Remove ads

Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Voting is open
Reader mode
Could we get a list of the Arcane Marks for the likely/favored schools up here please? Because I'd imagine sorting out "okay, which of these risk an Arcane Mark that fucks him over, how bad of a risk is it, and how many good/meh/bad Arcane Marks in general do these Winds have" would be a good thing to do well before we start voting.

Because like, let me be perfectly honest here, whatever people's opinions on his stats are and how the College would help or fit them, the Arcane Marks he ends up with have the potential to matter massively more than the stats.

At a glance, it seems Gold/Jade/Bright/Grey are the favored ones, so if anyone has the books on hand to post those that'd be nice.
 
cheesyme said:
Could we get a list of the Arcane Marks for the likely/favored schools up here please? Because I'd imagine sorting out "okay, which of these risk an Arcane Mark that fucks him over, how bad of a risk is it, and how many good/meh/bad Arcane Marks in general do these Winds have" would be a good thing to do well before we start voting.

Because like, let me be perfectly honest here, whatever people's opinions on his stats are and how the College would help or fit them, the Arcane Marks he ends up with have the potential to matter massively more than the stats.

At a glance, it seems Gold/Jade/Bright/Grey are the favored ones, so if anyone has the books on hand to post those that'd be nice.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The arcane marks have been discussed to death already tbh. Boney made a post listing actual maladies and eccentricities of real-life feudal kings to push back against people over-emphasizing them.

They're important, but usually not earth shatteringly so.
 
For me it's Jade, without discussion. I would find it boring if yet another child we know went into Jade, and I think learning to be a nurturer is a good thing. And it would break the power of the traditionalists.
 
Seesawing between Golds and Brights.

Would investigating the Indic paradigm be helpful for Mandred? He seems to lean to the more physical applications of the other winds. Elemental Chamon. Elemental Azyr. There is no guarantee he will be well suited for whatever they discover.
 
cheesyme said:
Could we get a list of the Arcane Marks for the likely/favored schools up here please? Because I'd imagine sorting out "okay, which of these risk an Arcane Mark that fucks him over, how bad of a risk is it, and how many good/meh/bad Arcane Marks in general do these Winds have" would be a good thing to do well before we start voting.

Because like, let me be perfectly honest here, whatever people's opinions on his stats are and how the College would help or fit them, the Arcane Marks he ends up with have the potential to matter massively more than the stats.

At a glance, it seems Gold/Jade/Bright/Grey are the favored ones, so if anyone has the books on hand to post those that'd be nice.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
warhammerfantasy.fandom.com

Arcane Marks

"There is a fine line between the arcane marks left on the Magisters and the corruptions that manifest in the mind and flesh of Witches and Warlocks. For Magisters, the arcane marks are inevitable, by-products of working with the Winds of Magic. But, for those who dabble in Dark Magic, the...
warhammerfantasy.fandom.com warhammerfantasy.fandom.com

Here's a list, without mechanics, but with all Marks, as far as I can tell.
 
K von Carstein said:
For me it's Jade, without discussion. I would find it boring if yet another child we know went into Jade, and I think learning to be a nurturer is a good thing. And it would break the power of the traditionalists.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Or make it, because not all traditionalists are "girls only" in the first place and now the fight is going to have Mandred at its center right after we established that Mandred needs to be kept away from people seeking to use him as a pawn from a position of influence/advice.

Our focus should be on what's best for Mandred, not on unrelated political goals that he may or may not be a useful pawn for achieving.
JayTar said:
Seesawing between Golds and Brights.

Would investigating the Indic paradigm be helpful for Mandred? He seems to lean to the more physical applications of the other winds. Elemental Chamon. Elemental Azyr. There is no guarantee he will be well suited for whatever they discover.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
To be honest if we assume he'll sway away from Mystical applications of a wind, then the Brights are the best for him anyways because they go ham on the elemental side.

What the Indic paradigm offers is the ability to have our cake and eat it too - Mandred gets the shootiest wind, but also the opportunity to learn a bunch more ruler-y things using it which up until 10 minutes ago we all thought would require a different college entirely.
 
Last edited:
cheesyme said:
Could we get a list of the Arcane Marks for the likely/favored schools up here please?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's been discussed to death yeah, and you probably shouldn't let it sway you very far, but there's frankly excellent reference material. Would be a shame to let it go to waste.
Ergosum said:
As there's been some talk about Arcane Marks, I've checked the wiki for the full list and tentatively classified their effects as Good, Neutral, Purely Aesthetic (but noticeably magic in origin), Annoying or Bad (for Mandred: while something like Feral or Dead Eyes could be just annoying for your average Amber or Amethyst Wizard, they're a lot worse for an Elector Count and potential Emperor).

Disclaimer: This isn't necessarily a full or completely accurate list, as obviously Boney might add, remove and/or modify any Mark: for example, Regimand's 'Beard turns into smoke' Mark, which doesn't seem to be among the ones in the list. Also, how bad or less bad each Mark is depends on the circumstances of the person in question; as mentioned, I've tried to ascertain how good or bad they would be for our godson Mandred von Holswig-Schliestein, who is in a significantly different situation to the average Wizard.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ergosum said:
Brights
  • Temper: You have a quick temper, losing your cool at the slightest provocation.
  • Hyperactive: You can't sit still. You fidget constantly.
  • Red Hair: Your hair and eyebrows turn a bright, fiery red.
  • Face Tattoos: Odd markings, like tattoos, appear on your face.
  • Flaming Eyes: Your eyes literally smolder with energy. Animals become nervous when you're around.
  • Hot Skin: Your skin is always feverish and you have a flushed appearance.
  • Vulnerable to Cold: You are uncomfortable in the cold.
  • Aura of Brimstone: You stink of brimstone.
  • Raging Temper: You are volatile, more so than others of the Bright Order.
  • Mark of Aqshy: The rune of Aqshy appears somewhere on your body.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ergosum said:
Golds
  • Quicksilver Tears: Your tears and sweat take on the appearance of mercury. For all other intents and purposes they remain unchanged from normal tears and sweat.
  • Leaden Tongue: Your voice takes on a harsh tone, akin to metal clashing upon metal. Your singing sounds like a gong-related accident.
  • Golden Skin: Your skin becomes thick, gaining a subtle golden sheen.
  • Stiff Limbs: Your limbs stiffen, making it hard to move around.
  • Magic Conductor: You attract magical energy. All characters within 4 yards find it harder to resist spells.
  • Aura of Magnetism: You emit a strange aura that attracts metals to your flesh.
  • Mechanical: When you interact with an animal, it sees you as an object rather than a creature. Animals will only attack you if you first attack them.
  • Greater Golden Skin: Your skin hardens into a thick shell.
  • Slow: You have a hard time moving around.
  • Mark of Chamon: The rune of Chamon appears somewhere on your body.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ergosum said:
Greys
  • Flicker: Light seems uncomfortable in your presence. Candles flicker, lanterns dim and fires burn low when you are around.
  • Trickster: You cloak yourself in deception and misdirection, making you untrustworthy to others.
  • Mantle of Mist: Mist, fog, smoke and other vapours seem drawn to your side.
  • Aspect of Ulgu: Your frame lightens and tightens whilst your hair colour changes to grey.
  • Forgettable: People can't seem to remember your face.
  • Disturbing Eyes: Your eyes become grey and swirl with unnatural darkness.
  • Insubstantial: Your body becomes slightly insubstantial.
  • Unnatural shadow: Your shadow does not behave itself -- moving often of its own accord. The shifting wrongness of your shadow puts folk ill at ease, worse, superstitious peasants will need convincing that you are not a Daemon.
  • Shrouded: Your body draws shadows towards it.
  • Mark of Ulgu: The rune of Ulgu appears somewhere on your body.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ergosum said:
Jades
  • Plant Growth: A small patch of plantlife begins to thrive upon your skin. These growths are inconsequential -- mould under the fingernails, ivy in the hair and so on -- but they are somewhat peculiar. They may be removed, but always grow back the following day.
  • Barefoot: You can't abide by wearing footwear.
  • Rapid Hair and Nails: Your hair and fingernails grow at an almost alarming rate. You must spend a portion of each day, trimming them back.
  • Green Skin: Your skin changes colour, assuming a greenish hue.
  • Vulnerability to Fire: You are more susceptible to fire.
  • Great Constitution: You become resistant to Disease.
  • Metal Revulsion: You can't bear to touch metal objects of any kind.
  • Aura of Growth: You emit an aura of growth and health, restoring life and colour to all plants you pass within 4 yards.
  • Bound to the Seasons: You are physically affected by the passage of the seasons. In the autumn, your body grows weaker; in the winter, you become feeble and slow; in the spring, you become hearty; and in the summer, you're the peak of health and move faster.
  • Mark of Ghyran: The rune of Ghyran appears somewhere on your body.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Last edited:
Honestly with this update I really want to go for a Grey Mandred, because he's already been tied to that Wind for quite a long time, judging by what has been said he's already partial to the mindset that it bestows subconsciously, if he's been shaping an Ulgu enchantment for years now. And within the Grey College Mathilde can do a lot for him, with the pull she has as a Lord Magister, and it may also allow the Order's reputation to be shaped further, given an additional facet then simply blades in the dark to the nobility, the shade that stands out in the dawn with blade drawn.
 
Boney said:
She then tells of Ranald and Ulric growing distant as Ranald tricks Ulric into doing what needed to be done with a series of bets and illusions. First, of Ulric being given a tankard that had concealed within it a portal to the Sea of Claws, and being bet that he could not drink it in one go, which lowered the water so that Mother Rhya's children could walk to the Old World. Second, of being bet that he could not lift a cat, which Ulric could not see was really the eldest and largest of the Dragon Ogres, which allowed Ranald to hide a terrible Daemon-Sword beneath the sleeping giant so that none could wield it. And third, of being bet he could not win a wrestling match against an old woman, who Ulric could not see was actually Dread Morr, his father's most trusted advisor, which forced King Death to release a fraction of his hold on mortal life, allowing Shallya to steal away some of His inevitability and allowing for the possibility of death to be forestalled by medicines and blessings.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Boney you massive nerd, this is great. I love the nods to the real life mythology the setting takes inspiration from.

That said, wrt the Colleges vote, I think I'm going for Brights. It fits him excellently as the natural fighter he is, and I think people dismiss it as 'just' being the magic artillery college. It's got some meaty buffs, and its emotional ties of passion and drive could be extremely useful for an inspiring ruler.
 
Prime 2.0 said:
The arcane marks have been discussed to death already tbh. Boney made a post listing actual maladies and eccentricities of real-life feudal kings to push back against people over-emphasizing them.

They're important, but usually not earth shatteringly so.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
They may not be earth shatteringly important, but they are very much as or even more important than his current stats as a literal child, and they have not been overly discussed in the current discussion/debate, nor have they been posted for discussion prior to the vote like they should be. This is especially the case when I'd bet a great many more people will be reading the thread from here to voting time than in the periods between updates.
AsuraAtlas said:
It's been discussed to death yeah, but means there's frankly excellent reference material. Would be a shame to let it go to waste.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Thank you, this is even better than I was hoping for.
 
Last edited:
The Void said:
Honestly with this update I really want to go for a Grey Mandred, because he's already been tied to that Wind for quite a long time, judging by what has been said he's already partial to the mindset that it bestows subconsciously, if he's been shaping an Ulgu enchantment for years now. And within the Grey College Mathilde can do a lot for him, with the pull she has as a Lord Magister, and it may also allow the Order's reputation to be shaped further, given an additional facet then simply blades in the dark to the nobility, the shade that stands out in the dawn with blade drawn.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The trouble is that Mandred's ascent to the throne is not actually assured. A more photogenic college would help him achieve it, while one that nobles fear like the greys could count against him.

Also we already have Eike going through the grey college - to the extent Mandred is tied to Ulgu, it's because Mathilde was involved and that's going to be true every time she's dealing with an initiate. I'd like to try something different.
cheesyme said:
They may not be earth shatteringly important, but they are very much as or even more important than his current stats as a literal child, and they have not been overly discussed in the current discussion/debate, nor have they been posted for discussion prior to the vote like they should be. This is especially the case when I'd bet a great many more people be reading the thread from here to voting time than in the periods between updates.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I wasn't intending to come off as hostile to you, sorry. Just letting you know it was already on most poster's minds.
 
Last edited:
Prime 2.0 said:
Or make it, because not all traditionalists are "girls only" in the first place and now the fight is going to have Mandred at its center right after we established that Mandred needs to be kept away from people seeking to use him as a pawn from a position of influence/advice.

Our focus should be on what's best for Mandred, not on unrelated political goals that he may or may not be a useful pawn for achieving.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's more of a side benefit, I really think Jade would be good for him on merit alone. And Grey would be boring for rme.
 
The Void said:
Honestly with this update I really want to go for a Grey Mandred, because he's already been tied to that Wind for quite a long time, judging by what has been said he's already partial to the mindset that it bestows subconsciously, if he's been shaping an Ulgu enchantment for years now. And within the Grey College Mathilde can do a lot for him, with the pull she has as a Lord Magister, and it may also allow the Order's reputation to be shaped further, given an additional facet then simply blades in the dark to the nobility, the shade that stands out in the dawn with blade drawn.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Not to mention that the ambiguity between real history and abstract mythology, drawn upon a blade's edge given Mandred's martial inclination, feels like it could result in a unique take on Ulgu trait-wise, if not at least marking Mandred as someone who'd benefit from a shadow-sword spell created by Mathilde.
 
Bright is my favorite by a long shot because FORCE OF NATURE - not only do nobles generally respect martial might, but Aqshy itself is great for inspiring troops and terrifying the enemy. With this:
Boney said:
Investigating and teaching the Indic paradigm of Aqshy would be the sort of thing you could get them to agree to for Mathilde's support. Mathilde knows of a library that could get them started.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
we can get them to lean more on this aspect, which would make for a splendid ruler figure. Remember, he is not only a future ruler, but a precedent. A public figure. And for this, image really, really matters.

My second favorite is Gold for magical suitability, armor, and a steady, logical mind. Less flashy, but also more likely to result in a... well, steady rule.

Jade just doesn't vibe with me in comparison tbh, and Grey is just naw. I don't want to force a boy whose comfort zone is separating what actually happened from just tales into navigating the tangle of Grey magic. Plsno.
 
MkZ said:
Regarding Mandred stat rolls: is it just me, or did Orokos processed Boney's request with bugs? Seeing
DescriptionMartial - 3d6 drop lowest
Results4d6: 16 [4d6=4, 2, 4, 6]
Actually "dropping lowest" would have resulted in 14, and here we got sum of all 4 dice. Same with Diplomacy -
DescriptionDiplomacy - 3d6 drop lowest
Results4d6: 15 [4d6=4, 6, 2, 3]
If dropping lowest, would have been 13.

Still, this is clearly Ranald fudging the dice for Karl Mandred.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The drop lowest was just description, so a reminder for Boney themself that wasn't actually processed by the website. 4d6 is what they asked for and what they got, with the drop lowest being done manually afterwards.
 
Boney said:
Now that you know what works for this particular audience, you step and begin telling your own tales, such as those of the Ranaldian Saints of the Grey Order, and then a tale of your own: that of the Clever Wizard who stole power from Gork and Mork so that it could be used to steal a Princess from the clutches of the Vampires. It doesn't take much embellishment to make it work, and his eyes go wide as he realizes that the 'Princess' is his very own mother. While the previous tales definitely kept him entertained, this one seems to worm its way deep into his mind, and he's quiet for the rest of the day as he digests the idea that there might not be a clear delineation between history and mythology, or as he puts it, 'what actually happened' and 'just stories'.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
…Wow Mathilde, way to humble brag. Telling your own tale of bullshit mythological exploits right beside the tales of literal saints is totally a normal thing for godmothers to do I'm sure. :V
 
Execute/Dumbo said:
Boney you massive nerd, this is great. I love the nods to the real life mythology the setting takes inspiration from.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Andres said:
For reference:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9I5bYOJlvI
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Utgard-Loki is the most direct reference, but there's another couple of bits from Nordic mythology. Ranald guarding the creation of Ghal Maraz is a twisting of Loki trying to sabotage the creation of Mjolnir in the myth of Loki's Wager, and stealing it back is a retelling of him helping Thor steal back Mjolnir in the Lay of Thrym, except without all the genderbending. I considered but eventually decided against including a line about him inventing nets so humans could steal fish from Manann from Loki trying to get away after killing Baldr, and tried to work in a line from the Lokasenna about the relationship between Odin and Loki to be about Ulric and Ranald, 'then didst thou promise no ale to pour, unless it were brought for us both', but I couldn't make it work.

MkZ said:
Regarding Mandred stat rolls: is it just me, or did Orokos processed Boney's request with bugs? Seeing
DescriptionMartial - 3d6 drop lowest
Results4d6: 16 [4d6=4, 2, 4, 6]
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If Orokos can do X dice drop Y, I don't know how to make it happen. So I just rolled four dice and took off the lowest manually.

LittenLeKitten said:
@Boney
Does Mathilde know what kind of Windsight Mandred has, or has that yet to fully develop for him?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's yet to develop. He hasn't consciously touched magic yet.
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Voting is open
Remove ads
Back
Top