Tier 1 - My current favorites:
Waystone Project:
Pros:
It fits very well with the frontrunners for the Boon and Great Deed votes, it keeps us productively in K8P, it bangs our head against a cool mystery, it lets us interact with interesting new and old characters in an interesting context.
Cons:
It could potentially become very Ivory Tower. It doesn't allow for too much variety. It might be an eternal job with very slow results and little epic payoff.
Mandred's Tutor:
Pros:
Imperial politics. Fun with Heidi. Get to influence the prince of Reikland and potential frontrunner for next emperor. Clear deadline for when the job is done and we either get a promotion or do something new. Stepping stone to being on Mandred's Council.
Cons:
Safe job with little in the way of interaction with the supernatural. Probably very little travel outside Imperial borders. Heidi's catspaw. Mandred's Council won't be a thing for maybe many decades. Distance from K8P and Panoramia.
Ambassador-at-Large:
Pros:
Imperial Politics. Official and high government position with high potential for collusion and Divided Loyalties™, funneling info to Heidi, the Grey College, the EIC, Belegar and who knows to who else. We're gonna be like a sieve. It's gonna be so much fun. Stepping stone to a position on the Emperor's Council, even before/without Mandred's ascension. Influence on Dawi culture.
Cons:
Headaches and in-thread fights when we have to decide how to deal with Empire/Karaz Ankor conflicts of interest. Decent amount of scrutiny by direct superior. Demanding job might leave little time for side projects.
Tier 2 - I'm fine with these:
Loremaster-at-Large:
Pros:
Remain with King Belegar and in K8P during downtime. Fun with Dwarves. Interaction with Thorgrim and other Dawi Kings. Influence on Dawi culture at large. Little upset to our current pace and routine regarding all of our side projects. Will probably be able to retain our current staff and Ducklings.
Cons:
Hogging Loremaster position.
Spymaster of Wissenland:
Pros:
From an IC standpoint it seems like the most urgent and important assignment. Skaven can be fun. We are an expert in the field. Still has connections to Imperial Politics. Still has connections of interest to Dwarves and K8P.
Cons:
Not feeling like Skaven right now. Physical distance from K8P and Panoramia. Not much time or budget for magical research.
Tier 3 - I can see the appeal and wouldn't complain:
Markgraf of Eastern Stirland:
Pros:
Power fantasy, but within a useful and familiar context. Meet back up with old friends and resources. Wizard as ruler in the Empire is a nice precedent to set. Physical vicinity to the EIC/Canal plotline.
Cons:
Classic form CK2 quest does not set an interesting OOC precedent for the larger SV questing culture. Demanding job with little time for escapades. Lots of delegation and management of nobles. Sylvania is always a threat, but currently low on concrete big name enemies. Our job will be mostly cleanup duty. Physical distance from K8P.
Count of Sylvania:
Pros:
Power fantasy, but within a useful and familiar context. Meet back up with old friends and resources. Hereditary Wizard as ruler in the Empire is an even nicer precedent to set. Can found a lasting dynasty. More personal freedom than the Markgraf.
Cons:
Classic form CK2 quest does not set an interesting OOC precedent for the larger SV questing culture. Sylvania is always a threat, but currently low on concrete big name enemies. Our job will be mostly cleanup duty. Physical distance from K8P. No really clear purpose to the job, let alone a purpose that Mathilde would be best-in-slot to fulfill. Looks more like self-agrandizement than making ourselves useful.
Research Sabatical:
Pros:
Take a break and more time to think. Complete all the stuff we left lying around. Fully focus on our Boon/Deeds rewards if we want. Stay in K8P, but also move around with absolute freedom.
Cons:
I know that this isn't true, but it feels like throwing all of these interesting job ideas BoneyM gave us back into his face. Trading the current options for a potentially poorer list of offers in the future.
Tier 4 - I'd rather do something else, but I'll vote for it in a pinch:
Border Princess:
Pros:
Absolute power fantasy. Building Mathilde, the Nation. Decent support from multiple sides gives us an above average starting position, given the circumstances. Close proximity to K8P.
Cons:
Classic form CK2 quest does not set an interesting OOC precedent for the larger SV questing culture. Building anything in the Border Princes seems like building on quicksand to me. Being overrun by a Waaagh and surviving while our loyal subjects all don't will be devastating both IC and OOC. Might entice us to use the Boon/Deeds for something either impermanent or ruinous to Belegar.
High Priestess:
Pros:
Large amounts of freedom. Interacting with a different part of BoneyM's vast setting. Is a hat we will be able to wear secondary to a new hat once we do the groundwork in Kislev.
Cons:
Not very interested in Kislev. Big distance to all the things I currently care about (except Kurgan anthropology). Ranald gains significant power over us that he might abuse.
Sinecure:
Pros:
Just continue playing the current Quest under the current conditions. Has combined partial pros from Research Sabbatical, Waystone Project and Loremaster-At-Large. Fewer crisis flashpoints means more time for our own projects.
Cons:
Mathilde is too young to slack off. QM personally states worry that this might become boring. Don't want to burden Belegar.
Tier 5 - Not gonna vote for it.
Nagarythe:
Pros:
Short term mission we want to eventually do anyway. Unprecedented opportunities to study Elven Ulgu magic. Potential to cultivate lasting contacts and resources in Ulthuan, the most advanced Order culture in our reach.
Cons:
Can do at any time, including by taking a half-turn holiday in whatever other job we choose. Don't feel up to going on another three month expedition right after the last one. Trading the current options for a potentially poorer list of offers in the future.
Swamp Town:
Pros:
Fresh new world, I guess. Very little day-today oversight from anyone at all. Can let inner colonist tyrant out. Lizardmen stuff. Slaan stuff.
Cons:
Too many to list. The kind of job I'd offer Mathilde if I were part of a conspiracy to get rid of her pesky meddling. The Lhamians probably have Vampire Coast contacts to kill us if we ever want to come back.
After reading the last two chapters and more of the discussion than I usually take the time to, my tier list has moved a bit.
Waystone Project - Down a tier. Technically it should have moved down two tiers but all my tier 2 options moved up, leaving it empty. More to that later. The reason for this movement is the argument that this job is the least likely to run away. Coupled with Loremaster-at-Large becoming more appealing (which means WP isn't my favorite stay in K8P option anymore) and many of the minor arguments made by others against it, it's just not up there anymore for me, at least not right now.
Mandred's Tutor - Should move down one tier, but instead merges into a new tier 1 with the previous tier 2 options. Still a fan of going full Imperial Politics and of molding Mandred, but Heidi somehow managed to make her pitch really unappealing to me. Going on political campaign seems so... bana and unimaginativel, especially when compared to everything else.
Ambassador-at-Large - We didn't see anything about this (which makes me very sad), but it is still getting my pity vote regardless, no matter what. That makes it technically tier 1.
Loremaster-at-Large - Moving up to tier 1. Belegar is a bro. His pitch showed enough enthusiastic energy that I'm not worried about "hogging" the Loremaster position anymore. Who knows, a mix of heavy multiculturalism and less reliance on legalism might actually be good for the Karak. Another reason is that Belegar might spend quite some time thinking about the revelation we gave him and I'd like us to be around to support him with whatever conclusion he arrives at.
Spymaster of Wissenland - Moving up to tier 1. I already felt like this is the most urgent assignment that can't get a better fit than Mathilde to do it, but on top of that the local EC has charmed me and the job perks are also really cushy. I'm already fantasizing of spending a lot of money and favor to actually restore the ancient Dwarven Fortress, with oversight of the local Dwarven community of course. Then we add a tower and modernize the downwards defenses and feel all smug about it.
All tier 3 options become tier 2 options. My opinions didn't change here. Waystones just dropped far enough to not be able to carry a tier 2 on their own.
Border Princess - Moves alone to the no vacant tier 3. I flirted with the idea and I'm sure I'd have fun with it, but in the end I don't feel like trying to make an enduring sandcastle. I'd rather spend my energy convincing thread members to do morally dubious political skullduggery than spending it convincing them to do morally dubious conquest maneuvers.
High Priestess - Remains where it is instead of moving up. Not getting investigated really didn't help its cause.
Sinecure - Moved down to the "not gonna vote for" bottom tier. It would be dumb if we end up here instead of any of the other options. I can't even justify keeping it a tier higher than Swamp Town anymore. At least there we'd still have fun and make a decent subsection of the voter base happy.
Nagarythe - Moves up to tier 4 with High Priestess. I really don't feel like it right after Dum, but at least it doesn't do much damage to all of the other cool possibilities that BoneyM showed us, even if we'll have to wait for quite some time IRL.
Swamp Town - Remains Swamp Town. Though I could see myself being more favorable on it at some point in the far future, when we switch from whatever we choose now to doing the Waystone Project until even that gets stale enough that we make someone else the director and instead "go to look for clues" in Swamp Town. So... a couple of IRL years?
