Remove ads

Mercenary Mage Quest: Asur Dogs of War in Warhammer Fantasy

Reader mode
10ebbor10 said:
I had completely forgotten. What was the reasoning for that again?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

An attempted daemon prince summoning would lead to panic among the public.


DeadmanwalkingXI said:
I'd definitely also mention that they volunteered to come along rather than us requesting them, but yeah, that's better.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This good?
[] Give a tactical assessment of the difficulties involved in mounting an assault on Jaarpen. The defenses, the terrain, the dangers faced by the first wave, demonstrating your Martial accumen in the process. Point out then that even with those dangers, and that despite that as volunters the White Wolves didn't have to even be one this mission at all, Urskoy insisted that he and his men act as the vanguard, despite the extremely dangerous nature of the role, speaking well of their bravery. Point out to the dangers the Lightfangs and Fanriel themselves faced during the battle. Many of the Lightfangs fought back to back with the Ulrican men at arms, while your own second killed the leader of the Norscans responsible in single combat. Note that you yourself went deep into the enemy lines in order to rescue the captives. Be clear that the White Wolves' casualties were by no means caused by you thinking lightly of their lives, but out of them bravely taking the most dangerous role in an already dangerous mission.
 
My idea:

[] Write In: Mention, the Urskoy and his men volunteered out of their own free will for the counter-raid, we did not request them. Say about the dangerous job of being the vanguard during the landing and that they later went with us up the hill, since they were the best troops available at the time, that could be expected to fight well against Chaos sorcerers and their lackeys, that we expected to find there. Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary. Tell the priest of the entire journey, the fight with the Khornate berserkers, of the magnificent stand of the Men-At-Arms, that fought with the Lightfangs side by side, sharing all of our perils, tying down whatever enemy forces they could. The charge she and Urskoy's knights performed against the hordes of mutated Marauders to get to their shamans in order to stop foul rituals with human sacrifices present (Urskoy himself said, that it must be stopped for Ulric commands it). The sacrifice of the Knights, that they pinned down whatever Marauders they could, giving Fanriel a fighting chance to reach the shamans and stop the whole thing. The risks she took and that she succeeded at great peril to her soul, honouring their sacrifice. The saving and healing of the single knight, that survived. Urskoy and his men died as heroes while fighting against the Great Enemy and their deaths had meaning. We were there, we saw it and we shared in their perils. The men responsible for the whole thing were slain by Fanriel's hand and that of Dorial. Conclude, that we need the priest and his men, for their faithful are going to battle the Great Enemy once more and will require their aid.
 
Last edited:
Sertorius said:
My idea:
snip
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think this could benefit from what I suggested by giving a tactical analysis about the difficulties of assaulting Jaarpen. The high priest is doubting our ability to act as a commander so aside from clarifying how dangerous the mission was, it also demonstrates that we're not just hot air when it comes to our capability as a commander.

We should also clarify, IMO, that not only did the White Wolves volunteer to join the expedition that they also specifically volunteered to take the most dangerous role in it.
 
Sertorius said:
Conclude, that we need the priest and his men, for their faithful are going to battle the Great Enemy once more and will require their aid.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I'm not sure how much this helps. The priest is currently threatening us with demanding from the count that another commander be put in charge of the mission. The Ulricans can still come so long as we're removed from command as far as he's concerned.
 
Also another thing to mention, we straight up succeeded in the mission. The captives were freed and the Grim Eyes were utterly broken, their priests slaughtered and their jarl reduced to kibble. The Ulricans took devastating casualties yes, but the Norscans both failed to achieve what they wanted and had catastrophic casualties inflicted on them in turn. It might be a fair turn about to the point that out to the priest and to, gently, and with tact, to point out that he's essentially saying that he won't accept a commander inflicting a crushing defeat against the forces of Chaos if it means Ulricans will have to bleed a lot for it.
 
Made some improvements using your suggestions.

[] Write In: Give a tactical assessment of the difficulties involved in mounting an assault on Jaarpen. The defenses, the terrain, the dangers faced by the first wave, demonstrating your Martial accumen in the process. Mention, that Urskoy and his men volunteered out of their own free will for the counter-raid and for all the most dangerous jobs. Say about their role in the vanguard, for which they volunteered as well, during the landing and that they later went with us up the hill, since they were the best troops available at the time, that could be expected to fight well against Chaos sorcerers and their lackeys, that we expected to find there. Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary. Tell the priest of the entire journey, the fight with the Khornate berserkers, of the magnificent stand of the Men-At-Arms, that fought with the Lightfangs side by side, sharing all of our perils, tying down whatever massive enemy forces they could. The charge she and Urskoy's knights performed against the hordes of mutated Marauders to get to their shamans in order to stop foul rituals with human sacrifices present (Urskoy himself said, that it must be stopped for Ulric commands it). The sacrifice of the Knights, that they pinned down whatever Marauders they could, giving Fanriel a fighting chance to reach the shamans and stop the whole thing. The risks she took and that she succeeded at great peril to her soul, honouring their sacrifice. The saving and healing of the single knight, that survived. Urskoy and his men died as heroes while fighting against the Great Enemy and their deaths had meaning. We were there, we saw it and we shared in their perils. The Norscan leader was slain in single combat by our second before the whole army, while Jaarpen was reduced to a smoldering ruin, their power broken beyond repair, many slaves were saved and brought back home. Conclude, that we need the priest and his men, for their faithful are going to battle the Great Enemy once more and will require their aid. Their lawful liege instructed them to provide it under our leadership, for is he not their temporal ruler and commander?
 
Last edited:
Sertorius said:
Made some improvements using your suggestions.

[] Write In: Give a tactical assessment of the difficulties involved in mounting an assault on Jaarpen. The defenses, the terrain, the dangers faced by the first wave, demonstrating your Martial accumen in the process. Mention, the Urskoy and his men volunteered out of their own free will for the counter-raid and for all the most dangerous jobs. Say about their role in the vanguard, for which they volunteered as well, during the landing and that they later went with us up the hill, since they were the best troops available at the time, that could be expected to fight well against Chaos sorcerers and their lackeys, that we expected to find there. Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary. Tell the priest of the entire journey, the fight with the Khornate berserkers, of the magnificent stand of the Men-At-Arms, that fought with the Lightfangs side by side, sharing all of our perils, tying down whatever enemy forces they could. The charge she and Urskoy's knights performed against the hordes of mutated Marauders to get to their shamans in order to stop foul rituals with human sacrifices present (Urskoy himself said, that it must be stopped for Ulric commands it). The sacrifice of the Knights, that they pinned down whatever Marauders they could, giving Fanriel a fighting chance to reach the shamans and stop the whole thing. The risks she took and that she succeeded at great peril to her soul, honouring their sacrifice. The saving and healing of the single knight, that survived. Urskoy and his men died as heroes while fighting against the Great Enemy and their deaths had meaning. We were there, we saw it and we shared in their perils. The Norscan leader was slain in single combat by our second before the whole army, while Jaarpen was reduced to a smoldering ruin, their power broken beyond repair, many slaves were saved and brought back home. Conclude, that we need the priest and his men, for their faithful are going to battle the Great Enemy once more and will require their aid and their lawful liege instructed them to provided it, for is he not their temporal ruler and commander?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I like this a lot and appreciate the thoroughness! That said - maybe worth breaking up with some bullet points or the like? Can't really avoid the wall of text otherwise!
 
Looking a lot more polished now @Sertorius. At this point I think I'd at least give it an approval vote. Though I'm not so sure about this part:
Sertorius said:
many slaves were saved and brought back home.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
We only actually managed to save a handful of captives, most of them died during the escape.
What do you think of this:

[] Give a tactical assessment of the difficulties involved in mounting an assault on Jaarpen. The defenses, the terrain, the dangers faced by the first wave, demonstrating your Martial accumen in the process. Point out then that even with those dangers, and that despite that as volunters the White Wolves didn't have to even be on this mission at all, Urskoy insisted that he and his men act as the vanguard, despite the extremely dangerous nature of the role, speaking well of their bravery both during the initial assault and during the entire mission. Point out to the dangers the Lightfangs and Fanriel themselves faced during the battle. Many of the Lightfangs fought back to back with the Ulrican men at arms, while your own second killed the leader of the Grim Eyes in single combat. Note that you yourself went deep into the enemy lines in order to rescue the captives and provided healing to the surviving knight when you saw him. Be clear that the White Wolves' casualties were by no means caused by you thinking lightly of their lives, but out of them bravely taking the most dangerous role in an already dangerous mission, in the process enabling the rescue of captives and the breaking of the Grim Eyes as a power for ages to come, ensuring that the White Wolves' lives were not lost in vain.
 
Last edited:
Sertorius said:
Made some improvements using your suggestions.

[] Write In: Give a tactical assessment of the difficulties involved in mounting an assault on Jaarpen. The defenses, the terrain, the dangers faced by the first wave, demonstrating your Martial accumen in the process. Mention, the Urskoy and his men volunteered out of their own free will for the counter-raid and for all the most dangerous jobs. Say about their role in the vanguard, for which they volunteered as well, during the landing and that they later went with us up the hill, since they were the best troops available at the time, that could be expected to fight well against Chaos sorcerers and their lackeys, that we expected to find there. Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary. Tell the priest of the entire journey, the fight with the Khornate berserkers, of the magnificent stand of the Men-At-Arms, that fought with the Lightfangs side by side, sharing all of our perils, tying down whatever enemy forces they could. The charge she and Urskoy's knights performed against the hordes of mutated Marauders to get to their shamans in order to stop foul rituals with human sacrifices present (Urskoy himself said, that it must be stopped for Ulric commands it). The sacrifice of the Knights, that they pinned down whatever Marauders they could, giving Fanriel a fighting chance to reach the shamans and stop the whole thing. The risks she took and that she succeeded at great peril to her soul, honouring their sacrifice. The saving and healing of the single knight, that survived. Urskoy and his men died as heroes while fighting against the Great Enemy and their deaths had meaning. We were there, we saw it and we shared in their perils. The Norscan leader was slain in single combat by our second before the whole army, while Jaarpen was reduced to a smoldering ruin, their power broken beyond repair, many slaves were saved and brought back home. Conclude, that we need the priest and his men, for their faithful are going to battle the Great Enemy once more and will require their aid and their lawful liege instructed them to provided it, for is he not their temporal ruler and commander?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This covers a lot, I think too much. The priest does not seem at all in the mood to listen to a lengthy explanation, but is operating more emotionally. I think, whatever we pick, we need some sort of strong opening. Pick one to three themes for the argument, not a long digression.

I'd say:
[] Write in: Because me and my company fought alongside the Ulricans every step of the way. Because Urskoy knew the danger we faced and willingly faced it.

With a potential third theme being:
- Because it was not our abilities as a commander which failed the knights, but the fickle nature of magic.

Which has the downside of us semi admitting our magic is kinda bad, which isn't a great reputation to have, but is also very true; the heavy Ulrican losses did come down to one failed counter spell/the enemy shaman rolling really well. It also plays into the Ulrican biases a bit; yes magic is fickle, which is why I trust in my steel and wits more than it, etc.
 
Gone is the wall of text then! Added more of @Imperious' ideas, with his permission hopefully.

[] Write In:
  • Give a tactical assessment of the difficulties involved in mounting an assault on Jaarpen. The defenses, the terrain, the dangers faced by the first wave, demonstrating your Martial accumen in the process.
  • Mention, that Urskoy and his men volunteered out of their own free will for the counter-raid and for all the most dangerous jobs.
  • Say about their role in the vanguard, for which they volunteered as well, during the landing and that they later went with us up the hill, since they were the best troops available at the time, that could be expected to fight well against Chaos sorcerers and their lackeys, that we expected to find there.
  • Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary.
  • Tell the priest of the entire journey, the fight with the Khornate berserkers, of the magnificent stand of the Men-At-Arms, that fought with the Lightfangs side by side, sharing all of our perils, tying down whatever massive enemy forces they could.
  • The charge she and Urskoy's knights performed against the hordes of mutated Marauders to get to their shamans in order to stop foul rituals with human sacrifices present (Urskoy himself said, that it must be stopped for Ulric commands it).
  • The sacrifice of the Knights, that they pinned down whatever Marauders they could, giving Fanriel a fighting chance to reach the shamans and stop the whole thing.
  • The risks she took and that she succeeded at great peril to her soul, honouring their sacrifice.
  • The saving and healing of the single knight, that survived.
  • Urskoy and his men died as heroes while fighting against the Great Enemy and their deaths had meaning. We were there, we saw it and we shared in their perils.
  • The Norscan leader was slain in single combat by our second before the whole army, while Jaarpen was reduced to a smoldering ruin, the Grim Eyes' power broken beyond repair, many slaves from Jaarpen were saved and brought back home.
  • Be clear that the White Wolves' casualties were by no means caused by you thinking lightly of their lives, but out of them bravely taking the most dangerous role in an already dangerous mission.
  • Conclude, that we need the priest and his men, for their faithful are going to battle the Great Enemy once more and will require their aid. Their lawful liege instructed them to provide it under our leadership, for is he not their temporal ruler and commander?
SurpriseMe said:
This covers a lot, I think too much. The priest does not seem at all in the mood to listen to a lengthy explanation, but is operating more emotionally. I think, whatever we pick, we need some sort of strong opening. Pick one to three themes for the argument, not a long digression.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Sorry, but that's not my style. :V

Besides, I believe he only knows bits and pieces of the story, without any context behind it. We have to provide it, so that he will understand the situation clearly. Something we should have done during the Downtime to ensure, the Urskoy's sacrifice would be well remembered by his own.
 
Last edited:
SurpriseMe said:
This covers a lot, I think too much. The priest does not seem at all in the mood to listen to a lengthy explanation, but is operating more emotionally. I think, whatever we pick, we need some sort of strong opening. Pick one to three themes for the argument, not a long digression.

I'd say:
[] Write in: Because me and my company fought alongside the Ulricans every step of the way. Because Urskoy knew the danger we faced and willingly faced it.

With a potential third theme being:
- Because it was not our abilities as a commander which failed the knights, but the fickle nature of magic.

Which has the downside of us semi admitting our magic is kinda bad, which isn't a great reputation to have, but is also very true; the heavy Ulrican losses did come down to one failed counter spell/the enemy shaman rolling really well. It also plays into the Ulrican biases a bit; yes magic is fickle, which is why I trust in my steel and wits more than it, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Ultimately the question posed to us by the Ulrican priest is as follows:
"Tell me, elf, why should I entrust any more of Ulric's faithful to you? No, tell me why shouldn't I march to the Elector-Count's tent right now and demand that he place a son of Ostland in charge of this operation, not some foreign witch?"

Your answer tells the priest why Urskoy followed our orders, but as far as the priest is concerned we broke that trust. It doesn't answer why he should let us be in command again.

Hence, opening by showing that we actually know our stuff seem pretty pertinent to the topic at hand, followed by noting that the White Wolves' casualties were not caused by callousnes or incompetence on our part.
 
SurpriseMe said:
With a potential third theme being:
- Because it was not our abilities as a commander which failed the knights, but the fickle nature of magic.

Which has the downside of us semi admitting our magic is kinda bad, which isn't a great reputation to have, but is also very true; the heavy Ulrican losses did come down to one failed counter spell/the enemy shaman rolling really well. It also plays into the Ulrican biases a bit; yes magic is fickle, which is why I trust in my steel and wits more than it, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Intriguing! I think that if we do go with this, we should be prepared and willing for Fanriel to put her money where her mouth is. Not sure if the priest would appreciate the aforementioned steel (or, well, Gromril) or simple fisticuffs more!
 
Also if everything else fails we can always tell the priest that we're offended by his accusations and that if he insists on him then he's welcome to duel us until one of us yields.

The count might not be too happy about that though, especially if one of us gets killed, but just the offer might earn us some points with Ulricans.

Remember, the priest is calling us a witch. Ulricans respect warriors, they disdain witches, and as far as the priest is concerned right now we're one of the latter rather then the former.
 
Last edited:
Imperious said:
Ultimately the question posed to us by the Ulrican priest is as follows:
"Tell me, elf, why should I entrust any more of Ulric's faithful to you? No, tell me why shouldn't I march to the Elector-Count's tent right now and demand that he place a son of Ostland in charge of this operation, not some foreign witch?"

Your answer tells the priest why Urskoy followed our orders, but as far as the priest is concerned we broke that trust. It doesn't answer why he should let us be in command again.

Hence, opening by showing that we actually know our stuff seem pretty pertinent to the topic at hand, followed by noting that the White Wolves' casualties were not caused by callousnes or incompetence on our part.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's fair, but I don't think the core of his concern is about tactical command prowess; he's angry in a kind of nationalistic emotional way, one I don't think talking up our abilities will fully address.
Imperious said:
Also if everything else fails we can always tell the priest that we're offended by his accusations and that if he insists on him then he's welcome to duel us until one of us yields.

The count might not be too happy about that though, especially if one of us gets killed, but just the offer might earn us some points with Ulricans.

Remember, the priest is calling us a witch. Ulricans respect warriors, they disdain witches, and as far as the priest is concerned right now we're one of the latter rather then the former.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think that's very much a fail state. I'd rather lose command of the upcoming operation than get a high ranking priest of Ulric killed, or worse seriously wounded, even if he did agree to the duel.
 
Worth bearing in mind, this is a very high-ranking Priest of Ulric. One who's killed a White Wolf in combat, possibly with his bare hands.

I don't think we're guaranteed victory in a duel.
 
Imperious said:
Also if everything else fails we can always tell the priest that we're offended by his accusations and that if he insists on him then he's welcome to duel us until one of us yields.

The count might not be too happy about that though, especially if one of us gets killed, but just the offer might earn us some points with Ulricans.

Remember, the priest is calling us a witch. Ulricans respect warriors, they disdain witches, and as far as the priest is concerned right now we're one of the latter rather then the former.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I've got you fam: :V
  • Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary.
 
Sertorius said:
I've got you fam: :V
  • Mention, that Urskoy agreed to put his men under our command for this job after our show of strength, which we can repeat, should it become necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The thing is that feat of strength was a handshake. I don't think a firm handshake is going to suffice in a situation like this and I think the priest might even scoff at us if we say we should be trustworthy if our handshake is good. We need something more this time around. Ideally we'd be able to demonstrate our strength in a way that's both more profound then a handshake, but also doesn't risk one of us injuring or killing the other like a duel.
Mopman43 said:
Worth bearing in mind, this is a very high-ranking Priest of Ulric. One who's killed a White Wolf in combat, possibly with his bare hands.

I don't think we're guaranteed victory in a duel.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I agree that we're not guaranteed to win, but we'd definitely be able to show we're more then just some pasty witch even if he does beat us.
 
Imperious said:
The thing is that feat of strength was a handshake. I don't a firm handshake is going to suffice in a situation like this and I think the priest might even scoff at us if we say we should be trustworthy if our handshake is good. We need something more this time around. Ideally we'd be able to demonstrate our strength in a way that's both more profound then a handshake, but also doesn't risk one of us injuring or killing the other like a duel.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yes, but a show of strength can be whatever the priest deems necessary. For Urskoy, it was a handshake. We can do whatever he wants if he needs proof.
 
Imperious said:
I agree that we're not guaranteed to win, but we'd definitely be able to show we're more then just some pasty witch even if he does beat us.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yet if we stake things on, 'look I'm strong personally' and lose to him, a 'native son'... even if we do better than he first expects, it'd still be perfect justification for him to demand we step away from leading the operation.

If we step into the arena of pure Ulric style shows of strength, then we'd be expected to abide by the results of that. If we challenge to a contest of strength, its because we expect winning would make him shut up and yield. If we challenge and lose, then don't shut up and yield, he'd quite rightly take it very badly.
 
Sertorius said:
Yes, but a show of strength can be whatever the priest deems necessary. For Urskoy, it was a handshake. We can do whatever he wants if he needs proof.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I just think that an appeal to how Urskoy trusted us over a handshake would not go well in a situation like this. Right now the priest is essentially accusing us of breaking that trust, pointing out that Urskoy gave that trust due to a handshake might be taken as us implying that Urskoy was a rube.
SurpriseMe said:
Yet if we stake things on, 'look I'm strong personally' and lose to him, a 'native son'... even if we do better than he first expects, it'd still be perfect justification for him to demand we step away from leading the operation.

If we step into the arena of pure Ulric style shows of strength, then we'd be expected to abide by the results of that. If we challenge to a contest of strength, its because we expect winning would make him shut up and yield. If we challenge and lose, then don't shut up and yield, he'd quite rightly take it very badly.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Fair. It's my hope that just the offer would count for something, with the offer itself being a last resort, but if we lose then we will be forced to step down.

Though looking back at our duel with Argentes, I'm less concerned about the dangers to us in a duel. Fanriel seems very capable of having a spar even with Lightfang without badly damaging someone.

No promises about the priest of Ulric not trying to kill us though.
 
Last edited:
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top