29 in Intrigue, in other words, means that if you somehow managed to get a ticket into the Divine Gathering it wouldn't be literally impossible for you to steal the Pearly Gates. It'd just be a stupidly high DC.
You are correct but irrelevant, no one is arguing that we should be Accelerationist or that we should be leading a revolution for the sake of the people.
They're saying that that flaming trainwreck sounds fun to watch.
I guess you're also a bit wrong as well though. No plan is actually making the circumstances of people worse so that they start the revolution. The moment the revolution comes would be the moment we kicked it off. So its not even accelerationist.
That is a strategy you could try. Going full villain protagonist wouldn't really be fun for me, but going full Robin Hood sounds kinda fun. You could definitely go full Eastern European folk hero/Robin Hood, being the fairy godmother to your Finance Ministry until the time comes to overthrow the whole rotten system in one go.
Of course, your enemies are allowed to think for themselves, so just be aware of that.
If not a villain protagonist how about a villein protagonist, because everyone knows that the bad guys are indentured farmers who don't know their place
You are correct but irrelevant, no one is arguing that we should be Accelerationist or that we should be leading a revolution for the sake of the people.
They're saying that that flaming trainwreck sounds fun to watch.
I guess you're also a bit wrong as well though. No plan is actually making the circumstances of people worse so that they start the revolution. The moment the revolution comes would be the moment we kicked it off. So its not even accelerationist.
I just thought, maybe we should swap "enemies" for "church enemity". We will be probably declared Antichrist/Satan/Whatever, but less "everyone and their dog hates you".
I'm not going to lie; that vote genuinely caught me completely by surprise. For all of you budding Revolutionaries, don't worry; your time will come. For all of you budding conservatives, don't worry; your time will also come. It's gonna be a fun period already
[X] Plan Accounting Sins (Alt. Title: Misfits, One and All) (Alt. Alt. Title: The 'A' in A-Team Means Auditing)
-[X] Kerrie -[X] Ser Tekla the Mad -[X] Cormag the Devout -[X] Bag of Tricks: Sometimes you need a more esoteric tool to do a certain job, and it pays to carry them in advance. -[X] Working Relationships: You've worked with your party members before, and you've long since learned how to work together. -[X] Enemies: Over the course of your colorful career, you've made a habit of tweaking a particularly tweakable nose. In hindsight, that may have been a bad call. Especially considering their new position. -[X] Church Enmity: For whatever reason, the local Church of the Compact seems to have put you on their list of people that cannot be trusted even if no crime can be attributed. This is...not great. -[X] Prudence: You're known for your ability to plan ahead. Rewards on successes increased; penalties for failures decreased.
Vivien blinked, and then tilted her head. "You actually took Ser Tekla? And Cormag? Aren't they...you know...like oil and water? What's your plan here?"
You smiled back, tapping your feet to a rhythm only you could hear. Already, the plan was beginning to take shape in your mind.
"See, that's exactly what I'm counting on," you respond. "Pairing a man of the cloth with a man who is all but declared heretic seems like a bad idea - if you don't know, like I do, that Ser Tekla was once Cormag's tutor. It's an especially nasty surprise if you don't know that they're working with other people in the area. By playing them off of each other, it made the nobles focus on the obvious threat, and take their eyes off me and Kerrie. We ran a pretty good gig, if I do say myself," you preen.
"Wait," Vivien blinks, "Why'd you all seperate, then?"
"Life happened," you shrug. "And now, life happens again."
"...alright, then. You also requested a collection of loose odds and ends?" Vivien asked. "What are you going to do with those?"
"Figure out something creative to do with them. Should give us a couple of interesting unexpected options, at least," you shrug.
"...well, you're the field agent for a reason, I suppose," Vivien sighed.
"Anything else, Minister?" you ask.
"...no, I don't think so. Best of luck, Agueda. Oskaria is counting on you."
"Will do," you chuckle, turning for the door, mind beginning to turn.
Budget one month travel time. One month for initial investigations, with Cormag and Tekla taking the lead on data gathering. If you're quick about it, finding the right judge might be as short as three months, but likely will take significantly longer. Raids for the documentation and other evidences should be going on at the same time, and analysis wouldn't take much longer after that. Compile the evidence, present to judge, slip the judge bribe money and intercept the payments, and a guilty verdict could be reached and delivered in less than six months. Factor in likely delays, and the time went up to a year. Still an impressive boast.
On your way out the door, you stop.
[] [YEAR] I'll be back in a year.
Pros: Gain 1 Shiny if successful. Cons: Failure to deliver will damage Ministry reputation. [] [YEAR] Stay silent.
Neutral.
Your plan starts falling apart the moment you try to book a room in Gorlin. You begin by bargaining for a room like normal, but the hosts insisted that you leave - they weren't going to take your coin, no matter what. Suspicious, but possibly just one of those things where some people had odd hangups about "racial purity" and all that claptrap. When you're rejected from the third and fourth house for the same reason, you become suspicious. The fifth house you visit to request a room finally gives you some real information: "Your blaspheming ways are not welcome here, not for any amount of coin!"
You turn to look at Cormag, whose large frame is literally dressed in the frock of a priest, before looking back at the slammed door behind you. He shrugs.
You furrow your brow, and start walking. Why would these people already be hostile to you? You turn a little bit. It wasn't like you had really been here as a group before, so it couldn't be a long-standing grudge, you think, turning again. Cormag should be able to at least partially convince people that the Compact had given its blessings to the group, so why would they proclaim that the entire group was blaspheming? You turn again. Or worse, you think, would Cormag's distinctive green skin give him away? You turn again, pacing a full circle. The only way that that could happen is if someone had forewarning of your arrival, and decided to start early. But who - oh.
Oh no.
"Cormag, have there been any recent promotions to the Bishopric of Gordin?"
Cormag blinks.
"I believe so. A lower-ranking bishop, Besim...Rosencrantz?" he says, unsure of himself.
Your hand immediately slaps your forehead.
"Dammit, of all the people," you say, shaking your head.
"Do you...have a history with him?" Kerrie asks.
"Do I have a history with that prick Besim Rosenberg, she asks. Do I have a history with him, oh yes I do," you mutter. "What a fantastic time for all of that to suddenly start coming back."
"What happened between you?" Cormag asks.
"Oh, he tried to run a dumbass scheme to steal money from the Duke. I busted the scheme, which cost him his cushy position as second son and an engagement to another noble family. He challenged me to a duel, saying something about being an honorless dog, and I beat his ass so hard that he went crying home to mommy. Looks like his old folks decided the cloth was the best place to put him, but damn, what awful timing," you mutter.
Your brain is already in overdrive. With the churches turned against you by that loser, things would get difficult in a hurry. Let alone lodgings, buying food and securing documents was going to be a lot harder. Money originally budgeted for purchasing manifests and ledgers would have to go towards living expenses, and those manifests themselves were going to be more expensive to boot. Without that kind of leeway, Tekla's experiments and equipment setup would be far harder to accomplish, making your evidence harder to come by. After all, leaves were dangerously simple to pass off as "simply another leaf" in the courtroom, let alone if your opponent had time to start packing the courts, which - wait.
You had already stopped to ask five people for lodgings. Those people were likely to tell their congregation leaders on prayer day that the blasphemers had come already, and were more likely to start spreading the rumor now. That meant that effectively, your enemies knew that you were in the city already, and you hadn't even gotten set up.
You tap your feet as you consider the issue, your companions waiting on you.
It'd be difficult, certainly, but...fundamentally it should still be doable. Tekla would have to take a backseat and Cormag would have to help take point against Besim's manipulations, but you could still do it. Kerrie would have to help you in various places, but this was still all doable.
The plan to save Oskaria was still on track. Though, you think, you'll need to start laying the groundwork for the transition here too...
The only question is whether you'd go for removing Besim from the picture too. It'd make things harder now, but it might make things easier later...
[] [ENEMY] Take him down.
Adds primary objective: Neutralizing Besim Rosenberg. [] [ENEMY] Leave him be.
Neutralizing Besim Rosenberg remains a secondary priority.
An explanation for the CKII actions here: Every action has a DC, against which you will make a check. These checks will be rolled as: Base Stat + (1d100)/10 vs DC. In the event of a tie the action is considered a failure, though this should happen in literally 1% of cases, so. If the number is higher than the DC, you succeed. If the roll is 95+, it becomes a critical success, and confers extra advantages. Actions can also synergize with each other, leading to extra bonuses, both in roll and in narrative.
You have one [Free] Action that you may spend on an action in any category.
Because you took Working Relationship, 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.
To complete this Case, you have approximately 200 Budget. In order to make that last for the whole case, this turn you may spend up to 10 Budget. Unused Budget will stay on your books.
Martial (Choose 1) {Kerrie Action}
[] [Martial] Power Players
You need to know who controls the guns, whose has what mercenaries, and who has the group of not-technically-armed group who will gladly get their fists a little dirty, before you can safely maneuver in this city. DC: 14. Cost: 1 Budget. [] [Martial] Power Base
Securing yourself a nice team of mercenaries should make you both much safer and much more difficult to intimidate. DC: 10. Cost: 3 Budget.
Diplomacy (Choose 1) {Cormag Action}
[] [Diplo] Of The Cloth
Your group needs to start dispelling the stench of Blasphemer around yourselves, and by "your group" you mostly mean Cormag's got to convince the low-level clergy. DC: 18. Cost: 2 Budget. [] [Diplo] Bread and Charity
Your group can also work from a different direction, where you visibly donate to the church and pray in the church. That'd make it harder to accuse you of being a blasphemer, but might open you up to being a heretic, which would be its own sort of problem. DC: 20. Cost: 3 Budget. [] [Diplo] The Educated Society
You can also start working your way into the educated circles around town, which won't help your blasphemer problem but definitely will help you figure out whose books you need to be in and whose lawyers may be able to help. DC: 15. Cost: 1 Budget.
Intrigue (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
[] [Intr] Obtaining Documentation
Pretty simple. Sneak into a merchant house, steal the ledgers, steal the manifest. Scan the documents real quick, memorize what's on them, and then put it back. Once you have the incriminating details, you can always come back through the front door, after all. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget. [] [Intr] Cutting the Line Part I
It'd take forever to figure out whose judicial system you'd be falling into to prosecute the criminals who you haven't even identified. However, what if you just skipped that step by creating a new judicial district for this crime? You'd have to find a patsy, give them money to procure a venal office, and then make it understood that they are to pronounce the accused guilty, but if it succeeds, you might literally shave years off of the process. But first, you'll have to find an acceptable patsy. DC: 27. Cost: 3 Budget. [] [Intr] Screw Besim
Besim knows you're here. You have absolutely no intention of letting this guy run around doing whatever he wants, so you're going to grab what documents you can grab, embarass him, and in general make sure that this guy doesn't succeed at whatever he's up to. DC: 22, Cost: 0 Budget.
Learning (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
[] [Learn] Odds and Ends
Without a real workspace to begin teasing out alchemical differences and analyzing what he comes across, Tekla is reduced to working only with what he has. What he has is that bunch of esoteric tools you asked for; if he takes a look and figures out some of their uses, he might be able to make something happen. DC: ??? (Scaling). Cost: 0 Budget.
Stewardship (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
[] [Stew] Document Analysis
With documents in hand, you can spend some time to really tease out the details of what happened when and where, which may promise to give you far more information than just the raw numbers. DC: ??? (Scaling). Cost: 0 Budget. [] [Stew] Market Analysis
You can simply buy ledgers and market prices off of merchants. Getting an idea of who's buying what at what price can only help you blow this case wide open. DC: 17. Cost: 2 Budget. [] [Stew] Better Lodgings
You're not going to lie, your lodgings are crap. Worse, they're wet and cramped, which means that you don't have good places to store documents other than your brain, Tekla doesn't have space to work with, and if sickness comes your whole group is going down. Secure better lodgings. DC: 25. Cost: 2 Budget. [] [Stew] Just Look Up the Jurisdiction Part I
Ugh. The legal system is a complicated hellhole, but you're fairly sure you can get started on figuring out which court and which judge you need to start preparing to bribe in order to get your verdict. DC: 30. Cost: 0 Budget.
Piety (Choose 1) {Agueda Action}
[] [Piety] Local Spirits
Offering tribute to local spirits as per local custom might actually get them to respond, which would help...literally all of your problems. Problem is, this is a port city, so all the local spirits are greedy little fucks, not that you'll ever admit thinking that out loud. DC: 25. Cost: 2 Budget. [] [Piety] Go Forth Among the People
Alternatively, take that money and spread it among the people as practicing members of the faith. You're sure you can cite some divine edict or another that makes this look good for you, and even if the people are initially hesitant, well, gifts speak volumes. DC: 15. Cost: 2 Budget. [] [Piety] National Spirits
This is a bit of a long-shot, because most of the big-name spirits also have big-name projects and priests so attuned to them that they are almost mortal extensions of divine will. That said, it's not out of the possibility that you might be able to contact them, and get them to send a word of advice or two. DC: 28. Cost: 0 Budget.
I know I have task votes open, but just to make everyone's lives easier let's stick to Plan Voting. Approval voting will not be in effect, so newest vote cancels.
Point of clarification: I'm going to be using your teammates with the best statline and/or narrative justification overall, but I've also added {} brackets indicating the most likely teammember whose actions you'll be using for a certain block.
Because I edited it in rather than type it out, I'll do so again here:
Martial: 1 Action, {Kerrie}, Base Stat: 17
Diplomacy: 1 Action, {Cormag}, Base Stat: 17*
Intrigue: 1 Action, {Agueda}, Base Stat: 22
Learning: 1 Action {Tekla}, Base Stat: 20
Stewardship: 1 Action {Agueda}, Base Stat: 22
Piety: 1 Action {Agueda}, Base Stat: 20
Plus 1 Action {Agueda} that can be allocated to any of the above categories.
*Tekla technically has higher Diplomacy; however, due to his "everyone knows he's a heretic but has managed to slip the reins" versus "literally a man of the cloth Cormag", Tekla ends up having worse chances of success than Cormag at convincing everyone your group isn't a bunch of blasphemers. Unless, of course, you decide to go for the lawyer party, in which case Tekla's statline gets assigned to that one instead.
Also, yes, your Piety stat is higher than Cormag's, despite you not being part of the church. The Church is fun like that.
[X] Securing a Beachhead
-[X] [YEAR] I'll be back in a year.
-[X] [ENEMY] Take him down.
-[X] [Martial] Power Players
-[X] [Diplo] Of The Cloth
-[X] [Intr] Screw Besim
--[X]Add Free Action to Screw Besim
-[X] [Learn] Odds and Ends
-[X] [Stew] Better Lodgings
-[X] [Piety] Go Forth Among the People
Can we use the +3 bonus for cooperation on an Agueda action? Does cooperation expend our free action, or does it happen automatically each turn?
If cooperation is NOT a use of our free action, can we use our free action to "double down" on an existing action?
Aside from critting on a natural 95 or above, is there any benefit to succeeding at an action by a larger margin (e.g. rolling a 26 on a DC 16 action)?
Pending answers to those questions my plan is still something of a draft, but...
OK.
So DCs are rolled against, effectively, Stat+d10. Or rather, Stat+d100/10, so it is in principle possible to have a stat of 17 and roll a 17.1 on the dice. By default we roll at 17 or higher in all areas; any action with a DC of 17 or less is assured success.
Here's an idea. We postpone our nominal mission a bit because Besim is already sabotaging us when we're barely even in town- clearly he's going to keep fucking us over as long as he can, so reducing his power to do so is a priority. Most of our other actions should be focused on gathering information, counteracting the damage to our reputation, and establishing ourselves better so that we can take effective action in the coming weeks. I suspect that a lot of our high-DC "actually solve the problem" actions will become easier once some preliminaries are taken care of.
@TheShadowOfZama , your plan is very similar to mine and came right before I was gonna post, but...
1) I suggest "Of the Cloth" and not "Bread and Charity" because it's easier.
2) I don't think your plan accounts for what to do with our free action, though we need some mechanical details from Huh to nail that down anyway.
Can we use the +3 bonus for cooperation on an Agueda action? Does cooperation expend our free action, or does it happen automatically each turn?
If cooperation is NOT a use of our free action, can we use our free action to "double down" on an existing action?
Aside from critting on a natural 95 or above, is there any benefit to succeeding at an action by a larger margin (e.g. rolling a 26 on a DC 16 action)?
Cooperation expends your free action on the same action as one of the previously chosen categories, and then adds +3 to whoever's Base Stat is higher. For example, if you chose to use Cooperation on Odds and Ends, you would be using your [Free] Action to also do Odds and Ends, giving Tekla a +3 to his Base Learning. By contrast, if you chose to use Cooperation on Cutting the Line I, that would be played out as rolling the Martial Action with Agueda's Base Stat, because Kerrie's Action is being used to Cooperate with Agueda's Cutting the Line I, giving Agueda a +3 to his Base Intrigue for Cutting the Line I.
There are no benefits to succeeding at an action by a larger margin.
The year brag sounds like asking for trouble, given influential enemies who'd have their job eased a lot if all they need to do is fuck us up for a year to humilate us.
I think @veekie makes a good point, though I'm not sure I agree with him. While I'm cautiously optimistic that we can pull this off in a year, having taken two Shinies' worth of enmity from various institutions means that we are unusually vulnerable to active interference.
@Simon_Jester The one year time limit is a gamble I am willing to take. Others might disagree. That said whilst we're off to a slightly rocky start we have to keep in mind that the opposite can also happen. There will probably be ways for us to cut corners as well.
