- Location
- North Wales
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
The Empire is also not an autarky, and relies to some degree or other on trade with the other civilised realms. If Ulthuan chooses to offer better deals or incentives that see the price of Bretonnian steel, Tilean leather, Estalian silver all going up in the Empire, Imperial nobles hit by price rises start agitating, and Elector Counts who have no real investment in the project start pushing the Emperor to maybe rein things in a bit. The everpresent border conflicts with those same polities and internecine conflicts between provinces that provide reasons for the tabletop game to see armies clash—maybe those get inflamed further with some deniable behind-the-scenes foreign backing.Except that doesn't really do anything to the Empire, because the Empire has a tiny coastline with minimal settlements, that gets raided by the Druchii and the Norscans anyway.
Nothing that'd be worth sparking a continent-wide conflict about. But pressure, nonetheless.
My point isn't that Ulthuan is almighty and can dictate terms. It's that there's other avenues to expressing displeasure than sending men with pointy sticks to go burn down Altdorf. The Asur aren't doing any of that at the moment because they don't really have any reason to care about what goes on in the Empire, but they could, and at the moment the Waystones' political backing relies on a few very powerful individuals, not a groundswell of popular support.
Maybe none of the options Ulthuan has, short of outright war, would be enough to dissuade them. Maybe not. But saying they can do nothing as the poster I was responding to did? That's a bit dismissive. The project's few patrons are supportive because the potential benefits outweigh the currently relatively minimal costs. If those costs go up due to soft-power pressure, they'll re-weigh the value of a 'nice-to-have but not urgent' research group. Suddenly, on Turn 48 Mathilde is called for a meeting with the Chamberlain of the Seal that starts with something like:
"Your work on recreating tributaries for the Waystone network has been marvellous. Truly outstanding. The census reports major downticks in undead rising, stillbirths and mutations in all the regions your group has been rolling them out to.
"However. The market price of grain has been rising year on year, and it has reached the point where we estimate with this year's poor harvest, a famine is inevitable in the upcoming winter. Ten thousand dead, at minimum, and peasant uprisings are expected in Ostland and Nordland. Ulthuan has come forward with a very generous deal to make up the shortfall at below-cost. And a formal compact declaring that if a major Waystone nexus within the Empire is damaged beyond repair, they will ship and install a replacement at highest priority. The terms also include funding for further expansion of the Waystone Project's tributary system, on the condition that any further research into more central aspects of the network is to be halted immediately.
"You and I both know that the Asur had a hand in getting us to this point. They are not innocent. Given the circumstances, however, and the need to prepare for the expected arrival of an Everchosen within the next decade, we have decided to accept the proposal. You should be proud of what you have accomplished here, and I expect to hear great things about your future endeavours."
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