Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
That is hopefully the plan since the Albion Giant population is not only stable but also non degraded.
Maybe but not sure how well that would work out and it would be a very long term plan.
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Warhammer Fantasy: Norsca United! (CK2)
- Thread starter ancusohm
- Start date
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
I feel like if she is able to genetically engineer a new species she probably isn't too far off of cloning.
I mean, I'm sure it will be a long term project, even if she figures out how to do it in a single year it's still going to take forever to get anything done with it and I really doubt it's going to go over that easy. I'm assuming we are looking at something like a century before we see real results out of cloning, as in, not just one or two people but enough to make a substantial difference and set up a breeding population that can survive on it's own, but I think it would still be worth it.
Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
More like upgraded a existing species and even then it had flaws.
But you do have a good point overall and it should be possible for the Great Mother.
[X] Don't tell the Imperial Mages about Hall
[X] Raid the Troll Waste
[X] Raid the Skaven
-[X] APA: Raid the Skaven
(we gave Tabitha this job for a reason and there are indications that the Skaven are behind Thogg AND much of the chaos in the Empire - let's disrupt their plans)
[X] War!
[X] Sigmarite Refugees
-[X] DD: Sigmarite Refugees
[X] Halfling Refugees
-[X] DD: Halfling Refugees
(The refugee options are quick and offer us a quick boost to areas where we really need the shot in the arm - put the DDs here because of the options we can afford to DD on this turn, I think these two are the most useful.)
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: The Assassins
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: The Vampires
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: Adolphus
(Let's get to the bottom of the problem in the Empire.)
[X] Free Enchant: Dharbreaks
[X] Ask the Augurs
-[X] Ask the Augurs: Raid the Troll Waste
[X] Soulburning
[X] Research Tundra
[X] A god DOES live on prayer alone
-[X] TPA: A god DOES live on prayer alone
(Strengthening the Ancestors is highly important to our long-run viability)
[X] A Wall of Fortresses: Kislev
[X] Feed the Dwarfs
(I think boosting our two main allies is really important.)
[X] A Better Practice
[X] Grand Survey of Shipbuilding
[X] Merchant Training with Astah
[X] High Magic
[X] The Art of the Dress with Rana
[X] Bjornlingers: Patrol Sea of Chaos
[X] Graelings: Raid Naggaroth
[X] Vargs: Raid the Dark Lands
[X] Baersonligners: Heavy Patrols of the Troll Wastes
[X] Skaelings: Aide the Wood Elves
(The AID to the wood elves seemed to go well last turn - I'd like to try and build on that to see if we can't gain a new ally.)
fasquardon
[X] Raid the Troll Waste
[X] Raid the Skaven
-[X] APA: Raid the Skaven
(we gave Tabitha this job for a reason and there are indications that the Skaven are behind Thogg AND much of the chaos in the Empire - let's disrupt their plans)
[X] War!
[X] Sigmarite Refugees
-[X] DD: Sigmarite Refugees
[X] Halfling Refugees
-[X] DD: Halfling Refugees
(The refugee options are quick and offer us a quick boost to areas where we really need the shot in the arm - put the DDs here because of the options we can afford to DD on this turn, I think these two are the most useful.)
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: The Assassins
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: The Vampires
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: Adolphus
(Let's get to the bottom of the problem in the Empire.)
[X] Free Enchant: Dharbreaks
[X] Ask the Augurs
-[X] Ask the Augurs: Raid the Troll Waste
[X] Soulburning
[X] Research Tundra
[X] A god DOES live on prayer alone
-[X] TPA: A god DOES live on prayer alone
(Strengthening the Ancestors is highly important to our long-run viability)
[X] A Wall of Fortresses: Kislev
[X] Feed the Dwarfs
(I think boosting our two main allies is really important.)
[X] A Better Practice
[X] Grand Survey of Shipbuilding
[X] Merchant Training with Astah
[X] High Magic
[X] The Art of the Dress with Rana
[X] Bjornlingers: Patrol Sea of Chaos
[X] Graelings: Raid Naggaroth
[X] Vargs: Raid the Dark Lands
[X] Baersonligners: Heavy Patrols of the Troll Wastes
[X] Skaelings: Aide the Wood Elves
(The AID to the wood elves seemed to go well last turn - I'd like to try and build on that to see if we can't gain a new ally.)
fasquardon
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
Huh.
So, I just thought of an omake I'd like to request. I don't think I could write this, so, yeah, wanna read someone else's take.
Basically, one of the options we can take to do is have our dragon help out the Dwarves, yeah. Now, we may not do this turn, but I'm sure we will do it eventually.
Now, at the moment, our dragon is hooking up with one of the Elves dragons. Elves and Dwarves do not get along and I'm sure the Elven dragon's share this animosity.
So, yeah, I'd like to request an omake from one of you from that dragon's pov about helping the Dwarves. Also, the reverse would be cool as well, so I'd be interested in seeing an omake about the Dwarves perspective on working with dragons for the first time in such a long time.
If anyone feels like taking on either of these requests I'd appreciate it.
So, I just thought of an omake I'd like to request. I don't think I could write this, so, yeah, wanna read someone else's take.
Basically, one of the options we can take to do is have our dragon help out the Dwarves, yeah. Now, we may not do this turn, but I'm sure we will do it eventually.
Now, at the moment, our dragon is hooking up with one of the Elves dragons. Elves and Dwarves do not get along and I'm sure the Elven dragon's share this animosity.
So, yeah, I'd like to request an omake from one of you from that dragon's pov about helping the Dwarves. Also, the reverse would be cool as well, so I'd be interested in seeing an omake about the Dwarves perspective on working with dragons for the first time in such a long time.
If anyone feels like taking on either of these requests I'd appreciate it.
Turn 21 Results
- Location
- Under a cat
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Turn 21 (2440 IC)
[X] Don't tell the Imperial Mages about Hall
Military: Ahloynah wants to attack Throgg soon before he can go stronger, and Ashi thinks she's right. However, it might be worth spending another year preparing (Choose 3)
[X] Raid the Troll Waste - Despite your efforts, Throgg's army is still strong and growing stronger. You'll have to fight them eventually, but maybe you can weaken them with raiding first.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70 Reward: Disrupt Throgg's growing army
Required: 30 Rolled: 41 + 34 (APA) + 20 (DD) + 10 (Scouts) + 15 (Previous Raid) + 10 (Kreugar) = 130 Super Critical Success!
Critical Roll: 77 + 30 = 107
Second Critical Roll: 75 + 7 = 82
Ashi personally leads the raids this year, and she does wonderfully. Using the knowledge from the scouts and previous raiders, she does incredible damage to Throgg's army. In every battle, the light of the Purifier shines forth from her, blinding and searing the Chaos scum with is power. Kreugar accompanies her into battle, and Ashi makes sure to give him as many kills as she can to build his army. Unfortunately, undead trolls lose the ability to regenerate, but they still make decent fighters.
Ashi begins her raids by going after the weakest parts of the horde: the surviving beastmen, the mutants, and the human Chaos worshipers. She leaves only corpses in her wake. After slaying all of those weaker foes she can find, she begins to attack the trolls that are the greatest strength of Throgg's army. She faces off against the scarred trolls, but while those creatures aren't stupid, they're far from smart enough to best her tactically.
For every too-intelligent scarred troll she find a dozen trolls with similar scars who are too mindless to even be called stupid. They only charge at any foe in front of them in an endless unquenchable rage, but these berserk trolls die like all the others that face Ashi.
Near the end of the year, just as Ashi finished another slaughter, her scouts reported a great force approaching. Before Ashi could order the retreat, Throgg shouted a challenge so loudly that she could hear it from miles off. The Purifier could not bear the thought of running from a fight with a servant of Chaos like Throgg, and Ashi saw an opportunity. She rode out to answer Throgg's challenge.
The two champions met each other in an open space between their armies. The troll king looked even more terrible than the stories said. He wielded a great ax and wore black steel armor. Still, Ashi was blessed by the Ancestors; she did not fear him.
However, as she drew near, dark power surged into Throgg. His skin turned scaly, and his armor came apart only for the bits of metal to weave themselves into his body like living things. Throgg grew larger, and his muscles bulged obscenely. Lastly, an aura of black fire grew around him, covering him without burning him.
Throgg smiled, baring his enormous mouth full of crooked teeth, and Ashi knew that Khorne had found a new champion.
She struck at him, but he dodged with impossible speed and then vomited acid upon her. Skin burning, Ashi went down screaming. Throgg moved to finish her off, but the Purifier's light erupted from her body, blinding the troll and buying her time to regain her feet.
The duel continued, and Ashi landed a few blows, but Throgg hardly seemed to care. Until, at last, Ashi saw an opening and drove her ax into his skull, splitting him from crown to chin. She grinned with triumph, until the armor on Throgg's chest parted to show a second face. Leering madly, the second mouth opened, and again Throgg vomited a river of acid upon Ashi, straight into her eyes.
Blinded, your wife stumbled backwards, desperately flailing to block attacks she could not see.
White light surged, and Ashi's vision cleared just in time for her to dodge a lethal blow. The Purifier had saved her life a second time this battle.
Ashi realized that she should flee with her life, but the Purifier stopped her with a few quiet words that reached into her very soul: "I did not save you so that you might leave Chaos scum alive."
Ashi's body moved on its own, charging back towards Throgg. The Purifier's light erupted forth from her, brighter than it had ever been since Valkia. Throgg roared, and she felt Khorne's power flow into the troll, making his aura of black flame grow larger. White light battled with black flame in conflict too intense for Ashi to even see.
When the light finally dimmed, there was nothing left of Throgg but a few shards of armor and dust. Ashi collapsed, all her strength drained, barely clinging to consciousness. She dimly noted someone throwing her over a sleipnir's back, lashing her in place, and then flying her off to safety. As she rose in the air, she glimpsed Kreugar leading his undead army in a charge against Throgg's demoralized warriors.
Kreugar flew back to Heimgard a few days later, carried by a half dozen undead harpies. Apparently, he lost his last steed, that zombie manticore. According to the mercenary, the horde has annoyingly managed to survive Throgg's death. He left too many scarred trolls and other leaders for the army to collapse completely. However, they're now far from unified.
Still, Ahloynah writes you to express her thanks, and the people of Kislev throw spontaneous celebrations at the news of Throgg's death.
Unfortunately, although Ashi survived her duel and should recover fully in a year, you can sense that the Purifier has expended much of the power you'd just gathered for the Ancestors.
Reward:
Throgg is dead
1,000 Jotun gain
Horde is fractured.
[X] Expanding the Armies: War Beasts - Your armies must grow. You decide to recruit even more of the warbeasts that already make up much of your army. You will even pay people to acquire more infant manticores.
Cost: 1,000 Time: 1 year Reward: More land-based war beasts and also some manticores.
Most beasts breed far quicker than humans, and your animal trainers get thousands ready to supplement your sentient forces. Your runeworkers Additionally, the Great Mother lends her services and those of her pet manticore "Fluzzbutt" to domesticating a few more manticores for your armies.
Reward:
4,000 Dire Dogs
2,500 Sabretusks
2,650 War Bears
50 War Mammoths
26 Ultra Heavy Mammoths
30 Manticores
[X] Expanding the Armies: Navy - Your armies must grow. You construct many new ships and combine them with the individual realms' navies into one grand navy of Heimgard. Will be boosted by other races' shipbuilding advice.
Cost: 1,000 Time: 1 year Reward: More ships.
You greatly expand your navy, adapting some of the simplest techniques adapted from other races' shipbuilding advice.
In addition to your typical ships, you develop three new styles: An improved transport based off Marienburg merchant ships. 'Slicers' based off swift elf designs. And the Runeclad, very expensive ships that are only poor imitation of dwarf Ironclads. You can't equip them with proper steam engines, so they make do with enchanted paddles. At best, the best pace they can manage is a craw. You would not trust those to overseas voyages. However, between their rune-enhanced armor and their several cannons, they make a decent anvil for the rest of your ships' hammer.
Reward
500 Thinships: Standard Norscan warship. Crew: 30-50
100 Transports: Large slow ships designed to move troops. Crew: 20 Transport: 60
100 Cutters: Large warships. Crew: 50-80
100 Strikers: Large rune-enhanced warships with a powerful cannon mounted in the prow. Crew 50-80
New Ship styles:
100 Shippers: Adapted from Marienburg designs, these transports are larger and slower than your own. Crew: 20 Transport: 200
50 Slicers: Cutters that incorporate some elf designs for improved speed and agility. Crew: 50-80
10 Runeclad: Heavily armored, but extremely slow ships with several cannons. Crew 50
Diplomacy: Tahvo himself has returned to Heimgard to try and deal with the instability in the Empire. However, your other diplomats are still conducting their tour. They will be visiting Skeggi and other distant lands this year. (Choose 2)
[X] Grand Diplomatic Tour - Tahvo wants to send people, including himself, on ships in a grand tour. He plans to establish an embassy in every coastal land, including: Marienburg, Bretonnia, Estalia, Alesandr, Araby, and even Albion. He even plans to contact traditionally reclusive groups like the Wood Elves, the Amazons, the easternmost colonies of Nippon, and perhaps even with any friendly-ish Tomb King, if such creatures even exist. It will be expensive and not without risk, but it will greatly expand your information network. It may also yield more trade, and you could even discover some new allies.
Cost: 1,000 Jotun and ? Upkeep/Year (Depends on the number of embassies established) Time: 2 years Chance of Success: ? (Will receive Tahvo's bonus with Old World nations) Reward: Much more information. Improved relations with many foreign nations. Formal contact with many foreign nations. Chance of improved trade. Chance of new allies. Small chance of Tahvo's death. ???
Finishes This Year
In Araby, Tahvo's diplomats find that the locals are not happy to see you there. It seems that when you conquered Norsca, you drastically decreased the flow of slaves into Arabian markets. Upon hearing that you had no plans to send them slaves again, your diplomats where summarily ejected from the sultan's palace. A few of your people fruitlessly pleaded with the sultan's people to be allowed to establish an embassy. The rest of them explored the rest of the region. It seems that the sultan's authority over the various city states is nominal at best. In particular, the cities of Copher and El Haikk flaunt their near total independence. Those cities also flaunt their rapidly increasing wealth and power.
The Golden King has sent (living emissaries) to conduct diplomacy with foreign nations . For that reason, Tahvo dared to send some people to visit him in his capitol, the necropolis of Numas. In that bizarre tomb-city, the living and the dead work side by side. Human artisans craft arms and armor while skeleton porters haul great burdens through the streets. Skeletons stand guard on the street corners while laughing children frolic around them utterly without fear. And why should they fear? Their dead guardians give them greater safety than most of these folk have ever known. When asked, one local man said that only criminals need fear dead. Many of those criminals are put to death atop sacrificial alters along with an endless stream of greenskin, but the people seem to genuinely not mind.
When they met the king of the city, they saw why they call him the "Golden King." He wore a kind of golden armor molded into an extremely detailed and realistic depiction of a young man. The tomb king introduced himself as Tutankhanut, and he seemed genuinely pleased to speak with your ambassadors, as far as they could tell. He allowed you to establish an embassy, and he even set up trade deals to bring in some wood. However, he would make no further deals with your nation because his "living advisers have little good to say of your people." However, he mentioned that he would pay well for any troops you might lend him.
+100 Trade
In Karak Zorn, your diplomats received by far the best reception in the Southlands. It seems that Jotunheimers get on well with dwarfs even when they're this strange. Hardly any of these dwarfs can even speak Khazalid, and only their scholars can even name the Dwarf Ancestors. These dwarfs are the descendants of the unbelievers who never followed their living gods north. When ancient Nehekhara fell to the necromancer Nagash, some of the people in its southernmost colonies escaped their fellows' fate and fled further south. They sought refuge, but they found only an endless jungle filled with savage orcs. They stumbled upon Karak Zorn and pledged their servitude in exchange for safety. Untold generations later, their children still serve. It seems the initial reports that called the humans 'slaves' were inaccurate but not by much. The dwarfs have imposed a caste system onto the humans. The 'laborer' caste toil in backbreaking labor. The 'warriors' have comparatively good treatment, but it's still clear they're second class citizens. The only truly respected humans are the 'learned;' they all either have magical talent or are related to those who do. They serve as administrators or priests. In this place, some humans and dwarfs worship strange gods like "Sotek the Serpent-Slayer." However, the majority of the people of both races pray to the old gods of Nehekhara. The priests preach that, if the people stay faithful, one day the gods will turn the world into a paradise and "the covenant will be reforged."
These Southland Dwarfs devour your news of the outside world. Between the fall of Nehekhara and the collapse of the dwarf empire, these isolated people have spent centuries believing they were the last beacon of civilization besides the Lizardmen cities. Their priest-queen is so entertained by the stories your people tell that she offers generous prices on rubber and rare gems of her realm. However, the profits are lessened somewhat by the cost of shipping these precious goods from the isolated hold.
+200 Trade
In Skeggi, Tahvi's people have found the city has descended into civil war since Gunilla's death. One one side are the Aesons, who claim to be the descendants of the "glorious tribe of the Aeslings," and they value little other than bloodshed. On the other side are the Spyglass League, a conglomeration of merchants, whose only god is profit... although they're also quite fond of survival. The Aesons want nothing to do with you because you bested their 'ancestors,' but the Spyglass League will pay high prices for weapons.
+200 Trade
Your people try to contact Nippon's abandoned colonies on the western side of Lustria (which happens to be very narrow near Skeggi). The stranded Nipponese have much contact with the Skeggians, so you can communicate with them. However, you can't set up any lasting deals as the desperate people are forming and dissolving organizations on a daily basis. You're unable to set up a meeting with the only semi-stable faction, which is said to be lead by a "Majestic Tea Kettle." You're pretty sure that's a translation error.
The Amazons have been largely isolated for centuries. However, Gunilla managed to forge strong tries with the Amazon queen, who was assassinated a few years ago. Since then they've struggled with internal conflicts over whether to continue interacting with the outside world or return to isolationism. Your ambassadors make contact with the friendlier Amazons and arrange to quietly sell them some foreign goods to which they've grown accustomed. These sales may technically be illegal under Amazon law, but your diplomats were very careful to not ask about that.
In addition to the new trade contracts, your people bring back incredible news. They're now certain that the Amazons truly reproduce without men. They don't know the details; it involves a secret ritual. However, the Great Mother is very eager to learn more. She wants to know if you might find some way to 'acquire' the details of this ritual.
+50 Trade
The Lizardmen of Lustria are doing quiet well overall. Spawnings are up, Druchii raiding is down, and the mad vampire Luthor Harkon is causing fewer problems than normal. True, there is some grumblings about the new colonies on their land, and Pestilens is prowling through the jungle a little more than before, but the skinks who actually run their cities seem optimistic. They are quite grateful for your help in revealing that the Druchii were behind that Slann's death. Unfortunately, you have very little that they want, so there are no trade deals to be made. However, the skinks mention that they will always pay huge rewards for lore relating to the Old Ones.
Rewards:
+550 Trade (In total)
-50 Upkeep
Unlocked new options.
[X] Albionese Mercenaries - You've recently contacted Albion, and the locals already think highly of you. Tahvo's diplomats have confirmed that more than a few would willing fight for you. In exchange for a pittance in dwarf ale and steel, you could recruit thousands of mercenaries from Albion. You might even manage to hire a few Truthsayers or giants. Really, the only problem is transporting so many people from that mist-shrouded island.
Cost: 200 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Mercenaries from Albion. Possibly rare units.
Required: 30 Rolled: 27 + 10 (Bjornlings) = 37
As Tahvo feared, the mists of Albion make it difficult to transport large numbers of people off the island. It's only by getting some tips from the Bjornlings that they were able to succeed at all. Eventually, they found a semi-workable solution by tying their ships together with long ropes so that, when they finally pass through the mists, at least the transports will all be in the same place.
The trouble navigating the mists takes up so much of your people's time that they weren't able to go looking for some of the rarer creatures of Albion. However, they still find thousands of warriors willing to travel to a foreign land and fight in your battles. A single Truthsayer accompanies her people in order to watch over them and to learn more about your people.
Reward:
2,000 Warband Warriors - Lightly armored warriors who fight with more fury than discipline
1,000 Woad Warriors - Crazed paint-smeared shock troops
2,000 Youngblood Javeliners - Young and inexperienced skirmishers
2,000 Youngblood Slingers - Young and inexperienced skirmishers
[X] Halfling Refugees - The Moot has been hit hard by vampires. Adolphus is doing what he can to protect the halflings, but many seek safer lands. Tahvo wants to offer them a place in Heimgard.
Cost: 200 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% + 20 (Tahvo's Bonus with Southerners) Reward: Halfling Immigrants. More halflings protected from vampire attacks
Required: 30 Rolled: 68 + 20 (Tahvo) = 88
Strangely enough, Norsca is now safer than the Empire, at least for halflings. The moot still suffers raids, and its neighbors are either unable to help, like Averland, or unwilling, like Stirland. Tahvo tells you that Stirland is actually weathering this vampire problem quite well (probably because of all their practice), but they have some ancestral dislike of halflings; it has something to do with some land claim.
Tahvo tells his contacts in the Moot that Heimgard is throwing open its doors to halflings, and he actually pays for some of their travel expenses. Thousands of halflings stream into your country. Their new home is far colder than their old, and the land is not nearly as good. Still, with a kind of stubborn optimism, they settle down in the few bits choice areas left in Sarland. You hear some are already talking about heading over the mountains to see if there's good soil in Centraland. That could cause some problems if you don't fix that regions 'reality instability' issue soon.
Reward:
15,000 Halfling colonists
Intrigue: Dringor is grateful for his new name and deeply sorry that he's not fit for the field. He intends to make up for that lack by refocusing on coordinating your spies, and he's already begun the search for a replacement. This year, he thinks it's more important than ever to infiltrate the Empire, and he's got several new ideas on how to do so. He's also come up with a bold plan to deal with the Skaven.
(Choose 3) No More NPA Bonus. Instead, every action will receive a +5 bonus.
[X] Hunting Chaos: Heimgard - You know of at least one major cult in Heimgard. You send Nameless to fight them and every other cult he can uncover.
Cost: 250 Jotun/turn Time: ? year Chance of Success: ?% Reward: Rooting out Chaos worshipers.
Rolled: 48 + 5 = 53
The struggle with the Idolaters remains a frustrating stalemate. They corrupt a few minor officials, Nameless catches and kills a few of the corrupted, and everyone is left more or less where they started.
You've made great strides, but the hunt continues.
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: The Assassins - Something is going on in the Empire, and you need to know what. You have Dringor focus on finding who hired those skaven to kill you. Benefits from other Infiltrate Empire actions.
Cost: 200 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: ?% Reward: More information on the Empire, focusing on the skaven assasins
Rolled: 95 + 5 + 20 (DD) = 120
Critical Roll: 50 + 20 = 70
Your spies slink into Nordland and quickly locate the skaven clan that was hired to kill you. Your agents ask them a few 'questions.' In no time at all, the rats are squealing all about how a Nordland noble paid for the job. After being hired, the skaven spied on the noble to see if they might blackmail him, because of course they did. The skaven were surprised and scared to discover that the nobleman receives frequent visits from a lovely young woman whom they're certain is a vampire. Your agents paid her a visit.
She fought like a maniac, and when she saw that escape was impossible, she tried to ignite a massive amount of gunpowder and alchemical flame she had hidden in the walls of her house. Fortunately, they stopped her, took her captive alive, searched the house for anything remotely of value, and then, to cover their tracks, set of the explosives themselves (on a delay of course).
They shipped the vampire back to Shadow Mouth. Once there, she had a fascinating conversation with Dringor.
Nameless investigates Esther's story. There are a few details he can't confirm, but the vast majority of it appears to be true.
Now, you need to decide what to do.
[] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[] Contact Adolphus and tell him you uncovered his plot
[] Don't contact Adolphus (You will be able to do so later on, if you wish)
[X] Striking Throgg's Horde AGAIN - Your assassins had little success last year, but Dringor can try again. They know more about the horde now, which will make their work a little easier.
Cost: 500 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Horde in disarray
Required: 40 Rolled: 28 + 5 + 10 (Scouts) + 30 (Raiding) + 10 (Throgg's death) = 83
Even without Dringor in the field, things go much better for your assassins this year. They kill a few of Throgg's underlings, and, after his death, they kill a few of his would-be successors. They try to play the rest against each other, but they have only moderate luck.
The good news is that the monster horde is now very short on leaders. The bad news is that there are still a good number of monsters left. The worst news is that Bonespur is trying to recruit them into Moulder's army.
[X] Skaven Puppets - If the Grey Seers can use puppet clans, perhaps Heimgard can too. Dringor wants to secretly build up some of the clans where you have contacts. If it goes well, you could sick the newly strengthened clan on Throgg or Moulder. If it goes poorly, you might create new problems for yourself.
Cost: 500 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Built-up skaven puppet-clans
Required: 30 Rolled: 50 + 5
You feed some clans resources and arrange for rival clans to suddenly find themselves without a chief. Skaven always like to be on the winning side, and your chosen puppet clans soon swell with numbers. Through a mix of continued bribery and routine assassinations, Dringor thinks you can be relatively secure in the loyalty of these skaven, relatively. The clans are from ready to storm the Hell Pit, but maybe the could nibble at the edges of Moulder territory or glut themselves on the remnants of Throgg's horde.
Piety: The Asur have proposed a few new research projects that Hall thinks could prove quite fruitful.
(Choose 4)
Free Enchantment Options
Dharbreaks: You can now protect four of the six regions of Heimgard
[X] Study Skaeling Beastmen - You have a few of their shamans available. You want to learn more about them, their peculiar mutations, and the strange magic they use to make Skaeland into such a lush forest.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 90 Reward: Beginnings of study of their mutations. Unlock new ritual magic.
Required: 10 Rolled: 17
On further inspection, the Skaeling Beastmen (who have to decided they'd like to be called Skinblessed in order to distinguish them from your foes) are a little bit like Ursunkin, except they're 'stuck' in the middle of a transformation. A few of their mages can actually shapeshift into true animal forms, although you hear that Imperial Mages can do that too.
The Skinblessed don't really understand where their mutation comes from or how it seems to give them some protection from Chaos taint. They've just written it off as an act of god (or, in their case, an act of the animal spirits). You can't come up with a better explanation.
However, their ritual magic is fascinating. Skaeling mages work with the winds of the Beasts, Life, and the Heavens (focusing only on weather control), but they use those winds very differently than Imperial Mages. Skaeling ritual magic takes longer (too long to use on a battlefield), and it requires more equipment, but it can have larger and longer lasting effects. Their rituals alter the weather to give their home far more rainfall, and their soil is far more fertile than it could be.
They aren't juggernauts on the battlefield, but their rituals could be adapted to increase farm yields all over Heimgard. However, such a ritual would require much preparation.
On a related note, the Skaeling shamans would really like to know how Albion has maintained its magical mists for so long. You'll have to look into that another year.
Reward
Unlocked weather ritual research path
[X] Soulburning - You hate to admit it, but one day you may need for your shamans to undergo the same change as Ashi. For a battle, they will have the Purifier's own strength, but it will cost their soul.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 60 Reward: Purifier Sacrifice Ritual
Required: 40 Rolled: 85
For good or for ill, your shamans have unlocked the secret of soulburning. It can only be used by your shamans. Other mages don't have the right spiritual connection to the Purifier. Your people solemnly spread the knowledge among their number so that they might use when Heimgard needs them to or as a last-ditch effort to prevent corruption.
More than a few shaman quietly murmur that they hope that if the Idolaters ever get to them, they'll have the strength to soulburn before being fully corrupted. That way, they'd still die, but they'd die clean.
Reward
Soulburn ritual unlocked and knowledge spread among shamans
[X] Research Tundra- North of Aesland lies a barren peninsula that juts closer to the Chaos Wastes than any region outside of the Kurgan Steppes. On the northernmost tip of that peninsula, the Asur mages want to establish an observatory of sorts. They hope it will help them research the winds. It might even let them give you some warning before Chaos's next inevitable surge in strength.
Cost: 1,000 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 90 Reward: Asur Researchers in Northern Peninsula
Required: 10 Rolled: 43
With your approval and funding, the Asur set up to study the Wastes in relative safety. 'Relative' is the key word. Dhar blows so strong across the tundra that they had to lay protective enchantments over every building. In fact, most of your money goes to just ensuring that the Elves will not be tainted. Even so, they live like they're under siege.
By year's end, they've set up their arcane instruments to study the Wastes. Despite the forces that gathered last year, the winds blew very weakly this year, and they seem likely to stay weak next year. The Asur mages promise to regularly send you updates on their predictions.
[X] A god DOES live on prayer alone - There has to be a better way to pray. There simply must be a way to give the Ancestors more strength. It will be difficult, and it may take years. In fact, you'll most likely have to spend the whole year just figuring out where to begin your search. But this is holy work. TPA will grant an additional bonus.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70 Reward: Begin search for more effective prayers
Required: 30 Rolled: 61 + 41 (TPA) + 30 (Demigod) = 131 Super Critical Success!
Critical Roll: 69 + 31 = 100 Another Critical!
Second Critical Roll: 4
Last year, you had revelation on how prayer feeds the gods. This year, you threw yourself into researching a better way to pray. Between your immense magical talent and your status as a demigod who naturally straddles the line between the mundane realm and the gods', you make great leaps and bounds in your studies. No one can keep up with you, not even Hall, not even the Everqueen. (Apparently, the Asur have never bothered to improve how they pray. Tahvo suspects it might have something to do with a 'High Level Equilibrium Trap.' Whatever that is.)
Priests naturally funnel worshipers' prayers onto their gods, but there aren't enough magically talented priests to lead every sermon. Even if there were, that wouldn't be good enough, not when it could be so much better. If only you could put a demigod in every village...
Your mind flashes to the sacred grove in Mountain Crown, to the ten ash trees upon which the Sacrificed died. The trees aren't demigods, but they might be close enough to test a few theories. In a frenzy of religious fervor, you take cuttings from the trees, and seeds, and fashion holy instruments from their branches. You bless them in many different ways and distribute them amongst village shamans. Over the year, you take exacting notes on what improves the transmission of prayer and what doesn't.
Before the year ends, you know what works best, and you send out the best possible implements to the various villages as quickly as you can without harming the sacred grove. These holy tools will be used at the yearly holidays you've established, and it will surely increase the power given to the Ancestors.
Still, you know you could do even better. Your mind blazes with ideas.
Instead of half-hazardly scattered bits of wood, you could set up a proper network. Just as many small streams can combine to form a massive river, you could arrange blessed objects throughout Heimgard to channel the little trickles of prayer into some central point where the power would be sent on to the gods by some holy artifact... something like the Yggdrasil project that Sayble has been pitching?
Yes. That could do wonderful things.
Still, you cannot help but wonder if there would be an even better way. Your diplomats in the Southlands have brought back word of how long long ago Nehekhara built the greatest human empire of all time off of the strength of their gods. Their lands laid far from both the Chaos Wastes, but their gods were still incredibly powerful all because of some 'covenant.' Perhaps, you could look into how they forged that covenant...
Reward:
More Divine Favor
Unlocked Yggdrasil Network Research Path
Unlocked Nehekharan Covenant Research Path
AN: I will not say which path is 'better.' And they aren't mutually exclusive. They're just both very difficult.
Stewardship: The dwarfs are now too busy with their own holds to help you, but there's an opportunity there. Also, Mayble has had some interesting talks with some runesmiths on the value of dragon forged runes.
(Choose 1)
-[X] Artillery School
Cost: 300 Time: 2 DY 2 HY Reward: Jotunheim gains canons and capacity to make more.
Finishes NEXT year
[X] A Wall of Fortresses: The North - You've angered Chaos. A lot. Maybe it would be a good idea to build a line of extremely heavy fortresses along the northern coast of Heimgard.
Cost: 500 Jotun/turn Time: 3 year Chance of Success: 70% (Rolled each turn) Reward: Major increase in defenses along the North
Rolled: 34
It's done. You've established might fortresses all along your northern shore. Invaders will be hard-pressed to attack you from the sea, so long as you can keep them out of the Sea of Claws.
[X] Runic Cash Crops - Sayble figured out how to use runes to increase the output of fruit trees and grape vines. This year, Maybol wants to try to do the same on a much grander scale. Making runic plants is labor intensive, so she thinks it's best to spend her efforts enchanting cash crops. You won't get much more food, but you should see greater income.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 80% Reward: More Trade Income
Required: 20 Rolled: 30
Heimgard is a land with many hills ill-suited to farms, but well suited to grape vines. You also have a fair number of farmers looking to expand. You need only send your rune experts around teaching the proper way to grow and care for rune-enhances plants. The farmers aren't quite as good your experts, but they get by. Your wine compares very poorly to Bretonnian vintages, but it still brings in some income. The enhanced fruit trees do well too.
Reward
+200 Trade
Learning: Now that the organization has been optimized. Sayble is ready to spread her knowledge to all your people
(Choose 2)
[X] Grand Survey of Shipbuilding - The Ulthuan are supposed to be the greatest shipbuilders in the world, and they've promised to teach you the basics. The Dwarfs aren't too bad themselves, and Marienburg has some proud shipbuilders of their own. Sayble wants to put them all in a room and let them shout over the finer points of ship designs. What's the worse that could happen?
Cost: 500 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Learn shipbuilding techniques from the Elves, Dwarfs, and Marienburg
Required: 30 Rolled: 11 Reroll 81
The Eye of the Allfather helps you avoid a few diplomatic incidents between the dwarfs and the elves, but, despite a few near disasters, you learned quite a lot this year.
Or so your advisers tell you. You're not sailor, and they have to dumb down their explanations a great deal for you to understand.
The simple version is that traditional Norscan shipmaking methods have some advantages. They're swift and strong and stay very low to the water, which makes them small targets. Unfortunately, they're also small in general. It took all of Ingemar's ingenuity to fit a single cannon onto your largest ships. You can't simply scale up your old ships, because that makes them lose all structural integrity.
The Asur shipmakers avoid that problem by growing their ships out of a single tree. Once your Starwood trees have grown a bit larger, maybe you can copy their designs. For now, you can only try to mimic the shape of their hulls and their sails which are what make their ships so fast and agile.
The dwarfs go a different route with their ships. They favor heavily armed and armored but slow moving ships, although their steam engines mean they don't rely on the wind to move. Simply put, you don't have the technology to make their style of ships. They could hand you the designs for a steam engine tomorrow, but it would still be a long time before you could actually build and maintain one. You simply don't have the infrastructure. However, you have pretty good runesmiths. They're not as good as the dwarfs, of course, but perhaps you could adapt some of their naval runes.
Ship for ship, the Marienburg navy cannot hold a candle to those of the other races. However, their ships are far cheaper and don't depend on magical construction methods. They can produce great numbers of ships of mediocre speed, strength, and defense. Once you get your cannon production up and running, you could likely create some ships like these.
Unlocked research options.
[X] Public Education - Sayble has an idea for creating schools throughout Heimgard to teach children for free. It will take some time to set up, but it will dramatically improve the education of your people. Also, Sayble happily says it would give you a chance to indoctrinate the youth.
Cost: 500 Jotun Upkeep Time: 2 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Better educated people.
Finishes This Year
Sayble sets up institutions of 'higher learning,' and she funnels the best and brightest of the next generation into it. She arranges for them to learn about math, engineering, and runesmithing. She grudgingly includes a few classes on the arts.
Sayble says she'd one day would like Heimgard to rival the Empire's College of Engineering. However, that day is a long way off. For now, she has to settle for producing better artisans.
Reward
Unlocked more research options
Permanent +5 to Learning rolls
[X] A Better Practice - The Great Mother has imparted huge amounts of knowledge that could completely revolutionize mundane medical care. Sayble wants to make sure every healer and midwife in Heimgard learns them. You'll also have to create facilities to produce proper 'medical grade' alcohol and 'penicillin'
Cost: 500 Jotun Initial 200/Year Upkeep Time: 2 year Chance of Success: 70% Greatly Improved Medical Care. Greatly Increased Population Growth. Spread Medical Knowledge
Required: 30 Rolled: 96
The Great Mother's ideas catch on like wildfire. Most healers don't actually understand why they must wash everything with soap or strong alcohol, and penicillin is just another potion. However, they treat these new practices as holy rites as prescribed by the Grendel's healer god. This Great Mother is clearly a great god because those healers who practice her rituals faithfully have far more patients survive.
It will take another year for the knowledge to fully distribute throughout Heimgard (although they're already incredibly popular in Vargland, where Helga has established her temple-hospitals). But your population has already begun to increase faster simply because of the lowered mortality rate.
Finishes next year
Personal: Well, you're now part demigod and so is your wife, and so is your most recent child. Not to mention your five other children. And your two wards... when did your family get so big?
(Choose 3)
[X] The Art of the Dress with Rana - Your firstborn daughter is most dissatisfied with the state of Heimgard's fashion. She also received an Elven dress as a gift from the Everqueen herself. Inspired by the gift, she wants to combine its design with others she's seen at Kislev to develop a fashion that Heimgard can call its own. And she wants your help. This may just be a child's fancy, but perhaps fancier dress would impress other nations? If nothing else, it would let you spend time with your daughter.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: ? Reward: Father/daughter time. Fashion!!!
Rolled: 26
You spend a lot of time with Rana discussing her pet project. You hate to admit it, but you don't actually understand most of what she's talking about. When she asks your advice, you rarely have any to offer. Soon you aren't 'helping Rana' so much as you're 'being taught foreign etiquette and fashion by Rana.' Still, you enjoy your daughter's company, even if she spends it on this childish nonsense.
Although, you notice that some of Rana's designs have started to catch on, mostly just with the young and the very wealthy, but her ideas are still spreading.
[X] High Magic - Hall thinks that with your enhanced magical sense, you might be able to learn High Magic. It will take a long time, probably over a decade, but the results could prove incredible.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Reward: Learn a little high magic. Increased magical skill
After a year of study with Hall, it seems like the only thing you learn is just how much you don't know. You can channel the divine as easily as breathing, but that's just allowing the Ancestors to work through you. Learning to hold all the complexities of all eight winds in your mind at once is a very daunting task. Still, the rewards will be great, once you're finished.
You have nothing to show for this year, but you'd like to try again.
[X] Jarls' Meet - It's been five years since you united all the lands of Norsca into Heimgard. Now, every land has its own Jarl (excluding Sarland). Perhaps you should call all the Jarls together to discuss the affairs of your realm, much like how the Emperor will sometimes meet with his Elector Counts.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Reward: Diplomatic Turns with your Jarls.
You put out the word for your Jarls to gather on the anniversary of your defeat of the Everchosen. Before you meet with them all, you'll need to decide whether or not to tell the others about Gustav's true nature.
[] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
[] Don't tell the Jarls, and make up an excuse for Gustav's absence from the meetings
Reward
Jarlmeet Interlude to follow
Subordinate Actions:
Choose one action for each tribe.
Bjornlingers
The Bjornlingers are sailors and traders beyond compare. By the end of the year, their fleets will finally be rebuilt. Inegmar can have his people focus on trading with Albion and getting used to navigate through the mists. They can also start hunting and harvesting the whales that prowl the sea around Heimgard. They could instead focus on heavily patrolling the Sea of Chaos for incursion from the Wastes.
[X] Bjornlingers: Trade with Albion
The Bjornlingers learn a few tricks for navigating the mists, but they still struggle with it. Fortunately, no matter where they find themselves on Albion's coast, there is usually a nearby tribe willing to trade hides, furs, and meat for good steel.
Still, this method of trading is half-hazard at best.
+100 Jotun
Graelings
Oovuh has adopted the faith of the Ancestors. You could request that he preach for the faith. He could instead focus on the fleet. However, Oovuh admits that his people are growing hungry for more raiding. They could attack the still-reeling Druchii, the pirates of Araby, those smugglers bringing supplies to the Chaos Dwarfs, or really any other target you might desire.
[X] Graelings: Raid Naggaroth
Oovuh's raiders have great success this year. They fall upon the weakened Druchii fleet. Per your orders, they send Druchii slaves to their homelands, but they keep the loot. They even manage to capture a few Druchii warships and sail them back to Heimgard.
The colonists in Naggaroth appreciate the help keeping the Druchii off their backs. However, Oovuh privately warns you that he fears that the colonists are doing too well. Oovuh knows well that nothing rallies people together better than a common enemy.
Estalians and Bretonnians alike are growing less afraid of the Druchii, which makes them more likely to turn on each other or do some other incredibly stupid thing.
Skaelings
Gustav's people made some progress befriending the Wood Elves last year. They could build on that this year. They could also spread the knowledge of their weather magic, focus on builing up their infrastructure. Additionally, Gustav came up with a bold plan for dealing with Throgg. His mutants could join the hoard, posing as typical Chaos worshiping mutants. They can send you information about the troll's armies and possibly give your assassins a hand.
[X] Skaelings: Infrastructure
Gustav turns his land's attention to cutting proper roads through their forest. He gives approval to some enterprising folk to transform their villages into proper towns: the first his land has ever known. All the while, Gustav makes sure that it never gets too easy to travel near the Skinblesseds' forest.
The towns enable the formation of craftsmen guilds who begin to export manufactured goods in addition to raw lumber.
+50 Taxes
Vargs
Hilga would like to teach her people that there's more in the world than just fighting. She's built up a few hospitals, but she can do more. Her people have other ideas. They'd like to try their hands at a bit of raiding, and Hilga admits she'd like to know that happening in the Dark Lands. She could send some cavalry forces into the mountains of Morn to check in on the Chaos Dwarfs and Grom.
[X] Vargs: Raid the Dark Lands
Hilga understands the necessity of violence, and she knows how her people crave it sometimes. She sends them out through Kislev to scout and raid the Darklands. The northernmost portion is still firmly held by the Chaos Dwarves. They've heavily fortified the whole region, and greenskin corpses litter the battlefields. The Dawi Zharr must still be getting food and slaves from somewhere.
The Vargs focus on the greenskin, slaughtering a few of the more exposed and weaker warbands. By questioning their captives, they learn that Grom doesn't seem to be trying very hard to win the war. He plays tribes against each other, making them compete for the honor of fighting the Zharr. When he actually sends forces against their fortifications, the greenskin are always too few in number to truly win.
Maybe Grom is just trying to keep the Waagh going while he waits for his numbers to replenish, or maybe he has other aims. They say he's captured some Dawi Zharr that he goes to great lengths to keep safe. Rumor has it that they're working on some secret project for him.
Your raiders recover a large amount of precious metals and gems from the greenskin they raided. Additionally, some Imperials paid them a great deal for what they learned about the eastern side of the World's Edge Mountains. Apparently, some folks in the south are starting to think that, with the greenskin numbers depleted, it might be profitable to send some people through the mountains to work the lucrative mines in the Dark Lands.
+500 Jotun in Loot and payment
Baersonlingers
Bahbahk would like to spread the worship of Ursun. He also doesn't like the sound of monsters and skavens crawling all over his people's ancestral lands, and he'd be more than happy to increase his patrols in the Troll Wastes. Like Hilga, he'd like to send some people into the Dark Lands to explore and do a bit of raiding, if possible.
[X] Baersonligners: Heavy Patrols of the Troll Wastes
With Throgg's horde divided, the Baersonligners and the Kurgan immigrants do what they do best. They ruthlessly harry the splinters forces, never closing for a pitched battle but always picking away at their foes.
Their flaming arrows bring down quite a few trolls this year.
[X] Don't tell the Imperial Mages about Hall
Military: Ahloynah wants to attack Throgg soon before he can go stronger, and Ashi thinks she's right. However, it might be worth spending another year preparing (Choose 3)
[X] Raid the Troll Waste - Despite your efforts, Throgg's army is still strong and growing stronger. You'll have to fight them eventually, but maybe you can weaken them with raiding first.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70 Reward: Disrupt Throgg's growing army
Required: 30 Rolled: 41 + 34 (APA) + 20 (DD) + 10 (Scouts) + 15 (Previous Raid) + 10 (Kreugar) = 130 Super Critical Success!
Critical Roll: 77 + 30 = 107
Second Critical Roll: 75 + 7 = 82
Ashi personally leads the raids this year, and she does wonderfully. Using the knowledge from the scouts and previous raiders, she does incredible damage to Throgg's army. In every battle, the light of the Purifier shines forth from her, blinding and searing the Chaos scum with is power. Kreugar accompanies her into battle, and Ashi makes sure to give him as many kills as she can to build his army. Unfortunately, undead trolls lose the ability to regenerate, but they still make decent fighters.
Ashi begins her raids by going after the weakest parts of the horde: the surviving beastmen, the mutants, and the human Chaos worshipers. She leaves only corpses in her wake. After slaying all of those weaker foes she can find, she begins to attack the trolls that are the greatest strength of Throgg's army. She faces off against the scarred trolls, but while those creatures aren't stupid, they're far from smart enough to best her tactically.
For every too-intelligent scarred troll she find a dozen trolls with similar scars who are too mindless to even be called stupid. They only charge at any foe in front of them in an endless unquenchable rage, but these berserk trolls die like all the others that face Ashi.
Near the end of the year, just as Ashi finished another slaughter, her scouts reported a great force approaching. Before Ashi could order the retreat, Throgg shouted a challenge so loudly that she could hear it from miles off. The Purifier could not bear the thought of running from a fight with a servant of Chaos like Throgg, and Ashi saw an opportunity. She rode out to answer Throgg's challenge.
The two champions met each other in an open space between their armies. The troll king looked even more terrible than the stories said. He wielded a great ax and wore black steel armor. Still, Ashi was blessed by the Ancestors; she did not fear him.
However, as she drew near, dark power surged into Throgg. His skin turned scaly, and his armor came apart only for the bits of metal to weave themselves into his body like living things. Throgg grew larger, and his muscles bulged obscenely. Lastly, an aura of black fire grew around him, covering him without burning him.
Throgg smiled, baring his enormous mouth full of crooked teeth, and Ashi knew that Khorne had found a new champion.
She struck at him, but he dodged with impossible speed and then vomited acid upon her. Skin burning, Ashi went down screaming. Throgg moved to finish her off, but the Purifier's light erupted from her body, blinding the troll and buying her time to regain her feet.
The duel continued, and Ashi landed a few blows, but Throgg hardly seemed to care. Until, at last, Ashi saw an opening and drove her ax into his skull, splitting him from crown to chin. She grinned with triumph, until the armor on Throgg's chest parted to show a second face. Leering madly, the second mouth opened, and again Throgg vomited a river of acid upon Ashi, straight into her eyes.
Blinded, your wife stumbled backwards, desperately flailing to block attacks she could not see.
White light surged, and Ashi's vision cleared just in time for her to dodge a lethal blow. The Purifier had saved her life a second time this battle.
Ashi realized that she should flee with her life, but the Purifier stopped her with a few quiet words that reached into her very soul: "I did not save you so that you might leave Chaos scum alive."
Ashi's body moved on its own, charging back towards Throgg. The Purifier's light erupted forth from her, brighter than it had ever been since Valkia. Throgg roared, and she felt Khorne's power flow into the troll, making his aura of black flame grow larger. White light battled with black flame in conflict too intense for Ashi to even see.
When the light finally dimmed, there was nothing left of Throgg but a few shards of armor and dust. Ashi collapsed, all her strength drained, barely clinging to consciousness. She dimly noted someone throwing her over a sleipnir's back, lashing her in place, and then flying her off to safety. As she rose in the air, she glimpsed Kreugar leading his undead army in a charge against Throgg's demoralized warriors.
Kreugar flew back to Heimgard a few days later, carried by a half dozen undead harpies. Apparently, he lost his last steed, that zombie manticore. According to the mercenary, the horde has annoyingly managed to survive Throgg's death. He left too many scarred trolls and other leaders for the army to collapse completely. However, they're now far from unified.
Still, Ahloynah writes you to express her thanks, and the people of Kislev throw spontaneous celebrations at the news of Throgg's death.
Unfortunately, although Ashi survived her duel and should recover fully in a year, you can sense that the Purifier has expended much of the power you'd just gathered for the Ancestors.
Reward:
Throgg is dead
1,000 Jotun gain
Horde is fractured.
[X] Expanding the Armies: War Beasts - Your armies must grow. You decide to recruit even more of the warbeasts that already make up much of your army. You will even pay people to acquire more infant manticores.
Cost: 1,000 Time: 1 year Reward: More land-based war beasts and also some manticores.
Most beasts breed far quicker than humans, and your animal trainers get thousands ready to supplement your sentient forces. Your runeworkers Additionally, the Great Mother lends her services and those of her pet manticore "Fluzzbutt" to domesticating a few more manticores for your armies.
Reward:
4,000 Dire Dogs
2,500 Sabretusks
2,650 War Bears
50 War Mammoths
26 Ultra Heavy Mammoths
30 Manticores
[X] Expanding the Armies: Navy - Your armies must grow. You construct many new ships and combine them with the individual realms' navies into one grand navy of Heimgard. Will be boosted by other races' shipbuilding advice.
Cost: 1,000 Time: 1 year Reward: More ships.
You greatly expand your navy, adapting some of the simplest techniques adapted from other races' shipbuilding advice.
In addition to your typical ships, you develop three new styles: An improved transport based off Marienburg merchant ships. 'Slicers' based off swift elf designs. And the Runeclad, very expensive ships that are only poor imitation of dwarf Ironclads. You can't equip them with proper steam engines, so they make do with enchanted paddles. At best, the best pace they can manage is a craw. You would not trust those to overseas voyages. However, between their rune-enhanced armor and their several cannons, they make a decent anvil for the rest of your ships' hammer.
Reward
500 Thinships: Standard Norscan warship. Crew: 30-50
100 Transports: Large slow ships designed to move troops. Crew: 20 Transport: 60
100 Cutters: Large warships. Crew: 50-80
100 Strikers: Large rune-enhanced warships with a powerful cannon mounted in the prow. Crew 50-80
New Ship styles:
100 Shippers: Adapted from Marienburg designs, these transports are larger and slower than your own. Crew: 20 Transport: 200
50 Slicers: Cutters that incorporate some elf designs for improved speed and agility. Crew: 50-80
10 Runeclad: Heavily armored, but extremely slow ships with several cannons. Crew 50
Diplomacy: Tahvo himself has returned to Heimgard to try and deal with the instability in the Empire. However, your other diplomats are still conducting their tour. They will be visiting Skeggi and other distant lands this year. (Choose 2)
[X] Grand Diplomatic Tour - Tahvo wants to send people, including himself, on ships in a grand tour. He plans to establish an embassy in every coastal land, including: Marienburg, Bretonnia, Estalia, Alesandr, Araby, and even Albion. He even plans to contact traditionally reclusive groups like the Wood Elves, the Amazons, the easternmost colonies of Nippon, and perhaps even with any friendly-ish Tomb King, if such creatures even exist. It will be expensive and not without risk, but it will greatly expand your information network. It may also yield more trade, and you could even discover some new allies.
Cost: 1,000 Jotun and ? Upkeep/Year (Depends on the number of embassies established) Time: 2 years Chance of Success: ? (Will receive Tahvo's bonus with Old World nations) Reward: Much more information. Improved relations with many foreign nations. Formal contact with many foreign nations. Chance of improved trade. Chance of new allies. Small chance of Tahvo's death. ???
Finishes This Year
In Araby, Tahvo's diplomats find that the locals are not happy to see you there. It seems that when you conquered Norsca, you drastically decreased the flow of slaves into Arabian markets. Upon hearing that you had no plans to send them slaves again, your diplomats where summarily ejected from the sultan's palace. A few of your people fruitlessly pleaded with the sultan's people to be allowed to establish an embassy. The rest of them explored the rest of the region. It seems that the sultan's authority over the various city states is nominal at best. In particular, the cities of Copher and El Haikk flaunt their near total independence. Those cities also flaunt their rapidly increasing wealth and power.
The Golden King has sent (living emissaries) to conduct diplomacy with foreign nations . For that reason, Tahvo dared to send some people to visit him in his capitol, the necropolis of Numas. In that bizarre tomb-city, the living and the dead work side by side. Human artisans craft arms and armor while skeleton porters haul great burdens through the streets. Skeletons stand guard on the street corners while laughing children frolic around them utterly without fear. And why should they fear? Their dead guardians give them greater safety than most of these folk have ever known. When asked, one local man said that only criminals need fear dead. Many of those criminals are put to death atop sacrificial alters along with an endless stream of greenskin, but the people seem to genuinely not mind.
When they met the king of the city, they saw why they call him the "Golden King." He wore a kind of golden armor molded into an extremely detailed and realistic depiction of a young man. The tomb king introduced himself as Tutankhanut, and he seemed genuinely pleased to speak with your ambassadors, as far as they could tell. He allowed you to establish an embassy, and he even set up trade deals to bring in some wood. However, he would make no further deals with your nation because his "living advisers have little good to say of your people." However, he mentioned that he would pay well for any troops you might lend him.
+100 Trade
In Karak Zorn, your diplomats received by far the best reception in the Southlands. It seems that Jotunheimers get on well with dwarfs even when they're this strange. Hardly any of these dwarfs can even speak Khazalid, and only their scholars can even name the Dwarf Ancestors. These dwarfs are the descendants of the unbelievers who never followed their living gods north. When ancient Nehekhara fell to the necromancer Nagash, some of the people in its southernmost colonies escaped their fellows' fate and fled further south. They sought refuge, but they found only an endless jungle filled with savage orcs. They stumbled upon Karak Zorn and pledged their servitude in exchange for safety. Untold generations later, their children still serve. It seems the initial reports that called the humans 'slaves' were inaccurate but not by much. The dwarfs have imposed a caste system onto the humans. The 'laborer' caste toil in backbreaking labor. The 'warriors' have comparatively good treatment, but it's still clear they're second class citizens. The only truly respected humans are the 'learned;' they all either have magical talent or are related to those who do. They serve as administrators or priests. In this place, some humans and dwarfs worship strange gods like "Sotek the Serpent-Slayer." However, the majority of the people of both races pray to the old gods of Nehekhara. The priests preach that, if the people stay faithful, one day the gods will turn the world into a paradise and "the covenant will be reforged."
These Southland Dwarfs devour your news of the outside world. Between the fall of Nehekhara and the collapse of the dwarf empire, these isolated people have spent centuries believing they were the last beacon of civilization besides the Lizardmen cities. Their priest-queen is so entertained by the stories your people tell that she offers generous prices on rubber and rare gems of her realm. However, the profits are lessened somewhat by the cost of shipping these precious goods from the isolated hold.
+200 Trade
In Skeggi, Tahvi's people have found the city has descended into civil war since Gunilla's death. One one side are the Aesons, who claim to be the descendants of the "glorious tribe of the Aeslings," and they value little other than bloodshed. On the other side are the Spyglass League, a conglomeration of merchants, whose only god is profit... although they're also quite fond of survival. The Aesons want nothing to do with you because you bested their 'ancestors,' but the Spyglass League will pay high prices for weapons.
+200 Trade
Your people try to contact Nippon's abandoned colonies on the western side of Lustria (which happens to be very narrow near Skeggi). The stranded Nipponese have much contact with the Skeggians, so you can communicate with them. However, you can't set up any lasting deals as the desperate people are forming and dissolving organizations on a daily basis. You're unable to set up a meeting with the only semi-stable faction, which is said to be lead by a "Majestic Tea Kettle." You're pretty sure that's a translation error.
The Amazons have been largely isolated for centuries. However, Gunilla managed to forge strong tries with the Amazon queen, who was assassinated a few years ago. Since then they've struggled with internal conflicts over whether to continue interacting with the outside world or return to isolationism. Your ambassadors make contact with the friendlier Amazons and arrange to quietly sell them some foreign goods to which they've grown accustomed. These sales may technically be illegal under Amazon law, but your diplomats were very careful to not ask about that.
In addition to the new trade contracts, your people bring back incredible news. They're now certain that the Amazons truly reproduce without men. They don't know the details; it involves a secret ritual. However, the Great Mother is very eager to learn more. She wants to know if you might find some way to 'acquire' the details of this ritual.
+50 Trade
The Lizardmen of Lustria are doing quiet well overall. Spawnings are up, Druchii raiding is down, and the mad vampire Luthor Harkon is causing fewer problems than normal. True, there is some grumblings about the new colonies on their land, and Pestilens is prowling through the jungle a little more than before, but the skinks who actually run their cities seem optimistic. They are quite grateful for your help in revealing that the Druchii were behind that Slann's death. Unfortunately, you have very little that they want, so there are no trade deals to be made. However, the skinks mention that they will always pay huge rewards for lore relating to the Old Ones.
Rewards:
+550 Trade (In total)
-50 Upkeep
Unlocked new options.
[X] Albionese Mercenaries - You've recently contacted Albion, and the locals already think highly of you. Tahvo's diplomats have confirmed that more than a few would willing fight for you. In exchange for a pittance in dwarf ale and steel, you could recruit thousands of mercenaries from Albion. You might even manage to hire a few Truthsayers or giants. Really, the only problem is transporting so many people from that mist-shrouded island.
Cost: 200 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Mercenaries from Albion. Possibly rare units.
Required: 30 Rolled: 27 + 10 (Bjornlings) = 37
As Tahvo feared, the mists of Albion make it difficult to transport large numbers of people off the island. It's only by getting some tips from the Bjornlings that they were able to succeed at all. Eventually, they found a semi-workable solution by tying their ships together with long ropes so that, when they finally pass through the mists, at least the transports will all be in the same place.
The trouble navigating the mists takes up so much of your people's time that they weren't able to go looking for some of the rarer creatures of Albion. However, they still find thousands of warriors willing to travel to a foreign land and fight in your battles. A single Truthsayer accompanies her people in order to watch over them and to learn more about your people.
Reward:
2,000 Warband Warriors - Lightly armored warriors who fight with more fury than discipline
1,000 Woad Warriors - Crazed paint-smeared shock troops
2,000 Youngblood Javeliners - Young and inexperienced skirmishers
2,000 Youngblood Slingers - Young and inexperienced skirmishers
[X] Halfling Refugees - The Moot has been hit hard by vampires. Adolphus is doing what he can to protect the halflings, but many seek safer lands. Tahvo wants to offer them a place in Heimgard.
Cost: 200 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% + 20 (Tahvo's Bonus with Southerners) Reward: Halfling Immigrants. More halflings protected from vampire attacks
Required: 30 Rolled: 68 + 20 (Tahvo) = 88
Strangely enough, Norsca is now safer than the Empire, at least for halflings. The moot still suffers raids, and its neighbors are either unable to help, like Averland, or unwilling, like Stirland. Tahvo tells you that Stirland is actually weathering this vampire problem quite well (probably because of all their practice), but they have some ancestral dislike of halflings; it has something to do with some land claim.
Tahvo tells his contacts in the Moot that Heimgard is throwing open its doors to halflings, and he actually pays for some of their travel expenses. Thousands of halflings stream into your country. Their new home is far colder than their old, and the land is not nearly as good. Still, with a kind of stubborn optimism, they settle down in the few bits choice areas left in Sarland. You hear some are already talking about heading over the mountains to see if there's good soil in Centraland. That could cause some problems if you don't fix that regions 'reality instability' issue soon.
Reward:
15,000 Halfling colonists
Intrigue: Dringor is grateful for his new name and deeply sorry that he's not fit for the field. He intends to make up for that lack by refocusing on coordinating your spies, and he's already begun the search for a replacement. This year, he thinks it's more important than ever to infiltrate the Empire, and he's got several new ideas on how to do so. He's also come up with a bold plan to deal with the Skaven.
(Choose 3) No More NPA Bonus. Instead, every action will receive a +5 bonus.
[X] Hunting Chaos: Heimgard - You know of at least one major cult in Heimgard. You send Nameless to fight them and every other cult he can uncover.
Cost: 250 Jotun/turn Time: ? year Chance of Success: ?% Reward: Rooting out Chaos worshipers.
Rolled: 48 + 5 = 53
The struggle with the Idolaters remains a frustrating stalemate. They corrupt a few minor officials, Nameless catches and kills a few of the corrupted, and everyone is left more or less where they started.
You've made great strides, but the hunt continues.
[X] Infiltrate The Empire: The Assassins - Something is going on in the Empire, and you need to know what. You have Dringor focus on finding who hired those skaven to kill you. Benefits from other Infiltrate Empire actions.
Cost: 200 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: ?% Reward: More information on the Empire, focusing on the skaven assasins
Rolled: 95 + 5 + 20 (DD) = 120
Critical Roll: 50 + 20 = 70
Your spies slink into Nordland and quickly locate the skaven clan that was hired to kill you. Your agents ask them a few 'questions.' In no time at all, the rats are squealing all about how a Nordland noble paid for the job. After being hired, the skaven spied on the noble to see if they might blackmail him, because of course they did. The skaven were surprised and scared to discover that the nobleman receives frequent visits from a lovely young woman whom they're certain is a vampire. Your agents paid her a visit.
She fought like a maniac, and when she saw that escape was impossible, she tried to ignite a massive amount of gunpowder and alchemical flame she had hidden in the walls of her house. Fortunately, they stopped her, took her captive alive, searched the house for anything remotely of value, and then, to cover their tracks, set of the explosives themselves (on a delay of course).
They shipped the vampire back to Shadow Mouth. Once there, she had a fascinating conversation with Dringor.
"Please state your name and title."
"Esther Schram, Sister of Sigmar.
Dringor raised an eyebrow.
The vampire shrugged. "They never technically expelled me from the order."
"Bloodline?"
"Lahmian."
"You serve Neferata?"
"And Adolphus."
Dringor tensed. "They're in league."
Esther threw back her head and cackled like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "No, you imbecile. They're trying to kill each other."
Dringor's eyebrow went back up. "Elaborate."
Esther rolled her eyes. "After you lot fouled up her plans in Kislev, Neferata turned her gaze south where ambitious little Adolphus was trying to reform the Empire. He has such plans: centralizing power, trying to turn the realm into a proper empire instead of what are really nine loosely allied kingdoms."
"There are eleven regions of the Empire."
Esther laughed. "I'll be damned before I call the Moot or Hochland a 'kingdom.' They're duchies at best." She waved a hand. "Regardless, Neferata liked this plan. Centralized power means fewer people to beguile. We actually helped out Adolphus a little bit, at first. Then he found out we were helping him and decided to wage a little shadow war." She snorted. "Foolish child."
"So how did you come to work for this 'child.'"
She smiled, but this time it seemed a little sad. "The clever little boy actually managed to flip a few of us. He found things we loved more than we feared Neferata, and he took them hostage to ensure our loyalty. By the way, thanks for blowing up my house. If Adolphus thinks I'm dead, he might not destroy what I love most in this world." She says matter-of-factly.
Skeptical, Dringor asked, "And everything that's gone wrong in the Empire was caused by Neferata and Adolphus?"
"No. Well, I don't think so. Neferata has us operate in cells. No one woman is ever told the whole plan, so you people can't torture the information out of us. I suspect Neferata also does it so that when her plans go horribly awry she can just smile coyly and try to convince us that she meant that to happen. Anyways, Adolphus tells me even less than Neferata. Still, I've managed to piece some thing together."
She ponders the ceiling while she speaks. "I don't think either of them is behind Ulric's resurgence. That caught them with their pants down and dress up, respectively. I'm fairly certain Neferata had the old Grand Theogenist killed, and his chair is still empty because Neferata is trying to install a puppet and Adolphus is trying to stop her or maybe install a puppet of his own. That Arch-Lector who nearly got the position but ended up mutilated? He was one of ours. I know we have a few pet witch hunters, but I'm not sure who's responsible for getting them to kill each other. Adolphus may have hired the Blood Dragons, or they may have attacked our assets in Averland on their own. Not sure. Shadow wars get awful murky."
"Who ordered you to hire the skaven to kill High King Thorfin?"
"Oh, that was all Adolphus. He never expected them to actually succeed. He just wanted you to come down to Nordland and discover they were hired by a Lahmian. He wants to turn you against Neferata, and he's a realist. He knows sin is more reliable than virtue. He could have asked you to help and maybe you'd do something out of the goodness of your heart. Or he could frame her for trying to kill you, and you would definitely attack her out of anger."
She shrugged. "I'm not sure if you can even call it framing, really. Neferata will come for you eventually. She's still angry about Kislev, and she hold her grudges longer than dwarfs. She might target one of your princesses. Perhaps, the one who spent a while in Kislev. I forget her name, but I hear she's starting to get interested in boys. And, well, not all Lahmians are women. Some even look like they're her age."
The vampire smirks. "Neferata knows all kinds of ways to hurt people, so you'd better hurt her first. If I were you, I'd contact Adolphus and tell him how you were shocked to learn that Neferata sent assassins to kill you. Tell him that you're out for blood, and you'd like his help. He's already working on a plan. I don't know what it is, but I know he thinks big. Maybe he's even planning to kill the old monster herself. Maybe he'll even succeed."
"Well." Dringor cleared his throat. "That's a fascinating story you just told me. Why should I believe a word?"
Esther smiled, and this time it is definitely a sad smile. "Sin is more reliable than virtue. I was a Sister of Sigmar. Neferata took my god from me. You can trust my hate."
"Esther Schram, Sister of Sigmar.
Dringor raised an eyebrow.
The vampire shrugged. "They never technically expelled me from the order."
"Bloodline?"
"Lahmian."
"You serve Neferata?"
"And Adolphus."
Dringor tensed. "They're in league."
Esther threw back her head and cackled like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "No, you imbecile. They're trying to kill each other."
Dringor's eyebrow went back up. "Elaborate."
Esther rolled her eyes. "After you lot fouled up her plans in Kislev, Neferata turned her gaze south where ambitious little Adolphus was trying to reform the Empire. He has such plans: centralizing power, trying to turn the realm into a proper empire instead of what are really nine loosely allied kingdoms."
"There are eleven regions of the Empire."
Esther laughed. "I'll be damned before I call the Moot or Hochland a 'kingdom.' They're duchies at best." She waved a hand. "Regardless, Neferata liked this plan. Centralized power means fewer people to beguile. We actually helped out Adolphus a little bit, at first. Then he found out we were helping him and decided to wage a little shadow war." She snorted. "Foolish child."
"So how did you come to work for this 'child.'"
She smiled, but this time it seemed a little sad. "The clever little boy actually managed to flip a few of us. He found things we loved more than we feared Neferata, and he took them hostage to ensure our loyalty. By the way, thanks for blowing up my house. If Adolphus thinks I'm dead, he might not destroy what I love most in this world." She says matter-of-factly.
Skeptical, Dringor asked, "And everything that's gone wrong in the Empire was caused by Neferata and Adolphus?"
"No. Well, I don't think so. Neferata has us operate in cells. No one woman is ever told the whole plan, so you people can't torture the information out of us. I suspect Neferata also does it so that when her plans go horribly awry she can just smile coyly and try to convince us that she meant that to happen. Anyways, Adolphus tells me even less than Neferata. Still, I've managed to piece some thing together."
She ponders the ceiling while she speaks. "I don't think either of them is behind Ulric's resurgence. That caught them with their pants down and dress up, respectively. I'm fairly certain Neferata had the old Grand Theogenist killed, and his chair is still empty because Neferata is trying to install a puppet and Adolphus is trying to stop her or maybe install a puppet of his own. That Arch-Lector who nearly got the position but ended up mutilated? He was one of ours. I know we have a few pet witch hunters, but I'm not sure who's responsible for getting them to kill each other. Adolphus may have hired the Blood Dragons, or they may have attacked our assets in Averland on their own. Not sure. Shadow wars get awful murky."
"Who ordered you to hire the skaven to kill High King Thorfin?"
"Oh, that was all Adolphus. He never expected them to actually succeed. He just wanted you to come down to Nordland and discover they were hired by a Lahmian. He wants to turn you against Neferata, and he's a realist. He knows sin is more reliable than virtue. He could have asked you to help and maybe you'd do something out of the goodness of your heart. Or he could frame her for trying to kill you, and you would definitely attack her out of anger."
She shrugged. "I'm not sure if you can even call it framing, really. Neferata will come for you eventually. She's still angry about Kislev, and she hold her grudges longer than dwarfs. She might target one of your princesses. Perhaps, the one who spent a while in Kislev. I forget her name, but I hear she's starting to get interested in boys. And, well, not all Lahmians are women. Some even look like they're her age."
The vampire smirks. "Neferata knows all kinds of ways to hurt people, so you'd better hurt her first. If I were you, I'd contact Adolphus and tell him how you were shocked to learn that Neferata sent assassins to kill you. Tell him that you're out for blood, and you'd like his help. He's already working on a plan. I don't know what it is, but I know he thinks big. Maybe he's even planning to kill the old monster herself. Maybe he'll even succeed."
"Well." Dringor cleared his throat. "That's a fascinating story you just told me. Why should I believe a word?"
Esther smiled, and this time it is definitely a sad smile. "Sin is more reliable than virtue. I was a Sister of Sigmar. Neferata took my god from me. You can trust my hate."
Nameless investigates Esther's story. There are a few details he can't confirm, but the vast majority of it appears to be true.
Now, you need to decide what to do.
[] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[] Contact Adolphus and tell him you uncovered his plot
[] Don't contact Adolphus (You will be able to do so later on, if you wish)
[X] Striking Throgg's Horde AGAIN - Your assassins had little success last year, but Dringor can try again. They know more about the horde now, which will make their work a little easier.
Cost: 500 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Horde in disarray
Required: 40 Rolled: 28 + 5 + 10 (Scouts) + 30 (Raiding) + 10 (Throgg's death) = 83
Even without Dringor in the field, things go much better for your assassins this year. They kill a few of Throgg's underlings, and, after his death, they kill a few of his would-be successors. They try to play the rest against each other, but they have only moderate luck.
The good news is that the monster horde is now very short on leaders. The bad news is that there are still a good number of monsters left. The worst news is that Bonespur is trying to recruit them into Moulder's army.
[X] Skaven Puppets - If the Grey Seers can use puppet clans, perhaps Heimgard can too. Dringor wants to secretly build up some of the clans where you have contacts. If it goes well, you could sick the newly strengthened clan on Throgg or Moulder. If it goes poorly, you might create new problems for yourself.
Cost: 500 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Built-up skaven puppet-clans
Required: 30 Rolled: 50 + 5
You feed some clans resources and arrange for rival clans to suddenly find themselves without a chief. Skaven always like to be on the winning side, and your chosen puppet clans soon swell with numbers. Through a mix of continued bribery and routine assassinations, Dringor thinks you can be relatively secure in the loyalty of these skaven, relatively. The clans are from ready to storm the Hell Pit, but maybe the could nibble at the edges of Moulder territory or glut themselves on the remnants of Throgg's horde.
Piety: The Asur have proposed a few new research projects that Hall thinks could prove quite fruitful.
(Choose 4)
Free Enchantment Options
Dharbreaks: You can now protect four of the six regions of Heimgard
[X] Study Skaeling Beastmen - You have a few of their shamans available. You want to learn more about them, their peculiar mutations, and the strange magic they use to make Skaeland into such a lush forest.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 90 Reward: Beginnings of study of their mutations. Unlock new ritual magic.
Required: 10 Rolled: 17
On further inspection, the Skaeling Beastmen (who have to decided they'd like to be called Skinblessed in order to distinguish them from your foes) are a little bit like Ursunkin, except they're 'stuck' in the middle of a transformation. A few of their mages can actually shapeshift into true animal forms, although you hear that Imperial Mages can do that too.
The Skinblessed don't really understand where their mutation comes from or how it seems to give them some protection from Chaos taint. They've just written it off as an act of god (or, in their case, an act of the animal spirits). You can't come up with a better explanation.
However, their ritual magic is fascinating. Skaeling mages work with the winds of the Beasts, Life, and the Heavens (focusing only on weather control), but they use those winds very differently than Imperial Mages. Skaeling ritual magic takes longer (too long to use on a battlefield), and it requires more equipment, but it can have larger and longer lasting effects. Their rituals alter the weather to give their home far more rainfall, and their soil is far more fertile than it could be.
They aren't juggernauts on the battlefield, but their rituals could be adapted to increase farm yields all over Heimgard. However, such a ritual would require much preparation.
On a related note, the Skaeling shamans would really like to know how Albion has maintained its magical mists for so long. You'll have to look into that another year.
Reward
Unlocked weather ritual research path
[X] Soulburning - You hate to admit it, but one day you may need for your shamans to undergo the same change as Ashi. For a battle, they will have the Purifier's own strength, but it will cost their soul.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 60 Reward: Purifier Sacrifice Ritual
Required: 40 Rolled: 85
For good or for ill, your shamans have unlocked the secret of soulburning. It can only be used by your shamans. Other mages don't have the right spiritual connection to the Purifier. Your people solemnly spread the knowledge among their number so that they might use when Heimgard needs them to or as a last-ditch effort to prevent corruption.
More than a few shaman quietly murmur that they hope that if the Idolaters ever get to them, they'll have the strength to soulburn before being fully corrupted. That way, they'd still die, but they'd die clean.
Reward
Soulburn ritual unlocked and knowledge spread among shamans
[X] Research Tundra- North of Aesland lies a barren peninsula that juts closer to the Chaos Wastes than any region outside of the Kurgan Steppes. On the northernmost tip of that peninsula, the Asur mages want to establish an observatory of sorts. They hope it will help them research the winds. It might even let them give you some warning before Chaos's next inevitable surge in strength.
Cost: 1,000 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 90 Reward: Asur Researchers in Northern Peninsula
Required: 10 Rolled: 43
With your approval and funding, the Asur set up to study the Wastes in relative safety. 'Relative' is the key word. Dhar blows so strong across the tundra that they had to lay protective enchantments over every building. In fact, most of your money goes to just ensuring that the Elves will not be tainted. Even so, they live like they're under siege.
By year's end, they've set up their arcane instruments to study the Wastes. Despite the forces that gathered last year, the winds blew very weakly this year, and they seem likely to stay weak next year. The Asur mages promise to regularly send you updates on their predictions.
[X] A god DOES live on prayer alone - There has to be a better way to pray. There simply must be a way to give the Ancestors more strength. It will be difficult, and it may take years. In fact, you'll most likely have to spend the whole year just figuring out where to begin your search. But this is holy work. TPA will grant an additional bonus.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70 Reward: Begin search for more effective prayers
Required: 30 Rolled: 61 + 41 (TPA) + 30 (Demigod) = 131 Super Critical Success!
Critical Roll: 69 + 31 = 100 Another Critical!
Second Critical Roll: 4
Last year, you had revelation on how prayer feeds the gods. This year, you threw yourself into researching a better way to pray. Between your immense magical talent and your status as a demigod who naturally straddles the line between the mundane realm and the gods', you make great leaps and bounds in your studies. No one can keep up with you, not even Hall, not even the Everqueen. (Apparently, the Asur have never bothered to improve how they pray. Tahvo suspects it might have something to do with a 'High Level Equilibrium Trap.' Whatever that is.)
Priests naturally funnel worshipers' prayers onto their gods, but there aren't enough magically talented priests to lead every sermon. Even if there were, that wouldn't be good enough, not when it could be so much better. If only you could put a demigod in every village...
Your mind flashes to the sacred grove in Mountain Crown, to the ten ash trees upon which the Sacrificed died. The trees aren't demigods, but they might be close enough to test a few theories. In a frenzy of religious fervor, you take cuttings from the trees, and seeds, and fashion holy instruments from their branches. You bless them in many different ways and distribute them amongst village shamans. Over the year, you take exacting notes on what improves the transmission of prayer and what doesn't.
Before the year ends, you know what works best, and you send out the best possible implements to the various villages as quickly as you can without harming the sacred grove. These holy tools will be used at the yearly holidays you've established, and it will surely increase the power given to the Ancestors.
Still, you know you could do even better. Your mind blazes with ideas.
Instead of half-hazardly scattered bits of wood, you could set up a proper network. Just as many small streams can combine to form a massive river, you could arrange blessed objects throughout Heimgard to channel the little trickles of prayer into some central point where the power would be sent on to the gods by some holy artifact... something like the Yggdrasil project that Sayble has been pitching?
Yes. That could do wonderful things.
Still, you cannot help but wonder if there would be an even better way. Your diplomats in the Southlands have brought back word of how long long ago Nehekhara built the greatest human empire of all time off of the strength of their gods. Their lands laid far from both the Chaos Wastes, but their gods were still incredibly powerful all because of some 'covenant.' Perhaps, you could look into how they forged that covenant...
Reward:
More Divine Favor
Unlocked Yggdrasil Network Research Path
Unlocked Nehekharan Covenant Research Path
AN: I will not say which path is 'better.' And they aren't mutually exclusive. They're just both very difficult.
Stewardship: The dwarfs are now too busy with their own holds to help you, but there's an opportunity there. Also, Mayble has had some interesting talks with some runesmiths on the value of dragon forged runes.
(Choose 1)
-[X] Artillery School
Cost: 300 Time: 2 DY 2 HY Reward: Jotunheim gains canons and capacity to make more.
Finishes NEXT year
[X] A Wall of Fortresses: The North - You've angered Chaos. A lot. Maybe it would be a good idea to build a line of extremely heavy fortresses along the northern coast of Heimgard.
Cost: 500 Jotun/turn Time: 3 year Chance of Success: 70% (Rolled each turn) Reward: Major increase in defenses along the North
Rolled: 34
It's done. You've established might fortresses all along your northern shore. Invaders will be hard-pressed to attack you from the sea, so long as you can keep them out of the Sea of Claws.
[X] Runic Cash Crops - Sayble figured out how to use runes to increase the output of fruit trees and grape vines. This year, Maybol wants to try to do the same on a much grander scale. Making runic plants is labor intensive, so she thinks it's best to spend her efforts enchanting cash crops. You won't get much more food, but you should see greater income.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 80% Reward: More Trade Income
Required: 20 Rolled: 30
Heimgard is a land with many hills ill-suited to farms, but well suited to grape vines. You also have a fair number of farmers looking to expand. You need only send your rune experts around teaching the proper way to grow and care for rune-enhances plants. The farmers aren't quite as good your experts, but they get by. Your wine compares very poorly to Bretonnian vintages, but it still brings in some income. The enhanced fruit trees do well too.
Reward
+200 Trade
Learning: Now that the organization has been optimized. Sayble is ready to spread her knowledge to all your people
(Choose 2)
[X] Grand Survey of Shipbuilding - The Ulthuan are supposed to be the greatest shipbuilders in the world, and they've promised to teach you the basics. The Dwarfs aren't too bad themselves, and Marienburg has some proud shipbuilders of their own. Sayble wants to put them all in a room and let them shout over the finer points of ship designs. What's the worse that could happen?
Cost: 500 Jotun Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Learn shipbuilding techniques from the Elves, Dwarfs, and Marienburg
Required: 30 Rolled: 11 Reroll 81
The Eye of the Allfather helps you avoid a few diplomatic incidents between the dwarfs and the elves, but, despite a few near disasters, you learned quite a lot this year.
Or so your advisers tell you. You're not sailor, and they have to dumb down their explanations a great deal for you to understand.
The simple version is that traditional Norscan shipmaking methods have some advantages. They're swift and strong and stay very low to the water, which makes them small targets. Unfortunately, they're also small in general. It took all of Ingemar's ingenuity to fit a single cannon onto your largest ships. You can't simply scale up your old ships, because that makes them lose all structural integrity.
The Asur shipmakers avoid that problem by growing their ships out of a single tree. Once your Starwood trees have grown a bit larger, maybe you can copy their designs. For now, you can only try to mimic the shape of their hulls and their sails which are what make their ships so fast and agile.
The dwarfs go a different route with their ships. They favor heavily armed and armored but slow moving ships, although their steam engines mean they don't rely on the wind to move. Simply put, you don't have the technology to make their style of ships. They could hand you the designs for a steam engine tomorrow, but it would still be a long time before you could actually build and maintain one. You simply don't have the infrastructure. However, you have pretty good runesmiths. They're not as good as the dwarfs, of course, but perhaps you could adapt some of their naval runes.
Ship for ship, the Marienburg navy cannot hold a candle to those of the other races. However, their ships are far cheaper and don't depend on magical construction methods. They can produce great numbers of ships of mediocre speed, strength, and defense. Once you get your cannon production up and running, you could likely create some ships like these.
Unlocked research options.
[X] Public Education - Sayble has an idea for creating schools throughout Heimgard to teach children for free. It will take some time to set up, but it will dramatically improve the education of your people. Also, Sayble happily says it would give you a chance to indoctrinate the youth.
Cost: 500 Jotun Upkeep Time: 2 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Better educated people.
Finishes This Year
Sayble sets up institutions of 'higher learning,' and she funnels the best and brightest of the next generation into it. She arranges for them to learn about math, engineering, and runesmithing. She grudgingly includes a few classes on the arts.
Sayble says she'd one day would like Heimgard to rival the Empire's College of Engineering. However, that day is a long way off. For now, she has to settle for producing better artisans.
Reward
Unlocked more research options
Permanent +5 to Learning rolls
[X] A Better Practice - The Great Mother has imparted huge amounts of knowledge that could completely revolutionize mundane medical care. Sayble wants to make sure every healer and midwife in Heimgard learns them. You'll also have to create facilities to produce proper 'medical grade' alcohol and 'penicillin'
Cost: 500 Jotun Initial 200/Year Upkeep Time: 2 year Chance of Success: 70% Greatly Improved Medical Care. Greatly Increased Population Growth. Spread Medical Knowledge
Required: 30 Rolled: 96
The Great Mother's ideas catch on like wildfire. Most healers don't actually understand why they must wash everything with soap or strong alcohol, and penicillin is just another potion. However, they treat these new practices as holy rites as prescribed by the Grendel's healer god. This Great Mother is clearly a great god because those healers who practice her rituals faithfully have far more patients survive.
It will take another year for the knowledge to fully distribute throughout Heimgard (although they're already incredibly popular in Vargland, where Helga has established her temple-hospitals). But your population has already begun to increase faster simply because of the lowered mortality rate.
Finishes next year
Personal: Well, you're now part demigod and so is your wife, and so is your most recent child. Not to mention your five other children. And your two wards... when did your family get so big?
(Choose 3)
[X] The Art of the Dress with Rana - Your firstborn daughter is most dissatisfied with the state of Heimgard's fashion. She also received an Elven dress as a gift from the Everqueen herself. Inspired by the gift, she wants to combine its design with others she's seen at Kislev to develop a fashion that Heimgard can call its own. And she wants your help. This may just be a child's fancy, but perhaps fancier dress would impress other nations? If nothing else, it would let you spend time with your daughter.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: ? Reward: Father/daughter time. Fashion!!!
Rolled: 26
You spend a lot of time with Rana discussing her pet project. You hate to admit it, but you don't actually understand most of what she's talking about. When she asks your advice, you rarely have any to offer. Soon you aren't 'helping Rana' so much as you're 'being taught foreign etiquette and fashion by Rana.' Still, you enjoy your daughter's company, even if she spends it on this childish nonsense.
Although, you notice that some of Rana's designs have started to catch on, mostly just with the young and the very wealthy, but her ideas are still spreading.
[X] High Magic - Hall thinks that with your enhanced magical sense, you might be able to learn High Magic. It will take a long time, probably over a decade, but the results could prove incredible.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Reward: Learn a little high magic. Increased magical skill
After a year of study with Hall, it seems like the only thing you learn is just how much you don't know. You can channel the divine as easily as breathing, but that's just allowing the Ancestors to work through you. Learning to hold all the complexities of all eight winds in your mind at once is a very daunting task. Still, the rewards will be great, once you're finished.
You have nothing to show for this year, but you'd like to try again.
[X] Jarls' Meet - It's been five years since you united all the lands of Norsca into Heimgard. Now, every land has its own Jarl (excluding Sarland). Perhaps you should call all the Jarls together to discuss the affairs of your realm, much like how the Emperor will sometimes meet with his Elector Counts.
Cost: 0 Time: 1 year Reward: Diplomatic Turns with your Jarls.
You put out the word for your Jarls to gather on the anniversary of your defeat of the Everchosen. Before you meet with them all, you'll need to decide whether or not to tell the others about Gustav's true nature.
[] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
[] Don't tell the Jarls, and make up an excuse for Gustav's absence from the meetings
Reward
Jarlmeet Interlude to follow
Subordinate Actions:
Choose one action for each tribe.
Bjornlingers
The Bjornlingers are sailors and traders beyond compare. By the end of the year, their fleets will finally be rebuilt. Inegmar can have his people focus on trading with Albion and getting used to navigate through the mists. They can also start hunting and harvesting the whales that prowl the sea around Heimgard. They could instead focus on heavily patrolling the Sea of Chaos for incursion from the Wastes.
[X] Bjornlingers: Trade with Albion
The Bjornlingers learn a few tricks for navigating the mists, but they still struggle with it. Fortunately, no matter where they find themselves on Albion's coast, there is usually a nearby tribe willing to trade hides, furs, and meat for good steel.
Still, this method of trading is half-hazard at best.
+100 Jotun
Graelings
Oovuh has adopted the faith of the Ancestors. You could request that he preach for the faith. He could instead focus on the fleet. However, Oovuh admits that his people are growing hungry for more raiding. They could attack the still-reeling Druchii, the pirates of Araby, those smugglers bringing supplies to the Chaos Dwarfs, or really any other target you might desire.
[X] Graelings: Raid Naggaroth
Oovuh's raiders have great success this year. They fall upon the weakened Druchii fleet. Per your orders, they send Druchii slaves to their homelands, but they keep the loot. They even manage to capture a few Druchii warships and sail them back to Heimgard.
The colonists in Naggaroth appreciate the help keeping the Druchii off their backs. However, Oovuh privately warns you that he fears that the colonists are doing too well. Oovuh knows well that nothing rallies people together better than a common enemy.
Estalians and Bretonnians alike are growing less afraid of the Druchii, which makes them more likely to turn on each other or do some other incredibly stupid thing.
Skaelings
Gustav's people made some progress befriending the Wood Elves last year. They could build on that this year. They could also spread the knowledge of their weather magic, focus on builing up their infrastructure. Additionally, Gustav came up with a bold plan for dealing with Throgg. His mutants could join the hoard, posing as typical Chaos worshiping mutants. They can send you information about the troll's armies and possibly give your assassins a hand.
[X] Skaelings: Infrastructure
Gustav turns his land's attention to cutting proper roads through their forest. He gives approval to some enterprising folk to transform their villages into proper towns: the first his land has ever known. All the while, Gustav makes sure that it never gets too easy to travel near the Skinblesseds' forest.
The towns enable the formation of craftsmen guilds who begin to export manufactured goods in addition to raw lumber.
+50 Taxes
Vargs
Hilga would like to teach her people that there's more in the world than just fighting. She's built up a few hospitals, but she can do more. Her people have other ideas. They'd like to try their hands at a bit of raiding, and Hilga admits she'd like to know that happening in the Dark Lands. She could send some cavalry forces into the mountains of Morn to check in on the Chaos Dwarfs and Grom.
[X] Vargs: Raid the Dark Lands
Hilga understands the necessity of violence, and she knows how her people crave it sometimes. She sends them out through Kislev to scout and raid the Darklands. The northernmost portion is still firmly held by the Chaos Dwarves. They've heavily fortified the whole region, and greenskin corpses litter the battlefields. The Dawi Zharr must still be getting food and slaves from somewhere.
The Vargs focus on the greenskin, slaughtering a few of the more exposed and weaker warbands. By questioning their captives, they learn that Grom doesn't seem to be trying very hard to win the war. He plays tribes against each other, making them compete for the honor of fighting the Zharr. When he actually sends forces against their fortifications, the greenskin are always too few in number to truly win.
Maybe Grom is just trying to keep the Waagh going while he waits for his numbers to replenish, or maybe he has other aims. They say he's captured some Dawi Zharr that he goes to great lengths to keep safe. Rumor has it that they're working on some secret project for him.
Your raiders recover a large amount of precious metals and gems from the greenskin they raided. Additionally, some Imperials paid them a great deal for what they learned about the eastern side of the World's Edge Mountains. Apparently, some folks in the south are starting to think that, with the greenskin numbers depleted, it might be profitable to send some people through the mountains to work the lucrative mines in the Dark Lands.
+500 Jotun in Loot and payment
Baersonlingers
Bahbahk would like to spread the worship of Ursun. He also doesn't like the sound of monsters and skavens crawling all over his people's ancestral lands, and he'd be more than happy to increase his patrols in the Troll Wastes. Like Hilga, he'd like to send some people into the Dark Lands to explore and do a bit of raiding, if possible.
[X] Baersonligners: Heavy Patrols of the Troll Wastes
With Throgg's horde divided, the Baersonligners and the Kurgan immigrants do what they do best. They ruthlessly harry the splinters forces, never closing for a pitched battle but always picking away at their foes.
Their flaming arrows bring down quite a few trolls this year.
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- Location
- Under a cat
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You'll have to get more contact with them to find out.
Quite possibly.
Good idea. I added a bonus for him helping Ashi Raid the Trolls.
In the future, when Ashi is personally attending to a task where it's helpful to have a zombie army, Kreuger will provide a bonus.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Very nice, all in all, especially how we dealt with the threats!
The Bird
tEM IS GUD...RITER!
- Location
- In that den of villains and scum, OKLAHOMA
I wonder when Ashi is going to earn 'Hated of Khorne'. I mean, at the rate she's going, she'd done more to harm and piss off the dark god than literally anyone alive.
Edit: Never mind, she already has it. Though at some point it's probably going to upgrade into another trait if she keeps on breaking Khornes things.
Edit: Never mind, she already has it. Though at some point it's probably going to upgrade into another trait if she keeps on breaking Khornes things.
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- Location
- USA
I am so glad we didn't assassinate adolphus before investigating. He was guilty, but not like we thought. And killing him would hand the empire to the lahmians. damn
Derek58
Rocket Punch is Best Punch
- Location
- Getter Valhalla
[X] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
Awesome, Throgg's dead and his horde is splintered
I'm thinking we should get started on the Yggdrasil action next turn, since it's central to one of the improved prayer methods.
That's Very Interesting that Tahvo saw no sign of Settra in Nehekara, or even a mention of him as being in charge.
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
Awesome, Throgg's dead and his horde is splintered
I'm thinking we should get started on the Yggdrasil action next turn, since it's central to one of the improved prayer methods.
That's Very Interesting that Tahvo saw no sign of Settra in Nehekara, or even a mention of him as being in charge.
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Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
[X] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
@ancusohm wouldn't it make more sense to set the Halflings up in Bountiful Basket since it's noted to be the most fertile land in Heimgard so far
Also did our diplomats run into any feral Lizardmen in Southland?
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
@ancusohm wouldn't it make more sense to set the Halflings up in Bountiful Basket since it's noted to be the most fertile land in Heimgard so far
Also did our diplomats run into any feral Lizardmen in Southland?
- Location
- USA
Sounds like a protogod, if gods need faith like food... well, maybe we can formulate a formal religion for them and feed those gods to create a new god of order. One who could flip and purify beastmen. Or maybe give those guys ursanite like ability to assume full human and full animal form instead of being stuck inbetween
Yes! all my yes!!!
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The covenant looks more tempting to me but the Tree network has more local flavor.
- Location
- USA
[X] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
-[X] Discreetly inform him that you did uncover his involvement in it, but understand and forgive him, this once. Just that he better not do so again because you won't forgive if they actually succeeded in harming you or yours.
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
-[X] Discreetly inform him that you did uncover his involvement in it, but understand and forgive him, this once. Just that he better not do so again because you won't forgive if they actually succeeded in harming you or yours.
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
QM said that this is an option and that they are not mutually exclusive. Just take a lot of effort each. The question should then be, which do we do firstI want to do the yggdrasil AND convenant option
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Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
Glad to see the Emperor isn't someone we need to kill but is simply caught up in a very deep shadow war.
We need to break whatever is left of the Horde or recruit it into the Skaven clan we control while also attacking Moulder now that the Troll army is more manageable now.
Also want to get that port in Albion set up so that we can get more access to their warriors and Truthsayers along with other stuff.
@ancusohm could we possible support a clan on Albion to develop more and maybe slowly take over the island? Send it supplies, people, warbeasts, etc?
Speaking of ports we should also finally get the southern ports up and running since we have a larger fleet and want more trading income.
We need to break whatever is left of the Horde or recruit it into the Skaven clan we control while also attacking Moulder now that the Troll army is more manageable now.
Also want to get that port in Albion set up so that we can get more access to their warriors and Truthsayers along with other stuff.
@ancusohm could we possible support a clan on Albion to develop more and maybe slowly take over the island? Send it supplies, people, warbeasts, etc?
Speaking of ports we should also finally get the southern ports up and running since we have a larger fleet and want more trading income.
[X] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
-[X] Discreetly inform him that you did uncover his involvement in it, but understand and forgive him. Just that he better not do so again
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
-[X] Discreetly inform him that you did uncover his involvement in it, but understand and forgive him. Just that he better not do so again
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
- Location
- Cyberspace
Well, lessee how things went.
First off, the raiding. Oh, the raiding... THE RAIDING! Almost disgusting, what with the stacking of bonuses on top of bonuses - that got us a super critical into a critical into a high roll.
Ashi rolls up their cannon fodder, rampages through the trolls, fights off against Throgg-the-Khornate-champion... and ***ganks him***.
Man, Khorne is somewhere beyond apopleptic at Ashi by now, I expect. While not the blow that losing his waifu was, that's a major kick in the nads... again.
Losing the power we gathered for the Ancestors? COMPLETELY WORTH IT. We should be careful to clean up the horde so Throgg doesn't get replaced by a lieutenant and things continue on their course, but oh yeah ^_^
How many personal champions of the Ruinous powers have we eliminated by now? ^___^
Lots more beasties (I'd pay attention to the dire dogs in particular - I want to verminfate rune them) and lots more ships.
Now, on to how the rest of the world sees us. The sultan's being a whiny bitch, so we should just ignore him and trade with the city-states directly.
A pity the Golden King's advisors don't like us. But we can work at that over time. We got a touch of trade from him (and possibilities of mercenary contracts), some from Karak Zorn, some from Skeggi (potentially more if we help with removing the Aesons), a breath from the Amazons... and some intriguing possibilities from the Lizardmen. Perhaps.
We'll want to put our new mercenaries to work - probably not in a context that'd lead to heavy casualties (that might cause problems), but I'm sure we'll find something for them to do - they don't cost all *that* much anyway.
Our spymaster is strugging with the ever-constant threat of chaos worshippers as always - but his people did an excellent job on the imperial infitration. A pity we didn't elect to do the other choices as well; we could've had quite the cascade.
Interesting though - the vamps decided to help Adolphus out, Adolphus objecting vehemently (good for him)... so we've got a shadow war between a moderately clever emperor and Neferata resulting in the Theogenist's seat staying empty.
The assassination attempt was Adolphus (as I honestly expected), but its rather pleasant to hear that he wasn't actually seriously going for it in a way. We still should find some way to express our disapproval of him not asking - something significant. But without strengthening the Lahmian position.
On that note...
[] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[] Contact Adolphus and tell him you uncovered his plot
[X] Don't contact Adolphus (You will be able to do so later on, if you wish)
I don't want to go either way just yet, so silence is best.
On another front, we'll definitely need to either turn the horde inward or deal with Bonespur. The 'puppet clans' idea isn't one I'm sold on, but we can perhaps use them to weaken Moulder.
Perhaps get them to lure away parts of the horde themselves to assist in the attempt? That way we get a somewhat smaller overall horde and more force turned against Moulder.
I don't like the idea of Grom sitting there with some 'secret project' or other being worked on.
===== In the meantime... research and development =====
I'm rather intrigued with the half-transformed state of the newly-named 'Skinblessed'. Their ritual magic could definitely be an asset when worked into our rather composite tradition... we like to use magic for long-term effects, after all.
The research is going as expected, but we got a double-critical on Thorfinn's work (woohoo!). And yet more reason to do the Yggdrasil project (and overdo it), looks like. Do you think we can stack more bonuses, or should we go for it next?
Meanwhile our fortresses continue a-pace and we've got some more trade goods. We have a Learning roll boost and more research options to boot from the schools.
With the Yggdrasil project and Thorfinn's usage of sacred wood to gather prayers, I'm thinking we could probably figure out our own version of the Asur's "grow a tree into a boat" technique - and that's the path I kind of favor going forward.
Now! On to the Jarls!
First off, the raiding. Oh, the raiding... THE RAIDING! Almost disgusting, what with the stacking of bonuses on top of bonuses - that got us a super critical into a critical into a high roll.
Ashi rolls up their cannon fodder, rampages through the trolls, fights off against Throgg-the-Khornate-champion... and ***ganks him***.
Man, Khorne is somewhere beyond apopleptic at Ashi by now, I expect. While not the blow that losing his waifu was, that's a major kick in the nads... again.
Losing the power we gathered for the Ancestors? COMPLETELY WORTH IT. We should be careful to clean up the horde so Throgg doesn't get replaced by a lieutenant and things continue on their course, but oh yeah ^_^
How many personal champions of the Ruinous powers have we eliminated by now? ^___^
Lots more beasties (I'd pay attention to the dire dogs in particular - I want to verminfate rune them) and lots more ships.
Now, on to how the rest of the world sees us. The sultan's being a whiny bitch, so we should just ignore him and trade with the city-states directly.
A pity the Golden King's advisors don't like us. But we can work at that over time. We got a touch of trade from him (and possibilities of mercenary contracts), some from Karak Zorn, some from Skeggi (potentially more if we help with removing the Aesons), a breath from the Amazons... and some intriguing possibilities from the Lizardmen. Perhaps.
We'll want to put our new mercenaries to work - probably not in a context that'd lead to heavy casualties (that might cause problems), but I'm sure we'll find something for them to do - they don't cost all *that* much anyway.
Our spymaster is strugging with the ever-constant threat of chaos worshippers as always - but his people did an excellent job on the imperial infitration. A pity we didn't elect to do the other choices as well; we could've had quite the cascade.
Interesting though - the vamps decided to help Adolphus out, Adolphus objecting vehemently (good for him)... so we've got a shadow war between a moderately clever emperor and Neferata resulting in the Theogenist's seat staying empty.
The assassination attempt was Adolphus (as I honestly expected), but its rather pleasant to hear that he wasn't actually seriously going for it in a way. We still should find some way to express our disapproval of him not asking - something significant. But without strengthening the Lahmian position.
On that note...
[] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[] Contact Adolphus and tell him you uncovered his plot
[X] Don't contact Adolphus (You will be able to do so later on, if you wish)
I don't want to go either way just yet, so silence is best.
On another front, we'll definitely need to either turn the horde inward or deal with Bonespur. The 'puppet clans' idea isn't one I'm sold on, but we can perhaps use them to weaken Moulder.
Perhaps get them to lure away parts of the horde themselves to assist in the attempt? That way we get a somewhat smaller overall horde and more force turned against Moulder.
I don't like the idea of Grom sitting there with some 'secret project' or other being worked on.
===== In the meantime... research and development =====
I'm rather intrigued with the half-transformed state of the newly-named 'Skinblessed'. Their ritual magic could definitely be an asset when worked into our rather composite tradition... we like to use magic for long-term effects, after all.
The research is going as expected, but we got a double-critical on Thorfinn's work (woohoo!). And yet more reason to do the Yggdrasil project (and overdo it), looks like. Do you think we can stack more bonuses, or should we go for it next?
Meanwhile our fortresses continue a-pace and we've got some more trade goods. We have a Learning roll boost and more research options to boot from the schools.
With the Yggdrasil project and Thorfinn's usage of sacred wood to gather prayers, I'm thinking we could probably figure out our own version of the Asur's "grow a tree into a boat" technique - and that's the path I kind of favor going forward.
Now! On to the Jarls!
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Contact Adolphus and express outrage at 'Neferata' trying to have you killed
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation
[X] Tell the Jarls about Gustav's mutation