Thus the channels were opened, and out flowed reports.
Nahuantl — Strained but intact, seeing a slackening of pressure. Minor maintenance and upkeep proceeding as normal. Time to Restoration six-thousand one-hundred and sixty-three years.
Cuexotl — Strained, fallen deeply into disrepair and hard pressed by a severe uptick in daemonic presence. Maintenance and upkeep currently impossible. Time to Restoration infinite.
Khaxilitli additionally reports base established, severe damage taken from attack. Successfully repulsed with no major casualties due to scouting efforts. Repairs underway.
Golden Tower of the Gods — Garrison intact, little hostile activity reported. Maintenance and upkeep proceeding as normal. Time to Restoration five-thousand five-hundred and ninety-one years.
Tlaqua — a thousand voices scream pain and suffering and maddening laughter. Time undoes all works. Pain is a joy most exquisite. We will feast on your entrails under cold and dark stars.
Teotiqua — Intact, unpressured by any significant threat. Maintenance and upkeep proceeding apace. Time to Restoration four-thousand seven-hundred and two years.
Temple-Avenue of Gold — Strained and infrequently pressured by a wide variety of hostile forces. Maintenance and upkeep slowed significantly by variance of threats. Time to Restoration six-thousand two-hundred and thirteen years.
Temple of Skulls — Garrison straining, forced to retreat to fortified positions by previous threats. Interlopers within outer compounds, insufficient resources and strength to reliably repulse without damaging ability to respond to other threats; low priority due to acceptable behavior patterns toward critical infrastructure elements. Maintenance and upkeep currently impossible. Time to Restoration eight-thousand nine-hundred and twenty-one years.
Considering this, I'd say our current 3 most pressing candidates for Expeditions are the Temple-Avenue of Gold, Temple of Skulls and the Orcs down south. Of the 3 the Temple of Skulls can IMO be left alone for now, the infrastructure's not under immediate threat and we'll know if that changes via the Web.
Of the other two I'm down for next turn sending the scouts down south and sending an Expedition to the TAoG. The former will need a dice assigned but with Tehe'Tenq's example we should be able to let one or two of our Saurus carry the latter off the backs of their dice bonuses.
Combo with our Skinks working on their assigned specialties (Xehtzhail for the Fleet, Awanabiltat for the Shrines, the others wherever) then that actually covers a pretty significant amount dice-wise in comparison to our base pool.
Some of that will become clearer when the turn is up (eventually, there's a lot of stuff going on in the background that I was figuring out last night) but not all temples will have clear and immediately noticeable effects; mostly their primary job is to form the core of the actual Geomantic Web.
Gotcha. Did clearing them contribute to our ability to hit Infrastructure Level 1 in this past turn? And, as we take more actions to sort out the city's geomantic issues and get things unclogged and working better, will we get more information on the role the temples play in mechanical terms?
Considering this, I'd say our current 3 most pressing candidates for Expeditions are the Temple-Avenue of Gold, Temple of Skulls and the Orcs down south. Of the 3 the Temple of Skulls can IMO be left alone for now, the infrastructure's not under immediate threat and we'll know if that changes via the Web.
Of the other two I'm down for next turn sending the scouts down south and sending an Expedition to the TAoG. The former will need a dice assigned but with Tehe'Tenq's example we should be able to let one or two of our Saurus carry the latter off the backs of their dice bonuses.
I think our best bet under such a strategy would be to send Huatza-Botl in command of a maritime expedition to either reconnoiter the Temple-Avenue of Gold or the orks. Because the Temple-Avenue of Gold is over on the other side of the continent, but near the coastline, so it's an obvious choice to reach by sea. On the other hand, from a seagoing perspective the orks are between us and them. Overland is going to be slower and logistically harder, but there's a mountain range between us and them. See here.
Participation of chameleon skinks in our recon operations will be helpful, too; I personally think we should send them along with the maritime expedition in either case.
@CuttleFish2.0 , do we have the wherewithal to make that happen? We sailed to Ulthuan successfully, so I imagine that with sufficient commitment of resources we can make it around the 'Cape of Good Hope' and to the other side of not!Africa.
I would support a maritime expedition against the orks. They are crap sailors and if they believe we are coming from the sea they might waste time and effort into building ships, which would relieve the pressure from the borders.
Could those two pools submerged in an Aquifer be pumping out some weird hybrid critters into the Aquifer?
Is it possible to get Winged Skinks?
They could be great for Recon.
If we can lean into the Jade Hive and dip into more Bug Projects, maybe we can use the Humans to Worship our 3rd Gen Slann to be a Bug Deity kind of like Sotek is to Snakes?
Might be a way to boost our 3rd Gen Slann to 2nd Gen Levels.....
I would support a maritime expedition against the orks. They are crap sailors and if they believe we are coming from the sea they might waste time and effort into building ships, which would relieve the pressure from the borders.
On the other hand, it would let them sail right up to our harbor. If the orcs start building ships, we're going to need to reconstruct those coast defense battery statues. The action is:
Setting to Rights: With regular long-distance patrols now firmly established the state of your once holdings beyond the walls of the temple-city itself have been ascertained. The fine highways which once linked the temple-cities are gone. As are the many watchtowers and bunkers which once served as pit stops and hardpoints from which to meet the foe. But the Guardian Statues of Ancient Gods still stand, for the most part. Some few will need to be repaired.
Note: Requires 1 Slann Dice.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 4. Limit: 8. Reward: Statues fully operations, Bay of Stars further secured against invasion.
@CuttleFish2.0 , just to be clear, on actions like this, does the slann's success count towards the four successes needed?
Old Ones I hope not; you'd either get some kind of chaos spawn or just general quivering agonized flesh-monsters that are all like "I SHOULD NOT BE!" Yuck. No thanks.
Is it possible to get Winged Skinks?
They could be great for Recon.
Radical alterations to the skink genome are almost certainly outside our capability. If we had a thousand years to work with no distractions, sure, but we don't. Plus, we have, or can procure, terradons (?). Flying beasts for our skinks to ride. That is totally an option and is a lot more achievable.
Remember:
Widespread Roosts: Terradon are wonderfully useful creatures, providing aerial support and scouting. Unfortunately they are sharply limited, while on the ground they are incredibly vulnerable; in an army they require special protection and in order to rest and recuperate they need a safe roosting site to return to when scouting. This had thus far cut down on their range. All the roosting sites built before the Great Catastrophe were destroyed. Start replacing them with (primitive) substitutes.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 12. Limit: 6. Reward: Extend range of aerial scouting around Zlatlan, better forewarning of threats.
If we can lean into the Jade Hive and dip into more Bug Projects, maybe we can use the Humans to Worship our 3rd Gen Slann to be a Bug Deity kind of like Sotek is to Snakes?
Might be a way to boost our 3rd Gen Slann to 2nd Gen Levels.....
Gotcha. Did clearing them contribute to our ability to hit Infrastructure Level 1 in this past turn? And, as we take more actions to sort out the city's geomantic issues and get things unclogged and working better, will we get more information on the role the temples play in mechanical terms?
You did need a certain minimum of temples up and active to hit it, but you reached it... turn 2 I think? on turn 3. Yes.
@CuttleFish2.0 , do we have the wherewithal to make that happen? We sailed to Ulthuan successfully, so I imagine that with sufficient commitment of resources we can make it around the 'Cape of Good Hope' and to the other side of not!Africa.
I had been thinking of putting Gif'a'gab on that action but I don't think he has the minimum roll floor that actual Slann get, so a 4th Spawning toad might be better if we have the Slannpower to spare.
That should be fine, as I don't think we're planning on any other naval expeditions that turn anyway, considering the comparative lack of dice we'll have to spread around.
I had been thinking of putting Gif'a'gab on that action but I don't think he has the minimum roll floor that actual Slann get, so a 4th Spawning toad might be better if we have the Slannpower to spare.
"Hmm. You are certain then, it cannot be delayed? Our work together is vital, with but a handful of years..."
"Yes, master. Already I've been gone too long," Thyriol answered.
"Ah, well then, you shall at least have Atahuinqua with you so all our progress shall not be lost."
The skink in question, standing beside the slann, said nothing at this. It was only the three of them and Thyriol's bodyguard Vilan in the slann's chamber, the rest of the elf's party was preparing to depart — packing all the furniture and supplies they had used to make their stay in the bare structure provided more comfortable — and the priest's entourage waited by the western gate. Over the last several months the elves had grown more comfortable. That did not mean there had been much interaction except through the Prince and his former teacher, Wik'keer'mal hoped Atanhuinqua's stay in Ulthuan would go a ways to easing future interactions.
"My household will be at his disposal and I hope to make a good introduction to Saphery's court in short order. With luck and careful arrangement he will be the talk of the Ulthuan in a few years."
Atahuinqua looked up a moment later from their examination of the extensive tome detailing the lineages of Thyriol's kingdom, an especially fascinating subject for skinks given their complete lack of any sort of antecedent. Such attachments were largely unfamiliar to lizardmen, but they came close to the bonds that formed between spawn-kin in some respects.
Opening their mouth the priest hesitated, and then made a clicking noise, "Yes, yes. Much talking and mingling to do before proper observations cna begin."
Wik'keer'mal recognized the moment of frustration in the skink's demeanor, only a sparing few ever chose any manner of gendered identity and he had noticed the elven tendency to assign male pronouns. Perhaps an artifact of the preeminence of the Phoenix King in their current cultural paradigm. Though he hadn't noticed the opposite effect when the Everqueen had been the sole overarching social institution — another thing for the priest to take notes on? No. Time enough for such musing in the future.
Still that Atanhuinqua had chosen not to correct the mistake said good things for their success in Ulthuan, elves did so hate to be corrected even in matters where they had no expectation of expertise. Often they required many frustrating hours of coaxing afterwards. Their work was much too delicate to cause trouble with such minor things.
"Well, then I shall bid farewell," the slann said. "And hope that we may meet again. Though there remains one final thing you must take charge of Atahuinqua."
As if summoned by his words, though in reality it was with a thought, another skink marched into the chamber. Carrying a stone box carved without adornment or embellishment, and warded strongly so that none save the skink could open it they approached the priest. They already knew the contents and for whom this was intended, but a bit of theater for his student was not amiss.
With a snap the lid opened and a gentle green light shone out. A piece of jade carved into the shape of a tree sat on a bed of lustrous black fur pelt, embedded with a single preserved queen bee from Wik'keer'mal's own hives. Part of his magic carried within the creature.
"Take this gift to Everqueen Yvraine with my compliments at the first opportunity and bid her send a representative that we might renew old bonds."
Turn 5
Tlaqua Mostly Cleansed! +8 Dice! Geomantic Web Infrastructure Level 1 Reached!
You have 5 Dice Available!
7 + 1 (Partially Reseeded Pastures) - 8 (Dice Locked in at Tlaqua) + 8 - 3 (Dice Locked at Cuexotl) = 5
See Misc. for available character dice. Only one character per action unless otherwise stated.
To assigned a character to an action format it like this:
[-] Action: # Dice, Character
When assigning more than one character to an action, all characters except the character 'in charge' provide only ½ their stated dice/success effects (rounded down to a minimum of one). See Misc. section for how to determine which character will be in charge.
Temple of Tepok - Energy Surges! Arcane Inference Engines Activate! Allows the study and further enhancement of artifacts of all types. Once an artifact has been enhanced the Engines are spent and must recharge for a turn. Temple of Uxmac - Energy Surges! Masterful Orrery of the Gods Activates! When undertaking prophecy actions reroll all failures once, then roll a d10; on a 3 or lower the Orrery is spent and must recharge for a turn.
Certain temples of the Old Ones contain specialized apparatus within them that either aid the slann in some task or enable them to perform certain complex (even for slann) rituals. There is no need to call out when they are used, they either activate or do not, but during their use they can become 'exhausted' and be unavailable for a turn or more. The specific conditions vary between Artifacts.
Development! Orc bands now frequently probe your territories and clashes with your patrols are near constant. Worryingly some of them have crude armor fashioned from bones and hide. None have gotten within sight of Zlatlan itself, but there is little sign of an end to the tide and their path trends ever towards the temple-city.
Random Event! Not gone ten years and already Atahuinqua's embassy is proving fruitful, ships from Eataine and Cothique have made port. Drawn by the feathers of the nuum Thyriol brought back, the leopard pelts, and the simple but well built knives. In their holds the two ships carry very different cargos to offer in trade, though none in such quantities as to do much business; the ship from Eataine, Sea Boiler, carries barrels of wine, rolls of fine cloth, gems, and silver while the ship from Cothique, Waverunner, carries ivory from a variety of animals, furred pelts from the west, fine timbers, and lion pelts.
Martial: Huatza-Botl has taken able charge of your forces. With the false moon looming and its malign energy pouring down on the world the world is more dangerous than it has ever been since the end of the Great Catastrophe.
Egg Hunt: Sufficient numbers of eggs were recovered by your patrols for a suitable breeding population of the Nuum, the name you have chosen for the birds recently discovered, to be established. Seeking out more eggs would accelerate the process.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 3. Reward: Lower DC of Raising a Clutch.
Expedition to [Write-in]: The other Temple-Cities stand all but empty, only garrisons even smaller than your own safeguarding them. But that does not mean they hold nothing of value nor that you should abandon them. Though your explorations via the Geomantic Web have revealed some of their state it is still necessary to send expeditions to ascertain the details of their condition.
Choose from:
- Golden Tower of the Gods
- Teotiqua
- Temple-Avenue of Gold
- Temple of Skulls
- Write-In.
Character Limit: 2
Note: Will lock in dice used for a variable amount of time depending on rolls and Temple-City chosen.
DC: ??? Successes Needed: ???. Limit: Variable. Reward: Knowledge of other Temple-Cities, resources.
A Wall of Scaled Flesh: Orcs seek nothing more than the next fight. Give it to them. Form a staunch defensive line on which they may break themselves and they will flock to it. Usually the second half of such a strategy would be to dispatch a second force to take the orcs in the rear once a sufficient portion of the main bulk is stuck in, alas at the moment you do not know when that would be. Still, it might keep them away for a time.
Note: Cannot be taken with Into the Soft Bits.
Character Limit: 3
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 8. Limit: 10. Reward: Stymie the advance of the greenskins, present them with exactly what they want, well away from Zlatlan.
Into the Soft Bits: On the other hand, the orcs are as of yet still seemingly scattered and coming in a trickle, if your forces ranged out and deliberate a devastating blow to a location they consider 'safe,' for whatever value that holds to greenskins, it might disorganize them enough to achieve the same effect.
Note: Cannot be taken with A Wall of Scale Flesh.
Spelunking: Two times now has the very ground Zlatlan was settled on crumbled away. Ground that was thoroughly inspected for just such instability when the city was first settled… thousands of the years before the Great Catastrophe. Though efforts by the slann of the city have revealed the broad layout of these depths the details remain unknown; send teams down through the sinkholes which have opened up in the former pastures outside of Zlatlan to remedy that ignorance.
Character Limit: 2
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 4. Limit: 4. Reward: Detailed information on the upper third of the dry cavern system.
Diving In: Two times now has the very ground Zlatlan was settled on crumbled away. Ground that was thoroughly inspected for just such instability when the city was first settled… thousands of the years before the Great Catastrophe. Though efforts by the Slann of the city have revealed the broad layout of these depths the details remain unknown; send teams down through the collapse pools to explore that reservoir.
Character Limit: 2
DC: 30. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 4. Reward: Detailed information on a portion of the submerged cavern system.
Mmm, That Looks Good: You have found one potential domestication prospect, but others surely remain. What utility they might have compared to Nuum is uncertain, but diversity is valuable in its own right to an extent. See what else the bounty of the world has to offer
DC: 40. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 3. Reward: More animals to domesticate.
Stewardship: Zlatlan is nearly restored to its most basic levels. Work remains to be done in order to restore it to the glory of its founding, nevermind the heights it reached before the Great Catastrophe. But for the first time in centuries the crest of that hill is visible.
Setting to Rights: With regular long-distance patrols now firmly established the state of your once holdings beyond the walls of the temple-city itself have been ascertained. The fine highways which once linked the temple-cities are gone. As are the many watchtowers and bunkers which once served as pit stops and hardpoints from which to meet the foe. But the Guardian Statues of Ancient Gods still stand, for the most part. Some few will need to be repaired.
Note: Requires 1 Slann Dice.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 4. Limit: 8. Reward: Statues fully operations, Bay of Stars further secured against invasion.
Tripwire: Once, before the Great Catastrophe, bunkers dotted the lands surrounding the temple-cities. These served as rest stops for patrols and travelling armies to gather at and communicated back to Slann safely ensconced back in the city, when a priest was not handy. Not all lie in ruins, rebuilding them would provide vital security.'
Widespread Roosts: Terradon are wonderfully useful creatures, providing aerial support and scouting. Unfortunately they are sharply limited, while on the ground they are incredibly vulnerable; in an army they require special protection and in order to rest and recuperate they need a safe roosting site to return to when scouting. This had thus far cut down on their range. All the roosting sites built before the Great Catastrophe were destroyed. Start replacing them with (primitive) substitutes.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 12. Limit: 6. Reward: Extend range of aerial scouting around Zlatlan, better forewarning of threats.
Gate Repairs: All of your Main Gates were damaged in the fighting and without need of large troop movements they have remained so. Begin unsealing and/or repairing them. Specify a Gate. Can be taken multiple times.
Fleet Expansion: Currently you produce watercraft at need, filling crews as spawnings dictate, and the size of your fleet means your range is small. You can only reliably send vessels a little ways beyond sight of Nahuantl and to the mouth of the Yuatek river; more frigates and monitors would increase the range of your patrols by allowing you to reconfigure your crew rotations. It would also allow for the possibility of regular sea traffic to and from Nahuantl as well as opening up the option of sending expeditions around the horn of the continent.
Wall Repairs: Though you have sealed any major gaps in the walls, entire sections still show damage. Stains of unreal pus and blood that do not fade must be cleansed away, cracks sealed, battlements restored from where winged daemons crashed into the walls. All and more must be set to right.
DC: 10. Successes Needed: 4. Limit: 8. Reward: Walls partially restored, slightly better defenses in case of concerted attack.
Tower Repairs: With the the forge districts and assembly yards operating again, work that would have been done to a bare minimum can now be done to a slightly better bare minimum. Specifically those fallen towers which once lined your walls can now be rebuilt with proper armaments and their full complement of mundane defenses.
DC: 15. Successes Needed: 6. Limit: 8. Reward: Wall towers restored, better defenses in case of siege.
Defensive Aims: Mounted blow pipes, warded cauldrons full of liquid fire, spouts meant to shower attackers in sprays of caustic venom, and more. Though you cannot necessarily provide the ammunition for many of them you can at least restore their physical operation.
Clearing Rubble: Most of Zlatlan is clear of rubble. But some locations have not even seen that much attention. Address this. Specify location.
- Temple of Huanchi - Successes Needed: 6
- Temple of Xokha - Successes Needed: 5
- Minor Shrines - Successes Needed: 4
DC: 0. Successes Needed: Variable. Limit: 6. Reward: Gain access to currently blocked off buildings and locations.
Beast Pen Repairs: Before the coming of the enemy in force you kept your beasts of burden and war in specially kept enclosures which facilitate their comfort and armament. But in order to save even the slimmest of their numbers it was necessary to bring them inside the walls and keep them in much barer conditions. Even those have been damaged and now they must be repaired.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 3. Reward: Beasts better kept until you can rebuild better accommodations.
Reseeding the Pastures: Some of your beasts require actual grazing lands. For the last few centuries you have managed off of the growth of gardens and occasionally foraging once the Great Catastrophe was over. But the ancient fields that they once grazed could be restored, it only requires cleansing and reseeding the lands.
Note: Two Pastures Restored.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 4. Reward: Stegadon and Bastiladon conditions stabilize and will slowly begin improving.
Raising a Clutch: With a few handfuls of nuum eggs it is possible to begin establishing a breeding population; this is a duty your Skinks are capable of handling on their own. After all it is simply a matter of establishing the proper physical conditions and ensuring the nuum are acclimated to the presence of Skinks.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 8. Reward: Consistent source of meat, eggs, feathers. Further helps to stabilize/improve status of carnivorous warbeasts.
LOCKED - Collapsed pools cannot be restored currently.
Pool Work: Many spawning pools were damaged in the Great Catastrophe, slowing the recovery of your population to a trickle. Little of the damage is serious any longer, major rents were sealed long ago, but subtler damage must still be fixed in order to put them in good order.
DC: 40. Successes Needed: 3 per destroyed spawning pool. Limit: 9. Reward: Repaired spawning pools. Increased population growth.
- LOCKED
Resetting Traps: Whenever the walls were breached, as they were more than once, the daemons did not find a vulnerable interior which they could despoil to their heart's content. Instead they ran headlong into walls of fire and lightening, pits lined with obsinite spikes, avenues buttressed by walls that shot barbed darts. Every step they took extracted a bloody price. But eventually the pits filled, the ammunition ran dry, and the fire and lightening failed to come. Restore those defenses.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 10. Limit: 6. Reward: Increased defense if your walls are breached again.
Diplomacy: You know of no one else in these lands who would not either obey you without question or flee from you in terror. Though you have some ability to treat with those beyond your shores it is chancy at best.
Trading: With elven ships in port, you can actually begin to engage in some form of trade… the trouble is, what exactly might you want from them? Few metals can match the utility of obstinate, and though your supplies do not yet meet your demand, in time they will. You have little need of the various fineries which warmbloods so enjoy though small amounts of gems and precious metals may be useful, the quantity would surely not be sufficient to justify the trip. Still, the act of trading is in itself part of the goal.
Getting to Know your Attendants: Though they have been constant presences in your life for centuries in truth you know little of your attendants, that ignorance can be excused given the circumstance of the Great Catastrophe. Before then you never had an attendant for more than a decade at a time, the empire of the Lizardmen was vast and always in need of resources elsewhere. Now though, you will likely be spending millenia with the same attendants. Learn who they are.
Note: Requires Personal Dice.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 3. Reward: Become familiar with two of your attendants. Gives a small permanent boost to dice pool - skink character.
Developing an Understanding: Now that you have established the basics of communication you think it time to establish some manner of relationship with the community of humans nearby.
- Goal: Write-in. Must be fairly simple.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 1. Reward: Establishment of an explicit relationship with local humans.
Intrigue: You know of a few in these lands you might need to spy on. Though you have pitifully few chameleon skinks with which to do it. Those you do have are veterans of an extremely long running guerrilla war against the daemons during the Great Catastrophe.
A Quieter Search: Chameleon skinks by nature do not tend to settle in temple-cities. Send them out to do what your Saurus cannot, range far and see the state of the world beyond here.
Note: Must specify a general direction or destination. Locks in die and takes variable time to complete.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 1. Reward: Information on distant places. Small chance of loot. Warnings of particular long-term threats in a given direction.
Spying on Orcs: With a somewhat more definite area to search for the main concentration of orcs it is possible to send your chameleon skinks as well, though, given the distances involved they may not return within the decade. Given the increase in activity since last century, it may be vital though. Especially if your worst fears are realized and some wielder of their strange abnormal magics has encamped near the obelisk of the Old Ones to the south, near the coast.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 2. Reward: Detailed information on the main body of greenskins.
Seeking Salamanders: During the Great Catastrophe some sections of your stable of warbeasts were devastated, leaving you unfortunately lacking in the time since. Though perhaps it was a stroke of good luck as some of those that you lost are notoriously dangerous to keep confined. Salamanders can be remarkably jumpy creatures, and their first reaction is to set things alight. Still, it might be time to locate some.
DC: 50. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 6. Reward: Locate a source of Salamanders.
Razordon Recon: During the Great Catastrophe some sections of your stable of warbeasts were devastated, leaving you unfortunately lacking in the time since. Though perhaps it was a stroke of good luck in its own way, that many fewer mouths to feed. Razordons for all their relatively small size compared to many of your other beasts have voracious appetites, it takes quite a bit of energy to produce the sheer volume of spines they do. They are useful though.
DC: 50. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 6. Reward: Locate a source of Razordons.
Turtle Taming: During the return to Zlatlan from Ulthuan a school of dragon turtles approached your pair of frigates, they were then seen heading up the coast of the by a bit. Presumably to nest and lay eggs. Such creatures generally return to the same sites frequently to lay their young, and though it would take not a little bit of effort, gaining the powerful beasts for your fleets could be a significant boon. Not only can they produce steaming geysers of boiling war, their shells are enormously tough, and they can submerge themselves for hours at a time.
DC: 30. Successes Needed: 6. Limit: 4. Reward: Gain Dragon Turtles as Aquatic War Beasts
Spying on Humans: With a fairly extensive understanding of their language, efforts to gather more information on their patterns, internal dynamics, culture, and the potential threat they pose will be much easier to gather. Send chameleon skinks to spy on the humans.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 1. Reward: More detailed information on the activity and disposition of local humans.
Learning: Your mind is sluggish and your body lethargic. Frequently you fall into periods of stupor and rest from which you awake not energize but surrounded by a fog through which you must fight to come into full alertness. This is not how you were meant to be. You know much still and yet other knowledge alludes you, like a vine just out of reach. The other Slann of Zlatlan are similarly afflicted.
Each turn, for every increment of ten years some slann will be awake and some asleep. Like actions in other categories those in Learning must be completed by spending dice, but only Slann can contribute.
You have
2 Slann of the Third Spawning Dice (Floor at 30)
3 Slann of the Fourth Spawning Dice (Floor at 20)
10 Slann of the Fifth Spawning Dice (Floor at 10)
A Bigger Boat: Now that the Geomantic Web has been strengthened, it is possible for you to construct the true workhorses of your naval fleet. Well, almost. Some of the finer aspects of the enchantments, so similar to those on the palanquins of the slann, must be tested to ensure proper functioning at the appropriate scales.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 4. Reward: Finalized designs for Cruisers, option to construct. Minor improvements to Frigates.
Statuary at Rest: Each of the four main avenues leading into the temple-city's core is lined by several large lizard-sphinx statues; watchful guardians filled with the potent energy of the geomantic web, in dire need they can awaken to devastated invaders. They did just so a number of times during the Great Catastrophe. Since then though they have fallen into… it is perhaps best described as stupor, a state at first assumed to be because of the diminished state of Zlatlan's Geomantic Web, but not that it is partially restored that explanation no longer suffices. Study them and ascertain an answer.
DC: 50. Successes Needed: 4. Reward: Knowledge
Plant Investigations - Bait Vine: Your surveys have found a number of potentially useful new species of flora that have cropped up in the centuries since the end of the Great Catastrophe. In particular there is a vine that produces dangling rosaries of red seeds that much resemble another species' fruit. When eaten they have a paralytic effect. The vine then partially detaches and proceeds to consume the still living creature. Investigate its uses.
DC: 30. Successes Needed: 3. Reward: Knowledge of applications and cultivation.
Plant Investigations - Leadwood Tree: Your surveys have found a number of potentially useful new species of flora that have cropped up in the centuries since the end of the Great Catastrophe. In particular this hardy tree, incredibly difficult to fell, has been noticed in certain isolated rocky outcroppings.
DC: 50. Successes Needed: 4. Reward: Knowledge of applications and cultivation.
Study [Artifact]: Such devices as are made by the mortal races of the world are of course easily understood by the mighty Slann, but not so with many of the greatest works of the Old Ones. With the Arcane Inference Engines of the Temple of Tepok awakened from their long dormancy it is once again possible to peer into the depths of those objects of power left behind by the Old Ones or derived from their teachings. Choose one to Study:
- Leviathan-Bone Harpoon. DC: 20.
- Mirror-Shield of Quetzl. DC: 0.
- Disc of Yuxa. DC: 50.
- Unknown Possessed Artifact Armor. DC: ???
DC: Variable. Successes Needed: 2. Reward: Learn the properties of an unknown artifact, gain ability to enhance or reproduce.
Artifact Enhancement: Certain enchanted objects in your possession may be further enhanced by your slann, changing their function or giving them new capabilities and benefits. This is no easy feat though and is dangerous, mistakes can lead to setbacks and even, rarely, the destruction of an artifact. Choose one:
- Fivefold Hive of Jade. DC: 60. Successes Needed: 3. Requires Personal Dice.
-- Write-in: desired outcome. Subject to approval and interpretation.
-- Leave entirely up to my discretion (will produce a few options for you to choose from).
DC: Variable. Successes Needed: Variable. Reward: Enhanced artifact or other object.
Exorcism: During the cleansing of Tlaqua a suit of possessed armor was recovered from the corpse of a champion of the dark god of pestilence and decay. Though much abused, it is clearly of Old One origin. And while the work continues to set the temple-city to rights, what was able to be recovered has already made its way to Zlatlan. Rid the armor of its unfortunate parasite and make it useful for the servants of the Old Ones once again.
Purifying Crystal: Two tainted revification crystals were recovered from Tlaqua, they seeth with hate and an unnatural energy which threatens to sicken all those near. Excise the evil within them.
Feeding the Forge Fires: Though the districts themselves have at last been reestablished, much of the specialized devices and logistical needs remain unfilled. You do not even know fully what is missing, such is the gap in your knowledge; during the original founding much was imported wholesale rather than constructed onsight. Study what records are available and determine how to make up the gap.
(Mal)Functional: Deep beneath the temples of Zlatlan in rough caverns excavated during the very founding of the city, there are four spawning pools. Their clear waters once the birthplace of many, but since the fall of the polar gates they have spit out no more than six in all the centuries since. Unblemished by physical damage or spiritual taint, the matter had been thought better left for more stable days. Those days are now.
Linking the Harbor: Care was taken when selecting the site for the harbor; too choose a site both practically and logistically suited and, unknown to all save Xehtzail, one properly situated to contribute to the Geomantic Web. Speed was needed though, and so much of the work to that end was left for the future. Now is the time.
DC: 20. Successes Needed: 6. Reward: Improvements to Harbor. Further options to enhance it.
Contemplate the Stars: The movements of the heavens have always held sway over the fortunes of events on the ground; whether by influencing the flow of the Winds of Magic, through fortuitous alignments for the designs of the enemy, or simply as heralds for cosmological events. Reading them may provide you with some insight in events soon to come to pass.
DC: 60. Successed Needed: 6. Reward: Minor Prophecy or Warning.
Prophecy of the Grass:
Grass creeps in amongst the jungle
Glinting blades that do not bend for the sun
Mouths to feed
Minds to grasp
Fearing neither stone nor the flood
DC: 30. Successes Needed: 5. Reward: More of the Prophecy.
On the Placement and Construction of Spawning Pools: Though the memories fade and dance out of coherence, there are still some among the slann who remember the first foundings of the temple-cities. How, working from precise plans, the slann laid down the first semblance of the true order of the world in stone and magic and so bound the world to their whims. Study these plans for some clues regarding the functioning of the spawning pools.
Review the Sequence: Your initial explorations of the Sacred Plaques has revealed a great deal about them. And about the difficulty you will face in deciphering their meaning in toto. Plaques seem to shift and transform over the years, though whether this is simply hidden aspects coming to the fore or actual changes is as of yet unclear. Still it is vital to your goals that you press on. Without knowing the Great Plan there is precious little to be done but guess and that is unacceptable.
DC: 90. Successes Needed: ??? Reward: Greater understanding of the Plan.
Personal
You have two (2) Personal Dice
Meditate: Contemplate the Sun. Turn your mind east. Consider the endless horizon stretching on and on into eternity. Place yourself then at the zenith and draw all the world inward.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 1. Reward: Slight increase to Alertness for next turn.
Lend your Insight: Spend some time considering a matter.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 2. Reward: Add 1 dice to any action.
Teachers Learn Too: You remember fondly your students amongst the elves and dwarfs, how they took your lessons and slowly pierced back the veil of the world to glimpse in their own ways the power at their fingertips. Overcoming limitations you first thought insurmountable in the case of the delvers.
DC: 50/70. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 2. Reward: Opens further research options.
Garden of the Lost: In distant Tlaxtlan there was built a garden about the Temple of Xholankha, the Lost, a place of great tranquility that drew the Wind which was your focus, Ghyran, and sheltered plants from every corner of the world and beyond. You seek to recreate that to provide Zlatlan with the same.
DC: 0. Successes Needed: 1. Limit: 1. Reward: Stewardship Action and Learning Action to complete the work.
Personal Project: Write-in some sort of magical ritual, or project you wish to undertake in your free time. Subject to QM approval.
DC: Variable. Successes Needed: Variable. Limit: Variable. Reward: My interpretation of your write-in.
Note: Here we go. First 10-year turn. Hit me up if something seems to be missing or mistaken. @BelligerentGnu, on the topic of your proposal; at the moment I'm not going to allow it. It's just a little too powerful and doesn't quite fit within the theme of your focus - I might be open to allowing it at some later point once you've developed the Fivefold Hive a little more, assuming you develop it in a direction that fits with that.
Not gone ten years and already Atahuinqua's embassy is proving fruitfall, ships from Eataine and Cothique have made port. Drawn by the feathers of the nuum Thyriol brought back, the leopard pelts, and the simple but well built knives. In their holds the two ships carry very different cargos to offer in trade, though none in such quantities as to do much business; the ship from Eataine, Sea Boiler, carries barrels of wine, rolls of fine cloth, gems, and silver while the ship from Cothique, Waverunner, carries ivory from a variety of animals, furred pelts from the west, fine timbers, and lion pelts.
