[] [TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
[] [TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2) Correspondence: The Front Companies are too useful in many respects to not take, but Rykall is a total of 69% on Front Companies vs. Rucdorn's 67%. A 2% difference isn't enough in my mind to justify it when we need more Tax Assessments going quickly.
[] [CORRESPONDENCE] Personally Oversee Tax Assessments (Up to 2 more Tax Assessments Will be Finished This Turn) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship + 1/2 Learning)*
-[] Priority: Town Trade Revenue Phase 1 (Of 2)
-[] Secondary: Kadeck County Land Tax
Royal Vaults: Rudcorn can cover the Front Companies well enough.
[] [ROYAL VAULTS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
High Marshall: We need to clean out the officer corps lickety split. We can have Darach and Trins do the scout/slay bandits deal in South Eyrist County.
[] [HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
Secrets: Tight choices, but while it sounds like Morvak is undergoing 'internal reorganization', I'd rather we have it in place just to make sure we're not getting misinformation.
[][SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
-[] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
Sheriffs & Reeves: Since the Front Companies will lower the final price of material purchases, let's hold on starting the roads. Prepping to make it all go as smoothly as possible is a good idea.
[] [SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
Justice: We promised healing and proper legality, so that means completing the investigation of charges. I don't think the order in which we do them matters so long as we're prompt on both of them.
[] [JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former Syrokis loyalists (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
[] [JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former rebels (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
Envoys: It's a good idea to restore our diplomats, because everything here will get a boost from it being done, including the trade negotiations and looking into the marriage business in the next few turns.
[] [ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
Personal: As mentioned before, the County of Aloce is important and it needs to get filled in ASAP. We should also take the time to divine some marriage partners, as to help lay more groundwork and save Arandel some time.
[] [QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
[] [QUEEN] Rule on the dispute over who gets the County of Aloce (Scene & Followup Vote)
[] Plan: Prototype
-[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Personally Oversee Tax Assessments (Up to 2 more Tax Assessments Will be Finished This Turn) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship + 1/2 Learning)*
--[ ] Priority: Town Trade Revenue Phase 1 (Of 2)
--[ ] Secondary: Port Lest 4% Wealth Tax
-[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Gather Reports On Banditry (Improves Base Chance of future Anti-Banditry Tasks) (Base Chance 65% + Stewardship)
-[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[ ] Spend 5 Dureks
--[ ] Spend 10 Dureks
--[ ] Spend 15 Dureks
-[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 1 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
--[ ]Provide Funds to Speed up/Improve Process. Write-in amount.
-[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
--[ ] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
--[ ] In the Varaday Republic (Base Chance: 43% + Intrigue)
-[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Rebuild Roads?
-[ ][ENVOYS] Find Marriage Candidates?
-[ ][JUSTICE] ?
-[ ][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
-[ ][QUEEN] Rule on the dispute over who gets the County of Aloce (Scene & Followup Vote)
-[ ][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
I have earlier tried to make a prototype plan, but I want to see what new actions has become available, so I can improve it, but first I want to look at our current budget.
(For the sake of simplicity, all values will be listed in "Dureks", a gold coin minted by the dwarves of the Lortan Mountains, and made popular by dwarven banks. A Durek is a Half-oz solid gold coin. In practice, most transactions, even by states are done by smaller gold coins, less pure coins, silver coins, etc, but in many cases, coins are still valued in terms of how many Dureks they're worth).
Treasury: 36 Dureks
Income Per Month: 233 Dureks From the Crown's Personal Holdings: 127 Dureks
Grand Duchy of Raida Direct Revenues: 30 Dureks (Modifier: Ravaged Cities) (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Ruined Roads) Grand Duchy of Raida Docking & Trade Fees: 45 Dureks (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Economic Dislocation, Currency Contraction) Thornmarch Direct Revenues: 12 Dureks Thornmarch Tariff Fees: 15 Dureks (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Economic Dislocation, Currency Contraction, Ruined Roads) (Modifier: Morvakian Saber-Rattling) Coastal March Direct Revenues: 11 Dureks (Modifiers: Sacked Villages & Towns) Coastal March Tariff, Docking & Trade Fees: 5 Dureks (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Economic Dislocation, Currency Contraction, Ruined Roads) Ashdan March Direct Revenue: 1 Durek (Modifiers: Nourvois Raids, Undeveloped, Underpopulated) Southmarch Direct Revenue: 2 Dureks (Modifiers: Undeveloped, Underpopulated, War Ravaged) (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Ruined Roads) Southmarch Mining Tax: 5 Dureks (Modifiers: Underpopulated, War Ravaged) (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Ruined Roads) Southeastern Crown Reserve Direct Revenue: 1 Durek (Modifiers: Undeveloped, Underpopulated, War Ravaged) (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Ruined Roads) Northeastern Crown Reserve Direct Revenue: 1 Durek (Modifiers: Undeveloped, Underpopulated, War Ravaged) (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Ruined Roads)
Halrun is not in a good place, with everything in some form of damaged or affected by the civil war and associated events. As such, even existing sources of revenue are not as high as they should be. The Entire Kingdom is affected by certain modifiers, and individual revenue sources may have additional modifiers). Removing those modifiers will be a way to help increase revenues, though some will of course be easier to deal with than others, and of course, everything costs money these days.
Technically all taxes in Halrun are actually collected yearly, but for the sake of the game, this is the 'monthly' income.
The Wealth taxes on Eaglecrest/Port Lest are an assessment on the overall wealth of the free city. The Taxes aren't called by percent in-universe - Eaglecrest's is called the One Thirty-Third tax (1/33) and Port Lest's is called the One Twenty-Fifth Tax (1/25). It's up to the local city government to turn up the money required. The Land Tax is a tax on the hinterland of the free cities assessed based on the agricultural value of said land, assessed on the owners of said land by royal officials. The hinterlands of both free cities tend to be owned by small farmers or by gentry (usually related to the urban merchants) with large estates and tenants. The Trade Fees are an assortment of tariffs, dues, fees, charges and the like on trade. I'm making taxes complicated enough as it is, I think I can afford to not get nittier-grittier 😅.
From the Counties: 37 Dureks
Vannecht County Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 5 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, Extensive Exemptions) County of Vaspiri Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 3 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, War Ravaged) Befost County Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 2 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, War Ravaged) Kadeck County Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 5 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, War Ravaged) South Eyrist County Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 3 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, War Ravaged, Banditry) Saphet County Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 3 Dureks (Modifier: Outdated Tax Assessments) County of Aloce Land Tax & Feudal Dues: 3 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, War Ravaged) South Tarkos Thanedom Land Tax, Mining Tax & Feudal Dues: 13 Dureks (Modifiers: War Ravaged) (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Ruined Roads)
From the Lordships & Independent Towns: 32 Dureks
Lordships Land Tax and Feudal Dues: 20 Dureks (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments (1/2 Removed), War Ravaged, Assorted Exemptions, Banditry) Town Trade Fee Revenue: 12 Dureks (Affected by Kingdom-Wide Modifiers: Economic Dislocation, Currency Contraction, Ruined Roads) (Modifiers: Outdated Tax Assessments, Banditry)
Other Revenue Sources: 0
Expenses Per Month: 122 Dureks Royal Administration: 42 Dureks
Tax Assessors, Collectors and Customs Agents: 12 Dureks Sheriffs and Reeves of the Crown Reserves: 6 Dureks Sheriffs and Reeves of the Thornmarch: 5 Dureks Sheriffs and Reeves of the Coastal March: 4 Dureks Sheriffs and Reeves of the Grand Duchy of Raida: 10 Dureks Assorted Other Legal and Court Functionaries and Officials: 5 Dureks
Wages & Supply of Royal Army: 70 Dureks [Will Drop to 68.25 Dureks after Turn 2 Payments]
699 Heavy Cavalry: 14.25 Dureks (1 Durek/50 Units) (Rounded up to the nearest quarter) [Will drop to 14 Dureks after Turn 2 Payments] 2021 Light Cavalry: 21 Dureks (1 Durek/100 Units) (Rounded up to the nearest quarter) [Will Drop to 20.25 Dureks after Turn 2 Payments] 2389 Men-At-Arms: 12.25 Dureks (1 Durek/200 Units) (Rounded up to the nearest quarter) [Will drop to 12 Dureks after Turn 2 Payments] 1848 Crossbowmen: 9.5 Dureks (1 Durek/200 Units) (Rounded up to the nearest quarter) [Will Drop to 9.25 Dureks after Turn 2 Payments] 1204 Skirmishers: 4.25 Dureks (1 Durek/300 Units) [Will Drop to 4 Dureks after Turn 2 Payments] 1285 Pikemen: 8.75 Dureks (1 Durek/150 Units) (Rounded up to the nearest quarter)
Basic Maintinence of the Crown & Palace: 10 Dureks
This is stuff like the servants in the palace, maintenance of said palace, the Royal Guard, feeding the monarch, clothing them, and other stuff like that. Right now, it is expected - and priced accordingly - that the Queen will be living relatively frugally, so there's less servants than normal, the feasts and meals in general will be smaller and less extravagant, etc. There is a certain amount of opulence expected of a monarch, and while emissaries and such will understand a lack of it now, there could be a loss of prestige if you never increase this number or never hold a more typical-sized feast, etc)
Standing Royal Army: 9473 Soldiers Based Out of Ashdan Keep: 170 Heavy Cavalry, 450 Light Cavalry, 402 Men-At-Arms, 291 Crossbowmen Based in the Thornmarch: 1000 Crossbowmen, 200 Heavy Cavalry, 500 Light Cavalry, 1000 Pikemen, 1000 Men-At-Arms Based in the Coastal March: 116 Light Cavalry, 225 Skirmishers Based in The Southmarch: 200 Light Cavalry, 300 Skirmishers Based in the Northeastern Crown Reserve: 70 Light Cavalry Based in the Southeastern Crown Reserve: 50 Light Cavalry Based in the Grand Duchy of Raida (Mobile Reserve): 329 Heavy Cavalry, 635 Light Cavalry, 987 Men-At-Arms, 557 Crossbowmen, 285 Pikemen, 679 Skirmishers
Is this a lot of soldiers in a standing army for a Quasi-Late Middle Ages State? Probably. This isn't medieval Europe, it's a fictional world with it's own history and a version of quasi-feudalism that only somewhat resembles reality and Halrun is quite large, but especially the forces based in the Grand Duchy are arguably overlarge - but you did just have a civil war, so even with many people going home or disbanding or whatever, you've got a lot of guys eager to stay soldiers. Approximately 2/3s of the army are people who served in the rebellion at some point - personal soldiers of various nobles transferred to the Royal Army now that the war is over, professionals staying on, defecting former soldiers of the army, etc, etc. The other approximately 1/3 are soldiers who fought for Syrokis to the end and accepted the offer given at the end of the war to stand down to spare their lives/property/etc and then also chose to stay on in the Royal Army. Their loyalty - and the loyalty of any ex-rebels, frankly - is certainly potentially tbd. Overall, there are more ex-rebels in the forces stationed in the Grand Duchy, with the loyalists as much as possible put to the frontiers, to keep them busy fighting the Nourvois Clans and keeping an eye on Morvak,etc.
During times of war, additional levies can be called on, and levy soldiers cost significantly less, at least at first (keeping them on for months and months on end can cause issues otherwise). If you feel you have too many soldiers, you can reduce the number, but you certainly do need to be careful about that. Unhappy soldiers are not a good thing.
(This doesn't represent all the money loaned to Syrokis or his predecessors yet unpaid - Rucdorn Relcred Axecavern, the dwarf who ended up being the main financier of the rebellion and is your Keeper of the Royal Vaults (Tax Minister) at the start, was able to use his connections in the international banking community, as it were, to negotiate Syrokis's creditors down, but refusing to pay any of the debts previously incurred and unpaid was - at least then - deemed too risky to the Kingdom's credit and the health of the economy, especially given the fact that more loans to get ahead of existing loans, etc, could be necessary. Unlike with the debts incurred by the rebellion, this debt isn't going to be itemized by who lent it out, both for simplicity's sake, and because Syrokis's creditors of choice were two closely aligned banks in the Varaday Republic (not located on the map, on the far end of the Andelerian Sea) so they have the vast majority of this debt anyway.
Debts Incurred by Rebels Assumed By The Crown: 552.25 Dureks (Assorted Interest) (58 Dureks)
The Estates-General agreed, in addition to voting on a New Queen, dropping taxes to the levels before Syrokis took the throne and a number of other tidying-things up (like pardoning some people, executing some of Syrokis's most diehard loyalists, confiscating the property of others etc) that the Crown would assume much of the debt the rebels incurred in the fighting. Because why not fob your debt off on someone else? Owed to the Axecavern Bank (Lortan Dwarves): 165 Dureks (10% Interest) (16.5 Dureks)* Owed to the Redhammer Bank (Lortan Dwarves): 83.25 Dureks (11% Interest) (9.25 Dureks) Owed to the Royal Bank of Zedarsh (Zedarsh): 112 Dureks (12% Interest) (13.5 Dureks) Owed to Assorted Individual Wealthy Merchants/Etc based in Eaglecrest, Port Lest and Westcrown: 81 Dureks (8% Interest) (6.5 Dureks) Owed to Assorted Individual Weathy Merchants Based in Zedarsh or Selissa: 111 Dureks (11% Interest) (12.25 Dureks)
*Rucdorn Relcred Axecavern may be a distant relative of the people who run the Axecavern Bank, and he used that to his - and the rebellion's - advantage, but he's not actually involved in the running of it or making money off of it. The Axecavern Clan is probably the most spread out of the major Noble Dwarven Clans, but the bank the clan is most famous for remains based in the Lortan Mountains)
At the moment we have 36 Dureks in our treasury and an income of 10 Dureks per turn after expenses and interest payments. This is important to keep in mind with, how expensive rebuilding the roads might end up being.
Keeper of Correspondence Tasks (Pick 1) [ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Personally Oversee Tax Assessments (Up to 2 more Tax Assessments Will be Finished This Turn) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship + 1/2 Learning)*
-[ ] Pick Priority (Weak or Strong Success Required)
-[ ] Pick Secondary (Strong Success Required)
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Gather Reports On Banditry (Improves Base Chance of future Anti-Banditry Tasks) (Base Chance 65% + Stewardship)
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Reorganize the Clerks (Improves Base Chance of [CORRESPONDENCE] Tasks by 4% or 8% for the next 5 turns) (Base Chance 55% + Stewardship + Learning)*
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Lend Clerks to help another Keeper with their Task (+3/+6 to their Task on a Weak/Strong Success) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship)
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Correspondence has gotten two new tasks, Front Companies and helping another keeper, but at the moment I only find Front Companies interesting enough, that I might pick it instead of overseeing tax assessment, but since multiple Keepers might do that task, then it becomes a question about which Keeper ought to do it.
Keeper of The Royal Vaults (Pick 1) [ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Negotiate Bridge Loan of 100 Dureks To Help Pay Down Current Debts (Failure will mean no loan, Weak Success will mean the higher of the two offered interest rates, Strong Success will mean the lower of the two) (Must be Used To Pay Down Existing Debts)
-[ ] From The Goldaxe Bank (Lortan Dwarves) (10.5% or 8.75%) (Base Chance 53% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From The Caragio Bank (Varaday Republic) (12.5% or 10.5%) (Base Chance 64% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From the Veterger Bank (Selissa) (13.75% or 11%) (Base Chance 75% + Stewardship)*
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Negotiate Free-Standing Loan of 50 Dureks (Failure will mean no loan, Weak Success will mean the higher of the two offered interest rates, Strong Success will mean the lower of the two) (Can Be Used For Anything)
-[ ] From The Goldaxe Bank (Lortan Dwarves) (13% or 11.5%) (Base Chance 56% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From The Caragio Bank (Varaday Republic) (14.25% or 12.25%) (Base Chance 67% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From the Veterger Bank (Selissa) (15% or 13.75%) (Base Chance 78% + Stewardship)*
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
-[ ] Spend 5 Dureks
-[ ] Spend 10 Dureks
-[ ] Spend 15 Dureks
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Sell Tax-Farming Rights (Tax Farmers offer large sum of money up front and get full right to collect all taxes from a given source for a specified length of time) (Success of roll results on more money gained) (No matter what, you will get less money up front than you could get over that length of time) (Base Chance 55% + Stewardship + Diplomacy)
-[ ] Write In Tax Source And A Number of Turns
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Audit The Royal Desmene (Phase 1 of ?) (Could increase Revenues from Personal Holdings) (Costs 5 Dureks)
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Keeper of the Royal Vaults can also do Front Companies, but he has also gotten an audit task, that might be interesting, though if we have the money to spare, then I would likely still prefer minting new coins.
High Marshall of the Armies (Pick 1) [ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Have Rienne Personally Deal With Banditry (Will Result in Follow up Votes. All tasks there will be +Martial, with variable trait applicability) (If not picked, the option to assign other Generals to deal with bandits will be available in a followup vote)
-[ ] Banditry in South Eyrist County
-[ ] Banditry Plaguing the Lordships (Multiple Phases)
-[ ] Banditry Plaguing the Free Towns (Multiple Phases)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Recruit Additional Soldiers (Strong Success gets you all the soldiers you wanted. Weak Success or Failure gets you less soldiers) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)* (Costs Dureks Base on # of soldiers desired)
-[ ] Write in desired Types and Numbers of Soldiers
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Survey Border Defenses (Opens Options for Future Improvement of Border Defenses) (Base Chance: 75% + Martial)*
-[ ]Thornmarch
-[ ]Ashdan March
-[ ]Eaglecrest
-[ ] Write in (Suggest Other Border Area)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Stage War Games with the Mobile Reserve (Improves Army Readiness, increasing rolls for 3 Months) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)* (Costs 2 Dureks)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Expand The Logistics Base (Improves Army Morale, Adds Logistical Strategic Depth in case of War) (Base Chance 57% + Martial +1/2 Stewardship)* (Costs 5 Dureks)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Liaise with the Knights of the Golden Throne (No Roll, Improves future coordination with the Knights if they need to be called up)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Draw Up New Plans for Calling Up The Levies (Makes it easier to call up the levies if needed) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)*
Keeper of Secrets (Pick 1) [ ][SECRETS] Attempt to Claw Back some of the funds Syrokis and his cronies stashed away in foreign banks. (Better success means more money. More money available in the Varaday Banks all told))
-[ ] In the Varaday Banks (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 1 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[ ]Provide Funds to Speed up/Improve Process. Write-in amount.
[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
-[ ] In Veldros (Base Chance: 65% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In Selissa (Base Chance: 53% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In The Kingdom of the Necromancers (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In the Varaday Republic (Base Chance: 43% + Intrigue)
-[ ] Pick a Target (Base Chance and Trait applicability to be set by QM)
[ ][SECRETS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
[ ][SECRETS]Assess Royal Security (Stage False Break In of The Palace, potentially improves Royal Security) (Base Chance 55% + Intrigue)
[ ][SECRETS] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
The Keeper of Secrets has gotten two new actions, one being Front Companies and the other assess royal security, though I would likely prefer him to get started on building spy networks.
We have three Keepers, that can do Front Companies.
The Keeper of Correspondence, who with his stewardship of 6 and intrigue of 5, plus his trait would have a bonus of 12.
The Keeper of The Royal Vaults, who with his stewardship of 10 and intrigue of 5 would have a bonus of 10.
The Keeper of Secrets, who with his stewardship of 5 and intrigue of 7 would have a bonus of 9.5.
This means that the Keeper of Correspondence is the most well suited, but the other two has still a decent bonus to the task.
Keeper of the Sheriffs and Reeves (Pick 1) [ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Repair War Damage (Strong Success means lower cost, Weak Success means higher cost) (Once done, it will take 5 Turns for the relevant modifier to be removed, but no additional costs) (Rebuilding the Roads will reduce this length and improve Base %)
-[ ]To the Coastal March (Costs 5 or 10 Dureks) (Base Chance: 50% + Stewardship)*
-[ ]To the Southmarch (Costs 3 or 7 Dureks) (Base Chance: 61% + Stewardship)*
-[ ]To the 3 Crown Reserves (Costs 1.5 or 3 Dureks) (Base Chance: 70% + Stewardship)*
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Appoint trustworthy and capable people to fill leadership positions in the Reeves to manage royal properties (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Stewardship)*
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES]Start Rebuilding the Roads in the Grand Duchy (Base Chance 56% + Stewardship)* (Costs 25 Dureks) (Cost will be less later if materials required)
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Openly Start Buying Raw Materials For the Roads (No Roll)
-[ ]Write In Amount to Spend (50 Dureks total to get all the raw materials if you do it at once. Overall Cost will rise somewhat if you do it piecemeal. If the front companies are successfully set up(can't be during the same turn as this action), cost will decrease, as will the potential for the costs to rise if done piecemeal)
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Here we get a view of, how expensive rebuilding the roads might get. If we want to buy the materials we will need, then we will have to pay 50 Dureks. When we get the front companies, the price will go down, but it will likely stay rather high, so we might want to keep a lot of money in our Treasury to next turn, when we will likely buy the materials. I think, that we this turn should draw up detailed plans.
Keeper of Justice [ ][JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former Syrokis loyalists (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
[ ][JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former rebels (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
[ ][JUSTICE] Post Bounties on Leading Bandits (Permanently Improves chances of anti-bandit operations) (No roll)
-[ ]1 Durek Total (+2 to anti-bandit operations)
-[ ]2.25 Dureks Total (+3 to anti-bandit Operations
-[ ]Write in (Each point increase above +3 costs 1.5 more Dureks)
[ ][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote)
[ ][JUSTICE] Reorganize Royal Inspectors (Improves Base Chance of some future [JUSTICE] Actions by 4 or 8%) (Base Chance 50% + Learning + 1/2 Stewardship)
[ ][JUSTICE] Write-in, Subject to QM Veto
Well, I think that the Keeper of Justice either should get started on investigating former loyalists or deal with the matter of Aloce, so that we might spend a queen action on something else.
Keeper of Envoys [ ][ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
[ ][ENVOYS] Open Trade Negotiations (Could Produce Additional Durek Income)
-[ ]With Zedarsh (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]With Kingdom of the Necromancers (Base Chance 70% + Diplomacy)* (Scrying the KoTN is more difficult)
-[ ]With Veldros (Base Chance 60% + Diplomacy)* (Scrying Veldros is more difficult)
-[ ]With Blerren (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]With Gyptar (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]Write-in (Suggest realm, Base Chance will be set by QM)
[ ][ENVOYS]Quietly Reach out to Nerinthar, Selissa and Illegorst about Marriage Prospects (No roll required)
[ ][ENVOYS] Announce to everyone that the Queen is looking for Suitors (No Roll Required)
[ ][ENVOYS] Quietly Investigate who else might be interested in Queen Vanessa's Hand (Gives more options for quietly reaching out in the future) (Base Chance 50% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Intrigue)
[ ][ENVOYS] Negotiate Non-Aggression Pact with Morvak (Weak Success means concessions may be required, followup vote will be taken to see if you approve said Concessions)
-[ ]For 3 Months (Base Chance 45% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]For 6 Months (Base Chance 39% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]For 12 Months (Base Chance 30% + Diplomacy)*
[ ][ENVOYS] Reach out to the Kingdom of the Red Spear to gauge Intentions (Base Chance 55% + Diplomacy)*
Well, I prefer to get started on looking for marriage prospects and of the three tasks, that does that, then I think announcing to everyone is likely the best.
Queen Actions (Pick 2) [ ][QUEEN] Scry on a Neighboring power to gather information on them. (Provides information, may increase odds of future [SECRETS] actions involving the country) (Base Chance: 55% + Magic)*
-[ ]The Kingdom of the Red Spear
-[ ]Morvak
[ ][QUEEN] Scry on the Status of the Border Defenses (Opens Options for Future Improvement of Border Defenses) (Base Chance: 51% + Magic + Martial)*
-[ ]Thornmarch
-[ ]Ashdan March
-[ ]Eaglecrest
-[ ] Write in (Suggest Other Border Area)
[ ][QUEEN] Try to get Cyril to be willing to provide direct assistance in some cases (Opens options in the future) (Base Chance 25% + Diplomacy)
[ ][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
[ ][QUEEN] Rule on the dispute over who gets the County of Aloce (Scene & Followup Vote)
[ ][QUEEN] Meet with representatives of merchants active on Lake Raida to try to increase dock revenues) (Base Chance: 47% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
[ ][QUEEN] Social Action (May use both Queen Actions on Social Action)
-[ ] Get To Know Your Staff Better
-[ ] Write-in Councilor you'd like to improve relations with.
-[ ] Catch Up With Cyril
-[ ] Reach out to Vanessa's noble mother/family in Veldros
-[ ] Write-in (Subject to QM Veto)
[ ][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
[ ][QUEEN] Recruit more mages to Royal Service (If successful, costs 10 Dureks. No expenditure if failure) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)†
[ ][QUEEN] Take a Royal Tour of the Grand Duchy and Nearby Lordships (Could improve popularity and loyalty in the region) (Base Chance 70% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Intrigue) (Costs 5 Dureks)†
[ ][QUEEN] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Well, I want to spend one action on using divination on finding interested candidates for marriage, but the question is, if we ought to personally rule on the matter of Aloce or attempt to do something else instead, like rationalize laws.
I tried to make a plan for this turn based on my current thoughts. I went with having the Keeper of Correspondence doing front companies, since I do want to have the Keeper of the Royal Vaults deal with the issue of Currency Contraction, though I only had him spend 10 Dureks on it, so we will keep money in reserve for next turn.
I had the Keeper of Secrets start rebuilding internal spy networks, since I think it will be useful and it does not cost money compared to external spy networks.
I prefer to have the queen dealing with the matter of Aloce, though I could be convinced otherwise.
[] Plan: Looking for spouse and dealing with Currency Contraction
-[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
-[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[ ] Spend 10 Dureks
-[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 1 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[ ][JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former Syrokis loyalists (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
-[ ][ENVOYS] Announce to everyone that the Queen is looking for Suitors (No Roll Required)
-[ ][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
-[ ][QUEEN] Rule on the dispute over who gets the County of Aloce (Scene & Followup Vote)
Well, what I think that divination would let us learn more about different candidates, while announcement will get candidates to make a bid themself. So, I think divination will get us information, that candidates might not tell us themselves.
As announced, I wanted to do a calculation on tax farming.
But I can't get it to work.
Not if it's supposed to be for a limited period of time.
My first idea was something to the tune of 50 Dureks for 10 turns, but we would only get 60%.
Depending on the sources involved, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 Dureks on a weak success, most likely. You'd get more if you tax farmed fewer, higher value sources.
As soon as I started, it became clear that this would leave us with a hole in our balance sheet even after paying off our debts.
I don't see any way we could be better off after 10 turns with the option.
The only option would be to choose a ridiculously long time period like 10 years (120 turns) and get thousands at once.
Even if that were possible, which I doubt, it would break the financial game and make these challenges meaningless.
Regarding Aloce, I would give our Queen actions the highest value.
That's why if a council member can do it, then he should, always remember that we're talking about months, we have time to tackle things one at a time.
We have unique actions that we shouldn't overlook:
For example: [ ][QUEEN] Try to get Cyril to be willing to provide direct assistance in some cases (Opens options in the future) (Base Chance 25% + Diplomacy)
The chance is small but could increase if we use a social action one turn before.
From my point of view also the income options, they can also pay off a bit.
We could use [JUSTICE] on Aloce right away if we think it's urgent. The criminal investigation isn't too late a month later, we don't think in terms of years when it comes to turns.
That's the idea, you would get a large lump sum of money up front, but at the cost of revenues over the same length of time. Tax-Farming is very much a short-term solution you break out when either you need money NAOW or you lack a robust tax collecting infrastructure at all (which is also a common reason why it was used, but Halrun has it's clerks to do that)
That's the idea, you would get a large lump sum of money up front, but at the cost of revenues over the same length of time. Tax-Farming is very much a short-term solution you break out when either you need money NAOW or you lack a robust tax collecting infrastructure at all (which is also a common reason why it was used, but Halrun has it's clerks to do that)
Okay, I'll do a bit of math, I'm just unsure if it's helpful and not waste of time.
The only source that makes sense would be Grand Duchy of Raida Direct Revenues: 30 Dureks, Docking & Trade Fees would be a better source if we didn't have any action to improve it, but we have the option to renegotiate and we will definitely do that before turn 11.
We need few valuable sources.
Using the example, we have a rate of 60%, which is admittedly a pesimistic assumption, but that's what I wanted to do after I had set previous assumptions too high.
30*10=300
300*60%= 180
If we spend the 180 Dureks to pay the debt, the difference looks like this:
(Average interest rates) Income Per Month: 233 Dureks
Expenses Per Month: 122 Dureks Crown Debts Total: 910.75 Dureks (101 Dureks Interest)
Income Per Month: 203 Dureks
Expenses Per Month: 122 Dureks Crown Debts Total: 730,75 Dureks (80 Dureks Interest)
We sell 30 Dureks for 10 turns and it's about which option has less debt at the end.
If we can use an additional 30 extraordinary income to pay off (unlikely we have rather extraordinary expenses due to roads and such)
Turn without farming
debts
repayment
interest
Turn with farming
debts
repayment
interest
2
910,75
141
769,75
84,6725
2
730,75
111
619,75
68,1725
3
854,4225
141
713,4225
78,476475
3
687,9225
111
576,9225
63,461475
4
791,898975
141
650,898975
71,59888725
4
640,383975
111
529,383975
58,23223725
5
722,49786225
141
581,49786225
63,9647648475
5
587,61621225
111
476,61621225
52,4277833475
6
645,4626270975
141
504,4626270975
55,4908889807
6
529,0439955975
111
418,0439955975
45,9848395157
7
559,9535160782
141
418,9535160782
46,0848867686
7
464,0288351132
111
353,0288351132
38,8331718625
8
465,0384028468
141
324,0384028468
35,6442243132
8
391,8620069757
111
280,8620069757
30,8948207673
9
359,68262716
141
218,68262716
24,0550889876
9
311,756827743
111
200,756827743
22,0832510517
10
242,7377161476
141
101,7377161476
11,1911487762
10
222,8400787947
111
111,8400787947
12,3024086674
11
112,9288649238
141
-28,0711350762
-3,0878248584
11
124,1424874622
111
13,1424874622
1,4456736208
12
-31,1589599346
12
14,588161083
we use what we have for the repayment (extraordinary things balance each other out, probably a bit optimistic but closest to the truth)
Turn without farming
debts
repayment
interest
Turn with farming
debts
repayment
interest
2
910,75
111
799,75
87,9725
2
730,75
81
649,75
71,4725
3
887,7225
111
776,7225
85,439475
3
721,2225
81
640,2225
70,424475
4
862,161975
111
751,161975
82,62781725
4
710,646975
81
629,646975
69,26116725
5
833,78979225
111
722,78979225
79,5068771475
5
698,90814225
81
617,90814225
67,9698956475
6
802,2966693975
111
691,2966693975
76,0426336337
6
685,8780378975
81
604,8780378975
66,5365841687
7
767,3393030312
111
656,3393030312
72,1973233334
7
671,4146220662
81
590,4146220662
64,9456084273
8
728,5366263647
111
617,5366263647
67,9290289001
8
655,3602304935
81
574,3602304935
63,1796253543
9
685,4656552648
111
574,4656552648
63,1912220791
9
637,5398558478
81
556,5398558478
61,2193841433
10
637,6568773439
111
526,6568773439
57,9322565078
10
617,7592399911
81
536,7592399911
59,043516399
11
584,5891338517
111
473,5891338517
52,0948047237
11
595,8027563901
81
514,8027563901
56,6283032029
12
525,6839385754
12
571,431059593
If we have to hold back an additional 30 extraordinary expenses from the repayment (also unlikely that we will have such high expenses in the long term)
Turn without farming
debts
repayment
interest
Turn with farming
debts
repayment
interest
2
910,75
81
829,75
91,2725
2
730,75
51
679,75
74,7725
3
921,0225
81
840,0225
92,402475
3
754,5225
51
703,5225
77,387475
4
932,424975
81
851,424975
93,65674725
4
780,909975
51
729,909975
80,29009725
5
945,08172225
81
864,08172225
95,0489894475
5
810,20007225
51
759,20007225
83,5120079475
6
959,1307116975
81
878,1307116975
96,5943782867
6
842,7120801975
51
791,7120801975
87,0883288217
7
974,7250899842
81
893,7250899842
98,3097598983
7
878,8004090192
51
827,8004090192
91,0580449921
8
992,0348498825
81
911,0348498825
100,2138334871
8
918,8584540113
51
867,8584540113
95,4644299412
9
1011,2486833696
81
930,2486833696
102,3273551707
9
963,3228839526
51
912,3228839526
100,3555172348
10
1032,5760385402
81
951,5760385402
104,6733642394
10
1012,6784011874
51
961,6784011874
105,7846241306
11
1056,2494027796
81
975,2494027796
107,2774343058
11
1067,463025318
51
1016,463025318
111,810932785
12
1082,5268370854
12
1128,273958103
Assuming that all other events are independent of this decision, we are worse off after farming than before, that's what I meant, the deduction is worse than the interest.
If someone finds a mistake, they can say so at any time.
I'll be honest, it took a lot longer than it should have and I got lost several times.
You might be able to go as high as 75% with just the one large revenue source (it's eaiser and cheaper for the tax farmer to just collect from one source, is the idea)
Voting will open tomorrow morning/afternoon. Not sure why the minimal discussion, but can't hold voting off forever, I guess.
You might be able to go as high as 75% with just the one large revenue source (it's eaiser and cheaper for the tax farmer to just collect from one source, is the idea)
The equilibrium point is around 65.4%.
For tax farming to make sense we would have to end up above it.
The 75% would then definitely be a strong success, the question would then be where the weak success lies.
At 75% we would be better off after 10 turns 82 Dureks, which would be good.
The risks would then be that if the value of the source increases in the 10 turns, the farming option deteriorates comparatively.
We would also have a 30 Dureks reduced margin 10 turns long when making budget decisions.
For it to be worth these risks, we would have to land safely above this 65.4%.
(Not even a weak success should be below this or even just barely exceed the threshold)
Voting is now open. It will be open for 96 hours, since it sounds like some people might have had some ideas for plans but hadn't drawn any up yet. Feel free to continue discussing as well.
As a reminder, here are the options:
Tax Assessments (Pick 2 to get resolved this turn) [ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest 3% Wealth Tax
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Port Lest 4% Wealth Tax
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Town Trade Revenue Phase 1 (Of 2)
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Land Tax
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Kadeck County Land Tax
[ ][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Write in Other Tax Source To Be Assessed (See Assets Post)
Keeper of Correspondence Tasks (Pick 1) [ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Personally Oversee Tax Assessments (Up to 2 more Tax Assessments Will be Finished This Turn) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship + 1/2 Learning)*
-[ ] Pick Priority (Weak or Strong Success Required)
-[ ] Pick Secondary (Strong Success Required)
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Gather Reports On Banditry (Improves Base Chance of future Anti-Banditry Tasks) (Base Chance 65% + Stewardship)
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Reorganize the Clerks (Improves Base Chance of [CORRESPONDENCE] Tasks by 4% or 8% for the next 5 turns) (Base Chance 55% + Stewardship + Learning)*
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Lend Clerks to help another Keeper with their Task (+3/+6 to their Task on a Weak/Strong Success) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship)
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
[ ][CORRESPONDENCE] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Keeper of The Royal Vaults (Pick 1) [ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Negotiate Bridge Loan of 100 Dureks To Help Pay Down Current Debts (Failure will mean no loan, Weak Success will mean the higher of the two offered interest rates, Strong Success will mean the lower of the two) (Must be Used To Pay Down Existing Debts)
-[ ] From The Goldaxe Bank (Lortan Dwarves) (10.5% or 8.75%) (Base Chance 53% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From The Caragio Bank (Varaday Republic) (12.5% or 10.5%) (Base Chance 64% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From the Veterger Bank (Selissa) (13.75% or 11%) (Base Chance 75% + Stewardship)*
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Negotiate Free-Standing Loan of 50 Dureks (Failure will mean no loan, Weak Success will mean the higher of the two offered interest rates, Strong Success will mean the lower of the two) (Can Be Used For Anything)
-[ ] From The Goldaxe Bank (Lortan Dwarves) (13% or 11.5%) (Base Chance 56% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From The Caragio Bank (Varaday Republic) (14.25% or 12.25%) (Base Chance 67% + Stewardship)*
-[ ] From the Veterger Bank (Selissa) (15% or 13.75%) (Base Chance 78% + Stewardship)*
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
-[ ] Spend 5 Dureks
-[ ] Spend 10 Dureks
-[ ] Spend 15 Dureks
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Sell Tax-Farming Rights (Tax Farmers offer large sum of money up front and get full right to collect all taxes from a given source for a specified length of time) (Success of roll results on more money gained) (No matter what, you will get less money up front than you could get over that length of time) (Base Chance 55% + Stewardship + Diplomacy)
-[ ] Write In Tax Source And A Number of Turns
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Audit The Royal Desmene (Phase 1 of ?) (Could increase Revenues from Personal Holdings) (Costs 5 Dureks)
[ ][ROYAL VAULTS] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
High Marshall of the Armies (Pick 1) [ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Have Rienne Personally Deal With Banditry (Will Result in Follow up Votes. All tasks there will be +Martial, with variable trait applicability) (If not picked, the option to assign other Generals to deal with bandits will be available in a followup vote)
-[ ] Banditry in South Eyrist County
-[ ] Banditry Plaguing the Lordships (Multiple Phases)
-[ ] Banditry Plaguing the Free Towns (Multiple Phases)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Recruit Additional Soldiers (Strong Success gets you all the soldiers you wanted. Weak Success or Failure gets you less soldiers) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)* (Costs Dureks Base on # of soldiers desired)
-[ ] Write in desired Types and Numbers of Soldiers
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Survey Border Defenses (Opens Options for Future Improvement of Border Defenses) (Base Chance: 75% + Martial)*
-[ ]Thornmarch
-[ ]Ashdan March
-[ ]Eaglecrest
-[ ] Write in (Suggest Other Border Area)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Stage War Games with the Mobile Reserve (Improves Army Readiness, increasing rolls for 3 Months) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)* (Costs 2 Dureks)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Expand The Logistics Base (Improves Army Morale, Adds Logistical Strategic Depth in case of War) (Base Chance 57% + Martial +1/2 Stewardship)* (Costs 5 Dureks)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Liaise with the Knights of the Golden Throne (No Roll, Improves future coordination with the Knights if they need to be called up)
[ ][HIGH MARSHALL] Draw Up New Plans for Calling Up The Levies (Makes it easier to call up the levies if needed) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)*
Keeper of Secrets (Pick 1) [ ][SECRETS] Attempt to Claw Back some of the funds Syrokis and his cronies stashed away in foreign banks. (Better success means more money. More money available in the Varaday Banks all told))
-[ ] In the Varaday Banks (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 1 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[ ]Provide Funds to Speed up/Improve Process. Write-in amount.
[ ][SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
-[ ] In Veldros (Base Chance: 65% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In Selissa (Base Chance: 53% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In The Kingdom of the Necromancers (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
-[ ] In the Varaday Republic (Base Chance: 43% + Intrigue)
-[ ] Pick a Target (Base Chance and Trait applicability to be set by QM)
[ ][SECRETS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
[ ][SECRETS]Assess Royal Security (Stage False Break In of The Palace, potentially improves Royal Security) (Base Chance 55% + Intrigue)
[ ][SECRETS] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Keeper of the Sheriffs and Reeves (Pick 1) [ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Repair War Damage (Strong Success means lower cost, Weak Success means higher cost) (Once done, it will take 5 Turns for the relevant modifier to be removed, but no additional costs) (Rebuilding the Roads will reduce this length and improve Base %)
-[ ]To the Coastal March (Costs 5 or 10 Dureks) (Base Chance: 50% + Stewardship)*
-[ ]To the Southmarch (Costs 3 or 7 Dureks) (Base Chance: 61% + Stewardship)*
-[ ]To the 3 Crown Reserves (Costs 1.5 or 3 Dureks) (Base Chance: 70% + Stewardship)*
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Appoint trustworthy and capable people to fill leadership positions in the Reeves to manage royal properties (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Stewardship)*
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES]Start Rebuilding the Roads in the Grand Duchy (Base Chance 56% + Stewardship)* (Costs 25 Dureks) (Cost will be less later if materials required)
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Openly Start Buying Raw Materials For the Roads (No Roll)
-[ ]Write In Amount to Spend (50 Dureks total to get all the raw materials if you do it at once. Overall Cost will rise somewhat if you do it piecemeal. If the front companies are successfully set up(can't be during the same turn as this action), cost will decrease, as will the potential for the costs to rise if done piecemeal)
[ ][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
Keeper of Justice (Pick 1) [ ][JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former Syrokis loyalists (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
[ ][JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former rebels (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
[ ][JUSTICE] Post Bounties on Leading Bandits (Permanently Improves chances of anti-bandit operations) (No roll)
-[ ]1 Durek Total (+2 to anti-bandit operations)
-[ ]2.25 Dureks Total (+3 to anti-bandit Operations
-[ ]Write in (Each point increase above +3 costs 1.5 more Dureks)
[ ][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote)
[ ][JUSTICE] Reorganize Royal Inspectors (Improves Base Chance of some future [JUSTICE] Actions by 4 or 8%) (Base Chance 50% + Learning + 1/2 Stewardship)
[ ][JUSTICE] Write-in, Subject to QM Veto
Keeper of Envoys (Pick 1) [ ][ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
[ ][ENVOYS] Open Trade Negotiations (Could Produce Additional Durek Income)
-[ ]With Zedarsh (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]With Kingdom of the Necromancers (Base Chance 70% + Diplomacy)* (Scrying the KoTN is more difficult)
-[ ]With Veldros (Base Chance 60% + Diplomacy)* (Scrying Veldros is more difficult)
-[ ]With Blerren (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]With Gyptar (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]Write-in (Suggest realm, Base Chance will be set by QM)
[ ][ENVOYS]Quietly Reach out to Nerinthar, Selissa and Illegorst about Marriage Prospects (No roll required)
[ ][ENVOYS] Announce to everyone that the Queen is looking for Suitors (No Roll Required)
[ ][ENVOYS] Quietly Investigate who else might be interested in Queen Vanessa's Hand (Gives more options for quietly reaching out in the future) (Base Chance 50% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Intrigue)
[ ][ENVOYS] Negotiate Non-Aggression Pact with Morvak (Weak Success means concessions may be required, followup vote will be taken to see if you approve said Concessions)
-[ ]For 3 Months (Base Chance 45% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]For 6 Months (Base Chance 39% + Diplomacy)*
-[ ]For 12 Months (Base Chance 30% + Diplomacy)*
[ ][ENVOYS] Reach out to the Kingdom of the Red Spear to gauge Intentions (Base Chance 55% + Diplomacy)*
Queen Actions (Pick 2) [ ][QUEEN] Scry on a Neighboring power to gather information on them. (Provides information, may increase odds of future [SECRETS] actions involving the country) (Base Chance: 55% + Magic)*
-[ ]The Kingdom of the Red Spear
-[ ]Morvak
[ ][QUEEN] Scry on the Status of the Border Defenses (Opens Options for Future Improvement of Border Defenses) (Base Chance: 51% + Magic + Martial)*
-[ ]Thornmarch
-[ ]Ashdan March
-[ ]Eaglecrest
-[ ] Write in (Suggest Other Border Area)
[ ][QUEEN] Try to get Cyril to be willing to provide direct assistance in some cases (Opens options in the future) (Base Chance 25% + Diplomacy)
[ ][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
[ ][QUEEN] Rule on the dispute over who gets the County of Aloce (Scene & Followup Vote)
[ ][QUEEN] Meet with representatives of merchants active on Lake Raida to try to increase dock revenues) (Base Chance: 47% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
[ ][QUEEN] Social Action (May use both Queen Actions on Social Action)
-[ ] Get To Know Your Staff Better
-[ ] Write-in Councilor you'd like to improve relations with.
-[ ] Catch Up With Cyril
-[ ] Reach out to Vanessa's noble mother/family in Veldros
-[ ] Write-in (Subject to QM Veto)
[ ][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
[ ][QUEEN] Recruit more mages to Royal Service (If successful, costs 10 Dureks. No expenditure if failure) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)†
[ ][QUEEN] Take a Royal Tour of the Grand Duchy and Nearby Lordships (Could improve popularity and loyalty in the region) (Base Chance 70% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Intrigue) (Costs 5 Dureks)†
[ ][QUEEN] Suggest additional task, subject to QM Veto (Base Chance Will be Set by QM If Approved)
[X] Plan: A New Foundation
-[X] [TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[X] [TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X] [CORRESPONDENCE] Personally Oversee Tax Assessments (Up to 2 more Tax Assessments Will be Finished This Turn) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship + 1/2 Learning)*
--[X] Priority: Town Trade Revenue Phase 1 (Of 2)
--[X] Secondary: Kadeck County Land Tax
-[X] [ROYAL VAULTS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
-[X] [HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X] [SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
--[X] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
-[X] [SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[X] [JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote)
-[X] [ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
-[X] [QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
-[X] [QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
This plan spends about 20 durak to both get ahead of the coin problem and create a spy network in muvak. We have 36 in the reserves and our income (after deducting interest) Is 10 durak so were still ahead of our debt and meet our interest while doing some necessary action's.
I also take a few other revenue increasing options and scry on the red spear so we'll know if were going to have a war on our hand.
[X] Melting down gold and increasing revenue
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Port Lest 4% Wealth Tax
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
-[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[X] Spend 15 Dureks
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Draw Up New Plans for Calling Up The Levies (Makes it easier to call up the levies if needed) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)*
-[X][SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
--[X] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Appoint trustworthy and capable people to fill leadership positions in the Reeves to manage royal properties (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Stewardship)*
-[X][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote
-[X][ENVOYS] Open Trade Negotiations (Could Produce Additional Durek Income)
--[X]With Gyptar (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[X][QUEEN] Scry on a Neighboring power to gather information on them. (Provides information, may increase odds of future [SECRETS] actions involving the country) (Base Chance: 55% + Magic)*
--[X]The Kingdom of the Red Spear
-[X][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Dip
We should keep in mind that next turn we will likely want to buy the material for the roads.
So it would be good if we had the front companies and the road reconstruction plans ready.
We also need more gold for this, we are not yet in control of our debts.
I want to avoid a situation where we cannot even compensate for the interest and our debts increase because we have to withhold money for materials.
That's why we should try to get the remaining money back from the Varaday Banks.
We should also take care of the currency contraction, I would use the maximum amount to avoid the chance of having to use an extra action again in the future, this will most likely solve the problem. (5 Dureks don't really make a dent in our debts)
We should also start investigate the officer corps, any further reforms should be addressed with trustworthy people.
Our judge should take care of Aloce, then we shouldn't get into problems again because we have to decide what's right without knowing the law like last turn.
After we have a proper diplomatic staff again and have used magic to find out more about candidates, we can then make more informed decisions about marriage next turn.
We should also try to increase income, dock revenue is very profitable for us, there is definitely still a lot of potential.
[X] Preparation for road material and marriage -[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)* -[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[X] Spend 15 Dureks
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X][SECRETS] Attempt to Claw Back some of the funds Syrokis and his cronies stashed away in foreign banks. (Better success means more money. More money available in the Varaday Banks all told))
--[X] In the Varaday Banks (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[X][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote)
-[X][ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
-[X][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)* -[X][QUEEN] Meet with representatives of merchants active on Lake Raida to try to increase dock revenues) (Base Chance: 47% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
[X] Plan: A New Foundation
-[X] [TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[X] [TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X] [CORRESPONDENCE] Personally Oversee Tax Assessments (Up to 2 more Tax Assessments Will be Finished This Turn) (Base Chance 50% + Stewardship + 1/2 Learning)*
--[X] Priority: Town Trade Revenue Phase 1 (Of 2)
--[X] Secondary: Kadeck County Land Tax
-[X] [ROYAL VAULTS] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)
-[X] [HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X] [SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
--[X] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
-[X] [SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[X] [JUSTICE] Investigate charges as yet unproven against former Syrokis loyalists (Base Chance 60% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
-[X] [ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
-[X] [QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
-[X] [QUEEN] Rule on the dispute over who gets the County of Aloce (Scene & Followup Vote)
This plan spends about 20 durak to both get ahead of the coin problem and create a spy network in muvak. We have 36 in the reserves and our income (after deducting interest) Is 10 durak so were still ahead of our debt and meet our interest while doing some necessary action's.
I also take a few other revenue increasing options and scry on the red spear so we'll know if were going to have a war on our hand.
[X] Melting down gold and increasing revenue
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Port Lest 4% Wealth Tax
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
-[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[X] Spend 15 Dureks
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Draw Up New Plans for Calling Up The Levies (Makes it easier to call up the levies if needed) (Base Chance 50% + Martial)*
-[X][SECRETS] Rebuild an External Spy Network (Costs 5 Dureks) (Provides passive intelligence and improves chances of spy operations inside a given state)
--[X] In Morvak (Base Chance: 60% + Intrigue)*
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Appoint trustworthy and capable people to fill leadership positions in the Reeves to manage royal properties (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + 1/2 Stewardship)*
-[X][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote
-[X][ENVOYS] Open Trade Negotiations (Could Produce Additional Durek Income)
--[X]With Gyptar (Base Chance 65% + Diplomacy)*
-[X][QUEEN] Scry on a Neighboring power to gather information on them. (Provides information, may increase odds of future [SECRETS] actions involving the country) (Base Chance: 55% + Magic)*
--[X]The Kingdom of the Red Spear
-[X][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Dip
My biggest issue with this plan is that it does nothing about finding marriage candidates, instead it seems to focus on getting information about potential enemies and finding ways to increase our income. The reason that I think it is important to find marriage candidates is, because marriage is said to be an important way to ensure stability and making lower interest rates available, so I think that we should prioritize it.
I am getting convinced that it would be a good idea to have our Keeper of Justice to deal with Aloce, so that our queen can deal with laws.
We should keep in mind that next turn we will likely want to buy the material for the roads.
So it would be good if we had the front companies and the road reconstruction plans ready.
We also need more gold for this, we are not yet in control of our debts.
I want to avoid a situation where we cannot even compensate for the interest and our debts increase because we have to withhold money for materials.
That's why we should try to get the remaining money back from the Varaday Banks.
We should also take care of the currency contraction, I would use the maximum amount to avoid the chance of having to use an extra action again in the future, this will most likely solve the problem. (5 Dureks don't really make a dent in our debts)
We should also start investigate the officer corps, any further reforms should be addressed with trustworthy people.
Our judge should take care of Aloce, then we shouldn't get into problems again because we have to decide what's right without knowing the law like last turn.
After we have a proper diplomatic staff again and have used magic to find out more about candidates, we can then make more informed decisions about marriage next turn.
We should also try to increase income, dock revenue is very profitable for us, there is definitely still a lot of potential.
[X] Preparation for road material and marriage -[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)* -[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[X] Spend 15 Dureks
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X][SECRETS] Attempt to Claw Back some of the funds Syrokis and his cronies stashed away in foreign banks. (Better success means more money. More money available in the Varaday Banks all told))
--[X] In the Varaday Banks (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[X][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote)
-[X][ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
-[X][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)* -[X][QUEEN] Meet with representatives of merchants active on Lake Raida to try to increase dock revenues) (Base Chance: 47% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
I think that you have a point, that spending 15 Dureks now would be better, than using a action to spend 10 Dureks now and then using a action to spend 5 Dureks later, so I will change how much my plan spend to 15 Dureks, though I am unsure, how much it will take to fix the issue of Currency Contraction.
My biggest issue with your plan is that you are clawing back money, before building an spy network in Varaday Banks, since I would like to improve our odds of getting a strong success first. I would also like to have the envoy announcing this turn and our queen dealing with laws instead of dock revenues, though those are lesser issues.
Edit: I changed the task for Keeper of Envoys, because of arguments made later.
[X] Plan: Looking for spouse and dealing with Currency Contraction + Laws
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
-[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[X] Spend 15 Dureks
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 1 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[X][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote)
-[X][ENVOYS] Rebuild Diplomatic Corps by replacing ambassadors and envoys that were recalled or fired or quit during/after the civil war (Improves future Base Chance for negotiations) (Base Chance: 70% + Diplomacy)
-[X][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
-[X][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
Edit: Since my plan does not seem to be winning, then I will add a vote for the plan I prefer amongst the two leading plans.
My thinking is that next turn is where we're in a better place to focus on marriage candidates, and the Currency Contraction. With the Front Companies set up and a good chunk of money kept in reserve from our income this turn, we'd be in a good place to grab both the road materials and start fixing the currency.
Meanwhile, divination would allow us to have some advance notice on good candidates to ponder before we go loud. It'll make it easier to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. I will, however, consider swapping the Aloce ruling to Justice and replacing it with something else.
I think that you have a point, that spending 15 Dureks now would be better, than using a action to spend 10 Dureks now and then using a action to spend 5 Dureks later, so I will change how much my plan spend to 15 Dureks, though I am unsure, how much it will take to fix the issue of Currency Contraction.
My biggest issue with your plan is that you are clawing back money, before building an spy network in Varaday Banks, since I would like to improve our odds of getting a strong success first. I would also like to have the envoy announcing this turn and our queen dealing with laws instead of dock revenues, though those are lesser issues.
My idea is that the money in the banks will not decrease, but the value for us will certainly decrease.
Now 50 Dureks or in 3-? turns is a big difference when you think about the interest we are currently enduring.
A spy network in the Varaday Republic isn't exactly high on the priority list (I think it was far away) and I want to avoid putting it off forever because we're always building a network somewhere other than there.
It's better to use a turn now and then start building networks where we really need them.
My idea is that the money in the banks will not decrease, but the value for us will certainly decrease.
Now 50 Dureks or in 3-? turns is a big difference when you think about the interest we are currently enduring.
A spy network in the Varaday Republic isn't exactly high on the priority list (I think it was far away) and I want to avoid putting it off forever because we're always building a network somewhere other than there.
It's better to use a turn now and then start building networks where we really need them.
[ ][SECRETS] Attempt to Claw Back some of the funds Syrokis and his cronies stashed away in foreign banks. (Better success means more money. More money available in the Varaday Banks all told))
-[ ] In the Varaday Banks (Base Chance: 40% + Intrigue)*
Well, if we look at the probabilities, then with our Keeper of Secrets bonus of 12, then we have a 27% chance of a strong success, a 50% of a weak success, and only a 23% chance of failure, so there is a rather big chance of getting a success, but the question in my opinion, is how much money we might gain from a strong success compared to a weak success. I will acknowledge, that Varaday would be low on my list of countries to build in spy networks in, if it was not because of the money in their banks, though I think that Varaday is a center of financial power, at least if we look at how much money we owe them, so having a spy network there is probably still useful.
Well, if we look at the probabilities, then with our Keeper of Secrets bonus of 12, then we have a 27% chance of a strong success, a 50% of a weak success, and only a 23% chance of failure, so there is a rather big chance of getting a success, but the question in my opinion, is how much money we might gain from a strong success compared to a weak success. I will acknowledge, that Varaday would be low on my list of countries to build in spy networks in, if it was not because of the money in their banks, though I think that Varaday is a center of financial power, at least if we look at how much money we owe them, so having a spy network there is probably still useful.
We got 45 Dureks back from the other strong success, there should be more in Varaday, so for example:
60 for strong and 30 for weak.
Even the 30 Dureks would mean 3.3 Dureks less interest per turn.
If I see that it takes an indefinite amount of actions to build an internal network and we have around 6 neighbors, at least one of which is hostile, we won't get to it for a long time.
In addition, the chance of building the network at all is not much higher (Edit2: Even lower because Vallefor's trait doesn't count) than getting the money back directly. -[ ] In the Varaday Republic (Base Chance: 43% + Intrigue)
We have to pass two checks instead of one and also use money.
I wouldn't overestimate the financial center thing either, I'm not that keen on taking on debt again and even if we did, we have direct contact with the dwarves who are also much closer.
Edit: I think if we don't do it now we won't do it for at least 5 turns, which in my example would be 16.5 Dureks interest that we would have saved.
[X] Plan: Looking for spouse and dealing with Currency Contraction + Laws
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest Trade Fees
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Lordship Land Tax Phase 2 (Of 2)
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Get the Front Companies ready for Use (Base Chance 57% + 1/2 Stewardship + Intrigue)*
-[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Acquire Raw Materials To Mint New Gold and Silver Coins (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda) (No Roll Required)
--[X] Spend 15 Dureks
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Officer Corps (Success will locate and purge incompetent, corrupt or disloyal officers. Runs the risk of lowering army morale and organization on Weak Success or failure) (Base Chance 48% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 1 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES] Draw Up Detailed Road Reconstruction Plans (Improves Base Chance of future Road-rebuilding tasks) (Base Chance 65% +1/2 Stewardship +1/2 Learning)
-[X][JUSTICE] Adjudicate Who Should inherit the County of Aloce (No roll, Scene & Followup Vote) -[X][ENVOYS] Announce to everyone that the Queen is looking for Suitors (No Roll Required)
-[X][QUEEN] Use divination to get an idea of what nearby realms might have potentially interested candidates for marriage (Base Chance: 60% + Magic)*
-[X][QUEEN] Negotiate with the Estates to rationalize some incoherent and outdated laws regarding fishing, mining and logging rights. (Base Chance: 53% + Diplomacy + Stewardship)
While I can see the intents here and am more or less OK with almost every other action, my opinion on the matter is that the bolded action-the Envoys action-isn't the right one for this round. We do want to talk about marriage, but I do want some nuance here. Just announcing that we're looking for suitors is bound to attract additional attention, and is a vector for threats coming in by being disguised as servantry of the suitors or similar lines, while we still don't have an internal network set up and only just got our Keeper of Envoys in. While this plan does start on making that internal network, I don't think that's enough. I also have an intuitive feeling that the Marriage is going to cost Money, and frankly our problem number one is still our massive debt problem.
I honestly think I just want to improve the diplomatic corps a lot more, THEN prepare for marriage next turn. Less chances of failure later on down the road-and I bet that there'll be diplomacy checks our Keeper of Envoys would appreciate the boost in regards to that. If you can change the envoy action to rebuilding our diplomatic corps, I would be 100% cool with your plan.
