>>30083685
After Robert Tabeth’s death your main objective is to make contact with Aaron and your generals. To do that quickly, you need a magitech sending device, and you find yourself taking control of the tower, with Master Harold’s help. You had to subdue a few more guards but they quickly realise that they have a new master and you’re an ally not an enemy. You hole up in Tabeth’s war room, and receive even more troubling news.

The Grandmaster of the Black Stone knights is entering the spire without issue. Harold convinces you not to react poorly and you swiftly find yourself face to face with a man as big as yourself, though considerably older. He’s accompanied by many of his knights and you realise why they’re known as the Black Stone knights – the armour of Grandmaster Lucas and his elite guard is an enormous bulwark of magical plate.

Rather than the runes that almost all magical plate in the region possesses, being so heavily based on the RSK designs, each set of plate is covered in an intricate pattern, encrusted into the armour using a colour only slightly different to the armour itself. The Mage Guard are the only creators of this style of armour, as it’s both expensive and difficult to maintain – a single lost piece means the entire pattern must be reaffirmed, which is still time-consuming even if less so than creating a new set.

“Well met, Talon York,” Lucas says, as you engage in a firm handshake. “It will be good to work with you in getting rid of Viktor Oaln.”

“Whilst I welcome the support, Grandmaster,” you say cautiously, “I am surprised that I am getting such strong support from a major noble order.”

Lucas gives you an exaggerated shrug, his pauldrons shifting quite heavily. “We suffer from no delusions about our duty to the city and its lords, unlike the Golden Bears. Oaln is toxic and I’ll gladly see him removed.”

>continued

>>30083693
You nod. If you find the time, it might be a good idea to follow up on this. In the mean-time you open up communication with Aaron.

“Ah, so you’ve taken my house from my father, Imperator?” he says once you inform him of the situation. “That is good. I would join you in Vitria, but Taour has massed heavily across the border and I worry that they might launch an assault. I must sortie immediately.”

The sending suddenly cuts off and you blink. You give Lucas and Harold a look and they shrug, their expressions impassive. You’re not sure if Aaron is shirking his duty to you or actually trying to stop Taour.

Putting that aside, you make contact with your generals. Or general, as you find out.

“Felix is missing, sir,” Arail tells you. “He just vanished an hour ago.”

“What do you mean vanished, Arail?” you ask.

“Exactly that. No trace of him. We’re in position to reach the city by nightfall, sir. Shall we continue the march?”

You’re unsure. If Vitria has found some way to strike at your officers, that is troublesome. It’s even more troublesome if this is a sign that Felix has betrayed you. At the same time, Vitria is in your reach.

“Oaln will almost certainly react to your unseating of Robert Tabeth,” Lucas tells you. “They will likely attack us before nightfall. If you delay your troops any further, we may quickly find ourselves overwhelmed. Oaln has the largest force in the city.”

If you lose the spire here, you’ll lose all momentum and be back to square one. Arail tells you that only Felix and his comrades have gone missing, not any of your troops. You…

>1. Order Arail to march as ordered and assault the city.
>2. Order Arail to march, but double-check all troops for any spies or assassins. You don’t know if he’ll find any and this will likely delay their arrival until midnight.
>3. Order Arail to cease marching. Felix’s possible defection puts the assault at too much risk.
>4. Custom

File: 1391810724130.png-(556 KB, 3100x1050, worldMap.png)

556 KB PNG

>>30083709
Oh, the map is attached and below is your army.

85 Flying Mage-Knights
>85 Veterans
40 Heavy Mage-Knights
>30 Regular
>10 Green
589 Medium Mage-Knights
>299 Veterans
>260 Regulars
>30 Green
340 Arcane Archers
>240 Veterans
125 Archers
>25 Veterans
>100 Green
300 Heavy Men-at-arms
>300 Green
505 Men-at-arms
>135 Regulars
>370 Green
23 Battlemages
>23 Regulars
Satisfactory support and logistics corps

>>30083709
>1
But split off some of his flying Knights to check our flanks. And confirm everyone's position.

>>30083709
>1. Order Arail to march as ordered and assault the city.

>>30083709
>1. Order Arail to march as ordered and assault the city.
How many hours did we bang sala and lynn?

>>30083709
>1. Order Arail to march as ordered and assault the city.
Does taking this place means we automatically conquer Craol, and port temby?
Should we take Darlesia as quickly as possible?

>>30083918
>Does taking this place means we automatically conquer Craol, and port temby?
Assuming Aaron stays loyal, probably
>Should we take Darlesia as quickly as possible?
Nope. Need to secure Vitrian territory first.

>>30083854
Use your imagination.

>>30083918
Assuming Vitria falls into line, then yes to the first.

>1.

“Continue the march,” you order Arail. “Keep a lookout for any ambushes or traps, but don’t slow down the march unless absolutely necessary. I need you here at nightfall.”

Arail gives you an affirmative response before ending the sending and you turn to the two knights alongside you.

“How many men do we have here and how many will Oaln likely have?”

“We have about three hundred, including my knights,” Lucas tells you. “Oaln will have around twice that, with considerably more mage-knights. That’s without the Golden Bears, who will quite probably assist him.”

You grimace. Not good odds.

>1. Talk to Lucas about why he’s assisting you.
>2. Try to muster some ideas for how you might be able to get the populace and general military to help you.
>3. Ask about the defences of the spire and how effective they’ll be against Oaln’s forces.
>4. Custom

>>30083709
Shit man, you serious?

Would double checking ensure we had no spies, or is it a chance?

Screw it, march. We can't waste time. Knowing Felix he probably just ran on ahead to challenge their generals or some bullcrap

>>30083959
>3. Ask about the defences of the spire and how effective they’ll be against Oaln’s forces.
>2. Try to muster some ideas for how you might be able to get the populace and general military to help you.
>1. Talk to Lucas about why he’s assisting you.

In that order.

>>30083959
How effective would Gnome be at blocking some of the entrances? Also:
>1. Talk to Lucas about why he’s assisting you.
>2. Try to muster some ideas for how you might be able to get the populace and general military to help you.
>3. Ask about the defences of the spire and how effective they’ll be against Oaln’s forces.

>>30083959
>2
Epic speech time?
Also maybe 3 too, after

>>30083991
Seconded.

>>30083959
2 and 3 please.

>3.

“How capable are the spire’s defences against an attacking force? I got in here rather easily so I’m not completely enthused about them,” you say.

“If we activate the siege defences, it will be hard for them to get in,” Master Harold says. “That won’t do us much good. The now former Lord Tabeth was more interested in being able to turtle up in this spire than use it to fend off attackers.”

Gnome says, “I could probably give you some more capable physical defences. Assuming you don’t want to try to be more offensive to catch Oaln off guard.”

“If we can muster some support from the people or the general military, that might be a better option,” you say. “I don’t like the idea of simply holing up in this spire. Especially because the siege defences might not be able to come down quickly. If I were a paranoid lunatic, I’d make sure nobody could easily disable them.”

You get a round of nods at that. Still, they look expectantly at you, expecting you to make a decision as to whether you’ll fight Oaln defensively or offensively.

>1. State you’ll take the fight to Oaln in the commercia.
>2. State you’ll hold off Oaln at the base of the spire.
>3. Put the decision off as you gather more information.
>4. Custom

>>30084165
Could we get a better breakdown of the troops we have on hand?

>>30084165
>2
We're suppose to be waiting on our forces to get here, right?

The obvious decision, and safest, is to hold up and defend. I mean, we just captured the most defensive paranoid ass's tower, right? It's perfect

>>30084221
Sure.

TABETH TROOPS
10 Heavy Mage-Knights (Veterans)
40 Medium Mage-Knights (Veterans)
150 Men-at-arms (Veterans)
100 Archers (Veterans)
Plus your party (Talon, Gnome, Undine, Sala, Lynn and Maloric)

>>30084236
sounds good to me.

>>30084236
I can't decide if everyone else is late as hell or everyone agrees with me...

>>30084165
>1. State you’ll take the fight to Oaln in the commercia.
We can use the citezins to help fight.

>>30083685
Hope you're feelin' better, Aspirational.

>>30084487
I was back at work yesterday so I'm good enough to run today.

>2.

“We’ll hold them here while we wait for Arail and the rest of my army to get here,” you say. “Gnome, once this meeting is over I’ll need you to start erecting defences. I don’t want to activate Tabeth’s last resort defences until we really need a last resort. I don’t want to be trapped in here while the fight rages outside.”

You then decide to move on to talking about rousing rebellion.

“I’ve heard a lot of noise about Vitrians in general supporting me over Oaln. We need to take advantage of that, but I don’t know this city well enough to do that.”

A quick round of brainstorming gives you a handful of ideas. Lucas can spread the word amongst the general army, who may or may not be willing to assist you. Sarah can let many of the lesser houses know, which may keep them on the sidelines. Maloric will try a mass sending across the wards in order to alert them all to your presence, which could trigger a strong response.

The contentious issue is whether to try to win over a mage tower or another knightly order given the remaining time.

>continued

Hey Aspirational? On the subject of our previous attempts to try and find a way to make cavalry work, could we make Magitek bikes/jetbikes?

>>30084523
>1. Try to win over the Pax Vitria tower.

The largest mage tower in the city. If you’re able to convince the mages of this tower to help you you’ll have quite a few mages helping you. The downside is that any losses from here will hurt future efforts.

>2. Try to win over the Tower of Kassick

A small tower whose mages specialise in summons. Very few mages to help you, but they could likely lend a great deal to the war effort.

>3. Try to win over the knightly Order of the Golden Bears

Lucas thinks the Golden Bears may be willing to assist you if you can convince them that you’re genuinely fighting for Vitria. Lucas is optimistic that they’re not in Oaln’s pocket so much as they’re simply deluded. The benefits would be large, as the Golden Bears still have a hundred or so knights and even if you can’t get them on-side, they might elect not to help Oaln.

>4. Don’t try to win over any of them and instead concentrate on winning over the general populace

The general populace might not be able to lend you great power, but they bring numbers and their support may make controlling Vitria easier later.

>5. Custom

>>30084539
Both are possible, depending on how well your machinist and channeler get along. Jet-bikes would be harder than regular bikes and would need an enchanter's help, too. The bikes wouldn't be as fast as modern ones, though, especially not at first. There may also be some research time involved.

>>30084523
I was just worried bout your health, man. You're a cool guy.

>>30084547
Erm....
I'm gonna go with
>3

I don't want to do 1, since we need those mages alive.

We also showed one of the Golden Bears how powerful we are (maybe more if any survived that fight back in that other thread?) So they should know of our reputation.

>>30084547
2 methinks. The pure elemental should lend a certain... presence to our negotiations.

>>30084623
A couple dozen GBs escaped from the siege of Castle Gimbon where you almost brought back the dead, so it's a safe bet they know you quite well.

>>30084547
why cant we try 1-3?

>>30084697
Not enough time. Unless you want to have other people represent you to other groups instead of showing up face-to-face with each one.

>>30084547
>>1. Try to win over the Pax Vitria tower.
>The largest mage tower in the city. If you’re able to convince the mages of this tower to help you you’ll have quite a few mages helping you. The downside is that any losses from here will hurt future efforts.
>>2. Try to win over the Tower of Kassick
>A small tower whose mages specialise in summons. Very few mages to help you, but they could likely lend a great deal to the war effort.
Send sala and mal to help convince the mages.
>>3. Try to win over the knightly Order of the Golden Bears
>Lucas thinks the Golden Bears may be willing to assist you if you can convince them that you’re genuinely fighting for Vitria. Lucas is optimistic that they’re not in Oaln’s pocket so much as they’re simply deluded. The benefits would be large, as the Golden Bears still have a hundred or so knights and even if you can’t get them on-side, they might elect not to help Oaln.
We and the other guy go here.
>>4. Don’t try to win over any of them and instead concentrate on winning over the general populace
>The general populace might not be able to lend you great power, but they bring numbers and their support may make controlling Vitria easier later.
Sarah goes here.

>>30084707
Well that is a good idea then, if we get the main mage tower can we use its influence over the tower of kassick?

>>30084726
I don't really want to try splitting us up that much.

>>30084707
I vote we have Gnome & Salamander show up to talk with Kassick. Their reputation would probably help with negotiation a lot.

>>30084751
Sure, but i do think we should try to get the mages on our side, plus this is an idea.
>>30084754
Has fixed a big problem of it.

>>30084613
Another question, would this open up new lines of research? Assuming the chain of thought goes from needing a mount, to getting bikes, to looking at the bikes and realising that they can be made bigger and more heavily armored. Could we end up with magitek tanks or gunships?

>>30084547
>1
Send mal+gnome+sala, and see if he can also try and have the toewer help with winning over Kassick.
>3
We lynn, and the black order guy go
>4
Sarah tries to get people on her side.

>>30084808
I want Magi Tanks
SO BADLY

>>30084746
Maloric says, "Summoners can sometimes be looked down on by many other mages. It's doubtful Kassick and Pax Vitria have much in the way of constructive dialogue."

>>30084808
The more complicated you make magitech, the harder it becomes. It's theoretically possible, but much of the ideas wouldn't be possible until much later in the quest (and some, like magitech firearms, not at all for fluff reasons).


>I'll do a vote to narrow things down a bit

VOTE
>1. Head to the Golden Bears yourself, with most of your retinue, but send Gnome and Sala to bring Kassick on-side.
>2. Same as Option 1 but use Mal and Sala for Kassick.
>3. Send everybody to the GBs, don't split up at all.
>4. Custom

>>30084887
>2. Same as Option 1 but use Mal and Sala for Kassick.

>>30084887
>1. Head to the Golden Bears yourself, with most of your retinue, but send Gnome and Sala to bring Kassick on-side.

>>30084887
>>2. Same as Option 1 but use Mal and Sala for Kassick.
>4. have sarah gather support from lower houses and get the civies in on this.

>>30084887
How about Magitech missiles? Could you get a spear and enchant the tip to be explosive? Could you make it self-propelled on activation? Could you make it homing?

>>30085000
>Could you get a spear and enchant the tip to be explosive?
Yes but I wouldn't call it magitech. Mal could do that right now (for a certain definition of 'explosive'.

>Could you make it self-propelled on activation?
No. You could make it lighter with enchantment to a certain degree to make it easier to throw.

>Could you make it homing?
No.

Going with 2. plus Sarah gathering support.

>>30085064
Oh, and last vote.

VOTE

>1. Ask Lucas why he's supporting you.
>2. Don't ask Lucas and simply get on with things.

>>30085088
1

>>30085088
>1
Sure why not

>>30084887
>3

>>30085088
1

>1.

You hesitate before giving any orders and turn to Lucas. “I don’t mean to insult you, Grandmaster, but it seems exceedingly odd that Aaron Tabeth would be able to so easily win you over. Why are you helping me on his behalf?”

Lucas gives you that wry old smile old bastards love to give young whelps like yourself. Bloody irritating, but you supress the feeling as he gives you an answer. “What makes you think I’m helping you on his behalf?”

You frown. “He’s a member of your order. I assumed after Gimbon Falls…”

“Assumptions can be dangerous things, Talon,” he says. It’s a little irritating the way he ignores your title, but he’s also avoiding addressing you in a way to exaggerate your commoner heritage.

“Aaron Tabeth talks big, and his blood may be useful, but I would never back him against Viktor Oaln,” Lucas continues. “No, it is because you are here. I don’t hail from Vitria, as you may have guessed. I’m the son of a Farun commoner turned knight, granting me nobility. I saw the way my father was treated and I have some level of faith that you may be able to change that. That is why I am having my order support you.”

You nod, thoughts churning. So many are pushing so much on you. Going forward, it’s going to be difficult to pick a path that won’t put some of your retainers and subjects off-side. It’s going to be a matter of choosing between your personal desires and what keeps them happiest. The obvious one here is that keeping many of the noble structures in place will lead to greater stability but may anger those who helped you seize the city.

Satisfied with Lucas’ answer, you give the orders to begin attempts to bring the common Vitrians on-side whilst you head to the Golden Bears HQ and send Mal and Sala to Tower of Kassick.

[DC12/18 Spread Information]

Rolled 16

>>30085317

Rolled 16

>>30085317

Rolled 4

>>30085317

Rolled 12

>>30085317

Rolled 2

>>30085317

>Lower target met

You receive word from Sarah that the spread of information appears to be working successfully. The wards are certainly beginning to fire up, apparently, and as you travel across the mostly empty commercia, you hear the hubbub from below. The guards are still keeping a modicum of peace, though you have a suspicion that should the protests turn to outright riots they may not try to do so.

As you enter the spire that houses the Order of the Golden Bear you pause for a moment to decide your manner of approach. Their HQ isn’t large, as their barracks is maintained separately. It is unlikely there will be more than a few knights inside, with some servants. They’ve struck you as a belligerent group of knights with their own self-serving form of honour. You approach them in a…

>1. Aggressive manner. Return their belligerence with more belligerence.

You’ll make it very clear that their duty is to Vitria and not to any individual house. You suspect this will have the highest chance of keeping them out of the fight, but the lowest chance of making them help you. It may also antagonise them into attacking you.

>2. Appealing manner. Speak to their ideals and honour.

If you can win them over, you’ll find yourself with the largest knightly order on your side. If it fails, they’ll likely oppose you but are unlikely to assault you in the HQ.

>3. Moderate manner. Make it clear that you’re fighting on behalf of both the Tabeth and Hawkins families. With the support of Grandmaster Lucas, this will make it trivial to keep them out of the fight but will have no chance to get them to help you in the fight.

>4. Custom

>>30085564
>3. Moderate manner. Make it clear that you’re fighting on behalf of both the Tabeth and Hawkins families. With the support of Grandmaster Lucas, this will make it trivial to keep them out of the fight but will have no chance to get them to help you in the fight.

>>30085564
>2. Appealing manner. Speak to their ideals and honour.
We have high charisma.

>>30085564
3

>>30085564
>2. Appealing manner. Speak to their ideals and honour.

Rolled 2

Tie-breaker roll.

1 = Option 2
2 = Option 3

>>30085762
Can we still recruit them after the fight?

>>30085820
They'll come with Vitria, though if you want them in your standing army you can try to recruit them again. The main difference here is that you won't have them when you counterattack Oaln before Arail arrives with your entire army.

>>30085864
Eh, we can encourage them to align with Sarah. She doesn't have a knightly order working for her anyway.

>3.

You decide that keeping the Golden Bear knights out of the fray is more important than bringing them onside. The possibility of failure and having to face both Oaln and these knights could very well end your attempt at taking Vitria before Arail’s forces even arrive.

A sending had notified the Grandmaster of the order that you wanted to see him and the guards outside the main entrance to their headquarters open the door on your approach without any questions. Inside is a rather lavish hall, filled with a variety of trophies and amenities and you realise this area is clearly intended to entertain nobles. The Golden Bear grandmaster sits in a grand chair on the far end of a large table. A series of poufs lines either side of the table and it’s apparent that the order has embraced the far western culture of the city. Six knights stand behind the grandmaster, watching you cautiously.

You take a seat yourself on the side of the table, and most of your retinue stands behind you. Except for Undine and Gnome, who each take a seat on the poufs closest to you. You don’t actually know what the custom is in this setting for seating and merely hope the two women know what they’re doing. Either way, there is no response from the man on the other side of the table.

“I am Grandmaster Toren,” you are told by your opponent. “I have heard a great deal about you. From personally striking down the entire army House Oaln sent to take Harrowmont to raising the dead. Yet you don’t seem so grand in person. Or am I missing something?”

“I fight alongside my men and win my battles only with their aid. This means I must take great care of them,” you say.

Toren chuckles. “An answer that is not an answer. Very well. Speak your piece.”

>continued

>>30086112
You gather your thoughts. “Regardless of what you may think and the banners I fly, my involvement in Vitria is on behalf of both Houses Tabeth and Hawkins. You declare your loyalty to the city itself, so it seems to me your willingness to intervene to decide the victor of this civil war seems unusual. I would ask that you stand aside whilst the noble houses resolve their dispute.”

“This is a war that affects Vitria itself. We take the position that our involvement is necessary to ensure a better Vitria,” he answers easily.

>1. Let Grandmaster Lucas get a word in.
>2. Press the point that the decisions of the noble houses are independent of the city and do not involved the knights of the city.
>3. Question his ability to determine how Vitria is bettered? And how he can guarantee, in spite of his loyalty to the city and its rulers, his independence in the face of having appointed the rulers of the city.
>4. Custom

>>30086139
>3. Question his ability to determine how Vitria is bettered? And how he can guarantee, in spite of his loyalty to the city and its rulers, his independence in the face of having appointed the rulers of the city.
>1. Let Grandmaster Lucas get a word in.
In that order, Lucas did say something about abuse.

>>30086139
>1. Let Grandmaster Lucas get a word in.

>>30086139

> 4. bring up the fact that Olan is in the pocket of a RSK noble.

>>30086282
Mans got a point. We can ask where those 1,500 or so suits of mage knight armor came from.

>1.

“You say you serve Vitria yet you’re actively trying to shape it,” Lucas says from behind you. “If you’re going to make your order political at least make it apparent. Masquerading as knights of Vitria when you so clearly care about only one particular part of it is nonsense.”

“The Vitria we seek to protect is the only true Vitria,” Toren says. “Unlike you, we are trying to preserve Vitria as it is not shape it into something else.”

“You are shaping it into something else,” Lucas counters. “Vitria has changed and you want it to change back.”

“And even if you were preserving it,“ you say, “who is to say Viktor Oaln is?”

“What do you mean?”

>1. Bring up Oaln’s connections to the RSK. You have no absolute proof on hand so this may backfire.
>2. Simply use this to push Lucas’ point.
>3. Custom

File: 1391818283589.jpg-(45 KB, 594x383, What could go wrong.jpg)

45 KB JPG

>>30086459
>>1. Bring up Oaln’s connections to the RSK. You have no absolute proof on hand so this may backfire.

>>30086459
>1. Bring up Oaln’s connections to the RSK. You have no absolute proof on hand so this may backfire.

>>30086459
>2

>>30086459
>2

>Decisive battle for vitria
>Taour massing near the border of vitria during that time
>One of our generals goes missing (as if, say, a daywalker took him out? or more likely, kidnapped for detailed interrogation)
This is very troubling. Could Taour be trying to hit us from behind?

Then again, felix was a somewhat unknown agent so it is possible he left for his own reasons... Desertion, an emergency of his order, or maybe he just went undercover the same as you and is currently in the city seeking an awesome 1v1 fight.

I would like to try to send to our people near the border.

>>30086459
>1

>>30086595
You mean you want to to contact your garrison in Olmm on the Darlesian border?

>1.

“Where do you think a man like Oaln gets a thousand ancient suits of magical plate? Plus the hundreds of modern ones? In the midst of a ban on exports of military manufactures from the RSK?”

“He has connections to the Seraphs, we know,” Toren says patiently.

“What sort of connections would he have to get a hold of so much armour?” you press. “You don’t simply smuggle that sort of equipment in, you need very powerful connections. The sort of connections that don’t simply grant favours for no return.”

Toren frowns, thinking hard.

[DC12 Persuasion]

Rolled 10

>>30086628

Rolled 18

>>30086628

Rolled 9

>>30086628

>>30086647
get persuaded son

>>30086628
>You mean you want to to contact your garrison in Olmm on the Darlesian border?
Yep, via magical sending.
Also, while at it, try to talk to Aaron Tabeth again or anyone we might know in his garrison... or anyone our spymaster might know in his garrison (we know army mages can disrupt magical communications, is that why we lost contact?).

>>30086725
Oh, we don't have to do this personally btw, we can contact our people in harrowmont via sending and ask them to do it

>>30086725
You lost contact with Aaron because he hung up on you. Hence the internal monologue about him maybe shirking his duties.

>Target met

“That’s… true,” Toren admits. “And you, with your own connections with the Seraphs are completely innocent of their influence?”

You…

>1. Proclaim independence from the RSK. This will be a change of tack and may win them over but may also come of too strong.
>2. Be moderate. Push them on the fact there is little difference between you and Oaln, so how can they support one over the other?
>3. Be subtle and do nothing more than remind them you refused the king’s offer of title.
>4. Custom

>>30086778
>>3. Be subtle and do nothing more than remind them you refused the king’s offer of title.

>>30086778
>3. Be subtle and do nothing more than remind them you refused the king’s offer of title.
If we come in too strong he will suspect something. Lets provide him with the complete truth and let him make up his own mind.

>>30086778
>2. Be moderate. Push them on the fact there is little difference between you and Oaln, so how can they support one over the other?
>3. Be subtle and do nothing more than remind them you refused the king’s offer of title.
In that order.

>>30086778
>3

>>30086811
>>30086815
>>30086818
Also add that we don't seem to have large numbers of unexplained magical plate supporting us. If we cut a deal it must have been a remarkably bad one.

>>30086895
We actually have a RSK smuggler.

>3.

“I refused the Seraph King’s offer of land and title, Grandmaster Toren,” you say. “That speaks for itself I would think.”

“I had heard of that. I still believe that would put you in a better position with the RSK than Viktor Oaln.”

You shrug. “As I said, the refusal speaks for itself. I would also remind you of who has thousands of suits of magical plate and who doesn’t.”

Toren presses you some more, but you remain resolute. The whole point here is to make him doubt his own presuppositions so you’re careful not to say anything that might reaffirm them.

[DC18 Persuasion]

Rolled 9

>>30086938

Rolled 7

>>30086938
Diplomacning!

Rolled 11

>>30086938

>>30086952
>>30086951
>>30086938
It was bound to happen.

>>30086938
Hory shit, whats up with that DC?

>>30086938
well that dc was a toughie

>>30087004
I guess subtlety was the wrong tactic.

>>30087004
It even states in the choice that these guys prefer aggressive approaches, so doing 2 or 1 would have been better.

>Target not met

Toren sighs. “I apologise, Imperator Talon, for my aggressiveness earlier. You were right to question my ability to determine who is best for Vitria. I will not make that mistake again.”

“I see,” you say. “And that means?”

“It means you both get your way and don’t. I won’t intervene in the coming battles, unless you are routed from Vitria. But I will not support you. Oaln may be aiming to sell us out to the RSK, but so might you. And even then, who am I to say that such a move is a bad one? My order is here to serve the city, not the other way around. I cannot justify to myself to take such overtly politically actions like the Order of Black Stone.”

You nod, only partially happy with the result. It was your original intention, but you had hoped bringing up the RSK’s involvement may have won them over. You exchange some pleasantries before heading back to the Tabeth spire. You’ve received word that Oaln has mobilised his forces. Maloric and Salamander should be reporting back from the Tower of Kassick shortly, too.

Now is the time to mobilise the populace if you wish to do so. You give the orders for you sendings to focus on…

>1. The populace. A riot should keep the guards busy and win people over later.
>2. The guards and general military. They will lend additional support in the fight against Oaln or at least not oppose Arail’s reinforcements.
>3. The lower houses. This may rob Oaln of precious support during his conflict against you.
>4. Custom

>>30087145
>2. The guards and general military. They will lend additional support in the fight against Oaln or at least not oppose Arail’s reinforcements.

>>30087145
>3. The lower houses. This may rob Oaln of precious support during his conflict against you.
We already have fans among the general populace and our military outclasses the local militia easily - what we need right now is political support to legitimize our intervention into Vitria. It'll be key in the medium and long-term as well to help stabilize the city.

>>30087145
>3

>>30087145
>2. The guards and general military. They will lend additional support in the fight against Oaln or at least not oppose Arail’s reinforcements.

>>30087145
>3. The lower houses. This may rob Oaln of precious support during his conflict against you.
>1. The populace. A riot should keep the guards busy and win people over later.
Should do it if we can do both.

>>30087145
>3. The lower houses. This may rob Oaln of precious support during his conflict against you.

>>30087004
You'd already convinced them to stay out of the fight, pressing the issue would have a chance of having them help you at the risk of a set-back (nat 1). Being aggressive would have had a lower DC but with higher consequences of failure. Being moderate would have avoided a roll (and the possibility of failure) but had no chance of getting them onside. I try to avoid trap options in my choices (though I don't always succeed).

>>30087273
Got you, I thought he would turn on us if we didn't get that DC, didn't realize it was to get him to help us

>3.

Between the mass sendings, Sarah’s support and your own focus on them, you believe you have a good chance of keeping the lesser houses out of the fight. Sarah’s work with the populace means they may still riot even without dedicated intervention, too.

[DC11/16 Instigation]

Rolled 8

>>30087329
time to rile them up

Rolled 1

>>30087329

Rolled 14

>>30087329

Rolled 4

>>30087329

>>30087329
>>30087344
ouch any fate points we can burn?

>>30087344
I tried to be the 20 that pierced the heavens

>>30087339
>>30087344
>>30087356
Well

>>30087367
We don't have those.

>>30087344
We instigated them so hard that they turned against us.

>>30087367
Even if there were, I would never waste then on a roll like this.

>>30087400
welp it means all the lower houses are gonna be dead.

Rolled 6

>>30087384
>>30087367
We do have fate points, but they are for seriously critical things. as in, "talon dies, use a fate point to not end quest"

>>30087406
You would be outvoted anon., people ALWAYS reroll ones, even for the most inane of situations

>>30087443
I'm sorry for not being retarded.

>>30087420
Yep...

Well, at least that means we can make Vitria more meritocratic like the Grandmaster wanted. Merchant Republic ho'?

>>30087473
I'm just hoping my 1 won't get the citizens on his side.

>dramatic failure

Many of the sendings appear to have been refused outright and you give Sarah a questioning look.

“Oaln has a lot of these houses in their back pocket or are blackmailing them,” she says. “Obviously they don’t think you’ll be able to keep them safe from him or be able to offer them enough.”

You click your tongue. You doubt this will make an immediate difference beyond them not supporting you, but it will make controlling Vitria with their support harder. You might need to enact a purge of Oaln’s pet houses if you want a swift rise to power.

Maloric and Sala return with good news, however, along with the Archmagister of the Tower of Kassick.

“We’ve got ourselves a few combat summoners, including Archmagister Saril, here,” Maloric tells you. You go through the standard introductions with Saril before returning your attention to the situation at hand.

Vitria, as far as you care right now, is separated into the outer and inner wards, the commercia and the four spires of the main houses. There’s more to the city, but it’s unimportant. The inner wards house the main military and the commercia is how Oaln will assault you. You have one more opportunity to make use of before Oaln’s forces engage you.

>1. Spend some dedicated time riling up the populace with a grand speech.
>2. Lay an ambush for Oaln’s troops in the commercia before retreating to the spire.
>3. Launch a surprise raid on the Vitrian military in an attempt to prevent them from engaging Arail’s reinforcements.
>4. Custom

Note, if you try to do more than one option things have more opportunity to go wrong.

>>30087560
>2. Lay an ambush for Oaln’s troops in the commercia before retreating to the spire

>>30087560
>2. Lay an ambush for Oaln’s troops in the commercia before retreating to the spire.
Try and get some locals in on the ambush, that way Oaln will think that the city has turned against him - making him more desperate and more willing to strike out at locals, pushing them into our camp.

>>30087560
2

>>30087560
>2. Lay an ambush for Oaln’s troops in the commercia before retreating to the spire.
>>30087600
Seconded.

>>30087560
>4
try to get the Vitrian army on our side or at least non hostile

>2.

You decide the best option right now is an ambush before retreating to the spire. Your force composition and Oaln’s is:

YOUR TROOPS
10 Heavy Mage-Knights (Veterans)
40 Medium Mage-Knights (Veterans)
150 Men-at-arms (Veterans)
100 Archers (Veterans)
5 Summoner Mages (Regulars)
Plus your party (Talon, Gnome, Undine, Sala, Lynn and Maloric)

YOUR REINFORCEMENTS
85 Flying Mage-Knights
>85 Veterans
40 Heavy Mage-Knights
>30 Regular
>10 Green
580 Medium Mage-Knights
>290 Veterans
>260 Regulars
>30 Green
340 Arcane Archers
>240 Veterans
>100 Green
300 Heavy Men-at-arms
>300 Green
405 Men-at-arms
>135 Regulars
>270 Green
20 Battlemages
>20 Regulars
Satisfactory support and logistics corps

OALN’S FORCES (MARCHING)
150 Medium Mage-Knights (Veterans)
300 Men-at-arms (Veterans)
50 Archers (Veterans)

OALN’S FORCES (DEFENSE)
50 Medium Mage-Knights (Vets)
100 Archers (Vets)

The commercia is largely abandoned, but is filled with an assortment of structures and is borders by many spires and large overhanging structures. You estimate you have a half-hour to prepare an ambush and any traps before conflict erupts. Once the battle starts, you will find it hard to make any additional plans.

Gnome has blockaded any additional entrances apart from the front one.
Sarah has spread word amongst the populace and some of them will join you in your ambush against Oaln, wherever it may be.
The summoners will each create several combat-capable summons. You can have Maloric help them or act as artillery.

>Any additional battle-plans? I have to duck off for a half-hour. I’ll collate everything when I return.

>>30087752
The Comerica is a above ground level street right? Could Gnome collapse sections of it or turn the stone to mud temporarily (Maybe with Undine's help)? Bonus points if you collapse the sections under Mage knights.
Archers target men at arms, Party members hit Mage knights with ranged magic.

>>30087752
Have mal help the summoners
I have a few ideas on getting gnome/sala and udine styled traps, but i have to hash them out first.

I had a thought that makes d20 not suck as much.

Nat 1s only count if the other counted rolls were not successes on their own.

That'd be cool.

>>30087752

is the commercia on a suspended platform? I recall it being described as such... if so, could we set us sections which we could collapse dropping Oaln's forces plummeting down below?

also, stationing some of our archers along the part of the Commercia which is closest to our spire on multiple levels should give us a good range of fire, having some Men-at-arms and Medium Mage-Knights acting as flank guards for the outer most archer positions should provide sufficient support to assist in their falling back to our prepared positions closer to the spire.

Ideally we should funnel our enemy into a bottleneck where our Heavy Mage-Knights can act as a cork whilst being supported by the Summoners and some of the other knights...


also, going to try and hash out a shitty kind of map... might help, might not...

>>30087879
>>30088023
The commercia's a gigantic plate suspended above the inner wards. So yes, you could have Gnome rig portions of it to collapse at will.

>>30087969
There's issue around probability for that. If you still have 20s count as critsuccesses automatically, you end up with them being much more common. If you require a second success, you end up with critfails being more common than critsuccess for DCs above 14 or 15 (Can't remember which). If I were to ever change the dice system, it would be to an additive system where I add the 3 d20s and crits are based on them adding to above a certain total or below one.

I'm going to write up the beginning of the ambush sequence now. The thread will probably be action until the end of it. On the plus side, we won't be autosaging for a fair while at this rate so I can hopefully conclude this in one thread.

>>30088183
My personal favorite means of dealing with that issue is to collect "points" by crit failing, with a certain number of points turning a critfail into a regular fail or success, and a max value on the number of points you can hold at once.

>>30088270
That's PPQ's system, isn't it? I am going to add a DH version of fate points, though they'll be pretty hard to regenerate. Go to Faruuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnn.[/spoiier]

>Ambush scene start

You bring Gnome and most of the Black Stone knights, bar the heavies, to an area of the commercia you suspect Oaln’s forces will cross. You order Gnome to begin weakening areas of the platform as you and the knights take up hidden positions wherever possible. Shortly, you begin hearing the noise of Oaln’s troops marching towards you.

You sneak a glance and notice that they are led by the mage-knights, armed and armoured very similarly to many of your knights. Unsurprising given many of your knights are former subjects of House Oaln. You give Gnome the signal as they step over a part of the platform you know she’s trapped and begin the ambush.

[DC12 Ambush]

>>30088321
That was brilliant of me. Reposting for those who don't like spoilers.

>Ambush scene start

You bring Gnome and most of the Black Stone knights, bar the heavies, to an area of the commercia you suspect Oaln’s forces will cross. You order Gnome to begin weakening areas of the platform as you and the knights take up hidden positions wherever possible. Shortly, you begin hearing the noise of Oaln’s troops marching towards you.

You sneak a glance and notice that they are led by the mage-knights, armed and armoured very similarly to many of your knights. Unsurprising given many of your knights are former subjects of House Oaln. You give Gnome the signal as they step over a part of the platform you know she’s trapped and begin the ambush.

[DC12 Ambush]

Rolled 1

>>30088338
>>30088321

Rolled 17

>>30088355
Mm. Good feels.
Love it.

>>30088338

File: 1391824270524.png-(11 KB, 1904x875, Shitty map of Commercia.png)

11 KB PNG

Rolled 19

>>30088338

rolling

also have the shitty map I promised...

>>30088338

Rolled 11

>>30088338

Rolled 6

>>30088338
the 20 that negates that 1

>>30088372
>>30088370
>>30088355

>>30088338
I know probability makes sense in all that stuff you said up above.

But I am a superstitious person. And dice don't give a shit.

>>30088338
>>30088321
Please don't follow PGQ dice system, it was retarded and also neglects this systems plot with astral powers.

>>30088399
That isn't the PGQ dice system at all though.

>Dramatic failure

Gnome’s trap triggers exactly as you had hoped and your exit cover to the sound of Vitrian screams. Rock and steel tumbles below, along with the bodies of dozens of Vitrian mage-knights. You put the thought of innocent casualties out of your head, as it’s probably that countless more will come with the conflict. You spot the Vitrian formation in disarray and know this is the best time to launch an assault.

Except you can’t. Gnome’s collapse so much of the platform that the only way you could engage the Oaln forces is to leap across the gap and fight them yourself, leaving your knights by themselves. This will delay the enemy, but robs you of a chance to do a lot of damage to them. You…

>1. Try to ambush them as they work their way around the new hole in the commercia
>2. Leap over and attack them
>3. Retreat to the spire, having already slain many of their mage-knights.
>4. Custom

>>30088355
What is it with us an ambushes?

>>30088474
>2. Leap over and attack them
So that means order is gonna be harder for us huh.

>>30088474
>1. Try to ambush them as they work their way around the new hole in the commercia
Did they actually see us...?

>>30088474
>3

>>30088474
>Custom
One arrow/magic volley then retreat to the tower.
I refuse to believe we can jump farther than we can shoot.

>>30088474
>2. Leap over and attack them

>>30088523
You can shoot much further than you can jump, yes. Your knights could also volley along with you.

>>30088523
I'll second this

>>30088552
Its times like these that I really appreciate our Arcane archers. Pity we didn't bring any along.
>>30088523

>>30088523

sounds good...

Also, are they in range of our archers? if so, we can start bombarding them while they are focused on getting around the hole....

Also Also, could Undine cover the area around the hole with ice so that the Olan forces slip and slide into it?

>>30088634
You're a fair distance from the Tabeth spire, right now, and you've only got Gnome and some knights with you. The rest are preparing defenses.

>Arrow/magic volley

You draw your bow quickly and line up a shot, as Master Harold catches on and lines his men up, too. You can pepper them with a ranged volley and then follow up with a retreat or trying to break them up personally.

Drawing on your astral power deeply, you attempt to blow away many of the foe with an explosive arrow. The additional volley from the Black Stone Knights will be nowhere near as effective as your arcane archers, but should suffice.

[DC13/17 Archery Volley]

Rolled 5

>>30088649

Rolled 5

>>30088649

Rolled 12

>>30088649

>Target not met

You find yourself unable to draw on your astral power to the same degree you’d like to, but still manage to fire off an arrow that ploughs through several Vitrians. The sudden sight of several of their comrades being knocked off their feet by an arrow from somewhere startles many of the foe into sudden action as they realise there’s a foe. Your knights follow up with a volley of magical blasts in hopes of sundering their morale.

Except you misjudged the size of the hole and the distance the Vitrians have from you, and the blasts dissipate into nothingness several metres away from the Vitrians. Luckily, they’re as startled as you are and haven’t yet begun to pull back. Still, you need to act now if you want to catch them.

>1. Leap over and attack them yourself.
>2. Retreat to the spire.
>3. Attempt to ambush them again, although they know you’re around now.
>4. Custom

>>30088754
>1. Leap over and attack them yourself.

>>30088754
>2. Retreat to the spire.
We've got defensive terrain, they've lost a good chunk of their numerical advantage.

>>30088754
>>2. Retreat to the spire.

I don't trust our rolls today to fight them alone.

>>30088783
This is a hit and run ambush. Stick to the plan. Remember what happened when we tried to change the plan with those Taour heavy knights?

>>30088754

back to the spire, Gnome might be able to set up some smaller holes which Undine can surround with ice...

>2.

“Pull back,” you shout. “We’ll meet them with our defences.”

The knights move back with a great clatter of steel boots as the Vitrians hurriedly reform and try to find a way around the hole. You look around as you retreat and can’t find Gnome. You hope that she’s not trying anything too foolish.

As you return to the spire, you give your defences a once over. A series of sturdy stone barricades lines the path to the spire entrance, forming a funnel of sorts where Grandmaster Lucas and his heavy knights are positioned. You direct many of the knights accompanying you into ambush positions amongst the rest of the barricades where they will be able to take the foe as they try to advance. Your archers and men-at-arms are positioned in the spire or in barricaded commercia buildings nearby, in overlooking positions so that they can pepper the Oaln forces from all angles. With almost a third of their mage-knights forces dealt with and no reinforcements expected, you doubt you’ll have any difficulty holding them off.

You…

>1. Participate in the battle itself to ensure your victory. This will limit the amount of Oaln’s forces that can retreat.
>2. Leave Grandmaster Lucas to head the battle and instead try to rally support amongst the locals. They are likely frustrated about their inability to help you attack Oaln and will probably be happy to get out and bash things.
>3. Leave Grandmaster Lucas to head the battle and instead try to limit the participation of the main Vitrian army.
>4. Custom

>>30088941
>3. Leave Grandmaster Lucas to head the battle and instead try to limit the participation of the main Vitrian army.

>>30088941
>1

>>30088941

Go down and rally the locals... with all the Olan soldiers who fell below, there should be a significant quantity of weapons and enough broken armour to at least cobble together some make-shift bits... an armed peasantry is a dangerous thing...

>>30088941
>1. Participate in the battle itself to ensure your victory. This will limit the amount of Oaln’s forces that can retreat.

>>30088941
>2. Leave Grandmaster Lucas to head the battle and instead try to rally support amongst the locals. They are likely frustrated about their inability to help you attack Oaln and will probably be happy to get out and bash things.

>>30088941
>1
2 has too much potential for damage to the city.

>1.

This battle could be won without you, but if you can break Oaln’s army it will make crushing him all that the easier. You ensure that everybody is in position. You take up position alongside some of the Black Stone knights at the foremost barricades, Lynn by your side, as Undine creates a great deal of ice to coat the paths of the commercia that lead to your position. Sala flaps about absent-mindedly as the summoners and her master focus their magicks in creating a number of powerful summons. Mal gave you a warning to get out of the way when you hear the drums, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. As you hear the noise of approaching soldiers, Gnome drops in beside you, looking a little roughed up.

“Where have you been?” you ask harshly.

“Slowing the soldiers,” she says and you notice she’s clearly been in combat. “I’ve tired them out a bit and put a few more out of action.”

>1. Admonish her for charging off without telling you.
>2. Thank her for helping you but ask her to tell you first next time.
>3. Don’t give her a response, instead focusing on the coming battle.
>4. Custom

>>30089214
>1. Admonish her for charging off without telling you.
>2. Thank her for helping you but ask her to tell you first next time.
These two.

>>30089214
>2

>>30089242
>1. Admonish her for charging off without telling you.
>2. Thank her for helping you but ask her to tell you first next time.

>>30089214
>2. Thank her for helping you but ask her to tell you first next time.
since she can't use human magic we can have Mal make her an item of sending so she can warn us next time.

>>30089214
>1. Admonish her for charging off without telling you.
>2. Thank her for helping you but ask her to tell you first next time.
This doesn't deserve a slap on the wrist, but we should still thank her.

>>30089214
>>3. Don’t give her a response, instead focusing on the coming battle.


bitch at her after the fight its battle time

>>30089214
>3

make a mental note to discuss it at a later stage...

>1 & 2

“Gnome, don’t charge off without telling me,” you say, maintaining your harsh tone. “It’s hard enough to control a battlefield without someone as typically reliable as yourself charging off doing their own thing.”

Gnome frowns, though the only indication behind her tall collar is a slight furrowing of her brow, but you continue more lightly before she says anything.

“With that said, what you did was good work. It’s made our life her easier. I just need you to tell me before you do that next time. You’re not just a capable fighter and familiar Gnome, but you’re also vital to building and maintaining defences.”

For her part, she looks a bit bashful at the backhanded compliment. She gives you a nod to show she understands and you refocus to the battlefield. The enemy’s nearby. Once they come to the entrance to the web of barricades the trap will be sprung and the fight will be on. There’s little risk of losing here, but the more of them you kill or disable, the easier it will be to seize Oaln’s spire.

[DC12/17 Combat]

Rolled 7

>>30089385

Crush them with extreme prejudice...

Rolled 17

>>30089385

Rolled 7

>>30089385

>>30089433
yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus

I’m going to put some feelers out there – if this runs until 4am or later (12 hour session at the most), am I likely to have any players given this is a combat session? I wouldn’t mind being able to conclude the Vitrian conquest this session and dedicate next session to planning and empire-building.

>Upper target met

As the Vitrian boots shatter and crunch on the ice that Undine’s created, you surge with power and leap out of cover towards the enemy mage-knights. They have fanned across the gaps leading into the barricade pathway but failed to notice the great floor of ice. You’re no stranger to slippery surfaces and the Black Stone knights have armour designed for fighting mountainous areas where snow and ice is common, so the foe finds themselves at great disadvantage.

Armoured Vitrians lay and stand scattered across the ice as you surge out, and you catch a frightened glimpse from one of the enemy as your glowing blade snaps out and cleaves him in half. A slight tug of resistance comes from your blade as you break his defensive enchantments but the steel and bone offers no resistance. Astral power surges through you, but you summoned it intentionally unlike when you first used it to defend Harrowmont. You let out a loud bellow, enhanced by your magic as you follow through and churn through the startled ranks of Oaln’s knights.

Drawn into action by your shout, arrows begin to pepper the rear-facing ranks of the enemy. Your archers find their range on the enemy from the spire you hear a whoop from the Tabeth soldiers fighting for you as Sala swoops through the enemy’s archers, leaving a blazing trail of corpses and smoking wood in her wake. Iciciles spear the foe from afar and your foe finds their footing uneven as Gnome shifts the stone in between her powerful blows from her gauntlets.

>continued

>>30089641
The enemy captain, his armour glowing with runes, comes to face you. No doubt he is far superior to the Vitrian commander you faced when you captured Harrowmont initially, his runes glowing constantly rather than flaring on and off as he exhausts them. Yet, as your sword shatter his halberd with a great spark of light and force, he falls just as easily as so many of the foe and it seems as if the morale of the foe ripples with them.

As he goes down, you hear the drums Maloric warned you about. The summons are coming to clean things up.

>1. Withdraw and trust Maloric and the summons to do the job right.
>2. Order your troops to withdraw but assist the summons.
>3. Ignore the drums and fight on as normal
>4. Custom

>>30089641
I would still be here if you run a long game

>>30089660
>1. Withdraw and trust Maloric and the summons to do the job right.

>>30089641
I'm willing to go all night, but i don't know about the 3-4 other guys.
>>30089660
>2. Order your troops to withdraw but assist the summons.

>>30089660
>1

>>30089660
>1

>>30089641
I'll be here until around 2 ish. Mind you, You're kinda worrying me given how little Olan has left.

>>30089660
>1

we have dealt a crippling blow to Olan's forces, even if the summons don't fully mop up, the survivors will only serve to weaken the enemy moral as stories of our martial prowess and overwhelming power will start eroding the remaining force's moral... not to mention, any survivor is liable to exaggerate our numbers to make their failure seem understandable...

>>30089641
I'm a lurker, but if you go long and start running out of players I don't mind posting.

>>30089744
There's still plenty of shenanigans to come in Vitria, past crushing Oaln's forces. Of course, you guys might get innovative and find a way around them.

Alright, so I’ll probably have a couple of players if I run late. So this will likely run until Vitria is conquered which may take more or less time than I expect. It at least justifies opening a second bottle of wine.

>1.

Mal had warned you about the drums and, given the horrible experiences you’ve had in the past from your friend, you don’t hesitate to heed his advice. You pull your men back to the barricades, leaving a clear path for whatever monstrosities Maloric has summoned alongside the mages of the Tower of Kassick.

And you thank the stars you did. Maloric talks about the look and feel of the summons mattering as much as what they can do and you understand him now. Nightmarish beasts of black steel, purple magma dripping off them and disintegrating the stone they touch, charge past and collide with the Vitrians who had been trying to regroup after your withdrawal.

And by collide, you mean it literally. The fearsome dog-thing summons don’t try to bite or slash at the enemy and instead simply barrel into them. And through them. As they crash into their target, whatever they touch seems to openly turn into nothingness and they charge through completely unimpeded. At the same time, a bizarre mane of fire bursts from their neck, or something you think is their neck given their odd shape. The sight of their comrades being disintegrated by inhuman monsters shatters Oaln’s men’s morale in short order and the scene quickly turns into that of men fleeing for their lives before a mass of nightmarish monsters.

>continued

>>30089942
As you regroup, realising the battle is over, you spot the first of the beast’s returning to mere magic, as their mane burns to nothing and they become nothing more than the energy they once more. You remind yourself not to piss off Maloric unless you’re about to put your sword through his head the very next instant. He is a frightening bastard, and you sincerely doubt the Tower of Kassick could do this without his help.

Some of Oaln’s men remain after the battle, but you doubt they’ll be much difficulty. It’s an hour before nightfall, and horns bellowing from below indicate that your army has entered sight of the city and the guards are reacting.

>1. Push on Oaln’s tower with your men, leaving Arail to deal with the main Vitrian army which he outnumbers two to one.
>2. Try to assist Arail with your men.
>3. Hold at the spire and open contact with House Rorek, trying to suss out their position in this now you have routed Oaln’s forces.
>4. Custom

>>30089961
>1. Push on Oaln’s tower with your men, leaving Arail to deal with the main Vitrian army which he outnumbers two to one.

>>30089961
>1

>>30089961

Ask Sarah to inform the city guards that the incoming army are her reinforcements...

>>30090072
She's been doing that (hence the earlier rolls and decisions). They don't really buy it.

>>30089961
Send a sending to the City guard pointing out:
1. They're outnumbered 2 to 1
2. The Golden bears have declared neutrality
3. I have the support of two of the ruling houses
4. House Olan has about 100 men left total, all holed up in their fortress.

They may want to stay out of the way.

>>30090072
>>30090112
Alright, on considering these, I'll call a second vote.

VOTE
>1. Engage in negotiations via a sending device with the commander of the Vitrian army to try to convince him not to engage your men. This will take some of your time.
>2. Try to intimidate the Vitrian army via a sending (ala >>30090112) whilst marching Oaln's spire.
>3. March on Oaln's spire but have Sarah personally try to convince the Vitrian army to stand down.
>4. Custom

>>30090195
>3

Sarah is better at Diplomancing than us...

>>30090195
>3. March on Oaln's spire but have Sarah personally try to convince the Vitrian army to stand down.
She's totally capable of pointing out that Olan is completely fucked on her own.

>>30090195
>3
sarah is the better diplomancer

>>30090195
>3. March on Oaln's spire but have Sarah personally try to convince the Vitrian army to stand down.

>3.

“Sarah, can I have you try to convince the Vitrian military not to get themselves slaughtered by charging my men pointlessly?” you say. “If I’m going to rule the city anyway, it seems like an awful waste of resources to have the military die so futilely.”

“Um, I’ll try to convince them,” she says. “Maybe in a less abrasive manner. I’ll probably need to get changed if I’m going to be properly convincing. I’ll take a small escort to my tower. You’re going to march on Oaln’s spire.”

“That is the plan. I have no doubt he has some surprises in store but I have no wish to give him the time to use them.”

She gives you a nod and hurries off, pulling a few soldiers to her. You frown at the idea of a number of unknown men and women escorting her and direct…

>1. Undine to escort her.
>2. Gnome to escort her.
>3. Lynn to escort her.
>4. Custom

>>30090372
>1. Undine to escort her.
Most likley to help with diplomacy.

>>30090372
>1. Undine to escort her.
most flexible.

>>30090372

>1

We assigned Undine to look after Sarah during this campaign as she vouched for her, so let her continue the task...

>>30090372
>>1. Undine to escort her.

>>30090372
>1
But ask if Undine would like to first.

>>30090372
>1
Undine is probably be most versatile bodyguard we have. Plus she can throw veils up if they need to skedaddle.

Oh, I've got a question: If there are partial DCs on a roll, and we get both a 20 and a 1, do we pass the lower or higher DC?

>>30090634
he has a rules section all about it, but the 20 wins out.

>>30090634
Higher. Basically, the 20 cancels out the 1 and then acts like the roll it was, without the special effect of being an exceptional (effectively succeeding on the higher target on any roll).

I hate when I screw up some house-keeping and have to waste time searching old threads to find some numbers. It gets worse when I realise I never directly specified the numbers so it was time wasted. Bloody hell. Sorry for the wait.

>1.

“Undine,” you call out, drawing the attention of your Champion. “I don’t mean to impose on you, but could you keep an eye on Sarah as she convinces the Vitrian army to not be too foolish.”

She quirks an eyebrow and gives a small smile. “Assuming you mean you want me to cover her when she says something foolish, I can do that. I’ll join with Arail’s forces afterwards, assuming all goes well. If things go bad, I’ll bring Sarah back here. We don’t want her getting too hurt right as we’re on the cusp of victory.”

You nod, thinking hard about that. You’d thought that there may have been some friendship developing between Undine and Sarah, but it could just be Undine’s cunning side shining through. Either way, Undine is clearly more than capable for the job and should hopefully help Sarah should things go wrong. As she joins Sarah, and immediately starts chatting with her, you form up with Lucas and begin your march on Oaln’s tower. Things will either get much harder or much easier from now on.

>continued

>>30090686
Your thoughts are no less muddled as you reach the tower and find it surrounded by corpses, most bearing Oaln’s crests but at least one bears yours. As you see Felix and three of his fellow knights of the Order of the Diamond Fox, you realise the fallen knight is one of his comrades. Something feels off about the whole situation.

“It’s good to see you here, Imperator,” Felix calls our, fully clad in armour and opening his arms wide in greeting. He’s still some distance from you. You…

>1. Keep your distance and try to work out what Felix is doing here.
>2. Approach Felix normally, congratulating him on his success.
>3. Move past Felix with your men, trying to get him to follow you and fight alongside you.
>4. Custom

>>30090702
>1. Keep your distance and try to work out what Felix is doing here.

>>30090702
>1. Keep your distance and try to work out what Felix is doing here

>>30090702
>4.
Send some of our men to help the Diamond Fox knight that has fallen. If he is beyond help, at least have our men honor him.

>>30090702
>1

>>30090702
>1
Something's up? Clearly.

Oh, if I go to sleep before this is over, make sure we celebrate our victory in style.
With Sarah, in her bed

>>30090778
How optimistic.

>>30090857
How lewd.

>1.

You raise your hand to signal to your men to halt and take a few steps forward.

“Felix,” you call out. “It seems odd to see you here. Last I recall, I asked you to help lead my army.”

It would be difficult to tell otherwise, but with your empowered sight you see a grin form on your general’s face. “Ah, but Malaine is so very capable I saw no reason to burden him with my presence. There’s so much more to hold my attention here, after all.”

“What exactly would it be that holds your attention?” you say. Gnome creeps up behind you, and you sense the tension in her. It seems you’re not alone in feeling that this whole situation is off.

“When we first met, I believe I told you of my interests. Battle, to improve myself and to fight alongside my comrades. All of these will be fulfilled with what I desire to achieve here. And, if I succeed, I’ll likely go down in history. I would quite like that.”

You frown. Your thoughts are churning and things are coming together now.

>1. <Write-in response>
>2. Tell him to get to the point.
>3. Attack him now. You don’t like where this is going.
>4. Custom

>>30090930
>1. say you take his challenge after taking over the spire.

>>30090930
No chance at a social roll o verify that this is Felix and he's not being puppeted by a Mage or something?

>>30091024
That would be filed under number 4 if you wanted to try to suss it out.

>>30090930

"It does seem like the bulk of the army is going to miss the party here... Ready to storm the spire?"

we can retain a bit of suspicion.... maybe ask Mal to give him a quick once over, see if he has been compromised, but only if he can do it on the sly. don't want to raise any suspicion of distrust at the moment....

>>30091024
>>30091029
Then:
>4. What this anon said.

>>30090930
Hey, I like some conquest with my conquest every once and a while.
>>30090930
1. "Tell you what, the next time I fight a feldragon I promise to invite you along."

>>30091069
I think he want to fight us as a way to test himself and be known in history to stop a man as powerful as us.

Alright, so I've got three different approaches.

>1. Assume Felix wants to fight you and confront him over that fact. Ala >>30090969 and >>30091104. If you're wrong, he'll take strong offense.
>2. Try to work out if he's been thralled or otherwise controlled. This will take time and if you're wrong he may seize the initiative. Like >>30091024
>3. Assume he's still onside but be suspicious as you try to draw him into your momentum. Ala >>30091069
>4. Custom

>>30091162
Oh, and No. 3 has the downside of him trying to kill you if he is in fact a traitor and attacks you.

>>30091162
>3

>>30091162
3

>>30091162
>4
Ask him what exactly he desires to achieve here.

>>30091213
seconded, but this might just be 1 since it is confronting him.

>>30091213
This I like.

>>30091162

>>30091213
sounds good

could we do it with 3?

>>30091226
it's not accusing him of betraying us openly

I like to think of it as a cautious question.

>>30091162
>3

>>30091197
Changing vote
to this
>>30091213
Its basically 1, but with out going for the fight like this anon said.
>>30091226

>>30091213
Going with this.

>>30091162
>2 - Thrall?
Oh crap. The Taour offensive wasn't opportunely timed for no reason, was it.

>4. Ask him his desires

“Your interests mean one thing, but what exactly do you desire to achieve here, Felix?” you ask.

He doesn’t really falter. “What do I desire to achieve? I desire a battle unlike any I have ever fought before. I desire a chance to go down in history as a man who tried to stop a tyrant. I desire a chance to prove myself to be as great a knight as I wish to be. I desire to push myself in a battle, even if die in it.

“Ultimately,” Felix finishes, “I desire a climactic resolution unlike anything else in my life. To go out with a bang. I will either die achieving my dreams or become that which I have dreamed of, even if it is only in a faux state.”

You hold back a sigh of discontent. “There is no Order of the Diamond Fox, is there?”

“Only half-right,” he calls back. “The old order perished decades ago but fought for the same ideals we do. I like to think I am resurrecting the order despite my lack of entitlement.”

A fake knight, fighting for fake ideals, who seeks only his personal absolution in most troublesome way possible. Even so, part of you feels there is the possibility of seizing something here.

>Write-in response. Feel free to draw on previous suggestions. I’ll call on a new vote if it’s contentious.

>>30091337

"So, you plan on building a new Order on the remains of a dead one with the soul purpose of fighting for glory? Well, there is a battle which needs to be fought now, care to join me?"

We can always set him up as the commander of an elite shock assault unit, the kind of squad which is deployed into heavy resistance and dangerous situations with the intention of preforming both distraction missions and smash and grab missions...

>>30091337
ugh
he just had to put all that in the most ambiguous way possible, huh

Ask why he suddenly disappeared from the rest of your army without leaving word or messengers.

>>30091405
Second, also see if we do fight to spare him and have him serve under us permanently.

>>30091337
Challenge him to a running battle - a race - to the top of Oaln's tower.

If he wins, reward him by offering to fight him as he so richly desires, and give his order independant jurisdiction while within your lands.

If you win, Felix must become head of the next Order of the Diamond Fox, subservient to us, sponsored by us - alongside, of course, any other knightly orders that comprise our military might, and he will be disallowed from further challenging our might and the might of others without our consent.

>>30091463
Can this go along with this?
>>30091405

>>30091501
>>30091337

>>30091337
"Most tyrants tend not to have the overwhelming support of the commoners of the cities the are invading. Still, should you wish to be a great knight, your service as my general inclines me to believe you can be that in truth. If you want a battle unlike anything you've ever had before I can provide it to you. One way, or another."

>>30091463
no
pls no

Alright, two main choices suggested here.

>1. Challenge him to a running battle with the prize being independence or subservience, depending on the victory. Like >>30091463.
>2. Try to inspire him to be a great knight under you, rather than one that must fight you. Like >>30091405 and >>30091528.

This vote will decide how you handle Felix. The next will involve a roll no matter the choice, though the results of the roll may vary.

>>30091535
The problem is that given Felix's cocksure attitude right now, trying to ignore his attitude and sidestep it will only result in him throwing down the gauntlet himself. Even if we win the ensuing challenge, the damage will already be done.

By challenging him ourselves, we retain control over what happens next, and can use it to negate or smooth over any spaghetti incoming.

>>30091337
Point out that we intend to rule the continent, which will involve deposing many tyrants and fighting a wide variety of incredibly powerful beings.
And that he's throwing that away to fight us, a relative nobody without control of a single region, while an army led by powerful and terrible vampires masses for an invasion.

>>30091578
>1

Casting my vote.

>>30091578
2

>>30091578
>1. Challenge him to a running battle with the prize being independence or subservience, depending on the victory. Like >>30091463.

>>30091578
>1
picking 2 will still have the problem of him challenging us again, plus i like the idea of having a new order.

>>30091578
>2

>>30091578
2

>>30091578
2
One will simply cause problems in the future.

>>30091646
*again at a later date

>>30091578
>2

>>30091659
How so?
Also you guys know this is a persuasion check in the happening while the first option is bum rushing the spire and gaining a new knightly order of shock troopers.

>>30091694
They're both persuasion checks. It's just the results and difficulties vary.

>>30091578
1

>>30091694
no
one is a persuasion check
the other is a persuasion check followed by a number of battle and race checks, probably with a second persuasion at the end.

Apologies for how long this has taken. This has been planned from Felix's introduction and I wanted the opportunity for players to influence its results.

>2.

"Most tyrants tend not to have the overwhelming support of the commoners of the cities they are invading. Still, should you wish to be a great knight, your service as my general inclines me to believe you can be that in truth. If you want a battle unlike anything you've ever had before I can provide it to you. If you fight me now, you lose the chance to fight vampires, or gods, or many other powerful tyrants and monsters. Do you truly want to throw that all away for a shot at me now, Felix?”

You see him struggle with the thoughts. Any additional lines her may sway him either way.

[DC16 Persuasion]

Feel free to throw in some write-ins. If there are some really good ones, I may lower the DC retrospectively to reflect them or at least change the dialogue.

Rolled 13

>>30091787

Rolled 4

>>30091787
Tell him that we would help resurrect his order.

Rolled 2

>>30091787
Anything I offer you is better than letting your order die out here.

Rolled 11

>>30091787
New arch enemy GO!