[X] Head for Merridge
I'm a High Fantasy Tax Collector, So What? A CKII Tax Collector Quest
- Thread starter hYGP
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
-
- Tags
- death ck2 quest all proceeds go to real spiders are we revolutionaries or reactionaries today criminal justice discussion makes the gm fuzzy don't count your boats before they sail granary management if i lose my meows get me likes to replace them justice spider knock knock it's the finance ministry meows for discussion while supplies last taxation taxes this is not an empire quest
- Location
- New York
[X] Head for Merridge
[X] Head for Merridge
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Head for Merridge
- Location
- Pittsburgh PA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Head for Merridge
THE WEB OF TREASON MONTH 2 ROLL CALL
- Location
- USA
Roll? 🎲
- Location
- USA
Well, the real question is if we want that roll to be high or low. Because it's generally been that high is good for us, but it might be that high means more progress on the event
Yeah, first event chain seems bad, and increased by low rolls, but is advancing horrifically swiftly to be the end of the crusade. Second event chain is presumably Agueda. Now we just need to prepare the Spidertax song for the Big Hero moment.
CASE: THE WEB OF TREASON MONTH 2
- Location
- Somewhere over the rainbow
EVENT CHAIN 1 [10/10] [0/10]
EVENT CHAIN 2 [7/20]
Random Event Roll: 93
The month-long journey to Merridge is easier than you had dared hope, the frozen ice providing bridges across the streams when it comes time to cross them. As if to make up for the howling fury of the past month's blizzard, the sun shines long and bright through the Aurora for what seems like every day, providing you a direct path straight to the city of Merridge as you head down alongside the thawing Claudale River, swelling up to the banks as the waterwheels along its path furiously spins, powering the great flour mills within. You hitch a ride with an extremely excitable flour merchant charting a course downstream in her barge, happily chattering away about everything that's happened under the sun.
Apparently, it was a stroke of extremely good fortune that the river was full enough to let her take a full load of grain down to the city - last month saw the rivers all frozen shut, so she couldn't sail downstream with a barge - she'd have to hire a team of mules and wagon if she wanted to move goods down the river, and even if she did the mills wouldn't work when the rivers were so frozen, but now that the spring thaws had come slightly earlier than expected she could take the full load of grain down to the city.
Yep, she affirmed, it was a pretty good month to be a food merchant. She's actually curious about your group though - a group of Colonist adventurers looking to ply their trade in Merridge? You sound kind of south...eastern Oskarian, if she had to peg your accent.
Something like that, you noncommittally agree. You suspect your reception would be much colder if she realized you were the King's finest taxmen - well, after Agueda, of course.
She laughs, and tells you you're probably a little too early, then - the westerlies aren't due to blow through for a while yet, and even if they were she hears that all the adventure's to the south by Transulinia nowadays - the westerlies would only take you up to the Rusmysian and Alanyivan circuit through the north, supposedly so cold there are whole continents of ice up there!
Of course, you probably know more about than that than a humble grain merchant, she bashfully admits, and you nod your head sagely.
It makes for pleasant company as you head into the city of Merridge.
You realized that something was different about the city of Merridge from the moment you arrive. It wasn't just the gaunt faces desperately offering the price of one and a half loaves of bread in exchange for a smaller loaf - it was something about the city itself that you couldn't quite place, a way that it was different from the Oskarian cities to the south. The scent was all wrong, the smell of city fires and smoke harsher and more sulfurous than wood-fired charcoal ought to be, laced with the scents of death and decay. Smoke seemed to linger in the air like a shimmer, not enough to truly block out the sky but enough to tell its existence. The scent of pork hung in the air, carried by great blazes to the southwest as covered wagons trundled down the streets with a particularly strong smell of death.
"Starvation," Kerrie quietly uttered, and in that moment it becomes real for you.
"The cold, too," Tekla murmured.
Ophelia looked woozy.
You quietly nod, and guide Ophelia to a side alley - to be confronted with a pale, frozen corpse. Curled up, eyes shut and hands clutching its stomach, it looked like a a child who had been unfortunate enough to get caught outside - and now all it had was a blanket of snow for a funeral.
Ophelia retched, the steamy bile splashing against the snow-covered stones as you give the child its final rites. Your face was stony as you picked the child up, looking towards the inner city. You didn't doubt for a moment that the clergy in the inner city never lacked for food, and you wondered whether all the jewels the clergy were wearing was worth this one child.
But first - you'd find a place to bury this child. It's the least you could do.
The docks that define Merridge are empty this early in the year, even as the flour and the grain comes down the Claudale River provides much needed relief to the hungry and starving city. The merchants and the nobles have locked themselves into their own districts ringing the inside of the city, barring entry through liberal use of the city guard. The city guard themselves are well-fed, with first rights to buy items in the marketplaces for the people and the lesser artisans locked out of the inner ring - even as the other residents hold on to their gaunt children.
As of this moment, you're nondescript adventurers, which confines you to the outer ring. Getting into the inner ring requires some form of authorization - legally, of course.
Remaining Budget: 380
You have 3 [Free] Actions that may be spent in any category.
You have 6 Minor Boons and 2 Major Boons that you may attach to any Action.
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] Power Mapping
As is tradition, figure out who controls what forces - or at least, what forces to be concerned about in this city. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Martial] Kicking Down the Door
You're the King's agents, and you're going to slap this Royal Seal in the face of anyone who tries to block your passage into the inner city. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget.
Diplomacy (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
[] [Diplomacy] The City Guard
You want to figure out what the deal with the city guard is out here. Perhaps you can talk with them a little bit. Preferably with gifts. DC: 20. Cost: 2 Budget.
[] [Diplomacy] The Outer Clergy
While nominally the church in this city is under one unitary authority, in practice you suspect it's just like everywhere else - the inner clergy get rich, the outer clergy get overstretched. Check it out. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Diplomacy] The Poor
Maybe it'd be meaningless, but you want to start distributing some food and helping to feed the poor people on the outskirts. It's not easy to forget that child, after all. DC: 15. Cost: 8 Budget.
Intrigue (Choose 1) {Kerrie Action}
[] [Intrigue] Inner City Infiltration
Kerrie might be able to just slip past the guards and check out the inner city. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Intrigue] Greasing the Gates
You might be able to bribe one of the city guards to let you into the city - though of course, you'll be counting on their goodwill to not report it, which means that you'll naturally have to pay more. DC: 20. Cost: 6 Budget.
[] [Intrigue] Investigating the Guard
Maybe you can look into the City Guard a bit, and look around their internal documentation. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
Learning (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
[] [Learning] Magical Mapping
Perhaps Tekla can assemble a picture of the local spirit population - and maybe give some clues on the inner functioning of the inner city. DC: 25. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Learning] Brewing Up a Solution
Tekla also happens to have some skill with alchemy. Not a lot, but perhaps enough to impress some and make some money - and a pass into the inner city. DC: 25. Cost: 4 Budget.
Stewardship (Choose 1) {Ophelia Action}
[] [Stewardship] Document Analysis
You picked up the documents from the White Hills Merchant Guild last month - but you hadn't had the chance to really dig down and see what details you could wrest out. Perhaps now is the time. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Stewardship] Shipping Manifests
The ships will be coming in soon next month, which means that you may want to see what ships are expected to be here - and then, when they arrive, which ones aren't. DC: 20. Cost: 4 Budget.
Piety (Choose 1) {Cormag Action}
[] [Piety] The Dead
Over the course of the last month, the dead have been piling up outside the city. Many of the clergy are overburdened - perhaps you can help ease the burdens of the clergy, and deliver the last rites yourself. DC: 15. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Piety] The Local Spirits
It never hurts to offer your sacrifices in exchange for better fortune to the spirits. DC: 25. Cost: 2 Budget.
[] [Piety] The Spirit of Oskaria
On the last hand, well, if you brought in the spirit of Oskaria you could be fairly certain that you would be let through the gates and given a welcome reception - at the expense of tipping off everyone in the city and for miles around. DC: 25. Cost: 0 Budget.
EVENT CHAIN 2 [7/20]
Random Event Roll: 93
The month-long journey to Merridge is easier than you had dared hope, the frozen ice providing bridges across the streams when it comes time to cross them. As if to make up for the howling fury of the past month's blizzard, the sun shines long and bright through the Aurora for what seems like every day, providing you a direct path straight to the city of Merridge as you head down alongside the thawing Claudale River, swelling up to the banks as the waterwheels along its path furiously spins, powering the great flour mills within. You hitch a ride with an extremely excitable flour merchant charting a course downstream in her barge, happily chattering away about everything that's happened under the sun.
Apparently, it was a stroke of extremely good fortune that the river was full enough to let her take a full load of grain down to the city - last month saw the rivers all frozen shut, so she couldn't sail downstream with a barge - she'd have to hire a team of mules and wagon if she wanted to move goods down the river, and even if she did the mills wouldn't work when the rivers were so frozen, but now that the spring thaws had come slightly earlier than expected she could take the full load of grain down to the city.
Yep, she affirmed, it was a pretty good month to be a food merchant. She's actually curious about your group though - a group of Colonist adventurers looking to ply their trade in Merridge? You sound kind of south...eastern Oskarian, if she had to peg your accent.
Something like that, you noncommittally agree. You suspect your reception would be much colder if she realized you were the King's finest taxmen - well, after Agueda, of course.
She laughs, and tells you you're probably a little too early, then - the westerlies aren't due to blow through for a while yet, and even if they were she hears that all the adventure's to the south by Transulinia nowadays - the westerlies would only take you up to the Rusmysian and Alanyivan circuit through the north, supposedly so cold there are whole continents of ice up there!
Of course, you probably know more about than that than a humble grain merchant, she bashfully admits, and you nod your head sagely.
It makes for pleasant company as you head into the city of Merridge.
You realized that something was different about the city of Merridge from the moment you arrive. It wasn't just the gaunt faces desperately offering the price of one and a half loaves of bread in exchange for a smaller loaf - it was something about the city itself that you couldn't quite place, a way that it was different from the Oskarian cities to the south. The scent was all wrong, the smell of city fires and smoke harsher and more sulfurous than wood-fired charcoal ought to be, laced with the scents of death and decay. Smoke seemed to linger in the air like a shimmer, not enough to truly block out the sky but enough to tell its existence. The scent of pork hung in the air, carried by great blazes to the southwest as covered wagons trundled down the streets with a particularly strong smell of death.
"Starvation," Kerrie quietly uttered, and in that moment it becomes real for you.
"The cold, too," Tekla murmured.
Ophelia looked woozy.
You quietly nod, and guide Ophelia to a side alley - to be confronted with a pale, frozen corpse. Curled up, eyes shut and hands clutching its stomach, it looked like a a child who had been unfortunate enough to get caught outside - and now all it had was a blanket of snow for a funeral.
Ophelia retched, the steamy bile splashing against the snow-covered stones as you give the child its final rites. Your face was stony as you picked the child up, looking towards the inner city. You didn't doubt for a moment that the clergy in the inner city never lacked for food, and you wondered whether all the jewels the clergy were wearing was worth this one child.
But first - you'd find a place to bury this child. It's the least you could do.
The docks that define Merridge are empty this early in the year, even as the flour and the grain comes down the Claudale River provides much needed relief to the hungry and starving city. The merchants and the nobles have locked themselves into their own districts ringing the inside of the city, barring entry through liberal use of the city guard. The city guard themselves are well-fed, with first rights to buy items in the marketplaces for the people and the lesser artisans locked out of the inner ring - even as the other residents hold on to their gaunt children.
As of this moment, you're nondescript adventurers, which confines you to the outer ring. Getting into the inner ring requires some form of authorization - legally, of course.
Remaining Budget: 380
You have 3 [Free] Actions that may be spent in any category.
You have 6 Minor Boons and 2 Major Boons that you may attach to any Action.
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] Power Mapping
As is tradition, figure out who controls what forces - or at least, what forces to be concerned about in this city. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Martial] Kicking Down the Door
You're the King's agents, and you're going to slap this Royal Seal in the face of anyone who tries to block your passage into the inner city. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget.
Diplomacy (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
[] [Diplomacy] The City Guard
You want to figure out what the deal with the city guard is out here. Perhaps you can talk with them a little bit. Preferably with gifts. DC: 20. Cost: 2 Budget.
[] [Diplomacy] The Outer Clergy
While nominally the church in this city is under one unitary authority, in practice you suspect it's just like everywhere else - the inner clergy get rich, the outer clergy get overstretched. Check it out. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Diplomacy] The Poor
Maybe it'd be meaningless, but you want to start distributing some food and helping to feed the poor people on the outskirts. It's not easy to forget that child, after all. DC: 15. Cost: 8 Budget.
Intrigue (Choose 1) {Kerrie Action}
[] [Intrigue] Inner City Infiltration
Kerrie might be able to just slip past the guards and check out the inner city. DC: 20. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Intrigue] Greasing the Gates
You might be able to bribe one of the city guards to let you into the city - though of course, you'll be counting on their goodwill to not report it, which means that you'll naturally have to pay more. DC: 20. Cost: 6 Budget.
[] [Intrigue] Investigating the Guard
Maybe you can look into the City Guard a bit, and look around their internal documentation. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
Learning (Choose 1) {Tekla Action}
[] [Learning] Magical Mapping
Perhaps Tekla can assemble a picture of the local spirit population - and maybe give some clues on the inner functioning of the inner city. DC: 25. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Learning] Brewing Up a Solution
Tekla also happens to have some skill with alchemy. Not a lot, but perhaps enough to impress some and make some money - and a pass into the inner city. DC: 25. Cost: 4 Budget.
Stewardship (Choose 1) {Ophelia Action}
[] [Stewardship] Document Analysis
You picked up the documents from the White Hills Merchant Guild last month - but you hadn't had the chance to really dig down and see what details you could wrest out. Perhaps now is the time. DC: 24. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Stewardship] Shipping Manifests
The ships will be coming in soon next month, which means that you may want to see what ships are expected to be here - and then, when they arrive, which ones aren't. DC: 20. Cost: 4 Budget.
Piety (Choose 1) {Cormag Action}
[] [Piety] The Dead
Over the course of the last month, the dead have been piling up outside the city. Many of the clergy are overburdened - perhaps you can help ease the burdens of the clergy, and deliver the last rites yourself. DC: 15. Cost: 0 Budget.
[] [Piety] The Local Spirits
It never hurts to offer your sacrifices in exchange for better fortune to the spirits. DC: 25. Cost: 2 Budget.
[] [Piety] The Spirit of Oskaria
On the last hand, well, if you brought in the spirit of Oskaria you could be fairly certain that you would be let through the gates and given a welcome reception - at the expense of tipping off everyone in the city and for miles around. DC: 25. Cost: 0 Budget.
Last edited:
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
@huhYeahGoodPoint Do we still need to worry about that -5 modifier from last month?
- Location
- Southampton, Great Britain
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Oshha
-[X] [Martial] Power Mapping
-[X] [Diplomacy] The City Watch
-[X] [Free] The Outer Clergy
-[X] [Free] The Poor
-[X] [Intrigue] Inner City Infiltration
-[X] [Learning] Magical Mapping
-[X] [Stewardship] Document Analysis
-[X] [Free] Shipping Manifests
-[X] [Piety] The Dead
Power Mapping for Martial because I both want to know the power players and stay discreet for now. With the City Watch, I want to go for the cheaper Diplo option to deal with them over the Intrigue actions whilst I also want to get on the good side of the working priests. Intrigue goes into sneaking into the inner city as the easiest and cheapest intrigue action and Learning goes to the cheaper option through I would consider the second for some cash if it was easier, but as it is, I don't want to spend money to make more money when we have no certainty of getting some coin out of our investment. Going for both Stewardship actions to get some more documents and analyse the ones we got last month.
Finally, doing the Poor and the Dead because I want to help people out. Who knows, it might even be beneficial if we get some goodwill on our side or dampen a brewing crisis. I also don't want to do the Spirit of Oskaria as I previously mentioned, I want to stay discreet for the time being.
-[X] [Martial] Power Mapping
-[X] [Diplomacy] The City Watch
-[X] [Free] The Outer Clergy
-[X] [Free] The Poor
-[X] [Intrigue] Inner City Infiltration
-[X] [Learning] Magical Mapping
-[X] [Stewardship] Document Analysis
-[X] [Free] Shipping Manifests
-[X] [Piety] The Dead
Power Mapping for Martial because I both want to know the power players and stay discreet for now. With the City Watch, I want to go for the cheaper Diplo option to deal with them over the Intrigue actions whilst I also want to get on the good side of the working priests. Intrigue goes into sneaking into the inner city as the easiest and cheapest intrigue action and Learning goes to the cheaper option through I would consider the second for some cash if it was easier, but as it is, I don't want to spend money to make more money when we have no certainty of getting some coin out of our investment. Going for both Stewardship actions to get some more documents and analyse the ones we got last month.
Finally, doing the Poor and the Dead because I want to help people out. Who knows, it might even be beneficial if we get some goodwill on our side or dampen a brewing crisis. I also don't want to do the Spirit of Oskaria as I previously mentioned, I want to stay discreet for the time being.
- Location
- Somewhere over the rainbow
Considering that modifier was because of a massive blizzard that literally dumped 10+ feet of snow on you for a while, and you are very much not being hit with 10+ feet of snow right now, you do not need to worry about that -5 modifier.
Unless you roll poorly. Then you might need to.
- Location
- Somewhere in the area
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
A grim reminder that even as we investigate the country for traitors, there is a much deeper and much more insidious corruption plaguing the land. Remember this as we go forward, for it will be people like this child who will pay the price of these nobles' treacherous greed.
[X] Plan Oshha
NotInventedHere
MSV, Desert Class
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
... Huh. Is "Colonist" a general term for "non-human", then? I kind of assumed it specifically referred to Agueda's spider-folk.