Something happening doesn't necessarily mean combat.
Probably just means some interaction with the other mages.
Right, so combat then?
In my 4X experience, it will be bluster, followed by 'My 2-1-1 Militia units have just entered production' followed by trading for the Alphabet technology.
Family and equals is all good and fine, but it is not what we want. We want easily lead sheep, imprison the boy, learn his ways and then let Vulcanus wear him like a flesh puppet or something.
Also, haven't our population grown yet? I think we were at 12 peeps last round too.
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
G3% +Fortune
I'm not convinced one militia unit will be a big improvement if we have to fight, I'd prefer to keep collecting supplies to build something (growth or research).
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
I'm not convinced one militia unit will be a big improvement if we have to fight, I'd prefer to keep collecting supplies to build something (growth or research).
Then vote for that!
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Something happening doesn't necessarily mean combat.
Probably just means some interaction with the other mages.
Right, so combat then?
In my 4X experience, it will be bluster, followed by 'My 2-1-1 Militia units have just entered production' followed by trading for the Alphabet technology.
Sanders, The Magma Wyrm [adds +25 to fortune threshold. Improves fortunes]
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
Artifacts
Vulcanus
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
Whatever was coming was close now. Too close. And still it wasn't possible to make any sense of the patterns in the future. Cinders scowled and folded her arms,
"Vulcanus. Fetch my apprentice"
The spiked disc had been more or less static for once, bobbing general in the air as it stared out at Glassalia with its flaming eye. At her voice, it turned and danced more wildly,
"YES FIRE MOTHER"
It vanished through the open doors of Cinders' throne room at speed, leaving the lavashaper alone in the great chamber. She stood up and looked out over the peasants training in the village below. The former sailors had taken the idea of being armed quite readily and they'd hardly needed any input from her at all. Their wooden spears were tipped with razor shards of obsidian. Four of the were now stood in a rough rank practising a drill where they alternated standing to attention and thrusting forward. The fifth stood before them, shouting as they worked. Apparently, there was an actual, honest soldier among her subjects. She had the scars to support her story, that much was true, and she seemed to have some idea of tactics, so it didn't really matter why or how she'd ended up on a whaling vessel. If the truth mattered Cinders would pursue it later. It would be interesting to see how she led her unit in real combat. And that could be sooner rather than later.
[Peasants have raised a militia unit. 2 Dice, 7+, [Swarmfighting]: For every other unit attacking the same target as the militia they add +1 to their dice rolls. Loss of five peasants reduces the resource income from +2 to +1]
A cough behind Cinders announced the arrival of the apprentice. She should probably give him a name at some point. Turning on her heel, she looked at the youth. He was wearing a brown, burlap robe now and it did indeed make him look the part.
"First meditation"
He had only been in the Obsidian Tower for a short time, but already she had taken the time to explain the first three meditations. If she had wanted him to become a lavashaper than this part of the training might have been a little faster, but to forge whatever latent ability he had developed into something useful required going right back to basics despite the incredible magical ambient in this world.
The apprentice took a deep breath, shifted his feet and began to scream a wordless agony. As he did he squeezed his eyes shut. That earned him a clout on the side of the head,
"The first meditation does not involve the eyes, idiot."
He managed to continue despite the blow, and even a little half-nod to acknowledge her criticism. His eyes locked on hers for a moment and then shifted away. Cinders wasn't sure if the youth was too weak-willed for this kind of work. After a minute, his voice had grown hoarse. After two minutes he was barely still making a sound. In total, he lasted a little less than three minutes before he could not continue. It was better than Cinders when she was first taken into the Institute,
"Not good enough. Until you can last a full hour, do not return."
Cinders wondered how long it might take him to reach an hour. It had taken her a month to complete the first meditation to the satisfaction of the Masters. How much faster would he be? He left the room without turning his back on the lavashaper. Whether it was fear or respect, Cinders enjoyed that little touch. Also interesting was that Vulcanus itself had not returned. She did wonder what the artifact got up to when it wasn't waiting for her commands, or following them. A twinge in a fine loop of magma down in the heart of the world broke that line of thought.
Whatever it was. It was about to arrive.
As soon as she touched her boots onto the beach she could hear the drums. A heavy bass that trembled though the ground. Cinders crossed through Glassalia just in time to see the Caravan of Bones arrive from the forest. Three heavy wagons of black painted wood that rolled of their own accord, but the lack of horses wasn't what drew the eye. What did was the dancing horde of skeletons that surrounded them. Some banged drums. Others just contributed their own bone rattle to the danse macabre. The lavashaper spotted her new militia unit already moving around to flank. Their leader kept her eyes on Cinders, waiting for the signal to charge. The other peasants had been drawn by the commotion and stood a little further back from the scene.
Slowly, the wagons drew around into a triangle. The skeletons stopped their jig, standing still for a moment and then at once each of them collapsed into a lifeless pile of osseous matter and percussion instruments. All of them collapsed that was except for one. One had instead somehow become replaced with a figure dressed in fine silks and with a face hidden behind a white opera mask. Her costume was accented with copper and a few gems. There was no mistaking the figure.
Nephroditi, the bonemancer, was paying a visit to her fellow student of the Institute. She stood five feet from Cinders and spread her arms wide,
"Cinderella! Daaarling. So good to see a friendly face in this ghastly little place."
She gestured up at the tower looming over them with its skull which faced toward them and the ash cloud around its upper reaches,
"I just love what you've done with the place. Although, it is a little rude to have all that ash. It's makes me feel like you don't want your old friend to drop in on you. You don't want me to feel unwelcome do you, daaarling? Tell me, how have you been? Have you seen the others?"
One of the peasants had moved toward one the black wagons, and was unwisely reaching out toward one of the haphazard piles of bleached human bones which had been dancing only moments earlier. In a flash, the bones had leapt upward and started to reform themselves, only for the whole mass to be replaced with the swirling costume of Nephroditi herself. Where she had been standing before Cinders, a tumble of bones clattered to the ground instead. She clamped a hand around the man's upper arm. He shrieked, although it was not clear if the noise was surprise or pain. The bonemancer looked over her shoulder to Cinders and tilted her head.
And then the skeletons fell out of both of them. Or they transformed into bones. Or possible switched places with them. It was hard to tell exactly.
Just as instantaneously, Nephroditi was standing back in front of Cinders again. Although within arms reach this time. The man who had joined her in that quick step looked nauseated from his sudden transportation and tried to fall to his knees to start wretching. In response, the bonemancer tightened her grip and audibly cracked his humerus. He screamed again, but somehow remained on his feet and avoided passing out.
"And I do love that you have already put together your own little retinue. Between you and me they're a little bit on the salt-of-the-earth side, but it is wonderful, daaarling. I have to admit I've been thinking myself about bringing some life into my travels. You know-"
She leant forward and put her free hand up beside her mouth as if to hide the words from her captive,
"-a harem"
"I'll tell you what, daaarling. I have a few little odds and ends that you might be interested in, if you would be open to popping up to your humble abode so we can have a gossip and maybe a glass of tea. But before that, I'll buy this one from you. After all, I broke him so I bought him and all that. Twenty silver?"
She stopped to turn her masked face toward the man,
"I'll try to make him last."
Interim Decision Time
(no need to worry about post bonuses for this one)
1 - Attack Nephroditi
2- Sell your peasant and invite Nephroditi into the tower to see what she has to sell [-1 peasant, +20 silver]
3 - Refuse to sell the peasant but invite Nephroditi in to trade regardless
4 - Ask the bonemancer to leave
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
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AnialosCollies are love, Collies are life!Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered Userregular
edited December 2015
You don't inspire loyalty in your subjects by selling them to creepy bone ladies. It is also probably not the best idea in the world to attack without further provocation. Hmm...
Edit: Can't have her finding out about Mr. Greenthumb
You don't inspire loyalty in your subjects by selling them to creepy bone ladies. It is also probably not the best idea in the world to attack without further provocation. Hmm...
Certainly not for the paltry price of 20 silver.
I mean, we're a lavamancer, we pulled crude metal out of the earth by sheer force of will to build our lumberyard.
Surely it's well within our grasp to tear more noble metals or jewels from the earth to fill our coffers.
Peasants are a lot harder to come by.
That said, it doesn't encourage longevity among our peasants to let them go and meddle with things they don't understand (like dancing skeletons), so if we do decide to keep him some form of instruction should be forthcoming to prevent future misunderstandings.
Still, we are old friends and all, invite her in for some tea. 3
see317 on
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
That's one of our new militia! Don't sell him off; it'll set a bad example to the rest.
We have nothing I would consider parting with, so let's not let her know what we do or don't have.
(I guess we do have some scrolls from the previous Fortune event that we haven't used yet?)
Keep Nephroditi out of the tower! I don't much want her to catch wind of our new apprentice, or vice versa. After all, he might appreciate the harem life more than being smacked upside the head because he can't scream for an hour straight.
Bursar on
GNU Terry Pratchett
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
That's one of our new militia! Don't sell him off; it'll set a bad example to the rest.
We have nothing I would consider parting with, so let's not let her know what we do or don't have.
(I guess we do have some scrolls from the previous Fortune event that we haven't used yet?)
Keep Nephroditi out of the tower! I don't much want her to catch wind of our new apprentice, or vice versa. After all, he might appreciate the harem life more than being smacked upside the head because he can't scream for an hour straight.
He's somewhere trying to scream as loudly/long as possible. Also she might sense his bones or something.
I'd imagine that in an ominous obsidian tower decorated with lava spewing faces, screaming peasants are not an unexpected background sound. If we can keep him and Vulcanus out of sight, we should be good to go,
Bone mage's pet skeletons have to wait outside, of course. Can't trust them on the good rugs.
A cup of tea with an old friend is wonderful and it'll be easier to char her bones to ash without any damage to our peasants in our tower than if we incinerate her right here. Besides, if she does try to poach our apprentice, he'll become a most luminous candle as well.
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
Sanders, The Magma Wyrm [adds +25 to fortune threshold. Improves fortunes]
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
Artifacts
Vulcanus
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
The pause before Cinders spoke was probably a hair too long. Nephroditi had always been a little too odd and a little too forward for Cinders. The two were not fast friends by any stretch. The ritual and its preparation was the most they had interacted. Still, overly offending a potential ally seemed unwise. She relented,
"Leave the man, he belongs to me; but you are right we should talk."
Behind the white mask it was not possible to say what expression the bonemancer was wearing, but she released the man before sighing a response,
"Have it your way. I suppose I will just have to start that particular endeavour another day."
While the man with the broken arm moved rapidly way, she turned back to her caravan and snapped her fingers causing the doors to snap open on one of the wagons in response. A trunk made of the same painted black wood as the wagons and bound in copper emerged. It walked on legs of animal bone: a mixture of a few different species from the uneven lengths and odd shapes. It trundled over to stand behind its master.
"Lead the way, daaaarling. To be quite honest I'm not at all sure how you even get up there!"
...
Inside, Cinders brought Nephroditi into her throne room. Thankfully, the apprentice had taken her order to heart, at least for the moment, and was keeping himself scarce. So too was the ever mysterious Vulcanus. It was just the two of them and the animated chest that carried whatever it was that the bonemancer was here to trade. The lavashaper forsook her throne to take a seat on a low vitreous couch. The bonemancer sat opposite on a similar piece of obsidian furniture. Between them was a gleaming table of beaten brass. Cinders waited. She had decided to let the visitor make the first move.
"I suppose that means there is not going to be any tea then? You shall have to get better at entertaining once you have had a chance to settle, daaarling. A cushion would not hurt either. Not to worry, we can just get down to business."
The chest beside her couch popped open in response. The interior was shrouded in a darkness that was anything but natural. Even the burning braziers of the obsidian tower couldn't penetrate the supernatural gloom, but Nephroditi leaned over and pulled free a small brown leather-coated coffer. She placed it on the table and carefully opened the lid. A sick green glow came from within,
"This, you might find some use for in the future."
Nephroditi pulled out a phial, one of maybe a dozen that the coffer held. Inside was a tiny amount of viscous liquid that boiled and shifted like it was alive. It burned with an internal unpleasant emerald light,
"Say the worst happens and one of your dear spearmen out there was to perish. Well that would just be no good at all, would it? This mixture, fed into the mouth, or ear, or anus, or even a wound, will bring the brave warrior back, so he can serve you for another lifetime. Think, what greater honour could they imagine than serving you twice!"
She set the glass cylinder back, but left the coffer open for the moment,
"Otherwise, I could equally leave you with some of my own dear servants. I won't lie, they aren't really much, but killing something that is already dead is so very challenging. An added benefit is that they don't answer back at all, which I find wonderful."
Cinders was waiting to hear everything that her counterpart had to offer; After an awkward silence, the bonemancer removed a clay pot from the chest. It was an ugly little thing decorated with crude patterns of bones and imagery of death. Tilting her head, Nephroditi continued,
"Perhaps you are more inclined to boost your own treasury, daaarling? I could take a little of your excess aetheric energy for a very good price. Or we could do something more long term? I plan to pass this way and that on a fairly regular basis, you might have spotted that distance is not much of an issue for me any more, that could be very profitable for the both of us"
"Think on it. Think on it. I almost forgot to ask if you had taken the opportunity to visit the sunken city yet? It's only a short way from here to the east. I really think you might like it, daaarling. The people there have built a little town, a quaint little place and they pray to the city. To the city! It is just adorable. You must go, daaarling. It is to die for. I shall absolutely make sure to call in there when I pass back that way. I'm thinking of heading eastward next. Across the swamp and I'll see if I can find my way to the snowfields. He's there you know, our friend the youth, the one who lured us into all this. I don't think for a moment that any of this was part of the plan, but even so, maybe he has better some ideas about what is going on. And I just never really was one to settle. I wouldn't mind on seeing if I can't call in on all of the old gang really."
"Well then, what about my offers? Did anything catch your attention? I'll leave you my calling card, daaarling. That way, if you do fancy another little chinwag you can just conjure me up. How about that, daaarling? Oh it is just so good to see you again, Cinderella. It warms the heart to see a familiar face out here. It really does."
[Remember something else is going to happen in turn 12]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number, any number of symbols then and specify Mana/Fortune for your vote bonus)
Peasant action: A: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources) B: Build a farm (+20 food) (Costs 15 resources) C: Build a tavern (+1 growth / turn) (costs 20 resources) Add a Scholar's Hall to the tower (allows research, +1 study/turn) (costs 50 resources)
E: Scout the mainland [specify south or east]
F: Raise militia (produces a [Militia] unit, costs 5 resources and 5 peasants)
G : Work a double shift on the sawmill (produces 5+1d6 resources)
Cinders action:
1: Help the peasants with their construction (Pay 2xresources in mana rather than the resource cost) [only makes sense with option F at the moment]
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shard (difficulty 14: Success gains 2d6 mana, Failure is bad) 3: Call for an audience with Nephroditi (costs 3 mana)
4: Muse quietly on your throne
Trade results:
(Select whatever combination of these you like, remember that you only have 20 silver pieces right now)
£: Buy the reanimation potions (bring one living unit back after it falls in combat (costs 30 silver pieces)
$: Buy the unit of skeletons (2 dice, 8+ strength, [Hard to Kill]*) (costs 20 silver pieces)
%: Sell your mana to Nephroditi (-15 mana, +10 silver pieces)
&: Commit to on-going trade (-10 silver pieces, +1 Silver Pieces / turn)
*If beaten in combat make a difficulty 8 check. On success the unit is not destroyed. Needs a snappier name.
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Having a ongoing trade with her sounds like the best option right now, it demonstrates good will and it gets her off our back. It is also a small loss should she be in the business of betrayal.
If we get take the skeletons, can we put them to work in the sawmill? Or are they just military troops?
I mean, they don't need breaks, they don't ask questions, presumably don't need to eat or sleep. Sounds like an ideal labor force to increase our resource income.
Also, can we use some of our fortune stack to work for a better trade deal? I mean, that's 10 turns just to make our initial investment back, unless something changes.
I wouldn't want to use Mana to influence her, that'd just be rude. But if fortune happened to favor us...
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
edited December 2015
Skeletons are military (too stupid for real work ) and no to the fortune sales for the moment (as you lack a way to transfer it)
But who knows what you'll be able to do in the future
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
G1 $%& -Fortune
Lets order our peasants to do put in some extra hours in the sawmill, maybe that will teach them not to play with previously animated bones that belong to other wizards. If we opt to magically aid them in working a double shift, can we spend mana to increase the resources generated?
As for Necroditi
Sell her our mana, we seem to have something of a surplus at the moment and little to spend it on and use the proceeds to buy some skeletons and then set up a trade treaty.
Just saying, it's neverrarely only occasionally been my trade partners that get flattened under foot (first) in my 4X experience.
Edit: Changing to aid our peasants. Gotta get them resources to build our town up.
see317 on
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
Posts
Probably just means some interaction with the other mages.
Right, so combat then?
In my 4X experience, it will be bluster, followed by 'My 2-1-1 Militia units have just entered production' followed by trading for the Alphabet technology.
Family and equals is all good and fine, but it is not what we want. We want easily lead sheep, imprison the boy, learn his ways and then let Vulcanus wear him like a flesh puppet or something.
Also, haven't our population grown yet? I think we were at 12 peeps last round too.
Time to learn what he can do so when one of the others come, we can crush them more effectively.
I'm not convinced one militia unit will be a big improvement if we have to fight, I'd prefer to keep collecting supplies to build something (growth or research).
Then vote for that!
Decision
F3&: Raising some milita and taking an apprentice who will develop his own heathen filth-magic
Bonuses: +7 mana, +7 fortune
Things
Fortune: 29/50 [+0/turn]
Growth: 2/10 [+1/turn]
Peasants: 7
Population: 12
Shelter: 25
Food: 25
Resources: 6 [+1/turn]
Silver Pieces: 20 [+0/turn]
The Obsidian Tower
+5 mana / turn +1 resource / turn
[Ashvent] - Prevents scrying in the region.
Glassalia
[Fertile Farm] = +25 food
[Glass houses] = +25 shelter
[Lumber yard] = +1 resource / 10 peasants / turn)
Individuals & Armies
Combat: 4 dice, 4+ strength [Lucky] [Wizard] [Ranged(short)]
Equipment: Vulcanus
Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
Militia [5 Peasants]
Combat: 2 dice, 7+ strength, [Swarmfighting]
The Apprentice [in training in his natural magic]
Sanders, The Magma Wyrm [adds +25 to fortune threshold. Improves fortunes]
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
Artifacts
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
Whatever was coming was close now. Too close. And still it wasn't possible to make any sense of the patterns in the future. Cinders scowled and folded her arms,
"Vulcanus. Fetch my apprentice"
The spiked disc had been more or less static for once, bobbing general in the air as it stared out at Glassalia with its flaming eye. At her voice, it turned and danced more wildly,
"YES FIRE MOTHER"
It vanished through the open doors of Cinders' throne room at speed, leaving the lavashaper alone in the great chamber. She stood up and looked out over the peasants training in the village below. The former sailors had taken the idea of being armed quite readily and they'd hardly needed any input from her at all. Their wooden spears were tipped with razor shards of obsidian. Four of the were now stood in a rough rank practising a drill where they alternated standing to attention and thrusting forward. The fifth stood before them, shouting as they worked. Apparently, there was an actual, honest soldier among her subjects. She had the scars to support her story, that much was true, and she seemed to have some idea of tactics, so it didn't really matter why or how she'd ended up on a whaling vessel. If the truth mattered Cinders would pursue it later. It would be interesting to see how she led her unit in real combat. And that could be sooner rather than later.
[Peasants have raised a militia unit. 2 Dice, 7+, [Swarmfighting]: For every other unit attacking the same target as the militia they add +1 to their dice rolls. Loss of five peasants reduces the resource income from +2 to +1]
A cough behind Cinders announced the arrival of the apprentice. She should probably give him a name at some point. Turning on her heel, she looked at the youth. He was wearing a brown, burlap robe now and it did indeed make him look the part.
"First meditation"
He had only been in the Obsidian Tower for a short time, but already she had taken the time to explain the first three meditations. If she had wanted him to become a lavashaper than this part of the training might have been a little faster, but to forge whatever latent ability he had developed into something useful required going right back to basics despite the incredible magical ambient in this world.
The apprentice took a deep breath, shifted his feet and began to scream a wordless agony. As he did he squeezed his eyes shut. That earned him a clout on the side of the head,
"The first meditation does not involve the eyes, idiot."
He managed to continue despite the blow, and even a little half-nod to acknowledge her criticism. His eyes locked on hers for a moment and then shifted away. Cinders wasn't sure if the youth was too weak-willed for this kind of work. After a minute, his voice had grown hoarse. After two minutes he was barely still making a sound. In total, he lasted a little less than three minutes before he could not continue. It was better than Cinders when she was first taken into the Institute,
"Not good enough. Until you can last a full hour, do not return."
Cinders wondered how long it might take him to reach an hour. It had taken her a month to complete the first meditation to the satisfaction of the Masters. How much faster would he be? He left the room without turning his back on the lavashaper. Whether it was fear or respect, Cinders enjoyed that little touch. Also interesting was that Vulcanus itself had not returned. She did wonder what the artifact got up to when it wasn't waiting for her commands, or following them. A twinge in a fine loop of magma down in the heart of the world broke that line of thought.
Whatever it was. It was about to arrive.
As soon as she touched her boots onto the beach she could hear the drums. A heavy bass that trembled though the ground. Cinders crossed through Glassalia just in time to see the Caravan of Bones arrive from the forest. Three heavy wagons of black painted wood that rolled of their own accord, but the lack of horses wasn't what drew the eye. What did was the dancing horde of skeletons that surrounded them. Some banged drums. Others just contributed their own bone rattle to the danse macabre. The lavashaper spotted her new militia unit already moving around to flank. Their leader kept her eyes on Cinders, waiting for the signal to charge. The other peasants had been drawn by the commotion and stood a little further back from the scene.
Slowly, the wagons drew around into a triangle. The skeletons stopped their jig, standing still for a moment and then at once each of them collapsed into a lifeless pile of osseous matter and percussion instruments. All of them collapsed that was except for one. One had instead somehow become replaced with a figure dressed in fine silks and with a face hidden behind a white opera mask. Her costume was accented with copper and a few gems. There was no mistaking the figure.
Nephroditi, the bonemancer, was paying a visit to her fellow student of the Institute. She stood five feet from Cinders and spread her arms wide,
"Cinderella! Daaarling. So good to see a friendly face in this ghastly little place."
She gestured up at the tower looming over them with its skull which faced toward them and the ash cloud around its upper reaches,
"I just love what you've done with the place. Although, it is a little rude to have all that ash. It's makes me feel like you don't want your old friend to drop in on you. You don't want me to feel unwelcome do you, daaarling? Tell me, how have you been? Have you seen the others?"
One of the peasants had moved toward one the black wagons, and was unwisely reaching out toward one of the haphazard piles of bleached human bones which had been dancing only moments earlier. In a flash, the bones had leapt upward and started to reform themselves, only for the whole mass to be replaced with the swirling costume of Nephroditi herself. Where she had been standing before Cinders, a tumble of bones clattered to the ground instead. She clamped a hand around the man's upper arm. He shrieked, although it was not clear if the noise was surprise or pain. The bonemancer looked over her shoulder to Cinders and tilted her head.
And then the skeletons fell out of both of them. Or they transformed into bones. Or possible switched places with them. It was hard to tell exactly.
Just as instantaneously, Nephroditi was standing back in front of Cinders again. Although within arms reach this time. The man who had joined her in that quick step looked nauseated from his sudden transportation and tried to fall to his knees to start wretching. In response, the bonemancer tightened her grip and audibly cracked his humerus. He screamed again, but somehow remained on his feet and avoided passing out.
"And I do love that you have already put together your own little retinue. Between you and me they're a little bit on the salt-of-the-earth side, but it is wonderful, daaarling. I have to admit I've been thinking myself about bringing some life into my travels. You know-"
She leant forward and put her free hand up beside her mouth as if to hide the words from her captive,
"-a harem"
"I'll tell you what, daaarling. I have a few little odds and ends that you might be interested in, if you would be open to popping up to your humble abode so we can have a gossip and maybe a glass of tea. But before that, I'll buy this one from you. After all, I broke him so I bought him and all that. Twenty silver?"
She stopped to turn her masked face toward the man,
"I'll try to make him last."
Interim Decision Time
(no need to worry about post bonuses for this one)
1 - Attack Nephroditi
2- Sell your peasant and invite Nephroditi into the tower to see what she has to sell [-1 peasant, +20 silver]
3 - Refuse to sell the peasant but invite Nephroditi in to trade regardless
4 - Ask the bonemancer to leave
Edit: Can't have her finding out about Mr. Greenthumb
4
You do not come to my place and break my things. You can come back in a week when you show proper respect to my House and domain.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
I kind of want to attack her, but am not at all confident in our offensive capabilities.
I guess 3
I mean, we're a lavamancer, we pulled crude metal out of the earth by sheer force of will to build our lumberyard.
Surely it's well within our grasp to tear more noble metals or jewels from the earth to fill our coffers.
Peasants are a lot harder to come by.
That said, it doesn't encourage longevity among our peasants to let them go and meddle with things they don't understand (like dancing skeletons), so if we do decide to keep him some form of instruction should be forthcoming to prevent future misunderstandings.
Still, we are old friends and all, invite her in for some tea.
3
If she broke him, she can fix him. No need for her to strong-arm her way into a deal with us.
That's one of our new militia! Don't sell him off; it'll set a bad example to the rest.
We have nothing I would consider parting with, so let's not let her know what we do or don't have.
(I guess we do have some scrolls from the previous Fortune event that we haven't used yet?)
Keep Nephroditi out of the tower! I don't much want her to catch wind of our new apprentice, or vice versa. After all, he might appreciate the harem life more than being smacked upside the head because he can't scream for an hour straight.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
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point made!
abort abort!
4
I'd imagine that in an ominous obsidian tower decorated with lava spewing faces, screaming peasants are not an unexpected background sound. If we can keep him and Vulcanus out of sight, we should be good to go,
Bone mage's pet skeletons have to wait outside, of course. Can't trust them on the good rugs.
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A cup of tea with an old friend is wonderful and it'll be easier to char her bones to ash without any damage to our peasants in our tower than if we incinerate her right here. Besides, if she does try to poach our apprentice, he'll become a most luminous candle as well.
Ah, right.
Decision
3: Trading, but not selling the peasant
Bonuses: -
Things
Fortune: 29/50 [+0/turn]
Growth: 2/10 [+1/turn]
Peasants: 7
Population: 12
Shelter: 25
Food: 25
Resources: 6 [+1/turn]
Silver Pieces: 20 [+0/turn]
The Obsidian Tower
+5 mana / turn +1 resource / turn
[Ashvent] - Prevents scrying in the region.
Glassalia
[Fertile Farm] = +25 food
[Glass houses] = +25 shelter
[Lumber yard] = +1 resource / 10 peasants / turn)
Individuals & Armies
Combat: 4 dice, 4+ strength [Lucky] [Wizard] [Ranged(short)]
Equipment: Vulcanus
Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
Militia [5 Peasants]
Combat: 2 dice, 7+ strength, [Swarmfighting]
The Apprentice [in training in his natural magic]
Sanders, The Magma Wyrm [adds +25 to fortune threshold. Improves fortunes]
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
Artifacts
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
The pause before Cinders spoke was probably a hair too long. Nephroditi had always been a little too odd and a little too forward for Cinders. The two were not fast friends by any stretch. The ritual and its preparation was the most they had interacted. Still, overly offending a potential ally seemed unwise. She relented,
"Leave the man, he belongs to me; but you are right we should talk."
Behind the white mask it was not possible to say what expression the bonemancer was wearing, but she released the man before sighing a response,
"Have it your way. I suppose I will just have to start that particular endeavour another day."
While the man with the broken arm moved rapidly way, she turned back to her caravan and snapped her fingers causing the doors to snap open on one of the wagons in response. A trunk made of the same painted black wood as the wagons and bound in copper emerged. It walked on legs of animal bone: a mixture of a few different species from the uneven lengths and odd shapes. It trundled over to stand behind its master.
"Lead the way, daaaarling. To be quite honest I'm not at all sure how you even get up there!"
...
Inside, Cinders brought Nephroditi into her throne room. Thankfully, the apprentice had taken her order to heart, at least for the moment, and was keeping himself scarce. So too was the ever mysterious Vulcanus. It was just the two of them and the animated chest that carried whatever it was that the bonemancer was here to trade. The lavashaper forsook her throne to take a seat on a low vitreous couch. The bonemancer sat opposite on a similar piece of obsidian furniture. Between them was a gleaming table of beaten brass. Cinders waited. She had decided to let the visitor make the first move.
"I suppose that means there is not going to be any tea then? You shall have to get better at entertaining once you have had a chance to settle, daaarling. A cushion would not hurt either. Not to worry, we can just get down to business."
The chest beside her couch popped open in response. The interior was shrouded in a darkness that was anything but natural. Even the burning braziers of the obsidian tower couldn't penetrate the supernatural gloom, but Nephroditi leaned over and pulled free a small brown leather-coated coffer. She placed it on the table and carefully opened the lid. A sick green glow came from within,
"This, you might find some use for in the future."
Nephroditi pulled out a phial, one of maybe a dozen that the coffer held. Inside was a tiny amount of viscous liquid that boiled and shifted like it was alive. It burned with an internal unpleasant emerald light,
"Say the worst happens and one of your dear spearmen out there was to perish. Well that would just be no good at all, would it? This mixture, fed into the mouth, or ear, or anus, or even a wound, will bring the brave warrior back, so he can serve you for another lifetime. Think, what greater honour could they imagine than serving you twice!"
She set the glass cylinder back, but left the coffer open for the moment,
"Otherwise, I could equally leave you with some of my own dear servants. I won't lie, they aren't really much, but killing something that is already dead is so very challenging. An added benefit is that they don't answer back at all, which I find wonderful."
Cinders was waiting to hear everything that her counterpart had to offer; After an awkward silence, the bonemancer removed a clay pot from the chest. It was an ugly little thing decorated with crude patterns of bones and imagery of death. Tilting her head, Nephroditi continued,
"Perhaps you are more inclined to boost your own treasury, daaarling? I could take a little of your excess aetheric energy for a very good price. Or we could do something more long term? I plan to pass this way and that on a fairly regular basis, you might have spotted that distance is not much of an issue for me any more, that could be very profitable for the both of us"
"Think on it. Think on it. I almost forgot to ask if you had taken the opportunity to visit the sunken city yet? It's only a short way from here to the east. I really think you might like it, daaarling. The people there have built a little town, a quaint little place and they pray to the city. To the city! It is just adorable. You must go, daaarling. It is to die for. I shall absolutely make sure to call in there when I pass back that way. I'm thinking of heading eastward next. Across the swamp and I'll see if I can find my way to the snowfields. He's there you know, our friend the youth, the one who lured us into all this. I don't think for a moment that any of this was part of the plan, but even so, maybe he has better some ideas about what is going on. And I just never really was one to settle. I wouldn't mind on seeing if I can't call in on all of the old gang really."
"Well then, what about my offers? Did anything catch your attention? I'll leave you my calling card, daaarling. That way, if you do fancy another little chinwag you can just conjure me up. How about that, daaarling? Oh it is just so good to see you again, Cinderella. It warms the heart to see a familiar face out here. It really does."
[Remember something else is going to happen in turn 12]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number, any number of symbols then and specify Mana/Fortune for your vote bonus)
Peasant action:
A: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources)
B: Build a farm (+20 food) (Costs 15 resources)
C: Build a tavern (+1 growth / turn) (costs 20 resources)
E: Scout the mainland [specify south or east]
F: Raise militia (produces a [Militia] unit, costs 5 resources and 5 peasants)
G : Work a double shift on the sawmill (produces 5+1d6 resources)
Cinders action:
1: Help the peasants with their construction (Pay 2xresources in mana rather than the resource cost) [only makes sense with option F at the moment]
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shard (difficulty 14: Success gains 2d6 mana, Failure is bad)
3: Call for an audience with Nephroditi (costs 3 mana)
4: Muse quietly on your throne
Trade results:
(Select whatever combination of these you like, remember that you only have 20 silver pieces right now)
£: Buy the reanimation potions (bring one living unit back after it falls in combat (costs 30 silver pieces)
$: Buy the unit of skeletons (2 dice, 8+ strength, [Hard to Kill]*) (costs 20 silver pieces)
%: Sell your mana to Nephroditi (-15 mana, +10 silver pieces)
&: Commit to on-going trade (-10 silver pieces, +1 Silver Pieces / turn)
*If beaten in combat make a difficulty 8 check. On success the unit is not destroyed. Needs a snappier name.
Having a ongoing trade with her sounds like the best option right now, it demonstrates good will and it gets her off our back. It is also a small loss should she be in the business of betrayal.
I mean, they don't need breaks, they don't ask questions, presumably don't need to eat or sleep. Sounds like an ideal labor force to increase our resource income.
Also, can we use some of our fortune stack to work for a better trade deal? I mean, that's 10 turns just to make our initial investment back, unless something changes.
I wouldn't want to use Mana to influence her, that'd just be rude. But if fortune happened to favor us...
But who knows what you'll be able to do in the future
Lets order our peasants to do put in some extra hours in the sawmill, maybe that will teach them not to play with previously animated bones that belong to other wizards.
If we opt to magically aid them in working a double shift, can we spend mana to increase the resources generated?
As for Necroditi
Sell her our mana, we seem to have something of a surplus at the moment and little to spend it on and use the proceeds to buy some skeletons and then set up a trade treaty.
Just saying, it's never rarely only occasionally been my trade partners that get flattened under foot (first) in my 4X experience.
Edit: Changing to aid our peasants. Gotta get them resources to build our town up.
I don't see why not. We can add another 1d6 for that for 5 mana
4
$%&
Fortune
This brings us down to 0 cash, but at least we'll have a revenue stream. Cinders seemed tired, so a little moment to relax might be in order.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
4
$%&
Fortune
And if she could fix our peasant's arm on the way out, we might consider the transfer of labour when we have more to spare.