Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Sappers
- Location
- The Star Kingdom of Manticore
Orard peeked over the edge of the rampart. The dumb brutes were still milling about.
"It seems they still can't decide," Orard said as he sat back down again. "Can't really make out what's happening but their acting like ants out there."
"With how dumb orcs are they could take all day to do anything," Sredhud said. "Maybe I'll take a nap. Could get some good sleep while those orcs figure out which hand is their right."
Orard chuckled at the poor joke. "But if more arrow boys want to die you'll miss your chance. You already missed your first shot today."
A cup rang as Sredhud spat into it. "I'll have you know my bolt found its mark perfectly. He just was already dead."
Orard smiled and the familiar banter. "You say that, but all I know is that I have a kill and you don't. Maybe if you work hard you can catch up."
Sredhud smiled back. "Bah, it's just one kill and beside your kill was a runt. Maybe it was just a large snotling. Snotlings don't count you know."
Before Orard could expound on the immense size of his kill he saw a runner moving towards his group. The rumbling banter quickly silenced itself as the runner reached them.
"Sappers," the runner said grimly.
"Sappers?" Sredhud repeated. "That's smart for the bastards."
"Aye," the runner said, "our artillery won't be able to thin them down as much as we want. It gives us time though. About an hour, maybe two, before they start coming in force."
With that the runner dashed off to inform another group. There was silence among Orard's company. Sappers. The biggest advantage they had over the orcs was the massed artillery and the orcs were pissing all over it. Everything would be bloodier now. Some of the youngsters tried to bring the banter back but that fell to silence quickly as they read the mood.
Minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. Orard would rather be taking a nap but he couldn't. The orcs could decide at any moment that the tunnels were close enough and charge. Had to stay ready. Every couple minutes he would check the sappers progress. At first it was hard to make out from the distance and the heat haze making it hard to focus. He kept track of them even as the zigzag pattern made him feel as though his eyes were bleeding. Each minute the sappers got closer. Closer. Closer. Darkness. Then it wasn't.
"By Grimnir's beard!" Orard said as he ducked back behind the ramparts. "What was that?"
That's when he noticed it. All around him he heard the mumbling or grumbling of dwarfs as they tried to figure out what happened. The sound of orcs, already muted by distance, had vanished completely. He peeked once more over the rampart and saw a field of blackness. It was still and silent in the caldera. He sat back down and saw the expecting gazes around him. He smiled.
"I don't know what happened," he said, "but it looks like the orcs got hit by a pretty big hammer."
A.N
Another omake for the omake throne. This one came to me after thinking about the idea that not every dwarf would know about the eye of Gazul or might not understand what it means. Please critique as it makes me a better writer!
"It seems they still can't decide," Orard said as he sat back down again. "Can't really make out what's happening but their acting like ants out there."
"With how dumb orcs are they could take all day to do anything," Sredhud said. "Maybe I'll take a nap. Could get some good sleep while those orcs figure out which hand is their right."
Orard chuckled at the poor joke. "But if more arrow boys want to die you'll miss your chance. You already missed your first shot today."
A cup rang as Sredhud spat into it. "I'll have you know my bolt found its mark perfectly. He just was already dead."
Orard smiled and the familiar banter. "You say that, but all I know is that I have a kill and you don't. Maybe if you work hard you can catch up."
Sredhud smiled back. "Bah, it's just one kill and beside your kill was a runt. Maybe it was just a large snotling. Snotlings don't count you know."
Before Orard could expound on the immense size of his kill he saw a runner moving towards his group. The rumbling banter quickly silenced itself as the runner reached them.
"Sappers," the runner said grimly.
"Sappers?" Sredhud repeated. "That's smart for the bastards."
"Aye," the runner said, "our artillery won't be able to thin them down as much as we want. It gives us time though. About an hour, maybe two, before they start coming in force."
With that the runner dashed off to inform another group. There was silence among Orard's company. Sappers. The biggest advantage they had over the orcs was the massed artillery and the orcs were pissing all over it. Everything would be bloodier now. Some of the youngsters tried to bring the banter back but that fell to silence quickly as they read the mood.
Minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. Orard would rather be taking a nap but he couldn't. The orcs could decide at any moment that the tunnels were close enough and charge. Had to stay ready. Every couple minutes he would check the sappers progress. At first it was hard to make out from the distance and the heat haze making it hard to focus. He kept track of them even as the zigzag pattern made him feel as though his eyes were bleeding. Each minute the sappers got closer. Closer. Closer. Darkness. Then it wasn't.
"By Grimnir's beard!" Orard said as he ducked back behind the ramparts. "What was that?"
That's when he noticed it. All around him he heard the mumbling or grumbling of dwarfs as they tried to figure out what happened. The sound of orcs, already muted by distance, had vanished completely. He peeked once more over the rampart and saw a field of blackness. It was still and silent in the caldera. He sat back down and saw the expecting gazes around him. He smiled.
"I don't know what happened," he said, "but it looks like the orcs got hit by a pretty big hammer."
A.N
Another omake for the omake throne. This one came to me after thinking about the idea that not every dwarf would know about the eye of Gazul or might not understand what it means. Please critique as it makes me a better writer!
So we have to destroy his shoes? It will be difficult but we can do that.
- Location
- Internet, The
Interesting. I thought two hours was the max charge, with only a few minutes recharging each day.
I believe I've been voting to meet with our few actual friends since the introduction of the social turns. Social isolation is no joke, and I'd really like to have more than just business relations and "not quite friends". Even Edda never really became Mathilde's friend, with the friendliest interaction being shoed into a business action (helping find weavers). Basically, we had the option to ask about her personal (love) life, decided to talk about business instead, and then Boney just wrote the personal interaction in anyway.
What I'm saying is that I want some of the social actions to be actually social actions, not "witness historical/intersting event x" or "find out about person y you don't know" or "check up on the progress of interesting thing y".
they're
Thank you for your contribution to the omake throne.
TimEd
Meteor maker
Wonder what the ripple effect would have been if we used the Protector while doing this?
I know sooner or later the news will leak as to it being the Sword of Gazul, but still. Using the Protector might have made it have a wider spread and may even bring confusion as to the cause of it.
After all, the Protector Coin will help spread how it was Mathilde's doing which Dusted the horde, and I doubt Protector-assisted news would have been capable of keeping the Sword of Gazul accurate due to how muh faster I expect the news to have traveled compared to normal.
I know sooner or later the news will leak as to it being the Sword of Gazul, but still. Using the Protector might have made it have a wider spread and may even bring confusion as to the cause of it.
After all, the Protector Coin will help spread how it was Mathilde's doing which Dusted the horde, and I doubt Protector-assisted news would have been capable of keeping the Sword of Gazul accurate due to how muh faster I expect the news to have traveled compared to normal.
- Location
- Singapore
To be honest, I anticipate that the thread won't vote for Protector without the security blanket like that trait which gave a plus 40 to Assassination attempts, given that we had at least one good, decent risk-reward opportunity to test Protector out without taking it back with the Battle for Karagril. And since the Protector coin is in a "try it and find out" state of uncertainty, it's in a difficult situation where people are reluctant to vote for Protector because it's an unknown, and because of this reluctance, the Protector remains a speculative unknown.
I forsee this state of affairs existing until Mathilde acquires more means of managing the risk she takes in acomplishing many of her commando style deeds. Because Mathilde going special ops mage is probably one of the key ways she can earn favor in Ulthuan, or in future offensives in the Karaz Ankor.
Last edited:
- Location
- Cardassia Prime
I mean, even their bedding is weaponized like when the King of Zhufbar took out a Skaven assassin in his bedroom by just throwing his pillow at him, with said pillow made from thick canvas and filled with 20 pounds of gravel.
Ericwinter
Definitely not a Skaven Infiltrator
- Location
- America
Well we could always use it for the elf internship. There's not much we can really predict for that, so most of the other faces are too situational, whereas the Protector would probably benefit us for the whole trip. It was basically stated to be "shedding blood in defense of Nagarythe", which falls perfectly under the Protector's purview.
- Location
- Singapore
Given the Druchi are not to be trifled with in the intrigue game, I can see a big push for Gambler throughout the whole internship, unless Mathilde starts acquiring bonuses to at least assasination and maybe even other commando style options (infiltration, Sabotage, compromising communications, etc).
- Location
- Outside the Box
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I disagree. Many of the Traits had smaller mechanical bonuses to reflect their greater narrative effects, and we ended up choosing arguably the two most narrative/mystery box traits on the entire list. If the second trait vote was entirely about dry mechanical crunch then we would have chosen Assassin for its +40 bonus and Collegiate for the action economy.
Last edited:
You could view it that way, but an other view is that using the Protector to farm favor is a waste of time and opportunity to use it for literally anything else.
It does have a time and place, when we want to create an incredibly strong first impression (see elfcation), or if Mathilde wants to create a Robin Hood esque alter ego. But I think that using it to farm dwarf favor is a waste.
Ericwinter
Definitely not a Skaven Infiltrator
- Location
- America
The problem is that Gambler only gives us two bonuses of +20 each for an entire action. While the utility of that can't be denied, it's very limited for what is likely to be three or four months of near constant action of some sort, and probably a dozen rolls at least. The Protector, on the other hand, will be valid for everything we do, and can be an enormous boon in the end results of both favor and reputation, even if the minutia suffers a bit. If we want to come out of the vacation with at least an invitation back, then we should probably go Protector while there.
- Location
- Singapore
We are talking about Elven Vietnam here after all, with the Nagarthye internship. Something tells me that arc would take as long as the Karak Eight Peak expedition.
Ericwinter
Definitely not a Skaven Infiltrator
- Location
- America
Are you agreeing with me or disagreeing? Because if it's the latter, I don't think that's how it works. The Coin lasts for an entire six months, as shown by how we couldn't redirect it during this last event because it had already been used. We get the two bonuses, and that's that. Just because the event stretches a while in real time probably won't change anything.
- Location
- Cardassia Prime
And at the end of it we will propably have killed several important DE characters and established a succesful Asur bridgehead into Naggaroth.
- Location
- Before the Ninth Gate
Look, collecting bottlecaps is a perfectly viable strategy. They've helped me stop nukes, get implants, and conquer the Mojave.
Last edited:
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
Yes, in the very update where we killed the broodmothers, Mathilde thought about the Grey College's teachings on the nature of evil.
...It appears the thread has moved on since I went to sleep, though.
Last edited:
That depends a lot on how the Protector works. Which sadly we don't know. We can speculate, but... there's lots of uncertainties and guesses to make.
Does the Protector 'merely' spread the news of the deeds you did do, thus its benefit being for those who snuck in and did a deed secretly-(or-semi-privately/quietly) to help the people of the land -- like taking out the College of Necromancy?
(On another note, I'm wondering whether "keeping things classified" clashes with "Protector Facet." It'd be unfortunate if our superiors wanted the exact specifics of what happened to be kept quiet, but Protector would give up the game. Or perhaps the Protector would not give specifics or spoil the game? Uncertain and unknown. Hopefully it's the best case scenario, but who knows.)
Does the Protector inform people of deeds you did that helped them, but which they normally/culturally would not have really valued? Or that they did not realize was actually a huge help? Such as the multiple Karagril Warboss assassinations we did -- which threw Karagril into massive disorder? But which did not lead to oodles of favor, because assassinations aren't viewed so highly by Dwarfs, and because Karagril itself would be "a paragraph or so" compared to "the Saga of the Expedition"?
(This would be highly helpful for Mathilde; it means getting rep and favor from things which normally would not have gone on the "+Favor For..." list. So like, hypothetically, when it comes to listing out all the accomplishments of a campaign -- like in the post-Expedition phase -- there would be a lot more entries in there, corresponding to all her deeds, rather than just ones which Dwarfs saw or which would be likely to have been gossiped about.)
Does the Protector also enhance the fame of things you did and which others saw happen, by making sure that rather than leaving it up to chance (or you taking actions to further your rep)... instead, it ensures that the knowledge of the deed spreads? Like right now, with the usage of the Eye of Gazul or the fact that Mathilde was the commander in charge of getting the other 5 Peaks; because, hypothetically speaking, most Dwarfs, Halflings and Humans will not have perfect information on, and awareness of, their leader's actions and deeds during the battle. The Protector makes sure that everybody in Karak Eight Peaks knows exactly how much you did.
(... This is probably a minor benefit thing, I think, if it is a thing it does. This would probably be of more utility in more politically-charged places! Like, if you were in some kind of situation where Generals were competing for prestige, and hyping up your own deeds in order to get more prestige, and conflicting and competing with your rivals and trying to make sure your rivals don't convince everybody that your deeds weren't that important... then, this aspect of it could be very useful.)
(Also, this aspect would be useful if anybody was trying to steal credit for your accomplishment. We're not in a scenario where this thing applies, but if we were, it would be quite useful.)
It might be the case that the biggest boost Protector might have given to Mathilde, would be if it connected her raids on Skryre to the eruption of the battle -- i.e. if it meant so that Mathilde was not just praised for how she handled things when shit hit the fan, but she also was credited with setting off the Enemies-Falling-Like-Dominoes effect. The difference between "You ended up in command, and you wound up with all Peaks restored..." and "WAS THIS ALL PART OF YOUR PLOT, MATHILDE?!" (Granted, the Skryre thing might not qualify to begin with; because Mathilde wanted to steal from them. Then again... "I stole from and sabotaged our mortal enemies in the Karak" is very much an action that contributes to helping Karak Eight Peaks.)
On the other hand, the Skryre stuff was totally accidental. On the other other hand, even just learning that it was accidental rather than totally planned, might still get some praise. (Of course, some might be freaked out that this ended up turning on the fan and throwing manure at it. Sure it worked out great, but if it hadn't... seriously, you ended up helping to cause the Eight Peaks Thunderdome. On the other hand, the fact that it worked out is praiseworthy... Hrm.)
Well, I guess it might matter on how much events will be obscured or publicized. I'm actually not sure how much Eight Peaks' leadership council will want it kept quiet about the exact specifics of the event. Maybe everybody gets told that we had some manner of calling in an intervention from Gazul. Maybe they just get told that Gazul helped. Maybe they get told that the Wizards and the Runesmiths were working on something to protect the Karak from attacks, and it ended up working out wonderfully, and that Mathilde Weber was the one activating it.
- Location
- Before the Ninth Gate
Also, could @Briefvoice or others help turn this into the plan format? I'm thinking something like:
ENCHANTED BULLETS
PREREQ: Enchanting, More Enchanting
PLAN: Figure out a way to cheaply make enchanted bullets. The Crystal Sword that repairs itself and the Gold Spell Enchant Item might be relevant.
TIME: ?
COST: ?
PAYOFF: Enchanted bullets for cheap.
I might have missed something, however. Also, there seemed to be split interest in thread, with some more interested in just the concept of an enchanted item that makes other enchanted items.
- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
Again, I think there is a difference between enchanting an item and casting a spell on an item. With that in mind, what about "Enchanting a gun/bullet case to cast the spell "Magic Weapon" on the bullets in it"?
- Location
- Australia
There's no point to enchanted bullets. Enchanting a gun is just as easy and provides the same benefit but is good for more than just a single shot. If you want bullets that explode on impact, enchant a gun so the bullets it shoots explode, don't enchant the individual bullets.
Droman
𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍
Counterpoint: Enchanting a gun that could misfire, be damaged or ruined is not as useful as enchanting bullets that could be used with multiple guns.
- Location
- Before the Ninth Gate
Good Point.
ENCHANTED BULLETS
PREREQ: Enchanting, More Enchanting
PLAN: Figure out a way to cheaply make enchanted/spelled bullets. The Crystal Sword that repairs itself and the Gold Spell Enchant Item might be relevant.
TIME: ?
COST: ?
PAYOFF: Enchanted bullets for cheap.
I'm not sure you can do that, but I could be wrong.
- Location
- Australia
Magic weapons can't take damage and non-magical guns misfire too - not something you want to happen when it's loaded up with magic bullets.
