[X] Deescalate| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Create a dedicated Legal Department and start recruiting lawyers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 lawyers, d100 roll for quality]
[X] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
[X] Loyalty Path | "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. Mr. Vestries, 'Uncle?' Cut the crap and quit making me look ineffective to protect me. I prefer things on the 'Up and up!' and whatever promise you made to him to take the Blame and Heat, Forget it! My Father built this Company with a Disconcerting eye, knowing who was Loyal and returning said Loyalty 110%! He Hired you all and you know He wanted Better for the Future. In that he had me attending Schools to receive the Education he never got the chance too. Before he could have me return, he instead kept me away, from learning at his side and getting to know you all as well as he did, to gain your trust and confidence for a smooth transition when the time would come for him to retire to a well-earned rest. Working himself to an Early Grave. That tells me one thing. What Rival is responsible for this outcome and can I count on you all to help 'US' Return the favor? With Interest? Uncle? Can you show me the ropes in place of Dad?"
[The Board of Directors remains?. Mr. Vestries becomes an ?.] ( Hoping for Favorable )
You may only choose THREE ( 3 ) Actions.
Treasury: 5 Funds (Funds is an arbitrary unit of money. Run out and you go bankrupt)
Income: +5 Funds/turn. (how much money you make per update)
Expenses: -3 Funds/turn. (how much money you lose each update)
Notoriety: 1 (the bad kind of attention. Enemies can use this against you.)
Path of the Baron (This is your chosen path, you must choose at least one action from this path each turn):
[X] Investing in the Future! Education is Key, for a Price. Find those who are going to College to become 'Doctors' and offer to pay for Tuition! In return for a 20yr Contract once they Graduate, Pay for Insurance and Medical for their Immediate Families till Graduation and continue once Employed. ( Incentive to Graduate with Honors and stay with the Company. Healthcare is Costly and it will only get harder to find, get them when they are young and impressionable and reap the benefits! 'Give a Man a fish and they eat for a day, teach them to fish and they reap the benefits for a lifetime. ) [ -1 Funds, +1 Expense ]
[X] Personally analyze some basic Empire technologies to see if I can improve them. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
Path of the General
[X] Hire a personal trainer to improve my fighting skills. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
I like the Idea of Company Loyalty and those at the Top willing to stay and be Neutral at least, if this works, Mr. Vestries may respond Favorably and actually Teach us something as a Mentor of sorts, from Loyalty to Dad?
Important People get Kidnapped and Targeted, best to learn while young when you Fight or Fold. Learn to guage the Odds as a Fighter.
Edit: I read the Investing Future from somewhere, cannot remember at this moment, will edit when found again.
[X] Eviscerate Him| "I wasn't aware my father was such a visionary. Of course, I didn't know him as…intimately, as you did." [The Board of Directors becomes your enemies. Mr. Vestries becomes a Nemesis*. The Board become afraid of you. Weighted Option: Requires 60% of the vote to overturn]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income] [X] Create a dedicated Legal Department and start recruiting lawyers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 lawyers, d100 roll for quality]
[X] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success] [X]Attend Nero's Concert. I have long been an admirer of Dr. Nero's, but I have a much more mercenary goal than high art. All of high society will be there, and it would be an excellent opportunity to rube shoulders with the rich and powerful.
Action economy is the most important thing, so a PA is a must have. Also, let's get the company in order before we start recruiting demis.
Oh, and we don't want a nemesis just yet.
[X] Deescalate| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Attend Nero's Concert. I have long been an admirer of Dr. Nero's, but I have a much more mercenary goal than high art. All of high society will be there, and it would be an excellent opportunity to rube shoulders with the rich and powerful.
[X] Deescalate| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Attend Nero's Concert. I have long been an admirer of Dr. Nero's, but I have a much more mercenary goal than high art. All of high society will be there, and it would be an excellent opportunity to rube shoulders with the rich and powerful.
Yeah, unless there's supposed to be some kind of major benefit in the boards being scared of us, I don't see why we shouldn't deescalate. Extra actions meanwhile are the stuff that snowballs, so you want to get them as quickly as possible.
[X] Eviscerate Him| "I wasn't aware my father was such a visionary. Of course, I didn't know him as…intimately, as you did." [The Board of Directors becomes your enemies. Mr. Vestries becomes a Nemesis*. The Board become afraid of you. Weighted Option: Requires 60% of the vote to overturn]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
[x] Eviscerate Him| "I wasn't aware my father was such a visionary. Of course, I didn't know him as…intimately, as you did." [The Board of Directors becomes your enemies. Mr. Vestries becomes a Nemesis*. The Board become afraid of you. Weighted Option: Requires 60% of the vote to overturn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
[x] Interview Atlas. I strongly disagree with his politics, however "objective" he claims to be, but having a superhero on payroll would be extremely useful.
[X] Deescalate| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Attend Nero's Concert.
Let him think we lack teeth for now. Once we have a firmer base in the company we can oust him.
Action Economy is critical so assistant is next, lets just hope that the personal assistant roll is... adequate.
Countering corruption will improve the general quality of the company and pad our accounts for later.
Nero is, admittedly, a luxury pick but I do like the idea of mixing it up with the movers and shakers. In addition I am detecting a possible origin story here so recruitment is maybe an option.
[X] Deescalate| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
Best to get this as early as we can so we can get as many extra actions as possible.
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
[X] Deescalate| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Create a dedicated Legal Department and start recruiting lawyers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 lawyers, d100 roll for quality]
[X] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
Speak softly, and have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
Now I don't have a plan like y'all. But what I do have is bare bones goals and I'll leave you all to figure out hoe to get there, also theories.
First of all, Atlas, I'm going to take a wild guess and say this is the Superman expy, hopefully not as smart. If we can't find a way to make work for us or at least point him at other people, great. Now we just need a plan to kill him just in case, keep it hushhush of course, I'm thinking a railgun powered and/or shoots some super material, failing that, tungsten launched at absurd speeds.
Next, Renaissance, Vigilante with a clown theme, sounds like he'd go after our company. PR team work over time to make us look good and him look like the incarnation of Satan or failing that, Hitler. Or kill him I dunno. Make it quiet.
Thirdly, the most worrying thing so far I think, The Truth. Now I may have spent to much time on the SCP Wiki and other such works of fiction. But this sounds like a memetic hazard and honestly we should probably find a way to subdue it, erase it from history somehow. I don't like the ominous thing I can't shoot with a high powered sniper rifle or railgun.
Also some doctor musician lady, not important. Watch out for sound based methods of attack like through television or radio, I dunno she doesn't seem important.
Now how we would get a super railgun, people willing and able to kill people, catch up with clownman, and subdue a potential memetic hazard? No clue I'm sure we can figure it out eventually. Still, good to cover them.
-[ ] Show Him: He spoke of your father's so called vision, contained to a small, failing company built on petty ways by a petty man. But you see that he seeks to be lead and so you'll show him what he needs to see. (Try to flip his loyalty.)
[X] Deescalate[/B]| "I apologize, Mr. Vestries, if my tone sounded inconsequential. I am very invested in the fate of this company, and its employees. My aim is not to convince you that my particular strategies will save it, merely that it is not worth it to try and stop me." [The Board of Directors remain Neutral. Mr. Vestries becomes an enemy.]
[X] Perform a company-wide audit, if I'm lucky I can catch some of the idiots who're skimming off the top. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success, success means +1 Income]
[X] Create a dedicated Legal Department and start recruiting lawyers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 lawyers, d100 roll for quality]
[x] Research Mr. Vestries' past for something I can use against him. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
Audit: Success, no Crit.
Legal: 1d100=81. 1d10=7
Mr. Vestries: Critical Success.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Board Meeting
I walk out of the board room to the sound of furious whispers. From the sound of it, I'd managed to split them down the middle between those who were afraid of the company hemorrhaging money faster than it already was, and those who were terrified of going to jail for the various idiocies they'd all been getting away with until now.
Still, I feel more than a little proud of myself. The desire to reveal that bastard's secrets to the rest of the board had almost been overpowering.
Not that I had any proof besides blurred memories. Sampson Fawkes had many lovers other than mom, but Vestries was the only face I clearly remembered.
Looking back, perhaps I'd been too hasty to blame him. Dad's words could wrap around your spine like ivy. Vestries, whose eyes remained firmly locked with mine as the elevator doors closed, was simply another victim of my father, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself.
A thought fluttered through my head that was so alien I was almost shocked. Mercy. I could show mercy to that sad little man. Instead of ruining him as I had planned, I could bring him to my side, use that fire I had seen and shape it into a something useful.
Such a hopeful thought, perhaps too hopeful. The man hated the very idea of my existence, it wouldn't be easy to turn that hate into respect. But it was possible. Not likely, but possible.
I suppose there's sentimental part of me that thinks that everyone can change for the better.
We'll see.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Audit
From: Chief Executive Officer Philo Fawkes
To: All Employees, All Managers, All Offices...and 42 more.
Subject: Change of Policy
It has come to my attention that certain members of the this company believe that my tenure as CEO will be brief and uneventful, that I will simply rest on my father's laurels until the Board finds an adequate replacement.
The purpose of this memo is to reassure you of the complete inaccuracy of the above statement.
Up until recently, Empire's greatest export has been human misery, and it's greatest important has been incompetence and mismanagement.
This, as you might guess, is going to stop now.
I am hereby issuing a company-wide audit for the express purpose of discovering and punishment of embezzlement, bribery, incompetence, violations of worker's right's and safety protocols, nepotism, abuse of power, and general corruption. If you have committed any of the above crimes, rest assured that it is not a matter of if I find you, but when, even if I have to sieve through this entire corporation grain by grain.
What follows is a list of protocols that everyone is expected to follow. Failure to follow will lead to suspension or outright dismissal. Attempting to cover for others will be treated in a similar manner. Employees who report their managers or coworkers will be rewarded, but keep in mind that false accusations will be punished in equal measure to the actual crime...
Page 1 of 17
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Legal Department
The building was an imposing facade of blackbrick and frosted windows, contrasting starkly with tasteful furniture and warm lighting.
I stood up from my surprisingly ergonomic seat and shook the hand of the man who just walked in, receiving a genuinely warm smile for the first time in what feels like years.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Fawkes. I'm Maxel, Arthur Maxel, although I'm sure you knew that already. I understand you're interested in hiring the services of this firm."
His skin is a pale olive, with dark hair and surprisingly deep brown eyes. In another life, I might have asked him out, but right now I needed to focus. Romance is one more complication that I do not need.
"Perhaps I was unclear Mr. Maxel. I do not want to hire the firm; I want to buy it. I want Maxel and Hearth to represent Empire Industries exclusively."
His eyebrows shoot up for a second, before his brow furrows.
"Firstly Mr. Fawkes, I have to inform you that the firm is not interested in going corporate. We pride ourselves on our service to the community, service which we would not be able to render under Empire, no matter how lucrative your offer."
I lean forward, smiling into my words.
"But that's why I chose you, Mr. Maxel. Because you actually believe that. Time and time again you have chosen humanity over profit, and it has earned you a very valuable reputation. I'm not asking you to stop helping people, I'm giving you a chance to help many, many more of them. My aim is to change the face of the world, of the economy, of the system itself. I want to take power away from those who abuse it and give it to those who have none. That is going to earn me enemies, and lawsuits."
"I understand it has already. Fifteen former employees are suing you for unlawful dismissal. Is that why you want us, to protect you from consequences like that?"
"Once you see how much money each of them stole, and what they did with it, I believe you will be a bit less charitably inclined toward them. No, I do not want you to protect me from anything, I want you to help me continue the fight you've already been fighting for years."
He pinches the bridge of his nose.
"I can't promise anything, but I can probably agree to a "trial period" of sorts. We'll take some of your cases, see if any of what I just heard is true. I got into this business because I wanted to defend people, not corporations."
I shake my head.
"I'm not asking you stop helping people, Mr. Maxel, I'm giving you the chance to help far, far more of them."
"I'll admit, that's a hells of a sales pitch. You ever wanted to be an attorney?"
I shake my head.
"Not really."
"Good. You can call me Arthur, by the way. Now let's discuss hourly rates-"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Researching Mr. Vestries
Vestries' life is a study in failure.
Divorced three times, one man and two women. A good half of his salary goes to alimony payments.
No friends, peers, or family. Heart condition due to stress and poor diet. Probably alcoholic.
Most of this I learn from the interweb, or from interviewing employees. I hit the proverbial jackpot when I question his maid.
"And you are absolutely certain of this? It's about this large-" I demonstrate with my hands "black leather, with a silver heart on the cover."
"Yes sir. He keeps it with him everywhere, only takes it out and night."
"Thank you very much." I say as I hand her a roll of bills.
Father's heart. That's what he called it, his diary/confessor. A little black book he kept all his secrets in, written in his own special code. Hidden bank accounts, contacts, blackmail information. Everything. And Vestries has it.
I'm still thinking about it much later in my office, even as I'm supposed to be going over the company accounts to see who's skimming off the top.
I'm interrupted from my reverie by my secretary.
"Two men to see you Mr. Fawkes. They say that it's urgent."
Right, that'll be the two o'clock. I collect the various papers strewn around my desk, mixing up the account data with my musings on creating an optimal world government, and quickly shoving them all into a drawer.
"Thank you Mrs. Turquoise, send them in."
The two of them are wearing trench coats. Never a good sign. One whips out a badge as the other cranes his neck observing my halfway-renovated office.
"Good evening Mr. Fawkes" gods I was getting tired of people calling me that "I'm Detective Gil, and this is my partner Sargent Kidu. We'd like to ask you a few questions."
Ah. I'd been anticipating this for a while now. I try to ignore the quickening of my pulse, gesturing for the two to sit down.
"I assume this is about my father." I say calmly.
"Yes, I hope you understand that this is merely routine-"
"Alright, cut the crap." Detective Gil interrupts his partner, fixing me with what I think is supposed to be an intimidation glare. "We know you did it."
My cool anger returns to me, tinged with fear, as I take a half-second to consider my response.
[ ] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[ ] Reserved| "And why, precisely, do you think that?"
[ ] Defensive| "I did not invite you here to receive baseless accusations. Get out of my office and hope I don't sue you for slander."
--------------------- You have 3 Actions.
Treasury: 6 Funds (Funds is an arbitrary unit of money. Run out and you go bankrupt)
Income: +6 Funds/turn. (how much money you make per update)
Expenses: -4 Funds/turn. (how much money you lose each update)
Notoriety: 1 (the bad kind of attention. Enemies can use this against you.)
Path of the Baron (This is your chosen path, you must choose at least one action from this path each turn):
[ ] Create a Research and Development Department and start recruiting researchers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 researchers, d100 roll for quality]
[ ] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[ ] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[ ] Create a system where medical students will receive tuition in return for a twenty-year contract after graduation. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety, eventual steady supply of young doctors]
Path of the Conqueror
[ ] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
[ ] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[ ] Discretely hire a mercenary to carry out unsavory jobs for me. [d100 for quality, +1 Expense, 40% chance of +1 Notoriety.]
Path of the General
[ ] Hire a personal trainer to improve my fighting skills. [50% chance of success, 10% chance of critical success]
[ ] Recruit a personal security force. [- 1 Funds, +1 Expense, +1d10 mercenaries, d100 for quality]
[ ] Develop a plan to kill Atlas if necessary. [50% success, 10% Crit.]
[ ] Do a smear job on this "Renaissance" character.
[ ] Develop a...super-railgun. I need to stop writing down ideas before bed.
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
[X] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[X] Create a Research and Development Department and start recruiting researchers. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, +1d10 researchers, d100 roll for quality]
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
If he had evidence he'd be here with a warrant.
Right now, we need income boosts. R&D seems like a good way to get it. Our rep is merely a little manky
[X] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)] [X] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[X] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[X] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[X] Create a system where medical students will receive tuition in return for a twenty-year contract after graduation. [-1 Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety, eventual steady supply of young doctors]
[X] Manipulate Mr. Vestries to my side [Requires multiple steps. 0/3 completed. 70% chance of success. 10% chance of critical success]
[x] Call His Bluff| "Is it standard police practice to accuse every suspect until you get lucky, or did you just pick my name out of a hat?"
[x] Create a Public Relations Department [-Fund, +1 Expense, -1 Notoriety/Turn]
[x] Recruit a personal assistant. [d100 roll for competence, allows you to delegate 1 action/turn(meaning you can take an extra action)]
[x] Contact my father's old mob associates. [+1 Notoriety]
