Warhammer Fantasy: A Dynasty of Dynamic Alcoholism

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Crafter of War said:
No no, I was asking when was the last time we saw him before the meeting today. Cause depending on the timeframe, Teclis saw a somewhat fucked up soul of Freddy and then the next moment his soul is all 'What the fuck happened to you?'.
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Teclis: "Did you see that humans fucked up soul? It was NOT all stunty last time I saw him like a minute ago."

Tyrion: "I know right? You spend one year in a hole in the ground and see what it does to you? Fucking dawi man."
 
[x] Let Others Speak

Let them slap us in the face and then bring up the existential threat to the empire. It makes them look Petty and gets us bonus points for still being willing to help Rommel after he got suckered. As pissed as he was at his son, he was probably even more pissed at Adolf and the moot for taking him for a ride. Might as well cement our partnership with him to spite them.
 
Vodkasheep said:
[x] Let Others Speak

Let them slap us in the face and then bring up the existential threat to the empire. It makes them look Petty and gets us bonus points for still being willing to help Rommel after he got suckered. As pissed as he was at his son, he was probably even more pissed at Adolf and the moot for taking him for a ride. Might as well cement our partnership with him to spite them.
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Vote closed a bit ago, already.
 
The Moot representative won't be happy if Frederick takes the wind out of his sails with the news of the Omen and its movements.
 
Vodkasheep said:
[x] Let Others Speak

Let them slap us in the face and then bring up the existential threat to the empire. It makes them look Petty and gets us bonus points for still being willing to help Rommel after he got suckered. As pissed as he was at his son, he was probably even more pissed at Adolf and the moot for taking him for a ride. Might as well cement our partnership with him to spite them.
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Rommel isn't the one whose son made deals on his behalf. He's the count of Reikland, it was Siegrich, count of Averland, that was pissed.
 
Elector’s Meet Of 2337 IC – 5
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Bring up the recent Beastmen situation, the Beastpaths extending into other counties, and the presence of Malagor the Dark Omen.
    [X] Promise Aid - She asks a favor, and you've answered that you'll try to help.
    GM Note: Voting Moratorium For 4 Hours

    Elector's Meet 2337 IC – 5​

    There was no noticeable reaction from Teclis, as if he'd expected you would answer that way all along. The same cannot be said about the rest of those at the table. Everyone present restrained themselves somewhat, but they could not conceal everything. Speculative glances and twisting of lips into sour scowls passed by in a flash from those such as Kaufmann and Gunthar, while others such as the priests were more confused in general. There was approval, you think, in the slightest of nods from Ava, though you could not say for certain if you saw correctly. Even with your torso turned about to look at Teclis full on, Emeline's smile is blinding out of the corner of your eye. Gustav, the stranger from Hochland, somehow shutters his entire face into a blank slate out of the corner of your eye. That is, unfortunately, all you can see with most of your attentions focused on Teclis as he sweeps out of the room back the way he came without another word. Not even a parting remark of farewell or the like to you, Stephan, or any others.

    As for speaking up, you don't bother with shifting about in your chair like the Jax or Adolf.

    "The beastmen are becoming more of a problem," you state plainly, "I'm sure you've already all heard the rumors of what happened in Ostland."

    "Yes!" Emeline says happily, "A glorious victory against the vile creatures!"

    "Ulric was truly with us that day," Logan roars.

    A large number of those present thump their fists against the table in agreement, faint praise and acknowledgement escaping from the lips of many. Even Gunthar has to split his face open just a tad to let the thinnest of smiles form. Logan, of course, is one of the loudest of them all. It takes you a moment simply to capture the attentions of those at the table with Logan boasting of the clear favor shown by the God of Winter and Wolves.

    "Yes! Yes, it was a good victory. However," you repeat yourself for the fifth time or so, "However, I would speak more on them, and how they got into the province at all."

    Your cutting into the raucous congratulations chills the warmth in the room quite quickly.

    "Those that did not gestate in-province used the beast-paths, obviously," Gunthar rolls his eyes as he leans back in his chair, arms rising up to cross over his chest. "They crisscross all major forests of the Empire, and unless you've taken so many strikes to the head that you've forgotten – much of the Empire is forested."

    Growling, you work hard to reduce the flash of annoyance that almost burns its way out of your throat. Gunthar does not even attempt to acknowledge the warning look that his elder brother sends his way.

    "If you are so knowledgeable about my mind, wolf lord," you spit back, "Then you surely know about our capture of a turnskin and his confessions as to the involvement of the Dark Omen?"

    The growing sneer on his face disappears, and if you don't miss your mark, there is the faintest paling of Gunthar's face. The reactions of others are far more pronounced. Muttered curses and oaths, the scraping of chairs backwards as if physically repelled by your words, all this and more repeats itself around the entire table. You know enough about the bastard not to give him time to rebuild momentum, however, and immediately launch into your tale about the turnskin, the information extracted from him, and even his horrific transformation at the end of it. For once, Gunthar doesn't try to interrupt you. Durl's end may have been gruesome, but what words that were tortured out of his throat are far worse. The lack of a controlling Beastlord in the assault on the Blood-Fane, yet the arrival of so many of the rarer and deadlier sorts of beastmen, is another major point of concern indeed. The beast-paths, you know, obviously cross provincial lines. It would be absurd to assume otherwise.

    "You do realize, that if I were to move some of Hochland's state troops towards the path you located, it could be a major issue in terms of provocation, yes?" Gustav asks you seriously at one point when you pause to drink your eighth mug of beer.

    Sure, he sits back enough with a nod and shrug when you answer him, but it was enough time for you to finish your drink. And, unfortunately, for Gunthar to rally.

    "But you haven't actually seen him," he points out, shaking his head. "And how can we know that this 'Durl' was even telling the truth?"

    (12+5(Diplomacy)=17/100)

    "Can we afford not to act as if he was telling the truth?" You fire back, but you can already see some faint nodding heads amongst a number of the other electors.

    "But you slaughtered so many, even the Wolf God blessed your efforts," Emeline pipes up, fire in her eyes. "If there are more to fight, then we will fight them when they come!"

    "I can't afford to move my forces away from their current maneuvers and preparations," Siegrich mutters, rubbing absentmindedly at his somewhat scratched and reddened knuckles. "The greenskins in the south demand my attentions."

    "Mine as well," Rommel pipes up, his hands folded into a steeple beneath his chin.

    "It is not as if there are not regular purges and hunts," Kaufmann smiles at you as she speaks, but it does not reach her eyes. "Every province commits to such a thing, my lord. I am no master of combat, but the tales of the Forest of Shadows are well known even in Marienburg…who is to say what the strength of the beastmen is?"

    Sighing, you massage your temples as you marshal your thoughts.

    "It is not a call to action that I am demanding, madam, merely a warning. That is all. I am not fool enough to try and demand that we throw our armies into the Drakwald and have them be swallowed up within a month, never to return again."

    After all.

    It's been tried.

    Gods has it been tried. By every Emperor who came from the province of the Drakwald before their dissolution. By Wolfram I and Helmut I of Middenland, and Balderick I of Talabecland. Even Sigismund the Conquerer sought to do it, and yet the histories speak of it only in passing. The supposed purge of the Drakwald in that era simply did not occur, and so it is barely remembered under the weight of the Conquerer's actual successes. But it is too thick, the terrain too impassable, the beastmen and greenskins too strong there. It would take a titanic effort, and one that you would not subject the Empire to given recent decades of conflict if you can help it.

    "If they rear their ugly heads out of the Drakwald in number, then the Wolves of Middeheim will be there to tear their throats out," Gunthar finishes dismissively, his arrogance so thick in the air that you'd be hard pressed to cut them with Brain Wounder. "Worry not, Hohenzollern, you can cower in safety under our guard."

    Cower!?

    (Maintain Composure: 74+5=79/100)

    The solid iron of the mug in your hands squeaks slightly followed by a series of cracks, but you've put it down before you can finish crushing it in your grip. Even then, you aren't fast enough to stop the sudden deluge of foamy beer from spilling out across your hand and wrists through said cracks.

    "Excuse me?"

    Gunthar tilts his head at you, a wary cold look entering his eyes for some reason.

    You can't imagine why.

    "Count Hohenzollern," Kaufmann sweeps into the conversation with a titter, "We can all agree that the threat of the Dark Omen should not be discounted. Electors, surely we can all spare at least a modicum of additional troop patrols and the like to protect our own citizenry?"

    A murmuring round of agreements is the answer to her, not to you, and for some reason that she does it all with a smile irritates you to no end.

    "In the meantime," the Marienburger continues, "While we are on the topic of threats and sharing information, the Families have elected to send out an expeditionary group of vessels to the ruins of Sudenburg, to better study the destruction there and possibly find the culprits in certainty. If any of you are interested in aiding us in this, feel free to contact us. The expedition is set to launch before the end of next year."

    Then she sits, her hands folded in her lap, as everyone else tries to readjust as the sensation of imminent violence fades from the air.

    "The greenskins to the south are growing in strength," Siegrich eventually says, and frankly at this point you appreciate the hard shift in topic. "At last count, Iron Rock is more than a third gone, while more of their forces are striking towards Karak Eight Peaks. The dwarfs are continuing to hold position, preferring to set up defenses rather than try to fight them on the open field and risk being completely surrounded and destroyed."

    "You speak truly," Magnus speaks gravely, his mood clearly dark. "High King Grudgebearer has communicated as such to me. Yet his strategy is sound by my reckoning. It is not as if we are doing any different in fortifying Black Fire Pass."

    True enough. But you would be lying if you said something did not stick in your craw about simply letting them get away with running about down there. Still, you have enough threats at home with the beastmen without thinking to leave the Empire internally defenseless. Which, you know with even a moment's thought over the current numbers of state troops available to the provinces with a modicum of experience would require a considerable portion to to be split away just to make a dent. Or further trained up. While also reducing your capabilities at defending the coasts of Ostland and Nordland.

    "Does anyone else have anything further to report in such a vein?"

    Ava snorts, and stabs her knife into a pork chop before bringing it back to her plate.

    "The undead are suppressed like never before, thanks to the works of the High Elves and the Cult of Morr. Sylvania is quiet, but a proper quiet, not one disturbed by shifting earth and endless moaning upon the winds."

    She speaks in a rather cavalier way about the ancestral threat to Stirland and the Empire, but you suppose she has a right to after all that has been done there.

    "I think there's a threat that no one here is acknowledging," Jax Starbrook finally speaks up. "The threat to halflings who have the temerity to simply be alive!"

    With that said, he promptly pulls out a massive stack of papers and begins handing them out, or sliding them in some cases. You can't help the bemusement that fills you at his impertinence, and you do have to work slightly to keep your eyes from rolling back into your skull. It is one thing to care about fellow citizens of the Empire as you do with those halflings within the Northern Trident. It is entirely another to have him blatantly try to proclaim their civil issues to be as big of a threat as a WAAAGH!! or resurgent beastmen.

    "All due respect to my…predecessor, but she most clearly did not represent the Moot as she should have," he continues, completely ignoring the scathing glare you send his way. "But I shall work where she did not. To start with…"

    First upon his docket of issues are building taxes and costs for halfling abodes, a familiar complaint that even your father complained of once or twice within earshot before your exile. Because they live in smaller homes, they should pay less, with other pay and tax differentials introduced due to material usage and occupancy requirements being completely distinct from those of humans, dwarfs, elves, and ogres especially. It would, if done, reduce the taxes taken by a great many headmen, mayors, and nobility by a non-negligible amount, were you to accept his proposals. Which would, in turn, annoy a great many of your citizens…in most circumstances, you think. In any case, Jax argues long and passionately about the matter at hand, the unfairness levied upon his people, and more. He almost seamlessly continues past just that point into more, specifically tariffs and costs associated with production and trade of halfling goods.

    (Between The Lines: 59+14(Learning)+5(Sabine Exposure)+5(Paranoid)=83/100)

    If you didn't have a general distaste for the Moot and their representative for what they did to Moro, and hadn't spent meeting after meeting with Sabine on economic matters…no, you probably still would have caught it. Starbrook does not know you well enough, it seems. While it would gain you a substantial amount of approval from the halflings of Ostland, and annoy a great many of your other citizen due to the perceived favoritism, there is more. Far more. The rise and reduction in different tariffs in different areas, the goods, all of the changes he proposes, it is good. More provinces than others will certainly profit. But some, in particular Ostland, will suffer. Not a lot, not compared to the yearly sums going into your treasury. But it will cut into your profits, in the result of things. As it will for the rest of the Trident. By the faint intakes of breath from both Stephan and Ortrud, they have caught it too. There is also some kind of wine-related business which will certainly strike into Stirland's profits as well. It hits them directly where it hurts, their total monopoly over wine selling, by giving relief and aid to wine production in a number of other provinces.

    For goodness sake, that part barely has anything to do with halflings in particular, save for the fact that they are the ones who came up with it. Jax appears to be unleashing an utter deluge of Mootland-focused works upon you. Works that Moro barely ever hinted at, for her part.

    Still, that is not the most frustrating part.

    It is that…on the whole, the greater whole of the Empire, the halfling tax and building cost reduction aside, would be to the Empire's benefit. Economically, at least. It is just that the Trident and Stirland will suffer moderately to enrich the rest of the Empire. It is worded well enough that you doubt that many of the southern provinces will vote against it, and if you were to vote against it, then they'd question your choice to do so. Guthar will surely do more than even that. The entire thing is wrapped up in aiding businesses and villages across multiple sectors, and multiple provinces, one big bundle of proposals and requests that would take you weeks to completely detangle. Weeks you do not have.

    "That, I think, is enough. For now," Jax finally comes to a halt, standing up in his chair so that he is of eye height with most of the Electors. "I would hear your vote, esteemed peers, on my proposals."

    Response To Gustav (Choose 1):
    [] Move Your Troops Anyway: If people want to get uppity about it, then they can come to do, centuries of border tensions between those that live in those areas be damned.
    [] Best Keep Them Back: You can shift the efforts of the Army of the Forest to more concentrated patrolling now that you know about the beast-path anyhow.
    [] Write-In

    Halfing Tax Decision For Ostland
    [] Accept It: It will frustrate your human citizenry and upper class, as they dislike even a copper less in tax income, but will gain you a significant amount of support from all halflings to hopefully offset that.
    [] Reject It: You will not let the Moot simply dictate terms to you after what they've done! Perhaps you can work something out in Ostland for Ostland's halflings, in your own time.
    [] Something Else: Write-In

    The Starbrook Package (Ostland)
    [] Agree To It: It will harm business in the Trident and in Stirland, but will increase economic growth for the rest of the Empire. You can withstand that hit, and the Empire will benefit in the long run. You hope.
    [] Refuse: This will lessen the economic benefit that others will receive, but at least it won't hurt Ostland.

    Starbrook Package (Trident)
    [] Advise Them To Accept: Pride is one thing. The Trident will survive this. You know it, they know it, even if it will sting a bit. It will help the Empire as a whole. Perhaps Sabine might be able to salvage matters in the long run.
    [] Advise Them To Refuse: Don't let this bastard tell you what to do. Tell him to sit on it. He knows that this will hurt your province. You're practically asking him to stab you in the back!
    [] Something Else: Write-In
     
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    • We could call it out as being blatantly skewed to leech money from the Trident into the South, and then say we'll sign it anyway?

    @torroar from the admittedly rough glance Freddy's given the proposal, exactly how much money do we stand to lose?
     
    Annoying punk.

    Still, looks while diplomacy didn't necessarily get any great movements, it DID spur Siegrich into speaking up about his own barbarian issue and makes Jax look all the worse. And honestly, that was the main point.
     
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    i have an idea

    We've been slamming our heads against reforming our legal system for years. Let's use that to deflect the halflings by expanding upon his initial proposal into general legal reform. Complete with ancedotes about ridiculous legal tangles
     
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    The south already has a larger economy, its only by the northern states bandying together do they manage as a formal bloc compared to the informal southern bloc. If you need to form alliances to make your interests heard than that just means you were already on the outside looking in on imperial politics.

    Reject both proposals but accept the army one. We can leverage it by saying the Trident +Stirland are still rebuilding and from constant wars unlike our southern neighbours. Its bullheaded but honestly we have too many projects we want finished.

    Our rep takes a massive hit but we can recoup most if not all of it when the beastmen wild out.
     
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    mastigos said:
    i have an idea

    We've been slamming our heads against reforming our legal system for years. Let's use that to deflect the halflings by expanding upon his initial proposal into general legal reform. Complete with ancedotes about ridiculous legal tangles
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    So, the halfling representative is thinking too small?
     
    Ganurath said:
    How would the tax plan impact the ogres?

    How would the Starbrook Package as a whole impact the halflings outside the Moot?

    What is it?
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    sorry, accidently hit post too soon: basically divert from the specifics of the halfling proposal by enthusiastically agreeing with the idea of legal reform, and going into some of what we've been working on for updating Ostland's laws
     
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