[X] Loremaster-at-Large of Karak Eight Peaks
I don't truly plan on voting for this, but like a lot of other offers on this list I want to hear the offer Belegar will give us. If he's got a couple new tasks lined up for completion I'd be willing to consider it, simply because this is the closest thing to a Status Quo vote I'd accept.
[X] Markgraf of Eastern Stirland
I'm interested in this, it's a position that we can fill as long as we want, or beg out of as soon as we're finished. I want to remind everyone of our timeline and Mathilde's age. Right now she's around 38, very young as far as wizards of our skill go. Because of that I don't want an end of life position where we work on our opus or start building a home and legacy. Count of Sylvania falls into the latter for me, we'd be trading the size of our task and power for the sake of a title we don't have progeny to pass onto.
[X] Ambassador-at-Large to the Karaz Ankor
Again, I'm willing to hear the offer, specifically to get a feel for what the quest pace and format would be in this position. The arcs of this quest I most enjoy are the ones that have multiple problems in need of solving roughly simultaneously; our early years in Stirland, or securing K8P. If this position involves tangible issues that Mathy can solve through blade or spell or skullduggery or politics, I'd be interested. If it's just hanging around places of power adding our boni to The Chancellor of the Seal while we chase down vague ambitions, which I fear it is, than pass.
[X] Bodyguard and Tutor to Prince Mandred
See Ambassador-at-Large. If the bulk of the quest will become actively or reactively solving threats to the Prince's life or soul, then I could be convinced, but if this is just an excuse to play around in Imperial Politics, then hard pass.
*Edit* after
@veekie's comment below I've rethought this position, and while I stand by it he made the very good point that this could be a bit of a break option we could raise a child or train an apprentice during.
[X] Governor-General of Swamp Town
This is, from the outset, my preferred option. It matches what I most enjoy about this quest very well; solving multiple, highly dangerous problems in a freeform manner for the sake of a dangerous endeavor, with a side dosing of Deep Lore. I know people would miss being able to take social actions with anyone in the Old World at will, but personally those actions are secondary to my enjoyment of the shenanigans and skullduggery an option like this lends itself to.
[X] Ranaldian High Priest of Kislev
Starting to feel like a broken record, but
again, if there're tangible problems to be solved to promote Ranald, I could be convinced, but it'll be filling a "Ranaldian acceptance" progress bar while pursuing our own agenda, pass.
[X] Border Princess of the Howling River
My second favorite option out of the gate, for much of the same reasons as Governor-General of Swamp Town. We have a problem, secure Mad Dog Pass, and we'll have many smaller problems to solve and quests to go on to that effect. Not truly anywhere new or exotic, like Swamp Town, but people will still be able to Social at our current pace, and keep involved in Imperial and Dwarven drama.
What I don't care to learn more about:
Waystones: I
hate research quests with all my being, and dedicating potentially dozens of turns to research sounds so boring. I have faith
@BoneyM won't just make it the the standard "stand around and fill progress bars with the occasional flavor text", and if we've certainty the quest will regularly involve problems or roadblocks solved in any way other than just sitting in our tower rolling experiment or research dice, I might not
hate it, but it still lends itself to the format I like least of all options.
Additionally I consider this another one of those end of life/quest options. Say we finish it, and spit in chaos' eye or whatever in fiction effects people think it'll have, but what then? What adventures do we go on after ushering in a new golden age? What problems in need of solving will be big enough to be worth our time? Now, I can see parlaying Waystones into becoming Matriarch or even Supreme Matriarch, with all the plot hooks that go with it, but I want to engage in some of these Lord Magister plot hooks before promoting ourselves to a higher level. I'd rather keep putting feathers in our hat, earn more and better perks that can help Waystones, get more knowledge and lore, and
then do Waystones as our resume for Matriarch.
Sylvanian Count: I already touched on this, but the only reasons to take this over Markgraf are the smaller scope (hubris is a cowards word!) and it's inheritability. Right now we don't have any progeny or apprentices that could inherit, and while this feels like an option to change that, I'd rather the focus of this quest not be homemaking.
Spymaster of Wissenland: TBH this feels like a horizontal promotion
at best, a demotion back councils politics in a human county with fewer agency at worst. Ultimately it's got a lot of elements that just feel like diet versions of other options. Not interested.
