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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
There is a lot of useful information in that 'Dwarven Kingdom at a Glance' link on the first page. :)
#1 Birgir - A fairly typical dwarf all things considered. He is chief financial officer for one of the larger mining firms south of Stoneheim but he lives in Myrgard to maintain easy access to the lords and powerbrokers of the kingdom. Mayer has only met the dwarf twice, he found him to be boring, long-winded, and rather short-sighted. He was more concerned with turning quick immediate profits and enjoying his wealth than with securing a steady stream of income or seizing any of the levers of power available to him. Mayer believes that he is a high ranking member of the 'Silver Spinneret' a Spider Goddess pleasure cult in the city, he may even be their high priest. From what Mayer understands they are a group of wealthy and bored aristocrats and bankers that get together, inject themselves with hallucinogenic poisons and indulge themselves in every vice they can conceive of. Birgir has been in Stoneheim with his wife for the last eight months or so, overseeing the construction of a new office complex there otherwise you would have met him when you paid visits to the great bankers of the city.

#2 Anja - Birgir's wife. Half his age and twice as smart, Mayer found her intriguing at first but all she really seemed interested in was tricking him into joining their cult. When he declined she attempted to blackmail him, it did not work out well for her or her husband. Threats were made, Birgir lost a quarter of his fortune overnight and the couple stopped bothering Mayer. Of course this spat also served to isolate Mayer socially from much of the banking world, Birgir and his wife are very popular.
Also, he is the asshole who owns Thyra's familial debt. The girl (who is an indentured servant at the Palace) started selling confidential information to Rand to pay it off.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Eh, I feel like writing something to keep the thread alive for a while longer.

I wasn't entirely joking about what I said.

True, we have better priorities to take care of for now, like that 5000 strong army of undead behind the gates, but if our plan of inserting ourselves in the heart of the city succeeds without some horrific casualties, they shouldn't be too much of a problem. They should not be prepared for this. Everything just went down too spontaneously to account for it. Mazzy wasn't here until yesterday, nor was the fairy alliance, and the army was due to arrive at Stoneheim in ten days at the earliest while being severely crippled by the spider demons and ghols. One day of Mazzy involvement later, and the situation is a complete 180. If the gating plan works, our army will reach the city faster than the news of the spider demons' defeat.

If we blow up their wights and destroy the siege engines, we might just sit back and smoke weed while watching them try to cross the city walls by piling up dead bodies upon dead bodies. Unlike the forces at Blackrock, they don't even have anywhere to run - the north belongs to us and the south belongs to the ghols who - under Nanshe's guidance - would be much more difficult to roll over than a few scattered clans.

The cultist forces coming at us from below the ground, now that's a problem. Though I am sure we will figure something out. We had this idea of telling Mazzy about the spearhead that could end the Watcher and pointing to the Goddess as the one who holds the key to its activation. We'll just have to gently push them to come to some sort of an agreement that would include the withdrawal of the Goddess' forces from the mortal realm. And there is always a spell Mazzy used to gather the creatures connected by blood in one place to get rid of those who wouldn't leave willingly.

Unfortunately, her human allies aren't connected by the demon blood, and the Goddess' control over them is very indirect. So we can't rely on magic to solve the problem of the Eberhardt rebels and the cultists for us.

So we will need to employ something different, and whip out good old political stratagem, 'Divide and Conquer'.

Remember that pedo-demon-lawyer Morpheus told us about? Some kind of sorrow sucker I believe it was called. Supposedly, very influental among the nobility and banking circles. Well, here is our way in.

Let our prince summon him for some business of the crown or the other. He wouldn't be able to refuse such a request, nor can he dictate the terms of the meeting. Then we will take over, much like we did with Albrecht and Wenzel.

We have all the means to oust the fucker and expose him for what he is - a demon and a parasite. We hold his life in our palms. I suppose we could offer him a deal (that we might or might not honor) - our silence for his 'cooperation'. Being a famous lawyer with no small power, I assume he deals with a lot of important people, and I don't think all of those deals are lawful. Given his demonic nature, I am almost certain he deals with the less savory elements of the nobility, and I think there is a large overlap between his clientele and spider demon cultists. Just what we need.

If he refuses to cooperate - well, we can always seize him and extract this information ourselves. None would openly raise a ruckus if we publicly demonstrate he is a demon.

With loads of compromising information on our hands we will finally have a rope to pull and bring our detractors out in the open. But it woudln't be fun going after them the old-fashioned way. Instead I intend to let them do the job for us.

It will require a certain amount of cooperation and goodwil on Reinhard's part, but I think we might convince him to offer amnesty to those who were not directly involved in the Goddess worship and were only thinking of it as a harmless pleasure cult... if they withdraw their support from the rebels or wherever it was their money went and make a generous donation to the state treasury in recompense for their past misdeeds. Like, half of their fortune generous. Given that an involvement with such matters is usually punishable with death, that alone might make this preferable in the eyes of some. To lose half of their fortune, or to be sent to the gallows and have everything confiscated - that's not a very difficult choice, is it?

But we will also offer a carrot to our stick - if any of them point to the cultists that did not come out from their closets yet, they would be entitled to a part of their fortunes when those will be inevitably seized by the government. A way to cut their losses, so to speak. Naturally, we should ensure that false accusations are punished, not rewarded, as we have the necessary means to determine their truthfulness, what with us being mentalists and buddies with Finn.

So, on one hand it will encourage people to come out with their hands in the air, while on the other it will provide an incentive for the same people to sell out their former 'comrades'. If my guess about the extent of rot in the nobility is correct, people will stand in queues to denounce each other and grab a slice of a pie while they are at it. Either way, the support for the enemies of the Crown will diminish while bringing in a revenue stream to reward the loyalists with.

And the common folk would not mind at all. The sharks eating each other are no concern of theirs, they are only worried about not ending as a corpse or a spider meal. If anything, they would approve of it.

Anyone interested in pursuing that course once we sort out our immediate military problems?
 
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Kz3r0

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Messages
27,012
Anyone interested in pursuing that course once we sort out our immediate military problems?
The problem is that half of the kingdom is composed by spider cultists, I don't think is wise to act openly against them.
If we manage to gather enough informations on the most influential ones we should try to dispose of them inconspicuously, trying to give them an aut-aut can pretty much make them revolt en masse.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
The spider cultists do not have support of the commoners since the city is under attack by spider demons, and they do not have the sort of power to openly oppose the Crown, else they wouldn't have hid and operated like terrorist cells.

With the Royal Army positioned in Stoneheim an outright revolt looks unlikely. Doubly so if we do that after destroying the undead horde and the demons. It was the same with Eberhardts - while they held considerable resourses, in the end no one was mad enough to openly come out in their defence. Who would fight for them, mercenaries? Most of those would want to live long enough to collect their payment.
 

archaen

Cipher
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Fangshi%20missing_zpsyajkusx9.jpg
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
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May 28, 2008
Messages
27,012
PoE is really one of the worst manifestations of the decline, it affects even other games.
 

Fangshi

Arcane
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Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
*cough* ah, right...

Well, it is a Thursday now even if it is not the Thursday I meant.

So here is the situation.

1. I am out of the country. That might complicate things for the foreseeable future, we will have to see how work goes.

2. My computer started giving me problems about this time last week but it seems to be working now, that is one problem down.

3. I do not have reliable wifi access which means I will be a bit limited in when and how I can post things.

What does that mean for the update? Well, I hope to have it out this weekend. I should be able to secure wifi for a few hours to post and answer questions, then we can go from there.

Naturally I can not make any guarantees but things should stabilize in a few months one way or the other and I will probably be able to take on a more regular update schedule after that.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Ah, well, since the main culprit is back and I have a serious case of writing incontinence, I'll throw in another idea as well.

What do you guys thing about a state-wide amnesty for Eberhardt soldiers to quell their rebellion?

Think about it, the ones that oppose Albrechts regime and are at odds with the Royal Army are Eberhardts with their remnants, spider demons with the cultists, and necromancers. No matter how you look at it, an average soldier can't be happy being on the list of what essentially are 'race traitors'.

While Eberhardt elites and their officers are either convinced of the House being falsely accused or too deeply involved in their operations to consider abandoning their cause (since it would mean their deaths), the case is not so clear-cut for an average soldier who, in all times and ages, only knows what his commander deemed necessary to tell him - and that's usually 'nothing'. The officers might fight out of a feeling of loyalty to their liege or for their lives, but I am not sure the grunts feel the same. They are bound to doubt if their 'betters' don't tell them everything (and thus could really be involved with the Dark) and if they aren't committing a mistake by waging war on their King, who seems to keep both the demons and undead at bay and thus aligned to neither.

What do they stand to gain by continuing this civil war? Most of them likely stayed with the Eberhardts because they thought the crown to be corrupt and viewed the Eberhardt Resurrected as the best chance their country has. If we prove House Albrecht to be strong enough to repel the invaders, their motivation is likely to take a hit.

If I am not mistaken, currently anyone partaking in the rebellion is guilty of treason. If we leave the grunts a way out of this, the rebellion will run out of steam sooner.

The show of mercy can only come from a position of strength, so we might want to milk Mazzarin's presence for all it's worth.

The officers would likely have to be killed or imprisoned depending on their part in the rebellion, though. Or even recruited if it'd be worth the trouble. They are too dangerous to just let them leave. But without people to command they are not going to achieve much.

Of course, that gesture is not without drawbacks, as there will inevitably be Eberhardt agents who will try to go 'legit' by pretending to be common soldiers. But that's the nature of the beast. Those will eventially be tracked down by the Pathfinders and rooted out by our spy networks.

Any thoughts?
 
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Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
Should work doubt that spy posing as grunts will find out anything important. I would leave low level officers dunno what ranks dwarven army use. Its possible to do, but... Switching this much low level officers will make this red army all soldiers no leadership kind of thing.
 

Nevill

Arcane
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Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Switching this much low level officers will make this red army all soldiers no leadership kind of thing.
Red Army circa WW2 had an officer for every 5-6 soldiers. The principle behind its formation was the same as behind the dwarven army, but the unit size was smaller. If anything, there was too much leadership. :M

Anyway, I meant that we would leave a vulnerability for our enemies to exploit, as once the amnesty is declared, we would not longer be able to kill Eberhardts on sight without sufficient evidence that they are involved in something unsavory. They could be preparing terrorist acts in broad daylight and we would be limited in our means to stop them. On the other hands, if they do end up doing something like this, they will quickly run out of trust with everyone (and first of all, with those from their former ranks who would legitimately surrendered).
 

Jester

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Was thinking about Great Purge.

We most likely want to get rid of people who can't, or dont want to take the offer. Adding time limit to this amnesty might prevent cult elite from pulling a fast one on us, still that might cost us part of soldiers surrendering after defeat of cult. With amount of manpower, Ebi ressurection and other assets they will do what they can to make this work... I dont think that normal people will be allowed to go peacefully. Things will get messy, might be right path to making people see what's going on.

On other hand though we can add few agents to those accepting to keep watch. I doubt they are able to tell who is who with this whole war going on.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
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Messages
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
With amount of manpower, Ebi ressurection and other assets they will do what they can to make this work... I dont think that normal people will be allowed to go peacefully.
That's the idea. The more they try to hold them by force, the more resistance their movement will suffer as a whole. It will only lead to mass desertions or their soldiers telling on their superiors in hopes we finally kill them off and leave the normies be.

On other hand though we can add few agents to those accepting to keep watch. I doubt they are able to tell who is who with this whole war going on.
Yeah, and our resources are kind of already thin as they are.

A double edged plan, but I find it compelling nonetheless.
 
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Jester

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Mar 24, 2013
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Yeah, and our resources are kind of already thin as they are.
It don't have to be our agents. Dwarven TIM or king can use their resources. There is plenty people who want to keep things calm. If we will have to take watch ourselves we can split them into manageable teams. Big enough to fight, small enough to be unable to do big damage.

With first cultists army dead we will probably try to solve undead problems now. Mazzarin take care of Watcher and we will have breathing space.[/QUOTE]
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I don't actually make a difference between our resources and those of Albrecht. We are kind of fused with the ruling family to the point where a fall of one will inevitably cause a fall of the other.

Albrecht does not seem to have much in a way of resourses either, though he has an advantage of being a King. It looks like the ones he counted on, the Royal Guards, are compromised, and the Pathfinders are too few. It so happened that the best forces at his disposal are actually us.

After - if - we solve the undead and rebel problems in Stoneheim, we will have to return to Myrgard and finish our work there. That's where two out of three renegade Lords are, and at least one of them, Hesse, is planning something by hiding fugitives from the Pathfinder prison. The ride is going to be a long one.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
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Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Fangshi, drop by from time to time, will you? We still love you, update or no update. :love:

I decided to bump this thread with the reminder of the current plots and mini-plots we have running. It is easy to forget them since the current events overshadow most of them in importance, and some of them happened about a year ago in real time. Some of these are waiting for us to act on them, and some of them might have consequences down the road.

Economic matters:
- We took notice of the Building Society and their cooperative system. We might want to consider reintroducing it to Fort Blackrock as we try to fit 400 of our Boys there.
- We still have plans to introduce the banking system to the Empire, though they have been put on hold due to the war.
- We considered opening a Gate between Myrgard and Muirthemne with the help of a powerful energy source that is currently in Dietfried's possession. It cost 200 WPs last time we asked and Melete is probably the only one who can get it to work.
- We told Mayer to look into making Blackrock self-sufficient.
- We still have a number of merchant contracts on our hands regulating trade between Myrgard and Stoneheim.
- We have learned about a caravan that may have or may have not belonged to Thais' father, and which should be loaded by expensive merchandise. It is held within one of Finn's artefacts courtesy of Cropper's curse.

Muirthemne matters:
- We have contacted Gareth before and told him to investigate the necromancers in the city and their potential ties with the Watcher.
- We have sent Nephila to Madb with a recomendation letter and requested her to disarm the wards on TWM's journal and translate Gullveig's correspondence, then leave the items at Madb's.
- We have plans to ask Finn to send one of his messengers to Madb to retrieve the translations and leave her a letter for Gareth.
- The subject of the letter is not yet finalized, though I suggested having him investigate the two remaining Watcher generals, the Weeper and the Sliver of Hatred, as well as the groups that oppose them in Gower and the Twelve Duns.

Myrgard matters:
- We have sent a report about the battle near the oasis to Albrecht. We have also warned him that the the Royal Guards may be compromised.
- We have issued an order for Myora to have our Blackrock rats spy on Welf, Hesse and their champions.
- We have made arrangements to have a large number of Hesse's guards recalled to Myrgard to free the place for the Boys. Hesse and his champion were to remain in the fort under Argus' supervision.
- We have left the Black Arrows as the de-facto Albrecht's private guards, seeing how he doesn't have too many forces that are completely loyal to him. We authorized them to borrow our other people if necessary.
- The other major tasks for our forces in the capital are eliminating Rand and locating the cloning facilities. Ceannard might have a few contacts in the underworld to help him with that.
- We have instructed Timo&Mayer to make Thyra the maid into a double agent to try and track Rand and/or cloning facilities.
- We have instructed Mayer and Albrecht to run a joined "Fata Morgana" con for energon cubes. Estimated return is 25 cubes for 50 WPs.
- We have also instructed Timo&Mayer to pay attention to the mages that would place orders for large quantities of energon cubes, as those may bear a connection to the cloning facilities.
- We dropped Timo a few hints how one can possibly identify Rand (by not recalling his features even though they should be able to).
- We have made arrangements for the destruction of the Weazels, though we also warned Timo so that he could protect Wenzel from the worst of it.
- We have learned that one of Wenzel's captains, Aki, was compromised by the Watcher and has departed to the south, with Timo's agents in pursuit.
- We have asked Timo to investigate 'the wyrm of flame and shadow'.
- We have asked Timo to investigate Cuulagh, whom we suspect to be a mysterious stalker archer.
- We have the Souvereigns investigating the graffiti in the capital under Astrid's supervision.
- We have 6 wounded or incapacitated people to take care of - Melete, Bari, Neel, Stigr, Anleifr and Brenna - that we should look into upon finishing the more pressing matters. There is also a number of people among the Boys who suffered injuries during the fire.
- We have learned that Mayer is serving Morpheus and what happened to his wife, but we are bound by our word to the White Lady not to tell Morpheus about how we found it out.
- We have tasked the Royal Academy with researching a magic dampening armor.
- Jan is currently investigating the means of activating the god-killing spearhead.

Stoneheim matters:
- There is a demon there masquerading as a lawyer that has ties with the upper classes of the city society.
- The city is home to Birgir and his wife, who are among the most influental bankers in the Kingdom and are also known supporters of the Spider Goddess.
- We have about 20 mercenaries and 2 officers from Blackrock Securities stationed there, to our knowledge.
- There supposed to be a small cult of the White Lady operating somewhere in the city.

Ghol matters:
- We have an agreement with Nanshe to discuss the de-escalation of the ghol/dwarven conflict after the situation in the south stabilizes.
- We have contacted Nanshe and suggested she took over the southern clans, particularly the Tusks, who now have their warriors slain. Our interest is locating and securing Lilli, whom Nanshe can trade us later.
- We still have the possibility of restoring High Priest Enki's arm in exchange for Lilli's life open.

Miscellaneous matters:
- We have learned about a table where Finn dumps the ones who crossed him. Might want to keep that in mind if we want someone to disappear... or found.
- We have Hallr dumped into the Dreaming with full access to whatever knowledge he might have.
- Dietfrieds might be able to construct an enchanted item that would mask one's appearance. The cost is estimated to be about 100 WPs for entities that are close to a human build.
- We have an open invitation from Finn to visit his palace extended to our friends, including Nine.
- We have our first Dreaming session scheduled somewhere around this week.
- We have a written will - that Morpheus is supposed to send to Gareth after our death, - that nominates Mazzarin as the defender of the Dwarven Realm. We might want to destroy it if we think it became unnecessary.
 
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Fangshi

Arcane
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Messages
1,997
Fangshi, drop by from time to time, will you?

I should be able to manage that.

I still do not have anything approaching reliable wifi access and the computer with the CYOA on it is being temperamental at the moment but I might be able to come up with some sort of workaround.

I think I will link your post to the front page, it may be useful for people that want to check information. If there is anything else anyone wants clarified or added than feel free to ask.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Alright. I am a graphomaniac. So what? Being hospitalized with nothing better to do does that to people. :M

Jester would probably like that one:

The Rodent Commonwealth Air Force Initiative Report.

Since the formation of the Rodent Commonwealth Air Force (or RCAF for short) two months ago, our metalworkers from the Three Families have finally presented the first working prototype of an air combat ready vessel, signaling a new era for the mousefolk, an era of air dominion. That which once was forbidden and was a source of fear and hatred is now ready to submit to our will. This document aims to discuss how to best utilize this historical breakthrough in the interests of the Commonwealth to ensure its continued survival and prosperity.

As the construction of these vehicles does not come cheap, and the materials required are not always native to the Fort, the RCAF Initiative Committee was tasked with finding a way to turn this development into an income source for the Commonwealth, rather than a resource drain. The Committee believes that they have found a solution to this dilemma, by inviting several clans to join the Initiative and offer the services of their chosen members to the interested parties, with the Lost acting as an intermediary between them.

The document is divided in three parts, which deal, respectively, with the capabilities of the air vessel, its crew, and the services they provide.

The Aircraft:

The principles that went into the aircraft's design are borrowed from our long-time enemies. It is propelled into the air by a pair of fast-moving wings that are able to unfurl and support its gliding on the air currents once a desired altitude is reached. The hull of the machine is two and a half Cheeses* long and about half a Cheese wide. Its wingspan reaches five Cheeses while fully spread, and we have managed to keep its weight - without considering the weight of the crew - under one Cheese, due to the careful selection of materials that went into its construction.

It is fueled by Energon dust that also doubles as an ammunition for the spell cannon installed on the craft's underside. The spells are cast into the cannon by a qualified member of the crew and are channeled through the barrel while a dedicated gunner aims the weapon. The aircraft also has a compartment that can fit half a Cheese's weight worth of cargo and can be emptied at command, though the increased load may negatively affect the vessel's maneuverability and fuel consumption.

The vessel is equipped with gliding cloaks in case of an emergency evacuation or if there is a need to drop an agent without making a landing.

The aircraft can pursue a variety of missions:
- scouting, be it the mapping of enemy forces or unknown areas, or merely a patrol duty.
- message or goods transportation, transmitted either in person or via a cargo hold.
- limited fire support, including igniting flammable substances, assassinations (though casting a spell that powerful would rapidly consume the fuel), and bombing runs.

* 1 Cheese (Cs) is a measure of both weight and space, depending on the topic. This measure used to differ from clan to clan as they all have different preferences, however, the Commonwealth have succeeded in establishing a universal system by using Mazzarilla cheese as a standard. 1 head of Mazzarilla cheese is roughly equivalent to 30 centimeters in diameter and 1.5 kilograms in weight. The standard was kept in the Commonwealth Bureau of Weights and Measures located in the Fort cellar, until its unfortunate destruction (or rather, consumption) during the Blackrock Siege. A replacement was supposed to arrive as a part of the fulfilled contract between the Lost and the Commonwealth.

The Crew:

The crew of the aircraft will be recruited from the best of the best, and will require filling these roles, at the absolute minimum: a Pilot, who also doubles as a Captain, an Air Mechanic, a Navigator, an Air Gunner and a Spell Caster.

The Committee believes that the role of the Pilot, as the one that is pivotal one to the survival of a unit as a whole, would be better served by members of the Ratguard, in recognition of their valor, ability and determination in the battles that forged the Commonwealth. They will be granted authority to speak on behalf of the whole crew, and will represent the Commonwealth to the parties that require their services. They will be provided with a Mouse-Human-Decryptor (or MHD for short) to facilitate the communication.

The role of an Air Mechanic is to maintain the engine and look after the aircraft. Given the highly complex nature of the machinery that went into its creation, not to mention the magical components, the Committee decided that the highly studious Grey Seers would make the best fit. They will also double as dedicated spellcasters to power the craft's weapons and their advanced knowledge of Dwarven language should come in handy in case of MHD loss. As someone with the best understanding of humanoid psychology due to the changes they have undergone, the Seers are well-positioned to aid the Captain in the negotiations between the parties.

The Grey Seers will receive mandatory training in 3 spells: Fry, Shock and Blow*. They will be responsible for guiding the crew to safety in case of the aircraft loss.

A dedicated Navigator is necessary for the craft and its crew to return back to the airbase. They need to have a keen eye for details, a good memory to note the landmarks that would help them trace the way back home, and a penchant for stargazing. Observers would be a natural choice. They can also be tasked with mapping duties during the recon missions.

Finally, there needs to be a spare crew member with no particular specialization to aid with cannon targeting and repairs, or to switch with the pilot in case of a long journey. Anyone possessing sufficient physical qualifications would be able to handle this task.

Thus, the standard crew will look as follows:

1 Ratguard to serve as a Pilot and a Captain,
1 Grey Seer to serve as an Air Mechanic, a Spell Caster and a Negotiator.
1 Observer to serve as a Navigator and a Spotter.
1 volunteer from warrior clans to serve as an Air Gunner and a Bombardier, or as a Relief Crew in times of need.

* Firebolt, Energy Bolt and Light Breeze in Bruig.

Terms of Service and Payment:

The unit will offer its services for 5 WPs a month, for a maximum period of 1 year, excluding the costs of maintaining and fueling the aircraft, which will be covered by the employing parties. The Committee agrees that the services should only be rendered to the parties that are approved by The Lost or the representatives of thereof. As of this date the jobs on offer are restricted to providing scouting information and fire support for the divisions of the Royal Army, but the list will be expanded if need be. Considering that the crew members will be spending the better half of their lives in mercenary service, they have a right to be rewarded accordingly. However, since the Initiative's common goal is the prosperity of the Commonwealth as a whole, the payment distribution should reflect that as well. Furthermore, the clans that offer their best and brightest should also be provided with a suitable compensation as a reminder of the importance and prestige that their participation in the Initiative entails.

Thusly, the annual earnings, 60 WPs in total, will be divided as follows:
20 WPs worth of coins will go to the crew, to be distributed equally among them, so that they may live the rest of their days in luxury. Should a crew member meet their untimely end while on duty, their share will go to their closest living relative - or to their clan, should there be none left, - unless the crew member in question made a prior arrangement.
20 WPs worth of coins will go to the Rodent Commonwealth. 10 WPs are to be distributed among the clans that supplied the personnel, while the remaining 10 WPs will go to the Commonwealth Treasury.
20 WPs worth of coins will go to The Lost, for providing the necessary technology and contacts to make the Initiative possible.

The aircraft is expected to be returned to Fort Blackrock upon the completion of the service. Should the aircraft be lost in action, its cost is to be recompensed by the employing party separately.

Since the coins will be kept in the fort treasury anyway, the Commonwealth and each clan participating in the Initiative will have to open an account with the Lost. Two accountants to keep track of the money flow, one from each side, will be appointed by the commandant of the Blackrock Fort and the Commonwealth representatives. Clan representatives will be able to make use of their deposits by making their requests known to their accountant, who will relay their needs to his humanoid counterpart, and thus to the Fort commandant. These requests are supposed to be granted within a reasonable timeframe, provided that they do not threaten the overall integrity and safety of the Fort.

The deeds of the heroes and their tales of lands beyond the Fort are to be recorded in history annals upon their return, courtesy of the Blind Brothers. May their bravery and dedication serve as an example to us all and be commemorated for the generations to come.

Signed,
mice-president of the Rodent Commonwealth Air Force Initiative Committee,
Benjy of the Soft Paws.
RCAF Insignia:
RCAF_Insignia_v2.png


TL: DR
- Make rat-sized ornithopters based on Melete's mechanical bird design that we've seen. Kinda like this, except crewed and magically powered:
2_204.jpg
- Reduce fuel consumption by making it able to glide.
- Equip it with basic offensive capabilities to fend off occasional birds and ignite things.
- Offer it to the detachments of the Royal Army as aerial scouts, and split the income. Those who don't have the luxury of air balloons (which is mostly everyone) would appreciate its capabilities as a spotter and a messenger, if nothing else. It is also nice that it can ignite satchel charges from a distance and dispose of a single target with a well-placed Firebolt shot. At 5 WPs per month the service seems to be well-priced considering the benefits they offer during the times of need.
- The ornithopter lacks the elegance, speed and maneuverability of real eagle scouts, but the mercenary unit as a whole has more versatility and is more capable of independent thought, which might lead to a higher success rate. The very existence of Commonwealth also offers the mercenaries a motivation that no bird has.
- If we can lease 10 units per year, that is 200 WPs of annual income right there. And I expect that the demand might be higher.
- The Rodent Commonwealth gets fully recognized as an independent civilization - as long as they respect the rights of the Lost and their charges in turn - and is offered a degree of autonomy to develop as they see fit, going as far as maintaining a bank account that they can draw from. The God-Emperor of Mousekind will happen! :obviously:

P.S.
Advanced prototypes for specialized use could be developed, too. For example, one can build a highly expensive heavy-hitter that utilizes illegal Energon Crystals as a power source (a bit on the heavy side, but they would produce enough power for the vessel to maintain flight), and uses two Elite Grey Seers instread of one. The two Elites are to be taught the Greater versions of spells. The spellmice would not be able to cast these by themselves, but it will be possible for them to create a one-time Greater Heat Bolt with the Crystal's power. Essentially, this is a fantasy version of a C&C Ion Cannon which can hit anywhere and melt anything (last time we used the bolt against TWM, it blew a several meters deep hole in a solid granite). Add a few tricks (like adaptive color scheme to make the plane unnoticeable in the sky) - and you get a perfect assassination tool. Death from the skies, indeed.

Naturally, the consequences of this weapon falling into the wrong hands are too numerous to list, which is why their use should be strictly limited to Pathfinders, and only with our explicit approval.
 
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Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
Hmmm if i may.

We are planing to make communication spells, so adding some kind of targeting system to plane might be good alternative layout (or mby some kind of spy-plane). There are mortars in setting limited to sight range probably. (range of 1950s real world equivalent is 4,500 meters to 5,650 meters) With Mel such range should be doable and taking into consideration how centralised formations are, ranged combat should be very effective. Finding out position of artillery you don't see is hard. Even harder without skirmishers, cavalry, or communication. Researching that and even basic camouflage to make it harder to find with spells will make our tactician giggly. Us to, taking into consideration first thing warning about our hidden asset are shells raining on enemy formations.

Edit. Oh and thank you for rats.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I am bored again. Let's continue the 'planning for the future' sessions.

How to kill Faceless:

Faceless has proven to be notoriously hard to kill or imprison, to the point where the most powerful being in the Universe has trouble reining him in. Yet his continued existence is a threat to us and our organization, since he made a promise to make us a part of his plans. It wouldn't be so bad if the people who were a part of his plans before ended up better than they did.

So, what could a pair of mages who are not yet 30 do to one of the oldest living beings in existence?

A whole lot, actually.

First things first, he is vastly superior to us in terms of ability and experience. That means that he is, rightfully, very dismissive of our capability to hurt him in any meaningful way, and he is not in the least afraid to show himself before us. That negates two of his biggest advantages - his paranoid preparedness for anything as well as his stealthy and secretive nature. We are not worth of being considered a threat, nor are we significant enough to hide away from, as opposed to his archmage colleagues like Alric, Deceiver or Mazzarin. He is much more likely to turn his back to us - as he did in the Dreaming - knowing that there is not a tool in our arsenal to harm him. We can never best him in physical combat, and whatever spells we may have pale in comparison to the simpliest of his cantript.

Yet such a tool exists. It's the god-killing spearhead, the very same tool he might have used to kill the Swimmer.

We can't deliver it to his heart ourselves, of course. It is a stupid delusion to think we would ever be able to best him in spear combat, and he would be much more aware around the beings that might. But what if it is delivered via a method he does not anticipate?

So, this is the outline of the plan:
- Wake up Melete. We'll need her for this.
- Have her work on an arquebus that would be able to shoot an... unusual projectile. Do not tell her at any point what is the actual purpose of the project, just the technical parameters.
- Have a leaden compartment inside the arquebus where the bullet will be kept. The lead should block any signals radiating from the spearhead, making the whole device appear mundane and making it impossible to tell what it is loaded with.
- Mask the arquebus as a magic staff with the trigger on a handle. Make is so that the weapon maintains itself and is capable of firing even after decades. It should not be too difficult - all we need is one shot.
- Make some kind of indicator that the weapon is primed and ready to fire. This is important.
- After Melete finishes the project and we test it (with something else than an artefact spearhead), erase all the traces in her memory of ever working on it. No one should know that such a weapon exists.
- Consult with Mazzarin about any modifications to the spearhead enchantments to make it a certain - and preferably, instantaneous - death.
- Have Thais - or other trusted mage which is a subject I would touch upon later - put a trigger inside our mind (Delayed Reaction I think this is called) that would make us fire at Faceless when his back is turned, when we are sure he is not an illusion, and when we are sure the weapon will fire. No willsaves or anything - pure reflex and full conviction that this is the way it is supposed to be. Put as many conditions and contingencies as you can to make it succeed - we will only have one shot at this, so we have to make it count.
- Erase any memory of Thais ever putting such a trigger inside our mind.
- Have a trusted mage erase any details in our mind that pertain to this plot. Now, no one but this one mage would even know that such a plot ever existed.
- Wait for the Faceless to contact us, which will inevitably happen.
- ???
- PROFIT! or DEAD END! or both - but them's the risks when you go against archmages. :salute:

A 'trusted mage' is someone who we can trust not to mess with our head beyond what is required by the plan, and it might be important that it would someone who can never be pried for information by the Faceless so the plot always remains hidden. For now, I can only think of two such mages - Emrys and Mazzarin himself, if we can get his word on this matter. As the triggering spell might be highly complex, I think Maz is the better bet, should we manage to convince him not to act on any other information that is inside our head. :lol: But we are his only hope of ever catching upo with his elusive adversary in a reasonable timeframe - he certainly couldn't succeed at it for centuries and there is no guarantee he would be able to now.

The plan would also require a certain mental conditioning - for example, for us to take care of the staff at all times (could be done if wee attach a certain sentimental value to it, maybe something related to Henry), or for us to conclude the meeting with Faceless alone and away from civilians or our other members. Or the reason to seek out Faceless in the first place. But it can be done during the 'put the trigger' phase. It is likely that Thais might need to undertake the same process so that her memory does not differ from ours.

The strong point of the plan is that there is absolutely no way to predict it coming. The personal firearms are a relatively new invention and are not widely known, so 10 thousands years of experience won't help Faceless there. And how do you anticipate an attack when even your would-be assassins don't expect it until it actually happens? Once the mind alterationis done, there is nothing magical left that would differentiate it from your normal, unaffected brain, so there will be no signs that anything is wrong. It will probably come as a bigger shock to us than to the actual victim. It does not take any preparation or time to pull a trigger as opposed to casting a spell, so there will be no warning either. And even though we have a certain connection with Mazzarin, Faceless would never suspect that the Great Mage could come up with such a scheme or impose it on his 'saviors' (largely because it's the truth), and it would never occur to him that insects like us might be the ones to plot against him.

In other words, it is a perfect crime.

I think if we are going to pack this adventure at any point, and write an epilogue, this is what I would like to try, even if it would be the last thing we'll do. Just to say 'fuck you' to the asshole who thought his age and power give him the right to control mortals. Well, not on our watch! :cool: This is a new age, get on with the times, geezers!

Nine's alright , though, since she has a mind of a five year old and is thus eternally young. :roll:
 
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Jester

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
1,493
Hmm not sure i wish to kill him. I am more concerned with light/dark stuf, but ...
We can use trigger condition to make ourselves believe in same lie as Thais skipping 3rd party involvement.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Hmm not sure i wish to kill him. I am more concerned with light/dark stuf, but ...
If he leaves us be, sure, I don't want to get killed either. But I doubt he would. I just want to have a method that would let us 'even' the playing field, if the need arises.

We can use trigger condition to make ourselves believe in same lie as Thais skipping 3rd party involvement.
Can't skip it, I'm afraid. Someone needs to erase our memory of the plot, or the Faceless would simply read it from our head. And to erase the memory of the plot you need to be aware of the plot, else you can't find that memory.
 

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