Sartier Quest: A Tale of Song, Gods, and Trouble (CK2-Let's Go Hunt Gods, SV!)

House Sarba infiltrators confirmed.

Because there's no way peasant bandits would have done that well against House troops.
 
These guys need a story for themselves! OOH, maybe a character generation for excessive bullshit/badass.

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Well, they have profiles so people could try their hand at omakes for this if they're interested. Like it says in the writing thread, all you have to do is ask for the profiles and we'll release what we can, certainly enough to write about.
 
Hi all. I saw a link to this thread on Oneiros' sig and thought I'd check it out, and here I am (you may now cringe). I've looked through the thread so far and it looks pretty interesting, although the fact that it's an original universe means that I don't have a knowledge of source material to fall back on. Then again, that makes it kind of fun.

Anyway I have a couple of questions about the game mechanics as listed in Turn 1 - actually I just want to make sure that I'm reading them the right way.
The first is about the chance of success for each option. As I read it there's a base chance of success plus a bonus from the relevant Symphony (Andres or Antonia, depending on who has the highest score in the relevant stat) equivalent to the relevant stat divided by 3, a bonus from the relevant Councillor equivalent to the relevant stat divided by 3, and a bonus from the assigned agent equal to the relevant stat. So, just as an example, for the 'It Cost How Much?' option with Luna Reynolds as our agent our chance of success should be 40 (base chance) + 11 (Symphony, Antonia's Martial of 34 divided by 3) + 10 (Councillor, Luna Reynolds) +30 (agent, Luna Reynolds' full Martial stat) = 91% total. Is this correct?


Secondly, in the Diplomacy and Minor Houses sections there are actions which effect relations with the other Houses, which are described as increase in numeric values (+1 Relations with Raleigh, -3 Relations with Dale, etc) . However the descriptions of current relation at the end of the turn are as words, not a number value or comparison (7/10). Is there a project we can research to work out how these numbers relate to words descriptions?

Finally, where's the explanation of Gentry Level and Industrialisation Level and their effects?
 
Is there a project we can research to work out how these numbers relate to words descriptions?
I believe the formula is that very good is better than good is better than fair so as we increase our relationship with each house we move up the scale.

I've always found representing a relationship with a number to be idiotic anyway and I'm rather glad that Oneiros and Macchiato are averting it at least a bit. Saying that a relationship is fair, or strained, or very good is a much more realistic representation than saying its an 8, 6 or 12.
Finally, where's the explanation of Gentry Level and Industrialisation Level and their effects?
Gentry Level to my reading is how shitty life is for our peasants (our 1 means that life for our peasants is particularly shitty) whilst Industrialisation Level should be fairly obvious.
 
I believe the formula is that very good is better than good is better than fair so as we increase our relationship with each house we move up the scale.

I've always found representing a relationship with a number to be idiotic anyway and I'm rather glad that Oneiros and Macchiato are averting it at least a bit. Saying that a relationship is fair, or strained, or very good is a much more realistic representation than saying its an 8, 6 or 12.

I have no problems with relations being described with a word description rather than a number rating. It's just that I'm trying to work out what the chances are of, say, a -3 to relations like in the Make Love Not War option are to knock a relationship down by a level, or how many pluses it takes to increase a relationship to the next level.
 
I have no problems with relations being described with a word description rather than a number rating. It's just that I'm trying to work out what the chances are of, say, a -3 to relations like in the Make Love Not War option are to knock a relationship down by a level, or how many pluses it takes to increase a relationship to the next level.
That kind of disambiguation is what the research options will lead into. For the moment, Tellar are taking a gut feel sort of approach because their interests lie with Magic and Martial matters (you'll note you have accurate run-downs on every military in Sartier and you have the option to conduct battlefield magic research with a Mg48 Elite Songweaver). Every House has their own advantages and disadvantages, after all.
 
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That kind of disambiguation is what the research options will lead into. For the moment, Tellar are taking a gut feel sort of approach because their interests lie with Magic and Martial matters (you'll note you have accurate run-downs on every military in Sartier and you have the option to conduct battlefield magic research with a Mg38 Elite Songweaver). Every House has their own advantages and disadvantages, after all.

Fair enough, that makes sense. I suppose Diplomacy research such as Did You Bring the Notecards should help with that.
 
Finally, where's the explanation of Gentry Level and Industrialisation Level and their effects?
Without going into specific details, Infrastructure Level is for gauging how advanced a province is, and Gentry Level is for gauging the degree of wealth possessed by the peasantry in that province. The former ties into a few different areas on the Spreadsheet of Doom that underpins the quest, the latter is more of an intangible asset. However, both directly relate to the number of standing regiments you can recruit, since to avoid the Treaty on professional troops, you need some wealthy gentry who can meet you half-way.
 
I just had a terrible realization and, after a quick glance over, I feel safe in making this assertion: There is no obvious link to the writing/story thread for this quest.

@Macchiato since it seems pretty important, I'ld advice getting a nice, obvious link in the index, somewhere on the front page, or even in your signature. Having an easy to find link to it, not to mention a pointer that it does exist is pretty important, especially for new readers!

1337
 
I just had a terrible realization and, after a quick glance over, I feel safe in making this assertion: There is no obvious link to the writing/story thread for this quest.

@Macchiato since it seems pretty important, I'ld advice getting a nice, obvious link in the index, somewhere on the front page, or even in your signature. Having an easy to find link to it, not to mention a pointer that it does exist is pretty important, especially for new readers!

1337
Cheers for that. Meant to get around to that but it didn't quite happen obviously xD
 
I just had a terrible realization and, after a quick glance over, I feel safe in making this assertion: There is no obvious link to the writing/story thread for this quest.

@Macchiato since it seems pretty important, I'ld advice getting a nice, obvious link in the index, somewhere on the front page, or even in your signature. Having an easy to find link to it, not to mention a pointer that it does exist is pretty important, especially for new readers!

1337

Cheers for that. Meant to get around to that but it didn't quite happen obviously xD
Thanks - Now a link at the top of the OP, and in my sig.
 
Without going into specific details, Infrastructure Level is for gauging how advanced a province is, and Gentry Level is for gauging the degree of wealth possessed by the peasantry in that province. The former ties into a few different areas on the Spreadsheet of Doom that underpins the quest, the latter is more of an intangible asset. However, both directly relate to the number of standing regiments you can recruit, since to avoid the Treaty on professional troops, you need some wealthy gentry who can meet you half-way.

Does improvements in Gentry Level go towards offsetting The Peasants Are Revolting?
 
Does improvements in Gentry Level go towards offsetting The Peasants Are Revolting?
Potentially... depends on the nature of the reforms used. Gentry Level would be increased by simply having a larger pool of wealthy yeomen, while the peasants at the bottom remain dirt poor. Fighting Peasants Are Revolting means trying to up-lift over half a million people from generational disadvantages.

Basically, there will be an easy way and a hard way.
 
Quest - Turn 1 Mid-turn
Sartier Quest - Autumn, Year 1 (Mid-turn)

[This post contains a number of interrupt/response options to allow you to react to other events within Sartier. You have 1 (one) remaining Influence Point to use]

Sartier convulsed in the aftermath of the Sonissimmo fall from grace. Even as the levies and soldiers returned from their winter confrontations, the south of the country was riven in scofflaw flame and tranquil blue sail. First the bandits began to arise, with the Justices struggling to contain powerful upswings in civil unrest. Across nearly half of Sartier bandit armies formed, and the nearest authorities rallied to put them down. Armies were called to march, the militia summoned, with great nobles put above them, and Songweavers to aid them.

Bloody fighting saw an end to the bandit threat, but at a shocking price. Local armed uprisings are no stranger to Sartier, the odd veteran or backwater Songweaver tiring of the gruelling life of ploughshare and sickle to gather other malcontents into a bandit army. But to have so many outbreaks within a year, hitting each of Harper, Dyelin, Gambier, and Marlingtay, had left Andre and Antonia horrified.

In Harper, the uprisings occurred on the land of the faithful Tellar vassals of Minor House Rios. Their Vice-Marshall, a mighty, axe-wielding bear of a man named Eduard Nayak, carried the field. But when he came to the Barossa Citadel to make his report, he had troubling things to say. Antonia peppered him with questions, grilling him on every detail of a new type of bandit, one more disciplined, more skillful, better equipped than the typical free companies they formed. They had gone toe-to-toe with his House Men-at-Arms and Longbowmen, and until Eduard personally threw down their commanders, had given as good as they got. Word soon followed that these troops had been seen in each of your major vassals as well, with bloody fighting in the heart of Raleigh land, as well as in the land of the Vincennes, near the border. In Carlisle lands they had been seen but there had apparently been a near-bloodless resolution. Antonia had sent for word as to the circumstances, but had not yet heard back.

But even as the embers of those uprisings cooled, new threats emerged. All-too-near Tranquility had vomited forth a storm of pirates and corsairs. At first the nobles of Harper thought it was the coming of a new Purging, but Evelyn soon revealed the answer. An answer by parts comforting and terrifying. The coasts of other nations reported nothing of pirate threats. Only against Sartier did the pirate raids fall. Over the summer and autumn their ships would be arriving in a multitude of raids, blue-sailed and filled to the brim with desperate scofflaws and corsairs.

Despite this, no one panicked. Pirates and bandits were always a part of life. The relatively small uprising in Harper, where the Symphony both knew the lay of the land so well, had been handled easily by the locals without needing to rely on troops from the capital. But all nobles and courtiers in Sartier knew their duty to defend their land and liege. Indeed, rumours soon reached you that Council members of the Vincennes, Raleigh and even the Marshall of Dale herself had seen battle already this summer.

Many powerful warriors are counted among the Court at Harper, especially powerful Songweavers. They could make many battles against the coming pirate storm far easier, or even save victory from the jaws of defeat. However, the battlefield is a dangerous place and this season in particular more dangerous still, and if one of your agents takes wounds or is slain in battle, the action assigned to them goes unfulfilled.



[ ] Forbid All - You haven't taken the reigns of the whole nation just to lose the people you need most to govern. Forbid all Court members from seeking battle. [2 Influence Cost, no Court members will join battles, may result in frosty reactions from other Houses, and your more high-chivalry court members may react badly. Natalie Tellar attempts to take your block off.]
[ ] Forbid Agents - Forbid Agents and Councillors from seeking battle. Weight will have to be thrown behind the injunction to ensure that your edict is obeyed. [1 Influence Cost, Agents and Councillors will avoid battle, but others are free to choose - 20% chance of negative reaction in provinces where these characters could have intervened. Dominic Rios is furious.]
[ ] (Default Choice) Free Choice - Allow all Court Members to seek or avoid chivalrous battle as they will. [0 Influence Cost, your nobles are able to do the most good, but run the risk of heroic deaths]



Of course, not everything was a matter of blood and violence, and late spring brought welcome news.

Shortly before the agents and Councillors of the Tellar dispersed on their missions, word arrives that the Antilles War College, in Talesa, is hosting a summit. Many of the finest military minds of Sartier will attend, matching wits, learning from each other, and fighting war games. It is a venerable institution born from the intense martial study that the Antilles line has long been famous for.

Evelyn's mission will take her to neighbouring Tarrant and she means to attend on her way home. From the Court at Harper, Lea Tsu, Marshall of Minor House Tsu and one of your trusted battlefield commanders, is making her own way, as is the sister of the ruling Symphony, Natalie. However, it can be arranged to send others from the Court to join as well. (Those who attend will take part in war games and gain Martial skill and relevant traits.)



[ ] None - Send no one extra. [Evelyn Tellar, Natalie Tellar, Dominique Tellar, Courtier Lea Tsu attend]
[ ] Family - The third sibling of Andres and Antonia is a woman by the name of Natalie, a veteran warrior who will attend on her own. She is taking her daughter, who is a Martial prodigy, and is offering to take Andres' middle child, who is second in line to the Symphony and a promising general, as long as her trip is paid for. [2,000g, the above attend, plus: Shannon Tellar, Evelyn's Martial "backup" Shannon also attends and develops further]
[ ] Council & Agents - The above, plus also send agents Luna, Dominic, and Monica, who are strong generals, liable to lead your armies in battle. [1 Influence Cost, 6,000g, -10 against Luna, Dominic, Monica agent dice rolls, the above plus Luna, Dominic and Monica attend]
[ ] Officers - Send any strong Martial talent in your court and pay their costs. These are people who would be leading your regiments and brigades in battle. After all, you never know, a little extra training now may tip the scales some day in the future. [1 Influence Cost, the above costs and attendees, +2,000g and: Antonia Tellar, Georgie Hulland, Arnold Tellar, Violet Tsu]
[ ] Officers, No Agents - Send all the Martial talents with the exception of your agents, so that their work is not interfered with. [1 Influence Cost, Total of 6,000g, Send all mentioned above except: Luna, Dominic, Monica, Chance of Luna accusing Antonia of punishing her over the divorce by keeping her away]



However, late in the season as Councillors and agents went about their tasks, dreadful news arrived. Furious letters delivered by breathless couriers, spinning tale and counter-tale of happenings in the east of Sartier. Antonia and Andres worked with Patricia as she prepared for the handover to Hamid to make sense of the rumour-mill, and soon a grisly picture emerged. It appeared that the Vincennes suppression of their bandit outbreak had somehow ended with an ambush in south Arbalen, in a night-time charge by Dalian Spellknights that was as cowardly as it was vicious.

Vincennes was protesting House Dale's action from every roof-top. It was against all codes of chivalry, it was savage, it was unconscionable. The gentry of Marlingtay slaughtered as they fled from treachery. To turn the flower of House Dale's chivalry upon fellow Sartierans, in so cold-blooded a fashion, it was another unforgivable act in a long, long line of unforgivable acts by the Dale against the Vincennes.

And yet, Antonia had to ask a Vincennes messenger as cold fury built within, what was a Vincennes army doing a day's march north of the border to get ambushed so? Dale and Capo missives were piling up on the desk of the Tellar Symphony, demanding action against Vincennes, who they claimed launched an unprovoked wave of pillaging and slaughter against their subjects. Vincennes meanwhile protested that they were simply doing what the law demanded. Having fought an unusual well-trained and equipped bandit army, the Vincennes claimed to have investigated. Their captives had given them proof that they had originated from Dale. So they pursued their survivors across the border and found villages in Dale they claimed had given support and manpower to the bandits. They had gone into these villages, naturally, but had there done nothing and certainly not the wanton slaughter they were accused off.



A full solution will take more time, but perhaps a more immediate response will help:
[ ] (Default option) Wait - Decline to act until a full investigation has been made. (Options will be available next turn) [0 Influence Cost, -1 with Dale, Capo, Vincennes]
[ ] Arrest - Demand the arrest and trial of the attacks commander, whom first reports have suggested was Arnold Vincennes, Vice-Marshall of House Vincennes. [2 Influence Cost, +2 Dale, +1 Capo, -3 Vincennes]
[ ] Denounce - Denounce your Vassal's unacceptable actions while sympathising with Dale, but make no promises of action until a full investigation. [1 Influence Cost, -2 with Vincennes, +1 with Dale, Capo]
[ ] Support - Back your Vassal's incursion as being necessary. Villages sheltering bandits must be uprooted. [1 Influence Cost, -2 with Dale, -1 with Capo, +3 with Vincennes]
(Be aware that the results of the investigation may further change relationship values)



As for an investigation, the longer you delay the fainter the truth will get. As it so happens, you have agents in action in Vincennes, or arriving there soon. You can send word for one of them to get a head start on the investigation, and strike while the iron is hot. It may distract them from their Council-assigned duties, but swift action here may be worth the additional risk.



Head start on the Investigation - [Investigating will cancel relationship penalties of "Wait" action, get you a far clearer picture to work from next turn - Investigation is a 55% base plus agent Intrigue, plus agent Diplomacy, with no other bonuses, 5,000g cost (includes strong protection for agents, as Antonia feels the two capitals are likely to become dangerous)]
[ ] (Default option) No early Investigation - Leave it till the Winter Council Meeting [No effect]
[ ] Where in Sartier is Carmen Rios? - You already have Carmen, who was once the Court Justice for Minor House Rios, in the Vincennes capital, there to finish off the shipbuilding contracts. If she delays some of the necessary project management, she can take the lead on an investigation. [75% chance of a +1 turn length delay to Vincennes half of A Shield of Our Own]
[ ] Il-Lumen-ating the Conflict - May Lumen is also present in Marlingtay and, as a senior administrator, is also well-suited to the task. However, it will distract her from the Harbour Expansion project. [-30 to Vincennes Harbour Dice Roll]



Evelyn - Putting Yourself in Their Shoes (Harper -> Dyelin Monks with Theo, collect Joan -> Gambier -> Ship to Bartier)
Luna - It Cost How Much (Stays in Harper)
Juan - (Harper -> Billfarthing -> Ship to Gambier)
May - Vincennes Harbour (Harper -> Billfarthing -> Ship to Marlingtay)
Monica - The Chiming Forest (Harper -> Chiming Forest)
Theo - Turning the Other Cheek (Harper -> Dyelin Monks with Evelyn, collect Joan -> Gambier -> Ship to Bartier)
Carmen - A Shield of our Own (Harper -> Billfarthing -> Ship to Gambier -> Land to Marlingtay)
Dominic - Do you have the Notecards (Stays in Harper)
Hamid - Gifthorse Dentistry (Harper -> Interview Charlotte -> Billfarthing -> Ship to Carentan)
Georgie Hulland - Magic Research (Stays in Harper)
Charlie Tellar - Exit Interview (Harper-> Dockshaw -> Ship to Etela)

1 - Sonissimmo (near Minor House Quinn, Clough Wood, Etela Province)
Put down by a Quinn milita army. 25 dead, 37 wounded
2 - Tellar (near Minor House Rios, Dockshaw, Harper Province)
Put down by House Rios standing forces: 36 dead, 55 wounded
3 - Carlisle (near Minor House Innslaugh, Oldhill, Gambier Province)
Settled by Personal Challenge, no casualties.
4 - Raleigh (near Minor House Bantam, Birchcreek, Dyelin Province)
Put down by mixed Raleigh/Bantam forces, 181 dead, 259 wounded
5 - Vincennes (west of Marlingtay, Marlingtay Province)
Three battles ensued - between Vincennes/Anzios, and Dale/Mei/Laine, 386 dead, 697 wounded
 
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Yeah, so, bandit rolls were bizarrely and improbably bad, and the pirate ones were not much more pleasant. That said, some of the other rolls went pretty well.

The Vincennes event roll went ... badly.

Anyway, this is what you get to spend those extra influence points on. Basically, there's three ways to use Influence Dice. Each agent you have ties one down to maintain. Certain actions that don't require a personal touch can be enacted through one. And you can use them to respond to events as they happen. Each turn there is a series of random event rolls that occur, some of which will lead to ways for House Tellar to intervene and look out of their own interests. The Antilles wargames is one example, the ... Vincennes/Dale fiasco is another.
 
[x] (Default Choice) Free Choice - Allow all Court Members to seek or avoid chivalrous battle as they will. [0 Influence Cost, your nobles are able to do the most good, but run the risk of heroic deaths]
[x] Council & Agents
[x] (Default option) Wait - Decline to act until a full investigation has been made. (Options will be available next turn) [0 Influence Cost, -1 with Dale, Capo, Vincennes]
[x] Where in Sartier is Carmen Rios? - You already have Carmen, who was once the Court Justice for Minor House Rios, in the Vincennes capital, there to finish off the shipbuilding contracts. If she delays some of the necessary project management, she can take the lead on an investigation. [75% chance of a +1 turn length delay to Vincennes half of A Shield of Our Own]
 
@veekie Maybe assign May instead of Carmen to the investigation head start? If we use May there is still an 83% chance of still getting the Vincennes Harbour Project completed without a hitch, while if we choose Carmen to head up the investigation we've only got a 25% chance of avoiding a penalty.

@OneirosTheWriter Is there a way we can recruit more agents so we can use them for more options in other turns?
 
May has Diplomacy 20 Intrigue 16, she has no previous experience with investigations.

Carmen has Diplomacy 26 Intrigue 24 AND Lawbringer as a retired judge.

I don't care about the costs so much as finding out the fine details of the case as accurately and rapidly as possible. Its far more important to make a correct ruling here than to finish an action a turn earlier.

By putting an experienced lawman on the job for our decision, it demonstrates our fairness and eliminates the chances of being false flagged or tricked.

Not sure if this quest runs supercritical successes, but if it does, Carmen ensures one for that difficulty by having a bonus larger than the difficulty.
 
@veekie Maybe assign May instead of Carmen to the investigation head start? If we use May there is still an 83% chance of still getting the Vincennes Harbour Project completed without a hitch, while if we choose Carmen to head up the investigation we've only got a 25% chance of avoiding a penalty.

@OneirosTheWriter Is there a way we can recruit more agents so we can use them for more options in other turns?
There will be but, of course, anyone you designate as an agent is going to be going out and speaking with the authority of the Tellar Symphony at a time where it may take weeks for contradictory orders to arrive. That is an immense level of trust to place in someone, as a lot of people have hidden traits and piety levels, in particular, are based on outside perception.

So, yes, but more agents chews up more of your influence pool, and the wider your circle of trust, the less reliable your agent pool gets. So you want to balance things out between having more agents, and running the risk that you accidentally hand your authority to a secret Teuvian, to a crook, to someone who comes with baggage you may not know about until you step in it. You got the full profiles of the potential agents but in the future, things like Melody's Sadist trait would require a lot of screening and a bit of luck to find out ahead of time.

Now, that said, having a Teuvian agent, or an agent with baggage isn't necessarily a doomsday scenario ... as long as you know ahead of time and can plan for it ;)
 
I admit, I'm torn on what to pick for the immediate response to the Dale/Vincenesse reigniting of the conflict.

Both sitting on it and Supporting Vinicennes seem like viable options, with sitting on it we're not taking a position until we actually know where the chips lie, while the position of 'bandits must be killed' isn't an unreasonable one.
 
Yep. Our Influence deficit hurts as much as I feared it would. Well, not entirely as much as I feared, mostly because I followed the "horribly low expectations".

Harper's not on fire (much), so far so good!

I'm kind of leaning on letting our forces try to help against the pirates. We have the magic, and I've seen the rolls involved with battlefield magic, especially without counterspelling available. Suffice to say, we're starting battlefield magic research next turn. But anyway, there's an opportunity for a lot of good, alongside the risk. I think it's worth it. And frankly, that's influence that could be better spent elsewhere.

The family option for the war games seems like a good compromise between getting our characters experience and saving that Influence point. Hmm... Though... Looking at my favored responses below, I don't actually spend that point... If we do go for a measured response, then it might be worth going all out on the officers option. This isn't a common occurrence, and we should take as much advantage as possible while it is available... Hmm...

In terms of the Vincennes fiasco, My gut reaction is Wait. Jumping in with a response seems premature to me, until the investigation is complete. While @FriedIce has a point in that "bandits must be killed" is a valid reason to support our vassal, this didn't occur in a vacuum. Just because it's a good reason doesn't mean that it's actually applicable to the situation at the moment. It might be, but we won't know that until we start investigating.

For investigation, I back veekie on using Carmen Rios. We'll be getting the Carlisle side of shipbuilding regardless, and she is much more likely to get us useful information than Lumen, as much as I love the little scamp (she has Stewardship! Hallelujah!). So putting half of our ships behind by a turn is worth getting a clearer picture of the situation and figuring out exactly who we should be dropping the hammer on.

That means my tentative mid-turn plan would look like:
[ ] Free Choice
[ ] Officers
[ ] Wait
[ ] Where in Sartier is Carmen Rios?

Total Cost of mid-turn: 1 Influence, 8000g + 5000g = 13000 g

We begin to tread into the realm of deficit spending... Doom! Doom! :o :p

Definitely not where I thought I'd be spending the Influence... but there is also the malus on the agent's rolls to take into account. It does drag down the Notecard action success chance to 56%, Costs How Much to 81%, and Chiming Forest to 82%. The latter two aren't a big jump... but that first does have me somewhat worried. @OneirosTheWriter, you've got me conflicted on how much to take advantage of this little War party. On one hand, we're training up our people, and can literally take the bandit attacks as reasonable provocation to start sending our forces out to put them down, and the better generals we have, the better we would do. Given the way the rolls work, any stat gain can pay serious dividends.

This plan should put us in a good position to take well-informed action next turn on the Vincennes event, and get as many of our characters better Martial as possible.

Edit: If we do decide that the success chance penalty and cost of the War Games is too high, I'd suggest we shift that Influence to keeping our Agents out the fighting. We don't want them wounded or killed this early on.
 
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Can we send the Officers without sending the Agents? That way our likelihood of success for actions won't decrease but our army still gets some training.
 
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