# Forum > Play-by-Post Games > Finding Players (Recruitment) > Out-of-Character >  [WFRP] The Bloody Crown OOC XIV

## LCP

*The Bloody Crown  OOC XIV*

_We are not little men, and there is nothing that we are afraid of except Drink, and we have signed a Contrack on that. Therefore, we are going away to be kings.
-_Peachey Carnehan, _The Man Who Would Be King_ (Rudyard Kipling)
Directory of past threads

Welcome to the fourteenth OOC thread for the Bloody Crown, our WFRP 2E campaign set in the Border Princes. We rejoin our PCs on the outskirts of the dread ruins of Nath, where the vampire Nahorek has just been struck down, and Prince Muzio Sforza seeks to seize the opportunity to storm his lair and cleanse the Broken Reaches of his works.



*Rules of Posting*

*Spoiler*
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*Activity:*
Expected rate of posting is at least once per day.If you dont post in 48 hours, I will take control of your character to move things along - usually making them agree with the others or stay in the background.If you dont post in a week, I will set your character's Fate Points to zero and start looking for ways to kill them off.

Going on hiatus *with prior warning* is absolutely fine: the above rules apply to unexpected disappearances. Drop me a notification before youre going away/losing your internet access/what have you, and Ill happily play your character as an NPC until you can return. If you disappear without warning, I will start badgering you.

*Rolls:*
Make all rolls using the forum dice roller, either in a spoiler-box in the relevant IC post, or in a separate post in this thread.Some rolls (mainly ones at which you should not know whether you have succeeded or failed, and Tzeentch's Curse for spellcasters) I will make in secret.As a time-saving device, I will roll all initiatives at the start of an encounter, allowing you to get straight to your actions rather than waiting about for each other.

*Combat:*
When in combat, do not wait to post in sequence of initiative: *post whenever you are free to post*. If your actions depend on someone ahead of you in the initiative order, you can leave conditional OOC instructions. I will conduct my rolling for each combat round in this thread, and post an IC summary that signifies the end of the current round & the start of the next.

In combat I will use a grid map, which I will post an updated version of along with each turn's GM update.

*Spoilers*
A spoiler titled 'X Only' is intended only for the eyes of the player playing the character X. Please don't read 'em if they're not intended for you - you could spoil some surprises.


Finally, as a general guideline: *if in doubt, make a post*. Situations do often arise where two people each think they're waiting on the other before they can post. Similarly, if you think you're waiting on someone else, or if you just want to know something before you make an IC post, *ask in the OOC*. Particularly if it's me. I do forget things, and I do need prodding some times to wake up!




*Handy Links & House Rules*

Hit Location Chart - a quick reference for when you want to know where you've hit someone.

*Combat House Rules*
*Spoiler*
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Charge Attacks and All-Out Attacks can use the attacker's full Attacks stat.Standard Attacks get +10 to hit.Missile attacks from within a range of 6 yards get +20 to hit. This bonus does not apply to pistols being used in melee.Fortune Points can be used to add +10 to a skill or stat roll.You can substitute your DoS on your to-hit roll for your damage roll - choose whichever is higher.

*Magic In Melee*
Spells with multiple-round casting times require a concentration test every round that the spellcaster is engaged in combat.Magic missiles may not be cast out of an ongoing melee, although they may be cast on the wizards own attacker/s.

*Critical Hits: Medical Attention*
Wherever the rules specify a condition until medical attention has been received, this refers to a _successful_ Heal test.

*Social Skills in Combat*
The following actions are added to the list of combat actions. All of them are Full Actions, but can be attempted as a Half Action at a -20 penalty to the relevant test.

*Inspire*
*Skill Used:* Charm or Command
*Range:* 16 yards
*Targets:* N*Fel bonus, where N = number of advances taken in the skill used. If using Charm, the Public Speaking and Master Orator talents apply as normal.
*Effects:* On a success, your chosen targets gain +10 to a specified skill, characteristic, or attack roll, including fear/terror tests. This bonus applies to the first roll of the given type they make in the next 10 minutes. 

*Co-ordinate*
*Skill Used:* Command
*Range:* 16 yards
*Targets:* N*Fel bonus, where N = number of advances taken in Command.
*Effects:* On a success, your chosen targets may act at your own initiative, or at a chosen initiative step below your own, for this turn only.

*Distract*
*Skill Used:* Blather, Intimidate, or Charm Animal
*Range:* 4 yards
*Targets:* 1 individual
*Effects:* This test is opposed against the target's willpower, and they may automatically pass if it is not in their nature. If passed, the target may not attack you this turn. Any enemy is only vulnerable to this once.


*Mounted Combat House Rules*
*Spoiler*
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*Fighting From Horseback*

Mounts act on their riders' initiative step and effectively confer their Movement stat to their rider.A combat-trained mount may make the same attack actions as its rider is entitled to (e.g. if its rider reached melee with a Half Action, the mount is also entitled to a Half Action attack; if the rider has a Full Action, the mount is also entitled to a Full Action attack). Untrained mounts will not attack.When attacking enemies on foot, being mounted grants the Higher Ground bonus (+10%).A mount counts as another friendly character for the purposes of Outnumbering.Opponents in combat with a mounted combatant may choose freely to target either the rider or the mount.One may not use the Dodge Blow skill while mounted.

*Ways To Fall Off Your Horse*

In combat, making any of the following actions may require a Ride check. [M] denotes that Ride checks are not necessary for this action when riding a combat-trained mount; [R] denotes that Ride checks are not necessary when the rider has Ride trained (as opposed to using it as a basic skill).

Charge Attack [M]Disengage [M]Jump/Leap [M]Run [R] (at +30)
If the check is failed, the desired action may not be taken, and a half action is lost. If the check is failed by three degrees or more, the rider is thrown: they will require a Stand action to get back to their feet, and may suffer falling damage if the mount is tall enough.

Should a mount be killed while still being ridden, the rider must make an Ag test. A pass means he falls freely to the ground, exactly as if he had been thrown; a failure means he falls under the mount's body. Freeing himself is a full action, requiring a successful Strength test  he cannot stand or move from the spot where he has fallen until he is free.[/list]



*Fear and Terror House Rules*
*Spoiler*
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Ignore the given rules for Fear and Terror. When a character encounters a creature causing Fear or Terror, they must test WP at the start of their next turn. If they fail, consult the following table to find out the result:

Degrees of Failure
Consequence

0-2
-20% on all attacks directed at the source of fear.

3-4
May not attack the source of Fear; must retreat from the source of Fear. If retreat is impossible, may only take a half action each round and is at -20% to all tests.

5+
Must flee *as fast as possible* from the source of Fear; may not take any actions except to run. If retreat is impossible, become paralysed with fear - may take no actions & may not parry or dodge. At the end of the encounter test WP or gain an Insanity Point.



Creatures that cause Terror impose a -20% penalty on the test. Characters affected by a result from this table may test WP again at the start of each following turn to "snap out of it" and cancel all ongoing effects of Fear.

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## LCP

*The Broken Reaches Gazetteer*
Our game takes place in a corner of the Border Princes known colloquially as the Broken Reaches. Known for their difficult, rocky terrain and the many small kingdoms that war over the territory, the Reaches are far from any form of civilisation beyond that safeguarded by the local lords. Sheltering in the shadow of the World's Edge Mountains, from the Reaches is it not far to the arid wastes of the Badlands in the south.

Wiki (highly incomplete, player submissions welcome)

Below is the hex map:

*Spoiler*
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The scale is set at one hex being approximately 7 miles long. Therefore, the average movement speed of the party for a full day's march is three hexes, although this can be significantly affected by terrain.

I will use a Cartesian coordinate system to refer to hexes. To work out the coordinates of a hex, count up through the hex rows to determine the y-coordinate, and then count left to right along the row itself to determine the x-coordinate. You begin the game in hex (5, 20).

*Geography*
*Spoiler*
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* Shepherd's Valley*

Shepherd's Valley nestles in the shadow of some of the largest and most impassable rock formations of the Black Karst. Watered by the few streams that flow down from the Raven Hills, most of the valley is still quite wild: it is only around Duke Edouard's capital of Alvarran that the valley people have given up the shepherd's life for more settled agriculture. Coarse jokes about the precise relationship the people of Shepherd's Valley have with their sheep are common in the lands over the hills.

The road that runs through Alvarran, however, is far more cosmopolitan. Funnelled through a narrow cleft in the Black Karst at Pieter's Pass, whoever controls the pass controls half the trade routes to the south. It is also the safest and best-kept road for people coming from the north: in summer, Alvarran is often crowded with travellers and merchants from the different nations of the Old World.

*The Raven Hills*

Tall, craggy and forbidding, the Raven Hills breed craggy and forbidding folk. Insular and primitive, they have dwelt in the hills for as long as any of the lowlanders can remember. The hills provide poor living, and through much of the Broken Reaches' history the hill tribes have depended upon raiding their neighbours for survival. Many border princes have asserted dominion over them: none have succeeded in changing their nature. More than a few have met their end trying, their bones picked clean by the ravens that give the hills their name.

Life in the hills is short, and the hill tribes have developed a morbid religious sensibility, venerating Morr above all other gods. Some outsiders who have visited have brought back queer tales of strange rituals and customs quite divorced from any worship of Morr known in the civilised lands of the north.

*The Uplands*

Situated on a shelving plateau to the north-east, the Uplands sit with their back to the World's Edge Mountains. On a clear day, it is said that from the towers of Bunthafen one can see the smoking peak of Thunder Mountain - the volcano the dwarfs call Karag Dron.

Like Shepherd's Valley, the Uplands are a gateway to the north. Unfortunately, the road that runs north from Bunthafen runs close to the mountains: merchants from Tilea and the Empire prefer to take the Alvarran road, where they have less chance of being abducted by Night Goblins and do not have to walk in the shadow of an active volcano. Those who do come by the east road come infrequently and in armed caravans. Dwarfs sometimes come with them: the World's Edge are the dwarfs' home territory, and it is said that they were the ones that built the road in the days of their empire.

*The Black Karst*

A forest of sharp-toothed limestone crags, the Black Karst is a strange place. Named for the sooty streaks that run through the stones - perhaps the relics of some ancient fire or volcanic eruption - the rock formations of the Karst jut up from the ground like the broken teeth of a shark, creating a maze of twisting paths between them. Where light can penetrate the natural labyrinth, stunted trees grow in the poor soil, their saplings sprouting in cracks and crevices on the higher flanks of the rocks.

An easy place for an ambush, and an even easier place to get lost, the Karst has been a natural barrier between the warring princes of the Broken Reaches since time immemorial. There is no living to be made in the shadow of the stones, and so they remain a wild place. Those who wish to cross do so either through Pieter's Pass, or by boarding a boat at Putbad and travelling down the Azril.

*The Giant's Teeth*

While the living in the Raven Hills in hard, the living in the Giant's Teeth is non-existent. Taller still than their neighbours, their sharp crags are little more than barren rock, scoured clean from the west by sandstorms coming off the Pale Waste. Precipitous and perilous, they are prone to frequent rockslides. There are no known passes through these hills, and the locals in the surrounding lands tell stories of all manner of monsters living there to frighten their children.

*The Downlands*

The jewel of the Broken Reaches, the Downlands are a fertile flood plain surrounding the broad sweep of the river Azril as it makes its way down from the Karst and into the Bracken Mere. Border Princes have warred over these lands for as long as anyone can remember; fortunately, their 'battles' have generally been too small and petty to do any lasting damage to the land itself.

Sitting in the centre of the Downlands is the town of Savonne. The largest and richest for miles around, it sits on a lode of gemstones that some say the dwarfs first opened up, centuries ago. Dominating the fertile countryside and sitting squarely in the centre of overland and river-bound trade routes, it is the prize all border princes aspire to. Despite the formidable natural defences of the Black Karst and the Giant's Teeth, most of them do not hold onto it for very long.

*Thornwood*

South of the Downlands, the Thornwood sprawls over a far larger region than it ought to. Covering rolling hills and hollows with a carpet of forest, many princes have seen it as a resource to be harvested. Most of them have been disappointed: the trees do not grow as tall or as straight as honest northern trees, and their wood splits and warps at the least opportunity. Most attempts to settle in or around the forest have met with limited success, as the soil is surprisingly poor. This is particularly pronounced in the forest's southern reaches, where the woods are wildest and humans seldom walk.

Despite its ill reputation, the road from Savonne runs south through the Thornwood. Perhaps this is simply because it has no choice, other than to plunge into the Bracken Mere and sink. The recent discovery of gold at Handrich's Cross, however, has given many people an incentive to take the forest road.

*The Bracken Mere*

A vast swamp that sprawls between the Giant's Teeth and the Thornwood, the Bracken Mere is where the river Azril ends its life. By its border with the Thornwood, the marsh remains wooded  - as one goes west, however, the trees die off, giving way to endless reed-beds.

There are no certain paths through the Mere - or if there are, the local guides who know them keep them determinedly secret. Local legend says that the Mere was the site of a great battle in ancient times, and that the bog is still choked with the bones of the fallen. The truth of this is up for question, but the local swamp-skimmers do sometimes dredge up strange bronze blades and rotted chariot-wheels from the mire.

*The Hidden Vale*

Nestled between the rolling hills of the Thornwood and the jagged rocks of the Black Karst, the Hidden Vale represents one last strip of fertile land before the badlands of the south. Although tiny, its size and position make it highly defensible, and the recent discovery of gold at Handrich's Cross has made it highly profitable too.

Funnily enough, throughout much of the history of the Broken Reaches, the Hidden Vale has gone untenanted by any major warlord. Some attribute this to its obscurity, claiming that it is possible for a man to walk within half a mile of the Vale on either side without even realising it is there. Others say there is something unwholesome in the water or the soil that drives people away. The inhabitants of the Vale do have a reputation for congenital madness, but most attribute this to inbreeding.

*The Dead Hills*

Rising clear of the Thornwood's southernmost reaches at the bottom of the Hidden Vale, the smooth, rounded summits of the Dead Hills are a rocky, sand-blown desert. No-one knows why nothing grows there, but one does not have to travel far before even the lichen begins to recede.

People tell tales of the lost city of Nath, of sorcerers of the Black Caliph who blighted the hills with their magic. Others speak of the Lost Library, and the meddling of wizards. Only one thing is agreed: the Dead Hills are a fearful, desolate place where only a fool would tread.

*The Iron Claw Hills*

An arid expanse of scrubland, broken by rocky ridges and low, rolling hills, the Iron Claw Hills are the last boundary between the rest of the Reaches and the Badlands beyond. As such, they are infested with greenskins - namely, the Orcs of the Iron Claw tribe, and their goblin retainers. This is the fearsome clan that spawned Gorbad Ironclaw, and if the orcs beyond the hills were to unite, they would pose a military threat far greater than any border prince. Thankfully, they seem mostly content to fight among themselves - nevertheless, for humans living in the Iron Claw hills, periodic greenskin raids are a fact of life.

*Last Water*

Sheltered by a crescent of high ridges from the surrounding Iron Claw Hills, Last Water is an island of green vegetation and fresh water in the midst of an arid wasteland. So called because it is the last opportunity for travellers to stock up on water before entering the Badlands proper, the black soil of the region is curiously fertile in comparison to its neighbouring lands. A few small streams flow down off what the locals call the Black Hills, making some limited agriculture possible.

The peace of Last Water, however, is fragile. With the Iron Claw Hills before them, the Pale Waste to the west, and the limitless expanse of the Badlands at their back, the people of Last Water must be ever on their guard for greenskin raids. Two narrow roads connect them to the wider world - without these arteries of trade, life in Last Water would be even harder than it already is.

*The Pale Waste*

A waterless desert of blown sand, the Pale Waste is remarkable for being even more lifeless and desolate than the Badlands surrounding it to the west. Few landmarks in the Waste stay in the same place for long. Without a skilled navigator, it is easy to wander for days within a few miles of the same point, and it is difficult to find a skilled navigator who will willingly enter the Waste. 

Among the people of the Reaches, it has a fearful reputation, the locus of all kinds of peasant myths and superstitions. People speak of ancient ruins hidden by the shifting sands, relics of the lost civilisation of Nehekhara. More than one adventurer has been tempted into the Waste by the lure of Nehekharan gold. Few have ever returned.


*The Powers That Be*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Jarl Rorik Wolf-Risen*
A fearsome Norseman, Jarl Rorik has a reputation as a warrior of great strength. The Jarl has established himself as a bandit lord among the tribes of the Raven Hills: their raiding ways suit him well.

*Duke Edouard*
An expatriate Bretonnian of noble birth, Duke Edouard has held onto power in the Broken Reaches for some time - an achievement not to be sniffed at. He is responsible for extinguishing the careers of several other local lords, and rules with a firm hand.

*Count Eberhard Groz*
A man of common blood from the Empire, Eberhard is a career soldier with a talent for command. He has secured his kingdom around the old fortress of Bunthafen: those who think a man of his breeding is not fit to rule over others will have a hard time dislodging him.

*Prince Belehir*
A High Elf of Ulthuan, Belehir was known only as a deadly sword for hire - until, that is, the town of Savonne was engulfed in the frenzy of violence known as the Beheading of the Wolf. The peasants say that when the bloodshed finally ceased, Belehir was the only one found alive in the throne room. What he saw inside the mad duke's keep he has never revealed, but he accepted the rulership of Savonne with a strange sense of duty. Since then, he has kept the town safe, despite several attempts by his neighbours to topple him. He is widely distrusted, and many ask what business an elf has ruling over honest men.

*Grand Commander Mathau Evatt*
A leader of the Knights Mariner, few understand what brought this templar of Manaan this far into the arid, landlocked south. Nonetheless, here he is: he and his followers have founded the stronghold of Manaan's Keep, and seem to see it as their sacred duty to nurture the flow of trade in the region. Many say the Grand Commander is a little eccentric, which as everyone knows means mad _and_ rich.

*Capitano Muzio Sforza*
A Tilean _condottieri_ of supposedly high-born origins, Captain Sforza is a young and ruthless contender for rulership of the Marches. A military commander with a fine strategic mind, he is matched only by his dazzling wife - an object of envy for many of the other lords.


The above is already known by anyone with Common Knowledge (Border Princes), and easy to learn for anyone who doesn't. Further details about individuals and places will be dispensed on a case-by-case basis, through information-gathering, Knowledge checks, and sometimes by default for characters born in the region. Don't assume that everything is the same as it was described in the original thread!



Inn Prices
*Inn*
 *Private Room*
 *Common Hall*
 *Meal*
 *Wine*
 *Ale*
 *Bath*

_Il Calice D'Oro_ (Mirino)
 16s
 10p
 5p
 1s (bottle)
 2p (stein)
 1s

_The Rooster_ (Sermena)
 10s
 5p
 18p
 1s (bottle)
 2p (stein)
 1s

_The Star of Marienburg_ (Manann's Keep)
5s
5p
3p
3p (goblet)
2p (stein)
1s

Painford Hostel
Not available
5p
3p
3p (goblet)
2p (stein)
1s

_The Duke of Aquitaine_ (Savonne, North Market)
15s
1s 3p
9p
9p (goblet)
6p (stein)
3s

_The Yellow Dog_ (Savonne, The Warren)
6s
8p
6p
6p (bottle)
1p (stein)
Not available

_The Harvester's Haven_ (Savonne, Downs Town) DESTROYED
10s
8p
10p
2p (goblet)
2p (stein)
1s

_The Red Moon_ (Savonne, The Old Town)
12s
n/a
5p
n/a
n/a
1s

_The Bull's Horns_ (Arrow Heap)
10s
5p
18p
3p (goblet)
2p (stein)
1s

_The Red Man_ (Isolici)
18s
8p
10p
2p (goblet)
2p (stein)
1s

_The Hammer and Chisel_ (Selsan)
16s
6p
8p
2p (goblet)
2p (stein)
6p

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## LCP

*Dramatis Personae*
*The Party*
TheSummoner
Sieghard


-Sentinel-
Elsabeth Holt


LeSwordfish
Ludovic Stubbs


RossN
Jarla Schreiber


Thragka
Urgrim Jotunnsson




*Powers & Principalities*

*Spoiler: The Court of Prince Muzio Sforza*
Show


*Il Principe Muzio Sforza*

Tilean mercenary captain, and Lord of Last Water. Campaigned in Araby before coming to the Broken Reaches. Has crushed his enemies and united the Reaches under a single banner.

*La Principessa Irene Sforza ("la Bella")*

Sforza's wife. Her beauty is renowned throughout the Reaches. Ambitious and dissatisfied with life in the Border Princes, she frequently takes out her frustrations on those she perceives as socially inferior. Irene Sforza is flawless.

*Daniele Barbaro*

Priest of Myrmidia, and Sforza's only religious adviser. Has a liking for Arabyan coffee, a flexible attitude to the truth, and only a passing acquaintance with religious faith. Nicknamed the "old goat" by Viggo.

*Lord Treasurer Abdul Al-Makir*

Treasurer, tax collector and paymaster of Sforza's forces. Joined the Captain during his Arabyan campaigns, and has a retinue of Arabyan mercenaries. Has a reputation as the man who can get you anything... for a price.

*Giovanni Carraciolo, Lord-Lieutenant of the North*

Commander of Sforza's Tilean pikemen, the Iron Company.

*Esteban de Valdes, Lord-Lieutenant of the South*

Commander of Sforza's Estalian swordsmen, the Brotherhood of Magritta.

*Makeda (deceased)*

Commander of Sforza's Southlander mercenaries, the _ahosi_ of Danxome. Killed by Duke Alvarr at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap.

*Balthus Bianco (deceased)*

Renowned physician, and personal doctor to Irene Sforza. Quietly disposed of after he was implicated in Irene's attempt to assassinate Ludo.

*Gorg (deceased)*

The leader of a troop of Ogre Maneaters in service to Sforza. He seemed to have struck up a friendship with Ludo's brother-in-law Rudi. Was shot down by Alvarr's archers at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap, along with three-quarters of his troop.

*Viktor (deceased)*

Commander of a free company of swordsmen formed in the aftermath of Sforza's victory over the orcs at Manann's Keep. Brave but inexperienced, Viktor died of wounds sustained at the Second Battle of Arrow Heap.

*The Thorns*

A company of foresters and farmers from the Thornwood and the Hidden Vale that signed up as crossbowmen with Sieghard in the aftermath of Magog Ironclaw's invasion. They have distinguished themselves in several battles and are making a name for themselves among the mercenaries of the Reaches.



*Rank and File*

*Paulo & Marko:* Doctor Bianco's apprentices.*Salih:* page to Abdul Al-Makir.
Iron Company:*Giuliano:* Adelbert's nemesis, makes fun of him in front of the ladies.*Luca:* Adelbert's nemesis, makes fun of him in front of the sentries.*Beppe (deceased):* Elsa's one-night stand*Orfeo [deceased] and Cesar:* accompanied the party into Kheneb-Ptra-Urush
Brotherhood of Magritta:*Felipe, Miguel & Valentin*
Danxome _Ahosi_*Oseye & Etunu*
The Sermena Gamecocks*Hartwick Thistlewood:* commanding officer.
The Maneaters*Kulug:* leader of the surviving ogres after Gorg's death.



*Spoiler: The Court of Duke Edouard Alvarr*
Show


*Duke Edouard Alvarr (deceased)*

A stern man of military bearing, Duke Alvarr forged his domain from territory that was previously claimed by multiple feuding warlords. Originally hailing from Bretonnia, he travelled for some time with a mercenary company known as the Storm Swords. He forged a coalition of the northern lords and seized the Downlands from Prince Belehir, but was eventually defeated and slain by the forces of Muzio Sforza after being cornered in his capital of Alvarran.

*Janos Forkbeard*

A native of Alvarran and a survivor of the previous regime(s), Janos Forkbeard was Alvarr's chancellor and chief administrator. After Alvarr's fall, he has been taken captive by Sforza's men.

*Henri Ducos*

Duke Alvarr's Master of Horse. Ducos is a taciturn man with a face only a mother could love. Shot Elsa at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap; escaped with the Duke after his defeat there. Missing in action since the fall of Alvarran.

*Eugen Jager*

A lieutenant of Duke Alvarr, nicknamed "Alvarr's Bulldog" by the people of Alvarran. Jager is known for his stubborn loyalty and his harsh discipline. Was taken prisoner during Sforza's lightning attack on Savonne, but returned in exchange for Count Groz's imprisoned soldiers. Missing in action since the fall of Alvarran.





*Spoiler: The Hall of Jarl Rorik Wolf-Risen*
Show


*Jarl Rorik Wolf-Risen (deceased)*

Ruler of Morr's Seat. A great bear of a man with a close-knit retinue of Norscan retainers, he has a reputation as a fearsome warrior. During the siege of Savonne he fought Prince Belehir on the battlements and was grievously wounded, forcing him to sit out the remainder of the siege. Killed by Astoria at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap

*Hakon Blood-Song (deceased)*

Rorik's second-in-command, first encountered by Adelbert in Ravenskird. A bloodthirsty man of action, he has little patience for diplomacy or subterfuge. Most likely the leader of the unprovoked attack on Painford. Driven off by Sieghard and Ludo at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap. Embittered after Rorik's defeat at Arrow Heap, he made a pact with Johannes Klammenberg to steal the Book of Nagash from Manann's Keep, and was killed during the raid.

*Wadim*

Wise man of the Raven Hills, and local adviser to Jarl Rorik. Following the events of Hexensnacht, he travelled back to the Raven Hills in search of the source of his and others' visions, and has not been heard from since.

*Kelda Wave-Born (deceased)*

Encountered by the party leading a small warband of hill-folk in the south of the Raven Hills. One of Rorik's Norscan retinue; seen by Adelbert to change shape into an enormous wolf. Responsible for the death of Viggo's lover Kirsten during the attack on Painford. Killed by Elsa at the Battle of the Burning Hill

*Arne Golden-Hair*

One of Rorik's Norscan retinue, encountered by Adelbert in Ravenskird. Was present at Jarl Rorik's death; escaped with the rest of the Raven Hills raiders. Ludo took his shield. Later returned with Hakon's raiders to Manann's Keep, but survived the attack and was allowed to escape with Sanne Raven-Cry.

*Asgeir Far-Strider (deceased)*

One of Rorik's Norscan retinue, encountered by Adelbert in Ravenskird. Grievously wounded at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap, he survived to return with Hakon in the raid on Manann's Keep, only to be killed by his own followers at the bridge.

*Sanne Raven-Cry*

One of Rorik's Norscan retinue, encountered by Adelbert in Ravenskird. Seems to be the member of Rorik's Norscan retinue with the closest ties to Wadim. Survived the Third Battle of Arrow Heap, helped Adelbert escape with news of Hakon and Klammenberg's agreement, and betrayed Hakon during the raid on Manann's Keep, after which the party allowed her to leave.

*Ulfgeir Ice-Eye (deceased)*

One of Rorik's Norscan retinue. Injuries sustained at the Battle of the Burning Hill kept him from participating in the Third Battle of Arrow Heap. He attacked Manann's Keep with Hakon's raiders and was killed along with Hakon.

*Halli Sharp-Tongue (deceased)*

One of Rorik's Norscan retinue, burned alive by Elsa at the Battle of the Burning Hill.





*Spoiler: The Court of Count Eberhard Groz*
Show

*Count Eberhard Groz (deceased)*

A mercenary from the Empire, and one of the youngest warlords in the Reaches. Killed by Jarl Rorik at the Mitterfruhl feast in Savonne.

*Countess Leona Groz*

Eberhard's young bride, taken from among the daughters of the guildmasters of Putbad. Was taken into Duke Alvarr's custody following her husband's death at the hands of the Jarl; subsequently 'rescued' by Captain Sforza during his first attack on Savonne. She has given birth to a son, and named it Eberhard after its father.

*Sergeant Ehrman (deceased)*

A world-weary old soldier, and one of Groz's trusted deputies. Like many of the Count's men he was suspicious of Rorik and his Norscans. The survivors of the Mitterfrulh massacre confirmed he was killed by Rorik's men.

*Pieter Hagendorf*

Another of Groz's comrades-in-arms. Hagendorf is a lot younger than Ehrman and has more of an eye for the ladies. Presumed dead or missing in the aftermath of the Mitterfruhl massacre.





*Spoiler: The Inner Circle of Grand Commander Evatt*
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*Grand Commander Matthau Evatt (deceased)*

Matthau and a small retinue of his fellow Knights Mariner seized power in the Thornwood some years ago, carving out a small kingdom around the town they renamed Manann's Keep. He was intent on bringing the word of Manann to the landlocked Reaches, and his eccentricities caused many of his subjects to doubt his leadership.

Evatt's reign came to an end during the invasion of Magog Ironclaw. Piloting a steam-powered landship named _Manann's Blessing_ into the orc army, Evatt was lost - presumed dead - when the steam ship's boiler exploded.

*Ruprecht*

The most senior of Evatt's remaining knights. Survived the battle for Manann's Keep; left for Marienburg to carry news of the Grand Commander's death back to his order.

*Bernhard (deceased)*

One of Evatt's remaining knights. Advocated for pre-emptive action against the orcs of the Iron Claw Hills before the greenskin invasion; was eventually granted command of a raiding party to try to find and kill the orcs' leader. Bernhard and his force were ambushed and massacred in a dry valley near Caerfort.

*Barthold (deceased)*

One of Evatt's knights. Mortally wounded defending the mill during the battle of Manann's Keep.

*Einhardt*

One of Evatt's knights. Encountered by Adelbert in the temple of Manann during the party's first visit to Manann's Keep. Was present during the battle for the town, and seems to blame Captain Sforza for his master's downfall; has since disappeared

*Fritz & Luther (deceased)*

The two youngest of Evatt's knights. From their age they can't have been more than squires when he first came south. Both were lost, presumed dead, during the ambush on Bernhard's raiding party.

*Werner Oberth (deceased)*

A close adviser of the Grand Commander, and the designer of the land ship _Manann's Blessing._ Lost, presumed dead, in the wreck of the _Blessing._





*Spoiler: The Elf and his Advisers*
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*Prince Belehir*

An elvish mercenary who drifted into the service of the mad Duke Wulf, Belehir took matters into his own hands and slew his master during the period of anarchy known as the Beheading of the Wolf. Though a reluctant ruler, he held Savonne for several years, repulsing the first attempt of the Reaches' human princes to take the city from him and enduring a months-long siege before succumbing to the second. Alvarr threw him in his own dungeons; he was later freed by Elsa and Astoria d'Evangelisti, and vanished into the wilds.

*Roland de Bohun (deceased)*

Leader of the Red Company, Belehir's old mercenary regiment. During the siege of Savonne, de Bohun led a mutiny against his master when the outer wall fell, and delivered the citadel to Alvarr and his allies. Was killed during Sieghard's surprise attack on the Red Company camp before the Second Battle of Arrow Heap.

*Guildmaster Gisela*

The head of the Guild of Jewellers and Mineworkers. Gisela was very preoccupied with the question of how to regain entrance to the Dwimmulhold since the dwarfs of Clan Dwimmulson sealed its gates, and the activities of tunnelers in her pay may have been responsible for opening up the forgotten passage of the dwarven underway that allowed the besiegers access to the city. After the fall of Savonne she was deposed as guildmaster; her fate is unknown.





*Spoiler: Clan Dwimmulson*
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*Rinn Elmendrin*

The leader of the Dwimmulson dwarfs. Led the Dwimmulsons into self-imposed exile in Putbad to gather support among the human lords of the Reaches to oust Belehir from Savonne. Since the fall of the elf, she has stayed above the infighting of the _umgi_.

*Skorgrund*

A cantankerous elder of the Dwimmulson dwarfs. Keeper of the Clan Dwimmulson Book of Grudges (subtitle: May They All Be Boiled In Oil).


*Grunlok:* foreman of the Dwimmulhold's mine and chief of the Clan Dwimmulson muster.*Moradin:* the clan's master gemcutter.*Hegrom:* the clan's master mason.*Zamalind and Zarri:* a wealthy merchant and her bodyguard.*Thrunrik,  Lokri, Berki, Baragil, Skargan and Vardin (all deceased bar Berki):* rangers who scouted the Red Pyramid.*Grunda:* a runebearer who often travels between the Reaches and Barak Varr.*Skargil, Lunn, Rollik, Throndin, Uthgar and Moragina (deceased):* volunteers for Urgrim's expedition to Kheneb-Ptra-Urush.



*Spoiler: Children of the Jackal*
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*Nakht-Horeb of Lahmia,
aka Nahorek the Jackal,
aka Varag Kol (deceased)*

An ancient vampire and servant of Nagash, raised from beneath the Red Pyramid on Hexensnacht of 2523 IC. Nakht-Horeb claimed to have been a priest of Djaf in ancient Lahmia, and to have been given the Blood Kiss by W'soran himself. He invaded the Reaches millennia ago, and is still dimly remembered in local folklore and legend. Caught in an ambush outside Nath, he was struck with the spear of Kheneb-Ptra-Urush, and is presumed destroyed.

*Johannes Klammenberg (deceased)*

A man of letters from the town of Maylhof, in Stirland. Klammenberg spent a year travelling the Reaches by coach collecting strange esoterica, and crossed paths with the party several times. They since learned he was a necromancer, who resurrected Nakht-Horeb and acted as his agent. Klammenberg was taken captive by Ludo in Last Water, and killed when Gunda and the Falcons ambushed him on the road to Manann's Keep.

*Udolf (deceased)*

Klammenberg's mute bodyguard and coachman. On his 'death', he was revealed to be a walking corpse, taken from the gallows and stuffed with sawdust and preservatives to halt the process of decay.

*Besnik (deceased)*

A Rivermouth boy who was given to Johannes Klammenberg as a servant when he visited the village. Besnik infiltrated the Cult of Morr in Savonne as an initiate, and invited Nakht-Horeb into the temple. Was burned alive by Elsa while trying to escape with the Book of Nagash.

*'Mother' Mala*

Wise woman of the village of Rivermouth. Mala was instrumental in concealing the cannibalistic 'old folk' of the village, and in the devastating ambush that killed a great number of the Thorns when Sieghard pressed his investigation. She and her followers sheltered Nahorek when he fled into the Bracken Mere, and followed him into Nath, appearing to worship him as a god. Now the only survivor of Rivermouth, she has most recently been seen on the edge of the Raven Hills, still claiming to follow the Jackal and denying that he has been destroyed.





*Spoiler: Agents of Chaos*
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*Cacophrax*

A powerful daemon of Tzeentch, Cacophrax seems to have been at least partially responsible for the ritual that pulled the Lost Library into the Realm of Chaos. Having spent an unknown time trying to break the wards on Nicodemus' sanctum, he recruited the party to help him. The intervention of the Huntsman foiled his plan and allowed the party to escape with the book.

*The Beast of Harmugstahl*

An aquatic, fire-breathing Chaos Spawn inhabiting the flooded caverns beneath the ruins of Harmugstahl. The beast appears to have once been one of the magi of the Brethren of the Silver Tower, who tried to cast the Library of the Illuminated Order into the Realm of Chaos.

*Tshula-Udiyya*

A 'djinn' bound to a clay jar by the sorcerers of Nath, and left there after the city's destruction. Tshula was awoken by Adelbert when the party found themselves trapped by Nahorek. In exchange for delivering them to safety, Sieghard and the Thorns freed her by smashing the vessel she was bound to.

*The Huntsman*

The Huntsman is a daemon of Khorne who occupied a portion of the Lost Library. A hunter of wizards, he seemed to have lain dormant for some time before the party's breaching of Nicodemus' sanctum woke him.





*The Common People*
*Spoiler: The Raven Hills*
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*Greasy Drop*
*Armin*

A stern but charismatic priest who became the self-appointed leader of the village of Greasy Drop. Armin was hailed as having saved the villagers from famine and bandits, but has an unnerving enthusiasm for blood sacrifice. He calls his god "Ahalt the Drinker", and crashed the Conclave of Savonne to claim the events of Hexensnacht are a sign that he has returned. He began recruiting refugees to his cause, but was apprehended by the forces of Prince Sforza and set to hang in a cage in Manann's Keep.


*Adva:* peasant woman.

*Turnpike Hollow*
*Gautmar:* village leader/bandit chief.*Akela:* wise woman.*Kashto:* inexperienced ambusher.*Nahab (deceased):* particularly inexperienced ambusher.
All residents of Turnpike Hollow are missing (presumed dead?).


*Spoiler: The Shepherd's Valley*
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*Alvarran*
*Father Vengist (deceased)*

Alvarran's resident priest of Morr. With the aid of his assistant Berthold, Father Vengist tended to the Garden of Morr outside the city walls. He took a dim view of the folk worship of Nahorek, and was unfriendly towards wizards. Duke Alvarr's conquest of Savonne brought Vengist there to mediate between the Duke and the priesthood; afterwards he returned to Alvarran to deal with an outbreak of disease, and is reported to have succumbed.

*Brother Odo*

An extremely pious grail pilgrim, and the former custodian of the Chapel of Our Lady Victorious in Alvarran. Some might describe Odo as a little touched in the head, but not to his face: he is a large, strong man, with a large, strong voice. Odo claimed he was the one who discovered the remains of the legendary grail knight Sir Leodoric the Just under Alvarran Castle. Having lost his legs to Elsa's magic at the Battle of Arrow Heap, he seems to have lost his faith in the Lady and has now joined Armin's followers of the Drinker.

*Madame Rosmerta Morte*

A barber-surgeon with a faraway air, who is perhaps a bit keen on amputations. 100% legit.

*Herr Leiber*

Madame Morte's entrepreneurial housemate and business partner. Sells 100% legit meat pies.


*Sister Mathilde (deceased):* priestess of Shallya, murdered by a mysterious attacker who cut off her hands.*Rabelais & Geiger:* gamblers.*Felix, Ulf & Marquand:* lads about town.*Yonec & Elspeth:* a cobbler and his wife.*Schiller:* a candlemaker.*Mad Gustaf:* a man who claims to be an 'adventurer'.*Baldred, Pepin, Sorin & Skender:* a travelling merchant, his carter, and his two Raven Hills guards.*Donar:* keeper of a farmstead near the city.

*Elmridge*
*Father Jurgen Hechsler*

A Sigmarite priest, Father Hechsler was displaced from his temple in Alvarran when the building was appropriated by Duke Alvarr to construct the Chapel of Our Lady Victorious, and turned to drink. Adelbert found him a placement at Elmridge, with the help of Janos Forkbeard.


*Gant (deceased):* village elder, executed by the party on the instructions of Eugen Jager.*Flitch:* bowyer.*Heloise:* shepherdess.

*Hartmut's Fall*
*Sergeant Marat*

The commander of Duke Alvarr's garrison at Hartmut's Fall. Marat is an old soldier with the scars of many battles - including several missing fingers. Was in charge of the caravan of supplies that Sieghard's militia intercepted _en route_ to Savonne.


*Ortholf:* barber-surgeon.*Thibault:* armourer.*Arnulf:* spearman who helped capture Elsa.*Fauchard:* archer who helped capture Elsa.


*Spoiler: The Uplands*
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*Putbad*
*Abbot Tomas*

Head of the Azrillite order, and master of the monastery in Putbad.


*Tobar:* master of the Coopers' Guild.*Sebastian:* high-class servant.*Rupp:* boatman.

*Spoiler: The Downlands*
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*Savonne*
*Mother Raqiyah (deceased)* 

Savonne's highest-ranking priest of Morr and Augur of the temple, Raqiyah was the nominal figurehead of the city's Conclave of clergy. Briefly imprisoned by Alvarr after the city's fall, she was reinstated and remained in office after Sforza's subsequent conquest. Killed by Nakht-Horeb in the attack on the Temple.

*Brother Liebrecht (deceased)*

Mother Raqiyah's right-hand priest and master of the initiates in the Temple. Killed by Nakht-Horeb in the attack on the Temple.

*Father Hieronymus*

The head of the cult of Verena in Savonne and a member of the Conclave. Hieronymus showed considerable interest in the question of Meskhenet's book, and has helped the party in their research. Hieronymus lost his home and one of his two owls (Euthymius and Eustratius) in the sack of the city, and was cursed by the wards placed on the book, leaving him prematurely aged and withering his right hand. He still seems sanguine about it all.

*Mother Gaertner (deceased)*

The highest-ranking priestess of Rhya in Savonne and a member of the Conclave. Unlike the other priests, Gaertner was an emigre from the Empire. She was killed during the sack of the city.

*Mother Constanza (deceased)*

Head of the Shallyan order in Savonne, and keeper of the Great Hospital of Armengild. Killed by Nakht-Horeb.

*Sister Stefania and Sister Ioana*

The most senior priestesses of Shallya beneath Mother Constanza, responsible for the day-to-day running of the infirmary and the supervision of the Shallyan initiates.

*Brother Jakub (deceased)*

Savonne's representative of the Monks of Azriller, and a member of the Conclave. Killed by Nakht-Horeb.

*Brother Grigore*

The Temple's appointed representative to watch over the Book of Nagash while it was in Manann's Keep, he accompanied the Book to Savonne after Hakon's raid.

*Bertelis*

A young Caerfort boy apprenticed into the Cult of Verena by Adelbert. Bertelis now lives and works with the other (mainly Morrite) initiates of the Temple.

*Jasper Greenapple*

A prosperous Halfling river trader, Jasper Greenapple had many fingers in many pies - one of which was the smuggling of contraband into the city via the old dwarf tunnel. He kept a home in the docks of Savonne, watched over by his fearsome Ogre friend and bodyguard Kragg. Greenapple vanished during the fall of the city to Alvarr's coalition. Kragg was killed and Greenapple's riverside house became a haunt of Rorik's Norscans.

*'No-Nose' Dragos (deceased)*

A vicious thug with a missing nose who took over the dockside underworld of Savonne after Greenapple's disappearance, and was heavily involved in the distribution of Crimson Shade from Last Water. Killed by Sieghard after trying to sabotage the supplies being shipped north to Sforza's army in the Shepherd's Valley.

*Captain Sandu of the Green Dragon*

A riverboat captain whose run-ins with the party have brought him no end of trouble. Master of one of the fastest boats on the Azril, Sandu was involved in the smuggling of food and supplies into Savonne during Alvarr's siege, and the movement of Crimson Shade into the city after it fell.

*Tatiana*

A goatherd from the Karst born with the gift for magic, Tatiana (or 'Tattie' to her friends) was discovered by Elsa after she helped guide refugees from Pieter's Pass to safety in the Downlands. Now serving as Elsa's apprentice after Elsa helped rescue her from goblins.


*Hayfa:* keeper of the _Red Moon_ lodging house.*Yanko:* innkeeper of the _Yellow Dog_.*Talibah Al-Khansa:* bookseller in the Old Town.*Thibault Fulk:* bookseller in the Warren)*Lena Knopf and Axel (deceased):* a local historian and her doorman. Axel was killed in the first sack of Savonne, and Lena fled the city after Sforza's conquest.*Griswold:* a drunken beggar who claimed to have seen the Lost Library.*'Mad' Maglyn and Clora:* a moneylender and her intimidating bodyguard.*Burhan:* a young merchant who helped the party get supplies north to Sforza's army, and was poisoned by Dragos in return.*Varga:* Dragos' right-hand man, missing in the aftermath of Dragos' death.*Jozef and Garrett:* members of Dragos' dockworker gang.*Herr Reinholt:* A long-stay inmate of the Hospital of Saint Armengild, Reinholt suffers from delusions that he is the ruler of the Reaches.

*Ravenskird*
*Brother Cezar*

Keeper of the Chapel of Morr in Ravenskird. A good friend to Adelbert, giving him food and shelter on the many occasions he was passing through.


*Hook-Handed Rogar (deceased):* a dishonest boatman who tried to trap the party under Gilbertus' manse so he could rob them.*Costin:* keeper of the alehouse and party to Rogar's schemes. Fled in the aftermath of Rorik's raid on the village.

*Arrow Heap*
*Big Rolf:* A village elder very proud of the village's history of independence. Rolf had to be subdued for his own good to prevent him from starting a fight with Sforza's army.A young woman who is *not* called Brunhilde.

*Spoiler: The Thornwood*
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*Painford*
*Beatrix Fassbender (deceased)*

Also known as the Witch of Painford. Beatrix was an ex-Magister of the Gold Order who fled Altdorf under unknown circumstances. She was well-liked in the village of Painford where she made her home, having saved them from an insane barber-surgeon who made himself mayor. Though she was widely reputed to be in Evatt's service, she seemed to act independently of his court.

Following a failed attempt to turn her left hand into living gold, Beatrix's body began slowly turning to lead. Driven out of her home by the events of Sforza's conquest of the south, she sought a cure for some time, but her efforts ultimately failed, leaving her in a lead-poisoning-induced coma. Elsa's attempts to complete the cure using her own magic caused Beatrix to burn to death.

Her familiar Ortolanus was an animated simulacrum of a large predatory-looking lizard, made entirely from brass. He died with his mistress.

*Rhadegund*

A sharp, ambitious teenage girl from Caerfort whom Adelbert apprenticed into the Cult of Verena. Feeling abandoned by Adelbert's disappearance, she refused to rejoin him and instead stayed to live and work with the hostel-keepers in Painford.


*Kirsten (deceased):* a peasant woman who had a romance with Viggo. Killed by Kelda.*Marta and Dierk:* a mother and her son. Marta was struck in the head during Hakon's raid on the village and lost her wits, leaving the young Dierk to care for her.*Gavril & Karolina:* the hostel keeper and his wife.


*Spoiler: The Hidden Vale*
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*Manann's Keep*
*Steffan Sussman, Steward of Manann's Keep*

A local merchant who made himself a close adviser of the Grand Commander, and was the first to swear his allegiance to Muzio Sforza in the aftermath of Evatt's death. After Sforza's coronation, he was rewarded with stewardship of Evatt's old capital.

*Sergeant Friedrich Fischwillen (deceased)*

A bullying sergeant of Evatt's guards, who had no difficulty changing his allegiance to Captain Sforza following Evatt's downfall. Made an enemy of Sieghard and went to great lengths to sabotage Sieghard's standing in the eyes of Sforza and his officers. Was eventually outwitted and hanged after being framed by Sieghard, Ludo and Viggo as a spy for Alvarr.


*Herr Ardelean:* a rich miller with a weakness for card games.

*Handrich's Cross*
*Frau Faber*

A gold miner and caravan master from Handrich's Cross, Faber is of Imperial stock. The party encountered her taking her caravan to the Mitterfruhl fair in Mirino, and accompanied her back to Evatt's domain.




*Spoiler: The Iron Claw Hills*
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*Caerfort*
*Orderic:* village elder.*Jacen:* lodge keeper.*Abelard:* a young villager who does sentry duty in the tower.*Dhuoda:* a goatherd.


*Spoiler: Last Water*
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*Mirino*
*Filomena*

Owner of the _Happy Serpent_ brothel. Travelled for a long time with Sforza's army and supposedly enjoys good standing with the Captain. Has a fearsome reputation among the prostitutes who work for her. Did not take well to Viggo's amorous advances; seems to have a deep and abiding dislike for the lady Irene. Has relocated most of her business to Manann's Keep.

*Marek*

Owner of _Il Calice D'Oro_. Despite how his inn thrives, he is generally morose and fatalistic.

*Krucke & Mannfred*

A seller of second-hand clothes and Adelbert's former landlord, Krucke is a foul-tempered and greedy old man. One of the only Imperial immigrants in Mirino, he doesn't like the Tileans, or the locals, or women, or young people, or daylight. He lives with his cat Mannfred, who chases dogs for sport.

*Aisha*

Aisha used to work at the Serpent, until Filomena threw her out for supposedly having the pox. Adelbert took her in, and Ludo found her a job helping Marek at the Chalice. Adelbert's some-time lover, she ran away after a falling-out with him and has not been seen since. She is missing the tips of two fingers on her right hand.

*Natasa*

A friendly goatherd who Sieghard, Viggo and Ludo met through their sparring sessions at Hadil's shack. For a while Sieghard and Viggo competed for her affection.

*Iosif*

A friendly (and smelly) bear of a man, Iosif is Mirino's tanner. He lives outside town where the smell of his work cannot trouble people too much, and was quite impressed when the party brought him the pelts of several Giant Wolves.

*Rudi & Leni Figgins*

Ludo's brother-in-law and older sister. Rudi has become the head cook of Sforza's army, a rewarding post but one that often takes him away from home, much to Leni's worry.


*Mihai:* smith*Chiara:* seamstress)*Kaja & Mirjana:* a peasant boy, briefly apprenticed to Adelbert as a scribe, and his mother.*Shandor:* peasant.*Mirela:* peasant woman, Viggo's one-night stand.*Abelie, Serafina, Nadiyya, Reena, Nuri & Nadia:* prostitutes at the Happy Serpent.*Pietro:* Mute bouncer of the Happy Serpent.

*Sermena*
*Odo Stubbs*

Ludo's father, and the owner of the Sermena iron mines. Self-important and status-obsessed, his relationship with his son is strained at best.

*Petra Stubbs*

Ludo's younger sister. Sharp-minded and well-liked, she helps Odo with the administration of the mines, but is much more fond of her brother



*"Old" Gill Brandyhill:* village elder and proprietor of the inn.*Talbert Tallfellow:* envoy to Sforza on behalf of Sermena's halflings.*Ronald Swanfeather:* mine overseer.*Norbert "Nobby" Burrows:* looks after the inn for Gill.*Theda Bramcot, Eena Tumblebright and Lisbet:* local halflings.*Massimo:* retired Iron Company veteran.*Vincenzo ('Vico'), Alessio, Orfeo and Vittore:* retired veterans duped by Klammenberg into accompanying him into the Waste.

*Spoiler: No Fixed Abode*
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*Karl the Carter*

A travelling trader who makes a living transporting goods between the settlements of the Broken Reaches. A taciturn man, he seems to know his way around a crossbow.

*Sir Tancred du Bahorel & Chlodbert*

A questing knight from the duchy of Bordeleaux, Sir Tancred has come to the Broken Reaches in search of the Grail. He is accompanied by his trusty page Chlodbert, who is the only one of the pair to speak Reikspiel.

*Thengdrim Ungdrinaz*

A Dwarf Slayer, encountered by the party in Alvarran and then again in Savonne. He blames Elsa for getting him turfed out of the _Gilded Beetle_, when it was in fact all Viggo's fault.

*Maksim Dolokhov (deceased)*

Leader of the Storm Swords mercenary company. An old battle brother of Alvarr's, he left the Duke's service after Alvarr exposed his men to the fire of his own siege engines during the siege of Savonne. His decision to intervene in the Third Battle of Arrow Heap turned the battle in Captain Sforza's favour. Was killed with Alvarr at Alvarran when Sforza refused to honour the Duke's surrender.

*Jurgen Falkenwald & Gunda (deceased)*

Leaders of Falkenwald's Falcons, a troop of sellswords in the Uplands. Betrayed the defenders of Bunthafen to Jarl Rorik and his men, then switched sides again to fight for Captain Sforza when their contract with the northern coalition came to an end. Present at (and possibly responsible for) the death of Duke Edouard Alvarr. Falkenwald fell out of favour with Sforza when he helped Irene arrange an ambush for Ludo, and was executed as a traitor.

*Matthias Teufelssohn & Stenger (both deceased)*

A witch hunter and his henchman who came searching for Elsa.

*Balios (deceased) & Jocasta*

A travelling priest of Taal and his newly-initiated partner priest of Rhya. Balios' dislike of towns and cities was intensified by the murder of Mother Gaertner during the sack of Savonne. On returning to Savonne to consult with the other priests of the Temple, Balios was killed by Nakht-Horeb.

*Lottie Cinderhill*

A halfling from Alvarran, Lottie was trapped in Pieter's Pass with many others when the city came under siege, and Duke Alvarr turned out those he could no longer feed. She has become a de facto leader of the group that survived and headed south into the Downlands, though more recently her group has come under the influence of Armin. Not a Sermena halfling, she presumably hails from outside the Reaches.

*The Knights of the Raven (deceased)*

A band of Morrite templars sworn to exterminate the undead, Preceptor Götz Kleinrabe and his followers rode to the Reaches to answer the Temple of Savonne's call for help against Nahorek. Kleinrabe was confident in his ability to destroy the vampire, claiming to have hunted down seven of his kind. Together with the Thorns, the Morrites tracked Nahorek to the ruins of Nath, where the Jackal proved a far more dangerous enemy than the vampires they had slain before. Kleinrabe and his three knights (Drakken, Sigmund and Ehrl) were all slain, as was their priest, Brother Merrick of the Fellowship of the Shroud.

*Kateryn Moltke (deceased)*

Götz Kleinrabe's squire. Moltke survived the slaughter at Nath by hiding in the ruins, later escaping with Ludo and Urgrim, but was later killed by Gunda and the Falcons when they tried to ambush Ludo on the Caerfort road.





*Here Be Monsters**Spoiler*
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*Magog of the Iron Claw (deceased)*

An orc warboss who rose out of the Iron Claw Hills, leading an army against the territories of Grand Commander Evatt and causing his ultimate downfall. Magog was killed by Sieghard during the battle for Manann's Keep, in which the intervention of Muzio Sforza and his army prevented the orcs from overrunning the Thornwood and the Lost Vale.

*Boss Glimrut*

Chief of the Broken Moon Goblins living under the Giant's Teeth. Glimrut's hench-goblins tried to kidnap Tatiana as a sacrifice to Da Big Wun.

*Da Big Wun*

A wyvern living high in the Giant's Teeth. So far it seems to have been preying largely on stray livestock, and the sacrifices offered to it by the Broken Moon Goblins.

*Meskhenet*

A long-dead priestess of the hidden temple of Kheneb-Ptra-Urush, Meskhenet was impaled on a stake by the fortress' newly-risen defenders for condemning them - and herself - to the curse of undeath. She charged the party with retrieving the book she used to work the incantation - a book she says was stolen long ago by an unknown thief. Ludo has since returned to the ruins and escaped with her (still-animated) skull.

*Sekhemkare*

The garrison commander of Kheneb-Ptra-Urush, Sekhemkare and his soldiers fell defending their home from orcs only to rise again as undead. He pursued the party into the Iron Claw Hills when they tried to plunder the ruins, but lost them in the night.

*Nicodemus (doubly deceased)*

One of the three founders of the Lost Library. Nicodemus used the Book of Nagash to extend his life well beyond its natural limits, eventually becoming trapped in the sanctum where it was kept as a wraith. Due to his deathless state, he was the only member of the Illuminated Order to survive the ritual that pulled the library into the Realm of Chaos, where he remained until he was destroyed by the party.

----------


## LCP

*Timekeeping*
This game will keep track of a detailed IC calendar. This will function both to track the time of year, and as a countdown to the end of the game: once three IC years have passed, the game ends. Most major NPCs will have timetables that they will adhere to in the absence of PC interference. Concentrating on one small region may leave you blind to threats evolving outside that region.

Note that this means I fully expect your characters to spend a fair amount of downtime doing unremarkable things, where days or weeks can be glossed over in a couple of posts. Three years of real-time PBP play would take forever! If you have some trade skills or whatnot, and feel like applying them to earn some money in a town you pass through - or anything of that ilk - then go right ahead. If the rest of the group want to go on an adventure and you want to take some time out, then that's fine too, although you should be advised that an adventure might take a long time to be resolved due to the pace of PBP play.

We'll be using the Imperial Calendar, since it is the most detailed. Below are the details of the Imperial year:

*The Imperial Calendar*

The Imperial year lasts 400 days. It is divided into twelve months, with six holidays not considered part of any month. These are picked out in bold.

*Hexenstag*
Witching Day

Nachexen
32 days

Jahrdrung
33 days

*Mitterfruhl*
Spring Equinox

Pflugzeit
33 days

Sigmarzeit
33 days

Sommerzeit
33 days

*Sonstill*
Summer Solstice

Vorgeheim
33 days

*Geheimnistag*
Day of Mystery

Nachgeheim
32 days

Erntzeit
33 days

*Mittherbst*
Autumn Equinox

Brauzeit
33 days

Kaldezeit
33 days

Ulriczeit
33 days

*Mondstill*
Winter Solstice

Vorhexen
33 days



Every Old World culture has many holy days and festivals scattered throughout the year. Details of these can be found in the Tome of Salvation (p.144), a sourcebook on religion and priestly careers. Local practices vary widely, but I'll be trying to remember the big ones and maybe throw in a few regional ones too.

*The Imperial Week*

The Imperial week lasts eight days. 

Wellentag

Aubentag

Marktag

Backertag

Bezahltag

Konigstag

Angestag

Festag



My GM posts will have date stamps - if an IC day goes past and I forget, remind me!

----------


## -Sentinel-

*Elsabeth Holt*
a.k.a. Beatrix Hildebrand


*Race:* Human
*Age:* 25
*Career:* Apprentice Wizard > Journeyman Wizard > Master Wizard > Noble > Border Courtier

*Description:* Elsabeth is a young woman of average height with short red hair. Her most striking features are her amber eyes and the swirling red tattoos adorning her face. Her travel clothes consist of a well-worn black coat, high boots, and thick leather gloves of the fire-resistant kind used by blacksmiths. When working as a court wizard in the service of Captain Sforza of Mirino under the name of Beatrix Hildebrand, Elsa makes a better effort at grooming, wearing instead a black-and-gold robe designed to look like a military uniform.

As one can expect of a Bright wizard, Elsa is fiery, passionate, stubborn and reckless. She walks and acts like she owns the place and never sugar-coats her words; of her noble upbringing, she seems to have retained only the arrogance, not the manners. Overconfident and eager to prove herself, she is the kind of person who would never back down from a challenge, no matter how foolish or pointless.


*Background:* Born the sixth child of a minor Altdorf noble house that was too impoverished to have any power but too proud to mingle with commoners, Elsas marriage prospects were rather few. Being raised with only male siblings had given her a wild, rebellious temperament that did not help matters. She first revealed her magical potential at age fourteen, when she foiled an attempt to marry her off to a suitor three times her age by setting the mans forked beard aflame. At that point, her parents gave up on her, scratched her off the family tree and sent her off to the Bright College, where wizards from all the Empire and beyond studied the Lore of Fire.

Elsa turned out to be gifted with a strong will and seemingly instinctive control over the red wind of Aqshy, but proved hopeless when it came to anything remotely theoretical, owing to her intellectual laziness and lack of discipline. No amount of chores would keep her from talking back to authority figures, neglecting her studies or sneaking into the boys dormitory at night  in fact, punishing her appeared to make her only more aggressively unruly. Things took a turn for the worse when she got into magical duelling; a tradition that is tacitly encouraged among Bright Order students, but in which she would engage with somewhat excessive enthusiasm, causing more property damage and visits to the infirmary than any other Bright College apprentice in living memory.

Disaster struck near the end of Elsas junior apprenticeship, when she challenged a fellow student, Theo (with whom she had an escalating feud for reasons long forgotten by both) to a secret duel at midnight on the roof of the college building. She turned up at the duel half-drunk and with only tenuous control over her powers. The short but incredibly violent exchange of spells ended with Theo burned to a crisp and Elsa on the run from her masters. The fugitive apprentice is now looking for a place away from the Imperial laws long reach, and the Border Princes seem like such a place.



*WS*
*BS*
*S*
*T*
*Ag*
*Int*
*WP*
*Fel*

41
36
30
41
44
65
73
44

*A*
*W*
*SB*
*TB*
*M*
*Mag*
*IP*
*FP*

1
15 / 15
3
4
5
3 (4)
8
3 / 1





*Skills*
*Base %*
*Link of Psyche*

Academic Knowledge (Daemonology)
65
75

Academic Knowledge (Magic)
65
75

Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics)
65
75

Channelling
83
93

Charm +10%
54
54

Charm Animal
44
44

Command
44
44

Common Knowledge (Border Princes)
65
75

Common Knowledge (the Empire)
65
75

Consume Alcohol
41
41

Gossip
44
44

Intimidate
30 / 44
30 / 44

Magical Sense
83
93

Perception
65
75

Read/Write
65
75

Ride
44
44

Search
65
75

Speak Arcane Language (Daemonic)
65
75

Speak Arcane Language (Magick)
65
75

Speak Language (Classical)
65
75

Speak Read Language (Nehekharan)
65
75

Speak Language (Reikspiel)
65
75

Speak Language (Tilean)
65
75





*Talents*

Aethyric Attunement

Arcane Lore (Fire)

Dark Magic

Etiquette

Extra Spell (Curtain of Flames)

Extra Spell (Inextinguishable Flame)

Fleet Footed

Lesser Magic: Aethyric Armour

Lesser Magic: Dispel

Lesser Magic: Magic Alarm

Luck

Mighty Missile

Petty Magic (Arcane)

Savvy

Schemer

Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying)

Strong-Minded

Very Resilient





*Armor:* None

*Weapons and clothes:* Dagger, hefty cane (hand weapon), best quality staff, main gauche, common all-weather clothing (quilted shirt, riding pants, black leather coat and boots), good summer clothing (red dress and sandals), noble's garb (military-style clothes in tones of black and gold), noble's garb (slate-grey winter clothes with fur lining), Nehekharan costume, ivory bracelet (thanks Sieghard!), dwarf-made copper torc, earrings, fur scarf, and backpack
*Miscellanea:* Rations for 5 days, two waterskins, tent with room for three, pair of dice, 35 yards of rope, brown hair dye, printed copy of _The Practical Pyromancer, Third Edition_, grimoire of pyromancy, bunch of scrolls from the Lost Library, map of Mirino and the area, parchment, ink, 2 matches, small mirror, 12 balls of sulphur, 8 scraps of tapestry singed by fire
*Mount:* Bastard, vile-tempered black stallion

*Gold owned:* 345 gc and 216 p.
*Investments:* 190 gc invested in Suzana's food import business (not included in gold total). Dividends last collected on 16th Pflugzeit (23 crowns, 6 schillings and 10 pennies).
*Monthly wage:* 26 gc and 157 p
*Monthly expenses:* 18 gc (incl. Putbad rent, Olga's wages, good quality food for both Elsa and Tatiana, and stabling for their horses)



*XP:* 50 / 6950
*Advances:* +10 WS, +10 BS, +10 T, +15 Ag, +30 Int, +35 WP, +15 Fel, +4 W, +3 Mag, Academic Knowledge (Daemonology), Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics), Arcane Lore (Fire), Charm +10, Charm Animal, Command, Common Knowledge (Border Princes), Consume Alcohol, Dark Magic, Etiquette, Extra Spell (Curtain of Flame), Extra Spell (Inextinguishable Flame), Intimidate, Lesser Magic (Aethyric Armour), Lesser Magic (Dispel), Lesser Magic (Magic Alarm), Luck, Mighty Missile, Ride, Schemer, Speak Arcane Language (Daemonic), Speak Language (Nehekharan), Speak Language (Tilean), Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying), Strong-Minded, Very Resilient


*Her Majesty, High Queen Khalida Neferer of Lybaras* (Elsa's snake familiar)
*Spoiler*
Show

A large, black-and-grey viper, sold to Elsa by a peasant woman as a potential familiar to replace Morrslieb the raven. Despite some initial challenges (and many bites), Elsa managed to tame the reptile and eventually establish a mind-link with her. Khalida is a simple, unobtrusive, inquisitive creature and enjoys mice, basking in the sun, making people jump in fright, and Elsa's bodily warmth.


*WS*
*BS*
*S*
*T*
*Ag*
*Int*
*WP*
*Fel*

15
0
10
10
20
10
15
0

*A*
*W*
*SB*
*TB*
*M*
*Mag*
*IP*
*FP*

1
1 / 1
1
1
2
0
0
1 / 0





*Skills*
*%*

Intimidate
10





*Talents*

Natural Weapons

Sixth Sense




*Special rule: Venom.* Any target who loses at least one Wound to an attack by Khalida must make a Challenging (-10%) Toughness test or suffer 1 additional Wound every ten minutes until 1d5 Wounds are taken.


*Familiar Abilities:* Link of Psyche (+10 Int/WP), Lucky Charm (+2 Fortune Points), Magic Power (+1 Mag).

*XP:* 62.5 / 500
*Advances:* +5 WP, Sixth Sense, Lucky Charm, Magic Power.



*Tzeentch's Curse cheat sheet* (thanks TheSummoner)
*Spoiler*
Show

*2 dice*
No Doubles: 90%
Doubles: 10%

*3 dice*
No Doubles: 81%
Doubles: 18%
Triples: 1%

*4 Dice*
No Doubles: 50.4%
Doubles: 46.8%
Triples: 2.7%
Quads: .1%

*5 Dice*
No Doubles: 30.24%
Doubles: 61.2%
Triples: 8.1%
Quads: .45%
Quints: .01%

----------


## TheSummoner

*Sieghard*
*Steward of Painford and Warden of the Thornwood*
*Career:* Captain
*Age:* 28
*Birthday:* 11th Nachexen
*Appearance:* Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, Various scars - most notably a long one on his left arm.
*Star Sign:* Wymunt the Anchorite (Sign of Enduring)
*Doom:* When the bell doth toll, it doth toll for thee.
*Experience:* 75/6975 (Current/Total Earned)
*Notable Kills:* "Honest" Rogar, Warboss Magog of the Iron Claw Orcs, Sergeant Fischwillen the "traitor", Roland de Bohun, "No-Nose" Dragos, Udolf, Kleinrabe (twice), Sigmund (also twice) and Drakken (as Wights), Nakht-Horeb, high priest of Old Lahmia, Child-in-Darkness of W'soran the Master of Death, Thief of Souls, Scourge of the Northern Plain, he who was called the Hound of Nagash

*Main*
WS
BS
S
T
A
Int
WP
Fel

61
59
61
51
57
51
49
54

30/30
20/20
20/20
20/20
20/20
15/15
15/15
25/25



*Secondary*
A
W
SB
TB
M
Mag
IP
FP

3
19/19
6
5
4
0
5
3

2/2
7/7
-
-
-
-
-
-



*Armor Points* - Full Plate Armor
Head:
5

Body:
5

Arms:
5

Legs:
5



*Spoiler*
Show

*Base Stats*
_Main_
WS
BS
S
T
Ag
Int
WP
Fel

31
39
36
31*
37
36
34
29



_Secondary_
A
W
SB
TB
M
Mag
IP
FP

1
12
3
3
4
0
0
2



*Shallya's Mercy

*Starting Skills*
_Human:_ Common Knowledge (The Border Princes), Gossip, Speak Language (Reikspiel)
_Mercenary:_ Gamble, Common Knowledge (Bretonnia), Dodge Blow, Gamble, Gossip (+10%), Perception, Ride, Secret Language (Battle Tongue), Swim

*Starting Talents*
_Human (Random):_ Night Vision, Very Strong
_Mercenary:_ Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Sharpshooter


*Stat Advances:*
+30 WS, +20 BS, +20 S, +20 T, +20 Ag, +15 Int, +15 WP, +25 Fel, +2 Attacks (One as Free Advance), +7 Wounds

_Talent-Based:_ +5 Strength (Very Strong)

*Skills Purchased*
_Mercenary:_ Haggle, Search, Speak Language (Tilean)
_Veteran:_ Consume Alcohol, Dodge Blow (+10%), Gamble (+10%), Intimidate
_Sergeant:_ Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics), Command, Dodge Blow (+20%)
_Captain:_ Animal Care, Command (+10%), Common Knowledge (Tilea), Read/Write

*Talents Purchased*
_Mercenary:_ Disarm, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Stun
_Veteran:_  Mighty Shot, Strike to Injure, Specialist Weapon Group (Engineering, Two-Handed)
_Sergeant:_ Menacing, Street Fighting
_Captain:_ Lightning Parry, Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying)

*Career Changes*
Mercenary -> Veteran -> Sergeant -> Captain


*Skills Available*
_Mercenary:_ Animal Care, Common Knowledge (Kislev, Tilea), Drive
_Veteran:_ Common Knowledge (The Border Princes +10%), Gossip (+20%), Perception (+10%), Secret Language (Battle Tongue +10%)
_Sergeant:_ Common Knowledge (Any Two), Intimidate (+10%), Perception (+20%)*, Ride (+10%), Swim (+10%), Secret Language (Battle Tongue +20%)*, Speak Language (Tilean +10%)
*Requires +10% from Veteran first

*Talents Available*
_Mercenary:_ All Talents Learned
_Veteran:_ Very Resilient
_Sergeant:_ Seasoned Traveler, Wrestling


*Skills*
Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics), Animal Care, Command (+10%), Common Knowledge (Bretonnia, The Border Princes, Tilea), Consume Alcohol, Dodge Blow (+20%), Gamble (+10%), Gossip (+10%), Haggle, Intimidate, Perception, Read/Write (barely literate), Ride, Search, Secret Language (Battle Tongue), Speak Language (Reikspiel, Tilean), Swim

*Talents*
Disarm, Lightning Parry, Menacing, Mighty Shot, Night Vision, Rapid Reload, Sharpshooter, Specialist Weapon Group (Engineering, Parrying, Two-Handed), Street Fighting, Strike Mighty Blow, Strike to Injure, Strike to Stun, Quick Draw, Very Strong

*Trappings:*
*Possessions Taken With Him*
_Clothing:_ Noble's Garb (Colors similar to the Thorns' uniforms), 2 Sets of Good Clothing, Common Clothing (worn when traveling, or under his armor), Hooded Cloak (w/ Brass Clasp in the Shape of a Wolf's Head. Dark Blue)

_Weapons:_ Sword (Best Quality), Dagger (Best Quality, tucked in his belt), Shield, Crossbow (20 Bolts), Gilded Spear (Magical, Best Quality) (Stolen by Sforza)

_Armor:_ Leather Skullcap, Leather Jack, Leather Leggings, Mail Coif, Sleeved Mail Shirt, Mail Leggings, Sallet Helm w/ Visor, Breastplate, Plate Leggings, Plate Bracers, Pair of Gauntlets

_Misc:_
Backpack - 2 Waterskins (empty unless traveling), Rope (20 yards), 1 Torch (treated), Property Deeds (Two warehouses, a boathouse, a pier, and the Greenapple house in Savonne), No-Nose Dragos's debt ledger, Blanket, Wooden Tankard, Wooden Cutlery Set, Mess Tin, Cooking Pot, Skewer, Coin Purse #1 (39gc, 3s, 8p), Coin Purse #2 (empty), Iron Strongbox (Locked. 2,100 gc)

_Destrier w/ Saddle & Harness_ (Possessed, mutated, and died)

_Painford, Ravenskird, and the Thornwood_
*Possessions Currently Left in Painford*
Six dogs (Mastiffs formerly owned by Dragos), Chest of Nehekharan coins (Unspecified number - a number of strange gold coins, just like the one the apothecary had shown to Ludo. They represented quite a stash, but they rattled around in the big chest like loose change - if the thing had ever been full, then it was sadly depleted.), Coin Purse #3 (11gc - Nehekharan Coins from Kheneb). Iron Strongbox (Locked. 350gc), Wooden Chest

_Weapons and Armor:_ Firearm, Swordbreaker, Morning Star, 3 Daggers (Looted from the battlefield where Bernhard was killed), 4 Long Knives, Bow (10 Black-fletched Arrows), Sleeved Mail Shirt (Bernhard's)

_Trophies and Personal Treasures:_ Wolf Pelt, Orc War Banner, Red Company Banner, Jarl Rorik's Wolf Skull Banner, Silver Wolf Coin from The Happy Serpent

_General Expenses:_ Food and board covered while in Manaan's Keep. 5p per day fodder and 10p per day stabling for his horse.
4gc per month (Reserved private room at the Happy Serpent)

Everything up to date as of 11th Ulriczeit.

*Spoiler: The Spear of Kheneb-Ptra-Urush*
Show

*Light of Ptra:* In the presence of vampires, the spearhead shines with the light of the sun. It provides illumination based on the proximity of the nearest vampire as below:

*Distance to vampire*
*Illumination provided*

36 yards
Equivalent to a candle

18 yards
Equivalent to a lantern

2 yards
Equivalent to a campfire



Vampires with a weakness to sunlight suffer a -20 penalty to all their primary characteristics when within 2 yards of the spear.

*Dwimmulson Grudge Rune:* All attacks made against Nakht-Horeb, high priest of Old Lahmia, Child-in-Darkness of W'soran the Master of Death, Thief of Souls, Scourge of the Northern Plain, he who was called the Hound of Nagash, can re-roll misses.


*Background:*
*Spoiler*
Show

Sieghard was born in Danford, a village west of the Broken Reaches on what was then the border of what is now Jarl Rorick's land and the territory controlled by Lord Halvard. Danford had little strategic value nor did it have an abundance of resources, so the local lords had little interest in it. For the most part, the only thing the villagers needed to concern themselves with was the local goblin tribes. Sieghard was the third born of five children. His father was a member of the local militia and often told stories of times when the goblins grew too aggressive.

When Sieghard was 12, Danford came under attack, not by greenskins, but by men loyal to Lord Halvard who were running low on supplies in a campaign against one of the other local lords. The villagers tried to defend their home, but they could do little against the better trained and better armed soldiers. Sieghard's father was slain, his mother and siblings either killed or fled. When the raid was over, Sieghard picked through the wreckage. He found a scant handful of coins and an old sword abandoned in the ruins. He swore that one day he would have revenge against Halvard and those who served him.

Three years later, Lord Halvard would be slain in battle against his rivals in The Border Princes. His death would have absolutely nothing to do with Sieghard.

With his home destroyed and family lost, Sieghard joined with a few of the other survivors led by one of the older boys and traveled north. Along the road, they stole as they needed to and even robbed once or twice when they could get away with it. Eventually the group found themselves in a larger town. Some found new lives, Sieghard and a few others joined up with gang of other orphaned boys and continued to steal to survive. He was neither the oldest nor the largest of the orphans, but the fact that he owned a real sword did give Sieghard some status within the group. When Sieghard was 17, he joined a band of mercenaries that had stopped in the town for supplies and was recruiting.

Sieghard had no experience and was a slow learner. He had taken poor care of his sword over the years (and it hadn't been in the best condition when he had first found it). He had carried the blade mostly as a symbol of status and had little idea how to wield it properly. Whether through determination or pure luck (or perhaps the foresight to take up the crossbow after narrowly surviving his first real battle against a band of orcs), Sieghard managed to survive, even when the mercenary company was destroyed on a poorly chosen job several years later.

Having no other skills, Sieghard continued to work as a sword for hire for the next few months. Sometimes with a small group, sometimes independently, he sold his skills to whoever would pay. His fortunes having turned sour yet again, Sieghard found himself headed towards the village of Elmridge in search of new work.


*Useful Links:*
Gambling Rules for The Chalice and the Serpent

List of All Books Taken from the Lost Library
Details About the 5 Mundane Books
And the 3 Sieghard Gave to Al-Makir.

----------


## TheSummoner

*The Thorns*
*Mercenary Crossbowmen (21)*

*Career:* Woodsman (incomplete) -> Mercenary
*Experience:* 100/300 (Current/Total Earned)

*Main*
WS
BS
S
T
AG
Int
WP
Fel

31
46
31
36
36
31
31
31

0/10
10/10
0/5
0/5
0/5
-
0/10
-



*Secondary*
A
W
SB
TB
M
Mag
IP
FP

1
11
3
3
4
0
0
0

0/1
0/3
-
-
-
-
-
-



*Armor Points* - Full Leather Armor
Head:
1

Body:
1

Arms:
1

Legs:
1



*Skills:*
Animal Care, Concealment, Common Knowledge (Border Princes), Dodge Blow, Follow Trail, Gossip, Perception, Silent Move, Speak Language (Reikspiel)

*Talents:*
Sharpshooter, Very Resilent, Rapid Reload, Rover

*Advances Purchased:*
+10 BS

*Trappings:*
Crossbow and Bolts (Usually carries 10-20 at a time), Short Sword, Knife, Full Leather Armor, Uniform.

*Notable Members*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Ingwald* - A young man with slightly more education than is useful or convenient for a rural peasant, which he claims he got from a travelling priest. He can read some words and is the member of the Thorns most prone to talking back. As a plus, he is more intelligent than most of the others, and did master the crossbow fairly quickly.*Gustaf* - A hunter from the Thornwood. Doesn't talk much (some like Ingwald make fun of him for being "simple") but is one of the best shots in the regiment - it was him who scored the three consecutive hits during the contest with the Gamecocks.*Hanna* - A young woman from Manann's Keep. Her husband, a much older man, was killed during the battle for the town. Seeing one of Viggo's performances in the town square, she slipped away from her husband's family and signed up before they could object. She's not very good with a crossbow, but is very gregarious and seems to much prefer the company of her new friends to her old family.*Petar* - Brother of Baldo.*Gunther**Kaspar* - Knows how to ride a horse.*Hagen* - Injured while taking the gates of Savonne. Has a mark in the shape of a Raven's wing on his leg from where Elsa used Morrslieb to cauterize the wound.*Silas* - Accompanied the party to Harmugstahl.*Steffan* - Accompanied the party to Harmugstahl.*Thom* - Accompanied the party to Harmugstahl. Nicknamed _Whispering Thom_ on account of his exceptionally loud voice.*Hilde* - One of Elsa's bodyguards when the party went to find Tatiana.*Rike Moller* - Volunteered for the group that lured the Rivermouth ghouls out of Nath and into a trap. Sole survivor of the group attacked by Gunda.*Steffen* - Lured the ghouls.*Karol* - Lured the ghouls.*Marius* - Lured the ghouls.*Linde* - Lured the ghouls.*Kurt**Hamlyn* - Survived Nath, but lost a leg.


*Permanant Injuries*
 One man lost a leg at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap and walks with a false one. Hamlyn lost a leg at to the spirits of Nath and walks with a false one.

*Former Members*
*Ottilda* - A woman from the Thornwood, in her late thirties. Viggo found her returning with a group of refugees from the Dead Hills, whom she seemed to have taken charge of. The other recruits find her a little intimidating, as she refuses to talk of her family or her past, and her arms are scarred with recently-healed burns. She has thrown herself into training with more zeal than most of the others and is frustrated at her inability to best Gustaf at target shooting. Fought bravely in Rivermouth until no one but she and Sieghard were left standing. Sieghard blames himself for not being able to save her.*Goran* - A burly charcoal-burner who Viggo convinced to join the regiment on the grounds that, with his hut destroyed by the greenskins, he had nothing better to do. He's not the best shot in the Thorns, but he follows orders dutifully and has the strength and stamina of an ox. Selflessly threw himself into a pack of ghouls so that others might live. Survived the battle, but later died of injuries sustained.*Lanwin* - A runaway. One of the newer recruits. Died in Rivermouth, shortly after being recruited.*Boldo* - Recruited by Ludo and Viggo in Isolici. Killed by the Red Company while keeping watch for Alvarr's forces outside of Arrow Heap.*Baldo* - Brother of Petar. Died during the Third Battle of Arrow Heap.*Ortwin* - In charge of the cannon. Died at Nath when Nahorek's spirits attacked.*Hans* - Went with Ludo to capture Klammenberg. Killed by Gunda.*Johann Lennart* - Went with Ludo to capture Klammenberg. Initially escaped Gunda's ambush with Rike, but was chased down and killed.*Florin* - A gangly boy of about 17, who entirely believes Viggo's exaggerated account of the battle with Magog. He practically hero-worships Sieghard and Viggo, an inconvenient trait that is made up for by the fact that he is an enthusiastic learner. Grew disillusioned with Sieghard's leadership after the disaster at Rivermouth and abandoned the unit.

+30 Initially recruited.
-3 Killed by raiders led by Hakon Blood-Song in Painford.
+4 Recruited in Painford.
+14 Recruited by Viggo after negotiating for higher pay with Al'Makir.
-11 Killed in Rivermouth or died afterwards from wounds sustained. (Ottilda, Goran, Lanwin)
-1 Abandoned after Rivermouth. (Florin)
+1/-1 Recruited from Isolici, then killed by the Red Company shortly after. (Boldo)
-1 Killed by Alvarr's archers in the Second Battle of Arrow Heap.
-1 Died while ambushing Alvarr's supply wagons.
-1 Killed by Kelda at the Battle of the Burning Hill.
-5 Died at the Third Battle of Arrow Heap. (Baldo)
-3 Died after the battle from their injuries.
+9 Recruited in Savonne.
+9 Recruited while returning to Savonne from Bunthafen.
+13 Recruited in Savonne and from the surrounding farms.
-26 Died in Nath, trying to rescue the villagers from Caerfort. (Ortwin)
-4 Abandoned in the aftermath of Nath.
-2 Killed by Gunda and the Falcons (Hans) (Note to self: Kill Irene Sforza)


*Modifiers for Individuals & Groups*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Ingwald* - +10 Int, Read/Write.
*Hanna* - +5 Fel
*Gustaf* - Follow Trail +10%, Outdoor Survival, Set Trap, Silent Move +10%. BS -5
*Rivermouth Survivors (Hanna, Gustaf & Ingwald)* - +10% to resist Fear and Terror caused by the undead.
*3 Unnamed Thorns who went with Ludo to set fires in the Red Company camp* - Silent Move +10%.


*Company Property:*
*Spoiler*
Show

_General Equipment_
21+ Crossbows
21+ Swords
21 Sets full leather armor (Leather Skullcap, Leather Jack, Leather Leggings)
21 Uniforms (Breeches, Jerkin, Woolen Cloak, Hobnailed Boots)

_Additional Property_
373gc, 7s, 5p (Company funds, kept in Painford).
Barracks in Manaan's Keep and Painford (kept locked when unoccupied)
Banner
50 Tents
30 Crossbow Targets (straw men painted in Alvarr's colors)
_Filomena_ (Cannon)

1200 Crossbow Bolts (Replenished monthly)
12 Cannonballs (Up to 12 replenished monthly)
3 Small Barrels of Blackpowder (Each barrel has enough powder for 12 shots.)

_Spare Equipment_
1 Helmet
21 Breastplates
2 Sets Full Mail
2 additional Mail Shirts
9 Spears
32 Hand Weapons
19 Firearms
4 Nets
14 Shields
Rorik's Shield (Good Craftsmanship)
Rorik's Dagger (Good Craftsmanship)
2 Swords (Good Craftsmanship)

2 Riding Horses
1 Draft Horse
4 Oxen
Cart
10-Gallon Cask


*Accounting Info:* (Pay given on the 1st of each month)
*Spoiler*
Show

_Income_ - 440gc per month; 2/3 of all loot taken (Sforza claims 1/3)
_Pay_ - 20gc per month to Sieghard; 10gc per month to Ludo; 4gc per month to Hanna & Ingwald; 3gc 10s per month to Urgrim; 2gc 10s per month to everyone else. Bonus pay as called for. (Total: 89gc monthly expenses for 21 Thorns)
_Expenses_ - 10gc per Cannonball; 15gc per Small Barrel of Blackpowder (price non-negotiable); Uniform pricing

----------


## LeSwordfish

*Ludovic Stubbs*



"Adventurer. By trade. When the opportunity arises."
*WS*
*BS*
*S*
*T*
*Ag*
*Int*
*Will*
*Fel*

28
46
26
36
74
48
37
72

2/2
1/1
1/1
3/3
5/5
2/2
2/2
6/6



*Fortune*
*Insanity*
*Lucky*

2/2
1/1
1/1




*Attacks:* 2 (1/1)
*Wounds:* 14/14 (4/4)
*Move:* 5
*Fate:* 2
*Insanity:* 1

*Skills:* Academic Knowledge (Genealogy/Heraldry, Necromancy), Blather, Charm +20, Command +10, Common Lore (Halflings, Border Princes), Consume Alcohol, Dodge Blow +10, Evaluate +20, Gamble +10, Gossip, Haggle, Perception+20, Pick Lock, Performer (Actor), Read/Write, Scale Sheer Surface, Search, Sleight Of Hand, Stealth +20, Speak Language (Riekspiel, Halfling, Classical, Khazalid, Tilean), Trade (Miner)

*Talents:* Flee!, Mimic, Night Vision, Public Speaker, Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Resistant to Chaos, Sixth Sense, Streetwise, Specialist weapons training (Sling, Gunpowder), Tunnel Rat, Dealmaker

*Gear:**Spoiler*
Show


*Money*
114GP, 10S,
110GP owed by Sforza.
Monthly Income: 10GC

*Clothes:*
Dashing Clothes
Normal Clothes
Thorns uniform with cloak
Adelbert's Owl pendant
Wide-brimmed hat
Leather Jack (AP 1, Body, Arms)

*Weapons:*
Sling (Dam 3, 16/32 Range, Half Reload)
Crossbow (Dam 4, 30/60 Range, Full Reload)
12 Crossbow Bolts (Resupplied from Thorns armoury)
2 Silver BoltsSword (Dam SB) 
Dagger (Dam SB-3)
Silvered Sword (Dam SB, Silvered)
Shield (Dam SB-2, +10 to parry, -10 to be hit at range)
Firearm (Dam 4, 24/48 Range, 2 Full Reload, Impact (2d10b1 damage), Unreliable (96-00 to hit is bad news)
10 Shots of ammo

*Equipment*
Tent
Backpack
Blanket
Cutlery
Tankard
Lamp
12 Hours Oil
10 Matches2x Waterskins
Lockpicks
20ft rope
Two sacks
Crowbar

Pony (Lumpin)
Terrier (Stoutheart)

One sheet of vellum, two candles of dark wax. Rubbing of Madam Morte's broken brooch, rubbing of symbol on Alvarran sword. Obsidian Pendant from the Ravenskird Ruins.


*Career:* Tomb Robber > Rogue > Gambler > Rapscallion

*Advances/Stat Changes*
*Spoiler*
Show

Shallya's blessing on Strength, swapped Agility and Weapon Skill.

Free - +5 Int
100xp - +5 Int
200xp - Charm
100xp - +5 Fel
100xp - Luck
100xp - Silent Move
200xp - +10 Ag
200xp - +10 WP
200xp - +10 WS
200xp - +2 Wounds
200xp - Progress to *Rogue*

100xp - Haggle
100xp - Gamble
100xp - +5 Fellowship
100xp - +5 Agility
250xp - Dodge Blow
100xp - +5 Agility
100xp - Charm +10
100xp - Concealment +10
100xp - Flee
100xp - Silent Move +10
100xp - Int +5
100xp - Fel +5
100xp - +5 BS
100xp - Blather
100xp - Progress to *Gambler*

100xp - Streetwise
100xp - Sleight Of Hand
100xp - Progress to *Rapscallion*

100xp - Dodge Blow +10
100xp - Fleet Footed (+1 Movement)
100xp - +5 Fellowship
200xp - Speak Language (Tilean)
100xp - +5 Toughness
100xp - +5 Toughness
200xp - Command
100xp - +1 Wound
100xp - +1 Wound
100xp - Quick Draw
100xp - +1 Attack
200xp - Rapid Reload
100xp - Dealmaker
100xp - +5 Str
100xp - +5 Toughness
100xp - +1 Wound
100xp - Charm +20
200xp - Academic Knowledge (Necromancy)
100xp - +10 Perception
100xp - +1 Wound
200xp - Command +10
100xp- +5 Ag
100xp - +20 Perception
100xp - +5 Fel
100xp - +5 Fel
100xp - +5 Ag
100xp - +5 Ag
200xp - SWT (Gunpowder)
100xp - Evaluate +10
100xp - Consume Alcohol
100xp - Gamble +10
100xp - Evaluate +20

(to buy for progression: Lip Reading, Swim)
(available: Ambidextrous, Swashbuckler, Read/Write +10, Search to +20, Gossip to +20, Sleight of Hand to +10, any two Common Knowledges)
0xp Remaining



*Insanity - Ghosts of the Fallen*
*Spoiler*
Show

]_A life of adventure has turned out to include a lot more death than Ludo envisioned growing up in Sermena. Now, when he leads others into danger, he feels the accusing stares of those he couldn't save..._

Ludo feels overwhelming feelings of guilt at allowing others to expose themselves to danger in his place, sometimes manifesting as hallucinations of the ghosts of dead comrades. He must pass a WP test not to volunteer for dangerous tasks, or come to the assistance of friends in danger. If someone dies as a result of Ludo passing a WP test not to help them, he suffers -10 to his WP and Fel for the next 24 hours as he is wracked with guilt.

Once per day, Ludo may forfeit the WP test when faced with such a situation and see the ghost of a dead comrade urging him on, granting him a temporary Fortune Point that lasts until the end of the day.


*Background*
*Spoiler*
Show


*Age:* 54
*Height:* 4'2"
*Weight:* 115lbs
*Hair:* Dark Brown
*Eyes:* Hazel
*Star Sign:* Dragomas the Drake (Sign of Courage)
*Doom:* "Follow not the steps of Dragomas."

The small man fed the small dog a scrap of chicken and smiled up at the two mercenaries. They exchanged glances. Say all that again. Nosewood said eventually.

The small man gave an indulgent chuckle. He was a middle-aged halfling, short, stout, wearing faded breeches and shirt under a battered, brightly coloured jacket, and a wide-brimmed flat cloth hat. "My name, good sirs, is Ludovic Stubbs. Yes, indeed, _that_ Ludovic Stubbs. Born in Last Water, in the lands of Capitano Sforza, grew up under vicious attacks from the undead, the greenskins, and the ratmen of the wastes. Killed a dozen ratmen defending my fathers farm. But that wasnt enough adventure for me, oh no. Back when I was a strapping lad, I needed more. Turned my love for adventure into a love of the open road. Took to raiding barrows and tombs. Hundreds of crowns worth of artefacts I took from them, sometimes right under the nasal cavities of their old inhabitants. Some of those tombs are Morrs own house, let me tell you. Hidden blades, sharp as needles, poisons that have only matured over time. I took jewels from dragons eyes, with barely scorched feet. Im the only halfling to return alive from the slopes of the red pyramid. Im an entrepreneur: I gather, collect, and sell the antiquities these tombs hold. And now I wish to do your little band the honour of joining it.

The two mercenaries gave each other another look. Ludovic pretended to ignore it, and fed the dog a bit more chicken. This here is Stoutheart, by the way. Im sure hed wish to join too.

Where in these lands do _dragons_ dwell? Nosewood began.
Oh. Around and abouts.
For a man with hundreds of crowns to his name, you certainly were unwilling to pay for your own meat. Nosewoods companion, Dullhelm commented.
I, ah, prefer...
Ratmen dont really attack from the wastes.
These ones were, ah, misplaced...
And _nobody_ returns alive from the red pyramid. Nosewood was very firm on this. Ludovic blanched briefly, but seemed to rally and drew himself up to his full height. I did.
No you didnt, halfling. The two mercenaries stood. Weve seen enough. Dullhelm nodded. You can pay for your own damn meat.

Ludovic stood, (pulling the chicken away from the dog) and squared up to the men. I am a legitimate businessmen, and i will not accept these aspersions on my character.
You are a liar, and a grave robber, and we will not sully the honour of our company by...
Please! The impassioned plea caught the attention of the entire bar. Ludovic looked briefly embarrassed, then continued. I want to be an adventurer. All my life ive been sneaking around in old barrows and stealing trinkets from corpses. I want excitement. I want adventure. Wont you let me join?
Nosewood shook his head. We dont take liars.

After the two men had gone, Ludo sat down again. The dog whined at his ankle, and he threw it another piece of chicken with a sigh. Ah well, Stoutheart. he said. We live and we learn.
He drew a scrap of parchment from his pack and crossed Nosewoods Irregulars off a long list. 
"Meeting the Ramkin Swordsmen in half an hour." he commented. "Perhaps they won't ask so many questions."

----------


## Thragka

Name: Urgrim Jotunnsson
Race: Dwarf
Career: Entertainer -> Vagabond -> *Scout*

Appearance:
*Spoiler*
Show

Urgi is slim for a dwarf, standing four feet eight inches tall and some 140 pounds. The even tan of his skin is noticeably unusual for a dwarf, marking him as one who spends more time above ground than is healthy for a traditional sky-fearing dawi. His hair and beard are copper, with prominent blond highlights from the sun; ashy streaks and the occasional strand of outright grey are just beginning to appear. His beard is also shorter than one might expect of a dwarf his age, barely reaching below his breast  but if this is remarked upon, he remains silent and a little distant.

A gentle, flat nose and an angular (though not thin) jaw give him something of a kindly face. His big blue eyes are ever a little puffy, and his gaze seems soft and gentle  but when it lingers, it has a depth that speaks of careful consideration. In contrast to his bushy moustache, his right eyebrow is missing, and his left is bifurcated by a jag of scar tissue which continues upwards to the ruined landscape of forehead.

There are other scars  on his leg, across his forearms  and a pair of Klinkarun tattoos on his chest, but they generally remain covered by his garb. When he ranges, he wears simple and breathable cloth. On his own time, he makes a little more effort to be presentable: an embroidered shirt and matching waistcoat, finely dyed breaches and elegant boots. In any case, he is rarely seen without his pair of throwing axes tucked into his belt, one on each side.



Background:
*Spoiler*
Show

On the 33rd of Kaldezeit 2437, by the Imperial reckoning, Urgrim Jotunnsson was born in the sea-hold of Barak Varr on the Black Gulf, first child of Jotunn Urgrimsson, a stoneworker of no mean repute of Clan Harginsson, and Dagmar Anikasdottir, herself a respected woman of letters who worked in the administration of the trading port. The healthy babe was the pride and joy of his parents, and his early years passed happily. Urgrim was an athletic and intelligent child. From his father, he learned to work stone, his nimble hands taking quickly to smaller versions of the masons tools. Jotunn was even more overjoyed than he let on, and it was clear to all that he looked forward to welcoming his son into his craft as his partner once he was a dwarf grown. Dagmar often brought the young Urgrim to the docks, where he marvelled at the sheer variety of peoples that would pass through the port of Barak Varr; he would pester his mother with never-ending questions about the wide world beyond the hold. His parents encouraged their bright sons interest, although the somewhat more conservative Jotunn did not fully approve, as the boy got older, of his fascination with umgi ways.

Perhaps his fathers fears were something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. As Urgrim grew into a beardling, his skill with stone developed into a good amateur artistry with sculpture, but he did not seem keen to follow his father into the craft. Instead he broadened his art, pursuing an interest in dwarven bardic traditions  the singing and recital of the historic dwarven sagas. It was far from a scandalous pursuit in the generally traditionalist culture of Barak Varr, but still Jotunn found fault with how Urgrim chose to spend his time, despite his wifes gentle remonstrations to ease off.

Unfortunately, the wedge between father and son had already been driven, and it would not be healed in the conservative stronghold of Barak Varr. The holds king, Byrrnoth Grundadrak, encouraged all young dwarfs to make the traditional journey to Karak Kadrin when they came of age, and Jotunn pressed Urgrim to take on the challenge as he reached his thirties, so that he could return and join the family business. Urgrim might not have left Barak Varr, if not for this; but after a particularly vicious argument, where small disagreements were amplified by both to an unnecessary rancour, Urgrim departed the hold  not for the pilgrimage, but to join a troupe of human travelling players who were heading west across the Border Princes instead. His last insult to his father was twofold: he shortened his beard, and insisted he would now answer only to Urgi instead of his full name  it had been Dagmars pet name for him since his infancy, but its similarity to the Khazalid word for enemy took on a new connotation with the breakdown in relations with his father.

Urgi soon lost confidence in his rebellion, finding that his art was not so appreciated among humans: the songs were too mournful, and the Reikspiel translations of the sagas had none of the rhetorical or narrative appeal of the Khazalid originals. Nonetheless, he was too proud  and too unsure of how to mend the broken bridges with his father  to go home. He stayed with the troupe as they continued west along the north coast of the Black Gulf, mostly earning his keep by dourly performing tricks with his throwing knives. They crossed the princes to Tilea, and Urgis moods improved; despite how lost he now felt, unhappy among humans but unable to return to his hold, it was a wonder to him to see the culture and artistry he had craved. The troupes time traversing the Plain of Luccini and the many principalities south of the Republic of Verezzo did much to restore his personality and improve his self-confidence.

As he grew past the headstrong immaturity of his thirties and forties, though, Urgi found that he still lacked something in his core. He had spent enough time among humans to confirm that he was not one of them, and that he never would feel like one; but he did not feel he knew how to be a dwarf. He was homesick despite not wanting to go home; instead he returned to singing his songs and reciting his sagas, and praying to the ancestor-gods. When the troupe disbanded and most were signing up with mercenary companies, Urgi was in demand and fielded offers from several captains. In fact this infuriated him: these officers reduced him just to his size and shape as a dwarf when such a label only frustrated him. So he took off back east, driven to travel between the holds of the Vaults and Black mountains, and rediscover his own sense of identity.

Urgi found then that this itinerant life suited him: he had the independence of the vagabond, but would cross from hold to hold and clan to clan, spending sometimes years attached to each. He found that his non-conformity was welcomed, and even accepted, as a Ranger  even if a slightly more sun-touched one than most. Over the decades, Urgi has grown comfortable as a ranger without a fixed hold. He still enjoys the company of humans, sometimes more than other dwarfs; he still is not sure where he belongs, and cannot see himself living beneath one mountain; but he knows that he is a dwarf, even if an unusual sort of one. One day  perhaps soon, perhaps far in the future  when he has regained some more confidence, he will return to Barak Varr, to see his parents (particularly his mother, whom he misses dearly), and ask that his father accept him as an upstanding dawi in his own way. For now, it is enough to provide service to the clans of the Princes by doing what he does best in the wilds, and cement his own confidence as a respected and proficient ranger.



Personality:
*Spoiler*
Show

In company, Urgi is patient and attentive. He speaks softly, with measured words but lively engagement. Among those he knows he is light-hearted and slow to anger  at least, relative to the typical dwarf. At times he craves solitude, but in general he takes life as it comes. His years of ranging in the Border Princes, and moving between dwarf-holds and human settlements, have taught him to appreciate the moment, and not to dismiss the temporary passions and endeavours of umgi as meaningless  in this changeable land, perhaps such things are more beautiful because they are short-lived. Nonetheless, he makes no effort to hide how little he thinks of the political squabbling of Border Princes. The war in the north has shown that some events are too important to process on the scale of the human lifespan; and perhaps, now, something in the Red Pyramid threatens a similar danger to the Broken Reaches that will need a unified response 

When he is with a group or in a settlement, he sometimes sings to himself absent-mindedly, or can be caught reciting passages from dwarven sagas, or whistling slow and mournful tunes as he sharpens his axes or tinkers with his petty masonry. When ranging, or caught in a crisis, though, he has single-minded focus, and his surprising agility comes not from haste but from mindfulness of his circumstances. Sometimes, sadder moods come and go, as unpredictable but usually also as transient as the weather. When feeling low, he is reserved and untalkative  if forced to speak he will be laconic, although rarely outright rude. He loses confidence in himself and can return to his existential fear of being a dwarf without a hold, and moreover an outcast among outcasts; uncomfortable even among his fellow rangers, aware that he will never not be a dwarf but not knowing what sort of dwarfishness would welcome and accept him In these times, he loses himself in his memories and his existential uncertainty for some hours; usually, by the next dusk or dawn he will be his usual self.




Profile:
*Main Profile*
*WS*
*BS*
*S*
*T*
*Ag*
*Int*
*WP*
*Fel*

Current
55
56
49
51
46
54
51
32

Advances
2/4
4/4
2/2
2/2
3/3
4/4
3/3
2/2

*Secondary Profile*
*A*
*W*
*SB*
*TB*
*M*
*Mag*
*IP*
*FP*

Current
2
16
4
5
4
0
2
2

Advances
1/1
5/6









Move: 4
Attacks: 2
Wounds: 16/16
Fortune/Fate points: 1/3
Insanity Points: 2

Skills: 
*Spoiler*
Show


*Skill*
*Characteristic*
*Proficiency*
*Target Roll*
*Notes*

*Trained*





Animal Care
Intelligence

54


Charm
Fellowship

32
Can affect 10x as many people with Public Speaking

Common Knowledge (Border Princes)
Intelligence

64
(bonus from Seasoned Traveller included)

Common Knowledge (Dwarfs)
Intelligence

64
(bonus from Seasoned Traveller included)

Common Knowledge (Tilea)
Intelligence

64
(bonus from Seasoned Traveller included)

Dodge Blow
Agility

46


Evaluate
Intelligence

54


Follow Trail
Intelligence

54


Heal
Intelligence

54


Navigation
Intelligence
+10
74
(bonus from Orientation included)

Outdoor Survival
Intelligence

54


Perception
Intelligence
+20
74


Performer (Singer)
Fellowship
+10
42


Performer (Storyteller)
Fellowship
+10
42


Read/Write
Intelligence

54


Ride
Agility

46


Scale Sheer Surface
Strength

49


Secret Signs (Scout)
Intelligence

54


Speak Language (Khazalid)
Intelligence

64
(bonus from Seasoned Traveller included)

Speak Language (Ranger Tongue)
Intelligence

64
(bonus from Seasoned Traveller included)

Speak Language (Reikspiel)
Intelligence

64
(bonus from Seasoned Traveller included)

Stealth*
Agility
+20
66
+10 bonus in rural settings

Swim
Strength

49


Trade (Stoneworker)
Agility

56
(bonus from Dwarfcraft included)

*Other Notes*






*see house rules combining Silent Move and Concealment


Talents:
*Spoiler*
Show


*Name*
*Description*

Dwarfcraft
+10 bonus on Trade (Armourer, Brewer, Gem Cutter, Gunsmith, Miner, Smith, Stoneworker and Weaponsmith)

Fleet-footed
+1 Movement  included in profile

Grudge-born Fury
+5 bonus to WS against orcs, goblins and hobgoblins

Lightning Reflexes
+5 Agility  included in profile

Marksman
+5 BS  included in profile

Mighty Shot
+1 bonus to damage with missile weapons

Night Vision
Vision up to 30 yards in natural low-light conditions

Orientation
+10 bonus to Navigation tests

Public Speaking
Can effect 10x as many people with Charm

Quick Draw
Once per round, ready as a free action

Rapid Reload
Half action refund to load missile weapons

Resistance to Magic
+10 bonus on relevant WP tests

Rover
+10 bonus on Concealment and Silent Move in rural settings

Seasoned Traveller
+10 bonus on Common Knowledge and Speak Language tests

Sharpshooter
Aim action grants+20 bonus with missile weapons rather than +10

Specialist Weapon Group (Throwing)
-

Stout-hearted
+10 bonus on Fear, Terror, and WP vs. Intimidate tests

Sturdy
No movement penalties in heavy/plate armour

Very Strong
+5 S  included in profile

Wrestling
+10 bonus when grappling (S) or attempting to grapple unarmed (WS)





Trappings:
*Spoiler*
Show

Weapons, ammo and armour:

*Name*
*Group*
*Range*
*Dam*
*Rld*
*Special*
*Ammo*

Axe (Hand weapon)
Ordinary
-
1d10+4
-

-

Shield
Ordinary
-
1d10+2
-
Defensive, -10 Ranged To Hit penalty
-

Dagger
Ordinary
-
1d10+1
-

-

Crossbow
Ordinary
30/60
1d10+5
Half
(including talent effects)
25 bolts, 1 silver bolt

Throwing Axe
Throwing
8/-
1d10+3
Free
(including talent effects)
2 axes




Armour: Mail shirt, leather jack, leather leggings, leather skullcap. AP: Head 1, Body 2, Arms 1, Legs 1.

Other gear:
Common quality clothes (ranging gear and cloak), Good Craftsmanship clothes (embroidered shirt & waistcoat, dyed breeches, elegant boots), backpack, blanket, wooden tankard, metal flask, wooden cutlery, cooking pot, bottle of usquebaugh, purse containing money, 10 days' rations, tent, waterskin, fish hook and line, grappling hook, spade, 10 yards of rope, 12 wooden spikes, storm lantern, tinderbox, 8 vials of lamp oil, trade tools (stoneworker) including small hammer and chisel, Best Craftsmanship (scented) soap




XP record: 50/6150 (unspent/accumulated)
Advances taken:
*Spoiler*
Show


4800 in character creation (details lost to time, like tears in rain)

100 on +1 A
200 on Read/Write
100 on Dodge Blow
100 on +5 WP
100 on +5 BS
100 on +5 WP
100 on +1 W
100 on +1 WS
100 on +1 S
100 on +1 W
100 on Animal Care
100 on Ride



Money: 19g 8s 11p
Income: 3g 10s from Sieghard's/the Thorns' coffers, on the 1st of the month.



last updated mid- to late-Nachexen, 24/10/21: XP and gold accounting (bought Ride, re-stocked rations, assumed some disposal spending around Hexenstag)

----------


## RossN

*Jarla Schreiber*


*Career:*  Entertainer / Gambler / Rapscallion / Highwaywoman
*Age:* 27
*Star Sign:* 
*Birthplace:* A Fortified Town in Averland
*Appearance:* 

WS:(51) BS: (57) S:(40) T:(44) Ag:(62) Int:(51) WP:(42) Fel:(64)
A: 2 W: 15 SB: 4 TB: 4 M: 4 Mag: 0 IP: 1  FP: 3 

*Skills:* Animal Care, Animal Training, Blather, Charm, Common Knowledge (The Empire +10%), Common Knowledge (Tilea), Common Knowledge (Bretonnia), Consume Alcohol, Dodge Blow, Evaluate, Gamble, Gossip, Lip Reading, Perception, Performer (Actor _and_ Dancer), Read/Write, Ride, Search, Secret Language (Thieves' Tongue), Silent Move, Sleight of Hand, Speak Language (Reikspiel +10%), Swim

*Talents:* Ambidextrous, Etiquette, Flee!, Master Gunner, Mighty Shot, Night Vision, Quick Draw, Sharpshooter, Sixth Sense, Specialist Weapon Group (Fencing), Specialist Weapon Group (Gunpowder), Specialist Weapon Group (Throwing), Streetwise, Sturdy, Swashbuckler, Trick Riding.

*Trappings:* Pair of pistols with powder and ammunition for 20 shots, nobles garb (two outfits), mask, riding horse with saddle and harness, common clothing consisting of a shirt, breeches, and worn boots, a tattered cloak, a dagger tucked in a boot or belt,a blanket, a wooden tankard, a wooden cutlery set, a hand weapon (sword) and a purse holding 22 Gold Crowns (gc).

*Physical Description:* Jarla Schreiber is a tall (5'8") and curvy (145 lbs) young woman with a fair face, copper red hair and grey-blue eyes. She is excellently dressed, even if her attire is more outdoorsy than might be expected from Nuln fashion and she wears weaponry with an ease that signals long familiarity. While she is hardly Adelbert's twin there is a certain family resemblance about the nose and eyes.

*Background*
*Spoiler*
Show

When Jarla Schreiber married Heinrich Schaeffer of Nuln she thought she was prepared for life as a merchant's wife. Sure he was old and ugly but he was very rich and the prospect of living in the glittering life of Nuln society was more than adequate compensation, as she told her slightly scandalised brother Adelbert. Half a year later she had discovered three things. First Herr Schaeffer was not just old and ugly he was a cruel and vindictive tyrant who at best treated his young wife as a trophy in society. Second he had many mistresses. Third Nuln society - at least the very stratified part of it her husband allowed her access too - was boring her senseless. One night after having enough, she drugged her husband so he wouldn't wake up, slipped out of her house and ran off for good.

Since then life has been eventful. For a year she toured with an troupe of travelling entertainers, first as a singer and actress but finding to her surprise considerable talent at knife throwing ('Fräulein Rasierer'.) Making her way back towards Averheim she managed to make a small fortune through cons and gambling (another skill gained on those long trips on roads and on barges) and perhaps unwisely began to enjoy life under her own name. Eventually her husband heard of her existence which entailed a retreat from Averheim and her third and perhaps favourite life - a highwaywoman. Soon 'Fräulein Rasierer' was an infamous figure along Averland roads, but eventually all good things had to come to an end and she had to make another departure. Either the law would catch her and she'd swing or her husband would (a worse case by far.)

Jarla had kept a tenuous contact with her family in Grenzstadt (who didn't know of the turn to crime, thought she was an actress and considered that scandalous enough) and it was through this that she learned her brother Adelbert was in the Border Princes. Though it had been years since she had seen him his letters seemed to portray an exciting, dynamic land that had both her beloved brother and was very, very far away from Heinrich Schaeffer of Nuln.


*XP:*
*Spoiler*
Show

Earned: 6,675
Spent: 6,300 [900 (Entertainer), 1,000 (Gambler), 2,500 (Rapscallion), 1,900 (Highwaywoman)]
Current: 500


*Advances:*
*Spoiler*
Show


*Entertainer*
+ 5% Fel (Free Advance)
+5% WS
+5% BS
+5% BS
+5% Ag
+5% Ag
+5% WP
+5% Fel
+ one Wound
+ one Wound

*Gambler*
+5% Int
+5% Int
Blather
Charm
Gamble
Secret Language (Thieves' Tongue)
Read/Write
Streetwise
Flee!

*Rapscallion*
+5% WS
+5% S
+5% T
+5% T
+5% T
+5% Ag
+5% Ag
+5% Ag
+5% WP
+5% Fel
+5% Fel
+5% Fel
+5% Fel
+ one Attack
+ one Wound
+ one Wound
Common Knowledge (Tilea)
Consume Alcohol
Dodge Blow
Lip Reading
Search
Ambidextrous
Sixth Sense
Quick Draw

*Highwaywoman*
+5% WS
+5% WS
+5% BS
+5% BS
+5% S
+5% Ag
+5% WP
Animal Care
Animal Training
Ride
Silent Move
Etiquette
Master Gunner
Mighty Shot
Specialist Weapon Group (Fencing)
Specialist Weapon Group (Gunpowder)
Swashbuckler
Trick Riding





*Adelbert Schreiber*

*Spoiler*
Show


*Spoiler*
Show



*Career:* Scribe / Initiate / Priest of Verena / Scholar / Anointed Priest of Verena
*Age:* 30
*Star Sign:* Vobist the Faint - Sign of Darkness and Uncertainty
*Birthplace:* A Fortified Town in Averland
*Appearance:* 5'7", 135 lbs, brown hair, grey blue eyes, missing tooth.

WS:(51) BS: (41) S:(36) T:(48) Ag:(55*) Int:(66) WP:(58) Fel:(51**)
A:2 W: 16 SB:3 TB: 4 M: 4 Mag: 2 IP: 1 FP: 3 _0_

*Skills:* Academic Knowledge (History), Academic Knowledge (Necromancy), Academic Knowledge (Theology), Channeling, Charm (+10 %), Common Knowledge (The Empire), Common Knowledge (Border Princes), Gossip, Heal (+10%), Speak Language (Reikspiel), Magical Sense, Perception, Read/Write, Ride, Secret Language  (Guild Tongue), Speak Language (Breton), Speak Language (Classical), Speak Language (Tilean), Speak Arcane Language (Magik), Trade (Calligrapher)

*Talents:* Linguistics, Acute Hearing, Resistance to Poison, Lighting Reflexes, Public Speaking, Suave, Armoured Caster, Petty Magic (Divine), Strike to Stun, Master Orator, Divine Lore (Verena), Lesser Magic - Blessed Weapon, Lesser Magic - Move, Aethyric Attunement, Strike Mighty Blow

*Includes bonus for 'Lighting Reflexes'
**Includes bonus for 'Suave'

*Trappings:* 
Common Clothing, Cloak, Dagger, Backpack, Short Sword, Digging Tools, one weeks rations, ancient copper eye pendant, a necklace/collar made from gold and coloured glass beads, the ends are made to resemble the coiled heads and necks of snakes, a pair of lapis lazuli earrings, shaped to mirror the solar disc motif. 'Kettle hat' helmet. Danxome bronze throwing dagger.

Woolen robes, owl pendant (religious symbol of Verena)

Mail Shirt, pouch containing 142 Gold Crowns, 27 Schillings, 15 Pfennigs.

615 GC (hidden cache) (stolen by Sforza!)

38 GC, 5 Schillings and 12 Pfennigs (hidden cache).

Bella, a small, wiry, bay coloured mare.


*XP:*
*Spoiler*
Show

Earned: 6150
Spent: 6100
Current: 0


*Advances:*
*Spoiler*
Show

+ 5% to Int (Free Advance)
+ 5% to Fel
+ 5% to Int
+ 5% to Ag
+ 5% to WP
+ 1 Wound
+ 5% to WP
+ 1 Wound
+ 5% to Ag
Initiate (second career)
Academic Knowledge (Theology)
Charm
Healing
+5% to Fel
+5% to WS
+5% to BS
Lighting Reflexes
Public Speaking
Suave
Priest (third career)
+ 1 Magic
Magical Sense
Speak Arcane Language (Magik)
Channeling
Armoured Caster
Petty Magic (Divine)
+5% to WS
+5% to WP
+5% to Fel
+5% to WP
+ 1 Wound
+5% to BS
Charm (skill mastery, +10%)
Ride
Common Knowledge (Border Princes)
+5% to T
+5% to T
+ 1 Wound
+5% to S
Strike to Stun
Heal (skill mastery, +10%)
Master Orator
Scholar Career
+5% Int
+5% Int
Academic Knowledge (Necromancy)
+5% Int
+5% Int
Anointed Priest Career
Divine Lore (Verena)
Magic + 1
Lesser Magic - Blessed Weapon
Will Power +5%
Aethyric Attunement
+ 5% Toughness
+1 Attack
Lesser Magic - Move
Strike Mighty Blow
+ 1 Wound
+5% WS
+5% Fel



*Divine Revelations*
*Spoiler*
Show

_Adelbert believes he sees the invisible hand of the gods all around him - whether it is the hand of Verena pointing out the guilty party in a dispute, or the face of Nurgle leering at him from a basket of rotten apples._

Adelbert is subject to visions that are entirely the invention of his own mind, filtered through the lens of his faith. These visions are entirely indistinguishable from the genuine results of his Magical Sense skill, and tend to manifest as gods making their will, presence or power known to him - including the Ruinous Powers.

By roleplaying a vision of your own invention, you can grant yourself a Fortune Point that lasts until the end of the day (to a maximum of once per day). These visions don't have to lead you to 'insane' actions (e.g. Adelbert could see Shallya urging him to help an injured person, or feel the presence of Khorne in a tavern brawl that leads him to try to make peace), but should be understood OOC to be the products of Adelbert's imagination, not any direct communication from the gods. Should Adelbert be prevented from acting on what the vision shows him, he suffers -1d10 from his Fellowship and Willpower scores for 1d10 hours.

You may also receive 'false' visions from the GM at any time. No test will tell you which visions are true and which are false: Adelbert believes them all to be true. Visions from the GM do not grant Fortune Points, but still invoke the penalty to WP and Fel if Adelbert is prevented from acting on them.


*Divine Marks:*
*Spoiler*
Show

_Enlightened:_ Verena grants you a small portion of her wisdom. You gain a +10% bonus to all Academic Knowledge Tests
that you have selected as skills. As well, you may attempt Academic Knowledge Tests outside of your fields of study, albeit at a
20% penalty.


*Background & Personality:*
*Spoiler*
Show

Adelbert was born in Grenzstadt, Averland the second oldest child and only son of the prestigious Schreiber family of scholars. His older sister Gabrielle became a Priestess of Verena and a career in the universities of Nuln, the church or perhaps even the colleges of magic in Altdorf seemed open for the young man. Unfortunatly his father's harmless gambling habit became, well _less_ harmless. The Schreiber family went into debt and while Adelbert's younger sisters retained enough clout to marry well Adelbert himself could no longer afford to study at Nuln. Fortunately he was more than well read enough to become a scribe first in Grenzstadt, then Averheim.

Adelbert is actually a very good scribe especially mastering foreign languages but he is not thrilled by his dull life copying books. At the very least he would prefer to be writing his own work rather than simply transcribing that of others. He has travelled south to the Princes in the hopes of appealing to the vanity of a local noble and being paid to act as their chronicler, and perhaps write a book on the local ruins that would be the toast of Nuln. Anything would be better than his dusty office back in Averheim.

Perhaps thanks to his elder sister Adelbert has a definite interest in the gods and his studied much of them, especially minor and regional deities - though the streak of rogue in him is impressed by Ranald. His personal specialty (other than languages) is ancient history and he is modestly famous in Averland for translating an Ancient Reman history from Classical to Reikspiel.

In person Adelbert is on the short side of average and slender, with nimble fingers (he is justly proud of his clean, flowing style of writing.) He is fond of attractive women, well read ones for preference and is rather vainer than might be expected for a scribe. This has led to him rarely smiling with his mouth open because he is very concious of the front tooth he lost in a tavern brawl when an elegant blonde lady turned out to have been married to a milita sergeant. He has a deadpan, sarcastic and self deprecating sense of humour and tends to value it highly in others.

----------


## -Sentinel-

That's 5/5 (including the placeholder post for Ludo). We can all move to this thread.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Something missing from the Thorns' sheet is the stuff we took from the Falcons - about twenty breastplates, sabres and Firearms. (That's what an Arquebus is, right?) Ludo has claimed one of the Firearms, but that's enough to outfit a majority of the rest of the Thorns.

Previously you'd said that you didn't want to track XP for the Thorns any more - how would you feel about making an exception to that at the next monthly turnover to let them pick up Gunpowder weapon training? Sieghard and the cannon crew can presumably train them.

----------


## Thragka

LeSwordfish, I've long noticed that you've always listed Ludo as speaking Rijkspiel. Is that a stylistic choice, or doesh he ssound lijk oh Mohrienburgur?

----------


## LeSwordfish

> LeSwordfish, I've long noticed that you've always listed Ludo as speaking Rijkspiel. Is that a stylistic choice, or doesh he ssound lijk oh Mohrienburgur?


That is me, in 2013, for once _over_estimating how strange a Warhammer word is. :Small Big Grin: 

I assume Ludo has a sort of bit-of-everything border princes accent that tends towards the rural, though maybe Sermena is a bit of a Mootland linguistic enclave, like a diminutive Pennsylvania Dutch. Ludo speaking fluent latin and italian with a broad Fennie burr.

----------


## LCP

> Previously you'd said that you didn't want to track XP for the Thorns any more - how would you feel about making an exception to that at the next monthly turnover to let them pick up Gunpowder weapon training? Sieghard and the cannon crew can presumably train them.


I think if the time + ammunition is spent IC to justify that I'd be OK with it. They've certainly picked up some more battle honours here.

Fear tests for the Thorns. I'm assuming that "Hanna's squad" is about 6 Thorns (dividing the 12-ish who hung back evenly between Hanna and Ingwald). If that's not what Ludo meant then these can just be the 6 closest.

*Hanna* - (1d100)[*96*]
*Hanna* - (1d100)[*25*]
*Hanna* - (1d100)[*32*]
*Hanna* - (1d100)[*1*]
*Hanna* - (1d100)[*100*]
*Hanna* - (1d100)[*20*]

well I didn't mean to name them all Hanna but that's what you get for copy-pasting. 1st one is the real Hanna.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I think if the time + ammunition is spent IC to justify that I'd be OK with it. They've certainly picked up some more battle honours here.


Cool! The quoted post has a fairly vague amount of how much shot and powder was found - want to put a number on it or just say "you'll need more by the time you have the skill?"




> Fear tests for the Thorns. I'm assuming that "Hanna's squad" is about 6 Thorns (dividing the 12-ish who hung back evenly between Hanna and Ingwald). If that's not what Ludo meant then these can just be the 6 closest.


Yeah, that's what I was thinking - I've been assuming Hanna, Gustaf, and Ingwald each have around the same number of men, and we just ad hoc move them around when we want specific numbers in specific places.

Is Ludo still backing away? (1d100)[*27*] vs 47

----------


## LeSwordfish

Nope, he's cool! He's got his crossbow all ready and loaded I assume, so he'll delay a shot until Urgi has backed away.

(1d100)[*1*] vs 56 (46 BS +10 Single Shot -10 shield (right?))
(1d10+4)[*5*]

Okay well. That's four degrees of success, so eight damage: I can't imagine that breaks Erhl's armor.

----------


## -Sentinel-

It's got a soak of 9, and with Sudden Death, you need at least a +2 crit to stand a chance of killing it (assuming it's still at 0 Wounds, but I don't see how it could have healed any since the last time we fought it).

----------


## LCP

Crit roll for Jarla: (1d100)[*66*] - goodbye ehrl

----------


## RossN

> Crit roll for Jarla: [roll0] - goodbye ehrl


Yay!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Thragka

Need another Follow Trail roll to keep after Mala? If so, *Follow Trail 54* - (1d100)[*58*] ... but I hope the first one still suffices!

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "My brother spoke of you very fondly in his letters and we must speak more over wine or ale."


We need a scene like at the end of Peter Jackson's _Return of the King_ where our PCs just sit in silence at a familiar tavern and feel good about being alive, while around them, common people who've never drawn a blade in their lives laugh and chatter in blissful ignorance of the hardships and terrors our heroes have been through on their behalf.


*TheSummoner*, I think you may safely add Nakht-Horeb, high priest of Old Lahmia, Child-in-Darkness of W'soran the Master of Death, Thief of Souls, Scourge of the Northern Plain, he who was called the Hound of Nagash, to your list of notable kills. Even if he comes back, I'd say you still count as having killed him.

----------


## LCP

> Need another Follow Trail roll to keep after Mala? If so, [roll0] ... but I hope the first one still suffices!


First one'll do I think.

Getting back to this which I forgot before:




> Cool! The quoted post has a fairly vague amount of how much shot and powder was found - want to put a number on it or just say "you'll need more by the time you have the skill?"


"You'll need more by the time you have the skill" sounds good to me.

----------


## TheSummoner

> We need a scene like at the end of Peter Jackson's _Return of the King_ where our PCs just sit in silence at a familiar tavern and feel good about being alive, while around them, common people who've never drawn a blade in their lives laugh and chatter in blissful ignorance of the hardships and terrors our heroes have been through on their behalf.


Well, there's still Irene to deal with. You weren't wrong about it being convenient if Sforza had died in the ambush. And if you look at the list of major powers, there's still one out there that's definitely opposed to our interests and doesn't have a cracked emblem that may yet pose trouble. In the short term though, our characters have definitely earned a drink.




> *TheSummoner*, I think you may safely add Nakht-Horeb, high priest of Old Lahmia, Child-in-Darkness of W'soran the Master of Death, Thief of Souls, Scourge of the Northern Plain, he who was called the Hound of Nagash, to your list of notable kills. Even if he comes back, I'd say you still count as having killed him.


Fair, though the Thorns did most of the work. Sieghard just stopped him from getting back up.

----------


## LCP

> Elsa was disappointed by the lack of anything useful in these chambers. Even the one at the top of the tower seemed to contain nothing of use. The maelstrom of magic did not even seem to focus on any specific object, as far as she could tell.


Maybe some crossed wires in the IC - the strong magical signature is coming from the room above you, which you haven't been into. I paused here because I thought you'd want a chance to interact with the 3 rooms below first before going into that room.




> since you did not prod me for a Search test, my hopes of finding anything are low.


The soldiers are moving quickly from room to room; I'm just describing what they find. If you want Elsa to stop and search that's for you to choose - though I do need a bit more context about where she's searching/what she's searching for (the library?).

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Maybe some crossed wires in the IC - the strong magical signature is coming from the room above you, which you haven't been into. I paused here because I thought you'd want a chance to interact with the 3 rooms below first before going into that room.


Ah! Sorry. I thought the maelstrom was what she was feeling once _inside_ that room.

Yes, I'll go to that room. And I'll edit the IC.





> The soldiers are moving quickly from room to room; I'm just describing what they find. If you want Elsa to stop and search that's for you to choose - though I do need a bit more context about where she's searching/what she's searching for (the library?).


She's searching the library, yes. For books and scrolls mostly, but also for other interesting items that can be carried.

----------


## LCP

just to be clear what nahorek's office looks like

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Can I get a Magical Sense test to see exactly how much Elsa can discern about this pattern on the floor - and also a WP test against gaining an insanity point from seeing Nahoreks laboratory?


Magical Sense 93: (d100)[*74*]

WP 83 vs. insanity: (d100)[*31*]

----------


## RossN

> She's searching the library, yes. For books and scrolls mostly, but also for other interesting items that can be carried.


I'm sure Adelbert is kicking himself in the afterlife now that he didn't get a chance to see this.  :Small Frown:

----------


## -Sentinel-

I'll make another attempt on that Dispel, unless Valdes tries to stop me.

Channeling 93: (d100)[*36*]
Dispel 10+/13+: (2d10)[*9*][*9*](18) - _Successful, but minor Curse._

I hope I'm not making a terrible mistake.

----------


## Thragka

Expert tips on how to track a wounded animal, made up by me after minimal online research.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I'm sure Adelbert is kicking himself in the afterlife now that he didn't get a chance to see this.


I'll honor his spirit by gifting the Nehekharan translation scroll to Father Hieronymus. I'm sure the Church of Verena would be overjoyed to add Ancient Nehekharan to its repository of knowledge.  :Small Smile: 





> Expert tips on how to track a wounded animal, made up by me after minimal online research.


Hah.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## LeSwordfish

For the tracking team - Hanna does have Follow Trail, though she's a less experienced forester than some. I'm down for Urgi's plan if she is - let me know if you need anything specific in that timeline.

----------


## LCP

Was only waiting to see if Ludo and Jarla assented to Urgrim's plan - sounds like I should move things along.

----------


## -Sentinel-

This convo with the mysterious spirit reminds me... Do we have any long-term plans regarding Meskhenet?

I think we should bring her skull to the Morrites so that they may help her soul pass into the afterlife. (Provided she's okay with it.)

----------


## LeSwordfish

> This convo with the mysterious spirit reminds me... Do we have any long-term plans regarding Meskhenet?
> 
> I think we should bring her skull to the Morrites so that they may help her soul pass into the afterlife. (Provided she's okay with it.)


Beatrix wanted to use her to create a grimoire of Nehekaran: Hieronymous might like to take that task on. Originally, we promised her she could use the book to break the curse on her people: I imagine that's a non-starter, but we might be able to work with the morrites to find something else that will have the same effect.

Taking her to the morrites will feel good for us but probably not mean much to her - wrong gods, wrong afterlife. I was considering having Ludo just use the spear/spearhead on her, since it's been pretty effective on all the other undead.

We can probably talk to her about it. I can see her enjoying working with Hieronymous or something. Getting to sit around in his study like a youtuber's backdrop.

----------


## LCP

That does seem like the kind of thing Hieronymus would be into.

----------


## Thragka

For the record, "an hour" was meant to be a subjective period of time for the trackers, determined when they got tired and gave up  but I did expect the mist to cause difficulty.

As for Meskhenet, perhaps researching a safe ritual to undo the curse of undeath on the Khenebites could be a good use of our remaining ~year of IC play time. It beats leaving her to be shat on by an owl for the rest of Hieronymus's interminable life.

----------


## LCP

> I assume we've run a bit ahead of Team Elsforza


Yes, I think so. I'll hold off on an update for the trackers for now, (A) to help the timelines sync up and (B) so I can go to bed. Depending on Elsa's choices hopefully things should snap back together tomorrow.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> As for Meskhenet, perhaps researching a safe ritual to undo the curse of undeath on the Khenebites could be a good use of our remaining ~year of IC play time.


Rituals are a b!tch to research. Also, there's no such thing as a _safe_ ritual.





> Depending on Elsa's choices hopefully things should snap back together tomorrow.


Hmm, I don't know if this is hopeful or ominous.

I should mention that I have a 40k game on Tabletop Simulator around mid-day EST on Saturday, so any extended back-and-forth will have to be paused for a few hours (I'll let you know before my game begins). Elsa's plan is to negotiate a truce with Samira and then convince Sforza to leave the city without destroying anything. I know he's pigheaded stubborn, but the threat of ghosts is a powerful motivator, and I assume I'll have Valdes on my side.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Elsa's plan is to negotiate a truce with Samira

----------


## -Sentinel-

Obviously any negotiation where one of the parties says "hand over the Book of Nagash" is a non-starter.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## LCP

> Given the state of tension, I'm not sure if there's any chance of a surprise round


What reason would there be for a surprise round here?

Initiative:
*Elsa* - (1d10+44)[*54*]
*Valdes* - (1d10+51)[*53*]
*Brotherhood* - (1d10+41)[*48*]

*Samira* - (1d10+46)[*52*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Oh, whew, glad both Elsa and Valdes go before Samira.

Note that we are on page 50 of the IC thread.

----------


## LCP

Valdes charges: (1d100)[*58*], (1d10+4)[*7*], (1d100)[*93*], (1d10+4)[*13*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

...goddammit, Valdes.

At least he's providing a distraction.

----------


## LCP

Samira's actions: aaaaaa

Everyone in earshot suffers (2d10)[*15*] wounds minus the first digit of their WP. Terror tests for all.

*Valdes* - (1d100)[*42*]
*Brotherhood1* - (1d100)[*20*]
*Brotherhood2* - (1d100)[*54*]
*Brotherhood3* - (1d100)[*24*]
*Brotherhood4* - (1d100)[*52*]
*Brotherhood5* - (1d100)[*88*]
*Brotherhood6* - (1d100)[*51*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Ohhhh man  :Small Eek: 

8 wounds on Elsa. She's down to 1.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Forgot the Terror test: (d100)[*83*]

Is Hearts of Fire still active, or has it expired?

*Edit:* Doesn't matter. Still wouldn't be 3+ degrees of failure.

----------


## LCP

The duration is only 10 minutes IIRC, so I imagine it's finished.

----------


## LCP

♫ mystery dice, mystery dice, what's it for? the mystery dice ♫ (1d100)[*89*]

Can I get a Magical Sense test from Elsa please?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Here you go, vs. 93: (d100)[*68*]

----------


## RossN

Who could possibly have guessed the same city where Adelbert released a dangerous daemon that is still free sexy genie might have been home to dangerous sorcerer types.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## -Sentinel-

The problem with being a spellcaster is that you often screw up on a larger scale than other characters.

----------


## TheSummoner

No good deed goes unpunished, it seems. Probably should've played dumb about the book to the Slaaneshi cultist ghost. Or pretended you'd help her and then get out of there.

----------


## -Sentinel-

*@ LCP:* Just a heads up... My planned 40k game starts in about 10 mins.

----------


## LCP

Alright, so this'll be a surprise round for the Brotherhood, featuring just Elsa and Samira. Initiative again!

*Samira* - (1d10+46)[*56*]
*Elsa* - (1d10+44)[*54*]

----------


## LCP

Samira charges Elsa:
(1d100)[*66*], (1d10+3)[*4*]
(1d100)[*11*], (1d10+3)[*13*]

----------


## LCP

Nagash's Fury: (1d100)[*29*], (1d10)[*2*]

Obviously even without fury that hit is bad news bears for wounded old Elsa. Looking at her character sheet, I think I see 1 fortune point remaining, which if that's correct could mean she can boost her initiative to go before Samira. I'll write my IC post to leave that possibility open.

*EDIT:* wait hang on... just realising they both already rolled a 10. Can't remember, is the fortune point rule +10 to your initiative or count as having rolled a 10?

*DOUBLE EDIT:* Checking the book, it's neither, it's a +1d10. So Elsa would need to roll a 3+.

----------


## Thragka

It's actually roll an extra 1d10, i.e. use Agility+2d10 as your Initiative.

----------


## -Sentinel-

oh maaaaaaaaan





> Looking at her character sheet, I think I see 1 fortune point remaining,


Two if you count Khalida's remaining one.

And yeah, I'll definitely spend a Fortune Point for extra Initiative.

come on come on come on (d10)[*6*]

----------


## TheSummoner

Oh boy this is tense.  :Small Eek: 

Come on Elsa, I believe in you!

----------


## Thragka

Yeah, I felt like I was aware there was a possibility of her dying in the battle, and was bracing for it, but going out here would just be a bit disappointing.  :Small Eek:

----------


## -Sentinel-

Oof. This was too close for comfort.

It certainly went better than my 40k game, where Ad Mech tabled my Drukhari in 3 turns with about 3/4 of their forces remaining.

----------


## TheSummoner

Definitely too close. Guess Elsa didn't learn after doing the exact same thing with Nicodemus.




> Within the vortex of darkness, she thought she glimpsed the shimmering outline of a huge, crowned figure, reaching out a skeletal hand towards her.


Dammit Samira, why would you try to resurrect Nagash? Why would you think that's a good idea. Resurrecting Nagash is NEVER a good idea. Resurrecting Nagash is how you get Age of Sigmar. You don't want that, do you Samira?

----------


## Thragka

I _was_ wondering, if the screamy ritual was 'just' to summon a temporary army of ghosts, why Nahorek had it going night after night. Makes sense  Nagash's lapdog missed his daddy.

----------


## LCP

IC thread 13 is ready, yes-yes. All switch-change.

I should say with respect to the conversation here in the IC that what Elsa saw was very much a shadow or a vision, not Nagash physically rising out of the book. I should also say now that we've wrapped this segment up with a bow that I think all this vampire-slaying and tower-burning and so on probably justifies you all getting a Fate Point. Well done all.

I imagine you may want a bit of back-and-forth between your characters here (plus any questions you may have for the NPCs, e.g. reminding Sforza about that reward he promised to Jarla), so I leave the ball in your court. Let me know once you're all ready to move on.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I should also say now that we've wrapped this segment up with a bow that I think all this vampire-slaying and tower-burning and so on probably justifies you all getting a Fate Point. Well done all.


Oh hell yeah. It'll feel good to stop living on a razor's edge, if only for a little while.

I'll mention right away that Elsa plans to resupply herself in sulphur from the volcanic area where we got fire for Beatrix Fassbender. Not tonight, of course, but before she returns to Manann's Keep.


*Edit:* Might be time to add a summary of Thread XII at the start of the OOC thread: _"Elsa's trial. The ambush in the Thornwood. The siege of Nath. The Jackal's defeat."_ Or something like that.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Given that all those things happened in the same month I am highly anticipating XP time  :Biggrin:  It's nice to rack up a few wins in a row: it was feeling a bit like nothing could go right at the time of Adelbert's death.

----------


## Thragka

Plus, on the 33rd it's Urgrim's birthday! There'll be a party with balloons and everyone's invited except Mala!

EDIT: Irene can't come either. She CAN'T SIT WITH US.

----------


## RossN

Um, is Urgrim about to incredibly complicate Jarla's life with a lot of unsolicited truth telling?  :Small Eek: 

(I honestly didn't _intend_ to make Jarla the Cady to Irene's Regina. It just sort of happened. I blame the dice for making Jarla a redhead.)

----------


## Thragka

Sorry, posted IC before noticing this! I can delete my post if this is a bad direction to go in, but Urgrim thinks Jarla deserves the truth and doesn't want to lie by omission.

----------


## RossN

> Sorry, posted IC before noticing this! I can delete my post if this is a bad direction to go in, but Urgrim thinks Jarla deserves the truth and doesn't want to lie by omission.


It's fair and in character for Urgrim. It very much does complicate things for Jarla and part of me was hoping to avoid it for a while yet but given I guess it gives her an excuse to go full Milady de Winter.



(Jarla plotting revenge.)

----------


## -Sentinel-

Yep, I think it's very in-character for humans to tiptoe around an issue while the dwarf straight-up tells the hard truth.


*Elsa's tentative plans (from short-term to longer-term):*

In the morning, make a quick dash to the volcanic cracks to get some sulphur. Maybe around 20 balls of it; I'm assuming it's abundant enough to get as much as I want. I'll take Tattie and any horse-riding PCs who want to come along.Have a little party at the _Star of Marienburg_ with the other PCs and get better acquainted with Jarla.Retrieve Elsa's 150gc stashed in 3 caches in the Black Karst, near Manann's Keep. I hid the money there a long time ago in case Manann's Keep fell to Alvarr's forces, but such a precaution is not needed anymore. (Note that Elsa's letters, which served as evidence at her trial, described the location of those caches, so Sforza knows about them. Elsa will ask him beforehand if he had the gold retrieved.)On the way north (assuming we're all returning to Savonne), return Morrslieb's bones to the Bracken Mere.Continue Tattie's training. Maybe start teaching her how to read.Visit Suzana the merchant and see how business is going. Maybe increase Elsa's stake in Suzana's food import business.Prepare Elsa's entry into the Border Courtier career. She needs one more set of Noble's Garb. I'm assuming I'll be allowed to either skip or replace the chainmail and poison requirements.


*Question to our esteemed GM:* In all seriousness, how _does_ it work to heal psychic/soul injuries like those inflicted by ghosts? Can we at least rule that they heal faster than flesh injuries if the characters are happy and relaxed? Because otherwise, natural healing would take around a month to bring Elsa and Sieghard back to full Wounds.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> *Question to our esteemed GM:* In all seriousness, how _does_ it work to heal psychic/soul injuries like those inflicted by ghosts? Can we at least rule that they heal faster than flesh injuries if the characters are happy and relaxed? Because otherwise, natural healing would take around a month to bring Elsa and Sieghard back to full Wounds.


Ludo was in a similar state after our first fight with Nahorek, in the house in Savonne. You can make Heal tests for it like anything else.

----------


## TheSummoner

> It's fair and in character for Urgrim. It very much does complicate things for Jarla and part of me was hoping to avoid it for a while yet but given I guess it gives her an excuse to go full Milady de Winter.
> 
> (Jarla plotting revenge.)


Well, you've always got the option of Jarla not believing it if you want to keep things going. She wouldn't have to think that Urgrim is lying, just that he's wrong. Depends on how you want to play it.




> *Question to our esteemed GM:* In all seriousness, how _does_ it work to heal psychic/soul injuries like those inflicted by ghosts? Can we at least rule that they heal faster than flesh injuries if the characters are happy and relaxed? Because otherwise, natural healing would take around a month to bring Elsa and Sieghard back to full Wounds.





> Ludo was in a similar state after our first fight with Nahorek, in the house in Savonne. You can make Heal tests for it like anything else.


Speaking of that, Sieghard probably needs some heal tests rolled. I'll do one for today and one for tomorrow.
(1d100)[*71*]
(1d100)[*8*]
No clue what Iona's heal skill is, so let me know if those pass or fail. Also whether she has the Surgery talent or not since that'd heal extra while Sieghard is heavily wounded (emotional surgery. On his broken... spirit?)

The only immediate thing Sieghard wants is to ensure the bodies are removed from Nath. What happened with them was left ambiguous so far, but if they haven't been removed already, he's going to insist on it. I've got a few longer term ideas, but I think those will wait until Manaan's Keep at the soonest.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "Gunda herself was dead by this time, mind  after the ambush, she fell afoul of some cannibals in the woods. Different story there. Bianco lost his head too.


Was either of those things confirmed? I thought Gunda was still unaccounted for, and that Bianco simply "got disappeared" (which _could_ mean non-public execution à la NKVD, but could also mean exile or imprisonment). Maybe I missed something.





> The only immediate thing Sieghard wants is to ensure the bodies are removed from Nath. What happened with them was left ambiguous so far, but if they haven't been removed already, he's going to insist on it.


Hmm, that'll have to be discussed with Sforza. I _think_ the ghosts are gone from Nath, though.


Heal test on Elsa for day 1: (d100)[*35*]

----------


## TheSummoner

> Was either of those things confirmed? I thought Gunda was still unaccounted for, and that Bianco simply "got disappeared" (which _could_ mean non-public execution à la NKVD, but could also mean exile or imprisonment). Maybe I missed something.


No. We assume Gunda was captured by Armin and ended up in a cook pot, but we can't confirm it. We could maybe follow up on that now that Nahorek is out of the way, though. As for Bianco, there's been no trace of him since the trial. His head notably wasn't put on a pike with Klammenberg and Falkenwald. And I think this is probably just an oversight, but he's not listed as deceased either.

----------


## -Sentinel-

If Sforza _did_ have Bianco executed, he had good reason to do it quietly, given the doctor's close association with Irene: he wouldn't want people to link Irene with the ambush in the Thornwood. So it's possible Bianco was indeed executed; just with a garotte in his cell, rather than with an axe on the chopping block. But it's also possible that, being a retainer of Irene's own noble house (what's their name?), executing him would have had political ramifications back in Tobaro. So I think exile is an equally likely possibility.

In any case, I think he's out of the picture permanently.

----------


## Thragka

Thanks for the fact check. I'll leave those as Urgrim's mistakes  certainly I think Urgrim believes Gunda ended up in Armin's pot, even without evidence.

EDIT: Actually, I think I'll correct the point on Bianco, but as I said, Urgrim believes Gunda is dead.

----------


## RossN

I have a hard time seeing someone as spectacularly lethal as Gunda being killed by starving peasants but I suppose it could have happened.

----------


## TheSummoner

You could say the same about someone as spectacularly lethal as Nahorek being all-but-killed by a dozen rank and file soldiers with crossbows, but I'm not completely convinced either. We know they definitely came across Gunda's group since one of Armin's men was carrying one of the Falcons' swords. We know someone ended up in a cook pot. We know Gunda's group had the staff and it made its way to Nahorek. We don't know anything for certain beyond that and it's very possible that Gunda escaped somehow.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Remember Rike said that Gunda had been speaking to Armin. I forgot to mention that to Urgi since I think the way the timesplit turned out we were almost in Kheneb by the time I knew - presumably Ludo didn't tell Urgi either, for reasons unknown.

I don't have anything IC to say here, I kind of gave Ludo's reaction before, I think and can't think of anything for him to do to frame saying the same thing again. His priority for tomorrow is getting the message to Manaan's Keep, and I don't think I have any specific actions for him to do until we get back there.

----------


## TheSummoner

I'll have to look back, but I thought she said _a woman_ had been speaking to Armin and didn't mention a name. I assumed the woman was Mala - it makes the most sense with the cannibalism and everything going on with the staff.

Edit: Yep.



> "I remember... running," said Rike, weakly. "I was bleeding... Klaus had to carry me. Found help in the camp. I remember him saying... when we were safe, I remember him saying he'd seen the preacher stealing off to talk to someone. A woman in the trees. He said... he said he was going to follow him, and listen. But he didn't come back." She looked blearily around. "Where did he go?"

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I'll have to look back, but I thought she said _a woman_ had been speaking to Armin and didn't mention a name. I assumed the woman was Mala - it makes the most sense with the cannibalism and everything going on with the staff.
> 
> Edit: Yep.


Hmm. Possibly? It's closer to Nath than I remembered but I don't know if Nahorek would have sent Mala off like that - she doesn't seem as much of an independent operator as Klammenberg, and the staff could just have easily been snatched by a Carrion bird.

Also... if Armin met Mala, presumably that was when she could have given him the task from The Drinker that he'd been waiting for.

Actually never mind, you're probably right. Perhaps that was what Armin's job was all along - bring as many people south as possible and give them some Rivermouth Home Cookin' to turn them into a fresh batch of ghouls.

Mala and Gunda are presumably not very similar-looking: if Rike is a bit healthier, she can probably distinguish between them from description.

----------


## LCP

> Might be time to add a summary of Thread XII at the start of the OOC thread: _"Elsa's trial. The ambush in the Thornwood. The siege of Nath. The Jackal's defeat."_ Or something like that.


I've moved the thread directory to the wiki; you guys can now edit it yourselves with the information you find most useful. Should mean you can use it to bookmark useful points in old threads too, if you wish - feel free to expand it as much as you want.




> In the morning, make a quick dash to the volcanic cracks to get some sulphur.


Elsa doesn't have a map of the Dead Hills, or any navigation/outdoor survival skills IIRC. Finding your way there by memory and dead reckoning will be challenging, particularly when you're not coming at it from the same direction. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but you'll need someone who knows how to navigate, and to allow some time - it's not a run to the corner shop.




> *Question to our esteemed GM:* In all seriousness, how _does_ it work to heal psychic/soul injuries like those inflicted by ghosts?


Like LeSwordfish said, an ordinary heal check works just fine. Think of it IC as being like treatment for hypothermia and/or shock.

Ioana tests heal vs *61*.




> I guess it gives her an excuse to go full Milady de Winter.


hang on we're talking about taking down a villainous, murdering noblewoman, and _Jarla_ is Milady?

----------


## RossN

> hang on we're talking about taking down a villainous, murdering noblewoman, and _Jarla_ is Milady?


Heh.  :Small Big Grin:  

I admit it is at least partly because Milla Jovovich's version of the character conveniently fits my image of Jarla, pistols and taste in hats and all. That said don't think you've seen Jarla out for revenge yet...

----------


## TheSummoner

> Ioana tests heal vs *61*.


With or without the Surgery talent? Or is that not relevant for the sort of injuries we've sustained. RAW doesn't distinguish, but I can see why it wouldn't help for ghost-inflicted injuries - though for Sieghard at least, maybe it would matter for the for the wounds from falling off his horse.




> Jarla smiled down at the _small child_. "Greetings Tatiana. My that sounds a wonderful gift! I'm fond of animals to. I must introduce to my horse Countess at some point."


I don't know if she has an official age, but she's definitely not that.



I'd guess late teens/early 20's. Younger than the party, but only by a couple of years.

----------


## RossN

> With or without the Surgery talent? Or is that not relevant for the sort of injuries we've sustained. RAW doesn't distinguish, but I can see why it wouldn't help for ghost-inflicted injuries - though for Sieghard at least, maybe it would matter for the for the wounds from falling off his horse.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know if she has an official age, but she's definitely not that.
> 
> 
> 
> I'd guess late teens/early 20's. Younger than the party, but only by a couple of years.


Wow I was way off. I was think 12 or 13.  :Small Eek:

----------


## Thragka

> Younger than the party, but only by a couple of years.


... or sixty.

----------


## LCP

IIRC Tattie is 17.




> With or without the Surgery talent?


Not a talent Ioana has.

----------


## TheSummoner

> ... or sixty.


I meant the smallest age difference. Not all of us can live to 300+




> IIRC Tattie is 17.


8 years younger than Elsa then. More than a couple of years, but 17 was on the low end of what I would've guessed.

----------


## RossN

I think I had an exact age for Jarla in mind but she is younger than Adelbert (who was 30), so maybe 24 or 25?

----------


## Thragka

> I meant the smallest age difference. Not all of us can live to 300+


Umgi, always complaining, but never pulling their thumb out and doing something about it.

----------


## LeSwordfish

The new wiki page had me idly rereading old threads - we saw the story of the khemrians beating Nahorek back in Mitterfruhl! That's cool!

EDIT: I'm also enjoying our initial conversations with Klammenberg. Apparently he was here on behalf of "a patron", following "one of the branches of the family tree" - one of Nahorek's bloodline, back in the empire?

----------


## Thragka

Heh. I think I've said this before, but I twigged what Klammenberg was up to, as a reader, at some point in between him killing the midwife and taking her hands, and sourcing the dragon skull  that definitely cinched it since they're so specific to the resurrection ritual, but I can't quite remember if I suspected it before. And LCP confirmed as much to me being the scenes when I asked him about it. That was long before I ever had any inclination towards joining the game. When I _did_ join, I actually found it really difficult trying not to metagame or say "by the way, there's a ****ing vampire, it's a vampire, that's the problem we're having" until it was totally plausible in character.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Heh. I think I've said this before, but I twigged what Klammenberg was up to, as a reader, at some point in between him killing the midwife and taking her hands, and sourcing the dragon skull  that definitely cinched it since they're so specific to the resurrection ritual, but I can't quite remember if I suspected it before. And LCP confirmed as much to me being the scenes when I asked him about it. That was long before I ever had any inclination towards joining the game. When I _did_ join, I actually found it really difficult trying not to metagame or say "by the way, there's a ****ing vampire, it's a vampire, that's the problem we're having" until it was totally plausible in character.


Hah! I remember you PMing me "You do know what a Dragon's Tooth is used for, right?" and I think I was too embarrassed to write back "no, not at all".

----------


## RossN

For a long time I - and Adelbert - was convinced that _Udolf_ was the vampire and Klammenburg merely his 'front man'.

----------


## Thragka

> Hah! I remember you PMing me "You do know what a Dragon's Tooth is used for, right?" and I think I was too embarrassed to write back "no, not at all".


I'd forgotten I did that, hah! Yeah, I definitely brushed against the limits of acceptable metagaming a couple of times. Also, unlikely to be related, sometimes I post drunk.

----------


## RossN

> I'd forgotten I did that, hah! Yeah, I definitely brushed against the limits of acceptable metagaming a couple of times. Also, unlikely to be related, *sometimes I post drunk*.


That's just Method Acting for playing a dwarf.  :Small Wink:

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Elsa doesn't have a map of the Dead Hills, or any navigation/outdoor survival skills IIRC. Finding your way there by memory and dead reckoning will be challenging, particularly when you're not coming at it from the same direction.


Oh, okay. Perhaps we can return to Manann's Keep and _then_ take care of this matter.





> Originally Posted by TheSummoner
> 
> 
> I meant the smallest age difference. Not all of us can live to 300+
> 
> 
> Umgi, always complaining, but never pulling their thumb out and doing something about it.


I mean, some umgi _have_ done something about it.





> Originally Posted by Thragka
> 
> 
> I'd forgotten I did that, hah! Yeah, I definitely brushed against the limits of acceptable metagaming a couple of times. Also, unlikely to be related, sometimes I post drunk.
> 
> 
> That's just Method Acting for playing a dwarf.


Ha ha ha  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## TheSummoner

> EDIT: I'm also enjoying our initial conversations with Klammenberg. Apparently he was here on behalf of "a patron", following "one of the branches of the family tree" - one of Nahorek's bloodline, back in the empire?


One of Nahorek's decendants who was sentimental about their great, great, great grandfather.




> Heh. I think I've said this before, but I twigged what Klammenberg was up to, as a reader, at some point in between him killing the midwife and taking her hands, and sourcing the dragon skull  that definitely cinched it since they're so specific to the resurrection ritual, but I can't quite remember if I suspected it before. And LCP confirmed as much to me being the scenes when I asked him about it. That was long before I ever had any inclination towards joining the game. When I _did_ join, I actually found it really difficult trying not to metagame or say "by the way, there's a ****ing vampire, it's a vampire, that's the problem we're having" until it was totally plausible in character.


I think I pieced it together around the time he got the _womb of a cow raised on blood_ from Rivermouth. In retrospect, it does sorta raise the question of how Klammenberg (Magic 2) was able to perform the ritual (Casting Value 27), but I suppose it wouldn't have been a very interesting story arc if he had failed and dropped dead for the attempt.  :Small Big Grin: 




> Oh, okay. Perhaps we can return to Manann's Keep and _then_ take care of this matter.


You could ask Urgrim for help. He's got Navigation and a pretty good skill in it.




> I mean, some umgi _have_ done something about it.


And we just finished doing something about one of them.

*Edit:* Thought of two more things for Sieghard's to-do list before leaving. First, Sforza may have taken care of this already, but Sieghard wants to make sure Nahorek's remains (even if it just ashes and robes) are secured. We'll need to figure out how to dispose of them, but it's better than leaving them out there and risking some other necromancer trying to revive him a couple decades down the line. Second, if anything remains of Nahorek's banner that wasn't burned by Elsa's spell, Sieghard wants what's left of it for his collection.

----------


## RossN

Jarla does really have a to-do-list right now - she's still very much coming to terms with what Urgrim has told her, so wont really be talkative until after we strike camp (assuming nothing major happens before then at least.)

----------


## LCP

I don't need to-do lists from everyone - I'm taking Sentinel's and TheSummoner's more as reminders to themselves. I take it from the general feeling here though that people are ready to move on?

----------


## LeSwordfish

I am, though I'm not one of the people having a dramatic revelation/nice chat about horses/both.

----------


## Thragka

> And we just finished doing something about one of them.


ayy lmao

No immediate plans for Urgrim either. I'm happy to move on once the current scenes are wrapped up for those involved  I'll just add Urgi's reply to Grunlok.

----------


## RossN

> I am, though I'm not one of the people having a dramatic revelation/nice chat about horses/both.


Heh.  :Small Big Grin:  I _am_ one of those people but Jarla doesn't really have anything else to say right now so happy to move on.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> In retrospect, it does sorta raise the question of how Klammenberg (Magic 2) was able to perform the ritual (Casting Value 27),


Power stone, I assume.

One of our game's biggest "paths not taken" was the time we learned Klammenberg was heading west and failed to realize Hexensnacht was very soon. I wonder if we could have nipped Nahorek's return in the bud. Then again, it would have deprived us of a very exciting storyline, so while there are some mistakes we made that I regret, this is not one of them.  :Small Smile: 





> You could ask Urgrim for help. He's got Navigation and a pretty good skill in it.


Yeah but he wasn't with us the last time we went there.





> I don't need to-do lists from everyone - I'm taking Sentinel's and TheSummoner's more as reminders to themselves.


Correct. Also to make sure you don't move us back to Savonne too fast.

----------


## RossN

> Power stone, I assume.
> 
> One of our game's biggest "paths not taken" was the time we learned Klammenberg was heading west and failed to realize Hexensnacht was very soon. I wonder if we could have nipped Nahorek's return in the bud. Then again, it would have deprived us of a very exciting storyline, so while there are some mistakes we made that I regret, this is not one of them.


My biggest regret was not having Adelbert at least _consider_ Tshula-Udiyya's offers of knowledge, though I guess part of that is just really wishing he hadn't died in what felt like he was right in the middle of his personal story. 

Still, at least playing Jarla is fun.

----------


## TheSummoner

*LeSwordfish:* Has Ludo told Sieghard that he took the spear yet?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Probably - we didn't play out Ludo going to see Sieghard but I think he would have mentioned it.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Well, better _grombolgi_ than _umgi_. Keep an eye on him, will you? He patted Urgrim on the shoulder again. The _zonbrynaz_ is a precious thing. The elders wont want it wandering off.


It's not like halflings have a documented history of tossing shiny magical artifacts into volcanoes.


I should roll another Iona heal test for Elsa: (d100)[*48*]

----------


## Thragka

Healing for Urgrim, who will tend to himself: he recovers one overnight since he's only lightly wounded, and he makes Heal checks on the 23rd and 24th, against Int 54:
(1d100)[*87*], (1d10)[*10*]
(1d100)[*1*], (1d10)[*8*]

So he's back to full wounds on the 24th!

----------


## LCP

Looks like the main question here is whether the PCs are going with the vanguard or the rearguard (seems like the latter), and what business if any they want to conclude at the camp before they leave. Let me know if you're ready to move past Sforza's departure.

P.S. it's Ioana (like Joanna) not Iona.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Looks like the main question here is whether the PCs are going with the vanguard or the rearguard (seems like the latter),


We don't have to stay together. Elsa wants to stay with Sieghard, but *RossN* shouldn't feel obligated to have Jarla stay behind as well just because Elsa is already making plans for Jarla's day. It's just that Jarla and Tattie seemed to click last night, and Elsa isn't comfortable letting Tattie go on a ride in the Dead Hills on her own.

I'm cool with moving a few hours ahead.





> P.S. it's Ioana (like Joanna) not Iona.


Duly noted. IC post edited.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo wants to handle the spear stuff, but unless Sforza specifically expects the Thorns to stay back with the Trebuchets, he'll be heading out with them. In fact, he can probably talk to Sforza about that now.

----------


## TheSummoner

Yeah, I think Sieghard probably isn't in any condition for a long march/ride yet. I imagine he's still feeling pretty sore/stiff and doesn't have a lot of energy.




> "Prince Sforza asks that you, ah, return him his spear."


_His_ spear? Bastard.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> She'd sourced a few apples from somewhere and fed them to her loyal mayor.


Mayors are famously fond of apples.

----------


## RossN

> Mayors are famously fond of apples.


Hah.  :Small Big Grin: 

Have to stop posting on the hoof.

----------


## Thragka

Make fun of my method acting, would you?  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## -Sentinel-

I really think we should just burn the bodies. Building a makeshift crematorium would probably be less trouble than carrying all the rotting bodies north.

----------


## TheSummoner

If it was just about disposing of the bodies as a pragmatic matter, you'd be right.




> The fundamental belief of the cult [of Morr] is that the dead face grave perils if not sent to Morr's protection with the proper rites. Most believe such souls would be seized and tortured by Khaine, Morr's jealous brother, or even devoured by the Ruinous Powers, and souls know this at an instinctive level. Thus, the spirits of the unburied dead cling to this world, remaining present as Ghosts. Burying the body, or performing the rituals over possessions, or even just a name, places the soul under Morr's protection and allows it to leave safely. Of course, active Undead often have to be driven out, but the burial rites are still important.


Of course, Sieghard wouldn't have a full understanding of the specifics, but every human in-universe would at least have the basic knowledge that it's very bad on a spiritual level to just leave the dead where they fall. Sieghard isn't exceptionally devout, but that doesn't mean he doesn't believe in it. I know been discussed before when cremation came up, but religion is the norm, not the exception in the Warhammer world and the time period it's roughly based on, and how to handle a dead person is heavily tied into that. On top of all that, Sieghard feels personally responsible and that he has an obligation to the dead to do what he can even if _better late than never_ is the best he can manage. It's only one hex from Nath to the edge of the Thornwood. That's good enough*. He's just not going to leave them in a daemon haunted ruin.

*Except for the four Knights of the Raven. I still think their remains should be sent north to their order.

*Edit:* Side note, I find the whole Khaine thing weird given he's an Elven god. Normally I'd chalk that sort of thing up to early Warhammer weirdness (see Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer), but the book was written in 2007, so it's not _that old_.

----------


## RossN

> Make fun of my method acting, would you?


That's completely different!  :Small Big Grin: 




> *Edit:* Side note, I find the whole Khaine thing weird given he's an Elven god. Normally I'd chalk that sort of thing up to early Warhammer weirdness (see Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer), but the book was written in 2007, so it's not _that old_.


To the best of my knowledge Khaine is still present WFRP 4th edition so he's not going anywhere.

If Adelbert was here he'd tell you that 'our' Khaine and the Elven god are probably one in the same and that both are linked with the Nekharan Djaf. Mind you Adelbert also thought the undead up to and _including_ Nagash are simply unwitting and expendable pawns for Khaine in his war against Morr.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Can I confirm that Sieghard's intention was to volunteer the Thorns for this as well as himself? I'm not seeing that in the IC and wanted to check we didn't have crossed wires.

----------


## LCP

Yes I'd be interested in confirming that too.

Also, just to head a potential Schreiber-brand misunderstanding off at the pass... RossN, you remember that Sforza told Jarla to come and see him when she'd decided what she wanted for a reward?

----------


## RossN

> Yes I'd be interested in confirming that too.
> 
> Also, just to head a potential Schreiber-brand misunderstanding off at the pass... RossN, you remember that Sforza told Jarla to come and see him when she'd decided what she wanted for a reward?


Yes I remember. I think Jarla would have assumed saving his life might have at least merited a 'thanks' in its own right though.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Can I confirm that Sieghard's intention was to volunteer the Thorns for this as well as himself? I'm not seeing that in the IC and wanted to check we didn't have crossed wires.


Sieghard's intention is to make sure it gets done and if that's what it takes, so be it. Sforza did offer to leave the laborers at least so he'll be making full use of them.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Sieghard's intention is to make sure it gets done and if that's what it takes, so be it. Sforza did offer to leave the laborers at least so he'll be making full use of them.


To be frank I was hoping we could get the Thorns assigned to something fairly chill like patrolling the Thornwood, and not "go back to where all your friends died, load their rotting corpses onto carts, haul them over the mountains." If you say Sieghard has told Sforza he wants the thorns for this then so be it but I think if he hasn't then Ludo will plow on with getting them something relatively relaxed. I guess it's up to you and LCP to confirm this: I'm not sure I can usefully post IC in response to Sforza until that's done.

----------


## LCP

I'm happy either way. Sforza's default assumption as usual is that Sieghard speaks for his regiment, and won't leave them without a commander without a compelling reason. Unless some consequence comes back to directly require his attention, though, he's not going to be overly concerned with which soldiers do what.

*EDIT:* I should also point out that the labourers Sforza's offering to leave are the men he essentially pressed into service from Armin's camp. The bodies down in Nath aren't their friends, and the reward they're getting isn't much more than a hot meal a day and a tent to sleep in, so from Sieghard's point of view it might be useful to have some armed men on hand to give his orders weight.

----------


## LeSwordfish

That all works for me - if Sforza is reading Sieghard volunteering as Sieghard volunteering his men, that's all alright and - wait crap does that mean ludo has to do it too

----------


## -Sentinel-

Elsa has no big plans for the day.

Once she's had some medicine, she will find an Estalian with whom she can practice a few parrying moves with her staff. This is mostly just an in-story explanation for why she's going to buy +5 WS at the end of the month.


Is there a shift in the energy coming from Nath? Does it look like Samira's destruction has lifted the evil of Nath in a permanent way? Magical Sense 93: (d100)[*97*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Well, I generate 4 daily Fortune Points now, so I might as well re-roll this. (d100)[*45*]

----------


## Thragka

Things move fast on Backertag morning! Although actually I think it works that Urgrim didn't insert himself any further into the Sforza side of determining what happens to the spear. He can't be everywhere, every time.

I think Urgrim will want to talk to Ludo and/or Sieghard about whether there's going to be a concerted effort to track down Mala. If the Thorns are staying near Nath for a little longer, Urgrim can at least go back up into the hills and see if it's possible to pick up anything of Mala's trail now in the daylight, even though it's no longer fresh.

Urgrim's inching closer to the end of his Scout career. He needs to pick up Ride and Charm Animal, which I'd been more or less ignoring since it didn't seem in character for him to want to learn anything like that. I think, though, with the events of the past month, he's starting to see the utility in knowing how to ride a pony. So, he might ask for help learning to ride from one of the humans, and also try to learn Charm Animal from Elsa, if that works. It could be quid pro quo for going out to get sulphur with her?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> So, he might ask for help learning to ride from one of the humans, and also try to learn Charm Animal from Elsa, if that works. It could be quid pro quo for going out to get sulphur with her?


That works! I'm sure Tatiana will be happy to help once she's back from her ride.

----------


## RossN

There aren't any Exits from Jarla's careers that seem obvious in the circumstances so I might be waiting on in-game events to suggest a direction to go in.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I'm happy either way. Sforza's default assumption as usual is that Sieghard speaks for his regiment, and won't leave them without a commander without a compelling reason. Unless some consequence comes back to directly require his attention, though, he's not going to be overly concerned with which soldiers do what.
> 
> *EDIT:* I should also point out that the labourers Sforza's offering to leave are the men he essentially pressed into service from Armin's camp. The bodies down in Nath aren't their friends, and the reward they're getting isn't much more than a hot meal a day and a tent to sleep in, so from Sieghard's point of view it might be useful to have some armed men on hand to give his orders weight.


Sieghard is going to have his men with him. It wont be pleasant, but I think they'd suck it up and do it for their brothers in arms and appreciate the unspoken implication that if the roles were reversed, Sieghard would do what he could for them.

As for the laborers, Sieghard isn't going to go out of his way to make it more unpleasant for them than it already is, but he tried to warned them what Nahorek was. Let them see it with their own eyes.




> There aren't any Exits from Jarla's careers that seem obvious in the circumstances so I might be waiting on in-game events to suggest a direction to go in.


Hmm... Looking at her options, the two that make the most sense seem like Duelist or Charlatan. The first is good if you want to build her to be more combat capable (dodge blow mastery is very nice) and the latter comes with some nice skills and talents and works well with the sort of "fake it til you make it" approach she took to getting into Irene's inner circle.

As for Sieghard, he just has a handful of skills ant talents left to worry about. None of the exits from Captain seem all that applicable at the moment, Explorer being the least unlikely of the lot, but still seems a stretch unless we head off into the unknown some time soon. As for exits from pervious careers, Champion is a nice option (for Fleet Footed in particular), but the masterwork weapon requirements are expensive and _someone_ just stole his spear. Targeteer is another one I've considered since it gives access to mastery in Perception and Search and a couple nice talents and seems like something that meshes well with leading a group of crossbowmen.

----------


## LCP

Ludo has Meskhenet, not Sforza.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Ludo has Meskhenet, not Sforza.


Ah, okay. I assumed Sforza because he seems rather possessive of things that don't even belong to him.

IC post edited.





> Hmm... Looking at her options, the two that make the most sense seem like Duelist or Charlatan. The first is good if you want to build her to be more combat capable (dodge blow mastery is very nice) and the latter comes with some nice skills and talents and works well with the sort of "fake it til you make it" approach she took to getting into Irene's inner circle.


I'm assuming, with Jarla's current advances, that she would finish the Duelist career quickly. And then... possibly... Assassin.  :Small Wink: 





> As for Sieghard, he just has a handful of skills ant talents left to worry about. None of the exits from Captain seem all that applicable at the moment, Explorer being the least unlikely of the lot, but still seems a stretch unless we head off into the unknown some time soon.


We still have places to explore! It's just that the 1000gc requirement for Explorer is... steep. It would end up being more expensive than Champion.

Re: Champion: You already have a master-crafted sword and dagger, yes? I believe shields are considered weapons in WFRP; a master-crafted shield would be useful for the +5 WS to block. Add to this a master-crafted javelin and you're at 4/6.

----------


## RossN

> Hmm... Looking at her options, the two that make the most sense seem like Duelist or Charlatan. The first is good if you want to build her to be more combat capable (dodge blow mastery is very nice) and the latter comes with some nice skills and talents and works well with the sort of "fake it til you make it" approach she took to getting into Irene's inner circle.





> I'm assuming, with Jarla's current advances, that she would finish the Duelist career quickly. And then... possibly... Assassin.


Charlatan or Duellist could be interesting, though I'd sort of been considering how to push Jarla in more of a leadership direction and the obvious route that way Outlaw Chieftain is a no go for reasons that should be obvious!  :Small Tongue: 

I do think if she knew what she does _now_ she wouldn't have rescued Sforza.

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## -Sentinel-

A duelist Jarla would be pretty much a Warhammer version of Julie d'Aubigny. (Minus the opera singing.)

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## LCP

IC post is up. I'm holding off on any skull-in-a-box shenanigans until I actually see confirmation that Ludo gives permission and doesn't want to handle any interaction with Meskhenet himself.




> Is there a shift in the energy coming from Nath? Does it look like Samira's destruction has lifted the evil of Nath in a permanent way? Magical Sense 93: [roll0]


The concentrated wellspring of active _Dhar_ that lingered around the tower seems to have dissipated. The ruins still appear saturated with _Shyish_, but to a certain extent that's to be expected.

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## RossN

> A duelist Jarla would be pretty much a Warhammer version of Julie d'Aubigny. (Minus the opera singing.)


Also minus the crossdressing and bisexuality. 

She does have Performance (Dance) and Performance (Act) at least.

----------


## TheSummoner

> We still have places to explore! It's just that the 1000gc requirement for Explorer is... steep. It would end up being more expensive than Champion.
> 
> Re: Champion: You already have a master-crafted sword and dagger, yes? I believe shields are considered weapons in WFRP; a master-crafted shield would be useful for the +5 WS to block. Add to this a master-crafted javelin and you're at 4/6.


We do, but until we're going off to explore them I don't feel like it fits. I'm still a bit off, so we'll see how things go. As for the money, Sieghard is actually fairly wealthy, it's just most of it I have counted as company funds for the Thorns rather than personal funds for himself (and I need to go through and update my bookkeeping). I feel like it's the sort of thing I feel like I could justify under the requirements for explorer, but not use to just buy a bunch of shiny toys for himself. And if I wanted to lean into the part where that 1000 is a mix of coin and _trade goods_, there's always the option of trying to get some sort of business deal going with Burhan. The idea had come up back when we were in Savonne... Before he got poisoned... And scared half to death by a vampire...

Re: Masterwork weapons: Come on now, when has Sieghard ever used javelins? If it was just about the gold requirement, I'd buy 4 more daggers and call it a day. I'm going about this as something that actually makes sense for Sieghard to own rather than arbitrary purchases to justify the requirement. He has a sword and dagger, shield is an obvious next choice. Crossbow and/or longbow would both make sense - he's always preferred the crossbow, but he has used a bow once or twice. I could also see a case for great weapon - For a while, I've seen Sieghard as usually fighting fairly defensively, but against Nahorek in particular he's had to go all out on offense just to stand a chance of ending the fight before the magic was too much. And he does actually have access to Lightning Parry (and needs to buy it to complete Captain) if he wanted to ditch his shield and still have a parry (even though it's a pretty bad talent overall).




> Charlatan or Duellist could be interesting, though I'd sort of been considering how to push Jarla in more of a leadership direction and the obvious route that way Outlaw Chieftain is a no go for reasons that should be obvious! 
> 
> I do think if she knew what she does _now_ she wouldn't have rescued Sforza.


Well, Sergeant _is_ on the list of exits, but you'd need an IC way to justify who she's actually leading for that.

Alternatively, Charlatan can lead into Demagogue and Politician which have some options for bossing people around without the explicit military rank attached.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo's also only a few hundred off his next career change - and for some reason Vampire Hunter doesn't seem as useful as it did before?

----------


## TheSummoner

Well, given that your last two careers are the same as Jarla's pre-Highwaywoman, your options are pretty much the same.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> And if I wanted to lean into the part where that 1000 is a mix of coin and _trade goods_, there's always the option of trying to get some sort of business deal going with Burhan.


Or join Elsa and Suzana in famine profiteering supporting the flow of foodstuffs into the Reaches.





> Re: Masterwork weapons: Come on now, when has Sieghard ever used javelins?


Never. But if he did, he would throw them at Damage 6 (SB 6 minus 1, Mighty Shot). Cannot be dodged or parried.


*Re: Laborers:* I didn't realize the slow half of the army would be leaving on the same day. That means we are now outnumbered by the laborers, which makes me more than a little nervous. I _strongly suggest_ that we offer the carrot, not only the stick, or we may find ourselves with a revolt on our hands. It would suck to lose Thorns to those guys the day after defeating the greatest threat to the Reaches in living memory.

*Re: IC:* Goddammit Jarla!  :Small Sigh:

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## LeSwordfish

Politician and Demagogue both seem natural follow-ons but frankly neither has anything especially new for Ludo: he's almost as high-fel as he's going to get. Perhaps the sensible thing is to stay in the same career and keep mastering skills.




> Strength: (1d100)[100] vs 40.


Bastard effortlessly tears both of Jarla's arms off and vanishes over the horizon.

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## TheSummoner

> *Re: Laborers:* I didn't realize the slow half of the army would be leaving on the same day. That means we are now outnumbered by the laborers, which makes me more than a little nervous. I _strongly suggest_ that we offer the carrot, not only the stick, or we may find ourselves with a revolt on our hands. It would suck to lose Thorns to those guys the day after defeating the greatest threat to the Reaches in living memory.


Factor in Heschler and the PCs (the ones who aren't going with Sforza anyways) and it's roughly even. Agreed though.




> *Re: IC:* Goddammit Jarla!





> Bastard effortlessly tears both of Jarla's arms off and vanishes over the horizon.


Ouch. I know it's early, but you may want to reroll that one. It's not like you can do worse... (and then Jarla somehow rolls 101)

----------


## -Sentinel-

To keep control of the laborers, here are my (Elsa's) suggestions:

Divide them into at least three teams. They don't choose their teams; we do. We keep the teams in different places: e.g. one digging graves on the border of the Thornwood, and two loading the bodies and shuttling them from Nath to the graves. We never give separate teams the opportunity to mingle or talk to each other. This should ensure that at no point can all 25 of them turn on us at the same time. Also, by separating them ourselves, we ensure that most laborers will have friends or relatives in other teams, who will act as (implied) hostages should one of the teams consider revolting against their overseers.Some of the laborers may currently be under the impression that they will be executed once they are finished. And I would not blame them for believing that! Therefore, we should keep them fed and watered throughout the day, and any laborer who gets injured on the job should be allowed to sit out the rest of the work. This will demonstrate that we intend them to live beyond today.If it seems safe, the Thorns should help with manual labor, not just stand around holding crossbows threateningly.Trying to learn some of the laborers' names ("Hey, uh... Bertram, was it?") could also go a long way towards showing that this isn't the Khmer Rouge killing fields.Sing some work songs!

Beyond that... I don't know what we can promise them. If we free them afterwards, will Sforza be angry at us? He has not explicitly _forbidden_ us from doing so...

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## RossN

> Ouch. I know it's early, but you may want to reroll that one. It's not like you can do worse... (and then Jarla somehow rolls 101)


Re-rolling: (1d100)[*13*] vs 40.

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## TheSummoner

> To keep control of the laborers, here are my (Elsa's) suggestions:
> 
> Divide them into at least three teams. They don't choose their teams; we do. We keep the teams in different places: e.g. one digging graves on the border of the Thornwood, and two loading the bodies and shuttling them from Nath to the graves. We never give separate teams the opportunity to mingle or talk to each other. This should ensure that at no point can all 25 of them turn on us at the same time. Also, by separating them ourselves, we ensure that most laborers will have friends or relatives in other teams, who will act as (implied) hostages should one of the teams consider revolting against their overseers.Some of the laborers may currently be under the impression that they will be executed once they are finished. And I would not blame them for believing that! Therefore, we should keep them fed and watered throughout the day, and any laborer who gets injured on the job should be allowed to sit out the rest of the work. This will demonstrate that we intend them to live beyond today.If it seems safe, the Thorns should help with manual labor, not just stand around holding crossbows threateningly.Trying to learn some of the laborers' names ("Hey, uh... Bertram, was it?") could also go a long way towards showing that this isn't the Khmer Rouge killing fields.Sing some work songs!
> 
> Beyond that... I don't know what we can promise them. If we free them afterwards, will Sforza be angry at us? He has not explicitly _forbidden_ us from doing so...


Oh no, the guy who just stole Sieghard's most valuable possession and couldn't be assed to have his men help bury the dead might be upset that we didn't let him turn his press-ganged labor force into full blown slaves.  :Small Sigh: 

Agreed on most points, but I don't know how feasible splitting people up will be since it also means we'll be splitting up the Thorns and reducing our strength if there are any lingering ghosts. I also doubt anyone is going to be in the singing mood.

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## RossN

> Oh no, the guy who just stole Sieghard's most valuable possession and couldn't be assed to have his men help bury the dead might be upset that we didn't let him turn his press-ganged labor force into full blown slaves.


Man I'm beginning to wonder if Jarla is even going to get the chance to scheme before everyone turns on Sforza!  :Small Tongue:

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## -Sentinel-

> Agreed on most points, but I don't know how feasible splitting people up will be since it also means we'll be splitting up the Thorns and reducing our strength if there are any lingering ghosts.


I'm less concerned about splitting up the Thorns. They're already used to working cohesively in small teams.

Also, either there are hundreds of ghosts left in Nath (in which case the enterprise is far too risky and should be abandoned), or all the ghosts are gone. I can't imagine what kind of situation would result in there being, like, 6 ghosts remaining.

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## Thragka

Sorry I've been inactive today, while everybody else has put their best foot forward on this bright, post-Nahorek morn, the herald of a new future for the Reaches, dragging it kicking and screaming into the Century of the Fruitbat. I've got a lot going on in my Ph.D. at the moment, and it's difficult during the day to switch my brain from maths maths maths to creative fun dwarf adventure writing. I'll throw in some timesplit actions for Urgrim, but I don't know I'll be able to do a lot of back-and-forth conversational posting for the next few days.

(My partner and I are also going to be moving at the end of the month, but so far it all seems ... pretty organised ... hopefully I'll only need to drop out for a day or two when we're actually moving our life ten miles across central London, touch wood!)

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## TheSummoner

*Re: Elsa:* To be fair, she said destroy the book, not bring it to her. Not at all feasible, but it's probably the best thing you could do with it if you had the means.

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## -Sentinel-

> *Re: Elsa:* To be fair, she said destroy the book, not bring it to her. Not at all feasible, but it's probably the best thing you could do with it if you had the means.


IIRC, when we first met her, Meskhenet wanted the Book brought to her so that _she_ could destroy it.

*Edit:* I was mistaken. She said to return the Book _or_ to destroy it. I'll edit my post.

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## LCP

Let me know when you guys are ready to move to the following day - and who is/isn't helping with burial duty.

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## -Sentinel-

I don't think Elsa will be helping. She's the court wizard and she has to look intimidating and above it all. Also she's still injured.


For the night:

Set watches to keep an eye on the laborers. Use the buddy system for all things, including having a piss.Unsaddle the horses (I'm assuming we do that anyway) to prevent horse theft by potential runaways.If a few laborers do run away, don't bother giving chase. It's night and it's the Dead Hills.

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## LCP

> I don't think Elsa will be helping.


Will she remain in the camp while the others go down?

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## RossN

Jarla is also not going to be working the shifts - like Elsa she has to look above that sort of thing and has clothes to worry about - but she is available in camp if Elsa wants to do anything else. Otherwise I'm happy moving forward so we can get back to civilisation!

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## TheSummoner

Gee, it's like you guys don't _want_ to dig graves or move corpses. I thought this was Warhammer!

Sieghard will do what he can, limited of course by his injuries. If that limit means all he can do is oversee it, so be it. Ready to move on to tomorrow. I imagine he's not as skilled at it as Ioana, but if Heschler knows healing, could Sieghard also get a heal test before we get started?

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## -Sentinel-

> Will she remain in the camp while the others go down?


She'll go visit the gravedigging site at least once as a stony-faced, quietly menacing presence (the bad cop to Sieghard's not-good-but-sorta-reasonable cop), but will spend most of the rest of her day recovering at the camp. She's not too comfortable with the quasi-slavery thing.

When it's time to go to Nath, tomorrow, she will (reluctantly) accompany the work detail, just in case the ghosts aren't truly gone.

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## RossN

> Gee, it's like you guys don't _want_ to dig graves or move corpses. I thought this was Warhammer!
> 
> Sieghard will do what he can, limited of course by his injuries. If that limit means all he can do is oversee it, so be it. Ready to move on to tomorrow. I imagine he's not as skilled at it as Ioana, but if Heschler knows healing, could Sieghard also get a heal test before we get started?


Sieghard is getting paid for this, Jarla isn't.  :Small Tongue: 

(Well maybe not _this_ exactly but it is part of his overall job.)

----------


## LeSwordfish

Being "one of the team" is a curse sometimes, even if it does make the speechifying easier.

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## TheSummoner

> (Well maybe not _this_ exactly but it is part of his overall job.)


Sforza didn't seem to think so. He didn't think it needed to be done at all. Yeah, that one's going to be a sore spot for Sieghard.




> Being "one of the team" is a curse sometimes, even if it does make the speechifying easier.


For what it's worth, I appreciate it. No one was obligated to stick around for this.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Actually while I'm here, let's roll a Charm roll - Ludo's not walking up and down the line cracking jokes with people, but perhaps wants to make sure the Thorns are seeing Sieghard's side of this, that this isn't fun work but is necessary and respectful, and that the commander would do the same for any of them (even if he's not getting his hands dirty personally, that's because he nearly died). (1d100)[*2*] vs 92.

sure okay maybe it _is_ fun work.

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## TheSummoner

With a roll like that, they're probably making gallows jokes about how they nearly had to bury Sieghard too.

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## RossN

> Sforza didn't seem to think so. He didn't think it needed to be done at all. Yeah, that one's going to be a sore spot for Sieghard.
> 
> 
> 
> For what it's worth, I appreciate it. No one was obligated to stick around for this.


Yeah I don't think Sforza made any new friends.  :Small Frown: 

Jarla is happy to stand watch and do general scouting stuff.

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## -Sentinel-

Heal 61 test for today: (d100)[*6*]

_I am back to Lightly Wounded. Yay. Thanks Ioana, I'll donate to your hospital when I return to Savonne._





> If Thragka and Sentinel feel that Urgrim and Elsa ought to get in on the Insanity Point action too I'll leave that to their discretion


Elsa has some lingering guilt about being the one who talked Kleinrabe into a frontal assault without even trying the bait-the-vampire plan, so maybe that warrants a WP test (target 83).

(d100)[*48*]


*Edit:* Speaking of Kleinrabe, what are we doing with the knights' armor? Are we returning it to the Temple of Morr? That stuff is valuable, we certainly cannot bury the knights in it.

I'm assuming Ehrl's armor is too far away for easy retrieval.

----------


## Thragka

> I'm assuming Ehrl's armor is too far away for easy retrieval.


Well, on the one hand, Urgrim is retracing the chase after Mala and Ehrl on the morning of the 24th, so he crossed paths with it  but on the other, he's very much not one for disturbing the dead, and he wouldn't have very much interest in lugging the armour around by himself even if he did want to take it off the corpse.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Well, on the one hand, Urgrim is retracing the chase after Mala and Ehrl on the morning of the 24th, so he crossed paths with it  but on the other, he's very much not one for disturbing the dead, and he wouldn't have very much interest in lugging the armour around by himself even if he did want to take it off the corpse.


Yeah, that's fair.


Elsa has no specific plans until the return to Manann's Keep. If she wants sulphur, I guess it'll have to wait. The IC thread mentioned that our food is running low.

I imagine we can bury the bodies today (it's far easier to fill up holes than dig them), have Hechsler and Sieghard perform a memorial service at dusk, and strike camp tomorrow morning.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Heal 61 test for today: (d100)[*6*]
> 
> _I am back to Lightly Wounded. Yay. Thanks Ioana, I'll donate to your hospital when I return to Savonne._


I think Ioana went with Esteban. But Heal is a regular priest skill, so Heschler probably has it as well and even if he doesn't, Urgrim does.

Heal roll for Sieghard for today too: (1d100)[*49*]

*Edit:* Not sure what Heschler would be testing against, but if we count that as having come from Urgrim, it passes.




> Elsa has some lingering guilt about being the one who talked Kleinrabe into a frontal assault without even trying the bait-the-vampire plan, so maybe that warrants a WP test (target 83).





> She tried not to think too hard about whether Kleinrabe's original plan, which involved staying out of Nath, would have actually worked.


It wouldn't have worked, the plan was ridiculous. Vain or not, Nahorek wasn't dumb enough to have fallen for it - I know a big part of how we killed him was through trickery, but the trap was far more obvious and nothing about it required him to go in person. He probably intended to use the Caerfort villagers as cattle to feed on and by the end, he was draining ghouls dry. It really makes me doubt the whole thing about noble blood would've had any appeal to him.

What most likely would've happened if we had gone with Kleinrabe's plan is we would've been introduced to his ghosts sooner with still no way to deal with them. Moltke probably would've died (sooner) and there would've likely been losses among the Thorns and Kleinrabe's men. Not as many as we lost trying the frontal assault, but I doubt his flagellants would've cared that they weren't actually capable of doing anything against the spirits.

The first part went really well. We more or less managed to wipe out the ghouls with very light losses on our end. There were a few stragglers, but so few that bar Mala, it seems Nahorek managed to finish off the rest on his own. Maybe we could've tried something sneakier to get to the prisoners and that might've worked, I don't know. The two big mistakes we made were not recognizing the significance of the ghosts until it was too late and Sieghard trying to keep the Thorns together instead of ordering his group into the overgrown garden immediately. Kleinrabe's own death was because he charged into the gathering storm and tried to finish things on his own rather than staying with the rest and having backup.




> *Edit:* Speaking of Kleinrabe, what are we doing with the knights' armor? Are we returning it to the Temple of Morr? That stuff is valuable, we certainly cannot bury the knights in it.


My plan was to bury the villagers and Kleinrabe's men in the spot we already had prepared, then take the dead Thorns to the edge of the Thornwood. There's not too many of them relative to the total number of dead (so we should have space in the wagon/carts), the ground there should be easier to dig graves, it's on the way, and Sieghard feels like they deserve to rest closer to home. (That said, if he had the resources, he'd also have the Caerfort dead buried near Caerfort and Kleinrabe's men buried either with him or the Thorns - anything to get further away from Nath.) I can probably be talked out of that part if anyone thinks it's really better to just bury everyone here and now, but it's something Sieghard would care about and it would probably wouldn't add more than a couple hours to our total time. If we're worried about food, we're probably 2 more days to Manaan's Keep either way and once we hit the forest, we could maybe have a couple Thorns try to hunt some game.

As for the knights, their remains should be sent back to their order, the armor included. It's valuable, but there's few enough people who could even buy it off us and we've no use for it ourselves. And as a practical matter, you can probably get the plate armor off them without too much trouble, but good luck fighting a month of rigor mortis to get the mail off. The only option would be cutting through rings until it could be peeled off and we don't have the tools for that. Besides, they died fighting alongside us, so I think they've probably earned that respect. (Yes, I realize it's a bit hypocritical coming from the guy whose character has been using Bernhard's armor for well over a year, but Sieghard barely knew him  :Small Tongue: )




> I'm assuming Ehrl's armor is too far away for easy retrieval.


Nonsense. Urgrim knows how to get back to where he fell, send him and a couple of Thorns with one of the small carts and it'll be a non-issue to pick him up. Still disappointed I never got a chance to finish him off, I nearly had the full set.

----------


## Thragka

Rigor mortis only lasts a small number of days, followed by bloating. The wights should be well past those stages of decay  the mail will be disgusting, but not (otherwise) difficult to remove.

Urgrim's happy to dole out healing. Given his lack of academic training, it's most likely of the form of checking bandages and bindings, keeping wounds clean, and saying "stop doing that, you need to rest".

----------


## -Sentinel-

I really don't think anyone has plans for before the Thorns' bodies are laid to rest, *LCP*.

To be honest I was not anticipating that traveling ~half a hex would take an entire day, even with the carts. What's the state of our food supplies?


*Thragka*, can you give Elsa a Heal test for the day? (d10 wounds because lightly-wounded.) Elsa doesn't trust priests of Sigmar, given their history wrt: wizards.

----------


## LCP

> I really don't think anyone has plans for before the Thorns' bodies are laid to rest, *LCP*.


No, but TheSummoner might like to specify how it's done. You guys can feel free to narrate that work yourselves.

You don't have much food left, but you've got past the worst of the difficult ground - you're only about one day's travel from Manann's Keep.

----------


## TheSummoner

One big grave with the dead laid side by side (no stacking since the ground is easier to work with and there's less bodies) is fine. If something suitable can be found without going too far out of the way, he'll want it done near something that can serve as a sort of natural monument - a large rock or tree in an otherwise open area or something of the sort.

----------


## Thragka

> *Thragka*, can you give Elsa a Heal test for the day? (d10 wounds because lightly-wounded.) Elsa doesn't trust priests of Sigmar, given their history wrt: wizards.


Sure thing. *Heal 54* - (1d100)[*66*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*9*], *Wounds healed* - (1d10)[*7*]

----------


## LeSwordfish

> One big grave with the dead laid side by side (no stacking since the ground is easier to work with and there's less bodies) is fine. If something suitable can be found without going too far out of the way, he'll want it done near something that can serve as a sort of natural monument - a large rock or tree in an otherwise open area or something of the sort.


A thought I had was using crossbow bolts as grave markers, or to mark a line around the grave.

----------


## LCP

> One big grave with the dead laid side by side (no stacking since the ground is easier to work with and there's less bodies) is fine. If something suitable can be found without going too far out of the way, he'll want it done near something that can serve as a sort of natural monument - a large rock or tree in an otherwise open area or something of the sort.


I'm sure you can find something like that - I'll leave the choice of landmark to you.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Sure thing. *Heal 54* - (1d100)[*66*], Fortune - (1d100)[*9*], Wounds healed - (1d10)[*7*]


Can Sieghard get healing as well? For both the 26th and 27th? He's at 2 wounds now, so still heavily wounded unless both pass.




> A thought I had was using crossbow bolts as grave markers, or to mark a line around the grave.


Good idea, I like that. What about a bundle of them, poked into the ground, either at the center or near the big rock (we'll go with rock) we bury them by?

----------


## -Sentinel-

*@ Tragka:* Thanks a lot!


Maybe do your speech, *TheSummoner*? I'd like to write mine, too.  :Small Smile:

----------


## TheSummoner

I'm still working on drafting it. I should have something ready by tomorrow morning.

----------


## Thragka

Heals for Sieghard, on the 26th  *Heal 54* - (1d100)[*30*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*1*]  and the 27th  *Heal 54* - (1d100)[*33*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*16*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

*@ fellow PCs:* I've been thinking about long-term plans (next few IC months), and this has drawn my attention:




> *The Hidden Vale*
> 
> [...]
> 
> Funnily enough, throughout much of the history of the Broken Reaches, the Hidden Vale has gone untenanted by any major warlord. Some attribute this to its obscurity, claiming that it is possible for a man to walk within half a mile of the Vale on either side without even realising it is there. Others say there is something unwholesome in the water or the soil that drives people away. The inhabitants of the Vale do have a reputation for congenital madness, but most attribute this to inbreeding.


Though the map shows no such thing, there is almost certainly a small river flowing at the bottom of the Hidden Vale; otherwise it would not be green. And there is a strong chance that the headwaters of that river are near the ruin of Guldun.

Now... as far as I can remember, Guldun has never been mentioned IC, so there is no justification for us _specifically_ planning an expedition there. But working backwards and trying to get to the source of the strangeness of the Vale would almost certainly lead us there. As one of the last unexplored ruins in the Broken Reaches, I think it should feature on our to-seriously-consider list.

----------


## TheSummoner

Makes sense. Whoever built the place had to have _some_ source of drinking water.

----------


## LCP

There are multiple streams running through the Vale/Thornwood and into the Mere. You already know of two major ones - the one that goes through Painford and the one that was diverted to make the moat of Manann's Keep.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Awww.


Elsa's going to just have to swallow her pride and apologize. It's never going to go away unless she does. Don't make excuses, just acknowledge what she did and that she was wrong and ask for a chance to make things right.




> Not sure what's a reasonable amount to pay the workers. I think it should cover their work for the entire siege of Nath, not just the few days they spent burying bodies.


Monthly wage for a peasant is 15-25s. For a particularly wealthy farmer, 25-45s. The siege lasted maybe half a month. 10s would be suitable, 1 crown would be particularly generous.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Elsa's going to just have to swallow her pride and apologize. It's never going to go away unless she does. Don't make excuses, just acknowledge what she did and that she was wrong and ask for a chance to make things right.








> Monthly wage for a peasant is 15-25s. For a particularly wealthy farmer, 25-45s. The siege lasted maybe half a month. 10s would be suitable, 1 crown would be particularly generous.


Half a crown was indeed what I had in mind. Elsa carries enough money to pay everyone, though as I mentioned, any contribution on the others' part would be appreciated. Perhaps it can even come out of the Thorns' budget, if we treat the workers as Thorn subcontractors.

----------


## Thragka

Is Sieghard with Ludo at present? Also, are the Dwimmulsons in Mannan's Keep?

----------


## LCP

Yes and yes. Skorgrund's around here somewhere too.

----------


## LCP

I'm mostly just reacting to prompts from you guys at the moment - please feel free to move on to drinks with Jarla at the _Star_ whenever you feel like it.

In the longer term, as Sforza said, he's going to be heading back to Savonne. I don't know if you're all planning to go back with him - as Steward of the Thornwood it would be entirely appropriate for Sieghard to return to Painford instead. Of course that doesn't mean it's inappropriate for him to come back to court either, as long as he's making sure his stewardly duties are being discharged - it would be a natural thing for him to return to Savonne to share in any celebrations/credit, and learn first-hand what plans there are for the future.

Either way, let me know what your plans are; if everyone's happy to go back to Savonne that'll be the next stop in the IC.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I do have a bit of roleplay to do in Manann's Keep, but Elsa's other plans are just to retrieve her gold in the karst and return Morrslieb's bones to the Mere, which I don't think require back-and-forth.

Elsa will pay *6 gc* in wages to the laborers, which adds up to 1/4th of a crown each. Anyone else wants to chip in?

----------


## Thragka

Ah, didn't see Sentinel's post before mine  Urgrim is also in the Star, so he'll certainly wander over to chat to Elsa and Jarla. (He's going to get a bit pissed, though, so maybe he'll excuse himself if they're talking serious matters while he's having fun.)

EDIT: also Urgrim's not chipping in ... too poor!

----------


## Thragka

Damn, Urgrim's just trying to have a few pints, Elsa had to get real.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I've not got much energy for an IC post tonight. I have some medium-term plans for things Ludo can do (such as training the thorns to use their new rifles) but I assume that we're gonna have some kind of timeskip in the near-ish future, assuming we don't go immediately into Jarla's revenge plan or the Savonne Uprisings. (In fact, let me go so far as to say I would like a timeskip please. Ludo wants some time off and time to process his Very Big Month.)

EDIT: I have a Historical Context question. Are Sieghard and Ludo expected to notify the Next Of Kin of the deceased thorns?

SECOND EDIT: Hey sentinel, remember when you were saying there might be magic in the Handrich's Cross waters? Look what I found!




> Whatever the number, it was certainly higher in the Vale. Perhaps it was just the mark of long inbreeding in the tiny rural communities that dotted the valley, but Elsa couldn't help suspecting it had something to do with the strange vividness in the Winds she had noticed on her first journey south through the Thornwood. The stuff of magic inhered more strongly in the ground the closer one got to the Vale - in particular, the closer one got to its southern edge, and its border with the Dead Hills. To Elsa's witchsight, the streams that ran down off the barren highlands by Handrich's Cross seemed to glitter with prismatic reflections in the thin winter sunlight, as if they ran with grains of polished glass.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> SECOND EDIT: Hey sentinel, remember when you were saying there might be magic in the Handrich's Cross waters? Look what I found!


Oh, thanks. So yes, it's definitely something in the water.





> "But she's ... set in her ways."


I thought dwarfs saw this as a good quality...

----------


## TheSummoner

Timeskip or not, we should try to use the victory as a means to recover some of our numbers. Even if we can't get the Thorns back to full strength, we can certainly get them closer. Sieghard definitely isn't going to miss any of the celebrations in Savonne - not sure how long he'll stick around or if he'll head back to Painford after, but he can decide that as the celebrations themselves actually wrap up.

We also need to sweep the fringes of the Thornwood - both to see if anyone has seen Mala pass through and even if they haven't, to warn people about her. Don't want her snatching anyone's child up or something. We don't have to personally see to that, we could but at the very least, we need to send a few groups of Thorns through

----------


## Thragka

*@Sentinel:* True, but Urgrim's not your typical dwarf. (Also, IC, he does think Elsa is a bit of an idiot).

I'm just having fun RPing drunk Urgrim right now, but I've no immediate plans that a timeskip would get in the way of.

----------


## LCP

> In fact, let me go so far as to say I would like a timeskip please. Ludo wants some time off and time to process his Very Big Month.


I think that unless anyone shoots La Princesa we're looking at an extended period of downtime.




> EDIT: I have a Historical Context question. Are Sieghard and Ludo expected to notify the Next Of Kin of the deceased thorns?


I don't think it's a formal expectation from those higher up the chain of command. However if you're going to be spending some extended time in and around the Thornwood then it might avoid some social awkwardness if you did - at least those who are easy to find.

----------


## RossN

> I think that unless anyone shoots La Princesa we're looking at an extended period of downtime.


I think however angry she is now Jarla will have to grit her teeth and return to Irene's court for the moment, biding her time.

----------


## LCP

Speaking of Sforza's court, maybe just worth repeating - Jarla already has a standing invitation to come and ask Sforza for a reward. When a monarch wants to honour you for something, you go to them, they don't tend to come to you. The only thing I think a person with Jarla's level of in-setting etiquette could reasonably interpret as a snub is his failure to say 'thank you' immediately after being rescued. After that point, Jarla had specified she wanted to sleep on deciding her reward, and the next morning he was coordinating the withdrawal of the army and was gone by noon. Currently he's probably not even aware she's back in Manann's Keep. The total time they've been in the same place where he might reasonably have called for her is only ~3-4 hours.

TL;DR if you want Sforza's gratitude go get it.

----------


## TheSummoner

Hmm. I think I completely misunderstood what Elsa was offering. Though to be fair, Filomena and her girls are in Savonne, so the real meaning wasn't actually plausible.

----------


## RossN

> Speaking of Sforza's court, maybe just worth repeating - Jarla already has a standing invitation to come and ask Sforza for a reward. When a monarch wants to honour you for something, you go to them, they don't tend to come to you. The only thing I think a person with Jarla's level of in-setting etiquette could reasonably interpret as a snub is his failure to say 'thank you' immediately after being rescued. After that point, Jarla had specified she wanted to sleep on deciding her reward, and the next morning he was coordinating the withdrawal of the army and was gone by noon. Currently he's probably not even aware she's back in Manann's Keep. The total time they've been in the same place where he might reasonably have called for her is only ~3-4 hours.
> 
> TL;DR if you want Sforza's gratitude go get it.


It primarily _is_ the 'couldn't be bothered to say thanks' that originally irked Jarla so much. It didn't have to be a grand ceremony or promise of _further_ reward or anything anything but a simple "well done Schreiber" or even a wry comment about the discomfort of riding Countess in that way would have been enough. As it was it rankled.

Having said that Jarla definitely would have swallowed her pride sooner or later but, you know, the revelations about Adelbert's death and the cover up and all sort of intervened and now Jarla has a whole lot more feelings and emotions to work through than just being annoyed by Sforza's rudeness.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Hmm. I think I completely misunderstood what Elsa was offering. Though to be fair, Filomena and her girls are in Savonne, so the real meaning wasn't actually plausible.


1. Heh, possibly. You can still change your mind.  :Small Wink:  (Though that likely means no pillow talk, unless we dismiss the girl after the first hour.)
2. Are they? Maybe Filomena's bio is out of date. But in any case, I imagine some of her girls would have tagged along when Sforza's army went south.

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## TheSummoner

> 1. Heh, possibly. You can still change your mind.  (Though that likely means no pillow talk, unless we dismiss the girl after the first hour.)
> 2. Are they? Maybe Filomena's bio is out of date. But in any case, I imagine some of her girls would have tagged along when Sforza's army went south.


2). They definitely are. Filomena was trying to buy the Greenapple property off Sieghard. He told her to wait a bit while we were resettling the people who lost their homes in the fire and he'd sell once. Still need to resolve that - enough time has passed.
1). I'll tweak Sieghard's response to tell Elsa. Just because Sieghard knows they aren't in Manaan's Keep doesn't mean Elsa knew. You can tweak your response to his response accordingly. I still wanted Sieghard to ask about the letters, so it just being the two of them can stay as is. Read/Write is on Sieghard's list of learnable skills and it's something that would make a proud illiterate like him care enough to learn. I had also been tossing around the idea of talking to Urgrim to help him pick up Common Knowledge: Dwarves, but the IC justification I had was that Sieghard knows the Dwimmulsons were going to want the spear back and he wants to keep it so he probably get pulled into discussing that with them. Still might have him pick up the skill, but Sforza stealing the spear eliminates the immediate need for it.

Edit: Tweaking done. Wouldn't want to leave Elsa disappointed.  :Small Wink: 

Edit 2: Forgot to respond to this before, but Sieghard will match Elsa's 6 gold payment to the workers.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Ready to move on to Savonne whenever. I've already shared my short-term plans. Also, Elsa will go the extra mile and actually take a bath instead of just wiping herself with a wet cloth! Pyromancer's fear test vs. water: (d100)[*17*]

Did she get a room straight from the innkeeper, or did she have to pay someone to give theirs up? If the latter, how much did she pay on top of the price of the room?


Since she doesn't have time to go get sulphur from the source, she'll try to buy some. Gossip 44: (d100)[*21*]
Fortune: (d100)[*28*]

Last time, it cost 5 shillings each. Let's see if I can haggle it down, vs. 22: (d100)[*82*], re-roll (d100)[*88*] _"Don't you know who I am???"_

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## LCP

> Ready to move on to Savonne whenever.


Who's the lucky PC Elsa wants to take with her on her gold-digging/crow-burying stops?




> Did she get a room straight from the innkeeper, or did she have to pay someone to give theirs up?


Normal prices.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I don't think it's a formal expectation from those higher up the chain of command. However if you're going to be spending some extended time in and around the Thornwood then it might avoid some social awkwardness if you did - at least those who are easy to find.


Right - don't let me forget that Ludo is going to do this during the next timeskip.

EDIT: Oh, also, Ludo made a copy of Elsa's letters, if she wants those for Sieghard without talking to Sforza, Ludo has those available. I don't see why he wouldn't have told her about them.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Who's the lucky PC Elsa wants to take with her on her gold-digging/crow-burying stops?


I'll take Ludo if *LeSwordfish* is cool with that. Picking Sieghard would make people talk (I'm sure they're talking already but I don't want things to be blatant), plus I imagine he's got some responsibilities as commander.

*Edit:* Also you don't call a raven a crow. You just don't! It's _extremely_ offensive to a raven.  :Small Tongue: 





> EDIT: Oh, also, Ludo made a copy of Elsa's letters, if she wants those for Sieghard without talking to Sforza, Ludo has those available. I don't see why he wouldn't have told her about them.


Here's the thing... Elsa doesn't _want_ Sieghard to read her letter, because even though she doesn't remember its contents, she suspects it includes some vulnerable/sappy stuff.

But that's Elsa's opinion, not mine as a player. Sieghard could go behind Elsa's back and ask Ludo for those letters himself.  :Small Wink:

----------


## TheSummoner

Bah, as though Sieghard's entire reason for wanting the letter isn't sappy in and of itself.  :Small Big Grin: 

I think I'll just leave things in the air regarding Ludo's copies for now. Sieghard would definitely prefer the original and if the OOC goal is getting him to care enough to actually learn to read the thing, I don't know if a copy would have the same effect.

I'm also ready to move on. The Urgrim conversation still needs to be wrapped up, but unless Thragka has more in mind, I think that'll mostly be Sieghard getting properly introduced to Berki and the dwarves then getting a bit drunk before he runs off with Elsa. No reason we can't timesplit the rest of it.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I'll take Ludo if *LeSwordfish* is cool with that.


Ah, the PC _least_ capable of defending you from a pair of gold-crazed diestros? Sure. When is this planned for - before Sforza returns to Savonne, or after we get back?

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## -Sentinel-

> Ah, the PC _least_ capable of defending you from a pair of gold-crazed diestros? Sure.


Elsa isn't close to Urgrim and is no longer on good terms with Jarla. Re: combat capability: another eyewitness can go a long way for deterrence purposes, even if not themselves a good fighter. Killing one person by surprise? Easy. Killing two people by surprise, _simultaneously_? Another story entirely.

I think LCP is planning to type his update in the next few hours, so let's not quibble over details please.





> When is this planned for - before Sforza returns to Savonne, or after we get back?


Not sure what you mean by "get back". Get back from where? The trip's planned for tomorrow, the day before Sforza sets out.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I don't want to delay the update, so I guess Elsa will just take Tatiana.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Sorry - not my intention to quibble, just to tease. I'm very happy for Ludo to come along.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Okay. I'll still take Tatiana too, but only if she wants to come. If she'd rather stay in Manann's Keep, and maybe see about that gift horse (without looking it in the mouth), she's free to.

----------


## LCP

Just put an IC post up moving you guys back to Savonne. If it still feels like a bit of a loose end, that's semi-intentional - it's up to you guys where you want to go from here. If you want to accompany Sforza or any of the other NPCs to their destinations and see what they're up to tonight, you can do that; if you just want to get your heads down somewhere warm and start looking towards longer-term plans, that's fine also.

----------


## LeSwordfish

OOC you mentioned "celebrations" which I think is what Ludo's looking for. Is there any IC planning for that or should I just follow Sforza around like a puppy until he does something fancy?

Also, before I forget, any news from Bunthafen? How's the Lady Groz and her bodyguards, Groz's old men doing? Gossip (1d100)[*7*] vs 72

----------


## LCP

There's been no explicit plan-making on the journey back, but a much less savvy person than Ludo could guess that Sforza's probably going to do more to claim the glory from the siege of Nath than just letting his soldiers get drunk. How closely you want to keep watch to keep abreast of any planning is up to you - anything public you're certain to hear of eventually, but if you have some input you want to give it's probably best to get in early.

Who's Ludo going to for his Bunthafen gossip? Just the people on the street?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Hmm, not sure what Jarla is asking for, here. Does she just want a fancy title? I don't think new titles are handed out without land. And existing titles are either inherited or married into.

----------


## TheSummoner

Yeah, I think the implication Sforza would take is that Jarla wants him to arrange a political marriage. That'd be the quickest and easiest way for him to give her what she asked.

*Edit:* Can be handled off screen, but Sieghard will talk to Sussman about finding accommodation for the laborers. He'll also extend them the offer of making new homes in the Painford area if they prefer, pointing out that many of the people who split off from Armin's group before did just that.

Sieghard will pick up a purse full of gold from Painford. Tomorrow morning, he plans to speak with Burhan about possible business endeavors. He'll also check on whether the people who were housed in the Greenapple house and warehouses have found new accommodation and speak to Filomena about selling the properties. Question for *Sentinel*, if Sieghard can secure a private room on-demand and a way to come and go inconspicuously as part of the deal, would Elsa mind that it would be at a soon-to-be-brothel? An alternative would be selling the warehouses, but keeping the Greenapple house, but I'm not sure how much Filomena wants each specific building and I'd rather stay on whichever side of hers is closest to good - Especially given that if Elsa wants to hire one of her girls, she's going to know about her and Sieghard. The two of them are probably going to get found out sooner or later, but no reason to tempt fate.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Yeah, I think the implication Sforza would take is that Jarla wants him to arrange a political marriage. That'd be the quickest and easiest way for him to give her what she asked.


Don't knock it, Valdez is a proper gentleman and _I_ don't see a ring.




> An alternative would be selling the warehouses, but keeping the Greenapple house, but I'm not sure how much Filomena wants each specific building and I'd rather stay on whichever side of hers is closest to good.


"So which do you want for your brothel... the leaky warehouse or the manor?"




> There's been no explicit plan-making on the journey back, but a much less savvy person than Ludo could guess that Sforza's probably going to do more to claim the glory from the siege of Nath than just letting his soldiers get drunk. How closely you want to keep watch to keep abreast of any planning is up to you - anything public you're certain to hear of eventually, but if you have some input you want to give it's probably best to get in early.


No specific input, just don't want to accidentally miss the medal ceremony because I wandered off. (not that this is a worry based on a true story from my graduation or anything) If Sforza wants to hold a feast in front of a thousand starving peasants, that's his lookout.

Once this conversation with Sforza is over, Ludo will go and talk to traders or messengers who've come that way, and if that proves difficult, bartenders or other people who might have picked up on the news. I can't imagine any of the refugees will have come from that direction.

----------


## LCP

> *Edit:* Can be handled off screen, but Sieghard will talk to Sussman about finding accommodation for the laborers. He'll also extend them the offer of making new homes in the Painford area if they prefer, pointing out that many of the people who split off from Armin's group before did just that.


Sussman will be about as helpful with that as he was before. "Houses don't grow on trees yaknow!"

----------


## LeSwordfish

Forgot to ask - are the Thorns marching with us to Savonne? Who (if anyone) is garrisoning Manaan's Keep?

----------


## LCP

They're Sieghard's command - unless he chose to leave them in Painford I'd assume so. Manann's Keep has a few guards from Valdes' company that answer to Sussman, but no standing garrison at the moment.

----------


## Thragka

I presume Moragina and the other Dwimmulson casualty were returned back to the Dwimmulhold while we were in Nath, rather than staying with the rest of the dwarfs in Manann's Keep  and so, in particular, that Moragina's already been interred  but correct me if I'm wrong. I recall Skargil saying he didn't actually know if she and Thrunrik had any family left, but Urgrim will ask around to try to find out.

----------


## RossN

Jarla is actually already married so unfortunately that option is out, even though it could have been interesting.

----------


## LCP

You could probably get Sforza to annul her marriage.

----------


## Thragka

The PCs have defrauded and schemed, led a succesful conspiracy to murder a rival, parleyed with daemons, possibly perjured themselves, and betrayed each other in various fashions  but _bigamists_ we are not!

----------


## RossN

> You could probably get Sforza to annul her marriage.


Hmm, that is a fair point.




> The PCs have defrauded and schemed, led a succesful conspiracy to murder a rival, parleyed with daemons, possibly perjured themselves, and betrayed each other in various fashions  but _bigamists_ we are not!


Hah!  :Small Big Grin: 

Looking at the cast list I see Makeda is dead, sadly (_that_ would have been an interesting wedding...), Gorg is dead (thankfully), which I guess leaves Carraciolo or Valdes, neither of whom Jarla has met if IRC. Oh and Sieghard technically but clearly he is with Elsa and I doubt Jarla would want to end up flambed at her own wedding.

----------


## LCP

There's also Abdul and Sussman (though both Sieghard and Susan are stewards/wardens, which leaves their status as proper members of the aristocracy a bit ambiguous).

Sforza wouldn't be getting anything out of such an arranged marriage (in the sense that he would if Jarla already had lands of her own), so asking for that would be balancing Jarla's deserved reward against how much he's willing to piss off loyal long-established lieutenants. Most likely if she asks for that what she gets is a favourable nudge-nudge wink-wink introduction, with the other avenues still open if her intended said 'no'.

This is all hypothetical though... I would have thought from Jarla's backstory that jumping straight into another marriage of convenience probably wouldn't be what she was thinking of when she asked.

EDIT: though worth noting you could still get Sforza to annul Jarla's marriage whether or not she was intending to remarry.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> EDIT: though worth noting you could still get Sforza to annul Jarla's marriage whether or not she was intending to remarry.


Presumably the annulment doesn't mean much anywhere Sforza's authority isn't recognised, which is presumably anywhere outside the Border Princes? Or is Sforza now "officially recognised" as prince of the Broken Reaches in places like Tilea and the Empire?

----------


## LCP

As far as Sforza's authority outside the People's Republic of Sforzaland goes, it's very much



Whether it would be honoured in the Empire would come down to the local laws and probably the judge and lawyers who tried the case - but it'd be something. The more successful and established Sforza gets, the more of a something it'd be - and even if he fell and broke his neck tomorrow, if you had a fancy document saying he'd done it, it'd be something you could bring up to argue your corner. People get married by sea captains and priests of far-flung religions and all sorts, getting divorced by a foreign monarch would not be that crazy an idea.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Question for *Sentinel*, if Sieghard can secure a private room on-demand and a way to come and go inconspicuously as part of the deal, would Elsa mind that it would be at a soon-to-be-brothel?


No problem at all. Also, while Elsa is making a reasonable effort to hide her dalliances, she would be privately delighted if rumors started circulating about how much awesome sex she's having.





> If Elsa would rather be alone, let me know and I'll edit it out. I figured since she stayed with him when he buried the dead from Nath, he ought to return the favor.


That's cool.  :Small Smile:  Elsa appreciates it.





> Jarla is actually already married so unfortunately that option is out


The whole point of coming to the Border Princes is to start over from a clean slate!

----------


## Thragka



----------


## RossN

> There's also Abdul and Sussman (though both Sieghard and Susan are stewards/wardens, which leaves their status as proper members of the aristocracy a bit ambiguous).
> 
> Sforza wouldn't be getting anything out of such an arranged marriage (in the sense that he would if Jarla already had lands of her own), so asking for that would be balancing Jarla's deserved reward against how much he's willing to piss off loyal long-established lieutenants. Most likely if she asks for that what she gets is a favourable nudge-nudge wink-wink introduction, with the other avenues still open if her intended said 'no'.
> 
> This is all hypothetical though... I would have thought from Jarla's backstory that jumping straight into another marriage of convenience probably wouldn't be what she was thinking of when she asked.
> 
> EDIT: though worth noting you could still get Sforza to annul Jarla's marriage whether or not she was intending to remarry.


I forgot Abdul, but he seems pretty likable and actually Sussman has flirted with her already. Hmm...

I think 'favourable introduction+annulment' is a bit different from an outright arranged marriage. It gives Jarla room to make up her own mind and meet with the potentials rather than forcing anyone's hand. Even the other PCs can try and push one 'candidate' if they like.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## TheSummoner

If she's going that route, she may be able to get the title with no fief as well. Its not like either that or the introduction actually cost Sforza anything and she _did_ save his life.

Don't forget to respond to what Sieghard said at Arrow Heap.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I forgot Abdul, but he seems pretty likable and actually Sussman has flirted with her already. Hmm...


You can do a lot better than Sussman...

I think location is an important factor to consider. Jarla may be a Strong Independent Woman, but she will still be expected to sometimes be by her husband's side. With our PCs operating mostly out of Savonne these days, it may be best to pass on Valdes (based in Mirino) and consider instead Al-Makir (Savonne) or Carraciolo (Alvarran Castel d'Irena).

Carraciolo is a good strategic choice, being likely the second-most powerful man in the Reaches owing to his command of the Iron Company, but it will also tie Jarla to a city named after her nemesis.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## LCP

> With our PCs operating mostly out of Savonne these days


Savonne's the happening place to be if you care about keeping up with events at court, but Sieghard is Steward of Painford and Warden of the Thornwood. If he just hangs around in Savonne and leaves his lands to fend for themselves Sforza's going to start asking why he gave him those titles.

It's an interesting time to be thinking about the question about where on the map is 'home' for the PCs. Elsa has permanent-ish quarters in the castle but the others have mostly been bouncing around between barrack rooms, taverns and tents. Now that you're not on campaign, is that how you want to carry on living? Particularly for Sieghard, if you want to play the part of landed gentry, the no. 1 thing to have on that land is some kind of residence.

(...and yes, from my point of view I'd rather the PCs didn't all live in widely separate places...)

----------


## -Sentinel-

Hmm, this complicates things, but it _is_ indeed worth discussing.

Painford is the most logical place for Sieghard, Ludo and the Thorns. Urgrim belongs to Clan Dwimmulson and therefore to Savonne. Jarla is a social climber and may want to be in Savonne as well (friends close, enemies closer). Elsa is the court wizard and likely expected to be, you know, at court... but then again, the wars are over (for now), and Painford has a history of having a resident wizard.

My main takeaway is that there is still going to be a lot of back-and-forth between Savonne and Painford. Perhaps we have the resources to start a shipping business along the river that will both make our travels easier and bring us some profit. This is a time for consolidating our political and economic power.

----------


## TheSummoner

> It's an interesting time to be thinking about the question about where on the map is 'home' for the PCs. Elsa has permanent-ish quarters in the castle but the others have mostly been bouncing around between barrack rooms, taverns and tents. Now that you're not on campaign, is that how you want to carry on living? Particularly for Sieghard, if you want to play the part of landed gentry, the no. 1 thing to have on that land is some kind of residence.


In the short term, Sieghard has plenty of justification for having not been in Painford - he's been pretty busy. Once the celebrations are done, having a proper home built will be next on his list.

Post celebrations, would it be reasonable for Sieghard to split his time between Painford and Savonne, provided of course that his duties are being taken care of? The distance isn't _too_ far and he'd justify it as a means to keep up some presence in Sfoza's court and keep tabs of any potential business dealings he hammers out with Burhan and OOC it would help keep the group closer.




> Painford is the most logical place for Sieghard, Ludo and the Thorns. Urgrim belongs to Clan Dwimmulson and therefore to Savonne. Jarla is a social climber and may want to be in Savonne as well (friends close, enemies closer). Elsa is the court wizard and likely expected to be, you know, at court... but then again, the wars are over (for now), and Painford has a history of having a resident wizard.
> 
> My main takeaway is that there is still going to be a lot of back-and-forth between Savonne and Painford. Perhaps we have the resources to start a shipping business along the river that will both make our travels easier and bring us some profit. This is a time for consolidating our political and economic power.


Also a possibility. Elsa doesn't need a reason to want to get away from Irene and I imagine Tatiana would do better somewhere a bit more rural. Asking to be stationed there might be a bit conspicuous though.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Not that I'm advocating for a specific "charm teenager" skill but I'm very fond of how the group we typically do least well at wrangling is the assorted children/young adults we run across, what with Sieghard telling Rhadegund that a scary monster ate everyone she knew.

For the short term at least, I think Ludo will be with the Thorns in Painford.

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard's just trying to be the cool uncle that tells you to your face that everyone you know is dead but also if you behave will teach you how to shoot a crossbow.

----------


## LCP

> Urgrim belongs to Clan Dwimmulson and therefore to Savonne.


? He's not a Dwimmulson, he's from Barak Varr.




> Post celebrations, would it be reasonable for Sieghard to split his time between Painford and Savonne, provided of course that his duties are being taken care of?


Yeah, that'd be a pretty normal thing for someone in Sieghard's position to do. It's up to you where you want to strike the balance between responsible administrator and professional brown-noser attentive courtier.

Also, just to raise another point with all the secretive goings-on with Sieghard and Elsa - if you remember way back in the early threads, the reason Sieghard was warned off pursuing a relationship with Elsa was that Sforza didn't want his new weapon against Alvarr asking for maternity leave. With the war won and Nahorek naho-rekt, the question does present itself: would he still care?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Surely the follow-up question to that is "how long is he going to keep paying all these mercenaries"?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> ? He's not a Dwimmulson, he's from Barak Varr.


Ah, okay.





> Also, just to raise another point with all the secretive goings-on with Sieghard and Elsa - if you remember way back in the early threads, the reason Sieghard was warned off pursuing a relationship with Elsa was that Sforza didn't want his new weapon against Alvarr asking for maternity leave. With the war won and Nahorek naho-rekt, the question does present itself: would he still care?


Elsa has certainly no interest in being a mother. I've mentioned in passing that she learned a recipe for a contraceptive from Filomena's girls, though this has not really been roleplayed. If you want me to have Elsa actually source and buy the ingredients for a new batch, I'm okay with that.

Or is it just Sforza's perception of the relationship that is being discussed here?





> Surely the follow-up question to that is "how long is he going to keep paying all these mercenaries"?


Especially the ogres... Given the food situation in the Reaches, I think the cost-benefit analysis of keeping them around is soon going to reach a tipping point.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Surely the follow-up question to that is "how long is he going to keep paying all these mercenaries"?


For as long as he feels he needs a standing army. Even if he has no plans to expand beyond the Reaches, there'd still be potential rivals off-map that he'd want to dissuade.




> Elsa has certainly no interest in being a mother. I've mentioned in passing that she learned a recipe for a contraceptive from Filomena's girls, though this has not really been roleplayed. If you want me to have Elsa actually source and buy the ingredients for a new batch, I'm okay with that.
> 
> Or is it just Sforza's perception of the relationship that is being discussed here?


Historically, there was no such thing as a reliable contraceptive - that's very much a modern thing. As a practical game matter, I think it's safe to say Elsa isn't going to get pregnant, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be an in-universe concern. Sforza is (was?) concerned about the possibility of her not being able to fight the war and also about the rumors that were starting to spread about her.

Specifically, Sforza heard rumors about Elsa sleeping with Beppe and making out with Sieghard in Kheneb and sent Al-Makir to talk to him about her during the Mitterfruhl celebration. Sieghard denied anything was going on (it was mostly just unresolved tension at that point anyways) and Al-Makir made the point that Sforza didn't want his magical weapon unfit for combat and actually specifically suggested Sieghard play the role of a jealous lover with a short temper to keep her from sleeping around. Sieghard smiled and nodded and told him what he wanted to hear without actually doing anything and the two of them ended up together anyways, but that's always been my planned excuse if they were discovered.

"What? I thought you _wanted_ this. Tell him, Abdul!"

Granted, Al-Makir said it didn't have to be true, but he didn't say it had to be false either.

----------


## LCP

Just putting up a quick IC post before I make dinner. I'm not going to deal with Elsa's business dealings now - you've just marched ~21 miles from Arrow Heap, I don't think there'd be really time or energy left in the day for that kind of thing.

At this point, what I'd really like to do is wrap up the immediate IC matters that require playing out, and then switch to more of a downtime approach where we're resolving things on the timescale of days or weeks rather than hours. So the timesplit conversations and the immediate reactions to getting back to Savonne are what I'd really like to focus on for the moment - who you're seeing immediately on getting back and where you're spending the night. Once we have everyone at the same point with respect to those short-timescale things, then let's move on to the longer-term plans. The end of this IC day is also the end of the IC month so that seems like a pretty good break point to switch gears.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Even if he has no plans to expand beyond the Reaches,


He definitely implied that he did. But likely not in the immediate future, with winter just a month or two away.





> I'm not going to deal with Elsa's business dealings now - you've just marched ~21 miles from Arrow Heap, I don't think there'd be really time or energy left in the day for that kind of thing.


Yeah, that's cool. Once Elsa does get around to it, she'll want to increase her stake in Suzana's business, assuming her initial investment is still turning a profit (can't imagine how it wouldn't be, unless a shipment was robbed). But she's not planning anything on the 33rd.

----------


## RossN

I'm glad Sieghard broke the news to Rhadegund. Jarla ran into her briefly on the way down to Nath but obviously didn't know about Caerfort and their meeting was brief and prickly.

----------


## TheSummoner

Not a problem. Like I said, Sieghard feels like he's responsible for seeing that she's taken care of. She's doing pretty well overall, but he's been making an effort to at least get her to recognize that he's around if she ever needs anything.

And do you have any response to the Sieghard and Jarla conversation in Arrow Heap? I was sorta going somewhere with that...

----------


## RossN

> Not a problem. Like I said, Sieghard feels like he's responsible for seeing that she's taken care of. She's doing pretty well overall, but he's been making an effort to at least get her to recognize that he's around if she ever needs anything.
> 
> And do you have any response to the Sieghard and Jarla conversation in Arrow Heap? I was sorta going somewhere with that...


Sorry, completely missed that!  :Small Red Face: 

I'll edit in a reaction.

----------


## Thragka

Short term, there's not a huge amount going on presently with Urgrim. He'll join in the celebrations happening "now", and wants to read the letter later, when things die down. He's found a place to stay in the Dwimmulhold before, presumably either guest chambers or the dwarf version of an inn, so that's what he can do on the 33rd.

He does want to try to track down any of Thrunrik and Moragina's remaining family, if any exist (which is probably worth making some untrained Gossip rolls: *Gossip 16* - (1d100)[*27*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*10*]). But since that's just interacting with NPCs in the ensemble (as it were), I don't think it necessitates back-and-forth active onscreen play.

Longer term, Urgrim's still in Sieghard's pay as a ranger (with room and board), so he'll likely be based in the Thornwood. His next initiative, aside from anything Sieghard asks him to do, would probably be to make sure any homesteads and small communities to the south are warned about Mala being an outlaw, and told not to harbour her but to send word if she's seen. Will think about further long-term plans as we wrap up the short-term stuff.

----------


## RossN

Okay, edited in a response to Sieghard. 

Jarla will take Countess to the Keep stables and retire to her chambers - she'll want to wash and dress properly before attending to Irene in the morning (and presumably husband and wife wouldn't appreciate a guest in the evening!)

----------


## LeSwordfish

I don't think I have anything specific for Ludo for this evening. I assume he'll be staying with the Thorns, but I'm not sure where that is since I assume essentially everywhere you could put up troops is full.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Urgrim's heart skipped a beat as Gunda bore down on him.


*Grunda.

Don't want _Gunda_ bearing down on you by surprise.





> I assume he'll be staying with the Thorns, but I'm not sure where that is since I assume essentially everywhere you could put up troops is full.


The Thorns are, ah, significantly less numerous than the last time they were in Savonne. So there should definitely be some empty beds.  :Small Frown:

----------


## Thragka

D'oh, good catch.

----------


## TheSummoner

So I've been going through old threads...




> siri make a note: when we beat this guy,  say "more like varag lol"





> Oh **** I just remembered: years ago I made a vow to say this when Nahorek died.
> 
> more like... Varag LOL


Gotta say, I'm impressed.

----------


## LCP

Alright - I think that brings us up to speed with the stuff that needs to be played out (or if not, up to a point where a small number of timesplits will do the trick). That brings us to the end of the month, so here is your XP!


Elsa
Jarla
Ludo
Sieghard
Urgrim

*Gunda's Ambush*


25



*Witch Trial*
25

100
25
25

*Armin's Flock*
25

25
25
25

*Return to Kheneb-Ptra-Urush*


50

50

*Siege of Nath*
25


25


*Lady-in-Waiting*

25




*Messenger to the Tower*

50




*Jackal Slayers*
50
50
100
100
50

*Banishing Samira*
25





*The Longest Month*
100
100
100
100
100

*TOTALS*
*250*
*225*
*400*
*275*
*250*



Please remind me if there are any events I've forgotten.

I've posted with something for Jarla in the IC, but for the most part I'd like to move now to our IC unit of time for resolving things being more like a week. This is officially the beginning of winter, and just like last IC winter, it's going to be a time when NPC-driven events don't move very fast.

Something I'd like to experiment with as well is having you guys take more direct control of writing up your downtime exploits IC. You should be able to get the info you need from me about the things you need or the outcomes you get OOC, but what I'm picturing is that I'll do a brief post to advance the week with the latest news, and then leave you guys to each write up what your character actually did. The IC post I've just made hopefully works to set up the first week, with the main bit of external info being that Sforza's planning his victory ball for Konigstag the 9th. Everyone who's anyone will be there.

----------


## RossN

Wow XP!  :Small Big Grin:  I'll have to check that up to see where Jarla is going (mechanically.)

Assuming Irene doesn't have Jarla's head lopped off for asking permission to get married Jarla will definitely be busy preparing for the ball. She'd probably be available for work in Savonne itself but she'll be too busy to realistically leave the town and get back in time.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Ooooh, you made it look all fancy!

Elsa can't switch careers just yet, but she can get 3/4 of the following advances still needed to complete the Noble career: +5 WS, Consume Alcohol/Performer (Musician), Etiquette, or Schemer/Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying).

That gives her a month to get the trappings for Border Courtier. Most notably another set of noble's garb.

----------


## LeSwordfish

All the XP and plans for moving forward looks good to me. Ludo will spend his XP on +10 Agility, and probably +10 to both Search and Gossip. With none of the possible career exits truly exciting me at the moment, I might as well shore up his secondary Hypnohobbit skills.

I should probably do a big reformatting of Ludo's sheet some time soon, it's getting to be a bit of a beast, and I can never remember what his talents do. (What the heck is "dealmaker", I have no memory of this)

----------


## RossN

Jarla gains Swashbuckler and Trick Riding, finishing Highway(wo)man but falls just short of being able to enter a new career, which at this point might actually be Noble. Like Elsa she is heading for Courtier.

She does need to start buying jewellery. Hope Savonne has options!

----------


## -Sentinel-

> (What the heck is "dealmaker", I have no memory of this)


Oh, nice, he has that? I really think he should join Elsa and Suzana's business.





> Like Elsa she is heading for Courtier.


Notably, Elsa is heading for _Border_ Courtier, which is lighter on the social and intellectual skills and has some combat advances (including Dodge Blow, which I really _really_ want; I think I'm the only one who doesn't have it yet).


Elsa will buy:
+5 WSEtiquetteSchemer


*@ LCP:* With pretty much the entire Nahorek faction destroyed (save Mala), are we allowed to know why Klammenberg was looking increasingly decrepit? It's been bugging me.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> *@ LCP:* With pretty much the entire Nahorek faction destroyed (save Mala), are we allowed to know why Klammenberg was looking increasingly decrepit? It's been bugging me.


I'm pretty sure he was just once a fancy imperial gentleman forced to live in a swamp with a bunch of madmen. You try getting a clean shave while a ghoul is smelling your neck expectantly in the hope of a nick.

----------


## LCP

I'm not going to divulge anything that you couldn't glean from reading the IC already, but yeah, he was shot in the leg, he had to live in a swamp, and he was a dark magic caster. It's not a healthy lifestyle.




> She does need to start buying jewellery. Hope Savonne has options!


Savonne is the home of the Dwimmulson gem mine and the Guild of Jewellers and Mineworkers - you're in the right place.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I'm pretty sure he was just once a fancy imperial gentleman forced to live in a swamp with a bunch of madmen. You try getting a clean shave while a ghoul is smelling your neck expectantly in the hope of a nick.


He also (presumably) had a case of tomb rot at one point, which probably didn't help. When the priest killing started, one of the people we talked to was an apothecary who had sold him the cure for it. The apothecary was pretty convinced he wasn't showing any symptoms, but I doubt a grey wizard would have any problem hiding them.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I guess it's time to start making medium-term plans. Elsa will mostly work to further Tatiana's education and try to adapt to a more courtly lifestyle (her new talent Etiquette is part of her efforts). She and Sieghard should also agree on which of Filomena's girls they should book for an afterparty on the 9th. (Sieghard used to be a bouncer at the Happy Serpent, so I assume he remembers which ones aren't too discriminating when it comes to the gender of their customers.)

I'd also like to mend bridges with Jarla, though this will require some roleplaying. Elsa is not Jarla's enemy; she's just asking her to consider the consequences of her actions and not make a move that might destabilize the entire government.

----------


## RossN

> Irene is happy to get Jarla fitted for a new dress at the crown's expense - if Jarla's happy to play along and let Irene tell her what suits her then that'll be a free Noble's Garb ready by the end of the week.


"On Marktag we wear pink."

Happy to let Irene do the picking and choosing and fine with moving on.




> I'd also like to mend bridges with Jarla, though this will require some roleplaying. Elsa is not Jarla's enemy; she's just asking her to consider the consequences of her actions and not make a move that might destabilize the entire government.


Jarla is mad at Elsa (and probably won't be sharing any secrets in the immediate future) but I think those bridges can be mended.

(Ironically Jarla is also planning on talking to Philomena and her girls at some point, so she can gather gossip on the gentlemen of the court.)

----------


## TheSummoner

> I guess it's time to start making medium-term plans. Elsa will mostly work to further Tatiana's education and try to adapt to a more courtly lifestyle (her new talent Etiquette is part of her efforts). She and Sieghard should also agree on which of Filomena's girls they should book for an afterparty on the 9th. (Sieghard used to be a bouncer at the Happy Serpent, so I assume he remembers which ones aren't too discriminating when it comes to the gender of their customers.)


I think Sieghard would probably prefer a newer hire who wasn't working there at the same time he was but would otherwise be fine with letting Elsa make the choice.




> I'd also like to mend bridges with Jarla, though this will require some roleplaying. Elsa is not Jarla's enemy; she's just asking her to consider the consequences of her actions and not make a move that might destabilize the entire government.





> Jarla is mad at Elsa (and probably won't be sharing any secrets in the immediate future) but I think those bridges can be mended.


I tried to do a bit of setup for that when Sieghard talked to her if you want a starting point. "I'll help you, but I won't start another war. The Reaches wouldn't survive it. [...] I think that's what worries Elsa as well." Hopefully that helps.



Sieghard's plans for the next week
Talk business with Burhan. He wants to know what sort of thing Burhan has in mind and what he would need from Sieghard to get started. If I choose to go down the Explorer route later, this should help with some of the monetary/trade good requirements and even if I don't, a partnership could still be a good investment.Figure out how to deal with any remaining squatters in his buildings. He doesn't want to just throw them out into the streets, but he is trying to ready the property to be sold, so he'll either try to find them somewhere new with a roof over their heads or failing that, try to get whoever is left into one of the warehouses so the rest is ready to be sold.Actually speak with Filomena. Didn't get to this part in the IC post since part of it depends on the above. The deal he's looking for is one where he sells for a bit less than what Filomena is willing to pay, but she also provides accommodation for Sieghard and Elsa - a private room and a way to come and go discreetly as needed. There's that hidden trapdoor in the Greenapple house that can be used for the latter part.Work towards actually playing the part of steward of Painford. Though he's not actually in the career, one of the trappings for Steward is nobles garb - 2 sets of best craftsmanship at that! Sieghard isn't going that crazy with it, but he probably ought to buy a set of better clothing and the upcoming celebration is a good excuse for it. He'll buy one set of normal quality. The immediate reaction of the rest of the party when they see Sieghard wearing it will probably be something along the lines of _he looks uncomfortable_.Start planning to have a proper manor built in Painford. He'll let the Thorns stay in the city until the celebrations are over, so the actual work won't start right away, but he'll be tossing around ideas with the others and maybe even try to come up with a rough floor plan.

Other thoughts... Ludo has Evaluate and I fully expect Filomena to try to get the best deal on the buildings she can. If he could help give Sieghard a baseline on what his properties are actually worth, that'd be helpful.

Depending on how expensive the actual land is, it might be possible to get involved in the actual construction of new housing rather than just supplying the lumber. Puts a roof over the heads of those who lost their homes in the fire and could also generate rent money. Or the buildings themselves could just be sold if we don't want to micromanage that far.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo's plans for the next week.

I assume at some point, the question of pay for the Thorns will come up, since there's now a lower number of them than before. Ludo wants to negotiate an increase in per-soldier pay for the thorns, on the basis that they're now seasoned veterans with more experience against the undead than any other force, and that they (and Sieghard) launched the successful ambush on the vampire. I believe that's a haggle test: (1d100)[*43*] vs 82 (72 Fel +10 Dealmaker).Ludo also wants to use our military supply lines to get a source of powder and shot for the Thorns new firearms. Do you want a separate Haggle roll for that? (1d100)[*4*] vs 82Ludo will start training the thorns in the new Firearms. This will be a pretty chill week of training by day and hanging out in the bars by night for most of them, I imagine.Also, I've remembered what I was going to spend my XP on - SWT Gunpowder. Do you mind if I take that as an Elite Advance instead of the two +10 skills?I can Evaluate the house for Sieghard, sure - Evaluate vs 58 (1d100)[*26*], Haggle vs 82 (1d100)[*94*]Ludo would also like to take Meskhenet to the Morrites and Hieronymous at the temple. I wonder if this is worth playing out as a conversation? If not, Ludo is essentially suggesting that the Morrites put their heads together for a "cure" for meskhenet, and if not he's offering her to the Temple as a... first-hand source? Relic? Amazon Alexa? Literal Talking Head?While he's there, he can also float the idea of seperating the halves of the mask.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> (Ironically Jarla is also planning on talking to Philomena and her girls at some point, so she can gather gossip on the gentlemen of the court.)


"He asked for _what???_ Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Taking him off my list of potential suitors."





> I tried to do a bit of setup for that when Sieghard talked to her if you want a starting point. "I'll help you, but I won't start another war. The Reaches wouldn't survive it. [...] I think that's what worries Elsa as well." Hopefully that helps.


I appreciate it. And I remember finding it a bit unfair that Elsa and Sieghard had about the same response to Jarla's revenge plans, but Jarla only got pissed at Elsa.  :Small Tongue: 





> one of the trappings for Steward is nobles garb - 2 sets of best craftsmanship at that!


Oof, yeah, some careers' required trappings are unreasonable. E.g. Knight of the Inner Circle with his >4,000 gc armor.





> Start planning to have a proper manor built in Painford. He'll let the Thorns stay in the city until the celebrations are over, so the actual work won't start right away, but he'll be tossing around ideas with the others and maybe even try to come up with a rough floor plan.


Whatever happened to Beatrix Fassbender's tower? IIRC, it was integrated to the new fortifications, wasn't it? Might still serve as a manor.





> Depending on how expensive the actual land is, it might be possible to get involved in the actual construction of new housing rather than just supplying the lumber. Puts a roof over the heads of those who lost their homes in the fire and could also generate rent money. Or the buildings themselves could just be sold if we don't want to micromanage that far.


Definitely worth looking into. With Savonne no longer at risk of being besieged in the foreseeable future, we can possibly expand Downs Town, Muddyside and Reekwater, where land is presumably cheaper than inside the walls.





> Ludo would also like to take Meskhenet to the Morrites and Hieronymous at the temple. I wonder if this is worth playing out as a conversation? If not, Ludo is essentially suggesting that the Morrites put their heads together for a "cure" for meskhenet, and if not he's offering her to the Temple as a... first-hand source? Relic? Amazon Alexa? Literal Talking Head?


Might be worth asking Meskhenet and the Morrites separately _before_ you make any introductions. Otherwise, Morrites' reaction may be more "Hissss, destroy this abomination!" than "Aww, let's help this poor tormented soul find peace".

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Might be worth asking Meskhenet and the Morrites separately _before_ you make any introductions. Otherwise, Morrites' reaction may be more "Hissss, destroy this abomination!" than "Aww, let's help this poor tormented soul find peace".


We already asked Meskhenet before and she said essentially "do what you want, nobody can beat nagash". I'm not sure I believe her - she knows a lot about the book but I think may be a less reliable source in some ways than we let Sforza believe. (I'm coming to really like Meskhenet's portrayal - not to get too grim, but she reminds me of someone in an abusive relationship, and while I don't really have any idea how to handle that, I want to be cautious about taking her word for it that it's an entirely impossible situation to resolve.)

But yes, Ludo will introduce the Morrites to the idea carefully.

----------


## TheSummoner

> [LIST][*]I assume at some point, the question of pay for the Thorns will come up, since there's now a lower number of them than before. Ludo wants to negotiate an increase in per-soldier pay for the thorns, on the basis that they're now seasoned veterans with more experience against the undead than any other force, and that they (and Sieghard) launched the successful ambush on the vampire. I believe that's a haggle test: [*43*] vs 82 (72 Fel +10 Dealmaker).


I'm working on getting all of my bookkeeping up to date right now, but some quick math... The last negotiated rate of pay was 440 gc per month, but that was when we had the Volunteers and Halberdiers to pay as well. We didn't set hard numbers after they split off, but I figure if you separate Ludo and Sieghard's pay out of it and divide the rest evenly, that would leave us at ~165gc for just the Thorns + us. That number also represented them at about 50 strong. Currently we're at about 20, we're at about 66gc until we can get some more recruitment in. Sieghard raised the pay for everyone who was recruited before the war with Alvarr to 2.5gc. Hanna and Ingwald get 4gc since they have more responsibility. It puts the current pay for NPCs at ~53gc about and actually puts us in the red when accounting for Sieghard, Ludo, and Urgrim's pay (but we've also saved up a sizable war chest to draw from that can cover that easily).




> Ludo also wants to use our military supply lines to get a source of powder and shot for the Thorns new firearms. Do you want a separate Haggle roll for that? (1d100)[*4*] vs 82


Seems like the sort of thing that could be sourced through Al-Makir.




> I appreciate it. And I remember finding it a bit unfair that Elsa and Sieghard had about the same response to Jarla's revenge plans, but Jarla only got pissed at Elsa.


Elsa said "no". Sieghard said "yes, _but_..." Important distinction.




> Oof, yeah, some careers' required trappings are unreasonable. E.g. Knight of the Inner Circle with his >4,000 gc armor.


Yeah, I'm just glad I'm glad that this is something Sieghard is doing to try to live up to the position he's risen to and not a hard career requirement. Sieghard thinks 50gc (Haggle vs 54 (1d100)[*24*]) for a set of clothes is bad enough. He's not the sort who would spend more on a pair of clothes than the value of his armor... and then buy two sets.




> Whatever happened to Beatrix Fassbender's tower? IIRC, it was integrated to the new fortifications, wasn't it? Might still serve as a manor.


Built into the wall around Painford. Probably usable if Sieghard expands (or plans to expand) the wall, but I doubt it would qualify on its own. And also you don't want the walls of your home also being part of the walls around the village your home is in. Next time the place gets attacked by marauding hill tribesmen, they'd be setting fire to his home directly.

----------


## LCP

Responding to questions/rolls by player:

*TheSummoner*




> Figure out how to deal with any remaining squatters in his buildings. He doesn't want to just throw them out into the streets, but he is trying to ready the property to be sold, so he'll either try to find them somewhere new with a roof over their heads or failing that, try to get whoever is left into one of the warehouses so the rest is ready to be sold.


The number of people housed in the dockside properties hasn't shifted that much. They're there because they can't afford any other accommodation - what's Sieghard's approach to trying to find them somewhere new? Is he going to pay their rent?




> Start planning to have a proper manor built in Painford. He'll let the Thorns stay in the city until the celebrations are over, so the actual work won't start right away, but he'll be tossing around ideas with the others and maybe even try to come up with a rough floor plan.


Note that the Thorns have some mix of trade experience from their lives before soldiering, but they're not builders - the stuff they've helped construct has been crude wooden military structures, put up in a hurry. Depending on how 'proper' you want it to be you might want to contract a real craftsman or two.

*LeSwordfish*




> I assume at some point, the question of pay for the Thorns will come up, since there's now a lower number of them than before. Ludo wants to negotiate an increase in per-soldier pay for the thorns, on the basis that they're now seasoned veterans with more experience against the undead than any other force, and that they (and Sieghard) launched the successful ambush on the vampire. I believe that's a haggle test: [roll0] vs 82 (72 Fel +10 Dealmaker).


Yep, the funds for the Thorns should really be assumed to be per-head at this point, not a lump sum. At this point actually I think the Lord Treasurer is going to want to have a talk with Sieghard and Ludo about the cash flow situation - as Warden of the Thornwood Sieghard is now, in theory, chief tax collector for the region the Thorns are levied from. I think the model that Sforza and Al-Makir will want to move to is:

They set a total amount of tax they want to flow from Sieghard's lands into Sforza's treasury.Sieghard sets the taxes on his lands so that he can give that cash to Sforza *and* cover his own expenses.Wages for the Thorns come out of that second category and are at Sieghard's discretion to decide.
I don't think every part of this has to be numerically nailed down - I'm not wild about turning the game into an accounting sim - but that's where my thinking is at the moment.

From your astronomically good Haggle roll, I think we can say Ludo can secure as much powder and shot as he wants (at rulebook prices). Let's say his old mate Sandu can ship it down from Putbad. The elite advance is also fine.

Ludo's evaluation of the value of the Greenapple house is at about 2,000gc.



I think the conversations with Burhan, Filomena and Hieronymus should probably be roleplayed (unless I've overestimated how much detail you guys want to go into on those, in which case, please tell me). Otherwise I think the rest of the stuff you've described I'm happy to leave to you guys to write up at the end of the IC week. Sound good?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> And also you don't want the walls of your home also being part of the walls around the village your home is in. Next time the place gets attacked by marauding hill tribesmen, they'd be setting fire to his home directly.


Painford used not to have any walls at all, so this is still an improvement.  :Small Wink: 

Besides, when you attack a fortified town, you don't attack the strongest point of the fortifications. You attack the weakest point.





> I don't think every part of this has to be numerically nailed down - I'm not wild about turning the game into an accounting sim - but that's where my thinking is at the moment.


lol  :Small Big Grin: 

I'm actually enjoying this business and management stuff... so long as it doesn't, as you say, turn into an accounting sim. It's a welcome change from adventuring. And shoring up our economic and political power may pay off in the long run, when it's time to make a bold move and we have ample resources to draw upon.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Yep, the funds for the Thorns should really be assumed to be per-head at this point, not a lump sum. At this point actually I think the Lord Treasurer is going to want to have a talk with Sieghard and Ludo about the cash flow situation - as Warden of the Thornwood Sieghard is now, in theory, chief tax collector for the region the Thorns are levied from. I think the model that Sforza and Al-Makir will want to move to is:
> 
> They set a total amount of tax they want to flow from Sieghard's lands into Sforza's treasury.Sieghard sets the taxes on his lands so that he can give that cash to Sforza *and* cover his own expenses.Wages for the Thorns come out of that second category and are at Sieghard's discretion to decide.
> I don't think every part of this has to be numerically nailed down - I'm not wild about turning the game into an accounting sim - but that's where my thinking is at the moment.
> 
> From your astronomically good Haggle roll, I think we can say Ludo can secure as much powder and shot as he wants (at rulebook prices). Let's say his old mate Sandu can ship it down from Putbad. The elite advance is also fine.


Hmm, okay - sounds like a bunch of decisions for TheSummoner to make. Ludo is at his disposal for Haggle/Evaluate tests. This also answers the "when will Sforza stop paying his mercenaries" question - it's Sieghard's decision now.

For now, let's say Ludo will pick up enough gunpowder and shot for ten shots from each of our twenty rifles (given that what we have is good for the practicing) - that's 31 shillings x 20 guns /20 for GC = 31GC, why did I need to do the maths for that, what did i think 20/20 was going to be. TheSummoner, can we take that from the existing Thorns money?






> I think the conversations with Burhan, Filomena and Hieronymus should probably be roleplayed (unless I've overestimated how much detail you guys want to go into on those, in which case, please tell me). Otherwise I think the rest of the stuff you've described I'm happy to leave to you guys to write up at the end of the IC week. Sound good?


For my part, sure. When do you want our IC posts for the timeskip - now, or after your IC post?

----------


## LCP

I think the easiest way to handle it is probably that we clear the conversations with the NPCs first, then do the summary for the week. I can either make a post saying "it's the 9th, everyone's getting ready for the ball" and then you guys can summarise what you did, or we can just coordinate here to give the go-ahead once everyone's ready and then put the start of the 9th chronologically after your weeks' actions - I don't mind much either way.

*EDIT:* 


> Besides, when you attack a fortified town, you don't attack the strongest point of the fortifications. You attack the weakest point.


Dat's humie finkin', dat is. Everywun knows da strongest point is where da best scrap is.

----------


## RossN

> Elsa said "no". Sieghard said "yes, _but_..." Important distinction.


Indeed.  :Small Smile: 

Regarding expense Jarla would almost certainly like a home of her own but she'll wait until after the ball at least before scoping things out; while being Irene's BFF keeps her in some style she doesn't have much cash of her own at the moment.

For this week Jarla's big thing (other than hanging out with Irene and presumably help her organise the victory ball) will be her visit to Filomena and she would also like to pay her respects to Hieronymous.

----------


## TheSummoner

> The number of people housed in the dockside properties hasn't shifted that much. They're there because they can't afford any other accommodation - what's Sieghard's approach to trying to find them somewhere new? Is he going to pay their rent?


It's a consideration. If he can work out a way to get them on their feet and working again, he'd be willing to make a loan to get started. How much is a month's rent?




> Note that the Thorns have some mix of trade experience from their lives before soldiering, but they're not builders - the stuff they've helped construct has been crude wooden military structures, put up in a hurry. Depending on how 'proper' you want it to be you might want to contract a real craftsman or two.


I remember there being at least one carpenter in Painford who built the shrine for Adelbert. Sieghard definitely wants this a bit nicer - if he can get the help he needs from within the Painford/Thornwood area, he will, but he's not opposed to bringing in outside help.




> Yep, the funds for the Thorns should really be assumed to be per-head at this point, not a lump sum. At this point actually I think the Lord Treasurer is going to want to have a talk with Sieghard and Ludo about the cash flow situation - as Warden of the Thornwood Sieghard is now, in theory, chief tax collector for the region the Thorns are levied from. I think the model that Sforza and Al-Makir will want to move to is:
> 
> They set a total amount of tax they want to flow from Sieghard's lands into Sforza's treasury.Sieghard sets the taxes on his lands so that he can give that cash to Sforza *and* cover his own expenses.Wages for the Thorns come out of that second category and are at Sieghard's discretion to decide.
> I don't think every part of this has to be numerically nailed down - I'm not wild about turning the game into an accounting sim - but that's where my thinking is at the moment.


For the sake of simplicity, would you be willing to say that starts now? Sieghard and the Thorns were actively on campaign against the Prince's enemies until about a week ago. We don't have to get any more granular with it than you want, but if you want to set the general parameters, Sieghard can start to work within them - after the celebration anyways.




> I think the conversations with Burhan, Filomena and Hieronymus should probably be roleplayed (unless I've overestimated how much detail you guys want to go into on those, in which case, please tell me). Otherwise I think the rest of the stuff you've described I'm happy to leave to you guys to write up at the end of the IC week. Sound good?


Agreed, I'm just trying to sort some of the other stuff out before speaking with Filomena since one leads into the other with that.




> Painford used not to have any walls at all, so this is still an improvement. 
> 
> Besides, when you attack a fortified town, you don't attack the strongest point of the fortifications. You attack the weakest point.


I can see working her tower into the layout, but Sieghard doesn't want the town walls also turning into his walls. Maybe like a walled off area around the manor house with the tower part of the enclosed area or something...




> Hmm, okay - sounds like a bunch of decisions for TheSummoner to make. Ludo is at his disposal for Haggle/Evaluate tests. This also answers the "when will Sforza stop paying his mercenaries" question - it's Sieghard's decision now.
> 
> For now, let's say Ludo will pick up enough gunpowder and shot for ten shots from each of our twenty rifles (given that what we have is good for the practicing) - that's 31 shillings x 20 guns /20 for GC = 31GC, why did I need to do the maths for that, what did i think 20/20 was going to be. TheSummoner, can we take that from the existing Thorns money?


I finished my bookkeeping, cleaned up the character sheets a bit, and then deducted a little extra money incase I missed anything and to account for general expenses. The Thorns' warchest sits at 462gc and some change. I doubt 10 shots apiece is going to be enough for them to pick up the skills needed to use the guns effectively, but it's a start. I was also thinking of giving them all double pay for the month for killing Nahorek, which would cost another 89 gold (or 59 if the NPCs and Urgrim got it, but Ludo and Sieghard didn't). Doing both will leave us at ~342gc (or 372).

So if it's a question of being able to afford it, we're good there, but Sieghard also wants to rebuild our strength and we need to figure out the income part of the equation now that we're no longer being paid directly.

----------


## LCP

> It's a consideration. If he can work out a way them up to get working again, he'd be willing to loan them make a loan to get started. How much is a month's rent?


I'm a bit tired to do the sums this evening, but over the number of people we're talking, a _lot_.




> I remember there being at least one carpenter in Painford who built the shrine for Adelbert. Sieghard definitely wants this a bit nicer - if he can get the help he needs from within the Painford/Thornwood area, he will, but he's not opposed to bringing in outside help.


There's definitely the expertise in Painford to build houses out of the local materials - I guess the question is how grand your designs are.




> For the sake of simplicity, would you be willing to say that starts now? Sieghard and the Thorns were actively on campaign against the Prince's enemies until about a week ago. We don't have to get any more granular with it than you want, but if you want to set the general parameters, Sieghard can start to work within them - after the celebration anyways.


Yep, it's a new month and Sieghard's been unable to settle in as Steward with all the vampire-hunting. Now seems a good time to switch.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I'm a bit tired to do the sums this evening, but over the number of people we're talking, a _lot_.


I did a bit of digging through the threads around the time of the first Nahorek fight/fire and found this




> I think you'd be looking at somewhere on the order of 300-400 newly homeless people. Assuming your number of tents was based off the size of the company when you left the front, not the size it is now, that'd be enough to sleep about 70 people. The Greenapple house probably another 20 or so if you really packed them in (got to get rid of those angry dogs though). Looking back through the thread, Dragos' properties were listed as "two warehouses, a boathouse and a pier". I reckon with very tight packing you could probably sleep about 80 people per warehouse, and then if you hauled the boats out you might get another 40 or so in the boathouse (though that'll be damp and unpleasant even by comparison to the warehouses). 
> 
> Totting all that up, that comes to 290... so depending exactly how many people are looking for shelter (and haven't e.g. been taken in by friends and family) you could have everyone covered, or you might still have a few tens of people with nowhere to go. Ludo doesn't have a census to go off so IC it'd be a case of suck it and see.


If Sieghard focuses on getting the Greenapple house vacated, it's only about 20 in the short term. Filomena said she wants the warehouses too, but I imagine the Greenapple house is the priority and if she can get started with that, it'll keep her happy not angry for at least a little while longer.

One thing Sieghard could do is speak with Al-Makir about whatever preparations Sforza wants for the 9th and see if he's in need of laborers. It'd be a short term thing, but it would put money in their pockets.




> There's definitely the expertise in Painford to build houses out of the local materials - I guess the question is how grand your designs are.


It would need to be large enough to be comfortable and Sieghard would want it to be of nicer construction than the barracks, but it doesn't have to be massive or opulent. There'd have to be room enough to accommodate guests - I doubt we'll have another group of Knights of the Raven passing through any time soon, but if anyone else in Sforza's court passes through for whatever reason, Sieghard would be expected to host them.



Sieghard had 25 exp left over, so with the 275 for this month, he can afford three advances. Looking at what he still needs...

*Required:* Animal Care, Common Knowledge (One required, can take up to three), Read/Write, Lightning Parry, Specialist Weapon Group (Flail or Parrying)
*Optional:* Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics) +10, Gossip +20, Ride +10, Secret Language (Battle Tongue) +10, Speak Language (Kislevian), Specialist Weapon Group (Cavalry)

None of it stands out as being something Sieghard needs right away, but the ones I'm considering most strongly are Animal Care, CK (Dwarfs), Read/Write, SWG (Parrying), Gossip +20 and Ride +10. Any thoughts?

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I doubt 10 shots apiece is going to be enough for them to pick up the skills needed to use the guns effectively, but it's a start.


We already have an amount of shot and powder suitable for picking up the skill, this is just about topping them off for the next month or so after that. 

Adelbert's body was returned to the temple - does that mean he has a memorial or gravestone there?

EDIT: Also remember while we were in Savonne before, Ludo tried to make sure nobody was getting gouged on rent.

----------


## LCP

> If Sieghard focuses on getting the Greenapple house vacated, it's only about 20 in the short term. Filomena said she wants the warehouses too, but I imagine the Greenapple house is the priority and if she can get started with that, it'll keep her happy not angry for at least a little while longer.


OK - depending on how much time and energy you can sink into finding a good deal, you'd be looking at a cost of roughly a crown per month per person.




> One thing Sieghard could do is speak with Al-Makir about whatever preparations Sforza wants for the 9th and see if he's in need of laborers. It'd be a short term thing, but it would put money in their pockets.


I don't think the prep for the ball needs a lot of manual labour beyond what they already have on hand - and Irene certainly wouldn't want these impoverished farmers brought into her nice hall.




> It would need to be large enough to be comfortable and Sieghard would want it to be of nicer construction than the barracks, but it doesn't have to be massive or opulent. There'd have to be room enough to accommodate guests - I doubt we'll have another group of Knights of the Raven passing through any time soon, but if anyone else in Sforza's court passes through for whatever reason, Sieghard would be expected to host them.


I guess the main question for me is the materials - are you picturing something made out of timber and plaster like the average Painford house? Or do you want any of it to be built out of stone or brick? Don't think this is a hugely urgent thing to figure out ofc - seems to me like this is something that'll play out over much more than a week.





> Adelbert's body was returned to the temple - does that mean he has a memorial or gravestone there?


Yes.




> EDIT: Also remember while we were in Savonne before, Ludo tried to make sure nobody was getting gouged on rent.


Can you remind me what the measures you took were?

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Can you remind me what the measures you took were?


I think I just said it OOC and you agreed. This was when the militia were garrisoning Savonne and Ludo and Sieghard were defacto in charge thanks to Irene's disinterest, so I imagine the problem-solving method we would have used would have been to keep our ear to the ground, and if we hear anyone's getting screwed send a couple of bulky militiamen around to scowl at the landlords. I can imagine a less dedicatedly marxist ruler than Ludo probably wouldn't have bothered to keep it up.

----------


## LCP

Thanks for the link, that's v useful. So yeah, some of the local slumlords may remember Sieghard and Ludo coming round and glowering at them back during the siege of Alvarran... but nobody's been on glowering duty for a while.

----------


## RossN

*-Sentinel-* just to check did Elsa visit Jarla at the keep (or the stables even) or is this a chance encounter outside? 

Jarla isn't exactly joined at the hip to Irene, but Jarla's job is as a lady-in-waiting/lady's companion and I'm thinking Elsa wouldn't want to run into them as a pair!

----------


## -Sentinel-

> *-Sentinel-* just to check did Elsa visit Jarla at the keep (or the stables even) or is this a chance encounter outside?


She would make sure it wouldn't be in Irene's presence. So the stables sound good.

----------


## Thragka

To be honest, there's not a lot jumping off the top of my head for Urgrim to do IC during the immediate week. But I think this is something I need to think about  what Urgrim's goals are going to be, longer term, now that Nahorek has (fingers crossed) been dealt with. That was very much Urgrim's focus upon his introduction; I have thought about his longer-term character arc, but I need to transform that into medium-term activity! I'm thinking a bit about how Urgrim will approach his role as Sieghard's specialist ranger. It could be interesting to try to make the Thorns' peacetime duties include running a messenger service between the settlements of the Thornwood, and/or scouting the forest (and possibly the borders of the Mere) for bandits and greenskins. I'll codify some practical suggestions and run it past TheSummoner and LeSwordfish (now that's a TW:WII DLC pack).

For XP, I think I'll just pick up some stat advances at the moment. With 50 banked, I've 300 to spend, so I'll go with WS, strength and another wound. I think it makes sense for Urgrim to start trying to learn how to Ride and Charm Animal from now on as we zoom out the timescale, so I guess he'll try to spend some time at the stables, if he can ask Jarla and/or Elsa the favour of showing him the ropes in any free time they have.

Sorry, that's not much, I'll come back to this  I've got an annual review tomorrow and that's mostly what I've been thinking about this week. Please feel free to move on to the 9th without waiting for activity from me. The only thing Urgrim really wants to do onscreen is read the letter from Barak Varr.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> It could be interesting to try to make the Thorns' peacetime duties include running a messenger service between the settlements of the Thornwood, and/or scouting the forest (and possibly the borders of the Mere) for bandits and greenskins. I'll codify some practical suggestions and run it past TheSummoner and LeSwordfish (now that's a TW:WII DLC pack).


I've actually been thinking in very similar terms for Ludo - sensible businessman stuff is what he was trying to avoid back at the start of the campaign, so he won't be joining in with Sieghard and Elsa's business ventures. Running around in swamps hoping to find an ork sounds much more like it.

----------


## LCP

> Sorry, that's not much


Don't worry about it, there's absolutely no need to pack the IC time with things to do. Your PCs deserve a quiet week or two!

----------


## TheSummoner

> OK - depending on how much time and energy you can sink into finding a good deal, you'd be looking at a cost of roughly a crown per month per person.


Let's say Sieghard puts the deadline to have them out at two days. He'll front the money for a month's rent for the 20 in the Greenapple house. He's not going to let this become a regular thing, but he'll work with them to try to get them self-sufficient even after they're re-situated. That part extends to the others in the warehouses/tents/etc, but the others are lower priority. Sieghard's not doing this out of pure altruism, but he won't hesitate to point out he's doing more for them than anyone else is right now.

(1d100)[*72*] Haggle vs 54 to try to find a better deal, but Sieghard will pay the full 20gc if he has to.




> I guess the main question for me is the materials - are you picturing something made out of timber and plaster like the average Painford house? Or do you want any of it to be built out of stone or brick? Don't think this is a hugely urgent thing to figure out ofc - seems to me like this is something that'll play out over much more than a week.


I think that's something Sieghard would have to look into the cost of. Timber and plaster he could handle at minimum expense with what's available. Brick would be more expensive and stone even moreso and would probably have to be brought in from the Karst or the Teeth.




> To be honest, there's not a lot jumping off the top of my head for Urgrim to do IC during the immediate week. But I think this is something I need to think about  what Urgrim's goals are going to be, longer term, now that Nahorek has (fingers crossed) been dealt with. That was very much Urgrim's focus upon his introduction; I have thought about his longer-term character arc, but I need to transform that into medium-term activity! I'm thinking a bit about how Urgrim will approach his role as Sieghard's specialist ranger. It could be interesting to try to make the Thorns' peacetime duties include running a messenger service between the settlements of the Thornwood, and/or scouting the forest (and possibly the borders of the Mere) for bandits and greenskins. I'll codify some practical suggestions and run it past TheSummoner and LeSwordfish (now that's a TW:WII DLC pack).





> I've actually been thinking in very similar terms for Ludo - sensible businessman stuff is what he was trying to avoid back at the start of the campaign, so he won't be joining in with Sieghard and Elsa's business ventures. Running around in swamps hoping to find an ork sounds much more like it.


Well, if you're looking for ideas... We're going to need to make it known around the Thornwood that Mala is wanted and hunted. We could maybe get some posters made and extend it to Gunda as well on the off-chance that she's still alive. I imagine Urgrim probably wants to stick around at least through the 9th, so that's a bit more medium-term.

Sieghard would definitely welcome help trying to find more permanent accommodation for the homeless currently using his buildings and finding a way to make them self-sufficient again. It's not orc hunting, but it's a good cause and one Ludo's skills are certainly suited for.

Looking beyond Savonne, we could maybe return to Gilbertus' manse. Nahorek may be dead, but I doubt he was idle while hanging out there. When he marched south, he may have left something useful behind - or more likely something that probably ought to be destroyed.

And even if Ludo doesn't want to involve himself in the business ventures, Sieghard would certainly mention it and if you wanted him to earn some extra money, he could just say "yeah, sure, put some of my pay towards it and do whatever" without directly having to deal with it.

----------


## TheSummoner

Double post, but I thought Filomena might have more to say. Haggle vs 54 to establish a baseline for what she's is offering for the house.

(1d100)[*73*]
(1d100)[*49*] Reroll

I'll get an IC reply up once I know.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I think I'm going to re-roll my charm test on Hieronymous and Cesar: (1d100)[*66*]

----------


## LCP

> Double post, but I thought Filomena might have more to say. Haggle vs 54 to establish a baseline for what she's is offering for the house.
> 
> [roll0]
> [roll1] Reroll
> 
> I'll get an IC reply up once I know.


With that roll I would say you can get her to 2,100 crowns.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I don't know if we really need a permanent arrangement with Filomena. Surely anyone can book a private room. And discretion is just part of a brothel's services.

----------


## TheSummoner

It's more the reserved on-demand part and any specific arrangements involving the trap door (not mentioned yet IC) that Sieghard is making part of the deal. I'm sure discretion won't be an issue, but there's no harm in mentioning it and Sieghard is generally pretty cautious about his relationship with Elsa. As for permanent - probably not necessary, but Sieghard doesn't know that. All in all, even with him greasing Filomena's palms with a discount, I see it as Sieghard still being up 75gc rather than down 25gc.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Just to check that you're not at the opposite end of the stick here - is Sieghard asking for a private room that is permanently his, or a room that he can turn up and call dibs on?

----------


## TheSummoner

The original idea was a room he could show up and call dibs on, but for simplicity, I'm fine with just taking the offer Filomena made for one on permanent reserve. A lot can change in half an IC year, and if Sieghard doesn't need the room after that point, 4gc a month comes out cheaper than what I was originally thinking. Even if not, it's well within what Sieghard can afford. Unrelated to the price, there's something about the idea of Sieghard and Elsa rising as high as they have and still sneaking about and spending their time hanging around in the back room of a brothel that I find hilarious.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Unrelated to the price, there's something about the idea of Sieghard and Elsa rising as high as they have and still sneaking about and spending their time hanging around in the back room of a brothel that I find hilarious.


Hah, seconded.

Elsa will first ask Filomena to narrow down the candidates to those who will gladly provide services to any gender and who have not lost their home or a relative in the fire of Savonne (don't want things to be awkward!). If Sieghard would prefer a girl who wasn't working at the Serpent at the same time he was, Elsa will try to take that into consideration. Lastly, she will favor someone with the local Broken Reaches look (similar to Leona Groz, who she finds very pretty). That should narrow it down to one or two.


A question about career trappings... Border Courtier requires some chainmail, but obviously that's not an option for me, as it's -3 to casting rolls. Would Elsa's investment in Suzana's business count as an adequate replacement? Or should it be a trapping at least tangentially related to combat, e.g. a master-crafted saddle?

----------


## TheSummoner

> Hah, seconded.
> 
> Elsa will first ask Filomena to narrow down the candidates to those who will gladly provide services to any gender and who have not lost their home or a relative in the fire of Savonne (don't want things to be awkward!). If Sieghard would prefer a girl who wasn't working at the Serpent at the same time he did, Elsa will try to take that into consideration. Lastly, she will favor someone with the local Broken Reaches look (similar to Leona Groz, who she finds very pretty). That should narrow it down to one or two.
> 
> 
> A question about career trappings... Border Courtier requires some chainmail, but obviously that's not an option for me, as it's -3 to casting rolls. Would Elsa's investment in Suzana's business count as an adequate replacement? Or should it be a trapping at least tangentially related to combat, e.g. a master-crafted saddle?


Sieghard's around if Elsa wants him to help make the choice. Otherwise, he's fine with it being a surprise. Elsa seemed uncharacteristically bashful about the whole thing, so I'm not really sure what her preference is.

Border Courtier requires a mail shirt and leather jack, which comes out to 72gc. Obviously the armor's no good for her, but maybe she could get a pair of good quality robes (90gc) or something like that as the wizard equivalent.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Border Courtier requires a mail shirt and leather jack, which comes out to 72gc. Obviously the armor's no good for her, but maybe she could get a pair of good quality robes (90gc) or something like that as the wizard equivalent.


I've already spent waaaay too much on clothes.  :Small Frown:

----------


## LCP

> A question about career trappings... Border Courtier requires some chainmail, but obviously that's not an option for me, as it's -3 to casting rolls. Would Elsa's investment in Suzana's business count as an adequate replacement? Or should it be a trapping at least tangentially related to combat, e.g. a master-crafted saddle?


I think it should be something reflecting the same goal of keeping you safe, and of similar cost. Open to suggestions as to what fits that brief.

Regarding Elsa's transactions with Filomena, I don't want to blur the lines between OOC and IC too much here, but at the same time I don't want to make this something that had to be played out in the IC thread. Filomena will find the women in her pay who most closely match the physical description Elsa gives her, and who she thinks she can charge the most for (which for one evening will be 5 gc, modifiable by Haggle if you want to). She won't actually ask them about their sexual orientation or whether they lost homes or family in the fire; she's not that kind of boss. She'll happily let Elsa believe she did, though.

I also want to add that although I'm very keen for you guys to be able to write up your parts of the timeskip yourself, a red line for me is that I don't want the game to glamourise or fetishise sex work. Please keep that in mind with whatever you want to write for the 9th, as well as the forum rules.

----------


## -Sentinel-

No problem. I'm expecting sort of a fade-to-black thing, like with Elsa and Beppe. Regarding sexual orientation, surely there are some workers who are the go-to for some sexual practices or others, and Filomena would _certainly_ know those things. While a threesome may make Sigmarite priests clutch their pearls, I can't imagine it would be considered outlandish in a brothel.

I won't haggle. Seems crass to haggle for this kind of thing.


Re: protection-related trapping: I'll think about it. There aren't many rulebook options aside from armor or from weapons requiring a specialist weapon group, though there may be non-rulebook options. E.g. I've heard of Mongols wearing silk shirts to protect themselves from arrows: the arrow would carry the silk into the wound without breaking the silk, allowing the barbed arrowhead to be easily removed from the wound without causing additional damage. I don't know if that's an option, and if so, how it would be reflected mechanically.

----------


## LCP

> Regarding sexual orientation, surely there are some workers who are the go-to for some sexual practices or others, and Filomena would _certainly_ know those things. While a threesome may make Sigmarite priests clutch their pearls, I can't imagine it would be considered outlandish in a brothel.


Yes, that's not really what I'm getting at. Filomena will have no problem getting someone to do what Elsa wants them to do; but she equally doesn't care at all about whether that's their actual sexual preference (or as you put it, whether they "gladly" provide services to either gender). There's no opting out of the jobs she gives them if they want to stay employed.




> Re: protection-related trapping: I'll think about it. There aren't many rulebook options aside from armor or from weapons requiring a specialist weapon group, though there may be non-rulebook options. E.g. I've heard of Mongols wearing silk shirts to protect themselves from arrows: the arrow would carry the silk into the wound without breaking the silk, allowing the barbed arrowhead to be easily removed from the wound without causing additional damage. I don't know if that's an option, and if so, how it would be reflected mechanically.


Mechanically, armour is armour; I'm not too keen on trying to fiddle around the edges of the system. I would think more broadly - a bodyguard? a food taster? living quarters where no-one else has the key to your bedroom door?

----------


## TheSummoner

Re: Serpent. I think we've done a pretty good job about keeping things tasteful overall. I mean, there's been a couple of bedroom scenes between the two of them, but it's pretty much all just been conversation and typically focusing on the romantic rather than the sexual. I feel like it serves to make them more real characters with emotions and desires beyond accumulate wealth and power, delve into ruins and kill monsters. The two of them temper the worst of each other's natures. This gets a bit more risque, but it doesn't need to be addressed in any detail.




> Re: protection-related trapping: I'll think about it. There aren't many rulebook options aside from armor or from weapons requiring a specialist weapon group, though there may be non-rulebook options. E.g. I've heard of Mongols wearing silk shirts to protect themselves from arrows: the arrow would carry the silk into the wound without breaking the silk, allowing the barbed arrowhead to be easily removed from the wound without causing additional damage. I don't know if that's an option, and if so, how it would be reflected mechanically.


Sounds like padded (leather) armor to me.




> Mechanically, armour is armour; I'm not too keen on trying to fiddle around the edges of the system. I would think more broadly - a bodyguard? a food taster? living quarters where no-one else has the key to your bedroom door?


Elsa knows that Irene tried to have her killed by rigging the trial. I know that Old World Armoury is considered a rather shoddy source, but there are some oddities that might apply. Lucky charms or things that detect/counteract poison.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> There's no opting out of the jobs she gives them if they want to stay employed.


Sure, but customer satisfaction is higher if the lady is not too obviously having to conceal her distaste.

Anyway. Let's move on. (*Edit:* And I agree with TheSummoner.)





> Mechanically, armour is armour; I'm not too keen on trying to fiddle around the edges of the system. I would think more broadly - a bodyguard? a food taster? living quarters where no-one else has the key to your bedroom door?


A bodyguard might be worth considering, yes, I hadn't thought of that option. Maybe a shield, too, come to think of it. It only incurs a -1 to casting rolls, which is manageable, _and_ all missile attacks against an alert wearer are at a -10 hit penalty. I'm sure we have a few spares.

For a silk shirt, I was not necessarily thinking in terms of armor points. Could be a +20 bonus to Heal tests for chest and arm wounds inflicted by arrows and bolts. However that would be a _very_ circumstantial rule, for an item that costs so much. Perhaps a bodyguard would indeed be better.

----------


## RossN

Jarla will pay her respects to Father Hieronymous and lay flowers on her brother's grave during the week but that doesn't really have to be a big IC scene - she doesn't have any major secrets she is spilling or want to find out (also I don't want to thread on Ludo's toes with the whole undead priestess thing!)

Then a little light jewellery shopping... though more like window shopping at this point, unless Jarla can find some excellent fakes.

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## LCP

> Sure, but customer satisfaction is higher if the lady is not too obviously having to conceal her distaste.


OK, but the enthusiasm for someone of the 'correct' sex is equally fake. That's the point I'm trying to get across - I'm not worried about you guys being non-PG-13 in the IC thread, I know you know the limits there. I just want to make sure the dimension of exploitation is clear.




> Then a little light jewellery shopping... though more like window shopping at this point, unless Jarla can find some excellent fakes.


I mean, depending on how sincere she was about not wanting to live off handouts, she does have a rich patron she could appeal to. This is something you're looking for for career trappings purposes or just for Jarla purposes?

(Also I had a quick glance at Jarla's character sheet and her funds are listed as '2d10 gold crowns' - did we never roll for that?)

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## RossN

> OK, but the enthusiasm for someone of the 'correct' sex is equally fake. That's the point I'm trying to get across - I'm not worried about you guys being non-PG-13 in the IC thread, I know you know the limits there. I just want to make sure the dimension of exploitation is clear.
> 
> 
> 
> I mean, depending on how sincere she was about not wanting to live off handouts, she does have a rich patron she could appeal to. This is something you're looking for for career trappings purposes or just for Jarla purposes?
> 
> (Also I had a quick glance at Jarla's character sheet and her funds are listed as '2d10 gold crowns' - did we never roll for that?)


Trappings mostly - I'm looking for Jarla to move to Noble (and from there to Courtier or Border Courtier) and jewellery is part of the requirement. That said Jarla is vain and does want to look good. And yep I never got around to rolling her cash (which should actually be 3d10 gold because of the 1d10 everyone starts with): (3d10)[*22*] gold.

Jarla's in kind of a sticky place regarding money in that she wants both the status of being a _somebody_ at court while also being pretty independent by nature. It's driving her slightly bonkers.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## -Sentinel-

> OK, but the enthusiasm for someone of the 'correct' sex is equally fake. That's the point I'm trying to get across - I'm not worried about you guys being non-PG-13 in the IC thread, I know you know the limits there. I just want to make sure the dimension of exploitation is clear.


Going on an off-topic tangent here regarding the "dimension of exploitation" thing, but it's false to assume all sex workers are miserable and would jump on literally any job that presented itself. It's certainly the case for _some_ of them, yes, but I think many others (especially those who are considered good at it) are in the business because they find frequent casual sex with strangers to be better than most jobs accessible to them, including any number of "respectable" jobs. And I'm pretty sure a discerning customer could tell the difference between the two kinds. Obviously sex workers do have to play-act somewhat... but that's no more inherently exploitative than a cashier being expected to be polite while serving you.

Now, it's possible that _Filomena herself_ is exploitative. E.g., maybe she's overworking employees, stealing tips, using threats or blackmail, etc. That's another story.

A viral tweet that's gone viral in left-wing/pro-labor circles says the following: "If you think sex workers 'sell their bodies', but coal miners do not, your view of labor is clouded by your moralistic view of sexuality."

----------


## LCP

Getting any further into that would be against forum rules, but as far as it pertains to the game - those are all arguments that make a lot more sense in the 21st century. But if you understand that it is possible - perhaps even probable - that Filomena's workers aren't all there because this is the job they've decided they want, then that's all I wanted out of this conversation.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm sorry for holding things up even further, but I can't decide what to do here and so want to sleep on it. Please feel free to move the game on and timesplit Ludo's conversation with the priests if you would like.

----------


## TheSummoner

Maybe this won't be a well received idea, but maybe it's something we could research a solution to. It may be possible to come up with some sort of ritual to break the curse of undeath on Kheneb (or any other place similarly cursed). It'd be risky, but if we succeeded, whatever treasure is left in there would be ours for the taking.

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## -Sentinel-

> Maybe this won't be a well received idea, but maybe it's something *we* could research a solution to. It may be possible to come up with some sort of ritual to break the curse of undeath on Kheneb (or any other place similarly cursed). It'd be risky, but if *we* succeeded, whatever treasure is left in there would be ours for the taking.


By "we", of course, you mean Elsa.............

I'm pretty sure such a spell would have to be an Amethyst spell. Not Elsa's lore.

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## TheSummoner

Yeah, that's about the response I expected.  :Small Tongue: 

If such a thing did happen, it would probably involve the priests and not just be Elsa alone. Her part of it would be breaking the existing enchantment and the priests would handle the actually putting the dead to rest part. Kinda like a super-powered dispel. It's just an idea though. If you don't think it's worth the risk or investment, then we can try finding another way. I know you're not fond of ritual magic in general.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I know you're not fond of ritual magic in general.


True. As I've said before, the final roll to research a new ritual is an unmodifiable, non-rerollable 1/5 chance of your ritual actually working. Not a test, not a casting roll; just a flat 81+ roll on a d100. That's after 1 to 4 months of research (if all goes well). Oh, and you only make that roll upon casting the ritual for the first time. _Any_ other result on that table is some variation of "start over from scratch". IMHO that's just bad game design, as if intended to frustrate with no rhyme or reason and force the players to do the same things over and over. ("Ah well, it failed again, so now I guess we need to find _yet another_ *checks notes* 'heart of an innocent who was unjustly hanged under the glow of Morrslieb'.")

The designer's notes of _Realms of Sorcery_ say that the sourcebook was rushed, and I can believe it.

Even aside from meta considerations, I would note that Sforza isn't paying Elsa 20 gc/month to "decontaminate" some ruins in the swamps far from his capital city. Elsa would have to take a sabbatical for this project.

In most cases, creating a new ritual is like the joke about programmers working for 6 hours to automate a task that takes them 10 seconds a day. It would be less trouble to clear out Kheneb by the sword and then consecrate all the bodies one by one.

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## RossN

> The designer's notes of _Realms of Sorcery_ say that the sourcebook was rushed, and I can believe it.


That's darkly ironic considering the original WFRP First Edition Version of _Realms of Sorcery_ spent *so* long in development hell Hogshead even joked about it in their advertisements:



(And then of course it was made obsolete within three years when Second Edition appeared.)

----------


## LCP

> True. As I've said before, the final roll to research a new ritual is an unmodifiable, non-rerollable 1/5 chance of your ritual actually working. Not a test, not a casting roll; just a flat 81+ roll on a d100. That's after 1 to 4 months of research (if all goes well). Oh, and you only make that roll upon casting the ritual for the first time. _Any_ other result on that table is some variation of "start over from scratch".


Seems like a reasonably accurate simulation of what academic research is like to me.




> It would be less trouble to clear out Kheneb by the sword and then consecrate all the bodies one by one.


i mean people would die but yes elsa would be left with more free time

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## -Sentinel-

> Seems like a reasonably accurate simulation of what academic research is like to me.


Exactly. I know you joke, but this is why we use abstraction, so that things aren't as tedious and repetitive for the players as they are for the characters. E.g. maybe you should be able to test the ritual on a much smaller scale and in a cheaper and less risky way, like a proof-of-concept. The spell ingredients for the test are abstracted as 5d10+20 gc worth of Rare and Very Rare components. If the final roll is failed, research takes an additional month, and then it's time to make another test run. If the proof-of-concept works, it means the ritual will work on the intended scale.


*@ RossN:* Interesting. I had no idea WFRP had been around since the 80's.

----------


## RossN

> *@ RossN:* Interesting. I had no idea WFRP had been around since the 80's.


Yeah, the first edition of the game was in 1986 along with various supplements like the famous 'Enemy Within' campaign. Hogshead reprinted everything in the mid-90s and brought out various long promised material like _Realms of Sorcery_ and _Marienburg: Sold Down the River_ (a huge Marienburg sourcebook.)

Cubicle 7 has the rights to the First Edition Material and you can buy it on DriveThruRPG. 

First Edition stuff is a lot of fun but it's a less balanced game than Second Edition and some of the atmosphere doesn't quite gel with later interpretations.

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## TheSummoner

> *@ RossN:* Interesting. I had no idea WFRP had been around since the 80's.


I did, but I had no clue Realms of Sorcery spent so much time in limbo. Or even that there was a 1st edition version. Pretty much everything I've heard about 1st edition is second hand knowledge.




> Yeah, the first edition of the game was in 1986 along with various supplements like the famous 'Enemy Within' campaign. Hogshead reprinted everything in the mid-90s and brought out various long promised material like _Realms of Sorcery_ and _Marienburg: Sold Down the River_ (a huge Marienburg sourcebook.)
> 
> Cubicle 7 has the rights to the First Edition Material and you can buy it on DriveThruRPG. 
> 
> First Edition stuff is a lot of fun but it's a less balanced game than Second Edition and some of the atmosphere doesn't quite gel with later interpretations.


I heard that Karl Franz was killed off in one of the campaign books, and also generally portrayed as a weak and ineffective old man rather than a guy who actively bashes people with a magic warhammer.

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## LCP

> E.g. maybe you should be able to test the ritual on a much smaller scale and in a cheaper and less risky way, like a proof-of-concept. The spell ingredients for the test are abstracted as 5d10+20 gc worth of Rare and Very Rare components. If the final roll is failed, research takes an additional month, and then it's time to make another test run. If the proof-of-concept works, it means the ritual will work on the intended scale.


Doesn't sound very magical or warhammer-y to me. I'm not going to die on the hill of the rules in RoS being perfect, but a custom ritual is the most powerful tool available to any WFRP PC by a country mile, and could have a transformational effect on most campaigns. I think it's entirely appropriate that there shouldn't be shortcuts, and the words "cheaper" and "less risky" shouldn't come into it. The level of tedium is entirely scaleable to how willing you are to just say "three months go by" rather than playing it out in real time, which is really true to some degree for any kind of downtime endeavour. And if you want your downtime endeavours to be reliable and free of risk then being a wizard is the wrong career.

I've moved the IC on leaving the timesplit to the conversation with Hieronymus open, as per LeSwordfish's request. Please feel free to post with anything your PCs got up to during the week. The point in time I've put us at is just before the ball - I've done that to give everyone the option to specify whether or not they're attending, and any prep they're doing. Once everyone's given me the go-ahead OOC I'll move things on to the ball itself.

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## -Sentinel-

> Doesn't sound very magical or warhammer-y to me. I'm not going to die on the hill of the rules in RoS being perfect, but a custom ritual is the most powerful tool available to any WFRP PC by a country mile, and could have a transformational effect on most campaigns. I think it's entirely appropriate that there shouldn't be shortcuts, and the words "cheaper" and "less risky" shouldn't come into it.


It's not so much the difficulty that I take issue with, as the utter frustration and randomness of an unmodifiable 80% chance of being set back to square one. At the very least, I think the odds of your ritual succeeding should reflect the wizard's skill and effort to some extent.

Anyway the point is moot, since I'm not creating a ritual. At least not for a one-off casting that would likely be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things (how long has Kheneb been around without causing trouble?). I'd rather go adventuring and exploring. Games are meant to be fun.  :Small Wink: 


How much did Elsa have to spend on drawing up a contract with Suzana?

*@ TheSummoner:* Elsa will pay the full 5gc for Happy Serpent services. That was her idea after all.

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## LCP

> It's not so much the difficulty that I take issue with, as the utter frustration and randomness of an unmodifiable 80% chance of being set back to square one. At the very least, I think the odds of your ritual succeeding should reflect the wizard's skill and effort to some extent.


I mean, it does reflect the effort you put in... measured in time. If you go into it looking at it as a single attempt then yeah it's very random; if you go into it looking at a series of rolls to determine how much trial and error the thing is going to take to research, then it starts to look like a binomial distribution and comes across as a reasonable model.

I'd agree that it's a bit odd that the 'Research Results' table is decoupled from the 'Casting Attempt' table, and all the modifiers the players can get feed back only into the 1st one - considering that you also have to pass a casting roll it's not clear what the 2nd table is trying to represent, and it limits the cumulative work you've done to only influencing the requirements of the ritual rather than the chance of being finished. If I was rewriting it I'd probably bodge those two together. 

I don't think it's too awful though that a more powerful wizard takes the same time to research a ritual as a less powerful one... considering that rituals are gated by the Magic stat my strong assumption would be that you don't research rituals below your pay grade.




> How much did Elsa have to spend on drawing up a contract with Suzana?


2s 6p.

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## RossN

> I did, but I had no clue Realms of Sorcery spent so much time in limbo. Or even that there was a 1st edition version. Pretty much everything I've heard about 1st edition is second hand knowledge.
> 
> 
> 
> I heard that Karl Franz was killed off in one of the campaign books, and also generally portrayed as a weak and ineffective old man rather than a guy who actively bashes people with a magic warhammer.


I'm in a First Edition game over on RolePlay onLine. We're running through 'The Enemy Within' and I'm playing a Hypnotist turned Charlatan. Fun game, but there are definitely differences from the later canon - besides Karl Franz, Kislev and (especially) Brettonia were very different, you had Half-Orcs, the magic was different. It is still very recognisably the same setting and system as Second Edition but like I said quite a few differences.

I'd say First Edition maybe wins slightly on flavour and atmosphere (example: the Trappings for the Entertainer Career include "D6 pieces of coloured chalk" as an option if you are playing as 'Pavement Artist'.) It's far more uneven though and doesn't have the depth Second Edition goes into things like religion or magic.

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## TheSummoner

I'll have to look into it some time. I don't know if I'd play a 1E game over 2E, but it might be interesting to read through for historical context and to see how the setting and game system evolved between the two versions. I've also heard good things about Shadows Over Bogenhafen in particular and would like to see how it's portrayed outside of what Vermintide 2 did with the city.

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## RossN

> I'll have to look into it some time. I don't know if I'd play a 1E game over 2E, but it might be interesting to read through for historical context and to see how the setting and game system evolved between the two versions. I've also heard good things about Shadows Over Bogenhafen in particular and would like to see how it's portrayed outside of what Vermintide 2 did with the city.


Bogenhafen - in fact the Enemy Within campaign as a whole - is being republished for 4th edition with rule updates and a few tweaks, like advice on changing things up a little for GMs with grognard players who might be familiar with the original! _Shadows..._ is very interesting but I might hold off on reading it in case you want to play it yourself.  :Small Big Grin: 

The core rulebook should be 'safe', since it only has a single stand-alone adventure.

----------


## LCP

> Unless they refuse, Ludo wants to get Ingwald, Hanna, and Gustaf invitations to the ball, probably by speaking to whoever is organising it below Irene's level - her handmaidens?


I think Abdul and Mouna are probably the ones handling all the admin that's too tedious for Irene. I think the attendance is probably swollen enough as well that with those rolls you won't have trouble getting the Thorns in, as long as they look smart.

re: Sieghard talking to Abdul about finding work for the homeless: if we're just talking the 20-ish people evicted from the Greenapple house, then that's a big favour to ask, but probably something he can deliver, between jobs in the castle staff and his contacts and errand-runners further afield. If we're talking about the entire 300-ish people still sheltering in the other buildings, then that's some kind of renaissance New Deal you're asking for there - he can't just wave a wand and make that happen.

I'm just waiting to see anything from Urgrim and then I'll move us on to the ball.

----------


## Thragka

Nothing from Urgrim that will get in the way of moving on. Thanks for the IC text to the letter.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Though I suppose Holt will be there, boring everyone with how terribly important it all was.


It's funny that Irene thinks Elsa is boring. I wonder how she'd fare in even one of our minor adventures, like the night goblins' lair or Harmugstahl, to say nothing of the Lost Library or the disaster of Nath.  :Small Amused: 


I'm also amused by the huge, yawning chasm in the reasons why Irene and Elsa hate each other.

"You're _crass_ and _loud_ and _boring_ and you don't show me the reverence I deserve."
"...You had one of my best friends murdered."


*Edit:* Look at this little freeloader I caught in my apartment last night...  :Small Smile: 

*Spoiler*
Show

----------


## TheSummoner

> re: Sieghard talking to Abdul about finding work for the homeless: if we're just talking the 20-ish people evicted from the Greenapple house, then that's a big favour to ask, but probably something he can deliver, between jobs in the castle staff and his contacts and errand-runners further afield. If we're talking about the entire 300-ish people still sheltering in the other buildings, then that's some kind of renaissance New Deal you're asking for there - he can't just wave a wand and make that happen.


I meant the "Sieghard talks to Abdul about it" thing as a way to seed the conversation for later, rather than Sieghard asking him to take care of it. Basically he's saying "this is a problem and we need to deal with it or it's just going to get worse. Got any ideas?" and going to the guy he thinks is most likely to be receptive to it. Then, when he brings it up to Sforza after the ball is done with, he might have someone backing him up. If Abdul actually can help the 20 or so from the Greenapple house, that's more than Sieghard hoped for in the short term and he'd be grateful for it. Something will still have to be done for the rest, but it's a start.

Are the other homeless mostly farmers like the first woman was?




> It's funny that Irene thinks Elsa is boring. I wonder how she'd fare in even one of our minor adventures, like the night goblins' lair or Harmugstahl, to say nothing of the Lost Library or the disaster of Nath.


"Don't be ridiculous, Holt. Why would I ever go into a stinking goblin hole?"

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## LCP

> Are the other homeless mostly farmers like the first woman was?


Yeah - the influx of people into Savonne is coming from the surrounding countryside, they're 95% rural folks.

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## TheSummoner

Hmm, would've thought most of them who lost homes to the fire had more urban professions, but I think can work with that. I'll keep it in mind for when there's a better chance to bring it up to Sforza.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I just worry that Sforza will dismiss Elsa and Sieghard's concerns because food and housing are not their respective areas of expertise.  :Small Sigh: 

With Alvarr defeated and Nahorek destroyed, I think avoiding a revolution is our next big challenge.

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## TheSummoner

Avoiding?  :Small Confused: 

Taking advantage of.  :Small Amused:

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## -Sentinel-

Ha ha, maybe. I've been thinking about using propaganda to position Sieghard as a hero of the people, for example by commissioning a play about the war on Nahorek. Of course the play would not be anti-Sforza (we don't want it to get shut down right after its premiere), but it would paint Sieghard as some lowborn local guy just protecting the land he loves, contrasting him with the nobles and foreigners who make up Sforza's court.

In the future, if Sieghard needs to evict people, I suggest he subcontract the job.  :Small Tongue:

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## RossN

> Ha ha, maybe. I've been thinking about using propaganda to position Sieghard as a hero of the people, for example by commissioning a play about the war on Nahorek. Of course the play would not be anti-Sforza (we don't want it to get shut down right after its premiere), but it would paint Sieghard as some lowborn local guy just protecting the land he loves, contrasting him with the nobles and foreigners who make up Sforza's court.
> 
> In the future, if Sieghard needs to evict people, I suggest he subcontract the job.


Jarla is literally an actress.

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## TheSummoner

Come now, Sieghard didn't evict anyone. He moved them into new homes and even paid their rent for them.  :Small Big Grin: 

And he did it for entirely altruistic reasons that had nothing to do with the chest full of gold or private room for when he doesn't want to be at the castle.




> Ha ha, maybe. I've been thinking about using propaganda to position Sieghard as a hero of the people, for example by commissioning a play about the war on Nahorek. Of course the play would not be anti-Sforza (we don't want it to get shut down right after its premiere), but it would paint Sieghard as some lowborn local guy just protecting the land he loves, contrasting him with the nobles and foreigners who make up Sforza's court.


It's a good idea, but we'd need to be careful with how it's presented - or else have two versions, one for Sforza and one for the common audience. And it should glorify everyone to whatever extent it can while not being blatant, not just Sieghard.




> Jarla is literally an actress.


So does that mean she wants to play herself or would it be funnier for her to play Elsa and have a conversation with presumably Aisha playing Jarla?

----------


## RossN

> Come now, Sieghard didn't evict anyone. He moved them into new homes and even paid their rent for them. 
> 
> And he did it for entirely altruistic reasons that had nothing to do with the chest full of gold or private room for when he doesn't want to be at the castle.
> 
> 
> 
> It's a good idea, but we'd need to be careful with how it's presented - or else have two versions, one for Sforza and one for the common audience. And it should glorify everyone to whatever extent it can while not being blatant, not just Sieghard.
> 
> 
> ...


With a Fellowship of 64 she probably could play anyone actually. Whether it would wiser too...

As it happens I had been thinking of Jala becoming Minister of Propaganda a patron of the arts should she get rich enough to do so and she'd dance at the chance to help set up a theatre.

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## -Sentinel-

> It's a good idea, but we'd need to be careful with how it's presented - or else have two versions, one for Sforza and one for the common audience. And it should glorify everyone to whatever extent it can while not being blatant, not just Sieghard.


I was thinking the focus would be on Sforza, with Sieghard being a side character who is designed to become an audience favorite by virtue of his bravery and dependability.


_Act II, scene IV:_

Sforza: "But who shall wield the spear?"
Al-Makir: "May I suggest Commander Sieghard, he who slew the Orc king at Manann's Keep? Few fighters in the Reaches can match him."

_*enter Sieghard*_




> So does that mean she wants to play herself


Jarla's contribution to the war on Nahorek consisted largely delivering a message to the vampire and then firing her pistol at a wight. I'm sorry but I don't think she will deserve her own character in the play.  :Small Tongue: 

I think even Ludo would need to be cut. He's neither famous nor high-ranking, and the theater company is unlikely to have a halfling actor. And Elsa's role should be reduced as well.

----------


## TheSummoner

I'd have to go back and double check, but I swear I remember them having a halfling I think they had a dwarf as well. And besides, Ludo's ruins delving adventure to find out Nahorek's weakness would be a great scene. We'd probably have to change it from him fetching a dead priestess's skull to him retrieving the spear, but the audience would love it.

Probably also want to change the part about ambushing Nahorek at a parley to beating him in glorious battle now that I think of it. Elsa could do well there though. Think of how dramatic it would be for Sieghard and Nahorek to fight to the death surrounded by a ring of fire. And then for her to rush to him when the battle is over and he appears dead. There's a lot you could do to play to the audience.

Speaking of fire, probably ought to make a point that Klammenberg kicked over a lantern when we fought him. It definitely happened that way.

Honestly, the hard part is giving Sforza any sort of role at all. How do you make the focus of the story a guy who didn't do anything until the very end and not much even then?

----------


## RossN

> Jarla's contribution to the war on Nahorek consisted largely delivering a message to the vampire and then firing her pistol at a wight. I'm sorry but I don't think she will deserve her own character in the play.


She _may_ have saved someone's life...

Other than 'herself' the main female parts would be Elsa, Mala and potentially Irene Sforza. There could also be a role for the goddess Myrmidia.

----------


## Thragka

Write whatever _umgi_ embellishments you like; I think we all know whose records will be extant in three and a half thousand years.

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## TheSummoner

> She _may_ have saved someone's life...
> 
> Other than 'herself' the main female parts would be Elsa, Mala and potentially Irene Sforza. There could also be a role for the goddess Myrmidia.


She may have, but I kinda doubt that some one would want the story of him falling off a horse being told. At least when Sieghard did it, he got right up and kept stabbing things.

If we're throwing in the gods as actual roles, Morr would be the most prominent. You could even work in what Sieghard suggested to Cezar. "The hound that tried to rise up against Morr and was struck down. Or something like that..." Nahorek rises up and defies Morr in the opening and the last scene is his judgement at the hands of his master.

----------


## LCP

Just noticed I slipped back to Kaldezeit and no-one stopped me. It's Ulriczeit people! Don't believe that liar who was logged in as me yesterday.

Massive great IC post already so I didn't want to make it any longer, but just to specify OOC: Tattie won't attend the ball. She's not a fan of large crowds, she doesn't know how to dance, and she's absolutely terrified of Irene now.

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## RossN

> Just noticed I slipped back to Kaldezeit and no-one stopped me. It's Ulriczeit people! Don't believe that liar who was logged in as me yesterday.
> 
> Massive great IC post already so I didn't want to make it any longer, but just to specify OOC: Tattie won't attend the ball. She's not a fan of large crowds, she doesn't know how to dance, and she's absolutely terrified of Irene now.


Sorry to hear that, Jarla has grown rather fond of the girl and could have taught her how to dance (Jarla has both Etiquette and Performance (Dance)). 

That said I definitely understand why she might be terrified of Irene!  :Small Eek:

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## TheSummoner

> Sorry to hear that, Jarla has grown rather fond of the girl and could have taught her how to dance (Jarla has both Etiquette and Performance (Dance)).


I'm sure there will be other opportunities. You'd probably have more luck getting Tatiana to agree to something smaller and more rustic like a holiday celebration in Painford, though.

I put some more thought into the play idea. What about something like this for the major plot points:

Klammenberg and the vampire (not named as Nahorek) are alone. Klammenberg monologues that death is gripping the Reaches and no man is fit to be king of the dead. The vampire declares that he won't be a king, but a god.Adelbert is at the temple and speaks with another priest about the war. They learn that one of the other priests has been killed.Adelbert informs Irene about the murder. Irene (who at least in the first draft will be inaccurately portrayed as reasonable and competent) offers soldiers to help investigate.The party finds and confronts the vampire and Klammenberg but are driven off.Elsewhere, Sforza is finishing the war.Nakorek attacks the temple, but is driven off. Since the book won't be mentioned, maybe in this version the party manages to hold against his attack until dawn or something.Sforza returns to Savonne.The dwarfs agree to ally with the humans against the vampire. They tell Sforza about the spear.The vampire attacks Caerfort and vows that even though he failed in Savonne, he'll still rule the Reaches.Sforza, Sieghard and Elsa go to war with the vampire, but are losing. Elsa's magic more or less the only thing keeping them from being overwhelmed.Adelbert, Ludo, and Urgrim go to retrieve the spear. Klammenberg has already claimed it. Adelbert defeats him, but dies to his wounds.Ludo and Urgrim return with the spear.One more battle. The vampire is coming. Ludo, Urgrim, and the Thorns manage to ambush him on the march. Sforza orders a final desperate attack whole the vampire is vulnerable. Elsa's magic holds off the dead. Sieghard kills the vampire.

Later revisions may change things to show Irene as a self-centered idiot who doesn't care while the rest of us take initiative and Sforza as utterly incompetent to the point of falling off his own horse. Jarla probably ends up cut since she only showed up later in the story, but Adelbert gets a pretty big role early on and gets to be a tragic hero. Mala and the Falcons are cut in order to streamline the story. The Knights of the Raven may or may not also be cut for the same reason.

Edit: Didn't catch this until I read it a second time.



> our Warden of the Thornwood should be somewhere around here, too. So common his family dont even have a name, but that doesnt worry some people. Oh Holt, I didnt see you there.


Hilarious, but also a bit ominous. Do you think she figured it out?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Honestly, the hard part is giving Sforza any sort of role at all. How do you make the focus of the story a guy who didn't do anything until the very end and not much even then?


Plays are always far more talk than action anyway. We could portray him as the mastermind of the war on Nahorek, with much of the action happening off-stage and being reported to him after the fact. And he'll get most of the speeches and monologues. (Again, to make a contrast with the more plain-spoken and straightforward Sieghard, who's just focused on getting the job done.)





> Write whatever _umgi_ embellishments you like; I think we all know whose records will be extant in three and a half thousand years.


Oh, but nobody reads _those_.





> Tattie won't attend the ball. She's not a fan of large crowds, she doesn't know how to dance, and she's absolutely terrified of Irene now.


Yeah, can't blame her. Saves Elsa some money on clothes, too.





> I put some more thought into the play idea. What about something like this for the major plot points:


Hmm, when I said _commissioning a play_, I meant give them a general idea of what we have in mind, not write the whole thing for them. But I'm glad my idea is generating some discussion.

Much as it pains me, I think Adelbert might need to be cut too. Any less-than-famous person we include in the play will just make it too obvious who commissioned it. It needs to be a play about the Reaches pulling together to face a common threat (however removed from reality that might be), not our characters doing all the work.





> Edit: Didn't catch this until I read it a second time.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 			
> 				our Warden of the Thornwood should be somewhere around here, too. So common his family dont even have a name, but that doesnt worry some people. Oh Holt, I didnt see you there.
> 			
> 		
> ...


Very likely, yes. Not that Elsa minds.

----------


## RossN

Okay, some general Charm tests to continuing making a good impression. Jarla has Etiquette but I'm not sure if the bonus quite applies here since it is meant to be dealing with nobles.

*Giovanni Carraciolo:* (1d100)[*99*] vs 64 (or 74 with Etiquette bonus)
*Esteban Valdes:* (1d100)[*62*] vs 64 (or 74 with Etiquette bonus)
*Abdul Al-Makir:* (1d100)[*55*] vs 64 (or 74 with Etiquette bonus)
*Steffan Sussman:* (1d100)[*3*] vs 64 (or 74 with Etiquette bonus)

Edit: Huh and with the one _openly_ leering over her no less! Maybe Jarla spilled a drink over him.  :Small Big Grin:  :Small Eek:

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## -Sentinel-

> Edit: Huh and with the one _openly_ leering over her no less! Maybe Jarla spilled a drink over him.


You sure you don't want to re-roll that? Carraciolo is the second most powerful man in the Reaches, and his city is conveniently close to Savonne.





> Looking to shift the subject and hoping to avoid a bloodbath between princess and wizardess she followed that up with: "Have you tried the wine? I believe it is exquisite."


Aww, don't ruin our fun.  :Small Tongue:

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## RossN

> You sure you don't want to re-roll that? Carraciolo is the second most powerful man in the Reaches, and his city is conveniently close to Savonne.


Fair point. I think Jarla would be less impressed by his conversation but she's not completely immune to the more muscular type. 

(1d100)[*85*] vs 64 or 74




> Aww, don't ruin our fun.


Heh, sorry.  :Small Big Grin:

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## TheSummoner

> Sieghard actually faced Nahorek and his minions 4 times (counting the attack on the temple, during which Elsa was at the Shallyans' hospital).


I know, but Sieghard only faced him in close combat three out of four times and for the sake of introducing Elsa, it's simpler to just say three than go into specifics.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I've been thinking about how Sieghard, as lord of the Thornwood, is expected to levy taxes. Looking at the map, I wonder if he could turn the forest road into a toll road? Or would Sforza forbid it?

With the desert road swallowed by the sand, Last Water and the Vale are now wholly dependent on the forest road for trade and travel, unless someone is brave enough to go through the Giant's Teeth or the Pale Waste.

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## TheSummoner

My guess is that would be one of the ways he'd be expected to. If you want to enter the walls, you have to pay a toll. Early in the game, we had to pay to enter Mirino, but we've been exempted from that since we started working for Sforza. The toll usually isn't _too_ high since you don't want to discourage people passing through, but the amount charged depends on what those at the gate assume you can pay - they're going to charge a man wearing nice clothes or a merchant with a few carts more than a wandering vagabond with little more than threadbare clothes and a walking stick.

Another obvious one is a portion of all food harvested by the local farmers.

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## -Sentinel-

> My guess is that would be one of the ways he'd be expected to. If you want to enter the walls, you have to pay a toll.


I'm assuming the locals are exempted. I think the best way to go about it would be to exempt foot travelers altogether, but levy a toll for horses, carts, wagons and livestock. Another way to make money off Sieghard's land would be to turn Ravenskird into a trading hub, build new docks and warehouses, and set docking and warehousing fees.





> Another obvious one is a portion of all food harvested by the local farmers.


Not much farming going on in the Thornwood, though. Hunting, trapping and fishing must be the main local sources of food.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I'm assuming the locals are exempted. I think the best way to go about it would be to exempt foot travelers altogether, but levy a toll for horses, carts, wagons and livestock. Another way to make money off Sieghard's land would be to turn Ravenskird into a trading hub, build new docks and warehouses, and impose docking and warehousing fees.


For a smaller settlement like Painford, yeah, exempting the locals that makes sense. As far as foot travelers go, you could actually charge by the foot. Want to use the roads? Well a horse will cost you more than a man and there's a wheel fee too for the cart. That sort of thing.

I'm not convinced on Ravenskird. It's the end of the line on the Azril before you reach the Mere, so it's a useful stop for goods going to or coming from Manaan's Keep and the south in general, but it's not central like Savonne so that limits the use as a trading hub.




> Not much farming going on in the Thornwood, though. Hunting, trapping and fishing must be the main local sources of food.


There's farming everywhere, though it would definitely be more limited than in the Vale or Downlands where you don't have trees limiting the size of the farms. Livestock would also be pretty important - not cattle or anything big that needs a lot of space, but animals that don't require much. Pigs turn acorns into bacon and chickens turn grass into eggs. Probably not important for actual gameplay, but it's an interesting discussion all the same.

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## -Sentinel-

> As far as foot travelers go, you could actually charge by the foot.


Brother Odo gets to travel for free!  :Small Big Grin: 





> I'm not convinced on Ravenskird. It's the end of the line on the Azril before you reach the Mere, so it's a useful stop for goods going to or coming from Manaan's Keep and the south in general, but it's not central like Savonne so that limits the use as a trading hub.


Any place where you must switch means of transportation can be a trading hub. E.g. Captain Sandu drops off some food from the Downlands at Ravenskird, sells it to a merchant with carts who is headed south, and buys southern goods for Savonne (iron from Sermena, gold from Handrich's Cross, crimson shade from Isolici, wood from the Thornwood).





> Livestock would also be pretty important - not cattle or anything big that needs a lot of space, but animals that don't require much. Pigs turn acorns into bacon and chickens turn grass into eggs. Probably not important for actual gameplay, but it's an interesting discussion all the same.


True. I hear this is why arid regions (North Africa, Middle East, central Asia) have meat-heavy diets. Goats are essentially machines for turning any scant vegetation they can find into meat.

----------


## LCP

RossN, what are Jarla's overall goals for the evening? She's got some social skills on her character sheet that I think this is the perfect opportunity to flex, and I definitely think identifying the right dice rolls would be better than playing everything out blow-by-blow - but I'm not sure what outcome she's aiming towards.

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## RossN

> RossN, what are Jarla's overall goals for the evening? She's got some social skills on her character sheet that I think this is the perfect opportunity to flex, and I definitely think identifying the right dice rolls would be better than playing everything out blow-by-blow - but I'm not sure what outcome she's aiming towards.



For the evening this is really mostly a mix of scouting out the potential suitors and making a good first impression; I think she's presuming that more than one of the gentlemen will be interested in courting her and is trying to be both charming and non-commital like Jane Russell or Marylin Monroe in _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_. She has to manage a balancing act of being available without being desperate. 

At this point I think she's given up on Carricalo as a serious suitor (but she might be up for some 'fade to black' fun with him during the course of the evening.) That leaves Valdes and Al-Makir who are both riddles she is trying to crack and Sussman who she thinks she has the measure of and rather likes even if he is (comparatively) small beer. 

There is one other backup scheme she might consider but she'll have to talk to Sieghard and Elsa about that.

----------


## LCP

OK - in that case, maybe just one Perform (Dancer) test to continue the making-an-impression thread?

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## RossN

Performer (Dancer) : (1d100)[*3*] vs 64

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## -Sentinel-

I know I don't really have a horse in this race, but...

My take on Valdes is that Last Water is too far away.My take on Al-Makir is that strategically, his position and location make him a solid choice. If he truly isn't interested in women, you may still be able to talk him into some sort of marriage of convenience: he gets to keep doing or not doing whatever he did or did not do before, and he likewise lets Jarla do her own thing. Of course, you'll need to convince him that there's an advantage in marrying you; perhaps in terms of reputation.My take on Sussman is that he probably isn't much of a husband or lover, but his location along the eastern axis isn't too bad, and he doesn't strike me as the sort who'll put too many restrictions on Jarla's comings and goings. Like Forkbeard, he seems to be just going with the flow, not trying to build a base of power or a legacy.

Are our halfling and dwarf friends planning to join the party?


*Edit:* Damn, that's a good dance roll. Careful, you're going to outshine Irene.  :Small Wink:

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## TheSummoner

Nice roll. If you want Sieghard's opinion, he'll be willing to offer it IC. Once he finishes his current conversation, he'll probably join in the dancing and be able to give his input then if Jarla feels like joining him. If your scheme is something that doesn't need to be discussed privately, she can run that by him then as well.

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## RossN

Are Urgrim and Ludo at the ball?

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## Thragka

Urgrim is, yes  I just haven't made time to post over the past few days. I was thinking, though, if Sieghard's doing some networking and civic planning as Steward of the Thornwood, this is probably a good time for Urgi and Ludo to float their ideas about the Thorns' peacetime role, and also to possibly meet some people who could also get involved in setting up some sort of messenger/courier system along the Forest Road.

Urgrim's also considering asking Jarla for a dance  I can't decide whether that's too much of a societal faux pas or not  :Small Big Grin:

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## LeSwordfish

They are, I just haven't had the time to write up responses to both Hieronymous and the ball. Hoping to get to that today, but Ludo has nothing more specific than a bit of chatting planned for the ball so don't wait on me if you're eager to get on with things.

After the ball, how long are we looking to move forwards? I'm happy to jump until the end of the month if there are no imminent surprises. I have some neat ideas for Ludo over the winter, but if we move forward week by week I think he might end up having a few very busy weeks and then standing around staring into space when I run out of ideas.

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## RossN

> Urgrim is, yes  I just haven't made time to post over the past few days. I was thinking, though, if Sieghard's doing some networking and civic planning as Steward of the Thornwood, this is probably a good time for Urgi and Ludo to float their ideas about the Thorns' peacetime role, and also to possibly meet some people who could also get involved in setting up some sort of messenger/courier system along the Forest Road.
> 
> Urgrim's also considering asking Jarla for a dance  I can't decide whether that's too much of a societal faux pas or not


Jarla would be surprised but not unwilling - she's already proven herself on the dance floor and if anyone objects she'll do her Sophie Ellis Bextor impression on them.  :Small Big Grin:

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## LCP

> After the ball, how long are we looking to move forwards? I'm happy to jump until the end of the month if there are no imminent surprises.


I don't have a fixed period in mind, but I have enough background events planned that I think I wouldn't want to go straight to the end of Ulriczeit - would a fortnight suit?

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## LeSwordfish

That would be fine, or I'm happy to go weekly if you don't mind a lack of grand schemes for a few weeks.

Any sign of Roth or any of Groz's soldiers at the ball, or hanging around outside?

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## RossN

Jarla will still share a dance with Urgrim if he really does ask and of course she's obviously still at the ball to react if something does happen _there_ but otherwise I'm sort of okay with moving on if everyone else is.

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## TheSummoner

I think Sieghard is good to move on when the rest are. He wants to follow up with Burhan to see how things went, but that can just be part of the summary.

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## -Sentinel-

> I think Sieghard is good to move on when the rest are. He wants to follow up with Burhan to see how things went, but that can just be part of the summary.


Oh, I thought he was intending to plot something with Elsa.

By "move on", do we mean to the dinner? I'm ready.

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## TheSummoner

Nah, I was just interested in seeing what RossN's idea for Jarla's scheme was. Sieghard will let Elsa know that Irene may be on to them and that Jarla suggested pretending he was interested in her as a cover (and presumably also so she can make other suitors think they have to compete), though he'll wait until tomorrow to mention it - Elsa's in a good mood and he doesn't want to potentially spoil her evening. He's not thrilled with the idea, but he's concerned about what it could mean for the two of them if Irene does know. (LCP pointed out that Sforza himself might not care anymore since we're at least officially in peace times, but that's not guaranteed and I don't think Sieghard would've considered it.) OOC, I'm not opposed to the idea, but I'd want to know what the end goal is and what we'd gain from it. It feeds false information to Irene, but I'm not sure if there's anything we can do with that.

On the subject of scheming, we do need to start thinking of ways for Irene to have an _unfortunate accident_ though.

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## LCP

I've put a quick IC post up to take those that want to to the end of the ball. Feel free to timesplit beforehand, or to leave earlier than the end.

I think 2 weeks is good for the next period of time beyond what you guys want to play out between yourselves. If that suits you guys then let me know what you might want to fill it with.

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## LeSwordfish

Did you see my question about Roth and the rest of Groz's old soldiers? I assume there's some kind of something going on for various bodyguards and hangers-on who had to be brought to Savonne but didn't get to come to the ball itself - can I go and seek that out with a Gossip test: (1d100)[*58*]

I'll think about Ludo's next two weeks later, but for now consider him available for any Hagglin' or Evaluatin' or Charmin' Charming that needs to be done for Sieghard's house-building plans.

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## RossN

If she can do it discretely Jarla is going to whisper to Uto to join her in her bedchamber later for some *fade to black*.

While he's not a serious 'suitor' (due to sheer distance) she does find him attractive and she wants a little fun while she's waiting for the others to make their moves in courting her.

Longer term, I've been thinking Jarla could look into getting a maid of her own. Unfortunately Irene knows Tatiana so it can't be her but I'd be happy to hear other options if anyone has ideas? She should be... well... a she but Jarla would consider a halfling or dwarf girl if Ludo or Urgrim have suggestions there.

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## LeSwordfish

Ludo knows precisely one halfling lady in this half of the reaches, but I can't say I'd recommend Lottie for a maid's job.

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## TheSummoner

> I'll think about Ludo's next two weeks later, but for now consider him available for any Hagglin' or Evaluatin' or Charmin' Charming that needs to be done for Sieghard's house-building plans.


Last thing we got stopped on with discussing that was materials and cost. That was before the week of downtime, and I said Sieghard would have to look into it.




> Ludo knows precisely one halfling lady in this half of the reaches, but I can't say I'd recommend Lottie for a maid's job.


It's a funny thought though. What happened to her, anyways? She'd probably enjoy spending some time with Tatiana.

----------


## LCP

> Did you see my question about Roth and the rest of Groz's old soldiers?


Ack, sorry, yes. You can't see them in the great hall. Servants, guards, coachmen etc. will be hanging around in the kitchens and the courtyard, but Ludo can't find them there either.




> If she can do it discretely Jarla is going to whisper to Uto to join her in her bedchamber later for some *fade to black*.


If she can pass a Charm test you can assume she succeeds.




> While he's not a serious 'suitor' (due to sheer distance)


Putbad is closer to Savonne than any of the places the others live (except Abdul).




> Last thing we got stopped on with discussing that was materials and cost. That was before the week of downtime, and I said Sieghard would have to look into it.


Do you want Sieghard to be sourcing this stuff in Savonne, or in Painford? The first thing to do is probably to find a craftsman who can make the plans + direct the construction.

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## TheSummoner

> Do you want Sieghard to be sourcing this stuff in Savonne, or in Painford? The first thing to do is probably to find a craftsman who can make the plans + direct the construction.


We'll, that's partially tied into the cost question. Savonne craftsmen will probably cost more than local. If Sieghard goes with wood and plaster, he can probably handle it through Painford. Maybe brick as well, depends on how much clay is in the dirt. Stone almost certainly would have to go through Savonne though.

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## LCP

Maybe we can pin that down first then. It's possible to build modest structures out of expensive materials and grand structures out of cheap ones (c.f. Evatt's fort), but I think we need a rough idea of what the building Sieghard wants looks like before we can answer the questions of who knows how to build it and what they'll need.

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## RossN

> Ack, sorry, yes. You can't see them in the great hall. Servants, guards, coachmen etc. will be hanging around in the kitchens and the courtyard, but Ludo can't find them there either.
> 
> 
> 
> If she can pass a Charm test you can assume she succeeds.
> 
> 
> 
> Putbad is closer to Savonne than any of the places the others live (except Abdul).
> ...


Huh, I guess I misjudged the distance. In that case Jarla will probably avoid being quite so forward if Uto is someone she might realistically see again rather than just a one night stand - she's a woman who is not naturally prudish but she also wants to play up her mystique. 

Lottie could be an interesting maid and I guess there is Rhaedgund...

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Longer term, I've been thinking Jarla could look into getting a maid of her own. Unfortunately Irene knows Tatiana so it can't be her but I'd be happy to hear other options if anyone has ideas? She should be... well... a she but Jarla would consider a halfling or dwarf girl if Ludo or Urgrim have suggestions there.


And Elsa is thinking about hiring a bodyguard, so I'm open to suggestions as well.

The bodyguard will likely be limited to Elsa's business in the city and her short trips; I don't want to saddle our party with a new NPC member on their adventures. Still, the bodyguard should be an actual character, not just another item under Elsa's "Trappings". A retired soldier would be better than just some local tough. Elsa won't put up recruitment posters just yet, but will ask Sforza's inner circle if they have anyone to recommend. What would be the expected monthly salary?





> I think 2 weeks is good for the next period of time beyond what you guys want to play out between yourselves. If that suits you guys then let me know what you might want to fill it with.


Elsa will start to pen _A Brief History of Dark Magic in the Broken Reaches_, intended as a guide to any future generations that have to deal with our unfinished business. It will include everything we have learned about the Book of Nagash, Nahorek, Nath, the Silver Tower, Gilbertus and the Illuminated Order, in chronological order. By _Brief History_, I do mean brief... 5,000 to 10,000 words. A booklet, not a tome. While it will include sensitive information, it is not intended for wide distribution; Elsa plans only one copy at first, to be left in the care of the Church of Verena.

Elsa will need cheap parchment for a first draft, plus good parchment, a leather binding and a small wooden case for the actual book. How much would that set her back?

----------


## TheSummoner

I mentioned the idea before, but I don't think I confirmed it. Sieghard is going to be doing double pay for the Thorns for the month as a bonus for more or less singlehandedly dealing with Nahorek. Make sure Ludo and Urgrim take their cut of it.




> Maybe we can pin that down first then. It's possible to build modest structures out of expensive materials and grand structures out of cheap ones (c.f. Evatt's fort), but I think we need a rough idea of what the building Sieghard wants looks like before we can answer the questions of who knows how to build it and what they'll need.


Large by Painford standards, but it doesn't have to be opulent. A second floor, a hearth, and maybe a cellar would all be nice and there has to be space enough to accommodate guests as needed. I'm leaning towards style over scale since Painford isn't exactly a big place itself. Sieghard is trying to play the role he's been given as steward and knows this is part of it and that it serves as a status symbol, but he's also aware he's pretty much just a big fish in a small pond and only got where he is by luck (and killing dangerous monsters)




> Huh, I guess I misjudged the distance. In that case Jarla will probably avoid being quite so forward if Uto is someone she might realistically see again rather than just a one night stand - she's a woman who is not naturally prudish but she also wants to play up her mystique.


Probably a good call if you're not decided on her suitors. Anything that could lead to rumors or people talking about her favoring one over the others might ruin her chances with the others. Best to lead them on and make them compete until she's decided and to be discreet about it if she wants to have any fun before then.

Didn't really come up IC, but Sieghard's take on the suitors is...
*Carraciolo*: Strange as it is, Sieghard doesn't really know him all that well. Elsa has had more interactions with him and would know more. (OOC, I sorta get the impression he's a womanizer and have my doubts that Jarla would change that). Still, Sieghard's been around and connected long enough that Common Knowledge (Sforza's Court) seems like it should be applicable ((1d100)[*78*] vs 51. (1d100)[*77*] Reroll), so if he's heard any relevant rumors or stories, he'll pass them along. "So don't tell anyone I said this, but I'm pretty sure Giovanni is a mutant. I saw this bump on his shoulder once and I'd bet anything he was sprouting an eyeball or a tentacle or an eyeball on the end of a tentacle out of it."*Valdes*: Esteban is a friend and a good man. If you're interested in romance, he's a good choice. If not, don't lead him on.*Al-Makir*: Abdul is incredibly clever and good at solving whatever problems he needs to. Definitely a good friend to have, though he can see how the age difference could be an issue. Sieghard isn't aware of his apparent lack of interest in women, though if asked he'll admit he's never seen him with one, but also never paid attention.*Sussman*: The man is a weasel and not as clever as he thinks he is. He's shown himself to be completely unaware of threats right under his nose until it's too late and was ready to pack up and leave the moment Nahorek threatened Manaan's Keep. Sure, he holds some power and wealth, but good luck keeping it the next time the orcs find a new warboss.*Uto*: Sieghard only just met the man, but had a favorable impression. Based on resemblance, he assumes Uto is the son of a guildmaster he had met previously, but hasn't confirmed it. If that's true, it would mean he's wealthy and influential in Putbad, but probably only as much as Sussman at the most.





> What would be the expected monthly salary?


Rulebook puts mercenaries at 1.75 to 4 crowns per month. The Thorns are paid 2.5 crowns. I imagine a bodyguard would be paid less than a mercenary, but picking a retired soldier would bump that up above what someone else would want. I'd estimate something like 1.5 to 2 crowns a month.

----------


## LCP

> Lottie could be an interesting maid and I guess there is Rhaedgund...


There are people in the Reaches outside the ones on the front page! In Savonne you won't have trouble finding somebody with experience to do a job, if you want to.




> And Elsa is thinking about hiring a bodyguard [...] What would be the expected monthly salary?


Depends on the quality of hireling you're looking for; the range TheSummoner mentioned is a good indication.

Sforza & co. are not a great source of recommendations - Sforza already has a private army, he is not in the market for hired guards (and would question why Elsa needs them - don't you trust the Iron Company?). I think the only lead you would get from them is the retired veterans in Last Water.




> Elsa will need cheap parchment for a first draft, plus good parchment, a leather binding and a small wooden case for the actual book. How much would that set her back?


It seems like overkill to make a 10-20 page document into a leatherbound book, but I reckon all that lot would run you to about 5 gc.




> Large by Painford standards, but it doesn't have to be opulent. A second floor, a hearth, and maybe a cellar would all be nice and there has to be space enough to accommodate guests as needed. I'm leaning towards style over scale since Painford isn't exactly a big place itself. Sieghard is trying to play the role he's been given as steward and knows this is part of it and serves as a status symbol, but he's also aware he's pretty much just a big fish in a small pond and only got where he is by luck (and killing dangerous monsters)


So it sounds like what we're talking about here is just a big house, not fortified or designed to hold a large staff. I think unless you were trying to make a statement, local materials would make the most sense - but if you're looking to be ready for eminent guests then perhaps you _do_ want to make a statement?

The choice of who to get to build it is similar. The community in Painford built their own houses and would be capable of scaling the same designs up - but if you want something that looks the part of a lord's residence you might want to bring in someone from Savonne.

----------


## RossN

> And Elsa is thinking about hiring a bodyguard, so I'm open to suggestions as well.
> 
> The bodyguard will likely be limited to Elsa's business in the city and her short trips; I don't want to saddle our party with a new NPC member on their adventures. Still, the bodyguard should be an actual character, not just another item under Elsa's "Trappings". A retired soldier would be better than just some local tough. Elsa won't put up recruitment posters just yet, but will ask Sforza's inner circle if they have anyone to recommend. What would be the expected monthly salary?
> 
> 
> 
> Elsa will start to pen _A Brief History of Dark Magic in the Broken Reaches_, intended as a guide to any future generations that have to deal with our unfinished business. It will include everything we have learned about the Book of Nagash, Nahorek, Nath, the Silver Tower, Gilbertus and the Illuminated Order, in chronological order. By _Brief History_, I do mean brief... 5,000 to 10,000 words. A booklet, not a tome. While it will include sensitive information, it is not intended for wide distribution; Elsa plans only one copy at first, to be left in the care of the Church of Verena.
> 
> Elsa will need cheap parchment for a first draft, plus good parchment, a leather binding and a small wooden case for the actual book. How much would that set her back?


Adelbert would be very proud (and maybe a shade jealous) to see Elsa becoming a writer.  :Small Smile: 




> Probably a good call if you're not decided on her suitors. Anything that could lead to rumors or people talking about her favoring one over the others might ruin her chances with the others. Best to lead them on and make them compete until she's decided and to be discreet about it if she wants to have any fun before then.
> 
> Didn't really come up IC, but Sieghard's take on the suitors is...
> *Carraciolo*: Strange as it is, Sieghard doesn't really know him all that well. Elsa has had more interactions with him and would know more. (OOC, I sorta get the impression he's a womanizer and have my doubts that Jarla would change that). Still, Sieghard's been around and connected long enough that Common Knowledge (Sforza's Court) seems like it should be applicable ([roll0] vs 51. [roll1] Reroll), so if he's heard any relevant rumors or stories, he'll pass them along. "So don't tell anyone I said this, but I'm pretty sure Giovanni is a mutant. I saw this bump on his shoulder once and I'd bet anything he was sprouting an eyeball or a tentacle or an eyeball on the end of a tentacle out of it."*Valdes*: Esteban is a friend and a good man. If you're interested in romance, he's a good choice. If not, don't lead him on.*Al-Makir*: Abdul is incredibly clever and good at solving whatever problems he needs to. Definitely a good friend to have, though he can see how the age difference could be an issue. Sieghard isn't aware of his apparent lack of interest in women, though if asked he'll admit he's never seen him with one, but also never paid attention.*Sussman*: The man is a weasel and not as clever as he thinks he is. He's shown himself to be completely unaware of threats right under his nose until it's too late and was ready to pack up and leave the moment Nahorek threatened Manaan's Keep. Sure, he holds some power and wealth, but good luck keeping it the next time the orcs find a new warboss.*Uto*: Sieghard only just met the man, but had a favorable impression. Based on resemblance, he assumes Uto is the son of a guildmaster he had met previously, but hasn't confirmed it. If that's true, it would mean he's wealthy and influential in Putbad, but probably only as much as Sussman at the most.


Thanks, good to hear second opinions, especially from someone who has been in the Reaches much longer than Jarla!




> There are people in the Reaches outside the ones on the front page! In Savonne you won't have trouble finding somebody with experience to do a job, if you want to.


Hmm, Tshula-Udiyya sounds like a nice name for a reliable maid...  :Small Wink: 

While Jarla would definitely want a maid that she could trust I was more thinking if there was anyone the other PCs knew who might work for the role, giving us another set of eyes and ears inside the Keep. Still it isn't vital if there isn't a good candidate there. 

Otherwise she'll look around and conduct interviews, assuming Irene agrees to letting her hire a servant, and I assume Jarla can actually afford one out of her allowance.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Depends on the quality of hireling you're looking for; the range TheSummoner mentioned is a good indication.


Okay. I'll aim for the upper end of the scale with a 4 gc/month guard. After all, this is to replace a trapping worth 70 gc, a not inconsiderable sum.

*Requirements:*
Must be trained in first aid (Heal skill).Must be physically imposing and capable of a good scowl (Intimidate skill).Must provide own equipment.May have to do additional tasks on request, such as running errands.

*Perks:*
4 gc/month, plus hazard bonus if we find ourselves in a life-or-death situation.All medical expenses paid.If guard is crippled in the line of duty, he will receive a 30 gc compensation.If guard is killed in the line of duty, his next of kin will receive a 50 gc compensation.





> It seems like overkill to make a 10-20 page document into a leatherbound book, but I reckon all that lot would run you to about 5 gc.


Ah, I thought it would require more pages than that, but I'm not going to complain about needing less parchment than expected.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LCP

> Okay. I'll aim for the upper end of the scale with a 4 gc/month guard.


How/where will you put the word out?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> How/where will you put the word out?


I'll use innkeepers, blacksmiths and landlords as go-betweens, since they're the people most likely to knowingly deal with current and former soldiers. Gossip 44: (d100)[*71*] Re-roll: (d100)[*71*]

If that fails to get Elsa who she needs after two weeks, she will have a town crier announce the job opening.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Okay. I'll aim for the upper end of the scale with a 4 gc/month guard. After all, this is to replace a trapping worth 70 gc, a not inconsiderable sum.


Pay what you want, but 4gc is the upper limit for a mercenary, expected to actually fight on the battlefield, not just a body guard who ideally should be able to deter conflict without actually needing to fight. I'm skeptical that even the rank and file of the Iron Company make that, and even if _they_ do, I'd be very surprised if anyone else did.




> So it sounds like what we're talking about here is just a big house, not fortified or designed to hold a large staff. I think unless you were trying to make a statement, local materials would make the most sense - but if you're looking to be ready for eminent guests then perhaps you _do_ want to make a statement?
> 
> The choice of who to get to build it is similar. The community in Painford built their own houses and would be capable of scaling the same designs up - but if you want something that looks the part of a lord's residence you might want to bring in someone from Savonne.


Hmm, maybe I'm lowballing things a bit, but when I think of things on the high end (Evatt's fort as the given example), I just don't think it makes practical sense for it to be that large. Painford is much smaller than Manaan's Keep, after all. I don't really anticipate Painford being attacked, but I think Sieghard would still want it to be defensible. If he was thinking long term, there's no telling what the future might bring - the most likely scenario would be it needing to hold at least until help could arrive from Savonne.

The thought in regards to guests is that there's little enough reason for someone outside of the party to want to visit Painford itself (maybe if they wanted to go hunting the woods would be good for that, but otherwise it's pretty rural), but Sieghard would still be expected to host anyone passing through. For example, let's say we don't murder Irene, Sforza does decide he needs an heir to secure the future of his realm, the two of them get to work on that, and within a year he throws a celebration for the birth. Sussman and Valdes would both be invited and both pass through Painford along the way. Sieghard would be expected to host them for the night before heading north himself. So he's not about to start inviting people and throwing celebrations of his own, but he is aware (from when the Kleinrabe's party was there), that there are situations where he'd be need to be able to provide accommodations.

----------


## LCP

I think I've got a clear picture of the size of building we're talking about - what I'm trying to pin down now is the quality of materials and craftsmanship.

Local materials + design would make for a perfectly livable building, but one that looks and feels like a larger version of the commoners' houses around it. A stonemason from Savonne working with imported stone could make something that would make a better impression on noble guests and that the people you're governing would find more impressive. Which side of that do you want to aim for?

Looks like Elsa can't find any decent candidates in the first week, but I reckon 2 weeks should mean you get 2 tries.

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard would be willing to consider stone. I'm sure even if he changes his mind, he'll have to pay for the work involved in planning and coming up with a draft, but he at least wants to hear an estimate.

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## -Sentinel-

> Looks like Elsa can't find any decent candidates in the first week, but I reckon 2 weeks should mean you get 2 tries.


Ah, nice.

Gossip 44: (d100)[*82*]
Re-roll: (d100)[*82*]

*Edit:* What the hell is happening with the dice roller? 71 and 71, and then 82 and 82.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Is Sieghard planning on sending the thorns back to Painford this week?

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## TheSummoner

Yes. General plan I had was that on the 10th and 11th, Sieghard wraps up business in Savonne/tries to convince Sforza to do something about the tent city and we head back south early on the 12th. From there, his next priority is trying to find Mala's trail and getting construction started.

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## LCP

> Sieghard would be willing to consider stone. I'm sure even if he changes his mind, he'll have to pay for the work involved in planning and coming up with a draft, but he at least wants to hear an estimate.


OK - if you want to look around for a stonemason in Savonne before you leave, give me a Gossip test.

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## TheSummoner

(1d100)[*21*] vs 64 Gossip
(1d100)[*97*] reroll




> Elsa was a bit surprised at Sieghard's impassioned speech, and alarmed to be called _the love of his life_. She hoped he was not about to get down on one knee, as she was not the sort who gladly said yes to lifetime commitments.


Ha! Would she have made some excuse about needing to wash Khalida and then rushed out of the room?  :Small Big Grin: 

Something that might not come through as well in text, but Sieghard isn't laying it on thick like this because he's suddenly become sappy. He's acting the way he is because this is the sort of thing that plays at his biggest weaknesses and worst tendencies and it's stressing him out. Killing Nahorek helped a lot, but he still has a rather self-destructive tendency towards survivor guilt and a resulting fear of losing the people closest to him. He's always been worried about how Sforza would react if he learned what was going on behind his back and fears the worst. He blames himself as much as he blames Irene for Adelbert's death and wants to avenge him, but it's not the sort of problem that Sieghard can just rush at with a sword.

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## -Sentinel-

> Something that might not come through as well in text, but Sieghard isn't laying it on thick like this because he's suddenly become sappy. He's acting the way he is because this is the sort of thing that plays at his biggest weaknesses and worst tendencies and it's stressing him out. Killing Nahorek helped a lot, but he still has a rather self-destructive tendency towards survivor guilt and a resulting fear of losing the people closest to him. He's always been worried about how Sforza would react if he learned what was going on behind his back and fears the worst. He blames himself as much as he blames Irene for Adelbert's death and wants to avenge him, but it's not the sort of problem that Sieghard can just rush at with a sword.


I get it.  :Small Smile:  Elsa feels similarly in some ways.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Okay - until the 12th, Ludo will probably continue with much the same previous routine as before. After that, he'll travel with the Thorns to Painford and start getting set back up there.

If Sieghard is getting a house, Ludo wants a house! He's probably not building one though, and so looking for somewhere in Painford to buy or rent, either a house or rooms. Gossip vs 72: (1d100)[*20*], Haggle vs 82 (1d100)[*68*]I'm not sure what we can do to search for Mala from Painford and to be honest, I suspect she's just gone now. It'll have been nearly three weeks since we last saw her: she could be anywhere in the reaches by now. We'd probably do better with a poster campaign like Klammenberg than any kind of manual search. However, what we can do is go round all the little farms in the Thornwood and ask after her. I suggest we put Hanna's squad on that, with instructions to check all the farms and small towns south of Rivermouth.I'm down for Urgi's idea of using the Thorns to keep the Forest Road clear. All the Thorns we have remaining in Painford will be put to that, probably alternating between a few weeks on patrol and a few weeks garrisoned in Painford, training. I'll let Thragka step in and give any more detailed instructions for that that he wants - Ludo will accompany some of the patrols, but I'm happy for Urgi to co-ordinate and lead them.While in Painford, Ludo wants to make sure he makes some friends, and generally make sure things run smoothly between the locals, Sieghard, and the Thorns. Here's a Charm test for that: (1d100)[*19*] vs 92.What condition is Adelbert's old shrine in? Ludo will make sure that's kept in a good condition, including paying for any repairs needed.Ludo will probably keep helping Sieghard get his Tax Infrastructure set up.

What's the population of Painford, roughly? What about the Thornwood as a whole?

----------


## LCP

Quickly going through answers to questions + results of rolls:

*Elsa*
Over 2 weeks, Elsa does meet with some people who are interested in the bodyguard job, but they don't measure up to her requirements. Most are from the Warren or the tent city outside the walls. A good few could be described as physically imposing but very few have any medical knowledge or the ability to provide their own gear beyond the most basic equipment (i.e. a leather jack and a cudgel). 4gc a month would clearly be overpaying these men and none would look at home in the corridors of the castle. 

If you're still interested in hiring one of them, take your pick of 1 of the first 3 requirements (heal, intimidate, own gear) - that's the one they meet. Alternatively, you could try to carry on your search in a different way - you seem to have exhausted the pool from your current method.

*Sieghard*
Sieghard has no trouble getting a meeting with one of the better stonemasons in the Rockshadow district. They can't draw up detailed plans without seeing the site and having further discussions, but they can give a rough estimate for the kind of building Sieghard is talking about as costing about 1,800 gc to build. That would be if they handled the entire thing themselves: if Sieghard's able to handle some of the labour, materials etc. then they would be able to make savings.

*Ludo*
Painford has a little over 100 residents (or did at the start of the campaign - it's probably grown a little since then). The total population of the Thornwood would be something that's hard to assess IC - its previous rulers haven't been detailed census-takers. If you had to take a guess it might be somewhere between 500 and 1,000 people.

The population of Painford doesn't move around much, so your choices to buy a house outright are probably going to be quite limited - but you got a good Gossip roll so we can probably say there's at least one available to buy. With that haggle roll you can get an ordinary Painford house (2-4 rooms, wood and plaster construction, stone chimney) for 232 gc 4 s. Finding rooms to rent would be a lot easier - you can get an attic to yourself for 14 s 11 p a month.

Adelbert's shrine is still structurally in good condition, and someone among the villagers at least is keeping it dusted, but little maintenance jobs are starting to accumulate.

----------


## RossN

Okay, Jarla isn't going to be rushing into marriage, though she will keep up the flirting and accepting interest - it's fun and allows her to interact with other people.

So she'll be looking for a maid. How much would one cost *LCP*, and generally speaking what sort of allowance is Jarla on?

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## LCP

IIRC when Jarla raised the subject of an allowance with Irene before, Irene basically said no, just ask me if you need something? I could be misremembering there, let me know if so.

If Jarla's going to go along with asking Sforza for a title at court (and I should point out this is the same thing Sforza offered her before, when she thought looking for a husband was a more appealing prospect) then it wouldn't be an unconventional request to ask for a small stipend/salary as part of it. A good servant would run you to about 10s a week.

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## LeSwordfish

> but little maintenance jobs are starting to accumulate.


The kind of thing not-a-handyman Ludo could handle for himself in his spare time, or something he would need to hire someone for? How much would that be, or is there someone in the Thorns with the skills to do so?

How big is the shrine anyway - like a small chapel or a single altar? I don't have a good historical mental image for this, I'm just remembering the one from The Lord Of Lost Heart which was barely big enough for two people.

----------


## LCP

Adelbert's shrine is a single-room wooden chapel. It's bigger than a roadside shrine like the one in TLOLH but it's not the size of a full-blown temple - you could fit maybe 30 people inside it to hold a service.

Ludo could have a go at the maintenance jobs (things like mending tiles, replacing beams that have been affected by damp) but I'm figuring without any craft skills on his character sheet and as the privileged son of Odo Stubbs he'd very much be learning and making mistakes as he went along. You could certainly find someone among the Thorns who would have the skills to help, or you could hire someone from the village - I think the sum total of work that needs doing would cost 2s 6p.

----------


## RossN

> IIRC when Jarla raised the subject of an allowance with Irene before, Irene basically said no, just ask me if you need something? I could be misremembering there, let me know if so.
> 
> If Jarla's going to go along with asking Sforza for a title at court (and I should point out this is the same thing Sforza offered her before, when she thought looking for a husband was a more appealing prospect) then it wouldn't be an unconventional request to ask for a small stipend/salary as part of it. A good servant would run you to about 10s a week.


In that case yes Jarla will ask and she might wait until she actually hears what her salary/title might be before advertising for a servant to make sure she can actually afford that.

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## LeSwordfish

> Adelbert's shrine is a single-room wooden chapel. It's bigger than a roadside shrine like the one in TLOLH but it's not the size of a full-blown temple - you could fit maybe 30 people inside it to hold a service.
> 
> Ludo could have a go at the maintenance jobs (things like mending tiles, replacing beams that have been affected by damp) but I'm figuring without any craft skills on his character sheet and as the privileged son of Odo Stubbs he'd very much be learning and making mistakes as he went along. You could certainly find someone among the Thorns who would have the skills to help, or you could hire someone from the village - I think the sum total of work that needs doing would cost 2s 6p.


That all sounds fair to me: Ludo will probably hire someone from the town. I don't think Ludo has anything else to say to anyone at the ball, ready to move on whenever you are.

----------


## LCP

> In that case yes Jarla will ask and she might wait until she actually hears what her salary/title might be before advertising for a servant to make sure she can actually afford that.


I've got a couple of thoughts there.

No. 1 (which might be Irene's first choice) would be something like a Lady of the Bedchamber. That would keep Jarla in Savonne, running the royal household and hanging out with Irene. I reckon an appropriate stipend for that post might be something like 16 gc a month, + room and board at the castle. Very like her current situation, but she'd also have control over significant flows of cash in running the household.

No. 2 (which might be more Muzio's idea) would be to make Jarla the herald of the court, since she's a good rider, can handle herself in a fight, and won this favour by carrying a message. She'd be based in Savonne but would have a lot of time on the road whenever Sforza sent her to carry a message, which would probably justify a higher stipend to cover her expenses - maybe 24 gc a month? She'd also technically get to be responsible for the creation and regulation of coats of arms in Sforza's kingdom if that's something you feel like you'd have fun with.

Do either of those appeal to you (or is there another possibility you'd want to put forward)? And would you want to play those conversations out IC or resolve them OOC?

----------


## RossN

> I've got a couple of thoughts there.
> 
> No. 1 (which might be Irene's first choice) would be something like a Lady of the Bedchamber. That would keep Jarla in Savonne, running the royal household and hanging out with Irene. I reckon an appropriate stipend for that post might be something like 16 gc a month, + room and board at the castle. Very like her current situation, but she'd also have control over significant flows of cash in running the household.
> 
> No. 2 (which might be more Muzio's idea) would be to make Jarla the herald of the court, since she's a good rider, can handle herself in a fight, and won this favour by carrying a message. She'd be based in Savonne but would have a lot of time on the road whenever Sforza sent her to carry a message, which would probably justify a higher stipend to cover her expenses - maybe 24 gc a month? She'd also technically get to be responsible for the creation and regulation of coats of arms in Sforza's kingdom if that's something you feel like you'd have fun with.
> 
> Do either of those appeal to you (or is there another possibility you'd want to put forward)? And would you want to play those conversations out IC or resolve them OOC?


Oh, either of those sound cool! I'd be happy to play it out IC.

Lady of the Bedchamber sounds more in keeping with her current role - as much as Muzio is the one who owes her a favour Jarla is primarily Irene's courtier, and even if it pays a little less it "feels" more senior. I'm conscious though that it might be difficult to work with the other PCs if everyone is planning on heading away from Savonne for long periods of time.

On the other hand herald could be interesting too and might be a little more 'group friendly' - though of course there is also the fact that Jarla might be sent away at key times.

My fellow PCs any thoughts?

----------


## LeSwordfish

I think at least for the winter, everyone else will be relatively nearby.

----------


## LCP

I think with either role you're looking at being based out of Savonne. In the first you'd be expected to be there pretty much full-time; in the second you'd have lots of travel but not really on your own terms. Good for seeing the Reaches and being able to call in on people like Valdes and Carraciolo, but not a free ticket to hang out in Painford with the gang - if you weren't out carrying a message Sforza would want to have you close to hand. But in either case, unless Elsa relocates too, Savonne is probably a fairly central location for the group.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> If you're still interested in hiring one of them, take your pick of 1 of the first 3 requirements (heal, intimidate, own gear) - that's the one they meet. Alternatively, you could try to carry on your search in a different way - you seem to have exhausted the pool from your current method.


Bleh.

Do we still have Alvarrite POWs, such as Sergeant Marat? Could be risky to look to the enemy for protection, but I imagine people who live in the Reaches don't last long if they are loyal to the death to any one lord.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I'm not sure what we can do to search for Mala from Painford and to be honest, I suspect she's just gone now. It'll have been nearly three weeks since we last saw her: she could be anywhere in the reaches by now. We'd probably do better with a poster campaign like Klammenberg than any kind of manual search. However, what we can do is go round all the little farms in the Thornwood and ask after her. I suggest we put Hanna's squad on that, with instructions to check all the farms and small towns south of Rivermouth.


Might be the best option. If you want to say that Ludo took care of getting the posters made during our time in Savonne, Sieghard will gladly pay for the cost from the Thorns' funds. IIRC, there's already a bounty (I think 100 crowns) that Sforza placed on Mala after Rivermouth. Sieghard is willing to add another 50 to that. On the chance she's still alive, he'd want the posters to mention Gunda as well. Another 50 bounty for her. (If I'm wrong about the bounty, Sieghard will still put up 100 of his own money, but the split will be 75/25.)




> *Elsa*
> Over 2 weeks, Elsa does meet with some people who are interested in the bodyguard job, but they don't measure up to her requirements. Most are from the Warren or the tent city outside the walls. A good few could be described as physically imposing but very few have any medical knowledge or the ability to provide their own gear beyond the most basic equipment (i.e. a leather jack and a cudgel). 4gc a month would clearly be overpaying these men and none would look at home in the corridors of the castle.
> 
> If you're still interested in hiring one of them, take your pick of 1 of the first 3 requirements (heal, intimidate, own gear) - that's the one they meet. Alternatively, you could try to carry on your search in a different way - you seem to have exhausted the pool from your current method.


Sieghard does have some spare gear that the Thorns aren't really well suited to using.




> *Sieghard*
> Sieghard has no trouble getting a meeting with one of the better stonemasons in the Rockshadow district. They can't draw up detailed plans without seeing the site and having further discussions, but they can give a rough estimate for the kind of building Sieghard is talking about as costing about 1,800 gc to build. That would be if they handled the entire thing themselves: if Sieghard's able to handle some of the labour, materials etc. then they would be able to make savings.


They're welcome to come with and see the site for themselves. If 1,800 is the baseline for the fairly modest idea put forth, then Sieghard will be willing put up some more money to go bigger/better. How much more would 2,200 as a baseline get him?

Conveniently, Sieghard does happen to have a group of people directly under his command and on his pay and a whole village worth to draw from that I imagine could be hired on at a cheaper rate than workers from Savonne for whatever work doesn't require specialized skills. He'll definitely use the resources he has to try to cut down on costs where he can. Also related to cost, is the price subject to haggling? I imagine the skilled work probably isn't, but it still should be useful for sourcing supplies and additional labor at a better rate.




> Oh, either of those sound cool! I'd be happy to play it out IC.
> 
> Lady of the Bedchamber sounds more in keeping with her current role - as much as Muzio is the one who owes her a favour Jarla is primarily Irene's courtier, and even if it pays a little less it "feels" more senior. I'm conscious though that it might be difficult to work with the other PCs if everyone is planning on heading away from Savonne for long periods of time.
> 
> On the other hand herald could be interesting too and might be a little more 'group friendly' - though of course there is also the fact that Jarla might be sent away at key times.
> 
> My fellow PCs any thoughts?


It seems to me that either option is going to keep Jarla fairly bound to the whims of the Sforzas, just in different ways. Go with whatever you think is more interesting.

----------


## LCP

> Do we still have Alvarrite POWs, such as Sergeant Marat?


It's not really in Sforza's economic interests to keep such prisoners unless they are valuable somehow. Otherwise if they were a danger they'd have been put to death and if they weren't they'd have been released.




> They're welcome to come with and see the site for themselves. If 1,800 is the baseline for the fairly modest idea put forth, then Sieghard will be willing put up some more money to go bigger/better. How much more would 2,200 as a baseline get him?


I mean... it's 22% more money, so you could get 22% more house? If there's anything specific you're looking for then say.




> Conveniently, Sieghard does happen to have a group of people directly under his command and on his pay and a whole village worth to draw from that I imagine could be hired on at a cheaper rate than workers from Savonne for whatever work doesn't require specialized skills. He'll definitely use the resources he has to try to cut down on costs where he can. Also related to cost, is the price subject to haggling? I imagine the skilled work probably isn't, but it still should be useful for sourcing supplies and additional labor at a better rate.


You can definitely haggle over it, though the total possible discount will not go as low as on everyday goods. I think of the total cost they gave you (whether that's 1,800 or aiming higher) about 30% will be their charge for designing + supervising the work, 30% will be the labour, and 40% will be the materials. 
You can modify the first part by up to 30% (i.e. 9% of the total) through negotiations.Unskilled labour costs make up 50% of the second part - if you can cover those yourselves for less then the saving is all yours.Similarly if you can source the materials for less, you can keep the difference - though for sourcing stone, you may be putting yourself through more trouble than it's worth, since you have no local source and they have the experience and the contacts already. You could still make a saving on local timber and other materials.
So overall, I'd say we can boil this down to 2 Haggle tests:
1st test for the stonemasons' fee: +/- 1% on the total cost per DoS/F.2nd test for sourcing local materials: -1% on the total cost per DoS. No possibility of inflating the cost, unless you want to try to get the stone yourself, in which case the potential gain/pain could be larger.
Then the additional saving from your unskilled labour depends on whether you're using Thorns (who are basically 'free' in that you're paying them already, but would make them unavailable for other duties) or Painford people. 

Speaking of other duties you might need the Thorns for, I've had a chance to have a go at the tax collection numbers. Getting this set up is going to be a fairly big job - here are the specifics.
Abdul wants Sieghard to deliver 190 gc a month to the treasury.It can be in any mixture of coin and equivalent value of Thornwood goods (as assessed by Abdul) - timber, hides, meat etc.Goods are the cheaper way to fill out your quota - you have fewer middle-man transactions, and the way a lot of the commoners live, goods are more plentiful than liquid cash. However, cash is a lot easier to transport.Abduls calculations are based off what he thinks the whole Thornwood can bear at a flat rate of 1/15th of what they earn (which is his standard for rural parts), but he doesnt make any prescription about how you raise the money. Youre free to tax people differently according to how rich they are or how many dogs they own or whether they have an annoying laugh.Youre also free to raise more tax than Abduls asking for and use it for your own projects. Hes expecting you to do that to pay for the upkeep of the Thorns and has already made a deduction from the amount hes asking for to allow you to _just about_ pay them off the 1/15th tax rate (though in reality to cover the expenses, bonus pay etc. in the way you were before youll need to go higher). As far as Al-Makir is concerned you can tax them as much as you want as long as it doesnt end up causing trouble for the crown.The known populations of Ravenskird and Painford will be able to make up about 40% of the figure hes asked for; for the other 60% youll have to get out into the sticks. Tax collection in the Reaches has never been particularly formal or consistent, so your tax collectors should be prepared for trouble as an occupational hazard.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Alright, I guess the bodyguard will have to wait.  :Small Sigh:  It's not urgent anyway, since Elsa can't switch to Border Courtier just yet. If she has a good reason to go to Castel d'Irena in the coming weeks, she might find a few veterans there.


*Edit:* Whatever happened to the remaining Falcons?

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Abdul wants Sieghard to deliver 190 gc a month to the treasury.


I imagine there's no chance of haggling on this number?

----------


## LCP

> *Edit:* Whatever happened to the remaining Falcons?


They're still hanging around under Volker.




> I imagine there's no chance of haggling on this number?


Not unless you've got a reason why people in the Thornwood should pay less tax.

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## TheSummoner

> I mean... it's 22% more money, so you could get 22% more house? If there's anything specific you're looking for then say.


Nothing that immediately comes to mind. Just bigger/more impressive, I guess.

I should probably settle on a final base value before rolling those haggle rolls, but before I do, how did things end up with Burhan and does he need anything from Sieghard (eg, funding) to help expand his shipping operations? Sieghard is trying to balance maximizing his income with making sure he has the funds to cover construction/expenses (though I imagine not all of the building cost will be up front, so he'll have some time to set up revenue streams




> Speaking of other duties you might need the Thorns for, I've had a chance to have a go at the tax collection numbers. Getting this set up is going to be a fairly big job - here are the specifics.
> Abdul wants Sieghard to deliver 190 gc a month to the treasury.It can be in any mixture of coin and equivalent value of Thornwood goods (as assessed by Abdul) - timber, hides, meat etc.Goods are the cheaper way to fill out your quota - you have fewer middle-man transactions, and the way a lot of the commoners live, goods are more plentiful than liquid cash. However, cash is a lot easier to transport.Abduls calculations are based off what he thinks the whole Thornwood can bear at a flat rate of 1/15th of what they earn (which is his standard for rural parts), but he doesnt make any prescription about how you raise the money. Youre free to tax people differently according to how rich they are or how many dogs they own or whether they have an annoying laugh.Youre also free to raise more tax than Abduls asking for and use it for your own projects. Hes expecting you to do that to pay for the upkeep of the Thorns and has already made a deduction from the amount hes asking for to allow you to _just about_ pay them off the 1/15th tax rate (though in reality to cover the expenses, bonus pay etc. in the way you were before youll need to go higher). As far as Al-Makir is concerned you can tax them as much as you want as long as it doesnt end up causing trouble for the crown.The known populations of Ravenskird and Painford will be able to make up about 40% of the figure hes asked for; for the other 60% youll have to get out into the sticks. Tax collection in the Reaches has never been particularly formal or consistent, so your tax collectors should be prepared for trouble as an occupational hazard.


I think generally, Sieghard will be taxing according income to what he thinks people can afford and using a couple tolls to further supplement that. IIRC, Sforza taxed Mirino at 10%, so Sieghard is probably looking at a rate somewhere around 8-10% from following that example. LeSwordfish offered Ludo's help and Ludo is good with numbers, so if he can come up with a better system than "well, you look wealthy so you're paying more," Sieghard is fine with letting him take charge of the bookkeeping. Specific tolls I had in mind were a foot tax and a wheel tax for entry into Painford and for crossing the bridge in Ravenskird (locals and those who work directly for the prince exempted). Something like a couple pennies for a person, double for a four legged animal, maybe a schilling for a two wheeled cart and two for a four wheeled wagon (Feel free to adjust as needed if my estimates are off from what would be reasonable in-universe). And just because it's flavorful and a bit silly to charge for someone's small (but viscous) dog, the tax only applies to animals if their feet touch the ground while passing through the gate/crossing the bridge, so any animal small enough to be carried isn't taxed (people staying in the wagons get no such exemption, though I suppose caged chickens and such probably would).

----------


## LCP

> How did things end up with Burhan and does he need anything from Sieghard (eg, funding) to help expand his shipping operations?


He doesn't _need_ anything per se - having put him in touch with contacts north of the Falls he can start seeing about linking his riverboat concern up to places outside the Reaches. The outstanding questions are (A) how much of a stake in the new business Sieghard feels that setting up the meeting entitles him to and (B) how much he wants to expand that stake by putting some of his own capital in.




> I think generally, Sieghard will be taxing according income to what he thinks people can afford


How will you be assessing & collecting this?

----------


## RossN

Hmm, that was actually a very tough decision. Jarla has very complicated feelings about Irene but there is a streak of loyalty and sympathy there, and 'head of the royal household' does sound more august than simply being a herald.

I decided being a herald probably has more options - and Jarla would like the potential excitement it brings - but there is a bit of regret turning down Irene.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> How will you be assessing & collecting this?


Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ludo actually already did a taxes pass over this area, right? (After we burned everywhere else.)

I think Ludo would be unenthusiastic about acting as a tax collector again, though begrudgingly accept that it's probably something he'd be good at if ordered to. I have no idea how taxes in this era were handled, historically speaking, but 1/15th is about 7%, so perhaps we should tax each farmstead/household something like either 7%, 10%, or 15% based on how flush they're looking, rather than trying anything especially elaborate. I imagine Evaluate would be the relevant skill for that?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I have no idea how taxes in this era were handled, historically speaking, but 1/15th is about 7%, so perhaps we should tax each farmstead/household something like either 7%, 10%, or 15% based on how flush they're looking, rather than trying anything especially elaborate. I imagine Evaluate would be the relevant skill for that?


I think it would be too arbitrary. Maybe make a list of common professions, sort them into brackets based on yearly income, and tax households according to the profession of the head of the household.

----------


## TheSummoner

> He doesn't _need_ anything per se - having put him in touch with contacts north of the Falls he can start seeing about linking his riverboat concern up to places outside the Reaches. The outstanding questions are (A) how much of a stake in the new business Sieghard feels that setting up the meeting entitles him to and (B) how much he wants to expand that stake by putting some of his own capital in.


I'm really not sure what's reasonable for (A). I imagine that would depend on how big an operation Burhan already has and how much the connections Sieghard helped him establish would allow him to expand that. As for (B), my thoughts are that Sieghard can probably put up something in the area of 200-300 crowns so that Burhan can buy more goods or even put it towards a new boat in exchange for a larger return later without hurting his own finances too badly. Between that and manor construction, it's starting to approach the limit of his personal funds, but that's before factoring in tax income and if he has to, he has the option of borrowing out of company funds as a last resort.




> How will you be assessing & collecting this?


Size of property/amount of livestock/quality of clothing (/fanciness of hat)?




> Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ludo actually already did a taxes pass over this area, right? (After we burned everywhere else.)
> 
> I think Ludo would be unenthusiastic about acting as a tax collector again, though begrudgingly accept that it's probably something he'd be good at if ordered to. I have no idea how taxes in this era were handled, historically speaking, but 1/15th is about 7%, so perhaps we should tax each farmstead/household something like either 7%, 10%, or 15% based on how flush they're looking, rather than trying anything especially elaborate. I imagine Evaluate would be the relevant skill for that?


Evaluate definitely seems like it should be applicable. Ludo wouldn't have to be the one going around doing the actual collection (we can give that duty to the crossbowmen or even just hire on a tax collector), but if he can help design a system to handle all of it, that would go a long way.




> I think it would be too arbitrary. Maybe make a list of common professions, sort them into brackets based on yearly income, and tax households according to the profession of the head of the household.


It's always going to be fairly arbitrary. The sort of people Sieghard is responsible for collecting from aren't the type likely to keep detailed records of that sort of thing. It's probably mostly farmers in the areas where the trees aren't too thick to prevent it, a lot of fishing around the Mere, and foresters, woodsmen, and trappers through the rest of it.

----------


## LCP

> I'm really not sure what's reasonable for (A). I imagine that would depend on how big an operation Burhan already has and how much the connections Sieghard helped him establish would allow him to expand that. As for (B), my thoughts are that Sieghard can probably put up something in the area of 200-300 crowns so that Burhan can buy more goods or even put it towards a new boat in exchange for a larger return later without hurting his own finances too badly. Between that and manor construction, it's starting to approach the limit of his personal funds, but that's before factoring in tax income and if he has to, he has the option of borrowing out of company funds as a last resort.


OK, well if Sieghard isn't taking the initiative, let's say Burhan does and promises Sieghard a 20% share of the profits from the first shipment he gets from the north, as a 'finder's fee'. That money will be yet to materialise.

200-300 crowns would be 20-25% of the cost of a new barge north of the Falls, which I think will be Burhan's long-term aim. For that I think Burhan would treat him as a permanent business partner and offer him ~20% of the profits from that boat. If you want to Haggle on that deal you can.




> Size of property/amount of livestock/quality of clothing (/fanciness of hat)?
> 
> [...]
> 
> Evaluate definitely seems like it should be applicable. Ludo wouldn't have to be the one going around doing the actual collection (we can give that duty to the crossbowmen or even just hire on a tax collector), but if he can help design a system to handle all of it, that would go a long way.


My question is more, is Sieghard/Ludo going round to every house in the Thornwood to inspect the fanciness of their hats? If you're delegating it, to who/to how many people? How are they travelling, alone with a clipboard and a stern look, or with armed guards?

I didn't recall Ludo having done the rounds on this before, but if he has, that's certainly experience that'll help. Evaluate would definitely be a useful skill, as would other social skills to persuade people to part with their money.


Also a quick note on the IC - the cost of feeding and housing all the people outside the walls would genuinely be huge. Obviously Sieghard doesn't have detailed knowledge of the figures so his IC thoughts make perfect sense, but I just want to make clear from an IC perspective that this is a problem on a different scale to the money the Sforzas can casually throw around. Even Irene selling her whole wardrobe won't make much dent in the effects of a slash-and-burn war and a failed harvest.

----------


## -Sentinel-

If a herald is paid 24 gc/month, I think Elsa, as court wizard, should ask for a raise.  :Small Tongue:  (She's currently paid 20.)

Untrained Haggle 22: (d100)[*96*]
Re-roll: (d100)[*66*] _Well, crap._  :Small Frown: 


*@ RossN:* Why change your mind? I think herald is a good choice.

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## RossN

> If a herald is paid 24 gc/month, I think Elsa, as court wizard, should ask for a raise.  (She's currently paid 20.)
> 
> Untrained Haggle 22: [roll0]
> Re-roll: [roll1]


It's a moot point since Jarla changed her mind but I think the pay for a herald is meant to reflect being on the road a lot.

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## -Sentinel-

Yes, but as far as we know, there is only one trained wizard in the Reaches.

----------


## TheSummoner

Maybe they just expect Jarla to have more expenses that aren't provided for than Elsa. Or maybe it's just that Irene actually likes Jarla. Elsa's definitely worth more than she was she was hired, but it's probably hard to convince Sforza of that given the various mishaps she's been a part of... The fires and the episode involving the book specifically.




> OK, well if Sieghard isn't taking the initiative, let's say Burhan does and promises Sieghard a 20% share of the profits from the first shipment he gets from the north, as a 'finder's fee'. That money will be yet to materialise.
> 
> 200-300 crowns would be 20-25% of the cost of a new barge north of the Falls, which I think will be Burhan's long-term aim. For that I think Burhan would treat him as a permanent business partner and offer him ~20% of the profits from that boat. If you want to Haggle on that deal you can.


Hmm, that's a bit lower than I had hoped. We'll bump it up to 400gc and try to haggle to around 35% or even 40% if he can manage it. RAW puts a river boat at 600gc, which is where I was pulling the numbers from, but if it's going to be more expensive, then I'll just throw a bit more into it. (The 20% finder's fee is fine, I'm referring to the cut as a business partner here)'

(1d100)[*86*] vs 54 Haggle
(1d100)[*76*] reroll

His personal funds sit just shy of 2,500gc, so if I end up going 2,200 for the manor, he'll have to either get the income sorted out before the full amount is paid or draw from company funds, but I don't see that as being a problem.

And on the subject of the manor expenses, I'll roll for those now as well. Not sure which _day_ these count for for the sake of fortune points, but Sieghard has used two rerolls since arriving in Savonne. One to haggle Filomena and one (that failed) to try to convince Sforza to do something about the homeless.

*Stonemasons*
(1d100)[*77*] vs 54 Haggle
(1d100)[*26*] reroll

*Materials*
(1d100)[*53*] vs 54 Haggle
(1d100)[*76*] reroll

Sieghard isn't going to mess around with trying to get the stone himself since that seems far outside the range of either his men or the men he could easily hire.

*Edit:* The Filomena and Sforza rolls were on different days, so even if these all happen on one of those days, he should be good for the two used above. It looks like Burhan doesn't want to budge any more than the additional money is worth, but Sieghard is able to negotiate down the masons fees and cost of materials and knock 4% off the baseline cost (down to 2112gc before accounting for labor).




> My question is more, is Sieghard/Ludo going round to every house in the Thornwood to inspect the fanciness of their hats? If you're delegating it, to who/to how many people? How are they travelling, alone with a clipboard and a stern look, or with armed guards?
> 
> I didn't recall Ludo having done the rounds on this before, but if he has, that's certainly experience that'll help. Evaluate would definitely be a useful skill, as would other social skills to persuade people to part with their money.


They're probably going to have to in order to get anything close to an accurate estimate, unless LeSwordfish has a better idea. Maybe three groups led by Sieghard, Ludo, and Ingwald since he's also pretty clever. Each of them will travel with a few other crossbowmen with them for extra protection. Short of surveying the land an homes, you're pretty much relying on the honor system, and sir, I assure you I'm very poor and cannot afford more than what I've already given.

I don't think Urgrim would want to get tied up in the administration part of things, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Thragka. I'm working under the assumption he'd be more comfortable going around the south with some of the other Thorns and warning people about Mala/Gunda and passing out wanted posters.




> Also a quick note on the IC - the cost of feeding and housing all the people outside the walls would genuinely be huge. Obviously Sieghard doesn't have detailed knowledge of the figures so his IC thoughts make perfect sense, but I just want to make clear from an IC perspective that this is a problem on a different scale to the money the Sforzas can casually throw around. Even Irene selling her whole wardrobe won't make much dent in the effects of a slash-and-burn war and a failed harvest.


Probably another issue of working under inaccurate assumptions. The only numbers I have to go off of are the 200-300 people we put in tents after the fire, so I'm probably underestimating the number who are there because of the war. We can just assume Sieghard is overestimating the price of Irene's dresses (though best quality royal garb is ridiculously expensive) and not quite appreciating how much the price of food has gone up.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> They're probably going to have to in order to get anything close to an accurate estimate, unless LeSwordfish has a better idea. Maybe three groups led by Sieghard, Ludo, and Ingwald since he's also pretty clever.


I really think you should delegate this task. If Sieghard collects taxes in person, his people will start thinking of him as "the taxman".





> We can just assume Sieghard is overestimating the price of Irene's dresses (though best quality royal garb is ridiculously expensive) and not quite appreciating how much the price of food has gone up.


Irene's dresses may have _cost_ a lot to make, but they are only _worth_ what someone is willing to pay for them.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I really think you should delegate this task. If Sieghard collects taxes in person, his people will start thinking of him as "the taxman".


It wouldn't have to be a regular thing. Once the rate is established, it can be delegated much more easily. Though I suppose if Sieghard can keep himself busy with other stuff, he could just leave it to Ludo and Ingwald.




> Irene's dresses may have _cost_ a lot to make, but they are only _worth_ what someone is willing to pay for them.


This is also very true.

----------


## LCP

> If a herald is paid 24 gc/month, I think Elsa, as court wizard, should ask for a raise.  (She's currently paid 20.)


How much is she asking for?




> Hmm, that's a bit lower than I had hoped. We'll bump it up to 400gc and try to haggle to around 35% or even 40% if he can manage it. RAW puts a river boat at 600gc, which is where I was pulling the numbers from, but if it's going to be more expensive, then I'll just throw a bit more into it. (The 20% finder's fee is fine, I'm referring to the cut as a business partner here)'


I was looking at the OWA cost for a 'barge', but actually a smaller vessel is probably more appropriate for the Azril upstream of the falls. So yeah double my numbers there (but expect the boat to move less cargo).




> Probably another issue of working under inaccurate assumptions. The only numbers I have to go off of are the 200-300 people we put in tents after the fire, so I'm probably underestimating the number who are there because of the war. We can just assume Sieghard is overestimating the price of Irene's dresses (though best quality royal garb is ridiculously expensive) and not quite appreciating how much the price of food has gone up.


You've got the people in the tents, the people in the warehouses, plus some people in neither - and it isn't a static number. A good part of the Old Town has been rebuilt and a lot of the locals have moved back into more permanent accommodation, and there are people who will have been finding work and shelter in other parts of the city too, or leaving, or dying - but the tents and warehouses remain full, because the rate in from the land around Savonne is higher than the rate out. It's an ongoing process not a single event. Picture how much damage has been done to the Reaches this year and how much money it'd take to fill that hole.




> I really think you should delegate this task. If Sieghard collects taxes in person, his people will start thinking of him as "the taxman".


People will know whose men are taking their money too.




> It wouldn't have to be a regular thing. Once the rate is established, it can be delegated much more easily.


Bear in mind that most of the people in the Thornwood don't have a fixed income and can have good months and lean months.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I was looking at the OWA cost for a 'barge', but actually a smaller vessel is probably more appropriate for the Azril upstream of the falls. So yeah double my numbers there (but expect the boat to move less cargo).


In that case, let's say if Sieghard can convince Burhan to go for two riverboats, he'll do 400gc for a 40% stake on each and if not, 300gc for a 50% stake on the one. I can't imagine he'd let Sieghard have more than a 50% stake since he's the one in charge of operations. I figure that two 600gc boats should be able to carry roughly what one ~1,200gc boat can and if that was the original thought process for his goal, this is still in line with that. It'd also be a bit safer since it's not all of your eggs in one basket.




> Bear in mind that most of the people in the Thornwood don't have a fixed income and can have good months and lean months.


Right. There would be some variation, but I still think that if a baseline can be established, it should be easier to delegate the job and for that person to follow the general guidelines with some leeway for good and bad months than to just have them figure it out as they go.

Also probably better to generalize it somewhat like Sentinel was saying than to try to track it for each and every household.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Generally re: taxes: IC Ludo has no desire to be The Taxman, and OOC I have no more interest than anyone else in playing Tax Simulator, especially when it's not my stewardship. (And frankly, I'm much less of a historian/warhammer buff than either TheSummoner or LCP). I'll chime in, and I'm happy for us to say that Ludo has come up with the ideas that Sieghard is implementing, but "but if he can help design a system to handle all of it" - maybe Ludo can, but _I_ can't.

Although If Sieghard's got two and a half thousand GCs burning a hole in his pocket he could defer this until spring, which might make him very popular as the man who didn't levy taxes in the Famine Year.

I'll look up Ludo's previous taxing experience.

----------


## LCP

Yeah, I don't want to go into more detail than is necessary on the taxation. The main things I want to pin down are:

How much time it's taking up from which people.How securely they're doing it.What the burden on the average Thornwooder looks like.Whether the total raised meets Sforza's requirements, and how much Sieghard has left over for his own stuff.
I think we seem to have answers to most of that.

Sieghard, Ludo, Ingwald, and 3-ish extra Thorns per group (so a little under half the Thorns' current strength). Split between three groups, going round everywhere in the Thornwood will probably run to about 5-6 days.Armed groups of 3-4.Rudimentary progressive taxation between 7 and 15%, plus tolls (who's manning the tolls? Thorns? How many?)We'll see.
I guess one outstanding question for point (2) is what form you're collecting the taxes in (from the discussion above I'd guess whatever is easiest for people to pay in) and how you're transporting it. In terms of setting up a system, once you've made contact with people, you could definitely tell them to bring their money/goods to a central point on a given date, and then you'd only have to go and chase up any defaulters (if you thought they were worth the chasing). I should add also that Abdul has specified the amount he expects you to collect per month, but can probably be flexible about how often you deliver it, as long as you keep it stored securely until delivery day.

----------


## RossN

> *@ RossN:* Why change your mind? I think herald is a good choice.


It is and in a lot of ways it is the better job. Had it just been offered without Irene's input Jarla would have jumped at the chance. But Jarla has very complicated, conflicting feelings about Irene and... well... she felt bad about abandoning her.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Also getting a key to the castle is like, perfect for assassinations.

----------


## LCP

The promised OOC summary of Jarla's duties:

Jarla's main job, apart from continuing to be a companion for Irene, is taking over management of the castles day-to-day finances from Abdul and Mouna. Abduls part is the top-level management of the budget, keeping an eye on the expenditures. Hell be very glad to hand that over to someone else, as hes got enough on his plate already - although hell still be a good source for friendly advice. Mouna is still employed as steward of the keep, and if Jarla doesnt interfere, shell carry on doing what she was doing pretty much exactly as she was before - purchasing food and drink, organising meals and events, hiring and firing servants. How much you want to interfere comes down to:

How much time you want to actually spend working, and how much you want to spend keeping up with Irene. She'll probably still expect you to spend plenty of time with her, discussing affairs of court or racing lobsters and then eating them - like the wiki page said, the origin of this kind of post was people who literally helped the monarch get dressed.How much you want to make an impression with your running of the household - as a commoner Mounas judgement is less subject to criticism than yours.How much you want to flex your newfound powers of patronage. The orders put in by the Sforzas represent a lot of money to a lot of people in the city - now that youre the one deciding e.g. which wine merchants you stock the cellar from, a lot of people would be very keen for you to make decisions in their favour.

----------


## RossN

> The promised OOC summary of Jarla's duties:
> 
> Jarla's main job, apart from continuing to be a companion for Irene, is taking over management of the castles day-to-day finances from Abdul and Mouna. Abduls part is the top-level management of the budget, keeping an eye on the expenditures. Hell be very glad to hand that over to someone else, as hes got enough on his plate already - although hell still be a good source for friendly advice. Mouna is still employed as steward of the keep, and if Jarla doesnt interfere, shell carry on doing what she was doing pretty much exactly as she was before - purchasing food and drink, organising meals and events, hiring and firing servants. How much you want to interfere comes down to:
> 
> How much time you want to actually spend working, and how much you want to spend keeping up with Irene. She'll probably still expect you to spend plenty of time with her, discussing affairs of court or racing lobsters and then eating them - like the wiki page said, the origin of this kind of post was people who literally helped the monarch get dressed.How much you want to make an impression with your running of the household - as a commoner Mounas judgement is less subject to criticism than yours.How much you want to flex your newfound powers of patronage. The orders put in by the Sforzas represent a lot of money to a lot of people in the city - now that youre the one deciding e.g. which wine merchants you stock the cellar from, a lot of people would be very keen for you to make decisions in their favour.


Hmm, well certainly Jarla (or 'Lady Schreiber' presumably - she'll definitely need her personal maid now!) will have to speak personally to Abdul and Mouna. Jarla likes Abdul so that shouldn't be much of a problem and though she doesn't know Mouana at all she was impressed by the ball, so she probably isn't going to interfere there for the moment.

Jarla will at least want to put in some work on managing the budget, even if she's still very much at Irene's beck and call. Basically she'll try and do her new job but she knows that her old job still takes primacy. Regarding the budget specifically she'll most concerned about food - she's not a farmer or a chef but she has ridden through the Reaches and seen how lean things are she'll want to see if there are any options there. 

As for impressions, well as I've said Jarla will be relying mostly on Mouna here but she'll 'interview' the current staff both to get a proper impression of them and to make it clear that she is their bosses boss.

The patronage opportunities definitely sounds the most fun and will definitely have to played IC.

----------


## LCP

> (or 'Lady Schreiber' presumably - she'll definitely need her personal maid now!)


'Lady Schreiber' would be perfectly appropriate - really Sforza is inventing a peerage out of whole cloth, so modes of address are a bit fast and loose.

Mouna would probably be the best person in Savonne to go to for finding a maid, and she works for Jarla now. Does Jarla have any particular requirements about who she wants to hire?




> Regarding the budget specifically she'll most concerned about food - she's not a farmer or a chef but she has ridden through the Reaches and seen how lean things are she'll want to see if there are any options there.


Not sure I fully understand - options to do what? Save money?




> The patronage opportunities definitely sounds the most fun and will definitely have to played IC.


I'm going to leave that to you to see what schemes you come up with.

----------


## RossN

> 'Lady Schreiber' would be perfectly appropriate - really Sforza is inventing a peerage out of whole cloth, so modes of address are a bit fast and loose.
> 
> Mouna would probably be the best person in Savonne to go to for finding a maid, and she works for Jarla now. Does Jarla have any particular requirements about who she wants to hire?


A young woman, at least moderately attractive (Lady Schreiber is trying to push her own glamorous image here, she can't afford an ugly or even just plain maid) and intelligent. Basic honesty and competence is required, though if anything Jarla would prefer someone with a bit of personality rather than shy introvert. 




> Not sure I fully understand - options to do what? Save money?


Find food! Jarla might not be fully aware of the details of the oncoming famine but she knows there will be difficult times ahead and if she has to encourage Bretonnian cuisine (snails are free right?) and the cultivation of mushrooms in the keeps dungeons she's going to look for ways to get food that don't push prices even hire - as a noble lady herself now she has a vested interest in staving off revolution.





> I'm going to leave that to you to see what schemes you come up with.


Cool, I'll put some thought into it.

----------


## LCP

> A young woman, at least moderately attractive (Lady Schreiber is trying to push her own glamorous image here, she can't afford an ugly or even just plain maid) and intelligent. Basic honesty and competence is required, though if anything Jarla would prefer someone with a bit of personality rather than shy introvert.


That seems like it should be a simple enough brief for Mouna to meet. I'll put a quick description of her candidate in the IC when I do the next update.




> Find food! Jarla might not be fully aware of the details of the oncoming famine but she knows there will be difficult times ahead and if she has to encourage Bretonnian cuisine (snails are free right?) and the cultivation of mushrooms in the keeps dungeons she's going to look for ways to get food that don't push prices even hire - as a noble lady herself now she has a vested interest in staving off revolution.


I'm still not entirely following (at least not enough to work out what kind of tests would be appropriate to describe these efforts). Jarla's looking to find sources of food for the castle that the common people aren't eating/competing for? That'll be tricky, the Sforzas are a lot pickier about what they eat than the hungry man on the street.

(hey what's this flyer that came under the door? 'mala's alternative meats')

----------


## RossN

> That seems like it should be a simple enough brief for Mouna to meet. I'll put a quick description of her candidate in the IC when I do the next update.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm still not entirely following (at least not enough to work out what kind of tests would be appropriate to describe these efforts). Jarla's looking to find sources of food for the castle that the common people aren't eating/competing for? That'll be tricky, the Sforzas are a lot pickier about what they eat than the hungry man on the street.
> 
> (hey what's this flyer that came under the door? 'mala's alternative meats')


Heh.  :Small Big Grin: 

Well it's more that she's worried about conspicuous consumption when peasants are going hungry but if there isn't enough food period then she'll just try and push away from the idea of rubbing it in people's faces (and shooting anyone who looks at Countess with a hungry expression.)

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## -Sentinel-

> How much is she asking for?


I was hoping for 30 gc and would have settled for 25. But with four degrees of failure, I assume Sforza shot down her request by pulling the "you burned a whole neighborhood" card. Which... is a fair point.





> People will know whose men are taking their money too.


They'll find it easier to forgive Sieghard for taxing them if he's some remote figure than if he's the guy knocking on their doors with armed men at his back.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo's previous taxing experience was in the farms around the downs, when we were trying to set up supply lines for the siege of Alvarran.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Yeah, I don't want to go into more detail than is necessary on the taxation. The main things I want to pin down are:
> 
> How much time it's taking up from which people.How securely they're doing it.What the burden on the average Thornwooder looks like.Whether the total raised meets Sforza's requirements, and how much Sieghard has left over for his own stuff.
> I think we seem to have answers to most of that.
> 
> Sieghard, Ludo, Ingwald, and 3-ish extra Thorns per group (so a little under half the Thorns' current strength). Split between three groups, going round everywhere in the Thornwood will probably run to about 5-6 days.Armed groups of 3-4.Rudimentary progressive taxation between 7 and 15%, plus tolls (who's manning the tolls? Thorns? How many?)We'll see.
> I guess one outstanding question for point (2) is what form you're collecting the taxes in (from the discussion above I'd guess whatever is easiest for people to pay in) and how you're transporting it. In terms of setting up a system, once you've made contact with people, you could definitely tell them to bring their money/goods to a central point on a given date, and then you'd only have to go and chase up any defaulters (if you thought they were worth the chasing). I should add also that Abdul has specified the amount he expects you to collect per month, but can probably be flexible about how often you deliver it, as long as you keep it stored securely until delivery day.


Sieghard is fine in collecting in whatever form is easiest for those paying. If need be, he can have it sold in Ravenskird to convert it to coin or just have it sent to Savonne as is. Central point (Savonne or Ravenskird, whichever is closest for them) on a specified date is fine once we have everything established. As for actually delivering it, if Abdul is flexible about that, then there's some time to figure it out. If the amount collected is small enough to have his men transport by roads, that's probably the cheapest method, otherwise he may have to set up an arrangement with Burhan or Sandu or someone to send it via the river.

Regarding the tolls, for now it will be Thorns, probably a handful of them on rotation. Later on, we may need to find someone specifically to handle it so they aren't tied up when Sieghard needs them. I also want to specify that the lowest rate of 7% should be fairly rare and pretty much only for when things are particularly lean and that the normal rate I'm envisioning is closer to 10%. 7% only covers what Sforza demands and leaves nothing for other expenses.

----------


## LeSwordfish

It looks like we end up for a week or so of this time with the thorns all divided up and off on jobs, with about half joining the taxing jobs, a third heading south with Hanna, and presumably only a few left as an absolute skeleton garrison of Painford, under Gustaf.

Ludo is happy to join this first round of taxation but would probably make it clear he doesn't want to get stuck with it as a job long-term. If Sieghard wants someone with assorted tax-collecting skills to keep doing it every month, he may have to hire them.

----------


## LCP

> Central point (Savonne or Ravenskird, whichever is closest for them) on a specified date is fine once we have everything established.


I assume you mean Painford not Savonne. Does this mean you'd set up a collection point in both places?

I think we have most of the salient details for the tax hammered out - the only unknown that needs to be known is how often Sieghard's going to collect, and how often he's going to make his deliveries to the treasury. I'm taking it that this first round of activity is going to be taking stock of who lives where and how much tax they should pay, not actually collecting in person - they can bring the amount they've been told they need to pay on the day that Sieghard chooses as Tax Day? If so, when do you want the first one to be?

The only other info I think I need to complete the jump to the 25th is about the house construction.
Heres the map of Painford as it currently looks - where do you want to put Sieghard's Big House? The barrack buildings are basically big wooden sheds, both they and the palisade are reasonably easy to disassemble/move if you want to make that part of the project.The masons will point out that if you wouldn't miss it, disassembling Fassbender's tower for building materials would allow them to save a lot on transporting and dressing stone - maybe in the region of 200-300 gc.On covering the unskilled labour, it sounds like for the short term (~2 weeks) after you get back the large majority of the Thorns are going to be pretty busy, between tax collecting and hunting for Mala (and presumably also stuff like regular training), but I think for the kind of building we're talking about the construction time is going to be 3-4 months.
The masons will need about 15 full-time workers.If you can provide that out of the Thorns then that's a 100% 'saving' (since you're paying them already) - you can knock 316 gc off the price, but over half the Thorns will be tied down to this job full-time.If you want to hire from the refugees that you're bringing with you, they could come very cheap, particularly as you're already housing them. You could knock 158 gc off the price, *or* you could get a double-sized work crew for the current nominal cost and finish the construction at an accelerated rate - maybe shaving a month off the end date.If you want to hire Painford locals then you can get maybe a 60 gc discount off the labour costs from your local authority + connections.
The latter two discounts can be modified to a small degree by Haggle if you want to.

If Ludo still has house-building/house-buying plans I'd be interested to hear about them too (although maybe he's waiting 'til he's finished running around the Thornwood?). I'd also be interested to hear where the Painford PCs will be living until the Big House is completed - the barracks, or somewhere nicer like the hostel?

Speaking of which:




> I was hoping for 30 gc and would have settled for 25. But with four degrees of failure, I assume Sforza shot down her request by pulling the "you burned a whole neighborhood" card. Which... is a fair point.


Elsa's pay was set when she was still doing fairground tricks of setting fire to archery butts, and 5-10 gc extra a month is way beneath Sforza's notice - this is just a routine question you'd put to Abdul. Considering how strong the case for it is I don't see him saying 'no'. He'll bump you up to 26 gc 10 s.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> The masons will point out that if you wouldn't miss it, disassembling Fassbender's tower for building materials would allow them to save a lot on transporting and dressing stone - maybe in the region of 200-300 gc.


But but but... wizard tower...  :Small Frown: 





> Elsa's pay was set when she was still doing fairground tricks of setting fire to archery butts, and 5-10 gc extra a month is way beneath Sforza's notice - this is just a routine question you'd put to Abdul. Considering how strong the case for it is I don't see him saying 'no'. He'll bump you up to 26 gc 10 s.


Oh, cool. Thanks Abdul.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> If Ludo still has house-building/house-buying plans I'd be interested to hear about them too (although maybe he's waiting 'til he's finished running around the Thornwood?). I'd also be interested to hear where the Painford PCs will be living until the Big House is completed - the barracks, or somewhere nicer like the hostel?


Ludo's probably going to stick with renting for a while. He's considerably less wealthy than Sieghard so has no intention of getting a place bought or built - but a nice attic room to himself will probably be a nice change after a few years of sleeping in ditches and tents. I imagine he'll handle it after his jaunts around the thornwood, but that would probably still mean ending up in his new place for the end of the two weeks.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I assume you mean Painford not Savonne. Does this mean you'd set up a collection point in both places?


I did, and yes, though presumably the Ravenskird one wouldn't need to handle the same volume of collection. Everything's probably going to be passing through Ravenskird on the way to Savonne, so it makes no sense for the people there to have to go to Painford.




> I think we have most of the salient details for the tax hammered out - the only unknown that needs to be known is how often Sieghard's going to collect, and how often he's going to make his deliveries to the treasury. I'm taking it that this first round of activity is going to be taking stock of who lives where and how much tax they should pay, not actually collecting in person - they can bring the amount they've been told they need to pay on the day that Sieghard chooses as Tax Day? If so, when do you want the first one to be?


Let's make it easy and just say the 1st of the month and that collection is done monthly. If anyone has a surplus from a good month, they can have the option of pre-paying for the next month and not having to head to Painford quite as often and we'll keep track of it for them... Maybe with some sort of receipt if they're worried about being taken advantage of and want proof for themselves.




> The only other info I think I need to complete the jump to the 25th is about the house construction.
> Heres the map of Painford as it currently looks - where do you want to put Sieghard's Big House? The barrack buildings are basically big wooden sheds, both they and the palisade are reasonably easy to disassemble/move if you want to make that part of the project.


Open to suggestions from the others, but my thoughts are to shift the wall around the north a bit and place it there.




> The masons will point out that if you wouldn't miss it, disassembling Fassbender's tower for building materials would allow them to save a lot on transporting and dressing stone - maybe in the region of 200-300 gc.





> But but but... wizard tower...


Seems a bit disrespectful to Fassbender's memory to tear her tower down. I think she would've been fine with using it to protect the town she watched over, but tearing it apart just so Sieghard can have a nice house crosses a line. He's always felt some debt to her after her help in the Lost Library. I'm fine with leaving it.




> On covering the unskilled labour, it sounds like for the short term (~2 weeks) after you get back the large majority of the Thorns are going to be pretty busy, between tax collecting and hunting for Mala (and presumably also stuff like regular training), but I think for the kind of building we're talking about the construction time is going to be 3-4 months.The masons will need about 15 full-time workers.If you can provide that out of the Thorns then that's a 100% 'saving' (since you're paying them already) - you can knock 316 gc off the price, but over half the Thorns will be tied down to this job full-time.If you want to hire from the refugees that you're bringing with you, they could come very cheap, particularly as you're already housing them. You could knock 158 gc off the price, *or* you could get a double-sized work crew for the current nominal cost and finish the construction at an accelerated rate - maybe shaving a month off the end date.If you want to hire Painford locals then you can get maybe a 60 gc discount off the labour costs from your local authority + connections.
> The latter two discounts can be modified to a small degree by Haggle if you want to.


The idea with the refugees was to put roofs over their heads and let them earn some money until winter is through and they can (hopefully) go back to farming and providing for themselves. Even with a month shaved off, the 2-3 remaining construction time would still take until spring. Provided we can actually house a double sized work crew, we'll go with that.

If haggle is still applicable for the double sized crew (though I'm sure it'll be a much smaller saving), here's a roll for that.
(1d100)[*95*]
Even if it's a really good roll, I want to make it clear that Sieghard won't try to shortchange them or exploit their desperation. The haggling will just represent trying to find what's fair.

"You guys accept big sacks of gold, right?"




> If Ludo still has house-building/house-buying plans I'd be interested to hear about them too (although maybe he's waiting 'til he's finished running around the Thornwood?). I'd also be interested to hear where the Painford PCs will be living until the Big House is completed - the barracks, or somewhere nicer like the hostel?


Sieghard will probably be bouncing back and forth between Painford and Savonne. While in Painford, he'll probably just keep to the barracks until construction is done. In Savonne, I'm sure there's room in the castle and he's also paying Filomena rent as it is.




> Ludo's probably going to stick with renting for a while. He's considerably less wealthy than Sieghard so has no intention of getting a place bought or built - but a nice attic room to himself will probably be a nice change after a few years of sleeping in ditches and tents. I imagine he'll handle it after his jaunts around the thornwood, but that would probably still mean ending up in his new place for the end of the two weeks.


He'd always be welcome to stay in Sieghard's big fancy house when it's done if he wants. Or maybe he just wants space of his own. Either way, offer's open.

----------


## LCP

> Let's make it easy and just say the 1st of the month and that collection is done monthly. If anyone has a surplus from a good month, they can have the option of pre-paying for the next month and not having to head to Painford quite as often and we'll keep track of it for them... Maybe with some sort of receipt if they're worried about being taken advantage of and want proof for themselves.


Yes, you're definitely going to want to keep some kind of ledger.

I don't know what the gap you're picturing between collecting the taxes and delivering them to Savonne will be, but you might want to give some thought to how you'll store them (a lot of Thornwooders will be paying in goods rather than money) and transport them. That's for further down the line though, if the collection is on the 1st.




> Even if it's a really good roll


hee hee hee


Alright, I think that's all the details nailed down (probably too much detail, but I like having a picture of what's physically happening around the PCs as well as just the outcomes). I've had communication from Thragka that he's in the middle of a move and Urgrim probably needs autopiloting 'til the 5th, so unless anyone stops me I'll take us forward to the 25th of Ulriczeit in the next IC post. Once again I'll try to just handle the external stimuli and leave the description of what your characters are doing to you. I'm off to get my covid jab now though so I don't know if I'll finish it this evening.

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## TheSummoner

> Yes, you're definitely going to want to keep some kind of ledger.
> 
> I don't know what the gap you're picturing between collecting the taxes and delivering them to Savonne will be, but you might want to give some thought to how you'll store them (a lot of Thornwooders will be paying in goods rather than money) and transport them. That's for further down the line though, if the collection is on the 1st.


Are there any existing storehouses in Ravenskird that can be used? If not, we'll have to have something built.




> hee hee hee


You know it happened _because_ I said that.

Alternate thought for Ludo, he could just move into Fassbender's tower if he wants. Might need a bit of cleaning up to make it comfortable again, but it's an option.

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## LCP

> Are there any existing storehouses in Ravenskird that can be used?


Yes, given its use as an end-point for shipping on the Azril, I'd imagine there are.

----------


## RossN

Is Jarla familiar enough with the court to know what Sforza means by the 'inner circle' - I'm assuming that's Muzio and Irene (obviously), Carraciolo, Valdes and Al-Makir?

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## TheSummoner

And Sieghard. And Elsa. And possibly Sussman.

I wasn't really expecting to have brought more people south than can be put to work on construction. Is lumber still needed in Savonne? That's one thing that comes to mind that he could keep them busy with. We could sell some of it and send some north with them when spring comes so they can build new farmhouses. We could also build a storehouse or two in Painford itself. Even if Ravenskird is the eventual destination, we might need to keep some of it in Painford until it can be transported.

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## LCP

I can edit my post to have you turn the extra people away if you want. But yes, there's still a market for timber in Savonne - there's a market for most things in Savonne.

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## TheSummoner

No. It was unexpected, but Sieghard doesn't want to turn them away. He's partly responsible for their situation, the least he can do is try to find work for them.

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## RossN

> And Sieghard. And Elsa. And possibly Sussman.
> 
> I wasn't really expecting to have brought more people south than can be put to work on construction. Is lumber still needed in Savonne? That's one thing that comes to mind that he could keep them busy with. We could sell some of it and send some north with them when spring comes so they can build new farmhouses. We could also build a storehouse or two in Painford itself. Even if Ravenskird is the eventual destination, we might need to keep some of it in Painford until it can be transported.


Sieghard, Elsa and Sussman are high ranking but I definitely interpreted "inner circle" as more of an intimate term than one of purely powerful people.

----------


## LCP

Forgot to reply to this:




> Is Jarla familiar enough with the court to know what Sforza means by the 'inner circle' - I'm assuming that's Muzio and Irene (obviously), Carraciolo, Valdes and Al-Makir?


Essentially his titled lords. Sforza can give Jarla a 'guest list', but something like 7-8 people.

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## RossN

I assume Jarla's Noble Garb is sort of Tudor-era type attire. I'm thinking something like this:

*Spoiler: Clothes!*
Show

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## -Sentinel-

> "Certainly my lord. So, yourself and your lady wife, the lord treasurer, _Signora_ Fassbender"


I'm afraid the latter is not in any state to attend.

----------


## RossN

> I'm afraid the latter is not in any state to attend.


Ah?

Also because I forgot to mention it before, poor Jocasta.  :Small Frown:

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## TheSummoner

> I'm afraid the latter is not in any state to attend.


Also probably not a name Jarla has ever heard.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Also probably not a name Jarla has ever heard.


That, too.

The wolf situation will be a golden opportunity to put Tattie's skills to use.

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## RossN

> Also probably not a name Jarla has ever heard.





> That, too.
> 
> The wolf situation will be a golden opportunity to put Tattie's skills to use.


I could have sworn Elsa told Jarla she went by that name, but I guess I must have mistaken it. I'll edit it now.  :Small Confused:

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I could have sworn Elsa told Jarla she went by that name, but I guess I must have mistaken it. I'll edit it now.


Beatrix Fassbender was the metal wizard (think Michael Fassbender, who plays Magneto). Elsa once went by _Beatrix Hildebrand_, as in _firebrand_.

I once asked LCP for permission to change Elsa's false name from Beatrix to something else (I didn't realize when I chose that name that the setting already had a wizard called Beatrix), but he wouldn't let me.

----------


## RossN

> Beatrix Fassbender was the metal wizard (think Michael Fassbender, who plays Magneto). Elsa once went by _Beatrix Hildebrand_, as in _firebrand_.
> 
> I once asked LCP for permission to change Elsa's false name from Beatrix to something else (I didn't realize when I chose that name that the setting already had a wizard called Beatrix), but he wouldn't let me.



Ah okay.  :Small Smile:

----------


## -Sentinel-

This MTG art reminds me of Samira.

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## -Sentinel-

> "But there's only so much meat you can scare up round here, especially since you've nearly doubled the local population."


What about a Mondstill hunt? With prize money for parties that manage to track down and kill a deer?

I'm glad you remembered Stoutheart.  :Small Tongue:  And _we_ collectively forgot to check on Viggo, his new wife and their kid while we were going through Arrow Heap on our way back north.

----------


## RossN

I know Sieghard spoke to Rhadegund but did anyone talk to Bertelis about the destruction of Caerfort?

----------


## TheSummoner

No. He's much younger than she is and even she took it pretty hard. Might be worth checking with Hieronymus if he's been told, but Sieghard definitely isn't the one for the job.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Bertelis's guardians know, I think they'll have to tell him in their own way and time.

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## -Sentinel-

Speaking of Caerfort, the buildings are still intact, so it could be a good place to relocate some of the homeless.

----------


## LCP

For a community surrounded by woods, a hunt definitely seems like the most obvious way to rustle up a big roast. You've got some people who'd be well suited to it with Urgrim and Gustaf. It might be a multi-day affair though so maybe mutually exclusive with joining the wolf finders (unless you want to make your Mondstill feast wolf meat).

The area Jocasta is talking about is right down south so it might be cutting it fine for Sieghard to come wolf finding and also make it to Savonne. Sorry if I've been a bit slow the last couple of days, work's been very full on.

----------


## LeSwordfish

For the sakes of making the timings line up, we could say we've sent Gustaf, some of the hunters from town (there must be some) and possibly Urgi as Schroedinger's Dawi, but neither Ludo nor Sieghard would have gone, and then we maybe don't need to worry about racing back in time if meat is already being handled.

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## TheSummoner

Organizing a hunt seems like a good idea. Opening it to the Thorns seems like it might be a bit unfair since some will be on duty checking on the wolf situation, but whether we do or don't, I'm thinking anything caught is cooked for the celebrations and offer some sort of prize for the best catch (or maybe top 3). Best can either be judged by Ludo or by the village as a whole with Ludo overseeing. And we can probably do something nice with the pelts as well.




> And _we_ collectively forgot to check on Viggo, his new wife and their kid while we were going through Arrow Heap on our way back north.


Missed this before, but Viggo skipped town (with a little light prodding. "If you don't want to do this, you realize that you have a horse and they're on foot, right?"). I know it's outside the scope of the game, but Sieghard would like to see him again, even if it's just in the epilogue.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Missed this before, but Viggo skipped town (with a little light prodding. "If you don't want to do this, you realize that you have a horse and they're on foot, right?").


Oh, really? I didn't know that. Poor girl, I hope she finds a better man.  :Small Frown: 


*Re: wolves:* We can send NPCs, but I highly doubt they'll get anything done without us. At best they may have gathered some information for us by the time we go deal with the problem. If we could just send people to do our job for us, we wouldn't have a game.

My bet is that we're dealing with a fresh new threat, not anything related to Mala. Unless those are Dire Wolves raised by the staff.


*@ LCP:* I see that the Ravenskird section of the dramatis personae is under _Downlands_, not _Thornwood_. Does that mean it lies outside Sieghard's jurisdiction?

----------


## TheSummoner

> Oh, really? I didn't know that. Poor girl, I hope she finds a better man.


Partially Sieghard's fault. IIRC, Viggo was bummed out about the whole shotgun wedding so Sieghard pointed out he had options and let him make his own choice.




> *Re: wolves:* We can send NPCs, but I highly doubt they'll get anything done without us. At best they may have gathered some information for us by the time we go deal with the problem. If we could just send people to do our job for us, we wouldn't have a game.
> 
> My bet is that we're dealing with a fresh new threat, not anything related to Mala. Unless those are Dire Wolves raised by the staff.


Agreed to the first point. PCs are going, and the farm is close enough for Sieghard to at least speak to the family before having to head north, he'll be going in person. Depending on where that leads, it might have to be Ludo and/or Urgrim after that.

Both are plausible. Mala has never shown herself to be a necromancer, but it's not implausible. For all we know, Nahorek may even have made her into a vampire before his death. Or it could just be the staff giving her abilities she wouldn't have otherwise. Or something entirely different and unrelated.




> *@ LCP:* I see that the Ravenskird section of the dramatis personae is under _Downlands_, not _Thornwood_. Does that mean it lies outside Sieghard's jurisdiction?





> That afternoon, he was summoned to the castle to sign the letters of investiture that the Prince had drawn up for him. The writing looked very ornate and elaborate, but Sieghard couldnt read a word. Abdul read it aloud instead.
> 
> I, Prince Muzio Sforza, First Lord of Savonne and master of the Reaches, hereby name my servant Sieghard Steward of my village of Painford, and Warden of all the forests surrounding. My subjects living in these lands should give their loyalty to him as they would to myself, and take his word as my own on all matters, including the collection of taxes, the raising of men under arms, and judgements of law. Should he prove false in these duties, may the gods strike him dead. Turning the letter round for Sieghard to sign, Abdul pointed to a blank space at the bottom. You can just make an X there.


From the map, looks like it's in the forest to me.

----------


## LCP

To be more specific about positions, Jocasta would put the family with the wolf problems at hex (14, 4). How large a group are we talking about to go check it out?

----------


## TheSummoner

Tentative answer, Sieghard, Ludo, Urgrim, 5 Thorns. I'd welcome LeSwordfish's input since if this isn't resolved quickly, Sieghard will have to leave and he'll be in charge.

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## RossN

Jarla will buy a Best quality attire for Ida.

She also needs (6d10)[*29*] GC worth of jewellery, a foil and a main gauche to move into Noble - as someone who actually does know fencing I'm assuming she can track those down if they are available in Savonne!

----------


## LCP

They're definitely available, if she has the cash.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I've been pretty under the weather today so no IC post, but I agree with both the "hunt some good meat" and "go find the wolf lady" plans on the OOC.

----------


## TheSummoner

Re: Hunt. Sieghard will put up a prize of 10 crowns for whoever gets the best animal in the hunt and 5 crowns each for second and third place. Not a huge prize, but his money is pretty tied up and it's still a nice bit of money by the standards of a rural villager.

----------


## LCP

Yeah I think by the standards of the Painforders that's a very generous prize.

IC post is up. N.B. if Jarla's hankering for finery, saving her pennies isn't the only way to get it. With her current position she could easily get a loan. She could also solicit gifts, either from admirers or from people angling for a contract with the castle stores.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Yeah I think by the standards of the Painforders that's a very generous prize.


Indeed. 5 gc (let alone 10) is more than most people make in a month.

If you set the prize too high, it stops incentivizing good work and it starts incentivizing cheating, theft and sabotage.

----------


## LCP

> The following few days Jarla kept herself busy, exploring the town with Jarla in tow and meeting with wine and ale merchants among. The conversations were frequently very boring and reminded her of Heinrich but it was worth it to charm the guilders and see if anyone would make and offer her certain... incentives to pick them to fill out the castle stores. Lady Schreiber was a somebody now and Jarla had begun to realise that to many in Savonne she would be the only noble of the court they might actually meet. Time to dazzle a little.


Can you give me a Charm roll to see how well Jarla executes this? Also bear in mind that there will be people with established relationships with Mouna for supplying the castle, so making changes in exchange for favours may ruffle some feathers.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I want to make a Charm test to reassure the swineherd and his kid: (1d100)[*21*]

----------


## RossN

> Can you give me a Charm roll to see how well Jarla executes this? Also bear in mind that there will be people with established relationships with Mouna for supplying the castle, so making changes in exchange for favours may ruffle some feathers.


Charm: (1d100)[*73*] vs 64
FP re-roll: (1d100)[*66*] vs 64

I assume Jarla already knows which people are working with Mouna and with what, from checking the books?

*Edit:* Oof. Well I guess it doesn't matter then.

*Edit additional:* Actually Jarla does have both Etiquette and Streetwise. Either of those enough to turn the re-roll positive? Probably not, but worth a shot.

----------


## TheSummoner

You could use the FP on the first roll to boost it to a narrow pass.

Sieghard wouldn't be able to follow it, but if perception or search are applicable for just finding a wolf's pawprint or something, here's a roll for that.
(1d100)[*98*] vs 51 either way
(1d100)[*89*] reroll

Not with those rolls it isn't.

----------


## LCP

> I assume Jarla already knows which people are working with Mouna and with what, from checking the books?


Yes, she has full access to that information.

I don't think Etiquette or Streetwise apply here - these are neither nobles nor criminals.

----------


## LCP

> Sieghard is going to let Urgrim and the crossbowmen take the lead from here.


Can you elaborate a bit on that - what do you want them to do beyond what they've already done?

----------


## TheSummoner

There was nothing around the pig pen that wasn't already thoroughly trampled, but Alin showed us the general direction he's seen the wolves. We head that way and see if anyone whose actually a tracker could find any sort of trail. Failing that, if there are any other homes we come across, we can ask the people there if they've had similar problems and can tell us anything new.

----------


## LCP

What does Sieghard want his group to do the following day? Timeline's getting a bit tight for him to get back.

----------


## TheSummoner

If he has to split off to make it to Savonne in time, then he'll leave it in Ludo's hands. His instructions are to be careful, find out where she is and what she's up to, and don't feel obligated to engage if he doesn't think it can be done safely. Even just finding out where she is and keeping an eye on her is progress. If Ludo does decide to engage, he wants Mala taken alive if possible and he wants her head if not.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> If Ludo does decide to engage, he wants Mala taken alive if possible and he wants her head if not.


We still don't know we're dealing with Mala. And if we are, I'm not sure what's the point of taking her alive. She's the last survivor of her faction, so it's not as if she has useful information.

*@ LCP:* If Ludo is going to stay behind to take care of this, can we do a timesplit for Sforza's gathering, or at least make _something_ happen in Savonne? I have nothing to do these days, unless I make a quick dash to Putbad or Castel d'Irena in search of a bodyguard.

----------


## TheSummoner

> We still don't know we're dealing with Mala. And if we are, I'm not sure what's the point of taking her alive. She's the last survivor of her faction, so it's not as if she has useful information.
> 
> *@ LCP:* If Ludo is going to stay behind to take care of this, can we do a timesplit for Sforza's gathering, or at least make _something_ happen in Savonne? I have nothing to do these days, unless I make a quick dash to Putbad or Castel d'Irena in search of a bodyguard.


We found Ehrl's horse. We know it's Mala. Wanting her taken alive is more of a personal thing than a pragmatic one. She's a murderous cannibal and Sieghard has a vendetta. He doesn't want her to die a quick death, he wants to make an example out of her and have her waste away slowly.

Re: Something to do in Savonne. When he arrives, I was planning on having Sieghard see if that theater company is in town. I think it's something Tatiana would enjoy as well.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Wanting her taken alive is more of a personal thing than a pragmatic one. She's a murderous cannibal and Sieghard has a vendetta. He doesn't want her to die a quick death, he wants to make an example out of her and have her waste away slowly.


There are very few things you can do to someone who's already lost her people _and_ her god that would have much of an effect on her. I know it's up to you since Elsa isn't around, but I think Mala has slipped out of our grasp too many times already and it's unwise to take any more chances.

Also, be careful how Sieghard's actions reflect on him as lord of the Thornwood. He should be "the guy who gets the job done" and leave petty cruelty to Sforza.





> Re: Something to do in Savonne. When he arrives, I was planning on having Sieghard see if that theater company is in town. I think it's something Tatiana would enjoy as well.


Oh yeah, not a bad idea. Chances are they have a show planned on Mondstill. (Though not necessarily in Savonne.)

----------


## LCP

> *@ LCP:* If Ludo is going to stay behind to take care of this, can we do a timesplit for Sforza's gathering, or at least make _something_ happen in Savonne?


As I said before, you're free to have your characters go out and do stuff without asking my permission. If you're asking me to come up with something to entertain you, though, this is not a polite way to ask.

I assume with no horses to borrow from Abdul this time, Sieghard's heading to Savonne on foot? And with him on the way to Savonne and Ludo out Mala-tracking, who's in charge of tax collection in Painford + Ravenskird on the 1st?

----------


## TheSummoner

The Thorns have a pair of riding horses. He'll take one of those. As for tax day, if Ludo hasn't returned by then, Ingawld and Hanna are both availible.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Whoops, wrong thread. Here's that failed Perception vs 68: (1d100)[*81*].

----------


## RossN

> Re: Something to do in Savonne. When he arrives, I was planning on having Sieghard see if that theater company is in town. I think it's something Tatiana would enjoy as well.


Jarla would love to see the theatre and she'd enjoy seeing Tatiana again!  :Small Smile:  It might have to be after Mondstill though - realistically I imagine Jarla would be running a tight schedule right up until the dinner.

----------


## TheSummoner

I'd be a little concerned about slipping away from Irene and being seen as too friendly towards Elsa, but only a little... I don't think Irene pays all that much attention. When it comes up IC, feel free to have Jarla overhear. She'd certainly be welcome.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "The girl," said Sforza, "your apprentice. How successful would you say you've been in training her?"


How successful _has_ Elsa been? I remember Tatiana struggling with the _lingua praestantia_, but that was maybe 3 in-story months ago. And I don't remember any recent IC description of how Tatiana's control of the Amber Wind is coming along.


*Edit:* Off to get vaxxed. See you later.

----------


## LCP

I think you stated recently that Elsa was thinking about teaching her to read (so I assume the Language(Magick) lessons previously were purely spoken word). IIRC you've also stated that Elsa was taking things very slow and not letting her get ahead of herself in terms of casting spells - so you tell me, what does Elsa trust Tattie to try to do?

----------


## LCP

RossN & TheSummoner, do you have anything more for Sforza's Mondstill dinner? Also Thragka, should I still be autopiloting Urgrim or are you ready to resume?

----------


## RossN

I think Jarla's pretty much done. There isn't really much she can add since she's not a commander or a particular specialist like Elsa.

----------


## TheSummoner

Likewise for Sieghard.

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## -Sentinel-

Valdes, who came here all the way from Last Water: "This meeting could have been an email."  :Small Sigh: 


Speaking of which. Has Sieghard pitched his messenger service to Sforza?

----------


## TheSummoner

I don't think it's the sort of thing that really needs to be run by Sforza. I imagine as long as the taxes get collected and it doesn't lead to trouble for him in Savonne, Sieghard can busy himself however he wants to. (Also, that was Thragka's idea, not mine, so I wasn't even sure what you were referring to at first. I'm open to it if course, but the Thorns are a bit too tied up with other work at the moment)

----------


## -Sentinel-

> If shes willing? Irene picked up. Im confused, Holt. Shes your apprentice, isnt she? I thought since the _incident_ you had her on a short leash.
> 
> Agreed, said the Prince. Its time she was put to the test, Holt. Dont let her shrink from it.


Was it ever made clear (or at least implied) that "keeping Tatiana on a short leash" involved giving her unpaid duties? I'm trying to figure out whether Elsa would be surprised to hear that Tattie is now considered an indentured servant of the crown.

----------


## LCP

I don't want to get too into the weeds on exactly what the 'right' answer is - Sforza hasn't really got a written body of law to lay down the rules. I also don't remember exactly the words that were used at the end of the trial re: Tatiana (and it'd be perfectly in-character for Sforza to expect more than he spelled out) - if you want to look that up for yourself please do.

In general, though, I think you seem to be treating a monarch as if he's a CEO. "I don't have to do what the crown says unless I signed a contract promising to" is pretty much the same argument those Sovereign Citizen guys try to use, and even nowadays it doesn't hold much water. You do what the crown says because you are a subject, not an employee. You can't opt out of the crown's authority any more than you can say to a judge "I didn't agree to be sentenced by you".

There's also another line to Elsa's objection which comes across as a bit confusing to me: Tatiana is Elsa's apprentice, presumably receiving food and shelter and whatever remuneration Elsa is giving her as part of the bargain. As master to apprentice, it'd be perfectly ordinary for Elsa to give Tattie orders - if you want to keep getting housed and fed, do X. And as court wizard Sforza has a long-established expectation of being able to give _Elsa_ orders - so why would he hesitate in thinking he can order her to give Tattie an order?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Fine. But Elsa will still insist that, if Tattie is expected to go above and beyond the social contract for Sforza ("don't break the law" and so on) and effectively become an agent of the state, an _actual_ contract be drawn up. Even conscripts are not expected to work for free.

As I see it, Sforza's status as ruler and his status as employer are _not_ one and the same. Elsa is subject to both, but Tattie only to the former, unless Sforza hires her too.

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## LCP

As Sforza and most people would see it, the latter is insignificant next to the former. You've helped make him an absolute monarch, so the power he claims as a ruler is... absolute. No contract can grant him rights beyond what what he already has, because what he already has is all of them.

As long as Tatiana is Elsa's apprentice, and as long as Elsa is in Sforza's service, you're going to have a hard time convincing him that he can't tell Elsa what to do with her. He has no reason to think he's asking Tattie to work for free: Elsa's responsible for paying her what she thinks she's due, and he pays Elsa. Elsa's expedition to find Tatiana was on Sforza's time and used Sforza's soldiers, and unless you've been deducting Tattie-related expenses from your char sheet (?) she's been living rent-free in Sforza's castle and eating Sforza's food.

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## -Sentinel-

Perhaps I _should_ make alternate living arrangements for Tatiana, if only to get her away from Irene. In the meantime, this changes nothing to my IC post, as Elsa's comment was rather mild compared to her thoughts. Whatever fancy title Sforza gives himself, Elsa still considers herself a mercenary under contract with him rather than an oath-bound vassal, and she believes this sort of relationship should extend to Tattie as well if Tattie is expected to put her magical ability to the Prince's service.

I'm sure Sforza has no shortage of neighbors who would gladly hire even an apprentice wizard, if one presented herself. That should give him food for thought before he starts assuming any wizard who happens to live on his land owes him their lifelong servitude.

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## TheSummoner

You're probably giving him too much credit. Use the state of the Reaches at the beginning of the game as a baseline and he's likely one of the most powerful men in the entire Border Princes and almost certainly the most powerful in the immediate area. If the off-screeen powers allied against him, they may be able to unseat him, but I doubt he sees a single rival (even one with a wizard serving him) as a threat to be taken seriously. That sort of overconfidence will probably be what kills him, but he's not going to even consider it until its too late.

----------


## LCP

> Whatever fancy title Karl Franz gives himself, Elsa still considers herself first and foremost a mercenary in his employ rather than an oath-bound vassal, and she believes this sort of relationship should extend to Tattie as well if Tattie is expected to put her magical ability to the Colleges' service. I'm sure the Empire has no shortage of neighbors who would gladly hire even an apprentice wizard, if one presented herself.


How would you see that playing out?

I've got to say, maybe I'm just tired today but I'm finding it difficult to clearly grasp Elsa's problem, and I'm wondering if we're talking past each other. If Elsa is upset at the idea that Tattie isn't being properly compensated, that's entirely under Elsa's control. If she's upset at the idea that Tattie isn't getting to choose whether to work for Sforza... she chose to work for Elsa, and Elsa works for Sforza. If she's upset that Sforza doesn't think Tattie is entitled to refuse his orders... if Sforza's authority doesn't apply to a local peasant girl then who does it apply to? Is Elsa looking for like... special privileges for wizards? I'm genuinely confused.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Re: Empire: Yes, the choice for wizards in the Empire is essentially "lifetime conscription or the pyre". You are correct in that regard.





> If she's upset that Sforza doesn't think Tattie is entitled to refuse his orders... if Sforza's authority doesn't apply to a local peasant girl then who does it apply to?


Peasants are expected to pay taxes. For most of them, that is the beginning and the end of their relationship with their ruler.

Now... I've no objection to Tatiana paying taxes. None whatsoever.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Peasants are expected to pay taxes. For most of them, that is the beginning and the end of their relationship with their ruler.


Sforza rides into painford, points at a random guy, and says "you! stable my horse for me". If that guy refuses, what happens to him?

The ruler is distant, but when he _does_ exert his authority, it's limitless.

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## LCP

> Peasants are expected to pay taxes. For most of them, that is the beginning and the end of their relationship with their ruler.


That's more like a modern-day person's relationship with the government. But I don't really want to go off down side alleys - I still don't understand, what's the core thing Elsa's objecting to here?

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## -Sentinel-

Theoretically, would it be possible for Elsa to end her contract with Sforza?

----------


## LCP

Sure. Sforza hasn't put out any kind of edict pressing wizards into service, and like you said, Elsa hasn't sworn any kind of oath. If Elsa wanted to resign her post and move on, Sforza wouldn't have any formal reason to object.

That's 'theoretically', of course. Practically, he might take an interest in where this very powerful individual might be going or what she might be doing next, and if he decided he didn't like the possibilities, you don't need me to explain that he'd have the power to stop her. But whether he'd actually do that would obviously depend on the circumstances.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Right. Like *LeSwordfish* said, if Sforza asks a citizen to stable his horse, the citizen will pretty much have to do it. But if Sforza decides that a particular citizen obeyed him admirably and should stick around and continue taking orders from him ("Hey, you did a good job, so you are henceforth responsible for my horse"), the citizen will certainly expect to be treated as an employee: be paid, be allowed to resign, etc. Sforza has not stopped paying Mouna's wage just because he has the power to have her hanged.

I'm at work right now. Maybe I'll change my IC post when I get back home, because it's clear this discussion is going nowhere. I guess the point of contention isn't so much the issue of payment, as Sforza's assumption that Tatiana is now at his beck and call simply because she is apprenticed to his court wizard. Merely having a contract in place would go a long way towards alleviating Elsa's concerns that Sforza is trying to institute wizard serfdom.

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## LCP

> Right. Like *LeSwordfish* said, if Sforza asks a citizen to stable his horse, the citizen will pretty much have to do it. But if Sforza decides that a particular citizen obeyed him admirably and should stick around and continue taking orders from him ("Hey, you did a good job, so you are henceforth responsible for my horse"), the citizen will certainly expect to be treated as an employee: be paid, be allowed to resign, etc. Sforza has not stopped paying Mouna's wage just because he has the power to have her hanged.


Yeah, I think that's kind of where the conversation is going off at a bit of a tangent.

Sforza has the power to boss people around without paying them. It wouldn't be very wise or practical for him to do so on a permanent basis - basically making people into slaves or serfs by royal decree. _That's not at all what he's doing here._ Tattie is the apprentice to his court wizard. She's being compensated for her time. The funds for her food and accommodation are pretty much coming directly out of Sforza's treasury, and if Elsa wanted to give her a wage or an allowance and claim that as an expense that'd probably be a pretty uncontroversial request. If you take Sforza out of the equation, you've just got a master and an apprentice - and if a master wants their apprentice to do a job, the apprentice doesn't really get to say "nah I'm good" if they want to keep the apprenticeship.

So the only question here is: can Sforza tell _Elsa_ to make her apprentice do something? And the answer to that from Sforza's perspective would be an incredibly clear-cut 'yes' - he's both the Prince of the Reaches and also the man who pays Elsa's wage. He can tell Elsa to do pretty much anything he wants. Of course if he asks her to do objectionable things she might quit - but there's no reason he would look at this request in that context, when it's something Elsa herself suggested. So as far as he can see it, Elsa and he are already on the same page that Tattie should do this, and with that being the case, he doesn't see why it should be offered to Tattie as a choice - _if she wants to continue receiving the compensation and support that she's currently receiving._ He's not saying she can't walk out. He hasn't even given that thought the time of day.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I think I got ahead of myself and immediately started assuming this was the first step on a slippery slope towards Sforza only "allowing" Tattie to live so long as she agreed to be a weapon in his arsenal. It's been a concern of mine (and Elsa's) for some time. But if it's not what's happening, then there is no problem, at least for now.


Note that the singular of _condottieri_ is _condottiere_, according to the Wiktionary.

----------


## LCP

Seems like a reasonable IC concern for Elsa to have given her past - but yeah, not something that the Sforzas meant, or that anyone else present would reasonably have thought they meant, I think.

RossN, you didn't give me a particular purpose for your previous Charm roll, so I assumed it was for getting Carraciolo to speak openly about Irene. If she's now trying to seduce him or suchlike, please, *tell me the outcome you're looking for* so I can evaluate whether it's successful - otherwise we've just got an open-ended conversation that could spin on for ages.

----------


## RossN

> Seems like a reasonable IC concern for Elsa to have given her past - but yeah, not something that the Sforzas meant, or that anyone else present would reasonably have thought they meant, I think.
> 
> RossN, you didn't give me a particular purpose for your previous Charm roll, so I assumed it was for getting Carraciolo to speak openly about Irene. If she's now trying to seduce him or suchlike, please, *tell me the outcome you're looking for* so I can evaluate whether it's successful - otherwise we've just got an open-ended conversation that could spin on for ages.


Sorry LCP, it was indeed to just get him to open up about Irene. Jarla doesn't really anything further planned (she does find Carraciolo attractive but she's not going to seduce him now - on top of everything else she doesn't want to risk getting pregnant.) Happy to move on.

----------


## Thragka

Hey folks! I have
moved!got internet at the new place!had my first dose of the COVID vaccine! (not strictly relevant to my ability to post, but good things come in threes)

I'll pick Urgrim back up now.

----------


## TheSummoner

Glad to hear you're settled in and up and running again.

----------


## LCP

Welcome back Thragka!

@RossN - I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to chivvy you along - more just trying to get a handle on how to play the scene. There are some NPCs who are well-defined enough that I can slip into their shoes pretty easily to respond to any prompt, but for most of them it really helps me if I can have an idea what the player is looking for out of the interaction and whether a skill roll says they should get it!

@Sentinel, we should pin down exactly what Elsa's been teaching Tatiana before she's called upon to use it. You say she'd have had her casting spells - are we talking like the Petty Magic spells Elsa knows herself?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> @Sentinel, we should pin down exactly what Elsa's been teaching Tatiana before she's called upon to use it. You say she'd have had her casting spells - are we talking like the Petty Magic spells Elsa knows herself?


I guess so, yes. Elsa can't teach Tatiana any Amber spells herself, so if Tattie does learn some, it'll have to be via experimentation or in spur-of-the moment situations. Elsa would, however, have had Tatiana practice at shaping _Ghur_ without casting (in essence, Channelling), just to make sure she can wield it without accidentally "scooping up" the other Winds.

Not sure what is Tattie's career progression. If I had to actually play her (I've given it some thought while Elsa was at 0 FP), I would go Carcassonne Shepherd > Hedge Wizard > Apprentice Wizard, though such a progression suggests a hefty amount of XP for a teenager.


Is any business taking place on Mondstill? Elsa will want to know how her 150 gc investment (last collected on 1st Ulriczeit) is coming along. If not, she'll visit Suzana first thing in the morning tomorrow. I don't think this needs to be roleplayed at this point, unless something happened.

----------


## LCP

I don't feel Tattie needs putting through the career system atm, unless you think that would be helpful to you.

Elsa's cut for Ulriczeit is 47gc 16s 10p.

What route are you guys looking at taking back to Painford (I assume Painford is where you're looking to start your wolf hunt from for the Savonne crew?) - downriver via Ravenskird or cross-country via Arrow Heap?

----------


## Thragka

Thanks folks. Since I often forget to add OOC commentary to my IC posts  if it's down to Urgrim, he and Ludo will camp rather than turning back.

----------


## TheSummoner

via Ravenskird unless Elsa has reason to take the other route.

----------


## LCP

Cool - and are you paying to go the fast way via a boat or going by foot/horse along the river road?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I don't feel Tattie needs putting through the career system atm, unless you think that would be helpful to you.


You're the one playing her, so do whatever works best for you.


I think we should travel by boat (even though Elsa doesn't like being on water). Time may be of the essence.

----------


## TheSummoner

Agreed. Mala is dangerous and the less time she has to do whatever she's doing, the better.

----------


## LCP

Alright - don't remember what I charged you last time, but I think passage by boat will cost you something like 12s per person/15s per horse.

RossN do you have any plans for Jarla to go with them/anywhere else, or is she staying in Savonne?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Alright - don't remember what I charged you last time, but I think passage by boat will cost you something like 12s per person/15s per horse.


Alright, so 2gc and 14s for Elsa and Tatiana.

Are we getting our monthly 100xp even though this month was fairly uneventful?

----------


## Thragka

I've just thought, Urgrim might remember visiting some such homesteads on the border of the Mere, when he was with Adelbert and Jocasta pushing back the Blight. He'd suggest himself and Ludo visiting a few of them over the coming days, to ask if any residents do know of safe trails through the Mere.

----------


## RossN

> RossN do you have any plans for Jarla to go with them/anywhere else, or is she staying in Savonne?


Sorry, I've been a bit preoccupied last couple of days, catching up now. Assuming Jarla can get time off from her job in Savonne she'll accompany the others - she is worried about Mala.

----------


## LCP

> Are we getting our monthly 100xp even though this month was fairly uneventful?


I'll do XP once I can Ulriczeit finished for the whole group.




> Assuming Jarla can get time off from her job in Savonne she'll accompany the others - she is worried about Mala.


Jarla's kind of her own boss, there's no-one logging her hours. She can probably trust Mouna to keep the day-to-day stuff running smoothly, and the higher-level budget stuff she's inherited from Abdul can probably cope with a short absence. Her physical absence from Savonne may be noted though.

----------


## Thragka

> It sounds like what you guys have planned from here is more of a wide-ranging search than following tracks/clues - if that sounds right to you, could you give a me a few days' worth of your movements + rolls so I can catch you up to the 1st of Vorhexen?


This sounds pretty accurate to me. We're a day and a half out from Painford, which leaves around four days after getting back there. Sounds like the first next step is to check out the Manse; I'll give you a general Perception roll for nosing around there, as well as a Follow Trail roll in the unlikely event that we do find some evidence of recent occupation.

*Perception 74* - (1d100)[*85*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*65*]
*Follow Trail 54* - (1d100)[*93*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*97*]

In the remaining ~3 days I think it's gonna be a smaller group (possibly even just Urgrim and Ludo) revisiting homesteads they recall to the northern end of the Mere's border. I suppose we could also ask around Painford! I'd like Ludo to be the one making social rolls to ask about hidden trails across the mere. If we get a decent-sounding lead in the brief window before Vorhexen, Urgrim would be willing to test any routes we're told about, to see whether they're actually real and reliable. Seems like Navigation would be good for that, so I'll throw out a few days' rolls for that as well.

*Navigation 74*: (1d100)[*14*], (1d100)[*38*], (1d100)[*96*]

All of this is of course contingent on LeSwordfish's input and agreement.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm tempted to say that we should skip the broad search and go straight out to the manse, to be honest. Even if there are hidden trails, I don't know if we'll be able to follow Mala along them - even a pack of wolves will be hard to follow after a week in the marsh. To Ravenskird and then a boat to the manse will be perhaps another day or two days from Painford?

Or we could split up - once we're in Painford we could borrow some of the remaining thorns there. One of us checks out the manse, the others go looking for hidden paths.

Or, of course, we do the manse later - if that's where Mala is planning on hiding, we can presumably give her a few extra days. (And might even be able to time it so as to meet the others coming south.)

----------


## Thragka

I'm saying go to the manse first regardless of trying to then hit up local folklore about safe paths through the Mere.

----------


## TheSummoner

The manse isn't exactly easy to access. Mala presumably knows the safe paths through the Mere. Pretty much anyone else would need a boat (and still have to either know the way or be good at navigating to not get stuck)

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I'm saying go to the manse first regardless of trying to then hit up local folklore about safe paths through the Mere.


Ah! Somehow I missed that entirely! Sorry, not at my best at the moment. In which case: yes thats a good plan let's do that.

Here's a Charm test for talking to the various smallfolk about secret paths through the marsh: (1d100)[*45*] vs 92, re-roll (1d100)[*79*]

----------


## LCP

Got an update planned out but it's taking some time to write and this weekend is quite full for me - hope to be able to finish it some time late tomorrow.

----------


## LCP

Think that syncs everyone back up. I'm leaving it as implicit in the IC that Ludo & Urgrim have already been in Ravenskird for a night - if there's anything extra you guys want to timesplit in around the events of the update please feel free.

XP for Ulriczeit - I think we can keep this one fairly simple. 100 XP for the month, 25 bonus XP for Jarla wowing everyone at the ball. We've taken Ulriczeit fairly fast and it hasn't had many shocking twists, so I can't think of much else that wouldn't fit into the kind of day-to-day activities that the baseline 100 is supposed to cover. Let me know if I've forgotten something though.

----------


## Thragka

oh my god I love Silviu, Urgrim's gonna settle down and open a BnB in the marshes with him

----------


## -Sentinel-

Silviu's pretty great, I agree.  :Small Big Grin: 

I'll bank my XP for now. The only mandatory advance remaining in my current career is a choice between Consume Alcohol, which I suppose adds character but is otherwise useless in gameplay terms unless there's a drinking contest, and Performer (Musician), which strikes me as un-Elsa-like. (Not sure why Consume Alcohol and Resist Poison aren't governed by the same system.)

----------


## TheSummoner

> oh my god I love Silviu, Urgrim's gonna settle down and open a BnB in the marshes with him


He catches it and Urgrim cooks it?




> Silviu's pretty great, I agree. 
> 
> I'll bank my XP for now. The only mandatory advance remaining in my current career is a choice between Consume Alcohol, which I suppose adds character but is otherwise useless in gameplay terms unless there's a drinking contest, and Performer (Musician), which strikes me as un-Elsa-like. (Not sure why Consume Alcohol and Resist Poison aren't governed by the same system.)


Eh, both are unlikely to matter much in terms of gameplay effect. Elsa certainly drinks enough to build up a tolerance and while playing an instrument has never come up, I swear I remember Elsa doing a bit of singing in the past and knowing how to play an instrument could easily be handwaved as something she picked up as part of her upbringing that really never mattered enough to mention.

----------


## Thragka

> He catches it and Urgrim cooks it?


Hah!  :Small Big Grin: 

I mentioned one of Urgrim's off-screen activities this month is supposed to have been piggybacking off Tattie's time at the stables with Jarla to learn some Animal Care. LCP, would now be an appropriate time to purchase that, or is more work required? (I feel like Ride will want significantly further investment before I can buy that one.)

----------


## LCP

Sounds fine to me.

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard still has 200 unused from before. He needs to take Animal Care, Lightning Parry and one more Common Knowledge, so we'll use the banked XP and the 100 from the month for those and make the Common Knowledge skill for Tilea and say he just picked it up through exposure to Sforza's court. After that, he'll have to take one of Specialist Weapon Group (Flail/Parrying) and he _can_ complete Captain, though some of the optional stuff and levels of mastery might be worth sticking around a big longer for.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Hmm, I definitely think Ludo and Urgrim are overthinking it with their impostor theory. Nothing unusual about a young woman bringing men home. I think the one takeaway here is that Rebeka has been missing for an unusually long time.





> "Didn't make preparations for heading into the Teeth, but if we can pick up her trail again, we can get enough of what we'll need in town."


May I suggest having torches this time so that we don't 100% rely on Elsa's magic for light?

----------


## TheSummoner

Nah, we have Tatiana now. She can probably handle a simple spell like Glowing Light.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## LeSwordfish

The "asking permission to come in" thing is setting off my vampiredar, is all. Not that she wouldn't have picked up a gentleman for the night but... then to take him all the way out into the swamp to her mad drunk mother's house?

----------


## TheSummoner

Ah crap, I completely missed that, but it makes far too much sense. Mala is a vampire now was already on the list of possibilities, but I think it just jumped to the top.

----------


## LCP

> "Didn't make preparations for heading into the Teeth, but if we can pick up her trail again, we can get enough of what we'll need in town. How many wolves do you figure she had with her?"


Hold on a minute - Ludo and Urgrim haven't mentioned the Teeth to Sieghard. I'm not trying to make you guys spell out every minutiae of your interactions in direct speech, but at the same time I do think the ones who did the tracking should be allowed to set the agenda here.

Also, just to point out, Sieghard has a lot of responsibilities to leave behind and go chasing Mala out of his jurisdiction. What are you more comfortable delegating, the job of governing, or the job of hunting Mala?

----------


## LeSwordfish

When we were asking about Rebekah, did we get an answer about whether she'd been in town recently, or if she was just around at that moment? When was the last time anyone saw her?

----------


## LCP

No-one in Ravenskird has seen her lately. The last time anyone who knows her by name saw her was when she came to pick up some supplies about 12 days ago.

----------


## LeSwordfish

And - let me know if you need me to actually ask these questions instead of retroactively announcing them - has anyone else gone missing?

----------


## LCP

Not that the people in Ravenskird are aware of - but in terms of the people who live further out in the Mere, they're only seen in town at irregular intervals to begin with.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Hold on a minute - Ludo and Urgrim haven't mentioned the Teeth to Sieghard. I'm not trying to make you guys spell out every minutiae of your interactions in direct speech, but at the same time I do think the ones who did the tracking should be allowed to set the agenda here.


I had assumed it would've been mentioned during Urgrim's "He recounted what they'd learned since visiting the ruins of Rivermouth." part. No reason to think he'd leave out the direction Mala was heading when recounting their tracking her.




> Also, just to point out, Sieghard has a lot of responsibilities to leave behind and go chasing Mala out of his jurisdiction. What are you more comfortable delegating, the job of governing, or the job of hunting Mala?


Tough question.

From an IC perspective, this is a very personal issue for Sieghard. From a strategic one, the possibility that she's been made into a vampire and idea of Sieghard not being there makes me uncomfortable. She's certainly less dangerous than Nahorek, but that's a pretty hard standard for anyone to meet. Still, I can see it causing problems if Sieghard runs off as soon as he's returned and trying to delay things to make sure everything is in order before he does is just going to give Mala more time to get away. I'll think on it.

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## Thragka

I don't think Urgrim would have said something as specific as "I heard the wolves far away, _as far as the Giant's Teeth!_"  he probably would have said something more like "when we actually heard the wolves while we were out in the Mere, they didn't sound like they were anywhere near us." In terms of next moves in the Mala hunt, I/Urgrim do think we should treat the "daughter knocking on the door" as a potential lead.

I've realised, also, that although plenty of folk have been _worried_ by the sounds and sights of these wolves, nobody we've come across has actually said they've had livestock killed by them. If Mala's got a bunch of dire wolves, Urgrim's idea of setting a trap with livestock is not useful.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I've realised, also, that although plenty of folk have been _worried_ by the sounds and sights of these wolves, nobody we've come across has actually said they've had livestock killed by them.


Incorrect.





> Waiting until they had had a chance to get warm inside the hostel, Jocasta related her story in a grave tone. I was called to help a family in the west woods, she said. *They said the wolves were growing bolder - taking their livestock*, then killing the dog they set to guard them.

----------


## Thragka

Ah, okay, good catch  I thought the last time we'd heard of the wolves actually killing livestock was before we'd associated them with Mala.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "Took it at face value that we were knocking Frau Klara up, though."


.........what?  :Small Confused:

----------


## TheSummoner

> I don't think Urgrim would have said something as specific as "I heard the wolves far away, _as far as the Giant's Teeth!_"  he probably would have said something more like "when we actually heard the wolves while we were out in the Mere, they didn't sound like they were anywhere near us.


I'll modify my post to reflect that then. Also sorta helps make the hunt/govern decision - It's harder for Sieghard to justify the time away when he has a less solid idea of where Mala is and how long he'd be away.

How about this. Ludo and Urgrim continue trying to find Mala's trail and Sieghard remains behind to see to the day to day stuff, but also stays ready to set out the moment the two of them have a better idea of where Mala is. We could use Khalida to send a simple signal... Elsa goes with Urgrim and Ludo and Khalida stays with Sieghard and if she coils around Sieghard's arm, then he knows its time to move. We'd need a way to communicate the actual place Sieghard needs to go, but it's a start.

----------


## Thragka

> .........what?


It's a dated expression, but "knock up" also means to wake someone by knocking on their door. (Before reliable alarm clocks were invented, knocker-uppers were people who went round waking people up in the morning so they could get to work on time  you get some interesting results if you do an internet search for this!)

I think Sieghard setting out to join the hunting party when, touch wood, they find Mala's trail is of limited utility  by the time he catches up with the others, it's likely a moot point, as either we've caught her or we've lost her again. I understand that as TheSummoner says it's a matter of personal investment but I'm not sure what Sieghard achieves by turning up days later.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> It's a dated expression, but "knock up" also means to wake someone by knocking on their door.


Aaaah, ok.





> I think Sieghard setting out to join the hunting party when, touch wood, they find Mala's trail is of limited utility  by the time he catches up with the others, it's likely a moot point, as either we've caught her or we've lost her again. I understand that as TheSummoner says it's a matter of personal investment but I'm not sure what Sieghard achieves by turning up days later.


Yeah, I agree. Plus, how would he even find us in the Teeth? It's unfamiliar territory for all of us.

----------


## -Sentinel-

...We seem to have stalled.

So the issue at hand, as I understand it, is that we know Mala and her wolves are in the Giant's Teeth (from hearing a wolf's howl) but we do not have her trail. And we can't just venture into unfamiliar, barren, goblin-infested territory in hopes of stumbling upon her. So what do we do? Stay in Ravenskird and wait for more news of her depredations?

----------


## LeSwordfish

One thing that Ludo would object to a bit but I'm fine with is Ludo staying behind to manage things in Painford. He's essentially Sieghard's second-in-command at this point, and Sieghard's much more suited than him to wolf hunting. If the search party goes along the north of the mere, we might get a better fix on the group's location, either by finding northward tracks, or running into another witness, and that should take less than a day's travel - push ourselves a bit and we could head down to the southernmost point of the teeth and back in a day.

Does the Giants' Teeth have the same scattering of small settlements as the edge of the mere?

----------


## LCP

> Does the Giants' Teeth have the same scattering of small settlements as the edge of the mere?


Yes, although they've been thinned out by Sforza's slash-and-burn strategy during the war. You've seen a few of them around the Battle of the Burning Hill + the search for Tattie




> One thing that Ludo would object to a bit but I'm fine with is Ludo staying behind to manage things in Painford.


The one thing I'll stick my oar in about in this discussion is this - do give proper weight to what you think your character would want to do. Previously you've been in existential struggles where there was a compelling need to all pursue a common goal. Now I think it's legitimate to ask, is the hunt for Mala your character's top priority? The list of NPCs Sieghard and/or Sforza could send instead is long. The magnitude of whatever threat she might pose seems greatly diminished. If you have your own goals then now's as good a time as any to pursue them.

----------


## LeSwordfish

True. Although, even if I'm not certain one way or another, I don't think its entirely unreasonable for Ludo to interpret the "asking for permission" thing as either "she's a vampire" or "nahorek is back" and treat this as DEFCON 1.

----------


## LCP

For sure - I'm not saying 'don't go after her', just encouraging everyone not to feel they have to sacrifice their IC motivations out of habit.

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## TheSummoner

> The one thing I'll stick my oar in about in this discussion is this - do give proper weight to what you think your character would want to do. Previously you've been in existential struggles where there was a compelling need to all pursue a common goal. Now I think it's legitimate to ask, is the hunt for Mala your character's top priority? The list of NPCs Sieghard and/or Sforza could send instead is long. The magnitude of whatever threat she might pose seems greatly diminished. If you have your own goals then now's as good a time as any to pursue them.


For Sieghard, it's about revenge, not the danger she poses. Possible vampirism aside, Mala isn't much of a threat to anything bigger than an isolated homestead. He'd still have occasional nightmares about Rivermouth though, and strangling her would be pretty high on his to-do list as a result.




> One thing that Ludo would object to a bit but I'm fine with is Ludo staying behind to manage things in Painford. He's essentially Sieghard's second-in-command at this point, and Sieghard's much more suited than him to wolf hunting. If the search party goes along the north of the mere, we might get a better fix on the group's location, either by finding northward tracks, or running into another witness, and that should take less than a day's travel - push ourselves a bit and we could head down to the southernmost point of the teeth and back in a day.


Seems a bit unfair to Ludo, don't you think? I imagine it's just as personal for him.

Maybe we're thinking too far ahead. The trail has gone pretty cold since Mala passed through the Mere. We'd need to see if we could pick it up again before doing anything else.

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## LCP

Yeah, it's clear Sieghard's motivation to keep chasing Mala is strong - but considering no-one's really volunteered to continue in the last 2 days, I'm not sure the other PCs are as strongly-motivated. If he wants them to do stuff for him he should ask them to.

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## Thragka

Urgrim's happy to keep up the chase, that's the sort of thing Sieghard employs him for anyway  sorry, I could have made that clear earlier. I agree with TheSummoner that it's possibly a bit premature to think of an expedition into the Teeth  Urgrim just heard a howl "somewhere far away towards the Giant's Teeth" which doesn't give us a lot to go on, and it seems we only missed the pack by possibly 24 hours by the time we were visiting Frau Anca. My preference is to first ask around the swampsteads to see if anyone else had the experience of someone trying to get into their home at odd hours, and try to pick up the trail from there.

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## LCP

At this point I'm just twiddling my thumbs and waiting for a clear expression of who is going to do what.

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## TheSummoner

I gave my idea, but it got shot down as impractical. As things are, I think Sieghard needs to at the very least check in at Painford and deal with anything in need of attention there and issue any orders for while he's gone. Most important thing is probably dealing with the tax situation and seeing what was collected there. It's still morning, so he could probably handle that in two days, three tops. I figure that if he at least gets things in order before setting out, that should keep things under control until the hunt for Mala is done.

While he's doing that, it gives Ludo and Urgrim time to ask around and try to pick up the trail again and make any preparations we need (food, torches, etc).

----------


## LeSwordfish

The benefit of my suggestion is that we can follow any trail we find immediately, at essentially full strength. But ultimately I don't mind too much and we've waited long enough: if you want to give that plan as an order IC Ludo will go along with it.

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## -Sentinel-

Elsa will be with Ludo and Urgrim, wherever they go. I take it the plan is to wait in Ravenskird until we hear more about Mala's movements? I don't think there's much else we can do right now, as we seem to have lost her trail. ("In the Giant's Teeth" is not a trail.)

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## LeSwordfish

> Elsa was not sure what Ludo was getting at.


Mala doesn't escape the minute she gets off the edge of the map, like in a computer game - she has to be going somewhere she thinks she'll survive. There aren't any roads off the south edge of the map because, correct me if I'm wrong, that's a great big desert - if she wants to leave the reaches and find somewhere she can stay alive, she has to go north.




> Elsa will be with Ludo and Urgrim, wherever they go. I take it the plan is to wait in Ravenskird until we hear more about Mala's movements? I don't think there's much else we can do right now, as we seem to have lost her trail. ("In the Giant's Teeth" is not a trail.)


*Ludo's Plan*
Everyone except Ludo goes south-west, down the line between the mere and the giant's teeth, trying to pick up her trail where she left the mere, either by talking to people or finding a physical trail. Once they've found it, they follow it. If they don't find it, they're back in Ravenskird in two days, and we figure out what happens next.

*Sieghard's Plan* (as best I can tell)
Ludo and Urgrim (and Elsa) go south-west down the line between the mere and the giant's teeth, trying to pick up Mala's trail where she left the mere. They also make preparations for a long journey in the teeth. Sieghard goes south to Painford to sort out Tax Things. We all meet back in Ravenskird in three days. If Ludo and Urgrim have found the trail, we go back to it and follow it as a group.

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## -Sentinel-

> Mala doesn't escape the minute she gets off the edge of the map, like in a computer game - she has to be going somewhere she thinks she'll survive. There aren't any roads off the south edge of the map because, correct me if I'm wrong, that's a great big desert - if she wants to leave the reaches and find somewhere she can stay alive, she has to go north.


Indeed. But it's been over a month since we killed Nahorek; more than enough time to leave the Reaches in whatever direction you want, even while staying off the roads. If Mala is still in the Reaches, it's because she has business in the Reaches.

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## TheSummoner

> *Ludo's Plan*
> Everyone except Ludo goes south-west, down the line between the mere and the giant's teeth, trying to pick up her trail where she left the mere, either by talking to people or finding a physical trail. Once they've found it, they follow it. If they don't find it, they're back in Ravenskird in two days, and we figure out what happens next.
> 
> *Sieghard's Plan* (as best I can tell)
> Ludo and Urgrim (and Elsa) go south-west down the line between the mere and the giant's teeth, trying to pick up Mala's trail where she left the mere. They also make preparations for a long journey in the teeth. Sieghard goes south to Painford to sort out Tax Things. We all meet back in Ravenskird in three days. If Ludo and Urgrim have found the trail, we go back to it and follow it as a group.


Sieghard's plan is basically Ludo's, but Sieghard detours to Painford to make sure everything is ok there before setting off after Mala. If Ludo volunteers to stay back, I'm fine with either. I just don't think Sieghard would ask him to since they both have a personal stake in this.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo's already volunteered IC. I think the difference between our plans is basically that in yours, if we find the trail, we need to circle back for Sieghard, which could cost us another day.

----------


## TheSummoner

Ah, I didn't see the IC conversation had continued. Works for me then.

----------


## LCP

Alrighty then - Thragka, can I get a Follow Trail roll from Urgrim? Maybe a Gossip roll from someone in the tracking party too if you want to try to pick up on Mala from word of mouth from the locals - Jarla might be best at that.

*EDIT:* And is Ludo staying in Ravenskird or heading back to Painford?

----------


## Thragka

I've been getting a bunch of 500 errors this morning but hopefully this post will get through.

*Follow Trail 54* - (1d100)[*96*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*50*]

As for why Mala's still in the Reaches  she's presumably lived and ministered here for her whole life; I don't think it's strange that she might not feel either willing or able to abandon her home and her vocation, especially when the forces allied against her are mostly a bunch of foreign fortune-seekers in the service of a settler-colonial warlord.

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## LeSwordfish

Similarly I got a 500 error when trying to choose a town - I'm very happy in Ravenskird, presuming Gustaf and Hanna brought any notes they have with them.

Might as well spend my new XP on Evaluate +10, which makes this roll vs 68: (1d100)[*99*], re-roll (1d100)[*48*]

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## Thragka

A couple of questions about the crofter's hut: is there any sign that it was inhabited by more than one person? And where are the traces of blood on the floor in relation to the overturned chair? Perception, if relevant: *Perception 74* - (1d100)[*22*]

----------


## LCP

No, it looks like he lived alone here - 1 bed etc. The blood is between the fallen chair and the door that leads out to the pen.

----------


## Thragka

Sorry, should have clarified my question  where on the floor is the blood in relation to the direction in which the chair fell over? E.g. does it look like the crofter was attacked from the front and knocked backwards, with the blood corresponding to where his head and/or neck would have been after falling?

----------


## TheSummoner

Is it too late to say Sieghard picked up a few things from Ravenskird before setting off? Specifically, a couple of torches and a set of manacles.

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## LCP

> E.g. does it look like the crofter was attacked from the front and knocked backwards, with the blood corresponding to where his head and/or neck would have been after falling?


It looks like he was attacked while he was either sitting on the chair or standing close to it, and fell near it, in the same direction.




> Is it too late to say Sieghard picked up a few things from Ravenskird before setting off? Specifically, a couple of torches and a set of manacles.


OK - but I don't think you'll find a set of manacles in Ravenskird. You can buy some rope if you want.

----------


## Thragka

Okay, I definitely think we're on Mala's track, and the party should carry on once we're done at the late farmer's hut.

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard has rope, but he came straight from Savonne, so he probably doesnt have it on him. 10 yards and 3 torches, I suppose.

----------


## TheSummoner

If no one else has any input, I'm going to suggest tearing down the sheep pen to build a small pyre for the man, doing a quick check of the hut for anything that might be useful (mainly food stores to bolster our rations), then moving on.

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## Thragka

Yes, sounds good to me.

----------


## LCP

Have edited the last IC post to reflect the above.

----------


## TheSummoner

> What's your provisions situation?


I forgot to buy them... I don't think Sieghard would be stupid enough to run off into the Teeth after Mala without food even if I'm stupid enough to overlook it. Given that, would low be an acceptable answer?

Sieghard would want to press on... I think Mala is up to something and even if we can't kill her, it would be good to know what... but if supplies are becoming an issue, he'd not really have any choice but to turn back.

----------


## LCP

I'm a bit torn - on the one hand I've got no desire to make you guys play out day-to-day bean-counting, or make your characters do dumb stuff because you didn't explicitly say they wouldn't. On the other hand, this is the 2nd time you're dipping back into Schrodinger's supply stop, and it's now *not* a trivial question - your open-ended scouting trip into the marsh has turned into an expedition into the highest hills in the Reaches in Warhammer-December. 

For now - the only indication I can find in the IC for how long you guys were anticipating being out in the wild is Ludo talking about being down to the southernmost point of the Teeth in a day, so yeah, let's say your supplies are running low. You're at the halfway point of them now, and pressing on further would mean making them stretch longer than you intended (or asking to share with Urgrim, who looks to be well-stocked but whose supplies won't go far among 8 other people). For the future though, I want to put a marker down that what is on your character sheet will be what you have. I've never been particularly interested in auditing you guys' sheets, but this is the bare minimum of information you should be tracking. All the PCs are fairly financially stable now, so it should be pretty easy for you guys to just make a regular deduction for your living costs that includes keeping your perishable supplies stocked up.

----------


## Thragka

It's been my habit to restock him habitually up to eight days' provisions when he's in a bigger settlement, but to be honest, I sometimes forget to update Urgrim's provisions after he spends a day or two in the wilderness, and deduct the costs from his wallet via Schrödinger's direct debit when I remember. IC post will follow, but yeah Urgrim won't recommend that they stay out on his limited supplies  neither he nor I were really expecting to have to go so far into the mountains.

----------


## LCP

> I asked before, but never got an answer. From what we've seen following their trail, do we have any way to estimate the number of wolves under Mala's control?


Sorry, I thought this had come up in the IC - the pack seems unusually large, maybe upwards of 20 wolves.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Sorry, i have been ill and thought I might be able to get away without posting since it was just Ludo,

----------


## LCP

No worries - hope you're feeling better! If you do need Ludo putting on autopilot at any point, just let me know.

----------


## LCP

Sentinel, RossN, what are your PCs doing from here?

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## LeSwordfish

Ludo is going to write his letter to Sforza about Mala, which he'll (with Sieghard's permission) probably present as being from Sieghard. I think mostly I want to give Sforza the facts of the case - seems to be with a large group of wolves, headed through the Giant's Teeth heading north, has caused a lot of livestock and at least one young woman to go missing. What I'll leave out is the specific Vampire speculation, but Ludo will essentially remind Sforza that Mala is the vampire's oldest associate, was hanging round with him for months - he could have taught her anything - and is carrying an artefact the vampire put a lot of effort into getting. Ludo's not going to suggest specific actions, but hopefully this will cause Sforza to take the warning seriously and make sure the book is well defended.

Want me to write this in full? Here's a Charm test, presumably at a written-word penalty: (1d100)[*26*] vs 92

----------


## -Sentinel-

Sorryyyyyyy, I'll try to post something.

I'm just frustrated with the turn the story has taken due to our lack of foresight.  :Small Sigh:

----------


## TheSummoner

> Ludo is going to write his letter to Sforza about Mala, which he'll (with Sieghard's permission) probably present as being from Sieghard.


Sieghard would have no objections though I'll note that we don't actually know that Mala had anything to do with Rebeka not returning home (we never found a body, so it's possible that Mala just turned up while she was away and the two never crossed paths) and we do know that Mala is responsible for killing the old man in the Teeth.




> I'm just frustrated with the turn the story has taken due to our lack of foresight.


Urgrim tracked her for 4 days, halfway across the Teeth without losing her trail. More foresight wouldn't have made any difference. We could've brought enough food for three weeks and the only thing that would've changed is maybe the horses would be dead or the larger group may have attracted unwanted attention from the local goblin tribes. She had too much of a lead and is probably on the other side of the Teeth. No clue what she's after, maybe something in the Pale Waste.

----------


## LCP

> Want me to write this in full?


Only if you want to. What date is it being sent/who's carrying it?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Will you allow me to have sent it with the taxes a few days ago? If not, then with Jarla or Elsa, assuming both are heading to Savonne soon.

----------


## LCP

Yeah that's fine by me.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Cool - I think in that case it will also say something along the lines of "we've sent a party after them but they have a march on us so we expect them to give us the slip" but more diplomatically framed.

----------


## RossN

Jarla will head back to Savonne and pick up her job. Having heard Sieghard mention the acting troupe she'll definitely want to investigate that and talk to them; they sound interesting and potentionally useful.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> At the one barracks-hall that was still in use by the Thorns, they found Hanna, who corroborated Gustafs story. Hanna didnt have Ingwalds letters, but she could count, and was sharp enough to guess what most of the Thornwooders goods might fetch at market. It was clear that if they wanted to meet the demands out of Savonne and keep the Thorns in the fashion they were accustomed to, they would have to squeeze people a little harder.


To confirm, do you mean this before or after getting the money from the defaulters? Are we finding that the amount we requested isn't enough, or the amount we got?

Ludo will definitely stay in Painford for Urgi's return. I don't have anything else planned for the immediate term - happy for a timeskip.

----------


## TheSummoner

> .You said Sieghard will be going round to try to find the defaulters - can I get some details on that? Most importantly, will Sieghard or Ludo still be in Painford on the 12th, when Urgrims likely to get back?


We talked about ledgers before. Ingwald presumably kept things documented for who paid and who didn't. Hanna wouldn't have been able to. It's a complication, but one Sieghard should be able to handle by bringing her and a couple of Thorns who helped her collect along with him when he makes the rounds. He'll then update the ledgers himself (I'm sure it'll be easily readable when he's done).

As for actually collecting once we find them, Hanna has higher Fel than most so he'll let her try to gently _remind_ them of their obligations and step in as bad cop if her playing good cop doesn't work. He'll be a bit lenient this time, but he'll make it known that if he has to send collectors again, next time they'll be taking more than they would if it was brought to Painford/Ravenskird like it's supposed to be.

Gonna be out of town over the weekend. Posting may be limited to mornings and evenings.

----------


## LCP

> To confirm, do you mean this before or after getting the money from the defaulters?


This is before - the situation immediately upon the two of you arriving in Painford.




> Pausing here to see if I have LCP's go-ahead to ignore Elsa's Savonne update.


I'm not thrilled about the ongoing responses to where the game was last Saturday instead of where it is now. It doesn't seem to require any major unpicking though, so I've edited Elsa out of my last IC post. Do what you want.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Sorry about that.

I edited my last IC post to avoid double-posting.

----------


## LeSwordfish

CK: Border Princes vs 48: Does Ludo recognise these coins? (1d100)[*82*]

EDIT: Gonna go ahead and post on the basis that he doesn't, based on that roll.

----------


## RossN

Jarla will mostly be doing her 'day job' as a noble lady of the court.

Are there any significant holidays or other celebrations coming up in-universe? Jarla wants to put her stamp on that kind of thing. :)

----------


## Thragka

Oh, I think we're all going to have a very jolly Hexensnacht.

*HO. HO. HO.*

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Not sure how you want to play this but will let you take the lead. Ludo can Assist on any tests.


I was sort of hoping Ludo could gather them in one place. Are you suggesting that Elsa go apologize to each Thorn personally? If so, I'll just make a list of points Elsa wants to go over instead of writing a speech in dialogue form.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Oh that was still what I was thinking, I just didn't see the need for a "and then Ludo gathered them all in one place" in my post. I figured we'd cut to actually doing it.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Okay. I'm a bit under the weather right now from my second vax shot, so I'll post later today or tomorrow.

----------


## Thragka

I'm still here, just for the record, although I have been a bit busy in real life. Mulling over Urgrim's next agenda.

----------


## LCP

RossN, are you still with us?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Damn. I was really hoping that would work.  :Small Frown:  Not sure what else I can do to mend bridges at this point.

It's possible I'll return to Savonne early. Depends on Tattie.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Some short-term plans to bring Elsa to the 12th:

Let Tattie do her thing with the dogs for a day or two. Ask her if they're warming up to her, whether she thinks this whole project is leading anywhere useful (and if so, on what kind of timeframe), and whether she would rather go back to Savonne. Depending on her answers, three options are possible: 1) both of us return to Savonne; 2) Elsa returns to Savonne but leaves Tatiana in Painford for the time being; 3) both of us remain in Painford until Sieghard returns with the taxes.Pass the time in Painford by doing some sparring with sticks or practice swords. This is mainly to justify buying the Dodge Blow skill in a month or two. Also, giving the Thorns a chance to knock her in the dirt may go a long way towards earning their forgiveness.Ask Ludo if Elsa can requisition a spare shield from the Thorns' barracks. Could be useful if Elsa later goes on to fight bandits with Carraciolo. Plus it'll contribute in part to the trapping requirement for the Border Courtier career.

----------


## RossN

> RossN, are you still with us?


I am and I'm sorry I've been so spotty recently. Real life stuff (not serious or bad just time consuming.)

I admit I'm struggling to decide what to do with Jarla at the moment.

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard isn't going to drag this out any longer than he has to and is ready to return.




> Are there any significant holidays or other celebrations coming up in-universe? Jarla wants to put her stamp on that kind of thing. :)


Well, there's one, but it's not the sort you typically celebrate




> Oh, I think we're all going to have a very jolly Hexensnacht.
> 
> *HO. HO. HO.*


_He hunts you when you're sleeping
He strikes when you're awake
He knows where you're hiding right now
Better pray for Sigmar's sake_




> Damn. I was really hoping that would work.  Not sure what else I can do to mend bridges at this point.


It's a first step. Long term, she's probably going to have to do something to earn it, like use her magic to turn the tide of a battle or save a bunch of them from certain death or something like that.




> [LIST][*]Pass the time in Painford by doing some sparring with sticks or practice swords. This is mainly to justify buying the Dodge Blow skill in a month or two. Also, giving the Thorns a chance to knock her in the dirt may go a long way towards earning their forgiveness.


If the Thorns are unwilling, Sieghard would be when he returns. Might be fun to play out.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Long term, she's probably going to have to do something to earn it, like use her magic to turn the tide of a battle or save a bunch of them from certain death or something like that.


Her curtain of flame incinerated about a score of zombies in Nath. Clearly that wasn't enough to earn forgiveness.

And I fully get it. When you resent someone for what they did or said to you, becoming indebted to them can easily put salt in the wound rather than help it heal.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Heads up -- I'll be on a canoe camping trip from Monday to Wednesday.

----------


## LCP

> Real life stuff (not serious or bad just time consuming.)


No worries - if you need to go on autopilot just let me know for how long.

----------


## LCP

I'm going to be moving oop norf on Thurs morning - will probably be out of contact tomorrow and Thurs.

----------


## TheSummoner

Not the most original idea, but if Tatiana wants to do something where she feels like she's useful/helpful, maybe we could put her talents to use trying to catch game in the Thornwood.

----------


## Thragka

I'm likely to be at low activity until next Monday  particularly over the weekend.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I don't have anything specific for Ludo either now or until Urgi gets back, other than his usual.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "Hanna said "we have to listen" which is good,


Pretty sure Hanna was being snide.

"Oooh, look, the Prince's high-and-mighty court wizard is about to make a speech, guess we _have_ to listen." (eyeroll)

----------


## RossN

> No worries - if you need to go on autopilot just let me know for how long.


Can you put Jarla on autopilot for a week? I'm dealing with my second vaccine jab (seems to be going well so far but just general stress.) I think I'll be in a more creative and energetic state by next Friday.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Pretty sure Hanna was being snide.
> 
> "Oooh, look, the Prince's high-and-mighty court wizard is about to make a speech, guess we _have_ to listen." (eyeroll)


Perhaps LCP can confirm from the tone of voice - but to me this sounded like "we have to listen, because we were ordered to, but we don't have to like it". Which is, honestly, all I was hoping for.

----------


## -Sentinel-

At the end of the month (even if it's another 100xp month), I'll have enough XP to switch to Border Courtier. I still need some trappings, so I should probably be getting on that.

*@ LCP*, whenever you can post again: Border Courtier requires "one dose of poison", but Elsa is no poisoner. Obviously the _point_ is that a Border Courtier operates in a cutthroat world where assassination is commonplace. Could some emetics and/or an antitoxin kit adequately represent that?

----------


## TheSummoner

Off topic, but I found it amusing and thought you might as well. I toned down the settings and got my computer to load TW: Warhammer (the first one) in somewhat reasonable times so I've been playing through the campaigns. In my most recent one, Archaon was defeated by... the Border Princes. I had made a military alliance with them and his army suicide charged one of my generic lords while two of theirs were in reinforcement range. The following battle was a slaughter. The Everchosen of Chaos, the Lord of the End Times, Herald of the Apocalypse brought low by a pack of squabbling petty warlords.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Hah!

In my bretonnian campaign, archaon's army was wiped out by my main force but he personally survived. The only force I had near enough to take him on was a stack of twenty peasant spearmen, so he fought a thousand or so of them before being dragged down.

----------


## LCP

I've lost so much of my life to that game, but if any of you guys ever feel like playing some let me know! Head-to-head/co-op mode is the most fun you can have with it IMO.

Sorry for the lack of updates, things are taking a while to settle down post-move. I know we've got RossN and Thragka on reduced activity at the moment, but once Elsa's conversation with Tattie reaches its conclusion, I don't think we have any more immediate things to respond to (unless RossN wants to pick up Jarla's conversation with Irene where she left off). How long do you guys want the next update to cover? Do you have plans for the next week/fortnight/whatever?




> Perhaps LCP can confirm from the tone of voice - but to me this sounded like "we have to listen, because we were ordered to, but we don't have to like it". Which is, honestly, all I was hoping for.


Yes, that's what I was going for.




> @ LCP, whenever you can post again: Border Courtier requires "one dose of poison", but Elsa is no poisoner. Obviously the point is that a Border Courtier operates in a cutthroat world where assassination is commonplace. Could some emetics and/or an antitoxin kit adequately represent that?


Sounds alright to me.

----------


## TheSummoner

I'd be up for giving it another try at some point. I know we tried once a few years back, but I had a pretty poor understanding of the game then. I still wouldn't call myself good, but I'm competent enough to beat the AI at least. I've got nothing specific planned in the near future, so I'm sure we can find a time that works.

As for IC, Sieghard will need to head to Savonne in the near future to see if the 400 crowns he invested with Burhan has turned any profit yet. I haven't crunched the recent numbers, but his financial situation is... not good... as soon as the rest of the payment for the manor comes due.

----------


## Thragka

Back home, after a pleasant weekend in the West Country. I will defer to the players who have already set up active long-term operations as to the length of the next break; other than training with the Thorns and occasionally engaging in a battle of wills with a horse, Urgrim doesn't have pressing plans. I think he will want to take a trip to Savonne shortly, for a couple of reasons  but I don't mind postponing that until after a timeskip, if that suits everyone else better.

TW:WH is my current focus when it comes to leisure time on video games. I'm trying to actually finish a Wood Elf campaign on the previous patch before I check out the latest DLC  I've over 800 hours across the two installments, but only one campaign victory, so I'm damned if I let this update ruin my save before I tick another one off.  :Small Big Grin:  Maybe in a few weeks I'll have knocked that out and be ready for some multiplayer. (Edit: I misremembered  how could I forget kicking da smelly elfs off their poncy island with Waaagh Grom? Dat's _two_ finished campanes to Thragka.)

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm happy to do a skip to the end of the month, that's a nice round number. Nothing much stopping us from jumping forward again if Hexensnacht doesn't seem too bad.

I don't have anything more than before - Ludo will go on at least one patrol with the Thorns, but for the moment it's business as usual. I have a couple of loose plans for the winter month but it seems odd for Ludo to return home from vampire-hunting and immediately jump straight into a long-term domestic project, so next month maybe.

----------


## -Sentinel-

*@ LeSwordfish:* I edited my post with an answer to Ludo that I forgot to write earlier.


Re: plans: For now Elsa plans to return to Savonne, either with or without Tatiana (Elsa won't stop Tattie if she wants to make her own path). She will ask Sforza if Carraciolo has requested help with the bandits. Are we at the point of the campaign where some of our PCs' fighting can take place off-screen instead of roleplaying every minor skirmish? I wouldn't want to stall the game for everyone else by sending Elsa into turn-by-turn combat.

If the bandit problem is already solved, Elsa will keep looking for a bodyguard, but I'm not sure whether a "cheap" bodyguard would cover the trapping requirement. Perhaps she'll have to go to Putbad or Alvarran to find the person she needs.

----------


## LCP

I don't want to skip _right_ to the end of Vorhexen (for one thing RossN said he wanted Jarla to be able to do some party planning and I'd like to give some leeway between when RossN rejoins and the IC new year). Happy to take us most of the way there though - maybe ~2 weeks to around the 28th?




> Are we at the point of the campaign where some of our PCs' fighting can take place off-screen instead of roleplaying every minor skirmish?


Yes, if it's something where the risks are very controlled.




> If the bandit problem is already solved, Elsa will keep looking for a bodyguard, but I'm not sure whether a "cheap" bodyguard would cover the trapping requirement. Perhaps she'll have to go to Putbad or Alvarran to find the person she needs.


It wouldn't be the most natural IC assumption for Elsa to make that there is no-one at all in Savonne who meets her requirements. More likely that she didn't choose the most effective/appealing way to get the word out.

On the trappings question, even a cheap bodyguard is probably a comparable expense to a mail shirt in the medium to long term (that's the trapping we were replacing right?), so I wouldn't be too fussed about that myself. But of course there are other reasons to want to keep looking for a good quality of hireling.

I'll tell you ahead of time that Carraciolo will not have requested help.




> I think he will want to take a trip to Savonne shortly, for a couple of reasons  but I don't mind postponing that until after a timeskip, if that suits everyone else better.


Urgrim could go back with Elsa if he wants. Or with Sieghard when he gets back - but I'd need a date when Sieghard intends to go (assuming he gets back to Painford around the 14th).

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I don't want to skip _right_ to the end of Vorhexen (for one thing RossN said he wanted Jarla to be able to do some party planning and I'd like to give some leeway between when RossN rejoins and the IC new year). Happy to take us most of the way there though - maybe ~2 weeks to around the 28th?


Sounds good to me.





> It wouldn't be the most natural IC assumption for Elsa to make that there is no-one at all in Savonne who meets her requirements. More likely that she didn't choose the most effective/appealing way to get the word out.


IIRC, Elsa's first attempt involved offering innkeepers a finder's fee if they found a suitable candidate. For her next attempt, she will ask Suzana about the candidates she rejected when hiring caravan guards: perhaps there is someone who seemed competent but whose salary expectations were too high, or someone who for whatever reason is not the best fit for caravan guard but a good one for bodyguard. Elsa's ideal candidate is someone who looks somewhat intimidating, knows how to provide first aid and has their own weapon and armor, though she's willing to bend one of those rules, especially the third. Pay is around 3-4gc/month (negotiable if the candidate is exceptional), and there will be financial compensation in case of injury or death in the line of duty.

Gossip 44: (d100)[*32*], Fortune: (d100)[*73*]


Elsa will also look for some substances that could save her from a poisoning. I'm sure apothecaries can help.

Gossip 44: (d100)[*95*], Fortune: (d100)[*16*]

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard will probably stick around Painford another week or so before heading out. He wants to make sure everything is in order and be back before the end of the month. On Tatiana's advice, he'll see about hiring someone from the village to tend to the dogs (full time) so they're better cared for when he's not around. And since it seems like they've been a bit neglected, may as well put his new animal care skill to use. (1d100)[*88*] vs 51.

He doesn't plan to stay more than a couple days in Savonne. In that time, he'll visit Burhan to talk business over dinner/drinks, pay his respects to Sforza, speak with Al-Makir and mention that the money coming in from taxes is barely covering what it needs and that's before trying to recruit more men like Sforza wants. He'll also spend a bit of time with Elsa and try to keep up on new developments around the city ((1d100)[*14*] vs 64 gossip). Depending on how things are going with Burhan's boats and if he has any spare money, I'm considering having him try to buy up and distribute some food around the slums. Naturally, he'd have some of his men with him to help (guard) him if he did.

----------


## TheSummoner

Gonna reroll that animal care test. Not like I have anything else to use the fortune points on at the moment and the dogs deserve it. (1d100)[*13*]

----------


## Thragka

> Urgrim could go back with Elsa if he wants. Or with Sieghard when he gets back - but I'd need a date when Sieghard intends to go (assuming he gets back to Painford around the 14th).


If Elsa's still in Painford by the time Urgrim arrives on the 12th (since I think that's still undecided?), and she wants to leave for Savonne before Sieghard arrives and before the timeskip, then yes, Urgrim would be content to travel with her and Tatiana. He could even ask them to teach him a little of how to Ride on the way.

If Urgrim gets to Savonne in the timeskip, then depending on Ludo's response to his questions, he'll try to follow up any possible leads on what became of poor Tomas, with the detective skillset he very much does not have! He'd try to find the gate guard he originally talked to about the boy and the horse, and drop in on Hieronymous too, as starting points. Pre-emptive Gossip rolls: *Gossip 16* - (1d100)[*55*], *Fortune* - (1d100)[*61*] possibly modified by repeat attempts over the course of the timeskip, and/or Ludo's advice.

a regular dawi Fred Colon

----------


## LCP

OK, think I have lots of material for this timeskip. I have the outline together and I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to finish with the free time I have available at the moment - just putting up a flag that there may be a wait.

----------


## LCP

Update's done. Apologies for not covering everything that Thragka and TheSummoner requested - putting it together it just seemed to make sense to break off at the point where Urgrim and Sieghard arrived in Savonne. I still have those requests copied down in my notes and can resolve them as soon as you guys are done with this.

I'm going to be away from wifi over the weekend, so no posts from me most likely Fri-Sun.

----------


## -Sentinel-

*@ LCP:* There's a spell called Unextinguishable Flame, or something like that, allowing a wizard to make a campfire impossible to put out for an extended period (I think a month with Magic 3). Just to be clear: if the fire spreads, only the original campfire will be unextinguishable, correct?

I really want to help the people who are freezing to death, but would rather not be involved in the Second Fire of Savonne.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## Thragka

Oof, think I'll re-roll that Strength test. *Strength 49* - (1d100)[*15*]

No problem with this interlude!

----------


## Thragka

Sieghard and Urgrim: thinking the same thing and arguing over it since, uh, 2524, I think.

----------


## TheSummoner

Are they? My impression was that Urgrim was thinking about heading into the shop (to check on the baker and maybe try to diffuse things) and Sieghard was thinking of staying back, following the leader, then paying a nice kick in the door style visit later on.

----------


## Thragka

That comment was more tongue in cheek than anything else  the key point being neither of them are looking to actively intervene to try to direct or take control of the mob. (Urgrim's defusal attempt would be strictly limited to saying to the shopkeeper(s) "don't let your pride get you hurt, just get out of here until things cool down".)

----------


## RossN

> I don't want to skip _right_ to the end of Vorhexen (for one thing RossN said he wanted Jarla to be able to do some party planning and I'd like to give some leeway between when RossN rejoins and the IC new year). Happy to take us most of the way there though - maybe ~2 weeks to around the 28th?


Thanks, I appreciated that!  :Small Smile: 

As I said Jarla was looking for talent in Savonne, so gossip tests it is:

*Gossip:* (1d100)[*39*] vs 64
*FP re-roll (if needed.)* (1d100)[*69*] vs 64

----------


## LCP

Glad to have you back RossN!

Re: the things Jarla wants to buy, feel free to buy them at rulebook prices unless there's something about the search you particularly want to play out. Savonne's a big place.

----------


## Thragka

I'll re-roll the Heal test in my most recent IC post: *Heal 54* - (1d100)[*29*]

----------


## RossN

> Glad to have you back RossN!
> 
> Re: the things Jarla wants to buy, feel free to buy them at rulebook prices unless there's something about the search you particularly want to play out. Savonne's a big place.


Might be a while yet saving up. I think Jarla has been _prima cameriera_ for a month so she's only earned 16 GC as part of her stipend. A foil alone costs 18 GC!  :Small Eek:

----------


## LCP

I never get tired of wheeling out the Kate Beaton classics.

Remembered that I lost this question over the weekend:




> *@ LCP:* There's a spell called Unextinguishable Flame, or something like that, allowing a wizard to make a campfire impossible to put out for an extended period (I think a month with Magic 3). Just to be clear: if the fire spreads, only the original campfire will be unextinguishable, correct?


Yes, I don't think the inextinguishability is transferable. Otherwise you've got a sort of Grey Goo scenario but with fire (though that sounds like a fun miscast...). It's not in the Elemental spell list for Fire though so I think Elsa would need to pick it up with XP.

----------


## RossN

Ooh, love those comics!

----------


## Thragka

Norten: "So anyway, I started knifin'."

----------


## -Sentinel-

I'll throw in a Command test for good measure. Versus 44: (d100)[*75*]
Fortune Point: (d100)[*100*]

*Edit:* Oh come ooooooon.  :Small Sigh:  How can Elsa possibly _fail_ to be commanding in this situation?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Fuuuuuuuuuuck.  :Small Sigh: 

I don't know if I can play Elsa for much longer.  :Small Frown:  Walls are closing in on her from every direction and it seems everything she does only worsens the situation. If she loses her position as court wizard (and therefore the Prince's protection), it means she essentially has to leave the Reaches and never return. Gone is the time when she could simply go offer her services to the lord of the neighboring land.

----------


## RossN

Uh... I know Jarla is currently engaged earlier in the timeline but has news of the revolution mob reached the keep yet?  :Small Eek:

----------


## LCP

It's happening in the North Market square, if you were standing on the curtain wall of the castle you would have a direct line of sight to all the fun.




> I don't know if I can play Elsa for much longer.  Walls are closing in on her from every direction and it seems everything she does only worsens the situation. If she loses her position as court wizard (and therefore the Prince's protection), it means she essentially has to leave the Reaches and never return. Gone is the time when she could simply go offer her services to the lord of the neighboring land.


When you're at the top, there are a lot of ways down. What are Elsa's actual goals right now?

----------


## RossN

Please don't give up on Elsa - Sentinel-, she's a great character and I really don't think her story is done yet!

----------


## TheSummoner

Eh, as bad as the situation is, it really isn't Elsa's fault. That said, throwing up a wall of fire and getting everyone's eyes on her...

----------


## -Sentinel-

I'll just keep out of the fight. Once the dust settles and none of the dead and injured have any burns, it'll be hard to pin responsibility on her.

----------


## TheSummoner

They were on the verge of riot and someone got stabbed _before_ Elsa made herself known. Wouldn't put it past Irene to try, but it's pretty solidly not her fault.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Part of me is afraid that it might be too late for this, but remember the halberdiers, guys? The ones who just stabbed a guy? *The ones you just turned your backs to because you were mad at Elsa*


Important thing about positioning: I described Elsa walking towards Norten, and though I may not have described it as clearly as I should have, I've been imagining she was on the same side of the (now-extinguished) curtain of flame as the halberdiers, rather than close to the angry mob.

----------


## LCP

dicedicedice

(1d100)[*37*], (1d10-1)[*6*]
(1d100)[*32*], (1d10-1)[*7*]
(1d100)[*12*], (1d10-1)[*4*]
(1d100)[*60*], (1d10-1)[*2*]
(1d100)[*21*], (1d10-1)[*8*]
(1d100)[*38*], (1d10-1)[*4*]

----------


## TheSummoner

> Important thing about positioning: I described Elsa walking towards Norten, and though I may not have described it as clearly as I should have, I've been imagining she was on the same side of the (now-extinguished) curtain of flame as the halberdiers, rather than close to the angry mob.


Ah, I thought we were on the other side of the mob as Norten. That certainly helps.

----------


## Thragka

Not sure where the bakery is in the square  if it's to the east side, Urgrim's willing to go back through the square but will stick to the perimeter. Otherwise it should be possible to round either the north or south wall of the keep without needing to cut through the glorious revolution.

----------


## LCP

More dice:

(1d100)[*49*], (1d10-2)[*4*], (1d2)[*2*]
(1d100)[*99*], (1d10-2)[*7*], (1d2)[*2*]
(1d100)[*32*], (1d10-2)[*5*], (1d2)[*1*]
(1d100)[*76*], (1d10-2)[*7*], (1d2)[*1*]
(1d100)[*37*], (1d10-2)[*1*], (1d2)[*2*]
(1d100)[*51*], (1d10-2)[*7*], (1d2)[*2*]
(1d100)[*51*], (1d10-2)[*8*], (1d2)[*2*]
(1d100)[*50*], (1d10-2)[*8*], (1d2)[*2*]

----------


## Thragka

Has Jarla decided against going to the Hospital? I know it's a bit meta, but I'm just waiting to see if she might run into Urgrim there before he does anything else. If not, he might take this opportunity to go up the Rock and excuse himself from the umgi hullabaloo.

----------


## RossN

> Has Jarla decided against going to the Hospital? I know it's a bit meta, but I'm just waiting to see if she might run into Urgrim there before he does anything else. If not, he might take this opportunity to go up the Rock and excuse himself from the umgi hullabaloo.


Yeah, I think she thinks that the moment has passed and she's thinking what to say if/when Sforza calls a meeting of the court.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Not sure where Elsa should go live.

Ravenskird would keep her close to Sieghard. In a meta sense, it would make it easier to gather the party for adventures. However it's considered a rather insignificant place, despite its strategic location as the gateway to the southern Reaches and the last stop for trade and transportation on the Azril.Putbad is a beautiful city and Elsa rather likes Lady Groz. Plus, it's where the merchant houses are, making it a good place to run a business.Castel d'Irena is along an important trade route (meaning Elsa could help escort food carts on their way to Savonne), and is the closest major city ("major" by Reaches standards) to the direction from which trouble is likely to come next.

Elsa will likely ask for advice from Tatiana, Olga and Suzana, as all three of them may have something to say.

----------


## LCP

Just about to head out - will have an IC reply for Elsa at a later time, but just to say, I think this wraps up the blow-by-blow stuff in the immediate aftermath of the riot. Let me know what you guys want to do on the scale of the next few days (for Sieghard and Urgrim I still have the previous to-do lists written down, so I only need to know about any modifications to your plans).

----------


## Thragka

The only additional thing I've thought of is that Urgrim will also report to Skorgrund and/or the Rinn about the attempt to track Mala, and the party's (or at least Ludo and Urgi's) conclusion that she's heading to the Red Pyramid and might be up to no good on Hexensnacht.




> Sforza, for his part, seemed determined to avoid at all costs the topic of food. To him, this riot was a random event, as if citizens were just naturally given to throwing stones and looting if their ruler did not periodically flog or hang someone. The six dead 'peasants' were a footnote to the fact that some chairs had been broken in a tavern.


I don't think Sforza doesn't see the connection between the food shortages and the riot; as his conversation in the tower with Sieghard shows, he just doesn't care, because starvation was what it cost him to win. But maybe that's splitting hairs in an internal thought of Elsa's  I'm only commenting on what I see as Sforza's thought process.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Elsa is planning to speak to Al-Makir to see to what extent he can use his position as treasurer to keep the people from starving. He seems pragmatic enough to understand that this riot is a sign of more chaos to come.

She will also continue to oversee Tatiana's practical training, as mentioned in an earlier IC post.

----------


## RossN

Jarla is also sympathetic to the poor and hungry (though she has to juggle this with being a Plastic Irene's 'friend'.)

Neither Aldebert nor Jarla has ever been to Putbad so I'd like to see it, though it would be hard to justify going there for Jarla.

----------


## Thragka

I got my second vaccine jab this morning, and I'm already feeling a little groggy, so I might be inactive for the next few days.

----------


## -Sentinel-

.




...?



................

----------


## TheSummoner

Probably waiting on me. Sorry for the hold up, been a bit under the weather.

----------


## Thragka

That second vaccine hit me a lot harder than the first, but I'm almost back to ship-shape, if still a little fatigued.

----------


## LCP

Also waiting on RossN - Jarla's conversations with Irene + Elsa, plus plans for Hexensnacht.

I'm going to be travelling over the weekend - probably out of action Fri through Sun.

----------


## RossN

Sorry, catching up now!

How many people are going to the celebrations? I don't really need exact numbers just more whether I should think 'large dinner party' or 'banquet and ball'.

----------


## LCP

There's a bit of flex there (Jarla has some power to decide how large the guest list will be) but I think what Irene's picturing is Sforza's inner circle + the various dignitaries of the town. So counting the Dwimmulsons, the priests, the guilds, and anyone else wealthy and sharp-elbowed enough to loudly clear their throat and ask for an invitation, probably ~30ish people?

----------


## LCP

I'm back! But also neck-deep in fellowship application nonsense which is draining my time/energy/will to live. Not sure I will be able to post anything today.

I think from the look of the IC we're almost ready to jump forward to Hexensnacht (except for Jacques' little audition which I'll try to resolve ASAP). The only further info I'll need is:

What are Jarla's plans for her masqued ball?Which other PCs are planning to attend?If they're not attending, what are Sieghard and Urgrim's movements? Are they staying in Savonne?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Which other PCs are planning to attend?


Though it gives me _Masque of the Red Death_ vibes (except in a time of famine instead of plague), Elsa is definitely coming. What would a nice costume cost?

Not sure about dressing up as gods though, isn't that kind of blasphemous?

(dibs on Morr)

----------


## TheSummoner

Probably, though I doubt Irene would care. Sieghard wasn't planning on sticking around that long, but he probably can't refuse without it looking really bad.

(Huh, would've guessed Elsa was more of a Myrmidia sort. Not sure who Sieghard would be.)

----------


## RossN

Jarla had originally considered the gods before she discovered the priests are attending. Now though she might have to come up with something else.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I don't think a masquerade ball really needs a theme. Just let people dress up as anything they want. Characters from myths or plays, historical figures, archetypes, professions, etc.

If we go with that option, Elsa may wear something Nehekharan, to go with her snake familiar.

----------


## TheSummoner

If Jarla chose to go that route, I think a character from local folklore would probably be more Sieghard's style. I'll see if I can come up with a story to go along with it.

Can't help but think that if they're going to insist on a party while people are starving, a prison escape during the middle of it might be a good way to embarrass them...

----------


## RossN

Okay, Jarla is going to look into getting some masks in a variety of styles. Obviously proper Venetian type masks are going to be beyond Savonne, at least at short notice, but she'll try and get something together.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> If we go with that option, Elsa may wear something Nehekharan, to go with her snake familiar.


Sforza can set you up with one. One careful owner, some repairs needed.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I don't wanna be the poke police, but...

*RossN*, I think we're waiting on you.

sorry  :Small Red Face:

----------


## LCP

We're not waiting on anyone except me. Like I said earlier, I'm just buried in fellowship application stuff at the moment. Will post an update when I get the chance.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Oh, sorry. Good luck with your fellowship application. Don't let the Ring tempt you.

----------


## Thragka

Sorry for my silence recently, even though Urgrim's not driving the scene  as I said, I was hit quite hard last week by my second COVID vaccine dose. Even though the symptoms let up after a handful of days, I essentially missed a full night's sleep the day I got the jab, and the knock-on effects of that have been screwing with my sleep schedule.

I wouldn't think Urgrim is enough of a socialite to wangle an invite to the ball, but I suppose if there's a Dwimmulson contingent, he might ride those coat-tails.

----------


## LCP

Finally finished the update I promised on Monday! Have left it open as to who's where - if you want your character to be present in a scene go for it.

Breaking off here so that you guys can interact with what's happening in these scenes before proceeding to Hexensnacht, but if you want to press straight on let me know. Regarding some of the questions that have cropped up here:
I don't think that dressing up as the gods would be blasphemous for most Old World cults, but it does smack a bit of hubris. Not that that's going to deter Irene.Jarla's in charge of invitations and they weren't originally planned to be sent anywhere outside Savonne, so how bad it looks for Sieghard not to attend is kind of up to him and Jarla. If he doesn't make a big deal of being in town Sforza probably won't think much about it.Irene specifically asked Jarla to invite the Dwimmulsons, so they'll probably be there.Re: costumes, I think the costs there could run the gamut. Probably the floor for something that'll look good enough to fit in is about 15 gc, but you could go way higher if you so wished. You've only got ~1 week to get stuff made though.
I'm not quite out of the fellowship-writing woods yet, but I can see the light. Hopefully will be ramping back up to closer to normal over the weekend.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Re: costumes, I think the costs there could run the gamut. Probably the floor for something that'll look good enough to fit in is about 15 gc, but you could go way higher if you so wished.


Bleh. This is a steep price for something I'll likely only wear once, but I can't really justify Elsa moving into the Courtier career if she doesn't take part in the court's conspicuous consumption.

Elsa will have a Nehekharan-themed costume. She will wear sandals (she already has those), white robes and a pharaoh's headdress and will have her familiar Khalida around her neck. The headdress will be wood covered with gold leaf. Hopefully it's possible to get this made in time for the masquerade.

Gossip 44 to find a woodworker and a goldsmith: (d100)[*78*]
Re-roll: (d100)[*60*]

_Goddammit._  :Small Sigh:

----------


## TheSummoner

If Sieghard can get away with leaving town before the invitations go out, then he'll sit this one out. Definitely seems a bit too _high society_ for his taste.

----------


## RossN

> Bleh. This is a steep price for something I'll likely only wear once, but I can't really justify Elsa moving into the Courtier career if she doesn't take part in the court's conspicuous consumption.
> 
> Elsa will have a Nehekharan-themed costume. She will wear sandals (she already has those), white robes and a pharaoh's headdress and will have her familiar Khalida around her neck. The headdress will be wood covered with gold leaf. Hopefully it's possible to get this made in time for the masquerade.
> 
> Gossip 44 to find a woodworker and a goldsmith: [roll0]
> Re-roll: [roll1]
> 
> _Goddammit._


Hmm.

*LCP* Jarla was an actress (and has the Performance skill). Any chance she could work a little stage magic to find stand ins for real materials?

I'm thinking of having Jarla go as an Amazon (Lustrian rather than Danxome), though I'm having trouble finding non-Blood Bowl art for inspiration (at least art that is remotely SFW!)

----------


## LCP

> Bleh. This is a steep price for something I'll likely only wear once, but I can't really justify Elsa moving into the Courtier career if she doesn't take part in the court's conspicuous consumption.


If she's moving away from Savonne, is that still the path she's on?




> *LCP* Jarla was an actress (and has the Performance skill). Any chance she could work a little stage magic to find stand ins for real materials?


Not sure I fully understand the question. You mean to source a cheaper costume?

----------


## RossN

> If she's moving away from Savonne, is that still the path she's on?
> 
> 
> 
> Not sure I fully understand the question. You mean to source a cheaper costume?


Pretty much yeah.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> If she's moving away from Savonne, is that still the path she's on?


I'll think about it. The other possibilities in terms of advanced careers aren't great... Charlatan and Pistolier aren't appropriate, Scholar doesn't really give me anything I don't already have, and the trappings requirements for Wizard Lord and Explorer are extremely steep.

There's a smaller court in Putbad, isn't there?

----------


## LCP

@RossN - if you can make a Gossip test at +20, I'll give you a 10% discount per degree of success from Jarla's acting know-how.




> There's a smaller court in Putbad, isn't there?


There isn't a royal residence or anything, but there's a social circle of well-to-do guilders around Leona Groz and her baby.

Also don't worry about your gossip rolls to get your costume made - everyone's getting them made, if you're willing to pay the asking price then you can find somebody.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> There isn't a royal residence or anything, but there's a social circle of well-to-do guilders around Leona Groz and her baby.


Alright. Putbad sounds good for the immediate future, as it'll keep Elsa in the luxury she's gotten used to. Aside from taking a more active role in the food import business, I'll try to find her something wizardy to do while she's based there. (Perhaps excavate Harmugstahl and clear the road of trolls.)





> Also don't worry about your gossip rolls to get your costume made - everyone's getting them made, if you're willing to pay the asking price then you can find somebody.


Cool. Elsa's costume will be on the lower end of the scale (15-20 gc), as she doesn't really give a sh!t about Irene's opinion.

----------


## RossN

> @RossN - if you can make a Gossip test at +20, I'll give you a 10% discount per degree of success from Jarla's acting know-how.


Thanks!  :Small Big Grin: 

Gossip: (1d100)[*6*] vs 84

----------


## LCP

I'm off on my summer holiday tomorrow - might have the odd rainy day (or week - this is the UK) to post, but on the whole expect my posting to be greatly reduced over the next ~2.5 weeks.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Enjoy yourself.  :Small Smile:

----------


## TheSummoner

We'll be around when you get back. Have a good time.

----------


## RossN

> I'm off on my summer holiday tomorrow - might have the odd rainy day (or week - this is the UK) to post, but on the whole expect my posting to be greatly reduced over the next ~2.5 weeks.


Have fun!  :Small Smile:

----------


## LeSwordfish

Hmm - the last time we saw Jocasta, according to a forum search, was a month ago, down near Manaan's Keep. (She was helping us track down the wolves). No idea what happened to her after that - did she stay down south? Or come back to Painford? Presumably Ludo has either seen her or noted her absence in that time?

I'll make a post saying "i dunno where she is" later this evening if there's no more specific response before then.

----------


## RossN

So... I turned forty *glances at clock* about 15 minutes ago.

I think the crying will stop any moment now.  :Small Frown:

----------


## Thragka

Breithlá shona! I hear forty is the new thirty.  :Small Smile:

----------


## RossN

> Breithlá shona! I hear forty is the new thirty.


Thanks!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## TheSummoner

Congratulations and happy birthday!

----------


## RossN

> Congratulations and happy birthday!


Thank you!  :Small Smile:

----------


## LCP

Happy belated birthday!

I'm back and back up to speed. Thanks for waiting everyone.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Yay, we're back!

And now a worrisome development.  :Small Eek:  I guess we should have known it had been too easy... Good thing we still have the spear. But now we have to figure out what it is that we failed to do the first time.

I'll post after work.


*Edit:* Done. Elsa was referring to Gunda. _Obviously._  :Small Tongue: 





> So... I turned forty *glances at clock* about 15 minutes ago.
> 
> I think the crying will stop any moment now.


Happy (?) belated birthday, my xennial elder.  :Small Wink:

----------


## Thragka

I'll be away camping in order to attend a wedding this weekend, so I will have reduced activity from Friday to Monday  none at all on Saturday, I expect.

----------


## TheSummoner

My bet is still with Mala having been turned into a vampire some time before the battle. Again, it took a ritual and at least a year of searching for reagents for that ritual for Klammenberg to bring Nahorek back the first time. Even if it's possible for him to be revived again, we've just seen nothing that would suggest Mala has the means to. We've got no evidence she's a wizard for one thing (though if she did receive the blood kiss, I suppose that would mean even if she wasn't before, she is now). Sanne sees signs that point to Nahorek, but it would make just as much sense for a vampire sired by Nahorek to cause the same sort of things to happen.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> My bet is still with Mala having been turned into a vampire some time before the battle. Again, it took a ritual and at least a year of searching for reagents for that ritual for Klammenberg to bring Nahorek back the first time. Even if it's possible for him to be revived again, we've just seen nothing that would suggest Mala has the means to. We've got no evidence she's a wizard for one thing (though if she did receive the blood kiss, I suppose that would mean even if she wasn't before, she is now). Sanne sees signs that point to Nahorek, but it would make just as much sense for a vampire sired by Nahorek to cause the same sort of things to happen.


A possibility, yes.

OTOH, it's also possible we didn't kill Nahorek as dead as the people of old did, and therefore his third return was easier than his second one. He could have something similar to Klammenberg's turn-into-beetles thing, unless certain conditions are met when you kill him.

----------


## RossN

> Happy belated birthday!
> 
> I'm back and back up to speed. Thanks for waiting everyone.


Thanks and welcome back!  :Small Smile: 




> Yay, we're back!
> 
> And now a worrisome development.  I guess we should have known it had been too easy... Good thing we still have the spear. But now we have to figure out what it is that we failed to do the first time.
> 
> I'll post after work.
> 
> 
> *Edit:* Done. Elsa was referring to Gunda. _Obviously._ 
> 
> ...


Thanks! And yes go Xennials!  :Small Big Grin: 

Regarding Nahorek I'm not surprised he came back but I am surprised he might have managed it _so_ quickly. Which I agree might point to Mala being given the Blood Kiss.

Which also makes me wonder if it is her, will she be trying to recruit more living (or 'living') followers?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Aww damn, looks like Irene _really_ thought Elsa was talking about Gunda. :(

One day I'll manage to insult her. ONE DAY.

----------


## TheSummoner

> A possibility, yes.
> 
> OTOH, it's also possible we didn't kill Nahorek as dead as the people of old did, and therefore his third return was easier than his second one. He could have something similar to Klammenberg's turn-into-beetles thing, unless certain conditions are met when you kill him.


We shot him full of silver tipped bolts to the point he could barely move and then stabbed him in the face with a weapon designed to kill him specifically. We can't rule it out, but I'm not sure how more thorough we could be.




> Aww damn, looks like Irene _really_ thought Elsa was talking about Gunda. :(
> 
> One day I'll manage to insult her. ONE DAY.


Have you tried insulting her fashion sense?

----------


## LCP

I actually read Elsa as talking about Mala the first time. There's been too many ambushes in the Thornwood.

This seems like a good juncture for some social skill rolls. Elsa and Irene are both trying to convince Sforza here, and Elsa probably needs to practice flexing her political muscles if she wants to go into Border Courtier: can I get an opposed Charm test?

Irene's roll: (1d100)[*70*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Charm 54: (d100)[*68*]
Fortune if needed: (d100)[*58*]

*Edit:* Goddammit.  :Small Yuk:  And Irene's roll was pretty bad too, so it's all the more frustrating to know she's probably still winning this roll-off despite having faced Nahorek a grand total of zero times.





> Have you tried insulting her fashion sense?


I don't think that would be effective. She doesn't have any insecurity in that regard.

----------


## LCP

I'll wait to see if Jarla wants to stick her oar in one way or another before continuing.

----------


## -Sentinel-

You know what Sforza's government currently lacks? An intelligence network. No deep-cover spies or anything of the sort (that wouldn't be realistic for such a small realm), but simply a bunch of part-time local informants who are paid a few shillings a month to send regular reports to Savonne about what's going on in their neck of the woods.

We shouldn't have to rely on captured bandits to inform us that Morr's Seat is having to bar its doors against packs of wolves.

----------


## LCP

Sorry for the delay - like a lot of the big split updates lately this took me a while to write. I'm mostly just setting the scene with the Hexensnacht ball - for those of you who are there (and I've either not heard or forgotten whether that includes Urgrim) please feel free to introduce your PCs how you please.

----------


## RossN

So... Jarla's Lustrian Amazon costume:



Too much, or not too much enough?

----------


## -Sentinel-

A masquerade ball is exactly the right kind of place to be _too much_. (Though Jarla is likely to wear a more geographically appropriate lion pelt.)

Elsa's dress will look similar to the one worn by the woman below, but shorter. She also wears a _nemes_, which is what the man's headdress is called.

*Spoiler*
Show

----------


## Thragka

No worries about Urgrim  you didn't hear, rather than forgot. Aside from having a long weekend away for that wedding, I've been swamped with my Ph.D. (I'm preparing for a thesis review, and been writing up a report saying "Well, the core maths problem is quite difficult, and we don't have an exact analytical solution yet, but here are a load of numerics and approximate solutions and pretty graphs and things showing that we're _maaaybe_ getting close to it," and then yesterday my supervisor and I had a brilliant new idea which may have opened up the path to the exact solution! Great news, for anyone who _doesn't_ have to rapidly rewrite the report by tomorrow morning.)

Anyway, regardless, I am here and will find a way to insert Urgrim into the scene.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "I didn't know I was going to end up lumbered with her, though."


That's not very nice.  :Small Frown: 

Is Hieronymus present, or is that just not his kind of party?

----------


## LeSwordfish

I don't think there's anything particular for Ludo to do in Painford right at the moment, depending on Sieghard's response, but correct me if I'm wrong and you're waiting on me.

----------


## LCP

No worries - the only character I'm currently waiting on is Jarla.

Re: Hieronymus, he'd be a natural person for Jarla to have invited, unless RossN thinks she wouldn't have.

----------


## RossN

(Sorry for the delay!)

Jarla would have invited Hieronymous and the other priests.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I don't think there's anything particular for Ludo to do in Painford right at the moment, depending on Sieghard's response, but correct me if I'm wrong and you're waiting on me.


Sieghard's response to what?  :Small Confused: 

If it's the spoilered bit, that's nothing that will result in Sieghard dragging Ludo off on some grand adventure, if that's your concern.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Yeah, I'm going to re-roll that test. (d100)[*92*]

*Edit:* ........a very narrow success. Might as well have gone for a +10, but I was hoping for some degrees of success.

----------


## LCP

Just a heads-up, I'm going to be away over the weekend - probably no updates until Monday.

----------


## LCP

RossN, just a reminder that the IC thread needs a post from Jarla.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Activity levels have been a bit low since LCP's return from vacation.  :Small Frown:  I hope it picks up soon.


*RossN*, this isn't an urgent thing that need to be done at the party, but eventually I would like Jarla's help to acquire Belehir's horse. Elsa can't just go to Irene and ask to buy it. (I doubt Irene cares about a horse she can't ride, but she certainly cares about being an assh0le to Elsa.)

If war picks up again, Elsa may be able to formally requisition the horse for the war effort, but I'd rather not have to wait. Every passing week of winter heightens the likelihood of animals perceived as useless being slaughtered for meat.

----------


## RossN

Apologies for no post today but I've had an exhausting couple of days (nothing bad just things piling up.) I'll try and have a proper post tomorrow.

*-Sentinel-* I think Jarla could probably ask Irene for Belehir's horse as a stud for Countess, if you think that could work?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> *-Sentinel-* I think Jarla could probably ask Irene for Belehir's horse as a stud for Countess, if you think that could work?


Belehir's horse is a mare.

I've come up with a scheme that might let me acquire it, but I can't enact it in the immediate future, because Sforza is insistent that Elsa leave Savonne with Carraciolo (who departs in the morning).

----------


## LeSwordfish

> "I suppose those poor fools in the Lost Library came the closest. Casting it into another world entirely that was some magic worthy of a master. He looked to Elsa, the reflection of the lamplight making his eyes gleam brightly under the shadows of the owl mask. I dont suppose they had the blessing of the Colleges, either.

----------


## RossN

> *Belehir's horse is a mare.*
> 
> I've come up with a scheme that might let me acquire it, but I can't enact it in the immediate future, because Sforza is insistent that Elsa leave Savonne with Carraciolo (who departs in the morning).


Dang.  :Small Frown: 

Jarla is ready to help Elsa (though obviously she doesn't want to invoke the wrath of Irene) and she is a lot more worried about Sane's story than her bosses so she'd be eager to keep in close contact.

----------


## LCP

Regarding Jarla's social rolls, for the Gossip test you're going to have to tell me what kind of bribes Jarla's seeking before I can come up with names and the favours they want. e.g. a favour for the Jewellers' Guild might get you some jewellery, a favour for a big abbatoir owner might get you a month's supply of pork chops...

For the Perception test, Jarla's assessment is that second to people asking directly for patronage/personal gain, what most people are concerned about is the food situation. They may still be asking out of personal interest, but she hears concerns about fish stocks in the river, land out west going to seed, and people hoarding other foodstuffs than grain. Mostly the people mentioning them all want the subject broached with the Sforzas and/or a favourable introduction to discuss it.

It's also the end of the month which means it's time for some XP!


Elsa
Jarla
Ludo
Sieghard
Urgrim

*Baseline*
100
100
100
100
100

*The Victory Ball*
25
50
25
25
25

*Wolf Tracking*


25
25
25

*Taxation Troubles*


25
25


*Tutoring Tatiana*
25





*The Hexensnacht Masque*

25






Congratulations everyone for having reached IC year 3! The Reaches are looking quite different now to when we started - I think they're going to be more different still by the time we're done.

The timeline's looking quite open from here, and I'm keen to take things at a fair pace to let the players who've been sitting on the sidelines for a while get back into the action. To start with, can I have all of your plans for the 1st week of Nachexen?

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard's birthday is on the 11th, so he'll probably try to arrange something for that.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> It's also the end of the month which means it's time for some XP!


Dang, I was hoping the bread riot would be worth something.

I still don't have enough XP for career completion (one skill left), career switch and Dodge Blow, so I'll postpone it to next month and buy Inextinguishable Flame. I think I've mentioned IC that Elsa was researching such a spell.





> To start with, can I have all of your plans for the 1st week of Nachexen?


Coming soon.

----------


## RossN

> Regarding Jarla's social rolls, for the Gossip test you're going to have to tell me what kind of bribes Jarla's seeking before I can come up with names and the favours they want. e.g. a favour for the Jewellers' Guild might get you some jewellery, a favour for a big abbatoir owner might get you a month's supply of pork chops...
> 
> For the Perception test, Jarla's assessment is that second to people asking directly for patronage/personal gain, what most people are concerned about is the food situation. They may still be asking out of personal interest, but she hears concerns about fish stocks in the river, land out west going to seed, and people hoarding other foodstuffs than grain. Mostly the people mentioning them all want the subject broached with the Sforzas and/or a favourable introduction to discuss it.
> 
> It's also the end of the month which means it's time for some XP!
> 
> 
> Elsa
> Jarla
> ...


Yay! XP. Jarla now has quite a lot of it in the bank for when she eventually changes career.

As for bribes consultancy fees Jarla would probably be looking at jewellery, shoes and clothes. Those are the most expensive part of her expenditure anyway and as someone who knows about the food shortages I think she might hesitate to take food (wine on the other hand...)

As for the general food situation I think Jarla will probably go to Abdul Al-Makir first to discuss the ins and outs of things before going straight to the Sforzas. She knows there are shortages and she knows that is something that has to be dealt with but it seems more like a problem that she needs to build support at court for.

I'll try and come up with a weeks plan shortly!

----------


## TheSummoner

Put a bit of thought into Sieghard's to-do list. His immediate concern will be seeing to local concerns. For example, I know Hegalun mentioned having difficulty keeping the workers fed. Sieghard will see what he can do about that, either keeping some of what comes in on tax day or seeing if Manaan's Keep has any excess they'd be willing to trade.

Birthday plans, I think Sieghard would prefer to try to get everyone together, Jarla being in Savonne isn't too much of an issue, but Elsa heading off to Alvarran makes things a bit more difficult. The options I'm seeing are either forgetting about it and just doing something local in Painford or coming up with an excuse to head north for a bit. Best idea I have for the latter is an extended bar crawl.

Edit: Sieghard doesn't have any experience banked, so only one advance this month. Looking over his sheet, he only needs one to finish the minimum requirements for Captain anyways, so it makes the choice easy. He'll take Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying) and next month I'll have to think if there's any optional advances I want or if it's time to just move him into a new career (as of now he still lacks the best quality weapons for Champion, so Explorer and Targeteer are the likely options)

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## -Sentinel-

> Birthday plans, I think Sieghard would prefer to try to get everyone together, Jarla being in Savonne isn't too much of an issue, but Elsa heading off to Alvarran makes things a bit more difficult. The options I'm seeing are either forgetting about it and just doing something local in Painford or coming up with an excuse to head north for a bit. Best idea I have for the latter is an extended bar crawl.


I can't really imagine our characters traveling for days in winter just to celebrate a birthday, to be honest. Maybe halflings make a big deal out of birthdays when the wealthiest man in town turns 111, but _we_ have responsibilities.


*@ LCP:* What is Carraciolo planning to do upon returning north? Is he staying in Alvarran, or is he resuming his bandit hunt? This may inform my plans for the next week.


In any case, one of the first things Elsa will do is set up an inextinguishable fire in whatever passes for Alvarran's public square. She has a rare opportunity to start from scratch with the locals and she's determined to make good use of it.

Target 8+ with Channeling: (2d10)[*5*][*7*](12)
New attempt if failed: (2d10)[*3*][*8*](11)

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## TheSummoner

> I can't really imagine our characters traveling for days in winter just to celebrate a birthday, to be honest. Maybe halflings make a big deal out of birthdays when the wealthiest man in town turns 111, but _we_ have responsibilities.


Good point. I suppose a modest feast day in Painford (still with plenty of drinking) is probably the best option.

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## LeSwordfish

I have what I think is a neat idea for how Ludo can spend the winter, but it might feel a bit odd if he starts it and then immediately vanishes after a week. Is it reasonably safe to assume that we're moving on a scale of weeks for a little while now? Obviously there's Very Bad News coming IC, but is it reasonable to make decisions based on the idea that we're not going to have to immediately set off on an adventure after the first eight days?

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## LCP

> What is Carraciolo planning to do upon returning north? Is he staying in Alvarran, or is he resuming his bandit hunt?


The bandit hunt is done with, he'll be staying put.




> Is it reasonably safe to assume that we're moving on a scale of weeks for a little while now? Obviously there's Very Bad News coming IC, but is it reasonable to make decisions based on the idea that we're not going to have to immediately set off on an adventure after the first eight days?


I would say that's the default for the time being, and it's reasonable for your characters to assume they've got time for such things.

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## LeSwordfish

Sure, okay!

My idea for Ludo's winter activity is to start something like a schoolhouse in Adelbert's old shrine, to teach the kids (and any interested adults) of Painford and the local area their basic literacy/numeracy. I'm aware that this is pretty anachronistic, so feel free to veto it on that basis if you want, but my thinking is:
Ludo has done this for Urgi and Sieghard (and also a little for Tatiana?) by now.He thinks it's a nice way to honour Adelbert's memory, and the shrine is just sitting around unused.It's a nice way to give back to the town that doesn't cost much.It's a pretty common idea that Halflings have slightly better living standards than anyone else (compare the Shire to Rohan), so I think it's very possible Ludo, Petra, Nobby etc attended something like this in Last Water, presumably a cultural holdover from the Mootland.It's a fun "retirement" for Ludo to be dragged out of.

Would probably need slates and chalk or paper and ink, so let me know how much that costs. Probably a few mornings or afternoons a week, and I might approach Rhadegund about doing some of the teaching, since presumably that'll fit around her working-in-a-bar schedule. Unless it comes out as super expensive, Ludo won't charge for it, instead suggesting donations to the shrine, which can get quietly handed out as alms.

EDIT: Ludo had 25xp remaining, so has picked up Consume Alcohol and Gamble +10. The skills you want to know your teacher has.

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## LCP

Doesn't sound too anachronistic to me. Chalk and slate will definitely be cheaper (and more re-usable) than ink and parchment, but both are probably not in huge supply in Painford. If you can make a Gossip test at +0, that'll give us a baseline for how much Ludo can source in 1 week from passing pedlars and the like. If he wants more, he might have to send off for it to somewhere with a more plentiful supply.

@RossN: okey dokey, here are your leads
Petar, the new head of the Savonne Guild of Jewellers and Mineworkers, is concerned that relations between his guild and the Dwimmulsons were damaged during the dwarfs' exodus from the city, and would like the Sforzas' assistance in trying to reconcile them enough to restore the more profitable supply arrangements they had before.Marija, a high-class tailor, is clearly jealous of Emerich, the rival who made Irene's dress. She'd appreciate a chance to show him up.Aloysius, a vintner, is concerned that the royal household is purchasing mostly imported wine from the north, which makes wine made in the Reaches seem unfashionable. Getting conspicuous royal approval for a local wine would help his business.

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## LeSwordfish

Gossip is vs 72: (1d100)[*24*], re-roll (1d100)[*52*]
Haggle vs 82: (1d100)[*57*], re-roll (1d100)[*64*]

What's Hegalun using for Sieghard's house? (both in terms of for calculations and on the roof) Perhaps Ludo could dip into her supplies to get started, and she'd have a source on where to get more.

EDIT: Will also presumably need something big to write on, like a blackboard? And eventually some books but that seems worth a trip to Savonne for, since picking out the right ones might be worth Ludo doing himself.

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## LCP

> What's Hegalun using for Sieghard's house?


That's an excellent thought. Given the location, I think it's unlikely that Hegalun would have opted for a slate roof unless Sieghard specifically instructed (& paid) her to - clay tiles or wooden shingles would be cheaper and more readily available. But maybe those would also make reasonable writing surfaces? I'm sure someone in Painford could find or make some black paint.

A couple of dozen roofing tiles are not really going to be a noticeable drop in the house-construction ocean, but Hegalun's a dwarf so she'll bill you for the sake of propriety - let's say 6p per tile. And with that Gossip + Haggle roll I think Ludo can probably luck into finding a passing trader with a big bag of chalk - a months' supply of ~100 sticks for 5gc, 14s, 5p.




> EDIT: Will also presumably need something big to write on, like a blackboard? And eventually some books but that seems worth a trip to Savonne for, since picking out the right ones might be worth Ludo doing himself.


The latest wiki hole this game has sent me down suggests that blackboards weren't super common until more recent times, which suggests that you could get by without one and still be up to the standards that people would expect for a rural schoolhouse. But I think you could also absolutely get someone in the village to cobble together a large writing surface out of wood or something similar. You could even just paint a space on the wall.

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## LeSwordfish

> That's an excellent thought. Given the location, I think it's unlikely that Hegalun would have opted for a slate roof unless Sieghard specifically instructed (& paid) her to - clay tiles or wooden shingles would be cheaper and more readily available. But maybe those would also make reasonable writing surfaces? I'm sure someone in Painford could find or make some black paint.
> 
> A couple of dozen roofing tiles are not really going to be a noticeable drop in the house-construction ocean, but Hegalun's a dwarf so she'll bill you for the sake of propriety - let's say 6p per tile. And with that Gossip + Haggle roll I think Ludo can probably luck into finding a passing trader with a big bag of chalk - a months' supply of ~100 sticks for 5gc, 14s, 5p.
> 
> The latest wiki hole this game has sent me down suggests that blackboards weren't super common until more recent times, which suggests that you could get by without one and still be up to the standards that people would expect for a rural schoolhouse. But I think you could also absolutely get someone in the village to cobble together a large writing surface out of wood or something similar. You could even just paint a space on the wall.


Sounds like the big pricing question is how many students there'll be! (5GC a month for chalk is a lot!) I've found it pretty hard to get estimates for what the proportion of children was in contemporaneous times - I know death in childhood was very common, so people had lots of kids, but tailed off by the ages of six or so, so maybe current rates (5-6% aged 5-10) is a good enough estimate? Do I recall an estimate of Painford's population as "a bit more than 100"? So... ten students? Round up a bit for farmhouses within an hour or so's walk and the possibility of older/younger kids, round down a bit for parents not wanting it? Ludo will throw a quick charm test at the town in general to convince them of the value of Education, but isn't going to give them the hard sell. (1d100)[*77*] vs i probably pass.

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## LCP

Yeah sorry, my "month's supply" comment there was me working off a rough estimate of how many people you could fit in the building being ~24 (as a possible end state where you attract adult students too). Your estimate of the class size is probably more realistic and means that amount would go twice as far.

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## LeSwordfish

Works for me! I imagine it'd pick up in summer when people are more willing to travel for it. I'm also going to throw a Charm test at Rhadegund to see if she'd be interested in working as a teacher: (1d100)[*99*]. Ludo is offering to pay - I've no idea how much that would be IC because I'm away from my books so can't check comparisons, but whatever the baseline is, Ludo will let her haggle it up a little. Like I said, probably a few mornings/afternoons each week.

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## LeSwordfish

That's a failed charm test, so I'll re-roll: (1d100)[*22*]

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## -Sentinel-

Elsa will want to find more Nehekharan writings. I regret having to leave Savonne so soon, because we know from Meskhenet that it used to be a Nehekharan city. What's the oldest part of the city that's accessible to Elsa? Perhaps she has time to take some hieroglyph rubbings with parchment and charcoal. The Prince's servants likely know the location of any old writings in the castle's wine cellar or dungeons.

She would also like to gather any written knowledge we have about necromancy and dark magic, if only to keep it safe. Were there still books in Duke Wulf's secret library when Sforza took Savonne? If not, Elsa will have to ask what became of those books to Janos Forkbeard in Castel d'Irena, unless he's been freed or executed in the interim.

Elsa will ask Carraciolo if Greasy Drop still exists. She's not planning to go there yet, but it's one of the places where one is most likely to find Turnpike Hollow refugees (if any) or others who know a bit about the Pale Waste.

Other plans in Castel d'Irena:
Continue Tatiana's training.Start studying Hieronymus's notes.Via travellers in local taverns (because clearly the Prince's men don't have much knowledge themselves), keep an ear to the ground about what's happening in the Raven Hills, e.g. who's ruling Morr's Seat, how the wolf situation is evolving, and whether the desert is still expanding. Gossip 44: (d100)[*82*], Fortune (d100)[*61*]  :Small Annoyed: Get on a first-name basis with Carraciolo, because Elsa is tired of other officers calling each other "Giovanni" and "Esteban" but calling her "Holt" or "the witch".

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## LeSwordfish

> Elsa will ask Carraciolo if Greasy Drop still exists.


_*smash cut to armin's body, rotting in a gibbet*_

(I think the people of Greasy Drop were the first of those that went with Armin).

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## -Sentinel-

> _*smash cut to armin's body, rotting in a gibbet*_
> 
> (I think the people of Greasy Drop were the first of those that went with Armin).


I think so, too. But some may have stayed. And others who were driven out of their homes by the expanding desert may have seen all the empty houses in Greasy Drop, and said:

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## TheSummoner

This has been put on the backburner, but now seems like it might be a pretty good time... Sforza wanted Sieghard to start up recruiting again. With winter well upon us, the idea of guaranteed meals and a warm place to sleep is probably pretty appealing about now. May as well give it a shot.

(1d100)[*67*] vs 27 untrained charm
(1d100)[*86*] reroll

With the manor nearly done, it also strikes me that the cost of construction likely doesn't include any sort of furnishing. That's also something Sieghard is going to need to get sorted out.

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## LCP

I think if Ludo's offering fair pay there's not much reason for Rhadegund to say no. For someone her age I think a fair rate would be something like 15p a day. I'll give her a Haggle roll (vs. untrained 18) if you want to let that inform how much Ludo will offer her: (1d100)[*53*]

Elsa absolutely doesn't have time to go looking for hieroglyphs that she doesn't even know the location of yet. Carraciolo meant it when he said he was leaving in the morning.




> Were there still books in Duke Wulf's secret library when Sforza took Savonne? If not, Elsa will have to ask what became of those books to Janos Forkbeard in Castel d'Irena, unless he's been freed or executed in the interim.


Yes, I think one of the PCs has been in there since then (Adelbert? can't remember). But Alvarr claimed to have burned the shady one. Forkbeard was brought to Savonne after Alvarran fell.




> Elsa will ask Carraciolo if Greasy Drop still exists


Carraciolo's response will be something along the lines of "greasy where now?"




> With the manor nearly done, it also strikes me that the cost of construction likely doesn't include any sort of furnishing. That's also something Sieghard is going to need to get sorted out.


Yes, that was something I was going to raise at some point!



Once I have Jarla's plans for the week I think I'll be ready to move things along. Thanks everyone for the plans so far!

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## LeSwordfish

> I think if Ludo's offering fair pay there's not much reason for Rhadegund to say no. For someone her age I think a fair rate would be something like 15p a day. I'll give her a Haggle roll (vs. untrained 18) if you want to let that inform how much Ludo will offer her: [roll0]


Let's say Ludo allows her to talk him up to 17p a day and then rounds that up to twelve schillings a month, for four mornings a week. Plus 2GC 17s chalk monthly, let's round that up to 4GC for a monthly total for simplicity and to cover tiles, plus presumably

So: Staffing 12s
Chalk: 2GC, 17S
Ludo's rent: 14s, 11p
Tiles: 6p*10 = 5s, and assume that's monthly as well for breakages
= about 6GC, let's assume that's what the school and his house costs him in the above and little maintenance jobs.

Unless there's anything I've mentioned OOC that you want to object to, I'm happy to write up something about the Ludovic Stubbs Preparatory Academy (no?) - that'd be after your IC for the week, right?

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## -Sentinel-

> Elsa absolutely doesn't have time to go looking for hieroglyphs that she doesn't even know the location of yet. Carraciolo meant it when he said he was leaving in the morning.


Aw, damn. Wish I'd thought of it at some point since our return from Nath. I'll do it on my next visit to Savonne.





> Forkbeard was brought to Savonne after Alvarran fell.


And then he was sent back.  :Small Wink: 

*Edit:* But it seems most of my questions have already been answered a while back. I guess maybe part of me is just curious about his status.





> Carraciolo's response will be something along the lines of "greasy where now?"


Hah, some Lord-Lieutenant of the North he is.  :Small Tongue:  Maybe he just has too many towns and villages under his rule to keep track of them all, and someone should take a dozen off his hands.

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## TheSummoner

> Yes, that was something I was going to raise at some point!


Well, it is something I could see Sieghard overlooking until he walked into the finished building and saw how empty it was  :Small Big Grin: 

I'd imagine anything Sieghard would need could be made locally. Finances are still a bit tight, so for the moment he's probably going to stick mostly to essentials (though he'd want quality craftsmanship). Not sure how much detail you want to get into on this... I did a bit of digging around in the Old World Armory and there's some stuff listed on page 63, but the list is hardly complete and some of the prices seem a bit... _off_. The price of a desk being over 6 times the price of a table, for example.




> Hah, some Lord-Lieutenant of the North he is.  Maybe he just has too many towns and villages under his rule to keep track of them all, and someone should take a dozen off his hands.


Seems like he doesn't takes it all that seriously. All the more reason someone should. Hey Jarla, any thoughts on a quick marriage and subsequent widowing?

Edit: Random musings related to Ludo's schoolhouse project. Not important, but interesting enough that I thought it worth talking about.

Historical illiteracy rates tend to be rather exaggerated. It's been a while since I dug into it, but from what I recall, people in the medieval period and renaissance tended towards being literate enough to get by - with higher rates of literacy in urban centers and lower in more rural areas for obvious reasons. I've heard that a big reason for the misconception is that English nobility historically spoke French, and that if you were a commoner who could read and write perfectly well in English, you would still be considered illiterate for not knowing French. This being Warhammer and also being the Border Princes specifically though, actual in-universe literacy rates reflecting the common misconception might actually be pretty reasonable, however, and since Ludo is setting this up to teach children who might not have had a chance to learn even if we were in a high literacy setting, it's not like there's any sort of logical issues. Also interesting, the standardized spellings of words is also a fairly modern thing, only having started around 1755 according to five minutes in Google. I've made a few jokes about Sieghard having terrible spelling, but if there's no set standard, whose to say that he's doing it wrong?

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## LeSwordfish

> I've made a few jokes about Sieghard having terrible spelling, but if there's no set standard, whose to say that he's doing it wrong?


I can really see Sieghard spelling his name like Shakespeare (i.e. different every time and nobody minds)

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## RossN

> Doesn't sound too anachronistic to me. Chalk and slate will definitely be cheaper (and more re-usable) than ink and parchment, but both are probably not in huge supply in Painford. If you can make a Gossip test at +0, that'll give us a baseline for how much Ludo can source in 1 week from passing pedlars and the like. If he wants more, he might have to send off for it to somewhere with a more plentiful supply.
> 
> @RossN: okey dokey, here are your leads
> Petar, the new head of the Savonne Guild of Jewellers and Mineworkers, is concerned that relations between his guild and the Dwimmulsons were damaged during the dwarfs' exodus from the city, and would like the Sforzas' assistance in trying to reconcile them enough to restore the more profitable supply arrangements they had before.Marija, a high-class tailor, is clearly jealous of Emerich, the rival who made Irene's dress. She'd appreciate a chance to show him up.Aloysius, a vintner, is concerned that the royal household is purchasing mostly imported wine from the north, which makes wine made in the Reaches seem unfashionable. Getting conspicuous royal approval for a local wine would help his business.


Okay, good to know.

For her week Jarla will:

* Conduct inventory on the keep's wine cellars to see what the actual quality is like compared with the local wines - she'll be working with Mouna on this I imagine.
* Try arrange a meeting between herself and Sforza about the guild and the Dwimmulsons.
* Start planning ahead for the next celebration (a royal birthday, or holiday?) so she can keep Marija informed. Also keep up fashion discussions with Irene to see what La Princepessa is looking for in a new dress.

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## Thragka

Hi folks, sorry I've been AWOL for so long. I'm getting to the crunch stage of my PhD and I'm just a teeny bit creatively burnt out right now. Thankfully I've got a nice ten-day holiday coming up mid-October, in Portugal with my partner and my parents, which will also be the first time I've seen my parents since Christmas 2019. I think that'll be a much-needed chance to rest and creatively recharge. But until then I think I'm probably not going to be able to increase my activity rates here, so I think Urgrim should (go onto / continue to be on) autopilot for the next 2-3 weeks. I'm taking the holiday from the 13th to the 22nd of October, so that'll be the point where I try to get back into the Urgrim headspace.  :Small Smile:

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## -Sentinel-

> For her week Jarla will:
> 
> * Conduct inventory on the keep's wine cellars to see what the actual quality is like compared with the local wines - she'll be working with Mouna on this I imagine.


Elsa wishes she could be there to help with this. I know it's a heavy workload for poor Jarla.


Hi *Thragka*. Hope you enjoy Portugal. I liked it a lot, myself.




Hey, um... I only _just_ noticed this, despite it being at the top of the first post in the current IC thread:




> It didn't take long for the last of Valdes' men to re-emerge. Two were carrying a heavy, iron-bound chest that jingled when they put it down. *Two more were escorting a single filthy, terrified-looking Rivermouth man, so lean that Elsa could count his ribs through the rags of his shirt.* The others carried no more than haunted expressions.


Did any of our PCs follow up on this? I don't think we did. (Elsa was the only one present when Sforza ransacked Nahorek's tower in Nath, and I completely missed that detail at the time. I don't think it was brought up later, unless I missed it yet again.)

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## TheSummoner

I don't think so. Like you said, Elsa was the only one who was even around to know about it.

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## -Sentinel-

> I don't think so. Like you said, Elsa was the only one who was even around to know about it.


Presumably the prisoner was present at the camp too, though it's unclear if he was dragged to Savonne when Sforza struck camp or was added to Sieghard's forced laborers.

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## LCP

Sorry for the delay everyone. Just about to put up the update - as before, the stuff your characters are doing on their own initiative (e.g. the schoolhouse), I'll leave to you to narrate.

*TheSummoner*: I care more about who/where Sieghard gets his furnishings from, and what the final effect will be in the eyes of visiting VIPs, than itemising + pricing every bit and bob. If you can give me a description of the former then we can work out an estimate for the latter.

*RossN:* 
The wine cellar has a lot of dusty old bottles from previous regimes, but most of the stuff the Sforzas have added is expensive Bretonnian imports at Irene's express request. Jarla doesn't yet know what the best of the local wines on offer is, but in terms of prestige and expense it's hard to imagine there's anything comparable.Convincing Sforza that the guilders are worth his time will be an unmodified Charm test.The next big holiday is Mitterfruhl, in about two months. Irene's a summer baby and Muzio's autumn.

If there's stuff I've forgotten here that's not in the IC post, please remind me!

We'll be taking the next week in one go as well, so if you want to start laying your plans for that now, please feel free.

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## RossN

*Charm:* (1d100)[*82*] vs 64.

Hmm... the wine might be tricky. 

Irene is probably a lost cause but does Sforza himself drink? What about the rest of the court?

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## RossN

Oof.

Going to try a Fortune Point on that Charm test: (1d100)[*53*] vs 64

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## -Sentinel-

> Irene is probably a lost cause but does Sforza himself drink? What about the rest of the court?


I don't think there's much of a court in Savonne. There's Sforza and his wife, their lieutenants, some specialists (court wizard, treasurer, and whatever is Jarla's job title), and that's pretty much it. No "dead weight" such as old-money socialites or spoiled failsons like in the courts of the Old World.

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## LCP

Irene's the one whose tastes are particular enough that she gives Mouna specific instructions on what to stock. Sforza, Barbaro and the rest are generally happy to drink what's provided.

Looks like Jarla succeeds her Charm test on the re-roll, so we can assume Sforza will arrange to talk with the Dwimmulsons some time in the next week. The next time she sees Petar the guildmaster, he gives Jarla the gift of a pair of opal earrings, worth ~40gc.

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## TheSummoner

Just a heads up, I'm having some computer trouble and it may be difficult for me to post until I can get it resolved.




> *TheSummoner*: I care more about who/where Sieghard gets his furnishings from, and what the final effect will be in the eyes of visiting VIPs, than itemising + pricing every bit and bob. If you can give me a description of the former then we can work out an estimate for the latter.


I doubt Sieghard is going to be able to actually impress anyone important enough to be worth worrying about, so I think his focus would be more on making sure any guests are comfortable and living up to the position he's risen to. As for where he'd get the furnishings, I'd imagine most, if not all of it could be made locally. If there's one thing Sieghard's petty domain doesn't lack for, it's wood.

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## LCP

I'm digging the account of Ludo's schoolhouse - thanks LeSwordfish!

*TheSummoner* - OK, my rough estimate for the furnishing costs is 140gc (incorporating a 10% discount for buying local). That'll get you:
Nice double beds for the master bedroom + a guest bedroom.A bunk room with 4 bunks.A kitchen fitted out to cook for a large-ish group, and a dining hall with room for 8 sit-down diners.Rugs, curtains, wall-hangings, candlesticks, and all the other necessities for making the space liveable.
None of it will be of fancy craftsmanship or made of expensive materials, but none of it will be shoddy or cheap either. You can bring the price down further with Haggle if you want.

*Sentinel, RossN* - I'm continuing the immediate scenes because they're fun, but feel free to tell me when you want to move on. Sentinel, while we're revisiting old haunts in Alvarran, you might not remember these bits from 2013 but Elsa probably would.

If everyone could start giving me plans for the next IC week then I can get the next timeskip ready ASAP.

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## LeSwordfish

> I'm digging the account of Ludo's schoolhouse - thanks LeSwordfish!


Thanks! Though I do wonder if I could retcon it out of existence in exchange for Ludo being able to burst into the Jacques conversation right now, right after that line, and say "hey, aren't you the guy who we scammed out of his lute".

Ludo is available to help Sieghard with any Haggle rolls needed. I don't have any big plans for him for the next week - the usual mix of training, teaching, being the go-between between the town and the thorns, that sort of thing. Don't take my unwillingness to find more interesting things to do as a sign of me mentally checking out of the game - "Ludo settles into a nice safe routine" is what I want for him at the moment.

Here's a small fun thing - Ludo's going to progress his "sparring" with some of the older kids to offering a bounty of a schilling to any of them that can land a hit on him. I know it's getting increasingly anachronistic for him to be doing this duelling with wooden rulers, but I love that mental image, dammit.

Let's say three of the older children have a try, and Ludo lets them have three combat rounds worth each. He's not attacking back (because he's rubbish at that). Let's give these kids WS rolls of 20, +10 single attack, +20 Ludo isn't trying too hard to "duel", just to dodge.
Kid 1 (Uter's son): (1d100)[*3*] attack, (1d100)[*19*] dodge | (1d100)[*79*] attack, (1d100)[*98*] dodge, | (1d100)[*72*] attack, (1d100)[*47*] dodge, 
Kid 2: (1d100)[*61*] attack, (1d100)[*81*] dodge | (1d100)[*59*] attack, (1d100)[*10*] dodge, | (1d100)[*12*] attack, (1d100)[*23*] dodge, 
Kid 3: (1d100)[*18*] attack, (1d100)[*23*] dodge | (1d100)[*6*] attack, (1d100)[*88*] dodge, | (1d100)[*26*] attack, (1d100)[*23*] dodge,

Kid 3 manages it, with a hell of a roll too!

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## RossN

For the next week Jarla is going to find out if she can discretely discover when and where the next shipment of wine is coming up - she's going to see if she can do this without involving or alerting Mouna. She'll also have to visit Aloysius to see what the local wines really are like.

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## -Sentinel-

My posting may be patchy over the next few days, starting Wednesday around 2pm in LCP's time zone. I realize this comes at an awkward time.  :Small Frown: 

I don't have any plans set in stone yet for the next in-game week. As I said IC, I'd _like_ to go to Hartmut's Fall and, from there, possibly Morr's Seat, unless the guy who runs Hartmut's Fall warns us that it's suicide. Obviously Elsa cannot hide her identity (why did I ever think it a good idea to give her facial tattoos???), but looking for evidence of Nahorek's return isn't really a task she can delegate to some hired rando. What she needs is some travel companions who can handle themselves in a fight, but don't look like a bunch of cops coming to enforce the Prince's law. That means no uniforms, and preferably no Tileans (I doubt Carraciolo would lend us any of his vets in any case). We also must not look too rich (no horses!).

Are there any active-duty soldiers in Shepherd's Valley who are not Tileans? E.g. militiamen or the likes?

I'd say the biggest unknown quantity is Arne Golden-Hair. We don't know what kind of power or influence (if any) he currently holds in Morr's Seat, and besides, he won't necessarily be our ally just because we fought on the same side that one time. But if Elsa goes around asking questions about vampire lore and the wolf problem, I imagine the hill men will be happy to answer them, since this is a matter they're all concerned about.

----------


## LCP

> Are there any active-duty soldiers in Shepherd's Valley who are not Tileans? E.g. militiamen or the likes?


Carraciolo has half the Iron Company with him, that's all the soldiers he needs. He may have some new Iron Company recruits who are locals.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Okay. Here's my plan.

Elsa will spend most of the week training Tatiana, while trying to fish for rumors from travelers at the Beetle. She wants to hear about the wolves, about the general mood of the population in the Raven Hills, and about who the people in Morr's Seat consider their chief or ruler. She's willing to buy beers to those who supply her with intel.

Gossip 44: (d100)[*86*]
Fortune: (d100)[*9*]

Next, she would like to borrow two of Carraciolo's local recruits (volunteers if possible) for a trip of up to 10 days, and will offer them double pay from her own pocket for the duration of the trip (with a bonus if any fighting is required of them). If Carraciolo requires convincing, feel free to roll any necessary tests on my behalf, with re-roll if needed. But I'd really like to have those men. Traveling with a group made up solely of women would look suspicious.

At the end of the week, I want Elsa, Olga and Tattie in Hartmut's Fall. Then I'll decide what to do next.

As I said earlier: no horses.


*Edit:* To be clear, I'll still be able to follow the game thread (and post if necessary). It just won't be as convenient. So if there's a need for a lot of back-and-forth, it'll slow us down considerably

----------


## TheSummoner

I _think_ my computer issues are sorted out. Sieghard doesn't have much planned. I mentioned before he wants to have a modest feast day in Painford for his birthday. Aside from that, he'll continue trying to find new recruits. If Ludo's got the time, Sieghard probably needs a lot more help with that than he does haggling.

(1d100)[*87*] vs 27 untrained charm to recruit.
(1d100)[*67*] reroll

(1d100)[*3*] vs 64 haggle for furnishings
(1d100)[*97*] reroll

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## LCP

@Sentinel - I think Carraciolo has 0 chance of agreeing to help if Elsa tells him straight what shes up to. Ill roll Charm for her to test her ability to lie, or at least be selective with the truth - if she can make out like shes just out and about on some errand he wouldnt be interested in, then hell probably not be too fussed. If youre not happy with having deceived him to some degree, let me know.

*Charm* - (1d100)[*48*]
*Fortune* - (1d100)[*30*]

@TheSummoner - I think with two weeks of unsuccessful rolls, Sieghards probably getting an impression that pickings are slim around Painford for recruiting from the Thornwood folks - but you do have this pack of labourers from the Downlands that youre trying to figure out what to do with

Also thats one hell of a haggle roll. With that I think you can have the lot for 98gc.

----------


## RossN

@Sentinel I think if Elsa is going to get on Carraciolo's good side she might need Jarla there to help smooth things over - I'm going to have Jarla there at some point anyway so we'll have to talk shop!

----------


## -Sentinel-

@ LCP: I'd rather not deceive Carraciolo. Not even by omission. If one of his men is killed or injured over a lie, there will be hell to pay for Elsa.

Instead Elsa will try to recruit two local mercs; I imagine there are some out-of-work soldiers from the Alvarr years. She will offer a 2.5 gc wage (is that reasonable?), and a 20 gc compensation to the merc's family in case of death in action. The latter serves as both incentive and insurance: our mercs won't be tempted to double-cross us if they already told us where their wives or mothers live.

Carraciolo will be informed of Elsa's plan.


@ RossN: Appreciate the offer, but Jarla is not in Alvarran. Plus, Elsa wouldn't be comfortable with that arrangement. She wants to be respected, and having your friend trade sex for favors on your behalf doesn't exactly earn you respect.

----------


## LCP

OK, the next week's update is up. I leave Sieghard's birthday, the schoolhouse swordfights and anything else I've left off for you guys to write!

----------


## -Sentinel-

Yaaaay, Sorin and Skender! Nice to see familiar faces.  :Small Big Grin:

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## LCP

Well, you rolled a 9 on your gossip test, I thought that deserved a good find!

----------


## -Sentinel-

I'm back from my trip.





> there was talk of people being turfed out of the tent town,


The Prince's men will need to _carry_ Elsa's inextinguishable fires someplace else, burning log by burning log.  :Small Tongue:

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## TheSummoner

LeSwordfish, does Ludo have anything to say about the letter Sieghard showed him?

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## LeSwordfish

Sorry, I missed that! I've edited something into the last Ludo post.

A question that occured to me the other day - is there a particular reason Sforza is styling himself as "Prince" instead of "King"? Or is that just how we're translating _Principe_ which is the most senior term in tilean?

----------


## LCP

Yeah, really he's _il principe_. The rulers of the Tilean city-states style themselves as merchant princes so that's what Sforza's gone for too.

Also, welcome to the Raven Hills Elsa! As you can see, they like ravens here.

I've moved Elsa ahead to this point because it seemed like where she needed to be to start making plans. I think for the group as a whole though we can keep moving ahead in 1-week increments - if the rest of you want to give me your plans, we're looking at the week ending the 24th.

----------


## RossN

With the Border Princes I get the impression the rulers get to call themselves whatever they want and culture plays a part in that. When If Jarla seizes power she might call herself a Gräfin.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm not entirely sure what Rhadegund is saying and wondered if it might be more clear to Ludo in context - when she says "that was what being a priest meant to him", is she referring to Verena, or Adelbert gallivanting into ruins? Is "for him, but not for us" an objection to being left behind?

----------


## RossN

> I'm not entirely sure what Rhadegund is saying and wondered if it might be more clear to Ludo in context - when she says "that was what being a priest meant to him", is she referring to Verena, or Adelbert gallivanting into ruins? Is "for him, but not for us" an objection to being left behind?


I think Jarla and Rhadegund only interacted once and it wasn't particularly friendly but she is still around of course.

(I think she's technically met Bertelis too, when he was with Hieronymus.)

----------


## LCP

> I'm not entirely sure what Rhadegund is saying and wondered if it might be more clear to Ludo in context - when she says "that was what being a priest meant to him", is she referring to Verena, or Adelbert gallivanting into ruins? Is "for him, but not for us" an objection to being left behind?


Yes, she's referring to Adelbert going off and having adventures while he left her and Bertelis to fend for themselves.

----------


## LeSwordfish

For next week, Ludo is going to:
Keep the school going.Keep stuff with the Thorns going.Talk through the refugees, with the following goals:Persuade some to keep moving on south. Charm: (1d100)[*59*] vs 92, re-roll (1d100)[*74*]Gossip, to find any who are already literate and numerate, or have any military/bouncer training. Gossip: (1d100)[*78*] vs 72, re-roll (1d100)[*44*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Elsa's week will be contingent on what kind of welcome she receives in Morr's Seat, but provided people are not too hostile to her, she will be listening to local Jackal folklore as well as news regarding the wolves and the mysterious wind from the Pale Waste. She comes humblyas a seeker of knowledge rather than an agent of the Prince.

She didn't bring that much money for lodgings and food, but there are other ways ("If you take me under your roof, your hearth will not grow cold for an entire moon").

Inextinguishable Flame 8+ with Channeling: (2d10)[*2*][*5*](7)
2nd attempt if needed: (2d10)[*3*][*6*](9)

----------


## LCP

Sorry for the lack of updates everyone, work has been kicking my arse a bit this week. I have stuff that I need to post for the here & now in the IC that isn't waiting on anybody but me, but I'd still like to hear Sieghard and Jarla's plans for the week ahead, if they have any.

----------


## TheSummoner

Longterm goal will be to get the refugees resettled (whether back in the Downlands or somewhere in the Thornwood), but I think anything specific or noteworthy Sieghard does will depend on what Ludo can find out from talking to them.

----------


## RossN

Jarla is going to look into that fencing school idea. First she'll check around to see if there actually_ is_ any interest in wannabe nobles studying the art of the blade and then see if she can rent premises for her school. Also a visit to the armoury to see if there are any useful weapons or other material around she can purloin to keep her overhead down.

----------


## LCP

> First she'll check around to see if there actually_ is_ any interest in wannabe nobles studying the art of the blade and then see if she can rent premises for her school.


A couple of Gossip tests seem appropriate there. For the second, is there anywhere in particular you're looking?




> Also a visit to the armoury to see if there are any useful weapons or other material around she can purloin to keep her overhead down.


You can bet your last pfennig that Abdul runs a tight ship when it comes to Iron Company supplies. If you want to steal or 'borrow' from Sforza's army then that'll be something worth playing out IC. If you want to see what rusty old broadswords etc. are kicking around from the leftovers of previous regimes, then that'll still be in Abdul's gift, but he may be persuadable. Can you come up with something that's in it for him?

Re: Ludo's rolls: I think he'll be successful in convincing more than a few of the Downlanders to keep heading south, although the rate he keeps them moving through is similar to the rate that new people are currently arriving. Of the ones who are staying, he finds two who have some experience working as caravan guards, and one who knows his sums and letters. You can name them if you want.

----------


## RossN

> A couple of Gossip tests seem appropriate there. For the second, is there anywhere in particular you're looking?


Gossip: (1d100)[*51*] vs 64

Gossip: (1d100)[*33*] vs 64

As for space Jarla is looking for somewhere empty but large enough to actually stage a duel in with potentially other students watching.




> You can bet your last pfennig that Abdul runs a tight ship when it comes to Iron Company supplies. If you want to steal or 'borrow' from Sforza's army then that'll be something worth playing out IC. If you want to see what rusty old broadswords etc. are kicking around from the leftovers of previous regimes, then that'll still be in Abdul's gift, but he may be persuadable. Can you come up with something that's in it for him?


Hmm, it doesn't really sound like he has anything she'd want anyway.

Ideally Jarla would be looking for rapiers, foils, sabres and main gauches but they are all hideously expensive so she'll wait to see if there is any interest before taking the plunge.

----------


## LCP

OK, I would say with a week of intensive opinion-gathering among the sort of people she invited to the ball, Jarla finds that the interest for a fencing school is mild rather than wild. There are people who are interested in chasing a trend (if Irene is doing it they ought to be doing it) and people who are interested in self-defence, but the memory of the sieges is fresh, and there's some healthy skepticism about the value of learning to fight against an opponent who's playing by the same set of rules. Her overall impression is that there is some money to be made here, but she'll need some charm and salesmanship to really make it work.

She also gets wind of 3 potential locations:
There are a large number of new-built houses that have sprung up in the Old Town out of the ashes of the Geheimnisnacht fire, and the rate of turnover in tenants is apparently quite high, meaning there's probably at least one or two available for rent.The grain merchants have warehouses that are now standing empty, and that they would probably be happy to be able to lease out until supply levels return to normal.There's an unused guard tower in the city wall near the South Market that's been colonised by squatters. If they could be cleared out it would offer a fairly large space.
As far as rapiers, foils and so on go - high-status weapons like that are naturally in short supply. Probably the only large stock of them is with Valdes and the Brotherhood in Mirino.

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## RossN

Hmm... a tower of one's own sounds very tempting.

Are these squatters civilians with nowhere else to go or are we talking more about criminals?

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## LeSwordfish

I think the perk of being a member of the Royal household is that that's up to you.

I'm away this weekend - feel free to assume ludo has passed his findings on to Sieghard.

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## Thragka

Hey gang! I am feeling very well rested after my holiday. Obviously I don't expect the intensity of the home stretch of my Ph.D. to let up any time soon, but I've definitely recovered from the acute burnout I was grappling with.

LCP, would now be an appropriate time for Urgrim to buy Ride? I have made mention over the previous IC month or two that he'd be trying to practise behind the scenes  I'd originally intended to play that out in character a bit, but c'est la vie.

I'm also looking towards Urgrim's career prospects as he comes to the end of Scout. To get into Badlands Ranger, he needs a horse. He's a while away from being able to afford that yet, but I wanted to ask if a mule would be a suitable substitution there  a smaller mule would be more, aha, _Urginomic_ while still having the necessary strength and hardiness, and I also feel like in terms of personality, a dwarf is going to get on better with a donkey or mule than a horse.

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## LCP

> _Urginomic_


god damn it

Badlands Ranger doesn't appear to have a horse in its trapping requirements. Scout does, but that's the career Urgrim's already in - I think I must've made a dawixception there (which I'd still be inclined to do for a new career). Either way, if you're looking to purchase a mount, don't feel constrained by trappings requirements.




> Are these squatters civilians with nowhere else to go or are we talking more about criminals?


Well, those categories aren't mutually exclusive. The kind of people Jarla's been talking to this week won't be the type of people to go and hang out with them - if she's interested in hearing their side of the story she should probably pay them a visit.

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## RossN

In hat case Jarla is bound for the tower to check it out.

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## Thragka

> Badlands Ranger doesn't appear to have a horse in its trapping requirements. Scout does, but that's the career Urgrim's already in - I think I must've made a dawixception there (which I'd still be inclined to do for a new career). Either way, if you're looking to purchase a mount, don't feel constrained by trappings requirements.


Ah, good catch  I was working from memory. Now that you say it, it does ring a bell that we may have discussed the exception during character creation. I won't prioritise buying a mount yet since you're happy to extend that exception. However, I'll still buy Ride with a chunk of the Vorhexen XP (I'm inferring you don't have an issue with that). There've been a few times Urgrim's had to ride in someone's lap, so as silly as he feels learning to bounce around on horseback, it's still better knowing how to do it by himself instead of inevitably going through that ignominy again.

----------


## Thragka

Okay  catching up on the IC thread, I see Elsa's been exiled from the court to Castel d'Irena, and currently on expedition to the Raven Hills to chase up rumours of the Jackal revenant; Jarla's still at court in Savonne flirting with the hottest guys in school; and Ludo and Sieghard are in Painford dealing with the refugee influx. Let's assume Urgrim's in Painford too  I don't see where else he'd have been over the past few weeks.

Would Elsa and/or Jarla have revealed to the other PCs about Sanne's testimony to Sforza? And, I suppose, is there anything else major I should be aware of?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Would Elsa and/or Jarla have revealed to the other PCs about Sanne's testimony to Sforza?


Elsa didn't send word, no.

We really need to get a postal service up and running. I think we're rich enough, collectively, to make it happen. Most major population centers in the Reaches are along the same axis.

----------


## Thragka

Oh, sorry, a specific detail that you might want to know is that Urgrim was at the Hexensnacht ball, even though I wasn't particularly active at the time. So they could have mentioned it to him in person. But as far as the postal service goes, it's an idea Urgrim and Ludo have been half-heartedly considering before now!

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## -Sentinel-

> Oh, sorry, a specific detail that you might want to know is that Urgrim was at the Hexensnacht ball, even though I wasn't particularly active at the time. So they could have mentioned it to him in person.


Yes, in this case, Elsa definitely would have told him, especially if she knew Urgrim planned to join Sieghard in Painford afterwards.

Mind, it's a bit awkward to miss the part of the story where Sieghard and Ludo react to the news, because it implies they just nodded ("Ah, he's back, guess we'll have to do something about him one day") and went on with their lives.





> But as far as the postal service goes, it's an idea Urgrim and Ludo have been half-heartedly considering before now!


I know, that's why I mentioned it. We're sitting on a lot of unused gold right now.

Running the mail would buy us a lot of soft power. While Sforza is consolidating his rule, fixing bread prices, evicting squatters in the winter and maintaining his household's opulent lifestyle, we'll be the guys managing a public service that many people, both rich and poor, rely on. So if there's ever a coup or revolution, whoever seizes power will want to keep us* around.  :Small Wink: 


* I use the term "us" loosely and cautiously, as a regime change would impact all of our characters differently, depending on their respective positions and reputations. E.g. Urgrim has a lot less to fear from a regime change than Elsa does.

----------


## Thragka

> Yes, in this case, Elsa definitely would have told him, especially if she knew Urgrim planned to join Sieghard in Painford afterwards.
> 
> Mind, it's a bit awkward to miss the part of the story where Sieghard and Ludo react to the news, because it implies they just nodded ("Ah, he's back, guess we'll have to do something about him one day") and went on with their lives.


Yes, I'm in agreement with you here. I'm comfortable with saying that, for whatever reason*, Elsa and Jarla didn't inform the others  I think that's more believable, and makes more sense in terms of (particularly my) player activity recently, than that we retroactively decide we all share this knowledge but haven't been doing anything about it. I'm interested in hearing everyone else's opinions, though.

*The easiest solution is probably to just say Urgrim didn't actually attend the ball.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'd like to agree that Elsa and Jarla haven't sent word south yet - I'm enjoying playing out Ludo's "quiet" winter.

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## TheSummoner

Thirding that. It would definitely cause some timeline issues if Sieghard retroactively knew what was going on. I think he'd be skeptical, but he wouldn't just dismiss it and sit around in Painford.




> But as far as the postal service goes, it's an idea Urgrim and Ludo have been half-heartedly considering before now!


Well, no time like the present. It's not Sieghard's project, but it shouldn't be too hard to convince him to spare resources for it. 




> Running the mail would buy us a lot of soft power. While Sforza is consolidating his rule, fixing bread prices, evicting squatters in the winter and maintaining his household's opulent lifestyle, we'll be the guys managing a public service that many people, both rich and poor, rely on. So if there's ever a coup or revolution, whoever seizes power will want to keep us* around.


Yes, I imagine we would prefer keeping ourselves around.  :Small Big Grin: 

Edit: having computer issues again. Pretty sure a hard drive is corrupted. Luckily I've got a recent backup of everything important. Im in the process of building a new computer,  but it's proving to be a bit more difficult/time consuming than expected (water cooling) and I'd rather not format the drive until the new one is up and running just in case. Between that and work, things might be a bit limited. I'll get an IC post up when my shift ends.

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## Thragka

Okay, that consensus sounds good to me! Urgrim's also been having a quiet winter, it would seem.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LeSwordfish

How's Sieghard thinking about handling this? I'd be tempted to try and pick up skilled workers, and get everyone else to keep moving. Might be best to let them stay overnight so we can talk to them about that.

Also, do you want to use the caravan guards and sums guys for extra tax work? Could perhaps attach the guards to one of the groups of Thorns, and have Mr Maths (what, you said i could name them) stay in Painford, helping with gathering, evaluating, etc.

----------


## -Sentinel-

That's a very good letter from Jarla, *RossN*. I know I wouldn't turn down a request phrased in such a way.  :Small Wink: 

I added a bit to my last IC post, re: birbs.

----------


## LCP

Regarding 'sending for a messenger', is Jarla trying to get one of the Sforzas' henchmen to take it for her as official court business? Or is she looking to hire someone to take it?

----------


## RossN

> Regarding 'sending for a messenger', is Jarla trying to get one of the Sforzas' henchmen to take it for her as official court business? Or is she looking to hire someone to take it?


Hiring. It isn't official business and it is a request rather than an order - though if an official messenger is heading that way anyway soon (as in the next week or so) she might wait to send it along with the other papers.

----------


## LCP

OK - I think to hire a courier to get the message there & come back with the reply will cost Jarla 1 crown.

----------


## RossN

> OK - I think to hire a courier to get the message there & come back with the reply will cost Jarla 1 crown.


Cool, she'll send 'em that day, or the following morning if it is too late.

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## TheSummoner

> How's Sieghard thinking about handling this? I'd be tempted to try and pick up skilled workers, and get everyone else to keep moving. Might be best to let them stay overnight so we can talk to them about that.


Sieghard doesn't want to have them stuck out there freezing to death, but at the same time, we can't just take them all in. Even if Painford could handle it, doing so would send a signal for more to arrive by the wagonload.

I agree that course of action is probably to get them out of the cold for now, do what we can, and try to send them on their way after. Any open to it can enlist with the Thorns and you could maybe make use of a few in the messenger service idea you've been tossing around. Unless we can come up with some other large project though, there's not much more we can offer them.

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## Thragka

The dwarf who knows about healing can be happily approached! Sorry, hadn't quite inserted Urgrim into the scene yet but I'm following along, so thanks TheSummoner for giving him a reason to show up  :Small Big Grin:

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## RossN

> That's a very good letter from Jarla, *RossN*. I know I wouldn't turn down a request phrased in such a way. 
> 
> I added a bit to my last IC post, re: birbs.


Sorry, somehow missed replying to this!  :Small Red Face: 

Thanks. I figured Jarla would be served by sending an honest but polite letter. Even if he says no, it seemed worth asking.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Messed up my roll in the IC thread.

Channeling: [roll]100[/roll]
Alarm 5+/8+: [roll]210[/rollv]

*Edit:* *headdesk* Forgot to even fix the mistake after copy-pasting the rolls.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Goddammit, I'm dumb.  :Small Red Face: 

Channeling: (d100)[*71*]
Alarm 5+/8+: (2d10)[*16*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Aaaand I forgot the rollv.  :Small Sigh: 

Alarm 5+: (2d10)[*4*][*3*](7)


*Edit:* Success. All apologies, I should know better than to post after having an edible.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## LCP

Re: Sieghard 'seeing what he can find', can you tell me what that means? These people are pretty much at your mercy, I'm following your lead as to how you play host. Same goes for trying to move them on the next day.

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## TheSummoner

It's just Sieghard grumbling. He isn't going to make them starve, bit he's far from thrilled about the whole situation. We've not gotten into specifics about Painford's food stores, but im sure it can handle feeding them as long as it doesn't become a long term thing.

Unless the others have ideas for how we can make yse of them, moving them along is trickier. I'd prefer encouraging them to continue along on their own after they've had a chance to eat and rest (the invalids and their immediate family he'd be willing to let stay until they recover or die), but if they won't, we may have to just kick them out. The concern there is less about this specific group and more that others will hear about it and more wagons will start coming and Painford definitely can't support that.

----------


## LCP

> We've not gotten into specifics about Painford's food stores, but im sure it can handle feeding them as long as it doesn't become a long term thing.


Feeding 40 people doesn't seem like a trivial exercise to me, I would like to hear how you're going to do it. Sieghard hasn't inherited any communal food storage or set any up. Is he going to draw on the Thorns' stores? Ask the local people to contribute from their own larders? Is he going to charge? Where's he going to feed them?

----------


## TheSummoner

I guess I just assumed Painford would have to have some sort of communal stores in place. In that case, he'll draw from the Thorns supplies and pay to have it replaced at the next opportunity. Since he's assuming they won't be sticking around long, he won't charge. As for where they eat, he'll have some space made and a no fire lit not far from the barracks and they can eat there. He's not going to impose on the hostel.

----------


## Thragka

Urgrim, being a bit of a softie, will pay Gavril for food for the four acutely starving. He'll keep this quiet, though, as he doesn't want any others to claim they're sick enough to eat on his pfennig.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'd like to go through the rest of the refugees looking for skilled labourers. I'm not entirely certain either what that might mean in this time period (butcher, baker, candlestick maker) or what Painford has or needs (I doubt they'd support two bakers, for example), but Ludo is generally looking for people who can do useful work above and beyond the grunt work that we've got the initial batch of refugees doing. Particularly useful would be hunters or outdoorsmen, anyone literate/numerate, anyone with construction experience (I assume if you want to build anything more complex than the longhouses we've been doing so far, you need to know what you're doing), and anyone who might be willing to join the Thorns. This is mostly about information gathering, but if Ludo finds anyone who seems very useful he'll try and make sure he Charms them into staying.

Charm vs 92: (1d100)[*29*]
Gossip vs wow only 72, got to work on that: (1d100)[*59*]

EDIT: Also, I assume the warhammer world is pre-citrus and so there's no roll that would let us identify what looks to me like Scurvy? I can't imagine any of us would recognise it IC.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Gossip vs wow only 72, got to work on that:


ha ha ha ha ha  :Small Big Grin: 





> EDIT: Also, I assume the warhammer world is pre-citrus and so there's no roll that would let us identify what looks to me like Scurvy? I can't imagine any of us would recognise it IC.


It took a very long time to figure out scurvy in real life. (Plus, I think at some point they somehow _forgot_ the cure.) In Europe, that is. In North America, Iroquoians drank a beverage made from spruce that prevented scurvy during winter, and Inuit got their vitamin C from raw meat such as caribou liver, whale blubber and seal brain.

Nothing that's useful to the game, but it's just interesting.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LCP

Yeah, I remember reading a quite interesting article about it when I was doing some research for a maritime campaign... the cure for scurvy was discovered multiple times, but the discovery didn't really stick until medicine got to the stage where all the competing quack remedies could be thrown out. As regards the IC situation, yeah, I don't think any of your characters have much experience of long sea voyages. 

*RossN*, I'm aware I've let Jarla's thread of the plot fall behind - I was originally waiting on doing another 1-week update, but I think both the other groups are now into granular enough stuff that I should be bringing Jarla onto a day-to-day timescale as well. What are Jarla's plans for starting on the fencing instruction with Irene?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Elsa was still looking at the coin in her palm. It was an irregular disk of flattened gold, marked with the stamp of a stylised eye. She had seen coins like it twice before - once in the ruins of Kheneb-Ptra-Urush, *and again in the Old Town of Savonne, last Vorhexen*. The ancient Khemrian gold gleamed in the torchlight.


...I have to admit I have no recollection of this.  :Small Red Face:  What were the circumstances?

That _definitely_ sounds important.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Klammenberg had some Khemrian coins.

----------


## Thragka

I thing that was Vorgeheim, though, not Vorhexen.

----------


## -Sentinel-

If it was during the battle of the house, then it was on the eve of Geheimnistag (because I remember the attack on the temple of Morr happened the very next night).

----------


## TheSummoner

It was. We found the chest searching the rubble for clues after the fire. Elsa was recovering at the time, so it's not surprising you'd not remember.

----------


## RossN

> *RossN*, I'm aware I've let Jarla's thread of the plot fall behind - I was originally waiting on doing another 1-week update, but I think both the other groups are now into granular enough stuff that I should be bringing Jarla onto a day-to-day timescale as well. What are Jarla's plans for starting on the fencing instruction with Irene?


Given the lack of other available weapons Jarla will have to loan her own sword to Irene to practice with - Jarla will grit her teeth at spending money and buy a sword (an ordinary hand weapon) for herself. I presume she knows enough about fencing not to hurt herself and avoid getting hurt by Irene but she'll wear padding and gloves and see Irene is likewise outfitted.

Obviously where Irene will want to practice is an issue; Jarla certainly isn't bringing her to a warehouse so it will probably have to be in the keep. It might be a few lessons before Jarla risks an audience (outside of servants and guards) since she doesn't want _la princepessa_ embarrassing herself in public. The entire point is to drum up enthusiasm for her school by showing Irene studying the blade.

----------


## LCP

Ordinary swords are in much more plentiful supply if Jarla just wants to borrow one temporarily from the armoury. For padded tunics I'd price that the same as a leather jerkin from the rulebook.

LeSwordfish, theSummoner, are you guys waiting on anything? Feels like the Painford thread is losing steam a bit.

----------


## TheSummoner

At the moment, I'm wondering how Ludo is going to respond to his current conversation.

I'm not opposed to helping them if we can solve the two big obstacles... stopping others from arriving and finding something useful for them to do. With some luck, maybe spreading rumors that their trip didn't end well could discourage others... goblins in the woods or some sort of tale like that.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Sorry, I've had A Week. As a general rule in all the painford management stuff, Ludo will defer to Sieghard if Sieghard expresses an opinion, so always feel free to have him come in and override me if I haven't replied yet. Especially for this weekend and until wednesday or so, when I'm off on holiday in Edinburgh, so may not be posting much.

----------


## LCP

Ah, enjoy the holiday!

I'm happy to move things on from her for all the non-Elsas, if that suits you guys. How does advancing another week (from the Painford point in time) to the 32nd sound?

----------


## LeSwordfish

That sounds good to me. Is this Tax Week?

----------


## LCP

Sieghard asked for the collection in the Thornwood to switch to quarterly at the end of Vorhexen, so I think that'd put the next date you guys need to deliver at the end of Pflugzeit. How often you want to collect would be up to you.

I'll take it that RossN is happy to move on too.

----------


## RossN

Yep, happy to move on.

----------


## TheSummoner

About to head back to work from my break, but Sieghard wants to talk to Matilde before her group leaves and ask a bit about Savonne and also give her some supplies and advice for the road. Aside from that I'm good to move on.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "If Manaan's Keep can't take all of you, there's also Handrich's Cross. You just follow the north road out of town and you'll reach it in about a day. They're smaller and a bit more remote... might make them a bit more suspicious, but it also means they'd have less people coming. Arrow Heap might be another option, but they're closer to the city and might already be dealing with more than they can handle." _And they might just keep their gate shut._


Don't forget the Caerfort option. Lots of empty houses now, "thanks" to the Rivermouthers.

And it's probably a good thing, strategically and economically, to repopulate the halfway point between Last Water and the Hidden Vale.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I considered recommending Caerfort, but it's a hell of a trek out there and I suspect living there - mid-desert, catching frogs in the swamp - requires specialist skills that most refugees won't have. Sure there's shelter, but there's no food.

For the next week Ludo's primary focus is getting the new members of the Thorns settled in, and keeping things smooth with the townsfolk, while also keeping his school going.

----------


## TheSummoner

Theres nothing for them in Caerfort. Long term, its a good option for trying to resettle people, but when you need food _right now_, well, you won't find any in Caerfort.

LeSwordfish, if Ludo can also handle talking to anyone passing through, he's a lot more likely to succeed than Sieghard would be.

----------


## LCP

I don't think it's vital that anyone doing the talking is played out IC - I can roll the dice if necessary. I just need to know what you guys' objectives are - what kind of people you want to keep, in what quantities, and anything else you want to get out of them.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Are Sorin and Skender siblings, or just friends/colleagues?


*@ everyone*, if you have Netflix and like amazing-looking animation with a cool clockpunk/fantasy setting and great characters, I highly recommend _Arcane_, regardless of whether you're into _League of Legends_. (I didn't know anything about LoL except the name when I started watching, and I was hooked from episode 1.)

----------


## LeSwordfish

Yeah i'm happy to roll the dice or choose the words if you want but I don't really know what you mean by "success"

----------


## TheSummoner

I had assumed charm rolls would be involved and was referring to that.

Carrying on as before and trying to pick up skilled labor and those willing to join the Thorns is fine with me.

----------


## LCP

> Are Sorin and Skender siblings, or just friends/colleagues?


They're brothers.

For Team Painford, I'll make a couple of rolls and give you the results.

To find who among the travellers has particular skills: *Gossip* - (1d100)[*99*]
To recruit people (into the Thorns or otherwise): *Charm* - (1d100)[*42*]

----------


## LCP

Should've incorporated re-rolls shouldn't I - *GossipAgain* - (1d100)[*100*]

ludo's had it up to here with being charming, he's just gonna yell swearwords at people from the walls

You don't find anyone with particular civilian skills in the people coming through this week. You do find 5 people willing to join up with the Thorns, though like people last week they're undernourished and weak. 3 of them you suspect may have been soldiers for one of the other lords of the Reaches before Sforza's conquest.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Just to confirm, you're not waiting on anyone else for anything, we're just waiting for Elsatimes to finish? (Not to complain, it happens, just checking you're not waiting on us for anything much?) I could put together an IC post for Ludo if you want but can't think of anything special for this week so it would just be rephrasing the OOC.

----------


## LCP

Sorry, yeah - work's been busy the last couple of weeks so I've been kind of in reactive mode with respect to the game. Only thing I've been waiting on is a response from TheSummoner to my previous OOC post, to see what you guys do with those people.

If Team Not-Elsa want to resolve the next IC week, let me know your plans and we'll move ahead.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I think I'll be avoiding solo adventures from now on. Aside from messing up the timeline, I find it a lot more stressful in terms of decision-making.


I'd like to reiterate that season 1 of _Arcane_ is amazing and you should watch it if you have Netflix.

----------


## RossN

With Irene not talking and presumably not training Jarla doesn't really have much to do other than wait really.

----------


## LCP

She only missed the 1 session, she didn't tell Jarla she quit.

----------


## Thragka

On the topic of activity: I'm still here, but as previously mentioned what with my academic commitments I foresee my involvement being more reactive than pro-active for the next several months. (It's actually been really interesting seeing Elsa off on her little solo adventure under the circumstances!  :Small Big Grin: )

----------


## -Sentinel-

Elsa will want a training session with Jarla the next time she's in Savonne, likely in the first week of the new month. It'll be a good way to justify her buying Dodge Blow.





> On the topic of activity: I'm still here, but as previously mentioned what with my academic commitments I foresee my involvement being more reactive than pro-active for the next several months.


Good thing Urgrim is fairly easy to put on hold.

I feel that all roads eventually lead to the Red Pyramid, which Urgrim has visited before, but it could be a long while in real-life time.

----------


## RossN

> She only missed the 1 session, she didn't tell Jarla she quit.


Ah okay, in that case she'll continue as is giving Irene lessons, and keep her ears open in case anyone else expresses an interest.




> Elsa will want a training session with Jarla the next time she's in Savonne, likely in the first week of the new month. It'll be a good way to justify her buying Dodge Blow.


Jarla will do so.

If this was any other game setting she'd be eager to pick up a little magic training from Elsa in turn but I guess that isn't really viable in WFRP.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Only thing I've been waiting on is a response from TheSummoner to my previous OOC post, to see what you guys do with those people.


Didn't realize. Sieghard is fine with taking them. He'll keep an eye on those he suspects may have been former soldiers, but more out of an abundance of caution than anything else - There's no real reason any of them would feel the need to keep fighting for a cause that's been long lost. For the new recruits in general, he'll give them a bit of time to recover from their malnourishment before worrying about training.




> She only missed the 1 session, she didn't tell Jarla she quit.


Morning sickness.




> If this was any other game setting she'd be eager to pick up a little magic training from Elsa in turn but I guess that isn't really viable in WFRP.


I think thats one if the things I like the most about Warhammer as a setting. Magic shouldn't be the sort of thing anyone can just pick up or it creates logical holes in the worldbuilding. If rewriting the laws of reality with your mind was something so trivial that anyone could just learn to do it, why would they not?

Quick update on my computer situation: the new pc is mostly done. The big delays have been waiting on parts to ship. I had to order more tubing for the water cooling loop and now I'm waiting on a tool that can be used to safely test for leaks without having to actually fill it with water. There's one or two more things I need, but im hoping for a black Friday sale before placing the order. If all goes well, I expect to have everything up in running in a week and a half or so.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Morning sickness.


Hah. That's what I suspect too.

Mind... a fairly long time ago, Elsa had this sort of suspicion when Irene started throwing up, but Irene never seemed to get pregnant and a maid got fired in connection to her illness. So either Elsa was wrong, or Irene got an abortion from Dr. Bianco and then fired a maid to cover it up. Looking back, I really wish I had investigated further.





> I think thats one if the things I like the most about Warhammer as a setting. Magic shouldn't be the sort of thing anyone can just pick up or it creates logical holes in the worldbuilding. If rewriting the laws of reality with your mind was something so trivial that anyone could just learn to do it, why would they not?


Agreed. Magic really should be something that requires specialization. Plus, in both GW universes, having just _a little bit_ of magic is actually worse than having either no magic at all *or* a lot of it. It puts you in the "dangerous enough to burn at the stake, not powerful enough to become a sanctioned wizard/psyker" zone.

Also, magic items. An enchanted sword isn't something you buy from the village blacksmith. Almost every magic item featured so far in _The Bloody Crown_ is closely tied to the game's plot, is coveted by multiple parties, and has had blood shed on its account. That's how magic items should be.

----------


## LCP

The non-Elsas have crossed into Jahrdrung, but I'll wait for Elsa to catch up to at least the 1st before doing XP for the group (unless anyone has an urgent need for their XP right now!).

----------


## -Sentinel-

Where are we now on the hex map? (Roughly, that is. Elsa doesn't have Navigate.)

What direction from the camp (in o'clock) was the glimmer of light? Direction we're heading = 12 o'clock.

Does the current terrain allow us to see a good distance ahead in most directions?

----------


## LCP

You're currently somewhere around hex (2, 15). The gap in the escarpment runs approximately north-south, with you having climbed it from the south. The light was in the rocks on the west side. From the gap, you have a good vantage point to look south, but higher ground around you in the other 3 compass directions.

----------


## LCP

Pressed 'post' too early sorry - have edited a response to Jarla into the IC.

----------


## -Sentinel-

First thing Elsa does upon hitting the ground is to light up her staff.

Light 3+: (2d10)[*10*][*8*](18)

*Edit:* Well, that was unnecessarily high, but ok.  :Small Tongue: 

*Edit 2:* Just occurred to me that perhaps I jumped the gun, but I really wanted to get that stressful Scale Sheer Surface test out of the way. If a Charm or Command test is needed to convince the others to delve into the wolves' lair, or if some in the group have opinions or misgivings to express, we can play it out before resolving Elsa's SSS test. But time is of the essence!

----------


## -Sentinel-

...Maybe I should light up the staff first, climb down second.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Fear test vs. 93 (+10 for familiarity, +10 for Khalida): (d100)[*63*]

----------


## LCP

*Fear tests:*

*Bartolomeo* - (1d100)[*73*] - 2 DoF
*Gualdo* - (1d100)[*84*] - 3 DoF, can't engage, must retreat
*Branca* - (1d100)[*30*] - pass
*Lorenzo* - (1d100)[*17*] - pass
*Olga* - (1d100)[*56*] - 1 DoF
*Tattie* - (1d100)[*75*] - 3 DoF, can't engage, must retreat.
*
Initiative:*

*Elsa* - (1d10+44)[*45*]
*Olga* - (1d10+44)[*46*]
*Tattie* - (1d10+37)[*43*]
*IronCompany* - (1d10+31)[*35*]
*Wolves* - (1d10+18)[*20*]
*DoomWolf* - (1d10+36)[*38*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Tattie - (1d100)[75] - 3 DoF, can't engage, must retreat.


Oooh this is bad.  :Small Eek:   :Small Frown: 

How do you retreat when you're surrounded? Do you just try to huddle in the middle of the group?

*Edit:* Half action per round, -20 to all tests, got it.

----------


## LCP

I want to keep the dice-rolling side of this combat fairly light and pacy, so here's how we'll do it:

Every turn, a certain number of wolves will enter the fight.Incoming wolves will be split between the Iron Company and Elsa's retinue (herself, Olga and Tattie) who they're trying to keep safe inside their defensive perimeter.The Iron Company will always occupy at least as many wolves as there are soldiers still standing. I won't roll dice for wolves vs. Iron Company, only for the core group vs. the surplus wolves.

Resolving turn 1:

Olga assumes a Parrying Stance
Elsa casts her spell
Tattie, unable to retreat, cowers

*7 wolves* charge the group.
Wolves vs. Iron Company: 4
Wolves vs. Elsa + Friends: 3

1 for Elsa, 1 for Olga, 1 for Tattie.

vs. Elsa:
(1d100)[*53*], (1d10+4)[*8*]
(1d100)[*100*], (1d10+4)[*14*]

vs. Olga:
(1d100)[*77*], (1d10+4)[*6*]
(1d100)[*93*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
*Parry* - (1d100)[*18*]
*Dodge* - (1d100)[*87*]

vs. Tattie:
(1d100)[*89*], (1d10+4)[*5*]
(1d100)[*47*], (1d10+4)[*13*]

No hits.

----------


## LCP

Fear recovery checks:

Olga - (1d100)[*100*]
Bartolomeo - (1d100)[*52*]
Gualdo - (1d100)[*11*]
Tattie - (1d100)[*35*]

Olga Swift Attacks her wolf:
(1d100)[*73*], (1d10+5)[*13*]
(1d100)[*43*], (1d10+5)[*6*]

With Fear penalty, no hits

If Tattie can break out of her fear state, she'll take a swing at hers:
(1d100)[*14*], (1d10+1)[*2*] - hit but soaked
In either case she takes a Parrying Stance.

----------


## LCP

The Iron Company take out 2 wolves, and 5 more join the fray. 1 targets Elsa, 1 targets Olga, and the rest target the Iron Company.

Wolf totals:
Iron Company - 5
Elsa - 2 Olga - 2 Tattie - 1 (has taken 10 wounds)

Charging wolf vs. Elsa:
(1d100)[*96*], (1d10+4)[*7*] - missed
(1d100)[*19*], (1d10+4)[*6*] - soaked
Non-charging wolf:
(1d100)[*17*], (1d10+4)[*11*] - 4 wounds
*Parry* - (1d100)[*66*]

Charging wolf vs. Olga
(1d100)[*48*], (1d10+4)[*10*] - miss
(1d100)[*65*], (1d10+4)[*8*] - miss
Non-charging wolf:
(1d100)[*53*], (1d10+4)[*11*] - miss
*Dodge* - (1d100)[*3*]

Wolf vs. Tattie:
(1d100)[*92*], (1d10+4)[*7*] - miss
*Parry* - (1d100)[*34*]

----------


## LCP

+1 crit on Elsa's wolf: (1d100)[*12*] - you can't get Sudden Death from a +1 but that'll knock it down at least!

Olga & Bartolomeo test for Fear recovery:
*O* - (1d100)[*82*]
*B* - (1d100)[*10*]

Olga Swift Attacks again:
(1d100)[*27*], (1d10+5)[*9*]
(1d100)[*28*], (1d10+5)[*12*]
With the Fear penalty she's still whiffing.

Tattie goes Defensive Stance.

----------


## LCP

Iron Company take out another 2 wolves; 4 more join the fight.

Wolf totals:
Iron Company - 6
Elsa - 2 (1 has taken 11 wounds, is prone and at -30 to everything for a round), Olga - 2, Tattie - 2

Wolves vs. Elsa:
Wolf 1 - All-Out Attack
(1d100)[*98*], (1d10+4)[*7*]
Wolf 2 - Stand, Standard Attack
(1d100)[*68*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
*Parry* - (1d100)[*87*]
Nothing for them.

Wolves vs. Olga: 2 All-Out Attacks
(1d100)[*14*], (1d10+4)[*8*]
(1d100)[*11*], (1d10+4)[*8*]
*Dodge* - (1d100)[*35*]
1 hit, 3 wounds.

2 charging wolves vs. Tattie:
(1d100)[*16*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
(1d100)[*93*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
(1d100)[*73*], (1d10+4)[*7*]
(1d100)[*15*], (1d10+4)[*6*]
2 hits, 12 wounds.

----------


## -Sentinel-

So those wolves have two attacks on the charge, and one the rest of the time? That's rather odd. Mind, it's better than two attacks all the time.


This is going less than well.  :Small Eek:  And the boss hasn't even entered the fray yet, as far as I can tell (unless he's among those attacking the Iron Company).

Olga, WTF am I paying you for???

----------


## LCP

she's too fwitened

+2 crit on wolf attacking Tattie: (1d100)[*79*] - not dead, just -10 WS for this turn

Fear recovery for Olga: (1d100)[*19*]

Olga swift attacks:
(1d100)[*44*], (1d10+5)[*13*]
(1d100)[*88*], (1d10+5)[*14*]
A solid hit, but not quite a crit.

----------


## LCP

Iron Company take out 2 more wolves. No more join the fight.

Wolf totals:
Iron Company - 4 (3 of which are on Branca)
Elsa - 1, Olga - 2 (1 has taken 10 wounds), Tattie - 2 (1 has taken 12 wounds and is at -10 WS)

Wolf on Elsa: AOO
(1d100)[*37*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
*Parry* - (1d100)[*55*] - there's that fancy staff paying for itself

Wolves on Olga: AOOs
(1d100)[*91*], (1d10+4)[*8*]
(1d100)[*92*], (1d10+4)[*11*]
*Dodge* - (1d100)[*60*]
one of them is biting a rock and convinced it's Olga

Wolves on Tattie: AOOs
(1d100)[*20*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
(1d100)[*78*], (1d10+4)[*6*]

ouch that's a big crit, and to the head. Think I'll roll it myself and keep the results until Elsa can get a good look IC... that's what we call Dramatic Tension. You can assume for combat purposes that Tattie's out of action.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Oh dammit........................  :Small Frown: 

Never get attached to NPCs.


If I were at 0 FP, I would be asking you to keep Tattie's fate ambiguous until we know if Elsa survives the fight, because Tattie is my #1 backup character in case of Elsa's death. But I still have a Fate Point, and so there is no way Elsa does not survive this unless I decide she doesn't.

----------


## LCP

> there is no such thing as All-Out Spellcasting


I mean, there is... you channel and cast a bigger spell  :Small Wink: 

+3 and a +2 crit on that wolf:

(1d100)[*50*] - sudden death
(1d100)[*29*]

----------


## LCP

Olga continues to Swift Attack:

(1d100)[*28*], (1d10+5)[*13*] - she finishes bludgeoning that wolf to death
(1d100)[*83*], (1d10+5)[*6*]

----------


## LCP

Lorenzo engages Branca's wolves, and Bartolomeo engages Tattie's. Between them the Iron Company kill 1 wolf this round.

That puts the Wolf Counter at
Wolf totals:
Iron Company - 4 (Lorenzo 2, Bartolomeo 1, Gualdo 1)
Elsa - 1, Olga - 1

until the big one and his mates join in, making it

Iron Company - 5 (Lorenzo 2, Bartolomeo 1, Gualdo 2)
Elsa - 2 + Doom Wolf, Olga - 1

vs. Elsa:
Doom Wolf:
(1d100)[*85*], (1d10+4)[*9*] 
(1d100)[*1*], (1d10+4)[*10*] - 3 wounds
Other charging wolf:
(1d100)[*61*], (1d10+4)[*13*]
(1d100)[*69*], (1d10+4)[*13*]
Pre-engaged wolf (All-Out):
(1d100)[*33*], (1d10+4)[*7*] - soaked
*Parry* - (1d100)[*73*]

vs. Olga:
(1d100)[*73*], (1d10+4)[*5*]
*Dodge* - (1d100)[*68*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I mean, there is... you channel and cast a bigger spell


I see channeling more as deliberate, well-prepared spellcasting.

...That is a _lot_ of wolves attacking Elsa.  :Small Eek:  But i guess she asked for it.

----------


## LCP

Mechanically though, it's giving up your parry for moar magic.

Doom Wolf takes 9 wounds.

Olga Swift Attacks vs. her remaining wolf:
(1d100)[*58*], (1d10+5)[*15*]
(1d100)[*52*], (1d10+5)[*6*]
Some narrow misses there.

Iron Company fail to take any wolves out this round.

----------


## LCP

Doom Wolf goes for the All-Out Swift Attack on Elsa
(1d100)[*58*], (1d10+4)[*13*] - parried
(1d100)[*95*], (1d10+4)[*9*]
Other wolves go with all-out single attacks
(1d100)[*28*], (1d10+4)[*11*] - 4 wounds.
(1d100)[*80*], (1d10+4)[*12*]
*Parry* - (1d100)[*32*]

Olga's wolf goes for the All-Out attack as well
(1d100)[*59*], (1d10+4)[*6*]
*Dodge* - (1d100)[*21*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

Bleh, that damage is starting to add up.

I'll spend a Fortune Point on an extra parry vs. 56 to avoid that 4 damage. (d100)[*34*]

*Edit:* Hooray, no damage this turn.

----------


## LCP

+2 crit on the Doom Wolf: (1d100)[*12*] - taken out

Olga Swift Attacks: 
(1d100)[*85*], (1d10+5)[*7*]
(1d100)[*41*], (1d10+5)[*13*] - 10 wounds on another wolf

----------


## LCP

The Iron Company kill 1 wolf.

Wolf count:
Iron Company - 4 (Lorenzo 2, Bartolomeo 1, Gualdo 1)
Elsa - 2 Olga - 1

3 wolves that look more alive than dead Disengage, leaving
Iron Company - 4 (Lorenzo 2, Bartolomeo 0, Gualdo 0)
Elsa - 1 Olga - 1

The remaining wolves that look more dead than alive take some Wounds:
*Elsa* - (1d10)[*7*]
*Olga* - (1d10)[*4*]

Yeah, that'll do for them.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Can Elsa now see Tatiana's condition? If she's alive but bleeding out, time is of the essence. Nevermind, I provided conditional options in my post.

By the way, I really appreciate you staying up late to do several rounds.


*Edit:* And now I have to wait until tomorrow to know Tattie's fate...

----------


## -Sentinel-

I am so, so, _so_ relieved.  :Small Smile:  I was already thinking of the medium-term consequences of Tattie's death, such as Elsa relapsing into alcoholism.

Does there seem to be any more crevice to explore, or are we at a dead end?

----------


## LCP

You're at a 3-way junction - the fissures continue towards the edge of the escarpment and towards the plateau behind.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Is it a safe bet that Mala's voice was coming from above? (Which I assume is the plateau.)

If needed, hearing-based Perception 75: (d100)[*74*]
Fortune: (d100)[*58*]

----------


## LCP



----------


## -Sentinel-

Ha ha ha ha ha, thank you.  :Small Big Grin: 

I'm not committing to any direction yet. Let's see if any more words need to be exchanged between the survivors.

----------


## LCP

I can't really respond to an IC prompt of "let's get out of here" without knowing a direction.

Taking a breath to catch back up with the other groups - seeing no response from Team Painford I'm guessing you guys just want to spend a quiet IC week? For Jarla, her writing to Carraciolo puts her on a causal collision course with Elsa's plot thread, since what Carraciolo does or doesn't hear about Elsa's escapades between the 28th and the 6th might inform what he writes back. So we can go as far as when his reply might arrive (the 8th or 9th) but probably not further until Elsa catches up a bit. Anything you want to do in that time RossN?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Ah, sorry, I thought there might be more post-combat dialogue.

I'll edit my post later. I'm about to head to my office's Christmas party (hockey game!).

----------


## -Sentinel-

Alrighty, I provided some more specific instructions.

----------


## RossN

> I can't really respond to an IC prompt of "let's get out of here" without knowing a direction.
> 
> Taking a breath to catch back up with the other groups - seeing no response from Team Painford I'm guessing you guys just want to spend a quiet IC week? For Jarla, her writing to Carraciolo puts her on a causal collision course with Elsa's plot thread, since what Carraciolo does or doesn't hear about Elsa's escapades between the 28th and the 6th might inform what he writes back. So we can go as far as when his reply might arrive (the 8th or 9th) but probably not further until Elsa catches up a bit. Anything you want to do in that time RossN?


Quiet week for Jarla too, she doesn't really have much to do other than wait.

----------


## TheSummoner

Quiet week is fine. Sorry for the silence lately. I keep thinking it might be good to use the workers on some sort of communal project whole we've got them, but im struggling to come up with anything.

Computer is done aside from wiring the fans. Nothing difficult, just annoying to get everything clean and organized since there are so many little cords. I bought a backup battery in case of power outages and it's charging now. As soon as it's done, I'll plug everything in, power it on and make sure everything works.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I keep thinking it might be good to use the workers on some sort of communal project whole we've got them, but im struggling to come up with anything.


Toll booth, perhaps? It's no small thing, as it needs to be fortified against bandits, but it'll pay for itself in the long run. Some extra docks and warehouses in Ravenskird could also be useful.

I hope Elsa's trip can be brought to a conclusion soon. Sorry if my solo adventure is holding everyone up.  :Small Red Face:

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Quiet week is fine. Sorry for the silence lately. I keep thinking it might be good to use the workers on some sort of communal project whole we've got them, but im struggling to come up with anything.


Would a bridge at painford be useful? Or if we want to try a messenger service, a bigger stables?

The lady refusing to leave sounds like a problem for the hypnohobbit to try.

Let's start off by making charm tests to recruit people in the same way as before: [roll]1d100/roll] vs 92 - succeeded with the first roll below. *TheSummoner* i'm waiting on you to tell me how many new recruits is too many.

I'd also like to try and persuade cursey curserson to move on, by giving her essentially the same schpiel as Matilde - nobody here has anything spare for you, you'll have better luck in the bigger cities down south. As a conditional, Ludo will do that with Charm, and if she doesn't leave in a few days pick a couple of the biggest thorns (Ortwin and somebody probably) and repeat it with Intimidate.

Charm: (1d100)[*58*] vs 92
Intimidate: (1d100)[*12*] vs 72 fel, or 13 str/2 + "big friends" bonus - passed even without training.

Ludo also has nothing for witchsight but has spent a bunch of time hanging out with wizards - can I roll a perception check looking for signs of magic ability that might appear to the mundane? Does anything actually happen to the people she curses? (1d100)[*8*] vs 48

Some re-rolls to use as I fail things: (1d100)[*68*](1d100)[*34*](1d100)[*56*]

----------


## LCP

Sorry for the slow updates all, I've been really knackered the past two evenings. On that note, LeSwordfish, can you give me an IC post to go with these rolls for moving on the rude lady? I don't have the juice to write that scene myself.

re: the curses, it's more just swearing than witch stuff.

----------


## LCP

Re-doing Olga's heal roll: (1d100)[*40*] - nope, (1d10)[*3*]




> "Let's make the most of daylight."


...to do what

----------


## -Sentinel-

> ...to do what


To start back towards Morr's Seat. Not much else to do at this point. (I edited my post to make it clearer.)

Medium-term plans: return to Morr's Seat, let Tattie recover a bit, question Darja if they still have her, return to Alvarran, and then head to Savonne to report what Elsa saw. If possible, secure Sanne's release. Then, go to Painford to reunite with Sieghard and Ludo and determine our next course of action.

----------


## LCP

I assume you want to join back up with Sorin, Skender and Senka first?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Oooh, I thought we were already back with them. Sorry.  :Small Red Face:

----------


## TheSummoner

I know things have been quiet IC for Sieghard, but sorry for not responding to these sooner. It's been a pretty hectic week.




> Would a bridge at painford be useful? Or if we want to try a messenger service, a bigger stables?


My understanding is it's really just a small stream that runs south of Painford. I doubt it's very deep, so I'm not sure how useful a bridge would actually be. Stables would make a bit more sense. We don't have the animals to need it at the moment, but even if we never got more, it could be useful for travelers or visitors.




> *TheSummoner* i'm waiting on you to tell me how many new recruits is too many.


I don't think there is a too many at the moment.




> Toll booth, perhaps? It's no small thing, as it needs to be fortified against bandits, but it'll pay for itself in the long run. Some extra docks and warehouses in Ravenskird could also be useful.


The tolls are all collected in Painford or Ravenskird, so I'm not thinking dedicated booths are really needed. Docks wouldn't hurt, but with everyone in Painford, probably better to not be marching them off to Ravenskird in the middle of the winter.




> As soon as it's done, I'll plug everything in, power it on and make sure everything works.


Had a part issue. It's been sent in for repair/replacement. Everything else seems to be working fine, though, so once that's sorted I should be back up to full speed.

Also as a heads up, I'll be going out of town over the weekend.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> I don't think there is a too many at the moment.


We have to pay for them, though, right - each new recruit is a few extra GC of tax income to raise.

How about we start with some stables? Worst case scenario, people can sleep there, and I assume they don't require any particularly specialised skills.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Once she's back in the area, Elsa will likely want to invest some of her money in profitable ventures, aside from Suzana's business.

I don't think I'll have her stay in Castel d'Irena. There's not much to do there, her friends are far away, and Carraciolo has made it rather clear that he doesn't like her. Her other two main candidates are:
*Ravenskird.* Pros: conveniently located close to both Painford and Savonne, room to expand, and she'll be a big fish in a small pond. Cons: no obvious residence for her (especially with the overcrowding), and again, she'll be a big fish in a _small pond_.*Putbad.* Pros: lots of money and opportunity, Leona is friendly, and this town seems to have something of a court for Elsa to be a Border Courtier in. Con: takes Elsa farther away from where she needs to be when the war with Nahorek resumes.

Painford is also an option, but if I remember correctly, the people there apparently don't like her despite being used to having a resident wizard. Plus, it looks suspicious if she spends too much time near Sieghard.

She doesn't strictly need a fixed residence, though. She can move along the Azril from month to month.

----------


## RossN

Sorry to hear Elsa's relationship with Carraciolo is so poor. Jarla had been very strongly considering decamping to Castel d'Irena given her rapidly waning influence in Savonne.

I think even if she doesn't marry Carraciolo Jarla knows her position at court is now very weak; without access to Irene and to a lesser extent Muzio she can't conduct patronage with the merchants of the town and hearing from Jacques (!) that there will be a flood of new money coming in has reminded Jarla of how slender her own resources are.

Re-locating to Putbad would be interesting (I think Adebert ever got there), though Jarla would need Elsa's help to approach Countess Leona. Alternately she might scrape together what money she has and look into setting up that theatre, as we've spoken about before. She'd probably need a partner there of course.

----------


## LCP

Jarla does have a job at court in Savonne - if she's looking at a permanent move she'd need to figure out a way to disentangle herself from her responsibilities there.

----------


## RossN

> Jarla does have a job at court in Savonne - if she's looking at a permanent move she'd need to figure out a way to disentangle herself from her responsibilities there.


Jarla's job is _prima cameriera_. If Irene is deliberately avoiding her, Jarla might still have a titular job, but she can't do much with it and since Jarla doesn't know why the atmosphere at court is so sour she can't go directly to Sforza because she has no idea how he'll react given the Irene situation - though Sforza's curt note is not an encouraging sign.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I don't have anything else for the painford side of things this week, happy to wait for Elsa.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I don't have anything else for the painford side of things this week, happy to wait for Elsa.


Hmm. Still got a bunch of stuff to do on the way back to Painford. Thankfully it's nothing that should require a large amount of back-and-forth.

----------


## LCP

Sorry for the silence over the weekend - a lot of to and fro with relocating back north, and a minor but unexpected call to the fire brigade. Am back in Sheffield now but going up to Cumbria from the 23rd to the 31st, and will be on holiday mode for that period (though I may be able to check in occasonally) - I imagine most of us are in the same boat in that respect.

----------


## TheSummoner

It's just the time of year for that. I don't think anyone is surprised by the game slowing down a bit. Happens every December and it'll pick back up once the holiday rush is past.

----------


## Thragka

Happy Christmas, folks. May all your jackals be conquered in the new year.

----------


## RossN

Well said!

Nollaig shona duit all!  :Small Smile:

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## TheSummoner

Merry Christmas all. First post from the now up and running new computer, so that's one jackal out of the way at least. Still configuring things, but I should be back to full speed finally.

Edit: Here's a picture of it. Given the color scheme I went with, I almost feel like I should shove a Keeper of Secrets inside the case or something.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Merry Christmas! Or if not a merry one, at least a restful one.

I do hope this is our last Christmas under the sign of Grandfather Nurgle, but I had the same foolish hope last year, so...

----------


## LeSwordfish

Merry Christmas, all!

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## RossN

Happy New Year all!

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## TheSummoner

Happy new year. Hope everyone's is off to a good start.

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## -Sentinel-

Happy new year.  :Small Smile: 

We are also nearing the 9-year anniversary of _The Bloody Crown_! Pretty amazing.

----------


## LCP

Merry Xmas and happy new year all. I'm back earlier than expected, due to some Omicron-related cancellations - getting an IC post up just now.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Heal test for today, vs. whatever Olga's Int is: (d100)[*99*]
(d10)[*1*] wounds

lol nope.

----------


## -Sentinel-

While I'm updating my money to subtract the bribe, I'll do some end-of-the month accounting: monthly wage (26 gc and 157 p) - Olga's salary (6 gc) - rest of the pay for Sorin and Skender (3 gc) - bribe (60 p) = 17 gc and 97 p.

----------


## LeSwordfish

If Elsa is caught up with us in Jahrdrung, could I trouble you for some XP please?

----------


## -Sentinel-

Not sure where Elsa should lodge. She can't exactly stay at an inn; too public, and therefore too risky. Are there any barracks that aren't part of the castle? Another option might be for her to crash at Hieronymus's place like Paul Erdős and help him decipher the Nehekharan script while she's there.

She'll be sending a letter to Sieghard and Ludo, so we should all be reunited soon enough.

----------


## LCP

Thanks for the reminder, LeSwordfish.

Checking back through the IC, it doesn't look like there's been that much this month for the characters besides Elsa. Sorry all for the long waits - I think that's the unfortunate outcome of diminishing GMing time and long solo excursions. I'll try to plan ahead better to avoid such long pauses in future, but as always you guys keeping the group together where possible is also appreciated. Please let me know if I've missed anything that you feel deserves XP outside the monthly 100:

100 XP to all characters for finishing Nachexen.25 XP to Ludo for doing the bulk of the work managing the travellers from the north.25 XP to Jarla for her Irene-wrangling over the month.50 XP to Elsa for her investigations in the Raven Hills.50 XP to Elsa for taking on the wolf pack.




> Are there any barracks that aren't part of the castle?


No, unless you count the (very basic) guard posts at the town gates.

How long is Elsa planning on staying in Savonne? If it's possible for me to know what the causal horizon is w.r.t. Painford then I may be able to advance things for folks there a bit in the short term.

To let you guys start planning - the next date I'm looking to move ahead to is the 15th, and then from there, if it works with you guys, I'd be happy resolving a 2-week block straight to the end of Jahrdrung.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> How long is Elsa planning on staying in Savonne? If it's possible for me to know what the causal horizon is w.r.t. Painford then I may be able to advance things for folks there a bit in the short term.


She has to wait for Olga and Tatiana to return from the Raven Hills (turns out she didn't need to travel ahead of them after all, because her news hit the brick wall of Sforza's skepticism). That's why she would rather ask Sieghard and Ludo to come over to Savonne than travel to Painford herself.

When I have time, I'll make plans to last me until the 15th.





> but as always you guys keeping the group together where possible is also appreciated.


...sorry  :Small Red Face:

----------


## RossN

> Elsa stared hard at Jarla.
> 
> _Awfully eager to please your brother's killer, aren't we?_ she almost replied.
> 
> "I don't have a lot of options, but if it'll keep you out of trouble, I'll think of something."


Given Elsa has managed to get on the bad side of nearly everyone else in power...  :Small Amused: 

Also yay, XP! Seriously time I change careers. Unfortunately Highwaywoman has a fairly poor series of exit careers but there is Duellist.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm happy to keep on the same until Elsa's letter arrives. What is Elsa going to be pushing for as an action, though? Happy to swing by Savonne for a chat, but it's probably worth discussing some kind of next action OOC first - is Elsa going to be advocating us all packing up and riding out into the desert?

OOC... I'm not actually certain there's an immediate action needed? We don't actually have anything to suggest Nahorek himself is back, and you killed all of Mala's dogs.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I'm happy to keep on the same until Elsa's letter arrives. What is Elsa going to be pushing for as an action, though? Happy to swing by Savonne for a chat, but it's probably worth discussing some kind of next action OOC first - is Elsa going to be advocating us all packing up and riding out into the desert?
> 
> OOC... I'm not actually certain there's an immediate action needed? We don't actually have anything to suggest Nahorek himself is back, and you killed all of Mala's dogs.


I have no expedition planned in the near future. At least not in the desert. But some digging under Savonne might turn up something interesting, since Meskhenet says it's a former Nehekharan city.


XP: Still mulling things over, but for Khalida I might buy Magic Power (+1 Mag), not so much for the extra casting die as for the +1 to all things "based on your Magic characteristic" (such as the number of fireballs thrown).

----------


## RossN

> "It's winter, people wear hats," said Elsa.


Jarla: "Oh, I have a hat. Entirely unnoticeable, just the sort of thing a commoner would wear."

----------


## LCP

It's not Warhammer unless you have a fairly ridiculous hat.

I think we have a clear shot to the 15th now for all parties? Let me know when you guys are ready for me to proceed.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Drawing up some plans now.

*@ RossN:* No need for a mirror after all. Turns out Elsa already has one.


If Elsa wants to get training from Jarla without Irene knowing about it, how should she proceed? Is Irene a late riser? Or does Jarla still run official classes that Elsa can join?

----------


## RossN

*@Sentinel:* Jarla isn't teaching Irene at the moment - or anyone actually. Lessons were abruptly cancelled by Sforza a while back and Jarla hasn't pressed her luck trying to instruct anyone else.

Still trying to decide on where to go next. Duellist would 'fit' thematically and make narrative sense but offers surprisingly little mechanically now that I look at it. There is Spy (which Jarla can reach as an ex-Rapscallion), which sounds fun but would Jarla finding 4 (!) homing pigeons...

----------


## LCP

There is a tower full of pigeons at Caerfort...

Moving things forward a little bit for now, not quite to the 15th as I think I need to know whether/when any party from Painford is setting out. Sentinel, RossN, if you guys want to play out any disguise-shopping or fencing practice between Elsa and Jarla please do! I have not written anything about it so as not to tread on your feet.

----------


## TheSummoner

I didn't specify the time in the IC post, but unless there's something pressing that comes up, I figure it'll probably take a day to get ready and then we'd head out early the next morning.

----------


## RossN

> There is a tower full of pigeons at Caerfort...


Hmm.

Actually given we do seem to be sending letters to each other and might need to communicate quickly that could work in-universe.

----------


## LCP

Alright, that should bring everyone back into one place for now (albeit with a bit of timesplitting with the 14th).

For Team Painford, I've assumed everyone was happy with TheSummoner's plan of travel - if not, let me know. Please also let me know any arrangements you have for who's in charge back in the village while you're away.

I haven't specified where Elsa is on the 15th, because that's up to her, but she's *not* at the Temple - she wasn't invited.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I haven't specified where Elsa is on the 15th, because that's up to her, but she's *not* at the Temple - she wasn't invited.


Heh, I assumed as much.  :Small Big Grin: 


I really think I'll be buying Specialist Weapon (Parrying) before I exit the Noble career. Elsa will then need a weapon for her primary hand to complement her main gauche and gain a free parry. Maybe a fancy cane or something. (Her dagger can technically fulfill that purpose, but I can't see her using a bladed weapon as a torch via the Light spell.)

----------


## TheSummoner

> For Team Painford, I've assumed everyone was happy with TheSummoner's plan of travel - if not, let me know. Please also let me know any arrangements you have for who's in charge back in the village while you're away


Sieghard puts

1 = Hannah, 2 = Ingwald
(1d2)[*2*]

in charge of keeping Painford in order and the other in charge of training the new recruits while he's away.

----------


## -Sentinel-

So, do we have any medium-term plans? Elsa would deem it pointless to try to hunt down Mala, who is sure to be in deep hiding from Carraciolo's troops.

I've been thinking about Harmugstahl. I don't think we finished exploring the place, and the task of killing the beast would present a good opportunity to have Sforza lend us some expendable prisoners (including Sanne). Whatever we find in there may be some help against Nahorek.


In the short term, Elsa will want to buy a few things in Savonne. (*LCP*, let me know if any Gossip checks are required for these.)

A cane that counts as a hand weapon.A new tent to replace the one converted into a stretcher, with room for three. Per rulebook prices, it should cost 3 gc (15 shillings x2 for each extra person).A bottle of fine wine (1 gc) for Hieronymus to thank him for his hospitality.A half mask (_Phantom of the Opera_ style) for Tatiana. This one may need to be custom-made. Elsa will propose it, but not insist upon it; she doesn't want to hurt Tattie's self-esteem. If Tattie doesn't mind her scars being visible, forget about it.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I've considered having Ludo try and lend his hypnohobbit powers to persuading sforza to take the threat of a risen Nahorek seriously, but I'm not sure that ludo takes it that seriously himself.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I've considered having Ludo try and lend his hypnohobbit powers to persuading sforza to take the threat of a risen Nahorek seriously, but I'm not sure that ludo takes it that seriously himself.


In any case it wouldn't work. If only a Charm test were required, LCP would've given Elsa a chance to attempt one when she made her report to Sforza.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I wouldn't personally take that implication.

----------


## TheSummoner

I think Harmugstahl is probably a bust. Without any new leads pointing us back that way, I'm not sure what you expect to find that we missed the first time. And from a Nahorek may or may not be back perspective, it's associated with the Bretheren of the Silver Tower and we'd probably make more progress looking into things associated with Nehekhara.


Also, incase it was unclear, I left off on Sieghard's post where I did to see if there was any immediate reaction to his leaving. I've got a bit more before that's done playing out and something in mind for a bit later.

----------


## RossN

So kind of an odd request but essentially I'm looking to push Jarla towards the Spy career. Now we as players no where there are some very suitable, trainable pigeons in the Reaches but Jarla doesn't. Any chance one or more of the other PCs could suggest Caerfort when she mentions looking for birds?  :Small Smile:

----------


## TheSummoner

I think Sforza's statue could use a few _improvements_. I recall that he had it well guarded during the unveiling. Were the soldiers just there for that, or are any still watching over it? Obviously Sieghard isn't going to do anything right this moment, but it's still useful information.

----------


## LCP

The statue isn't guarded, no.

@Sentinel, if I got a facial scar and someone unprompted bought me a phantom of the opera mask, I don't know that I'd take it that well. If you want to ask Tattie though, go ahead.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I think Harmugstahl is probably a bust. Without any new leads pointing us back that way, I'm not sure what you expect to find that we missed the first time. And from a Nahorek may or may not be back perspective, it's associated with the Bretheren of the Silver Tower and we'd probably make more progress looking into things associated with Nehekhara.


Fair. We can still explore the lower areas of Savonne. Perhaps we'll find some Nehekharan writings there, and it'll be a fair bit safer than a third Kheneb expedition.





> @Sentinel, if I got a facial scar and someone unprompted bought me a phantom of the opera mask, I don't know that I'd take it that well.


hah maybe.

I just thought it might _look badass_.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## TheSummoner

Kinda hard to imagine a young woman's first concern in that situation being looking badass. Might get better results with some makeup to cover up the scarring. Or at least make it look less severe. Though I suppose that partly depends on the eye. By lost eye, did Ioana mean gone completely, empty socket or it's still there, but she can no longer see out of it?

Looks like there might be a bit of back and forth between the others yet, but since Sieghard seems like he's done with the current scene, I'm going to outline his short term plans. He's got to do a bit of preparation before he can do anything to the statue. He wants to keep an eye on the market and try to figure out what, if any city watch patrols go through the area. He's planning do do what he does a few hours before dawn on Marktag (maximum exposure that way) so he'll be waking up early for the next few days. He'll also use the time to plan a good escape route incase he is spotted either in the act or after and needs to run. Finaly, he's got a few things to buy. Some paint in both white and red, a brush or two, some oil or grease or something of the sort, and a gift for Tatiana to apologize for storming off without seeing her... A basket of pastries I'm thinking. He'll buy the arts and crafts supplies all from different merchants.

While he's waiting for Marktag, he'll be staying at an inn somewhat close to the market (somewhere less classy than the Duke of Aquitaine if that's an option) and probably drinking heavily in his downtime, but generally trying to maintain a low profile. If Elsa isn't too mad about the whole running out or Nahorek skepticism thing or just wants to give Hieronymus some privacy, she's welcome to join him (it gives a good reason for her to realize he's up to something if you want). I imagine Ludo and Urgrim will be staying in the same inn, though if so, they'll have to get their own rooms.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Looks like there might be a bit of back and forth between the others yet, but since Sieghard seems like he's done with the current scene, I'm going to outline his short term plans. He's got to do a bit of preparation before he can do anything to the statue. He wants to keep an eye on the market and try to figure out what, if any city watch patrols go through the area. He's planning do do what he does a few hours before dawn on Marktag (maximum exposure that way) so he'll be waking up early for the next few days. He'll also use the time to plan a good escape route incase he is spotted either in the act or after and needs to run. Finaly, he's got a few things to buy. Some paint in both white and red, a brush or two, some oil or grease or something of the sort, and a gift for Tatiana to apologize for storming off without seeing her... A basket of pastries I'm thinking. He'll buy the arts and crafts supplies all from different merchants.


Oooh I'm so rooting for you.  :Small Amused: 

Keep in mind that being arrested for vandalizing a statue would be a _very_ embarrassing end for Sieghard's illustrious career.





> If Elsa isn't too mad about the whole running out or Nahorek skepticism thing or just wants to give Hieronymus some privacy, she's welcome to join him (it gives a good reason for her to realize he's up to something if you want).


Give me a Charm test at +10.

----------


## TheSummoner

Speaking purely financially, I dont think Sieghard really needs Sforza anymore. He'd lose the big expensive manor in the split, but short of the Azril drying up or Nahorek turning everyone into spooky scary skeletons, his investments with Burhan are likely enough to provide for him even if he was to lose everything else. Also, that's assuming Sieghard actually gets caught.

(1d100)[*63*] vs only 37 because untrained.

"Well, if you get tired of sleeping on old books, you know where I'll be."

----------


## LCP

> He wants to keep an eye on the market and try to figure out what, if any city watch patrols go through the area.


It's one of the biggest open squares in town, so there's a fair bit of foot traffic through it. By hanging around on Wellentag and Aubentag Sieghard can observe the regular times when Norten's men come and go, which are about 4 times a day; they also sometimes appear unpredictably on their way to somewhere else. There's always a couple of Iron Company guards at the castle gates during daylight hours when they're open, and there's usually a sentry or two on the castle wall too. They have a good vantage-point overlooking the square, but the statue is in the centre of the square, so their view of it won't be so good when it's dark or when the square is crowded.

I don't know what you're looking for in an escape route/where you're looking to escape to, but there's plenty of streets leading off the square so I think you can look at the map and plan that out for yourself. The statue is plumb in the middle of the square so you have a fair bit of open space between you and the nearest street in any direction.

Red/white paint would be about 3gc per gallon; a paintbrush would be about 2s. I don't know what function you're looking for from the oil - something like olive oil would be in the range of 3s per pint, while something refined and flammable like lamp oil would be more like 2s per fl oz.

For where to stay, the really budget places are not that close to the North Market. You'll be able to find somewhere for rulebook lodging prices, but not less. Food in Savonne is currently all costing ~25% more than the rulebook price too.

*EDIT:* pressed 'post' too soon - @RossN, on the pigeon thing, I'd suggest reading about homing pigeons, as they don't work to any arbitrary destination 'out of the box'. If you're going into Spy, I'd be really interested to see the motivation fleshed out a bit IC too - who is Jarla spying on, for who and why?

----------


## RossN

> *EDIT:* pressed 'post' too soon - @RossN, on the pigeon thing, I'd suggest reading about homing pigeons, as they don't work to any arbitrary destination 'out of the box'. If you're going into Spy, I'd be really interested to see the motivation fleshed out a bit IC too - who is Jarla spying on, for who and why?


To be honest it's as much that I'm sort of stuck on Jarla's career path and Spy seems like an entertaining idea, though I admit there is not much justification for it (though keeping tabs on the court and having a way to communicate would certainly be useful.)

Unfortunately there aren't _many_ Advanced Careers that are both useful and work in a narrative sense - 'Duellist' would make sense but offers little or nothing mechanically and 'Master Thief', though fun doesn't really fit the character either - though maybe more than 'Outlaw Chief' (which I suppose is effectively a Prince Career in the Reaches!)

----------


## LCP

We're definitely at the levels of XP that I don't think the 2E career system was really written for. But I would just say, particularly for a character who's still not 100% integrated into the lives of the rest of the party, I think you're going to have a more engaging time letting the mechanics follow your IC motivations and decision-making than vice versa. Going into Spy means all the skills you'll be learning will be about spying - that's not going to be very rewarding if you don't have a motivation to use them.

I guess what I'd say is that this is a good opportunity to think about Jarla's IC goals. I can think of some interesting directions the story could go in with Jarla becoming a spy, and I'm happy to talk in PMs with you if you want to clear the runway for Jarla's story to start heading in a specific direction - but I'd like to see her gain some narrative momentum in a direction like that before she goes shopping for big overcoats and newspapers with eyeholes cut out.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Unfortunately there aren't _many_ Advanced Careers that are both useful and work in a narrative sense - 'Duellist' would make sense but offers little or nothing mechanically and 'Master Thief', though fun doesn't really fit the character either - though maybe more than 'Outlaw Chief' (which I suppose is effectively a Prince Career in the Reaches!)


Duellist would be a breeze, would allow you to pick up a skill mastery in Dodge Blow, and would open up both Assassin and Champion. (Though the latter's required trappings are expensive.)

*Edit:* If you really want pigeons, the Career Compendium has some mechanics for training messenger pigeons, under the Animal Trainer career. Distances of 11-100 miles are a moderate trick (requiring 3 successful Animal Training tests), and wild pigeons can only learn one destination.

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## LeSwordfish

Just make Caerfort your spy headquarters. Caerfort: it's where things happen.

I've completely lost track of the IC Chronology. We've met up - We're going to see Titania while Sieghard glowers at a statue - Elsa then goes to Hieronymous. Is that right? Where does the conversation about Greasy Drop come in?

Can Ludo come with Elsa to Hieronymous? And any other thoughts on trying to persuade Sforza?

---

Is there a particular need for Jarla to switch Careers just yet? I know Ludo's fine where he is for a while picking up mastery in old skills.

----------


## LCP

I can't blame you for being confused about the timeline - as far as I can see Sieghard got to the hospital, asked Ioana a question (bringing up the Greasy Drop story), then said he was going to see the statue, then Elsa snapped at him for not coming to the hospital.

The hospital visit should be the morning of the 15th, so if you want to fit stuff in on the same day you should have plenty of time.

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## -Sentinel-

> I've completely lost track of the IC Chronology. We've met up - We're going to see Titania while Sieghard glowers at a statue - Elsa then goes to Hieronymous. Is that right? Where does the conversation about Greasy Drop come in?


We met up outside the hospital and discussed Nahorek, the statue, and pigeons. Then we entered the hospital, and Greasy Drop came up in a conversation with Ioana. Then Elsa returned to Hieronymus.





> Can Ludo come with Elsa to Hieronymous?


No objection.





> I can't blame you for being confused about the timeline - as far as I can see Sieghard got to the hospital, asked Ioana a question (bringing up the Greasy Drop story), then said he was going to see the statue, then Elsa snapped at him for not coming to the hospital.


Oh, I missed that. I'll edit.

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## TheSummoner

> It's one of the biggest open squares in town, so there's a fair bit of foot traffic through it. By hanging around on Wellentag and Aubentag Sieghard can observe the regular times when Norten's men come and go, which are about 4 times a day; they also sometimes appear unpredictably on their way to somewhere else. There's always a couple of Iron Company guards at the castle gates during daylight hours when they're open, and there's usually a sentry or two on the castle wall too. They have a good vantage-point overlooking the square, but the statue is in the centre of the square, so their view of it won't be so good when it's dark or when the square is crowded.
> 
> I don't know what you're looking for in an escape route/where you're looking to escape to, but there's plenty of streets leading off the square so I think you can look at the map and plan that out for yourself. The statue is plumb in the middle of the square so you have a fair bit of open space between you and the nearest street in any direction.
> 
> Red/white paint would be about 3gc per gallon; a paintbrush would be about 2s. I don't know what function you're looking for from the oil - something like olive oil would be in the range of 3s per pint, while something refined and flammable like lamp oil would be more like 2s per fl oz.
> 
> For where to stay, the really budget places are not that close to the North Market. You'll be able to find somewhere for rulebook lodging prices, but not less. Food in Savonne is currently all costing ~25% more than the rulebook price too.


For an escape route, Sieghard is just concerned with planning in advance where to run if he's spotted and chased by guards. He wants a route that would be confusing to follow and isn't going to lead him into a dead end. The oil is just to spill behind him and slip up the guards if that happens, so it doesn't need to be anything fancy, just slick. Hope for the best, plan for the worst and all. Half a gallon of each of the paint should be enough.




> Just make Caerfort your spy headquarters. Caerfort: it's where things happen.
> 
> I've completely lost track of the IC Chronology. We've met up - We're going to see Titania while Sieghard glowers at a statue - Elsa then goes to Hieronymous. Is that right? Where does the conversation about Greasy Drop come in?


Come visit beautiful Caerfort. Where the pigeons feed themselves and didn't get eaten by the ghouls.

Greasy Drop came up because I did some digging into the old threads trying to remember if we ever found a cure to Nahorek's "plague" and saw Ioana mention that before it hit Alvarran or Savonne, it hit a village in the Raven Hills three IC years before the game started, well before Nahorek was even revived. I thought it might lead to something useful and didn't make the connection to Greasy Drop until after bringing it up. Maybe there was more, but the best I found was get away from Nahorek and the symptoms clear up, stay around him too long and they kill you.




> Can Ludo come with Elsa to Hieronymous?


You caught on too, eh?




> And any other thoughts on trying to persuade Sforza?


My thoughts are try it if you like, but I think we're reaching the point where working for Sforza is more of a hinderance than an asset.

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## LeSwordfish

> You caught on too, eh?


Don't know WHAT you're talking about.




> My thoughts are try it if you like, but I think we're reaching the point where working for Sforza is more of a hinderance than an asset.


Okay, let's hold off on that until the 16th then.

We can compare Sforza to "not Sforza" and that's all well and good, but unless we navigate this extremely carefully, our situation is not going to be "not Sforza", it is going to be "Against Sforza".

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## TheSummoner

> Don't know WHAT you're talking about.


Nothing at all.



Nothing at all. Nothing at all.




> Okay, let's hold off on that until the 16th then.
> 
> We can compare Sforza to "not Sforza" and that's all well and good, but unless we navigate this extremely carefully, our situation is not going to be "not Sforza", it is going to be "Against Sforza".


Just so we're clear, I'm not suggesting we turn ourselves against him or even make a clean break. Just that maybe it might be better to smile and nod until he desperately needs us and then say "Nah, you got this."

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## LeSwordfish

> Just so we're clear, I'm not suggesting we turn ourselves against him or even make a clean break. Just that maybe it might be better to smile and nod until he desperately needs us and then say "Nah, you got this."


Oh sure - that just sounds like more of a Sieghard thing than a Ludo thing.

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## TheSummoner

Fair. If Ludo is going to try to convince Sforza, would you be willing to wait until _after_ Sieghard pulls his stunt with the statue? Probably better to have them think we weren't even in town when it happens.

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## -Sentinel-

> You caught on too, eh?


...I'm confused.  :Small Confused: 





> My thoughts are try it if you like, but I think we're reaching the point where working for Sforza is more of a hinderance than an asset.


At this point, Elsa only remains under contract with Sforza to benefit from his protection and to stay up to speed with new information that she otherwise wouldn't be privy to. If it weren't for this, she would politely request that her contract not be renewed.

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## LeSwordfish

> Fair. If Ludo is going to try to convince Sforza, would you be willing to wait until _after_ Sieghard pulls his stunt with the statue? Probably better to have them think we weren't even in town when it happens.


Surely we'd have to do it the other way round? Unless they thought we left and came back?

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## TheSummoner

> ...I'm confused.


I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

Nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all.




> Surely we'd have to do it the other way round? Unless they thought we left and came back?


Unless I'm misinterpreting things, they don't know we're here. Some soldiers yes, but not Sforza himself. Unles you think it would be better to just be open about being here, but find some other business to keep occupied with.

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## LCP

I've got nothing I'm waiting to spring between now and Marktag, so when you're ready for Sieghard to move forward to Operation Paint Big Dog then just let me know what time of the morning you want him to move.

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## RossN

> We're definitely at the levels of XP that I don't think the 2E career system was really written for. But I would just say, particularly for a character who's still not 100% integrated into the lives of the rest of the party, I think you're going to have a more engaging time letting the mechanics follow your IC motivations and decision-making than vice versa. Going into Spy means all the skills you'll be learning will be about spying - that's not going to be very rewarding if you don't have a motivation to use them.
> 
> I guess what I'd say is that this is a good opportunity to think about Jarla's IC goals. I can think of some interesting directions the story could go in with Jarla becoming a spy, and I'm happy to talk in PMs with you if you want to clear the runway for Jarla's story to start heading in a specific direction - but I'd like to see her gain some narrative momentum in a direction like that before she goes shopping for big overcoats and newspapers with eyeholes cut out.


I think IC Jarla wants to topple the Sforzas, partly out of revenge for her brother and partly because she personally wants the sort of independence and power (and theatrics - remember she's an actress and a highwaywoman) ruling a principality brings. If this was earlier in the game she'd totally have gone down the Outlaw Chief route or founded a circle of Ranald worshippers or something. 

Jarla has tried to push Elsa at least to make a move against the Sforzas but Elsa keeps vetoing that (while continuing to complain about them  :Small Tongue: ) and with Muzio and Irene still kicking around Jarla hasn't much room to manoeuvre - she has no power base of her own and little in the way of resources. On the other hand if she left Irene she has nothing unless there was an opportunity opening immediately like in Lady Groz's court or a marriage to Giovanni.

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## TheSummoner

> I've got nothing I'm waiting to spring between now and Marktag, so when you're ready for Sieghard to move forward to Operation Paint Big Dog then just let me know what time of the morning you want him to move.


My initial thought is an hour or two before dawn, though I'm not sure if there would be people getting ready for market at that hour yet or not (Sieghard probably would be more aware of that sort of thing than I am). If he needs to go a bit earlier to avoid running into people, I'm fine with bumping it a bit earlier. Do you want any sort of rolls to get to the paint on statue part of Operation Community Mural or am I clear to put up the IC post?

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## -Sentinel-

> Jarla has tried to push Elsa at least to make a move against the Sforzas but Elsa keeps vetoing that (while continuing to complain about them )


Elsa doesn't care much for Prince Sforza, but her status and safety do derive from him. If he dies or is overthrown, there will be a period of chaos and confusion during which Irene could temporarily take power (at least in Savonne, until Carraciolo clears his throat and reminds her that he's the one with the bulk of the armed forces in the Reaches). That would not bode well for Elsa and for whoever had a hand in Muzio's death.

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## RossN

> Elsa doesn't care much for Prince Sforza, but her status and safety do derive from him. If he dies or is overthrown, there will be a period of chaos and confusion during which Irene could temporarily take power (at least in Savonne, until Carraciolo clears his throat and reminds her that he's the one with the bulk of the armed forces in the Reaches). That would not bode well for Elsa and for whoever had a hand in Muzio's death.


I'm surprised you think any plot against Sforza would not _also_ be aimed at neutralising his wife.

Though I do appreciate any move would take a lot of planning and effort and sympathetic co-conspirators outside the group.

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## LCP

> My initial thought is an hour or two before dawn, though I'm not sure if there would be people getting ready for market at that hour yet or not (Sieghard probably would be more aware of that sort of thing than I am). If he needs to go a bit earlier to avoid running into people, I'm fine with bumping it a bit earlier.


It''s a big market, so you're probably going to have a few early birds setting up before the sun's risen. Predicting how many/how early will be a bit of a game of chance, unless you want to get up really early to make sure - but then I don't know what your goal is as far as number of witnesses goes, since there's people living in the buildings all around the square as well. I'm going to leave it to your judgement, but I do want a specific time. A couple of hours before sunrise might be about 5am at this latitude + time of year.

I don't really know the full details of what you're planning, so I can't tell you whether or not you need rolls, but if you want to get things rolling in the IC please feel free.

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## TheSummoner

> Elsa doesn't care much for Prince Sforza, but her status and safety do derive from him. If he dies or is overthrown, there will be a period of chaos and confusion during which Irene could temporarily take power (at least in Savonne, until Carraciolo clears his throat and reminds her that he's the one with the bulk of the armed forces in the Reaches). That would not bode well for Elsa and for whoever had a hand in Muzio's death.





> I'm surprised you think any plot against Sforza would not _also_ be aimed at neutralising his wife.
> 
> Though I do appreciate any move would take a lot of planning and effort and sympathetic co-conspirators outside the group.


Simple solution - deal with her first.




> It''s a big market, so you're probably going to have a few early birds setting up before the sun's risen. Predicting how many/how early will be a bit of a game of chance, unless you want to get up really early to make sure - but then I don't know what your goal is as far as number of witnesses goes, since there's people living in the buildings all around the square as well. I'm going to leave it to your judgement, but I do want a specific time. A couple of hours before sunrise might be about 5am at this latitude + time of year.
> 
> I don't really know the full details of what you're planning, so I can't tell you whether or not you need rolls, but if you want to get things rolling in the IC please feel free.


Like I said, a little bit of paint on statue. Nothing too intricate so it should hopefully be fairly quick. IC post is up.

Edit for clarification. Sieghard's ultimate goal is to paint the statue either without being seen or being seen by as few people as possible and not identified. He then wants as many people as possible to see it after he's gone (which is why he chose Marktag). When he throws the remaining paint on it, ideally he'd love to hit Sforza's head, but the thing is pretty tall, so he'll settle for anywhere on the Sforza part of the statue he can hit without ruining his little mural.

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## -Sentinel-

> Simple solution - deal with her first.


Oh yeah, very simple indeed. And then the hypno-hobbit passes a Charm test to convince the castle guard to accept us as the new lords of the Reaches, instead of arresting us for regicide. Flawless plan.

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## TheSummoner

Or... we make it look like an accident. I'm not suggesting we leave a pig head in her bed or anything.

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## LeSwordfish

> I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
> 
> Nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all.
> 
> 
> 
> Unless I'm misinterpreting things, they don't know we're here. Some soldiers yes, but not Sforza himself. Unles you think it would be better to just be open about being here, but find some other business to keep occupied with.


If Sieghard's waiting "a few days" for this then Ludo's not going to wait for a few days after that.

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## TheSummoner

> If Sieghard's waiting "a few days" for this then Ludo's not going to wait for a few days after that.


That's what I meant. Sieghard was probably going to visit the keep either on Marktag or the day after to ask about the land being given out so he can resettle the people Painford took in anyways (and also to see the aftermath of the his art project).

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## LCP

> 


I love it, it's beautiful

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## -Sentinel-

> Going to greet Tattie again she smiled at the girl. "Fancy sharing my quarters for a while Tattie? I have a maid about your age so you'll have someone to talk to while I'm off entertaining the princess."


Hmm, it's really best if Tatiana doesn't stay in Jarla's quarters. It openly ties Jarla to Elsa, which we still want to avoid (at least if Jarla wants to stay in Irene's good graces). Better put Tatiana in a small guest room and pretend she just moved there on her own accord before Jarla could stop her.

Re: Sieghard's painting: I love it too.  :Small Big Grin:  And the rhyming could easily turn it into a slogan or song.

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## TheSummoner

I'm glad you like it. I only hope Sforza will as well. He's a well known for his love of fine art and little pink piggies.  :Small Big Grin:

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## LCP

A question to figure out how much I should cover with the next update - what's Sieghard doing on the 18th once the sun comes up? Is he returning to the scene of the crime to watch what happens?

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## TheSummoner

I wasn't originally planning to, but the idea sounds too fun to pass up. Sieghard will show up, but not right away. He'll also get cleaned up to make sure he didn't get any paint on himself and change his clothes first.

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## -Sentinel-

[Speculation deleted.]

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## TheSummoner

Small correction, but Norten died fighting Rorik. I think Oswald was the one Sieghard put in charge of the halberds after that.

Re: Spoilers
*Spoiler*
Show

Possibly, but depending on how fast things move, I may have a way to mitigate that slightly. That said, everything Sieghard does involving this is also going to make Sforza angrier, so it is what it is.

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## LCP

Ah. Considering that Norten's been in charge of the city guard for a good while now, we might have to just say he got better.

On a similar note: you guys _did_ ask Meskhenet about the staff. I'd look that up before you decide what to ask her this time.

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## -Sentinel-

> On a similar note: you guys _did_ ask Meskhenet about the staff. I'd look that up before you decide what to ask her this time.


I just went back to the pages with the conversations with Meskhenet both right before and right after we faced Nahorek outside Nath, and my Ctrl+F found nothing about the staff save a brief mention. If we had any other discussions with Meskhenet about Nahorek, I don't remember them.

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## LCP

Searching "meskhenet staff" in the last thread gives me this and this. I don't know if either of those are the brief mention you found, but you can see the questions you asked and the replies that you got.

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## -Sentinel-

Ah, thank you.

I'd like to delete my last IC post, but I'm seeing no 'Delete this post' option for that post. Is that an oddity of the in-character sub-forum?  :Small Confused: 

*Edit:* Nevermind, I edited my post instead.

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## LeSwordfish

It could well help, then - if it controls the souls of the departed, could it keep his soul here, in some way?

I doubt we're going to get much more from Meskhenet though, those are pretty direct questions? Given that Ludo would object to dragging her out frivolously, perhaps we should edit?

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## -Sentinel-

> Given that Ludo would object to dragging her out frivolously, perhaps we should edit?


Already done.

Also, I like how Ludo is the self-appointed protector of Meskhenet.  :Small Smile:  Now _that's_ what I call an intergenerational friendship.

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## TheSummoner

> Ah. Considering that Norten's been in charge of the city guard for a good while now, we might have to just say he got better.


Works for me. I liked Norten better than Oswald anyways. Maybe he was just injured.

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## -Sentinel-

I added Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying) to my sheet in light of Elsa's training under Jarla. I'll bank the rest of my XP for now, but this is my last month in the Noble career.

What inn are Sieghard and Ludo staying at? Because Elsa will move there  poor Hieronymus has put up with her long enough.  :Small Tongue:

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## RossN

> *I added Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying)* to my sheet in light of Elsa's training under Jarla. I'll bank the rest of my XP for now, but this is my last month in the Noble career.
> 
> What inn are Sieghard and Ludo staying at? Because Elsa will move there  poor Hieronymus has put up with her long enough.


Uh... Jarla doesn't even have that yet.

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## -Sentinel-

> Uh... Jarla doesn't even have that yet.


Well, I see no rule in the rulebook that says you can only buy a talent if you learn it from someone who already has it.

Obviously there are cases where the GM can forbid it (e.g., I couldn't have Elsa randomly gain Speak Language (Skaven) even if her career scheme allows it), but I can't imagine a main gauche is all that different from a dagger.

*Edit:* Added something to my last IC post about the 18th.

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## LCP

> I'm not actually sure whose temple is the so-called "High Temple" on the map. Is it Morr's?


You don't remember _the Temple_? Where you stored the book? Where Nahorek attacked? One of the most heavily PC-visited locations in the campaign?

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## LCP

It's not Morr's temple, it's a temple to all the gods. There was a ceremony praying to Rhya there that was posted all of 14 days ago.

And I'm not being snarky, I'm genuinely upset that it seems like you don't take in so much of what happens in the game. I know there's a lot to remember (and I know it's just been shown I forgot an NPC was supposed to be dead!), but these aren't all minor or long-distant details. Having to remind you about the facts of your own investigations makes me feel like you don't value my time, and finding out that significant elements of the campaign have either not been read or gone in one ear (eye?) and out the other makes me feel like it's not _worth_ my time to put in the work of writing this persistent setting on the first place.

I'm sorry to be a downer, but I feel like there have been enough of these points lately that something needs to be said.

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## -Sentinel-

For accounting purposes, I'll assume Elsa, Sieghard and Ludo are staying at the Duke of Aquitaine (15 shillings/night for a room), because we're all filthy rich and can afford the best. Unless there's an objection from *TheSummoner* or *LeSwordfish*.





> "Fifty crowns!" he said at last, raising his voice so he could be heard by all. "Fifty crowns for the name of the one who did this."


Are there enough spare cells in the castle for all 22 suspects?  :Small Tongue:

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## TheSummoner

Sieghard specified somewhere less classy. Not out of cost, but to maintain a low profile. Cost is base rullebook inn prices.

Edit: I also intentionally left my post open ended. Wasn't sure if you wanted Elsa to notice Sieghard leaving the market or not.

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## -Sentinel-

She went later, like 11am.

*Edit:*




> Ludo had been asking about seeing the Prince and he had kept coming up with reasons to delay until now. Today, they'd pay him a visit at the castle, but Sieghard wanted to wait until after lunch.


Are you suuuuure this is the best day, of all days, to go see the Prince about a touchy subject?

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## TheSummoner

Ludo's the one who wants to. Sieghard doesn't really care when, he just wanted to paint the statue before Sforza knew he was back in town.

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## -Sentinel-

Okay. Well, try not to get Elsa in trouble. Sforza forbade her from talking about Nahorek's return, and honestly I don't know what you're planning to say to Sforza that doesn't start with: "Guess what Elsa has been telling us..."

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## TheSummoner

Seems like more of a Ludo/Elsa conversation than a Sieghard thing. For his part, he's still skeptical about Nahorek still being around (though the plague hitting Morr's Seat does mean its becoming a bit harder to deny). For Sieghard's part, he mainly wants to secure land for the workers who built the manor and offer Norten some "help" catching the notorious and handsome pig painter

Unrelated, but Thragka, are you around? I'm curious what the dwarfen opinion on the whole statue/paint situation is.

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## LeSwordfish

Yeah I was kind of hoping to talk to Sforza _before_ he was incredibly pissed off.

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## Thragka

Hey gang! Over the past few days, I've taken my first new look at these boards in a good couple of months. I was pretty wrapped up in PhD-related stress towards the end of the calendar year, and then had to deal with a family matter in December, but the Christmas holiday was a much-needed break for me and I'm feeling mentally and emotionally refreshed. Obviously my PhD will continue to be a huge time and energy sink over its remaining six months (or so) but I do want to make a good attempt now to re-engage with the game  not least because I need an outlet! And if I can't keep up, well, Urgrim can always wander away in the background again.

Serendipitous that TheSummoner chose to ask me a question now  but unfortunately I haven't kept up with the IC thread! I'll take a look at the most immediate happenings, and maybe you folks can fill me in on longer-term stuff since ... well, the last things I remember were Elsa went west, Jarla flirted and started fencing for fun Sieghard's building a house, and who could forget that Ludo was there too.

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## LCP

Good to see you back, Thragka.




> Yeah I was kind of hoping to talk to Sforza _before_ he was incredibly pissed off.


What's the next point you guys want to advance to, then? Before Plan Piggolo I was anticipating taking the rest of Jahrdrung in one flying jump, but now I'm feeling like there's probably more to be covered.

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## -Sentinel-

> Yeah I was kind of hoping to talk to Sforza _before_ he was incredibly pissed off.


He'll feel better once someone's been hanged, I think. And it shouldn't take long. If the culprit isn't found, one will be _made_. Most likely a beggar, foreigner or known troublemaker.





> What's the next point you guys want to advance to, then? Before Plan Piggolo I was anticipating taking the rest of Jahrdrung in one flying jump, but now I'm feeling like there's probably more to be covered.


Elsa is pretty much done with everything she needed to do in Savonne. She'll stay only a couple more days before moving to Putbad, unless new events force or motivate her to remain in Savonne.


*@ Thragka:* Welcome back!  :Small Smile:  Elsa has returned from her trip to the Raven Hills, where she destroyed a pack of undead wolves, met Mala (who escaped again) and felt the presence of what she believes is Nahorek. Tatiana lost an eye to the wolves. Upon her return to Savonne, Elsa met only skepticism about what she saw; Sforza is confident that Carraciolo's forces can deal with Mala.

Meanwhile Sieghard and Ludo have been dealing with an influx of hungry refugees in Painford. They then met up with Elsa in Savonne. Sieghard was irate to learn of the new statue crediting the slaying of Nahorek to Sforza, and vandalized the statue in retaliation.

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## LeSwordfish

I should really have responded more constructively before but I suspect my plan for talking to Sforza has been scotched by the timesplits, since I really can't imagine him being in "maybe the wizard was right" mood for a while. I think perhaps the best way to resolve this is for the same thing to have happened in character - Ludo waited, Sieghard did his thing, Ludo decides to try again later. Happy to wait until the end of Jahrdrung to reconsider.

----------


## TheSummoner

Despite any short term complications it may have caused, I assure you that Sieghard's actions were completely necessary and in the long term interest of the party. Somehow.  :Small Big Grin:

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## RossN

Welcome back *Thragka*!  :Small Smile:

----------


## LeSwordfish

Sentinel: the theory I have OOC is that Tshula is possessing Hieronymous. Ludo has nothing to suggest this, but the common thread in all of these is getting unusually keen on darker magic and greater knowledge of things relating to the book, including - as I read it - trying to start tempting Elsa to abandon college magic.

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## TheSummoner

I came to the same conclusion, though for me the big tip off was the way his owl was acting towards him.

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## Thragka

> Sieghard was irate to learn of the new statue crediting the slaying of Nahorek to Sforza, and vandalized the statue in retaliation.


Amazing  :Small Big Grin:

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## TheSummoner

Al-Makir didn't mention what I was hoping he would and with Sieghard feigning ignorance at this point, I really can't bring it up myself, so I'll just wait until a better IC opportunity presents itself.

In other news, we're less than a month away from Total War Warhammer III. Would anyone be up for a multiplayer campaign when it launches? I read that it's actually going to support up to _eight_ people in a single campaign, so it wouldn't be hard to get anyone whose interested involved. One idea I floated by LCP through steam was having each person pick a different chaos god and vie for dominance of the old world.

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## LCP

I dont think Ill be in a position to play regular TW campaign sessions in Feb, but probably I will be mid-March or so.




> I'm probably overthinking things here, but if Abdul were to assume that Sieghard arrived in town from the south and went straight to the castle, the west gate near the hospital would be the most direct route and there'd be nothing unusual about him not taking the east gate.


Abduls got no particular reason to assume a particular time that Sieghard arrived in town. Does Sieghard look like he just came straight from a 2-3 day walk?

Abdul's not trying to imply that it's unusual to come in by the west gate, either - he's just surprised that Sieghard hasn't heard what's happened by now.

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## Thragka

I probably won't be picking up WH3 until the summer  but maybe I'll join you in the second round

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## LCP

I'm not clear at the moment whether Sieghard (or anyone else I may have missed) has more immediate plans in Savonne, or whether I should be moving things on - and if I should, when/whether Sieghard + co. are returning to Painford.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm personally willing to return to Painford when Sieghard does, so will pend seeing his and Elsa's conversation. I wasn't sure if this was for Ludo's ears or not, but since I don't have anything actual to say to it right now, figured he'd stay out.

I may have pretty low availablility over the weekend this weekend.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I wasn't sure if this was for Ludo's ears or not, but since I don't have anything actual to say to it right now, figured he'd stay out.


It was for Sieghard only.


*gently pokes *RossN* with a stick*

----------


## RossN

> It was for Sieghard only.
> 
> 
> *gently pokes *RossN* with a stick*


You know it would be helpful if you guys actually _told_ Jarla when and where you are meeting up so she could join you for once.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## TheSummoner

Seems like the sort of thing you could safely assume was mentioned "off-screen." We never mentioned it IC to Elsa either, yet she's with us.

Not sure if this is an IC vs OOC thing, but I'm not sure the pink piggy was as pointless as Elsa is making it out to be. Ridicule is a powerful weapon against someone like Sforza and he responded to it in the worst possible way (getting angry publicly and letting everyone know it got under his skin). Make it difficult for him to rule and you make it easier to replace him later down the line. Make people hate Prince Pig as much as they hated Duke Wolf and suddenly they're a lot more welcoming of his replacement. If he's really going to have innocent people hanged just so he can _pretend_ like he's in control, how would that look if, for example, another pig showed up insulting him for getting the wrong person.

I still think we can prove their innocence without admitting Sieghard's guilt. Without even talking to anyone, I can already see a bunch of flaws with the scapegoat (though it relies on information Sieghard doesn't have yet but could easily get). They arrested two people and tried going after a third who it turned out is already dead - how many people does it take to paint a pig? The people they arrested are poor and likely illiterate - there were words written on the statue too, it wasn't just the picture. The witnesses were pretty obviously just after the bounty and it would be easy to find inconsistencies in their stories if questioned.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> You know it would be helpful if you guys actually _told_ Jarla when and where you are meeting up so she could join you for once.


True, but Jarla's position is a difficult one right now. She would be much more free to come and go as she pleases (and follow us on expeditions and the likes) if her social status were not dependent on staying on the good side of a pampered, peevish, vindictive noblewoman.





> Not sure if this is an IC vs OOC thing, but I'm not sure the pink piggy was as pointless as Elsa is making it out to be. Ridicule is a powerful weapon against someone like Sforza and he responded to it in the worst possible way (getting angry publicly and letting everyone know it got under his skin). Make it difficult for him to rule and you make it easier to replace him later down the line. Make people hate Prince Pig as much as they hated Duke Wolf and suddenly they're a lot more welcoming of his replacement. If he's really going to have innocent people hanged just so he can _pretend_ like he's in control, how would that look if, for example, another pig showed up insulting him for getting the wrong person.


I see your point, but if someone else were punished for a crime _I_ committed, I would sure feel very bad about it even if I believed the crime was justified.

And from your posts at least, it looks like Sieghard's motivations were rather pettier than a calculated attempt to undermine Sforza's rule.





> I still think we can prove their innocence without admitting Sieghard's guilt. Without even talking to anyone, I can already see a bunch of flaws with the scapegoat (though it relies on information Sieghard doesn't have yet but could easily get). They arrested two people and tried going after a third who it turned out is already dead - how many people does it take to paint a pig? The people they arrested are poor and likely illiterate - there were words written on the statue too, it wasn't just the picture. The witnesses were pretty obviously just after the bounty and it would be easy to find inconsistencies in their stories if questioned.


Oh, I'm sure you could prove their innocence, or at least cast serious doubt on their guilt. But to Sforza, finding the real culprit is secondary to making an example of _someone_. I'm pretty sure he knows, either consciously or subconsciously, that there is almost no chance of the pig painters conveniently happening to be two known troublemakers.

----------


## TheSummoner

> I see your point, but if someone else were punished for a crime _I_ committed, I would sure feel very bad about it even if I believed the crime was justified.
> 
> And from your posts at least, it looks like Sieghard's motivations were rather pettier than a calculated attempt to undermine Sforza's rule.


I think I'd be more angry, especially in a case where it's an obvious setup.

And the things Sieghard thinks about and what I think about aren't necessarily the same.




> Oh, I'm sure you could prove their innocence, or at least cast serious doubt on their guilt. But to Sforza, finding the real culprit is secondary to making an example of _someone_. I'm pretty sure he knows, either consciously or subconsciously, that there is almost no chance of the pig painters conveniently happening to be two known troublemakers.


True. He probably doesn't care.

----------


## LCP

If Sieghard's done with Elsa, then I think the game's waiting on seeing what his plans are now.

----------


## TheSummoner

Tough question. There's a few things I can think of that he'd be tempted to do (some of them depending on what happens next), but after the guilt trip Elsa gave him, I think he'd be reluctant to actually act on it. It would come off too much like he was just disregarding everything she said.

Unless someone else has anything else they want to do, I think he'd probably stick around another day before heading back to Painford. Unless something's come up in his absence, he'd probably be heading back to Savonne soon with some of the refugees to try to secure some farmland for them.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Elsa plans to board a boat for Putbad on the 21st (Konigstag). How much is it for 3 people and 2 horses? (Probably not cheap...)

----------


## LCP

> Unless someone else has anything else they want to do, I think he'd probably stick around another day before heading back to Painford. Unless something's come up in his absence, he'd probably be heading back to Savonne soon with some of the refugees to try to secure some farmland for them.


How soon? Is there anything he'll do in between? Just trying to get a read on how much time can be covered in the next update.

I'm travelling tonight and pretty busy tomorrow though so it may be a while coming. Sentinel I'll get back to you on the price of boat tickets - just posting this before I head out the door.

----------


## TheSummoner

I imagine it'll take a bit of time for the refugees to figure out things among themselves. Sieghard probably isn't going to be able to secure a small farm for each family, but the chances are much better that he could convince Al-makir to set aside some communal farmland for the group as a whole. He's no farmer himself, so he'd need to talk to them and figure out what they'd need to rebuild. Timber he already let them cut for themselves and they can provide their own labor, but anything beyond that we'd need to figure out.

He doesn't have any immediate plans before that, so maybe a week or so.

----------


## RossN

Jarla would be happy to partake a little friendly weapon practice with Sieghard (or Ludo and Urgrim for that matter). If she does go Duellist (which reminds to pick up a main gauche)  if wpuld be good to stay in practice! Plus nice to get some time with the others!

----------


## LeSwordfish

If Sieghard's returning to Savonne after a week in Painford, Ludo can come with him - can try to Charm Al'Makir as well. Speaking of which, will pick up Evaluate+20 with my last XP.

----------


## -Sentinel-

So how long is the next time-skip? Will we be jumping to the end of Jahrdrung? Elsa doesn't have any big plans right now.


*@ RossN:* Just noticed your gender update. I'm happy that you're finding yourself.  :Small Smile:  Do you prefer she/her or they/them?

----------


## RossN

> So how long is the next time-skip? Will we be jumping to the end of Jahrdrung? Elsa doesn't have any big plans right now.
> 
> 
> *@ RossN:* Just noticed your gender update. I'm happy that you're finding yourself.  Do you prefer she/her or they/them?


Oh, thanks. I didn't want to make a big deal of it and it's still something I'm very much sorting out in my own head. I'm not even 'out' in the non-cyberspace world.  :Small Red Face: 

'She/her' will do. 'They/them' makes me sound like a hive mind!

----------


## LeSwordfish

Best of luck! I've got a lot of friends on that journey who are all very glad to be doing it.  :Small Smile:

----------


## Thragka

Well, since I declared my intentions to rejoin a couple of weeks ago and subsequently have barely glanced at the game, I think Urgrim will need to stay in the background for now. Sorry folks, just really creatively drained by workdays at the moment. However I do want to keep checking the boards so I will hopefully at least be in this thread at regular intervals.

My congrats/best wishes as well, RossN  :Small Smile:

----------


## LCP

> So how long is the next time-skip? Will we be jumping to the end of Jahrdrung?


I think with Sieghard's decision not to leave until after Mitterfruhl, it makes sense to jump to Mitterfruhl next. Not sure when I'll have time to write it though - might be a bit of a wait.

Best of luck RossN! Being out here must still feel like a big step, I'm glad you feel comfortable with it  :Small Smile:

----------


## LeSwordfish

Here's a Charm roll to persuade the farmers: (1d100)[*67*]

----------


## LCP

One question I should ask - is Sieghard putting on any Mitterfruhl festivities as lord of the manor?

----------


## TheSummoner

I didn't have anything specific in mind, but I imagine he would, yes.

----------


## RossN

Thanks for the kind words guys! Very cool to hear.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LCP

Sorry for the long wait everyone - writing big summary updates across 3 locations is taking more time than I have at the moment.

I haven't gone all the way to Mitterfruhl, because once I got writing it it made sense to break and make sure Jarla had the chance to get involved in the situation (if she wants to). Once I know what Jarla's doing I can probably advance to Mitterfruhl as I'll know when (and with what outcome from their meeting) the guilders get back to Putbad.

For Mitterfruhl celebrations in Painford, I'll be happy to leave those for you guys to write when it rolls round - but it would be good to have an idea of what kind of resources are being spent.

For Elsa at the _Silver Lady_ - you can physically fit in a single room. There's not 3 beds though. Depends what kind of level of comfort and privacy you want Olga and Tattie (and Elsa) to have.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> For Elsa at the _Silver Lady_ - you can physically fit in a single room. There's not 3 beds though. Depends what kind of level of comfort and privacy you want Olga and Tattie (and Elsa) to have.


I'm not paying for three rooms, that's for sure.

Maybe I should look into renting a place for the month. Is that a Gossip 44 check, or is there an equivalent of classified ads?

(d100)[*97*]
(d100)[*52*]  :Small Yuk:

----------


## LeSwordfish

I don't have any particular response to the ex-farmers. On the journey up Ludo's going to try and manage expectations - definitely staying on the side of "it's worth a shot isn't it" not "it'll all go great".

----------


## TheSummoner

Just a heads up, I'll be out of town this weekend. Posting will be limited.

----------


## LCP

> Maybe I should look into renting a place for the month. Is that a Gossip 44 check, or is there an equivalent of classified ads?


There's no newspapers, but people looking to rent generally aren't making themselves hard to find. What kind of a place are you looking for?

I've got us to Mitterfruhl at last. I leave the description of any celebrations in Savonne to RossN, and of anything being laid on by Sieghard & co. in Painford to the Painford Pals.

This is the end of Jahrdrung, so it's also time for XP. I think the monthly 100 XP to everyone, 25 to Sieghard for Project Piggolo, and 25 to Jarla for intrigues with the _principessa_ seems like the right amount for a relatively uneventful month. Let me know if there's anything I've forgotten.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> There's no newspapers, but people looking to rent generally aren't making themselves hard to find. What kind of a place are you looking for?


The upmarket kind. Room for three but doesn't need to be huge. It should be located in one of the better neighborhoods and be a place where you could receive a merchant or some other moderately important person for dinner without feeling ashamed (so, not some dusty basement). Elsa is sensitive to cold, so it must have a fireplace and not be too drafty. Good security, such as a stout door with a strong lock, is an asset.

How are stabling fees in Putbad? Are they equal to rulebook fees (10 p/horse/day), or is fodder also pricier than usual?


XPenditures:
*Consume Alcohol.* Not very useful but it's either that or Performer (Musician), and I haven't roleplayed Elsa learning an instrument.Switch to the *Border Courtier* career.  :Small Cool: With GM approval, *Speak Language (Nehekharan)*, though it would actually apply only to reading it, not speaking it. Could still be worth the XP, in my opinion. I assume that the Speak Language (Any) skill of the Border Courtier career was intended to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the Border Princes rather than any scholarly inclinations, but I'm kindly requesting to bend the spirit of the career scheme a little bit.  :Small Smile: 

That leaves me with 50 XP. Next month I'm _finally_ buying Dodge Blow.

----------


## RossN

Hmm, I was planning on having Jarla warn Lady Groz about what Irene was up to on the 26th. I didn't realise we'd be jumping to the day after straight away.  :Small Frown:

----------


## LCP

Ah I'm sorry... I didn't get any sense of that from your previous post. I did say it was just a break on the way to Mitterfruhl.

I can edit the IC post later - in the meantime, if you want to ignore the stuff after Jarla's ride and carry on from there then go ahead.

----------


## RossN

> Ah I'm sorry... I didn't get any sense of that from your previous post. I did say it was just a break on the way to Mitterfruhl.
> 
> I can edit the IC post later - in the meantime, if you want to ignore the stuff after Jarla's ride and carry on from there then go ahead.


Thanks, I did that.  :Small Smile:

----------


## -Sentinel-

I do like Jarla's convo with Leona... but does she realize that she's currently encouraging Leona to keep heavily taxing food headed for Savonne?  :Small Tongue: 


*LCP*, just to confirm - is Read Language (Nehekharan) okay? Sorry, I didn't phrase it like a question the first time.

----------


## RossN

> I do like Jarla's convo with Leona... but does she realize that she's currently encouraging Leona to keep heavily taxing food headed for Savonne? 
> 
> 
> *LCP*, just to confirm - is Read Language (Nehekharan) okay? Sorry, I didn't phrase it like a question the first time.


I suspect Jarla is already regretting it, though more because Leona was so disappointing in person than the actual taxation issue.  :Small Frown:

----------


## LCP

OK, back to Mitterfruhl! Everything I said in my earlier OOC post applies as before, the only thing I'll change is upping Jarla's intrigue XP from 25 to 50.

@Sentinel yes SL(Nehekharan) is fine, that seems well-justified with how you've gone about it in the IC.




> I suspect Jarla is already regretting it, though more because Leona was so disappointing in person than the actual taxation issue.


What was Jarla expecting? Queen Boadicea?

----------


## RossN

> OK, back to Mitterfruhl! Everything I said in my earlier OOC post applies as before, the only thing I'll change is upping Jarla's intrigue XP from 25 to 50.
> 
> @Sentinel yes SL(Nehekharan) is fine, that seems well-justified with how you've gone about it in the IC.
> 
> 
> 
> What was Jarla expecting? Queen Boadicea?


Yes!  :Small Tongue: 

So with this update I have 525 xp banked.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> @Sentinel yes SL(Nehekharan) is fine, that seems well-justified with how you've gone about it in the IC.


Cool. What does the etching under the beetle say? (Doubt it's important, but I'm curious.)

Also I need a figure for Elsa's monthly rent.





> So with this update I have 525 xp banked.


What's the interest rate on banked XP?  :Small Tongue:

----------


## RossN

> What's the interest rate on banked XP?


Heh.  :Small Big Grin: 

As I've said before I'm having a lot of difficulty deciding on a new career that actually makes sense in-character and isn't a mechanical trap.

----------


## LCP

> What does the etching under the beetle say? (Doubt it's important, but I'm curious.)


Roll SL(Nehekharan) to decipher it.




> Also I need a figure for Elsa's monthly rent.


For a place like you've described, 5 gc, 18s and 10p per month.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> As I've said before I'm having a lot of difficulty deciding on a new career that actually makes sense in-character and isn't a mechanical trap.


Hmm, maybe I don't see things the way you do, but I don't think your choices are limited at all. Some careers may not have much to offer Jarla mechanically, but can be finished quickly and open interesting new paths. And don't forget basic careers! Elsa is now Border Courtier because she went from Master Wizard to Noble.

Also, I'm noticing that Jarla has no skill masteries, except for Speak Reikspiel (which I suspect came from character creation).





> Roll SL(Nehekharan) to decipher it.


Target 75: (d100)[*3*]
Fortune: (d100)[*59*]





> For a place like you've described, 5 gc, 18s and 10p per month.


Nice, thanks.  :Small Smile: 

I'll round up to 6 gc, because I'm lazy and hate dealing with three non-decimalized currencies. (And also I've been neglecting my other living expenses for quite some time.)

----------


## TheSummoner

> I suspect Jarla is already regretting it, though more because Leona was so disappointing in person than the actual taxation issue.


Jarla may be disappointed, but I think you handled things pretty well. I'm fairly confident you got the best outcome you could reasonably hope for. I maintain my opinion that anything that can be done to frustrate Sforza (in either sense of the word) without making it obvious he's being undermined is a good thing.




> That leaves me with 50 XP. Next month I'm _finally_ buying Dodge Blow.


If she's no longer angry with Sieghard by then, he could teach her that one. I've got a few ideas for how such a scene might play out and I think it could be fun. Also reminds me that something was mentioned about Jarla wanting to spar with Sieghard. I'd be up for that as well.

----------


## LCP

*Spoiler: ScarabInscription*
Show

_Shining Ptra, you who [?] in the east
Mighty lord of the [horizon/daybreak?]
There is [bread/beer?] for you here, [songs/prayers] are given,
Look down favourably upon this [house/family?] from the chariot of the sun.
[?] the [shadow/darkness] from [?]_


Looking ahead, I think unless anyone has anything they want to set in motion right away the next leap forward might be roughly a week. I would like to see what Jarla has planned for Mitterfruhl in Savonne first, though - I have a little more stuff planned immediately around the equinox first.

I should add as a reminder that I think this is tax month, per Sieghard's agreement with Abdul.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Perhaps we end the next week with Ludo and Sieghard in Savonne, since that's the next job for them, speaking to Al'Makir about the farmers? Or we could go immediately and blithely trot into the aftermath of all this guild business.

I think for this tax month we want to start making use of the various useful people we've recruited, ideally with the goal of letting them all get on with it themselves next time round. We got at least one numerate guy, let's have him work with Ludo and Ingwald on the maths side now while Sieghard takes some of the new Thorns and a couple of the non-thorn Muscle and goes taxing with them.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Seperate post for visibility, but I had a quick check through the thread for our new recruits.
4 thorns from the downlands on the 16th Nachexen, one of whom is called Antonio (and is garrulous) and has a daughter Guilia, who is one of them wierd kids and was the only kid to land a hit on Ludo. He's also referenced a Uter and his son Juri.24th Nachexen, 40 people arrive. Ludo keeps Jozef, an Outdoorsman, and 5 young recruits (3 female) for the Thorns. Urgi keeps the three sick who survive.32nd Nachexen, another group pass through. Sieghard recruits three for the Thorns -  "Alvin, Jori and Lammert. Alvin and Jori clearly knew how to shoot, while Lammert was a big lad, still strong despite an evident lack of good food in recent months."8th Nachexen, three more ThornsAt some point that I'm not certain about because it's in the OOC: two with experience as caravan guards, and one who knows his numbers, who I am calling Mr Maths Herr Mathis

Looks like 15 thorns (Antonio, Jozef, Alvin, Jori, Lammert, at least three women), one outdoorsman (Jozef), two caravan guards (if we're hiring them as Muscle I say we just make them Thorns), and Mr Maths, plus at least three others (who were named but I forgot to note it down). I'll let TheSummoner and LCP add them to the various NPC registries: I'm definitely interested in building a strong retinue of named locals now that Painford is our patch.

The number of Thorns is now much higher. Would now be a good time to start on that messenger service we were discussing? Could probably set one "squad" to that and keep the others around to train the new folks.

----------


## RossN

> Looking ahead, I think unless anyone has anything they want to set in motion right away the next leap forward might be roughly a week. I would like to see what Jarla has planned for Mitterfruhl in Savonne first, though - I have a little more stuff planned immediately around the equinox first.


Jarla has organised a 'griffon' egg hunt for the children of respectable burghers in the keep grounds the morning of Mitterfruel using decoratively painted goose eggs, with the lucky child who finds the egg with a painting of the Sforza crest taking home a goose as a reward. Later during the day, weather permitting, there will be a public dance with Jacques leading the music in the square between Northmarket and Rockshadow where Lady Schreiber will judge and award prizes for the best couple of dancers (20 schillings) and best dressed (also 20 schillings). At the end of the evening a Mitterfruel King and & Queen will be crowned with a headdress of antlers and garlands of flowers, representing Taal and Rhya respectively - ideally Sforza himself should make this judgement. 

Finally there will be a feast at the keep for the court proper.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I don't know if I'm reading too much into it, but I have a suspicion that Irene's herbal infusion is something she doesn't want her husband to know about.  :Small Amused: 





> *Spoiler: ScarabInscription*
> Show
> 
> _Shining Ptra, you who [?] in the east
> Mighty lord of the [horizon/daybreak?]
> There is [bread/beer?] for you here, [songs/prayers] are given,
> Look down favourably upon this [house/family?] from the chariot of the sun.
> [?] the [shadow/darkness] from [?]_


Pretty cool.  :Small Smile:  I think I can safely venture a guess about the first unknown word...





> I have a little more stuff planned immediately around the equinox first.


Ah, sorry, I missed that part. In that case, my latest IC post is what Elsa will do if the events on the equinox don't interfere. I will edit as needed once the equinox update is up.

----------


## LCP

Yeah, you're getting ahead of me a bit, Sentinel. I'm struggling to keep up as it is at the moment, I really don't have the bandwidth to be responding to stuff from the future too. Maybe you can snip that stuff and repost it later?




> I'll let TheSummoner and LCP add them to the various NPC registries: I'm definitely interested in building a strong retinue of named locals now that Painford is our patch.


Might be a good subject for a page on the wiki?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Yeah, you're getting ahead of me a bit, Sentinel. I'm struggling to keep up as it is at the moment, I really don't have the bandwidth to be responding to stuff from the future too. Maybe you can snip that stuff and repost it later?


I'll keep it spoilered for now. (I wish this forum had a private notepad, like there was back on Rezephua.)

----------


## RossN

Okay I've decided Jarla is going to try and pick up the Noble Career as a springboard to Courtier.  :Small Smile: 

I'll need a Foil and a Main Gauche, both of which are scarce (and expensive...) so Jarla will be shopping around after Mitterfruhl.

Gossip roll #1: (1d100)[*71*] vs 54 (64 -10 for 'Scarce')
Gossip roll #2: (1d100)[*10*] vs 54 (64 -10 for 'Scarce')

----------


## TheSummoner

Nice to see that there are people in Savone who appreciate fine art. More than anything, I'm impressed that he managed to find a live pig. In a city full of starving people, it can't be easy to get your hands on even a small one.

I think LeSwordfish laid out a pretty good plan for the Painford group, so I'm happy to go along with what he suggested.

----------


## LCP

I assume Jarla's sending her messages by whatever messengers she can find, same as before?

----------


## RossN

> I assume Jarla's sending her messages by whatever messengers she can find, same as before?


Yep, she is.

----------


## LCP

OK, I've taken us one week forward. Sentinel, feel free to drop your stuff wherever in the timeline you think best.

----------


## LeSwordfish

How much were the house workers paid? Ludo wasn't that involved but probably would have learned the day-to-day figure as part of his experience with Sieghard's accounts for the taxing. Can he make an estimate of how much Matej was paid? Does he have an idea of how much Abdul is wanting to hear? Would an Evaluate roll do for that? (1d100)[*36*] vs 68 (48Int+20 mastery)

EDIT: Also, not sure what to spend Ludo's latest XP on. I'm not really moving towards any specific career and so have some masteries I could pick up - Gossip? Read/Write? Sleight Of Hand? Also I have "any two Common Knowledges" so wonder if there's a useful potential Common Knowledge there - could I get better information if I took "Common Knowledge: The Thornwood" instead of rolling CK: Border Princes?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> EDIT: Also, not sure what to spend Ludo's latest XP on. I'm not really moving towards any specific career and so have some masteries I could pick up - Gossip? Read/Write? Sleight Of Hand?


Gossip +10 is always useful. But don't bother with Read/Write +10... Since the start of the game, I don't think any of us has ever had to actually roll a Read/Write test! (I was about to suggest Perception +10, but I see you're maxed out.)

You could get some elite advances, maybe? The +5 talents (Suave, Savvy, Coolheaded, etc.) would be easy to justify and wouldn't break the career scheme too much. Also Seasoned Traveler and Strong-minded, given everywhere we've been and everything we've seen.

Lastly, I will point out that the Spy career (if you can justify it IC) would allow you to significantly raise your WP, which at 37 is quite low for a character in his fourth career.





> _My friends,
> 
> There has been a lot of tension between Irene and Muzio and I think I know why. At Mitterfruhl I overheard the Prince speaking to Father Hieronymus about Irene's failure to carry a child. The High Priest suggested it may have something to do with the malign influence of the Book of Nagash.
> 
> He could well be right but I'm sure none of us want that book disturbed!
> 
> I'll tell Elsa when she gets back.
> 
> -J. S_


Just so we're clear, Elsa is not currently _on a trip_ to Putbad... she _lives_ there. At least for now.

----------


## LCP

Going off the numbers we went over for the house construction a while back, I think the average Downlands labourer helping build _chez_ Sieghard would have been making about 2 schillings a day. It's more difficult for Ludo to know what their outgoing expenses might be, particularly for those of them with other people to support, but he knows at least that they've been getting free shelter in the Thorns' barracks.

If Al-Makir means what he says about just wanting to see proof that they can make their enterprise work, then the question is how much does it cost to rebuild a farm, which doesn't have to be a huge amount of money. The biggest expense is likely to be draught animals, which obviously are in high demand right now and will cost a fair amount (20-50 crowns) per animal. They do already have a (very) small number of those and probably know better than your average joe how to do without them (though that is pretty back-breaking work). The next leading cost would probably be metal tools, which would be order tens of crowns per family-sized unit of farmland + shelter.

Regarding XP, I'm not against you coming up with specific local versions of CK, but I also don't want to force you into taking overspecialised versions of skills you already have/could buy mastery in... if your character lives in the Reaches and has CK(Border Princes) then it's not like I'm going to not let you test that for info about the Thornwood.

Since this has been coming up a bit lately, I have been idly thinking about 40KRPG-esque custom packages for spending excess XP outside the career system, but I haven't really had enough brain space to flesh out the thought. If there are elite advances that you'd like or even just ideas for the direction of your PC that you think could maybe be translated into something like that then we can talk about it - even if it's pretty ad-hoc I'd rather let your characters keep developing in a way that feels natural than force you into new careers just because the system's run out of road.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Basically in terms of "what Ludo is actually doing" I think he's fitting into a sort of civic leader role now that I don't really see a career for (politician? I think I have all of that already), and while there's something to be said for him dropping into either Vampire Hunter or Spy, it feels odd for him to mechanically be growing in being a cool badass while narratively he spends his days smoking pipeweed and teaching the ABCs - even if what I would mechanically choose is some combat stuff to back up his extreme sneaky and talkyness. In addition, if the direction we as a party go is the Glorious People's Rebellion, then "leader of a town" is a fairly natural way for Ludo to contribute to that.

That said, I don't know if it's worth some kind of elaborate extra system. We have a single-digit number of months left, so I suspect we may end up with "only" 2-3k XP left to spend each. I think perhaps we could do it as informally as "if I can make a good case for an Elite Advance it should only be 100xp". What were you thinking - giving us each a list of stuff we could get as if we were in the career of "what we're doing anyway"?

Re: the al-makir stuff: hmm, the numbers do not seem especially favourable, and we haven't discussed what if anything Sieghard is willing to financially contribute to project "get these people off my land". I'll think about what arguments to make but am playing Necromunda tonight so may post it all up tomorrow.

----------


## -Sentinel-

*Spoiler: Career: Experienced Adventurer*
Show

WS +20
BS +20
S +20
T +20
Ag +20
Int +20
WP +20
Fel +20

Attacks +1
Wounds +6

Skills: All basic skills (up to the maximum skill mastery of +20), Common Knowledge (any number), Dodge Blow, Performer (Storyteller), Read/Write, Speak Language (any number).
Talents: All talents that can be rolled by Human characters at creation, plus Seasoned Traveller and Stout-Hearted.

Trappings: None.

Career entries: Any. You must have completed at least three careers, including at least one Advanced career, to enter this career.
Career exits: None, but a character in this career may at any time switch to any career exit of a previously completed career for 100 xp.

SPECIAL: Each advance taken in this career costs 150 XP.


I'm half joking, but I think a generic "final career" for super advanced characters with nowhere to go would look like this.

----------


## TheSummoner

So thinking on the financial side of things...

We have some draft animals we aren't making much use of at the moment. I'm not about to give them away, but Sieghard would be wiling to let them use them, at least until they can afford their own. That would at least help offset the largest expense.

----------


## LeSwordfish

As for "how many people" - presumably we would have some idea of this. Are these six the heads of households? Are their families here with us? Presumably we want to help them get from "Subsistence" to "profit" if we're gonna be loaning them money to get started - are we looking at 2x the listed amount of land each, for approximately five people from Painford each? (That sounds like the kind of family-and-labourers group that Elsa hung out with last month).

EDIT: Also Ludo can lend his hypnohaggle ability to picking up tools, animals, etc, even if we don't play that out in detail.

----------


## LCP

These six are the only ones with you right now. They're not here on a 1-per-family basis, but I think if you got enough land for 30 people then between that and the 15(?)you've absorbed into the Thorns you'd have Painford back to approximately its previous population. Assuming we're talking about the poorer land out west where there's still space, I think that puts you in the range of 60-120 acres, including some margin for profit as you said. Not a huge amount to ask for, all things considered.

Also I realise the XP question fell off my radar - I wasn't thinking of anything elaborate for sure. Elite advances probably cover a good deal of what I'm thinking of already; I'm just thinking of the example of books like Ascension for ways to burn big chunks of XP for stuff that only makes sense for late-game characters. Stuff like maybe defining your own skills and talents that are specific to the character and the campaign (Local Hero, double SL on any test to make Painford people say "hooray for Ludo", that kind of thing), or even spending XP on developing stuff that isn't necessarily represented mechanically (like growing an organisation).

I still don't have a huge amount of time to think about it, I just wanted to raise that it was a thing that we could do if there was a demand and people felt XP was stacking up to no good use.

----------


## LeSwordfish

If you say that's a reasonable amount to ask for, and also would solve our population problems, I'm down for that if TheSummoner is. How shall we resolve it - an opposed Haggle test starting at 90 acres?

(1d100)[*79*] vs 82 (Haggle vs 72, +10 Dealmaker). Can I re-roll after I see Al'Makir's roll? If not, then lets say I re-roll if I get less than 3 DoS.

I love looking at a 79 and going "well, at least I pass".

----------


## LCP

Opposed Haggle sounds good to me.

(1d100)[*80*]

That looks like a marginal win for Ludo - I think enough for 100 acres. Perfectly happy for you to decide whether to reroll after seeing both sides.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Yeah, let's give it a shot: (1d100)[*86*]

Hahah crap okay back to 90?

----------


## LCP

Clearly Ludo got carried away with the negotiations and tried going lower than Abdul's offer for reverse psychology.

Think we may be largely done with this scene? Let me know if there's more you want to talk to Abdul about. If you want to go and find Hieronymus after then feel free to meet him either at the Temple or his home.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I'm just thinking of the example of books like Ascension for ways to burn big chunks of XP for stuff that only makes sense for late-game characters.


Never heard of this one. Is it a Dark Heresy sourcebook?

For my part, I can spend excess XP on familiar abilities, if I ever run out of useful advances for Elsa.  :Small Cool:

----------


## LCP

Yes, it was from DH 1E.

Sorry for the silence the last couple of days, I've been a bit distracted. Just catching up on the train now.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> "In particular, anything else about the book... he was advocating to Sforza that they could move it, if you become aware of them doing that please let myself and the wizard know."


Not sure what you expect Elsa to do in this case, given that she's in Putbad. If Sforza decides to move the Book, he'll likely just do it, not dither long enough for a message to reach Elsa and for Elsa to come over. If you want to involve Elsa, do it ASAP.


*@ LCP:* I realize you're busy, but some of the character bios need updating, whenever you have time. Notably Tatiana, Dr. Bianco, Arne, Sanne and Armin. And I think Olga deserves  at least a mention somewhere.

IMO, the dramatis personae should also include Astoria and Adelbert.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Not sure what you expect Elsa to do in this case, given that she's in Putbad. If Sforza decides to move the Book, he'll likely just do it, not dither long enough for a message to reach Elsa and for Elsa to come over. If you want to involve Elsa, do it ASAP.


I mean, Elsa knows what Ludo suspects and still decided to move out of town. If there's a chance she can get there she should definitely know, but I'm not sure what Ludo could say now that he or Jarla hasn't already said.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I mean, Elsa knows what Ludo suspects and still decided to move out of town. If there's a chance she can get there she should definitely know, but I'm not sure what Ludo could say now that he or Jarla hasn't already said.


She knew that Hieronymus had been unsuccessfully trying for _months_ to get Sforza to move the Book, and she had no reason to think he'd make any progress in his attempts. But Hieronymus's suggestion that the Book might be preventing Irene from conceiving is a game-changer.

----------


## RossN

So sorry TheSummoner I only just realised your last post was addressed to Jarla. I'll try and have something up soon.  :Small Red Face:

----------


## RossN

Sorry for the double post but I wanted to say I'm glad Ludo is keeping an eye on Bertelis's well being.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LeSwordfish

I was rereading the thread and realised we hadn't actually dealt with the book of caerfort. In retrospect it would probably have gone to the temple with adelbert's body, but what the hey, lets do some character work.

----------


## LCP

Not sure whether Ludo has more business with the priests, but the answer to Jarla's question to Sieghard is fairly relevant to what happens next - how long are Sieghard and Ludo planning on staying in town (and where?).

----------


## LeSwordfish

Nothing more specific for Cesar. I also don't have anything particular for Ludo to do in town, so unless Sieghard needs him for something will stay overnight (probably at the barracks?) and then head back tomorrow.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> "Euthymius," Hieronymus reflexively corrected him.


Dang, my clever plan foiled.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm gonna make a charm test for Ludo to try and lie to Tshula, if it is Tshula: (1d100)[*17*], re-roll (1d100)[*80*]

And also, may I request a secret Perception test for Ludo to check if Hieronymous is acting normally? He tests perception vs 68, and has Resistant to Chaos if there's some kind of relevant spell or power in play.

----------


## LCP

Hieronymus doesn't seem to be acting out of the ordinary, except in seeming a bit more tired and frail than Ludo remembers him.

----------


## RossN

Sorry for the lack of replies but I'm having massive computer problems right now. My home internet is completely offline. Hopefully it will be fixed on the weekend but until then I'm afraid I'll be very intermittent.

----------


## LCP

Just waiting on Ludo at the moment - LeSwordfish is there anything else you need from me?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Sorry, just lost track.

----------


## LCP

With respect to the cost of hosting the Sforzas, it depends a bit on how much of an effort Sieghard wants to make. What kind of an impression do you want to make about how well you host your liege lord?

I would say the main things to decide are:
Where are you going to sleep the guests? Of Barbaro's 20-30 probably only a handful will be the really important guests, the rest will be servants and guards.How are you going to feed them? Do you want to go big with the fancy foods or just make do with what you can get locally?How are you going to organise the hunt? You probably have a good number of locals you could trust with the practicalities, but you might want to decide some of it yourself (e.g. what animal to hunt).

Rather than have me lay out every possible variable, I'd say you guys should feel free to exercise a bit of freedom in making choices relating to your home patch - e.g. if you want to say there's a clearing in the woods that'd be a good place to hold a post-hunt banquet then make it so. I'd also say since Barbaro has given you a week to prepare you don't need to make every decision immediately either - for now if you can figure out what you're aiming for with supplies you can carry back from Savonne then I can give you a price tag based off your Haggle roll.

Once you guys are wrapped up here, I think we'll be good to move on. Jarla ought to be hearing about this plan at a similar time but I'm not sure if RossN's back yet.

----------


## RossN

I am back and catching up! I'll try and have a proper post up this evening!

----------


## -Sentinel-

My plans for the near future are covered by this month-old post.

At some point Elsa may want to visit Savonne while the Sforzas are gone, but it's nothing urgent. (I have a vague outline of a scheme to buy/semi-steal Belehir's horse via some under-the-table dealings.)

----------


## RossN

Another shopping roll to find those trappings I need for Noble...

*Gossip roll:* (1d100)[*59*] vs 54 (64 -10 for 'Scarce')

----------


## TheSummoner

> With respect to the cost of hosting the Sforzas, it depends a bit on how much of an effort Sieghard wants to make. What kind of an impression do you want to make about how well you host your liege lord?
> 
> I would say the main things to decide are:
> Where are you going to sleep the guests? Of Barbaro's 20-30 probably only a handful will be the really important guests, the rest will be servants and guards.How are you going to feed them? Do you want to go big with the fancy foods or just make do with what you can get locally?How are you going to organise the hunt? You probably have a good number of locals you could trust with the practicalities, but you might want to decide some of it yourself (e.g. what animal to hunt).


The impression he'd want to leave is that Sforza made the right choice putting Sieghard in charge of the Thornwood and that Sieghard has moved into the role quite well (now get off my damn property and leave me alone). As to the rest:

Sforza and Irene get their own room. Other VIPs he can make space for in the manor, though it may be more of a shared area setup depending on number and space. Guards and servants can stay in one of the barracks. If we can get the farmers out have them start rebuilding, there will definitely be space to set one aside for them. Alternatively, we could clean up the tower a bit.Probably a good idea to do at least one fancier meal the day Sforza arrives. After that, local is fine.Boar  :Small Amused:  Not really. Amusing as that would be, it's a terrible idea. We'll go with deer.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Will the Sforza's be bringing their servants? Sieghard doesn't have, for example, a maid - who will be emptying the Sforzan Guzunders? What's the etiquette there?

----------


## LCP

> Sforza and Irene get their own room.


IIRC the manor has a master bedroom, a guest bedroom and a bunk room with space for 4. Will you put the Sforzas in the guest room, or Sieghard's room?




> Probably a good idea to do at least one fancier meal the day Sforza arrives. After that, local is fine.


OK, well, if you want to buy Fancy Foods in Savonne then I think the rough price would be 2s per person per meal, plus anything you want to spend on Fancy Booze. Probably the limiting factor is more what you can carry back than what you can afford - I'll let you be the judge of your transport arrangements.




> Will the Sforza's be bringing their servants? Sieghard doesn't have, for example, a maid - who will be emptying the Sforzan Guzunders? What's the etiquette there?


They'll definitely be bringing some personal servants and guards, but those people won't know e.g. where to get food in Painford, what drawer the knives are kept in, etc. - you might want to supply some people of your own too to make things go smoothly. I'm guessing Sieghard won't be doing the cooking himself, so at the very least you'll want to have some cooks on hand.

----------


## TheSummoner

Guest room. Sieghard isn't about to volunteer to be kicked out of his own bed even if Sforza probably thinks he's entitled to it. Probably a good idea to stock up on some nice (and more importantly, strong) drinks as well. Sieghard isn't going to try to Robert Baratheon Sforza in the middle of the Thornwood or anything like that, but if he can get him drunk enough to be suggestible and maybe filled with a bit of drunken bravado after the hunt, it might be possible to set something up for later. For transportation, if it's too much to carry, Sieghard is fine with paying someone to transport it, either over land to Painford directly or down the river to Ravenskird and then he can have his men pick it up from there.

----------


## LCP

> Probably a good idea to stock up on some nice (and more importantly, strong) drinks as well.
> 
> [...]
> 
> For transportation, if it's too much to carry, Sieghard is fine with paying someone to transport it, either over land to Painford directly or down the river to Ravenskird and then he can have his men pick it up from there.


I'll leave it to you to decide the quantities - I think I should have given you enough info above to work out the costs. If you want to have stuff shipped rather than carry it you can just double the costs.

I'm assuming at this point that if there was any stuff Sieghard & Ludo wanted to play out in Savonne before leaving you guys would have done it, so any shopping etc. you want to do retrospectively please feel free - I'm going to move ahead.

----------


## LCP

No, Elsa hasn't received a reply to her letter.

----------


## LCP

The next jump in time is probably going to bring us up to the royal visit to Painford - theSummoner, can you tell me what the final shape of Sieghard's purchases looked like? That's a decision that needs to be finalised before they arrive.

How is Elsa planning on travelling to Savonne - by land or by river?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> How is Elsa planning on travelling to Savonne - by land or by river?


River. On second thought I'll take Olga as well, because Elsa appreciates her counsel. We're leaving the horses in Putbad.


*Edit:* Hey, it's currently about the same season in the game as IRL (at least in the Northern Hemisphere).

----------


## TheSummoner

Of course. Might be worth it to put a bit more into the meals than I was initially thinking. I'll go with nicer dinners, but other meals can be from what's available locally. If I err on the side of caution and assume three days from what Barbaro said and estimate seven people total who are important enough to get the fancier stuff, then 2gc, 4s will cover the food. Throw in alcohol and transporting everything... Make it simple and call it 5 and a half crowns.

Hiring on help was mentioned. What would it cost for people to cook and serve the meals?

----------


## LCP

For servants, something like 10p per day; for cooks, more like 1s 6p, and for the kind of fancy cook you could probably only get in Savonne, 2s. They'll want the days they have to travel covered too.

----------


## TheSummoner

Locals are fine.

----------


## LCP

Can you say how many?

RossN, I'm going to assume if you want to finish the conversation with Hieronymus that it's OK to timesplit it - moving on to the royal jamboree now.

----------


## TheSummoner

Hmm, I'm really not sure how many would be needed. Then again, I doubt Sieghard would know any better than I would, so let's go with five.

----------


## LeSwordfish

If we're giving Sforza the big tour, Ludo will at least show him the schoolhouse in a "look at the cool infrastructure we're making here" kind of way. Talk about making smarter people for a better economy and investing in the future, or whatever the fantasy 1600s covered in mud version of that is. Not going to post IC for that yet since I don't think we'd want to take him there first.

----------


## RossN

*-Sentinel-* did you miss Jarla's dialogue with Elsa?

----------


## -Sentinel-

> *-Sentinel-* did you miss Jarla's dialogue with Elsa?


Sorry! I edited my post with a reply to Jarla.  :Small Smile:

----------


## LCP

Sorry for the silence everyone - I've been ill this last week or so (not covid thankfully) and it's taken it out of me a bit. Starting to feel better now so hopefully should be back on track.

----------


## TheSummoner

Glad you're feeling better. No rush.

----------


## RossN

Sorrybto hear that LCP and glad to here you are on the mend.

I've been a bit rushed myself over Easter with family stuff but I'm trying to catch up now and will try and have a post up in the morning.

----------


## LCP

> Do the cells seem unusually full? It's been mentioned here and there that Norten's men have been imprisoning a lot of people.


Forgot to answer this question before - yes, there's a fair few people down there. No-one sharing a cell with Sanne though.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Gonna re-roll that charm: (1d100)[*89*]

----------


## LCP

ludo just standing there trying to make small talk while oblivious to the fact that he's drinking tea out of his novelty pig mug

----------


## LeSwordfish

Common Knowledge (What's She Up To This Time) - (1d100)[*58*] vs 28

----------


## -Sentinel-

Aww, that's unfortunate.


I've no liking for Irene, but I dread Sforza's reaction. I'm glad Elsa and Tatiana are too far away to be suspects.

----------


## RossN

> Aww, that's unfortunate.
> 
> 
> I've no liking for Irene, but I dread Sforza's reaction. I'm glad Elsa and Tatiana are too far away to be suspects.


Considering Jarla's falling out with Irene and the fact she deliberately stayed back in Savonne maybe Jarla will be a suspect!  :Small Eek:

----------


## TheSummoner

I think I know what happened. If I'm right, it's not Irene trying to frame us, just her doing something stupid without having realized it. Doesn't mean it wont blow up in our faces of course.

----------


## -Sentinel-

My first thought when the maid snuck out into the forest was that she'd been sent by Irene to look for herbs for Irene's contraception. Now that Irene is ill, I suspect the maid was trying to poison her, perhaps as retaliation for the way Irene treats everyone around her.

Of course it's possible that it's something in-between. E.g. Irene taking an overly large dose of contraceptive flowers, or the maid mistaking one flower for another.

----------


## TheSummoner

> My first thought when the maid snuck out into the forest was that she'd been sent by Irene to look for herbs for Irene's contraception. Now that Irene is ill, I suspect the maid was trying to poison her, perhaps as retaliation for the way Irene treats everyone around her.
> 
> Of course it's possible that it's something in-between. E.g. Irene taking an overly large dose of contraceptive flowers, or the maid mistaking one flower for another.


The herbs are poisonous. If you take too many of them, anyways.

----------


## LeSwordfish

The tricky answer to Sforza's question is Urgi - not sure if Thragka's around or not.

----------


## LCP

If he's not, I'm happy to autopilot for the time being.

----------


## TheSummoner

The trickier question is do we actually want to help? It's an opportunity to be rid of her, but at the same time, there are a lot of ways this could backfire if we went for that. Once concern is the one I brought up IC - the possibility she recovers on her own and since we didn't life a finger, they blames us for it, thinking we poisoned her. Even if she didn't, her dying under Sieghard's roof would look bad.

Edit: Does Sieghard recognize those flowers as the same ones Elsa uses?

----------


## LeSwordfish

If she has poisoned herself, I can't imagine she'd do it with something fatal. Irene has always seemed to value her own life very highly, I absolutely don't think she'd gamble it to disgrace us.

----------


## LeSwordfish

If Gina is indeed the maid we saw ludo will ask sforza if he wants us to find her.

----------


## RossN

So after days of feeling under the weather I had a positive COVID test yesterday (_right_ before I was going to see Alan Partridge live in Dublin, a birthday present from months back...)

I'm more achey and tired and coughing than badly sick but I'm definitely not up to par writing wise. *LCP* if you need to fast forward over the next few days you can just assume Jarla is busy setting up victory gardens in the keep and checking prices on wine deliveries and so on.

----------


## TheSummoner

Get well soon. If nothing else, it sounds like a fairly mild case.

----------


## LCP

> So after days of feeling under the weather I had a positive COVID test yesterday (_right_ before I was going to see Alan Partridge live in Dublin, a birthday present from months back...)


Ah, that sucks. You can't get the tickets moved? I know that most theatres in the UK have got pretty good schemes for handling covid-enforced no-shows atm.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> What's it worth? he asked, looking Elsa straight in the eye.


Just to be clear... Is Al-Makir asking for a bribe for his silence, or is he asking Elsa what she thinks the horse is worth?

----------


## LCP

He's asking what she thinks her 'favour' is worth to her.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Enjoying how Elsa has mortally offended Al'Makir, swears to do better, and then goes up to the dwarves and is like "alright, any one of you short stacks know how to read?"

Forgot to roll fir Ludo's Charm: (1d100)[*8*]

----------


## LeSwordfish

She mentioned Sanctuary - is that a formal thing? What does Ludo know about that? I'm vaguely aware of it OOC but Ludo would know more IC.

----------


## LCP

I'm lifting wholly from the real world here, I don't think this is explored in any published WH material I know of. My take on it for our version of the WH world would be: it's a thing priests _can_ do (in most places they don't derive their legitimacy from the local ruler), but whether they _do_ do it is a question of both local politics (how much they want to curry favour with the secular authorities vs. how confident they are in their own popular support) and the specific doctrine of the cult in question.

There's no priest here to assert any such right, and even if there were, Verenans probably aren't too keen on defying the secular law (though maybe there's an angle they would like along the lines of "what are the charges? eating a meal? a succulent chinese meal?"). Gina's main hope here at this point is just that Sforza's men wouldn't want to upset the Painforders by having a scuffle in their chapel. She hasn't thought it through very well.

----------


## RossN

> Get well soon. If nothing else, it sounds like a fairly mild case.


Thanks. I'm still feeling fluey and achey but I think I'm getting out of it.




> Ah, that sucks. You can't get the tickets moved? I know that most theatres in the UK have got pretty good schemes for handling covid-enforced no-shows atm.


Sadly not an option here - he was only in Dublin for the one show (plus one in Belfast while I was still in quarantine) and it would transfer to the UK dates besides the hassle and expense of booking a holiday in Britain. 

It's very annoying but I'm trying to be sanguine. Just not much I could do.

----------


## LCP

Sieghard can be where you guys want him to be - Sforza let him go to search for Gina, he doesn't have a hard time limit on when he has to report back.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Cool - have added some dialogue in on the assumption that he's alone.

----------


## TheSummoner

Re: Sanctuary. She's assuming Sforza would respect it. Novice mistake.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Very glad that Ludo and Sieghard are helping Gina.  :Small Smile: 

Does the plan involve Sforza learning about the exact plant that was used and its properties? I'm just curious about how hard the sh** will hit the fan once he learns Irene has been denying him an heir for _years_...  :Small Amused: 


(Kinda conflicted about it IRL, if I'm being honest. I f***ing hate Irene but I sympathize with a woman not wanting to be forced to bear a child.)

----------


## TheSummoner

Not really sure how we could and make it seem natural. My thoughts were to get her out of here, tell Sforza she fled, and push him in the right direction about the woman his poisoned wife was asking about disappearing all of a sudden.

----------


## LeSwordfish

My plan was to show him the plant and say we knew what it did because we hang out with Elsa, and you know what she's like. Say one of our soldiers caught the maid picking it, nudge him towards the right conclusion, and decide whether to admit we know where the maid in based on what his response is.

At best this could be a chance to drive a wedge between him and Irene.

----------


## TheSummoner

If we tell them we know where Gina is, she's dead. Even if Sforza himself fully believes us, Irene would have her killed.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Or Sforza himself will have her killed for being a party to Irene's schemes.

Remember that he had Falkenwald killed for plotting the ambush in the Thornwood per Irene's orders, while Irene herself got a slap on the wrist. His justice is rather... selective.

----------


## LCP

I'll assume Sieghard's lack of an answer to Ludo's last warning there is an answer in itself and proceed.

----------


## TheSummoner

Probably worth hammering out specifics before committing to anything IC. So the idea is Sieghard gets the dogs to make some noise and Ludo does sneaky hobbitses trickses? Could work. An idea I thought was worth bringing up is that we could tell Sforza that someone saw Gina fleeing in one direction and get everyone's attention that way before slipping her out in the opposite. Risk there is that it would take more time (if we want Gustaf to set the trail) and anyone paying attention might wonder why two people are going the wrong way, so I'm not sure which is better.

----------


## LCP

Sieghard and Ludo haven't had time to plan in advance, so I would recommend playing it IC as if you had a ticking Sforza in the next building.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Stealth Test (vs 94) for Ludo leading Gina away. Not sure if Hanna can assist here, or if instead Ludo and her are trying to help Gina. Basic plan is not, like, hide in the bushes, it is confidently and calmly walk away, and trust to Sieghard's deception to muddy the waters enough that nobody notices the discrepancy in numbers. Maybe Charm (vs 92) is more appropriate for that? (1d100)[*35*]

I'll write up an IC post on the assumption that that succeeds.

----------


## RossN

I've had a negative Covid test and I do feel a lot better so I'm ready to get back into the swing of things as soon as I can think of something for Jarla to do.  :Small Smile: 

In retrospect I'm kicking myself for not having Jarla go with the royal party - but I've no doubt there will be plenty of fireworks once word reaches Savonne!

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## LeSwordfish

I mean, if we wanted to kill irene, Jarla giving her some bad medicine might do it.

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## TheSummoner

Well, yes and no. Assuming she survives, Irene will need someone to run her errands for her now that she's out of maids. She's also likely to be a lot more cautious about this sort of thing in the future.

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## -Sentinel-

Good work, Team Painford!  :Small Smile: 


*@ RossN:* I've mentioned that Elsa is training under Jarla. Granted, this is mostly to justify buying Dodge Blow at the end of the month, but it's also a roleplay opportunity. Irene is not there...

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## TheSummoner

We're not clear of this yet, even if the maid did manage to get away unseen. Sforza still wants someone to punish and he's not yet convinced it's the person whose too far gone for him to have hanged.

Thragka, I notice you've been online? Is real life still taking up all of your time. Sforza wanting to talk to Urgrim alone makes me nervous, and even if the concern is for nothing, having three people to help manage this would definitely be helpful.

----------


## LCP

I've had a chat with Thragka via Gchat, and sadly it sounds like he's not going to be able to return to the campaign on a practical timescale. I didn't plan for this but I think that autopilot-Urgrim is going to have to retire from the party in the near IC future.

That leaves 2 questions:

1. Since we won't get Thragka piloting him, do you guys (TheSummoner and LeSwordfish) have input on how Urgrim should behave with Sforza? Sieghard and Ludo are in position to talk to him before he goes in, and I'd rather have him representing the decisions of the group in some way than it being purely NPC-on-NPC.

2. What are everyone's thoughts on re-recruiting for the cursed 5th slot?

Mine are that we are pretty late in the campaign. Past PCs have seemed to me to have to work pretty hard to get integrated in the group and invested in the plot, and if we followed the way we did it before, any new PC would come in with an absolute bucket of XP and little growing left to do - at least mechanically. I know a lot of people love the chance to make a character like that, but I'm not sure that it's a recipe for getting much traction in a long-established campaign... or at least, I feel that after the number of players we've gone through, I should at least consider changing the formula.

The easiest option is of course to just not fill the slot, and I'm not averse to that. I do still have some notions about five players being a good number, in terms of keeping the game active and healthy - but those notions mostly revolve around the party working as one group, and you guys have been split all over the map for a long time. Then again, maybe a 5th player could give the isolated PCs some company.

If we did want to re-recruit, my first instinct is to try to guide the character creation process to get a character who the PCs already have some attachment to, and who already has some investment in the plot, before their feet hit the ground. Strong possibilities there would be PC-ifying an NPC of some description, and/or having the new PC start with less XP than the current party. If you guys have any other thoughts I'd be interested to hear them.

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## RossN

Sad to hear Thragka going. Good gaming my friend.  :Small Frown: 

I think it's a good point about the difficulty of creating PCs at this level in WFRP. God knows Jarla is mechanically a bit tricksy, even if I am enjoying playing her. 

On balance I'd say continue with four players, unless we have something like a long time lurker reader who'd be willing to play and has enough knowledge of the game to play an NPC-turned-PC.

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## LeSwordfish

Yeah I agree - hope you feel up to hanging out in the thread every so often Thragka! (Are we all still in/around London to get a drink some time?)

With regards to question 1: Ludo was going to brief Urgrim on everything, basically, and get him in on the lie, with the basic thing we were hoping him to say to Sforza to be the same as what Ludo said - "if she was trying to poison your wife, she did it the hard way for no good reason, hint hint maybe it was an accident". If he was a PC I would suggest he try and nudge Sforza that it might be a contraceptive but re-reading the thread and seeing that it's a plant that only _looks like_ what Irene was using means that planting that idea has become a bit complex for NPC on NPC, and Urgi's not, perhaps, suitably conniving.

I agree with RossN on question 2: the specifics of what we're looking for means that open recruitment is probably not sensible. It was hard enough to parachute Jarla into the narrative, let alone an entirely new character. We could perhaps send out invites? There's a few GiantITP regulars who've been around for longer than the game has been running, that might be reliable enough. I think we're probably doing okay as four, though.

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## LCP

Thanks, that's a very useful answer on the Sforza/Urgrim question.




> There's a few GiantITP regulars who've been around for longer than the game has been running, that might be reliable enough.


Is there anyone in particular you're thinking of? I remember we had a few recurring faces in the recruitment threads but I'd have to go back and remind myself who (+ check which of them are still around).




> (Are we all still in/around London to get a drink some time?)


I'm back and forth between Sheffield and London at the moment, but moving back to the big smoke full time around Septemberish.

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## LeSwordfish

> Is there anyone in particular you're thinking of? I remember we had a few recurring faces in the recruitment threads but I'd have to go back and remind myself who (+ check which of them are still around).


I'll double-check the names I'm thinking of and PM you.




> I'm back and forth between Sheffield and London at the moment, but moving back to the big smoke full time around Septemberish.


Well perhaps next time you're down - I'm in Oxford (well, Bicester soon) so it's a pretty easy trip into town. Are you working at the university in sheffield? I applied to go there but they rejected me, some trumped-up charge around "not having the grades".

----------


## LCP

No, it's just where my partner lives - my work is still in London, I've just been able to work largely remotely for a long time.

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## -Sentinel-

> I've had a chat with Thragka via Gchat, and sadly it sounds like he's not going to be able to return to the campaign on a practical timescale. I didn't plan for this but I think that autopilot-Urgrim is going to have to retire from the party in the near IC future.


Very unfortunate. *Thragka* is an excellent roleplayer, and *LCP* and I knew him from another forum before this one, so I was really hoping he'd be back.

I agree with *RossN* and *LeSwordfish* that we're doing pretty well with four players. That being said, if a lurker were to call dibs on Ingwald or Tatiana, I wouldn't turn them down. Maybe we should mention it in the IC thread too for the potential lurkers who don't follow the OOC thread closely?

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## TheSummoner

I was afraid this might be coming. Probably the easiest way to write him out is for Clan Dwimmulson to call him back and put him on some unspecified job. Then, if Thragka's schedule ever opens up enough to rejoin us, there's an easy way to write him back in. However it's done, I'd just prefer the character not be killed off suddenly. As for a 5th, if LeSwordfish has someone, I'm open to that and I'm also open to just continuing with the 4 of us.

As for IC matters, presumably Sforza is going to ask about the herb. Sieghard would want Urgrim to be honest about the fact that it could cause the symptoms that Irene is experiencing if ingested. As I see it, the best outcome is that Gina takes the blame, but Sforza isn't able to actually find her. Whether or not he can be convinced that the poisoning was accidental and Irene was after a contraceptive is less important than preventing him from picking a scapegoat out of the village and having their head off, and as said before, even if Sforza is convinced of that, it still wouldn't be safe for Gina to return.

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## LCP

Looking back through our old recruitment threads, there are a couple of people in the last round who are still active and who I said I would let know if we got an open spot. I don't know whether there's overlap there with the users LeSwordfish is thinking of, but I think it could be worth having the conversation at least.

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## LCP

Don't think I can squeeze in an update today, but tomorrow's very free, so should be able to then. LeSwordfish, if you can let me have that list, it'd be great for me to send any messages out before the working week starts again.

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## LCP

I've sent out some PMs. Thanks Swordfish for the recommendations  :Small Smile: 

Forgot to respond to this before:




> Goddammit, what is it _this_ time?  Dealing with dwarfs is a f***ing minefield.


Its nothing to do with them being dwarfs. Think how the exact same scenario would sound if they were humans. They gave Elsa a drink as hospitality and she treated them like they were a beer shop. There probably (definitely) are people in the Dwimmulhold who sell beer, but they're probably not the Rinn.

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## -Sentinel-

> Its nothing to do with them being dwarfs. Think how the exact same scenario would sound if they were humans. They gave Elsa a drink as hospitality and she treated them like they were a beer shop. There probably (definitely) are people in the Dwimmulhold who sell beer, but they're probably not the Rinn.


Oh. I'll remove that part, then, as Elsa's Fellowship is a lot higher than _my_ real-life Fellowship.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## rax

Hello everyone! 

LCP has kindly contacted me to let me know there's an opening for a new PC in The Bloody Crown. We've been discussing some character ideas and I've been asked to run one idea past the current players. There should be a PM in your inboxes right now...except for *TheSummoner*, because your inbox is apparently full.  :Small Wink: 

Cheers,
rax

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## TheSummoner

Didn't realize I was full. I've cleared some space if you want to resend the message.

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## rax

Thanks - the message has been forwarded.

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## LCP

Just to let you guys know, I'm going to be travelling to the US tomorrow. I'm there for 3 weeks; I should be still able to keep an eye on things but most likely my activity will be reduced.

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## LCP

Also, since things seem to have slowed down a bit in the IC - I need to see a definite decision on who the Painford pals are bringing to be the person who found the shoe before I can advance to the 20th.

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## -Sentinel-

*LeSwordfish*, you posted an OOC thing in the IC thread.

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## LeSwordfish

Oh so I did! Let me edit it into a proper IC post.

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## TheSummoner

> Also, since things seem to have slowed down a bit in the IC - I need to see a definite decision on who the Painford pals are bringing to be the person who found the shoe before I can advance to the 20th.


Probably my fault. Apologies for that. Just had 7 days of work straight and today is the first I've had off, so I've been kinda drained. Also getting ready for a trip out of town (next weekend), which isn't helping.

----------


## LCP

Just checking, does Ludo have anything he'd like to do in the current scene in Painford, or should I move along?

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## LeSwordfish

Not that I can think of, no.

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## -Sentinel-

Careful, Ludo, she already tried to have you killed once.  :Small Eek:

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## LeSwordfish

yeah well didn't work did it

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## LCP

I've got nothing more for Ludo/Irene - LeSwordfish & TheSummoner, let me know if you're ready to move on to the following day.

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## TheSummoner

I'm ready, though I'm also getting ready to head out on my trip and probably wont be posting much if at all until late Sunday or early Monday.

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## -Sentinel-

I really enjoyed the convo between Ludo and Irene.  :Small Amused:

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## LeSwordfish

I want to have a conversation with Sieghard, but unless he says "no dont kill her i'm peaceful now" then Ludo has a plan to put into place, which will start with him riding to Savonne as soon as the royal party leaves, and trying to set up a surreptitious meeting with Jarla (and Elsa if she happens to still be in town).

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## RossN

> Ludo waited until the door had shut and Irene's footsteps had receded and then sagged as if wounded, abruptly, holding himself upright with the broom, letting out a low hiss of panic. He stayed like that for a moment, composed himself, and went to find Sieghard somewhere private.
> 
> "We have to kill her," he said without preamble. "And soon. She knows what we did. She threatened my family."


Boy have I been regretting not having Jarla go on the royal trip...

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## LeSwordfish

For clarity, my basic plan is that we stop Irene getting her contraceptives from the apothecary, and Jarla offers her a poisoned alternative.

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## TheSummoner

I'm in. Unless their plans have changed, however, the Sforzas aren't heading back to Savonne. Them coming to Painford was just a stop along the way to the Vale. They're going to be staying in Manaan's Keep for a while.

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## LeSwordfish

Oh - how long is a while?

I'd still like to start this plan going right now, I think, but not sure I trust Irene on her own down south for a while.

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## LCP

> Oh - how long is a while?


I don't think they've given anyone a definite date.

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## TheSummoner

> Oh - how long is a while?
> 
> I'd still like to start this plan going right now, I think, but not sure I trust Irene on her own down south for a while.


I wouldn't trust her. First priority should be to make sure Ludo's family is kept safe. Making a move against Irene can come after.




> I don't think they've given anyone a definite date.


I don't recall one being mentioned.

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## -Sentinel-

I don't know if this is intentional on LCP's part, but I have to admit I'm not clear on what Sforza knows (or thinks he knows) about Irene's poisoning.


*@ RossN:* In case you missed it under my spoiler tag in the IC thread: Are you interested in a Jarla-Elsa-Olga-Tatiana meetup? Maybe around some beers?

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## LeSwordfish

I took Irenes implication to be that _she_ thinks that Sforza knows or suspects it. We can usually pretty reliably tell when Sforza is Very Cross so my suspicion is that he took Urgi's implication and passed it on, either with uncharacteristic restraint, or in a way that Irene managed to talk him down without too much difficulty - so I would throw out a guess that he suspected but doesn't believe.

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## RossN

> *@ RossN:* In case you missed it under my spoiler tag in the IC thread: Are you interested in a Jarla-Elsa-Olga-Tatiana meetup? Maybe around some beers?


Oh definitely! Jarla isn't really doing much at the moment so stop on by!  :Small Smile:

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## LCP

Don't know whether the last Ludo post got lost in the churn or whether TheSummoner's just short on time atm - I'm in no tearing hurry, but I'd suggest that since the "how do we kill Irene" convo is still at quite an open-ended stage it might be a good idea to find a time when you can both be online and have a bit of back-and-forth.

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## TheSummoner

I thought the conversation was done. The general plan is there, and we likely need to get Jarla involved and keep an eye on what Irene does before we can act on it in any way. Sieghard was cautioning against talking to every apothecary in Savonne and spilling the prince's secret, but I mentioned in an OOC spoiler that more likely than not Irene will have to use Jarla as an in-between anyways.

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## LCP

Ah OK, sorry I misread! So do you guys want me to move things along? Next stop would be the Sforzas departing Painford the following morning, unless you have more you want to do/prepare before then.

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## LeSwordfish

I guess the next question is does Ludo go to Savonne or does he feel like he needs to protect his family while Irene goes south? Which now I type it out feels like my decision, huh.

OOC you said "you should look after your family first" - will Sieghard express that IC?

EDIT: though i guess we can act on that choice after Sforza has left.

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## TheSummoner

Yes, Sieghard would suggest Ludo prioritize protecting his family. Go after Irene first and there's a chance she gets to them first. Protect them first and there's no deadline on killing Irene.

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## -Sentinel-

*LCP* and *RossN*, I added a section to my last IC post to avoid double-posting.

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## LeSwordfish

> Yes, Sieghard would suggest Ludo prioritize protecting his family. Go after Irene first and there's a chance she gets to them first. Protect them first and there's no deadline on killing Irene.


Ultimately my OOC objection is: it sounds pretty boring to go and sit and wait in Sermena while someone else does the interesting bit. If I head to Savonne now, spend a small amount of time there, and then travel south, I'm only a couple of days behind.

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## TheSummoner

I'm sure there are measures we could take that don't necessitate Ludo going in person. Send a warning. Send men to fetch them to Painford. That sort of thing.

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## -Sentinel-

Does Irene even have the power to harm Ludo's family? Who would she entrust her dirty work to?

She had to use Bianco as a go-between to hire the Falcons. Now Bianco is no longer there, and she's also lost her most trusted maid. I wouldn't underestimate her ruthlessness or cunning, but I think right now she has virtually no "hard" power, outside that which her husband deigns to grant her. All the men with swords answer to Sforza, not her.

There's a very real possibility that she's bluffing.

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## LeSwordfish

I mean I assume Irene is perfectly capable of slipping someone some cash to set fire to the shrine or something. I bet there's a lot of oddjob mercenaries around.

Ultimately my decision about where Ludo goes has been made by real life: I'm moving house on the 4th, and though it's into an established place so I won't have to worry about internet or anything, I might well end up going AWOL for the next week or so while I put things into and take them out of boxes: better that Ludo's not wandered off into his own plot thread. Might stick my head in but don't wait for me.

Rax had some pretty grand ideas in PM, so might be good for them to weigh in on the "murder the queen" plans.

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## LCP

I'm not 100% clear on Ludo & Sieghard's course of action from what's in the IC. If you could quickly spell out the current plan for me that'd be great.

Good luck with the move! Hope it's not too much of a hassle.

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## TheSummoner

If Hieronymous is possessed by Tshula and trying to get Sforza out of the city then it stands to reason that an attempt is going to be made on the book. Sieghard wants to rush up to Savonne to make sure it fails.

----------


## LCP

Sentinel, I'm on holiday. You invited Jarla to this get-together; you should talk to Jarla.

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## LCP

Heading home today, should be getting back to normal posting rates once I'm over the jetlag.

LeSwordfish, don't know how the move's going, but I could still use some clarification on what Ludo's plans are when you've got a moment.

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## -Sentinel-

Welcome back home, *LCP*.

I'll post later. I'm a bit too high to concentrate on a post right now.

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## LeSwordfish

Sorry, I am back online! All went well!

Ludo's current plan is to escort Sieghard north - the hint of Tshula's involvement is sufficient IC motivation for me to justify what I wanted to do OOC anyway.

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## RossN

Welcome home LCP!  :Small Smile:

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## LCP

OK, so Sieghard & Ludo are both heading straight to Savonne - are they leaving any instruction for Hanna when she returns with Gina? 

This is tax month too if you have any instructions there - a round trip to Savonne is 5-6 days even if you don't stay, so you're going to be coming up on the end of the month by the time you can get back to Painford.

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## LeSwordfish

Oh shoot okay, um.

With regards to Gina, Ingwald and Gustaf will be told everything we know, and can pass it on to Hanna when they get back. Up to them and Gina what she wants. I don't know if we want the heat of her staying in Painford, so Ludo's suggestion to them is that she goes north to Castel d'Irena or whichever-of-the-places-up-north-Elsa-lives-in, but a reasonable alternative might be that Sieghard hires her as a maid.With regards to taxes: I think I already mentioned how we'd be distributing our skilled people. We might have to just tell them "do the same as last time" this month, unless we're back in time.

----------


## TheSummoner

If Hannah and Gina don't return on their own by the end of the day, Sieghard wants Gustaf to go fetch them. For now, Gina is to be made comfortable as a guest, but kept out of sight. For her own safety as much as ours. We can figure out where to go from there after ensuring the book is safe. I imagine there's much she could tell us.

Regarding tax day, Sieghard has had Hannah and Ingwald help in the past and as LeSwordfish mentioned, we've picked up new help. They could handle it if we don't return in time.

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## -Sentinel-

Hmm, I can't find an in-story justification for Elsa staying in Savonne until the 24th. I hope Ludo and Sieghard weren't planning on meeting her there.

----------


## LCP

Doesn't she have the exact same information that's bringing Ludo and Sieghard there?

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## TheSummoner

Don't recall if she knows Sforza leaving was specifically because Hieronymus suggested it, but she could easily figure out that it's vulnerable with him and a large number of his guards gone. I left my post open ended if Elsa wants to be at the castle.

----------


## LCP

RossN, I think you missed Sieghard's question for Jarla on the 24th.

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## LCP

This conversation feels like it's running a little slow - not meaning to hurry you guys, but seeing as it took a while to get to it'd be good to start building back some momentum. Don't wait on someone else to get things moving if your PC can make plans just as well.

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## RossN

> This conversation feels like it's running a little slow - not meaning to hurry you guys, but seeing as it took a while to get to it'd be good to start building back some momentum. Don't wait on someone else to get things moving if your PC can make plans just as well.


Sorry that's probably my fault. I'll try and be more proactive.

----------


## LCP

We're at the 2-day limit on waiting for a response to the latest suggestions, and also 1 day off this IC conversation having taken 2 real-world weeks. If I can make some suggestions:

Ludo and Sieghard were the PCs who came to this conversation with proposed plans of action - at this point I think you should assume that if anybody was going to contribute a bright idea to help flesh out the plan they'd have done it by now. Assume you're the leader for carrying out your idea and present a complete plan for the group to carry out - or if there's a gap in your plan that you don't know how to fill, highlight where that is and specifically ask for help solving it.Similarly, it's reasonable to assume that any insurmountable objection would have been raised by now, so unless a PC gives a clear and prompt 'no', I'll assume that everyone is on board with helping out.
In other, mostly unrelated news, I've got *rax* on board as a new player to take Thragka's slot. I'm going to be looking for opportunities to drop his character in in the near IC future, so any clarity you guys can give me IC or OOC on what the plan looks like for the next few IC weeks will be much appreciated!

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## TheSummoner

I tried. It just got immediately swept aside to talk about Irene instead. Priorities, I guess

General plan I had:
Jarla finds an excuse to speak to Hieronymus. While there, casually mentions that Elsa has left and that things at the castle are quiet/lonely/empty/poorly guarded. Hopefully this will goad Tshula into an ambush. IIRC, Ludo already confided with Brother Cezar about his suspicions. If he could speak with him again privately, we may be able to get some help from the temple priests (exorcism, not fighting). We could also get some rope or shackles or something. I can't imagine Tshula will go easily and it may be necessary to restrain Hieronymus.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo has said all he can about the Irene plan I think, given that we can't make concrete actions on it now and it relies on Jarla to do all the work. I would suggest that Sieghard propose his plan IC as well. I don't see any problem with it aside from the assumption that as some kind of tzeentchian, Tshula probably has all the information she wants already and I'm not sure we can outsmart her.

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## LCP

I agree that the plan should be spelt out IC. If Sieghard's not willing to press his point, say we need to do this now and point at who needs to do what in what order, it's not reasonable to assume they'll just switch gears of their own accord.

RossN, can you elaborate at all on Jarla's reaction to Ludo's plan? The objection she raises isn't much of a practical problem for the plan - she wouldn't be giving her the real stuff, so whether her supplier is real or not doesn't overly matter. Does the fact that this is the only objection she raised mean she's on board with the rest of the plan?

This is what's puzzling me atm, how non-committal both Jarla and Elsa seem to be about this. They've both got strong reasons to hate Irene and strong reasons not to want to rock the boat, but I don't think either has come out and said 'yes, I'm in' or 'stop, you can't do this' (though Jarla's contributions to the planning seem to at least imply she's on board). 

Sentinel, RossN, I know you guys have been on the sidelines for a long while and it can be difficult to get back into the swing of things, but we really need you engaged with this now - if you let your PCs sleepwalk over this line, it's not one you'll be able to cross back.

----------


## RossN

Jarla's last IC reaction there comes from her player. I know that we are playing characters who do things we would never do but we were getting into some very sensitive territory I as a real world person have strong feelings about. I certainly don't think we should bring our political or philosophical or religious beliefs into the game since we are a diverse group and we all want to have fun, but I have to admit this was getting into seriously uncomfortable territory that was a little too real for me.  :Small Frown: 

Regarding killing Irene that's tricking too, though thankfully not for any real life feelings. Jarla's has some very complicated feelings towards Irene and as much as there is a lot of hate there it isn't only negative - plus I don't she's ever been involved in an and out murder plot before, even if she has killed people in combat. I'll try and make less wishy washy and come down on one side for good.

----------


## LCP

I mean, being conflicted IC is perfectly justified, it just needs to be expressed! Ludo's put a lot on the line by coming to see you guys and opening with "I'm going to kill Irene", I think he deserves a full response.

In terms of OOC boundaries, obviously I'm not here to make anyone uncomfortable. What I'd recommend in general is raising it directly OOC first, and you can be sure that any boundaries will be respected.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm very happy to drop this plan due to OOC discomfort. Would you rather express "i'll have no part of this" clearly IC, or shall Ludo coincidentally pick up on it from Jarla's tone? It would also be good to have some clarity IC as to whether Jarla is refusing this specific plan, or any general "kill irene" plan?

I might have Ludo express a small amount of dismay that it won't work - he essentially said "do your worst" to Irene on the basis that he had a solid idea on how to kill her, and it's his family that will suffer for that. But I'll keep that sensible and proportionate.

----------


## RossN

I edited Jarla's IC reply to better express her distress, and that while she knows Irene is a bad person she still has affection for her.

I do think she could be persuaded by Ludo (she doesn't want to see Ludo or his family). I'm not going to lie the specific plan, while it does make me a little uncomfortable OOC, does make sense and if Jarla can be persuaded by the others to kill Irene she'll swallow her qualms and go through with it.

----------


## LCP

> In the core rulebook, actual poisons intended for use against humans are insanely expensive, and I'm sure there's a reason why there's a market for them: rat poison simply won't suffice.


The poisons in the core rulebook are mostly quite fantastical (e.g. 'Chimera Spittle') - I wouldn't take them as an exhaustive list, or as an indication that poison is any more difficult to access or use in the WH world than it is in the real one, where if you take a walk in your local woodland you can probably find a plant you really shouldn't eat.

That's not to say it's trivial either - making sure it's a lethal dose, and getting the victim to ingest it without being alerted by the smell or taste, probably both take some know-how. Most poisons available in the Reaches are going to be botanical rather than synthetic, and most poisonous plants and fungi don't have a reason to disguise the fact that they're poisonous. But your characters have already seen Dragos poisoning Burhan with deadly nightshade - they know it's possible.

----------


## -Sentinel-

My opposition to the poisoning plan is practical, rather than moral. Sigmar knows that Irene deserves to die (ever since her ambush got Adelbert killed), but the risk is simply too high. If we get caught, that's 2 in-game years of progress (and over 9 OOC years of progress!) undone. We are not back to square one; we are at square _minus fifty_. As the most wanted outlaws in all of the Reaches, it becomes almost impossible for us to deal with bigger threats. That's a huge gamble, and as I said IC, I don't even think Irene would straight-up send someone to kill Ludo's family. She's simply making a threat; if she enacts it without reason, she loses all leverage to stop Ludo from babbling.

Even if we do kill Irene and avoid getting caught, we should know by now (both from IC experience dealing with Sforza, and from OOC experience dealing with *LCP*) that such things tend to snowball into unintended consequences. Sieghard's scheme to frame Fischwillen for treason got an innocent woman hanged, and his pig graffiti got two people wrongfully arrested. Murdering Irene would be on a whole other level, and the consequences (even if they don't directly befall us) would be extremely dire.

----------


## RossN

This would be much easier if Sforza had a mistress who would be willing to carry his child so we could find a way to send Irene packing. What sort of Italian Tilean Renaissance Prince is he anyway staying faithful to his wife?  :Small Tongue:

----------


## -Sentinel-

I suspect Sforza has a history with Filomena. Why else would Filomena and Irene be enemies?

(Okay, there are *many* other reasons why Irene would be enemies with someone. But this is one possibility.)

----------


## LCP

> Okay, there are *many* other reasons why Irene would be enemies with someone.




Anyway, this is good! Seems like Elsa and Jarla are putting their respective cards on the table  :Small Smile:

----------


## TheSummoner

> I agree that the plan should be spelt out IC. If Sieghard's not willing to press his point, say we need to do this now and point at who needs to do what in what order, it's not reasonable to assume they'll just switch gears of their own accord.


I was more hoping the poison talk would wrap up quickly and then we could get back to the book talk, but that was a week ago. Forceful pressing of point it is.

Regarding the poisoning, I agree that we'd need something better than rat poison of all things. The stuff Dragos tried to use on Burhan would work. He didn't notice he had been poisoned until it was too late and it took divine intervention from the shallyan high priestess to save him. We've got no indication that any of the others can perform miracles in the way Mother Constanza could. If no one friendly is around to notice right away, she's got even less hope.

----------


## LCP

> Academic Knowledge (Daemonology): can a daemon easily switch hosts, or are there usually conditions?


Daemonic possession is easiest with ritual aids and/or the willing consent of the host, but can happen without either. In that case it's a struggle the daemon has to win - different sources will differ on what the key factors are in resisting (willpower, faith in Sigmar, lucky charms...)

----------


## LeSwordfish

Would physically fighting and/or injuring hieronymous have made it easier?

----------


## LCP

Quite possibly - obviously when you're tired and/or in pain your willpower isn't as focused as when you're not.

It's not something that's very amenable to systematic study, so Elsa's academic knowledge is going to be historical anecdotes rather than any kind of laws of daemonology. Elsa got 3 DoS so let's make it 3 remembered examples:

A lesser daemon possessed several victims in sequence in Altdorf after escaping a ritual gone wrong in the Gold College. In tracking it, the Magisters Vigilant found all its victims were people with a particular greed for gold; they managed to run it to ground by pursuing it into the dwarf district of Metallschlacke, where the gold-greediest targets were also the most difficult for it to possess due to the dawi's natural resistance to the Aethyr.Magister Sabine Buchschnüffler, a senior wizard of the Light Order, has half of her face paralysed; it's rumoured to be because of a daemon's unsuccessful attempt to possess her when she was exorcising it from another victim.Magister Militant Matthias Schultz of the Bright Order had to be destroyed by his brother magisters after he was cut with a beastman shaman's sacrificial dagger, which is now held securely in the Bright College vaults. It was only some hours after the battle in which he received the injury that the other wizards present realised he was possessed.
One general rule that Elsa would know is that to exist without a host body, daemons need a continual supply of magic - more than the usual level carried by the Winds. In normal conditions, a daemon looking for a new victim to possess is on a timer before it fades back into the Realm of Chaos.

----------


## TheSummoner

Possibly relevant, but Cacophrax also tried to possess Sieghard back in the Lost Library. Or at the very least tried to mind control him. Is there anything that can be gleaned from that experience?

----------


## LCP

Sieghard experienced that first-hand - I think it's up to him to draw his own conclusions from the experience, there's no additional information to give.

----------


## RossN

I'm still sorry Adelbert didn't get another chance to try and convert Tshula. I'm sure he could have broken her faith in a loser like Tzeentch eventually.  :Small Frown:

----------


## LCP

That's all well and good, but we should probably focus on what you guys are going to do about her now. Are there any further suggestions or objections to Sieghard's plan? Jarla's the one he's asking to put it into action - I think it needs at least her buy-in.

----------


## RossN

> That's all well and good, but we should probably focus on what you guys are going to do about her now. Are there any further suggestions or objections to Sieghard's plan? Jarla's the one he's asking to put it into action - I think it needs at least her buy-in.


Jarla is much more invested emotionally in the kill-Irene thing (for her the book is very much secondary) but she'll go along with Sieghard's plan. I'll put up an IC post.

----------


## TheSummoner

> "I'll drop my hints now. *I imagine Hieronymous won't try and hide the fact he is coming, given that he can probably be expected to walk in and investigate the matter.* Do you know how to exorcise the daemon?"


I have no clue what you're talking about. What "matter" is there to investigate. From his perspective, Jarla would just be talking to him and dropping casual references to the castle being empty. If you've got something in mind other than what's suggested, that's great, but run it by the rest of us so we know what's going on.

Edit: I also think Sentinel is wrong about the owl being the one possessed, but it doesn't particularly matter. Whether Tshula is possessing Hieronymous or the owl, so long as both overhear Jarla dropping hints that the book might be vulnerable, there's a good chance they show up.

----------


## LCP

> What "matter" is there to investigate.


The book being unguarded? RossN can clarify but it seems perfectly in line with Sieghard's suggestion to me.

A point of clarification - the castle isn't completely empty, the majority of the soldiers and servants are still here (as well as Abdul). That's half the Iron Company, minus the 10-20 guards Sforza took with him on his hunting trip.

Anyway, if Jarla's off now I'd suggest you guys should specify how you're getting prepared - any tools or equipment you want to gather, but also how you plan to position yourselves, signal to each other etc. Planning that retroactively won't be possible.

As a refresher - the book is buried in the courtyard between the stables and the curtain wall, as far as possible from the keep and reasonably far from the two entrances. The spot where it's buried is visible from the walls above, and at some angles from the windows of the keep. There's a couple of sentries posted to keep watch there, as well as sentries on the wall within yelling distance.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Edit: I also think Sentinel is wrong about the owl being the one possessed, but it doesn't particularly matter. Whether Tshula is possessing Hieronymous or the owl, so long as both overhear Jarla dropping hints that the book might be vulnerable, there's a good chance they show up.


Yeah, it's pure conjecture. But it wouldn't be the first time Tshula possesses an animal. And I'm sure an owl is a hell of a lot easier to possess than a priest!


*@ LCP:* Who's in charge of the day-to-day running of Savonne right now? Is it Al-Makir, or someone else?

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## TheSummoner

> Anyway, if Jarla's off now I'd suggest you guys should specify how you're getting prepared - any tools or equipment you want to gather, but also how you plan to position yourselves, signal to each other etc. Planning that retroactively won't be possible.
> 
> As a refresher - the book is buried in the courtyard between the stables and the curtain wall, as far as possible from the keep and reasonably far from the two entrances. The spot where it's buried is visible from the walls above, and at some angles from the windows of the keep. There's a couple of sentries posted to keep watch there, as well as sentries on the wall within yelling distance.


It's getting fairly late, so there's probably not time for much. Ideal situation is we'd be able to either get Tshula to free Hieronymous so she can manifest and try to fight us inside of not an old man's body or capture him unharmed and then either she lets him free to manifest to try to escape or we take him to the temple for exorcism. In case of the latter, we need to be able to restrain him. Sieghard and Elsa both have rope (and Sieghard knew he was coming specifically to deal with Tshula), but even if our characters wouldn't know what a Flamer of Tzeentch is, we've seen her use a lot of fire. The rope wouldnt last long. Only thing I can think of is some iron manacles. We could probably borrow some from the dungeons.

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## LCP

> We could probably borrow some from the dungeons.


That's going to be an interesting conversation with the jailer...

I'm ready to move forwards when I see some action being taken IC - don't wait for me to narrate where you're walking to. Jarla will be able to find Hieronymus at his house.

For those staying behind, get your prep done IC before Jarla finishes her mission if you want it to have been done.

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## LeSwordfish

My suggestion is that Ludo hangs out somewhere down in the courtyard - he's no frontline fighter but probably the best person to try and be sneaky at close range if we need someone closer than bowshot. Alternatively he takes his new gun and finds a long range shot.

----------


## LCP

Forgot to answer this question



> Who's in charge of the day-to-day running of Savonne right now? Is it Al-Makir, or someone else?


Al-Makir is handling any petitioners who come to the castle, on top of his usual duties. Norten and the Iron Company are supposed to be keeping order on the streets. Other than that, the city is largely left to run itself.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Al-Makir is handling any petitioners who come to the castle, on top of his usual duties. Norten and the Iron Company are supposed to be keeping order on the streets. Other than that, the city is largely left to run itself.


Alright. I guess the question is whether we involve Al-Makir at all. He's an accountant, but I think he at least recognizes the danger posed by a daemon trying to get her hands on the Book of Nagash.

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## LeSwordfish

Al'Makir is very much Sforza's man. If he knows we're using the book as a trap and the operation goes any less than perfectly, Sforza will roast us alive. Even if it does go well, we'll have a lot of questions to answer like "why didn't you tell me my high priest was a daemon". Better to have as few people as possible knowing that there's a deliberate trap in the hope that we can blag "well we were just in the area" afterwards.

I think probably the most likely outcome is that nothing will happen, in which case we'll feel really stupid getting hung as traitors the week afterwards.

EDIT: Also Elsa massively pissed him off last time, he will not be well-disposed towards us saying "hey we're doing a bit of amateur daemonology in your back garden with your soldiers, all cool?"

----------


## TheSummoner

Look, if we go with "Oh, by the way, the book is being moved" as our bait, it's all or nothing. I'm not against it, I'm just saying we have to have the story air tight.

----------


## LCP

Since Jarla is the one being asked to set the bait, and since she has pretty well-honed social skills herself, perhaps it'd make sense to let RossN decide.

----------


## RossN

I think we'll go with our group and not involve Al Makir - Jarla gets on with him but I know Elsa and he had a terrible falling out.

I really hope we don't actually have to kill an owl.  :Small Frown:

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## TheSummoner

I might not be able to post again until later Sunday evening. Sieghard won't involve the jailer and will try to find some manacles in the market, or failing that, some chain and a lock.

(1d100)[*1*] vs 64 Gossip
(1d100)[*61*] vs 54 Haggle

My thoughts regarding positioning: Ludo is quick and sneaky, so he should be our lookout. If he sees Hieronymous coming, he can come warn the rest of us. The others should be waiting somewhere close enough to watch the spot the book is buried but where they're not visible to someone approaching from outside. I imagine somewhere around the stables would work well for that, either in them or hiding in the shadow of them.

----------


## LCP

Savonne's a big place, so with those rolls I'm sure you can find some manacles at the rulebook price (although it'll involve Sieghard going out and spending an hour or two manacle-shopping while Jarla is out talking to Hieronymus).

The stables seem like they'd work as a hiding place - they'll even be mostly empty of horses atm due to Sforza taking a lot of them with him. When do you want this stakeout to start, and how long do you want to keep it up?

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## LeSwordfish

Ludo can try to find a vantage point - presumably on the walls? I imagine he's at least recognised by most of the Iron Company now so can probably talk away why he's up there. "Taking the evening air. But how about you? What about this weather, eh?"

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## LCP

Yeah, the walls aren't really a restricted space - if you're known to them and don't look suspicious you're unlikely to be hassled.

----------


## LCP

Just to let you guys know, I've managed to catch covid this weekend. Probably worse news for my work than for the game, but if I'm slow to reply to anything that'll be why.

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## RossN

> Just to let you guys know, I've managed to catch covid this weekend. Probably worse news for my work than for the game, but if I'm slow to reply to anything that'll be why.


Dang sorry to hear that. I hope it's a mild case!  :Small Eek:

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## -Sentinel-

Just a heads-up that I'll be on a canoe-camping trip (and therefore unable to post) from Monday to Wednesday. I realize it's not the most convenient timing as we prepare to set our plan in motion... Feel free to autopilot Elsa if absolutely needed.

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## RossN

Apologies for the radio silence, unexpectedly busy couple of days. I'll have a proper post up in the morning.

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## LCP

Just to be clear, I'm waiting on Jarla to report back to the others - her impression of how Hieronymus took the news is important information that I don't want to make assumptions about.

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## LeSwordfish

For the sakes of speed, here's a Stealth roll. [(1d100)[*31*]

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## TheSummoner

So, an idea I had today... Sieghard wouldn't have the knowledge to come up with this plan, but Elsa definitely would, especially given her AK (Daemonology) roll from before.

When a spellcaster channels, they're basically trying to pull more of the winds of magic into an area to make spellcasting easier, right? Would it be possible to do that in reverse? Channel the magic AWAY from an area to make it more difficult for a daemon to exist in the physical world. While it would make it harder for the two of them to cast spells, any effect it had on them would also dampen Tshula's ability to use magic and make it harder for her to try jumping bodies again. It would also give Tatiana a way to contribute without putting her in direct danger and with her and Elsa both trying to dampen the magic in the area, it'd be two vs one for any attempts by Tshula to heighten it.

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## -Sentinel-

> When a spellcaster channels, they're basically trying to pull more of the winds of magic into an area to make spellcasting easier, right? Would it be possible to do that in reverse? Channel the magic AWAY from an area to make it more difficult for a daemon to exist in the physical world.


There's no mechanic for this sort of thing right now, and I think it would be far too late to establish one. We've already had three fights (Klammenberg's house, attack on the Temple and disaster at Nath) where Elsa and Nahorek were slinging spells left and right without stealing magic from each other.

The old Warhammer Fantasy Battle had a High Elf spell that had the exact effect that you propose, but it was from the lore of High Magic, which humans cannot wield. Also it is the spell's _only_ effect, as if draining magic from the area is something very involved (and does not only consist of using that magic to power your own spells).

----------


## LCP

Hey guys - sorry for the holdup, I've been travelling to CERN and it's been fairly chaotic (last night I ended up sleeping in the fire station). Hope I should be able to get an IC post + answers to OOC questions done tomorrow.

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## LCP

Short answer to the channelling question: no. There are definitely examples in the lore of techniques for concentrating magic in one area at the expense of another - but these are big, effortful things like the Waystone network, not things wizards can do at will. In terms of scale, I would look at the amount of magic Elsa channels to cast as drops out of the river flowing around her.

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## LeSwordfish

> (last night I ended up sleeping in the fire station)


Oh jesus, how'd that end up happening? Heatwave shutting down the transport?

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## LCP

Delayed flight meant I got to the accommodation after the reception had closed, the key they'd left for my room didn't work, called security (who are also the fire dept), they opened the door for me, we found out someone was already in there and not too happy to have strangers opening his bedroom door at 2 in the morning... got driven around the site for a bit looking for anywhere they could put me before they finally got permission to put me up in the fire station!

Strangest part was that the exact same thing was happening to someone else at the same time. I think someone in the housing office must've gone on a double-booking spree.

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## TheSummoner

Did they at least let you slide down the firepole?  :Small Big Grin: 

Some OOC elaboration about what Sieghard is talking about IC. Realistically, there's no chance that Tshula won't mutate Father Hieronymous if she feels threatened. So we need to coax her out without her feeling threatened. Since Sieghard was the one who ordered her jar shattered back in Nath, I think there's a reasonably good chance he could leverage that as a way to coax her out. We're talking about a guy who bartered with a daemon to save his own life. Why _wouldn't_ that same daemon think it could tempt him further down the path of damnation?

IC I think it's would have to be more of a "no time to explain, I need you to trust me," but OOC I don't want to blindside you.

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## RossN

Sorry for the lack of posts, not feeling great lately.

This is out of character knowledge for Jarla to know since it happened to Adelbert while Tshula was trying to tempt him and he was trying to convert her but they did talk a lot so she might be interested in 'negotiating' with Adelbert's sister.

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## LeSwordfish

I'll hold off on posting just yet, since I want to see where Sieghard is going with this and presumably he's a bit behind Ludo who had to run halfway across the castle.

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## TheSummoner

> This is out of character knowledge for Jarla to know since it happened to Adelbert while Tshula was trying to tempt him and he was trying to convert her but they did talk a lot so she might be interested in 'negotiating' with Adelbert's sister.


Possibly, but it seems like a riskier gamble to try to accomplish the same thing. Tshula has never interacted with Jarla, at least not while not pretending to be Hieronymous. I really can't see how she could pull off "I know you're a daemon, here, possess this mouse." I'd be pretty heavily leaning into what happened at Nath for Sieghard to even have a chance of pulling it off. Ludo and Jarla weren't in the building at the time and Elsa has already shown herself to be suspicious when she tried using her magical senses on Hieronymous, so I figure the best odds are if Sieghard can talk to Tshula alone while they're still in the castle.

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## LCP

> presumably he's a bit behind Ludo who had to run halfway across the castle.


It'll take the others an equal amount of time to catch up with you as it took you to get to this spot - I think you can assume you're within tolerance of being in sync as long as an equal amount of conversation-time has passed.

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## LeSwordfish

Sure, but I won't take any action that risks my chances of getting to see Sieghard making this argument.




> "I know you're a daemon, here, possess this mouse.

----------


## LCP

words words words

----------


## TheSummoner

This is the greatest thing I've ever seen.

----------


## LCP

Just a heads up - I'm going to the Sidmouth Folk Festival from tomorrow, and will be camping, so uncertain access to power/internet. I'll try to poke my head in here (it might be a welcome rest!) but if I disappear that'll be why. I'll be back to civilisation on the weekend of the 6th.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Are we splitting up to see Cezar and Al'Makir or doing them one at a time as a group?

----------


## LCP

It's proving harder for me to post from here than I hoped. If you've got NPCs to hit up the next IC morning though, don't wait for me to post them saying "hello what can I do for you" - you know where to find them.

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## TheSummoner

> Are we splitting up to see Cezar and Al'Makir or doing them one at a time as a group?


Sieghard was planning on going straight to see Hieronymus. I'm sure you guys can handle speaking with Cezar and Al'Makir without him. I've edited my last IC post to be the start of that conversation.

As a heads up, I'm going to have a fairly busy weekend, so I might be limited until Monday.

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## TheSummoner

Think I'll throw a FP at rerolling that one.
(1d100)[*11*]

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## LeSwordfish

> You were there, you saw how close he got to claiming it." He hadn't been,


Not how I remember it!

Also whoops, could have sworn i replied to Al'Makir.

----------


## TheSummoner

You don't remember him being there or him not being there? Now I'm second guessing myself... From what I remember, it was already late and there was no sign of him, so he was almost certainly at home when the attack happened.

Possibly overthinking things, but my working theory is this: Tshula can switch between dormant and active possession at will. In dormant possession, she's just a parasite, hiding inside of Hieronymus. She can watch and see what he sees, but he's in full control of himself. In active possession, she controls him directly and he has no memory of it. That's why he seems like he's been having memory issues and why he's been so tired. Last night when he showed up, it was active possession, but when Sieghard showed up, it was dormant. I'm hoping to goad her into switching to active by making her think she can get information out of Sieghard and trying to spot any signs of that switch happening.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ah, now I reread that I see that it's "you were there (he wasn't)" not "he was really close to getting it (he wasn't)" - you're a tactical optimist but I thought it was a bit much to suggest that was one we won easily!

EDIT: Could test your memory by asking Hieronymous what happened yesterday night.

----------


## LCP

Hieronymus wasn't there during the attack, but he lives a couple of streets away from the temple and was on the scene first thing the following morning to see the aftermath of the carnage.

----------


## TheSummoner

> Ah, now I reread that I see that it's "you were there (he wasn't)" not "he was really close to getting it (he wasn't)" - you're a tactical optimist but I thought it was a bit much to suggest that was one we won easily!
> 
> EDIT: Could test your memory by asking Hieronymous what happened yesterday night.


It's less optimism and more being too stubborn to give up. We had a 1 in a million chance to stop Nahorek from getting away with the book and Urgrim's shot managed to do what it needed to. I didn't think it was likely, but I knew that him taking the shot had better odds than not taking it.

----------


## RossN

Apologies for my lack of posting but I'm still trying to work out a way to reintroduce Jarla in a way that doesn't make her look either incredibly suspicious _or_ like an idiot to either Al-Makir or Hieronymous (or both.)

----------


## LCP

No post from me today sorry - been a long day, and tomorrow I'm flying to Vietnam for a week-long conference, so expect some disruption for a while (though I'll still be online, unlike the campsite!).

----------


## LeSwordfish

Whereabouts could I find Father Hechsler these days? Could I expect him to be in Savonne?

----------


## LCP

Sorry, I forgot this question was waiting for me here! Hechsler is not in Savonne - most likely he's back up north in the Shepherd's Valley.

LeSwordfish & TheSummoner, I don't know how you guys picture the next steps from here, but seeing as we've got Elsa and Jarla seemingly on the sidelines and rax waiting for an introduction, I'd like to pick up a bit of speed again if we can. If there's stuff you want to do that you think can be resolved without playing it out blow by blow, let me know what information you need to make that happen.

Also, Immortal Empires drops today - if anyone wants to try out that MP campaign let me know! My lizards are very keen to find out what all the game 3 factions taste like.

----------


## LeSwordfish

The best idea I have for a next way to proceed is to gather a small group of clergy suitable for an exorcism, and confront Hieronymous directly. If he's willing to have it happen to him, we do it. If not, we kinda have to assume he's posessed, and do it anyway, even if that runs the risk of hurting him. I think there's a reasonable chance that Tshula will go "ah well, the jig is up" and try to kill us... possibly killing Hieronymous on the way out. I wonder what the difference would have been between when she left Hanna and when she left the goat - could someone with AK:Daemonology make a roll for that?

(Or am I misremembering? It was as she stopped possessing the goat that she mutated it, right, not sooner?)

Ludo will be very sad if Hieronymous gets killed as part of this but OOC I can't think of any better ideas and would kind of like to get this out of the way and move on to something simpler and more low-stakes, like regicide.

----------


## TheSummoner

> LeSwordfish & TheSummoner, I don't know how you guys picture the next steps from here, but seeing as we've got Elsa and Jarla seemingly on the sidelines and rax waiting for an introduction, I'd like to pick up a bit of speed again if we can. If there's stuff you want to do that you think can be resolved without playing it out blow by blow, let me know what information you need to make that happen.


My idea was a flop. Either Tshula didn't take the bait, or perhaps after last night realized we were closing in and found a new host. There's still the sleep spell suggestion. It _might_ prevent Tshula from changing Hieronymus... I'd definitely prefer something better than just might, but I dont know that there's anything else we have to work with.




> Also, Immortal Empires drops today - if anyone wants to try out that MP campaign let me know! My lizards are very keen to find out what all the game 3 factions taste like.


I'd definitely be up for that at some point. Kinda hard to pick a logical ally for lizards, though. Unless I went also lizards.

----------


## LCP

who said anything about allies  :Small Amused: 




> (Or am I misremembering? It was as she stopped possessing the goat that she mutated it, right, not sooner?)


The PCs have only heard that story 2nd hand, but the story was a big mutated goat monster wreaking havoc, not a big mutated goat and a fiery Daemon buzzing around at the same time.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I think perhaps the decision to be made now is: do we send for Hechsler ASAP, or not? He'd take a week or so to get here, but would be pretty useful, if perhaps a bit of an indelicate tool. I'm inclined to say yes, I think. Perhaps Al'Makir can lend us one of his fast messengers?

I'm asking OOC so Ludo can just decide here and now in the IC and we don't have to reconvene for an IC chat.

----------


## TheSummoner

If we do send for him, we're looking at a week minimum. He might have more experience with this sort of thing, but it's not guaranteed. The more important question - and it's one Cezar may be able to answer - is whether or not there's a way to prevent Tshula from mutating Hieronymus. Is there any sort of prayer the priests know that can protect from mutation? Could Elsa dispel Tshula's magic and stop the mutation from taking effect? Maybe the protection we need would involve Heschler (It does seem like the sort of thing a priest of Sigmar would be better suited to than a priest of Morr).

----------


## -Sentinel-

I'll try to get back in the game in the near future.

Ack, dealing with a possibly-possessed person is a thorny problem.  :Small Sigh:

----------


## LCP

> The more important question - and it's one Cezar may be able to answer - is whether or not there's a way to prevent Tshula from mutating Hieronymus. Is there any sort of prayer the priests know that can protect from mutation? Could Elsa dispel Tshula's magic and stop the mutation from taking effect?


There isn't going to be a known, safe answer to questions like these. 

I would look at it this way: your characters believe in the gods as conscious beings, not as prayer-goes-in, effect-comes-out. If you're performing an exorcism in the name of X then you're asking X to intervene and get the daemon out, which they may do if you believe hard enough/if they think you're worthy. You'd hope that a god worth asking would see stopping the daemon turning you into a squid as part of the same package... and if you worry that they wouldn't/couldn't, then on the face of things it seems like you _don't_ believe all that hard.

On the Dispel Magic thing, I think we've already gone over something very similar to this - for game mechanics purposes, Dispel Magic does what it says in the spell. If you want to talk about using arcane magic to get daemons to leave you alone, that's the domain of some quite high-level spells in the Lore of Light - I don't think Elsa trying to improvise up the same effects out of very basic ingredients will give you the results you want.

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## TheSummoner

Well, Ludo's the one in the driver's seat. LeSwordfish, I think it's your call to make. There's both merit and risks in waiting for Heschler. Sigmar is better suited to opposing Chaos than Morr is, but a week is a long time we'd have to keep Tshula in check and we'd probably need to check in on Painford if we were going to be waiting that long.




> who said anything about allies


Forgot to respond to this earlier. Very well, I choose Oxyotl.  :Small Cool:

----------


## RossN

Dang I miss playing Adelbert. This would be right up his alley.  :Small Frown: 

Jarla will be happy to help (though I'm not sure what she could actually do) but she'd much prefer to try and extract the daemon without hurting Hireonymous if that is remotely possible.

----------


## TheSummoner

That's the tough part about this. There's really nothing we can do ourselves for the extraction part. All we can do is be there for the aftermath. Whether Hieronymus comes through it unharmed or not, I can't imagine Tshula will give up without a fight.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Unless she refuses, Ludo will accompany Elsa.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Unless she refuses, Ludo will accompany Elsa.


He's welcome to.

----------


## RossN

I'm afraid I'm going to be on a family holiday for a week starting on Saturday and probably won't have much wifi time. If needed please rp Jarla!

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## TheSummoner

> _@LCP: Ludo is the one accompanying Elsa, not Sieghard._


Originally I wasn't planning on having Sieghard tag along, but given the meta knowledge that this is a new player introduction, unless Elsa's still mad at him and would object, may as well have him there. Even if so, he's got nothing to add IC yet. OOC though, welcome to the game, rax.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Originally I wasn't planning on having Sieghard tag along, but given the meta knowledge that this is a new player introduction, unless Elsa's still mad at him and would object, may as well have him there.


Alright. Hope we don't intimidate the new guy with our show of superior numbers.  :Small Wink: 

Welcome aboard, *rax*.

----------


## rax

Thank you all, glad to be joining you. IC post will be up tonight as, will the character sheet.  :Small Smile:

----------


## rax

*Bardhyl* *- WIP!*
*Race:* Human (Vrani) 
*Career:* Outlaw Chief (ex-Initiate of Morr, ex-Priest of Morr (incomplete), ex-Outlaw, ex-Veteran)

*Main Profile*
*WS*
*BS*
*S*
*T*
*Ag*
*Int*
*WP*
*Fel*

33
27
31
32
40
34
39
38

+20
+30
+10
+20
+10
+10
+10
+20

53
47
41
42
55
44
59
58



*Secondary Profile*
*A*
*W*
*SB*
*TB*
*M*
*Mag*
*IP*
*FP*

1
10
3
3
4
0
0
2

+2
+6
-
-
-
-
-
-

2
16
4
4
4
0
0
2



*Fortune Points (remaining/total):* 3/3

*Current Wounds:* 16/16

*Armour:* Helmet, Chain Coif, Sleeved Mail Coat, Full Leather Armour (-10 Ag due to mail armour, not included in profile)

*Armour Points:* Head 5, Arms 3, Body 3, Legs 3

*Weapons:* BC Hand Axe (+5 WS, Damage 5), GC Glaive (Damage 5; Fast or Impact and Slow), GC Bow (Damage 3, Range 24/48, Reload Half) and 20 arrows, Dagger (Damage 2), Buckler (Damage 1; Balanced, Defensive, Pummelling)

*Trappings:* Common Clothing, Cloak, Iron Raven Talisman (religious/cultural symbol of Morr)
_Backpack:_ Bedroll, Blanket, Shaving Kit, Soap, Pewter Tankard, Metal Cutlery, Bottle of GC Spirits, Writing Kit, Scroll Case and 3 sheets of Parchment, Antitoxin Kit and 2 Healing Draughts
_Pouch:_ Deck of Cards, Bone Dice and Tinderbox

*Money:* 20 gc in purse, 75 gc in three separate stashes (specify locations)

*Mounts, Pets and Followers:* Band of Outlaws (Max, Ortwin, Afrim, Panteleon, and those not yet named), Riding Horse with Saddle and Harness

*Skills*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Skill*
*Characteristic*
*Related Talent*

Academic Knowledge (History)
Int


Academic Knowledge (Necromancy)
Int


Academic Knowledge (Theology)
Int


Charm +10
Fel
Public Speaking, Streetwise

Command
Fel


Common Knowledge (Border Princes +20)
Int


Consume Alcohol
T


Dodge Blow +10
Ag


Gamble
Int


Gossip +20
Int


Heal
Int


Intimidate
S


Magical Sense
WP


Navigation
Int


Outdoor Survival
Int


Perception +20
Int


Read/Write
Int


Ride
Ag


Scale Sheer Surface
S


Secret Language (Battle Tongue)
Int


Speak Language (Reikspiel +10)
Int


Speak Language (Vranspel)
Int


Stealth
Ag
Rover

Swim
S





*Talents*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Talent*
*Description*

Lightning Reflexes
+5 Ag to starting profile

Luck
+1 Fortune Point per day

Public Speaking
Affect x10 normal number of people with Charm

Rover
+10 to Stealth when in rural locations

Specialist Weapon Group
Parrying, Two-handed

Streetwise
+10 to Charm and Gossip when dealing with criminal underworld

Strike Mighty Blow
+1 damage bonus with melee weapons

Strike to Injure
+1 to Critical Value of any Critical Hit inflicted

Strike to Stun
See WFRP rulebook, p. 101

Suave
+5 Fel to starting profile

Very Resilient
+5 T to starting profile

Warrior Born
+5 WS to starting profile




*Background*
*Spoiler*
Show

All shall be revealed in time...

*Personality*
*Spoiler*
Show

When he was younger, Bardhyl was self-confident to the point of arrogance, but age and experience have humbled him a little and these days he's more ready to listen to others and to consider alternate viewpoints. Even so, he retains his confidence in himself and his personal connection to Morr, and despite his exile from the Raven Hills, he remains strong in his native faith and genuinely wants what's best for his people. 

Bardhyl is essentially good-natured and has a fine sense of the absurd  he laughs as easily at his own follies as everyone else's. He can be angry and deadly serious, and then suddenly burst out laughing when he realizes how silly the whole situation is. Bardhyl enjoys good food, good company and strong drink. He has an eye for the ladies as well, but he doesn't let any of this get in the way of achieving his objectives. Work first, play later could be his motto, and he expects the same of his budding band of outlaws.

*Appearance*
*Spoiler*
Show

Bardhyll is a little below average height (5'8) with a stocky build (175lbs). He has black hair and sports a full but neatly trimmed beard. He shaves the sides of his head and wears the rest of his hair pulled back into a ponytail, often braided with raven feathers when he wants to emphasize his cultural heritage. His eyes are clear blue and multiple tattoos decorate his forearms and torso. When not wearing his mail coat, Bardhyll goes about in rough and ready outdoors clothing. He is never seen without a wicked hand axe in his belt.

*Experience and Advances*
*Spoiler*
Show

Shallya's Mercy on Int (=31)
Switch S and Int

*Experience (current/total):* 0/6,500

_Initiate of Morr_
+5 WS (free)
BS +5
T +5
Int +10
WP +10
Fel +10
W +2
Warrior Born
= 1,100 xp

_Priest of Morr (Doomsayer, incomplete)_
New Career
WS +10
BS +10
S +5
T +10
Ag +5
WP +20
Fel +15
W +4
Academic Knowledge (Necromancy)
Charm +10
Common Knowledge (Border Princes +10)
Gossip +10
Magical Sense
Navigation
Outdoor Survival
Perception +10
Ride
Strike to Injure
= 2,100 xp

_Outlaw_
New Career (=200)
Ag +10
A +1
Dodge Blow
Common Knowledge (Border Princes +20)
Gossip +20
Perception +20
Scale Sheer Surface
Stealth
Swim
Rover
Streetwise
Strike to Stun
= 1,400 xp

_Veteran_
New Career
WS +20
BS +20
S +10
Ag +15
W +6
Consume Alcohol
Dodge Blow +10
Gamble
Secret Language (Battle Tongue)
Specialist Weapon Group (Parrying, Two-handed)
Strike Mighty Blow
= 1,600 xp

_Outlaw Chief_
New Career
Fel +20
Command
= 300 xp

*Advances needed to complete Careers*
_Priest of Morr_
Mag +1
Channelling, Common Knowledge (any one), Speak Arcane Language (Magick)
Armoured Caster or Master Orator, Petty Magic (Divine)

_Outlaw Chief_
BS +30, T +20, A +2
Academic Knowledge (Strategy/Tactics), Follow Trail, Secret Language (Thieves' Tongue), Secret Signs (Scout or Thief)
Lightning Parry, Mighty Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Sure Shot

*Other Notes*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Star Sign:* Mummit the Fool, Sign of Instinct
*Foretelling of Doom:* Those born of Rhya's cauldron shalt build thee a ravenstone

*Family:* Officially none.

*Contacts:* Captain Sandu, 'Mad' Maglyn

*Riding Horse*
*Spoiler*
Show

*Main Profile*
*WS*
*BS*
*S*
*T*
*Ag*
*Int*
*WP*
*Fel*

25
0
38
38
30
10
10
0



*Secondary Profile*
*A*
*W*
*SB*
*TB*
*M*
*Mag*
*IP*
*FP*

0
12
3
3
8
0
0
0



*Current Wounds:* 12

*Skills:* Perception +10 (Int), Swim (S)

*Talents:* Acute Hearing, Keen Senses (+20 to Perception tests)

*Weapons:* None

----------


## rax

Paused Bardhyl's conversation to check on some details with our esteemed GM. It's late where I am, so I'll be returning to the fray tomorrow evening. Thank you for your patience!

----------


## RossN

Delighted to have you aboard officially rax.  :Small Smile: 

I'm back from holidays and ready to try working Jarla back into the story. I'll read up what I've missed.

----------


## rax

Thank you for the kind welcome!

----------


## Thragka

Hey folks! I submitted my Ph.D. thesis yesterday!  :Small Big Grin:  Ive absolutely ruined my sleep and meal schedule over the past two weeks, but now that the adrenaline has worn off, I am feeling pretty good.

Its been a lot of hard work over the past four years, and the pandemic didnt make it any easier. So I wanted to pop my head in here, because playing and cracking wise with you was a great creative break and stress relief during that time. So thanks!

Ill be spending the rest of the month catching up on sleep while at the same time doing my best to kill off my remaining brain cells, including with a quick pop over to Munich next weekend for Oktoberfest, but after that, I hope I can start spending time on the boards again! I see youve just picked up a fifth player  welcome, rax!  so I dont want to make LCPs job more complicated by asking that you immediately jump to six, but if theres an opportunity for me to pick up Urgrim at some point, Id be delighted. In the mean time Ill be reading to catch up on the latest happenings of the Broken Reaches. Im sure everythings going just swimmingly.  :Small Big Grin: 

LCP, LeSwordfish, if you both happen to be in London at the same time some point in the near future, we should meet up for a drink!

----------


## TheSummoner

Congratulations, and glad to hear you're doing well.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Good to see you're around again! 

I'm not far from London right now, and in fact visiting London on the 24th (going to see Life Of Pi). If that's too short notice then I'm most available in November.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Hey folks! I submitted my Ph.D. thesis yesterday!  Ive absolutely ruined my sleep and meal schedule over the past two weeks, but now that the adrenaline has worn off, I am feeling pretty good.


Yaaaay, congrats! What's your field?


I have no big accomplishments, for my part. But I'm prepping for my first LARP next weekend (with a post-apoc theme), and I'm pretty excited about that.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm trying to think of a reasonable way to get Bardhyl invited along to be at or at least near Hieronymous' exorcism in case that takes off, but can't think of any. If he has any relevant skills, it would be good to coincidentally bring them up.

----------


## Thragka

Thanks folks  :Small Smile: 




> I'm not far from London right now, and in fact visiting London on the 24th (going to see Life Of Pi). If that's too short notice then I'm most available in November.


Next weekend's when I'll be off celebrating, but for sure let's try to sort something out for November-ish.




> Yaaaay, congrats! What's your field?


Mathematical physics, particularly the field of what are called 'topological solitons'  the Wikipedia page for which, as I've just discovered, is not particularly illuminating.  :Small Yuk:  My research has been within a mathematical model of atomic physics where we try to abstract away the complicated subatomic behaviour (which people like LCP care a lot about) and still make accurate predictions at the scale of atoms. I've been looking at what you would expect to happen if you stuck electrons to these things.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Next weekend's when I'll be off celebrating


not a monarchist, huh?

----------


## Thragka

I see how it is, Ive only just shown up again and youre already trying to get me banned.

----------


## rax

> I'm trying to think of a reasonable way to get Bardhyl invited along to be at or at least near Hieronymous' exorcism in case that takes off, but can't think of any. If he has any relevant skills, it would be good to coincidentally bring them up.


 Hard to tell, really. I've scoured the rulebooks for anything directly related to exorcism, but the only rules I've come across is the Exorcism spell in Sigmar's Heirs - and Bardhyl doesn't cast spells. 

The Exorcist career has Academic Knowledge (Theology) and either Daemonology or Necromancy. Bardhyl has Necromancy and Theology, and it seems likely that Daemonology is what's needed here if any skills can contribute to an exorcism. So, overall, I can't identify any skills that would be immediately useful, but then the whole exorcism seems like it could be roleplayed or turned into a magical ritual

----------


## LeSwordfish

I guess what I'm looking for OOC is something that I can reasonably have Ludo respond to with "oh really? then come help us tonight?" Although alternatively Bardhyl could go and talk to Cezar, who I suspect is more willing to invite him than Ludo.

As for the Wadim stuff I think i'm waiting on Elsa or Sieghard to weigh in. Elsa knows the state of the Raven Hills better and Sieghard is the one with the resources.

----------


## rax

I honestly can't think of anything at present that would encourage Ludo to invite Bardhyl along. He doesn't know that you've got an exorcism planned, nor does he actually know that the group has located Tshula - he's just guessing based on Morr's guidance. Even then, he's hardly a daemon expert, so his offer of help is basically him trying to give the group an extra reason to consider the Wadim rescue mission. 

I think if you want him to meet Cezar and join in the exorcsim plan that way, then it would be best for Ludo to ask Bardhyl outright to come and talk to the priest. At present it feels like Ludo is more trying to cajole Bardhyl into going on his own initiative, which isn't really something that Bardhyl is interested in doing.

----------


## LCP

Congratulations Thragka! I'm actually moving to London next week (we BOUGHT a HOUSE it cost ALL our MONEY) so I ought to be around semi-permanently, barring the odd trip to the US + Switzerfrance.

Re: Bardhyl and the exorcism, one angle that could be helpful is that Bardhyl + his mates represent backup that doesn't draw further attention from the priests or from Abdul - but as rax says, I think there's still more information to be exchanged IC that could help the characters find their motivation. Rax, for you I'd also say, the stuff we've developed in PMs about the Raven Hills isn't necessarily all known to the PCs - stuff like e.g. how a Raven Hills person might view a lowlander priest is probably worth explaining to them too.

----------


## rax

You bought a house? In London? R U filthy rich, sir?  :Small Big Grin: 

Re our PMing, that's fair. I've been trying to drop hints, but obviously they're much more clear to me given that I've gotten some inside intel, so to speak.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> not a monarchist, huh?





> I see how it is, Ive only just shown up again and youre already trying to get me banned.


Ha ha ha ha ha  :Small Big Grin: 

There's nothing I can say about the monarchy that others haven't said better, and so I will not say anything.  :Small Wink: 





> I'm actually moving to London next week (we BOUGHT a HOUSE it cost ALL our MONEY)


Wooow, congrats mate!  :Small Smile: 


My LARP costume this weekend:
*Spoiler*
Show

----------


## rax

So, what's the plan for getting Hieronymus to wherever he needs to be to get exorcised? I was thinking that if the group needs a deniable snatch team, Bardhyl and co might be persuaded to take care of that. Of course, laying hands on a priest of the Conclave isn't really in Bardhyl's interests at all, so the arguments for doing such a thing had better be damn good.  :Small Amused: 

Another option would be for Bardhyl's crew to stage some sort of distraction if that would help. Still not in their interests, but slightly less dangerous than manhandling the chief priest of Verena.

----------


## RossN

Unfortunately I think Jarla has blown her credibility with Hirenoymous. Truth be told I'm struggling to think what to do with her at the moment. I mean she's happy to assist if she can but she doesn't have any specialised knowledge or powers.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Does he need to be in a specific place? Or can we like, do it in his living room.

Honestly, my assumption is that Tshula will play her hand and we'll be on the defensive as soon as it's clear the gig is up. If what Bardhyl says is true, we should chuck a morrite symbol on Hieronymous first, to make that as hard for her as possible.

----------


## rax

It may be that it's not specifically Morrite holy symbols that could be helpful, but symbols of the gods in general. It seems plausible to me that Bardhyl would dream of Morrite symbols and ravens because that fits his religious inclinations and because it's (probably) Morr sending the dreams.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I was thinking it was a bit odd that Cezar wished for a god to specifically oppose Tzeentch, and Morr was the solution.

I'm off to Croatia for a few days now and will check in occasionally but someone else might want to take the lead with Bardhyl and Cezar.

----------


## LCP

Have a good trip!

Perhaps then if I can get a show of hands for those who'll be going with Ludo to meet Cezar at sundown, and those who have other plans. There's a bit of time left in the day if anyone wants to fit in an intra-party scene between then and now.

----------


## rax

Bardhyl's been talked into tagging along to meet Cezar.

----------


## TheSummoner

Sieghard will go. He's out of his element, so he's sorta taking a backseat to the others, but he'll be there.

----------


## rax

So is the basic plan to knock on Hieronymus' door with Cezar, convince him to let us in, then do the exorcism if Tshula doesn't make a run for it? Is Hieronymus' place anywhere near where there'd be a risk of the city guard interfering if they should hear loud cries for help?

----------


## rax

Sorry for not replying IC yet - my son came home sick from school on Friday and that's sort of taken over the weekend.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> So is the basic plan to knock on Hieronymus' door with Cezar, convince him to let us in, then do the exorcism if Tshula doesn't make a run for it? Is Hieronymus' place anywhere near where there'd be a risk of the city guard interfering if they should hear loud cries for help?


Pretty much, yes.

----------


## LCP

Just to be clear, when I say he makes to shut the door, that means the door will shut and if you continue talking you're talking to (or through) a door.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Can I make an agility check to stop him closing it? (1d100)[*89*] vs 74

----------


## LeSwordfish

If the answer to that is yes, I'll re-roll. (1d100)[*97*]

Ludo sticks his bare foot in the closing door and loses three toes.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Oh great, another fire.

I really wish the Lore of Fire included a spell to _put out_ a fire. Instead, we get a spell that _makes food spicy_.  :Small Sigh: 





> Can I get Magical Sense tests from those who have it.


Target 93: (d100)[*32*]
Fortune: (d100)[*100*]

Should we be rolling Initiative?

----------


## TheSummoner

Ah ****, not this again.

How big is the fire before we can react? I'm trying to figure out if there's any conceivable hope of stomping it out before it engulfs another quarter of the city.

I'm wondering if it might just be better for Elsa to leave now. She's going to be blamed for this no matter what, but at least she'd have a bit of plausible deniability if no one else sees her.

----------


## TheSummoner

I'm going to reroll that IC perception test. Because I'm desperate and trying to be optimistic.

(1d100)[*93*]

Sieghard spots a chamber pot. It's empty.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I'm wondering if it might just be better for Elsa to leave now. She's going to be blamed for this no matter what, but at least she'd have a bit of plausible deniability if no one else sees her.


For now it's just books that are burning. The last time involved a minute-long, supercharged Curtain of Flame spell.

But yeah, putting out the fire is something that needs to be attended to immediately.

*Edit:* Can someone grapple Hieronymus? Elsa needs to cast a touch spell, and her WS is pretty low. She doesn't have the Fast Hands talent.

----------


## rax

Magical Sense (1d100)[*7*] vs. WP 59

Pre-emptive FP re-roll (1d100)[*79*]

*@LCP*
I have a suspicion that succeeding at Magical Sense may be important in guiding Bardhyl's next action. Can I hold off on writing my next IC post until I find out what Bardhyl's witchsight has revealed, or is the action presumed to be happening so quickly that I need to act first and adapt later?

----------


## LCP

Absolutely - although I'm moving house this weekend so there may be a short wait before I can write anything.

----------


## rax

I have absolutely no problem with waiting.  :Small Wink: 

_Edit_
Also, reading up on medieval firefighting methods, at least one source claims that houses in a city were required to keep a bucket of water handy at all times for putting out fires. Other than that, beating the flames with our cloaks (wool is apparently quite fire resistant) or dropping them on the flames and stamping on them might work (i.e. using them as fire blankets). Other options include trying to move nearby papers and books away to keep the flames from spreading and, for the gutsy among us if they're wearing heavy gauntlets, they might be able to grab the books and papers that are already on fire and toss them out the door.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo's agility vs 74: (1d100)[*60*]

----------


## -Sentinel-

*@ LCP:* You still a Skaven fan and/or player? You should have a look at this chess set made of taxidermied mice.

----------


## TheSummoner

[roll]1d100[/roll vs 57 Ag

----------


## TheSummoner

Let's try that again.

(1d100)[*27*]

Edit to avoid a triple post: two questions. Is Cezar still mid-exorcism it has Tshula's reveal left him dumbstruck? Has Tshula "manifested" in a way that it's clear where the body is, or are we mostly still dealing with a disembodied voice and vague shapes in fire?

----------


## rax

@LCP
How cognizant would you say it's reasonable for Bardhyl to be concerning the names and existence of the Chaos gods and Nagash? Trying to determine an appropriate response to Tshula's sales pitch...

----------


## LCP

Sorry TheSummoner, I missed your edit.




> Is Cezar still mid-exorcism it has Tshula's reveal left him dumbstruck?


He's stopped.




> Has Tshula "manifested" in a way that it's clear where the body is, or are we mostly still dealing with a disembodied voice and vague shapes in fire?


There's a definite figure in the flames.




> How cognizant would you say it's reasonable for Bardhyl to be concerning the names and existence of the Chaos gods and Nagash? Trying to determine an appropriate response to Tshula's sales pitch...


I would say as a baseline the hill folk are a bit culturally disconnected from the rest of the Old World, and so are likely to have their own names for things and not to share detailed historical knowledge - but at the same time, they've been living cheek-by-jowl with the lowlanders for a long time and there's some degree of cultural osmosis.

For Nagash, they might have heard of him as the bogeyman of the mainstream Cult of Morr - but obviously they have their own stories there where Nahorek has a much more central role as Morr's chief antagonist. Knowledge of Nagash in the Old World as a whole is fairly esoteric (talking about 2,500-year-old history at a minimum) so it's unlikely they know more.

For the Chaos Gods, I think Rorik & co. would have been a very recent and significant point of cultural exchange, and while the Norscans might have mostly spoken in euphemisms like the Eagle, the Hound etc. rather than taking the names of the Four in vain too often, they would certainly have spoken about them. Before that, there would have been some baseline exchange of ideas with the lowlander cultures (particularly from any wandering priests who came through trying to convert the heathen hill-folk) from which they may have heard some of the more commonly-used names, and there would also have to have been some direct experience of Chaos (e.g. individuals in the community occasionally going off the deep end) because Chaos in the Warhammer world is fairly omnipresent. Those incidents and the idea of these forces being out there would have to be part of the lore of the Raven Speakers. The Reaches are a long way from any border with the Chaos Wastes and haven't had serious beastman problems in a long time though, so the hill folk's idea of what the Chaos Gods are may not be as fixated on them as being global enemy number 1 as e.g. people in the Empire - probably more just one group among a pantheon of potentially malign or dangerous gods and spirits.

----------


## -Sentinel-

...Hey Brits, are you okay?


*@ TheSummoner:* This would be a topic for a hard IC conversation, but Elsa really is considering all options.

Tzeentch is a threat that is both incomprehensibly vast in scope (meaning that giving him a single of the ten Books of Nagash would mean little in the grand scheme of things) and somewhat remote (he's playing complex games whose design is beyond mortal understanding). Meanwhile, Nahorek, while powerful by our puny characters' standards, still ranks below Nagash and even W'Soran; if he gets his hands on the Book, it would make a huge difference in the threat he poses. We also know that his plans directly involve the subjugation and/or destruction of the Reaches, and therefore us.

How long can we play Keep Away against such forces?

----------


## TheSummoner

My assumption and the one I was going with IC was that Elsa is just trying to either get Tshula manifested for a case of sword through daemon or possibly get Tshula to go to some place with less flamable books nearby. For example, I could just say "Sieghard quickdraws and swift attacks" but if Tshula isn't physical enough for that to do anything or even if Tshula is but Sieghard can't finish it on one round, then there's going to be a lot of fire in a very small amount of time.

I don't think giving the book over to daemons is a reasonable solution and that Elsa would be sincerely considering it rather than using the possibility as bait for a ruse would be incomprehensible to Sieghard. Let's assume the absolute best possible outcome of doing that... The book is gone, Tshula has no further interest in us and doesn't attempt to betray us, and Nahorek never gets the book. Nahorek is still probably going to be out for revenge and will attempt to bring death across the reaches. We're now labeled as daemon worshippers and reduced to outlaws. We lose everything. Our resources, our connections, we basically get reduced to a state worse than we were at the beginning of the game (though with far more experience) while the enemy is no weaker than before. All that to keep something out of his hands that isn't in his hands anyways. It's a terrible tradeoff.

----------


## LCP

I'm going to ask that you guys resolve this one IC. This is happening in the moment, in front of the priests; I think part of the fun here is that your characters don't know for sure what each other are thinking.

----------


## LCP

Sorry TheSummoner, but I think trying to defuse things after someone's made an attack with a bladed weapon is definitely closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Initiative (assuming that Sieghard and Bardhyl are both wearing their armour):

*Ludo* - (1d10+74)[*81*]
*Jarla* - (1d10+62)[*69*]
*Sieghard* - (1d10+47)[*52*]
*Bardhyl* - (1d10+45)[*53*]
*Elsa* - (1d10+44)[*46*]
*Tshula* - (1d10+54)[*57*]

Jarla's turn is taken by her attack. Ludo still gets to act before Tshula.

Treating the priests as non-combatants for the moment, but if they're needed I'll put them at the bottom of the turn.

----------


## rax

I noticed Ross N's post yesterday while I was writing up Bardhyl's response to Tshula, but I was unsure whether the idea was that Jarla would strike while Bardhyl was replying or whether the "distracted" part was more in general.

Either way, I guess it's fighting time now. Do we wait for Tshula to act (her initiative roll is better than most of the party's) or do we post our actions in no particular order?

----------


## LeSwordfish

I think Ludo is maybe too surprised by Jarla to leap into action here? And also I haven't decided which side of Elsa's deception Ludo will be on. And also I'm away this weekend and have drunk much fine Belgian beer. I would suggest that LCP skip Ludo this turn and go straight to Tshula?

----------


## LCP

> I noticed Ross N's post yesterday while I was writing up Bardhyl's response to Tshula, but I was unsure whether the idea was that Jarla would strike while Bardhyl was replying or whether the "distracted" part was more in general.


I'm going with Bardhyl having got his words in first.




> Either way, I guess it's fighting time now. Do we wait for Tshula to act (her initiative roll is better than most of the party's) or do we post our actions in no particular order?


Generally the way I run fights is that all players in a given initiative 'block' should post whenever they can post (and I apply their actions at the appropriate initiative step), but if enemies are coming before you, it's OK to wait to see what they do. 

For fights like this with only 1 enemy initiative step, the initiative order naturally falls into PCs-NPCs after 1 round anyway.

----------


## rax

Meh, and just as it seemed we might save Hieronymus' place from burning down... :Small Red Face:

----------


## TheSummoner

Yep. Exactly what I was hoping could be prevented.

Tshula (probably) took no damage, but is Sieghard able to tell whether that's because it was just a really low damage roll or if  it's that Tshula was wasn't corporeal enough to be hurt by swords or is it just inconclusive? I need to know the answer to this before deciding Sieghard's action. Bardyl goes before him, so if Jarla's attack falls under inconclusive, I could potentially get a more accurate based on what he does.

----------


## RossN

Uh oh.  :Small Eek: 

Agility: (1d100)[*37*] vs 62

Fortune Point re-roll if needed: (1d100)[*3*] vs 62

----------


## LCP

I think I've told you what Sieghard's senses are telling him - I don't think there's any IC information he's missing to make the judgement with.

----------


## TheSummoner

Messed up my damage rolls. One miss and two hits.

(1d10+7)[*9*] Damage
(1d10+7)[*15*] Damage

Edit: Not bad, but not enough.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Despite Elsa's consternation at this turn of events, Jarla probably did her a solid by burning that bridge for her.  :Small Tongue: 

Holy crap though, an attack that instantly sets its target on fire is _nasty_.  :Small Eek:  Even the Lore of Fire has nothing of the sort, which is a shame, because it would have been tremendously useful against Nahorek and the four resurrected knights.

*@ RossN:* You used the present tense in your last IC post.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Something I didn't see in the IC post - what's Cezar doing?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Do you need us to keep testing to keep the fire from spreading?

----------


## -Sentinel-

I'll Fortune Point that second attack, because that's a lot of damage. (d100)[*60*]


*Edit:* Success thanks to charging bonus and outnumbering.

12 + 13 before soak. Pretty solid for Elsa's first foray into physical combat!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## LCP

Going to roll Bardhyl's Ag for him so I can chuck a post up (really I should follow my own advice about making rolls in advance - been too long since we did a combat!).

(1d100)[*15*]

Bardhyl is very fire safe, 10/10 no questions from health and safety today.

There's no more need for firefighting tests from the others either - I think the first test is enough to establish that without a new source of fire you've got things under control.

----------


## rax

> Going to roll Bardhyl's Ag for him so I can chuck a post up (really I should follow my own advice about making rolls in advance - been too long since we did a combat!).
> 
> [roll0]
> 
> Bardhyl is very fire safe, 10/10 no questions from health and safety today.


 Clearly, you should be handling all of Bardhyl's rolls!  :Small Big Grin:  BTW, is the damage from Tshula's flames reduced by Toughness and/or Bardhyl's chain mail? Even if he isn't on fire, he still got hit.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Bardhyl mentioned that Wadim was still out there, so I think finding him is our logical next step in the medium term.

Been a while since we've gone on a trip as a party without an army with us.

----------


## TheSummoner

Probably the next stop, yes. I think we're going to need to do a bit of tying up loose ends before we can just set off though. We'll have to figure out something to do with Irene's maid for example.

Also, I'm going to be on a trip starting tomorrow and posting will likely be impossible for about 5 or 6 days. The Great Plan says I'm needed in Itza according to some Skink priest and I know better than to question it.

----------


## rax

> Probably the next stop, yes. I think we're going to need to do a bit of tying up loose ends before we can just set off though. We'll have to figure out something to do with Irene's maid for example.


 Funny you should say that... :Small Big Grin:  One of the options LCP and I discussed for making Bardhyl useful to the party was to have him take Irene's maid off your hands and hide her away until she could be moved out of the Reaches altogether. It may not be much to the maid's liking, but as a bandit, Bardhyl likely has a few safe camp sites where she can lay low with his band.

----------


## LeSwordfish

That actually works pretty well - we could perhaps cut a deal by which taking the maid off our hands is our price for coming along and helping with Wadim.

----------


## rax

That works for me, but will it work for the maid?  :Small Amused:

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Funny you should say that... One of the options LCP and I discussed for making Bardhyl useful to the party was to have him take Irene's maid off your hands and hide her away until she could be moved out of the Reaches altogether. It may not be much to the maid's liking, but as a bandit, Bardhyl likely has a few safe camp sites where she can lay low with his band.


Or simply move her to Morr's Seat, Elmridge or Hartmut's Fall, as it's sufficiently out of the way to be safe. I highly doubt the Sforzas intend to turn every stone in the Reaches in search of a runaway maid. And I know that if I were a young woman, I wouldn't be too keen on being handed over for "safekeeping" to a bunch of male outlaws in the wilderness.





> That actually works pretty well - we could perhaps cut a deal by which taking the maid off our hands is our price for coming along and helping with Wadim.


Elsa would do it for free because she's very interested in Wadim's knowledge, but Bardhyl doesn't need to know that.


At some point, someone may want to talk to Elsa about her apparent interest in Tshula's offer. We haven't had that conversation IC, only OOC. (I guess the point is moot now that we shut down the possibility of bargaining with Tzeentch, but I think it's still worth a few lines of dialogue.)

----------


## rax

> Or simply move her to Morr's Seat, Elmridge or Hartmut's Fall, as it's sufficiently out of the way to be safe. I highly doubt the Sforzas intend to turn every stone in the Reaches in search of a runaway maid. And I know that if I were a young woman, I wouldn't be too keen on being handed over for "safekeeping" to a bunch of male outlaws in the wilderness.


 Eh, I'm not so sure. IIRC, the maid (Gina?) is a long time member of the Sforza household and Muzio believes she tried to murder his wife. Irene definitely wants her dead so that she can't spill the beans about her aborting her pregnancies. If he hasn't already, Sforza may just go ahead and post a reward for anyone bringing the maid in. That would make it dangerous for her to be in any settlement under Sforza's rule and doubly so if there's a garrison there (e.g. Morr's Seat). Bardhyl would also protest hiding Gina in Morr's Seat or anywhere in the Raven Hills - the last thing the hill folk need right now is another reason for Sforza to be angry with them. 

As for Bardhyl's bandits, your PCs haven't met them all yet, but there's women in his band as well, and his men all know that Bardhyl would make them pay if they touched the girl when he's given his word that she'll be safe.

----------


## LCP

It's sounding like you guys are starting to think about moving on from this IC scene, in which case, let me know what the next scenes you want to play out are.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Eh, I'm not so sure. IIRC, the maid (Gina?) is a long time member of the Sforza household and Muzio believes she tried to murder his wife. Irene definitely wants her dead so that she can't spill the beans about her aborting her pregnancies. If he hasn't already, Sforza may just go ahead and post a reward for anyone bringing the maid in. That would make it dangerous for her to be in any settlement under Sforza's rule and doubly so if there's a garrison there (e.g. Morr's Seat). Bardhyl would also protest hiding Gina in Morr's Seat or anywhere in the Raven Hills - the last thing the hill folk need right now is another reason for Sforza to be angry with them. 
> 
> As for Bardhyl's bandits, your PCs haven't met them all yet, but there's women in his band as well, and his men all know that Bardhyl would make them pay if they touched the girl when he's given his word that she'll be safe.


You may be right. But there's also, of course, the option of helping Gina leave the Reaches. I don't think Sforza's lands have a proper, widely agreed-upon "border", but the Raven Hills are pretty close to the edge of his area of influence.





> It's sounding like you guys are starting to think about moving on from this IC scene, in which case, let me know what the next scenes you want to play out are.


I have a couple of scenes for the same night that don't really require any scene-setting. Writing them now.

----------


## LCP

OK. I do have some stuff I want to wrap up in this scene before we close it out - it shouldn't require a lengthy back-and-forth, but just be aware that we're not quite done here yet. If we can get to the IC point of leaving then I should be able to finish it up.

----------


## -Sentinel-

Ah, okay. In this case, I won't go any further than the current scene.

For tonight, Elsa plans to be present when we tell Al-Makir about what happened. She also intends to update Tatiana about Tshula's (probable) banishment, given Tatiana's own encounter with the daemon.

----------


## LeSwordfish

> Tshula's (probable) banishment


cannot WAIT until we kill someone who'll stay dead

I'm going to write a "on the way to speak to Al'Makir" post now. I'm going to start a conversation with Elsa on the assumption that she's the only person coming with, but if someone else says they would have been, then I'll probably edit.

Actually, no, I will specfically take Elsa aside on the journey, since I assume at least Hieronymous and Cezar are going with us to take Hieronymous to the castle. Also I'm going to assume it's still reasonably early evening and we're not knocking up Al'Makir at 3am.

----------


## Thragka

> we're not knocking up Al'Makir at 3am.


https://tenor.com/2ymf.gif

----------


## RossN

> https://tenor.com/2ymf.gif


Hah.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## rax

Sorry for barging into Ludo and Elsa's conversation there, I misread LCP's post and assumed it was happening inside Hieronymus' house where it was likely that more people could have overheard.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> https://tenor.com/2ymf.gif


...I don't get it.  :Small Red Face: 


*@ rax:* No worries.

----------


## Thragka

> Originally Posted by Thragka
> 
> 
> "Took it at face value that we were knocking Frau Klara up, though."
> 
> 
> .........what?


Its a perfectly cromulent expression.

----------


## -Sentinel-

No, I mean, why the Cpt. Holt "Vindication" gif.

----------


## Thragka

Because I am, now, vindicated by LeSwordfishs use of the expression.  :Small Amused:

----------


## -Sentinel-

Ah, okay.

*LeSwordfish:* Elsa addressed Ludo earlier, asking him if he was interested in learning the Nehekharan language. Did you miss it?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ah, I did indeed! I'll edit a response along the lines of "sure, why not" into my next post.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Bardhyl getting Very Angry about Meskhenet is perfectly in character but not tremendously helpful for party cohesion at this stage while we're still not very well bonded. I'm very cautious about launching into a whole explanation of Meskhenet and her role given that Bardhyl is coming across as a bit of a fanatic who might not understand it anyway. How should I respond to smooth this over? I don't want to have Ludo straight-up lie because the "get nine degrees of success, the listener is an idiot who believes whatever you say" trick seems like a bit of a shame to pull on a fellow PC. My other instinctive response is something like "oh put your sword away, you don't know what we've been through" which seems considerably worse for the basic task of making friends.

----------


## rax

Speaking strictly OOC, I think the best way to resolve this is actually to explain who Meshkenet is and to make a point of her being an enemy of Nahorek (which she was/is IIRC?). 

The thing with Nahorek is that he's the great cultural enemy of the hill folk. Siding with him is a bit like siding with the Devil in any medieval Christian society, and yet he's been seen as a benign figure by a large part of the Morrites. So yeah, Bardhyl's suspicions of lowlander priests runs pretty deep in this regard. 

Further, in hill folk lore, they were driven from their lands and into the hills by Nehekaran invaders/settlers, but were eventually united and in the process of winning back their lands when the Nehekarans summoned Nahorek. Obviously, this turned out to be a BIG MISTAKE since Nahorek preyed on both the Nehekarans and hill folk. While Bardhyl hasn't yet twigged onto the fact that Meshkenet is Nehekaran, he did acknowledge that they suffered under Nahorek as well in this post. I think Ludo is sharp enough to seize on that to make a case on Meshkenet's behalf (and Hieronymus for having her stashed away in his house).

Sound workable?

----------


## LeSwordfish

Sure, I can work with that if you tell me it will work - just wanted to check that I wasn't going to get a further horrified response and make things worse.

----------


## LCP

> OOC: Just an aside, but am I correct that Brother Cezar is still with us at this point?


Yes, he's still there at that point in the evening. Probably quite conflicted between the Raven Hills heathen yelling at the high priest and the fact that Bardhyl's pretty much expressing Cezar's own opinion of the Spooky Skull Situation.

----------


## rax

It's almost as if worshipping the same god makes you have similar prejudices!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## -Sentinel-

Are we ready to move on? I'm done for this day, aside from waiting for Tattie's response.

Then I guess we're off to find Wadim and get Gina far from the Sforzas' reach. I'll take Tattie and Olga with us.

----------


## TheSummoner

I'm back from Itza. Regrettably, I only saw one skink. When I get some time, I'll upload some pictures.

----------


## LCP

> Then I guess we're off to find Wadim and get Gina far from the Sforzas' reach. I'll take Tattie and Olga with us.


I think this needs some whole-group discussion and buy-in before it's set in stone. Bardhyl said he'd be waiting back at the inn the next morning, so that's where I've advanced the narrative to.




> I'm back from Itza. Regrettably, I only saw one skink. When I get some time, I'll upload some pictures.


You might have seen more, it's just the others were Chameleon Skinks...

----------


## -Sentinel-

Do we want the horses? Elsa left hers in Putbad.


*Edit:* Off-topic, but if you have Disney+ and like _Star Wars_, I cannot recommend _Andor_ highly enough. Probably the best and most mature _Star Wars_ work I've ever seen, relying on top-notch dialogue, dark yet topical themes and in-depth characterization rather than pew-pew-pew or cheap "Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at TV screen" fan service.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I think Sentinel is saying "you know what your men would do to a vulnerable woman" not "you know why we have to send a woman to you".

It's harmless but I think the "house style" we've developed is to leave OOC comments in spoilers or the OOC thread.

----------


## -Sentinel-

I've deleted my last IC post. *rax* is right, I was getting ahead of myself.

Also we're nearing the 1500-post limit on both the IC thread _and_ the OOC thread. I've been skimming IC thread XIII, since we need to summarize it for future reference... Unless I've missed something, I think the most important parts are the hunt for Mother Mala, Sieghard's statue defacement, the Gina situation, Bardhyl joining the party, and the fight with Tshula. All in all, far from one of our most eventful threads, but I suppose a slump in big adventures was to be expected after the events of thread XII.

----------


## LCP

I'll make a new thread at the next opportunity for a GM update.

Speaking of which, I'd suggest that for catching Bardhyl up on all the relevant information, we should fine to timesplit and/or just summarise in indirect speech with an OOC dump of what rax needs to know. There's a fair bit that I imagine Bardhyl's currently curious about and doesn't have all the facts - if there's a course of action you guys are already fairly confident you are or will be agreed on, then we can move forward in parallel.

I'm off to Switzerfrance from tomorrow until the 26th. I shouldn't be completely out of touch but I may be busier than usual.

----------


## rax

Going off the things Sentinel mentioned above, Bardhyl's interest in them would be roughly as follows:

- _Mother Mala:_ A servant of the Jackal is bad, but unless there's a reason to suspect that she holds the key to defeating Nahorek, she'd be a decidedly secondary concern. She can always be hunted down later, once the state of affairs in the Reaches is restored to how Bardhyl thinks it should be.

- _Sieghard's Statue Defacement:_ A hilarious jape and the Prince no doubt deserves it, but not really anything Bardhyl would concern himself with unless the group try to enlist his aid to deal with the fallout in some manner.

- _The Gina Situation:_ Bardhyl is on board with doing the party this favour to secure their help in finding Wadim, but he also considers himself to have alreadt helped the party with Tshula, so that would be two favours for one in return.  :Small Wink: 

Generally speaking, if something will bring the defeat of Nahorek closer, or inconvenience Sforza without causing trouble for the Raven Hills, Bardhyl is alll for it.

----------


## LCP

I think that's just the things that have happened in this thread - I'm sure there are things that go further back (like "what's so special about this book") that would be useful for Bardhyl to catch up on too.

The main thing that needs identifying right now though is: what info is critical to coming to a decision about what to do right now, and what can be put on Bardhyl's catch-up list to be discussed timesplit/OOC while the game moves forward. My impression is that you guys are all pretty close to being on the same page, but I need to see the plan articulated + agreed to.

----------


## rax

> I think that's just the things that have happened in this thread - I'm sure there are things that go further back (like "what's so special about this book") that would be useful for Bardhyl to catch up on too.


 Oh, definitely, I just felt that they were _also_ examples of things that it might be useful for Bardhyl to know, and - as specific examples - a good way to show what Bardhyl's likely level of interest would be. So, for instance, going deeply into stuff on the level of Sieghard's statue job isn't necessary unless the group sees something really important coming out of it that would match Bardhyl's interests.




> The main thing that needs identifying right now though is: what info is critical to coming to a decision about what to do right now, and what can be put on Bardhyl's catch-up list to be discussed timesplit/OOC while the game moves forward. My impression is that you guys are all pretty close to being on the same page, but I need to see the plan articulated + agreed to.


 Speaking for myself, I think filling in Bardhyl on the details of what the Sforzas' beef with Gina is would be a good way to build trust that could be handled OOC or via timesplit (Ludo's already started, even if he's being a bit vague on the details). That also goes for filling Bardhyl in on just how dangerous Nagash's book is as well (BTW, are the Jackal's various artefacts something that would appear in Raven Hills lore, or should I play him as completely clueless about things like the book and staff?)

----------


## LCP

The Vrani legends don't go into detail on the Jackal's treasures - to them he's one combined package.

I think the ball's in Bardhyl's court IC, but the IC detail I'm waiting on is 1) to see that Bardhyl consents to harbouring Gina, and any practical details of how he'd do that and 2) the practical details for the not-Bardhyls in terms of fetching her, who's travelling where when etc. If I can see that then I'll be able to move things along and we can keep any loose threads going in a timesplit if desired.

----------


## LCP

We're one day away from the conversation at the _Fat Fish_ having lasted 2 weeks. I would really like it if we could wrap it up and decide on some action before that marker.

----------


## rax

Bardhyl will suggest a plan of action later this evening, but it ought to be a group decision to implement it.

----------


## TheSummoner

My general thoughts.

Sieghard and Ludo can go fetch Gina from Painford. Elsa can go fetch her horse. Jarla can come along with either or stay in Savonne to see to whatever preparations need to be made. After that, Bardhyl is in the lead for where we go next since he's the one with the information. I had assumed that would mean going around north to get closer to the Raven Hills, and that we could just escort Gina most of the way ourselves, but if not, then we'll have to figure out the escort as well.

Elsa probably ought to try to mend things with Tatiana. If she doesn't, then the girl might eventually just run away. It seems to me like she wants a chance to prove herself and with Tshula, it was also personal and that's why she's so upset.

----------


## rax

Okay, laid out a suggestion for getting Gina out of the Reaches with - I hope - as little direct involvement from the PCs as possible. Of course, it requires a great deal of trust on the part of the original PCs, but Bardhyl reckons they need to trust him at some point unless they want to move Gina themselves. 

It's also based on my understanding of the geography and trade routes of the Reaches. Bardhyl would know about that, so if I've misunderstood where the merchant traffic out of the Reaches usually sets out from, I'll need a heads up OOC so I can rework the plan.

*@TheSummoner*
Sorry, I didn't notice that you'd made a suggestion here before I posted IC. The first half of Bardhyl's plan is pretty much the same as yours though.  :Small Smile:

----------


## RossN

Elsa's comment about commoners aside ( :Small Tongue: ) I think Jarla would want to go and meet the girl for herself.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> Without another word, he walked up and stood in the path of the two thugs trying to drag Brina away.


As I understand it, the two restraining the young man are his friends, trying to keep him from getting himself beaten some more. And Brina is one of them.

----------


## LCP

That's right. Brina+1 are trying to hold back the young man with the broken nose, who's still seemingly up for a fight with Pietro and his mates.

----------


## LeSwordfish

That Pick Lock roll fails by 5, so if it's needed i'll spend a fate point for a +10.

If Elsa is coming with Team Ludo he will politely suggest The Most Distinctive Woman In The City leave them to it.

----------


## LCP

Which NPCs are you wanting to take in Team Ludo? Jak is quite distinctive too with his very freshly broken nose.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Lets start off with just Ludo (and PCs) and can come and get Jak if the coast is clear.

----------


## TheSummoner

Probably ought to have Jak describe her for you before heading in. A name alone doesn't get you far.

----------


## rax

So did Ludo end up breaking in by himself?

----------


## LCP

That's my assumption, but if Bardhyl or Jarla want to go with him feel free.

----------


## rax

Nope, Bardhyl is staying out of this unless there's serious trouble where he can earn extra credit in the trust department by helping the others out. His opinion on what appears to be have happened is that it's all very sad, but commonplace and none of his business.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I was kind of assuming that Sieghard and Elsa were doing the sensible thing in going to talk to Filomena, so Ludo could do his wacky larceny plan b - maybe they have a pie he could steal. Can we at least say he got a description of Stela?

I'll try and keep the theft brief so we can get to a meeting.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Here's a stealth roll: (1d100)[*77*] vs 94

----------


## LCP

> Can we at least say he got a description of Stela?


No problem - she's a year younger than Jak (who looks to be in his very early 20s). Relatively tall, dark hair, brown eyes. She has a distinctive earring carved in the shape of a fish.

----------


## LeSwordfish

I'm waiting for Sieghard to take the lead on this but happy to step in as the hypnohobbit. My instinct is that if we really pushed it we could probably talk Al'Makir into supporting our claim - you're the steward of painford. Or we could probably talk her into upping the price, probably fairly significantly since she's been building walls in there and such - its an investment she won't want to risk.

----------


## TheSummoner

My thoughts are she's already outmaneuvered us and there's little we can do about that. We COULD try to make a big deal about it, but we already know that no one else seems to give a damn about the people displaced by the war or the fire, so I see little point in it. We're not likely to get the warehouse back we'd be burning any chance to get _something_ out of it.

(1d100)[*65*] vs 26 untrained evalute. Is the 530 Filomena is offering actually a fair price or is she trying to lowball it?

----------


## LCP

It's low but not crazy low - the building itself was definitely less valuable than the well-built Greenapple house. If the building were still in your possession you'd probably hope to get more for it, but Sieghard's not sure he'd get that much more.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Filomena's a very confident woman and has every reason to bluff us here, I don't think its as cut and dried as she's presented it.

----------


## LeSwordfish

Ludo's Fel is "only" 72 so lets use a fortune point on that: (1d100)[*15*]

----------


## LCP

Since this is a big-money negotiation with a named NPC I'll throw in an opposed roll from Filomena: (1d100)[*35*]

----------


## rax

> My thoughts are she's already outmaneuvered us and there's little we can do about that. We COULD try to make a big deal about it, but we already know that no one else seems to give a damn about the people displaced by the war or the fire, so I see little point in it. We're not likely to get the warehouse back we'd be burning any chance to get _something_ out of it.


 If you _were_ to try and contest the matter, I'd point out that Filomena knew very well that Sieghard is the "legitimate" owner of the warehouse, and yet told Al-Makir that "if there was an owner, they weren't to be found within the city walls,". She even admitted to leaving out "a few details", so it shouldn't be hard for Sieghard to show Al-Makir that Filomena was pulling a fast one and give him the choice of siding with a brothel madam over one of the Prince's key vassals.  

He may still feel that he needs to stick by his agreement with Filomena for practical reasons (she's making money and paying taxes the Prince needs rather than housing unprofitable refugees) and maybe personal reasons (it seems like Filomena has some leverage with Sforza and his old crew), but it doesn't hurt for him to know that he helped a civilian swindle the steward of Painford. That's got to be worth a little leverage in the future.

I think the incident also shows just how little actual "rule of law" there is under Sforza - if you've got the right connections and can provide a useful service or profit to the Prince, then you can throw your weight around in a way that would see you in a court of law in more established jurisdictions. I.e. if Sieghard ever wants to get even somehow, the fact that he's now accepting Filomena's coin probably won't matter much. He can prove that the warehouse was wrongfully taken from him, and as long as he provides something of greater value to the Prince than Filomena is doing, he can likely move against her with few long term consequences.

----------


## -Sentinel-

> I think the incident also shows just how little actual "rule of law" there is under Sforza - if you've got the right connections and can provide a useful service or profit to the Prince, then you can throw your weight around in a way that would see you in a court of law in more established jurisdictions.


That's just how things are in those petty fiefdoms, and gods know _we've_ also been taking advantage. Even Sieghard's ownership of the warehouse (and earlier, of Jasper Greenapple's mansion) is based on: "The previous owner is dead, I was the first to call dibs on his property, and I happen to work for the Prince, who has a lot of armed men at his disposal."  :Small Amused: 

One could argue that even a "civilized" society operates under a similar system, only with a bit more paperwork and procedure between a property and the weapons that enforce its ownership.


Also wow, we're pretty damn rich!  :Small Big Grin:  Are those 600+ gc going into a common party fund? I hope it's not just Sieghard and Ludo splitting it between them...

----------


## TheSummoner

My go to with this sort of thing is has just been to set it aside until there's a need for it. Whether it's something Ludo needs or Sieghard or something else, it's there.

As for the whole Filomena situation, maybe Sieghard would get the warehouse back, maybe he wouldn't. Pushing the issue would just invite more trouble than we stand to gain. Sieghard didn't have any personal use for the warehouse, anyways. He was using it as a makeshift homeless shelter and the main concern was getting them through the cold of winter - which has already passed. And while it sucks that they're back out on the streets, Sieghard wasn't going to be able to support them forever. It's a pick your battles situation.

There's also the cynical side of me also notes and hopes that those evicted will see that _Sieghard_ offered them a roof over their heads while _Filomena and the soldiers (and by extension, Sforza)_ took it away from them.

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## LeSwordfish

The thought did occur to me to ruin Filomena's victory here by just splitting the money between all of her workers. I'm not sure how many that would be but putting twenty gold coin each of their pockets would certainly be one way to find out who really wants to be there.

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## TheSummoner

We could, but we'd be making her an enemy for no reason.

Sieghard will sit off to the side while they talk where he can listen without seeming overly interested. He's mainly interested in making sure of whether or not there's any truth to the accusations against Filomena or if that was Jak just being personally invested and assuming the worst.

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## -Sentinel-

I edited my last post to include a part where Elsa tells Sieghard and Ludo about Bardhyl's past association with Wadim.

I also have a suspicion that I can't share IC just yet, because I don't think Elsa has enough information:

*Spoiler*
Show

Perhaps Wadim was raised from the dead as a servant of Nahorek, and Morr wants Bardhyl to hunt down and destroy him.

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## rax

I'm in the middle of a busy few days, so posting on my part will be a bit slow, but I'm reading everything and following developments in the IC thread with great interest!  :Small Big Grin:

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## RossN

> I'm in the middle of a busy few days, so posting on my part will be a bit slow, but I'm reading everything and following developments in the IC thread with great interest!


I've been fighting a nasty cold so I've not really been able to focus recently (also I'm gming a WFRP game on another forum so that's drained a lot of my creativity.)

Having said that Jarla is still around and I can have a post up tonight to have her attend the meeting she wasn't invited to.  :Small Big Grin:

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## -Sentinel-

> Having said that Jarla is still around and I can have a post up tonight to have her attend the meeting she wasn't invited to.


Ah, I thought she wasn't coming with us on our upcoming trip, but she's welcome to be part of the meeting if you want her to be kept up to speed.

Could be in the keep's dining room.


*Edit:*



> "Three crowns, two schillings and fivepence," said Stela. "That's what it was the last time I paid."


Almost wish Elsa were present to hear that.

"You owe _three_ crowns?! That's it? Just how much of a cut does Filomena take, anyway? Greedy b**** charged me _five_ crowns when I hired" (clams up in embarrassment)

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## TheSummoner

Just for OOC clarification, Sieghard's interruption is about him thinking Luo is about to suggest paying off everyone's debts. If you want to just help out Jak and Stela, that's no issue so long as they promise to keep tight lipped about it.

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## -Sentinel-

Ready to move on, as soon as we've had the convo about Bardhyl (which can be timesplit if need be).





> will Elsa be taking Olga with her to Putbad?


Given the travel prices, I'll have Olga stay in Savonne.

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## LCP

> Ready to move on, as soon as we've had the convo about Bardhyl (which can be timesplit if need be).


I'll take you up on that, since I don't think the rest of the party is necessarily going to meet up with Bardhyl again before setting out on their travels.

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## rax

*@LCP*
Would the bandit troubles on the Azril already be known to Bardhyl through his shady connections? Enough so that he could try and find out some details by asking around?

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## LCP

Considering he knows Sandu I reckon it's likely he'd have heard, yeah.

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## LCP

> "Knew a trader who went out wearing this massive tall steel helmet." Ludo said. "Had a spike on top like two feet tall. His theory was that the goblins would think he was bigger and stay away. It worked for a little while, they left him alone."
> 
> "What happened to him in the end?" Ortwin asked.
> 
> "Struck by lightning."


Love this. New magic item right there.

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## LCP

Going for the triple-post hat-trick: new OOC thread is here. Please let everyone post their character sheets before continuing OOC conversation there - if you have any urgent questions, this thread still has a sliver of space left before it hits the cap.

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## LCP

Festag = Sunday, yes.

Just a reminder to please hold off on using the new OOC thread until everyone has their character sheets up. Jarla's is yet to be posted.

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## -Sentinel-

Ah, sorry, I thought all character sheets were posted.  :Small Red Face: 

I've deleted my post from the new thread. Here it is:




> I see the NPC section has been updated... I love the new stick figures, especially Olga.

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## LeSwordfish

> Love this. New magic item right there.


The real benefit of having hirelings/hallucinations/comrades is using them to set up your own punchlines.

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## rax

*@LCP*

There I was, all set to do some savage bargaining, only to discover that Bardhyl doesn't have the Haggle skill! Hence him trying the more indirect tack of trying to convince Sandu that they're practically business partners in this matter...which I hope might allow him to test Charm instead.

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## LCP

RossN, I think we're waiting for Jarla in both threads.

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