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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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Plan Suggestion

[] Plan Fake it till you make it
-[ ] Furnish the living spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (500 gc)
-[ ] Furnish the research spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (2000gc)
-[ ] Attempt to bring a Karak's Runesmiths into the Waystone Project (specify which)
-[ ] MAX: Go through every library of the Colleges you can access for any scrap of information about Waystones. (NEW)
-[ ] EGRIMM: Study an artefact: Golden Arm
-[ ] JOHANN: Study an artefact: Kurgan Enchanted weapons
-[] Coin: Gambler: Runesmith Recruitment

Reasoning
  1. This is standard stuff for moving into a new place, the living spaces are because we do not want to be seen as lesser, or as lacking resources the research space is because that will make us not only more efficiant but safer when dealing with dangerous magic
  2. This is our best bet to actually get some results fast, dwarfs have better cultural memory than humans
  3. The Max action is low hanging fruit
  4. I do not want Johann to plug the thing into his brain so I think we should go with Engrim, give him a chance to show his stuff
  5. This action is a freebie and I am basically choosing it so Johann can feel like he is doing something useful. I would like to give him a trainer, but I do not think we know the Eoonir enough for that
  6. I put the coin on what I feel is the most important and most sensitive action this turn
 
@BoneyM, something to use or maybe not. I'm bringing up this stuff because the source is kind of off the beaten path regarding Laurelorn information and I'm guessing you want as many potential sources to have the option of drawing from.

WFRP 4E: Patrons of the Old World, page 13
The Vale of Memories

Deep within the Laurelorn — a forest known for its hidden glades and shadowed gullies — is a vale trapped in an almost impenetrable gloom, as if twilight was unending. Here, paths bend back on one another, and time flows curiously, as it is often said that one might turn around a bend, only to see oneself in the distance making a similar turn. Nayadaryn has learned how to navigate the Vale of Memories and use its magic to communicate with their many operatives from afar.

Spread throughout many folkloric tales — and some say, the origin of the Bretonnian concept of déjà vu — the Vale of Memories was once a mass grave for Elves who fell nearing the end of the War of the Beard. The Elves, on the retreat, placed a spell over the countless fallen soldiers, that their bodies would not rot, nor their minds wander into death, until the Elves came back to reclaim them and bring them home to Ulthuan. However, in the eons since, the earth has covered over the deathless Elves, and trees have grown through and over them. Now, the whole place is haunted with the dreams of the fallen on the edge of death.

The Vale of Memories is an oft-sought-out place for knowledge of the past, for those left underneath the earth dream of things they remembered in life: old Elven cities, ancient deals with early humans, and terrible atrocities during the Sundering and the War of Vengeance. For those who are willing to risk their sanity, the Vale of Memories offers much, though one soon finds their dreams are not only their own.

Within the Vale are few buildings, and only a single community, dedicated to Ladrielle, Lileath, and Morai-heg. These Eonir, the Cairnfolk, attempt to carve statues of the dreams given to them by the slumbering soldiers, hoping to piece together a true and complete timeline of the Old World before the War of the Beard. However, they are, almost to a one, irrevocably mad. Among their number, and under their hospitality, Nayadaryn Bonemonger often meditates. Among the Cairns, the Bonemonger has found the ability to visit the dreams of their operatives, to communicate across long distances, and to give guidance and orders in the field.
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Nayadaryn is not someone who'd have the same story if they existed in Divided Loyalties, if they exist at all. They've remained in the above quote to give further information on the Vale of Memories.

Page 14
The Web creature trait means it entangles the opponent on a hit. The rating (40 to 80 in this case) is the strength of the entanglement, with the higher the rating the stronger the entanglement. Giant spiders have Web (40), for comparison.

The Ward creature trait works identically to a ward save from the wargame, just with a d10 instead of a d6.
 
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Initial thoughts.

BoneyM said:
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.
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Such an obvious division between forest-born and city-born seems like a pretty obvious point of vulnerability ripe for exploitation. Probably the sort of thing a Grey Wizard would be taking notes about. The cultural immersion choices seem pretty important here to look for potential advantage or stop something from biting us in the ass.

BoneyM said:
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.
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As for looking for patrons to our project the straightforward starting point is getting in contact with the groups that voted 'yes on outside contact' and see what they're looking for. In fact odds are they'll contact us since they presumably voted 'yes' in order to gain some kind of advantage.

I'm inclined to focus on the Lovely Laurelorn and recruitment actions to start with to know what we're dealing with and get our staff up and running.
 
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Andres110 said:
@BoneyM, something to use or maybe not. I'm bringing this up because this stuff up because the source is kind of off the beaten path regarding Laurelorn information and I'm guessing you want as many potential sources to have the option of drawing from.

WFRP 4E: Patrons of the Old World, page 13

Nayadaryn is not someone who'd have the same story if they existed in Divided Loyalties, if they exist at all. They've remained in the above quote to give further information on the Vale of Memories.

Page 14
The Web creature trait means it entangles the opponent on a hit. The rating (40 to 80 in this case) is the strength of the entanglement, with the higher the rating the stronger the entanglement. Giant spiders have Web (40), for comparison.

The Ward creature trait works identically to a ward save from the wargame, just with a d10 instead of a d6.
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Interesting, I'll have to get a copy of the book and decide whether to incorporate it. The whole Elven soul malarkey is something I've mostly been leaving out, though.
 
Scattered thoughts:

500g for the living spaces of the Waystone project seems a little, um, overdoing it? If 100gc is adequate, 200gc is comfortable, and 300gc is nice, 500 is probably palatial. I do support shelling out for the good research spaces, though.

Serenity-wise, we should work on our Karag Dum papers before they fade away.

EIC-wise, I think it's time for [ ] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.

I think getting Max to scour the libraries should wait until we've brought the Jades onboard, since the action mentions "every library of the Colleges you can access".

Here's a sketch, using our free Overwork to go to 6 actions:
  • Living spaces (300gc)
  • Research spaces (2000gc)
  • Karak Azul's Runesmiths (Gambler)
  • Start asking questions about the Grey Lords
  • Personally scrutinize a Waystone as thoroughly as you possibly can
  • Investigate how the Vitae reacts to a power stone
  • Serenity: Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian
  • EIC: Blackpowder factory
 
I think palatial is fine honestly, we need to look impressive since we are holding an empty hand. Also really good living spaces might be an incentive for more wizards, they too are human.
 
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I think that we should prioritize local allies. Vote to let it happen was close, and not getting a local patron ASAP while bringing in a bunch of outsiders might annoy more xenophobic/whatnot elements. It'd be safer, IMO, to prioritize at least 1 local patron this turn, just to make sure there's no political issues brewing.
Patron'd be more likely to notify us we are doing something politically dubious than just one of families, for one.
 
picklepikkl said:
Scattered thoughts:

500g for the living spaces of the Waystone project seems a little, um, overdoing it? If 100gc is adequate, 200gc is comfortable, and 300gc is nice, 500 is probably palatial. I do support shelling out for the good research spaces, though.

Serenity-wise, we should work on our Karag Dum papers before they fade away.

EIC-wise, I think it's time for [ ] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.

I think getting Max to scour the libraries should wait until we've brought the Jades onboard, since the action mentions "every library of the Colleges you can access".

Here's a sketch, using our free Overwork to go to 6 actions:
  • Living spaces (300gc)
  • Research spaces (2000gc)
  • Karak Azul's Runesmiths (Gambler)
  • Start asking questions about the Grey Lords
  • Personally scrutinize a Waystone as thoroughly as you possibly can
  • Investigate how the Vitae reacts to a power stone
  • Serenity: Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian
  • EIC: Blackpowder factory
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My personal preference is to form connections with the residents and get a lay of the land/understand the politics before we ask about the Grey Lords, just in case they decide to be evasive and waste our action as a result of being dodgy about answers.
 
ctulhuslp said:
I think that we should prioritize local allies. Vote to let it happen was close, and not getting a local patron ASAP while bringing in a bunch of outsiders might annoy more xenophobic/whatnot elements. It'd be safer, IMO, to prioritize at least 1 local patron this turn, just to make sure there's no political issues brewing.
Patron'd be more likely to notify us we are doing something politically dubious than just one of families, for one.
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I do not think we know enough about these people to choose a patron yet. Let's use our social actions next turn to find out more about it, that is one of the things they are for.
 
DragonParadox said:
I think palatial is fine honestly, we need top look impressive since we are holding an empty hand. Also really good living spaces might be an incentive for more wizards, they too are human.
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I think "nice" will suffice. We don't know what else we might need to shell out for. The marginal 200gc is four extra sets of books.
Codex said:
My personal preference is to form connections with the residents and get a lay of the land/understand the politics before we ask about the Grey Lords, just in case they decide to be evasive and waste our action as a result of being dodgy about answers.
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That's fair. I'm just twitchy about
BoneyM said:
You should probably start asking questions about that at some point.
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That. But I'd support [] Immerse yourself in the culture of the 'Cityborn' Toriour inhabitants of Tor Lithanel in its place in the hopes of getting more of a ground-level view first, I suppose.
 
DragonParadox said:
I do not think we know enough about these people to choose a patron yet. Let's use our social actions next turn to find out more about it, that is one of the things they are for.
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Yes, that's fair, but otoh lack of patron might hurt us too, and the dude with a gun was a prince and looked pretty decent all-around so far...
Idk, I get what you mean but I'd rather bring in Fanpatar ASAP still; failing that, we should now study whatever we can scrounge up on local politics and do it next turn and no turn later.
 
Thanks @BoneyM, it's a beauty to read.

We should go for the gunpowder factory. The sooner the sieges are over the better, and another product means the money we have for books increases. And while I would normally be hesitant on spending that much on a palace, we don't have any Eonir favor, so the more expensive parts are out of our reach. That and we are bringing in important foreign dignitaries, and ideally quite a few.
 
I don't think we're restricted in the amount of Houses that can support us? The obvious limit is that certain houses aren't going to like other houses, and we have no way of knowing those things in advance. I'd still like to get Fanpatar on our side eventually though, that Elf was a very sensible guy. We need dependable allies.
 
Yeah, as much as I want a local patron asap, we need to see how it'll affect the political landscape first. How would aligning with Thyriolan affect our relations with Ecthelion or Tindomiel, the other mage houses? Would choosing Ellemakil forever alienate Malforric? Will I ever be able to spell these names without looking them up first? How do you even pronounce them?

Also, the Grey Lords... they were excluded from the list for a reason, but Cadaeth implied their assistance. We need answers, but not at the cost of blundering in and making a fool of ourselves. Perhaps we should ask those questions on a turn we have the gambler free?

Also, Cadaeth is a liar:

BoneyM said:
So the High Council is now quite unanimous in letting bygones be bygones.
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BoneyM said:
Thirteen to eleven for when the Warden of the Sun is Triumvir, twelve to twelve the rest of the time, and the Triumvirate 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."
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Unanimous my arse. Nearly half the council voted against this.
 
Really, we probably aren't in much rush, unless the outside world intervenes.

These are elves. "Soon" should only apply in relation to a human lifespan.
 
We may want to shell out an AP for diplomacy training. I have a feeling it'll come in handy getting various disagreeing, secretive factions of elves, dwarves, and humans to work together on a long term project.
 
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So as there's no urgency towards recruiting outside of the empire at the moment, I'm going to suggest we bring the bright order and Jade order onboard. The brights because they are the preminent enchanters of the empire and the Jades because they have knowledge about the waystones from their heritage as a mystery cult. The light order should already be part of the project through their ties with Egrim so I'm expecting Max to hopefully gain access to libraries from both orders we recruit.

@BoneyM is it fair to assume through our connections with the Johann and Max that we have access to Golden order libraries?

Whilst we're doing that we should obviously build our research facilities for the area and our home. Now I actually think we need to spend a decent chunk of money on our Home as something of a message.
This leaves a single flex AP and I think we should continue the slow trickle of research into AV and my suggest is to test the divine connection next.

[] Plan: Tentative
[ ] Attempt to bring an Order into the Waystone Project (Bright Order)
[ ] Attempt to bring an Order into the Waystone Project (Jade Order)
[ ] 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)) [500 GC]
[ ] Furnish the research spaces of the Waystone Project HQ (specify how much: 100gc for adequate, 500gc for College-grade, 2000gc for Laurelorn-grade) [2000 GC]
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts with Divine Magic.
-[ ] The Gambler: AV

[ ] EIC: Insert agents into a particular province, cult, company, or institution to start gathering their secrets. (Marienburg)

Not super exciting as half of the plan is essentially laying foundation, but everything flows from a strong foundation.
 
SuperSonicSound said:
@BoneyM is it fair to assume through our connections with the Johann and Max that we have access to Golden order libraries?
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Better access than if she just rocked up on her lonesome, but anything that the Golds consider a secret of their Order or too dangerous to share would require the Gold Order to come on board proper before it would be on the table.

Jyn Ryvia said:
….. really? Why you do me like that.
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What do you mean?
 
Whoa, Very rich in new lore. Cool update!
I think Johann might get along well with the Champion. Jock Wizard Bros.
BoneyM said:
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.
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Lol.
This might be worthwhile to try and find a card behind the College cushions:
BoneyM said:
[ ] MAX: Go through every library of the Colleges you can access for any scrap of information about Waystones. (NEW)
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On this- it sounds like we could assign (say) Max 2+1 free actions, and none to Johann? Or is as I suspect that not correct and we're meant to choose at least one MAX action and one JOHANN?
BoneyM said:
For every two AP spent on members of WEB-MAT, you can spend one 'free' additional AP in that category.
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