The guard force you had created to act as muscle in Penskar have finished trickling back into their home villages. According to the agents running them they were suitably embarrassed about their defeat. Their numbers have since been bolstered back to just over a hundred, though the new recruits are even less effective than the original ones, given the time constraints. Still, they will be sufficient.

You call a brief meeting with your 'allies', to order them to prepare. A quick flight down to the familiar copse outside the town and casting of clairvoyance and an image later and you are ready. This time, the image is clearly an illusion, you don't want to risk being fond out by someone attempting physical contact any sooner than necessary. This time only one emerges; you recognise him as Nothon, the closest thing to a leader that your supporting merchants have.

"You said you wished to meet. If you are going to talk through spectres, why not do so in the city." He sounds a little annoyed at being dragged out. Probably worried word might get back to one of the pirates.

"The spell I am using is secure, but can be intercepted and I cannot leave my lab at this time."

"The thugs you're having so much trouble with have no wizards worth mentioning." That might have been a tone of defiance in his voice, but you can't be sure.

"No, but it is wise to remain in the habit of caution." Best to just ignore his irritation, there's not much you can do about it anyway. "Regardless, In four days a small army will arrive at the gate. They alone will not be able to take the city, but I have made certain preparations to ensure the raiders will be suitably intimidated before they enter. They may require the assistance of your men in seizing some strongholds."

This gets his interest. "What sort of arrangements?"

"A fake dragon attack, and a warning that the next will be real. If they remain unwilling to cooperate after that? Then they and their neighbours will find out why I was reluctant to lay waste to them with my own power from the outset."

He grimaces as you mention attacking openly. "How much damage are your spells likely to cause?"

"A considerable amount. Adjacent building will be destroyed and much of the street they are on will likely burn. That is why I am so reluctant to attack," you reply.

He looks shocked at the relatively massive destruction you anticipate. "Can't you limit your spells? Keep them confined to the strongholds?"

"Not without potentially missing a few. I have no intention of risking my life to spare a few of their neighbours."

He pauses briefly, then nods. "Is support in opposing their men all you ask?"

You think for a second. It's harder to actually consider your options, as you have to focus on maintaining the illusion as well. "Only one thing. Try and prevent the panic from causing too much damage."

He nods. "That shouldn't be too much trouble, though if the raiders start something, we won't be able to hold them."

You shrug. "You won't need to hold them for long. Let them escape on their ships if they wish to."

"Very well," says Nothon.

With little more to discuss, you depart. Flying overhead, the town itself shows some signs of light fighting. Buildings next to two strongholds have been burned out, though the strongholds themselves remain. Several armed men stand outside each building and there is what looks like dried blood in the streets nearby. You won't have much time left before they start getting serious, hopefully it will be enough.

Your small army arrives four days later, having marched through the night. Despite your best attempts to ensure they have a spare day near the town for last minute preparations, they barely arrived on time. You wouldn't have thought that humans would have so much difficulty telling how long it will take them to get somewhere when they already know how long the journey is. The main problem was Avrus insisting that they had supplies to last a few days in case they couldn't get into the city. Still, they made it, if barely, so the plan goes on.

The presence of an large force outside the city gates has reduced the level of violence. The raiders received word from local farmers that an army was on the way two days ago, and have been saving their strength.

Despite the lack of rest, moral is surprisingly high. They have been told that the wizard in charge of things will be making a personal appearance and don't expect to actually do much fighting. Hopefully they won't have to, as they poorly trained and poorly equipped. The presence of the mysterious 'veiled apprentices' (your elven wizards, flown down this morning) has also helped boost moral, and might actually be useful. They have been equipped with a few offensive scrolls, courtesy of Garran. The stronghold surrounded by burned out buildings is already marked for a fireball, since the fire is unlikely to spread.

The army is arrayed, your wizards are ready, now all that remains is to make it clear how serious you are.

You fly over the town invisibly, casting major image as you prepare for the first run. The ability of the spell to project heat as well as light should add to the panic. The heat won't be enough to actually burn flesh, but you've learned the human mind is good at filling in such blanks when it's in a panic.

You drop your invisibility over the town, lazily gliding in a loose circle so the inhabitants all get a good look at you. As you approach the first stronghold, you force the illusion spell to take shape. The men outside have only just seen you and from their expressions are a split second away from running, but are hoping they just won't be noticed. Your illusion takes form and a near perfect imitation of white-hot fire emerges from your mouth. The roaring flames engulf the street and the now fleeing men, though do no damage. Some of the running thugs don't seem to notice, a few dive and roll as if they were on fire for a few moments.

You continue on to the next stronghold. There is serious panic in the streets now. Numerous people are trying to force their way into buildings, desperate for some kind of cover. Many more are screaming out names of loved ones, racing through the streets trying to find them in the near stampede. You force the illusion magic into shape once again. The inhabitants of this stronghold have by now taken cover, but there are enough open windows you have line of sight through to extend the spell into a few rooms. The fake flames engulf the building. Those inside should be being treated to the sight of jets of flame racing in through the windows. A figure comes crashing through one of the shutters opposite an open window, confirming this.

While you terrorise the raiders, the merchants live up to their end of the bargain. The gates are left open and their troops are sent to try and restore order on the streets.

After visiting each of the troublesome groups in turn, you reapply your invisibility. With some careful timing and a lot of practice where no-one was looking, you are able to force illusory flames to cover you, making it appear as if you had transformed into a ball fire. The flames float over the town for several seconds before coming together, taking the shape of a giant disembodied head.

The head of fire solidifies into a human head - the same human appearance you had used to meet with the merchants earlier. It's eyes snap open and the the spell booms out 'your' voice as loudly as it can manage.

"THOSE WHO DEFY THE RED DRAGON SHALL BURN. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR TO CHOOSE YOUR FATE, OR I WILL CHOOSE IT FOR YOU."

With that, the illusion collapses. You begin recasting the next scroll of major image to provide the appearance of your mage persona actually being present.

By now most of your troops are inside the city. The panic has turned into a full blown riot, with people attempting to grab whatever they think might be useful from stalls or houses. Some just seem to be caught up in the violence and are gleefully smashing things. The merchant's troops have kept the violence contained so far, but the sight of unfamiliar soldiers entering the city isn't helping.

Your forces head straight for the strongholds. There are only four elven wizards to accompany your troops and six strongholds, so they will be taking or destroying them one by one with your illusory wizard leading them.

The first is cleared easily. The surrounding buildings have already been burned, so there are no problems with throwing a few fireballs at it. The building is soon ablaze and those who try to flee are filled with arrows. In ten minutes the building is too far gone for anyone to be left alive inside.

The second are offered the chance to surrender. After several minutes of silence they throw out what is quickly recognised as the former leader's head and ask for terms. Your illusory proxy drifts down to speak with them. All eyes turn to you as you arrive on the scene. The man peering through the barricaded doorway of the stronghold appears grim, but determined.

"I understand you have seen reason," you say in as friendly a tone as you can manage.

"We've no interest in dying 'cos he," he motions to the head sitting nearby, "couldn't see reason. We don't mind a new boss, but we want your word there won't be reprisals or nothing first."

You nod at this. "Very well, you have it. If you work for me, you shall be duly rewarded. I assume I don't need to warn you about betrayal?"

"'Course not." From the tone of his voice he finds such threats a formality.

"Good. First things first, you can prevent the riot from causing any further damage. It don't want my new town to burn down before I've finished taking it."

He agrees to this and several men start dismantling the barricade. You proceed onto the next stronghold. While you had been talking, one group had fled the town and are currently in their ship, making their way out of the harbour. You let them go. They can be dealt with later. The fourth group quickly agrees to the same deal as the second.

When you arrive at the fifth building you are met with a hail of arrows. They pass through your proxy harmlessly and most of your men manage to take cover behind their shields, though there are a few casualties.

"Go fuck yourself wizard! You won't take us alive!" They seem willing to fight to the death, though why they are so eager to do so is unclear.

"Oh, what makes you think I intend to take you at all? My only interest in in the town and in the wealth it represents."

"Ha! We know about your deal with Nothon and what you've been doing on the mainland! We won't be another one of your little sacrifices!"

"Sacrifices? What are you drivelling about?"

"Don't play dumb! We know you struck a deal with Nothon to let him control the town while everyone who opposed him gets fed to your demon allies!" Its seems someone has been telling them lies - most likely their boss.

How do you wish to respond?

>>22920779

"Have you seen any demons around? I am not foolish enough to deal in daemonology. They are too unreliable. I abhor unreliability. Your commander is using your fear to command your loyalty. I bet he's already packed up his valuables and is covertly halfway to docks."

good to see you back

>>22920916
This is good.

>>22920779
laugh first, then do as
>>22920916
suggusted

>>22920779
Ask them "Is your boss still here? or has he left you"

>>22920916
Seconded.

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You scoff. "Have you seen any demons around? I am not foolish enough to deal in daemonology. They are too unreliable. I abhor unreliability. Your commander is using your fear to command your loyalty. I bet he's already packed up his valuables and is covertly halfway to the docks."

Another voice calls out from a nearby window. "You think we'll fall for that? Of Course you don't leave your demons running about, you'd have an army of clerics up against you in no time. And the boss is still here with the rest of us. You've got the place practically surrounded so he'd be a fool to try and leave."

"Yeah!" the first man shouts. "Besides, the docks are halfway across the town. No-one will make it there with their valuables with the streets like this!" He's right about that. The riot is being herded away from the more prosperous areas, but it's still going full force.

How do you respond?

>>22920779
"Believe what you will. You are all expendable"

>>22921055
"A shame, have you wondered why they call me the red dragon? let me show you,"

reveal ourselves and burn them alive

>>22921055
What are our puppe- allies making of all this? We might have to incinerate these fools just to make it clear that the demons aren't going to get them.

>>22921102

Your newly trained troops are nearby, taking cover to avoid arrows. The elven wizards are with them. The troops working for the merchants are in another part of the town trying to end the riot.

>>22921055

"You seem willing to follow your captain to the death. Are you certain that he is deserving of such loyalty? The other captain is already on his way off the isle, along with his crew.

Now, I do not wish to destroy the fortress you are in, so I will make you one more offer of safe passage. Take it, or you will follow your captain to the afterlife."

If they refuse, burn them - I'm assuming we still have some invisibility capability.

>>22921176
Seems reasonable.

>>22921155
lets just burn them

Ideas for consideration:
Elves, there has been some discussion of exactly where to take our cult. In the short term I want to modify it as necessary to get most of the elves into at least the outer fringes of the cult. However over time I want to increase the fanaticism. I envision them eventually becoming something of a royal/elite guard for us, as their long lives and low birthrate make them work best as an elite force rather than just a negligible increase in our population. But first we have to increase their devotion to us. To do that, I suggest using magic to remove their scars and wounds. (Note establishing a group of fanatics to guard us does not preclude forming a saner cult among the humans.
Army: Our army kinda sucks, and we should do something about that. I recommend recruiting someone, or several someones, to train our currently slipshod force into an army whose competence and loyalty we can trust. I think we need an experienced and jaded commander to whip them into shape. Also, I want to recruit a young and inexperienced blackguard/Paladin of Tyranny as a potential elite minion who we can mold eventual replacement for our hired merc, or just a leader of our own elite guard. To accomplish this I recommend locating the nearest Evil Empire (tm) and finding a sufficiently talented and impressionable recruit, and offering an alternative career opportunity.

>>22921258
>I envision them eventually becoming something of a royal/elite guard/harem for us

Fixed.

>>22921176
seconded

>>22921055
"Then it seems I overestimated his intelligence"
Burn them

"The thing with demons is that there is plenty of them waiting for pirates and cutthroats in the afterlife. You only have your captain's word that I'm using any, but you can be quite certain that you will meet a lot of them if you die now."

>>22921258

Do we even need a large organized army on the island? I'd think we should rather focus on a navy. Or perhaps an air force of airships to secure the trade routes from above.

>>22921421
Very clever.
>>22921237
>>22921097
Nope.

>>22921443
A navy is important yeah, but a competent army is also very important because:
1. Internal security, keeps potential internal rivals/uppity peasants down and us in power.
2. When our true nature becomes inevitably known, a well trained and loyal army tends to reduce the number of murderhobos we have to deal with.
3. We're eventually going to be invading stuff, well trained army will be useful then, though we will definitely need a navy too by then.

>>22921273
Well that goes without saying, at least for a few of them.

"I'd explain why your commander is just blowing smoke, but I get the feeling I'd be wasting my breath. Besides, if I stopped to negotiate with every hotshot on this island, this business would dragon all day"

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"You seem willing to follow your captain to the death. Are you certain that he is deserving of such loyalty? The other captain is already on his way off the isle, along with his crew. Now, I do not wish to destroy the fortress you are in, so I will make you one more offer of safe passage. Take it, or you will follow your captain to the afterlife." You make sure the image projects the sound loudly enough that everyone in the stronghold will have heard it.

The first man shouts out again. "How do we know you'll honour your work?"

"You don't. But you can face certain death here, or have a chance at freedom if you head for the port."

Several minutes of silence follow. You can see figures moving back and forth, presumably arguing about how much they can trust you.

They finally reach a conclusion and a face reappears at the small gap in the door.

"Alright, we'll leave. If you do try to screw us over, we'll make sure you regret it even if it's the last thing we do."

The door opens and men begin pouring out, taking cover behind shields and keeping their spears at the ready. You own troops back off, giving them room to head for the port. Within minutes they are gone.

While this was occurring, the occupants of the fifth and sixth strongholds have also fled. The final fort has the head of it's former owner impaled in a spike outside the door, a peace offering from the other pirates, you can only assume. Several ships full of pirates are now slowly making their way out of the harbour, but they can be dealt with later if you feel like tying loose ends.

Within the hour order has been restored, though it took several dozen beatings before the crowds broke. There has been significant damage to the town and more than a hundred are dead, not including the pirates that burned in the first fort. You have your troops form patrols and enforce the newly broken peace.

Nothos appears from the crowd, stepping out from his sizeable escort. You drift down to speak to him.

"I suppose this counts as a success." He hides it well but you can tell he is quite irritated - presumably at the violence that has ravaged much of the city.

"The outcome is acceptable, though far from optimal. I trust damage to your assets was kept to a minimum?" you say.

"Only just. It'll take a while to repair though."

"Good I will leave you to deal with your affairs. My agent balturn here," you motion to the man in question, "will be my representative when I am not present - he has been filled in on my plans. I trust you will be able to coordinate with him?"

Nothos just nods.

---

With the town under your nominal control, you head back to your lair. The following day you receive the final report on events in the town. The mass panic and resulting riot left two hundred dead and dozens of buildings burned. So far rumours on the street suggest that many people think you started the fires with a dragon you have under your control. Apparently, you did this as revenge for the earlier attack on the few neutral merchants you persuaded to join with you. The ships the pirates departed on are clear of any witnesses, so they can be safely disposed of, should you wish. The total loot gathered from the strongholds is barely worth mentioning and you allow your army to keep it as plunder.

You have control of the town, now what?

>>22921754
I suppose we should set to benevolently ruling. More bird shit, I say.

>>22921754
pay for a full reconstruction, compensate losses and set to increased shipping, have a separate pier built for our ships, more privacy and we have tighter control over our moving assets

>>22921754
Let's finish off the pirate ships. No sense letting them spread rumors on the mainland.

>>22921754
see to it everything is rebuilt, then set about building more maritime industries

we should also set about making sure the sea devils do not attack our ships

>>22921754
1. Implement our program to increase farming yields in the remaining towns
2. get suggestions for infrastructure projects for the city.
3. Look into curing the elves' physical scars and deformities.
4. Recruit blackguard/Paladin of Tyranny and a commander for the militia as per >>22921258
5. Resume studding wizard magic.

>>22921825
>>22921820

Second. Or third.

Nice, fairly clean job.

Now it's time to show the populace the meaning of the word "improvement."

>>22921830

Rumors of what? A mage taking over the major port and most of the island?

I'd say let them go and spread their rumours.

>>22921867

I'm not sure a regular paladin of Tyranny would like the regime we are establishing. A few imported skilled warriors to beat our forces up to shape would be nice though.

>>22921918
That's why I want a young inexperienced one we can mold into whatever we want.

>>22921918
We should get a regular Paladin. So long as we don't get with 60 feet of them, it's not an issue.

>>22921947
...NotSureIfSerious.jpg

>>22921996
seriousface.png

>>22921947

Funny thing is, a Paladin would probably not mind this particular change of management, unless he was of the lawful stupid variety.

>>22922030
True, but grooming one to be our army or elite guard commander would be either incredibly stupid, or require corrupting them into a blackguard anyway. Smart evil is still evil after all.

>>22921896
A mage who happens to own a pet dragon. That's the kind of detail that's going to attract attention.

>>22922030
Exactly. We can have "Red Dragon" put forward a hardcore Lawful Neutral line, but stress to the Paladin that mercy is also important. Give some kind of shrug about not being close enough to ordinary people to have merciful instincts.

"Teach me to be good."

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Did someone mention a paladin?

>>22922115
We still would need to corrupt this paladin to our ways of thinking eventually.

>>22922149
Stop thinking like a human.

We get a Paladin in, they live for 6 or so decades longer. That's about the time we want to start acting more openly, anyway.

>>22922214
... IIRC most talk was about revealing our-self when we become a young adult. Which is in 25 years from now, not 60.

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>>22922117

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The pirate ships have each gone their separate ways and are easily destroyed in the night. In each case you lingered for an hour to ensure there were no survivors.

The town is quickly patched up, with passable building being built for use by those left homeless in the riots. Loan money is also made available for those who lost their livelyhoods. Within a month, most of the damage has been patched over. Your troops were ordered to help in the reconstruction, earning some goodwill among the populace. The remaining villages have taken the change of leadership in their stride - such change is quite common to the town of Penskar. So far trade has been minimal - about two ships per week, but that is most likely because of the tensions between the pirate lords driving off usual travellers. Word about new, stable leadership should start filtering out soon enough.

The sahuagin have so far been fairly quiet. A few fishermen have gone missing and their boats found empty and adrift, but no major attacks have been reported.

You have also received word from the town of Coloth that a suitable bard has been identified. A halfling woman who seems the type to work for whomever has the coin to pay her. She does want to meet with her would-be employer before agreeing to anything.

The town of Penskar is largely rebuilt (though only to it's usual shoddy standard), you have full control of the northern villages and effective control of the southern ones, what do you do?

>>22922235
I saw a consensus for "not before Young Adult". There was no firm agreement to reveal at YA.

Seriously, waiting for a human to die of old age is trivial. Having a Paladin guardian makes us a lot safer and buys us time to study magic.

>>22922109

It was an illusionary pet dragon that exploded in a show of fireworks.

>>22922277
have a special dock built for us to handle our ships, plus it lets us import cargo without to much speculation from the locals

also get agricultural improvements going, perhaps invest in a few goats

>>22922280
What about the fact that the Paladin will almost certainly demand to meet his or her employer in person, and will likely activate their evil-dar. Even if our illusions hold up to that kind of scrutiny, we'd cause all sorts of warning bells to go off. Not to mention the issues that would arise from a sudden revelation of our identity. Also the issues involved in letting a paladin reshape our society. A bad influence from the perspective of an evil dragon.

>>22922277
1. Implement our program to increase farming yields in the remaining towns
2. get suggestions for infrastructure projects for the city.
3. Look into curing the elves' physical scars and deformities.
4. Recruit blackguard/Paladin of Tyranny and a commander for the militia as per >>22921258
5. Resume studding wizard magic.

>>22922294

Oh well, never mind, seems we cleaned up after ourselves after all. I'd rather not make a habit out of breaking our word, but main thing is the impression on our new subjects was a favourable one.

Now, with the sahuagin... Would they be willing to make a deal that would give them exclusive use of a portion of coast in exchange for leaving our people alone?

Perhaps with some trade of surface wares in exchange for underwater ones? If not, they will need to be exterminated.

>>22922378
Are you implying a deal with Sahuagin?

>>22922378
they can't forge metals, they can only use ancient tools, what they salvage or obsidion, a smart collection of rust-proof knives, hooks and general tools would go down very well

>>22922362

Paladins don't usually go out of their way to kill an odd ruler unless he's outright oppressing his people. As for the evil-dar, the trick would be to find a paladin smart enough - and ambitious enough - to work with us for the good of the kingdom, rather than the generic Detect-smite variety.

>>22922393

Yes. Deal could be much more beneficial, and less bothersome and expensive, than use of force.

>>22922362
Detect Evil isn't going to do anything to our illusions. What warning bells are going to go off? We're planning, metaphor is unhelpful.

I don't see anything wrong with a Paladin's influence in our society. The obsession with what humans think is unwholesome, anyway - they'll be happy enough so long as we make the trains run on time (or equivalent).

>>22922444
Sahuagin only care about dinner.

>>22922421
Right, and we are suspicious as fuck. Also, we don't want paladins to influnce our populace. They tend to bring nasty ideas like rights and freedom and worshiping good gods that don't like dragons.
A properly amoral and carefully molded Paladin of Tyranny is much better.

>>22922457
but they do recognize forces not to be messed with, and they are much more inclined to accept a few trinkets then defy a dragon

How do you intend to deal with the bard?

>>22922497
have our chief agent give her a polite interview, have him gauge her, then perhaps we introduce ourselves

>>22922518
seconded

>>22922495
>Right, and we are suspicious as fuck

No we aren't. We are a wizard who ran the worst elements of society out of town. Yes, we do like our privacy, no, we aren't too interested in what the town is like so long as good men run it.

Can you help with that, sir Paladin?

The plan so far seems to be:

Implement our program to increase farming yields in the remaining towns.
Look into curing the elves' physical scars and deformities.
Recruit a commander for the militia (whether or not he's a blackguard/PoT will depend on who shows up).
Have your chief agent give her a polite interview, have him gauge her, then perhaps introduce yourselves.

A six month timeskip should be enough to finish these.

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>>22922117
>>22922271

>>22922369
Seconded. A young and inexpirienced blackguard that we can mold is just the ticket. We need someone to break heads if the peasants get upity and a regular paladin just won't do for that. Plus, he/she can help us found a proper order of such warriors in our elves, which we certainly don't want the paladin doing.

>>22922704
>implying that a Blackguard won't fuck us over so that they can be Caliph instead of the Caliph

>>22922664
Sounds good

>>22922664
All of this is dope.

>>22922664
love it all

Roll 2d20 (low).

Rolled 8, 16 = 24

>>22922766

>>22922608
Actually we kinda are. Our abilities don't really match up with what a wizard can and cannot do. Random peasants certainly can't tell, and everyone else just discounts the tall tales (most of which will be bullshit anyway) but a Paladin, right there? Much more dangerous. Also, said paladin might investigate the coppers death, and that would be all sorts of bad.

>>22922720
What part of molding a young and inexperienced blackguard do you not understand? Evil does not mean chronic backstabbing disorder.

what we need is a good satrap

>>22922807
>Evil does not mean chronic backstabbing disorder.

Yes it does.

>>22922780
>implying Paladins have Knowledge (Arcana)

>>22922833
No, no it doesn't.

>>22922833
Gonna have to dissagree with you on that one, plenty of times where evil beings have been loyal to other evil beings. Also, repeatedly only anwsering half of the critisms leveled against having a paladin isn't very impresssive. Your only argument seems to be that it will make us more popular, which is what we have the bard for.

>>22922969
>you must answer all criticism
>I will only accept half your case

Uh-huh. You seem like an anon of principle.

>>22922833
>>22922969

Yeah, a paladin on service of the kingdom would be a nice thing to have, but we should keep them at tail's length until we gain some more physical power. Worship of gods is something we cannot effectively prevent, and trying to would be hardly beneficial.

Then again, should we have to deal with a demon infestation or another evil dragon, enlisting a paladin would not seem all that bad idea.

"Freedom, liberty", bah. So far we've been nothing like an oppressive ruler that would rustle jimmies of any paladin order, unless they were specifically focused on slaying dragons out of principle.

And that bronze was an asshole anyway.

>>22922891
Even Lawful Evil is keen to rule. We can only keep a villainous henchman in line through force. A virtuous henchman can simply work under guidelines.

We want the island safe. This is fine for a Paladin.
We want to run off the bloody Sahuagin. A Paladin is going to be keen on this.
We'd like the place prosperous and well-run. A Paladin will do this better than a villain.

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With the town under your firm control, you start looking outwards to the rest of the island. The southern villages have yet to be brought under your official control, but they aren't likely to cause trouble. The workers at the bird colony soon start shipping guano south. The villagers are a little bemused by this, but testimony from the northern villages about how it doubles crop growth is enough to convince them. The fact you were able to double crop growth does help add to the legend of the Red Dragon, great wizard of Theleska.

With the island no longer needing your direct input, you begin making inquiries into improving the lives of your elves - more specifically, their appearance. If they are going to be your property then they should be made to look as presentable as possible. You turn to your agents, ordering them to start searching for information on potions or spells that can alleviate scarring. Despite six months of searching, they turn up little. Most of what they do find concerns preventing scars forming in the first place. They do find some sources that suggest it might be possible to regrow lost bodyparts, given time. These are rather vague, sound unreliable and most of the wording suggests high level divine magic is needed.

Despite six months of searching, no suitable trainer for your army has been found. So far, you have been relying on Avrus to train your recruits. While he has plenty of experience in combat, he isn't terribly suited to training new soldiers. Unfortunately, he's the best suited out of all those that have appeared so far.

The bard is interviewed by one of your representatives who make it clear she will be expected to stir up support for the Red Dragon of Theleska. She agrees and arrives on the island a few weeks later. So far she has been getting up to date on the local culture before she starts spreading tales of your righteousness.

The sahuagin continue to make a nuisance of themselves with low level attacks.

After six months, you receive word from your governor in the town that an envoy from Temur is here to speak with you. He is insisting on meeting you in person.

How do you respond?

>>22923134
do we have a way to polymorph yet? or the means to procure such a potion or scroll?

>>22923134
I say we find where these Sahuagin live and steal their babies. Then murder their family and raise Sahuagin for our navy.

>>22923019
Okay, I'll admit I missed the whole make us safer bit. Would you care to elaborate on that? Given that people have explained why they think a paladin would make us less safe (uppity peasants, all the reasons for a paladin to want us dead, increased chance of premature discovery) would you care to explain why one would make us safer?

>>22923134
Goddamn Sahuagin. Looks like it's time to parley before they stir up any more shit. See if we can get them to agree to a mutual arrangement regarding 'their' waters and the island's fishermen.

>>22923134

Temur... that's the partner city on the mainland, yes? Can we just use the illusion that we used when dealing with the pirate captains?

>>22923134
whats the best way to deter sahuagin without going to war with them?

>>22923184
What will adventurers who hear about the wizard with the Paladin bailiff think? If they're good, they'll think "he seems like a pretty cool guy". If they're evil, they'll think, "I am so sick of getting hit with Smite Evil".

The peasants aren't going to be uppity if they're treated well. We aren't going in for the "bring out your daughters" rubbish, and have been trying to improve the lot of the peasantry. Of course, we do this for pragmatic reasons, not moral, but we can see eye-to-eye with a Paladin on the means.

>>22923074
That's highly inaccurate. Do you want me to go through popular culture and start listing all of the examples of Loyal evil henchmen? If you guys are insistent on a paladin to help us rule a pirate haven, fine you can have him. If in return we are allowed to recruit a young blackguard to indoctrinate as some of us want and we don't let the paladin anywhere near the army, which we NEED to be loyal to us first and foremost.

>>22923222
You can, though he might be able to see though it, or accidentally uncover it (though that's a risk you've been taking every time you've used it).

>>22922891

Not >22922833, but for 99% of NPCs, you're absolutely right. It doesn't mean that at all. There's plenty of room for subtly malign characters that honestly wouldn't stoop to betrayal at the first opportunity, or even period.

However, blackguards IMO are an exception.

Blackguards are not simply malicious. They are pants-shittingly Evil, to the point of total comedy. It's literally ingrained in the mechanics. A blackguard WILL backstab you, period; they're no better than devils on the alignment scale, and should be treated the same way (in fact, the only real difference between an actual devil an a Blackguard is that the latter is generally weaker and more stupid). Just ask Vecna, or any cleric/paladin who uses alignment detection spells.

As an example, Tethyrcanix himself would only have a moderately Evil aura (19 HD, Evil creature). His CR is 13. If he has a top henchman who happens to be an 11 HD blackguard (CR 11, within tolerance levels for henchmen), that person's aura is OVERWHELMING. It will literally stun the caster.

>>22923215

This. Going underwater would give us no pleasure, but they can't keep interfering like this. A trade route of rust-resistant metals, crafts, perhaps some porcelain/clay/whatever in exchange for coral/pearls/fish could be beneficial as well.

>>22923184
Just to address the other two: I'm not convinced a Paladin will want us dead. We should at least be able to say, "Look, I have actually made people better off here, why are you trying to murder me for that?" and carry down the I-never-wanted-to-be-evil-please-help-me-be-good line. (Hardly satisfying, but better than being murdered by less noble adventurers.)

The claim that we have an increased chance of discovery I rate a a push. Nobody would expect a red dragon to hire a paladin, after all.

Why are we trying diplomacy with Sahuagin?
We should just get rid of them.

>>22922833
You can be smart evil without being a backstabber.

>>22923252
>Do you want me to go through popular culture and start listing all of the examples of Loyal evil henchmen?

No, I just want you to look in the SRD.

Regarding the tit-for-tat - no, that kind of bargain is immensely foolish. If I'm wrong, I would rather discover the error in debate. Compromises increase our chance of mistakes.

>>22923290
Because we may as well try. They could prove useful in the future. And if they don't, we'll get rid of them. Simple, see?

>>22923264
Not really. If you want an example that disproves you, please see the knights of Takhisi, an entire order of blackguards with precislty zero backstabbing Evil does not neccesisarily mean treacharous
>>22923252
Seconded

>>22923256

Well, unless anyone else can come up with a better idea... he's probably too smart to use knowledge of our true form to start a reconquista of our island, but there's no point in taking unnecessary hazards.

How about building a representative tower in Penskar that we could use as seat of power? Anyone else thinks it's a good idea?

>>22923316
I still say we should steal their children and raise them ourselves.

>>22923345

So noted. You already said that.

We can contemplate doing this if diplomacy fails.

>>22923311
Looked in there see nothing about "must be starscream" Hell, even if we can only keep the blackguard in line with force as some say, We're a dragon, we've got force to spare.

>>22923341
Oh, you're that Dragonlance fag, aren't you? I thought we went over this: we're not playing Dragonlance. Nobody in their right mind uses Dragonlance!

Presumably you're meeting with the representative then?

Also, evil does not necessarily mean backstabbing (fiends notwithstanding). You could find a blackguard who is willing to serve a despotic tyrant ruling over the oppressed masses without trying to seize power, though picking them out from the ones who will happily backstab you would be the tricky part.

>>22923386
>A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts.

So if we get an idiot, they're looking for an excuse to have a crack. If we get someone smart, they're actively undermining us to their own benefit the whole time.

A Paladin would be more predictable and more reliable.

>>22923341

Then those aren't Blackguards. The only reason a Blackguard wouldn't betray another in favor of his/her own well-being (pretty much the core of the Evil alignment) is because they're being completely and totally cowed by someone vastly more powerful than them, and even then it's not 100%.

Tethyr is not going to be strong enough to cow a competent blackguard into total submission yet. He will need to be much, much older. So I'd vote no on the blackguard bit, assuming that's still on the table.

>>22923433
see >>22923409
That's why I want to recruit when he or she is young and impressionable. We stick her in the elf village and if she doesn't prove to be tractable we can simply nom her

>>22923460
No one has ever suggested getting an experienced blackguard. Also, your post was just directly disproved by OP.

>>22923466
>After being warned that picking out an appropriate villain may be difficult, I believe it will be no problem.

Brilliant.

>>22923482
>not listening to anything that was just said to mitigate the issue.
Also
>implying it is any safer than using a paladin when we are evil as fuck

(What description should I use to archive this thread? Or should KEJ do it?)

>>22923433
>>22923460

Ugh, I hate how people automatically think that any evil equals treacherous and backstabbing without capability for anything else. Do you play characters or created NPCs as one dimensional drones with no personality?

>>22923395

Relax, he was just providing an example to back his point.

Then again, Blackguards do tend to go out of their way to exploit weakness, and our unwillingess to spread mayhem might seem like one to a less educated one.

>>22923503
Well, we're not evil as fuck. We are not ruling over oppressed masses (the condition under which we were told a blackguard could be loyal) We've actually been making their lives better.

>>22923509

"Having taken control of the island, the Red Dragon consolidates his power and implements his policies."

although there is too soon to tell what else will happen.

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The meeting is arranged on one of the upper floors of Alcaeus Nikon's former estate. It's currently serving as offices for the slowly growing town government. Being in easy reach of a nearby hiding place makes it ideal for your communication by proxy.

At precisely the appointed time, your illusion manifests in the main office of the Villa. The diplomat is already waiting.

"Ah, you are the 'Red Dragon' I presume? Greeting, greetings I am Yaxos, second cousin of the great king Nuvix. May I know your name?"

How do you respond?

>>22923503
>evil as fuck
All we did was light some pirates on fire.

>>22923562
"I am known in your tongue as Dragonborn. Shall we get down to business?"

>>22923562

We do have a regular name right?

>>22923547
To be fair, OP has described us in the past as evil. And we have engaged in banditry, murder, infanticide, destruction of property, theft, espionage, aiding and abetting treason, murder of a paladin and companions, killing a metallic dragon for personal gain, twice, enslavement, attempting to impersonate a deity and being a red dragon while breathing. A paladin probably wouldn't be happy with us no matter how nice we are to the peasants.

>>22923562
(disdainfully) "The name of a wizard is not kept secret as a game. Knowing such a secret grants great power over a magic-user - and while I would like us to trust one another, we are not there yet. 'Red Dragon' or 'Red' if you must."

>>22923562
"Daniel Redford Agon, D.R. Agon"

>>22923562

What was our name again? We should make a short version of it for people to invoke when the moniker is no longer necessary. This would be a nice point to introduce it.

He will no doubt try to have his agents check what wizarding rock we've crawled out form under.

"I am pleased to meet you, emissary Yaxos. You may call me <shortname>. I believe you are here to discuss trade arrangement between our two beautiful cities?"

>>22923611
We're Judge Dredd style Lawful Neutral. Again, if we take the line with a paladin that we want to be rid of evil-doers, but now worry that we do not know how to be good, that unhappiness will be (partially) disarmed.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/22920665/

Archived Thread there

>>22923621

Lets go with this.
"We only go as the Red Dragon for the impressionable masses, you surely understand that impressions and reputation make for a most useful tool."

>>22923629
We've been describe by OP as chaotic/neutral evil.

>>22923628
You don't have a human name, though 'Teth' would be a usable abbreviation that wouldn't give anything away.

>>22923685
Go with that

>>22923682
Not for public consumption we're not. If anyone 'asks' we are Lawful Neutral, and it may be worth getting divination-foiling magic to detect as such.

>>22923682

Where? Worst thing the Dragon has done ITT was going back on his word and executing the fleeing pirates, which is not something I for one welcome, but at least they won't be making trouble elsewhere along the sea routes.

We basically cut off the existing rule of violent criminal overlords, and replaced them by forming what remained of their organization into a bureaucracy.

So are you going with refusing to give him a name, giving a fake/abbreviated name or D. R. Agon?

>>22923728
Getting magic that actually misleads detection magic rather than just returning a null result is rather difficult. Also, if it is revealed that we are a red dragon, all the problems come into play again, especially if we let a paladin gain some kind of following.

>>22923766
Either refuse or give an abbreviated name. A fake name could cause trouble.

>>22923766

I'd say going with "Teth" would be best, since we are eventually going to rule openly, and it would be poor form to drastically change names too often.

>>22923766

Go with D. R. Agon, we are doing dealing with an official representative we most be diplomatic.

>>22923802
>A fake name could cause trouble

Why? We just invent our persona no records or anything to worry about.

>>22923756
See the earlier threads. We have a long history of killing people for personal gain.

>>22923791
No. Other good heroes might allow themselves to act on prejudice, but a paladin would judge us by deeds (especially if we'd had a lengthy association).

For me, the paladin and blackguard have equal loyalty concerns. Ideally we'd get a Lawful Neutral super-fighter and sign a contract, but I'm not sure that's an option. So it comes down to whether the camouflage of a happy prosperous LG island is better than trampling the peasants into the muck.

>>22923806
Agreed

>>22923613
I vote this.

>>22923807
This is awful. He won't be fooled, and he'll know that we have no respect for his intelligence.

>>22923896

Ok I take it back go with Teth something then.

>>22923896

We are not dealing with an ordinary simpleton, lets go with Teth!

Woo! Quest time. Can someone give me a briefing while I catch up?

>>22923896
It's the double-bluff again. He has to know we're up to something already.

>>22923951
Yeah, but if we assume that then "I'm not going to tell you because we don't trust each other yet" is better.

>>22923936
>Woo! Quest time. Can someone give me a briefing while I catch up?

We are a fucking red dragon! We plot, raise elven children into cultists, we rule by the alignment intelligent profitable.

>>22923840
Can we go for benevolent tyranny instead? Also, blackguards have useful abilities that I want. So how about instead we find a suitible teacher for one of our fanatically loyal elves instead. We could even pay in barter. You train one (or more) of my elves to an acceptable level of competency and I burn one of your enemies to the ground for you.

>>22923963
I meant for this thread.

>>22923951

We also need to work on our magic so we can Polymorph as soon as possible. Waiting for our age to catch up is not going to work.

How big is our army?

>>22923964
Sounds fine to me.

>>22923978
We successfully conquer the city and burn all the opposing pirates ship with the pirates in them and no witnesses. There were some rioting when the troops entered the city, but nothing too much.

The sahuagin is being bitches, we be spreading bird-shit all over the place and try to cure scars and disfigurement our elves have. Unsuccessfully.

>>22923978

The city is ours with only modest amount of bloodshed. We're meeting a diplomat from the mainland now.

>>22924011

Well we've got the 100-odd of our own mercenaries, then there's forces of the former pirate lords that are effectively local militia, and then there's our lair of kobolds.

We also have the lizardmen. Maybe we should train them in arms as well.

>>22924087
Can we interbreed humans and Lizardmen?

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>>22924114
W h y ?

>>22924151
Humans with natural scale armor and superior strength. It makes sense to me, anyways.

>>22924114

Nope. You just stop right there mister, we are not doing that.

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"Please, call me Teth - not my full name obviously, but such things are not advisable to give out."

He nods. "A wise precaution. We had not heard there was a wizard of your power in these regions. A shame, my cousin the king, would have been willing to pay handsomely for your services."

"Please, I am sure my magics are nowhere near what you have heard. Besides, Temur is run by sorcerers is it not? I'm sure my abilities could be replicated many times over by your own people." The prospect of being hired by the empire isn't something you want to discuss with him, giving him the choice between changing topics or calling his nation weak seems the best way to stop it.

He tucks his thumbs into his belt. "True, but all help is useful and would be rewarded. Still, that is not what I am here to discuss." He reaches into his robes and withdraws an ornate scroll. "I hold here an offer from the great king Nuvix of Temur. He is wishes to see an agreement of free trade between out two cities. Both nations merchants would have unimpeded access to the others ports and markets. The specifics are contained within." He places the scroll on the desk between you. "Please, take your time to consider it. There is no rush."

"Of course. I will have an answer within the next few days."

He leaves you to review the contents of the scroll. After a quick check to confirm there are no spells hidden on it, your agents bring it to you to be reviewed in person. The basics of it are that Temur wants access to what you ship between the north and south. Many ships heading south use your island as a final stopping off point before heading to the kingdom of Hromisk. Those heading north stop here first before continuing on to the Kormarian republic, using the northern isles as a final resupply point. Quite a large number of ships never enter Temur, denying them access to their goods. The agreement would allow their merchants to open outposts on your island to buy from the traders directly. In exchange you would have open access to the markets of Temur. It would remain in place for a period of no less than fifteen years. In theory both stand to gain equally. While expensive goods would become more so, everyday items should become more readily available.

How do you wish to respond to the proposal?

>>22924279

Sounds good. Accept the deal.

IF we manage to reach an equitable agreement with the Sahuagin, their crafts might fetch decent value too.

>>22924279
I say yes. Fifteen years are not that long anyhow. For us at least.

>>22923120
Am I correct in reading this to mean that we are going by 3.5 rules regarding scaring and limb regeneration? Could we not, on the grounds that since it doesn't actually have rules for gaining scars or losing limbs its system for dealing with such things is simply insufficient?

>>22924279
They're probably smuggling shit to the corsairs and planning a subterfuge..

>>22924360

You can get a simpler version of regeneration that's 5th level, but it's clerical magic. Difficult to get hold of, but not impossible.

>>22924390
Likely enough. Accept the deal, but we should ensure strict security. Secret police may be in order.

>>22924467

Yes, we can expect visit of magocracy's spies to ascertain the new management. But we would get that regardless of the trade agreement. This will at least aid our economy.

>>22924402
Technically, reincarnation would work as well, although that does require the subject to be dead. And arguable restoration could work as well

>>22924279
The proposal sounds fair enough to me.


New to the quest, but would like to thank KEJ for the amazing speech back in thread six. That was a genuine Dramatic Epic Speech (and Awesome Moment of Crowning, of sorts) good enough to send chills down my spine.

Do you know how often someone writes a genuinely good dramatic speech without resorting to comedy (not that there's anything wrong with comedy, but it's far easier than a genuine dramatic moment)?
Practically not at all, and didn't see anyone comment on how awesome it was!

But now I am - seriously, that was some ridiculously good writing, keep up the good work.

No seriously, why aren't we training our magic? If we want to kept appearances we need to get better.

>>22924279
Make sure that anyone who chooses to open up shop on our island is willingly placing themselves under our rule.

No 'diplomatic immunity' or 'foreign nationals' shit.

>>22924657
This

>>22924783
Also this.

>>22924657
We've said a few times to keep training our magic, I assume its happening in the background. Also, if we want to be able to shapeshift we should work on sorcery since we only need two more levels of that to be able to shapeshift.

>>22924657
>>22924783

Adding my vote to these two.

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A few days later you meet with ambassador Yaxos again. Knowing that human agreements often involve shaking hands you have elected to make your proxy clearly a projection.

You image shimmers into view in the meeting room. Standing there waiting is Ambassador Yaxos.

"Greetings ambassador. Apologies for my personal absence, but recent events require my attention."

He gives you an understanding nod. "Of course, I would not wish to press you for an answer if you are distracted by events."

"I didn't expect you would, though I have had a chance to review your kings offer and I find it agreeable."

He smiles at the news. "I am glad to hear it. Given you have other concerns I do not see an official signing being practical, but I shall relay the news to my king."

You nod. "Very well. Again I apologise for conveying the news in this manner."

"Do not worry, most of what is involved is formality anyway. Now, by your leave, I will send word to my king."

The ambassador departs and you let the illusion fade.

---

A few weeks later you receive the news that king Nuvix has recognised your merchants as 'friends of the state', meaning they get favourable tax terms and access to all markets. Several sets of merchants from Temur show up a few days later. They have established themselves in and around the docks. While most of their gold goes into the pockets of the passing traders, plenty finds it's way into the pockets of locals. With the issue taken care of, you can start looking to the future of your island.

***
That will be all for tonight, there might be a thread tomorrow, but don't count on it.

Next, a timeskip covering ~10 years (I intend to skip a few times until the young adult age category). You can decide on what to do during that time.

>>22924959
Build up a cult following of lizardfolk and elves, make sure they can get along in worship of us, or at the very least in service of us. Establish our rule and make sure people know us and are of neutral or positive stance about our existence.

>>22924959

Excellent. Thank you for your time, OP!

>>22924959
I think there is a clear agreement with these two:
>>22924657
>>22924783


Also i would like our human agents to infiltrate Nuvix's merchant very carefully to uncover any conspiration they might be working on.

>>22924959
thanks for the tread

let's try to solve the sahuagin problem with words of with final solution. It wouldn't be sightly to have our new merchant friends raided or have it create drama.
Maybe a program to get pearls and crafts in trade for cows/ other food.

Oh boy, A list of things to do over a ten year timeskip.
1. Encourage immigration to our domain. Make sure to emphasize the low taxes and abundant food.
2. Locate a blackguard to teach one of our most loyal elves. Make sure we carefully screen both the blackguard and the elf. Offer to pay in barter if he wants. Look for one in an evil kingdom or something
3. continue to look for a way heal the elves of scaring. Look in particular for any artifacts or holy relics that are purported to have such abilities. If we acquire the artifact we can use it to impress improve our cult.
4. Study magic with our wizard for the remainder of his employment.
5. Continue to look for someone competent to run our military.

>>22925234
Whaaaaaat? Low taxes? Do we have that?

>>22925264
Traditionally, yes. Remember, this is a faux medieval society. Our low taxes would still make a republican froth at the mouth.

>>22925234

Works for me

>>22924959
Well, should absolutely look into acquiring more stuff we can use with our new trade options, like a botanist or other nature-y expert to teach our farmers to use the soil even more effectively, some items we can use as a flat stat-booster and preferably a wand or a few scrolls of whatever Imgod used on our mother (force web, right?).

Maybe institute a program/arena/trial by combat to make our kobolds breed more efficiently and quickly, with stronger and more intelligent kobolds getting "mating privileges" to improve their numbers and baseline?
Should, of course, take care that the next generation of kobolds isn't all too closely related to eachother - don't want'm to die out 'cause they're all cousins.

We might also want to create an advisory or administrator body among our most loyal and intelligent minions (in that order of priority) to manage the vast population we now control effectively.

And like >>22925184 suggests, we should try diplomacy and trade on the Sahuagin and systematic genocide and infant-kidnapping if that doesn't work.

And hopefully try making our "cult" a bit less obvious about its fanaticism and cult-ishness. Really start to promote it as a philosophy about life in general with something of a "The people owe due to their leaders, and the leaders owe protection and care to their people." Can add "...just as a dragon would protect and care for its hoard" for some symbolism.
We already believe in taking good care of our living 'hoard' so making it a formal obligation of the philosophy isn't really a tradeoff.
This also reduces the focus from the tricky-to-argue point about how they should obey us because we're a dragon, and emphasize that they should pay due to us because we're doing a damn good job of leading them.

And most of this:
>>22925234
too, assuming we run a few (non-lethal) tests and trials that seem to be about general competence - but are actually about loyalty - to test any candidate for the blackguard position.

>>22924959
Establish the Red Dragon Society of mysticism & philosophy, as has been outlined in previous threads. See to it that it overwhelms the current cult, replacing our divine image with a cult of personality; I find it to be a liability rather than an asset. We should make sure that its organizations finds root with both commonfolk and gentry.

Solve the Sahuagin problem, make 'em calm they tits. By diplomacy, trade, and appealing to their desire for security in their claimed waters, at first, and if things go sour, beat them into submission or drive them out entirely.

Train our gosh-darned wizardly magic, we've been neglecting it far too much lately. After all, can't have an esoteric secret society without mysteries to back it up.

Keep tabs on our sister, and on the island's security. Form a secret police unit for this purpose. No oppression. Just keeping an eye on folks. And smashing any dissident, backbiting organizations that directly threaten our rule or the commonfolk.

>>22925518
This is also good.

Do everything at once! (Or, well, over a period of several years)

>>22925518
Disagree on the sane cult thing. Fanatism has its uses.

>>22925812
No reason we can't have both if we make the fanatics keep the "We should worship dragon!" attitude to a sufficiently low level to keep the cult as secret society of most-trusted of sorts.
It should probably not overlap TOO much with any kind of governing body we might create to handle day-to-day affairs and keeping us up to date.