I wonder if we could use that, plus the Night Prowler, plus a good disguise to sneak in some Skaven cities. Not sure why we would do so, (to buy books maybe? To meet Eshin Friend again?) But I'm curious if it would be possible.
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
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I wonder if we could use that, plus the Night Prowler, plus a good disguise to sneak in some Skaven cities. Not sure why we would do so, (to buy books maybe? To meet Eshin Friend again?) But I'm curious if it would be possible.
Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Night Prowler alone would be a bigger defense than most Grey Magisters could boast against Skaven paranoia, so probably.
I'd say it'd be a good way of getting even more information out of their society, some of their technology, and maybe even if we play it right, some of their Clan-specific tongues or High Queekish.
- Location
- Washington
I addressed this IN THE POST YOU'RE QUOTING, she is literally doing normal spycraft RIGHT NOW on the eonir
You could also argue we are doing diplomacy. I mean yeah we are trying to get Eonir and Kislevite secrets for the project, but we are also trying to do the same for Jade and Light College secrets, if you squint hard enough we are spying on them in the name of our true masters in the Karaz Ankor. Really we are doing none of these things since gathering and collecting secrets is not the point of the project, making waystones is.
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- Location
- Earth
The differences between diplomacy and spycraft have always been fluid
The Greys are diplomats and spies for good reasons.
She's a diplomat a lot more than a spy - yes the roles do overlap to some extent around the edges but are also fundamentally distinct.
Mathilde hasn't been in the traditional deep cover spycraft since Stirland. She's kept at being a spymaster and interrogator and has contributed a lot to the research side of spying with Queekish and she's also done 'special operations' sort of stuff on multiple occasions - she's basically done everything except being a deep cover agent (understandable since she got a bit too high profile to do that using her own face since Stirland).
- Location
- UK
The idea of a Polyglot Ulgu spell actually sounds pretty cool to me, even if a direct translation spell isn't possible I wonder if a workaround is possible or even more likely an encryption spell. Checking the trait:
I think the main problem is polyglot is more about learning which is on it's own fairly opposed to Ulgu as a concept, but I don't think it's an impossible issue with some out of the box thinking.
For a translation spell I wonder if instead we could create a spell to tell if a given translation is false, something like testing how confused you are about a given translation, so the correct translation of a word gives a negative for the spell. If the spell is of fairly low complexity such that perpetuals and such can use it, even if they can only safely do it a few times a day (as consequential casting is dangerous) combining that with typical attempts at translation narrowing down likely translations and it seems it could be pretty useful for some of our recent archaeology as an example. Not an immediate tool, but a useful one for academia out of the field. Higher complexity could make it worse, but even if Mathilde had to do it an actions worth over a six month turn of a couple attempts a day could still be valuable if we really need a translation.
Encryption on the other hand, something like 'confuses attempts to learn the truth of a given message for everyone except the holder of a given key' which could be doubled up on with mundane encryption? By key I'm thinking a literal enchanted object, it would be better if we could simply go 'except for the intended recipient' but I think that's probably pushing it a bit. This feels it would be really useful for the Grey Order in general. Then again, remembering the very beginning of the quest with the eyelid cypher they could well already have better.
I think the main problem is polyglot is more about learning which is on it's own fairly opposed to Ulgu as a concept, but I don't think it's an impossible issue with some out of the box thinking.
For a translation spell I wonder if instead we could create a spell to tell if a given translation is false, something like testing how confused you are about a given translation, so the correct translation of a word gives a negative for the spell. If the spell is of fairly low complexity such that perpetuals and such can use it, even if they can only safely do it a few times a day (as consequential casting is dangerous) combining that with typical attempts at translation narrowing down likely translations and it seems it could be pretty useful for some of our recent archaeology as an example. Not an immediate tool, but a useful one for academia out of the field. Higher complexity could make it worse, but even if Mathilde had to do it an actions worth over a six month turn of a couple attempts a day could still be valuable if we really need a translation.
Encryption on the other hand, something like 'confuses attempts to learn the truth of a given message for everyone except the holder of a given key' which could be doubled up on with mundane encryption? By key I'm thinking a literal enchanted object, it would be better if we could simply go 'except for the intended recipient' but I think that's probably pushing it a bit. This feels it would be really useful for the Grey Order in general. Then again, remembering the very beginning of the quest with the eyelid cypher they could well already have better.
- Location
- Hiding in the walls.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A lot of people seem to be treating the Druchii as either unbeatable masterminds who can engineer six coups and another succession crisis because we happened to trade them publicly available books on Imperial history with a side of machines perfectly optimized to turn any income into the most efficient increase in military spending or a bunch of idiots squatting in a barren plain who couldn't make a box if you gave them pre-cut wood, nails, and a hammer.
Neither of these is accurate, and it's kind of frustrating that you can't really make points in favor of trading some things or not trading others without that happening.
The fact that she's doing something doesn't mean that she can't be more suited to something else, and there certainly doesn't seem to be any need to shout at someone for bringing that fact up. Especially when you didn't actually say anything about her suitability for the role in the post you're talking about.
Neither of these is accurate, and it's kind of frustrating that you can't really make points in favor of trading some things or not trading others without that happening.
The fact that she's doing something doesn't mean that she can't be more suited to something else, and there certainly doesn't seem to be any need to shout at someone for bringing that fact up. Especially when you didn't actually say anything about her suitability for the role in the post you're talking about.
On the one hand backstabbing is a national sport, that means they are good at backstabbing. On the other hand backstabbing is a natural sport that means they are idiots. I think that about summarizes the Druchi in one sentence
Bah, the druchii league is firmly minor league compared to the skaven league. They can appeal to be moved up when somebody manages to properly backstab malekith or morathi.On the one hand backstabbing is a national sport, that means they are good at backstabbing. On the other hand backstabbing is a natural sport that means they are idiots. I think that about summarizes the Druchi in one sentence
Something I keep coming back to about the Druchii is this part of the conversation with the sorceress.
It makes it really hard for me to think about how giving them books about the Empire, for example, would make them cause more damage than, the next Waaagh or the next war against Bretonnia.
It gets even harder when it's about books about Enemies of Men.
Honestly it makes it difficult for me to understand the position of the group who's paranoid and worried about the Druchii (in the sense of the damage they could cause to us).
I do not think they're unable to harm the Empire or something, but I think they'd need a massive incentive to actually cause us as much harm as an actual war does to the Empire.
Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Given some comments that Boney has said before, I'm inclined to think Ulgu could easily permanently render texts illegible, scrawled, nonsensical or in the wrong order, but that trying to make them encrypted instead would be a lot more work.
... @Boney given how Hysh can make complicated things simple and Ulgu can confuse and disorient, could a hypothetical Windherding spell or enchantment with Egrimm encrypt texts? As in an actual encryption that could be decrypted later on?
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Talking about Cyphers. At the start of the quest we received a cypher that burnt into our eyes iirc. Nor sure if we can study it somehow since it seemed pretty useful.
What on earth could be suspicious about (checks notes):
Or their newest and youngest member:
Or their newest and youngest member:
deathofrats0808
Don’t think of it as dying; just as leaving early
- Location
- Earth
Nothing at all. The ones you need to watch out for are those Apprentices instead. Untrustworthy little buggers, every one of them. That's why they're still Apprentices!
Nothing at all. The ones you need to watch out for are those Apprentices instead. Untrustworthy little buggers, every one of them. That's why they're still Apprentices!
Ah, yes, people like "Heiress To The Wealthiest Corporation In Stirland" and "Literally Perfect, Dutiful And Professionally Competent Secret Agent Who's Only Alleged Flaw Is That He Can't Spell Good".
Mopman43
Mountain-Hermit of Nitpeak
- Location
- Vermont
Hey hey hey, you're leaving off "claims to be from a province that doesn't exist".
Now that's a red flag.
Somic
It's meow or never
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Dunno if that's deliberate, but I applaud you either way
Dunno if that's deliberate, but I applaud you either way
Is "Who's" incorrect? I'm literally dyspraxic, I can't tell.
- Location
- Te Ika-a-Māui
- Pronouns
- She/Her
In context it should be "whose".
Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Hochlander's blurb when we were hiring a Perpetual noted that he has a strong affinity for cryptography and languages, we can't rag on him for not recognizing some badly-redrawn Eltharin runes, when Mathilde figured it out due to a strong roll.
Aside from the "coming from a province that doesn't exist" bit, we can also add "Hasn't Done Anything Weird". He's either being totally straightforward with us or if he's getting up to anything he shouldn't, it hasn't reached our notice.
Aside from the "coming from a province that doesn't exist" bit, we can also add "Hasn't Done Anything Weird". He's either being totally straightforward with us or if he's getting up to anything he shouldn't, it hasn't reached our notice.
- Location
- Earth
who's = who is
whose = possessive form of who
It's the same weird exception as it's and its.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
Are any of our tributary methods suitable for The Weber Estate? It just seems like a good place for a bit of a test run. Just because we can be fairly sure about the cooperation of the locals.
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Mopman43
Mountain-Hermit of Nitpeak
- Location
- Vermont
Water Spirit definitely isn't applicable, or the Dreaming Wood, but there's no reason the Halethan one wouldn't work.