If Mathilde enjoys hot Stirlandian ale, then how potent must the dragonflask be to actually make her splutter?
Bright wizard 1: "Dude, really, you're going to make a consumable fireball spell? That sounds really dangerous."
Bright wizard 2: "Don't worry, she's Stirlandian, she can handle it. Can't be any worse than that hot ale they drink, right?"
Bit late to the party but:
On the mixed Dhar+Wind thing...I think there isn't a singular Thing that mixing the two would always give you. The Winds are contextual.
You see in Necromancy that Shyish can be mingled with Dhar in such a way that the dead will rise.
Thats either using Dhar to twist the aspects of Shyish that relate to the process of death(like the Shyish spells that let you communicate with the deceased being warped to bring more than their knocks back across the veil), or using Shyish to to give the Dhar context and focus, so it usefully manipulates a specific subset of "destroyed thing" rather than just blather general destruction around, or use Shyish, treating Dhar like a dead thing(which is sort of is dead magic if you squint?) to manipulate dead things in ways Shyish cannot.
But it can also be used to just take the destructive entropic aspects of both Shyish and Dhar and compile it into a package of ultimate kill/corrode beam.
Undeath is just the 'natural' state of Dhar + Shyish because the two often mingle around dead bodies(which tend to attract both anyway), which already give Shyish the right context to form undead in combination. It ALSO means that Shyish can create buffing spells when affecting undead - something it can't easily do for anything alive or inanimate, opening up a new context for spells which would otherwise do nothing.
Same way Beastmen is the 'natural' state of Dhar + Ghur - the two together seem to act as a force of mutation primarily, and Beastmen are a stable form of heavily mutated creatures, as are likely a variety of gribblies.
So for other Winds:
-I think any Wind can do what Lore of Stealth does - use Dhar as a shaped charge. Any Wind has some form of destructive angle and Dhar is well fit to destruction. If you want beams of kaboom with extra kick, Dhar is glad to help.
-Otherwise, its there as a dangerous power spike(if nothing else, Dhar has potency in bulk) and unlocking new contexts. Like using Chamon and Dhar to create Ulgu-like debuff spells which destroy logic and rational thought.
The time had come for Vladimir to perform one of his daily tasks: checking on the condition of his pupil, Frederick van Hal. Last he had looked, the man had been caught in the throes of paranoia, in the middle of forming battle plans to fight both the wretched vermin and the forces of the Empire.
The vampire, however, was not expecting what he found.
"Hello Vladimir!" the necromancer called out. The human sat close to the fireplace, his feet propped up on an aged footstool, as had been his wont before the dark days of the plague had come. He raised his tankard in salute to Vladimir, heedless of the poker sticking out of it. "Fancy a hot ale?"
With a single, swift movement, van Hal's head separated from his shoulders. With another, his tankard, falling in mid-air, was kicked into the embrace of the roaring hearth. Vladimir shook his head in dismay, wiping his bloody hand on the dead man's clothes. The rot induced by the Art must have progressed further and faster than he had expected, if the human had stooped to committing blasphemies even Nagash would not have dared touch. There was much to be done, if the dark deeds of van Hal were to be stopped. Vladimir must find his apprentice, who might have been seduced into a similar act, and then, from there, cleanse the rot from the world. But first, one final note in Frederick's book.
Vote tally
BOOKS: [*] The Eonir of Laurelorn: Esoteric Dwarven (150 gc), Beastmen: Extensive Imperial, Extensive and Antiquarian Dwarven (300 gc), Waystones and Henges: Esoteric Imperial (150 gc and 4 CF)
DWARF: [*] No purchase.
COLLEGE: [*] No purchase.
PURCHASE: [*] No purchase.
Your earlier foray into Laurelorn had begun at Salzenmund and had taken you to the destroyed Nordland village of Oldenlitz. You're certain that was not simply a matter of the most convenient meeting place for the Vicereine, but instead a specific impression that she wished to convey. You suspect today's route to be no different, as you're directed to a specific milestone in the Schadensumpf that, according to the records you checked in Middenheim while you were passing through, is the nearest point on the road to the site of the battle where Middenland fought alongside Laurelorn against the Beastmen. You've decided to take it as a hopeful sign, as the Elves could just as easily have directed you towards the nearby village of Vorbegwerk which has been abandoned by the Graf's decree and is quickly being reclaimed by the swamp that once sustained it. That would have set a very different tone for this meeting.
As you ride your Shadowsteed west along the Great Northern Road, you wonder if there might be another layer to the message. The Great Northern Road is no man-made road, as the Empire would have built a road around the swamp instead of right down the middle of it. This road is part of the Old Dwarf Road, built by the Dwarves to link Karaz-a-Karak to Marienburg, then the Elven port of Sith Rionnasc, when the two were allied, and passing through Talabheim - then Athel Maraya - and by Laurelorn on the way. So the spot you are to meet a representative of Laurelorn to be guided into their realm could be interpreted as a place where Elves and man, and Elves and Dwarves, have worked together in the past.
Or it could just be a convenient place that you could be expected to be able to find from human direction. The problem with a mind honed to find hidden meanings is that it's still able to find them when there are none to be found.
In any case, the Schadensumpf is a wetland like any other, which is to say, it's very different from every other wetland to a suitably trained eye. You know just enough to suspect it to be more of a fen or a mire, and are very glad to be a Wizard as your Shadowsteed keeps your boots out of the mud and your Aethyric Armour confounds the swarm of midges, mosquitoes, and blackflies that attempt to feed upon you as you pass. This must have been a miserable place for the Army of Middenland to march through, and then doubly so when the Graf directed them northwards to engage the Warherd that Laurelorn had hounded south. But march they did, and won a strange new ally for their home in the process.
You pull up to the proper milestone and run your eyes over the swamp, and see nothing but murky water and vegetation in all directions. Just as you were wondering if you might be early or late, "galri hadri," comes a voice from nowhere, and a leanly-muscled Elf steps out of a clump of shrubs that you could have sworn were too low to conceal anyone. He wears a tunic of what looks like wooden scales, and despite his bare limbs none of the resident insects seem to notice him. "You would be the Weaver-Wizard?"
Well, it's not the worst mangling of your name an Elf has committed. "Lady Magister Mathilde Weber, of the Grey Order and on behalf of Karak Eight Peaks."
"Vicarius Galenstra of House Fanpatar, Prince of the Rain. Welcome to my realm." He speaks Eltharin in a thick accent - or perhaps more accurately, he speaks a different dialect of it than the one you were taught. "It is my duty to escort you as far as the Rainbow Falls."
"Your duty," you echo curiously. "Is it a duty you welcome?"
He seems to consider that. "I have had more than my fill of humans coming to slaughter my birds and dredge my waters in search of peat and iron," he finally says, "but I have recently learned there are other kinds of human. So I will give you a chance to demonstrate your nature." He runs his eyes over you, and he cannot conceal his surprise as his gaze meets your Shadowsteed. After a moment he tears his gaze away and goes still as he focuses, and over a few seconds he draws in and shapes Ulgu into a textbook-perfect example of Shadowsteed, bearing none of the tweaks, shortcuts, adaptations or personalizations that every human Wizard develops. He mounts his conjured horse with practiced ease. "Do not veer far from my side unless you're confident in your ability to swim."
You fall in beside him, and as you do you are surprised to see that upon his back, as well as the expected bow and quiver is a firearm, and what looks to be a well-made one at that. "Is that a handgun?" you ask, having to use the Reikspiel word as if Eltharin has an equivalent, you don't know it.
He looks at you in confusion, and you nod to his back. "Ah, this," he says, drawing it. "Handgun. A gift from your Graf, and so very entertaining. So much more energy imparted than a normal arrow, and for so much cheaper than the special arrows! Noisy, yes, and so slow to prepare a second shot, but that just means the first must be made to count." He sights down it at a clump of reeds. "Some might decry its lack of accuracy, but if you can't get close enough to take a shot, you don't deserve to."
"Not all examples are quite as limited," you say, waiting for him to look towards you for you to slowly draw a revolver, making sure to keep it pointing in the opposite direction to him.
"Is that a, what was it, a von Meinkopt? I've heard of those, but they're supposedly even less accurate and reliable than the handguns."
"No, though it works on a similar principle. This is a Dwarven-made revolver, with eight chambers that can be loaded in advance, and it has a mechanism to rotate them in line with the barrel. They also have guns that are more accurate than most human-made ones."
He shakes his head. "Dwarves. It still sounds strange to be talking of them in the here and now, instead of as figures from ancient history. But you're not the first human to speak highly of their craft. If all goes well, perhaps we might begin to import some of their works." You let him finish admiring the revolver before you reholster it, and he turns his attention back to the road - or the lack of one, anyway. The path leads you from hummock to mound to knoll and in between takes you through completely opaque waters that give no indication of their depth. "This is about the outskirts of the battleground," he says. "We'll skirt around it, as many of the fallen beasts could not be properly disposed of, and may not rest easily. An easy problem to solve if they haul themselves up and start wandering, not so much if they grab you from below."
"Just the beasts?" you ask curiously.
"I suppose humans, too. One of your Morai-Heg priests said a prayer over the site. But none of ours remain here, except those that wished to become one with the swamp when they passed. Every one of our people that ventures beyond their home carries a wayshard to find their way, and so they can be found if they fall."
"What is a wayshard?" you ask, trying not to sound too interested.
"Like a lodestone for Waystones, and just as useful for navigating," he says distractedly, looking at the horizon. "There," he says. "That hillock, with the spear jutting out?" You follow his gaze and nod. "That is where Vicarius Lindialoc fell. He was the Warden of Frost, and the last Prince of Frost. As his uncle and son fell in that same battle, House Elwyn went extinct. If it weren't for that, you wouldn't be here at all."
"House Elwyn had that much influence?" you prompt.
"They once ruled Kor Immarmor, and have ruled the Ward of Frost since it was destroyed by the Dwarves. They were some of the loudest voices against contact with outsiders, and had two votes on the High Council - one for Vicarius, one for being a Major House. For centuries the vote had been fifteen to ten against, or sixteen to nine when the Stormwitch was Triumvir. And his family were influential amongst those that especially venerate Asuryan, so were able to keep the Champion Triumvirs swayed. But now, with House Elwyn extinct, your Graf proving himself to me, House Ellemakil being swayed by the Queen, and a Forestborn Warden of Frost in favour of contact, the politics have shifted. Thirteen to eleven for when the Warden of the Sun is Triumvir, twelve to twelve the rest of the time, and the Vicarius Triumvir is one of the Vicarii in favour of contact and the Champion no longer has House Elwyn's whispers in their ear, so the Triumvirate rules in favour of contact."
You understood maybe half of that, but nod while committing the rest to memory for later examination. For the rest of the ride through the swamp you let the conversation linger on hunting and firearms, a set of topics of great interest to Prince Galenstra and which may reinforce his new outlook in favour of outsiders.
---
Eventually the mire gives way to swamp proper which gives way to the aptly-named Misty Hills, and visibility plunges to almost nothing, though your guide still takes the opportunity to point in the direction that apparently the Pass of Stone lies in, the ruined tower that serves as the closest thing to a capital the Ward of Rain has. Eventually you emerge from that mist and find yourself at the edge of a wide, tree-ringed lake. "The Tarn of Tears," Prince Galenstra says. "The source of what you call the Schaukel, and also of much of Laurelorn's magic."
"A source of magic? How?" You focus on the water, and eventually you can make out a deep throb of magical energy far below, and a steady plume spiralling upwards to swirl through the waters of the lake and be drawn north to the outflow. Everything you've been taught says that all magic has its origin in the Aethyr.
"We don't know," he admits. "We believe there's some kind of portal at the bottom, but it has a guardian spirit that doesn't like us investigating." He guides you around the lake to the outflow, and the crashing of flowing water in the distance starts to make itself known. "The Rainbow Falls are ahead," he says, raising his voice, "and they are loud enough to deafen those that spend too much time there. That is where the magic of the Tarn's waters are unleashed into the air, and that, I'm told, is what makes Laurelorn the place that it is. That is where I will pass you on to your next escort, the Queen's Champion, Kadoh. He is..." He hesitates. "Skilled in many things," he eventually says.
Before much longer the noise becomes far too much to talk, and the path emerges at the top of a cliff. The view before you is an endless canopy of lush green treetops broken only by the silvery line of the Schaukel running through it, but to your right is an even more breathtaking one as the waters of the Tarn of Tears spill over the the edge into the Rainbow Falls. You'd expected one long, elegant fall with the Winds drifting out of it, but instead of a sheer drop the cliff underneath the Falls is a long, broken slope with hundreds of rocky pools and thousands of individual falls. Throughout it all countless spars of jutting black rock emerge from the spray, each of them aglow with a different Wind, and every few seconds one of them discharges into the air in a scintillating spray of magical energy. Standing next to it and staring out at the trees is what you take to be the Champion, the largest, most muscular Elf you've ever seen, wearing a purple tunic and golden bracers and greaves.
A short and unsuccessful attempt at a conversation later, where Prince Galenstra tried to communicate through mime and Kadoh tried to shout over the waterfall, you break the impasse by continuing down the path until the Champion catches on and joins you. At first you slowed your Shadowsteed to a walk, but then you had to urge it back up to a trot as the swift jog Kadoh used to catch up to you continues on after he reaches your side.
"You are the Mage?" Kadoh eventually asks in a deep voice once the sound of the Falls has receded, not sounding at all out of breath despite his pace.
"Yes, of Ulgu."
He looks sideways at you without slowing. "You're large for a Mage," he says eventually. "Is that a human thing?"
You almost say yes, before you remember he's comparing you to Elves, not to Dwarves, so he probably means your physique instead of your height. "I am also a warrior."
He looks at you again. "Of the fists?" he asks curiously.
"Of the sword." He's looking at you again, and to pre-empt his question you summon Branulhune into your hand.
"Oh, you're a Loremaster," he says, nodding to himself.
You open your mouth to correct him, then consider trying to explain that while you are a Loremaster in the Dwarven sense, you're not quite in the Sapherian sense, while not sure if the meaning of the term has changed in Laurelorn's long isolation, and eventually decide against it. "Yes, I suppose I am," you instead say as you dismiss Branulhune again.
"I didn't know humans had Loremasters. There was a human Chamon Mage at the battle in the Ward of Rain, just had a staff. Good with the metal, though." He gestures demonstrably and a few slivers of silver shoot out of his outstretched hand, peppering the path ahead. "Most of our metal-Mages are smiths, not fighters."
"There are two metal-Mages I work with that will be joining me here, and both are also fighters. One archer, one with fists."
"A fist metal-Mage?" He considers that for a while. "That must be interesting. I would like to meet them."
"I'll introduce you," you say, and he nods.
As the leagues pass you build an impression of the apparently indefatigable Kadoh as the discussion wanders over varying forms of magic and combat, all of which he seems to be at least passingly familiar with, and always veers away from politics. If this is typical for the Queen's Champion, you're starting to see how even someone so theoretically powerful could become a piece, rather than a player, of the political game.
"How did you become Champion?" you eventually ask as your curiosity mounts.
"The normal way," he responds, seeming confused.
"What is the normal way?"
"The festival of games in honour of Asuryan, every four years. Feats of vigour and skill and strength. I win them."
That reinforces your impression. The sort of skillset that leads one to winning a festival tournament is not the same that leads to one being a political mastermind. Is that deliberate, to create malleable Triumvirs? Or just a side-effect of a symbol of devotion to Asuryan? "And who is the Triumvirate?"
"Me, the Queen, and this year the Warden of the Sun, Lady Delynna."
You put that together with what Prince Galenstra said. So, the High Council is the legislative body, and it has twenty-four members: twenty-one Major Houses, plus the three Wardens - the Vicarii, some of whom are also Princes for reasons you're not yet sure of - that aren't part of the Triumvirate that year. The Triumvirate is the Queen, the Champion, and one of the Vicarii, and of them the Queen is the only permanent member. And it sounds like the Triumvirate acts as tiebreaker for the High Council. "It must be a lot of work."
"Anything worth doing always is," he replies.
---
You're not much of a woodswoman, so it takes a while for you to notice how the forest changes as you approach the center of Laurelorn, as the wild undergrowth gives way to short, soft grass, the bark of the trees around you becomes healthier and smoother, and the animals grow bolder and stare curiously at you as you pass instead of fleeing. Even then it takes you a while to look up, and if you were sitting on a conventional horse you might have fallen off it at the sight of criss-crossing rope-bridges high above. Without noticing you've crossed into the area surrounding Tor Lithanel, the home of the Faniour 'Forestborn' citizens - those descended from refugees that sought shelter in Laurelorn during the War of the Beard, and as such forbidden by ancient decree from living within the walls of the city of Tor Lithanel. You catch glimpses of its residents high above, some crossing the bridges as they go about their business and some walking or sitting on naked branches, as at home in the treetops as you would be in the streets of Altdorf.
The forest eventually comes to an abrupt halt and gives way to a wide open meadow of short grass surrounding the banks of the Schaukel, and on the other side stands the walls of Tor Lithanel, pure-white marble stretching far above even the tallest trees with slender, graceful buttresses and arches adding texture to what would otherwise be a forbidding blank expanse of stone. An open drawbridge stretches across the Schaukel towards you, and you have to nudge your Shadowsteed to catch back up to Kadoh as it had responded to your unspoken desire to take in the sight by slowing. And as you pass through the shockingly long tunnel from one end of the wall's base to the other, your breath is taken away once more as you emerge into Tor Lithanel itself. All around you are buildings of pure-white marble that would fade to monotony if it weren't for artistic arrangements of living vines dotted with fruits and berries, and in what must be deliberate mimicry of the vines are inlaid veins of silver and gold with 'fruits' of large and shimmering jewels. But instead of the towering structures you expected every building ends after a uniform two stories, and the reason for that is quickly apparent, as every street is split in two by a line of trees basking in the sunlight, each heavy with fruits and nuts of every variety you've ever seen and many you don't recognize.
You follow Kadoh through the streets in something of a daze, taking in the sights. The streets are much less crowded than those of human cities, though more than Dwarven Karaks, and instead of the leather, leaves and barks of those outside the walls, those inside are dressed in silks and jewels, and many gawk at you just as hard as you're tempted to gawk back at them. Above you the sky is broken by three towers, the only things that break the otherwise even skyline: one of silver, one of obsidian, and one of marble. Every building seems dotted with doorways or openings for small shops or what seem to be taverns, and it seems like you're never out of line of sight from somewhere to get food or drink, even if the trees weren't offering an endless bounty. At last Kadoh leads you off the street and towards a double door inset in an archway, and your wonder takes a hit as you notice the silver script inset in them: House Elwyn. The home, you presume, of the now-extinct House that once sought to block any accommodation with humanity.
Kadoh pushes open the doors, which seem to glide open with the faintest touch, and inside you see a vast expanse of emptiness: an entrance hall that has been stripped clean, with even the fixtures removed from the walls, the only remaining illumination being a fire burning in a massive fireplace that, judging by the single log of barely-singed wood at the heart of the massive conflagration and the shimmering of Aqshy within it, will be burning for quite some time. Standing by it is a slender but towering figure, wearing a breastplate of what must be ithilmar and a crown to match, inlaid with designs of leaves and vines and dotted with sparkling jewels. Her hair is shoulder-length shimmering gold that contrasts pleasingly with the silver of the armour it rests upon, and as she turns towards you, you note that she has a slender face with eyes of faint blue.
"Dear Kadoh," she says in a soft, musical voice, unleashing the faintest hint of a smile towards her Champion.
"My Queen," he says, bowing deeply.
"And the clever disciple of my very clever cousin," she says, turning her gaze to you. "I have heard good things from several quarters, some of them not prone to agreement with the others. That you fought and bled for two very old families and laid rest to very old shames. And those that listen to the Waystones say that when you reclaimed the last of the peaks for the line of Angrund, they awoke and rejoined a network that had only shrunk since the time when Laurelorn was the Eleventh Kingdom of Ulthuan."
This is the moment you had been bracing yourself for. For all that cooperation and harmony was spoken of, this relationship was going to be a game of bluff and deception, with ancient secrets for chips and closely-guarded techniques for cards. Each side would be determined to glimpse as many cards and take as many chips as they could while giving away as little as possible. You had managed to win a seat at this table for the Empire, and there was one thing you needed to avoid admitting at all costs: that you have no chips and no cards.
You're sure that somewhere, Ranald is grinning.
"I have had the honour of burnishing the legacies of the Van Hals and the Angrunds," you say, "and it would likewise be my honour to do the same for the line of Aenarion, and in doing so repay, in some small part, the founder of the Colleges of Magic."
She approaches slowly, her gaze lowering as she closes the distance. She must have at least a foot and a half on you, maybe more. "Eight Orders," she says thoughtfully, her gaze flicking to the ground behind you. "Ulthuan speaks so easily of the corruptibility of humanity, but my cousin saw through that to the truth of the matter: you were not meant to stand unbowed by the Winds like the Dwarves, nor were you meant to bend to them and then straighten unchanged like the Elves. You were meant to embrace one Wind, and in doing so take flight." She reaches out towards you and a wisp of spray from Rainbow Falls answers the gesture, abandoning the pull of Ulgu to entwine around her finger. "Ulgu. Legend has it that it was the first Wind that Hoeth mastered, as His confusion at the Winds drew it to Him. A good omen." She smiles briefly, a flash of genuine amusement that disappears in a heartbeat. "I have had a scribe collate the information you will need to set down roots. We will be watching with great interest."
With that she leaves, Kadoh trailing in her wake like an adoring puppy. It's not hard to find the promised notes, as they sit upon the mantelpiece in an otherwise empty room. You sit cross-legged in front of the fireplace and begin to read. Near the top is a helpfully-labelled map of Tor Lithanel, including nearby shops for things like food and furniture and, you note with a suddenly dry mouth, books. It explains that with the extinction of House Elwyn, this 'Major House' - apparently referring to the actual structure - has reverted to the crown's control, though the vote it held does not. Also noted are the major powers of Laurelorn that would be most relevant to your project, with carefully polite and long-winded descriptions that you mentally distil into the salient details and winnow into the most promising possible partners.
Major House Thyriolan: Originally from Saphery, and one of the two Major Houses influential in the Temple of Hoeth. They were and presumably still are against involvement with human affairs, but do agree that the waning Waystone network is a major concern for Laurelorn.
Major House Ecthelion: Originally from Saphery, and one of the two Major Houses influential in the Temple of Hoeth. They're less stringently against involvement with the Empire than House Thyriolan, but unlike House Thyriolan they do look down upon humanity.
Major House Tindomiel: Originally from Saphery, and one of the two Major Houses influential in the Temple of... Hekarti? Isn't she a Druchii Goddess? Well, they did vote in favour of interaction with the Empire so they might be a better option for a magically-inclined Major House to bring into the project than the two Hoethian ones.
Major House Fanpatar: The House of Prince Galenstra, a formerly Yvressian House that dominates the worship of Ladrielle. Less scholarly than the previous houses, perhaps, but the Prince did seem open to the idea, practically-minded, and curious about human and Dwarven inventions.
Major House Ellemakil: A formerly Avelornian House, and one that has recently come to dominate the fledgling Temple of Ulric. Presumably they are the House most enthusiastic about cooperating with humans.
Major House Malforric: With the extinction of House Elwyn, House Malforric now dominates the worship of Asuryan. They are also the Warden of the Sun. This makes them second only to the Queen in power, which would make them very useful to get on your side. However, they are possibly the most isolationist Major House in the entire city.
The Ward of Storm: The lands of western Laurelorn, touching Middenland on one end and the ocean on the other. Until the extinction of House Elwyn, it was the only Ward ruled by Forestborn instead of a Major House. The current Warden is Kaia, known as the 'Stormwitch', who advocates peaceful relations with the Empire... and also with the Druchii and the Norscans. Huh.
The Ward of Frost: The lands of eastern Laurelorn, which until recently contained most of the lands encroached on by Nordland. In the aftermath of the death of House Elwyn, the Ward has passed into the control of a council of Forestborn and, hmm, 'forest beings', with the Warden position rotating to whoever is available at the time. This is the bloc that Vicereine Cadaeth is a part of.
The Grey Lords: Oddly, none of the materials mention the legendary Grey Lords, the researchers and exiles that interceded during the War of the Beard to vanish a Dwarven Throng that destroyed Kor Immarmor and threatened to do the same to Tor Lithanel. You should probably start asking questions about that at some point.
---
You have five actions you can apply without engaging in overwork. For every two AP spent across all members of WEB-MAT, including recruiting new members, you can spend one 'free' additional AP with any member of WEB-MAT.
Current overwork status: [ ] [-] [ ] Each box will be filled by one action of overwork, and will take the two turns after that to fade as you recover. The first box incurs no penalty. The second will give a -10 penalty to all actions during the first turn of recovery. The third will give a -20 penalty to all actions on both turns of recovery.
Overwork incurs no penalties on the turns taken, only on the turns recovering from it. You can take as many actions of overwork as you have unfilled boxes.
When you use overwork it fills the left-most empty box, so [-][ ][ ] becomes [-][+][ ], not [+][-][ ]. All boxes recover in parallel and independent from one another, but second and third apply maluses on your actions during that cooldown period.
WEB-MAT: Magister Maximilian de Gaynesford, Gold Wizard
[ ] MAX: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] MAX: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Write a paper: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Receive dictation: specify which. Must be taken with a 'dictate' action.
[ ] MAX: Go through every library of the Colleges you can access for any scrap of information about Waystones. (NEW)
WEB-MAT: Magister Johann, Gold Wizard
[ ] JOHANN: Have Johann spend time getting to know Kadoh, who has expressed an interest in meeting the 'fist metal-Mage'.
[ ] JOHANN: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] JOHANN: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] JOHANN: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] JOHANN: Write a paper: specify which.
WEB-MAT: Magister Egrimm van Horstmann, Light Wizard (NEW)
[ ] EGRIMM: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] EGRIMM: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] EGRIMM: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] EGRIMM: Write a paper: specify which.
WEB-MAT: Recruitment
[ ] WEB-MAT: Attempt to recruit someone to WEB-MAT (specify who)
The Waystone Project, Recruitment
[ ] Attempt to bring an Order into the Waystone Project (specify which)
[ ] Attempt to bring a non-Order magical tradition into the Waystone Project (specify which)
[ ] Attempt to bring a human Cult into the Waystone Project (specify which)
[ ] Attempt to bring a Major House or Ward into the Waystone Project (specify which)
[ ] Attempt to bring a Karak's Runesmiths into the Waystone Project (specify which)
[ ] Start asking questions about the Grey Lords
The Waystone Project, Research
[ ] Personally scrutinize a Waystone as thoroughly as you possibly can
[ ] Lay the foundations: work with the current members of WEB-MAT and the Waystone Project to build a single unified framework for understanding the Waystones In theory, the more members there currently are, the more complete this framework will be. Will unlock further investigations. Can be repeated if desired, but will not unlock anything new after the first time, it will just make a new framework incorporating any new recruits.
Lovely Laurelorn
[ ] Furnish the living spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (specify how much: 100gc for adequate, 200gc for comfortable, 300gc+ for nice (no cap on how much can be spent, because Elves))
[ ] Furnish the research spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (specify how much: 100gc for adequate, 500gc for College-grade, 2000gc for Laurelorn-grade)
[ ] Explore the wonders of the ancient and beautiful city of Tor Lithanel
[ ] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Cityborn' Toriour inhabitants of Tor Lithanel
[ ] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Forestborn' Faniour inhabitants of the woods surrounding Tor Lithanel
[ ] Explore one of the Wards of Laurelorn (specify which: Storm, Rain, Frost)
Self-Improvement:
[ ] Ask an acquaintance to train you in a skill: specify who and what.
[ ] Hire a trainer to come to Eight Peaks and teach you: specify what. (costs favours College trainers, money for human ones, Dwarf trainers are free)
[ ] Travel to the Grey College and attend lessons there. (1 College Favour per class; 100gc can be paid instead for non-magical classes)
[ ] Attempt to learn Battle Magic at the Grey College. (1 College Favour per attempt)
[ ] Attempt to gain control of one of your Arcane Marks (specify which)
[ ] Try to see through Pall of Darkness with your improved magical senses.
[ ] Practice shooting while invisible. (applies to Substance of Shadow and Invisibility)
[ ] Branulhune's ability to disappear and reappear at a thought allows entirely new forms of combat. Continue to work on them.
[ ] Have one of Prince Gotri's pilots teach you to fly a Gyrocarriage.
[ ] Attempt to finish off the Grey College spellbook by learning Shadow of Death, Cloak Activity, and the MAPP.
Research and Publishing:
[ ] Study an artefact: select which.
[ ] Write a paper: select which.
[ ] Write something else: write in.
Once per turn, you can write a paper or write a 'something else' without spending an action thanks to your Tower of Serenity.
[ ] Dictate papers: select which two, must be taken with Max's 'receive dictation'.
[ ] The Second Secret of Dhar teaches how to collapse it upon itself. Practice upon local Dhar taint, and very cautiously see if this works with Warpstone.
Aethyric Vitae (15 gallons):
[ ] Experiment with integrating the Vitae into enchantments.
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts with Divine Magic.
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts to a power stone. [ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts to being subjected to power stone creation methods.
[ ] Using the secrets you already know of the Vitae, attempt to weaponize it.
Enchantment and Spell Creation:
[ ] Enchant an item with a Fiendishly Complex or easier spell (specify what and which)
[ ] Attempt to enchant an object to translate Windsight into a visual image.
[ ] Attempt to create a spell (see Approved Spells threadmark)
[ ] Attempt to codify Rite of Way so that others can learn it
[ ] Attempt to capture an Apparition (optional: specify which)
[ ] Turn a staff from mundane materials (specify for whom)
[ ] Turn a staff from the horn of a Storm Dragon (specify for whom)
Foreign Relations:
[ ] Involve yourself in the Sylvanian campaign (specify how)
[ ] Involve yourself in the Marienburg affair (specify how)
[ ] Involve yourself in the Black Waters project (specify how)
Personal Relations:
[ ] Spend time assisting or ingratiating yourself with someone else: specify who and how.
[ ] Spend time investigating a character without their knowledge: specify who.
[ ] Wolf is fully grown, very smart, and a Very Good Boy. Train him further. (specify what he will be taught)
[ ] Wolf is fully grown and very magical. Deepen your familiar bond. (may unlock a new familiar ability; risks obsession)
The Eastern Imperial Company Your share of EIC profits: 175 crowns / turn
Current Focus of the EIC: Expansion along the Aver
EIC Handler: The Hochlander The first AP spent in this category is free. Any additional choices cost 1 AP.
[ ] EIC: Completely hand over management of the EIC intelligence apparatus to the Hochlander.
[ ] EIC: Have the Hochlander set up a shadow headquarters for the EIC in the Sunken Palace.
[ ] EIC: Have the Hochlander set up a shadow headquarters for the EIC in your fief.
[ ] EIC: Found an auditors division, to make sure the ledgers are in order.
[ ] EIC: Insert agents into a particular province, cult, company, or institution to start gathering their secrets. (specify who)
[ ] EIC: Reach out to Julia to find out if she's interested in being poached or passing on information.
[ ] EIC: Reach out to Roswita, and have the EIC start passing on tips about any tax evasion or other naughtiness by the EIC's rivals.
[ ] EIC: Improve and expand the EIC's paramilitary river navy. (optional: specify how)
[ ] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.
[ ] EIC: Have the EIC keep tabs on mercenaries so that they can be more easily hired if needed.
Ranald's Coin - specify which face it will be set to
[ ] The Gambler: specify an action this will apply to. A +20 bonus to up to two dice rolls resulting from a single chosen action.
[ ] The Night Prowler As long as you are outside of private property and within a town or city, nobody will question your presence and nobody will be able to find you if you do not wish them to.
[ ] The Deceiver: specify how this will be used. Lies you have developed beforehand will be delivered perfectly. The listener may believe you to be mistaken, but they will never believe that you are lying. Cannot be used to tell truths.
[ ] The Protector When you act in a way that defends an individual or group from a danger that you did not cause, they will become aware of what you have done and will believe you acted selflessly in doing so. Rule of thumb: if you have to explain why this might apply, it probably doesn't.
Ranald's Coin (note from Ranald: don't)
Vampire skulls
Branulhune - investigate the odd flash when it is desummoned underwater
Books and rubbings from an Asur explorer of Lustria and the Southlands
Golden Arm Ghyran Nut
Kurgan Shrine to Mannslieb
Kurgan enchanted weapons
Note: Fresh and Refreshed papers confer a +10 bonus; faded ones a -10 malus.
Papers get one step less 'fresh' each turn: Fresh; Fading; Mostly Faded: Faded. Only the first and last have an effect on the diceroll.
Observations on the Windfall north of the Dark Lands (FADING)
Observations on the Chaos Wastes in the western Great Steppes (FADING)
Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian (FADING)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Ulgu (FADING)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Aqshy(FADING)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Ghyran (FADING)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Azyr (FADING)
Comprehensive notes on possible terrain obstacles (FADING)
Waaagh energy and magic witnessed during the Expedition. (FADED)
The Black Orc Warboss' worship of Only Gork, and what you saw of the Rogue Idol ritual. (FADED)
Preliminary paper on Aethyric Vitae. (TIMELESS)
Coins of Nehekhara's Fifth Dynasty (TIMELESS)
You can literally write the book on a topic for the same amount of effort as two papers; this can be split over multiple turns. You don't need to have all the pieces to do so, but it would be more efficient and impressive if you did.
Windsoak Mushrooms (missing: Chamon, Shyish)
The Currency of Strygos
The Currency of Tylos
Coins of Nehekhara's Fourth Dynasty
Coins of Nehekhara's Sixth Dynasty
- There will be a twenty-four hour moratorium. Voting will be in plan format.
- As you might notice, the action section has been redone. If there's anything I've missed or that is ambiguous, please let me know.
- Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter. I didn't suspect going into it how much behind-the-scenes work it would take just to get Mathilde into the city.
- A lot of the names, people, and references being thrown around will be as unknown to the reader as they are to Mathilde, even to the reader that knows the setting. This is expected and intended. Laurelorn has very little canon material, and I've had to fill in a lot of the gaps.
- Some of the names might not be unknown to people familiar with the Silmarillion. I just looted Quenya for Elfy-sounding names without lining up the personality of the Houses with their Silmarillion counterparts, you won't get any metagaming advantage by being suspicious about House Noldor or whatever.
@BoneyM It seems that we are managing in this vote all our different organizations except the Library... Is that intentional and we will vote fot that action in later update or you forgot to put it in here?
@BoneyM It seems that we are managing in this vote all our different organizations except the Library... Is that intentional and we will vote fot that action in later update or you forgot to put it in here?
EDIT: Hm, okay I think we want to give this first guy with the gun a gift. Think we can swing a proper Dwarfen gun? Fuck if we frame it as 'this elgi is really impressed with umgi firearms, do you want me to convey something of proper craftswork' the Engineer's Guild might agree.
I think we should go for decent furnishings for the living quarters but really go all out on the research furnishings. That is going to pay for itself many times over and money is a renewable resource.
As for who to recruit I think we should go for the Azul Runesmiths. Thorek is likely to be interested and thus so are some of his apprentices.
I think we should go for decent furnishings for the living quarters but really go all out on the research furnishings. That is going to pay for itself many times over and money is a renewable resource.
As for who to recruit I think we should go for the Azul Runesmiths. Thorek is likely to be interested and thus so are some of his apprentices.
Yes definitely Azul. What about non-Empire human magicals? Ice Priestesses we can probably swing, if we can't get Hedgefolk we might be able to substitute Ungol Hags, Arabayans probably won't want to come all the way into the hellscape that they perceive the Old World to be, but maybe the lure of working with elves? Hm.
Yes definitely Azul. What about non-Empire human magicals? Ice Priestesses we can probably swing, if we can't get Hedgefolk we might be able to substitute Ungol Hags, Arabayans probably won't want to come all the way into the hellscape that they perceive the Old World to be, but maybe the lure of working with elves? Hm.
I think we should stick to people we have solid ins with like the hedgefolk and the ice witches for now, so no damsels and definitely no Djinn Binders yet.
Yes definitely Azul. What about non-Empire human magicals? Ice Priestesses we can probably swing, if we can't get Hedgefolk we might be able to substitute Ungol Hags, Arabayans probably won't want to come all the way into the hellscape that they perceive the Old World to be, but maybe the lure of working with elves? Hm.
It's entirely possible they already work with Elves. They've had relations with the Asur for ages and ages. Whether those extend to magic-working is a different question, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
I think we should stick to people we have solid ins with like the hedgefolk and the ice witches for now, so no damsels and definitely no Djinn Binders yet.
It's entirely possible they already work with Elves. They've had relations with the Asur for ages and ages. Whether those extend to magic-working is a different question, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Asarnil actually does not know magic, not by elf standards, like he does know some very specific spells that make his dragon more comfortable, but that is akin to saying a person who knows to clean a gun is an engineer.
Deathfang might know shit, but he is unlikely to care for academic studies.
Before deciding on who to get in, I think we should consider who would be most helpful and also who would need what pre-requisites.
The issue we face is that it is easier to recruit people if we have initial results and easier to get results if we have more people.
Thus I think we should have multiple 'waves' of recruitment: the first being people who are both easy to convince and should result in good initial results, then as we get results recruit the more hesitant people.
Initially I think we should prioritize people who can give us results as opposed to easy to recruit people in-order to gain the initial results required to prove that the project is not a waste of time or ability.
Also in light of us not having any actual chips, spending lots on the research facilities is perhaps the best card we have: it demonstrates our commitment.
Asarnil actually does not know magic, not by elf standards, like he does know some very specific spells that make his dragon more comfortable, but that is akin to saying a person who knows to clean a gun is an engineer.
Deathfang might know shit, but he is unlikely to care for academic studies.
Rats okay. I don't think we could dislodge Cython. Other thought, Runesmiths are one avenue of Dwarfen expertise here, but what about Loremasters? Proper ones, not what Mathilde does. We might find that our Queekish work left a positive impression with them that we could capitalise on. They likely don't know much about the Waystones themselves, but records that they were created and where? That might be possible. If we could even pin down a location of manufacture that could be examined that would be worth the reach out.
Asarnil actually does not know magic, not by elf standards, like he does know some very specific spells that make his dragon more comfortable, but that is akin to saying a person who knows to clean a gun is an engineer.
Deathfang might know shit, but he is unlikely to care for academic studies.
I think that this is an option to be saved later. I suspect that Deathfang would have to be approached after we have got significant knowledge of our own first before we have any chance of him sharing.
That said Asarnil is someone to remember if we ever plan to work with fallen waystones.
You had managed to win a seat at this table for the Empire, and there was one thing you needed to avoid admitting at all costs: that you have no chips and no cards.
That's an assumption you're making. They have a magical paradigm distinct from the Elven one, a far more ancient tradition than the Empire and better relations with Ulthuan. It's entirely possible they've been invited to collaborate (although not in Ulthuan itself). It's far more likely than the Asur doing so with anyone from the Old World.
That's an assumption you're making. They have a magical paradigm distinct from the Elven one, a far more ancient tradition than the Empire and better relations with Ulthuan. It's entirely possible they've been invited to collaborate (although not in Ulthuan itself). It's far more likely than the Asur doing so with anyone from the Old World.
I wouldn't assume they're on positive terms with Ulthuan. From what BoneyM described I took a more 'annoying natives who didn't do what they're told' vibe than how Teclis treated the Empire.
Huh, do the Eonir not know that Vlag and Dum have been added to the network?
I suppose it could be that there was a build-up and sudden release of Magic for K8P that was easy to detect, and no similar build-up for Vlag (because it was being used)
Not as cursed as it could have been. I cut out the part where the Great Horned Rat intended to send the rain of warpstone from Morrslieb on Stirland to destroy hot ale once and for all... only to miss and hit Sylvania instead.
