Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
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Tasoli
Life is for Living
- Location
- Behind the Keyboard.
Try forge of destiny? I am curious wheter you would like it or not.
- Location
- Finland
I have read it, and it is great.
Been active reader/quester for a long time.
- Location
- Europa, Jupiter Orbit
Isn't that the point of peanuts and other stuff they give you alongside your drink in bars?
- Location
- Greece
Do peanuts taste like pure salt? I don' think so.
Peanuts are a food made to compliment the existence of a lot of salt. There are stories like that, built and constructed meticulously so that they can accommodate a great number of subversions of expectation without tasting like pure salt.
- Location
- Europa, Jupiter Orbit
You said main/only. Salt is not the only draw in those snacks, but it is the main one.
Or maybe that's not quite true. Salt is the main draw for the bar owners, not the consumers. So I guess the equivalent would be authors wanting to shove subversions down our throats and coming up with a palatable enough story around the subversions to keep us reading (while hating ourselves for it and consuming other stuff in reaction).
- Location
- Greece
See, here's the thing with it: when you eat peanuts, you remember the salt. Because it is the most memorable thing about them. This is why people put a lot of subversions to their stories: they are the most memorable thing in a lot of stories. But you'd never go eat peanuts advertised as "the saltiest peanuts in town" (well, unless you live in a town with exceptionally unsalted peanuts, I guess.). They'd taste like shit.
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- Location
- Earth
Try thinking of it in terms of 'main ingredient.' There's a lot more peanut in a salted peanut than there is salt. If you reversed the ratio of peanut to salt, you'd get almost pure salt and end up with salt poisoning.
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Codex
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I tried to make a Cython statblock for WHFB, and took Storm of Magic 8E as a base. It's just that... well...
That's the stats of a base Emperor Dragon, and Cython is almost certainly a Level 4 Wizard of the Lore of Light on top of that. How do you even improve/change that? All I did was pump up Cython's Initiative by 2 points because they're attuned to Hysh and give them an Aura of Frost, riffing on the Cloak of Ulric. I just can't reasonably think of anything else when their stats are this overtuned.
I don't think I've ever been this stumped before. Emperor Dragons are hilariously stacked.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
| 8 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
That's the stats of a base Emperor Dragon, and Cython is almost certainly a Level 4 Wizard of the Lore of Light on top of that. How do you even improve/change that? All I did was pump up Cython's Initiative by 2 points because they're attuned to Hysh and give them an Aura of Frost, riffing on the Cloak of Ulric. I just can't reasonably think of anything else when their stats are this overtuned.
I don't think I've ever been this stumped before. Emperor Dragons are hilariously stacked.
deathofrats0808
Don’t think of it as dying; just as leaving early
- Location
- Earth
Part of your problem I think is also that we haven't seen much of Cython in a fight, and they're not a character with lore, so you can't draw on that either. So there's little you can pull on to make them unique.
Codex
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To be fair, I did something with Paranoth and Algard despite getting little of them in a fight, but it was somehow easier for me to pull something out of thin air for them than it was for me with Cython.
Well, I suppose I did have something to go on with both of them. With Paranoth I took the title of "the wanderer" and then asked myself the question of how I could translate that into the Tabletop, and took inspiration from Wood Elves and Skinks who are greatly adapted to ther environment as well as Forest Spirits. For Algard I knew that he was all about manipulating space itself, so I could riff on that and work something out. With Cython, I don't have a title to work off of, and I don't know what their "specialty" is. It's hard to come up with something without a thread to pull on.
- Location
- Chicago
- Pronouns
- She/They
Ok- you know what we need? Someone to write an omake about Gretel and Adel! I was thinking about our ducklings and what they were doing, and they were the ones I think you could do the most with their PoV.
The ambers have notches on their belts from K8P and Vlag, they've traveled the chaos wastes and seen the doom of Dum, and they are well situated in the midst of a supportive group of heavy monster cavalry. I think we are likely to hear more and more about their feats as the north becomes more troubled, but right now I think they are chasing beastmen and still fucking like bunnies.
As an aside, I think that it does help Mathilde to have old friends like this who have no shame around sex, to ground her after the knots she seemed to have tied herself up in about modesty and what *should* happen.
Max and Johann are with us, Panoramia is either with us or prepping for her magisters exam. That's it for the originals, but-
Herbert has found a nice triple play to orient his life around- he's a well respected wizard among the winter wolves, he's Ambassador to Ulrikadrin on behalf of King Belegar Ironhammer, and he's romantically involved with the General of the Undumgi. So he's getting to do all of what he always dreamt of- swordfight monsters and win the respect of knights, fly with magic and throw lightning bolts, satisfy his family by earning a high position and possibly marrying well, honor his oaths and obligations to the colleges, the empire, Ulric, his family, his dreams- all at the same time.
So I don't think he's going to be making moves except tactically in support of the winter wolves or the Undumgi. Right now, he's never going to be a magister, but he's flashy enough, dependable enough, and consistent enough to be the face of magic to both the Karak and Ulrikadrin. (As a side note, if we ever do, say, give Soizic and Hubert engagement gifts or something- marriage before Soizic drinking from the grail is unlikely- we should get Soizic runes for her Gromril sword and something charisma/presence boosting for Hubert.)
Our clever bright wizard has successfully feathered her nest with some family (she said not having them around was the reason she was thinking of leaving) and is probably Prince Gotri's back-channel to the gunnery school at this very moment. If we are thinking about full throttle brakes off dwarven magitech, this is where it is happening. Plus there's access to the full collection of the skaven mechanical blueprints, perhaps? I don't know if the golds or Mathilde have shared that secret with Gotri yet...
And Gretel is a woman after our own heart, who could be almost anywhere on the blood river right now. (The besiegers are still on contract to guard civilian steamships on the blood river, right?) I think she's honestly the one with the closest finger on the pulse of the world. Hubert would get news from Ulrikadrin and K8P, Adel from the gunnery spotters and aircorp, but Gretel is on the ships with the mercs and the caravans and a lot of time to kill. Rumors, legends, ghost stories- and we know she is looking for concentrations of shyish old and new, so if she's got a few weeks off on occasion she's probably going to drag some of her new company to go do some light plundering. (I bet a small unit tactics with 6-8 tower shields/crossbows/short swords covering a debuff/DPS mage could be pretty effective)
So if there's a place to put a rumor Mill or Lara Croft adventure, it's with her.
The ambers have notches on their belts from K8P and Vlag, they've traveled the chaos wastes and seen the doom of Dum, and they are well situated in the midst of a supportive group of heavy monster cavalry. I think we are likely to hear more and more about their feats as the north becomes more troubled, but right now I think they are chasing beastmen and still fucking like bunnies.
As an aside, I think that it does help Mathilde to have old friends like this who have no shame around sex, to ground her after the knots she seemed to have tied herself up in about modesty and what *should* happen.
Max and Johann are with us, Panoramia is either with us or prepping for her magisters exam. That's it for the originals, but-
Herbert has found a nice triple play to orient his life around- he's a well respected wizard among the winter wolves, he's Ambassador to Ulrikadrin on behalf of King Belegar Ironhammer, and he's romantically involved with the General of the Undumgi. So he's getting to do all of what he always dreamt of- swordfight monsters and win the respect of knights, fly with magic and throw lightning bolts, satisfy his family by earning a high position and possibly marrying well, honor his oaths and obligations to the colleges, the empire, Ulric, his family, his dreams- all at the same time.
So I don't think he's going to be making moves except tactically in support of the winter wolves or the Undumgi. Right now, he's never going to be a magister, but he's flashy enough, dependable enough, and consistent enough to be the face of magic to both the Karak and Ulrikadrin. (As a side note, if we ever do, say, give Soizic and Hubert engagement gifts or something- marriage before Soizic drinking from the grail is unlikely- we should get Soizic runes for her Gromril sword and something charisma/presence boosting for Hubert.)
Our clever bright wizard has successfully feathered her nest with some family (she said not having them around was the reason she was thinking of leaving) and is probably Prince Gotri's back-channel to the gunnery school at this very moment. If we are thinking about full throttle brakes off dwarven magitech, this is where it is happening. Plus there's access to the full collection of the skaven mechanical blueprints, perhaps? I don't know if the golds or Mathilde have shared that secret with Gotri yet...
And Gretel is a woman after our own heart, who could be almost anywhere on the blood river right now. (The besiegers are still on contract to guard civilian steamships on the blood river, right?) I think she's honestly the one with the closest finger on the pulse of the world. Hubert would get news from Ulrikadrin and K8P, Adel from the gunnery spotters and aircorp, but Gretel is on the ships with the mercs and the caravans and a lot of time to kill. Rumors, legends, ghost stories- and we know she is looking for concentrations of shyish old and new, so if she's got a few weeks off on occasion she's probably going to drag some of her new company to go do some light plundering. (I bet a small unit tactics with 6-8 tower shields/crossbows/short swords covering a debuff/DPS mage could be pretty effective)
So if there's a place to put a rumor Mill or Lara Croft adventure, it's with her.
Codex
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I've had multiple plot ideas about Gretel that I've never written. If I could count the number of Omake ideas I had and never wrote and compared it to how many I've actually posted on this thread, it would likely outnumber it 10 to 1. Well, at least that's better than the near zero snippets I ever posted on the internet before this thread came along (I think I made a sinlge omake in Forge of Destiny before and I still cringe looking back on it. Save me from my cringy younger self).
I had a bunch of ideas, but...
Let's hope she doesn't turn out like the canonical Clarissa Lohft from Tomb Kings 6th Edition eh? That Laura Croft expy died unceremoniously by drinking from a water fountain in a Tomb King complex. Very unwise of her.
- Location
- USA
She promised to be careful. Although Mathilde was more concerned about Tomb King treasures than anything else, I doubt Gretel is the type to split hairs on specificity.
- Location
- Aotearoa
Pssshht. Gretel would sense the Shyish of the water in the Tomb she's (maybe right now!) exploring before drinking from that fountain. 
Codex
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I would like to mention that this particular meme has infected me severely:
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
So in warhammer, with the sole exception of vampires, the wizards are physically less impressive than the non wizards. So you shouldn't be looking to improve it, you should be subtracting -1 from all of those stats except M and I (and BS apparently). Then you put on 4 levels of wizard, aura of frost, and a cold breath weapon that would probably be inspired by some ogre kingdoms stuff.
A Storm is Coming
Codex
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A Storm is Coming:
The howling winds of the Chaos Wastes were as they always were. Powerful gusts of screaming gusts and gales that ebbed and flowed as they caressed the corpses of those fallen in Slaakhamshy'y Yg'a'tedaar's camp.
Vardek Crom surveyed the field of flesh being feasted on by carrion atop his Daemonic Steed. He was accompanied by two of his fellow Champions on their own steeds, and he could feel their questioning, worried gaze boring into the back of his head. They couldn't have known that he was well aware of everything happening within 30 Feet of him, for it was a recent Gift from Tzeentch.
Quickly and nearly silently, Vardek dismounted from his Steed, his heavy dark metal boots striking the ground and sinking an inch deep. Without uttering a word, Crom lifted his hand and clenched it into a fist, loosening his index finger and making a circle motion to indicate his followers to patrol the perimeter. He could feel their assent from their brief relief at the edges of their thoughts, another grand gift from Tzeentch.
Vardek Crom did not utter a word or make a sound as he walked steadily with assured steps into the encampment of that failure Yg'a'tedaar. He had expected more from him, for he was very close to Princehood and a worthy challenger besides. He had entrusted him with the protection of a sacred artifact from his predecessor, Asavar, and yet all he could smell from the charnel stench around him was the scent of defeat.
His blood boiled as he surveyed body after body, some mauled as if by a bear, others frozen to death, some penetrated by dozens of puncture wounds as if by a hail storm, some with necrosed flesh and others ripped apart and torn to pieces from a slashing weapon. He could smell the residual magic in the place, some had the taste of icy attachment, the magic of the Gospodar. Some held the sound of the sonorous tone of Chaos, the deep bass of Heavenly magic and soothing tones of Shadow. And yet, he also felt the melody of a disruptive tone within that Shadowed tune, a distinctly… light tone. Not deep enough to be Chaos.
Crom finally reached his destination, the camp of which held the treasure he was looking for. He had no confidence over the competence of Yg'a'tedaar and the disgraceful chaff that dared call themselves "Kul" within this place, but he had to make sure, and see if any clues could be derived. Within the destroyed tent, Vardek Crom could feel the essence of Slaanesh and the residual musk of a Daemonette. He looked to the chest that was supposed to hold the Chalice and was not surprised to see it empty.
Fortunately for Crom, he had a method of learning what happened. He was not blessed with Sorcery in the traditional manner, but he had received his fair share of gifts from the Gods. He could see/taste/smell/hear/feel the colors/flavors/odor/tones/sensations of the world's energies, and he had a readily available residue to extract from the remains of the dead Daemonette within this tent.
Vardek Crom was not particularly delicate in his handling of the Winds, but he did not need to be for he was not manipulating the Winds so much as harnessing his gifts to beseech Slaanesh for a solution. Making a pact with himself to provide sacrifice for Slaanesh, Vardek Crom was surprised to see that the Prince of Pleasure was quite eager to accede to his request. Crom could almost feel the eagerness/anticipation/disgruntlement/anger that the Prince exuded as Crom relived the final moments of the Daemonette.
Crom saw, through the Daemonette's eyes, the cloaked figure with a Witch Hunter hat, suffused with the Wind of Shadow, light grey and smoky rather than the charred blackness of a Chaotic Shadow. He heard her final words to the Daemonette.
"Impersonating a Wizard is a capital offense."
Then he felt the bullet from her pistol go through his head.
Vardek Crom briefly shook his head as he came back to reality. It was always disconcerting to "die", but it wasn't the first time it happened to him, so he moved on. An Imperial Magister with a Witch Hunter hat who used the Spirit of Shadow. She was not the only one, for he had felt the magic of the Gospodars as well, but it was a good enough lead to go on.
Or it would have been, if he hadn't been feeling the urge to go North lately. He knew what it meant, and it seemed that Crom would have to set this particular annoyance aside until after his journey. It wasn't time yet to push south into the weakling lands of men yet, but it would be soon.
A Storm was coming, and Vardek Crom would have his vengeance. Of that he could be sure.
AN: I had the urge to write something, and I thought I would get into the perspective of Chaos again. I wanted to get a bit deeper into the bizarre sensations that a Gifted Chaos Lord would have, and a better example couldn't be thought up than Crom, who I should remind people is the current Chieftain of the Kul. I don't imagine he's all that happy about an artifact from the time of his predecessor Asavar Kul being taken, but he doesn't exactly have the time or freedom to go charging south. I had fun with this.
The howling winds of the Chaos Wastes were as they always were. Powerful gusts of screaming gusts and gales that ebbed and flowed as they caressed the corpses of those fallen in Slaakhamshy'y Yg'a'tedaar's camp.
Vardek Crom surveyed the field of flesh being feasted on by carrion atop his Daemonic Steed. He was accompanied by two of his fellow Champions on their own steeds, and he could feel their questioning, worried gaze boring into the back of his head. They couldn't have known that he was well aware of everything happening within 30 Feet of him, for it was a recent Gift from Tzeentch.
Quickly and nearly silently, Vardek dismounted from his Steed, his heavy dark metal boots striking the ground and sinking an inch deep. Without uttering a word, Crom lifted his hand and clenched it into a fist, loosening his index finger and making a circle motion to indicate his followers to patrol the perimeter. He could feel their assent from their brief relief at the edges of their thoughts, another grand gift from Tzeentch.
Vardek Crom did not utter a word or make a sound as he walked steadily with assured steps into the encampment of that failure Yg'a'tedaar. He had expected more from him, for he was very close to Princehood and a worthy challenger besides. He had entrusted him with the protection of a sacred artifact from his predecessor, Asavar, and yet all he could smell from the charnel stench around him was the scent of defeat.
His blood boiled as he surveyed body after body, some mauled as if by a bear, others frozen to death, some penetrated by dozens of puncture wounds as if by a hail storm, some with necrosed flesh and others ripped apart and torn to pieces from a slashing weapon. He could smell the residual magic in the place, some had the taste of icy attachment, the magic of the Gospodar. Some held the sound of the sonorous tone of Chaos, the deep bass of Heavenly magic and soothing tones of Shadow. And yet, he also felt the melody of a disruptive tone within that Shadowed tune, a distinctly… light tone. Not deep enough to be Chaos.
Crom finally reached his destination, the camp of which held the treasure he was looking for. He had no confidence over the competence of Yg'a'tedaar and the disgraceful chaff that dared call themselves "Kul" within this place, but he had to make sure, and see if any clues could be derived. Within the destroyed tent, Vardek Crom could feel the essence of Slaanesh and the residual musk of a Daemonette. He looked to the chest that was supposed to hold the Chalice and was not surprised to see it empty.
Fortunately for Crom, he had a method of learning what happened. He was not blessed with Sorcery in the traditional manner, but he had received his fair share of gifts from the Gods. He could see/taste/smell/hear/feel the colors/flavors/odor/tones/sensations of the world's energies, and he had a readily available residue to extract from the remains of the dead Daemonette within this tent.
Vardek Crom was not particularly delicate in his handling of the Winds, but he did not need to be for he was not manipulating the Winds so much as harnessing his gifts to beseech Slaanesh for a solution. Making a pact with himself to provide sacrifice for Slaanesh, Vardek Crom was surprised to see that the Prince of Pleasure was quite eager to accede to his request. Crom could almost feel the eagerness/anticipation/disgruntlement/anger that the Prince exuded as Crom relived the final moments of the Daemonette.
Crom saw, through the Daemonette's eyes, the cloaked figure with a Witch Hunter hat, suffused with the Wind of Shadow, light grey and smoky rather than the charred blackness of a Chaotic Shadow. He heard her final words to the Daemonette.
"Impersonating a Wizard is a capital offense."
Then he felt the bullet from her pistol go through his head.
Vardek Crom briefly shook his head as he came back to reality. It was always disconcerting to "die", but it wasn't the first time it happened to him, so he moved on. An Imperial Magister with a Witch Hunter hat who used the Spirit of Shadow. She was not the only one, for he had felt the magic of the Gospodars as well, but it was a good enough lead to go on.
Or it would have been, if he hadn't been feeling the urge to go North lately. He knew what it meant, and it seemed that Crom would have to set this particular annoyance aside until after his journey. It wasn't time yet to push south into the weakling lands of men yet, but it would be soon.
A Storm was coming, and Vardek Crom would have his vengeance. Of that he could be sure.
AN: I had the urge to write something, and I thought I would get into the perspective of Chaos again. I wanted to get a bit deeper into the bizarre sensations that a Gifted Chaos Lord would have, and a better example couldn't be thought up than Crom, who I should remind people is the current Chieftain of the Kul. I don't imagine he's all that happy about an artifact from the time of his predecessor Asavar Kul being taken, but he doesn't exactly have the time or freedom to go charging south. I had fun with this.
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- Location
- Space
I'd assume that dragons worked the same as vampires in that way. They've both got basically the same relevant qualities in terms of being super old immortals who've had time to practice all the skills they ever intend to rather than being stuck trying to cram both magic and swordplay into a mortal lifespan.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
It isn't just being long lived tho. Elves are like that too, even the combat casters the elves have aren't that great at combat compared to actual combat lords of the same level.
I think it has more to do with vampires being magical post humans.
Making an Emperor dragon a wizard up to and including lvl 4 is a generic option provided by GW. So unless you think that Cython is weaker then an average Ice dragon for whatever reason there is no need for stat reductions. Also I am pretty sure there are rules for frost breath already in the same book that introduced the Emperor dragons to begin woth
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Really? Which book was this?
Codex
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Strength 5 Breath weapon that inflicts Always Strikes Last until the end of the next turn yes. You can take up to 4 Wizard levels with a cost of 35 points for each level on top of the base stats. It's a total cost of 650 points+140 for a total of 790 points. 15 points more expensive than an Exalted Greater Daemon.
Storm of Magic 8th Edition supplement, which is the book I'm using for the stats of an Emperor Dragon.