Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
It's better if you edit that into your previous post and remove it from this one, otherwise the tally will only count this vote and not the vote for your plan.
Behind the Serpent Throne (CK2)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Pronouns
- They/Them
So.
Zeitgeist Blue
Currently Made of Metal
- Location
- Manila, Philippines, GMT +8
[X] Send raiding parties into Hari-Os, in order to harass the enemy.
[X] Plan Neptune
[X] Plan Neptune
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[X] Plan Neptune
[X] Send raiding parties into Hari-Os, in order to harass the enemy.
These actions help prepare our military. Camp followers are a very important option due to the role they play for armies. They help maintain cleanliness, maintain morale through activities, and maintain the soldiers equipment. Properly regulation it ensures the above happens, and nothing untoward happens to cause further disputues with the soldiers.
Scouting and You is needed so our the tactical information our Rassit provide are listened too instead of dismissed. Both cannon options are needed for an effective light cannon unit, so they're both taken.
This ensures our mages understand the needs of war and thus where they can best be put to use, whether that's army or within the logistics. I went with Friends and Colleagues over the Priests or praying, as this option let's Kiralo get to know the mages most importantly the unknown one for whom we don't know where to place him. Kiralo may also need to know as it was suspected above he could have been a fugitive, which could cause issues.
Very much an underrated option. Wars are all about information and an entity called the Department of Secrets is liable to be a fantastic resource particularly with regards to information on the strategic scale as they've presumably got people in place in the various provinces and with Prince Jinhai, and on the tactical as it may allow us to more easily monitor our own generals and nobles to minimize any disagreements before they come to the boil.
As the option says it's highly likely the spies will be coming with our army anyway, so we should aim to make use of them.
[X] Send raiding parties into Hari-Os, in order to harass the enemy.
[G] Title: Camp Followers
Dice Rolled: Martial, Stewardship
Chance of Success: 70%
Time:1 Turn
Text: Every camp needs cooks, laundrywomen, and all manner of people. Some of course aren't necessarily wanted by the high command, such as the merchants bilking the soldiers' before they're even paid, or the endless stream of prostitutes hurrying along in the wagon trains to service the needs of the soldiers, but these are not things that can be stopped, so one might as well work to regulate them. as best can be done.
Requirements (if any): None
Title: Scouting and You
Dice Rolled: Martial and Diplomacy
Chance of Success: 75%
Text: The army needs to understand and respect its Rassit scouts and their abilities, or else he might be arguing with other generals for the rest of the campaign about what they can and cannot do.
Title: Cannons on Wheels
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success: Variable
Text: Now that he's decided to make cannons the centerpiece of his work, he might as well get directly involved in churning out as many light cannons as can be made. Not many, considering the time crush, but something is always better than nothing.
Title: Cannon Guards
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success:
Text: Assigning troops to protect the cannons is vital. If they're going to be so far forward in the case of a battle...that means they'll be forward. That means they could be taken, and then used against his side. So, train infantry to work with and protect the cannons the same way they could work with and protect the Hanin crossbowmen. Only far less well, but that's time constraints for you.
Dice Rolled: Martial, Stewardship
Chance of Success: 70%
Time:1 Turn
Text: Every camp needs cooks, laundrywomen, and all manner of people. Some of course aren't necessarily wanted by the high command, such as the merchants bilking the soldiers' before they're even paid, or the endless stream of prostitutes hurrying along in the wagon trains to service the needs of the soldiers, but these are not things that can be stopped, so one might as well work to regulate them. as best can be done.
Requirements (if any): None
Title: Scouting and You
Dice Rolled: Martial and Diplomacy
Chance of Success: 75%
Text: The army needs to understand and respect its Rassit scouts and their abilities, or else he might be arguing with other generals for the rest of the campaign about what they can and cannot do.
Title: Cannons on Wheels
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success: Variable
Text: Now that he's decided to make cannons the centerpiece of his work, he might as well get directly involved in churning out as many light cannons as can be made. Not many, considering the time crush, but something is always better than nothing.
Title: Cannon Guards
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success:
Text: Assigning troops to protect the cannons is vital. If they're going to be so far forward in the case of a battle...that means they'll be forward. That means they could be taken, and then used against his side. So, train infantry to work with and protect the cannons the same way they could work with and protect the Hanin crossbowmen. Only far less well, but that's time constraints for you.
Scouting and You is needed so our the tactical information our Rassit provide are listened too instead of dismissed. Both cannon options are needed for an effective light cannon unit, so they're both taken.
Title: Testing and Weeding
Dice Rolled: Magic
Chance of Success: 55%
Time: 1 Turn
Text: The Mages are mostly well trained, sure. But how many know about war? Most of the ones that were dragged in by Ji'lae for one, but they aren't all of the Mages, and individual commanders have probably pulled in Mages with less experience. Perhaps a crash course could train them.
Requirement: 2 Mages
Title: Friends and Colleagues?
Dice Rolled: Diplomacy
Chance of Success: 60%
Time: 1 Turn
Text: Ji'lae and the others are barnacles, but very friendly and polite ones. Getting to understand them more might help him learn how to use them better.
Dice Rolled: Magic
Chance of Success: 55%
Time: 1 Turn
Text: The Mages are mostly well trained, sure. But how many know about war? Most of the ones that were dragged in by Ji'lae for one, but they aren't all of the Mages, and individual commanders have probably pulled in Mages with less experience. Perhaps a crash course could train them.
Requirement: 2 Mages
Title: Friends and Colleagues?
Dice Rolled: Diplomacy
Chance of Success: 60%
Time: 1 Turn
Text: Ji'lae and the others are barnacles, but very friendly and polite ones. Getting to understand them more might help him learn how to use them better.
Title: Secrets and Lies
Dice Rolled: Intrigue
Chance of Success: Variable
Time: 1 Turn
Text: The Department of Secrets could be a good ally to have, or they might be a troublesome aspect to deal with. Either way, they're likely to send plenty of spies along with him to watch his every step.
Dice Rolled: Intrigue
Chance of Success: Variable
Time: 1 Turn
Text: The Department of Secrets could be a good ally to have, or they might be a troublesome aspect to deal with. Either way, they're likely to send plenty of spies along with him to watch his every step.
As the option says it's highly likely the spies will be coming with our army anyway, so we should aim to make use of them.
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- Pronouns
- They/Them
Vote closes tomorrow!
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Eight votes so far. Vote closes tonight, so! Get yer votes in!
- Pronouns
- They/Them
...also, the vote is tied!
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Still, for some odd reason I want there to be more than 8 votes. Weird of me I know.
pantherasapiens
you were always my best friend
- Location
- somewhere over your shoulder
[X] Plan Neptune
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
Is voting still open? I can't give another vote, but if voting is still open, I do want to change mine.
[X] Plan Gingganz
[X] Plan Gingganz
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yep. I'll close it tonight at 6:30 or whatnot. Once I get home from work.
Seems like it's going to come down to the prayer modifier. Which, to note, is not meant to be me pushing you towards it, but just an experiment, I suppose! Just because Kiralo's religious and all.
Seems like it's going to come down to the prayer modifier. Which, to note, is not meant to be me pushing you towards it, but just an experiment, I suppose! Just because Kiralo's religious and all.
Ah right, I forgot about the Hari Su options and just voted for influence dice.
With regards to the plans, I'd reiterate I really do think we need to be taking the Department of Secrets given by their very name, they're likely to have informers across the country and within either Prince Jinhai's retinue directly or indirectly via the various nobles/generals with him retinue.
This would give us a greater advantage if we have access to strategic information, and should Jinhai have any informers among our army the people the Department is seeding within our army should help discover them denying him that advantage. It also allows us to exploit the tactical information our scouts give us more easily.
It also allows us to follow the plot chain that had them approach us in the first place, but realistically depending on how long the war goes that may not resurface for a while in real time.
With regards to the plans, I'd reiterate I really do think we need to be taking the Department of Secrets given by their very name, they're likely to have informers across the country and within either Prince Jinhai's retinue directly or indirectly via the various nobles/generals with him retinue.
This would give us a greater advantage if we have access to strategic information, and should Jinhai have any informers among our army the people the Department is seeding within our army should help discover them denying him that advantage. It also allows us to exploit the tactical information our scouts give us more easily.
It also allows us to follow the plot chain that had them approach us in the first place, but realistically depending on how long the war goes that may not resurface for a while in real time.
[X] Send raiding parties into Hari-Os, in order to harass the enemy.
[X] Plan Gingganz
[X] Plan Gingganz
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Alright, vote closed.
Something is weird with the tally, however.
Something is weird with the tally, however.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I do wonder why you put only one Influence into the option that had a 45% chance of failure.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Update Saturday Night, maybe?
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
A belief that any bonuses applied to the action would have been enough to give it a decent chance of success and an unwillingness to sacrifice another action. We didn't really have alot of Influence this turn, so I don't think alot of us were willing to sacrifice another point on a reroll that may or may not have been needed.
Turn 10A--Results A
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn 10A--Results A
It was not a new observation, that sometimes controlling an army was like controlling a horder of children, but Kiralo, as the army hurried to meet his specifications, as they gathered and planned and schemed to see who and what would prevail. He was making plans as fast as new things were coming in to change them, and the Mages had fallen into bitter, almost violent dispute based on a number of differences that were now, by this point, threatening to tear the whole mission in two. That said, Kiralo trusted that they'd be able to work it out, but clearly asking Mages, yet more ideological scholars, to agree on a common program of training and submit to the dictates of another was...not necessarily wise.
At least there had been no fires, murders, or screaming, dying spirits yet. His own spirits, though, were spooked, and so were those of everyone in the camps and barracks. It was a sort of progressively spreading bad mood, a certainty that something was going wrong, and it wasn't going to change until it was fixed.
Yet there was no time for anything except to forge forward and hope that things all worked out. At least the cannons were a easier thing to work on.
*******
"Pull!" the sergeant yelled. He was a huge man, the kind of person that looked like he could personally crush the skulls of anyone who defied him, and yet according to others, he was one of the best gunners they had. "Load! Reload! Faster. Listen, do I have to tell you the fucking steps?"
Kiralo had known very little about cannons, all things considered. They were used in sieges down in the Southlands, but for little else, and so he'd had to learn as he went. Each of these cannons had thirteen men assigned to them, crowding around the very heavy cannons. Even the lightest of them, designed to be moved and pulled by ox or draft horse, and set upon a special cart when it was being moved between battlefield, was grievously heavy.
Even with all the spirit help in the world, and there were plenty of spirits they'd call upon to move them, once they were set up on the battlefield, they weren't exactly going to race around. They could shift position, if there was an opportunity, but little more than that. Three gunners, four officer-experts of artillery, one expert in the proper spirits, six soldiers whose job was to clean the guns, ram things, and serve as basic protection, two boys to serve as runners and extra hands. It was impossibly busy, and there were dozens of these things, hammered out as fast as could be done.
Each was a work of art in itself, in that there were engravings on the large bowl of the gun, which seemed longer than he was used to from bombards. He had no idea how the things worked, or hadn't until he heard the sergeant shouting out about wadding and ball and aim, and then taking out a device and carefully positioning the cannon.
It all took far too long by Kiralo's fast standards, and the man kept on yelling and yelling and yelling, and yet the cannon roared in approval when they finally fired it. And the spirits that had been carefully stoked wreathed the shot in fire and lightning and smoke, pushing it forward with the wind until it hit the target with a crash. The entire building they were firing at was torn into pieces by just a few shots, and he watched with growing dismay.
This...this felt almost wrong. Or not wrong, but it seemed terrifying to him. He couldn't imagine...after all, in the past century alone the technology had advanced, though the Sea-Raiders were quite unfortunately ahead of them in this matter. But as it advanced, it'd be harder and harder to deal with...if you couldn't simply ride up to them and kill all of these busy and, Kiralo now saw, highly necessary men. It was all a complex, complete process, and he could imagine a swarm of arrows killing even three or four of them and breaking up any attempt to fire in good time.
Tactics, strategies came to him, counters and counters to the counters, and that meant…
"Would it be too hot," he asked the artillery expert, a small, neat little man next to him, "If they wore a little more armor?"
"It probably would, sir."
"They need some protection. What if someone fires arrows to try to kill the gunnery crew? If I killed, say, that man, that man, and that man," Kiralo said, gesturing to the people. Quite a way away, the kind of shot that would be better done with a longer bow than the one he usually used. But he could make it.
"Ah, from that distance?"
"It might not be likely, but…" Kiralo frowned, "We don't need to worry about axes and swords. Or if it's close enough for them to be run down by spears, then it's already done with." He considered the problem, knowing that there was already an obvious solution. If one had skirmishers in the Southlands, or here as well, who couldn't wear full armor, you put them in layers of cloth...or, since the Southlands still did plenty of illegal trading with Csirit, and silk was not all that rare (apparently the Anlan lived in a land where they could not make their own, from the stories)...
Not all that rare by certain standards. "Silk, then?" Kiralo proposed.
"My lord, if you wish to outfit them in silk, you can," the man said, his voice hinting at just how much this would cost.
War was expensive, but good armor for them would improve how long they'd survive in battle, and surely the Prince would realize that if he couldn't get up close, and he was going to make sure that enough men were there to stop it that there'd be no way to get through without just punching through the army. Of course, he'd have to figure out how to defend the cannons while giving them scope.
What angles could they move? How could they be used. It was all a little rough to try to figure out, though he'd already talked to people, and there were tactics and an art of cannons that already existed.
Formations of men could and did throw themselves to the ground when they saw the cannon fire, hoping that it wasn't angled to bounce against the ground, or that the spirits weren't aimed to deal with just such a thing.
Move and countermove, because gunners learned this and tried to figure out how to deal with it. That was war, in its essence, Kiralo thought when he returned back to his room after a day of watching it all come together.
He had to balance good men with the need to use them elsewhere. There was no simple, easy answer. The point wasn't to find an easy answer, but one that worked. The court, of course, understood none of this. Without his father he'd have been buried in demands by now, and his own focus, on the cannons and on how to integrate his own cavalry.
He should be focusing on morale, some screamed, giving soldiers what they needed. Or no, he should be praying, or should be cutting their pay to the bone to save money, or he should be paying more attention to his generals and the council, instead of essentially reading their reports and making his own decisions.
People were talking about him. Jokes were being made at his expense, his father's reports said.
"Hey, did you hear that Cs-Kiralo is getting married?"
"Really, to which? A horse or a cannon?"
"He's a Southlander, so what else but both?!"
Many were worse. Many were in fact such disrespect that Kiralo could have challenged them to a duel in the days before it was so heavily frowned on. As it was, Kuojah made his displeasure obvious, cutting off those who spoke out against him to the Emperor, who seemed to have been unmoored as of late. He hadn't seen Kiralo in some time, and he was getting distracted by his new companions, the very nobles that Kiralo had brought to him. That had bought favors, but that didn't mean that the nobles would stick with him, that they'd not betray him at the first opportunity.
As long as Kuojah was alive, and Kiralo was under his protection, then the war of factions would always be one that he'd win...but the moment Kuojah died, he realized, he'd have to deal with the friends of the new Emperor. Each noble's young son was someone who could pass on ideas to the Emperor, or deserve, by right of friendship, some high post from which he could influence the man.
But Kiralo's position was unassailable. All talk of his haste, all talk of the doom that might come, was ultimately futile at best. If he lost, if he died, then it would be history that judged him, not petty court nobles that would have to desperately backpedal.
More bothersome, honestly, were those who didn't complain, and yet did interfere. Positions were on sale here and there and everywhere, and factions had broken out like a rash. Rather more annoyingly was the fact that they didn't seem to have any real relation to Kiralo's position. He had been given quite a bit of authority, even if it was starting to erode by his hasty actions and difficult decisions, and the only way to actually supplant him was to convince the Emperor otherwise. Anything short of that merely involved pushing one or another candidate for this or that position onto him, and if need be he'd spin off entirely useless positions to entirely fictional parts of the army if that was what satisfied them.
...and it probably did. After so long of playing their shadow puppet games, it all felt familiar, but familiarity only made it more annoying and troubling.
Factions and Lies, Oh My! (Choose 2)
[] Thwart attempts to get certain select young noblemen he'd rejected onto official positions of influence on the Council in an attempt to gain control of the war when he inevitably fails and is removed. Except they have no plan other than 'surely Cs-Kiralo will be removed, mid-campaign, and he'll listen and then immediately devolve things to a council that will only partially be present.'
[] Thwart an attempt to convince several figures close to the Emperor, including his teacher of mathematics, that Kiralo's plans to move out are hasty and foolish. Thus far their attempts have not truly yielded fruit, and the Emperor struggles with math at the moment anyways, but it'd discomfit his enemies.
[] One particular faction is claiming credit for work done in the foundries based on a notable bureaucrat aligned with them being on the supervising committee. Allowing them to take credit could make friends of them...if they're worthy of being friends, considering that they're taking credit for something they didn't do.
[] Spread counter-rumors to counteract any claims that Kiralo is going to be recalled soon at Kuojah's demands. His strained relationship with his father has only made this seem more plausible, and it's igniting a fever of plotting that is only going to get worse, and so cutting it off might save Kuojah more than a few headaches.
[] Kiralo is being accused of favoritism of the worst sort. The absolute and undisputable worst kind of favoritism: favoring someone based on their actual talents and abilities. Several of the young nobles that he thought showed some moderate competence have also showed more than moderate contempt towards Kuojah and his faction, and those within his orbit are calling for their removal. And calling Kiralo names. Kuojah has held it off for now, but it might be important, depending on several factors. Most of all, if it is important...it's important for what will happen after Kuojah dies. To what extent will Kiralo inherit his support? Certainly, while Kujoah's support is often ideological, there are those who *might* merely follow him out of family ties.
-[] Suggest to Kuojah that these insinuations should be tamped down even more.
-[] Give in and remove a few of the offenders, as a gesture of goodwill.
[] ...and then there's the big one. Kuojah has used this as an opportunity as well. He's shut down the only printing press not indirectly controlled by him, on suspicion that it might be allied with Prince Jinhai. It might be...it might not be. Kiralo had not talked to the person in charge of it, though reading what he'd written it seemed that he was merely opposed to Kuojah. But it was hard to tell. Very hard. It'd take some real effort and if he approves all he has to do is nothing [IE, don't pick this option], but if it's a problem, well. Then he might have to pit himself against Kuojah on this matter, whatever the consequences.
[] Try to talk to a few people. Convince them of a few points. Those that actually legitimately are arguing about points of strategy might be convinced otherwise...though he has to be careful that none of them will report anything to Prince Jinhai. It's possible some of them are trying to smoke out his ideas, or not? It's hard to be sure, in all honesty.
********
A/N: Alright, so, here we go, another update. I think this 10-A will probably just be two Results updates, and then I'll have the complex task of making a big vote that will take time to respond to.
It was not a new observation, that sometimes controlling an army was like controlling a horder of children, but Kiralo, as the army hurried to meet his specifications, as they gathered and planned and schemed to see who and what would prevail. He was making plans as fast as new things were coming in to change them, and the Mages had fallen into bitter, almost violent dispute based on a number of differences that were now, by this point, threatening to tear the whole mission in two. That said, Kiralo trusted that they'd be able to work it out, but clearly asking Mages, yet more ideological scholars, to agree on a common program of training and submit to the dictates of another was...not necessarily wise.
At least there had been no fires, murders, or screaming, dying spirits yet. His own spirits, though, were spooked, and so were those of everyone in the camps and barracks. It was a sort of progressively spreading bad mood, a certainty that something was going wrong, and it wasn't going to change until it was fixed.
Yet there was no time for anything except to forge forward and hope that things all worked out. At least the cannons were a easier thing to work on.
*******
"Pull!" the sergeant yelled. He was a huge man, the kind of person that looked like he could personally crush the skulls of anyone who defied him, and yet according to others, he was one of the best gunners they had. "Load! Reload! Faster. Listen, do I have to tell you the fucking steps?"
Kiralo had known very little about cannons, all things considered. They were used in sieges down in the Southlands, but for little else, and so he'd had to learn as he went. Each of these cannons had thirteen men assigned to them, crowding around the very heavy cannons. Even the lightest of them, designed to be moved and pulled by ox or draft horse, and set upon a special cart when it was being moved between battlefield, was grievously heavy.
Even with all the spirit help in the world, and there were plenty of spirits they'd call upon to move them, once they were set up on the battlefield, they weren't exactly going to race around. They could shift position, if there was an opportunity, but little more than that. Three gunners, four officer-experts of artillery, one expert in the proper spirits, six soldiers whose job was to clean the guns, ram things, and serve as basic protection, two boys to serve as runners and extra hands. It was impossibly busy, and there were dozens of these things, hammered out as fast as could be done.
Each was a work of art in itself, in that there were engravings on the large bowl of the gun, which seemed longer than he was used to from bombards. He had no idea how the things worked, or hadn't until he heard the sergeant shouting out about wadding and ball and aim, and then taking out a device and carefully positioning the cannon.
It all took far too long by Kiralo's fast standards, and the man kept on yelling and yelling and yelling, and yet the cannon roared in approval when they finally fired it. And the spirits that had been carefully stoked wreathed the shot in fire and lightning and smoke, pushing it forward with the wind until it hit the target with a crash. The entire building they were firing at was torn into pieces by just a few shots, and he watched with growing dismay.
This...this felt almost wrong. Or not wrong, but it seemed terrifying to him. He couldn't imagine...after all, in the past century alone the technology had advanced, though the Sea-Raiders were quite unfortunately ahead of them in this matter. But as it advanced, it'd be harder and harder to deal with...if you couldn't simply ride up to them and kill all of these busy and, Kiralo now saw, highly necessary men. It was all a complex, complete process, and he could imagine a swarm of arrows killing even three or four of them and breaking up any attempt to fire in good time.
Tactics, strategies came to him, counters and counters to the counters, and that meant…
"Would it be too hot," he asked the artillery expert, a small, neat little man next to him, "If they wore a little more armor?"
"It probably would, sir."
"They need some protection. What if someone fires arrows to try to kill the gunnery crew? If I killed, say, that man, that man, and that man," Kiralo said, gesturing to the people. Quite a way away, the kind of shot that would be better done with a longer bow than the one he usually used. But he could make it.
"Ah, from that distance?"
"It might not be likely, but…" Kiralo frowned, "We don't need to worry about axes and swords. Or if it's close enough for them to be run down by spears, then it's already done with." He considered the problem, knowing that there was already an obvious solution. If one had skirmishers in the Southlands, or here as well, who couldn't wear full armor, you put them in layers of cloth...or, since the Southlands still did plenty of illegal trading with Csirit, and silk was not all that rare (apparently the Anlan lived in a land where they could not make their own, from the stories)...
Not all that rare by certain standards. "Silk, then?" Kiralo proposed.
"My lord, if you wish to outfit them in silk, you can," the man said, his voice hinting at just how much this would cost.
War was expensive, but good armor for them would improve how long they'd survive in battle, and surely the Prince would realize that if he couldn't get up close, and he was going to make sure that enough men were there to stop it that there'd be no way to get through without just punching through the army. Of course, he'd have to figure out how to defend the cannons while giving them scope.
What angles could they move? How could they be used. It was all a little rough to try to figure out, though he'd already talked to people, and there were tactics and an art of cannons that already existed.
Formations of men could and did throw themselves to the ground when they saw the cannon fire, hoping that it wasn't angled to bounce against the ground, or that the spirits weren't aimed to deal with just such a thing.
Move and countermove, because gunners learned this and tried to figure out how to deal with it. That was war, in its essence, Kiralo thought when he returned back to his room after a day of watching it all come together.
He had to balance good men with the need to use them elsewhere. There was no simple, easy answer. The point wasn't to find an easy answer, but one that worked. The court, of course, understood none of this. Without his father he'd have been buried in demands by now, and his own focus, on the cannons and on how to integrate his own cavalry.
He should be focusing on morale, some screamed, giving soldiers what they needed. Or no, he should be praying, or should be cutting their pay to the bone to save money, or he should be paying more attention to his generals and the council, instead of essentially reading their reports and making his own decisions.
People were talking about him. Jokes were being made at his expense, his father's reports said.
"Hey, did you hear that Cs-Kiralo is getting married?"
"Really, to which? A horse or a cannon?"
"He's a Southlander, so what else but both?!"
Many were worse. Many were in fact such disrespect that Kiralo could have challenged them to a duel in the days before it was so heavily frowned on. As it was, Kuojah made his displeasure obvious, cutting off those who spoke out against him to the Emperor, who seemed to have been unmoored as of late. He hadn't seen Kiralo in some time, and he was getting distracted by his new companions, the very nobles that Kiralo had brought to him. That had bought favors, but that didn't mean that the nobles would stick with him, that they'd not betray him at the first opportunity.
As long as Kuojah was alive, and Kiralo was under his protection, then the war of factions would always be one that he'd win...but the moment Kuojah died, he realized, he'd have to deal with the friends of the new Emperor. Each noble's young son was someone who could pass on ideas to the Emperor, or deserve, by right of friendship, some high post from which he could influence the man.
But Kiralo's position was unassailable. All talk of his haste, all talk of the doom that might come, was ultimately futile at best. If he lost, if he died, then it would be history that judged him, not petty court nobles that would have to desperately backpedal.
More bothersome, honestly, were those who didn't complain, and yet did interfere. Positions were on sale here and there and everywhere, and factions had broken out like a rash. Rather more annoyingly was the fact that they didn't seem to have any real relation to Kiralo's position. He had been given quite a bit of authority, even if it was starting to erode by his hasty actions and difficult decisions, and the only way to actually supplant him was to convince the Emperor otherwise. Anything short of that merely involved pushing one or another candidate for this or that position onto him, and if need be he'd spin off entirely useless positions to entirely fictional parts of the army if that was what satisfied them.
...and it probably did. After so long of playing their shadow puppet games, it all felt familiar, but familiarity only made it more annoying and troubling.
Factions and Lies, Oh My! (Choose 2)
[] Thwart attempts to get certain select young noblemen he'd rejected onto official positions of influence on the Council in an attempt to gain control of the war when he inevitably fails and is removed. Except they have no plan other than 'surely Cs-Kiralo will be removed, mid-campaign, and he'll listen and then immediately devolve things to a council that will only partially be present.'
[] Thwart an attempt to convince several figures close to the Emperor, including his teacher of mathematics, that Kiralo's plans to move out are hasty and foolish. Thus far their attempts have not truly yielded fruit, and the Emperor struggles with math at the moment anyways, but it'd discomfit his enemies.
[] One particular faction is claiming credit for work done in the foundries based on a notable bureaucrat aligned with them being on the supervising committee. Allowing them to take credit could make friends of them...if they're worthy of being friends, considering that they're taking credit for something they didn't do.
[] Spread counter-rumors to counteract any claims that Kiralo is going to be recalled soon at Kuojah's demands. His strained relationship with his father has only made this seem more plausible, and it's igniting a fever of plotting that is only going to get worse, and so cutting it off might save Kuojah more than a few headaches.
[] Kiralo is being accused of favoritism of the worst sort. The absolute and undisputable worst kind of favoritism: favoring someone based on their actual talents and abilities. Several of the young nobles that he thought showed some moderate competence have also showed more than moderate contempt towards Kuojah and his faction, and those within his orbit are calling for their removal. And calling Kiralo names. Kuojah has held it off for now, but it might be important, depending on several factors. Most of all, if it is important...it's important for what will happen after Kuojah dies. To what extent will Kiralo inherit his support? Certainly, while Kujoah's support is often ideological, there are those who *might* merely follow him out of family ties.
-[] Suggest to Kuojah that these insinuations should be tamped down even more.
-[] Give in and remove a few of the offenders, as a gesture of goodwill.
[] ...and then there's the big one. Kuojah has used this as an opportunity as well. He's shut down the only printing press not indirectly controlled by him, on suspicion that it might be allied with Prince Jinhai. It might be...it might not be. Kiralo had not talked to the person in charge of it, though reading what he'd written it seemed that he was merely opposed to Kuojah. But it was hard to tell. Very hard. It'd take some real effort and if he approves all he has to do is nothing [IE, don't pick this option], but if it's a problem, well. Then he might have to pit himself against Kuojah on this matter, whatever the consequences.
[] Try to talk to a few people. Convince them of a few points. Those that actually legitimately are arguing about points of strategy might be convinced otherwise...though he has to be careful that none of them will report anything to Prince Jinhai. It's possible some of them are trying to smoke out his ideas, or not? It's hard to be sure, in all honesty.
********
Title: Cannons on Wheels
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success: Variable
Text: Now that he's decided to make cannons the centerpiece of his work, he might as well get directly involved in churning out as many light cannons as can be made. Not many, considering the time crush, but something is always better than nothing.
Rolled: 1d100+15=75
Title: Testing and Weeding
Dice Rolled: Magic
Chance of Success: 55%
Time: 1 Turn
Text: The Mages are mostly well trained, sure. But how many know about war? Most of the ones that were dragged in by Ji'lae for one, but they aren't all of the Mages, and individual commanders have probably pulled in Mages with less experience. Perhaps a crash course could train them.
Requirement: 2 Mages
-[] Ji'lae, Gen'ha
Need: 45, Rolled: 1d100+12=37, failure.
Title: Bickering Factions, Blame Game?
Dice Rolled: Diplomacy, Stewardship
Chance of Success: ???
Time: 1 turn
Text: Already there are divisions between people on the actions of the army. In a way it was amusing, because their power has been so reduced. Kiralo had been made Envoy, and so the court couldn't do all that much to him, and the petty courtier games he'd played were revealed as, well, petty games. But they still have power despite this, and managing them is going to be difficult when every single one of them is sure that they have military genius.
Rolled: 65, success
Title: Cannon Guards
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success: Variable
Text: Assigning troops to protect the cannons is vital. If they're going to be so far forward in the case of a battle...that means they'll be forward. That means they could be taken, and then used against his side. So, train infantry to work with and protect the cannons the same way they could work with and protect the Hanin crossbowmen. Only far less well, but that's time constraints for you.
Need: Variable, Rolled: 1d100+15=21, reroll=84
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success: Variable
Text: Now that he's decided to make cannons the centerpiece of his work, he might as well get directly involved in churning out as many light cannons as can be made. Not many, considering the time crush, but something is always better than nothing.
Rolled: 1d100+15=75
Title: Testing and Weeding
Dice Rolled: Magic
Chance of Success: 55%
Time: 1 Turn
Text: The Mages are mostly well trained, sure. But how many know about war? Most of the ones that were dragged in by Ji'lae for one, but they aren't all of the Mages, and individual commanders have probably pulled in Mages with less experience. Perhaps a crash course could train them.
Requirement: 2 Mages
-[] Ji'lae, Gen'ha
Need: 45, Rolled: 1d100+12=37, failure.
Title: Bickering Factions, Blame Game?
Dice Rolled: Diplomacy, Stewardship
Chance of Success: ???
Time: 1 turn
Text: Already there are divisions between people on the actions of the army. In a way it was amusing, because their power has been so reduced. Kiralo had been made Envoy, and so the court couldn't do all that much to him, and the petty courtier games he'd played were revealed as, well, petty games. But they still have power despite this, and managing them is going to be difficult when every single one of them is sure that they have military genius.
Rolled: 65, success
Title: Cannon Guards
Dice Rolled: Martial
Chance of Success: Variable
Text: Assigning troops to protect the cannons is vital. If they're going to be so far forward in the case of a battle...that means they'll be forward. That means they could be taken, and then used against his side. So, train infantry to work with and protect the cannons the same way they could work with and protect the Hanin crossbowmen. Only far less well, but that's time constraints for you.
Need: Variable, Rolled: 1d100+15=21, reroll=84
A/N: Alright, so, here we go, another update. I think this 10-A will probably just be two Results updates, and then I'll have the complex task of making a big vote that will take time to respond to.
[X] Thwart an attempt to convince several figures close to the Emperor, including his teacher of mathematics, that Kiralo's plans to move out are hasty and foolish. Thus far their attempts have not truly yielded fruit, and the Emperor struggles with math at the moment anyways, but it'd discomfit his enemies.
[X] Kiralo is being accused of favoritism of the worst sort. The absolute and undisputable worst kind of favoritism: favoring someone based on their actual talents and abilities. Several of the young nobles that he thought showed some moderate competence have also showed more than moderate contempt towards Kuojah and his faction, and those within his orbit are calling for their removal. And calling Kiralo names. Kuojah has held it off for now, but it might be important, depending on several factors. Most of all, if it is important...it's important for what will happen after Kuojah dies. To what extent will Kiralo inherit his support? Certainly, while Kujoah's support is often ideological, there are those who *might* merely follow him out of family ties.
[X] Kiralo is being accused of favoritism of the worst sort. The absolute and undisputable worst kind of favoritism: favoring someone based on their actual talents and abilities. Several of the young nobles that he thought showed some moderate competence have also showed more than moderate contempt towards Kuojah and his faction, and those within his orbit are calling for their removal. And calling Kiralo names. Kuojah has held it off for now, but it might be important, depending on several factors. Most of all, if it is important...it's important for what will happen after Kuojah dies. To what extent will Kiralo inherit his support? Certainly, while Kujoah's support is often ideological, there are those who *might* merely follow him out of family ties.
Zeitgeist Blue
Currently Made of Metal
- Location
- Manila, Philippines, GMT +8
[X] Spread counter-rumors to counteract any claims that Kiralo is going to be recalled soon at Kuojah's demands. His strained relationship with his father has only made this seem more plausible, and it's igniting a fever of plotting that is only going to get worse, and so cutting it off might save Kuojah more than a few headaches.
[X] Kiralo is being accused of favoritism of the worst sort. The absolute and undisputable worst kind of favoritism: favoring someone based on their actual talents and abilities. Several of the young nobles that he thought showed some moderate competence have also showed more than moderate contempt towards Kuojah and his faction, and those within his orbit are calling for their removal. And calling Kiralo names. Kuojah has held it off for now, but it might be important, depending on several factors. Most of all, if it is important...it's important for what will happen after Kuojah dies. To what extent will Kiralo inherit his support? Certainly, while Kujoah's support is often ideological, there are those who *might* merely follow him out of family ties.
-[X] Suggest to Kuojah that these insinuations should be tamped down even more.
[X] Kiralo is being accused of favoritism of the worst sort. The absolute and undisputable worst kind of favoritism: favoring someone based on their actual talents and abilities. Several of the young nobles that he thought showed some moderate competence have also showed more than moderate contempt towards Kuojah and his faction, and those within his orbit are calling for their removal. And calling Kiralo names. Kuojah has held it off for now, but it might be important, depending on several factors. Most of all, if it is important...it's important for what will happen after Kuojah dies. To what extent will Kiralo inherit his support? Certainly, while Kujoah's support is often ideological, there are those who *might* merely follow him out of family ties.
-[X] Suggest to Kuojah that these insinuations should be tamped down even more.
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[X] Thwart an attempt to convince several figures close to the Emperor, including his teacher of mathematics, that Kiralo's plans to move out are hasty and foolish. Thus far their attempts have not truly yielded fruit, and the Emperor struggles with math at the moment anyways, but it'd discomfit his enemies.
[X] Spread counter-rumors to counteract any claims that Kiralo is going to be recalled soon at Kuojah's demands. His strained relationship with his father has only made this seem more plausible, and it's igniting a fever of plotting that is only going to get worse, and so cutting it off might save Kuojah more than a few headaches.
Both have minimal negatives unlike some of the other options, and both accomplish the goal of making the court life easier to manage while we're not there. The first limits the chance that Kiralo's enemies gain the Emperor's ear which is very important given that's where we derive our authority, and notably it mentions it'd discomfit them.
The second does much of the same but in a more general fashion and is best done as the action mentions before the plotting gets worse. This also allows Kuojah more leeway in using his influence if he doesn't have to manage this.
[X] Spread counter-rumors to counteract any claims that Kiralo is going to be recalled soon at Kuojah's demands. His strained relationship with his father has only made this seem more plausible, and it's igniting a fever of plotting that is only going to get worse, and so cutting it off might save Kuojah more than a few headaches.
Both have minimal negatives unlike some of the other options, and both accomplish the goal of making the court life easier to manage while we're not there. The first limits the chance that Kiralo's enemies gain the Emperor's ear which is very important given that's where we derive our authority, and notably it mentions it'd discomfit them.
The second does much of the same but in a more general fashion and is best done as the action mentions before the plotting gets worse. This also allows Kuojah more leeway in using his influence if he doesn't have to manage this.
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