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It Belongs to a Museum

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Boney said:
[ ] Gems
Honestly, there's not much historical value in freshly-mined jewels, but they are extremely pretty. Uh, they were mined on Fuming Serpent Island, so they are tangentially related to the Vampire Coast. And Elven faceting techniques are some of the most advanced in the world. You could come up with some excuse to indulge in corvid instincts.
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When I visited the Fields museum in Chicago, I did find their jewelry exhibit to be far more fascinating than might be guessed. Honestly, just saying that this is a display of the metalworking and faceting skills of cultures across the planet would be enough to justify having such pretty things on display.
 
Just checking my rules understanding, Boney:
Boney said:
[ ] Research Relic (specify which)
There is a great deal of difference between a display that is just a sword and one that tells you what type of sword it is, which people made it and used it, what was special about it, and what it developed from and into. Items that you or your staff already have requisite knowledge of will have that understanding automatically applied, but you can also personally research a specific item to seek out that specific set of answers yourself.
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It seems to me like the ship comes pre- researched courtesy of our friendly neighborhood skald:
Boney said:
Full historical context, detailed mechanical understanding.
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But I'm not sure about these:
Boney said:
Detailed combatant information, partial biological understanding.
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Does this signify "you have researched them to the limits of what your staff is capable of", or does it signify that there's more to gain from a research relic action? If the latter, would a single research relic action cover all our skellytons, or would we need to pick a specific category (e.g. Cold Ones)?
 
I rather like the idea of getting lizardman skeletons to pose with our dino skeletons, and getting some lizardman relics to go with them. Not sure what would make a good third option though.
 
I'm in favor of taking a single turn to get more stuff, then putting together our first exhibit next turn. It doesn't need to be perfect, but right now our first exhibit is going to be a little bare bones, so to say. Getting a few more things first means making a better first impression. (I'm not in favor of taking more than one turn of prep work, just for pacing's sake if nothing else.)
 
Bylba said:
Are you sure you want to use Wax Figures in a hot, humid subtropical climate on a volcanic island? This doesn't look like it's reliable.
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On top of that, its tallow wax instead of paraffin at this point, which gets markedly more dribbly. Pahtsekhen's got decent preservation chops but paintings and busts might be easier.
 
picklepikkl said:
Just checking my rules understanding, Boney:

It seems to me like the ship comes pre- researched courtesy of our friendly neighborhood skald:
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It could be more so if you had the world's greatest export on Norscan longships on hand, but for all practical purposes, yeah.

picklepikkl said:
Does this signify "you have researched them to the limits of what your staff is capable of", or does it signify that there's more to gain from a research relic action? If the latter, would a single research relic action cover all our skellytons, or would we need to pick a specific category (e.g. Cold Ones)?
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Research is a bit of a blunt instrument that would probably be wasted on random skeletons. It basically lets Paht read the wiki article on something. The biggest thing you're missing here is Lizardman information - notice how the words 'Skink' or 'Saurus' aren't appearing. This is something you can ignore for now and make a mental note that getting a Lizardman expert, or getting Paht some Lizardmen knowledge, might be a good idea at some future point - the information attached to the exhibits will be updated 'for free' when you learn more or get new staff.

Or if you never get around to it, that'd be valid too. A museum that's doing its best but is lacking a lot of critical context is an interesting PoV too.

The exact value of that information is something that will become apparent once you get the first exhibition up and running. This is both in-universe (Paht figuring out what works and what needs work from doing it) and out of universe (mechanics are still a work in progress).

Aule said:
Sorry, wrong choice of word. I wanted to say accurate, looking authentic, but without the legendary enchantments and divine favors. A lot of museums I have been in exhibited replicas or, in cases where original is destroyed, reconstructions.
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Modern museums are focused a lot more on education, which is the service those replicas and reconstructions primarily serve. In this era the focus is a lot more about prestige, which means the value of getting the genuine article is a lot higher.
 
I'm aiming for statues that can be included in dioramas with skeletons. If that's unworkable then death masks for and exhibit of the initial crew works.

@Boney
Just checking that my current plan of acquiring wax statues of Harkon + initial crew in various poses for use in dioramas isn't too greedy for the acquire action.
 
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thamuzz said:
I'm aiming for statues that can be included in dioramas with skeletons. If that's unworkable then death masks for and exhibit of the initial crew works.

@Boney
Just checking that my current plan of acquiring wax statues of Harkon + initial crew in various poses for use in dioramas isn't too greedy for the acquire action.
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The most straightforward way to get something human-shaped that can work as representations of people would probably be to use human skeletons and make a death mask for the one that's supposed to be Luther. That would be valid for an action.
 
"These are genuine handcrafted nehekaran death mask."
"They look new."
"Oh yes, the Liche Priest just finished on these ones."
"... i want my money back"
 
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So here is my updated plan.

[ ] Plan: Diorama Prep
-[ ] Relics
-[ ] Acquire Relic (Lizardmen Bodies/Skeletons - Awakening)
-[ ] Acquire Relic (Suitable Preserved Corpses + Clothing & Deathmasks to represent Harkoon and his initial crew - Awakening)

Going the route of corpses with deathmasks as we are more experienced when dealing with those and they are easier to come by.
 
OK, with the benefit of Boney's clarifications that our existing stuff comes pre-researched to the limits of our boy Fjolnir's ability, here's my serious draft for a T1 plan:

[] Plan Slow and Steady
-[] Relics
-[] Research Relic: Relics
-[] Acquire Relic: Lizardmen Bodies/Skeletons - Awakening

The idea here is simple: we're gearing up for an opening exhibit next turn featuring the ship as a centerpiece, the bodies of lizardmen (great idea @Sinsystems) and their war-beasts, and the relics that were plundered. It's still not going to be an ideal exhibit, because we are missing key items that would be great for a story of the early days of the Vampire Coast like weapons and so on and our current contact can't get those, but it's still pretty good. And we're also setting up for a future action in which we acquire Skeletons (rare) to serve as a future centerpiece, and can eventually restructure our museum to have one big exhibit with a more piratical focus centered on Niflhundr and a second big exhibit with a more Lustrian/Lizardmen focus centered on the skeletons, with the plundered artifacts as a bridging theme.

(If my understanding of the rules being implied is correct, we don't need a centerpiece for an exhibit, but it makes it more impressive if we do.)

"But Pickle!" you may cry out. "This is so boring! Where is the action? I don't want to just do a turn on prep work!"

Don't fret, my friend. You see, I have already thought of that. Do you see the plan name? If you are unfamiliar with Divided Loyalties, allow me the pleasure of informing you that this plan name is under a dread curse. Twice we've called a plan that or something like that (T25 and T36) and both times the turn got extremely dramatic on us out of fucking nowhere and we added a hundred pages every day. So, you see, there is nothing to fear, because this is the plan naming equivalent of standing on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armor and shouting 'All gods are bastards!" -- something exciting is bound to happen. And this is a spooky pirate quest, so let's get started on the dread curses good and early.
 
While it's broadly popular already, I want to say that I feel like asking Princess Fallenstar for some Lizardman relics is a solid pick for a wide range of future options.

The prospect of visiting Sea Elves could be curious about them as trinkets of value, and even as toys or work tools they might appeal to the Arabayan Academics for their insight into an ancient civilization. They're all but guaranteed to be objects of research, and there's a chance they tie neatly into a "conquests of the Vampire King" exhibit if things play out that way.

Even if they fall through for any specific purpose they seem to offer a great deal of potential breadth.

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On the opposite end of the spectrum: Gems strike me as having a bit of value given the current setup, though they are a bit of a huckster option: Displaying them near a Conquests of Luthor Exhibit could imply wealth from pillage and conquest, as long as the focus is on what they are, rather than how they got there. That said, it also strikes me very much a short term boost option in the current environment. Made to prop up other exhibits and for the mass appeal of "ooh, shiny" rather than items of curiosity in their own right.

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As far as the [] Conquests of Luthor Harkon Exhibit goes, I'm in somewhat in favor of it and would like to argue it's case:

Yes, it's something temporary, that will have to be broken apart later, but while we don't have the greatest of synergies off the bat, we don't have the worst, either, especially with Fjolnir on the Staff as both old crewmate of Harkon and excellent storyteller.

Ultimately, it's a path aiming to play a minor early advantage into a greater one later, at the cost of eventually having to rework it.


Boney said:
As interesting as the company of the Wights Bracht and Ixi seem, the services of the Skald Fjolnir are too aligned with your mandate and your centerpiece to ignore, and you welcome him aboard. He spends several uninterrupted days telling you the long story of the original crew of Niflhundr, only shifting to walk inside the castle when the sun rises and back out to the longboat when it sets again, then he gets back aboard his pinnace to head back to Awakening. Over the coming weeks you have several outgoing pirate vessels drop in to see the ship themselves, spurred by the tales that are now fresh in Fjolnir's mind once more. It seems even when he's not here, he's going to be an asset for the museum.
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The way two immortals talk to each other without ever stopping is a fun note. Eat? Drink? Sleep? Nah fam, we're here to chat.
 
[ ] Haakon Vs Kaiju
-[ ] Create Exhibit (Conquests of the Pirate King, using the Dread Abyssal and the Beast skeletons)
-[ ] Skeleton (rare)
-[ ] Acquire Relic (Lizardman skeletons via Awakening)

Doubles down on our starting exhibit by adding more skeletons—eventually these can be split off into their own "Monsters of Lustria" exhibit, but for now presenting Harkon as a badass monster slayer is pretty in line with what he wants, and will allow us to get the ball rolling on new recruits.

[ ] Harkon the Pirate King
-[ ] Create Exhibit (Conquests of the Pirate King, using the Dread Abyssal and the Beast skeletons)
-[ ] Gems (via Aelsabrim)
-[ ] Relics (via Aelsabrim)

This plan builds on the starting exhibit by emphasising Harkon as a pirate, showing off treasure and trophies. After all, the whole point of piracy is to become fabulously wealthy. If we imply that serving Harkon will open the way to such wealth, we'll strenghten his position. The Gems will also allow us to attract elves, whilst the Relics can be used to attract the Arabyan academics (The elves value, well, value, and the Arabyans value age. Plenty of synergy there).

picklepikkl said:
[] Plan Slow and Steady
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why are you bringing this curse upon us?
 
I think the big fork in front of us is whether we want to work towards just refining that potential Huatl exhibit, or towards furnishing a more long-lasting exhibit using the ship while leaving the bones for a future lizardman trophy centerpiece.
I'm leaning towards the latter. The Large and Rare bone actions both sound like they could assemble into something that's beyond a mere relic and shopping in Awakening should be able to provide relics matching any imaginable theming for the ship. Steering the eventual ship exhibit towards something the Sea Elves will enjoy seems fitting.

So something like this:
[ ] Skeletons (large AND rare) x2
[ ] Acquire Relic (Awakening, matching the Niflhundr, leaning Naval)
 
A nice relic would be the written and signed pirate codes of multiple crews that are now disbanded. It allows for comparison and contrast as well as helping other pirates starting out to figure what rules they want to set for themselves.
 
Not sure if it's RIGHT but another option would probably be to hire standins, with a long term eye for an exhibit where you don't just see the relics of Luthor's conquest of Hautli but get to experience it.
 
Currently down for a "prep" plan to set up for a bigger and flashier "conquest of Lustria by Harkon" exhibit next turn.

Also I currently do not see like any synergy, but really wanna take the "invite Arabyan intellectual" options to see Boney's take on that place and how maybe some of Phakt's less infamous students ended up
 
fictionfan said:
A nice relic would be the written and signed pirate codes of multiple crews that are now disbanded. It allows for comparison and contrast as well as helping other pirates starting out to figure what rules they want to set for themselves.
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While these are very intteresting to us.
I am not sure they would be all that interesting to the people likely to visit our museum.
They are like making a museum of local corporate manuals/contracts.
Worthy thing to preserve, and of interest to some, but not likely to create much draw.
 
picklepikkl said:
The idea here is simple: we're gearing up for an opening exhibit next turn featuring the ship as a centerpiece, the bodies of lizardmen (great idea @Sinsystems) and their war-beasts, and the relics that were plundered. It's still not going to be an ideal exhibit, because we are missing key items that would be great for a story of the early days of the Vampire Coast like weapons and so on and our current contact can't get those, but it's still pretty good. And we're also setting up for a future action in which we acquire Skeletons (rare) to serve as a future centerpiece, and can eventually restructure our museum to have one big exhibit with a more piratical focus centered on Niflhundr and a second big exhibit with a more Lustrian/Lizardmen focus centered on the skeletons, with the plundered artifacts as a bridging theme.
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Thanks, I figured getting some Lizardmen bones wouldn't be too hard since they conquered a temple city. Plus there are likely regular skirmishes, hence why I suggested it.

Although I am unsure if we can research the relics before we acquire them. I think we'd need to save that until next turn.
 
The Phoenixian said:
On the opposite end of the spectrum: Gems strike me as having a bit of value given the current setup, though they are a bit of a huckster option: Displaying them near a Conquests of Luthor Exhibit could imply wealth from pillage and conquest, as long as the focus is on what they are, rather than how they got there. That said, it also strikes me very much a short term boost option in the current environment. Made to prop up other exhibits and for the mass appeal of "ooh, shiny" rather than items of curiosity in their own right.
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The gems are perhaps most easily used in an exhibition on the Elven colony itself, as a local product of their mines along with relics, plus some local fauna/flora and elf-made artefacts. Currently we lack a centrepiece for such an exhibit, but if we keep contact with Aelsabrim somethingll come up sooner or later.
 
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