Remove ads

Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Reader mode
BoneyM said:
Maybe the Marienburgers will give us an excuse and we'll bring them back into the fold, and as part of peace negotiations we'll give explicit allowance to 'Ranald the Dealer' and start putting up proper Temples everywhere. Who knows what the future will bring?"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That bit about Ranald's stolen power just reminded me of this line.

Ranald may be playing silly buggers here.
 
Ranald wouldn't be cool if he went mainstream. He's never going to be a "temples everywhere" type of deity. He stays underground, stays indie. He's the stray cat that might let you give him the pets but will stalk off to do his own thing at night.
 
would a spell or an artifact that would evaporate the warpstone in various magic wind be possible?
Or anything that can get rid of it safely, permanently and in quantity?
 
Carcer said:
would a spell or an artifact that would evaporate the warpstone in various magic wind be possible?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's pure Dhar, so I'm pretty sure that's a 'no'. I don't know of any way to turn Dhar back into regular Winds.

Carcer said:
Or anything that can get rid of it safely, permanently and in quantity?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Pick two, not all three. If there was something that did all of that, it'd be more widespread.
 
Briefvoice said:
Ranald wouldn't be cool if he went mainstream. He's never going to be a "temples everywhere" type of deity. He stays underground, stays indie. He's the stray cat that might let you give him the pets but will stalk off to do his own thing at night.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
He could at least take a bath and go to the vet. People keep calling animal control on him.
 
TimEd said:
That bit about Ranald's stolen power just reminded me of this line.

Ranald may be playing silly buggers here.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I doubt this situation is the result of anything so gauche as a proper plan from Ranald, but he's certainly the type to nudge things in his favor when the opportunity presents itself. And, well.

Depending on how things shake out, this scenario might end with Marienburg's fleet in shambles and economic dominance curtailed, and with the precedent set that Ulthuan might not bail them out every time they're in trouble.

And by the time the canals are done, enough time will have passed that the Empire might be less on fire and more capable of power projection. Perfect time for a reconquest, doncha think?

Ranald the Dealer: it's more likely than you'd think.
 
Mopman43 said:
It's pure Dhar, so I'm pretty sure that's a 'no'. I don't know of any way to turn Dhar back into regular Winds.


Pick two, not all three. If there was something that did all of that, it'd be more widespread.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
that means another mega research project for Mathilde.
FOR SCIENCE HAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!
with a magnus opus of our destructive genius ......
MORRSLIEB HAHAHAHA !!!
Igor prepares the lightning rods!
 
Last edited:
Carcer said:
that means another mega research project for Mathilde.
FOR SCIENCE HAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Studying Warpstone is the sort of thing you either need special dispensation for, or at least have some idea of what you'd be doing so that the results can speak for themselves. Just throwing whatever at Warpstone and seeing what sticks is the sort of thing that'd get a lot of raised eyebrows from higher up.
ReImagined said:
Technically, I think the Vortex does all of that, and it qualifies as a 'something.' :V
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't know, given the hoopla over that thing, I don't think making a second one would qualify under "safely". Sure, now that it's up it's fine, but you mess with one little thing and suddenly half of Ulthuan is sinking.
 
Honestly Ranald going legit could have knockon effects as a bad thing. His status as underground-but-not-proscribed means that Ranald cults are are often the first groups to have run-ins with cults of the Ruinous powers, or the non-chaos proscribed deities, and form an important part of combating those cults.
 
My personal favorite theoretical face of Ranald was definitely this one.
DocMatoi said:
A PATH NOT TAKEN​


A single die tumbles....

and the die becomes cards and those cards are laid on the table- Straight Flush, Magister high.

In the Dark, a Mage took the Chance to play a fine Trick on the green gods to Protect others. Five factors, four of which aligned with the story of Ranald. You're not the best at understanding how gods work on the metaphysical level, but even you know that lining up with their narrative makes things more potent. Mork's attention had left you, but his power remained. With a careful strand of Ulgu you connected the power you could feel with the part of you that attracted cats like meat draws flies. And with a laugh of acceptance from Ranald, you experienced, for a short time, what it was like to be a drinking straw. As Mork looked away to his brother, Ranald pulled...
and pulled...
and pulled.

And you were the conduit, and the Mage, and the Worshipper, and you had deceived and prowled and protected and risked it all to pull it off-

And you saw him, behind a stand at the Altdorf Carnival when you were only nine, a barker performing card tricks, calling you yes, you, step right up and see if you can match my wits, clever lass, and you missed the trick and gambled away your five pence-
And you snuck up later and watched how he did it-
And you saw through the trick, he'd slipped it up his sleeve and lied to your face-
And you went to your other apprentices later and warned them what he did-

And in the past that man was Ranald in spirit, and in the present Ranald is him, and as Ranald pulled through you, he pulled a little bit of you, and you lost your five pence again and it became his, but you got yours in the end, didn't you? A little bit of you became him, but that means a part of him became you, didn't it? And you can see that the card was no longer slipped up the sleeves, but burned in your mind with the grey of Ulgu even as it vanished to mundane sight.

And as Mork and Gork howled in rage, Ranald the Magician laughed.

note: A bit incoherent but i have to go to work
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Mystifying but obvious, not sneaking around behind you but baffling you to your face and still winning. Ranald, if Ranald was Mathilde.

If Ranald was going to be dealing cards, it'd be these kinds of cards I'd want in his hands, if that makes sense?

So letting Heidi pull her tricks is all well and fine, but let's not forget that we can interfere in this 'delicate process' too. Ranald for wizards is a far better win than another merchant god.
 
reignonyrparade said:
Honestly Ranald going legit could have knockon effects as a bad thing. His status as underground-but-not-proscribed means that Ranald cults are are often the first groups to have run-ins with cults of the Ruinous powers, or the non-chaos proscribed deities, and form an important part of combating those cults.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Ehhhh, there are multiple aspects of Ranald. I'd think what a legit Ranald would look like is that one aspect goes legit while the others stay underground.

There'd be a polite society Ranald for regular citizens, there'd be a gambling Ranald that's not quite criminal but not quite legit either, and there'd be a Thieves guild Ranald that are for the typical kind hearted robber types.

Then there'd be a fourth type just floating around somewhere.
 
Last edited:
BoneyM said:
"They've done quite well out of their partnership with Marienburg, and they're even less willing to give a straight answer than usual on the matter. So I put it to you - can the Dwarves be convinced to stop building the canal between the Aver and the Black Waters?"

Under the piercing gaze of the Chamberlain of the Seal, you consider your answer carefully.

[ ] The High King could make it so
This is likely to cause discontent within the Karaz Ankor.

[ ] For sufficient concessions
This would weaken the Empire.

[ ] They can make up for the loss in trade
This would weaken the Karaz Ankor and the Empire until the canals are complete.
To clarify: this would involve the Karaz Ankor paying the Empire for what they lose in trade income, as well as arranging alternate routes for crucial goods.

[ ] No, but they could help break the blockade
Barak Varr is the main force behind the project, and would not hesitate to deploy their navy in support of the Empire's to reopen trade routes.
To clarify: this would involve destroying Marienburg's navy and any chains, booms, and gates capable of blocking the river.

[ ] No, but they would fight beside you
This could easily be spun as Elven sabotage of a Dwarven project. Dwarven pride would have the Throngs march alongside the Imperial Army, and Marienburg could be reclaimed.

[ ] No, they cannot be dissuaded
It's hard to say what this would result in.

[ ] I don't know
Wash your hands of the matter.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The weird part about this is that the question Mathilde is being asked is "which of these statements is true" while the vote looks like it is asking the questers "which of these options do you recommend". Those are very different questions, with different answers.
 
Last edited:
King Arthur said:
Ehhhh, there are multiple aspects of Ranald. I'd think what a legit Ranald would look like is that one aspect goes legit while the others stay underground.

There'd be a polite society Ranald for regular citizens, there'd be a gambling Ranald that's not quite criminal but not quite legit either, and there'd be a Thieves guild Ranald that are for the typical kind hearted robber types.

Then there'd be a fourth type just floating around somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There are multiple aspects of Ranald, but I have a hard time seeing the temples of Ranald the Dealer not also serving as gathering grounds for the other aspects on the down low.
 
Mopman43 said:
I don't know, given the hoopla over that thing, I don't think making a second one would qualify under "safely". Sure, now that it's up it's fine, but you mess with one little thing and suddenly half of Ulthuan is sinking.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Depends on your definition of safe, I suppose. For a power network and atmospheric filter, I think lasting thousands of years without any maintenance makes it a pretty good one. Certainly more so than any standard that exists in the real world.
 
If Ranald goes mainstream, do you think we'll see Heidi take to smoking and wearing a beret and grumbling about how she followed Ranald before it was 'cool'?
 
chocolote12 said:
My personal favorite theoretical face of Ranald was definitely this one.

Mystifying but obvious, not sneaking around behind you but baffling you to your face and still winning. Ranald, if Ranald was Mathilde.

If Ranald was going to be dealing cards, it'd be these kinds of cards I'd want in his hands, if that makes sense?

So letting Heidi pull her tricks is all well and fine, but let's not forget that we can interfere in this 'delicate process' too. Ranald for wizards is a far better win than another merchant god.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Obviously we just try to institute both Ranald the Dealer and Ranald the Magician, so that His faces can fit on a proper d6.
 
chocolote12 said:
My personal favorite theoretical face of Ranald was definitely this one.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You know, I have to wonder if we might not still manage that, with how we'll be toying around with the Coin. As the first god whose priest is also a wizard—since we would essentially be a priest if and when we learn to use divine magic—and actively melding his power with magic, it would be pretty thematic.
 
Klaus said:
The weird part about this is that the question Mathilde is being asked is "which of these statements is true" while the vote looks like it is asking the questers "which of these options do you recommend". Those are very different questions, with different answers.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, Boney commented on this a bit:
SuperSonicSound said:
I take it the options are what Mathilde is going to suggest she A) believes the dwarves will do, and B what she thinks the empires response should be?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
BoneyM said:
A is correct. Her motivations behind B are for you to decide.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Gingganz said:
Is Mathilde just trying to give a prediction about what the dwarfs are most likely to do, or is she advising the Chamberlain on what course of action he could take to resolve the situation?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
BoneyM said:
The latter under the guise of the former.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Mathilde is being given the opportunity to steer the course of events, which is why there was no default option for "I think they might do X, Y, or Z"; we could write it in (and someone did), but the idea here is:
BoneyM said:
He's asking a direct question, and he wants a simple answer. There's only so much input you have here, and diluting your answer just means you let your opportunity to influence the future pass.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top