Turn 30 - 2484.5 - To the Midnight Sun, where the Eight Winds Flow
[*] [TOWER] Grey Battery
[*] [LIBRARY] Kislev: Imperial Extensive and Esoteric, Dwarf Extensive and Antiquarian (450gc, 2 DF), Chaos Wastes: Imperial Extensive and Antiquarian, Dwarf Extensive (300gc, 2 CF)
[*] [DWARF] No purchase.
[*] [COLLEGE] No purchase.
[*] [PURCHASE] No purchase.
[*] [LIBRARY] Kislev: Imperial Extensive and Esoteric, Dwarf Extensive and Antiquarian (450gc, 2 DF), Chaos Wastes: Imperial Extensive and Antiquarian, Dwarf Extensive (300gc, 2 CF)
[*] [DWARF] No purchase.
[*] [COLLEGE] No purchase.
[*] [PURCHASE] No purchase.
Once more the Council is a litany of grumblings about the Okral, but though the situation remains unchanged, it does seem like keeping the Okral on task and avoiding any actual incidents beyond verbal sniping is a win. You're glad to be well free of a situation where a great deal of effort needs to be expended just to maintain the status quo. Everyone's eyes are on the Okral's departure date in a year and a half, and it seems that every single Dwarf in the Karak would agree that it can't come soon enough.
When it comes time for you to report, you get the definite impression that everyone's hoping you'll bring something more interesting to the table than the usual chorus, so with a flourish you scatter Ulgu across the table and shape it with a thought into a map of the north. You could have brought a conventional map, but doing it with magic has such flair to it, and acclimating your fellow Councillors to magic is a nice side-benefit. "The Karag Dum Expedition will travel through the Empire and Kislev to Praag, and then along the Road of Skulls until it reaches the Great Steppes, where it will turn north and chart a direct course to Karag Dum. For transport, they have five Monitor-sized 'steam-wagons', and may have more by the time they depart. Optimistic projections say it will be about two weeks from Praag to Karag Dum, while more conservative ones say about a month each way. One third of that will be spent in the deeper Wastes."
"Monitor-sized is mighty large for overland travel," Gotri says thoughtfully. "What's the terrain like?"
"The Road of Skulls is well travelled by carts, and the Great Steppes are mostly flat. The only concern is the weather, which is currently dictating the timetable."
"Total forces?" Dreng asks.
"Currently, fifty Engineers, fifty Slayers, and about a hundred and fifty Rangers, mostly of the Redbeards. Each Monitor also has a pair of cannon on swivels."
"I assume Borek's nominally in charge," Belegar says. "But he's neither Engineer nor Ranger. Who's calling the shots?"
"Gotrek Gurnisson on the Engineering side-"
"Good Dwarf," Gotri says. "Was a rising star before he married a Clanless, and even now he's too good for Zhufbar to completely cut ties."
"-and Snorri Farstrider for the Rangers."
"That one's spent too long under the open sky," Dreng says. "But for an overland trek, there's none better."
"The biggest problem that I can see so far is that Borek is still dreaming of reconnecting Karag Dum, rather than clearing it out."
"The High King's doing," Kazrik says. "Ever since he brought news of our northern kin and was crowned for it, dreamers have been imagining holdouts in every Hold from Karak Zorn to Karak Vlag to Karaz Ghumzul, and some even gossip of Holds over the seas."
"They don't have the forces to retake it or meaningfully reinforce it, but he might be thinking of regaining contact with it in the same way Karaz-a-Karak kept contact with Karak Azul," Edda says, with a smile at Kazrik.
"I can't criticize him too much for wanting to retake his ancestral home," Belegar says slowly, "but Karag Dum is in a very different situation to what Karak Eight Peaks was in."
"Karag Dum was once on the border of the Chaos Wastes, but the Great War Against Chaos pushed the border as south as Praag, and it's only slightly receded since then," says Gunnars, trying to tap Northern Kislev and frowning as his finger pokes a hole in the projection. "If Karag Dum still holds out, I fear they're now in the same situation as those who went east found themselves in, back at the start of the Golden Age." A grim silence falls upon the table at that. None want to admit the possibility that Dwarves could fall to Chaos, but Zharr-Naggrund is a constant reminder that not even the Dwarves are immune to that temptation.
"I'll do what I can to strengthen the Expedition so we can know, one way or the other," is all you can say to that.
Mandatory Actions: Pick one from each category.
Journeyman Maximilian de Gaynesford, Gold Wizard
[ ] MAX: Allow him to spend all his time on his metalworking studies.
[ ] MAX: Recruit him for the Karag Dum Expedition, and have him train in preparation for it. (NEW)
[ ] MAX: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] MAX: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Write a paper: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Receive dictation: specify which. Must be taken with a 'dictate' action.
Magister Johann, Gold Wizard
[ ] JOHANN: Have him continue to teach Adela what he knows of engineering. (NEW-ish)
[ ] JOHANN: Recruit him for the Karag Dum Expedition, and have him train in preparation for it. (NEW)
[ ] JOHANN: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] JOHANN: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] JOHANN: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] JOHANN: Write a paper: specify which.
Wizards of Karak Eight Peaks
[ ] DUCK: Work with Panoramia to try to implement the Waaaghsoak Mushrooms as an aid to spellcasting.
[ ] DUCK: Panoramia's about ready to test for Magister, but she's putting it off because she doesn't have a lot of free time to prepare. Work with her to help make the most of every spare minute.
[ ] DUCK: Help Johann train his rat-wolf children.
[ ] DUCK: Aid Hubert in his search for a Familiar. (NEW)
[ ] DUCK: Attempt to recruit Gretel and the Besiegers for the Karag Dum Expedition.
[ ] DUCK: Attempt to recruit Hubert and some Winter Wolves for the Karag Dum Expedition. (NEW)
[ ] DUCK: Attempt to recruit Adela and some human siege weapons and operators for the Karag Dum Expedition. (NEW)
[ ] DUCK: Attempt to recruit Esbern and Seija and their compatriots of the Knights of Taal's Fury. (NEW)
[ ] DUCK: Each of your three ducklings can fight in melee. Spar with them, and teach them what you can.
[ ] DUCK: Study an artefact with one of the Journeymen: specify who and which.
The Eastern Imperial Company
Your share of EIC profits: 175 crowns / turn
Current Focus of the EIC: Expansion along the Aver
EIC Handler: The Hochlander
[ ] EIC: Completely hand over management of the EIC intelligence apparatus to the Hochlander. Will remove this section from future turns and regain the half-turn invested in it.
[ ] EIC: Have the Hochlander introduce a series of ciphers to the EIC to allow it to communicate internally in much greater security.
[ ] EIC: Found an auditors division, to make sure the ledgers are in order.
[ ] EIC: Insert agents into a particular province, cult, company, or institution to start gathering their secrets. (specify who) (NEW)
[ ] EIC: Reach out to Julia to find out if she's interested in being poached or passing on information.
[ ] EIC: Reach out to Roswita, and have the EIC start passing on tips about any tax evasion or other naughtiness by the EIC's rivals.
[ ] EIC: Start building a paramilitary river navy to ensure the coming trade explosion doesn't lead to a similar explosion in riverine banditry.
[ ] EIC: Sell some of the Grand Urbaz Bank coins to collectors and museums on King Belegar's behalf.
[ ] EIC: Integrate the Gong Farmers and the Niter Factory into the EIC, and expand production.
[ ] EIC: Have the EIC keep tabs on mercenaries so that they can be more easily hired if needed.
Personal Actions: you have four actions you can apply without engaging in overwork.
Current overwork status: [+] [ ] [ ]
Each box will be filled by one action of overwork, and will take the two turns after that to fade as you recover. The first box incurs no penalty. The second will give a -10 penalty to all actions during the first turn of recovery. The third will give a -20 penalty to all actions on both turns of recovery.
Overwork incurs no penalties on the turns taken, only on the turns recovering from it. You can take as many actions of overwork as you have unfilled boxes.
When you use overwork it fills the left-most empty box, so [-][ ][ ] becomes [-][+][ ], not [+][-][ ]. All boxes recover in parallel and independent from one another, but second and third apply maluses on your actions during that cooldown period.
Current Task: Karag Dum Expedition preparations
[ ] Seek out merchants who have travelled the Skull Road to learn what they know of it.
[ ] Trawl around the bars and brothels of Tilea, looking to talk to the actual mercenaries that have walked either the Skull Road, or the Great Steppes.
[ ] Attempt to recruit assistance for the Karag Dum Expedition. (specify the individual, mercenary group, cult, College, or other; two choices per AP spent) (NEW-ish)
[ ] With the help of a gyrocarriage, personally scout part of the route (specify: High Pass, Road of Skulls, Western Great Steppes, Karag Dum vicinity)
[ ] Try to contact the Ice Witches of Kislev in the hopes they can provide clement weather for the Expedition.
[ ] Attempt to learn the Greenskin tongue to communicate with the Hobgoblin Khanates of the Steppes.
[ ] Attempt to learn Kurgan to communicate with the Kurgan of the Steppes.
[ ] Learn what you can of dealing with the Hobgoblin Khanates of the Steppes.
[ ] Learn what you can of dealing with the Kurgan of the Steppes.
Qrech
[ ] Despite him considering it treasonous, push Qrech to share the Moulder dialect of Queekish.
[ ] Despite him considering it blasphemous, push Qrech to share High Queekish.
Qrech Gambits (can be taken for free alongside a Qrech option):
[ ] Convince Qrech that you seek an arrangement with Clan Moulder, and that you will release him as an ambassador for that arrangement once you are satisfied he'll cooperate.
[ ] Convince Qrech that the Under-Empire has no way of knowing he's even alive, and that he should prioritize the comfort with which he will live the rest of his life.
[ ] Convince Qrech you're ambitious and loyal only to yourself, and you're willing to repay his cooperation in ways that will benefit the Under-Empire.
[ ] Other (write in)
[ ] Despite him considering it treasonous, push Qrech to share the Moulder dialect of Queekish.
[ ] Despite him considering it blasphemous, push Qrech to share High Queekish.
Qrech Gambits (can be taken for free alongside a Qrech option):
[ ] Convince Qrech that you seek an arrangement with Clan Moulder, and that you will release him as an ambassador for that arrangement once you are satisfied he'll cooperate.
[ ] Convince Qrech that the Under-Empire has no way of knowing he's even alive, and that he should prioritize the comfort with which he will live the rest of his life.
[ ] Convince Qrech you're ambitious and loyal only to yourself, and you're willing to repay his cooperation in ways that will benefit the Under-Empire.
[ ] Other (write in)
Self-Improvement:
[ ] Ask an acquaintance to train you in a skill: specify who and what.
[ ] Attempt to learn a spell from scrolls (specify which, will be harder than studying it at the Grey College)
[ ] Hire a trainer to come to Eight Peaks and teach you: specify what. (costs favours for Dwarf or College trainers, money for human ones)
[ ] Travel to the Grey College and attend lessons there. (1 College Favour per class; 100gc can be paid instead for non-magical classes)
[ ] Attempt to learn Battle Magic at the Grey College. (1 College Favour per attempt)
[ ] Gain enough control of your unruly shadow to still it temporarily.
[ ] Gain enough control of your attraction to smoke and gases to have it collect away from your face.
[ ] Learn the secret behind Gehenna's Golden Hounds. (NEW)
[ ] Try to see through Pall of Darkness with your improved magical senses.
[ ] Practice shooting while invisible. (applies to Substance of Shadow and Invisibility)
[ ] Branulhune's ability to disappear and reappear at a thought allows entirely new forms of combat. Try to create them.
[ ] Have one of Prince Gotri's pilots teach you to fly a gyrocopter.
[ ] Attempt to finish off the Grey College spellbook by learning Shadow of Death, Cloak Activity, and the MAPP. (NEW)
Research and Publishing:
[ ] Study an artefact: select which.
[ ] Write a paper: select which.
[ ] Write something else: write in.
Once per turn, you can write a paper or a 'something else' without spending an action thanks to your Tower of Serenity.
[ ] Dictate papers: select which two, must be taken with Max's 'receive dictation'.
[ ] Investigate the possibility of using one Wind to directly manipulate another.
[ ] The Second Secret of Dhar teaches how to collapse it upon itself. Practice upon local Dhar taint, and very cautiously see if this works with Warpstone.
[ ] Try to establish a relationship with the Cult of Verena, with the intent of offering them access to your rarer tomes in exchange for copies of some of their own.
[ ] Record all the entries of the Grand Urbaz vaults and select a good-quality example of each minting to save from the smelters.
Aethyric Vitae (12 gallons):
[ ] Experiment with integrating the Vitae into enchantments.
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts with Divine Magic.
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts to a power stone.
[ ] Using the secrets you already know of the Vitae, attempt to weaponize it.
Enchantment and Spell Creation:
[ ] Enchant an item with a Fiendishly Complex or easier spell (specify what and which)
[ ] Attempt to enchant an object to translate Windsight into a visual image.
[ ] Attempt to deepen your skill with Enchantment (will be more difficult than studying it at the Grey College)
[ ] Attempt to create a spell (see Approved Spells threadmark)
[ ] Turn a staff from mundane materials.
[ ] Turn a staff from the horn of a Storm Dragon.
[ ] Turn a staff from the bone of a Shard Dragon. (NEW)
Karag Nar Penthouse: each turn, you get ONE free choice in this category. Additional selections cost actions.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Have a tower built atop Karag Nar: -100gc for 1 room, bonus to room's purpose.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Have additional rooms excavated underneath your Penthouse: -125gc for 5 rooms.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Your dungeon was built with a reasonable amount of paranoia. Apply an unreasonable amount of paranoia.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Add security measures to your Penthouse to prevent forcible entry.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Have firing platforms built around the Penthouse so that it can be defended from flyers or climbers without granting access to it.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Add preservation Runes to your library: -4 Dwarf Favour, can be paid for with book budget DF for next two purchase periods.
Setting up rooms for specific purposes will have to wait until new rooms are constructed or excavated. Only one construction or excavation can take place at a time, but you can do one of each.
Building downwards will increase by 1 each time; second set of excavated rooms will be 3 rooms, third will be 4, and so on.
Building upwards can be added upon; towers can be added on to or additional towers can be built. The distinction between the two is entirely cosmetic.
Foreign Relations:
[ ] Join the war between Stirland and the vampires in northern Sylvania.
[ ] Involve yourself in the Marienburg affair (specify how)
[ ] Involve yourself in the Black Waters project (specify how)
Personal Relations:
[ ] Spend time assisting with a fellow councillor's task: specify who and how.
[ ] Spend time investigating a character without their knowledge: specify who.
[ ] Wolf is fully grown, very smart, and a Very Good Boy. Train him further. (specify what he will be taught)
[ ] Wolf is fully grown and very magical. Deepen your familiar bond. (may unlock a new familiar ability; risks obsession)
Ranald's Coin - specify which face it will be set to
[ ] The Gambler: specify an action this will apply to.
A +20 bonus to up to two dice rolls resulting from a single chosen action.
[ ] The Night Prowler
As long as you are outside of private property and within a town or city, nobody will question your presence and nobody will be able to find you if you do not wish them to.
[ ] The Deceiver: specify how this will be used.
Lies you have developed beforehand will be delivered perfectly. The listener may believe you to be mistaken, but they will never believe that you are lying. Cannot be used to tell truths.
[ ] The Protector
When you act in a way that defends an individual or group from a danger that you did not cause, they will become aware of what you have done and will believe you acted selflessly in doing so.
Ranald's Coin (note from Ranald: don't)
Vampire skulls
Preserved bodies of the Rat Mothers of Clan Mors.
Eshin:
Throwing star, still dripping venom.
Eshin Sorcerer crystal sword.
Eshin Sorcerer amulet, shattered.
Moulder:
Electric whip, stolen from Clan Moulder.
Vials, stolen from Clan Moulder.
Captured Clan Moulder devices (as yet uninspected)
Skryre:
Firearms; jezzails, pistols, bullets, gunpowder.
Warp Lightning Cannon (misfired, possibly broken)
Lighting mechanism, stolen from Clan Skryre. (shared project with Adela)
Breathing apparatus, stolen from Clan Skryre. (shared project with Johann)
Brass orb, stolen from Clan Skryre.
Vampire skulls
Preserved bodies of the Rat Mothers of Clan Mors.
Eshin:
Throwing star, still dripping venom.
Eshin Sorcerer crystal sword.
Eshin Sorcerer amulet, shattered.
Moulder:
Electric whip, stolen from Clan Moulder.
Vials, stolen from Clan Moulder.
Captured Clan Moulder devices (as yet uninspected)
Skryre:
Firearms; jezzails, pistols, bullets, gunpowder.
Warp Lightning Cannon (misfired, possibly broken)
Lighting mechanism, stolen from Clan Skryre. (shared project with Adela)
Breathing apparatus, stolen from Clan Skryre. (shared project with Johann)
Brass orb, stolen from Clan Skryre.
Note: Fresh and Refreshed papers confer a +10 bonus; faded ones a -10 malus.
Papers get one step less 'fresh' each turn: Fresh; Fading; Mostly Faded: Faded. Only the first and last have an effect on the diceroll.
Waaagh energy and magic witnessed during the Expedition. (FADED)
The Black Orc Warboss' worship of Only Gork, and what you saw of the Rogue Idol ritual. (FADED)
The physiology and venom of the We. (FADED)
The psychology and social structure of the We. (FADED)
Preliminary paper on Aethyric Vitae. (TIMELESS)
You can literally write the book on a topic for the same amount of effort as two papers; this can be split over multiple turns. You don't need to have all the pieces to do so, but it would be more efficient and impressive if you did.
The We (1/2 completed)
Papers get one step less 'fresh' each turn: Fresh; Fading; Mostly Faded: Faded. Only the first and last have an effect on the diceroll.
Waaagh energy and magic witnessed during the Expedition. (FADED)
The Black Orc Warboss' worship of Only Gork, and what you saw of the Rogue Idol ritual. (FADED)
The physiology and venom of the We. (FADED)
The psychology and social structure of the We. (FADED)
Preliminary paper on Aethyric Vitae. (TIMELESS)
You can literally write the book on a topic for the same amount of effort as two papers; this can be split over multiple turns. You don't need to have all the pieces to do so, but it would be more efficient and impressive if you did.
The We (1/2 completed)
- There will be a three hour moratorium. Voting will be in plan format.
- Learning the secret of Gehenna's Golden Hounds this turn isn't quite mandatory, but delaying is very likely to miff the one who'll be teaching it to you. The Skaven artefacts remain available to be researched until after the secret is learned.
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)? They're Loud, mystically, but they've got an incredible output and some good morale effects. Plus, Cauterization means they don't have nothing, as far as healing goes. 
