(Credit to @BoneyM for the inspiration. Be the change you want to see in the world, they said...
In the Wake of Monsters - an Advisor's Quest
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Character Creation - Part 1
- Location
- Norway
(Credit to @BoneyM for the inspiration. Be the change you want to see in the world, they said, and I wanted more like that. Further quest information in next post.)
Has it only been a year? Less, even, since the Abominations came? Rains of fire and poison over the city, behemoths on land and sea, alleys painted in madness-inducing glyphs of blood, insect-men and land-krakens. The calendar says they arrived to wreak havoc less than nine months ago. Your mind insists it was years the city of Silverport suffered. Surely so many atrocities could not be contained in so short a time? The Guardian Clan, butchered by the Queen when they rejected her. The Dragon Clan, decimated by the Shadow for who knows what. The men and women turned to stone in an instant, not even out of hostility, but merely because they stood in the wrong street when the Abominations fought. The screaming pillar of fire, its words seared into your mind. The waking nightmares. The spiders. You shudder to think of it.
Suddenly, they were gone. The bells rang in the last night of the new year, and in the morning, the Abominations had vanished.
For a while there was fear that they might return. But a week passed peacefully, and a month held no horrors, and it became clear that Silverport, City of Cities, had weathered the storm. Now it is time to rebuild and shape the future. The new Portlord and the old Clan Heads will shape it the most, of course. But in your new position on the Privy Council, as personal advisor to the Portlord, you are firmly in the second rank of influencers...
What position have you been appointed to?
[ ] Diplomacy: The Chancellor is responsible for handling relations with powers foreign and domestic, with people and with gods. You speak with the voice of the Portlord, and will be responsible for maintaining connections and soothing tempers.
[ ] Martial: The Marshal is in charge of military matters, strong right hand to the Portlord. It is a position of great power, but also one of danger and responsibility - though it can be led just as well from the back as from the front. And in times of danger, where better to be than surrounded by armed and loyal men?
[ ] Stewardship: The Steward is responsible for bookkeeping and economy, giving you direct access not only to your own budget but to all incoming wealth as well. A heady position, but also one that attracts a lot of blame when things go poorly, and a lot of expectations to be able to wave a wand and make money appear.
[ ] Intrigue: The Spymaster is the feinting left hand to the Marshal's strong right hand, responsible for skulduggery, espionage and counter-espionage. You have the most leeway in this position, but will likely also get the most blame for things that go wrong entirely outside your control.
[ ] Learning: The Sage is responsible for counseling correct behavior in crises and dilemmas, teaching rectitude and virtue to children and heirs of importance, as well as interacting with with those spirits, gods and ghosts who are not amenable to the Chancellor's diplomatic approach (which is frankly most of them).
--
Appointment to the Privy Council is not strictly meritocratic, particularly at the start of a new Portlord's term when there are political favors to be repaid. A good measure of skill is needed, but familial backing helps a great deal too, as well as some reason or passion to put yourself forwards. What drives you?
[ ] Avarice: You are among the dozen best-paid men in Silverport, but even greater opportunity can be found with the lucrative projects and bountiful budgets your position has access to.
(Bonuses to embezzlement attempts and other profitable avenues; willpower rolls to keep from dipping directly into the budgets you control if you make no off-the-books income or other improvement in personal wealth in a particular year.)
[ ] Vainglory: The role of advisor is prestigious, certainly, but hardly glorious - unless you go above and beyond the call of duty, and sometimes above and beyond what was asked of you, and sometimes even above and beyond sanity and rationality.
(Bonuses to large, revolutionary, or otherwise impressive projects or achievements; maluses to more mundane assignments.)
[ ] Nepotism: You have a large family, many of whom are eager for prestigious and well-paying jobs. You do this for them because you love them, of course. Actually getting some peace and quiet at home is just a side-benefit.
(Reliable source of very loyal candidates for key roles; malus to all rolls if these positions are not found on a regular basis. A very prestigious position might buy you a few years, or you could fill sundry middle management positions every year.)
[ ] Inspiration: To you, this position is merely a stepping stone towards a pet project that consumes you.
(One inspired super-project of dubious utility and questionable safety with bonuses to working towards it when given official permission; minor maluses to all other projects as you neglect them in favour of tinkering with your passion. Completing a super-project will give you peace for a few years until a new one occurs to you.)
[ ] Revolutionary: You are grossly dissatisfied with the social order, whether due to personal affront or reading too much philosophy. It must be changed.
(Bonus to social reform actions; slowly accumulating malus if you go too long without making any changes or at least doing away with reactionary opposition.)
[ ] Foreign Agent: You have deep-seated loyalties and favours owed to some state other than the great city you call home.
(You will be expected to keep your place of origin informed of all relevant developments in the city, and occasionally take certain actions and pursue specific goals given by a foreign lord.)
[ ] Abomination Agent: You sought refuge in the eye of the storm, and swore fealty to the monsters in human shape. You know in your heart they are not truly gone, and they will expect you to prepare the way for their eventual return.
(May draw on support network of other cultists. Overuse or indiscretion risks discovery, which is likely to have severe consequences.)
--
Finally, from what clan have you been appointed?
[ ] Ascension: The oldest of the Great Houses, most learned and far-flung. They claim that their private library-vaults stretch back to the Founding. Several of its members are known to be cultivators. The Ascension Clan also dominates the incense trade and has its fingers in a great many other pies relating to the numerous shrines and cults around Silverport.
(Bonus die to calls for spiritual or scholarly aid, but high expectations and extra demands on your time.)
[ ] Bridge: The richest and most warlike. Many of their soldiers allegedly served under the Abominations, which has worsened the clan's already poor reputation. Resources will not be a problem. Getting cooperation outside your clan will. The most recent Portlord was from this clan, and they are in the best initial position at game start as a result.
(Bonus die to calls for secular or martial aid, but poor relations with minor clans and the common people.)
[ ] Wisdom: The most numerous, with a great many elders living out their days in peace and quiet on a farm somewhere. Clan Wisdom is the largest landowner and food supplier in Silverport, a position they haven't been shy about using to extort concessions. A clothes shortage is merely embarrassing, but a rice shortage can prove deadly. At game start the current Portlord of Silverport has been elected from this clan.
(Bonus to relations with boss and clan, but poor relations with other major clans.)
[ ] Gold: The most recent to join the ranks of the Five Greats. Still looked down on in Silverport and treated by some as a minor clan, but well-connected abroad, with less dead weight and sinecures. Prone to high art and impracticality.
(Bonus die to actions involving foreign parts, but penalty to calls for aid.)
[ ] A Minor Clan: A rising star but not yet a great power in the politics of the city. Does the Portlord think your dynasty should replace Dragon as the fifth of the Five Greats? Or is your appointment merely intended to placate your extended family when someone else is elevated?
(No initial modifier. Optionally suggest a name, should be in wuxia/xianxia nounish style.)
Has it only been a year? Less, even, since the Abominations came? Rains of fire and poison over the city, behemoths on land and sea, alleys painted in madness-inducing glyphs of blood, insect-men and land-krakens. The calendar says they arrived to wreak havoc less than nine months ago. Your mind insists it was years the city of Silverport suffered. Surely so many atrocities could not be contained in so short a time? The Guardian Clan, butchered by the Queen when they rejected her. The Dragon Clan, decimated by the Shadow for who knows what. The men and women turned to stone in an instant, not even out of hostility, but merely because they stood in the wrong street when the Abominations fought. The screaming pillar of fire, its words seared into your mind. The waking nightmares. The spiders. You shudder to think of it.
Suddenly, they were gone. The bells rang in the last night of the new year, and in the morning, the Abominations had vanished.
For a while there was fear that they might return. But a week passed peacefully, and a month held no horrors, and it became clear that Silverport, City of Cities, had weathered the storm. Now it is time to rebuild and shape the future. The new Portlord and the old Clan Heads will shape it the most, of course. But in your new position on the Privy Council, as personal advisor to the Portlord, you are firmly in the second rank of influencers...
What position have you been appointed to?
[ ] Diplomacy: The Chancellor is responsible for handling relations with powers foreign and domestic, with people and with gods. You speak with the voice of the Portlord, and will be responsible for maintaining connections and soothing tempers.
[ ] Martial: The Marshal is in charge of military matters, strong right hand to the Portlord. It is a position of great power, but also one of danger and responsibility - though it can be led just as well from the back as from the front. And in times of danger, where better to be than surrounded by armed and loyal men?
[ ] Stewardship: The Steward is responsible for bookkeeping and economy, giving you direct access not only to your own budget but to all incoming wealth as well. A heady position, but also one that attracts a lot of blame when things go poorly, and a lot of expectations to be able to wave a wand and make money appear.
[ ] Intrigue: The Spymaster is the feinting left hand to the Marshal's strong right hand, responsible for skulduggery, espionage and counter-espionage. You have the most leeway in this position, but will likely also get the most blame for things that go wrong entirely outside your control.
[ ] Learning: The Sage is responsible for counseling correct behavior in crises and dilemmas, teaching rectitude and virtue to children and heirs of importance, as well as interacting with with those spirits, gods and ghosts who are not amenable to the Chancellor's diplomatic approach (which is frankly most of them).
--
Appointment to the Privy Council is not strictly meritocratic, particularly at the start of a new Portlord's term when there are political favors to be repaid. A good measure of skill is needed, but familial backing helps a great deal too, as well as some reason or passion to put yourself forwards. What drives you?
[ ] Avarice: You are among the dozen best-paid men in Silverport, but even greater opportunity can be found with the lucrative projects and bountiful budgets your position has access to.
(Bonuses to embezzlement attempts and other profitable avenues; willpower rolls to keep from dipping directly into the budgets you control if you make no off-the-books income or other improvement in personal wealth in a particular year.)
[ ] Vainglory: The role of advisor is prestigious, certainly, but hardly glorious - unless you go above and beyond the call of duty, and sometimes above and beyond what was asked of you, and sometimes even above and beyond sanity and rationality.
(Bonuses to large, revolutionary, or otherwise impressive projects or achievements; maluses to more mundane assignments.)
[ ] Nepotism: You have a large family, many of whom are eager for prestigious and well-paying jobs. You do this for them because you love them, of course. Actually getting some peace and quiet at home is just a side-benefit.
(Reliable source of very loyal candidates for key roles; malus to all rolls if these positions are not found on a regular basis. A very prestigious position might buy you a few years, or you could fill sundry middle management positions every year.)
[ ] Inspiration: To you, this position is merely a stepping stone towards a pet project that consumes you.
(One inspired super-project of dubious utility and questionable safety with bonuses to working towards it when given official permission; minor maluses to all other projects as you neglect them in favour of tinkering with your passion. Completing a super-project will give you peace for a few years until a new one occurs to you.)
[ ] Revolutionary: You are grossly dissatisfied with the social order, whether due to personal affront or reading too much philosophy. It must be changed.
(Bonus to social reform actions; slowly accumulating malus if you go too long without making any changes or at least doing away with reactionary opposition.)
[ ] Foreign Agent: You have deep-seated loyalties and favours owed to some state other than the great city you call home.
(You will be expected to keep your place of origin informed of all relevant developments in the city, and occasionally take certain actions and pursue specific goals given by a foreign lord.)
[ ] Abomination Agent: You sought refuge in the eye of the storm, and swore fealty to the monsters in human shape. You know in your heart they are not truly gone, and they will expect you to prepare the way for their eventual return.
(May draw on support network of other cultists. Overuse or indiscretion risks discovery, which is likely to have severe consequences.)
--
Finally, from what clan have you been appointed?
[ ] Ascension: The oldest of the Great Houses, most learned and far-flung. They claim that their private library-vaults stretch back to the Founding. Several of its members are known to be cultivators. The Ascension Clan also dominates the incense trade and has its fingers in a great many other pies relating to the numerous shrines and cults around Silverport.
(Bonus die to calls for spiritual or scholarly aid, but high expectations and extra demands on your time.)
[ ] Bridge: The richest and most warlike. Many of their soldiers allegedly served under the Abominations, which has worsened the clan's already poor reputation. Resources will not be a problem. Getting cooperation outside your clan will. The most recent Portlord was from this clan, and they are in the best initial position at game start as a result.
(Bonus die to calls for secular or martial aid, but poor relations with minor clans and the common people.)
[ ] Wisdom: The most numerous, with a great many elders living out their days in peace and quiet on a farm somewhere. Clan Wisdom is the largest landowner and food supplier in Silverport, a position they haven't been shy about using to extort concessions. A clothes shortage is merely embarrassing, but a rice shortage can prove deadly. At game start the current Portlord of Silverport has been elected from this clan.
(Bonus to relations with boss and clan, but poor relations with other major clans.)
[ ] Gold: The most recent to join the ranks of the Five Greats. Still looked down on in Silverport and treated by some as a minor clan, but well-connected abroad, with less dead weight and sinecures. Prone to high art and impracticality.
(Bonus die to actions involving foreign parts, but penalty to calls for aid.)
[ ] A Minor Clan: A rising star but not yet a great power in the politics of the city. Does the Portlord think your dynasty should replace Dragon as the fifth of the Five Greats? Or is your appointment merely intended to placate your extended family when someone else is elevated?
(No initial modifier. Optionally suggest a name, should be in wuxia/xianxia nounish style.)
Last edited:
Character Creation - Part 2
- Location
- Norway
Winning votes:
Here you will select your life prior to achieving your current office. This stage and the next involve a form of chargen currency called shinies. These can be spent now and in the next stage of character development on traits, special resources, unique items, skilled followers, and other bits and bobs, mostly based on the background you select in this stage. Any shinies remaining unspent after that will carry over into the game and can be spent on powerful strokes of good luck in the first few turns.
YOU HAVE THREE (3) SHINIES.
Region of Origin - while Clan Avalanche has its heart and home in Silverport, there are family members and trade outposts scattered quite a ways abroad. Where were you raised? (Somewhat longer descriptions in this post, under Geography.)
[ ] [Region] Silverport proper: Born and raised in the heart of the City of Cities, you know its people well, and you know how things are done here. -1 shinies
[ ] [Region] Silverport tributaries: A hundred villages and towns bow to the majesty of Silverport, and you rejoice at having moved to the capital.
[ ] [Region] Caligia: Living in this fractious confederation of statelets breeds a sharp ear for trouble and small differences.
[ ] [Region] Stratocracy of Tokara: Children are often fostered here for a particular sort of education.
[ ] [Region] Petty Princedoms: Sometimes you imagine seizing a valley of your own here. Or buying one.
[ ] [Region] Iron Plains: Wild men in wild lands teach the lessons of self-reliance.
[ ] [Region] Foundation: This supposed client state has told you a bit more about the Second Empire.
[ ] [Region] Dustland: Exiles and pitiless, silent mountains. What mysteries do they hold?
[ ] [Region] Bloody Hills: A savage, violent backwater that receives short shrift among civilized folk. +1 shinies
[ ] [Region] Rootless: You either travelled too much to build up contacts, or lost them somewhere along the way. +1 shinies
[ ] [Region] Faraway: Silverport seems almost foreign. +1 shinies
Sex - no mechanical effects, some cultural.
[ ] [Sex] Male
[ ] [Sex] Female
Are you married yet? If not, you will be pressured to get married soon. Can't have such a great person not leaving behind any descendants, after all.
[ ] [Status] Single
[ ] [Status] Married
Background - the most important part of this vote. Affects your starting stats and a lot of the further shiny options that will be available to you. If you want another precursor to Steward that isn't listed here, tell me and I'll see about adding it.
[ ] [Background] Innkeeper: Keeping track of comings and goings, payments and tabs, and who can be trusted to settle their debts has been good practice.
+Stewardship, +Diplomacy, -Learning
[ ] [Background] Travelogue Writer: When a caravan or treasure fleet on an extended journey needed someone to track their activities and contacts at each stop, they chose you. It's dry work, but sharpens the mind wonderfully.
+Stewardship, +Intrigue, -Martial
[ ] [Background] Temple Bookkeeper: You managed the mundane affairs of a major temple, counting donations and copying books.
+Stewardship, +Learning, -Diplomacy
[ ] [Background] Scribe: You studied for years at one of the great schools of writecraft, becoming particularly fluent with numbers, letters, argument and memory.
+Stewardship, +Learning, -Intrigue
[ ] [Background] Mercenary Band: Your knowledge of coin and payment has been accompanied by an education in the brutal side of life.
+Stewardship, +Martial, -Learning
[ ] [Background] Favored Heir: You have received a great deal of instruction from professional tutors since a young age, gaining a wide range of skills.
+Stewardship, +Learning, +Diplomacy, +Intrigue, -1 shinies
[ ] [Background] Cultivator: You spent years in meditation, fasting and taking cinnabar pills to unlock and refine your qi.
+Learning, -1 shinies
(does not give as much magic as WHF wizards, temper your expectations)
This vote is by task, separate winner in each category. For the benefit of the tally bot, please keep the format of "[X] [Category] Your vote". You do not need to vote in all categories if you are undecided in some of them.
You will be the new Steward of Silverport. You shudder a little as the implications sink in. "No taxes" is all well and good an ideal when you're the one who'd be paying. When you're responsible for collecting, though? It's enough to make you briefly sympathetic to monarchists when you consider all the myriad tolls, tariffs, tithes, fees, fines, and rents you'll have to tally up. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad to work for a king who simply seized one part in ten... nah, belay that talk. You are a free citizen of a free city and you will pay for fair service rendered, but not a dinar for a tyrant who squats in a castle and extracts on the grounds of mere location.
You will also be overseeing a great deal of expenses, the largest of which is usually religious ceremonies and offerings. Ghosts of ancestors and gods of household, spirits of wood and water, Eternal Light the patron of Silverport, Sun and Moon watching over the world, many are the denizens of the supernatural world to stay on good terms with. At least it won't be your job to talk to them personally - just sign off on the incense and whatnot. On the other hand, for the coming year at least, reparations and reconstructions will probably outnumber offerings. So much burnt, so many dead, so much lost.
Your nomination is a hopeful sign that the minor clan of Avalanche may soon be raised to prominence and become one of the Five Great Houses of renown. Gossip and optimism run through your extended family like wildfire. Two main currents of topic are easy to overhear: those who want to direct resources towards you to help you in your new position and impress Wisdom Shining Void more thoroughly, and those who want to draw resources from you, expecting you to repay the favors that were no doubt expended to get you this position.
But it is hard to pay attention to the details of gossip when you are in the grips of inspiration. There will be so much you can do! Ideas and plans flit through your head. You've long had pleasant daydreams of invention and improvement, and with your new seat of power, you will be able to make some of them reality at last. The question is, what first?
You will also be overseeing a great deal of expenses, the largest of which is usually religious ceremonies and offerings. Ghosts of ancestors and gods of household, spirits of wood and water, Eternal Light the patron of Silverport, Sun and Moon watching over the world, many are the denizens of the supernatural world to stay on good terms with. At least it won't be your job to talk to them personally - just sign off on the incense and whatnot. On the other hand, for the coming year at least, reparations and reconstructions will probably outnumber offerings. So much burnt, so many dead, so much lost.
Your nomination is a hopeful sign that the minor clan of Avalanche may soon be raised to prominence and become one of the Five Great Houses of renown. Gossip and optimism run through your extended family like wildfire. Two main currents of topic are easy to overhear: those who want to direct resources towards you to help you in your new position and impress Wisdom Shining Void more thoroughly, and those who want to draw resources from you, expecting you to repay the favors that were no doubt expended to get you this position.
But it is hard to pay attention to the details of gossip when you are in the grips of inspiration. There will be so much you can do! Ideas and plans flit through your head. You've long had pleasant daydreams of invention and improvement, and with your new seat of power, you will be able to make some of them reality at last. The question is, what first?
Here you will select your life prior to achieving your current office. This stage and the next involve a form of chargen currency called shinies. These can be spent now and in the next stage of character development on traits, special resources, unique items, skilled followers, and other bits and bobs, mostly based on the background you select in this stage. Any shinies remaining unspent after that will carry over into the game and can be spent on powerful strokes of good luck in the first few turns.
YOU HAVE THREE (3) SHINIES.
Region of Origin - while Clan Avalanche has its heart and home in Silverport, there are family members and trade outposts scattered quite a ways abroad. Where were you raised? (Somewhat longer descriptions in this post, under Geography.)
[ ] [Region] Silverport proper: Born and raised in the heart of the City of Cities, you know its people well, and you know how things are done here. -1 shinies
[ ] [Region] Silverport tributaries: A hundred villages and towns bow to the majesty of Silverport, and you rejoice at having moved to the capital.
[ ] [Region] Caligia: Living in this fractious confederation of statelets breeds a sharp ear for trouble and small differences.
[ ] [Region] Stratocracy of Tokara: Children are often fostered here for a particular sort of education.
[ ] [Region] Petty Princedoms: Sometimes you imagine seizing a valley of your own here. Or buying one.
[ ] [Region] Iron Plains: Wild men in wild lands teach the lessons of self-reliance.
[ ] [Region] Foundation: This supposed client state has told you a bit more about the Second Empire.
[ ] [Region] Dustland: Exiles and pitiless, silent mountains. What mysteries do they hold?
[ ] [Region] Bloody Hills: A savage, violent backwater that receives short shrift among civilized folk. +1 shinies
[ ] [Region] Rootless: You either travelled too much to build up contacts, or lost them somewhere along the way. +1 shinies
[ ] [Region] Faraway: Silverport seems almost foreign. +1 shinies
Sex - no mechanical effects, some cultural.
[ ] [Sex] Male
[ ] [Sex] Female
Are you married yet? If not, you will be pressured to get married soon. Can't have such a great person not leaving behind any descendants, after all.
[ ] [Status] Single
[ ] [Status] Married
Background - the most important part of this vote. Affects your starting stats and a lot of the further shiny options that will be available to you. If you want another precursor to Steward that isn't listed here, tell me and I'll see about adding it.
[ ] [Background] Innkeeper: Keeping track of comings and goings, payments and tabs, and who can be trusted to settle their debts has been good practice.
+Stewardship, +Diplomacy, -Learning
[ ] [Background] Travelogue Writer: When a caravan or treasure fleet on an extended journey needed someone to track their activities and contacts at each stop, they chose you. It's dry work, but sharpens the mind wonderfully.
+Stewardship, +Intrigue, -Martial
[ ] [Background] Temple Bookkeeper: You managed the mundane affairs of a major temple, counting donations and copying books.
+Stewardship, +Learning, -Diplomacy
[ ] [Background] Scribe: You studied for years at one of the great schools of writecraft, becoming particularly fluent with numbers, letters, argument and memory.
+Stewardship, +Learning, -Intrigue
[ ] [Background] Mercenary Band: Your knowledge of coin and payment has been accompanied by an education in the brutal side of life.
+Stewardship, +Martial, -Learning
[ ] [Background] Favored Heir: You have received a great deal of instruction from professional tutors since a young age, gaining a wide range of skills.
+Stewardship, +Learning, +Diplomacy, +Intrigue, -1 shinies
[ ] [Background] Cultivator: You spent years in meditation, fasting and taking cinnabar pills to unlock and refine your qi.
+Learning, -1 shinies
(does not give as much magic as WHF wizards, temper your expectations)
This vote is by task, separate winner in each category. For the benefit of the tally bot, please keep the format of "[X] [Category] Your vote". You do not need to vote in all categories if you are undecided in some of them.
Last edited:
Character Creation - Part 3
- Location
- Norway
Forum downtime hit just as I was calling it. Winning votes, slightly delayed:
A favored son of Clan Avalanche who studied abroad in Tokara before coming home to be married and tutored. That's life history outlined. Now comes the last and most finicky part.
You have TWO (2) shinies remaining for buying character traits and advantages. Because of the shared dependency all over, this vote is by plan.There is a two hour moratorium on voting. Moratorium over.
TROUBLES
You can get some extra shinies for your character by piling more problems on them too.
[ ] Very Divided Loyalties
+3 shinies. Go back to the first post and choose a second motivation.
[ ] Touched by the Abominations
+1 shiny. You were visibly marked where their shadow fell on you. Some may look at you in sympathy for what was done to you, others in horror as they remember what was done to them. You do not get to choose the mark. Cannot be taken with Twisted.
[ ] Twisted by the Abominations
+2 shinies. You were permanently altered by the wake of their passing. Perhaps a hive of locusts nests in your chest, or perhaps you can only sleep in the depths of the river. You do not get to choose the alteration. Cannot be taken with Touched.
[ ] Political Debt
+1 shiny. Clan Avalanche has put a lot of work into getting you your position and the elders are insistent you return the favor before they help you with anything else.
[ ] Monetary Debt
+1 shiny. You have borrowed a great deal of money for previous inspired projects that sadly did not work out as well as you had hoped.
[ ] Vendetta
+2 shinies. You have a rival of similar skill and power who feels slighted by being passed over for the post of Steward, who will seek to ruin and discredit you and take your place.
[ ] Tattered Meridians
+1 shiny, -2 Learning. Your qi flows are blocked in some places and overflow elsewhere. You will absolutely never be a cultivator, and worse, you suffer severe pain in the presence of any beings who are channeling qi, such as cultivators or gods. Cannot be taken with Promising Meridians.
[ ] Coward
+1 shiny, -2 Martial. You shy away from violence and battle, and are easily intimidated. Cannot be taken with Brave.
[ ] Cruel
+1 shiny, -2 Diplomacy. You are prone to using pain and threats to enforce your will.
[ ] Loose Lips
+1 shiny, -2 Intrigue. You have an unfortunate habit of blurting out whatever's on your mind. Cannot be taken with Levelheaded.
NICE THINGS
Each of your shinies can now buy one of the following items. +1 traits are not weaker than larger numbers, they'll just have more narrative effects and situational influence that cannot be fully quantified up front.
Physical traits
[ ] Resilient: You are difficult to put down. +1 Martial, resistance to being poisoned, reduce penalties and recover faster from any injuries you suffer.
[ ] Strong: A very straightforward advantage. +4 Martial.
[ ] Tall: You stand a head above most, giving you an edge in combat and a little bit of extra respect from everyone that has to lean backwards to look you in the eye. +2 Martial, bonus to relations with anyone that respects size, bonus to intimidation attempts
Mental traits
[ ] Brave: You can withstand terrors that make others flee. Cannot be taken with Coward. +1 Martial
[ ] Eidetic Memory: Unless severely distracted, you are able to memorize anything at a glance and recall it in perfect detail later. +1 Learning
[ ] Levelheaded: Nothing ever seems to startle or upset you. You always have your wits about you, even under stress. Cannot be taken with Loose Lips. +1 Intrigue
[ ] Organized: Through habit or obsession, you keep everything neat, tidy, and in it's place. +1 Stewardship
[ ] Paranoid: They'll never catch you off guard. Whoever they are. +1 Intrigue.
[ ] Polyglot: You easily pick up new languages. +1 Diplomacy
[ ] Quick: You're naturally brighter than the average person. +1 to all stats, though no narrative advantages.
[ ] Supernumerate: You can crunch numbers with ease, making bookkeeping and trigonometry a snap. +1 Stewardship
Social traits
[ ] Animal Kinship: You have a gift for getting along with and training animals. Regular animals, that is; it'd take a lot of work and luck to apply the knack to, say, hippogryphs. +1 Diplomacy
[ ] Gossipmonger: You have a knack for keeping one ear on the buzz of gossip all around you, giving you early warnings when something isn't quite right in your immediate vicinity and a source of low-level local information. +1 Intrigue
[ ] Honorable: You consistently stand by your word and your friends even when it costs you. +1 Diplomacy
[ ] Carouser: You're always the life of the party, and you have an easier time making new friends. +1 Diplomacy.
[ ] Silver Tongue: You are very, very good at telling lies. +1 Intrigue.
Miscellaneous benefits
[ ] Friends in <choose major clan>: Just what it says. May be taken up to four times, once for each of the current Great Houses.
[ ] Helpful Predecessor: The previous Steward of Silverport has graciously agreed to assist you and ensure a smooth transition. Bonus die to job-related Stewardship actions during the first year.
[ ] Past Life Memories: You retain fragments of knowledge from your previous incarnations. +1 Learning, tiny chance of randomly boosting any roll.
[ ] Promising Meridians: If you somehow find the time required for it between your job, your clan and your projects, you might also make a decent cultivator. Mutually exclusive with Tattered Meridians.
[ ] Prophetic Dreams: From time to time you get glimpses of futures that may come to pass.
[ ] A Silver Brush: It writes in any color, creates its own ink, and even takes dictation. So much more practical than a magic spear. +2 Stewardship, +1 Learning.
[ ] A Golden Flame: When clasped firmly, it glows with a warm and hearty light. Protects against cold, pierces all darkness, inspires bravery, and is said to even ward off the restless dead. +2 Martial, environmental effects.
[ ] A Bag of Holding: This small cloth bag is much larger on the inside and practically weightless no matter what you put in it. Enables you to always be well-prepared for anything and everything, even on short notice or when travelling.
I repeat, this vote is by plan,two hour moratorium. Moratorium over.
If you have leftover shinies after the winning plan, they will result in very favorable random events and strokes of luck during the first few turns. You are allowed to spend more shinies than you have and start the game with negative shinies, and each of those will instead be converted into a botch or a sudden misfortune.
If there's a trait you think should be added to the list, suggest it and I'll try to think of reasonable stats for it.
Numeric impact: 0 is complete incompetence, 5 is untrained average, 10 is trained average, 15 is professional, 20 is renowned expert, 30 is as good as a mortal can get by training alone, 40 is achievable with a lot of luck and a divine blessing and stacked traits. This quest will use something like d50s rather than d100s.
- [X] [Region] Stratocracy of Tokara: Children are often fostered here for a particular sort of education.
Number of voters: 9
veekie, No7sHere, Sirapthy, giodan, King50000, zamin, wingstrike96, Terran Imperium,StarkDemise - [X] [Sex] Male
Number of voters: 13
Marlin, Kalrotix, tri2, Cawasnow, Stranger1950, thamuzz, Pathetic King, Zaratustra,StarkDemise, Angelform, Alectai, The Meddler, Kingofbooks - [X] [Status] Married
Number of voters: 21
Marlin, Kalrotix, tri2, Cawasnow, Stranger1950, thamuzz, veekie, No7sHere, Sirapthy,giodan, King50000, zamin, wingstrike96, Terran Imperium, Zaratustra, StarkDemise,Angelform, Alectai, The Meddler, Kingofbooks, Derpmind - [X] [Background] Favored Heir: You have received a great deal of instruction from professional tutors since a young age, gaining a wide range of skills.
Number of voters: 11
veekie, No7sHere, Sirapthy, giodan, King50000, zamin, wingstrike96, Terran Imperium,StarkDemise, SandKing, Kingofbooks
A favored son of Clan Avalanche who studied abroad in Tokara before coming home to be married and tutored. That's life history outlined. Now comes the last and most finicky part.
You have TWO (2) shinies remaining for buying character traits and advantages. Because of the shared dependency all over, this vote is by plan.
TROUBLES
You can get some extra shinies for your character by piling more problems on them too.
[ ] Very Divided Loyalties
+3 shinies. Go back to the first post and choose a second motivation.
[ ] Touched by the Abominations
+1 shiny. You were visibly marked where their shadow fell on you. Some may look at you in sympathy for what was done to you, others in horror as they remember what was done to them. You do not get to choose the mark. Cannot be taken with Twisted.
[ ] Twisted by the Abominations
+2 shinies. You were permanently altered by the wake of their passing. Perhaps a hive of locusts nests in your chest, or perhaps you can only sleep in the depths of the river. You do not get to choose the alteration. Cannot be taken with Touched.
[ ] Political Debt
+1 shiny. Clan Avalanche has put a lot of work into getting you your position and the elders are insistent you return the favor before they help you with anything else.
[ ] Monetary Debt
+1 shiny. You have borrowed a great deal of money for previous inspired projects that sadly did not work out as well as you had hoped.
[ ] Vendetta
+2 shinies. You have a rival of similar skill and power who feels slighted by being passed over for the post of Steward, who will seek to ruin and discredit you and take your place.
[ ] Tattered Meridians
+1 shiny, -2 Learning. Your qi flows are blocked in some places and overflow elsewhere. You will absolutely never be a cultivator, and worse, you suffer severe pain in the presence of any beings who are channeling qi, such as cultivators or gods. Cannot be taken with Promising Meridians.
[ ] Coward
+1 shiny, -2 Martial. You shy away from violence and battle, and are easily intimidated. Cannot be taken with Brave.
[ ] Cruel
+1 shiny, -2 Diplomacy. You are prone to using pain and threats to enforce your will.
[ ] Loose Lips
+1 shiny, -2 Intrigue. You have an unfortunate habit of blurting out whatever's on your mind. Cannot be taken with Levelheaded.
NICE THINGS
Each of your shinies can now buy one of the following items. +1 traits are not weaker than larger numbers, they'll just have more narrative effects and situational influence that cannot be fully quantified up front.
Physical traits
[ ] Resilient: You are difficult to put down. +1 Martial, resistance to being poisoned, reduce penalties and recover faster from any injuries you suffer.
[ ] Strong: A very straightforward advantage. +4 Martial.
[ ] Tall: You stand a head above most, giving you an edge in combat and a little bit of extra respect from everyone that has to lean backwards to look you in the eye. +2 Martial, bonus to relations with anyone that respects size, bonus to intimidation attempts
Mental traits
[ ] Brave: You can withstand terrors that make others flee. Cannot be taken with Coward. +1 Martial
[ ] Eidetic Memory: Unless severely distracted, you are able to memorize anything at a glance and recall it in perfect detail later. +1 Learning
[ ] Levelheaded: Nothing ever seems to startle or upset you. You always have your wits about you, even under stress. Cannot be taken with Loose Lips. +1 Intrigue
[ ] Organized: Through habit or obsession, you keep everything neat, tidy, and in it's place. +1 Stewardship
[ ] Paranoid: They'll never catch you off guard. Whoever they are. +1 Intrigue.
[ ] Polyglot: You easily pick up new languages. +1 Diplomacy
[ ] Quick: You're naturally brighter than the average person. +1 to all stats, though no narrative advantages.
[ ] Supernumerate: You can crunch numbers with ease, making bookkeeping and trigonometry a snap. +1 Stewardship
Social traits
[ ] Animal Kinship: You have a gift for getting along with and training animals. Regular animals, that is; it'd take a lot of work and luck to apply the knack to, say, hippogryphs. +1 Diplomacy
[ ] Gossipmonger: You have a knack for keeping one ear on the buzz of gossip all around you, giving you early warnings when something isn't quite right in your immediate vicinity and a source of low-level local information. +1 Intrigue
[ ] Honorable: You consistently stand by your word and your friends even when it costs you. +1 Diplomacy
[ ] Carouser: You're always the life of the party, and you have an easier time making new friends. +1 Diplomacy.
[ ] Silver Tongue: You are very, very good at telling lies. +1 Intrigue.
Miscellaneous benefits
[ ] Friends in <choose major clan>: Just what it says. May be taken up to four times, once for each of the current Great Houses.
[ ] Helpful Predecessor: The previous Steward of Silverport has graciously agreed to assist you and ensure a smooth transition. Bonus die to job-related Stewardship actions during the first year.
[ ] Past Life Memories: You retain fragments of knowledge from your previous incarnations. +1 Learning, tiny chance of randomly boosting any roll.
[ ] Promising Meridians: If you somehow find the time required for it between your job, your clan and your projects, you might also make a decent cultivator. Mutually exclusive with Tattered Meridians.
[ ] Prophetic Dreams: From time to time you get glimpses of futures that may come to pass.
[ ] A Silver Brush: It writes in any color, creates its own ink, and even takes dictation. So much more practical than a magic spear. +2 Stewardship, +1 Learning.
[ ] A Golden Flame: When clasped firmly, it glows with a warm and hearty light. Protects against cold, pierces all darkness, inspires bravery, and is said to even ward off the restless dead. +2 Martial, environmental effects.
[ ] A Bag of Holding: This small cloth bag is much larger on the inside and practically weightless no matter what you put in it. Enables you to always be well-prepared for anything and everything, even on short notice or when travelling.
I repeat, this vote is by plan,
If you have leftover shinies after the winning plan, they will result in very favorable random events and strokes of luck during the first few turns. You are allowed to spend more shinies than you have and start the game with negative shinies, and each of those will instead be converted into a botch or a sudden misfortune.
If there's a trait you think should be added to the list, suggest it and I'll try to think of reasonable stats for it.
Numeric impact: 0 is complete incompetence, 5 is untrained average, 10 is trained average, 15 is professional, 20 is renowned expert, 30 is as good as a mortal can get by training alone, 40 is achievable with a lot of luck and a divine blessing and stacked traits. This quest will use something like d50s rather than d100s.
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Prologue - The Nightmare and The Coronation
- Location
- Norway
Recent vote is still open, this is a pure story post.
Walking up the hill to the coronation grounds, the elders of the Avalanche Clan smile and cheer. Further away the chops and mons of other dynasties can be seen on their pennants and clothes. Everyone gathers around the empty chair in good formation. Up the single clear path comes Wisdom Shining Void, Portlord of Silverport, walking beside Seven Snakes, Priest of the Sun.
The Portlord looks at the throne and asks: "What is this?"
The priest responds gravely: "This is a throne for the King of Silverport."
The Portlord declaims: "Silverport has no king! Silverport is free!" and topples the chair.
The rest of the coronation passes in a blur until your name is called. You join the ranks of the other councilors. Wisdom Shining Void speaks: "It pleases me to announce"
He throws off his cap and rends his garments, his wrinkles fade into childlike smoothness, his naked skin turns from a normal yellow-brown to a garish purple-pink, his eyes widen into black orbs.
"that we have returned." speaks the Corruption. "All shall bow before us again."
The other councilors are also unmasking themselves of both garments and faces. You cannot move or speak. You can only watch in horror.
"And it pleases us also to welcome a new member to our ranks." The Corruption grasps you firmly by the hand and twists your wrist cruelly, then touches your forehead with searing fire.
Your flesh melts like wax at its touch, dripping down your face and blinding your eyes.
"Mmmm, you'll be so beautiful once we're done with you."
-
"Wake up! Wake up!" The voice startles you. You blink feverishly, trying to gather your bearings, and realize that the only thing dripping into your eyes is sweat, the darkness is because it's the middle of the night, and your hands are being held by your dear wife, Avalanche Jade. "Are you awake?" she asks, and you manage a nod. "You were having a bad dream. Scratching your face and whimpering."
"I dreamt the Abominations came back."
After an hour of tossing and turning, you eventually get back to sleep. There are no more bad dreams, only the mundane trouble of having underslept and being woken by the morning bustle of East Avalanche Mansion as three generations of the family prepare for the big day.
The actual coronation is a lot more detailed than any dream. Rather than an abstract dynasty surrounding you, there's your father with his crooked nose (it was that way when you returned from Tokara, and you can't remember if he had it before that), your mother munching on dried fruit (in this case mangoes, her second favorite after bananas), your wife carrying your younger son ("Can you say e-lec-tion?" "Lekkon!"), your older son complaining to you that his feet hurt (he's walked further than this before, you'll give him the piggyback ride he wants eventually), and your sister and brother and a profusion of uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews whose names you recite as a calming mantra, and further away your more distant relatives, and then all the other dynasties, and even a cluster of small gods come to gawk. And also the less resplendent parts of the assembled crowd like the street vendors trying to hawk their wares and the ushers trying to shoo away the street vendors and several red-faced members of Clan Dove surreptitiously shuffling to cover the fact that one of their children has just been loudly and messily sick. Possibly from eating street vendor food.
Reality also comes with other surprises. Rather than Seven Snakes comes a masked, veiled and hooded figure all in white, black and grey. Hmmm. A sun-priest is customary for this rite, but you suppose there's no rule against a moon-priest. Squints and scowls break out, but no one voices an objection as the rite proceeds.
"What is this?"
"This is a throne for the King of Silverport."
"Silverport has no king! Silverport is free!"
"A free man may not be owned, but if he is wise, he will let himself be guided." says the moon-priest. "The wise elders of the city wish for you to be their guide. Do you accept this task?"
Wisdom Shining Void draws a deep breath. "I do. May all the gods hear my vow: I will be a guide and not a king. I will illuminate the path, as the Sun illuminates. I will protect the people, as the Moon protects."
"The Moon hears your vow, and She will tell all the other gods. And do you understand that this office is a task for a time, and not a property for your disposal?"
"I do. When my task is done I will relinquish my office, and should I die my heir will have no claim on it."
The rest of the coronation ceremony passes without anyone tearing off false faces. The moon-priest gives a speech on care and comfort and healing. The new Portlord gives a speech promising to restore Silverport to glory, and closes by announcing he will be holding a feast to celebrate. The crowd drifts off in the direction of the feast. You, by prior appointment, kiss Jade goodbye, tell your children to stay with her and behave, and then walk briskly in the other direction. Towards the mishmash of architectural styles that is the Portlord's palace. Towards your first meeting with the high council. No, towards your first meeting on the high council. This will take some getting used to.
Walking up the hill to the coronation grounds, the elders of the Avalanche Clan smile and cheer. Further away the chops and mons of other dynasties can be seen on their pennants and clothes. Everyone gathers around the empty chair in good formation. Up the single clear path comes Wisdom Shining Void, Portlord of Silverport, walking beside Seven Snakes, Priest of the Sun.
The Portlord looks at the throne and asks: "What is this?"
The priest responds gravely: "This is a throne for the King of Silverport."
The Portlord declaims: "Silverport has no king! Silverport is free!" and topples the chair.
The rest of the coronation passes in a blur until your name is called. You join the ranks of the other councilors. Wisdom Shining Void speaks: "It pleases me to announce"
He throws off his cap and rends his garments, his wrinkles fade into childlike smoothness, his naked skin turns from a normal yellow-brown to a garish purple-pink, his eyes widen into black orbs.
"that we have returned." speaks the Corruption. "All shall bow before us again."
The other councilors are also unmasking themselves of both garments and faces. You cannot move or speak. You can only watch in horror.
"And it pleases us also to welcome a new member to our ranks." The Corruption grasps you firmly by the hand and twists your wrist cruelly, then touches your forehead with searing fire.
Your flesh melts like wax at its touch, dripping down your face and blinding your eyes.
"Mmmm, you'll be so beautiful once we're done with you."
-
"Wake up! Wake up!" The voice startles you. You blink feverishly, trying to gather your bearings, and realize that the only thing dripping into your eyes is sweat, the darkness is because it's the middle of the night, and your hands are being held by your dear wife, Avalanche Jade. "Are you awake?" she asks, and you manage a nod. "You were having a bad dream. Scratching your face and whimpering."
"I dreamt the Abominations came back."
After an hour of tossing and turning, you eventually get back to sleep. There are no more bad dreams, only the mundane trouble of having underslept and being woken by the morning bustle of East Avalanche Mansion as three generations of the family prepare for the big day.
The actual coronation is a lot more detailed than any dream. Rather than an abstract dynasty surrounding you, there's your father with his crooked nose (it was that way when you returned from Tokara, and you can't remember if he had it before that), your mother munching on dried fruit (in this case mangoes, her second favorite after bananas), your wife carrying your younger son ("Can you say e-lec-tion?" "Lekkon!"), your older son complaining to you that his feet hurt (he's walked further than this before, you'll give him the piggyback ride he wants eventually), and your sister and brother and a profusion of uncles and aunts and nieces and nephews whose names you recite as a calming mantra, and further away your more distant relatives, and then all the other dynasties, and even a cluster of small gods come to gawk. And also the less resplendent parts of the assembled crowd like the street vendors trying to hawk their wares and the ushers trying to shoo away the street vendors and several red-faced members of Clan Dove surreptitiously shuffling to cover the fact that one of their children has just been loudly and messily sick. Possibly from eating street vendor food.
Reality also comes with other surprises. Rather than Seven Snakes comes a masked, veiled and hooded figure all in white, black and grey. Hmmm. A sun-priest is customary for this rite, but you suppose there's no rule against a moon-priest. Squints and scowls break out, but no one voices an objection as the rite proceeds.
"What is this?"
"This is a throne for the King of Silverport."
"Silverport has no king! Silverport is free!"
"A free man may not be owned, but if he is wise, he will let himself be guided." says the moon-priest. "The wise elders of the city wish for you to be their guide. Do you accept this task?"
Wisdom Shining Void draws a deep breath. "I do. May all the gods hear my vow: I will be a guide and not a king. I will illuminate the path, as the Sun illuminates. I will protect the people, as the Moon protects."
"The Moon hears your vow, and She will tell all the other gods. And do you understand that this office is a task for a time, and not a property for your disposal?"
"I do. When my task is done I will relinquish my office, and should I die my heir will have no claim on it."
The rest of the coronation ceremony passes without anyone tearing off false faces. The moon-priest gives a speech on care and comfort and healing. The new Portlord gives a speech promising to restore Silverport to glory, and closes by announcing he will be holding a feast to celebrate. The crowd drifts off in the direction of the feast. You, by prior appointment, kiss Jade goodbye, tell your children to stay with her and behave, and then walk briskly in the other direction. Towards the mishmash of architectural styles that is the Portlord's palace. Towards your first meeting with the high council. No, towards your first meeting on the high council. This will take some getting used to.
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Turn 0 - New Faces
- Location
- Norway
[*] Plan Great Clerk, Poor Restraint
-[*] Eidetic Memory: Unless severely distracted, you are able to memorize anything at a glance and recall it in perfect detail later. +1 Learning
-[*] Organized: Through habit or obsession, you keep everything neat, tidy, and in it's place. +1 Stewardship
-[*] Supernumerate: You can crunch numbers with ease, making bookkeeping and trigonometry a snap. +1 Stewardship
-[*] Monetary Debt
-[*] Eidetic Memory: Unless severely distracted, you are able to memorize anything at a glance and recall it in perfect detail later. +1 Learning
-[*] Organized: Through habit or obsession, you keep everything neat, tidy, and in it's place. +1 Stewardship
-[*] Supernumerate: You can crunch numbers with ease, making bookkeeping and trigonometry a snap. +1 Stewardship
-[*] Monetary Debt
The walk to the Palace of the Portlords brings another reminder of how much the city has suffered. Construction workers dawdle on a scaffolding around a ruined mansion you're unfamiliar with. At its base, intense heat has caused the stonework to flow like mud before resolidifying, undermining the walls and leaving a large clot of semi-obsidian jutting into the street. An improvised ramp of wooden planks has been laid over the clot to ease passage.
On your arrival, you spy a bizarre foreign woman with the most garishly attention-grabbing hat you've seen. It's a foot and a half high, topped with another two feet of peacock plume. The rest of her outfit isn't much better. She reeks of horse, and when you don't see one nearby, you wonder what in the world would have driven an alchemist so barmy as to invent horse-scented perfume.
"What are you doing here?" you ask.
"Enjoying the fresh air. Waiting for the big boss."
"You mean the Portlord?"
"Yah."
You frown, and apply logic. This woman can't be the new steward of the city, because that's you. She's probably not the spymaster, unless this is an elaborate cover identity where she's only pretending to be completely unsubtle. (Horse-scented perfume! What is the world coming to?) The grapevine says Ascension got one of theirs picked to be the chancellor, which means this woman is either the new marshal or the sage, and of those two, you know which one you'd bet on. Then again, maybe she's an important and well-connected foreign diplomat with a priority appointment. Which, on reflection, is also unlikely, because if you had to guess at her origin you'd say the Iron Plains, whose inhabitants do not tend to be either well-connected or important people.
"I'm guessing you've been hired to lead the soldiers then. May I ask your name?"
"I am Princess Ebuskun full-blooded. Yes. Very unusual terms of contract, but Portlord has best pay. With his money and my people, I will reunite Iron and make Silverport new capital. And your name?"
[] Write-in protagonist name
"-of Clan Avalanche", you stutter, pondering the implications. If this is her own interpretation of the post, things are going to be very interesting. If the Portlord has actually ordered that, things are also going to be very interesting. And you'll apparently be responsible for somehow funding the reunification of the Iron Empire. You haven't even formally met the Portlord yet, and today is already feeling like a disaster in the making. You make some polite excuses and head indoors, both to sit down and calm your stomach, and because you imagine awaiting Wisdom Shining Void in the meeting room will make a better impression than lounging nonchalantly against a wall like Ebuskun is doing.
One of the palace servants says you're expected, and shows you in. There's one other person waiting there already. He scrutinizes you. You scrutinize him right back.
This one is much easier, you think: he's a very important person sitting in the Portlord's council chamber, and he doesn't look the part. His clothes are cheap and unmarked, even if his bearing is haughty.
"You're the new spymaster, I take it?"
"Are you angling for my job?" he asks with a grin.
You shake your head. "Hardly. But I've met the marshal, you don't look like a scholar, and you don't look like you're Ascension either."
"Which, if you've deduced my job from that, means you're the steward. Right? Gold Morning, pleased to make your acquaintance."
He a seems a sight more sensible than Ebuskun. Sadly there's not much time to chit-chat before the Portlord sweeps in with his entourage and what must be the rest of the council coming from the coronation.
He dismisses most of the servants, and settles in at the table with everyone else. "Our city is injured, our people lie slain in multitudes, our continuity of rule broken. There has been no Portlord for months, and they," he spits, "were not the sort to keep careful track of what they did. But we live, and we still have our harbors and our position, so we will recover, even if it takes us years. But for the moment, Silverport is like a man drunk, fatigued and injured: his very condition cripples his ability to understand what is wrong with him. Before anything else, you will help me to understand how bad our condition is."
He pulls out several small scrolls and stamps each of them with his seal of office before passing them around the table and beginning to give orders, starting with the man who is obviously the chancellor by his clan insignia.
"Ascension Ritual Blade, go and see the heads of all clans great and small, and see who will unite behind me in this time of need. Speak to them of glory, of emergency, or of duty as you judge best. Promise them whatever you think is reasonable. Threaten them if you must. I care little what you do, as long as you bring me results. Even one recalcitrant clan profiteering instead of contributing could be devastating. But above all, do not let them temporize - known enemies are better than lurking traitors."
Ascension Ritual Blade looks up at the ceiling, considering for a moment. "That will take two or three weeks."
"You have one." says Wisdom Shining Void flatly. "Time is our enemy. Send servants to the smaller clans." He turns to the strange foreign woman. "Ebuskun Jin, you should start by familiarizing yourself with the existing warriors and subcommanders. They will probably need some time to adjust to your presence."
"May I have them beaten if they are disobedient?"
"You may." The Portlord sighs, and turns to you. "Understand our situation. Measure our condition. In particular, start looking into which of our creditors and debtors are dead or gone so we can stop paying the former and replace the latter. You'll get an office here in the palace to help you. It's a small silver lining to the unfortunate demise of the previous administration - I can give out rooms and houses freely with the deaths of so many sinecureholders."
Gold Morning gets an order to start vetting the entire intelligence apparatus on the assumption they may have been corrupted or subverted, and the sage, Wolf Three, is told to... take off her hood? Your jaw drops as she does so to reveal a literal, mundane third eye in her forehead. You'd heard cultivators sometimes grew a third eye, but that was supposed to be a glorious thing glowing with qi that could see into the spirit world. This third eye is just creepy. It blinks. Winks? This is confusing, too.
Someone less hesitant than you asks the obvious question: "Why do you have a third eye?"
"The Abominations did it to me. They thought it would be funny, they said, to make my face match the literal meaning of my name. And then they forced me to watch spiritual as well as physical acts of defilement of my shrine." She explains in a bitter voice, closes her third eye, and pulls the hood back down over it.
So that eye does see into the spirit world, then.
"Wolf Three is unfortunately one of the most knowledgeable about the Abominations - not a field in which there's much competition, I imagine." says Wisdom Shining Void. "She was traumatized through no fault of her own and I expect you will all treat her with the respect due her position and as you would expect to be treated yourself. Am I clear?"
You mutter assent along with the rest of the table, even as you shudder a bit to be reminded both of the scourge of the past months and of your nightmare this morning. Wolf Three is told to look into whether there's any chance the Abominations might return, and if so, how they might be prevented from returning, and the meeting is dismissed. You'll meet again in one week once you have more concrete items to discuss and a better knowledge of your situation.
A servant offers to guide you to your new quarters, and you graciously accept. They're expansive, and only a little dusty from disuse. There's a large office for you, with tall shelves and a massive desk containing many drawers, and several smaller offices for the staff you're no doubt expected to have, and attached bedrooms for everyone. It might be a little lonely, though - no, wait, this is spacious enough you could easily invite Jade, your children and the wet nurse to all come and live here.
Settling into the nice chair, thinking about how the shelves really need their contents sorted and perhaps some helpful labels applied, and wondering whether you should search the desk drawers at once or after you've come to grips with your situation, it dawns on you that for the first time in a long while, you have no scheduled activities. No lessons to attend. No relatives to visit. Nothing that needs doing around the house. No family duties. Jade is probably still at the coronation feast, trying to stop your sons from getting a tummyache. Your old obligations have mostly ceased or been suspended indefinitely in favor of your new position, and the Portlord has given you an open-ended task where a lot of people, creditors in particular, will show up at your office and start giving you the information you need if you simply wait for them.
The freedom is intoxicating.
What will you do now?
—
Choose three:
[] Bury yourself in work immediately.
[] Socialize with one of your fellow councillors. (Pick a councillor, can be taken multiple times.)
[] Celebrate with your family.
[] Start networking with one of the Great Houses. They'll appreciate the information and access you can offer. (Pick a clan, can only be taken once.)
[] Hire clerks. You don't have much for them to do yet, but you surely will.
[] Begin abusing your office for profit as fast as you can.
-Voting is now for the FIRST WEEK in your new job, where you get your only chance to make first impressions and set the tone for future. After this we will move to six-month turns.
-"Do your job" is automatic in this turn, because it's currently so abstract. This is what else to do. Burying yourself in work option is diligence above and beyond the normal.
-Embezzlement options and whatnot will show up next turn when you have better budget information.
-Name vote is separate from actions vote. If you really want to vote for more than three actions, you can do so, and I'll use the three that get the most in total.
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Turn 0 results
- Location
- Norway
[*] Celebrate with your family.
[*] Hire clerks. You don't have much for them to do yet, but you surely will.
[*] Bury yourself in work immediately.
[*][Name] Marble
[*] Hire clerks. You don't have much for them to do yet, but you surely will.
[*] Bury yourself in work immediately.
[*][Name] Marble
Grandma Green glares fiercely when she hears that no, she cannot in fact pump you for all the juiciest and freshest gossip immediately after you turn the corner from the palace, and in fact she should be ashamed for lurking in the alleys like a bandit trying to ambush you on your way home. All the clan deserves to hear it at the same time - well, maybe all of them is an exaggeration, but runners to the Old Avalanche Mansion and the New Avalanche Mansion soon get four generations of Avalanche readying to gather so they can hear what you've seen and heard at the palace. Musicians are hired, ovens are lit, the rumor mill spins up, and it seems everyone is eager to have another party tomorrow even though they just had one yesterday. You imagine there's several people celebrating even today, now that life is back to normal and will hopefully stay that way.
The Portlord is from Clan Wisdom. The Chancellor is from Clan Ascension. The Spymaster is from Clan Gold. The last two posts have been kept under wraps, which has led to a lot of speculation about whether Clan Bridge in its capacity as last of the Great Houses has managed to finagle a post on the Privvy Council or not, and if so, which one. After savoring some of the wilder speculation, you reveal that they haven't. It's you (obviously), Clan Wolf (there are puzzled looks), and a clanless foreigner (there are gasps). Migration to Silverport is routine, obviously, but under normal circumstances anyone skilled enough to be on the Privvy Council would get adopted or married into a clan right quick. So why...?
Then you drop Ebuskun's name, and the pieces start coming together fast. She's famous, in her way. Quite a few of your relatives have seen her several times both riding around town and joining soldiers on the training grounds, but nobody had guessed that she'd be the new Marshal. You learn that she's in line for what would have been the throne of the Iron Empire, her father is the currently leading pretender to that title (king-in-exile, he calls himself) and commands a band of several hundred nomad riders somewhere in the Iron Plains. You don't know whether to feel relieved or distressed that her stated ambition to reunite the long-dead empire might have some basis in fact.
"So, what was that you said about someone from Wolf?" Grinning, you offer your opinion that Ebuskun isn't even the oddest person on the council, and reveal the fact of Three's third eye. All nearby conversation grinds to a halt for a moment, then resumes with increased fervor.
Eventually, a sort of social consensus arises. Those of your relatives with contacts in Clan Wolf had heard nothing about this, which implies that Three is not in good standing with her clan, which means she's hired for nonpolitical reasons, which suggests Wolf is not going to be a threat and Avalanche can focus on other threats to their position like Plum.
The evening grows late with a score of cousins, uncles, aunts and other relatives pumping you for details on what the job is like, and returning the favor by sharing gossip about the other councillors. It ends only when Jade pulls you free, announcing to the crowd that you still owe her a daughter and she won't have anyone talking her husband to death before she can collect.
(Dramatis Personae updated! Portlord in particular.)
---
Your office feels oddly spacious and quiet when you return the next day. The two clerks you've hired help a bit, and Jade will be moving in soon with your children and the wet nurse, but there are still several entire rooms unoccupied in the section of the palace you've been assigned. You feel a little like a ghost haunting an abandoned house, a dead soul going through the habits of the living by mere rote.
[Well begun is half done: Stewardship, 29+19=48.]
But as you settle in, it becomes increasingly clear -- and frustrating -- that you are very much alive and having to deal with the troubles that result from other people being dead. The palace is bleeding money at a worrying rate. Yesterday you wondered if you could justify hiring clerks. Today it's becoming clear that two clerks are a drop in a bucket.
And that's just the paperwork you have, both that which was left over and that you've hastily written as creditors and debtors come to visit. The paperwork you don't have manages to somehow be even more frustrating despite its absence, as you infer sums and payments due and supplies to be delivered.
Some few scribes have kept full and complete records even during the, ah, transitional period, and for them you swear you'll make a great offering at the temple of whatever god watches over dutiful servants. Is it Mercury? You think it's some aspect of Mercury. You'll ask an astrologer later, there's work to be done now.
It only took you one day to become confident that the palace (the Portlord in official capacity signs contracts on behalf of the palace, to keep them separate from his personal dealings) is losing money. Two days later, you had fully grasped the magnitude. By the end of the week, when it's time for the council to reconvene with the preliminary reports, you have reconstructed enough of the palace finances that your estimate of the net expenditures is surely within a rounding error of the true figure. Thank goodness it was only a brief loss of paperwork due to neglect, and not some villain having deliberately run off with years of information.
That rounding error would still be more money than you've ever held in your life, though.
---
You also have more personal matters to attend to, mostly still revolving around money. Now that you have a very well-paid job and there's no way to hide it, the friendly uncle who sponsored your ill-fated reinvention of the plow is "suggesting" it's about time you start repaying him for the horses you killed. Several impecunious clan members have also shown up and started to lean on you to help support them. The pecunious ones have approved. Even Jade is expressing casual certainty that you'll buy her a new dress soon! Does no one respect your right to your hard-earned wages??
(Then again, you've had twenty years of education from the best tutors at the clan's expense. Maybe you shouldn't complain too loudly.)
The personal clerks you've hired need paying too - you tried borrowing some of the regular palace staff, and they turned out to be incompetent at anything outside their narrow niches. And of course you continue to set aside a tenth of your income for offerings and sacrifices at various temples.
---
VOTING TIME:
You have access to the palace finances, which are in bad shape, but the influx is still massive and poorly tracked. You have 18g from your upbringing, and you are now being paid the overwhelming new fortune of 50g/turn. Your personal expenditures are 15g/turn, 5 for each of clerks, family and religious offerings. Pick one vote in each of the following categories:
[] [Embezzle] Nothing. The palace is suffering enough without you adding to it.
[] [Embezzle] 10g/turn. Just a little padding to pay the clerks. (no risk)
[] [Embezzle] 25g/turn. You have obligations, gods damn it.
[] [Embezzle] 50g/turn. Some of the suppliers are corrupt. You expect you can replace them with honest ones and pocket the difference.
[] [Embezzle] 100g/turn. You've seen the palace budget. They probably won't miss it.
[] [Embezzle] 150g/turn. You're responsible for paying all the soldiers. That means you should be paid as much as the soldiers, right?
[] [Embezzle] 200g/turn. The palace is likely to go bankrupt soon. Get yours while the getting's good.
[] [Embezzle] 500g. Gather up every loose coin, blame the Abominations and the transition period! It's the perfect crime. (Forces mandatory revote to a lower amount next turn.)
You owe some money to your friendly uncle. How fast do you want to pay it back?
[] [Debt] Pay back 15g/turn. Stays ahead of the interest. You'll be done paying some time in the next Portlord's term.
[] [Debt] Pay back 25g/turn. Makes a dent. You'll be done paying in about eight years.
[] [Debt] Pay back 35g/turn. Compound interest is bad, get it away. You'll be done paying in about four years.
(Time frames assuming you don't rack up more debt, which is definitely a thing that can happen with your inspired projects!)
You could use some help getting the palace finances in order. Who do you want to reach out to?
[] [Help] Chancellor Blade. He can talk debtors into paying and creditors into delaying.
[] [Help] Marshall Ebuskun. She can bring soldiers to help enforce and collect payments.
[] [Help] Spymaster Morning. He can help find miscreants and verify dubious entries.
[] [Help] No one. You'll manage this on your own, for the glory of Avalanche!
Finally, inspiration is striking you with full force again. What project sounds most appealing?
[] [Inspiration] Metallurgy. The right sort of forge-complex might be able to produce starmetal from regular iron.
[] [Inspiration] Military drill. If Ebuskun is going to reunite Iron, she'll need the best army in the world, and you think you know how to create it.
[] [Inspiration] Chemistry. You have an absolutely brilliant idea: Flexible glass!
[] [Inspiration] You'll know the idea when it hits you. (Other selection at QM's whim.)
(Starmetal is the metal normally found in a fallen star.)
Please do not submit write-ins for Inspiration, they will be ignored.
Last edited:
Turn 1 - 769
- Location
- Norway
[*] [Inspiration] Metallurgy. The right sort of forge-complex might be able to produce starmetal from regular iron.
[*] [Help] Chancellor Blade.
[*] [Debt] Pay back 35g/turn.
[*] [Embezzle] 50g/turn.
[*] [Help] Chancellor Blade.
[*] [Debt] Pay back 35g/turn.
[*] [Embezzle] 50g/turn.
Mercury does indeed watch over dutiful servants in trying times. She's a celestial deity and the priest you ask tries to give you a long explanation, but what you take away is "unlikely to notice your prayer in particular". So you pay the praisesingers for a week, even very busy deities should notice that. Previously that would have been a painful chunk of your wealth. But now? Now it's just one of the many larger offerings you'll be making on a regular basis, with your new salary (and your plans to secretly double your salary).
When you walk into the council hall for the next meeting, Gold Morning has arrived early, and he's grinning like a cat that got at the cream. "I found some interesting paperwork." he says, and you huff. Interesting is not a word you are minded to use about any sort of paperwork right now.
Chancellor Blade shows up next. While you're waiting, you take the opportunity to ask for his help, and he agrees readily. "It's my salary on the line too." he says.
Ebuskun is late. Void arrives, starts without her, and he also asks Morning what the man is grinning like that for. The spymaster looks from side to side conspiratorially, and stage-whispers: "One of the Abominations did keep notes after all." He hands over a page filled with mysterious scrawl, and adds "It's all in a strange dialect of the Old Tongue, but from the parts I've been able to decipher so far, it's a list of people's sins and vices and weaknesses and other blackmail. Runs to several hundred pages like this. It's going to be very useful for maintaining certain informants' loyalty - once I get time to read it."
The Portlord passes the page to the Sage. "Three. Can you read this any better than he can?"
Wolf Three is already staring wide-eyed at the page, and uncovers her third eye to read it better. "Yes. Yes I can." she stammers.
[Did you notice something wrong? Intrigue, 32+14=46. Yes.]
Her reaction and grabbing the page looked unreasonably eager. You figure there's some very nasty dirt on her somewhere in those pages.
"Good. See you can find time to help him with all the blackmail. Burn anything concerning me, of course. But fascinating as this is, it's distracting from the agenda I set."
Ebuskun bursts in. "You have too many soldiers!" she says.
Wisdom Shining Void first cracks a smile, then slowly breaks into loud laughter. Ebuskun scowls at him. "First time I've heard of that problem. Why do you say so?"
"I cannot hope to learn the names of so many hundred people!"
"Then don't. Just learn the names of the officers, and ask them for the names of any soldiers who stand out."
Ebuskun scowls harder, but is eventually cajoled into accepting this as the price of commanding a large army while you daydream about a starmetal spear, and Void pointedly returns to the agenda.
"Morning. What are the prospects for vetting the intelligence service?"
"Good, I think. Nothing unusual has turned up yet, just collecting the names of contacts."
"Carry on, then. Blade. What of the clans?"
"Clan Bridge has taken offense to your demands for unity, building on their previous grudge about not being represented on the Privvy Council. They accuse you of wanting to be king and rule over them instead of guiding. They are backed by Plum, Island, and several other minor clans. I think we could peel Plum away with the promise of Great House status, though."
You grit your teeth. That prize should go to Avalanche, not Plum! But interrupting now will do you no favors.
Fortunately, the Portlord makes no such promise yet. "Steward Marble. Give all of Clan Bridge's requests, charges and fees a lower priority for the time being." he orders. Nice. "Answer nothing the same day. If they want to insult me, I shall return the favor. Now, what have you gathered of the palace finances?"
"In summary, the palace is over two hundred fifty talents of silver in debt, of money, goods, and services, and on course to lose another three hundred fifty this year." you inform him. "A talent of gold, no, even a talent of jade wouldn't cover it, if you could somehow get that much jade in one place. The palace is also paying out in the general direction of numerous missing people, and is owed money by other missing people. The full details are in my written report. It seems like a miracle creditors still accept my promises on your behalf, and even that will certainly cease once they discover our situation."
"No matter." Void is unperturbed. "I shall sign over five hundred talents of silver from the accounts of Clan Wisdom."
That's shockingly generous. Is it a display of power and wealth from Wisdom? Perhaps - but that would seem to strengthen the clan's position to the detriment of the Portlord's office. And how can one man command so much clan money without being a clan head? Why is Void so calm? Does he know something you don't? Well, obviously, he's twice your age. But what?
"Marble. I said, do you think you can reduce our losses by half at least? Over the next year."
"As you command!" you blurt out, embarrassed at having been caught so thoroughly off guard by his decision. "I'll hunt down debtors, find out which creditors are dead, replace-"
"I'll take a written report." he interrupts serenely. "No need to tell me all your plans now. I have another request, though - if you can somehow find the time, see about holding a census of some sort."
You wonder how you're supposed to hold a census of a million people, while Blade starts complaining that a census sounds worryingly kinglike and is going to reinforce Clan Bridge's complaint. Void brushes him off and resumes querying the council about their jobs. You find yourself pondering the transmutation of molten iron, while somewhere in the background the Portlord and the Marshal discuss expanding the palace guard, in spite of everything you've said about the wretched state of the palace finances.
"-where's our god?" you overhear Void saying. "I saw several small gods and other spirits at my coronation, even a few ghosts came out during the night, but the supposed patron deity of Silverport was mysteriously absent."
"I have no idea." says Three. The sage looks baffled.
"Unfortunate. Add that to your list of things to find out, along with researching the Abominations. And with that I think we're done here, everyone. I'll be sadly absent on a long-planned caravan expedition in a few months' time, so I leave the city in your capable hands - " he draws a breath, considering whether to leave more detailed instructions, " - if you're deadlocked, defer to Gold Morning."
Well, then.
---
Voting time. You have SIX (6) actions over the next six months (one turn). One action may represent a month of solid work, or one day a week over the course of the turn - please don't poke the abstraction too hard. Overwork choices give you an extra action rather than consuming one, so you can go up to nine if you're an absolute workaholic. Voting is by plan.
Do Your Job: The palace budget is still in tatters after the reign of the Abominations, but Void has provided a massive cash influx which will buy you time, and Blade has agreed to put his connections at your service to help you use that time to good effect.
[] Several city gates and nearby roads have been neglected with their minders gone. Some are untolled, some tolled by bandits. Those tolls should go to the palace.
[] Do a proper reckoning of the various ports, docks, quays and wharfs around the city to make sure you're getting all the tariffs you should.
[] Prioritize repairs, reconstruction and reutilization of palace-owned land so you can start charging rent on it again.
[] Begin lending out some of those five hundred talents to entrepreneurs. Then collect both interest and fees from them.
[] Ask your relatives for advice. Some of the older ones worked for previous Portlords and would know what to do.
[] The temple tithes and shrine offerings haven't been audited for decades. Some of these gods probably don't live here any more, or even exist. Who can you stop paying?
[] Go through the payroll of the palace guard and remove dead soldiers, missing soldiers, retired soldiers, and whoever else needs removing.
[] Issue threats of audits and inspections to everyone to encourage them to clean up their own act.
[] The Guardian and Dragon clans are dead, purge any remaining obligations to their former members.
[] Stall and procrastinate until problems hopefully solve themselves or creditors give up and offer to settle for less.
[] Write-in approach
Do Your Other Job: A census of Silverport has not been held in living memory. How might you go about such a thing?
[] Asking clan heads to count their clan members would be a good start.
[] Ask tariff collectors to count how many different people pass through the gates and ports every week.
[] Pick an ordinary district to count the population of, then divide Silverport's size by the district's size for an estimate.
[] Write-in approach
Follow Your Passion:
[] Look for materials. You'll need to buy a great deal of iron, of course, fuel, reagents, and a forge custom-built to your specifications.
[] Look for personnel. You'll need smiths, alchemists, probably a priest of the god of forges, maybe a thaumaturge or geomancer too.
[] Look for a starmetal sample. You'll want it as a reference to check the forge is on the right path.
[] Look for reference materials. Somewhere in an archive or library there might be notes on the artificial creation of starmetal.
Abuse your office:
[] Delaying Clan Bridge isn't enough. Undermine and sabotage them. Subtly, of course - it should look like Fate objects to people who oppose the Portlord.
[] Some of the less scrupulous members of your own clan have suggested you should be quietly sabotaging Clan Plum instead.
[] Why choose? Falsify a few contracts to make both Bridge and Plum think the other owes them something.
[] See if you can shuffle your personal obligations onto the palace finances.
Self-improvement: Can attempt to raise one of your attributes. Difficulty increases as the base attribute rises.
[] Practice. Take some time away from what you're doing to look at how you're doing it and whether there's a better approach.
[] Tutoring. Ask one of your fellow councillors for advice in their field of expertise.
[] Paid Tutoring. Hire a professional teacher, like the ones your clan used to pay for when you were younger.
[] Study the Old Tongue. You'd quite like to see some of this blackmail, and remove anything it might say about you. (Will begin a Learning skill)
Social actions: One of these can be taken for free each turn in your spare time. Each additional selection from this section will still cost an action. You do not need to socialize with your own clan - that happens automatically unless you choose to skimp on family obligations.
[] Get to know one of your fellow councillors. (choose which)
[] Spy on one of your fellow councillors. (choose which)
[] Socialize and build connections with one of the great clans of Silverport. (choose which)
[] Spend time with someone else. (choose whom)
Special actions:
[] Slow and Steady. Other planned actions this turn get a bonus die to their rolls. Cannot be used if overworking.
[] Overwork: skimp on family obligations. You get an extra action this turn. May damage your social standing.
[] Overwork: skimp on religious obligations. You get an extra action this turn. May damage your social standing.
[] Overwork: skimp on food and sleep. You get an extra action this turn. May result in poor health.
QM notes:
-The extra die from Slow and Steady is a weight towards the upper end of the range, rather than a flat bonus to rolls. It bumps up the mean result by about 5 points on the d50.
-Clarifying edit: Slow and Steady is not a free action, it represents time spent on proper prior planning to prevent poor performance.
-As a loose estimate, it will require ten successful budget actions to balance the palace budget. Your boss has set a target to have it half balanced after the next turn.
-Burning hell money for Grandmother Avalanche and other deceased ancestors isn't exactly a 'religious' obligation, but I'm having trouble thinking of a better name for that sort of thing. Mythological? Ceremonial?
Earning: 100g/turn (50g salary, 50g embezzlement)
Spending: 50g/turn (5g family, 5g shrines, 5g clerks, 35g debt payment)
Current wealth: 18g
Spending: 50g/turn (5g family, 5g shrines, 5g clerks, 35g debt payment)
Current wealth: 18g
Last edited:
Turn 1 results - 769
- Location
- Norway
[X] Plan Steady Progress
-[X] Several city gates and nearby roads have been neglected with their minders gone. Some are untolled, some tolled by bandits. Those tolls should go to the palace.
-[X] Do a proper reckoning of the various ports, docks, quays and wharfs around the city to make sure you're getting all the tariffs you should.
-[X] Ask your relatives for advice. Some of the older ones worked for previous Portlords and would know what to do.
-[X] Issue threats of audits and inspections to everyone to encourage them to clean up their own act.
-[X] Write-in approach: Doesn't matter who they are. Everyone eats. Ask the tariff collectors to count the amount of food going in and out of the city over the next six months. The difference is the amount consumed or wasted. By dividing this by the amount of food needed for a person over six months, you will obtain an approximate count for the maximum number of people that could be living in the city. This won't be too far off, a merchant that wastes much product won't stay a merchant for very long.
-[X] Look for reference materials. Somewhere in an archive or library there might be notes on the artificial creation of starmetal.
-[X] Socialize and build connections with one of the great clans of Silverport. (Clan Wisdom)
-[X] Several city gates and nearby roads have been neglected with their minders gone. Some are untolled, some tolled by bandits. Those tolls should go to the palace.
-[X] Do a proper reckoning of the various ports, docks, quays and wharfs around the city to make sure you're getting all the tariffs you should.
-[X] Ask your relatives for advice. Some of the older ones worked for previous Portlords and would know what to do.
-[X] Issue threats of audits and inspections to everyone to encourage them to clean up their own act.
-[X] Write-in approach: Doesn't matter who they are. Everyone eats. Ask the tariff collectors to count the amount of food going in and out of the city over the next six months. The difference is the amount consumed or wasted. By dividing this by the amount of food needed for a person over six months, you will obtain an approximate count for the maximum number of people that could be living in the city. This won't be too far off, a merchant that wastes much product won't stay a merchant for very long.
-[X] Look for reference materials. Somewhere in an archive or library there might be notes on the artificial creation of starmetal.
-[X] Socialize and build connections with one of the great clans of Silverport. (Clan Wisdom)
First things first: who and what's going in and out of the city seems like an important place to start. You grab some paper to make notes on the go, and head to the northwest corner of Silverport where the outer city wall approaches the coast, with the intent of walking south from there and recording docks you come across.
Irregularities crop up immediately. You spot some entrepreneurs who have begun landing their boats further north, even beyond the new outer city walls. They've extended two rickety wooden piers into the sea to assist in loading and unloading, and should definitely count as a dock. In principle, this is not a surprise. Silverport has always been a growing city attracting more people, more boats, and more commerce. Which necessitates more docks and more housing, which is why the new outer city walls are where they are, and the inner city walls used to be outer walls, and when you were a child your grandmother took you to see the ruins of the former inner city walls from her day.
This shouldn't be a problem. It just means your planned walk got a little longer. You head downriver and ask the fishermen whose dock this is. "Old Man Cragface" of no clan, apparently. Where's he? Oh, he's long dead. Whose dock is this now, then? Well, the fishermen still call it Cragface's Dock because he built it.
You look down to your paper, make a note to look for any dock registration or construction permit mentioning a Cragface, look up to the piers again, and with a sinking feeling, notice another cluster of landed boats one li further past them.
On your first day of port inspection, you don't even get back to the city walls.
[Counting the sea routes. Stewardship, 44+19-2(distracted by inspiration)=61. Excellent.]
But time is on your side, as are some fundamental facts about ports: they are effectively impossible to conceal. They need to be large enough to take ships. They are immobile. They have to be arranged in more or less linear fashion along the water's edge. Sometimes that edge curves a lot, to be sure, but an inland port would be a contradiction in terms.
You suppose there could hypothetically be something like a floating port out to sea - a large transport ship taking on goods from smaller ships - but then that ship would still have to come in to land itself. Unless it was large enough to have a small village aboard, somehow, and be self-sufficient. Maybe if one were to set up gardens on the spare decks, and perhaps one could grow grapevines in the rigging... an intriguing thought. You make several notes on the idea before realizing a fundamental flaw: the inability to repair the underwater part of a ship permanently at sea.
Then it's back to work. You ask a dockworker to point you to his boss, ask the boss under whose auspice she's operating, write down the sponsor and repeat the process. Once the sponsor names start to accumulate, you look them up with their clans or in the palace records. Where going up the chain fails, you instead start at the top and cross-reference down from dynastic cadasters and who they rent to. If people are uncooperative towards you, you tag Blade and he uses his connections and charisma to secure an answer for you in short order. Everything is really going very well.
In the process you wind up knowing an unreasonable amount about how docking fee structures and tariff schedules differ across docks and clans.
Only a few small patches have to be (re)registered or put up for auction in the end. It takes some skilful haggling and a few probationary offers that you won't look too closely at recent accounting as long as future accounting remains honest, but you get most owners and rightsholders to quietly resume paying tariffs without complaint or with quickly quashed complaint, and you count this a success to be proud of.
[Counting the land routes. Stewardship, 22+19-2=39. Acceptable.]
Gate and toll inspection proves harder. City walls, you're fairly sure, are supposed to be as linear as coast, and it's not clear why Silverport's outer walls aren't. It violates all logic and sense. And that's just the start of it. Not all the tolls are even collected at gates in the walls. You make a note to Wisdom Shining Void that he should consider a regularization of both tolls and walls.
Then the picture starts to become clearer as you investigate. The city walls were not all built at the same time, nor were they all ordered by the Portlord's office. Several were done by the clan owning that strip of land in return for toll privileges and the right to conduct their own gate patrols. Some stretches didn't start out as city walls at all but as estate border fortifications that were later reinforced and adopted.
You underline the note you've made.
There are slums. There are sinecures. There are bandits. But you bear the hat of authority and the seal of the Palace of the Portlords, and no petty rabble shall stand in your way. Nor do the bandits dare to come after you.
No doubt you'll hear complaints for a long time from the sort of farmer who only brings a produce cart to the city every month or two. But at least things are a bit more orderly now.
---
Proud of having made a complete circuit of the periphery of Silverport, you take time off with a clean conscience and go to visit the Harmonious Wind Spire School of Learning, which is supposed to be one of the more practically oriented academies with a decent library.
[Researching Starmetal. Learning, 14+17+2=33.]
There's numerous references to legendary figures like General So-and-so bearing a starmetal rod forged from the fallen star such-and-such whose passage through the heavens marked the fate of blah blah blah. Starmetal weapons supposedly have an air of inevitability about them, retaining some of the force and weight with which they fell from the sky, piercing armor and shattering parries.
Two days in the library produces sadly nothing on how to make or find starmetal other than the obvious (fallen stars), and you make a note to return after discharging some of your other obligations.
Like your clan's maneuvering for greatness. In this case some of your clan elders are meeting with Clan Wisdom elders (although not the heads of either house) and you're invited.
[Make a good impression. Diplomacy, 20+15=35.]
It goes reasonably well. You're discreetly excluded from a lot of the important conversations - or so you assume, discretion means they have plausible deniability, after all. But you don't embarass yourself, you learn some names, you can recount the good work you're doing, and you finagle an invitation to a social occasion with younger members of Clan Wisdom later.
But the happiest part of the evening is when your father pulls you aside and says: "You've done well. I'm very proud of you."
There's more words about silver linings and unexpected changes and high hopes for the future, and an admonishment not to rest on your laurels, but they seem so much less important compared to the recognition. For so many years from your parents and tutors and aunts and uncles, it's always been "When", either as a prediction or a question. When you're an adult-. When you're in charge-. When are you going to-?
You wish, of course, for your father's days to be many and your inheritance long in coming. But as he hugs you, you feel you have nonetheless ceased to be an heir. Today you have become instead one of the figures that young scions look up to.
---
When you're not trying to staunch the leaky budget, the Portlord has asked that you see if you can perform some kind of census and get a better estimation of the population of Silverport, too.
Before you even start, you spend quite a bit of time thinking how to do this. Counting the people in any sort of direct fashion is right out, there's just too many. You consider counting by district, by clan, by profession, or other ways of slicing the problem into more manageable parts. Anything like a direct count would take a hundred clerks...
...Hmmm. They're not clerks exactly, but the tariff collectors and gatekeepers you've been restoring recently could help. Maybe if you asked them to count people - no, that still wouldn't work, some people pass through the gates several times a day and some not at all in a month. Then it hits you: ask them to count food going into the city, and you can estimate how many people the farms and fishermen and sundry others are feeding. Nobody skips eating for a month, after all.
[Basics of a census. Stewardship, 32+19-2 = 49. Good.]
Well, maybe some strange mystics do. But those are few enough you can count them separately if it's absolutely necessary. You give out the instructions, and repair back to the library of the Harmonious Wind Spire School of Learning to hunt for the secrets of starmetal. One book says it's glowing white, another reflective grey like a mirror, a third claims it to be tinged with all the colors of the rainbow. Which rules out what, black and brown?
Later you find another book saying that stars even when fallen remain property of the celestial deities of the Overworld, which is why starmetal is so rare among mortals: the great gods come to claim it back. Maybe you could follow up on that by asking some priests.
Once your proto-census has been running for a while, you go to tally the numbers. It involves a lot of guesswork such as how many bowls of rice a duck is worth, and a lot of pestering the household cooks to assist you with their estimates. In the end, you run the figures, divide umpteen million bowls of moneychanged-rice by the three months you've been counting for, and come to a result of -
240 000 people, give or take a few thousand.
That can't be right. You know Silverport suffered badly under the reign of the Abominations, but they certainly didn't kill three-quarters of the population, or even half. You glare at the figures and count a second time, coming to the same result. Hmm. Maybe if half that many people again are growing their own food in gardens on the roof or something, and another half again who might be slum dwellers living on what you'd consider starvation rations and rats, also children eat less than adults, and a lot of the farmers living outside city walls should be considered part of Silverport but it stands to reason they wouldn't bring their own meals through the gates...
Even with optimistic assumptions, you can only get to half a million. You feel a strange sense of loss, guilt and disappointment. Intellectually, you know that your census didn't remove anyone from the city. Practically, it still hurts.
---
You take some time away from treacherous numbers and go socializing.
First with older kin in Avalanche, looking for those who worked in the palace during previous administrations. You're treated to the interesting experience of hearing Wisdom Shining Void repeatedly referred to as 'young man'. He's over twice your age! Which still makes him twenty years younger than than some of your oldest relatives.
[Find people willing to talk about the old days. Diplomacy, 9(roll)+15(stat)+10(clan)-2(inspiration) = 32. Good enough.]
[From anecdotes to actionable advice. Stewardship, 21+19-2 = 38. One big hint.]
After finding the right people, you need to very politely steer them towards talking about the palace budget and away from the personal flaws of Portlords thirty years dead. It's slow going. Your venerable kinsfolk are accustomed to a great deal of deference. And you have to not get distracted yourself with talk of starmetal or self-sufficient town-ships. But eventually, you get some advice like dispensing with permits and licenses that are rare or time-consuming and cost more to issue and inspect than they're worth, and one startling revelation from a granduncle:
"Kid, the palace never makes a profit. Never has, not in all the years I worked there, and not now from what you tell me. Not allowed to, really. You see, if it were profitable, it would be like a clan having two heads and the elections wouldn't just be murky, they'd be bloody. Any time the palace looks like it might make a profit, all the clans not in power get together and think of some city responsibility the palace should take on. So whichever clan is in power has to pay all the time for the right to hold office. And they make it up abroad: dumb stunties who are used to living under kings all the time come here and they go hmm, the Portlord must be a king. And then they learn the Portlord can't sign what they want him to sign, and they go hmm, must be the Portlord's family I need to talk to. Like that time in thirty-five when the Catoans, mmm, Catoa's part of Caligia now, isn't it?"
While your granduncle goes off on a tangent about the Catoans of thirty years ago, you consider his words. If you're not expected to succeed, that's a great weight off your shoulders, and it could explain why Void only asked you to halve the deficit. Then again, this information is thirty years out of date, and you don't want to blithely assume that Void is operating under the same rules. Maybe the Steward of thirty years ago was just incompetent and your granduncle is reading too much into it.
You can't very well ask anyone outright about this. You can drop a few hints when you're invited to the Sunrise Mansion of Clan Wisdom, though. But first you pick up a few hints from Blade, who advises you on just how to dress for the occasion.
[Build connections. Diplomacy, 46+15-2=59. Very smooth. Connection added to character sheet.]
It starts with polite formalities. Greetings both personally and in the name of your respective clans. Inquiries after your family's health. Have the gods graced you with good fortune recently? Yes, certainly. You?
Then the gossiping begins. You heap praise on Shining Void, and the young members of Wisdom lap it up. You take the opportunity to speak confidently of Clan Avalanche's imminent recognition as a Great House, and your listeners take it for granted. Hopefully that assumption will propagate upwards.
You listen respectfully to a young woman talking about horse breeding, and nod understandingly at a young man complaining about his lost investments. Everything is going swimmingly.
When you discreetly raise the topic of Clan Wisdom's payments, though, there's no sign of recognition. Maybe you need to talk to someone older. You quickly change topics and offer to share recipes, which goes over well. All in all, it's a great success, and you're invited to return once again.
And in one last effort to keep away from numbers for a while, you decide to foist some of your problems off on someone else by issuing threats of audits. You make cursory references to missing paperwork where you think there ought to be paperwork, and demand corrections be made or there will be Consequences.
[Make people clean up their own messes. Stewardship, 18+19-2=35.]
It works. Sort of. You get some corrections. You also get a lot of stalling and waffle. But even the stalling at least proves that these people exist and are alive, so you can inspect them and be sure you're not on a wild goose chase. If you find the time.
The days tick by. Soon Void returns from his expedition, and gathers the Privvy Council once more to hear how things have gone in his absence.
---
Voting time.
You can write in a report on the past turn to make yourself look good, play up the importance of something you want your boss to look into, flatter one of your fellow councillors by publicly praising their assistance, or otherwise shade the truth to fit your agenda. For example, you could mention only the quarter-million figure or only the half-million figure from your census estimate, or lie entirely and say you haven't done it. If you do not write in, you will be judged on results alone. How horrible.
[X] [Report] Just the facts.
[] [Report] Write In
Suggest courses of action for the next turn (six months); the Portlord is likely to choose one of them. You can use this to your advantage. One possibility is to suggest things that align with your personal goals, another is to suggest things you can do easily and have plenty of time left over to spend elsewhere. However, if there's a pressing concern the boss has that is not covered by what you put forward, he may 'write in' your orders, and cause a relationship hit due to losing respect for your abilities. Votes for this will be in plan format - the more options you give the Portlord, the greater chance he'll pick one, but the less you can steer his instructions.
[] I should continue fixing the palace budget and restoring cash flow.
[] The palace budget is unfixable as it stands, I should sort out the palace's underlying obligations.
[] The census is a lot more important than I thought, order me to do that properly.
[] Have you seen what passes for a toll gate in this city? It's both an economic and a military disaster! Our walls need fixing, fast.
[] I request your official approval to work on creating starmetal. (Will not be a main focus, just approval... or potentially disapproval.)
[] Creating starmetal should be my main project, it would be of immense value.
[] Clan Bridge and their allies like Plum need to be destroyed. Peacefully and financially, of course.
[] Other (write in)
You can think of the report and the courses of action like turn results and stewardship options seen by the hypothetical players in alternate universe Merchant Republic Quest.
Former wealth: 18g
Income: Earned 50g, embezzled 50g
Expenditures: Family 5g, temples 5g, clerks 5g, debt downpayments 35g
Current wealth: 68g
Income: Earned 50g, embezzled 50g
Expenditures: Family 5g, temples 5g, clerks 5g, debt downpayments 35g
Current wealth: 68g
QM notes:
-Do tell me if I've missed something. This is the first proper turn of my first quest, after all.
-The amount of distraction penalty from Inspiration will slowly increase over time, faster if you ignore it entirely on a turn.
-The lack of a distraction penalty in "Make a good impression" is deliberate, since it wasn't a planned turn action.
Last edited:
Turn 2 Council - 769.5
- Location
- Norway
[*] [Report] Just the facts, but leave out the Census as anything other than a work in progress.
[*] [Action] Plan Merely The Flow Of Wealth
-[*] I should continue fixing the palace budget and restoring cash flow.
-[*] The palace budget is unfixable as it stands, I should sort out the palace's underlying obligations.
-[*] Have you seen what passes for a toll gate in this city? It's both an economic and a military disaster! Our walls need fixing, fast.
[*] [Action] Plan Merely The Flow Of Wealth
-[*] I should continue fixing the palace budget and restoring cash flow.
-[*] The palace budget is unfixable as it stands, I should sort out the palace's underlying obligations.
-[*] Have you seen what passes for a toll gate in this city? It's both an economic and a military disaster! Our walls need fixing, fast.
"Morning, Three, let me hear from you first. I'm very curious to know what sort of things the Abominations would be of a mind to write down." says the Portlord.
"It can't be blackmail." says his spymaster. "Well, not just blackmail. At first I thought the Abominations might just be very, very good at ferreting out vices and secrets, because a lot of the lists of sins seemed just on the edge of the plausible, while there were only a rare few of them I was able to confirm. Then we found a page naming my aunt and it accused her of poisoning me, which I know for a fact she didn't."
"Are you sure she didn't just bungle the attempt?" asks Void sardonically.
"Yes!" says Morning firmly. "She-"
Before he can go on a familial tangent, Three cuts in. "We have three new guesses for what's actually written. First, that it's a set of notes for a whisper campaign, and these documents list what rumors would be most effective to blacken someone's reputation with. Second, the notes describe what people could be tempted or pressured into. The third is that these notes are lies and traps meant to pit us against one another."
Void taps his desk, deep in thought. "Mmm. Hmmmmm. Doesn't actually matter, I think. Lock them all away somewhere for the moment. Any progress on making sure the Abominations don't return?"
"Almost nothing. There's no precedent for anyone like them in anything I've read."
"Almost? What do you have?"
"A stab in the dark. I think the Abominations at their core might be souls torn loose from the normal cycle of reincarnation, who have to steal bodies rather than being reborn. They're powerful and mad because they have centuries of experience without rest or correction."
"And how does that help us?"
"It doesn't, not yet. But I might be able to find some way to force them back onto the right path."
"And our patron god?"
"The priests say 'Eternal Light has gone into seclusion' and then go mum. They've been resistant to further inquiry."
The Portlord sighs long and loud. "In conclusion, you have nothing useful for me? Unfortunate. In that case, I want you to turn your attention to the various spirit courts of the region, particularly the wood spirits. I'm hearing about a bunch of giant spider attacks coming from the southern forests." He looks around the council, hoping for better news, and you step up.
"With Blade's help, all the ports and docks are now fully registered as befits your office, paying their fees once more. I estimate that alone has cut the losses of the palace budget by at least forty talents a year, and it will only continue to rise as commerce returns to Silverport now that the Abominations are gone." you report happily. "Road tolls were both smaller and harder to work with. I've made significant progress there too, but I want to suggest something be done about the outer city walls. They're a mess. Some parts are properly fortified, others are just leftover estate walls, and some streets even have two separate walls each with their own toll gate at either end because the people owning either end both wanted a cut." You've looked over the figures so many times, you don't even need to consult your notes as you deliver the summary. "I've also gotten some miscellaneous obligations in order. At this rate I'm confident I can have the palace budget mostly staunched as you wanted by the end of the year, but I fear I may be bailing water out of a leaky boat."
"And what is the boat in this metaphor?"
"The city. We're leaking payments to ill-defined obligations, leaking tolls at the walls, and the latter are also a military disaster waiting to happen."
"Caligia is embroiled in civil war, Tokara doesn't have the force to threaten us, Foundation considers themselves a vassal state with no independent foreign policy, who are you expecting military disaster from?"
[Where indeed? Martial, 26+8=34.]
You look to Ebuskun for advice. Predicting who might invade Silverport is not your forte. She looks back at you uncertainly, and shrugs. "Caligia's civil war isn't going to last forever." you venture. "And walls take time to construct."
"I suppose. Nonetheless." declares the Portlord. "Continue as you were. Keep getting our finances in order. I'm confident the niceties will either solve themselves or prove unimportant."
Ebuskun's report passes in a haze of military terms and regiments and names of units. It mostly goes in one ear and out the other. Shining Void tells her to see about expanding the army and to prepare for a brief campaign in the Bloody Hills to get the troops blooded and victorious.
Chancellor Blade gives his report next. Clan Bridge is still in opposition. His bribery fund is running low, and he needs more money for that so Clan Bridge doesn't outspend him gathering allies. He's also been approached by one of the claimants to the throne of Caligia, who promises favorable trading terms in exchange for Silverport's support. Meaning a lot more money. Shining Void says no, now is not the time to get involved in someone else's trouble - and looks to you, frowning. If we were to attempt picking a victor there, he asks, could you fund it?
You wonder if this is a trick question of some sort. The palace is only out of debt thanks to his generous gift, still losing money, and two of your co-workers are about to spend even more money. No reasonable person in these circumstances would pay an army to fight someone else's war. "No. It would undo all the work I've done and then some."
Finally, Gold Morning says that he also needs some more money. Make that three of your co-workers. The old intelligence network is damaged, recruitment is slow, but at least the vetting has gone perfectly fine and turned up nobody troublesome in the least. "Seems to me all the turncoats, cowards and other men without principles left already." he says. "A few of the potential new recruits were obvious infiltrators and double agents, but the old core is solid."
---
Voting time. You have SIX (6) actions over the next six months (one turn). One action may represent a month of solid work, or one day a week over the course of the turn - please don't poke the abstraction too hard. Overwork choices give you an extra action rather than consuming one, so you can go up to nine if you're an absolute workaholic. You may spend two actions on one choice to focus extra time and effort on it. Voting is by plan.
Do Your Job: The palace budget is still in tatters after the reign of the Abominations, and you feel your efforts go unappreciated as your coworkers immediately find things to spend the money on. Money you don't really even have, save by the goodness of Clan Wisdom.
[] You've made a start on the gates and tolls, but there are still bandits on the overland roads and double-tolls on the city roads. Keep fixing this.
[] Prioritize repairs, reconstruction and reutilization of palace-owned land so you can start charging rent on it again.
[] A bunch of Wisdom's gift has been spent already, but the majority remains. Lend it out to entrepreneurs. Then collect both interest and fees from them.
[] Ask your relatives for more advice. You have no shortage of relatives and they have no shortage of opinions.
[] The temple tithes and shrine offerings haven't been audited for decades. Some of these gods probably don't live here any more, or even exist. Who can you stop paying?
[] Go through the payroll of the palace guard and remove dead soldiers, missing soldiers, retired soldiers, and whoever else needs removing.
[] The threats of audits you issued made some people clean up their act. Send more and better threats of audits, describing in more detail what's wrong.
[] The threats of audits you issued made some people implicitly admit they owed money by stalling. Make good on your threats, start auditing.
[] The Guardian and Dragon clans are dead, purge any remaining obligations to their former members.
[] Stall and procrastinate until problems hopefully solve themselves or creditors give up and offer to settle for less.
[] Write-in approach
Follow Your Passion: You are still plotting a great work of metallurgy to transmute iron into starmetal.
[] Look for materials. You'll need to buy a great deal of iron, of course, fuel, reagents, and a forge custom-built to your specifications.
[] Look for personnel. You'll need smiths, alchemists, probably a priest of the god of forges, maybe a thaumaturge or geomancer too.
[] Look for a starmetal sample. You'll want it as a reference to check the forge is on the right path.
[] Search more libraries. Maybe you'll find the information you want this time. (has a retry bonus this turn)
[] Consult with priests. Maybe you'll find a god willing to give or at least show you some starmetal.
About that census: You didn't bring it up at the council meeting and the Portlord didn't ask. But something feels off about your last estimate and the Portlord might raise it again in the future.
[] Asking clan heads to count their clan members would give you a second opinion.
[] Ask tariff collectors to count how many different people pass through the gates and ports every week.
[] Pick an ordinary district to count the population of, then divide Silverport's size by the district's size for an estimate.
[] Write-in new approach
Abuse your office:
[] Clan Bridge is moving to oppose the Portlord. Undermine and sabotage them. Subtly, of course - it should look like Fate objects to people who oppose the Portlord.
[] Some of the less scrupulous members of your own clan have suggested you should be quietly sabotaging Clan Plum instead.
[] Why choose? Falsify a few contracts to make both Bridge and Plum think the other owes them something.
[] See if you can shuffle your personal obligations onto the palace finances.
Self-improvement: Can attempt to raise one of your attributes. Difficulty increases as the base attribute rises.
[] Practice. Take some time away from what you're doing to look at how you're doing it and whether there's a better approach.
[] Tutoring. Ask one of your fellow councillors for advice in their field of expertise.
[] Paid Tutoring. Hire a professional teacher, like the ones your clan used to pay for when you were younger.
Social actions: One of these can be taken for free each turn in your spare time. Each additional selection from this section will still cost an action. You do not need to socialize with your own clan - that happens automatically unless you choose to skimp on family obligations.
[] Get to know one of your fellow councillors. (choose which)
[] Spy on one of your fellow councillors. (choose which)
[] Socialize and build connections with one of the great clans of Silverport. (choose which)
[] Spend time with someone else. (choose whom)
Special actions:
[] Slow and Steady. Take your time to think and plan properly before you act. Other planned actions this turn get a bonus die to their rolls. Cannot be used if overworking.
[] Overwork: skimp on family obligations. You get an extra action this turn. May damage your social standing.
[] Overwork: skimp on religious obligations. You get an extra action this turn. May damage your social standing.
[] Overwork: skimp on food and sleep. You get an extra action this turn. May result in poor health.
Earning: 100g/turn (50g salary, 50g embezzlement)
Spending: 50g/turn (5g family, 5g shrines, 5g clerks, 35g debt payment)
Current wealth: 68g
Optional plan elements you can add:
[] Stop embezzling.
[] Reduce embezzlement to 10g/turn. (Removes risk of discovery)
[] Reduce embezzlement to 25g/turn. (Reduces risk of discovery)
[] Increase embezzlement to 100g/turn. (Increases risk of discovery)
[] Change debt payment to 15g/turn.
[] Change debt payment to 25g/turn.
Spending: 50g/turn (5g family, 5g shrines, 5g clerks, 35g debt payment)
Current wealth: 68g
Optional plan elements you can add:
[] Stop embezzling.
[] Reduce embezzlement to 10g/turn. (Removes risk of discovery)
[] Reduce embezzlement to 25g/turn. (Reduces risk of discovery)
[] Increase embezzlement to 100g/turn. (Increases risk of discovery)
[] Change debt payment to 15g/turn.
[] Change debt payment to 25g/turn.
-New description of Slow and Steady should make it clearer that it still uses an action.
-There are better and worse options, but not trap options.
-You are on course to have the budget half balanced if you continue this turn like last turn.
-You can still go and learn Old Tongue, or various other skills, with a write in. But it's not as relevant any more so I've removed it from the default suggestions.
Turn 2 Interlude - The Portlord's Question
- Location
- Norway
[*] Plan: Burn The Deadwood.
-[*] You've made a start on the gates and tolls, but there are still bandits on the overland roads and double-tolls on the city roads. Keep fixing this.
-[*] The temple tithes and shrine offerings haven't been audited for decades. Some of these gods probably don't live here any more, or even exist. Who can you stop paying?
-[*] Go through the payroll of the palace guard and remove dead soldiers, missing soldiers, retired soldiers, and whoever else needs removing.
-[*] The threats of audits you issued made some people clean up their act. Send more and better threats of audits, describing in more detail what's wrong.
-[*] The Guardian and Dragon clans are dead, purge any remaining obligations to their former members.
-[*] Search more libraries. Maybe you'll find the information you want this time. (has a retry bonus this turn)
-[*] Get to know one of your fellow councillors. (Princess Ebuskun)
-[*] You've made a start on the gates and tolls, but there are still bandits on the overland roads and double-tolls on the city roads. Keep fixing this.
-[*] The temple tithes and shrine offerings haven't been audited for decades. Some of these gods probably don't live here any more, or even exist. Who can you stop paying?
-[*] Go through the payroll of the palace guard and remove dead soldiers, missing soldiers, retired soldiers, and whoever else needs removing.
-[*] The threats of audits you issued made some people clean up their act. Send more and better threats of audits, describing in more detail what's wrong.
-[*] The Guardian and Dragon clans are dead, purge any remaining obligations to their former members.
-[*] Search more libraries. Maybe you'll find the information you want this time. (has a retry bonus this turn)
-[*] Get to know one of your fellow councillors. (Princess Ebuskun)
(I've rolled and outlined results for all voted actions this turn. This one had the highest Stewardship roll, so I had this be the springboard for conversation. The rest of the plan will resume afterwards.)
One does not easily destroy even a moderately sized clan, let alone one of the Great Houses whose dynasts number over a thousand. Even the wrath of the Abominations, with pillars of fire and boulders thrown like pebbles, could scarcely scour more than one street or palace at a time.
To kill is easier than to destroy completely. You did not personally observe the Queen's assault on the ancestral mansion of Clan Guardian, but you heard from first-hand witnesses who saw her in full battle array. The spiked crown on her head (some say horns) blazing with fire, the vast sword in her hands cutting through flesh like grass, her bright brass armor turning arrows like raindrops and resounding like a bell. When the defenders on the roof fired a ballista at her, she cut the bolt from the air with a lightning-swift strike. Hundreds died that day, but the Queen took not a scratch.
With its head and heart cut out, the clan soon withered and died. Individual survivors fled, hid, changed their names, or posed as commoners. (And later Clan Dragon passed similarly.) Many of the smaller clan estates were hurriedly sold off at a great discount to fund escapes and new lives, while the Queen seized a few of the larger ones for herself and her retainers.
With the Abominations now seven months gone, it's unclear who should own those estates. The normal rules are out the window. The owner is deceased, the heir is deceased, the heir to the heir is deceased, and the family the property would otherwise revert to is deceased or missing. Oh, and there are squatters.
[Sort out succession. Stewardship, 37(roll) + 19(attribute) -4(inspiration) =52. Sorted.]
You borrow a few of the palace guard and promptly evict the squatters so you can evaluate the properties and search for any possible sign of wills and testaments naming people who haven't disappeared. A faint hope, but one that would save you a lot of work. No such thing turns up. Nor can you simply confiscate the lands in the Portlord's name... or can you, indirectly? Maybe.
You have a quick word with Blade, and the chancellor has a word with prospective buyers who would like to get their hands on these estates legally, and they support you in your declaration that these estates should be considered 'resources'. Specifically, the sort of resources covered by the Treaty of Expansion of 709 which members of the Great Houses may bid for the rights to. Technically, you're not selling them. The palace is being paid a mediation and registration fee. Ownership is passing directly from limbo to the new claimants.
You ruffle a lot of feathers in the process. The Treaty of Expansion was intended to cover a joint expedition into the Bloody Hills, not tangled inheritances in Silverport, and it hasn't been invoked at all for fifty years. Several people object to this on general principle as an abuse of the law. Alleged former members of the deceased clans are also very unhappy that they're not only being disinherited beyond all recourse but put on the implicit level of barbarian hill tribes. (Which has made it trivial for you to stop payments to them.) Ascension Ritual Blade offers an apology, saying it's his fault for not thinking all the way through. He ran to get supporters, he says, and didn't consider the opposition. Still, it's been a great success on the whole.
[Blade 6/10 opinion, good working relationship.]
Such a great success, in fact, that Wisdom Shining Void approaches you for a personal meeting.
---
You're sitting in a comfy chair in the common room near your suite in your wing of the Palace of the Portlords, a light repast spread on the table in front of you, the Portlord himself sitting on the other side of the table.
"I want to commend your diligence." he says. "I'm pleasantly surprised. A lot of people in your position would have tried to use the post as a springboard to political importance, and their wages to hold parties. Yet here you are, working dutifully."
" 'The superior man thinks of virtue; the petty man thinks of favors.' " you quote.
"And a scholar as well." says Shining Void. "Impressive! Please, give my commendations to your father and your teachers, too. But does not the same sage also say: 'the petty man thinks of profit'? What say you of that?"
You ponder carefully how to answer him. "Different men may do likewise things," you say tentatively.
"Indeed." He nods, and begins asking for your view on other sayings of the sages.
You struggle to keep up; you can remember reading these sayings well enough, but original commentary is beyond you at the moment. "I'm better with numbers, that's why I'm Steward." you say, trying to change the topic.
He frowns. Maybe there was a more polite way to phrase that.
[Show off your knowledge: Learning 10+17+5(Eidetic Memory) = 32. Decent, but not impressive.]
[Make nice with the boss: Diplomacy 8+15=23. You're young, it's understandable.]
"Very well. I'll leave the classics for later and explain more simply. Guardian Black was Portlord seventy years ago. You should have heard of him."
"The Black Reforms." you say.
"Yes. I don't remember them myself, but my father does. From my study of history, I have also learned that a similar set of reforms took place eighty years before his time again."
"Do you plan to pass your own reforms?"
"Perhaps, but I had in mind a greater understanding I wished to share with you. The history of Silverport appears to have a cycle to it: a reformer like Black comes along, the outcry goes up that he is making himself a king, and then for a lifetime or so the office rests and bloats until there is another reformer. Because in the aftermath of a reformer and an outcry, the successors are often lazy and corrupt old men who see the office as little more than a sinecure, a reward at the end of their lives, which they can milk for the benefit of their clan without doing much. And so they let the palace and its people decay."
You're skeptical of the grand narrative he asserts, but you can certainly agree many of the regular palace staff are little more than drudges. Hiring external clerks immediately was a good move to get some professionalism in here. "Go on," you say, curious where this is leading.
"If I pass my own reforms, Silverport gets thirty or forty good years while the reforms hold, followed by thirty or forty bad years once the same rot sets in again, and the cycle will begin anew. I wish instead to do unprecedented things and perhaps chart a new course for Silverport."
You very carefully refrain from asking if this is leading up to the point where he tries to bribe you for your support, even though you think it obviously is.
"But I recognize the time may not be ripe. Perhaps I am premature, perhaps I still have too much ambition to be king, and it will be the next Portlord who reforms the office, after I have focused my efforts on the vital reconstruction of the city."
That's a nice excuse he's offered for not supporting whatever he's going to propose.
"Do you think I should chart a new course? Or should I tend my own garden? Tell me, superior man."
He carefully avoids saying what this new course is. But you can venture a guess, from what you remember the strange new Marshal saying at your first meeting a few months ago.
---Ebuskun said:
[] Write in answer and reasoning. Does not need to be in dialogue format, I'll adjust as necessary.
-[] Optionally, an internal opinion that differs from the public answer you give
[] Optionally, follow-up questions you have.
QM notes:
-The sage quotes are paraphrased from Confucius' Analects.
-Your opinion here will contribute to characterization, but it's not a hard lock.
-The Dramatis Personae entry has been updated with stat estimates learned from the Portlord's social action to spend time with you.
-If you had taken the Revolutionary ambition, this would have been a much bigger choice.