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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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BeepSmile said:
BeepSmile's been online for very long razor - I mean like, why not both?

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The questions, and the rational given for asking them were obviously dumb, disrespectful and thoughtless, but none of those exclude malice.

(I'm aware that malic sounds like a strong term, but that's what trolling, (even low-level trolling) is. Also the razor you're referring to uses the word, so I'm going along with it)
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Let's not be nasty, there's no need to revisit this topic.
 
Can we not sling insults about other posters just because they held an unpopular opinion? I disagreed with their methodology as well, but being nasty is pointless and unpleasant.
 
Being nasty was not my intent, but if that is how my posts came off, then I apologise.

Though the bunny weaponiser is correct, this topic is low utility and does not spark joy.
 
Rafin said:
I think it is fair to draw a line between how magic adjucates a soul's willingness and willpower to resist and all those things vs how an ethical society should judge the issue of consent and only discuss the former.
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Completely agree- but I'd really appreciate if different terminology was used for the former. I'd like there to be as little ambiguity as possible around the terminology of consent and willingness.

So. Um. Can we please designate a different term for how magic adjucates a soul's willingness and willpower to resist?
 
Glau said:
Completely agree- but I'd really appreciate if different terminology was used for the former. I'd like there to be as little ambiguity as possible around the terminology of consent and willingness.

So. Um. Can we please designate a different term for how magic adjucates a soul's willingness and willpower to resist?
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The term I've been using is 'willing', which seems suitable. It's a separate requirement that only a few spells have, as opposed to being resistible by the alert which is common to all mental spells. It seems like there's only confusion when people assume it works the same as in other settings like D&D instead of considering the actual text of the spells' requirements.
 
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The Karag Dum Expedition, Part 13: The Great Steppes
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    [*] Press on

    "To get us all mining the same vein," Borek begins, "with the Urmskaladrak destroyed, we've not only lost our best Engineer, we've lost most of our food storage capacity. We are left with only what the other steam-wagons have room for, which is about nine tons apiece. This equates to about two weeks of food at full rations."

    "We're three weeks out from the borders of Kislev," Snorri says, his voice distant. "If we turn back now and switch to half rations as we approach High Pass, we should remain battle-ready until we're out of the area where we're likely to encounter enemies."

    "This quest was perilous in the best of circumstances," Sir Joerg says. "Without food, it cannot continue." Sir Ruprecht reluctantly nods in agreement.

    "I may have a solution to that," you say, and all eyes turn to you. After properly washing the blood from your hands, you had spent some time considering the problem that the other Councillors are already wrestling with, and had come up with an elegant solution, and then had spent some time atop the Volans with a piece of measured string while trying to keep the words 'Mookery of Death' out of your head. "I have a spell at my disposal that will ensorcell the target into a sort of enchanted sleep. If we can acquire cows from the Kurgan, either by silver or steel, there's room on the top-deck of each of the steam-wagons for about sixty by my measure. They'd still require watering, but apart from that they'd be essentially cargo."

    There's a long silence as everyone considers those numbers. "These wouldn't be fat Averland steers," Sir Ruprecht says. "Call it two to a ton, and a quarter of that bone."

    "At least twenty tons of meat per steam-wagon," Borek says, a hint of hope re-entering his voice. "That triples our range. If we can get enough cows, that's more than enough to reach Karag Dum and for the journey back."

    "The other problem is the missing part of the road," Sir Ruprecht says. "The Engineers have been taking measurements, what did they determine?"

    You see heads turn towards the empty seat. "It's passable," Borek says in Gotrek's stead, "but barely. The remainder of the road seems stable, but there's stable and then there's a steam-wagon going over it stable. We'll take out the shotcannon and the more portable supplies and as much crew as we can - for such a short stretch we just need a stoker, a driver, and a pilot."

    "I can have Hubert standing by to grab the pilot if the road goes, but the other two will share the fate of their steam-wagon if anything goes wrong," you say. That's all you can contribute to this problem, unfortunately. You've been trying to figure out a way for the Rite of Way to help in this situation, but it was built with the explicit intention of the caster not having to manually control it, so you're stuck with how the spell's targeting mechanism was built - and it was not built to bridge ravines.

    Snorri exhales heavily. "We all knew that could be the price when we joined this Expedition. After already having saved one Dwarfhold, I'd be surprised if less than half of the Engineers stepped forward for the job."

    "How do the numbers change if we lose another steam-wagon? Or, Gods forbid, both?" Sir Joerg says.

    There's another moment as everyone wrestles with the numbers. Gotrek would have had a slate handy. "With four steam-wagons, five weeks," Borek says eventually. "With three, a little under four."

    Sir Joerg considers that. "That's still viable."

    "Then we continue on," Borek says firmly.

    ---

    With bated breath, three hundred sets of eyes watch as the freshly-unloaded Kriestov noses its way forward. With its engine struggling to get up to steam on an incline it was always going to be slow, but given the circumstance it seems like very understandable hesitance. The remaining portion of the road seems far too narrow for the steam-wagon to slip past and you find yourself holding your breath as it slowly noses its way forward...

    [Rolling...]

    ...and through, allowing you to finally exhale. But the wait for the Alexis to be unloaded and de-crewed allows tension to mount once more and you're just as nervous the second time...

    [Rolling...]

    ...though, thankfully, for nothing. With the remaining steam-wagons reunited, the Dwarves scramble to reload the cargo so that the Expedition can finally get moving again and start to make up for lost time. The impact of the Urmskaladrak could have rung the dinner bell for any Kurgans or Ogres or who knows what else might be in the area, and right now your best defence against them is to be elsewhere.

    ---

    Thankfully the final leg of the ascent is uneventful and you find yourself on the Great Steppes, the vast rolling landscape with the Winds blowing overhead and the constant feeling of being watched. Sir Joerg has reported that his scouts have spotted individual and small groups of horsemen, which so far have ended uneventfully with the horsemen falling back and the Knights letting them. It would be better for the Expedition if battle can be avoided, so it's better not to start any blood feuds if you can help it.

    Soon you'll reach the point where the Expedition will veer north off Skull Road and into Dolgan territory. With a trail of smoke pointing to your position at all times it's likely they'll find you before too long, and hopefully they'll be inclined to stick to their end of the deal. You weren't exactly forthright about the band you'd be arriving with, but if the Dwarves stay out of sight then a band of monster-riding warriors surrounding huge, strange metal behemoths doesn't exactly scream 'not Chaos', so your lies by omission have a decent chance of being swallowed whole.

    The landscape itself isn't too bad, and the dry landscape should hold up fairly well under the steam-wagons, or at least better than they would if it had rained recently. Still, any time spent casting Rite of Way would speed up the Expedition. You could also proactively make contact with the Dolgan instead of making them come to you, or take care of your side of the deal with the Ice Witches now if you think it would be better than doing so on the way home. And there's always value in checking in on others in the Expedition to keep tabs on their mental states. So much to do, so little time...


    The four with the most votes will be chosen.

    Spend time getting to know...
    [ ] Thane Borek Forkbeard
    [ ] Head Ranger Snorri Farstrider
    [ ] Preceptor Joerg von Zavstra
    [ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart the Younger
    [ ] Asarnil the Dragonlord
    [ ] Deathfang
    [ ] Ice Crone Ljiljana
    [ ] Magister Egrimm van Horstmann
    [ ] Citharus, Barbitus, and Timpania
    [ ] Magister Michel Solmann
    [ ] Journeyman Cyrston von Danling
    [ ] Journeywoman Alexandra Kohler

    Become involved with:
    [ ] Ranging far ahead of the convoy
    - With the Knights of Taal's Fury
    [ ] Scouting near the convoy
    - With the Winter Wolves

    Other:
    [ ] Use Rite of Way for the worst patches of rough terrain
    [ ] Use Rite of Way for the moderately difficult ground
    [ ] Use Rite of Way nearly constantly
    - For these, vote cumulatively. For example, if you want to use two of Mathilde's four choices on it, vote for both the 'rough terrain' and 'moderately difficult ground' options.
    [ ] Attempt to make contact with the Dolgan
    - These are the Kurgans Mathilde met with earlier, who agreed to sell her cattle.
    [ ] Attempt to make contact with the Yusak
    - These are the Kurgan that live directly south of Karag Dum, who are said to have lost the favour of the Gods and may be seeking to move further south.
    [ ] Attempt to make contact with the Kul
    - These are the most infamous of Kurgan tribes, who gave rise to Asavar Kul. They are said to live to the west of Karag Dum.
    [ ] Attempt to make contact with the Iron Wolves
    [ ] Attempt to steal the Chaos artefact with Ljiljana


    - There will be a one hour moratorium.
    - Trying to scout ahead to Karag Dum is very strongly recommended against. Even Asarnil and Deathfang would not go that far into the Chaos Wastes without back-up.
    - For the Rite of Way vote, vote cumulatively. For example, if you want to use two of Mathilde's four choices on it, vote for both the 'rough terrain' and 'moderately difficult ground' options.
    - My compliments to a particularly creative thread contributor who hit upon the Mockery of Death solution, without which this would have been a very different update.
    - I am declaring a moratorium on all ideas and discussion about how to get the steam-wagons past the narrow part of the ascent until it's time to embark on the journey home once more.
     
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    • Well that could have gone really bad! But for the tribes, the Kul stick out to me a bit. They might be willing to sell stuff, but gods knows how close they are.
     
    Well, that worked out nicely. I'm usually the "bang the drum for social interactions" guy but yeah, not this week.

    [ ] Attempt to make contact with the Dolgan
    Make sure the deal goes well.

    [ ] Attempt to steal the Chaos artefact with Ljiljana
    Make sure the other deal goes well.

    [ ] Use Rite of Way for the worst patches of rough terrain
    Make sure we don't suffer further engineering casualties.

    [ ] Ranging far ahead of the convoy
    Catch any threats before they reach us.

    Been convinced that the Chaos artifact is a bad call.

    [ ] Attempt to make contact with the Yusak
    Talking to the folks who live outside Karag Dum seems wise.
     
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    well this is the final interlude I guess before we hit Karak Dum only person I really want to talk to right now is Joerg.
     
    We're required to aid with retrieving the goblet right?

    So it's mostly a matter of when we do so - now, while at the Karak, or on the way back.

    Given as I can see it being used against us, I'd lean towards sooner rather than later - but the issue of them chasing us is a real one, and that would be less dangerous later than earlier...
     
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    Ljiljana said she's saving as much strength for the Chalice of Chaos as possible.
    BoneyM said:
    And that reminds you; "will you fight alongside the Expedition between here and the Steppes?"

    She tuts. "Would rather not. Save as much strength for the Za-Goblet as possible. But if I must, I must. No goblet if Expedition is destroyed."
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    So I'd like to secure it for her ASAP, because that means she might be more willing to help the Expedition once it's safely hers.
     
    Falls on a 1, makes harder on a 2, and 3+ to pass safely... and we roll a 6 and a 3.

    Dammit. If we have to face the exact same rolls when returning via this path, for each steam-wagon, then... We're not going to be able to make it. 5 rolls to make, and needing to get a 3+ on each one? Needing to make a two-thirds chance 5 times?


    Also, um... Is this the last turn/week before we arrive at Karag Dum's vicinity? i.e. Is the next turn/week-vote going to be the same "pick 4 options, who to socialize with, what to do" pattern we're familiar with or is it going to change a bit?
     
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    The Goblet is kind of six of one, half dozen of the other. It's possible it could be used against us so we should do it now, but it's also possible grabbing it could rile up the Kurgan enough to fuck up our efforts to acquire cattle and we should do it later.
     
    BoneyM said:
    With bated breath, three hundred sets of eyes watch as the freshly-unloaded Kriestov noses its way forward. With its engine struggling to get up to steam on an incline it was always going to be slow, but given the circumstance it seems like very understandable hesitance. The remaining portion of the road seems far too narrow for the steam-wagon to slip past and you find yourself holding your breath as it slowly noses its way forward...

    [Rolling...]

    ...and through, allowing you to finally exhale. But the wait for the Alexis to be unloaded and de-crewed allows tension to mount once more and you're just as nervous the second time...

    [Rolling...]

    ...though, thankfully, for nothing. With the remaining steam-wagons reunited, the Dwarves scramble to reload the cargo so that the Expedition can finally get moving again and start to make up for lost time. The impact of the Urmskaladrak could have rung the dinner bell for any Kurgans or Ogres or who knows what else might be in the area, and right now your best defence against them is to be elsewhere.
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    With these numbers, unless we can find a way to make the crossing safer on the return trip, we might have to take the long way back. 1 in 6 chance of falling and a further 1 in 6 of making the chance higher for the rest means we're very likely to lose at least one Wagon if we have to cross with all 5.

    For the rest- I'm thinking Rite of Way up to moderately difficult terrain, and meeting with the Dolgan is nearly a necessity.
     
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