The two most tense meeting's of your life.
There are many things you didn't expect to do in your life.
Becoming the head of a sect hall was one of them.
Getting invited to the elder council was another.
Yet somehow both of those things happened this month… and you weren't even twenty.
Not being able to decline the invitation, you wore your best robe -hastily cleaned more than once last night- put on your best makeup, got your hair done in that expansive place.
And then set your ass down on a stone chair next to a stone table and did your best not to move a single muscle or make a single sound while the elder's and the patriarch discussed various matter's concerning the open palm sect.
Considering you were the youngest at the table -by several centuries at that- you had nothing to add -not that you would say anything if you did, nobody over five hundred takes it well when someone far younger insinuates they are wrong- and did your best to be as small and unnoticed as you could while still remaining in a dignified pose in case someone did notice you.
The open palm sect had five elders and all of them were in the sixth grade.
You being the untalented disciple still in the first grade that you are, know nothing about them beyond their name and the hall they're responsible for. You have never met them aside from a small glance at the entrance exams.
Elder Cao Wen is a short and broad woman, her brown hair flowers majestically behind her back and her face while full of wrinkles from her advanced age still holds unparalleled beauty. She is the mistress of the gardens, to her falls the task of managing and growing the vast amount of herbs and ingredients needed to fuel the work and advancement of sect members, she is also in charge of the spirit beast pens.
Elder Ma Duyi is a tall and lithe man, his hair is cut short and a sly smile adores his face as if all he sees before him is something to laugh at and maybe he's right, he is the youngest aside from you from the rumor mill he turned five hundred six years ago. He is the master of the apothecary under him all the pill master work, churning out an unending number of pills for any and all situations.
Elder Fang Tingfeng is a man that looks like he could snap you in two even without his cultivation, his muscles bulging out from the short sleeves of his robes. His face is set in a perpetual scowl, his long hair is white from age, something that shouldn't happen to a cultivator until their last years. He is the master of disciples under his preview is the training of new disciples, the assignments of missions and resources and in times of war he command's the armies of the sect.
Elder Chang Yuanjun's physique is chiseled from countless hours at the forge and the smell of smoke and oil surrounds him wherever he goes. He is the head of the artifice hall; in another life you might have known him as your elder and teacher. He is in charge of outfitting the sect with magical treasures, artifacts of mighty power and the contraction of large-scale formation.
The only word that could describe Elder Ren Jinhai is… sharp. Every one of her features is as sharp as it could be, her eyes could seemingly pierce right through you, her hair is sharp enough to cut steel and her very beauty could cut anyone to size which is supposedly why she is wearing a veil over her head and refrains from eye contact. She is the head of the library where the entire knowledge of the sect is kept form the most common movement technique to the ancient treatises of the founders
If someone asked you, you would have been happy to stay in your head for the rest of the meeting.
Unfortunately, no one asked you and with all other matters concluded the patriarch brought up the matter of the construction of the new sect hall and the one who would head it.
When he said your name, you had to rise up and give a small bow.
The six seconds it took to do so were the longest and most dangerous six seconds you experienced in your life.
But even though you felt the elder eyes roaming your body to find but a single weakness in your facade things went well.
And with that your participation in the discussion was over, and you sat there as the elders discussed how much resources would be invested in the construction of the new hall and what its reasonability would be.
In the end you got assigned a few dozen old, low first grades which were deemed to have no better use.
The sect would take up the cost of supplying them with the resources allotted to them -what few they are still entitled to- but not a single pill more.
The discussion about the purpose of the new hall saw many objectives and goals thrown about but from the general vibe you got, they didn't really matter because it was nothing but a joke to them.
And if you wanted to keep your life you had to do one thing.
Sect demand: prove your worth.
Success: your continued existence. Failure: death.
Time left: 10 turns.
Your meeting with the emperor was no less tense if for different reasons.
Where one wrong look from the elders could very well kill you, in this meeting you were the one to hold the power over life and death.
Even if you didn't wish to kill him yourself, one word to the elder would see him and his entire dynasty wiped out and replaced.
And the emperor knew it.
Which is why he's going to agree to whatever you demand no matter how outrageous or painful it may be.
The first subject raised would be the number of resources he would supply you. (Starting mortal support 50/100).
[] Very low: 100 Rpt. the bare minimum you needed to run your hall, not enough for much more. No, might as well just commit suicide.
[] Low: 160 Rpt. enough to maintain a respectable hall and make progress in your projects and commitments. It would also not strain the empire much, making the emperor happy. (+10 mortal support).
[] Medium: 220 Rpt. Enough to maintain a respectable hall and to make good progress on your projects and commitments. This will very slightly strain the empire but the emperor knows it could be far worse. (+5 mortal support).
[] High: 300 Rpt. A good chunk of resources, allowing you to take on many projects beyond your commitments. This will strain the empire's financial situation, making the emperor unhappy. (-10 mortal support).
[] very high: 400 Rpt. A truly excessive amount of resources, you will almost assuredly need to find new and interesting ways to spend it all. This will strain the empire's financial situation greatly, making the emperor furious. (-25 mortal support).
The next subject is the amount of mortal conscripted to your service. He already offered to conscript a certain number of men for your service (you start with two G0 dice).
[] choose the number of dice to buy.
And with the basic things out of the way you started discussing what he can offer you in service and promises.
[] Access to the imperial records: the task of collecting the emperor taxes from his subjects is an enormous one, thousands of clerks manage and update the imperial record, detailing who needs to pay what and to whom, with what they can pay and why they need to pay so. Getting access to the records would make your own reports more accurate, giving you a greater understanding of the situation, you're dealing with. Getting access is not hard but the amount of extra work you make for the clerks manning the records certainly won't endear them to you. (Your information is more accurate) (-10 mortal support).
[] bureaucrats: the empire employs thousands of highly trained and experienced bureaucrats and you find yourself in need of some. Getting a few hundred transferred would greatly annoy the emperor but the creation of a functional and efficient bureaucracy is worth it. (Gain a rank 2 bureaucracy with no bloat) (-20 mortal support).
[] priority of production: getting a seal for priority of production means that wherever your agents go in the empire whatever they need would be produced first and swiftly. Greatly increase the speed your agents complete their work. Of course, such a thing won't be taken nicely by all the people that needs are delayed. (The progress needed for many projects is reduced) (-15 mortal support).
[] local board and supply: supplying and maintaining the ability of the conscripted mortals would be considerably easier -and cheaper- if the emperor would proclaim that it is the duty of local rulers to accommodate your members, this would of course not go over well with those same rulers but they would comply. (Reduce the cost of maintaining dice by half to 1 Rpt) (-15 mortal support)
[] land: resources, it always comes down to resources, if you don't have enough resources, you cannot advance nor can you accomplish anything but with enough resources even a rat can become a dragon. Currently you are dependent on what the emperor provides you but you could demand a few pieces of land to be given to you and their taxes and produce would go straight to your treasury instead of for the emperor or the lord he would take the land from. (Gain enough land to bring you 20
Rpt, any upgrades to it will go straight to your treasury without the need to share with the empire) (-15 mortal support).
While you could just demand whatever you wanted and get it. the emperor could make your life very difficult. Not in a direct way but a word here and there could slow down your progress to a crawl so it might be wise to promise him some things.
To help all of this go down easier.
[] life extending herbs: the emperor is an aging mortal man, the promise of several life extending herbs which would give anywhere between twenty to fifty years more on this earth would be a prize most enticing… Now you only need to get some. (+30 mortal support) (opens a long project to find the herbs needed, may also be acquired through alternative means).
[] education: the empire has a great need for many experts and from your limited experience you know that education is a path toward a better quality of life one of your mandates. You have already considered improving the education of the empire but if you promise to focus on building and staffing schools and academies as well as maintaining them you could win some favor with the emperor. (+10 mortal support) (must complete at least 6 stages of education related projects which is more expensive than hard).
[] safety: the lands are ever beset by murderous spirit beasts, unruly bandits and even a few demonic cultivators here and there and it is fairly common for whole villages to disappear. The safety of his subjects -and the taxes they pay- is ever on the emperor's mind. Making the empire safer would ease his hurt. (+15 mortal support) (must complete at least 6 stages of safety related projects which extremely vary in their expansiveness and difficulty).
[] marriage: being someone that could kill him and his whole family the emperor would have a great deal less to worry about if you were married to one of his son's, having someone close to him keep an eye on you would take a weight off his mind, and surely you won't act in a way that would harm your family? (+20 mortal support) (you get married).
-[] of a different sort: if a son is not to your taste, it could also be a daughter, while same sex relationships are somewhat frowned upon in the empire no one would dare say something about it to a cultivator who can crush their heads like melons. (Get married to a girl instead).
[] the surveyor guild: the surveyor guild, tasked with mapping the lands of the empire, they have recently become a thorn in the emperor's side. With their main effort to create a map of the empire complete after a century of work, they began asking for more and more funding to start more detailed mapping projects that are frankly unneeded but that you're your hall might find useful. The emperor would look upon you kindly if you agree to take them off his hand. You will need to pay for their operations from your own pockets and they will agitate for more funding but their expertise and findings may be very valuable. (+5 mortal support) (gain the surveyor guild as a sub department. Sub department's cost resources to maintain -at least 20- but open exclusive -or at least greatly discounted- projects and grant unique bonuses).
[] leg breakers: it is a law of the universe that no matter how strong or influential you are, someone somewhere would challenge your authority. The empire is not above this law, dissenting nobles, criminal conspiracies, guilds dragging their feet on work and many more all challenge the authority of the emperor. Some are dealt by the pen and some are dealt by the sword but some… some are too powerful or influential to touch directly… unless of course they would be reminded of their allegiance by a powerful cultivator. (+10 mortal support) (opens a medium length project to deal with the emperor enemies. The fist stage must be done every stage after giving a low amount of mortal support).
[] a fitting crown: the current crown adorning the emperor's head is a simple gold one with a few precious stones. You could do better, from the purest of jade and the rarest of diamonds -at least mortal grade ones- you will craft a new crown. Its beauty and majesty would awe all who gaze upon it, incising the emperor prestige. It will also slightly enhance the emperor's mental abilities making him a better ruler. (+10 mortal support) (opens up a short and relatively inexpensive project to make said crown).
Alright, and there we go, vote in plan format because otherwise this is going to be a clusterfuck and just because I might I've missed something (or something wasn't explained properly) were going to have a 3-hour moratorium to both allow for discussion and to iron out any kinks we find. This means that votes aren't going to be counted if they are cast before the moratorium ends.
Aa always I'm around for questions. also if you have suggestion for things you can ask or promise feel free to suggest them.
Vote example.
[] plane name.
-[] how many resources you take.
-[] how many dice you buy.
-[] additional demands.
-[] any promises you wish to make.
Becoming the head of a sect hall was one of them.
Getting invited to the elder council was another.
Yet somehow both of those things happened this month… and you weren't even twenty.
Not being able to decline the invitation, you wore your best robe -hastily cleaned more than once last night- put on your best makeup, got your hair done in that expansive place.
And then set your ass down on a stone chair next to a stone table and did your best not to move a single muscle or make a single sound while the elder's and the patriarch discussed various matter's concerning the open palm sect.
Considering you were the youngest at the table -by several centuries at that- you had nothing to add -not that you would say anything if you did, nobody over five hundred takes it well when someone far younger insinuates they are wrong- and did your best to be as small and unnoticed as you could while still remaining in a dignified pose in case someone did notice you.
The open palm sect had five elders and all of them were in the sixth grade.
You being the untalented disciple still in the first grade that you are, know nothing about them beyond their name and the hall they're responsible for. You have never met them aside from a small glance at the entrance exams.
Elder Cao Wen is a short and broad woman, her brown hair flowers majestically behind her back and her face while full of wrinkles from her advanced age still holds unparalleled beauty. She is the mistress of the gardens, to her falls the task of managing and growing the vast amount of herbs and ingredients needed to fuel the work and advancement of sect members, she is also in charge of the spirit beast pens.
Elder Ma Duyi is a tall and lithe man, his hair is cut short and a sly smile adores his face as if all he sees before him is something to laugh at and maybe he's right, he is the youngest aside from you from the rumor mill he turned five hundred six years ago. He is the master of the apothecary under him all the pill master work, churning out an unending number of pills for any and all situations.
Elder Fang Tingfeng is a man that looks like he could snap you in two even without his cultivation, his muscles bulging out from the short sleeves of his robes. His face is set in a perpetual scowl, his long hair is white from age, something that shouldn't happen to a cultivator until their last years. He is the master of disciples under his preview is the training of new disciples, the assignments of missions and resources and in times of war he command's the armies of the sect.
Elder Chang Yuanjun's physique is chiseled from countless hours at the forge and the smell of smoke and oil surrounds him wherever he goes. He is the head of the artifice hall; in another life you might have known him as your elder and teacher. He is in charge of outfitting the sect with magical treasures, artifacts of mighty power and the contraction of large-scale formation.
The only word that could describe Elder Ren Jinhai is… sharp. Every one of her features is as sharp as it could be, her eyes could seemingly pierce right through you, her hair is sharp enough to cut steel and her very beauty could cut anyone to size which is supposedly why she is wearing a veil over her head and refrains from eye contact. She is the head of the library where the entire knowledge of the sect is kept form the most common movement technique to the ancient treatises of the founders
If someone asked you, you would have been happy to stay in your head for the rest of the meeting.
Unfortunately, no one asked you and with all other matters concluded the patriarch brought up the matter of the construction of the new sect hall and the one who would head it.
When he said your name, you had to rise up and give a small bow.
The six seconds it took to do so were the longest and most dangerous six seconds you experienced in your life.
But even though you felt the elder eyes roaming your body to find but a single weakness in your facade things went well.
And with that your participation in the discussion was over, and you sat there as the elders discussed how much resources would be invested in the construction of the new hall and what its reasonability would be.
In the end you got assigned a few dozen old, low first grades which were deemed to have no better use.
The sect would take up the cost of supplying them with the resources allotted to them -what few they are still entitled to- but not a single pill more.
The discussion about the purpose of the new hall saw many objectives and goals thrown about but from the general vibe you got, they didn't really matter because it was nothing but a joke to them.
And if you wanted to keep your life you had to do one thing.
Sect demand: prove your worth.
Success: your continued existence. Failure: death.
Time left: 10 turns.
Your meeting with the emperor was no less tense if for different reasons.
Where one wrong look from the elders could very well kill you, in this meeting you were the one to hold the power over life and death.
Even if you didn't wish to kill him yourself, one word to the elder would see him and his entire dynasty wiped out and replaced.
And the emperor knew it.
Which is why he's going to agree to whatever you demand no matter how outrageous or painful it may be.
The first subject raised would be the number of resources he would supply you. (Starting mortal support 50/100).
[] Low: 160 Rpt. enough to maintain a respectable hall and make progress in your projects and commitments. It would also not strain the empire much, making the emperor happy. (+10 mortal support).
[] Medium: 220 Rpt. Enough to maintain a respectable hall and to make good progress on your projects and commitments. This will very slightly strain the empire but the emperor knows it could be far worse. (+5 mortal support).
[] High: 300 Rpt. A good chunk of resources, allowing you to take on many projects beyond your commitments. This will strain the empire's financial situation, making the emperor unhappy. (-10 mortal support).
[] very high: 400 Rpt. A truly excessive amount of resources, you will almost assuredly need to find new and interesting ways to spend it all. This will strain the empire's financial situation greatly, making the emperor furious. (-25 mortal support).
The next subject is the amount of mortal conscripted to your service. He already offered to conscript a certain number of men for your service (you start with two G0 dice).
In this section you "buy" your dice (currently only 0 grade dice are available). Each dice costs x mortal support where x is the total number of dice bought. To buy a dice you need to buy all the dice before it and pay for them.
For example, if you want to buy 3 dice, you need to pay 6 (1+2+3) mortal support and so on.
Another important thing to note is that every die costs a base of 2 Rpt to maintain.
For example, if you want to buy 3 dice, you need to pay 6 (1+2+3) mortal support and so on.
Another important thing to note is that every die costs a base of 2 Rpt to maintain.
[] choose the number of dice to buy.
And with the basic things out of the way you started discussing what he can offer you in service and promises.
[] Access to the imperial records: the task of collecting the emperor taxes from his subjects is an enormous one, thousands of clerks manage and update the imperial record, detailing who needs to pay what and to whom, with what they can pay and why they need to pay so. Getting access to the records would make your own reports more accurate, giving you a greater understanding of the situation, you're dealing with. Getting access is not hard but the amount of extra work you make for the clerks manning the records certainly won't endear them to you. (Your information is more accurate) (-10 mortal support).
[] bureaucrats: the empire employs thousands of highly trained and experienced bureaucrats and you find yourself in need of some. Getting a few hundred transferred would greatly annoy the emperor but the creation of a functional and efficient bureaucracy is worth it. (Gain a rank 2 bureaucracy with no bloat) (-20 mortal support).
[] priority of production: getting a seal for priority of production means that wherever your agents go in the empire whatever they need would be produced first and swiftly. Greatly increase the speed your agents complete their work. Of course, such a thing won't be taken nicely by all the people that needs are delayed. (The progress needed for many projects is reduced) (-15 mortal support).
[] local board and supply: supplying and maintaining the ability of the conscripted mortals would be considerably easier -and cheaper- if the emperor would proclaim that it is the duty of local rulers to accommodate your members, this would of course not go over well with those same rulers but they would comply. (Reduce the cost of maintaining dice by half to 1 Rpt) (-15 mortal support)
[] land: resources, it always comes down to resources, if you don't have enough resources, you cannot advance nor can you accomplish anything but with enough resources even a rat can become a dragon. Currently you are dependent on what the emperor provides you but you could demand a few pieces of land to be given to you and their taxes and produce would go straight to your treasury instead of for the emperor or the lord he would take the land from. (Gain enough land to bring you 20
Rpt, any upgrades to it will go straight to your treasury without the need to share with the empire) (-15 mortal support).
While you could just demand whatever you wanted and get it. the emperor could make your life very difficult. Not in a direct way but a word here and there could slow down your progress to a crawl so it might be wise to promise him some things.
To help all of this go down easier.
[] life extending herbs: the emperor is an aging mortal man, the promise of several life extending herbs which would give anywhere between twenty to fifty years more on this earth would be a prize most enticing… Now you only need to get some. (+30 mortal support) (opens a long project to find the herbs needed, may also be acquired through alternative means).
[] education: the empire has a great need for many experts and from your limited experience you know that education is a path toward a better quality of life one of your mandates. You have already considered improving the education of the empire but if you promise to focus on building and staffing schools and academies as well as maintaining them you could win some favor with the emperor. (+10 mortal support) (must complete at least 6 stages of education related projects which is more expensive than hard).
[] safety: the lands are ever beset by murderous spirit beasts, unruly bandits and even a few demonic cultivators here and there and it is fairly common for whole villages to disappear. The safety of his subjects -and the taxes they pay- is ever on the emperor's mind. Making the empire safer would ease his hurt. (+15 mortal support) (must complete at least 6 stages of safety related projects which extremely vary in their expansiveness and difficulty).
[] marriage: being someone that could kill him and his whole family the emperor would have a great deal less to worry about if you were married to one of his son's, having someone close to him keep an eye on you would take a weight off his mind, and surely you won't act in a way that would harm your family? (+20 mortal support) (you get married).
-[] of a different sort: if a son is not to your taste, it could also be a daughter, while same sex relationships are somewhat frowned upon in the empire no one would dare say something about it to a cultivator who can crush their heads like melons. (Get married to a girl instead).
[] the surveyor guild: the surveyor guild, tasked with mapping the lands of the empire, they have recently become a thorn in the emperor's side. With their main effort to create a map of the empire complete after a century of work, they began asking for more and more funding to start more detailed mapping projects that are frankly unneeded but that you're your hall might find useful. The emperor would look upon you kindly if you agree to take them off his hand. You will need to pay for their operations from your own pockets and they will agitate for more funding but their expertise and findings may be very valuable. (+5 mortal support) (gain the surveyor guild as a sub department. Sub department's cost resources to maintain -at least 20- but open exclusive -or at least greatly discounted- projects and grant unique bonuses).
[] leg breakers: it is a law of the universe that no matter how strong or influential you are, someone somewhere would challenge your authority. The empire is not above this law, dissenting nobles, criminal conspiracies, guilds dragging their feet on work and many more all challenge the authority of the emperor. Some are dealt by the pen and some are dealt by the sword but some… some are too powerful or influential to touch directly… unless of course they would be reminded of their allegiance by a powerful cultivator. (+10 mortal support) (opens a medium length project to deal with the emperor enemies. The fist stage must be done every stage after giving a low amount of mortal support).
[] a fitting crown: the current crown adorning the emperor's head is a simple gold one with a few precious stones. You could do better, from the purest of jade and the rarest of diamonds -at least mortal grade ones- you will craft a new crown. Its beauty and majesty would awe all who gaze upon it, incising the emperor prestige. It will also slightly enhance the emperor's mental abilities making him a better ruler. (+10 mortal support) (opens up a short and relatively inexpensive project to make said crown).
Alright, and there we go, vote in plan format because otherwise this is going to be a clusterfuck and just because I might I've missed something (or something wasn't explained properly) were going to have a 3-hour moratorium to both allow for discussion and to iron out any kinks we find. This means that votes aren't going to be counted if they are cast before the moratorium ends.
Aa always I'm around for questions. also if you have suggestion for things you can ask or promise feel free to suggest them.
Vote example.
[] plane name.
-[] how many resources you take.
-[] how many dice you buy.
-[] additional demands.
-[] any promises you wish to make.
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