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The Lost Files (C:TL/Dresden Files) (CK2-ish)

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By Plan...
Vote Tally : The Lost Files (C:TL/Dresden Files) (CK2-ish) | Page 49 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.2

[X] A favor.
[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] Fae.
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The situation involving June and Linda.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
No. of Votes: 2
NemoMarx
Sivantic

[X] A favor.
[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X]...Wizards.
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The Political Order of St. Louis.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
No. of Votes: 2
veekie
wingstrike96

-[X]Fae
-[X]...Wizards
No. of Votes: 1
Monshroud

[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] The Red Court Vampires.
-[X] Fae
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The Fiddler.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
No. of Votes: 1
Malady

[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] The Fiddler.
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
[X] The strange serpent-men.
No. of Votes: 1
Noxious

[X] A favor.
[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] Fae.
[X] "Saint" Martin.
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
[X] The strange serpent-men.
No. of Votes: 1
silentspirals

[X] A favor.
[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] Fae.
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The Political Order of St. Louis.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
No. of Votes: 1
dpara

[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] The shape of the local mystic-political landscape.
[X] Perhaps some trade deals?
[X] The situation involving June and Linda.
[X] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
[X] Something to build camaraderie or at least minimal social bonds. Spin the goodwill into more goodwill!
No. of Votes: 1
Laenan

[X] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
-[X] The Fiddler.
-[X] Fae.
[X] The Fiddler.
[X] The possibility for future dealings.
[X] The Political Order of St. Louis.
No. of Votes: 1
PlatypusofFail

Total No. of Voters: 11


By Task
Vote Tally : The Lost Files (C:TL/Dresden Files) (CK2-ish) | Page 49 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.2

Task: What get?

[X][What get?] Information: (Will be phrased in such a way as to try to indicate asking about local information, rather than showing ignorance)
No. of Votes: 10
NemoMarx
dpara
Laenan
Malady
Noxious
PlatypusofFail
silentspirals
Sivantic
veekie
wingstrike96

-[X][What get?] Fae
No. of Votes: 7
Monshroud
dpara
Malady
NemoMarx
PlatypusofFail
silentspirals
Sivantic

[X][What get?] A favor.
No. of Votes: 6
NemoMarx
dpara
silentspirals
Sivantic
veekie
wingstrike96

-[X][What get?] ...Wizards
No. of Votes: 3
Monshroud
veekie
wingstrike96

[X][What get?] Perhaps some trade deals?
No. of Votes: 1
Laenan


-[X][What get?] The shape of the local mystic-political landscape.
No. of Votes: 1
Laenan

-[X][What get?] The Red Court Vampires.
No. of Votes: 1
Malady

——————————————————————————————————————————————
Task: What Talk?

[X][What Talk?] The possibility for future dealings.
No. of Votes: 10
NemoMarx
dpara
Laenan
Malady
Noxious
PlatypusofFail
silentspirals
Sivantic
veekie
wingstrike96

[X][What Talk?] Red Court vs. The Gardiners.
No. of Votes: 9
NemoMarx
dpara
Laenan
Malady
Noxious
silentspirals
Sivantic
veekie
wingstrike96

[X][What Talk?] The Political Order of St. Louis.
No. of Votes: 4
veekie
dpara
PlatypusofFail
wingstrike96

[X][What Talk?] The Fiddler.
No. of Votes: 3
Malady
Noxious
PlatypusofFail

[X][What Talk?] The situation involving June and Linda.
No. of Votes: 3
NemoMarx
Laenan
Sivantic

[X][What Talk?] The strange serpent-men.
No. of Votes: 2
Noxious
silentspirals

[X][What Talk?] "Saint" Martin.
No. of Votes: 1
silentspirals

[X][What Talk?] Something to build camaraderie or at least minimal social bonds. Spin the goodwill into more goodwill!
No. of Votes: 1
Laenan

Total No. of Voters: 11
Because the Conversation vote doesn't have a restricted number of topics to talk about, it might be best to limit that section's winners to 'votes with more than half of the total votes.' Alternately, all but three of the votes had 3 topics of conversation in their plans, so taking the Top 3 would also work.
 
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"[X][What get?] Something to build camaraderie or at least minimal social bonds. Spin the goodwill into more goodwill!"

Slight correction: this was intended to be a conversation topic, not a favor.
 
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Turn 2--Dinner with Yvonne, Part 2
  • Threadmarks
    • Turn 2--Dinner with Yvonne, Part 2

    Boons--
    Information on Fae
    Owe Me a Favor

    Topics--
    Red Court vs. Gardiners
    Political Order
    Future Dealings

    Cora Graves considered matters for a while. She didn't want to be tricked into revealing too much by her requests, and more than that, signs indicated that Yvonne Gardiner was an experienced and capable politician. Similar to Mayor Booster, she wasn't someone who could be defeated merely by charming her.

    There was another similarity, at least for the moment. Right now, she could not afford to actually act openly against her. For Mayor Booster this 'for the moment' had been in effect for decades, but at the very least a war with the Gardiners would not end well for anyone.

    The Red Court was waiting and watching, and while she had far less access to them, it wasn't hard to guess at how they'd take an open conflict like that.

    Yvonne Gardiner seemed like someone who excelled when the combat was veiled and hidden. Of course, Cora had her own tricks, including several agents placed closely enough to monitor the situation. She even had cutouts and several backup means, all of which were there both to gather information that could be objectively distributed, and to cover for her real intelligence coup: the as-yet unwatched and unheard 'security footage' that her Sorcery had on the Gardiner residence.

    So what to ask was simple in a way, "I would like you to owe me a favor."

    "Is that so?" Yvonne asked, as they brought out the salads. Cora didn't eat, focused intently on Yvonne. If she were Mayor Booster, perhaps she would note the subtle shifts of emotion and decision playing across her face, but instead what Cora saw as concentration and contemplation. She was mulling it over just as Cora had before, "And what would be so valuable about being owed a favor?"

    "I am new to this city, as you might have guessed. Being owed a favor by a major player is part of putting one's pieces on the board," Cora Graves said, voice carefully neutral. She didn't glance around, for she was aware she was in the heart of Gardiner territory, the sort of place where if it came down to a fight, there would be guns trained on her.

    "Ah, and so that explains the plumber, doesn't it? Gathering information for your arrival?" Yvonne asked.
    Cora's face was blank. Yvonne finding out about one of her servants being bribed for minor information was almost expected, and part of the point of such sources was to mask more probing sources should it be discovered. "Oh? I do not know much about plumbers."

    "Nothing that could be said in polite company, either?" Yvonne joked, her smile sly, "So you wish for a favor, this is acceptable. And you're fishing for information."

    "The...Fae," Cora said, the word careful. Now was a moment where she could give up whatever hidden advantage she had. "What of them in the city?"

    "Ah, now that makes sense," Yvonne said. "Your knowledge is not likely to be up to date, if you have been here before, Mrs. Graves. Currently there is a strong presence of the Winter Court, especially a certain nixie. The river draws certain types of Fae like flies. As well there is Naomi Nails, a Summer Court Fae who has a workshop here, and several others. But even in the height of summer, I have heard it said, the cold of the river dominates, and there are even Kelpies who forsake their usual warmth for the Winter Court."

    This was a lot of information, yet only some of it could be understood. Perhaps some of her thoughtful uncertainty showed through, because Yvonne laughed, "Fae politics are complex, and not in a way for us who live outside the Nevernever to grasp. You have not had many experiences with the Fae?"

    The fact that only Summer and Winter were mentioned meant it likely that those were the only two courts, and that they followed some form of seasonal variation. The names, such as nixies and kelpies, suggested that they were the source, or the result, of human fairytales and the like, in a similar way to Changelings, though perhaps or perhaps not so directly.

    "Not as such," Cora said, "Are they likely to upset the political order of St. Louis?"

    Yvonne shrugged, "I doubt they would be, but Naomi Nails is a resourceful sort of Fae, and she is said to be friends with several people of import."

    "Are any of them Red Court?"

    Yvonne chuckled, "Her? Red Court? She thinks they are savages, and pardon me for saying it, but she is right. She doesn't like us either, but she likes none of the vampire courts. You, you she might try to kill on sight."

    Cora raised an eyebrow, as carefully as she could, "She would?"

    "Perhaps she would be right. I know that you have plans, and I suspect that you are a Sorcerer. I've seen that there are agents monitoring some of my other family members, and I have enough proof to guess that you've woven a net around me."
    There were, Cora reflected, agents who would have to explain why they had let so much slip.

    "More, I suppose, like a web of spider silk," Cora supplied. "Easily broken."

    "It is as if you don't trust me. Which is a wise thing, but then again I'm not sure I trust you, either," Yvonne said, "Your kind, if they are your kind, are not congenial to the political order, and so if anyone is likely to upset the political order, it is you. And it is obvious that you have planned this for some time, prepared for this carefully, and are using far more resources than you'd like to indicate to get this far."

    "Ah, so the political order is one you wish to maintain?" Cora asked, stabbing her fork down on a piece of foliage, distracted, her eyes boring into Yvonne's. Yvonne looked away after just a moment, breaking contact.

    Her expression was set, grim, as she said, "The Red Court is winning in its contest to slowly gain influence over the Mayor's office. On the ground level, you have no response to their gang-based presence, and the resources being put into the economic competition is not enough."

    "This is all true," Yvonne said.

    "You need something that changes the nature of the game," Cora said, "Currently, what is the Red Court doing that you truly have a counter for? What are they doing that your mother has not been able to deal with."

    "If you are asking what you can do for me," Yvonne said, smiling winsomely. Cora felt the faint flush of arousal, but her face was a mask, she didn't allow any sign that it was working to slip through, "Then there is much. Yet if we truly are simply working together, the question remains what happens afterwards."

    "What happens afterwards is a long time away. Every day in politics is a year. Right now you're bleeding," Cora said.

    "And you would kiss the wound clean?" Yvonne asked, shaking her head, taking a long sip of the white wine she had been given. "Out of the kindness of her heart?"

    "I believe that the Red Court is a force that has to be dealt differently than your own court," Cora said, taking what was essentially a leap of faith, but one supported by her own interpretation of the words.

    The woman in front of her was a vampire, a psychic vampire, and thought she was a third kind of vampire. Red, White, Black. The third kind had to be rarer, and more corpse-like for her to be mistaken for one.
    "Ah, is that it? You think that the Whites will be easier prey? This city and its people, whatever I may do, do not need someone like you close to power," Yvonne said, "There are people in this city whose interests align with mine."

    "Who you care for," Cora said, "Who you love and want to protect. Booster…" Cora considered just how to say it, "I would make the claim that Booster and myself will do rather more for this city than you."

    Yvonne laughed, "That is a bold claim. So, you desire an alliance. Are you going to state your terms, or keep it vague. My sister would say that any business negotiation has to be sat down upon, and papers written up detailing the letter of the law to the very word, but even should I support such a thing, it would all depend on what you are offering."

    It was a clever tactic, putting the onus of making the offer on Cora. It allowed her to see what Cora had up her sleeves, and because she had managed to uncover at least a decent portion of the network monitoring her, it meant that she was on the backfoot.

    This was a situation that could be managed, but Cora Graves had to admit that Yvonne had manuevered quite well.

    The waiter came along and said, "Ladies, would you like to order?"

    "Give us...three minutes," Yvonne said.

    And there was the time limit, just as she'd suspected.


    What will Cora Graves and Mayor Booster be doing for the Gardiners? (Choose however many, vote by plan with the second vote)

    [] Weakening the Red-influenced gangs.
    [] Focusing on the economic props and the like.
    [] Winning influence in the halls of power.
    [] Infiltrating them.
    [] Faking an alliance with them.
    [] Write-in.

    In Exchange, They Want?

    [] Information on…
    -[] Magic users in the city.
    -[] Any new threats or political events that might impact their position in the city.
    -[] Write-in.
    [] A free hand towards economic expansion.
    [] A free hand towards perhaps...influencing gangs of their own.
    [] A guaranteed level of influence in the city council (some sort of power sharing arrangement.)
    [] More economic resources to throw at problems.
    [] Write-in.

    *******
    Persuasion: 6 dice=3 successes

    Manipulation+Subterfuge: 11 dice vs. 10 dice, both sets are eight again...5 vs. 6 successes, huh

    Subterfuge: 1 success, wah wah wah

    Yvonne's Snooping: 1d100+10 (Competence)-10 (She's Up Against Cora)=98

    Socialize: 2 successes

    Politics: 1 success
    A/N: And so Yvonne does rather well, Cora muddles along *slightly*. It's not a defeat of any kind, but the Gardiners aren't opponents or allies to be taken lightly.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Dig out the roots and blossom
    -[X] Weakening the Red-influenced gangs.
    -[X] Focusing on the economic props and the like.
    -[X] Infiltrating them.
    -[X] A free hand towards economic expansion.
    -[X] A guaranteed level of influence in the city council (some sort of power sharing arrangement.)

    Basically...we offer to do things we were going to do anyway, and meanwhile, work out way into the halls of official power. The underworld is much more Red territory, and thus not really the Whites to give anyway.
     
    veekie said:
    The underworld is much more Red territory, and thus not really the Whites to give anyway.
    Click to expand...
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    They could give their approval of us replacing the Reds in the local underworld though. Their help or even just their non-interference while we set up to take over the shady side of things would be quite useful. And having an agreement between the powers behind the thrones of both official and unofficial blocs in a city this size could make for quite a good setup. It lets us focus most of our resources outward, without worrying about local problems as much.
     
    [X] Plan Three For Three
    -[X] Weakening the Red-influenced gangs.
    -[X] Focusing on the economic props and the like.
    -[X] Infiltrating them.
    -[X] A free hand towards economic expansion.
    -[X] A free hand towards perhaps...influencing gangs of their own.
    -[X] A guaranteed level of influence in the city council (some sort of power sharing arrangement.)
     
    We should have taken Booster with us. He would have charmed her pants off and left with the deed to the restaurant. xD

    What does "[] Infiltrating them." mean?

    What can we do for you? Infiltrate you, sure, np ??
     
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    dpara said:
    We should have taken Booster with us. He would have charmed her pants off and left with the deed to the restaurant. xD
    Click to expand...
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    Research has shown that every single victim of hers (none of which died untimely deaths except in one case, oddly enough) is female.

    That is enough for Cora to say that it is relatively likely that Yvonne Gardiner is not straight.

    The certainty isn't 100%, but it's a pretty strong set of data.
     
    What do the Summer and Winter courts of the Freehold want? I know Cora wants information and Mayor Booster wants political and underworld influence, but I can't recall what the other leaders would want.

    The Laurent said:
    That is enough for Cora to say that it is relatively likely that Yvonne Gardiner is not straight.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    >Implying Spring Court can't do something about that:V
     
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    Sivantic said:
    What do the Summer and Winter courts of the Freehold want? I know Cora wants information and Mayor Booster wants political and underworld influence, but I can't recall what the other leaders would want.



    >Implying Spring Court can't do something about that:V
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Not as easily as you think. Also, it's a pretty low-down Clarity loss point. *checks* I'd place it as a Clarity 2 or 3 breaking point, honestly. Rewriting someone's sexuality so you can fuck them, if done the right way, might even be a Clarity 1 breaking point.

    /Shits all over the joke.

    *****

    As for Summer and Winter, I can tell you after work.
     
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    The Laurent said:
    Not as easily as you think. Also, it's a pretty low-down Clarity loss point. *checks* I'd place it as a Clarity 2 or 3 breaking point, honestly. Rewriting someone's sexuality so you can fuck them, if done the right way, might even be a Clarity 1 breaking point.

    /Shits all over the joke.

    *****

    As for Summer and Winter, I can tell you after work.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Depends on whether he's making her feel unnatural attraction to squeeze a better deal, or making her feel unnatural attraction to follow through. Not good anyway.

    That's pretty much how wampire internal power struggles go.
     
    [X] Plan Dig out the roots and blossom


    At this point, I do not believe that Yvonne thinks that Cora is a Black Court Vampire.
    BC vampires are dangerous, repugnant, souless monsters that even other monsters find objectionable. Yvonne would not be acting so comfortably if she believed (and sensed) that she was in ones presence.
    Changelings are both alive and mired in emotional energy. As both a WC vampire and a magical talent, by now Yvonne should have been able to sense enough of Cora's magical nature to conclude that she isn't a BC vampire. Additionally, given the host of quirks and weaknesses associated with the Black Court, it would not be hard to confirm e.g. use a pocket mirror to check if she has a reflection, see if she reacts to a random symbol of faith (not necessarily a cross or a christian symbol), etc.

    Cora might have been able to fool Yvonne if she knew what she wanted to pretend to be. The trouble is she doesn't and cannot straight up ask various (rather important) questions about other supernatural groups and beings without tipping her hand.
     
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    Sweece said:
    At this point, I do not believe that Yvonne thinks that Cora is a Black Court Vampire.
    BC vampires are dangerous, repugnant, souless monsters that even other monsters find objectionable.
    Click to expand...
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    Not necessarily. Recall that Harry had some amiable(at least, he thought it was at the time) interaction with one.

    Sweece said:
    Changelings are both alive and mired in emotional energy. As both a WC vampire and a magical talent, by now Yvonne should have been able to sense enough of Cora's magical nature to conclude that she isn't a BC vampire. Additionally, given the host of quirks and weaknesses associated with the Black Court, it would not be hard to confirm e.g. use a pocket mirror to check if she has a reflection, see if she reacts to a random symbol of faith (not necessarily a cross or a christian symbol), etc.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Blampires are rare enough that the Yvonne simply has no basis to predict one from meeting one...and ALL the Blampire vulnerabilities, explicitly spelled out in Dracula itself...have an exception that says "if you are powerful, these don't apply"
     
    veekie said:
    Blampires are rare enough that the Yvonne simply has no basis to predict one from meeting one...and ALL the Blampire vulnerabilities, explicitly spelled out in Dracula itself...have an exception that says "if you are powerful, these don't apply"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    As a WC she can probably sense emotion/life; also not all BC quirks (such as the lack of reflection) are vulnerabilities.
     
    Sweece said:
    BC vampires are dangerous, repugnant, souless monsters that even other monsters find objectionable. Yvonne would not be acting so comfortably if she believed (and sensed) that she was in ones presence.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    If you show fear, the Blampire probably just eats you right then. She knows she's screwed if it comes to that, same for turning down an invitation by one. She's being as polite as possible because of that fear, I think.
     
    The Laurent said:
    Research has shown that every single victim of hers (none of which died untimely deaths except in one case, oddly enough) is female.

    That is enough for Cora to say that it is relatively likely that Yvonne Gardiner is not straight.

    The certainty isn't 100%, but it's a pretty strong set of data.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Is there a roll? Then I believe in him!

    ((Also I bet that the meal is just gonna swim in garlic))

    Cora orders garlic bread.
    Yvonne, what does it mean? 1000 plans and hidden meanings.
    Cora eats garlic bread.

    edit; on another note, did no one think to check the phone book for Coras address?
     
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    [X] Plan You Take High Road and I'll Take...
    -[X] Weakening the Red-influenced gangs.
    -[X] Focusing on the economic props and the like.
    -[X] A free hand towards economic expansion.
    -[X] A free hand towards perhaps...influencing gangs of their own.

    Taking control of the shadier side of things sounds interesting. I like the idea of co-owning this town.
     
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    [X] Plan You Take High Road and I'll Take...
    -[X] Weakening the Red-influenced gangs.
    -[X] Focusing on the economic props and the like.
    -[X] A free hand towards economic expansion.
    -[X] A free hand towards perhaps...influencing gangs of their own.
     
    Indeed. You should know that Cora thinks there are good odds that Yvonne has seen through far MORE than she'd like, but it's impossible to tell how much because by its very definition, it's not something Yvonne is going to share, and it's not something Cora can ask about.

    At the very least she's willing to pretend to believe Cora is a Black Court Vampire for the moment, that's all that Cora knows (well, she doesn't know the specifics of BC, but...)
     
    I figure she's playing along because anyone with all these signs isn't weak by any standards.

    And considering Blampires...odds are if someone is pretending to be one, its probably an even worse thing.
     
    [X] Plan Dig out the roots and blossom

    We don't really need her permission to take over some of the gangs and we don't know her well enough to know if she'd have issues with it.
     
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