And the others are the oldest ships in our navy, including the one with Frederick's name on it. That's not nothing. Please don't mock it or call it half-assed.
Still, 3 out of five would be .6 effort, or about that.
But I'm not going to quibble over details. It's considerably less than full effort, and when it's about paying recompense and entrusting ships to the Cult we should be putting in every effort, instead of putting in only partial effort and keeping a reserve of greatships which implies we don't trust Maghda, and the Cult of Manann, to make sure Ostland's shores are defended.
In all the worrying about Ostland being left defenseless it's being forgotten that Maghda does not want Ostland to be defenseless. She will not have the greatships leave Ostland coasts undefended.
But it's not "doing all he can, for his people."
(Or 'all he reasonably can', I guess. As, as torroar said, Frederick won't slice his throat or empty his treasury; he's not stupid. So the disagreement comes down to 'What is reasonable?' And here we all are at an impasse, with very different perceptions on what 'reasonable' is. =/ Me, I think that all 5, or at minimum 3, ships will be dedicated solely to defending Ostland for the foreseeable future. At least until we can replace it. So to me, it's not something that reduces our people's safety and security -- heck, we outright get told how much Maghda doesn't want to screw our people and sailors over!)
I think the only category here with levels of risk in here is the one with keelhauling since it outright says that in its write up, talking about which are most dangerous and which not. And the risk I feel is acceptable: in fact, we actually have amazing levels of mitigation for this! (We have a major artifact in the form of the Light of Summer, and we even have a Jade Wizard on retainer.)
I feel most strongly about handing over all the ships; I think that that category of actions, about the ships, is the one that has the most impact on Ostland's defenses.
But, I view it as the one that most improves Ostland's defenses. Because those ships will still be sailing with us. Just now with a crack crew.
And, just as important and effective, it means that all the people of Ostland will literally be sailing alongside most-dedicated-to-Manann ships!
The sheer relief and certainty that will offer to the sailors and dockworkers of Ostland will be immense.
Nothing says a huge sign of Manann's forgiveness or acceptance, than having literally all your flagships be decorated and dedicated to Manann.
Quite the opposite, in fact as Garlak makes a great argument for. Entrust the current greatships to the cult of Manann and they will put them to good use for Ostland and the Empire. That's a benefit that will continue even after we've built more greatships of our own (though those will be under our direct control) because we'll still have those greatships with the Cult to work with.
It being the greatest show of reconciliation with the Cult, the greatest show of trust in the Cult, and giving the most credit and influence to Maghda are all additional benefits.
The keelhauling will do the most to silence the zealots and most bloodthirsty critics. It can't be stressed enough how important that is in making sure all of this is truly settled going forward.
I know people are wary of leaving Ostland defenseless or Frederick getting hurt. But I'm not voting for going All In for the sake of looking tough or something like that.
It's about making damn sure this is settled as thoroughly as possible, and building good relations with the Cult of Manann as much as possible. All for the benefit of Ostland, which is what Frederick is after.
We've had Frederick willing to go all the way to ensure Ostland is better off than it was before. Let's continue that.
And while the most severe keelhauling is the most dangerous, don't forget we have all those advantages going for us. The Light of Summer, the Jade Wizard, the fortune point, the fate point.
Maghda is aware of only the first two and wouldn't have recommended the Triton's Fury as an option if she thought it was a death sentence.
