Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
In other words, we are learning Headhole to complement our Mindhole.
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
-
- Tags
- warhammer warhammer fantasy fantasy be gay do crimes (gay) female protagonist pansexual protagonist ck2 quest divided loyalties mountain vietnam ranald is real this is a dwarf quest (dwarfs) this is maybe an elf quest this is not a vampire quest this is not an empire quest try it and find out open voting
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
DarkLight140
Credit to Team
- Location
- Lost in my thoughts
Done.
Voters, take note:
The public report line "[ ] The Watch has continued to expand at a steady rate; we have solid coverage over the counties of Purgg and Wurtbad. Bureaucrats have continued to be difficult to come by- even when we went to Altdorf and Nuln. We need that problem to be solved or this kind of expansion won't be sustainable." has been updated with the addition of the sentence "Further, our source of new Watchmen is cut off for the next year or so since no one will be retiring from the army, putting a temporary halt on expansion from that as well." This is to make it clear to Van Hal that the bureaucrats are not currently the only obstruction to the expansion of the Watch, since the previous version did not give that impression.
Wait, do you really think that's tied to the vampire agents? My mind immediately went "shady noble in Julbach, now vanished->clearly a predecessor tie since Julbach was our lead on him", and I was certain about it enough to put that in the report to Van Hal. If there's any significant risk that we'd be wrong that line will need updating.
...I'm not sure what we'd update it to, though. Not like we're going to be spending an action on following up on this and getting more information on it either way, since both potential ties are not immediate threats and we've got a lot to do.
VoidZero
Passing Flan 布丁魔王
- Location
- Anywhere but RL
Obligatory joke about thrusting and hole.
"Somebody shade, wealthy, and reclusive left Julbach after a long time of shady reclusiveness. I believe him to be my predecessor covering up but I guess we'll never know".
- Location
- Aotearoa
Take No Heed would be great. Shadowcloak has a pretty direct upgrade (albeit shorter duration) of Invisibility once we hit Magic 5.
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Nice picture!
Dame Mathilde Weber, The Wizard Knight!
Not a perfect picture, true - but not a bad one. Shadowy cloak effect is nice, and she does look very simillar to portrait. Plus, it's damn good picture in general.
In all honesty, I've tried and failed to find anything better.
In regard of robe and hat - those things are kind of badge of the office "Look and respect me for I am a Wizard" type of deal. But once Mathilde get more self-confidence... then why should she keep office badges prominently in display? She knows who she is, and how important she is. Everyone that matters knows it too, and respects her for it. There is not reason to poke everyone's eyes with iconic pointy hat.
So let's just say that it's Mathilde caught off-guard without full equipment. Or Mathilde wanting to make an impression. Or just Mathilde with more self-confidence, more certain of herself
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- Location
- Aotearoa
I'm kind of surprised we've not mastered it so far. We use it a lot you could argue we critted with it back in turn 3, when it was instrumental to navigating around Leichburg Castle 'undetected':
[GETTING AROUND: Req 40, Intrigue, 99+12=111. No tracks and a perfect excuse to enter.]
I think this turn predated the idea of spell Mastery? Maybe? @BoneyM?
[x] [Public Report] Steady Progress, Spotted Issue
[x] [Private Report] He's Long Gone and Other Sundries
[x] [Orders] Magic And Vampire Lore Would Help The Attack Too, You Know
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- Location
- Norway
Eh, good enough for me.
[x] DarkLight140
This seems to be one of the quiet, mostly-unanimous turns. I suppose there'll be more debate next turn about how to cram in last-minute training, organization management, funding, excavation, laboratory, training, magic and whatnot.
Entirely unserious proposal: look into inventing Shadow Clone to get twice as much stuff done.
DarkLight140
Credit to Team
- Location
- Lost in my thoughts
Voters, take note:
The private report line "[ ] We finally got enough intelligence in Julbach to track down the evidence of our predecessor's activities there- the trail's cold by now, of course. Clear indications that he was doing some work from there once, but he's not been seen in years. Fits with what else we know, and nothing to follow up on easily." has been revised to "[ ] We finally got decent intelligence work done in Julbach; there was a reclusive noble from Wurtbad with a home there who hasn't been seen in years. Likely our predecessor as it fits with what else we know of him, but it could be some other group and there's nothing to follow up on easily." This is because the initial version presented the information as though it was a certainty that our predecessor was the noble in question, closing off the possibility of it being vampire agents or some other party without good cause to do so. The updated version retains the same conclusion without presenting it as completely solid information.
It's closing in on 24 hours since the last update went up and requests for change or comments on potential issues have been pretty slim on the ground, so I don't expect to make any further updates to the vote unless someone brings up a matter of serious concern.
The private report line "[ ] We finally got enough intelligence in Julbach to track down the evidence of our predecessor's activities there- the trail's cold by now, of course. Clear indications that he was doing some work from there once, but he's not been seen in years. Fits with what else we know, and nothing to follow up on easily." has been revised to "[ ] We finally got decent intelligence work done in Julbach; there was a reclusive noble from Wurtbad with a home there who hasn't been seen in years. Likely our predecessor as it fits with what else we know of him, but it could be some other group and there's nothing to follow up on easily." This is because the initial version presented the information as though it was a certainty that our predecessor was the noble in question, closing off the possibility of it being vampire agents or some other party without good cause to do so. The updated version retains the same conclusion without presenting it as completely solid information.
It's closing in on 24 hours since the last update went up and requests for change or comments on potential issues have been pretty slim on the ground, so I don't expect to make any further updates to the vote unless someone brings up a matter of serious concern.
Mastery happens, first and foremost, when I decide it does. That said, my internal process for deciding it is something like this:
a) when a crit happens;
b) when it is, in my opinion, narratively appropriate for a spell to be mastered; and
c) when there's no more pressing issue that the benefits of a crit would be better applied to.
If anyone is ever even a little bit tempted to point to a past or future situation where a crit did not result in a mastery, and argue that it should have, I would encourage them in the strongest possible terms to instead not. I try my best to be an easy-going kind of person, but very little gets me more heated than someone trying to 'gotcha' me. The relationship I want to have with you, the readers, is a collaborative one where we all work together to forge a story. If it turns into an adversarial one where readers feel like they can argue me into giving Mathilde extra benefits, all it will result in is undermining my desire to spend time here.
I apologize for picking on you here, Alliterate, but I do want to nip this thought process very firmly in the bud.
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- Location
- Aotearoa
No offense taken, and apologies if I caused any. Thanks for explaining the process. I'm not really (...primarily?) trying to angle for bonuses or anything, just trying to understand the process for my own head-canon-understanding. The bit about 'applying the Crit to Mastery or something else' makes particular sense. Along with, well, needing to make narrative sense of course.
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chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Take all your arguments. Proceed to ignore them, and look at the outfit through the eyes of somebody with Matilde's demonstrated sensibilities.
She doesn't wear outfits like that not because she thinks she can't make them look good, or because another look is expected of her such that it overrides her personal choices, but because by all the standards of society and culture that dress is scandalous. You can see her upper thighs.
Claytonimor
WE WILL TAKE JERUSALEM
- Location
- Loudon, TN
Moist. I'm working dinner for Valentine's day, But i look forward to this meeting.
Guile
Having a really great time right now
And now Kasmir is comforting us with our failures by quoting scripture.
That's the Stirland Advisory council: one big, happy family.
It's pretty crazy that we can ride across broken terrain while reading.
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King Arthur
The Once and Future King
- Location
- Asia
Threadmark pls
Turn 11 - 2475
Winning vote:
---
"Okay," Van Hal says as the last of the council take their seats. "Anton, I believe you have some interesting news to share with us."
"I spent a lot of time with Chancellor Hertwig, and we got on quite well." Van Hal opens his mouth to interrupt, then thinks better of it as Anton continues happily on. "He's very interested in pacifying his southern border, as it turns out. By the time I left they had already started mustering the army. Not to help down here, though - they're going to begin their own purge of the Dead Woods and the Eerie Downs in Ostermark, and then if all goes well they'll cross the border and see to Hel Fenn and the Misty Wood. He says that this way, if there's any pushback from Sylvania, we'll have it flanked."
"Not as immediately helpful as I'd hoped," Van Hal says, "but as long as they're killing undead in and around Sylvania, it benefits Stirland, even if it doesn't benefit the immediate campaign."
"Did he mention how much of the Army of Ostermark he'll be dedicating to the effort?" Gustav asked.
"About four fifths, I think," Anton replied happily.
Eyebrows rose all around at that. "A significant investment," Van Hal notes. "Hmm. Hertwig's a sensible man in his fifties, so it's not glory. Luitpold is young and healthy and recently married, so it probably isn't an attempt to burnish his good name for a bid at the throne. Buying a favour? Though the Elector's Meet is supposedly about dwarf business, far in the south." He frowns. "Now I'm wondering why he's bothering at all. The Dead Wood has been left be for near five hundred years, and for damned good reason. And the Eerie Downs has only been trouble to those foolish enough to wander into them."
"Their population is concentrated along the Talabec and the mountains," Schultz notes. "The Veldt is fertile and vast, and they could log the Gryphon Woods for another thousand years and not run out of trees."
"The southern border is also the banks of the Stir," you note. "Trade?"
Wilhelmina frowns. "Ostermark's riverboats serve it very well, but they're all on the Talabec. If they've got ambitions for Stir trade, they'd have to send their boats all the way to Altdorf and then back up the Stir. That's near two thousand miles. And there's nothing to trade, anyway - southern Ostermark doesn't produce much worth trading, and anything from northern Ostermark has to go over the Bleak Moors to get there."
Something tickles at the back of your mind - something Julia mentioned, in one of her fits of ambition. It never seemed all that practical for Stirland, but maybe... You know Van Hal always has his maps available at the Council meetings, and you search through them for Ostermark's and spread it out on the table, and immediately spot what you're looking for.
Right at the bottom of Ostermark, you trace a line between the uppermost reaches of the River Blut and the Stir North.
"Ten, maybe fifteen miles," you say. "Manpower from Eisental, expertise from Karak Kadrin..."
Wilhelmina sucks in a breath. "It would be hideously expensive, but if it worked... it would give them access to trade with the southern Empire and beyond without having to go through Talabecland." You glance sideways at Schultz, who is staring wide-eyed down at the map. "It would be well worth the cost."
"But it would require the upper Stir to be tamed," you say.
Van Hal frowns down at the map. "I would prefer nobler motivations," he says, "but this would give them more of a vested interest in bringing Sylvania to heel. Assuming that it is what's motivating them, of course."
"It's entirely guesswork," you admit, "but I can't think of any other reason they'd invest so much, and in the way they are."
"For the good of the Empire?" Anton suggests. You and Van Hal snort in unison.
"Well, whatever their motivations, we've got another Province willing to shave away at Sylvania from the North. And that isn't the only new ally we've acquired, as some of you may have noticed."
Eyes swivel to the window. The dragon is taking up one of the drill yards with its napping form, and the elf is imperiously watching over a few camp followers as they erect a gaudy silken tent to his specifications. "Prince Asarnil," Anton says happily. "Nice fellow. A bit impressed with himself, but I would be too if I'd done even a tenth of what he has. The stories he tells! I've sent away to the University of Altdorf for someone that speaks the elf language so that they can all be recorded - he really liked the idea but insisted it be in his language, which I suppose is fair enough, but it's jolly difficult to find someone that speaks it in Stirland."
"I speak it," you mention casually. Eyes swivel to you. "The language of magic, Lingua Praestantia, is technically a dialect of Eltharin." To be more precise, it is a devolved dialect, and blended with Old Reikspiel. But you, like the rest of the Grey Order, learned both, as it's necessary for some of the more fiendish and paranoid ciphers of the Grey Order. Only those that spoke Eltharin would be able to read the true message, and those that spoke only Lingua Praestantia would get a completely different one.
(And then there was another cipher, where those that spoke only Eltharin would get a false message, and knowledge of the debased dialect was required to find the true message. Such is the way of things in the Grey Order.)
"Gosh," Anton says. "I speak a little Bretonnian. For their poems, mostly."
"I know some Kislevarin," Wilhelmina chimes in.
"I learned Tilean in College," Schultz ventures.
"I suppose it won't surprise anyone to learn I'm quite fluent in Old Reikspiel," Kasmir says, smiling.
"Can we please get back on topic," Van Hal says. "More immediately relevant than stories is that we have a dragon on our side. I never thought I'd ever encounter something I'd consider overkill, but..."
"Seems kind of a waste to only purge the Hills," you say, voicing the thought shared by all present.
"I'm leery of overambition, but such an opportunity may not come around again in any of our lifetimes. The forces of two provinces, one and a half Orders worth of Knights, and one dragon. We start the purge here and push east, and if there's been no organized resistance by the time we reach the eastern edge of the Haunted Hills..." He smiles grimly. "We march on Castle Drakenhof, and tear the dark heart from Sylvania."
---
After that, you take a short recess; it would be hard to follow that up with mundane reports on recruitment figures and such. Upon reconvening, Van Hal's first nod is to Gustav. "So tell us. How are the Hills?"
He sits a little straighter, a proud smile twitching his moustache. "There's still all manner of creature crawling out of them, but they've stopped being trouble. The troops form an unyielding anvil and the pistoliers, the hammer."
"And the road construction is uninterrupted?"
Schultz consults his notes. "It will be done well in time for the 4th to travel down it to join us before the year is out."
"Excellent. How goes the drilling?"
"Well, there's been some interesting developments there," Gustav says, stroking his moustache. "The problem with pistoliers is that they've quite a short range and a long reload time. Conventional tactics involve either a volley followed by charging with sabers, which is bloody good fun but, I feel, doesn't make the best use of the pistols, or harassment, where the unit rides quite close to the enemy, fires as one, then rides off to reload and the whole process repeats quite tediously. So I've designed a maneuver I'm calling the Schnecke; a company advances towards the enemy, and the front rank fires and then falls back to the rear of the formation, and then the second rank - now the front rank - does the same, and so on. By the time all the ranks have fired the first rank has finished reloading, and thus the maneuver continues indefinitely, with the company as a whole remaining in place. The result is a constant withering hail of gunfire; a drain on morale for those that can feel fear and still a heavy weight of lead for those that don't. And it could even be quite easily adapted for use with repeater pistols," he finishes hintingly.
"Very good," Van Hal says after a pause, ignoring the hint. "And the infantry?"
"Oh, they're doing quite well, from what I've heard. I've left it to the Colonels, they seem to know the business better than I do."
You feign a cough to cover your smile, and after a further moment Van Hal nods, and then turns to Kasmir. "What news?"
"Morale in the ranks is good," he says; your own information agrees, and you know that morale would be poor if the drilling was going poorly, so that answered Van Hal's unasked question. "The 4th are now well-served with Chaplains; the Black Guards, sadly, declined to supply any from their ranks, but they did offer training to any Morrite chaplains that travelled to Siegfriedhof."
"Not ideal," Van Hal says, "but it does show a willingness to help on their part, I suppose. Wilhelmina?"
"The 4th's supplies are taken care of," she says. By the EIC, you mentally add. Though it's less to her benefit than you'd expected; apparently she lacked contracts in Central Stirland and had failed to find a local source of food, and had to eat the cost of bringing it up all the way from the Moot, which removed a significant portion of the profits. "I also looked into their logistical train, since they'll be moving here soon enough; a few wagons needed replacing or repairing, but it's all up to spec now."
"Good initiative. Everything looks on course for the Purge. Gustav, continue with the drilling. Schultz, once the road's completed, start putting together a siege train, just in case we need it. Nothing too dramatic, just the men and materials to make rams and siege towers. And possibly some catapults - rocks and muscle are cheaper than cannonballs and gunpowder, after all. Kasmir, Wilhelmina, repeat for the 1st what you did for the 4th - we may need them.
"And with all these military matters done with, we're left with the only one seeing to it that Stirland doesn't fall apart in our absence. How fares the Watch, Mathilde?"
"The Watch has continued to expand at a steady rate; we have solid coverage over the counties of Purgg and Wurtbad. However, we may have reached the limits of expansion for now - we haven't been able to find any suitable clerks for the Watch, even after looking through Altdorf and Nuln. On top of that, because of an army recruitment freeze twenty years ago, there won't be anyone retiring from the Army for around the next year, and thus no potential Watchmen.
"Our new eyes in Purgg has brought our attention to some troubling trends in the Stirhugel - nothing blatant, but the attacks on herds throughout the area are an obvious sign once all the reports are gathered together, even if the locals are attributing it to animal attacks for now. In our opinion, there is something going on there.
"Finally, Gustav," you nod to him with a smile, "has kindly authorized our implementation of an intelligence attaché program; we hope that by the time the army moves into Sylvania we'll have enough well-trained observers alongside them to furnish us with detailed, accurate records of exactly what they encountered and where which we'll be able to analyze to produce all kinds of useful intelligence."
"A mixed bag," he says thoughtfully. "The Stirhugel will probably keep until less busy times, as long as attacks remain restricted to herds. Will you be joining us on our jaunt into Eastern Stirland?"
"Of course," you say automatically. "I mean, if my duties allowed for it."
"Then for the next six months, I task you with preparing yourself. Consider what we may face, and arm yourself accordingly - with weapons, with knowledge, and with magic."
---
"There is a dragon in my Fort," Van Hal says in a tone of voice somewhere between wonder and outrage, as he stares over the keep's battlements.
"You did give Anton a rather free hand in Ostermark."
"I thought he'd come back with a few thousand Tileans with halberds and odd ideas about politics." He shakes his head again, then tears his eyes away. "So, what other news do you have for me?"
"I finally managed to get eyes into Julbach," you report. "There was a reculsive noble from Wurtbad with a home there, though he hasn't been seen in years. Chances are it's my predecessor, but the trail is truly cold by now."
"As expected. If he was still lingering there I'd have you grab him, but I feel it's not worth going out of our way for."
"Gustav's understating the army's casualty figures, though it's probably a personality quirk rather than any attempt to mislead. Still, something to keep in mind."
"Mmm. I'll go to the Generals for accurate figures, then."
You move down the mental list of things you meant to bring up. "If you want, I could write to the Colleges requesting that wizards join to the campaign. They won't come cheap, but a true battle wizard could come in very useful in Sylvania."
"I had considered it. Not for the initial stages of the campaign - the Purge is going to be long, slow, and methodical, which in my experience is poorly suited to most battle wizards. When it's time to march on the castle itself, then..." he hesitates for a moment, his brow furrowing. "Hmm. A formal request from an Elector Count, or an internal request from a fellow wizard... if your Master can recommend someone suitable, I'll have you write to them, otherwise I will."
"Very well. Speaking of the campaign, do you expect we'll face the Von Carstein claiming the title of Elector Countess? I don't have much information, but she has at least one skilled necromancer in her service based upon the spell they were using, so it could turn ugly fairly quickly."
"I would be shocked if there was only one," he replies. "I will be prepared for them, you can be sure of that. And yes, if all goes well, this campaign will be the end of this would-be usurper." He frowns suddenly. "At least I assume that's her intention. I do hope she doesn't see herself as a suitor."
So do you. Hope, that is. "Finally, with the Elector's Meet coming up, I'd like your input on our external intelligence. So far my efforts have been concentrated within Stirland..."
"Mine too," he says with a smile.
"But would you want us to start looking without as well?"
He muses on that for a while, looking at you oddly. "Sometimes I forget how young you are." You open your mouth to reply, but no reply presents itself. He continues on. "Have you fully grasped the fact that you are the second most powerful person in Stirland?" You blink rapidly as you try to take in this sudden change in direction. "Gustav's new to the role. Kasmir was damn near fired. Anton is..." he hesitates, then moves on. "Schultz serves a very specific niche. And Wilhelmina... is a very close third, actually. She's blossomed. But none of them have the combination of abilities, resources, trust and wide-open mandate that you do. And by Sigmar you do the job damn well. But your problem is that you don't believe in yourself to the degree that this job requires you to.
"You have access to all the information I do, and you have the luxury of spending the majority of your time and focus on intrigue, where I am pulled a dozen different ways. There is only one reason for you to ask me that question, rather than reaching a conclusion for yourself: because you lack confidence.
"I wish I had words to instil that confidence in you, but all I can do is tell you that if you allow self-doubt to erode your resolve, you will fail in the duty to Stirland we share. And while I would not hesitate to stand alone and die against all the evils of Sylvania, I would rather have you by my side and win.
"So stop thinking like a journeywoman, and start thinking like the Knight I know you are."
He claps you on the shoulder and leaves you there atop the keep, and you slump against the battlements to process his words.
---
PLAN FOR THIS TURN
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIONS - pick ONE from EACH of the categories 'Information Network' and 'Stirland Watch':
Information Network - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[ ] 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)
[ ] Expand your Intelligence Attaché program to another Division (choose one)
[ ] 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.
Stirland Watch - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[o] Expand the ranks of the Watch, so that they're able to start covering even the poorer parts of their covered area. (cannot be taken until army retirement resumes in one year)
[ ] Expand the Special Branch into areas already covered by the Watch, so you have an additional pool of manpower you can call upon to supplement the full-time Watchmen. (NEW)
[ ] 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.
[ ] Headhunt administrators from other organizations in Stirland.
[ ] Seek out a new leader for the Watch.
---
PERSONAL ACTIONS - CHOOSE BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN. ANY CHOSEN BEYOND THE FIRST FIVE WILL COME WITH RISKS - PLEASE SPECIFY THE 'ADDITIONAL' TASKS:
Miscellany:
[ ] Financial Jargon: Everything with the EIC flew right over your head last time. Try again. Succeeding here will mean that you can take a more active hand in the company, adding it to the organizational actions; failing or not attempting means Mathilde will remain a silent partner.
[ ] Hang Out A Shingle: Spymasters don't advertise, but wizards sometimes do. Make an official announcement that there's a wizard in residence, and see who comes out of the woodwork.
[ ] 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.
[ ] Scribe: Anton's sent away to Altdorf for someone that speaks Eltharin. Well, you speak Eltharin. Maybe you can find the time to act as amanuensis for the prince-in-exile, though it would cut into your learning-how-to-not-get-eaten-by-Sylvania time. (NEW)
Self-Improvement: Things have been going well so far, but the skills of a Journeyman Grey Mage can only go so far.
[ ] Practice, Practice, Practice: Having been thrown into the deep end of imperial politics, it would probably be a good idea to brush up on your skills and internalize the lessons you've learned (choose which trait; can be taken multiple times; will be more effective if you've used the trait a lot lately).
[ ] Tutoring: One of your fellow councillors may be willing to teach you in their chosen field (choose who).
[ ] Really Good Swords: You have achieved proficiency with the Greatsword. Future progress is possible, though it will take more effort to see results. (NEW)
[ ] Combat Training: You're virtually surrounded by armed warriors of various sorts. See if you can convince one to teach you (choose who).
[ ] Combat Training, In The Free Market: You haven't made many heavily armed friends yet, but gold is good for that. Go out and buy some training. (-personal gold)
[ ] Enchantment: You're naturally talented at enchantment; so far, this just amounts to being able to make your desk meow for about an hour. See if you can improve on that, or at least figure out a way to make that useful.
Home Comforts: Your Palace-Shrine is bursting with potential. And also mud.
[ ] 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)
[ ] Enchantment: You've finally got the equipment, now you've just got to unpack it all and set up your laboratory.
[ ] Filled with Potential: You've got a room cleared out and ready to be put to use. Decide what you're going to put there and get started on equipping it. (write in the purpose of the room)
Research:
[ ] 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.
[ ] Snooping: Van Hal gave you a key to his Study. He didn't specifically say not to poke around and see what you could find.
[ ] Shyish-kebabs: The Shyish swords are hideously dangerous as weapons, but fascinating as a subject of study. Try to reverse-engineer the lost enchantments woven into them.
[ ] Bound Spells: Though the corrosive Dhar made them high-maintenance, the design of the bound spells in the castle's infiltrators has fascinating possibilities. Try to adapt it for use with Ulgu.
[ ] Qhaysh Juice: Whatever it is, it's dripping out of the box at a steady rate. You've got two gallons of the stuff and it's still coming out. It's got to be good for something.
[ ] Qhaysh Skunkworks: It would take careful study to unlock the secrets of the liquid. It would take considerably less time to find out if it can be made to burn, or explode, or do something militarily useful. (NEW)
[ ] As a Journeywoman, the path to Magister is marked by mastering more than the two shadow spells you already know. Send to the Grey Order for the basics and work on figuring out one of the others.
Influence:
[ ] Thieves Guild: It's currently little more than a church group, albeit of a very unconventional god. If it could be expanded under your aegis, it could be a powerful tool.
[ ] Biderhof: This village based on woodcutting and agriculture, has adopted you as one of it's own. Maybe you should adopt it as your own, in a literal sense.
[ ] Non-Thief Guilds: Wurtbad, like all major cities, is home to a number of guilds. Reach out to them and enforce your will.
Relations:
[ ] Getting To Know You: Spend time with one of your fellow councillors or your liege, offering your help in their tasks and generally getting a feel for them (choose one).
[ ] Getting To Know You Whether You Like It Or Not: You've been given good reason to mistrust your fellow councillors. Perhaps you should see what they spent their time doing (choose one).
[ ] Letters Home: You might be able to wring more information out of your Master, or you might just be able to get news, information and guidance in general from the Grey Order.
[ ] 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) (can be used to perform Snooping without spending an action)
---
FINANCES: NO ACTION POINT EXPENDITURE.
Personal Income: 60 gold/turn
Discretionary Income: 200 gold/turn
Informer Payroll unlocked
Currently paying Grey College tithe (-6 personal gold/turn)
Currently paying Grey College student loans (-35 personal gold/turn)
Not currently embezzling
Currently funding regional informants (-90 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding Watch informants (-10 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding EIC informants (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding Intelligence Attaché program (-60 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently employing Julia Massif (-30 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently maintaining the staff of a townhouse in Wurtbad (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
[ ] Begin plumping the informer rolls (choose ratio of real:fake informers. Almost impossible to detect, but also very difficult to increase or decrease the amount quickly)
[ ] Change tithe payment/loan payment/embezzlement (specify)
[ ] These agents are getting expensive. Write up a proposal for your discretionary budget to be increased, instead of waiting for Van Hal to decide to increase it. (warning: attracts oversight to your current budget)
---
- Last turn I rolled for Anton's mercenary recruitment efforts to see who came back to the Fort with him; this week I rolled his diplomatic efforts in Ostermark, and now Ostermark is going all in.
- For those ready to beatify Anton, I will remind you that his efforts in Talabecland resulted in one notch above doing nothing. His dice aren't always ridiculous.
- Technically, Lingua Praestantia is more often known as 'Magick'. With a K. I refuse to use it because it is dumb.
- Just as I finally get done with figuring out the knock-on effects of Anton, Gustav nat 100s the drilling and I have to go research cavalry tactics.
- A write-in order from Van Hal, but as it was due to rather unpredictable circumstances, there was no relationship loss.
- A matter on the side: I invite the thread to suggest musics best suited for Mathilde's training montage. Excellence in one's suggestion may result in the granting of A Boon; the exact details of a Boon will be disclosed only to the recipient. And before anyone tries: No Rocky, and no Team America. Limit one per person, once you submit one you're locked out of further submissions, and for god's sake please at least glance at the lyrics and spend more than a couple of seconds thinking about it's suitability.
- Voting will be in Plan Format; don't forget Ranald's Blessing.
---
"Okay," Van Hal says as the last of the council take their seats. "Anton, I believe you have some interesting news to share with us."
"I spent a lot of time with Chancellor Hertwig, and we got on quite well." Van Hal opens his mouth to interrupt, then thinks better of it as Anton continues happily on. "He's very interested in pacifying his southern border, as it turns out. By the time I left they had already started mustering the army. Not to help down here, though - they're going to begin their own purge of the Dead Woods and the Eerie Downs in Ostermark, and then if all goes well they'll cross the border and see to Hel Fenn and the Misty Wood. He says that this way, if there's any pushback from Sylvania, we'll have it flanked."
"Not as immediately helpful as I'd hoped," Van Hal says, "but as long as they're killing undead in and around Sylvania, it benefits Stirland, even if it doesn't benefit the immediate campaign."
"Did he mention how much of the Army of Ostermark he'll be dedicating to the effort?" Gustav asked.
"About four fifths, I think," Anton replied happily.
Eyebrows rose all around at that. "A significant investment," Van Hal notes. "Hmm. Hertwig's a sensible man in his fifties, so it's not glory. Luitpold is young and healthy and recently married, so it probably isn't an attempt to burnish his good name for a bid at the throne. Buying a favour? Though the Elector's Meet is supposedly about dwarf business, far in the south." He frowns. "Now I'm wondering why he's bothering at all. The Dead Wood has been left be for near five hundred years, and for damned good reason. And the Eerie Downs has only been trouble to those foolish enough to wander into them."
"Their population is concentrated along the Talabec and the mountains," Schultz notes. "The Veldt is fertile and vast, and they could log the Gryphon Woods for another thousand years and not run out of trees."
"The southern border is also the banks of the Stir," you note. "Trade?"
Wilhelmina frowns. "Ostermark's riverboats serve it very well, but they're all on the Talabec. If they've got ambitions for Stir trade, they'd have to send their boats all the way to Altdorf and then back up the Stir. That's near two thousand miles. And there's nothing to trade, anyway - southern Ostermark doesn't produce much worth trading, and anything from northern Ostermark has to go over the Bleak Moors to get there."
Something tickles at the back of your mind - something Julia mentioned, in one of her fits of ambition. It never seemed all that practical for Stirland, but maybe... You know Van Hal always has his maps available at the Council meetings, and you search through them for Ostermark's and spread it out on the table, and immediately spot what you're looking for.
Right at the bottom of Ostermark, you trace a line between the uppermost reaches of the River Blut and the Stir North.
"Ten, maybe fifteen miles," you say. "Manpower from Eisental, expertise from Karak Kadrin..."
Wilhelmina sucks in a breath. "It would be hideously expensive, but if it worked... it would give them access to trade with the southern Empire and beyond without having to go through Talabecland." You glance sideways at Schultz, who is staring wide-eyed down at the map. "It would be well worth the cost."
"But it would require the upper Stir to be tamed," you say.
Van Hal frowns down at the map. "I would prefer nobler motivations," he says, "but this would give them more of a vested interest in bringing Sylvania to heel. Assuming that it is what's motivating them, of course."
"It's entirely guesswork," you admit, "but I can't think of any other reason they'd invest so much, and in the way they are."
"For the good of the Empire?" Anton suggests. You and Van Hal snort in unison.
"Well, whatever their motivations, we've got another Province willing to shave away at Sylvania from the North. And that isn't the only new ally we've acquired, as some of you may have noticed."
Eyes swivel to the window. The dragon is taking up one of the drill yards with its napping form, and the elf is imperiously watching over a few camp followers as they erect a gaudy silken tent to his specifications. "Prince Asarnil," Anton says happily. "Nice fellow. A bit impressed with himself, but I would be too if I'd done even a tenth of what he has. The stories he tells! I've sent away to the University of Altdorf for someone that speaks the elf language so that they can all be recorded - he really liked the idea but insisted it be in his language, which I suppose is fair enough, but it's jolly difficult to find someone that speaks it in Stirland."
"I speak it," you mention casually. Eyes swivel to you. "The language of magic, Lingua Praestantia, is technically a dialect of Eltharin." To be more precise, it is a devolved dialect, and blended with Old Reikspiel. But you, like the rest of the Grey Order, learned both, as it's necessary for some of the more fiendish and paranoid ciphers of the Grey Order. Only those that spoke Eltharin would be able to read the true message, and those that spoke only Lingua Praestantia would get a completely different one.
(And then there was another cipher, where those that spoke only Eltharin would get a false message, and knowledge of the debased dialect was required to find the true message. Such is the way of things in the Grey Order.)
"Gosh," Anton says. "I speak a little Bretonnian. For their poems, mostly."
"I know some Kislevarin," Wilhelmina chimes in.
"I learned Tilean in College," Schultz ventures.
"I suppose it won't surprise anyone to learn I'm quite fluent in Old Reikspiel," Kasmir says, smiling.
"Can we please get back on topic," Van Hal says. "More immediately relevant than stories is that we have a dragon on our side. I never thought I'd ever encounter something I'd consider overkill, but..."
"Seems kind of a waste to only purge the Hills," you say, voicing the thought shared by all present.
"I'm leery of overambition, but such an opportunity may not come around again in any of our lifetimes. The forces of two provinces, one and a half Orders worth of Knights, and one dragon. We start the purge here and push east, and if there's been no organized resistance by the time we reach the eastern edge of the Haunted Hills..." He smiles grimly. "We march on Castle Drakenhof, and tear the dark heart from Sylvania."
---
After that, you take a short recess; it would be hard to follow that up with mundane reports on recruitment figures and such. Upon reconvening, Van Hal's first nod is to Gustav. "So tell us. How are the Hills?"
He sits a little straighter, a proud smile twitching his moustache. "There's still all manner of creature crawling out of them, but they've stopped being trouble. The troops form an unyielding anvil and the pistoliers, the hammer."
"And the road construction is uninterrupted?"
Schultz consults his notes. "It will be done well in time for the 4th to travel down it to join us before the year is out."
"Excellent. How goes the drilling?"
"Well, there's been some interesting developments there," Gustav says, stroking his moustache. "The problem with pistoliers is that they've quite a short range and a long reload time. Conventional tactics involve either a volley followed by charging with sabers, which is bloody good fun but, I feel, doesn't make the best use of the pistols, or harassment, where the unit rides quite close to the enemy, fires as one, then rides off to reload and the whole process repeats quite tediously. So I've designed a maneuver I'm calling the Schnecke; a company advances towards the enemy, and the front rank fires and then falls back to the rear of the formation, and then the second rank - now the front rank - does the same, and so on. By the time all the ranks have fired the first rank has finished reloading, and thus the maneuver continues indefinitely, with the company as a whole remaining in place. The result is a constant withering hail of gunfire; a drain on morale for those that can feel fear and still a heavy weight of lead for those that don't. And it could even be quite easily adapted for use with repeater pistols," he finishes hintingly.
"Very good," Van Hal says after a pause, ignoring the hint. "And the infantry?"
"Oh, they're doing quite well, from what I've heard. I've left it to the Colonels, they seem to know the business better than I do."
You feign a cough to cover your smile, and after a further moment Van Hal nods, and then turns to Kasmir. "What news?"
"Morale in the ranks is good," he says; your own information agrees, and you know that morale would be poor if the drilling was going poorly, so that answered Van Hal's unasked question. "The 4th are now well-served with Chaplains; the Black Guards, sadly, declined to supply any from their ranks, but they did offer training to any Morrite chaplains that travelled to Siegfriedhof."
"Not ideal," Van Hal says, "but it does show a willingness to help on their part, I suppose. Wilhelmina?"
"The 4th's supplies are taken care of," she says. By the EIC, you mentally add. Though it's less to her benefit than you'd expected; apparently she lacked contracts in Central Stirland and had failed to find a local source of food, and had to eat the cost of bringing it up all the way from the Moot, which removed a significant portion of the profits. "I also looked into their logistical train, since they'll be moving here soon enough; a few wagons needed replacing or repairing, but it's all up to spec now."
"Good initiative. Everything looks on course for the Purge. Gustav, continue with the drilling. Schultz, once the road's completed, start putting together a siege train, just in case we need it. Nothing too dramatic, just the men and materials to make rams and siege towers. And possibly some catapults - rocks and muscle are cheaper than cannonballs and gunpowder, after all. Kasmir, Wilhelmina, repeat for the 1st what you did for the 4th - we may need them.
"And with all these military matters done with, we're left with the only one seeing to it that Stirland doesn't fall apart in our absence. How fares the Watch, Mathilde?"
"The Watch has continued to expand at a steady rate; we have solid coverage over the counties of Purgg and Wurtbad. However, we may have reached the limits of expansion for now - we haven't been able to find any suitable clerks for the Watch, even after looking through Altdorf and Nuln. On top of that, because of an army recruitment freeze twenty years ago, there won't be anyone retiring from the Army for around the next year, and thus no potential Watchmen.
"Our new eyes in Purgg has brought our attention to some troubling trends in the Stirhugel - nothing blatant, but the attacks on herds throughout the area are an obvious sign once all the reports are gathered together, even if the locals are attributing it to animal attacks for now. In our opinion, there is something going on there.
"Finally, Gustav," you nod to him with a smile, "has kindly authorized our implementation of an intelligence attaché program; we hope that by the time the army moves into Sylvania we'll have enough well-trained observers alongside them to furnish us with detailed, accurate records of exactly what they encountered and where which we'll be able to analyze to produce all kinds of useful intelligence."
"A mixed bag," he says thoughtfully. "The Stirhugel will probably keep until less busy times, as long as attacks remain restricted to herds. Will you be joining us on our jaunt into Eastern Stirland?"
"Of course," you say automatically. "I mean, if my duties allowed for it."
"Then for the next six months, I task you with preparing yourself. Consider what we may face, and arm yourself accordingly - with weapons, with knowledge, and with magic."
---
"There is a dragon in my Fort," Van Hal says in a tone of voice somewhere between wonder and outrage, as he stares over the keep's battlements.
"You did give Anton a rather free hand in Ostermark."
"I thought he'd come back with a few thousand Tileans with halberds and odd ideas about politics." He shakes his head again, then tears his eyes away. "So, what other news do you have for me?"
"I finally managed to get eyes into Julbach," you report. "There was a reculsive noble from Wurtbad with a home there, though he hasn't been seen in years. Chances are it's my predecessor, but the trail is truly cold by now."
"As expected. If he was still lingering there I'd have you grab him, but I feel it's not worth going out of our way for."
"Gustav's understating the army's casualty figures, though it's probably a personality quirk rather than any attempt to mislead. Still, something to keep in mind."
"Mmm. I'll go to the Generals for accurate figures, then."
You move down the mental list of things you meant to bring up. "If you want, I could write to the Colleges requesting that wizards join to the campaign. They won't come cheap, but a true battle wizard could come in very useful in Sylvania."
"I had considered it. Not for the initial stages of the campaign - the Purge is going to be long, slow, and methodical, which in my experience is poorly suited to most battle wizards. When it's time to march on the castle itself, then..." he hesitates for a moment, his brow furrowing. "Hmm. A formal request from an Elector Count, or an internal request from a fellow wizard... if your Master can recommend someone suitable, I'll have you write to them, otherwise I will."
"Very well. Speaking of the campaign, do you expect we'll face the Von Carstein claiming the title of Elector Countess? I don't have much information, but she has at least one skilled necromancer in her service based upon the spell they were using, so it could turn ugly fairly quickly."
"I would be shocked if there was only one," he replies. "I will be prepared for them, you can be sure of that. And yes, if all goes well, this campaign will be the end of this would-be usurper." He frowns suddenly. "At least I assume that's her intention. I do hope she doesn't see herself as a suitor."
So do you. Hope, that is. "Finally, with the Elector's Meet coming up, I'd like your input on our external intelligence. So far my efforts have been concentrated within Stirland..."
"Mine too," he says with a smile.
"But would you want us to start looking without as well?"
He muses on that for a while, looking at you oddly. "Sometimes I forget how young you are." You open your mouth to reply, but no reply presents itself. He continues on. "Have you fully grasped the fact that you are the second most powerful person in Stirland?" You blink rapidly as you try to take in this sudden change in direction. "Gustav's new to the role. Kasmir was damn near fired. Anton is..." he hesitates, then moves on. "Schultz serves a very specific niche. And Wilhelmina... is a very close third, actually. She's blossomed. But none of them have the combination of abilities, resources, trust and wide-open mandate that you do. And by Sigmar you do the job damn well. But your problem is that you don't believe in yourself to the degree that this job requires you to.
"You have access to all the information I do, and you have the luxury of spending the majority of your time and focus on intrigue, where I am pulled a dozen different ways. There is only one reason for you to ask me that question, rather than reaching a conclusion for yourself: because you lack confidence.
"I wish I had words to instil that confidence in you, but all I can do is tell you that if you allow self-doubt to erode your resolve, you will fail in the duty to Stirland we share. And while I would not hesitate to stand alone and die against all the evils of Sylvania, I would rather have you by my side and win.
"So stop thinking like a journeywoman, and start thinking like the Knight I know you are."
He claps you on the shoulder and leaves you there atop the keep, and you slump against the battlements to process his words.
---
PLAN FOR THIS TURN
ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIONS - pick ONE from EACH of the categories 'Information Network' and 'Stirland Watch':
Information Network - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[ ] 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)
[ ] Expand your Intelligence Attaché program to another Division (choose one)
[ ] 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.
Stirland Watch - pick ONE (no action expenditure required):
[o] Expand the ranks of the Watch, so that they're able to start covering even the poorer parts of their covered area. (cannot be taken until army retirement resumes in one year)
[ ] Expand the Special Branch into areas already covered by the Watch, so you have an additional pool of manpower you can call upon to supplement the full-time Watchmen. (NEW)
[ ] 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.
[ ] Headhunt administrators from other organizations in Stirland.
[ ] Seek out a new leader for the Watch.
---
PERSONAL ACTIONS - CHOOSE BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN. ANY CHOSEN BEYOND THE FIRST FIVE WILL COME WITH RISKS - PLEASE SPECIFY THE 'ADDITIONAL' TASKS:
Miscellany:
[ ] Financial Jargon: Everything with the EIC flew right over your head last time. Try again. Succeeding here will mean that you can take a more active hand in the company, adding it to the organizational actions; failing or not attempting means Mathilde will remain a silent partner.
[ ] Hang Out A Shingle: Spymasters don't advertise, but wizards sometimes do. Make an official announcement that there's a wizard in residence, and see who comes out of the woodwork.
[ ] 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.
[ ] Scribe: Anton's sent away to Altdorf for someone that speaks Eltharin. Well, you speak Eltharin. Maybe you can find the time to act as amanuensis for the prince-in-exile, though it would cut into your learning-how-to-not-get-eaten-by-Sylvania time. (NEW)
Self-Improvement: Things have been going well so far, but the skills of a Journeyman Grey Mage can only go so far.
[ ] Practice, Practice, Practice: Having been thrown into the deep end of imperial politics, it would probably be a good idea to brush up on your skills and internalize the lessons you've learned (choose which trait; can be taken multiple times; will be more effective if you've used the trait a lot lately).
[ ] Tutoring: One of your fellow councillors may be willing to teach you in their chosen field (choose who).
[ ] Really Good Swords: You have achieved proficiency with the Greatsword. Future progress is possible, though it will take more effort to see results. (NEW)
[ ] Combat Training: You're virtually surrounded by armed warriors of various sorts. See if you can convince one to teach you (choose who).
[ ] Combat Training, In The Free Market: You haven't made many heavily armed friends yet, but gold is good for that. Go out and buy some training. (-personal gold)
[ ] Enchantment: You're naturally talented at enchantment; so far, this just amounts to being able to make your desk meow for about an hour. See if you can improve on that, or at least figure out a way to make that useful.
Home Comforts: Your Palace-Shrine is bursting with potential. And also mud.
[ ] 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)
[ ] Enchantment: You've finally got the equipment, now you've just got to unpack it all and set up your laboratory.
[ ] Filled with Potential: You've got a room cleared out and ready to be put to use. Decide what you're going to put there and get started on equipping it. (write in the purpose of the room)
Research:
[ ] 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.
[ ] Snooping: Van Hal gave you a key to his Study. He didn't specifically say not to poke around and see what you could find.
[ ] Shyish-kebabs: The Shyish swords are hideously dangerous as weapons, but fascinating as a subject of study. Try to reverse-engineer the lost enchantments woven into them.
[ ] Bound Spells: Though the corrosive Dhar made them high-maintenance, the design of the bound spells in the castle's infiltrators has fascinating possibilities. Try to adapt it for use with Ulgu.
[ ] Qhaysh Juice: Whatever it is, it's dripping out of the box at a steady rate. You've got two gallons of the stuff and it's still coming out. It's got to be good for something.
[ ] Qhaysh Skunkworks: It would take careful study to unlock the secrets of the liquid. It would take considerably less time to find out if it can be made to burn, or explode, or do something militarily useful. (NEW)
[ ] As a Journeywoman, the path to Magister is marked by mastering more than the two shadow spells you already know. Send to the Grey Order for the basics and work on figuring out one of the others.
Influence:
[ ] Thieves Guild: It's currently little more than a church group, albeit of a very unconventional god. If it could be expanded under your aegis, it could be a powerful tool.
[ ] Biderhof: This village based on woodcutting and agriculture, has adopted you as one of it's own. Maybe you should adopt it as your own, in a literal sense.
[ ] Non-Thief Guilds: Wurtbad, like all major cities, is home to a number of guilds. Reach out to them and enforce your will.
Relations:
[ ] Getting To Know You: Spend time with one of your fellow councillors or your liege, offering your help in their tasks and generally getting a feel for them (choose one).
[ ] Getting To Know You Whether You Like It Or Not: You've been given good reason to mistrust your fellow councillors. Perhaps you should see what they spent their time doing (choose one).
[ ] Letters Home: You might be able to wring more information out of your Master, or you might just be able to get news, information and guidance in general from the Grey Order.
[ ] 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) (can be used to perform Snooping without spending an action)
---
FINANCES: NO ACTION POINT EXPENDITURE.
Personal Income: 60 gold/turn
Discretionary Income: 200 gold/turn
Informer Payroll unlocked
Currently paying Grey College tithe (-6 personal gold/turn)
Currently paying Grey College student loans (-35 personal gold/turn)
Not currently embezzling
Currently funding regional informants (-90 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding Watch informants (-10 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding EIC informants (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently funding Intelligence Attaché program (-60 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently employing Julia Massif (-30 discretionary gold/turn)
Currently maintaining the staff of a townhouse in Wurtbad (-20 discretionary gold/turn)
[ ] Begin plumping the informer rolls (choose ratio of real:fake informers. Almost impossible to detect, but also very difficult to increase or decrease the amount quickly)
[ ] Change tithe payment/loan payment/embezzlement (specify)
[ ] These agents are getting expensive. Write up a proposal for your discretionary budget to be increased, instead of waiting for Van Hal to decide to increase it. (warning: attracts oversight to your current budget)
---
- Last turn I rolled for Anton's mercenary recruitment efforts to see who came back to the Fort with him; this week I rolled his diplomatic efforts in Ostermark, and now Ostermark is going all in.
- For those ready to beatify Anton, I will remind you that his efforts in Talabecland resulted in one notch above doing nothing. His dice aren't always ridiculous.
- Technically, Lingua Praestantia is more often known as 'Magick'. With a K. I refuse to use it because it is dumb.
- Just as I finally get done with figuring out the knock-on effects of Anton, Gustav nat 100s the drilling and I have to go research cavalry tactics.
- A write-in order from Van Hal, but as it was due to rather unpredictable circumstances, there was no relationship loss.
- A matter on the side: I invite the thread to suggest musics best suited for Mathilde's training montage. Excellence in one's suggestion may result in the granting of A Boon; the exact details of a Boon will be disclosed only to the recipient. And before anyone tries: No Rocky, and no Team America. Limit one per person, once you submit one you're locked out of further submissions, and for god's sake please at least glance at the lyrics and spend more than a couple of seconds thinking about it's suitability.
- Voting will be in Plan Format; don't forget Ranald's Blessing.
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Since it'd be trivial for Mathilde to summon one and experiment with a knife: it is damaged by normal attacks, but regenerates. Magical attacks are especially effective against it, as it disrupts the magic that forms it.
DarkLight140
Credit to Team
- Location
- Lost in my thoughts
Wait, where is our private report/meeting? Was it just so boring it's not being covered, or did I miss a note on it somewhere, or...?
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
My take:
We need to get our Greatsword skill up, seeing as we're going along for the ride.
We need to get our Greatsword skill up, seeing as we're going along for the ride.
Claytonimor
WE WILL TAKE JERUSALEM
- Location
- Loudon, TN
Look up the caracole if you're trying to figure out cavalry tactics. Also, firing your pistol and then charging is actually less effective than firing your pistol while charging when you're on horseback.
Claytonimor
WE WILL TAKE JERUSALEM
- Location
- Loudon, TN
Just cut out the best options right from the start, huh?
I'd settle for "Push it to the Limit"
- Location
- The underworld
i was wondering is it possible to sell the liquid magic to the elves it seems like something they spend good money to buy for what ever experiments their wizards will do
it should also give us the much needed cash
and what do you know we have an elf that will have important connections to get us in contact with buyers
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