[X] (LIBRARY) Head Librarian
[X] (LIBRARY NAME) The Library of Karak-Eight-Peaks / Kron-Azril-Ungol / The Archive of the Silvery Depths
[X] (BRANCH NAME) World's Edge Branch for Esoteric Research
You know those scams where you get a phone call from someone pretending to be from the tax office? Sometimes it's not a scam, and it turns out I've been hanging up for weeks on the actual tax office who have a number of questions about the minimum wage jobs I had in the 2007 financial year. So that's fun.
Voting closed, writing has begun.
Adhoc vote count started by BoneyM on May 14, 2021 at 3:35 AM, finished with 1478 posts and 248 votes.
You know those scams where you get a phone call from someone pretending to be from the tax office? Sometimes it's not a scam, and it turns out I've been hanging up for weeks on the actual tax office who have a number of questions about the minimum wage jobs I had in the 2007 financial year. So that's fun.
No I don't?
I'd always have assumed any official communications would come by letter, haven't ever had an official institution communicate with me in another way.
No I don't?
I'd always have assumed any official communications would come by letter, haven't ever had an official institution communicate with me in another way.
[*] (LIBRARY) Head Librarian
[*] (LIBRARY NAME) The Library of Karak-Eight-Peaks / Kron-Azril-Ungol / The Archive of the Silvery Depths
[*] (BRANCH NAME) World's Edge Branch for the Multidisciplinary Advancement of Thaumaturgy
"Head Librarian," you say with confidence that you don't fully feel. You've gone back and forth on it a great deal over the past weeks, trying to measure the ephemeral but high value of the amount of time it would take against the uncertain but possibly equally high rewards of having ultimate control over what you're determined to make an important and prestigious institution.
Belegar nods. "Then I'll leave it in your hands. First matter would be location - like I said, the Hall of Reckonings was being considered by some of the Runescribes, but that probably wouldn't be a great fit for what you have in mind. Figure out where you want it and let me or Edda know and there'll be picks on stone within the day."
The rest of the Council of Karak Eight Peaks begins to arrive, and they all make their way over to you to deliver hugs or hearty claps on the back before taking their seats. Word of your moving on has already spread, and of your next project being an attempt to rebuild one of the greatest works of the Karaz Ankor's golden age has put that departure in the best possible light amongst the Dwarves. You listen with half an ear as the Council give their reports and get their new instructions, your mind already mostly on the jobs ahead of you.
---
As you make your way back to Karag Nar, you consider the next few months. You're officially Karak Eight Peaks' Loremaster until the end of the year, and though Belegar made it clear it was optional, your assignment is to investigate the Lhune Depths, the largely unmapped series of caverns deep underneath Karag Lhune from which fresh air sometimes blows from Gods know where. The most straightforward way to do so would be to wander in there and hope for the best, but you could also try to coordinate the Karak's Miners to perform the investigation and bring the results together into one cohesive map like you did in the Chiselwards during the Battle of Karag Lhune, or you could search for old records of the Lhune Depths that might have survived the fall of Karak Eight Peaks.
There's also looking to the future. The World's Edge Branch for the Multidisciplinary Advancement of Thaumaturgy currently exists only on paper, but you could start adding to its roster here and now instead of waiting until you get to Laurelorn. Johann and Max are all but certain to agree to joining your next adventure, but the other Wizards of Karak Eight Peaks are all already occupied with various projects and employers and it's a lot less certain whether they'd agree. Wouldn't hurt to try, though.
And, of course, there's a large pile of ongoing projects, investigations, and curiosities that the Expedition has only added to. Though your debt to Borek has disappeared into an unusual legal limbo where it would take a team of Loremasters decades to decide what should come of it, the items that gold purchased are still very much real, and there's quite a list of observations and mysteries that need putting to paper. There always seems to be so much more to do than you have time to do it in, but you must admit that's preferable to things being the other way around.
Mandatory Actions: Pick one from each category.
Magister Maximilian de Gaynesford, Gold Wizard
[ ] MAX: Recruit him into the research branch of WEB-MAT (NEW)
[ ] MAX: Recruit him into the library of KAU (NEW)
[ ] MAX: Recruit him into the EIC (NEW)
[ ] MAX: Recruit him out of pocket (NEW)
[ ] MAX: Allow him to spend all his time on his metalworking studies.
[ ] MAX: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] MAX: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Write a paper: specify which.
[ ] MAX: Receive dictation: specify which. Must be taken with a 'dictate' action.
Magister Johann, Gold Wizard
[ ] JOHANN: Recruit him into the research branch of WEB-MAT (NEW)
[ ] JOHANN: Recruit him into the library of KAU (NEW)
[ ] JOHANN: Recruit him into the EIC (NEW)
[ ] JOHANN: Recruit him out of pocket (NEW)
[ ] JOHANN: Have him continue to teach Adela what he knows of engineering.
[ ] JOHANN: Learn a skill: specify what from who. You may pay for a trainer.
[ ] JOHANN: Learn a spell: specify which.
[ ] JOHANN: Study an artefact: specify which.
[ ] JOHANN: Write a paper: specify which.
Wizards of Karak Eight Peaks
[ ] DUCK: Attempt to recruit someone into the research branch of WEB-MAT (specify who) (NEW)
[ ] DUCK: Attempt to recruit someone into the library of KAU (specify who) (NEW)
[ ] DUCK: Continue to work with Panoramia with implementing the Waaaghsoak Mushrooms as an aid to spellcasting. (NEW-ish)
[ ] DUCK: Panoramia's about ready to test for Magister, but she's putting it off because she doesn't have a lot of free time to prepare. Work with her to help make the most of every spare minute.
[ ] DUCK: Aid Hubert in his search for a Familiar.
[ ] DUCK: Each of your three ducklings can fight in melee. Spar with them, and teach them what you can.
[ ] DUCK: Study an artefact with one of the Journeymen: specify who and which.
The Eastern Imperial Company Your share of EIC profits: 175 crowns / turn
Current Focus of the EIC: Expansion along the Aver
EIC Handler: The Hochlander
[ ] EIC: Completely hand over management of the EIC intelligence apparatus to the Hochlander. Will remove this section from future turns and regain the half-turn invested in it.
[ ] EIC: Have the Hochlander set up a shadow headquarters for the EIC in the Sunken Palace.
[ ] EIC: Have the Hochlander set up a shadow headquarters for the EIC in your fief.
[ ] EIC: Suggest Eike spend a few weeks in Karak Eight Peaks, so she can grow familiar with Dwarves and their ways.
[ ] EIC: Found an auditors division, to make sure the ledgers are in order.
[ ] EIC: Insert agents into a particular province, cult, company, or institution to start gathering their secrets. (specify who)
[ ] EIC: Reach out to Julia to find out if she's interested in being poached or passing on information.
[ ] EIC: Reach out to Roswita, and have the EIC start passing on tips about any tax evasion or other naughtiness by the EIC's rivals.
[ ] EIC: Improve and expand the EIC's paramilitary river navy. (optional: specify how)
[ ] EIC: Have a blackpowder factory built in Wurtbad.
[ ] EIC: Have the EIC keep tabs on mercenaries so that they can be more easily hired if needed.
Personal Actions: you have four actions you can apply without engaging in overwork.
Current overwork status: [-] [+] [ ] Each box will be filled by one action of overwork, and will take the two turns after that to fade as you recover. The first box incurs no penalty. The second will give a -10 penalty to all actions during the first turn of recovery. The third will give a -20 penalty to all actions on both turns of recovery.
Overwork incurs no penalties on the turns taken, only on the turns recovering from it. You can take as many actions of overwork as you have unfilled boxes.
When you use overwork it fills the left-most empty box, so [-][ ][ ] becomes [-][+][ ], not [+][-][ ]. All boxes recover in parallel and independent from one another, but second and third apply maluses on your actions during that cooldown period.
Current Task: Investigate the Lhune Depths (optional)
[ ] Seek any pre-Time of Woes information on the Lhune Depths that may have survived the Karak's fall
[ ] Organize and coordinate investigations by Miners and Prospectors and collate the information they gather into a unified map (optional: specify priority)
[ ] Personally explore the Lhune Depths (optional: specify priority)
Qrech
[ ] Despite him considering it treasonous, push Qrech to share the Moulder dialect of Queekish.
[ ] Despite him considering it blasphemous, push Qrech to share High Queekish.
Qrech Gambits (can be taken for free alongside a Qrech option):
[ ] Convince Qrech that you seek an arrangement with Clan Moulder, and that you will release him as an ambassador for that arrangement once you are satisfied he'll cooperate.
[ ] Convince Qrech that the Under-Empire has no way of knowing he's even alive, and that he should prioritize the comfort with which he will live the rest of his life.
[ ] Convince Qrech you're ambitious and loyal only to yourself, and you're willing to repay his cooperation in ways that will benefit the Under-Empire.
[ ] Other (write in)
Self-Improvement:
[ ] Challenge Dragomas for the title of Supreme Matriarch (NEW)
[ ] Ask an acquaintance to train you in a skill: specify who and what.
[ ] Attempt to learn a spell from scrolls (specify which, will be harder than studying it at the Grey College)
[ ] Hire a trainer to come to Eight Peaks and teach you: specify what. (costs favours College trainers, money for human ones, Dwarf trainers are free)
[ ] Travel to the Grey College and attend lessons there. (1 College Favour per class; 100gc can be paid instead for non-magical classes)
[ ] Attempt to learn Battle Magic at the Grey College. (1 College Favour per attempt)
[ ] Gain enough control of your unruly shadow to still it temporarily.
[ ] Gain enough control of your attraction to smoke and gases to have it collect away from your face.
[ ] Try to see through Pall of Darkness with your improved magical senses.
[ ] Practice shooting while invisible. (applies to Substance of Shadow and Invisibility)
[ ] Branulhune's ability to disappear and reappear at a thought allows entirely new forms of combat. Continue to work on them.
[ ] Have one of Prince Gotri's pilots teach you to fly a Gyrocarriage (NEW-ish).
[ ] Attempt to finish off the Grey College spellbook by learning Shadow of Death, Cloak Activity, and the MAPP.
Research and Publishing:
[ ] Study an artefact: select which.
[ ] Write a paper: select which.
[ ] Write something else: write in.
Once per turn, you can write a paper or write a 'something else' without spending an action thanks to your Tower of Serenity.
[ ] Dictate papers: select which two, must be taken with Max's 'receive dictation'.
[ ] Investigate the possibility of using one Wind to directly manipulate another.
[ ] The Second Secret of Dhar teaches how to collapse it upon itself. Practice upon local Dhar taint, and very cautiously see if this works with Warpstone.
Aethyric Vitae (14 gallons):
[ ] Experiment with integrating the Vitae into enchantments.
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts with Divine Magic.
[ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts to a power stone. [ ] Investigate how the Vitae reacts to being subjected to power stone creation methods.
[ ] Using the secrets you already know of the Vitae, attempt to weaponize it.
Enchantment and Spell Creation:
[ ] Enchant an item with a Fiendishly Complex or easier spell (specify what and which)
[ ] Attempt to enchant an object to translate Windsight into a visual image.
[ ] Attempt to deepen your skill with Enchantment (will be more difficult than studying it at the Grey College)
[ ] Attempt to create a spell (see Approved Spells threadmark)
[ ] Attempt to codify Rite of Way so that others can learn it
[ ] Attempt to capture an Apparition (optional: specify which)
[ ] Turn a staff from mundane materials.
[ ] Turn a staff from the horn of a Storm Dragon.
Karag Nar Penthouse: each turn, you get ONE free choice in this category. Additional selections cost actions.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Have a tower built atop Karag Nar: -100gc for 1 room, bonus to room's purpose.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Build a basic tower of single-Wind environments for each of the 'missing' Winds: Light, Amber, Amethyst, and Gold: 300gc for four towers.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Have additional rooms excavated underneath your Penthouse: -150gc for 6 rooms.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Have firing platforms built around the Penthouse so that it can be defended from flyers or climbers without granting access to it.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Add preservation Runes to your library.
[ ] PENTHOUSE: No additional construction. Setting up rooms for specific purposes will have to wait until new rooms are constructed or excavated. Only one construction or excavation can take place at a time, but you can do one of each.
Building downwards will increase by 1 each time; second set of excavated rooms will be 3 rooms, third will be 4, and so on.
Building upwards can be added upon; towers can be added on to or additional towers can be built. The distinction between the two is entirely cosmetic.
Foreign Relations:
[ ] Involve yourself in the Sylvanian campaign (specify how)
[ ] Involve yourself in the Marienburg affair (specify how)
[ ] Involve yourself in the Black Waters project (specify how)
Personal Relations:
[ ] Attempt to recruit Egrimm van Horstmann into WEB-MAT (NEW)
[ ] Spend time assisting with a fellow councillor's task: specify who and how.
[ ] Spend time investigating a character without their knowledge: specify who.
[ ] Wolf is fully grown, very smart, and a Very Good Boy. Train him further. (specify what he will be taught)
[ ] Wolf is fully grown and very magical. Deepen your familiar bond. (may unlock a new familiar ability; risks obsession)
Ranald's Coin - specify which face it will be set to
[ ] The Gambler: specify an action this will apply to. A +20 bonus to up to two dice rolls resulting from a single chosen action.
[ ] The Night Prowler As long as you are outside of private property and within a town or city, nobody will question your presence and nobody will be able to find you if you do not wish them to.
[ ] The Deceiver: specify how this will be used. Lies you have developed beforehand will be delivered perfectly. The listener may believe you to be mistaken, but they will never believe that you are lying. Cannot be used to tell truths.
[ ] The Protector When you act in a way that defends an individual or group from a danger that you did not cause, they will become aware of what you have done and will believe you acted selflessly in doing so. Rule of thumb: if you have to explain why this might apply, it probably doesn't.
Ranald's Coin (note from Ranald: don't)
Vampire skulls
Branulhune - investigate the odd flash when it is desummoned underwater
Books and rubbings from an Asur explorer of Lustria and the Southlands
Golden Arm Ghyran Nut
Kurgan Shrine to Mannslieb
Kurgan enchanted weapons
Note: Fresh and Refreshed papers confer a +10 bonus; faded ones a -10 malus.
Papers get one step less 'fresh' each turn: Fresh; Fading; Mostly Faded: Faded. Only the first and last have an effect on the diceroll.
Daemonic Concealment of Karak Vlag (FRESH)
Observations on the Windfall north of the Dark Lands (FRESH)
Observations on the Chaos Wastes in the western Great Steppes (FRESH)
Observations of Karag Dum and its unusual guardian (FRESH)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Ulgu (FRESH)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Aqshy(FRESH)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Ghyran (FRESH)
Windsoak Mushrooms - Azyr (FRESH)
Comprehensive notes on possible terrain obstacles (FADING)
Waaagh energy and magic witnessed during the Expedition. (FADED)
The Black Orc Warboss' worship of Only Gork, and what you saw of the Rogue Idol ritual. (FADED)
Preliminary paper on Aethyric Vitae. (TIMELESS)
Coins of Nehekhara's Fifth Dynasty (TIMELESS)
You can literally write the book on a topic for the same amount of effort as two papers; this can be split over multiple turns. You don't need to have all the pieces to do so, but it would be more efficient and impressive if you did.
Windsoak Mushrooms (missing: Chamon, Hysh, Shyish, Ghur)
The Currency of Strygos
The Currency of Tylos
Coins of Nehekhara's Fourth Dynasty
Coins of Nehekhara's Sixth Dynasty
Separate Vote:
The Library of Kron-Azril-Ungol
Establish the site of the KAU:
[ ] [KAU] In Karag Nar, just below your Penthouse
[ ] [KAU] In Karag Nar, easily accessible from the entrance
[ ] [KAU] In Kvinn-Wyr, with an entrance from the Eastern Valley
[ ] [KAU] In the Hall of Reckonings, far below the Citadel
[ ] [KAU] In the Silver Tower, an ancient structure on the southwestern face of Karagril
[ ] [KAU] In Karag Zilfin, just below Cython's territory
[ ] [KAU] The Lhune Depths, below Karag Lhune
[ ] [KAU] Other (write in)
- There will be a thirty hour moratorium. Voting will be in plan format, with the library location vote separate.
- In the quite likely event of there being anything I've missed, including potential papers from the Expedition, please let me know.
- The library does not cost you any actions to run for this turn. The action costs of institutions will be overhauled for next turn.
- There will not be Duckling Club actions after this turn.
- You have a -10 to all rolls this turn due to overwork performed in the lead-up to the Expedition.
Wonder if Pan knows how indecisive Mathy actually is? Everyone else seems fooled.
Word of your moving on has already spread, and with your next project beign an attempt to rebuild one of the greatest works of the Karaz Ankor's golden age has put that departure in the best possible light amongst the Dwarves.
A question guys what is the situation with shadow of death spell?
we haven't learned it according to the spellbook and it could give mathilda a boost in magic.
A question guys what is the situation with shadow of death spell?
we haven't learned it according to the spellbook and it could give mathilda a boost in magic.
My proposed plan for this turn. Gets another tick in our sword style, works with Panoramia to continue the waaaghsoak mushrooms. recruits all our gold boys, recruits Egrim. Writes a paper on our greatest achievement. Most importantly Ulgu Tongs first step.
[] Plan Preparing for tomorrow.
-[ ] Investigate the possibility of using one Wind to directly manipulate another.
-[ ] MAX: Recruit him into the research branch of WEB-MAT (NEW)
-[ ] JOHANN: Recruit him into the research branch of WEB-MAT (NEW)
-[ ] DUCK: Continue to work with Panoramia with implementing the Waaaghsoak Mushrooms as an aid to spellcasting.
-[ ] In Karag Nar, easily accessible from the entrance
- [ ] Travel to the Grey College and attend lessons there. [Ritual Magic]
- [ ] Write a paper: Daemonic Concealment of Karak Vlag (Serenity)
-[ ] Branulhune's ability to disappear and reappear at a thought allows entirely new forms of combat. Continue to work on them.
-[ ] Investigate the possibility of using one Wind to directly manipulate another.
--[ ] The Gambler: Investigating the possibility of using one wind to directly manipulate another.
-[] Attempt to recruit Egrimm van Horstmann into WEB-MAT (NEW)
-[ ] PENTHOUSE: Build a basic tower of single-Wind environments for each of the 'missing' Winds: Light, Amber, Amethyst, and Gold: 300gc for four towers.
Added:
[ ] PENTHOUSE: Build a basic tower of single-Wind environments for each of the 'missing' Winds: Light, Amber, Amethyst, and Gold: 300gc for four towers.
What the fuck.
Mathilde, that might be a little too much Hubris. Remember how you felt last time you had to stare down a Dragon? Remember that whole lecture you got about Transformation of Kadon being non-dispellable?
What the fuck.
Mathilde, that might be a little too much Hubris. Remember how you felt last time you had to stare down a Dragon? Remember that whole lecture you got about Transformation of Kadon being non-dispellable?
