It says that Illona wants elf booty, and the inner voice tells her that the consequences doesn't matter?
Upon This Sword of Fire (CKII Quest)
- Thread starter Crilltic
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
I think she's the desert-dwelling equivalent.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Alright, we need to get married, and fast. IMO, at least. *reads what's been said since the update*
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Yarp
I tried to put the shipping goggles on this turn, but failed to get them because apparently people don't want Illona to be happy
- Location
- Australia
Well, it could work. You know...
Chani+Paul Muad'dib, Jessice+Duke Leto...?
Chani+Paul Muad'dib, Jessice+Duke Leto...?
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
In retrospect, I don't think we lost much combat utility going for the Red Dress over the other options here.
After all, Illona can't be burned, clothes are flammable and ninjas can't catch you if you're on fire!
After all, Illona can't be burned, clothes are flammable and ninjas can't catch you if you're on fire!
- Location
- Panama City
- Location
- Massholistan
Yes, that ritual is one for summoning and binding a spirit. Trying to use it to give you kids...well it will probably end badly.No we haven't.We've seen a magical ritual that produces a spirit that has a lot of child-like properties, but I still wouldn't call Māka a child.
Illona does not know if there are actually any magical rituals or abilities of that nature. Of course, there's always the rumors surrounding the nature of her birth. But do you want to risk chasing a goal that may not even exist, or if it does likely carries great risks for everyone who is not literally divine who undergoes it?
Illona's biological clock is ticking.
The elves of Vana are a terribly fickle lot, tending to turn on you the minute your back is turned. And they have long memories.
Well, the Flame Guard weren't exactly taking no for an answer, and people got killed. Some of whom may not of been guilty of any crime at all. Even for treason, summary execution of tangential related family members tends to raise a few eyebrows.
Illona doesn't want to cheat on her spouse.I was thinking the concubine route myself, if that's a thing. Avoids all those messy political issues of securing a marriage, plus we can pursue the gay option(which i do support
- Location
- Vicksburg, MS
It's not really paranoia on Kavan's part if everyone is out to get him. This supposedly loyal sister of his is pouring her heart out to a potentially dangerous foreign power, and something like two-thirds of the family is actively engaged in trying to see him dead.
Not good with that Baraz guy, I think the friendly faction members to us are now probably screwed and the Twins were going to be the best we could get. We may want to ask him again as to whether or not he would appreciate any help from us... though, as I said before, domestic concerns come first.
Edit: By the way, any chance we could cool it on the legion recruitment for a spell? Those guys make up about three quarters of our armed forces.
Not good with that Baraz guy, I think the friendly faction members to us are now probably screwed and the Twins were going to be the best we could get. We may want to ask him again as to whether or not he would appreciate any help from us... though, as I said before, domestic concerns come first.
Edit: By the way, any chance we could cool it on the legion recruitment for a spell? Those guys make up about three quarters of our armed forces.
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- Location
- Massholistan
The Twins aren't out of it yet. The battles that they lost were mainly on the armies of some of the lesser claimants who decided to back them. It hurts certainly, but they still have a solid base of support in the westerlands. It wasn't a knock-out blow.
Ah yeah, definitely seeking Husbando soon.
Probably going to mix it up a bit, but not ending recruitment . Legions ARE pretty damned good at defensive war and garrisons. 3/4 is about the right-ish ratio.
I'm still hoping to acquire the nomads full loyalty though.
- Location
- USA
If you notice we have three legions tied up in deployments right now to keep our realm safe, if we do border forts that would tie up a fourth so we do need to recruit enough legions to form an army with the other troops.
Basically legions both serve as deployed defense and the infantry core of our mobile army so we need enough to satisfy both requirments.
Basically legions both serve as deployed defense and the infantry core of our mobile army so we need enough to satisfy both requirments.
- Location
- Vicksburg, MS
Yeah, they're still kicking around, but they don't have all that much going for them. Their troops aren't too well-trained nor experienced, their support base is conflicting too much with itself to function effectively and it's located on the opposite side of the empire from the foreign power most likely to consider helping it out.
If I were them, I'd clear out while the going was good with all the cash I could manage and try to find a friendly place to live in exile.
Edit: Our infantry is only really shining in defensive use at fortifications and perhaps our cities, they're a terrible unit to effectively cover the vast countryside. We have a good lot of them pinned at various positions and thousands walking free and able to supply an anvil sort of force, but we desperately need more cavalry and skirmishers.
If I were them, I'd clear out while the going was good with all the cash I could manage and try to find a friendly place to live in exile.
Edit: Our infantry is only really shining in defensive use at fortifications and perhaps our cities, they're a terrible unit to effectively cover the vast countryside. We have a good lot of them pinned at various positions and thousands walking free and able to supply an anvil sort of force, but we desperately need more cavalry and skirmishers.
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No, we don't have enough to actually supply an anvil force. Nearly all of them are tied up in garrison duty is the whole problem.
If you want cavalry and skirmishers, diplomatically annex the nomadic tribes. Then you get an entire culture of veteran riders at one go.
- Location
- Vicksburg, MS
Totally ignoring those who are on the fortifications, our freely available legions still outnumber everything else by more than two to one. We have more free than on garrison duty, but we still have no means by which to properly pacify the steppe, neither our native one nor the one to our east.
I've been advocating assimilating the tribes for ages, but I have no doubt that some shiny will distract us and waste our limited diplomatic options as it did with the faction one. Regardless, it's best to carry a big stick that we can intimidate them with to make it easier to deal with them and not to fully rely on a single ethnic group for all of our cavalry needs. We can't actually hurt them with legions alone, and they know that.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
Neither Kavan or Baraz are a good outcome, and may represent distinctly different threats. Baraz is a military genius while it is increasingly likely that Kavan is a Mage slowly giving in to his worst instincts. If they gut each other's armies that may be all good, but we have no way of knowing what will happen. And aside from the Hastrijani we also need to deal with the Border Princes and the Nomads to consolidate the unternal politics of the realm. Diplomatic options are thus limited relative to our needs.
That said, Valda will almost certainly help, after a fashion, in the face of a military threat from Hastrijan.
And yeah, well. Backing the peasant revolt is high-risk, high-gain. Religious revolution frequently is. It looks likely that the Sylltaji are a more egalitarian faith than Amalism, and civil war breeds the destruction of the small folk. That kind of churn might be the perfect environment for an upending of the social order and conversion from below. But the peasants might not bite and the upper classes would be furiously resistant.
That said I get the impression that everyone uniting will not happen. Kavan is too far gone for it and Baraz will not be walking back accusations of parricide. The nobility would fight, though, and if Kavan or Baraz were to be killed their troops would rally to the resistance.
The twins are a safer option for intervention. They enjoy a lot of elite support and have an army and a base of territory. They are likely insincere about their willingness to convert, or at most superficial about it. I suspect the Sylltaji frown on incest, to put it mildly. But they are likely to be kind of absorbed and prove to be far less of a threat if they win. And they have not entirely unreasonable chances of doing so, especially if Kavan is put down and Baraz suffers a "terrible accident."
Valda might not forgive the accident, though. I increasingly get the feeling there's something personal between the two she wants to settle herself.
Though contact with the twins may still be useful even if we don't intervene. Offering them sanctuary would put a pretender in Illona's arsenal for later. Marriage to a weak pretender entirely in Illona's power in order to produce an heir with a claim on the Hastrijani throne might be even more useful.
That said, Valda will almost certainly help, after a fashion, in the face of a military threat from Hastrijan.
And yeah, well. Backing the peasant revolt is high-risk, high-gain. Religious revolution frequently is. It looks likely that the Sylltaji are a more egalitarian faith than Amalism, and civil war breeds the destruction of the small folk. That kind of churn might be the perfect environment for an upending of the social order and conversion from below. But the peasants might not bite and the upper classes would be furiously resistant.
That said I get the impression that everyone uniting will not happen. Kavan is too far gone for it and Baraz will not be walking back accusations of parricide. The nobility would fight, though, and if Kavan or Baraz were to be killed their troops would rally to the resistance.
The twins are a safer option for intervention. They enjoy a lot of elite support and have an army and a base of territory. They are likely insincere about their willingness to convert, or at most superficial about it. I suspect the Sylltaji frown on incest, to put it mildly. But they are likely to be kind of absorbed and prove to be far less of a threat if they win. And they have not entirely unreasonable chances of doing so, especially if Kavan is put down and Baraz suffers a "terrible accident."
Valda might not forgive the accident, though. I increasingly get the feeling there's something personal between the two she wants to settle herself.
Though contact with the twins may still be useful even if we don't intervene. Offering them sanctuary would put a pretender in Illona's arsenal for later. Marriage to a weak pretender entirely in Illona's power in order to produce an heir with a claim on the Hastrijani throne might be even more useful.
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Marriage.
Remember that their entire leadership is split between us and a young man in the right age group. One marriage could consolidate them all under us.
It's also risky at home. Our own lesser nobles will be fearful and cook up more trouble..
Probably, but it's possible to work to combine some of their weaker groups to divide their power significantly.
Personally, I doubt any of the main candidates are good options for sanctuary. They are in power and fighting for the throne at the moment, by the time they accept sanctuary there's already a clear winner out for our ass.
I'd take the nice princess personally. She's got no major power of her own, aside from an exploitable claim. And if everything goes to shit enough we could potentially push her claim.
- Location
- Vicksburg, MS
I'd be down for it, ambitious young man with powerful thighs hailing from the honest barbarians of the north? Sign me up! I'm afraid the tide of lesbomancy is a bit too powerful for this to get much sway, however.
That, and he may be on the verge of getting snapped up anyway given his clear eligibility, we wouldn't know. It sure would be nice if we could have a vote to consider our martiage prospects for once, then we can get a hold of all the political ramifications for this stuff, too.
As to the trouble down south, hopefully we can get a bit of a brain drain working in our favor. Vicious civil war to the south, shining and rich paradise to the north... bring on the skilled refugees, maybe we can get a decent councillor out of there.
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- Location
- USA
Yeah I would be in favor of chosen the marriage option this tur as one of our personal actions
- Location
- Vicksburg, MS
No kidding, it's also dangerous to be where those armies are fighting. Or to still be around after you've put in your chip for the wrong side... as the factions start imploding, believe me when I say that we're going to start seeing some refugees begin to trickle in through our border. The only other borders we know them to have seem to be either ruled by our bloodthirsty sister or hostile snake people, so they haven't many options.
Edit: There's also angry desert elves in the midst of harsh wasteland, forgot those guys. Hastrijan's borders just aren't too friendly...
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Huh interesting quest.
Considering the latest discussion, you guys really should pick up a husband for Lona this turn or at least sooner rather then later. I mean not getting an husband would not be the worst decision in Lona's time as a ruler, that lofty position is reserved if she does not get an heir of her own blood, but still Lona seems smarter then that. If not the magic is messing with her head angle is true.
Considering the latest discussion, you guys really should pick up a husband for Lona this turn or at least sooner rather then later. I mean not getting an husband would not be the worst decision in Lona's time as a ruler, that lofty position is reserved if she does not get an heir of her own blood, but still Lona seems smarter then that. If not the magic is messing with her head angle is true.
Lets just say that traveling in these times across desert and looking exactly like a peasant rebellion army is WORSE than being where the armies will sack cities