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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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Zero Gravitas said:
Could you give examples on what would belong in the not explicitly secret category and what capital S Secrets does Mathilde know?
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Capital S Secret: Waystone energy to Karaz-a-Karak.
Not Explicitly Secret: Rift between Thorgrim and Belegar.

Silver719 said:
I feel like there's a sweet spot between these two options, where "Duty" and "Respect to our Staunch Allies" gets an equal share.
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There are things that the Chamberlain would like to know that the Dwarves would prefer he didn't. There's not really a grey area between 'tell him' and 'don't tell him'.
 
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[ ] Conceal matters you know the Dwarves would prefer you conceal
There isn't a convincing argument for why we'd reveal Dwarven secrets at this point. If there's cause later down the road, then we can reconsider
 
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor
[ ] Panoramia currently calls a small cottage somewhere in the Eastern Valley home, help her expand it into a proper tower.
 
Woof.. and here come the Loyalty Issues. No, nevermind that. The best diplomacy is to keep quiet on the things the Dawi wants us to be quiet on. Our position there is worth more to the empire than our rumors.
[] Conceal matters you know the Dwarves would prefer you conceal

Johann. WE MUST SPAR IN ORDER TO AFFIRM COMPANIONSHIP!
[] Though you both use your magic to cheat, you both have an interest in personal fitness. Work out with him.

Panoramia: It's not exactly work, but let's talk work. People enjoy it when you take interest in what they enjoy doing.
[] Though you rarely think of those days, you did grow up on a farm and know something of the soil. Spend time with her as she goes about her work.
 
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor

I'm sure Matty is intelligent enough to broadly know what and what not to say in these matters.
 
BoneyM said:
[ ] Speak honestly of everything you're asked about, even outright secrets of the Karaz Ankor
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor
[ ] Conceal matters you know the Dwarves would prefer you conceal
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Are we allowed to write-in more precise stuff? Like, giving select secrets that we deem the Empire should know and that make us look not incompetent?
 
picklepikkl said:
We absolutely should not breach the secrecy of the Karaz Ankor, that's a Grudging in the making. The question is whether we're willing to be open about private-but-not-explicitly-secret matters. I'm inclined to going full Dawi on this, but I imagine this will be in hot contention among the voters.
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I think we should speak as if we're a diplomat from the Dawi instead of a subject of the Empire. The Empire has more worth of us there in the position as the VAU Loremaster to show that Umgi can be competent and trustworthy than they have of us as a spy amongst them.
 
BoneyM said:
Though you keep from showing it, you're quite surprised. The Chamberlain of the Seal answers directly to the Emperor and is responsible for foreign relations, and the current holder of the role is Graf Otto von Bitternach, who despite his youth has been able to cultivate a reputation for fair and straightforward dealing with the allies of the Empire. "What matters, specifically?"

"He would like your insight into the inner workings of our steadfast allies of the Karaz Ankor." Though the young man is clearly a bundle of nerves, you can't see any misdirection in him, so you give the only answer one can give when called upon by the Imperial Council - you accede. And as you follow the man into the part of the palace dedicated to the bureaucratic warrens that do their best to run the Empire, you consider what you will say. You owe loyalty to the Empire, but also to King Belegar, and there's likely to be questions put to you in the following meeting where your answer cannot fully serve both.
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I also really like how you conveyed his "I really don't wanna die by asking a grey magister to spill dwarf secrets" energy.
 
The only political secret that we know that the dwarfs really would not want us to tell is the rift between King Belegar Ironhammer and the high king. Everything else is old news as far as I can tell.
 
So in my opinion we should explain the why behind the Okral, but we should not mention that it was far from enough to mend the rift.
 
Hm. No real way to split hairs on this one - letting the Chamberlain know about internal rifts in the KA, even obliquely, means they'll treat the KA the same way they would stuff in the Empire. Essentially, this is a case of whether than Chamberlain knows enough to try shopping around the assorted dwarf kings for the best possible offer or whether they'd just stick to trying to hash out a deal with the High King/their representative.

[ ] You've got a puppy, he's got several. Easy. Spend time with him as your pup plays with his.
[ ] Though you rarely think of those days, you did grow up on a farm and know something of the soil. Spend time with her as she goes about her work.

Right now we're at the stage of just scoping them out for how they feel about romance - spending time with them (and flirting a little while doing so) is probably the way I'd lean. The alternative would be to go for something that is very obviously a date, to see if they turn Mathilde down.
 
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor

Much as we don't like Sigmar, our loyalty should still be to the Empire in the end. Granted, actually sharing the explicit secrets is basically grounds for a major Grudge s let's avoid that as well. So the middle road: the rifts in the Karaz Ankor exist regardless and the Empire would benefit from knowing about them, and I don't think the Empire finding out would actually directly hurt the Karaz Ankor. It's a risk, because someone stupid or malicious might try to use those rifts to sabotage the Empire's ally. But on the other hand, the Empire remaining wholly ignorant about the rifts might also lead to some nasty blunders that threaten the Empire-Dwarf alliance.

[ ] Though you both use your magic to cheat, you both have an interest in personal fitness. Work out with him.
[ ] Panoramia currently calls a small cottage somewhere in the Eastern Valley home, help her expand it into a proper tower.

For the Romance, I think I would go for the most Wizardy options: Cheating at fitness with Magic and helping raise up a tower. Though the festival of Grungni sounds interesting too.
 
[ ] Conceal matters you know the Dwarves would prefer you conceal

The following sums up my feelings on the notion of spilling dwarf secrets after the dwarfs have fought and bled with us:

Advanced Karaz Ankor: You're more at home in the Karaz Ankor than the Empire you theoretically owe allegiance to.

King Belegar has proven far more deserving of our loyalty than the Epmire ever has. If they want to turn over the dwarfs dirty secrets they can look elsewhere.
 
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor

I think that people on the Imperial Council can be trusted to be competent about their jobs, especially considering that a purge was carried out not long ago. More information will help them tailor their relationship better and not accidentally aggravate the abovementioned rifts. Maybe we should emphasize the sensitivity of sensitive matters, but that could go into a territory of teaching hens to lay eggs.
 
Don't think tower construction is a good idea for Pan. Even if she agrees she'll spend the rest of her life wondering if the tower would turn into some sort of doom-weapon at the right command word.
 
Rafin said:
Are we allowed to write-in more precise stuff? Like, giving select secrets that we deem the Empire should know and that make us look not incompetent?
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I would be careful trying to play these kinds of games with somebody who could very well know more about dwarves than US.

That aside, taking the time to consider what he asks us carefully likely wouldnt go amiss.

Maybe we could make some prid-qo-pro happen for Belegar?
 
agumentic said:
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor

I think that people on the Imperial Council can be trusted to be competent about their jobs, especially considering that a purge was carried out not long ago. More information will help them tailor their relationship better and not accidentally aggravate the abovementioned rifts. Maybe we should emphasize the sensitivity of sensitive matters, but that could go into a territory of teaching hens to lay eggs.
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*considers actual Imperial history*

An optimist I see.
 
BoneyM said:
You wince. Such a tale wouldn't be out of place in human histories, but to Dwarves these events would feel as shameful to them as the reign of Dieter IV was to the Empire. "So you were reinherited?"

"No such thing exists, except through forgetfulness and destroyed records. But I'm now my father's only child, and if you trace back the lineage to find the next in line - and my father did - the result is a Salkalten shipwright who has never seen the mountains. Apparently I'm preferable to that. So records were destroyed and forgetfulness was induced, and everyone who knows better stays silent, and in the privacy of their own minds their respect for my father diminishes with every day he does not travel to Karak Kadrin and take the Oath." Ulthar's face is stony, disgust thick in his tone.

There's not much that can be said to that, so you place a hand on Ulthar's shoulder in comradely commiseration. "Could be worse," you eventually say.

"How so?"

"Let me tell you about my parents..."
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Nothing like a good old game of misery poker over drinks to catch with an old friend eh?
Seriously though given Dwarven Values something must have gone horribly sideways in Ulthar's family for his brothers to have ended up killing each other over inheritance

BoneyM said:
[ ] Speak honestly of everything you're asked about, even outright secrets of the Karaz Ankor
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Hahahahahaha
Fuck no
Putting aside all other factors this wouldn't even be helpful, the secrets of the Karaz Ankor are not things the Empire needs to know and would most likely only serve as a detriment

BoneyM said:
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor
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Eeeeehhh
Knowing about the tensions between the old and young holds, particularly of KaK and K8P could conceivably be useful
It could also bite everyone in the ass given that this stuff isn't open knowledge even among the Karaz Ankor themselves

Honestly I think the best course of action for both the Empire and the Dwarves is to limit our information to that which wouldn't bother the Dwarves if they knew we were handing it out
 
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This chapter has given me the feeling that no matter how the romance pans out children should not be an outcome of said romance.
the poor kid will always be compared to wolf who is fluffier, easier to train, and was fully grown in less than 3 years.

[ ] Conceal matters you know the Dwarves would prefer you conceal

Leaning towards tower construction for Panoramia and festival for Johann that may change though.

edit: forgot to mention that wolf was literally a gift from god. That's pretty hard to top.
 
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