevant stat. If you attempt an action that doesn't fit any of the stats at a stretch, you will roll 1d10. If you attempt an action that is especially suited to a synergistic approach (such as 'Optimize Magic' for making an airship more efficient), she adds two stats together and rolls the total.
After rolling, any die above a certain threshold counts as a success. The threshold depends on the difficulty.
3: Routine (I.E. cleaning cantrips)
5: Simple (I.E. construction via telekinesis)
7: Complicated (I.E. hand-build a mana motor)
9: Fiendish (I.E. complicated magic shields)
10: Cutting Edge (I.E. teleportation, portals, etc)
As far as chances of success at difficulties 3/5/7/9/10 go, the chance for at least 1 success are as follows:
At 2 dice (weak) that's 96/84/64/36/19%
At 3 dice (average) that's 99/94/78/49/27%
At 4 dice (strong) that's ~100/97/87/59/34%
At 5 dice (excellent) that's ~100/99/92/67/41%
Extra successes make the result more dramatic, but two successes is not necessarily exactly twice as good as one.
Rolling 10s adds extra dice- One for each 10 rolled. Since 10 is the hardest difficulty, these also automatically count as 1 success.
Rolling 1s subtracts one success for every TWO 1s rolled. If the final result has a negative number of successes, it's a critical failure with dramatic negative results
EXAMPLES:
Kanna wants to sort through some paperwork and figure out how much supplies an army has available. This action seems pretty applicable to Organize, which is scored at 3.
Scenario 1:
This particular portion of the army has a dedicated and well-organized logistical corps that keeps the paperwork in good order. Difficulty: 4. Not quite routine, but still easy.
She rolls: 8, 2, 4. Two successes! She gains an excellent picture of the supply situation and even thinks of ways to extend it a little bit, perhaps new routes to get supplies faster or ways to reduce wastage.
Scenario 2:
The reports were made by unmotivated conscripts so the papers are confusing, but at least she's familiar with the jargon. Difficulty: 6. Tricky, but far from impossible.
She rolls: 10, 9, 1, and an extra die: Another 1. What rotten luck! The extra die rolled a 1 and took us from two successes down to one. Still, one success means that she does manage to understand the current supply status.
Scenario 3:
The paperwork is a mess, and worse, she's not great at the language yet. This makes it very difficult to get things done. Difficulty: 8. Ugh, what a mess…
She rolls: 5, 6, 7. No successes. But not a terrible failure either. The result is simply that she makes little progress on understanding thanks to language issues.
Scenario 4:
Kanna wants to make her favorite shield spell even more efficient. It's already very, very good, so making any further improvements is quite difficult. This is cutting edge stuff! Difficulty is 10. However, her Optimize plus her Magic is 9 dice! With that many rolls, surely it'll work well?
2, 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 5, 6, 8
Alas! No successes. Even with her prodigal skill at optimizing magic, this task was simply too difficult to always succeed at. If she'd rolled two ones, though… Perhaps she would have failed to notice a fatal flaw in the new design until it was too late.
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- Pronouns
- He
These two seem like a logical pairing. Much less sold on the theory of communism. Waving the material goodies around as a show of what it can provide, along with some easy slogans, will get more support than listing a twelve-step redistribution plan.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[] Plan Hablo Español v1
-[]"I've got a ticket as a turbine expert on the next convoy to Grenoble, and then I'll travel the rest of the way myself."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements
-[] Learn Spoken Halvean
-[] Learn Hanji
[] Plan Hablo Español v2
-[]"There's a great many custom vessels in our western neighbors that can make passage swiftly and safely, and I've signed on to one of them."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements
-[] Learn Spoken Halvean
-[] Learn Hanji
I want some side-adventures.
-[]"I've got a ticket as a turbine expert on the next convoy to Grenoble, and then I'll travel the rest of the way myself."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements
-[] Learn Spoken Halvean
-[] Learn Hanji
[] Plan Hablo Español v2
-[]"There's a great many custom vessels in our western neighbors that can make passage swiftly and safely, and I've signed on to one of them."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements
-[] Learn Spoken Halvean
-[] Learn Hanji
I want some side-adventures.
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Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
[] Plan: Require more information to make the plan
-[]"I've bought an airship- One of the Nesting Dolls, and I'll be kitting it out personally. So I'll just fly there."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements. All the details and fuss and negotiations for your departure need to be arranged as soon as possible. Sooner started, sooner finished. For teleport: Designs the basic ritual (Magic). For the convoy or goblin passage, organizes tickets and introductions (Organize). For the airship, take possession of it and fly it to a rented location for outfitting (Optimize). (Difficulty 4)
-[]Read War Reports: Getting a detailed picture of what the current material situation with Glitterdawn is like would be a boon if you end up actually fighting them. Which you almost certainly will. Getting access to these sorts of reports when you're no longer a minister requires some favors called in, though. (1R) (Precaution) (Difficulty 4)
-[] Industrial Plans: You have a great resource for how to build up from nothing at all on tap- Your old friend Hornzollar, and all the reports from that first era. Brushing up on the challenges and solutions of early Chelskan industrialization could help you pull Halve out of its current colonial state, too. (Optimize) (Difficulty 6)
Taking the airship because it is cool and it also gives us the most opportunity to prepare. Then reading the war reports and doing some industrial planning so we know what to bring before we start shopping. With the extra prep time from the airship we can spend a turn just gathering information.
-[]"I've bought an airship- One of the Nesting Dolls, and I'll be kitting it out personally. So I'll just fly there."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements. All the details and fuss and negotiations for your departure need to be arranged as soon as possible. Sooner started, sooner finished. For teleport: Designs the basic ritual (Magic). For the convoy or goblin passage, organizes tickets and introductions (Organize). For the airship, take possession of it and fly it to a rented location for outfitting (Optimize). (Difficulty 4)
-[]Read War Reports: Getting a detailed picture of what the current material situation with Glitterdawn is like would be a boon if you end up actually fighting them. Which you almost certainly will. Getting access to these sorts of reports when you're no longer a minister requires some favors called in, though. (1R) (Precaution) (Difficulty 4)
-[] Industrial Plans: You have a great resource for how to build up from nothing at all on tap- Your old friend Hornzollar, and all the reports from that first era. Brushing up on the challenges and solutions of early Chelskan industrialization could help you pull Halve out of its current colonial state, too. (Optimize) (Difficulty 6)
Taking the airship because it is cool and it also gives us the most opportunity to prepare. Then reading the war reports and doing some industrial planning so we know what to bring before we start shopping. With the extra prep time from the airship we can spend a turn just gathering information.
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Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
Discord server where I have a channel: Join the PoptartProdigy Discord Discord Server!
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
So just how many options can we pick? Are they limited just by R or by amount of X?
- Pronouns
- He/It/Argh!
[]"I've got a ticket as a turbine expert on the next convoy to Grenoble, and then I'll travel the rest of the way myself."
Airship would be cool, but it could be a bit of an anchor once there and will make Kanna an obvious target.
I like the idea of having a vacation in Grenoble first. A fresh perspective on things before visiting an unknown nation could be very helpful too.
[] Read War Reports: Getting a detailed picture of what the current material situation with Glitterdawn is like would be a boon if you end up actually fighting them. Which you almost certainly will. Getting access to these sorts of reports when you're no longer a minister requires some favors called in, though. (1R) (Precaution) (Difficulty 4)
[] Brush up on Theory: You will admit that you've never been the keenest political operator. For all your fervent belief in the ultimate good of Communism, the political systems to actually achieve it are something of a weakness of yours. Brushing up on that would be wise. (Speechify) (Difficulty 5)
Those two seem critical if Kanna wants to make any political changes when she gets there.
Airship would be cool, but it could be a bit of an anchor once there and will make Kanna an obvious target.
I like the idea of having a vacation in Grenoble first. A fresh perspective on things before visiting an unknown nation could be very helpful too.
[] Read War Reports: Getting a detailed picture of what the current material situation with Glitterdawn is like would be a boon if you end up actually fighting them. Which you almost certainly will. Getting access to these sorts of reports when you're no longer a minister requires some favors called in, though. (1R) (Precaution) (Difficulty 4)
[] Brush up on Theory: You will admit that you've never been the keenest political operator. For all your fervent belief in the ultimate good of Communism, the political systems to actually achieve it are something of a weakness of yours. Brushing up on that would be wise. (Speechify) (Difficulty 5)
Those two seem critical if Kanna wants to make any political changes when she gets there.
I think we should leave reading war reports for the end of our preparation, that way the reports will have the least obsolete info possible.
I also think we should spend at least two actions on learning Spoken Halvean and Hanji, and possibly more depending on the results of the first two actions.
I also think we should spend at least two actions on learning Spoken Halvean and Hanji, and possibly more depending on the results of the first two actions.
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Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
Keep in mind we have multiple weeks to prepare, so we don't have to take actions right away as long as we leave sufficient time for them. I wanted to take war reports early because they could be helpful for figuring out what gear to buy for ourselves or to supply the rebels. I can see the argument for waiting though.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We need the airship. Not for any mechanical benefit, though I'm sure that helps, but because communist anti-imperialist sky elf archmage pirate is too badass not to do
Yeeeesss, comrades, you can trust us: we have THE FLESH TREE and THE POTATO MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.
Trust us, comrades...
[]Plan Spreading the good word
-[]"I'll just teleport! If I make it a four-hour ritual, the cost becomes only very slightly ludicrous."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements
-[] Learn Spoken Halvean
-[] Brush up on Theory
Plan is simple teleport straight behind enemy lines and help the revolutionaries against the imperialist (the brush up on theory action has nothing to do with any plan i just think Kanna needs to suffer through more theory because as we all know the more theory you know the more communist you are).
-[]"I'll just teleport! If I make it a four-hour ritual, the cost becomes only very slightly ludicrous."
-[] Locked in: Travel Arrangements
-[] Learn Spoken Halvean
-[] Brush up on Theory
Plan is simple teleport straight behind enemy lines and help the revolutionaries against the imperialist (the brush up on theory action has nothing to do with any plan i just think Kanna needs to suffer through more theory because as we all know the more theory you know the more communist you are).
I think the airship is definitely the way to go. Not because it's strictly optimal, necessarily, but what kind of protagonist/supervillain would we be without our own personal flying doom fortress? Sure it's just a mass produced light cargo airship right now, but acquiring base upgrades and looted Glitterdawn hardware is all part of the fun.
I like the airship better; resources are worth spending on equipment, money, weapons and machines, and military information
I think it's worth starting with weapons and military plans, weapons have a very wide range in price, and it's what they get that will determine our financial policy until the end of preparation. And the plans synergize well with this.
I think it's worth starting with weapons and military plans, weapons have a very wide range in price, and it's what they get that will determine our financial policy until the end of preparation. And the plans synergize well with this.
Rockeye
Plausible Engineer
- Location
- Midwestern U.S.
New action acquired for next turn: [] Acquire Seeds and Cuttings
- Pronouns
- It/Its
Question, do you know where I can ask to her unbanned from there? There was a misunderstanding a year and a half ago sadly but I would really like to join the discord