What other purpose did you think it would have? Honestly curious here.
Not what I was referring to; I'm all for getting the Steam Tanks looked at, but it doesn't sound like Gotri will be free to even think about Steam Tanks for years to come, given how much he's juggling keeping the air force flying, setting up a new guild (or reestablishing an old one rather) and whatever other council duties he's been managing. Now if we wanted to check on him again in, say, three or four years that might be a different story.
The steam tank project strengthens the Empire, and may yield goodies for us to play with in a few years time.
I'm certainly not opposed to those other things you listed, and would encourage the Ranger training to happen before the elfcation (and now I'm vaguely hoping that we get a trait like 'Towering Reputation - bonus to building magical towers' or something like that) but "we can help you rebuild those very useful but temperamental and irreplaceable artifacts of the Engineering College that are crucial to the Imperial war machine" is a shot in the Empire's arm when it's already stretched covering its existing obligations. I get that you don't want to spend the favor on things that don't directly benefit Mathilde or her immediate obligtions, but if not us, then who else would be sufficiently well-placed to put this forward that doesn't have a hundred more pressing obligations on their plate?
It's a dwarf that's speaking particularly cryptically. /joke
Probably. That said, I'm guessing that's something we'd be in a better position than most to navigate, given our talents.
I'm generally up for stirring the Sylvanian pot.
What full research turn?
