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I'm a High Fantasy Tax Collector, So What? A CKII Tax Collector Quest

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As with before, I like RE Rolls. So someone roll the sixth dice and I'll roll the seventh~
EDIT: Tyger did so...

Post-Roll: No rolls this time got above 65 out of a d100, RIP.
Vocalend threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Random Event Roll Total: 58
58 58
 
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Good thing everything pretty much auto-cleared, these rolls were trash lmao
 
Elder Haman said:
Ouch, though I think only the Diplomacy roll is really worrisome, as that was a crit failure and thus we probably failed that DC. Hopefully the Intrigue action is enough to overcome that issue.

We also got a decent roll on trinkets.



That's true, but it's not enough to make the Protection Detail safer than Renew Contract.
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Kinda late since we already rolled lol
 
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CASE: BREWING SUSPICION MONTH 6
  • Threadmarks
    • Martial
    Contract Renewal:
    DC: 17. Roll: 17 + 6.2 = 23.2

    Antonin Perrier casually accepts the contract terms again with a self-defacing smirk and a slouch. He figures that you're worried about an August Days overtaking the city again, and is perfectly happy with protecting your VIPs again. You think the Ainsworth and Yarognev companies greatly appreciate his presence; he's constantly in the thick of them, drinking, playing, and telling stories to the other soldiers.

    One night, however, he tells you to keep your eye out:

    An official date for the Crusade's been set, supposedly. The mobilization starts next spring and officially begins on the summer solstice. Adventurers and mercenaries will likely all be brought into the war effort - the ones that stay behind are probably going to be the guys the army doesn't want to pay for.

    Call it a personal favor from a guy who's been pretty impressed, he said. Well, that, and keeping the wolves from trying to blame you for the July Days. That's just rude.


    Diplomacy
    The Judges:
    DC: 22. Roll: 20 + 3 + 0.2 = 23.2.

    Intrigue
    Convincing Gifts
    DC: 15. Roll: 22 + 1.8 = 23.8.

    Your meeting with the judges goes about as well as you could've expected it to. Ser Tekla was always a bit of an outcast among the nobility, and there was definitely a set of flimsy excuses directed his way for being blacklisted by the Church Compact; bullshit, you were pretty sure, but Tekla laughed it off with a smile.

    At this point, you decided it would probably be best to help him out directly - and simply by giving them what they had been asking for all along.

    Suddenly, their tune completely changed, they were happy to discuss these matters with a fellow noble and respected gentlemen, why, it would be their honor to work with you to see justice done as expeditiously as possible.

    By your standards, it was sloppy work. Seems like the judges didn't care, though, and you rapidly found the Count's trial significantly expedited. At least, three out of the four were. You needed the previous evidence from prior court cases in order to go through.

    Well. At least that worked.


    Learning
    Trinkets
    DC: Scaling. Roll: 15 + 5.2 = 20.2.

    With the advent of the July Days, many of the magical merchants and adventurers had left the city. As August came, those adventurers and magical merchants came trickling back slowly, selling various things. You were drawn to a few items as obviously useful:

    [] [Trinkets] Energy Beans
    Supposedly, this is a set of beans from somewhere in the far east, guaranteed to give you a serious increase in your mental faculties. One-time use, grants +1 to one action. Cost: 6 Budget.
    [] [Trinkets] Tonic
    This stuff came recommended to you as the stuff that kings and nobility use when they're sick; refined in the great medical schools of the Caliphate, this should help with any malady. At least, if you can trust the salesman. ???. Cost: 4 Budget.
    [] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    This is a neat thing that instantly drew your eye the moment you realized what it was. A pen that supposedly could never run out of ink? No more need for ink dripping, replacing the expensive ink supplies nearly instantly? Yes, please. Cost Reduction. Cost: 1 Budget.
    [] [Trinkets] Heat
    Sometimes, it was good just to take a set of new, subtler weaponry. This was a set that used to belong to someone clearly in the business - short blades so that it was legal to take into the city, and a selection between ice, poison, fire, and direct force effects. Grants +1 Martial and +2 Intrigue beneath 25 in both stats. Cost: 10 Budget.


    Stewardship
    City Organizer
    DC: 20. Roll: 22 + 1.2 = 23.2.

    It takes a while for trust to be built, but built it is. You start by reaching out to community leaders, trying to figure out who needs what grain, as people keep demanding cheaper bread, or at least available bread. Next you reach out to the grain merchants and the bakeries, to figure out who has grain, when the grain comes in, and what price the grain comes in - or at least, the people with your writ of authority do, and get the information for you.

    With that information in hand, you begin constructing lists of people, suggesting that only a limited number of people go to a select merchant in one day; the lowest prices in the city are identified and people sent there, as well as many of the next lowest - but critically, you ask that they only take what they need for a week, after a few early disasters in the first few days. Furthermore, you lean on certain people to possibly resell the grain that they had bought - and they could rest assured the Crown wasn't looking for taxes on these, just get the grain out from under the bed.

    By the end, you think you have a rough picture of what happened: a few grain merchants from somewhere had raised prices, which caused people to start making runs on grain on those merchants, and then the other merchants at the marketplace - at least, before the cheap grain ran out. The other grain merchants, worried at their dwindling supply, hiked prices, only to trigger another wave of panic-buying as people rushed to make sure they had grain at affordable prices and now grain prices are through the roof and nobody has any money to obtain what little grain remains.

    What a mess.

    Though...something's nagging you about the price increase. This isn't the first time you've seen prices increase, certainly, but there's a consistent uptick in prices coming from somewhere. From what the merchants tell you, the grain harvest was surprisingly good last year, so it can't be just scarcity. It's not like there's a significant amount of new currency in the market, either - you haven't heard of any new sources of precious metals, and you're fairly certain that a lot of the banking ideas were proscribed by the Compact for being overly destabilizing...so what gives?


    Piety:
    Calling All Spirits:
    DC: 22. Roll: 20 + 2 + 5.3 = 27.3

    Well, you've got their attention. Lots of attention, actually; dozens of spirits practically fell over themselves to try and get you to champion their cause.

    One of the most common requests: quell the riots and stabilize the city.

    You gladly accepted that request, along with a slight request for a small empowerment or perhaps a tiny bit of money in order to better accomplish that task. Not much; you understood that they all needed to reserve their own power, and you were mindful of their great needs.

    Each spirit left negotiations feeling like they had made the deal of a century.

    What you failed to mention was that you were naturally doing the same with every single spirit with that request.

    +2 Martial, +2 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue, +2 Learning, +2 Stewardship, +2 Piety, party-wide buff for next turn only. +20 Budget.


    Random Event Roll: 58.

    Surprisingly, nothing happens. The grain comes in from outside the city at about the same prices, the weather is about where everyone expected it to be in August, and the fevered madness that overtook the crowd during the July Days seems to have dissapated, leaving everyone to go home largely unmolested. Quietly, the debris and the businesses overturned during the July Days are cleand up and repaired, leaving the city...mostly the same way it always was.

    No news is good news, you suppose.


    Net Sales of Services: 20 Budget.
    Cost of Services Sold: 5 Budget.
    Security Expense: 14 Budget.
    Spiritual Expense: 2 Budget.
    Salaries and Wage Expense: 3 Budget.
    Lodging Expense: 2 Budget.
    Other Expense: 21 Budget.
    Net Loss: 27 Budget.

    Remaining Budget: 75 Budget.

    With the cases being expedited and the situation starting to wind down, it's time to start reducing costs before you go through the entire budget for this investigation. Antonin says he understands, and will not be accepting another contract even if you offer. The Count is still making noises about needing legal representation, and refusing to appear in court before an unjust court.

    Honestly, at this point he's finished. However, removing any chance of him complaining would probably be for the best; the more legitimate the case looks, the better your chances of actually getting some restitution.

    This turn, you may spend up to 20 Budget.

    You have one [Free] Action that you may spend on an action in any category.

    You can cooperate with your teammates to add +3 base stat to an action that you are cooperating on. It is represented by using your [Free] Action on one of your already-selected Actions.

    Martial (Choose 1) {Kerrie Action}
    [] [Martial] Protection Detail
    Now that the threat's subsided, this is effectively what you had hired the group to do in the first place; you're just going to be dispatching Kerrie to make extra sure that nothing goes too badly wrong. DC: 10. Cost: 0 Budget.

    Diplomacy (Choose 1) {Cormag Action}
    [] [Diplomacy] The Upper Crust
    With the madness of the July Days well behind you, you can begin to start working over the upper crust scattered over the western side of the capital. It helps that you famously defended the Count even as you brought him in, and you're fairly certain Perrier gave only favorable news here. That said, well...you're still Agueda the tax assesor. You were never going to be popular on the best of days. DC: 23. Cost: 4 Budget.
    [] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    Okay, so the last time you started stirring up the people, it blew up into the July Days. However, as explosive as it was...it kinda worked. Probably best to get a pulse on the people again, and if the opportunity presents itself to make the people's voice heard again in support of your cause...well, you're not going to say no. DC: 18. Cost: 2 Budget.

    Intrigue (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
    [] [Intrigue] Mapping the Network II
    With the city quieting down after the July Days, you're sure the Count's network has begun to try and make contact with him again. Make sure that you track down the network and prevent him from making any...ill-timed moves. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
    [] [Intrigue] Mail Search II
    Now that you've pretty much got the first set of court cases in the bag, it's time to start reaching around and making sure that people don't block the inevitable land seizures you'll need in order to properly recoup costs. For the Sejm in particular, that means it's time for a little bit of blackmail. DC: 28. Cost: 0 Budget.

    Learning (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
    [] [Learning] Experimentation
    You had put away the notes that Tekla had on various things you could do with tea, especially since there was so much of it floating around. You might as well take the chance to finish up that investigation. DC: 23. Cost: 0 Budget.

    Stewardship (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
    [] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    You've set everything up. Now all that's left is...to actually see this thing through. DC: 10. Cost: 0 Budget.
    [] [Stewardship] Information Sales
    Over the course of the last few months, you've built up a huge store of information. Information that you can sell for a decent price. DC: 20. Gain: 8 Budget.
    [] [Stewardship] Deeper Thinking
    During the course of your organizing, you noticed a somewhat disturbing pattern in grain prices. It might be worth looking into exactly what's setting off your suspicions. DC: 25. Cost: 2 Budget.

    Piety (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
    [] [Piety] Spiritual Testimony
    While it's true that your physical case is completely solid, your spiritual case thus far has been slightly lacking. If you can get a denunciation from some of the Compacts, that would likely ensure that there would be absolutely no escape. DC: 27. Cost: 4 Budget.
    [] [Piety] Justice At Long Last
    Alternatively, and this always carries with it the risk of bringing the July Days back, you could attempt to appeal to the spirit of Justice to oversee this trial and see Justice done. DC: 25. Cost: 0 Budget.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Deliver the Final Blow
    -[X] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[X] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[X] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[X] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    -[X] [Intrigue] Mapping the Network II
    -[X] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[X] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[X] [Free] Deeper Thinking
    -[X] [Piety] Justice At Long Last
     
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    Random Member said:
    [X] Plan Deliver the Final Blow
    -[X] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[X] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[X] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    -[X] [Intrigue] Mapping the Network II
    -[X] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[X] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[X] [Free] Deeper Thinking
    -[X] [Piety] Justice At Long Last
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    I'd recommend buying the pen too. It only costs 1, and it will pay itself back many times over fast.
     
    huhYeahGoodPoint said:
    [] [Trinkets] Energy Beans
    Supposedly, this is a set of beans from somewhere in the far east, guaranteed to give you a serious increase in your mental faculties. One-time use, grants +1 to one action. Cost: 6 Budget.
    [] [Trinkets] Tonic
    This stuff came recommended to you as the stuff that kings and nobility use when they're sick; refined in the great medical schools of the Caliphate, this should help with any malady. At least, if you can trust the salesman. ???. Cost: 4 Budget.
    [] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    This is a neat thing that instantly drew your eye the moment you realized what it was. A pen that supposedly could never run out of ink? No more need for ink dripping, replacing the expensive ink supplies nearly instantly? Yes, please. Cost Reduction. Cost: 1 Budget.
    [] [Trinkets] Heat
    Sometimes, it was good just to take a set of new, subtler weaponry. This was a set that used to belong to someone clearly in the business - short blades so that it was legal to take into the city, and a selection between ice, poison, fire, and direct force effects. Grants +1 Martial and +2 Intrigue beneath 25 in both stats. Cost: 10 Budget.
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    Nice to get some good goods here. The Endless Pen is an obvious pick, cheap Cost Reduction? Yes please.

    Heat is nice, though the limit of the bonus to under 25 is annoying. Intrigue for example will only benefit from half the +2 next turn for example, because of the +2 from the spirits. Still, it will be nice to almost always have a 24 bonus to Intrigue, and adding a +1 to Martial is also nice.

    Energy Bean, is basically 6 Budget for a one time +1 to a specific action, expensive for what it does though. Unsure if it is worth it, though that +1 in the right place could be very useful. Tonic is a mystery box... but might be useful if anyone on the team gets injured.

    I think for Trinkets we definitely get Endless Pen and Heat. Maybe Tonic as well.

    huhYeahGoodPoint said:
    Piety:
    Calling All Spirits:
    DC: 22. Roll: 20 + 2 + 5.3 = 27.3

    Well, you've got their attention. Lots of attention, actually; dozens of spirits practically fell over themselves to try and get you to champion their cause.

    One of the most common requests: quell the riots and stabilize the city.

    You gladly accepted that request, along with a slight request for a small empowerment or perhaps a tiny bit of money in order to better accomplish that task. Not much; you understood that they all needed to reserve their own power, and you were mindful of their great needs.

    Each spirit left negotiations feeling like they had made the deal of a century.

    What you failed to mention was that you were naturally doing the same with every single spirit with that request.

    +2 Martial, +2 Diplomacy, +2 Intrigue, +2 Learning, +2 Stewardship, +2 Piety, party-wide buff for next turn only. +20 Budget.
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    Nice, very nice.

    huhYeahGoodPoint said:
    Martial (Choose 1) {Kerrie Action}
    [] [Martial] Protection Detail
    Now that the threat's subsided, this is effectively what you had hired the group to do in the first place; you're just going to be dispatching Kerrie to make extra sure that nothing goes too badly wrong. DC: 10. Cost: 0 Budget.

    Diplomacy (Choose 1) {Cormag Action}
    [] [Diplomacy] The Upper Crust
    With the madness of the July Days well behind you, you can begin to start working over the upper crust scattered over the western side of the capital. It helps that you famously defended the Count even as you brought him in, and you're fairly certain Perrier gave only favorable news here. That said, well...you're still Agueda the tax assesor. You were never going to be popular on the best of days. DC: 23. Cost: 4 Budget.
    [] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    Okay, so the last time you started stirring up the people, it blew up into the July Days. However, as explosive as it was...it kinda worked. Probably best to get a pulse on the people again, and if the opportunity presents itself to make the people's voice heard again in support of your cause...well, you're not going to say no. DC: 18. Cost: 2 Budget.

    Intrigue (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
    [] [Intrigue] Mapping the Network II
    With the city quieting down after the July Days, you're sure the Count's network has begun to try and make contact with him again. Make sure that you track down the network and prevent him from making any...ill-timed moves. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
    [] [Intrigue] Mail Search II
    Now that you've pretty much got the first set of court cases in the bag, it's time to start reaching around and making sure that people don't block the inevitable land seizures you'll need in order to properly recoup costs. For the Sejm in particular, that means it's time for a little bit of blackmail. DC: 28. Cost: 0 Budget.

    Learning (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
    [] [Learning] Experimentation
    You had put away the notes that Tekla had on various things you could do with tea, especially since there was so much of it floating around. You might as well take the chance to finish up that investigation. DC: 23. Cost: 0 Budget.

    Stewardship (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
    [] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    You've set everything up. Now all that's left is...to actually see this thing through. DC: 10. Cost: 0 Budget.
    [] [Stewardship] Information Sales
    Over the course of the last few months, you've built up a huge store of information. Information that you can sell for a decent price. DC: 20. Gain: 8 Budget.
    [] [Stewardship] Deeper Thinking
    During the course of your organizing, you noticed a somewhat disturbing pattern in grain prices. It might be worth looking into exactly what's setting off your suspicions. DC: 25. Cost: 2 Budget.

    Piety (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
    [] [Piety] Spiritual Testimony
    While it's true that your physical case is completely solid, your spiritual case thus far has been slightly lacking. If you can get a denunciation from some of the Compacts, that would likely ensure that there would be absolutely no escape. DC: 27. Cost: 4 Budget.
    [] [Piety] Justice At Long Last
    Alternatively, and this always carries with it the risk of bringing the July Days back, you could attempt to appeal to the spirit of Justice to oversee this trial and see Justice done. DC: 25. Cost: 0 Budget.
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    With Cormag our Diplomacy is 17, with the +2 that's 19. So the Low Rumors II is pretty safe actually, on the other hand the Upper Crust has a 60% chance of succeeding, and this might be the best chance we ever get at it.

    With Heat, our Intrigue will be at 25 this turn, so we have a 70% chance of succeeding at the Mail Search II act. Might be worth taking to try and make some inroads on the Sejm.

    Stewardship has several very nice options, I'd like to take all three. Deeper Thinking is probably something we ought to take though while we have this nice bonus.

    Not sure if the +2 we got to Piety last turn is cumulative with our +2 this turn, that would put us at 24 Piety, still think Justice At Long Last is the better pick.

    Okay, so I think there are a few different possible plans that work well with this situation:

    [] Plan Bring the Nobles Onside
    -[] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[] [Trinkets] Tonic
    -[] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[] [Diplomacy+Free] The Upper Crust
    -[] [Intrigue] Mail Search II
    -[] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[] [Piety] Justice At Long Last

    With this the Upper Crust should have a 90% probability of success, and Mail Search a 70% chance of success, Justice at Long Last is either 70% or 90% success (depending on how bonuses stack). Cost is a total of 19 Budget (including Trinkets, dropping Tonic would make this a 15 Budget Plan).

    [] Plan Maximize Gain With Minimal Risk
    -[] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[] [Trinkets] Tonic
    -[] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    -[] [Intrigue+Free] Mail Search II
    -[] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[] [Piety] Justice At Long Last

    With this every action is already over the DC threshold before rolls except for Justice At Long Last (same as previous plan). Budget is 17 (including Trinkets)

    [] Plan Maximize Gain
    -[] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[] [Diplomacy] The Upper Crust
    -[] [Intrigue] Mail Search II
    -[] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[] [Stewardship] Deeper Thinking
    -[] [Piety] Justice At Long Last

    With this Upper Crust has a 60% chance of success, Mail Search a 70% chance of success, Deeper Thinking a 90% chance at success, and Justice At Long Last 70% or 90%. Budget is 17 (including Trinkets). While low rolls might have us wary of this risk, there is some argument for this, as the key item of Advancing the Case is pretty much guaranteed, it does give us a decent chance at getting the best possible outcome.

    [] Plan Play It Safe
    -[] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[] [Trinkets] Tonic
    -[] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    -[] [Intrigue] Mapping the Network II
    -[] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[] [Stewardship] Deeper Thinking
    -[] [Piety] Justice At Long Last

    With this every action is already over the DC threshold before rolls except for Deeper Thinking a 90% chance at success, and Justice At Long Last. Budget is 19 (including Trinkets). I don't really like this one, if we want to play it safe then Plan Maximize Gain With Minimal Risk is better I think.

    [X] Plan Balance Risk and Reward
    -[X] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[X] [Trinkets] Heat
    -[X] [Trinkets] Tonic
    -[X] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[X] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    -[X] [Intrigue] Mail Search II
    -[X] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[X] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[X] [Stewardship] Deeper Thinking
    -[X] [Piety] Justice At Long Last

    With this every action is already over the DC threshold before rolls except for Mail Search a 70% chance of success, Deeper Thinking a 90% chance at success, and Justice At Long Last. Budget is 19 (including Trinkets). This is my preferred plan, because I think it balances risk and reward the best.
     
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    [X] Plan Maximize Gain

    [] Plan Budget Cuts
    -[] [Trinkets] Endless Pen
    -[] [Martial] Protection Detail
    -[] [Diplomacy] The Low Rumors II
    -[] [Intrigue] Mail Search II
    -[] [Learning] Experimentation
    -[] [Stewardship] Advancing the Case IV
    -[] [Stewardship] Information Sales
    -[] [Piety] Justice At Long Last
     
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    BREWING SUSPICION MONTH 7 ROLL CALL
  • Apocrypha
    • Plan Deliver the Final Blow wins, 9-1-1.

    Equipment Expense: 11 Budget.

    Roll me 8d100s.

    Martial: Protection Detail: DC: 10. Base Stat: 17 + 2. Cost: 0 Budget.
    Diplomacy: The Low Rumors II. DC: 18. Base Stat: 17 + 2. Cost: 2 Budget.
    Intrigue: Mapping the Network II. DC: 24. Base Stat: 22 + 2. Cost: 0 Budget.
    Learning: Experimentation. DC: 23. Base Stat: 20 + 2. Cost: 0 Budget.
    Stewardship: Advancing the Case IV. DC: 10. Base Stat: 22 + 2. Cost: 0 Budget.
    Stewardship: Deeper Thinking. DC: 25. Base Stat: 22 + 2. Cost: 2 Budget.
    Piety: Justice at Long Last. DC: 25. Base Stat: 20 + 2. Cost: 0 Budget.
     
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