Those are some good thoughts, imo.
Also, I find your usage of the word 'gribbles' to be inexplicably hilarious.
But in a good way.
Prince Aladdin Quest (Disney Villains *Almost* Victorious)
- Thread starter TempestK
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
Also, I find your usage of the word 'gribbles' to be inexplicably hilarious.
But in a good way.
King Sigmund Igthorn Quest Phase 2 Turn 5 (Nega-Quest)
- Location
- Germany
Martial: Hire Mercenaries DC ???
Stewardship: Recruit the Weapons Merchant - DC 20/60/100
Stewardship: Prepare Gifts for Ogres - DC 20/40/60
Diplomacy: Recruit Ogres - (DC 30 - Loyalty)
Intrigue: Look for Gregor's men - DC 80
Learning: Study Strategy DC 92
Occult: Enchant Weapons - DC 40/60/80/100
Igthorn: Rest and Relaxation - DC ???
Stewardship: Recruit the Weapons Merchant - DC 20/60/100
Stewardship: Prepare Gifts for Ogres - DC 20/40/60
Diplomacy: Recruit Ogres - (DC 30 - Loyalty)
Intrigue: Look for Gregor's men - DC 80
Learning: Study Strategy DC 92
Occult: Enchant Weapons - DC 40/60/80/100
Igthorn: Rest and Relaxation - DC ???
(Aladdin Turn 6)
If you have no internal options anymore, with Dunwyn still being weak and the bandits taken away, you will have to look elsewhere. Your band of braves has proven itself very well, and your men still have some contacts to other mercenary bands. This will eat into your budget harshly. Yet, what can a King do when there is darkness at the door but to burn himself and all his riches to keep it at bay?
Just kidding, of course! You'd never be so stupid. But some more fighters surely couldn't hurt!
So, you send out Igthorn's Own, and they succeed wildly. Each of your men comes back with two more, allowing you to create a new combat group that is better equipped and better trained than your regular troops.
Results: 100 mercenaries hired! (Regular)
1000 Gold upkeep/Turn
DC ???: 53 + 23 + 10 (Toadie) +20 (Warband Loyalty) = 106
You walk over the marketplace. It is empty, deserted - the colorful, almost elated atmosphere has been wiped out. There is only a lone wagon on the plaza, its sign titling it 'Knives & Such' - and that is all you need.
You stride over to the young, black-haired merchant, who is leaning against her shop, looking bored.
"Hello, young lady," you say with your best smile. "I see you have returned to my fair Dunwyn."
"Phew, yeah. So, what can I sell to you today, King Igthorn? I have ice picks from Arendelle - very rare these days. Or maybe some of my eastern blades? They are better for cavalry, true, but.."
You interrupt.
"Oh, no. But I need an economic advisor, as I told you last time. And you'd be perfect for the position."
The young woman thinks, scratching her chin.
"As I said last time, 1200 Gold per month."
"What? That is outrageous, and 200 Gold more than your previous asking price! I am willing to give you a stipend of 5 Gold and free food and lodging!"
"5 Gold? I don't even get out of bed for that sum! And have you never heard of inflation? 1150 Gold, and not a farthing less!"
Three hours later, you arrive at a salary of 150 Gold per month, a staff horse, and a hardboiled egg. If she's half as good as negotiating as she is at stalling, you can use this little hellion quite well!
Results: Vex hired!
300 Gold upkeep/turn
Martial - 15 - Vex may be young, but she knows weapons and fighting. A better combatant than a general, but she is not too bad at leading or figuring out strategy.
Stewardship - 17 - She is a shrewd weapons merchant who sells high and buys low with her nose for gold. Exactly what you need for your economy, especially if you can teach her about larger-scale operations.
Diplomacy - 5 - Sarcastic, sardonic, Vex can be very abrasive. If it weren't for her irreverence to your authority, you'd say she was a girl after your own heart.
Intrigue - 22 - Lying, tricking, surviving - Vex can do it all. In her own little way, she's a diamond in the rough in this area. With time, she may even outshine your own skills in nefariousness!
Learning - 7 - Entirely self-taught, Vex isn't stupid, but her education is really lacking in everything beyond her own interests.
Occult - 1 - Vex has never bothered with the occult, but since she lived in the Dark Kingdom, she at least knows it exists.
Prowess - 18 - Vex is quite good with the knife. In fact, there's a rumor that each blade she sells, she has tested herself. She is also reasonably athletic and knows how to handle herself in a fight quite well.
Loyalty - 10 - Vex's loyalty has been bought, but she seems sincere that as long as the gold flows, she'll stay.
TRAITS
Brutally businesslike- Vex lowers the cost of each action she supports by 100 gold. This includes running costs!
Teenager - Teenagers in Disney tend to be overqualified. Every year, Vex gets a roll of 1d100 per attribute vs. 5*attribute for each of them. If she succeeds, this stat increases by 1.
[???] - Not available
Stewardship - 17 - She is a shrewd weapons merchant who sells high and buys low with her nose for gold. Exactly what you need for your economy, especially if you can teach her about larger-scale operations.
Diplomacy - 5 - Sarcastic, sardonic, Vex can be very abrasive. If it weren't for her irreverence to your authority, you'd say she was a girl after your own heart.
Intrigue - 22 - Lying, tricking, surviving - Vex can do it all. In her own little way, she's a diamond in the rough in this area. With time, she may even outshine your own skills in nefariousness!
Learning - 7 - Entirely self-taught, Vex isn't stupid, but her education is really lacking in everything beyond her own interests.
Occult - 1 - Vex has never bothered with the occult, but since she lived in the Dark Kingdom, she at least knows it exists.
Prowess - 18 - Vex is quite good with the knife. In fact, there's a rumor that each blade she sells, she has tested herself. She is also reasonably athletic and knows how to handle herself in a fight quite well.
Loyalty - 10 - Vex's loyalty has been bought, but she seems sincere that as long as the gold flows, she'll stay.
TRAITS
Brutally businesslike- Vex lowers the cost of each action she supports by 100 gold. This includes running costs!
Teenager - Teenagers in Disney tend to be overqualified. Every year, Vex gets a roll of 1d100 per attribute vs. 5*attribute for each of them. If she succeeds, this stat increases by 1.
[???] - Not available
DC 70: 48 + 16 + 10 (Toadie) = 74
Using your newfound procurer of weapons, you consider what you can do to improve the Ogre's opinion of you. Arms? No, that's not the best idea. If they dislike them, they can use your gifts to hit you! Books, or anything that requires complex thought, are also right out.
But food... now food could be a great idea. They always ate their own body weight. So, you start baking a cake. A large cake. A humongous cake. Toadie and Vex get you the ingredients - and with great satisfaction, you realize that Vex gets you the right ones immediately. Even Dallben chips in, sprinkling some strawberries on top, even if they're out of season.
In the end, you send Toadie and two guards to deliver it. And even though your diminutive servant looks as if he had been used for kickball when he returns, he reports a great success!
Also, you think while you nibble some remainders of the cream, baking can be fun. You twirl your mustache in satisfaction - the cake was perfect, as expected of something crafted by your glorious hands!
Excellent gift: +30 diplomacy rolls vs. the Ogres this turn
Lost 400 (500 - 100) Gold
Double highest difficulty bonus: Ogres, if successful, will start with a +10 to loyalty.
Stress -1
DC 20/40/60: 81 + 16 + 10 (Toadie) + 17 (Vex) = 124
Now comes the actual test. You ride up to the forest of the Ogres and are pleased that this time, no boulders are thrown at your head. You come closer to the edge, and the same grey Ogre as last time steps out of the trees' shadows.
"Iggy has given cake. Cake was delicious. Still do not think we should follow Iggy again."
What? Preposterous! Ogres defying your majestic will! But wait, the uncouth brute is still talking.
"If you want Ogres, you need to challenge Ogre champion in traditional battle."
Okay, that is bad - Ogres are far stronger than humans, after all - but you have your secret flask of Gummi berry juice, and you're a far more experienced combatant. You can handle this!
Then the brute finishes his sentence:
"The Dance Battle!"
And all around you, drums start to pound. A few hours later, you're exhausted, but at least you have your Ogres back. Ouch, ouch. Damn your feet!
Results: Re-gained control of Ogres
Cost: 500 Gold per Turn
Loyalty is at -10
DC 30 - (-40) : 34+ 12 - 6 (Arrogance Supreme) + 10 (Toadie) + 30 (Precious Gifts) = 80
You know the lands of Dunwyn, and you have led a successful guerilla war against Gregor. You know nooks and crannies, hiding spots, places where a host can rest.
SO WHY CAN YOU NOT FIND THE OLD FOOL?
Your spies report nothing. There is no trace, not even a hoofprint of the missing knights. Once, when one of your spies doesn't report in for two weeks, you hope you have at least found a lead - but no, the idiot simply broke his leg and charmed the innkeeper's daughter!
ARRRRGH! At least you can still throttle Toadie. That is such a calming, relaxing motion.
Results: Utter, embarrasing failure
Gregor gains a trait: These lands are my home
Stress +1
DC 80: 38 + 25 + 10 (Toadie) - 98 (Gregor interference) = -25
Late at night, in the dim shine of a candle, you read the book again. You do not know who has written it - the cover is too old and worn out to make out the author. It was a windfall, really - a lucky find in one of the trade caravans. It is a short book, and you cannot apply all its lessons, of course. But those you can...
The book talks about logistics, about how to feed and board an army. It talks about tactics, but more importantly, about discipline and leadership. Where lesser works are about certain maneuvers, this scroll talks about how to position your army so you don't need to maneuver. With a sigh, and knowing you really should rest, you start again:
"The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected...."
Results: Gained Martial +1
Potential negative stats regarding army composition and boarding negated.
DC 92: 63 + 21 + 10 (Toadie) = 94
Dallben looks unhappy. From dirks to swords to lances, fifty well-crafted weapons are prepared in a salt circle, and arcane runes are cast into the stone. He mutters and shakes his head.
"Here, my Liege. The weapons you need to defend against the dark mysteries of the Frenchmen."
Your enchanter hands you a sword with trembling hands.
"I hate this. I hate having crafted another weapon of war. But what else can we do in the face of this adversity?"
His quiet, passionate self-loathing makes even you shut up for a minute as you take the sword in your hands. But at the same time, you know as much as he hates doing this - the alternative is far worse.
Effects: Gained rare magic weapons for your braves and yourself.
(Effective +15 to prowess, able to hurt invulnerable creatures)
Cost: 4900 (5000 - 100) Gold
DC 40/60/80/100: 10 + 19 + 14 (Gentle Soul) + 15 (Master Enchanter) + 10 (Toadie) = 68
You try your best to relax in your bath. The water's hot, and you have spent the last hour in a trance-like state. You have taken this day off - weapons training, visiting the local taverns to get enthusiastic welcomes, teasing your brother in the dungeon. In theory, you should be recovered beyond the ken of mortal men. But you aren't. Every time you close your eyes, another horrific vision haunts your sight. Gregor leading his troops against your walls. The page and the princess bouncing into your courtyard. The blasted Gummi Bears returning and laying all your efforts to waste.
And that shadow. That shadow you saw in the cauldron when you scried the French.
You sink deeper into the bubbles. Hopefully, your sleep will be dreamless tonight.
Results: Stress -2
DC ???: 28
Current status:
Stress: 3/10
Dunwyn Loyalty: 6
Warband Loyalty: 20
Mercenary Loyalty: 10
Ogre Loyalty: -10
City Funds: 12,820
City income: 5,500
- 1000 Local Tax Revenue
- 1600 Trade Tax Revenue
- 1000 Wood harvesting
- 400 Granite trade
- 1000 Trade with Lady Bane (Alchemic ingredients) + 10% = 1100
- 500 Trade with Jean-Claude + 10% = 550
- Current Upkeep costs: 500 Mercenaries (Igthorn's Own), 500 Sawmills, 250 Trade Caravan Protection Detail, 200 Quarry Upkeep, 50 Alchemic production line upkeep, 1000 (Mercenaries), 300 (Vex)
- 2,800 Upkeep total
- Actual Income: 2,700
- 3 Banners (200 men each) of soldiers, Trained
- 1 Warband (50 men), Seasoned
- 1 Mercenary Band (100 men), Regular
- 1 Ogre troop (20), Regular
- 10 flasks of Gummi Berry Juice
- 1 unknown potion
- 50 magic weapons
All in all, this was a successful turn for you guys. You only failed one action, but that one, you failed hard. Still, you are massively outnumbered, even if the enchanted arms and the Ogres should do nicely to compensate for your lack of actual soldiers. Either way, your time is running out.
As for the Gummi bear transport tubes, I have for now decided against it giving you a second action, but it will make things easier on certain logistic operations. And as the saying goes, amateurs talk tactics, while professionals study logistics.
- Location
- Goose Land
Also, I find your usage of the word 'gribbles' to be inexplicably hilarious.
Monsters is just too aggressive ya know?
If there are monsters then you either need a full deployment of the military or a farmboy with a special destiny, maybe a Family Sword if it's real trouble.
Gribbles is for stuff like a pair of water nags that keep trying to drown people and need a stern talking to, or some unusually large rodents in a cellar that need relocating, or a particularly aggressive shrubbery that needs to be taken out by the roots.
And don't get me started on bandersnatches.
Where Are They? Part 4 (Canon)
Where Are They? Part 4
Turn 9
Dumont and Co
Turn 9
Dumont and Co
Making a conglomerate, 211/250: 1d100+8+10+8+5: 76! 287/250! Dumont, Hugo, Hooft, Remy, and Albert all gain +1 Stewardship! With papers filed, meetings held, and permission from the King, Dumont and Friends, Conglomerated, is open for business! Dumont is the chairman and reigns from an import store in the capital. Hooft and Hugo are the master distillers who provide whiskey, wine, and beer to the store and to Remy Baudoin's restaurant. Remy is the manager and head chef at his restaurant, where only the finest French and Belgian cuisine is offered to all and sundry. Last but not least is Albert Narracott, who not only rents out horses, but handles shipping between the various businesses, the harbor, and even loans out his stallion Joey as a stud. His old War Horse, it turns out, is a prime specimen with a marvelous combination of strength, stamina, and temperament; foals sired by him promise to partake in those same qualities.
Maldonia gains +5 to its RER from the economic boost!
Colonel Staquait
Colonel Staquait's priorities: Learning, Martial, Personal: Training! Training what? 1=sword, 2=extra language roll, 3=Geopolitics. 1d3: 1! Swordsmanship!
Learning: Study Arabic! Current status: A2, 89/150. 1d100+12+10: 104! Staquait has reached B1 in his language studies! New trait: "Student of Arabic, B1" - -5 malus to attempts to communicate in Arabic. Current progress: 41/200.
Martial: Go on patrol! Where? 1=South-west coast; 2=East coast; 3=interior desert. 1d3: 2! The eastward coast! Random encounter roll (1-33, Chaos; 34-66, Warlord; 67-99, Nothing; 100, mystery box.) 1d100+5 (training)+10 (New heir): 20! Staquait and his men encounter a newly-escaped Chaos! Diplomacy check, DC 80: 1d100+10: 27! He is unable to talk his way past the chaotic cat, and in fact ends up insulting it when he tries to order Chaos to let them pass.
Chaos reaction, 1d100+25 (having fun)-10 (insulted): 101! Far from being angry, Chaos decides to play.
Occult competitive roll, Chaos vs. Staquait:
Chaos: 1d100+40+20: 143!
Staquait: 1d100+7+5: 63! Chaos great success!
Staquait and his entire company vanish! To be continued in "Panic At The Legion!"
Personal training: Auto-fail due to Chaos interference!
Captain von Lettow
Von Lettow's priorities: Martial, Learning, Personal: Self-Reflection!
Martial: Go on patrol! Random encounter roll (1-20, Ursula; 21-35, Davy Jones; 36-50, Captain Hook; 51-65, Frollo's men; 66-80, Sinbad; 81-99, nothing; 100, Mystery Box. 1d100+5 (training)+10 (new heir): 20! DC 80, 1d100+15+45: 80! Bare success! While on patrol, he encounters the Sea Witch Ursula! Fortunately for him and his men, she's distracted and satisfies herself with a cursory lightning bolt in his direction. Von Lettow considers himself lucky to have dodged a bullet.
Learning: Practice your Arabic! 32/100, 1d100+20+5: 95! Von Lettow has achieved A2 status in his study of Arabic! Current progress: 27/150. He can read, write, and speak Arabic at a basic level, and his communication malus has been reduced to -15!
Self-Reflection, DC 60: 1d100+10: 89! Success! After considering Eudora's words, Von Lettow goes to the Royal Library and begins reading archived newspapers. Maldonia's past before the Upheaval is rather different from what he was expecting. In his world, Morocco became a French and Spanish protectorate in 1912 after the Agadir Crisis of 1911, with the old sultan abdicating in favor of his brother. Here, aside from the country having a different name, a different relative, Idris (who never lived in Von Lettow's world; he checked) took the throne and proved much more popular and charismatic. Even so, the newspapers record events that he recognizes, including his campaigns in East Africa and how he held the attention of over 100,000 British, French and Belgian troops with a force that never exceeded 15,000.
It accomplished nothing more than perhaps drawing out the war a little longer as he diverted troops and equipment that would have gone to Europe. He was lionized as a hero in Germany as their only undefeated military commander, but subsequently thrown into the social equivalent of the dustbin as he lost his commission in the Reichswehr after his involvement in the Kapp Putsch failed to overthrow the Weimar Republic and return autocratic rule to Germany. Records end there, save for a mention of Von Lettow becoming an import-export manager in Bremen.
Reaction: 1-2, depression; 3-4, regret; 5, anger; 6-7, resolve; 8-10, acceptance. 1d9+1: 5! Anger! Coping: 1d100+15+22: 73!
The librarian responds to a disturbance in the archive section, and finds Von Lettow swiping all of the newspapers off of the table. He then marches out of the library, hat covering his face, and spends the rest of the day in a training yard working out his frustrations on the bags and sparring anyone who'll take him up on the offer.
Result: Von Lettow has gained the trait "Rage Against The Heavens"; -5 to all rolls until he comes to terms with his anger towards the future that will never be.
Holmes and Watson
Priority: Investigate the EITC! DC 120-20 (???)-25 (???), final DC 75.
Does Watson accompany him on his investigation? 1d100: 18! No, he stays in Agrabah.
Holmes's investigation, DC 75: 1d100+30+30: 128! Great success! To Holmes' surprise, he ends up making contact with agents from Ababwa who are investigating and infiltrating the EITC, and the two parties end up helping each other a great deal. The poison (which Watson ID'd as datura extract) is native to India, and only the EITC has easy access to it at this time.
???, DC 60: ???: 72! Success! During his investigation, Holmes is attacked by a masked assailant!
Competitive Intrigue roll between ??? and Holmes:
???: 1d100+??: 59
Holmes: 1d100+30: 91! Trait activation! Holmes successfully ID's his opponent as the man implicated in the palace investigation!
Martial check:
Ian Mercer: 1d100+15+5: 105!
Sherlock Holmes: 1d100+18+15-5: 97!
Mercer victory!
Holmes tactical withdrawal:
Holmes: 1d100+18+15-5: 76!
Mercer: 1d100+15+5: 30!
Holmes is injured by his opponent, but successfully manages to escape when the battle turns against him. The cut to his arm slows him down a little, but he manages to break Mercer's line of sight and slip into a crowd, where his mastery of disguise permits him to throw the assassin off of his trail.
Holmes takes it as a cautionary lesson, but also as a success: he's getting close to his opponent's trail, and has successfully ID'd the would-be assassin as an official EITC agent.
Does he learn his opponent's name? DC 100-20, 1d100+60: 98! Success! A little poking around the port gives him a name: Ian Mercer, Lord Beckett's right-hand man.
What does Holmes do with the information? Auto-complete: He meets with the Mukhtar to inform him of what he knows; the Mukhtar, in turn, sends word to Ababwa that the EITC is not to be trusted and that they tried to assassinate the Sultan.
Watson and his duties: Do his injuries act up? 1d4: 2! No!
Stewardship check, 1d100+16+10: 77! Business as usual; scrapes are patched up, bones are mended, and refugees and the poor are aided with the Princess's street clinic.
The Stabbington Brothers
Traveling to Lemuria, DC 45: 1d100+15+15+5: 95! Great success! The brothers make their way out of China, cross the mountains, and reach the relatively balmy lands of Lemuria! The few jackals they run into aren't able to stop them, or even slow them down.
What do they plan? 1=Find work as mercs, 2=Investigate the local criminal underworld, 3=Do a robbery and get some coin. 1d3: 3! Robbery!
What do they rob? 1=a merchant; 2=a caravan; 3=a gold mine; 4=a rich home. 1d4: 4! They choose (1d100: 76!) the home of the mayor of a moderate-sized town!
???, ???: ?!
Infiltration roll, DC 75: 1d100+7+2+5+20: 66! Failure!
Unaccustomed to the local architecture, their infiltration doesn't go quite as planned, and what they thought was a sturdy patch of roof turned out to be a one-way skylight that breaks under their weight. They get dropped into the middle of-wait, what's that? No! NO! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Some time later, the mayor introduces to the city council his new pair of bodyguards, Patches and Sideburns! They're oddly quiet and make the occasional twitch, but overall seem like trustworthy and reliable folk.
Moriarty and Moran
Moriarty: One action. 1-2=Going for a second Learning action; 3=A different learning action. 1d3: 3! What action? 1d5: 2! Star charts!
Star Charts, DC 65: 1d100+25+30: 58! Bare failure!
Moriarty is an accomplished astronomer and mathematician; his magnum opus of the scholarly world, "Dynamics of an Asteroid" requires both. Ironically, this hinders him as the skies he observes are not like the skies he remembers, and the period of adjustment is such that he takes two months to fully adjust to the crazy, insane things he is seeing and experiencing. DC reduced to 40.
Moran: Two actions. Action list: Recruit troops; Mobilize for the Eastward crusade (locked); plan a counter-offensive against the Cauldron-born; scouting expedition; push against Maleficent's forces. 1d4: 1! Recruit troops!
Recruit troops, DC 80: 1d100+20+10: 123! Great success! While the pool of available manpower is shrinking rapidly, Moran is able to raise another regiment of regulars and train two squads of special forces! They are equipped with rifled muskets, swords and pikes, and added to the armies of Immortalus!
Subvert troops, DC 50: 1d100+20+10 (Moriarty support)+5 (Recruitment success): 102! Critical success! Secondary roll, 1d100: 16! Final roll, 118! What Frollo doesn't know is that almost every man recruited is loyal to Moran personally, and the regiment is composed of dissidents against his rule!
Mobilize for the Eastern Crusade, DC 65: 1d100+20+10: 66! Bare success! Moran's lack of enthusiasm for Frollo's vendetta against Grimhilde is apparent as he puts in the bare amount of effort to position supplies and troops for the push against her.
Does Frollo suspect?
Frollo: 1d100+21+10 (suspects everything)-5 (Preoccupied): 101!
Moran: 1d100+20+10: 103! Moran bare success!
As events rise to a peak, Frollo becomes suspicious of his general, but Moran manages to allay his concerns by blinding him with military-sounding babble and redirecting his focus onto events in Maldonia and the birth of a new heir. Nevertheless, Frollo's paranoia has been aroused, and Moran suspects that the Pontiff will be taking a closer look at his actions in the future.
Creating a network, 93/500: 1d100+25+30+20+10+59 (Subversion crit): 228! 321/500! Knowledge of Frollo's nature and the depth of his evil lend haste to their work, and they make massive progress on developing Moriarty's network. The army, university, and banking industry have been thoroughly infiltrated with Moriarty's agents; they have leveled their sights upon the legal and diplomatic corps next.
With Frollo's suspicions raised, the two are now playing a dangerous game; future network construction rolls will also have to pass a competitive check against Frollo's Intrigue.
Flynn Ryder
Ryder has two actions; one is automatically taken by healing.
Rest and recovery: DC 30/60/90/100: 1d100+4+15+10 (Scheherazade bonus): 122! Amazing success! The new silphium-infused medicines make a remarkable difference in the rate of his healing; to Eugene's amazement, the broken bones in his legs heal completely within two months! Now all that's left is for him to complete a physical training regimen to regain his former strength and flexibility.
Result: Eugene has lost his -10 "broken legs" malus! His morale has increased significantly as a result!
What else does he choose to do? 1=study, 2=meet people. 1d2: 2! And of course he chooses to meet people instead of study.
Meet who? 1-2, advisors; 3, heroes. 1d3: 3! Heroes! 1d6: 5! Oh, interesting; looks like Eugene met Frederick Selous, who was presumably visiting Jose Faria in the hospital.
Meeting of the minds, Eugene vs. Selous:
Eugene trait activation, 1d100+10: 18! "Gentleman Thief" activates, Eugene suffers a -5 Diplomacy malus as his cocky attitude gets the better of him.
Selous trait activation, 1d2: 2! "Conservationist" does not activate!
Eugene: 1d100+10-5: 54!
Selous: 1d100+12: 46!
Despite Ryder's cocky attitude, Selous can't help but like the kid. Reminds him of Jones in a way. The two end up talking about their mutual frustration with not knowing what people around them are saying and sharing notes on how best to sneak up on a mark.
Henry Jones
University Studies. What is the focus of Henry's studies? 1-2, Linguistics; 3, History; 4, Geography. 1d4: 3! DC 60: 1d100+23+15: 64! Henry passes his first class, but is a bit distracted by being recruited to give it his all. +1 credit! 1/15 credits!
Second action auto-consumed by "Big Shoes To Fill"! Critical success! Henry's interview with Chiron and Aladdin is productive enough that Aladdin actually gains +1 Learning as a result of Henry's stories about his travels and the subsequent expanded perspective on the world!
The McCann Brothers
Two actions, one auto-consumed by "Two For The Price Of…Two". First action, auto-completed, success! The McCann's collective finances improve to the tune of 250 Gold per two months!
What does Garth do with his time? 1=Training, 2=Meeting People. 1d2: 2! Meeting people! Who? 1=Advisors, 2=Heroes. 1d2: 1! Who? 1d7: 5! Dean Chiron!
Does Garth's trait activate? 1d2: 1! Yes! Garth gains +5 Diplomacy as he entertains Chiron with his stories!
Garth: 1d100+14+10+5: 99!
Chiron: 1d100+25+10: 68!
Garth entertains the centaur with his stories from fighting with the Foreign Legion and traversing Africa and the Middle East; Chiron, for his part, tells Garth about what has been happening in Ababwa prior to his arrival. DC for Garth adjusting to Ababwa reduced!
What does Hub do with his time? 1=Training, 2=Meeting People. 1d2: 2! Meeting people! Who? 1=Advisors, 2=Heroes. 1d2: 2! Who? 1d5: 4! Leah!
Hub: 1d100+7+5: 88!
Leah: 1d100+19: 80!
Hub charms Leah with stories about his time with the Legion and traversing Africa and the Middle East, and helps advise her on making the cradle for the new Princess of Maldonia since he has met Prince Naveen and Princess Tiana; Leah, for her part, astounds him with demonstrations of her magic and much appreciates his insight about what designs and traits the Prince and Princess would like for their daughter. DC for Hub adjusting to Ababwa reduced!
???, DC ???: 1d100+9+5: 77! Failure! He spots the Mage off in the distance of the Greenhouse, but takes no special note of him. The Mage does appreciate Hub's help with the cradle.
A/N: Thanks to @TempestK for proof-reading this for me and giving me advice and feedback on certain developments.
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I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but GOD, am I rooting for these Guys.
- Location
- USA
Definitely rooting for the accidental meeting with Sherlock and the alliance against the bigger fish to fry.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I get the idea, but the problem I foresee is that by nature the term "guild" implies an organization that is fundamentally private and has bargaining power in its own right, not just an extension of the state.
Which implies some things (not necessarily bad, mind you) about the kind of people in the Adventurer's Guild who aren't willing to join the Ababwan army or work directly for the Sultan, but do want to have a state-granted license to use violence to solve problems.
Guys like Tai Lung don't seem to have a problem with acting in the service of Prince Aladdin, for instance. What does he gain from the existence of this guild? Would he be a member? Or would he be working for us more directly?
Well, it's a big aspirational goal for Aladdin to make Ababwa the kind of place where it isn't economically necessary to live a life of crime to avoid starvation, so, uh... He's kind of already attacking that problem from the other end.
The more applicable issue that the notional Adventurer's Guild addresses is all the rootless heroic/antiheroic drifters wandering around the world. Like the McCann brothers, or the Young Indiana Jones characters, or Flynn. But the thing is...
Well, I think to some extent this is a solution in search of a problem. I think a lot of those people are already in the process of settling down, rather than being a constant in/out flow all over Eurasia. Though I could be wrong.
Nottheunmaker
Altman be praised
- Location
- USG Ishimura
I wouldn't mind an adventures guild from a narrative standpoint at least. It'd play into the original intent of the DVV setting, and could be a fun way of growing original characters. You know, see who the people who weren't special find their place in this strange new world.
- Location
- Goose Land
Nice! Is this permanent or one time?
We can rewrite it to be something like "Department of the Auxilla" or something like that, I just used "Adventurers' Guild" because it's a good shorthand to convey the general idea.
Part of my logic is that with all these different settings interacting, these people are going to exist anyway so this will help us keep tabs on them.
I hadn't considered Tai Lung in relation to the Guild, but I could honestly see him as a Guild Master of sorts? If teaching Abu works out next turn, he might get a bug about helping others improve themselves and the AG would be a place where he might pick up students and help bring out the best in people?
Otherwise, if we're talking about a "What if this existed when we recruited Tai Lung" then I have no idea what might have happened. If it's introduced now, then I can't even really speculate on his reaction. We've fought and killed alongside him, so I assume he feels close enough to us to maintain the position he currently has?
True. Right now I'm mostly thinking about those who have been bitten by the bug for Adventure and Wanderlust, who might just not feel like the standard positions of society are right for them.
There was concern mentioned in thread about Character Bloat and over saturation of Heros. I think that an Adventurers' Guild or something like it could help enable us to still benefit from drawing in and hiring Heros without needing to manage the personal relationships of 15+ odd people instead of reaching a soft or hard cap on the competent help we can hire.
If people are okay with other options in regards to that, then that's fine.
Leaving that up to Temp's discretion.
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Unfortunately no; it's a one-time boost due to the birth of the new Princess.
I imagine they're making bank with all of the emissaries and dignitaries.
- Location
- USA
I don't really see the point of making a adventures guild.
I just don't think the number of heroes we have justifies it.
We've barely scratched the personals for them and still don't have heros assigned to each action.
The only reason I can think of for it would be to assign five heroes to it then assign them one of our quests and have the quest auto complete after 3 RERs with good results. Bad rolls lowering the rewards down to the bare minimum with repeated bad rolls, or bad consequences added on, and good rolls adding to the rewards and good results.
For example. Removing 5 heros from our roster until the armor quest completes.
2 good rolls, 4 bad ones, then the last good one = those heroes are gone for 7 turns, get us the armor, but the people in the area are really mad at us and demand retribution. New crisis to deal with.
Where 3 good rolls in a row means they are gone for 3 turns, get the armor, found a bunch of other treasure, the people there like us, and one of them wants to join up as a hero unit.
Or maybe a quest roll for each stat in the party? Each turn a roll with the total martial, stewardship, intrigue, etc, of the party added in with tiered success levels. Getting past a certain threshold of success means a successful turn? With the type of quest determining which checks are easy and hard? Fighting heavy and stealth having low thresholds on the martial and intrigue checks and moderate other checks, raiding a temple having low occult and stewardship checks, meeting a new group having low diplomacy and intrigue? That could be a interesting system as well.
This would obviously not work for quests that have large narrative importance that need to be written out and dealt with. Like the sand witches probably wouldn't have worked because of its importance to Agrabah and by extention Aladdin.
And this becomes entirely impossible if TempestK has involved plans for every quest and really wants to write out the fun character interactions and twists.
Maybe different categories of quests?
Important narrative ones and non narrative ones that can be assigned to a adventuring party?
I can see it working but I still don't think we have enough heroes to worry about it for a long while.
I just don't think the number of heroes we have justifies it.
We've barely scratched the personals for them and still don't have heros assigned to each action.
The only reason I can think of for it would be to assign five heroes to it then assign them one of our quests and have the quest auto complete after 3 RERs with good results. Bad rolls lowering the rewards down to the bare minimum with repeated bad rolls, or bad consequences added on, and good rolls adding to the rewards and good results.
For example. Removing 5 heros from our roster until the armor quest completes.
2 good rolls, 4 bad ones, then the last good one = those heroes are gone for 7 turns, get us the armor, but the people in the area are really mad at us and demand retribution. New crisis to deal with.
Where 3 good rolls in a row means they are gone for 3 turns, get the armor, found a bunch of other treasure, the people there like us, and one of them wants to join up as a hero unit.
Or maybe a quest roll for each stat in the party? Each turn a roll with the total martial, stewardship, intrigue, etc, of the party added in with tiered success levels. Getting past a certain threshold of success means a successful turn? With the type of quest determining which checks are easy and hard? Fighting heavy and stealth having low thresholds on the martial and intrigue checks and moderate other checks, raiding a temple having low occult and stewardship checks, meeting a new group having low diplomacy and intrigue? That could be a interesting system as well.
This would obviously not work for quests that have large narrative importance that need to be written out and dealt with. Like the sand witches probably wouldn't have worked because of its importance to Agrabah and by extention Aladdin.
And this becomes entirely impossible if TempestK has involved plans for every quest and really wants to write out the fun character interactions and twists.
Maybe different categories of quests?
Important narrative ones and non narrative ones that can be assigned to a adventuring party?
I can see it working but I still don't think we have enough heroes to worry about it for a long while.
Nottheunmaker
Altman be praised
- Location
- USG Ishimura
The guild isn't for our heroes, it's for wondering heroes, is my understanding.
- Location
- USA
What's the difference?
A hero is a hero. If they belong to another king then they can do what they want and if not we should hire them.
If you mean a group of nameless adventurers that roll a RER each turn and give us leads and a cut of the profits based on the results then I guess that could be a stewardship project?
On a unrelated note, I've thought of a learning project that could help us out a lot.
A dedicated language school with like 1000 gold a turn upkeep.
After we build it each turn every hero/advisor gets a d100 learning check. They beat 60 they go up 1/4th of a rank in a selected language. 1/4 barely understanding, 2/4 generally understanding and some writing, 3/4 mostly understanding with some ability to speak it, and 4/4 being fluency in that language.
If they fail the check the dc reduces by 10 which stacks till they pass a check then it goes back to 60. If they crit a check it goes up 2 levels. Once a language is selected a new one can't be picked till the first is mastered.
It means the smarter heros will learn languages quickly and the less smart will learn languages eventually.
If we run into crazy languages like dragon or fey or whatever we could slot those in if we get a native speaker but with really high dcs so they would be much harder to learn.
The main benefit would be that the learn languages personals would be removed and done automatically.
We could assign a hero each turn to the language school to give bonuses to the other heros in whatever they were fluent in.
A hero is a hero. If they belong to another king then they can do what they want and if not we should hire them.
If you mean a group of nameless adventurers that roll a RER each turn and give us leads and a cut of the profits based on the results then I guess that could be a stewardship project?
On a unrelated note, I've thought of a learning project that could help us out a lot.
A dedicated language school with like 1000 gold a turn upkeep.
After we build it each turn every hero/advisor gets a d100 learning check. They beat 60 they go up 1/4th of a rank in a selected language. 1/4 barely understanding, 2/4 generally understanding and some writing, 3/4 mostly understanding with some ability to speak it, and 4/4 being fluency in that language.
If they fail the check the dc reduces by 10 which stacks till they pass a check then it goes back to 60. If they crit a check it goes up 2 levels. Once a language is selected a new one can't be picked till the first is mastered.
It means the smarter heros will learn languages quickly and the less smart will learn languages eventually.
If we run into crazy languages like dragon or fey or whatever we could slot those in if we get a native speaker but with really high dcs so they would be much harder to learn.
The main benefit would be that the learn languages personals would be removed and done automatically.
We could assign a hero each turn to the language school to give bonuses to the other heros in whatever they were fluent in.
At Simon_Jester's request, some edits have been made to Von Lettow's section in my omake. You'll see why soon.
Oo-De-Lally, Oo-De-Lally, Golly, What a Mess (Sherwood Forest Nega-Quest)
mangawriter77
Otaku^9000 (In my own opinion)
- Location
- You'll neeever guess
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
A/N: Just a little something for funsies while Arendellian writer's block is kicking my ass. Not completely serious, but canon as far as I know.
Oo-De-Lally, Oo-De-Lally, Golly, What a Mess (Sherwood Forest Nega-Quest)
Turn 0: Upheaval
Robin jumped out the window and scurried up to the roof. Right behind him, the flames roared as the wooden beams and ceiling caught and went up in fiery death. Damn the Sheriff, why the hell had he thought swinging a torch around willy-nilly was a good idea? In the dark corners of Robin's mind, he hoped that that dumb wolf remained trapped downstairs. Would serve him right, after everything.
The flames rising all around Robin brought him back to the present. Right, he needed to get out of here. He and Little John had already saved all the townsfolk, and, more importantly, prevented the hanging of Friar Tuck. He had told John to take the others ahead and not worry about him. The tricky part was making sure that any worries that may have stuck around were unfounded. No matter where he ran, guards were already there, throwing or shooting stuff at him. But now, he was at the wall of the castle. He just needed to escape into the forest. Once he was on his home turf, he'd be safe. No one could touch him there.
The flames roared higher as Prince John ordered his men to shoot Robin. 'Good luck,' he thought. 'Only way you'd hit me through these flames is if you were… well, me!'
Speaking of which, now was Robin's current dilemma. Due to a combination of the Sheriff of Nottingham's foresight and stupidity, the tower was now on fire and Robin was quite stuck. The only way out now was through the flames or…
The moat. The tower was on the wall, which was right next to the moat. But was it deep enough for what he needed?
Well, only one way to find out.
Robin leapt from the tower and into the water… and immediately, his body protested the rough landing. He was pretty sure he had bruised something in the fall, but that didn't matter. He had to get to shore.
As he surfaced, thunder clapped (where did the storm come from?) and Prince John screamed, "KILL HIM!! EH-GEH, KILL HIM!!!!"
Robin desperately tried to swim, but his body cried out in pain. His landing must have been harder than he had thought. But he couldn't stay in the moat, he was an easy target for the Prince's men! He needed to get to the forest, he would be safe in the forest, they couldn't touch him in the-!
Pain blossomed along his back and in a few of his limbs. His vision blackened with the shock and he fell underwater. Quickly, the pain was replaced with numbness. With the numbness came exhaustion, which quickly overcame him as he continued to sink to the bottom.
It was over. He was going to die. He had finally taken one too many chances, and his luck had run out, just like Johnny had said.
He was compiling an apology to Maid Marian in his head, when suddenly the moat churned, Robin was thrown from the water, and the world went crack.
Robin could only summon confusion as his world went dark.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin groaned and sat up. Everything hurt. Seriously, he would take execution over this, this was horrible! How had he even gotten this-?
That's right, the raid! What had happened? Did John get back okay? Were the townsfolk all safe? Had Prince John captured him? Was he even alive?
Well, he was obviously still alive. He doubted he'd be this sore if he was dead. So, that was something. The universe then proceeded to award him further by presenting Little John, who opened the flap and lumbered in.
"Johnny! You're alright!" Robin cried in relief, trying to sit up, but ultimately aborting that due to a flare-up of pain in his chest. He looked back at his friend with a grin… only to frown at the tired and downtrodden look Johnny gave him. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"...A lot, Rob," he replied solemnly. "A lot. Better buckle up, bud. This tale's a doozy and a real horror."
And it was. By God, it was.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Hood has survived! He now must deal with the effects of the Upheaval with Little John!
Martial: 21 (Robin's quite the skilled combatant with a number of weapons.)
Stewardship: 7 (Robin helps clean up around camp and can keep his quiver organized. Other than that? No organizational experience whatsoever.)
Diplomacy: 18 (Robin is a charismatic figure and an inspiration to many, and for good reason.)
Intrigue: 17 (One does not elude Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham for so long without learning a few things about hiding. Plus, Robin's disguises are second to none.)
Learning: 10 (Robin is literate and knows a few sciences, but he's not all that knowledgeable.)
Occult: 4 (Robin's used superstitious rumors to his advantage before, but he's never put much stock in them... until recently, that is.)
Traits:
"Bow Flex": While Robin is certainly a gifted warrior, he is most comfortable using a bow. +15 to all rolls when Robin is shooting an arrow from a bow in some way.
"Jack of All Swords": That said, he can also use other weapons should the situation calls for it. +10 to all rolls involving swordplay, and any maluses for using unfamiliar weapons decrease in magnitude by 5.
"Master of Disguise": Robin is a proficient maker of convincing disguises. +10 to Intrigue while wearing a disguise and +10 to any efforts that require infiltration. (Does not stack with John's trait)
"Borrower from Those that can Afford It": Robin has been robbing from the rich to give to the poor for years. It's given him several tricks. He has a +15 when it comes to planning heists and a +20 to Intrigue when stealing valuables. Also, when disengaging from a confrontation, he can add half his Martial score to his Intrigue score to sneak away.
"Lifelong Partners": Robin Hood and Little John are two very close friends, and they do almost everything together. When performing an action together, they gain a +10 due to them being in sync.
"Keep Hope Alive": Robin's first priority is to the people of Nottingham. Attempting to get him to do something that puts them at risk will require a DC 65 Diplomacy check. Upon a failure, he will refuse to do the action and take a -5 to rolls with the proposer for the next turn.
"Star-Crossed": Robin is head over heels for Maid Marian, a fact that has been exploited before. Whenever she is helping him, Robin gains a +10 to all actions. However, if she is simply part of the situation as a bystander, Robin takes a -15 to Intrigue due to being distracted.
"God and King Richard!": Robin is very loyal to King Richard. Any person who tries to claim the throne of England must make a diplomacy check of 90, or Robin will find them hostile. Even then, he will not take the claim seriously. Also, if the King asks Robin to do something, the motivation gives him a +5 bonus to all rolls concerning that task.
"Wounded": Robin's latest escape has left him injured. -15 to martial rolls and -10 to all other rolls until he heals
"Diamond in the Rough": There's more to Robin than meets the eye...
Nemesis: Prince John
Robin and John have been fighting back and forth for all of the "king's" stay in Nottingham. The fact that John abandoned everyone is both a huge relief and the last straw. If Robin is ever given the chance, he will make John pay for everything he's done.
Martial: 24 (Little John, despite his name, is quite big and strong. This is good for fighting, and it's helped by the fact that he can do it well.)
Stewardship: 9 (John's a little better than Robin, but neither of them will be running businesses any time soon.)
Diplomacy: 16 (While not as charismatic as his partner, John has his own unique charm and is quite approachable.)
Intrigue: 15 (One does not elude Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham for so long without learning a few things about hiding. Plus, John's disguises are second to none.)
Learning: 7 (John is literate and can count. That's it.)
Occult: 5 (John's a bit more familiar with some backstage hocus pocus, but he never put serious stock in real magic until recently.)
Traits:
"Master of Disguise": Little John is a proficient maker of convincing disguises. +10 to Intrigue while wearing a disguise and +10 to any efforts that require infiltration. (Does not stack with Robin's trait)
"Borrower from Those that can Afford It": Little John has been robbing from the rich to give to the poor for years. It's given him several tricks. He has a +15 when it comes to planning heists and a +20 to Intrigue when stealing valuables. Also, when disengaging from a confrontation, he can add half his Martial score to his Intrigue score to sneak away.
"Lifelong Partners": Robin Hood and Little John are two very close friends, and they do almost everything together. When performing an action together, they gain a +10 due to them being in sync.
"Voice of Reason": John has always had Robin's back, a useful thing to do for someone who has a bit of a habit for getting ideas too big for one person. And even if it proves too much for the both of them, John's always there to pull Robin out of trouble. If he is with Robin, John lowers the DC of any Martial, Diplomacy, or Intrigue action by 10 thanks to his careful planning. Also, if Robin fails an Intrigue or Martial check, John can roll and add half of his total (roll plus modifiers) to Robin's, so long as he is nearby.
"God and King Richard!": Little John is very loyal to King Richard. Any person who tries to claim the throne of England must make a diplomacy check of 90, or John will find them hostile. Even then, he will not take the claim seriously. Also, if the King asks John to do something, the motivation gives him a +5 bonus to all rolls concerning that task.
Oo-De-Lally, Oo-De-Lally, Golly, What a Mess (Sherwood Forest Nega-Quest)
Turn 0: Upheaval
Robin jumped out the window and scurried up to the roof. Right behind him, the flames roared as the wooden beams and ceiling caught and went up in fiery death. Damn the Sheriff, why the hell had he thought swinging a torch around willy-nilly was a good idea? In the dark corners of Robin's mind, he hoped that that dumb wolf remained trapped downstairs. Would serve him right, after everything.
The flames rising all around Robin brought him back to the present. Right, he needed to get out of here. He and Little John had already saved all the townsfolk, and, more importantly, prevented the hanging of Friar Tuck. He had told John to take the others ahead and not worry about him. The tricky part was making sure that any worries that may have stuck around were unfounded. No matter where he ran, guards were already there, throwing or shooting stuff at him. But now, he was at the wall of the castle. He just needed to escape into the forest. Once he was on his home turf, he'd be safe. No one could touch him there.
The flames roared higher as Prince John ordered his men to shoot Robin. 'Good luck,' he thought. 'Only way you'd hit me through these flames is if you were… well, me!'
Speaking of which, now was Robin's current dilemma. Due to a combination of the Sheriff of Nottingham's foresight and stupidity, the tower was now on fire and Robin was quite stuck. The only way out now was through the flames or…
The moat. The tower was on the wall, which was right next to the moat. But was it deep enough for what he needed?
Well, only one way to find out.
Robin leapt from the tower and into the water… and immediately, his body protested the rough landing. He was pretty sure he had bruised something in the fall, but that didn't matter. He had to get to shore.
As he surfaced, thunder clapped (where did the storm come from?) and Prince John screamed, "KILL HIM!! EH-GEH, KILL HIM!!!!"
Robin desperately tried to swim, but his body cried out in pain. His landing must have been harder than he had thought. But he couldn't stay in the moat, he was an easy target for the Prince's men! He needed to get to the forest, he would be safe in the forest, they couldn't touch him in the-!
Pain blossomed along his back and in a few of his limbs. His vision blackened with the shock and he fell underwater. Quickly, the pain was replaced with numbness. With the numbness came exhaustion, which quickly overcame him as he continued to sink to the bottom.
It was over. He was going to die. He had finally taken one too many chances, and his luck had run out, just like Johnny had said.
He was compiling an apology to Maid Marian in his head, when suddenly the moat churned, Robin was thrown from the water, and the world went crack.
Robin could only summon confusion as his world went dark.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin groaned and sat up. Everything hurt. Seriously, he would take execution over this, this was horrible! How had he even gotten this-?
That's right, the raid! What had happened? Did John get back okay? Were the townsfolk all safe? Had Prince John captured him? Was he even alive?
Well, he was obviously still alive. He doubted he'd be this sore if he was dead. So, that was something. The universe then proceeded to award him further by presenting Little John, who opened the flap and lumbered in.
"Johnny! You're alright!" Robin cried in relief, trying to sit up, but ultimately aborting that due to a flare-up of pain in his chest. He looked back at his friend with a grin… only to frown at the tired and downtrodden look Johnny gave him. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"...A lot, Rob," he replied solemnly. "A lot. Better buckle up, bud. This tale's a doozy and a real horror."
And it was. By God, it was.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Hood has survived! He now must deal with the effects of the Upheaval with Little John!
Martial: 21 (Robin's quite the skilled combatant with a number of weapons.)
Stewardship: 7 (Robin helps clean up around camp and can keep his quiver organized. Other than that? No organizational experience whatsoever.)
Diplomacy: 18 (Robin is a charismatic figure and an inspiration to many, and for good reason.)
Intrigue: 17 (One does not elude Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham for so long without learning a few things about hiding. Plus, Robin's disguises are second to none.)
Learning: 10 (Robin is literate and knows a few sciences, but he's not all that knowledgeable.)
Occult: 4 (Robin's used superstitious rumors to his advantage before, but he's never put much stock in them... until recently, that is.)
Traits:
"Bow Flex": While Robin is certainly a gifted warrior, he is most comfortable using a bow. +15 to all rolls when Robin is shooting an arrow from a bow in some way.
"Jack of All Swords": That said, he can also use other weapons should the situation calls for it. +10 to all rolls involving swordplay, and any maluses for using unfamiliar weapons decrease in magnitude by 5.
"Master of Disguise": Robin is a proficient maker of convincing disguises. +10 to Intrigue while wearing a disguise and +10 to any efforts that require infiltration. (Does not stack with John's trait)
"Borrower from Those that can Afford It": Robin has been robbing from the rich to give to the poor for years. It's given him several tricks. He has a +15 when it comes to planning heists and a +20 to Intrigue when stealing valuables. Also, when disengaging from a confrontation, he can add half his Martial score to his Intrigue score to sneak away.
"Lifelong Partners": Robin Hood and Little John are two very close friends, and they do almost everything together. When performing an action together, they gain a +10 due to them being in sync.
"Keep Hope Alive": Robin's first priority is to the people of Nottingham. Attempting to get him to do something that puts them at risk will require a DC 65 Diplomacy check. Upon a failure, he will refuse to do the action and take a -5 to rolls with the proposer for the next turn.
"Star-Crossed": Robin is head over heels for Maid Marian, a fact that has been exploited before. Whenever she is helping him, Robin gains a +10 to all actions. However, if she is simply part of the situation as a bystander, Robin takes a -15 to Intrigue due to being distracted.
"God and King Richard!": Robin is very loyal to King Richard. Any person who tries to claim the throne of England must make a diplomacy check of 90, or Robin will find them hostile. Even then, he will not take the claim seriously. Also, if the King asks Robin to do something, the motivation gives him a +5 bonus to all rolls concerning that task.
"Wounded": Robin's latest escape has left him injured. -15 to martial rolls and -10 to all other rolls until he heals
"Diamond in the Rough": There's more to Robin than meets the eye...
Nemesis: Prince John
Robin and John have been fighting back and forth for all of the "king's" stay in Nottingham. The fact that John abandoned everyone is both a huge relief and the last straw. If Robin is ever given the chance, he will make John pay for everything he's done.
Martial: 24 (Little John, despite his name, is quite big and strong. This is good for fighting, and it's helped by the fact that he can do it well.)
Stewardship: 9 (John's a little better than Robin, but neither of them will be running businesses any time soon.)
Diplomacy: 16 (While not as charismatic as his partner, John has his own unique charm and is quite approachable.)
Intrigue: 15 (One does not elude Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham for so long without learning a few things about hiding. Plus, John's disguises are second to none.)
Learning: 7 (John is literate and can count. That's it.)
Occult: 5 (John's a bit more familiar with some backstage hocus pocus, but he never put serious stock in real magic until recently.)
Traits:
"Master of Disguise": Little John is a proficient maker of convincing disguises. +10 to Intrigue while wearing a disguise and +10 to any efforts that require infiltration. (Does not stack with Robin's trait)
"Borrower from Those that can Afford It": Little John has been robbing from the rich to give to the poor for years. It's given him several tricks. He has a +15 when it comes to planning heists and a +20 to Intrigue when stealing valuables. Also, when disengaging from a confrontation, he can add half his Martial score to his Intrigue score to sneak away.
"Lifelong Partners": Robin Hood and Little John are two very close friends, and they do almost everything together. When performing an action together, they gain a +10 due to them being in sync.
"Voice of Reason": John has always had Robin's back, a useful thing to do for someone who has a bit of a habit for getting ideas too big for one person. And even if it proves too much for the both of them, John's always there to pull Robin out of trouble. If he is with Robin, John lowers the DC of any Martial, Diplomacy, or Intrigue action by 10 thanks to his careful planning. Also, if Robin fails an Intrigue or Martial check, John can roll and add half of his total (roll plus modifiers) to Robin's, so long as he is nearby.
"God and King Richard!": Little John is very loyal to King Richard. Any person who tries to claim the throne of England must make a diplomacy check of 90, or John will find them hostile. Even then, he will not take the claim seriously. Also, if the King asks John to do something, the motivation gives him a +5 bonus to all rolls concerning that task.
Martial: 7 (None of the townsfolk are trained warriors. They can raise a hell of a ruckus, but they're still poor people, many of whom are malnourished and/or injured in some way.)
Stewardship: 12 (Many of them owned small businesses before all of this, so they know a thing or two.)
Diplomacy: 4 (The Merry Persons are, quite literally, dirty peasants. Not a lot of people are going to listen to them.)
Intrigue: 10 (Practice in hiding away money so that Prince John didn't take it for taxes has made the townsfolk quite knowledgeable in hiding things.)
Learning: 3 (Almost all of them are illiterate.)
Occult: 6 (Common folk are often a superstitious lot. As such, they have plenty of legends to go round.)
Traits:
"Mob Mentality": The group's default strategy for combat is "dogpile and beat with sticks." While this may not be effective against some opponents, it is helpful. +10 to Martial rolls if more than 5 Merry Persons are present.
"Willing to Work": The townsfolk are sick of sitting around, waiting for someone to save them. They want to take fate into their own hands. +10 to all rolls that involve improving themselves or the situation.
"God and King Richard!": The people of Nottingham are very loyal to King Richard. Any person who tries to claim the throne of England must make a diplomacy check of 90, or they will find the person hostile. Even then, they will not take the claim seriously. Also, if the King asks the band to do something, the motivation gives them a +5 bonus to all rolls concerning that task.
Vendetta: Prince John
The townsfolk never liked John due to his taxes. And now he has abandoned them to an uncertain fate? Oh, yeah. They're pissed. If John ever shows up in Nottingham again, he'll be facing a lynch mob at best.
Stewardship: 12 (Many of them owned small businesses before all of this, so they know a thing or two.)
Diplomacy: 4 (The Merry Persons are, quite literally, dirty peasants. Not a lot of people are going to listen to them.)
Intrigue: 10 (Practice in hiding away money so that Prince John didn't take it for taxes has made the townsfolk quite knowledgeable in hiding things.)
Learning: 3 (Almost all of them are illiterate.)
Occult: 6 (Common folk are often a superstitious lot. As such, they have plenty of legends to go round.)
Traits:
"Mob Mentality": The group's default strategy for combat is "dogpile and beat with sticks." While this may not be effective against some opponents, it is helpful. +10 to Martial rolls if more than 5 Merry Persons are present.
"Willing to Work": The townsfolk are sick of sitting around, waiting for someone to save them. They want to take fate into their own hands. +10 to all rolls that involve improving themselves or the situation.
"God and King Richard!": The people of Nottingham are very loyal to King Richard. Any person who tries to claim the throne of England must make a diplomacy check of 90, or they will find the person hostile. Even then, they will not take the claim seriously. Also, if the King asks the band to do something, the motivation gives them a +5 bonus to all rolls concerning that task.
Vendetta: Prince John
The townsfolk never liked John due to his taxes. And now he has abandoned them to an uncertain fate? Oh, yeah. They're pissed. If John ever shows up in Nottingham again, he'll be facing a lynch mob at best.
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The Kingdom of Maldonia (Kingdom Analysis)
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
The Kingdom of Maldonia
Overview
Maldonia is a kingdom of moderate size along the Atlantic coast of North Africa. This long-settled and storied land is the origin of the Moors famous in Spanish history, and also the confluence of many great international trade routes, including parts of the caravan trade across the Sahara desert and, of course, the Atlantic and Mediterranean sea trade.
Maldonia was colonized in ancient times by the Phoenicians, and was integrated for a long period into the domains of the Carthaginian Empire. The ancient kingdom of Mauretania, a word which has evolved through the centuries of linguistic shifts into the realm's modern name, eventually became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire, and was ruled directly by the Romans for roughly four hundred years until the Vandals swept through, permanently dislodging Roman control aside from a handful of fortress outposts established in the time of Justinian.
Islam became highly popular in Maldonia after its expansion through North Africa in the time after the fall of Rome. Due to its great distance from the centers of power in the Muslim world, Maldonia remained largely independent, and became a great center of traditional Islamic learning and scholarship, as well as a haven for refugees from other parts of the Mediterranean basin, including Muslims and Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in later centuries.
Again due to its remoteness and stubborn independent-mindedness, Maldonia was the only North African nation to successfully resist Ottoman rule. Such was the extent of Maldonia's independence that the African kingdom was the first nation to recognize the United States as an independent country after its revolt against the British crown.
But this standing did not last forever. Under intense pressure from the industrialized powers of Western Europe in the late nineteenth century, the nation finally bowed, after repeated military defeats.
Arrival and Departure
In its world of origin, Maldonia had suffered under French and Spanish imperialism for nearly a hundred years. A series of unsuccessful minor wars against France and Spain forced the signature of humiliating, unequal treaties and the establishment of French and Spanish spheres of influence in the country, and in 1912 Maldonia was forced to accept status as a French protectorate.
Tens of thousands of French colonists poured into the country, buying up rich agricultural land, forming corporations to expand and exploit harbors and mines. Wars broke out in the hinterland between the more nomadic tribes of the interior and the French, who brought in sizeable contingents of foreign troops and demanded extensive support from the Maldonian Army. The French also conscripted several divisions of Maldonians to fight in the First World War, many of whom never returned.
The war against the tribes grew vicious, drawing in an ever-growing force of French and also Spanish troops, including detachments of the Foreign Legion, aircraft, artillery, and even tanks. The Berber peoples of the interior fought fiercely, aided by their cavalry traditions and their knowledge of desert survival and warfare. But eventually, they were defeated by the weight of Franco-Spanish firepower, numbers, and logistics.
The wars largely ended. Many of the foreign troops departed- though far from all, for the inland tribes never fully gave up, and continued a campaign somewhere between banditry and a stubborn independence movement. But there was, for most of Maldonia, a semblance of peace.
The peace lasted just long enough for Prince Naveen to travel to America. To the surprise of all, he returned ahead of schedule, with a wife and a string of outlandish stories to tell.
But the very day after the royal wedding, whether through the will of God or through some unthinkable deviltry, chaos broke loose in the sky and on the land. The stars shook from their courses and terrible flames erupted in great sheets.
When the vigorous quaking and chaotic lights in the heavens ended, the Maldonians rose and looked around themselves to discover a most remarkable thing.
The French were gone.
A Whole New World
It wasn't just the French. Visitors from many nations had disappeared too. The staff of entire foreign embassies had vanished, leaving empty buildings behind- including the American Legation, to Princess Tiana's distress. By God's grace, her own family remained safe and sound in the palace, where'd they'd been staying for the wedding. But they were among the few foreigners who remained in the country.
International telegraph lines were down, and the handful of wireless stations in Maldonia picked up almost nothing but static. For a time, the king and his ministers were very, very busy men. Agents of the Maldonian government galloped across the land, locating arms caches and equipment formerly belonging to the French and securing as much of it as possible, reorganizing enterprises that had formerly run under foreign direction
What the nomads of the interior had failed to do by rebellion, had happened by what seemed to be a miracle. The only question was, how would Maldonia fare now?
It soon became clear that the new world they occupied was strange and different in many ways. Italy and the Balkans were in effect gone, replaced with terrifying monstrosities and Iron Age primitivism.
Spain and France had been plunged back into strange, distorted mirrors of themselves- themselves centuries ago. France was falling into a theocracy that might be called ultramontane if it were not ruled by an antipope. There were, once again, emirs ruling in some of the cities of al-Andalus, who were far more shocked than the Maldonians to find a resurgent and unified kingdom of Spain mobilizing to crush them with the gunpowder weapons of the early eighteenth century.
Africa south of the Sahara, so far as could be determined, was in a state of almost primeval chaos like nothing that Maldonia's long written history had ever recorded. Happily, Maldonia's immediate neighbors on the North African coast and much of the lands of Islam seemed to have receded into something more manageable and comfortable, and not a threat- a pastiche of the Muslim world during its golden age before the coming of the Mongols.
A heavily mythic pastiche.
Many in Maldonia had been predisposed to question some of the more fantastic tales Prince Naveen had told in his cups and that Princess Tiana had nodded to and even embellished. But compared to what came to their attention in those first months after the Departure, they were almost mundane. Sea monsters and demons, alchemists and mages, angry spirits that might be djinni or something stranger, all roamed the land, seas, and skies now, and would have to be dealt with as best they could.
The first sign that this was going to be consequential was the sea monster sightings.
The second was that the incipient Spanish re-Reconquista of the southern third of the Iberian peninsula came to a screeching halt within weeks. Not because of the resolve of the Moorish lords of al-Andalus, and not because of the strength of their fortresses, but because the Spanish were assailed from the rear. By giants, clambering down beanstalks. The enormous attackers pillaged swathes of the countryside and sacking anything they could break into, proving singularly resistant to anything short of a cannonade.
Maldonia had gained its independence, and it looked as if that independence would last- but it had been displaced into a world stranger than it could have imagined.
Population
Maldonia has a population of approximately eight million, slewing heavily, heavily rural. There are sizeable numbers of desert nomads, though these have been somewhat reduced by the recent wars. The Berbers and other nomads remain a fractious ethnic minority in the inland regions. Many of them wish independence not only from the French- achieved by a miracle- but from the kingdom of Maldonia itself.
The kingdom has been able to mollify them, in large part, by granting concessions of wealth and land, taken from the vacated properties of French colonists. But the supply of such wealth cannot last forever, and the inland tribes still live in areas within easy striking distance of the country's few railroads and many of its strategically valuable (if underutilized) mines.
The coastal population has found itself in an interesting state. The seas of this new world are strange and chaotic. The navies of the great powers are no more. Monsters and things the impious might call 'gods' wander the seas unhindered and unchained. Great fleets of merchants and pirates make their way across those seas, too... mostly using technology a century or two behind the state of the art the Maldonians knew of.
On the other hand, this offers less advantage than an ambitious technophile might think. Maldonia was never a center of industry. The nation has no great assembly lines, manufactures no steam engines and no breech-loading guns. But at least Maldonia knows how to make sails and ropes. There are a goodly number of old salts who still make use, or at least remember the use, of small coastal sailing vessels, especially on the Mediterranean shores. The people are adapting well enough to the changes.
The pirate lord Sinbad the Sailor, in particular, has become a popular and welcome figure in Maldonia's ports, a charismatic and open-handed corsair straight out of the old tales. And one who appreciates a home port with even the most rudimentary ability to make cannon, powder, and shot.
Education and Technology
Maldonia is a land of stark technological and intellectual contrast.
Clattering steam-powered contraptions draw great cartloads of ore and entire battalions of soldiers across the mountains on rails of iron, with the strength of dozens of horses and tireless mechanical stamina.
And yet, in all the land, none can point to the workshops in which these marvels are made. Smiths and specialists visibly sweat and pore over writings in foreign languages and scramble with relatively ordinary tools to maintain them. And the camel caravans still calmly cross the wastelands as they have for over a thousand years in the Muslim world, as though the age of steam is nothing but a desert mirage, soon to shimmer and disappear.
Go to some of the richer croplands of Maldonia, and you will see wonders. You will behold complex machinery drawn by horses- or in a few sinister cases, running on gearing and boiler-stoked fire that the Maldonians assure visitors probably isn't sorcery. These mechanisms can plow a field or harvest a crop of grain seemingly in the blink of an eye, doing the labor of a hundred men.
And yet, millions of peasants still farm and herd by traditional methods, shrugging and saying that they have neither the money nor the time to concern themselves with 'Frankish' contraptions.
Maldonia is a land famed across the Muslim world for scholarship, with ancient, dignified universities in the heart of some of its inland cities. Scholars and clergy from Maldonia, such as the legendary sage and traveler Ibn Battuta, have been spreading the nation's fame for a thousand years.
And yet... Maldonia has no public education system. Less than a fifth of the population is literate. Crown Princess Tiana's vocal dissatisfaction with this state of affairs has led to the creation of a system of normal schools in major Maldonian cities, and subsidies to expand existing private schools all across the nation. But these programs have as yet born little fruit.
Economy and Resources
French economic interests in Maldonia centered on mining. Fighting fierce battles against stubbornly independent Berbers and other tribes of the interior for control of mineral-rich regions, the French built new mines or expanded new ones to tap Maldonia's rich deposits of iron, along with copper, zinc, coal, lead, and silver.
While the disappearance of French mining engineers has disrupted the industry, Maldonian workers remember much, and have been able to keep the mines open at a reduced rate of production. Given the disappearance of the corporate combines that owned the mines and sold their products off to foreign smelters, the slowdown hasn't caused many problems.
Maldonia has the potential to be a truly prodigious exporter of phosphate mineral for fertilizer. By the calculations of some French geologists, there's enough phosphorus under the sands to make the world's crops bloom for generations. But due to total lack of international demand, the existing phosphate mines have closed down almost entirely.
Infrastructure
Before the Departure, to help them pacify Maldonia, the French military and private corporations financed the construction of one of the largest narrow gauge railway networks that had ever been built. Well over one thousand kilometers of mass-produced portable steel tracks were laid. This included a major "strategic" line running inland to link major port cities on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and a series of "penetration" branch lines.
The narrow-gauge trains and their miniature tank engines are limited in their capacity by twentieth century standards. The Crown Princess' remark of "awww, look at the tiny baby trains!" was quite apt. As compared to the standard 1435-millimeter gauge, the 600-millimeter Maldonian railways are of course incapable of moving truly wide or heavy loads. However, the narrow gauge made construction of tunnels and the laying of track around tight bends through the inland mountains far more practical.
Unfortunately, Maldonia has no more than two dozen steam locomotives to provide tractive power to the trains, which chug through the deserts and mountains of the nation at top speeds of roughly 20-30 kilometers per hour. Facilities for the maintenance of the 15-25 horsepower locomotives are extremely limited, with the expectation that spare parts and lucrative service contracts would be handled by the French homeland across the Mediterranean. The trains cannot last indefinitely without extensive efforts on the part of the Maldonians.
In anticipation of this day, the hastily proclaimed Royal Railroad Company has already shifted as much traffic as possible to improvisations, relying on great teams of horses or mules to draw railroad cars as far as possible, minimizing the strain on the increasingly fabled "iron horses of Maldonia."
Maldonian industry in general is also lacking. The country has no major steel mills, smelters, or facilities with heavy machine tools. There is effectively no chemical industry, greatly limiting the nation's capacity to produce modern ammunition or fuel for vehicles of any kind. There are coal mines, but not enough to fuel a full industrial expansion, even if the manufacturing base itself were present.
Military Overview
Even the desert nomads, though, have grown weary of war after the past two decades. There is hardly a man in the kingdom who would desire any more of it. The king's clear preference for peace is no small part of why he is still widely loved, despite his inability to fully restrain the French in their day.
The Maldonian military is regrettably underequipped... by twentieth century standards. The French permitted the Maldonian Army to use only hand weapons and beasts of burden. Effectively all stockpiles of machine guns, artillery, and motorized vehicles were kept in the hands of foreign troops. And all that was in their possession at the time of the Departure vanished with them.
For a kingdom now in a state of relative peace, Maldonia has an abundance of experienced fighting men. Skilled horsemen, marksmen, mountaineers, and experts in desert combat and guerilla warfare abound. But it has precious few weapons of any kind heavier than a rifle, and all of those fall into two categories.
1) The occasional broken-down piece of military equipment abandoned in place or accidentally left behind in a forgotten cache during the recent wars against the inland nomads.
2) Ordnance dating back to before the beginnings of the French protectorate, and deemed unworthy of confiscation by the French.
Army
Maldonia has a sizeable army, with plenty of experienced riflemen, many with Great War experience in trench fighting, and many others proficient as cavalry or camelry. But, as alluded to above, they have very minimal artillery and no heavy artillery. Royal efforts to establish cannon foundries, even ones working to nineteenth or even eighteenth century standards, remain a struggle. Attempts to scavenge heavy ordnance off the battlefields of the recent war have yielded a scattering of mortars, field guns, and light tankettes, with barely enough fuel and ammunition to last through a battle or two.
Furthermore, underlying industrial deficiencies are nearly crippling to the effort to maintain a modern war machine. The lack of industrial production of sulfuric and nitric acids makes smokeless powder production on any large scale impossible; high explosives present similar problems. While the knowledge of making gunpowder is not lost, the French had no interest in encouraging the Maldonians to engage in domestic powder production- and what powder mills there were, were rendered obsolete by the avalanche of Great War military surplus in any case.
Thus, the Maldonian army, while strong in man-to-man combat, and theoretically well equipped to repel most enemies, has a "brittle" quality to its defenses. The nation lacks the capacity to mass-produce ammunition to sustain a prolonged war effort, and also lacks the artillery to reduce enemy strongholds or to protect more than a handful of coastal sites against sea attack.
On the other hand, it doesn't take very many men armed with bolt-action rifles, or even rifled muskets firing Minié balls and loaded with black powder made by bucket-level industry, to repel many of the external threats Maldonia might face in the immediate future.
Navy
Maldonia has a lengthy if checkered seafaring tradition. Corsairs operating from Maldonian ports were avid participants in the golden age of Mediterranean piracy. The corsairs were shut down by French punitive expeditions a century ago. But since the Departure, for worse or in many cases for better, they have returned, in the guise of Sinbad the Sailor and his pirates. If Sinbad plunders the ships of John Company or the Frank, what of it? There will be no more punitive expeditions from the Royal Navy or the Marine National.
On the other hand, the balance of power between Sinbad's corsairs and the Maldonians is complex. The French had no interest in allowing Maldonia to operate a navy capable of challenging even their lightest gunboats, and no European power wanted any threat from Maldonia to the strategically vital Strait of Gibraltar. Thus, the Royal Maldonian Navy itself consists of a relative handful of civilian steamships armed with an eclectic mix of weapons. These range from muzzle-loading cannon that would not seem out of place in the old Age of Sail, up through steel breech-loaders and Hotchkiss guns of twentieth century vintage.
Air Force
A handful of observation aircraft and mail aircraft were on the ground in Maldonia at the time of the Departure. Due to extremely limited supplies of what the Maldonians call 'essence' (some kind of petroleum distillate), the king has forbidden them to fly except for matters of national emergency. Princess Tiana regrets missing her opportunity to ride in an airplane in the narrow window between her arrival in Maldonia and the Departure. But perhaps her wish will, in some form, one day be granted.
However, as a few would-be assailants have learned to their dismay, Maldonia operates a nascent observation balloon corps. The balloonists are capable (in favorable weather) of putting spotters high aloft and communicating with the ground by telegraph, giving the Maldonians an advantage in battlefield observation many enemies cannot match. This is particularly helpful (in favorable weather) for making the Maldonians' limited number of field artillery pieces and supply of explosive shells stretch as far as possible for coast defense of major ports.
Strategic Posture
A significant fraction of the Maldonian Army is occupied by the need for internal security. The inland tribes are, as mentioned, ambitious and prefer a free life. Royal charisma and the disappearance of the French have satisfied them for now, thankfully. But it can be difficult to convince otherwise wavering warlords that the royal house of Maldonia deserves respect as well as love.
The Maldonian army has seen much exercise, though little combat, in the mountains and deserts of the interior in the past year.
The opposite applies in Spain- little exercise, much combat.
To confusion of the Maldonian government, which recorded that it had departed in the middle of the fourteenth century after the Hejira, the same upheaval that produced the Departure in Maldonia dropped the northern two thirds of Philip V's Spain (from two centuries earlier) alongside Muslim kingdoms from the al-Andalus of several centuries earlier. As mentioned above, the Spanish immediately rallied their armies to expel the Muslims (again), only to be distracted by the appearance of untold numbers of fierce magical creatures and marauding giants in their rear areas. But while this forced the Spanish to divert forces from the Second Reconquista, the Moors in their castles and walled cities still confronted a terrible reality.
Armed only with bow and spear, the Muslim cities faced fierce-eyed veterans of the War of the Spanish Succession, armed with musket and muzzle-loading cannon.
They were thus quite surprised to be reinforced by grim-eyed veterans of World War One, armed with Lebel rifles and trench mortars.
There are Maldonian universities with written records stretching back to the time when much of what is now Spain was ruled from a dynastic capital on the Maldonian side of the Strait of Gibraltar. For some of the cities of al-Andalus, that time took place less than a year ago, and the only real surprise has been in the abrupt change in the name of the sultan, and the prodigious weapons at the new sultan's disposal.
Philip V has withdrawn his armies from the Muslim territories after the twin blows of the disastrous failure at the siege of Mursiya. The failure of the siege works themselves to withstand indirect fire directed by observation balloons would have been bad enough. But the retreat was worse yet, especially after Maldonian spahis brushed aside the Spanish cavalry's gallant attempts to screen the retreating columns and found an advantageous position to site their sole battery of Hotchkiss guns overlooking a key road along the Spanish line of retreat.
To the great alarm and exasperation of the Spanish crown, the self-proclaimed 'Pope Immortalis'- none dare call him antipope yet, for who is the alternative?- seems all too eager to lead his planned crusade anywhere but against the Moors.
...
The expeditionary force in al-Andalus, combined with the need to maintain strong patrols in the interior of the country, keeps the Maldonian army quite busy. Coast defense (the main occupation of their handful of modern artillery pieces and armed steamships) is barely possible, though Maldonia enjoys relatively little immediate threat in its coastal waters thanks to the kingdom's friendly relationship with Sinbad's corsairs. While Sinbad bases most of his ships out of cities farther east such as Algiers and Tunis, the Maldonians are reliable suppliers of provisions and at least modest supplies of powder. This alliance has proven valuable to both sides in preventing naval trouble and keeping either Frollo or King Philip V from being able to rely on having passage through the Strait of Gibraltar without permission from the Moors.
Overall, despite their limited industrial base, Maldonia bids fair to re-establish itself as a powerful force to be reckoned with in the eastern Mediterranean, more so than at any time in the past five hundred years of its history. While technological regression remains a threat, the government is making every effort to preserve what industry and technology it can, knowing firmly where its advantages lie.
The most uncertain factor is whether Maldonia can hope to stand against the more esoteric powers of the Atlantic, western Europe, and darkest Africa. For aside from the crown prince and his bride, Maldonia is a land as yet untested against the powers of sorcery.
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So many new omakes! I barely know where to begin!
- Location
- Goose Land
There were concerns expressed about Character Bloat, even some ideas about alternative ways for Flynn Rider to be expressed mechanically.
We might not be drowning in Heros now, but we could be one day, so the AG was suggested with that in mind. Plus it might act as a recruiting center for Adventurers to eventually join the main cast so to speak, before we hit saturation.
If it's not needed or wanted now then that's fine, but it's an idea for how to address both sides of the "Get Every Hero We Can" and "What about Character Bloat?" issues.
Panic At The Legion (Canon)
Panic At The Legion
Colonel Staquait, late of the French Foreign Legion and currently a newly-appointed officer of the Maldonian Royal Army, mopped the sweat out of his eyes as he gazed over the Sahara Desert. At his back were two hundred men, and they had been marching since 2 AM.
Another two hours and I will call a halt, he thought. It will be 1 PM, and the sun will make it nigh impossible to travel through the heat of the day.
Finally it is over. That damned Imp is dealt with, and I'm free to play! LET MADNESS RETURN AND- Well this is a TREAT! Raining Syrup is not exactly how I'd signal my return but it can't be helped.
"Colonel?" Ah, one of the scouts.
Now to see to the world, and force the power of Chaos and Change upon them, for what is a greater bore and danger than stagnation?
"What is it, Sergeant?"
Chaos is the Instrument of change? Humans fear it, the World despises it, yet it comes all the same. Let us see…let us act.
The man gulped. "Uh…I'm not sure how to explain. But I think there's a river of syrup ahead?"
Let us see the Change in your eyes as you adapt to another world.
Staquait blinked. Of all of the times for his scouts to start suffering from heat exhaustion! Remembering his lessons, he lowered his voice. "Sergeant, are you sure that you've had enough to drink today?"
The sergeant shook his canteen. "Yes sir. Like I said, it's hard to explain. But-" he held up his other hand, which had something sticky stuck to one of his fingers - "I can guarantee that I did find something odd."
The older man sighed. "Damn. More magic business." Turning to the courier to his left, he continued, "pass the word. Potential magical threat ahead."
Huh a wise guy…huh. Lets see if you can see this you big-nosed know-it-all.
A year ago, the man would have asked if his commanding officer was feeling well. After hearing the colonel's stories about the sorceress to the south and having them confirmed by Sinbad, they weren't inclined to ask foolish questions. "YESSIR!" Putting spurs to his steed, he whipped about and raced down the line. "Ready arms! Magic ahead!"
The column was quiet as the men readied their weapons. A mixture of modern bolt-action rifles, breech-loading lever-actions, and even older rifled muskets were loaded. The nature of magical threats meant that the threat could come from any direction, and it was impossible to know what form it would take until it struck.
Staquait drew his feathered baton and waved it in a signal the men knew meant to move forward. "Men! Onwards-wait, what is this?" He stared at the bedazzled stick with ostrich feathers on the end that he knew for a fact had been a Damascus steel cavalry saber just a moment before.
"Not to your liking? I know - you're French! How about some bread?"
The baton turned into a baguette. Staquait ground his teeth. "Show yourself, demon!"
"What's big, fluffy, knows more than they let on and pissed on the unholy works of the MAD? IT'S ME!!" A pale blue cat half the size of a horse and with wings sprouting from its shoulders winked into existence in mid-air before the Colonel, shouting as a display of what appeared to be sand and syrup gushed forward for a moment.
The legion looked on in awe, terror or just confusion.
"Too much? Dammit, it was too much." the cat said in a tone unbefitting of such an entrance.
Staquait dropped the loaf of bread and, drawing his revolver, aimed it at the mad creature before him. "Who are you? In the name of King Idris of Maldonia, I command you to identify yourself!"
Hackles raised, the winged cat glared at him. "You? Order ME?!?" And in an instant, the cat had quintupled in size to that of an elephant and was staring him in the eye. "NOBODY ORDERS CHAOS!!!"
A lesser man might have stumbled, or wet himself. Staquait, who had faced down the leopard men and the machinations of Queen La herself, was not a lesser man. "Chaos? That is your name then?"
As if a switch had flipped, the elephantine cat flipped onto its back and grinned while shrinking down to the size of merely a horse. "That's my name, don't wear it out!"
Staquait frowned. "I was under the impression you had disappeared?" At least that's what the reports from Egypt had said, something about the imp Nefir disposing of both him and Mirage?
A click of the tongue told the annoyance of the creature. "A nasty bit of business and an annoying side trip if there ever was one." He cracked his neck. "Do you have any idea how cramped a Crystal of Ix can be?"
The column stirred; the uncertainty of the soldiers in the face of this creature was palpable. Staquait glanced over his shoulder, a gesture that wasn't lost on Chaos.
"Come on it's like Prison guys…any of you ever been to the slammer?" Without waiting for a response, he continued "It sucks! Here, let me show you!" And with a flick of his tail, every man found himself removed from his horse and stuck in a barred cell inside a stone building that definitely hadn't been there a moment ago.
Staquait jerked in shock as his uniform was swapped out for…well, another uniform, but one that he was proud to never have worn before now. He growled at the black-and-white stripes of the prison jersey he was now wearing. "Sacre bleu! You crazy cat, release us this instant!"
Chaos scowled. "Ehh, what's in it for me, Staquait? You and your little army gonna jump me and plan to kick my ass like all the other people who've bullied you?"
"How did you know my name? I never told it to you!"
"You don't need to tell me anything, your soul's an open book!" Chaos squinted. "Like that moron Anubis keeps harping on about…how that idiot's gonna be some Hero, or train one I don't know what lies he's been yarning to him, if he's even told that fool holding one of his mortal pieces anything."
A confused Staquait was an unhappy Staquait, and he was very confused at this moment. "What? Anubis? Heroes? Mortal pieces? I don't know what you're rambling about, you mangy cat, and I don't particularly care! You release my men this instant, or I'll-"
"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT GIVING ME ORDERS?!?"
Chaos' bellow shook the building. The cat itself had gone from blue to a deep red tinged with black, and his eyes were oscillating red and yellow balls of terror. Its fur stood on end, and its lips were bared in a snarl that rivaled those from the leopard men.
Reverting back to his normal appearance, Chaos continued "But…given that it's a first-time offence I can't mark you too hard…those dumb meatheads running the universe still have a few things keeping me from going wild." Chaos grumbled. Perking up, he continued "But I can reassure you of one thing! I have no men of yours to release!"
"What? How?" Staquait asked in confusion. "I saw you-"
"Saw what? These walls are great for blocking things. Line of sight, sound…But hey! Lemme change that a bit."
The walls turned transparent, and Staquait's greatest nightmare was realized. "What have you done to my men?!" he gasped, stumbling backwards as he did.
Chaos GRINNED. "Nothing big. Couple elephants here, some penguins there, and I think one of them's a Greater Arctic Shrew. Oh, and a dragon. Can't forget about the dragons." He cupped his chin with one clawed digit. "Is that a Gronkle or a Monstrous Nightmare? I can't ever tell those apart."
Staquait was silent as he took in the menagerie his company had been transformed into. His fists clenched in impotent rage.
"Turn THEM BACK BY GOD TURN THEM BACK!!" The rage was slowly growing into the primal fear that all men had deep in their hearts.
"Or what? You're just a guy who's somewhat competent at telling men to die. Anyone can be replaced, even you." A hand tapped Staquait on the shoulder; he whipped around to see…himself.
But not as he remembered from the mirror. The man standing before him wore the uniform of a general, but blood spattered it. His teeth were bared in a sneer. And his eyes…God, those eyes. They were the eyes of a maddened killer, one who barely stayed on this side of absolute animalistic savagery.
"Surprised to see me?" Merde, he even sounded evil! "You should know best, the fastest way to the top is on the corpses of those below!"
Staquait screamed. A right hook took his doppelganger in the jaw, but the madness flaring in his eyes didn't dim one bit.
Had the War destroyed him so completely? Had he been so consumed by…violence and savagery that even now he could become this terror?!
Evil Staquait lunged for the original's throat; he parried it into a hip throw that Sinbad had taught him on the boat ride to Maldonia and flipped him to the floor.
Laughter sounded, and Staquait realized it was from his counterpart. The doppelganger on the floor, Staquait on top, he pounded his double's face to no avail. The laughter grew and grew.
"SAY SOMETHING STAQUAIT! BARK AN ORDER, BARE YOUR FANGS, AND LORD IN YOUR STRENGTH! IT'S THE LAW OF THE PRIMAL WORLD HERE!" Evil Staquait crowed into the Colonel's face. "RETURN TO THE JUNGLE, AND DRAG IT INTO THE WIDER WORLD!"
The doppelganger's feet came up and thrust into Staquait's chest, knocking him back into the wall. The double came up swinging. "Strong enough to have it all-" he snapped a punch into the original's chest - "too weak to take it!" Staquait stumbled backwards, but instead of slamming into the wall of the cell he slipped into green foliage.
The entire time, Chaos cackled like he was having the time of his life. "Man, this is the life!" he said as he sipped from a saucer of cream. "Nefir was an idiot to pass up opportunities like this!"
It was times like this that Staquait almost envied the world he left behind, all the life he could have had. "Heh…is that it?" He then wiped the blood from his chin. "Become a Warlord and have your way with the world for as long as you can?"
His bloody double spread his arms wide. "What more is there to life than this? You've spent your whole life mewling for privileges that you hadn't earned, demanding for recognition that you could never attain! You've let your sentiment hold you back, Jean!" Madness flared once again. "You could have been a GOD!"
The thought was so hilarious that even now the mad idea seemed farcical. A Heart of Darkness was a warning…and Staquait intended to keep its lessons learned in full. "A God…do you know how much effort it takes to be a God?!"
Stanquait laughed at his double all the more. "You're silly enough to think that I plan or even consider that anymore! No…seeing the mad and insane world now, and thinking about it all, being a god is just too much damn trouble than it's worth. Far too troublesome for these bones at least." He slipped to the right behind a tree to break the line of sight - and slipped again, this time on ice.
"The hell…?" Staquait muttered as he patted the slick sheet of ice upon which he had fallen. "What else does that cat have up its sleeve?"
"What else indeed!" Chaos purred as his head poked through a hole in the ice. "I've had six months with nothing to do but think about what I would do once I got out! You just happened to be the sap with the bad luck to run into me!" He pursed his lips together. "'Course, doesn't help that you tried ordering me around. GIving orders to Chaos, can you imagine? You'd have to be mad!"
"Not mad. Not now. Now, I'm just angry." At this point, Staquait was almost too enraged to see straight. The damned cat had humiliated him, forced him to live out his worst nightmares, and brought out - what, his evil twin? - to rub his face in his deepest insecurities.
The cat had the audacity to giggle. "You gotta learn to live a little! Enjoy the joke!"
Enjoy the joke, ehh? He thought himself the arch comedian, but Staquait had seen better.
"I've seen better comedy in a Chaplin film…at least he had good material." Stanquait taunted.
Chaos gasped. "HERESY! EVERYONE KNOWS BUSTER KEATON IS THE BEST!"
"What's a Buster Keaton?"
"What year are you from again?" Chaos asked, confused.
"1915?" Stanquait answered.
Chaos vanished from the hole in the ice and reappeared in mid-air, coat fluffed like it had never been wet. "Oh man, have you got a lot to catch up on!" He reached up one paw as if to snap his toes, but stopped before he could do so. "Aww. Can't break the fourth wall any more than I already have."
"The what now?"
Chaos ignored him, instead turning towards what appeared to be empty air. "Come on, TT! Please, let me show him a Buster Keaton film!"
No. I've given you enough freedom as it is.
"Awww." Chaos was genuinely downcast. Then he perked up again. "I know! You can't stop Cyberphilosipher from doing it instead! PLEASE, Cyber? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
No…I'm already using Ned as my Avatar to Fulfill the Monomyth man.
Chaos pouted. "Spoilsport."
Evil Staquait stormed through the bushes and onto the ice, an axe inexplicably in his hand. "HEEEERE'S JEANNY!"
Chaos growled and, with a flick of his tail, dusted Staquait's doppelganger out of existence. "I hated that movie!"
Movie…MOVIE!!
Stanquait forced himself to his feet and gave the cat his best courtly bow. "Mighty Chaos, Lord of Magic and whatever you hold dominion over…can't we just get a reel together with the mates?"
Chaos looked at him. "You sure?" he asked. "You…sound more polite than I was expecting from you."
The Frenchman sighed. "Just bring them back to normal…at this point, I could use a reel, a cold drink and a snack. Also leave our stuff by the entrance."
The winged blue cat considered the request.
"Nah." He flicked his tail. "Remember, reality is an illusion, your life is just words on a page, buy NFTs, farewell!"
"Wait, what are you-"
~~~
Colonel Staquait blinked. His army uniform was back on. He was seated on his horse. His sword was in its scabbard.
He turned around. Yep, there was the column.
Had…had that just happened? Or was it just hallucinations brought on by heat stroke?
"OH GOD, MY ARMS ARE BACK!!"
"I"LL NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT HAVING SORE FEET EVER AGAIN!"
The sun must have finally gotten to them. Well, time to complete the patrol - wait, wasn't it almost noon a moment ago? When did it turn dark?
The Frenchman looked at the sky for a moment to see a cloud in the sky, scudding over the moon…looked like a cat.
It almost forced a smile on a normally dour face. "Company!! Return to base camp! I'm told the quartermaster has a screen and projector for R & R. Let's see what reels we have and play them."
A cheer greeted the command, accompanied by the sound of a few soldiers going into hysterics as they gloried in having human appendages again.
Just another day in the life of a soldier.
~~~
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I'VE BEEN GONE FOR TWO MONTHS?"
-Finis
A/N: Made this in collaboration with @Cyberphilosipher. It was trippy, but fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed it too.
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, that's one way to make an impression. 8 XP for introducing Eugene into the mix!
Huh, Iggy's getting a mix of more better than worse results, but he's no longer absolutely crushing it. 8 XP for the very interesting look at how he's handling his position.
Well now. Moran and Moriarty are in quite the predicament. And Holmes' discovery is going to seriously affect things going forward. 10 XP for the continued updates and looks into the various characters' lives.
I am very interested in seeing where this gets taken; take 8 XP for that beautiful intro and a look into how Robin Hood thinks.
This was just... *chef's kiss* mwhaa. Absolutely beautiful. Detailed, incredibly well-researched, and gives a geopolitical analysis that hasn't been done quite so thoroughly in the quest. Take 14 XP for all of the hard work and research put into this!
Welp, we all know that this is why you don't try and boss cat's around. Take 6 XP each for the interesting and surreal back-and-forth between Chaos and Staquait.
"I thought it was because of the claws?"
Quiet you, or I'll slap another negative modifier on you. Calling me a meathead didn't help.
"I'll be good."
No you won't.
"No, I won't."
Arendelle Nega-Quest Turn 5: Expansion (Nega-Quest)
mangawriter77
Otaku^9000 (In my own opinion)
- Location
- You'll neeever guess
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Arendelle Nega-Quest
Turn 5: Expansion
Resources: 130/275 ⇒ 127/275
[X] Add the Ice Merchants to the military
Assigned Hero: Maja
DC 85
1d100+6-10+9+15+10 (Advisor bonus)+10 (Olaf); 49 ⇒ 89
Bare Success
Your advisor opponents are really starting to get on your nerves. Oh, they all saw the logic of improving the garrison, now that the walls are repaired. The current force would be insufficient for such a task. But to ask those "fur-dressed ruffians" to help fill the void, despite the fact that Arendelle was still standing half-due to their efforts?! Perish the thought!
Too bad Maja's demonstration left no room for complaints. You handed her some outlines of the basic military drills the army normally performs, and she found a way to incorporate that into a normal ice haul! Not only are her Merchants now as good as your trained soldiers, they can still perform their old jobs at the same time! That shut up a lot of the nay-sayers, and the ones that didn't got bogged down by public opinion when Maja complained about the needless bureaucracy slowing her down and the public protested loudly. There are still a few rough edges here and there, but the Ice Merchants are now firmly part of Arendellian society!
Ice Merchants added to the military! Arendelle gains a +10 Martial buff!
Maja has been promoted to General! New Personal action for her unlocked!
People are really starting to get sick of the old court.
[X] Search the city for any overlooked supplies
Assigned hero: Oaken
DC 60
1d100+21-10+25+10 (Advisor bonus); 37 ⇒ 83
Success
Turns out? There was an actual warehouse on the outskirts of town with a lot of basic essentials! Most of it just consisted of clothes and firewood, but that was essential due to the ever dwindling supply of wood that the breaking down of the ships only soothed temporarily. There were also several stores of pre-made soup, just waiting to be heated over a fire! The cold served as a sort of natural preserver. Hm, you may want to think more about that…
There were also some weapons and a couple gunpowder boxes in there. What's that about?
Extra supplies found! 127/275 ⇒ 142/275
Wood supplies dwindling! SoA will decrease by 5 until the matter is resolved!
New rumor found. Intrigue action unlocked.
[X] Hold a meeting with your advisors
Assigned Hero: None
DC 80
1d100+13+10-10+10 (Advisor Bonus)+10 (Personal Attention)+10 (Olaf); 71 ⇒ 114
Success
Your meeting with the remaining advisors has been a resounding success! You started out by letting the older ones and the nay-sayers vent about what was bothering them and their concerns about your leadership. Once they had exhausted themselves, you and Olaf debunked most of their concerns (your powers were still finicky, so you couldn't lay to rest every worry) with a combination of actions you had taken, a bit of diving into your history, and some wise words from your father (chief among them "Arendelle is not a place, it's a people", which helped soothe over most of the concerns about having the Ice Merchants around and all the recent renovations). Now, only one or two hard-core nay-sayers are left, with the younger members of the court relating to you on a personal level with the pressures of expectation, and the older seeing you as a sort of niece going through a tough time and will need some help. And, of course, Olaf being Olaf always helps ease tensions.
Advisors won over! Advisor bonus fully available!
Elsa has gained a trait!
Hail to the Queen: Elsa is the respected Queen of Arendelle, with its own entourage of unique individuals and experienced leaders. When making rolls considering affairs of the state or improvement of the nation (all rolls except Occult), Elsa takes a +20 bonus thanks to the help of her council of advisors.
[X] Send scouts to survey the area
-[X] West
Assigned hero: Kristoff
DC 50-10; 40
1d100+11+11+10+10(Advisor Bonus); 90+1d100(Exploding dice); 98+1d100(Exploding dice); 76 ⇒ 306
"TO INFINITY AND BEYOND" SUCCESS!!!!
Kristoff made another note on the makeshift map he was making of the large Western Island. He had found traces of tin in the rocks nearby, so this would be a good place to set up a tin mine. He let out a chuckle. It was the third such place he had found while looking out here.
It turned out that prospecting for minerals was a lot like ice harvesting. You had to know exactly where to look so you could plunge in your blade and start cutting. This eye for detail was especially useful for prospectors looking for the faint traces of rare minerals and signs of places to mine. Kristoff just had to be taught which signs he needed to look for, which he got from the geology books he had loaned from the library.
Sven was a great help in traversing the mountains. He could cross over difficult terrains and help him get up to hard to reach places to look for resources. Also, the mountains over here were treasure troves, full of useful metals, and even a couple of places for precious metals! The fields also had their uses, as they seemed to be prime spots for oil drilling, which could help Arendelle modernize a bit to make up for them being behind quite a lot of Europe it seemed.
Kristoff was just wrapping up his study of the northern river. It seemed the wall stretched a handful of nautical miles out from the island to the west, giving the wall more of an ellipse shape than a circle. Also, the river was a great spot for lime harvesting, which would help in the production of concrete. It would take some time to set up the proper harvesters, but for now, it would be enough to let them know that these resources existed.
Kristoff was about to wrap up when something caught his eye. Nestled between two rocks was a large crack, leading into a cave. It must have opened up during an earthquake. Fortunately, this meant that it would take less work to get in there to excavate any raw materials, and even less to see what was inside.
Kristoff led Sven over to the crevice, then tied a rope around a nearby rock. Tying the other end around his waist and making a small torch, he slowly (with Sven's help) lowered himself into the cavern. It was narrow for a bit, typical jagged stone all around, before it opened up into a massive cavern.
Immediately, he could tell something was off. The walls were too smooth and the corners too sharp to be natural. That meant that someone had carved this place out. But who? From the looks of things, this place hadn't been touched in centuries, so it couldn't have been Arendelle. But if that was true, who was it? And why put so much effort into this? The carving with the technology available back then would have taken them years to finish.
Kristoff eventually touched down on the smooth, stone floor and held his torch up. Unfortunately, it was too small to cast much light. As such, all he could see was that the cavern was big and spacious, and it was storing ominous looking shapes in the gloom. Obviously, he was starting to get nervous and a bit overwhelmed.
Kristoff backed up… right into something.
(No, he did not scream like a little girl, thank you very much.)
Looking at what he had bumped into, he discovered it was an odd pedestal, covered in symbols. Sitting atop it was a long stick, with two prongs sticking out perpendicularly to the shaft and then pointing up. At the tip was a large, sharp stone. In short, it looked like a very fancy spear.
Kristoff examined the spear and pedestal with his torch for light. Nothing seemed to be booby-trapped. Besides, what was so scary about a spear? Shrugging, he grasped the spear and picked it up.
The spear trembled in his hands. Kristoff tried to drop it, but found that his hand couldn't unclench from around the weapon. The head lit up with an eerie, purple glow as the stone began to crack. The sound of energy charging up echoed throughout the chamber as the light grew stronger and the trembling intensified. Finally, the stone cracked apart and exploded, leaving behind something new. The prongs, once crudely carved stone, were now sleek, futuristically carved metal, and the point was now a glowing, blue, pointed crystal.
Pure power ran through the Ice Merchant as Kristoff gaped at the weapon in his hand. Kristoff set the butt on the ground, causing the power to spread throughout the floor, activating glowing crystals all across the chamber. Kristoff looked around… to see a large vault, full of spears, large, stone fish, odd contraptions, crystals, and several other things the simple man couldn't hope to name.
Kristoff stared at the vault. Then the spear. Then back to the vault. Then back to the spear.
He huffed a laugh. "Wait 'till Elsa sees this," he chuckled as he leaned against the pedestal, somewhat in shock.
(Unknowingly, he leaned backwards against a button, causing an unseen light to start blinking as something turned on… and transmitted.)
Unknown vault discovered! New Occult and Learning actions unlocked!
Kristoff gains +3 Intrigue!
Kristoff has learned much about geology! Trait updated!
"Mountain Man": Kristoff has been harvesting and selling ice his whole life. This trade has allowed him in-depth knowledge about survival, the nature of ice and snow, and how the wild works. His recent studies of the outdoors have also increased his knowledge. +20 to all rolls concerning survival in winter/mountainous climates, +15 to any Learning rolls about other outdoor survival or geology, +10 to all other rolls concerning the outdoors.
Relic Discovered: Gungnir! A magical spear of unknown origin. Whoever wields it gains a +20 in Martial and Occult, but if they are inexperienced, they take a -10 malus when they use it.
Someone has been alerted to the vault's opening!
[X] Research foreign lands
Assigned Hero: None
DC 60
1d100+18+15+10 (Temp bonus)+10 (Advisor Bonus)+10 (Olaf); 59 ⇒ 122
Critical success!
Given the fact that these books could hold the key to restoring Anna, you doubled down on attempting to learn about the countries outside Arendelle. Your advisors were all too happy to oversee things in your absence as you hit the books. Kristoff promised to help Olaf keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't cause much trouble
It was well worth it. You read over each book at least three times, quizzed yourself on the customs and traditions of each place, and even familiarized yourself with the local languages with some help from Oaken. You can now call yourself Arendelle's resident expert in foreign countries, and even have the ability to somewhat hold a conversation practically anywhere in Europe! Though, that last one is due in part to the languages being so similar (with the exception of English. The less said about that particular linguistic nightmare, the better. You still managed to learn the basics, but you have no desire to try and learn more than necessary).
Elsa's learning has increased by +2!
Elsa has gained a trait:
Romantic Diplomat: Elsa has familiarized herself with several different European customs and traditions, including languages. When in a conversation with a speaker of a European/Romantic language, Elsa gains a +15 to diplomacy and all maluses caused by language comprehension are negated. (Except English. Then, maluses are halved and the diplomacy bonus is +7.) She also takes no maluses due to culture shock, and when encountering a culture she isn't familiar with, she has a +15 to avoid culture shock and to learning the local language.
[X] Search for magic outside Arendelle
Assigned Hero: None
DC 75
1d100+22+15+10+10 (Advisor Bonus)+10 (Olaf); 16 ⇒ 83
Bare Success
Looking back, you think you should have put the same level of study into your search for magic outside of Arendelle. You didn't really look in depth at what was offered, but you did skim over a lot of it. Voodoo and hoodoo were immediately out; you weren't keen on making any deals without knowing exactly what you were giving in exchange, and the known examples didn't fill you with confidence. The Flower of the Sun looked promising, but the kingdom it had supposedly bloomed in, Corona, had long since been absorbed by Prussia, so you weren't sure if the legend had any merit. Greece and England seemed to have a dozen things that may work, but they all required combat and/or negotiation with a higher and/or more powerful being, so you weren't all that keen on trying them. You didn't even touch that book written in Russian (the bad vibes it gave off made you sweat just by looking at the thing). With a more in-depth study, you may have learned more, but time constraints limited what you could do.
The only real lead you found was the book on Atlantis. It described a vibrant civilization that was hundreds of years more advanced than Arendelle, creating marvels and miracles that boggled the mind. It also specialized in work with some kind of magic crystals. While ice and crystals weren't necessarily the same thing, it did seem close enough. Maybe you could try and set up some expeditions once the barrier went down?
Elsa has gained some familiarity with magic outside of Arendelle! New actions for after the barrier goes down possible!
Elsa is interested in Atlantis! +5 to Atlesian diplomats when in diplomatic discussions with the queen!
Personals
Elsa
[X] Train
1d100+10 (Grand Pabbie)+10 (Olaf); 50 ⇒ 70
You can confidently say that your sessions with the people have eased you into thinking about your magic in a much more positive light. The encouragement of Pabbie and Olaf only helped. You seem to have a much greater grasp on your powers than you did before, but doubts still linger in the back of your head… not helped by the fact that your magic has started to… lash out.
Elsa's Occult cap increased by 2!
[X] Interact with the advisors
As seen above
Kristoff
[X] A Strong Back
-[X] Send scouts to survey the area
–[X] West
As seen above
Olaf
[X] Hang out with your friends
-[X] Elsa
As seen above
Oaken
[X] Perform duties for the Queen
-[X] Search the city for overlooked supplies
As seen above
Maja
[X] Work for your new patron
-[X] Add the Ice Merchants to the military
As seen above
A/N: Who knew describing an Atlantean vault would take so much brainpower? In any case, here's Turn 5! Catching up to the present quickly!
Turn 5: Expansion
Barrier Penetration!
DC 200
Roll: 1d100+30+15+30 (Pirate Lord Reports); 53 ⇒ 128
Failure
Brute Force!
DC 130
Roll: 1d100+30+15+15+30 (Pirate Lord Reports); 32 ⇒ 122
Bare Failure!
Davy Jones was repelled by the barrier! It was a close thing, but apparently different corruptions don't mix.
DC 200
Roll: 1d100+30+15+30 (Pirate Lord Reports); 53 ⇒ 128
Failure
Brute Force!
DC 130
Roll: 1d100+30+15+15+30 (Pirate Lord Reports); 32 ⇒ 122
Bare Failure!
Davy Jones was repelled by the barrier! It was a close thing, but apparently different corruptions don't mix.
Nationals
Martial
[ ] Send out a hunting expedition
DC 70
Increases resources, improves state of affairs
[ ] Add the Ice Merchants to the military
DC 85
Improves Arendelle's martial bonuses, makes the Ice Merchants citizens of Arendelle, ???
Stewardship
[ ] Search the city for any overlooked supplies
DC 60
Increases resources
[ ] Send out a woodcutting expedition
DC 35
Increases resources, improves state of affairs
[ ] Send out a foraging party
DC 35
Increases resources, improves state of affairs
Diplomacy
[ ] Reach out to distant villages
DC 70
Send a message to the other villages caught in the storm and invite them to Arendelle
[ ] Hold a meeting with your advisors
DC 80
Some of your advisors seem on the fence about you, others on the wrong side of it. Talk with them to try and bring them back over
Intrigue
[ ] Send scouts to survey the area
-[ ] North/West
DC 40/50
Increased knowledge about what's around, unlocks actions, may unlock potential heroes and resources
Learning
[ ] Study in the library
DC 40/80/120
Temporary Learning action bonus, possible actions, may unlock something about Anna
[ ] Research foreign lands
All this talk of foreign occult has gotten you desiring context. Read about the countries and lands mentioned in the books to have a better view of who's who
Occult
[ ] Study the storm wall
DC ???
May bring new insight on how to break through the wall
Locked until paranoia dies down
[ ] Study Anna's condition
DC ???
May bring new insight on how to break Anna's curse
[ ] Study the Occult History section
Gain a basic knowledge of what place has what magic
[ ] Search for magic outside Arendelle
Search the books to find magics in foreign lands that may be useful to you, ???
Personals
Elsa
[ ] Train
Increases occult score, may increase martial score
[ ] Talk with Kristoff and Olaf
Potentially decrease "Sacrificed Sister" malus
[ ] Interact with the people
Decreases "Monster!" malus
[ ] Interact with the advisors
Potentially increase advisor bonus
[ ] Personally look for solutions
May unearth something about the eternal winter or Anna's condition
[ ] Meditate
Try to focus inward to see what's causing your magic to go haywire
Kristoff
[ ] Reach out to the trolls
May get new ideas on how to end the winter and Anna's curse, or new insight to what has happened
[ ] Talk with Elsa and Olaf
Potentially decreases "Iced Love" maluses
[ ] Interact with the people
Potentially increases Among the Masses bonus, may uncover some of the rumor mill
[ ] Interact with the nobles
Potentially decrease Among the Masses malus
[ ] Personally look for solutions
May unearth something about the eternal winter or Anna's condition
[ ] A Strong Back
Help Elsa with something
-[ ] Which action?
Olaf
[ ] Research summer
Can gain temporary bonus due to motivation
[ ] Interact with the people
May unlock "Hi, I'm Olaf!" bonuses
[ ] Hang out with your friends
-[ ] Which one?
Adds +10 bonus to all actions taken by specified hero unit
[ ] Help Elsa
-[ ] With what?
Oaken
[ ] Manage your trading post
Required action after taking a national action
[ ] Peddle your wares
May increase supplies
[ ] Perform duties for the Queen
-[ ] What duty?
Maja
[ ] Train the Arendelleans
Can increases "Break the Frozen Heart" bonus
[ ] Harvest the ice
Increases Ice Merchant's stock, ???
Unavailable until the harbor refreezes
[ ] Work for your new patron
-[ ] What to do?
Martial
[ ] Send out a hunting expedition
DC 70
Increases resources, improves state of affairs
[ ] Add the Ice Merchants to the military
DC 85
Improves Arendelle's martial bonuses, makes the Ice Merchants citizens of Arendelle, ???
Stewardship
[ ] Search the city for any overlooked supplies
DC 60
Increases resources
[ ] Send out a woodcutting expedition
DC 35
Increases resources, improves state of affairs
[ ] Send out a foraging party
DC 35
Increases resources, improves state of affairs
Diplomacy
[ ] Reach out to distant villages
DC 70
Send a message to the other villages caught in the storm and invite them to Arendelle
[ ] Hold a meeting with your advisors
DC 80
Some of your advisors seem on the fence about you, others on the wrong side of it. Talk with them to try and bring them back over
Intrigue
[ ] Send scouts to survey the area
-[ ] North/West
DC 40/50
Increased knowledge about what's around, unlocks actions, may unlock potential heroes and resources
Learning
[ ] Study in the library
DC 40/80/120
Temporary Learning action bonus, possible actions, may unlock something about Anna
[ ] Research foreign lands
All this talk of foreign occult has gotten you desiring context. Read about the countries and lands mentioned in the books to have a better view of who's who
Occult
DC ???
May bring new insight on how to break through the wall
Locked until paranoia dies down
[ ] Study Anna's condition
DC ???
May bring new insight on how to break Anna's curse
[ ] Study the Occult History section
Gain a basic knowledge of what place has what magic
[ ] Search for magic outside Arendelle
Search the books to find magics in foreign lands that may be useful to you, ???
Personals
Elsa
[ ] Train
Increases occult score, may increase martial score
[ ] Talk with Kristoff and Olaf
Potentially decrease "Sacrificed Sister" malus
[ ] Interact with the people
Decreases "Monster!" malus
[ ] Interact with the advisors
Potentially increase advisor bonus
[ ] Personally look for solutions
May unearth something about the eternal winter or Anna's condition
[ ] Meditate
Try to focus inward to see what's causing your magic to go haywire
Kristoff
[ ] Reach out to the trolls
May get new ideas on how to end the winter and Anna's curse, or new insight to what has happened
[ ] Talk with Elsa and Olaf
Potentially decreases "Iced Love" maluses
[ ] Interact with the people
Potentially increases Among the Masses bonus, may uncover some of the rumor mill
[ ] Interact with the nobles
Potentially decrease Among the Masses malus
[ ] Personally look for solutions
May unearth something about the eternal winter or Anna's condition
[ ] A Strong Back
Help Elsa with something
-[ ] Which action?
Olaf
[ ] Research summer
Can gain temporary bonus due to motivation
[ ] Interact with the people
May unlock "Hi, I'm Olaf!" bonuses
[ ] Hang out with your friends
-[ ] Which one?
Adds +10 bonus to all actions taken by specified hero unit
[ ] Help Elsa
-[ ] With what?
Oaken
[ ] Manage your trading post
Required action after taking a national action
[ ] Peddle your wares
May increase supplies
[ ] Perform duties for the Queen
-[ ] What duty?
Maja
[ ] Train the Arendelleans
Can increases "Break the Frozen Heart" bonus
Increases Ice Merchant's stock, ???
Unavailable until the harbor refreezes
[ ] Work for your new patron
-[ ] What to do?
Resources: 130/275 ⇒ 127/275
[X] Add the Ice Merchants to the military
Assigned Hero: Maja
DC 85
1d100+6-10+9+15+10 (Advisor bonus)+10 (Olaf); 49 ⇒ 89
Bare Success
Your advisor opponents are really starting to get on your nerves. Oh, they all saw the logic of improving the garrison, now that the walls are repaired. The current force would be insufficient for such a task. But to ask those "fur-dressed ruffians" to help fill the void, despite the fact that Arendelle was still standing half-due to their efforts?! Perish the thought!
Too bad Maja's demonstration left no room for complaints. You handed her some outlines of the basic military drills the army normally performs, and she found a way to incorporate that into a normal ice haul! Not only are her Merchants now as good as your trained soldiers, they can still perform their old jobs at the same time! That shut up a lot of the nay-sayers, and the ones that didn't got bogged down by public opinion when Maja complained about the needless bureaucracy slowing her down and the public protested loudly. There are still a few rough edges here and there, but the Ice Merchants are now firmly part of Arendellian society!
Ice Merchants added to the military! Arendelle gains a +10 Martial buff!
Maja has been promoted to General! New Personal action for her unlocked!
People are really starting to get sick of the old court.
[X] Search the city for any overlooked supplies
Assigned hero: Oaken
DC 60
1d100+21-10+25+10 (Advisor bonus); 37 ⇒ 83
Success
Turns out? There was an actual warehouse on the outskirts of town with a lot of basic essentials! Most of it just consisted of clothes and firewood, but that was essential due to the ever dwindling supply of wood that the breaking down of the ships only soothed temporarily. There were also several stores of pre-made soup, just waiting to be heated over a fire! The cold served as a sort of natural preserver. Hm, you may want to think more about that…
There were also some weapons and a couple gunpowder boxes in there. What's that about?
Extra supplies found! 127/275 ⇒ 142/275
Wood supplies dwindling! SoA will decrease by 5 until the matter is resolved!
New rumor found. Intrigue action unlocked.
[X] Hold a meeting with your advisors
Assigned Hero: None
DC 80
1d100+13+10-10+10 (Advisor Bonus)+10 (Personal Attention)+10 (Olaf); 71 ⇒ 114
Success
Your meeting with the remaining advisors has been a resounding success! You started out by letting the older ones and the nay-sayers vent about what was bothering them and their concerns about your leadership. Once they had exhausted themselves, you and Olaf debunked most of their concerns (your powers were still finicky, so you couldn't lay to rest every worry) with a combination of actions you had taken, a bit of diving into your history, and some wise words from your father (chief among them "Arendelle is not a place, it's a people", which helped soothe over most of the concerns about having the Ice Merchants around and all the recent renovations). Now, only one or two hard-core nay-sayers are left, with the younger members of the court relating to you on a personal level with the pressures of expectation, and the older seeing you as a sort of niece going through a tough time and will need some help. And, of course, Olaf being Olaf always helps ease tensions.
Advisors won over! Advisor bonus fully available!
Elsa has gained a trait!
Hail to the Queen: Elsa is the respected Queen of Arendelle, with its own entourage of unique individuals and experienced leaders. When making rolls considering affairs of the state or improvement of the nation (all rolls except Occult), Elsa takes a +20 bonus thanks to the help of her council of advisors.
[X] Send scouts to survey the area
-[X] West
Assigned hero: Kristoff
DC 50-10; 40
1d100+11+11+10+10(Advisor Bonus); 90+1d100(Exploding dice); 98+1d100(Exploding dice); 76 ⇒ 306
"TO INFINITY AND BEYOND" SUCCESS!!!!
Kristoff made another note on the makeshift map he was making of the large Western Island. He had found traces of tin in the rocks nearby, so this would be a good place to set up a tin mine. He let out a chuckle. It was the third such place he had found while looking out here.
It turned out that prospecting for minerals was a lot like ice harvesting. You had to know exactly where to look so you could plunge in your blade and start cutting. This eye for detail was especially useful for prospectors looking for the faint traces of rare minerals and signs of places to mine. Kristoff just had to be taught which signs he needed to look for, which he got from the geology books he had loaned from the library.
Sven was a great help in traversing the mountains. He could cross over difficult terrains and help him get up to hard to reach places to look for resources. Also, the mountains over here were treasure troves, full of useful metals, and even a couple of places for precious metals! The fields also had their uses, as they seemed to be prime spots for oil drilling, which could help Arendelle modernize a bit to make up for them being behind quite a lot of Europe it seemed.
Kristoff was just wrapping up his study of the northern river. It seemed the wall stretched a handful of nautical miles out from the island to the west, giving the wall more of an ellipse shape than a circle. Also, the river was a great spot for lime harvesting, which would help in the production of concrete. It would take some time to set up the proper harvesters, but for now, it would be enough to let them know that these resources existed.
Kristoff was about to wrap up when something caught his eye. Nestled between two rocks was a large crack, leading into a cave. It must have opened up during an earthquake. Fortunately, this meant that it would take less work to get in there to excavate any raw materials, and even less to see what was inside.
Kristoff led Sven over to the crevice, then tied a rope around a nearby rock. Tying the other end around his waist and making a small torch, he slowly (with Sven's help) lowered himself into the cavern. It was narrow for a bit, typical jagged stone all around, before it opened up into a massive cavern.
Immediately, he could tell something was off. The walls were too smooth and the corners too sharp to be natural. That meant that someone had carved this place out. But who? From the looks of things, this place hadn't been touched in centuries, so it couldn't have been Arendelle. But if that was true, who was it? And why put so much effort into this? The carving with the technology available back then would have taken them years to finish.
Kristoff eventually touched down on the smooth, stone floor and held his torch up. Unfortunately, it was too small to cast much light. As such, all he could see was that the cavern was big and spacious, and it was storing ominous looking shapes in the gloom. Obviously, he was starting to get nervous and a bit overwhelmed.
Kristoff backed up… right into something.
(No, he did not scream like a little girl, thank you very much.)
Looking at what he had bumped into, he discovered it was an odd pedestal, covered in symbols. Sitting atop it was a long stick, with two prongs sticking out perpendicularly to the shaft and then pointing up. At the tip was a large, sharp stone. In short, it looked like a very fancy spear.
Kristoff examined the spear and pedestal with his torch for light. Nothing seemed to be booby-trapped. Besides, what was so scary about a spear? Shrugging, he grasped the spear and picked it up.
The spear trembled in his hands. Kristoff tried to drop it, but found that his hand couldn't unclench from around the weapon. The head lit up with an eerie, purple glow as the stone began to crack. The sound of energy charging up echoed throughout the chamber as the light grew stronger and the trembling intensified. Finally, the stone cracked apart and exploded, leaving behind something new. The prongs, once crudely carved stone, were now sleek, futuristically carved metal, and the point was now a glowing, blue, pointed crystal.
Pure power ran through the Ice Merchant as Kristoff gaped at the weapon in his hand. Kristoff set the butt on the ground, causing the power to spread throughout the floor, activating glowing crystals all across the chamber. Kristoff looked around… to see a large vault, full of spears, large, stone fish, odd contraptions, crystals, and several other things the simple man couldn't hope to name.
Kristoff stared at the vault. Then the spear. Then back to the vault. Then back to the spear.
He huffed a laugh. "Wait 'till Elsa sees this," he chuckled as he leaned against the pedestal, somewhat in shock.
(Unknowingly, he leaned backwards against a button, causing an unseen light to start blinking as something turned on… and transmitted.)
Unknown vault discovered! New Occult and Learning actions unlocked!
Kristoff gains +3 Intrigue!
Kristoff has learned much about geology! Trait updated!
"Mountain Man": Kristoff has been harvesting and selling ice his whole life. This trade has allowed him in-depth knowledge about survival, the nature of ice and snow, and how the wild works. His recent studies of the outdoors have also increased his knowledge. +20 to all rolls concerning survival in winter/mountainous climates, +15 to any Learning rolls about other outdoor survival or geology, +10 to all other rolls concerning the outdoors.
Relic Discovered: Gungnir! A magical spear of unknown origin. Whoever wields it gains a +20 in Martial and Occult, but if they are inexperienced, they take a -10 malus when they use it.
Someone has been alerted to the vault's opening!
[X] Research foreign lands
Assigned Hero: None
DC 60
1d100+18+15+10 (Temp bonus)+10 (Advisor Bonus)+10 (Olaf); 59 ⇒ 122
Critical success!
Given the fact that these books could hold the key to restoring Anna, you doubled down on attempting to learn about the countries outside Arendelle. Your advisors were all too happy to oversee things in your absence as you hit the books. Kristoff promised to help Olaf keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't cause much trouble
It was well worth it. You read over each book at least three times, quizzed yourself on the customs and traditions of each place, and even familiarized yourself with the local languages with some help from Oaken. You can now call yourself Arendelle's resident expert in foreign countries, and even have the ability to somewhat hold a conversation practically anywhere in Europe! Though, that last one is due in part to the languages being so similar (with the exception of English. The less said about that particular linguistic nightmare, the better. You still managed to learn the basics, but you have no desire to try and learn more than necessary).
Elsa's learning has increased by +2!
Elsa has gained a trait:
Romantic Diplomat: Elsa has familiarized herself with several different European customs and traditions, including languages. When in a conversation with a speaker of a European/Romantic language, Elsa gains a +15 to diplomacy and all maluses caused by language comprehension are negated. (Except English. Then, maluses are halved and the diplomacy bonus is +7.) She also takes no maluses due to culture shock, and when encountering a culture she isn't familiar with, she has a +15 to avoid culture shock and to learning the local language.
[X] Search for magic outside Arendelle
Assigned Hero: None
DC 75
1d100+22+15+10+10 (Advisor Bonus)+10 (Olaf); 16 ⇒ 83
Bare Success
Looking back, you think you should have put the same level of study into your search for magic outside of Arendelle. You didn't really look in depth at what was offered, but you did skim over a lot of it. Voodoo and hoodoo were immediately out; you weren't keen on making any deals without knowing exactly what you were giving in exchange, and the known examples didn't fill you with confidence. The Flower of the Sun looked promising, but the kingdom it had supposedly bloomed in, Corona, had long since been absorbed by Prussia, so you weren't sure if the legend had any merit. Greece and England seemed to have a dozen things that may work, but they all required combat and/or negotiation with a higher and/or more powerful being, so you weren't all that keen on trying them. You didn't even touch that book written in Russian (the bad vibes it gave off made you sweat just by looking at the thing). With a more in-depth study, you may have learned more, but time constraints limited what you could do.
The only real lead you found was the book on Atlantis. It described a vibrant civilization that was hundreds of years more advanced than Arendelle, creating marvels and miracles that boggled the mind. It also specialized in work with some kind of magic crystals. While ice and crystals weren't necessarily the same thing, it did seem close enough. Maybe you could try and set up some expeditions once the barrier went down?
Elsa has gained some familiarity with magic outside of Arendelle! New actions for after the barrier goes down possible!
Elsa is interested in Atlantis! +5 to Atlesian diplomats when in diplomatic discussions with the queen!
Personals
Elsa
[X] Train
1d100+10 (Grand Pabbie)+10 (Olaf); 50 ⇒ 70
You can confidently say that your sessions with the people have eased you into thinking about your magic in a much more positive light. The encouragement of Pabbie and Olaf only helped. You seem to have a much greater grasp on your powers than you did before, but doubts still linger in the back of your head… not helped by the fact that your magic has started to… lash out.
Elsa's Occult cap increased by 2!
[X] Interact with the advisors
As seen above
Kristoff
[X] A Strong Back
-[X] Send scouts to survey the area
–[X] West
As seen above
Olaf
[X] Hang out with your friends
-[X] Elsa
As seen above
Oaken
[X] Perform duties for the Queen
-[X] Search the city for overlooked supplies
As seen above
Maja
[X] Work for your new patron
-[X] Add the Ice Merchants to the military
As seen above
A/N: Who knew describing an Atlantean vault would take so much brainpower? In any case, here's Turn 5! Catching up to the present quickly!
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Man, Arendelle is developing into a powerhouse! Esla in particular is pretty scary in terms of stats.
Yeah, that can be problematic. I wonder what the Intrigue action is for? Was someone planning to blow up the palace?
Holy canoodle! I expected something big to come of that mega-roll, but this is something else! And I suspect Milo just picked up a signal...
Train that Occult, Elsa! Get rid of that cap!
- Pronouns
- Mr
Haha! No tribute and souls for you!