Lets see, actions first, since voting opens in like 2 hours and I'd like a workable action plan before that.
I don't think theres urgent studies needed anymore. Best have him on the teaching job, or hit up paper if we want it.
I suspect if we don't let him play with Skaven soon theres a chance he'd just resign and operate independently instead.
Which option we choose depends on which recon action we favor.
Okay, so with an EIC branch opening in Eight Peaks, theres only ONE option thats absolutely mandatory here:
[ ] Instil corporate policy: always be scrupulously honest when dealing with Dwarves.
However, if we had additional actions to spare the following can be useful:
[ ] Strike a deal to have the EIC purchase and resell Ulrikadrin timber.
[ ] Strike a deal to have the EIC supply and control the shops of Karag Nar.
Its not badly in need, but somebody would be moving in on both deals sooner than later, and this represents a powerful flow of information(and profit) we could sit on.
The shops especially. People love to gossip to their shopkeepers.
Okay, so lets see:
No brainers:
[ ] Deliver King Belegar's request to the College for a translation item (does not cost an action).
[ ] Request the translation item yourself (does not cost an action; converts 3 College Favour to Dwarf Favour).
We don't need Dwarf favor so badly I think, though Reputation boost never hurts, we need it more in the College.
However, keep in mind relying on magic items is a stopgap, items can be lost or stolen. So one of the following is important as a backup channel.
[ ] Teach the We written Khazalid.
-Spiders are more likely to encounter dwarfs than anything else in their natural habitats.
-Khazalid, from the sound of what we've seen is a very precise language. Theres a word for everything and every plausible sub-category of the thing is reached through appending prefixes/suffixes. This gels somewhat decently with what we know of the spiders native thought structures, though the stone metaphors are going to fly overhead.
-Written Khazalid is too slow to use in an urgent situation.
[ ] Teach the We written Reikspiel.
-Reikspiel is spoken by a lot more people overall, even Greenskins and Skaven know some. This is useful for potential spying applications, but not good for keeping them strongly on our side.
-Reikspiel is a 'messy' language, as befits one cludged together like the Empire's origins. Loan words abound, which makes full understanding likely frustrating to the spiders.
-Written Reikspiel is too slow to use in an urgent situation.
-Action efficient, we can throw a Journeymanling at this
[ ] Teach the We Dwarven semaphore.
-Fast and straightforward to use in a hurry. Spiders might actually be better at it than people with only 2 limbs free to use.
-Semaphore has strong similarities to what the Spiders seem to use for internal communication, expected to be learned very fast.
-Semaphore is more or less useless for conveying complex ideas beyond Go Here Go There. We'd need to rely on the magic item for actual negotiations.
And we need this to be done definitely.
[ ] Help the We establish their new nest below the Citadel.
-Directly in line to eat lots of Skaven.
-Higher exposure to risks, but from what I gather the spiders are fine with it as long they can have their breeders in sheltered areas. No other losses are critical in terms of anything but food costs.
-Citadel is the Underway Hub and riddled with complicated tunnels. Good for spiders to web up, not so good for pushing an organized force through until you hit the big chamber.
-More difficult to negotiate further if they're actively engaged in fighting.
[ ] Help the We establish their new nest below Karag Lhune.
-Directly in line to guard Lhune from Underway intrusion
-A Hive is REALLY good for 'fortifying' the Abyss by webbing clean across the thing.
-Partly secured zone, not much enemies to eat.
-Easier to teach them a language in peace. Khazalid of course given the residents.
[ ] Help the We establish their new nest below Karag Nar.
-Directly in line to guard Nar from Underway intrusion
-Already secured zone, not much enemies to eat.
-Easier to teach them a language in peace. Reikspiel given the residents.
-Higher risk of unfortunate accidents. Humans are not known for listening to instructions reliably.
[ ] Francesco Caravello has emerged as the leader of the Undumgi. He will likely end up under Dreng's or Princess Edda's control, but you could step in and bring them under yours. 2 organisations cost 1 action per turn.
This is a straight power grab. None of his actions are likely to be useful in Court Wizard jobs. Better off under Marshal or Steward.
Pass.
[ ] You have acquired the possession of the Temple where Ranald mugged Mork. Set up a shrine and spread knowledge of it throughout Karag Nar.
Sooner better than later. The migrants should be arriving this turn and we want this going already.
[ ] Crime is inevitable, so it may as well be organized crime. Send word to Heideck and make sure that when an underworld emerges, it will be a Ranaldian one. This cannot be tracked back to you.
[ ] Crime is inevitable, so it may as well be organized crime. Send word to Heideck to send individuals who will construct an underworld under your command. This will be concealed, but could be tracked back to you. Will be under your control; 2 organisations cost 1 action per turn.
We actually have a confirmed crime free environment right now and this is very dodgy behavior.
[ ] Kvinn-Wyr is full of trolls. Investigate this for yourself.
Dreng said this is contained. The trolls come out, see a wall and wander back in.
[ ] Travel underneath Kvinn-Wyr and investigate Karag Mhonar.
They can't reach us. Barring sensing large amounts of magical energy surging theres no rush on this yet.
[ ] Travel through the Underway into Karag Yar, to investigate the third source of pressure on Clan Mors.
If we have a strategy for causing the Skaven to fall even further into infighting this is useful.
[ ] You've mapped the territory of Clan Mors. Go down there and cause some havoc.
Premature, unless Belegar said hes going to launch a strike force this turn, the havoc would be regenerated soon enough.
[ ] You've mapped the territory of Clan Mors. Go down there and see what you can acquire.
This has strong synergy with Johann being allowed to investigate the Skaven, and gives him some incentive to play along after we showed him the stick last turn.
Also synergy with setting up spiders under the Citadel
[ ] Clan Moulder are set up under Karagril. Investigate.
[ ] Greenskins currently occupy Karagril. Find out what tribe they are and who rules them.
Kick up Greenskin-Skaven infighting a notch potentially.
[ ] Investigate underneath Karag Lhune: the Lhune Deeps and the Grand Abyss.
Relatively low priority. Theres probably bad shit down there but its been there a long time.
[ ] Investigate the constantly-dripping blood of the Wisdom's Asp. Current accumulation: 12 gallons.
We have a useful lab now and I suspect people are sick of waiting.
[ ] Send to the Grey College for the appropriate scrolls to learn a specific spell: specify which.
We got a whole bunch of spells we might want to learn. Illusion, Shadow Knives and Invisibility especially.
[ ] Investigate how Pall of Darkness interacts with your sharpened magical senses.
Valuable for Deep Recon if things go bad.
[ ] Investigate how the We communicates with... itself?
Synergy with Spider diplomacy/teaching actions. Knowing how they communicate with themselves helps a LOT with developing a perspective on their psychology and making sure ideas don't get lost in transmission.
[ ] The Second Secret of Dhar teaches how to collapse it upon itself. Practice upon local Dhar taint, and see if this works with Warpstone.
Synergy with Skaven Sabotage, though I'd suggest we figure out HOW to do it and only do it just before a major strike.
...also if we set off the giant piles of warpstone we might wind up with Seven And A Half Peaks. Probably best to know for sure before we do things.
Remember while we aren't actually short on College Favors, the longer we wait between doing a thing and writing a paper on it the harder it is due to fading memories.
I think digging a place to put our books OR building a tower lab so people can release their Snek Juice pressures are probably the best priority right now.
[ ] Wolf is now fully grown, and is a very large dog or a regular-sized wolf. Train him. (increases his intelligence, may deepen Familiar bond)
Easy choice this time, appease the pupper lovers.
HOWEVER!
[ ] Spend time assisting with a fellow councillor's task: specify who and how.
Gunnar is facing a tough job burying a lot of humans he only has incidental lore on. We can help. Its also polite to help him BEFORE trying to squeeze training out of him
So assembling a vote structure:
Max 0/1
Johann 1/1
EIC 0/1
Social 0/1
Penthouse 0/1
Personal 0/4
Coin 0/1
Overwork 2/2
[ ] Plan Citadel Focus
-[ ][Max] Current Task: Have Maximilian teach the We written Reikspiel.
-[ ][Johann] Allow him to spend all his time investigating Clan Mors.
-[ ][EIC] Instil corporate policy: always be scrupulously honest when dealing with Dwarves.
-[ ][Social] Wolf is now fully grown, and is a very large dog or a regular-sized wolf. Train him. (increases his intelligence, may deepen Familiar bond)
-[ ][Penthouse] Have a tower built atop Karag Nar: -100gc for 1 room, bonus to room's purpose.
-[ ][Free] Request the translation item yourself (does not cost an action; converts 3 College Favour to Dwarf Favour).
-[ ] Help the We establish their new nest below the Citadel.
-[ ] Spend time assisting with a fellow councillor's task: Gunnar, assist him with human burial rites.
-[ ] You have acquired the possession of the Temple where Ranald mugged Mork. Set up a shrine and spread knowledge of it throughout Karag Nar.
-[ ] You've mapped the territory of Clan Mors. Go down there and see what you can acquire.
-[ ] The Gambler: You've mapped the territory of Clan Mors. Go down there and see what you can acquire.
The main thrust of this plan is to point half our actions at the Citadel:
-We go see what else we can liberate from Mors. If we found Gromril lying around in their market theres probably more.
-We appease Johann a bit by letting him advance his mission(this also means that if Johann is adequately stealthy we can run a 2x Magister mission)
-With the probing we can also identify where would be a good place for the spiders to nest.
Then we have Courtesy actions:
-Make sure the EIC plays nice
-Help Gunnar and befriend him before we start trying to get him to train us.
-Get the Ranald shrine set up ahead of the new migrants. Its easier to accept if its already there.
Then we have the player appeasement actions:
-FINALLY spend time with Wolf
