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

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I think a middle ground is good. Have it so getting the achievement the first time gives a major bonus and then getting that achievement again in the future gives a minor bonus.

Or maybe have it so some achievements are repeatable ones like Swift Justice or Through or In The Light which give minor bonuses each time we get them and others are unique to a case. That would encourage us to wrap up a case in a timely manner and actually deal with our enemies for little rewards whilst also letting us the big rewards from doing the case unique achievements.

Right now, I have no incentive to do a case in a year or bother going after all of our enemies or worry about whether or not we got our evidence legally because we got those achievements.

For example, I was actively trying to get this case done in timely manner for the Swift Justice achievement. Now I have no reason to do that again and in fact have incentive to drag things out to get other achievements. Also a little frustrated that my efforts to get Swift Justice turned out to be meaningless.
 
One solution might be to give different rewards, somewhat more minor rewards until certain milestones, and as others suggested, have the achievements we achieve influence the sort of reputation we have, impacting how things go as people react to us differently than they might have in the past.
 
Another possibility is have it so we have to get enough of a certain reward to get a Shiny. Like having to get Swift Justice three times before get a Shiny or doing In The Light three times to get more Respect.
 
Necratoid said:
May want to reconsider that stance. Not because of trying to force a Monty Haul GM approach, but because your going to encourage achievement hunting over logic with that stance. It'll make the MC act erratically in character as the methodology the MC follows wanders all over the place chasing bonuses. Instead consider making rewards require the achievement to go off multiple times between bonuses. Require 1/10/25 triggerings of the achievement before reward. Though I suggest hiding the thresholds.

Look at the 'Catch all Enemies' achievement... one and done encourages sloppiness while letting criminals and agitators free because there is no real personal benefit to thoroughness. If its constantly triggering its going to freak criminals out that those guys are here for them. Narrative effects are going to kick in because of it.

On the other hand getting, 'The ministry funds itself' repeatedly is going to make the higher ups much happier with the team. Though it could also make the ministry get funded only to a certain threshold or they divert your budget elsewhere because 'you don't need it'.

So as a reader I suggest having the achievements effect things story wise if not in direct benefits. Though if the party becomes the harbingers of everyone corrupt being screwed constantly its going to set up retaliatory responses and greater and greater panic responses. Bringing more danger and conflict but new opportunities at loot.
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Simon_Jester said:
I second @Necratoid 's suggestion that diminishing returns might be the way to go here. That, or diminishing the value of the individual achievements so that you need two or three of them to earn +1 Good Thing.
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Oshha said:
I think a middle ground is good. Have it so getting the achievement the first time gives a major bonus and then getting that achievement again in the future gives a minor bonus.

Or maybe have it so some achievements are repeatable ones like Swift Justice or Through or In The Light which give minor bonuses each time we get them and others are unique to a case. That would encourage us to wrap up a case in a timely manner and actually deal with our enemies for little rewards whilst also letting us the big rewards from doing the case unique achievements.

Right now, I have no incentive to do a case in a year or bother going after all of our enemies or worry about whether or not we got our evidence legally because we got those achievements.

For example, I was actively trying to get this case done in timely manner for the Swift Justice achievement. Now I have no reason to do that again and in fact have incentive to drag things out to get other achievements. Also a little frustrated that my efforts to get Swift Justice turned out to be meaningless.
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Themarineguy said:
One solution might be to give different rewards, somewhat more minor rewards until certain milestones, and as others suggested, have the achievements we achieve influence the sort of reputation we have, impacting how things go as people react to us differently than they might have in the past.
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Oshha said:
Another possibility is have it so we have to get enough of a certain reward to get a Shiny. Like having to get Swift Justice three times before get a Shiny or doing In The Light three times to get more Respect.
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Point taken.

I'm thinking of switching to a system where the first time you get a major achievement you get +1 Shiny, and on subsequent times you get 3 Minor Boons, which can be used to add +1 Base Stat to any of your actions once. This does exclude Random Event Rolls.

I'm also probably going to change up some of the rewards to give Minor or Major boons rather than Shinies outright so that number inflation doesn't take over the game (i say, adding another number I need to track).

This way, winning the achievements gives you something you can use to bolster a key roll at a certain time, while also not punting you into godhood after like 3 more cases due to the sheer amount of achievement hunting out there.

Fair?
 
huhYeahGoodPoint said:
Point taken.

I'm thinking of switching to a system where the first time you get a major achievement you get +1 Shiny, and on subsequent times you get 3 Minor Boons, which can be used to add +1 Base Stat to any of your actions once. This does exclude Random Event Rolls.

I'm also probably going to change up some of the rewards to give Minor or Major boons rather than Shinies outright so that number inflation doesn't take over the game (i say, adding another number I need to track).

This way, winning the achievements gives you something you can use to bolster a key roll at a certain time, while also not punting you into godhood after like 3 more cases due to the sheer amount of achievement hunting out there.

Fair?
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That sounds like a good idea.
 
Sounds like a good way to balance power creep with making achievements still useful. Was getting worried we were going to get absurdly powerful at the previous rate of shinies and party +1s. And while that has some appeal, I think it Is more fun if we have to actually risk failure and really work for our rewards.

Maybe shinies should be reserved for longer-term goals, like actually getting the tax code improved, or the judicial system a bit rationalized. Things that improve the global stats of our nation seem both longer term goals, and worth an inherently bigger reward than just doing well on a particular tax collection. It would also get the players to think about the long term impact of their actions. Like how creating a new judge just for our case probably doesn't help fix the judicial system.
 
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Interlude: The Swagger of Heroes
  • Threadmarks
    • Wake up, check the mirror, make sure your hair was just right. You had pink hair to begin with, so the red sweater was an inspired choice, in your opinion.

    It shocked you that was a sentence that made sense to you - mirrors were the stuff of the rich people that made other rich people jealous, the stuff you afforded with huge beds and windows and dresses and all of that. Not for people who used to live borrowed meal to borrowed meal. Not for people who had to wear cloaks constantly, lest -

    Damn, your hair just didn't want to cover the horns right. And after all that effort trying to just leave it at the red sweater.

    You sigh.

    Nothing to it then.

    You'd just have to put on your hood again.

    Couldn't expose yourself. Couldn't tip your hand. If you did, it'd all be over. Better to be the brooding silent one, than let other people realize you were one of the satyrs.

    A drumbeat on the door suddenly made you jump, and with the panic came a bout of guilt. You knew you had told your team to knock on your door that way to not terrify you, and still.

    "Coming!" you shouted, scrambling your hood up.

    You opened the door, and Ser Tekla casually leaned back. His curled hair draped over his signature blue coat. His hands were stuck in his pockets, looking all the world like...well, like he had nothing to fear from the rest of the world.

    He was right, of course - it was just one of those things. Humans didn't have to get questioned on whether they deserved to exist, or why the street vagrants were allowed here, should you ever let your cowl slip.

    "Still need the cowl?" He said, like it was no big deal to see you without it.

    "You just don't get it," you muttered, ushering him inside the room. You've stacked your food under the bed and inside most of the dressers, so you needed to move that stuff just in case you'd need to hide in it in short order - but, out of respect for your team, you kept one set of chairs open. You point him at the set of chairs - not that he needs to, casually stepping over and around the piles of clothes you've strategically arranged around the room to trip people up.

    "I thought we talked about this a while ago, Kerrie," Ser Tekla casually said. "If you don't start owning who you are, everyone else gets to own who you are, wasn't that what Agueda said?"

    "Easy for you to say," you say, shame running hot as you tucked the cowl further down your head. "You've never had it that bad."

    Tekla shrugged.

    "Yeah, that's true. Lecturing you is kinda in bad taste since I got it better than you, I get it. Still, it's not like Cormag and Agueda have it much better," he said. "Besides, we're capital-H Heroes now, and that means we can get away with anything," he half-smirked. "Wasn't that the whole point of that whole private parade we did a few days back?"

    "I know," you say, tugging your cowl in closer. "Can't we just talk about something else?"

    "Sure," Tekla said, shrugging. "But just so you know, we're not going to stop talking about it until you start standing up for who you are."

    You forcefully shift the topic, and he rolls with it.

    When he leaves, you watch his fleeting back jealously.

    You wish you had the ability to not care about what anyone else thought.

    But you had to.


    Rumors are confused, but supposedly the Royal Army met complete disaster in Transulinia - some are reporting that the King with his cavalry, some say that he made it out with the help of a few adventurers, and still others say that the Vampire Lord got his undead claws into them. The Army itself has nearly completely shattered, scattering to the nine hills - some are trickling back to the nearest banners, but it's a pale shadow of what the Army was, even on the muster.

    -5 Cash Flow continues! Neighbors shifted to In Crusade! Military strength at "Tattered".

    That means the Army needs to rebuild. They need to draft further into the levies, and that means they need to start reaching deeper into the Treasury and getting the manufactured goods into the hands of the hungry modern army.

    Which is where you come in.

    [] [Case] The Origins of Specie
    You're not totally sure what's been going on in the western provinces - last you checked, the prices rose across the board for no discernible reason. It's not like they were intentionally diluting the money supply or anything, so what gives?
    [] [Case] Highway Robbery
    Ever since the army was badly damaged in the fields - but if you're being honest, the uptick began right around the time of the levy's announcements - merchants have reported far more highway robbery in the southern provinces. Time to check it out.
    [] [Case] Log Jam
    The production of pretty much every single manufactured good must inevitably track back to wood somehow, and you've noticed that the prices of wood spiked too sharply after the announcements. Best check out what's going on in that supply chain.


    In exchange for your past hard work, you may spend up to three Shinies.

    [] [Shiny] Cold Hard Coin
    Money talks, and loudly. Best to start with more.
    [] [Shiny] Archbishops' Authorization
    Due to your hard work, you've impressed some among the archbishops. With a little bit of cash, you can impress them a little more for an official permit to investigate matters related to the cloth.
    [] [Shiny] Wider Remit
    It would be great to have a much wider remit to search for incriminating documents among persons of interest, and not just potential culprits.

    Tier-1 Upgrades:
    [] [Shiny] Well Organized
    +1 Stewardship.
    [] [Shiny] Well Spoken
    +1 Diplomacy
    [] [Shiny] Well Trained
    +1 Martial
    [] [Shiny] Inspired
    +1 Learning
    [] [Shiny] Unremarkable
    +1 Intrigue
    [] [Shiny] Faithful
    +1 Piety
    [] [Shiny] Party Upgrades I
    Kerrie gains +1 Intrigue, +1 Martial, Cormag gains +1 Piety, +1 Diplomacy, Tekla gains +2 Learning.

    Tier-2 Upgrades (Costs 2 Shinies):
    [] [Shiny] Excellent Recall
    +2 Stewardship, +2 Diplomacy.
    [] [Shiny] Faith-Burnished
    +2 Piety, +2 Martial
    [] [Shiny] Secret Explorer
    +2 Intrigue, +2 Learning
    [] [Shiny] Enhanced Cooperation
    Cooperation gives +4 for Cooperating rather than +3.
    [] [Shiny] Higher Tempo
    Gain one Free Action.

    Tier-3 Upgrades (Costs 3 Shinies):
    [] [Shiny] Genius
    +2 to all stats.
    [] [Shiny] Eidetic Memory
    +3 Stewardship, +3 Intrigue, +3 Diplomacy, +3 Learning.
    [] [Shiny] Miracle Worker
    +3 Martial, +3 Stewardship, +3 Diplomacy, +3 Piety
    [] [Shiny] Visionary
    +3 Martial, +3 Intrigue, +3 Learning, +3 Piety.
    [] [Shiny] Two As One
    Cooperation gives +5 instead of +3.
    [] [Shiny] No Wasted Moments
    Gain two Free Actions.

    Costs 1 Shiny:
    [] [Shiny] Reroll
    Reroll any roll, including Random Event Rolls. Once.

    [] [Shiny] Null
    Save the Shiny for later.
     
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