Turn 3
274 BC
Upon your father's return home he was greeted with much fanfare and jubilation as he and his army entered the city. One would think that Duke Ten had defeated one of Zhao's Three Great Heavens if the size of the celebration was anything to go by, rather than simply winning a minor skirmish. All the same, though, you had missed your father this last year.
"Father!", you yelled as you leaped up to hug him.
"Oof, whoa there, Boku", your father responded, seemingly amused by your actions.
"You're okay, and you'll never guess who I met while you were gone", you say to him, as you patiently await his response.
"Of course I'm alive, it will take more than some Zhao weaklings to do me in. Now who did you meet while I was away?", your father asks.
At that, you begin describing at length the gathering of noble scions your mother had managed to arrange for you. Your father was at first surprised to hear about how you hit it off with the Chu Prince Shouheikun, and was more than amused at your story of arm-wrestling Moubu. With your interesting story out of the way, it was your father's turn to tell you about his year, especially his time under Great General Koshou and his skirmish against Zhao. With your teachers deciding that it was a lost cause trying to separate you from your father, the lessons you had that day were canceled. It was a good thing too, because you seemed to follow your father all day long pestering him and playing with him in order to make up for lost time. But before long, your energy ran out and you were put safely to bed.
==========
However, your father was not the only family who decided to join you this year. As was promised, your cousin's Jo Sei and Jo Man arrived at your home early in the year. With Jo Sei being trained by your mother in the art of being a courtier, while Jo Man joined you in training for a career as a soldier in Qin's armies. Having never had many friends your own age before last year, you were overjoyed at having more company around the home, even though both of them would be busy themselves while they were there.
With your father home for the foreseeable future, unless another State invades, and more friends and family around, this year was starting off well in your opinion.
Martial (Choose 3):
[] Train with the…: Your father has decided that you are finally at the right age to start learning how to fight. Among nobles, it is not an all too uncommon sight to see a noble youth being trained in combat considering the times in which you live. For this task your father's chief bodyguard Souma has been appointed to teach you. Reward: Increased personal combat. Gain proficiency with a weapon. Chance of Success: 80%
-[] Spear
-[] Bow
-[] Glaive
-[] Mace
-[] Write-in
[] Continue training with…: After having learned the basics of how to use this weapon, you have asked Souma to continue your training with this weapon so that you can be more than just adequate with it. After all, while adequate may be well enough for the common soldier, you must be more than adequate if you ever want to surpass the example set by your father. Reward: Increased weapon proficiency. Chance to increase personal combat score. Chance of Success: 60%
-[] Sword
[] Tabletop Strategy (Go): For those who study strategy, one of the ways to apply that knowledge, aside from directly on the battlefield, is through the use of tabletop games. Considering how you have only just learned the core tenets of The Art of War, Souma has decided to introduce you to the game of Go to see if you can make use of your learning. While not totally indicative of the strategies and tactics used on the battlefield, Go is still a great way for beginners to test their tactical acumen, and is a stepping stone to learning greater strategies through more accurate tabletop simulations. Reward: Increased tactical proficiency. Required to practice tabletop simulations and learn more advanced tactics. Chance of Success: 60%
[] Mounted Combat: You knew how to fight, and you knew how to ride, but you did not know how to do both at the same time. According to your father, fighting on horseback is harder than it seems, especially when you are trying to swing lumps of hard metal while traveling at high speed. Knowing how important cavalry were on the battlefield, your father has offered to train you on the basics of mounted warfare even considering your young age. Reward: Gain Mounted Combat Proficiency Tree, Increase Relationship with Father. Chance of Success: 30%
[] Martial Arts: While much of the fighting nowadays involves weapons, there are some instances where you will be unarmed for whatever reason. That is why it came as a surprise to you and your father when your mother had suggested you learn martial arts. According to her, arriving armed to a diplomatic meeting is considered a faux pas of the highest order and an offense to the host. However rather than leaving you unable to defend yourself in the future, your mother has suggested you learn martial arts like she did, so that even when unarmed you will be able to defend yourself. Reward: Gain Martial Arts Tree, Increase Relationship with Mother. Chance of Success: 50%
Diplomacy (Choose 2):
[] Rhetoric Training (Oratory): Words, whether they inspire men on the battlefield or sway opinions in court, words will always have an impact on the world. That is why your mother has decided to teach you how to inspire men with your words, to use your natural charisma to push them above their limits. Reward: Increased diplomacy score. Increased inspire/rally proficiency. Chance of Success: 60%
[] Courtier Training (Tactfulness): According to your mother, what you don't say is often as important as what you do say. When it comes to matters of diplomacy, oftentimes there are occasions where certain words have more weight than others. Even if everybody knows your intent, going the extra mile to placate them or not give offense goes a long way in the game of diplomacy, a game which is more often than not a game of relationships. Reward: Increased Courtier Skill. Increased proficiency in formal occasions. Chance of Success: 50%
[] Courtier Training (Doublespeak/Subtlety): On the other side of the coin from tactfulness there are times where you mean to give offense but not be able to outright show it. This is where the skill of subtlety comes in, where your words convey more than their surface meaning. Oftentimes the words are not meant for the recipient at all but instead someone else within the room. As confusing as this is to you now, your mother tells you that skills like this are what define courtroom intrigue across the States. Reward: Increased Courtier Skill. More options in formal occasions. Chance of Success: 50%
[] Courtier Training (Courting): Ugh, you knew that this would happen someday but you only wished it happened much later. With Jo Sei now in residence and training with your mother, she thought that it was the perfect opportunity to teach you all about courting protocol when it came to a noblewoman. While you have yet to had a marriage arranged for you, your mother believes it is best to be prepared considering the large number of suitors that are to be expected for you. Reward: Bonus when dealing with opposite sex. Opens up marriage options when you reach adulthood. Chance of Success: 30%
Stewardship (Choose 2):
[] Business: In this era while work hard mostly to survive, there are others who have managed to rise from their lowly beginnings and work to earn great wealth. These commoners are merchants and they are the ones who travel to and from peddling their wares and services to whoever would have use of them. While your family already possesses great wealth, it wouldn't hurt to learn how to haggle like the best and earn more, right? Well, that's what Kairyo thinks at any rate and that is why he has offered to teach you the ways of the merchant. Reward: Increased stewardship score. Increased proficiency with haggling and deal-making. Required for unlocking mercantile options. Chance of Success: 80%
[] Agriculture: While you will never be expected to work in the fields yourself, Kairyo still believes it would be worthwhile for you to understand some of the processes involved so that you would not be ignorant in the future. While most merchants care only for coin, the farmers, lords, and bureaucrats care more about the amount of grain that is produced. No one would argue that coin is not important, but for a future lord like yourself, grain to feed your subjects and pay your quotas are what will concern you most, for hungry subjects are discontent subjects and an incensed bureaucracy in Kanyou are all it takes to make your life miserable. Reward: Increased Stewardship score. Unlocks land development options. Chance of Success: 75%
[] Industry: If the merchants are the one to sell the goods, then where exactly do these goods come from, is the question Kairyo posed to you. In fact, it was a rather important question, considering it is the mines which provide the ore for your weapons, and the quarries which give you the stone for your walls. That is why Kairyo thinks it would do you good to understand the many industries and potential industries, so that you may better be able to utilize them when you become a Lord. Reward: Increased Stewardship score. Unlocks land development options. Chance of Success: 75%
[] Traders from the West: According to rumors you had heard from passing traders, a caravan of foreign merchants from the far west will be entering Kanyou this year to display their wares and trade. With your curiosity piqued, and with Kairyo's reluctant admission that this would be a great opportunity, you have managed to convince your father to take you to Kanyou so that you may be able to partake in this novel experience and maybe acquire some purchases of your own. After all, it's not every day you see traders from the far west arrive in Qin. Reward: Traders from the West Mini-Turn. Chance: 100%
Intrigue (Choose 2):
[] Underworld Knowledge (Assassins): When it comes to the hierarchy of the shadowy underworld of society, it is the assassin clans which stand at the top. While you have a general overview of who the clans are, you have not however learned what differentiates one clan from another or what makes them dangerous. That is where your contact from Clan Shukyou comes in, as he is intimately familiar with the workings of the assassin clans, and would be willing to educate you on this. Reward: Increased intrigue score. Unlocks option to contact assassin clans in the future. Chance of Success: 60%
[] Underworld Knowledge (Bandits): Among the most hated scum in society are the bandits, those who prey on the weak through force of arms. While a nuisance to the nobility, bandits are often a danger to the peasants and merchants. However, no matter how well-armed your bodyguards may be, that still does not change the fact that one moment of weakness could spell personal disaster for you or your family. That is why your advisor from Clan Shukyou, who so far refuses to reveal his name, has decided to teach you about the patterns and territories of the most notorious bandit clans within Qin. Reward: Increased intrigue score. +10 bonus to rolls when dealing with bandits. Chance of Success: 60%
[] Underworld Knowledge (Spies and Informants): Throughout the Warring States information is at a premium due to the importance of what might be said. Any small clue could be used by both diplomats and Generals alike to determine what a State's next move might be. That is why for people of influence within the Warring States having a network of paid spies and informants is paramount to success. Even though your advisor claims to have never been a spy himself, he says that does know ways to identify them if the need ever came up because as skilled as spies are, they have almost nothing on a trained assassin…or so your advisor claims. Reward: Counter-espionage actions unlocked for later. Chance of Success: 50%
[] Information Gathering: While skullduggery often involves slinking in the dark with a knife in hard, more often than not those who work in the underworld are not called upon to take a life but instead to merely gather information. While gathering information would seem to be a rather boring task, it is anything but when the information itself often determines the fate of nations. While your advisor has never been an informant or spy himself, he does know a few tricks of the trade that should allow you to passively gather information on your own or know who to hire to do it for you. Reward: Increased intrigue score. Unlocks spy/informant network formation later. Chance of Success: 50%
Piety (Locked)
[X] Taoism: Based upon the teachings of Laozi, Taoism's key principle is that of non-action. With the key virtues of Taoism being that of simplicity and humility, many of the common folk admire the adherents of Taoism for their belief in simplicity of living. Though, this has put Taoists at odd with the rulers of the major States, who often prosecute aggressive wars and issue capital punishment which Taoist teachings frown upon. While learning Taoism would not help you much with the nobility, the peasantry on the other hand would be able to better relate to you. Reward: Increased piety score. Increased knowledge of Taoism. Increased bonus when dealing with peasants. Chance of Success: 75%
Locked for 2 more years
Learning (choice locked):
[X] Education: Within the many states, an education is only attainable for those with the wealth to afford it. While they do not expect you to become a scholar, your parents understand the importance of literacy, mathematics, and the arts. Which is why the scholar Menshi has been hired to instruct you in your lessons. Reward: Increase in learning score. Required for unlocking later learning/research options. Locked for 2 years. Chance of Success: 80%
Personal:
[] Interact with your family: With your father's triumphant return home and your cousins Jo Sei and Jo Man joining you at your home, your family has seemingly increased overnight. Things will probably become even more hectic when Riteki joins you later in the year. With tensions as high as they are between the States, well relatively, it would probably do you good to spend time with your family before anything major goes down. Reward: Increased Relationship with Family. Chance of Success: 80%
[] War Orphans: After having met Baku Koshin and the rest of the war orphans in the street last year, they had left an impression on you, even if that impression came with a fight. When it came to them you were not Riboku, heir to the Ri Family, but instead, Riboku that stuck up noble kid who knows how to scrap. With your cousins now with you this year, maybe you should take some time and meet with Baku Koshin and bring them along, surely the more the merrier right? Reward: Increased Commoner Opinion. Increased Baku Koshin Opinion. Chance: 70%
[] Correspondence: Well, things had gone for well you last year all things considered. When your mother had arranged for a gathering of nobles to appear on your family's behalf you made the most of it and befriended a number of individuals, such as a Prince of Chu and the son of a General. With such friends already made, it would probably be a good idea to keep in touch with them and keep your connection intact. Reward: Continued Contact with Friends. Opens up Potential Personal Options. Chance: 70%
[] Find a hobby: While you would rather spend most of your time studying, your mother has insisted that you something else to focus on aside from the topics of your lessons. That is why she has sent you out into the city to find something which interests you and that you feel you could learn. Reward: Increased proficiency at X hobby. Unlocks hobby options. Increased relations with Lady You. Chance of Success: 75%
-[] Metalworking
-[] Music
-[] Art
[] Continue Hobby: With some basic knowledge on your topic of choice it couldn't hurt to learn more about said hobby. What may be a passing fancy today could have some impact on you in the future after all. Reward: Increased proficiency at X hobby. Chance of Success: 60%
-[] Engineering
-[] Architecture
) can only open up more possibilities.
