Yeah, fair enough.  On second thought, it would just be starting a bunch of drama over minor stuff, which isn't in character for Elena.

I know I am late joining the group, but I would really like to jump in an help mold the kingdom as an equal. Here are some initial thoughts about the deals.


The deals most important deal to Vyntis would be blocking the Grozi Lumber Consortium from taking place. He has no issue with logging but all kinds of issues with clearcutting forests. In addition this with push the fey and elves away and lower the lore in the land.

The religious deal most important to Vyntis would be the Erastil deal. He is a follower of Erastil and cannot imagine helping to rule land that does not allow or encourage his worship.

The noble deal house Medvyed is oveiously appealing, but not perfect by any means.

Loyalist, Separatist, or neutral he should fall anyway and currently has no strong feelings on this.

Surprisingly he seems drawn to the Rostland Farmers but not what they are pitching.

The Varnhold deal seems like one of the best deals on the table at face value.

We could probably change the Gronzi deal to something that doesn't anger the fey so much, like limiting woodcutting to forests without intelligent inhabitants.  As always, I'm tempted to try to double-dip: I want druid allies, but I also want that lumber.

Right, we're trying to triple dip with religion.
So we're dealing with the dice gods right now :)

But I'm really enjoying the stories as they unfold.

In reply to Elena Sazikova (msg # 102):

I have an idea about how we may be able to reduce our negative for the Gronzi deal. What if work a deal out with a noble that includes wartime logging rights. They will still get the wood supply they seek, but it will not all come from our forests.

I dunno if their deals with other nobles are really our business.  Besides it's good for us if they can't get lumber elsewhere.

As I see it, the heart of the matter is this:  Do we sell them all our trees and make the Fey mad(/homeless/dead), sell none of our trees and make us poor, or try to negotiate and only sell them some of our trees, in the hopes that the Fey won't get too mad?

This is an excellent idea of how to use the motivation to alter the critical component of the deal.

Not saying Elena is wrong but this is designed to not be open and allow you guys to really shape the deals and alliances that end up shaping your kingdom.

Do you have a bunch of logging camps that need to be protected? Do you have nobles from this house or that visiting? Does Borric (or someone else) get into an arranged marriage to secure an alliance.

I'll be honest, I have HUUUGE gaps in my notes for what happens after this because what you do here is going to change the course of events throughout the rest of the game.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 106):

Borric needs volunteers to step up to accept marriage contracts :)
Need one to send to Pitax... and another to some barbarian tribes in the near future. Oh and I need a virgin for the dragon sacrifice ;)

"We shall seal this deal by allowing you to marry Rivermarch's most eligible bachelor: Fat Fingers the bandit."

I've created some potential roles for officers to fill but as the rulers of the realm you are free to create whatever titles and title styles you wish.

So, for example, if you don't want to be called the Magister you could call yourself the Royal Archmage or the Lord of the Arcane or whatever title you wish.

Same thing with officer positions. Below I am listing out what I think are good positions for officers to fill but feel free to suggest your own positions and titles accordingly:

• Ruler - ultimately the person that makes the final decisions
  
  • Consort/Heir - as a monarchy it is important to have a clear line of succession and this person would have a lot of influence and involvement in the operations of the government
  • Treasurer - master of coins. Tracks the income and expenses of the kingdom.
  • Councilor - advisor of the people. His job is to understand the general support the people have for their ruler to avoid unrest and uprising.
• High General - master of all things military
  
  • Warden - head of the city guards, in charge of enforcing laws across the land
  • Marshall - head of the kingdom rangers/scouts, in charge of protecting roadways and wilderness/rural areas that do not have formal town guards
  • General - 2nd in command for the army.
• High Priest - head of all things divine
  
  • High Priest of XXX - head priest for a specific church
• Court Minstrel - head of all things diplomacy
  
  • Ambassador to XXX - lead point of contact to a specific country
• Magister - head of all things arcane
  
  • Arcane Master - head of arcane research and/or academy training
  • Planar Master - head of research/training for planar matters
  • Battlemage - head of the combat spellcasters and liason to the army
• Spymaster - head of all things espionage
  
  • Royal Executioner - off with their heads!
  • Head of Internal Affairs - manages the spy ring that handles internal investigations and counter-espionage
  • Head of External Affairs - manages the spies placed in other countries

You don't need to have only three officers. You can have more, you can have less. It is really up to you how many positions you want to fill with notable and named NPCs. If you don't care, just leave them blank and you will interact with faceless interchangeable people. If you love diving into NPCs you can end up with a whole retinue.

Generally speaking an officer has little mechanical impact on the game. You will be using your skills and/or the kingdom skills. Officers just help flesh out the narrative so it isn't just a nameless NPC that runs in with a report or is dispatched on a mission. Depending on the NPC's personality it can also impact how they passed or failed a mission.

Since we're nearing the home stretch on this diplomacy minigame, we should probably come to some final decisions on what deals we want, so we don't wait too late and leave some on the table.  Here's my thoughts:

Gronzi Vs Medvyed:  We were originally pretty set on Gronzi, but I think we should at least hold a vote about which one to pick.  I actually vote we go with Medvyed and the druids, even though it gives less bonuses.  Here's why:

1) We're already have a ton of resources, and we'll be getting more from the deals with Restov and the Swordlords.  Meanwhile, Medvyed is literally the only source of communications that isn't going to murder our subjects at random.

2) Lots of faeries and the like live in those forests, and destroying their homes for money is a dick move that' going to make dealing with the fae more difficult in the future.


Other Deals:

-Erastil, Restov, and the swordlords are pretty much  mandatory.  Orlovski seems like a free bonus with no strings attached.
-Goldfield is a solid deal, maybe with the "exclusive access" clause removed.  I'm thinking we could set up a situation where we pay a bounty for information on newly discovered sites, and give Goldfield the option to claim first dibs, unless the ruins sound important to national interests.
-I think we should try to sell the Restov farmers on a deal where thy organize a land swap, and some of them become Rivermarch farmers.  We could scrap the -1 resources (because we're keeping the land) and the +1 diplomacy (because it's no longer an international effort) but keep the +1 resolve (farmers are happy they don't get cheated).  Or try to negotiate so that we keep the diplo bonus, too.
-Lebeda only sounds reasonable if we can eliminate the exclusivity clause.  They're shifty traders and might take Surtova's side in the war.  I think they're trying to make us economically reliant on them so that they have leverage.
-Drelav is fine, probably, if we have an action to spare.
-The mivon dueling thing seems fine, they might come in handy.  The Erastil side deal is fine i guess, I rate Diplomacy slightly higher than Operations.  The technic league thing is interesting, but I don't really like the operations penalty, OR trusting the Technic League.
-I don't give a shit about Pharasma, but I'm fine if we take it.

-Hanspur feels like a no-go.  I was considering trying to let them in under conditions (access to criminals that have been sentenced to death in exchange for them swearing an oath not to harm travellers.)  But they're evil murdering scum, no matter what the rules say, and we can't trust them to uphold their word when betrayal is literally one of their main things.  It's a shame, really.  Pissing off Hanspur when you live in the river kingdoms is real dangerous.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:22, Thu 09 Sept 2021.

In reply to Elena Sazikova (msg # 110):

Gronzi v Medvyed: Neither. Maybe Gronzi if we tamp down their exclusivity. There doesn't seem to be a decent middle ground between the two, which is what Dom would advocate--something more like reaching out to druids to sanction plots for lumbering and auctioning the plots off. Not sure we'll have that kind of depth to management, though.

Mandatory: Erastil, Pharasma, Restov, Swordlords

If we have time, in order: Goldfield(Have Secret, use it), Gronzi(Have Secret,) Erastil Side(since we already have Motivation unlocked), Lebeda(if we remove exclusivity,) Orlovsky, Mivon Side, Numeria Side, Varn(Renegotiate to improve the deal?)

Diplomatically, keep in mind Orlovsky is an Issian House and Lebeda was granted Rostland land when they were conquered. Civil war would likely have unexpected consequences with them. Would secession mean Lebeda losing their lands to the Swordlords? Is Orlovsky pro-Sepratist or just anti-Surtova?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:50, Thu 09 Sept 2021.

In case this alters people's opinions, this is not the only opportunity you will get to improve stats in your kingdom. This is really only setting the initial starting scores. I fully expect scores to rise and fall as the game progresses.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 112):

Maybe with the Dungeon Masters above statement we should fill the third god in the future instead of picking Pharasma who seems to be a god that means nothing to anyone in the party. I think I saw a post where someone mentioned that they worshiped Shelyn. However, as the High Priest I will defer to your judgment. If you want me to, I will spend this turns action to roll for Pharasma's secret. Please just restate your request in this thread.

Pharasma, Gorum, and Erastil are the big three in the area. Remember you are ruling over a country not just your personal characters. You dont need a specific tie to a religion for it to be important.

In reply to Vyntis Overgrowth (msg # 113):

I'd appreciate it, but if you'd rather not, it looks like Orlovsky, Swordlords, and Varn could all benefit from Local too.

Sorry Dominique on the bad roll. I am willing to give it another try.

I am going to highly encourage the group to sign some of the deals as is. We will not have enough time to modify every deal.

By my count we will need we have 4 deals that have been put forth as Mandatory.  Erastil, Pharasma, Restov, Swordlords. It looks like we will also be moving forward with 2 deals deals involving Lady Orlovsky and Mayor Sellemius. We also have to modify the deasl with Pharasma and Erastil to remove exclusion. So that is at least 8 actions. Are there any of these deals that we want to reveal the side deal to sign both at once?

Is there a grid map for this game? Perhaps we can come to an agreement on where we will be heading after this so we do waste any time.

In reply to Vyntis Overgrowth (msg # 117):

There was. And since it isn't there I'm going to guess that he's updating it now :)

Yeah. These negotiations are going to factor heavily into the next steps so I wouldn't worry too much about your next steps.

If you are really keen I posted something about creating NPC officers (or promoting NPCs already under your command) so if you're chomping at the bit focus on getting your character's organization in order.

Dominique, why don't I give it another try for the secret of Pharasma so I can modify the deal for a 3-body religious triumvirate? You could do the same thing with Erastil and sign both deals with them if you are successful. That could lock up all three gods this turn.

Your thoughts?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:47, Thu 16 Sept 2021.

Are we planning on abandon Erastil and go with Pharasma as the 3rd religion?

We already invested time in the Sarenrae deal, so I'd rather we not waste that.

Plus, Pharasma is kinda boring.

@Vyntis: Like I said before, I'm going to take a shot at getting Mivon without the exclusion and then dedicate the next 3 hours to Erastil and Pharasma. Elena was wanting to go for Erastil's Secret(I think this round?) We'll have to see how those rolls go.

@Borric, Kael: Sarenrae's deal doesn't require being an official religion. All's good with her. Abadar, Erastil, and Pharasma would be the 3 'official' religions, whatever that means, if the deals work out.

I'd say midwives and fervent undead slayers are more interesting than bankers, judges, and city planners...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:35, Fri 17 Sept 2021.

Thanks for that point of clarification. So if we get what we want... we can have the benefits of 4 religions.