Remove ads

Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Voting is open
Reader mode
I feel like the 'fund-raising' will be about finding patrons among those that we get involved with.

the more one 'group' funds and adds to the project, the more we will have to meet their demands for the project.

like, if we get a lot fo help from the wood elves, we will get a lot of old wizerds, money and magical resources: but they will want to focus the project on getting their waystones running as fast as possible.

Bro-king will want use to find out how to turn off the flow to the high king.

the runesmiths will want to focus on 'due diligences' which would be good if it wasn't going to take years for every single step, so if we get then to pay for a lot, the whole thing slows down and the other 'buyers' start getting annoyed.

college will want us to focus in on ringing as much knowledge as possible from the older races, and might focu us to go down side roads if the knowledge that can benefit them turns up.

etc etc.
 
I'll admit, I am mildly interested by the mention of a bunch of fire dragons in Zhufbar. That would be an excellent place to either get more dragon bone for projects, get a dragon egg like I've always wanted, or make some more dragon friends. Maybe all three if we're really lucky.
 
Ericwinter said:
I'll admit, I am mildly interested by the mention of a bunch of fire dragons in Zhufbar. That would be an excellent place to either get more dragon bone for projects, get a dragon egg like I've always wanted, or make some more dragon friends. Maybe all three if we're really lucky.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
"I'm going to steal your young and your parents' remains... let's be friends!" isnt the strongest pitch for friendship I've heard, but kudos for ambition, I suppose.
 
Ericwinter said:
I'll admit, I am mildly interested by the mention of a bunch of fire dragons in Zhufbar. That would be an excellent place to either get more dragon bone for projects, get a dragon egg like I've always wanted, or make some more dragon friends. Maybe all three if we're really lucky.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah yes, the thread's eternal hunger for more dragon content.
Shovern said:
After taking a look at Redshirt's newest contribution to the Media tab, I've just realized I've noticed a new and Disturbing trend in Mathilde's decision making:

Belegar: I'm worried about that Ice Dragon, If it decides that peaceful co-existence is no option, then I fear the Hold has little recourse against it.
Mathilde: Hmm, have you considered making a Dragon?
--
Borek: The trip will be long, arduous, and full of potential foes, if you have any wisdom to share on how to succeed It would be appreciated.
Mathilde:Hmm, I know this Dragon who might help.
--
Mathilde: I'm stating to feel lonely, and yearn for the embrace I've only found in my books so far.
Mathilde: Now this might sound crazy, But how about a dragon?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Gavin Prince said:
Panoramia:
Mathilde, the other journeymen and I are beginning to get a little concerned about the...dragon thing you have going on.

Mathilde, reclining in her dragon-skull chair with her dragon-bone staff laid to one side:
What do you mean?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
🐉
 
Ericwinter said:
I'll admit, I am mildly interested by the mention of a bunch of fire dragons in Zhufbar. That would be an excellent place to either get more dragon bone for projects, get a dragon egg like I've always wanted, or make some more dragon friends. Maybe all three if we're really lucky.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
While its fine to want a dragon egg.

please remember that they take a while to grow.

might be more than 15 years in the quest to get big to fly/fight on.
 
So, opinions on the new information given and how they've changed what I think of the options:

[ ] Loremaster-at-Large of Karak Eight Peaks

Sounds even better. Its our current job but bigger, casting a far wider net for 'weird shit'. We will catch the weirdest of fish. All while getting the regular benefits of Sinecure, that being continuing to work out of K8P and continuing to aid the Karaz Ankor, which very much still needs aiding.

[ ] Markgraf of Eastern Stirland

... Has actually tempted me, shockingly enough. Part of it is just that I really like Roswita's and Mathilde's interactions- I mean, look at this:

BoneyM said:
"Or that. I was wondering how long it would take you to get that letter. How was the Chaos Wastes?"

"Plenty of chaos, but I wouldn't call the trip a waste."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

More dumb puns. Glorious. It also at least doesn't feel like Mathilde is haring off to do things completely unrelated to her previous actions, as its following up on her actions at the beginning of the quest and we've been tracking this campaign even while working as Loremaster. Its a position with very little oversight and basically the only requirement is 'get rid of the fucking vampires'. I still prefer Loremaster At Large, but its edged out over Waystones for me.

[ ] Spymaster of Wissenland

Hasn't really moved. I don't much care for the mono-focus on Skaven, its completely unrelated to any storyline we've really put focus on as it doesn't even have any of the Clans we've interacted with, and it doesn't actually play into Mathilde's strengths as much as I'd like. Our future boss also refers to 'being a wizard' as 'creepy magic stuff', which isn't terribly promising on the front of having a good relationship with them, which is something I value highly. There's a difference between accepting that Mathilde is the best person for the job and actually being willing to interact with her outside of said job.

[ ] Bodyguard and Tutor to Prince Mandred

I've already stated that I dislike this option even more now, here's why: the primary goal of the job is not something I actually agree on. Mandred already has the position on lock if he's ready to take it, but I don't want to engineer a situation where he becomes Emperor even if he's unprepared or ill-suited. Having a Ranaldite emperor who's at least somewhat inclined to see the Colleges as a good thing could be interesting, but I don't think it'd really be worth having an Emperor who isn't ready to Emperor.

If Luitpold lives long enough for Mandred's candidacy to be basically assured- great, fantastic, go for it. If he doesn't, I want someone who actually knows what they're doing on the throne.

I also actually really like the idea of 'Roswita for Empress', and think the best way to ensure that would be Markgraf, as it lets her sure up her position in Stirland while we stomp on vampire faces over and over again.

[ ] Governor-General of Swamp Town

... No.

Alright, so it has all the previous problems (shitty place really far away from everyone we like), but its not even something they specifically consider Mathilde suited for. Its just a position they offer everyone who attains the rank, because everyone who takes it keeps fucking dying. The guy offering it mostly just seems to want the position filled out of obligation, and the best he can offer is 'well it could be a prosperous colony. Theoretically.' He also seems surprised she even considered it.

The colony should probably be named 'NowWhat' instead. :V
 
Last edited:
Briefvoice said:
No, he's not going to overthrow Thorgrim in a revolution, but Thorgrim is much older than Belegar and seems worn down by the job more than energized by it... he's not going to be a Living Ancestor.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I don't know that I'd bet on that- he's already well over 200, most don't get that far.

Angelform said:
One of the Grey College's functions is to spy on people who might cause harm to the Empire. While they undoubtedly have some observation on the Empress already they would likely appreciate having someone trustworthy interacting with her directly.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm not sure Mathilde is the right person for that, frankly.

She kinda hasn't told them any of the secret stuff about Heidi that they'd very much like to know.


Personally, I have no real interest in working for Heidi.
 
Alliterate said:
"I'm going to steal your young and your parents' remains... let's be friends!" isnt the strongest pitch for friendship I've heard, but kudos for ambition, I suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Eh, it was more imagining being trusted with raising a kid—Cython didn't inspire a particularly strong understanding of Draconic parenting techniques—and I'm not sure if they would particularly care should someone want to mess with the bones of their dead. Then again, I don't know too much about dragon culture at all, so...
Jyn Ryvia said:
While its fine to want a dragon egg.

please remember that they take a while to grow.

might be more than 15 years in the quest to get big to fly/fight on.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Oh I know. I'm actually really interested in the process of helping them grow and possibly training them. After all, Cython seemed to suggest that they're not born to the Winds, and this is about the best way to see if Ulgu dragons can even be a thing.
TalonofAnathrax said:
I didn't read this as "we transformed Ranald's character", and more as "he likes us, so when we needed backup he got into the kind of fight he usually avoids".
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
If someone starts doing stuff they wouldn't normally do—even if it's for a friend—that can generally be considered some form of change. Granted, it might not be a change to his base nature, but convincing a person, especially gods, to act out of character is pretty notable.
 
This was a great update! I'm happy to see that our faith in Belegar to not suddenly snap and go insane was well-founded.

As for the options - I'm looking at these three:

[ ] Bodyguard and Tutor to Prince Mandred
Bodyguard gives us something very interesting - an inroad into politics. It promises a great deal of future political pull, Heidi being firmly in our corner (and to a lesser extent, Leopold), meaning that we're essentially entering into the upper echelons with training wheels on.

Better yet, our primary mechanism of generating political goodwill isn't stereotypical political intrigue, but stabbing things that need to be stabbed. It's a great opportunity to practice our Diplomacy without relying on it, and building up goodwill and favours that we can later leverage.

Do I want this quest to turn to courtly intrigue in total? No, not really. But I see this as an incredible opportunity to get enough benefits from such things for this job so as to be essentially "set" for the rest of the quest in those terms, for the most part. And hey, I think it'll be fun for the duration of the job too.

[ ] Research Sabbatical
The Research Sabbatical calls to me with its siren song of "clearing that backlog", "inventing new spells", "learning new and interesting things", and "improving oneself". It's surprisingly mundane compared with a lot of the list, and I can see why Boney wouldn't want it to be the rest of the quest, but honestly? Spending a bunch of actions learning things, taking classes, and creating spells is a really, really solid course of action.

[ ] Spymaster of Wissenland
The Spymaster position is a position that leverages Mathilde's superlative expertise and skills in the art of dealing with Rodents Of Unusual Size. It's managing a crisis in a critical centre of the Empire's logistical and political spheres, and explicitly comes with the expectation that we'll do Wizarding in our spare time.

I don't have a super high opinion of our would-be boss - this crisis is at least partially of his own making due to his refusing the aid of the Empire's troops etc., and any leader who thinks that the default response to dealing with politicians is "shout at them" isn't exactly a Diplomatic mastermind, but he's honest and is apparently willing to give us more or less a free hand to deal with the situation as we see fit, with any and all resources required. He doesn't have to be as competent as Belegar or Abelhelm to be a decent boss.
 
GrimTheMad said:
[ ] Spymaster of Wissenland

Hasn't really moved. I don't much care for the mono-focus on Skaven, its completely unrelated to any storyline we've really put focus on as it doesn't even have any of the Clans we've interacted with, and it doesn't actually play into Mathilde's strengths as much as I'd like. Our future boss also refers to 'being a wizard' as 'creepy magic stuff', which isn't terribly promising on the front of having a good relationship with them, which is something I value highly. There's a difference between accepting that Mathilde is the best person for the job and actually being willing to interact with her outside of said job.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I agree that I'm just not interested in it.

but I will say that I think this is an unfair take on the guy, if he was scared of magic he wouldn't say that stuff to our faces.

I think the dude has no fear, for good or bad.

and I just think he is blunt as hell and has no brain to mouth filter.

basically, I think he is ignorant on magic, and only really knows what's been said to him 'creepy stuff' : but he didn't come off as even a little scared or having a personal problem with mathy being near him. (and didn't come off as able to hide/fake it either.)
 
ctulhuslp said:
I seriously doubt Colleges will be remotely happy about precedent of Orders messing in Imperial politics.
Especially Grey Order. Imagine the incredible clusterfuck of Greys being more and more commonly accepted as a part of intra-imperial political skullduggery. Normalizing this is something Colleges, I am sure, do not want at all.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The Grey college would be thrilled. You do understand that the purpose of that rule is to limit the power of the Grey college? That this rule is bad for them? Keeps them weaker, and less able to achieve their goals?
DragonParadox said:
As long as that is with the implication that the EC will vote a certain way on succesion it totally is. The help is not unprecedented the cost is
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's not how trading favors works. If the EC doesn't want to trade a vote for help from a wizard, he just doesn't vote that way. "Gratitude" is not some kind of compulsion spell.
ctulhuslp said:
If "put a person more pliant to mages on a throne" would be fine enough for Colleges they'd have been doing it for a long long while already. But then they'd probably be suss'd by Templars (who'd be right lol), and it'd all be a giant mess, so I imagine that they prefer to do it in ways less politically dubious.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
How? Even the Grand Theogenist can't just make whoever he wants Emperor, how can the colleges? Aside from a wizard-backed coup? "Becoming godmother to the next emperor" is about the most innocuous way possible to get a friendlier emperor.
DragonParadox said:
That is not my point. If the Count of say Norland hired an Lord Magister, or hell a Grey Journeyman for the purpose of aiding other ECs on the condition that they vote for him/his dynasty that would be illegal. The only reason it is legal is because it is the Emperor.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Even if I accept this reading of the law... this is Feudalism, working as intended. Of course the emperor is using his imperial authority to try and build up his power and make his son the next emperor.
 
Deathbybunnies said:
I don't have a super high opinion of our would-be boss - this crisis is at least partially of his own making due to his refusing the aid of the Empire's troops etc., and any leader who thinks that the default response to dealing with politicians is "shout at them" isn't exactly a Diplomatic mastermind, but he's honest and is apparently willing to give us more or less a free hand to deal with the situation as we see fit, with any and all resources required. He doesn't have to be as competent as Belegar or Abelhelm to be a decent boss.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It was kinda implied that's what he was like.

Heidi and Luitpold when discussing who to send into Sylvania:
BoneyM said:
"I didn't think they'd be so stupid about it. Wissenland?"

"Hah!"

"Not sure why I asked, damn that tetchy fool."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Here's one thought in favor of Swamp Town: It has the somewhat unique combination of easy access to undead and relative remoteness from Imperial authorities that would let Mathilde use her knowledge from the Liber Mortis more freely and effectively. If you want to test out the Second Secret of Dhar and see if we can replicate the Grand Theogonist's feat of destroying a whole undead army with a spell of unmaking, Swamp Town is the place to do it.
 
Slightly more in favor of Loremaster-at-Large and Markgrafin than before, but Bodyguard Mandred definitely has my vote on lock now.

-Having a hand in raising the probably-next-Emperor
-Being a good godmom to Mandred
-Heidi is a fun character I want to know more about and who seems fun to bounce off of (and we'd be in position to interact with her more than Loremaster or Markgrafin)
-Reconnecting with our homeland the Empire which we've grown distant from
-Political shenanigans, but with less morally bankrupt intrigue and more problem solving, so a lot like our Spymaster days under Abelhelm (yay)
-We'll be in Altdorf a lot, so plenty of opportunities for research or collaboration in the Colleges
-Troubleshooting adventuring under the Emperor/Empress, so like L-A-L
-We'd be in a great position to drop by Wissenland or Sylvania to spend an action or two helping out, for those who still want to
-As another poster mentioned, spending lots of time around Heidi while doing a job that will get Ranald (once again) in our debt is probably our best chance at Ranaldian Theurgy

Poorly phrased/formatted, but you get the idea.
 
Well, then. For me there's three rough categories.

Stuff I Don't Want - Sinecure, Waystones, Count of Sylvania, Swamp Town, Nagarythe, Border Princess, High Priestess. Most of this is because I am plain tuckered out on adventure turns - particularly the 'schmooze/social link with this new person(s) repeatedly' part of adventures, which is why waystones is on this list even though it doesn't really involve so much adventures - it's got lots and lots of the schmoozing.

Stuff I Wouldn't Mind - Empire's Dorf Ambgassador. This category is kinda empty because it's where anything that doesn't sufficiently fit in the yes/no categories goes, so stuff in either of the other categories could probably be argued into this one.

Stuff I Think is Neat - Loremaster-at-Large, Markgraf, Spymaster, Research Sabbatical, Bodyguard. Most of this is here either because it involves going back to our skullduggery/intrigue roots, more poking of weird shit (that doesn't drag on like adventure turns do),characters we know and think are neat, or some combination of all of the above.
 
So, a thought: it possible that there is a reason that the Grand Count of Wissenland was not told about The conspiracy of Silence, even though it should be obvious that if someone should be told, it would be an EC.

... is it possible that no one tells him these things because everyone, other EC's to his own men, knows that there is no way he will not blabber it out at some point.

and we just told him some stuff without thinking about it...

opps?
 
Last edited:
ctulhuslp said:
I seriously doubt Colleges will be remotely happy about precedent of Orders messing in Imperial politics.
Especially Grey Order. Imagine the incredible clusterfuck of Greys being more and more commonly accepted as a part of intra-imperial political skullduggery. Normalizing this is something Colleges, I am sure, do not want at all.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Grey Collage is not a political entitiy but that doesn't mean they don't work for people with politcal ambitions. Hell you couldn't even say Grey Collage is apolitical in totality as they have their own aims and morals which means they take stances on issues which means they are a political organization. Truthfully if you argue for total apolitic Grey Order you end up with Sir Humpfrey Applebee.

For those who don't know who that is, he is the one of the main characters of the greatest political comedy show to ever grace a TV. And he is so apolitical he doesn't even care for anything about the morality of his actions either. Grey order probably won't want to be like that if the end result is like that.
Here is the video where he explians how that works;
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Voting is open
Remove ads
Back
Top