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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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Mathilde is probably the most famous grey magister to even grey magister. I am still not sure what is up with Algard's lectures each time we meet him, are we doing things wrong in his eyes, or is he annoyed because we somehow make things right AND get recognition for it, unlike every other grey magister? Were James Bond's superiors equally annoyed, I wonder.
 
Mopman43 said:
Among non-wizards, maybe. Certainly among Dwarfs.

Among Grey Wizards, we've got a ways to go yet, I think.
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I thought it was obvious that I was talking about outside the school itself. But, like, we are allmost a household name, the only grey magister more likely to be known outside the colleges is Algard, and that is mostly due to his station. Of course inside the grey college, where everyone understands what classified means and reads each other's books, we may not even reach top 10. Of course, after our stint with orcs, we may reach that even there, but its not a sure thing... it does mean probably that we are the most famous non lord grey among the colleges as a whole tho.
 
storryeater said:
But, like, we are allmost a household name
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In Stirland, sure. Maybe the neighboring provinces.

While her lectures will certainly get Mathilde's name out there, that'll mostly be among academics and mages, not exactly common folk.


There's a post by Boney somewhere around here about how well known Mathilde is, I'll try to find it.
 
Mopman43 said:
In Stirland, sure. Maybe the neighboring provinces.

While her lectures will certainly get Mathilde's name out there, that'll mostly be among academics and mages, not exactly common folk.


There's a post by Boney somewhere around here about how well known Mathilde is, I'll try to find it.
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...That is probably still more than any grey. My point is about how even lord greys tend to be even less known than that, not about how Mathilde is THAT famous.
 
I don't know about fame, exactly, but it seems the name Dame Magister Loremaster Thane Weber is becoming more known- though even that only recently.
BoneyM said:
While Dame Mathilde Weber was watched with interest by her fellows among the Grey College and was known to many of those that make it their business to know what occurs on the fringes of civilization in the Old World, to the Colleges in general she was not that prominent a name until very recently. The Matrix was only useful in a few niches and the papers she produced upon the Eight Peaks Expedition were solid enough, but only attracted the attention of those already interested in what she was reporting on.

Then the MAP and then the improved MAPP circulated, and hot on its heels was a paper reporting not only hitherto unknown capabilities of vampires, but also a series of countermeasures against them. This got the attention of some, and those that did watch out for her work were very quickly rewarded by the publication of Waaagh and Peace.

... ...the utter destruction of said greenskins.

To say this increased interest in Dame Weber's lecture would be an immense understatement.
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So we've had at most a very niche presence in the minds of most others, until very recently- and only those in the College & Foreign Policy sectors.
That doesn't really qualify our post-lectures relative fame vs. other Magisters, mind.

Many Stirlanders will still recall the name Dämmerlichtreiter and make the sign of the Comet, though.

Angelform said:
I am reasonably confident that Ulthuan respects Mathilde as a best-selling author. Does that count?
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Possibly in the sense of one of those clever monkeys sitting at a typewriter for a thousand years producing the works of Shakespear, then sure. :V And any credit likely goes to the Elf involved, anyway.
 
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storryeater said:
only grey magister more likely to be known outside the colleges is Algard
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Define "known", because Algard-the-Grey-Patriarch is not known outside of a very select number of people. The name of the Grey Patriarch is classified enough that journeyman grey mages are not allowed to know it. Algard-the-tower-builder is rather well known, but is probably presumed dead.
 
Kornet said:
Define "known", because Algard-the-Grey-Patriarch is not known outside of a very select number of people. The name of the Grey Patriarch is classified enough that journeyman grey mages are not allowed to know it. Algard-the-tower-builder is rather well known, but is probably presumed dead.
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Ah, apologies,I am not that familliar with Warhammer lore.

That means she is probably the most famous grey magister to people outside the colleges fullstop.
 
Alliterate said:
Possibly in the sense of one of those clever monkeys sitting at a typewriter for a thousand years producing the works of Shakespeare, then sure. :V And any credit likely goes to the Elf involved, anyway.
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I'm pretty sure she's not actually known for that even. Like, people explicitly only bought the damn thing because they were specifically forbidden from doing it. And Asarnil and Deathfang make more of an impact which is perfectly understandable considering the entire book is about them.
 
Mathilde is basically fantasy James Bond, yes.

She's the one doing a ski chase down a mountainside pursued by the assembled forces of Chaos after she disrupted a critical ritual, or getting into a climactic sword duel for the fate of the Empire on the roof of the Great Cathedral of Sigmar, or other such nonsense.

It's certainly an unconventional path for a Grey Wizard, but I doubt it's an unprecedented one - and much like real life spy agencies quite appreciate the misdirection caused by people associating "spy" with a suave action hero instead of a bland clerk, I expect the Grey College to be using Mathilde as a "distraction" to draw people's attention away from their more subtle operations.
 
Redshirt Army said:
Mathilde is basically fantasy James Bond, yes.
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Nah, if Mathilde truly was fantasy James Bond, Qrech would be winning the romance poll as the Bond-Babe she seduced to the side of good.

LightLan said:
I suspect it also is a generally short-lived path.
We already had some close calls.
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Thankfully, we have a cure for short lives.

You may only live twice, but that second life can continue in perpetuity~
 
Brogatar said:
Hey I did vote for Qrech.
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We can still turn it around! There's still a nonzero chance that hundreds of people realise the beauty of Qrech, and then we'll become the James Bond style superspy we were meant to be!

Provided that he reciprocates of course, that's one aspect of 007 we don't want to emulate... And assuming that the Horned Rat doesn't make Qrech suffer the fate of far too many Bond Babes... Why did we want to be like James Bond again, he really doesn't seem like a rolemodel one should emulate...
 
Omegahugger said:
We can still turn it around! There's still a nonzero chance that hundreds of people realise the beauty of Qrech, and then we'll become the James Bond style superspy we were meant to be!
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If you think about it, his situation is more or less a gender-reversed version of those Skaven romance novels that Mathilde found.
 
While the thread has been talking about credit, and fame, and suchlike, it brought to my mind some musings on Lord Magister:
Specifically, Mathilde going for that rank, while Regimand never reached it interests me. Did he not want it, perhaps lack ambition, or are there other reasons?

He's been a Magister for over two decades, possibly our entire lifespan, or even longer. We don't know details of half of what he has done in his career, though I get the strong impression he's well respected in the Grey Order- for example, it seems he's fully cleared for Battlemagic. Until recently, I think Mathilde would have put him above her, certainly as a package of craft and experience, age and guile. Some part of her may always consider her mentor/father figure so. He's also still teaching us spells, twice within the last few years! Possibly in recent years we're matching and exceeding him in a few areas- but he's no joke Magister.

While by comparison, a mere five years after reaching Magister (2478.5), we're talking about a Lord Magister bid. To some small degree, are we even looking past an assumed success, to Elfcations and the like? Even Mathilde is thinking of it herself-
BoneyM said:
"No, when will you go for Lady Magister? Surely that," she waves a hand towards the Eye of Gazul, "qualifies as a Grandmasterpiece."

"Or the dead Waaagh," Gretel says. "Hard to present, though. Ship a cartload of ash to Altdorf?"

"It's a little more complicated at the Lord Wizard level," you say with a smile, "though I appreciate your faith in me. Perhaps I'll put my name forward in the next few years."
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(Is she just channeling the ambitious thread thought process here?) The whole thing is interesting to me- especially when much of any hotshot reputation she has is (I hope we can agree) built on a hefty helping of fortuitous circumstance, exceptional luck and poker-faced bluffing. (Just like Bond, again.)

Still, as she said to the ducklings in that same update- winning means things get cast in retroactively good light. Success means not having to justify yourself, thus say Alucard not noticing the belt Spellburning rune would mean we were right to take him on.

Is Lord Magister rank to be granted on the basis of having successfully gambled with your life several times and winning? Not only this, but is this recklessness (or sufficient insanity) what differentiates solid career Magisters like Regimand, from the Lord Magisters who, I dunno, say Journey across the Dark Lands to Cathay and back? That they gambled visibly, in a big way, and thereby won equally big?
 
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I always thought that rising to Lord/Lady Magister would bring attention, even if only low-key within your own order. And even that might not always be a good thing. One scene between Journeywoman Weber and her master after she was dismissed from the Stirland EC's court comes to mind:
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 surprise, 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."
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Between that and his periodic retirements/un-retirements, it's possible that he can operate more freely or without as many questions as a magister rather than a higher-ranking lord magister.
 
Yeah, that does make sense, and could be a contributing reason.
Mathilde doesn't really do low-key though, so not so much a problem for us. :)
 
Amusingly, it raises the question of whether Algard's file on Mathilde is so terse because it's how he is or because it's classified so high that not even redacting is secure enough.
 
Alliterate said:
Not only this, but is this recklessness (or sufficient insanity) what differentiates solid career Magisters like Regimand, from the Lord Magisters who, I dunno, say Journey across the Dark Lands to Cathay and back?
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It's worth remembering that Regimand has done some incredibly reckless stuff when he needs to; he picked up an arcane mark by deliberately miscasting as a feint to distract an enemy, gambling that he wouldn't summon a demon or suck his soul his soul straight to hell to win a battle. That's at least as reckless as the stuff Mathilde's done, and arguably even moreso.
 
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