Materials: 45.9(min. +49.99, max. +106.99 per Turn.)(25.00 Materials owed to The Merchant Guild this Turn.)
The standard amount of Material to work with, but we lose 25 of that to the Merchants. 20 Materials are going to make this a tight turn.
Church of Eden
Contact: N/A
Opinion: Unfriendly (-1)
Influence Inside Tessen: 821
Plans: Nope. (For 2(two) Turns.)
Boni: +15 on all Diplomatic rolls
Well, they are down to slightly above 800 Influence. Our Diplo actions can probably reduce that by another 200 before we can't take them anymore. Then something like another 200 from our school. We can kick them out but it will take more than the 2 turns they are paralyzed.
The Union of Herbalists:
Opinion: Neutral (1)
Plans: Advance/Create Cheaper Medicine
Factions:
- Foundation (Neutral (0)/50% Control/Cheaper Actions)
-Healers (Ally (3)/50% Control/Enables Doctoral Training)
Boni: +15 on all Diplomatic rolls
50/50 between both factions and they now focus on making cheaper medicine, instead of just better medicine.
-Grieving Echo
A Zweihänder sized for a Knight. On every surface, names are engraved, along with how they died. The phrase: "One Wielder, One Name, One Duty, One Death" is engraved in the middle of the blade. PD connected to the blade and immediately exclaimed ownership over the zweihänder. Her explanation was: "Every woman needs a fun toy, and this thing is one!"
(2d40+30 Damage, cannot equip a shield.)
PD got a weapon. We might still want to repair the hammer and shield (if only to get some experience with creating weapons of that size) but it can wait a bit.
Permanent Inhabitants: Almost None
-Tendency: Small Uptick
Security: Non-existent
And things got started with our little village. I hope security improves a bit once the guard post is finished.
Mutated Wife - Lady Selene Dall
Selene has fully recovered physically from her wounds, but she has not done so psychologically. While she tries to appear strong, she is still shaken by the attempt at her life, as well as the revelation that she will not have any more biological children. She hugs you closer at night and has become more protective of Silvia, even if only slightly. At least she talks about it with you and her friends and is growing less shaken by each week. It will take time, but you will be with her the whole way.
Ouch. She survived, but still. Ouch.
Child: Lady Silvia - Mutated Girl - 7-Month-Old
Your first child! She is, in every aspect, perfect! Her legs and ears are like her mother's, even if her fur is entirely obsidian. She has two horns growing above and swinging around her head in a tiny semi-circle, looking like a regal crown with the spikes atop (even if it makes putting a shirt on a pain), framing her golden hair. She does have a fairly long tail, furred like a Sweden forest cat (the fur is obsidian again), which means you need to get a tailor for her pants. Her laughing and smiles just about melt your heart, and she has this cute habit of putting her tail into her mouth like a snow leopard. She is also blind. Which makes teaching her how to read and defend herself a real challenge. Where are you going to get braille books and learn to read them so you can teach her? And what weapons do the blind use?
I guess we could ask the Adventurer Guild if they have any blind adventurers that could train her. As for weapons, I would suggest flash- and smoke grenades.
Founder, And First Arbitrator
You have founded the Pilgrims and were appointed as the Arbitrator, the final voice in any argument, and a watcher for those who would turn the Pilgrims against their ideals. Hopefully, you will prove the trust placed in you right.
(This Hero will add the Piety bonus/malus to all his rolls. Relax is not needed.)
That is very useful. I'm not sure how the immunity to stress works, though.
Aria, Knight-Pilot of The Pilgrims, Pilot of Perpetual Defiance
Health: 6/6
Armor: 1/1 Armor
Training: Untrained (1/6)
Breakpoint: 4/6
Equipment:
-Dagger: 1 Damage per size (1 total)
-Leather Armor: +1 Armor.
-Medical Kit (Silver): Roll 1d4-1 before casualty rolls to heal any wounded. Consumable: needs to be re-stocked at half cost after use. 0.12 Materials per Unit.
Special Rules:
-Uses the stats of PD in Combat until she is destroyed.
And our first hero! Well, besides Martyris but we started with him, so... Anyway, she starts as Untrained, as expected.
Mutated:
Strangely striated blue eyes with overly responsive irises. Metallic gray hair that moves about, generates mild electric shocks, and vibrates to create simple tones, all of which mark this person as a Mutated. They will have a hard time getting people to like them.
(-20 to Diplomacy for any Locals/Elites they interact with, as long as the Opinion on Mutated is at (0/3). -20 to the malus for every point in the negative, +5 for every point in the positive.)
That could be a problem if Locals/Elites include the Military. On the other hand, it's a very good incentive to push the Mutated opinion to a positive level instead of accepting neutrality.
Mutation: "???" - Electric Hairs - (1/10):
Metallic gray hair that can do little more than move about, generate mild electric shocks, vibrate to create simple tones, and provide an ill-defined extra sense that mainly just seems to cause mild headaches... or at least that's all that Aria has been able to discover. But maybe there is more?
(+2 to all rolls made with PD.)
1/10? Hmm, maybe PD can tell us more about it? Might come up during training.
Knight-Pilot:
You have joined the illustrious Elite of the world, one where the entry is life-long service, and the exit is at the end of a weapon. Yours will be a life of war, death, and struggles, bringing hope to despairing hearts, rallying flagging defenders, and protecting those in your shadow. Do not stumble, for the consequences are grave.
(+5 to all rolls after using a Knight in Combat.)
Getting a bonus to all dice rolls is very useful. I wonder how a chapter-master version of this trait would look like...
1st Generation Pilgrim:
This person has not been converted to the Pilgrims belief but has been brought up in it from a young age. Their faith has always been a part of their life, guiding their actions even when choosing to leave. People will find it hard to sway their devotion should they remain.
(Actions to subvert Aria roll with a malus.)
That is very useful, especially on our Knight pilot.
We Can Do It!:
From a young age, Aria has been deeply empathetic, caring, and driven. Since joining the Pilgrims, she has grown into a relentlessly friendly and optimistic young woman, shaped by her adoptive family's experiences. With her determined personality, she's picked up "a little bit of everything" at a young age by way of enthusiastically volunteering to assist in any and everything. She picked the brains of anyone willing to let her, though the more curmudgeonly among the Pilgrims find her boundless enthusiasm tiresome. But she will give everything she has in all she does, unfortunately, sometimes beyond that.
(+20 to all actions this Hero is assigned to, -10 for every Turn Relax is not chosen.)
+20 is great, even if we have to spend every second or third turn on Relax.
Trauma: Common People Purge Survivor (16/16):
It has been years since the Purge, and you no longer feel overwhelmed or trapped by the feelings of terror and hopelessness as you once did. Instead, you have used that horror you survived as a drive, to see it never repeated, or minimized, for as long as you live. You may occasionally still dream about the screams, the hateful faces, and the smell of burning flesh, but all it does is add to your conviction to see it never repeated.
(-5 to all Actions this Hero is assigned to, can be chosen as a starting character should a Purge happen. +10 to all Actions done by this Hero within Purge Turns.)
I'm... not sure what "starting character should a Purge happen" means? A general purge? If the Pilgrim get purged?
To Fling A Light:
Sometimes? Sometimes being willing to help is not enough; doing all you can do will fail, and people will die. You know that. You have seen that. Sometimes, sacrifice is needed. And if you can shoulder that burden so that others won't have to? You will gladly fling a light into the future, at the cost of your life.
(???)
Ominous trait is ominous. She probably reminds PD of her last pilot.
'I still have a family,' I think, holding Martyris closer.
'I still have a family.'
Ufh, heavy. Really heavy.
It had been a night that heralded the end of an age for the Babak.
The Daughter had been born that fateful night, garbed in the gifts of the Goddess Nek-Ne. She had Her tail, swift and colored like blood. Her ears, sharp, attentive, knowing. Her fangs and claws, to tear and bite, to kill and heal as She saw fit. Her yellow eyes, glowing in the night, seeing all secrets, knowing all truths. As if Nek-Ne had been given flesh and blood, to bring her chosen to their former glory once more. Her birth had been a reason for joy, for celebration; the Goddess had not thrown them away for their failures but had strengthened Her bond to the Babak!
A tribe of mutated? Sounds like it could have something to do with what's going on in the Wastes.
The child born that day had not been merely gifted by Her. No, they had received noting else than Her Daughter, sent to bring new dawn by the might of Her divinity. She would herald the birth of a new age of death, where the Babak would rise, and the south would fall. This would be her destiny, nothing less.
A religious crusade. Great. They should have hurried up so they could have been feed to the Butcher or the Plague-Engine, but nooooo.
As such, hers was the right and privilege to travel the sacred path to the Halls Of AniCo, where the spirit of her Mother resided.
... That sounds suspiciously like a corporation name. It's a pre-Collapse ruin with an AI, isn't it?
Nek-Ne appeared before him and Her Daughter, in all her terrible glory. Unmarred from age, from the failings of mortal flesh, and sin, she stood and judged; she saw the sins of those who had entered and deemed them worthy of living in her presence.
A hologram? Probably the best explanation for how she doesn't look aged or weary in any way.
Then she turned to her Daugther and spoke in the true tongue, too pure for anyone but her flesh to hear and understand, too terrible to try and remember.
It could be some pre-Collapse language but my headcanon is that Nek-Ne sounded like a modem.
Until the Vault had been found.
Until the Daughter drank from the Milk within.
Until she became... more.
Almost all Babak who drank the Milk became... more. More agile, more powerful, more durable, able to heal in minutes what would have taken weeks. Those found pure had been gifted, elevated in Her service. But some were found wanting.
Ugh, a pre-Collapse supersoldier project. Or at least something that restored their gene mods. Now the only question is if it has any side effects and how long it works.
The wife of a leader within the region they called 'Tessen.' The strong among the weak, foolishly believing that strength can be given and not be earned and taken. These 'Pilgrims' had grown fat and self-assured at their security, so much that they were able to walk amongst their homes without cover. They saw only the works of the weak, the foolish, and the prey to be led to slaughter. So, Ito decided to act, sending some among his kin to sow chaos, to kill the Cloven One, her Spawn, and the Leader the moment they saw a chance.
... Are they idiots? They expected an attack on a minor religion to have any effect on Tessen itself? Really?
Ugh, anyway we need to take the "Guards! Guards!" action at some point for the Tree and our village.
And now he is here, deep within a dungeon, looking at a woman glaring at him, with hate deep within her eyes.
"Torture is so... ineffective," she said, changing her gaze to another of his kin bound in the same room as all others had been. "it only makes the tortured say whatever is needed to stop the pain. Whether it is true or not, the only thing that counts for the tortured is to stop the pain," she continued, a grin of hate splitting her face apart. "And it may be ineffective at getting information out of the tortured; however, it intimidates like nothing else."
Huh, that sounds like...
Her gaze shifted back to Ito. "And after what you did to my Deer?"
Yeah, Lady Maranica, which means anything she learns goes straight to Internal Security and the Emperor. Dear God, did they fuck up.
TO: Lord Martyris Dall
From: The Bureau for Internal Security
We thank you for the evidence and information about another subversive element within our great society.
Rest assured that they have been taken care of, and their attempts to weaken the Empire have been halted.
We express our sincerest regrets and apologies for being unable to stop the attempt on the life of Lady Dall and wish for her swift recovery.
However, we must express that the matter is now within the authority of the Bureau, and as such, any further investigations will be disruptive to our efforts.
But we once again express our gratitude for your exemplary adherence to a citizen's duty, as befitting of a member of the Empire's Nobility.
Signed: (The signature is indecipherable.)
We must have gotten pretty close, for Internal Security to react like this. I wonder if that influenced their opinion of us in any way?
Focusing on her, PD could see tiny electric arcs springing around in her grey hair shaped like spikes.
Oh, not only anime hair but
shonen hair.
Can I help you? PD asked, causing the girl to jump back in fright, only saved from falling due to the reinforced handrail at her back. 'OSHA would only be slightly horrified at that!' PD thought with vindication, secure in her calculations that the girl would not have fallen even if she had body-checked the handrails.
And just like that PD saved her first Pilgrim.
"Adult." Child. "Adult." Child. "Adult." Child. "Adult." Child. "Child." Adult. "AHA!" Aria shouted in triumph as PD stewed in irritation at falling for that a second time in her life, grumbling indecipherable at the preening Aria.
I wonder what the first time in her life was?
Pilots die, and they die horribly. When the NBC-Shield is cracked, they choke to death on gases or drown in their blood. They melt within the cockpits, are flooded by acid, or die by horrible fast-acting viruses and mutations.
Note to self, develop a pilot suit that works as a backup for the NBC-Shield.
[ ] Expand You Poor Houses - (Choose City)
While you have a house where some people can work themselves out of the holes society left them in, many will need the same. Get to expanding what you have built; the work is not done.
(Turns: 3
Chance: 42%
Cost: 15 Materials, Upkeep: +5 Materials
Reward: Poorhouse - (Expanded), +1 Permanent Recruitment, +0.15 Goodwill per Turn.)
Is there a reason why this doesn't hurt the COE, while building a new Poor House does?
[ ] Build The Brothel 'Consensual'
While this option had been proposed a few years ago, it had been sidelined for various reasons. With the Pilgrims recognized, it would be viable to discuss this option again. You would only charge an entry fee from patrons while leaving the workers alone to make their deals themselves. Creating a safe place for people to ply this trade, offering medicine, sanitary facilities, and guards would help out those who chose this path or make use of it. People sell their labor and time for money, so punishing those whose work is sex is crazy.
(Turns: 2
Cost: 6 Materials
Reward: 'Consensual,' 2d40 COE damage,+0.01 Goodwill, 2d4-3 Materials income by charging entry from patrons, unlocks an upgrade.)
That's pretty good. I'm not sure how this hurts the Influence of the COE but this is a good option.
[ ] Printing Money - Penny Dreadfuls
In these weekly stories, you would publish exploits of the pasts of various Pilgrims with their consent, detailing harrowing dives into the Forest and other ruins, detail how you help people, and the good the Pilgrims do. All wrapped up in entertaining stories for people to enjoy!
(Cost: 12 Materials, Upkeep: 1 Material
Reward: 1d4+4 Income to Miscellaneous Sales, Long-Term effect: ???)
OR
[ ] Printing Money - Smut With Penny Dreadfuls
Choosing this option would see you do the same. However, you would also follow the adventures of Miriam, a cheerful and naive Pilgrim out to help the world, only to be pulled deep into a story about love, life, and new feelings, while stumbling into embarrassing and comical situations due to her poor luck. All while she cannot decide which of her six suitors she will choose, as they do their best to woo her with both mind and body. Pay extra, and it will mostly be the latter.
(Cost: 20 Materials, 1 Goodwill, Upkeep: 2.5 Materials, 0.02 Goodwill
Chance: 90%
Reward: 3d4 Income from Smut, +2 Income to Consensual, Long-Term effect: ???)
Having our own printing press would make this probably cheaper. Also, I'm morbidly curious about the long-term effects of smut.
[ ] Kick 'Em While They're Down! - (2 Turns Remaining)
While the Church Of Eden is busy putting out fires, calming their congregations, and calming down, you will start fires, rile up the congregations, and make them panic. Covertly.
(Chance: 30% (-15% For every use)
Reward: COE loses 2d100 Influence)
Probably have to take this as a Personal action, 30% is just too low. On the other hand, we can use the Diplomacy action for spying.
[ ] Repair PD
Well, you now have a Knight who talks, has an attitude and has chosen Aria as her Pilot. The only problem is that PD is badly damaged, and while she assures you that she is capable of repairing herself, it would take too long. Buy the necessary materials and machines to repair her in a single season.
(Cost: 36.90 Materials
Reward: PD is fully repaired.)
Expensive, we probably need to save up for a turn or two if we don't want to spend our entire budget for the turn.
[ ] Primitive Radios - (Electronics/Advanced Electronics)
Perpetual Defiance mentioned offhandedly that 'the frequencies are surprisingly clear.' causing a near revolt by Turi, trying to get PD to spill all she knew about radios and how they worked. Even though she could not provide much more than 'the basics' as she called them, a radio would boost everything. You have to build one now!
(Chance: 17/-34/-84% for 1/2/3 Successes, Successes needed: 7
Reward: Primitive Radios can now be made in the Electronic Workshop, raising its Income.)
I think we need to build the Electronic Workshop first. That should boost the success chances at least a bit.
[ ] Agricultural Studies - (Chemicals/Biology)
Something occurred to you the other day. While many people have the needed tools and knowledge to plant crops, there are almost no studies on why some soil is better than others or what type of irrigation is the best for what environment. There is also next to no information on how to maximize yields while minimizing the needed workers. Perhaps you could look into that?
(Chance: 12/06/-01% for 1/2/3 Successes, Successes needed: 12
Reward: Increased Income from your farms, ???)
[ ] Pneumatic Automatic Generatic - (Hydraulic/Machinery/Mechanics/Advanced Hydraulic/Advanced Machinery/Advanced Mechanics)
There are few things more unpleasant than mining. And you have been digging into a cliff for years by now. Something needs to be done about that, either by building outside or inventing tools that make mining less tiresome. Someone suggested using pneumatics, and it's not like you have anything to lose by researching this.
(Chance: -06/-35/-74% for 1/2/3 Successes, Successes needed: 16
Reward: -1 Turn per 4 turns for all Tree of Knowledge actions, +2d4+4 Miscellaneous Sales.)
Two new actions but the success chances are very low and the number of success needed is pretty big.
Archeology: The secrets of the past will illuminate the future; may we learn from their mistakes. (1 Action Locked)
Most actions got a bit of new information from PD and we got two new locations that can kill our scout unit completely.
Tree of Knowledge: Home of the Pilgrims, Bastion of what they stand for, a symbol of hope for the desperate. (2 Actions Locked)
Both actions are locked but the deep pumps should finish this turn, so we should already plan for the next turn.
Heroes: Sometimes, you have to get your own hands dirty. Sometimes you want to relax since leading the Pilgrims rarely leads to a dull moment. (Martyris: Choose 2 Actions, Aria: Choose 1 Action)
Aria should definitely train. Martyris should probably get us more actions.
