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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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BoneyM said:
Currently, you can learn Relatively Simple spells and below; you can attempt to learn Moderately Complicated spells, but the consequences of failure will be severe until you improve your magical skills.

If you prefer, replace 'meter' with 'yard'. The result is close enough.

You may now begin drooling over the shinies.
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So about those shinies:
We just got +1Magic from learning all the petty spells, and we can assume something similar may happen when we finish all the simple spells.

But the windreader trait crit gave us +2 Magic, so I have to ask, are those Relatively Simple or the Moderately Complicated any easier to learn now?

Also thread? We should finish learning all the simple magics as well, and see if it helps.

For example, Take No Heed from Relatively Simple would be very useful against the undead, if I'm reading this right. After all, mindless undead don't have willpower, so we can avoid them completely.

If we can get Burning Shadows from Moderately Complicated, it would be out first AoE damage spell. Not battle wizard powerful, but nasty in close quarters.
 
Sinsystems said:
Someone should probably write a paragraph explain Smoke Knights to the playerbase that isn't aware of their awesomeness.
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Smoke knights are from the webcomic (formerly print comic) Girl Genius, as the personal assassins, bodyguards, and investigators of the 50 Families, the descendants of House Valois, the former ruling house of the Empire of the Storm King. They are functionally highly skilled ninjas in an 1800s european Gaslamp Fantasy setting.
Trained from a young age, they are extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat,both unarmed and with blades, as well as various light ranged weapons (throwing knives, blowpipes, hand crossbows). They are renowned for their stealth capabilities, such that seeing one who does not want to be seen is a a nat-100-level accomplishment. They have been known to steal objects and people out of another persons hand from across a room, while in plain sight, without the mark noticing. They are also highly skilled in the use of poisons and potions, such as a highly powered series of stimulants known as the Movit series, and a poison referred to only as "Auntie Mehitabel's Natural Causes." They wear no overt armor, wearing cloaks in the colors of the royal lineage they all serve. (theoretically- the 50 families are a fractious bunch.) They are masters of disguise and infiltration, putting these skills to use throughout the comis as spies and assassins.
In short, Germanic/French/Romanian Euro-ninjas. perfect for our needs.
 
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Oh, and any filthy shippers take note:

A knighthood is almost certainly the first step to being thought of as good enough to seek Van Hal's hand.
 
DocMatoi said:
Smoke knights are from the webcomic (formerly print comic) Girl Genius, as the personal assassins, bodyguards, and investigators of the 50 Families, the descendants of House Valois, the former ruling house of the Empire of the Storm King. They are functionally highly skilled ninjas in an 1800s european Gaslamp Fantasy setting.
They are extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat,both unarmed and with blades, as well as various light ranged weapons (throwing knives, blowpipes, hand crossbows). They are renowned for their stealth capabilities, such that seeing one who does not want to be seen is a a nat-100-level accomplishment. They have been known to steal objects and people out of another persons hand from across a room, while in plain sight, without the mark noticing. They are also highly skilled in the use of poisons and potions, such as a highly powered series of stimulants known as the Movit series, and a poison referred to only as "Auntie Mehitabel's Natural Causes." They wear no overt armor, wearing cloaks in the colors of the royal lineage they all serve. (theoretically- the 50 families are a fractious bunch.) They are masters of disguise and infiltration, putting these skills to use throughout the comis as spies and assassins.
In short, Germanic/French/Romanian Euro-ninjas. perfect for our needs.
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Unfortunately, these skills avail them naught against OTHAR TRYGVASSEN, GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER!
 
@BoneyM So... the Orders part of the turn has us suggesting actions for van Hal to assign us, in a fairly non-prioritised random order. Is he, at this point, receptive to recommendations from his favourite Ninja-clutz-FBI-ATF-catfancying-Terror of Human and Asp Souls Alike-Derpwizard? Like we could place a marker by the one we most want to do, and van Hal would give that weight?
 
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Pretty blatantly jacked the other plan, except letting
[X] Plan Blatant Plagiarism
[X] [Public Report]: Nearly complete success in taking over the League. We have enough information to rebuild trading networks, enough prisoners to make examples or show mercy as desired. Even physical assets have been captured to 90%.
-[X] It is unlikely the League would recover even if left alone from now on, under careful oversight (Like Wilhelmina's, especially if she sets up a Guild) it will be impossible.

[X] [Private Report]: We captured the damn Snake, we yet have to find out what exactly happened to it in that box, but it's not bothering me anymore, so no risk for you to loose your spymaster over that.

[X] [Boon]: Assistance in creating our own military force (write in type)
-[X] The Shadows(?), an elite order of assassins, covert bodyguards, infiltrators, and spies sworn to the defense of the Empire. This will take some time, but well worth it for the possible benefits.

[X] [Orders]:
-[X] The disappearance of your predecessor is very concerning, but according to the Stirlandian League he's pulled out of the game with all his ill-gotten gains. If you're not willing to let that go, maybe you could track him down anyway.
-[X] The spell used by the informants is like nothing you've heard of before. You want to see if you can detect or replicate it.
-[X] Something your new Lieutenant said gave you an idea. Investigate the shores of the Black Water, see if it can truly be tamed.
-[X] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[X] The Wurtbad Thieves Guild, despite barely being a loose gossip network, really came through during the take-down of the Stirlandian League. Maybe you should cultivate this useful tool.
 
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Alliterate said:
@BoneyM So... the Orders part of the turn has us suggesting actions for van Hal to assign us, in a fairly non-prioritised random order. Is he, at this point, receptive to recommendations from his favourite Ninja-clutz-FBI-ATF-catfancying-Derpwizard? Like we could place a marker by the one we most want to do, and van Hal would give that weight?
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You could emphasize one option over the others, but doing it more than rarely would chafe. In theory, you are only supposed to be presenting options and the decision is entirely his, and if you try to dictate what he picks too much, it'll sour your relationship.

DocMatoi said:
[X] [Boon]: Your own military force (write in type)
-[X] An elite order of assassins, covert bodyguards, infiltrators, and spies sworn to the defense of the Empire, built out of what will remain of the Wurtbad Thieves Guild after I take it over.
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Carefully phrasing a boon to try to get two boons out of it is likely to get you no boons.
 
While everyone else jumped to 'Smoke Knights' my mind jumped to Kei's 'Eighth Order' instead.

A crack team of individuals with various abilities and aptitudes, tasked with Spec-ops operations with large degree of autonomy.

"May we outdo the other Seven!" :ninja:
 
Van Hal doesn't have stealth operatives. He can get you some soldiers which you can then train for stealth. Sounds like an action-sink, though.
 
[X] Plan Blatant Plagiarism 2: Ulgu Boogaloo
[X] [Public Report]: Nearly complete success in taking over the League. We have enough information to rebuild trading networks, enough prisoners to make examples or show mercy as desired. Even physical assets have been captured to 90%.
-[X] It is unlikely the League would recover even if left alone from now on, under careful oversight (Like Wilhelmina's, especially if she sets up a Guild) it will be impossible.

[X] [Private Report]: We captured the damn Snake, we yet have to find out what exactly happened to it in that box, but it's not bothering me anymore, so no risk for you to loose your spymaster over that.

[X] Knighthood (???)

[X] [Orders]:
-[X] The disappearance of your predecessor is very concerning, but according to the Stirlandian League he's pulled out of the game with all his ill-gotten gains. If you're not willing to let that go, maybe you could track him down anyway.
-[X] The spell used by the informants is like nothing you've heard of before. You want to see if you can detect or replicate it.
-[X] Something your new Lieutenant said gave you an idea. Investigate the shores of the Black Water, see if it can truly be tamed.
-[X] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[X] The Wurtbad Thieves Guild, despite barely being a loose gossip network, really came through during the take-down of the Stirlandian League. Maybe you should cultivate this useful tool.
 
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I'll let others plan, but I do want a boon:
[X] Knighthood (???)
Derp girl is a peasant. Me thinks a knighthood would do her lots of good for dealing with other knights and nobles, getting her justification in getting martial and court training, and giving her social standing as well as some protection from certain abuses and threats. Also, it's a (???) option. And, possibly, the beginning of the path to Battle Wizard (Derp Wizard edition).
 
Okay... Just had a thought. If that 'Snake Trap' does indeed regularly leak pure High Magic for basically forever from now on...

That's probably basically a license to print money, considering that the Imperial Wizards are going to want it, the High Elves are going to want it... hell, maybe the Dwarves are going to want it too... I mean, because they can precisely measure just how much 'magic' they're pouring into the Rune, so if the Rune's normally hard to make due to it needing a LOT of magic, or it needing a precise amount of magic... Problem kinda solved...

Which means that... uh... I don't think we'll need to worry about our loans for much longer... Though we're definitely going to need to invest in security for the box and making sure it doesn't get stolen or damaged...
 
No clue what to ask for in terms of a boon. Though it seems that setting up smoke knights would be more difficult than we'd want it to be, keep in mind it's the skill level of a group that makes them elite, not the intentions of their creators.
 
Lupercal said:
[X] Plan Blatant Plagiarism 2: Ulgu Boogaloo
[X] [Public Report]: Nearly complete success in taking over the League. We have enough information to rebuild trading networks, enough prisoners to make examples or show mercy as desired. Even physical assets have been captured to 90%.
-[X] It is unlikely the League would recover even if left alone from now on, under careful oversight (Like Wilhelmina's, especially if she sets up a Guild) it will be impossible.

[X] [Private Report]: We captured the damn Snake, we yet have to find out what exactly happened to it in that box, but it's not bothering me anymore, so no risk for you to loose your spymaster over that.

[X] [Boon]: A holiday (no assignment next turn)
-[X] "Abelhelm, I'd like to take advantage of the reletive peace following the dismantaling of the Stirland League to prepare myself for the Trials of Mastery"

[X] [Orders]:
-[X] The disappearance of your predecessor is very concerning, but according to the Stirlandian League he's pulled out of the game with all his ill-gotten gains. If you're not willing to let that go, maybe you could track him down anyway.
-[X] The spell used by the informants is like nothing you've heard of before. You want to see if you can detect or replicate it.
-[X] Something your new Lieutenant said gave you an idea. Investigate the shores of the Black Water, see if it can truly be tamed.
-[X] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[X] The Wurtbad Thieves Guild, despite barely being a loose gossip network, really came through during the take-down of the Stirlandian League. Maybe you should cultivate this useful tool.
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Something to remember: a holiday is the equivalent of two actions, based on past turns.

So it's useful, of course, but it's also hard to see it as on the same level as a pack of soldiers, graze land and herds, a trade guild, things like that. I'd only pick the holiday option if there's something you want to do that you can't otherwise: traveling outside of Stirland for months, something like that.

I guess another way to look at it is that most of the other options take assets from Stirland as a whole and reassign them to you. That group of hypothetical smoke knights could also become pistoliers or greatswords or whatever. Meanwhile, the holiday (and knighthood) are easier and less intensive.
 
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Alectai said:
Honestly, I don't think we're actually draining the Asp, so much as it's the magical leakage of an aetheryic entity being essentially trapped in a state where it both is and is not. The energy that would normally flow to make up its form and thought is instead just spilling out in the general area, but the flow isn't stopping because it's not dead. The potential still exists, and so the flows keep spilling out and sublimating back into the Winds of Magic if not contained.

It doesn't stagnate (Which is what leads to Dhar) because if it's contained, the magic thinks that it's where it's supposed to be instead of just sinking and melt together. In short, it literally tricks reality into spilling out a portion of pure magical energy, which can be tapped at need, though the actual production rate is fixed and any that isn't used just dissolves harmlessly back into the Immaterium.
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wow

the odd of something like this occurring was just monumentally impossible

i mean, every factor aligning just right for this stuff to happen is freakishly random

what the heck Lady Luck, what did Derpwizard do to warrant something this good ?
 
Guile said:
Van Hal doesn't have stealth operatives. He can get you some soldiers which you can then train for stealth. Sounds like an action-sink, though.
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Yeah, not fond of people implying that training vets is going to be simple or easy. Also not fond of the constant comparisons to what seem to be steampunk ninjas. To get them even comparable we'd need to invest in enchanting gear, learn to enchant, study other enchantments to work towards the goal, keep an eye on their training, find a use out of a league of assassin knights that doesn't piss off the Witch Hunters, and juggle our regular assignments.

At this point I just want a vacation so we can get enchanting gear and finally set up shop. Also, having a constant flow of physical Qhyash that doesn't decay into Dhar and swords that soak in ambient magic sounds like an interesting combination. Having time to look into that would be nice.
 
Pyro Hawk said:
Okay... Just had a thought. If that 'Snake Trap' does indeed regularly leak pure High Magic for basically forever from now on...

That's probably basically a license to print money, considering that the Imperial Wizards are going to want it, the High Elves are going to want it... hell, maybe the Dwarves are going to want it too... I mean, because they can precisely measure just how much 'magic' they're pouring into the Rune, so if the Rune's normally hard to make due to it needing a LOT of magic, or it needing a precise amount of magic... Problem kinda solved...

Which means that... uh... I don't think we'll need to worry about our loans for much longer... Though we're definitely going to need to invest in security for the box and making sure it doesn't get stolen or damaged...
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Nah, something like this is paradoxically too valuable to ever sell.

Because the moment someone knows what we have to offer, someone stronger will simply come and take it.

Like, this is a treasure that we could theoretically use as a counterplay if our 'Handlers' give us an unacceptable order. We could use this to force the issue and break free in that case.

This is a treasure we could literally build our Enchanting school around--doubly so as we have designs for magical tools that soak in ambient magic, like, say, the excess energies that would normally be sublimating.

Using it just to dump our student loan would mean we lose it at best well before we can find a suitable buyer.

Something like this is something that Van Hal should know about, and literally nobody else. It's a show of trust to him (And as he's Paranoid, he's going to appreciate that).

This thing here can make our career if we play it correctly. Let's not waste it for transient gains.
 
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