- Location
- Earth
wasn't there a WOG that he'd get rid of the Elf first given opportunity?
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
NuclearConsensus
Herald of the Thorned One
- Location
- the Philippines
That's a lot more promising. I'm guessing they heard the Wolves are also participating and want to meet up again. Are they all on kittybirds, or only some?
- Location
- Norway
Easy, be ignorant. Look at the recent d6 rolls for recruitment, and then consider that there's probably a d6 roll for Horseman's divided loyalties which you didn't see.
That's dumb. That's not even an acronym or a pun.You know at this point we should just call the expedition Ringmaster Mathilde's Marvelous Traveling Circus:
Step Right up folks step right up. We have a dragon and the elf that rides him. We have wondrous dwarfish artifice. We have wizards gold, blue, amber grey and white. We have wolf riders and demygrifs.
But yes, Mathilde finally gets to live her true Ulgu nature. If we finish the fog path, then she'll even get to do a cool magic trick. The Misterious Levitating Landwagons.
A Damsel and Knights Errant, A Damsels and Questing Knights, or Damsels.
all have their advantages and disadvantages.
The Knights of Taal's Fury are all mounted on kittybirds.
- Location
- France
IIRC the whole order rides kittybirds. They're smaller than most other orders though.
wasn't there a WOG that he'd get rid of the Elf first given opportunity?
Probably yeah, but his feelings towards elgi are pretty firm 'do not want', manling wizards are unpredictable lunatics who fight by throwing molten metal at their enemies.
NSMS
Probably evil, unfortunately.
- Location
- A rapidly widening tear in the fabric of reality
Thread's opinion on von Horstmann:
1: Kill the obvious Chaos cultist!
2: *suspicious glances*
3: Give him a chance?
4: Surprise! It's actually Ranald in disguise!
5: Our new bestie!
6: Perfectwaifu husbando.
7: ...wait, what's Mork doing here?
1: Kill the obvious Chaos cultist!
2: *suspicious glances*
3: Give him a chance?
4: Surprise! It's actually Ranald in disguise!
5: Our new bestie!
6: Perfect
7: ...wait, what's Mork doing here?
Actually, thinking of Cython, one of the major surviving 'works' of the dwarven ancestor gods is the Road of Skulls, which I think we're going to be following at some point, as I think it goes from Karak Kadrin to Vlag to Dum and from there northwards. Cython might be interesting in examining the traces that Grimnir left behind, as he obviously left something, as it's one of the very few stable features of the Chaos Wastes, having survived, apparently on the same route, for several thousand years in the Wastes. That suggests Grimnir's passage left something behind to fix it in place.
A long shot, but potentially worth asking him if he's interested.
Well, the ideal would probably be the Fey Enchantress and her bodyguard of Grail Knights, but a Prophetess and her Grail Knight husband is probably a more realistic best case.
A long shot, but potentially worth asking him if he's interested.
Well, the ideal would probably be the Fey Enchantress and her bodyguard of Grail Knights, but a Prophetess and her Grail Knight husband is probably a more realistic best case.
The sad bit is that, yet again, there's more wizards than runesmiths coming along. It's actually even more pronounced here than for K8Ps, since that only had one Magister and a couple of journeymen vs a Kragg. Here it's all wizards.
Actually they had two magisters, it's just that one was playing journeyman to shrink his responsibility.
consequences
Not A Nice Person At All
- Location
- Jerkville
May I be the first to say that I am greatly saddened that 'Kragg with an unconvincing fake name and an even more unconvincing fake short beard over his iconic countenance riding a runic hoverboard' wasn't on the list of Runesmith options.
Wrap them in a blanket and you have a burrito.
In terms of division of labour it probably makes a lot more sense for runesmiths to stay at home and smith runes and for wizards to go out and endanger their lives. It's a lot easier to make more wizards than to make more runesmiths, and if the wizards become part of the dwarf favour economy as a result and so can buy runic items those runesmiths make, it then becomes very much a win-win scenario.
How many wings would have been in "the whole damn order" for the Knights of Taal's Fury?
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
ahahahaha this went from good to great, I thought Boney was just going to fiat that Horstmann would respond to the call, but having it be a roll that we saw just makes it all more beautiful. Ranald is real!
And we have one hundred demigryph knights! Holy shit! Who needs direct damage when you can just slap extra-large MMMs on the enemy forces and let your monstrous cavalry tear through them!
The only regret is that we will have so many interesting people to socialize with that we might get distracted from doing scouting. Which, come to think of it, is a real concern if "expedition activities" and "socialize with the interesting folks on the expedition" are in direct competition like they were on the K8P march.
And we have one hundred demigryph knights! Holy shit! Who needs direct damage when you can just slap extra-large MMMs on the enemy forces and let your monstrous cavalry tear through them!
The only regret is that we will have so many interesting people to socialize with that we might get distracted from doing scouting. Which, come to think of it, is a real concern if "expedition activities" and "socialize with the interesting folks on the expedition" are in direct competition like they were on the K8P march.
- Location
- Manchester, UK
- Pronouns
- He/They
Hey Cython, we're going to an old dwarfhold which might have some forgotten knowledge about the Ancestor Gods, especially their battles against chaos. Wanna come with?
The survival of the parts of it known to the Empire can be more credibly attributed to Dwarven construction, traders using it to go to Cathay, and Kurgans using it to travel to Uzkulak than anything supernatural. Similar reasons to why the ones inside the Empire are still quite serviceable.
Five. There's 250 demigryph-mounted Knights in total.
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- Location
- Earth
Join early, socialize during the first part while we are still inside Praag/High Passes.
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
I would like to posit the theory that a giant lionbird tearing out the throats of your enemies at your behest does, in fact, count as direct damage.
Certainly damage occurs as a direct result of it
Ah, I was talking about the way it's literally paved with the skulls of the daemons that Grimnir slew on his way north, IIRC. I don't know where that bit starts, admittedly. I'm not sure how much that's known to the Empire though.
Turn 32 Results - 2485.5 - Part 1
[*] Plan Perfectly Balanced
-[*] Contains 1 Overwork action
-[*] With the help of a gyrocarriage, personally scout part of the route: Western Great Steppes
-[*] Attempt to recruit assistance for the Karag Dum Expedition: Karak Azul Runesmiths + Light Wizards
-[*] Branulhune's ability to disappear and reappear at a thought allows entirely new forms of combat. Try to create them.
-[*] Enchant an item with a Fiendishly Complex or easier spell: Aethyric Armour Robes
--[*] Goal: Incorporating mastery and persistent effect
--[*] Using powerstone(s) + helldrake scales + We silk as available/necessary
-[*] Continue to work on your 'Fog Path' spell.
--[*] Coin: The Gambler
-[*] MAX: Allow him to spend all his time on his own preparations.
-[*] JOHANN: Allow him to spend all his time on his own preparations.
-[*] DUCK: Attempt to recruit Esbern and Seija and their compatriots of the Knights of Taal's Fury.
-[*] EIC: Integrate the Gong Farmers and the Niter Factory into the EIC, and expand production.
-[*] PENTHOUSE: Have a tower built atop Karag Nar: -100gc for 1 room, bonus to room's purpose.
-[*] SERENITY: Write a paper: Warp Lightning observations - shared with Adela (FADING)
-[*] Contains 1 Overwork action
-[*] With the help of a gyrocarriage, personally scout part of the route: Western Great Steppes
-[*] Attempt to recruit assistance for the Karag Dum Expedition: Karak Azul Runesmiths + Light Wizards
-[*] Branulhune's ability to disappear and reappear at a thought allows entirely new forms of combat. Try to create them.
-[*] Enchant an item with a Fiendishly Complex or easier spell: Aethyric Armour Robes
--[*] Goal: Incorporating mastery and persistent effect
--[*] Using powerstone(s) + helldrake scales + We silk as available/necessary
-[*] Continue to work on your 'Fog Path' spell.
--[*] Coin: The Gambler
-[*] MAX: Allow him to spend all his time on his own preparations.
-[*] JOHANN: Allow him to spend all his time on his own preparations.
-[*] DUCK: Attempt to recruit Esbern and Seija and their compatriots of the Knights of Taal's Fury.
-[*] EIC: Integrate the Gong Farmers and the Niter Factory into the EIC, and expand production.
-[*] PENTHOUSE: Have a tower built atop Karag Nar: -100gc for 1 room, bonus to room's purpose.
-[*] SERENITY: Write a paper: Warp Lightning observations - shared with Adela (FADING)
Having finally been told the details of the rift between Karag Dum and the rest of the Dwarves, you're in a position to weigh the decision of whether to seek Runesmith recruits for it. On the one hand, there's none better at shielding against the machinations of Chaos, into whose land you will be venturing. On the other, as Thorek said himself, it's a situation that could have massive repercussions on the wider Karaz Ankor. In the end, pragmatism wins out. If there are political aftershocks, then so be it. It's not your responsibility to shield Runelords from the consequences of their own decisions.
[Rolling...]
Thorek hears you out, and spends some time considering it. "If you had asked me a decade earlier, I would have said yes," he eventually says. "Karak Azul as it was then could have lasted without me, should the worst happen. But now, my priority needs to be maintaining my Karak's renewed connection with the Karaz Ankor. Should your Karak come under threat, my Anvil and my Apprentices must stand ready to defend them, and we cannot do that if we are journeying in the frozen north, or never return from doing so." You open your mouth to thank him for his time anyway, but stop yourself as you notice he's still lost in thought. "However," he eventually says, "I can contribute in some small part to the preparations. I shall send my most promising Apprentices to assist Karak Kadrin in outfitting the Expedition."
"I thank you, Runelord Thorek, as does King Belegar and the Expedition," you respond formally.
He nods. "May the Ancestor Gods watch over your path. And my advice to you: enjoy your youth. A time will come when the burden of responsibility will outweigh the pull of adventure."
You consider pointing out that you're thirty-five, but decide against it; by Dwarven standards that's barely an adult. You instead thank him once more, and move on to your next recruitment candidate.
---
Ah, the Light College, natural conceptual rivals to the Grey. Perhaps time spent with Cython was rubbing off on you, or perhaps you've no choice but to acknowledge there's no better Wind for directly combating Chaos, but you were eventually forced to acknowledge that securing their assistance was one of the best ways for you to contribute to the Expedition.
As much as the Light Order enjoys their privacy - or at least, enjoys denying entrance to any outsiders - sending a letter in advance saying you are acting with the full authority of King Belegar Ironhammer, King Ungrim Ironfist, and the delegated authority of King Thangrim Firebeard is enough to open even their doors. An Apprentice waits by the appropriate street corner to let you in without having to go through their bizarre entrance ritual, and reality unfolds before your very eyes as the buildings and streets are pushed back to make way for the Light College: a massive pyramid of pure-white marble so filled with ethereal light as to be transparent. And that you didn't immediately mentally question that light made marble transparent, and that you mentally described the light as 'ethereal' rather than 'garish', rather suggests that your initial reaction of awe was not entirely natural. You scowl up at the towering display of magical puissance- No. You refuse. You glare upwards at the overgrown caltrop and dare it to insert any more purple prose into your internal monologue.
"Um, Magister? Sorry, Loremaster?" says a voice, and you turn to the Apprentice who's awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot. "The entrance is this way," they say, as if the massive building-sized opening that is the only interruption in the otherwise smooth sides could be overlooked.
You give the exterior a final glare before following the Apprentice inside.
---
Magister Patriarch Alric is the kind of person best described with 'was' instead. He was a great hero, who fought in countless battles for the Empire. He was a widely-respected Supreme Patriarch. He was, indeed, the Savior of Apesto. But he also was the one in power on the Night of a Thousand Arcane Duels in 2415, when High Luminary Horx ambushed him, sealed him in crystal, and went on to unleash a Storm of Magic upon Altdorf that led to fifteen years of the Colleges being outlawed and besieged. He stepped down from the position of Supreme Patriarch in the immediate aftermath, and that should have been the end of his chapter in history. But he kept going, apparently on sheer inertia, and apparently had sufficiently recovered from his shame to retake the position of Supreme Patriarch in 2439, and then lost it in '47, then regained it again for '55-'62. In recent years he's been alternating leadership of the Light College with part-time Magister Matriarch Mira, and from the outside it's not clear if it's an arrangement to take pressure off failing faculties or if leadership is being yanked back and forth like two dogs with a bone, but either way it bodes poorly for the Light College.
The man you are introduced to is unbent by age and rises to greet you when you enter, and glows with a luminescence that matches the walls around him to an extent that you have to squint to tell where the building ends and the Wizard begins. "Ah yes," he says, in a quiet voice that nonetheless seems to echo through the room. "The Dwarf-Friend of the Greys. I have heard good things of you in recent years."
"Thank you, Magister Patriarch," you say respectfully. Though not too respectfully, as you used the standard title instead of whatever it is they call the position within the Light Order.
"Karag Dum, the letter said," he says thoughtfully, his long, boney fingers drumming out a melody on the arm of his chair. "It was lost when we were founded. Perhaps something must be lost for something to be gained. Still, no reason not to try. Are you going yourself?"
"I am, as are several of my colleagues."
[Rolling...]
"Mmm. Much as I would like to join such an adventure, I fear the Light College requires my leadership too much. Instead, I will send with you the greatest assistance it is in my power to give: my former apprentice, Magister Egrimm van Horstmann. He has been a stalwart assistant of mine in internal matters, but I am sure I could spare him for a few months."
"My thanks, Magister Patriarch." A single Magister. Well, better than nothing.
---
Some knights venture across the Old World and even beyond, making them difficult to get ahold of. Not so with the Knights of Taal's Fury, who believe they must return to the Talabec to renew their vows to King Taal and refresh his blessing upon them, and since they're returning anyway they might as well do so in time to winter in their nice comfortable chapterhouse, right?
You greet Esbern and Seija at the entrance with hugs, and Wolf greets their demigryphs with a series of barks which they answer with squawks. Leaving the three beasts to frolic together and probably find something in the forest to kill and eat, the three of you make your way inside the peak as you explain the details of the expedition to your fellow Magisters.
The Grand Hall of the not-Chapterhouse is made of carved stone, with the walls covered in wall hangings that can be rolled up and securely stored when the Knights are abroad. Each is dedicated to a victory of either Taal or the Knights, and from the few moments you get to glance around you recognize depictions of greenskins, Skaven, Marauders and Ogres, but more frequent than the rest combined are Beastmen. Of all of the forms of Chaos, King Taal hates Beastmen most of all, as they are His beings twisted into unnatural forms and bent to serve the Chaos Gods. The room is filled with a haphazard assortment of sturdy wooden chairs and tables with no indication of who should sit where. You know not to be too taken in by this - the Knights still believe in hierarchy, they just believe it should be unadorned, with all men knowing where they stand without needing ornamentation to remind them.
"Magister Weber!" calls out a booming and faintly familiar voice, and you bow in greeting to Grand Master Sigwald Kriegersen, who's warming his hands by the fire. You never spent much time with him during the Expedition, but you did share the Council of War with him.
"Thank you for receiving me, Grand Master," you say as you approach him.
"A brother-in-arms - or sister-in-arms, for that matter - needs not stand on ceremony with us. Look." He points across the room at one of the wall hangings, and after a moment of looking at the depiction of Knights striking down greenskins, you recognize the silhouette of the Citadel in the background and what the ring of mountains around it must represent. "Most glory fades, but the glory of Eight Peaks is only growing as it proves it's not going anywhere. And I hear you might have another opportunity, and one that would be a thumb in the eye of the Great Enemy besides."
"Karak Kadrin seeks to re-establish contact with the Dwarven stronghold of Karag Dum in the Great Steppes, which was lost during the Great War Against Chaos," you say, taking a seat. "They've built a convoy of cannon-armed land-ships that will be setting out from Praag this coming spring. They're formidable, but the pace they'll set means that conventional cavalry would be left in the dust."
"So you came to us. Who's involved?" he asks thoughtfully.
You smile at the question. If the preparations for the Karak Eight Peaks Expedition taught you anything, it's that success breeds success. Nobody wants to be the first one to volunteer, but nobody wants to be last, either. "Karak Kadrin's supplying the Dwarves and gold, Zhufbar the expertise, Karak Azul the Runes, and Karak Eight Peaks is supplying Wizards - we have four Magisters confirmed so far - as well as having reached an accord with the Ice Witches of Kislev to guarantee that High Pass will be open. A substantial portion of the Winter Wolves have also joined, and the Expedition has reached an accord with the mercenary Asarnil."
"Asarnil," he says, frowning. "Worked alongside him in Kislev. Thought he was heading west."
"I managed to lure him away from Marienburg."
"Marienburg? Glad to hear it. Would be a costly day if we had to take that pair down." He scratches his beard thoughtfully, and looks to the two other Wizards standing nearby. "Esbern, Seija, your thoughts?"
"We'll be going with the Magister," Esbern says firmly, and Seija nods.
[Rolling...]
Kriegersen grunts and nods. "Says all that needs saying. We've got commitments here in the Empire for this coming spring, but none that require our full numbers. I'll peel off a pair of Wings and send them north. Praag, you said?" You nod. "Right then. Let's wrest this mountain from the grip of the Ruinous Powers."
---
Though the exact size varies depending where one draws the line between steppe and Chaos Wastes, the Great Steppes are undeniably immense, at least four times the size of the entire Old World. The Kurgan-populated Western Steppes, sandwiched as it is between the Chaos Wastes and the Mountains of Mourn, is the smallest section, about half the size of the Central Steppes and a quarter of the Eastern Steppes. That still leaves an area the size of the entire Empire. Thankfully, you aren't concerned with the entirety of the Western Steppes; your only concern is the narrow corridor between the Skull Road and Karag Dum. All you have to work off is a Dwarven map that was out of date even before Karag Dum fall, annotated by Borek's only slightly more recent recollections.
Even for someone well acclimated to gyrocopter travel, the trip from Karak Eight Peaks to northern Kislev is quite a marathon, and you have only the drone of the engines and your books for company. That voyage takes you through two Karaks and two cities, as even a gyrocarriage modified for endurance cannot cross the Old World in a single trip and must stop every so often for fuel and maintenance. Your journey finally terminates on a narrow plateau high above High Pass which currently serves as a supply depot. The Karak Kadrin Rangers that are currently calling it home are glad for company and pass on everything they've seen, which amounts to the occasional heavily-armed caravan, and less and less of those as the year wears on and winter approaches.
You fill a pack and the gyrocarriage with food, ale and other supplies, and set off even further. Not east, as you've no desire to fly over Chaos Dwarf airspace. Instead you go north, over the first leg of Borek's original intended route - across the ice of the Frozen Sea - and then flying directly east towards the steppes. Though it avoids enemy territory it has its own dangers, as if one goes too far north the laws of physics upon which Dwarven machines depend become less reliable, which would be annoying for steam-wagons but disastrous for gyrocopters. After setting you off in the seemingly endless grasslands beyond, the pilot sets off once more to identify a suitable mountaintop to set up a forward base and watch for your signal from.
Your first priority is simply to get a feel for the terrain. The terrain remains identical day after day, a gently rolling series of hills covered in hardy grass, with occasional herds of deer and goats peppering the terrain. The skies are almost always empty of clouds, the only interruptions in the blue being birds of prey hovering far overhead. The wind is almost always strong and almost always blowing from north to south, and if you don't keep an eye on your course you find yourself veering southwards to go along with it. And though to mundane eyes the terrain might grow tiresome, to Magesight the sky blazes with every colour. This far north the Winds constantly blast from the Chaos Wastes in vast bands of magical energy, and on hilltops they're so close you could reach out and touch them. You can see how spellcasting would be fraught out here - there's no ambient energy to draw from, you have to reach upwards and grasp one of the magical rivers overhead and do the best you can to control the flood of magical energy.
From this sojourn, you can reasonably conclude that the terrain itself won't be much trouble to the steam-wagons, as slopes steep enough to trouble them are rare and easily circled around. The biggest problem is likely to be navigation, as once the mountains on the edge of the steppe disappear into the distance, the only way to tell direction is the sun and the only way to tell distance travelled is the passage of time. It's not a novel problem, however - it's one that sailors have to wrestle with every day. You're sure that Barak Varr will be able to supply some solutions, and make a mental note to pass on the advice to Borek.
That said, while the terrain might be easily manageable, you doubt the inhabitants would be. You're not entirely sure how far to go in investigating them. Scouting from overhead might give you a general idea of how many there are in the area, but any hard information on a nomadic people expires very rapidly. Should you be content with what you've uncovered so far and what a few flights overhead might reveal, or should you seek to make very cautious contact with the locals? They're said to serve Chaos, but so did the Kislevites once. You don't speak Kurgan, but as it did with Qrech, Khazalid might prove a common tongue. After all, the Kurgan are said to deal with the Chaos Dwarves for weapons and armour.
[ ] Make contact with the Kurgan
[ ] Do not make contact with the Kurgan
- There will be a two hour moratorium.
- Canonical events involving Egrimm van Horstmann have yet to pass, and therefore may or may not lie in the future of this version of history.
- I've read that there is a novel telling the full story of Alric and Egrimm van Horstmann. I have not read it, and what I do know indicates it is incompatible with what has already occurred in this quest, so it should be disregarded for quest purposes.
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- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
This is utterly delightful.
Let's.
My instinct is to not make contact with them because we will be stealing from them later for the Ice Witches and being someone known to them might make them take it super personally, but possibly that is overly paranoid of me.
Omegahugger
Inattentive Idiot
"I promise to treat him better than the last firebomb I borrowed from you guys!"
*vanishes in a poof of smoke before he can react*