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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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Adhoc vote count started by Sinsystems on Oct 4, 2019 at 3:11 PM, finished with 1200 posts and 257 votes.
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noliar said:
Is the quote from the bursar. Seems to me that him letting Belegar know that he's been a magister all along is the intent here, not further silly buggers with him "going away to sit his magister exam." Him not getting thrown out is going to require a proper apology with us vouching for him and and assurances that we'll have oversight. In other words we recruit him. If we get him thrown out we're not just losing the services of a magister but a magister with skaven related expertise, trusted to "poke the ratties" by the colleges.

If we let things continue we're defying the college and being complicit in the deception which would fuck us over with the Dawi when they found out.
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  1. The Bursar's words were vague enough for interpretation
  2. As for the dwarfs well... how would they find out? Belegar's intrigue 12 and he is considered particularly cunning for a dwarf. They do not even have a concept of intrigue outside the rangers and those are scouts and saboteurs not spies. Not that I'm particularly attached to saving Johann from this mess but I'm betting we could
 
So, we've got pending College Favors for the K8P strategic benefits, the K8P economic benefits, and the eggs.

And we also get favors from people building on our papers, adapting the Matrix, or using the Matrix, though those will show up randomly over time.

Finally, we have no shortage of high-level research to farm, though this actually takes actions.

So basically, we rich.
 
TotallyNotEvil said:
The Grey College seems to think it was no more than a dick move, and I generally agree. They gave us leverage to slap him upside the head for being silly.
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I think you misunderstand the situation.

Consider the wording:
"Lovely. I'll be watching your affairs with great interest. Oh, and if you could do me a small favour?"

"Yes, Lord Magister?"

"Do tell Magister Johann to stop playing silly buggers. He can poke at the ratties if he really must, but it's unseemly to play pretend with our allies."
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This is not 'here have some blackmail'.
This is "The Grey College has identified a problem, that being a Magister is lying to our Dwarf allies. As the local representative of the Grey College you are tasked with solving this problem."

We need to either get rid of Johann, arrange for him to assume his proper rank without anyone knowing he lied or inform Belegar ourselves to minimise the damage.

Note also that this was immediately after being warned about taking advantage of things for our own benefit. So we most emphatically should not be recruiting him and playing games of 'does she know, does he know' to keep him under our thumb.
 
[X] Plan Fields of Gold

[X] Take an active hand in the EIC

[X] Windreader > Windsage: Your magical senses see more than your normal ones. +2 Learning, even more able to see and understand emotion and magical effects in others
[X] Avatar: You're growing worryingly familiar with being used as a conduit by deities. ???

[X] Donate it to whoever ends up leading the Undumgi.
 
Angelform said:
We need to either get rid of Johann, arrange for him to assume his proper rank without anyone knowing he lied or inform Belegar ourselves to minimise the damage.
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The way to minimize damage is for him to come clean to Belegar, not us reporting him. This would make him look less suspicious to Belegar if he 'voluntarily' revealed himself.



Cathon Grimeye said:
Snip
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The Grey Order doesn't actually want everyone and their mothers to be super paranoid about them because it makes their secret duty harder. Ie what if we actually did want him to wear some spying trinket? Then it's be a lot harder to get info if he's suspicious of it. They try to cultivate a more benign image instead of going the "we are constantly watching so don't even think of starting a cult" route.
 
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I'm not invested in the EIC vote. I don't care to lose the actions to managing it further, and don't think it's worth extending into K8P, but I also don't feel strongly enough to throw a vote in there.

Likewise with the subordinates. I don't actually like Johan, but I'm not worried enough to vote against him. I'll let someone with a horse in the race have their say.

Traits & torc I do have some feelings about.

[x] Assassin: Combat is easiest when the other person doesn't realize they're in it. +2 Intrigue, +40 bonus against unaware targets.
[x] Collegiate: They say managing Wizards is like herding cats. Herding cats isn't actually that difficult. Can manage three other wizards per action spent.
[x] Magical Duellist: Anyone unwise enough to try to cast spells you don't want them to will quickly regret it. +2 Learning, +10 bonus to dispelling and inducing miscasts.
[x] Windreader > Windsage: Your magical senses see more than your normal ones. +2 Learning, even more able to see and understand emotion and magical effects in others.
[x] Disdain for Sigmar > Polytheist: Your bitterness towards Sigmar has softened with time and distance. You're still not thrilled with him, but as long as his followers are coexisting with those of other Gods, you can deal with it. +1 Piety, removes anti-Sigmarite penalty except when dealing with Sigmarite supremacists and monotheists.

[x] Return it with your thanks to the Bright College. +2 College Favour.
 
Angelform said:
We need to either get rid of Johann, arrange for him to assume his proper rank without anyone knowing he lied or inform Belegar ourselves to minimise the damage.
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Belegar doesn't really know a lot about wizards or their ranks, so how big a deal he thinks it is will probably depend on how big a deal we act like it is.

MATHILDE: "Uggh, that Johnann, not wanting to admit he was actually a Magister. Hate it when they do that. Well don't worry, as long as he's on your payroll I'm making sure he puts in a Magister-level performance."

BELEGAR: (thinks) I guess wizards do this sort of thing a lot? Well, if that's how they roll.
 
So, looking at things, I would prefer Collegiate and Panoramia+Max+Johann, but if no Collegiate, then I'd prefer to cut loose Panoramia, as she seems to be the least likely to need oversight, and most likely to stay around if we do suddenly need her. (And I want to keep Max on hand for paper-writing duty, if/when it comes up.)

Johann I definitely want to have in the "recruit" pile, since he's been playing silly buggers, and also we have the explicit (for Greys) approval to chastise him for lying to allies. Depending on how it goes, if we say "Oh, by the way, Magister Johann, Lord Magister Wilhelmine von Bucht said you really should stop 'playing pretend with our allies'," that would probably be enough to get him to behave. Because, if he has any idea who she is, he would know that behaving himself is a good way to keep from waking up flat broke for the rest of his life. (or worse) So yes, I want explicit authority over Johann, and recruiting him is the way to get that.

So, updating my vote with recruiting option
[X] Take an active hand in the EIC
[X] Donate it to whoever ends up leading the Undumgi.
[X] Windreader > Windsage: Your magical senses see more than your normal ones. +2 Learning, even more able to see and understand emotion and magical effects in others.
[X] Collegiate: They say managing Wizards is like herding cats. Herding cats isn't actually that difficult. Can manage three other wizards per action spent.
[X] Magical Duellist: Anyone unwise enough to try to cast spells you don't want them to will quickly regret it. +2 Learning, +10 bonus to dispelling and inducing miscasts.
[X] Plan Fields of Gold
[X] Plan all but the ambers.
 
Briefvoice said:
Belegar doesn't really know a lot about wizards or their ranks, so how big a deal he thinks it is will probably depend on how big a deal we act like it is.

MATHILDE: "Uggh, that Johnann, not wanting to admit he was actually a Magister. Hate it when they do that. Well don't worry, as long as he's on your payroll I'm making sure he puts in a Magister-level performance."

BELEGAR: (thinks) I guess wizards do this sort of thing a lot? Well, if that's how they roll.
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Dwarfs take mastery very seriously.
 
I think people are undervaluing Panoramia's value. She has so many relevant things we could get her to do in K8P, including the black lotus, talking to spiders, and farm helping. All of this would mean that Panoramia's .5 action might count towards doing our job.
 
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EIC Scribe
  • Apocrypha
    • EIC Scribe

    Candles flickered, trapped in small crystal cages scattered tastefully across the room. Daisy Song stared at each flame in turn, attempting to pass the time as she waited for someone to come and speak to her. She had dressed in her finest for today, a nice pale blue blouse and light brown skirt combination. It fit poorly on her, being a hand-me-down from Ma, but it was the best she had. Hopefully she could get this job and start making a decent living, start buying some of the fancier clothes that she had seen on her way down here. If she strained her ears, she could hear the quiet chatter of workers gossiping outside of the room. Suddenly, she heard the chatter stop and a door open. Quiet murmurs of greetings followed the sounds of footsteps approaching the room she was in. Straightening up in her chair, Daisy Song smoothed her skirt anxiously and waited.

    It didn't take long before the footsteps reached the door to her room, and then a dashingly handsome man walked in. Daisy rose to greet him, but he waved her down with a gentle smile. The man quickly crossed the room, took a seat behind the large desk, and briefly skimmed the sheet of paper lying there.

    "So, Ms. Song," he began, "My name is Albert Ochs, and I am in charge of the hiring and firing of clerks at the EIC. Looking at this letter," he tapped the sheet of paper in front of him, "it seems that you want to work for the EIC as a scribe, is that correct?"

    Smoothing her skirt again, she looked him in the eye, swallowed the last bit of anxiety, and replied, "Yes sir, I do."

    "Excellent, we can always use more people who know their letters and numbers. Please, tell me a bit about yourself."

    "Well, sir, I'm from Biderhof, it's a small village a little bit away. My Ma always wanted me to learn my letters and numbers, and so she convinced Da to buy an old learning book that they use at some of the city schools. It took a couple of years working with neighbors who knew some letters and numbers, and more than a couple of thwacks when I would scamper off to play, but I learned my letters and numbers. After that, Da had me help the village figure out what to sell to some of the merchants who came our way and make sure none of us were getting swindled. And then…" Daisy felt the sadness pool in her stomach and heart, but she forced it down and continued with the story, "Da went to join the Stirland army to purge Sylvania. But he didn't come back like the others. Now it's just me and Ma, and I have to start making my way in the world. I figured might as well put all the time learning numbers and letters to use, right?" Daisy Song could hear the false cheer in her voice as she finished her story, and Mr. Ochs looked vaguely… sorrowful? But he quickly shook his head and then refocused his attention on her.

    "Well, Ms. Song, I am sorry to hear of your loss. I am glad, however, that you've come to the EIC looking for work. Normally we would have a couple of tests to see whether your claim of knowing your letters and numbers is accurate, but," he tapped the sheet of paper in front of him again, "this letter you've written us is very well done. As such, I would be happy to have you work in the EIC as a scribe." Mr. Ochs dug through his desk for a moment before procuring a sheet of paper. Glancing it over, he slid it over to her along with a quill and inkpot. "If you would," he began, "please read the contract and sign at the bottom if you would like to work with us."

    She took the contract and began to carefully read it. Da had told her the dangers of bad contracts, and she had caught a couple of skivvy merchants trying to pull fast ones on the village before. But this contract was pretty basic. It detailed when she would be working, what she would be doing, that she couldn't go tell people what she learned of while working, and how much she would be paid. Being from Biderhof, she had a difficult time knowing whether this was a good amount of money, but it would only take half of a week's pay to pay for a week's stay at a tavern, meals included, so she figured it was good enough. Dabbing the quill in the inkpot, she signed her name at the bottom with a flourish. Mr. Ochs stood up, and so did she. They shook hands, and she followed him to get the uniform she would need to wear while working.

    And while she knew it probably wasn't true, she imagined that Da had stopped fighting by Sigmar's side for a moment to smile proudly at his daughter's first steps into the wider world. It made the pit of sadness in her heart and stomach lessen a little bit, thinking that he would be proud of her.
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • [x] Plan 2 wizards
    [x] Take an active hand in the EIC
    [x] Windreader > Windsage: Your magical senses see more than your normal ones. +2 Learning, even more able to see and understand emotion and magical effects in others.
    [x] Magical Duellist: Anyone unwise enough to try to cast spells you don't want them to will quickly regret it. +2 Learning, +10 bonus to dispelling and inducing miscasts.
    [x] Donate it to whoever ends up leading the Undumgi.

    Consolidation~
     
    DragonParadox said:
    1. The Bursar's words were vague enough for interpretation
    2. As for the dwarfs well... how would they find out? Belegar's intrigue 12 and he is considered particularly cunning for a dwarf. They do not even have a concept of intrigue outside the rangers and those are scouts and saboteurs not spies. Not that I'm particularly attached to saving Johann from this mess but I'm betting we could
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    We could hide it from Belegar, but not from colleges if they ever send someone else to take a look at K8P. And they most likely will at some point.

    I would rather drag it in the open and try to present at best possible light that risk pissing off either Order, Belegar or both by lying.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    1. The Bursar's words were vague enough for interpretation
    2. As for the dwarfs well... how would they find out? Belegar's intrigue 12 and he is considered particularly cunning for a dwarf. They do not even have a concept of intrigue outside the rangers and those are scouts and saboteurs not spies. Not that I'm particularly attached to saving Johann from this mess but I'm betting we could
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    It's one of those little lies that will just get bigger and more damaging as time goes by, best cleared up soon. The Dawi could find out by:
    • Johann fucking up
    • One of his enemies letting them know to hurt him
    • One of our enemies letting them know to hurt us
    • Someone who knows Magister Johann coming to K8P and not even realising it's a secret
    So I'm going to be voting for options that mean Mathilde at least is honest about it. He can get with the program or leave. I think he'd get with the program, not just because leaving under cloud chucks away a bunch of the dwarf favour he earned on the campaign but, because if he stays under our employ he has a karak backing his research. Lab space, possible engineer assistance, warpstone decontamination services, ranger and/or Mathilde backup, devices taken in battle held for him...
     
    BlackWink said:
    The Grey Order doesn't actually want everyone and their mothers to be super paranoid about them because it makes their secret duty harder. Ie what if we actually did want him to wear some spying trinket? Then it's be a lot harder to get info if he's suspicious of it. They try to cultivate a more benign image instead of going the "we are constantly watching so don't even think of starting a cult" route.
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    What the Grey order wants and what it gets are different. Case in point the Ulrican chapter master who thinks that Mathilde is in K8P to keep an eye on him among other things. The paranoia is going to be there more likely than not.
     
    Hmmm... I do like some of the arguments made for having Johann under us in our position as the Court Wizard. Johann will have some familiarity with how the Skaven will operate, and I think Mathilde would like some comptent help in dissicting the Skaven technology and learning how to best protect against it. With our ability to wreck Greenskin Shamans (Waaaghbane and all), I think getting some help from Johann on Skaven matters would be helpful.

    As such, as much as I love Panoramia, I'll be changing my vote so that we can snag Johann.

    [x] Plan Fields of Gold
    [x] Take an active hand in the EIC
    [x] Windreader > Windsage: Your magical senses see more than your normal ones. +2 Learning, even more able to see and understand emotion and magical effects in others.
    [x] Infiltrator: Nobody seems to guard anything well enough to keep you out. +2 Intrigue, +10 bonus to infiltration.
    [x] Return it with your thanks to the Bright College. +2 College Favour.
     
    [X] Plan 2 wizards

    [X] Polyglot: Your time with the Dwarves has revealed that you have an ear for languages, and learn new languages much faster.
    [X] Magical Duellist: Anyone unwise enough to try to cast spells you don't want them to will quickly regret it. +2 Learning, +10 bonus to dispelling and inducing miscasts.

    [X] Return it with your thanks to the Bright College. +2 College Favour.
     
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