Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Night_stalker · Feb 12, 2018

Alliterate said:
Yep. It's not a well thought out plan. Also missing our free lunching action. Perhaps it was rushed to be first plan posted, and suffers accordingly.

Eh, not a good plan maker. Just wanted to leave some sort of a impact. Didn't think everyone would vote for it.

veekie · Feb 12, 2018

BoneyM said:
"With that in mind, Schultz: how goes our Haunted Highway?"

"Apace, very much apace," he says with a smile. "With the 2nd deployed in force, the dead are no longer interfering with construction, but the threat of them is a fantastic motivator. I estimate another six months until it reaches where construction was abandoned on the Langwald end."

I dare say the work crews are motivated as hell.
Wonder how they even recruit for this construction.

"Casualties are low and morale is high," he says. You check your mental notes; according to the casualty figures your Network has access to he's underplaying casualties somewhat, but then, most of them were walking wounded and should be back to fitness by year's end.

Something to bring up to Van Hal next report. Its not a big deal since claiming walking wounded to be unhurt is largely true on a year scale, but can be quite serious on campaign. Overestimating your manpower because you thought they could take twice as many hits as they could can kill you.

"It's more or less as you said - supply was entirely ad hoc purchases from the open market. It was doing the job, but prices were already rising and it was completely vulnerable to market fluctuations, either natural or induced. I've set up a system of supply contracts at a set price to ensure that supply will continue uninterrupted no matter what happens to the market." Skimming right past that the one she signed those contracts with was herself, you note. The cost of the contracts was carefully calibrated, too; enough above the market price that the EIC would make a neat profit from buying in Southern Stirland or the Moot and selling to Fort Redemption, but not so much so that anyone other trade group could offer a substantially better deal.

This is a fair enough market price, and probably the cause of the screaming match.

It's under the 'acceptable embezzlement" range.

"Good enough." He shuffles papers for a moment. "Oh yes, I've a letter here from Anton - he's getting on well with the Talabeclanders. While they're not willing to commit to full-scale military support, a company of each of their Knightly Orders is going to join in the Purge - I think that adds up to four hundred knights, though I can never keep track of them all. Gustav?"

"The Order of the Black Rose," he responds promptly. "The Knights Panther, the Knights of Sigmar's Blood, and the Order of the Blazing Sun."

"Thank you. They'll be a welcome addition to our ranks - when you add the Black Guard, that's fourteen companies of Knights."

"More heavy cavalry than light," Gustav notes disapprovingly.

While this is a bit of an indicator towards Gustav's personal preference for skirmishers, the heavy cavalry would be rather prized for dealing with undead. I'm not sure what pistolers are even going to do to meaty undead brutes.

Not sure how either would deal with the terrain though. Hills are not kind to horse.

"Stirland can always use more people," Van Hal notes. "Altdorf is bursting at the seams with paper-pushers. Nuln, too. I'd rather import them than spend time and money making more. Anything else?"

Import it is.

"Very well, continue your work on the Watch. I want it to cover the rest of the population centres around Wurtbad, and if possible the Barony of Purgg as well - nastiness has crawled out of the Stirhugel in the past. Kasmir, what news?"

So keep on Watching. Got it boss.

"The Chaplaincies for the 2nd and 3rd are filled. Many of them are 'learning as they go', so to speak - faithful laypeople ordained specifically for the Chaplaincy, but there's at least one experienced member of the clergy for each of the Gods watching over them."

That's progress!
Kasmir's improving rather well.

You find Van Hal atop the keep, sitting on a stool and looking out at the Fort - and you feel a warm happiness when you notice that a second one is next to him, awaiting your arrival. He'd turned his head to look back at you as you clambered up the ladder, and he gives you a smile as you approach. "Not our usual setting," he comments, passing you his flask, and you sip it gratefully.

"Hell of a view, though," you say, and it is. The sun is starting to set, setting the clouds ablaze with reds and oranges. Below you, the Fort is, as always, teeming with life, as people walk this way and that in the thousands of daily tasks that keep an army operating, and at the opposite end of the Fort, one of countless carts of food and goods is coming through the gate. Besides the view, this time of day is always exhilerating for you, as Ulgu surges forth and claims the world for a time, before fading with the light.

Mmm, shippy.

"Our province," he corrects. You wildly misinterpret what he could mean for a moment. "Seven people, responsible for all of Stirland."

MMM, SHIPPY!

That said, unless something else comes up Anton's next stop after Ostermark is going to be Zhufbar - letting them know that we're going to be pushing into the Haunted Hills, so if they've got scores to settle with the greenskins in the Ghoul Woods they can do so without the rest of Sylvania interrupting. Hopefully that'll give us a good starting point to talk about cross-training."

"Greenskins? I assumed... well, the Ghoul Woods, so-"

"Oh, it's got those too."

No end of horrors to smash I guess.
At least ghouls would be happy to eat orc.

He closes his eyes in thought. "The... second bookshelf on the left as you enter my study, top three shelves. There's all the standard Witch Hunter references: for the Undead, try the Malleus Immortuous, the Codex of the Insufficiently Dead, the Extremely Redacted Liber Mortis (Approved Edition). And parts of the Book of the Silver Hammer, and there's some useful bits in the Epistolary of Kurt III." He fishes a heavy iron key out of his pocket and hands it to you.

You had a copy of the Codex of the Insufficiently Dead, but the College didn't even mention the others. "Thanks, that should be a big help."

"Not at all. You've been at my side against the undead twice now, can't have you improperly armed."

...he just handed us the key to his study. The paranoid count.

Also damn, of course he's a pro at this.

Now lets see the options:

Information Network - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[ ] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
[ ] Expand your information network into another province (choose one)
[ ] Expand your information network into another county or barony (choose one)
[ ] Expand your information network into the military (choose a Division)
[ ] Openly expand your information network into the military in the form of an Intelligence Attaché (choose a Division)
[ ] Off the Leash: Let Julia handle the network without your micromanagement from now on.

Information Network finances - expansion is hobbled by it's dependence on your discretionary income, and so is your budget. Perhaps you can get past that. Can be chosen INSTEAD of a selection from the above.
[ ] Information Broker: Start selling tidbits of information, just enough for your information network to start paying for itself.
[ ] Fixer: Work with the Wurtbad Thieves Guild, supplying them information in exchange for a portion of profits.
[ ] Special Branch: Pull some financial trickery to get the information network classified as part of the Watch, so that their costs are covered by the Stirlandian treasury.
[ ] Trade Delegation: Convince Wilhelmina and Markus to partner your network with the EIC based on the value of market information.

Information Broker or Backfill would be the higher priorities.
Backfill personally. We get better results from Info Broker if we're comprehensive anyways.

Stirland Watch - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[ ] Expand the ranks of the Watch, so that they're able to start covering even the poorer parts of their covered area.
[ ] Expand the ranks of the Gong Farmers, both increasing coverage of Wurtbad and expanding it to the other population centers covered by the Watch.
[ ] Improve the training of the Watch, hiring trainers and dedicating paid time each week to sharpening skills.
[ ] Integrate the Roadwarden network of covered areas into the Watch.
[ ] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
[ ] Headhunt administrators from other organizations in Stirland.
[ ] Seek out a new leader for the Watch.

Gong Farmers gives us both an intel expansion AND more money.
But we need the Administrators first. We can't do shit without that.

[ ] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
[ ] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.

As per orders. Wurtbad and Purgg are priorities

[ ] Use a Personal Action to perform another Organizational Action; can be taken once per organization.

And we could grab both the gong farmers and the administrators if we had the actions and they were urgent. They aren't very I think?

[ ] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.

Keeping in mind last turn's proposal

[ ] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
[ ] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)

Need to brush up on these

So lets see, current plans:

Night_stalker said:
PLAN FOR THIS TURN

ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIONS - pick ONE from EACH of the categories 'Information Network' and 'Stirland Watch':
[X] Plan Constant Vigilance!
-[X] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[X] Seek out a new leader for the Watch.
-[X] Investigate the possibility of adding a River Warden branch of the Watch. (Additional)
-[X] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X] Formalize and organize the payments people make for the Gong Farmers to perform their service, as well as having the Watch start enforcing existing laws against dumping human waste in the street or the Stir. (Additional)
-[X] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
-[X] Enchantment: You've finally got the equipment, now you've just got to unpack it all and set up your laboratory. (NEW)

Constant Vigilance does most of our work...but abandons the proposal which we need to meet our backer goals.

Seventeen said:
[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.

We just got an increase in discretionary funding, so we don't need to worry about finances immediately. I favour Special Branch, as I'm not a fan of selling information in our position. Feels too much like corruption (of the legal kind, obviously, not Chaos).

[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.

Necessary for expansion and Van Hal prefers it to the other option.

[X][Actions] Plan We're Never Going To Get To Do Magic
-[X] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X] Use a Personal Action to perform another Organizational Action; can be taken once per organization.
--[X] Openly expand your information network into the military in the form of an Intelligence Attaché (Second Division)
--[X] Ranald's Blessing
-[X] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
-[X] Diggy Diggy Hole, Remixed: You're getting sick of having workmen tramping in and out of your abode. Recruit an entire team and personally oversee them to clear out all of the reachable portions of the Palace-Shrine and be done with it. (-personal gold)
-[X] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library.
-[X] Free Time: Snooping

County of Wurtbad watch action because it's what he told us to do. Formal Proposal because we need to get it done before the purge -- will fill in the details shortly. Pretty Good Swords because I don't think anyone would vote for the plan if it didn't have it. Digging up the rest of the Buried Palace because I want to get that done before we set up all of our delicate glassware -- don't want peasants tramping through and breaking all the shit it took us forever to get. Undead Research for the same reasons we chose it last turn -- although I'm a little disappointed we can't snoop at the same time, it's not like it'd take all that long. Free time with Wilhelmina because I think she's the only other advisor in Wurtbad at the moment.

EDIT: Replaced Free Time: Wilhelmina with Free Time: Snooping.
EDIT: Replaced Formal Proposal with something that actually does what we need to for our mysterious hidden boss
EDIT: And swapped said action for the official option. Also added Ranald's Blessing, because I forgot about that.

Seventeen does self improvement, but doesn't do anything for the undead investigators either.

SAGrognard said:
[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.

[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.

[X][Actions] Plan: The Guns of Stirland.
-[X] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X] In Wissenland, there are a number of techniques in use to derive saltpeter from urine. It would take a great deal more effort than selling to tanneries, but saltpeter could be exported to Nuln for fantastic profit, or used to start gunpowder production in Stirland.
-[X] Enchantment: You've finally got the equipment, now you've just got to unpack it all and set up your laboratory. (NEW)
-[X] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)

No overwork - starts down the gunpowder line. There will be more than 10 Cannon!

Same here.

Going to try to pry some free time to hammer at this myself then.

DarkLight140 · Feb 12, 2018

Night_stalker said:
Eh, not a good plan maker. Just wanted to leave some sort of a impact. Didn't think everyone would vote for it.

You can edit your plan, you know? Just adding in the Blessing and a free social (I recommend Gustav) would be an immense improvement. Swapping out one of the Warden actions (River Warden recommended) for the Intelligence Attaché (Second Division) action would even make it entirely functional in that it fulfills both our public and secret jobs' requirements.

After those changes the only thing to really argue with your plan on would be matters of opinion, like "I hate overworking" or "Enchantment is terrible, we should study new spells instead".

veekie said:
Constant Vigilance does most of our work...but abandons the proposal which we need to meet our backer goals.

Seventeen does self improvement, but doesn't do anything for the undead investigators either.

Same here.

Going to try to pry some free time to hammer at this myself then.

The Formal Proposal option is a terrible way to meet our backer goals. Take the Intelligence Attaché option instead and abandon the proposal as the awkward boondoggle it is.

Alliterate · Feb 12, 2018

veekie said:
I dare say the work crews are motivated as hell.
Wonder how they even recruit for this construction.

Something to bring up to Van Hal next report. Its not a big deal since claiming walking wounded to be unhurt is largely true on a year scale, but can be quite serious on campaign. Overestimating your manpower because you thought they could take twice as many hits as they could can kill you.

This is a fair enough market price, and probably the cause of the screaming match.

It's under the 'acceptable embezzlement" range.

While this is a bit of an indicator towards Gustav's personal preference for skirmishers, the heavy cavalry would be rather prized for dealing with undead. I'm not sure what pistolers are even going to do to meaty undead brutes.

Not sure how either would deal with the terrain though. Hills are not kind to horse.

Import it is.

So keep on Watching. Got it boss.

That's progress!
Kasmir's improving rather well.

Mmm, shippy.

MMM, SHIPPY!

No end of horrors to smash I guess.
At least ghouls would be happy to eat orc.

...he just handed us the key to his study. The paranoid count.

Also damn, of course he's a pro at this.

Now lets see the options:

Information Broker or Backfill would be the higher priorities.
Backfill personally. We get better results from Info Broker if we're comprehensive anyways.

Gong Farmers gives us both an intel expansion AND more money.
But we need the Administrators first. We can't do shit without that.

As per orders. Wurtbad and Purgg are priorities

And we could grab both the gong farmers and the administrators if we had the actions and they were urgent. They aren't very I think?

Keeping in mind last turn's proposal

Need to brush up on these

So lets see, current plans:

Constant Vigilance does most of our work...but abandons the proposal which we need to meet our backer goals.

Seventeen does self improvement, but doesn't do anything for the undead investigators either.

Same here.

Going to try to pry some free time to hammer at this myself then.

I don't think the undead investigators are a big priority. How about we read up on what is already known about undead, before we even think about creating an undead-hunting force?

But agree, we should point out the Gustav casualty-optimism thing.

Looks like Wilhelmina has the 'Family' additional loyalty.

Night_stalker · Feb 12, 2018

Alliterate said:
I don't think the undead investigators are a big priority. How about we read up on what is already known about undead, before we even think about creating an undead-hunting force?

But agree, we should point out the Gustav casualty-optimism thing.

Plus, we have the Witch Hunters and other organizations. Our biggest issue is overwork.

Boney · Feb 12, 2018

veekie said:
Wonder how they even recruit for this construction.

Corvée, or a slightly less burdensome take on the concept. Citizens of Stirland are given the opportunity to perform unpaid labour in exchange for a tax waiver or forgiveness of debts. The Haunted Hills are still better than debtor's prison.

doruma1920 · Feb 12, 2018

veekie said:
...he just handed us the key to his study. The paranoid count.

On this subject, is it possible to make a duplicate key? Just for security reasons, obviously.

Night_stalker · Feb 12, 2018

BoneyM said:
The Haunted Hills are still better than debtor's prison.

That uh.... says a lot about our prisons.

Boney · Feb 12, 2018

doruma1920 said:
On this subject, is it possible to make a duplicate key? Just for security reasons, obviously.

You have no idea. Locksmithing is a new art to the Empire. You could try to find a local blacksmith willing and able to try to make a straight 1:1 duplicate from scratch, or you could go to Nuln and see if you can find someone willing to do it - either way it'd take an action.

veekie · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Proposed Watching
-[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
--[X] Ranald's Blessing
-[X][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.

-[X][Personal] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.
--[X] Name: Autopsy Agency
--[X] Parent Organization: The Watch
--[X] Reports to: Mathilde
--[X] Investigators comprised of Witch Hunter trained hunters. Initial batch will draw from veteran scouts and woodsmen, but will shift to training their own.
--[X] Combatants comprised primarily of Sewer Jacks and veterans. Considering the hazards of crypt fighting, the Sewer Jacks would find their experiences more representative of the demands than anyone but the limited numbers of Witch Hunters out there.
--[X] Support would mainly consist of surgeons trained to dissect and study undead, with optional wizard support for studying the more exotic undead which require magic to interact with at all, and supporting the unfortunate cases where they run into actual necromancers rather than wild undead.
---[X] You'll fill the wizard role personally for now, though you'd look into getting someone once the finances straighten out.

-[X][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[X] Wilhelmina

Info Net 1/1
Watch 1/1
Personal 5/5
Overwork 0/2
Free Time 1/1

Blessing 1/1

veekie · Feb 12, 2018

[] Plan Proposed Watching
-[][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.

These are basically basic sense for now

-[][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.

These are the jobs we've been tasked to do.

-[][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
--[] Ranald's Blessing
-[][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.

These are preparing for the war in 2 turns.

-[][Personal] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.
--[] Name: Autopsy Agency
--[] Parent Organization: The Watch
--[] Reports to: Mathilde
--[] Investigators comprised of Witch Hunter trained hunters. Initial batch will draw from veteran scouts and woodsmen, but will shift to training their own.
--[] Combatants comprised primarily of Sewer Jacks and veterans. Considering the hazards of crypt fighting, the Sewer Jacks would find their experiences more representative of the demands than anyone but the limited numbers of Witch Hunters out there.
--[] Support would mainly consist of surgeons trained to dissect and study undead, with optional wizard support for studying the more exotic undead which require magic to interact with at all, and supporting the unfortunate cases where they run into actual necromancers rather than wild undead.
---[] You'll fill the wizard role personally for now, though you'd look into getting someone once the finances straighten out.

This had been revised to take into account the feedback. Wizards are rare and Witch Hunters not that much less rare. But they can teach and you don't need their full skillset to make it work.

-[][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[] Wilhelmina

And Wilhelmina. Shouldn't just give up after the nasty roll.
No overwork though.

Kairos123 · Feb 12, 2018

veekie said:
Constant Vigilance does most of our work...but abandons the proposal which we need to meet our backer goals.

This seems untrue. As @DarkLight140 has pointed it out.

DarkLight140 said:
I don't think we need to get it done before the purge. In fact, I don't think we need to get it done at all; certainly it's not as important as spell research, expanding and funding the Watch, or any of a half-dozen other items.

You may be conflating the Formal Proposal line item with our puppetmaster mission, which it does not accomplish or even seriously assist with in any reasonable sense. Our goal is to collect accurate intelligence on what undead exactly are encountered and where, which is tangentially related at best to the mission statement of "catch undead and pick them apart for weaknesses" that we've given Van Hal. If we want to accomplish our mission we need to be infiltrating or liaising with the military, not mucking about with making small-scale specialist units.

Basically, Formal Proposal is a nice idea but it's a side project; for purposes of doing our job, advancing our personal power, or being a puppet for our puppetmaster, it's a waste of our time and because we need to do all of those things rather badly it should be ignored for now.

Basically, it's a side project. It is not required. What is required is getting the information with the optional objective of capturing undead (which we really should do as it reveals something about our backer). Neither of those require the organization, there are multitudes of ways to do it.

liberty614 · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Proposed Watching
-[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
--[X] Ranald's Blessing
-[X][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.

-[X][Personal] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.
--[X] Name: Autopsy Agency
--[X] Parent Organization: The Watch
--[X] Reports to: Mathilde
--[X] Investigators comprised of Witch Hunter trained hunters. Initial batch will draw from veteran scouts and woodsmen, but will shift to training their own.
--[X] Combatants comprised primarily of Sewer Jacks and veterans. Considering the hazards of crypt fighting, the Sewer Jacks would find their experiences more representative of the demands than anyone but the limited numbers of Witch Hunters out there.
--[X] Support would mainly consist of surgeons trained to dissect and study undead, with optional wizard support for studying the more exotic undead which require magic to interact with at all, and supporting the unfortunate cases where they run into actual necromancers rather than wild undead.
---[X] You'll fill the wizard role personally for now, though you'd look into getting someone once the finances straighten out.

-[X][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[X] Sir Markus

NotteBoy97 · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Proposed Watching

Neshuakadal · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Proposed Watching
-[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
--[X] Ranald's Blessing
-[X][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.

-[X][Personal] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.
--[X] Name: Autopsy Agency
--[X] Parent Organization: The Watch
--[X] Reports to: Mathilde
--[X] Investigators comprised of Witch Hunter trained hunters. Initial batch will draw from veteran scouts and woodsmen, but will shift to training their own.
--[X] Combatants comprised primarily of Sewer Jacks and veterans. Considering the hazards of crypt fighting, the Sewer Jacks would find their experiences more representative of the demands than anyone but the limited numbers of Witch Hunters out there.
--[X] Support would mainly consist of surgeons trained to dissect and study undead, with optional wizard support for studying the more exotic undead which require magic to interact with at all, and supporting the unfortunate cases where they run into actual necromancers rather than wild undead.
---[X] You'll fill the wizard role personally for now, though you'd look into getting someone once the finances straighten out.

-[X][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[X] Sir Markus

StarkDemise · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Everything Checks Out

Nicklance · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Proposed Watching

Alliterate · Feb 12, 2018

liberty614 said:
[X] Plan Proposed Watching
-[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
--[X] Ranald's Blessing
-[X][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.

-[X][Personal] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.
--[X] Name: Autopsy Agency
--[X] Parent Organization: The Watch
--[X] Reports to: Mathilde
--[X] Investigators comprised of Witch Hunter trained hunters. Initial batch will draw from veteran scouts and woodsmen, but will shift to training their own.
--[X] Combatants comprised primarily of Sewer Jacks and veterans. Considering the hazards of crypt fighting, the Sewer Jacks would find their experiences more representative of the demands than anyone but the limited numbers of Witch Hunters out there.
--[X] Support would mainly consist of surgeons trained to dissect and study undead, with optional wizard support for studying the more exotic undead which require magic to interact with at all, and supporting the unfortunate cases where they run into actual necromancers rather than wild undead.
---[X] You'll fill the wizard role personally for now, though you'd look into getting someone once the finances straighten out.

-[X][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[X] Sir Markus

Monster hunting sewer jacks and woodsmen aren't going to get us the intelligence on the "undead types and density in Sylvania if and when Stirland forces sally across the border". As constructed, it's not going to recover 'live' undead either. Which is a stretch goal anyway.

Unless you intend to turn around and make these the attaches for the sally? if it could even be set up by then.

DarkLight140 · Feb 12, 2018

Oh, come on, you guys. Plan Proposed Watching literally fails at the single objective that @veekie claimed that he was making a new plan for, which is ensuring that we carried out our puppet mission- and you're still lining up to vote for it. Why?

Look, I will post exactly that plan but which does its job properly and reshuffles Ranald's Blessing to ensure it. Vote for this instead, please. It still has that @veekie shine but actually does both our jobs.

[X] Plan Everything Checks Out
-[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
-[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
-[X][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
-[X][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
-[X][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
-[X][Personal] Use a Personal Action to perform another Organizational Action; can be taken once per organization.
--[X][Stirland Watch] Openly expand your information network into the military in the form of an Intelligence Attaché (Second Division)
---[X] Ranald's Blessing
-[X][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[X] Wilhelmina

Kairos123 · Feb 12, 2018

[X][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
[X][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
[X][Actions] Plan We're Never Going To Get To Do Magic

I'm annoyed that people aren't talking about plans before jumping on them.

I'm voting for this because it allows us to achieve our objectives to both Van Hal and our backer without requiring us to start up an entirely new organization and spend multiple actions on them before we've even consolidated our recent gains. It also accomplishes the objectives of personal growth, studies undead, and finally finishes the Buried Palace before a fail (or heaven forbid a crit fail) would lead to us losing our hard fought enchanting gear.

The Autopsy Agency may be important for Stirland in the future, but that's the problem. It will take a great deal of time to expand to the point it achieves its objectives without our oversight. It's ridiculously ambitious when we have other things to do. However, in the meantime, while it is being set up, it will not be able to accomplish the objectives we need it to.

In the future, when we have more competent subordinates, would be a better time to undertake a project like that. Put it on the backburner for now.

Johncup · Feb 12, 2018

My thoughts on the current plans, spoiled for length and looks and whatnot. Note that my thoughts are italicized, like this.

[] Plan Constant Vigilance!
-[] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
Important.

-[] Seek out a new leader for the Watch.
Also Important.

-[] Investigate the possibility of adding a River Warden branch of the Watch. (Additional)
Something that we should do eventually (or something like that), but we don't have the funds, nor manpower, nor administrative personal, nor time in place to actually implement this. Can probably and should be postponed.

-[] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
Critical. Our job.

-[] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
Critical. Our job.

-[] Formalize and organize the payments people make for the Gong Farmers to perform their service, as well as having the Watch start enforcing existing laws against dumping human waste in the street or the Stir. (Additional)
Important. We need funding, this is a way for funding. That being said, other options may prove more critical, and the main issue with funding is those taking out of our discrentionary funds, not the treasury, which the Watch is. Can be postponed if something else is more critcal.

-[] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
Very Important. Self Defense Training for the campaign.

-[] Enchantment: You've finally got the equipment, now you've just got to unpack it all and set up your laboratory. (NEW)
Very Important. Allows for better magical actions. However, that stuff will take time, time that we may not be able to spare. This will require to plan out future actions. If we are not going to use this is the next few turns can be postponed for a little bit.

Actions: 6 - Overwork
This plan lacks Ranald's Blessing, and any attempt to fulfill our backer. The Later is critical.

[][Actions] Plan We're Never Going To Get To Do Magic
-[] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
Critical - Our job.

-[] Use a Personal Action to perform another Organizational Action; can be taken once per organization.
--[] Openly expand your information network into the military in the form of an Intelligence Attaché (Second Division)
--[] Ranald's Blessing
Critical for Secret Backer Fulfillment. Currently my preferred way of fulfilling said obligations.

-[] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
Important training for Self Defense and the campaign.

-[] Diggy Diggy Hole, Remixed: You're getting sick of having workmen tramping in and out of your abode. Recruit an entire team and personally oversee them to clear out all of the reachable portions of the Palace-Shrine and be done with it. (-personal gold)
Can probably be postponed. This is something important and should be done, but to my knowledge, we already have an empty room for enchantments, and have no plans for uses for the extra rooms.

-[] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library.
Important for campaign/intelligence reasons.

-[] Free Time: Snooping
I see no real need for this. Would prefer something else.

Actions: 5
Does not fulls include out job. The job part it does not include is admitally "if we have time, so it is probably fine."
Sidenote: I'm fairly sure that the free organization plans are above the actions plan, and as such, are not included. No idea if that is intentional.

[] Plan Proposed Watching

-[][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
Important and free.

-[][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
Important and free.

-[][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
Critical - our job.

-[][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
Critical - our job.

-[][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
--[] Ranald's Blessing
Important for campaign/intelligence reasons.

-[][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
Very Important. Self Defense Training for the campaign

-[][Personal] Formal Proposal: Your idea for an undead research team was received poorly, but Van Hal is still open to the idea in theory. Write in details: Name, who it is technically a part of (Watch, Witch Hunters, Military, College, none), and whether it reports directly to you (becomes a new Organization you command) or, if not, who it would report to.
--[] Name: Autopsy Agency
--[] Parent Organization: The Watch
--[] Reports to: Mathilde
--[] Investigators comprised of Witch Hunter trained hunters. Initial batch will draw from veteran scouts and woodsmen, but will shift to training their own.
--[] Combatants comprised primarily of Sewer Jacks and veterans. Considering the hazards of crypt fighting, the Sewer Jacks would find their experiences more representative of the demands than anyone but the limited numbers of Witch Hunters out there.
--[] Support would mainly consist of surgeons trained to dissect and study undead, with optional wizard support for studying the more exotic undead which require magic to interact with at all, and supporting the unfortunate cases where they run into actual necromancers rather than wild undead.
---[] You'll fill the wizard role personally for now, though you'd look into getting someone once the finances straighten out.
Formal Proposal MK 2. This seems to be intended to fulfill our secret backer obligations, in which case, this is critical. Not my preferred way of going about it, but it could work. My concerns are the actions that the organization will take up for us, and that it won't actually do what we need it to do, so that we need to spend more actions later to fulfill said responsibilities.

-[][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[] Wilhelmina
No real opinion, as long as it isn't snooping.

Actions: 5

Uh...The vote tally says this exists, so....
[][Actions] Plan: The Guns of Stirland.
-[] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
Critical - Our Job

-[] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
Critical - Our Job

-[] In Wissenland, there are a number of techniques in use to derive saltpeter from urine. It would take a great deal more effort than selling to tanneries, but saltpeter could be exported to Nuln for fantastic profit, or used to start gunpowder production in Stirland.
This is interesting, but is a longer term payout. I'm not sure it would pay off in time for the campaign, so it can probably be postponed for more immediate actions.

-[] Enchantment: You've finally got the equipment, now you've just got to unpack it all and set up your laboratory. (NEW)
Very Important. Allows for better magical actions. However, that stuff will take time, time that we may not be able to spare. This will require to plan out future actions. If we are not going to use this is the next few turns can be postponed for a little bit.

-[] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
Important for campaign/intelligence reasons

Actions: 5
This plan lacks Randal's Blessings, Great Sword Training, and any fulfillment for our backer. The Last two are essentially critical.

[] Plan Everything Checks Out
-[][Information Network] Consolidation: You currently have a patchwork of useful contacts. Backfill so that you can rightfully claim to cover entire towns.
Important.

-[][Stirland Watch] Hire administrators and clerks from Altdorf and Nuln.
Also Important.

-[][Personal] Expand the Watch into the rest of the County of Wurtbad.
Critical - Our Job.

-[][Personal] Expand the Watch into the Barony of Purgg.
Critical - Our Job

-[][Personal] Undead Research: This is Stirland. Time to bone up on your knowledge of the Undead, this time with the addition of Van Hal's personal library. (NEW-ish)
Important for campaign/intelligence reasons

-[][Personal] Pretty Good Swords: You've struck up a friendship with the Champion of the Greatswords and have discovered a talent for wielding them. Continue to cultivate this.
Important training for Self Defense and the campaign.

-[][Personal] Use a Personal Action to perform another Organizational Action; can be taken once per organization.
--[][Stirland Watch] Openly expand your information network into the military in the form of an Intelligence Attaché (Second Division)
---[] Ranald's Blessing
Critical for Secret Backer Fulfillment. Currently my preferred way of fulfilling said obligations.

-[][Free Time] Free Time: Now well-established in Wurtbad, you can spend some time in your scant off hours getting to know someone better. Pick one character. (no action required)
--[] Wilhelmina

Actions: 5
This is essentially Plan We Are going to get to do magic, but with less snooping and more job fulfillment. Or Rather, it takes the best part of the Plan and Plan Proposed Watching and Puts them into one plan. I approve.

In Summary:
Plan Constant Vigilance has overwork and does not address out secret backer, nor does it have Ranald's Blessing.
Plan The Gun of Stirland does not address out secret backer, and does not include Great Sword Training, nor does it have Ranald's Blessing.
Plan Plan We're Never Going To Get To Do Magic address our secret backer through military inteligence, but snoops and does not fully address out jobs.
Plan Proposed Watching fully address our job, but the addressing our secret backer through the organization could flop again, and not actually address our secret backer.
Plan Everything Checks Out fully addresses our job, address our secret backer through military intelligence, and does not snoop. My preferred Plan.

[X] Plan Everything Checks Out

PsyFarrow · Feb 12, 2018

Looks solid

[X] Plan Everything Checks Out

Mr Apollo · Feb 12, 2018

[X] Plan Everything Checks Out

veekie · Feb 12, 2018

Alliterate said:
Monster hunting sewer jacks and woodsmen aren't going to get us the intelligence on the "undead types and density in Sylvania if and when Stirland forces sally across the border". As constructed, it's not going to recover 'live' undead either. Which is a stretch goal anyway.

Unless you intend to turn around and make these the attaches for the sally? if it could even be set up by then.

The point is, once formed they naturally can be applied to the invasion as their opening duties and their blooding. There's going to be a lot of undead and most of which are possible to study, live capture or not. Which would give us the necessary intelligence while also providing a useful service to Stirland.
The Sewer Jacks are our most populous reasonably elite forces that can breach crypts without getting fucked up good

Or at least @BoneyM is the only one who can say otherwise on the matter here, considering the proposal SHOULD make sense on that minimum requirement.

E: Everything Checks Out does indeed check out btw. I'm okay with that.

TotallyNotEvil · Feb 12, 2018

@Night_stalker So, are you going to add Ranald's Blessing to the plan or what?

I suggest the Expand the Watch option. Or the training.

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