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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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[X] Plan Collegiate Loyalties
-[X] Grey College - Highest
--[X] Debt of gratitude for retaining sanity and health through being born with magic.
--[X] Familial loyalty to Master
--[X] Academic interest in the preservation and perpetuation of discoveries
--[X] Self preservation in maintaining Wizard status within Empire for safety reasons.
--[X] Ambition in maintaining access to College resources and knowledge for the purpose of self improvement in the field of magic. It is very unlikely to obtain knowledge of similar depth in any one area, and impossible to do so for broader areas.
-[X] Empire - Significant
--[X] Duty as a Wizard of the Grey College to obey the Grey College, transferred from duty of the Grey College to follow the lead of the collective Colleges, transfered from the collective Colleges loyalty to the Empire.
--[X] Duty as a Knight of Stirland to the Elector Count of Stirland, transferred from the duty of the duty of the Elector Count to the Empire
--[X] Self preservation from the Enemies of Man, Undead, Orc and Chaos would be free to wreak havoc without the intact Empire to protect its people from those.
--[X] Practical utility in acquiring assets, equipment and common services requires the continuance of civilization.
-[X] Humanity - Modest
--[X] Religious beliefs mandate the protection and furtherence of humanity.
--[X] Personal ethics seeks to minimize unnecessary harm to humanity in general.

[X] Seeking knowledge by building a branch campus of the Grey College on your estate in Stirland.

[X] Enchantment Commissions
[X] Enchantment Services
[X] Lectures and Demonstrations
[X] Taking on Apprentices
[X] Interrogation
[X] Research and Development (thaumaturgical) (ie. stuff derived from Shyish-Kebabs and Qhaysh juice)
[X] Being available to investigate reports of unsanctioned magic-users.
[X] Being available to intervene in matters of great import as needed
 
Andres110 said:
By law, our highest loyalty is supposed to be to the Empire. Saying that we're more loyal to the Grey College than the Empire is breaking an article of magic, which as I understand it is treason.
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It says in the very same plan that our loyalty to the Empire is on transference from the Grey College. Ergo its definitionally not treason, because obviously the Grey College is loyal to the Empire.
If you wish to put the Empire higher than the Grey College you need a basis to justify the argument because this is an academic paper...and Mathilde does not actually HAVE that basis.
 
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Oooh, indecision. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of walking away from Stirland. On the other hand, dorf adventures! But then Stirland would still be there after five years; we could do a Karak Eight Peaks 'arc' and then come back to open up a Grey College branch on the fief. Of course, the landscape could change a fair amount while Matty's off adventuring. If anyone is serious about snagging Anton as a husbando, he'd almost certainly be off the marriage market in five years.
 
[X] Plan Collegiate Loyalties
-[X] Grey College - High
--[X] Debt of gratitude for retaining sanity and health through being born with magic.
--[X] Familial loyalty to Master
--[X] Academic interest in the preservation and perpetuation of discoveries
--[X] Self preservation in maintaining Wizard status within Empire for safety reasons.
--[X] Ambition in maintaining access to College resources and knowledge for the purpose of self improvement in the field of magic. It is very unlikely to obtain knowledge of similar depth in any one area, and impossible to do so for broader areas.
-[X] Empire - High
--[X] Belief in the ideal of Mankind United under the Empire for the betterment of all.
--[X] Obedience to the Laws of the Empire as the premier force for Order in the world.
--[X] Oath to the Articles of Magic, to act in the interests of the Empire.
--[X] Duty as a Wizard of the Grey College to obey the Grey College, transferred from duty of the Grey College to follow the lead of the collective Colleges, transfered from the collective Colleges loyalty to the Empire.
--[X] Duty as a Knight of Stirland to the Elector Count of Stirland, transferred from the duty of the duty of the Elector Count to the Empire
--[X] Self preservation from the Enemies of Man, Undead, Orc and Chaos would be free to wreak havoc without the intact Empire to protect its people from those.
--[X] Practical utility in acquiring assets, equipment and common services requires the continuance of civilization.
-[X] Humanity - Modest
--[X] Religious beliefs mandate the protection and furtherance of humanity.
--[X] Personal ethics seeks to minimize unnecessary harm to humanity in general.

[X] Seeking knowledge by building a branch campus of the Grey College on your estate in Stirland.

[X] Enchantment Commissions
[X] Enchantment Services
[X] Lectures and Demonstrations
[X] Taking on Apprentices
[X] Interrogation
[X] Research and Development (thaumaturgical) (ie. stuff derived from Shyish-Kebabs and Qhaysh juice)
[X] Being available to investigate reports of unsanctioned magic-users.
[X] Being available to intervene in matters of great import as needed
 
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BoneyM said:
I might be missing something here, what do you see as 'best possible place' apart from 1) remote and 2) friendly landlord? Unlike a lot of other winds Ulgu doesn't really have sites naturally rich in it, just times of day.
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I had thought that there were sites or regions naturally rich in it, actually- to make a real-world comparison there are areas like the Great Smoky Mountains in the eastern US where there are hours of fog, reliably, on a daily basis, which would seem appropriate. Admittedly that's a rather broad geographical feature rather than something like "this particular valley is shaded except for fifteen minutes around noon due to the way that the sunlight hits the cliffs around it, build there" sort of thing. In any case, if you're saying that density of ulgu isn't an applicable concern in your game, then it's not and I'll drop my objection.
 
BoneyM said:
It's not until several days in that you realize you can talk to those giving the presentations - not during them, of course, but you can ambush them in the hallway or track down their office and nine times in ten they're delighted to have someone to talk the ear off about their latest pet project.
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This is how you identify the new postgraduate student :p
BoneyM said:
What you quickly learn is though you don't quite have the proper jargon vocabulary, you do have a grasp of the nature of Ulgu that matches many and exceeds some that are giving these lectures; the conversations you have are interesting but often not educational, as those giving the talks spend several hours to get to a point that you grasp on an instinctive level. Still, it does help to better understand the underpinnings of the conclusions you reach without thought, which leads you to be better able to apply your magical insight.
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Huh, interesting, we have an intuitive grasp as good as extant magisters?
I guess we've been underrating our power level for a long time
BoneyM said:
It's one-on-one, of course, and in a specially warded and reinforced room to hopefully minimize disaster, but you absorb knowledge at an impressive rate and shape the illusions as fast as they are taught to you. Mutable Visage is the instant makeover of a more materialistic girl's dreams, and Eye of the Beholder is focussed around the mental manipulations you've used so well with Mindhole. With those absorbed in a few days apiece, your Master decides you might have earned something a bit more difficult, and the much more complicated structure of Mockery of Death is revealed to you. It takes twice as long, but as before, your intuitive grasp of Ulgu makes learning the spells straightforward, so your Master decides to push you further than ever before. Substance of Shadow, a spell with frankly astounding possibilities, is laid down before you, and your Master sits back to watch if you'll rise once more to the occassion.
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Mmmm, new spells....unexpected, but bueno
BoneyM said:
It's an observation you've made before: either because of your country background or some personal quirk, to you, Ulgu is more fog than shadow. Mastering a spell explicitly based around the shadow aspects of Ulgu presents some difficulty because of this; it just doesn't instinctively mesh in the way that's so familiar to you. Days turn to weeks as you try to visualize the strange warping of reality that the spell causes, until you finally reach a breakthrough that changes everything: shadow is the gate through which fog travels and changes states. A person or object passes through the ensorcelled shadow, and becomes not just invisible but also intangible until the spell runs its course or the person or object is illuminated. They are converted to an energy pattern not unlike fog which travels through the medium of shadow until ejected.
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And that is an interesting tack, wonder whats the difference, since it looks like we've actually gone savant into one aspect of Ulgu without the rest.
BoneyM said:
At first, you thought that there'd been some mistake and one of the College staff was cleaning the room, but before you can embarass yourself you realize that the man in front of you is your teacher, and he has eschewed the robes of office as unnecessary forewarning to those he hunts. He introduces himself as Mr Grey, which is possibly the worst alias you've ever encountered, and he explains his purpose here today: to break you of your reliance on the trappings of enchantment paraphernalia. You think he's going to teach you new enchanting techniques, and you smile in anticipation.

Except what he actually teaches you is a suite of very specialized spells to do all the things your tools normally would. Ways of concentrating Ulgu to bend, reflect, or refract light, ways to craft very small and immobile illusions that act as lenses, a variant on the shadowknife he called a 'shadowchisel' to carve runes, a way of creating an illusory box that will allow sunlight in but not out, and a wide lens to concentrate a large area of sunlight into it, to build a tiny solar forge. All things that could be done significantly easier with your current workshop, and you do somewhat resent that he's presenting this to you after the time and effort you spent getting your hands on the items of your workshop.

That said, you do pick up a lot of general knowledge about the art of enchantment along the way, and feel you're that much closer to reaching new heights of possibilities.

[Enchantment Training: Learning, 96+19=115
[Rolling...]
[Trait Gained: Tool-Free Enchanting! (Possibility 4 of 6)]
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...Ranald laughs to death. Please send help.
BoneyM said:
"My student," he says, apparently apropos of nothing, "tell me what you know of the highest level of secrecy ratings."

The sudden swerve in topic comes as a surprised, but you're used to thinking on your feet."Not much," you say. "It's when something is considered so secret that you're not even allowed to reveal that-" you pause, realising, and then continue the sentence "-that there is anything to be classified."

"Correct," he says. The fire crackles as your Master stares into it, perhaps weighing how much could be communicated versus the danger in doing so. Then, he sighs. "Your progress is satisfactory. Return to your studies."

There are no studies to return to; you earmarked this time for your lessons with your Master. But now there's nothing to discuss. Now, even filling that time gap could disturb the layer of secrecy that has apparently been put into place. It's immensely frustrating, but there's little you can do about it. When this level of secrecy is invoked, a month of learning is but the tiniest of sacrifices that can and will be made to it. You burn with curiousity as to what could have caused this, and it's likely you'll never know.

Unless, of course, it blows up in everyone's face.

[Internalizing Intrigue: 1]
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o_O
Just how high did it reach? Because theres a VERY small list of people who would invoke that level of classification if they were complicit:
-A reigning Elector Count
-The Emperor
-The Emperor's Councilors
-A College Patriarch(note, the Colleges will DOUBLE DOWN on keeping this blackbooked)
-The Ar Ulric
-The Grand Theogonist

...none of them are a pleasant idea...
 
[ ] Seeking adventure in Belegar Ironhammer's reconquest of Karak Eight Peaks.
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This seems interesting, and builds upon Dwarf rep.
[ ] Seeking adventure as the second coming of Nagash, searching for ways to overcome the final enemy of life. (you won't actually write this on the paper, but choose it if this is what you want Mathilde to do)
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Look even ignoring the direct consequences of Necromancy if we want immortality delving deeply into Ulgu is less likely to end in Mathilde being called by her own order, and/or the Witch Hunters.
[ ] Seeking knowledge by building a branch campus of the Grey College on your estate in Stirland.
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Next up Grey Wizards getting positive rep with a conservative place like Stirland. :lol Still it is probably a worthwhile choice in the long run, and the land isn't all that useful by itself.
[ ] Enchantment Commissions
[ ] Enchantment Services
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Both of these make sense although what is the difference?
[ ] Research and Development (thaumaturgical) (ie. stuff derived from Shyish-Kebabs and Qhaysh juice)
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I'd like to actually use up the Qhaysh juice rather than collect gallons upon gallons of the substance.
[ ] Being available to investigate reports of unsanctioned magic-users.
[ ] Being available to intervene in matters of great import as needed
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Both of these make sense, but I prefer the latter, and the former might have issues with them being followers of Sigmar. I'm also kinda worried about a lack of focus if we pick too many choices.
 
DarkLight140 said:
I had thought that there were sites or regions naturally rich in it, actually- to make a real-world comparison there are areas like the Great Smoky Mountains in the eastern US where there are hours of fog, reliably, on a daily basis, which would seem appropriate. Admittedly that's a rather broad geographical feature rather than something like "this particular valley is shaded except for fifteen minutes around noon due to the way that the sunlight hits the cliffs around it, build there" sort of thing. In any case, if you're saying that density of ulgu isn't an applicable concern in your game, then it's not and I'll drop my objection.
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I... have a new thing to wikiwalk. I grew up in the tropics, I don't know fog that well. Don't drop your objection just yet.
 
Andres110 said:
Why this?
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Uh, I'm voting for starting a College branch. We'd have to be willing to at least give lectures to students or it'd be kind of weird?

DarkLight140 said:
I had thought that there were sites or regions naturally rich in it, actually- to make a real-world comparison there are areas like the Great Smoky Mountains in the eastern US where there are hours of fog, reliably, on a daily basis, which would seem appropriate. Admittedly that's a rather broad geographical feature rather than something like "this particular valley is shaded except for fifteen minutes around noon due to the way that the sunlight hits the cliffs around it, build there" sort of thing. In any case, if you're saying that density of ulgu isn't an applicable concern in your game, then it's not and I'll drop my objection.
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There are likely such areas, but I think their significance is overstated, because the Colleges cannot realistically claim access to them. Remember, owning land is the hardest part, you can't just buy land in the Empire, it has to be deeded to you with the approval of the reigning Elector Count.

Which happens very rarely, so Mathilde being a landowner is...a bit of a windfall if we were willing to take a swing at Magic Academy Quest.
Also...such foggy areas in the Empire are mostly in Stirland as I recall, especially around the hilly bit. The karst geography makes for lots of foggy valleys
 
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[X] Empire. it's our duty, then College. they saved our life, then Humanity, they are the shield against chaos.

[X] Seeking knowledge by building a branch campus of the Grey College on your estate in Stirland.
[X] Enchantment Commissions
[X] Enchantment Services
[X] Lectures and Demonstrations
[X] Taking on Apprentices
[X] Interrogation
[X] Research and Development (thaumaturgical) (ie. stuff derived from Shyish-Kebabs and Qhaysh juice)
[X] Being available to investigate reports of unsanctioned magic-users.
[X] Being available to intervene in matters of great import as needed
 
I understand mechanically why we lost a month of time to understanding the intrigue but IC we don't need to spend more than a night finding out we can't learn from it, do we?

Maybe we spent some of it looking up stuff and our mentor destroyed it. Maybe we messed up and had to spend a month cleaning it up?

I'm not trying to say we did anything productive, we didn't. I don't want to annoy the GM unnecessary but it just doesn't make sense to me.
 
[ ] Seeking adventure in the Zhufbar expeditions into Karak Azul.
[ ] Seeking knowledge by building a branch campus of the Grey College on your estate in Stirland.
I kind of want to do both of these at once. Use the Zhufbar expeditions to further build on Mathilde's dwarf relations, pick up a couple of miner contacts, then come back to the estate and put the whole branch campus underground.

[ ] Enchantment Commissions
[ ] Enchantment Services
Did anyone figure out what the difference between these was? My guess is Commissions is external and Services internal, but I don't really have a lot to go on.

[ ] Research and Cataloguing (biological)
What kind of biological research would this involve? All I can think of is loading up the Matrix in whatever animals we have on hand, maybe seeing if we can extend its use to self-targeting spells. Cataloguing makes me think of the work we did with the attaches during the purge.
 
It sounds like our Master tried, but couldn't find a way to edge around it, and replacement classes in the Grey College would cue more nosy people.

So Mathilde gets an exercise in frustration, the better to keep the secret by maintaining the routine.
 
DarkLight140 said:
I had thought that there were sites or regions naturally rich in it, actually- to make a real-world comparison there are areas like the Great Smoky Mountains in the eastern US where there are hours of fog, reliably, on a daily basis, which would seem appropriate. Admittedly that's a rather broad geographical feature rather than something like "this particular valley is shaded except for fifteen minutes around noon due to the way that the sunlight hits the cliffs around it, build there" sort of thing. In any case, if you're saying that density of ulgu isn't an applicable concern in your game, then it's not and I'll drop my objection.
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Seeing how the Valley of the Singing King has a very strong possibility to be such a place, I've tweaked the campus option to leave the exact site to-be-determined.

Fog is weirder than I thought.


Yuckwitte said:
I understand mechanically why we lost a month of time to understanding the intrigue but IC we don't need to spend more than a night finding out we can't learn from it, do we?

Maybe we spent some of it looking up stuff and our mentor destroyed it. Maybe we messed up and had to spend a month cleaning it up?

I'm not trying to say we did anything productive, we didn't. I don't want to annoy the GM unnecessary but it just doesn't make sense to me.
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There are no studies to return to; you earmarked this time for your lessons with your Master. But now there's nothing to discuss. Now, even filling that time gap could disturb the layer of secrecy that has apparently been put into place. It's immensely frustrating, but there's little you can do about it. When this level of secrecy is invoked, a month of learning is but the tiniest of sacrifices that can and will be made to it. You burn with curiousity as to what could have caused this, and it's likely you'll never know.
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veekie said:
o_O
Just how high did it reach? Because theres a VERY small list of people who would invoke that level of classification if they were complicit:
-A reigning Elector Count
-The Emperor
-The Emperor's Councilors
-A College Patriarch(note, the Colleges will DOUBLE DOWN on keeping this blackbooked)
-The Ar Ulric
-The Grand Theogonist

...none of them are a pleasant idea...
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Well I'd say it is a safe bet that everyone caught so far is simply a branch of a larger organization whose corruption runs deep, and might be behind the clashes between provinces, which probably means everyone is in full blown "EVERYONE is a suspect!" mode.

Although if my speculation is true... it'd be nice to resolve it, and point them in the direction of Karak Eight Peaks for some good old jolly cooperation, but that is an unlikely outcome. Still you need to have dreams especially in a setting like Warhammer.
 
BoneyM said:
Seeing how the Valley of the Singing King has a very strong possibility to be such a place, I've tweaked the campus option to leave the exact site to-be-determined.

Fog is weirder than I thought.
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Thanks! I would find it really cool if Mathilde could hunt down a place where the daily view is something like this to make sure that she and any future people at the campus can really get in touch with their Wind.
 
[X] Seeking knowledge by investigating the phenomena and manifestations of Sylvania.

You know, at first this seemed like a terrible idea! I was leaning towards working for a new Elector Count. But honestly, with the Liber Mortis in tow (I mean, don't literally bring it into Sylvania with you, but keep it as a frequent reference guide) we're kind of uniquely suited for the Dusk Rider to dive into Sylvania and only emerge for air when absolutely necessary. What this option likely lacks in interpersonal communication it makes up for in sheer weirdness, like the Bowl of Blood and whatnot.

And I'm not 100% giving up on that 'Vampire Count Van Hal and Shadowmistress Weber' idea just yet.


[X] Lectures and Demonstrations
[X] Research and Development (thaumaturgical) (ie. stuff derived from Shyish-Kebabs and Qhaysh juice)
[X] Being available to investigate reports of unsanctioned magic-users.

Mathilde having to semi-regularly teach classes is pretty cool. And, well, the unsanctioned magic-user thing just combos well with my choice to go to Sylvania.
 
So what effect did that Nat1 have, exactly?

[X] Seeking knowledge by investigating the phenomena and manifestations of Sylvania.
[X] Research and Development (thaumaturgical) (ie. stuff derived from Shyish-Kebabs and Qhaysh juice)
 
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