Remove ads

Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Reader mode
The Emperor was really quite on the ball and alive to the strategic realities: the thread has a habit of dismissing him, but he managed to keep up and see a lot of the implications immediately of unfamiliar subjects. The ability to incorporate new information from advisors quickly is important in his line of work, I guess. Let's not underestimate Luitpold from now on.

Happy birthday to the quest. It has been my great pleasure and privilege to be along for so much of the ride. And I shall provide a birthday present in a manner consonant with my nature: proofreading.
Boney said:
"And am I? After all, is that not why you are here? To pass judgement the man that will finish the job that your younger self begun?"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
pass judgement the -> pass judgement on the
 
In some ways it's a shame we can't offload garrisoning, upkeep and maintenance of Athel Yenuli to the Eonir.

It's mostly just a cost and the elves are less likely to mess around with it because of politics. It would also essentially give the Empire hostages.
 
I've been rereading the quest because I'm bored, and ended up coming across this.
Boney said:
Barak Varr has some sort of plan for Sartosa, which was an outpost of theirs long ago, but in modern times has proven able to resist any conventional assault
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This... hasn't come up much, if at all, compared to Barak Varr's plans for Mad Dog Pass. I wonder if they're holding off on it until the canal finishes, so the Empire's warriors, wolfships, and wizards can help them take and hold it. It also makes me wonder if Sartosa was involved at all with the attack on the Okral.

As for the update, it was most enjoyable. Seeing the efforts of the Waystone project summarized for the Emperor was quite nice, as was meeting Markgraf Nyklaus.
picklepikkl said:
pass judgement the -> pass judgement on the
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Also begun should be began, I think. Or make it 'had begun'

Also also, happy birthday to the quest!
 
Happy 5th birthday to the quest!

Also, looks like Nyklaus not being a Von Carstein is from a butterfly of Mathilde's doing, but he still got to see the sea.
 
Last edited:
Boney said:
He nods. "Dragomas and Yorri clash often on the topic."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
For anyone curious, this would be the current Grand Theogonist, Yorri XV.

(He's from 4e, stated to have been the GT for most of Luitpold's reign- not much details about him, his main role was apparently dying in 2512 as part of the whole narrative of the Enemy Within campaign, which won't be happening here)
 
Happy fifth birthday to the quest!

Honestly, I'm liking Luitpold way more than I thought I would. He actually seems pretty chill, along with being actually competent. The fact that the entire Empire might turn into the Chaos Wastes because of Los Cabos falling does sound very worrying, but since Mathilde doesn't seem too perturbed I guess it isn't as bad as it sounds. I do wonder who will end up taking control of the Reikland Nexus, however. From what I can tell, the Emperor can't hand it off to one of the Markgrafs without making a mess of things, and the Eonir want nothing to do with it, either. Is there any other option for who could be trusted with it?
 
Boney said:
One that in all likelihood it would have killed me, were it not for your very self, and your Grace,
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Shouldn't that last be "His Grace", if it's referring to Abelhelm?

Boney said:
but one I will never regret, at it taught me the measure of myself,
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Should be "as"

Boney said:
To pass judgement the man that will finish the job that your younger self begun?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think this needs an "on" or "upon" between "judgement" and "the". I also think the last should be "began" instead.
 
Reactions:
Good to know the emperor is on the ball and willing to buy into what must be, from his perspective, very vague advantages. After all he does not have the background to know how Storms of Magic or beastmen work, he has to take our word for it The insight into the Druchi potentially being joined by a delegation from Ulthuan is interesting and I think very likely prescient, he is the expert on politics, if not elves, and I trust his instincts. Lastly from the way he has chosen to engage with the matter of the rituals I think he might be more on board with doing something with the hedgewise eventually since from his PoV its the best and most universal ritual. It helps that he already has a way to do it, which we proposed, just let some hedgewise be wizards.

The Magrave was not as important to talk to but still interesting, it seems clear that he is the guy who would have ended up an insane vampire pirate had it not been for... us. If his alternative world counterpart is any sign of his character I think he will either go down in history as one of the best rulers Sylvania ever had... or he will go down in flames, no middle road for him
 
Tobtorp said:
A hostage that can kill the fertility of a province. Not a great hostage.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Mutual hostage exchange is actually a pretty stable state.

And they can't kill the fertility, just return it to the normal level. In fact, their willingness to do that as they're not dependent on it is an advantage. There will be scenarios where we want to switch the mode the node is operating in that more interested parties might object to.

At the moment, Reikland is essentially externalising a risk to the world in return for local returns in terms of extra fertility.

You can see the implicit hypocrisy here - judging the Marienbergers for potentially cutting the flow through a Waystone Nexus for the benefit of the state while being quite happy to keep cutting the flow of the one through Athel Yenuli.

One other interesting observation. From what I recall of their history, the elves didn't occupy Athel Loren before the War of the Beard. They feared it and built Wardstones along its edge to contain it. It was only centuries after the War of the Beard that the remaining elven colonists who lived in the Bretonnia plains were defeated by the orcs and made a pact with the Forest to be allowed to retreat there. It's not completely clear though, and has changed Edition to Edition.

This may well be something that Mathilde isn't aware of though.
 
Last edited:
Tobtorp said:
Eh, he definitely knows what beastmen are and less of them is always good. Also a storm of magic is probably one of those things that dragomas explained just for the case that one suddenly shows up and the empire needs to respond now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I am not saying he does not know what they are, I am saying that this is the equivalent of a politician having to trust an epidemiologist about their field since the subject matter is an invisible danger he does not know the details of. It is good that he has that level of trust.
 
Last edited:
Happy Birthday!

Anyway I really love the debriefing, makes the world and all its dangers look bigger than what is originally known when serious men listening to it.

I'm curious if Graf Otto will establish a separate secular agency to handle the Waystone purview that can also liaison with other groups on this.
I mean you can't hand those sort information and power to some dumb nobles or religious people that play petty power politics plus the Wizard Orders are not really taken seriously with their own issues.
 
Last edited:
Alratan said:
And they can't kill the fertility, just return it to the normal level.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
When the current state of fertility in the Reikland has existed for longer then the empire has, then for the humans that's the normal level and tanking it would be bad. Also i can tell you right now the empire would not allow a external polity to control critical infrastructure if they can help it. They lost Marienburg and know exactly how bad it can be.
 
Boney said:
One that in all likelihood it would have killed me
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Pretty sure that the 'it' is a typo.

Cool update. Shout-out to Dragomas for standing up for the Hedgewise. There's an old WoG about how the Ambers are relatively tolerant of the Hedgewise, and Dragomas always seemed like a pretty sensible guy in general, but it warms my heart to see that he actually goes to the trouble of arguing with the Sigmarites.
 
Tobtorp said:
When the current state of fertility in the Reikland has existed for longer then the empire has, then for the humans that's the normal level and tanking it would be bad. Also i can tell you right now the empire would not allow a external polity to control critical infrastructure if they can help it. They lost Marienburg and know exactly how bad it can be.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That's an argument that cuts both ways, and doesn't suggest that the Empire's institutions, which the Marienberg government and affiliated entities were, can be relied upon to look after critical magical infrastructure.
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top