Over a Mug of Ale [For A Better Age]

I'm not sure why we'd need nobility. In the long term, we might need supply it with ordinators as it grows to help with the bureaucracy, but nobility are a terrible idea (unless they're a part of Anoke's descendants, whenever that comes into play).


Frankly, why would we want them anyway? Nobility are obsolete the moment the city is founded; they're basically just a group of powerful people who agreed with another powerful person to merge their resources. After that, they're disposable. Kill them off, consolidate the power, and things run far more smoothly.
 
So I believe the plan is going to go along, more or less, the following lines:


1. Invite nobles to a meeting (probably need to develop a pretence for the meeting. Not a major issue there).


2. Leave nobles in a room with dandelions, a forged copy of what you guys plan to do, and lock them inside the room.


3. Have summoned Jade Lion in a pretty dress assassinate the lot of them (Zenith the corpses to make sure vengeful undead are not an issue).


4. Deal with Jade Lion in a suitably dramatic fashion. Either having Maiden/Horizon banish it, Keikan fight it, etc.


5. Send Narrante disguised as a demon, and maybe an army to knock off all the nobles in a purge.


6. “Kill†the not-demon Narrante in a suitably dramatic way to encourage the people of your ability to protect them.


7. Announce the new reforms the nobles so graciously signed before their deaths. Assuming everyone will be too happy or dead about the reforms that no one questions them too deeply.


It would seem the group is favoring at the moment destroying the nobility as a social, economic, and political class. Neither trying to prop up more favorable nobles, nor creating their own.


And yes, any surviving nobles are likely going to be very prone to not liking the Circle. You will have reduced their traditional economic, social, and political power by magnitudes. In addition to massacring a good deal of the family. They would likely use their resources to pinprick at the Circle.


It would also be good to figure out how thorough you all want to be in killing the nobles off. Those in the immediate family are likely going to be on the target list. But I would like a confirmation if the nobles extended family are on the chopping block. Such as those serving as knights, tax collectors, priests, and other posts and offices. Also there are a significant number of mistresses and lovers around, and the inevitable bastard children of those affairs that you all may wish to address.


One significant category is age, considering I’m willing to bet that will be your guy’s biggest hang-up.


1. 0-10, young children who are likely going to be insufficiently developed to understand what is going on, and hold no power.


2. 11-15, older children, might be getting some children and may have a poor to decent understanding of the events going on around them.


3. 16-21, young adults, may hold some minor power and responsibilities. But are unlikely to be great holders of power, and are still impressionable.


4. 22+, adults, more likely to have greater power and responsibilities, and upholders of the system as it stands.


There might also be the issue of what do you do to nobles that try to submit to you or try to make deals. Given the rate bodies are going to be stacking, at least some might try and throw in the towel to save their lives if they think they can.


The main advantage of a nobility class is to allow for a more smooth transition of power (something societies had a great deal of trouble with for most of human history) given the question who inherits power simply goes through bloodlines. Making loyalties easy to follow and understand (relatively). Otherwise people tended to rebel at the drop of a hat, and even then still did.


But that’s not a major problem given most of your characters are going to live for thousands of years. Plus you can just dispense with the bloodline type of leadership, and select people of merit instead. You are having educational reforms for good reasons.
 
I just have to say how very impressed I am with how well this game is running, all the way from how well detailed the NPC's are to how the players are interacting with each other. I'm enjoying myself tremendously and wanted to let everyone know. Thanks for a fun game. :D
 
Sherwood said:
I just have to say how very impressed I am with how well this game is running, all the way from how well detailed the NPC's are to how the players are interacting with each other. I'm enjoying myself tremendously and wanted to let everyone know. Thanks for a fun game. :D
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Seconded.
 
Kill everyone in categories 3 and 4. Those are the ones most likely to cause trouble. Should probably purge category 2, too, but that would depend how everyone else feels about it. Mistresses shouldn't be an issue, but it might be worth it to kill all recognized bastards and offer inclusion to all unrecognized ones. Either way, the Circle's got excellent fodder for a unit of Janissaries.


Knights aren't needed, and probably hold the most loyalty to their patron family. Kill 'em. Priests ditto; they're currently acting as a buffer between the peasants and understanding of the divine, and the Circle's intending to put them out of a job (to any affected gods, they're well in a position to offer tribute and reparation, if not a superior and more direct prayer structure). Tax collectors are worth a trial run; raise their pay a bit more, and shuffle them to different 'territories' while keeping an eye out for embezzling and such. Every other post, provided it's not run by a direct or close relative, can probably be left untouched with a period of scrutiny once they've been reordered.


And they take no prisoners and no surrender. The entirely of the nobility needs to be wiped out, or they will become an issue for the Circle. Admittedly the Circle'll outlive them by several thousand years, but given the times they need to consolidate now and fast. Besides, actions have consequences; not sure how the others would feel, but Ann would not at all be happy about letting the people who've bled and extorted the people live just because they waved a white flag (though of course he'd acquiesce with enough opposition).


EDIT:

Axelgear said:
ordinators
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We're watching you... scum.
 
Eh...I'd say keep the priests. I think Keikan might be able to work them over, and we'd be doing ourselves very few favors with the local spirit courts if we killed them.


Especially since Keikan's also likely to be out and about wrangling with said spirit courts with Maiden and Horizon. If all the priests are dead, could either be a point of leverage with him...or a liability, especially if God A particularly likes Priest B. Probably best to work each over individually.
 
Sherwood said:
I just have to say how very impressed I am with how well this game is running, all the way from how well detailed the NPC's are to how the players are interacting with each other. I'm enjoying myself tremendously and wanted to let everyone know. Thanks for a fun game. :D
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Always good to hear that people are enjoying the game. I’m pretty pleased with how it is going, and am having plenty of fun running it.


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Priests are generally nobility assigned by whoever is in charge of the family to whichever posts they are. They have given the local spirits little to no say in who their priests are (something some of them are resentful of), and a lot of priests neglect their duties. Treating it as a cushy job rather than as an important task as the link between spirits and mortals.


Some do try and do their jobs, especially when they do need a particular spirits cooperation. But they are rarely loved by the spirits they address or the mortals they represent given are purposely put up as a wall between the local spirits and their mortal worshippers as yet another social control put in place. Some spirits do like their priests, but most would prefer to have a greater say in whom their priests are rather than having them imposed.
 
So, lots of lay investiture then. Still, would be best if we got the consent of the spirits involved beforehand.
 
Sarodinian said:
So, lots of lay investiture then. Still, would be best if we got the consent of the spirits involved beforehand.
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"Hey, god of this minor territory, we were thinking about murdering the entirety of your extortionate faux-clergy. Please keep this under wraps, and don't let it slip to the peasants or anyone else. Now I have twelve other small deities to talk to, bye! Oh, villagers, you didn't just see me come through here without any good reason to actually be here. Just be sure not to tell anyone!"


No. No it isn't best.


Edit: These are relatives of the nobility who have been given cushy jobs of metaphysical import. They are not going to be happy that their parents, cousins, uncles, aunts, etc. were all mercilessly murdered. Fuck what the gods may or may not want, gods are easy to appease and put in their place. Revenge-happy clergymen aren't.


Edit Edit: And what if a god says "no, I'm perfectly happy with this corrupt structure that ensures I get all the prayers I need?" Do you go "okay" and not do a damn thing?
 
Putting aside that we could just use prayers to the deity in question from a private location and receive an answer directly, it's still a silly idea. If the gods aren't loyal to whatever we try to do, they're already likely actively working against us and don't need to be considered. If they are, why should we worry? These guys are fake priests, after all.
 
Eh, Keikan's got three pet projects he's probably gonna want to do afterwards during this downtime. First would be to establish a police force, thinking the Knights Templar of the Fifth Arm has a catchy ring to it, to "safeguard and protect the citizens spiritual and temporal well being". Second would probably be the establishment of a law code in accordance with his Unhesitating Dedication Motivation, (note to self: include provisions on divine rights and responsibilities). Third would be enforcing said law code on the local spirit courts and reorganizing them with Maiden. Unsure how simply outright slaying the clergy would affect this, but hey, I wing most of my stuff anyway. Dead priests or no, will see what happens then I guess.
 
Plenty of murdering being planned, then?


You may want to get the nobles to really piss Bjarn off before actually telling him about the murdery plan. Currently, he's sworn to defend Icehold and its people, and he's likely to take the less nuanced interpretation, rather than the more utilitarian view. It might therefore make sense for one of our more manipulative circlemates to get some nobles to insult him, his family, his people and his whole way of life, at which point he could be persuaded to disown them and decide they don't count as People Of Icehold.
 
I’m not positive how persuasive this would be for Bjarn, but the Circle could point out just how crappily the nobles treat the vast majority of his new people to cause him to reject the nobility. Just the differences in quality of life between the Valhal/Skandir (and given he has been around as a mercenary, probably the people of notable locals such as Whitewall and the Hastlani League in addition to dozens of other cities/nations) and the people of Icehold should give him an idea of how negligent and hostile the nobility are to their subjects. I would think that the nobles being deliberate despotic jerks would have some weight with Bjarn.


He could also be informed of the consequences of not acting. Namely how the nobles will be a major and continual problem at best, and the catalysis for a significant civil war at worst. The more resources wasted on the nobles means fewer resources helping his people later. I also figure he wants to create a nation worth absorbing his people into.


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It might not be a bad idea for everyone to state what they would like to do with their downtime here. I figure it will come up (or has already come up) in the meeting. But it would be good if I had an idea what you guys wanted to do so I could come up with some interesting things to happen in the game.
 
The nobility is greedy and set in its ways, and will refuse any change to their deaths--or the deaths of their rivals. Assassination has been used before. On the duke's own family.


You know an enemy is going to attack you, and you know if you let them prepare and act first you will suffer losses and difficulty. In such situations, the most sensible and prudent action is a pre-emptive strike, to defend your people and yourself. You know it is going to come to blows, and someone needs to strike first; if it will protect your charges, why shouldn't it be you?


Would putting it in those sorts of terms make it more palatable to him?


Will maek poast soon, been having to babysit my infant niece the past few days. She's sweet, but like all babies she's high-maintenance.
 
Yeah, those seem like pretty persuasive arguments. Essentially, getting him to see the nobles as Foe should work.


Downtime: training the troops, mainly, I think.


Oh, and drinking.
 
I just gotta ask, but what background points does being the General's adopted son come with?
 
Just waiting on a post Table described to me before advancing the plot.


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Here are the backgrounds available to everyone. First the general ones everyone is going to have, and then the character specific ones. There is a good chance you guys are going to be picking up some additional Backgrounds here soon as you consolidate and grow your power.


General


Cult oo


Influence (Icehold & Valhal) oo


Resources oo


Bjarn


Backing (Icehold Military) ooooo


Manse (Icehold Manse Hearthstone) oooo


Jorik


Backing (Icehold Bureacrazy) oo


Asyk


Backing (Rivers Estate) ooo


Resources ooo
 
As promised, here are some notable persons from the latest series of battles for Morkais/Bjarn. Likely this list of people could have been given to Bjarn by Walks, Rivers, and Volund sometime during the celebrations. Had trouble fitting this into the threads thus far, but Bjarn can comment on this list for the second half of the meeting.


Perk Fletcher- Capably assisted Asyk with the archers that were devastating to the Varajtul. Greatly assisted Asyk with his duties, training the archers, keeping discipline, and helped the Icehold archers to direct their fire in the best manner. Young, bright, and energetic.


Edgar Wyldfog- Valhal warrior and chieftain who helped lead one of the flanks for the raid against the Varajtul. Has proven a very capable leader of men. Did a good job of helping keep the inexperienced units of the raider fleet together, landing them in an orderly manner, and then keeping the raider forces together as they withdrew from the battlefield. He also lead the Valhal counter attack through the opening in the wall created by Keikan, a tricky and complex maneuver that was performed perfectly, and utterly caught the Varajtul on their heels. An exceptional leader of men.


Terra Oldwall- A god-blooded daughter of Oldwall. Helped direct Icehold siege artillery during the battle. Her unit took out two of the Wyld moles, seconded only by the three Wyld moles Jorik killed himself. Then proceeded to lead a counter attack on the nearby Varajtul who attempted to scale the wall. Killing an ancestor ghost leading the unit, and destroying the morale and backbone of the attack in her area.


Graven- Capable officer of a fang during the battle. Kept tight order of his Militia unit, fought off the Varajtul who attacked the central gate, and assisted with the counter attack outside the wall. Maintained the formation of his unit, and discipline.


Lunis Vendel- Led a unit of Icehold knights during the larger battle. When one of the Icehold Militia officers lost his nerve as the Varajtul approached his position (in higher numbers than normal due to his sloppy use of his archers), and he ordered his unit to withdraw from the wall, and to the palace. Lunis immediately stepped in, relieved the cowardly officer, took charge of the unit, re-established order before the Varajtul reached the wall, and managed to beat back the Varajtul attack. Thus preventing the possibility of a rollup of the Icehold line.


Gest- A Palace Guard who defended Duke Walks children during the attack on the palace. After the three other guards on station were killed, he slew a half dozen of the attackers, and held off nearly a dozen more before reinforcements arrived.


Kari Farwood- Valhal scout and hunter. Throughout the siege she regularly scouted out the Varajtul positions. Giving numbers, formations, and identifying Varajtul leaders. She was the first to notice the Varajtul preparing for their attack on the city after the Yozis cultists attack on the city, and report this information to the defenders of Icehold.
 
Hey, Archie!


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Is the 43 points of xp at the end of chapter 2 new, or just a repost of what was already given? I don't want to spend points I don't have.
 
Sherwood said:
Is the 43 points of xp at the end of chapter 2 new, or just a repost of what was already given? I don't want to spend points I don't have.
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I handed that experiance out right before the Battle of Icehold. So they should already be calculated. I've just been editing that post every time I hand out experiance, and just added the bonus Background dots everyone got today.


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And thanks for the compliaments Axelgear.


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I've also been updating the Dramatis Personas thread. Thus far I've updated Volund Bearskin, Sharp Snowflake, Ofran Redelk, Duke Walks Vendel, Cen Contractor, Warlord Krakvar, Wyld Mother, General Count Kodran Rivers, Winters Fang, Sophia Vendel, Marquis Thrain Centurion. Some updates are minor, while others are significant, and we have some entirely new ones.


I've also added a map for the area we are working in. It is on the bottom of my first post of that thread. I''ve basically edited a map I found online a bit to reflect a few things like where Icehold is.
 
I'm looking for some Charms, but I'm not seeing what I want, and perhaps the group can offer advice. In the Dragon King 1Edd books, there were Solar Charms that could be used to accelerate the Essence Awakening process in the young DK's, but I don't see any listed in 2Edd, and there are no specific Path abilities that can be used to Awaken the Essence.


If our revered storyteller tells me that I need it, I will happily use a Path slot or two dedicated to the duty of Awakening the sleeping masses of my kind, but I ask for assistance in writing up a fair and balanced set of Paths to add to the list of Paths of Prehuman Mastery to smack the kids in line and accellerate their learning up to Essence 2 and 3. Any thoughts on how to set this up? I don't have much practice in writing up new Charms for submission.


Our future army of magical magical lizards thank you for your support.


Edit: I want to stay away from the Dark Paths for this character. Asyk focuses on the light side of the force to do good.
 
Hmm, good questions…


From quickly going through the chapters on the Dragon Kings, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything on the awakening of the Dragon Kings rules wise. From the fluff the awakening of Dragon Kings is a decade long process. Otherwise it takes a couple of decades for them to awaken on their own (and sloppily at that). Which really isn’t going to be convenient for what we are going for right now.


I think I would be willing to consider a couple Paths to help Asyk with the awakening of his kind. I’ll admit also that I am completely new in the charm making department also. I will need to review the Dragon King Paths to see where such a thing would fit, and to try to figure out the mechanics of such a charm. If anyone else could help with this that would be great.


Do you remember where that Solar charm to Awaken Dragon Kings was Sherwood? Perhaps it might give an idea what we could do for the charm or two we would need for Asyk.
 
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