[X] Among the gentlemen literati.
Behind the Serpent Throne (CK2)
- Thread starter The Laurent
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
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- They/Them
Vote closes tomorrow! Finally.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
Close vote.
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- They/Them
Could use more votes...
slybrarian
Creature of Fable
- Location
- A Far and Sunless Land
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Among young scholars who have relatively recently passed an exam.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Inserted tally
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Another crit.
Turn 14--Part 4
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn 14--Part 4
Kiralo knew all the right questions. But if only they knew all the right answers. It wasn't that the young men that stepped in front of him were stupid, but they weren't creative, and they were arrogant, high-strung, careless of the fact that Kiralo needed to see them with their best foot forward.
It occurred to him only after the meeting with some of them that this was genuinely the best they could put forward. He sat and tried to pose carefully, asking them intelligent questions and probing the depths of their understanding. His spirits were bored of it, and after the tenth interview, so was he, but he just sat there and sipped tea until he had to leave, pause the meetings, to eat something or sleep off the meeting, or go and get drunk with idiots who spent all their times talking of hunting, and none of talking about war or poetry except as an excuse to drop names.
But finally he found someone.
******
Li cleared his throat and said, "Cs-Kiralo, I've heard that you were looking for a degree-holder to serve as an assistant and secretary?"
"Yes. I am going to ask, first, what were your strongest areas in your degree process? Would you say that there were categories you were weak on?"
"My calligraphy," Li said. He was a young man, perhaps twenty, his hair carefully done up in a single, relatively short braid, a style that itself seemed almost bizarre. It took a moment for Kiralo to recognize it. There were groups that were not entirely Csiritan, and yet were not like many other groups, disloyal or heretical. There was no way to make of such a vast Empire anything other than a patchwork.
You played your games and moved the pieces on whatever board you chose, and pretended this represented the world, out there and yet supposedly commanded by you. He'd thought these thoughts before, on how solitary the life in the court could be, as well as how communal. A solitary community that interacted with the world as if it were the real ones, and the others the fakes.
His skin was just slightly pastier, his accent just slightly off in a way that Kiralo was stunned that he recognized. Because it wasn't as if his own accent was any purer, no matter how well he'd been taught, it'd been taught far from the courts.
"And what of your essays? What did they ask?"
"For poetry and analysis of history, as well as…" Li shrugged, expressively. "A question on the matter of organization. It was some controversy, that's what it was a matter of, I'm told: controversy."
Even the syntax felt subtly different. Or at least the ghost of a difference. "From Nestirin, are you, Li?"
"Yes. Cs-Kiralo."
"No family name?"
"Not so that my mother would admit. I obeyed her as best I could. She was… an outcast of some form. But well-placed, and well-born, despite her failings as a filial wife."
"Did she fail?" Kiralo asked, sharply.
"She did not have a husband, and yet lived." Li shrugged. "That's enough, and that's all I've had to know. But I thought that you wouldn't care."
He was twenty. Kiralo wondered what his ambitions were, and his hopes. He wondered what was behind those eyes. For Li was a very plain person, of the kind of plainness in general that seemed less boring than almost suspicious, as bizarre as such a fact was. But he'd seen it before: in men both ambitious beyond count and careful beyond measure, sometimes combined into one body.
"I might not. I do care about loyalty and skill. I have to ask, what do you know about monastery organization?"
"If I may be respectful: Cs-Kiralo, what do you know of monastery organization? What do you wish to ask me? I have read work on the Office… and its controversies."
"I know that every single Monastery has to be registered every five years, and has to report themselves how many people they have there every year. I know that there are men whose job it is to regulate the spirits there, and that these men are our only connection to some prominent landholders." Kiralo shrugged. "They deserve it, of course. The Gods give guidance, the dead need our every effort. But they are also servants of the Emperor, are they not? What the farmers on their land do matters."
"Is it their land?" Li asked, his voice very polite. A man carefully asking a simple question.
"In one sense, yes. But there's more. I've had letters from everyone at every station complaining. I feel as if, should I simply request them, I will be drowned in them." Kiralo frowned and said. "But I might want to drown. I might need to drown. I might be hiring you for the sole purpose of learning how to drown." Kiralo nodded at Li.
"If I pass?"
"Yes. There's a long way to go for that. And I could do a lot of things, but what I want to actually see is something… simple. I have a set of questions for you on politics and decision-making. You are to fill it out."
Kiralo stood up. "Consider it the same as an exam. And then I'll see how you can do. I've talked to people already, about your candidacy. You're at least a more possible option than some."
This was not high praise, but Li nodded with care, as if taking sage words into advisement, and said, "Thank you, Cs-Kiralo. I am your humble servant. A worm as you are a snake."
Kiralo just smiled, not disagreeing with him, at least not openly. Time would tell how good of a job he did. He'd need experience to learn anything. But experience was just what Kiralo was going to be giving him. Starting with the scheme after the next.
******
On the seventh-from-last day of the year, the office of Poetry Tutor opened up.
Kiralo knew it would be a mess. But now it was official.
Also on the same seventh-from-last day, he got the report on the land. It was a basic report, and it said that he would have thought. The most monasteries were in Irit, the least in Yeadalt and Hari-Bueli.
They had the most land by far in Irit, but interestingly the numbers told a slightly baffling story. By land relative to the numbers of monasteries, the largest ones and the most were in Yeadalt, the least Csiritan of all of the areas.
Which meant… what?
A concentration of force and power? Kiralo wasn't sure, but he did know that in Irit, the monks were all but the center of politics there. They'd been suppressed to some extent by their need to care for refugees, as well as the necessity of war, but that would change as peace was starting to return to Irit, however fragile it was.
******
It was five more days before Kiralo opened a letter.
'Sir, it is my misfortune to report you that we have found something of great import. Something that complicates it. We have gained the support of many agents throughout Yeadalt, Rerin, and so on. This has cost quite a lot, but we trust that you shall repay these efforts. More pressingly, we have been going from person to person, looking for the exact object, which was quite distinctive in the memories of many.
However, just as factual is that without Hung, who you have carefully advised and paid to come with me, I would not have gotten so far. Though I nearly died despite this in an ambush when I followed the trail too far.
I followed it into the thickets of northern Rerin, along the borders between it and areas that are quite Yeadalt in nature. And there I met the man who I suspect now possesses it. He is Hao San Sen Jianglong, whose very name should tell you he is of the Aima Sect. And that he is not a Csiritan in any way. He is in fact a rebel, and if I had not retreated with my party, I would have been lost.
As it is, we have lost a half-dozen soldiers that we took with us, having paid for their time, and the local magistrate has very many questions.
The man is likely fleeing even now, but we will continue to try to pin down this notorious rebel, who has been terrorizing our fair Empire for nigh-on a decade.
With respect given to you, and your august father,
Ji Lao, of Lineage Isi.'
Then, in a second note, scrawled quickly. 'I believe that Jianglong is using the mirror to view things. Many, many things. The spirits are very potent, and I think we might be able to track them. Might is the word, and we have long to travel. We're going to have to move much slower now.
My ass is sore'
Kiralo couldn't help the slight, amused smile that slipped across his face, even though he knew what would come next:
'because of all of this time in the saddle, traveling with so many spirits that even I, a Mage, was uncertain of it all.
Remaining an aide to your efforts, and to the forgiveness of my scholastic duties you have allowed me, Hung.'
Hung was only eighteen, and had a year left of Magical school before he was judged fully a Mage. But he was an asset that Kiralo had been able to employ.
And thus far it seemed to be paying off.
********
A/N: So, the end of the turn!
Kiralo knew all the right questions. But if only they knew all the right answers. It wasn't that the young men that stepped in front of him were stupid, but they weren't creative, and they were arrogant, high-strung, careless of the fact that Kiralo needed to see them with their best foot forward.
It occurred to him only after the meeting with some of them that this was genuinely the best they could put forward. He sat and tried to pose carefully, asking them intelligent questions and probing the depths of their understanding. His spirits were bored of it, and after the tenth interview, so was he, but he just sat there and sipped tea until he had to leave, pause the meetings, to eat something or sleep off the meeting, or go and get drunk with idiots who spent all their times talking of hunting, and none of talking about war or poetry except as an excuse to drop names.
But finally he found someone.
******
Li cleared his throat and said, "Cs-Kiralo, I've heard that you were looking for a degree-holder to serve as an assistant and secretary?"
"Yes. I am going to ask, first, what were your strongest areas in your degree process? Would you say that there were categories you were weak on?"
"My calligraphy," Li said. He was a young man, perhaps twenty, his hair carefully done up in a single, relatively short braid, a style that itself seemed almost bizarre. It took a moment for Kiralo to recognize it. There were groups that were not entirely Csiritan, and yet were not like many other groups, disloyal or heretical. There was no way to make of such a vast Empire anything other than a patchwork.
You played your games and moved the pieces on whatever board you chose, and pretended this represented the world, out there and yet supposedly commanded by you. He'd thought these thoughts before, on how solitary the life in the court could be, as well as how communal. A solitary community that interacted with the world as if it were the real ones, and the others the fakes.
His skin was just slightly pastier, his accent just slightly off in a way that Kiralo was stunned that he recognized. Because it wasn't as if his own accent was any purer, no matter how well he'd been taught, it'd been taught far from the courts.
"And what of your essays? What did they ask?"
"For poetry and analysis of history, as well as…" Li shrugged, expressively. "A question on the matter of organization. It was some controversy, that's what it was a matter of, I'm told: controversy."
Even the syntax felt subtly different. Or at least the ghost of a difference. "From Nestirin, are you, Li?"
"Yes. Cs-Kiralo."
"No family name?"
"Not so that my mother would admit. I obeyed her as best I could. She was… an outcast of some form. But well-placed, and well-born, despite her failings as a filial wife."
"Did she fail?" Kiralo asked, sharply.
"She did not have a husband, and yet lived." Li shrugged. "That's enough, and that's all I've had to know. But I thought that you wouldn't care."
He was twenty. Kiralo wondered what his ambitions were, and his hopes. He wondered what was behind those eyes. For Li was a very plain person, of the kind of plainness in general that seemed less boring than almost suspicious, as bizarre as such a fact was. But he'd seen it before: in men both ambitious beyond count and careful beyond measure, sometimes combined into one body.
"I might not. I do care about loyalty and skill. I have to ask, what do you know about monastery organization?"
"If I may be respectful: Cs-Kiralo, what do you know of monastery organization? What do you wish to ask me? I have read work on the Office… and its controversies."
"I know that every single Monastery has to be registered every five years, and has to report themselves how many people they have there every year. I know that there are men whose job it is to regulate the spirits there, and that these men are our only connection to some prominent landholders." Kiralo shrugged. "They deserve it, of course. The Gods give guidance, the dead need our every effort. But they are also servants of the Emperor, are they not? What the farmers on their land do matters."
"Is it their land?" Li asked, his voice very polite. A man carefully asking a simple question.
"In one sense, yes. But there's more. I've had letters from everyone at every station complaining. I feel as if, should I simply request them, I will be drowned in them." Kiralo frowned and said. "But I might want to drown. I might need to drown. I might be hiring you for the sole purpose of learning how to drown." Kiralo nodded at Li.
"If I pass?"
"Yes. There's a long way to go for that. And I could do a lot of things, but what I want to actually see is something… simple. I have a set of questions for you on politics and decision-making. You are to fill it out."
Kiralo stood up. "Consider it the same as an exam. And then I'll see how you can do. I've talked to people already, about your candidacy. You're at least a more possible option than some."
This was not high praise, but Li nodded with care, as if taking sage words into advisement, and said, "Thank you, Cs-Kiralo. I am your humble servant. A worm as you are a snake."
Kiralo just smiled, not disagreeing with him, at least not openly. Time would tell how good of a job he did. He'd need experience to learn anything. But experience was just what Kiralo was going to be giving him. Starting with the scheme after the next.
******
On the seventh-from-last day of the year, the office of Poetry Tutor opened up.
Kiralo knew it would be a mess. But now it was official.
Also on the same seventh-from-last day, he got the report on the land. It was a basic report, and it said that he would have thought. The most monasteries were in Irit, the least in Yeadalt and Hari-Bueli.
They had the most land by far in Irit, but interestingly the numbers told a slightly baffling story. By land relative to the numbers of monasteries, the largest ones and the most were in Yeadalt, the least Csiritan of all of the areas.
Which meant… what?
A concentration of force and power? Kiralo wasn't sure, but he did know that in Irit, the monks were all but the center of politics there. They'd been suppressed to some extent by their need to care for refugees, as well as the necessity of war, but that would change as peace was starting to return to Irit, however fragile it was.
******
It was five more days before Kiralo opened a letter.
'Sir, it is my misfortune to report you that we have found something of great import. Something that complicates it. We have gained the support of many agents throughout Yeadalt, Rerin, and so on. This has cost quite a lot, but we trust that you shall repay these efforts. More pressingly, we have been going from person to person, looking for the exact object, which was quite distinctive in the memories of many.
However, just as factual is that without Hung, who you have carefully advised and paid to come with me, I would not have gotten so far. Though I nearly died despite this in an ambush when I followed the trail too far.
I followed it into the thickets of northern Rerin, along the borders between it and areas that are quite Yeadalt in nature. And there I met the man who I suspect now possesses it. He is Hao San Sen Jianglong, whose very name should tell you he is of the Aima Sect. And that he is not a Csiritan in any way. He is in fact a rebel, and if I had not retreated with my party, I would have been lost.
As it is, we have lost a half-dozen soldiers that we took with us, having paid for their time, and the local magistrate has very many questions.
The man is likely fleeing even now, but we will continue to try to pin down this notorious rebel, who has been terrorizing our fair Empire for nigh-on a decade.
With respect given to you, and your august father,
Ji Lao, of Lineage Isi.'
Then, in a second note, scrawled quickly. 'I believe that Jianglong is using the mirror to view things. Many, many things. The spirits are very potent, and I think we might be able to track them. Might is the word, and we have long to travel. We're going to have to move much slower now.
My ass is sore'
Kiralo couldn't help the slight, amused smile that slipped across his face, even though he knew what would come next:
'because of all of this time in the saddle, traveling with so many spirits that even I, a Mage, was uncertain of it all.
Remaining an aide to your efforts, and to the forgiveness of my scholastic duties you have allowed me, Hung.'
Hung was only eighteen, and had a year left of Magical school before he was judged fully a Mage. But he was an asset that Kiralo had been able to employ.
And thus far it seemed to be paying off.
********
Assistant?: 63
-[] The Hunt For Fall Artifact x2
Need: Variable Rolled: 1d100+6 (Magic)=76, 82, 1d100+8 (Stewardship)=64, 36, and 1d100+12 (Diplomacy)=28, 108+1d100=132-
[] The Monasteries of the World
Need: 30, Rolled: 1d100+6+4 (Religion)=80
-[] The Hunt For Fall Artifact x2
Need: Variable Rolled: 1d100+6 (Magic)=76, 82, 1d100+8 (Stewardship)=64, 36, and 1d100+12 (Diplomacy)=28, 108+1d100=132-
[] The Monasteries of the World
Need: 30, Rolled: 1d100+6+4 (Religion)=80
A/N: So, the end of the turn!
An interesting turn, and the double dice on the artifact was well worth it. Do we require a second action to acquire it, or is that something that is going to naturally happen as I believe the original action was going to take several turns. There's a potential plot hook in the monasteries, but realistically, the most likely option is due to there being less monasteries within Yeadalt they had to compete less with each other to acquire land.
At least the final roll for the secetary wasn't too bad, even though I would have greatly prefered just dropping two influence dice on it from the start. The poetry tutor ... eh, there's a reason I didn't like it in the first place. We didn't even do basic background checks to establish ourselves within the poetry community to find a more suitable person before initiating the replacement.
At least the final roll for the secetary wasn't too bad, even though I would have greatly prefered just dropping two influence dice on it from the start. The poetry tutor ... eh, there's a reason I didn't like it in the first place. We didn't even do basic background checks to establish ourselves within the poetry community to find a more suitable person before initiating the replacement.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
This is true, though you also just had horrible dicing.
And, no, not necessarily. This action will be continuing next Turn, yes. If it goes well, it'll resolve itself on its own. If not? Then you'll have to spend more actions for it.
Turn 14--Rumors
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn 14 Rumors
A Grand Meeting
The last of the Great Generals of the Council has arrived, at the head of a victorious segment of the army he led in Basrat, ready for the big meeting.
But what will come of it?! Speculation and betting are rife, but Kiralo and in fact all of the others involved were all being very, very careful as far as what they actually say and do.
Much is hoped for, and much is feared.
Unrest in Yeadalt… Again
Some person or other, their identity doesn't matter, because what's another Yeadalt revolt, has been going around murdering tax farmers and officials, and the whole province has been tense, as rumors of the Bueli overrunning the nearby province have, the officials said, led to unrest.
There have been the usual round of arrests and actions taken against rumor-mongers, but the problem is deep, and Kiralo suspects that it might be more dangerous than some might think.
A Booming Victory!
What had seemed impossible has come about. It was not a victory without its prices, and the enemy, the Typhoon, has escaped with almost all of his army, but trapped between two enemies, the Typhoon had tried to speed his conquest of the city to no avail, and yet when he prepared to begin operations against Niu, he found that Niu had managed to set up fortifications with spiritually impressive speed, and that more than that, he'd positioned a very large group of cannons at the perfect place to turn the fight into a bloody one.
Victory might be achieved, but only at worthless costs for a brilliant raider, and so the Sea-Raiders had tried to withdraw. And no matter how good Niu was, he was both not a genius, and not able to do much in case it was a feint. And thus did the Sea-Raiders escape, as they have been doing throughout, in a way that means that while not pointless--it certainly got plunder--the raid is on the whole a failure.
But there is better news still, for in several cases outside of the main army, which was led far too skillfully… certain things had to be left behind. Sometimes men, but more often weapons. Cannons. Explosives in general. A very, very good haul, and a very good end to the campaigning year. There will be little in the next three months, which means it's time for Niu and the army he was leading to enter winter quarters and help try to drive out any last remnants of the Raiders.
Sack and Slaughter
The border at Hari-Bueli is not so much a border as an endless and bloody war that seems by this point to have no end. There's much of interest there, and maybe even wealth, but none of it finds its way into the Emperor's coffer, eaten up as it is by defense and preparing for future defense.
And another Csiritan village burned shows just what was at stake: every single Csiritan, down to the smallest child, was killed, while the few people who were of mostly-pure Bueli extract were nowhere to be seen.
Reprisals have begun. The Governor has declared that he will launch a Campaign of Extermination to destroy at least five Bueli villages on the other side, down to their every person, if the lords in the area do not submit.
The response is not yet known.
******
A/N: So, a crit appears.
A Grand Meeting
The last of the Great Generals of the Council has arrived, at the head of a victorious segment of the army he led in Basrat, ready for the big meeting.
But what will come of it?! Speculation and betting are rife, but Kiralo and in fact all of the others involved were all being very, very careful as far as what they actually say and do.
Much is hoped for, and much is feared.
Unrest in Yeadalt… Again
Some person or other, their identity doesn't matter, because what's another Yeadalt revolt, has been going around murdering tax farmers and officials, and the whole province has been tense, as rumors of the Bueli overrunning the nearby province have, the officials said, led to unrest.
There have been the usual round of arrests and actions taken against rumor-mongers, but the problem is deep, and Kiralo suspects that it might be more dangerous than some might think.
A Booming Victory!
What had seemed impossible has come about. It was not a victory without its prices, and the enemy, the Typhoon, has escaped with almost all of his army, but trapped between two enemies, the Typhoon had tried to speed his conquest of the city to no avail, and yet when he prepared to begin operations against Niu, he found that Niu had managed to set up fortifications with spiritually impressive speed, and that more than that, he'd positioned a very large group of cannons at the perfect place to turn the fight into a bloody one.
Victory might be achieved, but only at worthless costs for a brilliant raider, and so the Sea-Raiders had tried to withdraw. And no matter how good Niu was, he was both not a genius, and not able to do much in case it was a feint. And thus did the Sea-Raiders escape, as they have been doing throughout, in a way that means that while not pointless--it certainly got plunder--the raid is on the whole a failure.
But there is better news still, for in several cases outside of the main army, which was led far too skillfully… certain things had to be left behind. Sometimes men, but more often weapons. Cannons. Explosives in general. A very, very good haul, and a very good end to the campaigning year. There will be little in the next three months, which means it's time for Niu and the army he was leading to enter winter quarters and help try to drive out any last remnants of the Raiders.
Sack and Slaughter
The border at Hari-Bueli is not so much a border as an endless and bloody war that seems by this point to have no end. There's much of interest there, and maybe even wealth, but none of it finds its way into the Emperor's coffer, eaten up as it is by defense and preparing for future defense.
And another Csiritan village burned shows just what was at stake: every single Csiritan, down to the smallest child, was killed, while the few people who were of mostly-pure Bueli extract were nowhere to be seen.
Reprisals have begun. The Governor has declared that he will launch a Campaign of Extermination to destroy at least five Bueli villages on the other side, down to their every person, if the lords in the area do not submit.
The response is not yet known.
******
A/N: So, a crit appears.
This is gonna be good
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
It begins!
I wonder if this is related to Jianglong and the Mirror. Although.
Rerin and Yeadalt don't border eachother, do they? Did Ji Lao refer to areas of Xissand and Hari-Bueli that are full of heretics like Yeadalt is?
Better than a stalemate. Now Niu just has to fortify Hari-Os and prepare for when the Typhoon returns in Spring.
Okay, this is getting out of hand. And normally I'd say we do something about it, but we already have so many balls to juggle....
It's time to start
. I imagine Kuojah is privately quite gleeful too given the role the military have played throughout his career.Wonderful news here. New technology from the cannons, information from the captives, and due to Nui repulsing the Sea Raiders and them likely returning in Spring it means the court should have a great deal of influence over Hari-Os.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
It's time to start
Wonderful news here. New technology from the cannons, information from the captives, and due to Nui repulsing the Sea Raiders and them likely returning in Spring it means the court should have a great deal of influence over Hari-Os.
Not that likely. Or rather, almost certainly not in the force that they arrived this time. This wasn't just a few raids, this was a low-key invasion, not the sort of thing that happens all the time.
Turn 15--Pre-Planning
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Turn 15--Pre-Planning
You gotta decide on how to divide up the mix. On what goes where and when. You have three categories, and you must divide out the dice for them. The first category is dice and Influence towards raising/bringing up issues at the conference. This is important both for the gains it can lead to, and also towards making it look genuine in the hopes that the trap springs just right.
Second, obviously, the jaws of the trap. Do you just bring a few soldiers in, or do you have some elaborate plan for catching him and all of his confederates?
Third, anything and everything else. Regular courtier stuff. Like the fact that you've unseated a poet, but not selected/convinced everyone of the right choice. And other things.
Finally, there's the decision for what to do for the two State Influence dice.
You have 8 Influence, plus one free martial dice which can go into any of the first two categories, one dice that can only go into certain categories of the third group, and the free Magic dice that can go into any of the three categories… and is definitely for different things depending on what is done
So, divide it out, by plan?
[] The Council in Earnest-- (How many dice, please place that number on a vote line.)
[] The Tribunal:
[] The Courtier's Games:
Two free State Influence. You can transform each dice, for one turn, into two Court Influence dice, at the cost, obviously, of not having that dice available for any State Influence actions. How many, if any, do you transform? Make this part of the plan, since you then have to allocate said dice.
[] Zero.
[] One.
[] Two.
*******
A/N: So, here's an experiment. It's also potentially a way to get through to Turn 16 faster, even if I'm not sure whether I'll get to Turn B before January.
You gotta decide on how to divide up the mix. On what goes where and when. You have three categories, and you must divide out the dice for them. The first category is dice and Influence towards raising/bringing up issues at the conference. This is important both for the gains it can lead to, and also towards making it look genuine in the hopes that the trap springs just right.
Second, obviously, the jaws of the trap. Do you just bring a few soldiers in, or do you have some elaborate plan for catching him and all of his confederates?
Third, anything and everything else. Regular courtier stuff. Like the fact that you've unseated a poet, but not selected/convinced everyone of the right choice. And other things.
Finally, there's the decision for what to do for the two State Influence dice.
You have 8 Influence, plus one free martial dice which can go into any of the first two categories, one dice that can only go into certain categories of the third group, and the free Magic dice that can go into any of the three categories… and is definitely for different things depending on what is done
So, divide it out, by plan?
[] The Council in Earnest-- (How many dice, please place that number on a vote line.)
[] The Tribunal:
[] The Courtier's Games:
Two free State Influence. You can transform each dice, for one turn, into two Court Influence dice, at the cost, obviously, of not having that dice available for any State Influence actions. How many, if any, do you transform? Make this part of the plan, since you then have to allocate said dice.
[] Zero.
[] One.
[] Two.
*******
A/N: So, here's an experiment. It's also potentially a way to get through to Turn 16 faster, even if I'm not sure whether I'll get to Turn B before January.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
State Influence is just too valuable, so I'd rather not transform them.
Regarding the Special Dice, the Martial Dice is probably Kueli's and should be best placed on the Council, the Magic Dice is Ayila's which I'd place either on the Council to aid with talks of magic or the Tribunal to lay some kind of magic trap and the Poetry Dice can obviously only be used for Courtier Games. So we have either:
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 1 Magic Dice
[] The Tribunal: 0
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice
Or
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice
[] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice
Then to divide our normal Influence, I'm thinking 2 for Courtier Games, 3-4 for the Tribunal, depending on whether we placed the Magic Dice there or not and the remaining 2-3 on the Council. So in total:
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 1 Magic Dice + 2 Influence
[] The Tribunal: 4 Influence
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
Or
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 3 Influence
[] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
Thoughts?
Regarding the Special Dice, the Martial Dice is probably Kueli's and should be best placed on the Council, the Magic Dice is Ayila's which I'd place either on the Council to aid with talks of magic or the Tribunal to lay some kind of magic trap and the Poetry Dice can obviously only be used for Courtier Games. So we have either:
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 1 Magic Dice
[] The Tribunal: 0
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice
Or
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice
[] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice
Then to divide our normal Influence, I'm thinking 2 for Courtier Games, 3-4 for the Tribunal, depending on whether we placed the Magic Dice there or not and the remaining 2-3 on the Council. So in total:
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 1 Magic Dice + 2 Influence
[] The Tribunal: 4 Influence
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
Or
[] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 3 Influence
[] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
Thoughts?
Works for me
E: Derp forgot to actually vote
[X] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
[X] [State Influence] Zero
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[X] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 1 Magic Dice + 4 Influence
[X] The Tribunal: 4 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
[X] [State Influence] One
I've decided to convert one of our state dice into two influence dice, as this is a prime opportunity to implement reform within Csirit on an empire wide matter which is what state dice would have helped with prior. Take advantage of the fact that all the generals are going to be in one place in Csrae, and we've been given the go ahead to initiate army reforms after having put down a dangerous rebellion and repelled a Sea Raider invasion. I've only converted one state dice, as we need the other to continue the action for Ayila's magic item.
Aside from that; 6 total dice on the council so we can initiate some wide sweeping reforms and we'll need them as we already know we'll have options in cavalry, cannons and mages, 4 influence on ensuring the tribunal works and is likely to lead to wider purges given one man couldn't open Csrae's walls on his own, and 3 on courtier games as I view them less needed than the other two given the time limited nature of them. 3 dice should still be more than sufficient to work out the poetry tutor troubles regardless.
[X] The Tribunal: 4 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
[X] [State Influence] One
I've decided to convert one of our state dice into two influence dice, as this is a prime opportunity to implement reform within Csirit on an empire wide matter which is what state dice would have helped with prior. Take advantage of the fact that all the generals are going to be in one place in Csrae, and we've been given the go ahead to initiate army reforms after having put down a dangerous rebellion and repelled a Sea Raider invasion. I've only converted one state dice, as we need the other to continue the action for Ayila's magic item.
Aside from that; 6 total dice on the council so we can initiate some wide sweeping reforms and we'll need them as we already know we'll have options in cavalry, cannons and mages, 4 influence on ensuring the tribunal works and is likely to lead to wider purges given one man couldn't open Csrae's walls on his own, and 3 on courtier games as I view them less needed than the other two given the time limited nature of them. 3 dice should still be more than sufficient to work out the poetry tutor troubles regardless.
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[X] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
[X] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
- Location
- Germany
[X] The Council in Earnest: 1 Martial Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
[X] [State Influence] Zero
@veekie, @wingstrike96, if you don't want to convert any state dice into court dice, you probably ought to vote for Zero.
[X] The Tribunal: 1 Magic Dice + 3 Influence
[X] The Courtier's Games: 1 Poetry Dice + 2 Influence
[X] [State Influence] Zero
@veekie, @wingstrike96, if you don't want to convert any state dice into court dice, you probably ought to vote for Zero.