I'll be nice and remind people that you hit the Omake Limit for this turn and have the (alarmingly usual) +20 bonuses across the board. In case that affects plans.
More coherent responses to other things will happen when I'm not on a phone.
Just a note abo Telos because I saw it mentioned earlier.
The Telos Holocron is in the possession of Palpatine, there may however be a considerable library of Sith Holocrons in the ruins of Atris' hideout on Telos.
The Telos Holocron does not have anything to do with the planet Telos.
No it isn't? Yeah he has a gatekeeper version of himself on it, but there's no date for when He found it, beyond a thing on the wiki postulating he found it during his reign as Emperor:
One of the Holocron's Gatekeepers was Darth Sidious, who obtained the Holocron at some point during his reign and left his dark legacy to future generations.
No it isn't? Yeah he has a gatekeeper version of himself on it, but there's no date for when He found it, beyond a thing on the wiki postulating he found it during his reign as Emperor:
And another note saying it was 10 ABY when Palps added himself to it..
And yeah, it was found on Telos by the New Jedi Order hence why it was called the Telos Holocron:
What's this? An absurd amount of options and struggles to pare down? Time for me to stomp on everybody's pet projects. Ever heard of the story where Warren Buffett (or one of the twenty other people it's attributed to) told a guy to write down his top ten goals in life, then to completely ignore the bottom seven or eight so he could get 2 or 3 done? That's where we have to be right now. Sucks, but we've gotta be ready to put a lot off to the side so we can focus on our main threat of Sheev. Yes, that may mean the Commerce Guild. Yes, that may mean owning our own starship company. Yes, that may mean the Chu'unthor. Sucks, but that's where we're at right now.
So I'll mark out priorities based on achieving our main goals, and of course time sensitive stuff, so hopefully in 24 hours we have a coherent vision and only minor quibbles to debate over Publicola's plan.
Low Priority - Moderate Priority - Considerable Priority - High Priority - Urgent Top Must Do Now Now Now
Martial: Xruk has been working overtime to train the newest recruits, and OOM-9 is constantly running simulations to determine whether an attack on Palpatine is feasible.
Pick 2:
[] Black Ops
[] Mercenary Work [] Wookieetarian Action [] Piracy [] Militia Standardization
[] Anti-Slaver Actions -[] Zygerrian Slave Guild -[] Trandoshan Slavers -[] Senex-Juvex Slavers [] Recovering The Chu'unthor (Aggressive Option)
[] The Legacy Of Madmen
Ooooooooh boy. Alright so I condensed all the piracy for simplicity sake. Some have more utility than others, but they overall average as a "we have more enticing things for now". The few that would pluck above Blue can wait, though I'll make a note here that there is good synergy in some of those options. False Flag and Militia Standardization, most obviously. Pirating Skako and "Helping" Old "Friends" for another. But overall, shelving it for now. Because just sheer other options.
The Zygerrians are blue because they really don't give us anything to make them a better option than the Trandoshans or Senex. And honestly, Trandoshans are only better because of the Wookiee link (though that's a damn good reason). Taking Trandoshans and Wookieetarians hand in hand is easy synergy to kick off the whole slavery thing. Establishing anti-slave credentials on the lizards before we take it to Palpatine's corner is a solid play, but with good linkage we can make a good narrative to abuse into momentum. The ideais that if we go straight for the Senex-Juvex, then this is a much more brazen attack on Palps that he'll pick up on. Not great. I really do want to set the stage for our attack there. Not just for Ciaran's credibility, but to make sure we have the right pain going on against Palpatine. Vandra Crueyon himself is not very relevant. COMPOR a bit more so. The biggest gain is staining Palpatine's credibility, and I want to be in one helluva position to take advantage of that.
Militia Standardization is bland but Palpatine will probably try to pull us into the war sooner rather than later, so the militia being ready just in case Intrigue/Diplomacy/etc. options fail to stop him isn't a terrible idea. I was very tempted to label this option blue, though.
I would very much prefer we don't take the Aggressive option on the Chu'unthor.
Then there's the Arkanian Legacy. So, obvious asset is obvious. It's a research thing, so we're getting real Learning Bonuses from that. Definitely a roll boost, but if we're lucky, bonus action unlock? Unlikely though. My main question here is whether or not the bio data is covered by one of the Archeological sites, because if so, well, that changes things.
Regardless, I think that Wookieetarian is a good start point. Gets the ball rolling on our slavery fight. Arkanians or Trandoshans make good options for the second. Maybe Military Standardization or something out of the piracy bag if we really feel like it, but if we have the Hero support available (we should, we have so many goddamn Martial Heroes), Arkanian Legacy is on the table. I would actually prefer to hold off on Senex-Juvex, despite it being the most important, until we have the set up for it. If nothing else... I kinda really want Anakin involved in that fight.
Diplomacy: Most of the galaxy is under Palpatine's control in some fashion and you're short on allies. Time to see how much you can fix those things.
Pick 1 Regular Action, 1 CNS Action:
[] Shards Encased In Iron (CNS)
[] Between the Light and Dark [] CNS Recruitment
[] Calling In A Favor [] The Roaming Jedi [] The Resurgent [] Recovering The Chu'unthor (Diplomatic Option) [] House Of Killers [] Pull At The Strings [] Can I See Your Maps, Sir?
[] Watching The Watchmen
[] For Bothawui's Eyes Only (CNS)
CNS action is... a little interesting. Recruiting Munn Space is a capstone to our "capture the IGBC" project, but we have to actually complete that one first. Bothans are Bothans and probably what we'll do. And then there's the "just be really in Palpatine and Dooku's way" recruitment options. So yeah. Probably Bothans, so that next turn we can buy a Bothan base then trick it out with a ton of upgrades based on Publicola's "buy everything" fiscal policy.
Otherwise, the limited action squeeze is so real. I would gladly give up recruiting Bothawui if we could use that action elsewhere. Honestly, I'm really considering bumping the Maps action up to Orange because I have a suspicion that it may up our action count. Maybe not though (either way, synergy with Wookieetarian. Hell, if we crit the other Wookiee action maybe we get the maps as a reward because why not hope). I'm also loathe to let the "reconnect with the Sentinels" option stay behind, because we know that's a +5 Intrigue Bonus.
Unfortunately, a lot of very useful things are being left on the table. Luckily, not too worried about stuff being time-sensitive here. Just... it kinda sucks because it'll be tough to grab a lot of these actions without getting a permanent extra Diplomacy Action (that isn't locked into the CNS), because our dealings with Palpatine in the Senate are going to perennially take up one of the slots. In this case: Pull At The Strings is a must take. No questions. We have neglected the Senate for too long, and so the battleground there is not in our favor. We need to invest to fix that. It's not sexy, but it's what we gotta do.
Then Jango is a very very very strong case for the Free Action.
Stewardship: In spite of the recent news, Borvo's been keeping his spirits up; he's pointed out that keeping the finances of the Watchers stable will be vital for the coming times.
Pick 2 Regular Actions, Up to 1 Sienar Action:
[] Sienar Custom Vessel -[] Personal Couriers -[] Other Ships
[] Contact Ship-builders
[] Cord of Three Strands [] Bank of Ciaran [] The Return of Galactic Sushi
[] Silver Cross PR Blitz
ty based QM for Free Sienar Action. Yes, we'll take the ships we know will give us Extra Actions. I do wonder if the other ships will do similar things (namely the "Diplomacy" ships). Really hope I can find the 80-90% finished omake I had on those ships off the harddrive of my recently deceased laptop, if only so I can canonize some of the ship names.
Beyond that, well, we have a lovely release from action squeeze. Bank of Ciaran seems like a given. Mix it with Plucking a Clovis, and the CNS now has the IGBC in its pockets. Useful for reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum. Also makes any economic sanctions against the CNS hard if we own the banks. So there's another given.
After that. Eh. Cord of Three Strands or make a move on a shipbuilder. Take your pick. Personally, I lean towards Cord of Three Strands. We already have plenty of shipbuilder assets we haven't been using. Let's remind the Kaleesh and the Muun why we're the best human ever.
Agriculture is ultimately less important than either of the other two, and the PR Blitz just really isn't necessary. They're both just dressed up income actions, and we have base upgrades to cover those well enough to focus on bigger fish in this category.
Intrigue: As terrified Gulan has been lately, he's been doing everything he can to get every last scrap of information he can find on Palpatine and his plans.
Pick 2:
[] Lots Of Plans, Lots Of Wrenches [] The Hunt For Ko Sai [] Bad Moon Over Coruscant [] Grassroots Movements [] Rumblings Of A Giant [] Legacy Of Damask [] Plucking A Clovis [] The Codebreaker's Frying Pan [] Black Information
-[] CIS -[] Republic
[] Information For A Price [] Steal Stuff
[] "Helping" Old "Friends" [] Public Relations Vaccination
And the action squeeze is back. Luckily there's not too much to argue over here. The Codebreaker is time-sensitive and very useful. Locked in. After that, nipping Clovis for good and finally putting the IGBC plot to rest is a big priority. Clears something off the todo list, and the rest of this stuff should be sitting there for us next turn...
Except for a few issues. Firstly, that whole "blackmail" thing snuck back in as an option to take. So that's certainly not ominous. I'd like to think it's worth the risk, but, well, yeah. We did get an 82 on the disaster roll. So I think that's a real discussion we should have.
Beyond that, I think we hold off on Black Information for now. A gameplan for the CIS is something we've really been overlooking, but as important as it is, we need to really be on the gameboard before we bother with such a massive attack like Black Information on Palpatine's Inner Circle. So, despite being red level important, we should wait on it.
Bad Moon Over Coruscant is also something I'm kinda concerned with, because I think we think those are Spaarti Cylinders for making new clones? So maybe important for Order 66? I dunno. I'm also still not happy that we have to leave Skirata behind here. Not because he needs help or we could use the research or anything, but because I want those Treasury Records. Those records are the most valuable prize in the galaxy. More valuable than any of those stupid ships that EU authors keep leaving in the middle of nowhere. Those records are money. Those records are leverage. Those records probably have proof against Palpatine. Those records are worth so goddamn much. Hopefully the opportunity will come soon.
So there's definitely discussion to be had here. Honestly, I think it's entirely plausible that we wait on recruiting Jango and use a Free Action on the Blackmail to be safe, though we could take the risk. I think it's a discussion worth having.
Lore: Tyro's been much more grim with the recent news, and you've heard that he's been training himself just as much as his pupils.
Pick 1 Regular Action, 1 Archaeological Action:
[] Force research
[] Incorporate Luka Sene Techniques [] Incorporate Matukai Techniques [] Research Alternative Force Schools [] Archaeological Expeditions [] A Brother's Lament
I've mentioned before that it's annoying that it takes an action to research a Force School then another to actually do anything useful with it. This is another one of those times where it's annoying, because we probably can't research another Force School because Darth Maul. Granted, we have enough of a backlog already, and Maul will be real damn useful, but whatever.
I know there's been a lot of debate as to whether or not we could actually make use of Maul or whether he'll be too dangerous. It's a worthwhile one to have, especially because I don't want him to forget about Sidious so he can kill Obi-Wan. I like Obi-Wan. But Nightsister magic is... well it's something special. I don't trust Talzin one bit as an ally, but I do trust how much she hates Dooku and Sidious. And, well, enemy of my enemy is my partner who I will be watching very very carefully. We've thought up of some good countermeasures via cybernetics... I mean. We rolled great and handled the mess that could've been Asajj Ventress. Maul is doable, but maybe harder so. So eh. Not an easy decision. If we don't help out with getting Maul, there's the bigger risk of Talzin going and getting him anyway. Which is extra bad.
Seriously though, we are just rolling in Star Wars Bad Guy Hero units. We're looking at our second Sith recruit.
Then investigate whatever Archeological Site has the most practical use. Obrai-Skai's Galactic Encyclopedia sounds like a promising entry.
Learning: Var Zheen has been throwing himself into his research with reckless abandon, hoping to develop something that can help you fight off a Sith Lord.
Pick 2, or pick only one Research action and halve its time:
[] Investigate Anomalies [] The Mysteries of Myrkr
[] Develop Improved Medical Gear
[] Develop Improved Medicine
[] Non-Human Genemods [] Personal Shield Technology
[] Materials Research -[] Phirk
-[] Cortosis
-[] Agrocite
-[] Ionite
[] Anti-Force Research -[] Senflax -[] Taozin
[] Clone Resources [] Analyze Commando Gear
[] HK-47 Analysis
Okay I'll be honest, I'm running out of time and did this section last, so... yeah. All in all this is straightforward. Analyze Commando Gear as a substitute for Personal Shields is a decent option, otherwise Personal Shields should be done because of the time sink. Taozin is super fucking important. If done properly, we kill Palpatine's Force Reflexes without our own, like the Ysalamiri would. Ysalamiri still need to be done because, if we do it right, we bring a whole lot of assets onto the table.
The Arkanian Legacy's data could mix in well... somehow. Something something use it and Obroa Skai Encyclopedia to find and isolate the biological mechanisms that do these things with ease. The Metals are the Metals.
Personal: You have to get stronger.
Pick 2:
[] Physical Training -[] Strategy Lessons
-[] Piloting 101 -[] Form III (Soresu) Training
[] Force Training -[] Blazing Chains (Advanced)
-[] Matukai Techniques -[] Nightsister Techniques -[] Shatterpoint (Conceptual)
-[] Shatterpoint (Organic(?)) [] Ciaran's Conundrums [] Personal attention/The Crit Button
[] Accelerate research
So we have... a lot to deal with here. Organic Shatterpoint should wait until we master Conceptual, because that'll probably up the odds for us on Organic as we understand Shatterpoint more. Form III will be real damn useful as a defensive form, and of course Blazing Chains and Matukai are what they are, but Conceptual Shatterpoint is absurd and that is a locked in option. As for the second, well, I would say Form III because it's a 2 turn thing we may as well get started on (plus, gotta boost Martial along with our Lore. Ventress still gets a rival bonus on that), or the under appreciated Crit button, but.... Anakin.
Anakin is honestly about as risky as Maul, but more important because he is central to Palpatine's end game. He's the goddamned Chosen One. And I want to have him lead the attack on Senex-Juvex. Yeah, the odds are probably not great, but I'm imagining that we have our Personal Attention bonus automatically added in (like a Hero action. Right?) Otherwise, entirely worth considering holding off on Conceptual Shatterpoint to get Personal Attention added. It's been said many times, but when the fight against Palpatine comes, Anakin needs to be either firmly 100% on our side or across the galaxy. This is how we control that fact.
Hero Units: You've been gathering a lot of talented individuals under your command, and many of them have ambitions of their own that they may need your help with to succeed.
Optional, Pick Up To 2, Uses Hero Unit's Full Stats:
[] Under The Knife [] PR-1: He's Like You But Better
[] Silas Cata: Mind Of A Scoundrel
[] Silas Cata: Welcome To The Family
[] The Silencer: Legacy of the Moon
[] Cheriss Sair: Continued Frame Development
[] Cheriss Sair: The Art Of Droid Design
[] Thrawn: A Scholar's Passion Project
[] Grievous: Let the Hunt Begin
[] Asajj Ventress: Homecoming Trip [] HK-47: Returning To Form [] HK-47: Beneath Scum And Villany [] HK-47: Revan's Final Legacy
HK-47's got plenty of Hero Action potential for a while now. Tuning him up seems like the obvious first step. Beyond that, well, honestly just based on who we can spare. There's not that big a difference between most of these. Ventress on Maul seems a given, Thrawn on a Diplomacy, and if we go Arkanian then we'll need Silencer or Grievous on that. Intrigue will also want Hero Support. So... I guess Cheriss gets her Hero Action by default. Of the two, Droid Design probably, though if she ups her Frame Design that ups the cybernetics we can have for Maul.
Skipping Bases because if it's worthwhile Publicola will buy it because he buys everything. Also, I'm very short on time rn.
From my perspective, there's only a few really hard choices, and the rest is just having to deal with the agony of leaving things that we know are less important as unpicked. Which sucks, because we know they'll still be useful.
Stewardship Actions
...@Dr. Snark, shouldn't there be a follow-up to last turn's meeting with SoroSuub? We reached out to them in order to try and sway them to support us in ousting Shu Mai. Even if we don't pick that action this turn, I'd still like to know if that's an option.
Learning Actions
[] Nano-droids! Create and configure a nano-droid infusion that will deal with and remove the clones' Inhibitor Chips.
(I'm assuming we'd need to figure out exactly how to use nano-droids for such a specific task. I have no idea about cost or time-span, but it shouldn't be too much considering we crit'ed the original roll).
[] Nano-droids, Part 2: Produce and sell the nano-droid infusion/injections to Clan Skirata for the clone commandos. Cost: 100 Reward: +25 medical income, inhibitor chips neutralized in Kal Skirata's commandos
(This would be a follow-up to the first one, dealing with the commandos' inhibitor chips while giving us a slight income. At worst it would break even -- this is a medical treatment, we are a medical company, so of course we wouldn't bear the full cost of it ourselves. Especially given that Clan Skirata has access to the Republic Treasury and can add a 'salami slicing' virus whenever it wants to...).
Also:
[] Analyze Commando Gear: Despite his grumbling Skirata was willing to part with a few sets of clone commando armor and weaponry. Have your research teams look into them and see what they can reverse-engineer from them. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 150 Reward: Commando Gear reverse-engineered [Takes 2 Turns]
@Dr. Snark, I mention this specifically because apparently Republic commando gear has personal shields. Should that change the description here?
Coruscant
[] Karada Expansion
-[] Karada Manufacturing: Your researchers have already developed your own brand of medical gear and equipment. There's a war on -- start making more and selling it! Cost: 100 Reward: +50 Income from medical gear sales
-[] Karada Pharmaceuticals: Your researchers have developed your own variants of common pharmaceuticals, including some medicine specialized for particular species. Start marketing them for sale around the galaxy. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 Income from medicine sales
Oracle (Lucrehulk):
[] Salvage Fleet: Thanks to Silver Cross, you have access to pretty much every battlefield in the galaxy, and can move in almost as soon as the fighting is done. Set up a scavenger/salvage fleet to take advantage of this -- to sweep in after the fighting's done, looking for high-quality tech or mostly-intact starships to seize. You might even save a few lives and get a PR boost out of it -- have your salvage teams keep an eye out for survivors, and work with Silver Cross to get them medicial attention as soon as they're found. Cost: 100 Reward: +25 Income from salvage teams, per-turn roll for other benefits
(There are quite a few 'scavenger'-specialist races out there, so we might purchase some of the salvage ships from the Squib Merchandising Consortium, the Ugor Salvage company, the Temolak Salvage Consortium, or the junkers of Lotho Minor. Considering Maul is on Lotho Minor, this might tie together rather nicely with one of our other actions).
Nar Shaddaa Property:
[] Expanded Smugglers Den: Nar Shaddaa is a 'Smugglers Moon', so it shouldn't be too difficult to invest more heavily in the black market. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 Smuggling Income
[] Amateur Bounty Hunters: It would take a lot of effort to set up an official chapter of the Bounty Hunters Guild. However, there's nothing saying your agents can't take advantage of the bounty offices spread across the city, and go hunting to bring some of those bounties in. Cost: 50 Reward: +25 Military Income
[] Undercity Investment: Right beneath your property are factories, shipyards, and who knows what else that could be exploited for the sake of amplifying your profits on the planet. That and investing in actually paying your workers could make you a popular woman on the planet... Cost: 150 Upkeep: 50 Reward: 20% boost to Nar Shaddaa income
(As mentioned, could you rework this so it actually gives us some benefit? Even with the upgrades this turn, 20% boost would only barely cover the upkeep. Perhaps decrease the Upkeep to "25", or increase the boost to 30% instead?)
Castell
[] Cantina Franchise: The fact of the matter is that Shu Mai's unpopular rule has left a lot of Gossam bitter and jaded. Giving them a place to unwind would help with that and make you a more popular figure on the planet. This plan would launch of franchise of cantinas, modeled after your original Diamond Deception cantina on Coruscant. Cost: 150 Reward: +75 cantina income
(This borrows from Nar Shaddaa, to give a positive-PR upgrade that also provides us with income. It might replace the original 'Entertainment Facilities', or simply fulfill a similar function while leaving the other upgrade intact)
[] Entertainment Facilities: The fact of the matter is that Shu Mai's unpopular rule has left a lot of Gossam bitter and jaded. Giving them a place to unwind would help with that and make you a more popular figure on the planet... Cost: 100 Upkeep: 50 Reward: Increased popularity among Castell's populace
[] Invest in Mining companies. The Commerce Guild isn't just limited to SoroSuub. Dorvalla Mining, Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation, Offworld Mining Corporation, Rim Commercial Mining, and the Mining Guild itself are all dues-paying members, and together they control a staggering number of mines and mineral-rights claims across the galaxy, including throughout Neutral Space. Invest in these companies -- not just for profit, but also to secure their support or at least acquiescence when we oust Shu Mai. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 mining income
(This could also be "Cost 150 Reward: +75 mining income", depending. Alternately, you could make each company its own upgrade, so investing in Arcona would cost 50 and give +25, as would investing in the Mining Guild, etc.)
[] Gossam Commando: Castell has its own military, which Shu Mai has used as her own personal shock-troops. Still, she isn't very popular at the moment, and we are. Perhaps we could work with them to ensure they support us when we oust Shu Mai?
-[] Commando Gear: Offer to provide them with better gear. Cost: 50 Reward: Gossam Commandos more likely to survive, and more likely to support Lady Ciaran
-[] Gossam Militia: establish and recruit a local militia-cum-paramilitary force, who can help out the Commandos with logistics and transport in various operations, and more easily replace Commandos who have died. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the milita would be filled with people loyal to you.... Cost: 75 Reward: Gossam Commandos more likely to support Lady Ciaran, potential increase in Underworld Rumors
-[] Castell Academy: Set up a military academy, officially for the Abyss Watchers, but with an open invitation to the Gossam Commandos to provide them with advanced traiing. Cost: 100 Upkeep: 25 Reward: increased experience for all Abyss Watcher military squads, Gossam Commandos more likely to survive and more likely to support Lady Ciaran
Muunilist
[] Invest in Phlut Design Systems: once a thriving weapons developer, Phlut borrowed a massive amount from the IGBC to get in on the 'battle droid builder' game. Their first and major product (the IG lancer droids) performed decently in the Battle of Muunilist, but with the IGBC defeat, Phlut has had trouble staying solvent. A prime opportunity for investment, especially since they have quite a few droid models that might prove useful to us. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 income, access to IG droid schematics, potential for future upgrades
[] Large-Scale Wiretaps: trust, but verify. Cost: 50 Reward: +25 Information income, potential increase to Underworld Rumors
[] Invest in a polar Mine-Spire: Muunilist is dotted with long-extinct volcanic vents that are filled with precious metals, used as a source of wealth, as collateral for bank loans, or as reserve for the bank deposits themselves. Pretty much the only unexploited vault-spires lie in the polar regions. It's a bit more challenging, but definitely worthwhile. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 banking income OR +50 mining income
[] Invest in Plain Family businesses: Max Plain is the current Senator from Muunilist, and one of the few Banking Clan leaders who was actually neutral rather than using a veneer of neutrality to support the CIS. His family is quite influential, so invest in them to signal our support of their leadership for the IGBC once we've dealt with Rush Clovis. Cost: 50 Reward: +25 investment income
Kashyyyk
[] House Benelex Expansion: House Benelex is a very young Bounty Hunting Guild chapter that specializes in kidnapping retrieval and anti-slavery/anti-piracy work. Invest and help them expand to Kashyyyk -- the Wookies have long had a problem with Trandoshan slavers, so there's a ready source of income available, and the proximity to Hutt Space should be good for business long-term. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income (OR military income?)
[] Ithorian Botanical Garden and Nursery: the Ithorians are the best ecologists and agriculturalists in the galaxy, especially known for their 'herdships' with lush on-board biomes. Kashyyyk is a forest planet covered in highly-adaptable wroshyr trees that can grow thousands of meters tall. Invite the Ithorians to cultivate native plants, especially wroshyr trees, for off-world export, both for their own use and for sale across the galaxy. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income
[] Invest in KashyCorp: KashyCorp specializes in heavy weapons and vehicles, best suited for the tall and powerful Wookie Warriors. Invest in their business and help them expand production, both to improve Kashyyyk's ability to defend itself but also to gain access to those weapons and vehicles for your own Wookie recruits. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income, upgraded weapons, Wookie Warrior squads more likely to survive combat
[] Invest in Uurbahhahvoovv Joiners & Artisans: this company specializes in small, cheap, high-speed evacuation pods. Given the scale of the Clone Wars, there should be quite a bit of demand for a instantly-usable 'get out of jail free card' to let you escape a war zone. Have Silver Cross invest in the company and help them mass-produce the things for sale around the galaxy. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 Silver Cross income
[] Incom/Sienar/Kuat Expansion: if you are interested in hiring Wookie engineers, perhaps the other major starship corporations would feel the same way? Invite them to expand their facilities to the planet, and move more of their work away from Palpatine's sphere of influence in the Core. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income
Taris Property:
[] Large-scale Wiretaps: surely there's something worth listening to in an ecumenopolis? Cost: 50 Reward: +25 Information income, potential increase to Underworld Rumors
[] Kuat Drive Yards Branch: now that you have contact with Kuat, invite them to build a shipyard of their own on Taris, to take advantage of the city's remarkable revitalization. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income
[] Lhosan Industries Swoop-Bike Factory: have Abyss Watchers reincorporate the original Tarisian business that once employed most of the Lower City. While it was officially a mining & manufacturing company, it was best known as the original maker of the swoop-bike; given your interest in Tarisian sports, that's definitely where you should begin. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income (OR +25)
Naboo Mansion:
[] Buy Out Borvo's Black Market (Naboo): Borvo and his Nal Raka Criminal Empire have a much broader reach now than they did when he was still operating in a single sector. Borvo has neither the time nor the inclination to deal with Naboo, not when they still remember him for his actions during the Naboo invasion. Suggest to him that the Abyss Watchers should take over the local black market; your reputation is spotless, and now that you have a base on the planet, it should be easy to coordinate things. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 smuggling income
[] Invest in Borvo's Black Market (Rori): orbiting Naboo is the swamp moon Rori, best known for its kassoti spice mines -- a very mild narcotic with less severe addictive effects, which is why it's legal to trade and distribute. Borvo owns a trade port on the planet, to help facilitate transportation throughout the system. More importantly, Borvo's operation utilizes a private hyperlane, the Old Trade Federation Route, to transport goods on and off world. Invest in the tradeport, and in the black market surrounding it, to gain access to those smuggling lanes. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 smuggling income
[] Gungan Engineering: back when we first visited Naboo, Gulan and our agents encountered a Gungan scout. Nothing came of it, except Gulan took a recording of the Gungan's equipment, which included some very interesting and versatile energy technology that could be used for offensive weapons as well as personal shields. Now that we have a base on the planet, contact the Gungans and invite them to set up a production facility so they can start to sell their tech off-world. The fact that it would give us a closer look at their shield tech is just a bonus. Cost: 75 Reward: +25 investment/military income, bonus to energy/shield research?
...On the one hand, you've convinced me that this is really important. On the other, now I'm worried that recruiting Anakin would not merely "delay Palpatine's plans indefinitely," but cause him to use him vast resources to retaliate somehow, or to throw a temper tantrum now that Anakin is out of his sphere of influence. That could be bad...
Our high roll on our actions in Naboo resulted in Palpatine not finding out about us. Getting a high roll should will probably do the same.
@Publicola, whatever you do, do NOT do Matukai Techniques as a Personal Action. If you want Ciaran to learn them, have her instead do Personal Attention on the Incorporate Matukai Techniques Lore Action. She'll still learn Matukai techniques, but she'll have a higher success chance in doing so and our Agents will learn Matukai techniques too.
Yes. Fry's codebreaker would do wonders for our Intrigue (again: it breaks all the codes. Ever), plus it helps us recruit someone who has quite possibly the best technical mind in the galaxy. And it's incredibly timely, given that both Republic and CIS want a copy, and are willing to fight for it. And it's incredibly urgent, because remember that this was the mission were Siri died and Obi-Wan's heart was broken. So yeah. We need it.
... I've heard this argument quite a few times this round, which makes no sense, considering we've spent three actions over three turns to get us to this point where we could recover it. As I've said from the beginning -- the Chu'unthor was a Jedi praxeum ship that is dedicated for 1) contacting other Force-sensitive races and sects, and 2) researching different manifestations of the Force around the galaxy. You want to start whittling away at the mega-list of Force sects to meet & learn from, and Force research to conduct? The Chu'unthor is how you get there. That's why it's important, and why we've prioritized it once we found out about it.
It uses up a Diplomacy action, unlike the Arkanian Legacy (and I don't think we need both mega-ships in one turn, or have enough Hero support for it), and we're bottlenecked on Diplo actions this turn even with the extra action. It's not urgent, and while it may become more beneficial over time (especially since it'll take time to fix it), to me it's a secondary concern. Securing Jedi Watchmen relations is more immediate, for instance - roll bonuses aside, I don't want to be at odds with them.
Also, can we learn two Force Techniques at the same time or is there a malus? I'd rate Conceptual Shatterpoint as more important than the Matukai techniques if we're only learning one, and honestly I'd also place learning Soresu above that because two turns.
So I'll mark out priorities based on achieving our main goals, and of course time sensitive stuff, so hopefully in 24 hours we have a coherent vision and only minor quibbles to debate over Publicola's plan.
Same. Given that Mother Rell has most of the datatapes, I imagine the Aggressive option would get us the ship without much/any of the useful data. So, yeah, no, let's stick with Diplomacy (as much as it pains me to spend a Diplomacy action given how many other priorities we have).
I would actually prefer to hold off on Senex-Juvex, despite it being the most important, until we have the set up for it. If nothing else... I kinda really want Anakin involved in that fight.
...Good point. I tend to agree with you, that getting Anakin involved in that operation would be outstanding (especially to 'disenchant' him of Palpatine's memory & manipulations. Also, the synergy if we picked Senex-Juvex plus 'Black Information' would be outstanding -- we dismantle a slave empire, while simultaneously pointing out to the galaxy its ties to Palpatine.
Then there's the Arkanian Legacy. So, obvious asset is obvious. It's a research thing, so we're getting real Learning Bonuses from that. Definitely a roll boost, but if we're lucky, bonus action unlock?
At this point, I was already sold on Wookietarian + Arkanian as our two Martial actions, but this makes me even more confident. Even if it doesn't unlock an action immediately, that should be a potential upgrade once we recover it, especially if we get a base on Arkania and start recruiting scientists to work there...
Now I know what I want for Christmas. That's a good point, especially given the tie-in with 'we run a humanitarian organization, and this will help us save others as we helped save you"...
Probably Bothans, so that next turn we can buy a Bothan base then trick it out with a ton of upgrades based on Publicola's "buy everything" fiscal policy.
I am really tempted by the Shard engineers given the synergy with HK-47 and the prospect of laying claim to the Foundry. However, it seems like everyone wants to reach out to the Bothans, so I'll probably pick that just to appease everyone.
In this case: Pull At The Strings is a must take. No questions. We have neglected the Senate for too long, and so the battleground there is not in our favor. We need to invest to fix that. It's not sexy, but it's what we gotta do.
See, I kinda feel about 'Pull at the Strings' the way you feel about 'Black Information' -- it's important, it's really important, but we don't have the ability to do it justice (given our shortage of actions & hero support). I could probably fit it in somewhere, but I'd feel really antsy about it this turn. Plus, the Chu'unthor is a long-term investment in our Force research and contact with Force sects, so I'd like to get that done ASAP.
That was actually one of the suggested write-ins -- it didn't come from Dr. Snark, so I'm not sure it's especially ominous. We know he has a lot of influence, and we know he'll try to undermine our reputation, so this is just a way to preemptively make that harder. Even so, we're sitting really pretty as far as our galactic PR is concerned.
I'm also still not happy that we have to leave Skirata behind here. Not because he needs help or we could use the research or anything, but because I want those Treasury Records. Those records are the most valuable prize in the galaxy. More valuable than any of those stupid ships that EU authors keep leaving in the middle of nowhere. Those records are money. Those records are leverage. Those records probably have proof against Palpatine. Those records are worth so goddamn much. Hopefully the opportunity will come soon.
I feel the same way, but I'm also confident that Dr. Snark isn't going to just hand those over without a cause. We helped Kal Skirata set up the safehouses last turn, and this turn we're establishing a Karada facility on Mandalore to help with the aging issue (and to help smuggling medicine out to Kyrimorut), so he's still thinking of us fondly even if we're not actively helping the commandos find Ko Sai. At this point it's just "cross our fingers and wait."
I've mentioned before that it's annoying that it takes an action to research a Force School then another to actually do anything useful with it. This is another one of those times where it's annoying, because we probably can't research another Force School because Darth Maul.
Agreed. My hope is that the Chu'unthor will give us the extra action or actions to expedite that -- as it is a mobile site, we could send it out to meet new Force sects (+1 Diplomacy action), while the occupants are busy research various bits of Force-related tech, whether anomalous materials or various creatures (or even the Force techniques directly). It's a supership for a reason, basically.
...That's pretty funny, actually. We already 'stole' Dooku's pet/tool, and now we're about to steal two from Palpatine, his old tool (Maul), and his future one (Anakin). I kinda want to see Palpatine do a Rodney Dangerfield bit -- "Get no respect!"
Yeah, the odds are probably not great, but I'm imagining that we have our Personal Attention bonus automatically added in (like a Hero action. Right?) Otherwise, entirely worth considering holding off on Conceptual Shatterpoint to get Personal Attention added.
...I wish that were the case, but I think we have to add the Personal Attention directly. Otherwise, our conversation with Anakin would be more spur-of-the-moment, without doing the prep work to plan out the conversation and anticipate how Anakin will respond.
I guess Cheriss gets her Hero Action by default. Of the two, Droid Design probably, though if she ups her Frame Design that ups the cybernetics we can have for Maul.
While Cheriss is kinda by default, I'm actually more excited about the Droid Design action. The sheer amount of synergy between this, HK-47's upgrades, analyzing HK-47 as a Learning action, and (if we take it) recruiting more Shard engineers with an intuitive grasp of electronics... yeah, that could be an amazing interlude.
@Publicola, whatever you do, do NOT do Matukai Techniques as a Personal Action. If you want Ciaran to learn them, have her instead do Personal Attention on the Incorporate Matukai Techniques Lore Action. She'll still learn Matukai techniques, but she'll have a higher success chance in doing so and our Agents also learn Matukai techniques too.
We aren't 'at odds' with the Sentinels -- we still share intel with them on a semi-regular basis. We did have trouble with the Jedi Council a while back, which is why the information sharing needs to be reactivated, but it's not as 'brink of disaster' as you might think. And while that +5 Intrigue would be useful, Intrigue is the one category where we actually have quite a few default bonuses plus applicable heroes. I'm much more inclined to stick with the Chu'unthor for the reasons listed above.
No malus -- we only got a 'bare success' last turn, and it was explained narratively as Ciaran having trouble with learning two techniques at the same time. But it doesn't show up mechnically.
But I would also wait until we can start our Anti-Slavery campaign, those campaigns would rise by a great margin the opinion that Anakin has on us, and that should help us a lot with his posiible recruitment.
Why not aim lower with Anakin? Instead of trying to recruit him entirely, why not ask for his help in fighting slavery in Wookie space?
It might make it easier to recruit Anakin later, and if we focus on the slavers with links to Sheev... Well, we could perhaps make it harder for Palps to recruit him as well.
@Publicola Just a little thing I´ve just remembered, you suggest some time ago to use a Naboo base upgrade to hire Gungan engineers, the same we are doing in Kashyyyk with the Wookie ones, I know the Gungans are not so advanced technologically, but they are VERY GOOD with energy shields technology, so this will probably give us a nice bonus...
Would you mind to include that in the Final Write-Ins for Turn 25 , as a Naboo base upgrade?
[] Gungan Engineering: back when we first visited Naboo, Gulan and our agents encountered a Gungan scout. Nothing came of it, except Gulan took a recording of the Gungan's equipment, which included some very interesting and versatile energy technology that could be used for offensive weapons as well as personal shields. Now that we have a base on the planet, contact the Gungans and invite them to set up a production facility so they can start to sell their tech off-world. The fact that it would give us a closer look at their shield tech is just a bonus. Cost: 75 Reward: +25 investment/military income, bonus to energy/shield research?
That work? Since we'd only be using it for energy shields, I figured it'd be better to just invest in a factory, rather than do a recruiting center like we did for the Muun or might do for the Wookies.
That work? Since we'd only be using it for energy shields, I figured it'd be better to just invest in a factory, rather than do a recruiting center like we did for the Muun or might do for the Wookies.
Okay, let's consult the QM. @Dr. Snark -- did you know that the commando armor has built-in personal shields? Does this affect the 'chances of success' or how the action is written? Because as it stands, that is huge.
Okay, here's how that's going to go down: Personal Shield research will allow you to create shield units that don't require (expensive) armor, whereas creating your own variant will allow you to mass-produce them.
WAIT! One last question for @Dr. Snark: shouldn't we have some action to follow up on last turn's nano-droid breakthrough? That was going to be our big thing to eliminate the Inhibitor Chips -- we rolls a super critical success, even! -- but this turn there's nothing. Can you let us know if there should be something, and what that would be?
@Dr. Snark, if we don't hire Jango Fett as an employee, will we still be able to get a hero bonus form him by hiring him as a bounty hunter? i.e. We have to pay X Credits each time we want his help on a job.
...@Dr. Snark, shouldn't there be a follow-up to last turn's meeting with SoroSuub? We reached out to them in order to try and sway them to support us in ousting Shu Mai. Even if we don't pick that action this turn, I'd still like to know if that's an option.
They said they'd stay out of the way but wouldn't commit to anything more than that. That's probably the best you're going to get.
Okay then, as for the write-in for bases...they're all fine actually. I had flipped-flopped on some of them when I started writing them down which is why they didn't show up before, but having the descriptions helps a lot.
The idea behind Chu'unthor is that we've invested quite a bit in getting it already, and it provides another action in a category we really need more actions in. Getting it asap lets us exploit that a turn sooner. And expediting Force sect research could mean the difference between life and death.
The thing is, we don't need more Force Outreach right now. Hell, we have a backlog, and one that's not going down anytime soon. Even with a +1 contact Diplomacy action, that doesn't help because contacting Force Sects isn't part of the action limit squeeze in Diplomacy we currently have, nor is contacting Force Sects a bottleneck in learning new Force moves. We can contact/research five Force Schools a turn, but it doesn't change that we can only actually learn one per turn for our Agents, and 2 for Ciaran if we decide not to take any other Personal Actions she has.
To say nothing of the fact that our Force outreach efforts just aren't as high priority as a lot of other things in Diplomacy beyond a training for Palps.
The Chu'unthor strikes me as a fairly useful but not urgent action that has a low success chance in a category brimming with already important options. If we think the Wookie Maps have a good chance at upping our action count, that's easily the smarter call. Otherwise, well, see where else we could use that Free Action. Learning and Intrigue are both pretty competitive categories this turn around, or find something with just real good synergy.
Anything that improves action economy or rolls is better than the shiny distraction that the Chu'unthor and the Force powers (besides non-organic shatterpoint) present. Yes will have to confront Sheev eventually, but for right now maximizing and stabilizing our and the CNS rapidly growing influence is priority #1.
[] Lhosan Industries Swoop-Bike Factory: have Abyss Watchers reincorporate the original Tarisian business that once employed most of the Lower City. While it was officially a mining & manufacturing company, it was best known as the original maker of the swoop-bike; given your interest in Tarisian sports, that's definitely where you should begin. Cost: 100 Reward: +50 investment income (OR +25)
@Dr. Snark, to emphasise something that Publicola mentioned here, the mining industry on Taris employed more than half of the whole lower class of Taris. By necessity it must've been extremely lucrative if it required/could afford so many billions of workers. Also, shouldn't the Nar Shaddaa cantina chain be giving us bonus underworld rumours?
@Publicola, we might as well get Ventress to help us with the Matukai stuff so she learns it too and to drive up the chance of a crit.
@Dr. Snark, to emphasise something that Publicola mentioned here, the mining industry on Taris employed more than half of the whole lower class of Taris. By necessity it must've been extremely lucrative if it required/could afford so many billions of workers. Also, shouldn't the Nar Shaddaa cantina chain be giving us bonus underworld rumours?
It was! ...But you're kinda sorta starting it over from scratch so it's not going to be as valuable at first. As for Nar Shaddaa you already have rumors from the wiretaps.
I've heard this argument quite a few times this round, which makes no sense, considering we've spent three actions over three turns to get us to this point where we could recover it. As I've said from the beginning -- the Chu'unthor was a Jedi praxeum ship that is dedicated for 1) contacting other Force-sensitive races and sects, and 2) researching different manifestations of the Force around the galaxy. You want to start whittling away at the mega-list of Force sects to meet & learn from, and Force research to conduct? The Chu'unthor is how you get there. That's why it's important, and why we've prioritized it once we found out about it.
