Man. Trucemaker definitely just shot up high on the priority and tastiness list.
A trait for working out how to get people to not-fight? When we are about to engage in a project that will involve trying to get Dwarfs and Elves to work together? That is a good trait. And it's a trait that we made use of in the expedition; from getting everybody pointed in the right direction, making sure that the Dwarfs don't have any issues with hiring an Elf -- or magic-users for that note -- and making sure that Asarnil won't have issues being hired by Dwarfs; to making deals and buying cows from Kurgans. ((Mind, we didn't exactly make Dwarfs and Asarnil friendly to each other. (Though, it was brought up briefly in an offhand way that... I forget exact wording but, 'If given a choice of who to ditch or avoid or not hire first, the Dwarfs might decide to avoid the Elf.' So hey.) What we did, was go around and check 'Is X okay with Y being hired? Oh, there are no problems? Okay, good.' 'Is Y okay with being hired by X? Oh, okay, good.'))
[ ] DIPLO: Polyglot
If you had been unable to use Khazalid as a bridging language, there were many encounters that could have gone quite badly. There's a great deal of potential benefits to further expanding your linguistic lexicon.
Ah, speaking of learning languages...
We're probably going to want to pick up whatever dialect of Eltharin the Eonir speak, aren't we? Or, at minimum, round out and polish up our Eltharin; we can speak it, enough to converse with Asarnil and Cython, but we haven't lived in a society that uses it as a living language the way we had Khazalid.
Much like how, living alongside (and doing deeds for) the Dwarfs wound up with us knowing Khazalid. We picked up that language partly as a reward from them for being trustworthy and reliable. And partly we learned that language as part of being able to better understand Dwarfs. Er. That is to say... Living amongst the Dwarfs, and working for them, meant that we picked up the language
and worked on getting a grasp on their culture -- and so, in that same sense, we'll probably want to pick up the Eonir dialect of Eltharin too. It will be something that will be helpful for working with them. Same for picking up on what Eonir are like, and learning to get along with them.
[ ] DIPLO: Trucemaker
Sometimes the best battle is one you never fight. Every life not spent fighting lesser evils can be turned against the greater ones.
... But this.
Hoo boy, this.
Do you know what the Dwarfs and Elves have against each other? A boatload of bad blood and grudges and enmity and history!
Do you know what would be really really nice to have when it comes to making 2 peoples work together, if those peoples have distrust and issues towards each other?
A trait for being a peacemaker or trucemaker.
[ ] LESSON: Cartographer
Being able to explore, record, and subsequently navigate unfriendly territory is an incredibly useful and often underrated skill.
This is just a fun skill.
[ ] LESSON: Mystic
Some mysteries should be embraced, rather than unravelled. You might not fully understand the Gods this way, but you are much more likely to get along with Them.
[ ] LESSON: Syncretic
Ranald will likely always be your primary God, but you are branching out into a healthy and respectful understanding of some of the other Gods of the Old World, both human and Dwarven.
[ ] LESSON: Theologian
You have a breadth of experience with the Divine that would put many Priests to shame, and are starting to build tentative overarching theories of the Divine that many might consider heretical.
But hoo boy. I like all
three of these.
Mysticism and faith... syncretism and attempts at understanding... or breadth and theories...
I actually kind of like Mystic or Syncretic? In fact, I do like Mystic. Some might be put off by some of the words in it -- the idea of embracing faith rather than the usual 'Yeah of course we'll understand everything!' but... like. Faith. It's a thing. ... I lack more words to really get my thoughts across, but. Faith and worship and religious belief is something viable and truthful and cool.
Besides, like -- you
can accomplish things through faith. And wouldn't it be cool to do so? To see what and if you can? And, you'll never know unless you actually
try to walk that path.
And so... that path could be cool to walk. And one I might be interested in walking -- or, at least, interested in always having available to me. Of having started on that path. Of having that be part of you.
[ ] LESSON: Dhar Insight
You've seen Daemons, the Chaos Wastes, the Windfall. You're reaching as thorough an understanding of the fel energies of Dark Magic as can be attained without actually wielding them.
Dhar Insight can also be useful for questions such as 'Will this idea of mine cause dhar?' And being able to answer that in the affirmative or negative might be important.
Though more likely this refers to things like daemons and dhar in the environment of course. Since that's what we experienced in the Expedition. But still could be neat. Though, I prefer the religious Lessons instead.
[ ] LESSON: Leader
Despite not seeking it, once more you found yourself in military command. Perhaps this tendency is something to be embraced.
... Yeah, uh, honestly? This wouldn't be bad. Mathilde has stepped up to a leadership and lead several times.
Why not... lean into or acknowledge that? Why not try to develop or nurture that?
I wouldn't mind something like that. Though, leadership (and thus responsibility) does scare me. Then again, what better way than to make a thing less scary, than by having a trait or knack for it...
[ ] DIPLO: Collegiate
How independent the Colleges are from each other depends a great deal on your perspective. There can be a lot of value in bridging those gaps.
[ ] DIPLO: Dawri
You've lived along Dwarves for long enough that your Wizard robes and Arcane Marks are often the only things preventing you from being mistaken for one.
[ ] DIPLO: Interfaith Dialogue
Ranald isn't the most accepted of Gods, but you're growing adept at finding common ground with the other faiths of the Old World.
[ ] DIPLO: Mentor
Though you've never taken an Apprentice of your own, you have spent quite a bit of time taking less-experienced Wizards under your wing.
These traits could all be neat or cool.
Dawri, for instance... Well. It will be neat to have this, when going to meet or social the Karak Vlag Dwarfs. Just -- I like the thought of that idea, y'know? The idea of being able to just...
get Dwarfs. To blend in with Dwarfs. It's good. I like that good feeling. Also, it might help us when dealing with the most cantankerous or old or stubborn or prideful of Dwarfs. Like Kragg or Thorek. Or even the High King, though not sure which of those categories he most fits in.
As for Mentor... Well. Being able to take people under your wing could be useful.
But Interfaith Dialogue! That's potentially a really neat lesson to take away.
We will probably be running into some Elf religious ideas and things and stuff, no? And even if not, we'll probably do research on the Kurgan Shrine to Mannsleib we just stole recently. And we have lots to think about, concerning Ranald and the Widow and her siblings...
And Collegiate is, ah, ahah... well. Yeah. Being able to get more Wizards on-board? Being able to understand and deal with Wizards and with College Politics and College Diplomacy better? Yes. Yes, I would like that thing, yes.
... Unfortunately, those Lessons are butting up against
Polyglot and
Trucemaker.
And I feel like those two are some big ones. Trucemaker especially, if it can come in useful for getting Elves and Dwarfs to cooperate towards a common cause or goal.
