Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[X] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] Introduce her to King Byrrnoth of Barak Varr, who would love to have a new distributor in the Empire for all the valuables from the East now that Death Pass is secure.
[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
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[X] Introduce her to King Byrrnoth of Barak Varr, who would love to have a new distributor in the Empire for all the valuables from the East now that Death Pass is secure.
[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
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[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] The EIC has potential to be an amazing source of information, and now that it can be trusted, Mathilde will shape it as such.
 
Don't get me wrong, pointing out to people who generally don't know just how fucking dangerous and close to catastrophe the Empire can be, how the Empire as a state is the only thing preventing near extinction of their people, that was brilliantly done as both a method of pounding it into their skulls and in execution.

But I still skimmed over it, and came back to read it fully after the other things. That is nothing against Boney's ability as a writer, it's just not interesting to me compared to pushing our understanding of magic and going on adventures in this Karak and learning how to do things better.

Action economy hell is a thing, and removing ourself from direct control will help that a lot.
 
[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[X] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] The EIC has potential to be an amazing source of information, and now that it can be trusted, Mathilde will shape it as such.
[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
IIRC he and the other Order gods are more of a problem in Cathay and Ind than the Old World.
That would make sense, it's what Warhammer do with everything else they don't care about. I think the Gods of Law were invented by the 1st Edition of WFRP though, so it kind of makes sense how little they've been fleshed out.
 
Looking at the numbers of incoming journeymen, the current system is fine and sensible for the purpose of individual wrangling but as we get more and more wizards into Karak Eight Peaks it's going to come apart at the seams. There is currently no step between "completely ignore this person" and "dictate this person's actions", which is sort of failing at Mathilde's implicit responsibilities as Court Wizard to keep track of all magical persons within the Karak and environs to ensure that they're all pointed in productive directions and not going off the deep end. Panoramia, for example, is currently productively employed in agriculture... somewhere. Presumably. If she was eaten by skaven we might not notice for a few months, because we don't actually keep track of her (though her popping up to join in Adventure Time was very heartening).

Mathilde simply does not have the half-actions to personally dictate the actions of every wizard who comes through, but by any reasonable and realistic measure she could simply order everyone who can use magic to meet up every Tuesday at noon for a two-hour meeting where everyone tells everyone else what they're up to and requests any support they need, they have a delicious halfling-cooked lunch, Mathilde goes over any anticipated issues, distributes advice, gives out any directives she's backing with Court Wizardly Authority, and then tells anyone who is clearly in need of further attention to stay a few minutes later and talk in her office.

I'm pretty sure I just described spending a half-slot on running a College Branch organization. We should do that.
Considering we just spent a organization equivalent action on having Johann manage the journeymanlings (and it seems like a popular idea to have him keep doing this) and we've built a place for them to study and rest and we also have a library and very impressive research tower that we're probably going to lend access to I think we're basically already there. At this point all we need is to make it official.

[Acquired skill: Dhar diagnosis]
Dhar diagnosis: You know how to spot Dhar poisoning, gauge its severity, and temporarily reduce the severity of some of its symptoms.

Pretty interesting.
Roswita Van Hal genuinely believes she is soon to die. And from the well-worn grooves in her soul, she has believed it for quite a while.
Looks like she's suffering from an acute case of Stirland-elector-count-itis. I don't think there's a cure for that.


[Acquired skill: Strategy]
[Acquired skill: Strategy - Skaven]
[Acquired skill: Strategy - Undead]
[Acquired skill: Tactics - Skaven]
[Acquired skill: Tactics - Undead]
[Acquired skill: Dhar diagnosis]
The anti-skaven tactics we knew were in there. Hell yes, now all we need is how to counter their magic. Maybe next chapter?

The route back to Karak Eight Peaks is long and difficult for one not escorted by a Dawongr. What route will you recommend?

[ ] Ride to Zhufbar, and take enough gyrocopters to transport you, your escort, the Elector Countess, and her escort. Fast, minimizes conversation and comfort.
[ ] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[ ] Ride all the way to Karak Eight Peaks. Slow, but maximizes showing off with Shadowsteed.
Is there even a benefit to getting there fast?
Going straight to Zhufbar isn't showy enough and riding all the way to Eight Peaks seems pointless when we want to show off dwarfyness even if speed doesn't matter. Looks like the middle option seems to be the strongest.


[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings.
[X] Introduce him to the We and see if he makes friends with them.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a source of crossbows for the Undumgi.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
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[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.

[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a source of crossbows for the Undumgi.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] The EIC is a tool that can allow Mathilde to economically intervene in all sorts of ways. She will wield it as such for the good of the Empire and its allies.
 
[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[X] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] The EIC has potential to be an amazing source of information, and now that it can be trusted, Mathilde will shape it as such.
 
[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.

Life is short, so Roswitta should experience as much as she can before she dies. A diplomatic visit to a Karak is something that likely comes once in a lifetime, especially if Roswitta has resigned herself to an early death. I do think there is something tragic about it, and I wonder whether a journey that differs from the ones she normally have to undertake might help put Roswitta in a better mental state. Also, given the vitrol in the thread over Roswitta, which I think emerges because of how little we know of Roswitta and the bad first impressions she made on the thread, I think that travelling with Roswitta and getting abit more insight into her would go a long way in resolving the information void we have about who Roswita is as a person, much like it was the case for Johann.


[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.

Anton is far more than his love life in my opinion. He has passions and inclinations beyond finding a bride, so I think these are the two options that treats Anton best as a friend and a person. I don't think it's Mathilde's duty to match-make for Anton. Furthermore, I think it's kind of sad if our actions towards Anton treats him as an object to be shipped, rather than a person with interests and a set of self-actualizations, which meeting Belebro and Gotri can play a part in. Setting up a meeting between Anton and a King and a Prince is a once-off opportunity - introducing Anton to new girls isn't, nor do I think it's strictly our duty to introduce Anton to new girls.



[X] The EIC has potential to be an amazing source of information, and now that it can be trusted, Mathilde will shape it as such.

Information gathering is the lifeblood of Mathilde's career and the business of her College. I also think that knowing and monitoring the unfolding of events in the wider world around her would make for a much richer quest, and I think that information networks is going to be a reliable and replenishable way Mathilde can keep contributing to the Grey College.

Furthermore, I don't think Mathilde's sense of duty means she would avoid doing the bare minimum, defanging the risk the EIC evolves into another Stirlander league- I find it more plausible that Mathilde would not step aside until the EIC fulfills it's potential as an Intelligence Asset for the good of the Empire. I also find it rich that Mathilde would put in efforts to instill a long term commitment to the prosperity of the Empire in the EIC, and not follow up with contributing in her own way through the EIC, her own share of the pursuit for the good of the Empire.

Mathilde's job is not done yet. Please don't simply just step away. Once the information network is up, Mathilde can rest - but her job is not done yet. (Edited because of QM clarifications)

Also, bear in mind that half an action means that there's room to employ one more journeyman to wrangle into either helping with our Research Projects, engage in the 2 papers for one AP paper writing option, devote to a task related to our jobs and so on. That's before counting the potential to tie the information network to the Grey College information apparatus and generate contributions and favors in order to further justify the surge in dividends we may well acquire from the EIC and if Ranaldian Shrine ever becomes an organization, then Ranaldian Tavern/Shrine related actions.

Furthermore, there is no guarantee the thread will vote to stay in the Eight Peaks forever. In my view, an information network attached to the EIC, which Mathilde will always control, could well end up saving us time in the future if we ever take future jobs that do require an information network, when we already have one set up. Furthermore, such an information network probably opens the door for Mathilde to potentially find other jobs beyond Karak Eight Peaks.

And from the perspective of Karak Eight Peaks, given that King Belegar seems to task us with alot of diplomatic tasks to human lands, because Prince Kazrik is not versed in either Riekspiel or human society, odds are very high that King Belegar would continually to assign us tasks to human lands, as has happened in the last two turns. For instance, if Belegar wants us to search and assemble another mercenary army for the Eight Peaks, an information network that we have may well allow us to accomplish a task that normally takes one AP with a lower DC, half AP because of the EIC networks and role in arms trading.
 
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Fun. Maximum Dawi!
Shame about the spell learning only grabbing one, but that's how Ranald rolls sometimes.
Still not sure how I'm gonna work it. Idea 1: Ducklings count as a single employee until you finish running them through Wizard Boot Camp and you can choose which you want to keep. Idea 2: Magic Club type organization. Tea and bickies every Festag to tell what you've been up to, complain about any problems you face, and maybe have the Boss Wizard Lady intervene in your troubles or point you towards a particular opportunity. Likely to think of other ideas before it comes time to write it.
Yeah, I think it might be good to have an option for an umbrella organisation like the beginnings of a "Colleges Branch Office" as has been proposed before. Picking up one more Journeymanling doesn't scale. If K8P is gonna become a regular Journeying and Research site, as seems likely, it would behoove us as Court Wizard to have some structure in place.
As Belegar said, he'd like Journeymanlings to continue to not be a problem.

...of course ideally it's not just a den mother action sink, but something that adds value all around, to K8P, us and the Wizardlings, but I'm not quite sure what that looks like.

This will do for now. Continue Operation Maximum Dwarf Transport (and Maximum Gossip Value).
We certainly shouldn't spread the Spider silk knowledge before it goes to Belegar and the Council.
EIC to regular intelligence organisation because
1. Grey Wizard and it's what we do, and
2. Free a half slot to manage Colleges of Magic South East

[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Introduce her to King Byrrnoth of Barak Varr, who would love to have a new distributor in the Empire for all the valuables from the East now that Death Pass is secure.
[] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] The EIC has potential to be an amazing source of information, and now that it can be trusted, Mathilde will shape it as such.
 
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[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.

[X] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings.
[X] Introduce him to the self-proclaimed Questing Knight Soizic.

[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.

[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
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Vlad is actually surprisingly unmagicky for a vampire. I suspect he lacks a natural inclination for it, so relies on what skill he's picked up over the last few millennia. He's a much much better general and fighter than Mannfred though IIRC. Plus his reputation alone holds a lot of weight, which means he finds it easier to gain support and allies, and to defeat enemies.
I suppose. But when you hear "Castle Drakhov rebuilding itself before your very eyes", the list of people who have that kind of power and thematic connection are basically limited to the setting's big baddies.
Actually she's being perfectly civil with us, barely Blinked at the "suddenly Dwarves" and seems to have far more pressing concerns on her mind than any perceived grudge, actually I don't think she even registers that there's any grudge to be had
From her point of view she gave a straightforward and honest dismissal of a former advisor to her father that she didn't trust for her own reasons and that was the end of it
On the one hand, sure. She was as respectful as one can be when firing the most important figure against the Vampires since Wilhelm III over religious beliefs. And so far, whatever distaste she retains has been kept in check. But at this point she can't ignore than all this could have been hers. Madaline's a foundational keystone in a revitalized Dwarf empire. Roswita's content to die in a zombie-infested ditch with her pride and faith. Her greatest glory is going to be the deliveryman for a relic and a people she contributed nothing to.

There's a reason a certain biblical verse calls feeding and clothing an enemy 'heaping coals of shame on their heads'.
 
[X] Ride to Black Fire Pass and take a Dwarven monitor down Skull River, stop at Barak Varr, and then up Blood River. Reasonably fast, comfortable, maximizes Dwarf-y showing off.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a seasoned diplomat who can round up mercenaries for him.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
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[X] Ride to Zhufbar, and take enough gyrocopters to transport you, your escort, the Elector Countess, and her escort. Fast, minimizes conversation and comfort.
[X] Introduce him to all the single Journeymanlings.
[X] Introduce him to Prince Gotri as a factory builder seeking his advice in gunsmithing.
[X] Introduce her to King Belegar, who has a hoard to spend and is desperate enough for firepower to buy from manlings.
[X] The EIC has potential to be an amazing source of information, and now that it can be trusted, Mathilde will shape it as such.
 
[X] Ride to Zhufbar, and take enough gyrocopters to transport you, your escort, the Elector Countess, and her escort. Fast, minimizes conversation and comfort.
[X] Introduce him to the self-proclaimed Questing Knight Soizic.
[X] Introduce him to King Belegar as a source of crossbows for the Undumgi.
[X] Introduce her to the We and the silk they produce, so she can begin preparing for the economic upheaval about to hit the unsuspecting Empire.
[X] Mathilde's intervention with the EIC was to prevent them from being a new Stirlandian League. That mission is accomplished. Pull back and let it manage itself.
 
I suppose. But when you hear "Castle Drakhov rebuilding itself before your very eyes", the list of people who have that kind of power and thematic connection are basically limited to the setting's big baddies.
Oh absolutely. Or I suppose the good guys could do, they just have no reason to want to. Dangerous with a capital 'D' magical bad guys are Nagash, Arkhan, Khatep, Mannfred, Morathi, Malekith, Greater Daemons of Tzeentch, Grey Seers (depending). Anyone I'm missing?
 
Don't get me wrong, pointing out to people who generally don't know just how fucking dangerous and close to catastrophe the Empire can be, how the Empire as a state is the only thing preventing near extinction of their people, that was brilliantly done as both a method of pounding it into their skulls and in execution.

But I still skimmed over it, and came back to read it fully after the other things. That is nothing against Boney's ability as a writer, it's just not interesting to me compared to pushing our understanding of magic and going on adventures in this Karak and learning how to do things better.

Action economy hell is a thing, and removing ourself from direct control will help that a lot.
I felt much the same about studying the snakejuice, to be honest.
 
Sure, yes, but in 2471 he said that he did not intend to die before the end of the century. This implies that whatever Roswita is dealing with, it is not something her father was also dealing with: she sincerely believes she will soon die, and as realistic and inured to the harshness of life as he was, he did not.
Considering how that worked out for Abelheim I can't help but think that Roswita is just more aware of how her goals play out than her father was.
 
That is a rather obvious possibility in hindsight but we are specifically talking about priest powers so in that case he would be more likely to be well a priest. And well IIRC the witch hunters were specifically heavily infiltrated by Solkan who's pretty bad especially for us.
Aren't the Witchhunters of the Empire proper literally the Templars of Sigmar? I'd say they're halfway to priest by default.
 
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