Constable Turn 4
There was no rest, back in Alterac. The city was thronged with new arrivals and there was much disruption all around.
You attended to all the matters you could quickly, but there were many other affairs which would simply take too much time and attention to begin so quickly.
You received petitions from human nobles, reports from the border forts and guard patrols, as well as advice from a dozen people on where you should first direct your attention.
Some matters seem to have resolved themselves without your consideration. There were no more reports from the Winteraxe Trolls raiding, and you'd largely put the tribe out of your mind. The Syndicate remnants seemed to have also faded away, for while they'd retreated to several isolated fortresses, clearly they'd gotten bored or cold and thought better of it. Meanwhile, the trail of the mysterious warlock, Ritssyn, and his companions had gone cold in the months that had gone by.
But in their place were new issues.
You'd received several letters while you'd been away from Alterac and it was only now that you had chance to review them. The first was an invitation from Brann Bronzebeard to visit the Badlands in force for a variety of purposes. While you had some interest in the archaeological endeavours there, and would welcome a chance to improve your standing in battling the Dark Irons on behalf of the Prince, you also knew of two black dragons that had been imprisoned in that region. How exactly it had come to pass you didn't know, but you remembered your father mentioning it once and if you could recruit the dragons they'd be powerful allies to the nascent Alterac brood, as well as your own forces.
The second letter though was more surprising. It had come during the night, delivered by a cloaked stranger apparently who faded into shadow as soon as they'd handed the letter to a guard. When you opened it you found the twin signatures of the Banshee Queen and of the Apostle to the Forsaken, Fairbanks. What pact had formed between the two you didn't know, for it seemed incredible that they might meet without coming to blows. In any case, they requested you retrieve a large number of Forsaken currently held captive by the Kirin Tor in an attempt to cure their condition. You'd not known of such a thing, but honour demanded that you answer the call. The letter spoke of the Forsaken being used as slaves by the wizards, and while you might imagine they could have been put to labour, you could not suffer others to suffer such bondage and keep your honour.
Then there was the establishment of industry in Alterac. There wasn't much of it to start with, for the kingdom was very poor. Now though you had a skilled workforce, favours from Ironforge, and even experienced foremen from Gilneas and the Blackrock clan who you might look to in order to establish a real industrial base for Alterac. You'd put Runewatcher in charge, you thought, as a test to see if he was worthy of further association with your advisers. The first steps would be to set up a production chain from quarry and mine to foundry and hammer mill, and after that, you might start to produce superior armour and weapons for your forces.
Vark had been agitating for aggressive action to win further territory and better secure your kingdom, while even Gregor's protestations at all the chaos might be remedied by proactive action in other areas.
That was what weighed on your mind the most. You had the feeling you were approaching a precipice. Not teetering on it's edge, but at least you felt such a formation was in sight. You knew that some already called you 'Warchief', but only your father would be able to advise you properly on such a matter. Kartha had come to you one day and told you that your Orcs numbered almost ten thousand now. It was an incredible number, larger than most clans. It would put you in the top ten, perhaps even top five warleaders among the Orcs.
But Kartha had also warned you against such matters. You'd heard it before, you'd thought it before too.
But that didn't make the situation any less dangerous.
Actions
Choose 4:
[ ] Build up the Army... Again
Both your own warband and the Army of Alterac need to be expanded. You cannot lead ten thousand orcs with only a personal force of a few hundred, and the 'Royal Army' is only a thousand men squatting in cold barracks. You must recruit to double the size at least of both forces, and happily you have a sufficient number of good quality recruits to do so.
[ ] Diplomatic Mission
While you could send emissaries, it may prove a sensible option to visit one of the Alliance capitals yourself on a number of purposes, including the negotiation of aid, or simply to make positive diplomatic contact. For example, your master, Akinos, had visited Stormwind several times on diplomatic missions. Indicate briefly where you want to go, and with what intentions.
[ ] Seize the Administration
While you'd permitted Regent Gregor to operate independently previously, clearly that has proven an error. Now is the time to seize the administration of Alterac properly, and subordinate it's function to the conduct of war. No more will you tolerate Syndicate nobles to legally bleed the kingdom with their tax farming. There must be discipline and a reckoning, and Gregor must be directed, if he will not direct himself.
[ ] Mercenaries
One thing Alterac has in abundance are Orcs, and Orcs are good at fighting. There is a need for warriors in several areas, notably Gilneas, and in return you might gain much for Alterac. Indicate briefly where you want to go, with what intentions. You also know that the Crusade may find use for warriors against the Scourge. Regent Gregor indicates that without the material support a mercenary engagement can provide, Alterac's coffers will rapidly empty due to the recent demands placed on the administration. 1st MERC ACTION FREE. I made an
info post listing some, but you could choose various ones.
[ ] Expand the Kingdom
Darius Crowley has offered to swear fealty if his lands are restored in Silverpine Forest, and you may as well take the rest of that region at the same time. It would do much to increase the power of the kingdom, and no one of consequence is likely to protest. Similarly, Vark has noted that he Orcs have almost a right to the ruins of Durnholde keep, and taking that fortification and restoring it would better secure Alterac's southern border.
[ ] Badlands Mission
Journey to the Badlands on a number of purposes including to gather the Orcs of Kargath, recruit two Black Dragons magically imprisoned there, contest the Dark Irons on behalf of Ironforge, and to review the archaeological sites established by Prince Brann and the Explorer's League.
[ ] Seek Magical Aid
One thing you're quite clear about is the lack of magical support in your warband, and the wider Alteraci military. Seek aid from the Kirin Tor, as well as attempting to form a cohort of Shaman within your Orcish warband.
[ ] Strange Bedfellows
In an odd turn of fate, Sylvannus Windrunner and the priest, Fairbanks, have jointly requested your help. Seek out the Forsaken prisoners they speak of and liberate them. The Kirin Tor might require some persuasion, but you're confident they'd prefer not to have to deal with a thousand undead.
[ ] Lead the Breakers
What else is there to call them, but the Breakers? Many of the Demonsword shaman and warlocks were inspired by your actions, and have taken your words to heart, summoning spirits and binding them, breaking their will and bodies into reagents and minerals. Your works were but a copy of the Blackrock Oreseekers you'd seen in action, but perhaps now is the chance to further develop the practices of your disciples?
[ ] Establish Industry
You've acquired a large number of skilled craftspeople, as well as favours in production from the Dwarves of Ironforge. Now is the time to set up an industrial base for the production of military supplies as well as the beginnings of a firearms manufactory.
[ ] New Blademasters
Like yourself, Haomarush and the Demonsword have been training Blademaster. While Sorek and his aspirants have never expressed it, you know they yearn for advancement, and perhaps with Haomarush and Sesk you can increase the numbers of your profession.
[ ] Recruit the Prisoners
Currently, you have the Dragonmaw prisoners you took from the Wetlands settled in a series of lumber camps in the interior of the Kingdom. They have nowhere to run and little reason to try and make their way through hostile country for months, but equally they have little reason to join you. You might persuade them, but it would take some effort.
[ ] Training
While you've grown considerably in the last few months, there is always more to do, and you should now seek out Sesk, or perhaps Haomarush for advice and training, either in the blade or in interactions with the Spirits.
[ ] The Silver Hand
Tirion has offered to assemble some of the remaining Knights of the Silver Hand to further discuss your use of the Light. You have been promised training in the various Blessings and other spells paladins use. You also suspect this will be a good chance to advance the Orcish cause among the Alliance more generally through the paladins.
[ ] Demongate
Jubei'thos' clan had formerly been guarding a Demongate, a lesser version of the Dark Portal, intended to aid in the summoning of lesser demons. The Traitor Prince, Arthas, had used the gate to received instructions from Burning Legion during their campaign on Azeroth. You've heard from Haomarush that the location of the Demongate is higher in the mountains, a place of great danger due to the rampant demons around the gate. While you don't intend to summon any demons, it might be well to use the gate to contact your father with greater reliability of communication perhaps. In particular, you need his advice and counsel regarding the politics of the Orcs of Lordaeron.
[ ] Revenge the Revantusk
You rescued the Revantusk trolls previously. Several of their people are still held in the captivity of the Vilebranch tribe of the Hinterlands. With a sufficient force you might lay siege to the city, or make some other assault to rescue Elder Torntusk and the others.
[ ] Integrate the New Clan 2
The continued divergence of the New Clan concerns you greatly. While you'd failed to bring them into the fold before, it would be well now to lean upon the leaders among them like Drum Fel to encourage integration, as well as to call more of them up as warriors into the existing units in your command and try to integrate some of them that way.
AN: We spent about 30k on the last chapter and results, which seems rather a lot. Having said that, there were a number of consequential things going on in the last chapter, so there you go I suppose.
Reminder to self to roll for non-taken actions too. Voting not open yet, will be more like 48 hours this time as I'm busy during the start of this week. Discuss update text and also options, post draft plans if you want, but dont actually vote till the voting is open.
Also, as a further reminder regarding the 'tech trees' I use. There are many actions here which may not seem consequential but would be later down the line. For example, Grok will not be making a decision about being Warchief without consulting his father, so he'd have to take the Demongate action to go try and call Feldad on the Felphone. That action therefore leads to subsequent actions based on the discussions therein. If there are actions you want to take, you are welcome to ask me what action within the text is most appropriate.
I thought about adding some actions for specific subgroups but decided against it. For example, you could go talk to Zul'jin or Stormwind or the Dragonmaw, but they can all be included as a variation on the Diplomatic Mission action. Same for the merc actions. If you can think of a reason to go somewhere and what you might get out of it, from goodwill to tech, you can ask me. The list of the merc actions is really only there for inspiration.
Certain actions from previous turns have been removed as they're no longer relevant. For example, the mysterious warlocks who were lurking about have been gone for months now so there's little prospect of tracking them down.
That brings me to a minor reminder on time sensitivity actually. In some cases, stuff isn't actually that time sensitive and is relatively stable. That's a balance of risk you have to assess.
If anyone had any other actions they wanted to add let me know. Write in's are allowed too.
