Thought I'd try and summarize the key votes and issues we have this turn. As well as interject with my own thoughts.
MIlitary Bonuses.
[ ] The Censor List
(The Iron Companies become immune to intelligence leaks.)
Not that impactful by itself, but very useful if we deploy the Iron Companies right. Basically makes the Iron Companies movements virtually invisible to Vlad until they are spotted in the field. Fantastic as long as the Iron Companies deploy alone, which sometimes we might not want to.
[ ] Van Hal Returns
(Van Hal secures the Veldt and a new force made up of the Ungol horsetribes of the Veldt and Dwarfs from Karak Kadrin.)
Most immediate gain. This secures Ostermark just that bit more. Should help with making sure Ostermark doesn't flip to the Ottillians. Strengthens our isolated northern flank against Sylvania.
[ ] The Militarstutz
(The Militarstutz expands to the next level and gains an Action Dice.)
Amazing bonus, but it will take time to see its benefits. An extra action die to funding the Militarstutz means we can constantly churn out arms and armour for the war effort.
Unless a plan has a specific overarching goal in mind, any of these would be good to pick. I would rate either Van Hal or the Militarstutz slightly higher than the censor list. It's going to take precise wording each time we direct the Iron Companies to see the benefits from the censor list. The other two basically work for themselves in the background.
Reikland Appointments.
[ ] Baron Otterbein of Reinsfeld
[ ] Margrave von Mackensen of Helmgart
[ ] Both
[ ] Neither
I'm of the opinion we take Otterbein but not von Mackensen. Otterbein seems competent enough given his description. I wouldn't mind making him Secretary. Von Mackensen is a hell no from me. The Master of Spies position is too important to give to what seems to be a carouser and Reikland patsy. It has to be given to someone competent. I would really like if we could give Van Hal the position instead. I bet he could do a lot more with the resources being Master of Spies gives him, if he accepts of course.
Imperialist Strategy.
[ ] Submit to Reality
Carolin's Imperialists will need focus on inter-Province diplomacy.
[ ] An Absolute Reaction
Carolin's Imperialists will need focus on strengthening the Civil Service.
[ ] The Strong Rule the Weak
Carolin's Imperialists will need focus on the war effort.
This would be much easier to decide on if we knew the mechanical implications of the Imperialist's aid.
@Warkeymon what exactly are we getting from these? I'm assuming just roll bonuses?
From a Watsonian angle, I think I prefer the Strong Rule the Weak. It's basically a given that the Empire is in a real bad place right now. The Empire is in a state where the idea of Imperial unity is more a polite fiction than actual reality. Focusing on inter-province diplomacy might be a good strategy if we were in peacetime, which we're not. I wouldn't mind flooding the Civil Service with Nulner bureaucrats but there's a chance that whatever bureaucracy we build up will either be used by another Imperial Pretender or outright abolished if we don't win the next election.
I say focus on the war effort. Make sure Wissenland comes out of the Vampire Wars with the best and most intact army in the Empire. Show the other electors we definitely have the biggest stick. We're very much in interesting times/ a might makes right era. To paraphrase from that other Bismarck, the questions of the day won't be settled with speeches or votes, but by iron and blood.
Sorcery and the Grand Elder.
[ ] The Quinsberry Declaration
[ ] Abomination Unveiled
[ ] Death Cures All Ills
So we can either make the halflings happy and denounce the rumors that their dead Grand Elder used magic to fight Vlad, make the halflings mad by denouncing the dead Grand Elder, or just ignore the issue entirely because the Grand Elder and the witch is dead.
Unless we're aiming for a specific outcome out of this, I say we just ignore it. Not worth the hassle.
The First Admiral
[ ] First Admiral
You refuse the resignation and leave Bendijk as First Admiral. She held that position long before there was a single Emperor, you see no reason to deny her it now. So long as she keeps fulfilling the duties then you've no interest in sending her back to Marienburg.
[ ] Grand Baron
The Grand Baron of Westerland has taken Marienburg out of your version of the Empire, and out of the Ottilian version of it too. Perhaps Marienburg is too used to independence. But so long as Westerland is outside of your Empire, you'll not be rewarding it with a Seat. Remove Bendijk from her position.
My opinion is that we should keep the First Admiral at least until she finishes her work in Salkalten, if only so we don't have to spend the AP to appoint a new Grand Admiral this turn. We can then grant it to either Nordland or Ostland, whoever seems easiest to court away from the Ottillians.
Actually wait, as long as a plan has the dice for the appointment, we can go for that instead. That helps us hamstring the Ottillians asap. Westerland is basically out of consideration in so far as another election, unless we really push to keep them in our sphere.
Edit: We don't have enough Imperial Dice to do two appointments this turn unless we want one to have a fair chance at failing. DC is 150 and we only have 5 dice.
Misc.
[ ] Write-In a name for your new son.
[] Sigismund
I've been playing a lot of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and the name of one of the main antagonists is really striking me. It's also appropriately Warhammer. It's also the name of the first High Marshal of the Black Templars in 40k so it's definitely Warhammer. Can't remember if there's any named figures already named Sigismund in WHFB too.
Edit:
Oh and in terms of actual turn stuff, just wanted to remind everyone we still have to
- Appoint a new Master of Spies (ASAP)
- Finish the Sol Templar Order. Halfway done as of now.
- Investigate the low-level chaos activity. We should be ready to assault it if it's gets larger. I'm betting it will.
