-4 BS
Turn 2
"So, from the reports on last year's expenditures you went over the Empire's annual income by a third, my King!" Nezar-Azret happily explains. Her grey-colored body shifts here and there randomly, as if it was going to titer and fall.
Your guards have been slowly inching away from her ever since she first came in, ever fearful of your 3rd Queen. She is clumsy, impossibly so, as you and your guards shortly found out the night she first arrived in the Royal Citadel. In your personal nest, unnoticed by all, through a secret tunnel you didn't about that can fit a twenty-five foot Queen.
Somehow.
You don't know
why she's reading the updated report on the state of the realm to you either on the first day of the second year of your reign. You already know this. But she is your Queen and soon to be mother going by the slow swelling of her abdomen these past weeks. Nezar-Azret too, but not Anu-Surket, she's rarely around and is giving you the cold shoulder.
Oh well.
Nezar-Azret continues on, shadows flickering around her. "Plus this year's income we have a total treasury reserve of approximately
972000 in Gold. Not a surplus like usual."
"And it is only going to get worse…" You murmur, thinking of the plague that is Maexxna on your slowly dwindling food supplies.
"Hmm," Nezar-Azret hums along and absentmindedly flips a page on the tome she held. "The yearly population survey reports that approximately
89,682 Spiderlings have been born this year. Underwhelming this year, but they project the number will be higher later with the recently established settlements. The Queens there are eager to expand, but…" She turns a page and pauses. "Huh. They are all calling their new homes Azjol-Nerub II or III and so forth.
Lazy…"
"Is there anything else?" You ask, glancing at the corners of the court rooms webbed ceiling. There, a cadre of elite Nerubian Assassins under Nezar-Azret's command chats amiably with your own.
The tome snaps shut.
"Nope, bored now," she chirps, swinging her arms around. The tome flies out her hands, pages spilling out onto the floor before it hits your face.
You let out a raspy sigh as the book falls to the polished floor, ruined.
Your Spymaster stares. "Uh…"
The things I endure for help.
The other advisers shuffle inside the room, giving Nexar-Azret a wide berth as they assemble before you.
Time to rule.
Empire Treasury:
972000 Gold
Nerubian Reputation: Honored.
Military: Anub-Rekhan, one of the finest and greatest Spider Lords to have ever grace Azjol-Nerub is at your disposal. He had taken command of the Empire's army only two years ago. He now serves as your Chief Military Adviser. Thankfully, he seems content with being just a commander. You might not be King if he wasn't. As always he brings you a list of proposals for the military to do this year.
(Pick 2)
Raiding: There hasn't been any raiding done on the surface world for a long time, other than the occasional hunt and capture to supply the numerous animal farms in Azjol-Nerub. Nothing has caught the Empire's interest lately, but it doesn't know much about what is going on up there either. Since you have a weird interest in the surface world, Anub-Rekhan has asked if he could perform some raids on the Ice Trolls and Vrykul and Magnataurs to give his troops some much needed experience and collect prisoners to interrogate for information later.
Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 90%. Rewards: Much needed experience for the army. Loot. Food. Prisoners to interrogate and experiment upon. Anub-Rekhan relieves a lot of boredom. Cons: Heightened aggression by the Ice Trolls and Vrykul and Magnataurs, possible attempts at retaliation.
Preemptive Strike!: Based on the daily reports on this so-called 'Explorer's Guild', Anub-Rekhan has determined them to be potentially the most dangerous threat to the Scouting Expedition when it sets off later this year. Their port base is still being built and fortified on the shores of the Borean Tundra. He wishes to exterminate them before they have a chance to fully dig in with the army, Anu-Surket, and Maexxna.
Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 85% Rewards: Great Loot. Prisoners. Alliance Tech. Ships. A port base. Cons: What do you think?
Survey: There hasn't been a detailed account to the surface world in a
long time. While you did travel up above in Northrend once, you never got a real good look at it before returning to Azjol-Nerub. You and Anub-Rekhan are curious to know what has changed in the last few centuries. It might be time for an actual expedition to the surface.
Time 3 Years. Chance of Success 60% per year. Rewards: Detailed information on every region in Northrend, but Stormpeaks. Information on interesting individuals and species. Nerubian curiosity piqued. Locked in for 2 more turns.
Logistics and Infrastructure: Anub-Rekhan has depressingly reported a general lack of military infrastructure inside Azjol-Nerub itself. While there are a number of barracks scattered throughout the Empire and are kept clean, repaired, and ready for use by the local Nerubian Workers, they are too few and ill prepared to house and command the Nerubian Army from if they ever go to war. Anub-Rekhan wants to fix this.
Time: 2 year. Costs: 90,000 Gold. Reward: Easier mobilization and travel for the army in Azjol-Nerub, bonus to defense rolls for underground combat, increase of military presence in the Empire.
Fortified Entrances: Five heavily guarded gates lead to Azjol-Nerub, protected more by their secluded and hidden nature more than anything else. Always a firm believer in the art of being prepared, Anub-Rekhan wishes to fortify and enchant and station more troops at these entrances in case of an attack.
Time: 1 year. Costs: 27,000 Gold. Reward: Better protection, bonus to defense rolls for attacks on the gates, able to hold out longer for reinforcements.
Watch Your Back: Maexxna, while an incredible ally in a fight, is only one by force of arms. Everyone in the Empire knows this and greatly fears the day if she betrays her word. Anub-Rekhan wants to prevent this by stationing a significant portion of the army to keep an on the ravenous Broodmother at all times.
Time: 1. Costs: 1/10th Of All Current Forces. Rewards: Maexxna kept in line.
Diplomacy: You appointed your first Queen, Azhar-Menthas, as your diplomatic advisor. Some would complain about it, she would quickly prove them wrong. She is nearly as good as you after all and frees you up for other things as well. With that in mind she's eager to start on a number of things.
(Pick 2)
The Idea of Foreign Relations: As much as Nerubian culture prides itself on promotion of intellectual pursuits, individualism, and the like, it is ironically hidebound when it comes to dealing with others of a different race. If it came down to it, just about every Nerubian other than you would let the world burn if it didn't affect them... or if they even knew about it in the first place. Though you're not certain on it, this might need to change... eventually. You could always order them to change being their King, but it won't change anything in the long run and you are smart enough to know it. You'll have to convince them instead, you can't do it all on your own after all... but it might take awhile.
Time: 5 years. Chance of Success: 30% per turn. Cost: 5,000 Gold per turn. Rewards: +1 Diplomacy Action, +3 Diplomacy, possibly able to send representatives to establish diplomatic relations with other races and trade. Cons: Lowered opinion of you. Nerubians might consider you to be crazy and illogical.
Do it Yourself!: In all likelihood it's going to take
years to convince your people to open up to the world. You are fighting back against thousands of years of culture and ingrained beliefs after all. You, being the Empire's best and only foreign diplomat can open relations with others races you know of from your travels yourself! ...Or try to anyways. Your people won't like it though.
Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 50%. Rewards: Possible diplomatic relations with the Frostborn, Taunka, Tuskarr, Furbogs, and Explorer's Guild. Cons: Greatly lowered opinion of you, putting yourself at potential risk, might scare off the races in-question instead.
Appeasement: Azhar-Menthas wonders if the efforts to keep Maexxna happy aren't enough. There is a near constant chain of food going up to her new lair every day, keeping her ravenous hunger sated, enough that she won't devour the approaching Nerubians. Good, but it's not changing the Broodmother's intimidated opinion of the Empire. Your Queen wants to give her more food and see if that works.
Time: 1 Year. Costs: Your Food Suppy. Ouch. Chance of Success: 80%. Rewards: Maexxna approval increased.
The Queens: Currently the most powerful Caste in the Nerubian Empire. They are its heart and soul. Without them no Nerubian would exist today. And for some reason they all hate and shun your 2nd Queen Anu-Surket in all things. She doesn't look like she cares about their word at all, but you think she does. And it wouldn't do to have one of your own Queens hated by the Empire too. Best get to work then.
Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 80%. Rewards: Improved Spousal Opinion from Anu-Surket.
The Intellectuals: The recent uproar you caused among the scientific community last year is still ongoing. Damage control needs to be done. Nothing bad has happened yet, but you'll make sure it stays that way. Hopefully.
Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 75% Rewards: Rivalries die down. Bruised egos are soothed.
Intrigue: Still embarrassed and frustrated by your lack of success in finding a new Spymaster the moment Nezar-Azret agreed to become your 3rd Queen you had her take over all your intelligence operations. All of which didn't exist. But she has hers!
(Pick 2)
Encryption: There are numerous and encrypted reports from the previous Spymaster that he left before traveling beneath Azjol-Nerub into the forbidden Old Kingdom with other spymasters and a force of engineers and workers. For what you don't know, but you are eager to find out. These reports are the first place to get started.
Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 55%. Rewards: Information.
Who?: Nezar-Azret does not know much, if anything about the previous Spymaster. Not even his name. All you and her know is that he is of the Vizier Caste and is reportedly a powerful shadow mage. This intrigues your Queen greatly and asks if she can remedy this lack of information.
Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 55%. Rewards: Information.
Below The Depths: You don't know what is going down in the Old Kingdom. You don't
want to find out what is going down on the Old Kingdom. But you
need to. Anything at all would be nice. Nezar-Azret's underlings are at your disposal. Send them to work.
Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 55%. Rewards: Information on the Old Kingdom.
Kept Under Watch: With Anub-Rekhan's worrying reports on the Explorer's guild and the advent of the Survey Expeditions launch you decide that it might be best if you kept better track of their movements. While your outposts can do the job, it might not be enough. Nezar-Azret has her shadowy underlings. Best send
them to work and not your Queen. Never her.
Ever.
Time: 2 Years. Chance of Success: 75%. Rewards: Information on the Explorer's Guild forces and movements.
Stewardship: Elder Nadox continues to remain at his post. He is an old, venerated leader among the Vizier Caste, but still eager to help administrate the Empire and its new King. Seeing as you want to make a mark on the long and ancient history of the Empire, he has number of new projects for proposal as always.
(Pick 2)
Mine Expansion and Cleansing: Over the course of thousands of years, the Nerubian Empire has just about mapped out nearly all the underground, Copper, Tin, Bronze, Silver, Iron, Gold, Steel, Mithril, Truesilver, Thorium, Cobalt, Titanium ore veins in Northrend. But they abandoned anywhere they encountered the accursed Saronite ore though. Unfortunately, there are far more of the last than all the others combined in continent, and are mixed in with the other veins at times. As you can expect this prevents a substantial number of your mines from expanding. You want to fix this, and Elder Nadox is still hesitant to support this despite being convinced by you, everyone else might not.
Time: 2 years. Costs 90,000 Gold. Chance of Success 69% per year. Rewards: +200,000 yearly income once cleared. Mines are open and ready for further expansion. 20% lower cost for metal research and forging actions, Saronite Ore available for research. Cons: Workers sent to clear might go mad, lower opinon for trying this stupid idea.
College Of the Mystic Arts: Like his other proposal up above, the Elder Nadox wishes to expand what few schools of magic exist in Azjol-Nerub. While many of the Seers and Viziers prefer to teach their hand-picked apprentices themselves, they leave the other, weaker magically capable Nerubians behind for overburdened schools to take in. It is wasteful in the Elder Nadox's opinion.
Time: 1 years. Costs: 54,000 Gold. Rewards: Numerous Magic Colleges. Better educated Seer Caste, more Seers gained per year. Minor improvement to reputation.
More Settlements!: Looking back at your previous success with the settlement project you can't help but wonder if you can have more Queens and their communities establish more. It should be easier this time around and reap even more benefits! You'll persuade them to try...
Time: 1 year. Costs 36,000 Gold. Chance of Success: 75% Rewards: More Settlements. Helps getting the Nerubians out of their reclusive habits. Gold.
Rations: Seeing the constant drain that is Maexxna on your food supplies a hesitant Elder Nadox proposes to establish a slight limit to the amount of food being for everyone in the Empire. The first time it'll be done in the history the Empire. Naturally, this won't be taken well by your people, but it'll hold off an potential food shortage till it somehow goes back to normal.
Time: 1 Year. Costs: Your Reputation. Chance of Success: 100% Rewards: Stable Food Status for now.
Research: The Empire has a literal army of scientists, scholars, blacksmiths, craftsmen, and those skilled in professions of various kinds as befitting of a nation who values these traits. While many work by themselves on numerous personal projects, all are at your service in the name of the Empire. Lead by Mael Shelub, who might not last long.
(Pick 2)
Improved Husbandry: A number of handlers of the numerous tamed beasts your Empire uses for everyday life, has asked for funding to expand the zoos and farms and improve upon the animals themselves. Evidently, things are started to get crowded in there and the handlers have been forced to keep the populations down through various means.
Time: 2 years. Costs: 20,000 Gold. Chance of Success 75% Rewards: More food. More and stronger Locusts, Giant Spider, Beetle, and Jormungar strains for use. Locked In For 1 More Turn!
Armor Sets: Looking through the vast stores of unused metals neatly sorted and organized inside the numerous vaults that make up your treasury and after listening to Anub-Rekhan military proposals it might be good to commission an actual armor set for all castes to use. Possibly. Made out of what you aren't sure, you're no blacksmith. It'll be best if you leave it to the experts.
Time: Goes on till its canceled or finished. Costs: 5,000 Gold per turn. Chance of Success 65%. Rewards: New sets of armor made of different metals available for use for all castes every year.
Weapons: As with armor, the same thing goes for weapons. You have all the ore and eager blacksmiths ready for work. It'll likely be cheaper and easier to make than the armor too.
Time: Goes on till its canceled or finished. Costs: 2,500 Gold per turn. Chance of Success 80%. Rewards: New and improved weapons of various kinds available for all castes every year.
Enchantment!: A number of your Master Enchanters have gathered together and petitioned you for extra funds. It seems that they have hit a shortage of regents in the pursuit and learning of Grand Master-class enchantments by themselves. Their previous Grand Master died in his workshop after setting off an accidentally explosion, vaporizing all his work.
Time: 2 years. Costs: 5,000 Gold. Chance of Success: 65%. Rewards: Grand-Master Enchantments for weapons and armor available for Elite and Hero units.
Potions!: Not looking to be outdone by those Enchanters your Alchemists have gathered together and petitioned you for extra funding and test subjects. They wish to test out some new specialized and potent potions and elixirs along with lesser mass-scaled versions of their previous work using cauldrons.
Time: 2 Years. Costs: 5,000 Gold. Chance of Success: 65%. Rewards: Grand-Master Potions and Elixirs for Elite and Hero units. Master Potions and Elixir buffs for the rest of the Army through Cauldrons.
Personal Actions: Running an Empire is busy work, even if it is as decentralized as yours. You delegate a lot, but you have a lot of responsibilities too. Luckily, you have time for yourself this year.
(Pick 2)
Martial Training: Compared to Anub-Rekhan and a great number of former Spider Kings and other Spider Lords, you frustratingly realized that you don't even compare to any of them martially. It might be time to change that.
Time: 1 Year. Rewards +1 Martial
Learning: You are smart and knowledgeable in a number of subjects, but that's not enough here in the Nerubian Empire. Especially if you are King. Your silver tongue can only take you so far when faced with a subject you don't know. Your empire has the biggest library in the world. Get to it.
Time: 1 Year. Rewards: +1 Learning
Sneaky, Underhanded Stuff: You know
of intrigue, not
how to intrigue. Like a depressingly amount of other things you simply aren't good at it. Fix it.
Time: 1 Year. Rewards: +1 Intrigue
Tutoring: Elder Nadox has helped lead the Empire for
decades and naturally is the best at it. While you are good at it, you feel that you could be better at it, like... in a lot of things. Elder Nadox is always friendly and eager to pass on his knowledge to his many students. Might good to ask for some advice.
Time: 1 Year. Rewards: +1 Stewardship.
Your Queens: You have three Queens living with you in the Royal Citadel. Not many by Spider King standards, but its manageable enough that you can spend time getting to know each of them without ignoring the other in favor of another.
Time: 1 Year. Rewards: Minor spousal approval for all three.
Mending: Anu-Surket, your 2nd Queen and one of the deadliest warriors in the Empire. She's angry and frustrated for not getting to fight Maexxna. You know that. You don't regret it either. She'd likely have died against her, but it doesn't change things and saying it won't help matters. Words
might not help you here, but action instead. You just have to find the right ones...
Time: 1 Years. Rewards: Improved Spousal approval for Anu-Surket.
-
Survey!
