IIRC, oddly enough, no. If I'm remembering right, then according to a quest in Tranquillien, Mulroc's as a species still have free will even in undeath.
I could be remembering wrong, though.
The Scourging of Lordaeron (Warcraft Quest Reboot)
IIRC, oddly enough, no. If I'm remembering right, then according to a quest in Tranquillien, Mulroc's as a species still have free will even in undeath.
I could be remembering wrong, though.
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
Murloc's don't listen to the voices in their head when alive, and they keep not doing that when they're dead.
Really, it's a wonder we can raise goblins.
Really, it's a wonder we can raise goblins.
Eh, the RPG mentions they also had to adapt the Plague to the Trolls so there's some precedent for Murloc research(at least I don't think this particular point was contradicted by blizzard officials).
They get to keep 20% of their enemies' dead bodies and get to loot the corpses./jk
More seriously, Undeath means they don't have to leave their belongings to family members(ugh) or pay for food(as they'll never go hungry again). And well, the Scourge is a pretty large trade partner when you're dead...
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Turn 1 - January, 18 ADP
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Turn 1 - January, Year 18 ADP
When you first left Quel'Thalas, you remember quite clearly how you tried to convince yourself that you were moving on to better places than that gilded monstrosity of scheming and treachery in order to give yourself the strength needed to leave behind everything you have ever known and worked toward for over a hundred years. You had to tell yourself that all those stories you heard from various merchants, diplomats and veterans of what people are now calling the Second Great War about about how the Humans are all uncultured savages barely better than the Trolls cannot possibly be true. You remember trying to convince yourself that an intelligent species that has a rudimentary mastery of magic and a basic understanding of the concept of personal hygiene should, theoretically, be able to create a civilization that you can slowly ease yourself into without having to lower your standards to around the level of having to leave in a dirty hovel without access to enough clean water to bath twice a day. After all, you are the great Magistrix Ariseth Dawnspring, which means that, surely, you should be able to easily insert yourself into the top echelons of Human society and have various highborn Humans fight over the honor of welcoming you into their palaces.
Of course, reality has a nasty tendency of shattering expectations in the worst ways, which is normally a concept that you are more than familiar with, but, which, at the time, you had forced into the back of your mind in order to gain some measure of false comfort and sense of hope.
The first year or so were relatively acceptable from a purely standard of living point of view, but you quickly realized that you having to live in the middle of some disgusting Human city that stinks of wet dog and a serious lack of proper sanitation is not even remotely comparable to the reward you get, in terms of either material wealth or personal pride, for helping some dimwitted minor noble house increase their stake in the regional merchant guild or expand their influence on the city council. Back in Quel'thalas, you were born and groomed your entire life to strive toward what you were taught was your birthright and the only measure by such your success in life would be judged by your equals, which is maintaining your family's hold on power in the Convocation of Silvermoon and being deemed worthy of your claiming your father's seat when he steps down. You realize now, of course, that the sense of duty and pride you felt while slaving away to benefit a family that was only interested in using you and would toss you aside as soon as you were no longer useful was nothing more than an elaborate lie crafted in order to blind you to the truth, but, at the time, you carved glory and respect that you were simply never going to reach by helping worthless Humans.
After that, you gave up what little luxury and glamour you had left in order to travel around the continent in search of an opportunity that would finally allow you to leave your mark on the world for all to gaze upon in awe. Looking back on it, you realize with some amusement that the lies you told yourself at the time actually turned out to be correct, even if your life went progressively downhill for several years until, with nothing better to do and no future in sight, you finally decided answer the call of the Lich King you had been foolishly resisting for so long.
And now, as the small carriage you and your traveling companion are riding in finally lurches to a halt, the time has finally come for your great work to begin.
"At last," the Human female murmurs distastefully in a soft voice with a light Gilnean accent. "I thought this miserable journey would never end."
You do not even bother to reply to such a pointless statement as you take the time to make sure your appearance is as presentable as you can make it under the circumstances by using a floating piece of arcane ice you conjured as a makeshift mirror. You frown slightly in annoyance as you notice how your hair, once a soft and radiant shade of gold, has continued to become more and more pale despite everything you have tried to reverse or even simply halt the process. You realize that it is most likely a minor quirk caused by the sheer amount of Necromantic magic you have been channeling through your body that is slowly overwhelming your connection to the Sunwell, which means that the usual aristocratic physical features common to Quel'dorei of noble birth with superior connections to the majestic nexus of arcane energy, created at the dawn of Quel'dorei civilization by your ancestors using a vial of water from the fabled Well of Eternity itself, are slowly being overwritten by the corrupting influence of the Lich King himself. You have seen the long-term effects of what such corruption has on the body during your studies in Northrend, so you knew this was coming for a while, but the prospect of your skin turning deathly pale like a corpse and your hair losing all of its once vibrant color to become a dull shade of white is not exactly something you are looking forward to.
Sparing a quick glance at your traveling companion, you do feel a little sense of relief when you note the fact that the Human's skin appear to be even more pale than your own and her outfit seems more fitting for a funeral than anything else. You never did understand why most of your fellow servants of the Lich King seem to lack even the most basic understanding of fashion or skincare, but, judging by what you have been able to learn about the former witch now calling herself Lady Chillheart, you get the distinct impression that she already spent an unhealthy amount of her time locked up inside ancient libraries, crypts and laboratories, so even this rather short, but admittedly unpleasant, ride is more than she is used to dealing with.
"For a Human-made mud-trail in the middle of nowhere, I would say it actually surpassed my expectations," you reply nonchalantly as you make some final adjustments to your hair before dismissing the makeshift mirror before you finally grace her with your most radiant smile."Besides, a little exercise and fresh air every once in a while can be good for your...complexion."
Chillheart grimaces slightly at your barely concealed jab, but, to her credit, the Human witch seems to realize that she is not going to win this argument with you, so she simply turns her attention to the outside world by opening the dark silk curtains enough to let in the smallest glimmer of sunshine. You can barely suppress the chuckle already halfway up your throat when you see the fool wince slightly as her eyes are forced to adjust after spending hours in the dim interior of the carriage, but, through sheer willpower and decades of training, you were able to suppress your reaction to such a ridiculous example of how pathetic the Human body is compared to those of the Quel'dorei, since such a display would not project the correct image for the time being and you have no real reason to actually antagonize the Human whose original name you never even bothered to remember once you confirmed that she was nobody of any consequence. With nothing better to do for the time being, you turn away smoothly to glance out the opposite window on your side carriage while you wait for somebody to come and open the door for you.
Your superior eyes immediately adjust to the light without even the slightest hint of discomfort, but you still find yourself frowning slightly as you finally get your first glimpse of your supposed base of operations.
You were informed before you set out on your mission that the location for your new base of operations would be an old isolated estate owned by the wealthy and powerful Barov family, who have secretly sworn allegiance to the Lich King and have even offered their primary fortified estate on Caer Darrow to the Cult of the Damned to be used as a hidden training facility for new Necromancers. According to the information you were given and what your own research was able to turn up, the estate had apparently been abandoned by its previous owners, a noble family of Alterac, when the Horde began its unopposed march through the region in accordance with the secret deal they struck with the traitorous King Perenholde. After the war, the surviving owners of the estate tried to petition King Terenas for permission to reclaim their ancestral lands, but, like almost all former citizens of Alterac, they were stripped of all their titles and holdings, while their estate was auctioned off to the highest bidder, who, in this case, just happened to be one Duke Alexei Barov. At the time, you assumed that the estate's geographical isolation as well as the influence of its official owners would be beneficial in terms of intimidating the local militia and government into not looking into your operation too closely.
What you did not properly anticipate, however, was the fact that the entire estates seems to have been abandoned since the Second War and was now little more than a decrepit wreck that looks like it should be demolished instead of serving as your future base of operations. The grounds of the entire estate are filled with overgrown grass and the building itself seems to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment since massive sections of the wooden frame has turned a sickly shade of black, parts of the roof have already collapsed and many of the windows are either covered in black mold or just simply gone with only the occasional rotting wooden plank to protect the interior from the elements. To make matters even worse, judging by the simple fact that massive double doors that once served as the main entrance into what Humans probably considered to be a respectable manor is simply gone and, through the opening, you can see ruined furniture as well as clear signs of squatting and looting.
"Surely this is some sort of ill-conceived jest," the Human gives voice to your disgust with a huff of indignation. "I cannot be expected to work under abysmal such conditions."
You do not even dignify her comment with a reply as you watch the wretched-looking Human male who served as the driver of your coach awkwardly shuffle over to the door to do his job. The instant the door is open, you resist the urge to gag as a combination of the disgusting Human's own body odor as well what you have learned over the past year as the unmistakable scent of rot and decay rush into the perfumed interior of the coach. The man gives you a smile that you find offensive before he offers you a hand covered in grease, dirt and other unidentifiable stains to help you out.
You merely glare at him icily until his disgusting smile evaporates and he slowly retracts his hand before stepping out of the way so you can step out of the coach yourself.
As soon as your feet touch the ground, you can feel your heels sink halfway down into the muddy ground and barely manage to keep yourself from stumbling like a clumsy fool by using your staff to steady yourself. Glancing down at the bottom of your robes, you smile in relief as you watch the various enchantments you placed on them cause the disgusting mud to to slid right off without leaving so much as a single stain. That smile, however, quickly evaporates as you inhale the air around your new base of operations without any perfume to mask its nauseating odor. Despite how much you might hate to might it, despite how much you tried to acclimate yourself to the stench of death during your time in Northrend, you were never really able to fully embrace it as many of the other, less talented and hygienic, students were able to.
Thankfully, as you begin to slowly trudge your way toward the mansion, you note with a smirk when, in the corner of your eye, you spot Chillheart forced to actually cover her face with her handkerchief after shoving away the disgusting driver when he offered his hand to help her down. Turning your attention back to the main entrance to the abandoned manor, your smile grows as you spot your other minion emerge from the darkness without so much as a sound.
"High Overseer," the hooded assassin, a female Human named Yana Bloodspear, greets you a simple nod. "Welcome to Southshore."
Clad in a set of beautiful, yet functional, enchanted leather armor, Yana is actually rather beautiful in a certain way for a lowborn Human who has seen a lifetime of violence and crime. In contrast to Chillheart, the differences are almost day and night due to her obviously superior physique and the simple way that she carries herself as though she is constantly on the verge of pouncing on some unseen enemy. In terms of mannerism, the assassin has exactly the sort of professional attitude and pragmatism, which, along with her above average complacence and proven history of loyalty, made her the perfect agent to send ahead of you to inspect both the mansion as well as the local settlement. The fact that she is actually familiar with this region during her time as a mercenary operating out of Dalaran means that she can move through the region without attracting anywhere near as much attention as a Magistrix of Silvermoon such as you would have.
"My dear Yana, I hope you are here to tell me that the month I gave you to prepare for my arrival has been put to better use than it would appear," you purr softly with feigned intimacy and an exaggerated smile before waving your free hand toward the building behind her. "I would be most disappointed if I were to find out that this hovel will be my new base of operations."
The assassin shrugs nonchalantly at your threat just as Chillheart finally decides to grace you with her presence with a disgusting amount of mud smeared across the bottom of her dark robes and ugly leather boots.
"The structure is stable and there is plenty of room for expansion in this valley," Yana replies calmly as she beckons for you to follow her as she begins to head for the back of the mansion. "The location is ideal in terms of defense since the only way in is by ship or the single path through the mountains you just come from."
You remain silent as Yana leads you and Chillheart to a stone trail that was probably once actually visible, but which has, over the past decade of neglect, become almost completely hidden by overgrown grass and mud. After several minutes of silently walking around the surprisingly enormous building that, upon closer inspection, actually does not look as decay as it did from a distance, your small finally turns the corner and you get your first glimpse of the rest of the estate. Just as Yana said, the grounds are almost large enough to fit a small village into with its own river for fresh water as well as a cluster of trees for wood. In the distance you can see the coast of Baradin Bay, which already has what seems to be a simple newly build wharf where small ships can dock without attracting the attention they would otherwise receive by docking at the nearby town itself. Nearby, you can also see the beginnings of what appears to a small mining pit as well as a pot of land that has already been cleared to make way for a farm.
"I assume you did not accomplish all of this by yourself?" You comment with a genuinely impressed smile as you catch sight of a newly constructed wooden shack near the coast.
The assassin glances back at you and you can see the hint of a smile in her eyes despite her mask covering nearly everything else as she nods her head in appreciation.
"No, mistress. I recruited some locals into the organization," she replies respectfully before tilting her head to indict the empty barracks. "Once the basics were done, I told them to lay low until they're needed again."
Your smile expands and you are about to congratulate your minion on demonstrating such impressive initiative and competence when Chillheart suddenly clears her throat, softly but audibly, to attract your attention. You and the assassin before turn toward the woman to see her still inspecting the decrepit mansion itself with a look of pure disgust while all but ignoring the rest of the compound. It does not exactly take a genius of your caliber to deduce what the former mage is thinking and, truthfully, know that you have to give some thought as to where you will have to stay for the foreseeable future, you are also far from pleased with the situation you now find yourself in. You have had to give up almost all the luxuries you once took for granted back in Quel'Thalas during your travels and subsequent time in Northrend, but you never came close to having to live under such unsanitary and unseemly conditions before.
"Surely you do not mean for us to sleep with the peasants?" The Human necromancer demands in disbelief before waving her hand dismissively at the mansion. "I hope you are not planning for us to stay in that disgusting ruin."
Your eyes narrow slightly at the insolent tone your minion has just addressed you with before your expression shifts into an icy smile that you specifically crafted to ensure even someone as socially inept as Chillheart will not miss your displeasure. The two of you remain silent as you stare each other down, but, after barely a second, Chillheart quickly averts her gaze when her brain finally catches up with her and she realized the folly of challenging you like this. You make sure to glare at her for a few more heartbeats to make sure the impudent fool has been successfully put in her place for the time being before you turn your attention back to Yana while your expression immediately shifts into a relaxed smile as though nothing had happened.
"You will have to forgive my companion. She is quite gifted in the matters of sorcery, but she has trouble dealing with new environments," you take another easy jab at Chillheart before using the opening the fool created to give voice to your own concern without having to undermine your own reputation. "But, she does raise a good point. Is this building actually safe to live in for an extended period of time?"
To her credit, the assassin does not even acknowledge the feud you just had with Chillheart.
"I've been living in it since I got here, so you'll probably be fine," Yana replies bluntly, much to Chillheart's visible chagrin and your own amusement. "It's not exactly comfortable, but it's not going to collapse on you if that's what you're worried about."
To be perfectly honest, you do not have any desire whatsoever to live in that Light forsaken ruin, but you are not going to take a hit to your authority by looking weak in front of your own minions before your first actual mission, which was given to you by the Grand Master himself on behalf of the Lich King himself, has barely even started. Ariseth Dawnspring was a weak and pathetic creature who, just like Chillheart, only cared about insignificant things like comfortable living conditions, food and other pathetic mortal comforts. You are High Overseer Ariseth Wintersoul, reborn from the husk of that weakling on the summit of Icecrown Glacier, and you have already faced death and eternal damnation in order to acquire true power in service to a living god.
How can a few months or years or centuries of physical discomfort compare to the eventual reward of immortality and power beyond mortal comprehension?
"I am sure we can make do for the time being," you respond calmly before turning to address Chillheart with an innocent smile. "If you do not wish to stay inside, then you are free to set up camp outside."
Judging by the look of annoyance on the esteemed Arcanist's face as she gazes around in vain for a suitable location to set up a tent, you can feel a satisfied smirk spread across your face as you note the subtle lump in her normally rigid posture when she finally comes to the conclusion that sleeping inside the ruined building is better than sleeping outside in the freezing mud like an animal.
Once you are satisfied with watching the Human squirm in discomfort and misery for a few more moments, you finally turn to address both of your minions with an expression of pure confidence and determination.
"The Lich King himself watches over us and He demands nothing less than absolute triumph," you declare ominously as you shift your gaze between your two immediate subordinates. "Those who fail or oppose Him will be destroyed utterly and those who serve, wholly and unquestioningly with utter devotion of mind and soul, will be elevated to heights beyond your ken."
As you watch your minions bow their heads in reverence as you conclude your short sermon, your mind is already turning toward the great work that you will be conducting here and how it will play into your ultimate ascension to immortality and beyond. The dead will not be denied their victory and you will be denied your destiny.
AN: Votes should be formatted as [X] Plan Name, followed by a list of choices, each with the hero you want assigned to handle it. Heroes will be used to either grant one additional Action in the field that they specialize in or used to boost the roll modifiers of another Action. Plans should generally use the following format to make tallying votes and understanding hero allocation easier.
[ ] Plan Example
Martial: You have never been very interested or skilled in matters of warfare, since, back in Quel'Thalas, your sister would usually be the one to handle such matters. Thankfully, the Lich King, in his infinite wisdom, must have foreseen this problem, which is why he must have assigned the Human assassin Yana Bloodspear to help oversee your military affairs.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Yana Bloodspear)
Scout the Roads
The roads that connect the settlement to regional highways full of traveling merchant caravans, diplomatic envoys and military patrols , which means that you can learn quite a bit by ordering your minions to gather intelligence on routes and travelers.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on roads and travelers
Scout Outlying Farms
The Outlying Farms are where the majority of the settlement's population make their living by producing food that feeds the entire region and are mostly composed of isolated farmsteads, which makes information on their locations particularly valuable.
Cost: 0, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on Outlying Farms
Scout Town Center
The Town Center is the economic and legislative heart of the settlement and will be vital in your mission to subvert this entire region, so it would be wise to gather accurate information on the landscape and organizations that operate here.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on Town Center
Scout Surrounding
You have established your base of operations in this region, but you still do have enough accurate information on the surrounding area in order to properly plan your defenses and make sure that there are no unpleasant surprises waiting for you.
Cost: 0, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on nearby woods
Train Cultists (Martial)
The Cult of the Damned will eventually have to confront the defenders of Lordaeron eventually, so it is important that to prepare as many of your minions for that time as possible by teaching them how to properly defend themselves in a fight.
Cost: 100 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Cultists can defend themselves
Diplomacy: You have always preferred to solve your problems with words instead of swords, since turning an enemy into an ally is better than turning an enemy into a corpse. Your family never really appreciated how much effort you had to put in to fix all the mess they create whenever they try to carry out one badly thought out scheme or another, but, thankfully, the Lick King is not nearly as narrow-minded.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: None)
Motivate Cultists
The members of your cult are almost completely composed of peasants who have nothing left to loose, but they current lack any real sense of loyalty to the cult, which means that you should try to build up your relationship to dissuade them from betraying you.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Improve cult morale
Meet with Town Council
The Town Council are politicians and you have dealt with them all your life, so you know that the entire group is composed of opportunistic schemers who hold far more influence and power than they desire, which makes them easy and worthwhile to manipulate.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Town Council
Mingle with Neighbors
The lowly farmers, ranchers and peasants that make up the bulk of the town's population might not be very skilled, educated, wealthy or hold any influence by themselves, but, together, they are more than capable of toppling the current social order, which makes them useful allies.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Lower-Class Residents
Chat with Shopkeepers
The Shopkeepers, tradespeople and other skilled residents of the town are the vital organs that keep everything moving and many among them have useful talents that would greatly benefit your organization if you could gain their favor or even recruit them.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Middle-Class Residents
Introduce Yourself to Landowners
The Town Council and the Magistrate might call themselves the leaders of the town, but, in reality, they have little authority without the support of the rich and powerful landowners, which means that getting in touch with this powerful faction is vital to your success.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Upper-Class Residents
Stewardship: To be perfectly honest, while you did receive some basic lessons on Elven architectural design and had to occasionally deal with logistical issues during your time in Quel'Thalas, you always felt like they were tasks that were beneath someone of your status and skill. Looking back on it now, you almost regret not paying more attention now that you can no longer simply push the work onto some lowly assistant.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: None)
Renovate Decrepit Manor
The old manor you have been given as your base of operations has been abandoned since the Second War and is barely fit for habitation, much less the seat of your power, and leaving it as such could even attract suspicion from the townsfolk, so it will be necessary to repair it as soon as possible.
Cost: 250 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Compound repaired
Upgrade Tiled Field
The original field that came with the estate has become overgrown with vegetation and while your minions were able to clear away some of the lighter foliage, you will also need to clear away everything else that had grown before and since in order to expand your operation.
Cost: 150 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Land Clearance
Upgrade Surface Mine
There is only so much ore that can be extracted from the ground in a timely manner through surface-mining, which means that your minions will have to actually begin digging into the ground to seek new veins to tap and expand your mining operation.
Cost: 200 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Open-Pit Mine
Upgrade Fishing Pier
Having a base located on a coast is a massive boon in terms of your ability to maneuver, communicate and, eventually, spread the Plague of Undeath, but you first you will need to expand to your infrastructure to allow ships bigger than a canoe to dock.
Cost: 300 Gold, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Wooden Wharf
Upgrade Longhouse
As your organization grows and more diverse groups of people are brought into the fold, not only will you need to secure additional lodging to house them, but you also need to make sure the accommodations are up to standard, which means investing in higher quality and capacity housing for your minions.
Cost: 150 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Barracks
Learning: Conducting magical research was never really your strength and the little experimentation you conducted under the direction of the Lich King was actually one of your first times doing something of that nature since your childhood lessons back in Quel'Thalas, but you are confident that you are more than capable of succeeding, especially since the Lich King had the foresight to assign Arcanist Chillheart to assist you in getting your operation started.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Arcanist Chillheart)
Set Up Lecture Hall
The key to creating a successful operation is the skill and intelligence of its members, which means that education and training facilities will be vital to your future success, so investing in a basic facility to elevate uneducated minions is a good first step.
Cost: 200 Gold per Tun, 1 Expansion Slot, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Lecture Hall – Increase Cultist Skill Level
Set Up Field Lab
You need to construct a secured and sterile facility before you can conduct any research, which means that setting up a basic lab that can eventually be expanded into a dedicated facility with additional staff will be vital to ensuring the success of the Scourge.
Cost: 300 Gold per Turn, 1 Expansion Slot, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Field Lab – Conduct Basic Research
Study Military Tactics (Yana Bloodspear)
You had your doubts about the assassin from Dalaran, but the Grand Master assured you that Yana Bloodspear is also a more than qualified tactician, which, combined with your own relative inexperience, means you might be able to learn something from her.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Increased Martial Skill
Learn About Research (Arcanist Chillheart)
Arcanist Chillheart is a valued student of both the Grand Master and the Lich King, who both hold her in high esteem for her deep understanding of arcane theories and research procedures, so you might be able to learn a bit about conducting research from her.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Increased Learning Skill
Intrigue: Espionage is such an interesting field to work in due to all the different ways one can use it to achieve one's goals and you have mastered just about everything from simple spying on enemies to blackmailing them with information to turning them into puppets and, finally, to assassinating them once they have served their use, which is why the Lich King and the Grand Master decided you were best fit for this vital mission.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Yana Bloodspear)
Train Cultists (Intrigue)
The success of your operation relies on secrecy and deception, which means that you must remain hidden from the eyes of the mortal nations before you are ready to strike and teaching your members the basics of keeping their affiliations a secret is a vital first step.
Cost: 100 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Cultists understand basic espionage
Begin Monitoring Alliance Outpost
The Alliance Outpost is a small fortified installation on the outskirts of the town on the main road, where they can easily patrol the highways and respond to major threats to regional safety, which means that it will be harder to not attract attention while conducting surveillance.
Cost: 250 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 50%, Reward: Information on Alliance Outpost
Begin Monitoring Militia Compound
The Militia Compound is small walled stronghold located near the center of the town, where the members can easily respond to any disturbances and make the townsfolk feel safer, which means it should be easy to monitor for any developments.
Cost: 150 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 75%, Reward: Information on Militia Compound
Seek Potential Assets in Town Hall
The Town Hall has many people working inside from lowly underpaid scribes who are treated like trash by the Councilmen to groundskeepers who are treated even worse, which means that it should be relatively easy for you to find people to subvert.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 75%, Reward: Information on Town Council
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia
The Town Militia is supposed to enforce the law and protect the peace, but they are usually little more than farmers playing at being soldiers and only enlisted for a paycheck, which means you should be able to find someone who will help you for some coin.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 75%, Reward: Information on Town Militia
Seek Potential Assets in Alliance Garrison
The Alliance Garrison were once composed of loyal veterans from the Second War, but it has been nearly a decade since the war and its ranks are now welled with recruits who are realizing that patrolling roads is not the glory they were promised.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 50%, Reward: Information on Alliance Garrison
Piety: You never really considered yourself a particularly pious individual or even religious at all, for that matter. Back in Quel'Thalas, you and the other Magisters actually looked down upon the faithful members of the Church of the Holy Light, which makes your current role as the religious leader of a new faith even more ironic. Nevertheless, the fact that the Lich King was able to convert someone like you must mean that it appeals to others as well, right?
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Arcanist Chillheart)
Construct a Desecrated Shrine
You currently have to hold your sermons in the mess hall of the compound, which does not exactly create an atmosphere of piety, so the construction of a dedicated shrine where rituals can be conducted will be vital to creating a successful cult.
Cost: 200 Gold per Turn, 1 Expansion Slot, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Desecrated Shrine
Blight the Land
It is known that dark magics such as Necromancy have a tendency to corrupt the land around them into a dark and twisted environment that is hostile to any life, which could certainly be useful in religious indoctrination, defense, research and more.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Corrupt surrounding region
Hold Personal Sermon
The Cut of the Damned is reliant on the faith and loyalty of its members to carry out its goal of wiping out life on Azeroth, which makes the current distinct lack of faith in your cell of particular concern and must be addressed immediately.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Improve cult faith
Sacrifice Cultists
It is easy to speak to dimwits about immortality and the powers of the Lich King, but, to solidify their newfound faith, and get some powerful minions in the process, a few of them will need to be sacrificed to demonstrate your power.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: 10 Cultists turned into Ghouls
Commune with the Lich King
You can still hear the voice of the Master whispering to you, even if it is not as loud or clear as it was in Northrend or when He first recruited you, but, through concentration, you might be able to receive His wisdom once more.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: ???
When you first left Quel'Thalas, you remember quite clearly how you tried to convince yourself that you were moving on to better places than that gilded monstrosity of scheming and treachery in order to give yourself the strength needed to leave behind everything you have ever known and worked toward for over a hundred years. You had to tell yourself that all those stories you heard from various merchants, diplomats and veterans of what people are now calling the Second Great War about about how the Humans are all uncultured savages barely better than the Trolls cannot possibly be true. You remember trying to convince yourself that an intelligent species that has a rudimentary mastery of magic and a basic understanding of the concept of personal hygiene should, theoretically, be able to create a civilization that you can slowly ease yourself into without having to lower your standards to around the level of having to leave in a dirty hovel without access to enough clean water to bath twice a day. After all, you are the great Magistrix Ariseth Dawnspring, which means that, surely, you should be able to easily insert yourself into the top echelons of Human society and have various highborn Humans fight over the honor of welcoming you into their palaces.
Of course, reality has a nasty tendency of shattering expectations in the worst ways, which is normally a concept that you are more than familiar with, but, which, at the time, you had forced into the back of your mind in order to gain some measure of false comfort and sense of hope.
The first year or so were relatively acceptable from a purely standard of living point of view, but you quickly realized that you having to live in the middle of some disgusting Human city that stinks of wet dog and a serious lack of proper sanitation is not even remotely comparable to the reward you get, in terms of either material wealth or personal pride, for helping some dimwitted minor noble house increase their stake in the regional merchant guild or expand their influence on the city council. Back in Quel'thalas, you were born and groomed your entire life to strive toward what you were taught was your birthright and the only measure by such your success in life would be judged by your equals, which is maintaining your family's hold on power in the Convocation of Silvermoon and being deemed worthy of your claiming your father's seat when he steps down. You realize now, of course, that the sense of duty and pride you felt while slaving away to benefit a family that was only interested in using you and would toss you aside as soon as you were no longer useful was nothing more than an elaborate lie crafted in order to blind you to the truth, but, at the time, you carved glory and respect that you were simply never going to reach by helping worthless Humans.
After that, you gave up what little luxury and glamour you had left in order to travel around the continent in search of an opportunity that would finally allow you to leave your mark on the world for all to gaze upon in awe. Looking back on it, you realize with some amusement that the lies you told yourself at the time actually turned out to be correct, even if your life went progressively downhill for several years until, with nothing better to do and no future in sight, you finally decided answer the call of the Lich King you had been foolishly resisting for so long.
And now, as the small carriage you and your traveling companion are riding in finally lurches to a halt, the time has finally come for your great work to begin.
"At last," the Human female murmurs distastefully in a soft voice with a light Gilnean accent. "I thought this miserable journey would never end."
You do not even bother to reply to such a pointless statement as you take the time to make sure your appearance is as presentable as you can make it under the circumstances by using a floating piece of arcane ice you conjured as a makeshift mirror. You frown slightly in annoyance as you notice how your hair, once a soft and radiant shade of gold, has continued to become more and more pale despite everything you have tried to reverse or even simply halt the process. You realize that it is most likely a minor quirk caused by the sheer amount of Necromantic magic you have been channeling through your body that is slowly overwhelming your connection to the Sunwell, which means that the usual aristocratic physical features common to Quel'dorei of noble birth with superior connections to the majestic nexus of arcane energy, created at the dawn of Quel'dorei civilization by your ancestors using a vial of water from the fabled Well of Eternity itself, are slowly being overwritten by the corrupting influence of the Lich King himself. You have seen the long-term effects of what such corruption has on the body during your studies in Northrend, so you knew this was coming for a while, but the prospect of your skin turning deathly pale like a corpse and your hair losing all of its once vibrant color to become a dull shade of white is not exactly something you are looking forward to.
Sparing a quick glance at your traveling companion, you do feel a little sense of relief when you note the fact that the Human's skin appear to be even more pale than your own and her outfit seems more fitting for a funeral than anything else. You never did understand why most of your fellow servants of the Lich King seem to lack even the most basic understanding of fashion or skincare, but, judging by what you have been able to learn about the former witch now calling herself Lady Chillheart, you get the distinct impression that she already spent an unhealthy amount of her time locked up inside ancient libraries, crypts and laboratories, so even this rather short, but admittedly unpleasant, ride is more than she is used to dealing with.
"For a Human-made mud-trail in the middle of nowhere, I would say it actually surpassed my expectations," you reply nonchalantly as you make some final adjustments to your hair before dismissing the makeshift mirror before you finally grace her with your most radiant smile."Besides, a little exercise and fresh air every once in a while can be good for your...complexion."
Chillheart grimaces slightly at your barely concealed jab, but, to her credit, the Human witch seems to realize that she is not going to win this argument with you, so she simply turns her attention to the outside world by opening the dark silk curtains enough to let in the smallest glimmer of sunshine. You can barely suppress the chuckle already halfway up your throat when you see the fool wince slightly as her eyes are forced to adjust after spending hours in the dim interior of the carriage, but, through sheer willpower and decades of training, you were able to suppress your reaction to such a ridiculous example of how pathetic the Human body is compared to those of the Quel'dorei, since such a display would not project the correct image for the time being and you have no real reason to actually antagonize the Human whose original name you never even bothered to remember once you confirmed that she was nobody of any consequence. With nothing better to do for the time being, you turn away smoothly to glance out the opposite window on your side carriage while you wait for somebody to come and open the door for you.
Your superior eyes immediately adjust to the light without even the slightest hint of discomfort, but you still find yourself frowning slightly as you finally get your first glimpse of your supposed base of operations.
You were informed before you set out on your mission that the location for your new base of operations would be an old isolated estate owned by the wealthy and powerful Barov family, who have secretly sworn allegiance to the Lich King and have even offered their primary fortified estate on Caer Darrow to the Cult of the Damned to be used as a hidden training facility for new Necromancers. According to the information you were given and what your own research was able to turn up, the estate had apparently been abandoned by its previous owners, a noble family of Alterac, when the Horde began its unopposed march through the region in accordance with the secret deal they struck with the traitorous King Perenholde. After the war, the surviving owners of the estate tried to petition King Terenas for permission to reclaim their ancestral lands, but, like almost all former citizens of Alterac, they were stripped of all their titles and holdings, while their estate was auctioned off to the highest bidder, who, in this case, just happened to be one Duke Alexei Barov. At the time, you assumed that the estate's geographical isolation as well as the influence of its official owners would be beneficial in terms of intimidating the local militia and government into not looking into your operation too closely.
What you did not properly anticipate, however, was the fact that the entire estates seems to have been abandoned since the Second War and was now little more than a decrepit wreck that looks like it should be demolished instead of serving as your future base of operations. The grounds of the entire estate are filled with overgrown grass and the building itself seems to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment since massive sections of the wooden frame has turned a sickly shade of black, parts of the roof have already collapsed and many of the windows are either covered in black mold or just simply gone with only the occasional rotting wooden plank to protect the interior from the elements. To make matters even worse, judging by the simple fact that massive double doors that once served as the main entrance into what Humans probably considered to be a respectable manor is simply gone and, through the opening, you can see ruined furniture as well as clear signs of squatting and looting.
"Surely this is some sort of ill-conceived jest," the Human gives voice to your disgust with a huff of indignation. "I cannot be expected to work under abysmal such conditions."
You do not even dignify her comment with a reply as you watch the wretched-looking Human male who served as the driver of your coach awkwardly shuffle over to the door to do his job. The instant the door is open, you resist the urge to gag as a combination of the disgusting Human's own body odor as well what you have learned over the past year as the unmistakable scent of rot and decay rush into the perfumed interior of the coach. The man gives you a smile that you find offensive before he offers you a hand covered in grease, dirt and other unidentifiable stains to help you out.
You merely glare at him icily until his disgusting smile evaporates and he slowly retracts his hand before stepping out of the way so you can step out of the coach yourself.
As soon as your feet touch the ground, you can feel your heels sink halfway down into the muddy ground and barely manage to keep yourself from stumbling like a clumsy fool by using your staff to steady yourself. Glancing down at the bottom of your robes, you smile in relief as you watch the various enchantments you placed on them cause the disgusting mud to to slid right off without leaving so much as a single stain. That smile, however, quickly evaporates as you inhale the air around your new base of operations without any perfume to mask its nauseating odor. Despite how much you might hate to might it, despite how much you tried to acclimate yourself to the stench of death during your time in Northrend, you were never really able to fully embrace it as many of the other, less talented and hygienic, students were able to.
Thankfully, as you begin to slowly trudge your way toward the mansion, you note with a smirk when, in the corner of your eye, you spot Chillheart forced to actually cover her face with her handkerchief after shoving away the disgusting driver when he offered his hand to help her down. Turning your attention back to the main entrance to the abandoned manor, your smile grows as you spot your other minion emerge from the darkness without so much as a sound.
"High Overseer," the hooded assassin, a female Human named Yana Bloodspear, greets you a simple nod. "Welcome to Southshore."
Clad in a set of beautiful, yet functional, enchanted leather armor, Yana is actually rather beautiful in a certain way for a lowborn Human who has seen a lifetime of violence and crime. In contrast to Chillheart, the differences are almost day and night due to her obviously superior physique and the simple way that she carries herself as though she is constantly on the verge of pouncing on some unseen enemy. In terms of mannerism, the assassin has exactly the sort of professional attitude and pragmatism, which, along with her above average complacence and proven history of loyalty, made her the perfect agent to send ahead of you to inspect both the mansion as well as the local settlement. The fact that she is actually familiar with this region during her time as a mercenary operating out of Dalaran means that she can move through the region without attracting anywhere near as much attention as a Magistrix of Silvermoon such as you would have.
"My dear Yana, I hope you are here to tell me that the month I gave you to prepare for my arrival has been put to better use than it would appear," you purr softly with feigned intimacy and an exaggerated smile before waving your free hand toward the building behind her. "I would be most disappointed if I were to find out that this hovel will be my new base of operations."
The assassin shrugs nonchalantly at your threat just as Chillheart finally decides to grace you with her presence with a disgusting amount of mud smeared across the bottom of her dark robes and ugly leather boots.
"The structure is stable and there is plenty of room for expansion in this valley," Yana replies calmly as she beckons for you to follow her as she begins to head for the back of the mansion. "The location is ideal in terms of defense since the only way in is by ship or the single path through the mountains you just come from."
You remain silent as Yana leads you and Chillheart to a stone trail that was probably once actually visible, but which has, over the past decade of neglect, become almost completely hidden by overgrown grass and mud. After several minutes of silently walking around the surprisingly enormous building that, upon closer inspection, actually does not look as decay as it did from a distance, your small finally turns the corner and you get your first glimpse of the rest of the estate. Just as Yana said, the grounds are almost large enough to fit a small village into with its own river for fresh water as well as a cluster of trees for wood. In the distance you can see the coast of Baradin Bay, which already has what seems to be a simple newly build wharf where small ships can dock without attracting the attention they would otherwise receive by docking at the nearby town itself. Nearby, you can also see the beginnings of what appears to a small mining pit as well as a pot of land that has already been cleared to make way for a farm.
"I assume you did not accomplish all of this by yourself?" You comment with a genuinely impressed smile as you catch sight of a newly constructed wooden shack near the coast.
The assassin glances back at you and you can see the hint of a smile in her eyes despite her mask covering nearly everything else as she nods her head in appreciation.
"No, mistress. I recruited some locals into the organization," she replies respectfully before tilting her head to indict the empty barracks. "Once the basics were done, I told them to lay low until they're needed again."
Your smile expands and you are about to congratulate your minion on demonstrating such impressive initiative and competence when Chillheart suddenly clears her throat, softly but audibly, to attract your attention. You and the assassin before turn toward the woman to see her still inspecting the decrepit mansion itself with a look of pure disgust while all but ignoring the rest of the compound. It does not exactly take a genius of your caliber to deduce what the former mage is thinking and, truthfully, know that you have to give some thought as to where you will have to stay for the foreseeable future, you are also far from pleased with the situation you now find yourself in. You have had to give up almost all the luxuries you once took for granted back in Quel'Thalas during your travels and subsequent time in Northrend, but you never came close to having to live under such unsanitary and unseemly conditions before.
"Surely you do not mean for us to sleep with the peasants?" The Human necromancer demands in disbelief before waving her hand dismissively at the mansion. "I hope you are not planning for us to stay in that disgusting ruin."
Your eyes narrow slightly at the insolent tone your minion has just addressed you with before your expression shifts into an icy smile that you specifically crafted to ensure even someone as socially inept as Chillheart will not miss your displeasure. The two of you remain silent as you stare each other down, but, after barely a second, Chillheart quickly averts her gaze when her brain finally catches up with her and she realized the folly of challenging you like this. You make sure to glare at her for a few more heartbeats to make sure the impudent fool has been successfully put in her place for the time being before you turn your attention back to Yana while your expression immediately shifts into a relaxed smile as though nothing had happened.
"You will have to forgive my companion. She is quite gifted in the matters of sorcery, but she has trouble dealing with new environments," you take another easy jab at Chillheart before using the opening the fool created to give voice to your own concern without having to undermine your own reputation. "But, she does raise a good point. Is this building actually safe to live in for an extended period of time?"
To her credit, the assassin does not even acknowledge the feud you just had with Chillheart.
"I've been living in it since I got here, so you'll probably be fine," Yana replies bluntly, much to Chillheart's visible chagrin and your own amusement. "It's not exactly comfortable, but it's not going to collapse on you if that's what you're worried about."
To be perfectly honest, you do not have any desire whatsoever to live in that Light forsaken ruin, but you are not going to take a hit to your authority by looking weak in front of your own minions before your first actual mission, which was given to you by the Grand Master himself on behalf of the Lich King himself, has barely even started. Ariseth Dawnspring was a weak and pathetic creature who, just like Chillheart, only cared about insignificant things like comfortable living conditions, food and other pathetic mortal comforts. You are High Overseer Ariseth Wintersoul, reborn from the husk of that weakling on the summit of Icecrown Glacier, and you have already faced death and eternal damnation in order to acquire true power in service to a living god.
How can a few months or years or centuries of physical discomfort compare to the eventual reward of immortality and power beyond mortal comprehension?
"I am sure we can make do for the time being," you respond calmly before turning to address Chillheart with an innocent smile. "If you do not wish to stay inside, then you are free to set up camp outside."
Judging by the look of annoyance on the esteemed Arcanist's face as she gazes around in vain for a suitable location to set up a tent, you can feel a satisfied smirk spread across your face as you note the subtle lump in her normally rigid posture when she finally comes to the conclusion that sleeping inside the ruined building is better than sleeping outside in the freezing mud like an animal.
Once you are satisfied with watching the Human squirm in discomfort and misery for a few more moments, you finally turn to address both of your minions with an expression of pure confidence and determination.
"The Lich King himself watches over us and He demands nothing less than absolute triumph," you declare ominously as you shift your gaze between your two immediate subordinates. "Those who fail or oppose Him will be destroyed utterly and those who serve, wholly and unquestioningly with utter devotion of mind and soul, will be elevated to heights beyond your ken."
As you watch your minions bow their heads in reverence as you conclude your short sermon, your mind is already turning toward the great work that you will be conducting here and how it will play into your ultimate ascension to immortality and beyond. The dead will not be denied their victory and you will be denied your destiny.
AN: Votes should be formatted as [X] Plan Name, followed by a list of choices, each with the hero you want assigned to handle it. Heroes will be used to either grant one additional Action in the field that they specialize in or used to boost the roll modifiers of another Action. Plans should generally use the following format to make tallying votes and understanding hero allocation easier.
[ ] Plan Example
Martial
Scout the Roads (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia (Ariseth)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Scout the Roads (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia (Ariseth)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Martial: You have never been very interested or skilled in matters of warfare, since, back in Quel'Thalas, your sister would usually be the one to handle such matters. Thankfully, the Lich King, in his infinite wisdom, must have foreseen this problem, which is why he must have assigned the Human assassin Yana Bloodspear to help oversee your military affairs.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Yana Bloodspear)
Scout the Roads
The roads that connect the settlement to regional highways full of traveling merchant caravans, diplomatic envoys and military patrols , which means that you can learn quite a bit by ordering your minions to gather intelligence on routes and travelers.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on roads and travelers
Scout Outlying Farms
The Outlying Farms are where the majority of the settlement's population make their living by producing food that feeds the entire region and are mostly composed of isolated farmsteads, which makes information on their locations particularly valuable.
Cost: 0, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on Outlying Farms
Scout Town Center
The Town Center is the economic and legislative heart of the settlement and will be vital in your mission to subvert this entire region, so it would be wise to gather accurate information on the landscape and organizations that operate here.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on Town Center
Scout Surrounding
You have established your base of operations in this region, but you still do have enough accurate information on the surrounding area in order to properly plan your defenses and make sure that there are no unpleasant surprises waiting for you.
Cost: 0, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Information on nearby woods
Train Cultists (Martial)
The Cult of the Damned will eventually have to confront the defenders of Lordaeron eventually, so it is important that to prepare as many of your minions for that time as possible by teaching them how to properly defend themselves in a fight.
Cost: 100 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Cultists can defend themselves
Diplomacy: You have always preferred to solve your problems with words instead of swords, since turning an enemy into an ally is better than turning an enemy into a corpse. Your family never really appreciated how much effort you had to put in to fix all the mess they create whenever they try to carry out one badly thought out scheme or another, but, thankfully, the Lick King is not nearly as narrow-minded.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: None)
Motivate Cultists
The members of your cult are almost completely composed of peasants who have nothing left to loose, but they current lack any real sense of loyalty to the cult, which means that you should try to build up your relationship to dissuade them from betraying you.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Improve cult morale
Meet with Town Council
The Town Council are politicians and you have dealt with them all your life, so you know that the entire group is composed of opportunistic schemers who hold far more influence and power than they desire, which makes them easy and worthwhile to manipulate.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Town Council
Mingle with Neighbors
The lowly farmers, ranchers and peasants that make up the bulk of the town's population might not be very skilled, educated, wealthy or hold any influence by themselves, but, together, they are more than capable of toppling the current social order, which makes them useful allies.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Lower-Class Residents
Chat with Shopkeepers
The Shopkeepers, tradespeople and other skilled residents of the town are the vital organs that keep everything moving and many among them have useful talents that would greatly benefit your organization if you could gain their favor or even recruit them.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Middle-Class Residents
Introduce Yourself to Landowners
The Town Council and the Magistrate might call themselves the leaders of the town, but, in reality, they have little authority without the support of the rich and powerful landowners, which means that getting in touch with this powerful faction is vital to your success.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Establish relations with Upper-Class Residents
Stewardship: To be perfectly honest, while you did receive some basic lessons on Elven architectural design and had to occasionally deal with logistical issues during your time in Quel'Thalas, you always felt like they were tasks that were beneath someone of your status and skill. Looking back on it now, you almost regret not paying more attention now that you can no longer simply push the work onto some lowly assistant.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: None)
Renovate Decrepit Manor
The old manor you have been given as your base of operations has been abandoned since the Second War and is barely fit for habitation, much less the seat of your power, and leaving it as such could even attract suspicion from the townsfolk, so it will be necessary to repair it as soon as possible.
Cost: 250 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Compound repaired
Upgrade Tiled Field
The original field that came with the estate has become overgrown with vegetation and while your minions were able to clear away some of the lighter foliage, you will also need to clear away everything else that had grown before and since in order to expand your operation.
Cost: 150 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Land Clearance
Upgrade Surface Mine
There is only so much ore that can be extracted from the ground in a timely manner through surface-mining, which means that your minions will have to actually begin digging into the ground to seek new veins to tap and expand your mining operation.
Cost: 200 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Open-Pit Mine
Upgrade Fishing Pier
Having a base located on a coast is a massive boon in terms of your ability to maneuver, communicate and, eventually, spread the Plague of Undeath, but you first you will need to expand to your infrastructure to allow ships bigger than a canoe to dock.
Cost: 300 Gold, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Wooden Wharf
Upgrade Longhouse
As your organization grows and more diverse groups of people are brought into the fold, not only will you need to secure additional lodging to house them, but you also need to make sure the accommodations are up to standard, which means investing in higher quality and capacity housing for your minions.
Cost: 150 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Barracks
Learning: Conducting magical research was never really your strength and the little experimentation you conducted under the direction of the Lich King was actually one of your first times doing something of that nature since your childhood lessons back in Quel'Thalas, but you are confident that you are more than capable of succeeding, especially since the Lich King had the foresight to assign Arcanist Chillheart to assist you in getting your operation started.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Arcanist Chillheart)
Set Up Lecture Hall
The key to creating a successful operation is the skill and intelligence of its members, which means that education and training facilities will be vital to your future success, so investing in a basic facility to elevate uneducated minions is a good first step.
Cost: 200 Gold per Tun, 1 Expansion Slot, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Lecture Hall – Increase Cultist Skill Level
Set Up Field Lab
You need to construct a secured and sterile facility before you can conduct any research, which means that setting up a basic lab that can eventually be expanded into a dedicated facility with additional staff will be vital to ensuring the success of the Scourge.
Cost: 300 Gold per Turn, 1 Expansion Slot, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Field Lab – Conduct Basic Research
Study Military Tactics (Yana Bloodspear)
You had your doubts about the assassin from Dalaran, but the Grand Master assured you that Yana Bloodspear is also a more than qualified tactician, which, combined with your own relative inexperience, means you might be able to learn something from her.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Increased Martial Skill
Learn About Research (Arcanist Chillheart)
Arcanist Chillheart is a valued student of both the Grand Master and the Lich King, who both hold her in high esteem for her deep understanding of arcane theories and research procedures, so you might be able to learn a bit about conducting research from her.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Increased Learning Skill
Intrigue: Espionage is such an interesting field to work in due to all the different ways one can use it to achieve one's goals and you have mastered just about everything from simple spying on enemies to blackmailing them with information to turning them into puppets and, finally, to assassinating them once they have served their use, which is why the Lich King and the Grand Master decided you were best fit for this vital mission.
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Yana Bloodspear)
Train Cultists (Intrigue)
The success of your operation relies on secrecy and deception, which means that you must remain hidden from the eyes of the mortal nations before you are ready to strike and teaching your members the basics of keeping their affiliations a secret is a vital first step.
Cost: 100 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Cultists understand basic espionage
Begin Monitoring Alliance Outpost
The Alliance Outpost is a small fortified installation on the outskirts of the town on the main road, where they can easily patrol the highways and respond to major threats to regional safety, which means that it will be harder to not attract attention while conducting surveillance.
Cost: 250 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 50%, Reward: Information on Alliance Outpost
Begin Monitoring Militia Compound
The Militia Compound is small walled stronghold located near the center of the town, where the members can easily respond to any disturbances and make the townsfolk feel safer, which means it should be easy to monitor for any developments.
Cost: 150 Gold per Turn, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 75%, Reward: Information on Militia Compound
Seek Potential Assets in Town Hall
The Town Hall has many people working inside from lowly underpaid scribes who are treated like trash by the Councilmen to groundskeepers who are treated even worse, which means that it should be relatively easy for you to find people to subvert.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 75%, Reward: Information on Town Council
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia
The Town Militia is supposed to enforce the law and protect the peace, but they are usually little more than farmers playing at being soldiers and only enlisted for a paycheck, which means you should be able to find someone who will help you for some coin.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 75%, Reward: Information on Town Militia
Seek Potential Assets in Alliance Garrison
The Alliance Garrison were once composed of loyal veterans from the Second War, but it has been nearly a decade since the war and its ranks are now welled with recruits who are realizing that patrolling roads is not the glory they were promised.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 50%, Reward: Information on Alliance Garrison
Piety: You never really considered yourself a particularly pious individual or even religious at all, for that matter. Back in Quel'Thalas, you and the other Magisters actually looked down upon the faithful members of the Church of the Holy Light, which makes your current role as the religious leader of a new faith even more ironic. Nevertheless, the fact that the Lich King was able to convert someone like you must mean that it appeals to others as well, right?
(Default Actions: 1) (Available Heroes: Arcanist Chillheart)
Construct a Desecrated Shrine
You currently have to hold your sermons in the mess hall of the compound, which does not exactly create an atmosphere of piety, so the construction of a dedicated shrine where rituals can be conducted will be vital to creating a successful cult.
Cost: 200 Gold per Turn, 1 Expansion Slot, Time: 2 Turns, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Desecrated Shrine
Blight the Land
It is known that dark magics such as Necromancy have a tendency to corrupt the land around them into a dark and twisted environment that is hostile to any life, which could certainly be useful in religious indoctrination, defense, research and more.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Corrupt surrounding region
Hold Personal Sermon
The Cut of the Damned is reliant on the faith and loyalty of its members to carry out its goal of wiping out life on Azeroth, which makes the current distinct lack of faith in your cell of particular concern and must be addressed immediately.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: Improve cult faith
Sacrifice Cultists
It is easy to speak to dimwits about immortality and the powers of the Lich King, but, to solidify their newfound faith, and get some powerful minions in the process, a few of them will need to be sacrificed to demonstrate your power.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: 10 Cultists turned into Ghouls
Commune with the Lich King
You can still hear the voice of the Master whispering to you, even if it is not as loud or clear as it was in Northrend or when He first recruited you, but, through concentration, you might be able to receive His wisdom once more.
Cost: 0, Time: 1 Turn, Chance of Success: 90%, Reward: ???
Last edited:
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Finally back from vacation and exams, so updates should be coming more regularly now.
EDIT: Okay, here is an an example plan:
[ ] Plan Example
EDIT: Okay, here is an an example plan:
[ ] Plan Example
Martial
Scout the Roads (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia (Ariseth)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Scout the Roads (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia (Ariseth)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
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[X] Plan Road to Revolution
[X] Scout the Roads
[X] Mingle with Neighbors
[X] Renovate Decrepit Manor
[X] Set up Lecture Hall
[X] Study Military Tactics (Yana Bloodspear)
[X] Train Cultists (Intrigue)
[X] Construct a Desecrated Shrine
[X] Hold Personal Sermon (Lady Chillheart)
[X] Mingle with Neighbors
[X] Renovate Decrepit Manor
[X] Set up Lecture Hall
[X] Study Military Tactics (Yana Bloodspear)
[X] Train Cultists (Intrigue)
[X] Construct a Desecrated Shrine
[X] Hold Personal Sermon (Lady Chillheart)
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rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Heroes only get one bonus action per turn.
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
So, how it works is that you get a default of one action in every category with Ariseth's roll bonuses. Each hero gets to choose between one action in their specialized fields with only their own roll modifiers or they can be used to add their roll modifiers to another action that is already being performed by either Ariseth or another hero.
Learning from heroes will consume both Ariseth's Learning action for that turn and use up the hero's action.
There will be talents later on that will grant additional actions.
- Location
- United States of America
[X] Plan: Enduring and Educating the help.
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rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Okay, here is an an example plan:
[ ] Plan Example
[ ] Plan Example
Martial
Scout the Roads (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia (Ariseth)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Scout the Roads (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
Seek Potential Assets in Town Militia (Ariseth)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
- Location
- USA
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rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that this plan has too many actions.
Crow
Falling is a Pleasure. Regardless of its Fate
[X] Plan The Beginning
Martial
[X] Scout Surrounding (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
[X] Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
[X] Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
[X] Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
[X] Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
[X] Train Cultists (Intrigue)(Ariseth)
Piety
[X] Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Martial
[X] Scout Surrounding (Ariseth)
Diplomacy
[X] Mingle with Neighbors (Ariseth)
Stewardship
[X] Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
[X] Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
[X] Study Military Tactics (Ariseth, Yana)
Intrigue
[X] Train Cultists (Intrigue)(Ariseth)
Piety
[X] Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Is this okay? It might have had to do something with how the bonus actions work and what you put up in the update. Since the actions are dependent on the heroes and the improving stat ones tie them up...
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Road to Revolution
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Yeah, this is fine. I'll see about editing the update to make things more clear.
- Location
- USA
[X] Plan The Beginning
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
[X] Scout the Roads
[X] Mingle with Neighbors
[X] Renovate Decrepit Manor
[X] Set up Lecture Hall
[X] Study Military Tactics (Yana Bloodspear)
[X] Train Cultists (Intrigue)
[X] Construct a Desecrated Shrine
[X] Hold Personal Sermon (Lady Chillheart)
These two options both require Chillheart, because Ariseth already used her own Learning action to learn from Yana.
[X] Plan: Enduring and Educating the help.
IIRC we got hit by bandits last time around. So basic training for the cultists is pretty important. And I can't really envision our character considering mingling with the unwashed peasants so Landowners it is(would strangely also be a bit less conspicuous considering we're a High Elf Magistrix).
Basically, get the servants up to basic competence.
Other diplomacy option would be motivating the Cultists but meeting the Landowners first and cultists second seems fairly IC.
@rdc30 is this plan legal?
Martial
Train Cultists (Martial)(Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Introduce Yourself to Landowners(Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Yana, Ariseth)
Intrigue
Train Cultists (Intrigue)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
Train Cultists (Martial)(Ariseth)
Diplomacy
Introduce Yourself to Landowners(Ariseth)
Stewardship
Renovate Decrepit Manor (Ariseth)
Learning
Set up Lecture Hall (Chillheart)
Study Military Tactics (Yana, Ariseth)
Intrigue
Train Cultists (Intrigue)
Piety
Construct a Desecrated Shrine (Ariseth)
IIRC we got hit by bandits last time around. So basic training for the cultists is pretty important. And I can't really envision our character considering mingling with the unwashed peasants so Landowners it is(would strangely also be a bit less conspicuous considering we're a High Elf Magistrix).
Basically, get the servants up to basic competence.
Other diplomacy option would be motivating the Cultists but meeting the Landowners first and cultists second seems fairly IC.
@rdc30 is this plan legal?