8820 AS
Turn 1 Results
Military: Zul'Jo is a good friend of yours, and he is one of the best fighters you have. He's led raid after raid out from the back ways of the ruined city where your tribe currently resides, but he's been itching to get out there and start taking it back instead of just breaking faces. (Pick 2)
North Zul'Gurub Raiding: The Bloodscalps currently control the north of Zul'Gurub. That's where the now ruined temples of the Bat Loa Hir'eek and Panther Loa Bethekk are. Not to mention the shattered remains of your general market district used to be. Well, there's also Hakkar's Temple…but you aren't planning on repairing that thing anytime soon. Heck, maybe you should destroy it after you take control of that part of the city? Regardless, send Zul'Jo in to raid for supplies and kill some Bloodscalps. If they aren't going to work with the Gurubashi, then they don't get to be in Zul'Gurub! Time: 1 Year. Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Dead Bloodscalps, 500+5d100 Gold.
- Zul'Jo has a grand old time. For too long your people have been quietly cowering in the background of your city, so it probably comes as a startling surprise to everyone else when you up and appear out of nowhere. You are the owners of the city, so you know the back ways, the secret paths, and so it is that Zul'Jo leads your admittedly small fighting force in numerous raids into the north of the city. The Bloodscalps don't see it coming, and you slaughter dozens in grand ambushes at every imaginable hour. These unloyal wretches will learn that they are not welcome in Zul'Gurub! Zul'Jo takes plenty of skulls himself, though you gain plenty of sacrifices yourself to begin appeasing the spirits once more. Right now you don't have access to any of the more powerful spirits, much less the Loa, but you get a few more wastrel specters that you could use on your own perhaps in battle. The more important thing is that you get more food, and a good amount of supplies from the Bloodscalps. Reward: Dead Bloodscalps. 500+5d100=500+225=725 Gold.
Gnawing Arms: You know, it isn't too hard to keep up a sustainable food supply, but that doesn't mean it's that the best eating. Maybe you need some new flavors? At the least you could have Zul'Jo go raiding the other tribes food supplies, and maybe grab a few new trolls to taste on. Either way, your people get some much needed supplies, your foes lose a few fighters, and your people get to eat something that isn't…your people. Time: 1 Year. Chance For Success: 100%. Reward: Dead Bloodscalps and Splinterskulls, food and random amount of gold and supplies.
- Zul'Jo is also given the mission of leading raids for supplies, not combat. He is less excited about this mission, but surprisingly further dedicated to it than normal combat. He loves the people, and will do anything to provide for them. After all, in your current state, your warriors are simultaneously responsible for protection, attacking your foes, and gathering food and supplies. Zul'Gurub itself has no farms, though it probably wouldn't be too hard to build such given the monolithic size of your city. Anyhow, he kills a few of the unloyal trolls on the borders of your small sliver of territory and spends months pulling food and supplies from the ruins. He gets a good amount of it too. Damned idiots are so busy fighting each other they've left the fruit giving trees in the Center of the city grow and grow without any maintenance, the berries, herbs, mushrooms, and other edible reagents along the Eastern sections of the city go entirely unharvested, and other preserved supply crates and containers have been left simply all over the place. You don't want to even think about what happened to the Treasury Vaults. On the one hand, you get some much needed supplies for your people not simply for combat but for everyday living. On the other hand, it is no wonder that the Gurubashi had to be in charge because these fools clearly have no idea what they are doing. Reward: Lots of food, +1500 Gold scavenged. Supplies.
Diplomacy: Your tribe built the Gurubashi Empire up out of bloody conquest, strong words, and overwhelming influence. It was made from the bonds between numerous tribes, all working together albeit under one unifying group i.e. the Gurubashi. It's time to see what else you can do in this area.(Pick 1)
Remember The Good Old Days, Skullsplitters?: You know, when you were in charge and before you accidentally let the Hakkari and Atal'ai take the dominant position of the Empire and nearly summon Hakkar and nearly ruin everything forever because the Blood God turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, things weren't that bad. Surely some of the other trolls remember that, right? A sizeable portion of the other trolls in Zul'Gurub must remember that in some way, they are staying here after all instead of filtering out with the rest into the jungle alongside the majority of their fellows. Not to mention that you just managed to call the spirits forth again, so the star of your tribe is on the rise again…right? Time: 1 Year. Reward: See if any of the Skullsplitters might be willing to join up under you again.
- You absolutely scare the shit out of some of the Skullsplitters when you send your father's spirit to carry your messages to them. You don't try to contact any of the Skullsplitter leaders directly, not just yet. You're going to start on some of the younger trolls who are doing patrols through the Skullsplitter section of the city. No one is old enough to have been alive when the Gurubashi Empire was an Empire and not a collapsed constant battle going on throughout the jungle, but there will always be dissatisfied youth. No one's managed to reconnect with the spirits before you, but everyone is still taught to respect the power of the Witch Doctors and their powers over the spirits. It's enough to get them to send messages back into the Skullsplitters that the Gurubashi will return, and that they have the spirits on their side. Your father followed invisibly, and has brought back news. The current leader of the Skullsplitters in Zul'Gurub is one Leka'threk. He is not a friendly sort, and actually killed the first messenger. He has declared that the time of the Gurubashi has long since past, and that it is time that the Skullsplitter Empire rises. His plan is to conquer the city and then take control of the rest of the Skullsplitters elsewhere in Stranglethorn. Unfortunately he's charismatic to maybe even pull it off. The vast majority of the Skullsplitters in Zul'Gurub fanatically follow him, some secretly calling him Chieftain in the dark hours of the morning. However…you do make contact with someone in the contingent that isn't quite so happy about Leka'threk's plans. It's another Witch Doctor! Though she hasn't had as much success as you at contacting and channeling the spirits. It took a bit to get over your initial distaste for a female daring to take up the power of the spirits, you've got to use what you've got.
Zuli'jin has a small core of Skullsplitters around her, around 1/5 of Leka'threk's forces. But what can you do with that…Reward: Zuli'jin, Skullsplitter Witch Doctor, and 1/5 of Leka'threk Skullsplitters.
Stewardship: No one else is going to help you restore your once glorious city. Your people are going to have to pick themselves up by the bone anklets. One day, one day Zul'Gurub will be the vibrant place of life it once was, your walls won't be crumbling piles of shale, and your homes won't be hovels. One day… (Pick 1)
We Be Hungry Mon: Your people need food, or at least different kinds of food than the single major source you've got. One of the best you've got are mushrooms, but there are other fruits that could be harvested from the trees. Stranglethorn is quite lush after all. Besides, you've always thought that Zul'Gurub should be a bit self-sufficient. Of course, that's a thought for when you've fully retaken the city. Cost: 1000. Time: 1 Year. Reward: Gain +500 Farm Income per turn.
- The main food production areas of the city are not under your control, but no matter. By the end of the year you've got some sections of your slice of Zul'Gurub cordoned off so that plants can be grown. You are in the former Raptor Pens, which means that luckily there was and still is plenty of manure, and the ground is plenty fertilized. You've got some small farms now. Honestly, the only thing that's disheartening is that there are so few of you that there even is space for this in your once grand city. Reward: +500 Farm Income Per Turn.
Learning: Testing random concoctions on themselves and their fellow trolls is a time honored Witch Doctor tradition! Now drink this and tell me how many fingers I'm holding….whoops. (Pick 1)
Bone Armor: The floor of Zul'Gurub is covered in the bones of dead trolls and animals from centuries of such fierce infighting that few things have had the time to scavenge and crack the marrow. It's a very abundant resource at the moment, and with the Crafting District of the City not under your control, it's the closest thing to armor that you could probably get or harvest. Cost: 0. Time: 1 Year. Reward: Bone armor supplements forces.
- Hey, it's better than nothing, right? You aren't able to make anything truly ornate at the moment, but that's all right. You've still got metal weapons, and that's the best that anyone else has got. The majority of trolls aren't crafters or smiths, meaning that stone is the usual weapon material of choice and availability. You've got plenty of bones. Thousands of years spent shaping bone into weapons, reagents, materials, and more have ingrained the knowledge into pretty much all jungle trolls. As such, it isn't that difficult to mix together bones into vests, gauntlets, and other small garments of protection. It might not look like much, but it's better than anyone else has got right now. Reward: Bone armor supplements forces.
Intrigue: You've never been one for sneaking about, but that's ok. You've got spirits for that. For instance, your father. Considering that you're one of the most gifted Witch Doctors around, and none of the others seem able to channel the power of the spirits just at the moment, that gives you a…unique opportunity. (Choose 1)
What's In Here?: You need a better read on the city. Actual numbers, patrol routes, anything is better than your current understanding of 'there are a lot of them and they are in most of the city'. Send your father's spirit out there into the rest of Zul'Gurub to get a look at what's what. Reward: Survey on Zul'Gurub's situation.
- Your father grumbles at you as you send his ghostly self into the rest of the city. He picks over different groups, patrols, supply caches, and general arguments. But Zul'Gurub is vast, able to hold more than a hundred thousand trolls with absolute ease. It takes time, but for once you finally get some good information on the regular goings on. The Bloodscalps and Skullsplitters are evenly matched in Zul'Gurub, viciously battling along their lines. While the Bloodscalps are far more numerous, the Skullsplitters are making use of traps and ambushes throughout. While you can appreciate the brutality of combat and do enjoy a good fight yourself, you cannot help but be annoyed at how their incessant fighting is destroying Zul'Gurub further. Columns being tipped over to crush foes, stones being pulled from their foundations just to use as weapons, it's infuriating. But the news is generally grim all over, not just in matters of the cities cadaver-esque health.
The Bloodscalps number nearly eighty thousand, and are spread out across the North of the city. The vast majority of their equipment is stone and bone, but a few of their elites have access to metal weapons. They are in complete control of the market district and are eating quite well, bashing open your food and supply stores and generally enriching themselves at the cost of the city and everyone else. Their leader is not the chieftain of the Bloodscalps, but apparently the brother of said Chieftain. Lerroko the Bloody is a terrifying opponent, and often will participate in combat games against more than ten foes at a time just to prove he can. He regularly fights and wrestles Dire Trolls, and in the time your father's spirit watched him he never lost once. Someone for you either to poison or have Zul'Jo try to kill. He might not be the cleverest, but his combat abilities are undeniable. They have centered themselves around the market district, and infuriatingly are using the Temples as their refuse piles. That…does not sit well with you. Or the spirits. You can feel them whisper in anger. But they are no longer strong enough to do anything about it, not in the current state of things.
The Skullsplitters, you know of, somewhat thanks to your limited diplomatic efforts. Leka'threk is one of those gifted trolls to be a master of beasts. He has corralled the vast majority of the once feral population of raptors and panthers throughout Zul'Gurub. You've been living in the former Raptor Pens…you of course had been wondering about where the tens of thousands of the scaled little fellas had gone too. It turns out that the Skullsplitters took them with them when the first initial riots began. So that's interesting to know. The relationship between trolls and raptors is a storied one, a hunting animal, companion, pet, vicious guard creature, and food. You might want to get those back sometime. You also know of your potential ally Zuli'jin the Witch Doctor and her small group of followers numbering about 1/5 of the followers of Leka'threk. That comes to a strong twelve thousand out of sixty thousand trolls willing to separate from Leka'threk. On the other hand, besides Leka'threks forty eight thousand trolls, he also possesses nearly ten thousand vicious Gurubashi-bred raptors. Vastly superior to the standard raptors of the world, the Gurubashi Empire bred their raptors to be superior, a project that lasted for thousands of years before the collapse centuries ago. They will be tough creatures to break, especially considering how they were bred to form unbreakable bonds with their partners. Hmm.
Besides the living powers, your father tells you that there are still wisps of power emanating from all of the Temples, which is almost completely heartening. Almost…because there apparently still remains a conduit of power in Hakkars Temple. That…is not good. Once you own the city again you should investigate that more thoroughly.
Your father continues the report by granting the knowledge that the spirit wards around the Treasury remain strong, which is interesting. They were specifically built to keep out spirit based or magical observers. There were defenses against physical thieves as well, but you can't test that just yet. Considering that there's a large number of Bloodscalps in the way.
As for the Gurubashi themselves, apparently people thought you were either dead or in so few numbers that it wouldn't matter soon enough anyway. They don't even know where you are based in the city, actually. The fact that you've sent out Zul'Jo this year surprised many, and some are considering it simple rumor. But you will show them that the Gurubashi are still here, and that they, you, are quite unhappy with what these once subordinate tribes have done. Reward: Survey of Zul'Gurub situation.
Personal Actions: You can't be making concoctions or performing ritual sacrifices all the time. (Pick 1)
Understanding Your Friends On The Other Side: Understanding the words and images of the spirits will take work, especially when you use them as your eyes and ears all over the place. Time 1 year. Rewards: +1 Intrigue
Your father never even heard the spirits. Not his father before him. But your great grandfather did. That was around when fewer and fewer paid service to the spirits, and when they began to lose their power. No, that isn't quite right. They still possess their power, but in the spirit world. The connection to this world weakened without sacrifices or ritual, and it was only with great struggle that you could see the spirits at all. Witch Doctors get to see through the spirits, and the spirits see through them. Besides the Priests who…can't really function without the Loa being 'here', and the Shadow Hunters who…well, disappeared, the Witch Doctors are the only ones left who are meant or supposed to be able to talk and listen to the spirits. But it's hard.
The voices of spirits are like a pressure on your mind and soul, squeezing down. They don't always speak in words, but sometimes only in images, emotions, charged and mixed about for your tender ears to try and parse through. Others, like your father, sound exactly like they did in life albeit with some extra wispy echoes. That's fine with you, but what you need is more. To be able to process what perhaps many spirits are saying at once is difficult, but you must master it if you ever hope to be able to see in different places. You have heard tales of the most powerful Witch Doctors seeing across the world, and though you may never be that powerful, it would be nice if you could see around your city, would it not? Or to gain the assistance of the healing spirits, so that you could construct at least some few of the Healing Wards that Witch Doctors are so known for? Gaining mastery of the spirits could take a lifetime.
You suppose you'll just have to do it faster.
Reward: +1 Intrigue. The voices of the spirits are easier to discern. Spirits take notice of the one who can speak and listen to them for the first time in generations.
