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>>34163526
Current Date and Time: Mid-morning on November 16th, 1952PC

>You have 1 FR point

As you glance around the meeting room you have to admit you’re impressed. Sarah’s been refurbishing the rooms behind the great hall for their intended purpose for administrative and diplomatic purposes. The room is large enough to fit considerably more people in it that it currently has and banners adorn each side. One side bears the golden griffin that is becoming your namesake, the other the banners of both the Six-Star Alliance and Ren’s Seven-Leaf Clan. As you might expect, each party takes a seat on the side of their banner – except Vad, who leans against the wall near your banner and Tsucchi, who takes a seat near the centre. There’s been a noticeable space left for yourself and Undine in the centre.

Taking your seat, you size up Ren and his companion. His companion is supposedly the fox general you’ve been promised, Fuurin, and he sits placidly, his six tails still. He’s the first fox you’ve met who has been clearly permanently scarred, with an obviously blinded left eye and missing his left fox ear – presumably he was hit by some powerful magic to cause permanent wounds. Fuurin is almost stereotypically a battle-scarred warrior.

Ren, on the other hand, looks the part of the lazy, arrogant ruler. His eight tails sway lazily behind him, a shade of gold slightly deeper than Taira’s. His eyes betray him, however, and he is clearly far more alert than he is trying to appear. You might have missed it if Taira, Karise and Tsucchi hadn’t been warning you not to underestimate him. Ren technically was the underdog here and he wasn’t going to like that so you needed to be ready for any tricks. Not that you expected anything too troublesome – Ren wanted you as an ally, even if he might find it grating to acknowledge you as the superior in the relationship.

>continued

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You had Taira to thank for this abrupt turn in the balance of power between yourself and the Six-Star Alliance. A relationship that had started with threats to use their overwhelming power to kill you should you betray them had turned into one where they couldn’t hope to carry that you without the same happening to them.

Ren’s brown eyes lock on yours as you sit and you return his gaze calmly, considering your next move. It’s up to you to begin proceedings so the tone of the meeting will be for you to decide. It might come across as childish but you could attempt to goad Ren – if Fuurin is going to be your general then it will be important to ensure he knows who is the greater in the relationship between yourself and Ren. On the other hand, a more measured approach might garner you more from the fox chief – Tsucchi had indicated he was very interested in shifting his operations here and it might be for the worse if you anger him.

You…

>1. Goad Ren in an attempt to make it clear that you’re the real chief here. There’s more fluffy tails on your side of the table than his, after all.
>2. Open proceedings neutrally, pushing Ren to show his hand before you say or do anything more.
>3. Be openly friendly. ‘Peace in our time’ between foxes and The York Empire and such nonsense. A good relationship is a working relationship.
>4. Custom

For those who don’t read the OPs, there’s now a GDocs spreadsheet with lots of empire information. It’s a good one-stop shop for information on finance, construction etc. It’s still new so I’d appreciate any and all feedback on it.

Also, I'm clearly going to need to shop a heading onto my normal OP to prevent it getting taken by somebody else again.

>>34163570
>2. Open proceedings neutrally, pushing Ren to show his hand before you say or do anything more.

>>34163570
>>2. Open proceedings neutrally, pushing Ren to show his hand before you say or do anything more.

>>34163570
>2. Open proceedings neutrally, pushing Ren to show his hand before you say or do anything more.

>>34163570
>2

>>34163570
>2
Even though we have to get shit going, he has the most to loose if this goes sour, we can wait for him to open.

>>34163570
4
>rip off his head and shit down his neck

>>34163570
>2
Is this the first time you've used this opening picture Aspie?

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>2.

“I think we all know why we’re all here so we can skip the formalities,” you say. “I’ve already gone through Karise’s plans for her foxes and approved them. That just leaves you, Ren, to go through your plans and for me to properly assess Fuurin.”

You’d intentionally avoided using any title for Ren on the advice of the foxes – absurdly enough, calling the foxes by their clan or alliance titles was an insult if you weren’t part of the clan. You weren’t one to judge their values but it did seem strange that calling somebody ‘Chief’ was more affectionate than respectful. Or perhaps it was more that the foxes didn’t believe anybody actually meant respect?

Fuurin speaks before Ren in what is clearly an intentional display. “I may as well go first then, Imperator. I am Fuurin and I am probably the closest thing the foxes have to a mercenary general,” Fuurin says, his voice almost like gravel – throat damage, perhaps? “As you may have guessed from my black tails, I grew up in Gauron. I have served in the military here, including in the war against the shadow beasts when I was younger. Although I served the Imperial Court in Pharos I defected to assist Chief Ren when the alliance relocated to Gauron.”

“Did you defect because you supported him or because you were homesick?” you ask bluntly.

Shrugging in response, Fuurin says, “A bit of both. The Imperial Court is a shadow of what it once was – Pharos may still retain all of its old structures, with an emperor that ostensibly rules the continent and individual rulers of the nations within it, but the Shadow Empress has blatantly usurped all power. I did not wish to continue serving them and Ren offered an opportunity to return home.”

>continued

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>>34164096
You nod slowly. Fuurin’s allegiance to the foxes clearly isn’t that strong. At least he possesses a great deal of experience if he’s fought in past wars on Gauron.

Ren decides to say his piece now before you can react to Fuurin’s. “Leavign Fuurin aside, the plan for the relocation of my clan is rather clear-cut. I have a proposal for a township for foxes and humans on this paper,” he says, placing a large roll of paper on the desk.

Unrolling that paper you see why Tsucchi didn’t mind telling you Ren’s plans. This was a fortress that was being proposed – a terraced village and fortress with a walled township at the bottom of the hillside. If the foxes were to live in the terraces it could fit thousands of them plus thousands of others in the township itself. The ‘shrine’ at the top looked more like a fortress and was clearly intended to be Ren’s future base of operations.

More interestingly was that Ren openly stated that he intends to relocate his clan. Not settle some foxes here, but relocate. There’s no guile there – yet. It seems he’s playing at the same game you are. He wants to see how you’ll react to his proposal.

>How do you react? What questions do you ask?

>>34164063
I used it once a long time ago when I did a 3 part session.

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>>34164096
>>34164119
Urgh, missed a detail. The paper also has a small map on it that indicates Ren intends for the village/fortress to be within a few miles of Harrowmont itself.

Outright state, "Alright sounds good, when are you getting started?"

Throw him off entirely.

>>34164119
What degree of autonomy does he expect from Harrowmont?

What are his motivations for relocation?

>>34164119
"I accept the village as is, how you build it is frankly, not my concern so long as people are safe. What arrangements regarding my empire would you ask?"

>>34164184
Folding when were not expecting to is not a good way to surprise an official

>>34164184
Start with this and follow up with:
>>34164230
> What arrangements regarding my empire would you ask?"
to try and use the opening.

>>34164119
>Foxes and humans

Where does he plan to get his paws on humans?
Does he expect us to offload our own people or are they coming from the Guard?

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>>34164205
>What degree of autonomy does he expect from Harrowmont?
"The same as other citizens of your empire. From my understand that appears to be a great deal. That and I would expect my clan to be able to rule the township with the same powers as any other mayor."

>What are his motivations for relocation?
"Do you really need to ask? The containment faction lost a lot of its power within the Guard with the failed assault on Ember. The other two factions aren't strong supporters of my race being in their confines, or only support them as puppets."

>>34164230
>What arrangements regarding my empire would you ask?"
"That I will be the representative for mystic foxes, or at least those in my clan, within your empire. They are still my people."

>>34164398
>Where does he plan to get his paws on humans?
"It's been my experience that people tend to relocate to near fortresses and other trade hubs. Isn't that happening here as well?" Ren says dryly.

>>34164119
"Interesting."

Having a walled up fluffy will be useful anyway.

The fortress village is acceptable. There isn't much reason to debate it.

Is there an expectation of citizenship of his clan within the Empire that functions like Karise's does?

We serve to gain one of the most powerful foxes this side of the ocean, but what does it do for us? for the Empire? If there are citizenship expectations, how do they serve? Karise's clan are spies, the vast majority of humans have their own jobs from military to administrative, what does the Seven-Leaf Clan have to offer?

>>34164437
"Citizenship? no problem, a representative position will be fine per clan also, should they wish to have a representative for all fox's, that would be up to the alliance as a whole."

So what's with the lazy ruler act? We're handing him the best opportunity for his race since the betrayal, what is it with foxes and always masking their true intentions behind lies or acts?

Are we doing a gendo pose to get under his skin or something? cause we totaly should.

>>34164149
Does he know of our plans for the canal?
Did we ever settle on using the northern or southern route?
Does his clan produce any goods we don't have access to?

>>34164522
A smart ruler will make others know it. An intelligent ruler will play a fool until the last moment, and by then its already too late.

Being underestimated makes life so much easier.

>>34164437
Remind me, the deal we have with our spymaster to exempt her people from military service doesn't apply to Ren's village, right? We should negotiate the terms or service in case of a draft (or annual conscription or what not) assuming that option's on the table.

Can we ask Vad's opinion on the plan?

>>34164557
why would he care about the canal?

>>34164595
the problem with that is the low birth rate of fox's

Frankly, they need to have the same deal, and i doubt Ren would budge.

>>34164658
Military access across our continent eventually, could mean quick reinforcements unless he has Taira's teleport skills as well

>>34164658
If we take the southern route it will run nearby Harrowmont, and by proxy the proposed village.

Pharos tends to trade with Vitria, or port at least. And it would serve to reason they would like to get in on that trading action as well. A nearby canal that could potentially ferry Pharos operatives would be concerning for the leader of the Foxes.

>>34164663
Ren does have the highest population and did burn a lot of foxes for the guard. So we can probably pull off getting some out of him with not much issues.

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>>34164557
The canal will be voted on this session.

>>34164595
>We should negotiate the terms or service in case of a draft (or annual conscription or what not) assuming that option's on the table.
"I'm not too worried about that," Ren says, shrugging with a lazy smile. "Citizenship implies a right to service, correct? Or an obligation to serve. I doubt you're the type to strangle the golden goose and conscript en masse. I will continue the originally negotiated deal where a number of foxes will serve to represent the clan itself and then the rest will be down to the individual foxes to serve in the military."

"You're not worried about losses?" you ask, surprised.

Again, a shrug. "My clan isn't in as weak a position as the Garrotte. I never implemented the breeding restrictions of the other clans - we're fifteen thousand strong and growing. If individual mystic foxes are willing to serve and ingratiate themselves to our empire, then why should I stop them?"

>>34164663
Before offering him the same deal as Karise we should at least push him into giving us troops. If he says that Karise got a better deal we should respond that wether or not he got the same deal is irrelevant, only that he will give or find another place to settle or something. Gotta flex that imperator muscle and show him who's top dog.

Have we asked him why he wants to build his terraced fortress so close to Harrowmont?

He asks for Autonomy, yet wants to set up shop in our front yard...

We should also go over what is required and expected from a town in the TYE; i.e. Taxes, censuses, Garrison forces & Military recruitment.

Ensure to ask if he has any inquires into the TYE. There is no real reason to deny him mayorship of what is effectively going to be His Fortress. So as such, he would be entitled to representation on behalf of his town.

>>34164764
>ingratiate themselves to our empire
>our empire

Pretty bold statement there Ren.

>>34164764
Can we make sure the fortress is somewhere of strategic significance? Either as a buffer or relief for harrow mint if it was besieged

>>34164764
>ingratiate themselves to our empire

I do believe that it is Talons Empire, not Talon and Rens Empire...

that might have been a type, but I sense he is testing us in some manner...

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>>34164454
>We serve to gain one of the most powerful foxes this side of the ocean, but what does it do for us?
He gives you a flat look. "I don't actually intend on serving you or swearing fealty. Regardless of whatever charade Taira is putting on, my duty is to my race. Our ambitions and needs coincide - you're building an empire that will reflect your own views, but you lack the resources to truly withstand the greater powers. I want to rebuild my clan and race, granting it political and economic power to make it stronger than we ever were in Pharos, but lack the land and resources to enable it. Surely you realise what I'm getting at?"

Taira pipes up while you consider his words. "It's not a charade. Talon is my master and I am his servant."

Ren's facade breaks momentarily as he gives Taira a cutting look for an instant before returning. Clearly all does not sit well with that situation.

You have a feeling that he may have been stating a demand for greater power and representation within your empire - combined with his earlier 'slip' about 'our' empire...

>What is your overall response to Ren?

>>34164909
What you want is irrelevant, only what I want and how you should proceed to get want I want. Or something like that, maybe someone can find a better way to put it.

>>34164909
This is Talons empire, we reserve the entire right to tell him to go elsewhere.
Our rule is undisputed in this realm. This is not going to change.
Sure we would lose a general and some fighting force if so, but frankly he needs us a hell of allot more than we need him.

>>34164909

>"I accept your foxes, and your village, and your representation within my empire. However. I do not accept you. You're lazy. You serve yourself, not your people, by allowing your own power base to grow larger you have the commanding lead over any other fox who would call themselves leader. You do not intend to serve me? Then do not. I'm sure there are replacements within your 15,000."

>>34164974
Calling him lazy is incorrect. He is acting and we all know it.

>>34164909
fuck that cunt.
There is nothing to discuss here, foxes are allowed to move into our empire but there will be no empire within an empire.

>>34164909
I think Talon should just say all in all he'll give him representation. But in the end Talon has the final say. As long as he knows that things will go fine.

>>34165021

Clearly. It's a way to incite him.

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RESPONSE VOTE
>1. Accept his open proposal (the fortress, fox citizenship, representative of clan and town mayor etc) but don't respond at all to his other implications.
>2. Say you'll accept his foxes but deliberately insult him, rejecting his efforts at trying to gain more power and making your authority clear. Like >>34164974
>3. Accept his proposal but make it clear that you are the ultimate authority over your empire and nothing else without insulting him.
>4. Custom

>>34164909
"And what happens when you become greater than you previously were. What are your goals once you rebuild? You can't tell me you're just going to settle with being just another member of my empire."

No need to stomp his shit although it seems like he needs some humbling.

Also being within striking distance of our capital seems like it could go badly if or whenhe decides he doesn't need us anymore.

>>34165108
>2

>>34165108
2

>>34165066
That won't work that well if he is as calm as he seems. He seems the type to laugh at insults. The best way to get him is to mention he needs us.

>>34164909

"I will not deny you and your clan the option to Join My Empire. Should you choose to do so, you would gain all that a Member of the TYE has to offer. However, It seems that you do not wish to Join My Empire, merely situate yourself near it. To use it as you see fit. I respect that you wish to do what is best for Your Clan, but I am also expected to do what is Best for My Empire.
While Your people would make for an excellent addition to My Empire, They are not so important as to neglect my Ideals for. So Ren, Do you wish to Join My Empire, or not?

>>34165108
>>3. Accept his proposal but make it clear that you are the ultimate authority over your empire and nothing else without insulting him.

>>34165108
>3

>>34165108
>2
Have someone yell #rekt in the room while doing so.

>>34165108
>2. Say you'll accept his foxes but deliberately insult him, rejecting his efforts at trying to gain more power and making your authority clear. Like >>34164974

>>34165108
3 with these added
>>34165152
>>34165116

>>34165108
2 seems as if has a small chance of negative repercussions.

>>34165108
>3

Ren clearly outmanuevered me since I have no idea what his real game is. Unless he's going with the blatantly obvious coup attempt by locating 15000 personally loyal foxes right next to our capital... Doubt it though.

>>34165108
>2

>>34165108
3

>>34165108
>4
Accept his proposal IF he accepts that His Clan is part of the TYE, and that if he wishes to have Authority over the proposed City, HE must be part of the TYE. These are absolutes. If he does not want to become a part of the empire, then he can leave...

>>34165108
>3. Accept his proposal but make it clear that you are the ultimate authority over your empire and nothing else without insulting him.

Probably too late and this won't change the outcome, but voting anyway.

Well this is about to get interesting.

>>34165108
>2

>>34165108
>3

>>34165108
>2

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CONTENTIOUS VOTE

OPTION 1
Say you'll accept his foxes but deliberately insult him, rejecting his efforts at trying to gain more power and making your authority clear. Like >>34164974

OPTION 2
Accept his proposal but make it clear that you are the ultimate authority over your empire and nothing else without insulting him.

Rules for voting are to make a post with a link to this post and the number you are voting for. No other text, no greentexting the number. All informal votes will be discarded. Voting window will be five minutes after the first vote.

>>34165343
1

>>34165343
1

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
1

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
2

Seems like he's taking us for some kind of bitch.

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
2

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>>34165383
>>34165384
>>34165386
TIME TRAVEL

And goddamn that's a lot of votes in such a close span of time. Interesting how one-sided the revote is so far. I should have the next post up within a few minutes of the vote closing.

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
2

>>34165343
1

>>34165478

Fuck, voted too late. Ah well

>>34165448
I was kinda pro 1 at first, but as much as I like acting like a dick, I realized we should probably try and be professional for now. At least until he gives us something to really work with when it comes to insulting him.

>>34165448
I'm actually finding the lopsidedness amusing because I abstained from this round but voted for option 3 last time.

>>34165511
Well it's certainly tempting to try to out Ren to his people as self-serving rather than race-serving like he claims, I'm not sure it's a good idea to burn that bridge. Even if Ren might be a trouble maker for us in the future, I think we're better served dealing with him on a more personal basis. Especially with Taira on our side.

>>34165543
Right. And right now, we really don't know very much about him, especially on a first hand basis. As long as we address this "our Empire" crap, I see no real reason to try and pass judgement on him personally.

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>2.

“I’m happy to accept your foxes. I’ll offer them everything I’d offer any other citizen of The York Empire,” you say, emphasising the ‘York’ in the name. “Do remember that I am the Imperator here, however. My authority is absolute here.”

“I’m not asking you to surrender your authority,” Ren shoots back, his lazy expression shifting into a sharp look. “I’m asking you to recognise the fact that my people need a safe and secure home. That means having a level of representation that goes beyond your simplistic states model.”

“What makes you think I’m not going to offer them a safe and secure home? Or that my governors won’t?” you respond.

“History,” Ren says dryly. “If you’ve managed to use your ears for something other than being tickled by fluffy tails around Tsucchi then you should know what I mean. I’m not going to surrender my ability to protect my clan – economically, militarily or politically – until you’ve demonstrated that you can manage it yourself. Taira may think you’re a worthwhile pup to raise but I don’t know anything about you. I made a mistake when we first came to Gauron and it won’t happen again.”

>continued

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>>34165689
You and Ren exchange glares in a silent room. Clearly you’ve each tickled the others pride but you restrain your anger. Or at least try to. Before you can explode, Vad steps in.

“That means you’ll be setting up an embassy then, alongside the village,” he says, standing by your left shoulder. “That means you’ll need an ambassador.”

“That’s me, Vad,” Tsucchi says quietly, watching you closely.

“You’re the liaison of the alliance at large. Ren wants representation for his clan,” Vad says, and you don’t miss the fact that he left out the ‘Chief’ moniker and referred to his own clan as Ren’s. “Noah will be the ambassador.”

Ren frowns at that, clearly not happy about that. “Noah’s a four-tailed fox. She’s not suitable.”

“Tsucchi can help her, then,” Vad says, not budging as he stares down his old chief. Ren looks away first and back to you.

“Well, what say you, Imperator Talon?” Ren asks, back to his lazy and arrogant façade.

>Response? This is to both Vad’s statement and Ren’s.

This should be the end of the fox sequence for now. Also, sorry for being so slow so far.

>>34165706
Go with Vads suggestion, this is one rabbit hole we do not want to go down.

I mainly think Talon just doesn't care much. As long as he is the supreme power he doesn't seem the type to care about how powerful the people bellow him are.

I also can't see him insulting so soon. It feels to me if Talon insults you he probably means it as "This means war." He'll just say why you're wrong and say he is the final decider. If you don't agree then you have a problem.

>>34165706
>Vad swooping in for the save

Sounds like a lovely idea.

>>34165706
I just want to tell him that that pup has done more with his short life than others and Tsucchi aint the only big lady who want you as her "pup". I hope he hears it and will use his brain, cuz making bad decisions seems to be his forte

>>34165706

Go with Vad's suggestion, resist the urge to punch Ren

>>34165706
I'm not a fan of this empire within an empire crap. Not one so important. Too late to probably change that though.

>>34165706
"He'd have to be building a village on my lands to require an ambassador, I will not have a foreign territory created within my own empire."

>>34165706
I have a feeling that our two personalities will not mesh too well. In order to prevent misunderstandings from this, I think Vad's suggestion of an ambassador is a grand idea."

Feel free to reword that

>>34165818
>until you’ve demonstrated that you can manage it yourself.
>I made a mistake when we first came to Gauron and it won’t happen again.”

He's worried about his people. Legitimately wants to make sure they are safe. We can prove to him that they are, prove ourselves and foster relations beyond what he even expects.

Honestly I like Ren right now, he's taking Talon at face value not all the talk and people around him. Just want Talon can do and is capable of.

>>34165818
It's just classic feudalism. Or the early United States. It's federalism, plain and simple.

>>34165867
and he can worry about them just as easily from the mage league, just because I can understand his worries doesn't make it my issue to soothe them.

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RESPONSE VOTE
>1. Let Vad come to the rescue and agree to the idea of having an ambassador. Let the fox village proceed for now and tackle the status of the clan within your empire once the foxes start relocating in numbers.
>2. Push back and outright refuse to let Ren's foxes in unless they and their leadership submit to your authority while in your lands.
>3. Same as Option 1 but snipe at Ren about the fact that working against you might be a big mistake in itself.
>4. Custom

>>34165918
>3

>>34165867

I agree, just because he won't bend over backwards for Talon doesn't mean he's a stupid or ineffective leader. I think his demands aren't unreasonable and he's probing Talon for reactions as well.

>>34165910
>just because I can understand his worries doesn't make it my issue to soothe them.

I'm pretty sure it is an issue if it comes up in a negotiation between two parties.

>>34165706

So the preposal is now that for a duration of time (Say until we have brought the RSK & Magi Legue into the TYE) the terraced city is a City State affiliated to the TYE...
Sounds acceptable... Just make sure we have a 'You will join us after X duration, so long as conditions Y & Z are met' known and agreed upon. Don't let Ren have any room to wiggle out of the Absorption of the city into the TYE...

>>34165918
3

>>34165918
1

>>34165918
1

>>34165918
>3. Same as Option 1 but snipe at Ren about the fact that working against you might be a big mistake in itself.

>>34165918
>>1. Let Vad come to the rescue and agree to the idea of having an ambassador. Let the fox village proceed for now and tackle the status of the clan within your empire once the foxes start relocating in numbers.

>>34165918
>>1. Let Vad come to the rescue and agree to the idea of having an ambassador. Let the fox village proceed for now and tackle the status of the clan within your empire once the foxes start relocating in numbers.

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>>34165944
Basically, the foxes within your empire will be citizens and the city will be part of the TYE but Ren and the clan itself aren't actually subordinate. It's a funny situation but it lets Ren maintain his independence and capability to take action against you if you wrong his foxes (even if you're acting within the expected behaviour of a ruler).

>>34165918
>3

>>34165918
1

>>34165918
>3

>>34165918
>1
Hes not stupid people, he knows working against us could be a problem. Better to work out more later at a different date.

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Rolled 2 (1d2)

Tie-breaker roll.

1 = Option 1
2 = Option 3

>>34165918
1

>>34165918
1

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>>34166071
>>34166073
Though, as the vote turned before the roll I'll just take the vote. 1 wins.

>>34166092
Damn it.

>>34165918
>1

>>34166092
I dislike the idea of having an autonomous vassal. We should try and find away to have Ren replaced with someone loyal to us, a puppet. Like Taira or Vad

Can we have Taira take over administration of the clan, or somehow usurp him by claiming authority over the foxes in general?

>>34165918
>1. But call it something other than "Ambassador" since that implies a full separation between two nations. Not sure what a better title would be, (minister or magistrate maybe? My impulse is "chief of celestial fox affairs" but that's probably going to tweak Ren the wrong way) but we need something that reinforces the idea of integration, not separation.

>>34166167

I disagree. It's way too early to consider that option. We had a single negotiation session with the guy. Antagonizing a 8 tail fox and a strong clan leader shouldn't be our first option.

>>34166167
I can pretty much guarantee this will not happen by us prodding it. And any attempt at such would backfire like a bitch.

>>34166167
I'm the one who did the write in to get Taira on our side. I think we'd be underutilizing her if we didn't use her to bring the Fox clans under our authority

I disagree with having him replaced, but I agree with not wanting him completely autonomous.

I understand where he's coming from, but you don't just let someone move into your home while they're still pointing a proverbial gun at you 'just in case' because they've gotten screwed before.
I don't think we even really NEED his foxes. It'd be a great boon of course, but we don't need them like they need us.

>>34166207
We are Talon York. We should at least try to act like an empire builder.

I know it would stretch our manipulative abilities to the Mac but we should at least look into it

>>34166167
Why would you want to replace a 8 tail that could be used to defend the land? In the end he mostly just wants his foxes safe. Not too hard to keep around.

>>34166245
Foxes are our most valuable military assets outside of our heroic units, aren't they? Granted there are other clans but getting his clan on board is an important first step.

I think we should work towards getting away from the autonomy, but we should do that by building trust.

We only prove his suspicions correct by conspiring to replace him in our very first meeting.

>>34166282
>Guy is a bit of an ass because he got dicked over before
>proceeds to do the exact thing that would prove him right to be suspicious.

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>1.

“Vad’s suggestion is a good one. Otherwise I accept your proposal,” you say, biting back on your anger. “We’ll discuss the precise status of yourself and the clan in more detail at a later date.”

Once again you find yourself exchanging glares with Ren. You have a hunch you might get along with him if you weren’t on opposite sides of the negotiating table. You don’t want to cede power at such an early date for little gain and he doesn’t trust you to protect his people. The two of you will either tear each other’s throats out one day or eventually find yourselves on the same side and forget the whole problem. You hope it’s the latter – everything you’ve heard from Karise suggests that Ren’s not a pushover. He’d be a great ally but he’ll be a frustrating opponent in the meantime. You may not have the time to turn him into an ally.

You stand and shake hands with Ren, each of you trying to break the other’s hand. You’re clearly stronger but he doesn’t so much as wince. After breaking the grip he gives a half-bow before leaving, Tsucchi chasing after him in a huff.

Fuurin gives you a smile. “That was interesting. I fully expected the two of you to start brawling. It’s not often you get two forceful personalities in such a situation.”

>continued

>>34166282

It seems like Ren is 100% right in being suspicious of us.

>>34166285
Because it would consolidate our power and our prestige, and remove an independent faction from our lands.

We don't need to replace him but it would be overall better for us if we at least found a way to have a puppet of ours with authority over him

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>>34166311
“You’d say Ren’s forceful?” you ask him quietly.

Shrugging, he says, “He leverages his force in a different way than perhaps you would but he is forceful nonetheless. You have an overbearing and charismatic aura. He has the constant presence of his eight tails and his general shrewdness. In any case, your relationship with Chief Ren is not my concern. My concern is to serve you as best as possible so that the relationship doesn’t worsen. I’ll leave the determination of how I do that to yourself.”

You wrap up the meeting, discussing Fuurin’s past campaigns and battles with him. He’s a competent enough general it seems – the only question is his loyalty. You tell him that you’ll make a decision within a fortnight – you’re not about to rush to appointing a general just like that.

>Termina strategy meeting shortly. This will also involve some determination about troop splits and your overall approach to military matters in the short term.

>>34166331
That'll come with time. We make ourselves a good overlord, and he finds it profitable to stay in until the foxes completely integrate with us to the point of cultural assimilation and they become us.
It's the long game, but much more profitable.

>>34166354

Exactly. Replacing him may be high short term rewards, but it's risky and stands a high chance of backfiring. Spending the time to build trust and relationship should be safer and more profitable.

>>34166309
We got dealt an amazing card with Taira. We should press our advantage. He's suspicious because he's aware that we have the oppurtunity to usurp him.

Idgaf if he sees it coming it's the smartest thing to do

So I don't remember, what was our choice with the whole Termina business?

>>34166414
If your friend/enemy is suspicious because you might usurp him, wouldn't he take measures to protect against that very thing happening?

We know Ren is a competent and a formidable leader, well-versed in fox politics and the exercise of power. It's not going to be easy to pull an underhanded move if he already suspects us.

>>34166414
That "amazing card" is what is holding us in balance. Its a diplomatic asset here not a war asset. She has been out of politics for too long to have a strong enough base to challenge his leadership legitimately even if she wanted it.

Seriously, its a pretty dumb thing to do. Your underestimating Ren.

>>34166382
Can we at least agree it'd be worth investigating with Taira? To see what our options are.

She won't break our confidence and it'd b foolish not to be aware of what we can and can't do, it gives us a better position on th negotiating table

>>34165918
>2

>>34166342
Asp, when will we get to know who Talon is?
We have been visited by many big and old players but still we know nothing about who or what Talon is.

>>34166463
I'm not underestimating him. I'm just not afraid to take risks, or at least see what those risks may be

>>34166463

Not really no. Why have one asset when we can have two?

>>34166519
If the risks are substantial and the rewards obtainable by safer measures, there's no real reason to take a risk.

We should take calculated risks that will produce substantial gains. I don't think this is that occasion.

Guys I finally figured it out we're a reincarnation of Kushan

>>34166526
He's not an asset, he's an unknown variable who is too willfull to submit to a higher authority

>>34166567
We have no idea what we might be able to do. Investigating would give us a better view of the political niceties within the fox clans, which is a good idea anyway

>>34166581

Then you're think shortsightedly and with a bias against him for whatever reason.

>>34166581
We know that he could be a formidable ally if we just take the time to build a trusting relationship with him.

I'm unwilling to turn away an ally because he won't kneel to the Great Talon York at the first opportunity.

I guess there's no harm in exploring our possibilities

>>34166576
Nope turns out we're Blackwater

>>34166581
Until we prove to him it is within his best interest to do so. You don't overthrow a government that will become yours anyways.

>>34166425

It was the Termina prince, right?

I hope that we'll keep him as a cabinet member and not give him substantial military or land to govern. We know that he is self-interested at heart. If he's a cabinet member, we can make sure that works for us and not against us.

>>34166643
I'm unwilling to have an enormous force of foxes declaring themselves a more or less separate state building a city literally on top of our capital.

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>Termina strategy meeting

It’s been just under a fortnight since your meeting with Ren and you’ve been proceeding apace with your military matters. You’ve been communicating with both Alyce and Lyyph about your next moves – Alyce doesn’t believe Shropham is going to move until the spring-time. Most likely they’ll be trying to shift their troops away from the frontlines at a time when Alyce cannot counterattack. Lyyph, on the other hand, has been rapidly arranging his forces to assist you with conquering Farun. Karise and Neir have been assisting him in clearing out any spies and troublesome nobles.

The Order of the Griffin has been assembled, though it’s a bit of a mess. You’d taken some advice from the magnanimous Captain Bern of the Tallorn while he’d been here about how to structure a royal knightly order. The problem was that it was a three-pronged affair – the first prong was to enable representation of the most influential knightly orders in the imperial court (or whatever you’d call it); the second prong to grant additional status to your most capable military officers such as Phrace and Arail; the third prong was to act as a proper knightly order and lend elite soldiers to your military campaign. There was technically a fourth prong as your personal guard, too, but you hadn’t yet decided whether to merge your personal guard with the knights. This meant you had approximately fifty capable knights in the order from your recruitment, on top of the other positions.

The Order of the Leaf wasn’t in such great shape. Knights were commonplace but rangers not so much. Most of your best archers still needed training, even Moss. Raw talent meant that Moss could outshoot almost everybody save Finn if magic wasn’t involved but until he and his archers learnt some of the additional talents that Hartmann could offer. And Trielle, who had been kind enough to take up the position of Master to teach the others despite being pregnant.

>continued

>>34166697
That would be the best way, yes. You can't make him not ambitious, you just put him in a place he cannot act on it.

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>>34166722
“The main consideration we have in terms of any assault on Farun is the simple fact we don’t fully control our territory,” you say to your assembled cabinet, some of whom are on the other side of a sending device. “If we want to keep order in the former territories of Taour and Darlesia then we must keep several thousand soldiers present there. That still leaves us with almost ten thousand men but Farun is still dug in.”

“We hammered through Taour, why not do the same here?” Maloric says.

“If we can push Farun and Compagnon to surrender with less bloodshed then we can integrate their military forces with our own. A longer campaign may be more worthwhile than a short one,” Karise says.

“We’re also not in a great economic position,” Marcus adds. “If we overstretch ourselves to conquer this additional territory then we may find ourselves dedicating more resources to repairing and rebuilding than preparing for other conquests – such weakness may be leapt upon by larger powers.”

You cabinet debates for some time over the topics. The main one, so far as you’re concerned, is simply how to conquer Farun and Compagnon. You could swiftly crush them, but that would rob your green soldiers of any battlefield experience and potentially stretch your empire thin. A slower campaign may enable you to take them more peacefully but also means that any lingering rebellion in the territories may still be present when it comes time to deal with other power.

>Discussion for a short while before I call a vote on this

See pic for troop amounts and splits.

>>34166576
Kushan didn't' have astral.

>>34166581
He seems pretty simple to me. Guy is pissed off that his foxes screwed him while he was singlehandedly saving their asses. Now he doesn't trust a random emperor that seems to want them over.

Doesn't take a genius to figure out how to manipulate his reactions and keep him on our side.

>>34166706
Exactly my point that is a huge concession we made we deserve a little political security, certainty if we've made that allowance. It would be stupid and poor planning not to be prepared for the worst even if we'd rather not have to press our advantage

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>>34166722
>>34166751
And because I forgot to say it:
You sided with Termina and King Lyyph to conquer Farun and Compagnon.

>>34166706

Which is where the whole trust factor comes in. However, we don't trust blindly. The foxes gain little from betraying their benefactor. An intelligent leader like Ren wouldn't do such a thing because it would make them a pariah to every other nation.

>>34166749
Honestly the best way would be to give him decent place to take over and keep him far as hell away from our inner council.

>>34166835
That would allow him to build his own powerbase, which is exactly the thing we want to avoid.

In the inner council, he'll have to offer good advice and advance our interests to have any real power. Our other councillors are also personally loyal so it's a good fit all around.

>>34166769
Except that's not exactly the way that works, it's too late to gain concessions /after/ the city is built as it'd be in a position to refuse to make them.

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>>34166751
Relevant portion of map. You need to conquer the orange and dark green.

>>34166751

So just to clarify, a longer campaign would allow more battlefield experience for our green soldiers, correct?

I think a slower campaign is worthwhile here. The benefits (more peaceful absorption with less economic destruction, battlefield experience, not stretching us thin) outweights the risk of lingering rebellions.

>>34166870
Well, if we build the canal running by harrow mount and then have a fort/port positioned on its access point between it and Rens fox's, we can use it as a cultural hub to convert his clan gently into the fold.

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>>34166885
Garrison troops including what the enemy has where.

>>34166901
>So just to clarify, a longer campaign would allow more battlefield experience for our green soldiers, correct?
Yes. You could also do a short campaign while leaving your heroes behind a bit but that would be a very bloody way of getting experience compared to a longer period of sieges and skirmishing.

>>34166751
My first thought is to take Arail with a raider build and have Taira teloport them all into Darfus. Then commence raiding warfare in the capital region. Because they lack a lot of men there and the king of termina will probably be attacking there.

>>34166751
Okay.

So we need to get these Green troops leveled up. Furthermore, we can't overstretch ourselves.

Thus we get to my proposal.

The Roman legions worked in squads of 8 men. That was their lowest unit. These men did everything together, and helped each other in combat. They were blood brothers, and their combat powers were multiplied. Just looking at the chart, we can see how this can work.

On campaign, I suggest we take only the Green and Veterans. We combine them, putting one Veteran in charge of 7 Green soldiers. We also keep a core of 1,000 Regular troops to be used where needed, in order to fill up any gaps caused by routing. Doing this we can mitigate our inadvantage in training.

We keep the regulars and the conscripts back to maintain order as well as drill.

For battle, I suggest avoiding pitched battles, but focusing on smaller skirmishes to gain experience. A constant probing and falliing back on the entire front.

>>34166862
And he can easily mention every little secret we have the moment he wants to turn coat.

>>34166930

Then, yeah, I'm definitely going to go with a longer campaign.

Four our deal with Termina, was there an understanding as to which side would provide more men or resources to the campaign? Or is that all open to discussion?

>>34166967

What's he going to turn coat for? He wants influence and power. He will have that in spades as a cabinet member, but at our sufferance.

If he had an army or province, he could rebel or defect and profit. He can only defect by himself if he was a cabinet member. Furthermore, he is unlikely to have as much power if he defects since who's going to trust a traitor?

>>34166751
Even if it takes a bit more, let's do this with the assured way.

Crushing them with our big hitters and taking over the land is a possible but I don't see that being very profitable. These are not people living under vampire rule. It is much better to take over them properly and absorb their resources instead of destroying them.

Beside, our men need battle. We have recruited a lot of men (an will be recruiting some more) and they need practice. We can not just conquer the continent with our heavylifters. We need a good army.

>>34166885

Allow Arail to raid his way through Teret, creating an easy path for us to flood through, Lyyph holds a secondary line to the north to be supported by us when we take Teret.

Meanwhile begin to besiege Arrine directly, taking out any means to resupply. Blockade with what limited Navy with him to make this easier. Once the feeder provinces have fallen or surrendered, besiege Farun, and starve them out or until they surrender.

Meanwhile repurpose navy to begin blockading Avinou as the secondary line to the north slowly takes everything else while we deal with the southern line.

Probably needs more fleshed out.

>>34166751

Fuurin should be one of our lead generals. By giving him high command early, we can show that we placed trust in him, which should help with his opinion of us and build his loyalty to us.

It's also a relatively low risk campaign and we'll personally supervise the army so the risks of this backfiring is pretty slim.

It seems like a easy way to build loyalty without really sacrificing anything.

>>34167016
Just a reminder, he can always be "killed in the fighting". In fact, it might be the best solution.

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>>34166976
>Four our deal with Termina, was there an understanding as to which side would provide more men or resources to the campaign?
There was an understanding that you would be providing military assistance as well as advice to Lyyph. Termina itself doesn't have the forces to truly conquer Farun and it might look bad if Lyyph is the one doing all the work.

PROVINCE INFO
///Teret
Notable Locations:
>Rhone, Major Town - A small trading town that is on the highway from Shropham to Termina. Has a small permanent population relative to transients. Probably a security risk if Farun were more warlike.
>Noirmont, Castle - A large standalone keep that lies on the border between Teret and Deodain. Was built as an outpost during Darlesian expansion long ago. Houses a sending tower and acts as first warning of Taouran movements for Farun.

///Illin
Notable Locations:
>Illin Monastery, Temple - A large self-sufficient monastery of monks. It is a separate order but has obvious connections to the other orders of monks involved in monster extermination.
>Brissec, Castle - A keep built into a hillside. Rumoured to have been built by dwarves as most of it is underground. Also has hidden exits into the countryside that enable troops garrisoned in it to move freely.

///Arrine
Notable Locations:
>Leval, Major Town - A small township. The baron who owns the province's olive plantation resides here and coordinates the his olive production and dissemination from here.

///Farun
Notable Locations:
>Farun, City, Faction Capital - A storybook city with a glimmering stone castle atop a hill, surrounded by a low stone wall, as cobblestone roads run downhill through the market streets and turn into a classic urban maze. It is also very boring. The walls and defenses were erected as the population settled so much of the city lies outside of the three layers of protective city walls.

>>34166930
Best option is to take Teret First while pinning down the forces at Illin. Then conduct a joint Termanian/York military buildup in the area to threaten the capitol. If Farun sends a member of the royal family to diplomance Companion then we just have to capture her en route.

>>34167051
>Teret

That's where most of the foes MKs are. Personally I think we should go for Farun itself making them have to withdraw.

>>34167100
Our first move should be to take Teret in order to link up with Terminan forces. Our next priority needs to be Illin. Arrin can be skirmished over with our green troops. Farun will likely take a massive effort to take.

>>34167162
To add on to this. We can teleport something like 499 men in one go every 2 days and Farun is most defended by archers last I checked. We can easily threaten the seat of power.

>>34167139
>>34167162

Teret seems like a good meet up spot for our two armies since their defenses are right. We could hit more heavily defended Farun or Illin with our combined armies after we link up.

>>34167162
No it isn't. It has a grand total of 1000 men, half men at arms, half archers

>>34167211

They also have 400 MMK equivalents and 50 battlemages. It's second only to Illin in terms of military build up.

Still not too powerful though.

>>34166961
I second this

>>34167100
I'm thinking we should at least have raids in Illin and Arrine instead of focusing on one area or another. We need them to be redirecting men around the place so they can't pool a lot of men in one area.

>>34166961
Bad idea. We have base 10 units.

>>34167099

I think it better to put him death to treason if he acts out. "Killed in fighting" always has a chance of backfiring and could provoke rebellion in Termina and endanger future surrenders/alliances.

I also think he can be a valuable asset so long as we keep an eye on him so.

>>34167267
See my suggestion earlier. We leave at least one competent general in charge of these skirmishing forces as we focus on Teret in order to take it.

>>34166961
Read our actual military structure please. Personally, I think revoting it every time someone has an idea is going to bog down the quest to no gain.

>>34167245
Yeah the thing there is Arail can fucking move with 500 men and we do have the termina king helping. If we risk enough damage in the core region they'll start getting nervous and we should be able to outmaneuver them.

>>34167309
Fox General is best there. He is personally the most powerful general and gives Archer bonuses. So we can give him some AA and let them rip.

>>34167331

So let me try to remember what our generals were good at:

Arail: raiding, manuevering, and hit and run tactics
Old Man (forgot his name): Sieges and nation-building
Fuurin: ???
Talon: Rolling Nat 1

I suppose we can leave old man behind to make sure Talon and Darlesia are kept safe and secure.

>>34167284
>Base ten

Dear god. We are like the fucking mongols. Who the hell would do this?

>>34167284
Then fit in 2 regulars into it, or change the ratio to 1:9 with a solid unit of veterans in the same role as the 1,000 regulars currently. We NEED to spread out experienced units in the inexperienced ones, or else we suffer collapse. ]
Thinking more, the 1 veteran/10 men makes sense, even from a historical perspective.
"Of 100 men, 10 shouldn't be there, 80 are just targets, 9 are the real fighters, and we are lucky them. Ah, but one, one is a warrior, and will bring the other ones home"- Heraclitus

>>34167389

But the Mongols own

>>34167379
>Fuurin

Archery and open ground combat is also the personal most powerful general other then Gnome and Talon.

>Talon: Rolling Nat 1
>Not Parras.

>>34167379

Oh the knowledge we now have.

http://pastebin.com/x56SpsBw

>>34167321
I'm just throwing ideas out there, from a military history buff's perpective.

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Okay, support so far seems to be for a longer campaign where you win more through military strategy than bulldozing them with your heroes. Any opposition to this?

Also, there seems to be a push to take Teret early to link up with Lyyph's forces. I presume that this would mean a three-way split? 1/3 forces holding the fort in Taour/Darlesia, 1/3 taking Teret? Or were people looking for a different split?

>>34167394
>>34166961
I'm not really modelling this level of detail. Veteran troops will automatically even out with less experienced troops if deployed together at a macro level.

GENERAL STATBLOCKS
http://pastebin.com/x56SpsBw

Still a WIP.

>>34167422

So Furrin should take overall command and Arail can lead the raiding vanguard. Talon can bash skulls in

>>34167461

No objections, but emphasis on greens and veterans for the campaign.

>>34167443
>Fields are for Graves II – a lifetime of warfare on open fields has left him with an acute ability to turn fields into graveyards with frightening ability. When commanding in an open field battle he may grant additional leadership bonus to all troops under his effective command.

Such a cool skill.

I have a brilliant idea. Have Alfred Hermoi lead some men.

>>34167461
>Teret

That would give them something to target early as well. Though the split is fine with me.

>>34167516
Honestly the -1 to archery penalties +AA and foxes is more brutal to me.

>>34167483
Keep Parris around for the sieges, but otherwise mostly agree.

>>34167461
Closer to 1/2 taking Teret personally. Question, are MK and similar soldiers significantly better than MAA in the sort of peacekeeping that Darlesia needs?

>>34167548
Well yeah, I just meant it sounded really cool.

>>34167554
I'd honestly rather Parras stay far far away. He seems the type who would want to charge in because justice and less long term casualties.

>>34167554

Id keep Parras in Taoir and Darlesia for his nation building skills. We shouldnt bring too many generals.

>>34167611

The guy that is all about siege warfare and empire building wants to charge into a bloody affair?

Anon what?

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>>34167574
You don't need heavy hitters to keep the peace, just boots on the ground. You'll need around 4k or so soldiers if you want to reliably keep the peace, however.

SUGGESTED WAR STRATEGY
Deploy 4000 soldiers, mostly conscripts and regulars, to keep the peace in Darlesia and Taour. You will need a dedicated general to take care of this.

Deploy around 5k soldiers to take Teret in conjunction with Lyyph's forces.

Give Arail a powerful raiding force to strike at Arrine and Illin while you take Teret.

Spread your remaining forces across your north-eastern provinces under various officers and under overall command of the war council/grand commander.

Any objections to this? The natural general picks if this is adopted is Parras doing peacekeeping and Fuurin taking Teret. The leaders of the war will be determined in a moment.

>>34167732

Sounds solid to me.

>>34167732
I agree with this.

>>34167732
Good strategy

>>34167732
Fine by me. One minor question: How effective would Faux patterns be in a garison role in our capitol? Our emails indicated that they tend to be substantially stronger than the pattern the design would produce.

>>34167461
>Hold The Line 1

Shiiiieeet Imperial Guard when?

>>34167825
When Caitlynn's father shows up.

>>34167862
Go all Ollanius Pius on him.

>>34167810
speaking of patterns when are we going to address that machine thing we took back from the PoP? WHat's he been up to, what should his role be?

>>34167881
You mean some random soldier gets incinerated before York puts smites the dragon?

>>34167952

Corrfax.

He's guarding the Source. As guarding is what he does.

>>34167881
Who's going to be our Ollie? 50 TYE on the F-Bomb

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>>34167732
Final troop dispostion in the attached picture. I may fiddle with the precise portions between threads. Remaining troops are playing garrison in the north-east.

GENERAL DECISION

The issue you have now is who is going to take overall command. The simple fact is that you want Lynn to get additional experience and you are going to have countless other matters to see to during the course of the war. Getting involved in command will likely make things go more smoothly but will rob Lynn of some potential experience and will detract from your other roles. Not that you’ll give Lynn command by herself – you’ll probably have her work closely with Arail, Fuurin and Phillias (in an advisory role) at first.

>1. Take overall command of the Farun front yourself.
>2. Have Lynn and yourself sit on the war council for the Farun front.
>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.
>4. Custom

>>34167810
Depends on the pattern itself. Not all of them will be as strong as Corrfax.

>>34167988
we should talk to him. see if we could beef him up a little. also where is our latest map of harrowmont? do we have one?

>>34168023
>>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

>>34168023
>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

>>34168023
>>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

>>34168023
>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

>>34167092
I would definitely like for him to come on this campaign and head a decent number of troops. The only way we can get a measure of him as a man/fox and as a general will be under fire.

>>34168023
>2. Have Lynn and yourself sit on the war council for the Farun front.

>>34168023
>>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

They grow up so fast

>>34168023
3

>>34168023
>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

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The remaining issue was that of determining how heavily to build up your garrisons. You couldn't rely on your professional military to be keeping the peace forever. You still needed to pay the salaries of garrisons, however. They also wouldn't be too effective beyond keeping the peace without serious investment in magical plate and training.

At the same time, putting in the hard yards now and building up the garrisons across the territories of your empire, in terms of both training and recruitment, might be worth it in the long-run. Particularly if you're planning any multi-front wars.

Garrisons are in the pic at >>34166930

Quick discussion on how much to build up your garrisons. Training is something that will just happen but will be faster the less troops there are relative to professional soldiers. Recruitment can be costly - every 60 garrison soldiers costs 1TBY per year.

Note that you can also just ask me to build up the garrisons to the levels they can maintain law and order. I'm intending for this garrison decision to be carried through for some time even as you expand to keep things from getting too complicated.

I'm writing up the decisions from the previous votes, too, so this is just a wrap-up vote.

>>34168023
>3. Leave Lynn and the other generals, plus Phillias, to command the Farun front while you concern yourself with other matters within your empire.

>>34168335
We just need to set it to the amount we need for law and order.

>>34168335
I'm agreeable to the law and order level, with an additional 60 for those cases when the surge is needed.

>>34168335
Darlesia needs to be heavily reinforced. I think they should be brought up to 3000 men. Also, can we transfer the HMAA gear to Darlesia from Vale? Because that's just random

>>34168335
we will need a surplus of troops eventually. can we have each of our larger cities (Taour, Darlesia, Vitria) maintain a garrison of 5-6000, and everywhere else enough to maintain law and order?

>>34168023
>3
We will have to make several 'Front Line Inspections' to both see how the campaign goes and to boost the morale of the men...

>>34168335
I'd personally suggest having the Garrisons be at the minimum required level with two squads of special units, possibly one squad of HMK as Riot units... and Mounted Chase units???
Eventually we'll want to revisit this and put more into the Garrisons to ensure a low crime rate to raise the standard of living in the TYE...

>>34168535
We can do that eventually, but small steps.

Bring everything up to the minimum. We're not in the financial position to bring everyone up to full tilt.

Canal costs, production costs, rebuilding, we've got a lot on our plate.

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>>34168511
>Also, can we transfer the HMAA gear to Darlesia from Vale? Because that's just random
I believe those were Count Argyle's troops. He's personally reinforcing a large amount of the province with his own men. You can still do the transfer, though, as you're now paying their salaries.

GARRISON VOTE
>1. Keep all garrisons at the minimum required level to maintain law and order.
>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).
>3. Same as option 2 but give the cities much more troops than necessary (around 6k each).
>4. Custom

>>34168673
>3. Same as option 2 but give the cities much more troops than necessary (around 6k each).

>>34168673
>>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

>>34168673
>>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

>>34168673
>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

>>34168673
>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

>>34168673
>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

>>34168673
3

>>34168673
>>3. Same as option 2 but give the cities much more troops than necessary (around 6k each).

>>34168673
>4. Bump rural garrison manning to 5% over the minimum. That should allow enough flexibility to route out incompetent/corrupt officers without having too much of an impact on man power. Give cities moderately more troops than necessary (4-4.5k each, depending on need).

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>>34168673
Oh, and I'll probably include Harrowmont as a city insofar as this decision counts. Minimum required troops will be about 1000 in each province with some exceptions. I'll probably shuffle the Vale troops to the cities.

I'll be keeping this decision for the near future unless people want to change it in particular instances.

>>34168673
>>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

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>Write-up of Termina strategy

After a lot of discussion, including inviting Fuurin to join in, you eventually come to a final strategy. Mal uses his magic to make your magitech war table represent your final plan, with glowing figures and hovering numbers to make things as clear as possible.

“Parras, Darlesia and Taour are still in bad shape. I want you to keep the peace there with four thousand soldiers,” you say. “You’ve shown yourself to be impressive at this sort of duty so I expect good results. A stable empire is a good empire. At the same time, I want you to focus on garrison expansion. Whenever things are quiet round up the troops and train up the existing soldiers in the province. Also try to recruit more – I want the garrisons to be in a state where the provinces can keep the peace themselves. I want Darlesia and Taour to be able to supply extra troops to surrounding provinces, too. Work closely with the new governors to do this.

“Fuurin and Arail, the two of you will manage the frontlines against Farun. Fuurin will take a heavy force to seize Teret and link up with Lyyph’s forces. In the meantime it will be your job, Arail, to keep the large forces that Farun has in its capital and frontier fortress at Illin as busy as possible. Harass their outer provinces, and if they leave them open, seize them. Try not to cause too much lasting damage and avoid pitched conflict – we’re trying to distract them and seize an intact kingdom, not one that we’ve burnt to the ground.”

>continued

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>>34168930
There’s a pause as your officers nod and look at the spread of figures across the board. This was a slightly more ambitious strategy than you’d done previously but it was becoming increasingly necessary. Plus, you weren’t just a general now – you were an Imperator and needed to command entire battlefronts. Speaking of which…

“I will also be taking a hands-off role during this campaign,” you say, receiving a few shocked looks. “There is a lot of work to be done as Imperator right now – I can’t be leading every campaign. Instead I am going to leave command to a council. It will officially be led by Grandmaster Caitlyn, but she will be working closely with Generals Arail and Fuurin and taking advice from Lord Phillias. I need subordinates I can trust to handle conflicts like this – we may find ourselves fighting on multiple fronts, after all.”

Your generals nod, chattering away a bit with the other members of your cabinet as you wrap the session up. Finn and Lynn hang around afterwards, looking excited. You…

>1. Ignore them and head out of the room. If they’re not going to tell you what’s happening…
>2. Wait patiently for them to tell you what has them so excited.
>3. Give in and ask them what they want.
>4. Custom

>>34168959
>>3. Give in and ask them what they want.

>>34168959
>2. Wait patiently for them to tell you what has them so excited.

>>34168959
>3. Give in and ask them what they want.

>>34168959
>3. Give in and ask them what they want.

>>34168959
>>2. Wait patiently for them to tell you what has them so excited.

>>34168959
>2. Wait patiently for them to tell you what has them so excited.

>>34168959
>>1. Ignore them and head out of the room. If they’re not going to tell you what’s happening…

>>34168959
>3. Give in and ask them what they want.

>>34168959
3

>>34168959
>2. Wait patiently for them to tell you what has them so excited.
give 'em the look. Finn's gonna break 1st most likely

>>34168959
in be4 Finn got his 1st piece of dragon sandwich

>>34168959
>3. Give in and ask them what they want.

>>34168959
>>2. Wait patiently for them to tell you what has them so excited.

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>>34169160
Finn wishes.

>3.

You sigh, feeling like an exhausted father to children. Not that you’ll extend that metaphor any further than necessary with Lynn. That would just make things awkward.

“So, what do you want?” you ask, folding your arms together.

Caitlyn looks sidelong as Finn with a grin before saying, “You remember how we were in Ahm…”

“Yes,” you say after Caitlyn pauses for several long moments.

“We visited a shop…” she continues.

You sigh again. “Yes, Caitlyn, I know what we did there. What does that have to do with me right now?”

“Our armour arrived!” she blurts out excitedly. “You have to come watch us put it on. And help us put it in – it looks really complicated.”

You blink. You hadn’t expected the armour for Caitlyn and Lynn for several weeks. Before you can say anything, the two of them dart off – just like children, you think. Following them, you wonder if it was just the armour that arrived early.

Unfortunately it was just the armour. There was a note with the delivery that mentioned that the rest of the equipment would be ready in late February. In the meantime you would just have to make do with the new armour for Finn and Caitlyn.

“Lynn, why are you undressing?” you ask your new grandmaster, ignoring Finn ogling her.

“It’s new armour. I need to make sure none of the sweat from my clothes gets into it,” she says innocently.

>continued

>>34168959
4. Cross arms and raise eyebrow.

>>34168673
>2. Same as option 1 but give the cities slightly more troops than necessary (around 3k each).

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>>34169431
“It’s armour. It doesn’t sweat in it – and you should know well enough to wear something between your skin and the padding,” you say crossly, feeling that your grandmaster and squire have suddenly lost a great deal of their intelligence after seeing something shiny.

You spend a short while helping the pair into the armour. Although the functionality of the armour is supposed to be similar to your own the build is much different. Finn’s is almost form-fitting and you hope he doesn’t keep growing too much. Lynn’s is a little more bulky, more so than her current armour. It was probably a representation of their respective capabilities – Finn needed to keep his mobility more than Lynn, who resembled you more in terms of fighting style.

You suddenly find yourself with two excited, and armoured, children in front of you. They practically gleam in their new armour as they look up at you.

“Can we try it out?” they ask in a sing-song voice.

>1. Yes, on each other.
>2. Duel with Lynn.
>3. Duel with Finn

After this little break we'll be voting on the canal.

>>34169462
>2. Duel with Lynn

>>34169462
>2
>3
AT THE SAME TIME
we get points for dueling, right? towards more strength and stats and shit

>>34169462
>>1. Yes, on each other.

>>34169462
>2. Duel with Lynn.
Its been a while.

>>34169462
>>2. Duel with Lynn.

>you say crossly, feeling that your grandmaster and squire have suddenly lost a great deal of their intelligence after seeing something shiny.

When did Talon turn into Shirou?

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>34169462
>>2. Duel with Lynn.

Testan' the waters.

>>34169539
I don't think we will last too long against them but why not seconded

>>34169462
>4. 3 way contest

This would probably end up with them teaming up but it could test out whether or not their new toys make them anymore foolish than they are already acting. Talon should try goading them to attack each other rather than him then take out the winner.

>>34169580
They may not be fucking yet but we should probably talk to Lynn or Finn about this soon

>>34169462
both at once

>>34169605
>>34169614
FUCK YEAH MY FRIENDS

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>>34169462
Why not both?

I'm not opposed to fighting both just putting out there that Lyn has beat us solo and Finn made us work for our win.

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>>34169580
How does this make Talon Shirou?

>>34169539
>>34169605
>>34169614
>>34169649
>>34169675
Okay, so any strategies for fighting both? I'm eating lunch now so there'll be a slight delay befor ethe next post.

>>34169462
>2. Duel with Lynn.

>>34169703
tank all the hits and beat them up

>>34169644
they better not start. we've been pushing his character in a far too accommodating direction. we need to make it clear to the girls that if they're sleeping with Talon as their primary, they're only sleeping with talon

>>34169703

I thought Lynn was just teasing Talon and showing off her body. Unless that "innocently" was actually innocent instead of teasing in nature.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>34169703
I think the rational people quickly decided this was a horrible idea

>>34169703
Circle to make sure Finn is in between Lynn and ourself as much as possible. Make them trip over each over each other. Make an attack seem to be telegraphed at the one in front to make them dodge away from the real target, who has no time to react.

>>34169743
>I sleep with all of you, but all of you can only sleep with me.
Yeah that's cool.

>>34169703
Uh if we do this, I guess keep one in between you and the other. So they run into each other and we only have to deal with 1 at a time.

>>34169703
Probably want to try and prevent Finn from turning us into a pin cushion, but with his regen haxx that is pretty hard. All I know is we need to avoid a drawn out battle; they will simple wear us down if they are smart.

We are slightly stronger than either of them and have much more fighting experiance. That is what we need to focus on.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>34169703
keep lynn distracted through a constant assault, keep your guard up and keep her positioned so Finn attacks her too.

When she's moderately weakened we hop back, let them focus on each other, then take Finn out of the equation.

Then finish off Lynn.
>victory sex

What type of write ins will help us lower dice checks?

>>34169811
Not that anon but, He named his empire after himself so this isn't out of the question.

>>34169811
Thats masculine fucktard, we run a harem not a brothel. Maybe we make an example by giving each of them a eunuch as a slave

>do we allow slavery? can we?

>>34169811
One of the perks of being an emperor.
>>34169743
Lyn is impressionable. If you don't want her to sleep around, try to explain to her why its a bad idea. Politics, general appearance, regal her with stories about how we screwed it up when we were younger, stuff like that.

>>34169838
I like it

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>>34169644
>>34169743
>>34169752
Oh, about that. Yeah, I'll leave that up to your own interpretations.

>>34169838
>What type of write ins will help us lower dice checks?
Sound strategies that are different than you might expect.

I'm going to go with the 'fight both' because it will make for a different fight sequence than normal. Post in 20min.

>>34169871
I was gonna argue, but you just demonstrated you have no clue what Talon's character is like. If you're new, you should read some archives.

>>34169901
Gnome is also a problem. Undine is our rock, we should talk to her more often

>>34169871

This ain't Reclaiming Might

>>34169928
Talon's character is much to lenient with his ladies. I know what he's like, and I know what he should be like.

>>34169993

We aren't changing his personality or core values

>>34169993
K
Have fun being the only one trying to get him that way.

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>>34169993

>>34169993
Run your own quest because it ain't happening here

>>34169993
While I am in favor of corraling Lynn and Gnome, you should stop it.

>>34170077
Which is what again? Oh yeah. "I wanna dominate the continent, by force if necessary. Hopefully by force."

I don't think it's at all realistic for a man that ambitious to not give a fuck when his women are fucking his protege. It's not only disrespectful, it's a TERRIBLE thing for Talon's apprentice to get in the habit of.

Which is usurping what Talon has achieved.

Remember how we didn't touch his lady? Why would we do that, unless we were a little proprietary when it came to women, and expect others to be the same way?

>>34170154
I'm done. My point still stands though

>>34170176
I think they are arguing about slavery dude