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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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Come to think of it, though there was Mathilde's in-joke affecting the circumstances, it's still pretty funny that both Mathilde and Mandred's first act of magic that led to them being discovered as having magical potential involved a neighing wooden horse.
 
Ericwinter said:
Well, I see Mathilde is pretty excited about Mandred being a Wizard.
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I think it's less "Excited" and more "The least bad of several suboptimal choices"

That being said, this is a relatively good period of time for it to happen, if it had to happen at all, since it's coming along with a long litany of "This is why it was a good idea to establish the Colleges" series of Achievements. While he's unlikely to get to be the Emperor, the chance isn't zero, and if he turns out to be amazing, it'd go a long way towards improving the reputation of the Colleges too, and might even achieve the political Holy Grail and get the Supreme Patriarch a Vote.

The fact that the Cult of Sigmar gets three votes is kind of a historical problem for the Empire, especially since it's hard to justify voting against their block based on the founding myths. If the Cult of Sigmar could be trusted to always have the Empire's best interests in mind, maybe it isn't a problem--but they're politicians like everyone else, and having the largest single influence on major Imperial policies by way of having three votes to everyone else's one is an issue, to say the least.

The real issue is 'Which College does he join up with', since some are better ideas than others. Though a Dragomas trained Amber would be... Interesting, since he's somehow threaded that needle between being politically savvy and handling one of the Colleges that generally does politics the worst.
 
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StormySky said:
Come to think of it, though there was Mathilde's in-joke affecting the circumstances, it's still pretty funny that both Mathilde and Mandred's first act of magic that led to them being discovered as having magical potential involved a neighing wooden horse.
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More 'inevitable', I think, given the circumstance.


... Actually, I wonder if small enchanted toys could be used as an early warning signal for magical capability?
 
Alliterate said:
Telling the Empire about the Skaven civil war had no proximate effect on Mors, as it appears they'd already lost under Nuln.

No, the final, irrevocable Death of Mors was by our hand. There was a vote and everything.
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I don't think Mors was ever under Nuln. The Skaven civil war was Clan Pestilens and its allied clans versus everyone else, and Mors was just one of the clans allied to Pestilens.
 
Alliterate said:
Broke The Wisdoms Asp For Aethyric Vitae And Claims It Was Deliberate
Tried To Quintuple-Face The Fourfold God. Twice
If You Think Those Chaos Dwarf Submariners Are Annoying, Wait Till Her Enemies Start Targeting Her In Earnest
Way Too Into Van Hal Dwarves Headpats Books Ranald (See Above)
Literally Stole A Gasmask The Power Of Mork Lots Of Money A Karak From Hell As Bycatch
Left The Under-Empire With One Less Warlord Clan Than She Found It
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Honestly, What I find unique about Mathilde is that some of her biggest feats are semi-mythical in scope. Like, yeah, the other Grey LMs have done pretty epic stuff, pissed off nations and probably saved the Empire a couple times over, but their legends are pretty rooted in the mundane world. Stuff a normal person can do in the right place at the right time with the right tools, or a whole lot of effort.

But mugging gods? Pulling a literal mountain from hell and incinerating armies with a single spell? Decoding a language that has stumped the world for centuries and an entire tech base to go with it? Melkoth could maybe match, but the others have probably kept what similar achievements they have under wraps, much like half our stuff.

While other Grey LMs are the kind of characters you would see in a James Bond movie or something, Mathilde is the kind of character you hear about in myth and song.
 
She tried, or at minimum hoped, to re-write her God, to suit herself and her goals.

Twice.

And we're still buds! Must be the Gambler who admires such audacity and hubris? Perhaps the Deceiver?

The other recurring element is that a good part of the epic weirdness occurs by accident or happenstance. The Expedition didn't set out to save Vlag, that's just a little sidestory Mathilde initiated along the way. Mugging Mork was never the plan. For our want of a Gasmask, an outpost of the Under-Empire fell.
 
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Alliterate said:
She tried, or at minimum hoped, to re-write her God, to suit herself and her goals.

Twice.

And we're still buds!
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I'm honestly confused at this one. I can't think of one incident of her attempting to change Ranald, let alone two.

Ranald changing was a possible result of the Gork and Mork gamble, but that was purely a desperation move and changing her god was not the intent.
 
The thread IIRC was fairly excited about what a Ranald the Magician aspect could do for Wizards in general and Mathilde in particular. Hence the 'at least hoped'.

The other time was splitting Ranald the Revolutionary out from Ranald the Protector for the Watch, as I recall Boney describing it.
 
Yes. Failing oh so badly to read the room and attempting to install Ranald in the Stirland Watch.

We were recently questioned about it, and everything.
Boney said:
If you do enshrine Ranald the Protector as the patron god of the Watch, then you'd be doing is effectively attempting trying to force a fifth facet of Ranald in the public consciousness - that of Ranald the Revolutionary - and thus purge the Protector of the unsavory aspects. Normally this sort of thing would be very frowned upon by the God in question, but Ranald the Deceiver - your Patron - would find it hilarious. And who knows? Perhaps eventually it will be reflected in the God Himself.

It is more difficult and risky than just bringing a more acceptable Cult in, but it can work out in the end.
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So, yes, it'd have started with the public consciousness, perhaps spreading into worship, with the eventual potential, however slim, to be reflected in Ranald Himself.

The Morkish Transformation Possibility was the work of a Magister, not a Journeymanling, and had the potential to be more... rapid and all-or-nothing, I think.
 
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I do recall some excitement about a possible Magician face, but that was always purely OOC and iirc only came about after the gamble when the possible results were shown. Mathilde's intent was 'not blowing up', Ranald gaining a new face was not a factor.

With the watch the intent was converting the watch, not changing Ranald himself.
 
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The Marriage of Prince Kazrik and Princess Edda, Part 2
  • Threadmarks
    • [*] Wizard

    Tally

    "When someone is fitted with suppressors, if it's their decision then it's their decision, and if it's something their parents have forced on them then they can still remove them and come to the Colleges and be accepted. But this is a decision that's normally being made when someone has first channelled and shaped magic. As young as Mandred is, as undeveloped as his magical ability is, fitting him with suppressors would likely completely smother any ability he will ever have to see and touch magic. And I couldn't recommend that for anyone. If I was given a choice between keeping my eyes and keeping my magic I wouldn't even hesitate to choose magic.

    "And in all honesty, if he never becomes Emperor, so what? Plenty of people never become Emperor. I'm sure Mandred will grow up to be a wonderful leader, but the Empire would do just fine under Todbringer or Hertwig or Van Hal. Grand Prince Mandred will still have plenty of power and responsibility, and you're right that as a Wizard he could do so much good for the Colleges and for Wizards. In the minds of the masses he could do more simply by existing than people like me could do in a century of good deeds, and he could lay down legal protections that will stop us from being a single document away from being besieged by the Witch Hunters once more.

    "You're looking at this as a gamble and then beating yourself up for seeing it as a gamble, but the decisions that led to this have already been made and it's too late to start second-guessing them. The only way to walk away from this hand is to abandon your son. If you don't, then it's your duty as his mother to accept who he is and help him grow into a good person."

    Heidi nods, slightly at first and then with more confidence. "You're right. If he's a Wizard, he's a Wizard. I can handle that, and so can Luitpold."

    "And from a Ranaldian perspective, aren't you the one that says you don't go for the big elaborate plan? If you were the grand plan type you never would have been in Nachthafen for me to meet you, right?" She considers that and nods. "So pivot the caper. A Grand Prince can do almost as much and with much less oversight. Remember the Black College business, when everything Luitpold tried to do was shaped by having to tiptoe around the Elector Counts? Maybe Mandred could get more done for Ranald if he was the one getting tiptoed around. Help the Dealer spread up the Reik, maybe."

    "That's a point, if he didn't have the Grand Theogonist breathing down his neck he'd have a lot more freedom to act..." Heidi's face creases in thought. "Especially if the new Emperor tries to shift the location of the Grand Conclave, and has to do some favour-trading to make it happen since it's been in Altdorf for so long..."

    "See? There's always opportunities for mischief and profit, even when you're doing the right thing."

    She smiles at you. "The Cult would be a lot more accepted if everyone went about worshipping Him the way you do." She looks around the empty Hall while you try to decide how to respond to that. "We should probably get back to the festivities before the gossip reaches a fever pitch."

    You nod. "Don't want to miss the Barazdeg itself."

    "What's up with that? From how it was explained it seems like some sort of wife auction?"

    "Well, the thing about that is..."

    As the two of you head back to the Grimbrow Clan Hall, you explain the finer points of Dwarven culture and the unspoken understandings and behind-the-scenes negotiations that underpin the ancient rituals. When the two of you arrive she's quickly swallowed back up by her swarm of attendants and you position yourself once more to scan the crowd. There's not enough time left before the presentation to have any serious conversations, but once the presentation is made the family will withdraw to consider the gifts, and though everyone knows the result is a foregone conclusion they need to spend enough time in consideration to pay proper respect to whatever Kazrik's gift might be.

    When the time comes, there are no ritual words to be spoken as the work is supposed to encompass all that needs saying about the suitor's wealth and skill. Kazrik steps forward in silence and places his offering upon the table: an abacus of steel and gemstones that he places upright, and with a finger he nudges up one of the jewels. At his touch all of the stones begin to softly glow with an inner light, and the jewel he moved stays resolutely in place, ignoring the call of gravity. A wave of appreciative nods spreads through the audience as they take in this gift, and you find yourself joining them. The jewels quite obviously demonstrate wealth, and the display of Runesmithing may not be up to the standards of Kragg or Thorek but is impressive for someone who had to work around their duties as heir of Karak Azul and diplomat of Karak Eight Peaks. But more than that, the gift itself is a thoughtful one that Edda would be able to get a lot of use out of, since Klinkarhun numerals are incredibly ungainly to do any sort of calculations with. It shows an understanding and appreciation of Edda's skills and knowledge, and that will undoubtedly be extremely useful for the future King of Karak Azul to have in his Queen.

    Edda and her kinfolk take the abacus and retire to give the proper show of consideration, and King Kazador walks up to his son and claps him on the shoulder in pride. Normally this period of a Barazdeg is as much a spectacle as the presentation of gifts, but without any other suitors to potentially clash with Kazrik the crowd returns to the buzz of conversation as all sorts of affairs of state are discussed by the gathered personages. It would be gauche to actually sign any treaties or make any deals at an occasion like this, but it's places like this that the unofficial groundwork is laid for future, more formal arrangements, and you consider the conversations you wish to have while this many important people are in one place. Every Elector Count except Ostland and every Dwarven King of the Karaz Ankor is either here in person or has sent a delegate, as have the Tzar of Kislev, the Royarch of Bretonnia, the Dukes of Carcassonne, Parravon, Montfort, and Gisoreux, and the many rulers of Tilean city-states. There are also an assortment of lesser figures representing innumerable minor powers from throughout the Old World. Just about any dialogue you might wish to have with the institutions of the Old World can be had here.


    Write in any topics you wish to discuss with, questions you wish to ask of, or messages you wish to send to, the states, organizations, institutions, and cults of the Old World. No formal agreements will be reached here, so use this as an opportunity to send messages, sound people out, lay foundations for further talks, fish for headpats, or satisfy any curiosities you may have. Mathilde will pursue as many topics as she can before the Barazdeg comes to a close, prioritizing based on which get the most votes.

    Example votes:

    [-] The Rangers Guild about teaching Dwarven War Yodelling to humans
    [-] Stirland about whether Wurtbad needs a Dwarven War Yodelling academy
    [-] The Cult of Myrmidia about whether Dwarven War Yodelling would fall under Myrmidia's authority


    - There will be a six hour moratorium.
    - For the sake of my sanity, please refrain from asking about whether any specific individual or institution is present. Whatever conversation Mathilde wants to have, you can assume there will be someone here who is at least familiar enough with it to give Mathilde some sort of answer. If there's a conversation you need to have with a specific individual and can't be had with anyone else, this probably isn't the place to have it.
     
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    • Boney said:
    [-] The Rangers Guild about teaching Dwarven War Yodelling to humans
    [-] Stirland about whether Wurtbad needs a Dwarven War Yodelling academy
    [-] The Cult of Myrmidia about whether Dwarven War Yodelling would fall under Myrmidia's authority
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    You know, with all these dwarven war yodeling examples Boney keeps making, I think he might be trying to tell us something. :V
     
    Well since you were so kind to provide examples of important issues for Mathilde to discuss Boney...

    [ :p ] The Rangers Guild about teaching Dwarven War Yodelling to humans
    [:lol:] Stirland about whether Wurtbad needs a Dwarven War Yodelling academy
    [:rofl:] The Cult of Myrmidia about whether Dwarven War Yodelling would fall under Myrmidia's authority
     
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    Alliterate said:
    Telling the Empire about the Skaven civil war had no proximate effect on Mors, as it appears they'd already lost under Nuln.

    No, the final, irrevocable Death of Mors was by our hand. There was a vote and everything.
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    The only thing I can think you're referring to here is the killing of the Rat Mothers. Which wasn't the death of Mors. Mathilde says in that update that they were already dead, because Mors had been broken as a figthing force and everyone who could maintain the machinery necessary was gone, one way or another. And even before that, Mors were in a desperate last stand mode, needing to feed current troops over getting more. They could have turned things around with a bit of luck, but crediting Mathilde with their demise is more than a little over-exaggeration IMO.
     
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