Ok. So let's work backwards from this then- I like the dammerlichter set stuff, but we would want to make it for specific people, right?
I think the saddle and the thurible go to the Hochlander. We know he likes moving through the wild and doing things in person, plus communication and an indepth knowledge of the local factions. The saddle gives him speed and evasion, and that makes him a good carrier for the thurible- if there's a random bunch of zombies or whatever mobbing a town, he can get there fast enough to make a difference. And with the EIC infonet, he'd hear about it maybe in time.
I honestly think the blood-boiling shadow-chain whip should go to Heidi. It's not a sword- make it so it can be worn as a belt wrapped around the waist a few times, and it gives her a very solid personal defense weapon. Plus, she's got the right and the tutors available to get good with it.
I think max would be interested in collaborating (windherding?) on an enchantment of something he made- maybe a gorget of metal with guard of steel on it, and aeytheric armor in ulgu woven under it? (Attach to the leather backing to let the two enchantments have a distinct separation but still be close in space without Dhar?) May be a good first project, set the no-longer-a-boy blacksmith/archer with done more serious close-range protection.
I see beastmen and black orcs in our future...
Johann I think is in good shape- but I think a spiffy cloak with shadowcloak and pass without trace on it would work wonderfully for his style- sneak close then bullrush isolated targets he can overwhelm quickly. And he's got his staff for ranged.
Who else do we expect to have in our party? Our normal squad of hammerers aren't backing us up any more, so I feel like we need perhaps a gyrocarrige's worth of people, ultimately.
I'd like to say six seats are spoken for- Max, Johann, Mathilde, Engrimm; plus I want to save space for wolf and Pan, both of whom might be traveling with us. So, six more? It's a surprisingly balanced party- Johann as tank, Mathilde as melee DPS, Max as ranged, Pan as battlefield control and wolf as a scout, and Engrimm, I think, AOE and artillery magic?
So I want to think seriously about hearing up Pan.
There's three reasons I think we should recruit her formally once she passes her exams. First, she is well-positioned to give us access to the jade's libraries, and to introduce us to the jades who knows the deeper secrets and want to evaluate us themselves. Second, it's good for her: it gives her a reason to be away from Altdorf and simultaneously a reason for the superiors in her order to give her attention, support, and access as their liason. (They get someone there who can tell them what other people know. See the cards and the chips.)
Third, she is most definitely the sort to be looking for adventure and challenge and what is next; she's joined two military expeditions then rolled up her sleeves and proved her chops as a jade wizard to herself by creating an ecosystem from scratch. Now what? We know she is looking. And I think asking her to be our tree expert might be a good way to keep her entertained and close.
The trees are our best bet right now for extending the network outward from existing waystones, because repairing, restoring, and recreating the stones themselves seems a long term goal. Figuring out if saplings can be grown on gold-enriched soil by human mages and transplanted to other locations might go a long way towards helping Sylvania and kislev. So we should bring in a jade who knows a lot about soil nutrients and climate zones to work with the metal mages and the main project and see if the current Laurelorn system can be feasibly extended as-is.
That said, in want her safe and usefully utilized. Thinking lots of potions and smokebombs, fire oils and poison to complement the thorn bushes. Maybe wind-herd an ability to cast cloud of confusion into her current staff? Aeytheric armor.
Engrimm is a wildcard right now. Our other ducklings and Sylvanian friends... Kasmir, maybe, most likely with a thurible? I don't think Anton or Roswita, and the ducklings are building their own lives as the wizard corp of Karak eight peaks. (a thought- we may want to be careful about assigning Max to places where he can't maintain his apprentice duties to the dwarf that is teaching him.)
