The Fate of a Warmongering Lookshyan (long)

Skeptic Tank

Skeptic Tank

New Member
So, an unexpected event happened in my last game, and I'm wondering precisely what to do with it.


First, the short version:


Lookshyan kazei insults a superior officer, who happens to be Karal Linwei. He admits that he has been actively sabotaging peace in the hundred kingdoms around the kingdom that his dragon of troops were sent to protect, and has been undermining the stability of the government there. Linwei attacks him in a fit of rage, and after the dust settles, he has also tried to rally his troops to fight against her with him, but he cannot out-perform the other dragonblooded with Linwei, and they side against him. He then gives in, and agrees to be taken to trial.


Now, the long version (skip if impatient):


The PC in question is a solar who has kept his exaltation a secret - for more than a year, he has been demonstrating his prowess without letting it be known he is anything more than a remarkably heroic mortal.


Now, he is an amazing combatant and brilliant military strategist. Growing up in Lookshy, one would think he would have it made. However, he is something of an idiot-savant - while he can fight, he cannot ride. While he is a brilliant tactician, he cannot read. And while he can lead troops, he is nearly the most infuriatingly arrogant human being that anyone has ever met.


Those who knew him and had control over his destiny decided to promote him to Kazei - the only mortal ever to be given the title! - but to station him in Nassaru Redoubt, considered a dead-end post since the Realm began dismantling its troops in Greyfalls.


Our 'hero' (term used loosely) has a dragon of troops under his command, and has been rented out to one of the hundred kingdoms on a peacekeeping mission. During this time, he has done quite a bit to actually try to -start- war, by selling/giving arms to neighbouring threatening nations, and sowing unrest in the city-state he defends. Eventually, there were enough complaints about his behaviour that Taimyo Karal Linwei came to investigate (she was in the area anyway, or she likely would have left the task to someone else).


Not that the player was ever really saying 'let the good times roll', but it's safe to say this is where the trouble started.


After refusing to defer authority to her, refusing to pay her respect as a superior officer, insulting her ability to judge and command, and admitting (under duress, but angry duress) that he had actively stoked the fires of war on a peacekeeping mission, Linwei lost her calm.


A few moments later, swords had been drawn, and bolts of flame had been thrown.


A few more moments later, our warmonger was making a performance roll to rally his men to his side. The dragonblooded with Linwei made a better one. After taking damage, succeeding on many unwanted valour checks, and loosing the faith of his army, he finally managed to give in (with one point of limit left until foolhardy contempt), and allow himself to be taken and tried.


</long version>


So, I am left in a situation where I'm really not sure what happens from here. I know that Lookshy allows an accused in the military to choose either a civilian trial or a military tribunal, but what is the difference between them? I know that the Warmonger's actions were actively breaking the contract that was signed with the purchasing nation, as well as breaking the faith and ideals of Lookshy, but how easily proved are they? And most importantly - What will happen with the charges of insubordination, if 'words are as so much air' in Lookshy, and the first aggressive actions were taken by an enraged superior?


He is currently being taken back to Nassaru Redoubt, and it will be decided from there what happens? What do you guys think? Is the trial fair, does he hang automatically? And would the fact that Linwei's 1st Age powered armour detected his use of essence change the situation?
 
Frankly, I'm thinking the proper result of such a trial is likely to be his execution. Lookshy does not do exile, and he's proven to be incapable of showing respect for military authority, while activelly working against the goals of his mission. That's treason.


Linwei may get a reprimand for losing her temper, but it's doubtful she'll get more. She was in the right by the sound of it, and when an inferrior officer under investigation acts like your Solar did...while she should have simply had him arrested instead of immediatelly pulling steel, it sounds like he deserved it.


A lost temper is not nearly so bad in the eyes of Lookshy as treason.


Edit:


On a side note, why did someone incapable of reading get placed in such a rank in the first place? A society that maintaigns their place through superior technology and valor isn't likely to promote someone to a high ranking officer when he can't even read. Likely that sort of rank you'd not only need to read but need to know Helicode, Technical Manual (a.k.a. Old Realm), and possibly one or two other languages...along with a variety of other skills it sounds like your character lacks. At the very minimum such a character should meet the starting requirements for a Lookshyan Dragonblood ability wise...and that's what the lowbie DB officers are supposed to have...promoting an apparent mortal over such would require him to be above them in overall skill, not just in the War ability.
 
On a side note' date=' why did someone incapable of reading get placed in such a rank in the first place? ...promoting an apparent mortal over such would require him to be above them in overall skill, not just in the War ability.[/quote']
He manages to justify this in-game as 'he's so amazing, and pulls it off with such panache, that it makes him that much more incredible'. Has his retainers read documents out loud, as he is too busy to read them himself.


In game, I am treating him, in the eyes of Lookshy, as an idiot-savant of sorts.


Out of game - that'll teach me not to check his character sheets before we start the game.
Click to expand...
 
One prob you mitr have if he has time and XP to buy charms is to by social and bureacry charms and win the case through magic.
 
He will most likely lose the case either way.  If a military trial he will at least be demoted and stripped of command.  It may be possable that this plays into someones political goals, so he may be shielded from execution as a pawn to be used latter.  A civilian trial will be messy, but it depends on how much it impacts Lookshy.  He may convince the masses that he was operating their best intrests, but I doubt he has the social to pull it off.  He needs a good lawyer.


Depending on who promoted him, he may get off to protect them.  (I escaped some minor trouble because it would have required that the superior over me also be punished and he had a promising career, so I was let off easy to keep his record clean.) :P  His problems will call into question the officers over him, and they may cover it up as temporary insanity and hide him far away with no rank or men.
 
Really, the only viable option I can see is for him to bust out the Solar powers a the most opportune moment and have it away as fast as he can before they know what's hit them.
 
I must say...someone like this guy wouldn't have made it through US basic training, I suspect....let alone Lookshyan. Reading generally is a prerequisite to graduation...if you can't read the manuals on your equipment, you're in trouble.


*sighs* As to the issue at hand...he's pretty much guaranteed to lose his position and command by getting kicked out of the military...and that's being generous. Why someone elected to put a mortal in charge of things...it's hard to believe that Lookshy would do something like that. Perhaps someone already found out he was a Solar and was using this as a test to see whether or not he could be trusted. Now...odds are, especially if this woman picked up on his essence use...he's going to be seriously investigated even if nobody actually knew he was a Solar. As a Solar...he may have to bust out the Solar kick assedry and run like a bitch...though this will get him a good bit of 'wanted: dead' posters being hung by Lookshy. Odds are they are going to find out he's an Exalt of some sort at this point. If they don't...there is something seriously wrong.


Granted, they may not be able to easily figure out what sort of Exalt he is...but things as they are, he's not going to be able to keep his secret of being a Solar much longer...and what that gets out...he's either going to get killed, or he's going to have to do some serious convincing that it was a misunderstanding of sorts and that he'll not do something like that again. Even then...their accepting him is unlikely...he's proven himself to be untrostworthy and dangerous...and once the fact that he's a Solar gets out...he's likely going to be too much of a threat to let live, most likely.
 
A general rule in my games:


Stupidity IS painful.


And this player and his PC seem to keep hitting that brick wall.


Maybe it should hit back.
 
So, assume he's found guilty and sentenced to death. What does that do your story? Where do you want to to go? Seems like you have a few choices:

  • Play the entire execution scene and give the guy a chance to use "Solar powers a the most opportune moment and have it away as fast as he can before they know what's hit them", like Jukashi suggested. If he doesn't, oh well, next character.
  • Someone helps him escape. Who, why and what they expect in return is the rest of your story. Some possibilities:In all likelihood, since it sounds like he's never been outside Fate, the Gold Faction know he's there, and have been waiting. The flipside is that the Wyld Hunt probably knows he's there, too, but couldn't just go bombing into Lookshy. They won't have that restriction when the PC leaves Lookshy's borders.
  • If the Wyld hunt does know he's been there since he exalted, there is a good chance this information was found by spies, like agents to Deathlords, for example.
  • The guild would have any number of reasons to want a solar on their payroll.
  • Some spirit or another has been watching and decides the solar would be a useful tool in some Machiavellian scheme of celestial court intrigue.
[*]If the Wyld hunt does know he's been there since he exalted, it's possible that some sort of back channel deal exists between shady terrestrials in the Realm (or, hell, the sidereals themselves) and secret, also shady, contacts within Lookshy. Maybe some in Lookshy were told as part of a political deal or family alliance? Or, maybe they discovered it by other means. In any case, it's entirely possible that some in Lookshy have known he was a solar the whole time and this "explains" his mysterious promotion. Is the PC's current predicament all part of the plan, or something gone horribly wrong?


[*]The execution is interrupted at the last second by an attack by the people the PC was trying to incite. Or, Ot erupts in the middle of the courtroom or something.


To me, the real question is: do you want to continue the Lookshy story, or evolve the story into something else?


By the way, if it were me, as part of the trial, I would have part of it involve a test where they will let him go if he can read poetry really well while on horseback.
 
It's an attempt to transcribe Bugs Bunny's accent.


"Oi knew oi shouldna taken dat left turn at Albekoikey!" = "I knew I should not have taken that left turn at Alberquerquy."


If that is how you spell the name properly. I'm not sure. The joke, you see, is based off the recurring joke of Bugs Bunny using tunneling as a mode of transport, appearing where he did not intend to go and saying the aforementioned quote.


Thus, you see, I am making a humorous comparison between the appearance Ot rising from the ground with the appearance of Bugs Bunny rising from same.
 
Jukashi said:
It's an attempt to transcribe Bugs Bunny's accent.
"Oi knew oi shouldna taken dat left turn at Albekoikey!" = "I knew I should not have taken that left turn at Alberquerquy."


If that is how you spell the name properly. I'm not sure. The joke, you see, is based off the recurring joke of Bugs Bunny using tunneling as a mode of transport, appearing where he did not intend to go and saying the aforementioned quote.


Thus, you see, I am making a humorous comparison between the appearance Ot rising from the ground with the appearance of Bugs Bunny rising from same.
Click to expand...
And thus, sucking any and all humor from said joke. Congrats gentlemen, you're killing children's dreams one step at a time.
 
WOOT!


All will despair under the rule of the ECR!


And we will make Old Realm the official language of Earth.
 
Jukashi said:
It's an attempt to transcribe Bugs Bunny's accent.
"Oi knew oi shouldna taken dat left turn at Albekoikey!" = "I knew I should not have taken that left turn at Alberquerquy."


If that is how you spell the name properly. I'm not sure. The joke, you see, is based off the recurring joke of Bugs Bunny using tunneling as a mode of transport, appearing where he did not intend to go and saying the aforementioned quote.


Thus, you see, I am making a humorous comparison between the appearance Ot rising from the ground with the appearance of Bugs Bunny rising from same.
Click to expand...
AH it wasn't English so I couldn't see it, not your fault though after you explained it I was able to read it.  I have trouble with broken english writen out as well.
 
He does actually have to decipher other peoples' typing sometimes.  As for this instance, I have no clue.


Eet vus Englitch tuu mein desiferink.
 
Sho meybe eef wii tawk lyk thees awl the tiem hee wownt bhee aybel to unnerstand ush end hee whill gho the fuhk aweigh?
 
Ah lyk yer ahdeeah, Phlaag, buut dew yew akshoeawlee theenk thys whill drahv heem aweigh? Ah meen, cood wii git sew luhkee??
 
@ leest wii ken tawk abowt heem buhined hez bahk thishway.
 
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